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Things are completely out of whack within the residence of the Fantastic Four.
Oh, there has been a member of the team spending their every waking hour in the lab over the last several days. That much has stayed constant. But it hasn't been the right one. It's supposed to be the Invisible Woman or Mr. Fantastic that's burning the midnight oil and slaving away over the tech in the team's lab.
Not Johnny.
But it's only now, after a period of time even Reed might call excessive, that the younger Storm comes trudging out of the lab, and he looks exhausted. Clad in his blue-and-whites, his hair in utter disarray and dark rings beneath his eyes, he doesn't even notice if there's anyone awake out in the living area. He's a man on a mission.
Coffee. He needs coffee.
*
Something has shifted in the last few days. And while Johnny has been in the lab, something strange has gone on downstairs. Across the windows of the living room, in various shades of marker (that does, indeed, wash off with soap and water, thank goodness!) are long scale cellular drawings.
Equations.
Chemistry.
Simple process elimination sees each of them crossed out in turn.
It's fortunate for Johnny, however, that along with window equations, coffee is already brewed in the pot…
As for the Invisible Woman? She's nowhere to be seen. But that doesn't always mean much.
*
There's a knock on the door and then it's nudged open. "Sue?" Heather steps in cautiously, a heavy basket over one arm. She hasn't seen Sue in ages and, with so much illness going around, she's decided to come by with a care package — just to be sure everything is okay. "I brought soup. Are you feeling all right?"
It's not usually open. She steps in a bit further and takes in all the writing. "Oh dear." Someone else might be perturbed. Heather simply recognizes a science spree when she sees one. "I'll put things in the kitchen, then, I think." And then she'll tiptoe out if no one shows up.
*
It probably registers on some part of Johnny's awareness that he doesn't have to brew the coffee. Probably. But he's halfway through pouring himself a mug when Heather comes into the kitchen, getting his attention more effectively than an invisible sister or the writing covering the windows. He peers blearily at the redheaded blur and continues to pour. And pour. And pour.
Good thing he's immune to the kind of heat kicked out by coffee, because it's overflowing all over his hand.
"Oh. Heather. Hi. How are you feeling?" Johnny asks, blinking hard to clear his vision.
*
There's a shift at the kitchen table as one of the chairs moves away from the table. Sue Storm turns visible seconds later. Dressed in her uniform, she becomes visible shortly after the sound of her name. "Thank you, Heather," she offers warmly. Unlike just days ago, she looks herself. Polished, precise, ready.
And well.
Yet it's hard to tell if well is truly well. She clears her throat and casts her brother a tight-lipped smile, "Hello Johnny." She pads to the coffee table and plucks a binder before looking at her handiwork and clucking her tongue. Something still isn't adding up.
*
"Johnny." Heather intervenes quickly, putting down the basket and grabbing a tea towel to mop up the mess. "Go sit down. You look terrible and you're probably starving. Sue?" Heather will deal with her in a minute. She finishes mopping up coffee. This is not a good situation, not with them acting so oddly toward each other.
*
"Huh? No, no, I'm fine, I ate — what time is it?" From the look of him, 'what day is it' is probably the more pertinent question. But Johnny doesn't argue with the order, at least. With his too-full mug of coffee in hand, he obediently trudges his way over to the table and sits down.
Even as exhausted as he is, Johnny does offer his sister a smile, though there is something in his tone. Almost wariness. "Seo. You look better. How's…" He gestures at the side of his head, raising his eyebrows. "I mean, the scan was… you're lucid? Right?"
*
"It's Sunday," Sue offers flatly towards Johnny as if that should help his confusion. She motions towards the long equations and cell diagrams. Her expression tightens some, turning almost pinched, when she notes, "Lucid enough." She sits on the sofa and flips madly through the binder for something. "And my head is fine. No fever." The scan? Well, she doesn't talk about that. For reasons. "I feel like myself." That seems good enough.
*
"That's something. When did you eat last?" Heather finishes cleaning up and, warily, sniffs the coffee. It's not cold. And it doesn't smell like it's gone tarry. That's something. "Sue, what can I get you? I brought baked goods, chicken soup, some fruit, there's a bar of chocolate in here, a bottle of wine…"
Heather doesn't fool around when it comes to taking care of people. "You need some help if you're going to be this busy."
*
"Sunday? I… think I had lunch yesterday," Johnny admits, and he at least sounds rather contrite about it. He hadn't meant to get too distracted to eat. That's Reed's job, but Reed's… with a wince, Johnny chugs his too-full mug of coffee in one fell swoop. He needs to wake back up, and fast.
Once he's wiped his mouth, Johnny gives Sue a very relieved smile. <Thank goodness.> "Hopefully it'll last —" He cuts off abruptly and surges to his feet, pointing towards Heather with a harried expression. "Oh! I need to scan your brain!"
*
Sue should be fussing about Johnny not eating, but for whatever reason, she hones in on the binder on the coffee table instead. "Thank you, Heather. I…" she manages a tight smile as her cheeks flush a pale pink "…should probably eat too." She slides off the couch, "Just fruit for me." She manages another flicker of a smile. Johnny is cast a nearly sheepish expression. <I'm here. I'm present. I'm doing what I can.>
*
Ding! The elevator has arrived! The doors open and off walks none other than the rocky resident of the Baxter Building, The Thing himself! Ben Grimm takes off his hat as he lumbers softly, or rather as softly as one can as a rock man, toward the living area."I'm back!" He announces, as if it weren't already obvious. "And how are things here, hm?" He offers a little smile and nod to Heather while glancing toward Sue and Johnny.
"Has anyone seen Reed recently? Is he still…working on his project?" The hesitation with his words is evident. "Do I need to go up and check on him?"
*
"I'll make you up a plate, Johnny," Heather says from the kitchen. She's ignoring the tension for now. It's the best way to deal with it sometimes. Can't fix it and it'll pass — or it won't.
"Ben!" Heather gives him a smile before popping back in the kitchen. Fruit plate for Sue, all the food for Johnny. "That's a good question — I was assuming he was working. Unless he's ill?"
*
The finger that Johnny had been pointing towards Heather immediately swings around towards Ben. "And yours! We need to check your brains for spores!" Johnny says, in a very serious voice. He looks completely exhausted and utterly harried, like he's staying awake out of spite.
He blinks twice and looks to Heather again, not even hesitating. "Reed's in quarantine. The spores screw with your judgment and he was trying to get me to build a death ray on the roof," Johnny explains, moving away from the table. "So we really, really do need to check the two of you. Especially you, Heather, you and Sue got sick at the same time — "
*
"Ben," Sue manages a flicker of a smile for the rock-man. And then, as if unconvinced of something, Sue observes, "But not spores. I mean, they're like spores," she waves her hand. "But different." She swallows hard and then nods at Johnny's observations about Reed. "It's bad. Whatever it is has effects. Long-term sweeping effects. But nothing in the books seems to cause — " she frowns and doesn't finish the thought.
"Warning about the brain scan, it will cause radiation to your cells. It's not the safest procedure, but it's the only one we've got." Her eyebrows lift.
*
"I'm fine," Heather says blithely. "Maybe because I haven't got any of your…" She appears with a plate of fruit and sets it on the table in front of Sue before wiggling her fingers dramatically. "Those things. I haven't been any different. I've been going to work, life is fine."
She didn't even take a pot shot at an assassin in a crowd the other day. "I'm not sure how David would feel about me irradiating my brain, anyway, Johnny. I could always get his opinion — he'd know if anything was wrong." She disappears back into the kitchen, then pops her head out again.
"Ben, I can't remember if you eat… I don't want to be rude." She gives him a sweet smile. "I'll fix you something if you need it."
*
"Heather's on food duty? Good on ya, Heather. I'd probably kill 'em if I tried to cook for 'em!" Ben chuckles softly. Looking at Johnny gently, he nods. "I suppose I'll submit to a scan." He furrows his rocky brow. "We don't need Reed working on death rays. Definitely not." He scratches his forehead and sighs. "What a thing! I wish I were more inclined toward biology, I'd help study this…whatever is!"
He actually laughs at the mention of radiation to his cells. "You realize it's radiation to my cells that turned me into a rock, right? After that, I'm not so concerned about radiation." He shakes his head, looking quite amused.
"I do, indeed, eat, Heather. That's quite kind of you. Thank you!"
*
"No, Heather, this is serious," Johnny says firmly, raking both of his hands back over his hair. Ah. That must be how it wound up so messy. "It isn't just people with powers. It's — I mean, we think he has it, right?" he asks, turning towards Sue and raising his eyebrows. "What's-his-face, from the… the thing. He called." Yes, Johnny. That's very descriptive. "It's just a little radiation, it's fine."
At least Ben is speaking sense. Johnny gives him an unmistakably grateful look when he agrees to a scan without fuss. "I might need to reconfigure the microscanner for you, but I can do it. I don't get the biology, that's all her right now," he adds, thumbing towards Sue — and the notes in her handwriting that are covering the windows. "All I do is run the scan and look for specks that shouldn't be there."
*
"I do, Ben. But that doesn't mean your brain is immutable. I don't think we should be unnecessarily exposing ourselves to more. You don't know when you'll need to not be further exposed to radiation. I mean, it could cause long-term problems we don't even know about, so don't just let people scan your brain willy nilly. Once? Probably fine. But another time? At least twenty four hours between. And even then." Sue's cheeks flush. She's given this an insane amount of thought.
Her eyebrows lift at Johnny, "Doctor Thurston? Yeah, he definitely has it. But he's a mutant. Victor managed to get him on the phone for me." How that happened is anyone's guess. "He's got it. But he wouldn't talk about it in any depth. I … " her head cants to the side "…was going to see him. Which…" her lips part as she finally remembers that thing she'd forgot the other day "… I came here for my passport. Huh."
%
*
"Well," Heather breezes back out with food — so much food, how does she put these things together so quickly? So mamy years of practice, and plenty of preparation. Sandwiches, soup, fruit, coffee…on the table for Ben and Johnny, then back into the kitchen for a plate of the fattest cupcakes ever, topped with thick swirls of icing and sprinkles. "If David says I've been behaving oddly, I'll accept that, but I really do feel fine."
She puts her hands on her hips and gives Johnny and Ben stern looks in turn. "Now eat my cooking or I'll feel like no one needs me. And Sue, you really shouldn't be going anywhere if you can't remember why you're doing things. It's a good thing you ended up at home."
*
"Yeah, my rocky exterior might uh…well, mess with the equipment, to say the least. I ain't exactly made of flesh no more, not like the rest of you. At least my insides are still the same!" Sentences that Ben never thought he'd speak a few years back. "Just let me know when you need to run the test…Fireboy." Yes. He has heard about the nickname now. And he's gonna use it, too! At least on occasion.
"I'm not worried about a bit of extra radiation. Honestly." Ben tells Sue with a little smile. "Besides, it's not me that we should be worried about here, right?"
"And Sue? You ain't going nowhere. And why are…you need to stop getting help from Victor! Just stop! He's a low down cheap little punk who doesn't deserve any of our time. If ever he helps us, it's only because it either helps him in the end, or he wants us to owe him a favour!" Why is he explaining this? Ben knows she should know that!
*
"She knows," Johnny assures Ben, holding up his hands as he comes to his sister's defense. "Like I said. The spores — " He pauses, glancing to Sue. " — or whatever they are, mess with your judgment. Reed wants to vaporize things to solve problems. Sue ends up at the Latverian embassy." Twice. "And I withdraw from classes and say a lot of really, really hurtful things."
Johnny does pluck a sandwich off of the tray, at least, though he's too busy frowning and looking puzzled to take a bite. "But something happened between then and my scan, because I'm clean now. But I know that wasn't me." He scowls down at his sandwich, clearly struggling to think through his exhaustion.
"So if Thurston's got it, then we all had to have gotten sick at the conference, right?" Johnny says slowly, in the tone of someone thinking aloud. "We were all there."
*
"That was days ago," Sue waves a hand at Heather. "Everything is fine. I just wanted to chat with Doctor Thurston. He knows something. I can tell, he just can't talk about it. Every time we talk about the topic, he becomes cagey. Uncomfortable." She frowns slightly.
Sue hums uncertainly about the extra radiation, "It can do some wonky things." She rolls her eyes at the scolding about Victor and Johnny's remarks. "Victor is kind to me. He offered me a job, and offered me other avenues to use my energies." Her eyebrows draw together, "Look, I know he's difficult, and… odd, but he really does get excited and inspired by things. He's like two different people." Her throat clears. "Besides, he's done some incredible things for Latveria. Their technology is spades beyond anything most can imagine, and he really is to be credited for that." Maybe her judgment is still in question?
"Theoretically, yes. The conference is the infection point," Sue agrees with Johnny.
*
"I still think it must work differently for people with the powers you have. Maybe you got rid of it when you did the…" Heather does the finger wiggles again. "You're covered in flame, are you not? Does it penetrate your skin?" She's curious. "One never asks about these things in polite company, of course, but here we are."
*
Food! Right. Eat. Ben should eat. That's what he should do. Eat and not focus on Victor and possibly being sick. He grabs something off the table and takes a giant bite out of it. What's that? More words about Victor? Can't hear them, too busy eating! "What if someone purposefully infected us at the conference?" It's not a pleasant thought, but he figured he'd bring it up.
"One way or another, we need to find a way to get rid of it. And by 'we', I mean the biology smarty pants people, and not me or Johnny…the engineering smarty pants people." Ben takes another bite of the food.
*
Johnny continues to stare pensively down at his uneaten sandwich as the others speak, his brow tightly pinched together between his eyes. "Not just covered in flame," he replies to Heather, his tone of voice distracted. "Bullets go right through me, if they don't… melt…"
It's abrupt. So abrupt, in fact, that he doesn't even say anything. His eyes snap open and Johnny drops the sandwich, going scrambling back towards the lab and nearly trips over his own feet in the process.
*
The oddity of Johnny getting up and leaving causes Sue to cringe. Her fingers curl around another piece of fruit and she nibbles on it lightly before shaking her head. "It still doesn't make sense," she stares at the marker across the window. "Every time I read the equation and think of the biology, there's nothing that can do this. I mean, if it was a parasite, it would get progressively worse instead of going dormant." Like it did for her. "If it was a fungus, it would be more aggressive. Nothing plant-based does this." Her lips purse.
*
"I wish I could be more help but I didn't get past the twelfth grade," Heather says regretfully. "I can put some more coffee on, though, and clean out whatever biohazard is lurking in your fridge. I think something in there has started its own political party — speaking of fungi."
*
"Johnny…Johnny, come back here and pick up your…!" Ben sighs and rolls his eyes. "What's gotten into the kid?" He sounds genuinely confused. "Do you think he's sick too?"
He chuckles at Heather. "Maybe whatever's in the fridge should run for president during the next election!" He laughs at his joke, smirking.
"Okay." He says with a sigh. "Maybe I should check on what Johnny's up to…" He says, moving in the same direction as Flameboy.
*
The good news is, Johnny was in such a rush that he didn't close the door to the lab behind him — which means that when he starts excitedly explaining what the hell is going on, they can hear him. "IT'S NOT BIOLOGICAL!" he shouts, a laugh coloring his voice as he starts digging around in the lab. Loudly. "That's why you can't figure it out! It's tech!"
When Johnny leans back out of the doorway to look towards Ben and Sue, it's with a rather wild-eyed expression. "Remember what the Latverian delegation was showing at the conference? It's Victor's tech! He's screwing with your head! That's why you keep going to the embassy! That has to be it!"
*
ROLL: Sue +rolls 1d100 for a result of: 93
*
ROLL: Ben +rolls 1d100 for a result of: 49
*
Johnny's shout does perk Sue's attention. Her chin lifts, her eyebrows raise, and she's already drifting towards the stairs when Johnny returns. Sue's lips part wordlessly as the information washes over her. It's Victor's tech! The phrase continues to ripple across her mind. And for a few beats, diplomatic stoicism seems to be winning out. There's little reaction on Sue's face.
For those truly paying attention, however, her hands are balled into two tight, very angry, fists. And the forcefield around her seems to cover her at will. Her head turns towards the window and her calculations, and her chin drops to her chest.
And then something cracks. Diplomacy fails and there's no question Seo is seething. Her entire body tenses, and the cogs in her mind are obviously working when quite suddenly… she disappears from view.
*
"I wish I knew what any of that means," Heather says distantly, from the kitchen. "I'm seriously considering hanging it all up and having babies. I understand babies. I was good at babies. I'm not too old for that. I could get in four. Maybe six. Twins run in the family, I could probably get to ten." She rattles around, splashing water, scrubbing dishes.
*
"Wait a minute. Wait a minute!" Ben rubs his face and shakes his head. "Well, I guess it is down to me and Johnny." They have to pull their weight occasionally, after all!
"What it means, Heather," he calls back to her, "is that it's a machine that's causing this. Tiny machines." He tries to explain. "Like uh…like little robots, I guess? Messing with our biology."
And then finally it hits him. If Victor caused this, and Sue is thinking that Victor wants the best for her, then how is she going to react? "Sue!" He turns to face her just in time to see her start to fade. "Sue NO!" He sighs. "Sue! Don't go after Victor!"
*
The look that Johnny aims towards Heather probably says it all: if she is talking about wanting that many babies, she is definitely sick, no scan necessary. But instead, he points towards Ben. "Exactly! I'll just run a scan for trace metals and radio waves, no radiation required, to verify it for sure. If we can figure out what wavelength they're being controlled over, we can block it. All fixed!" he says brightly.
And then his sister vanishes from sight, and his expression falls. Aw, hell.
"Orrrrrrr I can assume I'm right and put together an electromagnetic pulse before my sister can commit homicide," Johnny says quickly. As quickly as he'd gone for the lab, he abandons it, rushing instead towards the stairs. To the roof. "Ben! If you can stop her, cool! If not, help me rig the pulse! EITHER WOULD BE GREAT!"
Johnny doesn't mean to leave Heather out. But if the chaos so far hasn't been enough to distract her from doing dishes and musing about babies…
*
ROLL: Sue +rolls 1d100 for a result of: 50
*
ROLL: Sue +rolls 1d100 for a result of: 56
*
ROLL: Heather +rolls 1d100 for a result of: 19
*
While Johnny feels triumphant Sue is undeniably pissed off, and already on a warpath. The question is: what is the path? Ahead of Johnny, she'd already floated up the stairs and released the lock on Reed's stasis before proceeding to the roof. She floats off the roof, invisible in the sky, with one destination in mind.
*
"Two heads are better than one! I'll help with the EMP! Probably easier than trying to follow Sue, anyway!" Comes Ben's reply as he starts after Johnny. Once in the lab, he starts collecting required supplies to rig up a sufficient EMP to cover a good sized area.
*
As Johnny unknowingly follows his sister to the roof, he's already doing the math in his head necessary for an electromagnetic pulse strong enough to reach Embassy Row. No further than that — it's going to be disruptive and dangerous enough without taking out the entire island. His invisible sibling makes her escape with him none the wiser, and he immediately yanks a panel off of the side of the massive 4 affixed to the Baxter Building.
Hopefully, he and Ben can get the necessary tinkering done before Seo does something they can't fix.