Sue Is Naked, Surrounded By Her Family—And Has A Lot of Explaining To Do

There were no dreams. No sense of time passing. Just lights out. Then, like being born again...

Smelling salts are like a smack to the forebrain. Sue Storm's eyes fluttered. Pain echoed through the back of her head, where it had bounced off of the roof of the building she laid on. She could feel the hard, rough concrete beneath her bare ass and back. Her eyes refused to focus for a moment, but she could see worried figures hover over her.

"She's coming to," Reed said. She felt the soft, warm touch of his fingers at her neck and wrist. "Pulse is strong. Johnny, do you have the blanket?"

"Right here, Reed," her little brother's voice said. Sue felt something warm and soft laid over her body. There was something wrong about that.

"I got the photos back in the envelope, Stretch," Ben Grimm said. "Bet there's one heck of a story behind this."

"I'm sure there is, old friend," Reed said. "But right now we need to get Sue to the hospital—she might have a concession."

"I'm...fine...ugh," Sue grimaced as she tried to sit up.

The rest of the Fantastic Four weren't having any of it. Reed stretched himself to wrap her up as snug and secure as a mummy. Carried her into the Fantasticar, and then they were off, back into the sky. Sue's head pounded. She was tired...and worse than that, as memories came back to her, so did awareness.

They had found her there. Stark naked on the roof. And the naked photos she'd traded her clothes to secure must have fallen out of the envelope. They had seen those too. Her whole face burned with shame...and then a thought came to her.

"What...happened with the...tentacle monster?" Sue asked Reed.

Mister Fantastic frowned. "Some sort of elaborate subterfuge. Drones armed with advanced holographic generators projected a three-dimensional image of the creature; it was arranged so that when a 'tentacle' touched the building, a radio-controlled plastic explosive would go off. When you went invisible, the drones' cameras couldn't see you, and you got caught in the blast."

"Oh," Sue said. She frowned, not sure who could be behind such an elaborate trick. If the tentacle monster was a distraction, then what was the real crime?

At the hospital, Sue traded the emergency blanket from the Fantasticar for a paper smock. Her bare ass sat on the edge of the table as a polite, silver-haired woman in a lab coat asked her a few questions, nurses took her vitals. Then there were X-rays, some blood work. Hours later, she emerged to find Reed and Johnny in the lobby, with a bag containing one of Sue's spare uniforms.

"Light concussion," she said with a smile, after she changed. "Doctor told me to take it easy for a few days. No adventuring if I can help it. Light duty."

Then it was back home. The ride in the Fantasticar was silent, and Reed sat with her instead of apart as they usually did. THe kids crowded her as soon they landed, and Ben, bless his stony heart, had a chef's hat on and was making his famous macaroni pizza. The Invisible Woman smiled and let herself be led along to dinner...then getting the kids to bed...and then the three men took their seats around the dining room table, and the Thing produced the envelope.

"Suzy. We know you're hurt, and we don't like to pry. But we gotta ask...where were yer clothes? What happened?" Ben said, his blue eyes stared out from beneath the craggy brow and seemed to see straight through her.

"If somebody did something to you...some pervert..." Johnny said, and small wisps of flame erupted on his eyebrow. "Well, I'll barbecue anyone that touches my sister like that!"

"Settle down, Johnny," Reed said. He stretched on arm out to touch Sue's shoulder, gently, and led her to the empty chair. "But please, Sue. We need to know. Who did this to you? What happened?"