Okay, so I was eating cereal (apparently, that's always what I'm doing when I get all my good/bad ideas) and I looked down into my bowl. I was eating Corn Chex cereal, and it looked a little like rocks when it got all mushy (Yes, this is getting somewhere). And it was an orange-y color, which got me thinking about a certain someone we all know and love. And then I was all like, "Hey! Why doesn't Ben get freedom of his powers? Unfairness, I tell you! Even the HULK gets freedom after he's done... ya know, "HULK SMASH!" and all that jazz, when he's done being mad. So I was just, "Well, why doesn't Ben get the opportunity to enjoy a norm-ish life? Unfair!"

Thus: this sweet little one-shot was born! Special thanks to Johnny Storm(you'll soon know why!)! ^ ^

Enjoy!

Deal With It—

Johnny sat in the lab, watching Reed work on a whatchamacalit. It's where you have to put this thingamajig into a fancy-looking bottle, then pour it into another fancy-looking bottle, then take the whole whatchamacalit, pour out the thingamajig, and look at a glowy screen to see if you got it right.

He'd asked Reed what it was earlier, but he'd kinda forgot to listen to (tuned out) the extra long, extra boring explanation. So here he was, sitting in the lab, in the Baxter Building, sipping a slurpy, and watching Reed test a whatchamacalit, to see if the thingamajig made the glowy screen get brighter, or something.

Finally, after time and time again of the unsuccessful lighting of the glowy screen, Johnny had decided two things: 1) this was boring, and 2) Reed wasn't going to get it right (whatever it was) anytime soon.

"Hey Reed?" His baritone worried him. Johnny Storm should sound much cocky-er, and less bored-to-death.

"Yeah?"

"What are you making?"

Reed blinked. "I just told you..."

Johnny sighed. "No, I mean—what's it for?"

The scientist brightened. "Oh, that! Ben."

"Ben?"

"Yes."

Johnny waited for him to go on, but he just turned back to the whatchamacalit, poured out the thingamajig, and looked at the glowy screen.

"...Reed?"

"Yeah?"

"Why is it for Ben?" Pebbles was busy watching 'The Game' upstairs.

"Because he asked for it, Johnny."

"Ah."

After another silent round of Whatchamacalit, Johnny was starting to get frustrated.

"Reed?"

"What?"

"Why did Ben ask for it?"

"Because he doesn't like looking like a rock, Johnny!"

Johnny blinked up at him. Reed sighed warily, picking up the whatchamacalit, and glancing at the glowy screen after he poured out the thingamajig.

They sat in silence. Ben could be heard upstairs, shouting some cheesy chant, and Sue was out shoe shopping with her friend Marcy.

After Reed had played exactly fifteen (Johnny had counted) rounds of Whatchamacalit, the Human Torch's face broke into a grin. "Ohhhhh, that thing!"

"Yes, Johnny, that thing."

"Okay."

Reed 'hnn'ed, tapping the whatchamacalit a little so he could get all of the thingamajig out.

"...Hey, Reed?"

"What, Johnny?"

"Why can't he just deal with it, like you, me, and Sue can?"

"With what? Who?" Reed raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"Ben. With his powers."

Reed cast him a frown. "Wha—Johnny! He can't just deal with them! They ruined his life!"

"So?" Johnny was slightly confused. "Wouldn't being able to deal with them make it better?"

"How is that going to make it better for him? He looks like a rock, Johnny! How is ' just dealing with it ' going to keep people from staring at him?"

"Because, he'd—"

"He'd what, Johnny? He'd not care anymore? He doesn't like it! That's why he can't ' just deal with it '!"

Johnny was silent for a moment. "So... if he liked it, then he could deal with it?"

Reed frowned at the ceiling. "I guess. Why is this so important to you?" He reached down to pick up the whatchamacalit again.

"So... If he liked it, then people wouldn't stare at him? Cuz he could deal with 'em?"

Reed blinked, his anger dissipating. "Wait, what? No, Johnny. Just because he'd be able to deal with it wouldn't keep people from staring at him."

Johnny frowned. "Well, why not? People don't stare at me as much when I deal with them."

"You don't look like a rock, Johnny."

"Pebbles wouldn't either, if he could deal with it!"

"Huh?" This time, Reed frowned in confusion.

"People wouldn't stare at him, if he could deal with it, cuz he wouldn't be walking around like a freaking avalanche the whole time!"

Reed stared at him, incredulously. "Wait—how could being able to deal with it make Ben human again?"

"Cuz!" Johnny threw his hands into the air. "If he could just be a rock when he's using his powers, and then be human again when he's done, then people wouldn't stare at him so much! So, why can't he deal with it, like you, me, and Sue can?"

Reed was silent for a long while. "... You mean...coexisting with your powers?"

"Yes!" Johnny took a deep breath. "Why must I always have to use big words for you to understand me?"

But, Reed really wasn't listening to him anymore. "So... instead of looking for a way to reverse the effects, I should be looking for a way to neutralized them with Ben's biology schematics?"

"...Yeah?"

Reed's eyes went saucers. "Johnny, you're a genius."

"...Yeah."

—4—

Five days later, after endless nights without sleep, and little food for their(Reed's) stomaches(Johnny took multiple snack breaks that seemed to extend to forever in time, but he always managed to return to the lab, to watch Reed play Whatchamacalit, and maybe bring him some Subway), Johnny and Reed finally(it was mostly Reed, but Johnny helped!) stood before the result.

According to Reed, Johnny's (accidental) discovery had led to a huge realization. Johnny had sat on a large (and very high-tech, expensive-looking) computer monitor, sipping a slurpy, and watching as Reed tossed months of hard work(very large, very thick notebooks filled with big words and fancy numbers: pain and toil) across the room. Then, Reed had gotten out a new(skinnier, unused, blank) notebook, and immediately filled it with different big words and fancy numbers.

Soon(two days later), Johnny finally got to watch Reed play Whatchamacalit again. This time, he added a bunch of stuff that made the thingamajig a peachy color, then poured it all out, and squealed that he was getting closer every time the glowy screen didn't light up.

Finally, on the fourth day of Whatchamacalit & Squeal, Johnny was starting to get bored (Yup, big shocker, but it's not like he had anything else to do. Ben was watching another 'The Game', and Sue was window shopping with Cheyenne) again.

Although, it was entertaining to watch Reed do The Wobble (old guy edition: jump, fall forward, stop yourself just before crushing the extremely important work that had made you jump, then fall backwards and crush other important work(that hadn't made you jump, so it's all cool), and giggling like a high school cheerleader), when the glowy screen finally lit up.

Reaction: sip slurpy, look away. Do not, repeat, do not...

He cracked up, and sent the video to all his best Youtube pals.

Then, Reed gave him a hug ( *.* ), and they found themselves here: crouched behind the couch (where Ben was watching a different 'The Game'), holding a fancy ray gun (which held the winning whatchamacalit), and waiting for Ben to not notice them(which they really didn't need to wait for).

"Can you go over that again?" Johnny whispered amid Ben's yelling match with the T.V.

"It's actually very simple," Reed replied in a hushed tone. "I, or you, get Ben to look directly over here, make him to say a random word (that will start all of the future transformations), and then I pull the trigger."

"Ah."

Finally, 'The (different) Game' went to commercial, and Ben got up to get a snack: when Johnny jumped up. "Avalanche!"

Ben spun around to stare at him(them, since Reed materialized beside him). "Avalanche?"

Reed shot him.

Zap! Winning Whatchamacalit spewed forth, hitting Pebbles in the chest!

Except, Sue happened to walk in just as Reed shot Ben ( ^ ^ ).

"Reed!" Sue screamed, a look of horror crossing her face.

Johnny gave her the 'one moment' finger. "Hold on a sec, Sue! I wanna see if the whatchamacalit worked!"

Did he actually just say that out loud? Ah well.

And, viola! There stood Ben Grimm. As in, the actual Ben Grimm. As in, not Pebbles.

Darn, it worked.

"Ben!" Reed yelled, excited.

Ben stared at his arms, a very silly smile crossing his face, and his eyes lit up (like the glowy screen did! Must be a coincidence). "You got it? I'm human again!" He gave a loud whoop.

Sue squealed, horrified expression gone, and gave him a big hug(somewhat muffled by the multiple shopping bags she didn't drop when Reed shot Ben(again: ^ ^ )).

But Reed wasn't done. "Say ' Avalanche '!"

Human Ben blinked. "Uh... Avalanche?"

He got bigger, his skin hardened, his hair disappeared(once more: ^ ^ ), and—poof!—Pebbles was back!

Ben and Sue looked really confused, while Reed just grinned ("It works! It actually works!"), and Johnny just pointed and laughed.

"Say it again!" Reed urged.

"...Avalanche?"

—poof— Ben Grimm.

Ben's eyes widened. "A-Avalanche!"

—poof— Pebbles.

"Avalanche!"

—poof— Ben Grimm again.

Ben laughed, clearly having fun. He grinned over at Reed, resident Einstein. "So this whole time, you were working on this, instead of making me all human again?" Sue smiled warmly.

Reed raised an eyebrow. "Actually, no. I was working on making you all human again. Then Johnny came along and used that genius brain of his—" Ben and Sue gaped, openly shocked, at the Human Torch.

Johnny ( ^ ^ ) waved.

"—and figured out that instead of trying to reverse the effects of your powers, I should try and see if I could neutralize them with you, so both can coexist naturally! Or, deal with them, if you would. And it worked!" Reed grinned like a kid in a candy shop(one that was giving out free candy).

Johnny smirked. "Reed said I was a genius." He held out a hand, palm open. "Pay up."

Ben and Sue's shoulders slumped, and they reached for their wallets, grumbling. They had completely forgotten about that bet.

—4—

"Avalanche!"

—poof— Pebbles.

"Avalanche!"

—poof— Ben Grimm.

Ben cheered. "Avalanche!"

—poof— Pebbles.

"Avalanche!"

—poof— Ben again.

"Ben!" Johnny shouted, completely out of his mind in irritation. "Stop it! That's annoying!"

Ben roared with laughter. "Deal with it, Matchstick!"

—4—

End.

So, how didja all like it? I spent all night working on this, since I couldn't go to sleep until I wrote it down. Hope it was okay.

Please R&R.

—EpikalStorms—

(Storm)