Ignite

Chapter Five: New and Improved

"Ah! I can't believe how good it feels to be on my feet again." Lily smiled to herself as she changed into fresh clothes and headed out of her room.

After a few tests and questions, she was free to do whatever she liked. She walked down the halls of the medical facility, not really sure where to go. As she turned around the corner, she stopped and rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"I see you're already out, looking for trouble?"

Johnny smirked at her as he walked up to her, his snowboarding gear ready to go. "I'm just here to enjoy all of Victor's benefits he's giving us."

"I'm not really sure if the Alps, is one of them," Lily stated as he shrugged.

"No one's told me no, yet."

"Not that you would listen even if someone did," the young woman pointed out as Johnny smirked more, shrugging.

"You've got a point. You want to come along?" he asked as he began to walk away. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"No, I think I'll just stay here, who else is going to cover for your sorry ass, anyways?" She smirked at him as he grinned back at her before turning the corner. She sighed and shook her head, continuing down the hall. She opened the door to Reed's room and smiled as she saw him heading right towards her. He stopped, slightly surprised, and smiled at her happily.

"Lily! I'm glad you're finally awake!" He hugged her tightly as she held him with the same amount of strength, thankful to see him up and running, perfectly. After releasing one another from the hug, another voice filled the air.

"Reed, why don't-Lily?" Her eyes brightened at the sound of the voice as she quickly walked around Reed to meet her next favorite person.

"Ben!" She quickly ran up to him, wrapping her arms tightly around him, and squeezed her eyes shut.

"I was so worried about you!"

"Worried about me? I was worried about you, Kid." She chuckled at that as she let him go and he smiled down at her.

"Well, at least I know you didn't lose any of your strength," he commented as she chuckled and shook her head. She turned back towards Reed and raised an eyebrow.

"Where were you heading, anyways?" she asked him curiously as he glanced at Ben and shook his head.

"I was just going to grab a bite of something to eat really quick," he explained as he began to head out of the room. Lily frowned, noticing the uncomfortable look on his face and turned to Ben, knowing he was the source of Reed's behavior.

"What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything, I was just tryin' to talk some sense into the guy."

"About Susan, I'm guessing?" Lily added as Ben nodded his head. He sighed and thought for a moment. Suddenly, his face lit up, an idea popping into his head. He smirked at Lily, a mischievous look now planted on his face.

"I think I got an idea…"

"I'm not really sure about this."

"Oh, come on, Reed. You weren't even there for my 21st birthday party, so I think the least you can do is have a couple of drinks with me now that it's been a year later!" Lily smiled innocently at Reed and in the back of the man's head, he knew something was up her sleeve. He sighed helplessly and smiled, nodding his head.

"I suppose you're right."

"Of course I am." She smirked back at him as he chuckled and shook his head.

The two walked into the rather nice food court, not noticing two other people doing the same thing.

"I can only stay for a few drinks, Victor's waiting for me," Susan stated as Ben tried not to smirk.

"Oh, we wouldn't want to keep Vic waiting." Susan chuckled as she gave Ben a knowing look. He smiled back at her widely before the two heard their names.

"Ben? Susan?" Both of them looked up to see Lily and Reed standing before them. Susan's whole expression dropped at the sight of Reed, but that's why Lily was there: damage control.

"Susan!" she said happily as she caught the blonde's attention. Susan grinned at her as she hugged her tightly.

"I'm so glad you're alright! I wasn't sure how you were doing because I couldn't find you around this maze of a medical center," Lily explained as Susan held her tightly for a moment.

"I'm glad too, you don't know how worried I was for everyone," she said before the two released each other.

Reed looked at Ben with a very knowing look as Ben innocently avoided the gaze, knowing if he faced Reed, his cover would be completely blown.

"Why don't you come join us?" Ben suggested, mostly to Lily, as Lily glanced at Reed and smiled widely.

"That sounds like a great idea!" she said as she began to pull Reed along, Ben and Susan walking beside them. Reed glanced at Sue, as she returned the look, and both quickly looked away. A bubble began to form in Reed's stomach as he frowned.

'Well, things couldn't get worse…could they?'

Laughter filled the air as a single table in the food court brought life to the emptiness of the room. Smiles and grins were the only traces on everyone's face as Reed shook his head and Susan laughed more, motioning for Ben and Lily to continue their story.

"Ok, so then-" The laughter immediately stopped as Ben groaned, his stomach making rather loud gurgling noises. Susan laughed weakly as she gave Ben a slightly worried expression.

"Wow.."

"Are you alright?" Reed asked as Ben nodded his head, wiping his face with his napkin.

"Huh, bad shrimp, but I think I need to go lay down," he mumbled as he looked to the three at the table, his eyes lingering on Lily. She inwardly nodded to herself, understanding the sign.

"If you'll excuse me." The three watched as Ben walked out of the room, his hand never leaving his stomach.

Not wanting to waste any time, Lily sighed as she smiled to the two, and stood to her feet. "Alright, I think I'm actually going to go for a swim, I'm suddenly feeling a bit warm," she explained, not completely lying about that statement. She was suddenly feeling a bit toasty, although the room temperature seemed to be just fine earlier. Reed raised an eyebrow as he reached over and touched Lily's cheek.

"You're freezing," he said, almost taken aback by the touch. Lily shrugged as she stood to her feet and smiled at the two.

"Play nice!" She smirked to herself as she walked out of the room and shook her head.

'I mean, hopefully, the two of them will get it right one of these days.'

Lily hummed to herself as she made her way down to the pool, her towel wrapped around her waist. She walked into the room and found it completely empty. She smiled to herself and released a sigh of relief. She then set her things down at a table, lightly tossing her towel on to a chair. She walked over to the steps leading into the pool and slowly slid her foot into the water.

She always hated first getting into a pool, it was always so cold in the beginning. She waited for the usual chill to run up her spine, but received nothing. She raised an eyebrow and glanced down to see her foot completely covered in water. She shrugged the thought off and decided to take a chance, dunking her whole body into the water. She rose from the water and looked around confused.

'That's weird. I'm usually shivering by now.' Perhaps it was because the water was heated? Or because she just hadn't gone for a swim in a long time, but if that were the case, shouldn't the water be more cold than warm?

She ignored the thought and swam a few laps and by the end of her seventh lap, she was floating on her back, staring up at the ceiling. She smiled to herself, enjoying the sound of the water and the silence following it. She closed her eyes and imagined herself on a beach, the waves slowly rising and falling. She chuckled to herself and opened her eyes, but as she did, they widened at the sight in front of her.

"Uh…" She was still staring at the ceiling, but it was much closer than she remembered it being. She slowly sat up, the sound of running water filling her ears, and looked down. She released a shrill scream as she found herself on a large spurt of water. It was like the pool had turned into a large fountain and the water was just shooting out with her sitting at the top of it all.

She was sitting on a bed of water, but it wasn't still, it was still running. She screamed more and her eyes opened even more wide as the water began to the fall and rise and fall and rise endlessly. She thrashed around, not really sure what to do, and continued to scream for help, hoping someone would walk in and see the impossible sight.

"SOMEONE! HELP ME!" she shrieked as the water continued to rise up and down with her on it. Finally, she squeezed her eyes shut.

'I wish I was out of the water!' she thought helplessly to herself. Suddenly, the water shot out once more, only this time, the water platform beneath her disappeared. She released a terrified scream as she hurtled to the ground. She hit the cement with a "thud" and groaned, pain racking through her entire body. She took shallow breaths, her adrenaline still pumping, and her head span uncontrollably. She gained her breath slightly and slowly pushed herself up on to her knees, the pain still running through her body. She looked back at the pool to see the waves slowly calming down, and stared.

"…What the hell…" She shook her head as she rubbed it, finding no blood or scratches, though she would be receiving a few bruises after that. She used the table beside her to stand to her feet, her strength slowly withering away, and sprinted towards her towel. She wrapped it around her soaked body and ran out of the room, wanting to find answers.

'I can't believe this!' she shouted to herself.

Never had anything like this happened before, and she was slightly afraid to find out what was wrong.

'It was like the water just threw me out on it's own!' She ran as quickly as her feet would take her and when she arrived back at the food court, she shoved the glass door open, thankful to still see Reed, Susan, and an almost naked Johnny standing in the room.

"You guys!" she shouted. The three turned to her as she stopped beside Johnny, trying to catch her breath. She glanced at the man next to her, but made a double take, staring at the pink jacket wrapped tightly around his waist. She rolled her eyes and before Johnny could clarify anything, she held her hand up to stop him.

"I really don't even want to know."

"What happened to you?" Susan asked as she looked at Lily to see a few bruises already forming on her arms and legs. Lily turned her attention back at the task at hand and shook her head.

"You're seriously not going to believe this."

"It has to be the cloud, it fundamentally altered our DNA." The four mutated humans walked swiftly down the halls of Victor's private clinic, Susan and Reed leading the way.

Lily tried to keep up with their conversation, but the thoughts in her head kept rolling around, never sitting in one place. She was too riled up to really think. As she walked beside Johnny, the boy continued to snap his fingers, almost entranced by the sight. After the fifth time, Lily turned to scold him, but stopped, staring at his fingers.

"…Johnny.." Her jaw fell open as she stared at the small flame on his thumb. He looked at her with a very excited/confused/frightened expression. Lily quickly turned to Reed and Susan, wanting to catch their attention.

"Guys." The two stopped and looked back at Johnny and Lily, only to stare with utter shock. Lily guided Johnny as the two walked up to their elders. Immediately, Susan and Reed's breath was taken away, Johnny snapping again to extinguish the flame. He snapped once more, the little fire appearing back on his thumb. He looked at Susan and Reed with a confused smile and nodded towards the flame.

"Now picture this, except everywhere," he said as he motioned at his body.

Lily tried to picture his whole body on fire, but just couldn't see it in her head, it was impossible.

"It was everywhere!" he repeated once again as Reed looked at Sue, her face wearing an "I told you so" expression.

"...The cloud has fundamentally altered our DNA."

"Cool!" Johnny said excitedly.

The four headed down the hall against as Lily caught up to Reed's pace. "What exactly does that mean?" she asked as he shook his head, not really sure about anything anymore.

"I really don't know, but we have to find Ben."

"And you know what, guys? I think I was flying!" Lily glanced at Johnny and rolled her eyes.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Johnny,"

"I'm serious! I swear to you, I could feel it," he said as Lily ignored him.

"Whatever you say."

As the four approached Ben's room, Reed ran up ahead, pounding lightly on the door. He waited for an answer but didn't get anything, and then his worries began to rise. The other three quickly followed, Lily walking head of Susan and Johnny. She quickly approached Reed's side as she began to knock on the door as well.

As the two began to try and make their way into Ben's bedroom, the two siblings followed, the tension between them slightly rising.

"Johnny, stop it." Susan felt her blood begin to simmer as Johnny continued to snap his fingers.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this."

"Johnny, I said stop." She waited one last time, only to hear the sound of him snap again, and lost her patience. She snapped around, glaring at her younger brother.

"Stop!" This caught her brother's attention as he immediately let the flame out.

"Alright."

"Alright?"

"Yes."

Susan rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "God!"

"God," Johnny said, almost as if he were mocking her. She gave her brother a scowl as he looked at her with a slightly irritated face.

"What's wrong with you?"

"What?"

"Susan, do you know the code?" Reed finally asked, hoping to get into Ben's room quickly and break up the brotherly/sisterly fight.

"I might," she said as she quickly approached the keypad to the room. Lily and Reed continued to knock on the door, Johnny now joining in. Reed glanced into the window and his eyes widened a bit as he saw a big form under the covers. Lily glanced inside and her eyes widened as she saw Ben's monitors going off the charts.

"Guys! We have to get in there, now!" she stated urgently as Susan tried her best to get the door opened.

"Hey! Does anybody have a key to this room? Anybody!" Johnny shouted out, searching for at least one nurse to come to their aid. Suddenly, Ben's bed collapsed, causing everyone to peer into the window.

"Ben! Hey! Open up! Are you alright?" Reed shouted through the glass, hoping by some miracle, the man would either hear him or stop ignoring him.

As the others did their best to get help and open the door, Reed slowly looked down at his hand, remembering the incident at the food court and began to think. Lily stopped knocking, her hand getting tired, and looked at Reed to ask him what to do.

Before she opened her mouth, she watched him think and stopped herself from talking. Lily watched Reed as he knelt down to the floor, his eyes glued to his hand, and he placed his hand by the crack of the door. Her eyes widened as she watched in silence, Reed's hand actually fitting beneath the door. Everyone slowly turned their attention to the man as they saw his hand in the air from the window.

It was a strange feeling. He could feel the pressure from the door, but that was really it. The rest of his arm just felt as if it were stretching out before a work out. It almost felt a bit refreshing.

'Almost there.' Reed concentrated as he watched his own hand unlock the door and slip back under the crack. Susan, Johnny, and Lily stared in awe, not really sure what to say about the current even that had just happened. He stood back to his feet in silence as they stared at him for a moment.

"...That's gross," Johnny said, breaking the silence.

BOOM

The three didn't waste time as they ran into the room and looked around. The room was now empty and completely torn up.

"Ben?" Reed cautiously called out.

"Where did he go?" Lily whispered as she and Susan scoped out the room.

"Look! Look, look, look, look!" Johnny quickly spat out. The four rushed towards the shattered window and looked out, the sun now almost gone, behind the horizon. They squinted, trying to look through the trees, an orange dot running through them.

"What is that?" Johnny whispered to no one in particular.

"What's going on?" The four jumped slightly as they all turned to face the intruder. Victor stood in the destroyed room, not understanding what had happened, and turned to Susan for answers as she walked a bit closer to him.

"What happened in here?" Lily turned her attention away from the man and looked back out to the forest to see the orange blob gone.

"Are you feeling alright?" Susan asked as Victor nodded his head.

"Just a few scratches is all," he clarified as Susan just looked at him, not sure whether to believe him or not.

"Ben did this. He had some sort of reaction to cloud," Reed explained as Victor looked at him with a confused look.

"We all have...different symptoms," Susan declared as Victor turned his attention to the woman standing before him.

"Victor…I should have-" Before she could finish, he raised his hand up, not really concerned about anything else but the consequences this whole event could bring about.

"Just find him," he demanded as he walked out of the room, not giving any of them a second glance. Susan frowned and sighed, turning her attention back to the others.

"So, anyone have a clue where the big guy is going?" Johnny asked as he stared out at the night. Everyone thought for a moment before Reed glanced down at the ground and his eyes softened. He knelt down and picked up a picture and looked up at the others.

"He's going home."