Sue Storm Tells Reed About The Photos - and Mae

"Oh Reed, I—I have a confession to make," Sue Storm said, and leaned against a lab table. Her heart hammered harder than if she was fighting an army of Moloids. She struggled with what she had to say. Yet she needed to say it. To get it off her chest. It was like being in the confessional—only Reed Richards was no father confessor. He was her husband, her lover, her best friend, and she had thought—she had accused him of—guilt and shame weighed on Sue like the time Ben had accidentally sat on her because she had been invisible in his favorite chair.

"At university, I did some nude modeling," Sue Storm said. "With my friend Mae. It was so long ago, I had almost forgotten about it, but this morning I got a text from Janet van Dyne. The photos had surfaced on the darknet. I wanted to take care of it quickly, quietly, so I didn't tell you or anyone else about it. The photos were traced to Mae, who has become a porn star named Tess Tempest. I went to her house to buy back the rights, and she—propositioned me. I told her no, and she showed me those photos of you and Mary Jane to—oh God, Reed, I'm so sorry—"

Sue couldn't cry. She knew that would be cheating. Playing on Reed's heartstrings. She felt absolutely rotten, having kept all of this from Reed so long, years of deceptions, her perfect image shattered, and then to accuse him—it was unforgivable.

"I knew," Reed said. "About the modeling. The photos."

She looked up, tears in her blue eyes. His arms stretched out and wrapped around her like a straitjacket, and drew her close.

"What?" she said.

"When we began the Fantastic Four, we didn't exactly have secret identities, but I knew we couldn't keep it secret forever," Reed explained. "I've spent a considerable portion of the proceeds from my early patents on protecting our privacy—I bought up all copies of that glamour magazine and destroyed them, the same way I did with Johnny's sex tape, and that time the Yancy Street gang made a plaster cast of Ben's—I keep track of these things, Sue. I keep our secrets safe, to protect our family."

Sue's mouth dropped. This was bigger to her than the Illuminati. This was—she didn't have a word for this revelation.

"But the photos with Mary Jane—she can't have those. Literally. I was using an image inducer entering and leaving the clinic. Only a supervillain, S.H.I.E.L.D., or an extraterrestrial civilization would have the technology to pierce through that holographic overlay. I don't know who Mae is, but she cannot be a simple porn star. There is more going on here," Reed said grimly.

In his lair, Mysterio examined the strange chessboard he had assembled with Doom's resources. Sue Storm had met with Tess Tempest. She had seen the photos of Reed. Now she would go confront him. Already, her faith in her husband was shaken. His answer would likely overcome her reservations; their marriage was strong, after all. It could survive Reed Richards discovering Sue's little photoshoot.

But could it survive Sue Storm catching her husband in a lie?

"You are confident in your illusions and manipulations," Doctor Doom said. "But I have misgivings. Their relationship is strong, and the evidence we have carefully manufactured has innocent explanations. Richards has, after all, been faithful to her. Are you absolutely sure you can convince her of Reed Richards' affair?"

"Of course," Mysterio said. "She trusts him. She will return to Tess Tempest, and seek to learn more. Possibly confront her. And in doing so, she will find evidence that she cannot ignore."