Ignite

Chapter Two: A Reunion to remember

"Um…Sue?"

Said woman looked over at her companion and raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"…Not to be...rude or anything, but is this thing really necessary to wear?" Susan laughed as Lily's expression showed nothing but pure disgust and dread. She walked over to the younger woman, already in her own suit, and gave Lily's shoulder a soft squeeze.

"Trust me, I wouldn't make you wear it if it wasn't necessary," she stated as Lily sighed, nodding her head.

"I was afraid you'd say that." Susan chuckled as she pulled her hair up and examined herself in the mirror, making sure that everything seemed to be in place. As Lily pulled her clothes off, her forgotten question popped into her head. She'd have to scold Reed later for purposely making her forget.

"Hey, Sue?"

"What is it?"

Lily slipped the navy blue suit on, zipping it until it reached the upper part of her sternum, and sighed to herself. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and approached Susan with a frown on her face. She stood in front of the mirror and shook her head. "Somewhere, a child is suffering," said the 22 year old. Susan rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. Lily moved around in the suit and shrugged.

"Well, at least it's comfortable," she commented as Susan nodded her head. She walked over to the desk in the room, and picked up two jackets sitting patiently and quietly. Lily looked at Susan with confusion as she pointed to the articles of clothing.

"What's-"

"They're Ben and Reed's," Susan explained as Lily nodded her head, her question now fresh in her mind.

"I forgot to ask, but, who's piloting the shuttle if Ben isn't?" she finally asked as the two women walked out of the changing room. Lily followed Susan, having no idea where they were heading. Susan looked back at her friend with a confused look on her face.

"Reed didn't tell you?" she asked as Lily shook her head.

"He forgot to mention," she stated dryly as Susan didn't bother asking. She turned left, Lily following close behind, and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.

"He should actually be here by now, but knowing him, he'll probably be late." This further confused Lily. She was dying to know the pilot for their rather important mission.

"Who is it? And where are we going, by the way?"

"The boy's changing room, and you know him really well."

"I do?" This seemed to drag Lily further into confusion and curiosity. She needed to know or else she would throw a fit.

"Yes, it's-" The two stopped their conversation as a voice, with an almost New York accent, filled the air.

"I can handle this ship, I can even handle Little Mister Blond Ambition, but I don't know whether I should be flyin' or doin' 'Swan Lake' in these suits." Ben stared down at the dark blue space suit and grimaced at the sight. He looked from his best friend, Reed, to the youthful man sitting in front of him. "I mean, who the hell came up with these?"

"Victor did." All three men looked up at the sound of Susan's voice as she walked into the room. Ben glanced at Johnny as the younger brother of Susan glanced right back at him, both then turning their attention to Reed for a short moment; how would Reed handle Susan's presence this time?

Before she could go on with her explanation, another voice filled the air, catching the three men off guard. "Sue! Way to just leave me behind, I told you I dropped my…bag.." Lily trailed off as she noticed everyone's eyes on her. She smiled at Ben and Reed, not noticing the new face in the crowd.

"What?" she asked curiously as Susan glanced at her brother to see his eyes wide open.

"That's right, you wanted to know who the pilot was, right?" Before Susan said anything, hazel eyes met with blue eyes. The three adults watched with curiosity as they studied the two "youngsters" react to one another.

"…Are you.."

"…Lily?" At the sound of his voice, Lily immediately knew exactly who she was talking to.

"Johnny Storm," Lily said as the now grown up boy stood to his feet.

"Lily Min, I knew it was your from the second you walked in," Johnny stated as he smiled widely at his childhood friend. Lily rolled her eyes as she tried not to smile, but she just couldn't resist the urge. The three adults smiled slightly at the sight of two old friends reuniting and glanced at each other, their eyes having their own conversation.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Johnny wrapped his arms around the woman's small frame as Lily couldn't help but laugh, wrapping her own arms around her, secretly, closest friend. She turned her head up to get a better look at him and frowned slightly.

"When did you get so tall?" she asked, mostly to herself. Johnny laughed slightly as he shook his head, releasing the girl from his hold, and patted her head, condescendingly. She twitched as he smirked at her.

"I've always been tall."

"Just like you've always been an idiot?" Ben held his laughter as Johnny rolled his eyes and took his seat back on the couch. He ignored Lily's comment and the two already knew, this mission was going to be a bumpy ride.

"Now that the happy reunion's finally over, what's the deal with…this?" Ben asked, not really able to find the right word for the suit. Susan chuckled as she shook her head.

"The synthetics act as a second skin, adapting to your body's individual needs," she explained as she smiled at Ben. The bald man smiled back as Johnny decided to take the floor.

"See, that means it keeps the hot stuff hot, and the cool stuff cool." Ben gave the younger man a quick glare before turning his attention back to Susan. Reed quickly stood to his feet and approached the woman, his eyes glued to her body.

"Wow, fantastic!" Reed almost whispered. Susan couldn't help but smile as her heart fluttered at the fact Reed was actually admiring her. Johnny, Ben, and Lily all shared a quick glance as they watched the scene play out before them; they were curious as to how this was going to turn out.

"Material made from self-regulating, unstable molecules." Then again, sometimes hopes can be crushed.

"I've been working on a formula for this," Reed said as the four other people in the room shared a defeated look. Susan closed her eyes for a moment before regaining her composure and pushed the embarrassed and disappointed feeling away.

"Great minds think alike," she stated, almost sardonically, as Lily shook her head. Ignoring the now infatuated Reed, Susan turned to Ben and smiled sweetly at him. He smiled back at her, his eyes apologizing for the clueless scientist's behavior.

"Here you go, Ben." She handed him his jacket as she turned to face Reed, her smile gone.

"Reed." Said scientist's eyes widened slightly as he looked and found a jacket tossed in his face. He blinked a few times as Susan walked out of the room, feeling more bitter towards the oblivious man than before. Johnny stood to his feet as the three friends shared a glance. Reed then turned his attention to his team mates as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Was it something I said?"