Hey everyone! Here is chapter 2! I hope you all enjoy this! I've been working hard! hahah =)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, the characters are not mine or Fantastic Four 2!

Chapter Two: Buzz Kill

"Well, aren't you dressed to impress?"

Lily span around, toward her bedroom door, and smiled as she faced Sue. The blonde smiled at her as she walked into the room, sitting on the woman's bed.

"You think this is ok?" Lily asked as Sue chuckled, nodding her head.

"You look great."

"I'm a little nervous," the former teacher said as she turned to face the full body length mirror she had hanging on her wall. Sue stood to her feet with a gentle look in her eyes as she placed both of her hands on Lily's shoulders.

"You have nothing to worry about," she assured as Lily nodded with a smile. She turned to face her old babysitter as she sighed.

"Are the guys out?"

"They just left," The Invisible Woman stated as she shook her head with a smile on her face. Lily chuckled as she and her companion walked out of her room.

"Does it bother you?" Lily asked curiously as Sue glanced at her and shook her head.

"No, I trust Reed completely."

"Not Reed, the fact that Johnny's going to try and corrupt him," Lily said as if it were a matter of fact. Sue laughed as she shook her head, smirking a bit.

"I'm not too worried," she stated as she thought for a moment, "Johnny wouldn't."

"I wouldn't count him out!" Lily said teasingly as she winked at the older woman. The two walked out towards the lobby of the floor as Lily turned to the blonde. She smiled sweetly.

"Are you ready? You're going to be a married woman tomorrow," Lily said playfully as Sue thought before revealing a giddy grin. "And surprisingly, there haven't been any reasons to postpone!" the black haired woman said as Sue laughed, shaking her head.

"Thankfully," she replied back as she sighed. The two shared a moment of silence, the silence not awkward, but comforting. Lily smiled as she pulled Susan into a hug.

"Congratulations, Sue," she said softly as the blonde smiled, her arms hugging her friend just as tightly. The two separated, Lily making her way to the elevator. Hitting the button for the first floor, Lily waved a goodbye, Sue doing the same.

"Have fun on your date!"

"I will!" Lily replied with a smile. As the doors closed, her smile disappeared, her true emotions coming out.

"…Get a hold of yourself," the dark haired girl mumbled to herself. She shook her head as she stared at her reflection in the metal door.

She couldn't shake the feeling that somehow, the night was not going to turn out the way she would want it to. She didn't know exactly what, but she knew that it wasn't going to be a 'happily ever after,' sort of night.

"Great."

Ka Chik

The sound of a car door slamming shut filled the air as a man dressed in a dark green suit made his way towards a rather fine apartment building. On each side of him there were his trusted accomplices that followed faithfully. None paid attention to the others around them, and as they made their way inside the building, the other people standing around noticed the tension around them and the snobbish air they put off.

"Welcome to the Baxter-uh, could I help you?" the door man stuttered out as he watched the veterans make their way to the elevator. They said nothing, ignoring the curious eyes of others, and pressed the number to the floor they wanted. The doorman frowned before he picked up the phone, dialing the number in which he assumed was the target of the officials.

"Hello?"

"What will you be having tonight?"

"I'll have the salmon and she will have the…"

"I'll have the steak, please?"

"Ah, yes. Good choice," the waiter stated with a formal smile. He grabbed the menus from his customers and nodded his head, walking away from the table for two.

"Wow, Travis! This place is expensive, are you sure you can-"

"Trust me, it's fine."

Lily smiled as she shook her head, watching as her date smiled back. She watched as he began to talk, but none of the words seemed to go through her ears. She winced slightly as her head began to pound slightly. She cleared her throat and smiled, standing to her feet.

"Sorry, I have to run to the bathroom really quick," she explained as she gave the brunette a reassuring smile. He hesitated but nodded as he smiled back at her. As her black stilettos clicked against the marble floor, Lily closed an eye, her headache suddenly growing. 'What the hell?' she thought to herself as she swung the ladies' room door open and stood over the sink. She took a deep breath and sighed, staring at her rather pale face in the reflection of the mirror.

"Everything's going to be just fine," the dark haired woman assured herself. She closed her eyes and stood tall, taking deep and even breaths.

A year and couple months before, Lily had decided to take on a hobby that wasn't too time consuming, yet it could still be something for her to do in her small amount of spare time. She wanted it to be something that would help her relax and come to her senses after a dangerous or strenuous mission. The answer she had found was meditation.

The woman stood in the empty bathroom, the tension in her body slowly disappearing and her headache becoming a none-issue. As she continued to meditate, Lily tilted her head a fraction to the side, a voice calling out to her.

'…What are they saying?' she asked herself curiously as she listened more intently. She raised a brow and shook her head as she tried to understand the muffled voice. The mutated voice moaned out, no actual words being said.

"AAH!" The shrill voice screamed suddenly, breaking Lily from her calm state as she jumped slightly. She glanced around the bathroom and leaned back against the wall, her heart beating at 100 miles per hour. She sighed, closing her eyes, and shook her head as she laughed at her foolishness.

"Get a hold of yourself, Lily!" she snapped as she shook her head and walked out of the bathroom.

"You alright?" Travis asked curiously as Lily nodded her head with a smile.

"Sorry about that," she excused as she smiled. "I'm feeling a bit tired."

"Weren't you sleeping before you came here?" her date teased. The dark haired woman laughed as she shook her head as she glared playfully.

"I'm over tired!"

"Ha ha, of course," the brunette retorted back with a smirk.

'That's more like it,' Lily thought to herself, the flow of the date beginning to take a quicker pace. Things were less tense on her side, yet she still felt as though something was missing or out of place. Glancing at the time, her eyes softened.

'I wonder how Reed's party's going.' What she really wanted to know was what Johnny was doing at the very moment she was sitting with her date.

"..Is something bothering you?"

Lily looked up with a slightly surprised glance as Travis raised a brow, his defined face having a confused expression on it. Lily smiled as she shook her head and sighed. "Not at all."

"Here are you appetizers." The two looked up and watched as their waiter set a large basket of bread down before them, a small tray of butter sitting contently beside it. The two thanked the man and watched as he made his way back into the kitchen. Before the two could dig into their food, the sound of a cell phone ringing filled the air.

Lily shut her eyes, irritation slowly taking over the once relaxed mood that lingered in the air. The woman smiled weakly as Travis chuckled, shaking his head.

"Sorry," the heroine apologized as she stood, grabbing her cell phone. Walking outside of the restaurant, the woman raised a brow, surprised to see the number being displayed on the caller id.

"Sue? What's up?"

"Sorry to bother you, do you remember where Johnny took Reed?"

Lily's confusion grew at that. "Um, I don't remember the name. All I know is it's at Johnny's favorite bar."

"Where is that?"

"What's up, Sue?" Lily asked as she heard a sigh from the other end of the phone.

"We have a guest who's looking for him," Susan explained as she glanced over her shoulder to see General Hager glancing around the office with a slightly curious expression on his face, his two officers sitting quietly.

"Guests?" Lily inquired.

"I'll explain later."

"Well…" Glancing through the window, Lily's eyes softened as she watched Travis sit patiently by himself, their date quickly coming to an end. "I can take you guys there."

"Is that alright? What about-"

"It'll be fine," Lily assured her mother-like figure. She waited for the blonde's reply and smiled as she heard the woman sigh.

"Ok."

"When the universe began, it was no bigger than a marble!" Mr. Fantastic sat around a small table as he explained his theory of how the universe began. His audience was not so interested on the topic per say, more on the speaker himself. "And then, Bam!" Placing the tips of his fingers against each other, Reed used his stretching abilities to make his hands expand, showing the example of how the lives of human beings began. "It exploded! And in an a trillionth of a second, it expanded exponentially, and that's how the universe became what we know today,"

"Wow!" a brunette replied back, a very fascinated expression on her face. Whether it was genuine or not was unknown to the scientist sitting beside the three girls. "You're really smart."

"Why, thanks Candy, that means a lot to me," Reed replied back with a sincere look on his face. The woman smiled widely as he smiled back at her kindly.

The beat of the music began to change as the DJ began to play a new song that made everyone move with it.

"Oh! I love this song! Do you want to dance?" Reed's other companion asked. The man smiled sheepishly as he began to draw back into his shell.

"No, I don't."

"Aw, yes you do!"

"N-No! Really, I don't-" Without any chance of escape, the three women dragged the superhero out on the floor. He stood awkwardly, not sure of what to do with himself. His body stiffened as one of the ladies' danced against him.

"Just loosen up, have some fun!"

"Hit me."

"You got it, Johnny."

Said man smirked as he turned and glanced around at his successful bachelor party…or just party. He looked out at the dance floor and laughed as he watched Reed's dancing unfold before his eyes.

"Here you go."

The Human Torch nodded a thanks as he grabbed his drink, making his way towards his best friend.

"The guy sure knows how to loosen up!" he commented as he stood beside The Thing. Ben chuckled as he smirked and nodded his head.

"You got that right."

The two watched with curiosity as the man stretched in inhumanly ways, making them more interested and slightly sick. Johnny shook his head as he glanced around the room, a few ladies catching his eye. He inwardly frowned, rubbing the back of his neck as he turned his attention back to the rather entertaining Reed.

For some awful reason, the young man was losing his drive to find more "friends". He was not as motivated as he was just a year ago. What had happened? He still had the same charm and women still loved every bit of him. What was it about him that changed?

"This is the place?"

"Yup, I'm sure of it. If we don't find Johnny on the dance floor, he'll probably be with a crowd of girls," Lily said, her voiced raised over the music.

She and Sue had led the government officials to the nightclub Lily assumed would be the holding place for Reed's bachelor party. The two women looked around the club before a pair of blue eyes fell upon the scientist. They hardened slightly as a voice filled the air.

"There he is," the General said with a small smirk as Sue nodded her head, her eyes narrowing. Lily glanced at the woman as she bit her lip slightly. She watched as Reed continued to dance with the woman.

"Yes. Unfortunately," Sue stated as they continued to watch the man. "For him."

"Hey, one more handle, will you?"

"No problem, big guy." Ben smiled as he nodded his head to the beat, his companion's eyes scoping the area for potential dates. As his eyes fell upon a rather familiar patch of black hair, he raised a brow.

'Huh, she's pretty ho-'

"Is that Lily?" Johnny asked himself with a bewildered expression on his face. His eyes widened as he watched his sister step out from beside his friend. He quickly nudged the rock-like man as Ben looked at him with a confused expression. He nodded his head in his sister's direction and the two immediately turned.

"I think it might be clobbering time."

"You might be right."

The two stiffened as the familiar voice filled their ears. They slowly looked over their shoulders and smiled weakly as Lily stood before them, arms crossed.

"I see you decided to finally come to the party."

"Oh please," Lily rolled her eyes as she shook her head, glancing over her shoulder. She watched as Reed followed after an irritated Sue and a slightly amused General. She looked back at Ben and Johnny, who also watched the scene.

"Who's that guy?" Johnny asked as Ben frowned slightly.

"General Hager."

"You know him?" Both Lily and Johnny asked. The stone man nodded his head as he began to follow after Reed. The two youngsters of the group glanced at each other before quickly walking after Ben.

"Well," Johnny muttered as Lily glanced back at him. "Things just got interesting."

"I'm only here, Richards, because I'm under direct orders from the Joint Chiefs of Staff."

Reed watched his acquaintance carefully as the man led the group into the kitchen of the nightclub. His two officials stood beside him as his male officer opened a briefcase.

"I personally don't like the idea of sharing information with a civilian scientist, especially one who enjoys the public spotlight so much," the General commented with a condescending tone to his voice. Reed kept his cool as he gave a dry smile.

"Always a pleasure to see you too, General."

The other four watched as the two began to talk. The conversation, a bit too mature and boring for Johnny's taste, caused the man to lose interest quickly. He glanced around the room before his eyes fell upon the blonde female officer following General Hager. He smirked slightly, deciding to try and enjoy himself at least a little. Turning his attention back to the conversation for a second, Johnny listened as the General began to explain the current situation.

"As you may know, there have been unusual occurrences all over the world. Officially, we've downplayed their significance to the public, but we're concerned that these…anomalies might pose a threat to our national security," Hager explained.

Johnny smirked a bit more as he watched his favorite officer take a step forward.

"These have been taken by one of our satellites two days ago," the blonde explained as she handed a few photos of what they had to Reed. The scientist examined them with great care, Sue looking beside him with the same curious and shocked expression.

"What is it?" Susan asked as Hager looked at Reed.

"We were hoping Doctor Richards could tell us," he stated as Reed examined the photos for a moment longer.

"..I'm afraid I've never seen anything like it," Reed stated honestly. "Ben?" He handed the man the photos, the bigger man taking a good look at what the government was so concerned about.

Johnny and Lily looked over the man's shoulder, trying to get a peek at what everyone was so curious about.

"Well, I would say that it's a meteor, but that trails all wrong," he explained. "This thing is giving off it's own energy."

"Take a look a this," Hager suggested as the officer slid the briefcase computer towards Reed. "These have been appearing in remote areas all over the world since the case started."

Reed's eyes widened as he stared at the screen. His eyes fell upon a giant crater in the Earth that was not man-made. "Field personal estimated the diameter to be 200 meters."

Reed raised a brow as he tried to think of a logical way to tie all of the strange events together.

"If we're going to figure out what's going on, we need a way to locate and intercept that object." As Hager began to discuss with Reed, the restless one of the group found an opportune moment gain someone's attention.

Johnny cleared his throat a bit more dramatically, catching the woman's attention with ease. She glanced over at the fire bender as he smirked at her. She gave him a skeptical expression as she went back to ignoring him, turning her attention back to the situation at hand. Johnny smirked as he chuckled in his head. 'Playing hard to get, I see,' he thought to himself. Following the woman's actions, he turned his attention back to Reed and Hager with a tiny smirk on his face. 'We'll see how well that goes.'

"It would be possible to build a sensor tied to a Baxter Building satellite." As Reed continued with his plan, Susan's expression began to fall, her heart dropping a few feet. She kept her groan to herself as she tried to gain her composure back.

"Good, so then, you'll build the sensor for us. We'll tie that-"

"I'm afraid I can't." Everyone stared at the scientist in silence, as if he were truly mad.

Taking a few steps back, Reed stood confidently beside Sue, who gave him the most stunned look, and wrapped a strong arm around her shoulder. He smiled proudly as he glanced at the love of his wife.

"You see, I'm getting married this Saturday. I just don't have the time," he stated with ease. The other members of the team smiled as they watched everything play out before them.

"Richards," Hager started. "Your country needs you."

Reed took a deep breath through his nose as he gave a smile to the general. Wanting to at least have someone make up for his lack of interest in the strange anomaly, Mr. Fantastic thought for a moment, trying to remember the name of an old friend he had. "Why don't you talk to Professor Jeff Wagner." Before Reed even began to speak, Hager's lips curled up in a bitter smirk. He was less than impressed. "He's head of the physics department in Brown. I'm sure he can help you," Reed finished as Hager looked at his men; he was ready to wrap things up.

"I expected more from you, Richards," Hager started as he lectured Reed, sounding like a disappointed mother or father.

As the short lecture continued, Lily stared down at the briefcase and thought for a moment. As she did this, her eyes wandered towards her right and she rolled her eyes as she watched her best friend give playful smirks to Captain Raye. Her insides twisted slightly as she crossed her arms, trying to mask her feelings.

The General walked out, his men following, and Reed stayed silent as he kept his arm around Sue. The woman glanced up at him and her eyes softened as she watched him stare out at nothing for a long moment.

"Wow, I never thought the day would come."

The two looked over at Johnny, who laughed slightly, shaking his head. He walked up to Reed and pat the man on his back. Reed rolled his eyes but smiled as he shook his head. He looked over at Ben, but quickly averted his eyes, knowing the expression The Thing was giving him.

"I'm with Johnny on this," Lily stated as she approached the three and stood beside her younger teammate. "I've got to say, Reed, I'm proud of you," the former teacher said playfully as the scientist chuckled, shaking his head. He looked down at Sue and gave her a gentle smile as he turned his attention back to the others.

"A man has to do what a man has to do."

"Speaking of which, I'll be heading out now," Johnny stated as he began to head towards the kitchen exit. "I've got something I have to do myself," he said with a smirk as he pushed the doors open, not looking back. Lily stared at the doors for a moment before she quietly sighed. She smiled back at the two as she nodded her head.

"I should be heading out too."

"That's right! I'm sorry about your date," Sue said with a sympathetic expression. Lily shook her head as she smiled.

"It's not a big deal. We just rescheduled, Travis is an understanding guy."

'Unlike someone I know.'

"Well, I owe you one, how about that?" Sue asked with a smile as Lily chuckled. The black haired woman chuckled as she nodded her head, heading toward the exit.

"Sounds like a deal," she stated. She waved a goodbye to the three before heading out to the front of the club. She sighed to herself as she shook her head. Pulling her phone out, Lily unlocked it and released a small sigh as she read a short, but lighthearted text message.

'You owe me dinner,' she read to herself as her eyes softened. She shook her head and shut her phone, deciding to send another apology later. As she pushed the swinging doors to the club open, Lily did her best to dodge the flashing lights of the media; she didn't like the attention very much. She stopped, after passing the large crowd, and rolled her eyes as she watched Johnny fail at swaying the female Captain. She smirked slightly, feeling a bit at ease, though she hated herself for it.

"Wow, you just walked away," the Human Torch mumbled as he helplessly watched Frankie climb into the large black car. He gave himself a weak smile as he continued to talk to himself. "And I'm definitely still talking."

"Wow. Johnny Storm gets denied by a woman." Said hero looked over his shoulder and shook his head as he gave Lily a defeated smile. "That's must be strange for you."

"As a matter of fact, it is," Johnny stated. Lily shook her head as she stood beside the lonely man. The young man glanced over at the silent woman as he kept his hands in his pockets. He watched as Lily continued to ignore him, which he always hated when she did that, and decided to break the silence.

"So, I'm guessing your date with Troy was ruined?"

"It's Travis. And thanks to that General, yes, it was," Lily snapped slightly as she looked over to see a rather satisfied look on Johnny's face. She narrowed her eyes and shook her head, waving for a taxi. As the yellow vehicle pulled up, the woman climbed in, but was shocked as her companion joined her.

"Johnny-"

"Central Park, good sir."

"What are you-"

"Well, seeing as your date failed, and I was unsuccessful at finding anyone." Lily scoffed as she crossed her arms. "I thought we might at least try to enjoy the rest of the night," Johnny stated with a smile. Lily thought for a moment as she let things reel in her head.

She could say yes, but she knew if she did she would only be digging her grave deeper. Lily was always the type of person to look at her options and take the most logical route. By saying yes to Johnny's offer, she knew that it would only hurt her, yet for some strange reason she couldn't find the nerve to say no. Something inside of her kept pushing, kept hoping that if she stuck around long enough Johnny would finally come around.

"…I'm actually going to go back, I'm tired after all of this nonsense." Not wanting to get her hopes up, Lily stepped out from her taxi and quickly waved for another one, not waiting for Johnny to respond. If she stayed with him any longer she would surely fall under his spell. "I'll see you later."

Not having time to stop her, Johnny watched helplessly as his friend quickly climbed into the yellow vehicle, not sparing him even a glance. He watched with his blue eyes as Lily spoke to the driver, and sped away. He sat in his taxi-the driver too nervous after that to say anything-dateless and friendless, and sighed to himself. He kicked the back of the passenger seat as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Damn it, Lily."

It didn't bother Johnny that Officer Raye had rejected him so rudely-well maybe a little-and it didn't bother him that he had not found anyone at Reed's party that was worthy enough for him. It was the fact that his best friend, or someone he had thought to be his best friend, was doing a damn good job with avoiding him. What had he done wrong? It was as if he was either plagued with a deadly illness or just plagued with bad luck. Either way, Johnny ended up screwed over.

"…Well, that's just great," Johnny snapped quietly as he stared in the direction of Lily's cab. "What a good night."