After shopping, we went to lunch at Edamame, an Asian-fusion restaurant, where we had a small private room to ourselves, and sat on the floor among cushions on tatami mats. The mats smelled like a summer meadow.
The conversation had ranged from a discussion of how all women feel insecure about their looks,--Sue thought she looked too generic, too bland, and Janet said she was very happy with how she looked, and she ought to be, considering what she had paid for her nose—which, to my eyes, wasn't all that different. She did say she wished she were taller, which every one agreed counted.
I told them about the day before, which elicited a lot of clapping and whistling as I told them the more dramatic parts. Janet fell over on the cushions, whooping with laughter, when I told them about kneeing Mastermind in the groin.
When I came to the part where Magneto told me how Victor had rescued me before he even got there, all three of them quieted down.
"It's not that it's unlike Victor," said Sue, thoughtfully. "Remember the time he took over the world for about six months? You were involved in ending that, Janet. He did it completely non-violently, with mind-control, using the powers of the Purple Man, amplified to cover the whole planet. Once he had control of the world, he did for it what he does for Latveria.
"He ended the war—he ended all the wars. He put an end to crime and eliminated poverty. He did away with prejudice. Of course it was all done through mind-control, but still, I would have expected him to abuse that kind of power, but he didn't. He left us completely alone, too."
"That was while I was getting my master's degree. I wasn't anywhere near what was going on. I just remember that all of it was very quiet." I said.
"Yes." agreed Jen.
"I can tell you why he didn't pursue his revenge against you and your family, though, if you were wondering." I told Sue.
"Can you? Okay. Tell."
"Two reasons. One—you would have been unable to fight him while under mind control. There is no honor in defeating an enemy who can't fight back."
"I can see that." nodded Sue. "What's the other?"
"It wouldn't have been any fun, either."
"Wouldn't have been any—Victor is completely lacking in any sense of fun! I dare you to try and tell me he does."
I could have argued the point, but I didn't. That side of Victor, the man who could relax and become playful when we were alone together—I valued that aspect of our relationship too much to spill it over lunch to anyone, let alone friends as new as these. "Well, say that it would have been unsporting, then. I think the American expression is 'like shooting ducks in a barrel.'"
"I don't know…" Sue hesitated.
Janet took over. "How is it that Latveria can afford to buy up all of Genosha's debts? That sounds like it would take some serious money."
I explained briefly about the weather platforms. They weren't a secret—neither was the Latverian 'greenergy' revolution that was spreading over Europe. (The word 'greenergy' came from green, or environmentally friendly, energy.) But neither the weather platforms nor our greenergy developments had received much press in America—small wonder. Richards' powerful sponsor, Winfield-Merton had a high-level connection to two of the big media conglomerates.
"Weather platforms?" Sue's brow furrowed in thought. "Yes, I remember. I just didn't realize how widely they were being used. How are they powered?"
That gave me an opportunity to tell her about greenergy. If she went home and talked to Reed, it might get him off his ass and start him thinking. If he started thinking, he might realize what wasn't going on with his patents, and the sword would fall without Victor's help. I wasn't telling her anything that was not freely available knowledge.
"I just remembered," Janet said. "When I went to an outdoor concert in Paris a few weeks ago, there was a weather surcharge on the ticket printout."
I nodded. "There would have been an acknowledgement in the program and on the posters. 'Optimal weather provided by Latverian Weather Systems'. It isn't widely advertised because there is no competition."
"What do you do if it rains anyway?" asked Jen.
"There's insurance to cover that. It hasn't happened yet, but there is a rider clause in all contracts in case of Thor, Storm or other costumed adventurers with weather-related powers causing any changes to the scheduled weather pattern."
Janet laughed. "But not against Acts of God?"
"Acts of God we can handle. Acts of Heroes are another story. Natural weather patterns aren't hard to track these days, but heroes are unpredictable."
"So that's how you can afford to bail out Genosha." Janet concluded.
"I suspect it also paid for this." I showed off my ring, something I had seen done in movies—an engaged girl displaying her ring to a circle of admiring friends— but never imagined I would do someday.
"Love the color." winked Jen.
"That's a very nice rock you have there." said Janet, "and believe me, I know."
"It's lovely, and I think it suits you." Sue added. "Now, I would like to propose a toast. To Joviana and Victor. I hope you will be very happy together."
"I don't suppose we could drink to her and leave him out of it, could we? Just kidding!" Jen hid behind her hand as I gave her a hurt look. "To Joviana and Victor."
Janet repeated it. "To Joviana and Victor." They drank.
"Thank you." I said. "Thank you so much."
"Well, you're welcome." Sue told me. "I'm glad Victor has found someone who believes in him like you do." That drove another nail of guilt into me. "And now…we couldn't let you get married without a little something from us. Don't get embarrassed, it's nothing big."
Each of them fished something out of the shopping bags they had brought along. Jen and Sue both had packages, Janet a long, shiny envelope. "Save mine for last." advised Sue.
Jen's package had a white sleep set, a simple cotton T-shirt and shorts. On the shirt, it said, 'The Bride' in swirly gold lettering. Janet's was a gift certificate for a 'Day on Venus', which was a package of services at a luxurious day spa, including a promised massage with rose-scented oils and a facial.
Sue's was the most personalized, though, because in it there was a bikini, a white bikini with 'Mrs. Doom' spelled out across the backside in rhinestones. "What do you think?" she asked, while I gaped. "I had it done while you were in the dressing room at Stylene's. They did it right then."
"I love it—I love them all." I said. I wanted to burst into tears immediately. "If this is how you treat a new friend, I don't know what you do for old ones, but I don't deserve it."
"Of course you do." said Sue. "Victor—in a weird way he's like part of the family. He's even been a member of the Fantastic Four now and then. And—I think you're good for him. But you missed part of mine in the tissue paper."
I hunted around and found something else—a refrigerator magnet, with a vintage picture of a woman looking seductively into the camera. There was a sentence printed on it, looking like words cut from a page. It said 'She had not yet decided whether to use her powers for good—or for evil.' I started laughing helplessly. "It's marvelous, I adore it! You know what? I'll use it to stick notes on Victor of things I want him to remember!"
Okay, so his armor was demagnetized, and it wouldn't stick. It was still a very funny line, and it had my three friends laughing until their ribs hurt.
A/N: Thanks, Emmy--Johnny will be putting in another appearance in a couple of chapters.
Hi, Gothikstrawberry! It wouldn't be the revelation so much that would hurt Sue and Reed's marriage, it would be the fight that would follow--the fight to either get Reed's patents back or to force them into production, which would be long, hard, and expensive--big stresses on any marriage. And yes, the revelation of Joviana's true identity would change a lot if it comes out--I'm not committing myself on this one one way or another.
The next chapter will reveal why and when Joviana first concieved her dislike for superheroism!