The Silver Crystal

[BeakerSqueedom]

I just got chills on the last part. ;_;
UPDATE! RAWR!

 

[muppetwriter]

Chapter Eleven​

The Embassy of the United States of America was situated at the London Chancery Building in Grosvenor Square. The sprawling, rectangular building was nine stories high and dug three stories into the ground. A large gilded aluminum bald eagle with a wingspan of over thirty-five feet sat stoically on the roof of the chancery building, making it an instantly recognizable landmark in a city already crowded with stately architecture and breathtaking buildings. One of the largest United States diplomatic buildings in the world, its white façade and surrounding gardens gave the severe architecture an almost calm and peaceful aura.

Inside the building, it was an entirely different matter.

“What the h*ll was that?” General Luft’s booming voice was more brusque than usual, and Reed couldn’t blame him. The silver alien not only managed to escape their grasp but also dried up the Thames River, hurt numerous bystanders with its attack on the Millennium Wheel, and left a large crater in the middle of the now empty riverbed. According to Captain Raye, who’d spoken to them before Luft came into the room, the White House wasn’t pleased, Downing Street wasn’t pleased, and General Luft, the man responsible for the botched mission, was certainly not pleased.

Bunsen Honeydew tried to console the irate general. “We shall make adjustments,” he said. “Next time, we’ll surely be ready.”

“Meep mee!” Beaker agreed.

Despite Bunsen’s brave words, his confidence was shaken. Their second encounter with the Silver Surfer had been worse than the first. The strain of saving the wheel had pushed Sue and Bunsen to their limits and almost killed them. Johnny’s unpredictability was greatly compounded by his unstable molecular structure, which caused him to switch powers with any member of the group he came into physical contact with. Then there was the mysterious appearance of the other element-controlling heroes that made the Guardians seem somewhat feeble to the incident, and Luft seemed adamant to find out who they were, after he dealt with the Silver Surfer situation. Bunsen hated to admit it, but he knew this wasn’t the team’s finest hour.

Luft’s gruff voice interrupted his thoughts. “Next time? There is no next time, Dr. Honeydew. You can’t handle this alone.”

“We’re not alone in this!” Will stepped up and said. “Didn’t you see those element-bending aliens who bravely entered the situation and saved everyone’s butts in time?”

“Yes, I did. I was there when the mountain came up from out of the ground.” Luft remarked, glaring at Will. “And how did you know that they were aliens, Miss Vandom?” Will knew there and then that she had been caught off guard, her excitement getting the best of her. She tried to cover it up, but was soon interrupted by Luft and his brusque tone. “Save it, young lady! I believe you have gotten yourself and your fellow freaks of nature in enough trouble already with your secrets. We’re going to find out whom these aliens are, and if they have something to do with this Silver Surfer, you all will be held at C.O.V.N.E.T. headquarters for withholding information valuable to our mission of saving the world.” He then looked away from Will and towards the others. “I’m bringing in some help.” He motioned to a guard, who left the room.

Reed began to protest. “General, bringing in more soldiers, agents, and weaponry is only going to put innocent people in danger.”

A disembodied voice answered Reed’s statement. “More than you already have?”

The source of the voice was unmistakable. After all, each of the team had heard it, at some point, in their nightmares. Since the cosmic storm. Since the attempts on their lives. Since the fight that left him dead, burned and frozen in his own metallic skin.

Reed and the others turned in the direction of the voice and were stunned into silence. Standing in front of them, alive and able, was Victor Von Doom, back from the dead and flanked (just as before) by Dr. Phil van Neuter and Mulch. But there were two others along with them that neither Bunsen, Beaker, the Fantastic Four, nor the Guardians had ever seen before—an elderly man and a young man with a burn scar over one of his eyes.

“Hi, freakos!” Phil exclaimed.

Only Reed, after a few moments, managed to find his voice: “Victor?”

“What’s the matter?” Victor asked, a smile twisting his mangled, damaged face. “Afraid of ghosts?”

The shocked inaction of the team lasted only a moment. They sprang into motion, once again ready to face their sworn enemies. Johnny clenched his fists and turned them to flame, ready to hurl fireballs at the man who had once tried to kill almost everyone in the room. Seeing this, Zuko had done the same, bringing an intense sensation of shock over Johnny, who extinguished his flames. Meanwhile, Ben acted more boldly, leaping toward Victor and Phil. He threw them both hard against the wall, his massive hands clutching their throats. Zuko attempted to assist, but Victor motioned for him to stay where he was.

“If you’re ghosts,” Ben said through clenched teeth, “then you won’t mind if I break both of your scrawny necks.” Ben tightened his grip on Victor and Phil.

General Luft’s voice rang out across the room. “Let them go!”

“Do you know who this is?” Will asked incredulously.

Jen spoke for those who didn’t. “Is he an enemy of yours?”

“You bet your intergalactic butt he is!” Johnny remarked.

Luft looked at Johnny and said, “He’s Victor Von Doom, and he is here on my orders. Guards!”

A dozen heavy machine guns were suddenly cocked and pointed squarely at Ben. The thick, metal-tipped bullets might not pierce Ben’s hide, but Reed didn’t want to take that chance. “Ben,” Reed said calmly. “Let them go.”

Reed could see the thought processes running through Ben’s rocky head. Everything in Ben wanted to squash Victor and Phil’s necks like grapes. But slowly, digit-by-digit, he released his grip on them. The two men collapsed to the floor, coughing and gasping for breath.

“How is this possible?” Reed asked, his voice low and dark. “How can you be alive, Victor?”

Victor and Phil stood up, brushing dust off them. “No thanks to you all, that’s for certain.” Victor said, his eyes wandering across the room until they fell on Sue. She returned his gaze, no doubt as shocked to see him alive as they all were, before Johnny closed in next to her in a protective gesture.

General Luft walked over to Victor as if asserting his own protective stance. “Victor Von Doom and his men have made contact with the alien.” His glare once again returned on Will, as he then said, “And he was even courteous enough to let me know of the element-bending aliens he had met, assuring that they are indeed on our side.”

Will looked away from Luft, not wanting his glare to have too much of an affect on her, and focused on Zuko and Iroh. Seeing the way his hands were flaming reminded her of Azula and even made her wonder if there was some connection. Even if Will had made clear of that thought, Luft still would have refused to listen to anything she had to say, now that she was caught withholding information about the Benders.

“I’m certain Doom and his men have as much information about your ‘friends’ as he does about the Surfer.” Luft added.

Victor nodded his head. “Information that might just save the planet,” he said in a mockingly heroic voice. He made eye contact with Sue once again, but she looked away, disgusted at the sight of him despite the fact that there was a time when Victor would have given her the world.

Phil van Neuter focused on the entire group. “Now let’s be clear about this, shall we? We hate you. All of you.”

“What a surprise.” Irma sarcastically uttered.

“I mean we really dislike you all so freakin’ much!” Phil added.

“Alright, Neuter.” Victor told him.

“You cannot imagine how badly we hate you all!”

“Phil.”

“You guys are like the thorn that stuck right up our…”

“PHIL!”

“Okay. I’m done.”

Victor rolled his eyes in annoyance and addressed the group himself. “The point here is that the world’s at stake. We need to work together to survive.”

Reed was not oblivious to Victor’s longing glances at Sue. The mere fact that Victor was alive triggered a plethora of feelings within him, feelings he’d rather leave buried. “General,” he said, “We know firsthand that if you trust these men, you’re going to regret it.”

General Luft looked Reed squarely in the eye so there would be no confusion. “So far the only one I’ve regretted trusting here is you, Richards.” He spit Reed’s name out like a curse.

Reed met the general’s hard gaze with equal fervor. The fact that Reed was flexible didn’t mean he was weak. He was getting more than tired of answering to the barking general, who constantly seemed to need Reed’s help and to hate him for it. As he considered all his options, Reed exchanged looks with Sue. She was still a bit weak from their battle at the river, and that might account for her silence. Victor’s reappearance surely didn’t help. He wanted to tell her once again that it was the right thing to do, for them to leave the team—and a normal life was sounding pretty good to him right then.

These thoughts were pushed out of his head by Ben’s deep voice saying, “Reed, don’t agree to this.” But this crisis was larger than any feud between rivals, any sparks from flashing egos. Life on Earth was in peril. Finding and stopping the Surfer had to be their first priority. Everything else, once again, would have to wait.

“Let’s see what they’ve got.” Reed said finally. He didn’t have to look at Ben or the others; he could feel the waves of disappointment coming from them.

Phil walked over to a large flat-screen monitor near a computer set into the wall. He loaded a small silver disc into the machine while the rest of the group looked on in silence. The only sound in the room was the mechanical whir and click of the computer loading Phil’s data. “We made a detailed recording of our little encounter with him,” Phil said, pulling up the information onto the large screen in front of them, which began playing a video of their meeting with the Surfer. They all watched intently as Victor Von Doom fought with the alien, unleashing his powerful torrents of electricity upon the silver entity to no effect.

Bunsen tried to sound uninterested when he asked, “How did you find him?”

A wry smile spread over Victor’s wrecked face. “Catalan number system. I’m surprised it took you guys so long to figure out.” Victor turned back to the video playing on the computer screen and froze the action the moment after the Surfer blasted him. “Well?”

Irma was the first to speak up. “I liked the part when he knocked you on your butt.” The other Guardians chuckled along with Irma, as they each shared high-fives over the great comeback.

Victor dismissed Irma with a wave of his hand. He motioned to the bottom of the computer screen, where a graphic monitored and measured the expenditure of energy. “Look where the energy levels surge when he attacks me. We see a peak in his board.” Victor ran the video again slowly, keeping a close eye on the measuring instrument. It suddenly spiked in number and intensity. “There,” Victor said. “You see what happened?”

Reed was catching on, his eyes glued to the screen. “The energy was channeled through him, but it originated from the board.”

Bunsen stepped closer to the monitor, trying to keep a safe distance from Phil van Neuter. “So his board is not just a means of transportation for him. It is actually the source of his power.”

Victor nodded. “If we could separate him from it, we could cut off his power completely.”

“Then that’s what we have to do.” General Luft stared hard at Victor, feeling his faith was well placed.

“How?” Will asked.

Victor looked at the young woman. “If I knew that,” he said dismissively, “We wouldn’t need you people, would we?”

Reed ignored Victor’s tone, instead focusing his attention on the computer screen. His mind was already racing in many different directions, thinking of possible scenarios and formulas that might be useful to them. Reed was sure that separating the Surfer from his power source was the key to defeating him. “It’s almost like he has a symbiotic relationship with it. We need to find out exactly what that link is so we can break it.”

General Luft had apparently heard enough. “You all should get to work,” he barked. Luft barely looked at the others as he left the room.

Victor walked over to Reed and Bunsen, placing his hands firmly on their shoulders. Reed and Bunsen chilled at the metallic touch. “I’m so glad we have this chance to collaborate again,” Victor said coolly. “I’ll try to talk slowly so you both can keep up.”

Meanwhile, Phil van Neuter was catching up with General Luft, a man who he had some experience working with during his days at C.O.V.N.E.T. He made it feel just like old times as he addressed the tough general. “Mr. Luft…General Luft…sir…I’m sure you remember me from way back then in the C.O.V.N.E.T. base situated near Maine.”

General Luft took a long, hard stare at the bizarre-looking scientist and shook his head. “Son, I don’t have the slightest clue who you are nor do I recall ever meeting you in a C.O.V.N.E.T. headquarters.”

Phil stopped and pondered for a moment as to how he could prove to the general that they met before. That’s when he noticed two repairmen coming their way, carrying a large sheet of glass, and he thought of something. “Perhaps this’d jog your memory!” Phil exclaimed, and then he stopped the two men, just as they had stepped between him and Luft. The general watched as the mad Muppet scientist had clutched his own throat, cutting off circulation and developing a raspy voice, while pressing his face up against the glass. “Release me…release…me,” he uttered, before dropping his act and letting the confused repairmen continue on with their job.

At first, Luft had no clue what he was trying to do. But then he recalled the night that he had terminated Agent Edgar K. Singer from his position at the C.O.V.N.E.T. base that Phil claimed to have worked at and it all came back to him. “Yes. Now I remember. The brain doctor who was attacked by a group of lab rats.”

Chills went down Phil’s spine over the mentioning of the past incident. “Don’t remind me, sir.”

“So what is it that you want to tell me?” Luft asked him.

“I couldn’t help but listen in on the conversation between you and that girl, Will Vandom, before Dr. Doom and I walked into the room.” Phil said. “You really want to know about those element-bending friends of hers that she kept secret from you? Listen up, and I’ll tell you all the juicy stuff on them.” He then leaned closer and whispered his last sentence to the general. “But I must warn you…you might not like what you hear.”

END OF CHAPTER ELEVEN​

 

[BeakerSqueedom]

“What a surprise.” Irma sarcastically uttered.

“I mean we really dislike you all so freakin’ much!u201D Phil added.

“Alright, Neuter.” Victor told him.

“You cannot imagine how badly we hate you all!u201D

“Phil.”

“You guys are like the thorn that stuck right up our…”

“PHIL!u201D

“Okay. I’m done.”

****!

This cracked me up--it helped...since I was tense all over! :O
D: I'mma end up in the hospital because of you! ;D

I'm kidding.
Great chapter!

 

[muppetwriter]

Chapter Twelve​

The team’s subsequent days in London were much like the first: gray skies, drizzling rain, and an overwhelming silence over the entire embassy. Susan Storm walked the halls of the building, its dark paneled walls leading her in circles. She watched the officious staff go about their duties in silence, shuffling papers, not talking above a whisper, as if they also understood the dire implications of the events of the last few days. The disappearance of the Thames had taken a toll on everyone, most of them native Brits, and the loss of such a public gathering place was a huge blow to their morale.

Sue gathered from their vacant stares and lack of eye contact that they knew things were bad. She wondered if they blamed her for their loss, even though she had practically killed herself trying to save the people on the Millennium Wheel along with Bunsen Honeydew. It still stood, albeit with newly welded supports in place near its base, a jarring and ugly reminder of the losing battle the team had fought there.

She couldn’t blame the staff for their sad demeanor. She, too, felt the heaviness all around the embassy, and the weather didn’t help. She watched her brother skulk off into corners, afraid of getting too close to anyone in the group. Reed was sealed off in a lab with Victor, Phil, Mulch, Bunsen, and Beaker, looking for a way to sever the Surfer from his power source. And the Guardians were accompanying the Gelflings and the Moya crew, as well as Zuko and Iroh, elsewhere. All she was left to do was keep to herself, out of everyone’s way, nursing her headaches, walking the endless halls of the embassy, waiting for better news.

Sue rounded the corner of another hallway, this one more familiar because it was near the temporary lab that had been set up for Reed and the other scientists. She couldn’t help the dark thoughts that formed in her head like a coming storm when she thought about Victor and his cronies working with them again. But if they were to have any chance of defeating the Surfer and saving the planet, they would have to pool all their available resources. And right now, Victor and Phil van Neuter were those resources.

She walked quietly into the lab, hoping not to disturb Reed or Bunsen. She found them together, Bunsen standing by Reed, who was hunched over his PDA, typing madly at the device. Something about the familiar scene touched her; how many times had she walked into his lab at the Baxter Building and seen the very same thing? Even here in this place far from home, Reed was still the same man he always was. The man she loved.

“I just can’t find the link, Bunsen,” he said. His voice was defeated and low.

“Do not give up hope, Reed.” Bunsen said. “I am certain we will get to it…eventually.”

Sue went to Reed’s side, placing her arms on his shoulders and feeling the tense muscles beneath his uniform. She tried to bring him some comfort by rubbing the stiff tendons in his neck. “Bunsen’s right. Just relax,” she said, in a voice calm and soft. “Clear your mind. Breathe in deeply. Feel yourself letting go. All the way from your head to your feet.”

She could feel Reed loosen under her firm grip, his shoulders waving like liquid beneath his suit, his right arm extending and collecting like a puddle on the floor. Reed slid down lower in his chair, his body stretching and softening. Sue came closer to him, bringing her lips to his neck, caressing his skin with her breath. “Relax,” she said in a whisper. She went to kiss him. “Feel your pulse slowing down…”

Just as the moment seemed so relaxing, Bunsen jumped up with glee and shouted, “A pulse!” The tone in his voice startled Sue and made Reed’s body became as rigid as steel.

“What?” Sue asked.

“A tachyon pulse!” Bunsen exclaimed, and Reed suddenly realized what he meant, going back to his furious typing. “Oh, Susan! Thank you! You are indeed a marvelous genius!”

Although she took pleasure in hearing the comment, she rolled her eyes in despair over the ruined moment of pleasure. Crossing her arms, she watched the two retreat into their work once again. “Glad I could be of help,” she quietly said, before silently leaving the room.

~~~~~~~~~~​

The next few days found Reed, Bunsen, and Beaker—and sometimes Victor, Phil, and Mulch—furiously implementing the new plan. Blueprints and schematics lay strewn across the floor of the lab as special metal posts were welded together. Four small satellite dishes were brought into the lab and left in the corner, near where Victor, Phil, Mulch, and the two Firebenders stood. They stayed quiet, watching Reed, Bunsen, and Beaker work. Victor and Phil had seen the blueprints and, secretly, were impressed. However, their eyes burned with envy as they watched Reed, Honeydew, and Beaker construct the new device. Victor pitched in when he had to, boosting the electrical dexterity of the device where Reed asked him to, helping him place the heavy and awkward components where they needed to be.

When they were done, Reed summoned the others and some of the military personnel into the laboratory.

General Luft entered the lab without his usual entourage. Only Jack Crichton had been accompanying him at the time. Luft looked around the room for his aide, Captain Raye, and noticed her absence. Sue’s brother also was absent, which seemed to further sour the general’s already-gruff demeanor.

Victor and Phil allowed Reed and Bunsen to take center stage, at which the two proceeded with an explanation for the strange equipment all around them—equipment that Victor and Phil were sure Luft’s mind could never comprehend. Inevitably, the general felt the need to interrupt. “Just what in God’s name is a tachyon pulse?”

Reed and Bunsen slowed down, attempting to translate the complex science behind the device into lay terms. “It’s a stream of subatomic particles that move faster than light,” Bunsen explained.

“It’s the link between the Surfer and his board,” Reed added.

Aeryn Sun leaned in closer, examining one of the complex portable devices. “These things can jam the signal?”

“Exactly.” Bunsen replied.

Victor saw that the general still looked perplexed. Reed, ever the optimist, grabbed his PDA and punched in a few commands. Suddenly, a holographic projection rose above it, displaying a jamming field connected by four separate points. The projection showed how the four points could create a field of energy, the output of which would sever the link between the Surfer and his board.

The general’s eyes lit up. “Like catching fish in a net,” he said. He looked over at Victor, who ignored him.

“Precisely,” Reed said. “When we activate the field, it’ll separate him from his board, making him powerless. In theory, anyway.”

Jen listened closely to what Reed was saying, and somewhere deep inside him, he felt joyous that there was indeed a way of stopping the murderer of his home world. He never was the one to have violent thoughts, but over the past few days, the entire incident had changed him drastically. The Gelfling was almost hoping for a slow and painless death for the Silver Surfer, once its power had been vanquished.

General Luft, unsurprisingly, ignored Reed’s disclaimer. “How long before it’s operational?” He asked.

“Three hours,” Bunsen responded.

With that, Victor, Phil, Mulch, and their Firebending aides left the crowded laboratory. Better to let Reed, Bunsen, and the others implement their plan. For now. There would be still enough time for Victor to implement a plan of his own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Even the name seemed primitive and sinister: the Black Forest, nestled deep in the German countryside in the southwest corner of the state of Baden-Wurttemberg, not far from the more modern and graceful Baden-Baden. It was a crowded sea of pine trees and mountains, secluded in its forestry and peppered with villages and small cottages more than three hundred years old. The dense forest made the landscape seem otherworldly, cast deep in its shadows, hidden from the modern world.

Yet for all the mysterious creatures that supposedly inhabited these woods, none were as powerful as the silver alien walking through them now. The bright morning light barely penetrated the sheath of trees as the Surfer made his way through the forest, oblivious to the austere and awesome sight of the ancient growth around him. He listened intently to a sound coming deep from the living Earth, following its mysterious song until he had passed through a copse of trees into a flat, shadowed clearing.

The area was darker here, in one of the most remote sections of the forest. He closed his eyes for a moment, lost to the song, and raised his hands. The air surrounding his hands began to move, the molecules trembling in his presence, as a strong wind began to stir around him. The blowing wind began to glow, silver specks of dust becoming radiant, small stars in a cosmic cloud that began to pulse and grow. Everything the cloud touched wilted and shuddered, the leaves browning in an instant, the trees bowing and shriveling as if acknowledging their defeat at the hands by something older and stronger than they were.

The surrounding forest and muddy floor seemed to fall away as the Surfer began to bore deep into the timeless soil, hollowing it out, destroying every living thing in his path. Replacing the living greens and browns with his silver hue, remaking the world in his own likeness.

~~~~~~~~~~~​

His actions did not go unnoticed. A few miles away, a new, more modern village had been erected. United States military-issue green tents were already in place, housing centers for communications, combat, and surveillance. Squads of soldiers stood nearby, armed to the teeth with the latest in heavy artillery. Empty crates of guns and ammo were cast aside as useless timber. The guards stood as sentinels outside the tent of General Luft, alert in mind and body, waiting to receive their orders to move out.

Inside the tent, the general and his associates monitored the Surfer on sophisticated radar equipment, enhanced by Reed and Bunsen’s radiation sensors. The air inside the tent was as thick as the surrounding forest, and each member of the team was on heightened alert, ready to do what he must to save the planet. Each person in the tent had experienced the awesome power of their foe, and knew the consequences should they not be able to defeat him. Reed Richards and Bunsen Honeydew monitored his equipment as best they could, keeping eyes on the signal given off by the Surfer.

Captain Raye looked up from her viewing screen, the green light casting shadows on her angular face. “He’s holding his position north of here.” Her voice was even and calm, covering the anxiety that was lodged in her gut.

“Good,” General Luft said. He was poring over combat strategies and weapon lists, ignoring the others in the tent. Reed approached him, ready to take the lead.

“General, give us a one-mile perimeter,” he said, nodding to Ben, Bunsen, and Beaker. Sue, Johnny, and the Guardians gathered near, ready to begin their attack.

“Forget it,” General Luft answered, getting in Reed’s face, causing him to stumble back a step or two. “You had your chance, and you blew it. This is a military operation. You jam the signal and then get out of the way. We’ll handle the rest.” He turned dismissively away from Reed and went back to his paperwork, surrounded by his minions in their Kevlar vests and other combat gear.

Reed was taken aback by the general’s outburst. It was a bit much, even for the gruff commander. “You don’t understand…” Reed began.

General Luft turned to Reed, fire shining in the whites of his eyes. His raised voice filled the entire tent. “No, you don’t understand, so let me make it clear for you and your pack of freaks here. I am the quarterback. You are on my team. Got it?” Reed shrunk a little at the tone and volume of the general’s voice. Aside from Ben, they all did. But the general wasn’t finished. In a tone dripping with snide condescension. Luft added, “I guess you didn’t play a lot of football back in high school, did you, Richards?”

The tent fell silent in the aftermath of General Luft’s childish insult.

Reed felt a strong emotion rising inside of him. It all finally caught up with him: the stress and frustration of fighting an elusive opponent like the Surfer, the endless nights without sleep, the tension brewing within his own group over his decision to leave the team with Sue—not to mention the irascibility of an increasingly arrogant blowhard like General Luft. This plan wouldn’t exist without Reed, Bunsen, or their equally great intellect; Victor and Phil had done very little to help with the creation of the jamming device. It was all on the shoulders of Reed and Bunsen, just as it always had been: the future of the team, the future of Reed’s life with Sue, and now the future of the planet. Mr. Fantastic was fed up.

Reed’s voice was strong and clear when he finally spoke. “You’re right, General. I didn’t play sports. I stayed inside and studied like a good little nerd.” In his growing anger, he emphasized the last word. “And now, fifteen years later, I am one of the greatest minds of the twenty-first century, I have two of the greatest scientists of Muppet Labs by my side, and I am engaged to the hottest girl on the planet. And the big jock that played quarterback in high school? He’s standing right in front of me, asking me for my help. And I say he’s not going to get a d**n thing if he doesn’t do exactly what I tell him to and start treating my friends and me with some respect.”

Reed’s usually flexible body was rigid with anger and his hands shook with fury. His eyes bored into Luft as the general’s had so often bored into him. Somewhere within him, Reed knew that there was no time for this, no time for a fight of egos with enough sparks to burn down the immense forest around them. Maybe it was the landscape, the deep, brooding forest imbuing them with an almost prehistoric sense of battle and hierarchy. But there could be only one leader. A line had been drawn. Reed had snapped, and there was no going back.

The face of General Luft remained solid and unmoving, like the trees around them. His eyes betrayed no emotion, nor did his erect posture falter. The only part of his body that moved was his mouth, as his lips parted to speak. “Give him what he wants.”

The general left the tent with Victor, Phil, and their group following him.

The rest of the officers continued with their duties, monitoring the Surfer and the presence of the new crater. The team gathered once again around Reed, their undisputed leader. Sue leaned into her fiancé and whispered into his ear: “I am so hot for you right now.”

Johnny embraced Reed from behind in a mocking, brotherly hug. “Me too!” he cheered.

“I agree, Reed.” Bunsen stated. “Good show of bravery indeed!”

“Meep mee meep!” Beaker commented.

“Yeah, man,” Will said. “You really had dude peeing in his pants.”

“And I can tell he was,” Irma added, “I am Guardian of Water, you know.”

Reed smiled, but only for a moment. They had a job to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~​

The deep forest seemed endless and swallowed the Fantastic Four and their allies entirely. Daylight could be seen gracing only the tops of the trees; the carpet of the forest was cool and clammy under their feet. What struck Bunsen Honeydew first was how intensely silent it was; no sound existed outside the small twitter of their own movements through the brush. Reed, Johnny, Will, and John Crichton carried small metal containers the size of a suitcase. The hard, silver metal barely let off a glare, having little sunlight to reflect.

Reed was going through the calculations in his mind once again, looking for any holes in his theory. He could find none. It was up to them now, each member of the team ready to perform the task that would help them take the Surfer down.

Reed once again consulted a small GPS device in his hand. “All right,” he said. “This is it. Set up your post then rendezvous back here.”

Each of the team carried a similar GPS device. They exchanged a quick look and then went off—four cases, four small groups, and four separate directions.

Reed, who grouped himself with Bunsen and Beaker, watched the others leave, silently wishing them all luck. His gaze lingered the longest on Sue, as he watched her disappear with the Gelflings, Crichton, and Aeryn into a thicket of trees. She was soon lost to him, invisible in the density of the forest. He once again consulted his GPS device and turned to Bunsen and Beaker. “Alright, guys. Let’s go.” And together, they made their own way to the designated location.

The cool air of the forest followed them closely as he darted through trees and brush. The shadows of the trees fell far, appearing to stretch and lengthen on the forest floor. Reed and the Muppet Labs scientists reached their point, near two large tree stumps, and set the metal case on the ground with a delicate thud. Beaker hit a keypad on the side of the case and stepped back to let the machine activate. Legs emerged from the bottom of the case, raising it above the floor of the forest. The top of the case opened silently, allowing a small transmitter to rise into the air above it. The entire device was not unlike a large tripod, with a pulse emitter on top instead of a camera. A blinking light at the top of the post let them know their device was operational. It was ready.

~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Elsewhere in the expansive forest, Johnny (grouped with Chiana, D’Argo, Rygel, and Noranti) followed the readings on his GPS and soon reached his own destination. He felt a shiver travel up his spine, and he marveled at how a forest so thick with heavy pine trees could inspire in him such feelings of isolation. He shook the thoughts away and watched D’Argo as he punched the keypad on the side of the device. Together, they noticed it spring to life and then stood by, waiting.

Meanwhile, Ben Grimm (grouped with the Guardians) crunched his way through the brush in another part of the forest, squeezing his way through the trees. The GPS that Hay Lin was carrying started beeping, signaling that they had reached their destination. Will set the case down and Cornelia triggered the keypad.

That was when Taranee spoke in a very low voice, “Uh…we have a problem.”

Ben and the other Guardians looked her way and noticed how she was pointing in a single direction. They turned their heads to what she was pointing at and saw a large bear nearby, scratching its back on a tree a few feet away. “Oh, great. We’re gonna be mauled to death by Baloo.” Irma joked, but no one was laughing at that moment.

“What do you want?” Ben asked the bear.

Just then, Will heard Bunsen’s voice come through the com link on her wrist. “What is our status?” Bunsen asked her.

“We’re good to go,” Will replied, noticing that the bear had disappeared.

Johnny’s voice soon came through on the line. “Same here.”

Sue and her group heard their companions’ voices coming through Crichton’s com link as they struggled through a twisted copse of trees. They reached a dark clearing in the woods filled with underbrush and fallen trunks. It was noticeably cooler in the shadowed clearing than it had been just a few moments ago, and they each smirked at their luck, having landed in the coldest and most barren part of the woods. The Black Forest indeed, Sue thought as Crichton set down their case.

Crichton heard Bunsen’s voice call his name over the com link. “Yeah. Just hold your horses. We’re almost there.” He replied, while Aeryn triggered the keypad on the side of the metal case.

Just then they heard a rustling behind them. They felt heat on their backs as the darkness around them became illuminated by an ominous, silver glow. Suddenly, the massive trees wiggled and bent, warping unnaturally to create an opening. Kira stood close to Jen, feeling her heart beating faster.

“Guys,” Crichton said softly into the com link. “We may have a problem.”

They had barely heard Reed asking, “What’s wrong?” when they saw it. The Silver Surfer, luminescent in the dark woods, flew through the clearing, causing the leaves to rustle and the trees to shake and wither.

Jen’s eyes burned with intense hatred. “He’s here.”

END OF CHAPTER TWELVE​

 

[BeakerSqueedom]

I just saw the scene XD!
Silver Surfer is just AWESOME! XD
Pooossstt mooorrreee

 

[The Count]

Is that all you can say? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Sean, postmor...
Oh,sorry. Yeah, loved how this played out.

Wonder where Ben was during Sue's walks throughout the embassy. Days? Thought all they had was the forty-eight hours. Sinister plan by Von Doom? So what's new... Tachion beam, of course, that solves everything. Reminds me of the Pyramid of Darkness. *GI Joe reference.
Excited for more.. Please post when you can!

 

[BeakerSqueedom]

Well, sorry for my lack of a better comment. >_>
I have a headache.

But, yeah, please post more, Sean!

 

[The Count]

Aw. The same headache you were complaining about on FB? Sowwy Cwaudia.
Here. Hot chocolate and a couple of Tylenol, that'll make the bad little earthquakes in your brain go away.

 

[muppetwriter]

This chapter should make you feel better, Claudia.

Chapter Thirteen​

“We have to get the h*ll out of here!” Crichton shouted.

Aeryn turned back to the metal case. She hadn’t activated the keypad. “It’s not set up yet,” she told Crichton.

His reply was immediate. “Forget about it! Just get out of there!”

Jen was not listening to either of them. He stood transfixed, unable to turn away from the glowing figure before him. It was the first time he had seen the entity up close. The surrounding woods were bathed in the Surfer’s glow. This time, the light gently caressed the trees, warming their trunks with its radiance. The chill in the air departed and Sue felt deep inside of her a sense of everything growing, everything breathing, alive. Her hands fell listlessly to her sides, the com links crackling and going dead in the radiation put off by the glowing silver entity.

The Silver Surfer stood atop his thin, elegant board, a few feet from the group and the metal case. He looked resplendent as he hovered there in the warm air. They could see his powerful legs humming with energy and his arms gracefully suspended, gliding atop air currents they could not see. They could feel their faces turn warmer, and as they basked in the Surfer’s presence, they suddenly had a sense of how every living thing was made of energy, how everything felt connected. The roots in the soil, the unseen insects carefully trawling through the trees and brush, the endless streaming light that was now all around them. Each of them took in a deep breath of air and that, too, was alive, filled with molecules and motes of life-sustaining oxygen. Even the trees seemed to breathe, contributing to the swirling, thriving system all around them. It was almost euphoric; their limbs trembled and their minds danced. They understood that everything in the world held its purpose, connected by one and the same.

Jen did not flinch as the Surfer lowered himself on his board, meeting his unblinking glare. The Gelfling noticed that his face was calm and smooth, his eyes filled with light. Despite its history of destroying his home world, it was the most gentle and radiant visage he had ever encountered and deep inside he felt no fear, no hesitation—just pure hatred.

However, the feeling was not mutual with everyone else. Sue, for example, felt only comfort and companionship, as if all her aching questions about the world around her were suddenly and finally being answered. She did not fight the small smile that grew on her warm face, and as if by instinct she walked up and reached out to touch the celestial being in front of her.

The Surfer silently returned her gaze; the connection was not one-sided. The same hand that had doomed planets reached out into the infinite space between the Surfer and Susan Storm. He reached out into that abyss and touched her cheek.

Aeryn, Crichton, and the Gelflings watched as Sue leaned into the gentle, caressing touch. Her cheek flushed, bathed in his radiance. Unafraid, she looked into his face, his eyes like two deep pools of liquid silver. But soon the Gelfling named Jen ruptured the serenity of the moment by asking, “Why are you destroying planets? Why did you destroy my world?”

The Surfer appeared startled, genuinely surprised by the directness of the Gelfling’s question.

“If you are going to do it,” Crichton spoke up softly, “we at least have the right to know why.”

The Surfer furrowed his silver brow as if contemplating his actions for the first time. The group saw his face turn sad, a bit of darkness tarnishing the silver luster of his skin. His voice, deep and trembling, matched Crichton’s in its softness: “I have no choice.”

It was then that Sue saw it, just underneath the radiant glow in his eyes. His gentle face did not hold the hunger for power she had so often seen in Victor’s face, nor did it hold the posturing and authority she had seen in the gruff scowl of General Luft. The Surfer’s face held only aching regret and contrition. She could suddenly feel the sadness overcome every inch of her body, a feeling that only Kira shared with her.

Before Sue could reply, she heard a crashing in the woods behind her. She heard Reed’s voice echo across the clearing: “Get back!”

They turned to face him, as Bunsen and Beaker accompanied him. Sue’s arms were no longer listless but held out before her. “Wait,” she said, watching as Ben, Johnny, the Guardians, and the other members of the Moya crew also reached the clearing. They were surrounded. The air around them once again turned charged and aggressive. “Wait.”

Kira turned back to the Surfer. His eyes were tentative, suddenly fearful at the arrival of the others, at the radical change in their environment. Kira tried to calm him using an even tone. “What do you mean you have no choice? There’s always a choice.”

The Surfer looked heartbroken when he met her eyes, his ethereal voice catching in his throat. “Not always.”

~~~~~~~~~~~​

Yards away, General Luft’s hands shook with anger as he watched through binoculars the team in front of the silver alien, just standing there. Are they talking to it? he thought, flabbergasted. “What the H*ll is going on there?” he said under his breath. “C’mon, Richards, just jam the d**n signal!” He couldn’t let another chance to kill this alien slip away from them. He was the leader responsible for this mission. Combat decisions were his alone to make. He lowered the binoculars in disgust, just as Phil van Neuter and Mulch approached him.

“They’re started to fret, eh?” Phil said. “That’s exactly what I was tellin’ ya, General. These people can’t be trusted, as long as they’re making conversation with aliens that are posing a threat to all mankind. Isn’t that right, Mulch?”

Mulch remarked with a short, agreeable grunt.

“I see exactly what you mean, Dr. Phil.” Luft said.

“Uh, that’s Dr. Neuter, sir.”

Ignoring Phil’s demand of a name correction, Luft continued by saying, “I knew something like this would happen, so that’s why I made the order before we left London.”

“Good call, my captain…I mean, my general.” Phil said, raising a fist in the air victoriously.

That’s when Victor came near the three men, holding a missile launcher. “You know what I think?” he asked, his voice low and deep. “Maybe he could use a little persuasion.”

~~~~~~~~~~~​

Kira remained adamant, keeping the Surfer locked in her gaze. He was growing more skittish as Ben, Reed, Johnny, the Guardians, and the other Moya crewmembers inched closer to them. His glow had receded and the air around them once again felt cold. But Kira couldn’t let him go. Not yet. “Why did you destroy our world and are trying to destroy this one?” she asked.

The Surfer looked confused, then almost childlike. “I am not the destroyer.”

“Then who is?” Jen demandingly asked, keeping his eyes on Kira, his heart in his throat as he inched closer.

The Surfer’s mouth opened slightly, hesitantly, as if he were afraid to answer. He looked at Kira with a face tinged with sorrow, as if he knew the answer would cause her pain. Just then, a high-pitched whine coursed through the air. The group turned to see a barrage of heavily armed missiles heading right toward the Silver Surfer. And Kira.

The Surfer immediately grabbed Kira and pulled her behind him, moving to the other side of a ridge of trees. Assured that she was out of the line of fire, the Surfer sped off toward the incoming barrage of flying missiles. He raised his hand and turned the weapons to ash. They crumbled, carried harmlessly away on the cool wind of the forest.

~~~~~~~~~~​

General Luft could not believe his eyes. Through the gaze of the binoculars, he watched the Surfer dismantle and destroy their most sophisticated land-to-air missiles. The floor seemed to give way, and his stomach dropped when he saw the Surfer heading directly toward him. “Open fire!” he yelled, releasing the flood of weaponry at his disposal.

Suddenly General Luft was surrounded by his troops, who unleashed their ammunition at the glowing silver being. Bullets, grenades, concussion blasts, even flares. Nothing touched the alien. The Surfer reached the military space and flew overhead, raising his hands. With his simple gesture, all the guns and launchers burst into flames. Soldiers watched their gear explode in their hands, sending flames up their arms and into the air. Medics scrambled to put out the fires on the fallen soldiers while others dropped of their own accord and rolled around in the dirt in an attempt to extinguish the flames. The air held a distinct smell of ash.

In the midst of the chaos, Zuko stepped forward to confront the silver entity, despite the wishes of his uncle not to do so. He unleashed a volley of fireballs from his fists, sending them flying at the Silver Surfer. Unfortunately, none of the fireballs came near him, as he had generated a cosmic shield that had looped them back in Zuko’s direction. The young Firebender quickly dodged out of the way before he was caught in the explosion that the fireballs created as soon as they had hit the ground.

Luft, Victor, Phil, Mulch, Zuko, and Iroh dove into the brush for cover as the Surfer flew back, his board parting the air just above their heads. The Surfer continued back to the clearing where the Fantastic Four and their allies still stood.

~~~~~~~~~~~​

Reed could hear the explosions and screaming coming from Luft’s command post. It didn’t take much imagination to know the Surfer had eliminated the threat to himself. Bunsen was eager to learn more about what the Surfer could tell them, but Luft’s aggressive act had ruined all attempts at diplomacy. The Surfer was too powerful to be left to his own devices; they needed to disarm him.

Reed reached down to his PDA, which was linked to all four metal cases. He punched in the command to activate the posts but the controls only flashed the word “Error.” Something had gone wrong. “It’s not yet working. The last post isn’t set up,” he yelled.

Crichton sprung into action. “I’m on it!” he yelled.

He raced back to his metal case and activated the keypad. He watched the legs sprout out, but the transmitter did not rise from the top of the case.

In the meantime, the others had gathered around Reed. The Surfer flew around the clearing and hovered, ready to charge at them. His face showed anger and betrayal; his silver fists were clenched. He grew brighter, causing the air to shimmer and ripple around him.

“Oh, man…he’s ticked!” Irma exclaimed.

“Reed…” Ben began.

“Wait,” Reed said. “He’s not in range.”

“Just let me…” Johnny said.

“Wait!” Reed repeated.

“Crichton,” Aeryn yelled. “Get that frellin’ thing going!”

“That’s what I’m doing,” he said over his shoulder.

“Then do it faster!” Rygel snapped back.

“Okay, shut up!” he yelled. He smacked the side of the metal case, and the dish sprouted up from the transmitter. “It’s up!”

The Surfer hovered menacingly, radiating a furious glow. He threw his arms back, unleashing a small tornado of dirt behind him. The back of his board tipped up slightly, then thrust itself forward. He charged like a bull straight toward Reed and the others, a glowing cloud of debris trailing in his wake. Reed looked down at his PDA and triggered the posts again. They all linked online and created the energy field Reed had designed. A quick flash permeated the forest clearing as the posts jammed the signal between the Surfer and his board.

The Surfer stopped instantly, and his board began to wobble in the air as his entire body seized and convulsed. He grew limp and sank through his board, falling hard to the dirty ground below. The once powerful and hovering board fell next to him with a thud.

“Wipeout,” Johnny said with a grin.

Sue threw a force field around the lifeless board, making sure it was out of the Surfer’s reach. The team walked over to the fallen Surfer, who lay limp in the dirt and brush. With his power diminished, he no longer radiated energy and his glow disappeared. He appeared tarnished, dirty. The Surfer looked up at Kira with pleading, helpless eyes.

Victor, Phil, Mulch, and the two Firebenders stepped out of the woods and walked toward the fallen silver being. The Surfer turned his head quickly, his eyes narrowing at the sight of Victor Von Doom. He raised his hand to no effect, the useless digits hanging in the air, his tremendous power gone.

“Not so tough now, are ya?” Phil van Neuter said in a menacing tone before giving the Surfer a swift kick across his face that had done more damage to Phil’s foot than it had on the Surfer’s face. “Ouch! Owie, owie, owie! That hurts!”

Mulch grunted a concerned question to his boss.

“No, I’m not alright, Mulch!” He snapped. “It was like kicking a big, stupid rock! OUCH! I’m gonna have blisters in the morning, I just know it!”

Zuko looked down upon the fallen Silver Surfer, noticing his weakened state. “He doesn’t look as powerful as he did when I first saw him. He’s not the god I imagined him to be, without his power.”

“Does one need power to be a god?” Iroh asked his nephew.

Listening to Iroh’s question, Victor Von Doom had answered by suddenly unleashing his powerful electricity on the helpless Surfer. Thick fingers of powerful lightning flew into the Surfer and he writhed in pain, clutching his side as the shock ran through his whole body. Victor’s power was scorching the ground around the Surfer, blackening the green leaves and ferns, and still he did not yell out. Nor did Victor stop his barrage of electricity.

“Victor!” Reed yelled, trying to stop the inhumane beating of the fallen Surfer. Reed could see that Victor’s eyes were glazed over and shining as the electricity was reflected in them, caught up in the moment of unnecessary violence. Reed stretched out and grabbed Victor’s hands, pulling them upward. A few fingers of electricity shot up out of the forest before Victor regained his composure. His steely eyes looked at Reed without a trace of remorse.

Finally, Victor ceased his assault, and actually shrugged, as if the entire affair made no difference to him. “You’re the quarterback,” he remarked.

Kira carefully approached the unconscious Surfer. His silver skin was now pale, defaced, almost blemished as he lay there, defeated, in the scorched and ruined earth. A shiver ran through her entire body. “He looks so helpless,” she said aloud, much to the confusion of Jen.

“He destroyed our world, Kira.” Jen said. “Destroyed everything that stood for our existence as the last two Gelflings on Thra. That is something neither you nor I can lose sight of.”

She knew that Jen was right, yet something broke inside of her and she couldn’t stop the tears that swelled in her eyes.

“Hey, hey.” Irma said, noting her teary eyes. “We defeated the greatest threat we’ve ever faced. The planet is safe.”

“Yes,” Bunsen agreed. “So why do I feel that our actions today had only made things worse?”

“Meep mee.” Beaker acknowledged his friend’s sentiment.

END OF CHAPTER THIRTEEN​

 

[The Count]

Loved it all... Need a bit of a break But I hope you continue until finishing this fantastic foray in fanfiction.