a/n: So, last night (at the time of drafting this) I had a dream about The Maker creating Doom. This fanfic has nothing to do with the fact that Reed is the Maker or that he devolves into the Maker.. At least not yet. I was originally going to make a series with this being part one but after reading it over I said "fuck it" and now I'm writing from a year after they get their powers.
P.S: This is the first time I am writing any of the Fantastic Four so I decided to throw them all in. I apologize in advance if they are not accurate but please enjoy. ALSO! This is not a specified Reed Richards. I have no idea but I did the same with Johnny and Ben. ALSO THERE WAS NO PROOF READING
Warnings: Multiple uses of Y/N, She / Her pronouns, Y/N is female because this is a near shameless self-insert, Johnny being a brotherly teasing menace to reader, Sue doesn't exist 🤷 sorry not sorry (I love her don't @ me), Mention of Reed having ran experiments on reader's DNA / blood, Johnny suggesting that reader and Reed like one another, the era is the 1960s, Power revelations, Y/N being a "subject" of science for said power revelations. I PROBABLY MISSED SOME..
Pairing: Reed Richards + Fantastic Four x F!Reader
Word Count: 3.1K
It was another typical day in the Baxter building. The building where the most atypical family of the 1960’s lived. You all already know the story; A trip to space forever changed these four heroes. Reed Richards has been immortalized as Mr. Fantastic, Johnny Storm as Human Torch, Ben Grimm as The Thing, and Y/N.. Not many people were entirely aware of what she did. She managed to stay quiet and under wraps. Yet, the Fantastic Four were much more unaware of everything she managed to do.
Reed, as always, approached the new information as an experiment. What, Why, and How did her molecular structure change over time? He had reviewed her DNA at least three times after the initial group test unbeknownst to the rest of the family. He just had to be sure and maybe studying her blood was the least of his problems but he just had to be sure. Ben treated her as family alongside Johnny, yet the two of them were cousins. She came to live with Johnny when she was younger due to “parental problems” (divorce was not a common term in the 1960s). From then on Johnny adopted her as a sister and she was all too familiar with the annoying, hotheaded, younger brother Johnny was.
Among a typical morning in the Baxter Building, Reed was a thousand miles away and his brain was working at .5th of a second. He could only spout off what he was becoming aware of and forever thanked his ability to stretch and mold his body to allow for a straighter train of thought. Y/N worked on getting up as H.E.R.B.I.E made his rounds waking up the rest of the team. Johnny and Ben were immediately told to not race to the kitchen. The last time they decided to have an indoor race Johnny left a burn streak in the Baxter Building. The Fantastic Four were safe enough to say he did not burn down the building.
“OH COME ON!” Johnny’s familiar voice shouted throughout the building at H.E.R.B.I.E’s warning.
“It was one time.” Immediately followed Johnny’s original comment with an apology coming from Ben on Johnny's behalf. H.E.R.B.I.E accepted the apology with a comment of knowing how Mr. Storm could be. The house members told H.E.R.B.I.E not to refer to them as Sir. or Miss. or Mr. but apparently it did not matter. He would just keep on saying it despite himself. Y/N finally made her way to the kitchen when she was relatively decent enough. Johnny could not help but get the day's teasing started.
“Sleep much last night?” He asked with a smirk as he took a plate from the kitchen of the food that was prepared. The only female in the Fantastic Four almost smacked her cousin for the comment. It was a thinly veiled fact that she once got into trouble with her ex-boyfriend in the Baxter Building who later became like Doom.. definitely, questionable taste. Johnny could not help but tease her almost every morning where she especially looked exhausted. Y/N put her plate down and began attempting to chase Johnny around the island.
“Hey! HEY! It’s not my fault you got caught by Reed!” Johnny began laughing as he tried to avoid his cousin trying to slap his shoulder. The laughing and occasional screaming could be heard throughout the Baxter Building. When Johnny thought he was safe he turned around and pretended to make out with the air. Which was quickly followed by more screaming as Y/N tried to swat at him. The memories of that time were not great, given that within the same week the Fantastic Four were staring at her ex on the other side of the street. Reed, unaware of how awkward the situation already was, said something similar to "Is that not your boyfriend?”
“Come back here, Johnny!” Y/N grabbed onto the island to try and figure out which side Johnny would be running off to.
“Okay.” Johnny shrugged before snapping his fingers to produce a flame. Y/N backed up and put her hands up. Part of this action was from not wanting to be burned but the other part quickly made himself known.
“Please tell me you are not trying to burn down the Baxter Building.. Again.” Reed spoke as he made his appearance upstairs. He looked around to see that the food had already been served, Ben started on his food but quickly got distracted by how quickly things went downhill. The other two had not touched their food and no doubt pulled into the typical morning chaos.
“Good morning, Reed.” Y/N spoke, noting that Johnny dosed his flame and turned to Reed. He simply nodded in acknowledgement of the leader's presence. Johnny never cared much for authority or acting on logical thoughts. In other words, Johnny was the total opposite of Reed which caused them to clash one too many times.
“Mornin’ Reed.” Ben spoke up before chuckling at the fact that Y/N finally, yet playfully, hit Johnny on the shoulder for his previous actions. Johnny feigned being hurt and rubbed his shoulder before secretly elbowing Y/N. Johnny knew something he shouldn’t have but considering his personality that was most things he knew about the inner workings of the Fantastic Four.
“Don’t even, Johnny.” She warned as she took her seat and began eating her meal. Johnny opened his mouth to make fun of the fact that she was getting defensive for no reason and immediately shut it.
“I made a fascinating breakthrough.” Reed said knowing full well at least two of the Fantastic Four had half zoned out his ramblings about his very early morning. The fact that Reed was up at 3 am became an unspoken understanding.
“Let me guess you both didn’t get any sleep.” Johnny smirked before gently facepalming as his comment obviously went over Reed’s head, for the smartest man in the world, he sure was an idiot sometimes. Y/N let her foot slip and kick Johnny’s as she fully understood what he was getting at.
“I was up considerably earlier than I tend to be.” Johnny pretended to look dumbfounded before Reed clarified that he indeed did not get any sleep. Ben was tempted to explain the teasing to Reed but decided against it, the fact he had no idea what they were talking about added to the humor from Johnny.
“I slept like a baby.” Y/N shrugged. She ran a hand through her hair while yawning. Maybe sleeping like a baby wasn’t the best definition of how she slept since a few unwelcome dreams slipped past her subconscious. Johnny turned to her and nodded sarcastically agreeing with her before turning back to Reed.
“Reed, please tell me you are not actually.. You cannot be that out of touch.” Johnny decided to be the one to poke the bear that is Reed’s analytical and logical side. There was some leanway since Reed did just come from the lab and served himself breakfast, at least none of them had to come bother him. The way Reed’s eyebrow cocked told Johnny all he needed to know before Johnny felt the impulse to raise his voice. Reed’s brain had to take a second too long to make the connection even though the other three would have called it record time. Reed simply nodded, not giving much attention to Johnny. As much as Reed would put his life on the line for the Fantastic Four there were certain things, with reason, he had a strong dislike in talking about.
“Anyways, I think I’ve begun to crack the surface of your powers.” Reed took a bite of his food and flashed a smile at Y/N. He was actively ignoring Johnny’s attempts to learn more about the private parts of Reed’s life. Ben had to keep Johnny from his continuous questioning and annoyance. Reed had nearly choked on his food when Johnny so openly asked more directed questions.
“Really?” Everyone, including Johnny, could hear the hope in her voice. Ben Grimm, The Thing, learned to love his powers but how can one learn to love powers that can actually kill them? Or at least assumed. The best place to really start unraveling why she was so excited would be the beginning. Not the “cosmic rays” and just before the whole “ex-boyfriend turned evil” situation.
The first time her powers manifested none of them were around her. Johnny was off getting into trouble, as per usual, Ben was being monitored, and Reed was in the closest lab trying to figure out what the effects of the cosmic rays were. Y/N had volunteered through Johnny for the space mission; what she wasn’t expecting was to be conscious and feeling singular then a moment later waking up in Reed’s lab. According to bystanders “the earth shook and suddenly a woman passed out in the middle of the road” the middle of the road is not the best place to pass out when you have no idea that powers are even a possibility. The worst part since that time was the fact that every time she tried to call upon her powers they would not manifest. Rather she would have to bring her energy to match an object while maintaining just enough energy to keep living. Her powers are an incredibly tricky ordeal which lead to Reed having the desire to study them. He wanted to help but then his intellectual curiosity got the best of him causing him to be almost fanatic in his discoveries.
Reed had begun learning very interesting things about her powers from the way they manifested in the forms of extreme empathy for just about everything. An emotional trail was picked up in his lab one time and his passion for work was evident. He tested her empathy on himself as well as other objects especially when it flared which helped act as a buffer from picking up on everything and a way to test the extent of her abilities. Typically, Reed would have her in the middle of whatever room they found themselves in, the lab on most occasions, and Reed would stretch to grab the first object off his workbench and hand it to her. There was definitely a lot of trial and error and the lab felt more like a hospital sometimes but Reed had the ability to ground her.
There were many times where things went sideways such as when she started breathing evenly, focusing on the object and eventually becoming aware of the object's mass, weight, density, the shape, the feel, the object's energy. These were the moments she would pass out. The object would rattle ever so slightly and then stop seconds before she passed out the first few times it seemed simply like telekinesis. The ability to move things with the mind but, and under some more heavy observation, she began matching the psychic energy that radiated off an object. Reed had been ecstatic at this observation. The ability to match the psychic energy of any object or force of nature in the form of empathy, manipulation, telekinesis, and others was an amazing power. The problem was how to control said power.
At the current moment Johnny was heading out of the Baxter Building with Ben after breakfast while Y/N followed Reed into his lab. Theories and evidence were the stepping stones to all good scientific breakthroughs, accumulating the evidence and testing said theories became the golden gate. Reed walked over to the table where his handwriting was scrawled across multiple papers and noticeable on the chalkboard. His desk was cluttered and a vial of blood was shut tight but laying near his microscope. Reed tried to be organized, typically, but the lack of sleep and the drive to have his breakthrough created the leftover clutter. When he was not in the middle of working himself to death, he could clean up at least a little bit. Yet, you know what they say about a scientist. His lab is his toyhouse and the experiments were the position of which he left his toys. In other words, a scientist's lab is extremely personal. Thoughts bare for the mind to take into consideration, the possibility of having work stolen, being proven wrong. All things Reed had dealt with at one point or another though, Y/N seemed the only one interested enough to hear him ramble on about statistics and probability or big words that make minimal sense to most people.
“You can sit.” Reed pulled out the chair beside him without looking. He was hunched over his previous notes and anyone could see how he switched between family time and science, emotional and logical. Once Y/N sat next to him he turned to face her.
“Last time we were in here I realized that your powers are derivative from a form of psychic energy and empathy. Which is incredibly helpful if you can learn how to properly control them. I was taking a look at the vial of your blood I have on file.”
“You have a vial of my blood in your lab?”
“You consented. Now, I was overlooking your DNA structure and it dawned on me to test how the molecules interacted near various objects. I placed my pen nearby, hovered it near the slide and nothing made itself apparent on the surface. I naturally dug a bit deeper and.. Well, look for yourself.” Reed motioned to the microscope. Y/N almost eagerly looked into the microscope. She moved her hair to the side so the blood sample would not be messed with.
“Just watch.” Reed took the pen from the lab coat that he had hung over the back of his chair. He placed it right against the microscope and there was a very slight vibration. She was already hooked on to what Reed concluded this to mean and smiled before pulling back from the microscope to speak.
“That isn’t even the coolest part.” Reed spoke before Y/N put her eyes back to the lenses and Reed moved the tip of the pen to the corner of the slide just in view of the microscope. The way Y/N’s DNA molecules moved toward the object at a lightning fast pace. It was no wonder why she was fainting.
“Don’t tell me I have the power of transformation.” She spoke as she removed herself from the microscope once again. She watched Reed as he put back the pen in his lab coat and smirked at the genuine yet playful question.
“No, more like a magnet. Everything in you, quite literally, wants that object. You don’t just connect with an object psychically, emotionally, or physically. You transpire to be that object and for a moment you are, energetically that is. I have a theory that I would like to test if you will let me?”
“What is it, Reed?” She questioned. He had already blown her mind with the discovery, what else he could possibly want her to recognize.
“Here, sit down and close your eyes.” Y/N sat back down in the chair and looked at Reed curiously before complying with his request.
“Take a deep breath, allow your mind to settle on the object I will be placing in your hand.” Reed spoke gently before taking a different pen that he barely used from his desk. He placed the pen in her hand and went over the ritual. He had found the best way to still her mind and cause her to focus on what she could. Reed almost offered a guided meditation of sorts to Y/N, it was a little awkward at first as always but quickly became like second nature.
“When you feel the pen start to twitch I want you to imagine yourself as the object. You don’t physically have to feel like the pen but be the pen.” With the many things Reed and the Fantastic Four have been through, the words left Reed’s mouth more inquisitively than he had intended. With a little bit of practice Y/N took a deep breath and pushed the boundaries of what made her comfortable. She focused on the makeup of the pen more intensely, the properties, the weight. She focused on what she knew before taking another deep breath. She was fearful Reed’s theory was not going to work, that she would pass out again. Yet his previous words rang out clear. She was the imposing energy controlling the pen, she was emotionally listening to it, she became the pen as it began to rattle and writhe. The pen stopped for a moment as a smile appeared on Y/N’s face and a small whisper of “found you” escaped her lips. The pen started rising from her hand and other objects she had thought about rose slightly before falling back down.
“That’s it!” Reed exclaimed like he was a child obtaining his first chemistry set. The pen came to life at the noise and jostled against the air on the way to observe Reed. The sensation was difficult to explain. Y/N was much more than just controlling the pen with her mind, she was living through the energies surrounding and making up the pen. She took another deep breath and felt something running to her throat. Iron in taste. The connection she held to the pen was quickly severed as soon as she came back to her body. She was aware of the blood flowing through her, the density of her bones, an ache in her nose which when she went to wipe showed blood. She became lightheaded and saw stars for a split second before she passed out in the chair. Reed was both brimming with excitement that his experiment had served as the breakthrough they both needed to understand her powers but he was almost immediately snapped out from his excitement. When her body leaned sideways Reed elongated his arm to catch her. His hand carefully ensured she had not choked on the blood from her nose.
A few moments later after Reed documented the newest discovery, he brought her to her room to let her sleep off the overexertion. None of the Fantastic Fours powers were human; Reed could stretch and elongate his body, Ben became The Thing which was a rocklike humanoid, and Johnny would light himself on fire at will. Yet, all the powers stayed within their current plane. Y/N’s was the only one that was truly cosmic, her powers transcended the materialistic, and Reed was sure they only scratched the surface of what she was capable of. Yet, instead of being in his lab tinkering away or thinking, he was in the kitchen grabbing a glass of water and returning to Y/N’s room.
