To Be a Hero
Disclaimer: I do not own the Fantastic Four characters.
Author's note: This is my first story. I haven't yet decided if I am going to add on to it or write a companion piece.
Summary: Sue learns that there is more to being a hero than super powers.
The door slammed shut, leaving Sue with the angry words echoing in her head.
She didn't know what had been wrong with her lately; she had gotten in a fight with Reed about all the time he was spending in the lab. She'd gone off on Ben when he tried to play mediator; and she had driven Johnny to a frustrated outburst when she tried to tell him what to do.
Now, she was alone in the Baxter Building, and, even though she could turn invisible, she still wanted to disappear.
She had driven everyone out, sure they would come back, but Sue didn't want to apologize, not yet anyway.
She had to leave. It was overwhelming; she was unable to think of anything except how she had acted. She grabbed her keys and headed for the door, not really knowing where she was going.
She got outside and began to walk, searching for a place to be alone. The setting sun was nearly blinding, it reminded her of Johnny, and that only made her feel worse.
She didn't know how long she had been walking when she came across a park. It was devoid of activity, the benches vacant. Sitting down, she let her thoughts drift back to earlier, ignoring the rumbling thunder in the distance.
Lately she had been so irritable. Maybe she just needed some time to herself. She had been around the team since they had gotten their powers; maybe she needed a girl's night out, not that she had many girl friends. Maybe she was just stressed. She didn't know if this super hero life was a life for her. Johnny seemed to be enjoying it, Reed didn't mind it, and even Ben had grown accustom to his odd appearance; but Sue was never one for attention and the spotlight. In any case, she needed to apologize, to everybody.
A cold splash of water against her face brought her back to the present. The sky had clouded over, blocking the moonlight and bringing with it flashes of lightning.
Sue sighed, rain, how typical. She reached for her cell, phone, hoping someone would come get her, only to realize she had never grabbed it.
"Just great," she mumbled to herself.
The drips started increasing in frequency and size. Lightning flashed and a grumble of thunder followed. Flustered, she stood and headed back to the Baxter Building.
The rain had turned into a down pour. Sue had given up on staying dry. At this point, she just wanted to get home and into a warm shower.
As she walked, a noise caught her attention in the distance, an echoing chorus of panicked shouts. Without thinking, Sue darted off on the direction of the commotion.
"Where is she?" Reed asked aloud to no one in particular.
He hadn't been worried when he came home and Sue was gone, but when the sun went down and it began to rain, he had grown a little concerned. When he called her phone and realized it was still in her room, that's when he began to worry.
"I'm sure she's fine," Ben tried to sound encouraging, but it was obvious he was wondering about Sue as well.
There was a jingle at the door, both heads shot up, but when Johnny came in, wet and still angry, the two couldn't hide their disappointment.
"Well, it's good to see you guys too," he replied sarcastically.
"Have you seen Sue?" Reed asked hopefully.
"No," he scoffed, "and I don't want to see her." He added, still angry from earlier.
Curiosity, however, dawned on him, "Why?"
Reed looked to Ben and then back to Johnny. With a sigh, he explained.
"We got in a fight. It was over stupid stuff." Reed was visibly bothered by recalling the incident. "Ben tried to reason with us, she got mad at Ben. I left, Ben left. When we came back, she was gone."
Johnny listened, feeling somewhat guilty that he had reacted the way he had when Sue had reprimanded him for being childish; he hadn't known that she was fighting with Reed, and Ben for that matter.
"I kinda got into it with her too." He admitted, head hung slightly, "She'll be back, though, she's probably just blowing off steam."
"I hope so," Reed whispered, dejected.
"Hey! Over here!" A voice called out to the approaching super hero.
Sue headed for the car that was pulled over on the road, the driver waving his hand wildly in the air with a cell phone in his other. He seemed frantic and as Sue got closer, she could see why.
The man and the car were stopped near a bridge, water rushed over in a dark river of danger. But it wasn't the water covering the road, it was the SUV pinned to a tree over the side of the bridge in the rushing flooded river.
"A guy tried to get out!" the man that had waved her down yelled over the rain and whooshing sound of the river. "He said his little girl was in there."
Sue strained to see if there was anyone in the vehicle, the water slapping waves against the windows of the dark SUV.
"The guy disappeared!" The man continued. He seemed to be searching for something in his car. "A rescue team is on their way," he looked up, eyes locking with hers as he pulled a rope from his trunk. "That truck is going to be swept away."
Sue already knew what he was going to do. He tied one end of the rope to the grill of his car, and the other around his waist.
He looked to her, "let the fire department know what is going on." He added, and before Sue could protest, he waded into the water and struggled to swim to the pinned vehicle.
Sue could only watch as he made it. By the way he acted when he reached the SUV, she knew there was someone inside. She watched as he tried to open the doors and how he pounded at the windows. The water seemed to be getting higher, and faster.
Without thinking, she reached into his car and found another rope. She tied one end of the rope next to the man's and the other end around her waist. Before she knew it, she was fighting the current and making her way toward the trouble SUV.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the man shouted over the rushing water.
Sue ignored him; he obviously didn't know who she was. Inside the vehicle, a terrified little girl struggled to get out of her seatbelt.
"She's stuck," the man yelled, "and the door is locked!"
Thinking quickly, Sue knocked on the window, "put your head down!" She yelled. The little girl did so and Sue moved to the back window.
"Get ready to get her," Sue yelled to the man. Concentrating, Sue willed her invisible force to shatter the back window. With an explosion, the window burst into shards of glass.
Water poured in, the little girls screams increased. Sue and the man rode the rushing water into the vehicle and toward the little girl.
The water was cold and Sue found herself struggling with frozen fingers to free the buckle, the SUV filling faster and faster.
"Look out," the man called, a knife appearing in his hand. In one quick motion he sliced the shoulder belt and the little girl flew into Sue's arms.
The SUV shifted, the tree branch it had been resting on giving way under the pressure. The three tried to make it out the back window, but with one final crack, the limb gave way.
Sue felt the rope around her waist tighten, and she gripped the little girl with all her might. The SUV seemed to move around them as the rope held her in place. She ducked her head and covered the little girl as the gaping hole where the back window used to be approached. She was so cold that she couldn't even feel the sharp prickling of glass as she slipped through the hole.
A hand snatched her arm, and she felt herself and the little girl being pulled to the tree.
"The fire department is here" the man pointed as he helped her to a branch out of the water.
Sue looked up to see a mass of flashing lights. She thought she could make out shouting, but she felt exhausted. She was only vaguely aware of a rescuer reaching them and attaching a rope and flotation device to the little girl.
At first, Sue didn't want to let her go, but as recognition dawned on her, she relinquished her grasp. The man behind her laid a hand on her shoulder.
"You're a hero," he said matter-of-factly. She tried to smile, but wanted to cry. She wished Reed was there.
The next firefighter reached them, and the man gestured for her to go first. Reluctantly, she allowed herself to be dragged back to the shoreline.
A blanket was immediately thrown over her shoulders and she was ushered to the back of an ambulance. She felt numb, physically and mentally.
The rescuers pulled the man from the water and bundled him in blankets as well. They walked him to the same ambulance, and he sat down next to her. He looked just as exhausted.
A police officer approached the two as paramedics examined them.
"We found the father downstream," he explained. "He was alive and worried about his little girl." The officer's stern look seemed to soften. "They'll both be fine, thanks to you two."
Sue and the man exchanged a glance. It was odd, how she felt she knew him, but yet, she still didn't know his name.
"The paramedics are going to take you to the hospital to get checked out. I will take your official statement there." The officer stated before walking off.
The paramedics helped the two into the ambulance and onto one of the benches inside. The rumble of the engine was somehow relaxing after the overwhelming rushing of water.
The man sat across from her, head leaned back and resting on the cab wall. Sue watched him for a minute, wondering what compelled him to be a hero. She had super powers and didn't know if she was near the hero he was.
Earlier that day, she had questioned whether she even wanted to be a hero taking on bad guys, risking her life, she didn't know if it was worth it. But this felt different, she wasn't saving the world, she wasn't fighting evil, instead, she had fought a river and saved a little girl from Mother Nature.
He opened an eye and smiled when she caught him staring absently in his direction.
"Mike," he blurted, hand extended. At her questioning stare, he tried again. "My name is Mike, what's yours?"
"Sue," she smiled, gripping his hand in a gentle handshake.
Her body seemed to be defrosting, and she was now able to feel the small cuts and abrasions that were scattered over her body. Her fingers hurt, and when she looked down at them, she saw how swollen and purple a few of them were. She wondered if he was hurt.
The ambulance pulled into the turnaround of the hospital and the paramedics escorted them to separate rooms.
It was passed three in the morning; this much Reed was sure of. He had experienced all sorts of emotions, from anger to guilt to frustration. He was hoping Sue wasn't just trying to make him worry, but then again, if that meant she was fine, then maybe he did.
He heard a ringing coming from Johnny's room followed by his tired answer. Reed didn't want to listen to Johnny's conversation, but when he heard "is she okay?" his heart skipped a beat.
He was up and at Johnny's door before the younger man had even stumbled out of his room.
"She's in the hospital," Johnny blurted, worry coating his words.
Reed waited expectantly, "Is she okay?" He fought to keep his voice strong.
"Yeah, the doctor said something about a little girl, and a flooded road, I don't know. But he said a couple of cuts and bruises, but that she should be okay."
Some relief flooded Reed, but he was still frantic with worry.
The two stared at each other for a moment, each dealing with their own thoughts.
"Well let's go!" Ben broke in, having over heard the conversation.
Sue stared at the ceiling as she lay in the hospital bed. Her pointer and middle finger on her right hand were snug in a foam padded metal splint; there were numerous bandages on her arms and back, and a cut that needed five stitches on her thigh.
It was the cold that hurt though. She just couldn't seem to shake the chill that had engulfed her when she jumped into the water. She felt stiff and sore, and her joints felt achy. The tears that had threatened to fall so long before, for so many different reasons, now slipped out as she closed her eyes. She didn't even see the worried face that peeked through the sliver of window on the door.
It wasn't until she felt a warm hand on her hand that she knew someone else was in the room. She jerked her head to her side, and immediate relief washed over her ravaged body and the cold began to ebb away.
"Reed," she squeaked out passed the lump of tears.
Without any further instructions, Reed leaned forward and enveloped Sue in a giant hug. He waited until the small shudders subsided. His stomach twisted in painful knots as he held his fiancé.
"Reed," she started, pulling away from his chest. "I am so sorry about earlier. I didn't mean what I said; I didn't mean to yell at you…" Reed held up his hand, silencing her babbling.
"It's okay," he stated. How could she still be worried about that, he wondered.
He reached out, carefully covering her injured fingers with his hand. "What happened?" he asked with curious exasperation.
Sue proceeded to tell him how she had gone out after Johnny had left and how she was headed home when she heard shouting. She told him about the water and the SUV and the little girl inside; and she told him, again, how sorry she was for their argument.
Reed listened in silent awe. When she finished, he kissed the top of her head and held her close. He wasn't mad that they had argued, if they hadn't, she never would have gone out, and never would have been able to help, and a little girl could have been lost forever.
A knock on the door interrupted their tender moment.
"Come in," Sue called, expecting to see Johnny or Ben, but instead, a man she had never seen before poked his head in.
"Sue Storm?"
"Yeah?" she answered curiously.
"My name is Luke Carson" he said, stepping in cautiously. "You saved my little girl," his voice cracked and he looked down at the floor.
When he looked up again, his eyes were shinning with unshed tears.
"Thank you so much," he exclaimed, moving closer to the bed. "You are a hero, I don't know what I would have done if…if you and that other man hadn't..." he couldn't seem to get the words out, but Sue knew and gave him a warm smile.
"I owe you so much…" He trailed off and then noticed Reed was in the room. His eyes seemed to light up with recognition. "I'm sorry," he mumbled apologetically, staring at the bed where Reed held her damaged hand gently. "I didn't mean to interrupt."
Another thought seemed to strike him; he squinted at them, and then looked to the door, than back at the two at the bed, putting the pieces together in his mind.
"Aren't you…" he trailed off again and a smile crept over his ragged features. He didn't continue that thought, instead, he changed the subject, all the seriousness back in his expression.
"My daughter would like to meet you," he paused and looked her over. "When you recover," he added hastily. "And I owe you and your, uh" he looked to Reed, contemplating his words, "your friend, dinner at least."
Sue smiled and nodded, "I'd like that." He smiled in return and gave her and Reed a nod before turning toward the door.
The man left and Johnny and Ben came in. Sue smiled, and then began to apologize to them as well.
"Sue," Johnny cut her off. "Don't worry about it. All that matters is you're safe." He reached down and gave her a hug.
"The doctor told us what happened; he said you could leave in the morning." He looked down at the bruised abrasions that covered her arms. "That river is lucky I can't do anything to it, I would kick its ass for this." He joked, making Sue smile.
The smile faded though, and Sue felt the tears again. "I was so mean to all of you, and none of you even care," she wiped at her eyes as Johnny crouched next to her.
"Sue," he started, "We're family, all of us." He waited until she looked up at him, Reed was eyeing the younger Storm with amusement, it was rare to see Johnny thoughtful and serious.
"Everyone has bad days, it doesn't mean we care less," the truth of the words only made Sue seem to cry more which seemed to bother her brother.
"Sue, I didn't mean to make you cry," he tried at a loss. This made Sue give a burst of laughter, her poor oblivious brother.
"It's a good thing," she tried to explain. Reed smiled and gave her another hug, he wasn't going anywhere until she was home, and he doubted Johnny or Ben would either.
"Reed," Sue started, her words muffled by her fiancé's chest. "Before we leave tomorrow, can we go see Mike?"
"Who's Mike?"
"The guy that helped save that little girl." Her voice became vacant as she recalled the rushing water, the terrified little girl, the cracking of the tree branch…
"Sue?" Reed's question snapped her out of her thoughts. He was staring at her in concern. "I said that's fine," he repeated himself, Sue looked questioningly.
"To go see Mike," he added, growing more worried. "I said that it would be fine."
"Oh, right," Sue tried to cover the fact that she hadn't heard him.
Reed exchanged a worried glance with Johnny and Ben, it was probably just the shock still wearing off, but that didn't make him feel much better. He could only wonder what was going on in her mind.
He looked at the clock; it was already approaching four in the morning. "Sue, you should get some sleep." He instructed. "As a matter of fact, we all should."
Johnny and Ben both nodded in agreement and made a motion to get up. Reed shifted in his seat, debating if he should leave as well to allow the invisible girl to get her sleep. The hand that shot out and the fingers that wrapped around his arm gave him the answer.
Johnny looked back expectantly, and smiled slightly at the sight. The two were meant for each other; it was sweet and somehow disturbing for him to think of his sister about to get married, but he was glad she was happy.
"Okay guys," Johnny began looking to Ben. "We'll be back tomorrow to take you home."
Reed gave a thankful smile. He wouldn't have minded if the Torch or the Thing had stayed, but he did relish the idea of being alone with Sue. He waited until the door shut, and then turned to his future wife. Her eyes were vacant again, as if she were deep in thought.
"Sue?" He questioned expectantly. She looked at him, clarity coming back. Her face fell though as she struggled against the tears.
"Hey," Reed pried gently, "what's wrong?"
She placed her head in her hands as Reed wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
"I don't know what's wrong with me," she blurted flustered. "Earlier today, I was questioning whether I even wanted the responsibility of being a super hero," she began to explain.
"And then there was this man, willing to risk his life for a complete stranger. He didn't ask for me to go into the water, in fact he told me to wait on the shore, but he didn't even think twice. How can I be a hero when I am so selfish?" She was crying by the time she finished, her voice rising as the emotions of the night came crashing through.
Guilt. Why was she feeling so guilty? Maybe it was just her way of dealing with a traumatic experience. Reed didn't know, but he knew he needed to say something.
"It doesn't take super powers to be a hero," he said matter-of-factly. Sue seemed to quite down. "You didn't have to go find out what was going on," he paused and lifted her chin with his finger until she met his eyes. "But you did."
He didn't know if they were the right words, they were just the words that came to his mind, but it seemed to put her mind at ease.
"Sue," he tried again when she said nothing in response. He gently brushed his fingers over the bandage on her arm, and brought her broken fingers to his lips, kissing them delicately.
"Sue, I love you…" He wanted to say more, but all other words left him as he looked into her eyes and saw the same feelings reflected back.
He smiled and she smiled back; she would be okay, and he would be there to help her.