Lyrical Drabbles

Author's Note: These first few drabbles are during the time in Red's apartment, trying to cure everyone. White Rabbit is a total acid trip song, so I thought I'd play with Reed's past. :) BTW, I suggest listening to the songs as you read to make it more fun and give you a feel for the story. For the record, I do not support nor endorse illegal drugs.

White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane

One pill makes you larger

And one pill makes you small

And the ones that Mother gives you

Don't do anything at all

"Oh, come on! Never ever?" Johnny Storm persisted. He was bored and annoying Reed Richards when he was supposed to be working seemed like a good idea at the time.

"Never ever, Johnny," Reed replied sternly, getting more irritated by the second. Ben Grimm just sat across the room, looking amused.

"'Cause it wouldn't be a big deal. Everyone's done it, Reed. Even super-geniuses like yourself try things now and again." He was grinning at this point, as was Ben.

Reed stopped walking and turned around. "Johnny, I assure you, people who are really smart would never try stuff like that."

"Not even in college?" he asked innocently, raising his eyebrows.

"Especially not in college! I went to MIT! We actually cared about academics there."

"Yeah, sure," Johnny left the room, still grinning.

Ben got up from his seat and thumped across the room. "I gotta admit, Reed; it is a little unbelievable. I know you're straight-laced and all, but it's hard to believe you never got high…had an acid trip…tried anything at all."

When the men on the chessboard

Get up and tell you where to go

And you've just had some kind of mushroom

And your mind is moving low

"Believe it," Reed said stiffly, still not looking up from his papers.

"You can be honest with me, ya know," Ben added, now rather curious. "You never bought any drugs?"

"Of course not!" He then added quietly, "I made them myself."

"Ha! I knew it!" yelled Johnny, who'd stayed outside the doorway to listen. "You did do drugs! I am so telling Suzie!"

"Wait, Johnny! Johnny, no!" Reed yelled as he began to chase the younger man down the hall. "It was for science! I was feeding my mind! JOHNNY!"

"Reed Richards cooks his own drugs!" Johnny sang as he hurried away.

Ben rolled his eyes. Whose idea was it to make four people live together?

When logic and proportion

Have fallen sloppy dead

And the White Knight is talking backwards

And the Red Queen's "off with her head!"

Remember what the dormouse said

"Feed your head!"

Give Until There's Nothing Left by Relient K

No one told me
The right way
The right way to go about this
So I'll figure it out for myself
'Cause how much is too much to give you?
Well, I may never know
So I'll just give until there's nothing else

Sue glanced at her alarm clock; well, Reed's alarm clock, but she didn't like to focus on the fact that she was staying there. It was only until he reversed the effects of the storm after all.

She sighed; it was 4:36 AM. She rolled out of bed, hoping a glass of water would help her sleep. Her feet padded down the hallway to the kitchen, where she grabbed a cup of cool water. Then she heard it…a cough. A cough coming from the lab.

Is it a burglar? Or maybe Victor came back…that pushy jerk probably didn't get the hint, Sue mind raced through the possibilities. She quickly turned invisible and sneaked into the lab. She fumed at what she saw.

"Reed! What are you doing up?" she exclaimed in a loud whisper. She was angry, but didn't want to wake up Ben and Johnny.

Reed jumped out of his seat and looked around wildly. He sighed in relief when he saw a floating pair of pajamas.

"Sue. You surprised me."

Surprised. Reed never said frightened or scared, people only surprised him.

Sue went back to being visible. "You surprised me. I can't believe you would get up this early."

"I didn't," he started to reply, but quickly realized this was the wrong response. But it was too late; Sue planted her hands on her hips in that mom-like fashion the men had grown so accustomed to.

"You didn't? Are you telling me you never bothered going to bed? God, Reed, sometimes you are so unbelievable."

"I've…I've just been working…I lost track of time."

"Of course you're working. It doesn't occur to you that working this much…you can't…Ugh! You can't help anyone if you die of sleep deprivation."

"I've been drinking a lot of coffee," he said, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work.

"And what's even worse; what if you make a mistake? A deadly mistake because you're not thinking clearly? Then what-"

"I already made a mistake," Reed interrupted grimly. He turned away. "I made a terrible mistake, Sue. I'm just trying to make up for it."

Sue's shoulders slumped. Her voice softened. "Reed…we've been over this. The accident was completely random. It was not your fault."

He turned back to her with a resolute look in his eyes. "Ben's life has been ruined. I've got to make up for that. I've got to give him his life back."

"But right now you're giving too much."

"How can I give too much? How can I even know how much is too much? I can't…none of us can possibly understand what Ben's going through. I don't know how much to give…so I've got to give until there's nothing left."

Sue put a hand on his shoulder. That was the most empathetic thing she'd heard him say.

"I understand that. You're doing your best. But now it's time to sleep."

Reed nodded drowsily; he really was exhausted. He allowed Sue to lead him back to his room and she returned to hers.

The next morning everyone woke up before Reed. When Johnny asked if he should wake him, Sue shook her head.

"No, just…give him a few more minutes.

No one told me
How bad I need you
But I somehow arrived
To that conclusion all by myself

Jaded by Aerosmith

Your thinking's so complicated
I've had it all up to here
But it's so overrated
Love and hated
Wouldn't trade it
Love me jaded

The Fantastic Four were currently reading the newspaper. Ben scanned the front page to laugh at an article about Victor Von Doom going bankrupt. Sue was reading the Science & Technology. Johnny chuckled every few seconds at something in the Comics. And Reed was busily racing through the crossword.

"Huh."

That simple noise from reed made the other three stop and look up.

"Huh what?" Ben inquired. "There actually one in that crossword you don't know?"

Reed furrowed his brow. "A five-letter word for world-weary."

"Cynical."

Johnny laughed. "That's like ten letters, big guy."

"Shut up, Flamebrain."

"It's seven letters," Sue said rolling her eyes. "How about…bored?"

Reed shook his head.

"Jaded?"

"No, it has to have i as a second letter."

"Let me see that," she muttered, scooching her chair closer to his. "Well, there's your problem. You put lead sulfite for this one."

"So?"

"So, it should be lead sulfate. Then the second letter would be a, as in jaded."

He looked at her incredulously. "Are you joking? Sue, you of all people should know that equation's chemical compound is lead sulfite."

"Only if I was still in middle school. If you're accounting the anions of all the reactants, the product is obviously lead sulfate."

This went on for several more minutes. Ben and Johnny watched, thoroughly entertained by the ridiculous argument.

Finally, Sue sighed in defeat. "Fine, if you're solving with completely existent elements and don't bother adjusting the charges…the product is lead sulfite…but that still leaves us without a word for world-weary."

Reed's triumphant smile faded. "Huh."

"What about exhausted?" Ben suggested.

"Nine letters," Reed and Sue answered in unison. Johnny got up from the table and stretched.

"Well, this has been fun, but I think there's some paint I need to watch dry." Right before he left the room, he turned back to his friends.

"Oh, and by the way, it's kind of sad that a group of scientists can't think of the word tired."

Ben rubbed his forehead. "Please tell me that doesn't fit."

Reed and Sue didn't answer. The three made a silent, unanimous decision to forget about the crossword.

Author's Note: So that's it for the first chapter. :) Hope everyone enjoyed that! I tried to add humor and emotion, with a touch of Reed/Sue. I liked the second one a lot better than I thought I would. And I have no clue where the third drabble came from. The whole argument was just me writing random crap I remembered from Chem. And just picturing the first one makes smile. :) Please review!