John eventually found a home in the covert operations. When he became head of The Bridge, he used its facilities to discover his past. When he discovered his family’s existence and was then rejected by his father, John swore revenge. When Jack died in a plane crash in 1981, no one realized it was the result of sabotage.

Steven studied astronomy and astrophysics and received a doctorate in both fields. In 1978, he met and eventually married Ann, an astronaut in the Space Shuttle program. When she bore their son Benny, she retired to join Stephen on the Edmund Project, a joint MIT-NASA venture to send Firewatch, a manned module, into Halley’s Comet as it approached Earth in 1987.

The mission proceeded smoothly. Stephen was alone in Firewatch as he approached the comet. Suddenly, the comet changed course and drew Firewatch into its tail. The comet emitted unusual radiations that disintegrated the ship.

Everyone assumed that Stephen died in the explosion. To his surprise, he awoke in an alien spaceship operated by an ivory-skinned humanoid named Max. Max explained that he was from the Fortesquians, a race that pursued information on behalf of the Beyonders. They pursued periodic surveillance fly-bys of the Earth in a ship that humans had mistakenly named Halley’s Comet. Max had spotted the unexpected Firewatch and changed course to look at it. When he realized he had accidentally disintegrated a human, he used his ship’s equipment to gather up all of Stephen’s molecules. When he restored Stephen to life using Fortesquian anatomy for a model, Stephen was somewhat changed. Max gave him a protective coverall and offered him a ride back to Fortesque. Stephen declined and suddenly found himself floating in space as the comet sped away from him.

Stephen quickly discovered that he was alive and had superpowers. He began to fly toward Earth. As he hit the atmosphere and began to experience friction, he suddenly teleported into his office at NASA.

His return was kept secret at the insistence of Dr. David Hubert, former ambassador and acting liaison between MIT and NASA. Unknown to Stephen, Hubert was still in love with Ann and had seen Stephen’s presumed death as an opportunity to woo her. No one knew he was also Chief of Operations for the Bridge. Hilbert ordered Stephen in quarantine, where initial tests were conducted to discover Stephen’s abilities and the extent of Max’s equipment and plans.

That night, Stephen was drugged by Hilbert for transportation to the Bridge’s research labs at Langley, Virginia. Ann and Benny were simultaneously kidnapped by other Bridge agents.

John commanded Hubert to intercept and forcibly return Max and the Fortesque ship to Earth. John believed that the Fortesquian technology would give him superpowers.

Enraged at Hilbert’s betrayal, Stephen broke free of his captors. Although shot several times, he instinctively destroyed the lab and most of the personnel. Faced with ruthless guards out to kill him, Stephen tried to disintegrate himself.

In a dream, he saw his family dead and being buried by John, a man he did not yet know existed. Stephen removed a spear that jutted painfully from his side. He awoke in his father’s fishing cabin, healed and holding a bloody bullet. In the peace and isolation, he further honed his abilities and formulated a plan to rescue his family. He didn’t know that Ann had died trying to escape the Bridge.

Reed Richards owed Stephen for his assistance in early Fantastic Four cases. Reed used his facilities to develop Stephen’s powers and his connections to learn more about Stephen’s family and enemies. With Reed’s help, Stephen teleported to his wife’s side. He was nearly driven mad when he discovered he was in her grave.

By the time Reed had recovered Stephen, Nick Fury called with the true history of the Beckley family and John’s existence and vendetta against his kin. When the Thing tried to console Stephen, he triggered an angry release of the energy spheres that demolished the lab. Reed gave Stephen a cybernetic amplifier headband that enabled him to consciously control his teleportation.

On Earth, Hilbert faced John for the final time. John decided that since he already had enough knowledge of the Fortesquan technology, he could blow the ship up with nuclear weapons the commandoes had provided. Although Hubert tried to stop John, he was killed.

In the last second before the detonation, Max suddenly realized the blast was about to occur. He grabbed Stephen’s hand. Whether they teleported away is unknown at this time, as are their current locations, conditions, and plans.