Let me know what you guys thing...its slowly coming to an end you guys :(
xx
SSC
Ben tried not to panic, but it was pretty obvious in that moment when he was making a beeline down the side walk, heading towards the art exhibition. His astoundingly large frame was threatening to maim innocent civilians. He yelled out in warning as random strangers jumped from side to side, to avoid full on collision with the Thing.
While stomping down the street he used his specially made cell-phone to reach Johnny Storm. The phone rang a few times till his smooth voice answered.
"Flame-boy, we have a big problem." He grunted out while increasing his pace to reach the gala.
"What, what is it?" Johnny demanded frantically. Ben could hear the dull pandemonium of traffic in the background.
"Reed called and turns out that whole voodoo bank robbery was real and we have a new bad guy to pommel on our hands."
"Can't it wait till tomorrow, I am trying to—"
"No it can't wait, Eli is in danger."
"Eli?" Ben was a little surprised by the pure dread in the younger Storm's tone of voice.
"Yeah, Jeremy was controlled by this freaky clay wielding puppeteer guy, who turns out to be Alicia's old man." Ben looked down at the GPS monitor in his other hand, his eyes narrowed down on the beeping red dot on the screen "Which is great because I was waiting for a reason to pummel that ass—"
"Do you know where Eli is because I can't find her?" Johnny demanded seriously, cutting into Ben's irate rambling.
"I have the GPS with me; it says she is at the exhibition." Grimm stated sternly, the gap between each stomping step his took lengthened as he increased his pace. He was only a block away from the site.
"I was just with Alicia, Eli wasn't there. I am on my way to the apartment."
"I am closing in on Eli now." He arrived at the exhibition. The soft glowing lights and the people within the space were no importance to him. He was tracking the dot on the GPS. He followed it to the alley way, beside the building. Ben expected to find his niece sitting or standing in a corner but all he found was a broken cell phone—her broken cell phone.
"Shit."
"What, what happened?" Johnny's hounding questions cut into his thoughts.
"It's just her phone." Ben stated, staring down at the shattered glass of her mobile screen. Why would she destroy her own phone? Unless it was a broken in a struggle or way to stop other from finding her. Ben Grimm could only come to one horrifying conclusion. Elise was taken.
A sudden rustling sound from the other end of the alley way caught his attention. There was a car, a metallic blue Honda Civic. But it wasn't the car that drew his attention; it was the woman inside it.
"Alicia?" He whispered in disbelief, walking dazedly towards the vehicle with his gaze squinted. She was sitting on the passenger seat in front and the closer he got the more confused she seemed. He recognized the driver to be Phillip Masters; the lights were deflecting off his bald head. Ben knew he had to reach his girlfriend quickly and warn her of the danger she was in. His gaze shot to the figure in the backseat there was a tall male figure sitting idly, Ben swore he had seen the man before.
Suddenly the car's engine roared to life, Ben ran to get to it. He didn't reach it in time and the car sped off past him and down the stretch of road.
"Ben what's happening? What's going on?" Johnny was cursing under his breath, he felt completely useless within the interior of his car speeding down a highway. He needed to get to where Ben was he needed to change into his suit.
With a shaky hand Ben brought the phone up to his ear again "Phillip just sped off with Alicia in a car."
"Do you know where they are going; don't we have a tracker on Alicia?"
Ben hoped so.
Elise was startled awake and the first thing that greeted her was darkness, followed by a throbbing pain in the back of her skull.
What the hell.
She tried to sit up and immediately bumped her head on a hard hollow surface. Her actions induced further pain to her head. Fear struck her when she realized she was inside an unfamiliar space that lacked room. She was practically stuffed in. She kicked and punched around, the darkness making it impossible to determine her location.
Elise tried not to panic and take in her surroundings. Occasionally her body would be bumped up and she could hear the screech of tires and honk of cars in the background.
Am I in the trunk of a car?
She pressed her hands against the hard surface, fumbling around until her found hollow line with her finger tips. It stretched on in a straight direction, across the surface. She sighed in relief, she was right. She began to devise a plan to get out.
Thinking on instinct she shifted her body around so her legs were pulled towards her and her knees were against her chest. She pointed her feet at the door, channeled all her power and then delivered a powerful kick.
Alicia liked to think she was content with her disability. It was a struggle at first when she lost her sight because of an accident long ago, but later on she adapted. Her other senses were heightened and she accepted that some things were meant to be. But there were times when she wished she could see. After she created a painting, or hears about a movie she wishes to see or when she was with Ben. Especially in that moment, when she could hear her step-father's racing heart and sense a silence figure in the seat behind her. A cloud of tenseness hung about them in the air and she didn't know why.
"Dad what's going on, where are you taking us?" She demanded softly.
"Hush Alicia, it's alright, we are going home." He tried to assure her, but failed in doing so. Philip had a tight grip on the steering wheel as he drove through the heavy rain, heading for the Brooklyn Bridge. Due to an incident a few months ago involving the Fantastic Five facing a foe, the bridge had taken on substantial damage. The bridge was closed off for the repairs and is set to be released the following week.
The Puppet Master couldn't wait that long and raced past the detour and caution signs.
"Home, what are you talking about?" Alicia questioned frantically.
"They are on to me Alicia, I know it. I can tell that damn Richard's knows what I have been up to. It won't be long till they find me, till they find us. Do you think your relationship would last when they find out who you are?"
"What are you talking about, what did you do?" Her heart began to race in anxiety, unused to such a sinister tone from her father.
THUMP.
"This is your fault entirely. I told you I did not want you seeing that horrible creature, look at how you've forced my hand." He hissed taking his attention off the road for a moment to shoot her a cruel, hateful glare.
THUMP. THUMP.
"Dad what did you do?" Alicia shrieked.
THUMP.
"Oh my God, who is in the trunk?" She commanded, outraged and extremely aware of the heaving pounding behind them. Phillip cursed and abruptly jerked the car to a side before roughly pressing down on the brakes. Alicia gasped and was jolted forward from the haste of his actions. He worked quickly and unbuckled his seat belt, making a move to exit the car.
He didn't realize he had parked dangerously close to a crater of a hole on the stretch of road.
Alicia could only sit in shock, unsure of what to do or say. After recovering from her astonishment, she quickly shuffled about with her seat belt, frantically trying to remove it and follow after her father.
Elise forced her knees back towards her chest, ready to kick again when the trunk door suddenly opened. She quickly moved to retaliate when the face that greeted her, robbed her of her wrath
It was Jeremy. He stared down at her with those same vacant blue eyes. His paper dress was wet and plastered against his body. Her lips parted, trembling to form words, but then he reached out and roughly gripped her by her arm, forcing her out of the car.
The rain immediately soaked her, flattening her hair onto her face but the suit kept her temperatures at a comforting level.
Struggling against his tight hold, she looked to find a man who was a foot shorter than her sneering in her direction. She took in his shabby appearance in a lab coat, bald head and sinister features, unable to place him in her memory, she glowered.
"Who the hell are you?" Elise hissed straightening back her shoulders in a physical act of showing him she wasn't afraid.
"Who the hell am I?" He echoed, insulted by her words. His expression morphed into one of cruel intent "I am your worst nightmare."
"Nice try short stuff, but the last time I checked bald imps don't frighten me."
His frown deepened at her words.
"Maybe this does." He suddenly pulled out a hand gun from within his coat and aimed it at her. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, knowing a gun had no power over her when she could just use her powers to will it away. As if reading her mind he moved the barrel and pointed it at Jeremy's looming form beside her.
"Try anything and I shoot him." He threatened smugly, she grimaced.
"Eli?" Alicia's soft timid voice cut into their glaring contest. Eli tensed up and looked to find the blind woman emerging from behind the car. On unsteady legs she made her way over to stand beside Phillip.
None of it made any sense to Elise. Why kidnap Alicia, she has no involvement in with the Fantastic Five and clearly everything seems to centre on a ploy to get to the Tempest.
Elise didn't miss the almost familiar way Alicia gently reached out to the ill-tempered bald man holding the gun.
"Alicia, who the hell is this freak?" Elise hissed moving her furious stare back to the crazed man.
Alicia gulped nervously "He is my father."
Meanwhile, Ben and Reed drove through the heavy rain in the FantastiCar. Ben was operating the hovercraft while Reed was focusing on keeping the signal online in the turbulent weather.
"Stretch, should I be concerned that you were tracking my girl friend's phone." Ben called out from within the safety of the glass dome above his head, concealing him from the pelting rain.
"It was just a precaution, in case you broke yours like last time."
Grimm dead-panned at the scientist's blunt response, he wanted to retort but then a sudden bright light that whizzed up beside him grabbed his attention.
"Flame-boy, there you are." Ben noted glancing at the Human Torch; he flew ahead completely disregarding them.
"Dad please, stop this you don't need to—"
"Of course I do Alicia darling, everything else went wrong so the best I could do for now is kill these two and leave. It's your choice to come with me or not Alicia, but if you choose the later, you will regret it." He warned maliciously, keeping his intense glare focused on Elise.
"I'll come with you, please don't hurt them." Alicia pleaded, trying to reason with him.
"Then you miss the whole point of all of this, I want to hurt her, I certainly can't hurt you." He said "I would have preferred to control you, do all points of my command, but you are very stubborn."
"Thou shalt be free
As mountain winds: but then exactly do
All points of my command."
Elise blinked, immediately recognizing his voice.
"It was you. You were the one in my head." She exclaimed, stunned by the revelation. Her attention immediately darted to her silent ex-boyfriend "Is that what you are doing to Jeremy?"
"It wasn't that difficult, there wasn't anyone there. It's just a vessel." Philip stated in a cruel and passive manner that made her fume, ignoring her furious expression he continued to monologue "He was the most compliant subject, shame I don't have much use for him anymore."
"You bastard." She hissed taking a step to injure him only to be restrained by Jeremy's tight hold.
"You really shouldn't insult a man who has a gun aimed at your head." He stated bluntly, Elise stared back defiantly. Alicia stood staring blindly with a fixed expression of fear on her face.
"I suppose it would be more poetic if he was the man that kills you." He mused thoughtfully. He released one hand off the hilt of the weapon to reach into his lab coat. He pulled out a blade from within a recess in his coat and gestured it in Jeremy's direction.
"Take this." He ordered, focusing sternly. Jeremy's movements were stiff as he reached out with his free hand and picked up the blade from its hilt and held it tightly in his grip.
Philip's smile that followed his action was eerie and sent shivers down Elise's spine.
"Elise!" Johnny's voice boomed above the, grabbing their attention. She felt her heart race in both relief and amazement, they found them. For a moment all the feelings from earlier came rushing back, the hurt Johnny had inflicted upon her, but then at the sight of him, in his fiery glory dispelled all her doubt.
The Human Torch hovered in the air above them, taking in the sight of Philip threatening Elise with a gun and Jeremy had a knife in his hand. He immediately tried to move, seeing this—the Puppet Master acted quickly.
"Stay back, I mean it!" He cried out, his grip on the gun alarmingly still and aimed at Adams "I will kill her!"
"I can't let you do this!" Alicia suddenly reacted before gripping her father's arm and forcing it out of the way.
"No Alicia stop it!" He yelled fighting against her as she adamantly fought to retrieve the gun from his hold.
"No!"
Everything began to move fast, from the beginning of the struggle between the two—to the moment when they began inching back towards a crater of a hole in the bridge. Seeing this, Elise roughly pulled her arm out of Jeremy's vice like grip and dashed in Alicia's direction.
"Alicia!" Elise screamed out, just before Alicia fell.
She felt her heart drop into her stomach as their cries echoed in her ears. Johnny instantly reacted and flew down in pursuit of the woman, disappearing into the crater.
A sigh of relief escape her lips when Johnny emerged with Alicia in his hold. He gently set her down on the asphalt, the fire that burned his body dissipated as he steadied the hysterical woman. Elise could only guess from Alicia's sobbing form that Johnny couldn't rescue her father in time.
Johnny looked up and their eyes met. His blue orbs were trembling with uncertainty. She stared back feeling a wave of adoration consume her. He came through, despite everything he still came to help. A shaky smile wormed its way across her lips that seemed to soothe his qualms instantly.
"ELI!" She jolted and spun around at the sound of her uncle's voice calling her name—only to come face to face with Jeremy.
She was startled by the sudden heat she felt delve into her stomach. Her gaze slowly dropped down to find the source of the warmth only to find Jeremy's hand wrapped around the hilt of the knife, and the blade was buried deep inside her.
The shock stilled all her movements and she could only stare as the hard surface caked in her blood exiting the wound in her abdomen. Her frightened stare moved to meet Jeremy's vacant expression again, emotions of betrayal and pain taking over her.
A dull throbbing followed by agony forced her down onto her knees.
"ELISE!" She heard someone scream her name but she couldn't concentrate when all she could do was press her trembling hands to the puncture, trying to stop the pain. Panic set in and her heart began to race, she was going to die, she could feel it—her body was going cold and her mind was numbing.
The world began to spin around her and next thing she knew she was staring up at the dark, stormy sky.
Unable to breath, to speak... to move. All she could do was lie there as the darkness swallowed her up.
