In Emptiness, Nothingness, Silence,

Jay was sitting in this void of nothingness, with absolute quietness. Even the sound of his breathing, his heartbeat, his voice, had disappeared.

And yet, he felt warm because this was much like the Silence that he was born it.

But it was different; it wasn't just nostalgia that made him felt warm. This emptiness made him feel warm; the pulsing made him feel warm.

He opened his mouth; even though he could hear it, he knew it could.

'What are you?'

'Don't you mean who?'

Even though he couldn't hear, it was like the words dropped, which he could read. He let out a smile, bowing.

'My apologies. Who are you?'

'Don't you already know?'

He chuckled, without a sound, 'welcome to this life. It would be an honor to be your house.'

'Honor is all mine. I know what you have forgotten. What you really are. It's an honor to be a part of such an entity.'

'What are you...?'

'You remember your beginning...you just don't know where it began. I have seen...what is being kept with you. I will be the sword...to cut the curtain apart. To show you the truth.'

Jay closed his eyes, 'hey, you are going to make me cry.'

It chuckled, 'the thing is...I know that you are about to. You want to know too...what you are. Who you are. To fill the hole in your heart.'

'Yeah...Yeah, I do.'

'It was that desire...that gave birth to me...a heart to fill the hole in the heart.'

Jay let out a small chuckle, 'good to have you. Thank you.'

Baxter Building, 31st Floor,

Jay opened his eyes, sitting on the long rectangular dining table with a fork and knife in his hand.

He blinked, with a smile on his face, looking up at the four sets of eyes that were staring at him for any signs of changes.

"You ok? Need water?" Sue kindly asked him, sitting opposite to him. 

Jay lightly smiled, putting the fork and knife down, raising his left hand, and a cross-shaped, stone-like Innocence appeared on top of it. His hand turned scarlet, reminding him of Vision's arm, "ironic."

He stood up, "this should keep my mind steady without a soul, and it will allow me to do this."

He walked over to Ben, putting his hand on Ben's shoulder, closing his eyes, 'help me out?'

Johnny looked towards Ben, blinking, looking towards Jay, "it's ok...everyone has performance issues."

Sue slapped his arm, glaring at him, making Johnny shrug his shoulder.

Jay opened his eyes, narrowing them, with his mind buzzing with the reason for a why. He smiled, "sorry. I forgot..."

"Do it," His voice was softer, more commanding, and even Johnny felt the atmosphere of the room sink.

Suddenly, green and white light surrounded the two, making Ben raise his hand, looking at them, trying to touch the light.

Reed jumped up "wait!! My equipment! I need to record this phenomenon!"

He rushed out of the room, but while he was gone, Jay looked at Ben, "Ben...I cannot get rid of the power. But, I can help you contain it. Do you understand what that means? You have to have the resolve to be free of it and accept it again. If you are lacking...you will die."

Ben lightly smiled through his stone face, closing his eyes, taking in his thick voice, "I have accepted that long ago."

"No, you haven't. You have just given in because even the smartest person on the planet can't help you. When you are free of it...when you face it...the desire to reject it would come pouring out of your heart. Resolve yourself...or you will die."

Abruptly, Ben stood up, holding the table, cracking it, the stones on his body started breaking.

Jay stepped out of the light, his eyes fell on Johnny, standing with a solemn look on his face.

Johnny looked at him, chewing his teeth, "you never said anything about death."

Reed walked inside with equipment, slowing down, "I knew...Ben knew. He wanted it...more than anything; I couldn't convince him otherwise. I didn't have it in me to tell him...to keep living like that."

Jay sat down, wiping the sweat off his cheek, his eyes becoming heavy, "hmm, it's a part of him. I am not draining him; it's shifting the source of his power, creating a new one. Innocence...has intelligence. If Ben rejects it...it will do so as well."

Reed set up miniaturized satellite-like equipment, with long wires leaving the room to his room.

Johnny turned towards Sue, "you knew about this?"

Sue Storm pressed her lips, nodding, "yes, I did." She brought her hands together, closing her eyes, "I tried to stop him."

The stones on Ben started falling apart, revealing his body underneath. A smile appeared on his face before a massive cut appeared on his back, and he fell down the ground.

The blood started flowing, covering the ground, the stones, when Johnny rushed towards him, "Ben!"

"No!" Reed extended his arm, holding the edge of the table, stopping Johnny, "the data is showing that the transference is still active."

"But at the rate, he's bleeding?!"

"It's a rare one, the Crystal Type," Jay lightly smiled, "guess that makes sense."

"Rare type? Now there are types? Didn't you just invent this shit?" Johnny widened his eyes, looking at him in surprise.

Jay opened his mouth to explain, letting out a breath, "I might have taken inspiration from somewhere of the other. So, you know. I do know some of its basic abilities. Who knows what more are there."

His eyes looked towards Ben, with the blood covering all the stones that fell off his body. The blood broke them down, becoming one with them, and soon it rose up, forming a scarlet crystal body that looked like Ben in mutated form.

Ben raised his body, sitting on his knees; the adjustable underwear kept the situation from becoming awkward. He stared at the Crystal Thing, widening his eyes.

There was reluctance when he heard a soft voice, "Ben..."

He didn't need to look; he knew who it was, his girlfriend, Alicia Masters. The reluctance that was in his heart disappeared, remembering all the support she gave. He raised his hand, touching the crystal, "I am not just Ben Grimm...I am...The Thing!"

There was another bright shine, which covered him; when it dulled down, his body was back to how it was. His skin had turned to orange stone, but there was a greenish shine coming from the cracks.

"Ben..." Alicia walked over, touching his hand, feeling his stony skin, "it's ok...it's ok."

Ben looked at her, turning towards her, and the stone skin disappeared, moving towards his back, forming a cross on his back. He stroked her cheek, taking his normal voice, "it's ok...it worked...it worked."

He hugged her, taking a deep breath, "it worked."

"All right, man!!! Awesome!! That deserves a celebration!" Johnny jumped up, rushing for the bottle.

But Reed looked towards Jay, "what about you? Did it work?"

Jay raised his right hand, and the orange stones appeared on it, "yeah, it did."

Ben looked back, patting Alicia's shoulder, walking towards Jay with his smiley face. His hand turned to stone, which he used to shook Jay's stone hand, "congratulation. It would be good to have another Thing."

"Yeah, can't do that. Mine is just partial. I can only use some parts of your powers," Jay shrugged, "but I can do this."

The stones came out of his hands, forming a shield in front of him, making Ben looked hesitantly, "how."

"You powers didn't just change their source...they might have evolved a bit. Try thinking out of the box, and use them in different ways. Experiment," Jay chuckled, sitting down, and the stones disappeared.

"That's Reed's favorite word," Ben looked towards Reed, knowing that he was going to.

Reed smiled when Sue walked over, letting out a breath, hugging Ben, "God, I am so glad that worked. I would have never forgiven myself if something happened to you!"

Ben hugged her, smiling, "everything worked out for the best." He held Alicia's hand, "because of her."

Johnny patted the table, causing everyone to look at him, "am I the only one that is out of the loop? Like Jay just used Benny's powers! How does that happen?"

Jay shrugged, "I am the source of all Innocence. I bear the Heart of Innocence. So I could use some of their powers, partial. It helps me fill in the soul. Make the Heart strong enough to bear the weight of my mind."

Reed sat down, taking his heading, as Alicia hugged Ben's arms, 'looking' towards him with her blind eyes.

"So, how much did it fill?" Reed curiously asked, "can you tell? How much more do you need?"

"Hmm, let's see. My Innocence and the Heart is like 24, Ben's like 10, and so...about 99 more," Jay tilted his head, "that should make the Heart stable enough to not let my mind deteriorate."

Johnny sat down on the table, drinking wine from the bottle, "you want to find 99 more of Ben?"

Jay chuckled, "No, No...I don't need to do anything. There already are."

"The Mutants," Sue muttered.

"Yeah, the Mutants."