Lex Luthor had declared War against The Man of Steel when he orchestrated the destruction of the Metropolis Bay District, killing over ten thousand people. While trying to escape, Lex beat Kara to near death; leaving her for Superman to find. Lex retreated to his lab and tried to engage an experiment of his; when Superman intervened however, the experiment backfired and ended up throwing the two across universes.

The two ended up in the Marvel Universe. Superman; who was captured by the Avengers, became panicked when he learned that he was no longer on his own Earth, and made a mistake that would be the key Luthor needed to turn the Avengers against Superman.

After a confrontation between Superman and The Avengers, who were led by Lex Luthor himself; Lex was shown for his true colours and The Avengers suspended their agreement with him. Now Superman is fully recovered from his battle, but remains lost in the Marvel Universe. Soon after his recovery, Superman was approached by a strange figure who had been searching for him on behalf of the Monitors of the DC Multiverse. The strange figure informed Superman that he would have to wait for three days until his companions would find him. This is the story of those days...

- "Still round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate,
And though we pass them by today,
Tomorrow we may come this way
And take the hidden paths that run
Towards the Moon or to the Sun."

From:"The Traveling Song" By J.R.R Tolkien

((Authors Note: In order to get the set-up for this story, make sure you check out the 'Epilogue' chapter of "Superman and The New Avengers". Which is up now!))

Chapter 1

Day 2/ 2:20 PM

"Welcome to the Baxter building Mr. Kent." Peter Parker said as he and Clark entered the waiting room for the Fantastic Fours home base. Clark was blown away at the luxury of just the lobby. "You seem thoroughly shocked and awed." Peter laughed as he saw how Clarks jaw seemed to drop when he saw how high the ceiling was. "Just wait; this is nothing compared to Reeds lab. That place is science heaven!" Peter rushed towards the elevator; "Come on! I can't wait until you meet Dragon Man."

"Dragon Man? What's he do?" Clark asked intently as the elevator arrived and the two climbed on board.

"You'll see." The mischievous tone in Peters voice was well hidden, and even Clarks super hearing didn't pick it up. "He's great with kids." The door shut behind them as Peter hit the button for the penthouse suite. "He can fly too; you two could... oh. Sorry."

Peter had momentarily forgotten that Fury had ordered Spiderman to keep Superman grounded and out of the public eye. Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. were under the impression that the public was terrified of Superman; and after Spiderman had finished reading the Avengers case-file on their battle with Superman; he couldn't believe that they were talking about the same Superman.

"It's alright." Clark interrupted with a kind smile as the elevator ascended up the building. "I could use a few days of R&R after everything that's happened in the last three days. I mean it was only this morning that I was mind controlled by... what did you say he calls himself?"

"Psycho-Man" Peter interjected as the elevator began to slow, indicating that they were approaching their destination. "Ugly spud that he was. Let's try not to think about that now." The elevator came to a halt, jerking itself slightly before stopping on the penthouse floor. "For now; let's focus on getting you acquainted with Casa de Richards." The doors parted, revealing one of the most futuristic living quarters Clark had ever seen; the kitchen, tv room and dining rooms were all divided by glass walls, and there were several large picture frames which had to be digital, because they were shifting through different pictures of the Richards family.

"This is amazing!" Clark said as he walked out into the area and began to examine the surroundings; he almost expected it to look like one of Lexes penthouses, but this was something else entirely. "How do they afford all of this?"

"I guess you never studied up on Reed and the FF while you were reading through those papers the other day." Peter laughed lightly as he began to lead Clark to a door near the back of the dining room. "Before they got their powers, Reed and Sue were some of the worlds top scientists; they still are, but now they have super-powers. You can only imagine how well being a super-powered government scientist pays." Peter extended his hand to the door, and as his palm became flat upon it, there was a small light that took a scan of Peters palm print. "And everyone knew as soon as it happened to them; they couldn't have hid it if they had tried."

"Isn't it risky for you to be showing up here dressed up in civilian wear?" Clark asked with great concern as the door parted open.

"Nah; I used to intern for Reed when I was in college. Peter Parker has every reason to be stopping by on occasion." The two made their way into the room, it was rather plain, with no windows or furniture to speak of. "Hello?" Where's the welcome party? Peter called out, making his voice sound slightly disappointed. "Is this any way to treat your fist-call reservist?" As Peter shouted out playfully, another door from across the room parted open to reveal the tied back blonde hair and bright blue eyes of Susan Storm Richards.

"No need to shout Peter." Susan said as she made her way towards Clark and Peter with a bright smile on her face. "We saw you when you came in; I was just talking with Ben and Franklin."

"Where is Franky? Wouldn't mind saying hi to the little guy before I head out." Peter approached Susan and embraced her in a light hug. "And where's everyone else?"

"Johnny is out on a date; Ben is playing with Franklin; and Reed is in his lab." Susan laughed as she mentioned Reed, as if to say, "where else would he be?"

"So Johnny is gone and Reed is playing with his toys; excellent." A wide grin cut across Peters face as he turned to face Clark. "I guess Reed told you that you were having a house guest for the next day or so. I'd like you to meet Mr. Clark Kent. Though technically you've already met, right?"

"Actually, we never did." Susan interjected quickly as she approached Clark, extending a warm hand to him. "I'm Reeds wife; my name's Susan Storm Richards; though some people call me the Invisible Woman." Clark reached out and shook her hand, returning the smile.

"It's a pleasure. Your home is absolutely fantastic." A light giggle escaped from Susan as Clark realized the pun he had just made.

"Thank you Mr. Kent. If you'd like I can show you where you'll be staying tonight." Susan motioned Peter and Clark to follow her, and they all began to make their way back to the elevator.

Day 2/ 2:40 PM

"I still don't get why you don't just accept Reeds job offer Peter." Susan said as the three of them made their way from the guest quarters and towards the play room, where Ben and Dragon Man had been left to play with Franklin. "You're a scientist like us; not a photographer. You belong in the lab with Reed."

"I've been giving it a lot of thought actually." Peter said sternly as he looked up to Susan; Clark suddenly felt with a third wheel to the conversation. "Over the last couple years I've had offers from Stark, and Horizon. Even S.H.I.E.L.D. has tried to wrangle me in a few times."

"Well think faster. Reeds starting a new project and he wants your help. He just received the parts he requested from S.H.I.E.L.D." Peters smile suddenly faded as he remembered how Reed had requested access to the piece of Kryptonite... his attention was quickly brought back to the moment by the sound of Franklin laughing happily.

"Higher Uncle Ben!" Franklin shouted. "I'm Superman! I can fly higher than this!" Clark and Peter looked towards each other, and Clark couldn't help but smile, slightly embarrassed.

The three of the entered the room to see that Ben Grimm and Dragon Man had a sheet and were using it to launch Franklin into the air, where Franklin would make a pose as if he were flying. Franklin was wearing a red towel tied around his neck; with an 'S' written on his white t-shirt with permanent black marker. "Hey there little man; hope you're being careful with him Benjamin." Susan said as she approached, casting Ben a disapproving glance. "This isn't exactly the safest game."

"Aw lighten' up Suzzy. He's seven years old; let the kid have some fun." Ben said in a grizzly voice as he and Dragon Man launched Franklin into the air again. "Ever since him an' Johnny watched dem news reports yesterday 'bout Spidey n' Superman goin' 'round, helpin' deli-owners and regular Joe's; he's wanted to fly just like Supe's. An' this wuz the closest I cud get to't. " As Franklin came down again, he motioned to his Uncle Ben to let him down.

"Thanks Uncle Ben! Thanks D-Man!" Franklin said as he ran up and gave Dragon Man a big hug. Clark began to stare as he saw the large Dragon-like man-creature smile with joy as the child embraced him.

"Think nothing of it young Franklin." His voice was soothing, a large contrast towards his outward appearance. Clark was even more shocked as Dragon Man reached out to a nearby table and picked up a book on quantum mechanics and a pair of reading glasses.

"Uncle Peter; Uncle Peter!" Franklin shouted as he ran towards Peter, who reached out and rubbed at Franklins hair.

"Hey Franky. How's it shaken?" Franklin reached up and moved Peters hand from his head, then looked up at him with excited eyes.

"You were working with Superman! That is so cool!" Franklin shouted as looked back to his mom. "People say that he's not good; but they said the same thing about Uncle Peter, and he's the best! And my dad says that Superman just wants to help people." Franklin looked from Peter and towards Clark. "Who're you?" Franklin asked with a curious tone.

Clark looked to Peter with a wide grin across his face. "My names Clark Kent." He said as he took off his glasses and handed them to Peter. He then reached up to the zipper on his hoodie and lowered it enough to reveal his own 'S' insignia that was hidden underneath. Franklin s eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped as he gazed up at the colourful symbol. "I like your t-shirt."

In Reed Richards private lab; only several floors above...

Reed went through the crate that S.H.I.E.L.D. had sent to him. Until the recent arrival of Superman and Lex Luthor; Reed had never given any real thought to the idea of alternate realities. He had heard about Peters supposed encounter with an 'evil' version of himself; but Reed had always figured Peter had just had a very vivid dream. The recent events had him going back, and re-thinking his approach to the idea.

The crate opened, and Reed could see the large device, the initials 'In.D' engraved into the side. This was Victor Von-Dooms own attempt at an inter-dimensional rift generator; and if Lex Luthor had been able to make one, then Reed was convinced that he had everything he needed to try and open his own portal to another world...

((Authors Note: So this is it for Chapter 1. I hope you all enjoyed the start of Supermans introduction to Marvels first family. You can expect this story to have a far lighter tone than my other stories; but I still plan on throwing some bad-guys at Superman while he's with the FF. And because I feel like spoiling the first story arch; you can expect Reeds research to play a 'big' role in what madness will transpire in this building in the next few chapters! Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter, sorry it's shorter than usual.))