{Chapter: 38 - Reed Getting Sus And Ben Grimm}
Aiden and Susan stepped onto the bridge of the helicarrier, the low thrum of engines and the glow of tactical displays painting the space in sterile light. Murmurs from agents, the clicking of keyboards—none of it reached Reed Richards.
His gaze locked onto Susan the moment she appeared.
Her face was a mask—composed, serene, untouched. But that in itself was jarring. He had seen her before she entered that room: raw, trembling, fragile, tear-streaked expression she'd worn before stepping into that private room with Aiden.. Now… it was as if she's shining clean with a small smile tugged on her lips.
Too clean.
Too calm.
Reed's stomach knotted.
And they had been in there for a long time. Too long.
His eyes shifted to Aiden.
They walked side by side, no words passing between them, no contact—but the silence between them buzzed. An ease in their pace, a rhythm synced too naturally. Something had changed in that room. Something intangible, but undeniably real.
Reed's mind raced.
He searched for patterns, ran scenarios, dissected body language like a machine parsing data—but none of it gave him the answer he was looking for.
He couldn't quantify the softness and stillness in Susan's gaze.
He couldn't calculate the subtle way her posture tilted slightly toward Aiden, the unconscious comfort in their shared space.
There was no formula for what he was seeing.
No algorithm for what he felt.
And Reed Richards hated that.
Logic—his eternal compass—offered nothing but static.
And so, like he always did when faced with emotions he couldn't unravel, he folded it away. Buried it under reason. Contained it like a failed experiment sealed off in a lab.
But still… something gnawed at him.
He knew the variables had shifted.
He just didn't know what, how—or why.
But Reed didn't know what it was.
He didn't ask. Didn't confront.
He just frowned—briefly, thoughtfully—and turned his eyes back to Susan, holding onto the unease but choosing not to voice it.
"Let's go, Susan. We need to run more tests on Johnny."
It came out colder than he intended.
She gave a quiet nod, stepping away without hesitation.
And Reed stood there for a second longer, watching her walk past him stand beside Johnny. The woman he loved. The woman he couldn't seem to reach.
Something inside him whispered that he'd already lost more than he realized.
But he ignored it.
And moved on.
"Wait a bit, Mr. Richards," Aiden said calmly, his tone almost casual despite the tension hanging in the air. "I did take Johnny's powers—temporarily, I assure you—but I'm not heartless. I don't like leaving debts behind. So, in the spirit of fair trade, I'll repay you by helping someone on your team."
His eyes turned toward the large, stone-covered figure standing at the edge of the room. "Mr. Ben Grimm. The Thing."
Ben tensed immediately, his massive frame shifting instinctively into a battle stance. His granite-like fingers curled into fists, and his jaw clenched as he narrowed his eyes at Aiden.
"I don't need your kind of help," Ben rumbled, voice low and distrustful. "I've been living with this for mounts. I ain't some charity case."
But before Aiden could respond, a gentle touch fell on Ben's arm. Susan Storm, calm and composed, gave him a quiet, reassuring smile. "Ben… trust him. Just this once. Please."
Ben hesitated. His rocky brow furrowed, his internal conflict almost visible on his hardened face. Finally, with a heavy breath that sounded like gravel shifting, he sat down on the reinforced bench nearby. The room was silent, every eye on them.
Aiden stepped forward slowly. "Don't resist. This won't hurt. It's for your own good."
He reached out and placed one hand on Ben's massive chest, his fingers glowing faintly as he activated his Devouring ability.
At first, nothing happened. But then, Ben's shoulders relaxed slightly. His breathing grew lighter. There was a strange sensation—like something was being peeled away, like invisible chains loosening around his body and soul. A warmth began to spread through him, gentle but deep.
"What the hell are you doing?" Reed demanded, stepping forward—but then stopped in his tracks, jaw slack, eyes wide.
Ben Grimm's rocky, monstrous exterior shimmered—and then slowly, astonishingly, began to recede. The stone texture melted back into his soft skin. Beneath it, skin emerged. Human skin. Freckles. Body hair. A jawline. Real hands. Real lips.
"Oh my God…" Susan whispered.
Reed rubbed his eyes, thinking he must be hallucinating. But it was real.
Ben Grimm was human again.
He stared at his hands, turning them over, disbelieving. Touching things to feel the softness of it "Is this… real?"
"More than real," Aiden said with a slight grin. "I didn't remove your powers—I simply extracted the excess cosmic energy that had built up and overridden your ability to regulate your form. You were never supposed to be stuck in that rock form forever, Ben. Your body just never stabilized properly after the storm."
Ben looked up at him, eyes misty. "So… you mean I can still be strong?"
This brought Ben out of his shock and, to his amazement, he saw that while he regained his long lost human form, he still had his strength and durability.
"Let's test it." Aiden's eyes flickered. He reared back and delivered a solid punch straight into Ben's gut with his Extremis-enhanced body.
Ben flinched—but didn't go flying. The punch stung, sure, but it didn't break anything. No bones cracked. He'd taken worse hits in bar fights. Aiden's punch did hurt him a bit but did not injure him outright. From what he heard from Spiderman and saw from Johnny, Aiden packed quite a serious punch.
"I'll be damned…" he muttered. "Still strong… just not all rocky."
"You've retained your strength and durability," Aiden confirmed. "Now, listen carefully. Your powers aren't gone. What I did was help your body hit a reset. Right now, you're like a new phone that's finished booting up. You've got access to the full system—but now, it's up to you to learn how to toggle between modes."
He crouched down slightly to be at eye level. "With the right training, the right mental focus, and experience… you'll learn to switch at will. Like Dr. Banner and the Hulk. It won't be easy. But you've got the potential. You're not cursed anymore, Ben. You're in control now."
Ben didn't speak at first. He just stared—at his hands, his arms, his reflection on a nearby monitor, in the mirror polish table. Then, like a dam breaking, tears welled in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks. Real tears. Not just emotion—release.
"You have no idea what you've done," he said, voice trembling. "I've been trapped in that rocky prison for years. Couldn't hold a cup right, couldn't feel the rain, couldn't look in the mirror without hating what I saw."
He surged forward and pulled Aiden into a tight, crushing hug. Aiden winced, partly from the strength but mostly from the emotion.
"Thank you," Ben said. "From the bottom of my goddamn heart—thank you."
"I'm happy to help, big guy," Aiden said gently, giving his hard shoulder a pat. Even in his half-transformed state, Ben still loomed over him—Aiden barely hit six feet, and the guy was built like a wrecking ball. "If anyone's earned a second shot, it's you."