Chapter Text
>>Excelsior_communication_log.mp3
[Caption: The last minutes of the Excelsior’s radio transmission to Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex (November 7, 1961)]
Richards: Josie, please. We need to focus.
J. Storm: [laughing] I’m sorry, I can’t help it. Ben’s singing is horrible.
Grimm: Oh, and you can do better, pipsqueak?
J. Storm: As a matter of fact, I can. I can show you right now. [singing] I —
Grimm, S. Storm: [overlapping] No!
Richards: Josie, I’m sure you have a beautiful voice, but — [pause] What in the world?
S. Storm: What is it?
Richards: The cosmic rays — their acceleration and trajectory —
[clanging of metal]
Grimm: [expletive]
J. Storm: What’s happening? Sue, what’s happening?
S. Storm: I don’t — Reed, what’s —
[more clanging; sirens]
Richards: Damnit! The shielding isn’t holding, it’s peeling off —
Grimm: [expletive] Everyone hold on!
[more clanging, followed by screaming; most words are unintelligible.]
S. Storm: I’m sorry… Jo, I’m so sorry…
[creaking of metal and shouting]
J. Storm: Sue! Sue, help!
[screaming]
[audio ends here]
Josie | 1961 | New York City, NY
The last day of Josie’s life dawned bright and beautiful, yet she still felt a sinking feeling in her gut.
She rose from her bed, pulling off her nightgown to tug on her skin-tight costume that would act as a second skin beneath her spacesuit. If she was being honest, she thought it was hideous, but Reed said she couldn’t do anything to it, something about compromising integrity or something else. She didn’t know; she studied language, not particle physics.
Three loud knocks sounded on her door. “Jo! Are you awake?” It was Sue, punctual as she had always been, dragging Josie into it, kicking and screaming. It wasn’t like they could be late, anyway — the ship could hardly leave without them.
“Yep!” The undersuit pinched uncomfortably in some places, so Josie adjusted them as she viewed herself in the mirror.
On matters involving publicity and fashion, Josie found it best not to listen to Reed, especially when he began to make noises like ‘they care about the launch, not your lipstick’ and ‘you don’t need makeup if you’re going to space’. Respectfully, he knew a lot but nothing in this particular area; on one of their off days from training, Sue had taken him through her makeup collection, which led to the amazing discovery that Reed Richards had no clue what half of her products did.
Either way, makeup was a necessity, no matter what he said. If she didn’t wear makeup, the public would have a lot to say about it, as if they didn’t say enough about her already. A part of her wished that the launch wasn’t so public, but another part revelled in the attention. She wasn’t sure which was the larger one.
She glided her brush through her hair next, combing out imaginary tangles and applying a liberal amount of hairspray. It was a shame the helmet would most likely ruin her hard work — back-length golden tresses with not a hair out of place. It was a point of pride, how perfect she could get herself to look, even if she felt a bit disingenuous doing it.
Sue returned, her knocks more frantic. “I swear, Jo, if you set off the fire alarm again…”
“I won’t, and that was one time, let it go!”
“Just warning you. Anyway, breakfast is ready.”
Josie opened the door, and Sue moved to allow her space. She was wearing the same suit but seemed less comfortable with it, pulling and pinching so much Josie was worried she’d tear a hole. “You think this is the last day we’ll have to eat that gruel they call food?” Josie asked, and predictably, Sue sighed in a mix between amusement and irritation, hands falling to her sides.
“Josie, you know it’s meant to make us stronger.”
“Really? I don’t think it has.” They moved into the elevator, psyched with some unique energy they couldn’t place. Healthy fear mixed with excitement, most likely. It wasn’t every day people went to space, after all. “Something healthy isn’t supposed to make me want to hurl.”
“Oh, shut up,” Sue said as the door closed, playfully nudging Josie’s shoulder. “I’ll buy you a burger when we get back. How does that sound?”
“Like heaven.”
***
After breakfast, everything was final.
They slid into their space suits for the final time. They had a final debriefing, a final address to the nation.
“We feel honored to have this privilege,” Sue said into the microphone as she began her parting remarks, the rest of their team gathered around. “We hope that this begins a new era of exploration and discovery of outer space for the American people.”
They stepped off the stage to applause — and to questions. “Josie!” A reporter called with unearned familiarity, “what do you say to the accusations that your involvement in this project was the product of nepotism?”
The question rankled Josie, causing her to trip over her bulky suit. It wasn’t her fault that Reed offered to bring her along as a favor to Sue, and that Josie agreed (though Sue was very against the idea in the beginning). It wasn’t like she was dead weight, either — she had tasks just like the rest of them, data to collect. There seemed to be a common misconception that Josie was the definition of a dumb blonde, and she resented it deeply.
Though at the same time, she understood. There were NASA astronauts out there missing their chance because she was there. Still… there was nothing she could do about it now.
With the calls of reporters and the shutters of cameras behind them, they marched to the ship. Josie had to crane her neck to see the whole of it: sleek metal painted white and blue, their mission Excelsior stamped along its sides. It was real, now. It was final. The final frontier.
This time, it was Sue who offered her a distraction, knocking her shoulder, which almost sent her tumbling with the force and weight of the suit. “Sorry,” she apologized, then said, “don’t worry about what people think. You have a place here, Jo. Don’t let them make you doubt yourself.”
You have a place here. She let that message sink into her skin, pushing it into her heart and hoping that would make her believe it. “Thanks, Sue.” Had it been anyone else, she might’ve tacked on an ‘I would’ve thought I needed to doubt myself more’ but Sue would’ve given her one of those looks. She hated when Josie went all heartthrob on her — she had said once that it was uncanny, watching her little sister who used to be so quiet and kind act so much unlike herself. So, Josie toned it down around her. It was the least she could do.
When they approached the rocket, the door opened automatically, revealing the central bridge — everything was off by ninety degrees, facing upward, so there was a bit of a climb to get to their positions.
“I hate this,” Ben grumbled, clambering up the rungs they had installed in the floor to get to his seat.
“Well, it can’t be any other way,” Reed reminded him, already making his own ascent to his place, right next to Ben. “Once we escape the Earth’s atmosphere, it will feel more natural.”
After Sue, Josie climbed to her seat, the spacesuit dragging behind her and pulling her down. “Jesus,” she swore, “now I know why we had to actually train.” When they first began their training, all Josie did was complain, why did they have to exercise if space was zero-g, what data collection warranted the torture that was doing laps until she felt like collapsing. But after some time, she was able to push away the exhaustion and appreciate how the exercises brought them closer together.
Josie had known Reed for a year or so before they began training, and Ben for only a few months. Ben, she liked well enough when he wasn’t the most aggravating man she knew, but she wasn’t quite sure what to make of Reed. He wasn’t the speaking type, really, preferring to hole himself up in his lab filled with things Josie didn’t even think were possible rather than suffer through any sort of human interaction. She wondered how Ben had found a friend in him, how Sue had found a fiancé.
She had learned quickly enough that Reed was awkward but so, so well-meaning and sweet that it was hard to hate him. And, he was nearly always right. Josie had found herself bonding with the man over her math homework — Reed would often over-explain, citing mathematicians and equations he wouldn’t learn until the master’s in math she’d never get, but he tried and usually succeeded in bringing her grades up. She came to appreciate him, and all of them, in a way she hadn’t thought possible.
Even if it was nepotism, even if she was a girl out of her depth, she’d never want to do this with anyone else.
And, well… if this all went wrong, they weren't a half-bad group to die with.
Sue must’ve been psychic. She reached over from her seat to pat Josie’s arm, smiling softly when Josie shifted to hold her hand. “Reed’s done all the calculations,” Sue said. “I think that stack of books was taller than him. If there’s something you’re worried about, he’s thought of it. You can never be one-hundred-percent safe, but I reckon we’re pretty damn close.”
Josie squeezed her hand, all throughout the comm checks, through the t-minuses, through the activation of the rockets, through the pounding in her chest as they went to touch the stars.
Josie, naive, sweet, sixteen-year-old Josephine Storm, trusted her sister. There was no world in which she wouldn’t follow her.
Her mistake.
Petra | 2021 | New York City, NY
Petra Parker was asleep.
The day was dawning bright and beautiful, but she wasn’t seeing any of it, leg wrapped around a pillow as she drooled into another, hair tied away so she wouldn’t accidentally choke on it in the night.
She didn’t know it yet, but she was late for her lecture. Missing a class in advanced particle physics wasn’t something one could easily make up, but Petra was too deep in sleep to feel the heavy work that was reaching back from the future to settle on her shoulders.
She only awoke when her Aunt May marched into her room and threw open the curtains, making Petra whine as the sun beams landed directly on her unprepared retinas. “Five more minutes,” she groaned, even as she rubbed her eyes into alertness.
“If I gave you five more minutes, you’d be later to class than you already are now,” May said, and Petra frantically glanced at her clock — eight-thirty.
“Shi — shoot!” She exclaimed, jumping out of bed like she had been shocked, ignoring May’s knowing look as she grabbed her clock to examine it closer. “I set an alarm, I swear — this thing didn’t go off, did it?”
“I didn’t hear it,” May said, so that was a no. As she started grabbing random clothes from her closet, Petra let out a growl.
“Stupid piece of junk — should’ve thrown it out ages ago — ” she muttered, glaring at the clothes in her hands, collateral damage to her irritation.
“The swear jar’s looking empty, Petra,” May reminded her.
“I haven’t even said any! And that first one doesn’t count, I didn’t finish the word.”
“I know, I know, I’m just saying in case you do.”
Petra kicked the door closed without an answer, changing from her pyjamas to an outfit good enough but not quite up to her usual standards. She glanced at herself in the mirror — definitely looking like she just rolled out of bed, and was that a trail of drool? — thinking for a second about putting on makeup. Her hand twitched towards her blue mascara she got for a deal some time ago, but then she decided that no, she didn’t have the time. She applied lip gloss a little sloppily before pulling on socks and leaving her room.
“I’ve got mostly good eggs and some toast for breakfast,” May told her as she entered the kitchen, leaning on the counter.
“Mostly good?”
“I’d avoid the edges if I were you.” May slid the plate over to her. “Eat quick. Every minute you spend here is a minute of knowledge your brain isn’t absorbing.”
“More like a minute of trying to find a seat,” Petra muttered with eggs in her mouth. She had to dodge May’s attempted swat at her arm. “Hey! You’ll make me choke.”
“You’d better not, or you’ll miss your whole lecture.”
Petra finished the food as fast as she could, grabbing her bag, keys and slipping on her shoes. “Back in a few hours,” she told May, kissing her on the cheek before leaving their apartment.
Petra checked the time. If she took the train, she’d probably get to school halfway through the lecture, and at that point, it wouldn’t even be worth it.
Good thing she had a better mode of transport.
After ducking into an alleyway and checking for any peepers, she pulled on her Spider-Woman costume, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and began swinging from building to building. She soared over cars stuck in traffic, pedestrians fighting against the crowd to get where they needed to go. She couldn’t see it, but she was probably beating the subway train, too, and having a hell of a lot more fun than she would have had she taken it. She also got web-slinging for free. Definitely a plus.
The ESU campus was growing in her vision, just a short distance away from the actual Empire State Building. She meant to land in another alley, change again, and run the few blocks to her lecture when a form appeared on the horizon.
It started as a bright point of light at first, poking a hole through the diffracted blue of the sky into space beyond. Petra stopped on a rooftop to watch.
The point became a definite shape that was growing with alarming speed. A meteor? An alien ship? Every possibility ran through her head, and she couldn’t say she liked any of them.
She went to pick up her phone, call Tony, but he beat her to the punch. When she picked up the call, he didn’t stop for any pleasantries. “You looking up, kid?” He asked, all business.
“Not a kid, man,” she responded, “and yeah. What is that?”
“Computers say it’s a ship. It’s heading straight for the Hudson. I’ll be there in five.”
Petra inwardly sighed; no advanced particle physics for her, then. “Give me ten.” Then, she hung up and swung towards the river.
In those ten minutes, the ship got closer and closer, not prepping to land on a pad or dock but crashing into the water instead. She could see details now — the white and blue, peeling paint; the panels pulling away, completely gone in some places. This ship had been through it, and it was about to go through a lot more.
And it did, in that moment, just not in a way Petra expected — a loud boom rent the sky as the rocket caught fire, somehow managing to stay in one piece as it hurled down to Earth, a flaming meteor.
She tried to get there in time. She had been close — she had seen Tony hovering over a dock just before the rocket slammed into the water, steaming and burning, floating slightly but slowly sinking. As river water sprayed and plumes of smoke rose, civilians began to understand what had happened, and there was pandemonium along the Hudson. People shouted, ran, tripped away from the hulking mass in the water, afraid of what might come from it but too terrified to stick around and find out.
Petra and Tony didn’t have that option, so she stuck to the Iron Man suit — there was a distinct lack of skyscrapers in the Hudson, so swinging was a no-go — as he flew across to hover above the flaming ship.
“So, what’re we thinking?” Petra asked, noting Tony’s urgency. “Alien ship? Failed spy mission? Failed alien spy mission?”
“I don’t know about that,” Tony said, pointing at something painted onto the dirtied paneling. Looking closer, red, white and blue peeked out at her — it was a faded American flag.
“Failed test flight?”
Tony’s expressions were somewhat limited in the Iron Man suit, but she understood the small shrug well enough. “We can figure that out later. But right now, we need to get to whoever’s inside before the whole thing goes up in flames.”
He flew over to the door, gauntlet stretched out to rip it open —
Only for it to come flying off, nearly hitting Petra in the face. “What the — ?”
A large, orange, rocky hand gripped the side of the doorway, denting the heated metal into the shape of its fingers.
“Holy shit,” Petra breathed.
“Language.”
“Not the time — what the fuck?”
The hand had turned into an arm, then a... head? The creature definitely had eyes, so blue it unnerved Petra a little. But it was completely made of rock. Its eyes landed on the two of them, and its brow crumbled and let out dust as it furrowed.
“Who the hell — never mind. Look, you gotta help us.” The voice was manly, though deeper than Petra had ever heard any man’s to be, raspy like there were stones in his throat — and looking at him, that was more than likely. “The rest are still in here, and they can’t take the heat like I can — ”
“How many?” Petra asked, prepping to drop down and help.
“There’s four of us.”
Petra looked at Tony for confirmation. “You work from the inside, I’ll work from the outside,” he said, and with a nod, Petra dropped into the ship.
It was boiling in there. The metal ship acted like a convection oven, and within seconds, Petra was sweating buckets. Iron Man was helping, tearing off panels and sides of the ship, but it wasn’t fast enough. If Petra didn’t get the three other ship members out soon, they’d all be toast — or ashes in the Hudson.
The first person Petra came across was a normal-looking man with streaks of white on the sides of his head who seemed to be trapped in his seat. He was breathing heavily, not really like he was hurt, but more like he was winded. “Hey, dude,” she said, landing in front of him and pulling apart his restraints, “we’ll talk later about whether or not you guys are bad guys, but for now, I’m here to get you out.”
“Who are you?” He breathed, almost too low to hear in the blaze. “This... this doesn’t make any sense.”
“You’re preaching to the choir, man,” she told him as she lifted him up to the door, giving him a chance to crawl out. “We’re pretty confused, too — “
The frame of the ship shuddered, and the floor underneath Petra gave way. It sagged a little but didn’t quite break, but Petra could see it was only a matter of time. Now, the man couldn’t reach the opening. Petra shot out her arm, sending out a web —
The man’s arm stretched to grab the lip of the door. “What in the world?” He muttered, staring at it.
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.” His arm contracted, pulling them to the doorway. “Jesus Christ, that’s creepy,” she muttered. “Thanks for the ride, though. I’ve got some more people to save.” Once again, she fell into the wreckage, looking for the other half of this unfortunate crew. What the hell had happened? This was, presumably, an American rocket, only Petra didn’t know a single American like that rock-man. Then again, Petra had only left New York State once. Maybe that was what Texans looked like.
She met Tony again through one of the holes he had made, holding a blonde woman in his arms. She looked normal, if a little old-school — her blonde hair was flipped up in a way that wasn't really in fashion anymore. She was crying and screaming something, but Petra couldn’t hear over the roar of the fire.
When she got closer, the sounds formed words. “Please!” She screamed, “Save her! She’s still in there! Josie! Josie!”
“Where is she?” Petra asked her, only for her stomach to drop when the lady pointed right into the heart of the fire. There was no way that this Josie would come out of this alive, not at the temperatures the flames were crackling at. When Petra turned back to the woman, hesitating, she cried out in what Petra could only describe as one of the most piercing wails of grief she had ever heard.
“No, please...” she got out between the sobs, “Jo, I’m so sorry...” And then she shimmered and disappeared.
Petra blinked. “She’s been doing that for a while,” Tony told her. Now, it looked like he was holding nothing but air.
Right, Petra, focus. She couldn’t let this woman lose someone clearly very important to her without putting up a fight, even if it means bringing back a body, or the confirmation that the one she was crying for really was gone. “Place her with the others,” Petra told him. “You’ve got a fire extinguisher in there, right?”
“Of course.”
"Could you drop her off and come back here?"
"Sure. Give me a second," he said, flying off.
In the meantime, Petra crept closer to the flames. The heat was really starting to get to her, now, and she blinked rapidly as the flames dried out her eyes. She tried to scan the fire, looking for anyone, but she heard them first.
Screams. Horrible, horrible screams. Screams of fear.
But not of pain.
Narrowing her eyes, Petra turned her focus towards the direction of the screams and saw a form sitting in the middle of the inferno. Josie. Not writhing, not howling as their skin melted off. Just... sitting and screaming as the flames rolled off her body.
Tony arrived at just the right time. “It’s coming from them! The fire, it’s coming from Josie!”
“Great,” he said, blasting the flames with his built-in extinguishers. They were more powerful than the average type, but still, it would take ages before they could snuff out the whole thing.
Petra has another idea. “I’m going to get the lady,” she told Tony.
“What? Why?”
“She seems to know the girl in the fire,” she reasoned, “and I’d bet that if we get her to calm down, the fire would die down.” Not waiting for acknowledgement, she swung over to where the three were standing. The stretchy man was holding the woman up, even as parts of her disappeared and returned.
“I’m sorry, guys,” she told them, “but I need to borrow, uh...” she gestured to the woman.
“Sue,” she said, drying her tears.
“Sue.” To her credit, Sue didn’t hesitate, offering herself up to be carried back to the wreckage.
“You know Josie well?” Petra asked.
Sue sniffled. “The best,” she asserted. “She’s my little sister.” She buried her face into Petra’s shoulder. “And now, she’s... she’s...”
“Don’t get too sure. I need you to help me calm her down — the flames seem like they’re coming from her.”
Sue’s head shot up at that. “She’s... alive?” She muttered under her breath, “she did say she was feeling hot...”
They returned to the burning hull of the ship. Tony had managed to make a dent in the fire, but it was still flaming in full force. Petra and Sue landed in front of where Josie was screaming, and Sue immediately got to work.
“Josie. Josie!” She called, trying to get her sister’s attention. But Josie wasn’t listening — she continued to shriek, the fire growing brighter.
“Josephine!” That got her attention. She looked up, right into Sue’s eyes, but Petra felt a bolt of fear pass through her. Even though she wasn't the subject of her gaze, her eyes… they were just fire, a portal into endless suffering. The effect lessened significantly as they widened when Josie pushed herself backwards.
“Stay away!” The voice had an element of Sue’s, that same lilt but younger, more expressive. “Get back!”
“No, Jo,” Sue said, inching closer, and Petra had to stop herself from throwing out a hand to block her. “Josie. I know you’re scared, but you’re not gonna hurt me.”
“I will,” she said, voice thick even though Petra doubted she could cry in this state. “I’ll hurt all of you.”
“No, you won’t, because you have the power to control the fire. I just need you to breathe with me, okay?”
“I can’t — I can’t — ”
“You can,” Sue assured her. “Come on. With me.”
The minutes dragged on with a tense air as Sue guided her sister through breathing exercises, and gradually, the flames receded, getting smaller and cooler until they finally snuffed out. Then, it was just Josie, sitting in the blackened and melted husk of the ship. She looked like a younger version of Sue, with a rounder face and longer hair. In fact, Petra would wager that Josie was around her age.
Petra and Josie both protested, worried that Josie was still hot to the touch, but Sue ignored them all, rushing to throw her arms around Josie. “Oh my lord,” she breathed, rocking her sister like a baby, “Oh, Josie.”
Tony allowed them a few more seconds of fretting over each other before he cleared his throat. “As heart-warming as this is,” he said, ignoring Petra’s glare, “we’re gonna need some answers.”
“Take us to the others, first,” Sue said, still clinging to Josie. “We’re not sure what happened, either.”
Tony did just that, scooping up both sisters as Petra used the suit as momentum to swing to where they had placed the other crew members. They were watching fearfully, though they relaxed when they saw their fellow shipmates in tow.
When Petra set them down, the stretchy man pulled Sue towards him, his arms extending far beyond the limits of the human body. The rock-man patted Josie on the back, almost making her lose her balance. They clearly knew each other well, but Petra and Tony were still out of the loop.
Once again, Tony had to ruin the moment, though Petra was on his side this time. “So,” he said, gesturing to the sinking ship, “anyone want to explain that?”
They all turned to look at the stretchy man. He surveyed the destruction they had caused, his eyes lingering on the rock-man — who turned his eyes away — before finally breathing out a soft “I don’t know.”
The others blinked and started in surprise — this must not have been a common occurrence. The rock-man stepped up, leaving cracks in the pavement. “Why should we answer to you, huh? Who the hell are you people, anyway?”
“Not how this works,” Tony said cheerfully, even as he stiffened, ready to fight. “I’m asking the questions here. First round — who are you, why did you crash-land in New York City, and should I get ready to punch your face in?”
“Not if clobber you first,” he growled, and he was about to swing at Iron Man before both Petra and the stretchy guy stepped in.
“Let’s calm down,” she said, arms held out between the two.
“Yes, let’s,” he agreed. “Maybe it would be best if we introduced ourselves.” The other ship members didn’t look convinced, but he went on. “My name is Reed Richards, and — “
“Reed Richards?!”