Twin Fire Signs ✓

Chapter 11

I'm walking past a bar and I can see flames shooting all the way up to the ceiling. Is he really this stupid? I go to pay the cover charge but the bouncer waves me in. "No charge for the Phoenix." He says. I nod in thanks and make my way inside.

The place is crowded and I struggle to get downstairs to where the main bar is. The crowd parts as they realize who I am, as corny as that sounds. I see Johnny. I see Johnny flirt with some girl, some girl who clearly has a boyfriend. "Is that what you do? Bar tricks, stealing chicks?" The boyfriend asks.

Johnny steals one of their shots before lighting the drink in the boyfriend's hand on fire. He goes to drop it but I quickly grab the flames, putting out the drink and bringing everybody's attention to me. "Are you stupid?" I yell.

"What are you doing? You could've burned somebody!" The girlfriend says. I walk over to their table.

"Are you both ok?" They nod. "I'm really sorry." She smiles at me.

"It's not your job to control him." No but boy did it sometimes feel like it. She turns to Johnny, "You know, if I had your powers I'd be doing something with it, not wasting my time doing cheap tricks in bars." She says before leaving, a group of girls following them out.

Johnny looks around, watching as everyone turns their backs to him. He makes his way through the crowd towards the exit. I follow.

"Still think they love you?" I ask as he stands outside the entrance.

"Why are you following me like some obsessed fan?" He asks, annoyed.

"Believe me, I wish I didn't keep running into you tonight. Fate seems to have other plans for us though."

"I don't really need this right now."

"What you need, is a good swift kick in the nuts for that stunt you just pulled. Maybe two or three for the other two incidents today in which I had to watch you throw yourself at other women and them do the same to you." I say, giving him a look. "But that won't make me feel better."

"It won't?"

"No because in spite of the horrible shit you put me through over the last twenty four hours, I'm still your friend."

"Why?"

"Because I know not many people stick by you when you make mistakes. So I'm going to swallow my own feelings and pride and be here for you."

"Jackie, I'm..."

I cut him off, "Please don't apologize. We both know you don't actually mean it, at least not in the way I need you to."

"Jackie, please. I know I fucked up. I shouldn't have said what I did at the arena."

"And what about you and your friends in the limo? I slept with you for weeks but as soon as you were able to get out into the 'real world' again I wasn't good enough anymore." I sigh. "Maybe I can't do this. Maybe us being friends isn't a good idea. Maybe we need some time away from each other."

"That's not what I want."

"But it's what I need. I need you to either pick me and be with only me or I need some time away." Before he could give me an answer we saw the skyline light up. It was coming from the Baxter Building. We look at each other and take off running.

🔥🔥🔥

We run back into the lab and all the light are out. "Sue!" Johnny yells.

"Johnny, Jackie! The machine worked! Give me a hand. Come on." We run over and there's Ben Grimm. completely human again.

"Get his arm." She tells Johnny while I go to grab a chair. Of course there aren't any chairs. Reed is a horrible interior decorator. 

"You alright Ben? Here, set him down on the step." I instruct them. 

"What happened big guy? I leave you for five minutes..." Johnny says.

"The machine. Vic used it on himself. He was affected by the cloud like us."

"Ben, where's my brother?" I ask, panic working its way into my voice as I looked around and couldn't find any sign of him.

"Vic must have taken him." We look up and see a giant hole in the windows on the second level. Sue, Johnny and I step outside, trying to see if we can find Reed.

We turn as we hear a high pitch squeal and see a missile hearing our way. Johnny and I quickly come to the conclusion it's heat seeking and we're the hottest things here. "Oh no." we say in unison. We both look over the edge, seeing how far up we are.

"We gotta get out of here." Sue says.

"I've got an idea." Johnny says, rubbing his hands together, trying to pump himself up. 

"Don't even think about it!" I warn him. 

"Never do." He says before quickly kissing me and throwing himself off the side of the building. 

"What are you doing?!" I yell at him.

"Johnny, no!" yells Sue as we both run to the edge, watching him fall. The missile turns at the last second, following him down the building, where at the last second, he engulfs in flames and take off.

Just as we breathe a sigh of relief we hear another one fire. "Oh come on! You've gotta be shitting me!" I yell. I quickly turn towards Sue. "Find my brother!" I follow Johnny's example and jump off the side of the building and lighting myself on fire, following the tail smoke from Johnny's rocket.

I fly through the city, ducking and dodging around buildings. I see Johnny shoot up a stream of flames and his missile chase it. I'm right behind him and I do the same, both of us extinguishing the fire and free-falling out of the sky before the missiles catch back onto our heat signatures and begin to follow us again. "We need to think of something fast!" I yell to him as we go over the Hudson.

"I know! Come on, think!" We both see a garbage barge. 

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" I ask him. He nods and we both shoot flames at the ship, lighting the trash on fire, filling the air with the most god-awful smell and hiding in the flames as the missiles hit, shooting us out the other side and into the water.