How is it you look like a child and child molester at the same time?
Morden Man Member
- Last Seen: 2 mos ago
- Joined: 10 yrs ago
- Posts: 1319 (0.38 / day)
- VMs: 0
-
Username history
- Morden Man 10 yrs ago
-
Latest 10 profile visitors:
-
Most recent →
Supermaxx,
Mao Mao,
Simple Unicycle,
Fetzen
Status
User has no status, yet
Bio
User has no bio, yet
Most Recent Posts
I can't do that, that artwork belongs to Bruce. He worked hard on it :'( (I assume, he may have spent 5 minutes on it while extremely drunk for all I know).
Also son, don't you mock what I'm going to be wearing.
Stop posting pictures of yourself in the OOC thread.
This is not Christian Mingle.
You want me to go to an interview with 0% alcohol in my system? It's like you don't know me at all.
You're right. What's the saying? "Start as you mean to go on."
By that measure, you'd better show up drunkenly chomping on a kebab with sick down your front, waving photoshopped pictures of Iris West as the Flash at them.
In brighter news, my interview to join the police has finally been rescheduled for the 1st of October.
You'd better lay off the cider for a while then. Give your brain a chance to recover in time.
Guy Gardner snaked his way through traffic in a nondescript black sedan with Ben Grimm in the back. In the Thing’s large orange hands was a tablet which he was staring at with rapt attention. Johnny Storm had gone AWOL from the Baxter Building – despite express orders from Maria Hill not to do so – and worse still he had done it in the most public way possible.
Splashed across every TV screen in New York was Johnny yucking it up with Spider-Woman. The fire symbol he had blazed in the sky had put NYPD, SHIELD, and the national media on high alert so soon after the Silver Surfer’s sudden appearance. Thankfully Johnny had made it clear that he was far from a threat before the National Guard had been called in – but that hadn’t stopped the media from following him every of the way since parting with Spider-Woman.
Guy and Ben had spent every second of it on the Torch’s tail. Finally they had tracked him to Central Park. The last Ben had seen was Johnny disappearing into the park. Gardner pulled the sedan to a sudden, very illegal stop by the side of the road and leapt out of the driver’s seat.
Ben climbed out of the back seat and began to follow after the SHIELD agent.
Guy stopped dead in his tracks the second he noticed Grimm following after him. “What the hell are you doing?”
“What?”
Gardner wagged a disapproving finger at Ben.
“It’s bad enough that the kid’s face has been plastered all over the news for the past couple of hours, the least thing we need is your ugly mug right there alongside it.”
Grimm’s arms crossed. His rocky forearms scraping against one another sounded like knives being sharpened. Passengers in cars that were passing by had begun to notice the hulking rock creature – and a few tourists had begun brandishing their phones in his direction.
“You’ve got another thing coming if you think I came all this way just to sit in the car, Carrot Top.”
It was clear from Ben’s voice that he wasn’t in the mood for a debate – and every second that Guy spent trying to figure out how to convince him to get back in the car was another that he was out in the open. Mindful that he already had one dressing down coming his way for letting Johnny out of his sights, all Gardner could do now was try to minimise any more damage.
“Goddamnit,” Guy said with a heavy sigh. “Alright, well at least cover yourself up or something.”
Gardner ran round to the back of the sedan and opened the boot. He rummaged around for a few seconds before producing a large brown overcoat and fedora. Ben eyed the items suspiciously for a few moments and then threw the coat over his shoulders and plonked the hat on top of his rocky head. With that done, the pair of them made their way into the park.
“Central-frickin-Park,” Guy muttered disbelievingly as they entered. “It’s like the kid is trying to get on the Führer’s shit list.”
They passed through the park easily enough. Despite Ben’s huge frame, he went all but unnoticed outside of a few particularly observant tourists. Most were preoccupied staring down their camera viewfinders or phone screens. For a short while, Ben almost remembered what it was like to feel normal again.
A good fifteen minutes or so of searching went by before they reached Bow Bridge. There stood at its apex was Johnny Storm. In one hand was a large hotdog that was slathered in more sauces and toppings than Ben could make out. In the other Johnny was holding an even larger ice cream. It was half-melted, cream dribbling down his fists, but that didn’t seem to deter him from taking alternate bites from each hand.
The bridge was so thick with tourists that Johnny didn’t see Guy or Ben until both of them were on him.
Guy jabbed an accusatory finger directly at the centre of Johnny’s chest. “What do you think you’re playing at, kid?”
Johnny’s blue eyes widened with shock. He was about to mount a defense but the words died in his throat when his eyes made contact with Ben. The shock dissipated and those eyes, until recently so steeped in sadness, brightened. Laughter forced its way up and out of Johnny’s lungs.
Storm’s ice cream-covered hand pointed in Ben’s direction. “Who the hell invited Al Capone?”
A thick vein appeared on Gardner’s forehead. He was about to open the floodgates on Johnny until one of Ben’s large hands shoved him aside with so much force that he almost fell over the side of the bridge. Johnny stepped back, suddenly worried by Ben’s sudden movement, but wasn’t nearly fast enough to evade him.
“You’re laughing!” Ben shouted as he wrapped Johnny in a tight bear hug. “You’re actually laughing again!”
All the air went rushing out of Storm the Younger’s lungs as Grimm, gripped by the throngs of joy, squeezed tighter and tighter. Johnny tried to speak but wasn’t able to form words with all the pressure on his chest. Instead he clubbed at Ben with his hotdog-holding hand. Ketchup, mustard and relish had all but covered Grimm’s shoulder before he cottoned on and released him.
A feeble laugh escaped from Johnny’s lungs despite his being doubled over and gasping for air. “You almost killed me, you big dummy.”
A bashful smile appeared on Ben’s face. He wrapped an apologetic arm around Johnny’s shoulder and hugged him. Johnny let out a wince as if to signal that the hug was too tight again and Ben chuckled.
“Heh, sorry kid.” Ben smiled. “I just … I guess I hadn’t realised how long it’d been since I last heard you laughing. Y’know, properly laughing.”
The crowd of tourists had now turned towards the three of them. Ben’s raised voice was distinctive enough even without the rocky skin – and the trench coat Guy had wrapped him in was no longer providing sufficient cover. Ben looked at Gardner with a shrug of the shoulders, took off the fedora, and plonked it on Johnny’s head with a smile.
Guy rolled his eyes, wrapped his hands around one of Johnny and Ben's biceps, and dragged them away from the bridge.
“Alright, alright, this is all very heartwarming but all three of us are going to be looking at a lifetime of solitary confinement on The Raft if we don’t get out of here before the stormtroopers show up. So how about we have this conversation on the drive back to the Baxter Building?”
Johnny nodded along begrudgingly to the request as the three of them made their way back to the sedan. He wiped his hands clean of ice cream on Ben’s coat and handed him what remained of his hot-dog. Still hungry from the morning, Grimm shovelled it down. As the pair of them climbed into the back of Guy’s car Ben looked towards Johnny with a smirk.
“So … what’s going on with this Spider-Woman chick? Did you get her phone number or something?”
Storm’s face screwed up with displeasure at the thought of it. “What? No way! That’s disgusting. What kind of guy do you take me for?”
In the front seat Guy adjusted his rearview mirror and let his eyes rest on Ben and Johnny for a few seconds. Stressed as Gardner was as the thought of another shouting match with Hill surely coming, it didn’t detract from the moment. When he’d picked them up, Ben and Johnny had been broken men – and here they were laughing and joking like they didn’t have a care in the world. How long that lasted remained to be seen.
Guy started the car and pulled away from the kerb.
From the back he heard Ben chuckle. "Don't worry, Spidey blowing you off's gonna be the least of your worries once Suzie's through with Hill."
And that is that for the Gwen-Johnny tête-à-tête.
Somehow I suspect Spider-Woman and the Fantastic Four's paths will cross again in the not-so distant future. New York is a pretty small place, after all.
Somehow I suspect Spider-Woman and the Fantastic Four's paths will cross again in the not-so distant future. New York is a pretty small place, after all.
"If you ever want to do this again, you know how to contact me, I guess."
There was a tenderness to Spider-Woman's voice that made Johnny feel at ease. Among all the quips it was easy to forget that, just as with Peter on his own world, empathy was what drove Spider-Woman to protect others. It was in these quiet moments that you got a glimpse into the person behind the cowl and their values and it was clear to Johnny that New York had a kind and considerate protector in Mary Jane Watson – who was more than deserving of the "friendly neighbourhood Spider-Woman" moniker.
"You know what?" Johnny said as he placed an appreciate hand on Spider-Woman's back. "I think I'd like that a lot."
He pushed himself to his feet with a grunt. The cuts on his hands were still stinging but Johnny could barely feel them as he stood there looking out across the New York skyline. The sun had begun to sat. Its rays bounced off the skyscrapers that lined the city's streets. Johnny shut his eyes, basking in the warmth for a few moments, before taking a long, deep breath in.
He let the breath go and felt the weight he'd been carrying on his chest for the past few months lighten. He opened his eyes, smiled at Spider-Woman, and then peered over the edge of the building.
As Johnny's hands balled into loose fists he gestured to Spider-Woman to give him some space. "You're going to want to take a step back."
She stepped back, a slightly bemused look on her face, and Johnny's fists tightened. His whole body tensed up for a moment and then he let out a shout that came from deep within the pit of his stomach. For the first time in months, there was no anguish or self-loathing in his voice.
"FLAME ON!"
There was a sudden whoosh. The flames that came bursting through Johnny's Fantastic Four costume seemed to burn a little brighter than they had done for some time. They whipped around his arms and legs as if they had a life of their own – as if they were willing him to fight on.
Johnny shot MJ an appreciative smile. "Oh and hey, the next time some firebug gives you problems, feel free to swing by the Baxter Building."
With that he sprinted towards the edge of the building and the dove towards the ground. A startled Spider-Woman started after him, watching as the Torch plummeted towards the ground at an alarming speed. Beneath him, the assembled police cars and journalists began to step backwards with fear as it seemed Johnny was destined to land on them.
At the last second, he tore upwards, sending the crowd of onlookers hurtling backwards with shock. After a few moments their shock gave way to a wave of spontaneous applause. Johnny shouted excitedly as he climbed through the air and shot Spider-Woman a thumbs up.
They shared one last friendly glance before Johnny shot off into the distance, his happy whooping echoing through the streets of New York.
I'm still gonna need to have Clark get all salty to Reed about the Silver Surfer.
"Hey, great call with that 'Galactus' stuff. Nearly having my face melted off really opened up my pores. Maybe next you wanna tell me that Toyman is actually king of the mole-people or something?"
Heh, yeah, Reed and Clark should probably have a chat about that at some point.
For some reason I just immediately burst out laughing at this.
I know that it's a natural conclusion for Johnny to make, given his world's history. But for some reason that just came across as the most airheaded Johnny Storm thing that I've ever read.
Kudos, MM.
Thanks, MB.
I thought it was important amid all the PTSD-Johnny to remind people that he's still fundamentally a bit of a goofball – even when he's trying his hardest to be smart. And Henry was gracious enough to allow Johnny to go through the world thinking Gwen was Mary Jane, of course.
(Also, ignore Babs being apart of that gif, because ew. No. Not even in an alternate reality where Bruce somehow isn't a surrogate father figure to her. Fuck that noise.)
I was literally just about to complain about this.
There is no world where a Bruce-Barbara romance doesn't represent anything but the rankest of betrayals.
© 2007-2024