Disclaimer: See Chapter One

Crash and Freeze

Chapter Seven

Ben raised an eyebrow when Reed and Sue stepped off the elevator nearly doubled over in laughter. "That was an awful long cup of coffee..." he commented, looking back at the paper he was reading. "So what did Ally have to say?"

"Not much," Reed said vaguely.

"Except for all of Reed's blunders in college, such as the time you joined the intermural swim team and your trucks fell off!" Sue laughed.

"That was not my fault! The force of the jetstreams allowed for the material to gradually slip down my waist," Reed contended. "And I recall that it was Ben that turned on the filter in the first place!"

"Just trying to keep you from embarrassing yourself," he commented, shrugging. "So you been at Starbucks this entire time?"

"No, Ally had a meeting at five so she left at about a quarter til. We just decided to make a night of it," Reed said, wrapping an arm around Sue slyly. "Where's Johnny?" he asked, looking around as if just noticing he wasn't there.

"Kid left at around five," Ben related gruffly, concern obvious in his eyes. "Fed me some bull about a car. I'm worried about him. He got a call and then rushed out. Sounded a little freaked to me, and he's been gone a few hours now."

"Odd," Reed commented, frowning. "He's been acting peculiar ever since he accidentally burned through that little girl's dress. Maybe he's still upset over that."

"I think it's more than that," Ben replied, furrowing his brow. "You didn't hear him on that phone..."

Reed's eyes lit up. "I could though..."

Sue looked at him suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Reed said sheepishly. "I may have rigged the security system to record all incoming and outgoing calls. I even enhanced the system to pick up the signal that cell phones give off."

"That is an enormous invasion of privacy, Reed!" Sue shrieked, looking murderous. She deflated though as she realized that the privacy breach could be the only way she could help her little brother. "We will discuss this later."

OoooOoooOoooO

"Shit!" his captor swore, narrowing her eyes while watching the screen. "I should have anticipated this. Reed always was the one to take precautions." She looked at Johnny's shivering form on the table. "Don't worry. They won't hear our conversations, Mr. Storm. I, too, am one for precautions."

Johnny glared at her at best he could in the state he was in. His entire body ached with whatever virus or infection or whatever she had injected into him. Add that to the fact that she had substantially dropped his body temperature so that whatever she had given him wouldn't just burn off immediately, and it was safe to say that this was the worst he had ever felt.

His tormentor swore again as she threw a vial against a wall on the opposite side of the lab. "Your DNA does not reveal anything when compared to that of a normal mutant!" she cried angrily. "Your molecular structure mutated in a different location, which means that whatever tests I perform would be completely useless. Add to that the fact that I can't allow your body temperature to react normally with whatever disease I could infect you with, thereby not allowing me to study the effect certain sickness would hold on mutants, and you are completely useless to me." She sighed in disgust.

"Sorry to disappoint," Johnny chuckled weakly, happy that, in though he was in the worst pain of his life, she was getting nothing from it.

She growled menacingly before pushed a couple of buttons on her watch. Johnny felt his temperature rise, gaining his strength back and feeling the pain lessen. Unfortunately, he was still weak and his muscles still ached.

"You can have a couple of days rest, but I have a job for you then. If you can't help me destroy mutants by providing the necessary data, then you'll just have to help me in another way..."

OoooOoooOoooO

Reed stared in confusion at the computer console in front of him. "How the hell did someone spike our system?!? I designed it myself, it had every protection imaginable!"

"Reed, you've been trying to find the source of the spike for nearly an hour. Maybe it's just a glitch," Sue reasoned.

"And the security system malfunction is just a coincident?" he asked skeptically. "I don't think so. Something is definitely going on."

"I agree with Stretch here, Susie," Ben stated. "With Johnny's strange behavior and the fact that he still hasn't come home yet, and I say there is definitely something to worry about."

The opening of the elevator doors quickly drew their attention.

"JOHNNY!" they all three cried, running into the foyer. Johnny stared at them with wide, somewhat frightened eyes.

"Where have you been?!?" Sue cried, rushing forward and hugging her brother.

"Relax, Sue," he replied nervously. "It's not even that late..."

"So what's the deal on the car?" Ben asked innocently.

"Car?" Johnny said in confusion. "What car? Oh, that car. Um, the guy was lying about the condition, was a piece of junk. You know, I'm kinda tired, so I think I'm just going to crash, ya know?" he said, rushing to his room, anxious to get away.

He shut the door behind him and leaned wearily against it. Trying to control his breathing and his spinning head, he made his way towards his bed and all but fell on top of it. He shivered slightly and tiredly pulled the blankets around him.

What was he going to do now? He couldn't do what she had ordered him to do, he wouldn't. Keeping his family safe was one thing, hurting innocent people were another. But if he didn't, she would kill his family. No, she would use him to kill his family...

He knew what he had to do. He couldn't fight her. Hell, he couldn't even flame on unless she allowed him to. He had no control over his powers, but he did have control over where he was when and if she made him go up in flames.

He looked sorrowfully at the door, knowing his family was out there worrying about him. This would cause them to worry so much more, but he had no choice.

He had to leave, and he didn't think he would live to come back.

Tbc...