[quote=@Vandy][color=39b54a]"Well it was good to see you again Reed but I really must get back to work. I want to get this whole building running off this generator by the end of the week.[/color] He smiled and shook each of their hands again. [color=39b54a]"I'll give you a call sometime and we can compare notes in a less formal setting. My receptionist will show you out, and don't hesitate to ask for anything. They have been told to make your visit as welcoming as possible."[/color][/quote][center][img]http://s28.postimg.org/raf0bi5p5/fantastic_four_by_annikaclarisse_d4uaiox.png[/img][/center]
Sue Storm still looked skeptical as she shook Lex Luthor’s hand and it was clear from his impression that he sensed it. Reed shook Luthor’s hand fairly sheepishly and the neutral expression on his face masked his unhappiness at Sue’s question. If Luthor was going to be working on something of this scale Reed wanted to be there. It wasn’t so much that he didn’t consider Lex his equal, though somewhere at the back of his mind there was an ounce of that. More though, Reed wanted be there when history was made. 

[color=cornflowerblue][b]“Sure, that sounds great.”[/b][/color]

Reed and Sue turned to exit the generator room and as the doors shut behind them the red-haired receptionist that had led them in greeted them. Both Reed and Sue were noticeably dispirited compared to when they had walked in and the receptionist’s faux-cheeriness seemed [i]especially[/i] out of place given that.

“Will you be staying in Metropolis overnight, Mr. and Mrs. Richards? Mr. Luthor has made reservations for yo-”

Reed shook his head curtly as he passed the receptionist. 

[color=cornflowerblue][b]“I think we’ll be returning to New York.”[/b][/color]

Sue was a few strides behind her fiancé. When he was annoyed Reed had a tendency to quicken his pace and unknowingly lengthen his gait. On a normal person that would be bad enough but in Reed’s case it was [i]doubly[/i] so. He was several meters ahead of her by the time they’d made it to the elevator. The elevator operator stood in it, holding the doors open, as they stood mere strides from it and spoke.

[b][color=paleturquoise]“What’s wrong?”[/color][/b]

Reed let out an exasperated sigh.

[b][color=cornflowerblue]“I… I just… You could have said something to me before you went off half-cocked back there, Sue. I’ve been friends with Lex for a long time. I didn’t appreciate being blindsided like that.”[/color][/b]

Sue looked at her fiancé with resolute, determined eyes.

[b][color=paleturquoise]“You [i]know[/i] it needed to be asked.”[/color][/b]

Reed nodded gently by way of acceptance and the couple entered the elevator. They stood in silence as the elevator returned them to the ground floor and as the elevator came to a halt Reed stretched his hand towards Sue’s and held it. She looked at him and smiled softly.

[color=paleturquoise][b]“Come on,”[/b][/color] Sue muttered to Reed as they walked towards the exit. Her voice was soft, conciliatory, and though she stopped short of apologizing it was clear she understood that Reed had a point. [color=paleturquoise][b]“Let’s find Johnny and Ben. Fingers crossed they haven’t caused another international incident.”[/b][/color]

Reed laughed and reached for the remote of the Fantasticar he kept in a makeshift pocket made of his own elastic skin. With a click of the button the lumbering machine appeared from the clouds and hovered in front of Reed and Sue. It was old, long since in need of an upgrade, but the vehicle had something of a sentimental value about it. By any other person’s measure it was a technological monstrosity but Reed couldn’t quite bring himself to get rid of it. He took Sue’s hand and helped her into her seat before climbing into his own and guiding it skywards.

Reed tapped a few buttons on the screen and on it appeared a map of Metropolis. There were two blinking lights in a public park, one Johnny and one Ben, and Reed made a beeline towards their position. Men and women lined the windows of their offices as the Fantasticar roared through the Metropolis sky. Once they were over the park it took a couple of seconds for Reed to locate them but he soon hovered the machine above them and the crowd assembled around them. A smile appeared on his face as he noticed they were gathered around a chessboard. He placed his hand around his mouth to magnify his voice and called out to them.

[b][color=cornflowerblue]“So… are you ready to go back to New York or would you like us to come back in a few hours once you’ve figured out the rules?”[/color][/b]

Ben Grimm looked up at Reed unimpressed and stood up from his seat.

[b][color=darkorange]“Ha-frigging-ha, Stretch.”[/color][/b]

As he wandered over to the Fantasticar Ben’s head hung grumpily and he wordlessly leapt into his portion of the Fantasticar – staring in the opposite direction of the younger Storm. As Johnny followed after him Sue looked to her brother for answers.

[b][color=paleturquoise]“What’s wrong with him?”[/color][/b]

The smug smile on Johnny’s face said it all.

[b][color=firebrick]“I beat him.”[/color][/b]

Suddenly Ben’s head swiveled round towards Reed and Sue and he barked at them without warning.

[b][color=darkorange]“It was beginner’s luck!”[/color][/b]

Reed, Sue, and Johnny burst into laughter and Johnny looked to Reed with a smile.

[b][color=firebrick]“How was America's eighth most eligible bachelor?”[/color][/b]

[b][color=cornflowerblue]“Charming as ever,”[/color][/b] Reed smiled to Sue. [b][color=cornflowerblue]"Well, ladies and gentlemen, what say we get back to New York?”[/color][/b]

From the back of the Fantasticar Ben let out a contented sigh as he surveyed the Metropolis skyline.

[b][color=darkorange]“That sounds like sweet, sweet music to my ears.”[/color][/b]

[center][img]http://s13.postimg.org/8891lleif/1207753_fantasti_car.jpg[/img][/center]
The Fantasticar began to whir into movement and the civilians surrounding the Fantasticar moved backwards to allow it some space. It floated a few feet off the ground to begin with, then the engine really came into force, and it shot up a few more metres and Reed allowed it to hang there for a minute whilst he waited for Johnny Storm. The young man said some final goodbyes to the elderly Jewish men that had given him a crash course in chess. With a cry of “Flame On!” he burst into flames and flew up beside the cockpit of the Fantasticar beside Reed. As the thrusters spun round he looked back at Ben with a smile.

[color=firebrick][b]“I can’t believe I [i]actually[/i] beat you.”[/b][/color]

The scowl on Ben Grimm’s face reappeared as the Fantasticar burst into life and the Fantastic Four disappeared over the clouds and off into the horizon. Only Grimm’s last words remained for the enjoyment of the civilians beneath them.

[b][color=darkorange]“It was beginner’s luck, for Christ’s sake!”[/color][/b]