The New Sue Storm Is Amnesiac

The medical bay of Reed Richard's labs were better equipped than most major hospitals. By the time Sue Storm's doppelganger stirred, he had run her through every non-invasive test and scan he could manage. Sue had insisted that she be placed on a bed, unsecured, beneath a blanket. Ben and Johnny hovered in the background as Reed studied the readouts from his devices.

It was Sue that saw her other self's eyelids flutter. Saw the blue eyes widen, and then narrow, focus blink. Like a caged animal, the other Sue skittishly backed away as soon as she was aware of the others.

"It's okay!" Sue said. "It's alright. You're safe."

"You're..." the other Sue's voice was unsure, as if she hand't used it for some time. Her hand went to her head. "Where am I? Who are you people?"

Sue glanced at Reed, who frowned.

"You're in the Baxter Building. New York. I'm Reed Richards, this is my wife, Susan. Behind me are her brother Johnny and our friend, Ben Grimm. We're the Fantastic Four. Do you...not recognize us?" he asked.

"Should I?" the other Sue said. She curled up as far away on the bed from Sue and the others as she could get.

Reed's frown deepened. "Well...yes. I imagine we must have counterparts on your world. Did you hit your head at some point?"

The other Sue blinked. "My world? Hit my head? I don't...I don't understand!"

Sue reached out to her—this other self of hers—then thought better of it. With a thought, an invisible hand grabbed a nearby mirror and brought it over before her doppelganger. The fearful blonde glanced at it—and then her eyes fixed on the image, her own reflection. The blue eyes went from the mirror to Sue and back again.

"I'm...you?" The other Sue said.

"It looks that way," Sue said.

More questions. More time. Slowly, Reed Richards explained the reading. The two women were genetically identical, and almost physically indistinguishable, only a the vibrational frequency of their respective dimensions told them apart—and some smaller physical traits. The new Sue had never been pregnant, never given birth. Her breasts were smaller, the nipples a delicate pink; no stretch marks on her abdomen.

"I don't remember...anything," the Other Sue said. "There was an explosion. I was falling. Then...I landed on your roof."

"Well, you're safe now," Sue told her 'sister.' "Maybe your memories will come back with time."

"I hope so," Reed said seriously. "There's something odd about your dimensional signature. I think someone deliberately tampered with it it, to make it more difficult for you to be traced back to your dimension of origin—or, perhaps, to make it more difficult for them to find you. It's something I might do, if I...sent Sue away, knowing enemies would pursue her."

The other Sue was more relaxed now. She sat up, a sheet wrapped around her ragged uniform.

"So I might have a husband—a family of my own—on my own world. Whereever that is," the doppelganger sighed. "But no children."

"That does raise the question," Ben chimed in. "How are we gonna break this to the kids?"

"I have two mommies?" Franklin's eyes went wide.

"More like...an aunt, I guess?" The other Sue stared at the two children. Her counterpart had given her one of her dresses. They were the same size, in everything except bras, and the blue dress fit her perfectly. "Your mother and I are sort of...twins."

"Variants," Valeria said. "I think 'Aunty Suzy' works."

"Will that be okay?" Sue asked her counterpart.

"Sure," the doppelganger said. "Suzy is...fine."

They set her up in a guest room. Sue was conscientious; Ben and Johnny largely hung back, unsure of how to react to the two nearly-identical women. Reed busied himself with further analysis of the data he'd gleaned from Suzy's examination.

"I've brought some clothes," Sue said. "Really, you can wear anything from my closet."

"Thank you," Suzy replied. "For everything. Really. I'm sure this is...I mean, it's an adjustment for me, but you, you have your family, and..."

Suzy hugged herself. There were tears in her eyes. Sue reached out for her. She'd never had a sister before, but she knew how she thought and felt.

"It was when Franklin called you mommy, wasn't it?" Sue said softly.

Suzy nodded, and choked back a sob.

"I always wanted to be a mother," Sue admitted. "I spent so many years mothering Johnny, but when it finally happened I—I almost died, during each of my pregnancies."

Her other self blinked back the tears. She looked at Sue, and there was a **** need in her eyes.

"Please," she said. "Tell me...everything."

So they sat on the bed, and spoke, long into the night. Sue told Suzy many things about her life. Even things she wouldn't normally share with anyone else. Her miscarriage. Discovering how to use her powers. They practiced, side by side, turning parts of each other invisible. It was so strange to Sue, to see part of her disappear and know that she wasn't doing it.

Yet near midnight, it was clear that Suzy was exhausted.

"Get some sleep," Sue said. "We'll talk more tomorrow. Maybe Reed will have found your home dimension by then."

"Thank you," Suzy said. She watched her counterpart walk away and close the door.

All alone, in a strange world. Surrounded by a family she didn't know, that wasn't hers.

Not yet, anyway.