Synopsis
Ben Grimm visits ex-fiancée Alicia Masters for a sympathetic ear (and to bring us up-to-date with the plot). He tells her that Johnny Storm was despondent with Reed, Sue and family missing (since Secret Wars III). So he said he had info that they were alive in another universe, and they should go look for them. But he now has the problem that Johnny will hate him when he finds out it was a lie.
Alicia says they always get over their fallings out. Like the time Ben stayed on a distant planet for months (after Secret Wars I) and when he came back (Fantastic Four #277) Alicia had married Johnny - except *that* Alicia was a Skrull replacement. And anyway, how are they going to explore other universes *without* Reed Richards?
Which brings us to more of last issue's plot. 2 days later Thing and Human Torch are flying in the Fantasti-Car. (Along the way we learn that Johnny doesn't need to brush his teeth or wash because he just burns off dirt.) Johnny recalls Ben telling him that Dr Doom 'found' a device of Richards' which contained a message addressed to Ben. He couldn't access it so he gave it to Grimm. And the message told Ben there was another device called the Multisect which would let him and Johnny explore the multiverse. It was hidden in the location of their 1st adventure, so the duo are heading to Monster Island (from FF#1). (Ben got left a message, Johnny was heir to Fantastic Four Inc (see #28 of the last Uncanny Avengers series).)
Ben doesn't know where exactly the device is hidden, but Reed would know that so he guesses they should do the obvious - and they walk into the large mouth-like cave mouth in the hill that occupies most of the isle. Johnny probes for more details of the message and Ben has to make stuff up. But Johnny guesses Reed created the Multisect in case of his death, so the others could keep doing the FF exploring stuff. Ben is uncomfortable because that's *exactly* what the message said. So he changes the subject ...
... and gets Johnny to flame on to give them some light. Revealing that they're surrounded by Moloids, Mole Man, Giganto (from FF#1) and Googam son of Goom. Mole Man explains that after the Monsters Unleashed event some chars from there came to live in Moley's domain of Monster Isle and Subterrania. But now Googam wants to *rule* the Isle. He wants an election and he's got lots of Moloids on his side. But Harvey Elder says the monster way is a display of power - so he suggests they all attack Thing and Torch and the side that defeats them gets the Island.
Torch is enjoying the old-style team-up and fight. But then his flame dies, as it has been doing recently. Things look dark for the duo until ...
... Victor Von Doom in his current Iron Man role blasts the Moloids away, and Torch with them. Thing immediately assumes correctly that Doom followed them to get the Multisect for himself, and attacks. As Victor blasts *him* away he claims that he could do much more good with it than the FF remnant. Recovering Torch says they *need* it to go save the Richards clan. Doom looks at Thing because he realises Ben has lied to his partner.
Before Victor can expose the lie the Moloids interrupt by proclaiming Doom their new ruler - after all *he* beat the 2 heroes. Googam and Mole Man protest, but Doom tells the Moloids to take them away and they obey.
Victor says he detects no high-tech device here, and so prepares to leave. Grimm tries to stop him but Doom suggests that there *is* no Multisect - Reed Richards was just boasting. But the pair can go on searching for something that isn't there if they want. And Ben knows what he *really* means, so he lets Doom go.
But now Ben remembers something from his and Reed's past at university together, along with Victor. Von Doom won a theoretical physics prize which Reed should have done, but largely because he sucked up to the examiners. Victor had the trophy displayed for all to see. But the college roommates defaced it overnight, changing the name on it from Von Doom to Von Doof. And Reed always called *that* their 1st adventure.
Now Thing and Torch go to that college and find the maguffin hidden inside that trophy.