Annihilus bears down on the distortion area, that area of space between normal space and the Negative Zone. He stops on an asteroid to ponder his impending victory when he is interrupted. An unnamed prisoner has followed Annihilus, but is quickly reminded that he lives only because Annihilus still has use of him. Back in the Baxter Building, Reed's latest experiment suffers catastrophic failure. When the rest of the team returns with Wyatt, it is easy to see that something is wrong. An urgent message from Sue raises tensions, sending Reed into a panic. Medusa overreacts and knocks Reed unconscious with a wrench. Cutoff on her end, Sue puts Franklin in the car and heads back to the city. Agatha Harkness cuts the journey short, however, and transports Susan Richards and her son to a destination unknown. When Reed and the rest of the team arrive at the spot where Sue made her last transmission all they find is scorched earth. But Reed makes another discovery -- anti-matter particles only found in the Negative Zone! Certain this is a clue to Sue's whereabouts, everyone rushes back to the Baxter Building. But the door to the Negative Zone has already been blown wide open from the inside. Annihilus emerges from the shadows and defeats the FF with frightening ease. Only Wyatt Wingfoot remains conscious. Sensing no threat from this captive, Annihilus takes the time to inform Wyatt of his origin. At first he was just a humble and frightened insect, but he rose from the swamps seeking warmth and shelter. Strange monsters tried to kill him, but he persevered. Eventually he stumbled upon a strange ship containing corpses and most importantly a helmet. This recording helmet imparted the knowledge of the long lost civilization of Tayanna to Annihilus. The helmet also reveals that this ship's cargo was a veritable zoo of primitive life destined for a higher evolutionary calling. Now with the FF out of the way Annihilus is set to put his greatest plan in motion.

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