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Ever since he could remember Johnny has always been fascinated by space.
There was no greater idea than that of flying high among the stars, not to him. Being out amongst the shining balls of matter, the void of space being so vast and endless around him, that was a dream of his. When he was a kid, very often at night he stared at the sky, eyes wide with childlike wonder as the world sometimes seemed against him, imagining all the things that could be found in space if he could just go up there even once.
And Johnny had chosen to throw himself into it like he had with many other things that had piqued his interest over the years.
He was reading books, studying magazines, the works.
While he sat there, thinking about these childhood things, Johnny couldn't help the feeling of excitement and anticipation that flowed motivationally through him like a steady stream as he busied himself with one of their final tasks that needed to be done.
Finally he would get to go see more of the universe that he wanted to see so badly. He would be a real astronaut and at an age so young too. He had insisted and begged to go along multiple times and it had finally paid off as Sue finally relented against his tireless asking.
The training was tough and difficult and sometimes Johnny just wanted to throw on the towel, but if there was one thing Johnny Storm wasn't among the many things he was then it was a quitter.
Especially for something as one in a lifetime as this.
While the work needed for this space trip was absolutely no joke (though he had definitely dropped quite a few jokes while he had been doing it), he had managed to get through it hadn't he?
It was all worth it to him. Johnny was the designated backup pilot on this trip and he intended to do that job he had rightfully earned well.
Suddenly he dropped the mindless task that he had been using as a distraction so he could let his thoughts wander. It fell to the floor with a clatter and rolled across the floor a little ways. He was watching it roll away from him. When it inevitably slowed its roll, Johnny walked over and bent down so he could pick it up. He glanced back and forth a few times before simply brushing off any dust it had gained with his hand. Johnny went back to the task, talking to himself aloud.
“You’ve got this Johnny. It's going to be great. You're going to do great.”
Though he wouldn't admit that if anyone asked. He was definitely not talking to himself and if he was, it definitely wasn't because Johnny was hyping himself up. There Johnny sat ruminating in his thoughts as he ‘worked’.
It was almost time.
He could hardly believe it. What had felt like mere hours had gone by (maybe it was longer. If he was being perfectly honest it was probably far longer), and still he could hardly believe it. It had all gone so fast until they had all gotten in the rocket. It was an utter blur truly. While he sat in his seat and tried to think about it for even a second, it was no more of a gentle wisp of intense memory that admittingly still filled him with hope than something vivid and clear right now. With everything that was going through his mind, it was so distant in his mind as the rocket had blasted the crew away from the planet.
Final checks and they were off.
They were already leaving the atmosphere and the force was intense. His chest tightened as strong pressure was pinning him against his seat. They were tearing through the lower atmosphere now. He knew this from what he could remember from all the studying he had done. He tried to maintain focus even over the roar in his ears from the walls rattling and shaking. Pressure built and built before it all just stopped. His stomach dropped and he was weightless. Tethered to the rocket, but the feeling in his heart was like nothing he had ever felt before. The feeling of freedom, being unanchored to anything, was so strange, so foreign to him.
He weighed nothing and there was nothing keeping him there in his seat besides the thin strip of seatbelt firmly strapped across his lap. Johnny didn't have to look around himself to know that beyond the gray walls of the ship was the ever expanding expense of the universe he had wanted to be among for even a second.
This childhood dream that had become interest.
The interest that had become action (because when did Johnny ever not take action when he wanted something?).
The action that had become this.
This beautiful dream turned into an even more wonderful reality.
And no matter what happened on this trip, the many stars and planets that he had long thought about would all be right there.
All he had to do was look.