The day before Reed's Experiment with N-space

The flight from Texas wasn't too bad but he's still grumpy when the Arizona air hits him full in the face. He had really wanted to make the whole trip by walking or hitchhiking but he was on a time schedule and he only had two days left until Reed's experiment went live. Arizona is pretty much what he expects, dry, hot and dusty but he still gets a surprise in the form of a courier who comes up to him.

"Mr. Benjamin Grimm?"

"Yeah," he says confused. No one should have any idea where he is. Okay he's called his mom with updates but who would know enough to get a courier to met him in Arizona?

"This is for you," the courier is saying and handing him a small padded envelope. "Sign here."

He signs and is tearing open the package before the courier has turned away. Just as the items within pour into his palm his phone beeps. Pulling it open, he shades the screen with his hand and sees it's a text from Reed, or at least the unknown caller who seems to be Reed.

Welcome to the desert. Don't lose those IDs, they were tough to get and this is an exclusive performance.

Ben looks at what fell out of the envelope and sees several security badges with his photo, each a different color. He looks from it to the phone and types: How?

How did I get the IDs or how did I get the picture or how did I know you'd be there?

Yes.

Look up and say 'Hi'.

Ben looks up and sees a security camera has swiveled to face him.

This is creepy. Like Orwell.

I could hack into a satellite next time if that would make you feel better.

That's okay. See you soon, I've still got a state to get through.

Okay. Why are you walking anyway? You could have taken a direct flight.

Needed some time to think. I'll tell you about it tomorrow.

See you then. Remember don't loose those IDs. Any of them. They're the only thing that will get you in.

I won't, see you.

And with that done he clips the IDs to his passport lanyard and tucks them into his shirt as his sticks out his thumb to hitch a ride.

After Reed's N-Zone Experiment

He wakes up and it feels like the worst morning-after in his entire life, worse even than the Everclear and Tequila night. He watches the pink thing near his eyes because it's easier than trying to remember. The pink thing twitches and he hears a squeak. The ground is dry and there are no plants.

"It's like a..." Words fail him but he's glad it's not hot. The pink thing twitches again and his eyes follow it down to the gray matted fur and teeth. Small eyes stare back at him as it eats a piece of cheese. "Rat," his over taxed mind says. "No desert. I'm in a desert and that is a rat. Am I in Tijuana? Shouldn't I be hot?" He doesn't feel hot. What he feels is heavy. He's laying on the ground and getting up feels like the hardest thing in the world. The ground's soft though, almost like a bed.

He hears a scrapping sound and his eyes track to it. He stares at two pairs of feet in sandals for a long time before his mind connects again to say, "People." He look up and he sees two kids staring, slack jawed. "Hey," he says to be neighborly.

The kids stare for a moment before one screams and they run away. "What the heck?" he thinks as he heaves himself to a sitting position. From there he rises to stand. "What's the wrong with you?" he calls after the kids as they round a corner past a pack of stray dogs.

"Hey, what are you...?" he calls after them as he begins to follow. By his third step he feels the earth shiver beneath him. "Earthquake? Is that why they're freaking out?" Another foot fall and the pack of stray dog is knocked off their feet before they scamper back to run away.

"What is everybody..." he muses as a fire hydrant breaks near him, spewing water into the air. He pauses finding it so hard to think clearly. There's a flash of Reed, that cute girl of his and her brother. Then that smug, condescending smirk of Van Damme's. The blinding light and then the pain. "Um..."

Something shoves him hard in the back, not enough to knock him over but enough to get through his muddled thoughts. Before he can look over his shoulder though a shadow blocks out the sun. He looks up into the terrified eyes of the farmer and his chickens as an old pickup truck flips over him to come crashing down. "Did that truck hit me?"

"Uh, um...I need some help here!" he says into the stunned silence. He finally looks down and sees arms, legs and a torso that belong to a monster. He flinches in fear and sees the arms do the same. The realization hits just before he passes out. "That's me!"

[OOC-All spoken dialog and events from Ultimate Fantastic Four #03]