The Last Son, Book Three: Changes

by The Writer with No Name

AU S3. Xover with Superman and Justice League. Mutants are public knowledge. Superman is no longer myth. With this change the Man of Steel and his new team strive to make a difference in the world..but they and the X-Men have their work cut out for them.

37. The Search For Sentrius, Part Two

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: THE SEARCH FOR SENTRIUS, PART TWO

New York City, New York, Earth, August 13, 2009

"In light of the recent attacks on the U.N. Summit, and on Congress, the President has ordered all regular and reserve forces to go on full alert; sources confirm that the global defence campaign will be coordinating heavily with the Justice League, but we still have no idea what the plan will be…"

As soon as the news report came on, almost everyone on the sidewalk flocked to the window of the electronics store, worriedly hanging on every word…leaving them blind to the young man that just walked on by.

Shaking his head, Julian Keller completely ignored the broadcast; it had nothing to do with him. His days of chasing after other people's grand causes were over.

He had other things to do.

Checking his watch, Julian allowed himself a faint smile as he rounded the corner, coming to a small arcade…where he found his old teammates waiting for him, exactly as they'd planned. "Hey, guys."

All the former Hellions smiled back. "Hey, Jules," Angelica greeted.

Buford's smile was nervous. "Crazy situation, huh?"

Julian managed a faint chuckle. "Yeah," he agreed. "So…now that the world's about to end, what do you guys wanna do?"

Sharon looked guilty. "We don't know that, Julian," she murmured. "Maybe the League and the X-Men can pull it off!"

Sighing, Julian just shrugged; months ago, he'd have been steamed at the notion of Superman saving the day, but he'd left that back with Frost's Academy of Tomorrow…or at least he was trying to. "Hey, more power to 'em," he said. "That still doesn't answer what we can do in the meantime."

John looked thoughtful. "Shouldn't we be doing something to help?"

Fabian snorted. "I thought we were done taking orders," he muttered. "Wasn't that the point of leaving Frost?"

"Who said we had to take anyone's orders?" John insisted. "This is something major, Julian; the whole planet's being affected by this. We should be doing something."

Julian groaned. "Guys…"

"He's right, Julian," Angelica said. "We can't just sit back and do nothing, like we did when Selene was going to…"

Julian flinched at that memory. "For the sake of arguing, let's say we do something," he relented. "What do we do?"

"I dunno," Sharon said, "but the League and the X-Men must have a plan; why don't we ask them what…"

"And end up being their lapdogs instead of Frost's?" Fabian scoffed. "I think not."

John's eyes narrowed. "Do you have a better idea, Fabe?"

"Cool it!" Julian shouted. "Everybody, cool it! This isn't getting us anywhere!"

His remark drew everyone's attention towards him. "What do you think we should do, Jules?" Buford asked.

Angelica nodded. "Any ideas?"

Feeling the weight of their stares, Julian closed his eyes, remembering what Miss Frost had said to him the day he'd become team-leader: "In your tenure as leader, Julian, you're going to have to make tough choices: choices you would likely never make for yourself, but you'll do anyway because they'll be what the team needs." Her eyes had narrowed at the next part, and Julian could almost feel that icy stare on him again. "If you can't handle that, kindly say so now."

Back then, he'd almost told her what to do with that little speech – though she'd probably known what he'd been thinking, anyway – and he'd be damned before he did any different, now.

Taking a deep breath, Julian met his teammates' gazes. "Okay, guys," he began, "here's what we're gonna do…"

XXXXXXXX

Cel'Mak System, Voth Galaxy

Above the orbit of Cel'Mak IV, all was quiet as the Krypton dropped out of Trans-Warp, towing the Starjammer along with it. Once the smaller ship had slowed down, Superman, inside the cockpit, began making re-entry calculations, before automating some of the number-crunching and moving it to his nano-suit's visor, switching on the communicator. "Krypton calling Starjammer: everybody alright back there?"

Corsair's voice came back. "Starjammer to Krypton: everything's fine, just a little shook. We never did get used to that first step out of the World-Gate."

Superman chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I should take a look at the inertial cancelers after we get home; Trans-Warp packs a mean kick dropping out. The brakes do need a little smoothing." Moving his calculations back to the main computer, he added, "I've calculated our re-entry vector; I'm sending it to you, now. Just follow me in."

"Acknowledged, Krypton. See you on the ground."

Ending the transmission, Superman quickly finished his calculations, and then entered them, guiding the Krypton into a stable re-entry; the torpedo-like craft gracefully rolled into its path, before it started shaking from the turbulence of the planet's atmosphere, blazing across the sky, followed by the Starjammer. Slowing itself with its nose-mounted retro-rockets, the Trans-Warp ship touched down in the middle of a wide-open grassland dotted with sparsely-leaved trees. Once the ship had depressurized, Superman opened the canopy and hopped out, retracting his nano-suit as the Starjammer landed a few feet away, while savouring the feel of the yellow sunlight on his skin.

Three days in Trans-Warp without any sunlight was enough to make anybody feel a little cooped-up.

With a hiss, the Starjammer's main hatch slid open allowing Corsair and his crew, along with Gambit, Rogue, Avalanche, and Shadowcat, to disembark. "Uh…okay," Shadowcat murmured. "I was sorta expecting something weird, but this looks a lot like the African savannah."

Superman nodded. "I guess the reason this planet was chosen as an emergency evac-point was because it was so similar to Krypton, and thus, to Earth."

Corsair looked uneasy. "What about the locals? Anything we should worry about?"

"I doubt it," Superman answered. "Based on General Zod's intel, this planet houses a mid Class One society; as long as we keep our heads down, they shouldn't bother us."

"Okay, you've mentioned Earth being a "Class One society," before," Rogue said. "Just what the heck does that mean?"

Superman smiled sheepishly. "It's just how Krypton classified other civilizations they came in contact with; they were evaluated on certain behaviours as well as key technological developments," he explained. "Class Ones are the earliest stage of civilization; they have no space-flight technology, or very limited space-flight; as a result, they tend to know little about other worlds or their inhabitants…which means that they would very likely tend to get spooked if an "advanced" civilization were to introduce themselves."

Avalanche chuckled grimly. "Well, sounds like you guys got us pegged; some people back home are still freaking out about you being from out-of-town."

Superman nodded. "Class Twos are a little further along; they've discovered space-flight, and possibly the existence of other species, but have yet to establish peaceful, cooperative relations with them…like the Kree and Skrulls," he said. "Class Three societies are like the Galactic Confederacy; they have established peaceful relations with their neighbours, and freely exchange information and conduct fair trade."

"Okay," Shadowcat said. "What's next?"

"Class Four societies have advanced even further," Superman explained. "Their societies are mostly peaceful, with almost none of the internal problems that tend to pop up in Classes One to Three, such as crime, pollution, and war. There tends to be an increased emphasis on science and technology, although this isn't necessarily essential for a Class Four society. Class Fours do trade with other societies for resources, but not as much as others."

"Finally, there are Class Fives," Superman finished. "Class Fives are essentially a continuation of the trend from Class Fours, except their trade-needs are completely met, making them completely self-sufficient, and thus, do not carry out trade at all, or only in very rare circumstances, though they retain diplomatic relations with others. Krypton considered itself a Class Five society, and maintained relations with a handful of others, such as Azerath, Kymellia, and New Genesis."

"Huh…guessin' that Class Fives be few an' far between," Gambit said. "There a Class Six?"

Superman's expression turned grave. "We don't generally talk about those."

Corsair arched an eyebrow. "Why?"

Superman sighed. "Class Six is a special designation, reserved for an entity, or society, capable of wiping out a Class Five society without contest," he said softly. "Class Sixes are incredibly rare, but they do exist; Krypton has only ever dealt with two in its entire history, but each of them very nearly destroyed it."

Raza gulped. "If such a threat could worry mighty Krypton, it be one I would not care to meet!"

"You and me both, pal!" Avalanche agreed. "So how do we know if one's coming?"

"Oh, trust me; if you see one, you'll know!" Superman exclaimed. "Right now, though, the Kree and Skrulls are enough of a problem, so we'd better get the Module and get going as soon as we can!"

"Agreed," Corsair said. "Ch'od, Raza, you two stay here and guard our ships; the locals may be peaceful, but I'd rather not leave things to chance."

Superman nodded. "The outpost should be fairly close, but there's a settlement built near it; let's try not to disturb the locals, shall we?" Nobody made any objections, as the rest of them headed off.

After a few minutes of walking, the seven of them came to a small, pleasant-looking settlement, consisting of numerous sandstone buildings and populated by azure-skinned humanoids, built in the shadow of a fairly large mountain…where the white-and-black-crystalline Kryptonian outpost was built. "Nice place," Avalanche mused.

Hepzibah nodded. "It looks like a nice little hideaway you could retire in."

"Yes it does," Superman agreed, "so let's not alarm the locals."

Looking around, Rogue shrugged. "Doesn't look lahke they've tried ta mess with the place," she observed, "so Ah'd say you probably don't need us at all; you can just fly right in, grab the Module, and get out!"

"Hmm…okay, but you know what happens when we think something's too easy!" Superman answered. "The rest of you keep lookout from here; if something happens, be sure to let me know!" At a nod from the others, Superman took to the air, flying well up above the cloud-cover, before soaring towards the outpost.

Touching down undetected, Superman walked up to the outpost's shield, holding out the crystalline badge General Zod had given him for this occasion. "This is Kal-El, acting on deputized authority from High General Dru-Zod, requesting immediate stand-down of Condition Two alert, authorization code Sae'Ron-Vel'Nar-Ohron-Bahlnar-Disengage!"

In seconds, the outpost answered him in Kryptonese. "Authorization accepted; standing down Condition Two. Welcome, Kal-El." With that, the shield instantly lowered, allowing him in.

Walking into the heart of the outpost – Farstrider Base Two – Superman quickly came to the main computer core. "Reroute main processing through secondary systems, and prepare to eject Encryption Module," he instructed.

"Acknowledged." Instantly, the main crystalline pillar expanded, revealing the spherical Encryption Module, as numerous crystal-processors detached from it, separating it from the rest of the base. Floating into the air, Superman took the Module into his hands, before lowering himself back to the ground. Looking over the Module, making sure it was intact, Superman looked back to the rest of the base, still operating at peak efficiency, waiting for the day when Krypton's people would need it.

A day that was never going to come.

His expression saddening, Superman honestly didn't know what to do with it; part of him wanted to leave Farstrider Base Two intact, as a monument to his people, but another part warned him of the dangers of leaving their technology out in the open. Even though the outpost was protected by a high-powered shield, and all kinds of potent weaponry, it could still make a rich target, and Cel'Mak IV along with it…

Shaking his head, Superman cleared his thoughts; right now, they had a mission to carry out. They could sort out what to do with the base later. "Farstrider Base: after I depart, re-establish Condition Two status, and re-deploy shield." With that, Superman turned and strode out of the outpost, flying up into the air, letting the base's shield seal up the path behind him.

Reaching the Krypton and the Starjammer unseen, Superman promptly touched down, before walking into Corsair's vessel and storing the Module in its cargo-hold. Walking back out, he greeted Ch'od and Raza, still on lookout. "Well, there's not much more we can do here," he said. "It's best we get going."

Ch'od merely hissed his agreement, while Raza nodded. "Given that we hath already used half of the time before the Kree and Skrulls arrive, 'twould prove prudent to depart swiftly!"

"I'm sure your captain would agree," Superman said, taking out his communicator. He was about to hail the others…when a distant sound caught his ears.

Engines.

Gunfire.

Explosions.

His eyes going wide, Superman opened a hailing frequency. "Superman calling Starjammers and X-Men; is everything alright?"

It was Shadowcat who answered him. "Kal, you'd better get your big blue butt over here NOW!" she cried. "An old friend of ours just decided to pay us a visit!"

XXXXXXXX

A few minutes earlier

In the skies above the small village, everything was silent as the Cel'Makkian people went about their business; young men were heading out to the fields with the older men to work, while younger children helped the women carry the grain from yesterday to the mill, where it would be ground into flour…

Suddenly, a flash of light lit up the mid-day sky, sending a ripple through the air as a rocket-powered chopper roared out of step-through, screaming towards the village before pulling up, coming to a full stop in a half-second. The Cel'Makkians took one look at the rider and ran away screaming, while the rider's thick, metal-toed leather boots hit the ground with a thud.

"Frag yeah! Does the Main Man know how to make an entrance, or what?"

Unclipping his plasma-rifle and hook-chain from his hog, Lobo looked around, before his crimson gaze fell on an older man – probably the local elder. "Hey, you! Old guy!" Hearing Lobo's bark, the old fogey froze up, turning towards Lobo as the unkillable merc stomped towards him. "Yeah, you! I hear you feebs got choice grain for makin' Shur'noth Brandy, so if you don't wanna get a grenade fer lunch, cough it up! NOW!"

Almost in tears, the old man babbled something in their native language, causing Lobo to groan. "Oh, fer fraggin' out loud," he grumbled, before gesturing. "You! Show me! Where grain is! Now!" The old man just kept stammering, and Lobo lost his patience. "Oh, FRAG it!" he roared, grabbing the coot and tossing him aside. "I'll figure it out myself!" With that, he stormed off.

He supposed he should've known better, taking a grab-and-sneak job like this; when some bozo had posted a job for picking up some choice grain from some backwater planet and sneaking it across Confederate checkpoints, he'd jumped at the chance. Ever since Rone had double-crossed him – and then promptly made tracks so deep into Kree territory Lobo'd need a fraggin' space-fleet to pry him out – he'd been strapped for cash, and this had seemed a nice way to top up the ol' pocketbook, plus maybe get a free drink or two out of it.

Now, it was turning into a Grade-A pain in the ass. 'That feeb wasn't kidding when he said "off the beaten path,"' Lobo mentally groused. 'I gotta start readin' the fraggin' fine print on those contracts…'

"What the hell are you doing here, Lobo?"

Turning around, Lobo groaned as he saw who it was. "Oh, son of a…what the frag, Corsair?" he snapped. "Haven't you cost me enough creds since the Trintar III frag-up?"

Corsair's eyes and voice were hard. "That convoy you hijacked was carrying relief supplies for the Trintarians, Lobo; if we hadn't stopped you, millions of them would have died of Nurian Fever."

"Well, whoop-de-fraggin-dee fer you, Mr. Hero!" Lobo sneered. "Now, if you don't mind, I've got a job to do!"

Hepzibah's slitted pupils widened, as she bared her fangs, her claws popping out. "One that involves harassing these poor souls, no doubt!"

Lobo flashed his trademark leer. "It's a livin', sweet-thing!"

One of the four human kids with the Starjammers' captain – a girl with her hair in a ponytail – rolled her eyes. "Okay, EEWW! That's even worse than Zod flirting with Tinya's mom!"

The guy in the trenchcoat nodded, pulling out a bo-staff and a deck of cards. "Don't think dat talkin' gonna do any good, petite."

Lobo grinned, drawing his plasma-rifle and chain. "NOW yer speakin' the Main Man's language!" he crowed. With that, he charged his plasma-rifle, and let loose a massive energy-blast, which blazed past his six targets as they dodged, exploding into the ground behind them. The others were knocked off-balance, but Corsair kept himself level enough to draw his own laser-pistols, squeezing off several shots; the laser-blasts hit home, but Lobo shrugged them off. "Gonna have to do better than that, ya feeb!"

The brown-haired male glared at him. "How about this?" he shouted, as he focused, which made the earth under Lobo's feet start to shake. Seconds later, the ground completely gave way, burying Lobo under tons of rock. For a moment, the kid relaxed…until Lobo burst out of the rubble, leaping from rock-crag to rock-crag, spinning his chain and letting it fly.

He'd been aiming for the earthquake-maker, but the black-eyed kid jumped in the way, catching the hook on his bo-staff. Lobo just grinned. "Big mistake, fanboy!" With that, he gave a good yank; instead of resisting, the staff-wielder let go, allowing Lobo to take his weapon. 'An' that's an even BIGGER one!' Lobo thought. 'Fanboy, I'm gonna shove this right up yer…'

The staff was halfway to him when it started to glow; by the time Lobo caught it, it was flashing rapidly, causing his smirk to collapse. "Oh, frag."

BOOOM!

As the staff exploded, its wielder chuckled. "Word of advice, mon ami; never try stealin' from de T'ieves Guild."

By then, the smoke had cleared…revealing a very pissed-off Lobo. "Word of advice, fanboy!" he exploded. "NEVER piss off the Main Man!"

With that, Lobo raised his plasma-rifle, ready to open fire, but he never got the chance; the ponytailed girl quickly ran at him, grabbing him and phasing him into the ground up to his shoulders. "Rogue, drain him!"

The white-streaked girl looked like she was going to be sick. "Oh, hell no!" she snapped. "Ah am not havin' that sicko runnin' loose in mah head, thank you very much!"

Hepzibah flexed her claws. "Besides, there's not going to be enough left of him to drain!" With a feral roar, she raced at Lobo, closing on him in seconds as she raked his face with her claws, before spearing them through his right shoulder. She was about to really let him have it, but she never got the chance: with a roar of anger, Lobo broke free of the ground, before grabbing her by the tail and tossing her towards her comrades, knocking them all down.

As his foes struggled to recover, Lobo figured he'd had enough. Drawing a grenade, he popped off the arming-pin. "Have fun in hell, ya feebs! Tell the devil Lobo said to go frag himself!"

Seeing Lobo's good arm pull back for a throw, Corsair took a deep breath, and lined up a shot, squeezing the trigger just as Lobo threw the grenade; his aim proved true, as the laser pierced the explosive just before it left Lobo's hand, detonating it and sending the unkillable mercenary flying. Seizing the opportunity, Shadowcat switched on her communicator. "Kal, you'd better get your big blue butt over here NOW! An old friend of ours just decided to pay a visit!"

Her warning came not a second too soon: Lobo had already gotten back on his feet, sporting nothing more than a few minor burns. "If you fraggers are deliberately trying to make the Main Man mad," he snarled, "you're doin' a fragging good job..!"

WHAM!

His tirade was quickly silenced as by a thunderclap, before a red-blue blur slammed into him, sending him flying across the village square. Leaping back to his feet, Lobo was just in time to see Superman touch down, his feet shaking the earth as he did. 'Aw, fraggit, I KNEW those brats looked familiar!' "What the fraggin' hell are YOU doin' here, fanboy?"

Superman's eyes were narrowed. "Apparently stopping you from hurting my friends."

"HEY! They jumped ME!"

The ponytailed girl scoffed. "Yeah, because you were bullying that poor old guy!"

Superman snorted. "Real classy, Lobo."

"Hey, a guy's gotta make a livin'!" Lobo snapped, as he reloaded his plasma-rifle. "So unless you feebs are lookin' fer a lifetime stay at Hotel de Frag, you'll frag off!" Taking aim, he fired a plasma-blast at Superman, who easily dodged it, but the shot gave Lobo enough time to throw his chain; snapping it around Superman's wrist, Lobo used it to pull himself towards him, slamming Krypton's Last Son with a haymaker. Superman stumbled back, but recovered in a fraction of a second, countering with a precision punch directly into Lobo's abdomen. Lobo instantly doubled over, but Superman was moving before he'd even retracted his fist, surging energy to his legs as he darted to Lobo's side, whirling the motion into a judo-throw, sending Lobo flying into the air. Surging his energy twice more, Superman darted into the air, intercepting Lobo first with a knee-kick to his back, and then a palm-down chop to his chest, sending him flying into the ground with enough force to crater it.

As Lobo struggled to his feet, Superman touched down, slightly winded. "Brother, that surging trick is tougher than it looks…"

Coughing, Lobo dragged himself to his feet, lumbering out of the crater. "Where the fraggin' hell did you learn those moves, fanboy?"

"Let's just say I found one hell of a teacher," Superman replied.

Scowling, Lobo stood up, popping his neck and cracking his knuckles. "Real cute, fanboy!" he spat. "But you ain't the only one with a few tricks up his sleeve…"

But before he could make good on his threat, a bright light suddenly winked into existence above them, as a silver-coloured streak shot by, right in front of their faces. The seven others blinked in confusion, following the silvery figure that had shot by with their eyes…and then looked at Lobo, prompting him to raise his hands in protest.

"Hey, wasn't me, I swear!"

XXXXXXXX

North Pole, Earth

"And what, pray tell, have you dragged us into this time, Logan?"

After getting the call from the Pole, Wolverine, Leviathan, Aquaman, and Madelyn had promptly taken the Blackbird out to the Fortress; touching down just outside the Fortress' shield, they were greeted by Namor and Namorita. "Believe it or not, Fishy, this actually wasn't our idea," Wolverine answered. "These Kree and Skrull guys came right out of left field."

Namor sighed, putting his hand to his forehead. "And naturally, the surface-dwellers' Senate only exacerbated the situation," he muttered, before gesturing towards the open ocean. "A trend which others seem intent to follow."

Glancing towards the polar waters, the four of them saw a large flotilla of naval warships and carriers, flanking a collection of smaller ships – research vessels. Madelyn looked stricken. "Your Majesties, this is not our doing; General Fury assured…"

"That he did, Agent Pryor," Namorita agreed, "and in this, he kept his word; these are not American vessels, but a collection of European naval forces – British, French, Russian, Spanish, to name only a few."

Leviathan blinked. "What are they doing here?"

"Is it not obvious?" Namor asked harshly. "Someone in your government has allowed the existence of the polar outpost to become known to the international community; these fools have likely jumped to the same conclusion your leaders did – that its technology can solve this problem, along with all others your people face. Our fleet was barely able to mobilize ahead of them; an entire task force is underwater, blocking them from advancing – otherwise, they'd be stampeding against that shield."

Wolverine scowled. "Swell. There goes the neighbourhood."

"We'll have to look into that problem later, Namor," Aquaman said. "Right now, we have larger concerns; Power Girl asked us here to help plan the defence of the Fortress. Once the invasion fleets get here, this place will be Number One on their hit-list."

"Very well," Namor agreed, before he looked around. "Where is she?"

"Right here."

Turning towards the Fortress, the six of them saw Power Girl walk out of a temporary gap in the shield, followed by both Krypto and Kurox…who was now considerably larger, his crystalline armour bulkier, his Plasma-Cannons much larger than before. As the shield closed behind them, Leviathan gulped. "Whoa…Tin Man, have you been hitting the gym?"

"Negative, Leviathan; striking an exercise facility serves no logical purpose," Tin Man answered. "My sole activity in the preceding days, as per Master Kal-El's orders, was to undergo a large-scale refit of my weapons' and shielding systems."

Seeing the massive crystal automaton, Namorita lightly gasped. Namor was equally astounded. "What in Neptune's name is…that?"

Aquaman chuckled. "That, Namor, is Kurox, though we just call him Tin Man," he said. "He's Kal's old family butler/research-assistant/bodyguard. He tagged along when Kal and a few others went to rescue Kara from Argo."

Her eyes wide, Namorita looked into Tin Man's visor, into the blinking, multi-coloured space of his positronic brain. "He's…an intelligent machine?"

Tin Man stared back at her. "Accessing database…match found: Atlantean, female, species-name Homo mermanus, species-designation C1-S3-45683; specific match found – Co-Sovereign-Designate Namorita." His positronic gaze settled on Namor. "Sovereign-Designate Namor; as per General Zod's orders, you have Conditional Command Priority with Mistress Ka-Lir for the duration of the polar campaign."

Namor frowned. "Pardon me?"

Power Girl quickly spoke up. "Your Majesty, Kurox just meant that, if you agree to help us, he's been instructed to listen to your orders along with mine in the defence of the Fortress," she explained. "If you agreed, we were going to ask you and your fleet to help repel the invasion vessels that will be trying to land here."

Namor looked sceptical. "You will be left in command?"

Power Girl sighed. "Since Kal and Zod are off-world, there are only two of us that can operate the Fortress' defences," she said, "and Kara can pilot the Argo better than I can, once it gets back here!"

Namorita chuckled. "Point taken."

Wolverine arched an eyebrow. "So whaddya say, Fishy? You in?"

Namor sighed. "Well, what is the alternative? Leave the defence of the most advanced outpost on the planet in your hands, Logan?" he shot back. "Atlantis might as well blow itself out of existence and save itself the anticipation."

Aquaman chuckled. "He's in."

All the while, Krypto's nose had been sniffing the air, testing the multitude of newer smells on the ice; wandering towards the ice's edge, he stopped as he spotted the flotilla of ships, and started growling. "Hey, we hear you, boy," Leviathan agreed. "We're not fussy about trespassers, either."

Madelyn frowned. "I'll contact General Fury; hopefully, he can help get these fools out of here."

"We don't have time!" Power Girl insisted. "The longer these ships are here, the less time they'll have to get into position once the invasion force arrives!"

"True," Namorita agreed, "but they must have assumed that whatever was here was worth the risk."

Her eyes narrowing, Power Girl turned to Tin Man. "Kurox, get me Communications: I need a wide-frequency alert! I want every single ship in that flotilla to hear me! Send it out in as many languages as needed!"

"Command accepted; accessing Communications…done. Transmission ready, Mistress Ka-Lir; you may proceed."

Instantly, a small, holographic box appeared in front of Power Girl. Taking a deep breath, she spoke into it. "To all the ships that came here in search of a solution to this crisis: I am afraid that we have none here! If your superiors thought that this outpost had the power to stop the coming invasion, they were mistaken; this outpost's weapons can slow the invaders down, but only if they are used from here! Kryptonian technology is incompatible with Earth's power grid; even if we gave any technology to you, it could never be used to its maximum potential! There is nothing here that can help you!"

She paused to let that sink in. "We do have a plan for dealing with the invasion-fleet, but all of you being here isn't helping!" Power Girl continued. "If you want to help defend your countries, you should return home; we'll be contacting your leaders once our plan is in place, but right now, we need you to clear out! Once the fighting starts, your ships will be a liability if they stay here! Your people need you more at home than they do here!"

As Power Girl ended the transmission, Madelyn blinked. "Well, that was different."

Wolverine just folded his arms. "You actually think they bought that, Diva?"

Power Girl sighed. "I just…did what Superman would do." She glanced to Tin Man. "Any changes, Kurox?"

Tin Man was silent for a few seconds. "Analyzing…done," he stated. "Affirmative, Mistress Ka-Lir – target vessels have powered engines and are altering course heading. Course-corrections are consistent with escape-vectors; it appears they are moving to open ocean."

Power Girl breathed a relieved sigh. "Contact the Watchtower; tell Batman we may need to give the EU a preliminary briefing on the plan before anybody else tries anything like this."

"Acknowledged."

Glancing towards the retreating vessels, Namor then glanced towards Power Girl, his expression a mixture of surprise and approval. "You actually persuaded them to withdraw."

Leviathan chuckled. "Hey, that's our PG!" he said. "She may not be on stage, but she's still got a silver voice!"

Power Girl half-smiled, as she gave her teammate a light, playful shove. "Shut up."

Inching towards Leviathan, Namorita smiled as she discreetly laced her hand through his. "If we're going to help defend this outpost, we should familiarize ourselves with the territory," she suggested. "It might be prudent to scout the surrounding area. Ron could…"

"Ronald could assist me in scouting the east side of this facility, cousin," Namor corrected sternly. "You and Arthur will scout the west side." To Wolverine and Madelyn, he added, "Logan, Agent Pryor, kindly convey to Fury that he need not send any warships here; Atlantis will gladly assist in repulsing the invasion forces that land here."

Madelyn nodded. "Of course."

Seeing Leviathan's pallored face, Aquaman chuckled. "Good luck, Scales."

"Thanks." Turning to Namorita, Leviathan managed a faint smile. "Well, 'Nita, if I don't come back," he gulped, "you'll know who did it."

Namorita chuckled nervously. "I'm sure he wouldn't…"

"Ronald."

Leviathan flinched as Namor interrupted his cousin. "Just saying." With that, he turned, and followed Namor, while Aquaman and Namorita headed for the west side, with Logan and Madelyn heading back to the Blackbird, as Power Girl and Tin Man returned to the Fortress.

As they walked several miles around the impressive luminous dome of the Fortress' shield, Leviathan made sure to keep a respectful difference behind Namor; no sense in giving him an extra reason to skin him alive. By then, they had come to a fairly wide-open ice-field, dotted with medium-sized, perma-frozen snowdrifts. "These look like they could provide cover," Leviathan observed, before gulping, "which I'm sure Your Majesty has noticed already."

Namor merely nodded absently to himself. "I suppose, provided the invasion fleet attempts to land on the east side," he said. "Would this outpost be able to provide cover-fire?"

"Uh…I'm not sure, but I think Superman said that the Fortress only had enough juice to keep its big guns firing while keeping up the shield," Leviathan answered. "It could probably blast down a bunch of landing-vessels, but once they land…"

"…we would have to handle them ourselves," Namor muttered.

Leviathan smiled helplessly. "Like I said, I'm no expert on this place; you'd have probably been better off talking to Kal or Kara about this…"

Namor glared at him over his shoulder. "You question my decision?"

"No, no!" Leviathan exclaimed. "I'm just…curious as to why you asked me to tag along," his expression paled, as a haunting realization settled over him, "out here…with you…all alone…out of screaming-distance…"

"Do you love my cousin?"

The question knocked Ron out of his dawning horror. "What?"

"It's a simple question." Namor's tone was flat, his expression hard. "Yes or no, please."

Leviathan took a deep breath. "King Namor, Your Majesty, sir," he began, "I'm going to be honest: with regards to my relationship with your cousin, it's difficult for me to answer that. Even before my little change, I wasn't exactly the most popular guy in my neighbourhood, and once I woke up one day looking like…this, my interactions with the opposite sex – heck, with everybody, even my own family at times – were limited to them running screaming in the other direction. This is all kinda new to me."

Namor still frowned. "You are saying you do not know."

"I'm saying that I don't have a lot to base this on," Leviathan insisted. "Sir, your cousin is easily the coolest, nicest, most beautiful, most wonderful girl – woman – I've ever met, and I'd rather tear off my own arm than hurt her." 'Which is something you'll probably hold me to, but that's beside the point.' Taking a deep breath, he continued, "I think that I either do love her, and just haven't figured it out yet, or I'm in the process of falling in love with her." He sighed. "If that makes any sense."

Namor was silent for a moment, and then he nodded. "It's more than I had expected." He glanced back towards the polar landscape, as he started to walk. "When these invaders arrive, we will need every available marine-capable warrior we have. Will you assist us?"

Following along behind Namor, Leviathan nodded. "Of course."

Namor chuckled grimly. "Good," he said. "You have passed the first test."

Leviathan started to feel his unease lift. "So…does that mean you don't hate me, anymore?"

"It means you may attempt the second test."

Leviathan blinked. "Oh…okay. So…what's the second test?"

"My aunt Namora."

Leviathan's unease rushed back to greet him. "And she would be…Namorita's mother?"

Namor's smile was darkly pitying. "You thought me a difficult relative to please, Ronald?" he chuckled ruefully. "You have seen nothing yet."

'Of course I haven't,' Leviathan thought glumly. "You know, Your Majesty, suddenly a Kree-Skrull invasion is starting to look pretty good, about now…"

XXXXXXXX

Cel'Mak IV

As the silver silhouette raced by, Superman was instantly on-edge, his vision tracking it as it slowed, hovering over the Cel'Makkian village, until it was completely visible.

Hovering over the village was a tall, strongly-built humanoid, seemingly made entirely out of silvery metal, with no hair on his bald head whatsoever, standing on what looked like a surfboard, made out of the same material he was. The stranger's expression was utterly tranquil, but as he gazed upon the locals, his face saddened with sympathy.

The sight of this newcomer turned Corsair's face ghostly white. "Holy Mother of God…it's him," he murmured.

"Huh?" Rogue asked. "You know that guy?"

Corsair didn't answer, turning to Superman. "Kal, we have to get out of here, now!" he cried. "Where he goes, death isn't far behind!"

Superman was equally confused. "What do you mean? Who is he?" he asked. Taking out his belt-computer, he swept a scan-beam over the stranger, and was astounded. "My God…this guy's practically glowing! It's like every cell of his body is infused with some kind of energy; I've never seen anything like it! The closest thing I've seen was in…" His eyes went wide, as he started to understand. "…was in…"

Raising his hands, the stranger spoke, his words echoing into the psychic plain, translating themselves into the brains of all that heard. "People of this planet, great peril is upon you!" he called. "My master, the Eater of Worlds, will arrive here before day's end, and shall feast upon your planet! You must flee here; you must leave this planet, or perish!"

Shadowcat was horrified. "Did…did he say his master was going to…eat this planet?"

Lobo scowled. "Not until I get my payoff, he ain't!" he bellowed, stomping towards the silver man. "Hey! Chrome-Dome!" Hearing Lobo's shout, the silver figure glanced down. "If yer master wants to take a fraggin' bite outta this fanboy-factory, he's gonna have to take a number! I gotta job to do, and I ain't leavin' 'till I do it!"

The figure stared back calmly. "I have delivered my warning, man of Czarnia," he said. "If you remain here when my Master comes, you will die; you must heed my warning if you wish to live."

Lobo's rage boiled over. "NOBODY tells the Main Man what to do!" he exploded, drawing his shotgun and taking aim.

"Lobo, no!" Superman cried. "You don't know who that is!"

But Lobo didn't listen; charging his weapon, he let loose a deadly plasma-blast; the energy-surge blazed through the air, striking the silver man in the chest…and dissipating, diffusing harmlessly along his chrome-hued skin, as the figure absorbed it. Lobo's rage turned to incredulity. "What the frag?"

The man's pure white eyes narrowed. "I came in peace to deliver a warning," he said, raising his hand, "but I did not come to be fired upon."

TSSSSAAAAPPPP!

At that last word, the silver man fired a burst of pure white energy from his fingertips, searing through the air and striking Lobo dead in the chest, sending him flying across town, all the way past the village outskirts. Landing hard enough to crater the ground, Lobo groaned, dragging himself to his feet. "Ow."

With eerie speed, the man's board brought him in front of Lobo in the blink of an eye. "Will you now heed my warning?"

Lobo's eyes narrowed. "Yer "master's" gonna have to find himself a new herald, fanboy!" he snarled. "'Cause the Main Man is pissed!"

Quickly, Superman darted in front of the silver figure. "Wait!"

Glancing at him, the chrome-skinned man arched a hairless eyebrow-ridge. "You are of Krypton," he observed, confused. "Your planet was destroyed."

Superman nodded. "Yes, but I and a few others survived," he answered. "Since you know what I am, permit me to guess what you are; are you a Herald of Galactus?"

The silver man nodded. "I am the Silver Surfer, Wielder of the Power Cosmic, charged by Galactus to locate suitable worlds for him to consume, and warn their inhabitants of his coming."

Superman shut his eyes. "I was afraid of that," he murmured. "What are you doing here? How did you find this system?"

"I admit, this system was difficult to find; had it not been for a disturbance in sub-space, I would not have seen it." The Surfer smiled pleasantly. "It gladdens me that your people live, man of Krypton; yours were one of the rare handful that managed to outwit my Master," he added, before his smile faded. "However, you cannot stay his hand, this day; you must flee, before he arrives. You have one hour." With that, he pointed his board towards the sky, and glided off, heading out into space.

With the Silver Surfer gone, the others started to walk over to Superman and the dazed Lobo. "Okay, what was all that about?" Shadowcat exclaimed. "Who was that guy?"

Superman's expression was grim. "That, Kitty, was a Herald of Galactus."

Even Lobo looked amazed at that revelation. "Well, frag me sideways; no wonder I got my ass kicked."

Rogue arched an eyebrow. "Ah'm guessin' that means something."

"Remember how I told you about Class Six entities?" Superman asked. "Galactus is one of them."

Gambit gulped. "So dat Surfer guy be workin' for someone dat could've blown Krypton sky-high?" he said. "Merde."

Shadowcat looked stricken. "But…that Surfer didn't seem like a bad guy! I mean, that was probably the nicest warning of impending doom I've ever heard!"

"He probably isn't a bad guy, Kitty," Corsair said. "In the past, Galactus has recruited Heralds like him to scout out prospective worlds for him to consume, in exchange for him sparing the world of the Herald in question. The Silver Surfer likely sacrificed himself to save his world."

Hepzibah nodded. "Every Herald is imbued with some form of Galactus' Power Cosmic, which allows its wielder to tap into the force that spins the very universe," she added. "Alone, each Herald is a dire threat, even without considering Galactus."

"Whatever," Lobo muttered, holstering his weapons. "So how do we get Galactus to frag off, fanboy? How'd yer people do it?"

Superman snorted. "Through a lot of dumb luck, mostly."

Corsair shut his eyes. "Hepzibah, contact Ch'od and Raza; have them prep for launch."

"Wait, we're just…we're just leaving?" Shadowcat cried.

Avalanche's eyes narrowed. "These guys' planet is about to go on the menu, and you're just gonna punk out?"

"Do you think we want to?" Corsair shouted. "We've seen Galactus in action! We've actually been on planets he's consumed – planets housing civilizations a lot more advanced than this one! They threw everything they had at Galactus, and he never even slowed down!" He sighed, drooping his shoulders. "Galactus can't be stopped; Cel'Mak IV is doomed."

"But…but there has to be something we can do!" Shadowcat cried. "Kal, you said Krypton managed to hold him off, right? It can be done!"

Lobo snorted. "Get real, babe," he scoffed. "We're just Styllian Stinkbugs, and Lacko's a guy with a boot. Do the math." He turned to go. "Been real, fanboy."

Superman's eyes opened, his face thoughtful. "There…might be a way."

Lobo spun around, his expression incredulous. "Oh, FRAG no!" he shouted. "Don't tell me you're gonna pull another do-gooder routine, fanboy!"

Superman's expression turned firm. "You heard him, Lobo; if it wasn't for us, he'd have never noticed this planet! What I'm thinking of…it's an incredible long-shot," he said. "I don't even know if we'll be able to try it…but we just might be able to save this world!"

"Are you fraggin' CRAZY?" Lobo burst out. "Yer gonna try and stop the fraggin' World-Muncher? It can't be done!"

"Not with an attitude like dat, homme," Gambit replied.

Corsair nodded. "As much as I hate to say it, we'll likely need every hand," he added. "What do you say?"

"No fraggin' way! Not even the Main Man is that crazy!" Lobo started to walk off. "I'm gettin' the frag out of here while I still can!"

Superman arched an eyebrow. "Even if it means losing your payday?"

Lobo paused.

"We've still got an hour before Galactus arrives," Superman continued. "What have you got to lose?"

Lobo's scowl could have driven nails. "Fraggin' HELL!" he exploded, before calming. "Fine."

"Good."

"So what exactly is this plan of yours?" Corsair asked. "How will we know if it can work?"

"For that, we'll need to head to Farstrider Base; we should be able to perform a planetary scan from there," Superman said. "We'd better get moving – we haven't got much time!" With that, the eight of them – including a grumbling Lobo – headed off, towards the gleaming outpost.

XXXXXXXX

Deep Space

'Space…my home…'

As he glided out to the edge of the Cel'Mak System, the Silver Surfer was at peace, allowing the tranquil silence of the endless void to fill him. Often, there were times when even the peaceful silence of space could not quell the melancholy that seemed to fill him, the unnamed yearning for something he simply could not place.

On those days, the notion of fulfilling his duty to his Master was more agonizing than normal. Still, it was his duty. He had to proceed.

Stopping at the very edge of the system, the Surfer concentrated, before firing a beam of cosmic energy into the void, piercing the fabric of space and drawing it back, channeling his cosmic awareness into the underlying space, reaching between space and time…until his mind found who he sought. 'Master Galactus, I have found a suitable world for you.'

Galactus' thoughts were thunderous as he boomed back. EXCELLENT, MY HERALD. I SHALL ARRIVE SHORTLY.

The Surfer looked stricken. 'Master, I had told the inhabitants that you would arrive in one hour, to give them time to escape…'

Galactus sighed. VERY WELL, MY HERALD. IN ONE HOUR'S TIME, I SHALL ARRIVE, BUT I EXPECT YOU TO ENSURE I AM NOT INTERRUPTED.

'Of course, Master,' the Silver Surfer answered. 'I shall await your arrival.'

As the trans-spatial void partially closed, marking the spot where Galactus would arrive, the Surfer turned and flew back towards Cel'Mak IV, to do his duty…

"My love…"

Stopping in mid-flight, the Surfer froze as that voice – that soft female voice – wisped across his memory.

"Do not do this, beloved…we will find another way…"

"I will wait for you…I will wait forever and ever…"

That haunting memory drew a gasp from the Surfer's normally-unused lungs. This had to be the third or fourth time that memory had surfaced in his mind…and he still had no idea what it meant.

Steeling himself, the Surfer shook off the memory. It did not matter; he had his duty to perform. Glancing back towards the doomed Cel'Mak IV, he recalled the Kryptonian and his companions.

His Master had ordered him to ensure he was not interrupted, and Krypton's people had once thwarted his Master's plans to feast upon Krypton.

Perhaps they had heeded his warning, but he had to make sure. His eyes narrowed, the Surfer streaked towards the planet, to carry out his duty.

XXXXXXXX

Xavier Institute, Earth

"Bobby?"

After suiting up, Iceman had been about to head outside, to meet up with Flash and Green Arrow in the Javelin-3, to assist them with their latest evacuation mission, when he'd heard Jubilee's voice. Turning, he saw her chocolate eyes narrowed with worry. "Hey, Jubes," he greeted. "How are you holding up?"

Jubilee managed a faint smile. "That's what I was going to ask."

Iceman sighed. "Well enough, I guess."

Jubilee looked stricken, nervously chewing the side of her lip. "How…h-how can you be so calm about this?"

Iceman moved towards her. "Jubes…"

"We're…we're facing a war!" Jubilee cried. "The entire planet could get blown to pieces! How can you be so calm when we're facing the end of everything?"

Quickly, Iceman hugged her, shushing her gently. "Jubilee, when did I say I was calm?" he asked. He managed a faint grin. "Jubes, I'm wound tighter than an industrial spring! This is the kind of nutty stuff that Clark usually handles! If he weren't off chasing down that Battlestation, he'd be leading X-Force, and I'd be happy to let him! I've been tossed ass-backwards into the kind of situation that Superman usually handles! I'm scared out of my freakin' mind!"

Jubilee giggled faintly. "Well, when you put it like that…"

Iceman chuckled. "All I know is that if we're going to get through this, it'll be by doing what we've all been trained to do. Freaking out won't help." His grin grew. "After this whole mess is done, then I can have a heart-attack."

Jubilee's laugh grew more genuine. "Yeah, I guess you do have a lot on your plate!"

"We all do, Jubes."

Jubilee's smile turned guilty. "Sorry I wigged out."

Iceman grinned. "Hey, if you hadn't, I probably would have."

'Bobby, would you please report to my office? We have a minor situation.'

Hearing the Professor's telepathic summons, Iceman felt nervous. "Okay, that can't be good."

Smiling gently, Jubilee looped her arm around his. "We'd better go find out what the Professor wants." Smiling back, Iceman took a deep breath, and headed off, with Jubilee by his side.

Before long, they had reached the Professor's office. "What's the situation, Professor?" Iceman asked.

Putting the phone down, Charles managed a smile. "I've just heard from the Watchtower; they've been in contact with Councillor Wazzo," he said. "She's managed to recruit eight capital ships and several fighter-wings for the campaign. They should be here within a day."

Jubilee beamed. "That's great!" she exclaimed, before confusion clouded her face. "But then what's the problem?"

Charles sighed. "The problem is a bit more domestic." With that, he switched on his intercom. "You may come in now."

A few seconds later, Iceman heard the office door open, before he was tackled into a hug. "My baby!"

Iceman recognized the voice immediately, and as he turned around, he confirmed it. "Mom?"

Stepping back from her son, Marina Drake, in her usual grey sweater and blue jeans, her greying brown hair tied in a bun, smiled wearily. Standing behind her in the doorframe was her husband, Frank Drake, tall and lean, his short blond hair greying at his sideburns, clad in his brown slacks and light blue button-up shirt, matched his wife's smile. "It's good to see you, Bobby."

Iceman smiled back. "It's good to see you too, Dad." Glancing past him, he nodded at the third visitor. "Hey, Donnie."

Standing behind his parents, in his skater shorts and sleeveless black t-shirt, his sullen green eyes almost hidden behind the front bangs of his otherwise short black hair, 13-year-old Donnie Drake just scowled, looking away. Iceman inwardly groaned. 'He still hates me.'

His mother's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Go up and pack your bags, Bobby. We're leaving, right now."

Iceman's eyes went wide. "What?"

Charles sighed. "It seems your parents wish to withdraw you from the Institute," he said. "After everything that's happened recently, I'm surprised they're the only ones."

As Jubilee inched away, stricken, Iceman shook his head. "You…you can't be serious…"

"We most certainly are, mister!" Marina insisted. "We never would have agreed to send you here if we'd known about the kinds of things that man would be sending you into, and now he expects you to…to fight a war? Absolutely not! You're coming home with us!"

Iceman frowned. "Mom…"

"I don't want to hear a word about it! Go pack your bags!" Marina turned to glare at Charles. "You'll be hearing from our attorney, Xavier!"

Sparing one glance at the distraught Jubilee, Iceman's eyes narrowed, as he levelled a glare at his mother. "No."

His tone threw his mother. "Excuse me?"

"In case you haven't noticed, Mom, this whole planet is facing a crisis!" Iceman snapped. "I'm not going to back out when people are depending on me; not for you, or anybody!"

Marina flinched. "Robert, you're not even finished high school! This isn't supposed to be your problem…"

"Maybe it's not supposed to be," Iceman said, "but it is. This invasion is everybody's problem, Mom." His frown grew. "Sticking my head in the sand didn't work with me being a mutant, and it won't work now!"

Frank looked grave. "Son, nobody's trying to belittle what you do here," he reasoned, "but don't you think you should leave this to the professionals?"

"I hate to break this to you Dad, but we are the professionals!" Iceman insisted. "This is what we're trained to do, and believe me, we're good!" His expression turned firm. "So unless you plan on dragging me out of the Institute, I'm not going anywhere!"

And with that, he iced himself over. "If you'd care to try your luck with that, you go ahead."

Seeing her son turn icy, Marina gasped in horror, while Frank's jaw tightened. Donnie's scowl just grew, as he stormed away at the sight. Glancing to Charles, Frank spoke up. "Professor, maybe we should discuss this a bit further," he said. "I think there are a few things going on that we didn't understand, before now."

"Perhaps that would be a good idea," Charles agreed. "Bobby, Jubilee, you are both excused." Nodding, Iceman and Jubilee turned and headed out of the office.

Once they were far enough away, in the Institute's lobby, Jubilee smiled radiantly. "Bobby, that was awesome!" she exclaimed. "I've never been able to stand up to my parents like that!"

Iceman let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in, before managing a weary smile. "Hey, it's been a fair time in the making."

Jubilee looked quizzical. "You don't get along with your folks?"

"It's…complicated," Iceman said. "When my powers first activated, my Dad was pretty freaked, which is understandable, since it's not every day your son turns into a living, breathing snow-making machine. Still, he's at least trying to deal with it." His smile collapsed. "Mom, on the other hand, is in complete denial. When she walked in on the winter wonderland I'd accidentally turned my room into, she didn't even react! Even now, I bet she doesn't even want to admit that something's different about her kid! When the Professor showed up, she barely even acknowledged that I was a mutant!"

Jubilee's expression turned stricken. "What about your brother?"

Iceman's sigh echoed of sadness. "The day my powers emerged, Donnie was the most freaked of all; he didn't speak to me that whole day," he murmured. "I think that when…when the Professor came and told my folks I was a mutant…" Unable to finish, he looked down. "Actually, I'm pretty sure Donnie hates me."

With a sad little smile, Jubilee took his hand in hers. "Well, that's just too bad for him," she cooed, "because he's missing out on having an awesome big brother."

Iceman chuckled. "Yeah, I guess it would be cool, having a brother that can make his own ice-cream."

Jubilee giggled, before her tone turned sincere. "I mean it, Bobby," she continued. "I never told you this, but…when you first stepped up to lead the New Mutants when the X-Men and the League were elsewhere, I thought that was just awesome!"

Iceman chuckled, feeling his face grow warm. "Hey, I had a great example to follow."

Now Jubilee's face was rosy. "I…I just wanted to tell you that…when the Kree and the Skrulls do get here…there's no-one I'd rather follow than you."

It was only then that Iceman noticed how close their faces had gotten; he could actually feel her breath on his nose, and almost taste the scent of her favourite cherry-flavoured bubblegum as she exhaled…which made a wonderful chill race down his spine that had nothing to do with his powers. "Jubilee, I…"

A cough interrupted them. "Hey, if you two are gonna get a room, you mind if we go talk to Professor X?"

Turning, Iceman was surprised to see who had just walked into the lobby. "Todd? Fred?" he exclaimed. "What are you guys doing here?"

As the last remnants of the original Brotherhood walked in, in uniform, Toad shrugged. "Hey, when we were talking on the phone last night, Wanda said that you guys needed all the help you can get," he answered, "so we figured, why not?"

Blob nodded. "Anything we can do?"

It took a moment for that to sink into Iceman's brain, but he managed a grin. "Jubes and I were just going to help the League with an evacuation mission from one of the hot-spots the invasion-force is expected to hit," he answered. "We could always use a few extra hands!"

Toad grinned back. "Sounds like a plan!" he said. "Count us in!" With that, the four of them headed out, to meet up with the Javelin-3.

As they walked, Iceman tried his best not to think about things too much; he tried not to dwell on the fact that his parents – mostly his mother – had chosen to try and take him out of the Institute in the middle of an alien invasion, in which he was acting squad-leader in Superman's absence…

…and then he felt Jubilee slip her hand into his.

Glancing towards her, Iceman's eyes met her smile…which automatically drew up a smile of his own.

Somehow, though, he knew they could get through this, just like they always did.

XXXXXXXX

Cel'Mak IV

"So, this is what Kryptonian tech fraggin' looks like, huh?"

As they walked into Farstrider Base's data-core, Lobo's crass voice broke the silence. "What the frag is it with you feebs and crystals?"

Superman fixed Lobo with an annoyed stare, but otherwise ignored the remark. "Farstrider Base: bring up all data related to Class Six threat-entity designated Galactus."

Instantly, a stream of holographic glyphs appeared in front of Superman, racing by at a dizzying speed, before stopping, prompting him to scroll back. "Our knowledge of exactly who and what Galactus really is has always been imited," Superman admitted. "All we have ever been able to say for certain is that he is a being of pure energy, tied directly into the energy of the universe itself, which is where his Power Cosmic comes from."

"Okay," Avalanche said. "So how do we stop him?"

"Good question," Rogue said. "How do ya stop a guy that snacks on planets?"

"He doesn't actually eat planets whole, Rogue," Superman corrected, bringing up a holo-image of a planet, where a massive humanoid was standing in front of an equally large machine. "We're still not sure how he does it, but we think that he assembles this device – a kind of "Muonic Inducer" – on his target planet, and uses it to convert the planet's biomass and resources into a high-energy stream of muons, which he can absorb and utilize." The image of the planet changed, going from green and verdant to brown and dead. "Doing this permanently destroys the planet's ecosystem, rendering it incapable of supporting life, while also annihilating any lifeforms on the planet at the time of conversion."

"Merde," Gambit muttered. "And here Gambit thought he'd seen it all."

"Well, why's he coming here?" Shadowcat cried. "Can't he just find some empty planet to snack on?"

"Galactus won't eat just any planet, Kitty," Corsair murmured. "The kinds of planets that he consumes are the ones with resources that tend to cause life to arise on it."

Avalanche gulped. "So how'd Krypton stop him?"

"We didn't, Lance; not really, anyway." Superman's voice was haunted. "It was in the first millennium after we'd developed World-Gate travel; a small survey-team was studying the plant-life on a small planet, which was home to a Class One agrarian society, just like this one…and then, all of a sudden, he appeared. The survey team tried to fight him off, but their weapons didn't even scratch him; all they could do was escape, and watch as the planet, and everyone on it, was eaten alive."

He took a deep breath. "As soon as the Council heard about it, they immediately ordered all of Krypton's scientists to develop a way to repel Galactus, should he arrive on Krypton," he continued. "This led to the development of our phase-shift technology; an entire array of phase-shift generators was built across the surface of Krypton, to push the planet into a quantum state that Galactus – hopefully – couldn't reach."

Lobo scowled. "So basically, you feebs hid," he spat. "So much fer bein' one of the most advanced buncha fanboys out there!"

Rogue glared at him. "Hey, at least it worked!"

"Yeah, barely," Superman said. "We had no guarantee it would work, Rogue, and the power-requirements were so massive, we had to shut down every other piece of technology on Krypton; if it failed, we might not have been able to power up an escape-ship in time!"

"But it did work, right?" Shadowcat asked.

Superman nodded slowly. "Several years after the phase-shift defence-net was finished, Galactus found Krypton," he murmured. "The Council gave the order: every system on Krypton was shut down, and we phased the planet. Galactus tried to land, but he passed right through; it worked."

"So what was the problem?" Hepzibah asked.

"The problem was, we had no idea how long Galactus could hold out," Superman answered. "Even with our entire power-grid feeding the defence-net, we had only enough energy to last a month. For about one whole month, Galactus just hovered in orbit around Krypton, waiting…and then, when we had only about an hour's worth of power remaining, he just left."

"Guess he got too hungry," Avalanche observed.

"Like I said: we got lucky," Superman replied. "From then on, the Kryptonian Defence Force had a new standing order: seek out and evaluate Galactus' activities at all costs. The idea was that, by analyzing how Galactus fed upon planets, we might develop a more effective countermeasure, should he ever come back." Skimming the data-output, he frowned. "This'll take forever," he muttered. "Computer: limit readout to analyses and reports submitted by Defence Force personnel following date of first contact with Galactus!"

Instantly, the readout shrunk down to about a dozen files. Picking one, Superman skimmed it, and smiled. "Okay, so far so good," he murmured. "Computer: does this planet possess any large deposits of pure quartz? Limit results to deposits in excess of 20 metrions."

"Scanning…done. One deposit found."

Instantly, the holo-readout brought up a map of Cel'Mak IV, showing a large region of mountains. "Synthesize one Sub-Space Transponder, tuned to 579 eraquins, and one Power-Converter, set to electricity!"

As the outpost quickly generated the devices he'd mentioned, Rogue blinked. "Okay, what was all that about?"

"In order for this plan to work, we need to buy time!" Superman said, bringing up the main interface, and starting his calculations. "In order for my idea to have even a chance of working, I have to get my numbers right, all the way down to the tenth decimal place! We'll need a way to stall Galactus!"

"Stall Galactus." Corsair's voice was flat. "Superman, do you have any idea how insane that sounds?"

"Oh, believe me, I do!" Superman answered, handing him the devices he'd generated. "But just as Galactus was one of the things Krypton was afraid of, there are things that even Galactus is afraid of!"

Gambit arched an eyebrow. "Dat so?" he asked. "An' just what, exactly, could a man dat snacks on planets be afraid of?"

"There's no time to explain!" Superman insisted. "I've sent a set of coordinates to the Starjammer; contact me the minute you're there!"

Lobo was suddenly chipper. "Fine by me, fanboy!" He started to walk out…

The instant he moved, an alarm klaxon blared, slamming down a force-field in front of Lobo, blocking his path. Confused, Superman checked the alert…and glared at him. "Lobo." His voice was hard as iron. "Drop it."

Lobo looked nervous. "Supes, what're you talkin' about? The Main Man doesn't…"

"Lobo."

Lobo just sulked…as he opened his vest, letting a single crystal-processor drop out.

"And the rest of them."

Scowling even more, Lobo shook his vest, allowing a good half-dozen more crystals to fall out.

Shadowcat was disgusted. "What the heck is wrong with you, you creep?"

"What? He wasn't usin' em!"

As the alert shut down, raising the barrier, Superman gathered up the crystals, keeping a stern eye on Lobo. "If I had the time, buster, I'd have words with you about this."

Lobo snorted. "Whatever, fanboy." With that, he stormed out.

Corsair and the others started to do the same. "We'll contact you when we're there," the Starjammer captain said, as the six of them headed after Lobo, while Superman quickly reinserted the crystals, before resuming his calculations.

XXXXXXXX

International airspace, Earth

"So you're sure this is a good idea?"

As she, Hawkgirl, and Supergirl flew across the Pacific, Wonder Woman nodded at her winged teammate's query. "Regardless of how some of my sisters may feel about Man's World, Shayera, none would simply abandon them to such a horrible fate."

Shayera arched an eyebrow. "Even that Artemis?"

Diana suppressed a guilty chuckle. "Almost none of them, at least."

Glancing down at the watery horizon, Supergirl frowned with confusion. "So where exactly is this island?" she asked. "I can't see anything within miles of here."

"I doubt that you would, Kara," Wonder Woman answered. "Themyscira is hidden behind a veil, crafted by Hephaestus himself. No mortal eye can see through it." She looked ahead. "We should be reaching it just…about…now!"

As if on cue, a thick cloud of mist rose up out of nowhere, blotting out both the sky and the blue sea below, before suddenly parting…and revealing an idyllically verdant island ahead of them. Supergirl just blinked. "Oh."

Quickly, Wonder Woman dropped altitude, prompting her teammates to follow, touching down amidst the Grecian-style buildings, in front of the central palace; the second she landed, she was swarmed by her fellow Amazons, including one familiar face. "Sister!" Donna exclaimed, rushing forth to hug her elder sibling. "What news do you bring?"

Diana's smile was guilty. "Only ill news, I fear," she confessed. Addressing the crowd of her sisters, she continued, "War is upon this world, sisters! Even as we speak, three terrible foes, each one capable of decimating this world alone, are mustering to come here, and will arrive within days…"

"Capable of decimating Man's World, you mean."

Glancing towards the owner of that voice, Diana felt herself frown. "Artemis."

Her arms folded, Artemis walked forward. "Why is it, Diana, that you only seem to arrive when ill tidins are abound?" she snapped. "Three foes capable of destroying Man's World, you say?" Her eyes narrowed. "Then let Man's World deal with them; it is no concern of ours."

As Artemis' statements drew agreeing murmurs from the crowd, Hawkgirl frowned. "Oh, you think so?" she shot back. "Well, what happens if they succeed, missy? Do you really think they'll just pack up and leave you all be? Think again!"

Hearing Artemis' support waver, Diana glared right into Artemis' eyes. "The invaders that are coming now intended to either enslave or destroy the entire world, Artemis: ours and theirs!" she shouted. "Either Themyscira stands with Man's World, or it will fall beside it!" Her eyes narrowed. "I think we will see my mother now."

For a moment, Artemis glowered at her, before she turned, muttering to herself. "Come." With that, she headed towards the palace, prompting Diana, Shayera, Kara, and Donna to follow.

Leading them into the throne room, Artemis bowed low. "My Queen, there are visitors here who wish to…"

But Queen Hippolyta had already risen from her throne, moving to embrace her eldest child. "Diana!" she greeted, smiling, but her smile quickly dimmed as she saw her daughter's expression. "Something's wrong, isn't it?"

Wonder Woman nodded sadly. "Yes, Mother; something far worse than the Annihilator," she answered. "War is coming to this world, Mother."

Hippolyta's eyes scrunched shut. "Hera…"

"I fear Princess Diana may speak true, Majesty," Artemis said, "and she is of the opinion that Themyscira should fight alongside Man's World."

Hippolyta frowned. "Is this true?"

"It's that, or burn separately, ma'am," Hawkgirl remarked.

Hippolyta sighed, her patience tested once more. "Diana, you know as well as I that we Amazons have long kept apart from Man's World. We assisted during the crisis with the Annihilator because it was one of us that caused it; honour demanded that we render aid." Her frown grew. "This crisis, however, lies solely in Man's World…"

"Only for the moment, Mother!" Diana insisted. "The foes that are coming will draw no distinction between Themyscira and the rest of the planet; they will attack all of us! If Themyscira does not fight, then it will fall, and perhaps all of Earth with it!"

Hippolyta's eyes went wide with surprise. "By Olympus…what sort of foe could accomplish such a campaign?" she asked. "None but the gods could make such a boast!"

As her comrades looked to her, Supergirl spoke up. "Your Majesty, the invaders that mean to attack Earth come from beyond it. The three foes that now come – the Kree, the Skrulls, and the Shi'ar – all possess space-faring warships: entire armadas of vessels that fly among the stars, with each ship capable of razing the entire planet – Themyscira included – from the sky, without ever needing to land and send in ground-troops!"

Donna frowned. "The tactics of a coward."

Hawkgirl shrugged. "Hey, we're not arguing with you."

Hippolyta's expression was thoughtful. "If what you say is true, child, how then can we fight? How can Themyscira combat such a scourge alone?"

"We will not have to fight alone, Mother!" Diana said. "Any troops Themyscira sends will become part of a much larger global campaign, assembled by my comrades, the Justice League!"

Hippolyta arched a golden eyebrow. "There is a strategy, then?"

Supergirl nodded. "Right now, Your Majesty, my cousin – the one called Superman – and General Zod are out in space, retrieving a weapon capable of effortlessly decimating the invasion-forces!" she exclaimed. "All that the rest of us need do is hold them back until they arrive…"

Artemis snorted. "They flee in the face of this threat? How like a man," she spat. "Tell us, then: why do these three rise against Man's World in the first place? Why would they even bother?"

As Supergirl's eyes narrowed angrily, Hawkgirl spoke up. "This all came about because of a Skrull plot, Your Majesty; they manoeuvred the Kree and Shi'ar into threatening Earth so that they could easily seize the knowledge of Superman's people…"

"…and the coward chooses to flee!" Artemis snapped. "If that is one of the so-called "heroes" of Man's World, then the sooner these space-men blast it to pieces…"

"Shut UP!"

Her eyes glowing red with fury, Supergirl darted towards Artemis, grabbing her by the collar and lifting her into the air like a rag-doll. "You don't know ANYTHING, you loud-mouthed bitch! Do you know how many times my cousin risked his life to help save this planet? And where were you when the Kree and Skrulls arrived? Were you out with Diana helping to stop it?" she exploded. "NO! You were here, hiding behind this veil! If there's a coward here, lady, it's YOU!" And with that, she threw Artemis into the wall, hard enough to crack the stone, knocking chips loose from the wall.

Coughing to regain the wind that had been knocked out of her, Artemis struggled to her feet, glowering at the three of them. "I think, Diana," she muttered, "that it is time for you and your friends to leave."

Hippolyta's gaze was hotter than molten iron. "I do not recall giving that order, Artemis."

Artemis was stunned. "My Queen, that wench assaulted me!"

"You all but goaded her, Artemis," Hippolyta scolded. "When last I checked, it was not the Amazon way to insult our guests so." She looked away. "You are dismissed." Scowling bitterly, Artemis managed one last glare at Diana, before she stormed off.

As Artemis left, Hippolyta sighed, putting her hand to her temple. "Merciful Hera, Diana…I swear, if you're not striking Asgardian goddesses, you're exhorting us to go to war," she remarked, though her tone was merely chiding. It quickly became serious. "I appreciate the gravity of this situation, Diana, but you cannot expect me to order our sisters to war when we know nothing about what's at stake…"

"Then don't, Mother," Wonder Woman pleaded. "In several days' time, all our allies will be briefed on the details and the plan of attack. All I ask is that you come with us then – listen to what we have to say, and then decide for yourself!"

"And if I should decide not to commit Themyscira to the battle?"

Wonder Woman sighed. "Then we will respect your decision."

Hippolyta nodded. "That is fair," she replied. "Return for me when that time comes, and I will listen to what you have to say; you will have Themyscira's answer then."

Stricken, Diana bowed. "Very well, Mother."

As Hippolyta turned and walked away, Kara looked horrified. "I wrecked everything, didn't I?"

Diana managed a gentle smile. "No, Kara," she said. "Had you not throttled Artemis, I most likely would have."

Shayera faintly chuckled. "Parents, huh?"

"Indeed." Diana sighed with exasperation. "I just hope to Hera that Kal and the others are having better luck…"

XXXXXXXX

Cel'Mak IV

High above the surface of Cel'Mak IV, beyond even the outer reaches of the planet's exosphere, the Silver Surfer hovered silently, watching the world below, waiting for the inhabitants to begin their frantic attempts to flee their doomed world.

He had seen it all too often before: first, the leaders of the target planet would scoff at his warnings, then the scientific leaders would notice the sub-space disruptions of his Master's growing portal, making it apparent that his warning was not idle. Then would come the scrambling of the planet's space-program, trying to get as many as possible off of the planet, just barely managing to get into space…and then Galactus would come.

He had lost track of how many times he had seen it happen…and still, it unnerved him to no end.

Strangely, however, it was not happening this time; more than half of the allotted time had passed – the Master's portal was already forming – and still, the denizens of the planet made no effort to flee.

The Kryptonian. He must have had something to do with it; his people had managed to outwit his Master once.

Clearly, this Kryptonian thought he could do the same.

Frowning, the Surfer reached out with his cosmic awareness, tracking each lifeform upon the planet; instantly, he located the Kryptonian, in his people's outpost. Reaching further, he located the Kryptonian's companions, in a vast mountain-range. From what he could gather, there was no threat, but he had to be sure. Summoning the Power Cosmic, the Surfer streaked back towards the planet, racing through the atmosphere towards the mountain-range.

Reaching the mountains in seconds, the Silver Surfer hovered over the vessel of the Kryptonian's companions; several of them – the pigtailed female, the earth-shaker, and the Czarnian – had all disembarked, and were gathering around a large, quartz rock formation. "Okay, Kal, we're here!" the female spoke into her communicator. "Now what?"

Tuning his body to receive electromagnetic waves, the Surfer easily picked up the Kryptonian's reply. "Place the Transponder and the Converter on the largest deposit of quartz you can find, Kitty," he answered. "Once I give the signal, I'll need you to just partially phase that mass of quartz, while Lance hits it with a seismic wave."

The youth blinked. "Okay…what'll that do?"

Glancing up, the Czarnian scowled, drawing his weapon. "Save the science-lessons fer later, fanboy! We got company!"

As the other two looked up, the Surfer quickly dropped altitude. "Be at peace," he soothed. "I do not wish to harm you." Meeting the Czarnian's gaze, his eyes narrowed. "You should also realize by now that you cannot harm me."

The Czarnian scowled. "Fanboy, you ain't seen nothin'…"

"Lobo, quit it!" the female cried. "Hasn't your big mouth caused enough trouble?"

As the Czarnian grumbled, the Surfer turned to the female. "Why do you still linger here?" he asked. "Was my warning unclear? If you stay, you will perish."

"Oh, we heard you," the male youth answered. "We're just not in the habit of ditching when things get rough."

The Surfer blinked. "But what can you possibly hope to accomplish?" he asked. "What do you intend to do?"

The girl chuckled wearily. "Honestly?" she asked. "We have no idea."

The Surfer's eyes narrowed. "Then this is some ploy that the Kryptonian concocted," he said. "I will not allow this to continue." He turned to go…

Whirling on him, the girl glared at the Surfer. "How can you just let this happen?" she shouted. "It's one thing to work for this guy to save your planet, but how can you just stand idly by while he does the same thing to others?"

"How can I let this happen?" he had shouted. "How can our Elders stand by and do nothing while Zenn-La dies around us?"

"Beloved, what can be done?"

His gaze was firm, as he answered his beloved. "The one thing that no other man of Zenn-La will do…"

Shaking himself out of his memories, the Surfer fought to keep the haunted expression off of his face…and failed miserably. Turning his board, he glided off, towards the Kryptonian outpost, to locate the Kryptonian...

…and to keep his comrades from seeing his horrified expression.

Reaching the shielded base in seconds, the Silver Surfer shifted his quantum state, allowing him to phase through the barrier without effort. Hopping off his board, he dispersed and reabsorbed it into his body, before walking inside, finding his quarry within the base's main computer-core. "Okay, Kitty, that's all you can do, for now," the Kryptonian spoke into his communicator. "You and Lance hold position until I give the signal; everyone else, head to the coordinates I'm sending to you now! I'm detecting a disruption in sub-space at this location – that's where Galactus is going to show his ugly face! I'll meet you there, shortly!" With that, he ended the transmission, before turning to face him. "The others said you were coming," he added, before chuckling dryly. "You could have knocked."

The Surfer was too bewildered to appreciate the humour. "Why do you linger here? Do you think you can destroy my Master?"

"Not destroy him," the Kryptonian said. "Just stop him."

"You cannot," the Surfer insisted, shaking his head. "Why do you even try? Why do the denizens of this world not leave? Do they think you will succeed?"

The Kryptonian looked at him flatly. "You've seen the people of this world, Surfer," he said. "Why do you think they do not leave?"

That statement bade the Surfer to recall the people of Cel'Mak IV – they were nothing but simple farmers, happily growing their crops, with no aspirations towards anything grander…including space-travel.

The Silver Surfer's pupilless eyes went wide. "They do not leave…because they cannot…"

The Kryptonian nodded. "They're just simple people, Surfer; they have nothing to do with any of our problems. They have no idea either of us were even out there," he said. "They don't deserve to die because of us."

"Then…you stay for them?"

"It was the power-signature of my ship that drew you here, Surfer," the Kryptonian murmured. "We caused this, so we're going to fix it." His expression turned firm. "As a man of Krypton, it is my responsibility to ensure that we never interfere with another society, for better or for worse; we made the mistake of leading you here, so we have to correct it."

"It is my responsibility to ensure our world survives, Shalla-Bal!" he'd said. "If one man's sacrifice is necessary, then so be it!"

His own words seemed to echo through the Kryptonian's statement. "You…would sacrifice yourself to save this world?"

The Kryptonian smiled. "You sacrificed yourself to save your world, didn't you?" he asked. "Is it that big a stretch to imagine doing that for another world?"

The Surfer was struck motionless. "My…world?"

The Kryptonian sighed. "You don't remember your world, do you?"

The Surfer tried to summon his memories, but they leaked through his grasp like water. "It…it was called…Zenn-La…"

The Kryptonian nodded. "I had a feeling that might be the case," he said. "Your Power Cosmic acts as a universal translator, but your inflection and mannerisms resembled those of Zenn-La."

The Surfer trembled. "You…knew them?"

"My people knew them in passing," the Kryptonian confessed. "One of our survey-missions stumbled across Zenn-La, a few decades before Krypton exploded. Your people were friendly, but had little interest in star-travel, so we went our separate ways." He chuckled. "Perhaps they were wiser than several others; star-travel can corrupt as easily as it can enlighten."

The Surfer felt himself nod as he spoke, his words drawn up from depths unknown. "The Elders thought so…but not all of us…"

"No, my love! You must not do this!"

"I must, Shalla-Bal! I am the only one with knowledge that could prove useful to Galactus! I can lead him to worlds that have no sentient life!"

"Then teach it to some other soul, beloved! You do not have to go!"

"Shalla-Bal, it was my space-probes that drew Galactus here! Had I not disobeyed the rulings of the Elders, this would not have happened!"

"No, my love! Do not do this!" Her tone grew desperate. "Norrin, NO!"

The Surfer's haunted expression returned. "Norrin."

The Kryptonian arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"Ny name." The Surfer's voice was no more than a whisper. "It was...Norrin." He took a deep breath. "Norrin…Radd."

Smiling gently, the Kryptonian extended his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Norrin Radd," he greeted. "I am Kal-El."

Slowly, the Surfer – Norrin – shook it. "This…this does not change anything," he pleaded. "Galactus cannot be stopped. Please, you must flee…"

"We know the risks, Norrin," Kal answered, glancing to his calculations. "How long before Galactus gets here?"

"Ten minutes, no more."

Kal sighed. "Just a couple minutes too long…I just hope Kit and Lance can get that rig working for long enough," he muttered to himself. Switching to Kryptonese, he addressed the outpost. "Farstrider Base: synthesize one Entropic-Stream Moderator built to specifications, and transfer 2.5 neyometons from EPM-Core to Failsafe systems! Upon ejection of EPMs, initiate Failsafe Protocol!"

As the computer whirred its acknowledgement, Norrin was still perplexed. "What do you intend to do?"

"What my people always did when faced with adversity, Norrin," Kal answered, grinning. "The impossible!" Taking the crystalline, hubcap-like device as it appeared in front of him, he added, "Farstrider Base: eject EPMs!"

Instantly, seven fair-sized, pylon-like crystal units, each half of Kal's height, glowing with a brilliantly white inner light, rose out of the floor. Moving towards them, Kal attached each unit to the Moderator, linking them into a circular formation, before picking up the entire apparatus and starting to walk out. "I'll have to finish the calculations on the fly…"

As he walked, the entire outpost started to turn dull grey, before it began to crumble into dust. By the time Norrin followed Kal out into the air, the entire outpost was grey, falling to the ground, leaving behind nothing but a pile of grey dust, which easily blew away in the wind. "You…destroyed your own people's outpost?"

"Farstrider Base was built to help save my people from a threat capable of destroying their planet, such as Galactus," Kal answered. "It's already too late for my people…but if it can help save these people, then so be it."

The Surfer was struck speechless for a moment, before he managed to find his voice. "What…what will you do now?"

"If Galactus is going to be arriving soon, it would be horribly impolite not to have a welcoming committee." Kal started to walk away. "If you intend to try and stop me, I won't blame you; you've sacrificed a lot to help your world, Norrin Radd."

He looked back over his shoulder. "I just can't help but wonder if this is really what you signed up for," he finished. "If it's not…you know where we are."

And with that, Kal took to the sky with his newly-assembled apparatus, leaving Norrin Radd alone with his thoughts.

XXXXXXXX

Xavier Institute, Earth

By the time Cyclops and Phoenix got back to the Institute, the sky was starting to turn pink. "Brother, after so many evacuation missions, there can't be anybody left in New York!" Cyclops exclaimed, as he and his girlfriend emerged onto the main floor from the elevator.

Phoenix suppressed a laugh. "Still, it was awesome of Mrs. K and all of Smallville to open their doors like that to so many people; with so many evacuation-sites almost full, we were running out of places to send them!"

Cyclops nodded. "I just hope that she can handle so many extra houseguests," he remarked. "She's lucky she has Mr. Pennyworth to help."

"Yeah, it was a good thing he was there!" Phoenix agreed, before her expression turned puzzled. "I just don't remember any of us picking him up; it's like he was already there…"

At that thought, both Scott and Jean's eyes went wide. Jean spoke first. "Scott…you don't think…"

Scott was equally dumbfounded, before he chuckled warily. "Something tells me that Big Blue's in for a surprise when he gets home."

By then, they had rounded a corner, walking into the main lobby, where they found a 13-year-old boy, one they'd never seen before, all on his own, his expression sullen. "Oh, hello!" Phoenix greeted. "Are you a new student?"

The boy snorted. "Hell no."

Phoenix was startled by his response, but Cyclops recognized him. "It's Donnie, right?" he asked. "You're Bobby's little brother?"

The kid – Donnie – nodded. "Yeah."

Now Phoenix recognized him, as well. "Oh, I'm sorry! We just didn't know you were coming!" she said. "Are your parents here?"

"Yeah," Donnie answered, scowling. "They want my brother to come home."

Scott and Jean both fought the chills they felt at one of their friends being taken. "And what do you think?" Scott asked.

Donnie still didn't smile. "What do I think?" he snapped. "I think this whole stupid mess didn't have to happen! It wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been for your alien pal!"

Phoenix was horrified. "How can you say that?" she exclaimed. "After everything that Superman and the League have done for Earth…"

"These space-freaks wouldn't even be coming if it wasn't for him!" Donnie shouted. "This was his problem, and now he's dragged us into it! Who said he could even come here?"

Cyclops frowned. "Donnie, he didn't have much of a choice…"

"Oh, save your breath, Summers."

Hearing that chilly voice, both Scott and Jean turned to find a familiar face clad in white jeans, a white summer jacket, and ice-blue shades over her equally blue eyes. "This child has already made up his mind about us and Superman," Emma Frost remarked. "It's no sense arguing; there's a reason why psychologists draw parallels between childhood and sociopathy."

Donnie scowled. "How'd you know that? You one of those mind-readers?" he snapped. "Can you read my mind, right now?"

Emma met his gaze coolly. "Language like that betrays a very limited intelligence, Mister Drake."

Flinching at the insult, Donnie's eyes started to water. "Yeah? Well, I'm only human!" he yelled. "Unlike some!" With that, he ran off.

Cyclops blinked. "Wow."

Phoenix nodded. "Yeah."

"There's one in every family," Emma said. "Several in mine."

Turning back to the former White Queen, Cyclops' eyes narrowed behind his visor. "What are you doing here, Frost?"

"Shouldn't it be obvious?" Emma asked. "It was my understanding that your little impromptu coalition needed all the help it could find."

Phoenix was still sceptical. "Even with the way you feel about the Professor?"

"Well, what are the alternatives?" Emma asked. "Normally, in a case like this, I'd muster a force of my own and outdo the old fool, but since I am presently studentless, that's off the table…and I'm certainly not going to ask Shaw to do it, since he's likely too busy securing his power-base to be bothered, even if he and Selene weren't interested in flaying me, at the moment." She sighed. "That, I'm afraid, leaves only Charles."

Scott snorted. "Oh, yes, it's such an inconvenience for you that we're the only ones you know trying to do something to help."

Phoenix nodded. "Since when do you even care?"

Emma frowned. "Think what you like of me, Grey, but I do not intend to simply hand over the entire world to anyone, be they human, mutant, or otherwise," she snapped. "Now, do you need an extra telepath, or not?"

Scott and Jean glanced to each other, conversing discreetly through their link. "We'll have to clear it with the Professor, first," Scott said.

"Very well." Emma's expression softened, turning grave. "I understand that…Anita is no longer with you, correct?" she asked. "Have you heard anything?"

Phoenix shook her head. "Not a word."

"I see," Emma said. "Well, I'm sure she's fine; between my tutelage and Victor's, she can handle herself quite well." She quickly recomposed herself. "Shall we?"

As Emma headed towards the Professor's office, Scott and Jean exchanged incredulous looks. "You…you heard all that, right?" Jean asked. "She's really..?"

"Yep."

Phoenix sighed. "This is a messed-up planet."

Cyclops chuckled grimly. "Hey, it's a messed-up universe, Red," he chided.

Jean chuckled. "True," she agreed, before glancing skyward, keeping her thoughts well-shielded. 'Clark, you would not BELIEVE what's going on, back here…'

XXXXXXXX

Cel'Mak IV

For the first time since he could remember, the Silver Surfer – Norrin Radd – did not know what to do.

Gliding aimlessly across the sky, the Surfer could only ponder Kal-El's words. At most, all he had were fragments, memories that trickled back slowly, and only in pieces, never complete…and now, the Kryptonian was asking him to betray his Master based on that…

"Okay, Kitty, I'm still confused; we're just supposed to sit here and wait?"

Startled by that statement from the ground below, the Surfer looked down; he was back at the mountains. His wanderings had led him here.

The male youth – Lance – and the girl – Kitty – were alone, now, waiting by the devices they'd set up. "That's what he said, Lance," Kitty answered. "It must be part of the plan."

"Hey, that's fine," Lance muttered. "I'd just appreciate him clueing us in on this plan of…" Happening to glance up, his frown, collapsed. "Oh, crap."

Quickly dropping altitude, the Surfer raised his hands. "I will not harm you," he said softly, stepping off his board. "You mean to stop my Master, as Kal-El does?"

Startled by his use of their friend's name, Kitty nodded. "Yeah."

The Surfer's expression turned helpless. "Why? Do you not know what he is capable of?"

"Planetary destruction?" Lance asked. "Yeah, we got the memo."

"Sure, we know what could happen if we stay," Kitty agreed, "but we also know what would happen if we don't: everybody on this planet will die! If there's any chance we can save them, we have to take it!" She smiled gently. "You know, like how you did with your world!"

Those words must have been exactly what his unconscious mind was waiting for; instantly, he was drawn back into his memories…

Things were clearer, now – this time he could make out where he was. He was standing atop a tall, silvery metallic tower, with all of Zenn-La's shining capital city below. The radiant azure sky was now an angry black, crackling with lightning as the colossal humanoid silhouette loomed above the capital, shaking the ground with his footsteps. Behind him was a young woman – Shalla-Bal – in a semi-diaphnous peach-coloured robe, her long blair hair tied back in three long tails, her aquamarine eyes streaked with tears.

And there, standing before the looming World-Eater, was a young man, in a dark green, long-sleeved shirt and black pants, his dark hair long, and kept back in a single tail, his blue eyes glaring at the monstrosity standing before them.

It was him. Norrin Radd.

Staring out at the invader, Norrin shouted above the death-throes of Zenn-La. "Eater of Worlds! Hear me!"

Slowly, the titanic invader turned towards him, his glowing eyes shining like terrible suns. YOU DARE MUCH TO ADDRESS GALACTUS SO, MAN OF ZENN-LA.

Norrin did not yield. "I ask that Zenn-La be spared, o Galactus!" he declared. "I ask that you hear my offer of exchange!"

OH? AND WHAT DO YOU OFFER THAT GALACTUS WOULD DESIRE?

Norrin took a deep breath. "Even should you consume Zenn-La, Galactus, your hunger will linger on, forcing you to find some new world to devour!" he said. "Spare my world, and I shall find you even more worlds! Send me as your Herald, and I shall seek out worlds for you! Permit me to announce your coming, thus letting their denizens flee to safety, rather than annoy you in futile combat! What say you?"

Galactus was silent for a moment. YOU WOULD ACT AS HERALD OF GALACTUS? YOU OFFER THIS WILLINGLY?

Norrin bowed his head. "I do."

THEN IT IS DONE.

As if by magic, the storm-clouds parted, while Galactus' terrible machine, looming over the city, ceased its self-assembly, before vanishing into thin air.

Seeing the threat pass, Norrin breathed a relieved sigh…but that was short-lived, as Shalla-Bal burst into tears behind him. Moving towards her, Norrin knelt by her. "I promise you, my love," he vowed, pulling her into an embrace, "somehow, some way…I shall find my way back to you."

Shalla-Bal sniffled, trying to smile through her tears. "And I will wait, my Norrin Radd," she whimpered. "I will wait…I will wait forever and ever…"

Standing with his love, Norrin pulled her close, sharing one last kiss, pouring out all of his passion and love, trying to make it last forever…

THE PACT IS MADE, MY HERALD; YOU SHALL WIELD MY POWER COSMIC, AND SEEK OUT WORLDS TO SATE MY HUNGER.

His eyes shut tight, Norrin let Shalla-Bal go, moving towards Galactus, as a beam of pure energy washed over him, transmuting him, remaking him completely…until Norrin Radd was no more; only the Silver Surfer remained.

TO ME, MY SILVER SURFER. I HUNGER.

Nodding, the Silver Surfer summoned his board, moving away from Shalla-Bal as she reached for him, crying piteously. As Galactus folded space around himself, warping away, the Silvr Surfer glided straight up, out into space, seemingly deaf to Shalla-Bal's cries…

…and with a loud gasp, the Surfer was back in the present; he remembered everything, now. 'Oh, my Shalla-Bal…how could I have forgotten…"

"Kitty! Lance! He's here! DO IT NOW!"

As Kal's voice came over the radio, Kitty quickly moved to the mass of quartz, concentrating as she altered its phase, while Lance summoned a seismic tremor, directing it into the quartz; as the quartz vibrated, it began generating electricity, which was absorbed by one crystal device, converted, and released as a beam of pure power, right into the second, which began to let out a resonating pulse into sub-space…

His eyes going wide, the Surfer suddenly realized part of what Kal-El planned…but it would take time, which he did not have…

His eyes narrowing in utter fury, the Surfer turned towards the horizon, where his Master – his former Master – had arrived. "To me, my board!" Instantly, his board flew to him, as he hopped on, and streaked towards Galactus.

He had become the World-Eater's Herald to lead him to empty planets; to save lives.

Galactus, in turn, had stolen his very memories from him, perverting his purpose. So many innocent deaths were upon his head…but no more.

Galactus would not take another life.

Not today.

XXXXXXXX

A few minutes earlier

"Took yer fraggin' sweet time, fanboy!"

By the time Superman arrived with his newly-assembled EPM apparatus, Lobo, Rogue, Gambit, and the Starjammers were waiting for him. "Traffic," he answered, setting his apparatus down and entering a few commands into the central hub, before stepping back. "Okay, that's it; it just needs a few minutes to calibrate." Looking up, he grimaced at the mass of swirling energy hovering in the sky above them. "Galactus sure doesn't waste time."

"Ah'll say," Rogue agreed. "So, just what does this guy look lahke?"

Gambit paled. "Chere, don't go askin' questions y' don't want answered," he muttered. "Know dat feelin' Gambit keeps gettin' in his bones? Ain't never been worse than it is, right now!"

The very second he'd said that, the mass began to swirl faster, and then faster, turning the sky dark with thunderclouds. Lightning began to crackle, before a silhouette appeared in the portal…as a massive foot stepped through.

"Merde. Gambit hate bein' right."

Following that first foot, a second one stepped through, followed by two hands, before a monumental, 200-foot-plus-tall humanoid, clad in a purple-blue armorsuit, his titanic head covered by an equally massive, tall, dark-violet helmet, with two curved metal horn-spikes on the sides, stood revealed.

Corsair went as pale as a ghost. "He's here…"

Superman drew his communicator. "Kitty! Lance! He's here! DO IT NOW!"

Glancing down, Galactus merely stared at them with his enormous eyes, before looking away, stretching out his hand towards a vast plain; instantly, energy began to condense over it…forming a massive metal support-strut.

"He's assembling his Muonic Inducer!" Superman shouted. "Corsair, Gambit, Rogue, do not let him get that thing online!" Quickly, the Starjammers poured into their ship, while Rogue and Gambit raced towards the assembling Inducer, leaving Superman and Lobo to face the Eater of Worlds. "Lobo, it's up to us to keep him distracted!"

Lobo grinned like a madman. "Music to the Main Man's ears, fanboy!" With that, he tapped a button on his belt; seconds later, his bike came screaming through the sky towards him. Leaping as it passed by, Lobo hopped on, and flew straight at Galactus, drawing his plasma-rifle. "Hey, Lacko!" Lobo roared, priming his weapon. "Uncle Lobo's gotta present for ya, and he wants to deliver it up close an' PERSONAL!"

With that, he fired a massive plasma-blast directly into Galactus' face; for a moment, Galactus was still, prompting Lobo to laugh…until the haze cleared, revealing a scowl on the World-Eater's face.

INSECT.

With a swat of his colossal hand, Galactus sent Lobo flying off his bike, careening down towards the ground, but Lobo was faster; grabbing his chain, he whirled and threw it, snagging Galactus' knee-armour and swinging towards it. Galactus was about to reach down and grab his miniscule attacker, but he was stunned as a red-blue blur smashed into his forehead. While Galactus took a step back to balance himself, Superman readied another attack…but he never got the chance, as a barrage of Power Cosmic beams lanced from Galactus' fingertips, smashing into him with terrible force, sending him falling into Galactus' hand.

YOU WERE FOOLISH TO CROSS ME, CHILD OF KRYPTON. NOW YOU WILL SHARE YOUR PLANET'S…AAARRRGGGHHH!

Galactus' statement was cut off as his fist was burned from within, forcing him to let go, allowing Superman to fly away, trying to regroup, as he checked the EPM-apparatus' diagnostics by remote. 'Come on…come on, just another few minutes..!'

By the time Gambit and Rogue had reached the assembling Inducer, it had already formed three more support-struts. After Rogue had copied Gambit's powers, the two of them raced towards separate struts; charging the biggest sections of metal that they could, they unleashed massive explosions that ripped huge chunks out of the struts…but the alien metal spontaneously repaired itself, assembling two more leg-struts, completing the supporting circle. As the Inducer's main unit began to form atop the support-structure, the Starjammer raced by, blasting it with its laser-cannons, before unloading a salvo of missiles into it…but once again, any damage they inflicted was rapidly repaired. "No good, Big Blue!" Rogue shouted. "Yer gonna have to stop the big guy before he turns this thing on!"

Superman was too busy to respond, as he dodged Galactus' Cosmic force-beams, peppering him with eye-rays, though they were little more than bee-stings to him. Managing to climb up Galactus' torso, Lobo clambered onto his face, standing right in front of his enormous eye. "Here's lookin' at you, Lacko!" he snarled, before he punched Galactus right in the pupil.

Galactus howled in pain, stumbling back, which caused Lobo to fall to the ground, cratering it. As the Eater of Worlds regained his balance, Superman lined up a shot, gathered seventy percent of his maximum energy, and surged it through his eyes.

The resulting eye-beam was nearly as large as Galactus himself, lighting up the blackened sky as it seared through the air, slamming into Galactus with catastrophic force, pushing him back ten feet, then twenty, then forty, and then eighty, sending him stumbling over a nearby mountain, before pushing him down into it.

As his eye-beam died away, Superman wavered in the air, catching his breath, gazing with mild horror at the destruction he'd left: the heat of his beam, even without touching the ground, had left a massive black trail in its wake, and where it had touched the earth, the rock had turned to glass, ending in a glassy obsidian crater where the mountain had been. 'Let that be enough…please God, let that be enough…'

No such luck.

SSSHHHEEEWWW!

A massive Cosmic beam – easily twice the size of his own – blazed out of the crater, swatting him like a fly as Galactus rose back on his feet. YOU HAVE FOUGHT WELL, CHILD OF KRYPTON, BUT YOU COULD NEVER HAVE HOPED TO DEFEAT ME…

"GALACTUS!"

The World-Eater's remark was promptly drowned out by the roar of the Silver Surfer as he came streaking in, blasting Galactus with a massive beam of pure Power Cosmic. "You deceived me, you foul monster!" the Surfer roared. "I became your Herald to save lives, yet you took that from me! You took everything – my very identity – from me, but you will not take another life today, even if it costs me my own!"

Diving under Galactus' swiping fist, the Surfer unloaded another Cosmic beam into him, driving his former master back. Galactus fired a Cosmic blast from his fingers, but the Surfer darted under it, before pummeling him with one energy-surge after another, not letting up for even a second…

ENOUGH!

With that one roar, Galactus unleashed an expanding wave of Cosmic energy, knocking the Surfer off his board, sending him falling down towards Superman and Lobo. YOU FORGET YOURSELF, HERALD. YOU WERE GRANTED THE POWER COSMIC TO SERVE ME. NEVER FORGET THAT.

By then, the last components of the Muonic Inducer fused into place – all that remained was for Galactus to activate it. Lobo sighed. "Well, we're fragged."

Listening carefully, Superman managed a faint smile. "Not yet!"

Slowly, soft, haunting sounds – eerily resembling whale-songs – began to fill the air…before the sky began to fill with titanic humanoid beings, each one more than twice Galactus' size, clad in colossal armorsuits…all staring down at Galactus.

Galactus had been about to activate the Inducer, but he froze in his tracks, his expression clouding with an emotion none had ever seen there before: fear. NO…NO! H-HOW CAN THEY BE HERE?

Superman crowed with joy. "It worked! It WORKED! They heard it!"

Walking towards their comrade, Rogue and Gambit both looked perplexed. "What worked, Kal?" Rogue asked. "And what the hell are those things?"

"They have been given different names by different people throughout history," Superman answered, glancing up at the colossal beings, "but most simply know them as the Celestials; they are revered in legends as beings capable of breathing new life into galaxies, of giving birth to planets themselves…"

Gambit grinned. "…so they ain' gonna take too kindly to somebody dat's plannin' on eatin' one."

The Surfer smiled. "That's what you had your comrades do, isn't it?" he asked. "You used the quartz to generate power from seismic waves, and then convert it to a form usable by that Transponder…"

Superman nodded. "…turning it into a beacon that the Celestials could pick up!"

Lobo guffawed long and loud. "Well, whaddya know! Big, bad Galactus is about to get his fraggin' ass handed to him! An' we've got front-row seats!"

For several minutes, the Celestials' whale-songs echoed through the air, as they conversed with one another…before one simply vanished.

And then another.

And then another.

Watching the Celestials start to leave one-by-one, Lobo's smirk vanished. "What the hell, fanboy? Why aren't they kickin' ass?"

Superman frowned. "They must have figured out what we did to get their attention! This planet holds no interest for them now, so they're leaving!"

"What?" Rogue cried. "How are we gonna kick his big fat butt now?"

Before long, only one Celestial remained. His confidence returning, Galactus gestured to his Inducer; instantly, the infernal machine whirred to life, as a pale-blue bolt of energy began to collect in the center of its underside…

Suddenly, the EPM-apparatus began to beep, prompting Superman to check it: the diagnostics were done, the apparatus calibrated. "The Celestials weren't supposed to stop him," he said. "They were supposed to stall him!" With that, he picked up the apparatus and aimed it right at the Inducer, firing a beam of pure, off-white energy, just as the Inducer fired a pale-blue beam down towards the planet, streaking towards the ground, ready to transform and drain every last resource on the planet…

The Inducer-beam was only meters away from impact when the EPM-beam intersected its path, but instead of being deflected, the Inducer-beam absorbed it, diverting the EPM-flow into the Inducer. One-by-one, each of the seven EPMs went from white, to grey, and finally to black, as the Inducer drained their energy, before shooting it into Galactus from its topmost component; as the last EPM went dead, the Inducer-beam stopped, as Galactus staggered, and then stood up. "Uh, fanboy?" Lobo murmured. "That didn't kill him…"

Superman chuckled. "Wasn't trying to kill him, Lobo," he said. "I was trying to feed him."

Standing fully upright, Galactus glanced down at them, before banishing his Muonic Inducer with a wave. YOU HAVE THE THANKS OF GALACTUS, CHILDREN OF KRYPTON, CZARNIA, AND EARTH. MY POWERS ARE FULLY RESTORED, AND MY HUNGER IS SATED, FOR NOW.

Rogue was dumbfounded. ""Restored"?"

The Surfer nodded. "When he feasts upon a planet, Galactus' powers are at his weakest; that is why he must replenish himself."

"Holy hell."

Superman met Galactus' gaze. "As we understand it, mighty Galactus, we have now earned a boon from you."

Galactus' eyes narrowed. YOU PRESUME MUCH, CHILD OF KRYPTON…BUT YOU PRESUME CORRECTLY. NAME YOUR PRICE.

Gambit chuckled, glancing to the Surfer. "Galctus went an' conned y' out of your freedom, non?" he asked. "Be awful impolite not to return the favour…"

But the Surfer shushed him with a wave. "Master Galactus, we ask only that you depart this world, and never return!"

IT IS DONE, Galactus boomed. TO ME, MY HERALD, FOR MY HUNGER GROWS…

And with that, Galactus disappeared, back through his portal, returning the sky to its natural colour. Only the lone Celestial remained in the sky, its whale-song echoing a chiding tone, as if scolding them. Smiling politely, Superman deeply bowed towards the cosmic entity. Seemingly satisfied, the Celestial vanished, its whale-song growing silent, while Superman switched on his communicator. "Kitty, Lance, you can stop now; it's all over."

Glancing towards the Surfer, Rogue's expression was sad. "You…you just gave up yer freedom…"

"…to ensure this world remains safe, yes," the Surfer agreed, before grinning slyly. "You have already set me free, my friends; thanks to all of you, I am myself again. I now can do as I intended to do: lead Galactus to verdant worlds without sentient life." He chuckled. "I plan to give Galactus the coordinates of several such worlds, which should sate his hunger for quite some time…long enough for me to return to visit my Shalla-Bal." He sighed. "I know even that much is terrible…but it is better than him feasting upon worlds with sentient life."

Superman nodded. "It's just making the most of a bad situation."

"True," the Surfer agreed, "but there is a legend amongst the stars – one which even the World-Eater knows – that, one day, Galactus will give back more than he has taken." He smiled. "And perhaps that day is not far off."

Superman grinned back. "Hopefully," he answered. "Good luck out there."

The Surfer's smile grew. "Thank you, my friends; in whatever endeavour that drew you here, I wish you well." He turned to go. "To me, my board!" Instantly summoning his surfboard, the Silver Surfer took to the sky, flying out into space.

As the others watched him go, Lobo grunted. "And once again, the Main Man gets dragged into a fraggin' soap-opera," he grumbled. "I'm outta here!" Tapping his belt, he summoned his space-hog, before flying off into the horizon…towards the Cel'Makkian village.

Rogue sighed. "Oh, Gawd…don't tell me we have to go after him."

Superman nodded. "I'm afraid so." With that, he gathered up the remains of the EPM-apparatus, before flying after Lobo, while his comrades headed for the Starjammer as it touched down.

XXXXXXXX

Xavier Institute, Earth

By the time the Javelin-3 had dropped Iceman, Jubilee, Toad, and Blob back at the Institute, the sun had started to set, turning the sky a brilliant orange. While Toad and Blob headed inside, to let the Professor know they were here, Iceman and Jubilee stayed outside to watch the setting sun. "You know, it's things like this that can make you forget that the world is about to go nuts," Jubilee said.

Iceman nodded. "I think that's probably the point," he agreed. "I just hope that, a few days from now, we'll get to see another one."

Jubilee looped her arm around his, leaning her head on his shoulder. "We will," she cooed. "I just know it."

Iceman chuckled. "Well, I guess we'll find out soon enough…" he began, but he froze, his brain stalling as he felt a pair of soft lips caress his cheek. His eyes wide, Iceman slowly turned towards Jubilee's blushing face. "Wow."

Jubilee's blush grew. "I've…kinda wanted to do that for a while."

Somehow, Iceman managed to get his voice on autopilot. "Jubilee…if we're still here when all this is over…you wanna catch a movie, or something?"

Jubilee giggled. "I'd really like that."

A snort interrupted their tender moment. "So the whole world is ending, and you're trying to pick up girls, Bobby?"

His smile dropping into a frown, Iceman turned towards his younger brother as he walked out of the Institute. "Hey, Donnie."

Donnie's scowl was still on his face. "So where's your alien pal?" he muttered. "Why isn't he helping?"

"He is," Iceman answered. "Right now, Superman and some of the others are out in space, looking for a weapon that can stop this invasion cold."

Donnie snorted again. "Out in space, huh?" he shot back. "Well, why doesn't he just stay there? This whole thing is his fault."

Iceman's eyes narrowed. "Oh, so the Kree and Skrulls trying to invade Earth is his fault, Donnie?" he snapped. "Do you have any idea how stupid that sounds?"

"Those space-freaks only came here 'cause they were looking for him, Bobby! If he hadn't been here, they'd have left us alone!"

Iceman was incredulous. "Well, what else could he have done?"

"He should've just kept his stupid head down!"

Iceman's frown lessened. "Who are we really talking about here, Donnie?"

Donnie's angry eyes were starting to leak tears. "What did you think was happening while you were off playing superhero, Bobby?" he shouted. "Do you have any idea how many times I got beat up at school 'cause my brother was a mutant? When you and your pals went public, my life ended! Dad almost got fired! Mom still can't go to the corner store! And it's all your stupid fault! If you'd just shut up about your freak-powers, we wouldn't be in this mess…and now your space-freak pal is doing the same thing to Earth!"

Iceman's fists clenched. "News flash, Donnie: I didn't ask to be a mutant, and none of us asked to get outed, last year!" he yelled back. "Keeping my head buried in the sand wasn't helping; if I hadn't gotten help, sooner or later, my powers would've hurt someone…"

Jubilee's soft hand was quickly on his. "Bobby," she soothed.

Iceman managed to get his anger under control. "You know what, Donnie? I'm done talking about this," he snapped. "If you want to blame me for everything, fine; you always do, anyway." With that, he and Jubilee headed towards the doors…

…but as he passed by his brother, Iceman heard him mutter under his breath. "He doesn't even belong here; he should've just stayed and got blown up with his stupid planet…"

CRACK!

As he saw red, Iceman's fist shot out and slammed across Donnie's jaw, sending his younger brother flying, landing on the lawn with a bloody lip. "You shut up about that, right NOW!" Iceman exploded. "It's one thing to talk trash about me, but don't you EVER say that about Superman! He was in diapers when he came here, Donnie; he didn't have a choice! Yeah, he could've kept quiet – and probably have made a mint off his powers – but he chose to use them to help people, even when all of us wanted to hide!" His eyes narrowed. "You go ahead and say whatever you like about me…but don't you say one word about him."

Donnie glared back. "Or what? You'll use your mutie powers on me?"

The use of that word didn't help. Iceman's fists clenched. "Oh, I think we both know that I've never needed any powers to kick your bratty little butt!"

"What the Sam Hill is going on here?" their father's voice thundered as Frank Drake walked out of the Institute. "Just what are you two doing?"

Donnie snivelled, pointing at his brother. "Dad, he hit me!"

Frowning, Frank, looked at his elder son. "Robert? Is that true?"

Iceman sighed. "Yeah, Dad, it's true," he said. "Donnie was talking trash about one of my friends, and I just lost it."

Frank looked to his younger son. "Donnie? Care to respond to that?"

Donnie scowled. "Dad, it's his fault we're all in this mess! His and that stupid alien's!"

Frank sighed. "Donnie, I've talked to you about this; it wasn't Bobby's fault that he was born…well, different. It's difficult that some people can't see past that, but that isn't his fault, either."

"But if it wasn't for that alien and those muti…"

"DONALD! What did I tell you about that word?" Frank shouted, before he calmed himself. "I think you'd better go wait in the car, buster."

"But…"

"Now." Sparing one last contemptuous glare at his brother, Donnie stormed off.

Iceman groaned. "Donnie's right about one thing: I did just make things worse," he said. "If he didn't hate me before, he sure does now."

Frank smiled wanly. "Brothers fight, Bobby; remind me to tell you about me and your Uncle Stephen," he answered. "Of course, neither of us ever made miniature skating-rinks in the shower…"

Bobby groaned. "Am I ever gonna live that down?" His expression turned regretful. "I'm sorry I decked Donnie, Dad."

"I know."

Bobby's expression turned worried. "You guys aren't still gonna try and yank me out, are you?"

Frank chuckled. "To be honest, son, the only reason your brother and I came here with your mother was because she'd have gone alone if we hadn't," he answered. "Between that little speech of yours and what Professor Xavier told us, I think the wind is out of most of her sails. I'm not going to pretend I even understand half of what you do here, but I know enough to understand it's important. Don't you worry about us; we'll be fine."

Iceman smiled, as he hugged his father. "Thanks, Dad."

Frank returned the hug. "You just be careful, son," he said. "The three of us love you, even your brother."

Bobby chuckled. "Love you too, Dad." As Frank headed inside, Bobby's smile turned sheepish as he glanced to Jubilee. "Sorry you had to see all that."

Jubilee giggled. "I thought the last part was sweet," she said. "Your dad's a pretty great guy."

Bobby smiled back. "Yeah, he really is."

"Yeah, that's just wonderful; you should have Disney make a movie."

Turning around, Iceman inwardly groaned as he saw the Hellions, all in plain-clothes, standing there. 'Oh, now what?' "How much did you guys hear?"

"Everything since you knocked that bratty kid on his ass," Julian answered. "Hey, if it had been me, he'd have lost teeth."

Iceman shrugged. "Call me crazy, but I figured I didn't want to hurt my kid brother too badly," he said. "So, is this a social call, or should I get Wolverine?"

"We're not here for trouble," John said. "We called Xavier, and asked if we could come to talk."

Jubilee blinked. "About..?"

"Word is, you guys need extra hands to deal with these alien chumps on their way," Julian said. "Count us in."

Iceman was dumbfounded. "Seriously?"

"Three things, though," Julian said. "Nobody bosses us around once we get our objectives; nobody splits us up; and once it's all done, we walk."

Sharon gulped. "If we're still standing."

"Well, yeah."

Iceman shrugged. "I think we can live with that."

"Good." Julian's expression turned sheepish. "So…how's Soori doing?"

Iceman grinned. "Why not ask her yourself?" Reaching for the nearby intercom, he switched it on. "Hey, Sooraya? There's a few people here who'd like to talk to you; would you mind leading them to the Professor's office?"

"Of course, Bobby. I'll be down in a minute."

Hearing his former teammate's voice, Julian grinned. "Thanks." With that, he and his teammates headed inside.

Iceman could only chuckle to himself. "Can things get any crazier, around here?"

Jubilee giggled. "They will once they find out Emma's here, too!"

Bobby went pale; the Professor had telepathically warned them about the ex-White Queen being here, as they'd arrived. "Uh, Julian?" he called out, following the Hellions. "I think there's something you should know…"

XXXXXXXX

Cel'Mak IV

By the time Superman and the Starjammer had touched down in the village, Lobo was already there; for a moment, Superman feared the worst…but as he landed, his frown turned to a grin.

Sitting on his bike, surrounded by dozens of cheering villagers, was Lobo, his arms folded, with a wreath of flowers around his neck, and a scowl on his face. "Hey, Supes, will ya tell these feebs to frag off, already? They're gettin' on my nerves!"

As the Starjammer landed behind him, the others disembarked, and started to laugh. "Quite the change in reception, eh, homme?" Gambit asked.

Corsair chuckled. "They must think you saved them."

"I know!" Lobo lamented. "I'm the meanest, baddest, nastiest S.O.B. this side of the Magnodon Cluster, not some bleeding-heart feeb that saves planets, and especially not for free! If this gets out, my rep's shot!"

Superman smiled, as he gestured behind Lobo. "Well, you don't have to worry about the "for free" part."

"Huh?" Turning around, Lobo saw several villagers drag a large container, filled with grain, towards him, before backing away, bowing. "Huh…guess that saves time."

"So what'll you do now?" Rogue asked.

"Now I take this an' go get paid," Lobo said, before grinning, "an' then I start trackin' down Rone so I can beat seventy-seven kinds of frag out of him!"

Superman paused. "You're still looking for Ronan?"

"Damn straight, fanboy! Nobody double-crosses the Main Man!"

Superman glanced to his comrades, who had the same idea he'd had, judging by their expression. "In that case, Lobo, we have a little proposition for you."

Lobo arched an eyebrow. "The Main Man is intrigued."

"We know where Ronan will be in a few days," Superman said. "He'll be in Earth's system, with a Kree invasion fleet."

Lobo frowned. "Do I look like I got the firepower to bust through a Kree fleet, fanboy? The Main Man likes a good brawl, but the second some Kree feeb starts squawkin' I'm there, Rone'll bail!"

"Not with what we're bringing to the party!" Superman said. "If everything goes according to plan, by the time Ronan figures out you're there, it'll be too late!"

Lobo looked thoughtful. "And what's in it for the Main Man?"

"The way I see it, you haven't discussed your severance pay with him for your last job," Superman answered. "Once this is over, we'd be happy to help you negotiate a fee with him…provided you leave once it's done."

Lobo thought about it…and extended his hand. "Let's shake on it."

Superman stared at his hand. "Why? So you can punch me, again?"

"HA! You're catchin' on, fanboy!" Lobo chortled. "I get to kick Rone's pansy-feeb ass and get a sweet fee? The Main Man is in!"

Corsair sighed. "Why do I get the feeling that we're going to regret this?"

While Superman tok to the sky, heading back to the Krypton, the others loaded the depleted EPM-apparatus into the Starjammer, along with Lobo's grain…after assuring the bounty-hunter that it wouldn't be damaged or misplaced. Within minutes, the Starjammer was prepped to go, and took to the air, followed by Lobo's space-hog. After meeting the Krypton in orbit, Lobo magnetized his bike's hull, adhering to the dorsal hull of the Starjammer, while Superman detached drones from the Krypton, linking the Starjammer to his ship, before prepping his ships' Trans-Warp Drive. Minutes later, the tiny ship was ready, and streaked away at trans-light speeds, leaving Cel'Mak IV far behind.

It was said that, in space, no-one could hear a scream…which was probably for the best.

"FRAG YEAH! Now THIS is first-class flying, baby!"

XXXXXXXX

Deep space, August 16

Hanging against the infinite black backdrop of space, the World-Gate's perfectly timed synchronization pulse provided a little light through the Argo's HUD as the Kryptonian Speeder hovered several light-minutes away from the Gate. Within the Speeder, General Zod sat at the controls, keeping watch while his crew slept, dimming the cockpit's internal lights. Behind him, Havok sat propped up against the wall, sound asleep, with Polaris leaning against him, her eyes blissfully closed. Beast sat against the other wall, his head drooped low, his favourite book still in his hand. Even further back, Mark – now Brainiac 5 – lay flat upon his bunk, with Phantom happily curled up like a kitten beside him.

He was the only one still awake, the only one standing guard…which suited him perfectly.

His mind was far too busy to sleep, even if he'd needed to; thoughts of what lay ahead kept his mind racing.

In less than a day, war would come to Earth.

Where others would have felt fear, Zod felt only restlessness, like a champion racing hrakka, stirring behind the starting-gate. He was a warrior, like so many of his ancestors before him, starting with his House's founder, the mighty Rol-Zod, one of the Twelve, like Von-El, and ending with first his father, Cor-Zod, the Defence Force's last Supreme Commander, and then him.

Where the House of El's legacy was long tied in science, the House of Zod held a military tradition that stretched back all the way to modern Krypton's origins and beyond…and now, a warrior of the House of Zod would be called into battle, once again. Like Rol-Zod and his fellows, this war would bring first order to his new home, and then peace. Once the Kree, Skrulls, and Shi'ar were repulsed, it would begin…

Suddenly, the beeping of the Argo's sensors interrupted his thoughts; checking the readout, Dru beamed, before looking up, in time to see the World-Gate come to life, spinning a wormhole, spanning countless light-years effortlessly…before Kal-El's ship came through, followed by the Starjammer, as well as one smaller ship on top of it. Chuckling, Dru hailed his godchild. "I trust Farstrider Base Two offered no problems, Cadet?"

Kal chuckled. "Nothing we couldn't handle, sir; we also managed to pick up a few spare EPMs; once Sentrius gives them a charge, the Fortress should be able to make use of them!" he answered. "We have the Module in the Starjammer's hold; you may teleport when ready!"

"Acknowledged. Argo out." Ending the transmission, Dru powered the teleporter, locking onto the Encryption Module in the Starjammer's hull, and beamed it over; instantly, the blue-white wave deposited the large crystalline sphere right next to the one they'd retrieved, in front of the ECM-components the Speeder carried. As Zod switched on the lights, his crew stirred. "Huh?" Havok murmured. "What's going on?"

"The time for sleeping is over, Havok; we have work to do," Dru stated, walking towards the two Modules.

As she and her boyfriend sat up, Phantom noticed the second Module. "Clark's here? He did it?"

Dru chuckled. "You doubted?" he chided. Tapping both Modules, he summoned a holo-interface from each one, and then moved one into the other, instantly causing them to meld, synchronizing the two together, before entering a few commands, requesting a new access-code. For a few seconds, both Modules sent data-bursts back and forth, before generating a sequence of holo-glyphs. Memorizing the new code in seconds, Zod moved back to the pilot's seat. "Argo to all ships. New access-code has been authorized; attempting to hail Sentrius. Hold position until my order." With that order given, Zod accessed the Gate-Drive, opening the back-door and inputting the sequence that led to Sentrius' system; in seconds, the World-Gate reactivated, spinning another wormhole. Holding position, Dru opened a channel and sent it through the wormhole. "This is High General Dru-Zod calling Sentrius Battlestation; requesting stand-down of standing defences, Identification Code Orthon-Kel'Nor-Bev'tor-Disengage!"

There was a second's pause, before an inhumanly calm, artificial-sounding female voice answered him in Kryptonese. "Identification confirmed, General Zod. Awaiting clearance code."

Dru took a deep breath. "Stand down standing defences, Authorization Code Rel'Nor-Kuryon-Vartec-Hadrus'Yan-Ni'Mar-Durok-Lock!"

There was another second's delay. "Authorization code accepted. Standing down defences; you are cleared to pass through, General Zod."

Dru smiled. "Understood, Sentrius; we have four ships coming through. Prepare docking-bay."

"Acknowledged, General."

As the transmission ended, Zod's young charges cheered for joy. "It worked!" Havok exclaimed.

Dru chuckled. "Well, of course it worked, boy!" he said, before his expression turned grave. "But we mustn't celebrate just yet; we still have to get Sentrius battle-ready and then get her to Earth. We have a lot of work to do." Opening another channel, he hailed the others. "Argo to all ships; the way is clear. It is safe to pass through; proceed after me."

And with that, Dru guided the Argo into the event-horizon, sending it streaking through the wormhole. The Krypton was the next to follow, and then the Starjammer, with Lobo's space-hog still attached. In minutes, they were all through…

…and as the last vessel went through, the World-Gate shut down, its task complete.

XXXXXXXX

Coming Soon:

Our heroes' mission is complete.

Sentrius has been found.

As the others muster their forces back home, all that remains is for Superman and his comrades to get Krypton's ancient defender ready and get it back to Earth…

…but there are those who aren't too happy about it.

Will our heroes succeed in retrieving Sentrius?

And is it already too late?

Find out, when "The Search for Sentrius" comes to an end…