Danny was waiting for Elena who was leaning against the wall beside the door to the men's locker room. Johnny went in to take a shower a while ago so she knew where he was. He walked out seconds later with other but a towel around his waist. He saw her immediately and smiled.

"Hey Glow," he said.

Elena opened her mouth to speak but Danny's voice over took the hall, "We're leaving to intercept the Surfer in ten minutes, with or without you," he was glaring at Johnny. He nodded but then stopped to look at Elena.

"Wait, were you just waiting outside the bathroom to try and catch me in a towel?" he asked. The water that ran down his his bare chest turned to steam as a killer smirk covered his smug face. Elena slightly laughed before crossing her arms over her chest, but she slightly jumped when she heard the growl coming from Danny, "That was a joke. I was joking," he slightly laughed, "Why are you so down on me? You don't even know me."

"I know you very well," Danny hissed, "I read your personality profile," Elena and Johnny's brows lifted in curiosity and acknowledgement. They both wanted to see this 'personality profile' the army had compiled for them, "Confident. Reckless. Irresponsible. Self-obsessed, bordering on narcissism," Danny listed resentfully.

Johnny mulled over his words for a moment as a small grin came to his lips, "Okay, so you do know me."

Elena watched them both carefully.

"All I've see is a guy that almost got his team killed."

The two Fantastics slightly flinched at his statement but Johnny quickly recovered, "Okay," he nodded, "I've been a little off my game lately."

The man shook his head, looking at the Human Torch with disgusted eyes, "This isn't a game," he walked away before shooting Elena a glare, leaving the two to their thoughts.

"Helicopter?" Elena whispered glancing up at Johnny.

"Yeah."

Black Forest, Germany

The team approached the site in which they were to intercept the Surfer.

"Sir, he's holding his position north of here," Danny reported to the General.

"Good."

"General," Reed said, leading the Fantastic Five up to him, "Give us a one-mile perimeter."

"Forget it, Richards. You had your shot, and you blew it. This is a military operation now, so jam the signal, get out of the way, let us do our job," the General pushed past Reed and began to walk away.

"You don't understand," Reed began.

"No, you don't understand. So let me make it clear for you and your pack of freaks here. I'm the quarterback. You're on my team. Got it?" Elena flinched when he said 'freaks' as she felt Victor move behind her to overlook the conversation, "But I guess you never played football in high school. Did you, Richards?" the General asked. His lips turned up as he laughed as he laughed to himself.

"No, you're right," this caught EVERYONE'S attention who was listening, "I didn't. I stayed in and studied like a good little nerd," Reed dropped his head before continuing, "And 25 years later…I'm one of the greatest minds of the 21st century, one of my greatest friends is able to hack into any system on the planet if I asked," Elena smiled, "I'm engaged to the hottest girl on the planet, and the big jock who played quarterback in high school," Reed stepped forward towards the General as Elena crossed her arms while leaning her weight onto her hip, "Well, he's standing right in front of me, asking ME for MY help. And I say he's not gonna get a damn thing…unless he does exactly what I tell him…and starts treating my friends and me with some respect."

The General cocked his head before turning around and walking away, "Give him what he wants."

Sue practically swaggered up to Reed and bumped his hip with hers, "I'm so hot for you right now."

Johnny came over and wrapped his arms around Reed with one around shoulder, "Me too!" their powers switched. Making Ben and Elena stifle a laugh.

"Alright, guys, be careful. Let's get to work."

The Fantastic Five carefully walked through the forest to find their determined point that they were to place their machines. They came across the new crater that broke the dense cover of trees.

"This is it," Reed said, "You have your coordinates. Set up your posts and rendezvous back here," Each other them walked off in their different direction. Reed and Johnny set theirs up quickly. Johnny removed the top hatch and the pulse emitter opened up to reveal a bulb that he was going to place the tube into. Johnny, Reed and Ben set theirs up quickly. Sue opened hers and inserted the tube to break the signal.

Ben slipped the tube in his and started the emitter. Out of the woods, walked a bear. It opened it's jaws and roared at Ben, "Hey. You scared me there, Smokey. Look at you. You're cute," the bear raised its head up and roared again. Ben frowned before roaring as loud as he could. The bear whimpered before walking away, "Yeah, that's right. Keep running, Boo-Boo! Overgrown fur ball."

Reed checked each person's status on his small tablet. He noticed that Elena was the only one who hadn't activated her emitter.

"What's your status?" Reed asked over the comms.

"Yeah, I'm good to go," Ben replied.

"Same here," Johnny added.

"Good to go," Sue said. That left Elena. She opened her emitter and allowed the globe to rise.

"Almost there," Elena said, she went to complete her emitter but then she heard something. Trees creaked and bent to her right. Carefully, she looked up and watched as the Surfer appeared through the trees. Elena slightly gasped before pressing her comm., "Guys, we have a problem."

"What's wrong?" Reed immediately demanded.

"He's here," Elena stated as the Surfer straightened himself up to a fully standing position on his board.

"Elena, get out of there. Right now!" Johnny yelled as he turned around and ran full speed to where Elena's co-ordinate was.

Elena's gaze darted to where her emitter sat. She inched her hand closer to it in an attempt to activate it but the Surfer countered her movement by flying closer. Elena watched with wide eyes as the surfer began to fly closer. Her skin immediately changed as she looked him dead in the eyes but he shook his head and her diamonds vanished, not on her accord. He leaned in close to her and looked over her face.

Elena swallowed before opening her mouth to speak, "Why are you destroying our planet?"

"I have no choice," the Surfer replied. His voice was deeper than Elena thought possible and it sent chills through her as he spoke. Johnny broke through the trees, panting as he ran. He knew Reed wasn't far behind him.

"ELENA!" he yelled.

"Wait!" she said, turning to look at him. The Surfer looked too and his gaze lingered on Johnny before returning to Elena as she spoke, "What do you mean you don't have a choice? There's always a choice."

The Surfer was silent before he spoke again, "Not always."

Elena shook her head, "Why are you trying to destroy us?"

"I am not the Destroyer."

General Hagar observed the scene through a pair of binoculars as Elena spoke to the Surfer. He leaned precariously off the edge of the board to speak to her, "Come on, Richards, just jam the damn signal."

"Maybe he needs a little persuasion," Victor suggested. The General looked over at Victor.

"Fire one over the top."

The missile launched from the truck to the Surfer. It soared through the air before coming into sight. Reed and Johnny saw the missile first. The Surfer and Elena saw if right after them. The Surfer drifted in front of Elena, holding his arm out and forcing her behind him. Elena's eyes widened at the protective motion as she took a step back. The Surfer flew up into the path of the missile and raised the end of his board. The missile melted into the silver and disappeared immediately.

"Open fire," the General commanded. The order was repeated throughout the compound before they finally opened fire. The missiles soared through the air. The Surfer deflected most of them but those he didn't exploded in the air. Johnny rushed over to Elena and placed himself in front of her.

"Elena," Reed said as she rushed towards the emitter. She snatched the tube up to slide it into the globe.

Explosions boomed in the air as the Surfer devastated the area where the General once was.

Johnny lit his chest on fire, "Let me just—"

"No," Reed held his hand up, "Wait."

"Reed," Ben said as the Surfer picked up speed as he flew right toward them.

"Come on, Lenie," Reed said, staring at the screen that displayed the activated emitters. Elena dropped the tube into the globe and pressed the button on the top.

"Alright, it's up," she said. Reed held his tablet and pressed the button to activate the Tachyon pulse.

"Got him."

The pulse emitted through the air. It hit the Surfer hard, causing him to clutch his head in pain. His silver body seemed to melt right through the board as he struggled to keep his hold. The pulse rattled through the air and it smacked Elena full force. She clutched her head, mostly her gash, as she let out a blood curdling scream. It echoed through the forest as pain ripped through her body. Johnny turned in shock. The scream passed through him and hit his body with a pang. He rushed over to her to catch her but Elena collapsed to the ground as she whimpered.

The Surfer fell to the forest floor as the ouster of his skin wore away to a dull grey. He reached for his board in agony but it was useless. Victor shocked the Surfer with the electricity that ran through his body before standing over him.

Raw lightning struck every nerve of Elena's body as Victor shocked the Surfer. She screamed again, making both her and Reed remember the screams that came from the genetic lab years ago. Johnny shook and struggled to anything but watch. His misery was ended when the pain stopped. Elena laid on the forest floor, every inch of her body ached as tears dripped down her face, the diamonds that covered her gash was cracked, leaking small trickles of blood. Johnny pulled her close to him as her finger clutch his suit tightly.

"Not so tough now, are ya?" Victor chuckled darkly before turning to the board.

"Victor, stay back," Reed demanded. The team ran through the trees to where Victor stood, Johnny carrying Elena bridal style.

"You're the quarterback," Victor stated with his hands held up in surrender. Elena caught sight of the Surfer laying motionless on the ground. Struggling out of Johnny's grasped, their powers switching to normal, she wobbled before kneeling down by the Surfer, who was looking at her blood and tear stained dirty face while she placed her hand gently on his head, "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry," she whispered.

Units of armed men flooded into the small area with all of their guns trained on Elena and the Surfer, "Eyes on. Keep your weapons trained!" the General looked at the team, the Surfer, and Victor before turning to Danny, "Perimeter secure."

Jakutsk, Siberia

Elena watched with worry as the armed men dragged the Surfer into a building. She turned to look at Sue who sent Reed a nervous stare before getting out of the car to follow the men and find the General.

"But, General, we had an agreement," Reed yelled.

"Calm down. The enemy has been captured — mission accomplished," the General explained. Elena hated the deepen look on his face, it was like he didn't care.

"Where is he?" Sue demanded.

"Contained," a man called the General's name from the hallway. Said man turned and looked at the person who called for him, "Mr. Sherman," Elena looked past the General and locked her eyes on Mr. Sherman. Recognizing him immediately and his techniques in medical, she stepped back, away from him. Johnny eyed her warily, "If you'll excuse us, we have work to do."

"I want to be there for the questioning," Reed stated. He walked forward a few steps as if he were to follow the General but he turned around and cut him off.

"That's not gonna happen. Please make sure out guests remain here comfortably," the man uttered a quick 'yes, sir' before slamming the door behind him. Elena winced at the noise before she wrapped her arms tightly around herself.

Reed raised his hand to his forehead and rubbed it once before turning to Elena, "Are you alright?"

She shrugged before quickly sitting down on the table. Johnny moved to her side but didn't touch her.

"What happened?" he asked her. Elena shrugged before thinking back to everything that has happened with the Surfer.

"It's the Surfer. I'm linked to the Surfer," Reed shook his head, trying to think of another solution, "Think about it. Every time there was a sighting, or he got near me, my powers fluxed. When I got hold of him in New York he must've taken part of my defence. The incident in the woods confirms it," Elena sat up straighter, "The Tachyon pulse hurt the Surfer. He put up a defence, my defence which left me channeled to him and in turn hurt me. That's why this hasn't healed!" she gestured to her gash, which was growing larger by the day, "When I grabbed him, I connected with him, just like I do with anyone who I change, but he has a part of me STILL connected to him. It felt like…" her voice drifted and she glanced at Johnny who knew what she meant.

"Like when Victor had you, only ten times worse," Reed finished making her nod, "Lenie, if I knew."

"You didn't know. I didn't know. I'm fine but the Surfer isn't. We need him and his board back."

"How?"

Elena closed her eyes and sighed, "I don't know."

"Are we prisoners?" Johnny asked as he eyed the security camera in the corner, "How did that happen?"

Reed tore his gaze away from the map on the wall, "Apparently, they don't want us interfering with their methods," Elena squeezed her eyes shut as she felt an invisible strain on her limbs. She was anxious and isolated herself to the corner of the room behind the door.

"I can't even imagine what they're doing to him in there," Sue said.

"I say he gets what he deserves," Ben said.

"How can you say that?" Sue asked.

"I'm just sating that maybe the General is right about this. The guys was about to destroy the planet. He said to himself," Ben moved from the surface he was sitting on and paced while he spoke.

"I don't get it," Sue said glancing over to the white haired girl in the corner, "Why did he protect you?" she saw Elena rub her arm as if some bug bit her.

"Maybe he thinks you're cute," Johnny said motioning for her to sit next to him, she did so but winced a few times.

"He said he wasn't the destroyer," Reed said as he crossed his arms and began to pace.

"Uh, maybe he lied," Ben said.

Reed stopped pacing and thought for a moment, "We need to get inside there and talk to him…but under the radar," Reed looked at Sue as he spoke, she smiled as she caught onto his meaning.

"I'm going," Elena spoke up.

"He'll only speak to her, I can just tell," Sue insisted, "I can spread my invisibility to her. We've been practicing," Elena smiled in gratitude as Reed nodded. Johnny wanted to desperately to grab her hand but didn't, instead, he nudged her chair, gaining her attention.

"Be careful, Glow, alright?"

Elena smiled as she looked at him, "When am I not?"

"I know you are there," the Surfer said. He looked up from where his gaze was fixed on the floor. Sue and Elena became visible just by the door as the older woman took her hand off the younger's shoulder. He watched as Elena climbed the small steps to where he was strapped in. He watched her every step was as if she were to hurt him.

"It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you," Elena gently said and gave a warm smile.

"I know, but I have already harmed you greatly," the Surfer stated in his clear voice, his dull silver eyes looked at her gash.

"This?" the Surfer nodded, "I've been through worse, but I'm alright. It was your pain I felt, though, I'm more worried about you," Elena gently brushed her hand over his grey cheek. She wanted him to know that they weren't going to hurt him like the others had, "What's your name?"

When the Surfer didn't answer, Sue stepped up next to Elena, "Come on. You must have a name. I'm Susan."

"I'm Elena," the Surfer was silent as he processed their words, "You said you weren't the one trying to destroy our world. Then who is?"

The Surfer looked wistfully into the distance, "The one I serve."

"Who do you serve?" Sue pitched in, but the Surfer was silent.

"Please, I'm trying to help you," Elena pleaded, "But in order to do that, you have to tell me the truth. I want to help you. Please," she was patient with the Surfer, more patience that Sue ever gave her credit for.

The Surfer tipped his head back and closed his eyes. The two girls watched as the grey on his chest transformed into an image, "It is known by many names. My people called it…Galactus—The Devourer of Worlds," the Surfer spoke slowly, but Elena heard the pain in his words, she watched as the image pulsed as the glowing orb spun, "It must feed on energy to survive…both thermal and organic."

"How could you willingly serve this thing?" Sue asked.

"But I must," the Surfer replied, his face never changed as he spoke.

"Doesn't it bother you? All those worlds and innocent people you've helped destroy!" She was an inch away from yelling.

"My service spared my world…and the one I love," the Surfer tipped his head down with the sudden revelation.

"Why did you try to protect me?" Elena softly asked.

The Surfer looked up at her, "Because…you remind me…of her," he looked away almost like he was embarrassed.

"Is that why you have part of my diamonds?" Elena finally asked the question that was burning her.

The Surfer turned to look at Elena full on, "No. That is not why. I am linked to you because I wished to see what life was like upon the planet I was about to destroy. I am suppose to learn things as I serve. When you stopped my source, I was intrigued. After realizing that I must break your hold and absorb part of it in order to learn, I did so. Your mind was filled was so many things," her grey eyes watched him, "You have felt my pain and I have strained you from healing. I have done nothing but harm you since I arrived, it was not my intention and I apologize."

Elena softly smiled, "It's alright," she reached forward and took his hand, hoping he would smile but he didn't. The door behind them creaked. Sue's hand shot out and grabbed Elena's shoulder which turned them both invisible, "Could you stop the Destroyer if you wanted to?"

"It is not I who draws the Destroyer here. It is the beacon."

"What's the beacon?" Sue whispered. The guard at the door got closer to see the Surfer speak.

"The source of my power."

"Your board," Elena spoke. The Surfer nodded before catching sight of the guard at the door. He looked back at the two girls solemnly. Wishing to see one of them once more.

"Take joy in the last few hours you have left…for He is nearly here."

AN: I'll update as scheduled, maybe sooner. Please leave a review and no FLAMES!

Xoxo - Scar