"Are you sure this will work?"
Ben Grimm crossed his arms, deep suspicion etched into his stony face.
He stood in a corner of the secret base, his massive body almost wedged into the wall.
That man they called "Russell" had risen from mortal beginnings and defeated Knull.
Every time Ben remembered those eyes, a chill ran down his spine.
"We failed last time." Reed did not turn around. His fingers flew across the control panel as complex formulas streamed across the Holographic Screen.
"This time is different. This time, we're prepared."
"Let's hope you don't blow us all the way to the moon again." Johnny Storm leaned against the wall, a flippant smile tugging at his lips as flames flickered faintly at his fingertips.
"Shut up, Johnny." Susan shot him a glare, then turned to Reed, lowering her voice.
"Reed, are you sure this approach will work? If Russell finds out..."
"He won't." Reed finally turned around, his eyes burning with something close to obsession.
"I've already run the calculations. The time machine's energy signature will be masked by cosmic background radiation. Even his senses won't be able to pick out our signal from the noise of the multiverse.
All we need to do is go there, find someone who can deal with him, and come back."
"Who?" Ben asked.
Reed fell silent for a moment.
"Anyone powerful enough to stand against him. If this universe doesn't have anyone, we'll go to another."
What he did not say was that he had already marked three target coordinates in the time machine's database.
Three beings from different timelines who had once defeated threats on the level of Thanos.
He had spent three months analyzing data from those timelines, calculating the best moment to make contact and designing the safest route