I can't believe it! Four years in the making, and this story is soon coming to an end DX It's almost unbelievable that I've come so far and that it's taken me this long to get this all written out, but I'm glad I was able to at least stick it through and finish this up!

I just recently watched the new "Fantastic 4" movie, and although I think visually the movie was a lot better, there were just too many things that I couldn't get on board with. I won't go into full detail about it because I'm not a movie critic and because I'm not here to rant. I just thought I would share a quick opinion about the movie since I'm here now! Watching the new movie just made me miss the old movie haha. So, I was inspired to get back to this and update! So, without further ado, here is the next chapter! Let me know what you think, and thanks for all the support so far! Hopefully I'll be updating soon! Oh, and thanks for the reviews and follows/favorites! =)

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything from Fantastic Four

Chapter Eleven: The Beacon of Destruction

"We had a deal!"

"Calm down, Richards."

The Silver Surfer had been apprehended, and the board had been contained. The Fantastic Five had done exactly what they had set out to do, and yet, something didn't feel right about how it had all ended.

It was as if the trouble was only beginning.

"The enemy has been captured. Mission accomplished." But that just wasn't enough.

"Where is he?" Sue asked coldly with a piercing stare as General Hagar glanced over at her.

"...Contained." Sue and Lily exchanged suspicious glances at that.

"General?" Everyone looked to the door way as a short man with a rat-like face with a briefcase stood, Hagar smirking.

"Mr. Sherman." Reed's eyes widened as he stared at the man, Sue's as well.

Mr. Sherman had been notorious for many things, but he was well known for his intelligence-gathering. The only issue was, he did just about anything to get what he wanted.

And it didn't matter who you were.

"I want to be there for the interrogation," Reed said sternly, Hagar whipping around with a coldness in his eyes.

"That's not going to happen." Knowing there was no way around it, Reed stayed back as Hagar glanced at the guard. "Please make sure our guests remain here, comfortably." Without another word or a second glance, Hagar was heading out the room with Sherman behind him. The heavy door clunked shut behind them all as the five teammates stared at each other, unsure of what to do next.

As the door slammed shut, Victor contained his excitement as he followed after the general for a moment. "What about the board?" he asked as Captain Raye walked beside him for a moment.

"It's in a chamber that continuously scrambles the signal." Victor slowly stopped as he watched the military men walk ahead, leaving him alone. He scowled as he thought to himself before he shook his head, a smirk spreading across his cheeks.

It was no matter. He'd get what he wanted eventually.

An hour or so had passed since Hagar had left the Fantastic Five in the room. Though the base was insulated and heated, the chill of the Siberian air seeped through the walls. No one paid too much attention to it, Reed leaning against the table with his back to the team as Sue and Lily sat across from each other. Ben leaned back against the wall as he stared up at the ceiling, his eyes flickering over to Johnny, the young man staring up at the camera in the corner of the room before he raised a brow.

"...Are we prisoners?" the Human Torch inquired as Mr. Fantastic sighed, the younger man releasing a disbelieving laugh. "How did that happen?"

"Apparently, they don't want us interfering with their methods," Reed explained dryly as Lily looked up at him before pouting a bit more, arms crossed over her chest.

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

"I say, he gets what he deserves."

"How can you say that?" Sue argued as Ben pushed himself from against the way and stood beside Lily.

"All I'm saying is, the general might have a point on this one," he said as the dark haired girl beside him shook her head. "The guy was about to destroy the planet."

"But none of it makes sense!" Sue whined as she sat up, Lily looking over at the blonde as she sat silently. "Why would he have protected me from the missile then?"

Shrugging, Johnny took a seat at the end of the table as he looked at his sister. "Maybe he thought you were cute?"

His joke was not found humorous.

"There's more to this than we know," Reed said. "He said he wasn't the destroyer."

"Maybe he's lying."

"He's not lying," Lily stated bitterly as she finally broke her streak of silence. "I know for a fact he wasn't lying." After all, she had seen into his mind. And although it had only been a short glimpse, she knew what she had seen and she knew what she had heard.

Reed glanced down at Lily as he sighed before a thoughtful look came over him. "Well, we won't know unless we talk to him. We need to get to him...under the radar." Looking over at Sue, Reed smirked as his beloved smiled mischievously back at him.

"I think I might be able to help you."

Lily watched from her seat at the table as Johnny approached the door, opening it just enough. He poked his head out and began to converse with the guard, Lily smirking to herself as she waited patiently for their plan to move forward.

"Is there any way you could get us some movies and popcorn to pass the time?" Johnny asked innocently as the man at the door nodded his head respectfully.

"Yes, Mr. Storm."

"Thanks. Semper fi!" The others rolled their eyes at that.

"That's the marine corp. We're the army."

"...I know! Yeah...the army..." Shaking his head with no care, Johnny shut the door as he looked back at the others. Reed smiled with relief as Ben nodded, Lily meeting the young man's gaze for the first time in what felt like years. She gave him a knowing look as he smirked.

"Really? Semper fi?"

"Just trying to show my support!" Now, the rest was up to Susan.

Although no one could see her, Susan was still anxious. Her powers gave her the advantage in these types of situations, but that didn't mean she was accustomed to being a sneaky type of person. It had never been one of her strongest traits, but it was different now. Now, she had a reason to be sneaky.

She had the world to save.

Silently, the blonde roamed down the hall, stopping when her invisible eyes landed on Captain Raye. Waiting until the younger woman was a bit ahead of her, Susan quietly began down the hall once more. After a few minutes, the blonde captain approached a secured door while Sue strayed to the wall, waiting until the woman disappeared into the room. She took a deep breath before nodding to herself, taking her hand and swiping it through the air by the wall.

Now she could clearly see what was going on in the next room over.

"Sir, Doom would like to speak to you." Sue watched as Hagar, Sherman and the rest of the men walked out of the room, leaving the Surfer strapped to the table. Her eyes hardened as she quickly snuck into the room.

Now was her chance.

Standing in front of the chamber in which the board was held in, Victor couldn't keep the smirk from stretching across his lips. The board gleamed in the light, the man nearly feeling its power pulsing through him. He kept his eyes on the board as he spoke, the general watching him carefully.

He had a feeling something just wasn't quite right.

"...Thank you, general," Victor said smoothly as he nodded.

"But the truth is?" Hagar narrowed his eyes as Doom turned to him with a shrug. "Reed is right." Not giving the general or his subordinate a moment's notice, Victor thrust his hand towards Hagar, shooting electricity towards the men.

Now there was nothing standing in the way of him and his power. Finally, he'd gotten the one-up against Reed.

Finally, he'd be able to defeat the Fantastic Five.

Reed and Ben stood beside each other as they kept their lips tightly shut. Their bodies were tense, but probably not as tense as the atmosphere between Lily and Johnny.

The pair of youngsters sat at the table, right across from each other and didn't say a word to one another. Lily stared down at the surface of the table top as Johnny leaned back in his seat, staring up at the ceiling. Lily had wanted to move from the table the second Johnny had sat across from her, but her pride had stopped her from doing so. She didn't want to be the first to budge when she had been sitting there first. Johnny should have known better than to sit near her in the first place. And as for Johnny, he had wanted to see what reaction he would get from his friend. And even though she hadn't reacted at all, he could tell by the slight clench in her jaw and the way her fingers twitched that she was irritated by him. Meanwhile, Reed and Ben remained silent. They were both very curious about what it was that was going on, but the pair knew better than to pry and draw themselves into the middle of whatever was going on between them.

They had learned to just let the two settle their issues the way they should.

Lily's heart ached as it continued to beat uncontrollably against her chest. She closed her eyes for a moment to calm down before she raised a brow and opened her eyes, feeling a piercing gaze burning through her forehead. She slowly looked up and locked eyes with Johnny as the young man stared at her, completely unfazed by the way she glared at him.

"What?" she finally snapped at him as he shrugged, looking away. "If you have something to say then just say it," she barked as the young man rolled his eyes.

"You ever listen to your own advice, Lils?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lily blinked as Johnny shot her a knowing look before she lost her voice. She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest before leaning back in her seat, Johnny frowning and sighing as he leaned forward against the table.

He was tired of dancing around the truth. He was tired of pretending that they didn't know each other. And most of all? He was tired of staying at an arm's length from Lily.

"Lily, I just need you to listen to me for just a second."

"Johnny, do you really think now is the time for this?" Lily asked with an irritated tone in her voice as the young man nodded.

"Now is the best time. Seeing as the world's probably going to come to an end any second." Lily let her shoulders sag at that as she glanced at Reed and Ben, the two having been watching intently before she looked at them. They quickly averted their gaze to something else in the room as the young woman gave them a less amused stare for a moment before leaning forward and talking quietly.

"Alright, fine," she murmured. "What could you possibly have to say to me right now?"

Johnny took a deep breath as he stared at Lily intently. His blue eyes gazed into her hazel ones as a shiver shot through his spine, though he was sure to keep his composure.

There was a lot he wanted to say to her. He wanted to yell at her for acting like an asshole to him, he wanted to tell her how relieved he was that she didn't hate him. But the one thing he wanted to do was something he couldn't. He wanted to hold her close to him and never let her go. Because in his entire life, he was so used to things coming and going. He was used to never holding on to something for too long because in the end, it would be gone. But Lily? She had been different. She had stayed with him through it all. Through all the issues and through all the troubles he had. When his parents had died, and when Johnny had thought he had lost everything, she had been there every step of the way. And although there had been a point in his life where they had lost contact, never once did he forget about her.

She had stuck by his side. Through all the fights, through all the women, she had been there. And now that he knew what was going through her head, he felt guilty. Because all along, he'd been hurting her without even knowing it. And of all the people in the world, Lily was the last person he wanted to hurt. He didn't want to hurt the one thing in his life that was constant. The one person in his life that didn't just roll with his punches. She fought back against him and wasn't afraid to put him in his place. And she saw more than just his face and his title and powers. She saw a child, she saw an idiot at times. She even saw a big-headed ass some days.

And yet she stuck with him.

"Lily...I-" Johnny stopped as the door suddenly swung open to the room, a frantic Sue standing in the entryway. Whatever he was going to say was forgotten, the pair standing to their feet with wide eyes. Reed quickly approached his future wife's side as Ben walked up beside Johnny.

"Sue!"

"I-It's bad!" the blonde exclaimed as she looked up at her teammates and friends. "The Silver Surfer, he isn't the Destroyer."

"Then what is?" Johnny asked as Sue looked over at Lily, their eyes meeting.

"It's called Galactus."

"Galactus?" Reed repeated as the Invisible Woman nodded.

And then she began to retell her experience with the surfer. How he had sacrificed his entire life to save his planet and his love. And about how he acted as a guide for Galactus, leading him from planet to planet in order to feed this entity. She talked quickly, but the others were able to keep up with her. They all knew just how crucial this information was, and they didn't have much time. Because from the sound of it, Galactus was almost there.

"The board, that's what's drawing it here," Sue finished as everyone looked at each other.

"How do you fight something that can eat planets?" Johnny asked urgently as Reed shook his head with an unsettled look upon his face.

"We have to get to the board and lead it away from here," the scientist stated as Ben frowned.

"You think the general will go for that?"

"He'll have no choice."

"Guys, you're forgetting one huge issue." The four turned to Lily as she grimaced and looked at each other them. "His name is Victor Von Doom."

The power was surging through his veins. Though he felt hot, the sensation was nearly intoxicating. Victor couldn't seem to get enough. It was as if the board had made him anew. He was no longer just Doom, but he was an all-powerful Doom. The ultimate Doom.

Having placed his armor back on, his metal mask now covering his face, Victor pulled on the cloak he always wore before he stared down at the board he stood upon. He laughed as the power began to flux around him. His gleeful thoughts were interrupted by worthless pellets hitting his armor and mask. He blinked before he rolled his eyes, looking over at General Hagar, who had finally gained his senses back. He shook his head as he held his palms out toward the man.

"You should have just played dead." Sending a burst of energy at Hagar, Doom didn't bother waiting to see what the result had been. He turned and immediately escaped, another surge of power bursting through the entire building.

As he flew away, he didn't notice the way the entire door burst from his power, the five heroes running towards his location receiving the repercussions for his actions. Immediately, Johnny, Lily and Sue leaped out of the way of the stone and door, Sue quickly grabbing on to Lily's hand and pulling her along. Ben merely frowned, knowing he didn't have enough speed to dodge what was about to happen.

"Great." Grunting, the stone man was forced back and down the hall, the large piece of stone imprinting him into the wall.

Somehow, the impact hadn't been as bad as he first imagined.

Lily blinked several times, gaining her composure back as she slowly pushed herself up from the ground, Sue following suit. They looked at each other and made sure the other was unharmed before returning to the hall, Johnny following their lead. The three glanced at each other before they looked down the corridor in which the piece of rock had come. They then turned their heads, a groan filling the air.

"Ben!" The wall chunk fell to the ground, the Thing slowly blinking before he sighed.

"I'll admit it. That one hurt."

Sue's eyes widened as she began to frantically look around. "Where's Reed?"

"Here." The four blinked at the muffled sound of their leader's voice before Ben slowly peeled himself form the wall. He stepped down on to the floor, Reed completely smashed against the wall. He slowly inhaled, his body returning to its original form. The stone-like man smiled sheepishly as Reed stared at him with an incredulous and amused gaze.

"My bad." With that, the five were on the move.

"Guys!" Lily called out as she led the way, slowly coming to a stop as she stared at the destroyed and empty chamber where the board should have been. The black haired woman looked back at Reed as he grimaced, meeting her gaze.

"Victor."

"Reed, look." Said man turned and followed Sue's gaze before his eyes widened. He stared for a second longer, the remains of Hagar sitting right before him.

"Victor's completely lost it," Lily snapped as she placed her hands on her hips, looking at Reed. "We've got to stop him."

"We'll need the Surfer," Sue pointed out. "He's the only one who understands the board's power."

"Even if we break out of here, how're we gonna catch up to Victor?" That brought an excited gleam up in Reed's eyes.

"Leave that to me." Nodding, the five quickly ran out from the destroyed room as they swiftly moved through the halls. Ben took the lead, the team arriving to their destination after a few minutes. The bulky man smirked as he jumped, crushing the wall in front of him without any trouble at all.

Shocked, the guards watching the Silver Surfer and the Surfer himself looked up at the five as they came rushing in through the hole in the wall. The alien watched curiously as Sue created bubbles around the two guards and keeping them contained while the thick-skinned hero stepped forward.

"Today's the luckiest day of your life, pal."

"Alright, I'll grab him. Ben you take the lead. We don't have any time for distractions." Reed wanted to bulldoze through whoever stood in their way. "We need to get to the roof. That's where our escape will be."

"Right."

Everything had been happening quickly, but the five didn't have time to stop and analyze the situation. With the world at risk, they only had time to keep moving. So they ran down the hall, Reed keeping the Surfer's arm around his shoulder in order to give him support. Lily shot glances back at the entity every so often as he stared back at her.

As they six turned the corner, they came to an abrupt stop, an end of a pistol aimed directly at them. "What the hell is going on?" Captain Raye shot a cold stare at everyone, her body stiffening when her gaze fell upon the Surfer. "Where is General Hagar?"

"...He's dead," Reed stated as Frankie's composure began to slowly chip.

"If we don't get him out of here, we're gonna be too," Ben added as the young official stared at the Surfer for a moment.

"Frankie." Johnny's voice caught her attention as she looked over at the young man, the flamethrower stepping forward with an honest and earnest look on his face. "The world is literally at stake here," he explained as she gave him a hesitant look.

"I'm asking you to trust us." Raye wavered for a moment as she continued to stare at Johnny. The young man relaxed as he gave her a sincere stare. "Please."

Lily said nothing as she watched the two interact. Her attention fell mostly on Johnny, a suddenly strange and honest side of him appearing in front of everyone. And although she didn't want to admit it, there was a twinge of jealousy that shot through her chest as she looked at Frankie. The captain herself slowly lowered her weapon as she looked from Johnny and then her gaze fell on Lily. She smiled softly at that, confusing Tide, before she stepped aside.

"Go." Grinning, Johnny nodded as he looked back to everyone and nodded. The others smiled back at him as they followed after him, Lily glancing back at Frankie one last time. The two women stared at each other for a moment as the captain smiled and nodded to her, though Lily was unsure of what exactly they had just exchanged.

"Lily!" Said woman turned back around as Johnny waited for her at the doorway leading to the roof. She stared at him for a moment as he motioned for her to come before she smiled and nodded.

Right now, they were a team. And they needed each other in order to save the world. So Lily would push aside her fears and push aside her insecurities to do what was right. And as she ran up the steps with Johnny behind her, she glanced back at him as he smirked up at her and nodded.

They would do this together.