#mischief makers

IN WHICH… Johnny Storm meets a girl who bends reality with a grin, a mischief laced, Cheshire Cat like enigma who drifts between shadows and starlight, pulling him into her chaotic orbit until he realizes he might actually like being lost in her game.

desc; johnny storm x reader, cheshire cat inspired reader, mischievous + flirty banter, reality warping powers, chaos meets fire, marvel fanfic, playful enemies to something energy, catlike mystery, teasing romance, wonderland vibes. Word count: 850

📎 master list - pt2

"If you don't know where you are going, any road can take you there"

⏔⏔⏔ ꒰ ᧔ෆ᧓ ꒱ ⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔ ꒰ ᧔ෆ᧓ ꒱ ⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔

The Baxter Building was supposed to be quiet tonight. Reed was buried in his research, Sue had claimed the couch with a book, and Ben was out for his late night city stroll. Johnny Storm had been left alone, which he would never admit was boring him to death.

He twirled a lighter between his fingers, flicking the flame on and off, when he heard it, a laugh. Not just any laugh, light, sing songy, mischievous, like a melody out of place in the silence of the room.

Johnny froze.

“Reed?”

No answer.

“Sue? Ben?”

Another laugh. This time, it was right behind him.

He spun around, no one. Except… there was something. A grin, floating midair, slowly forming before his eyes. Sharp, wide, glowing faintly violet in the dim light. Then, just as quickly, a pair of eyes appeared above it, swirling with mischief.

Johnny blinked. “Okay… I definitely didn’t eat anything weird today.”

The grin widened, and a voice purred.

“Maybe you’re dreaming. Maybe I’m real. Or maybe…” The rest of you appeared, slinking into existence from the shadows like it was the most natural thing in the world. “You’re just going mad.”

Johnny gawked openly. You, whoever you were, looked like you’d walked out of a dreamscape. Hair flowing like ink, violet streaks shifting when you moved, clothes patterned with stripes that shimmered faintly like starlight. There was something otherworldly about you, like you weren’t fully tied down to reality.

And that grin. That wicked, knowing grin.

Johnny put a hand to his forehead. “Sue’s been telling me I’m crazy for years, but this? This takes the cake.”

You tilted your head, eyes narrowing in amusement. “You’re not crazy. You’re just fun.”

“Fun?” he echoed.

“Yes. Most humans bore me. But you… oh, you shine. Quite literally.”

And then, poof!, you disappeared again, dissolving into nothingness. Johnny leapt up, spinning around. “Hey, wait! Don’t do that!”

“Don’t do this?” Your voice was suddenly in his ear. He jumped, nearly flaming on instinct, but your arms draped over his shoulders before he could. You leaned down, chin brushing the top of his head. “Or maybe this?”

You vanished once more before he could grab you, reappearing sprawled across the couch Sue had just vacated.

Johnny rubbed his face. “Okay, this is officially insane.”

“Insane?” you teased, rolling onto your stomach and resting your chin in your hands. “Madness makes the world spin, Johnny Storm. Don’t you like a little chaos?”

“Normally I’m the chaos,” he muttered, then frowned. “Wait, how do you know my name?”

You only grinned. “I know lots of things.”

Over the next few nights, you made the Baxter Building your playground. One moment you’d be invisible, whispering riddles into Johnny’s ear while he tried to sleep, the next you’d be lounging upside down on the ceiling like gravity didn’t apply to you.

You never explained exactly what you were, and Johnny stopped asking after the fifth time you turned the question back on him with a sly smile.

Still, as much as he complained, “You’re gonna give me a heart attack one of these days!” Johnny couldn’t deny the truth, you fascinated him.

There was a pull about you, something intoxicating. Your grin promised trouble, but your laugh, wild and lilting, lit something inside him.

One night, he caught you watching him from the fire escape. He opened the window. “You planning on haunting me forever, stripes?”

You tilted your head, eyes glowing faintly in the dark. “Maybe. Do you mind?”

He smirked. “Not if you keep it interesting.”

You laughed, bright and sharp, curling in the air like smoke. “Oh, Johnny. I was born to keep things interesting.”

Of course, “interesting” sometimes meant borderline dangerous.

Case in point, the night you decided to test how far his flames could go. You cornered him on the rooftop, your grin wide as always.

“Show me.”

“Show you what?”

“Your fire. All of it. Burn the sky for me.”

Johnny raised a brow. “That’s not really a safe party trick.”

But you only leaned closer, eyes glowing. “Neither of us are safe things, Johnny Storm.”

Something about the way you said it sent a shiver down his spine. Against his better judgment, he flared to life, body engulfed in golden fire. The rooftop blazed in his light, the night bending around him.

You clapped your hands in delight, eyes wide as your grin stretched impossibly. Then you vanished, reappearing behind him, arms slipping around his waist as you purred, “Beautiful.”

Johnny swallowed hard. Fire didn’t normally make him nervous. But you did.

Later, sprawled together on the rooftop, Johnny found himself asking a question he hadn’t meant to.

“Why me?”

You blinked lazily, still half faded into the shadows. “Because you’re fire. Because you’re loud and bright and alive. Because you’re mine to play with.”

Johnny huffed a laugh, though his cheeks heated more than his flames ever could. “Yeah? And what if I don’t feel like being a toy?”

Your grin sharpened. “Then you’ll be something else. Fire needs air. Air needs mystery. Maybe…” You leaned closer, lips brushing his ear. “Maybe you need me.”

And for once, Johnny Storm had no comeback.

⏔⏔⏔ ꒰ ᧔ෆ᧓ ꒱ ⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔ ꒰ ᧔ෆ᧓ ꒱ ⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔

Mischief Makers 2 got announced? And it's a lowpoly 3d platformer?! 😱

Alex Kirwan posted Stitch development art for the scrapped Disney Television Animation "Untitled Variety Show" pilot created by Audie Harrison (Cartoon Network Studios "Uncle Grandpa")