Disclaimer: I don't own the Fantastic Four, movies or comics, or Chris Evans. I'd be rich if I did.
I'd like to thank everyone for reviewing, and everyone who reviews after the fact. Hope you like it, love, Brownie.
I'm sorry for the late update, but I've been really busy with a lot of stuff, like sports, ACT, family time, and last, but not least vacation, which I'm still on. For those who haven't been there and those who have; Niagra Falls is beautiful and if you go, then going on the Maid of Mist tour is a must.
I'd like to thank everyone for reviewing, and everyone who reviews after the fact. Hope you like it, love, Brownie.
Warnings: this will have mentions of child abuse, and some graphic scenes.
This is an AU, it's gonna have flashbacks, and there is a 12 year old gap between Sue and Johnny, at the start of the story. Takes place after Rise of the Silver Surfer.
Johnny
Chapter 12: Someone I Can Trust, Part I
"Trust is like a vase... once it's broken, though you can fix it the vase will never be same again." Anonymous
After they'd finished breakfast and Reed had loaded the dishes into the dishwasher, everyone went to perform their duties for the day, which they had determined yesterday for the most part. Sue was going to pick up Alicia and then the two of them were going shopping for clothes for baby Johnny. Ben was going to try and find out more about Johnny's past and he was going to do it in his room so that Johnny didn't see anything that was potentially traumatic. And last, but not least, was Reed, whose job was to give Johnny, who had somehow snuck off in the five minutes he'd spent loading the dishwasher, a bath, but first he had to find him.
Five minutes after he started his search, Reed found Johnny and smiled at the picture he presented. There was little Johnny Storm, sitting on the sofa with his legs tucked underneath him watching what seemed to be a very suspenseful part of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle episode, if the way he was clutching his tiny, rainbow-striped blanket and gnawing on its corner was anything to go by.
"Hey, Johnny," said Reed after he'd made sure that he was in Johnny's line of sight, doing his best to not startle the kid. Obviously his idea didn't work because as soon as the words left his mouth, Johnny coiled up tighter than a string, jumped up, and dropped the remote, still clutching the blanket with his right hand.
But he relaxed as soon as he realized it was Reed and Reed took that as a sign of the boy's growing trust in him and smiled internally. Said boy then blushed, clearly feeling embarrassed because of the spectacle he thought he'd just made of himself, looked up at him through him mop of blonde hair and shyly greeted, "Hey, Weed."
Trying his best to put one of the most important people in his life, one who was steadily climbing up the list, Reed crouched down to Johnny's level and said, "Come on, Buddy. It's time for your bath."
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"Come on, Buddy. It's time for your bath." Johnny's body subtly tensed and he clutched his blankie, as he'd come to think of it, even tighter, if that was possible. Reed obviously hadn't noticed because he just held his arms out to Johnny, the was people do when asking for a hug, clearly more for Johnny's benefit than his own, he knew he'd have been startled if someone had just lifted him, he much preferred knowing what was going to happen to him before it happened.
Johnny Stared at the inviting arms that would lead to his nightmares with wide eyes and then hesitantly walked in. The effect was instantaneous, as soon as he walked into Reed's arms, they locked around him, and, for once, instead of making him feel trapped, the arms made him feel safe, safer then he'd felt in a long time. As Reed rose to a standing position, Johnny relaxed and rested his head on Reed's shoulder with his eyes peeking out above it.
As Reed walked, Johnny thought about his situation. He really didn't want to take a bath. He hated them because they always… He was pulled out of his thoughts by the feeling of being moved and the next thing he knew he was standing on the cold, tile floor of the bathroom facing the bathtub.
He watched with wide eyes as Reed, who was sitting on the balls of his feet next to the bathtub, turned the hot water tap to the right. He then squeezed his eyes shut tight when his mind was assaulted with unwanted images, images that played in his head like a filmstrip with sound, images that he wanted to forget, images that, to his mind, had taken place less than six months ago.
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14 years ago, Johnny's third day with Steve Wandell
"Come on, Boy," barked a drunk Steve as he pushed Johnny forward, causing him to fall flat on his face, which jarred his broken wrist and reminded him of the bruises that now covered him body. "Get up," he growled impatiently, and when Johnny's wrist gave out when he tried to push himself up, he grabbed his and roughly yanked him up, pulling out a few strands of hair in the process. He didn't let go, instead he carried Johnny by the hair, ignoring his pained cries, and then when they reached the bathroom, tossed him hard onto the cold, dirty bathroom floor.
He then walked into the bathroom, headed for the bathtub and said, "It's time for your bath." Johnny didn't know how he could make it seem like he was talking to himself, even when he spoke loud enough that he wouldn't need a microphone to talk to a crowd at a Dora the Explorer show. It took him a while before he realized what Steve had said, he was going to take a bath! This was gonna be great, he thought, excited despite all the beatings his foster father had given him. He was finally gonna do something fun here. He had no reason to think that it would be the exact opposite of that, after all bath time at his old house had been great. He'd always played something –either pirates, dragons, or spaceships – with his mom until she died. The reminder of his loss sobered him up quicker than a dunk in Lake Michigan during winter would have.
It was only then that he noticed what Steve was doing: turning the red tap to the right, something his mom had done all that time and that was how Johnny knew it was gonna be fun, he was so excited. The next thing he knew, he was once more grabbed by his now very sore hair and, then, without any ado tossed into the white ceramic tub filled with what he, as soon as he landed in it, found out to be scorching hot water.
"Aaah," he screamed in agony as he came in contact with the water, immediately placing each hand on one of the railings of the tub and attempted to push himself up and out of the tub. However, his attempts were halted before he'd even gotten himself into a halfway standing position by a hand on his shoulder pushing him down and ordering him, "Take your shower." But the order didn't deter Johnny, whose skin had turned a very painful-looking and painful-feeling (according to Johnny) shade of red, but his attempts were once more thwarted, this time by a hand on his head.
Next thing he knew his face was on fire, just like the rest of his body. Then he couldn't breath…Oh, God, he couldn't breath. Johnny struggled to get up and get air, but he couldn't, something was holding him down, but he couldn't remember what it was right now, his chest was hurting and…
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Johnny was pulled out of his nightmarish memories by the feeling of someone gently shaking his shoulder and calling, "Johnny. Johnny!" That was when Johnny returned to the world and, when he did, he was greeted with blue eyes and he instinctively scrambled backwards and away from the person, all the while gasping for breath.
Johnny worked on regaining his breath with his back against the wall, sitting as far away as he could from the person with the blue eyes as he could without actually walking past him or breaking the wall that his back was leaning on. When he'd caught his breath, Johnny calmed down and realized that the owner of the blue eyes wasn't Steve, the owner of those specific eyes was someone who'd only been kind to him, someone who'd tried to help him, and last, but not least, he belatedly realized, someone he could trust.
…TBC…
So whaddya think?
Reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated.
*wishes really, really hard*hope you enjoyed it, yours truly, Brownie.
