Ben Grimm Notices

Ben Grimm, the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing, noticed Sue Storm spending more time out at the massage parlor. Then it wasn't just massages. Sue would disappear in the afternoons. She always responded to emergency signals, was always there when there was a fight, but she was at home less often. Missed family dinners. When Reed went to kiss her, she offered her cheek. It was little stuff like that...things that didn't add up...

Then one night, as Ben was in the living room reading a Stephen King novel, he saw Sue Storm arrive. At a glance, he knew she was a little drunk. There was a liquid ease to her movement. A strange smile on her lips. Then he saw the lipstick on her collar. Not the same color as her own, which was smeared. Her hair was out of place. She gave Ben a little wave then turned toward her bedroom.

The panties fell out of her purse. Ben rose like a mountain forming, slow and silent. Stomped as softly as he could over to the spot, picked it up.

Tiger-print thong. Nothing like Sue would ever wear. It smelled of a perfume that Sue had never used. And the pubes on it...were black.

The Thing did not chase Sue down and give her the panties. He went to the security center and began to go through the footage of Sue Storm's entrances and exits, her contacts over the last few weeks. A full security scan. Didn't like what he saw. Late-night visits. Returning at odd hours. Not even trying to hide it.

When she went out the next night, Ben Grimm was in a taxi behind her, following her own cab. He saw her greet the tall, dark young woman with a kiss. A full tongue kiss. Sue's hands all over the other woman's ass.

What to do? Tell Reed? If it was true, it would break his heart. The thought came to him that Sue Storm might be under someone's control or influence. He thought about Jessica Jones, how he could hire her to find out more. Or contact Maria Hill, see if this was part of some undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. thing.

Or he could confront her. Look Sue Storm in the eye and ask her why she was cheating on her husband with another woman.

Ben paid the cabbie and got out. In his oversized trenchcoat, he walked slowly the length of Manhattan, too big for anyone to give him trouble, even the nastier forms of street life. He loomed in the darkness, and the bright New York night seemed to taunt him. The city that never sleeps. How long had it been going on? How long had Sue been stepping out on her marriage? What did this mean for the Fantastic Four?

The Thing had no illusions about his place in the world. The Fantastic Four was his home, his life, his family. If Reed and Sue broke up, he had nowhere to go. Yet if he didn't tell Reed, he was betraying his oldest and best friend. His teeth ground against each other as his big feet carried him on and on, through the dark midnight of his soul.

Unaware that someone was watching him.