#interdimensional

You have always had a plan.

Graduate high school. Go to college. Get good grades. Graduate with honors. Get your dream job. Become successful. Help people. Be happy.

Every single thing you did - each club and extracurricular, every class and internship - was but a piece in a meticulous puzzle you had created to keep your life on track so that you could become the best version of yourself. The most successful, the most recognized, the most happy. 

But lately…

Lately, life hadn’t been going how you’d planned at all. 

The post-graduation job market had been an abysmal hell-hole to put it in civilized terms. While all of your friends went off to high paying jobs and consistent nine-to-fives straight out of college, you were stuck working part time shifts at two restaurants, a bar, and a hair salon just to be able to afford to pay your portion of the rent for a dingy apartment with two other roomates with equal deadend jobs and stopped out dreams. You could see them posting about trips to Europe and buying houses and affording another luxury bag while you were counting your pennies trying to see if you had enough money for the subway home and dinner that night. 

You tried to keep your chin up, to keep chugging along as you applied to every museum, laboratory, company, and research facility that had any position you could remotely gaslight others into believing you were qualified for. But it was hard. Life was hard. And it had a way of reminding you it played favorites.

The wail of pop music over bass-heavy speakers clogged your ears, squeezing your head like the sounds were trying to make lemonade with your brain. Giving a small shake of your head, you brought yourself back to reality and tried to smile as your friends popped a fresh bottle of champagne with a giddy squeal. Their smiles etched lines into their faces and lighting up the table under the dim lighting of the all-too-expensive restaurant your friend Annika had chosen for her simultaneous birthday and promotion celebration dinner. She’d just been offered partner at a law firm, one of the youngest lawyers in the city to earn a position like that. 

You watched from your seat as Annika posed and your friends took turns snapping pictures. They all looked stunning, healthy, and well rested in tailored blazers and silk dresses that were probably worth more than your entire savings account. 

Annika, with her sleek dark hair and beautiful green eyes, had gotten a job at a firm right after law school and had been working there ever since. Your friend Meg was an x-ray tech at the big hospital off Madison Ave, making plenty of money to afford a solo apartment in the Upper East Side while only working four days a week. And Gigi had just become the curator of one of the biggest, most prestigious art museums in the city. All of them - your girls, as you fondly referred to them - were on the up and up. 

A small, proud smile creeped onto your lips as you took a sip of your water (it was the only drink you could afford off the menu tonight). 

It wasn’t like you weren’t proud of them, of course you were. They had all accomplished their dreams, goals they had planned since college and went after with a fierce determination. They’d all known exactly what they wanted out of life and had pushed themselves to achieving it by any means necessary.

But you? You hadn’t remotely known what you wanted, always having ideas and passions that were snuffed out by close minded family members and life-drained mentors that wanted someone else to join in on their misery. So you went to school and got a degree in communications with a minor in business because that was what your advisor told you would give you the most options in the job market. 

You wished you could tell her how wrong she’d been. How you still had no direction, no financial security, no passion for anything in life. And now everyone around you seemed to be moving forward, moving on, leaving you behind in the dust. Alone and forgotten. Again. 

As your friends took their seats again and everyone settled down, Annika sighed and began pouring out champagne. “Okay, okay,” she started, “enough about me! What’s going on with all of you lately? Gigi, girl, I am dying to know how things are going with Jason right now!”

Gigi gladly received a glass of golden bubbly liquid from Annika as she tried hiding a coy smile. Tucking a piece of her short, shaggy brown pixie cut behind her ear, she said, “Well, I was gonna wait to tell you guys until later because I didn’t want to ruin Annika’s big night, but…” 

Gigi pulled the sleeve that was bunched up around her left hand down to reveal a glittering silver band and a fat diamond that could easily pay your rent for three years perched on her ring finger.

“We’re getting married!” she exclaimed.

The table erupted into gasps of excitement, everyone clamoring to stand up and get a closer look at the rock on her finger. Your blood ran cold and jaw went slack with shock, like someone had slapped you and then strapped an ice pack to your face. 

Why you were surprised, you didn’t really know. From all the times you and Gigi had talked (which, admittedly, had gotten less and less frequent the past few months) she had known that Jason was the one for her and she was just waiting for him to pop the question. But still, there was another pang in your chest, as if the universe had decided to remind you of yet another milestone you had failed to reach and were behind on accomplishing. 

Plastering a smile on your face, you reached out and examined Gigi’s ring, complimenting its shine and how Jason must have spent ages trying to find it.

“It’s perfect,” you said, leaning back. “Seriously Gi, it’s so you.”

Gigi scrunched her nose playfully. “Isn’t it? Honestly I wasn’t even worried because he knows me so well that I knew whatever ring he chose I would love. I mean, he even knows that the only socks I buy are the Hanes brand on sale.” 

You feigned a laugh, clasping your hands together and squeezing to control your emotions. 

You turned to Meg, who was on her third Cosmopolitan. The colorful pink liquid perfectly matched the shade of the blazer she was wearing. “How about you Meg, what’s going on with you?”

Meg set down her glass and tossed one of her long red curls over her shoulder. “I mean, the hospital is pretty much the same as it always is. Tons of patients and not enough staff, but I just get to chill out in my little corner with my machines so I’m good. Jessica and I are still going strong, though we’re definitely not ready for something like marriage yet.” She laughed and Gigi playfully stuck out her tongue in retaliation. 

“But yeah,” she continued. “Other than that, nothing new. Oh! I do have a trip to Italy planned next month. Jess and I are going to Florence for our anniversary.”

“Aww,” Annika cooed. “Florence is beautiful this time of year. I remember when I went over this time last year with my family it was the perfect temperature the entire trip. And the architecture - ah! Jess is gonna love it.”

Meg nodded, her lips curling up at the thought of her girlfriend. “Yeah, she’s really excited.” Suddenly, she turned to you, placing a hand on your forearm and locking her eyes with yours. “Wait a minute… you haven’t told us anything about your life since we got here! You need to tell us anything and everything right now. Spill.”

In that moment, dread became a cat digging its claws into the ball of yarn that was your mind. 

All of your friends had stopped talking, each of them now looking at you with expectant eyes, hoping for you to add to their excitement. 

You hadn’t seen them in ages - four months to be exact. And since then each of them had somehow managed to level up their already great lives while you stayed in the same shameful rut that plagued you day in and day out. 

Should you tell them the truth? The unmasked, disgusting and depressing reality you lived that would certainly bring down the mood and sour the many celebrations they had shared with you? Or could you possibly make up some kind of elaborate story of how you had accomplished so much and were absolutely killing it in every aspect of your life now?

Calm down. Everything is fine. Remember how much you love them. They won’t judge you. 

As long as you kept your mind from unraveling and stayed in control of your thoughts and feelings, then you were fine.

At least that’s what you keep telling yourself.

Clearing your throat, you let your eyes flit to each of them. All of them were now leaning on the table towards you, listening with open ears and hungry anticipation. 

You let out a nervous breath. 

“Well… I- uh… I’m pretty much just doing the same thing. Waitressing, working at the bar during nights and the salon most mornings.”

“Oh,” Meg replied, not even bothering to hide her disappointment. Annika shot her a look. 

“Have you at least managed to find your own place?” Gigi asked hopefully. 

You shook your head and ran a finger around the rim of your water glass. “Uh, no… nope. Everything is way too expensive right now, so I’m still, uh… still with the roomies.”

“Okay, then what about your love life?” Meg pressed. “You have to have someone you’re seeing, right? Any juicy one night stands or meet-cute moments to share?”

Your other hand gripped tightly at your pants, the black ones you had specifically purchased from the sale rack to try and look halfway decent tonight but had paled in comparison to your friends’ outfits. Just like everything else seemed to in your life.

Through grit teeth, you answered. “No, not seeing anyone either. Kind of hard to when you’re working non-stop every day to make ends meet.”

Meg sat back in her seat and let out a low whistle. “Damn, that sucks man. I would hate to be you.”

“Meg,” Annika warned.

“What?” she retaliated. “I just meant that it sucks she has to work so much!”

“Yeah, but it’s the way you said it,” Gigi replied, shaking her head. 

“But it’s the truth!” Meg exclaimed. The three of them went back and forth, arguing lightly as you sat silently. 

The walls felt like they were closing in on you, the music dulling over the deafening sound of your heartbeat thumping in your head. Suddenly that ball of yarn was starting to come loose. 

Your friends’ bickering cut through the noise, the three of them talking loudly over each other until your voice projected through the air.

“Enough!” you said, the sharp edge in your voice jolting them back away from each other and shutting them up. 

“Meg’s right,” you continued, ignoring the pin pricks of tears at the back of your eyes. “She’s right. She would hate to be me because my life sucks. I work four dead end jobs that don’t even cover my finances, live with two roommates that do nothing but work and drink and clean and then work again like mindless zombies that are waiting to infect me too.” 

Your voice was rising now like a tsunami tide overtaking the shore. 

“I haven’t been on a date since college - and frankly I don’t think I’d like to given the dating pool that’s left for perpetually lonely singles who are too busy to even take a night off to grab a drink with someone.  I have no hobbies, no passions, no goals, and no purpose in life, and I’m sitting here with three people who are supposed to be my closest friends, but who feel like complete strangers to me. I mean, I know I’m a loser - believe me, I’m reminded of it every single day - but being here and hearing all of the great things happening to you guys and then feeling like I’m being judged like a local pariah because of the way my life has panned out only makes it worse. My life is complete and utter shit and… and it’s no one’s fault but mine!”

It took you a second to realize that the whole restaurant had seemed to come to a standstill due to your outburst. Dozens of eyes stayed locked on you and your table as you slumped into your seat.

Your friends’ stared at you, jaws hanging open and eyes nearly popping out of their sockets with shock. Whether it was surprise at the level of your voice, the content of what you had said, or the fact that you were being completely honest with them, you weren’t sure. And now? Now you were so completely and utterly mortified that you didn’t want to stay and find out.

Reaching into your purse, you dug out a crumpled twenty dollar bill and tossed it on the table, sniffing in an attempt to keep yourself from breaking down in tears right then and there. You hoped it would be enough to cover the small appetizer you’d ordered that had yet to make it to the table, and the tap water the restaurant charged two dollars for. 

“I’m sorry, I… I have to go.”

And with that you excused yourself and hurried away from the table, out the door and into the city air, the welcoming caress of the wind gently brushing away the tears pouring down your face.

⟢

It was after midnight when you finally crawled into bed. Ten subway stops and several blocks of walking all while hungry and emotionally drained had taken a toll on you. You hadn’t even gotten to eat your vegetable spring rolls before your outburst, and your stomach grumbled in protest to being denied. 

Your crumpled sheets and tear stained pillow case welcome you like a warm hug, which was more affection and comfort than you’d received in years. Not since…

Staring down at your phone screen, your thumb hovered above the keyboard in your chatroom with Annika. You wanted to say something, anything that would allow you to apologize for ruining her night with your misfortune, but finding the words was hard. 

So you settled for simple, like how your friendship had always been. 

I’m so sorry for my outburst. I hope I didn’t ruin things for you tonight.

A few minutes passed before Annika’s chat bubble appeared to tell you she was typing. In a matter of seconds, your phone buzzed with a response.

don’t worry about it, babes. I would’ve crashed out too if Meg had said that to me. Your outburst was justified lol

You smiled. Annika had always been understanding to a fault. 

She was typing again. Your phone buzzed.

but seriously, are you doing okay? I know we haven’t talked much bc of work and life and stuff but you seemed really upset about everything

you know I’m always here to talk if you need

You bit your lip as you slowly typed out a response, hesitant to tell her any more than what you had revealed earlier. 

I’m struggling, I’m ngl. 

kind of feels like the universe has some kind of vendetta against me, ‘cause no matter how many jobs I apply to, I continue to get rejected. I must’ve applied to sixty openings this month alone and just… nothing 

There was a moment of silence after you sent the text. One where you didn’t hear your roommates’ snoring or the blaring sound of the train down the street from your window. Just the quiet hum of the earth like it was trying to lull you into a calm. 

Another buzz sounded from your phone.

I’m not really supposed to do this, but one of our clients mentioned that their company was looking for another secretary. 

I know it’s kind of just like a glorified receptionist or assistant job, but it’s good pay. Like “fuck you and your family” type of pay. I emailed them your resume when I got home, hope you don’t mind :-\ 

Underneath her text, she’d sent you a link to a website. Clicking on it, the link opened up to an article about a science and technology institute that you’d never heard of, but obviously had some serious influence given the photos of clientele on their page. 

You typed the institute’s name into the search bar, going to their website and finding their “jobs” tab easily. Without hesitating, you clicked apply, filled out the form, attached your resume, and hit submit. 

Your thumbs moved quickly over the screen as you responded to Annika two simple words.

thank you <3

Maybe it wouldn’t pan out, maybe you would get rejected again. But at least it was a step in the right direction. And someone had actually listened to you. 

You threw your phone to the side and turned off your light, burrowing under the covers and drifting off to the strong, steady sound of your heart beating, alone.

⟢

Johnny knew he shouldn’t complain, but sometimes being a member of the Fantastic Four and one of the most well-known people on Earth came with drawbacks.

Of course it had its perks, oftentimes more than he really needed, in fact. Like when his coffee order would be “on the house” on account of saving the world or he would get out of a speeding ticket while driving the Fantasticar because the officer assumed he was responding to a threat and not that he was trying to go supersonic because he had forgotten to go and pick Sue up from a meeting somewhere downtown. 

But it also came with endless meetings and appearances. The constant photoshoots and interviews piled up between training sessions and dealing with crime and danger across the world (and seeing as he was the only one who could fly of the Fantastic Four, he was always the first to respond) left him exhausted most days, but one thankful praise from a bystander or excited squeal from a child who caught him on the street was enough to make him set his feelings aside for his work.

His personal life, however? Completely different story.

In the rare pockets of free time he found throughout his weeks, he tried to live a normal every day life. Running errands, taking Franklin to daycare or playdates when Sue and Reed were too swamped to leave the Baxter Building, making time for his hobbies and attempting to go to the new jazz club that had opened up recently. But he was always met with someone who wanted an autograph or a picture or for him to light their cigarette with his finger. And while he didn’t mind - he never minded when it came to his fans - it did usually end up blowing his cover for the rest of the day until he was forced to return home to the confines of his room.

Dating was an entirely different beast, and pretty much a nonexistent part of his life. Before the accident, before the radiation storm and the powers and creation of the Fantastic Four, he was just Johnny Storm. A scientist, a nerd obsessed with space and always ready to follow his sister and friends into a new adventure.

When he suddenly found himself able to turn himself into a living flamethrower, that all changed. Almost overnight, he had become a heartthrob, the guy teenage girls had posters of in their bedrooms and convinced themselves he would fall in love with them at first sight. He was wanted by everyone, like an intriguing piece of priceless artwork at an auction for millionaires. Always coveted and never for the right reasons.

He’d tried dating. Multiple times, yet every single one ended in disaster.

There was the interviewer from the New Yorker that had batted her eyelashes and feigned interest, only to be more concerned in getting information on his personal life for her articles than getting to know him. Then there was that girl from the bakery on 32nd who was only seeing him so that she would get his endorsement of her shop having the best black and white cookies in New York (to which Johnny very honestly replied that it was Maisie’s Delicatessen that boasted the best black and white cookies in the city). And then there was the girl he had met in the park one early morning while out for a stroll. Someone who had been sweet and kind and seemingly perfect until she invited him to her apartment and he was bombarded with a shrine decorated with millions of pictures of his face from every possible angle. And that wasn’t even mentioning the quick unrequited feelings he thought he had for the silver space woman that had nearly helped destroy Earth last year. 

So yes, being a superhero was great most of the time, but dating while being one was not for the faint of heart. Sometimes the cons of having your face plastered on billboards and magazines and everyone wanting to know an inside piece of your life far outweighed the benefits.

Today was a perfect reminder of that.

Johnny huffed as he followed Reed and Sue off the stage, pulling at the collar of his blue and white suit in frustration. He swore being on soundstages and under the TV show lights made the suits ten times more uncomfortable than they really were.

Ben trailed behind him as he handed off his mic and waved goodbye to a few of the sound people backstage. Another day, another interview done for the good people of New York.

“Johnny, wait up!” Ben called, his clunky feet shaking the floor as he jogged up from behind. 

Johnny slowed, not particularly wanting to given the playful lilt of Ben’s voice but obliging anyway. He was far too tired to argue. Practically all morning, he’d been by 72nd street helping the fire department with various fires that had started due to faulty wiring in the buildings. The old dry wood and ventilation systems were so outdated that a single spark from inside the walls had caused an entire building to go up in flames.

Then he’d zipped over to 93rd where he sat in back to back meetings with the mayor of New York and Mole Man to discuss how the people of Subterranea could get equal access to education below ground (and for them to stop popping up in the middle of the streets through the sewer drains). Johnny had taken insult after insult from the latter the entire time. 

Johnny’s body rocked as Ben gave him a pat on the back. He pointed his rock-ridden thumb behind the two of them towards the sound stage.

“You know,” Ben began with a sly smile. “That PA assistant was really checking you out during the show.” He nudged Johnny’s shoulder with his own. “You should go ask her out, man.”

Johnny side eyed him, “She was literally wearing a Human Torch lanyard, so… no.”

Ben rolled his eyes and groaned. “You are never going to find someone if you don’t let this whole “she can’t know who I am or anything about me or be obsessed with me because she might be a crazy stalker” thing go.”

Johnny reeled around to his (literally) hard faced friend. Pinching his brow with a gloved hand, he said, “Do you not remember how that Lynn girl literally had an entire shrine dedicated to me in her house? She tried to cut off a piece of my hair to put in her locket!”

“Yeah, but that was one time,” Ben replied, throwing an arm around Johnny’s shoulder. Johnny shot him a look and Ben immediately retracted his arm put his hands up in defense.

“Listen, all I’m saying is it’s not gonna be easy to find someone who doesn’t know who you are. And them knowing you may not be a bad thing! I mean, Rachel knew who I was when we met, but she didn’t treat me any differently than anyone else. It’s not like your perfect girl is gonna fall from the sky or something.”

Johnny threw another glare Ben’s way as he strode past him and out the back door. Sue and Reed were by the Fantasticar, talking in low tones to while they stared into each other’s eyes. Reed leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to Sue’s lips, the two of them smiling as they pulled apart in a blissful state of love.

On any other day, Johnny probably would’ve made some sarcastic comment, pretended to shield his eyes and tell them he was scarred for life. But today, it just made the dull ache for companionship in his chest grow stronger. Most days he could fill it up by seeing kids dressed up as the Human Torch on the playground or hearing the sounds of his Flaming Hearts Fanclub screaming his name as he flew over the streets in a fiery blaze. And yet somehow with every day that passed it was getting harder and harder to rely on his tried and true methods.

Reed moved to open the passenger side of the Fantasticar for Sue, offering his hand to help her climb in. Ever the gentleman.

As she buckled her seatbelt, Sue called back to Johnny and Ben over her shoulder.

“Reed and I have to go pick up Franklin from the daycare center. Will you two be alright to get home?”

Ben nodded. “Yeah, I was planning to go see Rachel anyways and help her out with an event she’s planning. Maybe go for a walk afterwards, get some dinner together. I probably won’t be back until after dark.”

Sue smiled. She’d been overjoyed to see that Ben had finally found someone. Coming back to Earth after the accident had been the hardest on him in particular.

Her blue eyes moved to Johnny, who was still standing there on the sidewalk lost in thought.

“Johnny, you okay to get home?”

Johnny’s gaze flicked to her sister, a sense of knowing on her face like she could read his mind and see that he was struggling with something.  Johnny still didn’t understand how she was able to do that.

He threw his shoulders back, plastering on a fake, charming smile and giving her a thumbs up. 

Sue turned around in her seat, tapping Reed’s hand gently before the two of them shot off in the car down Main Street. 

Ben was already making his way down the street to make his way towards Rachel’s school, and Johnny was left on the sidewalk, alone with only himself and his thoughts to keep him company. 

But he couldn’t keep thinking about things that seemed too far out of reach for him. There was no point to it. So, he ignited himself into flames and did the one thing he was certain he could do.

Fly. 

⟢

Four weeks and five interviews later and you’d officially landed the job as the new secretary at the United Change Foundation, a subsidiary of what used to be Stark Industries created after the Blip that focused on developing new technology that would help serve the greater good of the world. 

Around two weeks had passed since your first day, and you were finally settling into the rhythm of things. Even though it wasn’t much more than a glorified assistant job to your boss Helen, the higher pay, steady hours, and consistent sleep schedule you were getting in return more than made up for it. 

You’d just finished all of the morning’s paperwork - mostly filing licenses, scholarship grants, research notices - when you stood up to take your thirty minute lunch break. Your stomach growled with a ravenous hunger, and you thought about the sandwich you had packed yourself last night waiting for you in your bag. Right as you were about to put up your “gone fishing” sign on your desk to indicate your break time, your boss walked up to your desk. 

Helen was an older woman, tall and thin and ever imposing with her sharp lines and cat-like stare. She ran the majority of the Foundation and would’ve been considered CEO if Pepper Potts didn’t already have that spot claimed. 

She plopped a thick binder and pen down on the top of your desk, sucking at her teeth and glancing at you with narrowed eyes. Helen pointed at you, then the binder, then turned. 

Over her shoulder, she offered no other explanation to her unexpected appearance besides a curt and cold:

“Follow me.”

⟢

You followed the clicking sound of Helen’s heels down the hallway into an area that read RESTRICTED: APPROVED PERSONNEL ONLY  in large red letters. 

“Normally I would ask Adelaide or Nathan to do this,” Helen called, her head held high like a swan looking over the water. “But, since both of them are out this week and there’s quite literally no one else with the free time to do it, I am offering you the opportunity to sit in on a consultation.”

The two of you came to a set of sliding metal doors, industrial grade and obviously built for the highest possible security. She swiped her badge on the raised key pad next to them, then put her eye up to a small camera imbedded into the wall that scanned her retina. After it recognized her in the system, it lit up with a soft green glow and the door slid open. Helen stepped through without hesitation, waving at you behind her back to follow her. You scrambled through the door as it began to close, barely getting both your feet across the threshold before it snapped shut behind you. 

Well, you thought, guess my lunch break is going to have to wait.

As you jogged to catch up, Helen began rattling off things to you about the meeting. 

“It’s just an investor meeting, so nothing too big. We have a team of scientists showing their prototype to some of the richest people in the world. If we get the right backing, they can continue their work and we can continue to make a difference.”

The two of you walked down a hallway, took a sharp left around a corner, and continued walking as you passed in front of a panel of glass windows looking into what seemed to be an experimental engineering lab 

It was sterile and clean looking, bright white fluorescents beating down like the Sun through a magnifying glass. Black-topped tables had been pushed to the edges of the room, notebooks and paper sheets and metal pieces and wires littering the tops like confetti on a birthday cake. In the center of the room, you could see a large cylindrical device hooked up to several tubes and power sources. It stood taller than most of the engineers working on it, and seemed like it would be big enough to fit a human inside. Your mind itched with curiosity. It got the better of you before you could stop yourself.

“What is that?” you asked, eyes studying the contraption intently. You’d never been super into sciences or maths, but something about them fascinated you from time to time. 

Helen stopped short and turned abruptly on her heel to face you, her sleek black bob slicing through the air like a knife with perfect aim around her jawline. 

“Your job,” she pointed at you, “is to stay quiet, take notes, and make sure the investors have everything they need. That means, no questions, no remarks. Not even a sniffle or cough, do you understand?” 

Her steel gray eyes narrowed at you as she lowered her tone. “Once you step through those doors, you are invisible, got it? Anything you hear in this meeting cannot be talked about anywhere outside of these four walls. Else there will be… consequences.” 

She gave you an icy once over, like she was suddenly Miranda Priestly evaluating your poor fashion choices instead of asking you not to reveal top-secret confidential information to the public. 

No pressure.

“Have I made myself clear?”

You swallowed a lump in your throat. Being trusted to be involved in something this high profile so early on was a massive step for you. Maybe if you did well, this moment could accelerate your career and catapult you into the future you had originally planned for yourself. 

Helen didn’t wait for you to answer - not like you had a choice in what she told you to do around here. She punched a code into the keypad on the door before pushing it open, and the only thing you could do was follow her into the fire. 

⟢

You tried to keep your calm as you jotted down notes in the binder that Helen had given you earlier. Three of the world’s wealthiest people were standing in the same room as you, a group of engineers in a nearby observation room, listening to two geniuses talk about the device they had made.

They called it the Inter-Dimensional Energy Accelerator. It was based off of schematics made by Tony Stark and the Avengers to create the time machine that allowed them to save the world again after the Blip.

Well, not the whole world. 

The engineers said it had taken them years to develop, especially after losing so many brilliant minds and resources post-Blip and post-recovery. They theorized that it would help not only with interdimensional travel to assess any possible threats and look for new valued resources (particularly strong, versatile metals like vibranium or adamantium), but it could allow for advanced space travel and teleportation within the known world as well.

Frankly, it all sounded like an optimistic fantasy to you. How could a machine possibly transport you to another plane of existence? And yet, part of you wanted it to be true, wanted it to work so that maybe one day you could transport yourself to a completely different world and start over from scratch. As crazy as it sounded, maybe that was your best option.

You’d been jammed up against a cluttered corner next to stacks of boxes full of unused supplies, trying to keep your balance as you tried perching on one of them to rest your feet. You still hadn’t gotten used to wearing heels to work every day. Beside your shoulder, you could see the rest of the engineers and technicians on the other side of a protective observation glass, going through papers and watching hopefully.

Looking up from your binder, you watched carefully as the engineers showed the investors the outside hull of the machine.

“Our theory,” said one of the engineers, a young woman named Martha with long dreadlocks pulled up high above her head, “is that our equations mixed with Stark’s schematics would allow us to complete a successful transfer of energy across dimensions without involving any temporal anomalies. Basically dimensional travel without traveling backwards or forwards in time.”

She moved in front of a prototype, a smaller version of the machine behind her and pointed to a screen. 

“We’ve already completed trial runs, with live subjects. Mostly rats, mice, a few bunnies as well. We have been able to track each object to a different plane beyond our own dimension and back. And their vitals, genetic makeup, brain patterns - everything that we know about them has stayed the same.” Martha’s dark eyes were blazing bright in scientific wonder. “We could start human trials at any point.”

The woman next to Helen, the one with stark gray hair and dark eyes, spoked up. 

“And how long do you expect those will take, exactly?” She asked. The files in the binder had named her as Catherine Lannister, the heiress of one of the largest oil companies in the world. “This is something we should be putting to use immediately.”

Martha took her glasses off and cleaned them on the hem of her jacket. “Well, that depends,” she began. “First we would need to find volunteers, put them through training to make sure their bodies could withstand any possible malfunctions. Then we would have to do at least three rounds, making sure they come back without any abnormalities. Then we would have to finalize-”

“How about a demonstration?” said the another investor. You looked down, finding his picture in the corner of your paper above the name Jay Bakshi - Private Equity Investor. 

“Of course,” the engineer next to Martha said. “The prototypes are all geared up and ready to-”

“No, no,” Jay responded. He pointed a thin finger at the I.D.E.A. machine. “That one. I want to know that the thing I’m investing in actually works before I throw my money at a bunch of post-grads tinkering around in a basement lab. Besides, you said you could start human trials at any moment, right?”

Martha let out a nervous laugh, wringing her hands. “With all due respect, the Accelerator has not gone through the proper checklist yet. Starting it up could potentially put all of our safety at risk. Not to mention, we still need to add the stabilizers on and-”

Helen shot her a glare, mouthing something that looked like “shut up and do it” from your perspective. 

Martha smiled, muttering a “right, okay,” before moving around to a switchboard on the side of the room. Its wires ran out from the back of the board and across the vinyl floor before disappearing into the metal machine. She let out a breath before pressing a few buttons and flipping a switch.

The investors craned their heads to watch, the lights dimming briefly before the I.D.E.A. machine hummed to life. You could barely see the inside of the cylinder through the small pane of glass imbedded into the door, but you could make out a faint glow building up inside of it. 

Holy shit. Maybe it isn’t such a fantasy after all.

Helen and the investors looked on in interest before a sharp, metallic screech pierced through the air followed by a blaring pattern.

The alarm was deafening in your ears, and you dropped your binder and clasped your hands over your head in an attempt to quell the sound. The once stark fluorescents above your head had switched off, and dark red ones blazed over you now instead like you had stepped into the entrance of an underground nightclub. A robotic voice sounded over the speaker system.

“Warning.”

Something chilled in your veins, blood turning icy. 

“What is all this?” one of the investors, a man you recognized as Todd Stein, a billionaire tech mogul from California, said. “What the hell is going on? I thought you said it was ready for human testing!”

Helen stepped in front of them, clasping her hands and speaking in a reassuring tone. “I’m sure this is just a minor hiccup with the machine, nothing to worry about. Martha and her team will get it up and running in no time, right Martha?”

The engineer didn’t say anything, just frantically began pressing things on the switchboard as her assistant moved around the hull of the contraption, trying anything to see if it would help stop the warning signals going off.

The I.D.E.A. machine rumbled, its exterior beginning to smoke slightly. Martha said something into the walkie-talkie on her wrist. You turned to see the engineers in the observation room rushing about, grabbing anything they could before rushing out the door and into the hallway. One of them locked eyes with you as he grabbed a notebook, his face numbed with fear. He said something into his own walkie talkie.

Your head whipped around to Helen, now holding her own walkie talkie up to her ear as she faced everyone.

“Everyone out. Now.”

Helen moved to press her thumb to the door lock, the key pad humming as the hydraulics opened up with a whoosh. 

Martha and the other engineers scrambled to grab schematics, supplies, and the prototypes in a haste. Every time you tried to move from your corner, someone moved in front of you to grab something. You could see Helen guiding the investors out, yelling to Martha and the rest, “Hurry! The door will lock any second!”

They all rushed out like a pack of ants trying to escape a rainstorm, and you moved quickly to follow. It was difficult to see in the darkened room, and the door was all the way on the other side, far from where you had been relegated during the meeting. You tried carefully stepping across the room, careful not to catch yourself on anything. The last assistant engineer had just made it through the door and was beginning to shut it. You rushed forward, desperate to get out while you still could, calling out to them to wait. But it was like no one heard you. Like you were completely invisible and forgotten to them even though you had been in the room the whole time. 

If you could just get a little closer, enough to get your hand on the door to push it back open-

Your foot caught on a wire that hadn’t been taped down to the floor, your already unsteady legs twisting around until you collapsed on the ground. The door in front of you snapped shut with a deafening click. 

Springing up from your spot, you slammed yourself against the glass windows, banging your fists furiously against them until you were sure they were shaking.

“Hey!” you screamed loud enough for them to hear. “I’m stuck! Get me out of here, please!”

Beyond the glass, you could make out Helen’s piercing gaze trained on you, a look of absolute horror on her face as she stood there, hand twitching at her side like it was debating whether or not it should detach from her body and unlock the door for you. The investors and engineers ran down the hallway in a panicked sprint, shouting and clambering around one another to get to safety. Helen squeezed her eyes shut as she turned and ran after them, not even bothering to look back in your direction. 

As their forms disappeared around the corner, your banging became more frantic, a mirror of your heartbeat starting to stutter erratically in your chest. 

“No. No, no, no, no! You can’t leave me here!” you cried out. “Please… please, come back!”

But it was too late, they had already long disappeared from this floor. And they weren’t coming back. Nobody ever came back.

Dread rushed through your veins as your brain tried to make sense of everything.

No. No, this can’t be happening. This…. This wasn’t the plan. This isn’t how my life is supposed to end.

The I.D.E.A. machine let out a deafening groan, bright light building up and glowing brighter with each passing second. A robotic voice above you continuously said “warning” without any elaboration. 

The whole room shook, vibrations passing through your hands still pressed on the glass.

There was nowhere to go, no one coming to help you, save you. You were all alone. 

This hadn’t been your plan. None of this had ever been your plan. 

Maybe it was the universe’s instead. 

The metallic screeching behind you got louder and louder as blood rushed in your ears. This was it for you, a horrific ending that could have easily been avoided if you’d just been a little faster, taken action a little sooner. 

With shaking hands and a trembling body, you wrapped your arms around yourself, squeezing in preparation as warmth began flooding the room. You closed your eyes as a flash of light exploded from the chamber behind you, engulfing everything in a blinding glow of heat and energy, surrounding you like a blazing embrace meant to take you away into the unknown forever. 

And then, as quickly as it happened, it was over.

And there was nothing.  

⟢

Johnny knew he shouldn’t have said anything about being bored lately, because Reed had immediately come up with a list of chores and errands to do to get him out of the Baxter Building - and more importantly out of his lab and away from bothering him. 

He had dropped off the dry cleaning, taken the Fantasticar to the car wash, and delivered some donations to a local charity on behalf of the Fantastic Four (of course stopping to take some pictures with all of his excited fans on the way). 

Now, he was begrudgingly bringing himself across town to go to Maisie’s Delicatessen to pick up an order of cookies Ben had placed. Johnny swore that this was the fourth order he’d made this week. 

Johnny rounded the street corner to Maisie’s, the cool morning air brushing through his hair as he carried on with a quick stride. Yancy Street was packed with people this morning. Saturdays naturally meant all of the kids were out of school and running around with their friends, families were having breakfast together in the diners, and others were out for morning strolls with their coffee cups and puppies. 

Johnny pushed through the doors to Maisie’s, welcoming in the familiar scent of baked goods and coffee grounds that flooded the air. He could sense the warmth from the ovens blazing in the back kitchen, and his shoes made small tapping sounds on the black and white checkered floor as he walked.

He sauntered over to the “Pick Up” station, ringing the bell and leaning on the linoleum counter as he waited. The line at the register was nearly out the door with people trying to pay for croissants and lattes and cheese-filled pastries.

Johnny pushed a small puff of air out the front of his lips. This was gonna take a while.

A gentle tap on his shoulder disturbed his peaceful rest against the dark blue counter. Johnny glanced behind him to see a small group of girls, each with their hair held back by matching pale blue headbands, a small pin of a heart covered in flames pinned to the fronts of their pinafore dresses and cardigan collars.

The three of them exchanged nervous glances.

“Are you… are you Johnny Storm?” the girl in front asked expectantly. She had mousey brown hair and wore a dark green dress. Her gray eyes sparkled with excitement. 

Johnny nodded, turning his body to face them and putting his hands in his pockets, switching into his suave cool-guy personality he had perfected as the Human Torch. “Yes, yes I am.”

The girl squealed, jumping up and down as she turned to her wide-eyed friends. “See, I told you guys it was him!”

Another one of the girls piped up, the one wearing a brown plaid sweater and thick round tortoise shell glasses. “We’re you’re biggest fans. Top members of the Flaming Hearts Fanclub! We even have the certificates to prove it.”

Johnny smiled, straightening up and putting on the “hero voice” he saved for civilians and kids. “Well, thank you all so much for your continued support. You guys make my flames burn extra bright.”

A smile broke out on the girls’ faces, and Johnny bit back a cringe trying to work its way up into his shoulders. Ben hated when he came up with sappy one-liners, but it made the fans happy.

The girls giggled before the leader reached into her bag and pulled out a rolled up magazine and a marker. 

“Would you mind signing this?” she asked. “It’s the latest issue of Teen Vogue with you on the cover and - oh my God it would make me so happy if you did!”

“Of course,” he replied, shooting her a grin. “Anything for a member of the Flaming Hearts Fanclub.”

He extended his arm to take the thick packet of fashion photos and advertisements and articles that surely a contained few lies about the kinds of girls he was interested in or what his perfect date would be. Before his fingers could brush the shiny pages, a beep sounded from his watch. 

Johnny’s brows furrowed as he retracted his arm, bringing the watch up to his face so he could see what was written on the small black screen. 

Alert! - Show

He clicked on the “Show” button, allowing the screen to buffer before reading the words of the alert.

Extraterrestrial Atmosphere Breach. Origin: Unknown.

 A small satellite image passed onto the screen of a heat signature up in the stratosphere above the city, unmoving and floating like a star suspended.

What the hell was that?

“Uh, sorry ladies, but… duty calls!” he said. Before the girls’ frowns could make him feel guilty, he added, “Why don’t you guys leave your names with Maisie and I’ll make sure that I get those signatures to you all. Sound good?” 

He bolted from the store, ignoring the disappointed whines of the girls behind him and Jen the counter girl calling after him about his cookies. 

Johnny shouldered the door open, eyes cast upward towards the sky as he searched for the location of the breach. Once his feet hit the pavement, he turned on his flames and burst up off the ground, catapulting through the air like a rocket ship. As he rose through the sky, he could make out a faint pulsing light miles and miles away, waiting far above him. 

Was it a ship? Some kind of spacecraft stuck in the gravitational pull of the Earth? The alert said extraterrestrial, but could it be from their solar system? Another one nearby? And was it… glowing?

Johnny pushed higher and higher into the sky, the wind rushing past him with deafening speed. The air only served to make his flames stronger, and he climbed even further. 

He slowed down as he approached the stratosphere, careful not to seem too aggressive or hostile with the entity. Though given the last time he had dealt with an unknown flying space entity he had been too friendly and almost ended up costing his planet its existence, and he debated just blasting it from the sky then and there. 

Johnny narrowed his eyes, fighting the urge to shield them from the bright golden glow that was emitting from the thing in front of him. His flames propelled him slowly in a circle around the entity as he tried his best to examine it under the blinding light it was emitting. He squinted, focusing in and trying to make out any kind of shape he could. And then he realized.

No… it wasn’t a thing. Not an asteroid or rogue spaceship.

It was a person. 

He could see it now, clear as day against the dark backdrop of stars and infinite nothingness above the atmosphere. This was a person, glowing radiantly as if made from pure starlight. If Johnny wasn’t on the job right now, and if this person wasn’t a possible threat come to herald the end of the world like the last floating figure had, he would’ve stayed, there simply floating around them as he stared in awe. 

Instead, he cleared his throat and called to the figure across the space between them.

“Uh, hi. Can we help you? Or… are you just planning to stay here and hover for the rest of the day?”

The figure said nothing, just stayed still as the light emitting from them continued pulsating steadily. Johnny could vaguely make out a face, a pair of eyes that seemed to be glossed over and staring out into the distance, towards something over the crest of the Earth and beyond them in Space. He moved closer, careful not to go too close to the figure or much higher, lest he wanted to run the risk of losing the oxygen that fueled his flames and dropping back down to Earth.

“Um, hello? Hello, can you… can you hear me?” he called, waving his hand out in front of the figure’s face to get their attention. The flames of his hand danced across the air, leaning towards the figure like they were reaching out to them. “Do you… understand English?”

The figure’s face turned and stared at him for a long while, light boring into Johnny in a way he had never experienced before. It was tempting to shield his eyes and look away. He was always used to being the sole thing that burned too brightly.

Slowly, the glow around the figure dissipated, fading out until all that remained was a faint golden outline around their body. Johnny’s eyes watched as every particle of light left and moved to the figure’s edges, the lines around them so thin that only a barely there glimmer was left. His gaze drifted back up to the figure’s face, and finally he locked eyes with them.

With you.

You, who somehow still seemed to possess a glow despite the light having left your skin. 

You with your hair wild around your head, the weak gravity of the atmosphere pulling it up and away from your face. 

You with your terrified expression, mouth hanging open and forehead wrinkled in disbelief as confusion and terror etched into your features. 

You with eyes that were glossy and afraid, staring at his intensely with a silent plea. 

You held his gaze, and Johnny felt as though he could recognize something in your eyes. Something that was hidden deep down, but somehow familiar to him.

A whisper left your mouth, so quiet that Johnny could’ve mistaken it for wind. 

“Help me.”

Suddenly, your eyes rolled back in your head, your body going limp as your muscles failed. The faint glow around your body vanished completely as gravity took hold of your body, pulling it down from the sky like a fishing line would with a fresh catch. In a matter of milliseconds, you had gone from floating in front of him to plummeting down to the ground below.

Johnny dove, turning on his head and flying straight after you. Your body hurtled to the Earth at a record speed, and Johnny used all of his strength to push his flames hotter, burn brighter, all in the attempt to get to you through the sea of blue sky.

He maneuvered around a cloud, avoiding any water vapor he could so that nothing would slow him down. 

Finally, he found you and extinguished the flames on his arms, grabbing you by your torso and pulling you flush against him, one hand holding your head to protect your neck from the speed. The two of you fell, tumbling past clouds and satellites and back down to New York, towards the water just outside the city. Johnny sped the two of you across the Hudson River and back over the streets of Manhattan, moving carefully around buildings and street corners to search for a place with limited pedestrians to stop. Glancing down, he found an opening in Times Square, and once you two were low enough Johnny slowed down and landed, letting his flames die out as he placed you down gently on the ground. 

Johnny could hear the gasps of a few people coming out of shops and restaurants, around him, the sounds of cars screeching to a halt to get a look at what the most popular member of the Fantastic Four had done now. But he didn’t care. His priority right now was you.

He lifted your chest up to his ear, placing his head above the right side and listening intently. You were unconscious, but your heart was beating strong. 

Johnny placed you back gently before pressing a button on the side of his watch and bringing it up to his lips. 

“Sue, Reed, Ben. We have a situation. Meet me in Times Square. Now.” 

He dropped his hand down and examined you, finally able to take everything in now that you weren’t practically exploding with light or falling to your death. 

You didn’t have any visible injuries, thankfully, and whatever weird glow that had enveloped you before was now completely gone. Johnny’s nose scrunched as he looked at your clothing. It was a style he had never seen before, the lines and cuts of the fabric you were wearing seeming completely foreign and out of place to him. 

Who were you? And where had you come from?

A crowd was beginning to form around him, people whispering and others taking photographs on cameras they had brought to capture memories with their friends.  Johnny sighed as he stood up to address them.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “Nothing to worry about here. Please, just go about your-”

You gasped and opened your eyes, hand reaching out and grasping around you as you gulped down air.  Your hand landed on Johnny’s forearm, clasping it tightly as he dropped down to one knee to face you. Your eyes were frantic and searching, looking around like you had just been dropped into a completely unknown world. 

Your words came out in sputters, “What… where…. where…?”

Beneath his jacket, Johnny could feel your hand shaking non stop. He moved closer from his spot next to you, placing his hand on your shoulder in reassurance.

“It’s alright,” he said gently. “You’re safe.”

You looked at him, your locked eyes sending a bolt of electricity down Johnny’s spine as he held your gaze. Your eyes narrowed at him. “Who… who are you?”

Johnny blinked. “I’m, uh…,” he let out a disbelieving laugh. “I’m… Johnny. Johnny Storm.”

The blank stare you gave him in response prompted him to keep going. 

“The Human Torch? Part of the Fantastic Four?”

You shook your head, moving back away from him as your head swiveled around in fear, taking in the surroundings. 

Everything was wrong. The people were all wearing clothing you couldn’t find in stores. The billboards were all in muted, vintage-looking colors and typefaces. The buildings, the restaurants and shops, even the damn cars looked like they had come straight out of an old Hollywood film from the 60s. 

You could tell vaguely where you were. New York. Times Square, only it wasn’t your Times Square. The screens were all different, the ads all having a fuzzy vignette to them, and the streets were too clean. Why were the streets so clean? Not to mention the fact that not a single person had a cell phone out recording whatever the hell interaction was going on here.

You turned back to the man in front of you. He’d said his name was Johnny. You’d seen his face before, only it was different, like the colors had been inverted or something. 

The past few days were a blur, your memory all-too fuzzy. You could recall something about a science experiment, warning lights, a blinding flash, but everything seemed shrouded in a haze, like it was caught behind a frosted pane of glass or somewhere you could see it but not reach it.

Something about this wasn’t right, and you needed to know why. 

You locked eyes with Johnny again, this time your jaw set firm in place.

“Where the hell am I, and who the hell are the Fantastic Four?”

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