Disclaimer: I do not own the Fantastic Four, the Silver Surfer, Marvel etc.
The sequel to Rapid-Fire, you'll need to read that first (if you haven't already).
Chapter 1:
Harriet hated flying. She would've run home if it wasn't for the bad stomach ache that she had developed the previous day. She was seated next to Ben in coach as they had run out of seats in first class. Johnny was flying outside the window and waved at her in his fiery form. Harriet smiled weakly and waved back. She looked over at Sue who was squashed in between Reed and a random man. Sue smiled over at her and gave her a thumbs-up. Harriet closed her eyes wishing she was back home.
When they arrived at the Baxter building, Harriet rushed up to her room and lay down. Johnny was searching through his mail. He picked up a huge parcel and smiled like a little kid at Christmas. He ripped off the brown paper and cheered. Harriet looked over.
"What is it?" she asked.
"New uniform!" he said excitedly, holding it up for her to see, "What do you think?"
Harriet raised an eyebrow at the suit which was covered with logos from different companies. She was about to give her opinion but stopped at a horrible feeling in her stomach. She got up and rushed to the bathroom. Johnny rushed in after her and patted her back as she was sick.
"I told you not to try that seafood!" sighed Johnny.
Harriet nodded sadly but smiled, "When have I ever taken your advice?"
Johnny chuckled, "Good point."
Harriet stood up shakily, flushed the toilet and washed out her mouth with a glass of water.
"I have to finish unpacking," said Harriet, her voice hoarse, "you should go and show the suit to Reed, see if he likes it."
Johnny rushed out with the suit. Harriet and Johnny had moved back into the Baxter building a few months after they had moved out because Reed had said it would be easier to work as a team if they all lived together. Harriet hated having to re-pack everything then unpacking it again, so she had been unpacking clothes whenever she needed them. But since she wasn't feeling too well, she decided to finish up. Once she finished, she had to go to a dress-fitting for Sue's wedding. They met Alicia there and waited for their turn to get sorted. They put on their dresses from their last fitting. Harriet zipped up Sue's dress and turned around for Sue to zip up hers.
"Harri, I can't zip it up!" said Sue, struggling with the zip.
Harriet peered over her shoulder and frowned, "Are you sure? It fit fine last time; they only needed to alter the hem."
"Well, it's not going up," sighed Sue, "Maybe you put on weight?"
"I don't see how!" exclaimed Harriet, "I haven't eaten much lately and I run almost everywhere!"
"They'll have to measure you again. Maybe you should go to the doctors. You can't just randomly put on weight!" said Alicia.
"I'll try and go this afternoon; maybe they can give me something for my food-poisoning as well. That's the last time I eat seafood!"
Harriet sat in the waiting room at the doctors with Sue and Alicia sitting on either side of her. The doctor had performed a number of tests on her all of which Harriet almost fainted at due to the needles that he had used. Sue was constantly looking at her watch as she had to see the musicians.
"You can go if you want," said Harriet, "you've stayed with me through the worst part and I have Alicia here."
"No I'll wait, I'm sure the doctor will be out soon," Sue said smiling.
As she spoke, the doctor came into the room with a clipboard.
"Miss Appleby?" he called as Harriet stood up, "The seafood that you ate has affected your stomach but it isn't food poisoning."
"I'm not allergic am I?" asked Harriet, confused.
The doctor laughed and shook his head, "No, no. I'm pleased to inform you that you are two months pregnant."
Harriet stared at the doctor blankly, "You're sure?"
"I'm as positive as your pregnancy test!" laughed the doctor but he noticed the girls' straight faces, "Sorry, just a little doctor's humour there. Here are some leaflets giving you most of the information you need to know. I'll get in touch with a mid-wife for you and I'll be in contact soon. Congratulations!"
The doctor smiled and walked back to his office. Harriet collapsed on her chair. Sue and Alicia patted her hands comfortingly.
"What's Johnny going to say?" moaned Harriet.
"I'm sure he'll be really excited!" said Sue, though she was having doubts.
"Sue, its Johnny Storm! Your brother-"
Sue interrupted excitedly, "I've just realised! I'm going to be an aunt!"
Sue squealed then stopped as Harriet burst into tears.
"Johnny has only just gotten used to dating one girl. He's not gonna be able to handle this! I can't do this on my own!" shrieked Harriet.
Alicia calmed Harriet down, "Johnny wouldn't leave you! He's not that kind of guy."
Harriet wiped her face and looked down at her watch, "Maybe we should just go to the musicians. I'll figure out what to do later."
Harriet and Sue were back at the Baxter building. The boys were out at Reed's bachelor party. Harriet had decided to help Sue with the seating charts for the wedding.
"So when are you going to tell Johnny?" asked Sue.
Harriet shrugged, "I don't know. I'm still getting over the shock. We haven't been a couple for long!"
They were interrupted by a beeping sound coming from the intercom in the living room. They walked out to the desk that they had set up outside the elevator. The girls noticed three people in military uniforms staring suspiciously at Roberta at the desk.
"Hello?" called Sue, "Thanks Roberta."
Roberta disappeared and the girls stopped in front of the trio.
"May we help you?" asked Harriet grumpily.
"We're here to see Dr. Richards," stated the oldest man.
"I'm sorry; he's not here right now. Is there anything we can help you with?" asked Sue in a friendly way.
"Yes, you can take me to see Dr. Richards!" instructed the man.
Harriet scowled at him, "That's rude! You can at least ask nicely!"
"Just take me to him!" he ordered.
They arrived at the club where Reed's bachelor party was taking place. Harriet spotted Reed in the middle of the dance floor with two girls. She pointed him out to Sue.
"There he is,"
"Unfortunately for him!" said Sue angrily.
They approached the dance floor as Reed rushed down to greet them. "Sue!" he exclaimed, "What are you doing here? I-" he spotted the man next to them and changed his tone to a professional one, "General Hager."
They shook hands and the general asked to talk somewhere private. Sue jumped in with a 'jealous girlfriend' remark and they filed into a kitchen as Ben and Johnny joined them.
"How does Reed know the general?" asked Sue.
"A few years back, the guy was trying to push a new missile-defence-system. Reed testified that the technology wouldn't work." Ben explained.
"I'm only here, Richards, because I'm under direct orders from the Joint Chief of staff," said the general, "personally, I don't like sharing sensitive information with a civilian scientist, especially one who enjoys the public spotlight so much."
Johnny stood next the Harriet and playfully nudged her. Harriet smiled slightly and looked at her feet.
"Always a pleasure to see you too, general," said Reed, smirking, "what can I do for you?"
"As you may know, there've 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 blond girl stepped forward and handed Reed some photos, "These were taken by one of our spy satellites three days ago."
Harriet, Johnny and Ben leaned over the table to see the photos. They saw what looked like a shooting star.
"What is it?" asked Sue.
"We were hoping that Dr. Richards could tell us," said the general.
"I'm afraid I've never seen anything like it," sighed Reed, "Ben?"
Ben took the photos, "Well I would say that it was a meteor but the trail's all wrong. This thing's giving off its own energy."
The general handed Reed some more photos, "Take a look at this,"
"These have been appearing in remote areas throughout the world since the events started," said the girl, "field personnel estimate its diameter to be two-hundred meters."
"If we're gonna find out what this is all about, we need a way to locate and intercept that object."
"It would be possible to build a sensor, tie it into the Baxter building's satellite grid, then we can pinpoint the exact location of the object," said Reed.
The general nodded, "Good, so you'll build the sensor for us-"
"I'm afraid I can't." Reed interrupted and stood with his arm around Sue, "You see I'm getting married this Saturday. I just don't have the time."
The whole of the Fantastic Five smiled at Reed as the general's eye twitched in anger.
"Richards, your country needs your help!"
Reed sighed, "Look, why don't you call Professor Jeff Wagner? He's head of the Physics Department at Brown, I'm sure he can help."
"I expected more, Richards," the general sighed, signalling for the girl to pick everything up, "even from you!"
Johnny and Harriet left the club just before Sue, Reed and Ben. They walked hand-in-hand in the direction of the Baxter building.
"What's wrong?" asked Johnny, squeezing Harriet's hand.
"Nothing," lied Harriet.
Johnny raised an eyebrow but didn't push the matter. He had been thinking a lot lately about how Sue was getting married to Reed and how Ben and Alicia had been doing well. At first, his relationship with Harriet had been exciting but nothing interesting had happened for them. Maybe it was time for a change.
I think that this chapter seems a little rushed but I hope you like it. Please review.