Susan Richards

x-23 and the future foundation in x-23 #13 - 15 (2011)

mostingeniusparadox

Spider-Man & The Human Torch in Bahía De Los Muertos!

fantastic four #580 (2010)

mostingeniusparadox

New Avengers #29

Just A Friendly Visit

The corner of her mouth twitched at the comment about Reed, but for the sake of the situation she decided to disregard it. Something was definitely wrong with Peter. He was sarcastic and at times socially awkward, but never had she seen him this arogant. It was like some switch had flipped in the back of his head, turning him from goodhearted hero to violent vigilante. And whatever had caused this sudden change in attitude had occurred some time during his missing week.

Being forced to fight in an arena against your will could certainly cause some adverse psychological effects. The manifestation of alternate personalities could be a side effect of extreme trauma, but to what extent? She didn’t know enough about psychology to say for sure. What she did know for certain, was that this situation would have to be approached very carefully.

“Peter, I get what you’re saying, I do, but there will always be people wanting to hurt others. Making an example out of them won’t change that, it’s just the way the world works. “As heroes, there has to be a line that we don’t cross. If we start taking people’s lives into our own hands, how are we any better than the villains we fight?”

Sue took a few tentative steps towards the teen, moving to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I know how hard being in a different world can be. I won’t ask you about it if you don’t want to share, but know I’m here for you if you want to talk.”

Her eyes trailed down to momentarily focus on his black costume, taking in its undeniably alien appearance. News footage aside, it was the first time she’d seen it up close. The fabric felt like a second skin and from what she could gather, appeared to have a distinct lack of seems.

“I can’t know what you’re thinking if you don’t tell me.”

[no right to judge us]

“Sue, I’m not actually killing anyone,” he responded with an irritated tone. “I just don’t think I need to treat them with kid gloves. They are the ones causing lots of pain and suffering.” Indignation coursed through him. Why on earth would she be so concerned with the welfare of criminals. They deserved whatever got handed to them for trying to take advantage of people.

[not her business]

Peter watched her get closer, his head turning to face her as she moved. The mask hid his face and the play of emotions over it. Instead all she had would be the large white eyes and the black of the mask. The fact he considered Sue a friend for some reason gave him a reason to try and further stifle his irritation at her prodding.

His arms stayed firmly crossed over his chest as he rattled off a quick summary for her. “I got kidnapped by some being that thought it had the right to randomly snatch what it judged to be heroes and villains and force them to fight each other. All to try and prove which side is stronger. I decided I didn’t want to play and teamed up with a couple of people to get everyone home, not just the winners. There, now you know.”

Her close examination of the suit did not go unnoticed. An impulse to shift and move away from her pulsed inside him. Peter managed to stay still, but just only. “Yes, suit change, bit of a souvenir I picked up to replace my damaged red and blue costume and lack of web-fluid for my web shooters.” An odd reluctance to give her more information than needed started to flood him, and made his tone a touch sour. “You weren’t exactly being subtle.”

Inside of him, a part of him wavered between retreat and the desire to stay. Sue actually managed to be there for him when he needed help, and didn’t ask for anything in return. It shivered inside him, and a whisper of guilt caused him to sigh. No one in sense range other than Sue, so the material of his suite flowed away from his head, revealing his face. “Sorry Sue, it just feels like people are jumping all over me lately.”

#just a friendly visit #susanstorm-richards #spiderscience

“There's a difference between subduing someone at all costs and being unnecessarily vindictive. You may not be killing anyone, but it doesn't look like you're trying not to either.” Sue wanted to take the words back as soon they came out of her mouth. Peter wasn't like that, the boy she knew would never let his powers go unchecked. He’d clearly been through a lot and arguing with him wasn't going to help the situation.

Peter’s body language displayed his discomfort all too clearly, but anything beyond that was left to the imagination. The dark mask gave him a permanent poker face, making it impossible to read him any further. These were dangerous waters, considering how volatile he was lately. The fact that he didn’t immediately brush her off was a good sign, though his tone of voice suggested he wasn’t exactly happy with her.

Sue pulled her hand back, her gaze falling to meet it at her chest. “I didn’t mean to stare. I’ve just never seen anything like it... I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be… I shouldn’t be so overbearing. I can’t imagine what you went through through to get back here.” He needed someone to be there for him. Peter came to her because he trusted her, not because he wanted to be lectured and bombarded with questions. That was something that could be addressed later, when he was less defensive and more willing to talk.

The suit rippled like liquid, flowing away from his head to reveal his face. The excess absorbed into the material on his shoulders, reforming into a solid mass. Sue’s attempt to mask her surprise only made it that much more apparent. The fabric was alive or at least sentient enough to respond to unspoken commands. It was as if it had somehow bonded to his body..

“I’m sure they don’t mean for it to come off that way. You disappeared for a week, people are supposed to be concerned about you. ” Sue started, turning her attention back to Peter in the hopes of hiding her unease. He was wearing advanced alien technology given to him by the very people who had tried to kill him. Technology neither of them knew anything about. There was something entirely wrong about this situation, something he didn’t seem to see.

“Does your aunt know you’re safe? I’m sure you’ve already told her some excuse, but I’m here to help if you need it.”

fantastic four #062 (2003)

fantastic four #588 (2011)

Dimensionally Transcendental (Jan & Sue) 3 December 2015

The machine hummed to life with the sound of churning cogs and sputtering motors. As Reed stood at the control panel, fiddling with various knobs and switches, his jaw visibly tensed at the mention of Hank’s work. “Well I’m sure it was a great deal more rudimentary than what I-

Sue cleared her throat, giving him a pointed look. “But it does sound fascinating. Remind me to ask about it later.” he finished quickly before retreating back to his work. She crossed her arms, sparing a fleeting glance towards Jan. It wasn’t as if their husband’s feud was some big secret, but it was still every bit as mortifying. They were adults, they both had doctorates, and somehow they still couldn’t handle being in the same room with one another.

A spark erupted from one of the engines, sending a cloud of thick black smoke billowing out. Even more erupted from inside the machine, sending bolts of electricity shooting out the sides. The control panel crackled with energy as her husband desperately tried to correct the problem. The jolt he was most likely receiving didn’t appear to phase him.

“Reed.” she cautioned, creating a protective bubble around her pregnant friend.

“Don’t worry, I have contingency plans in place for-

A bolt of lightning arced across the room, striking the floor only a few feet from where they were standing. A purple glow began to emanate from the area of impact, bathing them in an ominous light. Quickly, it began to grow in size. Energy crackled from its depths, shooting out at all angles. An intense wind ripped through the lab, pulling papers and even furniture towards the widening portal. As it grew larger, the pull grew stronger.

“Jan hold on!”

A flying chair hit her in the temple, sending her stumbling and interrupting the force field she had placed around her friend. The wind caught her before she could recover her footing, sending her hurtling towards the portal.

Jan slipped on the invisible walls of Sue’s force field, and thrust out her arms to catch her slow-motion sliding fall. Her hands met with the slightly curved edges she could not see. Around her, the lab fell into chaos. First papers then large objects began to fly back and forth and all around the portal. Dangerous arcs of high voltage stretched and snapped and burned their way through the room which, though massive insofar as rooms went, was far too small to contain this magnitude. It was with some considerable effort between her baby bump and the invisible nature of her protection that Jan brought herself back upright. “Rudimentary? At least it’s not UNSTABLE!” she quipped.

The second something–a chair, Jan realized belatedly–struck Susan, the force field vanished. Jan crouched down, trying to make herself as small as she could to avoid the same happening to her. Reed had been careless, and that had put her and his own wife in danger. Careless, really.

She began to crawl towards the lab door, staying behind lab tables and trying to stay out of the general stream of debris. Even so, the winds continued to increase. In less than a minute, the winds tugged at Jan and sent her flying, slamming against the floor as she slid and found herself yanked from under herself. For a few desperate seconds, she tried to get away from the tow but it was too strong, and after an incredibly icy sensation, Jan fell and hit cold earth.

Jan had to fight the urge to pass out. She felt like she’d been stuffed through a far-too-small space, forced through too much gravity, and hit over the head. Maybe that last one had happened. She placed her hand on her belly and hoped beyond hope that Jonathan was okay after all of that. God, she’d given up sit-ups to keep him safe, now this. It really put things in perspective. One eye opened, then Jan shut it and shielded her closed eyes. There was something wrong with her. Internal bleeding, nerve damage, psychosis.

The sky was bright acid green.

#dimensionally transcendental #susanstorm-richards #when-wasps-fly #more Reed cause why not

“It's not unstable! It's just not finished yet!” Reed retorted, pulling frantically on various gears and levers in an attempt to shut off his machine. “Punching a hole in the fabric of space time requires quite a bit of- SUSAN!” He outstretched his arm in a desperate bid to save his wife from hurtling through the portal. The tips of his fingers had barely wrapped themselves around her wrist when an arc of lightning struck him square in the chest. His cells seized, sending him crumpling to the floor and his arm snapping back towards him.

He watched helplessly as Janet followed suit, his face contorting into an unreadable expression. One of the lab tables flipped over in the chaos and, caught in the portal’s gravitational pull, came crashing into the machine behind him.

“No no no no…”

The otherworldly light began to flicker and grow dim, diminishing in size by the second. Reed struggled forward against the harsh wind, but by the time he reached the source of his anguish, it had already reverted back into an ordinary wall. In an instant his invention had not only taken the love of his life, but the pregnant wife of his colleague.

He struck out, hitting the brick with his fist in a momentary fit of anger. Anger at his own carelessness. His head fell into his bleeding hands and he stood, surrounded by the remnants of the chaos he had caused.

-------------------

Sue groaned, wincing at the sharp pain in her temple as she lifted her head from the ground. Her groggy eyes surveyed the landscape before her; barren, rocky, and oddly coloured. This didn't look anything like the Baxter Building. It didn't look anything like earth for that matter. Her attention fell on a lone figure, laying similarly a few feet away. Tufts of her brown hair stuck out at odd angles, while her arms wrapped protectively around her stomach.

“Jan…? Oh my God, Jan!”

Her fuzzy mind snapped immediately to attention at the sight of the one person who definitely, definitely shouldn't have been there. She scrambled over to her side, a look of relief washing over her face as she realized she was conscious.

“Oh Jan, I'm so sorry. I should have gotten you out of there, no, I should have never let you near the lab in the first place. Are you okay? Does anything feel wrong?”

Whatever Dimension they were in seemed to have an atmosphere. The air was breathable, and despite the frigid temperature and strange appearance, didn't seem to be completely inhospitable. They’d gotten lucky.

Her arms wrapped protectively around her best friend’s shoulders, pulling her into a hug “Everything is fine. I'll get you and Jonathan out of here, I swear. Reed knows the coordinates, we just have to wait here for him to open another portal.”

A monstrous roar from overhead sent those promises crashing down around her.

Just A Friendly Visit

“Mom! Mom! Look! I have a loose tooth.” Valeria tugged on her arm excitedly, pulling her attention away from the book she was reading.

“Really?”

The young girl opened her mouth and wiggled the incisor with her tongue. “See!”

“Val, that’s awesome.” Sue told her with a smile. “When it falls out remember to put it under your pillow so the tooth fairy can collect it.”

Valeria seemed to really consider what she was saying for a moment before leaning in close. “Will the tooth fairy still bring me money even though I know she isn’t real?” she whispered.

She reached forward and ruffled her daughter’s hair. “Maybe, but only if you believe hard enough.”

“Okay, but Mom?”

“Yeah?” “Why is Spider-Man in the building?” Sue’s head swiveled backwards, following Valeria’s gaze towards the costumed teen. Her eyes narrowed at his greeting. She’d been trying to contact him for weeks with no reply, but here he was, plain as day. Still wearing the black outfit he’d adopted after his disappearance.

“Val hun, I need to talk to Spider-Man alone for a minute. Why don’t you go show your father your tooth? I’m sure you two can devise all sorts of ways to pull it out.” The young girl looked back and forth between the two of them for a moment before sauntering off towards the elevator. Once she was sure her daughter was safely out of earshot, she turned her attention back to the boy in her living room.

“I know I gave you clearance with HERBIE, but that doesn’t mean you can just walk in here. We have security protocols for a reason, Peter. And after leaving me in the dark all this time you might’ve had the decency to call first.” Sue crossed her arms, her hard expression softening. “I was worried about you. There was all this business on the news about you disappearing and I couldn’t get a hold of you. Then you showed up in that suit and started…” she paused, choosing her next words carefully. “You’re hurting people, Peter.”

He watched Val leave, giving the little girl a mock salute with two fingers. “Cute kid, smart too, more awareness of her surroundings then Reed does.”

Peter’s face swung back to orient on Sue as she talked. His body language stayed relaxed as he lounged against the door-frame. “I’m sorry Sue, I had a weeks worth of stuff to catch up on when I got back. Had some trouble tacking down my phone.”

[not her business]

He crossed his arms across his chest, completely unrepentant. “I saw that you kept calling and texting me, I thought you wanted a visit. Next time I’ll call first.” First she nags, and next she fusses about me even showing up Peter thought irritably.

[Don’t need her]

“The suit is an souvenir of my intergalactic trip. Replacement for equipment and stuff from an alien planet. Fair enough trade after being forced to fight in an arena.” Briefly he glossed over the adventure, not like she needed the information. Done and over with.

[our rightful prey]

“Not hurting anyone that doesn’t deserve it. Rapists, murderers, thieves ruining other people.” He shrugged, keeping his distance. “They keep coming back Sue. Maybe they need a stronger deterrent.” He frowned a bit under the mask. Why should she care about those people. The people that she should be concerned with would be the victims of the crimes, not the people that committed them.

#susanstorm-richards #spiderscience #just a friendly visit

The corner of her mouth twitched at the comment about Reed, but for the sake of the situation she decided to disregard it. Something was definitely wrong with Peter. He was sarcastic and at times socially awkward, but never had she seen him this arogant. It was like some switch had flipped in the back of his head, turning him from goodhearted hero to violent vigilante. And whatever had caused this sudden change in attitude had occurred some time during his missing week.

Being forced to fight in an arena against your will could certainly cause some adverse psychological effects. The manifestation of alternate personalities could be a side effect of extreme trauma, but to what extent? She didn't know enough about psychology to say for sure. What she did know for certain, was that this situation would have to be approached very carefully.

“Peter, I get what you’re saying, I do, but there will always be people wanting to hurt others. Making an example out of them won't change that, it's just the way the world works. “As heroes, there has to be a line that we don't cross. If we start taking people's lives into our own hands, how are we any better than the villains we fight?”

Sue took a few tentative steps towards the teen, moving to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I know how hard being in a different world can be. I won't ask you about it if you don't want to share, but know I'm here for you if you want to talk.”

Her eyes trailed down to momentarily focus on his black costume, taking in its undeniably alien appearance. News footage aside, it was the first time she'd seen it up close. The fabric felt like a second skin and from what she could gather, appeared to have a distinct lack of seems.

“I can't know what you’re thinking if you don't tell me.”

Just A Friendly Visit

@susanstorm-richards

Nag nag nag nag, Peter rolled his eyes at the texts on his phone. He liked these people why again? It seemed like everyone had a lame opinion these days and it irritated him. Why couldn’t they just lay off? First people nagged him about getting a life and getting out of the house or lab, now they nagged him about said life. He couldn’t win.

Looking at the latest texts he sighed as he decided to just go see Sue. Perhaps if the scientist saw for herself that he was fine, she’d lay off. Perhaps just wishful thinking on his part. Everyone always seemed to find something wrong with him. Right now he felt perfectly fine and didn’t see why they kept fussing at him.

The shift from clothes to costume easy with the help of the symbiote, he used his webs to move across the city to the Baxter Building. Nothing could beat the free feeling of web-slinging. The organic webbing made it that much easier, no need to worry about running out of supplies. Instead he could just move, worry free. Honestly he loved what the symbiote brought into his life.

Landing on the top of the building, he sauntered in, confident of his welcome. It wouldn’t take him too long to find his most current source of irritation. “Hey Sue! You wanted to see me?”

#susanstorm-richards #spiderscience #just a friendly visit

“Mom! Mom! Look! I have a loose tooth.” Valeria tugged on her arm excitedly, pulling her attention away from the book she was reading. “Really?”

The young girl opened her mouth and wiggled the incisor with her tongue. “See!”

“Val, that’s awesome.” Sue told her with a smile. “When it falls out remember to put it under your pillow so the tooth fairy can collect it.”

Valeria seemed to really consider what she was saying for a moment before leaning in close. “Will the tooth fairy still bring me money even though I know she isn’t real?” she whispered.

She reached forward and ruffled her daughter’s hair. “Maybe, but only if you believe hard enough.”

“Okay, but Mom?”

“Yeah?” “Why is Spider-Man in the building?” Sue’s head swiveled backwards, following Valeria’s gaze towards the costumed teen. Her eyes narrowed at his greeting. She’d been trying to contact him for weeks with no reply, but here he was, plain as day. Still wearing the black outfit he’d adopted after his disappearance.

“Val hun, I need to talk to Spider-Man alone for a minute. Why don’t you go show your father your tooth? I’m sure you two can devise all sorts of ways to pull it out.” The young girl looked back and forth between the two of them for a moment before sauntering off towards the elevator. Once she was sure her daughter was safely out of earshot, she turned her attention back to the boy in her living room.

“I know I gave you clearance with HERBIE, but that doesn’t mean you can just walk in here. We have security protocols for a reason, Peter. And after leaving me in the dark all this time you might’ve had the decency to call first.” Sue crossed her arms, her hard expression softening. “I was worried about you. There was all this business on the news about you disappearing and I couldn’t get a hold of you. Then you showed up in that suit and started…” she paused, choosing her next words carefully. “You’re hurting people, Peter.”

The Great Sue Retcon of 2016

Sue is no longer unable to have children and as a result, Franklin and Valeria Richards have joined the Fantastic Four. The updated bio can be found here, while the timeline can be found here.

#susanstorm-richards #retcon

Dimensionally Transcendental (Jan & Sue) 3 December 2015

“Not particularly. He tends to change projects faster than I can keep up with.” Sue shrugged, opening the door to the elevator with a push of a button. Her husband’s brain worked in interesting ways. He couldn’t stand to be bored or idle for any length of time. Even if he was just sitting down to watch TV, he had to bring something to tinker with.

The doors to Reed’s lab opened to reveal a large, circular machine sitting in the middle of the floor. Tables and other furniture lay overturned in the corners, clearly cast aside to make room for his new interest. Her husband’s head stretched out from beneath the mess of machinery. He took off his goggles, leaving a clean imprint in the oil and soot that covered his face.

“Ah Susan, just the person I wanted to see. And Janet, good to see you.” he diverged immediately from pleasantries, elongating his torso until he could easily reach the computer off to the side. “I wanted to get your thoughts on some things when I test it out.”

“It’s a very nice invention, dear, but whatever you’re doing is shaking the building. You’re going to scare the tenants.” Jan was right not to want boarders. They just didn’t understand anything about the team dynamic.Their dynamic just happened to be her husband nearly destroying his lab every week.

He seemed to only half hear her over his furious typing. “Was it? Well, I suppose that tearing a rift in dimensional lining would cause some disturbance.”

“Reed!” She took a step towards him, her arms crossed. “I thought we discussed this. No more machines with potentially dire consequences.”

“There’s nothing dire about it.” he said, turning away from the monitor to look at her. “The barrier between dimensions is pure energy, I’m simply redirecting that energy to create a momentary gap. A portal if you will. It’s nothing irreparable. I’ve already found a pocket dimension very close to earth.”

His words did nothing to elevate Susan’s disapproving frown, though she raised an eyebrow in interest. “Like the negative zone?”

“I’m not positive yet, but I don’t think so. The energy it’s giving off is different than antimatter. I have a few reconnaissance bots prepped.”

He input a complicated sequence of keys, causing the monitor to light up, before sliding back to join his legs. His eyes practically sparkled with childlike anticipation as he rested his hand on one of the machine’s many levers.

“Here we go.”

“Dr. Richards,” Jan greeted in kind, then popped another of the banana cookies into her mouth, munching on it as her friend spoke with her husband. The dialog sounded all too similar to the ones she often had with Hank–except, of course, for the variation of having tennants and neighbors to look after. There was only one time Jan could think of where one of Hank’s experiments had upset their neighbors. It was in 2009 and he’d started working on using Pym Particles to grow into Giant Man. Overshooting as he had, he’d gone through the house and bothered several of their neighbors in the process.

Well, perhaps twice. There was also the incident where he’d made plants grow at an exponential rate. That had ended badly, too. Or perhaps Hank was just as bad as his arch rival. (The rivalry made no sense to Jan. Their fields were entirely different, but for some reason they always seemed to feel the need to snip at one another.)

“I hate to be the one to mention this,” Janet mused, after listening to Reed’s explanation of what the machine did. “But I think Hank was working on something similar last month.” She gestured to the machine. “It wasn’t like this, though. He used a chamber, which itself moved through the dimensions.” He wouldn’t let her get near it as long as she was carrying the baby, but he’d brought her things from those places on his explorations since then. Jan carefully neglected to mention that Hank didn’t seem to have much control over where he went or what would be there when he landed.

#Dimensionally Transcendental #susanstorm-richards #when-wasps-fly #dark-dimension-clea #stephenstrange-sorcerersupreme

The machine hummed to life with the sound of churning cogs and sputtering motors. As Reed stood at the control panel, fiddling with various knobs and switches, his jaw visibly tensed at the mention of Hank’s work. “Well I’m sure it was a great deal more rudimentary than what I-

Sue cleared her throat, giving him a pointed look. “But it does sound fascinating. Remind me to ask about it later.” he finished quickly before retreating back to his work. She crossed her arms, sparing a fleeting glance towards Jan. It wasn't as if their husband’s feud was some big secret, but it was still every bit as mortifying. They were adults, they both had doctorates, and somehow they still couldn't handle being in the same room with one another.

A spark erupted from one of the engines, sending a cloud of thick black smoke billowing out. Even more erupted from inside the machine, sending bolts of electricity shooting out the sides. The control panel crackled with energy as her husband desperately tried to correct the problem. The jolt he was most likely receiving didn't appear to phase him.

“Reed.” she cautioned, creating a protective bubble around her pregnant friend.

“Don't worry, I have contingency plans in place for-

A bolt of lightning arced across the room, striking the floor only a few feet from where they were standing. A purple glow began to emanate from the area of impact, bathing them in an ominous light. Quickly, it began to grow in size. Energy crackled from its depths, shooting out at all angles. An intense wind ripped through the lab, pulling papers and even furniture towards the widening portal. As it grew larger, the pull grew stronger.

“Jan hold on!”

A flying chair hit her in the temple, sending her stumbling and interrupting the force field she had placed around her friend. The wind caught her before she could recover her footing, sending her hurtling towards the portal.

Along Came a Spider II Susan & Peter

“I will keep that in mind.” The AI chirped, pausing a moment as if to think. “I believe I will update my firewall.” With that, the disembodied voice fell silent, leaving the two to their conversation.

When she’d asked about powers, she certainly hadn’t expected Peter to start rattling off an entire list of powers. It was impressive that he was able to control them so well, as well as have the discipline to keep them in check. One of the things Ben had struggled with was not realizing how much strength he was utilizing. He could hurt someone just as easily as he could become a sports star.

“Mostly good,” she assured him. “Multiple powers means that villains will have a harder time adapting to your fighting style.” she smiled.

His choice of question came as a bit of a surprise. It was refreshing actually. When given the chance, most people didn’t ask the science related ones. It was always superficial things like “Do your clothes turn invisible too?” and “Is your husband as good in bed as he seems?”

Sue leaned against the edge of the work table, contemplating her answer for a moment. “The cosmic rays altered our bodies on a molecular level.It’s more obvious in Reed and Ben because the change to their cells was more radical. We were mutated so to speak. All of us give off a small amount of radiation, not enough to be harmful to anyone around us, but enough to detect.”

It wasn’t something she thought about much. Turning invisible was second nature now, like eating or sleeping. It was just something that happened. It was hard to picture each tiny, individual cell disappearing one by one.

“What about this Spidey-Sense of yours? How does it work?” In the fights she had seen, he was able to react to attacks unusually quickly. However, until now it was always something she’d attributed to reflexes.

“I spent time figuring out what I could do after I first got them.” He tapped his temple with two fingers. “Science on the brain, you know. I was curious about what exactly I could do. If I am going to help people, need to know what I can do. Plus you know I needed to learn control so I could look normal.”

The first day he spent breaking things, without intending to. It took time before the necessary levels of control became habit. For a long time he needed to be hyper vigilant of what he did. Still Peter couldn’t afford to forget, ever, how strong and how extreme his reactions could be. Or to take some down time shutting the world out before it overwhelmed him.

As Sue explained, he turned the information over in his head. The physical adaptation without modification to genetic structure likely. The fact that it occurred at the molecular level, made it difficult, if not impossible to reverse. Ben Grimm would want that reversal if any of the Four did. Rather remarkable that they survived it.

Her question prompted his thoughts towards his Spidey-Sense, trying to put it into proper frame. “Its hard to put into words really. I just react instinctively to some things, before I can even think about it. For other things, it’s . . like pressure, or a not-headache. The bigger the danger the more I feel it. I just know where its coming from. Never what exactly, just that its there. It’s never gone off without a reason.”

A lot of questions fluttered through his head. Some of them he wouldn’t ask, because of well, manners. Some Peter didn’t feel ready to ask, and one really relvelant to now. “Why did you pick biology for your Doctorate. I mean, what’s so important about the field for you?”

#along came a spider #susanstorm-richards #spiderscience

“I know exactly what you mean.” It had taken her a long time to control when and where she wanted to disappear. Her force fields had taken even longer to master because of their versatility. Hitting someone with one wasn't like throwing a punch; there was a sort of disconnect between her brain and the rest of the body. Since she didn't have to rely on her physical strength, she had to be extra vigilant of where she was hitting and how fast. Too much of either and she could end up killing her adversary.

A thoughtful expression settled over Sue’s features as she listened to his explanation. “So its like a sixth sense…” His powers had not only increased physical aspects of his body, but mental aspects as well. This early warning system sounded almost like telepathy, or at least a weaker version of it. That would be something to look into once they started the tests.

“Why did I get into biology?” Sue mused, running her hand over a microscope. “Well, I want to say it was just one of those chance things. I was always good at the sciences and by the time college applications rolled around, I still didn't know what I wanted to do. I guess it's kind of lame to say I just went into something that was easy for me, but at the time I was practically raising Johnny.”

She crossed her arms, leaning back further against the desk. “I suppose my father is the one who motivated me to even take the courses in the first place. He was a brilliant surgeon, won lots of awards. For the longest time, I actually wanted to be an actress. Guess he changed my mind.” she smiled to herself, falling into a momentary silence.

“Now, what about you? Besides your father's involvement, I have no idea how you got your powers.”

handsomeaxe

omnitastic-blog

doom is best babysitter

Along Came a Spider II Susan & Peter

“Of course. I wouldn’t tell anyone that kind of information without your consent.” Sue said, giving what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Her gaze moved upwards as the speakers on the ceiling crackled to life. “Your files are secure with me. My systems are built to withstand even Tony Stark’s technology.” The AI chimed in, sounding fairly pleased with himself.

Sue moved to wash her hands in the lab sink, drying them thoroughly before putting on a fresh pair of latex gloves. She gestured to one of the many chairs around the room so he could sit. “I’d normally take a blood sample, but considering you were bleeding out on my roof less than an hour ago, I’ll forgo that for today.” She reached into a nearby cabinet for sterile containers, then another for a package of cotton swabs.

“I’m sure you’ve seen this on crime dramas before. I’ll be able to get a trace of your DNA by swabbing the inside of your cheek. It’s not much, but it’s a starting point.” Given his visible unease at the prompt, it was probably best that they start slow. This was the least invasive she could be. Once she had his trust, they could work their way up to something a little more involved.

“If you would.” Once he opened his mouth, she took a few quick swipes and dropped it into the container for safe keeping. She repeated the process twice more, just to ensure she had a proper number of backups.

“I know you’re not comfortable with this and you have every reason not to be. But if you want me to do this, you need to be more forthcoming. Every bit of information you can tell me about yourself helps.” she sighed. “If it would make things easier, we could do a bit of a trade. A question for a question.”

“So,” Sue started, labeling the samples with a pen. “Aside from sticking to walls, what else is a natural ability?”

“Oh please never tell Tony that. He might take it as a personal challenge.” Peter grinned in response to the AI’s statement. “Then you would have to deal with him trying to best you.”

He tried not to squirm as Sue got the swabs out. Of course it wouldn’t hurt, but the long held practice of keeping these secrets made it difficult. Just a cheek swab today. Easy to handle. Opening his mouth, Peter let her take the swipes.

When she finished he nodded lightly. “I have to admit, I’m curious about you guys. Seems fair enough to me. Of course you start with one that requires a detailed list.” He couldn’t help but to roll his eyes. The thin shield of humor would help him deal with his nerves.

“So, the other stuff that is natural besides clinging to walls, ceilings, pretty much any surface you can think of? Enhanced strength, which we kind hinted at already, speed, agility, flexibility, stamina, senses, accelerated healing, and I also seem to be a good bit more durable now.” Peter bit his lip, going over the important things. “I metabolize things faster, would be helpful if we can figure out what drugs work well for me other than strong. Oh yes, the grand surprise which I have decided to name my Spidey-Sense. Basically a built in early warning system that lets me know about threats.” He tapped his right temple at the last statement.

The young vigilante blinked after he finished rattling off the list. “Wow, I don’t think I ever just made a list before. It sounds like one stop shopping for lots of abilities. Which is both good and bad.” He shrugged lightly.

“So question for you,” he stated brightly. “Did what give you your powers change your DNA, or just what your body can do?”