Moving away from the building and making its way out into open waters off the coast of the city, Doom’s vessel left unimpeded with its prize. Typing commands into the bridge of the VTOL transport to return to Latveria, Doom turned around to give the Invisible Woman his attention. Surrounded by his Doombots who trained their weaponry on the woman as they were programmed so, Doom narrowed his eyes, his metallic mask hiding whatever emotions he may have had.
“You are all mine now Susan, I have always offered for you to join my side and yet each time you refuse.” Crossing her arms under her bust, Susan looked away in disgust, her long blonde hair swaying with the sharp gesture. “And look at you now, you are even more magnificent now than I could ever remember.”
“Life’s been good to me…” She lied, giving the man a look over with her many senses. She couldn’t read his body any more than his face with that armor. Closing her eyes, she could empathically feel her many children off in the distance, getting further away. “So, what do you have planned Doom? Spit it out.”
With a flourish of his cape and outstretching his hand to the woman, Doom gave his answer. “be MY bride Susan Storm, I can offer you things that weakling Reed could NEVER be able to provide.” Looking down at his gauntlet angrily, Susan returned her gaze at Doom’s face. “You would be welcome as a Queen in my kingdom and share in an empire that would soon encompass this world.”
“And if I refuse?... Like every OTHER time?”
His gauntlet clenching and the eyes behind the mask glaring, Doom lowered his arm. “Then I will obliterate the Baxtor Building and your precious Fantastic Four within.” Crossing his arms and glaring back at the woman doing the same, he continued. “I have been more than patient with you Susan, the correct choice should have been made years ago, but I no longer am amused nor tolerant of your rejection.”
“So, if I don’t go with you, you’ll kill all my friends, Reed… And my children.”
Raising his chin, Doom’s eyes narrowed. “If I must…”
The man was surprised when Susan gave off what could best be described as a crocodile’s growl before her sneer turned to a cruel smile. “Well then, maybe I should get changed for the occasion, you don’t mind if I slip into something more… Comfortable, do you?” She purred, tugging at the zipper to her costume and slowly letting it run down her front to expose her creamy smooth skin and impressive cleavage.
“Then you have made your decision, My Queen?”
“Oh, I’m a Queen alright… Just not yours.” Seductively pulling off her costume, the woman turned invisible save for the blue garment that collapsed to the floor and was flirtatiously kicked towards the metal clad tyrant. Hearing her feet pad towards him, Doom felt a hand gently push him back into the chair of the pilot controls, feeling up his chest and eventually cupping his chin in both hands.
“Do you know why I chose Reed over you Victor?... When I say no, he gets the hint.”
At that moment, Susan revealed herself to Victor, causing the man to open his eyes wide in horror. Gone was the flowing blond hair, silky smooth skin and angelic face of the woman he lusted over for decades. In her place was a creature that bore her features and twisted them into a cruel, predatory nightmare of the woman. Yellow reptilian eyes glared into his, her skin green and translucent, her mouth sporting rows of razor-sharp teeth like a shark. Her golden locks had been replaced with a sea of tentacles that coiled and slithered at her shoulders or swayed behind her like seaweed to an invisible current.A crown of gnarled horns and antlers framed her features like a frill or headdress Four taloned hands gripped at his arms and thighs with a strength so inhuman he heard his armor buckle at their grip.
“ALERT, MASTER IN DANGER! ALERT, MASTER IN DANGER!”
Snarling back over her shoulder when she noticed the Doombot enforcers turn their attention and weapons on her, her tentacles came alive and stretched out to spear into the half dozen floating machines, her tendrils striking with the force and strength of a spear that could pierce through metal as easily as tin foil. Spurting oil and sparks from the intense damage, one by one the drones fell heavily to the grated floor, finally leaving Doom alone with the she-creature that had turned her attention back to him.
“What are you?!”
“What’s the matter Victor? I thought you loved me. Desired me. Well say hello to the NEW me, the me that doesn’t like it when her hive is threatened!” Twisting her grip on his arms and legs, Doom winced as he was hoisted up with the ease of lifting a toddler and turned around where Susan had her back to the controls of the VTOL. “G-get away from me!”
“You don’t like what you see? Maybe a kiss will change your mind.” Letting her serpentine tongue lol out of her mouth, Susan licked over the surface of Doom’s mask, her tongue sprouting toothy barbs that scrapped against the metal surface and left a rough scar across its surface. “No? That’s alright, I know what men REALLY want.” Pushing his face into her breasts, Doom’s eyes widened in horror when her green reptilian nipples sprouted long, slithering tentacles that wrapped around his neck and dug into the crevices of his armor. Forcing the man to struggle and for the first time, panic. “MONSTER!” Raising his hand with effort, he did the unthinkable and blasted Susan across the face with a bolt of energy, taking half of her face off and finally becoming free of her four claws and receding tentacles. As she staggered back, Doom backed up and was finally able to take in the scope of Susan’s transformation. Her arms and legs bore chitin spurs and spines that lined down her ankles and forearms. The blast should have killed her, instead, Susan stood up and combed her many talons through her flowing tentacles and tilted her head, the flesh and bone in her face rapidly regenerating until the damage he inflicted completely disappeared.
“Monster! You are not my Susan Storm, what are you? A Skrull impersonator? What have you done to the REAL Invisible Woman?” Raising his hand to blast her again, the man gasped and cried out when a blur of motion took his fingers clean off his gauntlet. Clutching at the stump of his hand, Doom looked back to see and hear the bullwhip of Susan’s stinger tail snap behind her.
“Oh, I’m Susan Storm Victor, warts and all…” With a blur of motion just as fast as the tail strike, Susan had Doom pinned against the back of the VTOL, her strike so intense it caused the vessel to lurch. “Let me see YOUR warts Victor, no more hiding behind masks like me.” Gripping the face plate of his armor with one hand while two others held his arms, Susan ripped the menacing looking mask and tossed it behind her, only to sneer at what was underneath. A pair of glass eyes stared up at her, surrounded by bundles of wires and a speaker where the mouth should have been.
One of Doom’s life-model decoys.
With a bellowing roar, Susan tore the robot limb from limb with the ease of tearing apart a stuffed toy.
“YOU THREATENED MY FAMILY AND YOU COULDN’T EVEN BOTHER YOURSELF TO DO IT IN PERSON?!”
“No… I do not take risks my dear Susan, I take opportunities.” Called the voice from the radio display of the VTOL controls. “I had hoped you would have accepted the offer, now I see that my Susan Storm is no more, such a tragic shame.”
Turning her attention to the controls and glaring down at the radio speaker, Susan rested a claw at her broad hip while her tail picked up her costume from the floor. “The REAL shame is I didn’t get to do that to you in person, you will NEVER threaten me ever again.”
“You mentioned a hive… Was that the cluster of lifeforms my Doombots scanned in the basement of your home?”
Her eyes going wide, the slits of her reptilian eyes grew thin.
“Does Reed know about your second family living under the floorboards of his home? What if I were to tell him that he…”
He never had a chance to complete the sentence when Susan screamed, her powers creating multiple barriers of solid light that smashed and sliced the VTOL to pieces, causing it to explode in mid air just outside the New York harbour and rain debris into the water. Breathing hard and standing on a platform of solid light under her clawed feet, Susan looked over to the city’s bay front and back down to the costume still in her grip.
*
Slowly stirring awake and rubbing the sore spot on the side of his head, Reed sat up to find Johnny and Ben slowly waking up as well, Franklin and Valaria looked up sleepily to find themselves bound up.
“What hit me? Feels like I got hit by a truck and the license plate read D-O-O-M-4-U…”
“Preach Ben, preach…” Groaned Johnny Storm, rubbing his head like he was waking from a hangover. “Victor’s never hit us that hard before… Wonder what he wanted this time?”
“A marriage proposition…” Called out Susan, wearing her blue Fantastic Four costume and smiling down at her family when she came through the window and landed on her feet. Running up to her still recuperating husband, she helped him back to his, hugging the man dearly before peppering his face and lips with kisses. The statuesque blonde quickly turned her attention to her son and daughter and untangled them from their bindings, giving them the same affection before joining Reed’s side.
“I take it Victor let you go. Why?”
Rolling her eyes and giving Reed a knowing smile, Susan held him close. “I told him no for the final time and told him to leave us alone, he got pretty torn up about it, even exploded on me… But I don’t think he’ll be bothering us anymore.”
“Well, that’s good to hear.”
“Yeah… “Susan chirped, keeping up the charade for her family’s sake. ”Sure is…”