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Description

Before the Four they were a duo.
Reed Richards and Susan Storm.
He was a phenomenally brilliant scientist, inventor, explorer and detective. A detective who specialized in the strange and the fantastic. Thus earning the nickname of "Mr. Fantastic" years before a cosmic storm gave that name a new meaning.
She was his personal assistant who became so much more.
Together they shared adventures that staggered the imagination. And still do so to this very day.
One such adventure involved a ghost. Why would the spectre of Janet Van Dyne's mother haunt Susan Storm?
Guest-Starring Janet Van Dyne.
A look into a possible past by Productions.
Reed, Sue and Jan (c) MARVEL

Story behind the story:
I won't go into the full details. But, in my head years ago, I've redone the origins of my beloved Dazzler, Supergirl and the Fantastic Four.
In the case of the FF I made Sue Reed's secretary, or personal assistant, because I wanted a way to justify her being on that space flight with her kid brother. IF Sue was Reed's aide then she might have been involved with the spaceship project from the very beginning. She studied the plans. Took part in equipment tests and flight simulations. Thus she knew what buttons to push, what switches to flip. She knew how to read the dials and scopes. Even though she didn't plan on being part of the test flight, circumstances being what they were, she filled in for the absent crew member when Reed decided to launch early.
It's long been established that Johnny was a mechanic. So just suppose he helped Reed assemble engine components. Helped put the power core reactor together. Thus, outside of Reed, no one else knew the system, the radical technology, better. So he too earned a seat. He didn't just "tag along with Sis."
I also wanted to show that Reed and Sue could be a lot more than what they've been portrayed as in the comics. So I came up with Reed being a sort of detective as well as a scientist, inventor and explorer. I made him a combination of Tom Swift, The Challengers Of the Unknown, The X-Files, Dr. Who, Jonny Quest and such. And with Sue as his faithful sidekick we could have a duo For adventure. Both before and after the cosmic storm.
For this particular picture I wanted to establish that Sue and Janet have been friends for a very long time. And since Jan's dad was a wealthy scientist and inventor, much like Reed himself, why not make Dr. Vernon Van Dyne one of Reed's collage professors from State University? Give Reed and Sue a connection to the Van Dyne family.
In the Wasp's origin story Vernon had built a gamma ray projector to use as a communications device for contacting extra-terrestrial life. When he used it he accidently teleported a criminal alien to Earth. The creature killed Van Dyne. Jan wanted revenge so Ant-Man, because she reminded him so much of his dead wife, turns the young heiress into the Wasp. and, together they kill the creature.
Let's say that before that happened Dr. Van Dyne taught at State U. He was in charge of the University's Advanced Sciences Application Program. (ASAP) Which included students like Reed Richards, Victor Von Doom and Bruce Banner. (Bruce may have been a student before, during, or after Reed and Victor. Since Banner created the gamma bomb, and Van Dyne the gamma ray projector, why not connect the two via the University?) A few years later, when funding for ASAP was cut, Van Dyne quit the University and pursued personal pet projects. Including a deep space communications device using Banner's gamma research as a template.
In my scenario a former student offers Van Dyne a job with a new outfit called Advanced Idea Mechanics. He doesn't need the money, of course. But Dr. Van Dyne is intrigued by the prospect of developing advanced technology. (He, like the rest of the world at that time, didn't know A.I.M was secretly HYDRA's R & D department.) He accepts the job. A short time later Van Dyne is at home working on his gamma ray projector. There is a sudden power surge followed by an outburst of energy. Mrs. Van Dyne, (who was never mentioned at all as far as I know), is caught in the energy outburst and is seemingly disinintegrated.
Her death is declared an accident and Vernon is innocent in the eyes of the law. But not in the eyes of himself. He's devestated and just gives up. He quits A.I.M, quits his pet projects, just quits everything. And when haunted by the ghost of his wife he hides in a bottle.
As it turns out Van Dyne was working on a key device for A.I.M and they need him to finish it. In desperation they kidnap his daughter, Janet. Meanwhile Susan Storm starts seeing the ghost too. Reed doesn't believe in ghosts but he does believe in Sue. She saw SOMEthing that had to do with his old college professor's wife. He visits Van Dyne and finds him in a drunken stupor. He sees the gamma ray projector and comes to a conclusion.
Meanwhile the ghost appears before Sue again and this time, via sign language, tells her that Jan has been kidnapped by HYDRA. Sue leaves a message for Reed and goes to where Jan is being held. She has no intention of doing anything foolish like try to rescue her herself. She just wants to get a lay of the land. Tell Reed and then have him tell Nick Fury, their government contact.
Of course it doesn't go as planned. Sue gets caught and winds up bound and gagged alongside Jan. Sue was recognized as the partner of Mr. Fantastic and it was believed she could be used as leverage to get him to work for A.I.M in much the same way they are going to force Van Dyne.
Meanwhile Reed is using a special device he cobbled together to track Sue's ghost. He gets a reading at his lab and then he sees Sue's note. He reaches the place where Sue said she be and the detector device goes wild. The ghost appears before Reed and signs him as to what happened. Fortunately he came prepared. Before Fury and his men arrive, (Reed called him), Mr. Fantastic takes out the small group of terrorists and frees the women.
(Fury now knows why HYDRA has suddenly started using hi-tech equipment. And even though Advanced Idea Mechanics had been exposed the organization managed to go underground. Eventually they will become the enemy we know they are today.)
Later, at the Van Dyne home, Reed states that Mrs. Van Dyne wasn't killed. Simply caught in a mid-teleportational flux. He makes a few adjustments on the gamma ray device and Mrs. Van Dyne is restored back to "life." There is a happy family reunion.
Mrs Van Dyne explains that it took a lot of will power to make herself visible. When she figured out how to do it she tried to contact Vernon first. But he was too depressed to put it together. She then tried Jan next. Only to discover her daughter was kidnapped by HYDRA. Then she remembered Jan's best friend, Susan Storm. Susan who now worked for the famous Mr. Fantastic. And the rest is history.
Vernon and the Mrs. decide to go on a world cruise to celebrate. Janet's going back to doing whatever it was she was doing at the time. And Reed decides to tease his partner in crime.
"So. Vampires?"
"Don't make me hit you."
"Werewolves?"
"Reed, if you had a middle name I'd use it, Richards...."
"Maaaaagic."
"Hey! I know a guy in Greewich Village!"
Of course Mrs. Van Dyne either dies for real later on, (in a way that doesn't destroy Vernon), or she and Vernon divorce. And, for whatever reason, Jan NEVER mentions her mother.

Description

Before the Four they were a duo.
Reed Richards and Susan Storm.
He was a phenomenally brilliant scientist, inventor, explorer and detective. A detective who specialized in the strange and the fantastic. Thus earning the nickname of "Mr. Fantastic" years before a cosmic storm gave that name a new meaning.
She was his personal assistant who became so much more.
Together they shared adventures that staggered the imagination. And still do so to this very day.
One such adventure involved a ghost. Why would the spectre of Janet Van Dyne's mother haunt Susan Storm?
Guest-Starring Janet Van Dyne.
A look into a possible past by Productions.
Reed, Sue and Jan (c) MARVEL

Story behind the story:
I won't go into the full details. But, in my head years ago, I've redone the origins of my beloved Dazzler, Supergirl and the Fantastic Four.
In the case of the FF I made Sue Reed's secretary, or personal assistant, because I wanted a way to justify her being on that space flight with her kid brother. IF Sue was Reed's aide then she might have been involved with the spaceship project from the very beginning. She studied the plans. Took part in equipment tests and flight simulations. Thus she knew what buttons to push, what switches to flip. She knew how to read the dials and scopes. Even though she didn't plan on being part of the test flight, circumstances being what they were, she filled in for the absent crew member when Reed decided to launch early.
It's long been established that Johnny was a mechanic. So just suppose he helped Reed assemble engine components. Helped put the power core reactor together. Thus, outside of Reed, no one else knew the system, the radical technology, better. So he too earned a seat. He didn't just "tag along with Sis."
I also wanted to show that Reed and Sue could be a lot more than what they've been portrayed as in the comics. So I came up with Reed being a sort of detective as well as a scientist, inventor and explorer. I made him a combination of Tom Swift, The Challengers Of the Unknown, The X-Files, Dr. Who, Jonny Quest and such. And with Sue as his faithful sidekick we could have a duo For adventure. Both before and after the cosmic storm.
For this particular picture I wanted to establish that Sue and Janet have been friends for a very long time. And since Jan's dad was a wealthy scientist and inventor, much like Reed himself, why not make Dr. Vernon Van Dyne one of Reed's collage professors from State University? Give Reed and Sue a connection to the Van Dyne family.
In the Wasp's origin story Vernon had built a gamma ray projector to use as a communications device for contacting extra-terrestrial life. When he used it he accidently teleported a criminal alien to Earth. The creature killed Van Dyne. Jan wanted revenge so Ant-Man, because she reminded him so much of his dead wife, turns the young heiress into the Wasp. and, together they kill the creature.
Let's say that before that happened Dr. Van Dyne taught at State U. He was in charge of the University's Advanced Sciences Application Program. (ASAP) Which included students like Reed Richards, Victor Von Doom and Bruce Banner. (Bruce may have been a student before, during, or after Reed and Victor. Since Banner created the gamma bomb, and Van Dyne the gamma ray projector, why not connect the two via the University?) A few years later, when funding for ASAP was cut, Van Dyne quit the University and pursued personal pet projects. Including a deep space communications device using Banner's gamma research as a template.
In my scenario a former student offers Van Dyne a job with a new outfit called Advanced Idea Mechanics. He doesn't need the money, of course. But Dr. Van Dyne is intrigued by the prospect of developing advanced technology. (He, like the rest of the world at that time, didn't know A.I.M was secretly HYDRA's R & D department.) He accepts the job. A short time later Van Dyne is at home working on his gamma ray projector. There is a sudden power surge followed by an outburst of energy. Mrs. Van Dyne, (who was never mentioned at all as far as I know), is caught in the energy outburst and is seemingly disinintegrated.
Her death is declared an accident and Vernon is innocent in the eyes of the law. But not in the eyes of himself. He's devestated and just gives up. He quits A.I.M, quits his pet projects, just quits everything. And when haunted by the ghost of his wife he hides in a bottle.
As it turns out Van Dyne was working on a key device for A.I.M and they need him to finish it. In desperation they kidnap his daughter, Janet. Meanwhile Susan Storm starts seeing the ghost too. Reed doesn't believe in ghosts but he does believe in Sue. She saw SOMEthing that had to do with his old college professor's wife. He visits Van Dyne and finds him in a drunken stupor. He sees the gamma ray projector and comes to a conclusion.
Meanwhile the ghost appears before Sue again and this time, via sign language, tells her that Jan has been kidnapped by HYDRA. Sue leaves a message for Reed and goes to where Jan is being held. She has no intention of doing anything foolish like try to rescue her herself. She just wants to get a lay of the land. Tell Reed and then have him tell Nick Fury, their government contact.
Of course it doesn't go as planned. Sue gets caught and winds up bound and gagged alongside Jan. Sue was recognized as the partner of Mr. Fantastic and it was believed she could be used as leverage to get him to work for A.I.M in much the same way they are going to force Van Dyne.
Meanwhile Reed is using a special device he cobbled together to track Sue's ghost. He gets a reading at his lab and then he sees Sue's note. He reaches the place where Sue said she be and the detector device goes wild. The ghost appears before Reed and signs him as to what happened. Fortunately he came prepared. Before Fury and his men arrive, (Reed called him), Mr. Fantastic takes out the small group of terrorists and frees the women.
(Fury now knows why HYDRA has suddenly started using hi-tech equipment. And even though Advanced Idea Mechanics had been exposed the organization managed to go underground. Eventually they will become the enemy we know they are today.)
Later, at the Van Dyne home, Reed states that Mrs. Van Dyne wasn't killed. Simply caught in a mid-teleportational flux. He makes a few adjustments on the gamma ray device and Mrs. Van Dyne is restored back to "life." There is a happy family reunion.
Mrs Van Dyne explains that it took a lot of will power to make herself visible. When she figured out how to do it she tried to contact Vernon first. But he was too depressed to put it together. She then tried Jan next. Only to discover her daughter was kidnapped by HYDRA. Then she remembered Jan's best friend, Susan Storm. Susan who now worked for the famous Mr. Fantastic. And the rest is history.
Vernon and the Mrs. decide to go on a world cruise to celebrate. Janet's going back to doing whatever it was she was doing at the time. And Reed decides to tease his partner in crime.
"So. Vampires?"
"Don't make me hit you."
"Werewolves?"
"Reed, if you had a middle name I'd use it, Richards...."
"Maaaaagic."
"Hey! I know a guy in Greewich Village!"
Of course Mrs. Van Dyne either dies for real later on, (in a way that doesn't destroy Vernon), or she and Vernon divorce. And, for whatever reason, Jan NEVER mentions her mother.