Author Notes: I decided to write this chapter quickly before my next exam loomed, and before I saw the second Fantastic Four film so it didn't influence my writing (tomorrow!). Anyway, thank you for all the reviews, and here's the last chapter!
Chapter 8
Time had stopped. It was a funny thing to say, and yet true. The world seemed to freeze, just for him. In his bubble, Johnny was able to think. He was the only one in his bubble. He was safe. Right? And yet, there was something at the back of his mind, something crying out that this was wrong, very wrong and he should try to concentrate on where his family was. It was twisted, or twisting, the constant fire that he had been missing for the past few days. He had thought it was gone forever, but then he realised just how wrong he had been.
The cold burned just as bright.
And it hurt.
Doom smiled inwardly as he watched the boys eyes roll back into his head, and his breathing stop. Silent tears of shock were rolling down his ex-fiancée's face, which made him smile all the more; she was feeling his revenge. He turned his gaze back to the dying boy, observing the final tensing of the muscles as his body gave up. This was a good moment. But then the boy's eyes snapped open, and Doom saw his hubristic mistake.
Susan's eyes connected with her brother's, shock running through her veins. His gaze held her in its grasp, and suddenly she was more terrified than she had ever been. Those were not her brother's eyes. They held none of the mischief, reassurance and spark. Ice blue eyes pierced through her, hard and cold; completely devoid of any emotion. And then his body was engulfed in fire of blue and white, and the man holding him began to scream. Until, of course, he dropped down dead, frozen.
They watched as Johnny rose gracefully to his feet, moving that chilling glare from person to person. Reed could tell from Doom's silence that this had not been part of his plan. He took a step forwards, attracting Johnny's attention back to him, and then a sudden bolt of realisation hit him. This was not Johnny, he didn't recognise them. This man was dangerous. Reed's mind skipped back unbidden to when Johnny had first got his powers, and how temperamental they had been, and he realised just how much trouble they were in.
The room temperature began to fall rapidly, until they could see their breath rise in misty clouds. The ice blue eyes narrowed slightly, and white fire gathered in his hands as his feet lifted from the ground. The air crackled with unleashed power.
Then all Hell broke loose as Doom unleashed the first attack.
Everything was burning. He was so cold, so very cold. This was wrong. You weren't meant to burn when you were cold, but the searing temperature hurt so much. His mind screamed, and Johnny was trapped in a sea of white, freezing pain. This wasn't what his power was meant to do. Everything was backwards, and he had no control. Ice crystals coated his lungs and cold bit into his skin until it reached his heart and mind. He was lost. Lost in a storm of snow, ice and pain.
Doom flew through the window, hit in the chest by the white fire, Johnny jumping out after him. Screaming filled the streets. Ben didn't wait; he jumped out right after them without a second thought. Sue was shaking, but determined, "Come on Reed!" She tugged on his arm, "We have to get down there!"
Reed just stood there, staring at the smashed window. "No. This is wrong – it's what the scientist was afraid of. Johnny's not in control, didn't you see his eyes? We need to give him the antidote." He scanned the room, until his eyes fell on the tiny bottle, miraculously unharmed, "Alright, let's go."
Doom threw bolt after bolt at the kid, but none of them touched him. This was not how his plan was meant to turn out. The kid was meant to be dead, not nigh on unstoppable. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ben Grimm trying to get people back, and he realised that he was scared too – they didn't think that the kid could control his new power. Not that it should be a surprise to him, of course, all four of them were pathetic and weak. He was jerked out of his musings as a wall of white flame came hurling towards him, something he only dodged just in time.
Everyone watched as the Human Torch, burning white instead of red, stopped, floating a few feet above the ground, supported on eddies of swirling white air that froze the road. He seemed to ponder the masked man before him, and then he raised his arms up from his sides, and the air itself seemed to freeze in people's throats. Ben stared. A vortex of white fire began to encase the kid, just as the air had done when Johnny had gone supernova once before, except this time, it was very, very cold. A ghost of a smile seemed to flicker across the man of ice, and then he began to scream, expanding the ice fire until it encased Doom.
Ben felt the very air around him crystallize and coat his skin of rock, and he felt his joints begin to freeze up. Behind him, people were screaming, running, and then, just as before, a blue shield encased the fire, and Ben saw Reed and Sue running towards them. The white fire began to clear and die, and once again, an intense sensation of déjà vu swept over them as Doom stood frozen in the centre, and Johnny hit the ground, his bare skin ripping and bleeding as it connected with the concrete.
Sue reached him first, dragging him up to his knees and wrapping a blanket around his freezing body. He was shaking violently, and his eyes were scared and unfocused as he looked up at her, looking as small and young as he had when they were children. "S-sue?" He stammered, his lips barely functioning through the cold, "P-please…make it s-stop. It r-really hurts. S-sue, p-please-argh!" Johnny's plea turned into a cry of pain as he doubled over, feeling the ice-cold fire rising up to the surface again.
Sue felt her heart wrench in her chest. "Reed!" she screamed, knowing this would be their only chance. If the antidote didn't work, Johnny would become just as powerful as before, he would be a danger to the city, and they would have to stop him.
Reed skidded down next to them, uncapping the syringe with his teeth and drawing the liquid in. Without a second glance, he grabbed Johnny's arm, wincing as the searing cold bit into his skin, and jammed the needle in.
The effect was instantaneous. Johnny's body stiffened, and his eyes rolled back as his whole body was taken into another seizure. He shook so badly that his nose and ears began to bleed, and blood started trickling from the corner of his mouth. They turned him onto his side so that he didn't choke, trying to support his head. And then, as suddenly as it had started, everything stopped, and his body stilled. Sue was terrified that it had all been too much, but Reed quickly checked his pulse, "It's very weak, we need to get him to a hospital, now." However much they hated outside help, he knew that if they ever needed it, it was now.
Ben stooped down, gathering Johnny in his arms, blanket and all, turning as he heard sirens wail down the streets towards them.
Johnny lay on the sofa, his body curled as tight as it would go within a duvet, drowsily listening to Sue and Ben banter quietly as Reed rummaged around the kitchen. A hand stroked his hair, and he opened his eyes. His big sister was smiling fondly down at him, "Bed, Johnny. It's only your first night home – don't push yourself."
"I'm not four, Sue." He protested, but he knew she was right. It had been a week since he had woken up in a hospital bed, cold and confused, and although he was getting better (and more importantly, warmer), he still didn't feel great. His sister raised an eyebrow and scowled down at him, "Alright, alright. Damn, give you one iota of power and you don't half take advantage of it, do you?"
Sue smirked, "I'm your sister, it's my job to boss you around."
Johnny rolled his eyes and picked himself up, stubbornly refusing a hand as he made his way to his bedroom, muttering darkly about 'escaping this prison'.
Sue smiled as she sat herself down, gratefully accepting the coffee that Reed handed her. A crash sounded from the corridor, shortly followed by a stream of irate curses. They winced. Ben sighed, "I'll go clean up whatever the kid's broken."
Reed put his arm around Sue, "How are you?"
She leaned into him, "Better now he's home with us." She paused, "And now we're not fighting anymore."
Reed shook his head, "I told you, forget it; we were all terrified we were going to lose him." An argument started up down the hall between Ben and Johnny. Reed raised his eyes to the ceiling in good-humoured defeat, "I'd better go mediate."
Sue grinned, listening to her boys as a familiar pattern of argument started up. She had forgotten how much she had missed the noise.
FIN
Author Notes: There you go, all done. Virtual cookie to Asheron Karuma for guessing correctly:P! Thank you to everyone who supported this story and enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please take the time to leave one last review! It'll make my day.