Fantastic Four #302
And Who Shall Survive?!
While driving through upstate New York on their honeymoon, the Human Torch and his new bride Alicia Masters come across a military roadblock. When the soldiers start getting rough with his wife, Johnny flames on. Realizing who they are dealing with, the commanding officer tells the Torch that they are only practicing maneuvers in the area and sends them on their way. However, things are not as they seem as the commander is upset that a super-hero is in the area where things are bad enough. Johnny isn't convinced that the soldiers are only involved in training, but Alicia takes his mind off the subject by reminding him that they are heading to Athenville to visit her friend Myrna, who has assured Alicia that Athenville is ideal for their honeymoon.
When they arrive in town, they find that the locals are all demanding the sheriff do something about the military presence in the area. However, their outrage is quickly changed to star-struck behavior when they notice Alicia. Johnny's surprised that they're more interested in his wife than him. The sheriff then pulls Johnny aside and tells him that their entire community consists of mostly artists and that recently some of them have begun to vanish without a trace. Which is and of itself was not to cause for alarm until some of them returned with no memory of where they have been or what they were doing. The sheriff and Myrna also tell Johnny and Alicia that the military has been combing the area as though they are searching for something. When Johnny decides to get involved, Myrna objects, telling the couple that they should enjoy their honeymoon instead of getting involved in potential danger.
Meanwhile, back at the Four Freedoms Plaza, Reed and Sue continue running experiments to learn the nature of Franklin's current power manifestation. Reed has Franklin project his dream-form into the room they are in. Then hoping to test the boy's range he tells Franklin to send his form out further. Franklin complies, projecting his form all the way to Athenville where he witnesses Johnny and Alicia exiting the cabin they are sharing with Myrna. Johnny explains to his wife that he intends to investigate what is going on and the two begin kissing before he leaves. Realizing that he has interrupted a romantic moment, Franklin returns to the Four Freedoms. When he tells his parents what he saw, Ben chastises Reed and Sue for turning their son into a peeping tom. This leads to Reed and Sue having an awkward "talk" with their son.
Back upstate, Johnny flies across the wilderness until he finds the military camp and demands answers from the commanding officer. The commander tells Johnny that their mission is classified, but is forced to explain things when one of his soldier’s lets slip that they are searching for a missing nuclear missile. When the Fantasti-Flare goes off in the sky, Johnny rushes back to his wife but finds only Myrna. When Johnny flames off and asks what happened to her wife, Myrna suddenly gasses him.
When Johnny comes around, he and Alicia find themselves locked in a room and Johnny is incapable of flaming on. They are greeting by Myrna and some guards who promise answers will soon be provided. They soon learn that they are within a massive complex within a mountain created by an organization calling themselves Project Survival. The couple are soon taken to the Inner Council of Project Survival where they speak with Arnold "Tech" Kaminsky, the leader of the group. He explains that they have constructed their secret society within the mountain to protect itself from nuclear Armageddon, and that after the rest of the world is wiped out they will launch the mountain into space and find a new world to live in. It is also explained that Alicia and Johnny had been selected to help due to Johnny's prior experience in space.
Realizing that the Project must have stolen the nuclear weapons to use to launch their mountain base into space, Johnny calls them on it. While most of the council denies the allegations, Tech confesses that's exactly what they are doing and pulls a gun. With his guards, Keminsky has Johnny, Alicia and all the dissenters in the ranks locked up in a room. There Johnny tries to flame on, and eventually the chemicals he was sprayed with wear off and he is able to free everyone.
As everyone frees themselves, Keminsky turns on the alarms and prepares to launch the missiles to send the mountain into orbit. Knowing that this will also decimate the planet, Johnny rushes to the lower levels and uses his powers to melt the detonators, saving the planet from destruction in mere moments, although one of the detonators exploded in the process, but caused no harm. When the military arrives on the scene to collect the stolen nukes, they find Kaminsky and pull him away on a stretcher. He confesses to his people that he did what he had done because he feared that nuclear war would start before they found an alternate means to launch themselves into space. Faced with the fact that Project Survival was doomed from the start, Myrna apologizes for getting Johnny and Alicia involved, feeling foolish that she could believe in their cause. Johnny tells her that believing that the world won't destroy itself is not just a dream, but a necessity.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), “Alicia Masters”, Franklin Richards
Continuity Notes
The woman seen here is not the real Alicia Masters but a Skrull spy named Lyja as revealed in Fantastic Four #358, she took Alicia's place circa Fantastic Four #265.
Johnny and "Alicia" recently got married in Fantastic Four #300.
