I know I've been slack. But I've had writer's block then school started again and since I'm in my final year of schooling, I really need to focus on my studies. I'll try to update as soon as I can but I hold no promises.
Disclaimer – go back to first chapter.
ENJOY!
The flight from Earth to the Von Doom Space Station was – for a lack of better word – uneventful. Well, if you excluded the fact that Ben and Johnny kept arguing over how the ship should be flown. Johnny does have the capabilities of a great shuttle pilot that much I'll admit to but he lacks the focus. And that was a fact that Ben certainly had no problem reminding him of.
But we eventually made it unscathed…barely.
"ETA until cosmic event: nine hours," Victor announced as we walked towards the viewing station with all our respective gear.
"You better be good, maybe next time, Daddy will let you drive," Johnny smirked at Ben, knowing how to get the former astronaut riled up.
"You keep talking and there won't be a next time," Ben growled back.
"Guys, when I say I won't fix what I break, I mean it," I said as I walked past them.
That caused the two men to shut up. Especially Johnny, since out of everyone here – no matter how begrudgingly I admit it – he knew me the best.
"We can monitor the cloud's approach and observe the tests from here," Sue told us as she gestured to the viewing station below, the windows clouded by the shields.
"Is it safe?" Ben asked as he, Reed and I stood near the rail above the viewing station.
"The shields on the station should protect us," Reed reassured him.
I couldn't help but bristle nervously next to Ben.
"Should?" I squeaked.
The entire time we were preparing for this trip, all I kept getting was reassurance that the shields on Victor's space station would be able to protect us from the storm should anything go wrong. When we were actually on the space station about to do the experiments wasn't the best time to tell us that there was a possibility – miniscule or not – that the shields wouldn't be able to protect us.
Nice going, Reed.
"What's the matter, Ben? Getting a little paranoid in your old age?" Victor drawled as he approached us.
I had to place a hand on Ben's arm as he went to charge at Victor for his old age comment. However, the look I was giving him was enough for him to restrain himself. We were going to spend a few days here. The last thing we needed was anyone to lose their cool now.
Well, that and Reed chose to cut in.
"Let's start loading those samples," Reed suggested before saying to Ben, "Get your suit ready, Ben. Dr Frazer, you better start setting up your monitoring equipment by the airlock as well."
Ben and I nodded as we went to walk away to do our respective jobs. Initially, we intended to slip away unnoticed like Johnny had and begin our work so we could get back to Earth as soon as we could.
Victor, however, had other ideas.
"So you still do all the heavy lifting?!" Victor smirked, causing the both of us to freeze as he taunted Reed, "Maybe you should have stayed in the lab. Field work never suited you."
One of the things that Reed wasn't able to do, from what I've heard from Ben, was stand up for himself. Especially when it concerned Victor and especially when his dream experiment was finally happening. It wasn't like the concern wasn't warranted or anything. With Victor, you had to dot your I's and cross your T's because one slip-up gave him leverage over you for the rest of your natural life. Although, with the kind of person Victor is, I think that leverage would extend into the afterlife as well.
But either way, Ben wasn't gonna let Victor stand there and ridicule Reed like that.
"He does the talking. I do the walking. Got it?" Ben cut in, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Victor didn't lose the condescending smile as he shrugged and responded, "So take a walk, Ben. Dr Frazer, get to work."
Not wanting the situation to get worse, Ben and I, once again, went to walk away from the area. But not without hearing Victor say this,
"Actually, if you don't mind, I'd like to borrow Susan for a moment."
I didn't have to turn back to know that Reed, still not over Sue, bristle at Victor's request.
When I began setting up the medical monitoring equipment at the airlock and happened to overhear Ben and Johnny's conversation as Johnny helped prepare Ben for his spacewalk, I wished I was with Reed.
"Please tell me your dawg's not trying to rekindle things with my sister again," Johnny pleaded as he fixed his oxygen tank.
"Of course not. Strictly business," Ben drawled as I began adjusting his vitals on his wrist computer so it would link up to my equipment both in the med lab and at the airlock.
"Yeah. Well, his eyes say differently, don't they?" Johnny rolled his eyes as he went to grab the sample boxes filled with different plants.
"Hey," Ben cut in as I finished my work, "Two hearts got busted last time. Maybe she's not over it either."
I knew for a fact that despite what she said about having something going on with Victor, Sue wasn't over Reed. She would always love Reed and would always want to be with him. However, she just wasn't sure she could be with someone who was afraid to take a small step without doing algebra beforehand.
She and I were on the same boat that way.
But for me, it concerned a reckless cheater.
"Oh wow, Dr Phil. That's deep. Let's think about that," Johnny said sarcastically as the three of us walked towards the airlock doors, "You've got Victor – more money than God; stud of the year. And then you've got Reed. - world's dumbest smart guy; worth less than a postage stamp... That's a real tossup."
"Don't trouble your tiny little mind," Ben snarled, looking as though he could deck him if he wasn't preoccupied.
"Don't wonder off now, boy," Johnny smirked as he opened the airlock doors.
I stood in the background as I watched Ben walk into the airlock. I then heard the hiss of the door closing and the automated voice announcing that the airlock chamber was secure. I couldn't help but smile as I saw the portal open to reveal the vast open space outside. When Ben walked out, I began working monitoring everybody's vitals.
"Everything stable?"
Not that Johnny was, as usual, any help.
"The experiment's barely begun. But everything with everyone seems to be normal. Granted that nothing goes wrong, it should continue to be that way," I shrugged, desperately trying to distract myself.
"I didn't think you'd take the job," Johnny revealed.
"I didn't think the hospital would let me," I laughed dryly, "They didn't want to let go of their star resident, as they like to call me. Well…that was until Victor provided them with a generous donation."
"You are the best in your field, Snowflake," Johnny pointed out.
I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. Snowflake was a nickname that Johnny gave me after we had our first kiss. We were playing outside in the snow on a little study break before our chemistry exam. The tension suddenly got to us and we were about to kiss. But then a snowflake got between us. I began laughing about it. So he called me Snowflake – for reasons I still don't understand to this day – and the nickname stuck.
Even after we 'broke up'.
"You should really stop calling me that," I said as I turned to face him.
"Now why would I do that?" he smirked as he reached under my collar and pulled out a chain with two objects dangling from them, "Especially since I know that you still wear this."
I mentally cursed at myself for forgetting to take them off before we left the launch site. The two objects on the silver chain were a snowflake charm and the engagement ring.
With the snowflake necklace, he gave that to me when we were celebrating our first anniversary together as a couple. He had said that the falling snowflakes reminded him of how beautiful I was. So he decided to spend most of his allowance to get me the necklace.
With the engagement ring, despite the fact that we had unofficially broken up, I still wore it around my neck. I started adopting the idea of wearing it around my neck so I could still have it on me whenever I have to perform a surgery. The diamond on the ring would have torn the gloves and caused untold disasters. But I managed to keep the necklace tucked away under my surgical scrubs. So I decided to do wear it that way.
As to why I still had it, Johnny told me to keep it until the three months were up and we had decided whether or not we would officially end the engagement. Normally, I would've thrown the ring out or sold it or something along those lines. However, the ring belonged to his mother. So I couldn't do that to him.
Family heirlooms are something that shouldn't be destroyed because you hate the person they belong to.
"I just forgot I had it on me," I shrugged, "Besides, you should take these back."
"We haven't officially broken up yet," Johnny pointed out, "So technically, the ring is still yours."
"That hasn't stopped you from having a different woman on each arm whenever I see you," I countered.
"What about you and Andy?" Johnny retorted.
"Nothing is going on between us per say. I just said that to piss you off," I admitted.
"It worked," Johnny admitted.
"Well, it shouldn't have," I shook my head, "We may not have officially broken up. But we can't exactly go around saying that we are engaged anymore. Besides, we agreed that we could still see other people."
"You're sending me mixed messages, Allie," Johnny warned me, caging me against the array of computers, "Either you're seeing the guy or you're not. Can you give me a straight answer?"
"Life doesn't give straight answers," I smirked.
I have no idea how what happened next came to be. But the tension seemed to get to us. Because before I knew it, Johnny was leaning down to kiss me. And I was leaning up to kiss him.
BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP!
"What's that?" Johnny asked as he pulled away.
"That would be my monitor," I answered dryly as I typed in some commands to bring up the alert.
I was definitely surprised by what I saw.
"Whoa," I remarked.
"What is it?" Johnny demanded.
"Reed's heart rate skyrocketed," I answered.
"So? The guy could be just stressing," Johnny shrugged.
"Maybe. But I'd better check it out. The reason the system alerted me was because of how much it spiked," I told him.
I didn't need to leave the area to retrieve Reed. Because before I knew it, he was racing towards the airlock, shouting into the radio,
"Ben, you need to get inside now!"
"What's going on?" Johnny inquired.
"I'm not done arranging your flowers yet, egghead."
Johnny and I walked towards the airlock where Reed was…
And gasped in horror.
Orange cosmic clouds were forming near the space station. Immediately, I knew what was happening.
The cosmic storm was forming seven hours ahead of schedule.
"Ben, turn around," I instructed.
I saw him do so and realize the same horror as we did. We had to get inside the station and behind those shields fast. Otherwise, there was no telling what would happen to us.
"Guys, I'm not gonna make it."
Johnny was quick to take command of the station, instructing Ben through the radio,
"Ben, you've gotta jump! It's the only way!"
Ben barely missed a strike from the cosmic clouds as he jumped away from the walkway, floating in space with the determination to reach the space station.
I decided to look through the other window that was opposite the monitors. To my horror, I saw something that was the last thing we needed.
The shields closing.
Victor, in his selfish cowardice, began only thinking of himself and his own safety and began closing the shields as soon as he saw trouble.
I began hoping that Sue was smart enough to stay there with Victor for her own safety. However, when I saw a ball of yellow running through the corridor, undoubtedly trying to reach us, I was concerned.
"If we survive this, Von Doom is going to be the first person I kill," I decreed as I raced back to the airlock.
"Come on, Ben! You've got this!" Johnny coached.
"Allie, get the first aid kit ready," Reed instructed.
Without thinking twice, I bolted to the first aid kit that was hidden in the compartment near where I was monitoring everybody's heart rates. It was only then that I realized that my hands were shaking. It was only then that I registered the sound of my racing heart piercing my own eardrums. It was only then that I noticed the cold sweat that was staining my body, soaking through the suits I was wearing.
"OK, Johnny. Get ready to close the portal," Reed said to Johnny.
I looked up to see Johnny race towards the controls for the airlock, ready to close the portal into space at Reed's instruction.
It was also when I saw Ben be hit by the cloud.
"BEN!" I screamed in horror, already racing towards the airlock, "GET THE AIRLOCK OPEN!"
Nobody listened to me. There wasn't much we could do. I saw Reed's own horror-filled face as he gazed into Ben's vacant eyes before he fell to the floor. The white heap of spacesuit did not move again after that, making all of us fear the worse as the alarms began blaring.
Feeling myself become even colder with the sweat on my body, I tried to reach the controls. However, with how much my body was shaking, I could barely move.
Then I heard the screams.
I turned around and saw that the cosmic storm was intruding the space station through the airlock. Reed, being the closest to the airlock compared to myself and Johnny, was hit by the cloud first. Johnny and I only glanced at each other briefly before we acted, trying to reach Reed.
But then Johnny and I were hit.
I screamed as the cold, excruciating pain coursed its way through my body. It was unbearable. I couldn't move. I couldn't try to reach Reed, Johnny or Ben.
I struggled to do the simplest things in the storm, such as opening my eyes.
When I did manage to open them, I saw orange. Bright, blinding orange surrounding us. Reed was screaming in pain as he was pelted repeatedly by the waves from the clouds. Johnny was just floating as he was almost burned alive. He didn't scream. He wasn't aware of what was happening around him.
God. Please don't let him be dead. Please.
I didn't have time to think about Reed or Johnny. Or even contemplate what Ben, Sue and – believe it or not – Victor were going through wherever they were. I was pelted by yet, another wave from the storm.
It still hurt as much – if not more – than it did when I was first hit by the storm with everyone else. But this one felt different than the last ones. It felt like…
Snow.
Like I was in one of the snowball fights I liked to get into with Johnny when we were growing up. But this was different from that. It made me feel numb. Cold all over. Like my blood was turning into water and my bones were turning into ice.
Then, just as quickly as the storm began to destroy my world, my world completely disappeared into darkness.
DUN DUN DUN!