Chapter 1: The Fantastic 4
There was no such thing as an early night for most New Yorkers. This included the occupants living in the Baxter Building. Long after the sun had gone down, Reed Richards remained in his lab. The living quarters were just a few stories below him where his wife, brother-in-law and niece were. They had agreed to a late dinner, Friday nights were football nights for Karla, so she came home after nine p.m. Kielar had gone to the Starks for the weekend after an argument with Johnny, something that had been escalating for some time. Reed had noted how much time the boy had spent with the other family, but remained silent, hoping that Johnny would attempt to fix things with him. Looking around, he quickly realized he was running late, and Sue would never let him hear the end of that.
Slipping his lab coat off, the scientist set it down on his chair before heading to the elevator. Once he arrived on the floor and stepped out, he smiled seeing his family. It had been difficult for a while. Franklin was away more regularly, and they rarely saw Mica. While the home seemed more empty, it remained lively. Karla always expressed herself animatedly, and her stories from her school life entertained them greatly.
It had taken a while to get used to seeing Johnny as a father. When Crystal had come to him to care for the twins, she had been very open about the reason, and that she was trusting Johnny. In retrospect, Pietro Maximoff had screwed up and Crystal no longer trusted him with raising children. It still blew Reeds mind that she had gone back to her ex husband. Though, it had been a blessing for Johnny. He had grown up and taken responsibility for two humans that weren't biologically his. It had made both Sue and Reed proud.
As they got older, the twins had shown such polar opposite personalities it was hard to keep up with. Karla was a social butterfly, and Kielar loved being around people to a point, but it had to be of his choosing. Karla always knew what she liked and told people exactly how she wanted something and never held back. Her brother, however, would change his interests and not stick to just one thing. It happened so often that Johnny stopped putting him into extra activities because of the boy changing his mind after just a week, becoming bored with it. This had disheartened Kielar, but he never complained, and started finding other ways to entertain himself, which led to Johnny doting on his daughter more.
When the fighting started, it was something hard for all of them. The first time Reed found Kielar in his lab, tinkering with a minor project, it had surprised him. The boy had been frantic before his Uncle reassured him it was fine. After that, if he wasn't with the Starks, he was in the lab. This was how Reed learned so much about his nephew. He had learned many things that not even Johnny had known. One of them being that Kielar was bi-sexual, and there had been some issues at school. This caused the arguing between him and his sister. It terrified him to tell his father, but felt comfortable telling Reed, who he knew would keep his confidence until he was ready to come out. The chats they had were always short, but they were always important.
Now in their family room there were four of them. Ben Grimm had opted out of tonight's dinner and instead remained at his own home with his family. Sue smiled seeing Reed walk into view. "Well, I guess I will let this slide since we haven't sat down to eat yet. Karla is still in her room. The game ran longer than usual, and apparently Kielar skipped out on the game again." his wife informed him.
"I think the coach is well aware of Kielar leaving the team Sue, maybe not the cheerleaders. He made that decision at the beginning of the year though. He tried to play through but you know how he is, if he doesn't want to do it he won't." Reed told her.
"More like if he stayed away from that Stark boy he wouldn't be influenced to quit." Johnny spoke up from the kitchen. "The kid is bad news and he will only bring Kielar down."
"Please explain to me how Captain America's son is a destructive influence." Sue challenged her brother. "There are so many worse people out there, Johnny, you need to let this go."
"Clone not son. He has more of Tony Stark in him than Steve Rogers, anyway. Failed clone if you ask me." Johnny said before Sue smacked on the back of the head. "What the hell."
"I never want to hear you speak like that. How can you be so closed minded with the world we live in Jonathan? That is Kielar's best friend, and you know what Steve and Tony went through after the government found out about Tommy."
"Maybe he should get a better friend." Johnny said, rubbing his head. "He's an instigator, and Kielar isn't even here; he's over at the Starks, again."
"You are jealous." Sue told him. "Tony has done so much for Kielar, so has Steve. You should be a little more grateful for the two of them. Your son has a place he can go after your fights with him. You know it isn't his fault he looks like Pietro, or that he has similar powers. You knew the moment you took the twins in that it was a possibility. I don't know why you want to fight now, when they are almost out of high school."
Reed sat at the table, letting the siblings argue. Looking up, he saw Karla walking out of the room and smiled. "Karla, how was the game?"
"We lost again because our new quarterback doesn't know any of the plays and Kielar is still being stubborn." Karla grumbled as she sat next to her uncle. "What are they arguing about now?"
"Parenting."
"Oh, goody." Karla rolled her eyes. "Daddy!" She called out. "Could you get me a glass of orange juice, please?" Sue and Johnny turned toward the table where they saw the smiling teenager, and Reed, who tried not to laugh.
"Yes Princess, I'll bring it to you." Johnny replied.
"Works every time." Karla smirked. Reed shook his head as Johnny walked out of the kitchen with the cup for his daughter. "Thank you. How was your day?"
"It was fine, how was yours?" Johnny smiled, sitting across from her as Sue sat across from Reed. "These dinners give Reed an excuse to work later, you know, he might not do so well when football season is over."
Karla laughed. "It was good, actually. We learned a new cheer, and I passed my English test today. I can't wait until I graduate though, the second semester will be such a rush. I can't wait for Prom. I think Kielar and Tommy will end up going together, I'm hoping Benjamin Worthington asks me, he would be a fantastic date."
"Worthington?" Johnny asked before pausing. "Wait, Kielar and Tommy are dating?"
"I mean its speculated, they are always together. You didn't know?" She asked him. "It's the big gossip at school right now since the picture circulated. Kielar hasn't really spoken to me much since then." Karla admitted.
"No, I didn't know." Johnny said. "How did I not know that my son is gay?"
"Bi-sexual daddy. He told me that himself. He's denying that him and Tommy are together, but I'm almost one hundred percent positive that they are, or will be."
"Maybe if you had more conversations with him, you would have known." Reed shrugged. "You know how it is, you said nothing to us, it just came out on its own."
"Look, that was"
"Wait, wait just a second." Karla said. "Are you telling me? Daddy, tell Kie, you don't know how terrified he is that you will reject him because of this. It would be such a tremendous thing. And after all this fighting since he tested his DNA, you guys need something to like bond over. You both are so stubborn. This could go on for ages."
"And this is why I call you out on your stupidity, Johnny." Sue smiled.
"So, who was it?" Karla asked, trying to get the gossip. "Was it someone I know, oh was it Bobby Drake? That would be a weird fire and Ice thing though, huh?"
"I don't think you know him. His name was Daken."
"Oh, Wolverine's oldest son, right? Yeah, I think we learned a bit about him. Didn't he like, threaten to blow up some buildings or something? I'm on this superhero kid message board and rumor has it he's with Bucky Barnes now or something. He apparently has a child too. Mohawk guy, right? Yeah, everyone thinks it's super adorable when he carries this tiny kid on his shoulders."
"Is this what you do in your free time?" Johnny asked as he ate, Reed and Sue both laughed. "Superhero gossip is really a thing for you kids?" he continued.
"Yeah, I mean, we don't hear it from all of you. Though most of the gossip revolves around the X-Men. I never knew there could be so many love triangles in one building. I mean, why not though? Did you know that a few years ago one student got kicked out for punching Scott Summers in the face? I'm kind of glad I don't go to that school."
"We wouldn't send you there sweetheart, we have trained you in using your abilities " Sue reassured her. "Though it would have done you some good to have other kids around you with abilities."
"I enjoy living a normal life though. If I went there everyone would know, I prefer just being me." Karla smiled. "I like the school I attend and…" She suddenly stopped and covered her ears as the security alarms blared all around her.
"It's midnight, what the hell is going on?" Johnny asked. "Karla, go.." He started before yanking her from her chair and pulling her behind him as the military came out of the elevator. Johnny stayed between them and his daughter, observing as they filed into the room.
"We are here to collect Kielar and Karla Storm and take her into custody by order of the president." One man stated.
"Like hell you are!" Johnny yelled. "Stay the fuck away from my kids, you assholes."
"What is happening?" Sue questioned, and they turned the guns on her. She put her arms in the air. "You came into our home demanding to take a member of our family."
"We are to collect all known mutants and move them to an upstate community." the man spoke once more. "Karla Storm has shown signs of having gained abilities within the past few years. We have made the assumption that her twin brother has abilities as well and will be tested. If the tests are negative, we will return him to you."
"Daddy." Karla said, gripping Johnny's shirt.
"Princess, I need you to step back." he instructed. Karla slowly took a few steps back before her father lit up in flames. It had been awhile since she had seen him use his abilities. Most of the Fantastic Four had stepped down in their roles as superheros. "Come through me first." he said before shooting flames toward the soldiers. The soldier's moved forward, only to hit an invisible force field. Johnny remained on fire, but now his sister stood between him and the others.
"I don't think you want to do that." She said, hands up as she continued to hold the shield. "Now, you are going to explain exactly what you are doing, invading MY home!" Sue yelled.
"At 11:59 p.m the president signed an executive order concerning mutants and their right to live among normal humans. They are to be relocated in a designated community upstate and monitored." A soldier spoke. "If you do not comply, we will be forced to arrest you."
Reed moved near Karla and glanced at Johnny, who had a hand on her arm. "Johnny, get her out of here" he instructed his brother-in-law.
"That is not a wise choice."
A moment later Johnny's vision blurred, and he went down without warning. When he opened his eyes again, Reed held Sue's unconscious body in his arms as he sat up. "Where is she? Where is Karla?"
"They took her." Reed stated.
"Then we will have to get her back." Johnny hissed as he looked at Sue, rage filled him. "They messed with the wrong family."
A.N.
I have 2 more chapter I will post soon! They are complete and ready. I just do not want to post too many back to back! Hope you enjoyed please leave a review and let me know what you think.