Surge of the Cosmos

About an hour later, everyone had freshened up and gathered in the main control panel area.

Their living arrangements aboard the space station had already been decided. Sue had her own room. Reed and Victor shared another. Ethan, Ben, and Johnny were assigned to a larger shared room, much to Ben's annoyance.

The space station hummed with a subtle, mechanical pulse, its sterile corridors bathed in the soft glow of overhead lights. Beyond the reinforced windows, Earth loomed large—a swirling marble of blue and white, breathtaking and distant.

Inside, Victor wasn't about to let their newest arrival, Ethan, roam unchecked. As Johnny and Susan chatted with Ethan near the living hall's panoramic viewport, Victor pulled Ben Grimm and Reed Richards aside, "Ben, I want you to keep an eye on him," Victor said, his sharp gaze flicking toward Ethan before nodding toward Ethan when he looked at them.

Ben crossed his arms and is clearly not thrilled with the idea. "Why me? He seems like a decent guy. Besides, he's Sue and Johnny's friend."

"We don't know what he's capable of," Victor replied. "He showed up in space without a suit. That's not normal."

Reed adjusted his glasses thoughtfully. "Victor's right. Just observe him, Ben. We don't need surprises on this mission."

Ben sighed and relented. "Fine, but I'm not babysitting." Reluctantly, he agreed, casting a wary glance at Ethan, who was laughing at something Johnny had said.

Then Reed and Victor excused themselves to the comms station to send mission status report back to Earth.

Meanwhile, Ethan sat on one of the nearby couches, casually chatting with Sue, Johnny, and Ben. He gazed out the thick glass window, watching the stars drift by, lost in thought.

He thought of Jean and Anna. 'I couldn't risk bringing them here... If something goes wrong with the cosmic radiation, I don't want them going through mutations.'

His reverie broke as Johnny's voice cut through, brimming with excitement. "Alright, man, you've gotta tell me—how'd you fly out there in space? No suit, no nothing! That was insane!"

"Let's just say... I'm a magician. And a magician never reveals his tricks."

Ben snorted, "Bullshit. Magicians don't breathe in a vacuum, kid. You're full of it, and I'll figure you out when we're back on Earth."

Ethan smirked to himself. 'They won't have time to care when they return...'

Jhonny smiled, "I don't care what he is—mutant, magician, whatever. That was badass. Wish I could pull that off myself."

Ben rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well, some of us don't need fancy tricks to get by, Hotshot."

Ben and Johnny soon got into a friendly argument about spacewalking. Ben then grumbled about wanting to "enjoy some real space" away from the noise followed by Jhonny, leaving Ethan and Susan alone in the hall.

Left alone with Susan, Ethan relaxed against the couch. "So," Susan said in a soft tone. "How are you really doing, Ethan?"

He glanced at her and smiled. "I'm doing good. Still working toward becoming a doctor. Been studying a lot... and training."

"Training?"

"Magic stuff," he said casually waving a hand. "And... other things."

She chuckled. "You're always full of surprises. How are things with your girlfriend?"

Ethan blinked and chuckled. "Girlfriends, actually. Two."

Susan's jaw dropped, "Wait, two? Seriously?"

She leaned in as she's intrigued. "How does that even happen? Don't they get jealous or… I don't know, fight over you?"

Ethan shook his head, "Not really. They're both incredible—understanding, kind, supportive. I don't know how I got so lucky, honestly. If I could spend my whole life with them, I wouldn't ask for anything more."

Susan's gaze softened with a wistful smile tugging at her lips. "You really love them, don't you? Lucky them."

"Yes, but," Ethan corrected gently,"I'm the lucky one. To be loved by them."

Susan blushed slightly and smiled, feeling a strange warmth in her chest. Whoever ends up with Ethan is definitely lucky, she thought.

A moment later, Reed and Victor entered the room, joining the group. Susan took the chance to shift the conversation.

"Just in time, Reed. Ethan's interested in majoring in biogenetics and plant-based research," she said.

Reed's face lit up. "That's a fantastic field. There's so much happening in it right now. What kind of projects are you thinking about?"

Ethan perked up and they launched into a discussion, their conversation spiraled into a geeky fervor—mitochondrial pathways, gene splicing, ethical quandaries.

Victor, however, stayed quiet. He observed Ethan carefully, eyes narrowing slightly with each answer Ethan gave. After a few minutes, he looked at Sue, "Susan, a word?"

She glanced at him, then back at Ethan, who caught her eye and winked playfully mid-sentence with Reed. A faint blush crept up her cheeks as she smiled, then followed Victor to a quieter corner of the hall.

Ethan kept half his attention on Reed's lecture—"Imagine reversing degenerative mutations!"—while the other half tracked Victor's stiff posture.

As she walked away with Victor, she couldn't help but think—there's more to Ethan than he lets on.

.....

Ben floated outside the space station, weightless in the black void, his movements slow and clumsy in the bulky suit. Above him, the shimmering surface of the station glinted in the sunlight. From the observation window, Johnny watched with crossed arms and is clearly unimpressed.

"You know, no matter what you do, it won't match up to what Ethan pulled off," Johnny remarked with a smirk. "Guy walked in space like it was a Sunday stroll. He was just chilling out there with no suit."

Ben snorted. "Watch me, hotshot. I don't need fancy tricks to own this view." He kicked off and floated toward the station's curved hull, planting himself on top of it like he owned the place.

Inside the station, a quieter drama unfolded. Victor had guided Susan to an observation deck, a sleek chamber with a glass floor that revealed Earth's swirling blues and greens below. The planet's glow cast soft shadows across their faces, softening Victor's usually stern features.

He stood close with his hands clasped behind his back and took a steadying breath before speaking. "Susan, this mission, this place—it's made me think about what matters. I want to be with you, not just as teammates, but… more."

Susan's eyes widening at the unexpected confession. Her mind scrambled for a response, "Victor, I…" she faltered and her gaze dropping to the glass floor, where Earth seemed to hold answers she couldn't grasp. "I don't know what to say."

Meanwhile, in the main lab, Reed was explaining the station's monitoring systems to Ethan. Screens glowed with data streams, tracking cosmic waves in the distance.

"This setup lets us analyze the storm's energy," Reed said before gesturing to a fluctuating graph. "We'll stay clear of the epicenter—just observe from a safe range."

Ethan raised an eyebrow, "Safe, Mr. Richards? You sure? Cosmic storms don't exactly sound like they respect boundaries."

Reed laughed with a touch of nervous energy in the sound."Absolutely safe, "We won't be anywhere near the storm when it peaks."

Suddenly, the console lit up in red. A loud klaxon echoed through the room. Warning messages scrolled across the screen in bold text.

COSMIC STORM INCOMING. ETA: 5 MINUTES.

Reed's face paled. He slammed a hand on the console.

Ethan deadpan at him, "you're saying?"

"This can't be right. The storm's not supposed to be this close, and the timing—"

Another alert pulled his attention: Ben's live feed outside the station.

Ben was still floating, suit intact, jumping from panel to panel. Reed's voice was tight. "That's not possible. It's accelerating—Ethan, go. Find Johnny. Get Ben back in. Now."

Ethan nodded and sprinted out.

Meanwhile, Victor eyes hadn't left hers. But before anything else could be said, Reed stormed in, urgency in every step, "Susan! Victor! The storm's early—it's hitting in minutes," Reed said breathlessly.

"What?" Susan blinked before turning toward the monitors. "You said we had at least an hour!"

"I was wrong. Something changed in the trajectory. We need to shut the external panels immediately."

Victor frowned. "Then close them. Why are you even here? This is what protocols are for."

Reed shot him a sharp look. "Ben's still out there."

Victor scoffed. "Then pull him in and shut the panels. We can't afford to take risks now."

"I'm going to get him," Reed said firmly. "I'll bring him in manually if I have to. Every second counts."

Susan was already moving toward the door. "I'm coming too."

"No," Victor reached out, gently grabbing her wrist. "It's safer here. Let Reed handle it. We can monitor from this room."

Susan looked at his hand, then at Reed, who was already halfway to the corridor. Her voice was steady. "I'm not sitting here while my team's in danger."

She pulled her arm free and rushed after Reed, who gave her a grateful glance as she joined him.

Back in the hangar, Ethan was already sprinting toward Johnny. "Johnny! We need to get Ben back inside—right now! The storm's coming in fast!"

Johnny turned, startled. "What? Already? But Reed said—"

"Forget what Reed said! Plans changed. This thing's faster and stronger than expected. We have to pull him in or he's toast."

Johnny's cocky expression disappeared. "Damn it. BEN! GET YOUR ASS IN!"

Then a faint, muffled reply. "You worry too much, Stretch. I got this."

Meanwhile, Susan and Reed reached the observation corridor outside the hatch. Reed tapped into the comms. "Ben, get your ass back inside, now! The storm's almost here!"

Outside, Ben froze as his suit's visor reflecting a faint, ominous glow on the horizon—a golden-red wave swelling toward the station. "Storm?" he growled, "Aw, crap." He began walking off, aiming for the hatch, but his movements were too slow. "WOOO! Time to ride the lightning!" he shouted and leapt forward toward the hatch.

As Johnny prepped the controls to close the hatch, Ethan did something unthinkable. Without a word, he flicked his hand and opened a glowing sling ring portal. It opened into space directly next to Ben.

Reed and Johnny both shouted in shock. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

Ethan didn't wait. He stepped through the portal before it closed, grabbed Ben midair, and hurled him through the hatch just before the swirling mass of the cosmic storm struck the station.

Inside, Ben slammed into the wall and lost consciousness.

Then the storm hit.

Reed was flung back as his limbs stretched unnaturally. His arms and legs extended like rubber, his body contorting in ways that defied logic.

Johnny, who is at the control panel which was blasted at his face, screamed as flames engulfed him. His entire body caught fire, but he didn't burn. The fire responded to him.

Susan, trying to get to them, was caught in the wave. Her body flickered in and out of visibility, becoming transparent. She gasped as her molecules twisted.

Victor, who had sealed himself in the reinforced lab, wasn't spared either. The storm slammed through the shielding. Sparks exploded as Victor was hurled across the room, unconscious.

Outside, in the heart of the storm, Ethan floated with his arms wide and his eyes closed.

Unlike the others, he didn't resist. Instead, he embraced it.

The swirling colors of the storm wrapped around him like a cosmic tide. His body soaked in the radiation, drawing it in like a sponge. His veins glowed faintly, his skin shimmered with an ethereal glow.

A piercing cry echoed through the void.

A cry not of pain—but of power.

The cry of the Phoenix.

His body vibrated with immense energy as the Phoenix Force within him reacted, not to protect him but merging with the cosmic storm.

Power surged through every fiber of his being. He could feel the storm's essence infusing with his body and soul.

When the chaos finally passed, silence fell over the void.

Ethan floated alone with his arms still wide and eyes closed.

Then, slowly, he opened his eyes which are glowing red and smiled, "Now this," he whispered to himself, "is power."

Below him, inside the station, five lives had changed forever.

The birth of something new had begun.

...

Like it ? Add to library and Review the fanfic.