THE SLEEK NEW JET CARRIED THE FOUR QUICKLY AWAY from the barren wastelands of the Arctic, crossing the sky and soon entering the airspace over Asia. Reed was quietly impressed with his own craftsmanship; the controls of the jet were working smoothly, and its speed could top two hundred miles per hour. Other systems aboard, however, still felt a little clunky to him. He made mental notes to check on the radiation sensors and navigation systems. They showed no sign of any anomalies, and Victor should be putting out massive amounts of energy. The kind of power Victor now had should be showing up somewhere. Unless he’s figured out how to hide, Reed thought. He was hoping that Victor had not yet mastered the power of the board. He thought that lack of precision would be their one shot at defeating Victor, if he was still unaware of the raw power in his possession. But now, as Reed’s eyes surveyed the many quiet instruments across his cockpit console, he feared they no longer had that advantage.

The rest of the group was slightly distracted by the surprise existence of the jet. Sue recalled how many times she’d begged Reed to find them some private way to travel, and now he had done it. Without a word to her, he had done it. Sue sat about a foot behind Reed’s right shoulder, next to the Surfer. Ben had shoved himself into the back section, behind them all. As the flew, their elation about Reed’s new vehicle faded, and a silence fell over the group as they realized that a hard struggle lay ahead of them.

Ben Grimm broke the silence with his deep, gravelly voice. “Okay. We’re now officially enemies of America. Victor is out there somewhere with unlimited power. And we’ve got a giant, intergalactic force that’s about to destroy our planet in less than twenty-four hours. Did I miss anything?” His words were meant to be sarcastic, but he sounded defeated.

“I forgot to TiVo 24,” Johnny quipped from outside, in a effort to dispel the gloomy atmosphere inside the jet.

Ben ignored his comment. “So what do we do now?” he asked. Ben’s question seemed to mirror the thoughts of Sue and her teammates as they each struggled to think of a way to stop both Victor and the imminent threat of the destroyer. Everything they had been through over the past few days — the geographic anomalies, the ruined wedding, the encounters with the Surfer, Johnny’s new ability to switch powers with the others, learning that Victor was alive and once again a threat, not to mention the gruesome death of General Hager — all these events were leading them to this place. To a final confrontation. How and when that would occur was still a mystery to everyone, so Ben’s query was left hanging in the air, unanswered.

“Norrin Radd.” It was the ethereal voice of the Surfer, coming from the middle of the craft.

Reed and Sue turned, a bit startled, as the Surfer had been silent since they’d broken him out of Hager’s containment cell.

“I was once called Norrin Radd,” the Surfer repeated.

“That’s one weird-ass name,” Johnny remarked, looking from the outside at Ben.

Ben stared at Johnny for a split second in disbelief. “Shut up,” he responded, shaking his rocky head in frustration.

Sue recovered her voice and gave him a smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Norrin.”

The Surfer continued staring at Sue, his deep-pooled eyes now looking for some kind of recognition in her soft, human face. “Serving the destroyer meant sparing my world and saving the one I loved,” he offered as explanation for his actions. Once he had made his confession, the Surfer looked down at his tarnished hands and became quiet once again.

Sue understood his intentions. She had sensed that the Surfer was not a malevolent force since their encounter in the Black Forest. She wanted to believe he was a victim of circumstance, someone whose duty to the ones he loved made him merely an object of sacrifice. She could understand that, the need to protect the ones you loved. She had seen it cross all their faces in the heat of battle. It was the foundation for the camaraderie of the group that was also like a family. Sue held no doubt in her mind that should the situation arise, she would undoubtedly make the same choices the Surfer had made.

“Norrin,” she said, “please help us save our world, as you have your own.” She knew her words had touched him, as she could see his face change. His brow furrowed and his eyes, usually bright, dimmed a bit. He seemed to struggle with her plea, perhaps fearful of what such a decision could cost him — or his homeland.

The alien once known as Norrin Radd looked out the window of the jet, unsure of what to say. Of all the worlds he had seen, all the ones he’d helped destroy, this place was the most like his home. It had not been easy for him to come here, to see the lush greens of the land and the radiant blues of the ocean, and not think of everything he had left behind. The familiar sights of this place had rendered within him strong feelings of isolation and longing for his own world, for a place he could never see again. Even now, without the board to establish within him some connection to living things, he felt those emotions. But just because his fate was sealed didn’t mean that this beautiful world had to suffer. He couldn’t let that happen, not to this place, and not to her.

The Surfer turned back to Sue. Her eyes were still focused on him, pleading. He gave her a silent acquiescence, a gesture only she seemed to understand.

Ben broke up their wordless exchange, apparently frustrated by the group’s lack of resolve.

“We could barely beat Victor before,” he said from behind them. “With this guy’s powers, he’s unstoppable.”

“So let’s just use Reed’s tachyon jamming thingama-jig,” Johnny said. “It worked on Norbert here.”

“Norrin,” Sue corrected.

“Whatever,” replied Johnny.

“Victor would have compensated for that,” said Reed.

The Surfer turned back to the large man who seemed to be made of rocks. He could sense that his physical strength was formidable, but his mind less so. “The power of the board is overwhelming, almost euphoric,” the Surfer explained. “It is not something one willingly gives up. Especially if power is all one craves. Does this describe him?”

The ones who called themselves the Fantastic Four merely exchanged glances with one another, confirming the worst. “We are so screwed,” Johnny said. A curious, yet obtuse response.

Suddenly the relative calm of the cockpit was shattered by a tremendous shock wave.

Light flooded into the jet, a cosmic cascade of energy that almost blinded them. Reed held on to the steering mechanism tightly, trying to maintain control as waves of energy rolled over them, tossing them like a ship in a stormy sea. The jet shook violently as its passengers were thrown about in their seats. Ben slammed his head against the back wall of the jet, creating a large dent in the metal. Sue threw a force field around the craft, but it wasn’t strong enough. The jet continued to shake and the navigation equipment popped, on the verge of shorting out altogether. Reed struggled to keep the jet upright, diverting more power to the thrusters and engine. He stared out the cockpit window and found the source of the great disturbance. In front of them stood Victor Von Doom, shining and resplendent on the Surfer’s board. His skin glowed with power as his hands extended toward the new craft, fighting Reed for control.

He saw Sue fighting to maintain her force field in an effort to offer the team some protection from Victor’s powerful wrath. A thick stream of blood began to slowly drip from her nose.

Suddenly the jet took a strong dive as Reed started evasive maneuvers to avoid Victor’s grasp. He could see Johnny, fully aflame, riding right by their side, sending a stream of fire toward Von Doom’s board to try to break his fearsome grip on the jet.

The Fantastic Four sped quickly through the night sky, with Victor right on their tail. They soared through the Gullin Monoliths, the tall, austere mountains appearing black against the shadows of night. Von Doom, remarkably fast on the silver board, gestured toward one of the peaks. The ancient mountain cracked and fell toward Reed’s jet. He pulled aside just in time to avoid a collision and the rocky edifice fell to the ground just below them.

Reed could hear the crash of the mountain below, a deep shudder rising from the crust of the landscape, a shower of pebbles and dust scratching the underside of the jet. The steering controls were turning a bit sluggish and the engine was showing signs of strain from Reed’s evasive piloting. The navigation systems were almost totally shot, buckling under the strength of Victor’s attack. Reed feared the new engines would also give out, having been used at full throttle for so long. The jet, while compact, was simply too cumbersome for such tricky maneuvering and fast flying. He had built it more as a transport than a combat weapon. He knew he would have to resort to Plan B.

“Hold on!” Reed yelled as he threw a number of switches. Components emerged in each section of the craft and extended into position. A smaller version of Reed’s steering mechanism extended into Sue’s lap. She locked eyes with Reed, who nodded as he pushed the last button, splitting the sleek jet into three separate vehicles: the front section holding Reed, the middle section holding Sue and the Surfer, and the tail section holding Ben. The smaller jets, each resembling a small submersible, had stronger maneuvering capabilities. Reed surmised that only by separating could they have a chance at outmaneuvering Victor and the surfboard.

Reed watched the other components of the jet cast off. His design and construction worked perfectly. Ben and Sue easily maneuvered away from each other, drawing Victor’s fire into three separate directions. Reed watched Johnny hurl a barrage of fireballs at Victor while Sue and the Surfer took to the higher ground, behind a thicket of clouds. Reed felt some concern about leaving Sue alone with Norrin Radd; Victor would need to destroy the Surfer if he was to keep the board permanently, and Reed didn’t want Sue’s jet to be any more of a target than it already was.

He careened through the sky in the front compartment of the jet and dove down once again, toward the now visible Great Wall of China. Ben followed suit in his own craft, giving Reed’s jet plenty of room but keeping protective watch on his blind side. Ben always has my back, Reed thought. Friends ’til the end, Ben always said. Even if that end was coming tonight.

Reed flew so low to the ground that he could make out the indentations of the stones that made up the Great Wall. The moon cast long shadows over the structure, making the wall appear half-hidden from the fight above.

Victor watched the three jets with amusement, impressed once again with Reed’s ingenuity. But his goodwill didn’t last long. With a single wave of his hand, Victor unleashed the stones from the Great Wall, pulling them easily from the ancient mortar. The stone missiles flew obediently toward their mark, raining dirt and boulders over Reed and Ben’s flight path. Reed dove lower to dodge the stones and Ben pulled up, taking to the higher air to avoid the deadly debris.

As Victor watched his prey try to elude the flying stones, he felt a current of air coming up swiftly from behind him. He turned to see Sue piloting her small part of the jet, aimed right for his head. Victor dropped immediately and she flew right over him, nearly decapitating him in midair with the wing of her small craft.

Victor recovered quickly, using the power of the board to speed up and begin chasing the section holding Sue and the Surfer. He flew on the currents of the swift engine’s exhaust, ignoring the turbulence and fumes, gaining on her quickly. The board’s speed was incredible and navigated the cold night air with ease, as if nothing could stop it. She always liked to be chased, Victor thought. And now I’ll have her. Finally. Victor was just about to reach Sue’s jet when a bright, thick stream of living flame flew up between them, burning Victor’s hand. Victor could see Johnny providing cover as his sister attempted to escape, another futile protective gesture to keep Victor at bay.

Just then, Ben’s section of the jet launched up from below, slamming into the underside of the board, sending Victor spinning through the sky. Ben could see Victor on top of the board, twirling like a toy top, a silver speck trapped in a blender of air. The violent rotation, however, was stopped by one single thought from Victor’s mind.

Victor ascended then into the dawning day, letting the board take him higher into the air. He continued rising, watching the landscape below and the jets and the Human Torch fall away quickly, becoming insects hovering in dirty air. He rose higher and higher, drawn to great heights by the euphoric power of the board. He could feel the sun, though it lay waking halfway around the world. He could sense the tides in the water, though they swam oceans away. He could smell the air, each living molecule of it, and he could feel it whipping all around him in a meager display of supplication and worship. Suspended and cradled by the board, Victor could feel everything in the world move and shudder, warp and bend to his whim. Every living thing on the planet was humbled in his wake, prostate before him. He could feel it all and wanted nothing more than to gather it entirely, down to every last cell. Herd the entire living organic spectrum and corral it into his grasp. And then squeeze.

He turned back to the meddling bits of Reed’s craft, trying to circle around him in a futile attempt to contain him. But the power of the board was not to be contained. It was to be unleashed. Victor raised his hands, glowing madly from the ambition he now felt. “My turn,” he said but his voice, deep and universal, was no longer recognizable, no longer of this world.

He brought his hands together in an almighty clap. The energy blooming from his hands pulled together in a godly display of light and electricity. The entire horizon was alight with his power and fury as if dawn was breaking in half. Victor rained vengeance down upon those who dared try to thwart him. The sonic boom from his powerful blast rattled the Great Wall and the Gullin Monoliths. It hid the moon, punished the waking sun. It was as if the entire Earth shuddered under the gaze of Victor’s endless power.

Victor felt every inch of his scarred face smile as he watched the three jets and Johnny’s extinguished human form tremble before the awesome display of energy before they were thrown, unconscious, out across the landscape, falling to the earth like forgotten stars.