Super-Nauseous

It was their little secret.

Reed Richards arranged for prenatal vitamins. Sue Storm adjusted her diet and exercise regimen. A subtle binder element to the torso of her costumes would hide her slowly growing belly. Not that she was showing much yet. Though in the morning and at night, in the shower, Sue would cradle the little gentle swell of her midsection and feel that strange excitement that marked all of her pregnancies. The amazement and excitement that came with carrying life within her; the continued proof of her fertility.

There was only one problem. Not the cravings. Not even weight gain, since Sue wasn't gaining weight. Quite the opposite.

"Where's mommy?" Valeria asked, as Reed's arms stretched out to grab bowls, spoons, boxes of cereal, cartons of milk and orange juice.

"She's not feeling well this morning," Reed said. "Stomach flu, perhaps."

In the master bathroom, Sue flushed the toilet. Her stomach churned. She splashed water onto her face, swished it around in her mouth. She had experienced morning sickness with Franklin and Valeria, but nothing like this. She looked into the bathroom mirror and saw hollow cheeks, dark bags under her eyes. She was losing weight. Could hardly keep anything down. A pange of worry stabbed into her heart.

If this kept up, she might lose the baby. Barely seven weeks along.

Reed shared her concerns.

After breakfast, Sue snuck invisibly into his lab, wrapped only in a bathrobe. Reed already had the medical section of the lab set up for a full scan. The Invisible Woman shivered as he inserted an IV, took blood samples, and finally began a series of scans. She watched Reed's face as he analyzed the data. Saw his expression go stony. Then, finally, as he placed sensors on that precious growing baby bump, and put the image onto a monitor, she understood why.

The fetus didn't look right. The head was deformed. More like a pig fetus than a human fetus.

"I haven't run a full DNA scan yet," Reed said. "But I'm picking up both markers for your cosmic-ray-enhanced cells and the X-gene. The mutation seems to be primarily animal-based, like the Beast, Wolverine, Feral, Sabertooth—"

"A mutant!" Sue said. "Is that why I'm so sick!?"

Reed nodded gravely.

"I believe the fetus has a nascent healing factor which is incompatible with your non-mutant physiology. Right now, the placenta is protecting the fetus from your body so that it isn't being instantly rejected. However, the fetus is shedding mutant stem cells through the umbilical cord. This, and the lack of some essential amino acids, is what is making you sick; your body is literally fighting to maintain the pregnancy—and poisoning itself in the process," he said.

Sue held her hands up to her face. Tears filled her eyes. Pregnancy always made her emotional, and now her heart threatened to burst from her chest at the thought of losing this precious life.

"What can we do?" Sue asked.

Reed coughed. He looked almost embarrassed. "I...believe there may be a treatment. However, we'll need to consult an expert."