Peace Through Pregnancy

"Victor von Doom wants to impregnate me!" Sue Storm's voice was disbelieving. Karla held her lover in her arms, their mingled sweat running down their naked bodies.

The communication, the Invisible Woman said, had come out of the blue. A private channel, an offer. A complete end to the animosity against the Fantastic Four and her family. Latveria opening its doors to the world. The release of technologies that Doom had long hoarded. All in exchange for an heir.

"And what did you tell him?" Karla asked, though she already knew. She had been secretly manipulating Sue toward this moment for weeks.

"Well—you know I've been thinking about having another baby," Sue admitted. "But Reed would never go for it."

"With all due respect, love," Karla said. "What business of it is his? You don't need his permission."

"He's still my husband, Karla," Sue said, her head against the other woman's breasts. "I still care for him, even after everything."

"But this is bigger than just you. This is like saving the world," Karla said. Softly, her eyes began to glow. "You have to at least present it to him."

"Absolutely not!" Reed Richards thundered. His fist slammed into the conference table, which made Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm jump. "Of all the vile, despicable things that Doom has done, this is the most—"

"He gave me his word, Reed," Sue said softly. She stood up. "And I didn't come to you for permission. I was hoping you'd understand, that you'd appreciate what this means. But I've already decided. I'm going to do it. Karla has been helping me with the fertility treatments. The insemination is scheduled for—"

"NO!" Reed launched himself forward, arms stretching. His hands hit Sue's invisible barrier as Ben rose to hold his friend back. "This isn't happening! You're being brainwashed, or mind controlled, or—"

Sue Storm looked at her husband with a mixture of sadness and pity as Ben hauled him away.

"Sis," Johnny said, his voice low and sober. "This is—a lot to take in. I don't have any say in what you do with your own body, but you do know that there are a lot of people out there that want to manipulate you in a lot of ways. Will you at least let us bring some people in to check you over? Make sure you're not being controlled or **** somehow?"

"Of course, Johnny," Sue said confidently. "I have nothing to hide."

"No telepathic interference," Emma Frost said, although her eyes made it clear that there was more to what she had read from Sue Storm's mind than she was letting on. "The meetings with Doom were sincere. She has been honest about that."

The Invisible Woman blushed. Reed looked broken. He sat on the other side of the room, barely glancing at her.

"No nanites, parasites, or **** in her bloodstream," Hank McCoy, the Beast, said.

"Her aura is clear of any mystical influence," Dr. Strange added.

"No temporal fluctuations," Hank Pym chipped in. "Doom hasn't been manipulating her timeline at all."

Sue Storm stepped away from the probes, most of her body invisible. She touched Reed's shoulder. He flinched. Ever since her announcement, he had been sleeping in the lab, skipping family meals.

"I'm in my own right mind, Reed," she said. "This is my decision. And I think it's the right one. For us, and for our family."

"Our family?" he said, voice bitter with pain. "Do Franklin and Valeria know, yet? That their mother wants to cheat on them with their greatest enemy?"

Sue's spine stiffened.

"I've told them," she said. "That they're going to have another little brother or sister."