Part 6

Mister Fantastic has discovered that someone has been ramping up the team's paranoia through a device stashed into their headquarters. He traces the source of the device into the office of Lewis Security Solutions, making him wonder what he has set into motion.

At the newly built Vault Prison in the Negative Zone, the insectoid woman known as Threska has succeeded in causing a prison break in order to free her ally the Mad Thinker. The escaped villains then begin rounding up the defeated guards and threatening them to open the doors to let them out. Suddenly, the portal between the Negative Zone and Earth opens and the Fantastic Four emerge with their allies She-Hulk and Hercules.

While the Fantastic Four battle their foes, Mister Fantastic spots the Mad Thinker and explains to his teammates that it was the Thinker who manipulated events for this to happen. As the Fantastic Four try to keep the villains from accessing the portal back to Earth, Reed tries to capture the Mad Thinker but Threska tries to stop him.

Reed then goes back to help his teammates to stop a mass jailbreak. The heroes trounce their foes to the point that some of them begin to surrender and quietly return to their cells. However, some of the others do not wish to go down quietly. Led by Klaw, the defiant villains renew their attack. Although Klaw manages to escape, the rest of the villains are subdued when Sue manages to revive Andrew Lewis who activates implants that incapacitate the remaining villains. In the aftermath of the battle, the prison is put on lockdown. It's at this moment that Reed learns that the Mad Thinker and Threska escaped into the Negative Zone, and that Threska posed as Andrew Lewis' wife after murdering her.

Reed returns to Earth where he is able to track the Mad Thinker to Threska's home planet. There the Fantastic Four confront him and learn the cause of everything: The Thinker explains that he discovered Threska trapped on Earth, and desire to pull off one last plot he agreed to assist her into returning to the Negative Room before retiring. Impressed that Reed managed to track him down, the Mad Thinker has found a renewed zest for his criminal passion and renounces his retirement. He then willingly turns himself over to the Fantastic Four so that he can return to Earth and plot a new scheme.

Back on Earth, Mister Fantastic goes to the SHIELD Helicarrier where he learns from Nick Fury that Andrew Lewis is taking the murder of his wife pretty hard. When Reed offers to talk to him, Fury explains to him that Andrew Lewis blames Reed for the murder of his wife.

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), She-Hulk, Hercules, Andrew Lewis, SHIELD (“Nick Fury”), Mad Thinker, Threska, Occulus, Klaw, Dragon Man, Diablo, Wizard, Mahkizmo, Super-Skrull, Mole Man, Grey Gargoyle, Hydro-Man, Puppet Master, Red Ghost, Sphinx

Continuity Notes

• This is not Nick Fury, but a Life Model Decoy. At the time of this story, Fury has been in hiding since Secret War #5 after a failed attempt to oust Lucia von Bardas. A Life Model Decoy was initially used to cover this up.