Fantastic Five

Chapter 10

A few more days pass in their quarantine and Johnny's restlessness only grows. He's sitting on the couch watching a motorcross competition on TV when he finally reaches the end of his rope.

"Screw this," he mutters, turning the TV off and throwing the remote down on the couch beside him. He stands up and walks to his room, quickly pulling on his shoes and jacket and,- after a brief hesitation- his fireproof suit under it all. He's halfway out the door again as he makes sure his keys are in the pocket when he stops.

Johnny bites at his bottom lip as he debates with himself before he finally turns and heads for the door to the balcony and a familiar greenhouse.

A blast of hot air hits him when he opens the greenhouse door. It's comforting- maybe more so than it would have been before they got caught in that cosmic storm.

"Isaac?" he calls, squinting like it'll help him see better through all the plants. "Yo, Isaac? I know you're in here."

"Doesn't mean you should be," Isaac calls back from somewhere within the jungle.

Johnny rolls his eyes with a smile and shoves his hands in his jacket pockets. "I'm not gonna touch anything," he promises as he makes his way farther in. "I mean, I'd hate for you to turn Audrey on me."

"Tempting," Isaac admits as he appears from behind a shelf full of gardening supplies. "Fortunately for you, I don't think Audrey's done anything to deserve that."

"Oh, but I have?"

Isaac just sends a pointed look at the ground where one of Johnny's feet is a little too close to a wandering vine for his liking.

Johnny follows his eyes and quickly moves his foot away. "Just testing you," he claims with an innocent smile that fools absolutely no one.

"Don't," Isaac says shortly. Movement at the corner of his eye catches his attention and he turns to see a large string of pearls sitting on a high shelf, vines waving in a nonexistent breeze. "What?"

It doesn't escape Johnny's notice that his voice softens considerably when addressing the plant.

He reaches up with one hand, smiling when the vines curl around his fingers and wrist like a pet who wants attention. His now daily accessory of ivy creeps farther down his arm as if to greet the pod-like leaves.

"You've really got a handle on things, huh?" Johnny asks quietly.

"What?"

"The whole, you know, powers thing. You've got it all figured out."

"I don't know about that," Isaac admits. "I just- it's not really that hard, you know? All I really have to do is listen to them and treat them well."

Johnny chuckles and looks down at his feet for a second. "Yeah. You'd be surprised how many people would find that difficult," he mutters before he shakes his head and refocuses. "Anyway, I came into your little slice of jungle for a reason."

"It's not a-" Isaac cuts himself off with a resigned sigh and gestures for him to go on.

"How would you like to get out of this building with me?"

Isaac stares at him for a long moment. "Johnny, do you know what 'quarantine' means?" he finally asks.

He nods. "I do. Yes. Here's the thing though: I am slowly going crazy being stuck in here," he tells him.

"Well, how far did you have to go?" Isaac asks seriously, smirking when Johnny gives him an unimpressed look.

"Ha," he deadpans. "You're hilarious. Really."