chpt. 19

"Y/n?" I feel a hand gently stroke my cheek. The voice sounds distorted.

"Y/n?" The hand is continuing to stroke my cheek.

I frown, groggily, trying to swat the hand away, only to be met with soft laughter. I open my eyes slowly, squinting. My eyes meet baby blue one's. Johnny. His face slowly comes into view as my eyes focus on his face.

It's nighttime, I notice first. Oh. I remember now. I fell asleep when it started to get dark. Ginger is still curled up by my feet.

I look at Johnny, "Hi. You're back." I say.

"In one piece." He says with a triumphant smirk.

I throw my arms around his neck, pulling him to me in a tight hug. He gasps lightly in my ear, but hugs me back with equal force.

"You stayed safe." I whisper as he pulls back.

He smiles at me, his eyes soft. "Always." He winks.

"When did you get back?" I question, sitting up.

"A few minutes ago. I took a shower quickly before coming in." He explains.

"You were out that long?" I ask with a frown.

He shrugs, "Danger and crime doesn't have a schedule."

I purse my lips, "Of course they don't." I murmur.

I make myself comfortable against the pillows, Ginger laying himself between my legs. Johnny just looks at me from where he's sitting on my left, his blue eyes soft. He's wearing a marron compression shirt, black sweats and white socks. He looks good. He licks his lips, as if preparing to say something—

My phone rings, startling us both. I pick it up, "Why didn't you tell me your psycho ex is trying to take over the world?" Sophia yells at the other end of the line.

I wince, "I was sleeping—"

"Crappy excuse! Unless you're with 'Mr. Torch'. Then you get a free pass." She says and I feel my face flush as Johnny smirks at me.

I raise my brows, pointing a finger at him as he starts to reach over at my phone, "Johnny... no." I jump as he lunches at me.

"Johnny?" I hear Sophia ask, then gasp, "Is he there with you?" She exclaims.

"Uh, no...no." I fumble to get off the bed, but Johnny grabs me around the waist, pulling me up, so I'm sitting in between his legs, my back to his chest on the bed.

He's stolen my phone from me. He smirks, putting the phone to his ear, "What's her name?" He whispers to me.

"Sophia." I say, making an attempt to get my phone back, only for him to grip my arms against my chest, gently, though.

"Sophia! How are you doing?" He asks, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

I hear Sophia gasp, "Johnny Storm! Oh my—" I don't hear the rest as she starts to scream. Johnny grins as he pulls the phone from his ear at the noise.

"That's Sophia for you." I whisper.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I hear Sophia yell at the other end of the line.

Johnny chuckles, "That's alright, Sophia."

"Now, tell me something." She says.

"Yeah?"

"Are you taking care of my friend?" She asks.

Johnny raises a brow, "Define 'taking care'."

I smack his thigh, "Johnny!" I exclaim.

He laughs, "You better take good care of her, after all she's been through! If you don't, I will kick your ass." Sophia threatens.

"I will take good care of her, Sophia. You don't have to worry." He says sweetly, winking down on me.

"Good. Can you give Y/n the phone back now, please?" She asks.

"Bye, Sophia." He says with a smile.

He gives my phone back to me, "Is he still there?" She whispers.

I chuckle, "Yes, unfortunately."

"Well, shoo him away!" She says. I laugh.

I turn to Johnny, mentioning to the door and he groans, before getting up. He then quickly kisses me on the cheek, leaving my face hot, before leaving the room.

I breathe, "Okay. He's gone." I say, biting my lip.

"What's the deal, huh? Are you two together now, or? What?" She asks.

I sigh, "I—I don't know Soph. I mean, there's a lot going on right now. I think that's the last thing on his mind." I say.

She sighs dramatically, "And what could be more important than you?" She asks. I chuckle, imagining her standing with a hand on her hip.

"Franklin." I reply without a beat.

"Who?"

I giggle, "Franklin. He's Susan and Reed's child. He's quite adorable."

"Hmm... okay, okay. But still!"

I sigh, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah. No—I, there's a lot of stuff that's happened in such a short time. It's a lot." I say finally.

"Okay, well you know you can, anytime right?" She says.

I nod, "Thanks, Sophia."

I can imagine her winking, "Welcome. Also, keep me updated on you-know-who." She whispers.

I laugh, "I will." I reply. The phone hangs up. I sigh, staring out at the large sliding door.

"Can I come back in?" Johnny whispers.

I roll my eyes, grinning, "Were you eavesdropping?" I question, turning to the door.

He peeks around the corner, a smirk on his face, "No."

I pick up a pillow and throw it at him. It hits his head with a loud smack, "Okay, okay! Maybe a little." He throws the pillow on the bed, sitting next to me.

"You okay?" He asks softly.

I stare at him, "I don't know. It's a lot—"

"Hey, guys! Come look at this!" Ben yells from downstairs.

Johnny and I frown at each other before heading downstairs. We enter the living room, Ben, Susan and Reed are already there. They're watching the TV.

"—that an unknown spacecraft, believed to be Galactus, has just passed Jupiter." I hear a man say.

"Financial institutions remain closed, as angry protestors—"

The screen flips, showing people walking down the streets in many countries. I frown, looking at Johnny.

"The newly formed, Galactus Cult—"

"It's getting bad out there." Ben says, taking the TV remote, switching to another channel.

"It seems to me, they have no plan for Galactus. We as a society have to reckon with the idea that the Fantastic Four could save us today, but they choose to not to!"

"The idea is simple: Reed Richards and Sue Storm hand over their baby and we all live—"

I nearly jump out of my skin as Susan sends an invisible force at the TV, breaking it. She stares daggers at rhe broken glass shards.

I then hear... people. Tons and tons of people outside. I frown as Ben and Johnny open their sliding doors, peeking over the balcony. The noise becomes louder, more amplified.

They come back in again, closing the sliding door. Ben takes off his cap and coat with a heavy sigh, throwing it on the couch.

I watch as Susan and Reed take a seat by the dinner table, Johnny and Ben soon joining. I don't really know what to do with myself right now. So I sit awkwardly on the couch, arms around myself.

I then see Johnny look at me with a frown, before extending his hand to me. I slowly and cautiously get up, stand up. He gets up from his chair, beckoning me to sit. I do, even though I feel so out of place. He stands behind me, warm hands on my shoulders.

"They're scared." Reed says after a few beats of silence.

"Who isn't?" Johnny asks, his fingers digging into my skin. I don't wince.

"Why? They can't hurt us." Ben says.

"They're scared because they hate us." Reed says to Ben. Susan shakes her head. I stay quiet. "And they're right, because we don't have a plan."

"The clock is ticking. Their plan looks good. It's mathematical, it's ethical and it's avaliable." Reed finishes.

Susan narrows her eyes at him, "What are you saying?"

"I'm not... saying anything." Reed replies nervously.

The baby monitor goes off, and Susan gets up to check on Franklin. Reed too, following her, leaving Ben, Johnny and I in an awkward silence.

A few minutes later, I see Susan exit the building. We all follow behind. I watch as she stands in front of the massive crowd of people, talking.

I stayed inside, while Ben, Reed and Johnny stood outside, listening to her. After a while, the come back inside.

"As a family..." I hear Johnny murmur.

I see Reed look from me to his family and I frown, "What is it?" I question.

"Archimedes." He says.

We all frown as we look at him, "What?" I ask.

"The Law of Levers. "Give me a lever and a place to stand and I will move the Earth."" He quotes.

"Sue," he walks over to her, "You solved it."

"I did?"

"Yes. We are going to move Earth to a place Galactus will never find us." He says. Excuse me, what now?

"How?" Susan asks.

"Well, we already have the lever. The bridge." Reed explains.

"The bridge is a prototype." Susan replies.

"You moved an egg across the room. You think you can do that with a planet?" Johnny asks.

"We are out of options. We have to make it work. We will have make it work." Reed says with confidence.

Reed looks at his family, then me. I stiffen, "Will you help us?" He asks.

I nod, "Of course."

"Actually... I have a few other people that can help too." I say.

Susan nods, "We'll need all the help we can get." She says.

"I'll call them now." I announce.

"Just know, you won't be sleeping for a good while." Reed warns.

Johnny sighs, "I wanted to say that!"

Reed shakes his head, "We'll start tomorrow morning, early. So get some rest everyone."