Chapter 11
It's Official
Reed got off of the phone, looking grim. "It's official." he reported to the others. "Jacob Roberts was reporting missing a week ago. No one knows where he is."
Johnny groaned. "I swear, if I see that kid, I'm not holding back." he said to nobody in particular.
Sue began pacing. "So Jacob's the ring leader in this." she said, thinking. "But that's not something we can't handle, right?"
"Says you." Johnny said. "You're not the one who got his powers stolen and blamed for things he didn't do for several days on end."
"That was a mere annoyance, though." Sue pointed out. "In reality, it wasn't something we couldn't handle. I mean, we did defeat him eventually, right? And, now that he's no longer got the power-transfer ability, he should be even easier to handle."
"Don't make that assumption, Sue." Reed interrupted. "There are still a lot of unknowns about Jacob's techno-path ability. I wouldn't underestimate what he can do."
"Well, one thing is clear." Ben said, standing. "Jacob has obviously told Emily something about us that she believes, and has turned her against us. Seems to me, that if we can somehow turn Emily back on our side, Jacob will become even more vulnerable."
Reed nodded. "I already came to that solution." he said. "I called the authorities and asked them to report any sightings they have of Emily. I also have been conducting sensor sweeps of the city, looking for anything that we could use to track her."
"You can do that?" Johnny asked, looking interested.
"If I have the right parameters about the person in question, then yes." Reed said.
"What about Emily's parents?" Sue asked. "Have they been informed about what's going on?"
"Kind of." Reed said. "They know Emily's missing, and that she's on the run here in New York, and that authorities are after her, but they don't know anything about her powers, her intentions, and her involvement with Jacob. And maybe, if we play our cards right, it can stay that way."
"You sure that's wise?" Ben asked. "What if they find out anyway and get mad that they weren't told."
"They're worried enough as is, I imagine." Sue spoke for Reed. "For now, let's not worry them anymore than they already are."
"So, supposing that we do get Emily on our side." Johnny asked, thinking the matter through. "What then? Do we let her keep her superpowers, or do we use the machine to take them away?"
"Well, the power-reversal machine isn't ready yet for one thing." Reed said. "And for another, I think that would have to be something Emily should decide. It only seems fair, after all. However, I can't say the same for Jacob, should the opportunity arise."
"I'm glad somebody sees things my way." Johnny remarked, smirking.
In the other room, out of sight from the others, an infiltration was in progress on the Baxter Building. But it wasn't Emily, nor was it Jacob. The intruder looked around to double check that the coast was clear, before continuing onward to Reed's lab, listening to the Fantastic Four chat.
"You don't like Jacob, do you?" the intruder heard Ben ask.
"Would you, if he did the same thing to you?" Johnny asked in response as the figure slipped unnoticed into Reed's lab, heading towards on of the many computers the lab housed.
"Actually, if he ever stole my powers, I'd thank him." Ben said, looking down at his rocky hands.
The intruder sat down at a computer, studying the display quickly. After determining what the computer was doing and seeing it was safe for use, the intruder minimized the program it was running, and began typing in commands
"We're getting off the subject again." Sue was heard speaking. "We need a game plan. We can't just rush in there next chance we get and wing it."
"Yes, we've already seen how effective that was." Reed said, in reference to their first encounter as enemies. "If only I knew more about how Emily's powers worked, then I could work out some kind of defense against them."
The intruder grinned at that remark, finding the irony of it humorous. Finishing the last command, the computer brought up a message, which the intruder quickly read, glad things were working out, pulling out a small thumb drive.
"You mean we have to go after her while being completely exposed to her powers?" Johnny asked from the other room.
"I didn't say that." Reed replied. "Right now I've got the computers working out a possible solution. Once their done, we might have something to go off of."
Not anymore, the intruder thought, plugging the thumb drive into the computer, downloading something into the device before removing it and returning the computer to how it was originally found.
"So what should we do in the meantime?" Ben was heard asking, as the intruder slipped out of the lab again.
"Get something to eat?" Johnny suggested.
The intruder arrived back at the point he entered at, waiting to see if someone was going to move in his direction.
"How can you think of food at a time like this?" Sue asked her brother.
"I'm hungry." Johnny said, sounding like he was about to move forward, but stopped.
"Let's get something to eat later." Reed said. "First, let's work out a game plan."
You do that, the intruder thought, before slipping out the way he came in, leaving things like he had never entered to begin with.
