008. brutal out here

CHAPTER EIGHT, brutal out here!

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"𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐀 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐇 long return trip, the Fantastic Five are finally home and are receiving a warm welcome!"

Lacie walked with her head cast downwards, refusing to make eye contact with any of the smiling faces of the public knowing that she couldn't provide them with the information that they were hoping for.

Sue cradled Franklin close to her chest, his small body wrapped in a white blanket that consumed him, his head poking out of the top. Reed walked with his wife, anxiously looking at the cheering crowd, unable to give them the good news.

Johnny saw Lacie's cheeks flush, almost as if she was embarrassed with the crows and their contradicting emotions. He walked up beside her and placed his hand on the small of her back, "Are you alright?" He ducked his head down and whispered to her only, something the cameras wouldn't catch.

Lacie took a deep breath, "Would you be if you found out you were meant to die?" Johnny looked into her eyes and sighed. His hand travelled from the small of her back to her waist, tugging her closer and against him as they walked into the Baxter Building.

As the Fantastic Five entered, they were swarmed with press and cameras in their faces, voices bustling as questions were hurled their way.

Some of the photographers caught a glance of Johnny's arm around Lacie and turned their attention to the pair, camera flashes being sent their way and microphones shoved in their direction.

'Are the Human Torch and Frostbite finally together? Or have they been together this entire time?' Had stunned the front page of many newspapers in recent years, a consequence of Johnny's constant hands-on relationship with the woman.

"Johnny! Are you and Lacie dating?" One shouted to the pair and Lacie looked up at the man, "We've just been to space and back, and that's the first thing they ask us?"

Johnny laughed at her and moved his body so her figure was shielded from the cameras, "Gotta keep the fanclub up to wraps." Johnny joked and Lacie rolled her eyes.

"They're ready for you. Just keep it brief." Lynn muttered and encouraged Reed onto the platform to face the crowd.

Reed stood and held both of his hands to either side of the microphone, "I'm sorry, we don't have a prepared statement."

The crowd erupted in groans and shouts, making Sue turn her back to them and bounce her child. Lynn looked on to the crowd of raised hands, "One at a time!"

One man raised his hand and looked at his notepad, "Welcome back. Can you take us through how you defeated Galactus?" He nodded at Reed who stood frozen on the platform.

Reed swallowed and looked back at his team, and at Lacie who was rocking on her feet with her head leaning back against Johnny's chest. "How..." Reed's voice trailed off.

"We didn't." Ben announced, flinching slightly as the crowd gasped and voices raised. Johnny's grip tightened on Lacie's waist, "Not yet. Not yet we didn't." He tried to reassure the press.

"What do you mean you didn't?" The man smiled nervously, pen twisting between his fingers.

"We attempted to negotiate, but Galactus... he asked too high of a price." Reed's voice shook and his palms sweat.

A woman raised her hand, "Well, what does he want?" Another man joined in, "What did he ask?"Reed glanced over at Lacie, Johnny and Ben who looked at him nervously, unable to encourage him to reveal the truth, it was completely his decision to make. Reed's throat felt dry as he spoke up, "He asked for our child."

Silence fell through the building as Franklin babbled in Sue's arms, her back facing the crowd to protect her child from the hundreds of angry faces.

"He said 'Give us your child, and I will spare the earth.' We said no, obviously." Reed shook his head and scanned through the people frantically writing on their notepads, their fingers shaking as they did so.

"You said no?" Someone shouted as the Fantastic Five turned around and started to make their way to the door and into the comfort of their home.

"Lacie! Lacie!" She heard someone shout and the rest of the room fell quiet. Lacie turned around slowly and saw a woman poking out of the crowd with her hand raised.

"You used to say that you'd never leave a fight without ensuring our world was protected!" Lacie's heart pounded in her chest as the woman looked at her with intent. Reed stumbled back onto the platform and glanced at Lacie who's breathing was shallow.

Lacie's mouth opened but no words came out, "You've never been one to back down." The woman continued and tapped her notepad with the tip of her pen, "What happened, Lacie?"

The world felt like it slowed down as Johnny placed his hand on Lacie's shoulder, "Come on, don't listen to her." He whispered and tried to pull her away from the scene.

Lacie put her hand gently on top of Johnny's and kept her gaze on the woman, "It's fine, Johnny. She's making a point."

Johnny reluctantly let go of her and nodded at Reed who looked at them, clearing his throat and leaning down to the microphone again, "Lacie, she was..." He tried to find the words but his mouth twitched as he configured the right thing to say.

"Scared." Lacie raised her voice, breaking the uncomfortable silence and scanning the crowd, "I was scared. Just as much as the rest of you."

The woman scoffed and shook her head, "Scared?" A couple people around her cast their eyes downwards and felt a distaste in their mouth as they glanced at the superhero in front of them, "Our world is in danger and she's the one who's scared?" She laughed in disbelief.

People around her murmured in agreement. Reed stuttered as the crowd began to turn on Lacie who stood still with her mouth parted, "It's not.." He sighed and closed his eyes, "It's more than just surface level information."

The woman kissed her teeth and tilted her head, "Then tell us." She demanded and nodded at Lacie whose skin was pale and eyes twitching.

"What are you so scared of, Lacie?" She asked and everyone's eyes trained on Lacie.

Reed looked at her stillness and tapped the microphone to make a couple eyes turn on him and away from her, "In short..." He started, "Galactus informed us that he will..."The crowd fell silent as their eyes flickered between Lacie and Reed, "Kill Lacie and then our world."

A couple people gasped and others started shouting, pointing fingers at the woman who swallowed and felt all the blood rushing to her face in humiliation.

"You're meant to be our protectors!" Someone shouted and snapped their notepad shut.

"You're put on this earth to protect us and it turns out you're just as fragile as the rest of us!" The voice rang out in her head as people cursed her out and hurled insults her way.

Johnny had seen enough and tugged on Lacie's wrist, making her body follow his footsteps to the door, "Please, don't listen to them." He looked at her, her focus elsewhere and eyes clouded over.

When she didn't respond to him, Johnny curled his hand around her own, "They don't know what they're talking about, Lace."

Lacie sighed and looked up at him, her eyes watery and bottom lip quivering ever so slightly, "They weren't exactly wrong, Johnny."Johnny stopped walking and placed both of his hands on her shoulders, "Lacie, we're not doing this. You're getting into your own head." He brushed a stray hair behind her ear, fingers lingering on her cheek, "You're the most amazing and beautiful person I've ever met, and they have no idea how--"Ben cleared his throat next to the pair, "Hey, save this for inside, not in front of the press." They looked over at the glaring eyes and flashes of cameras, "Can't give them another front page." He tried to joke but both of them sighed and pulled away from each other.

"Answer this! Answer this!" A man at the front silenced the crowd, "Are we safe?"

Reed raised his brows, "Are we safe?" He repeated, more to himself than the others.

And the smartest man in the world gave his most honest answer, "I don't know."

Everyone's hearts fell into their stomachs, their mouths agape and gasps leaving them. They all looked between each other and waited for the punchline, for the 'We defeated Galactus! Go live your lives!'. But it never came.

Reed looked at them one more time and Ben waved a hand to encourage him inside, he followed and walked behind his wife and child.

As they entered the Baxter Building, Lacie immediately darted to her room with her head down and no verbalisation to her team. Sue sighed and looked at her retreating figure. She moved to place Franklin in Reed's arms but Johnny tapped her on the shoulder, "I'll talk to her." He muttered and walked in her footsteps.

Lacie opened her bedroom door and slowly sat down on the edge of her bed, the comments and insults lingering in her head and pounding against her temples.

She rested her elbows on her knees and hid her face in her hands, silencing her tears and feeling her throat tightening. Her shoulders shook slightly and she wiped away any tears that cascaded down her face, feeling more normal and human for the first time since she got these powers in space.

A soft knock on her door made her movement falter, but she didn't raise her head and instead drifted her hands to rub her temples. "Hey..." Johnny's voice was soft and his heart pinched as Lacie attempted to give him a weak smile.

Johnny walked over to her sitting figure and crouched down in front of her, his hands resting against her knees.

He lifted a hand to tap lightly on Lacie's forehead, "What's going on in there?" He whispered and let his hands drift down to wrap around her wrists and gently tug them away from her face.

Lacie sighed and let him do so, "Too much." She muttered and fiddled with Johnny's fingers while his gaze was fixed solely on her.

Johnny smiled, "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?"

Lacie lifted her head and raised her brows, fighting a smile creeping onto her face which she was definitely losing, "No, but it wouldn't hurt for you to say it again."

Johnny laughed and shook his head at her blushing face, "Wow..." He whispered and laced his fingers with his own, "So this is all just an ego boost for you?" He raised his brows with a wide smile on his face.

Lacie tilted her head, "I might need it after the points they were making out there." She pursed her lips and looked into Johnny's eyes.

Johnny's smile slipped off his face and he licked his lips, "Promise me you won't listen to them, alright?"

Lacie looked downwards and closed her eyes, "Johnny..."

She heard him sigh, "You already have, haven't you?" He knew her too well and could sense when she wasn't saying something.

Lacie shrugged her shoulders and laughed awkwardly, "Maybe. It's not everyday that you hear the whole of New York hates you."

Johnny's finger raised to linger under Lacie's chin, gently lifting her head so her eyes met his. His finger lingered there and traced her jawline, his eyes scanning over her face and willing to stroke out the creases etched across her face from nerves.

"I don't hate you." Johnny nodded, "I could never hate you, Lace."

Lacie's cheeks painted a light pink and she swallowed, "You don't think I'm fragile?" Johnny opened his mouth to interrupt her and her negative spiral but she continued, "Pathetic even?"

Johnny immediately shook his head and his finger traced the bridge of her nose lightly, "I think you're the strongest person I've ever met." He smiled and Lacie reciprocated it, feeling her skin burn under his touch, "And the hottest." Johnny finished with a smirk on his face.

"There we go!" Lacie laughed and backed away from his touch to smack him on the shoulder, "There's the Johnny Storm I was missing!"

Johnny chuckled and ran his hands through his hair, "You missed the Storm charm?"

Lacie's eyes widened and she threw her hands in the air, "Not like that!" She exclaimed as she could practically read Johnny's mind and what his smug smile meant.

Johnny raised his brows, "I think it's exactly like that, Lacie! You like this whole Human Torch thing I've got going on!" He laughed as Lacie blushed furiously and rolled her eyes.

Lacie groaned and hid her face in her hands, covering her pink cheeks. As she heard Johnny laugh, she parted her fingers and looked at him through the hands covering her face. Johnny sighed and peeled her hands away, fingers twisting around hers and letting them rest in her lap.

Lacie pursed her lips and flickered her eyes between Johnny's eyes and his lips. She pressed her lips together to suppress a smile, "You might just be..." She raised her hand and showed him her fingers pressed close together, "A small chance..." Johnny smiled and looked at her hand before reconnecting their eyes, "My favourite person."

Johnny's jaw dropped and he smiled widely, "What! Me?" He laughed and shuffled closer to Lacie as she scrunched her face up, "Don't make me regret it!"

Johnny raised his hands in surrender but he couldn't wipe the broad grin off his face, "I'm not!" He said through laughs, "I'm just shocked!"

Lacie groaned and threw her head back, laughing with him, "Shut up, Johnny!"

Johnny ducked his head to catch her eyes, the ones that were trying to avoid his own but failed as his persistence won for not the first time, "You're my favourite person." He nodded at her.

"No small chances. You just are." He finished, his voice reduced to a whisper as he continued.

Lacie smiled and nodded slowly, "So, the feelings are mutual?" She whispered and watched Johnny's face for a reaction.

Johnny swallowed and his smile grew, eyes scanning over Lacie's face, something he'd never get bored of, more of something he revels in, "Yeah... it's mutual."

Of course, in Johnny's sense. It was a different type of feelings.

Lacie sighed and brushed her hands through Johnny's hair, "I need a nap after you know, being New York's number one target for less than an hour." She chuckled to herself, feeling lighter about the situation after Johnny's visit.

Johnny grinned and stood up, slowly prying his hands out of Lacie's, "I'll leave you to it."

He walked towards her bedroom door and tapped against the frame, debating whether or not to turn back around and admit his real feelings; better yet, show her his list.

As his hand crept towards his pocket where the list was tucked comfortably, Lacie's voice snapped him out of his movements, "Thank you, Johnny."

Johnny turned back to her and leaned against the doorframe, "No problem, Lacie."

She smiled and shuffled further onto her bed, intending to lean back and rest for a while. "I still can't believe I'm your favourite person." Johnny laughed from across the room.

Lacie groaned and picked up a stuffed animal that was propped against her pillow and hurled it towards Johnny, "Shut up!"

Johnny laughed loudly and avoided the stuffed animal, quickly slipping out of her room and shouting behind him, "I'm going! I'm going!"

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authors note!

HEY GUYS again i hope you're loving my silly little story so far <333

this was one of my fav chapters to write and i hope it worked!

johnny and lacie are so special to me i fear i never want to let them go

i love reading all your comments so as usual, keep commenting! (pls)

haven't edited this one so if it stinks... #notmyfault #exceptitis

also... i love foreshadowing within my writing so keep a look out for any subtle hints along the way... UNTIL NEXT TIME!