Within his citadel on the Moon, the Watcher spends some time with his display commemorating the formation of the Fantastic Four and mourns that the world's greatest super-hero team is about to come to a tragic end. Lamenting over the fact that his sacred vow of non-interference prevents him from doing anything, the Watcher thinks back to when he first met the Fantastic Four when they first came to explore the moon many years ago, and how not long after that he assisted the group in obtaining the Ultimate Nullifier in order to defeat Galactus. He then turns his thoughts toward the most recent tragedies the Fantastic Four has had to endure recently: How Nathaniel Richards, Reed father, kidnapped young Franklin and replaced him with a future, teenaged version of the boy. He also reflects on Mister Fantastic's apparent demise at the hands of his old enemy Doctor Doom. Knowing where all of these events are going to lead, Uatu the Watcher wishes that he could tell the Fantastic Four, but must stay determined to his vow not to.

Meanwhile, at the Four Freedoms Plaza on Earth, the Thing is startled when a strange prehistoric creature skitters by his legs while he is reading the newspaper. Out from Reed's Time/Space Lab comes Scott Lang who accidentally released the creature while working on Reed's time platform. Also entering the room are Sue and the Sub-Mariner who have just returned from a shopping trip, as well as Johnny and Lyja. As they all try to contain the creature, Johnny uses his flame powers to try and trap it around a circle of fire, but only startles the creature more. Lyja then shape-shifts into a form similar to the creature and calms it down -- chiding Johnny all the way -- until Sue can contain it in an invisible force field. As the bring the creature back to the lab and return it to it's proper time on the Time Platform, Scott explains how he has been working with the data taken from Latveria along with the Time Platform and Time-Sled to try and locate Reed Richards and confirm if he is alive or dead. When Scott explains that he has he has completed his task and they can use the data to hopefully find Reed, much to Sue's elation. As Sue and Namor leave the room to tell the others, Scott briefly considers the idea of pursuing a romance with Sue, but decides against it. Meanwhile, Ben is cleaning up his newspapers, when he comes across an article about Doctor Doom's apparent return from the dead. He rushes out of the room to find the others and tell them about this latest development, unaware that "Doom" is actually Nathaniel Richards posing as the Latverian monarch. While in the medical lab, Lyja watches over the incubator containing the egg she claims is the child she and Johnny have produced. When Johnny interrupts her, she advises him that Skrull physiology is much different than a human's. But Johnny is very positive about the prospect of being a parent, even though Lyja is keeping something away from him. When she hears Sue and Ben calling for them, she breaks off the conversation so they can join the rest of the group.

At that moment in Latveria, Nathaniel Richards' thought imaginer has helped him locate his grandson Franklin Richards on the rooftops of New York City. Nathaniel reaches out to contact his grandson and warns him that the great threat he is coming to face is almost upon them and that Nathaniel's son is the key to his defeat. Franklin tries to tell his grandfather that Reed has apparently died at the hands of Doctor Doom, but Nathaniel cuts off the transmission abruptly. As Franklin laments over his situation, he is mocked by Malice -- his mother's dark side -- which has been trapped in his mind for days. When Malice baits Franklin with the prospect of contacting his supposedly deceased father, Franklin agrees to look into it. Back

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