Confusion and Hostility

The piercing hurt more the next day. There was a little bit of dried blood. The Invisible Woman had spent some time looking up proper aftercare for piercings. How and when to wash them. She held an ice pack against her aching nose, and welcomed the numbness.

Out on the streets, in her civilian clothes, Sue felt the urge to make the piercing invisible—but she knew that she needed to get used to people seeing it. To wearing it openly. So she left it visible as she headed into the Starbucks. Felt the eyes linger on it as she ordered her usual: a tall Americano. She gave the bitter, dark liquid a sip and then stood up and made her way to the restroom.

The men's and women's restrooms were across a small hallway from one another. Sue felt weird, turning left into the men's room. Ignored the two men with their pants down at the urinals, and headed toward the further of the two stalls. It was empty. She walked in turned around, locked the door...and a brown tile on the wall slid down.

A familiar pink schlong, thick as an elephant's trunk, slid through the hole. Sue couldn't shake her excitement as she picked it up; the tip was already scummy and as she pulled the foreskin back, a wet, white ooze trickled out. She was careful to manuever her coffee cup under the pink prick to catch the liquid treasure. It turned the black liquid a milky brown.

She felt regret as the hard cock pulled back through the wall, before she could suck it or do anything else—but as she left the Starbucks, she sipped her coffee and felt a warmth and wellness suffuse her as the shaking need of her addiction fled.

That was how it went, day after day for a week. The nurse who came to check her bandages noticed the piercing, but didn't mention it. The children noticed the metal ring on mommy's nose on the first video call, and Sue tried out her carefully-rehearsed lie: a desire for self-expression, she thought it looked cute. Agatha Harkness raised an eyebrow, the only sign of surprise. Franklin was confused. Valeria thought it looked cool and wanted one when she grew up.

By the end of the second week, the pain had basically disappeared. The bandage had come off of Sue's leg, too. She still made her morning Starbucks run. Sometimes Porkum let her play with his prick a little, sometimes not. Sue had gotten used to the occasional odd look as she slipped into the men's room, yet amazingly no one had made a fuss about it. She felt weirdly elated at the freedom of going somewhere that she'd never been before. All these years, she could have gone into the men's room any time.

Then, the day came. Franklin and Valeria arrived in the afternoon. Reed, Johnny, and Ben returned in the evening.

She had opted for a traditional costume. Black gloves and booties and neckline. No cleavage or excess skin showing. The only thing different about her was the metal ring that hung from her nose, that came to rest on her philtrum when she tilted her chin up.

It was the first thing that they noticed.

"Sue—what on earth have you done to yourself!?" Reed said.

Mister Fantastic looked tired. He hadn't shaved, and his beard had grown in wild; there were dark bags under his eyes, the cheeks looked hollow. She could actually see how loose his costume was, evidence he had lost weight.

"Do you like it?" Sue said. "I needed a change. I think it suits me."

"It's...uh...definitely different, Suzy," Ben offered.

"Not exactly what I expected of you, sis," Johnny offered.

"Take it out," Reed said. He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. His voice dropped into a whisper. "I can't believe you would—what if the children see you?"

"They've already seen it, darling," Sue said, her tone harsh as her backbone stiffened. "And it's staying in. Get used to it."

Reed shook his head. They hadn't even hugged yet. The children looked up at the adult's tense standoff. Ben bent down and opened his hands wide, and the two ran over to give him a hug. But their little blonde heads turned to see what was going on with mommy and daddy.

"I dunno about you kids, but I'm starvin'," Ben said. "Why don't we go into the kitchen, an'—"

"Sue, this is completely—do you even know what you look like!?" Reed said, the exhausted hero's voice rose in pitch.

"Like what?" Sue said. "A woman that can make her own decisions about her body?"

"Sue, no, c'mon," Johnny said. "I'm sure Reed didn't meant that, I mean, it's only that, you know, women with septum piercings, tend to be...kind of...loose, you know?"

"Like the sluts you drag home?" Sue turned on her brother. His blue eyes widened at the accusation.

Ben Grimm carried the kids into the kitchen before the shouting started. He shook his great stony head, not sure how this was going to end.