Unbreakable Bonds

A/N: I don't own any of the Fantastic Four.

Chapter 4

Susie stood in the doorway to Reed's lab silently as she stared at the device that had taken away all of her hope that her brother was out there. She still remembered the day the Reed had first shown it to her and Ben a few months after her baby brother had gone missing.

As she looked at the small device now as it sat on a shelf alone she couldn't help but wish that he had never made the thing though a part of her was slightly grateful. Her eyes went to the blank screen as she recalled how Reed had told her that it was the only way they could find Johnny since the purpose of the device was to lock onto his unique heat signature.

She looked away from the device in disgust as she turned her attention to the sounds coming from the kitchen where Ben, Alicia, and Reed were having a late night snack but no matter how much she wanted to join them she just couldn't and she knew that everyone understood.

'I miss you Johnny,' she thought as a tear fell down her face. 'I know I should move on but I can't. You and I were the only family that we had left and now I'm all alone despite everything. You were my baby brother; nothing could ever replace what we had, not even my marriage to Reed.'

With tears still in her eyes she looked back at the device as she recalled that day that had crushed all her hope that her brother was out there somewhere safe.

Flashback

"All that is left is to wait for it to sort out the different heat signatures before it tells us were Johnny is," Reed told them happily as he looked at his fiancé. He had thought up the device only days before and was kicking himself for it now since it had taken him three months to realize that it was actually possible to find Johnny and to spare Susie more sleepless nights.

"How long," Susie whispered as she stared at the device in awe.

"We should know by the end of the day at the latest but it should be able to locate him quickly," Reed explained.

"So this gizmo will find Matchsticks," Ben asked the hope obvious in his voice. He knew, as well as the others, that this was probably going to be their best hope.

"It should," Reed assured them.

The three waited in silence as the hours flew by but the machine never stopped its search. Finally Susie broke the silence by asking the question that everyone was scared of.

"What if it doesn't find something by the end of the day?"

"It…it means that the device can't find anything out there," Reed said quietly hoping they understood since he knew that he couldn't, wouldn't explain it better than that. If the machine didn't find Johnny's heat signature then it meant that Johnny wasn't giving off the heat and the only way for that to happen was if Johnny was dead.

The sun eventually set but none of them moved and they were all silently grateful that there hadn't been any emergencies they had to tend to. Ben was the first to fall asleep in his chair and Reed followed shortly after, leaving Susie alone to stare at the device willing it to give her the answer she most desperately needed to hear.

'Come on Johnny, where are you? I can't lose you too,' she silently pleaded.

When Reed awoke the next morning the sight before him would permanently be engraved into his memory. Sue, the love of his life and the strongest person he had ever known, was all but asleep as she stared at his invention with bloodshot eyes that were surrounded by dark circles from lack of sleep and guilt. He didn't have to ask to know why; the machine hadn't found her brother.

"Susie," he said gently as he moved to sit beside her as he wrapped her up in a hug as tears came to his eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

With his words she broke down into violent sobs as she finally turned and buried her face into his chest.

'I'm sorry Johnny,' he silently apologized to his youngest friend as he leaned forward and turned off the device knowing that it had done its job, it had told them that Johnny was dead.

End Flashback

It had taken time for any of them to move on, each tried to cope in their own way while taking all of their pent up frustration out on whoever they came up against while protecting the city. Reed either buried himself in his work or spent his time trying to comfort his fiancé, Ben became quieter and he spent more time with Alicia, as for Sue, she spent her time in her brothers room trying to deny the fact that he was gone and that he would not becoming in there and attempt to make her leave his private haven.

Finally after a month of depression, some serious thinking and late night heart to hearts they all decided that they would have to move on. The first sign of life starting back up for the three friends was Ben's marriage proposal to Alicia who accepted and moved into the Baxter Building after Ben, Sue and Reed invited her. The next was Sue's and Reed's wedding.

Life moved on for the four but every now and then Sue would return to mourning her loss. While she had accepted that she had to move on there were some things that she would not allow anyone to change; the teams name or her brother's room which looked exactly the same as when he had left.

"Susie," a soft voice said from behind her. Quickly she turned to see the sympathetic face of her husband.

"Hey," she greeted quietly as she turned her back to the room and the device.

"Why don't you come join us," he said comfortingly. He hated to see her like this but he doubted that it would ever change.

"I-," she started as she glanced at the device again, "I just want to try it one more time," she whispered pleadingly.

Reed too stared at the device as he considered her words. She had asked him this before and he could never refuse her despite the fact that he was sure that it wasn't helping her to move on. With a small nod he stepped into the lab and to the device. After a moment of preparing himself for the same result that happened every time he turned it on, he flipped the switch.

The couple sat in silence for a few minutes before Sue whispered a nearly silent thank you signaling for him to turn it off as she turned to leave. Just as she was about to step out of the door and head to bed a loud beeping noise caused her to stop and turn back into the room.

"Oh my God," Reed said as he looked down at the device which was beeping and flashing information wildly. "It found him," he said in disbelief.

Sue ran to his side immediately. "Where is he," she asked desperately as she tried to see the screen.

"Well he…uh…this is impossible," he said still shocked.

"What?"

"It says he is in New York and moving at an incredible rate. I've never seen him go that fast but he is the only thing this machine is set to respond to so it has to be him."

"Reed?! Where in New York is he," Sue yelled in frustration.

"He…he should be out on the balcony," he told her.

Sue quickly raced to the balcony startling both Ben and Alicia. As she flung open the doors she thought her heart stopped as she skidded to a stop. She did not move as both Reed and Ben came up behind her, not that she noticed. She was to busy staring at the individual in front of her.

"Johnny?"

A/N: So what do you think? Good, bad? Hope it's to all of your liking. Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews and please feel free to offer any suggestions.