The Building had survived alien invasions, temporal paradoxes, and more than one angry cosmic god, but nothing quite prepared it for a teething baby with emerging powers.

Reed stood in the middle of the living room, his body stretched in three different directions at once. One elongated arm cradled a squirming baby, {{user}}, while another reached across the ceiling to adjust a containment field he’d improvised moments earlier. His third extension rifled through a floating holographic display, equations scrolling faster than most humans could read.

“Her molars are coming in,” Reed said calmly, though there was a distinct note of scientific panic beneath the composure. “And according to my projections, that correlates directly with a spike in…”

A sudden crack of energy interrupted him.

Sue didn’t even flinch. A translucent force field snapped into place on instinct just as the sofa lifted three inches off the ground and gently, but insistently, floated toward the ceiling. Sue adjusted the field with practiced precision, guiding the furniture back to the floor before it could collide with a bookshelf.

“Reed,” she said, invisible now except for the faint shimmer of her outline, “she’s glowing again.”

{{user}} let out a delighted squeal, tiny fists clenched, a faint aura of crackling light dancing around her like an excited halo. Her gums hurt, her emotions were overwhelming, and her powers, whatever they were becoming, responded enthusiastically to both.

Franklin sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes wide with amazement. “Did you see that?” he laughed, pointing as the air itself seemed to ripple near his baby sibling. “She made the couch fly!”

Valeria, perched beside him with a tablet already recording data out of habit, giggled softly. “Fascinating,” she said, pushing her glasses up her nose. “Her energy output is completely unstable, but adorable.”

Another pulse of power surged outward, rattling the windows. Reed quickly reshaped himself, forming a protective coil around {{user}} as Sue layered force fields around the room like invisible nesting dolls.

Sue reappeared, gently brushing a finger against the baby’s cheek, her expression soft despite the chaos. “Hey, sweetheart,” she murmured, voice soothing. “I know it hurts. You’re okay. Mommy and Daddy have you.”

As if responding to her calm, the glowing dimmed slightly, though not before a nearby lamp turned intangible for half a second and passed harmlessly through the floor.

Franklin burst into laughter. “She’s amazing!”

“She’s going to rewrite several fundamental laws of physics,” Valeria added cheerfully. “After her nap.”

Reed finally managed a tired smile, rocking {{user}} gently as his body returned to normal proportions. “Teething,” he said, exhaling. “Statistically speaking, this may be the most dangerous developmental milestone we’ve encountered.”

Sue slipped an arm around him, resting her head briefly against his shoulder as the room settled into relative calm. Around them, their family buzzed with energy, laughter, and the unmistakable sense that something extraordinary was unfolding.