The Media Catches On

Reed Richards and the rest of the Fantastic Four weren't seen in the days that followed. Yet Sue Storm and Porkum were. Every night, the children were left alone, while their mother went out. First, to restaurants, theaters, movies. Then dancing. Clubs. No formal social events, but the message was clear: they were a couple.

The paparazzi picked up on it immediately. Tried to swarm them with questions. Where was Reed? Who was she dating?

Sue Storm read the papers by herself in the morning. Maybe something changed inside of her, when she read the headlines. The opinion pieces. All the nasty things they'd said about her, that they'd been wanting to say about her for years, finally coming out.

She kept it away from the children as much as possible. Censored their internet feeds, kept them in the Baxter Building with tutors and education programs, didn't play the news. They could tell something was off, something was different. Asked after their father, their uncles. Sue only told them the same thing.

"They're gone. It's just us now."

They saw more of Porkum too. When she was dressed up, waiting for him to arrive. Sometimes he would pop in during the day, with little presents for her, or them. A pretty doll for Valeria. A toy raygun or electronics set for Franklin. Ludicrous, really. She tried to tell Porkum how smart Valeria was, how creative Franklin was. He didn't seem to really get it.

Yet there was something thrilling about...going out with someone. Being with someone. She thrilled at his little gifts, his hand in hers. She didn't even mind when he leered at a waitress or usher, and some of the films he took her to were...more risque than she would have ever seen on her own. Art house films in small theaters, with lots of nudity, explicit themes, often in foreign languages.

She wore the dresses that he bought her. Some of them were scandalously short. Gave the paparazzi something to really see, when she slid out of limousine with no underwear in a short skirt, to wobble on high heels into a club where the drinks were already poured.

It was exciting and painful, all at once. Sue told herself that change was always like that. Yet change was necessary, if she was to grow as a person. To move on from her old life.

The reporters were ravenous as wolves. A reputation she had spent a lifetime cultivating, saving the world, was torn down in a matter of weeks.

One night, as she stood at the window in a soft, shimmery pink silk robe, looking out at the city, she heard a soft thud, the chime of the security alarm...and saw a familiar web-crawler pressed against the glass. His big, expressionless eyes looked a question at her, knocked politely. Sue sighed, nodded to her left. She pressed a button that opened a window and let the Spider-Man in.

"Hello, Spider-Man," she said. "Is there an emergency?"

"You haven't been answering any of the standard communications," he said, as he squatted on the floor. "The Avengers, the X-Men, S.H.I.E.L.D. Just that automated message. What happened, Sue? Are you okay?"

"I'm..." Sue considered that, as she gripped her elbows. "Reed and the others are gone. Lost between dimensions. They abandoned me, like they always did, whenever I was a burden to them. So I'm taking a break from the superheroing for a while. Focusing on myself. And I...met someone else. Someone who appreciates me."

"Porkum," Spider-Man said. He cocked his head. "You know what J. Jonah Jameson is calling you?"

"The Pulled-Pork Woman," she said. "I think I prefer it when they call us Suekum. At least there's some truth to that."

Spider-Man bowed his head, as if at a loss for words.

"You know, if you need anything. Anything at all. For any reason. You can always contact me. We can help you."

Sue smiled at him. It was a sad smile.

"I know, Peter. I know. But as you see," she held out her left hand, to show the ring that Porkum had given it. The defraudium gem burned bright. "I don't need help. As soon as the divorce goes through, I'm going to become Mrs. Porkum."

She let the hand drop back down to her side.

"I'm still young enough. I can have some fun. Live my life. I've saved this world so many times...don't I deserve to be happy?"

"I guess you do," Spider-Man said, and turned to see himself out. He cast one last glance at her, as she stood alone in the darkened room. Her mind made up, her foots set on the path. Then he crawled right back out of her life.

Porkum stepped out of the bedroom. His big hands gripped her shoulders, and she leaned into him.

"Come back to bed, babe," he said. "Kids are asleep. Sound-dampening field is up. We can still make some noise..."