One Step Beyond

This story follows the events of Fantastic Four #604...

The battle with the Mad Celestials is over thanks to the combined powers of Franklin and his future self. This revelation has upset Valeria who can't stand that her older brother is getting all the attention. She also finds that she doesn't like her future self, and the feeling is mutual. With everyone recouping from the battle, the Invisible Woman tells the adult members of the Future Foundation that they now need to begin rebuilding after all the damage caused.

Later, the adult Franklin takes Galactus out into space to look down at the Earth. Galactus tells Franklin that eventually all they see will die and the end of the universe will come. Galactus once believed that he would be there to see it alone. Franklin tells Galactus that they will be there to witness the birth of a new universe together. He then remarks on how Galactus should be glad that he never consumed the Earth.

One Week Later:

The Future Foundation assists the Avengers in the cleanup operation of New York City. To speed up the rebuilding process, all the rubble is dumped into the Negative Zone where it will be treated as useful salvage for the citizens there. Mister Fantastic also repairs the damage caused to the Baxter Building. Valeria is upset that even though their home is repaired, all her personal belongings are gone. Reed takes them in and shows the children that he has done a number of redesigns that are tailor-made for the children to live there. He also gives everyone new costumes, each one with a unique number assigned to them. Reed then has another surprise for them. They are soon taken up into space where they find that Reed has constructed a space station for their further education. While up there, Spider-Man and the Torch talk about where he will be staying now that he is back, and Johnny manages to worm his way into convincing Spider-Man into letting him be his new roommate.

Later at the Baxter Building, Valeria is soon confronted by the adult members of the Future Foundation to be punished for the secrets she had been keeping from everyone. While they understand from Nathaniel that what Valeria did was necessary, the fact that she kept it all a secret is unnecessary and they have her promise not to keep any more secrets moving forward. She promises it, but omits to tell them what she told Doctor Doom before he seemingly sacrificed his life in the final battle.

Doctor Doom has survived and wakes up to find himself still within the domain of the Interdimensional Council of Reed. Going into the lower levels he finds the corpses of the various Reeds who fell in battle. Among the corpses, he finds an Infinity Gauntlet which he takes for himself. He then hears the voices of the various alternate Doctor Doom's who were enslaved by this council. As they chant his name, Doom sits upon his new throne and believes that he can begin to build here, his Paremliment of Doom.

Recurring Characters

Future Foundation (Franklin Richards, Valeria Richards, Future Franklin and Valeria Richards, Alex Power, Dragon Man, Bentley-23, Leech, Artie Maddicks, Turg, Tong, Korr, Mik, Vil, Wu), Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), Nathaniel Richards, Spider-Man, Galactus, Mad Celestials, Parliament of Doom (Doctor Doom-616 & 45), Captain America, Red Hulk, Midnight Blade, Reed Richards-Alpha (corpse)