olol1

    Johnny stood outside of the yellow brick building that was Empire State University's main science hall. The building was exactly the same as he remembered it- Johnny had attended the school four years prior, but was forced to quit because of his membership in New York's "first family". He sighed as he walked inside.
        Inside the classroom, the blond took a seat in the middle of the middle row. He only needed a few more credits to earn his degree, and Organic Chemistry was one of the required courses he needed to graduate. As he waited for the professor to arrive, the conversation he had with his brother in law years before. Reed had pressured him to drop out so he could fight the Onslaught. Even though Johnny protested, he obeyed the elder, and ended up being pulled in to his nephew's pocket universe. After being stuck there fore a year, Johnny forgot about his college career, until his niece Valeria was born. Again, Reed pressured him to return to school, telling the young man that he needed to get a real job.
        "You must list substituents on base alkyl group with appropriate numbers. Enclose the whole phrase with parenthesis." The white haired professor looked at his watch. "I'll see you all Wednesday."
         Johnny closed his notes and stood up. He had to return to Four Freedoms Plaza- he promised Sue that he would baby-sit Franklin and Valeria while she and Reed went to dinner for their fifteenth wedding anniversary.
        "Storm!" Johnny stopped and turned around. He rolled his eyes when he realized that his old high school wrestling teammate called for him. "Wait up!" Peter stopped when he was right in front of Johnny.
        "Hey Parker. Listen, I'm..."
        "Aren't you the Human Torch?" Peter butted in.
        "Yeah. Parker, I've really got to go home."
        "Well, I was wondering, could Jubilee study with you tonight? I usually tutor her, but I promised my wife that I'd stay home with her tonight."
        Johnny sighed. "Whatever. Tell her to come to Four Freedoms Plaza tonight around 8."
        Jubilee walked over to the two men. "Can you help me tonight Pete?"
        "Actually, Johnny's going to tutor you. Jubilation Lee, this is Johnny Storm."
        Jubilee jumped up and down as she took Johnny's hands. "Oh my God! Are you the Johnny Storm!?!"
        The blond smiled. "Last time I checked I was." You know, she's kind of cute, in her own way... "Come over at 8 tonight. You do know where Four Freedoms Plaza is, right?"
        "Yeah!" Jubilee waved as she turned to leave. "It's a date!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       "Uncle Johnny," the six-year-old Franklin said as he pulled on his uncle's sleeve. "Can I stay up?"
        Johnny bent down and scooped his nephew up in his arms. "Frankie, it's a school night for both of us. I'm going to bed right after I study." Johnny carried the boy to his room, and set the boy down on his bed. "I want you to rest up. Goodnight." He placed the navy comforter over the boy, then walked out of the room, but made sure that he checked on Valeria as well. The toddler was still asleep, just as he suspected. Just as he walked out of her room, the light on the speaker blinked, and Johnny quickly ran over to it.
        "Who's here?"
        "Jubilee. Can I come up?"
        "Yeah. I'll meet you on the sixth floor."
        Johnny sprinted to the stairs. He was too excited about studying with Jubilee that he forgot flying would be easier, and a lot faster. Even though he had a hard time with commitment, his past relationships all ended badly, Johnny really hoped that he could turn this meeting in to a serious commitment. He needed someone who cared about him like his Alicia did, but that was the past. This could be his future.
        Jubilee stood impatiently waiting for the elevator. She had always had a crush on the Torch. He wasn't the typical mutant or metahuman. He had it all- fame, money, power, and Jubilee wanted all of these. The elevator door opened, and she stepped inside. She didn't want to mess this meeting up.
        As the elevator door opened on the sixth floor, Johnny nervously stood by his couch, staring at her. Jubilee stepped out and walked over to him.
        "Thanks for coming. I really didn't think you would, when you found out where I lived."
        "Actually, I've wanted to meet you for the longest time." Jubilee sat down on the couch.         "How about we get started? Maybe you'll be able to teach this crap to me better than Parker."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       Sue couldn't believe what had happened last night. The night started with her husband and herself going to dinner in a nice little café just outside of Poughkeepsie, and it was going very well, until...
        She shuddered at the thought of the man of fire that came in to the restaurant, screamed, "You will pay for all that you did to me!" then, in front of all the patrons, burned Reed. She yelled to the murderer, trying to stop him, but it was no use. As quickly as he flew in, the imposter Human Torch was gone.
        The man of fire was a mystery to her. She was certain that it wasn't Johnny- he was at home with the kids last night. It couldn't have been her other brother either. Richard's voice was much lower than the attacker's.
        "Johnny? Are you awake?"
        Jubilee awoke at Sue's words. After a few panicked moments of not knowing where she was, she realized that she had spent the night with the one and only Johnny Storm. The small black haired woman leaned over Johnny to kiss his cheek. With her touch, Johnny opened his eyes and smiled.
        "Some woman's calling for you." Jubilee whispered. Johnny rubbed the sleep from his diamond blue eyes, then stood up and walked to the door.
        "What's up sis?" Johnny said as he walked in to the hall wearing his Fantastic Four navy robe. Sue didn't say anything, but grabbed his hands. This first sighting of him after the incident made Susan understand the entire situation. "You're scaring me Sue."
        "Johnny, this won't be easy." She spoke slowly, just like when they were kids. "Last night, while Reed and I were out, he came. He came as you, and..." Sue choked on her sobs. "...and he, he killed Reed."
        "Oh my God." Were the only words Johnny could think of to say in the situation. He was back. That meant that she would be leaving, but if that wasn't bad enough, Reed was dead. And because of the witnesses, there would be a manhunt for Johnny. He grabbed Sue's shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes.
       "We'll figure out something. We always do."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       "You can't work the impossible Mrs. Richards." Spider-Man said as he stood in the lab of the late Reed Richards. "A person's DNA can only be changed so much."
        The doorbell rang, and both Spider-Man and Sue looked at the door.
        "Susan, are you here?" Sue smiled. She recognized the deep voiced woman that was outside of the lab. It was Theresa Richards-White, Reed's younger sister.
        "Come in 'Rees. Your brother wanted me to give you something from his lab." The door slid open, and the short, yet powerful brunette walked inside the lab and hugged her sister-in-law.
        "I can't believe that your brother would do this to mine."
        Sue backed away from Theresa. "Reese, sit down." Theresa obliged, sitting in a high backed wooden chair. "I'm sorry about what happened to Reed, but it's time to move on." As Sue spoke, Spider-Man tied Theresa up with his webbing.
        "Hey!" Theresa screamed as she struggled futily to free herself. "What's up Sue?" The woman stared up in to Sue's diamond blue eyes, hoping to find some sympathy. She didn't. Instead, she saw a malicious woman holding a hypodermic needle filled with some type of drug.
        "I'm sorry about this Rees. It won't hurt a bit."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       Susan Richards, her brother Johnny Storm, who had been arrested by the NYPD earlier in the week, and their friend Ben Grimm all sat in the pressroom at Four Freedoms Plaza. They would make the announcement today, and perhaps the eyes of the world would turn away from the family, if even for just a moment.
        "As you all may know, the press has been saying that my husband, Mr. Fantastic, was murdered last week by the Human Torch. As the stand-in leader of the Fantastic Four, I would like to inform the entire world that the press lied. First, Johnny Storm was in this building at the time of the alleged murder. I have a videotape of him in my daughter's room at that time. Second, Reid Richards is not dead. Reid, come here."
        As Sue finished speaking, Reid walked out on stage, and sat next to Sue. The crowd was silent as they watched.
        "Could you please let my brother-in-law go?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       "That's not possible!" Super Skrull screamed as he destroyed the television with one punch. "I saw Mr. Fantastic die! He can't be alive!" The Skrull growled as he walked back to his room in the transport ship. Inside his room, a beautiful, yet solemn, green skinned woman stood wearing a maternity dress, stood looking out the window towards earth.
        "Es, what's wrong?" She did not dare turn to look at him.
        "He's free, and Richards is alive. We can't continue the operation."
        "Oh. That's too bad." Lyja tried to sound upset, but she wasn't. She was glad that Richards was alive, and more importantly, that Johnny Storm was free. As far as Lyja knew, her home was earth, not some world millions of miles away. Somehow, she would figure out a way to return to her old home on earth, but until then, she would be one of the wives to the monster who was the newest prince of the Skrull.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       The Fantastic Four, along with Franklin, Valeria, and Jubilee all sat at the dinner table in Four Freedoms plaza eating the wonderfully prepared meal that Jubilee had made for them. Everyone was oblivious to the fact that she and Johnny were sitting dangerously close to one another.
        "This is superb Jubs." (pronounced Joobs) Ben stated as he smiled at the black haired woman sitting across from him. She smiled.
        "Thanks Ben." She turned to Sue, who was helping Valeria cut her dinner into smaller pieces. "That was some great stunt you pulled Sue. I sure couldn't pull that one off."
        Susan just smiled at her. "I've learned quite a few things in my time here."
        Jubilee turned back to Johnny, who nodded to her, then pulled a bottle out of her yellow trench coat.
        "Jubilee and I have come to a decision today." Everyone but Valeria turned to Johnny.   "Jubilee and I are getting married, since we are going to have a child." Sue turned to Reid, who just shrugged. "Neither of us wants the baby to know that she is different, so we're going to move in to our own apartment. Oh, and Ben, drink this."
        The Thing took the bottle and guzzled the contents. In an instant, the brutish rock skinned Thing became the pilot he was in his younger days.
        "Will you all respect our wishes?"
         Everyone, including Johnny, stared at this X-Man who wanted him or her to give up everything that they had worked so hard to create. Reid glanced at Sue, and then shrugged his shoulders.
        "Whatever it takes you two. Good luck."