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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Jackie: A rather late Happy Christmas, readers. Here's the situation: We pretty much had the chapter mostly finished by Sunday of last week when two horrifying, horrifying things happened. One: We put ourselves in a terrible position that forced a lot of the chapter to be negated. Two: Sarah went out and played in the snow and came in with a virus. She's currently lost the little sense she did have and has been put under strict orders of bed rest, OJ, and toast. What this means is that lucky me got to finish re-writing the last of the chapter on my own. Dearest apologies from me, but here is our finished work. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... Darkfire.

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Chapter Three

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I need some sleep
It can't go on like this
I tried counting sheep
But there's one I always miss
Everyone says I'm getting down too low
Everyone says you just gotta let it go

-Eels, I Need Some Sleep

Trembling, Sue shepherded her husband and best friend inside. She led them to the living room and had them seated, but as soon as they sat down she sprang up again and began to pace.

It was a rare occasion that Sue was reduced to wasting energy by uselessly walking back and forth, but it was certainly more satisfying then sitting still. As she walked she began to babble to the pair, at first making no sense but gradually beginning to level out. A furiously worried, pained expression had come over her face and she wrung her hands relentlessly, as if expecting at any moment to hear some horrific news.

"I should have expected this. I know it's been a while, but with all that's going on… maybe the stress, maybe the breakup, or that thing with the Surfer… maybe it was something I said? Was his lifestyle just catching up with him? I just don't know…"

Reed, who had been briefed on the situation on the way back, leaned forwards and folded his hands, then said soothingly, "Just try to calm down, Sue. Take one thing at a time. What exactly happened when Johnny was eight?"

The blonde woman took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Okay."

"Well, as you know, when Johnny was eight, our Mom died. A drunk driver slammed into the car head on; no one could have predicted it. Johnny and I were in the car at the time, and when it hit... I was twelve at the time; still, all I remember of the accident is a huge wall of red and a bright flash of light… then pain." Her voice shook slightly, but she continued on.

"An ambulance took us all to the hospital. Johnny was a little scraped up, but he was out in less then a day. I was in there for several weeks. Mom died in only a couple of days. There was nothing they could do for her." Sue paused for a moment, and then continued on remorsefully.

"I honestly don't know what started him down the path. Maybe it was because we both got hurt and he didn't. Maybe he felt like it was his fault. Maybe he wanted to be with Mom. I don't know what it was, but for whatever reason, shortly after I got out… Johnny cut his wrists."

Ben took in a sharp breath. "You mean…"

She nodded grimly, a dark shadow passing in front of her eyes. "He tried to kill himself."

"Luckily, Dad found him before... before he lost too much blood and we got him to a hospital in time. He went to counseling for a while, but it didn't work very well and it was really expensive, and with all our medical bills… We had to take him out. Johnny seemed back to normal, so Dad and I thought it was all over."

"We were wrong."

"Four years later, Dad was arrested for a crime he didn't commit and was sent to prison. He died in jail, and not long afterwards I found Johnny in his room, hanging in his closet with one of Dad's old belts around his neck."

Reed paled at this, but remained silent. Beside him, Ben had gone stock-still. He looked almost a statue, sitting there motionless and trying to take in the story of the young man's hidden life.

Meanwhile, Sue began to pace again; the pained expression back. "What could I do? We could barely afford living on our own as it was; counseling bills would have been even more horrible. Besides that, I couldn't report what happened or the courts would have split us up - sent us to separate homes. And then I wouldn't be able to-to watch him." She bit her lip.

"I didn't tell anyone, but we talked things out for a few weeks. He seemed to get better, and I guess he actually might have been… but then again, he might just have been good at hiding it. Anyways, nothing really happened for a few years. Johnny looked happy again. He smiled and laughed; he played sports and pulled pranks… He even managed to keep his grades high enough to get accepted into NASA's training program. Life seemed to go on, and after a while I started to forget.

"But everything changed after Johnny got kicked out of NASA for one prank too many. He got into really extreme sports, started going to all kinds of parties and staying out until all hours. I was just glad that he was out with other people; I didn't know and I didn't want to know what he was doing.

"Anyways, at one of the parties he met Craig, one of his old snow boarding buddies. They decided to head up to the mountains again, but there was an accident... and Craig didn't make it. This time I knew it was coming, but I figured that so long as he was with people, he would be fine."

Sue paused and swallowed, then continued on. "I got a call from the hospital a couple of days later. Johnny's 'friends' brought him in after he nearly died of a drug overdose. They said it was all just a stupid mistake - that they had been drunk and Johnny accidentally took too many pain pills, but I knew better.

"By that time I had started working for Victor, and I was actually so worried that I told him about it… most of it anyways. After he heard the story and about Johnny's history in NASA, he was both saddened and intrigued. He offered to give him a job as an outlet, and of course Johnny took it. And... here we are today."

Pausing to collect her thoughts, Sue said softly, "I thought that things were different, you know, because of the Fantastic Four? But it looks like things are the same as ever." She looked down for a moment, then looked up again with confidence in her eyes. "We have to find him."

The implied 'or else' hung in the air like a suffocating blanket as the Fantastic Four sprang into action. For seven days they searched the city from top to bottom; calling up his old friends, dropping in on every bar and club he frequented and many he didn't, frantically looking through every nook and cranny of New York City for their missing teammate.

The media, once they got wind of his disappearance, was also caught up in 'Torch Fever.' This combined with the 'colourful' interviews from Ms. Evans resulted in many wild stories of Johnny's eloping to foreign countries with lusty exotic women. Such articles were thrown out in disgust by an angry Sue; still upset from not being able to find any word of her brother.

On the night of the seventh day, the trio went off to bed with the declaration from Reed that the next day they would begin searching the areas outside of New York.

And it was on this night that finally, finally, Johnny returned.

--

Johnny hit the ground and rolled across the rooftop, coming to a halt on his front. He opened his mouth to groan, but was suddenly overcome by a coughing fit. The man doubled over, clutching his chest and coughing until blood dribbled down his chin. Finally, he pushed himself to his feet and staggered to the door. Johnny stood at the top of the stairs and nearly whimpered. "You gotta be kidding me." He managed, coughing slightly.

Bravely, stupidly, he leaned against the wall and clutched the railing like a lifeline, then began making his way down. The blond actually managed to pathetically limp down several steps before his foot slipped and his strength gave out. Johnny grabbed in vain at the railing, but before he could do anything he was crashing down the stairs. He slammed his head against a step, his shoulder on the wall, and his side on the sharp edge of a stair. For all he knew, he might have hit several more times. but he could not recall.

All Johnny knew was the sudden screaming, stabbing pain as though a white-rod iron spear had suddenly been thrust deep into his side. Coloured dots exploded in front of his vision and his jaw slackened. Instinctively he tried to draw in a breath, but this pushed his agony to new heights. But when he finally did land -more like collapse- in a heap at the base of the stairs he forced himself to suck in a breath. This drove him into a violent frenzy. The man screwed up his eyes, chest heaving as he convulsed with coughs.

Time passed and eventually the bout lessened, but through hazy blue eyes he could tell the ground beneath him had been coated thickly with his crimson blood. Johnny, weak, pressed his fiercely shaking hands to the cold linoleum and pushed, trying to raise himself back up, but this was where his body betrayed him. The few inches he lifted he fell, and suddenly the Torch was on the ground again.

Sudden pressure and pain nearly sent Johnny reeling back into a fit. He attempted to avoid it by staying very still and holding his breath, but this was no help. At last Johnny lay there pitifully, gasping for a wisp of air his lungs would not violently reject.

And then he heard the scream.

Pounding footsteps reached his ears and a blonde head swam into view.

"JOHNNY!!" Sue shrieked, then looked over her shoulder to someone Johnny could not see. "Call an ambulance!!"

She turned back to him with shimmering eyes and asked gently, earnestly, "Johnny, are you alright?"

He tried to suppress a chuckle at this and wound up stifling a cough. "Jus' dandy, sis." He managed eventually.

Sue looked as though she were about to reprimand herself for the silly question, but continued on nonetheless. "What happened, Johnny? Where were you?"

His vision was already darkening; his sister slipping away. But before the continuous agony and lack of oxygen sent him spiraling into unconsciousness, Johnny breathed, "Latveria."

--

Before he even opened his eyes, Johnny knew that he was in the hospital due to several factors and far too much experience. Firstly, the air smelled remarkably clean, but to one paying attention it was thick with the smell of disinfectants. Secondly, there was an incredibly bright light filtering through his eyelids that seemed to blind his brain. Thirdly, beneath him were the scratchy sheets that seemingly every hospital on the planet used. Finally he could hear the soft noises, dripping, beeping, humming, of various monitors he knew were hooked to him.

So when he finally did open his eyes, it was of no surprise to him that he was staring directly into the fluorescent bulb. The slight irritation that flared up at this was immediately smothered by a wave of all-consuming fear. A hospital. He was in a hospital. Despite his attempts to calm himself, Johnny's heart began to pound within his chest and his breathing quickened. He swallowed hard, pushing the memories of agony and anguish from the front of his mind as he heard the steady rhythm of his heart monitor quicken to an almost dangerous pace. Calm down, he told himself harshly, before you set off an alarm.

At this Johnny let out a small noise of irritation and turned his head to the side, only to find himself face-to-face with his sister, who was leaning over the side of his bed. He jerked back slightly, surprised, then realized that her eyes were closed and locks of blonde hair were falling in her face; she was sleeping.

The room appeared secure, with only one door leading in and out. There were large windows on either side of the door, but they appeared thick enough and enough people were passing by that there was little chance of anything shady to happen unnoticed. Reed and Ben were slumped in chairs on the opposite side of the room, the gentle rise and fall of their chests revealing their slumbering state. Apparently, Johnny surmised, it was just a good time for a nap.

The man relaxed and sighed fondly, hesitantly checking to see how much slack he had on the IV in his right hand before reaching over and tucking the hair behind her ear. Her skin was warm and soft beneath his, and after going so very long without being able to see or touch her, Johnny did not want to break the contact. For a minute or two he gently stroked her cheek, whispering her name in order to pull her back into the land of the waking.

Eventually she stirred, let out a soft moan, and opened her eyes. Blue stared into blue, and a relieved smile grew and lit up her face like the morning sun. "Johnny!" She said excitedly, sitting up.

"Who were you expecting?" He replied in a slightly raspy voice, without a trace of the disappointment he felt from the sudden lack of touch.

She seemed to ignore this comment, even though her face brightened even further at it. "Reed, Ben, get up! Johnny's awake!" She said over her shoulder, and heavy footsteps brought the other two running.

"What's the big deal?" He said, clearing his throat awkwardly. Johnny attempted to sit up on his elbows, but halted suddenly as a spasm of pain wracked his entire body, originating from somewhere within his chest. For the record he took it rather well; the only outward sign he gave of the agony he was experiencing was a slight widening of his eyelids. Pain was something he could take. It was the... accompanying things that really messed him up. Slowly he lowered himself back to the bed, to the amusement of the others in the hospital room.

"Not so fast, hotshot. You've been through a lot in the past few days, probably more then we know." Sue gave him a wry smile.

'You have no idea how right you are.' He thought with an inward grimace. "What happened?" Johnny asked, irritation leaking into his voice.

The smile quickly faded. Sue replied in a pained voice, "Johnny... I-I told them."

He looked up, deadpan, and said in a steely voice, "You want to run that by me again?"

She almost flinched. "I told them everything, starting when you were eight. I'm sorry- I just had to. Just in case... well, just in case anything happened."

Johnny let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his hair, as if to calm himself. "Well, that certainly complicates things..." He murmured softly. In his timeline, the team hadn't found until... The blond shook it off, growling, "Nevermind. Whatever. It doesn't matter."

Surprised that he had dealt with it so well, Sue blinked before taking advantage of his sudden silence to go on. "We looked all over for you, and we were actually going to start looking out of the city today, but you fixed that problem for us." Pause. "So... are you going to explain what exactly you were doing in Latveria?" She asked nervously.

"Nope." Johnny said defiantly, causing the others to exchange worried glances. Before anyone could protest or question why, he went on, "I'm hoping it'll give you more of a reason to get me outta here. I don't like hospitals, and I'm not gonna spill until we're back at the Baxter Building." For a moment, something mischievous shone in his eyes, but it was gone as soon as it came.

Sue picked up on this and was slightly relieved by a sign, any sign, that he was his normal self... but she was still confused by his refusal to talk. Somehow she didn't believe that it was just to force them to bust him out early. Oh well, maybe she was just being paranoid. She shook it off and said in a stern voice, "Alright then. You win for now, Johnny... but this isn't over."

The shadow of a smile flickered on his face. "I'm not arguing that." He muttered, so quietly she almost missed it.

Almost.

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Jackie: So how was that? Several different bombs dropped at once. Well, now you guys know why this is AU, please no freak-out there. But anyways, what was Johnny doing in Latveria? Even though Sue knows Johnny doesn't like hospitals, his private thoughts reveal more then just that. What happened there? What happened in those memories? Gasp! Angst!

Sarah: -mumbles incoherantly-

Jackie: They said STRICT BED REST! Back to your shanty! -points-

Sarah: Murrr... x.X

Jackie: Read and review! -flinches-