Author's Note: Thank you for reading this if you are! The first chapter is from Ben's POV as an introduction to my OC, but from then on it will be the OC's POV with occasional Johnny POV :) Hope you enjoy
CHAPTER ONE
Josephine Winter
The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close, but an excited buzz hummed through the crowd that was gathered round the dusty motocross track in upstate New York. Dozens of brightly coloured motorcycles raced the winding course as heavy bass music pumped from a hefty sound system that stood in-between some rickety-looking bleachers, a young man dressed in shorts stood atop them, microphone in hand as he commented wildly on the current race: "Fuck me! Rory Sampson on thirty-six pulled a risky manoeuvre there, but it appears to have paid off! He's pulled out ahead of the cluster."
Reed Richards and Ben Grimm cheered along with the rest of the crowd, although Ben had no idea who he was cheering for – extreme sports weren't really his bag. He was here often enough to support Jo, though, so that when he'd entered the race track today with Reed, several people had waved and called him over to say hello. He'd known Jo for a long time now – seven years to be exact – since she was a fresh-faced cadet at NASA and he'd been her commanding officer. She was a good friend. Meeting up every Friday for a beer with Reed, Sue, Jo, Debbie, and a couple others had been the highlight of his week ... Ben missed those days – part of him believed that they all did.
Behind Ben and Reed, a burger truck had just pulled up and the smell of sizzling sausage and fried onion wafted up Ben's nose. God, he was starving. He looked at his watch and thought hard – it was close to dinner and Debbie would have something ready for him back home, but one hot-dog wouldn't kill his appetite...
"Come on," said Ben and he beckoned Reed to follow him. "Let's grab something to eat. I don't think Jo's up for a few minutes yet."
While he waited for his order, Reed started to fidget beside him, pulling at his jacket and repeatedly checking his watch.
"What?" asked Ben.
Reed stared at him strangely for a moment before he spoke.
"Do you think she'll agree?"
"Course she will," said Ben as he took his food from the vendor. "Do you really think Jo – a woman who lives, eats, and breathes aero-mechanics – would turn down something like this?"
"She probably has a better job lined up."
"Well, I happen to know she doesn't, and if she does, she'll drop it in a heartbeat for us."
"Right," said Reed, examining his hot-dog.
Ben sighed; he'd stand by this guy through anything, but he could be hard-work.
Hot-dog in hand, Ben started back towards the bleachers, Reed trailing along behind him.
"Which one is she?"
"Number thirteen," said Ben as he scanned over the couple dozen dirt bikes waiting impatiently on the starting line. "There she is! Come on, you'll want a good seat for this."
Thirty brightly coloured motorcycles vibrated loudly at the starting gate, riders egging each other on as they all took turns revving the clutch of their vehicle. Ben sat impatiently in the bleachers – hot-dog forgotten in his hand. Every race he felt the same: a mixture of excitement at the fun of watching Jo hurtle round the track, kicking every guy in her class's ass, and dread for the fear of watching Jo hurtle round the track, risking life and limb for this stupid sport. He was always glad when it was over.
A hush had fallen over the crowd as the commentator had named the participants of the race, but the noise had been replaced with what sounded like a stalling aeroplane as all the riders began to spur their engines on as one. The energy was almost too much to bare for Ben as it pressed down so hard on his chest that he could almost scream.
Then a high-pitched horn sounded from the commentator's stand and the motorcycles were quiet. Only for a moment though, as the gate promptly dropped with a loud crash and the riders were off.
Ben leapt to his feet with another cheer, Reed following suit a moment later.
"That's an excellent start from Rodriguez and Jackson!" exclaimed the commentator. "And there's Winter, keeping pace just behind."
Travelling at speeds close to eighty miles per hour, Ben could see Jo quickly pulling ahead of the group with three other riders, all of them hitting the corners and taking the humps with what appeared to be great ease. While the rest of the riders fell behind and became scattered throughout the track, Jo and her adversaries stuck close together.
"It's gonna take some gumption to pull ahead of this grouping: Winter, Rodriguez, Jackson, and Harris. Numbers thirteen, seven, twenty-two, and sixteen. Some of our best racers, everyone. Yeah, this is gonna be a challenge."
The commentator had spoken too soon. As the cluster of four took the next turn, one of the bikes couldn't quite hold it and spun off of the track at neck-breaking speed. They couldn't stop.
"There goes Harris. Holy shit!"
The bike had carried on spinning, rider firmly attached, until a ditch had blocked their path and sent them flying into oblivion. Harris was no longer visible. It was up to the commentator to reassure the frantic crowd.
"Paramedics are running to him now … and he's standing! He's alright, folks!"
Every person stood in the bleachers cheered, the outburst of emotion relieving some of the pressure that Ben felt building up inside of his body. He blew out a puff of air. Thank God that hadn't been Jo.
"Rodriguez is falling behind a bit, now; Harris's fall has definitely shaken him. Winter and Jackson take the lead!"
For two more circuits, 'Winter and Jackson' were neck-and-neck. Ben didn't know how either of them could push the other back and there was only two laps left of the race.
"This is actually quite exciting," said Reed, he looked like a kid at Christmas as he watched the motorcycles fly around the track.
"It's not over yet, Reed."
He hadn't taken his eyes off of Jo's bike since the race began. Every race was always worse than the last. Jo had gone too long without any accidents and Ben was getting nervous. The odds were beginning to stack against her.
"Woah, woah, woah," said the commentator. "What's going on there? Jackson's drifting a bit too close to Winter for my liking–"
Suddenly, Jo swerved her bike off to the side and crashed straight into one of the track barriers, flew over the handles of her motorcycle, and landed on her back in the dirt. Ben could see her body moving as if in a fit, her hand held up in front of her helmet. She'd been winded badly by the fall.
"Jesus!" screeched the commentator. "That was a dirty trick from Jackson! You've lost my backing, son … looks like Winter is out. Come on, Rodriguez! We're counting on you now!"
The crowd booed and hissed at the moving blur that was Jackson.
"That has to be a foul! Disqualify him!" shouted Reed, fists in the air. "He can be disqualified, can't he?"
Ben barely heard Reed's question. If it was possible, steam would have been rushing out of his ears. "The fucking bastard; I'll pound him into the ground when I get my hands on him."
But Jo wasn't going to be defeated that easily. From his place in the bleachers, he saw Jo jump to her feet and grab her bike. She mounted it quickly and flew back onto the track – Rodriguez just in front of her.
"Remind me never to piss that woman off!" said the commentator, laughing. "She's coming up to speeds of a hundred miles per hour; Jackson won't be able to stay ahead for long."
He was right. Jo was gaining dangerously fast on Jackson's number twenty-two bike. But as she came up behind him, she began to slow and match his speed, swerving side-to-side. Ben could see Jackson's helmet turning every which way as he tried to get a gauge on where Jo was and Ben's anger began to fade as he enjoyed the game that his friend was playing. He may not have liked the danger this sport presented, but he loved it when he and his friends could get their own back on the people who fucked them over.
After a few seconds of playing with her prey, Jo finally went in for the kill. She drove up closer to Jackson's bike and into his blind-spot – Jackson still trying to figure out where she was – and revved her engine as loudly as possible.
It worked.
Jackson was startled enough that he flicked the handlebars of his bike a little too much and lost his balance. He managed to keep upright, but it was too late – his bike had fallen off of the track and Jo was flying ahead of him, Rodriguez close behind her.
"And Jo Winter is our winner!" the commentator shouted. "What a show! And Rodriguez in second! Worthy winners, I say!"
The crowd erupted into deafening screams and applaud.
"Come on," said Ben. "Let's go see her."
He chose to ignore Reed's sudden apprehensive expression.
Ben watched happily as the number thirteen bike rode quickly to the holding zone, Rodriguez's number seven bike close at her side. They appeared to be chatting as they dismounted and removed their helmets.
His friend was decked out head to toe in protective leather – shiny black jacket, trousers, and gloves – that was stained with dirt and covered in brown dust. Her face was made-up casually and her long brown hair was pulled back into a high pony-tail. She stood tall and proud after her win, but there was something in the way she held herself … as if she didn't have a care in the world, yet her ice-blue eyes moved quickly over everything around her. It was almost like she'd spent so much time on her motorcycle that checking her surroundings for potential collisions had become second-nature.
"Jo! Over here!" called Ben.
His friend looked around at the sound of her name and smiled brilliantly when she saw Ben; Reed standing just behind him. She spoke to Rodriguez a moment longer, shook his hand, and then started making her way over.
"Reed!" she shouted, jogging up and enveloping the scientist in a very dusty hug. "How long's it been?"
"Nearly a year, I think," said Reed, smiling shyly.
"Oh, wow, it has been awhile, then," she pulled away from Reed with a smile and gestured back to the bleachers. They all moved to take a seat.
"When are you gonna be done with all this?" asked Ben, laughing, but every week he still wished he'd get a call from Jo telling him not to bother coming to the track because she'd gotten bored with racing and was going to find a less life-threatening hobby – like scrapbooking.
"Not for a while yet, Ben," she said, rolling her eyes with a bored smile. "You have a good time, Reed?"
"Actually, yes," he said. "It was really quite thrilling."
Jo laughed. Ben despaired.
"See! If Reed can get into this, Ben, you should too! You should come again, Reed – if you want, that is?"
"Thank you, I think I will."
Ben glared at Reed. He'd been relying on this famously risk-free man to help him knock some sense into his young friend.
"So, what's this proposal you have for me? Ben refused to tell me anything when he called."
"I've been conducting research into the possibility that a high-energy cosmic cloud born on solar winds–"
"Keep it simple, Reed," Ben interrupted.
"Yes ... well..." Reed stuttered. Ben could almost see the cogs turning in Reed's head as he searched for the right words to dumb down his experiment.
"I believe that early on in our history there was a cosmic storm which potentially triggered the evolution of early planetary life. In a few months, a similar cloud will pass the earth's orbit. This is an excellent chance to study how the cloud affected the structure of the human genome – our DNA – and that knowledge could be the key to curing diseases, making us stronger and healthier, and extending human life." Reed looked nervously at the both of them. "What do you think?"
"Sounds pretty brilliant," said Jo, quickly pressing her hands to Reed's shoulders. "I take it Ben will be piloting? So, what? You want me along for maintenance?"
"Yes," said Reed as he reached for his satchel. "But I'll also want your help. Some of the equipment I've developed is a bit temperamental; I'll need someone with a moderate understanding of the mechanics to help me develop everything and keep it up to standard. Do you think you'll be up to it?"
Reed handed Jo what looked to Ben like several extremely complicated-looking blueprints and she thumbed through them carefully, her brow furrowed and her eyes squinting.
"Yeah, should be no problem," said Jo and she handed them back to Reed. "Can you send me a copy of those? It'd probably be a good idea to study up on your toys beforehand; save any surprises."
"O-of course."
"Awesome!" she said, jumping off the bleachers and making her way back to her bike. "Call me with the details of everything when you can and I'll get ready."
All that said and done, she mounted her bike with the grace of a ballerina and took off down the track, clouds of brown dust blowing out behind her and hiding Jo Winter from view.
