Summary: Galactus is keeping his promise of destroying Earth, Johnny feeling that he could have done more to save his family and his girlfriend, Faith. Could this be the last night he ever gets to see his girlfriend? -A rewrite of the last thirty-ish minutes of Fantastic Four First Steps.-
Tags: Smut! 18+ MDNI!, dirty talking (if you squint), comfort sex, major character death, angst (lots), some fluff, First Steps non canon, not comic accurate, Dr. Doom mentioned, Johnny X OC character, First Steps rewritten.
A/N: Nearly 3 months later, and I finally share with everyone what I came up with. I want to start with a few things: 1. This chapter is going to reference stuff that is already supposed to happen. I left it for that purpose because this became a much bigger story than it started to be. I felt I had to plan out how the ending would go. This is not going to be the official ending to this story. This is, as of right now, a draft. Because I can assure you that this chapter will be reposted in the end, because the way this chapter ends will all depend on the other chapters and how everything goes. 2. This chapter/story will reference some of the comic lore, but it’s not going to be comic-accurate. 3. This whole story will be a rewrite of First Steps, but from our character’s perspective. Things will be changed, and again it will NOT be canon accurate to First Steps. If there’s anything else I will need to cover, I will talk about it when the later chapters are posted. I hope everyone enjoys it! This is also my first time posting publicly to tumblr so if I am missing any tags, please let me know! I am also very nervous about posting here because it's been years since I last posted to the internet publicly and really I just want to share this chapter with everyone since this is the chapter that basically started a whole story that I am working on as mentioned above.
Johnny is the first to notice the snow falling from the darkened sky. But his eyes were drawn to something else. Galactus’s ship heading straight for New York City. To his family and the love of his life. Johnny got up from the couch, opening the balcony doors, the cold air immediately filled the big sunken living room. Johnny feels guilt fill him. His hands grip the freezing cold balcony railing as he watches Galactus’s ship slowly approach the planet. The place he swore to protect. There was nothing more he could do to save this world. It was a matter of hours before it was the end. His heart pounding, his grip tightening on the railing, and the fear tightening in his chest. He didn’t want to admit it at all. He didn’t want to admit that it was the end. This wasn’t just some save-the-city mission, no, this was life or death. His breath shakes as tears prick the corner of his eyes.
“Johnny…?” Says a soft voice from behind him.
His eyes close as he takes a deep breath. He didn’t want to look vulnerable in front of her, not at this time. He felt her hand brush his back before sliding down his arm. His head turns as their fingers interlock with each other. His deep-sea-blue orbs connect with her chestnut-brown orbs. Johnny noticed the look in her eyes. That look that he never wanted to see ever. The look of acceptance of the fate of their world. He tears his eyes away from hers and looks back up at the sky at the massive ship in the air.
He looks down at his feet, his hands gripping the railing tightly again. Then it broke in him. He lets out a silent, gut-wrenching sob. Faith immediately wraps her arms around Johnny. Guilt, anger, sadness, and fear was rushing through his body like his life depended on it.
“You did what you could, Johnny.” Says Faith.
Footsteps approached from behind them. Faith turns her head and sees Reed and Sue. Sue was holding Franklin, who started to fuss. Sue began to shush him as she cradled the child in her arms. Johnny also looks up before pulling himself together, staring at the ship in the sky once again. Reed pulls Sue close to him.
“We should all get some sleep. Best if we don’t think about it for right now.” Says Reed as he helps Sue inside.
Johnny doesn’t say anything, his eyes still locked to the sky. The silence is deafening.
“You go inside to bed. I’ll be there in a while.” Says Johnny quietly.
Faith rubs Johnny’s knuckles with her fingers. She nods and looks at him one more time before heading back into the sanctuary that was the Baxter Building.
Johnny was by himself now. Him and his thoughts bouncing and buzzing around in his head. His eyes were either glued to the sky or they were looking at the streets below the Baxter Building. How empty they were. How lively his city used to be before the inevitable chaos unleashed. Faith came back to him; a blanket wrapped around her.
“There’s not much more you can do right now,” she says, wrapping her arms around him from behind.
She pressed her forehead into his back.
“Please. Come to bed,” she begs him.
He takes one last look at the sky before turning to Faith, wrapping his arm around her, and they walk together back to their room.
Johnny shuts the door, and he quietly gets ready for bed. Faith sits on the bed, waiting for him. He comes back to her, wearing his Fantastic Four white tee that hugs his torso and arms in every way, along with his striped PJ bottoms. He stops a few feet before the bed and stares at Faith.
Johnny walks forward before crashing his lips onto Faith’s. She was taken by surprise by his actions. She kisses him back, her arms immediately cupping his neck and face. Johnny aggressively kisses her, his hands going around her waist. He pulls away, his breath ragged.
“Promise me one thing.” His eyes looked into hers.
There’s a moment of silence between the two before she nods, her hand cupping the side of Johnny’s face. He leans into her touch, his hand on top of hers. His eyes close for a second as he takes in the moment between the two.
“No-“his eyes shoot open and peer into her eyes.
“If we don’t make it, you have to promise me that you will at least be safe.”
Faith stares into Johnny’s dark blue eyes.
“I promise,” she says, looking back at him.
He leans back in and kisses her lips again, softly. She kisses him back and places her hands on Johnny’s shoulders. He lays her down on the bed, still kissing her. Her hands go into his blonde hair. He pulls away and kisses her cheek, followed by kissing down her neck. Faith grabs Johnny’s shirt, tugging on it. As he’s kissing her neck, Johnny pulls away and lets out a chuckle. His hands caress her thighs. She was wearing striped, blue pajama shorts and a black baby tee with the Fantastic Four logo on the left side, paired with a flannel that was dark blue. His fingers trace small circles on her thighs.
“You know, if it’s our last night…I just…let me love you.” He says.
Faith sits up, her hands going to Johnny’s hands on her thighs. Their eyes meet again. Faith’s eyes were filled with tears. Johnny’s grip on her thighs tightened. His breath is shaky. His eyes drop. Faith intertwined their hands and squeezed. Johnny bites his bottom lip and looks back at Faith. He notices a few stray tears falling down her cheeks. Johnny cups her face with his right hand, and their foreheads touch. Faith lets out a more powerful sob, breaking Johnny instantly. He pulls her into his arms. She begins to sob into his chest. Johnny strokes her hair. He kisses the side of her head. The two sit there in silence. Faith was listening to Johnny’s heartbeat.
“I love you.” She whispers.
Johnny looks down at Faith.
“I love you so goddamn much.” She whispers.
Johnny isn’t sure what to say. He lets out a sigh. He cups Faith’s face with his hands, pulling her away from his chest and looking into her eyes. There’s a moment of silence.
“I love you too,” Johnny says.
He leans in and kisses Faith passionately. She kisses him back. Faith strokes the side of Johnny’s face. Johnny lays Faith down on the bed as he continues to kiss her. He pulls away for a second to go back to her neck, kissing it. His right-hand slides down to her body and rests on her hip. He bites down on the tender flesh as Johnny’s hand slides up from her hip, sneaking under her shirt. Goosebumps appeared at his soft touch. He pulls away now, grabbing the hem of her baby tee. She sits up, helping him slip the shirt off, and throws it to the side. He goes back in to kiss her again on the lips, his hands now sliding up to her chest, slipping under her blue lace bra. She pulls away, gasping at Johnny’s touch. His eyes softly meet hers. She reaches behind her and pulls the tabs of her bra apart. She tossed it to the side of the bed. She goes back to attacking his lips. She grips the hair on the back of his head and kisses him harshly. Johnny kisses her back, his hands playing with her chest. She moaned into his mouth as he pinched and pulled. Johnny pulls away to slip his own shirt off. He tossed the white Fantastic Four tee across the room. Johnny starts kissing her neck again, as his hands reach for her PJ shorts. He pulls them off along with her panties. Faith’s hands ran down Johnny’s shoulders. He kissed down her collar bones, her hands going into his hair as his lips danced across her skin.
He pulls away and looks back up at her.
“Is this okay?” he says softly.
She nods her head, watching him. He hooks his arms around her legs, and he pulls her closer to him. He goes back in for a kiss as their foreheads touch again. Johnny’s left-hand slips down her thigh and to her inner thigh. Her heart is pounding in her chest loudly. She grabs his other hand when he touches her. She let out a gasp into the air. Johnny rests his face on the side of Faith’s face, while planting light, small kisses on her cheek. Faith’s eyes flutter shut, her hand moving from Johnny’s free hand to the side of his head. She runs her fingers through his hair again. The other hand was gripping the silk blue sheets. She moaned into the air, her mind going fuzzy.
“Fuck, I love you,” says Johnny breathlessly.
Faith pulls him back to her lips as Johnny continues to touch her. She pulls away mid-kiss to let out another gasp. Johnny pulls away and strips his PJs along with his undergarments. He crawls back on top of her to kiss her passionately again.
“Are…you…sure?” asks Faith between kisses.
“The world is ending. If we fail, we all die. If I’m going to die, I want to die knowing that I spent the last night with my girlfriend, my best friend, showing her how much I fucking love her,” says Johnny. Faith puts her hand on his cheek.
“I fucking love you so much, Faith,” he says.
He goes back in and kisses Faith’s lips again before pulling away and resting his forehead on hers. He moves his hips forward. Faith wraps her arm around Johnny and moans into the air, her eyes rolling into the back of her head. He slowly moves his hips, earning small gasps and moans from Faith with every stroke.
“Johnny,” she said breathlessly.
He kisses Faith’s jawline as he continues to move his hips at a slow pace. Faith runs her hands through his hair and down his neck. Her nails dug into his back. leaving crescent-shaped marks in his skin that burned. He pulls away from Faith, letting out a groan. His eyes meet Faith’s eyes. Their foreheads touch. Johnny could feel that familiar feeling, coiling in his stomach. His hips move faster. Faith lets out a groan into the air, throwing her head back. Johnny’s breath quickens as he leans in to attack her neck again with kisses. She runs her nails down his arms and shoulders, leaving red marks. She also feels the coil in her belly begin to spiral. Johnny was chasing his high at this point. He speeds up just a little, earning higher moans from Faith. Faith grips the sheets, Johnny’s name spilling from her mouth like a confession. Johnny lets out a groan as his hips slow down. His head rests against Faith’s chest as he catches his breath. Faith strokes the side of his head, playing with his hair. He goes back to Faith’s lips, kissing them. She kisses him back. He sits up, pressing Faith’s body against his own. Johnny grips her hips as he begins to aggressively kiss her. He moves from her lips to her face and then her jawline, followed by her neck once again. Faith wrapped her arms around Johnny. She leaves small kisses on Johnny's neck. He pulls her so she is sitting up with him, his hands running up her back, goosebumps forming at his touch. He pulls away, cupping Faith’s face with his hand, and looks deep into her eyes again.
“My only purpose is to make sure you’re safe and loved. I will keep my promise if you keep yours,” he says softly.
Faith smiles at him, but that smile drops when she realizes that this was it. This could be their last night together. The last time she ever sees Johnny. Either the world gets destroyed, and she and Johnny go with it, or he dies in battle, and she’s left to mourn him. The last time she will ever see those eyes. Those eyes that always made her smile. Those eyes that always bore deep into hers whenever she and Johnny made love or had a conversation. She would never see him again. They would never see each other again. It suddenly hits Faith again. She stares at him, studying every feature on his face.
“What darling?” he says, looking back at her.
She doesn’t answer, her eyes scanning his face. She leans in and kisses him. This kiss was intense. This was a kiss that meant: fuck me like there’s no tomorrow. Johnny kisses her back, feeling her energy. She lies back, pulling Johnny on top of her again. Her legs went around his waist. The two pull away, panting.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you.” Johnny says.
“Yes, I am sure,” she says, cupping his face.
Johnny looks again into her eyes before leaning down to kiss her again. She kisses him back, this time with more aggression. Johnny’s hands ran down her body, stopping at her chest to latch his lips around her hardened bud. Faith runs her hands through Johnny’s hair as his lips dance across her skin. She gasps into the air, her back arching against him. Johnny pulls away and moves down her body, leaving wet kisses down her stomach. He eventually reached her thighs and kissed her skin. He pulls away and looks back up at her.
“Till my very last breath, I will love you forever and always, Faith Anderson.”
As he says his words, he props her legs on his shoulders. His hands ran down her thighs as his hips moved forward, as he entered her again. Their hands intertwined with each other. Faith arches her back at his movement. Johnny lets out a breath and slowly moves his hips again. His eyes remained locked with hers as he kissed her right thigh. He moves his hips faster. Faith squeezes his hands.
“Am I making you feel good, darling?” He says, peering down at her.
Faith wasn’t looking at Johnny as her eyes were closed, as she bit down on her bottom lip and whined desperately.
“Let it all out,” he says, his free hand stroking the outside of her right thigh.
Faith’s hand fell from Johnny’s, her hands going to the silk, dark blue sheets. Johnny took his chance to place his thumb on the bundle of nerves between her legs and slowly rubbed. A gasp came from Faith as she breathed out a louder moan. Johnny smirks at this reaction.
“Let me hear those beautiful moans, darling.”
Faith claws at the sheets. Johnny’s name breathlessly spilling from her lips. He smirks down at her.
“Are you going to cum for me, pretty girl?”
Faith throws her head back, feeling that coil in her stomach tightening as Johnny continues.
Johnny’s eyes drop from her flushed face when he starts to feel his own high coming to him. His hands grip her thighs. The coil in Faith’s belly snaps, and an intense wave of white-hot pleasure runs through her. She arches her back, her hips violently bucking against Johnny’s. She cries out, gripping the sheets with a death grip. It suddenly hits Johnny in a wave that comes crashing over him. His thrusts slow down, and he groans, his hands leaving marks on her thighs. Faith’s thighs are shaking. Catching his breath, Johnny wraps his arms around Faith’s legs and strokes her thighs. He pulls away and slowly removes her legs from his shoulders and nearly crashes on top of Faith. Faith’s arms go around Johnny, her hands immediately going to his hair. He was lying against her stomach, his fingers dancing lightly over her soft skin.
“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” asks Johnny.
Faith’s breathing had returned to normal. She looks down at her boyfriend, their eyes meeting.
Johnny pulls his eyes away, and he kisses her stomach lightly. He pulls himself up and scoots up to Faith’s level.
“I’m going to go start the bath, darling,” he says, kissing her forehead.
Johnny stands up, grabbing his bathrobe from the blue chair that was on the platform from across the bed.
As Johnny is turning the crystal knobs on the tub to start the bath, he suddenly hears Franklin’s cry from across the hall. He stops and listens; all he could hear was Franklin. The thought then hits him like a ton of bricks. Not only would it be the last time he may see Faith, but this would also mean it’s Franklin’s last night on earth. If Galactus is successful, not only will he and his family die, but Franklin will also die, being taken from his family. Tears fill Johnny’s eyes. He pushes them away when he realizes that the water is heated up. He fills the tub and slowly stands up before taking a big breath. He walks into their shared closet and picks out Faith’s clothes for the night as well as clothes for him. Once the bath was filled and their clothes were ready, Johnny walked back out into the bedroom. Faith was lying on the bed, just staring at the ceiling. Her eyes meet his as soon as he comes into sight. He could tell that she was on the edge of tears again. Johnny walks over and sits on the bed before reaching out to stroke her head. Johnny looked into her eyes sadly. She grabs his hand and squeezes it. He stands up before picking her up and carrying her bridal style. Franklin’s cries die down as Johnny makes his way to the bathroom.
Johnny and Faith sat in the tub, Faith’s back to his chest, and Johnny’s arms wrapped around Faith. The two were sitting in silence. Johnny’s mind was elsewhere. All he could think about was the battle happening tomorrow. If this plan was going to work. He couldn’t keep his anxious thoughts from consuming him. Faith’s fingers dance up Johnny’s arm. He snaps out of his thoughts when she touches him. He takes a deep breath and leans in closer to Faith and kisses the side of her head.
“Promise me that you…that whatever happens you won’t…try and…”
He already knew where this was going.
“It’s just…I can’t stand the thought of going on without you,” she says.
Johnny lets out a breath.
“Faith, you know I can’t promise that.”
Faith’s eyes fill with tears.
“Then I can’t promise that I’ll be safe,” she mutters quietly.
Johnny looks down at her again.
“You can’t say stuff like that, Faith,” he says.
She pulls away from him and turns to face him.
“And you can’t say stuff that you say,” she says.
“I'm different, Faith. It’s my job to put my life on the line for the world.”
“It may be your job, but that’s your first solution when it comes to this stuff.” Faith was starting to cry now.
Johnny couldn’t stand to see her crying. Especially at this time. Johnny pulls her closer to him, his arms going around her again.
“I can’t live without you,” she says now, sobbing into his chest.
Johnny’s hand immediately goes into her hair, stroking it to calm her down. He presses a kiss to her forehead, guilt pooling in his stomach. He holds her closer, her cries also breaking his own heart. He’s known her for so long, and it almost seemed unfair that they had little time together this close. He started wishing that he had just built up that courage earlier to just tell her. Tell her that he’s loved her since high school.
Faith eventually calmed down and fell asleep in Johnny’s embrace. He dries her off and dresses her in comfy, warm clothes. He carried her to bed. He tucks her in and then kisses her on the forehead. He turns off the lights to let her sleep peacefully. Johnny looks over at his giant floor-to-ceiling window. His eyes went to the Excelsior. He sits down in front of the window, his thoughts being very loud now. He was torn between either saving his own nephew, even if it meant that he would sacrifice himself. And then he was torn that, in turn, that would destroy Faith mentally, and she had already told him that she would kill herself if Johnny were also dead. He looks down at the carpet. Suddenly, that familiar cry is heard from down the hall. It was Franklin again. That set Johnny off. His eyes filled with tears. His head went into his hands, and he began to quietly sob. His eyes went back up to the Excelsior. There was nothing more he could do right now, and that’s what was killing him on the inside. He couldn’t promise Faith that he wouldn’t sacrifice himself, and she couldn’t promise either that she would stay safe.
A few minutes pass, and Johnny is no longer crying; he’s numb to the feeling, but his head is still in his hands. His thoughts are broken when Faith stirs. He turns toward her. She was sitting up, rubbing her eyes. Her tired eyes made eye contact with his weepy ones.
“Come to bed,” she says quietly.
Johnny takes a moment before he stands up and walks over to the bed. He slides in, his arms going around Faith immediately. She snuggled into him, laying her head on his chest. His eyes went back to the window. His eyes began to grow heavy as he slowly fell asleep, tangled with Faith.
Faith is sitting in the sunken living room, the TV is on in the background, playing the original Fantastic Four cartoon. In front of her is Franklin playing with some blocks. His blonde hair was wild and sticking up all over the place. Faith smiles at the child as she picks up one of the wood blocks and coos at Franklin. Just as Franklin smiles back at her, there is an explosion from the kitchen. She covers Franklin immediately before looking back. Through the black smoke and thick dust and the rubble, Faith could make out a very large figure. He wore an emerald, green cape and a hood, and his face. His face was made of metal. Johnny rushes into the room, hearing the commotion. He stands right in front of Franklin and Faith. His hands flamed on. The dust and smoke clear, and Johnny’s eyes widen.
“Doom?” He said in an almost bewildered tone.
The figure stands there and stares back at Johnny.
“Give me Franklin now!” he says.
“Oh no, you don’t!” says Johnny, now sending a burst of flames towards Doom.
He turns his head back to Faith.
“Go! Get out of here!” he shouts.
“No! Johnny, I can’t leave you!” Says Faith.
“Goddamn it, Faith! Just listen to me this one time!” he says.
Faith bites her lip and picks up Franklin. As she picks him up, Doom charges towards Johnny. Johnny notices that Faith is still behind him and stays where he is. Faith moves out of the way just as Doom grabs Johnny and throws him towards the giant balcony. Johnny hits the giant glass windows, glass flying everywhere, before he slides across the concrete and hits the bottom part of the balcony. He doesn’t move. Faith’s eyes widened. She stares at Johnny’s lifeless body, unable to comprehend what just happened. She snapped out of it when Doom separated her from Franklin by throwing her lightly across the room. She hits the sunken couch. Her vision is blurry. All she can see is Doom now walking over to Johnny’s lifeless body and stepping on him to leave, crushing Johnny’s ribs under his metal boots. Faith lets out a guttural scream at the sound of the bones crushing.
Faith bolts up in her sleep, a scream ripping through her throat. Johnny also bolts up next to her.
“WHAT? WHAT? WHAT?” he shouts.
Faith was breathing heavily. She looks around the room, her surroundings becoming familiar. Johnny wraps his arms around her. She buried her face into his chest. Tears were threatening to spill from her eyes. Her breath slowed down to her normal breathing. Johnny keeps his arms wrapped around her shaking figure. His hand comes up to stroke her hair, calming her down. Johnny looks down at her and kisses her head. He turns his head to look at the alarm clock on the bedside table. The time read 5:30 AM. He wasn’t going to get any more sleep, and he didn’t know if Faith was going to either. He sits there and holds her. Her body stopped shaking, and she seemed calm. Her fingers grip his shirt. It looked like she wasn’t letting go anytime soon. After sitting in silence for a few more minutes, Faith finally opens her mouth.
“Who is Doom?” she whispers.
Johnny felt his gut sink.
“What did you say?” he says, looking down at her.
Johnny knew he wasn’t crazy and wasn’t mishearing her words.
“Someone you don’t need to worry about.”
Faith doesn’t say anything else. Things were already tense as the hours of the final day were closing in on them.
As the team got ready, Faith was watching Johnny from the bed. Her entire body feels like there are thousands of pounds crushing her. Johnny turns from the giant window, his eyes meet Faith’s. He could tell from those brown orbs how much sadness was in them. He walks over to her. He takes her face in his hands, and their foreheads touch.
“If all hell breaks loose, you take Franklin with you, and you run,” he says, now touching the fabric of her outfit that Reed designed for her.
Faith wraps her arms around Johnny before kissing his lips. A few tears slipped from her eyes. Johnny pulls away.
There’s a knock on the door. The door opens to reveal Sue.
“It’s time, Johnny,” she says.
He nods. He turns back to Faith and kisses her forehead before following his older sister out the door. Faith watches him disappear. And just like that, that’s the last time she may ever see him.
The Baxter Building is empty. Eerily quiet. No sirens, no people, and no cars or buses moving about. Just a still empty New York City. The plan was now unfolding in Times Square. Franklin was being used as bait for Galactus, while the others remained in their positions to open the portal to push him in. The pit in Johnny’s stomach kept deepening. He couldn’t sit here and worry about Faith. Not when she’s been given an emergency plan in case she needs to get away, thanks to Reed’s brain. Plus, she wasn’t going to be in any danger, unless the plan didn’t go as planned. Johnny is pulled from his thoughts when he hears his communicator go off. Reed looks back at him and Ben and tells them they need to be in their positions. Johnny flames on, taking off. He sees Galactus peering over the city skyline in the water. He finds a place where he can watch him closely. As Galactus hits the water, it sends a huge wave of water into the city. Johnny was thankful that everyone in the surrounding area was down below in Subterranea, hopefully safe from the chaos above.
Galactus reaches land, and oddly, he pulls a few trees out of the ground to smell them. It’s not every day you see a space god smelling the trees. As Galactus rises again, he uses his eyes to scan the surrounding area, looking for Franklin. When it seems he’s found his target, he begins his walk to Times Square, destroying the buildings around him, crushing the cars, and leaving giant craters in the streets. As Galactus approached Times Square, the team began to execute their plan. Ben would fly in with the car as a distraction, while Sue used her powers to also buy time. Johnny came in to blind him, in hopes that it would temporarily cause him to lose the ability to find Franklin again, leaving him vulnerable to being pushed into the portal. Johnny flies down quickly, grabbing Franklin, keeping a low profile so Galactus wouldn’t spot him. Faith stands up when Johnny flies into the tower. Franklin starts fussing. She comes down to Johnny’s side.
“Hey, hey, hey, hey, you got Auntie Faith here now.”
Faith kinda smiles at the nickname. Johnny turns; he gives Faith a peck on the lips before flaming on and joining the team back in Times Square. Johnny reaches Times Square again, joining Sue, Ben, and the decoy of Franklin in the middle. It was now just a waiting game. Reed was waiting for Galactus to step over those lines.
As he’s walking, he suddenly stops before stepping down on the line. Johnny swallows hard, his heart thumping loudly in his ears. This wasn’t part of the plan. Had he figured them out? As his foot fell behind the line, Johnny’s stomach twisted. Galactus uses his eyes again to scan the surrounding area. Johnny then realized that Galactus had outsmarted them. The space god looks down at them with a smile on his face.
He starts making his way to the Baxter Building.
“He’s going for Franklin!” Sue shouts.
Johnny takes off, heading towards Galactus. He was going to do nearly anything to protect not only Franklin but Faith as well. He tries sending a burst of flames towards him, but it immediately goes out. Johnny is confused about how his powers are now useless against him. He sees Ben picking up a gasoline truck. That must do the trick. As the truck explodes against Galactus, Johnny sends another burst of flames at him, setting him on fire now. But he didn’t stop. He kept walking. Almost as if the flames and the gasoline weren't doing anything to him. Like he was immune to it. He was getting closer to the building. Johnny thinks for a second. He tried one more time to use a burst of flames, but it was going out on contact.
Faith was with Franklin and H.E.R.B.I.E, terrified at how close Galactus was getting. She sees Johnny fly in front of his face to try to send a burst of flames, but Johnny is frozen now. Faith watches in horror as Johnny flamed off.
Johnny couldn’t move. He felt like he was suffocating. He begins to panic when he realizes that Galactus has cut the oxygen around him. He was completely vulnerable now. He can barely breathe, his vision darkening.
Galactus then swats him out of the sky.
“JOHNNY!” she screams, standing up now, rushing over to the window.
He landed on a nearby rooftop with a hard thud and slid across the concrete. Before Faith could fully comprehend anything, she was seeing, the building went into lockdown, and Franklin’s carrier closed. Faith was frozen in fear. As she’s turning to grab Franklin, Galactus’s hand crashes through the metal, glass, and everything, grabbing onto Franklin. Faith was also caught in the mix. She pulls Franklin’s carrier close, but it opens, and Franklin floats out as Galactus takes him and raises him to his eye level.
“You are my salvation…” his deep voice booms.
“And I’ll have a little snack. Time to feed.”
Faith begins to beg and plead with him to let them go and to leave the planet. But he doesn’t listen. Almost like he can’t hear her at all. Galactus starts walking again. Faith has no idea what she could do at this point. She was stuck on the hand of a giant space god who was going to eat her. She couldn’t jump to save herself; it would severely injure her, or even worse, it could kill her. The suit Reed designed for her was only for her to be fast to make it out with Franklin. She should have grabbed Franklin as soon as Galactus was getting closer and ran out. But her fear consumed her. The thought that Johnny was lying dead somewhere on a rooftop and that it was over consumed her. She felt numb to the world. She snapped out of her thoughts when Galactus stopped. He turns, and Faith can see Sue using her powers to stop him. When he pulls away, making Sue nearly fall forward, Sue uses just as much of her power to stop him from walking again. He turns around to face Sue, but this causes him to lose balance as he is being pushed back now by Sue’s powers. Sue pushes harder, pushing Galactus back through the cars and buildings.
When Faith sees Ben and Reed running below, she notices Reed climbing up the building closest to her very fast. He grabs her and sets her down on the nearby rooftop.
“Use your suit, get down to the control panel, and pull the lever. Sue is going to push him into the zone. When I tell you when, you do it!” says Reed.
Faith nods. For a minute, she had to push aside everything that was happening and her thoughts about Johnny. This was now fighting for everyone, including her. Reed stretches across the next few buildings. Faith makes her way down a nearby fire escape. Faith and Ben make eye contact. Ben runs into the pillars of a nearby building, so Galactus can never regain his balance as Sue pushes him. Faith starts running down the street. As she ran, she could feel herself moving faster. She reaches the edge of the bridge lines and finds the machine, waiting for Reed’s signal. The building that Galactus was leaning against collapses beside him, leaving him still helpless to Sue’s powers. Faith could tell that Sue was losing energy quickly. As Galactus slides across the lines, Reed comes in over her communicator.
She pulls the lever down, and the bridges produce a bright light, opening a whirling portal. Faith stands back. Galactus is caught in the portal. Reed jumps from a building and grabs Franklin, safely landing, as Ben throws another car at Galactus. Sue gives one more push. The portal consumes him, pushing him through. The portal closes with a loud explosion. Causing everyone to turn away from the dust that was blowing everywhere. Just as everyone looked at each other with smiles on their faces, Ben’s smile dropped.
Faith gasps and takes off down the street to a few buildings away.
She climbs the fire escape, her foot slipping from the ladder. Tears filled the corners of her eyes. She reached the top, and Johnny was lying completely lifeless.
“No, no, Johnny?” Faith ran over to him, and to her touch, he was cold. Abnormally cold.
“REED!” she screams, tears now gushing from her eyes.
She screams out Reed’s name again with a guttural scream. Reed makes it to the top with Sue by his side.
“Oh, my god,” Reed whispers.
“Reed, he’s-he’s-he’s not waking up!” she said, sobbing.
Reed uses his communicator to scan Johnny. He looks up at Faith.
“He’s…” Reed can barely get the words out.
“WHAT REED!?” Faith says, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“There’s nothing I can do to bring him back. He’s barely alive. His flame is going out. It’s up to him to determine if he comes back,” says Reed, sadly looking up at her.
Faith looks down at her boyfriend in her arms.
“No. No. You promised me, Johnny!” She sobs.
Sue turns and cries into Reed’s shoulder. Ben was standing a few feet away, holding Franklin, watching the scene in front of him unfold.
“You promised me! You can’t leave me!” she cries out.
Faith places her hand on his face.
“You have to come back…” she whispers.
She cries into Johnny’s chest, gripping the fabric of his suit, sobbing hysterically. Reed puts a hand on Faith’s back as support.
“You promised me we would one day go to the beach. You promised me a normal date and not a date only at The Baxter Building. You said we would be together forever,” she cries.
Sue grabs Faith’s hand. Faith looked up at her. Tears were running down Sue’s face. She was witnessing the loss of her little brother. Sue hugs Faith as Faith sobs into her shoulder. Sue kisses the side of Faith’s head. She pulls away before grabbing Johnny’s hand, removing his glove, and placing his hand on her face, as more tears fall from her face. She removes his hand before lacing her fingers through his hand and lying on his chest. Faith sits there for a few minutes. Reed places a hand on her back.
“He would have come back by now…” Reed starts.
“No, give him more time. I know he’s in there!” says Faith.
Sue comes to Faith’s side.
“I can’t leave him here!” she bursts out into tears again.
She grabs his hand again, putting it on her face as she violently sobs. Just as Reed is about to speak again, Johnny inhales a large breath. His chest heaved up and down. He coughs, before lifting his head a little, trying to open his eyes. He groans. His head hits the concrete again lightly.
Faith is shaking while still holding his hand. His fingers curled around her cheek as the warmth returned to his hand. His eyes open slightly.
“Faith?” he rasps out again.
Faith lets out a happy sob mixed with a laugh.
“Yes. Yes. It’s me,” she says, rubbing his hand.
He opens his eyes a little more. A smile crept onto his face, and his eyes connected with hers.
“My little Spark,” he says.
Faith pulls his hand away and kisses his fingers. Johnny laughs a little. Reed, Sue, and Ben start to surround Johnny.
“Wait, you guys were here the entire time?” says Johnny.
Sue has a smile plastered on her face.
“Hey, Hot Shot,” calls Ben.
“Don’t try to show off next time,” he says jokingly.
Reed was doing another body scan to make sure Johnny was actually okay and wasn’t in dire need of medical attention.
“Feeling any pain, Johnny?” asks Reed.
“Just a raging headache is all, and I barely remember what happened,” he says.
“You did slide across the rooftop here, so probably some scrapes, hopefully it’s not road rash levels,” says Faith.
“Hey, baby, I know you like showing off your pretty little brain, but you don’t need to worry about that,” says Johnny, turning his head slowly to Faith.
“We should get you back to the lab. You need rest,” says Reed.
THE BAXTER BUILDING: REED’S LAB
Johnny was finally home. Faith was the only one in the lab, while everyone else was in front of the press giving their statement. Faith was cleaning the scrape that was on Johnny’s left shoulder blade. Johnny is sitting on the lab table now. Faith grabs one of the many cotton balls and the hydrogen peroxide. She dabs it against the scrape. She purposely kept the light low to help with Johnny’s headache.
“Reed will probably want to keep you here as his test subject to make sure you don’t die on us in your sleep,” says Faith as she finishes cleaning his wound.
He turns his head to look at her.
“Yeah, Stretch would do that, wouldn’t he?”
“I would be the one who wouldn’t stop bugging him about it if he refused,” says Faith, now preparing a giant bandage, which was just gauze and some medical tape. He kept his gaze on her.
“I never told you, but you look so cute in a lab coat,” he says.
“Alright, Hot Shot,” she says, laughing a little.
She places the gauze over his wound and tapes it into place.
“Well, that’s as good as it’s gonna get,” she says, now moving to clean up.
He fully turns this time to grab her wrist. She looks up at him. He leans down to kiss her lips tenderly. She kisses him back, taking in the moment between the two of them. He pulls away slowly.
“I love you too, Johnny,” she says, looking into his eyes.
She leans in to give him another peck on the lips before going back to cleaning up the trash. Johnny smirks, running his tongue along the inside of his bottom lip. Reed enters.
“Why is it so dark in here?”
“I kept the lights low for Johnny’s headache,” Faith says, now walking over to her desk.
“Nope, I figured your brain would have made some kind of crazy serum where it would make all of his problems disappear,” says Faith.
Reed was taken aback by her logical explanation of him.
“Right. Well,” says Reed, now looking up at Johnny.
“I’m keeping you here for the next few days,”
“Hey, this is serious, Hot Shot. You literally were ice cold when I found you,” says Faith, looking up from her paperwork on the desk.
“I’m surprised you can even sit. I’d think that being flamed off forcefully could have drained everything in you. So, you’re on IV fluids for the next few days while I monitor your levels,” he says.
It was late, and Faith was sitting next to Johnny, watching him peacefully sleep, blanket around him. She places a hand on his cheek before leaning down and kissing his lips lightly. She records Johnny’s levels for Reed. She didn’t want to leave him. But Reed would be upset with her for not sleeping after the events of today. She decides to stay, and she ends up falling asleep in a sitting position, holding Johnny’s hand.
Johnny was already back to normal. Normal body temperature again, able to flame on just fine, and just as full of energy as he was before. It was during the normal Sunday dinner when things took a weird turn for him. There was a ringing in his head, which he had been trying to ignore all day long, but it never stopped. He was mid-swirling the spaghetti around his fork when he froze. His vision almost feels like it went out. But then he sees it:
New York City is burning. But it’s not his New York City. The sky is dark as rain clouds threaten to pour rain. He looks around at his surroundings. That’s when the mangled bodies of his family were around him. Reed stretched out, his eyes eerily wide open with a look of horror on his face. That’s when the image flickers. Reed’s neck was snapped magically. Johnny steps back in terror. His eyes drift to Ben. Another image flickers, Ben being crushed by something. Johnny couldn’t make out who it was. And then there was Sue. The image flickers. She was helping Reed and Ben, but was then thrown a far distance, breaking her entire back. She was the last one, and she watched Reed and Ben both die. Her screams echoed off the buildings.
“It’s all your fault, Johnny…,” said a deep voice.
Johnny is snapped back to reality. He drops his fork; everyone turns their heads to look at him.
“Johnny?” says Faith, placing a hand on his shoulder.
He turns his head quickly at the contact.
“Fine. Sorry. Just…I’ve had a weird day…” he says as he picks up his fork again and resumes eating.
Reed and Sue side-eye each other.
“You’ve been normal for the last week?” says Reed.
“Yeah, just I don’t know, maybe I have a concussion too, and I just didn’t know?”
“You were cleared of a concussion unless you hurt yourself again.”
Johnny stops eating and looks up at Reed.
“I don’t know. This whole thing, since Galactus has been weird for me,” he says.
“Well, I suggest if you’re still feeling abnormal that you come to me immediately,” says Reed.
Johnny doesn’t answer as he stares down into his food.
