Sometimes Sue Storm's Clothes Just Turn Invisible

Present

Bullets splattered against Sue Storm's invisible force field. She held a hand up, maintaining her concentration easily despite the incessant assault of three belt-fed machine guns. Years of practice with her powers had given her tremendous control.

Then her costume flickered, and for a moment the blonde woman appeared to be perfectly nude. Sue didn't even blush. She'd gotten used to her little "whoopsies." Reed theorized it was a psychological hang up, not power incontinence, since such exposure never interfered with her ability to create or maintain a force field.

Nor did the rest of the Fantastic Four matter.

"Suzy, darlin', you been doin' a lot of squats lately?" Ben said as he held a tank at bay with both hands.

"Dammit Ben, stop looking at my sister's butt!" Johnny Storm said as he hovered above the tank and poured a stream of fire onto it that began to melt the steel. Within the tank, the screams of men begging for surrender. The Human Torch relented, and the hatch was flung open, the men scrambling out over the hot metal before the ammunition cooked off.

"At least there aren't any photographers out this time," Reed said, as he stretched around the machine gunners and bound them with his own rubbery body. "I think Sue's put Peter Parker through college."

Sue's costume flickered back into view. She smiled, amused at her family's comments. It had been a long time since she was embarrassed by her occasional "slip." In truth, secretly, she rather enjoyed the momentary attention such exposure garnered. It made her remember back to those earliest days, learning to use her powers, and the strange man who helped her.

Past

Sue Storm stared in the mirror. The blue-and-black costume covered all of her, but it was awfully form-fitting. She blushed, not sure she felt the same confidence that Reed and the others did. Becoming superheroes—costumed adventurers, explorers, crime-fighters—seemed so fantastic. Yet they had these powers. It would be a sin not to use them.

A familiar pink form appeared behind her. Sue Storm turned to see that pig-like face smile at her. He was back! Always he appeared in and out of her life, so mysteriously. What could he be here for this time.

"You're worried," Porkum said. "About how you'll do in a fight."

"Yes," Sue admitted. She hadn't yet brought herself to tell Reed and the others about her "friend." Uncanny though he wash, she didn't want to admit to what he had seen of her, how he had helped her. There were questions on her mind that she knew she needed to ask.

"You need to think tactically," Porkum said, his little triangular ears shifting. "Not just your invisibility, but your visibility. You can use that, in a pinch. Distract your foes."

Sue's cheeks burned at the implication. The thought that some criminal or villain might see her naked!

Porkum leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

"Just think about it," he said. "It might save your life. Might save all your lives."