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In the Baxter building, things change. A lot. Sometimes it’s furniture that Ben breaks, sometimes it’s the clothes Johnny burns through, sometimes it’s Sue’s force fields gaining more power, or it’s Herbie learning a new skill.
But whatever it may be, it’s always something. And Reed doesn’t always like that. It gets pretty hectic at times.
He glanced at his lab's clock. 3:30 am, it read, the electronic letters casting a faint red glow across his metallic workbench. It was a late Saturday night, when most people were fast asleep by now—but he had always been one to work late. From his teen years to now, he’s been a bit of a ‘workaholic’ as Sue might describe it. Sure, some people might call it a bad habit.
He calls it being productive.
Reed turns his attention back down at the project he had been working on. Science had always been his forte; emotions—not so much. It pained the man to admit it, but he wasn’t perfect. To Reed, relationships were almost like an equation: complex and some quite difficult, but the results were indeed positive at times. Nobody would be awake right now though. Maybe he did find that aspect peaceful. Yes indeed, he adored his family's company, but it was nice to have a break from all of it.
Until he hears the soft ‘whoosh’ of his lab doors opening.
Maybe he didn’t get much of a break after all. He couldn’t help but wonder who on God’s green earth would be up right now. His wife had just gotten back from a series of meetings and interviews—with the growing fame of the Fantastic Four, they were becoming more and more frequent—therefore, she was probably fast asleep. Ben… well, Ben slept like a rock usually; Reed figured he wouldn’t wake up if the Baxter building exploded. Which left-
“Wellll, what’s happening in here, dude?”
Ah.
Reed let out a loud sigh. His brother-in-law could be quite obnoxious at times, and he wasn’t about to deal with it at 3:30 in the morning. He turns to face the teen, clearing his throat.
“Johnny, it’s currently 3am, and I have several different missions planned for us next morning. Care to enlighten me as to why you’re awake at this hour?”
Johnny just grins and puts his hands up in an ‘I surrender’ gesture.
“Wouldn’t you like to know, weather boy?”
Reed stares at Johnny in confusion for a moment.
“Uh… Never mind... You’re touchy this morning, huh? Just wanted to see where all the noise was coming from.”
With that, Johnny basically bounces over to the other. Reed—the smartest guy in the world—has no idea at all how the kid has this much energy at 3am.
“So... whatcha’ doing now?” Johnny attempts to look over Reed’s shoulder curiously, wanting to see the man’s current project. Despite how much he made fun of it, Johnny thought Reed's intellect was kind of awesome sometimes.
“I was in the middle of an experiment.” The scientist replied, his gaze moving to the array of equipment and diagrams spread across the workbench. He stepped back so that Johnny could see better. “Attempting to calculate the amount of energy I’d utilize in the making of this project.”
Reed sighed and looked over at the younger boy, his expression a mix of amusement and irritation.
“You, on the other hand, should be in bed.”
Johnny rolled his eyes at Reed's comment. In the typical Johnny Storm fashion.
“Yeah, yeah, you science yap, then ship me off to bed; I know the drill.” Johnny said, wandering over to the workbench and poking at some of the equipment curiously.
“But I can't sleep. Bored.”
He picked up a small instrument, turning it over in his hands, his gaze flickering over to Reed.
“And besides, your science stuff looks more fun than counting sheep.”
Reed watched as Johnny examined his equipment, a disapproving frown on his face. The blonde had an enjoyment for poking at things he shouldn't. Typical.
“Well, that would certainly be a first. And you seem to have a unique definition of ‘fun,’” he observed drily.
He gently took the instrument from Johnny's hand, setting it back in its place.
“I'd prefer if you didn't touch anything. Some of these devices are quite delicate.”
Johnny shrugged nonchalantly, dismissing Reed's concerns.
“Don't worry, dude, I won't break anything, promise,” he said, with a hint of sarcasm. “I do have some hand-eye coordination, you know—ooh, what’s this?”
There's a small robot on the side of the shelf. Not Herbie. A tiny one. A bit bigger than Johnny's hand. Reed had built it a few weeks ago; it was sitting next to most of his beakers.
“Don't—“ Reed started to caution, but it was too late. The blonde had already picked it up, holding it delicately in his hands.
"That—" Reed continued, slightly nervously, along with a hint of resignation (he didn’t trust Johnny not to drop it). “is a prototype micro-drone. It's currently in the testing phase.”
Johnny grins widely. “Cooooool. What’s its name?”
He holds it up to his face, examining it. He tilts his head slightly, finding the small trinket adorable.
Reed sighed. Why did Johnny always have an overwhelming need to name everything? He pinched the bridge of his nose.
“It doesn't have a name, Johnny,” he replied, his tone dry. “It's a tool, not a pet. It's designed for data collection and surveillance, not companionship. You have a Herbie for that.”
“Jeez, what are you, Reed, heartless?? I’m going to name it… hm… how about, uh... James?” Johnny gently pats it on the head before setting it back down. “What’s he do?”
Reed rolled his eyes at the name Johnny had chosen. It was annoyingly catchy. And a bit endearing.
“James? Really, Johnny?” He muttered, shaking his head. Then, seeing the genuine interest in the kids eyes, he just sighed and decided to explain.
“Alright, fine. Ja- That little contraption is equipped with a camera, microphone, and various sensors,” he explained. “It's capable of gathering data in areas too small for larger drone models.”
He picked it up, turning it over in his hands.
“It’s still in the trial phase, though. Not completely reliable.”
Johnny watched intently, listening as Reed explained all the qualities of the little robot.
“So, kinda like a tiny spy robot?”
He grinned, imagining all the havoc he could cause with a device like that.
Reed, as if reading his mind, quickly backtracked.
“No. You're not using it for your pranks, Johnny. It's not a toy.”
Johnny frowned, disappointed Reed had guessed his intentions so easily.
Reed just sighed loudly, again.
“Are you finished questioning me now? Because I’d like to head to bed as well, you know.”
Johnny rolls his eyes before leaning on a piece of technology Reed had, foolishly, left out.
“Johnny! Don’t—“ Reed begins to speak before getting cut off by the blonde in front of him.
“Well personally, I think that you should be working on new spacesuits because I have this great vis— what the hell!”
Johnny jumps back as the piece of tech he had been leaning on begins to glow, shaking slightly; suddenly the box bursts open. A strong gust of wind and the smell of burning hit the duo. Papers left on the various tables around Reed's lab begin to fly around. A strong orange glow comes from the inside of the object, giving Reed's lab room an almost hellish look.
“What is that?!” Johnny manages to yell over the noise of the wind, shielding his face from the force of it. It was pulling him towards the portal; he attempted to push himself back but only ended up stumbling further.
“Johnny! I told you not to touch it; it’s a portal!” Reed yells back, quite obviously annoyed by Johnny's recklessness; again, family could be quite… frustrating at times, if Reed was putting it lightly.
“Why the hell did you even make one of those?! Where does it lead?! What the heck, dude!” Johnny replies that he was getting dangerously close to the ‘glowy box of death,’ as he had named it (in his mind.)
“It leads to the EM zone, something new I was researching, much like the negative zone! And I’m sorry—but I was under the impression that it wouldn’t be opened, unless—!”
Reed attempts another reply; before Johnny is completely pulled into the portal, Reed follows not long after. He can only see red for a moment before he’s falling from a few feet in the air, the sky dark and orange around him, landing less than gracefully on a bush a few feet from Johnny.
“Ow! What the hell, man?! Your tech is weird; how was I supposed to know it would be all sucky inny?“
Johnny pulls himself up; his pyjama pants are ripped now. Although they were just cheap ones with the flame emoji all over them.
“Well, Johnny, I told you not to go near any of my inventions in the first place! I hardly believe you—“
“Eeeeah! What the fuck is that?!”
Reed was about to launch into a lecture on the importance of being careful around unknown technology, but Johnny's sudden shout cut him off. He followed the torches gaze, landing on a spider in the distance that looked to be around the size of a small house.
“Language.” Reed muttered out of habit before focusing on the more pressing matter. He glanced at the boy beside him. As much as Reed despised his brother-in-law sometimes, he couldn’t bear the thought of Johnny getting hurt due to one of his inventions.
“Stay behind me,” he said, stepping in front of Johnny instinctively. He eyed the giant arachnids with a frown. “Those are Em-zone spiders. They're attracted to the smell of our blood, specifically our blood cells.”
Johnny, on the other hand, was very much panicking at the thought of giant spiders. He hated hated hated the stupid things. Whenever he found one on the wall of his room, he made sure no one was watching before burning it to a crisp with his flames. Now they were giant. He couldn’t burn those to a crisp.
“Oh my god, dude! I’m not wearing my suit! How am I supposed to flame one without a suit?!”
“Johnny, don’t panic; we can just use the box to return…”
Reed turns to look at the box behind them. It was there alright, just... crushed. It seemed as if it had landed on a rock. Johnny had also made a good point—the kid couldn’t catch fire without his suit unless he wanted to be in his underwear. Reed mentally cursed. Dealing with giant spiders and an arachnophobic teen in the Negative Zone was not how he planned to spend his night.
“I have spider phobia. I’m going to die, man!”
“Pull yourself together, Johnny,” he snapped, pulling the blonde behind some nearby rubble for cover. They pressed their backs against the broken rocks; the spiders were getting closer.
Shit.
He turned towards Johnny, putting his hands on the boy's shoulders to ground him.
“Deep breaths, lad, You're not going to die. I've got you. I just need a plan...”
Johnny throws his hands up in exasperation.
“It’s hard to stay calm when I’m going to be spider bait! I probably killed, like, half that spider’s bloodline in Minecraft!”
Reed rolled his eyes at Johnny's attempt to lighten the mood. The boy's humour was as annoying as it was amusing.
“Save the jokes for when we're not in a life-threatening situation,” he said dryly, grabbing Johnny's arms and pulling them down. His mind was racing, trying to think of a way out of this mess.
“We can't take on those spiders head-on,” he murmured, eyeing the arachnids cautiously. “We need a distraction…”
He turns his head to look at Johnny.
Johnny is silent for a moment, eyes widening as Reed looks at him.
“No way, Richards. Not in a million years. Nope, nah, and no.”
Reed's gaze was still fixed on Johnny, calculating the risks in his usual logical manner.
"It's our best shot, kid."
The spiders were getting closer, their massive forms casting long shadows in the dim light. Reed put his hands on Johnny's shoulders again, turning the blonde to face him.
“You're fast. You can lead them away. Buy me some time to come up with a plan.”
Johnny gives an exasperated scoff.
“You’re quick too! I’m not going to become food for a bunch of giant spiders that look like something out of Harry Potter!”
Despite his stoic exterior, Reed almost cracked a smile at Johnny's dramatic outburst. The kid always had a knack for the theatrical.
“You're not going to be anyone's food,” he retorted, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're just going to lead the spiders away from me.”
The spiders were getting even closer now; the duo was definitely discovered now. Reed gave Johnny's arm a firm squeeze.
“Go. Now.”
Johnny glances over to the spider and then back to Reed. “I hate you. Double. And you owe me.”
He’s silent for a moment.
“And if I die, maybe I did enjoy your company a little bit.”
He gives a small huff before he jumps out. “HEY SPIDER DUDE! MY BROTHER-IN-LAW HERE PROBABLY WANTS ME DEAD, SO I’M HERE NOW!!”
He shoots a glare at Reed, whose face remained stoic as he watched Johnny draw the spider’s attention.
“Dramatic.”
Reed murmured underneath his breath, trying to hide a small smirk. Despite himself, he was somewhat… impressed by the blonde. But he kept that thought to himself. No need to boost Johnny's already massive ego.
As Johnny ran off, the spiders diverted their focus to him. The torch was screeching like a girl at this point.
“Stay safe, kid.”
Reed mumbled to himself again, watching the kid go before putting his mind to work; he grabs the box, already forming a plan.
——————
Johnny is fighting for his life, and that is no exaggeration. Being chased by giant spiders sucked. Really badly. He wished he hadn’t woken up, and he wished he hadn’t decided to annoy his brother-in-law. Overall though, he came to the conclusion that the butter-fly-effect was crazy, because now, he was battling the spider overlord at 3am, like something out of a clickbait YouTube video.
God, he missed when spiders were only for ‘Spiderman.’
He would’ve killed to have Peter with him right now. Maybe he had some secret spider telepathic power that Johnny didn’t know about. Lost in thought about his ‘best friend’ Johnny, being the person he was, he tripped.
Seriously, dude??
He thought to himself. Well, at least he would die in a unique way, right...? Death by spiders… it sounded like an elaborate emo daydream, or something. Finally, the spiders had gotten too close. Johnny had made a decision. To hell with his SpongeBob shirt and fire pyjama pants; he’d get new ones. For now it was spider survival.
“Flame on!”
He screams, his clothing disappearing around him, leaving only his flameproof boxers. Great.
“Dude! Spiders I am so done with you guys! One-star review on Yelp!”
He begins to throw balls of fire against the arachnids, the fire lighting up the dark sky of this weird dimensional plane; it was like a twisted spider light show. Since the bugs were so big, it did minimal damage—but just enough to stun the insects into falling back for a while.
Johnny breathed a sigh of relief, which was difficult to do due to the terrible air quality down here. Johnny grins nonetheless. These conditions made for great puns. He shoots another fireball.
“They call me Mr. Fahrenheit! - They don’t actually do that, by the way, spider guys; it’s just that one Queen song.”
He snorts at his own joke before going back to throwing balls of heat at the large animals that stood before him. He glances at Reed before putting up a wall of flame so that the spiders couldn’t get by.
“Woah, oxygen is way thinner down here; my flames are already going out! Unless I’m losing my touch. -!”
Despite the flickering of his flames, he persists with the wall, pushing harder, adding more fire.
“Hey, big brain, I’m sort of scared for my life here—so how’s that plan coming, huh?!”
He yells to his big brother-in-law, whom he can slightly see over the rocks. The man was tinkering with the weird box thingy that got them here.
God, this was so weird.
Correction: Reed was so weird.
——————
Reed—who had been working tirelessly on the box-shaped teleportation device—was snapped out of his thoughts at Johnny's dramatic plea for help. The boy's constant need for reassurance was a pain in the neck. But despite his annoyance, there was a hint of concern in his eyes.
"Nearly done; would have been done sooner if you could just keep silent for five minutes," he retorted, his hands working swiftly over the controls of the teleporter. The device was almost ready; he just needed to…
Click.
The box springs back to life, opening again, prompting another wind. Reed stumbles back, holding onto the rocks for support. The spiders look more interested in the machine now than in eating Johnny. Which was good because Johnny's flames had just gone out. He watches as the boy begins to plummet to the ground. Quickly, Reed uses his powers to extend his arm, sizing up his hand and catching Johnny, cushioning the boy's fall.
“Thanks, dude!”
Reed smiles and shakes his head before pulling the kid back. The spiders were getting closer now. That was quite the problem. Once Johnny's finally back over to where Reed is, the spiders are basically surrounding them.
“Come on, Torch, let’s go!”
The scientist motions for Johnny to jump in the portal, wanting to ensure the kid gets through first. Johnny grins before spinning around on one foot, giving the spiders a two-finger salute, and he jumps back through. Reed sighs and rolls his eyes yet again at Johnny's carefree salute. The boy's casual attitude could be infuriating, especially in moments like these. He shakes his head once again before jumping in quickly as well, not all that eager to stay any longer.
finally, after an hour of spiders, and an excruciatingly stressful em zone trip, they were back home. Reed picked himself up off the lab floor and breathed a sigh of relief before helping Johnny up as well. He gave the kid a quick once-over. Although he wouldn’t admit it, Reed found himself growing fond of Johnny's cheeky attitude and the way he always had a comeback, no matter the situation. If he was being honest with himself he'd rather go on another trip to the Em-zone with Johnny than sit through another boring meeting or conference any day. That, he'd never admit out loud, of course.
“Are you alright? Hurt anywhere?” He puts his hands on the boy's shoulders again, something he had made a habit of in recent hours.
Johnny rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Don’t be all concerned with me now.”
Reed shook his head slightly, mentally scolding himself for finding the boy endearing. It was just the sleep deprivation talking, he reminded himself. He quickly busied himself grabbing some sweatpants and a t-shirt for Johnny. He had been working on some flexible, nonflammable clothes for the kid that weren’t just his suit, so he had a few clothing articles in Johnny’s size lying around. He hands them to the kid, letting Johnny change while he begins his lecture. Reed started to pace.
“I'm putting childproof locks on everything in the lab. Do you have any idea how dumb and stubborn that was? We both could’ve died. God, it’s my fault for leaving that box out, actually, for even letting you in here in the first place. It’s not like you should be in the lab, because every time it ends with something exploding, or something on fire, or someone hurt, or something—”
Reed started to half ramble, half lecture before he was cut off by the unfamiliar feeling of Johnny’s arms wrapped around his torso and the feeling of the kid by his side. The unusual heat emanating from Johnny's body was constantly reminding him of the kid's powers, and it took Reed a moment to process the unexpected closeness. Normally, he would have pulled back, but for some reason, he found himself hesitating. Perhaps it was the exhaustion or the stress of the past few hours, but he found himself awkwardly patting Johnny's back, still confused at the contact.
“Uh… Johnny?” Reed asked, his voice quieter now, a bit awkwardly. He tried not to show his surprise too much.
Johnny snickered at his brother-in-law’s awkwardness.
“Thanks. I probably would’ve been spider food in there if you didn’t rebuild the machine thingy.” The blonde said, making his tone quieter as well to match Reed's.
Reed couldn't help but feel a strange sort of pride at Johnny's words. The boy's quiet gratitude caught him off guard, and for a moment, he struggled to find the right words to reply. The usual sarcasm and grumbles were stuck in his throat, overshadowed by a mix of surprise and a hint of warmth. It was weird; he was usually one to prefer science and data, but right now? It might sound like a Hallmark movie, but he’d rather be with his family than a bunch of numbers. He was probably ‘going soft,’ as Ben might describe it.
He calls it being productive.
Reed grins.
“Don’t mention it, kid.”
It’s silent for a moment, unusual for the both of them. Reed speaks up after a moment.
“I'm going to install a safety fence around my lab now, for you."
He muttered, stepping back from the hug and looking at Johnny with a mixture of annoyance and fond exasperation, before turning around, heading to the elevators, to join his wife in bed.
“Hey, I don’t need a fence.” Johnny watches as the other begins walking out; he follows, complaining, “Reed... Reed, hey, don’t you dare! I hate fences. Come onnn! I’m not a fencey guyyy! Alright, well, can I at least keep James, the robot thing?? Reeeed.”
Some things never change.