Fantastic Four #403
Things to Come!
Within the labs of the Four Freedoms Plaza, Scott Lang walks in on Kristoff Vernard who has been hard at work developing a new suit of armor for Ant-Man to wear on missions in an effort to make him more efficient in battle. When Kristoff asks why Lang is all dressed up he gets the answer when Roberta calls up and inform Scott that his daughter Cassie has arrived at reception. Delighted to hear this, Scott sprints off, but advises Kristoff not to mention that he is Ant-Man because he is trying to maintain a secret identity. Elsewhere in the headquarters the Thing is shocked to hear that Johnny is packing up to join the ranks of Fantastic Force. Johnny tries to make it sound as though he is going to lend his expertise to the group, but in reality Johnny is secretly concerned about Franklin's increasingly unstable psionic powers and wants to keep an eye on things without alarming Ben or Sue. Finishing his packing, Johnny says goodbye to Ben, leaving him his autographed Joe DiMaggio baseball. As Scott welcomes his sister, they catch Johnny just as he is leaving who innocently flirts with the young girl before departing on his way. Scott is even more surprised when Kristoff -- devoid of his armor -- comes down to introduce himself to Cassie. Charming the young Lang girl, Kristoff offers to show her around the Four Freedoms Plaza. Scott is completely shocked that Kristoff is now hitting on his daughter.
Hearing that Kristoff has been in Reed's lab, Ben goes to tell Sue about it but sees that she is busy talking with a representative of NATO. They learn that after Attilan was restored to its normal size it was trapped in a Negative barrier around the island, but were reports of some costumed individuals teleporting off the island before the dome sealed. Sue suspects that it might be the Inhuman royal family and signs off. Sue hopes for the best for the Inhumans, remarking about how many Atlanteans died when Atlantis was raised from the ocean floor. Ben is troubled to hear that Sue is worrying over the Sub-Mariner again, and Ben can't help but wonder what happened to Namor as well. Meanwhile, deep below the ocean, Namor views the ruins left by the raising of Atlantis. Seeing his homeland decimated sparks a deep anger within the former monarch of Atlantis and he vows to get revenge. While back at the Four Freedoms Plaza, Kristoff continues to give Cassie her tour while Scott tries to keep his temper in check. While in the lab, Kristoff calls out to his assistant Boris. Hearing this, the man who has been posing as Boris shifts back into the form of the many he is impersonating and introduces himself to Scott's daughter.
Meanwhile deep in the jungles of Brazil, Professor Kenneth Robeson continues his research into the mysterious carvings he found that resemble the Thing. When he is interrupted by the sound of gunshots he goes to their source and catches his guide, a man named Mico, shooting at a leopard. Because hunting is illegal on archaeological digs, Jenson scolds Mico reminding him what their purpose is in the jungles. When Robeson goes back to his studies one of Mico's men asks why he puts up with being scolded like that and Mico reminds him that this expedition could lead to untold riches. Robeson's concerns about Mico are soon put aside when one of his aids comes to tell them that they have found the long lost temple of the sun demons. Quickly they go to the site and begin the exploration. Inside they find hieroglyphics that tell of a device that can turn men into monsters that resemble the Thing. Soon they find a strange machine in the ruins. As one of Mico's men goes to examine it, Mico accidentally activates the device and it blasts the man with energy.
At that moment in New York City, Johnny is spending time with Laura Green, the woman he is currently enamored with but unaware that she is really his ex-wife Lyja in disguise. After buying her a flower he tells her that he has to rendezvous with Fantastic Force, "Laura" tells him its fine because she has an appointment to keep herself. After Johnny flames on and flies away, Lyja drops her disguise and takes wing to the Four Freedoms Plaza. There she meets with Sue who tells her that with Johnny leaving the team the Fantastic Four are short a person and asks her to join in the Torch's place. Suddenly there is an alarm bringing the two women and the others to the communications room where they are receiving a distress call from Professor Robeson. Before he can tell them of the danger he is in, a man with hands like the Thing smashes his communicator. Surprised by this development, Sue begins mobilizing the group, and when Scott tells them that he can't leave due to Cassie being around, Lyja agrees to accompany them. Soon the Fantastic Four and Kristoff are away in the Stealth-Hawk, allowing the man who is posing as Boris to begin his work. With the others gone, Cassie asks Scott if Kristoff has a girlfriend, much to her father's frustration.
A few hours later the Fantastic Four arrive in the Brazilian rainforest and begin searching for Professor Robeson and his crew. While the others try to make ground by traveling over the jungle, Ben opts to walk instead. As the Thing travels through the jungle alone, he goes over his concerns over Kristoff and how Sue enlisted Lyja without consulting him. His thoughts are interrupted when he is suddenly attacked by a group of men who have been transformed into things just like him. Meanwhile, Sue and the others have located Robeson's camp which has been smashed to pieces. As they search for clues, Sue comes across the strange statue that resembles Ben that Robeson brought to them sometime earlier. Suddenly they are ambushed by Mico and his men who stun Sue and Lyja with darts and incapacitate Kristoff's armor with adhesive. Not far away, Ben manages to fight off his attackers who lack his years’ experience in fighting in his body. Pressing onward through the jungle, Ben comes to the temple of the sun demons where he finds Mico waiting for him. When Ben demands answers from Mico, he defies him by unleashing Sue, Lyja, and Kristoff who have been transformed into things as well and loyal to him.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Invisible Woman, Thing, Human Torch, Lyja, Ant-Man), Kristoff Vernard, Cassie Lang, Sub-Mariner, “Boris”, Kenneth Robeson, Roberta
Continuity Notes
The Thing's face is scarred because he was slashed in the face by Wolverine in Fantastic Four #374. His face is healed in Fantastic Four #409.
Johnny decided to join Fantastic Force in Fantastic Force #10. His concerns about Franklin's multiple psi-forms began when they first manifested in Fantastic Force #9. Johnny's membership with the group lasts until Fantastic Force #15. Franklin's power stabilizes in Fantastic Force #12.
Atlantis was risen out of the ocean by Morgan le Fay in Fantastic Four: Atlantis Rising #1, during that same story Attilan was shrunken down in size and removed from the moon. It was brought to Atlantis in Fantastic Force #9 and later restored to its original size in Fantastic Four: Atlantis Rising #2. The beings who teleported off the island are indeed the Inhuman Royal Family whose exploits after the Atlantis Rising event are chronicled in Fantastic Four Unlimited #11.
The man who is posing as Kristoff's retain, Boris is actually Zarrko the Tomorrow Man. As revealed in Fantastic Four #405 he has been spying on the Fantastic Four for his leader Hyperstorm.
Professor Jansen previously attempted to get the assistance of the Fantastic Four on his expedition back in Fantastic Four #389, they refused at the time because they were searching for their leader Mister Fantastic who has been missing and is presumed dead since Fantastic Four #381.
Lyja has been posing as Laura Green since Fantastic Four #393 in order to be near her ex-husband who rejected her in Fantastic Four #392 after discovering that the "child" she claimed was his turned out to be an alien assassin.
