Disoriented » Captain America

chapter twenty five

25 x they're fantastic, and also kind of crazy

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The first time I met the Fantastic Four they were on a 'scientific expedition,' and I ended up pushing Johnny off a ship into the middle of the Pacific. By 'pushing' I mean I shoved him off the upper deck of a battleship because he almost stuck his hand in a very important chemical device.

Sue applauded the gesture, I earned Ben's eternal respect . . . and that was also around the time that Reed began to question me incessantly about my abilities. He's a scientific mind, and I'm an anomaly in more ways than one.

I only saw the four of them two more times after that, on very separate occasions. They weren't necessarily my main priority, after all -- I had, ah . . . other things to attend to. (Yes, I'm referring to Steve.) Either way, they weren't high on my watch list, or whatever you want to call it. From what I had seen, and what I just knew, they were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves without me.

Plus there was the fact that between Johnny and Reed I frequently found myself wanting to pull my hair out. That generally makes staying away a good plan -- both for my sake, and theirs.

But if it meant the possible end of the world, or at least likely enslavement of humankind, I figured I could probably (hopefully) put up with them. For this go round, anyway.

Which was why I had decided to visit them alone. I honestly didn't think I could do it with Steve, or anyone else -- it felt too much like an obligation to act a certain way with them around. Don't get me wrong, I adore Steve (love him, even) but I'm me. And there are many, many sides to me, including some not-so-nice ones. I felt like I needed to be on my best behavior (or at least close to it) around him, and well . . .

There's nothing good about how I interact with half of the Fantastic Four.

I appeared smack in the middle of Reed's laboratory, in what I knew to be the center of the room, where no one tended to stand. I was right on target, of course, and found myself smack in the middle of a conversation between the four of them.

The initial responses included one Johnny Storm's obnoxious about of "IT'S JO!", Reed almost dropping a beaker full of some pink fizzy liquid, Sue proceeding to take said beaker away from Reed, and Ben flicking Johnny in the arm for being too loud.

All eyes were on me when I waved with a smirk in place, and said in a droll tone, "That was a fantastic greeting."

Because I can't help myself, apparently.

Johnny actually groaned, muttering, "And you say my jokes are bad."

"Anything is better than your brand of humor, Jonathan," I retorted coolly, arching a brow at him.

"I agree with Jo on that one," Sue mused, before smiling brightly at me. "Speaking of, I've missed you! How's the whole of time and space holding up?" she asked me as she came over and gave me a quick hug.

"Oh, you know," I gave a quirky smile as we separated, tossing my hair out of face with a quick head jerk. "It's time and space. Frequently in flux, but always entertaining."

"And what brings you here?" Reed asked then, drawing my attention past his wife to him. He was watching me with his usual level of intrigue, even as I hummed and pointed at the beaker in Sue's hands.

"May I?" I asked, before she nodded and handed the beaker over to me. "This is the attempt at a successful density alteration chemical, correct?"

"Yes," Sue confirmed to me, before Reed could speak. "Reed's tested it in several machines . . . it's not quite there yet."