The Secret Sister (Book 2 in The Secret Series)

Chapter 4: The Fantastic What?

Chapter 4: The Fantastic What?

Half an hour later, I sat on the very top of Stark Tower, on the roof high above the rest of the city. There was enough room to safely lean back and dangle my legs over the side, watching the blinking lights below as the day turned to night.

My heart ached uncomfortably, which was something I had never felt before. It was like my heart was trying to tear itself in half.

I hated the feeling.

I hated Pepper too.

I shook my head violently. No, I didn’t hate her– I barely even knew her! How could I hate her?

Because she has Tony.

“By Odin, what am I going to do?” I whined, looking up into the darkening sky as different emotions conflicted within me.

Part of me wanted nothing more than to set Pepper’s hair alight – maybe my flames would even match her hair colour.

But then, the bigger part of me tried to reluctantly accept that Tony had obviously moved on while I was gone.

Why couldn’t I have moved on too?

A ball of flames formed in my hand, and I threw it into the air angrily, watching it explode high in the sky, like a firework.

“Nice party trick,” An unfamiliar masculine voice complimented me, and I looked behind me to see a person burning.

It was obviously a man, and his whole body was encased in flames which must have kept him airborne. I stood quickly, and he landed on the roof in front of me. His flames died, and there stood a young man with short blonde hair and a cheeky grin playing on his good-looking face. He wore a blue costume, and there was a logo with the number ‘4’ on it on the left side of his chest.

“Who are you?” I asked uneasy, my fists automatically setting alight. His light blue eyes flicked to my hands interestedly, before he met my gaze again and winked.

“I’m Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch – the best member of the Fantastic Four.”

“The Fantastic Four?” I repeated, confused.

“Yeah, haven’t you heard of us? You know, a super-cool team of super-heroes helping keep the streets of New York free from crime. Heck, you can even see our base, the Baxter Building, from here!”

I stared at him blankly, and he looked surprised.

“You really don’t know who I am?”

“No.”

“Oh. Well, anyway, who are you? I didn’t know there were any other fire-users on my turf.”

“Your turf?” I asked, eyebrows raised, and he shrugged.

“The Fantastic Four have been here ages – we practically own this city.”

“What about Tony Stark – Iron Man? Or Spiderman? Or any of the Avengers – I’m sure they’d disagree with you,” I said dryly, and his eyes widened slightly before he laughed.

“Oh God – you’re an Avenger, aren’t you?”

“So what if I am?” I sniffed, crossing my arms and letting the tips of my hair crackle.

“What’s your name? I recognise you – sort of.”

“Eldrid,” I said reluctantly, and he held his hand out cheerfully.

“Johnny Storm,” He said again, and I smiled slightly as I shook his hand.

“Yes, you’ve already said.”

“Couldn’t have you forgetting now, could I?” He winked.

“So you can control fire?” I asked when he’d released my hand, and he nodded.

“Yep. And I’m guessing you can too.”

“Please – I am the Asgardian Goddess of Fire,” I said proudly, and he grinned.

“Ah, now I recognise you! You were that new Avenger, right? But no one’s seen you for the past year – what’s the deal with that?” He asked, sounding genuinely interested, and I shrugged one shoulder.

“It’s a long story.”

“I have time.”

“Well, I don’t.”

“Fine, fine. So why are you up here on Stark’s tower? The Baxter Building has a much better view – you should come and see some time.”

“I might take you up on that. And I’m here because I have nowhere else to be,” I admitted sadly, looking down at the streets below again.

There was a sudden crackling noise of static, and Johnny pressed a button on his wrist quickly.

“What’s up Reed?” He asked, and an annoyed voice sounded through a little speaker beside the button.

“Johnny, you have to get back her now – Sue’s going mental – she said you hid her shampoo again.”

Johnny laughed loudly, “Oh yeah – ok, I’ll be there in a few.”

He pressed the button again and glanced at me, still smiling.

“So who else is in your little team then?” I asked curiously.

“Well, obviously there’s me, the Human Torch. And there’s my sister, Sue – aka the Invisible Woman. There’s also Ben – he’s pretty hard to miss. His name’s the Thing. And then there’s Reed – Mr Fantastic,” He explained, and then set alight once more.

“I hope I see you around, Eldrid! You should come around to our headquarters’ sometime – I’m sure Reed would love to meet an Asgardian … but he might end up dissecting you, so maybe that’s not a good idea.”

“It was nice to meet you too, Johnny Storm,” I smiled, and then watched him shoot into the sky and fly away.

That random conversation had successfully distracted me for a moment, but now that I was alone again the pain came flooding back to me.

Sighing, I glanced up at the sky once more in the vain hope that Odin or Thor would send me some advice, before I jumped lightly off the roof and floated down to the balcony.

Peter was there, looking like he was just about to leave as he balanced on the balcony railing.

“Hey. I thought I heard voices. Who were you talking to?” He asked casually.

“I just met one-quarter of the Fantastic Four,” I explained lightly, and he grinned before pulling his mask over his face.

“If it was Johnny Storm, then watch out. He is definitely bad news.”

“Why? He seemed nice,” I frowned, and Peter chuckled softly.

“That’s what every girl he flirts with says.”

“He was not flirting with me! We were having a conversation,” I stressed the last word, and Peter shrugged.

“Mm-hmm – that’s what they all say.”

He leapt off the balcony just in time, dodging a fireball that exploded exactly where he had been a spilt second before.

I rolled my eyes and entered Stark Tower once more, praying that Pepper and Tony weren’t in the room.