I own Fantastic Four. Not.
So many people asked me for a sequel, that I figured I'd do it. Oh, and people, loved all your reviews. Please keep 'em coming.
Ben Grimm was worried about the youngest member of the team, and he couldn't even bother trying to hide it. His biggest fear was that there would be a crisis-a falling bridge, maybe-that Johnny Storm would insist on going to help. And nobody would be able to stop him. That was one thing Ben really liked about the kid, he'd never give up on something once he set his mind to do it.
Right now, his mind was set on recuperating, but that wasn't as easy as one might think. First of all, he had all the symptoms of fierce pneumonia, coughing the guts out and all. Ben understood why. Johnny was a being of fire, both with his powers and with his spirit. Put him in a freezing room, and you could only be happy that he wasn't dead.
There was also the stressed bones. He had been put under electricity at least three times, and this process left even the genetically mutated bones the worse for ware.
The worst part was that Johnny's immune system seemed to have been compromised. Usually, pneumonia, even severe cases, wore off in a week or two. They were now pushing three and a half weeks.
For the first week, Johnny's fever refused to break. His normal temperature was around 205° F. At the worst of the fever, he had been pushing almost 270, which had the terrifying consequence of not only delirious nightmares where the poor kid still thought he was being tortured by the sick "doctor", but also meant that his body heat burned through every bed in the house.
But even though the fever had broken and his temperature, though still high, was somewhere near normal, all the symptoms refused to leave. Add that with the fact that Johnny could barely stand up and all the tiredness, and you've got one pretty messed up kid.
This was taking its toll on everyone. Reed and Susan, newlyweds, were worried sick about Johnny. The honeymoon had been postponed and Reed spent most of his time in his lab, Susan right next to him.
Ben spent most of his time with Johnny, trying to cheer the kid up. He always wanted to cry when he saw Johnny, because despite being sore every time he moved and having to almost starve to death because he couldn't stop coughing long enough to eat, Johnny was still optimistic. Still a kid.
And Johnny was still able to kick Ben's ass in Madden '06.
At the end of the fourth week, Ben's worst fear came true. There was a fire in an apartment building, with at least ten people trapped inside.
Johnny insisted on going, managing to keep the coughing under control long enough to argue with his sister, saying that his specialty was fire, so who better to put one out?
They reluctantly agreed to let him come. And that's where the battle for Johnny's life began. Again.
Okay, you asked for it, now please review, 'kay?