Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of the Fantastic Four, nor earn monies from the stories I've written. I wish to thank Marvel and Stan Lee for allowing me to write fan fics with their creations.
AN: Chapter reposted with grammatical errors corrected. I was in such a hurry to give you guys another chappy, I didn't proof well. And MANY thanks for all the reviews. The muse is revved to write more.
THE OBVIOUS IS NOT SO OBVIOUS
Sue saw Johnny sitting on the edge of the Baxter building, feet dangling over. For a nanosecond, her first reaction was to grab him to keep him from falling. Having had their powers for years now, she still sometimes forgot that he could fly. She walked over and sat next to him, facing inward. Her feet planted firmly on the roof. She said nothing.
He didn't look at her, but knew she was there. He was deep in his own torment. He wanted to talk about it, but his mouth wouldn't open. He wanted to cry, but his eyes remained dry. He wanted to hit something, but not his sister. She didn't deserve it. Besides, she could hit back.
After about 5 minutes, he finally blurted something out. "It's my fault, you know."
"How's that?"
"Oh, c'mon Sue. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that if I wasn't there, that girl would still be alive. If I hadn't been a publicity hog, none of this would have happened."
"And if she wasn't there?"
"I can take care of myself!"
Sue looked hard at her brother. "Johnny, you're not bullet proof…"
"And neither was that girl." Johnny's temper was starting to flare when Reed came outside.
"Sorry to bust in on the party, but there's a building that's about to collapse. Apparently they were in the middle of renovations and removed important supports. Several workers are caught inside. Johnny, if you want you can sit this one out…"
"Don't baby me! I can do my job! "
"Listen, Johnny, if you aren't 100 percent focused on the rescue, you're not only a risk to yourself, but to us and the people we're rescuing. Your brain's got to be 100 percent engaged. And if someone's going to take potshots at you while…"
"I'll be fine! Dammit, it's been 3 weeks already. Besides, I'm safe when the flame's on."
Reed saw Sue open her mouth and cut her off. "Sue, let's go. If Johnny feels he's okay to handle it, then he probably can." He gave her a look that communicated that she was not to say anything.
As Reed ushered her inside, she protested. "He's not bulletproof even with the flames."
"I know. But his head's not screwed on tight right now and he's going no matter what. I don't want to add that tidbit of information. Not right now. After we get back, I'll fill him in."
"But he may decide to stay here if he knows."
Reed looked Sue straight in the eyes. "You don't believe that. Not for a moment."
She looked down and sighed. "You're right. He has to prove something to himself. Maybe saving somebody's life will validate his survival at the loss of that woman's life. But suppose someone shoots him ….I'll never be able to forgive myself."
Reed squeezed her shoulder.
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The killer lay prone on top of a medium sized building, looking down on a major rescue in progress. Disaster after disaster had been visited in the last three weeks in hopes of running into the Fantastic-4 again. But luck was not around. That was, until now.
The rifle was pointed towards the rescuers, a smile crept onto the killer's face. The trigger was squeezed.
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Ben groaned under the weight of the wall he was holding up. Sue was using her force field in another part of the building and wasn't able to include the wall Ben was supporting without impeding the rescue. He had his head down and shoulders into his work, but he could still hear Johnny above him coordinating the rescue with Reed. He knew they were somewhere several floors up and that he had to keep this wall from collapsing. Debris continued to rain down upon him, but didn't faze him a bit. As far as he was concerned it was no worse than a tickle.
As the building shifted in its quest for self destruction, Ben received a painful blow to his right shoulder blade. He looked around trying to see what hit him but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. His attention was drawn back to his work however when the structure groaned. He turned his head towards Reed. "I'm not…going to be able…to hold…this…much……longer!"
Reed was stretched out like a trampoline. "Just one more victim, Ben. Just one more!"
With an anguished cry that almost sounded human, the rest of the wall crumbled down around Ben. A plume rose up and enveloped the powerful man. The other three were worried when they couldn't see their friend. But as the cloud settled, Ben was still standing dusting off the powder and pebbles. He looked towards Reed. "Did you get him in time?"
Reed sprang back to his normal self, supporting a shell shocked worker. "Yup. Johnny made it out too. You, okay?"
"This? This was nuthin'. Just got a little dust in my hair." He rubbed his rock hard pate brushing the dirt off.
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"Hey Big Guy!" Johnny slapped Ben on the back, his mood improved with the lives of 12 men saved. "You got a chip outa your back, there. Whadya do? Get hit with an I-beam?"
"Where?" Ben tried to look at his back most unsuccessfully with his limited motion.
"Your shoulder."
Reed looked over, curious. "Ben, with all the stuff we've been through, I don't ever remember you breaking. Let me take a look."
He easily found the hole Johnny was talking about and fingered it. "I can't figure this out. The amount of weight needed to do this much damage, whatever hit you would need to be huge." He fingered it some more. It was an almost perfectly round crater about an inch in diameter. "I've seen something similar looking but I can't place where."
Interested, Sue came over to study Ben's back, too. She cocked her head. "Yeah, that pattern does look familiar."
"I know what that is."
Everyone looked at Johnny as his voice had lost the joviality that was present just moments ago. His smile was gone. "You guys need to watch more gangster movies. Bullets make that kind of dent."
The three looked at each other. Given the recent event three weeks ago, that idea should have been in the forefront.
"Johnny, you were nowheres near me. If this is what you say it is, then maybe the guy's not out to get you after all but is after all of us."
Reed replayed the story both Ben and Johnny relayed to him when the young woman was killed. Ben was just coming out of the shop. "Or, maybe they're after you, Ben. The shooter could have seen you coming towards the door."
"Well, if that's the case, we got no worries. Heck, this little thing felt like a bee sting, nothing more."
Sue was not convinced. "I think we should all take precautions. We don't know if this nutcase is after Johnny, Ben or all of us. And we need to update Detective Tolo right away."
"Sue, why don't you call him? Johnny and Ben can help me search through our records to see if we can come up with a name or two."
She nodded. At least she was doing something instead of waiting for the police.
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Sue held the phone towards Reed. "It's Detective Tolo. He wants to know if we want police protection tonight at the awards dinner."
"What do you think?"
Sue was hesitant to suggest that they don't need it. "Well, there hasn't been anything in the past 2 months. Not since we found that dent in Ben. Which was never proven to be a bullet anyway. We'll be indoors, surrounded by lots of people. So, as much as I hate to say it, I'm not sure police presence will be needed."
"I was thinking along the same lines. Why don't you tell him…"
Sue held up her finger in the 'wait a minute' gesture as she listened to Tolo. "Really? Why didn't you say so? We'd be happy to give you a ticket. You just didn't strike us as being the scientific kind. Okay, 8 o'clock then."
Reed raised an eyebrow. "What was that about?"
"The detective said he was hoping we'd say yes to the offer because he wants to go. Said he's always been a science geek."
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Detective Tolo leaned back in his chair pumping his massive arms in an enthusiastic applause as Reed received his plaque. "Your husband is quite the egghead, Mrs. Richards."
"Detective, we're not married…yet."
"Oh, I thought you guys got married last year. The papers kept saying '6th time a charm'."
"Well, it wasn't. But you're correct about Reed. They don't come any smarter. If you were so much into science yourself, why didn't you work in the field?"
"My father's a cop. Two uncles on my mother's side are cops. My grandfather was a cop. Even my aunt on my dad's side's a cop."
Sue just smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. She looked at the middle-aged officer. He came dressed in a tux, but it was crumpled looking just like all his clothes. It wasn't that it wasn't ironed or had been lying in a heap in the corner...his clothes just seem to sit on him like that. But she had to admit to herself, she was glad he was there. Even though there had been no more attempts on their lives, she was still on edge.
"…by the way, Ms. Storm…"
"It's Sue, detective. Please call me Sue."
"…by the way, Sue. We finished checking out the last of the list you gave us. Everyone checked out. It doesn't seem to be any of them. You guys may have to go back to the drawing board for more suspects."
"Okay. But can we keep the shop talk to a minimum tonight? I want tonight to be about Reed."
A half hour later, the room started to empty out. The five people at the main table, The Fantastic-Four and one detective, waited for the crowd to finish filing through the doors. Ralph, as the other came to call the detective, was admiring the plaque. "Wow, this is really somethin', Reed. If you ever need an assistant let me know. I might just want to give up this policing business."
Bringing up the rear, they congregated outside the main doors while Ben got the car. The stars were brilliant and the air crisp as Sue took a deep breath. Reed extended his hand. "Thanks for coming Detective."
"Hey, it was a real pleasure. Thanks for getting me a ticket. I'm glad that the only exciting thing that happened tonight was your award."
"Me too. Can we give you a ride? Ben'll be here any minute."
"No, thanks, I'm parked right over there. Good night." He gave a half hearted salute as he turned and left.
As Reed watched the officer pull away, he felt the plaque being lifted from his hands.
"I didn't get to see this yet. The cop was hogging it all night."
"Johnny, you're going to get to see it for years to come."
The young man handed it over to Sue. She and Reed admired it together and didn't hear what sounded like a car backfire in the distance above the din of the city noise.
Johnny felt as if someone had just tapped him hard in the stomach. But no one was around. He looked down and saw red ooze spreading across his pristine white shirt. He brought his hand up and fingered the small hole in the center. As darkness started to envelop him he uttered, "Sue, I think I've been shot."