Tomorrow

Sue Storm raised her eyebrow in surprise. Von Porkum grinned.

"You must be tired after your long flight," the pig-faced man said. "You will be my guest at the Schloss. There is a dress for you, hairdresser, manicure and pedicure—think of it like a spa day. I wish you to relax and enjoy yourself to the utmost. Then, tomorrow night, we party."

The Invisible Woman's mouth was a thin line. Still, it had been a long time since she had a spa day.

"Alright," she said with a polite smile. "Sounds like fun."

"That's the spirit!" Von Porkum grinned hugely.

The Schloss had been expanded, rebuilt, redecorated dozens of times. Parts of it might have been centuries old, other parts were made to look like what people thought a centuries-old European castle should look like. An aide, a young woman in a crisp black suit, guided her through a vast hall to richly carpeted corridor. The whole house was a bustle of energy, servants preparing for the event.

Von Porkum bit an adieu with a slightly slobbery kiss on her hand. A dark-suited young man named Andre led Sue to her suite—which compared favorably to 4-star hotel, five rooms, a massive four-poster bed, full bar, what looked like a library—

"Dinner will be at eight. Herr von Porkum would like you to join him, unless you prefer to dine alone—he knows you have been on a very long flight," Andre said.

"Please give my apologies to herr von Porkum," Sue said. "Perhaps we can dine together tomorrow, on our date?"

"Of course, fraulein," Andre said, all smiles.

"Frau," Sue corrected, automatically.

"Of course."

Dinner was served on a gold-plated platter. Oysters on the half shell. Mushroom soup. Banana fritters for dessert. Wine, and some kind of pale, milky liquor that smelled like an overripe cheese and left her thirsty for more.

Andre took away the dishes, and left the bottle.

The library, it turned out, included a large number of books of erotic prints, leather bound, some quite old and undoubtedly expensive. There was a telephone, which went to a central operator, that gave her directions on how to use the wifi.

On the smalll portable tablet she had kept in her purse, Sue tried to call home. The call connected, for a moment. Then she heard the thunder outside, saw the flash of the lightning. For a few moments she saw Reed. They tried to talk, but the interference was, apparently, too much. Finally, the call cut out entirely.

"Dammit," Sue said, knowing she should have gone for one of Reed's quantum connectivity devices. Yet at least she knew she was a guest here, not a prisoner. The doors were unlocked. She had swept the suite, turning objects invisible, looking for cameras or microphones and finding none.

So it was with a sense of security that she took a long bubble bath, polished off another glass of that liquor, and let herself wear the pink silk pajamas and settle between the sheets of that massive bed.

Tomorrow, a spa day. Tomorrow night, a ball. Then home. Back to her real life.

Doctor Doom watched in the mystic mirror as the sleeping Invisible Woman's face relaxed. Her breathing deepened. Beside him, Porkum chomped on an unlit cigar.

"She is asleep," the Latverian monarch said. "We can begin."