As the Rolls Royce pulled up to the restaurant that sat on the racetrack of The Grand Prix, Sue fiddled with her fingers in her lap. The dress that she had the clear head to pack after being told to pack for three days in Monaco at the last minute made Sue uncomfortable. The light blue material heated her skin and the waist belt that was tight against her figure was suffocating.
'Your case is in the trunk, Mr Stark,' Happy said from the driver's seat. Happy was Tony's driver and bodyguard, although he didn't have much use for the latter. But he was a friend of Tony's father, so he always kept him around.
Happy parked the car in front of the would-be stairs that led up to the restaurant, but they were covered by reporters and cameras. Their muted calls for a statement slipped through the car doors and the clicks from cameras already set Sue on edge.
'Oh my god,' Sue let out a shaky sigh. 'That's a lot of people.'
Happy got out of the car to open the door for Tony while Pepper undid her seatbelt. She glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of Sue panicking in the backseat.
'Oh my god, Sue,' Pepper gasped. Tony turned his head from the window as Happy opened his door and saw parts of Sue's face disappearing and reappearing.
'Are you okay, Sue?! You're... you're flashing!' Pepper cried and leaned over the centre console to reach out for Sue's hand.
'Glitching,' Tony corrected and turned to face the woman next to him. Her breaths were heavy, and she rubbed her disappearing hands on the hem of her dress. The reporters were being cleared for a path up the stairs by some security guards, but their calls for a glimpse of Mr Stark could be heard loud and clear.
'I-I'm not ready to go out there,' Sue said through her heavy breaths. 'I can't control it yet. They'll see it and I'll be the... the invisible freak! I-I'm not ready.'
'You could just turn invisible?' Tony suggested smugly and Sue let out a groan.
'Not helping. They'll see just a dress walking around on its own!'
'You could always take it off.'
'Sue, do you need to go to the hospital?' Pepper asked, ignoring her boss's snide comments. She didn't fully understand what was going on with the woman who was becoming hysterical and losing parts of her appearance to what seemed like thin air. But she could tell that Sue wasn't in the best place mentally, so she pushed aside her questions and tried not to look as the woman's body disappeared, before appearing once more.
'No... no I just...'
'Mr Stark?' Happy was heard from outside. 'Are you... coming out at all?'
'Just give me a sec, Happy.'
Sue scrunched her eyes shut and focused on controlling the surge of energy she felt overcoming her. But it was no use. She had to calm down first before being able to focus on the cool sensation that seeped over her skin.
'Sue, hey, look at me,' the sound of Tony's voice brought her out of her thoughts. She turned to him and noticed that his sunglasses were now in his hand rather than over his eyes. The deep brown swirls captivated her, and she almost stopped breathing altogether. The sounds of the clicking cameras and shouting reporters blurred and she was sure her ear reappeared from its missing state.
'Europe's different. They're open-minded here. I'm sure there's someone down the block who turns into a puma or something,' Tony gestured his hand to the road ahead. Pepper watched as the flashing of Sue's figure halted from Tony's words and she noticed the way the two stared at each other. She saw something in Tony that she never thought she'd ever see. He cared.
'We'll go in there, sit down and soon enough, the racetrack will be the only thing any of these cameras care about. They're all just... Europeans,' Tony grimaced at his lack of explanation, but it helped Sue immensely. Her breathing evened and a small smile played on her lips. Even Pepper sat with a warm, knowing look on her face.
'Mr Stark! Mr Stark! What can you say about the race today?!'
'Miss Storm! Is there anything you can add to the statement released about the Marvel-1 mission?!'
'Miss Potts! How are you handling being the new CEO of Stark Industries?!'
'Mr Stark! Why are you here with Miss Storm?!'
The three escaped the mayhem and made it into the restaurant that was full of businessmen, billionaires and anyone whose been on the cover of Forbes magazine. Happy stayed outside with the car to ensure that the valet didn't try to take it with Tony's suit in the trunk. Natalie met them at the door in her tight, salmon-coloured dress and notified Tony about his dinner at nine o'clock.
'Great, we'll be there at eleven. Is this ours?' he motioned to the table that was laid out for a group of at least six next to the window.
'It can be,' Natalie said.
'Good, make it happen.'
As waiters bustled to clear the remaining glasses, plates and cutlery to make way for the most famous person in the room, Sue stood back with Pepper. She concentrated hard to ensure she kept the cold sensation that usually took over her at bay. She kept her head down when they ascended the stairs and through the reporters. Pepper had stayed behind her to make sure no one tried to shove a microphone in her face, but also struggled as the news of her being the new CEO of the company made her also a hot topic.
'I don't know what you and Tony are working on,' Pepper piped up and Sue looked up from her fiddling hands. 'But I can see that you have... something that's... a little strange. Obviously, not wrong with you, but effecting you, happening to you-'
'It's okay, Pepper,' Sue helped her out and gave her a small smile. 'Even I don't know what it is, yet. I'm hoping Tony will work that out. He's doing me a big favour.'
'I like doing big favours. Makes me remember how much of an amazing person I am,' Tony cut in and held out a glass of champagne. Sue took it from him and looked at him through her fringe. His dark suit and finely styled beard made him look charming and professional. His usual metal band t-shirts and jeans was all Sue had seen him in, but the suit was something new. Fresh and more fitting for the billionaire.
'Do amazing people grab drinks for their new CEO?' Pepper asked with a stern tone.
'Natalie's got yours.'
'Right.'
Once they were seated, the buzz of the room set in for Sue. She was sure that she had seen Elon Musk at some point, who was an up-and-coming man who was rumoured to be working on a self-driving car. Sue thought it sounded ridiculous.
'I just wanted to ask-' a voice came into earshot and Tony appeared from the bar with a woman following behind him with a recorder in her hand. '-is this the first time you two have seen each other since the senate hearing in D.C?'
'Oh, you mean when he got his contract revoked?'
'Actually, its on hold,' a man appeared from behind the two. Sue recognised the man to be Justin Hammer, a weapons manufacturer who was dropped from the contract his company had with the U.S government.
Pepper, Natalie and Sue sat at the table watching the trainwreck unfold. The woman, who Sue heard was Christine Everhart, a reporter for Vanity Fair, turned from Tony and caught sight of her sitting quietly next to Pepper. Sue gulped as the woman glanced between Tony and her, before shuffling into a chair at the table.
'Miss Storm, this is a surprise,' Christine gave a stretched smile, one that Sue didn't like. 'In Monaco with Mr Stark and Miss Potts.'
Sue swallowed dryly and glanced to her side, seeing Pepper making small talk with Natalie and Tony absent from the table. She shifted her eyes around the room in hopes of catching a glimpse of him, but deflated when all she saw was Justin Hammer trying to get Christine Everhart's attention.
'Does this have anything to do with the rumours about the effects of the incident on the Marvel-1?' Christine pried. 'Is Iron Man looking for a sidekick?'
'You know what, I think that's enough,' Pepper cut in. The redhead leaned across the table and grabbed hold of Sue's hand. She had seen her fingers that sat just under the table begin to disappear and show the blue of her dress as opposed to her skin. Pepper made sure to encase the missing fingers with her own, covering it from the irritating reporter.
'Miss Potts, CEO of Stark Industries,' Christine grinned, and Pepper resisted the urge to roll her eyes. 'You know, I'd die for an interview with Tony Stark's old assistant and new sidekick-'
'I'm not a sidekick!' Sue cried and Christine indulged in the anger in her voice. Pepper swallowed when she saw pieces of Sue's hair on the right side of her head flash. A look of confusion took over Christine's face and Sue noticed the change in her expression.
'Let's talk about that spread, Miss Everhart,' Justin Hammer unknowingly came to the rescue and the two seated women breathed a sigh of relief. Christine left the table and Sue's anger dissolved.
'Are you alright?' Pepper asked and let go of the woman's hands, seeing her fingernails were where they were meant to be.
'Yes. Thank you,' Sue breathed out a sigh and squeezed her hands in and out of fists. 'What an awful woman.'
'We have a history with her.'