Thanks for the great response guys!!! I love it!!! Just a little tidbit that you might need to know for this chapter, although the movie had the Surfer's powers coming from his board, in comic lore this isn't quite true. His powers are his own and the board just helps him use them and focus them and his power actually comes from the Power Cosmic, which is kind of like having perfect insight into the universe. You can see how everything works and is stitched together and from this understanding you can manipulate space around you. Okay, that info isn't exactly pertinent yet, but it will be eventually.

Special thanks to moogsthewriter, silverangel83, Frozen Waterz, MarvelousMariaah, Iaveina, and Kuriei137 for their fantastic reviews. Each word made this next chapter come out just a little bit faster. Anyway, chapter two of:

Cosmic Storm

By Robinyj

Even after Johnny's sarcastic comment, silence and dread hung around the members of the Fantastic Four as it once more seemed to fall on their shoulders to save the world.

"So, what is this Gorgun?" Reed finally asked, knowing they would need a lot more information.

"It is a wave of destruction that flows through the universe as wind passes over your own planet. It has no sentience, no desires - it merely exists, and has always existed, travelling from star to star, drawn by the flame and heat and devouring that energy for sustenance," the Surfer explained.

"So, it's not actually attacking Earth?" Sue clarified.

"No, it comes for this system's star, which you call the Sun," Norrin replied.

"But without the sun, all life on the planet dies, so it's really one in the same," Reed mumbled dejectedly.

"It eats stars? It's a 'star-eater'?" Johnny asked.

Norrin nodded, "Yes, it feeds on their energy until they are extinguished."

"Great, we knock Galactus out of the park and then in moves a new neighbor who's just as bad," Ben complained. "Come on, what are the chances? Two universe destroying monsters to fight in the same year?"

"It is not by 'chance' as you say Benjamin Grimm, for the Gorgun's appearance after Galactus is no coincidence. Millennia ago whatever fates form and control this universe set the Gorgun on its path through the galaxy and the path that was laid out for it was the same as the one carved by Galactus. For every planet and life that the Destroyer devoured, the Gorgun came soon after and extinguished the star that gave the system life, ensuring that the area would remain void and cold for all eternity," the Surfer continued.

"So this Gorgun never got a fancy name like "The Destroyer" since all the stars that it eats are in universes that are already dead," Johnny surmised.

"Except ours," Sue added. "We destroyed Galactus but this Gorgun is still following its path and coming for the sun. When will it be here?"

"Within four of your Earth rotations," Norrin replied.

"Four days?" Sue gasped. The entire team took on a renewed look of fear and panic; four days was not a long time to save the planet, even Galactus had given them eight.

Seeing their fear, Norrin nodded in sadness, "I apologize for not arriving sooner. What I did, to my master, weakened me greatly and sent me deep into space where I drifted until I was strong enough to return here."

Sue looked at him with sympathetic, grateful eyes, "We know you did all you could, thank you Norrin. You've already saved our planet once, we owe you more than we can ever repay."

"But, since we 're on the topic of saving the planet and all - is there anything you can do? I mean, you took down Galactus, the planet chomper, how much tougher can this Gorgun be?" Johnny asked hopefully, voicing what they were all thinking.

"I cannot fight the Gorgun," was Norrin's simple reply.

Ben, who still had his doubts about the Surfer, grit out angrily, "Can't or won't?"

"Ben!" Sue admonished him but the Surfer looked Ben right in the eye, unflinching.

"I cannot fight the Gorgun," he repeated. "Galactus was a being too complex to be understood with your words, but I will say that he was not of this universe."

"And you … are?" Johnny pushed after a short silence, as he was not following at all.

Norrin only realized with the question that he had to explain more and seemed to search for words, "Galactus was not of this universe, therefore he could be expelled from it without consequence. The Gorgun was created as a natural part of the universe, as grass and water are a natural element of your own planet. My strength is drawn from the Power Cosmic, a power that originates from the very fabric of the universe, it cannot be used to destroy another piece of that same fabric."

"Wow, is it crazy that I actually followed that?" Johnny said, stunned and blinking at his own comprehension.

"So how do we fight it?" Reed asked, though he was terrified of the Surfer's answer.

"I do not know."

That's what he was afraid of.

"You don't know? You come all this way and drop this bomb on us that the sun's getting wiped out and that's all you got - I don't know!" Ben exclaimed, clearly frustrated with Norrin and the situation as a whole and needing to vent that frustration.

"Ben, I'm sure he's doing his best …"

"It is true, I offer little, I am sorry. I arrived as swiftly as I could, at the very least perhaps this warning will allow your world time to prepare for its end. But I had hope that you would have the resources to find a solution of your own, and with this I will help any way I can," Norrin said solemnly. Though, his voice kind of always sounded that way, Johnny mused to himself.

Then Johnny took a step back as the Surfer suddenly looked at him, not just in the eyes, but into his soul in some way. For a brief moment the Human Torch felt completely exposed and vulnerable as if his entire person was laid bare to these eyes, with all his actions, thoughts and feelings being put on display to be explored and studied. In defense against such an invading feeling of nakedness, Johnny's body Flamed On, since it was all he could do to try to repel an attack of such incredible insight.

"Hey, matchstick, watch it!" Ben yelled as Johnny ignited beside.

"Wha … oh shit!" Panicked and flustered by the Surfer's gaze it took Johnny a second of shaking his arms and legs before he could turn off the flames completely.

"Oh god, you didn't touch him again did you?" Sue asked worriedly. She hadn't seen Johnny make contact with the Surfer, but maybe even proximity would cause his powers to become unstable again.

"No, I didn't do anything. It's okay, it's … I got it. It was me, I was … drifting off. My own fault, it's all under control," Johnny promised, looking his sister in the eye to make sure she knew he was sincere.

"Okay, if you're sure."

"Totally sure."

When she finally nodded and turned away, accepting this, he looked back to see the Surfer was now talking with Reed more intimately about this Gorgun, but inside Johnny could still feel his gaze on his soul.

"Weird," he mumbled to himself but knew he couldn't bring it up right now, because the world was far more important.

"I know you said you don't know a way to fight it, but can you give us anything? A weakness, a strategy …" Reed implored their lustrous guest.

"I could describe to you what the Gorgun is past what you refer to as the atomic level, but I know no way to fight it. It can not be reasoned with, as a storm cannot be dissuaded from passing over a city, and my own powers are useless against it, but I will offer my assistance in any course of action you may be able to devise," the Surfer promised.

Reed sighed, his face pinched with tension, already feeling the weight of this task on his shoulders. Four days to save the world, from a force even stronger than the one they had already defeated - correction, that Norrin had defeated for them. And the Surfer couldn't attack or harm this entity - they were on their own.

At least there was no pressure.

"Will you come inside?" Sue suggested, leading the way to the stairwell. "We can go to Reed's lab. We'll come up with something."

Sue tried to sound upbeat but they could all feel the cloud of dread that the Surfer had brought with him, and they had only four days to stop the rain. Norrin nodded at Sue's suggestion and solemnly followed her and Reed downstairs into the building.

Johnny and Ben hung back on the roof for a few minutes, knowing they were pretty much deadweight when it came to the science aspect of being a superhero. Once Reed had a plan they would do everything they had to do to make it work, but until then, all they could do was wait.

"That guy gives me the creeps," Ben admitted once they were alone.

"Tell me about," Johnny mumbled, still rattled by the way the Surfer had seemed to stare straight into his soul. He felt as if the eyes might still be there, inside him, watching him.

"Sure the guy ended up saving our butts last time, but it took some persuading. And just think of all the other planets he wiped out before us, all those people he lined up like a lunch buffet for that Destroyer thing, and he wants us to trust him," Ben rambled.

"It's called atonement, Ben. Seems like he's trying to make up for it, I say we let him," Johnny replied softly, deep in thought.

Ben stared at his teammate like he had just grown an extra head and four arms to match, "Who the hell are you and where the hell's the Matchstick?"

"What?"

"Did you really just give me a mushy-feely answer about redemption for this guy? I mean, you're the only one of us he actually tried to kill - came pretty damn close too," Ben reminded him.

Forcing away the weird feelings he kept getting, Johnny put on a fake smile, "And don't pretend you wouldn't have missed me if he had."

Johnny almost immediately returned to his deeper thoughts and wandered over to the railing of the roof to look out over the city.

"Guy wants to help us save the world again, I'm more than happy to let him. Besides, I'm pretty sure if he wanted to kill me, you wouldn't have the pleasure of being graced with my presence right now," Johnny replied. He could feel the footsteps as Ben walked over to join him to gaze out at the city, "Hey Ben, I'm not exactly all that great with all this science mumbo-jumbo …."

"Who? You?" Ben prodded, but even his laugh was short lived.

"Ha ha. What I meant is … well, if the sun dies, we don't all just die with it, what happens exactly?" Johnny asked, surprising Ben for the second time in their conversation with his serious attitude. Ben returned the solemnity with his response.

"Well, no sun means no heat, and no light and no energy, at all. It'd be gradual, a couple of weeks, but eventually all the plants die, it don't matter where you are on the planet anymore cause the temperature everywhere is below freezing, Arctic would be the same as the equator. Basically you get an ice age. Then all the plants are dead and the oceans finally freeze, killing all that plankton that makes so much oxygen for us, so humanity survives for a couple of years, tops, but the temperature will just keep dropping along with the O2. So unless you got an oxygen-replenishing fall-out shelter deep underground with a lifelong supply of ding-dongs, humanity's wiped out and the world freezes to death and the Earth becomes an ice planet."

A pause.

"I'm sorry I asked."

"I'm sorry ya had to, it won't be a pretty way to go. It'll be slow, agonizing, humanity fighting for each breath, each hour. Personally I'd rather be eaten by a giant cloud - quick and painless, you know."

"I don't feel cold anymore," Johnny said after another moment's pause.

"Really?" Ben asked, surprised. Johnny had never opened up to him before, but he supposed this was as good a time as any.

"Not since before the space station. I don't feel heat anymore either actually, not really. I flame on and burn as hot as the sun, but I don't feel the heat, I just feel release and energy. But my body temp is always way, way higher than a normal person's; I don't think I could freeze if I wanted to. It's just … what you said - if the world freezes to death I could very well be the last man alive on the planet."

Ben shrugged, "Yeah, I guess you could. To tell you the truth, I can feel cold, I know when it's nice out, I can feel when it's snowing, but it don't effect me either."

"So if this Gorgun does come, I could be stuck with you on an ice rock for the rest of eternity?" Johnny asked.

Ben smirked, "Yeah, how would you feel about that?"

Ten different smart alec remarks came into Johnny's mind as a response to the question, each one fighting to be the jackass reply that Johnny was known for using with Ben, but he didn't say any of them. Something about the Surfer's presence, his ominous warning and the way he looked at Johnny with a kind of … importance. It drained the immaturity out of Johnny and replaced it with … he wasn't sure yet. But he was sure of his answer.

"It'd be an honor."

Ben had been waiting for the sarcastic, biting reply from Johnny that he knew was coming, and was shocked again by the sincere response he got. There was no jest, no humor, no sarcasm. Ben waited for the other ball to drop, for Johnny to snicker or add something, but the Human Torch just looked Ben straight in the eye, and then turned back to the beautiful New York landscape. Finally Ben nodded, patted his teammate on the back and looked out over the same horizon.

"Same here, Kid. Same here."

After almost half an hour on the roof, Johnny and Ben came back down and took a moment to peak their heads into Reed's lab. It was weird seeing the majestic figure of the Surfer just standing there, answering Reed's questions, but 'weird' was the team's specialty. They asked if there was anything they could do, but at this stage they could offer no assistance. It was up to Reed and Norrin Radd to come up with a plan, with Sue there to keep Reed focussed on the right things and calm enough to think clearly. Trying hard not to feel useless, Johnny plopped down on the couch to watch TV. He settled on one of the first channels he came across and hoped to zone out enough to not think about anything, but in truth he was hardly watching the program at all and was instead deep in thought about the Surfer, the Gorgun, Galactus and all things apocalyptic.

"Hey little brother."

He looked up at the quiet voice to see Sue gently lowering herself onto the couch to join him. He sat up eagerly, desperate for news.

"How's it going? Where are we at?"

"Not much yet," she replied with a sad smile. "Reed thinks he's gotten all the useful information he can out of the Surfer for now. He's sent some satellites into deeper orbit in space to try to get readings on this Gorgun before it arrives in our solar system but if he has any plans thus far, he hasn't shared them with me."

"Give him time, inspiration will strike," Johnny assured her. "What about our shiny friend?"

"Norrin just left, he said he would track the Gorgun for us, get exact locations, tell us about any phenomena occurring nearby we can use. He thinks the best way to stop it would be to change its path, but he doesn't know how and once it's in our system there's no way for him to deflect it from the sun because it'll just be drawn to its heat."

"Like moths to the flame," Johnny mumbled.

Sue actually chuckled a little, "Yeah, I guess. A giant moth that could wipe out life on this planet."

"That would be a big moth all right," Johnny said in an exaggerated tone, trying to get another smile from his sister, but nothing came. After a pause where they both faked watching the television, Johnny spoke up, "Hey sis, are you getting weird vibes off surf boy?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, like he's … judging us, or you?" Johnny wasn't really sure what he was asking and stumbled over his words.

"No. I feel he cares about what happens to us, he wants to help and is worried, but not … judging. Why?"

"It's nothing, it's not important. Especially looking at the big picture, it's really not important. Wow, thinking about the big BIG picture it's pretty much like a little grain of sand on a big beach of importance," Johnny rambled as he got perspective. "Which isn't big at all."

"Okay, I get it," Sue stopped him. "Where's Ben?"

"Went to Alicia's, surprise, surprise. His phone's on if we need him."

"That's good, he should be with her," Sue said solemnly, and then looked at her brother who was feigning to watch television. It seemed he was the only one of them that wouldn't have someone to 'be with' if the end came. She reached out and touched his cheek to make him look at her, "You can always talk to me Johnny, I'm here for you."

"I know sis, thanks," Johnny said, forcing down his macho side that said to shrug off her affection.

"I'm gonna go start supper. We all still have to eat after all."

"Yeah," Johnny agreed, but he didn't feel particularly hungry. Walking out on the balcony he started to take off his street clothes until he was down to just his uniform. New York was vast, almost as big as some countries, but he hadn't seen enough beyond that. He'd saved a lot of people in New York, done a lot of Press Conferences there too, but aside from getting dropped into the Middle East by Norrin, and fighting Doom in Shanghai Johnny hadn't seen very much of the rest of the world.

"Flame on!"

But that was about to change.

At top speed Johnny could fly at about Mach 3. Without stops he could make it around the world in 5 hours, so he wouldn't stop, but he would slow down, he would take it in, he would see the world, because it was very probable that in four days, there wouldn't be much to see.

Six hours after Johnny took off, Norrin Radd appeared again to tell them that the Gorgun was exactly 3 days, 16 hours and 17 minutes away from reaching the Sun.

Four hours after that Reed was able to detect and take readings of the Gorgun from the satellites he had sent into deep space.

The information gathered gave Reed no inspiration or options on how to stop the Gorgun.

However, now with verifiable proof of its approach Sue went to the Chiefs of Security with the information to be passed along to the President. More than willing to take the word of the superheroes that had saved the planet, the President ordered that precautions be taken immediately in the event the Sun was extinguished. These precautions were done in secret for the time as to not cause mass hysteria in the public.

Five hours later Reed was conference calling with every great mind on the planet, sharing all the information he had, but no ideas were forthcoming. The first option on everyone's mind was missiles. Lots and lots of missiles, nuclear, non-nuclear, everything the planet had to offer, but it would do nothing. The Gorgun was not a mass, not a being or meteor coming towards them. Much like Galactus it was a mist, floating through space, almost incorporeal - there was not simply one Gorgun to destroy, it was in fact a mass of trillions upon trillions of individual organisms. One expert compared it to a galactic swarm of locusts that they had no pesticide for.

Locusts, mused Reed, the eighth plague, warned by God that they would blot out the sun and destroy the crops. He wondered what the first seven plagues had been - Doom, the Surfer, Galactus - that was only three, surely it shouldn't be time for locusts already.

For the next two days Reed never left his lab, never slept, only ate what Sue forced him.

For the next two days Sue never left the Baxter Building, never slept, only ate what Reed didn't touch and looked out the window for her brother.

For the next two days Ben stayed with Alicia, held her, watched her, loved her. Never slept, never ate, promised to protect her and looked out the window for the end to come.

For the next two days the Silver Surfer came back and forth, offering help, leaving to intercept the Gorgun once more, and making no progress.

Ten hours before the Gorgun arrived Reed graphed and sketched and calculated possibility after possibility of ways to destroy it, and save their sun, and made no progress. He would not accept defeat, but in the back of his mind his subconscious was inventing massive scale generators to keep people warm, sheltered indoor gardens to grow food, programs to bring rural citizens into the city for protection from the cold. He would not accept defeat, but his subconscious knew there was no answer, and if one was found, there was no time.

Six hours before this Johnny Storm had returned home.

He had seen the world.

TBC

Thanks for reading, let me know what you think about the pacing and structure, I like to try new things every few sections to try to keep things interesting but I know I've flopped a couple times in the past. I hope I've kept your attention and I'll try to get another chapter out before university starts again, but no guarantees. Later, Robinyj