Missions: Impossible!

This story is continued from Doom 2099 #42...

A future version of Doctor Doom from the year 2099 has come to the past in search of a means to save the people of Latveria from a deadly neurotoxin. Already he has attempted to warn his past self of the coming tragedy. Later he discovered that long term exposure to venom in a specific breed of crab could ultimately make his people immune to the toxin, Doom harvested a massive amount even though exposing it to his people would make them highly addicted to the venom. However, in attempting to process the toxin, he was interrupted by the Thing and Daredevil, forcing Doom 2099 to inject himself with the toxin in the hopes of finding a means of synthetically reproducing it. Now Doom heads to the one place he knows where he can accomplish his task: Four Freedoms Plaza.

There, Susan Richards and her father-in-law check-in on Reed as he still needs to help cure Black Bolt, deal with reporters now that the news of his survival is public knowledge. Reed explains that he has been busy working on a dimensional probe. He has constructed it so that he can seek out either the Silver Surfer or Galactus as he suspects they will need either if they are to go up against Hyperstorm again. By sending the probe through the Crossroads of Infinity located within the Negative Zone he can locate either being and then use a gate through the crossroads in order to reach them in time. Nathaniel warns Reed that Hyperstorm is impossible to beat, but Reed refuses to accept that as a fact. Once again Sue can't help but think Nathaniel is hiding something he knows about Hyperstorm.

Meanwhile, the Thing is trying to get back to headquarters in a taxi but he finds himself stuck in traffic. With no time to waste, Ben leaves the cab and begins the long hike back so he can warn his teammates about the Doctor Doom "wannabe" that he encountered earlier in the day. While above the city the modern-day Doctor Doom and Namor are seeking out Doom 2099 as well, Namor to avenge the pillaging from the ocean and Doom to get more information about the destruction of his people in the future. While back at Four Freedoms Plaza, Reed begins the delicate surgery to fix Black Bolt's antenna, with the assistance of his son Psi-Lord. After a grueling surgery, Reed exits the operating room and informs the Inhumans that Black Bolt is expected to recover from his injuries. Suddenly, the alarm attached to Reed's probe has informed him that he has made contact with either the Silver Surfer or Galactus. While down below, Doom 2099 has breached the lower levels of the Four Freedoms Plaza and gets past the primitive security systems in order to get access to the headquarters of the Fantastic Four. While upstairs, Reed puts on a suit to allow him to travel through the Negative Zone and deep space. Despite Nathaniel's warnings that the strength of either the Surfer or Galactus will not be enough to stop Hyperstorm, Reed presses on after kissing his wife and promising that he will make it back.

Reed then passes through the Negative Zone portal and into the Crossroads of Infinity, from there he follows his probe through a portal that takes him deep into the universe where he crosses paths with the Silver Surfer. While back on Earth, Ben finally makes it back to headquarters. In a hurry, Ben has Roberta call Johnny to the front reception where he explains what is going on. Going to the comm room to search for Doom 2099, they discover that he is in their headquarters mining data from their computers. Having completed his task, Doom then downloads the data into his mask and is about to leave when he is suddenly attacked by the Thing and the Human Torch. Determined to protect his mask at all costs, Doom fights back and knocks the Thing into the Four Freedom's power grid, causing everything to shut down. Unaware that he is presently trapped in deep space, Reed learns from the Silver Surfer that Galactus was seemingly destroyed by his former herald known as Morgue who utilized the Ultimate Nullifier to seemingly destroy Galactus and his worldship. Needing to know exactly where this happened, the Surfer imparts the location where Galactus met his demise before departing for space. When Reed tries to recall himself back to the Four Freedoms, he finds that his controls are unresponsive. While back on Earth, Psi-Lord becomes aware of this and after activating his psi-armor he begins to manually pull his father back to Earth. Meanwhile, Doom 2099's battle with the Thing and Torch spills out into the hallway where they are joined by the Inhuman royal family.

As Reed is being manually pulled back to his lab, Doom 2099 makes his escape out a nearby window only to be caught in a tractor beam fired by the modern-day Doctor Doom's ship. He is taken aboard the vessel. As Namor congratulates Doom for capturing their mutual foe, Doom sets course and speeds back across over the ocean. While inside, Reed makes it back home and tells his father to cease complaining when Nathaniel nags on Reed for taking such a risk. Reed explains to the others that he has come up with a means of defeating Hyperstorm, unaware that the subject of his conversation is listening in and has a surprise for his foes. Suddenly, a Time-Platform appear over Franklin and quickly passes over him. Mere moments later the machine deposits a seemingly unchanged Franklin back. However when Franklin removes his helmet from his psi-armor, Reed, Sue and Nathaniel are shocked to find that it is not the teenager that they have come accustomed to seeing, but the young child that was taken from them by Nathaniel so many months ago.

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), Nathaniel Richards, Sub-Mariner, Psi-Lord, Inhumans (Black Bolt, Medusa, Gorgon, Karnak, Ahura), Silver Surfer, Franklin Richards, Doom 2099, Doctor Doom, Hyperstorm, Roberta

Continuity Notes

• The recap of Doom 2099's quest to cure his people and his subsequent encounters with Doctor Doom, Namor, Ben, and Daredevil occurred in Doom 2099 #42.

• Black Bolt's tuning fork was damaged battling Thor in Fantastic Four: Atlantis Rising #2.

• Reed is passing through the Crossroads of Infinity, which the Fantastic Four previously passed through to find the Beyonder in Fantastic Four #319.

• The Silver Surfer mentions how Morgue seemingly slew Galactus. That happened in Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #109. In reality, he was merely trapped in a dimensional void as seen next issue, he is not freed until Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #144.

• After this issue, Ahura is not seen for quite some time. As revealed a number of years later in Silent War #6, Ahura went mad and had to be contained. His presence was stricken from Inhuman society.

• After his capture here, Doom 2099 and his captors are next seen in Doom 2099 #43.

• The teenage Franklin seen here was delivered to the modern age by Nathaniel Richards from Earth-6311 to replace his Earth-616 counterpart. This occurred in Fantastic Four #376. Although everyone reacts as though this is Earth-616's Franklin all grown up until Franklin is returned this issue. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #14 confirms that they are separate entities. Franklin believes that his mission was to stop the Dark Raider from destroying the Fantastic Four as explained in Fantastic Four #387, however, this is part of a larger scheme to stop Hyperstorm that is not realized until Fantastic Four #414.