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.

A/N: I start vacation tomorrow. You guys will determine if my muse will bring me indoors to work on the story while the sun is shining, the grass is growing, the garden is calling and the birds are chirping.

THE OBVIOUS IS NOT SO OBVIOUS

"He's naked!"

Reed looked up from his text book when Ben entered the stark, windowless room. He glanced over to Johnny eying the unconscious, unclothed man. "He's incinerated seven hospital gowns and bed linens since he got out of surgery. Sue's gone back to our lab to see if she can put together something he could wear in here."

"Seven? Gee, he's averaging two an hour."

"Well, the flare ups are not at regular ½ hour intervals. He had four the first hour, none the second, then he had three…"

"Reed."

"Uh? Oh, right." He went back to reading his book.

The Thing sidled up to the metal operating table that was Johnny's bed and eyed the 6 inch incision. "Boy, he's gonna have some scar to show the ladies. Why isn't it bandaged?"

Reed just lifted his hand and mimicked lighting a lighter.

At that moment Johnny started to groan and writhe.

Reed got up and moved away. "Step back."

Just as Ben was a few feet away, a flash fire consumed the young man not unlike a gas grill finally igniting after too long of a pause. The heat filled the room before the flames died, extinguished as quickly as they had started.

"He always start movin' before he let's one loose like that?"

Reed nodded as he sat back down. "Yeah, Sue and I think he might be having nightmares."

"Say, speaking of Suzie, shouldn't someone be with her? Supposed that nutjob with the gun goes after her?"

"Detective Tolo's with her. But he doesn't think anything will happen. Between the mark on your back…"

"It was my shoulder, Reed. Get it right!"

"Whatever. Like I was saying, between that and the two attempts on Johnny, this guy seems to disappear for about a month or so between attacks. Tolo really doesn't think he'll strike again for a while. Beside, he does think Johnny's the real target, not any of us."

"I don't see that. How so?"

Reed got up and walked around. "The detective thinks that you were shot at by the gunman only as a distraction. To take the cops away from finding who the real killer is. Johnny's the only one who seems a serious target. You? If the killer really wanted to kill another Fantastic-Four member, why try to shoot you? You're, you know…a big rock."

"A big rock? That's what I am to you!?"

"C'mon, Ben. You know what I mean. You don't look like you can be brought down by a bullet. Sue seems much more vulnerable than you. And I don't look like I would stop a bullet either."

"Yea, yeah. I know what you mean. So that's what Tolo's thinkin'? This killer's trying to put the cops on the wrong trail?"

Reed nodded.

"Well if you want my opinion, I'm thinkin' it's the husband of one of his one night stands."

Ben paused. "What would a bullet do to you?"

"Dunno. And I have no desire to find out!"

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The shooter waltzed into the hospital like an employee, not stopped by security or questioned by anyone. Wearing a white labcoat helped. As Susan brushed by rushing out the door, the thought of going after Johnny again changed. 'Hmmm. She'll definitely be on her way back soon. That woman is on a mission, she's not strolling to go home for a nap. '

Before leaving, it wasn't hard to find out where the Human Torch was staying. It was all the buzz of the hospital. A quick walk past the ancient OR to stakeout the layout told the story of how many people were guarding it and how many were inside. To the delight of the hospital imposter, not too much security.

The gunman exited the hospital, looked up and down the street and chose a perfect spot for the next opportunity.

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"Ralph, what have your people come up with so far? After all, it's been 3 months since that woman was killed." Sue's walk back to the hospital was brisk, and the heavier, shorter detective had to work to keep up.

"Truthfully, Susan, I'm baffled. All the names you gave us of prospective suspects, none panned out. We're going back to square one. I'm going to need a list of all the women he's gone out with."

"All?"

"Yup. It can't be that long, can it?"

"Johnny hasn't been serious with any one person. He's enjoying this celebrity status. I'm not even sure he remembers all the women he's gone out with. And why are you so sure the killer's after Johnny. Ben was shot, too."

"I think Ben was a red herring. Just to throw us off. And we've already gone through all the names of people that might have something against you guys as a group. So, it has to be someone just after Johnny. Is there a person that might hold a grudge against him like maybe he didn't save a family member in time? Damaged their car? Set someone's shorts on fire? Something like that?"

"After we're sure Johnny's out of the wood, Reed and I'll comb over the records again. See if there's something that my brother did as an individual… like burn someone's shorts." She gave the detective a sly smile.

As they were walking deep in conversation, discussing possible suspects, the detective answered his cell phone. "Uh, huh. Did you check the folders? What about the files? Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes."

"I have to leave you guys but I'll be right back. I'll drop you off at Johnny's door. You shouldn't have to worry about anything, I have good men on duty."

Sue looked at the half a block left to go. "I don't need an escort. The hospital's right there."

The cop looked uneasy.

She smiled. "C'mon, Ralph, it's me, the Invisible Woman! I'm a super-hero remember? Don't worry, I can take care of myself."

Hesitating, he stopped and started to shake his head.

"Go. GO!"

Reluctantly, the detective headed for his car. Sue had that determination about her that he couldn't win against. But he kept looking at her from the corner of his eye trying not to be too obvious. He got into his vehicle and sat there watching her head towards the hospital. He wasn't going to move until he at least saw her enter the building.

He didn't see the car coming.