PROLOGUE

A cold, November evening. The sun had set and dark blue colors painted the sky. It was peaceful, calm and quiet, except for a frosty breeze which was playing with her long, dark hair.

A faint smile curved her lips as she bent down and lay flowers in front of the large tombstone.

Albert Wyatt Mary Wyatt

1954 - 1997 1955 - 1997

"Happy birthday, dad," she whispered.

Exactly 10 years have passed since her parents' tragic demise.

"I wish you were here," she continued quietly, "I know you would be proud of me."

There was a slight pause and she opened her mouth to say something more when a distant siren interrupted her. Her grey eyes swept across the graveyard towards the source and every muscle in her body tensed up - it was a fire truck.

CHAPTER 1

"How's Frankie doing?" Susan Storm's voice reached his ears as she sat on the couch next to him.

"I don't know," he replied distractedly, completely focused on the TV screen in front of him.

Sue frowned, "You are still with her, right?"

No answer.

"Johnny?"

"Johnny?!"

"JOHNNY!" Sue boomed, making the Torch jump up slightly.

"No, I'm not still with her and it's none of your business!" Johnny yelled, frustrated that he couldn't watch the show in peace, "Now, will you please? I really wanna see this."

With an annoyed look on her face, Sue turned to the TV and saw... Monster trucks.

She sighed, "You will never grow up."

Just then an alarm sound of a fire truck zooming past the Baxter building was heard.

Johnny grunted, "Again?! Don't these people have anything better to do than to play with matches in their free time?!"

His sister was already on her feet, not paying attention to him and taking off her sweats to reveal a tight blue suit she was wearing underneath.

"Reed! Ben! Come on!" she yelled for the rest of the Fantastic Four.

Reluctantly, Johnny picked up the remote control and turned off the TV. "This better be really important," he mumbled, approaching the opened window and jumping out of it, without even hesitating a second.

"Flame on!"

"Holy crap..." Johnny Storm uttered as he landed at the scene.

The five-story brick building in front of him was engulfed in bright flames. A part of it had already collapsed. The whole area was surrounded by paramedics, firefighters and policemen who were talking to the people evacuated from the building. At least five jets of water from the fire trucks were trying to extinguish the fire, but without use.

Sue immediately created her force fields in attempt to stop the fire from spreading onto the other buildings in the neighborhood. Ben took on himself to search the collapsed part of the structure for survivors while Reed stretched up to pull out a man screaming for help from the fifth-floor window.

"No, you don't understand!" a hysterical woman sitting in the back of an ambulance car was shrieking at a fireman who tried to calm her down, "My daughter! She's still in there!"

Johnny turned to her, "Where?"

"Third floor, second apartment from the left," the woman sobbed, "Please, save Angela..."

"Don't worry, ma'm, I'll get her out," Johnny assured her, flashing his dazzling smile right before he ran into the burning building.

He could feel a tingling sensation as the flames caressed him, but no burns were left on his body. This was completely normal to him. No heat, no fear.

Carefully, he climbed up to the third floor on what was left of the stairs and looked on the left: there was no wall. Only a huge space where two apartments once were, now swallowed up in flames. His blue eyes traveled across the hallways and former rooms in search for the girl. His heart was pounding hard in his chest - What if he doesn't find her in time?

"Mommy!" a barely audible voice came from his right.

Locating the source, Johnny rushed to a bathtub which was upside down and lifted it up in one effortless move. There, underneath it was a little girl, maybe four years old.

Johnny threw the bathtub away and looked down at her.

"Angela?"

The little girl nodded, obviously scared to death. Johnny smiled to comfort her, but his smile quickly fell as a snapping noise came from above him.

He barely had time to look up: a large, wooden beam broke through the ceiling. It crashed on him with such force that Johnny heard his ribs crack, followed by a mind-numbing pain in his chest. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think, much less try to break free. His vision became blurred as he struggled for air.

As if from a great distance he could make out a faint silhouette of the little girl, surrounded by flames which were slowly but surely closing in on them both. He couldn't help her. Letting the pain wash over him, Johnny couldn't fight anymore and let himself slip into darkness...