TOW the Secret Identity Chapter 2, a friends fanfic

A/N: Oopsie, I'm pretty sure I made another mistake. Was Marsha a psychologist in the movie, or a physiologist? Now that I think about it, it makes more sense if she was a physiologist. Can someone who saw the movie please help me out here? Thanks!

Chapter 2

Bursting into the apartment, Joey ran past his friends in the kitchen and straight into the bathroom.

Monica and Chandler traded bemused smiles. He knocked on the bathroom door. "Joe?"

"Toilet in mine is clogged. Ya mind? I'm tryin' to do my business!"

Chandler went back to sit at the kitchen table, muttering, "God forbid I wonder why someone needs to use my own bathroom!"

Laughing, Monica stood. "So, what do you want for breakfast?"

"No no no no no!" Chandler pushed her back down, himself going to the stove. "You, sit!"

Monica stared at him. "Excuse me?"

"I meant…" Chandler placated, "You are an injured superhero. Injured superheroes need their boyfriends to wait on them until they get better. That way they can go back to preserving justice and all that crap."

Monica held up a hand. "Sh! Joey can hear you!"

"No he can't. When Joey's focusing on one thing, it's near impossible for him to focus on anything else," Chandler reassured her.

"Oh." Monica grinned, putting her feet up on the chair opposite her. "In that case, I'll have poached eggs and corned beef hash."

Chandler looked at her. "Mon, this is me we're talking about. I don't even know what 'poached' is."

"In that case, regular scrambled eggs and toast would be great, thanks honey," Monica replied.

They were about to sit down to breakfast when there was a knock at the door. Chandler went to answer it before his girlfriend could get out of her chair. He didn't recognize the man at the door, but he thought the guy was a dead ringer for Tim Allen. "Can I help you?"

"Ah, yes, um, does Dr. Marsha Holloway live here?"

Chandler was sure his face whitened. "W-why do you want to know?"

"Chandler, sweetie, who is it?" Monica had gotten up, but froze when she saw who was at the door. "Oh my God, Jack. What…"

"Am I doing here? I was about to ask you the same question," Jack Shepard strolled into the apartment uninvited.

Monica took a few steps back, her hand reaching up for glasses that weren't there. "How did you find me?"

"Your license plate," Jack explained. "I've been worried about you since you…were hurt."

Monica put a hand on her hip. "Thanks, and I'm fine, but…my license plate?"

"The one on the Porsche you drove to the office a few weeks ago," Jack answered. "I took that, searched through the database. You said you lived in New York City, so it wasn't too hard. By the way, who's Monica Geller? A cover?"

Lowering her eyes, Monica answered, "No, Jack. Marsha Holloway is my cover name. I'm Monica Geller."

"What?"

Chandler chose this moment to remind them of his presence. He stuck out his hand. "Hey, I'm Chandler, and I don't know about you, but boy am I uncomfortable!"

"Oh my God, Chandler, I'm sorry! Jack, this is my fiancé, Chandler Bing. Chandler, this is Jack Shephard...someone I work with."

Jack kept one eye on her as he shook Chandler's hand. "Fiancé? I don't understand…"

"Neither do I, but apparently she digs me," Chandler quipped. "So, are you a superhero too?"

"Chandler!" Monica yelled.

Jack rounded on her. "First you lie to me, then you spill your guts to your boyfriend over here? What's next, calling up CNN and giving them the names of the whole team?"

"How can you say that? You know I would never…" Monica began.

"How would I know that, when everything I thought I knew about you was a lie?" Jack demanded. "The team trusts you, Marsha…I mean, Monica. How are they going to feel about this?"

Monica put her head in her hands. "I'm so sorry! Just let me explain!" She then went on to tell him how she had been determined to keep her superhero life and regular life separate. Also, she revealed how she had gotten special permission to tell Chandler, and that he would never tell anyone.

Jack massaged his temple. "Marsha…Monica, I'm sorry. I just don't think the team's going to be able to handle this. Trust is big in our business; you know that. As team leader, I say that you're officially suspended until further notice. Don't worry, I'll explain everything to the kids."

Monica gasped. "What? Jack, no, you can't do this!"

"Please, think it over!" Chandler begged.

Jack pushed up from the table and went to the door. "I'm sorry, Monica."

As Chandler comforted his fiancé, Joey stood in the bathroom, shocked more than he'd ever been in his entire life.

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A few weeks later, Joey was pacing his apartment. Keeping Monica's secret had been driving him nuts.

At least when he was covering for her and Chandler's affair, he had been able to talk to them about it. Now, he had this huge secret, and he couldn't talk to anybody. It was eating him up inside.

This was also ten times worse because of how important it was. With their romance, if he blurted it out to the others it wasn't that big a deal. It was amazing news, sure, but put in perspective, it paled in comparison to this. If he spilled the info, he'd be putting his friends in danger. Not to mention he really didn't want to get beat up by Monica. She was freakishly strong before, but after finding out she was Hurricane…well, he didn't even want to think about what she could do to him..

Plus, he felt really bad about her being suspended from the team. He wanted to comfort her, tell her everything was gonna work out fine. It getting harder not to say something all the time. Monica had been so depressed since then, without her usual spark of energy. He could tell Chandler was doing his best, but Joey longed to be able to help.

It was worse that the rest of the group had no idea. Zoom team fights with Volcano had been increasing, and therefore the conversations about superheroes among the oblivious three increased as well. There was even talk about why Hurricane has been MIA.

He and Chandler would try to change the subject, but Monica would still make up an excuse to leave the room. He'd lost track of how many times she'd run out of the coffee house in tears, Chandler not far behind.

There was an inner debate going on about whether he should just tell Monica and Chandler that he knew. But whenever he almost had the courage, he would talk himself out of it.

"Hey Joey."

Joey turned to find Ross walking through the door and tensed. "Hey." He had at first automatically assumed that Ross was in on the secret too. Then, after a few comments, and the fact that Ross joined in on the conversation, he had decided otherwise. That had been another unpleasant surprise.

Ross sat at the island, rubbing his forehead. "I just tried to talk to Monica. She won't budge! It's obvious that Chandler knows, but why won't she tell her own brother?"

His heart going out to Ross, Joey choose his words carefully. "Dude, don't worry about it. She'll be fine. She has to be."

"What if she doesn't get over whatever's bugging her? What if she gets so depressed that…" Ross trailed off, shaking his head. "I want to be able to help her so bad, Joe!"

Joey nodded. "I know. It's killing me too. It's killing all of us. Rachel and Phoebe can't get through to her either."

"But what could be so bad that she wouldn't even tell us?" Ross wailed. "One day, she was fine! Then all of a sudden she's an emotional mess!"

"I don't know, " Joey lied, feeling worse every second.

Ross folded his arms on the island counter. "I guess we should have seen this coming. She was so 'out there' for months, and now this….I should have done something sooner."

"Ross…"

Shaking his head, Ross admitted, "You know what I did? I got so worried about Monica that…I called Mom and Dad and told them what's been going on."

Joey's eyes widened. "Dude, if she finds out she'll kick the crap out of you."

"I know, and I really regretted it afterwards, but I felt like at least it was something," Ross sighed.

Joey finally went over to sit at the island. "Ross, she'll deal with this. Have you ever known Monica to stay down for long? In fact, I'm a little surprised she hasn't bounced back from this…thing already, whatever it is."

"'Whatever it is.' I need to know! What happened?" Ross moaned.

Joey hesitated, desperately trying to get rid of the thought that had just entered his mind. No! You can't tell Ross! It's ban enough that you know when you're not supposed to! If she finds out you told Ross, she'll never trust you again! Still, Joey glanced left, then right, and leaned so that his face was less than a foot away from his friend's. "Ross, what I'm about to tell you is gonna be really hard to believe, but…"

"How about this?" Rachel grabbed a skirt from the sales rack and held it up.

Monica didn't even pretend to consider it. "No."

"This?" Phoebe took out a shirt.

"No," Monica breathed. She felt her patience wearing thin, but told herself to put on a smile. It was obvious that her friends had dragged her on this shopping expedition to lift her spirits.. Maybe if she pretended to feel a little better, they would leave her alone.

Rachel put a hand on her hip. "Come on, Monica! Cheer up! We're doing our best here. You have to at least meet us halfway."

"Rachel!" Phoebe chided.

"No, she's right," Monica replied. "You guys have been trying. I'm sorry about the mood I've been lately."

Phoebe put a hand on Monica's shoulder. "No! Don't apologize, okay? Just, please, dear God please tell us what's wrong!"

"I wish I could." It was true. She really wanted to tell her friends what was going on. She knew she'd feel so much better. But she also knew that telling her two best female friends would make her situation a million times worse.

Over the past month or so, she had been desperately trying to reach the team. But when the Center blocked her calls, and she had no idea where her teammates lived it was near impossible. She had even gone to a few fights and waited until they were done. Yet somehow, they always disappeared before she could even get near a member.

Rachel caused her to snap out of her out of her reverie. "Why can't you tell us? You know we'd be supportive."

Phoebe nodded. "Yeah! Look how good we were when we found out about you and Chandler!"

"Nobody move!"

The three jumped, turning to the voice. It belonged to a man dressed in dark clothes and a ski mask. In his hand was a gun, and it was pointed at the terrified worker manning the cash register.

Monica let out a breath while her friends hid behind a clothing rack. She could be a regular civilian and wait until the police got here. But there was a reason she was a superhero. She couldn't stand and watch. She had to do something.

She almost attacked the guy, but remembered that she wasn't in her superhero costume. Groaning, she realized she would have to fight him as regular old Monica. But how could she do that, when the store was filled with people, two of which were her best friends?

"Oh my God!" Rachel whispered, in near tears. "What are we going to do?"

Phoebe put an arm around Rachel's shoulders. "What else can we do? We gotta sit here and wait for the police."

Monica waited, but not for the police. Maybe if he grabbed the money quick and ran, she could make up some excuse and go after him.

Luck wasn't on her side, however. The police came, and pretty soon there was a hostage situation.

She took a survey of the large store. Fortunately, most of the other customers were further away from the counter. She and her friends were the only ones who had been browsing near the front, and there wasn't anyone on line.

Before she knew it, Monica was making her way closer to the front doors. The robber was standing near there, watching the cops through the plate glass. His gun, however, was pointed in the general direction of most of the patrons.

"Monica! What the hell are you doing?" Rachel whispered, horrified.

Monica barely glanced at them, her eyes trained on the gun. "You two, stay back!"

"Monica Geller, get your ass over here!" Phoebe demanded.

"Don't worry! I'll take care of this," Monica assured them. Believing that they were still a few yards behind her, she took a deep breath. Blowing at an appropriate level, she was able to knock the gun out of his hand. To get it as far away from him as possible, she kept blowing to make it appear that it was scattering across the marble floor.

With that, Monica seized the opportunity. She gave him a few good roundhouse kicks, and he was unconscious in a manner of minutes. The bag with the money was scooped up by the grateful worker at the cash register.

The next few minutes was a blur. The police ran in, cuffing the guy and giving her their thanks. The store manager promised her a shopping spree.

But later, all she would remember was how Rachel and Phoebe had followed her and seen the whole thing, astonished looks on their faces.

Monica managed to put off their questions until they got back to her apartment. She figured this would go better if she wasn't trying to drive while explaining her past. Besides, part of her wanted Chandler there for support.

However, once she opened the door she saw she had more support than she thought. All three guys were there and ran to hug her as she walked in. They had heard about the robbery on the news, and how "brave customer Monica Geller" saved the day.

"They showed everything on the security cam. You rocked!" Ross exclaimed.

Monica felt the color drain from her cheeks. "Everything?"

"Don't worry," Chandler whispered in her ear, "It just looks like he dropped the gun."

"Thank you," Monica kissed his cheek.

Hearing the comment, Phoebe put in, "But it didn't to us! What the hell was that?"

"Yeah!" Rachel added. "No one's breath is that powerful!"

Monica suddenly felt like she was trapped in a corner. Rachel's comment had Ross and Joey staring at her. Chandler had a protective arm around her shoulders, and the last two were waiting for an answer.

At this point, she had no choice. Either tell them the truth, or risk losing her best friends.

I don't care anymore, Monica thought, I'm almost off the team anyway. I'll never be able to repair my friendship with the kids and Jack. I might as well. "All right. Let's go into the living room and I'll explain everything."

She started with what she told Chandler, about how she became Hurricane in the first place.

"What? That's ridiculous!" Ross objected. "I've known you since you were born! How could you possibly pull off getting a Ph. D without me knowing?"

Chandler smirked. "What's the matter, Ross? Mad that you're not the only doctor in the family anymore?"

"It's not just that," Ross protested. "Mon, I think I would have noticed if you had superpowers."

"I didn't get my power since I was about sixteen. By then you were already in college," Monica informed him.

"But Mom and Dad…"

Monica waved a hand. "They never noticed anything about me. I hid it for two years, then went away to college. After that, I was recruited to be a superhero at the Center. I said I'd rather be a researcher, and they paid for my Ph. D. Then I moved to this apartment after I graduated."

"But then how did you become Hurricane?" Joey asked.

Monica let out a deep breath. "Well, remember when superheroes became known a few months ago? I may have played a small part in that. You see, um, I was assigned to get back Zoom, and hold try outs for the new superhero team."

"What's you do, make yourself one of them?" Phoebe questioned.

Shaking her head, Monica continued, "No, not at all. At first it was just Princess, Houdini, Mega and Wonder Boy, with Zoom as their coach. I was only the government stooge, doing research and helping them with the training. But…but it's complicated. See, they were originally going to defeat Concussion…back then, he was evil…and the government was going to douse the team with gamma radiation."

"What?" Rachel exclaimed. "That's stuff kills people!"

"I know," Monica smirked. "Which is why instead of following orders, I knocked out the guards that had come with me and busted the kids out."

Chandler gaped at her. "You rescued a bunch of superheroes? You didn't tell me that!"

"I didn't tell you a lot of things," Monica replied. "Anyway, it all worked out for the best. I'd say I became part of the team when I helped them defeat Concussion during the battle. That was a lucky break for me. If it hadn't come together like that, I'd probably be in jail…instead of being suspended from the team that I created."

The others didn't know what to say to that, but Joey blurted, "Don't worry, Mon! I'm sure Jack will understand eventually!"

Both Monica and Chandler turned to stare at him, but it was Monica who stammered, "W-what…how did…" She then realized just how he knew. "Oh my God, you were still in the bathroom?'

Joey hung his head in shame. "Yeah. I was almost finished when the fight started. Then, I felt like it would be too awkward to leave. Kind of like when Ross and Rachel had that huge fight, and the rest of us were trapped in your bedroom."

Rachel gasped. "You guys heard that?"

"I can't believe you!" Ross added.

Chandler held out his hands for a time out. "Big picture, please!"

"Right," Ross thought for a second. "Wait, Joey, was that when you told me what was going on?"

Monica massaged her temple. "You've got to be kidding me! You all knew, and you didn't say anything?"

"In our defense," Phoebe put in, indicating her and Rachel, "We were totally in the dark until today. But we knew something was up."

Joey got up and put his hands on Monica's shoulders. "Mon, I'm really, really sorry I told Ross. It's just that, a few days ago, he came in, and was really worried about you! He was wondering what was going on and…I felt so guilty I just had to tell him!"

"Wait, so what did Joey overhear?" Rachel asked.

"And who's Jack?" Phoebe inquired.

Tired at this point, Monica let Chandler help her tell them about the meeting and her abrupt suspension. When they were done, Monica fell onto the couch between her brother and her boyfriend.

"That jerk!" Ross exclaimed, hugging her. "If I knew where he lived, I'd go kick his ass!"

Phoebe managed a short laugh. "Ross, he's a superhero. You couldn't even kick his a."

"Monica, everything's going to be fine. They're going to have to let you back in eventually," Chandler comforted.

Monica put her head in her hands. She didn't want the others to see her cry. "How do you know? What if they drop me completely? They don't need me."

"To hell they don't!" Joey exclaimed. "Have you seen their fights lately? They're falling apart!"

Monica hated to admit it, but she was a little consoled by that. "Thanks, Joey. But it's not just that I want to be part of the team. They're…they're like my second family. I miss them so much. Even Wonder won't talk to me."

"Just give them some time," Chandler told her. "They'll come around."

Monica let out a deep sigh. "I hope so."