005. zero gravity, lots of love

CHAPTER FIVE, zero gravity, lots of love!

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"𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐆𝐎, we were dreamers. Back then the unknown meant adventure, mystery and discovery. Space was the greatest mystery of all. What we learned was that the unknown also meant fear and profound, radical change. So the five of us will return to space and face the danger waiting there and we will find this Galactus."

"Would you think I'm stupid for actually feeling nervous this time?" Lacie muttered as she sat on the end of her bed, Johnny leaning against her doorway.

He straightened up and shook his head, "I'd never think of you like that." Lacie looked up at him after fiddling with her hands. She sighed and fell back on her bed, letting out a deep breath which caused cold air to escape her mouth.

Johnny silently walked over to Lacie and sat down next to her, lying back so his head was beside hers. He turned to look at her face, eyebrows scrunched as she stared at the ceiling.

"I hate not knowing what we're against." Lacie swallowed. "And I get it, this is what comes with being a hero but if I could just not feel scared... It would make this whole thing so much easier."

Johnny listened to her and reached his hand down to intertwine her fingers with his, "I know, Lace. But Reed knows what he's doing, we're gonna do this and we're gonna be fine." He smiled at her and she slowly turned her head to look at him.

"We're gonna lose one day, you know that?" Lacie's eye twitched and she stared at Johnny, her throat dry and the tips of her fingers freezing over.

Johnny engulfed her hand with both of his and he leaned on his elbow to hover above her slightly, "Not if I'm by your side."

Lacie's face softened and she pulled Johnny closer by wrapping her arms around the back of his neck, hugging him close as her suit sat on the back of her chair, mocking her vulnerability.

"Here we stand, prepared to face the danger that is unknown. The danger that has threatened our home. Threatened our families, and threatened this planet. The unknown will become known and we will protect you."

"We will protect you."

Frostbite fastened her belt and adjusted the helmet on top of her head, the corners of the glass frosting over as she breathed heavily. She blinked hard and took soothing breaths to calm herself, being here wasn't anything new for Lacie, but this time felt different.

She could see Johnny staring at her through the corner of her eye and she turned her head to see his wandering eyes. Lacie smiled softly at him and lifted her hand to subtly wave at him.

Johnny's smile widened and he waved back, shaking his head to try and wipe the cheesy grin off his face. He cleared his throat and focused on the job at hand.

Before Lacie could comprehend the countdown for liftoff, they were already in the air. She leaned her head back on her seat opposite Johnny's and she glanced over at him as he raised his hands in his air and whooped, a wide smile on his face.

Lacie found herself laughing at his joy and her nerves settled seeing Johnny's carefree attitude; it couldn't be as bad as she was making it out to be if Johnny was cheering excitedly at the prospect of space.

The Fantastic Five looked out the glass, seeing the earth displayed in front of them, the reason they were up here. They will save their earth.

"You see that?" Johnny said and looked at Lacie who stared in awe. "It's beautiful." She whispered under her breath.

Johnny swallowed and kept his gaze on Lacie, "Yeah, it is."

As they were on route to Galactus, Lacie unbuckled her seat belt and let herself float to the table in the centre of the room. Johnny laughed as he watched Lacie struggle to grab hold of the table and situate herself.

"Shit!" She whispered as her finger slipped off the table, "Language." Reed scolded her and casually leaned over the data.

Johnny followed suit and hovered next to Lacie, chuckling as she slowly drifted out of reach and out of the conversation. "Come on." He reached his hand out to her and gently took hold of her palm, pulling her close with a tight grip.

He pulled Lacie's figure so she was between the table and Johnny, his chest pressed against her back and his arms were trapping her body as they were pressed against the table.

Lacie bit back a smile as Johnny ducked his head down and whispered in her ear, "Just so you don't float away again." He brushed a piece of loose hair hovering in front of her face behind her ear, fingers lingering on her cheek for a moment longer.

The woman hummed and raised her eyebrows, turning her head to look at him, their faces close, "Yeah, that's the reason..." A soft smirk etched across her face.

Johnny exhaled a laugh and licked his lips, "Totally." He whispered back and tilted her head back to the data on the table with a finger under her chin.

"So, the heralds energy signature tracks to this binary system here?" Ben asked Reed, who circled around the table, "LHS-275, yes." He read out.

Johnny rested his chin on Lacie's shoulder, "Where we find her, we find Galactus." He added himself into the conversation.

"Reed, what are we up against here?" Ben asked and Lacie snapped her head to face Reed, "Some sort of space dragon or something?" She butt in with wide eyes and a smile gracing her face.

Johnny smiled and moved his hands so they were on top of Lacie's on the table, "Cool." He muttered into her shoulder, shuffling closer to her.

Reed tutted, "We don't know," Johnny noticed Lacie groan in disappointment, "But it's basic tactical science."

"Observe, assess capabilities, have H.E.R.B.I.E collect me liquid..." Reed listed out and Ben, Johnny and Lacie all sighed and bowed their heads, not interested in Reed's tactical way of beating Galactus; not the option Johnny and Ben had wanted.

Johnny groaned and nuzzled his head into Lacie's neck as she too pretended to doze off to Reed's explanation, alongside Ben's loud snoring.

Reed sighed, "Look, if he's just some big guy in a ship then yes, you can punch him out." Ben and Johnny looked at each other with wide eyes and a smile spread across their faces.

They raised their hands and met each other with a fist bump that sent Johnny flying backwards, causing Lacie to quickly tighten her grip on the table so she wouldn't join Johnny.

Reed raised his eyebrows at the pair and glanced over at Lacie who shook her head at him, "Don't even ask."

As they approached their destination, everyone sat themselves back into their seats and twisted around to read the data. "Copy that, I'm gonna take us out of FTL." Ben said and Reed's eyes flickered over the scan.

"Okay everyone, be prepared." He said and Lacie furrowed her brows, eyes trained on the atmosphere around her.

The ship jolted as they appeared before a planet, silence overcoming the group as they all stared, pulses thumping as they awaited Galactus' arrival.

Ben cleared his throat, "So where's this Galactus?" Reed furrowed his brows and detected the energy on the planet, "That's strange."

Lacie's throat tightened the longer she stared at the planet. Something inside her told her that being here was wrong, she shouldn't be within touching distance of this planet; Lacie couldn't explain it, but she felt that being here would ultimately be her downfall.

Swallowing, Lacie reached a hand out to gain Johnny's attention without pulling her gaze away from the planet, "I don't think I should be here--"

Her words died on her tongue as she watched the layer of the planet cave in on itself, something inside it was forcing its way out. Lacie felt like it was staring directly at her.

"What the hell is happening to that planet?" Ben asked no one in particular. Johnny looked at Lacie's pale face, "Is there something alive down there?"

The Fantastic Five flinched as something emerged from the planet, itching closer to their ship and their fate. "What is that?" Johnny shouted and Sue sat up straight.

Lacie reached forwards and tapped Ben on the shoulder, encouraging him to get them out of here. "Ben!" She shouted and he nodded ahead, "I'm on it!"

As they dropped out of FTL, the ship took its course and glided around the planet's debris. Lacie's eyes followed the planet's remains and twisted around in her chair, heart pounding in her chest. "Sue, hide us." Reed demanded, panic threaded in his voice.

The Invisible Woman did as requested and the team stopped once they were clear of danger. Lacie unbuckled her belt quickly and strode over to Johnny's side, pressing her hands against the glass that presented the parts of the planet.

Johnny looked at Frostbite with wide eyes, "Lace! What are you doing?" He instantly placed his hands on her waist as if to stabilise her and encourage her back to her seat as it wasn't safe yet.

The glass underneath Lacie's palm froze under her touch, turning the reflection foggy with ice. "It's all gone." She whispered under her breath, "The entire planet. It's just..." She swallowed the bile forming in the back of her throat and dragged her hand off the glass, unconsciously resting them on top of Johnny's, him shivering lightly as the cold prickled his skin.

"It was 13% larger than earth." Reed informed them, his brows sewn tightly together.

Suddenly, the ship was painted red as a light cast over them, shaking the entire thing. Lacie stumbled from her spot standing up and tried to make it back to her chair, but Johnny's grip didn't falter and instead he pulled her into his chair, muttering something along the lines of, "No time for that."

Ben attempted to stabilise the engines with H.E.R.B.I.E and get them out of here. "What's going on?" Johnny's voice rose as shifted so Lacie was firmly in his grasp and slightly sat on his lap.

"He's got us! He's pulling us in!" Ben responded, hands working under pressure. Reed shouted, "Save the engine!" He pulled the lever to do so and turned to Lacie, "Freeze it!"

Lacie nodded and placed her hands on the wall of the ship, forcing her ice to travel around the exterior and towards the engines. She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt the engine's freezing over, preserving them for their later escape. She sighed as she pulled her hands away, feeling Johnny's hand rub up and down on her back.

Everyone let go and let their hands settle in their lap, Johnny's being wrapped around Lacie's waist. A blue light scanned the ship and their faces, returning on Sue and her baby, the faint heartbeat ringing through the ship.

The light slowly edged towards Lacie again, zooming in on her face and analysing her details. Johnny tensed next to her, fingers digging into her waist as the scan lingered for longer. Lacie's heart was beating heavily in her chest, dread flowing through her body as the light disappeared after some time.

"What the fuck..." She muttered and let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

Silence followed and the Fantastic Five cast their gaze upwards, watching as the Silver Surfer slowly sunk into the ship, passing through the glass as if it were nothing.

"Lacie, look away. Johnny's other girlfriend's back." Ben tried to break the tension with a joke that went unnoticed.

The woman floated down and calmly glanced over the group, her eyes settling on Lacie who was sitting snug with Johnny.

"Lacie March." She said, tilting her head and slowly creeping towards the pair.

Lacie's breath got caught in the back of her throat, "Hi." She whispered, unsure on how to approach the situation and how on earth she knew her name.

Johnny turned slightly so Lacie wasn't in the eyeline of the Silver Surfer, him blocking her view, "How do you know her?" He asked quietly.

The Silver Surfer ignored him and looked ahead, "Galactus will see you."

"I'll go." Johnny cut in as he watched Lacie's mouth open to offer herself forwards. She snapped her head towards him and furrowed her brows, "No. I'll--"

"All of you." The Silver Surfer interrupted Lacie, squinting her eyes at her and floating towards her.

She hovered close to Lacie's face, eyes scanning over her features before she shook her head, "You should not have come."

The Silver Surfer then quickly turned around and flew out of the ship, the group's eyes trained solely on Lacie who sat still.

Lacie March knew she shouldn't have come here, she knew it felt wrong and now it felt like it was all coming to a head. With her fate ahead of her, she sighed, her breath shaky as if she knew she was targeted here; Galactus didn't necessarily need to see the Fantastic Five, he needed to see Lacie March.

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authors note!

galactus girllll what do u want with our lacie... (i know i'm just not telling u all yet ;))))

i'm back after like a day because i watched superman!!! but omg who wants a clark kent fic... jk... unless

hope u all loved despite this chap lowkey sucking BUT i'm excited about the next one because i've had this idea since i started the book xxx