Just After She Arrives

The Invisible Woman walked down the stair of the private jet and onto the bare concrete of the airport runway. Not far away she saw a long, sleek car, with small unfamiliar flags flying from just above the headlights. It was a Mercedes-Benz 770, an ancient, luxurious, and massive vehicle from a previous age, one preferred by dictators and presidents of banana republics.

Standing next to it was one of the largest men that Sue Storm had ever seen. He brought to mind the Kingpin and the Blob with the massive gut, the fat roll in place of a neck, the bullet-like head atop the massive shoulders. Yet like them, there was a sense of personal power and strength that came with the raw bulk. He stood on his own two feet, no need for a cane or a wheelchair. His suit was impeccably tailored, European in style, black and grey pinstripes.

It couldn't hide the bulge down the left leg of his trousers. A shotgun, maybe, based on the size and shape. Well, Sue wasn't offended that he had come armed. She was dangerous.

Yet what really caught her attention was his head. It was a pig's head, or close to it. The nose was a definite snout, the ears small, high set, and triangular. Small, dark, deep-set eyes regarded her from beneath a broad brow. Sue walked towards him, glad right now that she had on her Fantastic Four uniform beneath the overcoat. It felt like a suit of armor, a declaration that she wasn't some empty-headed debutante or celebrity.

"Herr von Porkum?" Sue said, and held out her hand to shake.

"Fraulein Storm!" he said. With a surprisingly display of agility, he went down on own knee to kiss her hand. The lips lingered, a moment too long. Then he rose, and walking to the car, opened the door.

"It's Frau," Sue said, as she entered. "I'm married."

"Of course, of course," the small dark eyes seemed to laugh. "But your husband is so very far away..."

Porkum rounded the car and squeezed in on the opposite side. As soon as he was in, the car pulled away. The huge man seemed to fill the cramped space, though the car was big enough that he never imposed on her personal space. The smell, however, was something neither of them could control. The mutant's personal odor was a kind of masculine musk that reminded Sue of the time she'd visited a horse stud farm. That same animalistic reek that was strangely arousing yet alien.

"Will it be a long drive?" Sue asked.

"It is not far to das Schloss," he said. His accent was odd, almost a Hollywood German accent. His eyes seemed to linger on her. "You are more beautiful in person than on television. Magnificent."

Sue remembered that she had to play nice, and **** a smile on her face at the compliment.

"Thank you," she said. Then, in need of filling the silence. "When is the ball?"