Draped in a white bathrobe, Susan stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows of Baxter Tower. Below, a swarm of news reporters and curious onlookers jostled for position.
The media frenzy had been relentless ever since the wedding announcement went public, and it showed no signs of letting up. Aside from her brother Johnny, who couldn't care less about the fuss, everyone involved was finding the constant attention a bit of a headache.
Her wedding to Reed had dominated the front pages for four consecutive days. Morning and evening news broadcasts ran segments on it without fail. The event had captured the imagination of the entire nation.
<...Reed Richards and Susan Storm, better known to the public as Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, are two beloved members of the iconic Fantastic Four. In just three days' time, the couple will exchange vows in a much-anticipated 'Wedding of the Century' ceremony, to be held in Tribeca, New York...>
Susan listened to the broadcaster's voice droning from the television. The knot of nervousness in her stomach pulled tighter. Almost involuntarily, her gaze drifted toward the pristine white wedding gown hanging on the nearby rack.
"So even superheroes get the pre-wedding jitters," Pepper Potts, who was sorting through the guest list nearby, spoke with a teasing lilt in her voice.
The acting CEO of Stark Industries had her blonde hair swept back in a neat bun, a pair of heels accentuating her posture. The black blazer and pencil skirt ensemble radiated the crisp, capable aura of a seasoned executive.
Observing the anxious worry etched on her close friend's face, Pepper couldn't help but smile.
She offered a gentle reassurance, "Everyone knows Dr. Richards is one of the good ones. What's there left to be nervous about? He's not like Tony, always chasing the next adventure and terrified of settling down," Pepper continued, placing her hands on Susan's shoulders, "And he's not like Sean, the kind of perfect lover you can't find a single flaw in, but whose heart you can never quite seem to read."
Her voice was soft, like a spring breeze sweeping away the prickling heat of anxiety.
Susan's expression relaxed visibly.
"Thank you, Pepper–" She turned and embraced her friend, only to spot two unexpected guests sprawled on the couch, "When did you two little gremlins sneak in?"
It was Mindy, whom they hadn't seen in ages, and Gali, who was preoccupied with a bag of potato chips.
Both girls were blinking their wide eyes in perfect sync, staring directly at Susan with expressions that practically screamed 'tell us more juicy details'...
"We've been here since the TV guy said 'Wedding of the Century'," replied Mindy with a slight pout.
She was no longer a tiny blonde moppet, her eyes, however, kept darting toward the bag of chips in Gali's possession. Every time the other girl let out a satisfying crunch, Mindy's mouth opened and closed unconsciously.
"Sean said there might be something we could help with, and then he just dumped me and Gali here," Mindy grumbled under her breath, "They're obviously planning some kind of bachelor party and needed an excuse to get rid of us."
After spending so long wandering the open road, she'd finally returned to New York to see Sean. And what was the greeting she got? Not a teary-eyed reunion, but an order for Gali to supervise her diet!
This was not matching the touching, embrace-filled scenario she'd cooked up in her head...
"I'm afraid this is grown-up stuff, sweetie. Not much you can help with here." Pepper glanced at the utterly defeated-looking Mindy and asked with deliberate mischief, "Gali, there's fresh honey toast in the oven, and some chocolate pudding. Mindy, would you like some?"
"Mindy can't have any," Gali interjected with utmost seriousness, even as she happily munched on a piece of bread, "She still has to do thirty minutes of cardio later."
Thanks to Sean's relentless campaign of snack-based bribery, Gali had firmly switched sides. She was now a dedicated enforcer of the dietary regimen.
Mindy, suffering a double blow to both body and soul, collapsed onto the couch cushions: 'I should've just stayed out on the road, living the good life in that RV. Unlimited funds in the bank account, Skynet as a personal concierge... that was the dream.'
"Hmph. People who can eat whatever they want without gaining weight always end up flat as a board!" she declared.
Gali's freakish metabolism and constitution which let her inhale food endlessly while staying slim was basically an act of aggression. It filled Mindy with a jealousy so potent, she could taste it.
"Then you'll just be a chubby flat board, Mindy," Gali replied calmly, licking the last smear of chocolate pudding off her spoon.
That single, nonchalant remark was a critical hit, dealing massive emotional damage.
Mindy lunged at Gali with a playful snarl, and the two girls tumbled across the large room in a flurry of tickles and giggles, drawing fond smiles from Susan and Pepper.
After a while, Mindy paused to catch her breath, standing in front of the full-length mirror. Leather boots, a cropped jacket, and snug jeans traced the athletic, youthful lines of her figure.
It was hard now to see the cherubic little blonde girl she used to be in that reflection. The baby fat had melted away from her cheeks, revealing the sharp features of a decidedly cool teenager.
"I've figured it out, Gali!" Mindy planted her hands on her hips, staring at her friend who was now eyeing a Black Forest cake on the table with predatory focus. Mindy let out a triumphant laugh, "The reason Sean is so annoyingly persistent about me staying in shape... he must have some kind of ulterior motive! Yes! That has to be it!"
"I think he just doesn't want to see you turn into an obese girl," Gali replied absently, her brain locked in a fierce internal debate over the ethics of eating the cake.
The words hit Mindy like a dagger to her teenage heart. Her triumphant laughter died in her throat.
Seconds later, the two were back on the couch, a tangle of limbs as they tried to tickle each other into submission...
~~~
"So Susan and Pepper are busy with the dress fittings, picking out the band, and arranging the venue..." Reed trailed off, looking around the room.
He glanced at Tony, who had his feet propped up on the coffee table in his usual irreverent manner, and then turned the question toward Sean, "What exactly are we supposed to be doing?"
"Bachelor party!" Tony answered for him, practically vibrating with sudden energy, "And there'd better be strippers!"
He jumped up from the couch. After the vast, star-strewn silence of deep space, a few days back on Earth was proving to be agonizingly dull.
"How much longer are you planning to hide from Pepper?" Sean asked from his spot by the window. He turned, a wry smile playing on his lips as he watched Tony gear up for mischief.
If it weren't for his deep-seated terror of being cornered into a marriage proposal, the star-faring Iron Man wouldn't be sitting here behaving himself.
"That's... I'm just trying to be supportive of Reed! As his best friend, I–" Tony wilted under the twin stares of his companions, "Fine... Yes, I'm hiding from Pepper."
He slumped back down, defeated.
He simply wasn't ready for marriage. It meant responsibility. It meant an end to the carefree devil-may-care existence of an interstellar playboy. He'd only just cracked open the door to the cosmos and wasn't about to willingly walk into the grave of romance just yet.
"And what about you?" Tony shot back at Sean, "What's your plan? Are you going to settle down with the General's daughter? Or maybe the Mayor of New York's little girl? Let's see, there's also that Dr. Jean Grey from the mutant crowd, and your secretary, Wanda... God help me, I never thought I'd see the day I'd be outdone in this particular field."
He ticked the names off on his fingers, a wave of genuine, powerless envy washing over him.
Back in the day, he was New York's premier playboy. He had held the unofficial record for bedding cover models. There wasn't a woman in the city who was safe from his charms.
And now?
Tony's eyes held a flicker of genuine sorrow. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd flirted with a beautiful woman just for the fun of it...
"I'm not a subscriber to the Stark Method, you know, the infamous 'Sweet talk 'til sunrise, then who are you again?'" Sean shrugged, "A wedding will happen. Maybe several. It wouldn't take up that much of my time."
Juggling the affections of multiple women didn't stress him out. If anything, it was a pleasant diversion from the monotony of daily life.
As Pepper had once noted, he was the perfect lover. Aside from the whole fidelity thing, he was pretty much flawless.
"Your level of shamelessness appears to scale directly with your power level," Tony sputtered, feeling a vein throb in his temple.
"Instead of worrying about me, maybe worry about Pepper," Sean said, placing a hand on Tony's shoulder. The teasing tone softened into something more genuine, "She spent the best years of her life waiting for you, Tony. How much longer do you really think she can hold on?"
The easy grin froze on Tony's face. He fell into a sudden, heavy silence.
"Okay, okay, let's just focus on the bachelor party!" Reed interjected loudly, trying to rescue the mood at his own expense, "And for the record: no strippers."
"Good plan–" Sean started to agree, but was cut off by a priority alert from Skynet.
"A lifeform traveling at lightspeed has breached the Earth-Moon monitoring network. It has entered the atmosphere..."