Superia Enhances Susan Storm's Power

"The Invisible Woman is already the most powerful of the Fantastic Four," Doom gestured at a three-dimensional holographic representation of Susan Storm. Superia nodded thoughtfully. Deep in the bowels of Doomstadt, the pair went over everything that Doom had ever learned about the Invisible Woman, her powers, her cosmic-ray enhanced physiology. The female scientist proved exceptionally intelligent, readily consuming the data of Sue's invisible forcefields, her ability to turn objects invisible, her ability to still see...and she was not without her own insights.

"Here," Superia touched a recording of Sue Storm's brain activity, a little fuzzy as it had been taken from far away using an experimental scanner of Doom's own design. "Look. She isn't physically changing the substance of material she turns invisible. She's shifting its dimensional phase relevant to the frequencies of visible radiation...like tuning a radio, so that visible light passes through. And the degree of phase change corresponds to the activity in this cluster of cells!"

Despite himself, Doom was impressed. Superia had intuitively grasped a key aspect of Sue Storm's powers, and narrowed it down to a biological vector.

"And how do you propose to make use of this discovery?" he said.

Superia's grin was smug. The woman's lean, athletic frame was highlighted by her almost skin-tight costume. Even Doom felt the urge for distraction...not that he would ever succumb to such wiles.

"If I can get close enough...I have a device that can speed the human brain through evolution. I can turn an average woman into a genius. If I adjust it specifically to target these cells, I can enhance Sue Storm's powers ten-fold!"

Doom nodded. Power corrupts... An idea came to him.

"I have...an agent in place. You will get your opportunity."

"An updo?" Sue Storm asked as she glanced in the mirror. "You think?"

Martha had been doing Sue Storm's hair since she had come to Manhattan. The little old woman was from somewhere in Eastern Europe, a quietly motherly type that knew everything there was to know about women's hair, and was utterly discreet. The latter was a necessity for Sue, who appreciated a chance to get away from being a superhero, at least for a little while. She'd even had S.H.I.E.L.D. do a background check, but Martha was cleaner than clean. Your genuine immigrant success story, a naturalized U.S. citizen, quietly industrious and modestly successful.

"You wanted a change, dearie," Martha said as her fingers worked against Sue's scalp. Sue had come in for a trim and a shampoo. The new hairstyle wasn't something she'd considered, but the more she looked at the samples that Martha showed her...

"All right. I'll do it," Sue said.

Of course, with the shampoo, that meant she needed to spend a little time in the hairdryer. The massive aluminum dome settled over her head, and Sue closed her eyes as the hot air began to blow. She could smell a hint of ozone...

Martha surreptitiously touched a control stud. Although this hair dryer looked no different from the other two in her shop, this one had been modified by the Master. With a press of the button, Doom and Superia's technology activated. Hidden rings of electronics inside the aluminum dome came to life. Invisible forces mapped the activity in Sue Storm's brain.

Behind the wall, Superia gently began to guide wire-thin beams of cosmic radiation to converge on that central node in Sue Storm's brain. Cells swelled with energy, divided and redivided. With astonishing speed, the little clump of cells began to grow. New connections formed. The balance of energies in Sue's brain changed, increased. Superia's screens grew brighter as the intersection between the Invisible Woman and the higher dimensions opened.

"Nngh," Sue winced and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Those hairdryers always give me such a headache."

"You want a glass of water, dearie?" Martha said. "Oh, darling, look!"

Sue Storm's blue eyes opened...and she raised her eyes as she admired her new, perfect up-do, the little curl was saucy and playful. It was fantastic.

"It's me!" Sue grinned happily, then squeezed her eyes tight as she stood up.

Martha brought her a glass of water as Sue handed her the credit card. The Invisible Woman drank it thirstily. Head titled back. Eyes barely open.

She seemed to sense as much as see the explosion. One moment, Martha was by her side, the Invisible Woman's credit card in hand. The next, the missile landed on the street outside. Sue Storm's reaction was immediate. The **** field encompassed them both, as white light and the shock wave tore the small shop apart around them. It was as if they were the eye of the storm, a bubble of peace in a fiery maelstrom.

Only...something was different. Sue wasn't quite sure what it was, at first. Then she realized.

The **** field she'd wrapped around them both wasn't invisible. It was pure black. With a thought, the opacity of the **** field changed and it became as clear as crystal glass. Which allowed Sue Storm to see the Sentinels that loomed over her on the street, their gigantic hands reached for her.