Chapter Text
Chapter One: Up in Flames
The alarm comes in sharp and sudden, slicing through the late afternoon calm of the Baxter Building.
“Midtown,” Reed Richards says, already moving, fingers flying across the holographic display.
“Thirty-seven-story residential skyscraper. Structural fire on multiple levels. Internal suppression systems failed.”
Johnny Storm is already grinning as he snaps his jacket closed. “So, light cardio.”
Sue shoots him a look, half-warning, half-fond. “Try not to make it worse.”
“No promises,” Johnny says, then softer, as he reaches for her hand. “Stick with me up there.”
Ben Grimm cracks his knuckles, rocky brow furrowing as satellite images bloom into view. “Whole thing’s lit up like a matchstick. That ain’t a kitchen fire.”
Reed’s voice cuts clean through the noise, calm and steady. “Listen up. This is a rescue-first operation. No heroics unless absolutely necessary.”
Johnny glances back over his shoulder. “You know I hate that.”
“I know,” Reed replies. “That’s why I’m saying it.”
The city rushes up to meet them in a blur of steel and glass as they arrive. Smoke pours from shattered windows like blackened veins, flames burning up the building’s spine. Sirens wail below, emergency vehicles clogging the streets as crowds are pushed back.
Heat, wich is his element, hits Johnny before he even ignites. The air tastes like metal and ash.
Sue’s already lifting, invisible fields snapping into place as she stabilizes a collapsing balcony.
“Upper floors are panicking,” she says into the comm. “People trapped everywhere.”
“Ben, take ground support,” Reed orders. “Clear exits, reinforce stairwells.”
"On it, Stretch.” Ben mutters, he’s already moving.
Johnny hovers midair, fire curling around his shoulders, bright and controlled. “Sue and I’ll handle aerial evac. Reed..”
“I see the structural integrity dropping fast,” Reed says. “Johnny, you’re faster. Take the upper floors first.”
Johnny doesn’t hesitate. “Flame on.”
He rockets upward, heat bending the air around him. Windows shatter as he blasts through smoke-filled corridors, grabbing terrified residents, two at a time, three if he can manage. He ferries them down in quick arcs, setting them gently onto fire escapes, into Sue’s waiting forcefields, into the arms of first responders.
“Easy,” he murmurs to a crying woman as he sets her down. “You’re good. You’re safe.”
Back up. Down again. Up again.
The comm crackles constantly, Reed calling out pressure shifts, Sue coordinating drop zones, Ben reporting cleared stairwells. Johnny’s breathing hard now, sweat evaporating the second it forms.
“Johnny,” Sue says, strained. “Lower levels are flashing red on Reed’s scans.”
Johnny pauses midair. “Meaning?”
“Structural collapse imminent,” Reed answers. “Fire’s eaten through primary supports on floors six through nine.”
Johnny turns, eyes locking on the lower half of the building. Flames roar behind the windows there, brighter, angrier.
“I’m going in,” he says.
“Johnny, wait..” Sue starts.
“I’ve got it,” he replies, already diving. "Just fire, sis."
Inside, the heat is suffocating. Smoke chokes the halls, alarms screaming. Johnny blasts through walls, shouting as he goes. “Hello! If you can hear me, follow my voice!”
Nothing.
Then, faint. Distant. High-pitched.
Johnny skids to a stop, heart slamming against his ribs.
Kids.
“Reed,” he says, voice tight. “I’ve got kids down here. A lot of them.”
A beat of silence. Then Reed, sharper now. “How many?”
Johnny bursts through a stairwell door and freezes.
The room beyond is a daycare - bright murals scorched black, tiny backpacks piled by the door. About thirty children, give or take, huddled together, some crying, some staring at him with wide, terrified eyes. One teacher, she couldn't be older than twenty, shielding the kids. Panic in her eyes.
Johnny swallows.
“About 30 maybe?” he says. “All alive.”
Sue inhales sharply over the comm. “Johnny…”
“Building’s going,” Reed says. “You have about two minutes.”
Johnny lands, extinguishing his flames instantly, forcing himself to calm. “Okay. Hey—hey, guys.” He crouches, lowering himself to their level. “My name’s Johnny. I’m here to get you out.”
A little boy clutches a stuffed dinosaur. “Is the building burning up, are we falling down?”
Johnny meets his eyes, steady. “Not if we beat it.”
He scoops up two kids under each arm, then pauses, thinking fast. He reignites, controlled, heat shielded outward.
“Sue,” he says. “I’m going to need cover.”
“I’m with you,” she replies immediately.
"The rest of the building is secured, Reed. All residants are out". Ben says.
Johnny moves.
He doesn’t fly so much as blur, grabbing kids in clusters, wrapping them in his heat-resistant field, blasting through walls to Sue’s waiting forcefields outside. Sue catches them every time, guiding them safely down.
“Fifteen out,” Reed counts. “Structural failure accelerating.”
Johnny’s arms ache. His head pounds. Smoke burns his lungs.
Twenty.
Twenty-five.
The building groans - a deep, terrible sound.
“Johnny!” Sue shouts.
“Last ones,” he pants, grabbing the final four, including the teacher. Flames flicker erratically now, his control slipping as exhaustion claws in.
He launches himself through the collapsing corridor just as the floor gives way behind him.
Sue’s forcefield snaps shut around them, sealing them in a bubble as the lower half of the skyscraper collapses inward with a thunderous roar.
They hit the ground hard.
Silence, then cheers.
Johnny drops to his knees, gasping, fire extinguished completely. Sue stumbles beside him, hands shaking, eyes glassy with exhaustion and relief.
The kids are ushered away by paramedics, all safe.
Ben claps Johnny on the back, careful but proud. “Kid, that was somethin’ else.”
Johnny manages a weak grin. “Told you. Light cardio.”
Reed approaches last. He doesn’t say anything at first, just looks at Johnny, really looks. Then he places a hand on his back. Johnny still breathing hard.
“Outstanding work,” he says quietly. “You followed orders and you saved a lot of lives.”
Johnny looks up at him, surprised by the weight in his voice. Smiling.
Around them, cameras flash.
People chant Johnny’s name. Sue leans into him, exhausted but smiling, her head resting briefly against his shoulder.
Johnny watches the smoke drift skyward, chest still tight, adrenaline buzzing beneath his skin.
The building is down, but everyone is alive.
That's a win.