Fantastic Secrets

The Fantastic Four, and all associated characters are property of Marvel.

/+/+/+/+/

"Well, if this ain't a fine mess you got us in, Hothead."

Johnny Storm scowled, hands on his hips as he turned to face Ben Grimm. "Like hell, rock-breath! This is your fault and you know it!"

"Boys, please," Johnny's sister, Sue, said with a loud sigh. "Blaming each other won't get us out of here any quicker."

"Sue's right," Reed Richards, previously stretching his body around the ceiling, coiled back down to his human shape. "Our efforts would be better spent finding our way out of here." He frowned, looking around. "Although this may be one of the strangest rooms I've ever been trapped in."

Strange was underselling it, in Johnny's opinion. The room covered floor-to-ceiling in gray marble, light shining from some unknown source. The door they all entered vanished the second they looked away, and they could neither find another exit, nor melt nor bust their way out. It was surreal. It was bizarre. It was…

Johnny slumped against the wall. "Ah shit."

"What is it Johnny?" Sue asked.

"Magic," Johnny forlornly replied. As soon as he said the word, there was a bright flash of blue light. Strange symbols floated in the middle of the room. The way they were spaced meant they were some sort of sentence, but Johnny couldn't hope to understand what it meant.

"Reveal unto each other your deepest secrets, and walk together into the light," Ben suddenly said. Johnny turned to him with wide eyes. "What?"

"You can read that?"

"It's Ancient Greek, Johnny, not rocket science."

"But we're in Colorado."

Ben threw his hands up. "So? This is magic, numbskull. If it were easy to understand we'd just call it science."

Reed hummed, glaring at the floating letters like they stole his lunch money. "There must be another way around this!"

"Reed, calm down" Sue placed a hand on his shoulder. "This isn't the first time we've been caught flat-footed by some magic spell."

"No, but it's the price that this spell is demanding that aggravates me so."

"It's not that bad," Sue teased.

"Sue's right, Reed," Johnny said. "We just need to tell each other a couple secrets. I'll start." He cleared his throat. "Ben, you know how a lot of your beer's been stale right outta the case the last couple months?" Ben nodded hesitantly; eyes narrowed. "I've been opening them up and then resealing them once they fizz out."

Ben gasped. "You dick—do you know how many customer service people I've yelled at because of that!"

"Hilarious, I know!" Johnny smirked at Reed. "See, easy."

But Reed shook his head. "That's not going to work Johnny. Think of the wording. It needs to be a deep, terrible secret. Something that none of us know about the other. That we would take to our graves" Johnny's face fell. That…That changed things.

They all stared at each other, nervous. They were the Fantastic Four—family—but even the best families kept things from each other.

"I-I'll start," Sue said. She took a deep breath. "I…Okay, you all remember when I became Malice." They all nodded, Reed looking especially stricken at the reminder of Sue's fabricated, violent personality. "Well…While I was Malice I…I…" She took turned down to the floor, and with a whisper, confessed. "I enjoyed it."

They all stared at her. Johnny gulped. "You…enjoyed it?"

Sue looked up to meet him, guilt and shame clear across her features. "Yes. Deep down, in that horrible, out-of-body experience I had watching her trample everything in her path I felt…Happy. Happy that some part of me could finally just let loose."

"Susan?" Reed asked in a soft voice.

She clasped her hands over her chest. "I love you all so much, you have to know that. The lives we've built—Franklin, Valeria—I would never trade it away for anything. But fuck!" They all jumped at the sudden declaration. "Do you know how stressful and horrifying it is? How stressful you all can be?!" She pointed to Reed. "A husband so wrapped up in his own ideas he ignores everything else?" To Johnny. "A reckless little brother that follows his dick or ego every chance he gets?" To Ben. "A friend that wallows in misery, and refuses to even entertain the mere thought of happiness? I just—" She wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "It was…fun…to not care, to let loose. Horrible, terrible, freeing fun."

The words in the center of the room glowed, and the Greek symbol for the number '1' floating above them.

But Johnny forgot about all that when he saw his sister holding back tears. He was on her in an instant and wrapper her up in a tight hug. He spared a quick glance to Ben and Reed. Ben leaned against a wall, staring down at his rocky fingers. He looked like he wanted to cry. Or scream. Reed…he stared blankly at Susan—about to enter another one of his self-loathing periods, by the look of it.

So, Johnny decided to do what he did best—make a scene.

"I sincerely believe Spider-Man would be a better fit for this team than I am," Johnny declared. Sue stilled in his arms, and Ben and Reed gasped.

Johnny stepped away from his sister and, barreled forward, not looking at anyone. "I mean, think about it! He's just…better than me!" He threw his hands in the air. "He can keep up with all of you when you start talking science. He's so much more patient when dealing with people. Kinder too—you've seen how he is with Franklin and Val." Johnny ran his hands through his hair. "And he's had it way tougher than me in pretty much all aspects of life and he's still this fantastic, amazing man and I just…I just…I'm nothing compared to him."

He had mentioned his jealousy to Spider-Man, back when the man revealed his identity as Peter Parker. He'd admitted to feeling jealous of Johnny too; specifically, that Johnny could live a fantastical, inter-dimensional life with 'none of the responsibility'. And if that didn't just stab into his heart with an ice-cold dagger.

The words in the center glowed, the symbol for '2' appearing above them.

He didn't know he'd been crying until he felt Sue wipe tears off his face. She didn't say anything—just brought his head down to her chest and hugged him tight. Like when they were kids.

Ben stepped away from the wall, wringing his hands. "I wish you'd've told us this sooner, both of you." He heaved a great sigh. "This…You two don't need this weighing you down. You're better than this—you're too good for this."

"Ben's right," Reed said, face set into a frown. He moved closer, gently grabbing onto Johnny's shoulders and forcing them to look eye-to-eye. "I am fond of Spider-Man—we all are, he's family. But he's not you, Johnny. He lacks your passion, your thought processes, your beliefs. We all can get lost in our own minds—me especially. You ground us in ways I can't even begin to describe." Johnny sniffed, and sent Reed a shaky, grateful smile. Reed smiled back, squeezing Johnny's shoulders.

His smile faltered as he let go of Johnny and moved onto Sue. "Oh, Susan." He swept her into a grand hug, and kissed the top of her head. "I am sorry that you've held this inside you for so long. I'm sorry that I've not noticed this struggle within you—been open enough to discuss it with you." He pulled back, and tilted Sue's head up by her chin. "You're the light of my life—my motivation to unearth all the secrets of the universe." Sue let out a choked laugh, before reaching up and kissing her husband. It was a desperate kiss—the kind that Johnny would have mocked to no end if they weren't locked in a room thanks to bullshit magic.

When they pulled away, breathless and red-faced, Reed closed his eyes. "You're a good person, Sue. Never forget that." He hung his head. "Better than me."

"Oh Reed," Sue sighed in exasperation. "Don't you start." She tried to laugh, but the look on Reed's face stopped that right away.

Reed took a deep breath, rolling his shoulders. When he opened his eyes, he looked at Sue, Johnny, and Ben. "…I rigged the selection process for the crew of our spaceflight."

"What're you talking about?" Ben said. "Reed, we've been over this. Yes, you messed up, but it was an accident. And I volunteered for that mission. If I were going to blame anyone for aside from myself for not being a better pilot, I'd, honestly, blame Susie for goading me into it." Sue nodded along with Ben's words.

But Reed just shook his head. "I'm not talking about you, Ben." He stared at Johnny, who goggled.

"Wha—me?"

Reed nodded.

Sue frowned. "Reed, I was part of the selection process for the civilian mechanic. Johnny did have the least technical experience among the applicants, but his skill was—is—second to none. We weren't biased, even subconsciously."

"No, Sue," Reed pulled away from her. "It was a conscious decision. There was actually a third qualifier that Johnny should have been disqualified for, regardless of his prodigious technical skill—temperament."

Johnny blinked. "W-Wait, Reed, what are you saying?" His voice came out smaller than he intended. That flight…being chosen for it was one of the few things he was truly proud of. And Reed was telling him, what, that he hadn't actually earned it?

Reed took a deep breath. "There were three men chosen above Johnny. As the head of the project, it was up to me to develop strategies in the event of emergencies. To either prevent or circumvent them. But as I was devising these scenarios with each man, I came across a…disturbing revelation." His face fell. "Every plan I made, resulted in those men's deaths."

They all stared at him. "What're you saying, Reed?" Ben asked.

"I mean…Whatever plan I developed, whatever series of steps I calculated, the men would die, so you, Sue, and, sometimes even myself, would live." Reed ran a hand down his face, his skin stretching like putty before snapping back into place. "Despite my best efforts, on some basic, subconscious level, I could not put him equal to my best friend, or the woman I loved."

Johnny gulped, having a terrifying idea where Reed was going with this. "But me…?"

Reed smiled without any warmth. "But you…I started dipping into the younger candidates—I'd originally thought my subconscious bias was age. But I still would have killed those people. Then I found you, and suddenly, everything fit. Acceptable outcomes formed. Outcomes which guaranteed the safety of Sue, Ben, and the 'randomly selected' engineer." Johnny couldn't help but notice that Reed left himself out.

Reed's face fell—twisted into shame and grief. "And I still failed."

The words in the center flashed once more. 'Three'.

Johnny didn't know what to think. Perhaps somewhere, deep down, he always questioned why he, of all people, was chosen for the flight. But he'd always thought the most Sue—not even Reed—did was put in a good word for him. Not…Not this.

"Reed," he began, but stopped short. Where to even begin? Not even Sue knew what to say, torn between comforting her brother and her husband.

Ben picked up the slack. "All that proves, Reed, is that you have a heart."

"It's not that simple!" Reed scowled. "I was in charge of the project from the beginning! I knew what needed to happen, the risks involved. But when it came down to the wire I would, what, let people die to assuage my own feelings? That's—"

"Human," Ben cut Reed off. "It's human, Reed. Despite your best efforts, you're not a machine. Besides, it's not as if you meant to hurt anyone."

Reed shook his head. "But I would have! If it meant keeping you and Sue safe, I would have—"

"But you didn't!" Ben bellowed. He jabbed a finger in Reed's chest, caving it in slightly. "The minute you knew something was wrong, you worked to fix it. Because you knew that your gut instinct was wrong. That you couldn't—wouldn't—hurt anyone for some stupid, petty reason!" They all frowned at the declaration. 'Petty'?

Ben stilled as he registered his slip-up.

Reed gulped. "Ben. What is it?"

Ben wrung his hands together, bits of dust falling to the floor. "…None of you ever meant to hurt anyone, you know? All these things you've kept chained to your hearts; they don't really affect another person. Not even yours, Reed," he said when Reed opened his mouth. "But mine…I was angry. Pissed."

Sue stepped forward. "Ben, what is it? Please, tell us. We won't think any less of you."

Ben looked at her mirthlessly. "…I…Reed, you remember Doom's experiment, back in college?"

Reed nodded. "Of course. It blew up in his face." Reed's face fell. "Oh…Oh, Ben, are you telling me—"

"I sabotaged the thing," Ben confessed. He turned away from them, curling in on himself. "I just…I hated the man, you know? He was always putting you down, Reed. 'Cause we were poorer then him, or 'cause he couldn't stand the fact that you're as smart—smarter—than him, or some other stupid reason!" His voice fell to a whisper. "So I just…messed with it a bit. Pulled some wires, loosened some bolts. I just wanted to see his face when it did nothing—watch him make a fool of himself. I-I didn't mean for it to blow up on him. I wanted to hurt him, but not like that!" He looked over his shoulder at them, tears in his baby-blue eyes. "Everything that happened after that? All the evil he's done? It's my fault."

The fourth flash of light was the brightest, drowning them all in white. When it died, an archway appeared in the wall nearest Ben.

Ben sniffed. When he spoke, he was unable to hide the rawness in his voice. "So, uh, what were we doing here again? Something about some ancient Kree vessel or something?"

Reed stepped forward; hand outstretched. "Ben, what happened with Victor—his choices aren't your fault. Regardless of the accident. Besides, I'm certain he checked over his machine before turning it on after you…" he trailed off.

But Ben shook his head, and stepped away from Reed. "No, he didn't. I knew he wouldn't, after he blew up at you after you mentioned potential errors. He was so confident in his own success—in his sheer need to put you down—that the idea that he might be wrong never crossed his mind. I knew it wouldn't—that's why I messed with the machine in the first place." He shuddered, and stared down at his hands. "I'm…I'm a terrible person. I deserve to be like this."

Johnny stared helplessly at his family—everyone was crying, and he wanted to scream. To curse and throttle whatever sick bastard set this thing up in the first place.

But he couldn't do that, so he did the next best thing. The thing he did best.

He burst into flames, fire shooting out from his head and crawling along the ceiling. Sue bit back a curse, shoving her hands up and forming a shield around her, Reed and Ben. Reed and Ben stared wide-eyed at Johnny—and the fact that neither said anything showed just how out of it they really were.

Johnny kept up the fire for another few seconds. "Have I got everyone's attention?" They all stared at him. "Good, good…" He trailed off, unsure what to do now that he actually had their attention. He just wanted to distract them all, really. They made some mistakes—or in Johnny's case, held too deeply to his insecurities—but it's not like they meant any harm. Even Ben just wanted to embarrass some jerk. And frankly, the three of their 'secrets' were heaps more excusable than his own.

And like a bolt of lightning, it hit him.

"Listen up!" He clapped his hands together. "I'm only going to say this once." He took a deep breath. "Get over yourselves."

"Excuse me?" Reed said, nonplussed.

"You heard me, egghead!" Johnny pointed at his sister. "You basically took a vacation." At Reed. "You were trying to keep as many people safe as possible." At Ben. "You were keeping your friend's back." Himself. "I'm an insecure loser."

He spread his arms wide. "Who's more pathetic, huh?"

"What?!" Sue, predictably, shrieked. She stomped forward, face set in a fierce frown as she cupped his face. "Johnny Storm, you are not pathetic. Don't you ever say that!"

"Where's any of this even coming from?" Ben said. "You're a good person Johnny."

"Am I?"

"Yes!" Reed replied.

"Really?"

"Yes!" his family shouted at him.

"Why?"

"'Cause you are," Ben said with a roll of his eyes. "The hell kind of a question is that?"

"So if I'm good"—Johnny began—"and Science says that similar things like to stick together, then that means the you guys are good too, right?" Johnny's lips curled into a smirk as his family caught onto his plan.

Reed chuckled. "That's a gross oversimplification of a great many theories and laws, Johnny."

His grin widened. "But I'm righ—hey!" he said when Sue tweaked his nose.

She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Oh, you're impossible to live with sometimes."

"I keep telling you two to kick him out," Ben said, visibly fighting a smirk. "It ain't right for a kid to mooch off his sister and her husband for so long."

"At least I'm directly related to one of 'em," Johnny bit back. "What's your excuse, Uncle Joey?"

"I actually earn my keep." Ben's no longer held back his smirk "Don't spend my free time mooning over Spider-Man."

"I don't moon over him!" Johnny spat.

"You have rather sizeable collection of Spider-Man memorabilia," Reed chimed in with a laugh.

"And don't think he didn't tell us about the time you lived together," Sue said, one eyebrow cocked, a wide grin on her face. "A shirtless apron, really?"

"Don't try and pervert something beautiful!" Johnny tried to frown, but couldn't help but laugh at the cheer on his family's faces. "If you're done mocking my totally normal friendship—"

"Never," they said in tandem.

"—why don't we do what we came here for?" Reed nodded, him and Sue leading the way forward under the arch.

Ben stepped in after them, but did stop for a moment to place a hand on Johnny's shoulder. "Thanks," he said, voice soft.

Johnny smiled back. "I meant every word."

/+/+/+/+/

A/N: The thing about Ben sabotaging Doom's experiment is still canon, as far as I'm aware. Everything else I just made up.