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Sue held her hand up to her face, but could only see the hallway in front of her.
Well, at least I wanted that to happen.
Ever since she, Johnny, and Reed had come back from being abducted by aliens, things had been… weird.
For Sue, that meant disappearing and reappearing at random times.
And as for Johnny, although he didn’t like to admit it, his flames were getting weaker. Not only that, he was getting weaker.
Sue was worried. She wanted to check on him.
Johnny woke up feeling cold and empty, as if the fire inside him had gone out. Or maybe it was just a fever.
I’ll get up and take my temperature. Maybe get some medicine.
As he tried to walk, his legs began to buckle. He reached out, but there was nothing to grab.
Johnny fell and his head hit the floor. Before he knew it, he was passed out. Visions flashed before his eyes, and he saw her.
The Silver Surfer.
Must be some fever-induced hallucinations.
She’s only a memory now.
He shook the thought of her from his mind. Then, too weak to get up, he fell into a dreamless sleep.
Johnny woke up to the feeling of moisture hitting his shoulder.
Rain? No, couldn’t be. I’m inside.
The light was on. He lifted his head and saw his sister sitting on the floor and staring down at him.
What was she doing in his room? And was she crying?
“S…s…s…”
His throat was so dry that it hurt to speak, and he was so dizzy that he ended up laying his head down on her leg.
Ugh, this is so embarrassing.
“I’ve been trying to wake you up,” she said. “I heard you fall and had to come in. I was starting to think you were in a coma, or…”
Upon hearing that, he immediately tried to get up. He didn’t want her worrying about him. Unfortunately, he was still too weak. He took two steps and immediately sat back down.
“Come on, I’ll help you,” Sue said, standing up and grabbing his hand.
After she got him back into bed, she turned off the light and left, saying she’d bring him some water and medicine.
And so Johnny waited in the darkness, for what felt like forever. As he did, he felt worse and worse. Soon, it was sunrise. Johnny groaned in pain as he felt a bright beam of light hitting his eyes.
“Sue, where are you?” he mumbled.
“I’m here.”
Johnny’s heart skipped a beat.
“Where?”
“Over here.”
He turned around in bed and saw a glass of water floating in the air.
“Why… are you…”
“Yeah, my powers have been out of whack ever since the abduction,” she said.
“Yeah, mine, too,” Johnny said. “I just thought it was because I was sick.”
“How long have you been sick?”
“All week,” he confessed.
“You should’ve said something!” Sue said. “We would’ve let you rest until you were better.”
“I just didn’t want to feel useless,” he muttered.
“You’re never useless to us,” Sue said. “You’ll be always part of our team.”
“But what if I lose my powers forever? I kinda like flaming on…”
“You won’t! We’ll figure it out, just like we figure out all of our problems.”
“Or Reed will figure it out,” Johnny said. He chuckled but then starting coughing.
Sue made him drink more water and then tucked him back in.
“Now, get some rest,” she said. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“Thanks. I love you.”
“Love you, too.”