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There wasn’t much that scared Johnny. Like anyone else, he did have fears, but he kept them hidden under layers of arrogance and immaturity. Of course, Johnny knew how to be serious and responsible when the time came (such as during missions).
However, if Johnny knew someone wasn’t doing too well, he did what he could to keep their minds busy. One time, in particular, he remembered Ben’s dysphoria was higher than usual, so Johhny made himself as annoying as possible.
Of course (because Johnny couldn’t help himself), he did rag on the older male, but he made sure not to make any jokes about Ben’s body. He knew Ben appreciated it, whether he would admit it or not.
Johnny was brought back to the present by the crackling of his comm. The Fantastic Four were on a mission to rescue as many people from a burning building as possible.
“Johnny, are you there?” Reed’s voice asked.
“I’m here,” he answered. “What’s up?”
“I need you to go to the higher levels of the building and search for anybody still inside.”
“On it.”
Quickly, Johnny flew to the next floor. A group of support beams blocked the exit, so he cleared them out of the way. Immediately, at least ten people ran out.
“More people are coming your way, Reed.”
“Copy that.”
There were a few people he had to fly down, but he immediately went back up to look for more. Soon enough, Johnny cleared every floor.
“Everyone’s out on my floors,” Johnny reported.
“Good. Report back to the Fantasticar,” Reed ordered.
“Gotcha.”
A screeching noise from the comm made Johnny freeze.
“Everything okay?”
“Mayday, mayday!” came Sue’s frantic voice. “The KSHT … Down! I repeat, KSHT roof’s—!”
Suddenly, the comm went silent.
“Sue, sweetheart? Can you hear me?” Reed questioned.
Static.
“Suzy?!” Ben shouted.
Nothing.
Without waiting for instruction, Johnny dove back into the building, his heart pounding. He ignored the faint cries of “Johnny!” from Reed and Ben. His big sister was still in there, and he’d be damned if he left her to die.
Immediately, he could tell the ceiling had collapsed. The faintest blue shield held everything suspended in the air. Sue’s eyes locked with his, and Johnny could see relief in her expression.
“Johnny,” she breathed. “Oh, thank goodness. I need you to get Madison out of here.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be fine! Just listen to me!”
Nodding, Johnny cradled the young child in his arms. After making sure they were secure, Johnny flew out of the area. A silent prayer went to his sister.
As much as he gave Sue lots of crap, he did love her. She was all Johnny had left. When she introduced him to Reed, Johnny only cared that Sue was happy. After all, she was the one who mattered to him, not Reed. However, as Johnny got to know Reed, he began to enjoy Reed’s (and, eventually, Ben’s) company.
Fresh air assaulted his lungs, and Johnny dropped the child (Madison, Sue had said) off with their parents. Quickly, he turned around to fly back into the building to where Sue was.
“Sue! I’m here!” he called.
Weak coughing had him scrambling to dig through the rubble. A patchy shield was all Sue had up, blood dripping from her nose. Eyes widening, Johnny scooped his sister into his arms and flew as fast as he could. The building shook violently as more concrete and drywall fell. Pieces bounced off his body, but Johnny paid no mind.
“Johnny!”
Finally, Johnny allowed his feet to touch the ground, Reed and Ben approaching. Carefully, he handed Sue off to Reed before collapsing towards Ben, his legs refusing to hold him up anymore.