[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ZfvPPwT.png[/img][/center]
[b]Baxter Building, New York[/b]

[color=#ffffff]Ben Grimm’s body tensed with anger as he stepped into Reed’s laboratory and laid eyes on Hector Hammond. There was a look of contempt on the villain’s face – as if he resented breathing the same air as someone he considered so beneath him. Ben’s blue eyes searched the lab for Johnny, Reed, Sue and Wells. They were still alive. Deep in the same sleep that Ben had been locked in whilst body had wrought carnage on Guy Gardner’s face.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Now it was Hammond’s turn. The Thing’s hands balled into fists as he prepared to unleash his accumulated rage on Hammond’s over-sized head. He made it all of two steps before finding his feet planted firmly to the ground. [/color]

[color=#ffff00]~You’re a monster, Grimm. You must know by now that they’ll never accept you. You’ve seen the way they look at you. And yet you’re still [i]so [/i]desperate for their acceptance, aren’t you? It’s tragic.~[/color]

[color=#ffffff]There was nothing Hammond could say about the way Ben looked that he’d not heard before – or thought himself. His skin had been thick long before they’d been bombarded by cosmic rays. Growing up on Yancy Street would do that for you.[/color]

[color=#f6b26b]“Keep talking.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Ben gritted his teeth as he strained against Hammond’s telekinesis. He felt like he had a dreadnought pinning his feet to the ground. Every sinew in his body strained against the weight and slowly his foot lifted and he took another step towards Hammond.[/color]

[color=#ffff00]~You can’t believe you can beat me.~[/color]

[color=#ffffff]The second step came easier than the first and a knowing smile appeared on Ben’s face.[/color][color=#f6b26b] “I don’t [i]believe [/i]I can beat you, Hector, I know I can.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]He could see the sickly veins on the villain’s forehead bulging with effort. It was taking Hammond every bit as much strength to hold him back – and Ben had never once been beaten in a test of strength before. Except that one time against the Hulk that he’d sworn the others to secrecy about. With each laborious step he took, Ben felt Hammond’s hold over him weakening.[/color]

[color=#f6b26b]“And once I’m done beating you, I’m going to beat you again, and again, and again, until the thought of seeing my ugly mug again makes you break out in hives.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Shock flashed across Hammond’s face. His brow furrowed, beads of sweat falling from it freely, as he tried to hold Ben back. The two were locked not only in a physical tug-of-war but a mental one. As his control slipped, Ben could feel Hammond’s will wavering, and as he drew within reach of the villain, Grimm could almost feel the fear in the air.[/color]

[color=#ffff00]~No! What is happening?! This isn’t possible. You’re not strong enough to resist me – no-one is. You [i]will [/i]submit to my control. You must.~[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Ben shot Hammond a wicked smile. [/color][color=#f6b26b]“I ain’t gotta do nothing, freakazoid.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]He sent one of his fists swinging towards Hammond’s head. At the last moment the villain erected a shield between the two of them. It absorbed most of Ben’s blow but not all of it. The impact of the punch sent Hammond flying backwards into the craft at the centre of the room. Ben pursued him, carefully stepping over his friends as he went, angrily lowering his fists at Hammond. Again another shield caught the brunt of the damage – at least of the first volley.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]On the second volley Hammond’s shield faltered. There were visible cracks running through it and the panic on the villain’s face increased tenfold. He tried in vain to erect another layer of protection but Ben’s fists were flying towards him too quick. The blow sent Hammond crashing across the room.[/color]

[color=#ffff00]~You… y-you struck me!~[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Hammond’s voice was thick with shock. Polluted-looking blood seeped from his nose and into his mouth. He was unable to wipe the blood away with his arms, immobile as they were, instead opting to clean the lower portion of his face with a long swipe of his tongue. [/color]

[color=#f6b26b]“Oh, believe me, I’m just getting started, Hammond.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Ben leapt through the air towards the wounded villain. Perhaps he overestimated the extent of the damage done – or underestimated the power cosmic Hammond had been imbued with – because a devastating burst of energy came flying towards him the second he left his feet. [/color]

[color=#ffffff]Had he not know better, Ben would have thought he was bleeding. He lifted a hand to his face and touched the side the blast had hit. It was glowing hot – or at least it felt it. Ben glanced towards the reflective coating of the craft and noticed the area around his eyebrow had been blasted away, revealing a pinkish texture that resembled flesh beneath it.[/color]

[color=#ffff00]~You’ll pay for laying your hands on me, you disgusting creature. I’ll make you wish you were never born. Do you understand me? No-one touches Hector Hammond. No-one!~[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Suddenly Ben felt Hammond’s tendrils digging deep into his brain again. Gone was the surgical precision the villain had exercised before, replaced instead by reckless, wild tearing. Every second that Hammond snatched through his thoughts, Ben could feel cherished memories of his slipping from his mind. He fell to his knees in agony, clutching his head, as Hammond hovered towards him.[/color]

[color=#ffff00]~What’s this? There is love here. Could it be? Did you convince a woman to care for you, creature? To look past that horrid exterior? No, that couldn’t [i]possibly[/i] be true. What woman could bring herself to love such a thing?~[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Ben clutched tighter at his head, trying desperately to think of anything but Alicia Masters, for fear of his memories of the only woman to hold him, to kiss him, since his transformation being erased. Yet the more he tried to fight the impulse, the more difficult it became. He thought of evenings in fall spent walking through Central Park with Alicia on his arm. The way her hair smelled.[/color]

[color=#ffff00]~A blind woman? How quaint. Did she know what you were? Would she have loved you if she could see how [i]grotesque [/i]you truly are?~[/color]

[color=#f6b26b]“Guess it’s been a while since you looked in the mirror,”[/color] [color=#ffffff]Ben murmured.[/color] [color=#f6b26b]“You’re not gonna be winning any beauty pageants anytime soon.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]The comment seemed to anger Hammond. His face curled with spite and his assault on Ben’s mind was renewed. This time the face of Petunia Grimm, Ben’s beloved aunt, was dredged forcibly to the front of his mind. All the life and warmth he had known her for had gone. Her skin was near translucent and her once beautiful hair waifish. What remained of the Grimm clan was assembled around her hospital bed.[/color]

[color=#f6b26b]“Get out of my head, you creep.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Hector cackled as he pulled the thread further still. Now Ben saw himself stood alone over Petunia’s grave. The rain had soaked his beige trench coat through and a handful of drenched flowers hung by his side. He removed his hat, revealing the rocky face hidden beneath it, and stared down at the grave. He was alone.[/color]

[color=#ffff00]~That’s right. Your aunt, the blind woman, your so-called “friends”, they’ll all leave you eventually, Grimm. Once their pity fades, when the guilt they feel looking into your face begins to wear on them too heavily, they’ll discard you. And you’ll be on your own – forever.~[/color]

[color=#ffffff]No, that wasn’t right. Ben tried his best to block out Hammond’s voice. He focused on the pain the memory caused him, used to help him search through his mind for the truth – and then he remembered. A hand on his shoulder in the rain. Reed had been with him. As had Johnny and Sue. He wasn’t alone, he’d [i]never [/i]be alone, as long as he had them.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Hector Hammond screaming dragged Ben back to the real world. His famous blue eyes widened as he saw Hammond engulfed in flames. The villain was desperately spinning in an attempt to extinguish them.[/color]

[color=#ea9999]“You know, I never thought we’d bump heads with someone that loved the sound of their own voice more than Doom. Guess I was wrong.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Johnny smiled at Ben and offered him a hand up. Ben took it gratefully and climbed to his feet. Behind him, Ben saw Reed, Sue and Wells waking from the sleep Hammond had sunk them in. Something was happening, Grimm deduced. Maybe Hammond’s connection to the power cosmic was weakening.[/color]

[color=#9fc5e8]“Your face,”[/color][color=#ffffff] Sue muttered as she joined her brother by Ben’s side.[/color] [color=#a4c2f4]“What happened? Are you okay? You’ve never been cut like that before.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Ben shook his head abruptly.[/color]

[color=#f6b26b]“I’m fine, Suzie. Harrison, you need’ta get out of here. This guy’s dangerous. Grab whatever medical supplies you can get your hands on and get out to the lobby, you hear me? Guy’s hurt bad. I don’t know if he’s going to pull through.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Without argument, Harrison Wells sprinted out of the laboratory and left Ben, Johnny, Reed, and Sue huddled in the centre of the room. Hammond finally managed to put Johnny’s flames out and hovered back towards them. His repulsive face was now singed and blistered. He looked the Fantastic Four up and down judgmentally and let out a sickening laugh.[/color]

[color=#ffff00]~How touching. The happy family back together a-~[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Hammond was cut short by another fireball hitting him squarely in the face. It hadn’t been enough to set him alight but it clearly staggered him. Johnny smiled proudly and prepared another fireball as he watched his teammates sprinting in to battle.[/color]

[color=#ea9999]“Oh no, no more monologues, egghead. You wanted the Fantastic Four's attention – you got it. Now prepare to get your ass handed to you.”[/color]