From the silent surface of the Moon, the Watcher observed.
Before him stretched the endless tapestry of the multiverse with world upon world, timelines branching and collapsing, heroes rising and falling. In countless realities, four figures stood together, bound by fate and cosmic fire.
The Fantastic Four.
In many universes, they were the first. The pioneers. The moment the world realized it was no longer alone.
The Watcher's glowing eyes shifted.
But in this universe… fate had fractured.
The storm still came and the journey still happened. Yet the outcome was cruelly different.
No stretching genius.
No invisible guardian.
No living mountain of stone.
They never existed.
Not as a team.
Not as legends.
Not completely.
Because while three were spared the touch of the cosmos, one was not.
One burned bright enough to carry what the others never could.
Johnny Storm.
The Watcher folded his arms behind his back as he looked down toward the blue world below.
"He carries their legacy alone," the Watcher said, his voice echoing across the lunar dust. "Where four once stood, now only one remains."
A flicker of flame ignited in the darkness of space.
"The Human Torch."
Space, Earth-1961
"This is so boring," Johnny Storm groaned, leaning so far back in his chair it was honestly impressive he hadn't tipped over yet. His boots were kicked up on a console he had definitely been told not to touch.
Ben Grimm glanced over, unimpressed. "Sue," he said flatly, "why did you bring your brat of a brother with us?"
Before Johnny could respond, a sharp smack landed on the back of his head.
"Ow what was that for?!" Johnny snapped, rubbing the spot.
Sue Storm didn't even look apologetic. "I brought you so you wouldn't spend another day rotting on the couch," she said, arms crossed. "You refuse to go to college, Johnny. I figured space might at least keep you out of trouble for a few hours."
Johnny rolled his eyes dramatically. "College is for losers," he said. "Do I look like a loser?"
Ben didn't miss a beat. "Yes," he said, smiling.
Johnny shot him a glare then smirked. "At least I still have hair. You're starting to look like Mr. Clean's long-lost twin and you try to hide it. We see your hair thinning."
The smile vanished from Ben's face.
"Oh, you're dead," Ben growled, already getting to his feet.
Johnny straightened, hands up defensively, grin never leaving his face. "Whoa, whoa, easy there, Captain Chrome Dome..."
Before Ben could take a step forward, the intercom crackled to life.
"Ben," Reed's voice echoed through the ship, calm as ever. "I need your help for a moment."
Ben paused, glaring daggers at Johnny. "You're lucky," he muttered.
Johnny gave him a mock salute. "Story of my life."
Ben stormed off, still grumbling, leaving Johnny and Sue alone in the cabin.
Sue turned slowly toward her brother and Johnny immediately straightened in his chair. "Before you start," he said, "I just wanna say…."
"Johnny," Sue cut in, voice firm, "this mission isn't a joke. This isn't a joyride. People worked years to make this happen, and you're treating it like a vacation."
Johnny nodded along, a little too enthusiastically. "Mmhmm. Very inspiring. Love the passion."
Sue sighed. "I'm serious."
"Yeah, yeah," Johnny said, already leaning back again. "I'll behave. Promise."
She gave him a look that said she knew exactly how much that promise was worth but Johnny flashed her a grin anyway.
2 Hours Later
Reed Richards frowned at the readings.
That alone should've been impossible.
He adjusted his glasses, fingers moving faster across the console as numbers spiked, then vanished, then spiked again in ways that made no mathematical sense. The data wasn't just wrong it was inconsistent with reality itself.
"That's… odd," Reed murmured.
Sue looked over from her station. "Odd how?"
Reed didn't answer right away. He leaned closer to the screen, his reflection warped by the glow. Radiation levels fluctuated without pattern. Temperature readings climbed and dropped in impossible intervals. Space itself seemed to ripple, like heat rising off asphalt.
"This shouldn't be here," Reed said finally.
Johnny perked up from his chair. "Shouldn't be where?"
Reed straightened, jaw tightening. "Anywhere."
Before Sue could press him, the ship lurched violently to the side with warining lights exploded across the cabin.
"Reed!" Sue grabbed the edge of her console as the floor tilted beneath her feet.
The alarms screamed to life.
"Cosmic interference!" Ben shouted from down the corridor. "Whatever it is, it's slamming into our trajectory!"
Reed's hands flew across the controls. "I'm trying to compensate shielding to maximum!"
The forward viewport lit up and space was no longer empty.
A vast, luminous wave rolled toward them, colors bleeding into one another like the universe itself had caught fire. It wasn't moving like a storm. It was advancing.
Reed stared, breath caught in his throat.
"I don't recognize this energy signature," he said, disbelief creeping into his voice. "It doesn't match any known cosmic radiation. It doesn't match anything."
Johnny swallowed. "That's… probably bad, right?"
The ship shook again, harder this time. Panels sparked. Gravity fluctuated, sending loose objects floating.
"Sue!" Reed called. "Brace…."
The wave hit.
Light tore through the hull like it wasn't even there. Heat flooded the cabin in an instant, raw and overwhelming. Johnny screamed as something slammed into his chest, burning, ripping, changing.
Reed watched the instruments flatline one by one.
"No no, no, this isn't possible…." he said, voice breaking as the screens went white.
The last thing Reed saw before the world vanished in fire was Johnny, silhouetted in the blaze with his arms outstretched, engulfed by the impossible light then everything went dark.
Timeskip
Johnny woke slowly, the white ceiling glaring back at him. His head throbbed, every muscle aching like he'd been run over by a truck… which, technically, he had.
Blinking, he realized he wasn't alone. Sue sat at the edge of the bed, arms crossed, watching him with that infuriatingly calm expression that always made him feel like a child.
"Finally awake, huh?" she said.
Johnny groaned and rolled onto his side. "Yeah, yeah… I'm awake. How long was I out?"
"Long enough for you to almost get yourself killed," Sue said, voice sharp. "And long enough for me to sit here and make sure you didn't try anything stupid while you were unconscious."
Johnny sat up, rubbing his temple. "Stupid? Me? Never. And anyway, I'm leaving."
Sue's brow arched. "Leaving? Johnny, you can't just….."
"Why not?" he interrupted, already swinging his legs off the bed. "I survived a cosmic storm, fought my way through a collapsing spaceship, and now I'm trapped in a hospital bed? That's boring. I can do more out there than here..."
"Stop!" Sue snapped, standing. Her eyes locked on his. "You're not leaving, Johnny. Not while they're still studying you. You have no idea what could happen if you're out there, uncontrolled!"
Johnny scowled. "Oh, come on! Since when did you become the fun police, Sue?"
Her jaw tightened. "I'm not your fun police! I'm your….."
"Your what? My babysitter?" Johnny shot back, eyes narrowing. "You think you can tell me what to do? That's rich coming from the girl who dragged me into space because I'm too lazy to go to college!"
Sue froze. "Johnny…."
"Oh, that's right!" Johnny hissed, his voice trembling with frustration. "I'm the reckless one, the irresponsible hothead and you're the perfect little golden girl who thinks she knows everything!"
Something strange started happening. A faint smoke curled off his arms. He looked down in shock. "Uh… Sue?"
Sue didn't move, just stared, eyes wide. "Johnny…"
The smoke thickened, rising from his shoulders, the tips of his hair beginning to glimmer like embers. "Okay, that's… weird. This is definitely weird."
"Johnny!" Sue yelled, but her voice sounded distant.
Johnny stood abruptly, panic and anger mixed together. "You're lucky I'm even still breathing with all the crap you just said!"
He slammed a fist into the wall and heat radiated from him like the room was on fire. His skin started to glow faintly red, then orange, smoke twisting around him like tendrils.
"Don't you….don't you tell me what I can and can't do!" Johnny shouted, voice cracking, frustration boiling over. "I'm NOT your project! NOT A BABY! NOT YOUR..."
Flames licked up his arms. His eyes glimmered gold. His words were punctuated by bursts of heat, every gesture leaving scorched marks on the floor.
Sue backed up instinctively, hands raised. "Johnny, calm down! You're….."
But he wasn't listening. He could feel the fire inside him. His chest flared, then his whole body erupted.
Johnny was ablaze. Smoke twisted into flame. Every breath came in fire. The hospital room glowed with the intensity of the sun, reflecting off the walls, making Sue shield her eyes.
"I'm me!" he screamed, voice echoing with heat. "You think you can control me?! NO! I'm Johnny Storm! I'm not a kid anymore!"
By the time the flames settled, his body was fully engulfed, a living torch standing on the hospital floor, raging with power and frustration.
Sue swallowed hard, trying to keep her voice steady. "Johnny… you have no idea what you just did."
Johnny grinned through the flames, smoke curling from his hair. "Oh, I have a pretty good idea. And honestly? Feels amazing."
The flames surrounding Johnny didn't so much flicker as roar, filling the room with heat that made the fluorescent lights buzz. Smoke curled in chaotic spirals around him like a living thing.
Sue tried to stay calm. Very calm. She planted herself in front of him, arms crossed. "Johnny! Listen to me! You need to stop this!"
Johnny grinned, flames dancing on his skin. "Stop this? Oh, come on, Sue. I'm just warming up."
"I mean it! You're going to hurt yourself or someone else!" Sue snapped, stepping closer.
"Oh, relax. It's not like I'm burning the hospital down… yet," Johnny said, snapping his fingers. In an instant, small bursts of flame appeared above each hand, hovering like tiny suns. He laughed. "See? Look at me! Floating fireballs. Magical. Flirty. Deadly."
Sue's eyes widened. "Johnny! Stop messing around! This is serious!"
"Messing around?" Johnny said, floating a few inches off the ground. "I'm practicing control, Sue. Besides…" He leaned toward her with a mock grin. "You're kind of enjoying the show, admit it."
"I am not!" Sue shot back, trying not to inhale the smoke that made her eyes water.
Before Johnny could respond, the door burst open.
"JOHNNY!" Ben thundered, followed closely by Reed.
Ben froze, jaw dropping. "Holy Shit! he's… he's on fire."
Reed pushed past him, goggles glinting. "Fascinating! Phenomenal energy output… thermal control at such an untrained level… Incredible!" He didn't even flinch as the heat washed over him.
Sue spun around, panic overtaking her lecture mode. "Reed! Ben! Get him under control! He's my brother!"
Johnny let out a dramatic laugh, snapping his fingers again. One hand produced a small flaming sphere, which he sent spinning above his other palm like a juggling ball. "Relax, everyone! I'm perfectly fine. Look at me mastering the flames. Hands of fire, baby. Sparks of genius."
Ben rubbed his chin. "I don't know if I should be impressed or terrified."
Sue threw her hands up. "You're both missing the point! Johnny! Sit down and focus! You can't just…."
Johnny shot up into the air, floating higher, flame trailing behind him like a rocket. "Focus? Nah, Sue, that's boring! Look at this! I'm dazzling, I'm hot, and I am officially untouchable!"
Reed jotted notes frantically on a floating tablet, utterly enthralled. "This is unprecedented! Johnny, your molecular structure is… reactive to… oh, fascinating!"
Ben groaned. "Reed, he's literally on fire! For crying out loud!"
Johnny snapped his fingers again. Small fire orbs danced around the room like a fireworks show. "Yeah, yeah, you guys are all worried. Sue, you're worried. Ben, you're grumpy. Reed, you're nerding out. But me?" He grinned, flames licking higher. "I'm unstoppable."
Sue groaned, pressing her face into her palm. "I give up. I am officially done trying to control a human torch."
Johnny winked, spinning in midair, flame trailing in arcs around him. "That's it! That's my name The Human Torch."