I'm back from the dead! Well, back from Switzerland, but same thing, right? Joking, I love Switzerland and this was my tenth time there. This chapter is longer than the usual but only slightly so.
Anyway, enjoy!
"I totally don't see any reason for us to help this girl, after what she tried to do!" Johnny repeated for what must've been the fifth time in half an hour. Ben nodded in agreement, but Susan and Reed wouldn't have any of it.
"Johnny, the girl was desperate." Susan pointed out, "Besides, we are helping Adrian, not Raven. He shouldn't die because of her mistakes." Johnny stopped his pacing and grabbed onto the chair he was standing behind. He pressed his lips together and looked sharply at Susan, then at Reed.
Since the incident hours before, Johnny had been a different person. He'd been serious and very grown up and it was putting everyone off balance. He was angry and vengeful, feelings they all knew were in him, but he rarely let out. Johnny was a hot head, easily angered, but quick to calm down again and right now, his judgment was clouded by this anger.
Reed nodded his agreement at Sue's statement and added, "We are superheroes. It's our job to help the people who need it. What Raven tried to do was.. unforgivable, but we can't let that cloud our judgment. Had anyone else been in this 'Adrian's' situation, we would leap to their assistance immediately, without a second thought."
Johnny sigh exasperated and threw his arms up in a quitting manner. He reassumed his pacing. Sue, who was standing behind the chair Reed was sitting in, watched her brother worried. She didn't understand why this would affect him so much more than everyone else. Johnny and Reed got along just fine, but the two was on entirely different levels than the other, and so they weren't exactly best friends. She'd imagine Ben or herself being more affected by an attempt murder on Reed, but found Johnny to be a lot more shook up than them, or at least, reacting more violently to it.
Ben, who had been very quiet throughout the whole debate, suddenly added, "You guys seem to be forgetting something. Who is 'She'? Who is the woman Ra-this girl was talkin' 'bout? Someone wants Reed dead, guys."
Reed sighed in a resigned manner and raised his eyebrows while flicking his hands in a defeated manner.
"Ben, go get the girl. She'll have to explain what is going on."
Two minutes later found Raven seated in the chair across from Reed, looking very put together, given her situation.
The four superheroes were on the other side of the table, Sue, Reed and Ben sitting down and Johnny standing behind them, his arms crossed. Nobody said anything for quite some time. Raven was staring at the table, sitting in a stiff position on the chair and everybody else regarded her for a moment.
At length, Reed asked: "Raven, would you be willing to answer some questions?"
She looked up at Reed with wide, honest eyes and a look of cooperation. "I'll do what I can," she promised.
Everybody chose to ignore Johnny's huff of disbelief.
"What happened to you, after Von Doom was put in jail? Who took care of you then?"
Raven shrugged her thin shoulders, folded her hands and said: "Mostly scientists."
"Was it the same scientists who wanted to kill me?" the question seemed very forward and Raven took a sharp intake of breath, involuntarily showing the mess underneath the calm façade.
"No. No, that was someone else, entirely." She dared to look at Reed shortly, "That was Von Dooms sister, Teresa. When I was locked up, she often came down, during my experiments."
This time, Johnny's resentful and unbelieving scoff was hard to ignore and Ravens grey eyes snapped up to regard him for a moment. She raised her eyebrows in a silent challenge.
"Nobody knew about his sister until after he died. The world still doesn't believe that she really is his sister and you're telling me that she's been prancing around the Von Doom building for years?" Johnny felt the need to point out and the other males nodded in agreement.
"Yes, that is exactly what I am telling you. As for your doubts, I can assure you, she is his sister. They are alike in every way, even looks. And she is every bit as cruel as Von Doom"
"You know, I did once see a tall dark haired woman converse with him. When I asked who it was he didn't answer at all and I saw her only once or twice after that." Sue suddenly added, "She looked like someone straight out of a spy movie."
Raven nodded her head in confirmation. "She is. Spy for some company I don't know about. After Von Dooms death, she visited me again, told me that you had killed him and set me loose after I promised to 'avenge my master'" she wrinkled her nose at referring to him as master.
"How'd you know all this?"
"I may have snooped around in the company's system."
Reed decided to join the conversation. "How come we've never heard of her until after his death?" he furrowed his brow at her.
"You can hardly be a professional spy and sister to Victor Von Doom at the same time. She only became 'public' because she took over his business." Raven pointed out, "She likes her secrecy. Not many people knew about her. Unfortunately I got to know her very well.." she faded out and her eyes got glossy. She stared at some point on the wall behind them and they all got a good glimpse of the inner panic, turmoil and desperation she was going through, underneath her façade. "And so did Adrian."
She clenched her fists and glared at the table, the first tear slipping from her eye.
For two minutes she sat still as a rock, as did the fantastic four, waiting for her to proceed in some kind of way. Suddenly, she snapped her head back up and gave every single one of them a piercing glare, before speaking through clenched teeth.
"Look, I didn't want you kill, okay? I didn't mean for any of this to happen, but Adrian is MY responsibility now, I got him into this mess and I am ready to do anything to get him out of it. He shouldn't have to suffer because of the poor choices I made."
"Well, too bad, he already has." Johnny angrily said in sarcastic tones, earning him a glare from Sue and Ben.
"We intend to free Adrian. We – or I – feel partially responsible for what happened" Reed reassured her. He gave her a look, nothing short of pity. She stared at him, her expression torn between relief and anger. Eventually, the relief won out.
"I thank you, Richards that after all I've done, you're still willing to help me."
Reed shot her a very sharp look and replied: "I am not helping you: I am helping Adrian."
Ravens face fell slightly, but she recovered rather quickly. "I understand," she assured him.
"Well, I guess that was it, then. I've only one question left to ask: Why does this Teresa want me dead?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Raven frowned, "Revenge! You killed her brother. She wants revenge!"
"That was, technically, himself." Johnny childishly pointed out, "He killed himself."
"Yes, but try to explain that to a mourning sister."
They were all quiet for some time again and then Reed asked Johnny to take her back to her room. He did so, with a permanent scowl on his face.
"You really must've though I was a complete idiot.. Trying to act like you were still crazy, so you could kill Reed easier." Johnny murmured after they entered her room. His face betrayed his feelings of hurt, but she looked frostily at him and didn't grant him an answer.
In return, he forced the hurt look to leave and stared back at her blankly, before leaving the room.
"Yeah, I'm gonna head out guys. I'll probably crash at my own place tonight. See ya tomorrow." Johnny said in a rush and was out the door before the others even recognized his words.
He walked the short distance to his own apartment in a couple of minutes.
Everywhere the bars were open and he could hear wild parties going on all around him. I need to rejoin the nightlife, he decided and picked up speed.
Half an hour later, he was freshly showered and in a new outfit, already ordering a drink and shooting every available lady a charming smile, ready to take on the night.
Because when Johnny Storm parties, it always involves alcohol and chicks.
Two hours and many drinks later, Johnny had just finished reeling in his newest conquest.
She was tall with impossibly long legs and hourglass figure and long dark brown hair, looking like a Victoria Secrets model, just like he liked them. She'd been fairly easy to win over. She was slightly tipsy from drinking and, using his charm, she'd agreed to accompany him home pretty quickly.
Being a superhero and having saved the world was also a winning factor. That alone, was usually enough to win over most women. Well, women he associated with, anyway.
He spent the walk to his apartment whispering sweet nothings in her ears, making her giggle continuously. As they reached his apartment, he let her in first and allowed her to look around for a bit. He knew it would make her feel like he respected her and that was essential, if he was going to get any tonight.
He poured them both another drink, while she finished the tour of his place.
Handing it to her, she smiled impossibly brightly at him and quickly downed the drink, slamming the glass on the table. Johnny set his own down, knowing what came next, not quite able to stop a smirk. She walked to him slowly and smiled suggestively at him before kissing him seductively.
"My lady," he whispered in her ear minutes later, "Are you ready to be burned up by the human torch?"
The next morning Johnny was rudely woken by his phone going off. Detaching himself from the naked, waking woman next to him, he picked it up and sleepily answered.
"Mm, go away." his voice was thick from sleeping and a yawn burst from his mouth.
"Aren't you up yet? It's nearly eleven!" the woman stirred next to him and moaned, before stretching slightly.
"And it's good to talk to you too, Susan."
"We have serious business to attend to and you choose to sleep in? You are impossible!" she sounded really annoyed, but that was nothing new for Johnny.
"You know, I'd have a really clever retort for that, but I'm too tired to care.. Can you just say what's up and leave me alone?"
"Johnny, you will not be going back to bed! You have to get over here, now!" He felt her wrap her arm around his torso while kissing his shoulder. He smirked slightly, at the feel of her breasts pressed to his back, but shrugged her off and lay down on his back.
"Fine.. I'll be right there." He gave in and tossed his phone onto the nightstand. "Well, this is something I wouldn't mind waking up to," he said to her with a charming smile. She giggled and kissed him briefly on the lips, before he pulled away.
"Babe, I'm really sorry, but I have to go. Ya know, superhero business." She looked at him in adoration, until he said; "You know the way out by yourself, right?"
Five minutes later, she was gone and Johnny was sporting a red mark on his face.
"Women.." He quickly got dressed, deciding wearing his suit underneath his usual t-shirt, leather jacket and jeans.
He was already out the door and waiting in line by the nearest coffee shop when he remembered why he was even going to the Baxter Building.
They were going to figure out how to save 'Adrian'.
With a sigh, he abandoned the coffee shop, opting to get something edible when he arrived, knowing that he couldn't allow his usual tardiness.
"What kept ya?" Ben gruffly questioned when Johnny strolled into the lab ten minutes later.
"Had a little.. female problem." Ben noticed the red mark on his cheek and burst out laughing. Johnny glared at him, but couldn't prevent an amused smirk from slipping into place. The grin fell quickly, because at that moment, Raven entered the lab. Johnny's face fell into an expressionless state and he eyed her coldly. She met his gaze evenly and he quickly glared at the ground instead, digging his hands into his pockets.
She looked nun-pulsed and turned her gaze to Ben instead, who just looked back at her.
Ben Grimm always had an opinion about every single person he met, an opinion that was often proven to be right. He could count on one hand the people he'd been wrong about. Johnny Storm was one of them. But he didn't know what to do about this girl. He wasn't able to figure her out and couldn't place her in any of his boxes and it made him uneasy.
A minute passed in complete awkwardness before Reed and Sue came in. Sue gave Johnny a congratulating smile, glad that he was on time for once.
"Okay guys, time to brainstorm." Reed clapped his hands together, "We need a plan. I've asked Raven to be here, since she knows a lot more about Teresa Von Doom than we do."
Ben, Sue and Reed looked expectantly at her, while Johnny continued his sulking stance against the table, with his arms crossed. Raven looked at each of them in return, before unfolding her arms and walking over to the table where there were the maps of the Von Doom building, which Reed had acquired.
She studied them for a moment, before motioning at a certain point. "Here. This was where I was kept. I believe Adrian would be nearby. I don't recall any other places ideal for locking up people." The last part was said with barely concealed bitterness.
"Well, we'll need to know the security password to get down there." Reed stood next to her, completely at ease, as if she hadn't tried to kill him the day before and looked at where she was pointing. "That place is heavily guarded."
"I do believe I can be of assistance in that particular area. I am familiar with the buildings security system, having worked there." Raven pointed out, "The passwords have undoubtedly been changed in the past five years, but I should be able to break it."
"What're you, a hacker?" Johnny asked sarcastically.
"Yes." She deadpanned. "Or rather, an expert on electronical devices and computer systems."
"Ah."
"If I can hack into their system and disable all door locks, then you, Mrs. Richards, should be able to go in and locate him."
Reed nodded in agreement. "I'll provide you with a tracking device, so you can alert the rest of us, when you find him." He told Susan, who nodded and looked at the map. "I think I'll need a map to find my way down there. Those underground labs are maces!" she pointed at the many tunnels, rooms and doors and Reed promised to put en electronical map into the tracking device, he was going to build.
"Then, when you find him, you'll alert us and we'll down there to help you guys out." Johnny finished. "This could work!"
"I should mention that there is a deadline." Raven suddenly said.
Everyone snapped their attention back to her. "Teresa gave me a week to.. finish the job, and that deadline is met tomorrow."
Well, hope you enjoyed it and please, leave a review!
