An Un-singed Flower

Chapter 1 - Hey Sue

"S-Sue are you alright?" Janey questions, Susan just came dashing out of both her and Reed's apartment they shared. She was crying, and seemed completely pissed off. Janey had just got home from her last day of junior year at her high school, to come home to this.

She looked at Janey before turning back to the apartment, "FINE! GO AHEAD!"

"Susan.." Janey mumbles, as she marches past her. She glared at her brother through the apartment window, dashing inside the building, apologizing to the manager for the yelling, then she ran up the stairs, unlocking the door. She pulled it open, staring at her brother packing his bags.

"What is this? Why was Sue screaming and crying?" Janey demanded, spreading her arms at the luggage.

"I'm going to college."

"So, how does that explain why Sue was so upset?!" Janey barks, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I broke it off." Reed replies silently. Janey froze, her arms dropping to her sides. The she walked up to him, and bopped him upside the head.

"You broke off you relationship with an amazing girl, for college?! Haven't you heard of multitasking?!", Reed rubbed his head, sighing at his sister.

"She'll be a distraction and I know it." Janey's frown deepened, and she smacked him again.

"Really? You'll think she'll be a distraction? Everyone needs distractions in life."

"But I can't have distractions during my studying, I need to be focused." Janey sighed, sitting down on the bed.

"Sue loves you."

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Janey stood beside Ben, and her brother, staring up at the stupid statue Victor was creating of himself. She was now out high school, graduated college with her brother, since he lagged behind so he could be in her graduating class. Janey was not allowed to bring up Sue, but sometimes it would slip. Her and Ben became close friends, Ben becoming like another brother to her, and now.. they stood staring at such a horrendous statue.

"Typical of Victor Von Doom, to build a thirty foot statue of himself." Ben gripes, raising an eyebrow at the statue. Reed leaned against Janey's short form, placing his elbow on her head.

"Well.. It's obviously aimed at first time visitors to feel smaller, less important." Janey snorts, pushing Reed's arm from her head.

"Then it ain't working." Ben smiles, making Janey smirk, they begin to walk towards the entrance of the building as Ben continues, "Reed,what are we doing here? This guy's fast-food, strip-mall science."

"This wasn't our first stop, in case you forgot NASA. And Victor's not
that bad. He's just a little..." Reed pauses staring at Victor's large statue, "Larger than life."

Janey snorts in amusement, linking arms with Ben, while silently agreeing with Ben himself, Victor had no idea what he was doing, and Janey knew it. The three move past the statue into the sprawling atrium.

"He did finance some of the biggest breakthroughs of this century.", Janey suddenly remembers, unlocking her arm from Ben's.

"You'd never know it." Ben mumbles under his breath with a sarcastic tone.. He motions to a high-tech ORB, showing FOOTAGE of VDI's accomplishments: a safe and clean nuclear facility, the first private Space Station. All images have VICTOR front and center, glad-handling George Bush, Tony Blair, shady International Leaders. The last image is Victor holding the AMERICA'S CUP. "Jesus that too?"