Big Bertha

Once, down in Florida, Sue Storm had lounged with her feet in the warm waters of a little inlet. She watched the sun go down, listened to the sounds of the semi-tropical forest around her. Somewhere, Reed and Johnny and Ben were making dinner. Then, something brushed her feet. The Invisible Woman had looked down through the darkening waters and saw the huge, smooth shape of the manatee as it rose to the surface. Not violent, not scary. The huge, smooth creature looked utterly content and serene, placid and curious.

As Big Bertha emerged from the surf in Sue Storm's mind's eye, she had the same grace. The bulk of her rose up, buoyant and swollen. She raised her head, eyes placid, a dim smile on her face as her chins shook. The enormous breasts rose up through the surf as she pushed herself forward on short, powerful arms, as her enormous belly carved a furrow in the wet sand.

Dr. Stone paused and blinked as Sue Storm described the scene.

"Big Bertha?" she said. "Of the Great Lakes Avengers? Or Initiative? Or whatever else they're calling themselves this week?"

"Yes," Sue said with a guilty sigh.

"Interesting," the psychiatrist scribbled a note. The golden aura played about her head, unseen by her patient. Moonstone had not expected her powers to dredge up this little fantasy from Sue's subconscious mind. "Have you ever been attracted to...bigger women before?"

"I'm not attracted to women at all!" Sue said stubbornly. "But I do...admire her. She puts herself out there. Unselfconscious about her body. While I've basically been on a diet my entire life, to stay thin. Even when I was pregnant, I had to watch my weight. You know about the expectations of society, how hard it is to be a woman in the limelight."

Moonstone's lips drew into a tight line. In truth, she did know, better than Sue knew. Supervillains were worse about sexualizing women than heroes, or at least more open about it. Many female supervillains resorted to cosmetic surgery just to maintain their image. Lip fillers, breast and buttock augmentations, liposuction, botox...and those were the normal treatments. If you had superdense tissue or something, you'd need exotic medical attention, and that meant getting into bed with A.I.M. or some would-be alien conqueror. It was a hell of a thing, potentially selling your soul just for a pair of tits fit for a porn star.

The villain wondered how best to use this.

"Perhaps this is a representation of a different subconsious desire. Not a sexual one, per se, but of a lifestyle...a freedom...you've wanted but haven't been willing to give yourself," Dr. Stone said, her voice carefully measured.

Sue's face scrunched up.

"You think I want to be fat?"

"I think you want the freedom to be fat," Dr. Stone said. "The chance to live without the stress of other people's regard."

"If I wanted people not to judge me by my looks, I'd turn invisible!" Sue said.

"But at some point you'd have to be visible again, wouldn't you?" Dr. Stone said. "Then everyone would judge. Everyone would see. And how would you feel then?"

Sue Storm was quiet. Behind her closed eyes, emotions swirled. In her mind's eye, she still sat on the beach. The great blubbery bulk of Big Bertha hauled herself upright, to loom over Sue. Wet, dripping, utterly naked. The enormous saggy breasts rested on the protruding gut. Thunderous thighs rubbed together. She blocked out the sun and cast a shadow on Invisible Woman. Eclipsed her utterly.

"I think what you need is a little experiment," Dr. Stone suggested.