Chapter Text
It happened on Sunday, just a few hours before family dinner.
It always messed with Sunday dinner, Johnny mused. Whenever they were needed, it would be just before dinner and it would always be when dinner was something a little extra. Like the nice roast that had already been cooking in the oven for several hours and that he had been waiting for the entire week… Just as a hypothetical example.
The sun was setting over the city, the warm orange colors of the sky growing into the cool blue hue of incoming night while the bright artificial lights had already turned on to outline Manhattan in sharp, white contrasts.
Johnny was on the balcony, and the gathering dusk made it easy to spot the sudden ball of fire that erupted between the buildings off in the distance. The rumbling boom of the explosion reached him seconds later. His watch beeped needlessly with alarm, as he was already moving to shuffle on the padded shirt with the large ‘4’ on the chest he had dumped on the couch only an hour ago.
Ben joined in from the kitchen where he had been hovering with HERBIE over the evening meal, and Sue and Reed came rushing up from somewhere below.
“What’s going on?” Johnny asked on instinct, zeroing in on Reed first.
“I don’t know, there wasn’t any indication on the monitors for–, “ Reed was cut off, as the sound of another explosion echoed and shook the ground. All four pair of eyes shot towards the window at the sight of another fireball blasting into the sky alongside the first.
“Fly ahead,” Sue said, already darting to the elevator. “We’ll follow in the car.”
As the others followed her, Johnny ran for the balcony and just threw himself over, letting the flames engulf him on the way down. He shot forwards with an echoing blast of his own. The city below rushed past him in a blur as he sped by, wind and fire rushing in his ears until he reached the site of the explosions.
Each of the wide two-laned roads looked like they had taken the brunt of blasts that had come from below. Two hulking, gaping holes had erupted from the ground. Large chunks of asphalt, thick pipes and concrete littered area where it had been violently forced outwards while several cars had tilted or flipped. Others were haphazardly cluttered on the roads. All of the windows on several of the buildings closest to the road were shattered, bricks of the façades slowly crumbling away. Fire was furiously burning from various locations. It looked like two bombs had gone off. Honks, sirens and shouts of panic and fear wailed up at Johnny. The pure insanity and utter chaos of the sight was almost enough to paralyze him.
He started absorbing all of the fire, knowing if something else burst because of the heat it could make the situation instantly worse. It was the only thing he managed to do before the others arrived on the scene.
They all knew their roles by this point. Tumultuous though the situation was, it was all one they had experienced before. Rescue the civilians, secure the area and then locate the source of the problem. Sue stabilized the buildings while Johnny ferried the tenants out to safety. Ben tore apart car doors and lifted blockades for the people trapped inside. Reed coordinated with the first responders and helped where he was most needed. It ran like a well-oiled machine.
It was Ben who noticed it first.
“Hey, guys!” he called out and then pointed up at the sky. “Look!”
There, hovering just above the rooftops, was a cloaked figure. About the average size of a man, it was clad in dark fabric with some kind of mask covering the face. It made no sound as it silently watched the spectacle below. The masked figure let the eyes of the Fantastic Four linger for a moment more. Then it whipped around and flew in the opposite direction.
“Johnny!” Reed yelled.
“On it!”
Johnny took off after the figure without hesitation. His fire roared as he accelerated to catch up. He could see the heels of thick boots and the bright, blue flames of some sort of repulsion device on the back as he drew nearer.
The figure cast a quick look over its shoulder. Seeing Johnny hot on its heels, it swerved rapidly to the right. Johnny followed in its path.
“I just wanna talk!” Johnny called out. He wasn’t expecting a response but he had hoped maybe the figure would halt its mad flight. It didn’t. It kept fleeing, leading him through the city in a nonsensical pattern. Traffic, buildings and people sped by in a blur.
‘Where are you going?’’ Johnny thought.
The mysterious figure dipped closer to the ground, in between the buildings, where it made a sudden swift left turn around a corner. Johnny followed. He came around the sharp bend into a wide alley. The two looming buildings on either side enveloped the alley in deep, dark shadow. His own burning exterior cast flickering light into the corners and illuminated the brick walls.
The figure was ahead, just out of the dim firelight.
There was brick wall behind it. A dead end.
Johnny had just enough time to frown in confusion at why the figure didn’t just lift off into the air. Then the hairs at the back of his neck pricked with warning. A faint beep came on either side of him. Johnny whipped his head to the right and briefly saw a flashing red light. Then his vision disappeared into a field of white.
A cloud of wispy, pale vapor abruptly shot out from both sides and shrouded him in its grasp. For the first time since getting his powers, he actually felt a deeply cold sensation wrap around his body. It consumed his entire being. Johnny gasped as the air was smothered out of his lungs. His flames extinguished in a flash and he suddenly plummeted the 10 feet to the ground. He slammed into the hard asphalt with a breathless groan. The disturbingly freezing feeling penetrated his suit and bore into his bones. Although he was out of the vapor, its remnants still clung to his skin. He could feel the thin crystals of ice that had formed in his hair and on his lashes. He shivered involuntarily.
His heart was hammering in his chest. Something deeply instinctual was screaming at him to move. To just get up. With trembling and stiff arms, he pushed himself up. He only managed to get to all fours before another spray of mist burst out from the walls. This one held a greenish-yellow tint. It was almost like it had a mind of its own as its floating tendrils immediately drifted into Johnny’s nose and mouth. He started hacking as the smoke entered his lungs. It felt like it was choking him from the inside. His chest tightened at the painful sensation. Fear spread in his mind as he felt his muscles lock him in place.
He couldn’t flame on.
He couldn’t move.
He couldn’t breathe.
Johnny was forced to remain where he was, exposed and wheezing, as he felt his body shut down. Dark spots danced dizzyingly before his eyes. A shadow suddenly loomed above him. He gingerly raised his head. He looked straight up at the masked figure, who was watching him through tinted goggles and a gasmask across the face.
The cold, indifferent mask tipped and blurred.
Johnny unwillingly surrendered himself to the choking dark.