Disclaimer: See Chapter One.

A/N: I hope you all have noticed the change of rating to that of T. Future chapters will most definitely make this switch a necessity. And sorry that this chapter has more Johnny POV than the others, but it was kinda necessary. Also, to Silver Dog Demon, the surgery would probably have been sometime in the mid-morning the day after the crash, and Johnny may or may not have woken up that night or the next day, but he wouldn't know how much time had elapsed, so he just answered with the date of when he was last aware, which was the day he woke up in the alley and got into the crash.

Crash and Freeze

Chapter Four

A bell rang through the Fantastic Four's home. Ben growled lowly as it reached his ears, which he did have, regardless of what that Matchstick said. The bell rang again. Speaking of Matches, if he rang that damn bell one more time, Ben could not be responsible for his actions.

Five weeks ago, when Johnny first came home from the hospital, Ben had been the one who first suggested the bell. But that was when his rocky heart still felt sorry for the kid, who had to hobble around on crutches with a broken tibia, a snapped humerus, and two fractured ribs. However, with the final casts, bandages, braces, and whatnot coming off tomorrow, Ben wasn't feeling very sympathetic with the kid, who was obviously trying to milk his last hours for all they were worth.

Lucky for Johnny, Sue had taken it upon herself to answer his summons, saving the Human Torch from a headache due to being hit in the head with a bunch of rocks. Not that Susan was feeling any more charitable towards him, but she, at the very least, wouldn't lose her temper enough to do anything more than go invisible.

'I swear, it seems as if the kid wants to annoy the hell out of us!' Ben thought as the bell rang again.

OoooOoooOoooO

Johnny sighed as he flexed his arm and leg absently while flirting with the nurse who had come in to tell him Dr. McKall would be with him shortly. It seemed strange to him that his neurosurgeon would want to see him. After all, his appointment was about his broken limbs, nothing to do with his brain. He raised his eyebrow as he spotted the good doctor chatting outside his door with Reed, who had pulled the short straw and drove him to the hospital. Apparently, Dr. McKall wasn't seeing him for his sake.

Had it been a few years ago, Johnny may have gotten angry at Reed for talking to the doctor, but of course, he hadn't really known the man very well back then. Well, at the time, he had thought he'd know him, but he never really tried to get more than a superficial view of any men that flitted in and out of Sue's life, more often than not breaking her heart in the process. His sister was a beautiful woman, who had drawn men like a moth to a flame. However, none of them ever seemed to appreciate her intelligence or understand her need to look after her younger brother. When Reed came along, Johnny thought he would be just like all the others. He had long since realized that he was wrong, and he was extremely glad that his sister never listened to his opinion when it came to relationships.

He winced internally as his thoughts carried him to how he had treated all of his family in the past weeks, bossing them around like they were slaves meant to serve his every whim. Sure, part of it was the pain and the fact that they said that they hadn't minded. However, most of it was due to the fact that he just wanted to annoy them. Of course, that sounded awful, but he couldn't help it! They had been driving him insane! They were suffocating him! Okay, honestly, he knew where they were coming from. If any of them were drugged, left in an alley, and then run down by a car, he would definitely be a little protective, but what exactly did they think was going to happen to him at the Baxter Building! Honestly!

He ceased his mental rant as Dr. McKall walked in. He turned a charming smile towards the tall red-head. "Good morning, doc."

She just leveled her cool, blue stare onto him and looked down at his chart. "Your vitals are excellent, and if your physical therapist reports aren't exaggerated, then your bones have healed at a remarkable rate," she informed him in a tone that suggested that she didn't like either of the possibilities. "In fact, I would go as far as to say that you're as good as new."

Johnny brightened at that. Not that she said it in any pleasant tone or anything, but rather in spite of the tone she did use. In his brief encounters with Dr. McKall, he didn't see her as being a very optimistic type of person. She was definitely a hardcore realist. To hear he was in top shape from her ensured him that he would finally be able to get back to his life!

OoooOoooOoooO

The next morning dawned bright and clear, which would lead most people to believe that it would be a promising day. However, for a young superhero trying to get back into routine, the beginning of the day was anything but promising.

Johnny threw the melted toothbrush down in disgust. How the hell did that happen? Had he been angry or frustrated or excited or any noticeable emotion really, he wouldn't have been shocked to raise a dripping glob of melting red plastic towards his mouth. But he hadn't even been awake enough to walk to the bathroom without running into a wall, let alone be in emotion turmoil.

Shrugging in dismissal, he grabbed another toothbrush out of the cabinet. Concentrating, he tried again to clean his teeth. This time, he managed to do so without mishap. Casting his first attempt off as a fluke, he rinsed his mouth with mouthwash and walked out.

He walked into the kitchen, his mouth salivating at the aroma of a freshly cooked breakfast. Sue must either be in a great mood, like she was after Reed proposed, or feeling extremely guilty, like she had right after his accident. Either way, Johnny was in no way going to question her when she laid such a fabulous spread before him. Reed and Ben were already digging in, and Johnny, not about to let the others get all the food, reached over to grab a plate. However, when he did, fire shot out of his hand.

"Shit!" he cried, trying to pat out the flames. "Not again!"

Reed and Ben looked at him in concern. "What do you mean again?" Reed asked. "Have you been having problems with your powers and not telling us?"

"It was only a melted toothbrush!" he replied defensively.

"And now a burnt tablecloth," Ben pointed out, looking at the charred white linen on the corner of the breakfast table.

"Perhaps its just the remaining painkillers and muscle relaxers in your system," Reed reasoned. "You'll probably be fine in a couple of days."

"Guys!" Sue cried, rushing in. "There's a huge fire downtown that they need our help with!"

All three of them jumped up from their seats, ready for action. However, Reed stopped short and looked hard at Johnny.

"Maybe you should stay behind, Johnny. If your powers are malfunctioning, it could be dangerous for you," he said.

"No way I'm staying behind!" Johnny insisted. "I've been out of commission for weeks! I'm not going to sit on the sidelines of this one!"

Reed nodded in defeat. "Okay, but be careful."

OoooOoooOoooO

Johnny walked carefully through the burning hallway, holding the little girl in his arms and trying desperately to get out fast without having the unstable floor collapsing under them both. He took the stairs two at a time, putting as little of his weight on them as possible. Finally, he made it through the door of the building and out onto the streets.

Suddenly, the little girl in his arms cried out. He looked down at her and realized in horror that his hands were burning holes in her cotton sundress. He dropped her quickly and backed away, looking at his hands in terror. What was happening to him?

Tbc...