It's the end! X( But! Good news, I'm working on the sequel, which will be following the second movie so please keep your eye out for that! =D I've been working hard so I hope you guys enjoy this last one! Review and tell me your opinion and if you have any suggestions for the next story, go ahead and let me know, I'm more than willing to listen!
Here we go!
Ignite
Chapter Fourteen: Together We Stand Part Two
"Looks like we're here."
Sue and Lily stood in front of Victor's building, staring at the many flights. As Sue went to enter the building, Lily grabbed her by the wrist to stop her. "Wait," she said. "Let me go first," she suggested.
"What are you talking about? That-"
"Sue, you need to get Reed, but Victor's not dumb. You need a distraction," she explained. "I can be that distraction."
Sue shook her head, already rejecting the idea. "It's too danger-"
"We don't have time and we don't have the option to think of something else," Lily interrupted as she smirked at her mother-like figure. She grabbed Sue's shoulder gently, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm not that little girl you used to baby-sit. You have to trust me on this one."
Before the blonde could reply, Lily concentrated, and began to float upwards. Sue's eyes followed her for a moment before a determined look appeared in her eyes. She nodded, and in an instant, she disappeared.
"Ah, two down, three to go," a deep voice said. A smirk appeared behind a metal mask as a man watched an explosion from afar. The man wore a dark forest green hooded cape, his hands and feet covered with metal gloves and boots to insure he was able to use his strength to it's abilities. "Now, all I need to do is-"
"Heads up, Vicky!"
Victor's eyes widened as he quickly span around. He grunted in pain as he felt something cold and solid slam into his body. Not having control, the mutated man flew back, slamming into the doors of his balcony. He glanced around, gathering his bearings, as shards of ice fell to the ground, melting into water.
"Oops, sorry!"
"As charming as always, Lily." Said woman concentrated as she floated in the air. Although she could not fly, the amount of water in her body gave her the ability to control it more easily.
"Victor, it's rude to try and kill people."
"It's rude to interrupt while I have plans!"
Lily's eyes widened as she quickly dodged a bolt of lightning coming from the man's hand. She somersaulted on to the balcony and winced as she hit the wall. She quickly stood to her feet as she glanced up at a pipe above the doorway. She smirked and held her hand out towards Victor. He watched, slightly surprised, as the pipe burst open and a line of water wrapped around him. He winced as he felt it squeeze tightly around him, as if it were actually solid.
"I never did like you," Lily mumbled as she swung her arm to the left slightly. Victor bit back his groan as he felt himself slam into the brick wall to his right. He squeezed his eyes shut as he did it again, against his will. Lily's eyes widened as she felt Victor fight against her water. She stumbled back slightly as her former colleague broke through her defense. He smirked and held his hand up towards her. Lily's eyes widened as she felt this sharp pain consume her. She screamed out in agony, cringing, as she fell to her knees.
"Water conducts lightning, you know," the masked man stated. "Too bad for you."
"Vi-Victor-"
"Oh, no. I'm afraid it's not Victor anymore, Lily," the man corrected. "It's Doom."
Lily's eyes widened as the pain disappeared, leaving her gasping for air as she fell to the ground. She winced, trying to sit up, but found no strength at all. Her eyes widened as she listened to the sound of Doom's boots against the floor. Trying her best to crawl away, the water bender winced, her body still trying to recover from the strong shock waves. Her body trembled uncontrollably as she looked up at Victor, glaring as best as she could.
"Ah, ah, ah. Not so fast." Doom smirked underneath his mask as he reached out and grabbed Lily roughly by the back of her collar. She coughed, not expecting the tug on her throat, and tried to wiggle free from Doom's grip, her feet dangling helplessly.
"St-Stop!" Lily exclaimed as she tried to struggle against Doom's grip. Her eyes widened as he dangled her over the edge of the balcony, the city lights and cars seeming farther away than Lily had remembered them.
"Have a good flight." Lily released a shrill scream as she began to plummet towards the ground. Victor watched with satisfaction and laughed slightly.
"Fool."
'Concentrate!' Lily squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to focus on her body, but failed to. Not having enough control or power, she couldn't stop herself from falling. All she could do was await for whatever was to happen. Glancing over her shoulder, Lily gave an exasperated expression, the ground inching closer by ever second.
"Crap!" she snapped to herself, running out of ideas. She shook her head, feeling defeated as she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry-"
Her eyes snapped open as she felt a pair of stone like arms catch her with ease, a deep grunt filling the air. She blinked, trying to compose herself as she looked around and noticed the eyes of many surprised civilians around her. She took deep breaths, trying to catch it, and jumped as a voice called out to her.
"Looks like I came at the right time."
'I-I've got t-t-to get out of here..' A frozen Mr. Fantastic sat in a chair, unable to escape, and shook from the falling temperature. He tried to move, make himself break through Victor's trap, but failed to, his body completely frozen at this point. Suddenly, the sound of the lever controlling the gas turning filled Reed's ears as he glanced to the side as best as he could. He saw nothing, but he could feel someone in front of him. He glanced down at his wrist bindings and watched as they unbuckled, releasing his hands.
"S-Sue-"
"Ssh," said woman commanded quietly as her eyes softened. She was thankful Reed couldn't seen her or else she may have broke down on the spot. "What has he done to you?"
"How romantic."
Susan gasped slightly as she appeared before Reed, turning around to face a masked Victor. Although she couldn't see it well, the man glared at the two, ready to take his full revenge.
"Victor, please," Sue said as she carefully walked closer to the man.
"Call me Doom," he demanded as Susan shook her head, trying to keep the small amount of hope she had left inside of her.
"The machine works," she stated. "It worked on Ben, it can work on you!"
As the two conversed with each other, Reed tried to gain his movement back. As he did so, he raised a brow or would have raised a brow, and watched as a blinding flash appeared from his apartment floor. 'What in the world…'
"Victor, you always thought you were a God," Sue said shortly as she narrowed her eyes as the so called Doom. "Back. off."
"Susan. Lets not fight," Doom said as the blonde smirked.
"No, lets." The woman sent a wave of her energy towards Doom and watched as the man stumbled back and everything behind him shattered.
"Susan," Doom warned. "You're fired!" he snapped as he sent of line of electricity towards her. Susan gasped slightly as she felt a wave of pain run through her body. She flew into the air and hit the wall, hard, falling on to antiques Victor had and shattering them. Shaking her head, Susan tried to shrug the pain off, and watched as Doom made his way dangerously towards her. Concentrating on her emotions, she disappeared from sight and as silently as possible, she stood to her feet.
Victor sighed as he began to grow tired of the games. He glanced around the area, trying to control his patience, and listened closely, trying to find any sort of sign of Susan.
"Marco," he said darkly as he took a quiet step forward.
Sue's heart beat rapidly against her chest as she held her breath, too afraid that even the smallest sigh would catch the man's attention. Taking a moment to gather her courage, Susan aimed more energy at Doom, catching him off guard. He stumbled back but gained his footing again, holding his hand out and aiming a shock wave at the woman. She grunted in pain, not able to move, and Victor smirked as he grabbed Sue roughly by the neck. He squeezed, finding satisfaction run through him as he did so. All of his pent up emotions and anger began to flood out towards Sue as he squeezed even more, ready to take the plunge.
"Did you say goodbye to your brother, Johnny? Did you remember to give your last parting words to Lily?" Doom asked as Sue's blue eyes widened, her form reappearing in Doom's hand. She gasped for air and winced as Doom threw her across the room. She landed with a 'thud' beside Reed, who sat helplessly, trying to move as best as he could. He glanced down at her as Sue looked up at him, asking for his forgiveness in her eyes. His eyes softened as he tried to think of a way out of the horrible and frightening situation.
What could he possibly do? Alone he could barely protect himself, let along Susan as well. Without his friends, his loved ones by his side, he was helpless, but he couldn't give up. Not over his dead bead.
"It's time to end this," Doom said darkly as he took a few steps towards the two. Before he could go through his with attack, everyone's eyes widened, the wall behind Victor coming down.
"No, Vic."
Doom's eyes widened as he stared at Ben, only this time he wasn't human. It was the mutated Ben, the stronger Ben. The Thing.
"It's clobberin' time!" Pulling his fist back, Ben thrust it forward as hard as he could, giving Victor a punch of his lifetime. The man grunted as he flew back into the wall. He fell to the ground, not able to move much, and without a chance, Victor's large metal frame fell on top of him, hindering him from any sort of movement whatsoever.
"Damn, I've been waitin' to do that," Ben said to himself as he smirked, quite proud of his work he had just created. Susan smiled as she watched the rock like Ben quickly walk up to her.
"You ok?" he asked as the woman nodded her head. Standing to her feet. Ben quickly turned his attention to Reed with a playful smirk on his face.
"Victor ain't that bad, you said," he commented teasingly, and had Reed been able to move, let alone talk, he would have agreed with his friend. The two quickly worked to free Reed as Ben continued to lecture the stretchable man. "Maybe you'll listen to me next time-" Ben stopped and the three looked around as the lights on the floor shut off completely. They quickly looked around in the dark, trying to solve the strange mishap. Suzie looked over her shoulder and her eyes widened as she found a dark shadow sprinting towards her friend.
"Ben!" she exclaimed as said man followed her gaze. Too slow to react, Ben quickly braced himself as he felt a body shove him backwards. Stumbling over his feet, Ben wrapped his arms around his attacker, making sure to keep a strong grip.
Sue watched with fear as Doom and Ben broke through the window, tumbling towards the street.
"S-Sue."
The blonde's eyes widened as she quickly turned her attention to a slowly defrosting Reed. Her eyes lightened up as she knelt down and grabbed an arm of Reed's. Looping it around her shoulder, she helped the man stand as she gave him a concerned look. "Reed."
"W-We…We have t-to help…Ben," the scientist stuttered out as coherently as possible. Sue hesitated but stopped as she stared into Reed's brown eyes and found a glint of determination and dedication in his eyes. The gleam gave Sue the confidence she needed as she nodded her head.
"Right."
"I knew I could always count on Ben!" Lily smiled to herself as she carefully landed on the ground, the large, wooden dock being her landing. She quickly ran up to the edge, looking out towards the sea. She bit her lips as she searched for any sign of life the in the water. Her eyes widened as she found a boat, smoke rising from the ashes of whatever had set it on fire. Biting her lip, Lily looked around, trying to figure out some sort of plan to get to the boat. She glanced at the water and an idea popped into her head. She smirked as she closed her eyes, concentrating on the water. She took a deep breath and walked off the deck, stumbling into the water. Waiting for her head to be under water, Lily held her breath, but raised an eyebrow. She opened her eyes and she laughed, feeling astonished at herself. She shook her head as she stood on the water, almost afraid that if she moved even an inch, she'd fall in. Calming herself down, Lily slowly took a step forward and found herself still above the water. Smirking, she began to walk, the slow pace turning into a sprint as she kept her eyes glued to the boat.
'Johnny, you big idiot, you better be ok.' Lily quickly approached the sizzling ship and using a platform of water, leaped on to the boat with no problems. She landed in a pile of ashes and coughed, fanning the smoke from her face. She glanced around, squinting through the smoke, and quickly began to call out for her teammate.
"Johnny! Johnny, answer me!" she shouted as she began to search the completely toasted ship. Her heart began to pound loudly against her chest as a knot began to form in the pit of her stomach. Her breathing became slightly uneven as her vision began to blur. "Johnny? Come on, this isn't funny!" she snapped as the fear she had been pushing away began to surface. Biting her lip, she found herself right where she had started, Johnny still missing. Letting her emotions get the best of her, Lily began to frantically search through the water, looking around for any sign of movement.
"John-" Lily came to an abrupt as she caught a glimpse of some sort of blob caught in the waves of the sea. Her eyes widened as she jumped off the boat and landed gracefully on the water.
"JOHNNY!" she screamed as she sprinted towards the body floating motionlessly in the current. Quickly kneeling next to the floating body, Lily did her best to pull the unconscious man's upper body out of the water. She held him tightly in her arms as she tried to wake him.
"Johnny? Johnny, it's me!" Lily said as she gave his cheek a couple soft slaps. Her breath hitched as she found no response. "Johnny, please! Wake up," she commanded as she waited for the prankster to snap awake and laugh at her reaction. As she waited and waited for Johnny's snarky remarks, she realized she would not be receiving any comment unless she did something.
Thinking on her feet, Lily quickly opened Johnny's mouth and let her hand hover over it. Taking a few deep breaths, she calmed her nerves down, returning to her more mature and collected self.
"You have one shot," she said to herself as she concentrated. As if she were holding a string in her hand, Lily began to pull her hand up and as she did so, a string of water began to follow her hand. Waiting for a few more second, Lily opened her eyes and watched as the line of water stopped, all of it out of Johnny's lungs. Lily waited impatiently, wanting Johnny to wake up.
"…Johnny?" she whispered as the man laid in her arms, unmoving. Her eyes grew hot as warm tears started to overflow in her eyes. She bit her lip as she tried not to cry. She shook her head, holding her best friend tightly in her arms.
"Please.." she mumbled as she began to cry. "I need you here, I need you to stand by me," she said as she coughed on one of her sobs. "What are Sue and Reed and Ben going to do without you? What…What am I going to do without you here?"
If only she had been a few seconds faster, if only she had gone off to help Johnny instead of fight Victor. There was no second chance, she couldn't save him no matter how hard she tried. She still had so much to tell him, so much to show him.
"I'm sorry," she whispered as she dug her head into the nook of his neck.
"N-No…No need." Lily's eyes snapped open as she sat up and stared at her assumed dead friend. "Lets…Lets just say we're even."
"Johnny!" Lily exclaimed as the tired looking young man smiled weakly, coughing up a bit more water. He looked up into her tear stained eyes and frowned at the sight.
"Sorry," he mumbled as he tried to gain his strength as quickly as possible. "I didn't mean to make you worry."
"Yet somehow, you always do," Lily snapped playfully as she smiled, wiping her own tears from her eyes and cheeks. Johnny chuckled softly as he leaned against Lily's chest, finding her arms warm and comfortable. He closed his eyes for a moment, wanting to drown in her scent and touch.
"Are you alright?" Lily asked quietly as Johnny nodded his head.
"Just give me a second," he said as Lily hesitated, but nodded. She sat quietly as Johnny relaxed for a moment in her arms. There was no place else he would rather be and for the first time in his life, he wasn't afraid. In that long moment, he embraced the strange feelings he had been running from, and he couldn't have been happier.
"Thank you."
Lily stared at the man, completely shocked, and slowly nodded as she smiled. "Don't thank me, who else would come and clean up after you?"
Johnny opened an eye and looked up at Lily as she smirked down at him. He returned the expression with his own smirk and sighed, nodding his head. Lily stood to her feet as she helped the flame thrower stand to his own feet. Concentrating hard, Lily solidified the water underneath Johnny's feet, making sure he would stay above water this time around.
Feeling a bit more up to par, Johnny looked over at Lily with a determined look in his eyes and nodded his head. Her smirked widened as she nodded her head as well.
"You ready?"
"Lets do this."
"This is the police! Put your hands up and step down from the vehicle!"
The civilians of New York watched with interest and fear as a hooded man, no, a hooded demon made his way out of the back of a truck. Curious eyes stayed glued to the man as sparks of electricity went off everywhere on the mutated person.
'Oh boy.' Ben watched Doom carefully, glancing around at the many innocent people at the scene. He turned his attention to the police officers for a moment before an uneasy filling began to well up inside of him. 'They aren't gonna be able to take him.' He was right. He watched with shock as Doom aimed a bolt of lightning towards a police care. Everyone ducked for cover as the car burst into flames, exploding. That caused the people to frantically run like mice.
"Take him out!"
Victor rolled his eyes as he watched the officers make futile attempts to destroy him. He turned his whole body towards them and shook his head as he smirked under his metallic mask. 'Fools.'
"Ladies, I'm gonna need to borrow your car," Ben said as he kept his gaze glued to his enemy. The two ladies Ben had run into gave him a worried look, the whole incident a bit too much for them to handle.
"It sticks!"
"Not gonna be a problem!" Ben grunted out as he used his strength and threw the car at the unsuspecting Doom. The Thing watched, slightly impressed with his work, as the car collided into Doom, sending him into a bus. He watched as the force of the car caused the bus to skid back a bit, hitting a light post. Deciding to ignore that and deal with one problem at a time, Ben kept his eyes on the bus, waiting for any sign of life. He growled slightly as he watched Doom walk out of the bus, fixing the collar of his jacket. 'He just doesn't know when to give up,' he snapped to himself. He began to sprint towards the villain as a determined look appeared on his stone-like face.
Doom watched with entertainment as the man continued to sprint towards him. Glancing around, he smirked, kicking the broken light post up. He caught with ease and span around as Ben continued to come closer.
'Home.'
THUNK
'Run.' Doom watched as he hit Ben dead on and sent a wave of electricity through the post. Ben shouted in pain as he flew back couple of feet, skidding to a stop. He groaned, finding little strength left in his body after that hit. 'Good, stay down,' Doom thought to himself as he walked dangerously closer to Ben. He adjusted the post in his arm and stopped in front of the man, ready to aim and fire. As he pulled his arm back, ready to go in for the shot, a voice stopped him.
"I can't let you do that."
'Wonderful.' Doom slowly looked over his shoulder and an irritated look appeared on his face, though no one could see it behind his mask. He stared at Reed as Mr. Fantastic gave him a warning look. He laughed a bit as he shook his head, turning his attention back to Ben.
"I'll be right with you." As he pulled the post back, he didn't notice the small smirk on Ben's face. He thrust the post forward, but found it forced to a stop. He pushed harder and growled as he saw the blue tinted force field protected the man. Growing tired of the games, Victor turned around and glared at Susan as she stood beside Reed, glaring right back at him. He shook his head as he began to walk towards the two.
"You three are pa-" He was abruptly stopped as he stumbled back a bit, his metal suit growing quite warm. The four looked up in the sky and watched as a burning man flew towards them, a woman holding tightly to his hands, unaffected by the fire. Releasing each other, the raven haired woman stumbled forward slightly, landing on the ground in one piece. She smirked as she glanced to her right, Johnny turning his flames off.
Victor glared more as his anger began to grow inside of him, becoming almost uncontainable.
"You missed me," Johnny stated as he glanced at the others. Ben quickly stood to his feet and walked over to Reed, standing beside his best friend. The five looked at each other, feeling the best they ever had been in a very long time. It was as if things had fallen back into place, as long as they stood together, nothing could get in their way. As long as they had each other to lean on, nothing else mattered.
"Sorry, Vic," Lily said as she gave the man an almost dark, but innocent, smile. "I had to pick up a friend," she stated as she looked over at Johnny, he smirked at her. The Human torch took a deep breath as he looked over at Ben, the stone like face almost more familiar to him than Ben's human face. He smiled and nodded his head, turning his attention to Doom.
"Welcome back."
"Well," Doom cut in as he held his arms out. "Looks like this is going to be fun."
The Fantastic Five watched as Doom stared up at the sky, pulling in as much energy as he could. Strong bolts of lightning began to spurt out from his body as he began to cause debris to fall from buildings. Windows broke as cars burst, people running to escape the chaos. Victor smirked as he began to walk towards the five. He aimed a lightning bolt at Johnny, sending the boy to the ground. Ben growled and took a step, but also flew back as a bolt hit him. Victor tilted his head as he stopped a few feet away from Lily. She took a step back, keeping her eyes pasted on him. He chuckled quietly as he held his hand up to her. The raven haired girl's eyes widened as she yelled out, a painful shock coursing through her body. Victor laughed slightly as he took a few more steps closer to Lily. Not able to stand the pain and pressure, she flew back and hit the ground, groaning loudly. She coughed as her body trembled, her breath as shaky as it had ever been.
"Lily!" Susan shouted as she took a step towards the girl. Her blue eyes widened as she turned her attention towards Doom and blocked his electricity with her shield. She winced as she tried to push back against his attack. She slid back a bit as her head began to spin and her arm began to quiver.
"I can't hold it!" she exclaimed as she squeezed her eyes shut.
'I have to do something.' Reed quickly glanced around, his brain quickly coming up with a plan of action. Extending his arm out, Reed wrapped his rubbery arm around a mailbox. Tugging roughly on it, it detached from the ground and he threw it into Doom. The man stumbled back as Susan stumbled a bit, relaxing for the moment.
'Reed,' Victor hissed in his head.
Not wasting any time, Reed stretched his body into a wheel, spinning towards the slightly surprised Doom. Waiting for the right moment, Reed sprang up and stretched his entire body out like he were a blanket. Doom helplessly tried to defend himself, but his powers were weak against rubber like substances. Reed quickly covered the man and looked over at Johnny, who gained his footing back and quickly looked over at Reed.
"Supernova!" the scientist called out. Johnny hesitated as he gave the man a confused look.
"I thought we agreed that was bad!"
"Now!" Reed commanded as he felt Victor trying to break free from his hold. Without a word, Johnny did as he was told, immediately turning his flames on. He used a running head start and pushed off the ground, flying into the air.
'Here we go.'
Reed looked over at Ben as the man nodded his head, holding his hands out. The black haired man stretched out towards Ben and grabbed a hold of his hands.
"Gotcha," Ben grunted as he tugged roughly. The rest of Reed caught up to him as he returned to his normal form, leaving a rather confused Victor.
"What-" Doom's eyes widened as he watched The Human Torch fly around him at an amazing speed. He raised a brow as he felt this suffocating heat consume him.
"Sue!" Said blonde looked over at Reed as he looked back at her. "You think you can contain it?"
'Only one way to find out.' Susan concentrated and thrust her body forward, creating a force field surrounding the tornado like flames.
"Wow.." Lily slowly walked over towards Ben as the two watched the sight before them. It was nothing like they had ever seen before, such danger could bring such beauty. Ben looked over at Lily as the woman looked over at him and they both gave a satisfied smile.
"Flame on, kid."
"AH!" Victor began to lose his composure as he began to aimlessly try and hit Johnny. He had never been so hot in his entire life; it was as if he was going to melt away into nothing but a little puddle.
'Just a bit more.' Sue winced as she ignored the droplets of blood slipping down her nose. She pushed herself more, knowing that if she didn't people's lives could be at risk.
'I can't do this anymore.' Johnny winced as he found himself growing hot from his own body. He quickly turned the flames off, falling to the ground and rolling to a stop. Sue sighed as she relaxed, letting the shield fall.
The flames around Doom began to die down as everyone stared at a completely metallic man. He shined like the sun, the silver of his body catching everyone's attention.
"Is that the best you can do?" he hissed out as he tried to ignore the pain and the heat. Reed smirked as he glanced over at the former chemistry teacher. She glanced back at him and smirked, nodding her head.
"Time for you lesson," Reed stated. "Chem. 101. What happens when you rapidly cool hot metal?"
"Ben, if you'd do me the honors?" Lily said as she smiled sweetly at the man. Ben smirked as he nodded his head and stomped over towards a fire hydrant. He picked the top off and Lily smirked at Victor, who quickly turned to face her.
"Have a nice swim, asshole." Lily thrust both of her arms forward as she controlled the spurting water from the hydrant. Victor's eyes widened as he watched a wave of water collide into him. He was in so much pain; first he had been burning hot, and now he was unnaturally cold; he couldn't take it.
As Lily continued to concentrate, everyone else watched as fumes began to appear, blocking any sort of view of Victor. Reed stood silently, praying to God that his plan had succeeded, just that one time.
Wincing from the strain, Lily fell to her knees, the water leaving her control and returning to bursting into the sky. Ben quickly squeezed the top shut, looking back at Victor. The five waited anxiously for the mist to clear, hoping for the best. As the fumes disappeared, they all relaxed, Doom existing no more.
"Whoa..." Ben mumbled to himself as he slowly made his way over to Johnny. The boy sighed as relief ran through his entire being. He relaxed, placing his hands on his hips, and turned around, feeling a hand on his shoulder. He smiled slightly as he and Ben shared a silent conversation.
"..You did good, kid," he stated as Johnny shook his head silently laughing. He gave Ben a pat on the back as the two turned to Lily.
"Whew, I'm glad that's finally over."
"That makes two of us," a familiar voice said. Lily looked up and smiled as she watched Johnny hold his hand out to her. She stared at it for a moment before she chuckled and held it in her own. Standing to her feet, Lily sighed, dusting herself off. She looked back up at Johnny as he gave her a sincere smile. Her eyes softened as she shook her head. She walked into him and wrapped her arms around him, finding no words to say. Johnny blinked, slightly surprised at the woman's actions, but returned the gesture by wrapping his arms tightly around her as well. He closed his eyes and sighed, squeezing her tightly as Lily chuckled, hiding her face in his chest.
How could something completely crazy and out of the question feel so right? Being in Johnny's arms was an amazing feeling for Lily; she loved every second of it. But, as the saying goes; all good things must come to an end.
Listening to the sound of Johnny's slightly quickened heart beat, the dark haired woman pulled away, too afraid of what would happen if she stayed there any longer. Johnny clenched his mouth shut, forcing himself to hide the frown he was about to reveal from the loss of Lily's touch.
"C'mon," Johnny said as Lily took a second to gather her composure. She smiled and nodded as Johnny wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, wrapping an arm around his waist as they made their way towards the others.
'Everyone's safe.' Reed smiled to himself as he helped Sue stand to her feet. She stared into his eyes and for a moment, nothing else mattered. He smiled slightly as she returned the favor with her own. Before he could say anything, he felt a pat on the back of his shoulders. He turned around and smiled more as he found Johnny, Lily, and Ben standing before him. They smiled proudly at him as he nodded his head.
That's when the five noticed the cheering.
"Man, I love this job," Johnny muttered as he smiled out at the safe civilians. Feeling a bit accomplished Johnny smiled. Ben glanced at the boy as he smirked slightly, shaking his head.
"Job, huh?"
"Well, we do have the suits," Reed pointed out playfully as he and Johnny chuckled a bit. The cheering grew louder as the five smiled at each other, turning towards the crowd. The joy from everyone's eyes made the mood light as the people cheered on.
"Everyone." The four looked over at Reed as he gave them all a tired but happy smile. "Lets go home."
"Alicia, you have to tell me where you get your shoes!" The women laughed as they stood around a bar, underneath a sign that said "Thank you, Fantastic Five!" Lily smiled at Alicia, one of Ben's friends, as Susan chuckled, a wide smile on her face.
"Here are your drinks, ladies," the bar tender said as he kindly disbursed each drink to each lady. The dark woman laughed as she shook her head.
"I don't think I need any more."
"Just one more!" Sue said with a playful smile as Lily nodded her head.
"Trust me, it'll be worth it!" The three laughed again and Sue and Alicia quickly found themselves locked in a conversation. Lily listened half-heartedly as she glanced around the yacht.
After saving New York City from what would have been a disaster caused by Doom, a party had been organized on behalf of the newly made superhero team, The Fantastic Five. Many people had been boarded on the boat for the party, the weather being perfect for sailing.
Lily smiled happily as she took a sip of her drink. Although this hadn't been her planned happy ending, it was close enough for now. She glanced over at her knucklehead friend and rolled her eyes with a smile as she watched him swoon the ladies like he always did.
'He'll never change,' she thought as she smiled. 'But that's ok. That's what makes him Johnny, I guess.'
"Cheers, ladies," Johnny smirked as he watched his five companions down their shots with ease. He took a quick glances around the room and stopped as his eyes landed on his favorite person, though he would never admit that out loud, of course.
"Ladies, I'll be right back. Just sit tight and get those numbers down for me!" Johnny waved a bit as he set his shot glass down and made his way through the crowd. He stood at the bar table, but raised a brow as he found his target missing. He scratched the back of his head, but smirked as he found what he had been looking for. He headed towards the staircase of the yacht and walked up the stairs, closing the door behind himself.
'Ah, peace and quiet.' Lily smiled as she stood out on the terrace of the boat. She leaned on to the railing and closed her eyes, enjoying the breeze.
"I see someone's had a bit too much to drink."
Lily chuckled as she rolled her eyes, turning around to face her intruder. "Don't you have friends to attend to?"
"What does it look like I'm doing?"
Lily blinked as she watched Johnny walk up beside her. He leaned back against the railing and smiled at the sky, glancing at his friend.
"Things turned out alright, didn't they," he said as Lily smiled and nodded her head, standing next to him.
"I'd say so," she agreed as Johnny nodded his head. They stood in a comfortable silence, letting the sound and people drown away.
"…You know, I really am sorry about before."
Lily sighed as she shook her head, ready to intervene in the conversation. "It's fi-"
"Ah, ah, ah," Johnny interrupted. "I have to get this off my chest," he stated as Lily hesitated, but nodded, letting him continue.
"You were right, I was an awful person and an awful friend."
"Johnny-"
"Let me finish," he asked as he stared into Lily's eyes. "..Please," he said quietly. Lily's eyes softened as she nodded.
"No matter how many times I say it, I just don't feel like you get it," he started. "I'm sorry. I'm honestly really sorry," he said. Lily smiled as she nodded her head, accepting his apology.
"From here on out, I'm going to be better," he stated, surprising Lily. "I'm gonna be a friend you can count on," he said as Lily smiled painfully.
'Just a friend.'
Johnny raised a brow as he watched Lily try and smile. Before he could ask her what the problem was, Lily spoke up.
"You already are a friend I can count on," she stated as she reached up and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. Johnny smiled as she did the same.
"Come on, lets get back," Lily said as she gave Johnny a playful smile. "You have fans waiting."
"Hah, I'm going to have way too much fun with this."
Lily watched as Johnny went on ahead, walking back into the yacht. Her smile disappeared as she shook her head, glancing out at the water one last time.
'It's better this way,' she thought to herself as she stood up, making her way towards the door. 'I'll be fine…'
As the black haired woman entered the main floor, she raised a brow as she found a crowd forming at the back doors. "What's going on?" she asked as she made her way through the crowd and stood beside Ben, Alicia, and Johnny.
"Looks like Reed's done thinking, for once," Johnny explained with a smile as Lily watched her father-like figure get down on one knee. Everyone cheered as they watched Susan accept the ring, the happiest look on her face. The two looked back at everyone and laughed as the nodded their heads. As the crowd began to disburse, the four stood in their place, happy looks on their faces.
"Hey." Johnny looked to his left as Ben leaned over to him. "No more wise cracks about the way I look," he said as Johnny smirked on the inside. Lily glanced up at The Human Torch and shook her head.
"Hey," Johnny started as he placed his arm around Ben's wide shoulders. "Call me Mr. Sensitivity," he said as Lily rolled her eyes. She crossed her eyes, counting down in her head.
"Alright then." Johnny began to make his way towards the doors, pushing past people. "WIDE LOAD COMIN' IN, EVERYBODY MOVE! HE'S HUGE!"
"There it is." Lily shook her head as she watched Ben stomp after Johnny. She chuckled as she stood next to Alicia.
"Want to find out what happens?" Lily asked with a smirk as Alicia laughed, nodding her head. Carefully guiding her outside, Lily and Alicia stood behind Ben as he gave Johnny an irritated look.
"Come here, Mr. Sensitive!" Ben snapped as Johnny laughed.
"Flame on!" Everyone watched as the man flew into the air, brightening the night sky. Ben tried not to chuckle as he shook his head.
"Show off!"
The newly engaged couple joined the group and the four smiled as they looked up at Johnny. Lily sighed as she chuckled, shaking her head.
"Well," Lily looked at her friends as a confident expression appeared. "Let the adventure begin."
Fin