Disclaimer: I do not own the Fantastic Four. I believe they belong to Stan Lee and Marvel.
Authors Note: This is my first Fantastic Four fan fiction, so please go easy on me! Please read and review!
Chapter 1
"Just pay your damn electric bill and work on finding a cure!"
Victor Von Doom's menacing words still flittered around inside Reed's head. His confrontation with Victor occurred two weeks previously and he still kept thinking about it.
Reed was in his laboratory trying to think of ways to lower the electric bill. Maybe getting rid of unnecessary electrical appliances would lower the cost and ultimately save him some money on all the bills he still had to pay.
Because of his experiments with the simulated storm machine, it was sucking up more electricity than he wanted to think about. He was sitting at his desk pencil in hand and scribbling furiously.
"Let's see, we can get rid of the two extra radios, the satellite and resort to cable instead. Maybe get rid of that toaster oven…"
Ben came ambling around the corner and sat on a spare recliner made especially for him. He sat there watching Reed's concentrated expression before snapping his best friend out of his momentary haze.
"Whatcha doin buddy?"
"Brainstorming."
"I kind of figured genius," Ben smirked.
"Oh, well just making a list of electrical appliances to place in storage until we get all of the electric bills paid."
Ben snorted, "Yeah, maybe like another ten years from now. But yet again, we might just end up forgetting about it by then."
"You are so right! Good thinking Ben!"
"What did I do?" Ben looked absolutely bewildered.
"We can sell them instead and use the extra money for the bills!"
Sue entered just in time to hear Reed's latest exclamation. Unlike Ben, she knew what Reed was up to as far as the idea was concerned. She was the one that proposed it!
"I have another idea."
Ben and Reed turned in their seats to face her.
"Go for it."
"Sell the items but not like any ordinary garage sale. I say we all autograph them, that way we can make more money. I mean, just think about all the people that would pay big bucks just to see us in person!"
"That is a good idea."
The three sat down together and thought of as many necessities that they could live without. Right now they were debating over the toaster.
"I say we keep it! I like toast in the morning!"
"But out of the four of us you are the only one that eats toast on a regular basis! If you are desperate enough, you'll find another way to toast it," Sue argued.
"And how would I possibly do that?" Reed stubbornly insisted.
"You are the brainiac and the rocket scientist here! Figure it out!"
"It is not that simple!"
"Stop complicating things! Stick the stupid thing in the oven! It can't be that hard!"
Ben, although the odd one left out for the time being, always got a kick out of watching their arguments. Just seeing the two going at it was better than Saturday Night Live.
"You two sound like an old married couple!" Ben chuckled warmly. Apparently they hadn't heard him, or if they had they chose to ignore him. That's because they know it's true, Ben thought smugly.
Ben scanned the list to see what had accumulated since the argument began. So far the Fantastic Four was getting rid of two extra radios, the toaster oven, the satellite, the phone line (so they could only receive incoming calls), the electric razor, an extra lamp they didn't need, a curling iron, hair dryer, and now possibly the toaster.
Ben looked up and realized that the two had stopped fighting over the toaster and apparently made a compromise. From the sound of things, Reed would be having toast only three days out of the week. The other days, the toaster would stay unplugged.
"Hey, we could get rid of Johnny's playstation 2," Reed suggested.
"Oh you so did not say it!" Sue and Ben declared in unison, Sue turning a little pale and Ben looking a little sick.
"Johnny wouldn't hear of it!"
"Come on! Look at what we have sacrificed so far! The least he can do is give up his game console!"
As soon as the words had left Reed's mouth, Johnny came rushing into the lab. He had been in the kitchen making his lunch and watching TV in the living room. He wasn't at all interested in Reed's electric bill dilemma. Although when the other three's voices rose in intensity he decided to investigate in order to appease his curiosity. And unfortunately it was right when Reed suggested they get rid of his precious PS2!
"NO! You are SO not taking my PS2!"
"Come on Johnny, we need you to cooperate and help out! It is imperative that we lose all unnecessary electrical appliances in order to conserve electricity and ultimately decrease energy expenditure! You live here too and what is my problem, is your problem as well."
"You will not take my Playstation!" Johnny Storm was getting hotter as his anger rose.
He needed to cool down before he inevitably burst into flames. Losing his playstation was ONE thing, but destroying his brand new set of clothes he got the other day was something he absolutely would not be able to handle.
"You will not take my PS2. Don't even go near it!" Johnny angrily and stubbornly repeated before crossing his arms.
Later that night…
Reed and Ben were gathering up everything they had on the list for the garage sale. Reed, undaunted by Johnny's earlier threats about what he would do to him if he so much as laid on eye on his beloved game console, walked towards it nevertheless.
Johnny was being such a baby! Why didn't he just cooperate and realize that everything they were working for at the Baxter building depended on paying and keeping up with all of the electric bills? Their very lives could be at stake!
The last thing they needed was for the electric company or even Victor for that matter to completely cut off their electricity in the middle of his experiments with the machine! Reed was so close to making it work, he could feel it in his bones.
Reed was half-way across the living room and now only a few feet away from Johnny's Playstation.
"Hey man, I wouldn't go near it if I were you!" Ben warned from the couch where he was currently lounging and watching TV.
"Oh come on! Don't tell me that you are on his side!"
Then a sudden flurry dove past him knocking him off of his feet. Reed sat up in time to see Johnny run off with his PS2 looking to all of the world like a wild animal. Reed was a little taken aback and slightly disturbed at the crazed and insane look Johnny flashed back at him before reaching the safety of his bedroom down the hall, his Playstation clutched tightly to his chest.
Reed sighed. Teenagers!
Ben had been sitting on the sofa observing the entire thing. "I told you so."
"What?"
"Hey pal, I warned you not to mess with his Playstation. He takes it personal to the extreme! Messing around with it is like demolishing his car. And we all know how flame boy loves his ride."
"I suppose you have first hand experience," Reed grinned recollecting the day that Ben turned Johnny's car into a metallic ball.
Ben grimaced, also recollecting that incident. "Yes actually and believe me the consequences are not pretty."
Reed nodded thoughtfully before leaving. He was definitely locking his door tonight.
To be continued…