Fantastic Four (Movieverse) – Hunted
Summary:
Sequel to 'Retribution' - Following his failed attempt to destroy the Fantastic Four, Doom makes good on his threat "You will pay... you will suffer every bit as much as I have. Enjoy the time you've got, there's not much left of it..." Johnnycentric as always :D siblingness
Disclaimer:
What? I don't own fantastic four? No one ever told me that!
Author's Notes:
Time Zones: New York 15:00, Latveria 21:00
Thanks to ebuchala, Lil' Kanny, marinawings, and Penny3 for reviewing! Sorry for not personally replying to all my reviewers, I just never know what to say except thanks :S
This chapter is dedicated to my rabbit Toffee who died on Saturday morning from flystrike. RIP sweetheart.
Enjoy!
Chapter Four: The Hounds
Adrenaline was the only thing that kept Johnny running.
The bloodcurdling howls of the hunting dogs kept getting closer and closer as he desperately tried to shake them. He veered hard to the right, disappearing into a thick clump of trees. But still the hounds came. He could hear them panting now. They were so close.
He burst through into a clearing. The torrential rain fell freely from the sky and the lightening flashed brightly, lighting the dark forest. He was surrounded by evergreens, soaked through to the skin by the rain, and exhausted from the chase. Breathing was becoming more and more difficult as his throat and chest burned. The hounds got closer.
Suddenly, Johnny felt a heavy weight on his back that dragged him down to his knees. He quickly threw the four-legged culprit off and tried to get up, to keep running. Another dog leapt at him and knocked him flat on his back. They snarled at him with bared teeth. He felt claws pierce his arms and legs as he struggled to escape. They had got him.
He backhanded the dog closest to him, knocking it a few feet away, but his strength was fading fast. His muscles groaned in protest as he managed to climb to his knees. Another furry fiend replaced its downed pack member and lunged at him. Pain rippled through his arm as the beast sunk its teeth deep into his flesh. Immediately his white shirt sleeve was stained red with blood. The canine refused to let him go as he tried to tug free.
Finally he scrambled to his feet. He yanked his arm from the hounds bite, leaving behind a large chunk of muscle. Seizing his chance he ran from the clearing, clutching his bloodied arm to his chest.
The Hounds were close behind.
New York
Clad in a black trench coat and dark shades, Gastoul moved like a shadow through the New York crowds. All around people walked and talked on their cell phones, oblivious to the murderer that stalked their streets.
He slid his hand into his pocket and fingered the small vial. He checked that the dart gun was still concealed beneath his coat as he approached his destination. The skyscraper was huge with a strange shaped penthouse at the top. Large satellite dishes and high tech equipment perched precariously on the building. A gaggle of eager fans that appeared to be permanently camped outside waited for a glimpse of the famous foursome.
Gastoul walked past them and headed down the alley to the right of the Baxter Building. Stealth was key for this operation to work. And he needed it to work if he wanted to live. He found a small back door and easily jimmied the lock. Knowing that the elevators would alert the target to his presence he headed for the service stairs and took them two at a time.
It took ten minutes to make the journey. He was struggling a bit by the time he reached the top of the stairs. He internally cursed his old age as his back starting to ache and he wheezed a little. He found another door that led directly into the superheroes headquarters. Doom had told him that this was a blind spot of their security and therefore his best bet for a sneaky entrance.
Once inside he crept towards where he hoped to find his target. The lab.
The Baxter Building
Reed growled uncharacteristically in frustration as the scan threw up no results. There was nothing in Latveria. No hotspots, nothing, not even a slight fluctuation in temperature. The whole situation was baffling the great scientist; not a scenario he found himself in often. It just wasn't possible.
The light had been sucked from the church, which just broke all laws of physics – only a black hole could do something like that, but there wasn't a black hole in the middle of St Peters. And it was only for a few minutes, surely not enough time to take Johnny...and wouldn't he have fought back? There were no signs of a struggle. He had quite simply disappeared.
His thoughts were interrupted by the entrance of his wife. Sue was dressed sensibly in a pair of jeans and a shirt. Her hair blonde hair was tied back and her eyes were puffy from crying. She looked at Reed in hope but his expression told her all she needed to know.
With a small nod she turned and left the lab, not seeing the black shadow that observed silently.
Elysium Woods, Latveria
I lost them! Euphoria pumped through Johnny as he kept running, no longer followed by the uncanny yaps of the hounds. He was tiring even quicker than before cause of the amount of blood pouring from the open wound on his arm. He would have to stop soon and wrap it up. An unpleasant thought popped into his head I've probably got rabies.
He slowed his pace to a jog, partly because he could no longer sprint and partly because he believed the danger to have passed. The sky was now black, the constant rain still falling, but the thunderstorm and lightening having stopped.
Everything was beginning to look the same now. There was nothing but trees in every direction. It wasn't a case of what looked familiar to guide him, it was more like what was different; he looked out for odd looking trees or rocks to serve as land marks to make sure he wasn't running in circles.
Then he saw something very different. It was a sign of hope; of civilisation. It was a small hunting cabin lost amongst the trees. It was made of wood and looked more like a shed than a cabin; but it was a shelter from the rain and a hideout from the dogs. He put on a light burst of speed as he drew closer. He ran a lap around the outside to check for signs of life or, more importantly, signs of a trap. Satisfied, he yanked open the door and entered.
Inside was just as dark as outside, but it was dryer and warmer. He closed the door behind him to shut out the howling wind and found an old fashioned oil lamp. Everything in this country seemed to be old fashioned. Suddenly the cabin was filled with light, and as Johnny saw the contents his stomach did a back flip.
Machines. Computers. Radios. Communications equipment. Most of it was broken, if not all of it, but there was a chance he'd manage to use something.
The first thing he did was see to his injury. His entire sleeve was dark with blood and it dripped from his fingers. He found some material amongst the junk and took a closer look. The gap where most of his forearm should have been made him feel a little queasy. Blood pooled and spilled from the several torn veins and spurted from an artery. He quickly tied the material around in a make shift tourniquet to stem the flow, knowing that if he kept bleeding he die of blood loss. He had already experienced that one and didn't want to try it again. He tied another piece of fabric round the actual wound in an attempt to prevent infection.
He sat for a second to recover. His breathing was finally beginning to slow down, as was his pulse. His muscles burned angrily from their maltreatment. He was desperately thirsty but there didn't seem to be any water in the building, although there was plenty of rain hammering on the roof.
Finally he drew his attention to the masses of equipment. All of it was dated and looked broken, but he tried them anyway. None of the computers or radios worked because there was no power running to the little hut, but one thing would work. In the corner, buried beneath a pile of papers was an ancient telegraph machine. [A/N: I think telegraph machines work without electricity; if they don't, I'm sorry – just suspend disbelief for a second]
He relied yet again on his pilot training at NASA as he remembered Morse code. He just hoped the Baxter Building would pick up the message.
The Baxter Building
The Great Reed Richards was having a bad day. Understatement.
It had started off so well and positively as he waited with Ben at the altar for Alicia to walk down the aisle; and then it had all gone so horribly wrong. Sue had been so quiet since Johnny had disappeared; she kept checking in to see if Reed had made any progress, but she rarely spoke.
Reed sighed heavily and rubbed his tired face. He still wore his shirt and trousers from the wedding and his once neat hair was now spiked in all directions. He tried yet again to focus on the screen in front of him, but the reams of numbers just blurred and meshed together. He had done another satellite sweep of Latveria but still Johnny's heat signature was not being found. He couldn't find it anywhere in the world, making Reed fear the worse.
He didn't know how he would tell Sue if he could never find her brother. She was relying on him to magically conjure up a solution. And what about Ben and Alicia? It was 4:30 now, maybe if they could find Johnny tonight they could leave for their honeymoon tomorrow. Unless there was nothing left to be found.
A loud siren sounded from one of the many machines Reed had set up to receive signals. Of all the ways of communication, Reed hadn't expected this one. The modernised telegraph machine beeped furiously in a sequence of long and short bursts, the translated letters appearing on the screen.
SOS ITS JOHNNY NEED HELP DOOM ELYSIUM WOOD LATVERIA QUICK DOGS-
The communication abruptly ended. But it was enough. Reed immediately began typing on another computer console, pulling up the co-ordinates of the woods and uploading them to the fantasticar.
This news was too good to use the impersonal communicators, so Reed fled the lab and pounded the halls until he came to the apartment he shared with Sue. He slammed open the door in excitement, but paused at the sight of the empty room. Surely she would be in here?
Maybe she was in the lounge. Reed took off running back down the corridor and turned into the spacious living area. But she wasn't there either. Confused and starting to worry; Reed engaged his communicator with a small click. "Sue?" he called "Can you hear me? Where are you?" but he just received static. Something definitely wasn't right.
"Ben?" Reed asked the empty corridor. A gruff grunt sounded over the communicator. "Have you seen Sue? I can't find her."
"I haven't seen her since this morning," Ben replied. Reed's worry doubled. "What's up egghead?"
"I received a telegraph from Johnny, I know where he is," Reed explained, he paused as Ben asked the usual questions. Reed hesitated for a moment, torn between two choices. "It sounded like Johnny was in real trouble...but I can't leave without Sue..."
"You don't think Suzie's already there, do you?" Ben suggested, "She was very sure it was Doom. She might have gone after him on her own..."
"No...She wouldn't..." Reed shook his head as if Ben could see him. "...she wouldn't...would she?"
Ooh! So they know where Johnny is...but where's Susan gone...? Maybe I should rename this story something like "the Case of the Missing Storms" lol :P
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