Hello!

I know it's been a while since I last posted, but Real Life reared its ugly head and made sure I didn't have time to even think about writing. Sometime this summer, though, the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer came on and I watched Johnny drop out of the atmosphere, taking a flying leap from the Baxter Building, collide with a wall of water, get caught in a torna-Doom and take on everyone's powers without any physical injuries. That was just a little too improbable for me. So, here's my take on the ending with a lot more Johnny!whump and some conversations I thought should have happened in the film.

To my NCIS readers: I'm super stoked (see what I did there?) for the Season 10 opener. I have this story and maybe another one for a different fandom to post, though, before I can get back to NCIS fics.

Thank you for all your support during this extended hiatus.

Now, on with the story!

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own the Fantastic 4. Please don't sue.

"How is he doing?" Susan Storm asked softly, slipping past the guard outside the hospital room.

"Getting better," Reed Richards responded enthusiastically, flipping through Johnny's charts at the same time Ben Grimm grunted, "about the same."

Sue nodded, subconsciously absorbing the Reed's response, not really caring for Ben's.

She brushed past the two of them and claimed the chair next to Johnny's bed. The rage she had been bottling up for these last two days threatened to make a reappearance when she saw the heavy bruising along the left side of his face. The cheekbone was a deep purple, whether from Victor's fist or his fall, she still wasn't sure, but the swelling spread into his eye and down his cheek before settling on his jawbone where it culminated in a yellowish, black spectacle.

She breathed deeply for a moment, tamping down on the "Kill Victor" thoughts. She grabbed her brother's hand and held it between hers, gently rubbing her thumb in circles while carefully avoiding the IV.

It was cliché, she knew, to think this, but Johnny was never still. He had driven their parents crazy at a young age, always wanting to do this and that without stopping for breaks. They had hoped he would have grown out of it as he aged…That wasn't the case. Long hours at the park switched into endless bar-hopping while the insane tricycle tricks had graduated into Xtreme Games and motorcross events. No, Johnny never stopped, never slowed down. To see him like this was almost Sue's undoing.

He will get better, she chanted silently, as Ben and Reed took their respective places on Johnny's other side.

He has to.

50 hours ago…

The wind whipped past Johnny Storm as he flew next to the Fantasticar in pursuit of Victor Von Doom. Even though the air was not particularly frigid, Johnny shrugged deeper into his flame, feeling phantom blasts of freezing wind brushing by his skin. Ever since his encounter with the Silver Surfer, his internal temperature had been…well, wonky. His temperature would flash between hot (even hotter than usual for him) and this ghostly cold. They didn't occur frequently, and usually passed fairly quickly. If anything, they were more annoying than worrisome...well, maybe just a little worrisome.

He grimaced as his chest tickled, not manifesting into a cough that had picked up strength over the last day, but remaining uncomfortable just the same. He heard a sharp crack behind him, snapping him out of his reverie. He flipped onto his back, his eyes narrowing and his flame burning hotter as he recognized Victor Von Doom riding the Surfer's board.

Johnny heard the Fantasticar accelerate behind him, quickly calculating that Victor was going to reach them long before Reed could get his glorified hovercraft into top gear. Given the lack of metal on his person, he knew he was the best shot at buying his team more time.

Johnny charged Victor, his hands glowing white. He saw Von Doom assume a defensive posture, but then smirk and relax.

What the... he thought before Victor fixed the younger Storm with a feral smile and carelessly flicked his wrist.

Far below them, the water began churning, exploding from ground level and forming a protective barrier directly in front of Victor. Johnny, unable to avoid the huge wall, flew directly into it.

His momentum carried him through the water, dousing his flames in the process. He emerged on the other side, still travelling at a good speed. Stunned from the collision, he tumbled towards the earth, head over heels.

He felt the wind shooting past him, slapping him in the face, and bringing him around to consciousness. Just yards from the ground, he managed to flip upright and focused on relaxing his joints.

His feet smacked into the ground, sending pain shooting through his knee. Pitched forward, he allowing his momentum to carry him into a partial somersault. He crossed his arms over his head as he rolled along the ground, coming to rest on his back after a few turns.

He lay there, panting heavily, a barking cough escaping his lungs between greedy gasps of fresh, water-free air. When he had caught his breath, he performed a quick self-examination, sighing gratefully when he didn't find any broken bones. He quickly palpated his knee, and, after a moment, moved it left and right. Though there was pain, it was not the excruciating agony associated with an ACL tear, and his knee did not feel loose or unstable.

Oh yeah: he could work with that.

Johnny rolled onto his stomach, raising himself onto his hands and left knee, keeping his injured knee extended behind him. He leaned back on his heel, swinging his right leg around to the front, and stood up, grabbing onto a tree for support. Once vertical, he gingerly put down his other foot, applying a little bit of weight and grinning when his knee did not give out.

It took more than that to bring down a Storm.

Glancing upwards, he spotted the white exhaust left by Reed's newest–and arguably coolest–invention. He flamed on and, after a shaky takeoff, shot after the rest of the Fantastic Four.

After a few long minutes, he spotted the Fantasticar moments before it broke into three parts. He poured on the speed, aligning himself with the three sections of the flying car.

"Let's all go for a spin," he heard Victor shout. He whipped around to see energy exploded out of Victor's fist, with a force unlike anything he had ever generated with his electricity. The shockwave slammed into Johnny and sent him spinning round and round.

He did his best to keep from colliding with parts of the Fantasticar, keeping himself from smashing into the unforgiving metal. The wind tore at him, practically ripping the flames out of him and stealing the breath from his lips. He fought valiantly, knowing his flames were serving as a buffer between him and the debris, but eventually the intensity of the wind became too great.

His energy reserve drained, he flamed off and allowed himself to be carried listlessly by the tornado.

Without any protection from the metal Fantasticar, unlike the others, he spiraled downward, only semi-conscious. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Thing falling next to him, but he couldn't manage the strength to call out to his teammate.

He saw the trees beneath him, tried to angle out of their path, without any success. He smacked into the first branch, and heard some teeth-grinding cracks before he was saved from the remainder of painful collisions by blissful unconsciousness.

"JOHNNY!"

Johnny heard Reed calling his name and turned away from the noise, curling back into himself. He wanted to go back to sleep–whatever Reed wanted him to do could wait for a few more hours.

"C'mon Matchstick!" he heard Ben grunt. "Suzie needs ya!"

His sister. With the Surfer.

"Sue!" Johnny groaned, shooting upright, cursing under his breath as pain spiked through his ribs. However much they were getting paid for this superhero stuff, it wasn't enough, he decided.

He forced one eye open to see Reed and Ben looking worriedly at him, Ben's arms out, ready to catch him regardless of the consequences of their powers switching.

"Johnny," Reed began, his arm hovering just far enough from Johnny's forehead, but just close enough to feel the extraordinary heat radiating off him.

"Fine," Johnny ground out between gritted teeth as he flipped onto his stomach and pushed himself onto his hands and knees. Correction: knee. The one that didn't feel like it had spikes stabbing through it. "Just…peachy."

"Matchstick," Ben began.

"Not the time, Wide Load," Johnny gasped as he gripped a nearby tree and painfully pulled himself to his feet. Wait, another tree? Weren't they supposed to be in a city? He looked around, seeing he had landed in a small corner park, less than two feet away from some playground equipment.

Thank God for small mercies, he thought, twisting his head slightly to view the other end of the park. He laid eyes on one part of the Fantasticar, which was standing vertically in the middle of the street, black smoke billowing from the engine. The other two sections were nowhere in sight.

"Can you fly?"

Johnny turned his head and shot Reed a scalding look while opening his fist, setting his hand aflame. "Just…gimme a minute," he breathed, feeling a little bit of his equilibrium return.

"Let's go," he sighed after another long pause.

He allowed Ben and Reed to head off towards the…well, he wasn't really sure. But they seemed to know where they were going. Realizing he wasn't going to be able to run, he flamed on and rose unsteadily into the air. His flames flickered once, twice, and were in danger of going out before they steadied and began to burn consistently.

He hovered just behind Ben, taking great care to draw what little energy he could from his power. For a moment, he concentrated, increasing his core temperature in a wave that traveled from head to toe, bringing with it a burst of adrenaline. His gaze snapped back to the ground where he saw Ben duck into an alleyway, having long been lapped by Reed's stretchy limbs. Without hesitation, Johnny followed his former CO, maneuvering through two buildings barely three feet apart.

At the far end of the alley, they emerged to find Sue Storm, swaying back and forth, blood dripping from her eyebrow and a spear in her chest.

Johnny was so focused on Sue, he wasn't paying attention to his landing. He dropped to the ground unevenly, staggering forward slightly as he inadvertently jarred his knee. But no one noticed: everyone's attention was focused on Sue.

"Stay back Johnny!" Ben growled as he reached out to catch her.

Johnny hobbled backward, feeling his heart skip a beat as he saw his sister fall, the spear dissipating into thin air. He couldn't form a coherent thought, his brain stuck on the image of Sue collapsing, caught by Reed at the last second.

"You need to find a way to get the board," Sue gasped, writing in agony on the ground.

Oh God. No. Not Sue, his brain finally spat out. She had to be fine. She was the Invisible Woman and everyone knows that little children get Invincible and Invisible mixed up all the time, so they were kinda the same thing right?

What the hell was he saying? Focus, idiot, his brain snapped, forcing the wayward thought out of his head.

Reed was kneeling over his sister, drawing her head into his lap. Johnny was slightly comforted by the fact that his sister was being held by someone who loved her, even if it wasn't him.

Damn Reed for being so…Reed. Damn Norrin for unloading his otherworldly molecular state that wasn't allowing him to be there for his sister.

"He is here," the Silver Surfer stated as if on cue.

Johnny tore his eyes away from his sister and glanced upward as debris started funneling itself into a tornado that travelled upwards into the atmosphere. As if someone had flipped a light switch, it quickly turned dark as heavy clouds covered the sky.

He couldn't help but stare as the dust spiraled upwards lost into the gloom.

Reed and Ben were conversing, he noted, flicking his attention back to his sister, who was breathing heavily, still curled up in Reed's arms.

What was Reed saying? Something about separating Doom from the board…Oh yeah, that'd probably be a good idea.

Then Reed looked directly at him.

Shit.

"He's too strong for me," Johnny admitted wholeheartedly. Especially with his powers in this state of flux.

Ben was speaking now, in his gravelly voice about how he would wail on Doom.

And then there was Reed, saying it would take all of them.

It took a split second before the idea registered for Johnny.

"Or maybe just one of us," he interjected, before he had time to think about the consequences of this suggestion. He automatically straightened up and schooled his surprised expression into confidence.

Upon hearing Johnny's suggestion, Ben turned and examined the young hothead he had kicked out of NASA just a few years ago. The kid's skin was an unusual shade of grey, he was standing in a manner that clearly favored his right knee, and his arm was pressed tightly against his side. There was no way they could send him to battle Doom all by his lonesome. Not now—not any day, even when he was completely healthy.

Luckily, Reed appeared to have observed this as well. "We don't know what it could do to you."

Johnny was touched by Reed's concern, but seeing his sister…dying…without him being able to touch her, to reassure her that she would be fine—that she'd be back to kicking his ass for leaving his motorcycle helmet in the middle of the walkway in no time—ignited a deep-seeded hatred for Victor.

He straightened fully, putting enough weight on his leg to stand at attention.

"Let's not make this about me," he stated with bravado, throwing in a confident smirk for good measure.

Ben was scowling, Reed was nodding and Sue looked confused for a long moment, but they all stuck out their hands.

"Be careful," Sue whispered, her lips barely moving.

Johnny nodded soberly before placing his hand on theirs and drawing in their powers.

This four powers thing was….fan-freakin'-tastic! Johnny decided as he flew, under Sue's invisibility, towards Victor. The combination of the four had rejuvenated him in a manner not even he could imagine. He was completely pain-free, not sore in the slightest. He felt damn good.

"To quote a friend of mine," he began, a wide smile breaking over his face as Victor turned with shock etched into his metal features, "its clobbering time."

He pulled back Ben's fist, sending Victor flying away. He reached with Reed's stretchiness and snagged hold of the criminal mastermind, bringing him within punching range for the second time. He released a right cross that sent Victor crashing into the nearest skyscraper.

He braced himself, bringing out Ben's invincibility, as Doom headed back his way, destroying every window in his path. The force of the shards threw him backwards, but Ben's tough hide kept any from landing on his skin.

Looking behind him, he snagged the antenna, spinning around it and heading back toward Victor with a fireball ready. He turned invisible and channeled Reed's ability to wrap himself around Doom and land a few of Ben's fists. While Victor was stunned, he leaned back and burned hotter, grinning when he heard the tinkling of glass breaking and saw the board fall away.

Someone had developed really good eyesight-exactly who, he wasn't sure-but he was able to see Ben climb into a crane. He wound up and released Victor, spinning him like a top. He threw himself backwards, allowing Ben to thwack the criminal with the crane.

Without a second thought in Doom's direction, Johnny flew back towards where his sister was lying, curled up in Reed's arms, ghostly white and fighting for every breath.

He knelt down and handed back their powers, feeling the world sway wildly as each power was returned to their owner and his newfound energy leaving as quickly as it had come. It was good he was half-kneeling, for he was no longer sure his knee could support his weight.

Sue stared into Reed's eyes one last time before her head rolled backwards, her eyes no longer seeing. Johnny kept watching, waiting for her eyes to blink, forgetting to breathe as reality crashed down on him.

His sister. Sue Storm. Was dead?

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Norrin mount the board. He wanted to reach out, to keep the Surfer from touching her, after all, this was all his fault. He had brought Gallactus here to eat the planet and had somehow endeared his sister's affection—she always had a thing for the lost and uncertain. Like that puppy she had brought home when she was in high school. The poor thing was missing part of his ear—

Focus. Sue. Surfer. World. Ending.

But Stormy had been so cute. The way he'd shake off after a bath—

What the hell is wrong with you? his brain interrupted.

Johnny shook his head, focusing on Norrin.

Damn, he was having a hard time concentrating.

And was it getting uncomfortably warm or was that just him?

But wait, Surfer wanting to touch Sue. Bad idea. He began to reach out, but a wave of calm spread over him. He tilted his head slightly at Norrin, who nodded once. Somehow, Johnny recognized this as a confirmation the Surfer's intentions were nothing but good.

Well, that's good, Johnny thought, shifting his focus to staying upright instead.

He stared at the Surfer, watching his skin dull as he hovered over Sue. He saw himself reflected in Norrin's armor, a patch of black spreading into the mirrored surface until half of his face was tinged with black.

Ooh, I look like Two-Face, he thought gleefully.

Wait, what was happening?

Sue, his brain chimed in, Sue is…

Oh God.

He whipped his head around to stare at Sue, watching as her chest rose, remained still for a heart-stopping second, then fell. She turned and nuzzled into Reed's chest.

Johnny let out the breath he had been holding as the color returned to Sue's face and she drew air into her lungs.

He eyed the Surfer, not sure how to express his thanks, but Norrin had already taken off. Johnny tracked Norrin, watching the Surfer struggle against the rocks and other debris in his weakened state.

"What the hell," he cursed through gritted teeth, flying after the Surfer. He ignored the dull ache in his bones, feeling some of it fade away as adrenaline started to flood his system. He grabbed onto the board with renewed force, focusing all his energy into saving the life of being that had saved his sister.

The rocks beat against him, mostly burning up on impact with the flames. As they continued their ascent, some began to make it through as the oxygen levels thinned and his flame flickered.

Black spots dancing before his eyes, he buried his head into his shoulder and burned hotter for a few short seconds, pushing Norrin the last few feet before releasing the surfboard and letting gravity claim him.

Norrin felt a change in the young boy's energy and flipped around in order to see the male Storm falling, unconscious, physically drained of all his boyish energy. He contemplated going back to help the Storm, who would surely be saving the world for many years to come, but that would too much diminish the already limited time he would have to save the Earth from Galactus.

He could sense that the boy's injuries were superficial—a product of his humanity—nothing that couldn't be fixed with the proper care from his sister and his pseudo-family. Unlike Susan, Johnny had accrued no wound that could only be healed by the Herald of Galactus.

So he turned back around, bent his knees slightly and braced himself against the strong winds as he flew into the mouth of his master.

Hope you liked the first chapter! I know that was a lot of the movie's plot regurgitated, but as Johnny falls from the sky again, we enter into uncharted territory.

I've already written the entire story (four chapters in total) and I will update every few days if there is interest!

Thanks so much for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts!