"A Captive"

Phil and May passed room after room in the Centipede facility, and checked the window of each one to make sure that there were no other prisoners of science. It was when May reached one door that she paused, and turned to Phil.

"You might want to see this," she said.

"Is it Chan?"

"Worse."

Every villain's name started to speed through Phil's head as he crossed the short distance to peer through the glass—

Then, with a crash, he'd kicked down the door. May rolled her eyes, and Phil gestured her in ahead of him, before checking to see if the coast was clear. It was hardly the quietest of entries, but they only had a short amount of time, and only a limited number of resources. They hadn't been using heat-seeking devices to find Chan, which was just as well, since this… discovery would have compromised the results.

"Ow!" He saw May pull her hand back and shake it. She frowned. "I touched him, and the heat cranked up." She used her elbow to nudge him, and yet again pulled back. Phil remembered that the last time he'd seen Johnny, he hadn't been able to move. It was like that all over again.

"I ain't no amateur, lady," Johnny mumbled. "Kill me if you want. Don't care. You're not gettin' anything from me."

"He thinks we're the bad guys," May said. "Look. He's covered with some kind of… I don't know. Force-field." She grimaced. "Maybe magic. It's over his eyes, his ears… He can feel, but he can't see or hear. Storm!" She bent close to his ear. "Storm, can you hear me?" Nothing. "We'll have to leave him while we find—"

"No!" Phil said sharply. "We're not leaving him. You guard the door. He might just need a familiar touch."

"Will he remember you?" she asked bluntly.

Phil didn't reply. He just knelt by Johnny's side. He remembered everything, even if Johnny didn't. He remembered how he'd touched Johnny their wedding night. It was the happiest night of Phil's life; but would Johnny had retained the memory, or discarded it as worthless after Phil's death, just as he'd discarded everything else about them?

"Please," Phil said. He rested his right hand on the left side of Johnny's waist, and cupped Johnny's right cheek with his other hand. He cradled him gently, and started by kissing Johnny's brow, then his cheeks, his nose, and finally his lips. He dipped his tongue in when they parted, and could have danced in victory when Johnny responded, arching into his touch. He was warm, but no warmer than usual. Phil stroked his thumbs where his hands still rested, the material of the suit soft, and Johnny's cheek a bit stubbly. How long had he been here? And why was he here? Was it because of Chan?

Phil broke the kiss to catch his breath, and noticed a tear fall down his husband's cheek. He felt answering moisture pricking the corners of his eyes, and he rested his forehead against Johnny's.

"Phil," Johnny whispered desperately. "Phil. My Phil. You're here. With me. Oh God, I missed you. Say something."

"I'm here, Johnny."

"Say something, goddamnit!"

"I told you he can't hear," May said. "He can't even move his hands. His legs are moving—"

"I know!" Phil said, barely avoiding being kicked as Johnny tried to get his legs under him. He picked up Johnny's hands and kissed them both in apology, wishing he knew how to fix…

Johnny's fingers twitched, and then captured the lapels of Phil's jacket.

"Is it you?" he said. "I can't hear…"

An idea came to Phil. He bent over and kissed each of Johnny's ears.

"Can you hear me now?" he asked. Johnny's face lit up, even as his eyes stayed fused shut.

"Yes," he said. "Christ, Phil. I wish I could see you."

"Then hold still." Phil kissed both eyelids, and was rewarded with Johnny's gaze finally settling on him. "Hi there."

Johnny looked like he wanted to cry, and clumsily threw himself into Phil's arms. They hugged, kissing furiously, and soon they were pressed chest to chest. It wasn't until May cleared her throat that they could break apart.

"You follow us," Phil said, and he helped Johnny stand. "Careful. We just have to take care of something, and then we can get out of here."

"You'll just leave me again," Johnny said, and he pulled Phil close.

"Technically, you left me," Phil said, but he accepted Johnny's embrace.

"You left first, and the most often," Johnny said. He buried his face in Phil's neck.

"I know, and I'm sorry," Phil said. "It won't happen again. But we kind of need to finish this before we get out of here. I'm not leaving you here, so you'll have to trail along, and keep out of the way when I tell you."

"What are you talking about? It's not like you can ever leave me again. Not here."

May jerked her head, and Phil nodded, setting Johnny's strange words aside for the time being.

"Of course not," he said. He pulled back, but he kept clutching Johnny's hand. "I won't let go of you until it's necessary, and then I'll hold onto you again. Stay out of trouble; that's all I ask. We'll do this quickly, and get out. We can talk then."

"Do you know what was holding you in there, Johnny?" May asked as they continued along corridors, following the directions to the lab where Chan was being held.

"Something weird. I could move my legs, but there was no point trying to escape when I couldn't open doors, or see or hear anything."

"It took Phil kissing you to nullify the effects," May said. "How interesting." Phil could sense the heat in his cheeks, and he avoided her pointed look. Johnny huffed a small laugh.

"He always had magical lips," he said, and he winked at Phil.

"We're nearly there," Phil said, still flushing, and he motioned for quiet. Fortunately, Johnny seemed to realise that this was important, and shut up.

Well, almost.

"I'm glad I'm finally dead, so we can be together," he murmured. But Phil didn't have time to react to that; there was work to do.


Things are taking fewer words to write than I anticipated. I suppose not all stories can be as long as 'The Agent and the Human Torch'. Ah well.

And I absolutely did not spend half of this episode saying that they should have got Johnny Storm, aka THE HUMAN TORCH, in as a consultant. *Looks shifty-eyed*

(And it has nothing to do with the fact that I ship Phil and Johnny…)

I have a thing for true love's kiss breaking a spell. That's all this was.