Johnny got up and walked over to the refrigerator for a snack. He couldn’t help himself but to smile. Seeing his sister so happy and carefree put an excited charge in him. And it was all thanks to their new friend, Jervis.
He recalled just a few days ago when he had skipped out on Susan at Fantastic Four, Inc. and he could have sworn she was going to tear him a new one when he came back that morning. Never did he expect to find his sister laughing and carrying on with the Hat-Man while they drank tea. He most certainly didn’t think that she would relieve him of his duties at the company in such a cheerful manner. Johnny chuckled to himself at the absurd thought that the tea may have been spiked with something. Imagining his own normally straight-as-an-arrow sister on drugs caused him to laugh lightly to himself as he opened the fridge. What he saw made his eyes go wide and a delighted smile crossed his face.
Before he had a chance to indulge in the tasty treat he was looking at, Johnny heard footsteps walking down the hall and saw that it was Alicia Masters. His eyes narrowed and he recalled that the blind woman normally needed a white cane to aid her in avoiding bumping into people or tripping over obstacles that may be in her way. As Johnny watched her he saw that she moved with the grace of a dancer, deftly avoiding the kitchen island chairs and other things that would cause her to trip and fall. The Human Torch immediately moved to assist her in case her newfound confident movements happened to betray her. When he moved next to Alicia, her body flinched in surprise and she reached out to see who was there with one hand. Johnny saw that she was carrying her smart phone in the other hand.
“Johnny?” she asked, a little louder than she normally would, “Is that you?”
“Um, yes, Alicia,” Johnny said, a perplexed expression on his face. She was acting funny.
Alicia reached up to her ears and pulled out both bluetooth earbuds. For a second, Johnny heard some strange, whimsical music coming from the wireless headphone, before she shoved them in her pants pocket. She looked up at him and he could see her normally dulled blind eyes alight with a bright, zany happiness that Johnny recognized in Susan’s own blue orbs. Johnny smiled down at her, realizing that she was just happy, like his sister. Like he was.
“Sorry, Johnny. I didn’t hear you. I was listening to music,” Alicia explained. Her voice had a far-off, almost dream-like quality to it. It was clear that she had been very much absorbed in the odd melody, but then Alicia’s face lit up in a wide, beaming smile. She finally announced, “Mr. Hatter loaded my phone to the brim with his favorite songs. It was quite generous of him, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Most generous of the Hat Ma…” Johnny blinked rapidly and his head swam for a moment. He took a second to shake the cobwebs out and continued, smiling broadly at Alicia, “...Most generous of Mr. Hatter indeed, Alicia! Most generous indeed!” Johnny grinned down at her, and then added, “Don’t you feel simply WONDERful ever since the merry Mr. Hatter came into our lives?”
Alicia squealed and clapped her hands gleefully, “Why, YES, Johnny! I am soooo glad you feel that way too! I thought it was only me and sweet, sweet Sue!”
“And what of Ben?” Johnny asked, a manic fire dancing in his wide eyes, “I do hope Mr. Hatter’s influence has made him far less grim.”
Alicia let out a lighthearted giggle and then cooed, “Oh, yes. You should see him right now. I just popped out to get some fresh air, but he’s in his room watching an old Disney movie. I love it when he explains to me what is going on on the screen. Especially the part with the silly little identical men. How they ineract with sweet little Alice. And how Ben describes it… It’s all so silly. Silly but also soooo WONDERful! In fact, I must be getting back to him. I just know he misses me so.”
“Tell him I say hello,” Johnny smiled down at her. Normally he would have made some snide remark at The Thing’s expense, but he just didn’t have it in him today. He then turned back to the fridge. The Human Torch was so excited to taste the treat that was inside. To his surprise, the hero felt Alicia’s hand reaching out, stopping him in his tracks. He looked down and saw that she was still smiling widely at him.
“Your lovely sister has told me about the kinds of movies you like to watch, Johnny,” Alicia murmured, her tone had changed to a far huskier tone, “Maybe sometime you could explain to me what’s happening in those too? Just you and me.”
Johnny’s eyebrows rose in surprise and he struggled with how to respond to such a proposal, but before he had the chance, Alicia winked at him and tittered out a flirtatious giggle. She reached into her pockets and jammed the earbuds back into her ears. Her eyes grew wide for a moment before her face once more fell into a vacant stare. The blind woman sighed out contently and proceeded on with her graceful, yet carefree gate.
Johnny shook his head and chuckled. He then reached into his own pocket and pulled out a ticking pocket watch. The tick, tick, ticking was so loud to the normally hotheaded hero, but also so soothing. He grinned down at the watch, before shoving it back into his pocket and went back to open the refrigerator. He saw that Susan had left a little treat for him inside. There was a powder blue-colored box inside and with a note attached to a string that read ‘For Johnny. Eat Me’ in his sister’s handwriting. His manic eyes shone with excitement, as they seemed to reflect his sudden hunger. Johnny poured himself a large cup of milk to go with whatever was inside the box.
“Speaking of the movies I watch…” Johnny whispered to himself, and he turned back towards the living room.
Plopping himself down on the couch, the Human Torch was ready to watch the exclusive screener of the latest Hollywood action blockbuster that had been sent to the Fantastic Four before the movie’s release. Celebrity did have its benefits, Johnny thought to himself. Before he pressed play, though, he opened the box and found that it contained a baker’s dozen of little cakes, frosted in various pastel tones. His face lit up at this and it didn’t take long before he shoved one inside his mouth. It tasted delicious!
“Thank you, sister dear,” Johnny mumbled to himself, thinking of his latex-clad sibling.
He finally pressed play on the movie, and ate another of the cakes. Johnny watched the film open with an elaborate action scene where the movie’s heroes fought an army of computer generated villains. It was the type of movie that Susan and and Reed would always scoff at. Not intellectual enough for the big brains, but he and Ben ate entertainment like this up.
As he watched the action and explosions taking place on the screen, Johnny ate another of the small cakes. He leaned back and, for a moment, his vision became blurry. The hero felt so relaxed, but also extremely light-headed. He seemed to sink further and further into the couch. Not that he minded. All that mattered to him at that moment were his treats, his movie and that he was more relaxed than he had ever been in his entire life.
Just then, the screen in front of him flickered and twitched a few times. The picture cut out and then came back on. Johnny’s tried eyes narrowed at what was happening. Had he been in a clearer frame of mind, he may have registered a sort of pattern to the glitching. Johnny laughed lightly to himself and rolled his manic eyes.
“The most advanced tech in the world and we can’t even get a TV to work properly,” Johnny mumbled, “How absurd!”