Chapter 4

This was the part she was nervous about. The training wasn't that bad, even the stupid blue suits weren't as bad as she made them out to be, but sitting on she shuttle about to take off into open space where a million things could go wrong was not something she had ever prepare herself to face.

Charlie stood inside the empty shuttle, she had already changed into her suit and the flight jumper, a much better suit then the skin tight monstrosity Victor had cooked up. She glanced up as someone entered into the shuttle. She wasn't surprised when it turned out to be the pilot of said shuttle, Johnny Storm.

Looking cool as a cucumber, she didn't know how he was so relaxed, like he wasn't about to fly a giant metal can into space. Where the smallest crack could make the whole thing cave in upon itself killing them all. She took a deep breath slowing her heart rate down. Trying to calm down her nerves.

"I didn't take you as the jittery type." Storm said as he came to stand next to her.

"Normally I would agree with you, but I don't like the idea of going into space. This isn't my job, there's nothing, no point in me going. I'll be worse than useless, and if something goes wrong I'm a sitting duck. Another body in the way"

"Then if you don't want to go then why are you going."

"Mr. Von Doom requested my presence aboard the station."

"Then tell him no. I mean it's not like he'll fire you half of what I heard about you is true." His eyes were open slightly more than normal and he was leaning in. He was concerned, she realized.

He was trying to reassure her. Johnny Storm, infamous selfish trouble making playboys was trying to comfort her. She would have laughed if she didn't think it would offend him.

"I'm fine Johnny, well I'll be fine." She turned and looked up at him grinning.

"So, what have you heard about me that impresses you."

He laughed and she was again reminded his looks, he definitely had a smile that went right to the knees. Fortunately she had some pretty resilient knee, good cartilage.

She had seen too many rotten people who were beautiful and charming. But she knew Johnny Storm wasn't one of them, he used his charm and good looks as a shield for his insecurities. Over the last couple of days she had seen glimpses` of the real Johnny. Once when he got into a fight with his sister. It was after the fight the look of utter defeat on his face as she walked away spoke volumes.

He had a blazing, beating beautiful heart that he hid from the world. Trying to avoid getting hurt, but he cared about people and he was a good man.

He was also a lot of fun to be around, she couldn't remember the last time that
she had laughed so much. A good hearty, deep laugh that traveled.

"Oh, I dunno maybe something about the evil mistress of Doom, or there's always the ice woman, a classic for scary beautiful women, but I have to say, my personal favorite is the siren of the shadows. I mean that's just super sexy right?"

"You're kidding right, siren of the shadows? That's completely degenerate... Although it does present an appealing imagery, if you a dominatrix."

Her nose crinkled and she shook her head with distaste.

"We'll, I think it make sense a beautiful woman who lures poor men to the dark corners of the world with her devastating good looks then feasts on them."

"Feasts on them?" She said laughing. "I think you've put too much thought into it."

He grinned down at her, and she realized for the first time how close the two of them were; nearly toe to toe, and here he was parading in the stupid suit, which she would admit, only to herself, he was giving her a much more appealing feelings on the damn thing.

"We'll, as fantastical as their most creative name calling is. The general idea behind my nature is not far off. I'm not nice, I see the bad in people and the potential problems they cause. My job boiled down, is to kill people and I have killed people and most the time I don't regret it."

She hadn't meant to say so much. She was slightly embarrassed and was surprised that she had reveled any thoughts to the man behind her. But she wanted boundaries between the two. She knew his rep and if she was going to add him to her accumulated force there had to be clear lines. For both of them.

The hand laying softly on her shoulder startled her, nobody but Victor touched her nowadays and with Victor it wasn't often. A warmth gathered and swept through her body as she reestablished eye contact with him.

Surprisingly he didn't say anything just smiled at her.

There was a drawback of people being scared of her and the position of power she held in the company: the loneliness and paranoia that accompanied her. People kept their distance and she kept hers. She thought she had been used to it. It was then she realized that she was leaning into Johnny's hand.

Slowly she straightened and pulled herself slightly away.

"When do we takeoff."

Like she didn't have a countdown going on in her head. The schedule for today was and all weekend had been memorized as soon as she had seen it.

"Fifteen minutes, everyone should be headed here soon."

His voice wasn't as loud as it normally was. If she didn't know any better she would have said subdue.

"I think you came here for a reason Johnny." She gently reminded.

He gave her a sheepish grin as he stepped around her and seated himself in the pilot's chair and began a run-through of the takeoff and docking sequences.

Charlie made her way back over to the seats in the back and took a seat closer to the wall. She had been trying for weeks to shake this gut feeling about the mission into space, trying to deny it as nerves. Unfortunately she knew better as her instincts had saved her neck in many situations, so it might be a good time to stop denying that something bad was going to happen up in space. Dying she was fine with, she faced the possibility every day for too many years for it to have a great effect on her countenance now.

No, she feared living. Living and being helpless as life took its course around you, being able to do nothing for the people you care about. It would be worse than death, and she dearly hoped that whatever happened up in space killed her. If something happened, that was an outcome she was prepared to live with. Rather than watching in anguish as everyone's life tumbled and turned, never to be the same after.