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Johnny and a pretty girl exited, signing autographs for the girls in line. Sue and Reed approached like angry parents.
Johnny found the Valet, who looked ill. He turned and noticed his car was gone. "Where's my ride?" He asked, looking around.
The Valet blew his whistle and a 4x4 solid cube of junk metal slid down the streets and stopped at the curb in front of Johnny. The Valet timidly held out the keys.
"What the?! Is that my --"
Before he could finish, Johnny got pelted in the head with a license plate. It rattled to the ground, faced up.
Johnny rubbed the sting on his head. He looked up and saw Ben and Rachel in the distance. Ben was dusting off his hands.
"You're gonna pay for that, Pebbles." Johnny shouted to Ben. He then turned to Rachel. "What?!"
Rachel was about to respond but Sue stepped in. "You gave us names? What are you, the "face" of the Fantastic Five now?" Sue asked.
Ben marched up. Hands balled up into fists.
"It's about to be a broken face." Ben said angrily.
"This isn't permanent, Johnny. We need to be careful until we're normal again." Reed informed him.
"What if some of us don't want to be 'normal' again? We didn't all turn into monsters like --"
Ben reeled back a fist the size of an anvil. He stopped himself. Instead of attacking, he started to walk off.
Johnny hurled a fireball that smacked Ben in the back of the head. Ben stopped. He turned around more shocked then hurt. "Did you just-"
Ben got hit with another fireball. This time in the face."Okay, that's it, tinkerbell! You want fly? Fly!"
Ben charged like a bull, first cocked back, Reed quickly stepped in the way. But it was too late, Ben's fist punched into Reed's chest, which indented. Reed's back extended with Ben's fist, it punched into Johnny, which launched Johnny off of his feet.
Johnny slammed into a moving advertising truck, with a Burger King flame- broiled whopper on the side. He left a flaming imprint on the all- beef patty.
The crowd stood stunned. So did Reed, Rachel, and Sue. The cameras popped.
Johnny slowly pulled himself up. The paint on the truck began to bubble around his hand. Beaten, bruised, he stood. Heating up. Both his hands were now flaming fists of fury. "Let's see if we can get blood from a stone." Johnny said.
He and Ben locked eyes, with a block of sidewalk between them. They started to run toward each other.
When they were almost within range, Sue stepped between them, which stopped them both in their tracks with just a look. Like a mother.
"You two need a time-out." Sue said, angrily.
"Blockhead started it!" Johnny whined.
Ben stalked off. The crowd cleared, scared. A paparazzi snapped a picture. Ben grabbed his camera, and flicked the lens.
Rachel looked at Johnny, more disappointed then angry. "Damn it, Johnny." She muttered.
Sue and her went after Ben, leaving Reed and Johnny on the sidewalk. "You need to control yourself and think before you -"
"Act. Here we go again. Reed, what if we got these gifts for a reason? What if we have some, you know...like, calling?" Johnny tried to explain.
"A higher calling like getting girls and making money?" Reed asked, sarcastically.
Johnny nodded, totally missing the sarcasm. "Is there any higher?" He asked.
Reed looked at him, disgusted. Johnny waved to the crowd, hand flaming. People shrieked, and snapped pictures. Johnny smiled at Reed.
"This is who we are Reed. Accept it. Or better yet: enjoy it."
Johnny stepped into the sea of fans. Reed stood alone.
Meanwhile Sue and Rachel waded through the throng of New Yorkers. They tried to catch up with Ben who's presence parted the crowd like Moses. "Ben! Slow down...." Rachel yelled, while trying to catch up.
Ben glanced sideways at them but didn't stop. They caught up. "He didn't mean it. You know Johnny. He's always been a hothead." Rachel tried to explain to Ben.
"It's not him. It's them." He pointed to the crowd. "I can't live like this."
"Just give Reed a little more time. You know how he works -- analyzing every little step before he takes one-" Sue also tried.
"It's easy for you two to be patient."
"No, it's not. I thought I was done waiting for Reed... We're all in this together now, Ben." Rachel said.
Ben slowed down, he got closer.
"Together? Look at me, Rach." He then turned to Sue. "You got no idea what I'd give...to be invisible. Your nightmare...is my dream."
Sue opened her mouth, but had no response. Both of the girls didn't know his depth of pain. Ben then disappeared into the ally way.
Both of the girls looked at each other. "Let's just go back. I'm tired of everything never going my way." Rachel cried.
"I feel you Rach." Sue grabbed her hands. She tried to hold them but her hands turned invisible and so did Rachel's.
"What the?" Rachel asked.
"Well that's new." Sue said.
They girls headed to the Baxter Building. As they walked, tears started to form in Sue's eyes. "Susie?" Rachel asked.
They stopped and Sue continued to cry. She buried her head into Rachel's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I just feel like the world is turning the wrong way and-"
"I feel you. I know it's a lot to take in. It sure as hell was for me. Reed's working too much but I'm glad he is and Johnny's been a pain in the ass and...oh dear." Tears also started to form in Rachel's eyes.
"Let's go back before I cry to much and the paparazzi see us."
The girls left with emotions circling their brains.
