Fantastic Five || Johnny Storm

Chapter 7

The four of them had piled into a taxi the next morning, none of them able to sleep but still agreeing to head out in the morning anyway.

They headed straight for ben's apartment, thinking that he'd be ok there with Debbie.

Reed sat in the front while Sue, Veronica and Johnny pilled into the back, Veronica in the middle, naturally.

But as they reached the bridge, it was gridlocked and the taxi wasn't moving at all as they learned of the huge accident that had happened up ahead.

Johnny got out, holding the door for Veronica while Sue got out the other side and Reed began to speak.

"We're never going to get through this. But you can," he said to Sue and all of them stared at him, confused.

After he explained their plan, the crowd gathered around them as Sue tried to turn herself invisible and it worked, but there was still the matter of her clothes that were still visible.

"Sue. You're clothes, lose them," Reed whisper yelled and Sue began to strip.

"This is so wrong," Johnny whispered as he turned away from where his sister was taking off her clothes.

Sue had been about to take off her bra when she became visible again and Reed began staring as she tried to cover herself, Veronica picking up Sue's discarded blazer as she tried to help cover the girl as people catcalled.

"Wow, you've been working out," Reed said in wonder.

"Shut up!" Sue shot as she began to grow angry, clutching her blazer to her chest while Veronica tried to cover her backside with her white shirt.

"You're not helping Reed," Veronica said as Sue grew angrier.

"Any more great ideas?!" she yelled at him. "Why don't you strip off and have 100 people stare at you!?"

And she was gone, the clothes seeming as if they were magically floating in the air.

"Sue," Veronica said and the girl dropped her clothes, underwear too and was gone.

"I'm going to need therapy," Johnny murmured as he tried to rub his eyes of the image of his sister in her underwear.

"Let's get out of here," Reed said as she and Johnny picked up Sue's clothes and began to blend into the crowd.

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They'd all split up in hopes of finding their friend.

Veronica was watching as a fire truck raced towards the scene when a massive explosion sounded. But just before the fire could hit her, it was stopped behind a force field of purple coloured energy.

Then the bridge shook.

Shook as the fire truck head spun and took out the guard beams as the tail end of it hung partially off the bridge.

"MOVE! MOVE!" Veronica yelled to an elderly woman who hadn't heard the truck coming.

Veronica was screaming, waving her arm at the woman, not seeing it as her hand glowed blue as the woman rose into the air, seconds before the truck could hit her.

She hovered in mid-air, gasping before Veronica realised what she'd been doing, before she noticed the blue energy that glowed around her hand.

Curiously, Veronica slowly lowered her hand, thinking about how she wanted the woman to come safely and slowly down to the ground, and she did.

The elderly woman was back on her own two feet as Veronica stared inquisitively at her hands, brain roaring with a million questions.

But she was interrupted when she heard a familiar grunt.

Ben Grimm, her long time friend since high school, was covered in rock from head to toe as he tried to pull the firetruck up.

She gasped for a second but was instantly more concerned with whether he was ok or not. The only reason he'd be up here would be if Debbie hadn't taken him in.

She watched at ben struggled, then curiously she raised her hand out again, worried for the firefighter who was hanging off a ladder off the firetruck that was hanging off the bridge.

Worry built in her as her hand glowed blue, and blue encased the firefighter as he was lifted into the air.

From his spot above the bridge, the firefighter watched as Reed, reached down to catch another who had fallen from the truck. As Ben pulled the truck back onto the bridge. And as Veronica set him down on the ground.

The police had then surrounded him, guns raised as they stopped the four of them from getting to Ben, and Veronica had rolled up her sleeves, ready to fight them, when people started cheering.

The firefighters had started first, but were soon joined in by all the people who had witnessed the accident, witnessed all the good that Sue and Reed and Ben and Johnny and Veronica had done.

Veronica's heart, along with Sue's and Reed's had broken when they watched Debbie appear on the bridge.

Ben had started moving towards her but she had told him to stop.

She had told him everything he needed to know as she slipped off her engagement ring and left it on the pavement.

She had stopped watching however after Debbie disappeared and Ben struggled to pick up the ring she'd left behind.

Ben's hand was course as she held it, placing the ring in the centre of his palm as he looked at her sadly, and Ben turned to face Reed.

"Are you ok?" Johnny asked Veronica quietly as reed made a promise to Ben.

Veronica was a little confused at why he'd be concerned for her, as was Sue who'd heard his question, but she answered anyway.

"Yeah, I'm ok. Scared by what the hell I just did, but I'm fine."

Johnny gave a breathless laugh as he turned around and said, "Me too."

And Veronica gaped as she saw the massive burned hole in the back of Johnny's shirt and jacket, nothing but smooth muscled skin beneath.

"Were you in that explosion?!" Veronica asked worriedly, surprising herself as her fingers grazed his skin and Johnny turned.

"Saved a little girl, so some burnt clothes are nothing to be worried about," he promised as they were led away to a tented area where paramedics had been set up.

Ben was sitting down as he stared at the ring in his hand and Veronica instantly went up to him, kneeling down.

"If she gave you that back, then she never truly loved you," she whispered as she held his other hand as best she could with the size difference.

"How are you not disgusted by me?"

Veronica smiled. "You are like family Ben, and I love you. And I know it's still you no matter what you look like. You're still Ben whether you have skin, or you're made of rocks, or if you're an alien from the planet Mars."

Ben only gave her a sad smile as a tear slid down his rocky cheek and Veronica was called away for a check-up.

Johnny, however, was both relieved and enamoured.

Relieved that Veronica only loved Ben in a familial way and enamoured with the kindness and care and love she'd shown for him despite the way he looked.

Things he secretly wanted her to show to him.