This is a drabble based on the ending scene of Rise of the Silver Surfer, so don't read this if you haven't seen the film!
It was like the whole world had seemed to collapse around him; and he wasn't even paying attention to the fact that it was really happening. It didn't matter that the winds whipping around them were steadily reaching what might become hurricane force. It was of no importance to him that the sky above them, previously one of the beautiful starry nights he'd study for hours on end, was now shielded by a thick covering of angry storm clouds. However, these clouds showed no end, and he had a feeling that these clouds were closer, already invading Earth's atmosphere in a more intrusive manner. The ground was shaking beneath their feet, for those who stood, at least. as many had already seen the disturbance and ran for cover. But none of this mattered, not to Reed Richards. Not to Johnny Storm. Not to Ben Grimm.
What mattered was Sue. Susan Storm, the strong woman who could easily match them all in terms of power and strength; the only woman out of the team of four; the woman who was unspeakably beautiful, yet still held. At the moment, she stood in the street, although it was unimaginable. They'd all seen her running, arms outstretched to produce her powerful force fields to protect both her and Norrin Radd, or, as Johnny's description had christened him, The Silver Surfer. They'd all watched, completely frozen in a fearful anticipation as Victor had extended his hand into the air, silver matter rippling on the surface in the board much like it had done when he had drawn energy to project at them before. The energy made its way through his body, settling in the palm of his hand before congealing there, elongating into the shape of a long, silver spear. He cocked his arm, ready to unleash his newly created weapon just as Sue projected her force field.
Sue watched Victor throw his arm forward, and then, the moment the spear had left his hand, she remembered. She knew that it was going to hit her before it had even reached a distance away from Victor. She could vividly remember the shock she'd felt when in Germany, when the Silver Surfer had all too simply dipped his head through the force field. Her force fields were strong, but the power of the board was immune to it; and this immunity was currently heading straight for Sue, who stood protectively before the alien being that could save their planet.
It impaled her smoothly, bursting through the force field which only dropped when the shock overtook her. She felt a rush of air, as if she had taken a long breath after running, and then she felt nothing. Nothing but pain. She tried to draw a breath, to flush the shock away, but found that the instant she moved her chest to breath, the spear jerked inside her body. That was when she realised that it went all the way though her torso. The movement of breathing that made her all to aware of the fact that there was the sharper end of a silver spear sticking out of her back.
Reed had stopped breathing at that same moment when Sue found it to be painful. He'd been making his way towards her when Victor's arm had drawn back, flinging the spear through the air with so much precision that there was no possible way of it not hitting its target. "Sue!" He yelled, his voice reaching volumes that he'd never reached before, as he ran closer to the woman he loved.
Johnny's eyes had widened as his elder sister had crumpled to the ground, falling against the hard Shanghai street with the spear still sticking out of her body at a sharp angle. "No!" He screamed, his voice lost with the distance and the rushing of the petrified crowds around them. He glared in the direction of Victor, who had hovered in mid-air on the board, just long enough to scowl at not hitting his original target. Then, he took to the air again, and Johnny was tempted to follow, but he knew that his sister was top priority.
Rushing to Sue's side, Reed felt shock and fear pulsating through every inch of his body. Had he ever been so afraid? So scared? So pained? He wasn't sure. He couldn't think. He was even sure if he'd started breathing again yet. He wasn't even sure if he was awake or dreaming. He hoped he was dreaming. Helpless, he gathered her up in his arms, cradling her head gently as the power of the board faded, and the silver spear disintegrated, leaving in its place a deep, through-and-through wound. A wound that since started to bleed almost uncontrollably, and it was only seconds before the front of her uniform was stained in blood.
Realising what was happening to her, she looked up at Reed with her beautiful eyes, now round and moist with fear. For a moment, she was unable to focus, but eventually, she found Reed's eyes, gazing at him fearfully as he held her tightly against him; mindful of her painful wound, yet desperately wanting to keep her warm from the shock that left her shaking.
The chaos around them intensified, but Reed was unaware of it. He paid no attention to Johnny and Ben's absence, and he was certainly not aware of the Surfer's presence still, as the lack of power from the board had robbed him from his unfamiliar silver glare. Instead, he continued to hold Sue gently, cradling her in his arms with the utmost tenderness despite the violent trembling of the ground beneath them. People were running for cover, hiding against the dark cloud that kept coming closer and closer until they'd realised that this was no natural thunderstorm. However, in their desperation for safety, they ignored the superhero couple on the ground. No attention was paid to the dying woman and the man who loved her. No one watched him try to comfort her, attempting to make what they both knew to be her last minutes as comfortable as possible. The only one who noticed was the Silver Surfer, who watched with almost a curiosity, but he was forced to turn his eyes away when the other two team members returned, as it was just too painful to witness.
Johnny and Ben stood by, adjacent to the Silver Surfer in the almost deserted street, the rumbling destruction still occurring around them, but all of them were motionless with their own devastation. Johnny could only watch helplessly, knowing that his ever-changing abilities thanks to his encounter with the Silver Surfer made it impossible for him to help his dying sister in any way. She was dying, and after all the selfless things she'd done for him throughout her life, he was unable to repay her.
Her breathing worsened. Her need for breath reached a critical panic for her, and her injured chest rose and fall several times in a vain attempt to fill her empty lungs. Reed watched her worriedly, seeing the pain in her eyes and thinking back through years of knowledge to try and think what he could do for her; anything. But there was nothing. There was nothing he could think of except to hold her, and keep on looking into those blue eyes until he couldn't hold his eyes open a second longer.
And then it stopped. Any need for breath deserted her as her chest fell for the last time. The final time. Wordless with grief, Reed held her tighter, knowing now that he didn't need to be mindful of her injury. She wasn't hurting anymore. She wasn't in any pain. She wasn't suffering.
She was gone.
Johnny continued watching her, waiting for her chest to rise again. Despite the fact that Reed was now openly weeping over her unmoving body, he kept waiting for movement. He kept waiting...waiting...waiting...
"Sue?" He prompted, when the waiting got to him too much.
But she didn't move, and it was then that he knew for sure that his sister was dead.
He ran his hands over his face, already flooded with anguish as he tried to fight off the images in his mind that were now painful, rather than happy. Happy times from their childhood; her bright, soft face always loving even when she was mad at him; all those times he'd seen her in each of the four wedding dresses, looking even prettier than when she had done at her proms. Everything flooded his mind, and he couldn't fight it off, and all the memories served to do was remind him that he wasn't going to see that anymore.
She was gone.