Johnny Tries To Kiss Her Again - Suspecting An Imposter

"Has to be a Skrull, or an LMD," Johnny Storm muttered to himself. A strange VROOOM shook the building, and the Human Torch ran after the woman who had just kissed him. The woman looked and sounded exactly like his sister, who was doing just what Sue would do in this situation. Yet it couldn't be her.

"Franklin Benjamin Richards, you come out of that dimension this instant, or you are grounded, mister!"

Johnny hesitated. She had used Franklin's middle name. No one used his middle name.

As he peeked into the room, he had an image of Franklin oddly older, with black hair, caught in the middle of a kaleidoscopic snowflake of rotating lights. Then he sighed, and the light show ended.

The very blond kid's sneakers hit the floor. The room was a mess. Clothing, toys, puzzle pieces strewn all about.

"Aw, shucks mom," Franklin said. "I was just explorin' alternate timelines."

"And I said, no temporal physics without proper adult supervision!" Sue wagged her finger at him. "And I want this room cleaned up before dinner. Then we'll talk to your father about alternate timelines."

She reached over and smoothed his blond hair.

"Although no more where you have black hair. It looks ridiculous. Like some kind of emo phase," she said.

When she turned back to Johnny, for a moment his doubts evaporated. This had to be Sue. Who else would treat a reality-altering event like other parents would treat a surprise firecracker in the sock drawer.

"Don't worry, Johnny," she said. "I handled it. Now you go wash up. We're having tacos for dinner."

"TACOS!" The kids screamed in unison.

"IF this room is clean by dinner time," Sue said.

As she moved to brush past Johnny and into the hallway, the Human Torch saw his opportunity. If this really was an LMD, he could prove it—the real Sue would never let him French kiss her!

His face darted forward, and his lips locked against hers. There wasn't even a moment of hesitation. Sue's lips parted and as Johnny's tongue slid into her mouth, her own tongue came out to meet it. He stared into those blue eyes and didn't see a single moment of hesitation, revulsion, or anything except—enjoyment.

Johnny's face blushed and, ashamed, he pulled back. Sue Storm smiled at him.

"And brush your teeth, too," she said. "You taste like an ashtray!"