Fantastic Five || Johnny Storm

Chapter 19

Veronica had finally gotten some downtime and was about to jump in the nice hot bath she'd drawn for herself when Sue came to grab her. The General was here looking for Reed who Johnny and Ben had taken out for his bachelor party, with the promise of no exotic dancers.

 And when she, Sue and the General walked in, they found Reed on the dance floor with his arms physically wrapped several times around two girls as he danced, guilt instantly appearing on his face as she spotted his wife-to-be.

 Veronica had spotted both Ben and Johnny, hiding at the bar to the side as they walked in. She sent a small ball of blue energy at Johnny's ass, the boy jerking before turning around to spot his girlfriend who winked at him and gestured for the two of them to follow as they all filed into the kitchen of the night club. 

 And while Ben explained to Sue how Reed knew the General, Veronica smirked as she whispered into Johnny's ear, " Fun time?" 

 "I didn't do anything! I swear."

"Right," Veronica said, drawing out the word and making Johnny sweat a little as they leaned against the silver countertop, his arm around Veronica's waist.

 "I'm only here, Richards, because I am under direct orders from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Personally, I don't like the idea of sharing sensitive information with a civilian scientist, especially one who enjoys the public spotlight so much." 

 "It comes with the territory General. And Reed's work speaks for itself," Veronica piped up, not interested in having this man degrade her friend like that, and maybe one day, her future brother-in-law. 

 Reed smiled at her before turning to the General, "Always a pleasure to see you too General. What can I do for you?"

"As you may know, there have been recent unusual occurrences all over the world. Officially we've downplayed their significance to the public, but we're concerned that these...anomalies, might pose a credible threat to our national security," The General explained.

 "These were taken by one of our spy satellites three days ago," a female officer said as she handed Reed the photos. 

"What is it?" Sue asked as she glanced over Reed's shoulder. 

 "We were hoping, Dr Richards could tell us," The General said. 

"I'm afraid I've never seen anything like it. Ben? Ronnie?" Reed asked, passing them the photos. 

"I'd say it was a meteor, but the trail's all wrong," Ben said as he studied it and Veronica nodded in agreement. 

 "Whatever it is, is giving off its own energy," she said as she handed back the photos. 

"Take a look at this," the General said as the female officer opened up a small laptop. 

"These have been appearing in remote areas around the world since the event started. Field personnel estimate the diameter to be about 200 metres," she explained as they looked at a photo of a massive hole. 

"Estimated depth?" Veronica asked. 

"Undetermined as of now," the woman answered. 

"If we're going to find out what this is about, we need a way to locate and intercept that object," the General said as Veronica moved back into Johnny's arms. 

"Have I ever told you how sexy it is when you speak science?" he whispered lowly in her ear, the woman smiling as she shook her head at his antics, the female officer sparing a quick glance at them. Veronica kissed his cheek as she listened back to the conversation. 

"It could be possible to build a sensor, tie it to the Baxter Building Satellite grid. And we can pinpoint the exact location of the object," Reed suggested and a look of hurt blossomed on Sue's face, and Ben met Veronica and Johnny's gaze and rolled his eyes. 

"Good, so, then you'll build the sensor for us, and we'll tie that to the Baxter -" 

"I'm afraid I can't," Reed interrupted and Veronica smiled as Sue looked up in surprise. 

"What?" the General asked. 

"See I'm getting married this Saturday. And I simply don't have the time," Reed explained as he wrapped an arm around Sue. 

"Richards, your country needs your help," the General emphasized, still in disbelief that Reed would turn something like this down. 

"I could refer you to Professor Jeff Wagner? He's head of the physics department at Brown, used to consult for my brother. I'm sure he could help," Veronica offered somewhat smugly, her friends smiling at her as Johnny smiled into her shoulder, loving that this woman was his. 

The General was peeved as he ordered his team to pack up. "I expected more Richards. Even from you."

And they began filing out.

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Johnny and Veronica walked down the street, Johnny's arm around her shoulders as she held his torso, head on his shoulder. 

"Looks like we still have a wedding to go to tomorrow," she said as he kissed her head. 

"Looks like. And hey. You know that I would never cheat on you or do anything to hurt you right?" he said, referring to the bachelor party and Veronica had a wicked smile on her lips as she stopped, turning to face him as she looped her arms around his neck. 

"I know. I do trust you, Johnny." 

 He sighed in relief before leaning in for a kiss, only to be met by Veronica's finger. His eyes opened as she played with his lip. 

"Besides. That was nothing compared to what we did at Sue's bachelorette party. Talk about wild," she mused as she cupped his cheek. 

"What?" Johnny asked, confused. 

"Don't worry about it," she said as she jumped and Johnny caught her legs, holding her bridal style as she encased them with blue energy, eyes glowing. "Now take to the sky Superman," she joked, and Johnny smiled as he jumped, Veronica making them shoot through the sky as they headed back to the Baxter Building. 

 How she loved this man.