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There were a few things that you had to get used too when you were the only girl on a superhero team, mainly that you were going to be harassed and creeped on quite a lot. There was nothing that you could do to stop this even if you wanted too, it was a factor of her life. Sure, Sue hated that this was a factor of her life.
She despised it honestly but that didn’t make it any less true. Whether it be by the general public or whether it be by the villains that they fought. When you were the only woman in a team with three other men all of the creepy attention was usually and primarily directed towards her. The boys hated this, they didn’t have to say anything to her directly but she could tell just by the way they constantly acted that they hated it. They had always been protective of her ever since they were growing up.
She had been practically the only girl in their entire course, working three jobs to take care of her twelve year old brother. The rumors had started almost instantly. Claiming that she was sleeping around to get what she wanted, that she was doing ‘favors’ for teachers to get better grades. Like the idea that she was able to get them on her own was almost impossible.
Sue had just been really hard working and desperate. No one cared about that though. That's when she had met them in her second year. She had met them after they had been put together on a group project. It should have just been like all the rest where they worked together for a few months before she never talked to them again.
Something had been different this time around, at some point during the project someone had come up to Ben and Reed while she had been away and asked if she had ‘offered her services’ so she didn’t have to do any work. Sue didn’t know why he did it. Ben didn’t even know her, they had only talked a few times in regards to the project but the second those words let the person's mouth Ben had been on the ground beating the shit out of them. Oddly enough it had been as simple as that.
One incident and she had been pulled into their little group. Reed and Ben’s duo becoming a trio with her joined. The only explanation Ben ever gave for that day was that he didn’t like the face the guy made when he said it. That he shouldn’t have said something so cruel about someone who was so obviously going through it. After that incident people had just left her alone. Nobody followed her around throwing their trash at her or accusing her of staying behind with teachers to get better grades.
The rumors never truly stopped but they had stopped harassing her directly. It had been a breath of fresh air.
Then they became superheroes and suddenly the idea of people leaving her alone had been completely thrown out of the window as a realm of possibility. When you walked around in a skin tight suit fighting heroes and doing magnificent things no one else could dream of, people tended to focus more on the former than the latter.
Reed had offered to make her a less revealing outfit after a particularly bad time where she had been dragged through the press for being an ‘attention wanting slut’ but she had just turned him down. Reed meant well, he really did, but if she showed that a little bit of harassment had gotten to her then that meant that it was all going to get one hundred times worse.
However, it turns out either way she didn't have a choice if that happened the harassment just got worse and worse to the point it was daily. It was clearly bothering the boys and all three of them had different ways of showing it.
Johnny, like almost everything else he did, handled it by being explosive. He had always seen the way that guys had treated her, he had always seen the aftermath of rough nights after she had been creeped on. In a way his power had given him something to protect her with, he could draw the attention away from her. Everytime interviews got too weird or they asked a question that had clearly not been appropriate he was always the one to answer.
He was flashy, he liked being the press's golden boy. Even more he liked how it meant that he could just insert himself in between conversations where people decided they needed to be weird with his sister.
Ben had also decided to use his powers to his advantage in a way. After all, when someone is being creepy to your friend, what better way of dealing with it is to literally put yourself in between her and the person creeping on her? It was the perfect excuse as well, he sometimes just forgot his size! Who could blame him for that after all?
Anytime that someone did a creepy zoom in to Sue’s chest or up her skirt he was there. Anytime that an interviewer was asking her questions that certainly weren't appropriate, he was there.
He didn’t ask for anything for it but everytime he saw Sue visually relax and lean her head on his arm while whispering a soft ‘thank you’ it was completely and utterly worth it. There was also the added bonus that even if none of them didn’t work there was also the fact that Ben could be intimidating just through an angry look. Something that made scaring off creeps all too easy.
Reed just got more worried. He did what he could to try and hold her close, an arm around her shoulders or her waist in the hopes that it would do anything to make people look away from her but it never did. Everytime they went to a party, or a gala or any social event he would try to lessen the blow for her. Whispering in her ear how gorgeous she looked.
Talking about how he didn’t deserve her and that she was the prettiest woman on the planet. She’d blush softly when he would go on and on about how he was glad to have her in his life. It would work for the parties in a way, it would make her forget about the eyes that constantly looked her way or the cameras that were trying to get creepy shots of her. He did a lot to keep her mind off things. She would still find a newspaper the next day going on and on about how she was only there to bring attention to her and how Reed should get a better ‘more modest’ wife.
These safe measures had always worked. No matter what event they were at and no matter the context. Sue could always feel safe with them there. They were like her own personal bodyguard.
This had been the same kind of event as all the others had been. A bunch of snotty rich assholes all invited to some equally snotty rich guy's house all under the guise of it being a charity event. They were in a way, rich people would give away money that had practically been pennies so that they could go to parties which catering cost more than what was being given away. In truth the four hated these kinds of parties but when you were rich it kind of became a fact of life that you have to attend them.
If you don't, people will throw around the excuse that you ‘don't care about charity’ no matter how much of your own money you may give away on the side. Still though, the four attended. Whatever amount being given away was worth the pain of having to have conversation with people who wouldn’t give a cent away if it didn’t male them look bad.
Sue in particular hated these types, they were the worst but she persevered In a way she was just trying to get through it, they had only meant to stay for about an hour but each of the boys had somehow managed to find someone to have a conversation with, leaving her alone at the bar waiting until someone came and get her. She really didn’t mind waiting on them, if they were having fun then she wasn’t going to stop that but god was she tired.
The bright lights and the general chatter around her was starting to give her migraines. And yet all she could do was sit at the bar softly sipping her drink and praying that the headache didn’t get that bad that she would have to go and beg to leave. However before she could even think of taking another sip she was suddenly interrupted by someone coming and sitting next to her.
“Hey there beautiful? Are you here all alone then?” The man had long dark hair as he slid into the seat next to her clearly trying to woo her over. His finger circled the rim of her class in a way of trying to be seducing but honestly just made him look a bit stupid. She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow
She raised a hand to show off her wedding ring “Married, sorry man” usually she would have been politer and put him down easier but she really didn’t have the effort for this right now her head stung and it stung bad. If anything she really just wanted to go back to bed
To her surprise in an instant he seemed to back off putting his hands up in surrender as he moved his chair away a little. Clearly trying to be respectful “Oh! Im sorry i didn’t see the ring” he said honestly and she let out a breath of relief at the fact she wasn’t going to have to fight someone over the fact that she didn’t want to go on a date with them and that she wasn’t lying about being married.
“Eh, it's no problem” she shrugged. She tried to hide it but Sue was so glad that he was just backing off. It was something that felt so rare nowadays especially since she became ‘the invisible woman’ and suddenly she wasn’t allowed to say no to men
“Do you mind if I sit here then? I swear I won't flirt any more than I have already” he said with a laugh as he signalled the bartender over and ordered a drink for himself. Honestly she didn’t care what he did as long as he didn’t keep up trying to flirt with her then he could do whatever the hell he wanted right now for all she cared as long as he didn’t make her migraine worse.
“Go for it” she mumbled as she gestured to the seat not really caring what he did
Sue really hadn’t cared that he had wanted to sit with her, honestly it could always be worse. He could have been draping himself over her and demanding she go on a date with him but instead it was quiet. For once she had met someone at one of these stuck up rich people parties who seemed to have loathed them as much as she did.
He called himself Derek, said he owned some law firm and that's why he constantly got invited to them despite really not wanting to come. For what must have been an hour the two just sat there and talked. Something that she didn't know she needed. Usually at these parties she was left to her own devices and to try not to die of boredom as the others got to talk to people that were actually interested in them.
Usually she got stuck with someone talking down to her like she was some sort of child that had never had a grown up conversation in her life. Reed, Ben and Johnny always told her to come to them when she had enough but honestly, she had always felt too guilty to even do that. She just thugged it out till one of them came and got her.
However, Derek had been a nice change to this usual system, he seemed actually interested in her work. Not just as a hero but as a politician, he wanted to talk about how she managed to get so many people on her side and to listen to her all while balancing the whole hero thing. That didn't mean he also wasn't very interested when she made his glass disappear in his hand. Something which freaked him out so bad that he had almost dropped it. Oddly, she hadn’t seen any of the boys after that.
Reed had been talking to some scientist, Johnny had been chatting up some girls while Ben entertained a few kids. The things that they usually did at these parties.
But they were grown men and could handle themselves without her checking up on them every few minutes. However that's when she started to notice something after a while her head began to spin. She had only had a glass of wine and she already felt like she couldn’t sit upwards anymore. Softly she clutched her head mumbling about how the room was spinning all around her. She hadn’t even had anything to drink really, her migraine had been bad earlier but had it really gotten that bad so soon?
Sue started to regret not getting one of the others when she could have because she couldn't even find them in the crowd earlier. What chance did she have right now? She went to tap a button on her wrist to call them when suddenly Derek put his hand on it. She looked up to see that he was talking to her, for how long had he been saying stuff that she couldn’t hear.
‘I need to find the others’
She mumbled pathetically. Sue knew how wrecked she must have looked by the sympathetic nod Derek gave her, in an instant his hand was around her waist as he helped her to her feet. She had to put a hand on his arm just to stay steady as she was slowly led away from the bar. The world was just a mess of bright colours and shapes at this point.
Sue knew she was bumping into people as she passed. Mumbling apologies under her breath as she felt herself being led. She just needed to find one of the boys and go home. She squeezed her eyes shut hoping that the next time she opened them she would be passed off to Reed, or johnny or ben. However, the next time she opened her eyes. She opened them to find herself in a dark room being laid back onto a couch.
“Wait, what are you doing?” She mumbled confused, suddenly feeling the hair on the back of her neck stand up as she felt her back hit the couch. He hadn’t taken her to the boys and suddenly she was alone with some stranger in a room of a house she had never been in before
He crawled on top of her as she tried to push herself up but he wasn’t letting her, firmly grabbing her wrists as he leant over and whispered in her ear “Shh, just let it happen i know you’re tired” something which made her skin crawl and bile build up in her throat at the way he said it. Instantly she yanked her hands away from his grip.
Fuck off man” she said pushing at his chest violently even if it was just to get him up but instead he pressed himself down further on her as the world spun around her. She was seconds away from punching this creep.
“Be quiet, it’ll be quick i swear” he interrupted clearly getting frustrated with the fact that Sue wasn’t giving in as quietly as he thought she would and instead was putting up a hell of a fight even in her heavily out of it state. It was just now dawning on her that this prick had definitely put something in her drink while she hadn’t noticed. He was in the fight of a lifetime if he thought that she was just going to lay here and let him assault her. She was honestly surprised at his audacity for choosing a superhero of all people he wanted to creep on
“Get off me” she growled trying to keep her voice calm but failing. Swiftly she slapped him across the face but to her annoyance that didn’t even seem to make him want to get off. Instead that just seemed to make him even more excited as he leaned down and buried his face in her neck.
Sue tried not to vomit when she suddenly felt him kissing her neck she squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to shove him off. She didn’t want to use her powers. Her powers when drunk could be a bit unpredictable at how strong they came out but as he whispered “Cmon, you know you want it” in her ear she suddenly lost all fucks for how much she could hurt him.
“I said GET OFF” she screamed as suddenly a burst of energy made its way out of her, thankfully for her it sent Derek absolutely flying across the room and hitting into a wall so loudly that there was no way that no one heard it. She was breathing heavily as she tried to sit up but failed. Her whole body felt shaky. She couldn’t get bearings as the room. Twisted around her. Sue couldn’t even see straight.
All she could do was watch as the creep slowly pushed himself off of the ground and looked up at her with an expression filled with hate. All the horrible arousal and lust had faded from expression as he stared at her. Using a hand on the wall to level himself as he growled and bared his teeth at her like an angry animal.
She desperately tried to scramble off the couch as he approached her. She didn’t know what the hell he’s drugged her with but something really isn’t right with her. She put her hand out to make a forcefield but nothing happened. She desperately tried to push herself off the couch but didn’t make it in time when suddenly he was on top of her.
“You’re going to pay for that you bitch” Derek spat in her face as he talked, his hands wrapped firmly around her neck as she clawed at him. She kicked and scratched trying to get him off of her. Tears were in her eyes as she desperately tried to get a breath in not that this prick cared. All he cared about was the fact that she wouldn’t let him sleep with her .
“You don't ever disrespect me like that” he leaned his entire weight onto her neck. She kicked him between the legs over and over again but he didn’t care and instead just pinned her down completely. She didn’t feel like the invisible woman anymore. She didn’t feel like a superhero who had defeated so many super villains in her time. She felt like a woman
Just a normal woman.
She was scared
“You should feel honoured that anyone even wants you. I’ve seen what they put about you in the paper” his head was down by her ear again. All she could smell was a mix of his awful cologne and his even worse breath. Tears stung at her eyes as she tried to move and get away she wanted to get one of the boys and she wanted to go home
“Now you are going to lie there and you’re going to keep your mouth shut” the sound of a zipper being undone was the only thing that Sue could hear other than the guy's monologue. A single tear slipped down her cheek as she squirmed and tried to get away. Her powers weren’t working, why weren’t they working.
Just as Sue’s vision started to go black the sound of the door being kicked open echoed throughout the took
“GET OFF HER YOU PRICK” Derek was thrown off of her and thrown to the ground by Johnny who had fully tackled him off his sister in a ball of flame. The sound of the man’s screams filled the room as Johnny no doubt gave him third degree burns from how hot he was running
She turned her head to the side only to see Johnny on top of him repeatedly bringing his first down upon the man over and over again as hard as he could “YOU THINK YOU CAN PUT YOUR HANDS ON MY SISTER I’LL KILL YOU”
“Johnny-” she whispered, trying and failing to sit up. But before she could fall off the side of the couch Reed had caught her and sat down next to her. Bringing her close so that not only she couldn’t see the scene a few feet from them but so her head rested against his heart. A reminder that he was here for her. That he would keep her safe
“Hey. Hey its okay im here you’re okay” Reed mumbled as he gently held her as close to his chest as he could. Sue could feel her shoulders trembling as she pulled herself in closer desperately needing the affection
“He- He was gonna-” Sue couldn’t even get it out. She couldn’t say that he was going to do but it was pretty damn obvious. Her voice was croaky as she talked from the fact that he had been putting his entire body weight down on her neck.
God it was gonna hurt to talk for the next few days
“I know, i know im here” Reed whispered over and over gently rocking her as he talked. Sue didn’t see the tears in his eyes or the way they were fixed on the scene just out of Sue’s view of Derek getting the shit beat out of him.
“Im sorry” she knew she hadn’t done anything wrong but it sure felt like it
Instantly his attention turned back to her. The hatred in his features melted away in an instant “For what? You have nothing to be sorry for you didn’t do anything wrong”
Reed gently cupped her face as he continued “Don’t ever apologise for people being awful too you”
“I think he put something in my drink” she sounded pathetic. Barely able to get a sentence out as tears streamed down her face.
“Okay, thats okay ill do a scan on you when we get home how’s that sound”
“Horrible”
He let out a small laugh as he pulled her closer, keeping her head tucked neatly under his chin as his hand held the back of it ensuring that she was comfortable. There wasn’t really much else he could do to keep her calm. “Thought so, Ben can make you some hot cocoa for after and we can watch a movie in bed, how's that?”
Sue thought for a few seconds before mumbling “That sounds nice..”
“Yeah it does”
“Im really tired Reed” she whimpered, she knew realistically how pathetic she sounded but she didn’t care, none of them would judge her for it. In fact after she said it Reed just held her closer, gently rocking her back and forth as silent tears fell down her face. Sue gently buried her face in Reed's neck as she clung tighter. She felt him leave a gentle kiss on her forehead.
“Go to sleep, ill be here when you wake up” he whispered his voice delicate as if talking to a small child. She felt like one. She couldn’t understand how she had let her guard down that bad. At least she was safe now
“You wont let him hurt me while i sleep?”
Reed paused before firmly saying “Never.” There was a growl in his voice as he spoke. The way he tucked her in closer to his chest as he talked keeping her safe
“I love you so much” he whispered
And just before Sue fell asleep she mumbled back
“I love you too”