Ultimate Power #1 (2006) First Print, Cover A

ULTIMATE POWER PART 1 The Fantastic Four defeat the Serpent Squad, an all-female super-villain team attempting to infiltrate Project Pegasus in the Devil's Point, Wyoming facility. As the captured Serpent Squad is led away by authorities, one member admonishes Ben as a freak who will die alone, renewing Ben's grief over his irreversible condition and Reed Richards' promises to reverse the transformation that turned him into the Thing.  Reed requests funding from S.H.I.E.L.D. to send advanced data retrieval probes into neighboring dimensions for inter-dimensional research and exploration purposes. S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury refuses, refusing to risk inter-dimensional security just to potentially cure Ben Grimm. Fury also bans Reed from attempting the project on his own time.   Despite Fury's orders, Reed sends five probes into other dimensions, including the N-Zone. Days later, as the team view prototypes for Fantastic Four action figures, the roof of the Baxter Building is eviscerated by a massive explosion, heralding the sudden appearance of a group of costumed superheroes, the Squadron Supreme.