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Franklin Richards wanted to play hide-and-seek.
This was no surprise—he was three years old, and it was a rainy afternoon in the Baxter Building. He had just finished his nap and right now he was a radiating ball of energy. But what made it tricky was Franklin’s idea of “good hiding spots.” He was small enough to tuck into the tiniest crawlspaces, cabinets, even an old pipe tunnel that Reed really should have sealed.
“Kiddo, we can’t squeeze into those,” Johnny groaned, crouching on the floor, peering under a radiator. “You got an unfair advantage.”
“Yeah,” Ben agreed, trying unsuccessfully to wedge his massive rocky arm into the gap. “This is rigged! The whole game’s rigged.”
Franklin only giggled—the dangerous, mischievous kind of giggle that promised a better, or rather, worse hiding spot.
Reed stretched out arm, plucked Franklin out of his hiding spot, and deposited him on his lap. “Franklin, let’s not hide in places where we can’t find you.”
Franklin’s smile turned upside down. He frowned, pouted, lips quivering, on the verge of tears. Reed panicked; he backpedaled, fast. “Or… we could find a solution.”
Franklin grinned, all sadness wiped from his face in an instant. He wiggled free and sprinted towards Ben’s waiting arms, who lifted him up in the air. Franklin gave a whoop of delight. Reed was left with the distinctive feeling that he had just been played—by a three-year-old.
Johnny gave Franklin a high-five, trying to hide his smirk.
But Reed had already seen him. His eyes narrowed. “Come, I have an idea.”
That was how Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm found themselves standing in the lab, facing Reed’s latest invention: a shrink-ray.
“This ain’t safe,” Ben muttered.
“It’s perfectly safe,” Reed replied with absolute confidence. “The gun temporarily reduces your size, but it’s completely reversible.”
“Come on, Ben, don’t be such a fossil. It’ll be fun.” Johnny teased, already bouncing with excitement. “Are you scared?”
“I ain’t scared of nothin’.”
The beam fired. In a blink, both Ben and Johnny were the size of Franklin’s teddy bear.
It’s now Reed’s turn to smirk.
Ben looked down at his tiny rocky hands in horror. “Oh, for cryin’ out loud—”
His voice cracked into a high, sharp squeak.
Johnny stared at him for two whole seconds before collapsing on the floor, howling with laughter. “Ohhh—Ohhh Ben. BEN. You sound like a helium balloon!”
“Shut it, matchstick!” Ben squeaked, which only made Johnny laugh harder.
“Come on,” Johnny wheezed, clutching his ribs. “Say it. Say the line.”
“I ain’t sayin’ nothin’.” “If you don’t, I’ll tell everyone at the Avengers poker night that you cried at Finding Nemo.”
Ben glared, his rocky brow twitching. He raised one tiny fist and finally shrilled:
“It’s CLOBBERIN’ time!!”
All the chipmunks in the building, had there been anything, would have instantly stood to attention.
Franklin clapped with delight. Johnny was rolling on the floor in tears. Ben muttered something profoundly not family-friendly, which, in squeaky falsetto, only sounded more ridiculous.
The three of them—Reed did not join in because “someone needs to be present to reverse the shrinking effects”—spent the next hour in the most chaotic, hilarious round of hide-and-seek. They darted in and out of air ducts, squeezing into kitchen cabinets, and ran circles around HERBIE.
This is the best game Franklin had ever played in his life.
After two hours of running around, Franklin was tired.
“Dinner and then bed time.” Reed announced.
On seeing a frown threatening to break lose on Franklin’s face, Reed quickly assured him, “We’ll do this again tomorrow.”
“Time to unshrink us, Stretch.” Ben was eager to return to his normal size..
“Stand by,” Reed adjusted the dials, “In three, two, one—”
And nothing happened.
Reed pressed the button again. Same thing. He looked down, “That’s strange…”
“What’s goin’ on, Reed?” Ben rumbled in an ominous tone, the dramatic effect completely ruined because his rumble came out as a squeak.
“The reversal settings… appeared to have shorted out.”
“What—”
“So we are stuck like this?” Johnny’s eyes went wide, a tiny tiny flicker of flame dancing along his hairline.
“Temporarily,” Reed assured them, “I’ll be able to fix it in a few hours.”
“I apologize.” Reed added, not looking very sorry at all.
Johnny shared a look with Ben. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Hell yeah,” Ben actually managed to growl this time. “You flank him, I’ll grab the gun. He’s goin’ down.”
Reed barely had time to protest before they lunged for him. Johnny rushed at him like a flaming arrow, he instinctively took a step back and dropped the shrink-ray—into Ben’s waiting hands. He had just enough time to yelp in surprise before Ben turned the gun on him.
A bright flash filled the room—
That was when Sue walked in.
“Hi guys, how—” She stopped dead. On the floor of the lab stood Franklin, towering over three doll-sized figures. Reed, Johnny, and Ben were staring up at her—Reed was alternating between glaring daggers at Johnny and looking at her guiltily, Ben was sulking, and Johnny looked proud.
She set her files down very slowly. “Do I even want to know?”
“It’s not what it looks like,” Reed began, which was absolutely what it looked like.
“Mom!” Franklin couldn’t hold himself back any longer. “We were playing hide-and-seek!”
Sue checked the clock. “Do you know what time it is?”
“Uh… fun o’clock?” Johnny offered.
Sue arched one perfect eyebrow. “It’s bedtime.”
“Nooo,” Franklin whined. “I can’t go to bed without Daddy and Uncle Johnny and Uncle Ben!”
“That could be arranged.” Sue folded her arms, then smirked—a smirk that promised nothing good. The three men looked at each other uneasily.
Sue continued. “Herbie? Don’t we still have those spare cribs in storage?”
“Affirmative, Susan,” HERBIE chirped.
Ten minutes later, Franklin was tucked into his own bed, smiling angelically. Beside him, three tiny cribs had been wheeled in, each holding one very grumpy miniature superhero.
Reed, Johnny, and Ben lay in their little beds, glaring silently at the ceiling.
“I’ll be right back.” Sue said, turning to leave.
A few minutes later—
A bright flash lighted the room—
Then Sue appeared, holding a camera in her hand. “Now this is one family portrait that is going in the living room.” she announced.
No one was amused.
Except Sue.
And Franklin.