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*
Reed was… curiously quiet after the meeting, as well, letting Sue and Johnny be as excited about the results as they wished to be. Not that he was withdrawn— he was perfectly happy to put in a comment here or there or respond to questions, but he declined to lead conversation. Okay, so it happens. But it was inevitable, given the Baxter building's location, size, and prominence in the NYC skyline that SOMEONE was going to spot the new addition out the window of the taxi.
The crane, of course, stands out like a sore thumb. That is certainly not a typical feature of the building. Of course, cranes are never present without a purpose, and in this case… a large, glimmering rendition of the Fantastic Four logo, well over five stories tall, is in the final stages of being affixed to one outward-facing corner of the top of the building. It's… huge. It occupies a significant portion of that corner, and almost all five floors, and still sweeps up over the roofline and overhangs the corner by a fair margin. One must admit that with the materials Reed chose, and the subtle beveling along the edges, the thing is striking and probably looks absolutely gorgeous when it catches the sunlight.
Meanwhile Reed sits in a corner of the cab as it nears the building and taps his fingertips together quietly.
*
The meeting with the lawyer had gone so well that Sue actually feels energized. After weeks of thinking through the problem, disagreeing with their former representation, and researching law firms that could be equipped to deal with their vast needs, it's like a giant weight has been lifted from her shoulders. And it shows.
"I like her," she offers with a stitch of a smile. "And not because of the whole metahuman thing. She treated us like we know what we're doing and are able to contribute. I appreciate that. She respected us enough to listen to our concerns, outline potential problems, and walk us through solutions. That's what we need. And! A woman!" she emits a contented sigh. It's possible Sue may be forming a girl crush on their new representation. "And she wants to fight the legislation we all know is coming. That's a win all around, I think…"
She leans back in the seat in the cab and looks out the window towards home, sweet home. Only to emit a very loud, very unforgiving series of expletives in reactionary Korean. «What the hell is that?!??»
She looks between the pair in the car. It only takes a moment for her brain to work out why Reed was so cooperative today, and so she sputters, nostrils flaring, "What did you do?!"
*
"She is pretty great," Johnny tells Sue, smiling broadly at her. Yeah, no, she is not the only one with a big ol' crush on their new legal representative. Which should come as precisely zero surprise.
Whatever he was going to say next, however, is forgotten when the expletives start flying. Johnny blinks once and leans over to follow his sister's gaze out the window, his brow furrowing. And then his eyes go wide.
As Sue rounds on Reed, Johnny presses himself back as flat as humanly possible into the seat of the car, his mouth tightly shut. Sorry, Reed. You are on your own.
*
One could say 'to his credit', but exactly how appropriate that is is up in the air. Reed winces as soon as the Korean language starts flying, and cracks an eye at her at the question. "I… suppose that was a rhetorical question," he hazards, glancing at Johnny… yeah. No help there. "It's… actually a housing for an extensive and comprehensive sensor and communications array?" he suggests hopefully. Oh, he did not earn NEARLY enough points to redeem for this, did he?
*
"Housing for an extensive and comprehensive sensor array?!" Sue motions dramatically towards the window. "Housing for an extensive and comprehensive sensor array?!" she repeats. It's possible at this moment, Sue's brain has short-circuited because she says it one more time, "Housing for an extensive and comprehensive sensor array?!" She blink blink blinks.
"You weren't thinking! That is the correct answer! You weren't thinking!!"
*
When the car rolls to a stop, Johnny remains as flat against the seats as he can manage to be whilst also opening the door. Biting his lip, he just… kind of… sliiiiiips out of the car, heartlessly abandoning Reed to his fate. He's trying to figure out precisely how much of a tip to give the poor driver for this, already digging his wallet out of his pocket.
*
The more times 'Housing for an extensive and comprehensive sensor and communications array' is repeated back at him the lower Reed's estimated chances for his own survival and his getting to keep his giant 4 fall.
At least it was only three times. When she finishes, he raises a finger. "Technic— ah… nevermind." He practically pours himself onto the sidewalk after Johnny in an attempt to keep himself as far from Sue's ire as possible. DANGER REED RICHARDS. WOOP WOOP DANGER.
*
The forcefield that Reed Richards encounters is completely unforgiving. There is no permeability, malleability, or flexibility. While Sue isn't in the business of using her ability for recreation, she certainly doesn't hesitate to use it when she sees fit. And at this moment, she sees fit.
Reed cannot leave Sue's bubble. Good try.
"THAT is a target!! That is telling everyone where we are from what — SPACE — and inviting them to — " she motions up to the building and makes a small explodey sound. "WE aren't the only ones who live here! You know that right?! You have to know that!! That nice lady downstairs!! The older one — Mrs. Morris! What would she think of this?! It's ridiculous!! Insanely ridiculous!! And you couldn't put your mega sensor ray gun in something less conspicuous!!"
"You may as well have invited the entire Latverian delegation for tea — "
*
As… things continue to unfold in the back seat, Johnny leans over to speak at a much more reasonable volume with the driver. Or, that's the theory. Every time he starts to speak, Sue seems to pick up additional steam.
After a moment's thought, Johnny just pulls the entire wad of cash that currently resides inside his wallet and offers it to the man with a very apologetic expression.
*
Thump. Forcefeild in the face. Reed conforms to it much better than his glasses, which moosh into his yeilding, elastic face. Damn. So much for a relatively short tear-the-bandage-off pain. He rotates around, managing to find most of his original form and face his… ah… well, their exact relationship should probably the characterized as 'to be continued' at the moment. As with most moments. "Give me a little credit, Sue," he manages in as reasonable and contrite a tone as he can manage. "It's not like I didn't consider any of those things…" he offers, tapping his index fingers together while slumping against the forcefeild. "Annnnnnd I didn't talk to you about it because you were already dealing with finding new lawyers and…" He kind of pauses at this point. Yeah, he's not sure it'd work on him, either. "…annnnnd I really should have anyway," he concludes a little lamely, wincing.
*
For a moment it looks as if Sue is going to yell again. Her temper definitely flares. She's incensed, it's true. But it falls flat. Instead, fatigue and disappointment colour her expression. Her shoulders draw into her chest, and for a moment, she appears as a woman utterly defeated. She watches him coolly for a few moments while a horrible feeling sinks in the pit of her stomach. "We can't do this…" her eyes hone in on the giant four. "But that's not even what upsets me," she opines back. "Three years and you didn't think about talking to me because I seemed, what… busy? Have I ever been too busy to talk to you?" She tries to let that question sink in. "Three years and you still made a big decision without so much as a conversation with any of us? Three years I've taken care of this side of us," she points to the sign, "our public image is something I've worked hard on — I can't believe you wouldn't talk to me first," she blinks hard.
Something different edges into her expression. Yelling Sue was definitively angry. This version has transitioned into something oddly more sinister. "I…" her chin drops to her chest and the hurt in her tone is palpable. "I'm going inside." The forcefield is let down.
*
Johnny is in the process of returning his much lighter wallet to his pocket when the fact that the yelling has stopped registers on him. Wince. That's not a good sign. He abruptly straightens up and practically sprints around the car in order to draw the door open for his sister. He drops into a crouch to peek inside and gauge the temperature before he silently offers Sue a hand. "Nunim," he says in Korean, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. "I'll walk you up."
*
Reed opens his mouth to say something further when the forcefeild gives way and he abruptly finshes pouring out of the car backwards with an undignified noise, gliding to a halt on his back on the sidewalk, blinking momentarily at the sky. It's pathetic. He looks like of literally deflated. Ah, this sure didn't go to plan at all, Richards. Not at all.
*
The opened door doesn't immediately register as Sue sits in her spot a moment longer. Her dark eyes hone in on the seat in front of her. The honorific, however, draws her attention, and her head turns to cast a weak, nearly-apologetic, smile to Johnny. She continues to blink hard as she silently accepts the hand and shifts to slide out of the car, allowing her heels to find balance before trying out her sea legs once again — running in heels truly is a life skill. She gives her brother another nod once out of the car, and with her free hand, squeezes his shoulder. "Thank you," the hurt croaks through the words, but she doesn't acknowledge it — never providing it verbal acknowledgement.
*
Under other circumstances, Johnny might actually check on Reed, or at least say something to him. You know, acknowledge the poor guy's existence just a little bit.
With his sister this upset, however? Johnny just waits patiently and helps Sue up out of the car, watching her with very plain concern on his face. He considers it before he simply turns in place and offers her an arm. <I could set it on fire, if you want,> he offers in that same gentle tone. <Not while it's still up there, obviously, but. I could.>
*
Sue links arms with Johnny and shakes her head. "No," she replies in easy English before taking a long deep breath. <All of Manhattan will have seen it already.> Her eyes lid lightly and she sidles against her brother. "And half of New York." Her eyes flit up to the skyline. "We need to, at least, seem united in our decisions." She sniffs. <There are people out there who want us to fail. As individuals. As a team. No. This is one bad decision we all have to get on board.>
*
Reed now has some time to contemplate his mortality and consider his next action. talk to Sue. Obviously not right this second. Right this second, the warm concrete is a blessing. But a real conversation is unavoidable. The sooner the better, probably. Inside. Upstairs. He foresees himself knocking on her door and doing some begging first. That seems reasonable. It's not the first time. Probably not the last, either.
Resolved to a course of action, Reed peels himself off his back and gingerly gets to his feet, brushing his clothes and letting his back de-flatten. Reinflate? There should be a term for this. Reconstitute. Eh, maybe.
*
Arm in arm with Sue, Johnny begins to walk towards the entrance to the newly-decorated Baxter Building, leaving poor Reed all but forgotten in the street behind them. He starts to open his mouth to say something, but he stops himself short with a slightly pained expression. "…okay. But if you ever change your mind," he says instead. "It's a standing offer."
*
"I'm okay," Sue whispers softly. "I…" her eyes lid "…just don't know somedays. Most days." She manages a gentle smile in turn, and gives Johnny a quiet admonishment, "Don't worry about me. Just, promise me you won't be so… utterly hopeless in your life? Mom and Dad wouldn't have wanted that for you." There's a flicker of a smile that follows the words. And then, wistfully, with one final glance towards the sign, she adds, "Or me."
*
<We could still replace him, you know,> Johnny tells his sister in a quiet, conspiratorial voice as he leads her inside. <Miss Walters said she looks good in white accents. We should at least consider it.> He nods, his expression far too serious to actually be so.
But then Sue says… that. Johnny immediately sobers and leans over to give her a kiss on the forehead. "I promise. Let's get upstairs and order some chinese food or something," he murmurs, shifting his arm to hook around her shoulders. "At least they won't have a hard time finding the building."