01x10 - Calamity on the Campus

[bunniefuu]

It was the world's strangest accident

while testing a new rocket ship.

Our heroes were bombarded by mysterious

cosmic rays from outer space.

Though they crash landed safely, the

strange and powerful rays had changed

each one of them. Transforming their

leader Reed Richards into the

plastic-skinned Mr. Fantastic,

Sue Richards into the Now You See Her,

Now You Don't Invisible Girl,

and Ben Grimm into a mighty muscled

powerhouse called The Thing.

Now, together with Herbie the Robot, the

newest member of the group, they have

become the greatest team of superheroes

the world has ever known.

The new Fantastic Four.

High above the American Midwest flies a

commercial jet airliner on its

unsuspecting way to a strange and

perilous rendezvous. And

on board are four of the most unusual

passengers on or above the earth. May

I get you anything, Mr. and Mrs. Richards?

It's such a pleasure to meet you. Well,

thank you, stewardess. But really, Sue

and I don't want any special treatment.

Well, I'm proud of you, Reed, darling. An

honorary degree from Gateway University.

I'm the one who'll be proud, Sue, to be

there with you. We're over St.

Louis. I wonder if we're just coming in

for a landing or-- Reed, what was that to

just streak by the plane?I don't know.

But whatever it was, it was moving at

well above supersonic speed. And from the

way it curved, I'd say it's coming back

right now for another pass. Hey,

we're hit. The plane's going out of

control. Only one chance, Ben. You know

what you've got to do, and fast. You

don't have to tell me twice, High

Pockets. There.

I've made it outside through the hole.

Now, Sue, it's your turn. Hurry. I'll

try, Reed. There.

I've cast one of my invisible force

fields, and it should seal up the hole,

keeping the rest of the air inside. But

how long can you hold it, Sue?I'm not

sure. From here on,

it's all up to Reed. This should work.

After all, what's an airplane

without a parachute?

Well, I've slowed it down all I

can. Now it's up to the pilot.

Now that the plane's safely down, I'll

see about pulling myself back into my

normal shape. After a workout like

that, it's not as easy as usual,

but I don't want to go through the rest

of my life as a human pretzel.

Heh, that does it.

Reed, thank heaven you're all right. And

you're all safe. That's the only

important thing for now. What's wrong,

Rubber Man?You sound even more grim than

me. And Grimm's my last

name. Ohh I am. The object

that hit us. From outside, I got a better

look at it before it streaked out of

sight. And it had a gigantic human

shape. What's more, it disappeared

in a grove of trees near Gateway

University. We must find out what it

was, or the skies above this city will

never be safe again. Then whatever it

was, you think it was trying to make the

plane crash. I don't know, Sue, but I do

know this. We're not leaving St. Louis

until we've settled this mystery. Yeah,

or till it's settled us, huh, Reed?Could

be, old friend. Could be.

Following their narrow escape from a

mid-air collision with a mysterious huge

flying object, the Fantastic Four head

for Gateway University. where they're met

by a crowd of enthusiastic students.

Hey, these college kids are great,

Stretcho! Mrs. Richards, may we have your

autograph, please?Why, certainly, boys.

But aren't there any girls at Gateway U?

After seeing you, we're not so sure.

Autograph my card next, please. No mine!

Goodness! It's getting so crowded, I'd

better pay!Where'd she go?She

must have turned invisible, Yo-yo. Why do

you think they call her the Invisible

Girl?Herbie, with your computer powers,

can you help me with my term paper on

point mutations?Oh, I really don't know

all that much about the subject, lads. Of

course I know that point mutations occur

randomly during the replication of DNA

molecules. But they can also be induced

by ionizing radiation, by elevated

temperatures, and by a variety of

chemical reagents. Then, of course, they

also-- Mr. Grimm, we

understand that you used to be quite a

football player yourself back in the old

days. The old days?Oh,

wow. You make me feel like Rip Van

Winkle. Listen, I'm better now

than I ever was. Then maybe you'd like to

join us in a scrimmage game. I'll meet

you in the stadium in a little while. As

soon as Reed and me check in with the

Dean. Well, well

At last I get to meet the famous Reed

Richards. Or do you prefer to be called

Mr. Fantastic?Reed will do, Dean

Johnson. I'm happy you're safe. I, uh,

heard there was some sort of trouble with

your plane. Well, a huge man-shaped

object of some kind flew into it. It

almost made us crash. Then it's happened

again. What?What do you mean?

Yes. There have been several such

UFO sightings during the past few weeks,

I'm afraid. Well, this object disappeared

into the trees near the university

itself. It did?Then

perhaps I should have acted on my own

hunch even earlier. Will you come with

me, please?I want to take you to

Professor Gilbert, the head of our

science department. I believe you already

know Professor Gilbert. Oh, yes. He was

my teacher years ago on the East Coast.

I've been looking forward to meeting him

again. Professor Gilbert, it's

wonderful to see you again, Sir. Read.

How are you?Oh, it's been

such a long time. Professor,

this is my wife, Sue. and my associates,

Ben Grimm and Herbie the Robot.

Charmed, I'm sure. Well,

I'm especially happy to meet you at

last, Herbie. The pleasure is mine,

Professor Gilbert. I did so enjoy your

recent paper on molecular bases of the

amino acids. Yeah, it was a

blast. I, um, hate to bring up

anything unpleasant, Professor, but--

Professor, Mr. Richards saw a

man-shaped UFO land nearby.

Could it have had anything to do with the

top-secret experiments you've been

conducting here?Yes, it did.

I'm glad you've both come at this time

because I am finally ready to show

you and the whole world what I have

accomplished here in this laboratory.

This way, gentlemen, through this heavy

locked door which only my assistant and I

can open and be prepared to

be amazed. Good grief.

Oh, Reed, what is it?Oh, it's just a

shadow, Susie. Maybe so, Benjamin, but it

certainly is a sizable one. Gentlemen

and Mrs. Richards, behold

my greatest achievement. A super

powerful, almost

indestructible android with

powers far beyond those of even

the Fantastic Four.

Behold the Dragon Man.

And that's the UFO which nearly wrecked

our plane?Yes, I'm afraid so.

I immobilized him after that little

accident. I had sent him up as a

final test of the new, improved wings I

had just designed for him. But you

couldn't control him fully. I'll say, we

just about busted our bazookas.

What's the purpose, Professor, of such a

huge and monstrous-looking android?He

must be large and durable.

He has been created to explore

hard-to-reach areas, either to

locate precious fuel or mineral supplies

or to rescue stranded people.

Soon, he will be able to fly

anywhere, do anything.

Still, he malfunctioned today and nearly

caused a plane crash. Uh, that's

true. But perhaps I was wrong to

have tested him so near civilian areas.

I'm truly sorry, Professor Gilbert. But

you understand that I shall have to

report this to the trustees. I will

explain my actions to them as clearly as

I can, Dean Johnson. Still,

while you're all here, please allow me to

give you a little demonstration of Dragon

Man's powers. George,

will you bring me the psychic control

helmet, please?Yes, Professor.

And perhaps you will introduce me to your

famous friends?Oh, of course.

This is my assistant, George. I

worked on the Dragon Man, too, you know.

I worked very hard. Of course you did,

George. But we've no time to go into all

that now. The helmet, please. Yes,

Professor. But, sir, if that's a true

android, shouldn't he be able to move

under his own power?As indeed he

will. As soon as I complete work

on his artificial brain. Right now,

however, I control every move with my

own amplified thought waves.

And he is strong.

Even stronger than the world-renowned Mr.

Grimm. Bite your tongue, Prof. Why, I

could take that overgrown lizard with one

pinky tied behind my back. Perhaps.

Well, my dragon man,

you have been immobile long enough.

Now it is time once more for

you to live!

Look, Reed, he's moving. Very

interesting. Can you give us a

demonstration of his strength, Professor?

Of course! You see, I have

but to think of it, and he lifts that

heavy apparatus weighing many

tons. Astonishing. Oh,

I don't know. I can lift that gizmo

too, you know, and I don't need somebody

wearing a fancy helmet for me to do it.

Here, Herbie. Hold my coat, will you?You

mean I have a choice?Now,

Frankenstein, let's me and you

disco. Careful, Ben. You still

don't know the true limits of his

strength. What's to know?You know what

they say?The bigger they are, the harder

they... Hey, heyLet go, you big

polluter! Look out! You wreck that

priceless equipment behind you! Don't

worry about it, Professor. I'm used to

picking up after Ben when he goes on a

tear. Your apparatus is safe. Oh,

thank heaven. And now, before things get

out of hand, perhaps I'd best

immobilize the Dragon Man again

until he's ready for a real test.

As you saw, gentlemen, the android

was a bit stronger than Mr. Grimm,

if only because of his greater size.

Nuts! I was robbed! I was

just starting to figure out the big guy's

style when you pulled the plug. Ah,

heck, another minute out of clobberdom!

Well, gentlemen, what do you think?Well,

the Dragon Man is undoubtedly a

remarkable achievement, sir. Yes.

But I must have your word, Professor,

that you'll not put the android to use

again without prior approval.

Oh, you have my word, Dean Johnson.

I nearly forgot. Your real reason for

coming here was to receive an honorary

degree read. Yes, it was. But now

I'm far more interested in your android.

Yes. Would you please tell us any

unclassified details of its structure,

Professor?Why, of course. The real

difficult thing, you see, wasn't

determining... Well, there they go,

Susie. You and me won't be able to

understand another word they say. Weren't

you going to meet the football team, Ben?

Hey, that's right! Come on, lady. You can

watch me be a big football hero, like

when I was back in college. I'm sure

there's time to do that and hear Reed's

acceptance speech. There is?Well,

then maybe I'll have to see to it. The

game goes into overtime.

Okay, honchos and halfbacks,

have no fear, 'cause Bemz

is here. We'll take it easy

with you, since you haven't played in so

long. Uh, I'll be careful not to

hurt anybody either. Okay, Mr. Grimm,

fade back for the kickoff!

Nice kick, son. Come to Papa.

Wow!Look at him go! It'll

take all of us to stop him. Yeah, you

boys just do that little thing.

Benjamin J. Grimm, stop showing

off. What do you mean, Susie?I'm just

trying to make a touchdown. Course, it'd

kind of help if I could see the goalpost.

Ah, well, another couple of yards, and

then I... Hey,

somebody tripped me, and we recovered.

Oh, what a revolting development this is.

I just don't see how I...

Susie, then it was you.

I'm sorry, Ben, but I just couldn't

resist. You needed a lesson in humility.

Besides, if you showed up all those

athletes, you might wreck their future

confidence. Yeah, well, maybe you're

right. After all, I ain't a college

Joe anymore.

Oh, my, we'd better get going if we don't

want to be late for the honorary degree

ceremony. Yes, I wouldn't want to hold

anyone up. Perhaps we can discuss the

Dragon Man later. Uh, pardon me,

Professor, but may I sit on the

official's platform with you and Mr.

Richards and Dean Johnson?Oh, I'm

sorry, George, but you know that's

impossible. Only the Fantastic Four

and Full professors may sit on the

platform today. Then I'm not going.

I never get my fair share of anything

around here, even though I work as hard

as you, as hard as anyone. I'm really

sorry you feel that way, George, but

there's nothing I can do.

There. The psychic control helmet should

be safe till we get back. Goodbye,

George. Goodbye. You know,

Reed, I hate to say this, but my computer

circuits are getting decidedly hostile

vibrations from the professor'sassistant.

So, they're gone. Professor

Gilbert doesn't even trust me enough to

give me a key to his locker, but there

are other ways.

And now, the psychic control helmet

is mine. Ladies

and gentlemen, our guest speaker today,

Mr. Reed Richards. Thank you,

Dean Johnson. Let me begin by saying

that it's a very great pleasure to be

here today. Holy Hannah! It's the

Dragon Man! It can't be!

How could this have happened, Professor?

I... I don't know! I...

Yes... George! He's

got to be the answer! That's all I wanted

to hear! Herbie, wait!Still, my fine

featherless friend, I just want to

analyze your components a bit with my

special computer probe. You don't mind,

do you?I guess he does.

Oh, I'm falling! And I'm catching!

You okay, Tinhead?Yes, thank you, Ben. He

just melted my rockets together, so they

won't work. But I can repair them, and

I'll be back in a spray of a minute. If

you'll just... We need you to stay here

and try to figure a way to short-circuit

that android from here. Well, if you say

so, Reed. Professor, can you tell us

anything at all that could immobilize the

Dragon Man, besides your stolen helmet?

There's only one thing I know of, Reed.

Extreme cold. Cold such

as you might find at the poles. Look

out!Here he comes again.

Watch out for his dragon breath.

I've got to stop those people below from

hurting themselves in a panic by drawing

the android after me again. This

way, Dragon Man. Say,

this is just like bullfighting in the

sky. At least I sent him plowing into

those abandoned bleachers where he didn't

hurt anyone. Go

on, Reed Richards. Rejoice in your

tiny victory. But soon I

shall still destroy you with the power of

Dragon Man. Not only can I play

Bullfighter, but I can also be the

Bullfighter's cape. Hard to smash a man

you can't see, isn't it, Dragon Man?Or

should I say George?I can't

hold on... much longer!

Oh, Reed! Don't let go!Yeah.

Herbie, is there anything you can do?I'm

calculating, Sue, but so far... Another

few seconds and Reed's had it. Then I've

got to try hurling perhaps the most

powerful force field of my entire life.

Sue, honey, you got him.

Yes, but only because I caught him off

guard. In a second, he'll be airborne

again, and then... And then you'll have a

passenger lady, namely, the ever-loving

Blue-Eyed Thing, otherwise known

as Bronco Ben. Yahoo!

Yes!

Oh, I'm lucky I fell into the campus

lake. As somebody once said, we've only

begun to fight. I hope.

Perhaps, Herbie, if we brought over all

the special cooling units and cables from

my lab, we could freeze the android

solid. Let me see.

No, it won't work. Too much of the cold

would escape into the open air. I think

I'm coming down with a cold.

Oh, ohh I'm

sorry, people, but it was cold in that

lake. Lake?Did he say

lake?Of course!That's it. We

were so close to it, we couldn't see it.

Ben, Professor Gilbert, we've got to act

fast. These are some things you must

bring here immediately. HuhNow

listen, you talkin' trash can. No, no,

wait, Mr. Grimm. I think I'm beginning to

see Herbie's plan. Can't keep up

this stretching much longer. With

every pass, that android's getting

closer. Closer! Looks like this is it.

Oh, stop acting so cornballs, stretch

pants! Ben, you didn't think I was gonna

let that big galoot snap my favorite

rubber band, did you?If only we knew

where Professor Gilbert's assistant was

hiding with the psychic control helmet.

You'll never find me, you fools.

Good. They're exhausted. Now I can

destroy them both at once. Here he

comes. We've got to stay here until the

last possible second before we leap out

of the way. And Harry, it worked! The

Dragon Man's swooping down at us so fast

he can't stop! And his whole man's

carrying him right into the lake!

Is it over, Reed?Is the nightmare finally

over?Not yet, honey. It all depends on

what happens next. Ben told me what

Professor Gilbert said about the

android's vulnerability to cold. Now,

it's cold in the lake, but not cold

enough. Ha! They think they've defeated

me. In a few more seconds, it will reach

the surface. And then... Put the

ends of those conductor cables into the

lake. So what's gonna power the thing,

let alone power it fast enough to freeze

the whole lake before Dragon Man reaches

the top?I just happened to be designed to

generate electrical power to spare.

Herbie, you did it!The

entire lake is beginning to freeze in

record time. Look, you can see the

android from here. And now he's been

totally immobilized as the lake is frozen

solid. I was just thinking

how much he reminds me of a

dragon sickle.

No, it can't end this way. I won't

be defeated. I've got to concentrate.

The helmet, it wouldn't take the strain.

It fell apart. I've got to get out of

here. The

fools, the Fantastic Four, could have

stopped me easily if they'd only known

that I was hiding under the speaker's

platform right beneath their very

feet. At least I don't

see them blocking my path. If I can

just... What's this?

Something in my way. I've got to

break through. But I can't.

Why, thank you, George. I consider that a

compliment to the invisible force field

that I put in your path. Good work, Sue.

Come along, George. I'm afraid I must

turn you over to the authorities.

Professor Gilbert, we're sorry if we

damaged your android in order to save

human lives. It couldn't be helped.

I see now that I should have taken more

precautions to see that my powerful

creation didn't fall into the wrong

hands. Well... Goodbye, my

friends. Thank you for everything.

Anytime, Doc. Just give a holler. Ben,

I was wondering, were you really worried

about me when I was falling, and you

rushed to catch me?Oh, why, sure I was,

Herbie. After all, who knows?

One of these days, I might need some

spare parts for my car, and I can

always take a spark plug or two off of

you. Ohh

Oh, I was just kidding, pal. Listen,

we're a team, ain't we?We're the

Fantastic Four! There's nothing that can

stop us. Nothing that...

Hmm,

it seems the mighty Fantastic Four can be

defeated after all, by the common cold.

Well, now you just clam up, old buddy,

and give me a hanky.