Fantastic Four #561

The Galactus Engine

A prisoner of the New Defenders, the Human Torch is shocked to learn that their leader is his sister from some 500 years in the future. The Defenders begin utilizing the power of Johnny and Doctor Doom and channel it through the Galactus from their reality to open a portal that will allow the refugees from their world to cross over into the present.

Back at the Baxter Building, the Fantastic Four and their ally She-Hulk are recovering from the beating they took from the future Invisible Woman. Reed fills in everyone on the true identity of their new nanny. When they don't know how to find her, Reed explains that he has been developing a new tracking device that cannot be removed once implanted. Implanting it on Sue ensures that it will still be implanted on her future self. Sure enough, no sooner is the modern-day Sue is tagged with the tracking device, does a reading for her future self appears on the tracking device. With the location of the Defender’s secret base locked in, Reed asks She-Hulk to watch the children while they are gone. Before they leave, Reed tells Valeria that they are going to have a long talk when he gets home. Soon the Fantatsic Four are off in the Fantasti-Car.

At that moment at the Defender's hideout, Johnny screams out in agony and begs his sister to stop. The future Sue assures Johnny that they are draining Galactus first and the likelihood that Johnny and Doom will die is 50/50. The rest of the New Defenders are a little disturbed by the fact that Doctor Doom is refusing to scream. Outside, the Fantastic Four approach the hidden headquarters. Detecting that it is invisible, Sue uses her powers to make it visible, revealing a massive ship hovering over the city. Inside the Defenders are four minutes away from succeeding in their plan when the Fantastic Four come crashing into their secret headquarters. As the Fantastic Four clash with their foes, Reed tells the others to clear a path to their computers. Reed is almost stopped by the Hooded Man, who reveals himself to be the future version of Wolverine.

However, with the transport of the future population of Earth en route to the present, the elder Invisible Woman refuses to let them foil her plans. The present-day Sue tells her future self to trust them as they have a plan so everyone wins. Getting in touch with Alyssa Moy, the Fantastic Four patch the time machine into the Earth-Trust computers so the entire population of the future appears on Nu-Earth instead, foiling Ted Castle's plans to keep it for Earth's rich elite. With the transport a complete success the battle quickly ends, but they discover that Galactus was killed in the process of powering the massive time machine. As everyone recovers, Doctor Doom manages to get free and has his revenge by killing the elder Invisible Woman, leaving her nothing more than an incinerated husk. When they ask Victor what he has done, Doom tells them that he has restored his honor.

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), Franklin Richards, Valeria Richards, Alyssa Moy, Ted Castle, She-Hulk, New Defenders (Invisible Woman-807128, Hulk Jr, Hooded Man, Alex Ultron, Natalie X, Lightwave, Psionics), Doctor Doom, Galactus-807128