In one of his experimental laboratories, Reed Richards was making final adjustments to a new invention. For some time he’d pondered the possibility of building a device that could create a portal between alternative Universes. After hours of complex calculations he’d found a way to stabilise the quantum fluctuations required to actually “tune” in to a dimension beyond Earth 616 and create a stable portal that a person or persons could step through, in either direction.
He realised the slightest error could be disastrous and so was determined to get the required calculations right before making the first test. As usual, that meant he had forgotten about dinner…
Sue was no stranger to this, but even so, it never failed to irritate her. With a sigh, she gave up waiting and went to the lab where she knew her loving husband was absorbed in his latest piece of work and had forgotten all about their dinner date. Letting herself into the lab, she saw Reed bending over the control unit of a large circular machine, which looked very much like an elaborate doorway. She walked up behind Reed and cleared her throat.
Just at that moment, Reed had been making a particularly delicate adjustment to one of the calibration nano-circuits, and the sudden interruption made his hand move just a millimeter in the wrong direction…