Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Author's Note: The first non-romantic piece I've written. Let me know how I've done.
How To Deal
The Fantastic Four had done it again. They had saved their city from the threat of a villainous tyrant. But today, something was different. They entered the Baxter Building silently, ignoring the press outside. Even Johnny Storm, notorious ladies-man, walked past an attractive woman without as much as a glance.
"Nice work Mr. Fantastic!" The giddy receptionist called out. She watched them walk by with a hurt expression, because Reed didn't acknowledge her at all. They buzzed up the elevator and when they reached their floor, they all separated to their own rooms, or in Reed's case, his lab.
Reed sighed and collapsed in his chair wearily. He had failed everyone. He failed his team. They all looked to him for decisions. He was supposed to be their leader. They all relied on his mind to come up with a genius plan to save the day. And he had frozen up. His city was in trouble and all he could do was watch it fall to pieces. Sue ended up taking charge from there.
He had failed his city. The oath he took as a member of the Fantastic Four was to protect the weak, but he had managed to break that, and caused the death of an innocent man. He was supposed to be rescuing civilians from and oncoming truck that was blasted their way. He had weaved his arms around the five, and just as he was pulling them to safety, a old man slipped from his grasp. Reed's heart stopped as the truck came down on the man, ending the terrified screams. He had killed that man.
And as he sat by himself in his lab, he began to wonder. What would become of the man's family? Are they waiting at home, wondering where their loved one was, hoping he'd come home? Reed sighed and rubbed his tired eyes with his fists. Mr. Fantastic wasn't so fantastic after all. He was a failure, and worse, a murderer.
Sue hugged the pillow closer to her chest and wept silently. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. She had been shielding a pregnant woman from the onslaught of debris falling around them. Suddenly a tremor swept over the streets causing the ground to buckle and lurch under them. Both women were thrown into the air in different directions.
When Sue opened her eyes again, she wasn't sure how long she'd been out of it. She scrambled to her feet and searched for the woman. She didn't have to go far. She stopped short and let out a horrified scream. No matter how hard she tried, Sue couldn't get the image of the dead woman out of her mind. It was there every time she closed her eyes. The young woman was impaled by an iron pole, leaving no chance of survival for the baby.
How could she let her die? Sue placed a hand on her lower stomach. She wasn't fit to be a mother or a superhero. How could she protect a child if she couldn't protect her people? How could she tell Reed? How would he look at her after finding out she had let a woman die, while she was on the ground taking a cat nap? Reed wouldn't want her as a wife after this, or as the mother of his unborn child. She let out a wracking sob and tried to muffle the sounds with her pillow. The Invisible Woman wished, for the first time in her life, she had never gotten on that spaceship.
Ben Grimm sat in the corner of his room, propped up against the wall. He silently picked at a chip in his leg that he had received during the fight. He had been holding up a large slab of a building that would've crushed a firefighter. The man climbed out from under it and thanked Ben. To Ben, he had looked like a strong figure of a man, like one of the heroes little kids idolized. Out of nowhere a chunk of building came crashing down on top of the firefighter.
Ben had never felt so vulnerable. Sure he was made of solid rock, in and out, but today he realized something important. Nobody was invincible. The thought chilled him, because he had experienced it first hand. The fact that a strong, brave guy like that could go down so quickly, and so unforgivably, made him question his own safety, or even the safety of Reed, Sue and even, god help him, Johnny. They were more susceptible to death then he was.
Ben's thoughts turned to Alicia. What if she had been there today? He knew she had a knack for getting into trouble, and she was even more vulnerable then most. She was so important to him. She was one of the few that weren't repulsed by him. He couldn't lose someone like her. Ben rubbed the chip again. It was his own little reminder of mortality.
Johnny knew he was trouble. He knew he was childish, and he knew he was irresponsible. Today he was alone, which was highly unusual for the Torch. He was reflecting on the horrible attack that had just occurred. He had managed to fuck up one more time, but this time it was serious.
He had been rescuing a family from a burning building, and he thought he had gotten them all out. A woman ran up to him and tugged on his arm. She cried and told him her son was still in the building. He flew back into the building, but he knew it was too late. His grabbed the boy and flew him outside. The kid was in bad shape, and was bleeding profusely.
"Come on kid. Don't die on me!" He tried to stem the flow with the boy's shirt, but it didn't work. The boy died in his arms. He numbly brought the boy to his family, who then broke into tears. Johnny left quickly, no able to cope with it. Safe on his bed he thought about the warnings Sue had given him, about risking his life. Did he really want to see Sue like that, crying over his dead body? As much as he liked to give her a hard time, he loved his sister and didn't want to cause her pain like that. The Fantastic Four were his family, and he had to stay alive to protect them.
The four all sat together in front of the television after dinner. They were focused on the newscaster who was broadcasting the story about the fight today.
"And they were defeated by the Fantastic Four today. However, there were four casualties in today's fight. Two men, one pregnant woman, and a ten year-old boy lost their lives today. The families of-" Reed switched the television off. They didn't need the burden of names on their shoulders. They felt guilty enough for the fallen. That night Reed spent a bit more time with Sue. Ben hugged Alicia a bit more longer, and Johnny stayed in that night. The Fantastic Four moved on from that day, and continued to fight crime in New York.