Clark was livid as he knocked on the Principal's door; the news he just heard made him sick.
"Come in."
Clark stormed into the room. "I'm not going to suggest this is a bad joke." Clark said his anger all over his face. "I'm not going to insinuate that this is some sort of horrible mix-up. All I'm going to ask is are you doing something about it?"
Emma smiled softly. One of the things Clark had learnt from them was that making threats and casual backhanded comments was fine when dealing with an idiot, but straight up honesty was the way to go forward.
"The economics teacher went over my head to the State Education Board." Emma said calmly and quietly. "All schools are now required to take their economics classes to a certified business in order to experience how things work."
"But the Luthors? If-" Clark stopped and glanced at the door. "Is it safe?"
Emma waved a hand casting a privacy charm and nodded.
"If the Luthors get even a hint that one of the students might have an ability… that students life will be over. That aside, how can the State even think of condoning someone like the Luthors?"
"Clark, remember that until you and Harry rule the world, it will always have corrupt governments. Even after you rule the world you will still have to deal with the occasional idiot who thinks he can get away with something." Emma lectured lightly.
"So you're saying LuthorCorp greased some palms." Clark said with a sigh. "Does it have to be LuthorCorp? What about another company?"
"It has to be a company in the state. I did try and persuade them to allow us to visit Bruce in Gotham."
"What about Tess and our company?"
"Wrong type of business according to the State."
"I swear Emma, I'm tempted to rip the LuthorCorp building to the ground myself than let the students near the place." Clark said as he slumped into the chair opposite her desk.
"We will fight this until the last moment Clark, but there is only one way I can see this being fixed for next year."
"Oh?"
"We need another company to set up a branch in Kansas."
"Oh… Oh!" Clark said in realisation. "I'll talk to Bruce first, I'd rather not face Mom and Takami with this idea unless it's really necessary." He gulped. Martha was frequently complaining about all the signing she had to do and Takami was still trying to get a handle on the Sekirei.
"Get out, you coward." Emma smirked.
"I would have thought you would be proud of yourself as a woman!" Clark countered with a small grin.
"Hence my smirk."
"Diana!"
The Commander of the Amaterasu smiled as the little Sekirei ran up and jumped into her arms. Without a doubt little Kusano was the joy of the castle and one of things she most missed whilst she filled out her tour on Earth's first inter-galactic vessel.
"And how are you my Louloudi?" She asked using the nickname she had given the little girl, 'flower' in Greek.
"I am very well, thank you. How are you?"
"I am very well as well. You have such lovely manners. Where did you learn them?" She smiled in amusement.
"Aunty Amara taught me. She said I could be a Queen when I was older and that a Queen should always have good manners."
"And until you are Queen, what are you?" Harry asked as he watched the pair.
"A little princess." Ku beamed. She looked to Diana with hope and curiosity. "Does that mean you are my big sister too?"
"Of course Louloudi. You have many big sisters now. You have all your sister wives with Clark, all my sisters on Themiscyra and of course you have my sister wives with Harry." She finished with a kiss on the girl's cheek.
Kusano smiled contentedly as she snuggled into Diana's chest.
"I assume you wanted me because of what's down there?" Harry asked as he indicated the big red planet of Mars out the cockpit window.
"Yes, we have no idea what is there but the team is both excited and confused." Diana shrugged. She herself had no training on what was speculated about the universe beyond Earth's atmosphere, she was simply there to lead and represent Themiscyra.
"Life." Harry said simply. "There are souls down there, plenty of souls." Harry said as he turned to look out the window.
"You can tell that from here?" She asked with slight awe.
"Diana, when I walk through cities I can see every soul in every building. I have just learnt to ignore it these days. It's a bit like if Clark had to walk around with his x-ray vision active all the time."
"Do we make contact?" Diana asked.
"No, there are a lot of dark souls. I don't want them disturbed yet. It's like a hive of bees down there, if we mess with them we might put Earth in a lot of danger."
"So we leave them be?"
"For now. Drop a satellite to monitor the planet but don't put anything on the surface. Passive scans only, your scientists will understand." He added at her confused look. "We might consider this a first opportunity for the governments of Earth to work together."
"How will you convince them that they are dangerous?"
"I won't, I'll just have to convince them to assume the worst and hope for the best."
The trip to LuthorCorp for the economics class had finally arrived. Clark, Chloe, Lana, Kyla and the triplets were not happy and they made that very clear through non-participation.
And overly loud comments.
"Is this the level where they do the human experiments?" Chloe asked innocently as they headed to the elevator. They were currently on the 39th floor and exceptionally bored. Clark had spent most of the time engaged in cooperate espionage as he looked through walls and safes.
The triplets had pulled the access codes and passwords from every one from the janitors to Lionel himself.
"Chloe, don't be obtuse." Phoebe admonished before Miss Alice, their teacher, or Lionel could respond.
"LuthorCorp is an 'evil' corporation, not a 'dumb' one." Mindee lectured.
"They probably do the human experiments in a secret base somewhere." Celeste said airily.
"Look, I've just about had it with your group Kent." Miss Alice hissed as she watched Lionel stalk off angrily. "Either you keep your friends in line or I will have your place on the football team revoked."
"That honestly wouldn't bother me." Clark shrugged. "In fact, I would like to see you try."
"Don't delude yourself woman." Phoebe snapped as she stepped into the woman's personal space.
"None of us want to be in this place of evil." Celeste said as she stepped up next to her sister.
"Now get on the damned elevator so we can go home and shower." Mindee finished as she stepped up to Phoebe's other side.
When faced with the ire of the Stepford Cuckoos, no one, not man, woman, alien or animal could stare them down.
Even Logan and Emma quailed at the sight. Harry was an unknown as he was smart enough not to draw their attention.
Miss Alice gulped. "Everyone on the elevator." She squeaked as she backed away, her courage mounted slightly but she didn't turn her back. "We've wasted enough of Mr. Luthor's valuable time."
Eventually she turned her back and quickened her pace to the elevators. The triplets turned back to their friends with a very smug grin.
"Come on, let's hurry before we miss the ride." Lana said with fond exasperation.
Clark, ever the gentleman, waited until everyone was on board before trying to enter the elevator himself. Unfortunately there were a few LuthorCorp employees already taking up room and he and Alicia Baker, another student, were left stranded.
"Wait for the next one Kent. Or you could always walk." Miss Alice smirked triumphantly as the doors closed.
She never saw the death glares from the girls behind her.
"Come on Alicia. At least we won't have to worry about claustrophobia." He said with a reassuring smile as he hit the button for the other elevator.
"You don't think she'll leave us here, do you?"
Clark laughed. "She didn't drive the bus and the guy who did drive us won't leave until he has accounted for all of us."
Alicia was clearly relieved as they stepped onto the newly arrived empty elevator.
They travelled a total of two floors before Clark's luck kicked in. There was a horrible grinding noise before the elevator began to plummet to the ground.
Clark quickly zapped the security camera with his heat vision before allowing himself to float to the ceiling where he braced himself and began slowing the decent of the elevator. They soon slowed to a more respectable speed but still faster than what they should be travelling at.
They hit the ground with a loud bang as Clark had no idea what floor they were one when the power had cut to the elevator. The only light was coming from emergency backups.
"How about we don't mention this to anyone?" Clark asked.
He was fairly surprised when Alicia grabbed him in a hug and they vanished.
The students of Smallville High practically stampeded out of the elevator having felt the neighbouring vehicle cause massive vibrations that made them think they were the ones in trouble.
"Is that boy alright?" Kyla asked the Cuckoos tightly.
"He's fine." Mindee assured her. "Apparently Alicia is a teleporter, he stopped the elevator from crashing and she took them back up to the 39th floor."
"You might want to ask Laura to come in and wipe the cameras, I know there was one in our elevator." Chloe warned.
"On it." Celeste chirped.
"Wouldn't Alicia want Clark to keep her ability a secret?" Lana asked.
"We're family to Clark." Kyla shrugged. "He knows we will keep secret what he tells us in confidence."
Chloe started laughing loudly.
Considering there was a fairly banged up elevator nearby that could have killed a lot of people… it probably wasn't the best reaction in the world.
Chloe stopped abruptly as she noticed the entire lobby staring at her. "Damn you Kyla!" She hissed.
"Me? You're the one who started laughing." Kyla said defensively.
"This is almost as bad as when Lex got us all in trouble!" Chloe whined.
"I didn't do anything!" Kyla complained.
"You said Clark trusts us!"
"He does! Usually that's a good thing, not a funny thing."
"Unfortunately you don't realise how bad Clark was before you met him." Lana smirked. She was enjoying the scene between the two girls. "Clark spent his whole life before Harry arrived trying to hide the truth about himself. Chloe found it amusing that you think it is natural for Clark to be so trusting."
"And you don't?" Chloe challenged.
"Of course I do, I just have better control." She said with a teasing wink.
"Joyce! You wanna explain why Kent and Baker are being forced to walk down 39 flights of steps on their own?"
The class turned to see the bus driver storming in. The bus driver being Xander. A very unhappy Xander.
"There wasn't enough room on the elevator and I'll thank you to watch your tone!" She couldn't believe a school bus driver was disrespecting her.
"Sorry, I'm already watching my language so I can't focus on my tone." He snarked. "You do not abandon students, especially when they are under your care in foreign territory."
"LuthorCorp is hardly foreign territory."
"It is not the school and that is foreign enough. Now you will climb the stairs and meet them whilst I take these students out to the bus. Kent tells me the elevators have been shut down."
"I do not take orders from bus drivers! If you are that worried you can go and meet them! I am not traversing 39 flights for that disrespectful boy."
"Joyce Alice, you are fired."
"You don't have the authority."
"Call the Principal, try me." Xander dared. He then pulled out his own cell phone and dialled a number. "Yeah, is this Captain Sawyer?"
"…"
"My names Xander Harris, I work for Doctor Potter at his school. Do you have a cop in the area that could help me babysit a few kids for a couple of minutes? I've got two students stuck up on the 39th floor of LuthorCorp and I can't leave the rest of them alone."
"…"
"Trust me, we wouldn't be anywhere near this place if the State hadn't forced us."
"…"
"Cool, I really appreciate this. See you in a few."
He turned and addressed the class. "Gang, in a few minutes Captain Sawyer of the MPD will be here to keep an eye on you whilst I deal with Kent and Baker. Unfortunately, 39 flights of stairs will take a while so you might as well go wait in the cafeteria over there."
Clark and Alicia had made it to the 25th floor by the time Xander was able to reach them.
"Let's take a break for a minute." Xander panted.
"It can't be that hard, Alicia isn't even sweating." Clark grinned.
"If she had to climb twenty-five flights she'd be begging for oxygen." Xander glared at him.
Clark hadn't allowed Alicia to discuss what had happened during their descent. There were plenty of LuthorCorp employees who now had to use the stairs and they couldn't ensure there weren't microphones around.
"Who are you… sir?" Alicia asked hesitantly.
Xander smiled widely. "Xander Harris, school security and your bus driver for the day. I called Captain Sawyer and she's downstairs watching the class for me whilst I collect you two." He explained as they resumed their descent.
"Any news on what happened to the elevators?" Clark asked.
"Apparently the cables snapped and the emergency brakes failed." Xander said in disgust. He then went back to grinning. "Loki and Amara are working on a lawsuit now for endangering the kids."
"Wasn't it an accident?" Alicia asked.
"If only the brakes or the cable failed then yes. But for both to fail is more than a coincidence. It reeks of negligence at best, the elevators are meant to be inspected regularly and the flaws would have been picked up in one of them."
"Oh." She said weakly.
"Come on kids, twenty-three flights left."
By the time they reached the lobby Neville had arrived by helicopter thanks to Logan dropping him off. This was good as both Xander and Alicia were exhausted. Alicia was falling asleep on Clark's shoulder during the ride home and they eventually cleared the back seat of the bus to lay her down whilst the triplets looked after her.
Xander quickly recovered but he still spent most of the trip glaring at Clark for his super stamina whilst Neville drove them home.
Miss Alice was suspended immediately from the school.
It had been a long day for Clark and the girls. He had just finished his patrol of Metropolis and returned to the castle where he disrobed. He quietly floated above the bed and then landed in the middle where the Sekirei, Aphrodite and Kyla usually left open for him.
It always intrigued and amused him when he saw how the girls grouped off. Aphrodite, Yume and Musubi were often snuggled together whilst Matsu, Kazehana and Tsukiumi cuddled. Kyla and Homura where usually left. Homura still wasn't ready for relations but she felt the impulse to be near her Ashikabi, much like Aphrodite who didn't engage in physical relations but enjoyed sleeping in their bed.
He was looking forward to sleep himself.
Just as he was dosing off he felt a feminine form land on him.
"Not now Matsu, it's late. We can play in the morning."
"That is not Matsu, husband." Came the ice-cold tones of Tsukiumi.
Clark opened his eyes to see all his Sekirei, Aphrodite and Kyla standing in defensive positions and glaring at the figure on top of him.
"Alicia?!"
"Erm… hi?" She said nervously as she eyed the water-sword that Tsukiumi had at her neck.
"Could you get off me and Kyla, can you give everyone some clothes?" Clark requested.
Alicia was currently the only person in the room wearing clothes.
"Matsu, hit the emergency rune." Aphrodite instructed the red head.
The emergency rune was exactly that, a rune to be used in emergencies. It turned every light on and threw up wards that would stop the gods. It would even give Harry pause.
Most importantly, it alerted the rest of the castle to what was going on.
"Really Clark? You have so many girls already, you had to get another one?" Emma asked dryly as the others appeared at the door.
"Yeah, some of us don't even have one girl!" Xander griped.
"He's probably just trying to out do Harry." Dani smirked.
"A little focus, please?" Clark grumbled. "Alicia just teleported into my room and molested me."
"Molested!?" Came the indignant response of Alicia.
"What would you call appearing in a boys room without an invitation and groping him?" Kyla asked.
"Especially when you know he has a girlfriend." Helen said with a glare. "It wouldn't be so bad if he was available but you just tried to make him cheat."
"She's just a normal human, Clark is special, like me!" Alicia said firmly as she looked down her nose at Kyla.
"And what of the woman holding a sword of water at your neck?" Miya asked calmly. "How normal is she?"
Alicia gulped as Tsukiumi, who was still fairly angry, pushed the point a little harder.
"I didn't know about her." Alicia admitted.
Clark's head tilted to the side as he listened. "Look, I have to go. Can I leave you to sort this out?" He asked the group.
"Go on kid, we've got this." Logan nodded.
Clark quickly made his way to the door.
"Clark… wait!" Alicia called worriedly.
But Clark didn't wait. People needed him and he had to leave.
"Clark can't help you now." Kyla scowled. "How are we doing this? Calling the Sheriff or what?" She asked the others.
"Souls a little wonky, but nothing that can't be reversed." Harry shrugged. "We'll put her in the dungeon for the night and then deal with her in the morning."
Alicia's eyes widened in terror at the mention of a dungeon. She vanished in a cloud of green vapour.
"I've got her." Logan grunted as he teleported after her.
"Was that a cloud of kryptonite? How does that not affect Clark?" Tess asked. "If she can emit that much Kryptonite than wouldn't her mere presence hurt him?"
"It looks almost as bad as Earl did." Lana frowned. "Clark couldn't get near him."
"Knocked the girl out and put her in a cell." Logan announced as he returned. "Are we staying up or calling it a night?"
"I'm a little wound up now." Xander said as he rolled his shoulders. "I think I'll go and help Clark with what ever he was dealing with."
"Earthquake in Japan." The Three-In-One said in unison as they sifted through the thoughts of the town and nearby city. "8.5, lot's of damage and people in danger and hurt."
"Everybody suit up." Scott ordered.
"I'll get Chloe and meet you there." Tess offered.
Everyone was on call to help out in Tokyo, all Sekirei were recalled and issued orders, or at least the ones they had tracked down. Superman was frantically zipping around and moving people out of the way of falling debris and checking for trapped survivors.
Much of central Tokyo's modern buildings where earthquake proof, MBI tower had no damage whatsoever as Neville and Kusano's tree seemed to absorb the vibrations.
Superman was especially angry when he came to the hospital he acquired from Higa. The place was a mess, he had ordered a wing to be opened for children who couldn't afford medical care but the hospital itself appeared to have been shoddily built.
The building was barely standing and Superman could see the dead bodies and struggling, barely living survivors trapped beneath the rubble. He knew he couldn't do this alone.
But then he felt something.
He didn't know how he could feel them but he could.
"Listen to me, I am the Apprentice of Death. I speak for Death and I promise you he can bring you back, stay close to me and he will come and resurrect you and bring you back to life. I promise you!" Superman shouted loudly in Japanese.
He slammed his palm against his watch and hoped Harry wasn't busy… or sleeping.
Superman felt immense relief when he sensed the souls moving closer to him. Most of them were quite young.
"Whoa! This is new." Harry laughed in surprise as he took in the sight of Superman standing on the ruins of the hospital with the souls of little children standing as close to him as they could.
"Please help them, Master." Superman pleaded, considering what he had just promised. He wasn't doing this between Clark Kent and Harry Potter, student and teacher. This was the Apprentice of Death begging his Master.
"Of course I'll help them." Harry smiled. Harry glanced around to look for witnesses, unfortunately the place was teeming with them and quite a few were looking at the crazy Superman talking to nothing about resurrection and the famous Doctor Harry Potter who appeared out of nowhere.
"Looks like the cat's out of the bag now." Harry mused with a shrug. "Oh well, nothing to do but go with the flow." Harry closed his eyes and focused. He raised his hands and the rescue workers watched in awe as the demolished hospital was rebuilt by nothing.
When it was finished Harry smiled and let out a breath. "There, all your bodies are well and healthy. Go and wait by them and I'll be in shortly to put you back." He said kindly to the young souls. "You lot too." He added as he looked to the older patients and staff who had been killed.
"Before you go Superman, can you see the souls?" Harry asked.
"No, but… I could feel them. Any idea why?"
Harry just shrugged. "Never had an Apprentice before." He then marched off into the hospital to begin putting people back in their bodies.
Superman sighed in frustration. He knew he wasn't going to get a better answer than that because there probably wasn't one, but he wished Harry would show a little concern at times.
"YOU" *SMACK* "DO NOT" *SMACK* "HIT" *SMACK* "WOMEN!"
Lana winced as she watched Tsukiumi smack the would-be rapist around the face as she screeched at him. She wasn't going to stop her and the violence didn't bother her… but Tsukiumi could be quite… loud.
"Tsukiumi!" Yume said loudly, attracting the blonde's attention. "You're scaring the girl." She indicated the teenager they had rescued.
"I don't think she's scaring her, but she's definitely not helping." Lana commented.
"Well why haven't you taken her to the hospital?" Tsukiumi demanded impatiently as she casually held the man by the neck.
"I need to be able to tell the police some details about her attacker, if you keep up your attack then I won't be able to describe his face." She retorted. "Look, just hand him over and let me deal with them. I'll drop them off and rejoin you in a few minutes."
"He deserves more!"
"Tsukiumi!" Yume snapped. "Hand him over. There might others who need protecting."
"Fine." She sulked before turning to snarl at the man hanging limply from her hand. "Pray we do not meet again!"
"Yes ma'am!" The man squeaked.
"Now you boys wouldn't be thinking of doing something… illegal now, would you?"
The six men trying to break into an electronics store in broad daylight quickly spun around at the sound of the sultry voice.
Standing there were three drop-dead gorgeous women. Also known as Kazehana, Kyla and Musubi. Kazehana being the speaker.
"I don't see any law around here." One of the men stated with a lascivious smirk. "Course, we could always find another way to amuse ourselves."
"Have you ever heard a decent pick-up line?" Kyla asked Kazehana, unimpressed, completely ignoring the men.
"There are plenty of decent pick-up lines, Kyla. Just very few decent men to use them." She said with a slight smirk.
"Baby, we don't need pick-up lines. How about we just show you how good we ar-" *THWACK*
The three women stared in shock at the one man who had given the speaker of the group a right cross.
"Aren't we supposed to beat them up?" Musubi asked in confusion.
"My apologies." The man said with a low bow. "Whilst I am willing to commit certain crimes, there are lines that no one should cross."
"An interesting place to draw the line." Kazehana said with a raised eyebrow. "What does the line consist of?"
"No physical harm to others. And don't do anything you don't need to do." The man said seriously.
"Why do you need to rob an electronics store?" Kyla demanded.
"Because I can get more money for a TV to pay for food for my family."
"You don't have a job?"
"Between the Yakuza and MBI black balling me, I can't even beg on the streets." The man snorted. The others were nodding behind him.
"Was this when Minaka Hiroto was in charge?" Kyla asked.
"Yes, the bastard." The man spat.
"Go back to MBI and plead your case. The new management is still working on fixing the crimes of the old." Kyla instructed. "They might be able to help you."
"All corporate bastards are the same!" A man in the back shouted.
"Hey! Y-"
Musubi was halted by a hand from Kazehana. "We gave you the option. Take that one to the police." She indicated the crumpled man on the floor. "Tell them what he was going to do. Tell them the Disciplinary Squad sent you. If you choose to go to MBI you may benefit, if you don't… then you have no one to blame but yourselves.
"Come ladies."
"But aren't we going to hit them?" Musubi whined plaintively as they walked away from the bewildered group.
"Maybe you can hit the next ones." Kyla laughed as she followed Kazehana up onto the rooftops.
"He got to hit some one." Musubi pouted as she followed them.
"You made a mistake coming here Gaijin." The man in a suit said with a sadistic smile. He was surrounded by other men with everything from brass knuckles to the latest in sub-machine guns.
Xander had been working with Akitsu and X-23 to help the shopkeepers in one of the poorer areas of the city when they were confronted by what was clearly the local chapter of the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia.
"This is going to be so much fun!" Xander said as he hopped from foot to foot like an excited child.
"You realise that if you don't call Wolverine in he'll never let us hear the end of it?" Laura pointed out.
"Fine, call him in." He grumbled. "Hey, you! Soon-To-Be-Dead guy. You might want to call in some backup, there aren't enough of you at the moment to go around." Xander called to the leader.
"You think this is a joke, Gaijin?" The man spat. "You will suf-"
"Yes, yes, we suffer the wrath of the mighty Yakuza and all will see us and learn from our mistakes." Xander rolled his eyes. "Stop wasting time and call in more people!"
To emphasise his point he pulled out his lightsabre and ignited it.
The Yakuza paled.
Loki and Amara were working with Takami to coordinate the incoming emergency supplies from North Korea. There had been a little bit of a pissing contest with the Chief of Police but that was quickly sorted by a phone call from the Prime Minister. Airplanes were soon landing and rolling out pallets of blankets, clean water and long life food.
The military had been mobilised to begin distribution, Manuel and Jamie supplemented their numbers, much to the confusion and fear of the Japanese… again, another phone call sorted out any problems.
"Ladies! How can I help?"
"Flash, what are you doing here?" Loki asked.
"People are hurt and need help. What's the point of being a hero if I don't step up?" The Flash shrugged.
"Go to Jonathan and Martha. They are working the remote areas of the city and the farms, help them find the injured." Amara instructed.
"Yes ma'am!" He saluted before he vanished in a blur.
"WHO'S IDEA WAS IT TO ASK THEM TO BRING REINFORCEMENTS?" X-23 screamed at her partners in the fight as they hid behind conjured metal walls.
It was bad enough the Yakuza had pulled out another thirty men, but they were all sporting assault rifles, two light machine guns and some jackass with an RPG. They couldn't raise their heads without being shot at.
"GRAND FATHER!" Akitsu shouted back helpfully.
"IT WAS A RHETORICAL QUESTION SWEETIE." Xander hollered over the sound of gunfire.
"Why the hell are you all shouting?" Wolverine asked mentally as he hauled his badly shot up carcass behind Laura's shield.
"Because Xander's stupidity is catching." X-23 said with a snide look to her father-in-law.
"Didn't you and Harry take out groups larger than this on your own?" Wolverine asked.
"Yes, but Harry isn't here. I can do something though. Give me some covering fire as a distraction."
"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!"
"Calm down!" Jonathan scowled at the frantically hopping Flash. "Its just manure. Didn't you land in a sewer once?"
The Flash suddenly stopped his hopping and pointed a threatening finger at the farmer. "We are never to speak of that!"
"It was in the newspaper."
"Never. To. Speak. Of. It."
Jonathan sighed. It was almost as bad as dealing with Harry and Xander.
Xander had managed to employ tactics used previously by himself and Harry to take out some of the bigger guns. He had walked under the ground and come up behind them and neutralised them. They couldn't phase and be invisible as the Yakuza would simply open fire on where the threat seemed to come from which meant they were stuck like that.
Now they had an additional problem.
Super Sumo Man.
At least that's what Xander was calling him.
The man was twice as big as any regular sumo wrestler and appeared to be impervious to magic and physical trauma, every time Xander, Wolverine or X-23 got close he would either backhand them away or pile-drive them into the ground. Xander was forced to stay back with Akitsu.
It didn't help that they were still firing bullets at them.
"We may be in over our heads here." Xander grimaced from behind another set of conjured walls.
"I can't believe you haven't dealt with this yet." Superman scowled as he floated down.
"Hey, we were just about to call you." X-23 smiled.
"We were?" Wolverine muttered a bit insulted.
"Face it, Wolverine, we are clearly out classed." Xander pressed.
"They can't be that tough to deal with." Superman insisted.
"They had RPGs and now they have that Super Sumo!" Xander said defensively.
Superman sighed and turned to Akitsu. "Can you freeze the ground beneath them? Make it very slippery?"
"Water would make it easier." She admitted.
"One of you call in Tsukiumi or start conjuring water over them." Superman instructed.
"I'll do it." Xander grumbled. "Considering our competence is being questioned, no need to add more fuel to the fire." He began shooting a jet of water up into the air in an arc.
"You two, go behind them and conjure a wall, preferably metal but make sure it is very strong." He instructed Wolverine and X-23.
"Come on Dad." X-23 smiled, she was proud of Superman taking charge.
"Don't call me that!" Wolverine whined as X-23 grabbed him and they vanished.
"Can we really stop them Uncle?" Akitsu asked quietly.
Superman smiled at her softly. As Harry considered him his little brother that meant he held respect in the eyes of Sekirei like Akitsu who considered Harry a father. Even Mutsu called him Uncle.
"I think they were just a little shocked at the tactics they were being assaulted with. I observed what was happening for a moment before I joined you here. My plan should work, but we have plenty of alternatives if necessary." He assured her.
"Alright, the bad guys are soaked and so is the ground." Xander announced. "Do your thing sweetie."
Akitsu nodded and stood up fully trusting Superman to protect her from the bullets. She began freezing the floor at her feet, watching as it thickened and spread to the ground beneath the gunmen and Super Sumo.
Wolverine and X-23 had their wall in place and Xander tapped her shoulder so she knew to stop.
Once Superman was sure Akitsu was safe with Xander he planted his feet facing the Yakuza and inhaled deeply before literally blowing the gangsters off their feet.
Except Super Sumo.
The man was just standing there grinning. "Time to find out who is stronger Gaijin." The obese man grinned evilly.
Superman produced his hammer, he had no intention of causing lot's of property damage by engaging the man, there was plenty enough with the earthquake and bullet damage.
Superman summoned the full might of his divine powers as the clouds turned pitch black and the air turned electric. Every electronic device in the area that was still active was instantly fried as the ambient air crackled.
Superman man held out his left hand to his side as his right held his hammer high. "Akitsu, come to me quickly."
The woman leapt into the hovering hero's arms.
Xander, Wolverine and X-23 all had one thought going through their minds as they realised what was about to happen. They couldn't teleport, phase or fly as the electricity was interfering with their magic.
"Ah shit." They all muttered just before a lightning bolt the diameter of a redwood tree struck the Super Sumo lighting up his skeletal system and branching out to the other downed Yakuza.
Superman held his concentrated bolt for ten seconds before he released it and the Super Sumo fell to the floor… unconscious.
"I think you killed Grandfather." Akitsu said calmly from Superman's arms.
Superman winced as he saw Xander's body nearby. "Oops."
He lowered them to the ground carefully. "You better be sticking around Xander. I'll get Harry here." He ordered to where he could feel Xander's soul.
"Why didn't you just teleport out?" Clark asked as they were all resting in the castle living room that afternoon. School was a bust for the day but Terrence was on the ball and substitute teachers were arranged for the missing X-Men.
"You saturated the area with electricity Clark." Laura said exasperatedly. "We had no choice but to stand there and take it."
"Oh right, electricity and magic don't get along." Clark said with a red face. "I'll try and give you a warning next time."
"Generous." Logan grunted sarcastically.
"You're a menace Clark." Phoebe scowled from where she was seated behind Akitsu who was sitting on the floor in front of Celeste who was trying to fix her hair.
"Laura's abilities meant her hair fixed itself. " Mindee said snappishly.
"Poor Akitsu is going to need so much conditioning!" Celeste moaned as she struggled with the static mess.
Clark just rolled his eyes before looking up at the ceiling. "Aphrodite, if you have a moment we could use your special touch."
"I'm sorry Clark, but there is absolutely nothing I can do for that mess." She said as she gazed at Harry's hair. "Logan on the other hand…" She trailed off with a smirk.
"Nothing doin' lady." Logan said worriedly.
"Can you help Akitsu, I… frizzed her hair accidentally."
"Come on ladies, let's have the afternoon to ourselves." Aphrodite smiled. There were cheers as the female contingent in the room filed out.
"I think I might just love your girlfriend Clark." Xander said with fake tears.
"She is the Goddess of Love." Clark shrugged.
"Come on, we might as well go and deal with Miss Baker." Harry sighed as he levered himself off the sofa.
"Vision? I thought Bruce was handling warden duty whilst we were out." Scott said as they entered the dungeon.
"He requested I take over when he realised he was about to kill Coach Arnold." The Vision stated calmly. "Naturally I agreed."
"Still don't know why the bastard is living." Logan growled. "You said yourself his soul is bad." He glared at Harry.
"Take it up with Mr. Righteous over there." He jabbed a finger back at Jonathan who blanched at the looks Logan and Vision were giving him.
"Mr. Kent, you are aware that Harry Potter only grants your request because he wishes it?" The Vision asked curiously. "If he chose to eradicate the being known as Walt Arnold, no one could stop him."
"What if he can be rehabilitated?" Jonathan argued weakly.
"History has shown that Harry knows when a person can be rehabilitated. It has been proven many times. Often to the detriment of innocent people."
"John-Boy, the only difference between keeping the bastard locked up and having Harry destroy him is that you are making him suffer imprisonment." Logan explained gruffly. "Harry does his thing and Arnold won't feel anything ever again… and neither will anyone else because of him."
"I'll feel something." Jonathan said quietly.
"Dad, I must of killed fifty people today. It wasn't quick, it wasn't painless." Clark said seriously. "But I will get over it because I know that they were evil people and that by killing them I have not only avenged their victims but I have saved their future victims.
"That cell could be used by someone deserving and capable of rehabilitation."
"I find it intriguing that Harry has acquiesced to your demands." The Vision said thoughtfully. "Why is this Harry?"
"Because Jonathan is a good man." Harry said seriously. "There might come a time in the future where he needs to step out of his comfort zone for the good of others. Hard decisions might need to be made and this is a hard decision. Walt Arnold dies on Jonathan's word or of old age."
"I don't think I'm capable of ordering a man's death." Jonathan said, unconsciously taking a step back.
"Not now you aren't." Clark said with a soft smile. "But a year ago I wasn't ready to kill either. I guess there is a reason Time is an Aspect."
"Why don't you stay on Earth so much, Aphrodite?" Yume asked as the girls sat in large hot tub relaxing.
"I have duties to attend to. Just like you do. But my duties are more easily performed from Mount Olympus, from there I can view the mortal realm more easily and be more effective."
"Are we going to have more problems with Alicia Baker and women like her?" Kyla asked.
"Possibly. Alicia is damaged, as Harry and Clark are finding out right now her parents treated her fairly badly and she is a product of that treatment. Fortunately she can overcome that period of her life if she is strong enough."
"So a spray bottle and rolled up newspaper won't cut it?" Kyla pouted.
"I wouldn't say that." Aphrodite smirked. "She needs to learn about boundaries and she needs to learn that her powers are not a loophole through the laws."
"Harry isn't going to… go biblical on her is he?" Chloe asked with a small amount of trepidation.
Lorna laughed. "Harry is not as bad as you seem to think he is. He's been doing this sort of thing longer than any of us. He's been doing is since he was younger than Chiho." She indicated the fourteen-year-old Ashikabi who was snuggled against Uzume.
"What will he do?" Homura asked curiously.
"That depends on her history and motives. You can't apply cookie cutter solutions to humans."
"Seems like Miss Baker was telling the truth." Sheriff Adams scowled as she looked around the lead painted room in the basement of the Baker's home.
Alicia had told the men her story, she didn't really see any reason not to as she had very little empathy. The reason why was made clear.
She told them she gained her abilities when she was caught in the meteor storm. Her parents then locked her in a room lined with lead and wouldn't let her out even though she begged them.
Scott had immediately called the Sheriff and Alicia was moved out of the dungeon and into a room in the castle. She was still under the watchful eyes of Xander and Logan.
"You care to explain why you locked a toddler in a room like this for most of her life?" Scott demanded of the Bakers.
"We didn't know what to do!" The father said fearfully. "She could vanish and reappear anywhere! What would you do?" He challenged.
"Teach her. Talk to her. Treat her like my daughter. Need I go on?" Harry asked calmly.
Alicia Baker was officially in the custody Lorna and her school. But first they decided it was time to enlighten the Sheriff about the truth of the town.
"I'm a busy woman Doctor Potter." Adams snapped in her no nonsense manner. "What did you want me here for?"
"You must have noticed the unusually incidents that occur in this town by now? The impossible seems to occur all to frequently."
"I've noticed a few things, including the fact that this town is the focal point for a lot Supers. Green Lantern, Superman, The Flash… any more you care to add?"
"Lots." Harry nodded. "But they aren't the reason I called you here. You know about the Meteor Storm over a decade ago, you obviously know about the Kryptonite and it's dangerous properties. What isn't widely known is that Kryptonite has a mutating effect on humans. No overt physical changes for the most part, but they develop… abilities."
"Like powers? That would explain a lot." She nodded.
"Yes, they are responsible for a lot of the more unusual crimes… and unfortunately… the murders."
"All of the infected are capable of this?"
"No, not all. But, as the saying goes, power corrupts."
"So this is a school for these people, these infected. You wouldn't be showing me this if you were doing something illegal." She said at Harry's raised eyebrow.
"The school is legal. It is a safe house where we teach the kids control so that they can live amongst the rest of the population but also we teach them how to benefit from their abilities on a day-to-day basis."
"And which part is going to make me arrest you?" She asked shrewdly.
"The dungeons."
The Sheriff's hand immediately went to her gun as the scenery changed to the stone affair of the dungeons.
"What the blue blazes just happened Potter?" She hissed.
Harry smiled. "You didn't think the students were the only ones with powers and abilities, did you?"
The Sheriff needed a day or two off after all the revelations about magic, meteor-infected and… Death. She was never more embarrassed when Clark confessed he was Superman though. She couldn't look him in the eye after that.
Alicia was under guard whilst out of the castle for the time being. She wasn't forbidden from teleporting, just from teleporting in front of others. She was also given a very stern warning about Clark and that he was taken and that any new girlfriends had to be approved by the current ones.
She already had one strike against her because she knew he was with Kyla and still made a move. The main warnings had come from two very irate blondes.
"What makest thou think thou can just come in and steal my husband?" Tsukiumi demanded of the teenage girl as they confronted her in entrance hall of the castle.
"H- H- Husband?!" Alicia stammered.
"He has claimed me as his own and I share his hearth and home. I lay in his bed with his other wives."
"Other wives!"
"Maybe not by your primitive mortal standards, but my mother, Hera recognises them as married. The only reason I am not included is because we have yet to consummate our love. Though I do share his bed at times." Aphrodite said haughtily.
"Wait! If he has more than one girlfriend and wife, why are you upset with me?" Alicia asked heatedly.
"Because, little girl, you didn't know this when you attempted to have an affair with my husband!" Tsukiumi growled in her face.
"You are a home-wrecker, Miss Baker. Change your ways and we may let Clark look at you. Otherwise I will curse you to never find love." Aphrodite threatened.
"Shouldn't Clark have a say in this?"
"Clark already has had his say. As far as he is concerned he won't even look at another person without our approval."
"I think she's gotten the point, ladies." Alicia was startled as she hadn't even noticed Kyla standing slightly behind the two blondes. "You've laid out the rules and told her what she did wrong. If she wants Clark to notice her she will just have to make sure she remembers this conversation."
Both women nodded.
"Very well, but I will carry out my promise if she continues her cheating ways." Aphrodite warned.
"Of course Goddess." Kyla said with a bow.
