Mary Jane Watson

Fiery red hair, dripping wet. Green eyes, half-lidded. Pouty lips curled in a secret smile, slightly parted. Bare shoulders above the water as she stared up into Sue Storm's eyes, her breasts and body hidden. In her mind's eye, Sue was fixated. She had seen the redheaded model a hundred times in commercials, on the covers of magazines. Something about her look now stirred old memories...some sort of swimsuit special. For a moment, all the tension that had drained out of Sue came back, and her body seized up.

"Open your eyes," Moonstone said, softly, calmly, authoritatively.

Sue did...and found herself back inside the psychiatrist's office, seated in a chair, hands in her lap. The blonde blinked, but the image, the moment was gone.

"Tea?" Dr. Stone poured asked as she took the glass kettle off the burner. The tea-flower inside had blossomed. Sue nodded, and Dr. Stone poured for her client first, then herself.

They drank in silence for a few moments. Sue was grateful for that. The time to collect her thoughts. There were questions she knew were coming, but didn't want to answer...maybe didn't know how to answer.

"You seem to very affected by the guided meditation," Dr. Stone noted. "Have you been hypnotized before?"

The Invisible Woman stared at the dregs of tea in her cup. She could feel the heat of the warm liquid in her chest. Tried not to think about how hard her nipples were, as they rubbed against the sports bra.

"Yes. A few times. In my line of work..."

"Of course," Dr. Stone said, and gave a smile. "I think maybe you're used to such trance states. Fall into them a bit more easily. It's not a matter of willpower—it's more of mental reflex. Like muscle memory. The more one is hypnotized, the more easily one can be hypnotized. I want you to know that everything during these sessions is completely consensual. We won't try another trance state, not unless you're willing and ready for it. Okay?"

Sue let out the breath she had been holding. Honest, straightforward. She felt herself relax a little.

"Okay," Sue said.

"You seemed surprised to mention a woman's name," Dr. Stone said.

The Invisible Woman could feel a little heat on her cheeks. If she was the shy type, she would have vanished right then and there, just so that Dr. Stone couldn't see her.

"I don't know why I said that. Probably something I saw on television, or a magazine cover. A swimsuit special, maybe? All that talk of the ocean...free association..." Sue demurred.

Dr. Stone wasn't having it.

"An oddly specific image. You knew her name," Dr. Stone said.

"Everyone knows Mary Jane Watson!" Sue protested. "She's famous! She's gorgeous!"

The word slipped out, and Sue blushed further.

Dr. Stone's smile grew wider.

"What do you think I'm going to ask you next?" The blonde psychiatrist said.

"If I've ever thought about women before. If I'm a lesbian," Sue shot back. "No and no!"

There was a little more tea left in the pot. Dr. Stone offered it to Sue, who refused with a polite shake of her head. The psychiatrist poured what was left of the tea into her own cup.

"Human sexuality and sexual attraction is complicated. We like to give it labels, but as you probably know, each individual is unique—different. Our purpose here during these sessions isn't to label you. It's for you to achieve a better understanding of yourself, to foster good habits of mental health, to unpack some of the psychological trauma you've been subject to and the stress you've built up over the course of your unique life. As Freud once said, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Sometimes Mary Jane Watson was just an image that has been lurking in the back of your mind, that needed an excuse to come to the fore. Now that it has, we can deal with it."

Dr. Stone sipped her tea. Sue sighed and stared out the window at Central Park. A flaming figure cut across the sky, in the direction of the Baxter Building. That would be Johnny, on his way home. No flare to indicate an emergency. All the people below milled about; the tourists stopped, stared, pointed. The real New Yorkers, she knew, kept moving. She smiled a little at that. They were a tough breed. Used to miracles.

While Sue was distracted, Moonstone dropped her next question like a bombshell.

"Are there any sexual problems in your marriage?" Dr. Stone asked.