Paradoxical (Fantastic Four)

4.

Opening my eyes, a stream of blinding lights hit my face. I saw that I was in a hospital room. 

A hand gently helped me sit up on the bed. I turned to find Johnny assisting me.

"Hey, Ari," he sighed in relief.

"Johnny?" I wondered, "What happened?" My voice sounded hoarse.

I couldn't remember falling asleep. Then I recalled the mission, the storm, and the red cloud hitting the station and all of us.

"We're back on Earth. Quarantined in Victor's medical facility," Johnny replied as he handed me a cup of water.

I took it and chugged the cold liquid down at once, "How are the others?" I thought about Ben at once.

"Everyone's fine and awake. You were out for three days. And, your phone kept ringing non-stop. You sure had me scared."

"Lemme guess, you're trying to hide from Ben?" I slowly managed to move myself off the bed.

"You could say that."

"You should try and tone it down a notch." I gave Johnny a firm expression, "One of these days, Big Bro may end up bonking you in the head leaving you with nothing to recall."

I reached for my phone and saw several voicemails and texts from Layla, Howie, Ingrid, and Cameron. I played the voice messages informing me that they had heard about the storm hitting the station and had been praying for our recovery. A message from Howie told me that he and Layla tried to get into the facility to visit, but were declined by security. So I sent my friends each a text letting them know that I was okay and that I would be quarantined with the others for a couple of days or so until it was okay to allow visitors.

After Johnny left, I decided to walk around the facility and check on Ben, Reed, and Susan. There was no point in doing nothing not knowing how everyone else was fairing.

I found Ben and Reed on a balcony overlooking a pool area. 

"Hey, guys," I beamed as I approached them.

"Hey, sis," my brother smiled hugging me tight, "You had me worried there."

"How are you feeling, Ari?" Reed asked as Ben let go of me.

"Solid," I replied still confused about what had happened.

"Uh, it was a close one, though, huh? What was that about?" Ben wondered turning to Reed.

"I don't know," Reed shook his head, "I really don't know. I've been going over the figures again and again, and they all add up." He too had a confused expression, "I just don't understand. Maybe I should've aborted--."

"Reed, it was a freak of nature. You couldn't have possibly predicted it. Let it go," my brother assured him that it wasn't his fault.

"Hey, even scientists make mistakes," I jumped in, "It's what makes us human."

Reed appeared to feel a little better.

"You know, you live through something like this, it really makes you appreciate having the right woman in your life," Ben turned looking out over at the pool area where Susan sat and read something.

"Yeah, you and Debbie are perfect," Reed nodded.

"I'm not talking about Debbie."

I could tell Ben was hoping Reed would have the guts to win back Susan.

Reed looked in the same direction as my brother, "What? Come on. She's got a good thing with Victor. He's smart, he's powerful, he's successful--"

"Well maybe you should date him then," Ben remarked with some sass.