Author: Dark-Angels-Tears
Title: Darkfire
Rating: T for Violence, Language, Graphic content... All that good stuff.
Genre: Angst/Action/Adventure. In that order.
Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it isn't ours. If you don't, total legal-glomp.
Summary: AU. To go back in time and change the past, in order to save the future. This is the mission of one Johnny Storm. However, his family doesn't understand this new, ruthless, darker Johnny. None have them have ever seen this side before... except Sue.
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Sarah: ONG We actually updated when we said we would!
Jackie: Shock and awe!
Sarah: No time for talk- read on!
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Chapter Two
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So carry me,
I'm just a dead man
Lying on the carpet
Can't find a heartbeat
Make me breathe,
I want to be a new man
Tired of the old one
Out with the old plan
-Jars of Clay, Dead Man (Carry Me)
Time passed. After a while Johnny got to his feet and took in a deep breath, eyes sparkling with unshed tears. He turned and took a look at himself in the mirror and sure enough, he was back to his old self, how he had been at twenty six. The man was still in slight awe of what he had done, peering at his reflection with reddened eyes, when he spotted something behind him.
A shower.
An honest-to-goodness shower.
The last time he had had a shower it had been raining.
Johnny looked up and whispered, "Thank you!" before stripping with lightning speed. He paused a moment, spotting Cree reflecting silver-blue light against the wall. Her control still held tightly to his neck. "Cree, can the PCD get wet, or will I have to take it off and on whenever I shower?" He asked in a quiet voice.
'No, my systems are waterproof to several thousand pounds of aquatic pressure. The PCD was designed to resist the extremes, including that of your fire powers.' Her voice, in 'neutral mode,' echoed in his mind.
'Yeah, yeah. I've heard the pitch before.' Johnny thought back before getting in the shower and turning the water on full blast.
Shortly after Johnny exited the bathroom and slunk back to his bedroom with a towel around his waist, dressed, temporarily hid the actual CRD under a loosened floorboard (it had not been loose before he moved in), and headed back out into the main part of the house with a calm expression on his youthful face.
His eyes quickly finding Sue again, sitting at the kitchen table with a bowl of soup, Johnny brightened. He wanted to approach her, to say something, but his initial reaction must have been so strange to her. Well, maybe it would be better just to sit and be with his sister for now. Johnny hadn't been able to do that for so long…
Shaking this off, the blond walked into the kitchen. Reflexively he was taking in every detail of his surroundings. Usually it was done to make sure nothing was going to jump out and attack him, but now it was for pure enjoyment. Everything was there. Everything was the same. It was just so amazing.
Johnny's stomach, irritated, informed him that though his other needs had been attended to, he still hadn't eaten anything for at least a week. Seeing that it was apparently lunch hour, he opened the fridge and looked inside.
And was nearly floored.
Food. It was everywhere. Johnny closed his eyes, then opened them again as if to reassure himself that it was still there. He stood there with the door open, simply staring at the sheer volume of food they had.
He must have actually zoned out, as after a few moments he heard Ben's rumbling voice. "Earth to Tinkerbell…"
The blond blinked and shook his head, then quickly reached in and grabbed the first thing he saw- a can of soda. "Ah, sorry Ben." Johnny quipped absently, moving out of the way.
Sue, who had been standing up to put her empty dish away, promptly dropped it and let out a shriek. Ben's mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. Both were staring at him in absolute shock.
Johnny gave the pair a look. "What? What'd I say?"
He slowly stuttered, "Y-Y-You called me Ben!"
"So? That is your name, isn't it?"
The orange man nodded in reply, but was not finished. "You never call me Ben. It's always Pebbles, Blockhead, Rocky, Sunshine… some stupid nickname."
Johnny raised an eyebrow, subconsciously drawing in all warmth from the hand holding his drink in order not to have it heat up and explode while he held it. "Do you want me to call you a stupid nickname?" He asked, popping the top and taking a long drink.
"Well, no, but… It's just not like you." Ben replied.
The younger man snorted lightly. 'Not like the me you know…' He thought, leaning against the cabinet.
Sue walked over to him and concernedly moved to place her hand on his forehead. "Johnny, are you sure you're feeling alright-?" She started, but he dodged the contact.
"Yeah, Sue, I'm fine. You don't need to make a federal case out of this." Johnny said, frowning slightly. When the elevator chime suddenly rang out, he was all too ready to escape that potentially dangerous scene. "I'll get it." He declared, setting down the can and walking to the main entryway.
The elevator doors slid open to reveal a beautiful young brunette wearing a long, cream-coloured jacket and a short black miniskirt. Her bright green eyes sparkled when she caught his steely blue ones, and she quickly moved towards him and threw her arms around his shoulders. "Johnny!" She cried in joy.
"Do I know you?" He asked, awkwardly returning the hug. Staring calmly into her eyes, he wracked his brain for a memory of her.
Fortunately, she giggled at this statement. "Oh, Johnnykins, you're so funny."
Ah. That annoying nickname was very familiar. This was Jessica Evans, a woman he had been married to –or rather, would marry- for seven months… before he found out that she'd been cheating on him since five months before the wedding. The whore had been sleeping around on him for nearly a year before he finally found out.
Recalling this, Johnny stiffened and gave a false laugh. "I try. Jessica, we… we have to talk."
"We can talk at the restaurant. Come on, there's car waiting for us downstairs." She said, releasing him, but firmly grabbing his wrist and beginning to tug him towards the door.
"Yeah, I don't think so." He said abruptly, removing his hand from her grip and taking a step back.
Jessica frowned, her brow wrinkling slightly. "We can play later, Johnnykins. We have a reservation; we gotta go."
Johnny folded his arms over his chest. "I'm not going anywhere with you."
"What are you talking about?" She said, stopping and turning to look at him. Frowning further, the young woman eyed him sharply; her previous bubbly excitement gone without a trace.
He placed his hands out to his sides helplessly. "It's over, Jessica. I'm done with you."
Gobsmacked, her jaw dropped open. "Wh-What are you talking about? Johnny, I love you!" She said desperately, moving towards him until her body was nearly pressing up against his. "I love you!" She repeated.
Johnny barked out a bitter laugh. "You love me? I'd hate to see you mad at me. How many other guys have you been with since we got together? Five? Ten? Fifteen?" He shook his head in disgust. "I don't believe you. Every day you lie to my face, and you expect me to keep coming back for more? Jessica, you don't love me. You love my fame; you love my money. You love D- the Human Torch, but you don't love me. I'm just a fad to you."
Caught in the act, her face twisted in anger. "Fine then! You win, I'll go!" She stormed over to the elevator and jabbed the button, and as the doors slid open again she stopped and turned back to him. "Oh, and you can have your ring back!" Jessica yanked it off her finger and hurled it at Johnny before entering the elevator and closing the doors.
The small golden ring bounced off his shoulder and landed on the ground with a tiny clink.
He stood there emotionlessly, back straight, eyes narrowed. "Whore." He muttered under his breath, then reached over and picked up the ring. Studying it carefully, he couldn't believe he had wasted a year with her, told her his secrets. It was to be expected that she would go straight to the media with the news, so he might as well prepare for the incoming wave of paparazzi.
Meanwhile, he still had to deal with this ring. Johnny closed his fist around it, felt the hard edge of the diamond digging into his skin. A moment later, only a twisted blob of metal remained.
"Johnny, I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" Sue asked, rushing to his side with that familiar worried expression back on her face. Little did he know, but the reason she was so worried was because of the last thing he had said to Jessica. Had her words from years back stuck in his mind so much that he would repeat them to his ex-girlfriend- no, ex-fiancée?
Her brother, frustrated, ran a hand through his short hair and said in a shockingly calm voice, "Why do you care?"
Sue's worry turning to slight confusion. "What? What are you talking about?"
"I mean, why now of all times? You never seemed to care before." At that moment, he seemed tired, as if he had gone a very long time without being able to rest. The usual mischievous twinkle in his eye had faded away and been replaced with a dark shadow; where it came from, she almost didn't want to know.
The Invisible Woman let out a distressed sigh and tried to brush this off. "Johnny, you know that's not true. I'm your sister. I want to help you, and I always have."
"Then why didn't you start earlier? Why didn't you start when I was eight years old?" He replied in a voice like the edge of a knife.
As his words sunk in, Sue froze. A horrified expression grew on her face, and so lost was she in the memories that this brought up she did not even notice when Johnny stormed out of the room. It took Ben waving his great hand in front of her eyes and calling her for her to snap back to reality.
"Sue? I asked if you were okay." He rumbled, concerned.
Numbly, she nodded; her mind racing as she thought of the implications of his words. She had to find him, and quickly.
"What happened when he was eight?" Ben asked.
Sue ignored the question and rounded on him. "Which way did Johnny go?" She asked rushedly.
Frowning, Ben pointed off towards the stairwell and replied, "That way. I think he was heading to the roof."
Standing there for a moment, Sue let this sink in before she suddenly turned and bolted for the stairs. She took them two at a time and hurled open the door at the top. Stepping out onto the roof, she looked around and saw no one; searched the skies and saw no one; ran to the railing and looked down… there was no one.
Johnny was gone.
Ben approached her slowly. All the commotion had drawn out Reed from his lab as well, and the pair wore identical frowns. Slowly, quietly, her friend asked, "Suzie, what happened when Johnny was eight?"
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The waters were choppy and the sky was a dismal gray. A strong wind was pushing against him, but Johnny paid none of these factors any mind. The Atlantic was always like this in late winter. When spring came around… well, it would be the same, but at least then he could blame it on bad weather.
Anyways.
Johnny was flying just below the cloud bank, occasionally rising above it when he spotted a small island or boat; anyone who might see and recognize him. He was all but lost in thought, dwelling heavily on the events of the day.
He hadn't been home more than a few hours and already he had screwed everything up.
Initially the man had been so excited he had nearly gone into shock when he first saw them, but after he thought he had gotten over that, things went downhill. Concerned about him, Sue had reached out to feel his forehead for a fever (how did she think she would be able to tell? Ah well… old habits, he supposed) and Johnny had lurched away. He knew that just that, the slightest touch from his sister, would cause him to lose it.
And afterwards, when she had reacted in the way expected when comforting someone who has had to end a relationship, he snapped at her. He was reacting overly emotionally to the woman that Sue had become in his time, not who she really was. His misplaced anger and a few choice statements could have just ruined everything.
Bitterly, Johnny muttered to himself that he might as well not return after he accomplished his mission. Unfortunately, he knew all too well that that was impossible. He had to steal the formula at all costs. It was not his life riding on it – there was currently another member of the Fantastic Four whose body held the dormant poison.
He just wanted to finish the plan quickly – to get the cure, heal his friends, and end his life.
What was wrong with that?
Johnny let out a long sigh and pushed these thoughts from his mind as he spotted a small fishing boat on the horizon, and flew back up above the clouds. The clock was running, and he still had a long way to go.
Latveria was, as always, a very long ways away.
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Sarah: Dun dun dun! The not so mysterious villain revealed!
Jackie: So, what do you guys think? How do you like it so far? Are you confused yet? Who do you think has the poison?
Sarah: Thanks everyone for reviewing so far! Reviews are author chow!
Jackie: Authoress. Authoresses.
Sarah: That too! n.n
Jackie: T.T