"Sue." Reed's voice broke through. He gestured to the door and Sue's eyes immediately softened. Johnny stood in the doorway, wearing Reed's clothes and watching them. Sue took a moment to get her anger under control before she walked over to him, forcing a smile on her face.
"Hey, Johnny." She reached out hesitantly for his hand. He watched her for a moment before turning his gaze to Cristian. The man got up as well and walked over to stand beside Johnny.
"Alright, kid?" Sue bit her lip to keep from saying anything when Johnny leaned slightly away from her and towards Cristian. Cristian looked around at the three of them and put a hand on Johnny's shoulder.
"If you would not mind, I would like to talk to him." Sue did not move at the question, watching her brother, hesitant to leave him alone with a man she didn't know. "I did not come all this way to turn him against you." Cristian pressed. Sue met Reed's eyes, who got up and walked over, putting a hand on Sue's shoulder.
"Come on, Sue. We can give them a minute." Sue's gaze shifted from Cristian to Johnny and she squeezed her brother's hand before relenting and leaving the room, tears escaping her eyes once again. Ben and Reed followed.
"Sue." Reed pulled her close and Sue buried her head in Reed's chest.
"He doesn't even recognize me, Reed." Reed gripped her shoulders when she pulled back.
"It's going to be okay, Sue. We're going to help him." Sue wiped her eyes and they hardened slightly.
"You're right. We're going to help him. And then I'm going to make Victor pay."
Cristian watched Johnny as he sat down next to him on the couch. Johnny pulled his knees up and looked over at him. Cristian sighed.
"Are you alright Johnny?" The boy shrugged, his gaze flickering to the door briefly. "These people, they are the one's we came to see. The woman in there, she is your sister. Do you remember them Johnny?"
Cristian might have thought that the boy hadn't heard him, if it weren't for the very slight frown on his face. Cristian had thought, after he had found out who the boy was that Johnny couldn't remember where he had come from. It was the only reason he could think of why Johnny hadn't come here himself from the beginning.
Cristian had tried to ask him about it. About the Fantastic Four and what Johnny could do, but Johnny had reacted violently to that, so he had stopped trying, hoping that his sister could help him somehow.
He would, of course, have to talk to her again before he left. He looked over at Johnny, wondering how the boy would react. Cristian did not really have a choice, though. He needed to leave.
Cristian knew that he was dying. It had been happening for a while now, and he knew that it wouldn't be long. He would not let a kid who had obviously already been through a lot watch him die. It was also one of the reasons he had went so far to help Johnny. He had wanted to do something good before he died.
"I know that you probably do not know them, but you can trust them, and me. They will take care of you now." Johnny looked back over at him, and Cristian saw the question in his eyes.
"No, I am not staying here, Johnny." Johnny, of coerce, didn't say anything to that, but he did draw his knees up closer and rested his head on them, looking out at the room. Cristian sighed, and stood up.
"I am sorry, kid." He said, putting a hand on Johnny's shoulder. "Your sister cares for you a lot. Let her take care of you."
"You're leaving." Cristian nodded.
"I cannot stay." He watched her. "You will help him?" She nodded, and there was a flash of anger in her eyes.
"Yes, I'll help him. I won't let anyone hurt him ever again."
"I hope not." Cristian said, heading for the door. He turned to Sue when they got there. "There are a few things that you should know about him."
"What's that?"
"I do not know what he went through, but from your reaction earlier, it has something to do with the power he has. When I asked him about it after finding that article, he did not give a good reaction. I would suggest not talking to him about it until he gets better." Sue nodded, biting her lip.
"Thank you." She said after a moment. "For taking care of him, I mean." Cristian smiled at her and squeezed her shoulder before going through the door.
Johnny wondered around the room. Cristian had left. Cristian had left him alone with people that he didn't know. Cristian had been the only person that Johnny had let himself even halfway trust since he had gotten out, and he had just left.
Looking down, Johnny saw a magazine sitting on the table. He frowned as he looked at the cover. He knew what his name was, and it was printed across the bottom of the cover of the magazine with a picture.
Picking up the magazine, he headed out of the room. He stepped into the bathroom and up to the mirror. Pressing the magazine against the mirror next to his own reflection, Johnny frowned.
He didn't look anything like the guy in the picture. At least, he didn't think he did. The guy in the picture had short hair. The guy in the picture was clean shaved. The guy in the picture was smiling.
Looking to the side, Johnny saw a razor and he picked it up, looking at himself again for a moment.
Later, when his hair was short, in a buzz cut just like from the magazine picture and his cheeks were smooth, Johnny looked at himself again and decided that he still didn't look like that guy, and that for some reason, he wanted to.
Sue found Johnny sitting outside on the roof of the building. She had been a little worried when she hadn't been able to find him. Especially since Cristian had left. She was worried that this was only going to make things worse.
Sue stopped short when she saw him, though. He heard her and turned around and Sue's eyes widened slightly. The long hair and beard were both gone. He looked almost exactly like he had before he had disappeared.
"Hey." She said, walking over to him. She reached up and ran her hand over his shaved head, smiling when he didn't flinch back. "Looks good." Johnny, though, shook his head. Sue frowned and then she spotted the magazine sitting next to his feet.
Bending, Sue picked it up and looked at the cover. It was an old magazine, probably from a few months after they had gotten their powers. Johnny was on the front, grinning brightly.
"Johnny..." He shook his head, and touched the magazine, staring down at the picture. After a moment, he looked up into her eyes.
"I'm not him." The words were quiet, barely there and his voice was rough. Sue was so surprised that he had spoken that she stood still, staring back at him. There was a sudden fear in his eyes, like he was scared that she'd lash out at him for speaking. Abruptly, he pulled his hand away and walked past her and back into the building.
Sue stood on the roof for several more minutes. She looked down at the magazine in her hands, her vision blurring. He looked the same, true, but at the same time she could see what he was saying.
The Johnny in the picture was smiling brightly. Anyone could tell, just from the picture, that he was happy. It was his eyes. His eyes were different. They were still the same blue color, but they were hollow now, unhappy, and terrified sometimes.
Before, Johnny had always been on the fearless side. After all, he had learned to fly by jumping off the roof of a building. And even before they had gotten their powers, he had always been like that. Johnny had always been a daredevil. Now, he had a look of terror in his eyes because he had spoken to her.
Sue sat on the couch, remote in hand late that night. Johnny was asleep, finally, but she couldn't. She hadn't slept much since Johnny had first disappeared.
"Hey." Sue looked over at Reed as he came into the room and sat down next to her.
"Hey." She said, turning her attention back to the TV. She and Johnny were on the screen. They were both young there.
"Are you alright?" Sue looked over at him, and raised an eyebrow. "Right. You're not." She shook her head.
"He's so...different now." Reed reached out and took her hand.
"You'll get through to him." He said quietly. Sue kept her gaze on the TV.
"You know, when Dad died, he didn't exactly handle it well. It was actually after that he started to get into the crazy stuff. Anything with risk. The bigger the risk the bigger the thrill, you know?" Reed nodded.
"Johnny's always been a daredevil." Sue smiled and nodded.
"I used to think he would give me heart attack with all the crap he pulled when he was a teenager. It only got worse as he got older. The only really safe thing he was interested in was cars. You know, how to fix them, rebuild them."
"Yeah."
"He's always been smart, but I always knew that he wouldn't end up in the same type of job as me. Johnny's never been able to sit still or be quiet for long periods of time."
"I've noticed." Sue looked over at him.
"He can now." She said her voice quiet. "He just...sits there and he doesn't speak and he's jumpy and terrified."
"Sue." Reed pulled her close when her vision blurred with tears again.
"How do I help him, Reed? What if he's always like this? What if I'm not enough to bring him back?" Reed squeezed her tighter.
"You are enough, Sue. He loves you, okay? Even if he can't remember it right now. And you're not alone. We will take care of him, alright? We'll help him, no matter how long it takes."
Johnny sat up in bed, staring out at the room. He hated sleeping. He only did it when he was at the point of passing out from exhaustion. He was always back there when he slept, back there with him.
He ran a hand over his head again. He had done it because he had wanted desperately to prove them right. He wanted to know that they were telling the truth, that he was who they said he was, that she was his family.
He still didn't really remember her, though. He had tried to make himself look like that guy that was supposed to be her family, but it hadn't helped. It still wasn't him. Shaving and cutting his hair didn't change that.
He had told her so. Speaking without permission was a bad thing, he had learned that a long time ago, but he had felt the overwhelming urge to make her understand, and she hadn't done anything to him.
This place was still confusing to him. The rules he had learned didn't seem to apply here. Family was a foreign concept to him. He didn't ever remember having one before, but the guy in the magazine had one.
Johnny Storm. Cristian had told him that Storm was his last name, but he was beginning to doubt that. He had opened that magazine. Johnny Storm had a family. Johnny Storm was considered as superhero. Johnny Storm was happy.
Despite the fact that physically, he looked exactly like Johnny Storm, he still thought that they couldn't possibly be the same person.