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Ben was the strong one of the group, that was just a job after all. He was there to be the heavy hitter. The one who could both give and take any amount of stuff being thrown at them. In all honesty he had been happy with this job. He liked being able to keep his friends safe. He liked knowing he was the one they could depend upon if they ever needed protecting.
It was actually something he took great pride in, being able to grab the other three and hide them underneath him as he took whatever blast came his way.
The others might have cooler, flashier powers compared to his but that didn’t make him any less necessary to the group. He was their protector, he kept them safe and god help anyone who put the three people he’d sworn with his whole body to protect. He realistically knew he should try to control his strength more in fights but he didn’t care if someone was threatening his friends then Ben was gonna be showing them as much brute force as physically possible.
This protection also extended to practically everyone nearby. Sure, it hurt like hell when people would call him a monster or would get scared if he came too close but the hurt that he felt with that was nothing compared to the joy he felt when he used his body to protect someone. The way they would look up to him as if he had hung the stars in the sky.
Almost everyone would assume that due to his appearance and superstrength that his favourite part of his powers had always been the hitting people part but honestly it really wasn’t. Sure, it was fun to get a good hit and watch as a villain went down. It felt really good actually but really he was more interested in being able to protect the civilians around them.
He couldn’t count how many times he had dove over someone, letting cars or debris hit his body just to keep someone safe. Even if he hated how he looked, not having soft skin meant that he truly could keep everyone safe. After all, it's what he had been doing his entire life. From Yancy Street where he would chase off people trying to rob old ladies and shop owners, to Reed who had always found someone new he had pissed off. He was always being chased, having stuff thrown at him and beat up. Well, until Ben showed up.
After that no one really messed with Reed that much, nobody dared because they knew it meant they’d be getting a visit from a very angry Ben Grimm. This tradition even continued when Sue and Johnny came around, Sue always had some creep following after calling her disgusting names or trying to get her number and Johnny had a nasty habit of getting into fights that he definitely could not finish.
So yet again, Ben had stepped up to the task. Punching the lights out of creeps and assholes alike. He had always been there when they had needed him, no matter what. However, that had changed today. It had been their normal kind of fight, nothing too out of the ordinary. A monologuing villain, a lot of punching and rubble and backchat.
Everything had honestly been going quite well for them, they were even becoming likely to get home before dinner if they kept up the pace that they were going at. Something which he was very thankful for considering the past few days they’d be having to either skip or just get okay take-away for dinner since it was too late for anyone to actually cook when they got home.
Now Ben didn’t mind take-away but he had really been wanting that dinner. Ben vaguely remembered someone yelling something at him, telling him to get out of the way. The only problem was that he hadn’t had any time to even process the words before suddenly a building fell on him, it had been almost ten stories. The shock and the actual weight shocked him as he desperately tried to keep standing.
Trying to keep himself as upwards as he possibly could. As brick after brick pounded against his back in a dizzying manor.
However, as he was being crushed his thoughts only went to the others. Had they gotten out okay? Were they under here too? Did he need to somehow go and find them? Ben could somewhat handle the pressure on his back, it hurt like hell and would definitely leave him needing some time to rest later on but the others didn’t have that luxury.
If Reed or Johnny or Sue somehow had gotten caught in the crossfire then there wasn’t a chance that their bodies would be able to take it. The impact alone could have been enough to kill them.
‘They’re strong’ He reminded himself. ‘Johnny could have melted the rubble before it hit him, Sue could have put up a forefield and Reed could have contorted his body in a way to get out”
There was a giant possibility that they were safe and sound away from the wreckage but the what if plagued his mind. What if one of them was down here and badly hurt? What if they were waiting in pain for Ben to help and pull them out of the rubble? That thought instantly snapped him into action. In the position he had been hit he had somehow managed to stay crouching.
The weight of the building literally resting on his back Slowly he tried to push with his legs, trying to force his body into an upright position. His eyes clenched in pain, tears prickling at the edge of them as his breathing got more rapid. He tried over and over to shove himself up or even get into a position where he could start climbing his way through debris but as he tried to move his body he found himself completely imobile.
A tight feeling settled in his throat. He was stuck. He didn’t know how long he sat there desperately trying to shift himself into the right position, like the only thing between him and his freedom was the right angle but no matter how hard he tried his body wouldn’t budge. He was vaguely aware of tears dripping down the rocks on his face. He was crying. From pain or panic he had no idea.
His hands clenched against what felt like rebar resting on his shoulder and slowly pushed it up. For a glorious second the structure seemed to shift letting him up slightly before falling harder. The weight doubling as something above him shifted in the wrong direction. Slowly he started to realise something.
He couldn't love, but if he somehow did? This entire thing was going to start coming down on him and fast. Ben's mind wandered to the possibility of there being other people here, a possibility that was very likely. They had been fighting in the heart of the financial district after all the buildings had been packed. There were probably hundreds of other people trapped under the rubble with him right now. To try and pull himself out risked the chance of this whole thing collapsing.
It risked the lives of possibly hundreds of people. Ben didn't have a choice. He had to stay down here, he had to stay so that he could make sure other people were safe. They needed him to be a protector. He could do that. Even if his back ached, even if it felt like his legs were going to snap from the pressure he could do this. If it meant that he was protecting people then he could do this.
He had done harder before this would be a piece of cake. The simple thing was he just needed to wait on the others to come find him, they had been the ones to try and warn him so no doubt they’d be trying to find a way to dig him out right now. Even if it meant ignoring the rest of the fight they would be trying to rescue him.
That was the sweet thing about their team. They always put each other above anything else. If it came down to rescuing the world or rescuing one of their own?
At least for them the answer would be obvious. It was selfish and they knew that. God how they knew, but there was nothing that could really stop it. They had made agreements and deals over and over that if anything happened then to prioritise helping other people before them. Each of them had made the other three agree to it more than once.
The only problem with this rule is that none of them could seem to follow it. Maybe it was instinctual or maybe it was intentional but at least to them they were much more focused on protecting their own. Reed was constantly getting himself into trouble, Sue was constantly being harassed by creeps, Johnny had literally died and Ben had a nasty habit of getting into pulverising fights with the hulk.
They each got hurt so much on a daily basis. It had become second nature when in a high stress environment.
They’d block everything else out and put their focus purely onto protecting the ones that they loved. This had ended badly before, with the Civil war, with the whole ordeal with Doom ruling the world and when Reed tried to ‘solve everything’. It was their one true flaw in a way.They never would be able to put their family second to anything.
Ben couldn’t help but groan as he tried to ignore the pain in his back. He was vaguely aware of a wet feeling running down it and his shoulders. He knew it was blood. It had to be blood. Ben could take a lot of pressure. A lot. But a full building and for this long was pushing it. He couldn’t even tell if he was still crying or if he was just that exhausted.
He could feel the way that his body trembled. All he could do was to focus on his breathing, focus on the idea of getting out of here. All he had to do was remind himself that the others were coming. No matter what happened at some point they would pull him from the wreckage and he would be home free.Their job was to dig him out and his job was to keep steady until they reached him.
A task that seemed harder and harder by the second. His hands clenched together as something shifted above him making it dig into his back harder. All Ben could do was groan and try not to get up. He had to keep the position he was in. If he moved then he ran the risk of something falling on him.But it was getting harder.
His vision blurred and shook. His teeth trembled as he clenched them as tight as possible praying that he could last any longer. That was when it happened, suddenly a beam of light shone in from above him.
Ben tried to crane his head to get a look at it but it was borderline impossible with the weight on his back. He just had to keep breathing a smile stretched across his face when the pressure that had been holding him down was suddenly released. All the tension rained out of him as he fell to his knees exhausted. His breaths ere ragged and his whole body trembled as he tried his best to gain his composure.
“I got ya’ big guy i got ya” Johnny whispered his hands wrapping around Ben's head pulling him close, Ben softly let it rest on Johnny's shoulder as he tried to catch his breath. He could vaguely feel the younger patting his back but through the adrenaline and the exhaustion and the rocky skin it felt like nothing.
“Fuck that hurt..” He groaned one hand resting on Johnny's back to steady himself.
The younger chucked at that, the feeling of his shoulders softly bouncing as surprisingly calming. Ben used his hand to pull him slightly closer. It was such a small thing, Johnny laughed all the damn time but this? This was a reminder why he did what he did, it kept his family safe. It kept them happy and laughing “I can imagine” Johnny said with a smile
“You’re bleeding are you okay?” Sue’s voice came from behind him, her worry evident in her voice. Another hand joined Johnny's on his back, this one softer. Gently rubbing it in a way clearly meant to comfort him.
Ben didn’t acknowledge the question and instead pulled himself up slightly looking back at the rubble, it was bad. Almost two full buildings completely crumpled and reduced to nothing but a pile on the ground. There were holes all around it from where people had been digging. Or more specifically them. The holes dug were frantic and desperate. The sight made him smile slightly
That's when he turned to Reed who was staring at him, shoulders shaking as he breathed heavily “Is there anyone else still under there? He asked, getting ready to go back out there if he was needed.
Reed just shook his head, he glanced back at the wreckage and the evidence of the panicked digging that they had done. He hadn’t responded to communicators, honestly, he forgot she had them. “Almost everyone had been evacuated apparently so there weren't many people to dig out” The scientists’ voice was a whisper as he ran his hand through his hair.
“You were at the bottom though so that's why it took a while” Sue tried to explain as she sat next to him looking up at Ben with genuinely apologetic eyes like they were at fault for this.
“Sorry we took so long” Johnny apologised, one hand still on the back of Ben's neck, steadying him as he spoke.
All ben could do was smile “Dont sweat it”
The words ‘i would have done the same for you’ went unsaid
They didn’t need to be said.