Chapter Text
Reed was very aware of Sue’s hand on his arm.
They both watched, along with the rest of the scientists in the room, as Johnny stepped into the fusion chamber and began siphoning the energy. It was an awe-inspiring sight to behold when the orange flames mixed with the white hue of pure energy.
As a scientist, it was fascinating to watch.
As a brother-in-law, it was equal parts horrifying.
Sue’s fingers tightened around his bicep as the reaction inside the chamber increased and Johnny began to glow brighter and brighter, the more fire he absorbed. Reed felt his own body tense at the sight. The control panel started sparking and wailing as the sensors were slowly fried, one by one. He rapidly turned them off – there was nothing more they could tell them that they couldn’t already see.
Johnny’s fire roared violently, growing and flickering, and he steadily rose from the ground until he hovered in the middle of the blazing room. Tremors vibrated through the floor. Reed felt a twinge as doubt began to gnaw at his insides. This might have been too much – he shouldn’t have allowed Johnny to do it in the first place…
The viewing window before them trembled under the increasing strain. His eyes widened with the realization of what was about to happen. He had just enough time to yell Sue’s name, before the glass exploded.
Sue raised her hands and all of the sharp, tiny glass fragments rained down around the shimmering force field that surrounded them like a protective cocoon. She wisely maintained their shield, deep concentration etched into her face, as the inferno in the fusion chamber continued.
Bright light enveloped Johnny’s burning frame and drowned out Reed’s vision. Spots danced before his eyes. It took a while before his sight returned to normal. It was almost dark by then in both rooms, compared to the beacon that had been there just seconds before.
The core of energy was completely gone. Johnny was all that remained. He was still flickering with fire but it was dimmer now. He hovered where he was for a brief second, before he slowly coasted down. The second his boots hit solid ground, his knees buckled and he tilted listlessly to the side. As his shoulder collided with the hard concrete floor, his flames extinguished with a small curl of smoke.
“Johnny!” Sue dropped the forcefield immediately and propelled herself through the broken window frame and into the fusion chamber.
Reed hurried after her with a yell, not entirely sure if the situation was safe yet. She was already rolling Johnny onto his back, his head lolling limply on the ground. His eyes were half-lidded, aimlessly flickering around. Reed doubted he was actually aware of any of them at the moment.
Ben came through the steel door, as Reed knelt down on the opposite side of Sue.
“Is it over? Oh,” Ben’s gruff voice fell at he took in the sight before him. “Is he alright?”
“Johnny?” Sue delicately tried as she laid a hand on his cheek, turning his face towards hers. “Can you hear me?”
Johnny really looked like he tried. His eyes looked languidly up at her. He blinked once before his eyelids fluttered completely closed.
“Johnny? Johnny,” Sue shook him a single time and when it didn’t seem like he would respond any more, she looked up at Reed, her shining with a growing concern. “Reed?”
Reed was already in motion, as he ripped off his glove and placed two fingers on Johnny’s throat. He counted the beats that pulsed through the skin, while keeping his eyes glued on Johnny’s chest that rose and fell in a steady rhythm.
“His pulse is steady,” he concluded after a moment. “So is his breathing. We need to get him back to the lab, but I think it might just be overexertion.”
Some of the tension melted off of Sue’s shoulders. Reed prayed his assessment was correct.
“I got him,” Ben assured and he moved in to scoop Johnny into his arms. With more care that any who didn’t know him would think was possible, he picked him up and cradled him close to his chest.
Johnny remained completely limp in Ben’s grasp. His listless arm fell down to swing from side to side with every lumbering step Ben took. Reed quickly draped it back over his stomach so the movement wouldn’t pull at his shoulder.
He was too preoccupied with it to notice Sue’s small smile at the gesture.
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Waking up felt like soaring through the sky.
It wasn’t the same feeling like when he was normally flying. This was slow in a way he could never achieve.
Calm.
He was floating through the clouds, higher and higher, but instead of getting lighter, his limbs got heavier with every foot he climbed. More and more weight was added until he felt like he was made entirely of lead.
His head broke through the clouds and he gasped, like coming up for air, as consciousness slammed into him full force.
As did his body. His limbs felt heavy and uncooperative and his chest ached with a hollow emotion, like someone had scooped something out of him they had yet to give back. Memories assaulted his inner eye and it quickly became abundantly clear just why he was feeling so spent. He tore his heavy eyelids apart, determined to find out what had happened after his own memory blurred.
Familiar surroundings drifted into focus. As did the familiar blond halo of his sister’s head, staring at him from above. She looked a little tired, but a relieved smile lit up her face.
“Welcome back,” she said. The words were light, but something deeper, more hurt, hid underneath.
Johnny wondered just what could have caused that and something settled in his throat. He tentatively asked, “Did it work?”
Sue sighed heavily. It wasn’t the sigh that was followed with bad news. It was the sigh that followed a bad joke or an incredibly stupid comment. It was one Johnny was remarkably familiar with but this time, it only sent relief through him.
“Yes, you idiot,” Sue warmly said. “It worked.”
“That’s grea-,“ Johnny started but cut himself short when he noticed the soft restraints that encircled each of his wrists. With a frown, he looked up at his sister again, raising his arms the fraction they were able. “What’s with the cuffs?”
The question made Sue’s face fall, and suddenly Johnny got a pretty good idea of the reason for her underlying disquiet. She explained slowly, choosing her words carefully.
“You were pretty out of it. Afterwards. You would flail and toss about. Your fingertips and your hands would catch on fire before settling back down. We couldn’t risk you hurting yourself or setting the whole lab on fire, so we had to restrain you.”
Johnny became abruptly aware of Sue’s hand on his arm and since gaining his powers, he was suddenly scared he might accidently burn her, or someone else. Sue must have picked up on his thoughts, because she squeezed his arm comfortingly.
“Hey,” she waited until he looked up at her again. “You didn’t hurt any of us. Not even close.”
If Sue was lying, Johnny couldn’t spot it. All he saw was her sincerity and her concern and he decided he would take her at her word. He hadn’t hurt his family.
He nodded as he held her gaze.
Sue smiled at him again, and this time most of the tension left her shoulders. “Good. How are you feeling?”
“A bit crisp around the edges, but I’m good,” Johnny said with a slight shrug.
It didn’t seem to entirely land with her, or anyone else for that matter later on, but Johnny really did feel fine.
He really did.
So what if he felt a bit worn. Reed said that was to be expected, given the circumstances.
Johnny was fine.
He really was…