A/N: Well here's the next chapter a little earlier than I intended originally. This story is almost done actually and I figured I'd get the chapters out quickly so I can start a new story (I have already decided I won't manage more than 5 stories at a time since that is just insane to update more than that every week, or try to). My new story will be an American Pie one, based on characters from American Pie Presents Band Camp. It will tell about Matt Stifler and Elyse Houston's childhood so yeah. Its something I felt like doing. Anyways, MAJOR action scenes promised in this chapter, I swear. No crossed fingers, and if it will make you feel better, I cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye. Lol I haven't said that since the third grade... whoa, six years ago. I feel little again... anyways, here's the next chapter, enjoy.

Disclaimer: Fantastic Four belongs to Marvel, not me.

Fantastic Four: A New Addition

EilayAdnayVolieay

Chapter Ten: Sacrifice

Johnny had gone after Rhia, but he still had no idea where she was. He knew that Ben was probably angry at him, calling him thousands of names and not one of them would likely be nice. But Johnny couldn't help that. He wasn't sure why he had believed Rhia... she had already proved to be an excellent liar. She had just seemed so helpless... confused, unsure of what she should do. Maybe that was why... Johnny knew how it felt to be confused. If she had been lying... well, he just wouldn't think about that right now. He couldn't worry about it, right now he had to find her. He had a feeling she would return to the friends she called Ice and Jake.

After looking for well over three hours, Johnny finally got a lucky break. He saw Rhia sitting near the water in the park where he had first met her. Only then, she had been Becky— the waitress who worked at the café. Now she was herself, not pretending to be something she wasn't. Johnny flamed off and stopped near her. She glanced up and saw him standing there.

"Oh... its you. Listen, I'm sorry I left like that, I just... I didn't know what Ben would do and I thought it would be better if I just left. Maybe everyone would be better if I just left..." Rhia trailed off, and glanced out at the lake near the park. It wasn't an overly cheerful day, with no sign of a blue sky, and rain likely later on in the afternoon. But honestly, Johnny decided that Rhia's sudden depression would come to an end.

"Listen to me, Rhia, you need to realize that you aren't evil. You aren't like your friends, Ice and Jake. Maybe they aren't even evil, who knows? The point is, you made some bad choices in the past. Now you have the chance to make it better. Or you can stick with the path your on, but either way you need to make the decision yourself. Someday you'll realize you aren't meant to be evil, but that might not be for years yet. I don't know and I can't help you with that. But Rhia... you don't have a lot of time left." Johnny replied. Rhia sighed and didn't answer for a moment. Finally she smiled.

"Tell me something Johnny, when did you become such an expert on life, huh? Last I heard, you were the arrogant self-centered one that didn't care about other people that much, at least if it got in the way of the one you really loved: yourself." Rhia almost regretted what she had said the instant the words were out of her mouth. Johnny had been nice to her and was probably the only one who would have believed her story about being confused. It was the truth; and now she had just been harsh on Johnny about how he used to be. She opened her mouth to apologize, but he spoke first.

"I guess after I realized that I had put you before saving someone's life, before helping my friends, when I had just met you. Well, when I had just met Becky, I suppose. I haven't changed that much; I'm just... more considerate of other people now, instead of always focusing on myself. But... I left too, right after you did. I don't know what Ben, Sue and even Reed will think now. Probably Ben thinks that I really didn't change, that I just got worse. It will take awhile for him to see that I am more considerate, even if the rest of me hasn't changed that much." Johnny sat down next to Rhia and they sat in silence. Sometimes, silence is all a person wants... it can be comforting when you just need to be alone with your thoughts. And when you want to be able to think, but afraid of being alone, having someone else to just sit with is nice sometimes.

In the distance, Jake and Ice were watching. Ice was still refusing to believe what she saw— there was no way that Rhia could be a traitor. Rhia was her friend! She had trusted her... had she really betrayed that trust? Ice glanced at Jake and saw he was fuming; he had been right, but Ice had refused to believe him. Now maybe she would learn that you can't trust anyone. Not even him.

"That traitor! I told you, Ice, but you wouldn't believe me. Well? Do you believe me now!" Jake shouted. His voice had been so loud that it echoed across the lake they were at the other side of, and several birds flew out of the trees nearby. Ice sank back a little; Jake had never shouted at her before.

"Jake, I... you can't blame me for not wanting to believe she was a traitor!" Ice finally shouted back. He seemed shocked that she was still trying to defend herself in trusting Rhia. Couldn't she just admit that she had been wrong in trusting Rhia, and apologize to him? That's the way it should have been... so why wasn't it what was happening?

"Oh really? How do you work that one out?" Jake asked. Ice glared at him. She didn't like being treated this way... she had trusted Rhia because Rhia was her friend... her adopted sister. Because sometimes when you cared about someone, you just had to trust them. You couldn't exactly be looking over your shoulder your whole life— it just didn't work that way. Trust was needed if you wanted any relationship, as friends or more, to be successful. Did that mean that Jake wouldn't trust Ice?

"Jake, lay off okay! I trusted her because she's my friend; she's my sister! Not by blood... but in the heart. She was adopted by my parents, I've always trusted her even if I thought I shouldn't." Ice replied.

"Well haven't you heard the saying that blood is thicker than water?" Jake asked. Ice glared at him, a glare so cold that it did send shivers down Jake's spine.

"I hate you," she said finally. She couldn't believe it had come to this, but ever since they had finally been left alone to actually talk about their relationship, she had realized just how different they were. And how little he seemed to respect her and her opinions. Her thoughts; even her feelings.

"Ice... you don't mean that," Jake replied weakly. Ice shot out water from her hand that froze instantly. She hopped up on the top and turned to face Jake.

"Oh, but I do." She skated off on the ice over to where Rhia and Johnny were sitting. She needed an explanation; there had to be some mistake. Jake sat down, upset at what Ice had said. Had she truly meant it? No, Jake thought. She couldn't... if Rhia hadn't been a traitor in the first place, then maybe Ice wouldn't have said that. Rhia, and the Human Torch, will pay. Jake decided finally. He got out his phone and dialed his bosses number. After several moments he briefly asked for him.

"Yes. I believe the Fantastic Four will be here soon... perhaps it would be best if you were here to greet them. I'll deal with Rhia and the Human Torch. Bye," Jake tossed his phone in the water, and started making his way over to the docks that had boats. He would steal one, and meet Rhia, Johnny and Ice on the other side. And then, he would make Rhia pay. Ice couldn't possibly hate him anymore than she did now, so he had nothing to lose.

"RHIA!" Ice called out. She ran over to her after jumping off the ice she had come over on. Johnny stood up immediately, prepared to fight.

"Oh sit down," Ice told him tiredly. "I'm not here to fight." She turned to Rhia sadly, and sat down. "Why didn't you contact us? Why... why did you allow the Fantastic Four to know that you weren't Alicia?" Ice felt hurt... it was as if Rhia wasn't her friend anymore. They had had their differences, but... Ice always thought they were friends. Rhia smiled briefly but then looked out at the lake again.

"I... I can't do this anymore, Ice. I'm not like you and Jake. When I was with the Fantastic Four, I saw the people they really were. Without the powers... and— I became friends with them. I didn't tell anyone I wasn't Alicia, but Johnny confronted me about it. I suppose he found it easier to recognize after he learned that Becky was really me in disguise. Then Ben walked in and I fled; Johnny came and found me. I'm sure by now the rest of the Fantastic Four know that I'm not Alicia. But it doesn't matter... I can't fight with you, Ice. But I also can't fight against you. I refuse to... not you, not Jake. I just can't... but I can't fight against them either." Rhia sighed and picked at the grass. "I suppose that's why I didn't contact you... I wanted to tell you that I was having second thoughts, but then I knew you would only talk me out of it. I wanted to make the decision myself, not be guided to the decision others thought was best for me. And my decision is not to fight. And neither of you can talk me out if it," Rhia added as Johnny and Ice both opened their mouths to object. "This is my decision. And I've made it." She stood up and started to walk away when Ice grabbed her and hugged her.

"Rhia... please don't leave!" Ice cried out. There were tears in her eyes, cold as ice. Rhia felt terrible, but this was what she had to do. No matter what she did, she would be fighting against her friends. This was the only solution, no matter how dangerous it may be for her.

"I'm sorry, Ice. I'll always be your friend, but... this is what I have to do. I refuse to fight my friends, and if I were to fight for either of you, that's all I'd be doing. I'm not like you and Jake— I can't cause havoc anymore. It was fun at first, but... its not me." Rhia started to walk away when Jake jumped down in front of her.

"Ah, so you warned our traitor that I'd be coming? You shouldn't have done that Ice," Jake chastised. He stepped forward and grabbed Ice from behind Rhia. "Are you going to be a traitor to, Ice? You wouldn't go against our boss, would you? I believe the Fantastic Four will be pleasantly surprised when they see who he is." Jake added. Ice gasped.

"You called him?" she asked. Jake nodded and laughed.

"Of course! So who's side are you on, Ice?" Jake asked. Ice glared at him.

"I won't fight Rhia." she replied defiantly. Rhia shook her head.

"Ice, don't worry about me. If you want to fight with Jake, don't worry about me." Rhia begged. Ice looked at her, and shook her head.

"I won't fight you, Rhia. I can't— I won't!" Ice knew tears were streaming down her face, but she didn't care. Nothing mattered now except she was stuck in the same position Rhia had been— she couldn't fight her friends. What would Rhia think of her if she helped kill Rhia's new friends? Would she hate her? I'll always be your friend Rhia's voice echoed in Ice's head. She blinked away her tears and stood on Jake's side.

"I'm sorry..." Ice replied softly. "But this is who I am."

Meanwhile, Sue, Reed and Ben were having trouble finding Johnny. They had looked everywhere, but seen nothing so far. Sue couldn't believe that Johnny had so quickly reverted back to his old ways— it just didn't make sense. Could Ben's judgement be clouded by his concern for Alicia, who really was still missing? It was possible... Ben had said so himself.

"When I find that kid, I'm going to ring his neck," Ben growled, "For not telling me sooner that it was that Rhia girl disguising herself as Alicia. But... I do hope he isn't in any danger. If he's found Rhia... there's no telling what will happen. And as mad as I am at Johnny, I don't want the kid to get hurt." Sue smiled at the return of the old Ben. The one who still cared for Johnny even if he sometimes felt like killing him. If only they could find Johnny before he got hurt...

Johnny realized that he would have to fight Jake and Ice alone; Rhia refused to fight against her friends, and wouldn't. He was alone... he may be one of the Fantastic Four, but when they were split up... they weren't so fantastic anymore. He allowed the fire in his veins to consume him, and his arms were soon engulfed in flame. Ice smirked.

"You do realize, Johnny, that fire is nothing..." Ice shot water at his arms "when extinguished by water. You can't fight me. Why even bother?" Ice asked. Johnny dodged the ice she shot at him and thought quickly of a plan. As he was about to do the first part of the plan, Ice stopped him and shot water at him again.

"Johnny, Johnny, Johnny... didn't you know? Jake can read minds... and send telepathic messages. That I can receive, to stop you. I told you, you can't fight me. Give up," Ice replied. Johnny shot fire at her, and she was now starting to burn. She quickly extinguished it with water, but glared at Johnny. "How did you do that without Jake reading your thoughts?" Ice demanded. Johnny shot a flame out at her to surround her.

"There's a little thing called improvisation. Coming up with stuff off the top of your head, something I'm good at." Johnny replied. He tossed a fireball into the air that fell down into the circle. He heard Sue, Reed and Ben calling him and turned to face them— big mistake. Ice managed to extinguish the flame with the water in her veins, and was madder than ever at him. She shot out water, allowing it to freeze and she tried to move the sharp piece of ice directly at him, but Sue who noticed what she was doing, blocked it with a force field. They ran up next to Johnny and noticed Rhia staying out of it.

"Why aren't you fighting her, Johnny?" Sue demanded. Johnny looked at her confused. He was fighting Ice! He realized then that she meant Rhia, and he glanced at her.

"Let's just say Rhia isn't as bad as you originally believed. She refuses to fight her friends... and because she can't fight her friends, she can't fight at all." Johnny replied. Sue was shocked at this answer... Rhia thought of them as friends? There wasn't much time to think about this as Ice, getting frustrated, built up a cave of ice around them. It was completely blocked in and they had little oxygen inside. Johnny could just try and melt the ice, but it would end up sucking up the little oxygen that they had. Sue solved the problem by putting a force field around herself, Reed, and Ben. Johnny allowed the flame to completely engulf his body and he turned up the heat. He melted the ice and was gasping for air by the time they managed to get out. He fell to the ground, still trying to breathe. Sue's nose was bleeding but she wiped it with her hand and got ready to fight. She and Reed went after Jake and Ben went after Ice. Rhia crawled over to Johnny.

"Are you okay?" she asked. He nodded but still didn't have enough air to string two words together. He tried to stand up but fell down. He tried again and was able to stand. He started towards Ben to help him with Ice. Ben had so far managed to knock the ground out from under her, but she had frozen his legs so he couldn't move. Johnny shot out a small flame at Ben's legs to break them out of the ice. Ben was strong, but very sensitive to cold. It was a disadvantage, for sure. Finally, Ice faced Johnny.

"Huh. You again..." Ice raised her hands into the air, and suddenly the rain that had been expected to fall in the afternoon, was falling now in the early morning. Ice can control the weather? Johnny thought. He hadn't known that. Jake had obviously read his mind and replied, "She controls water, ice. She can shoot it out but being near a lake helps her, as does a soon to be rainy day." Johnny glanced over at the lake... he hadn't known she could control water as well. The rain began to fall, fast from the sky. There was so much of it that it was hard to see. The massive amounts of rain soon caused fog, which didn't help. Reed stretched and tried to fan the fog away, but he couldn't get it all. All of a sudden, there was a voice from behind them.

"Hello, Fantastic Four." The voice was familiar. As they all turned around to see who was talking to them, a bolt of electricity was sent Johnny's way. Rhia jumped in front of him, and fell to the ground as the electricity went through her entire body.

A/N: Well that's the end of this chapter. Was it good? I've never really done any action-y scenes that involved special powers. Guns, weapons, even just a regular fist fight, but never special power. It wasn't a lot but now that the familiar boss is there with the electricity, things will get more interesting. And... the big question some of you may have is... will Rhia be alright? I guess you'll just have to wait and find out. Don't forget to review!