"I can't believe he just ran off and abandoned us like that!"
Johnny Storm, the famous Human Torch, was sprawled dramatically across one of the larger couches, one arm thrown over his eyes like a man suffering a great personal tragedy.
Susan Richards didn't even look up from where she sat. She simply rolled her eyes.
"Stop being so dramatic," she said. "He didn't abandon us. He has work to do."
"Yeah," Johnny shot back, lowering his arm just enough to glare at her, "work with his fancy new friends. Too busy playing Illuminati to care about us. The Fantastic Four." Johnny complained, but in truth, he was just jealous and bored.
And he was only jealous because he was bored, and he had nothing to do while Reed got to play around with so many cool people!
"Knock it off, you moaning matchstick. Don't act like you don't moan like a bitch when you have to wake up before midday." Ben Grimm was tired of hearing the same old complaints.
"Hey! What is the point of saving the world if you can't take a well-earned break after that?" Johnny defended.
"I still can't believe you have the nerve to ask for a statue of yourself in front of the White House." Susan sighed in exasperation.
"I can't believe Arthuria agreed that it was a fair and valid request, and that the President accepted," Ben echoed, still in disbelief.
"It wasn't like he had much of a choice. I'm pretty sure if you had asked to become president, he would have agreed." The fourth person in the room chipped in.
Bruce Banner.
He had been granted all manner of pardons and had the military firmly off his back for his efforts during the invasion—or rather, the Hulk's efforts.
He didn't, however, have a place to go other than Stark Tower, but given that Stark himself wasn't there right now, Bruce had accepted the invitation to stay at the Baxter Building.
And despite Reed, the intellectual, not being there, he got surprisingly well along with Ben Grimm, in part due to both of them having some big issues.
"Yeah, no thanks. That's a hot potato I wouldn't want for my worst enemy," Johnny said, disgust on his face.
"It's still crazy how there is no way to solve the current constitutional crisis. Almost like the Founding Fathers didn't account for an alien invasion, and how badly the government would handle it," Ben added.
To which the others could only nod in agreement.
"Well, it is problematic for sure, with everyone too scared of the position because they don't want to be connected to the near bombing of New York, though… would a snap election really solve that problem?" Susan asked.
None responded right away.
Johnny tilted his head toward her, a lazy grin tugging at his lips.
"Hey, sis, who are you expecting to answer a question like that? Your boyfriend isn't here right now, in case you hadn't noticed."
Ben shot him an irritated look.
"Hey, the rest of us can still answer questions. It's not like Reed's the only one here with a brain."
Johnny spread his hands exaggeratedly and leaned back into the couch.
"Well, go right ahead then. Please. Answer the question."
At that, Ben had no real response, so he looked toward Banner for help.
Bruce sighed and adjusted his glasses. "A snap election might solve the issue, since it would allow the new government to make a clean break from the old one. There is a reason every half-baked politician is arguing for one," he explained.
"But it wouldn't be a constitutional crisis if they could fix it," Johnny did his best to counter, but it fell flat.
"Yeah, thanks for pointing out the obvious. They can't fix it, because snap elections aren't a thing. The date of every election is written in the Constitution," Ben shot back.
Johnny snapped back immediately, sitting up straighter.
"I know that!"
"Oh, really? Sure didn't sound like it," Ben said with a smirk.
"You smug bastard. You think you are hot stuff, do you?" Johnny jumped to his feet, ready for a fight.
"Don't start crying when you lose." Ben had no problem rising to the provocation and instantly jumped into a fight.
Causing both Susan and Bruce to sigh as the two man-children started to brawl right there in the living room.
"Honestly, you two are impossible," Susan complained, but the two men were far too busy fighting to pay her any attention.
Bruce had long since gotten used to this sight. The lively atmosphere was relaxing; it really was. Here, he could more or less feel like a normal person.
"You fucking cheater!" Johnny suddenly screamed as he was forced down onto the ground, with Ben standing over him, a single foot on his back.
Ben, however, wasn't all that happy with his victory. "Damned firecracker, see what you did! I liked that shirt!" Ben's clothes had largely been ruined, stretched thin around his large, rocky body.
"I did? You were the one who transformed, that's cheating!" Johnny protested furiously, but he didn't dare ignite as he was currently pushed face down into the carpet. And if he went full flame-on, that would start a fire, and his sister would get mad.
"Ben, you shouldn't let yourself get riled up. You know you are the one who will lose out," Susan said with a sigh, very happy that they had been granted a huge budget for research, and that there was no real limit on what they could spend that money on—so even Ben's expensive shirts didn't cause any trouble.
Even if she wished he wouldn't go through them so fast. They were expensive.
Though she didn't blame Ben. If anyone was to blame, it was Johnny, who kept provoking him, and Stark, the playboy, who got into Ben's head when it came to clothes.
Still, she was happy for him. He had been in a far better mood now that he wasn't stuck looking like a rock monster all the time. And it did make it easier to live a normal life.
No longer did they have to consider his massive fingers when ordering takeout, or worry about whether he could use chopsticks.
It was better for all of them, but for Ben most of all. He had come to terms with being a monster—with the fact that he would never get the chance to live a normal life, never get a girlfriend. It was sad, but it was something they all just had to accept.
Their lives had changed forever after that trip to space, and Ben had gotten the short end of the stick.
She by no means blamed him for asking for this, for making this his one and only wish in exchange for everything he did to try and help at the battle of New York.
While others asked for this or that, and the President had no choice but to accept whatever it was—crazy demands for statues, for money, or for immunity and a wipe of records.
Ben hadn't asked anything.
Because what he truly wanted wasn't something the President or the government could give him.
Instead, he had turned his hopes onto Arthuria Pendragon, that fighting woman of immense strength. Susan had to admit that she had mixed feelings about her. She was relatively cold, and seeing her murder high-ranking officials and threaten the government didn't make her any less scary.
She was like a human nuclear weapon, one that couldn't be controlled; it was no wonder the world was terrified of her.
But at the same time, she had her own sense of justice. She wasn't just some murderous monster—she could be reasoned with at times, and, well, she wasn't all bad.
It was she who heard Ben's plea for help when Ben asked to become human again; everyone understood why he did it. Reed had sadly confirmed that technology couldn't fully do it, and, well, he also wanted the power.
Ben had a deep sense of responsibility, and he struggled with the idea of giving up the power for his own selfish sake—particularly after the last time they tried, and the other three almost ended up dead.
If he hadn't accepted being The Thing, things might have ended very differently.
And so, he turned toward something that wasn't technically—no matter how much Reed continued to claim it was—but honestly, magic felt nothing like any technology she had ever seen.
Arthuria's power was magic. It was godly, beyond imagination, and she heard Ben's request, and had denied taking away his power. Instead, she had allowed him to transform, much like how Bruce Banner could turn into the Hulk.
Sadly, for the expensive clothes Ben liked to wear these days, his control over the transformation wasn't perfect; it required him to stay calm, just like Banner did.
It was this shared burden that was the foundation of their friendship.
Bruce watched Ben carefully as he stepped off Johnny's back, brushing at his ruined shirt with a scowl. He knew the feeling; he really did. So many of his clothes had been lost to transforming into the Hulk.
At least Ben was still in control when he transformed—something Bruce was secretly jealous of. Not that he held that against Ben; he wasn't to blame, not at all.
The room slowly settled. Johnny groaned dramatically on the floor. Susan shook her head, but there was a small smile on her lips. Even Ben's complaints about his clothes carried more irritation than bitterness.
Johnny and Ben might fight at every chance they had, but that was just the nature of their friendship.
Bruce leaned back against the arm of the chair, watching them bicker and complain and exist like the world hadn't nearly ended a week ago.
It was loud. It was messy. It was childish.
And somehow, it felt… right.
For a brief moment, no one was talking about invasions, or gods, or councils deciding the fate of the world. No one was afraid of what tomorrow might bring.
They were just people in a room—arguing over ruined clothes and bruised egos.
Bruce closed his eyes and let the noise wash over him.
This was what he had missed—what he had needed while on the run—a sense of normality.
He knew this peace likely wouldn't last, but for now, he treasured it.
(End of chapter)
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