The mayor arranged for the Fantastic Five to receive the keys to the City as the inaugural heroes of New York after they defeated Doom. The party was to be held on the mayor's private yacht in New York harbour. Only a few acceptable journalists were invited to report on the event and many close friends of the mayor and the Fantastic Five were attending. Amera was already running late for the arrival time, but hopefully, she could make it to the wharf before departure time. She was standing in a designer's boutique, waiting to try on her dress. The designer specifically wanted to sponsor a dress for her, as she designed it with her in mind. Susan got her dress sponsored by another designer and was most probably already on the yacht. Amera had done her hair and makeup already and phased her nails into aluminium. She was dressed in jeans and a white vest, waiting patiently to see her dress. The designer came out, with the dress draped over her arms.
"Here it is." She smiled, handing Amera her dress. Amera gasped in surprise at how beautiful it was. It was green with beautiful diamante detail around the waist and hemline, and it was knee-length and strapless.
"Come on darling, you must put it on or you'll be late!" The designer shooed her in a fitting stall to get ready. Amera slipped off her jeans and shirt and got into the green dress carefully. She pulled the zip up the side and looked in the mirror with a wide smile on her face. It suited her amazingly well, despite the fact that only came for a fitting once. She put on her evening shoes on went into the store again, twirling around once for the designer to see.
"I knew it would suit you, but you should really hurry now…" The designer smiled and walked her to the door.
"Thanks, Vera! I'll be back for sure…" She said, grabbing her casual clothes that the assistants had put in a bag for her. She skipped quickly across the pavement to an awaiting Rolls Royce with her chauffeur holding the door open. Once she was in, he closed the door and hurried to his side to drive.
"Johnny, maybe she decided not to come…" Susan said to her brother, who was standing on the gangway looking to the wharf gates for Amera's car.
"She said she'd come. She had to pick up her dress." He said to Susan without looking away from the gate. Susan shook her head at him and went into the enormous cabin to speak to their guests. Johnny saw a pair of headlights enter the gate and head straight for the boat. A black Rolls Royce Phantom pulled up alongside the docks and the door opened.
"Hey Mike, you can just leave my clothes at the reception, ok?" Amera said to her driver before she got out.
"Sure thing, Miss Sigure. Enjoy the evening."
As Amera was about to get out of the car, a hand appeared at her door. She leant forward and there stood Johnny, a wide smile on his face.
"Nice timing, Miss Sigure. We were about to leave." Johnny mocked her. Amera pouted at him and took his hand, getting out the car. As soon as both of her feet were on the ground, she looked at Johnny to see how handsome he was in a tuxedo. He tilted his head at her and smiled, looking at her up and down.
"You look…beautiful." Johnny said in all sincerity.
"Thank you, Johnny. You look quite handsome too." Amera nodded at him with a smile. Johnny held out his arm for her to link into as they walked up the gangway and onto the boat. They had their photo taken as soon as they climbed onto the deck, and then the gangway was pulled back and the boat drifted away from the dock. The boat floated down the Hudson River and dropped anchor near Liberty Island, and then the official party started. The team received the keys to the city; and once the handing over ceremony was done, the champagne started flowing and the fireworks were being set off. The orchestra started playing lively music and the team had a wonderful time. Amera left the cabin for a moment, trying to get some fresh air. She stood on the starboard deck, looking at Lady Liberty staring out over the city. She could hear Reed and Susan somewhere outside as well, but she couldn't hear anything they were saying. Johnny walked up behind her and put a drink on the railing.
"I thought you disappeared there for a moment. Crowd getting too much?" Johnny asked, sliding the drink across the railing and into her hand. She picked it up and took a sip, smiling at him.
"Ah, you remembered I like non-alcoholic drinks."
"Well, it's hard to forget that fuss you put up at Pier 58. But, you didn't answer the question, is the crowd and press bothering you?" He asked her again, sipping his own drink.
"Well, they don't really bother me much, but I guess I'll have to get used to it." She nodded and looked at the Statue of Liberty again. Johnny looked up at Lady Liberty himself, and then back to Amera.
"Why the interest in the big missus here?"
"Ah, I was just wondering what she looked like when she first got to America; bright, shiny copper." Amera smiled looking back to Johnny.
"Hey, maybe one day you can move her if you really tried." Johnny joked, pointing to Lady Liberty.
"You never know, maybe I could." Amera nodded, thinking about it for one moment. She and Johnny turned around, leaning against the railing and looking into the cabin windows.
"So what happened to that guy you went to the charity gala with? The press keeps on saying you're an 'item'. I thought you'd bring him with…" Johnny asked, without looking away from the crowd in the cabin. Amera scoffed at the thought of what he just said.
"Uh…no. He was in it for the limelight. We're still friends, but that's it. I thought you didn't listen to everything the press said…" Amera joked, nudging him on the shoulder.
"Hey, I was just curious." Johnny shrugged.
"Talking about dates, where's yours for this evening? You always come with someone new…" Amera asked, raising her eyebrows at him. Johnny looked around for a moment and pointed out someone.
"Ah, there she is; the redhead…"
Amera looked into the cabin at the spot Johnny had pointed out. There was only one redhead in that direction, and she was flirting shamelessly with another guy at the bar.
"You mean the one at the bar…staring lovingly into that other guy's eyes? Looks like you're going home alone tonight, Johnny." Amera said, almost laughing. Johnny looked over to his date and saw what Amera meant, and cringed away.
"Oh well…win some, lose some." He shrugged. Amera looked back into the cabin at Ben and his date, Alicia, dancing in the cabin and smiled. She had only met Alicia briefly, but she knew she'd be seeing a lot more of her. Amera heard Susan squealing with joy somewhere in the front of the ship, and wondered what had happened. She and Johnny exchanged curious looks and walked to the front of the boat, to see Susan hugging Reed tightly. Susan spotted them and waved for them to come over to her. They complied with her instructions and went up to them.
"Hey, what happened, Sue?" Amera asked cautiously. Susan smiled widely and held out her shaking left hand; Amera saw a silver band with one solitaire diamond set on top on her ring finger.
"Did Reed…propose?" Amera gasped and Susan just nodded in response. Amera hugged Susan tightly and then crossed over to Reed to hug him. Johnny followed by hugging his sister as well and shaking Reed's hand.
"I never thought…that Reed would ever budge…" Susan gasped, on the brink of tears.
"I'm happy for you Sue, you really deserve it." Amera smiled at her. Amera and Johnny headed back into the cabin to get Ben and Alicia, to tell them the good news. As Johnny and Amera led them out to the deck where Susan and Reed stood, Johnny put his arm around Amera's shoulders and pulled her closer.
"Watch this; Ben's going to blow a fuse." Johnny whispered to Amera, which made her smile. Susan looked at Johnny with an angry and shocked face, but Ben didn't take to likely to the idea of having Johnny's arm around his little cousin.
"Get your hands off of my little cuz!" Ben shouted at him and ran at him. Johnny broke out laughing and flew off the edge of the deck, lighting up and flying into the sky. As he flew, he left a trail of fire behind him, forming a large '5' in the sky.