The Last Son, Book Two: Reckonings

by The Writer with No Name

AU Season 2. Crossover with Superman. In his second year at the Institute, the young Man of Steel must deal with new friends, new foes, and growing public curiosity. Rated T for now. Author's Note inside.

26. The First Hurrah

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: THE FIRST HURRAH

Daily Bugle, New York, May 28, 2008

The sun was just starting to set as Clark, in his work-clothes, finished up his paperwork at his desk, on his last day at the Bugle.

His university classes were finished, his research paper submitted, and today, his internship was completed. With his work done, Clark started to gather up his things; it was time to go.

"All done?" Peter asked, as he walked by.

"Yep." Clark replied. "You know, I think I'm going to miss this place, a bit."

Peter chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure you'll miss JJ's bellows, every day!" he joked. "Seriously, though, what's next?"

"Well, I've still got another couple of years left in my program." Clark answered. "After that, I guess I'll be looking for a job with any newspaper."

Peter nodded. "Well, Clark, it's been great having you here." he said.

Clark grinned. "Hey, I'll still be around!"

Peter chuckled. "True enough!" he agreed. "In that case, I'll see you out there!"

Clark nodded. "See you out there!" he replied. "Well, I guess I'd better let Mr. Jameson know I'm all done."

"Good luck with that." Peter quipped. Chuckling, Clark headed to Mr. Jameson's office, to let his now-former employer know that he was all done.

As Clark walked in, he was that Mr. Jameson's back was to him, as he was looking at something. "Mr. Jameson?"

"Huh? Oh, it's you, Kent." Mr. Jameson replied, quickly putting the object away. "What is it?"

"I just...wanted to tell you that...I'm all done, sir." Clark replied.

"Oh." JJ said. "Well...that's good, I suppose."

Clark arched an eyebrow. "Sir, is...everything okay?" he asked. "What were you looking at?"

Mr. Jameson sighed, and took the object out; it was a framed photograph, one of a younger Mr. Jameson, next to a lovely young lady. "My wife." he said softly. "Today would have been our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary."

Clark froze. "What happened?" he asked.

Mr. Jameson looked terribly haunted. "I had been working with another paper for a few years; I was still fairly new to reporting." he whispered. "I was working on an expose of a big-time crime-lord; he was more-or-less like what the Kingpin is, today. One day, I got a call from what must have been one of his goons, telling me to kill the story." He lowered his gaze. "I was still a hot-head; told him I wasn't going to be intimidated."

"As I was heading home, a black car drove by just as I was heading inside, and a guy with a machine-gun – a guy in a mask – leaned out the window...and opened fire." Mr. Jameson continued. His voice dropped to a whisper. "I still don't know how I wasn't hit...but I wish I had been."

"She died, didn't she?" Clark asked softly.

JJ nodded. "He'd been trying to get me, but he hit Meg – my wife."

Clark nodded. "That's why you hate Spider-Man, isn't it?"

Mr. Jameson blinked...and then nodded in agreement. "I suppose my beef with him is on principle; I've got a special kind of hate for masked men who think they're above the law." he said.

"Mr. Jameson, I'm very sorry to hear about your wife, and I can understand why you feel the way you do," Clark said, "but I think you're wrong about Spider-Man."

JJ looked at him. "What?"

"I don't think Spider-Man sees himself as above the law." Clark continued. "I think he's just a regular person who was suddenly given abilities that other people don't have; I think he just tries to do more with those abilities than regular people, like you or I, can do. And I think that he wears that mask because, since he can do more, bad people – like the Kingpin – would try to stop him by hurting those he loves if they knew who he was." Then, he quickly added, "But that's just my opinion."

JJ blinked. "Is that so."

Clark nodded. "Sir, all I'm saying is that, in the future, maybe it would be a good idea to just try to see both sides of Spider-Man, rather than just the negative aspects." he said. "But it's just a thought."

Slowly, JJ nodded. "I'll...keep that in mind." he said. Lightly smiling, he added, "You're a good kid, Kent. Get yourself a backbone, and you'll make one hell of a reporter, someday!"

Clark suppressed a smile. "I'll...see what I can do about that, sir."

"So, Kent, now that you're done here, what do you plan to do?"

"Well, sir," Clark replied, "I hope to finish up my Journalism degree before anything else."

"Good to hear." JJ said. "Ever think about applying to the Bugle after you do that? We can always use another good reporter."

Clark blinked; he wasn't entirely sure he was hearing right. "Sir?"

"Kent, I was only a few years older than you are when I first got into reporting." Jonah said. Chuckling, he added, "Hell, I was probably even greener than you were, when you came here! Anyway, I had applied to work at the Daily Planet, owned and operated by Perry White; the man was a news legend – completely and utterly incorruptible! You could threaten to drop a nuclear bomb on him, and he wouldn't even think of killing a story! When I started reporting, Perry more or less took me under his wing, taught me the ropes, and before long, I was writing stories with the best of 'em! As the years went by, I rose up through the ranks, until Perry and I were co-owners of the Planet!" JJ chuckled. "My God, those were the golden years!"

Clark smiled. "He sounds like a great guy."

"Oh, Perry was one-of-a-kind, Kent; they don't make 'em like him, anymore!" JJ laughed. "Why, he kept going until well into his sixties! And, dear Lord, his Elvis Presley anecdotes were the stuff of legends!"

"So, what happened?" Clark asked.

Jonah's expression turned sad. "9/11 happened, basically." he said. "You see, Perry had a son, Richard, who became a real hotshot at the stock exchange. As much as Perry loved the Planet, he loved his boy twice as much; you couldn't have found a prouder father on Earth." His gaze lowered. "Richard was in the World Trade Center, that day."

Clark froze. "He died, didn't he?"

Jonah nodded. "Perry tried to put on a brave face, but we all could tell: losing his boy just killed him, inside." he replied. "Of course, he tried to keep going, to carry on, but a year or two later, his wife, Alice, succumbed to a stroke. A few months after that, Perry just...stopped; the doctors said he passed away in his sleep, real peacefully."

"After his funeral, Perry's will was read; turns out that, in the event that his son should go before him, he'd left the Planet to his partner – namely, me." Jonah finished. "After a few years running it, I decided to rename it as the Bugle...and the rest, I guess, is history."

Clark nodded. "I wish I could have met him." he said. He got up to go, but not before extending his hand to his former employer. "It's been an honor, sir."

Jonah smiled, and shook his hand. "Likewise, son." he replied. "And like I said, when you finish up, you give us a call, either here or in Metropolis."

Clark blinked. "Metropolis?" he repeated. Metropolis was New York City's unofficial "sister city," and was a close second-largest city in the States.

Jonah nodded. "I've been thinking of establishing a second office for the Bugle in Metropolis; that city's got just as many potential readers as New York, plus it's shaping up to be just as interesting a place as here, what with that 'Green Arrow' vigilante showing up, recently."

Clark nodded. "Well, I'll definitely think about it." he said. "Well, Mr. Jameson...I guess I'll see you around."

"See you around, Kent." Jonah replied. With that, Clark walked out of JJ's office.

As Clark walked back into the main work area, he saw that Robbie was standing next to his desk, talking to Peter. As he walked over, Robbie turned to him. "Peter tells me that you're finished, today." he said.

Clark smiled, and nodded. "I'm afraid so."

Robbie smiled. "Well, it's been great having you around, Clark." he said. "Best of luck to you."

"Thanks, Robbie." Clark replied. "And who knows? I might just be back, in a couple of years!"

Peter grinned. "Man, Clark, you're a lot braver than I am!" he quipped.

Clark chuckled. "Well, I guess it's like what my Ma always says: 'A glutton for punishment always gets his fill.'" he answered, earning a laugh from his two friends and former co-workers.

Suddenly, the phone at Clark's desk started to ring. "Why don't you get it, Clark?" Robbie suggested. "Until you leave, you're still on staff."

Walking to the phone, Clark picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Hey, Clark."

Clark smiled. "Hey, Lex." he said. "How've you been? I haven't heard from you in a while."

"Yeah, I've been busy; between company stuff and a personal project of mine, I've barely had a free moment." Lex replied. "Anyway, I was hoping to catch you before you left, today; I've been talking to Arty, lately; he mentioned the little bit of 'scuba-diving' you'd done, recently."

Clark chuckled. "Yeah, that was an...eventful day." he said. "So, what's Arty up to?"

"Oh, you know; same old same old." Lex answered. "Anyway, I'd just gotten the idea for all of the old gang to meet up, back at Smallville, tomorrow – say at our old hangout in your folks' barn attic; Arty was cool with it, and so were Wally, Vic, and Ollie; what do you say?"

Clark grinned. "Sounds great!" he replied. "Count me in!"

"Hey, that's great!" Lex said. "If you like, I could send a chopper for you."

"No thanks." Clark answered. "I think I can...arrange for my own transportation."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that."

Clark chuckled. "One thing, though; I have a feeling that, if Ali catches wind of this – and she probably will – she'll want to tag along."

"Well, if she wants to, she can come." Lex said. Chuckling, he added, "So, anxious to get back at the other guys for all the ribbing we gave you about her always following you?"

"You know me better than that, Lex."

"I know, I know; just goofing." Lex said. "Anyway, come for just before lunch, Smallville time, okay?"

"Got it. See you, then!" Clark said.

"See you!" Lex replied, before he hung up.

As Clark hung up, Peter asked, "Who was that?"

"That was Lex. He was just calling to tell me that some of my old pals from Smallville were meeting up, tomorrow, and he wanted to know if I could come." Clark answered.

"Sounds nice." Robbie said. "Well, Clark...I guess we'll see you, later!"

"Yeah, take care, Smallville!" Peter added, grinning.

"I will." Clark said. "I'll see you guys later!" With that, he picked up his knapsack, and headed out, to catch the bus back to the Institute.

Xavier Institute, May 29

By the time the early morning sun had risen over the Institute, the New Mutants had already suited up and were on their way to the Danger Room. "Boy, you'd think they'd cut us some slack, what with exams coming up." Iceman muttered.

"I hear you." Sunspot agreed.

"Hey, isn't today Mark's first real training session as a New Mutant?" Multiple asked.

All the other New Mutants went silent at that. It had been about a month since Mark – code-named "Android" – had joined the Institute. For much of that time, Mark had just been acclimatizing to life on Earth, and had just been doing basic training simulations; despite being a highly advanced alien mechanoid, he hadn't been designed for battle – his power-source wasn't strong enough to sustain his battle-mode for very long. But, recently, Mark had been finding a way around that problem...enough so that Clark and the instructors had decided to let him formally join the New Mutant team.

"Yeah...I'd forgotten about that." Iceman said softly.

Jubilee blinked. "What's the big deal?"

"He's creepy, Jubes." Berzerker said flatly.

"Ray!!" Magma exclaimed. "How can you say that?!"

"Jubilee, Mark was designed to infiltrate Earth, and spy on Clark and the rest of the planet, and report back to that 'Mark VI' thing." Berzerker continued. "Yeah, I agree, he's changed, but it's still creepy to think about what he was supposed to do."

Boom-Boom arched an eyebrow. "God, Ray, paranoid much?"

"Yeah!" Cannonball agreed. "Clark's an alien, and none of us mind havin' him around!"

"Yeah, but Mark's a machine." Berzerker said. "It's a lot harder for machines to go against their programming."

Wolfsbane's eyes narrowed. "When I turn to a wolf, 'tis not easy for me to always ignore my wolf-instincts, Ray." she said. "Does that make me evil?"

"Greetings."

The entire team turned to see Mark – Android – standing behind them, in his "uniform." "Oh, hey, Mark." Multiple said.

Frowning, Berzerker turned, and went on ahead.

Mark's expression became slightly sad at that. "Mark?" Jubilee asked. "Did you...hear any of that?"

Android nodded. "My auditory sensors picked up the entire conversation."

Everyone was silent at that. "Hey...Ray's just being a jerk." Magma said.

"Yet his statements are not entirely invalid." Android replied. "My initial function was to provide intelligence for the Mark VI, to be used against Kal-El and this planet. It is not entirely unreasonable for Ray to be apprehensive around me."

"Just give him time, Mark." Iceman said. "He'll come around."

At that, Mark smiled. "Thank you, Robert."

Iceman chuckled. "It's Bobby."

"Understood." Android said. With that, the New Mutants all headed to the Danger Room.

When they reached the control room, the X-Men, Superman, Storm, Beast, and Wolverine were all there, in uniform. "Okay, Mark," Superman said, "you ready?"

"Program upgrades are fully installed; tactical and combat programs loaded." Android replied, smiling. "Analysis: I am ready."

Wolverine grinned. "Good to hear, Metal-Head."

Android blinked. "Query: I am unaware of any student designated 'Metal-Head,' Instructor-designate Wolverine. To which of us were you referring?"

Cyclops chuckled. "That's just Logan's nickname for you, Mark."

Jean nodded, smiling. "He has nicknames for all of us."

"Understood."

"Well, what are you waitin' for?" Wolverine asked.

Storm smiled. "Good luck!"

"Thank you." Android replied, as he headed to the elevator, which took him into the Danger Room.

As Android walked into the Danger Room, he quickly refreshed his tactical programs, reviewed his combat protocols...and felt the emotion of anxiety pulse through his processors. He had seen all the others – his teammates – do their own simulations, before; they had all done very well. This was his first time doing a simulation of this difficulty level, and he wanted to do as well as they could.

He did not want to let them down.

"Commencing simulation."

Android instantly went on alert as the simulation started. At once, numerous laser-turrets popped up from the floor, and started to fire at him; Android ducked under one blast, and dove out of the way of another, before he promptly assumed liquid-state, becoming a puddle of silvery metallic-looking fluid, causing the turrets to lose their lock on him. Android flowed through the web of turrets, and resumed his solid-form, before morphing his arms into large scythe-like blade-whips, and unleashing a sweeping strike, taking out over half the turrets.

As he reformed his arms, the floor gave way under Android's feet, as a panel rose up from the floor, tossing him to the side, as another panel extended out from the wall, trying to crush him between the two panels. Android promptly assumed liquid state as the panels closed on him, and he simply flowed out from the crack between the panels, before becoming solid, again.

By then, several larger laser-cannons had emerged from the floor, and were starting to fire at him. Android darted towards one cannon, rolling under its line of fire, and zipped around to its back; his hands promptly became claws, as he stabbed his hands into its armor plating, injecting nano-fibrils into its circuitry. In seconds, his nano-bots had completely integrated with its systems; his body instantly liquefied, and seemed to pour over the cannon, turning it a shiny silver, with outlines of blue circuitry woven into it.

The cannon then turned to another cannon...and then opened fire, blasting it to pieces. It then proceeded to do the same to the other cannons, until it was the only one left.

With the other cannons dispatched, Android disassembled from the cannon, but left his nano-fibrils in, enabling him to siphon power from it, draining it until it deactivated, disabling the cannon, as well as filling his auxiliary energy supply, which he had learned to use to fuel his main battle-mode.

As the last cannon shut down, Android saw numerous robotic drones emerge from panels in the floor. His eyes narrowed, and turned red, as he activated his battle-mode; his entire body began to morph, as he grew into the large, spider-legged, heavily armed terror of a mechanoid that he became when he activated his battle-mode. Taking aim with his force-cannons, he opened fire on the advancing drones; in less than a minute, he had blasted every drone to scrap.

And it was a good thing, too; he hadn't had enough reserve power for much more than that, as he automatically returned to normal.

"Simulation complete."

Android felt relief fill his systems at that announcement. Promptly, he deactivated his combat protocols, and switched off his tactical programs.

"Good job, Mark." came Kal-El's voice over the audio system.

"Yeah, not too bad." Wolverine added. "But you should've tried to avoid getting squished by those panels; you're not always going to have the option of going to putty, all the time, Metal-Head."

"Understood." Android replied, before he started towards the elevator, which took him back up to the control room.

As Android walked into the control room, the New Mutants promptly greeted him. "Mark, that was awesome!" Jubilee exclaimed.

Iceman grinned. "Way to go!"

"I wish I could transform like that." Multiple said.

"Thank you." Android said. "I am glad to see that my combat protocols can be put to a better use than my initial directives dictated."

Cyclops smiled. "Well, they'd sure be handy against the Brotherhood." he said.

"Keep it up, Mark, and you might make X-Man." Shadowcat agreed.

"Alright, alright," Wolverine grumbled, "you're up, Firecracker."

Jubilee frowned. "See what we meant about the nicknames, Mark?" she said, sighing as she headed into the elevator, heading down to start her own session.

Android then paused, thinking of something. "Query: I have noticed that, in weeks previously, all of you have attended an educational facility, yet, recently, you have not. Please explain."

"Oh, that's just 'cause school's out for finals, Mark." Spyke said.

Android blinked, accessing his database. "Searching...match found: finals, referring to the cumulative scholastic examinations which take place in the last weeks of the school year. Is this what you were referring to?"

"Yep." Rogue said, nodding. "All our classes are done, so everyone uses the time to study before finals."

Nightcrawler grimaced. "Ja, so ve all get more time to stress over how ve're going to flunk!" he lamented.

Superman chuckled. "Oh, what're you guys talking about? You'll do fine!"

"Dat's easy fo' y' t' say." Gambit quipped. Grinning, he added, "Gambit don' s'pose dat y'd care t' lend us dat 'Knowledge Chamb'r' dat y' mentioned b'fore."

Superman lightly smiled, folding his arms calmly. "Even if I did, Remy, it wouldn't help; Kryptonian tech is encoded, remember?"

"Dang."

Android lightly smiled. "When will your educational facility resume activity?"

"Well, after exams, school starts up again in September." Cyclops answered.

"Why?" Jean inquired. "Would you like to attend?"

"Possibly."

Shadowcat smiled. "That's a great idea!" she exclaimed. "What better way for Mark to learn about Earth?"

Avalanche chuckled. "Sure, Kit." he lightly teased. "Show the guy one of the possible reasons why Earth should be destroyed." At that, Shadowcat playfully elbowed him.

Dazzler lightly giggled, and then turned to Superman. "So, what time were we going to head out to Smallville?"

Superman smiled. "Ah, so you were listening." he teased.

"Yep."

Turning to the rest of the X-Men, Superman said, "You guys don't need me for anything, today, do you?"

"No, Clark, we're good." Cyclops said.

Jean nodded. "You go and see your old pals; we're fine."

"Hey, maybe you could ask them to visit here!" Multiple asked.

Superman smiled. "Well, I'll see if I can talk them into dropping by." he replied. "They'll probably want to hang out in Smallville for a little while first, though; we've all been gone our separate ways for quite a while – it'll be nice to hang out in the old neighborhood for a while."

Android watched the exchange with a light smile. It was hard to believe that, only a relatively short while ago, he'd been programmed to assist in this world's destruction, and now he was a member of a team, a family.

Was this what it felt like...to be alive?

Android's smile grew. 'I certainly hope so.' he thought, as his optic-sensors turned to the Danger Room, to watch his teammate's simulation.

After morning training, and after getting a quick shower, Alison had promptly returned to her room, clad in her regular clothes, and sat down on her bed, where Krypto had been napping. As she sat down, Krypto perked up, and started panting happily; smiling, Alison gave the lovable pooch a scratch behind his ears, before proceeding to crack open her books. She wanted to get her studying for the day done before she went with Clark to Smallville.

Once she'd studied for a good few hours, Alison momentarily put her books aside, before reaching for her sketch-pad and the new uniform she'd been working on. She quickly made the last few adjustments to it...and then smiled to herself. It was ready.

Just then, her hearing picked up her boyfriend's footsteps, and her smile grew. She quickly folded up her new uniform, and then put it in her knapsack, before putting on her blue jean-jacket, tying her hair in a ponytail, then putting on a baseball cap and shades – to ensure she wasn't recognized – and strapping her knapsack over her shoulder. As she got up, Krypto leapt to his feet, raring to go. "Sorry, boy; not this time." Alison said apologetically. "Clark and I are meeting his old friends, and they don't know he's not from Earth; we don't want to freak them out too much."

Krypto started to whine. "Oh, don't be like that!" Alison added. "You can come next time, okay?" Krypto barked in agreement. Alison smiled. "See you soon!" With that, she darted outside, to meet Clark.

Alison met Clark just as he was walking by her door. "Hey, Ali." he greeted. "You still want to go?"

Alison smiled. "Of course!" she said. Her smile became teasing. "Do you want me to?"

Clark smiled back. "Of course I do, taushi." he replied, looping a loverly arm around her shoulders as they walked. "I just don't want you to be bored."

Alison chuckled. "Clark, with all the crazy stuff you guys used to get into, I don't think I could ever be bored!"

Clark's smile became a grin. "Okay, then." he said. "I guess I can't talk you out of it."

Alison playfully smiled. "I thought that you'd be eager to make those guys eat their words after the ribbing they always gave you about me."

Clark chuckled. "Well, Alia, I don't like to brag...even though I'm probably the luckiest alien on the planet."

Alison's smile grew. "Keep it up, mister." she cooed.

By then, they had reached the main hall, where Evan was walking towards the door, wearing his helmet and knee-pads, with his skateboard in hand. "You two are heading off, now?" he asked. "Well, have a nice time!"

"Thanks!" Clark replied.

"So, CK, what exactly are your pals like?" Evan inquired.

"Well, you guys have already met Lex," Clark answered, "and then there's Oliver Queen – he's rich like Lex is, and he's a pretty cool guy. Then there's Arthur Curry, who I told you guys about."

"Oh, yeah; the Prince of Atlantis, right?"

"Right." Clark said. "Anyway, then there's Victor Stone; the guy was in a pretty serious accident, years ago – a good bit of his body had to be replaced with cybernetics. He's got a great sense of humor, though; I think you'd like him. And then there's Wally West; basically, he's kinda like a nicer version of Pietro."

Evan chuckled. "Quite the bunch." he said. "Well, hope you guys find the time to drop by!"

Alison smiled. "Hope so."

"Well, we'll see you later, tonight!" Clark said. To Alison, he added, "Ready, baby?"

Alison smiled back. "Ready!" she replied. With that, they both walked outside, and then took to the sky, flying towards Smallville, at Alison's top speed, with Clark gladly matching her pace.

Outside the gates of the Institute, a black limousine drove by, pausing as Alison and her alien lover flew up into the sky, heading west.

Inside his limo, Shinobi Shaw, in his usual impeccable casual black suit, calmly sipped a glass of wine, scowling as he saw the two together. 'What Alison sees in that space-bastard, I'll never know.' he thought.

Shinobi smiled to himself; he was not the only one who disapproved of Alison's relationship with the alien – Alison's own dear Aunt Embeth, several weeks ago, had contacted him, and asked him to "talk some sense into her," which he was only too happy to do.

And now, it seemed that the alien – the Kryptonian, he believed the bastard was called – was heading back to his "home town," with Alison.

His "home." As if that thing had a home here, had any claim to this world...the world that the Inner Circle would rule.

The world that he would rule, one day.

"Chauffeur," Shinobi instructed, "take me to the airfield; have my jet ready." He smiled slyly. "I think I'm in the mood for a little trip out west." With those words, the chauffeur drove away, towards Shinobi's private airfield.

Smallville, Kansas

It was mid-morning when Clark and Alison reached Smallville, taking care to touch down on the outskirts of town, so that no-one would see them. Clark smiled as he looked at his old home-town; it hadn't changed a bit. "Home sweet home." he said.

Alison smiled, as well. "Brings back memories?"

Clark chuckled. "Oh, yeah." he said. Grinning, he pointed to the old water-tower on the far east side of Smallville. "The guys and I used to hang out at either the attic of my folks' barn or at that tower."

Alison giggled. "I know! How many times did you say Wally fell off that tower?" she exclaimed. "God, how lucky was he not to get brain damage?"

Clark laughed. "Hey, his super-speed pretty much enabled him to catch himself before the fall." he answered. "I'd have to say that he's the only guy on this planet who could possibly be faster than me!"

Alison smiled. "You know, if Pietro ever found out about Wally, he'd be royally pissed." she said. "Except for Wally being way nicer, it's creepy how similar they are!"

Clark chuckled. "Yeah, it is!" he agreed.

Alison looked a bit sheepish. "Clark?" she asked. "Do you mind if we just drop by the drugstore for a minute? I'd forgotten that I was running low on toothpaste."

"No problem, Ali." Clark replied. With that, they headed into town, towards the drugstore.

Within minutes, they had reached the store, and headed in. "I'll only be a minute." Alison assured him. "Be right back!" With that, she headed towards the dental supplies aisle.

Left alone, Clark aimlessly wandered through the store for several minutes, stopping for a second...only to find that he had stopped in the aisle that held contraceptives.

Clark paused, as his location bade him to consider something he'd occasionally thought about; recently, his and Ali's 'quality time' had been steadily getting more and more intense – sooner or later, it was possible that they might decide to go all the way. Clark wasn't about to put any pressure on his beloved taushi, but if there was one thing he remembered from "the Talk" that his Pa had given him so many years ago – that he hadn't repressed, anyway – it was that, when the moment was right, he had to, as his Pa had said, "make damn sure that you keep your special lady safe."

Clark nodded to himself; whenever Ali was ready, he was going to make sure she was protected. Slowly, he reached for one box...

"See something you like?"

Clark spun around, and froze as he saw Alison standing behind him. "Oh, uh...h-hey, Ali."

Alison smiled slyly. "Watcha looking at?" she inquired.

Clark smiled sheepishly. "You're enjoying watching me squirm, aren't you?"

"May-be."

Clark lightly smiled. "I think you already know what I was looking at." he said. He took a deep breath. "Look, taushi, I'm not trying to pressure you; it's just that..."

"...we're getting more and more serious." Alison finished for him. "You don't have to explain, tausha." She smiled. "You're doing the responsible thing, to keep both of us safe whenever we decide to take that step." Then, she shook her head. "But you don't need those, baby; I'm already on the pill."

Clark blinked. "Oh."

Alison's smile became a bit sheepish. "But it was just for medical reasons; I started a few weeks before we met." she admitted. "Regardless, in that area, we're covered."

"Oh. Okay." Clark replied. He lightly smiled. "Hey...it didn't feel as weird to talk about that as I thought it would."

Alison lightly giggled. "I guess if you can't talk about it, you shouldn't do it." she agreed. "Of course, there is still one hurdle."

Clark smiled. "And that would be..?"

"Figuring out how to manage a future 'sleepover' with Logan and his nose sniffing the hallways."

Clark laughed. "Well, when we figure that out, I guess we'll be ready!" he joked, earning another giggle from Alison. Then, he checked his watch. "We've still got a little while before we're supposed to meet the guys."

"Hey, do you mind if I just take a quick look around before we head to your Mom's house?" Alison asked. "You know, just to catch up?"

Clark smiled. "Sure, Ali." he replied. "I'll meet you at my Ma's place in ten, okay?"

"Okay." Alison agreed, before she leaned up, and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek, before she headed out the door. Smiling to himself, Clark headed out, walking towards the outskirts of Smallville. Once he was out of sight, he darted off at high speeds, heading for his Ma's farm.

After leaving the drugstore, Alison spent the next few minutes walking around Smallville. She smiled to herself; Smallville hadn't changed at all. It was still the same small, quaint little town that she had just loved to visit as a little girl. The air was completely clean, the people were so friendly, and it was nice and quiet.

It was the perfect place to grow up in...

"Good God, what a wretched place."

Alison's face twisted into a reflexive frown at that voice, as she turned around to see Shinobi Shaw there, holding a handkerchief to his nose. "I have no idea how anyone can stand it, here." Shinobi muttered, grimacing.

Alison's eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here, Shaw?" she snapped.

Shinobi smirked, arching an eyebrow calmly. "It's good to see you, too, my dearest Alison." he replied. "To be honest, I was about to ask you the same."

Alison suppressed the urge to pound the smug little weasel. "What I choose to do is none of your business, Shaw." she retorted. "I happen to like it here, thank you very much."

Shinobi frowned. "Clearly, that bumpkin 'Kal' is influencing your judgement." he said. "It's no wonder that you've joined that ridiculous 'Institute.'"

Alison saw red. "You're not much of one to comment on 'sound judgement,' stalker." she hissed. "How many times do I have to tell you to leave me alone?!"

"Well, my dear Alison, I am not the only one who thinks that you need...guidance." Shinobi replied, keeping his smirk. "Your own dear Aunt Embeth notified me of her concerns."

Alison had thought that she couldn't get angrier, only to find that there was yet another level of rage to boil over into. "Embeth Blaire is a demented, self-centered, bitter old racist witch, and her delusions have absolutely no bearing on what I choose to do with my life...or who I choose to be with." Alison said with finality. "Now, once and for all, Shaw...leave me alone!!" With that, she turned to go...

...only to have Shinobi grab her wrist. "I'm not done, yet." Shinobi snarled.

"Let go of me!!" Alison yelled, yanking her hand out of his grip.

"I know what your precious 'Kal' is, Alison." Shinobi snapped, causing Alison to pause. "I know where he comes from."

Alison's eyes widened. 'How could he..?' she thought. Her eyes quickly narrowed. "Then you must know that, if he wanted to, Kal could literally turn you inside out." she retorted. "The only reason he hasn't shown up to do just that is because he respects me enough to let me handle you myself." She smiled without humor. "But you wouldn't know much about respecting women, would you, Shaw?"

Shinobi's face twisted in fury. "He is nothing, Alison!" he shouted. "He is a bastard, with no heritage, no birthright, and no claim to this world!! He has no right to be here, let alone..!"

WHAM!!

Alison's knee was poetry in motion as Alison tapped just the tiniest fraction of her half-Kryptonian strength to drive her knee right between Shinobi's legs.

Shinobi gasped for breath, as he crumpled to the ground like a rag-doll, cutting his rant off in mid-breath. "Don't insult my tausha ever again, Shaw." Alison warned. She smiled slyly. "I know I promised to do that with steel-toed boots, but, as you can see, I don't need them." And with that, she walked off, leaving her somewhat-of-an-ex there, gasping for air.

Even as she walked away, Alison was still seething; the nerve of Embeth, telling Shaw to follow her..!

Alison pulled out her cell-phone, and dialed her Aunt up. "Who is it?"

"Get this through your head, Embeth! This is my life, and you have NO right to interfere!" Alison shouted. "I told you I never wanted to see you again, and that includes sending jerks like Shaw after me!!" Then, before Embeth could reply, Alison hung up.

By then, much of Alison's fury had waned, as she sighed to herself. Shinobi's words had really made her mad. Clark was the best man she'd ever known, and to hear Shinobi insult him had seriously gotten her steamed. Aunt Embeth was no better; even after their last meeting, she still had it in her twisted brain to try and break her and Clark up...though she'd picked a lousy way to try, Alison thought with a smile – trying to get Shaw to break them up was not the way to go. Then, feeling better, Alison headed to the outskirts of Smallville; when she was far enough from any prying eyes, she took off at super-speed, to meet Clark at his Mom's farm.

It had taken Shinobi a good five minutes to pick himself up from Alison's knee-kick, though he still had to walk hunched over.

He scowled to himself; Alison's infatuation for the alien was even stronger than he realized. He'd hoped that darting out here in his custom-made supersonic jet to talk to her would have shown Alison the lengths he was willing to go to, and at least made her somewhat receptive to his words...but the woman was still smitten with the space-bastard.

It seemed that he was going to have to confront the alien directly, in order to snap Alison out of her infatuation. Well, that was fine with him; after learning about that 'Institute,' run by that Xavier fool, Shinobi had begun assembling his own team of fellow mutants, with some help from Emma Frost. Now, he thought with a smile, it seemed that a little test was in order...

"Still lusting after the Blaire girl, I see."

Shinobi scowled as he turned to see Emma there, behind him. "What are you doing here, Frost?" he spat.

Emma Frost, clad in tight white pants, and a white tube-top under a white jacket, smiled, her cold blue eyes flashing with frigid mirth behind her shades. "Your Daddy Dearest advised me to keep an eye on you, Shaw." she replied. "And it was a good thing, too; jetting out here, without a moment's notice or even a by-your-leave, to chase after a woman who clearly despises you? Your father was right to be suspicious of you; I barely had time to get my own jet ready and follow you."

Shinobi's eyes narrowed. "What I do in my own time is my own business, Frost."

"Not when it compromises your duties." Emma replied coldly. "You were ordered to head to Metropolis and oversee several of your father's transactions."

"'Transactions'?! They're nothing but low-level arms sales!" Shinobi scoffed. "Father insults me by sending me on these simple errands! Any fool could handle them!"

Emma smiled mockingly. "Well, Shinobi, he must clearly think you are a fool, and with stunts like these, it's hard to argue." she said.

"He is the fool, not I!" Shinobi snapped. "The longer we let that alien live, the harder it becomes to remove him! He is a threat to the Circle and everything we've worked for!"

Emma chuckled. "Still envious, I see." she said archly. "Danger and opportunity often go hand-in-hand, Shaw. Your father knows this, as does von Doom."

Shinobi scowled. He would be dead before he ever bowed to that filthy creature..!!

"That kind of vocabulary betrays a small mind, Shaw."

Shinobi scowled at the White Queen; she'd been reading his thoughts. "Have you ever heard of privacy, Frost?"

Emma tilted her head, as if pondering his statement...and then shook it. "No. Never." she answered. Her eyes then narrowed. "Well, Shaw?"

Suppressing his rage, Shinobi nodded. "Very well." he muttered.

"Good." Emma said. "We'd best be off, then." With that, she turned, and walked away.

Shinobi briefly looked to the direction that Alison had been heading towards. 'Another time, my dearest Alison.' he thought. His eyes narrowed. 'Soon, alien, a reckoning will come...and I'll be ready for you.' With that thought, he followed Emma to the airfield.

Kent Farm, Smallville outskirts, Kansas

It hadn't taken Clark long to reach his Ma's farm at super-speed. After reaching his Ma's house, he'd politely knocked on the door. At once, his Ma came to the door. "Clark, you're here!" Martha exclaimed, smiling as she hugged him.

"Hi, Ma." Clark replied. "Sorry to drop by on such short notice..."

"Oh, nonsense, honey! You're always welcome here!" Martha replied. "Oh, by the way, Lex and the rest of your friends are here; Lex called me yesterday and told me about the little get-together you were all planning! I thought it was a lovely idea!"

Clark smiled. "I hope you didn't mind, Ma."

"Of course not, Clark!" his Ma assured him. Her smile grew. "Is Alison with you?"

Clark grinned. "She's still in Smallville; she just wanted to see the sights. She'll be by soon, Ma." he replied. "Anyway, I'll just head up to the barn; Lord knows what kind of trouble those guys could get into!" he quipped, chuckling. With that, he headed up to their old barn, where his old pals were waiting.

Clark smiled to himself as he walked; he'd really missed his old pals. Sure, he'd been in contact with Lex over this past year, and he'd talked to Arty a while ago, but he hadn't heard anything about Ollie, Vic or Wally; he was curious as to what they'd been up to.

The last time they'd all been together was during the summer of 2002, when he'd been 15...

Clark's train of thought ground to a screeching thought as he passed by the hill where his Pa's grave lay, his expression turning so terribly sad. Slowly, he walked to the grave, to stand before it. 'Hi, Pa...' he thought softly. He hadn't been here – to the grave – in more than a year; the last time he'd visited had been just after meeting the Professor and the others, when he'd first come to the Institute.

The last time he'd been with his friends...had been the day that his Pa had died...

"Thought you might stop here."

Looking over his shoulder, Clark saw Lex there, in his regular, black casual suit. Clark lightly smiled. "Just...wanted to say hello." he said softly.

Lex nodded. "He was a great guy." he quietly agreed. "I wish that there were more like him."

"Yeah." Clark said. He'd been so fortunate to have been found by Jonathan and Martha Kent. "I really miss him."

"There's only one thing that I can think of that hurts worse than missing a parent." Lex said.

Clark looked to his friend. "What's that?"

Lex looked haunted. "Not missing them." he answered. "You should cherish the relationship that you had with your father, Clark." His expression became sad. "I had a father...but you had a Dad."

Clark lightly smiled. "I'll remember to do that, Lex."

Lex then smiled. "Okay, that's enough of our sob-stories." he quipped. "Our old crew's waiting, Boy Scout; let's go." With that, they both headed to the barn, to meet up with their pals.

Within minutes, they had reached the old barn that had been one of their favorite hangouts, and headed up to the attic, where their pals were waiting. As they came up, Arthur, clad in his usual green pants and orange vest, rose to greet them, smiling. "Hey, great to see you again, Smallville!" he greeted.

Clark smiled back, giving his old pal a brief hug. "You too, Arty." he replied.

"Clark?" came the voice of 19-year-old Wally West, as Wally zipped over. Wally was fairly tall, though a bit shorter than Clark, and lean, with short, red-orange hair, light blue eyes, and a light dusting of freckles across his face, clad in a red sleeveless t-shirt and blue jeans. "Aw, man, it's great to have you back! Where've you been?"

Clark grinned. "That, Wally, is a long story."

Another voice laughed. "Jeez, boy, what you been eatin'?" Victor Stone chuckled. Victor was a 20-year-old African-American man, tall and well-built, clad in black pants and a white, black-striped, hooded sweater-vest, with the hood down...revealing the fact that half of his face was covered by a cybernetic metal-plastic plate, with electronics partially visible under the semi-transparent blue plastic, and his right eye was replaced by a red cybernetic one, his left eye still the same honest-brown. The sweater sleeves covered the majority of his arms, but his hands were also dotted with the same kind of cybernetics as his face. "Wherever it was that you zipped off to, the food must've been good!"

Clark laughed. "Not as good as Ma's, Vic, but I couldn't really complain."

Victor laughed. "Amen to that, bro!" he said. He smiled. "Great to see ya, Boy Scout!"

"You too, Vic." Clark replied. "You look good."

Victor chuckled. "Hey, just as long as I stay away from electromagnets, I'll be peachy." he said. He tapped his arm proudly. "Had a little work done on the ol' metal bod; got a sonic-pulse cannon put in and everything!"

Clark whistled. "Nice."

Then, the 20-year-old Oliver Queen stepped into view. "Well, the gang's all here." Oliver said, smiling. Oliver was around the same height as Clark, with a lean, athletic frame. His short hair was a light blond, with green eyes, clad in blue jeans and a white t-shirt under a dark green jacket. "Nice to see you, Boy Scout."

Clark grinned. "You too, rich boy." he quipped.

Lex chuckled. "The Six Musketeers, together again."

Clark nodded, smiling. "All for one, and one for all."

At that, the others laughed. "Clark, only you could say something like that!" Wally exclaimed.

"So, where you been these past few years?" Victor asked.

Arthur lightly smiled. "Yes, do tell, Superman."

Clark half-glared at Arthur. "What?" Arthur asked. "Clark, it's us! Anything either of us tells the others, we take that with us to the grave!"

Clark slowly nodded. "Okay." he replied.

"Superman?" Wally repeated. "You're Superman?"

Clark slowly smiled. "Afraid so."

Slowly, Oliver grinned, and turned to Wally and Vic. "Okay, you two. Pay up."

Grumbling, Wally and Vic both took out twenties, and handed them to Oliver. "Sheesh, man, you couldn't have waited to tell us that?" Victor quipped.

Clark's expression went flat. "You three bet on whether or not I was Superman?"

"Hey, come on, Clark!" Oliver chuckled. "How many other super-strong, super-fast, flying guys can there be? Plus, you disappear for a few years, and all of a sudden, Superman comes out of nowhere?"

Lex chuckled. "He's got a point there, Clark." he said. "To those of us that really know you, it's not that big of a stretch to connect the dots."

Wally grinned. "Your secret's safe with us, Clark." he exclaimed. "Us freaks have to stick together!"

"Thanks...I think." Clark said, smiling.

"But you didn't answer my question." Vic said. "Where'd you go?"

Clark sighed. "You'd better sit down." he said. As his friends did so, Clark began to tell them the story of his origins.

When Clark finished, Victor, Oliver, and Wally were all amazed; Lex and Arthur already knew the story – there were no surprises for them. "Whoa." Vic murmured.

Oliver let out a low whistle.

"Wait...you mean that big lumpy thing under a sheet tied up with cord that I always used to sit on was your spaceship??" Wally exclaimed.

Clark nodded. "Yeah." he replied. "Pa made me swear never to tell anyone, not even you guys; if it ever got out, Ma and Pa were afraid that someone might come to take me away."

"Hey, you don't have to tell us, Clark." Arthur said.

Clark nodded. "So," he began, his expression lightening, "what about you guys?"

Lex chuckled. "Well, with me, there's not much to tell." he said. "Just the usual 'head of a multi-million-dollar corporation' headache."

"Same here." Oliver said. "Although I do have a little...hobby on the side. I'll get to that later."

"Well, Clark, as far as I go, things in Atlantis are pretty much the same as always." Arthur added. "Between fighting off Attuma's raiders and making sure Namor stays cool, it's pretty much 'business as usual.'"

"You're from Atlantis?" Wally exclaimed. "Cool!"

Victor chuckled. "Well, for me, there's not a whole lot to tell." he said. "I've been traveling here and there, mostly, doing odd jobs to pay the bills, and helpin' out when I can. I do my traveling on foot, or by bus." He grinned. "With all the metal-detectors in airports, these days, if I so much as get within a mile of 'em, I'll set off every alarm in the place!"

Wally grinned. "That would actually be pretty funny to watch!"

Victor half-scowled. "Yeah? Well, wait 'till some security guard tries to strip-search you, and then tell me it's funny!"

That earned a small chuckle from the rest. "What about you, Wally?" Clark asked.

"Me? I attend Metropolis University, though I haven't declared a Major, yet." Wally answered. He grinned. "But I'm starting to get into the crime-fighting business..."

At that, Victor groaned. "Please tell me you're not still going by that dumb nickname, 'The Blur'."

Wally frowned. "I am not!" he exclaimed. "It's 'The Flash'."

Oliver chuckled. "Oh, well, that's so much better."

Clark grinned. "Hey, if an alien like me can do it, Wally can do it!"

The group chuckled at that. "So, what's that Institute like?" Arthur asked.

Clark smiled. "It's great." he answered. "I think you guys would really like my friends there – the X-Men; they're pretty cool, and so are the New Mutants, the younger students."

Lex grinned. "So, Clark," he began, "did Ali tag along?"

Clark chuckled. "Yes, Lex, she did."

"'Ali'?" Vic repeated. "Wait...little Ali?! The little kid that always followed you around??"

"Oh, don't tell me she's still tagging along!" Oliver exclaimed.

Clark frowned. "Watch it, Oliver." he said.

Lex chuckled. "Yeah, guys; don't insult Clark's girlfriend like that!"

"Girlfriend?!" Wally guffawed. "You're dating her?"

Vic laughed. "Man, Clark, all that flying must have rattled your brain, or something! You're actually dating Dorky Ali?"

"Who are you calling 'Dorky,' Stone?"

Clark managed to suppress a grin as Alison walked up into the attic, her cap and shades removed, and her ponytail undone. "Guys, you remember Ali, right?" he chuckled.

Lex was the only one who could keep the closest thing to a straight face, though he was chuckling; the other guys were utterly flabbergasted. "Glad you could make it, Ali." Lex said, between chuckles.

Alison nodded, and then turned to Clark, smiling. "Sorry I'm late, baby. I got sidetracked." She frowned. "Stupid Shaw actually followed me here!" She then lightly smiled. "But then, you probably heard us, didn't you?"

Clark nodded. "Are you okay, Ali?" he asked.

Alison nodded. "I'm fine...but Shinobi won't be coming on to any other poor girl, anytime soon."

Clark grinned. "That's my girl!" he said, causing Alison's smile to grow.

"Wait...Shinobi Shaw?" Lex asked. "Sebastian Shaw's kid?"

"You know him?" Clark asked.

"Only in passing." Lex answered. He frowned. "Lionel Luthor was the biggest bastard on the planet, but Sebastian Shaw was a close second, with Junior being a runner-up. Shaw International has a reputation for dirty business almost as big as my company did when Lionel was in charge."

Clark smiled wryly. "Hang on, Lex; I think that title belongs to Doom."

"Well, okay; I never met the guy, so I wouldn't be a good judge." Lex admitted.

Alison nodded. "Well, you're certainly right about Shaw Junior; I hope he takes a hint, this time!" she exclaimed. She looked to Clark. "Anyway, baby, I'm just going to head inside, and see if your mom needs any help." She chuckled. "I know you still want to catch up with these goofballs, so I won't interrupt."

Clark smiled. "Thanks, taushi." he replied. With that, after giving him a friendly wave, Alison headed back down, before walking towards his Ma's house.

Wally blinked. "Dude...you're dating Alison Blaire..."

"Damn!" Vic chuckled. "Who'd've thought that dorky little Ali could turn into such a babe!"

"Dude...you're dating Alison Blaire!"

Lex laughed. "Who says nice guys finish last?"

"Dude...you're dating Alison Blaire!"

"Wally!" Arthur laughed. "We get it!"

Oliver chuckled. "Well, hats off to you, Clark." he said.

"Okay, okay!" Clark laughed. "Can we please stop talking about my love-life?"

"Love-life?" Victor quipped. "Didn't know you two were that serious!"

That evoked a chuckle from all; even Clark couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, who'd have thought?" he admitted. "I'd always thought I'd be stuck being a single alien; if you'd have told me, even one year ago, let alone five, that I'd find someone, I'd have called you nuts."

Lex nodded. "It honestly doesn't feel like it's been five years."

Arthur nodded. "We're only back together a few minutes, and it feels like nothing's changed."

"That's 'cause, when it comes down to it, nothing really has." Victor said. "We're still basically the same six kids that started hanging together, doing our own thing and taking care of business."

"Yeah." Wally agreed. "We always looked out for each other, and we always did the right thing."

Oliver chuckled. "Yeah, because Boy Scout here always managed to 'guilt' us all into doing good."

"Hey, a good number of those times were from Lex's pranks!" Clark chuckled. "If we hadn't cleaned those messes up, it was our butts in the barrel!"

Lex grinned sheepishly. "Hey, when were they not fun?"

Vic chuckled. "Still, back then, it was always the six of us against the bad guys."

"Yep." Wally agreed. "Us against them."

"No matter who 'them' were, we were always 'us'." Arthur added.

Clark chuckled. "You guys realize that we sound like a bunch of old guys, right?"

That earned a laugh from everyone. "Yeah, I guess we do!" Lex agreed.

Oliver grinned knowingly. "Hey...are you guys up for one last caper?"

Clark arched an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Remember that 'hobby' I mentioned?" Oliver asked. "You guys ever heard of the Green Arrow?"

"The vigilante with the Robin-Hood-complex?" Wally asked. Oliver stayed silent. "You're kidding."

"Nope."

Victor chuckled. "I honestly never pegged you for the hero-type, rich boy."

"People never do." Oliver said, grinning. His tone turned serious. "A few nights ago, one of my contacts told me about a big illegal-arms shipment coming through Metropolis; I'd intended to take it down, myself, but from what I've heard, it'll be heavily guarded...too much for the Green Arrow to take on."

"You mean, too much to take on alone." Clark said.

Oliver lightly smiled. "What do you guys say?"

Clark smiled, nodding. "Count me in."

Victor grinned. "Me, too."

Arthur chuckled. "Just like the old days." he quipped. He laughed. "And we are way too young to be saying that!"

Wally smiled. "An insane mission? Odds against us? Crazily high stakes? What are we waiting for?"

Lex chuckled. "Well, it looks like the Six Musketeers are up for one last caper." he quipped. "I suppose I could provide a little on-the-site intel; keep you lunatics from making complete asses of yourselves."

Clark smiled. "You're all heart, Lex." he joked.

Oliver grinned. "Well, guys, there's no time to lose!" he exclaimed. "Let's gear up and get going!" With that, the six of them headed out of the barn, to suit up for their newest mission.

After leaving Clark and his pals in the barn's attic, Alison headed back to the Kent household. Reaching it, she knocked on the door, before opening it a crack. "Mrs. Kent?" she called. "Can I come in?"

"Of course, Alison! I'm just in the kitchen!" came Mrs. Kent's voice from further in the house. With that invitation, Alison headed inside, coming into the kitchen, where she found Clark's mom washing dishes.

Alison smiled. "Need any help?"

"Oh, no, honey; I'm almost done, so you needn't worry!" Martha said, smiling back. Within a minute, true enough, Martha put the last dish away. "Now," Martha added, sitting down at the kitchen table, "what's been going on with you, lately?"

Alison lightly smiled, as she sat down next to Mrs. Kent. "Well..." she began, "...has Clark...told you about...my family?"

Martha smiled. "You mean the fact that your ancestor was one of Clark's people?" she asked. "Oh, of course, Alison; why, when we talked, a while ago, that was practically the first thing he said to me!"

Alison gulped. "And you're...okay with that?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Martha chuckled. She smiled warmly. "It only confirms what I've known all along; that you're a perfect match for my boy."

Alison felt her eyes get a tiny bit misty, as she promptly hugged Martha. "Thank you, Mrs. Kent." she whispered. Martha Kent was everything that Embeth Blaire was not; not for the first time, Alison was immensely glad that it had been Jonathan and Martha Kent that had found Clark.

"Oh, you're very welcome, sweetie." Martha replied, returning the hug. "Was there anything else bothering you?"

Alison suppressed a giggle; when it came to sensing trouble, Martha had her son beat. 'Maybe that's part of where Clark gets it from.' she thought. "Well, Mrs. Kent...I have a bit of a problem with my Aunt."

"It's that Embeth woman, isn't it?" Martha said, frowning. "Bridget once told me about her."

Alison nodded. "She knows about our family's 'heritage,' as well as the fact that Clark's not from earth, though she doesn't know his real name." she replied. "She hates the fact that our family is...'impure,' and she blames Clark for it! To say the least, she doesn't approve of our being together; why, just today, I found out that she'd told this jerk I'd once dated, Shinobi Shaw, to 'try and talk some sense into me'! Can you believe her?!"

Martha frowned. "That woman has a problem."

Alison nodded, and then she smiled slyly. "You know, just to spite her, Clark and I will have to stay together until the day we die."

Martha chuckled. "Well, Alison, I certainly hope that you have a better reason for being together than just to spite your Aunt, but if you do, I have no objections."

Alison smiled wistfully. "God, Mrs. Kent, if Embeth was just one hundredth of the parent you are, my one visit with her would have been so different."

Martha blinked. "What do you mean?"

Alison froze; she hadn't meant to let that slip. "N-Nothing..." she stammered.

Martha's expression became grave. "Alison...what happened?"

Alison looked away.

Martha gasped. "She abused you, didn't she?"

Alison's flinch told all.

"Oh, sweetheart..." Martha whispered. "Did...did she hit you..?"

"No." Alison whimpered, shaking her head. "She didn't."

Martha nodded. "It was verbal, wasn't it?"

Alison felt her eyes start to water, as that visit flashed before her eyes...

"Stand up straight, young lady..."

"You will speak only when you are spoken to..."

"What is this? I will not tolerate this ridiculous music in my house..."

"A singer? I have never heard of a more foolish thing in my life..."

"Young lady, you will never amount to anything as long as you hold onto such idiotic dreams..."

Alison nodded, sniffling. "That was the only time I ever visited her." she whimpered. "When I got back home, I just cried and cried..."

Instantly, Martha hugged her close. "You poor thing..." she whispered soothingly, "...why didn't you tell us?"

"I...I couldn't; I was so ashamed." Alison said.

"Does Clark know..?"

Alison nodded. "I told him a while ago, the night we had dinner with my Dad...and her."

Martha nodded. "Well, sweetheart, your Aunt was dead wrong." she said, smiling. "You followed your dreams, and you turned into a lovely, charming, successful young lady."

Alison smiled weakly, before hugging Martha back. "Thank you, Mrs. Kent." she whispered.

"Hey, Ma, we were just going to...what's going on?"

Alison briefly looked over her shoulder to see Clark standing there. "Hey, baby." Alison whispered.

"Ali?" Clark asked. "What's wrong?"

Martha smiled. "Oh, don't worry, honey." she assured him. "It's just a little girl-talk."

Alison smiled, and nodded, quickly wiping away her tears. "Yeah, I'm okay." she agreed. "Don't worry."

"Okay." Clark said. "Anyway, the guys and I were just going to step out for a little bit; we just need to change, though..."

"I understand, honey." Martha said. "You can use your room to change, and the bathroom and the spare room are available."

"Thanks, Ma!" Clark said, as he darted upstairs to his old room. Seconds later, he came back down, clad in his uniform. "See you later!"

Before either Martha or Alison could ask what was going on, a second blur raced by them. "Hi, Mrs. K!" Wally called, as he darted into the bathroom. After a few seconds, a red blur darted back down, zipping outside; Alison's super-vision allowed her to see Wally clearly: he was wearing a full, red bodysuit, with a red cowl over his face, leaving his mouth exposed, with twin lightning-bolts on the sides of the cowl, with the crest of a lightning bolt emblazoned on the chest. "Bye, Mrs. K!"

Shortly after Wally darted out, Oliver walked in, carrying a green duffel bag. "I'll only be a minute." he said, as he headed to the spare room. Sure enough, a minute or two later, Oliver walked out...clad in dark green tight pants, a kevlar-reinforced green vest, with a hood over his head, and a dark green eye-mask, with white lenses concealing his eyes. On his hands were green gauntlets, and he held a green, high-tech-looking long-bow, with a green quiver full of arrows strapped to his back, and around his waist was a green utility belt, with several, handgun-style mini-crossbows clipped to it. Oliver then simply pressed a button on his long-bow; the bowstring slackened, as the bow itself retracted in on itself, as Oliver simply clipped it to his right gauntlet, for easy storage.

Alison arched an eyebrow. "What's with the Robin-Hood getup, Ollie?"

Oliver chuckled. "That's 'Green Arrow' to you, missy." he quipped, before he stepped outside.

Martha sighed. "What are those boys up to, now?" she asked aloud. With that, she got up, and headed outside, and Alison promptly followed.

Outside, Superman and his pals were standing beside Lex's personal helicopter. "Okay, guys," Lex said, "this chopper can take those of us not capable of flying to Metropolis..."

"And what are you six up to, this time?" Martha asked, amused suspicion in her voice.

"Oh, uh...h-hi, Ma, Ali!" Superman chuckled.

Alison smiled knowingly. "Leaving without me?" she teased.

"Oh, we're just...stepping out for a while." Arthur said.

"I see." Martha said, chuckling. "Well, I hope you six don't get into any mischief..."

"Why, Mrs. Kent, would we get into mischief?" Lex joked.

Martha chuckled, folding her arms. "So says the little boy who brought laxative-flavored fudge to the local bake sale."

"Hey, that was an accident!" Lex defended. "That fudge was supposed to be for the Luthor family reunion! I just took the wrong batch!"

"Yeah, and he cons us into getting it all back before anyone ate it!" Wally said.

"After I actually ate a piece, I might add!" Victor muttered. "I was stuck on the toilet for hours, Luthor!"

Martha chuckled. She turned to Oliver. "'Green Arrow,' was it?" she asked. She turned to Wally. "And what do you call yourself, Wallace?"

Wally grinned. "The Flash: Fastest Man Alive." he chuckled.

"And you can call me the Cyborg, Mrs. K." Victor volunteered. "The name says it all!"

Arthur shrugged. "I'm still working on a name for myself." he admitted.

Martha shook her head, smiling to herself. "Well, then," she said, "I just hope you boys don't do anything too foolish."

Victor – Cyborg – grinned. "Hey, it's us, Mrs. K!"

"That's what I'm afraid of." Martha replied, chuckling.

"We'll be careful, Ma." Superman said. To Alison, he added, "You don't mind us going, do you, taushi?"

Alison smiled coyly. "Do I look like I mind?"

"Hey, Boy Scout, let's go!" Arthur called, as he, Cyborg, and Green Arrow all got into the helicopter, where Lex had gotten into the pilot's seat.

Superman smiled at Alison. "I'll see you real soon, okay, baby?"

Alison kept her coy smile. "Sure."

By then, the helicopter had taken to the air; only Wally – the Flash – remained on the ground next to Superman. Flash grinned. "Race ya!"

Superman chuckled. "You're on, West." he replied. And with that, the two of them darted off at incredible speed, until they were both two dots on the horizon, as the helicopter promptly followed them as fast as it could.

Martha chuckled. "You're annoyed with him, aren't you?"

"A little bit." Alison admitted with a smile. "But, unlike when we were all kids, I'm not quite so easy to ditch, anymore."

Martha smiled. "Well, I certainly won't stop you." she said. "And I think Clark's friends still have a little bit of comeuppance in the works."

Smiling, Alison gave Mrs. Kent a quick, almost-daughterly peck on the cheek, before she darted inside, to don her new uniform.

She had a little bit of a surprise in store for Clark and his pals.

Metropolis, New York

As the sun began to set over the vast city of Metropolis, its rays turned everything – from the massive skyscrapers to the smallest bus-station – a gleaming golden-orange. New York City's twin was just as vast as it was, and with recent development projects underway, it had the promise to become even larger.

Superman and Flash both arrived at Metropolis' outskirts at the exact same time, far from prying eyes. Superman chuckled. "Looks like a tie."

"Hey, I wasn't going all-out, Smallville!" Flash replied, grinning.

"Neither was I."

About ten minutes after they arrived, Lex's helicopter caught up to them, touching down next to them. As the rotor-blades stopped spinning, the rest of their friends got out. Green Arrow pointed to the nearby harbor, and to a ship that was starting to dock. "There it is." he said. "That's the shipment."

Superman focused his vision on the ship, and nodded. "Looks heavily-guarded." he replied. "We'll need a plan."

"We're also going to need to co-ordinate." Lex added. He promptly held out six high-tech earpieces, before placing one of them in his own ear. "These will let us talk to each other without anyone picking up our transmissions."

Superman and the others each took an earpiece, placing them in their ears. "We're going to need proof of what's going on here." Superman said.

"There should be a cargo manifest and crew list on a computer in that ship." Green Arrow observed.

"If we can get our hands on that, we'll have the proof we need, plus, we'll know what we're up against: how many thugs, what they're armed with..."

"Leave that to me!" Flash said. "I can zip in there and grab that file before those chumps even know it!"

"Flash and I are the fastest; we can get there first." Superman said. "He can zip in, and I can provide recon with my X-Ray vision."

"Good. That should give the rest of us time to set up." Lex said. "Once we've got the file, we'll need to lure the thugs in the ship outside before we can take 'em out."

Cyborg grinned. "I think I can provide a distraction."

Arthur nodded. "And I'm sure I can bring a...friend who'd be happy to help." he added. "Just drop me in the water; I'll do the rest."

"Okay." Superman said. "Once they're out, the rest of us will have to take those thugs out, and leave them for the police."

"I think I can provide a little...long-range cover." Green Arrow said.

"And I'll monitor things from the chopper." Lex added. "Just upload the file to me; once I've decrypted it, I'll send a copy to the police, with a silent alert."

"Okay, then." Superman said. "Let's get to it!" With that, he took to the air, as Flash zipped towards the dock, while the rest of them got back in the helicopter, to head to their various drop-points, so as not to alert the criminals guarding the shipment.

It was go-time for the Six Musketeers.

Dock #34, Metropolis Harbor

The waning sun cast a golden glow over the waters as the large cargo ship pulled into the dock. As the ship dropped anchor, numerous armed men got on board, while other thugs patrolled the loading area, making sure nothing went wrong.

This was the biggest shipment they'd ever handled, and they weren't about to let anything screw up a job this sweet.

As one guard circled around some crates before turning to head back towards the ship, he thought he heard something; it had sounded like a whoosh, like a gust of wind. Turning, he looked back to where he'd just been...and then shrugged, heading on his way.

"The coast's clear, Flash. Move up."

At Superman's prompting over the radio, Flash zipped out from behind the crates, darting towards another pile of boxes, and hid behind them, staying out of sight. Once the next guard had moved on, Flash zipped up the ramp leading onto the ship, before hiding behind an air exhaust-pipe on the deck. When the coast was clear, he darted into the ship, heading to the lower decks.

"Okay, Superman, I'm in." Flash whispered. "What's it look like, up ahead?"

"Right now, that deck is clear; if you keep going straight, you'll reach a flight of stairs. Take them down two levels. Once you get off, you'll see a pile of crates to your right; hide behind them – there'll be a guard coming towards you. As soon as he goes up the stairs, head for the second door on your left; that's where the computer is."

"Got it." Flash replied, and he zipped down the corridor ahead of him. Sure enough, there was a flight of stairs. He darted down two levels' worth of stairs, and emerged onto the next deck, where he found the pile of crates, just as Superman had said. He quickly ducked behind them, and not a moment too soon; just as he had done so, a guard rounded the corner, walking past the crates, and heading up the stairs.

Once the guard had left, Flash zipped out from behind the crates, and dashed down the corridor, stopping at the second door on his left...where he found the computer, completely unattended. "Okay, I found it!" he whispered, sitting at the terminal. "Now what?"

It was Lex who answered him. "Open the main directory; the files we need should have titles like 'Crew Roster' and 'Cargo List'."

Flash promptly opened the directory, and started scanning through the files at high speed. "Got 'em!"

"Now you have to upload those to my laptop." Lex instructed. "Right-click on the file, and select, 'Forward.' It will ask for the address that you want to Forward to; you know what my address is."

The Flash's hands moved like lightning over the keyboard; in seconds, both files had been uploaded. "Okay, Lex; what have we got?"

"Hmm...it looks like we've got a dozen thugs watching the dock, with another two dozen on board. To lure them up top, we'll need to do something drastic..."

Cyborg's voice came in over the radio. "I think I've got an idea." he said. "Just say the word, Boy Scout."

"It looks like Arty's in position." Superman said over the radio. "Arrow, you good to go?"

Green Arrow chuckled. "I was born ready, Smallville."

"All right." Superman said. "Flash, as soon as Cyborg distracts the guards, you zip out and help me round up the thugs on deck."

"Got it."

"Cyborg?" Superman said. "You're good to go!"

Cyborg chuckled. "Music to my ears, Boy Scout!"

His task complete, Flash darted away from the computer, and started to zip upstairs, to help his pals round these crooks up.

Outside the ship, the thugs had started to unload the crates of weapons using a crane; within an hour, all the armaments would be ready for transport. Suddenly, two guards noticed a single figure walking towards the dock. "Hey, pal, shove off." one guard warned...but the guy just kept walking towards them.

The second guard frowned. "Does it sound like we're joking, here?" he snarled. "Get lost!" The guy still kept coming...prompting the guard to draw his firearm. "You want to die?!" he shouted. "Get out of here!!"

Finally, the guy stopped. The guards froze as they saw the cybernetics seamlessly integrated with his arms.

Cyborg dropped his hood, chuckling. "You call that a gun?" he asked...as his right arm began to morph, shifting into an arm-cannon. "Now that's a gun."

And with that, he took aim at the crates being unloaded, and fired.

Cyborg's cannon unleashed a massive blast of blue-white sonic force, shattering the crates and spilling their illegal contents into the water.

Shouting and cursing, the rest of the thugs started to swarm towards him, as those in the bowels of the ship started to spill onto the deck. Cyborg ducked under the punch of one thug, before grabbing him and tossing him into two more. As several crooks took aim at him, a whistling cut the air...seconds before an arrow hit the ground just in front of them, erupting in a modest-sized explosion, sending the crooks flying. Cyborg looked to where the arrow had flown in from...and grinned as he saw the shadowy form of Green arrow on a nearby rooftop, taking aim with his longbow.

Green Arrow's second shot took out the ramp that led onto the ship, dumping six crooks into the water. He took aim and fired again; his arrow struck a chain that held several crates suspended, snapping it and sending the crates crashing onto three crooks, knocking them out.

As two more thugs rushed him, Cyborg sent them flying with a haymaker. As he turned, he saw another crook take aim at him...and then the crook was sent flying by a blur. Cyborg chuckled to himself. 'Thanks, Boy Scout.' Turning back, he saw Superman once more, moving like lightning through the remaining thugs, sending them flying with the merest tap, moving too fast for them to even realize what was happening.

By then, the rest of the thugs in the ship had gathered on deck. Suddenly, the boat shifted, as a massive grey whale rose up from the water's surface...with Arthur standing on its back. Arthur smiled, and lightly tapped the whale; the whale let out a soft cry of acknowledgment, before it slipped back under the surface. The crooks all moved to the edge, to see what had just happened...

Seconds later, the mighty whale breached the surface, rising a good ten feet above the water...before slamming back into the water, creating a massive wave that washed over the ship, sweeping half of the thugs into the water.

As the remaining thugs struggled to their feet, a red blur shot out of the door leading into the ship, darting from one crook to the next, snatching their weapons as it went, and sending them flying with lightning-fast punches, only amplified by its incredible momentum.

As Flash disabled the crooks on deck, Superman spotted a massive length of chain, and got an idea; he grabbed the chain, tossed it over his shoulder, and flew onto the deck of the ship. By then, Flash had already knocked out the remaining crooks; touching down, Superman tossed the length of chain out, keeping hold of one end, as Flash took hold of the other end. At once, they began to run around the pile of unconscious crooks, until the chain was completely payed out, with the criminals tied up. When the chain was payed out, Superman took the other end from Flash, and welded the two ends together with his eye-rays, ensuring that the crooks did not escape. With that taken care of, Superman and Flash darted off the ship, to rejoin their comrades.

By then, the criminals that had been knocked into the water had dragged themselves back onto dry land, coughing and sputtering. They'd had enough; it was time to make a break for it...

Just then, Arthur leapt out of the water, somersaulting over the thugs, to land in front of them. "Leaving so soon?" Snarling, the crooks ran at him, getting their second wind.

Arthur easily dodged one crook's punch, and countered with a punch of his own, sending the thug flying back to crash into two more. He then whirled into a spin-kick, taking out another crook, before grabbing one more, and tossing him into three other goons. Turning, he saw one crook rush at him with a knife, and prepared to counter; it was going to be close...

Suddenly, a blur sent the blade-wielding thug flying, before darting to and from the remaining goons, taking them out with ease, and then zipping off. Arthur chuckled to himself. 'Not bad, Smallville.'

By then, they all could hear police sirens in the distance; Lex's silent police-alarm had done its job. Quickly, Superman and the others regrouped. "We'd better get out of here; we'll meet Lex and Ollie at the rendezvous point." Superman said. The others nodded, and the four of them darted into the shadows, leaving the crooks and their illegal cargo to the police.

Had they lingered a moment longer, they might have noticed a silver blur dart overhead, in the direction that they had just taken.

After their little caper, Superman and the rest of his pals all met up on top of a building a safe distance from the dock, though they could still see the police take the thugs into custody. Superman smiled to himself; they'd done good.

"All right! We rock!" Flash exclaimed.

Green Arrow nodded. "That was too big a job for one guy to handle alone." he said. "And it was nice to get the old crew back together."

Superman chuckled. "Just like old times." he joked. Still, it had been good to see everyone, again. They had used their abilities and skills to do real good; they had stopped those weapons from reaching the streets.

This little excursion had just felt...right.

Cyborg grinned. "And, man, that whale-trick, Arthur? Beautiful!" he laughed. "Bro, when it comes to kickin' butt on the high seas, you are the man!"

Arthur nodded...and then he grinned. "The name," he said, "is Aquaman!"

Lex smiled. "'Aquaman'?" he repeated. "Hey, that's got a nice ring to it!"

Cyborg nodded, and then turned to Superman. "Hey, thanks for watchin' my back, Smallville."

Superman blinked. "What?"

"You know, after I blasted those crates." Cyborg explained. "One goon was sneakin' up on me, and you nailed him, before you took out a whole bunch of 'em."

"Cyborg...that wasn't me." Superman said. "Yes, I did take out a few goons, but I never got to the one sneaking up on you; I saw him, but then I had to make sure Flash didn't run into trouble – when I looked back, he was gone, so I'd assumed you'd gotten him. I wasn't the one who did that."

"Well, sure it was!" Arthur – Aquaman – exclaimed. "You did the same for me, too!"

"No, he couldn't have!" Flash piped up. "Supes was taking care of those goons on the ship; I was there helping him!"

"I would have helped." Superman said. "But someone must have gotten to them first."

"Well, it wasn't me." Flash said.

"Wasn't me." Green Arrow added.

Lex chuckled. "And it definitely wasn't me."

"Well...then who was it??" Cyborg asked.

"Hi, guys!"

That voice took Superman completely by surprised, as the entire group turned to see..."Ali??"

Alison smiled at Superman. "I hope you don't mind me tagging along." she said coyly, as she stepped into view...revealing the new uniform she now wore.

Her new uniform resembled previous uniform, but with several elements from his own mixed in. Her uniform consisted of a silver-colored bodysuit, with the central vertical section missing, like her old one, which revealed her slender midriff, but now her ample curves were more covered, with no gap in between. On the uniform's chest was a white stylized 'P' – the crest of the House of Lir. The uniform left her shoulders bare, like the old one, and it also consisted of long, silver gloves with quartz stones in the backs of the hands, as well as silver leggings ending in not-too-high-heeled boots, like the old one. Now, however, a silvery cape trailed from the back of her uniform, extending from the silvery material that encircled her neck...and, emblazoned in the middle of the cape, was the House of Lir's crest.

"How'd she get here??" Cyborg sputtered.

Dazzler smiled. "Like I said to Kal's mom, I'm not quite so easy to ditch, anymore."

Superman managed a smile. "I forgot to tell you guys." he said. "Ali's part Kryptonian; she has some of the same powers that I do, though to a lesser extent."

Aquaman blinked. "So...she's descended from the guy who crashed that Speeder into the ocean, 500 years ago?"

"Yep."

Cyborg grimaced. "Aw, man, I don't believe this...we got schooled by Dorky Ali..."

Superman chuckled. "I bet you're sorry you made fun of her, now." he joked.

"Well, this sure has been an eventful evening." Flash said.

"It's not over yet." Lex added, as he took out his laptop. "I've been poring over those files that Wally uploaded from the computer; there's one section that's heavily encrypted...and, boy, do I mean heavily."

At that, everyone moved in, peering over Lex's shoulder at the file. "What could it be?" Dazzler asked.

"Well, I can't say for sure," Lex said, "but it almost looks like a reference to another shipment coming in." He tapped a few keys...and groaned. "It's too heavily encrypted; I can't crack it."

Superman thought for a few seconds, and then smiled. "Don't give up just yet, Lex." he said. "I've got an idea..."

Shaw International Metropolis Division Headquarters, Metropolis

It was shortly after sunset by the time Shinobi and Emma reached Shaw International's HQ in Metropolis; as soon as they walked through the doors, Shinobi was ushered into his father's private office, with Emma following him closely. Shinobi smiled to himself as he sat in his father's desk; sitting there felt right. That seat – his father's position, wealth, and power – were practically made for him...

"Getting a bit distracted, aren't we?"

Shinobi scowled at Emma, who was chuckling to herself, before her voice turned cold. "We don't have time for your daydreams, Shaw; we need to make sure that those operations are going smoothly."

Shinobi grumbled to himself as he switched on the office's internal communications system. "Report." he ordered. "What is the status on the first arms shipment? Did it arrive?"

"Uh...yes, Mr. Shaw,"came the reply, "but there were a few...complications."

Shinobi sighed to himself, as he took out a bottle of wine in one of the drawers in the desk, before pouring himself a glass. "What kind of complications?"

"Uh...well, sir...the shipment was lost."

Shinobi stopped in mid-pour. His face twisted in fury. "WHAT?!!"

"Some costumed lunatics stopped us, sir!" his employee stammered. "We lost everything, and almost all the guys working that job were arrested! The only thing I managed to save were the video-feeds; I'm sending those to you, now, sir!"

Promptly, Shinobi switched on the desk's computer, in time to see the surveillance video-files pop up on his screen.

His eyes widened as he saw the video-feed...and then narrowed in sheer, utter rage.

With a roar of fury, he flung the wine-glass across the room, where it shattered into pieces. The video showed Superman, and several other costumed do-gooders, breaking up the shipment and leaving all that incriminating evidence for the police. He managed to calm himself, and spoke into the communicator. "I'll have our lawyers handle it."

"Thank you, sir, but that'll be difficult; they got the files on the computer, too."

Shinobi managed to keep his rage under control. "I see." he said. "That will be all." With that, he switched off the communicator.

Emma smirked. "What did I tell you?" she said. "If you hadn't been lusting after that Blaire girl..."

Shinobi glared at her, about to fire off a retort...and then he smiled slyly. "Frost," he began, "is the team ready?"

Emma frowned. "No, Shaw. My students will not be used for your petty vendettas."

"Oh, really? Well, how about to protect the Circle's investments?" Shinobi countered. "That's why we put that little squad together, isn't it? To ensure that Xavier's golden-boy didn't interfere with our business?"

Emma scowled. "I don't believe that includes getting rid of your competition."

"You heard what that peon said, Frost; they got the files on the shipment." Shinobi said. "That means that they could learn of the second shipment – the larger one – coming through, soon. I doubt that my father would be happy to see that shipment ruined."

Emma glared at him...and then nodded. She reached for a communicator she'd been keeping in her coat pocket, before speaking into it. "Hellions," she said, "we have an assignment for you."

Within minutes, seven teenagers walked in, all clad in red-and-black bodysuits, with the exception of one; Frost's students. The tallest of the seven was Buford "Beef" Wilson, 17 years old; he was exactly what his name implied: a massive, hulking figure, over seven feet tall, and all muscle, with short blond hair and green eyes. His mutant ability, naturally, was superhuman strength...hopefully enough to give the alien trouble.

Next to him was Fabian "Bevatron" Marechal-Jublin, 16, and considerably shorter; he was of average height, and of lean frame, with short, sandy-blond hair and blue eyes. The French youth's mutant ability enabled him to generate bio-electrical blasts of considerable force.

Next was Sharon "Catseye" Smith, also 16; Sharon's hair was fairly long, and bright purple, a sharp contrast to her eyes, golden and slitted, like a cat's. Her suit accentuated her slender, feline frame; her ability enabled her to change into a half-feline form, with incredible speed, agility, and the heightened senses of a deadly wildcat.

Standing quietly to Sharon's right was Sooraya "Dust" Qadir; she was the only one not in the same uniform – the 15-year-old Afghani girl was wearing her traditional black robe and veil, leaving only her dark eyes and a part of her nose exposed. Her ability enabled her to become a living sandstorm of deadly force.

Standing to Beef's left was the second-tallest member of the team, John "Thunderbird" Proudstar. The 18-year-old Native American youth was six feet tall, and well-built, with long, black hair, and dark eyes. His mutant gift gave him great strength and stamina, which, when coupled with his initial training as a Marine, made him a formidable fighter.

To the far right of the group stood Angelica "Firestar" Jones, 16, with long, light-red hair, blue eyes, and a slender frame. Her ability enabled her to manipulate microwave radiation, to generate powerful heat-rays from her hands, among other things.

And finally, standing in the middle of the group, was the team's field-leader, Julian "Hellion" Keller. Julian was 18, fairly tall, and of athletic frame, with short, dark hair, and cold blue eyes. He was a telekinetic; the strongest that Frost had ever seen. He was also the biggest troublemaker that Emma had ever seen; he lived to flout and undermine her authority over the rest of her students...which, coupled with his tactical abilities, made him infuriating.

Julian smirked as the team walked in. "Hey, teach." he said. "What's up?"

Emma frowned; Hellion's glib attitude was par for the course. "As I said," she answered, "I have a mission for all of you."

Fabian smiled coldly. "Tres bien." he said, in a cold French accent. "Our first assignment."

"You'll be protecting a shipment that the Circle is particularly interested in." Shinobi said. "We have reason to believe that it will be attacked."

Sharon rolled her eyes. "A babysitting job?" she said. "That's it?"

Emma smiled slyly. "I had a feeling that you might feel that way." she said. She turned the computer screen around, and brought up the video feed.

The Hellions' eyes went wide. "Is...that..?" Angelica murmured.

"Hellions...meet Kal-El." Emma said.

"Wait...he's the alien that you guys have been looking into?" John asked.

Buford smirked. "He don't look so tough."

"We already know that Kal-El is affiliated with Charles Xavier's Institute; we know about his students." Emma said. "These other four individuals, however, are completely new to us. When you encounter them, exercise caution."

"Um...Miss Frost?"

Emma looked up. "Yes, Sooraya?"

Sooraya looked nervous. "Why...why do we have to fight Superman?" she asked softly.

Emma arched an eyebrow. "Do you have a problem with that, Sooraya?" she asked gently; of all her students, Emma knew she had to be most careful with Sooraya – the girl had been sold into slavery at a very young age, and had only recently been liberated. They were lucky that Sooraya had accepted the invitation to join the team.

Sooraya lowered her eyes. "It...it's just that..." she stammered, in accented English, "...a year ago, when I had been rescued from...that place, a relief ship carrying medical supplies was nearly shot down, but...someone saved it; I had a very bad sickness at that time – I would have died without treatment." She looked imploringly at Emma. "He is not a bad person, Miss Frost; why must we fight him?"

Emma momentarily looked stricken; fragile or not, Sooraya was no fool. She thought quickly. "You're right, Sooraya; he isn't a bad person. He's just been blinded by Xavier's foolish ideas." she said, smiling. "Once he sees the truth, we won't have to fight him."

Julian scowled. "He ain't takin' my job." he muttered. "I'm glad we're going up against him, guys; it's time to really show what we can do."

Buford cracked his knuckles, grinning. "Fine with me."

"Splendid." Emma said, smiling. "I just know you'll make me proud." Her expression turned stern. "We leave within the hour; get ready." With that, the Hellions all headed out of the office, to prepare for their mission.

Shinobi chuckled to himself. 'I'll win Father's respect and remove my rival all at once.' he thought to himself, hopefully quiet enough that Emma wouldn't notice.

It was turning out to be a good day, after all.

Xavier Institute

'X-Men, report to my office.'

It was a few hours after sunset when Scott and the rest of the X-Men heard the Professor's telepathic summons. As soon as they had heard it, they – plus Krypto – hurried to their mentor's office. "What's wrong, Professor?" Scott asked.

The Professor looked grave. "Cerebro has just detected several mutant signatures in Metropolis." he answered. "They are heading towards an industrial district on Metropolis' sea-port."

"Okay." Rogue said. "So, what's the problem?"

"I have never been able to detect these mutants, before now." the Professor said. "Previously, they have been shielded from my scans. I have no idea what these mutants intend to do; it is imperative that we investigate."

Jean's eyes went wide. "Could Doom be involved?"

"Possibly." Professor Xavier replied. His expression became terribly haunted. "But I had also sensed – for one instant – a familiar mutant signature."

"Whose?" Kurt inquired.

The Professor lowered his gaze. "I cannot say, yet; not until I am certain."

"Can't y' tell?" Remy asked.

"No." the Professor answered. "Even now, I am having great difficulty scanning these mutants; something – or someone – is blocking me."

The X-Men were momentarily silent at that notion. "Have you heard from Clark or Ali?" Kitty finally asked.

"None yet." the Professor answered. He lightly smiled. "Although I have detected some activity in Metropolis; it seems that an arms shipment has been broken up, this evening."

Lance chuckled. "Looks like Clark and his pals were having a party."

Kitty knelt down to Krypto's level. "Krypto, we need you to find Clark and Ali." she said. "We have to let them know what's going on."

Scott nodded. "We'll leave our transponders on, so that you'll know where we are, Krypto." he added. "Bring Clark and Ali to where we are. Can you do that, boy?" At that, Krypto barked in agreement, before he scampered off, to find his master.

"Regardless of what you find, please, exercise caution." the Professor urged. "These mutants are quite powerful."

"We will." Scott promised. "Okay, X-Men, let's move out!" With that, the X-Men hurried off, to suit up, before heading to Metropolis.

Metropolis

After having Lex send the files to his belt-computer, it was easy for Superman to use his link to the Fortress' computer to decode the files. In less than a minute, the Fortress had chewed up the encryption and provided the clear-text files. "Got it." Superman reported.

Lex arched an eyebrow. "Your computer cracked that encryption in less than a minute?" he said. "What kind of a computer have you got, Smallville?"

Cyborg chuckled. "Man, what I wouldn't give to see the kind of games that baby could run on it."

After Superman had sent the files back to Lex's laptop, Green Arrow peered over Lex's shoulder. "Well, well, well..." he said, "...looks like the shipment we busted up was part of a larger one, coming through tonight."

Lex nodded. "And there's more." he added. "From what I can tell...these shipments...came through Shaw International."

Dazzler's eyes narrowed. "Figures." she muttered.

"How can you tell?" Flash asked.

"I recognize some of the codes being used; they correspond to known suppliers of Shaw's company." Lex answered. He sighed. "Unfortunately, this kind of info won't stand up in court; all it proves is that this supplier purchased the weapons – Shaw Senior's smart enough to use them as a buffer, to insulate himself." His expression became graver. "I've been doing some digging – mostly tracing some of the transactions that Van Damme Industries has done in the past little while; recently, about half of them have been with Shaw's company."

Superman frowned. "Whatever Doom and Magneto are up to, Shaw may very well be in on it."

"Terrific." Aquaman muttered. "The Odd Couple of the organized crime world; there goes the neighborhood."

"So, where's this shipment headed?" Dazzler inquired.

"Looks like it's headed to an industrial sector near the sea-port, a few blocks from here." Lex reported.

Superman nodded. "We'd better get moving, before..."

"Arf arf!!"

The sudden barking surprised Superman as Krypto touched down next to him. "Krypto??" Superman exclaimed.

"Hey, Smallville, what's with the pooch?" Flash asked.

Superman smiled. "This is Krypto, my dog from...back home." he explained.

Aquaman chuckled. "Yeah, the flying was a bit of a giveaway."

Dazzler knelt to Krypto's level. "What's wrong, Krypto?" she asked. She chuckled. "You're not still upset because we said you couldn't come, are you?"

"Arf!!" Krypto barked.

Superman's expression became concerned. "No, Ali, I don't think that's it." he thought aloud. He knelt down to his pet. "Krypto...is everything okay, back home?"

"Arf!!"

"Something's wrong, isn't it?" Superman said. "Is it about the others? Are they okay?"

"Arf arf!!" Krypto barked, before he started nudging Superman in one direction.

Lex frowned. "He's nudging you in the direction that the shipment is coming in."

"Looks like your pals are workin' the same case as us." Cyborg observed.

"Looks like it." Superman agreed. "Something's definitely wrong." He stood up. "We'd better get a move on. Dazzler, you're with me in the air; Flash, you follow us on the ground, while the rest follow in the chopper."

"Got it." Dazzler agreed, as Flash nodded.

"Don't hog all the action." Cyborg quipped.

Dazzler chuckled. "We'll try not to!"

Superman smiled, and looked to Krypto. "Lead the way, boy." he said. Krypto barked in agreement, and took to the air, followed by Superman and Dazzler, while Flash took off after them on the ground, the rest of their little band heading to the helicopter, to follow them.

Within the hour, the Blackbird had touched down in an empty lot, far from prying eyes, as the X-Men, in uniform, exited their craft, heading towards the warehouse where the Professor had detected the unknown mutant signatures. "Jean, are you getting anything?" Cyclops asked.

Jean closed her eyes, momentarily concentrating...and shook her head. "Nothing, Scott." she replied. "Something is blocking me; I can't get a good read on anything in that warehouse."

"Gambit don' like dis." Gambit muttered. "Don' like it one bit."

"Join the club, Cajun." Rogue agreed.

Spyke warily popped out his forearm-spikes. "If I was gonna set up an ambush, this is the kind of place I'd use to do it."

By then, they had entered the warehouse; the main storage area appeared to be empty...but further into the warehouse, they could hear noises, activity. "Stay alert." Cyclops instructed, as the entire group stealthily moved further into the warehouse, to investigate.

As they moved further in...Cyclops couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched...

At the back loading area of the warehouse, numerous workers were busily moving crates filled with high-tech weaponry into the backs of trucks, while Shinobi and Emma, clad in her Circle uniform – white, tight pants, a white tube-top, and a white cape – supervised. Shinobi smiled to himself; so far, so good. The shipment would be completely loaded in less than an hour, and there had been no sign of any interference.

That last thought was somewhat bittersweet, Shinobi noted. Though he couldn't complain, since things were going so smoothly...part of him had been hoping to watch the Hellions crush his rival...

"Don't get too cocky, Shaw." Emma said, interrupting his thoughts. "We have company." Her eyes narrowed as she focused...before she smiled slyly. "My, my, my...what have we here?" she chuckled.

"What is it?" Shinobi asked. "Is that...thing here?"

"No," Emma replied, "but his dear friends are." She suddenly laughed. "And is someone trying to detect us? Oh, no, no, no, that won't do at all..."

Emma then focused, reaching for her students' minds. 'Hellions,' she instructed mentally, 'we have intruders. Engage them.'

Julian was the first to reply...to question her orders, as usual. 'But Blue-Boy and his sucker-squad aren't here, Miss F...'

'I am aware of that, Julian.' Emma thought. 'Slight change of plans.' Her thoughts turned firm. 'You have your orders.'

Julian sighed. 'Fine, fine...' he thought grudgingly, before he broke away from the telepathic conversation, to do as his teacher had told him.

"What's going on, Frost?" Shinobi demanded.

Emma smiled slyly. "Just saying hello to an old friend..."

As the X-Men drew closer to the other end of the main storage area, closer to the noise, Cyclops still couldn't shake that terrible unease. "Are you getting anything yet, Jean?"

"No, still nothing..." Jean said...and then her eyes widened. "DOWN!!" she yelled; at once, everyone hit the deck, just as a bolt of electricity and a ray of superheated energy blazed over them, right where they had just been.

"So nice of you chumps to drop in; shame you won't be staying..."

At the sound of that voice, the X-Men got up, turning to their left, looking into the shadows, as three teenagers, all clad in red-and-black bodysuits, stepped into view. One was a fairly tall, lean young man with short, sandy-blond hair and blue eyes. Another was a young woman with fairly long reddish hair and blue eyes. The third was fairly tall, and well-built, with short, dark hair, and frosty blue eyes.

"Who are you?" Cyclops asked.

The dark-haired youth smirked. "Me? The name's Julian...though I prefer to go by 'Hellion'." he replied. He gestured to his comrades. "You've already met Bevatron and Firestar; it's only fair that you meet the rest of the gang."

At that, to the X-Men's left, another two teenagers stepped into view: a massively tall, muscular young man, and a slender young woman with long, violet hair...who instantly changed into a violet-furred, cat-like humanoid, complete with a long, feline tail. "Beef, Catseye, say hello." Hellion chuckled.

Beef grinned savagely. "Ain't what I wanted to crush, but it'll do."

"Good to hear, big guy." Hellion said. "And last, but not least, meet Thunderbird and Dust." At that, a tall, strongly-built Native American youth, and a young girl, clad in a full black robe, stepped into view.

"As a whole, we're known as te Hellions," Hellion finished, "and, tonight, we'll be kicking the collective asses of you X-Men geeks."

"How do you know about us?" Jean asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Catseye purred.

"Look," Cyclops began, "we didn't come here for trouble..."

Bevatron chuckled. "No-one ever does," he said, in a French accent, "but the truth is...trouble always knows where to find you."

Hellion smirked. "You heard it here, first, X-Losers." he said. He then looked to his team. "Get 'em."

Roaring, the massive Beef charged at the X-Men. Quickly, Jean grabbed the charging titan with her TK, straining under his massive weight, but holding on long enough for Cyclops to send him flying with an optic-blast. Beef went flying back towards his teammates, but Hellion simply gestured; Beef stopped inches from Hellion's face.

Hellion smirked. "Nice idea, Carrot-Top." he mocked. With that, he sent Beef flying back towards Cyclops and Jean; the two X-Men promptly dove out of the way of the TK-powered living missile. As Cyclops came out of his roll, he aimed at Hellion, and fired, but his optic blast impacted off a TK-barrier that Hellion had generated...seconds before he had to dodge a flying crate that Hellion had grasped with his telekinesis.

Taking aim at Shadowcat, Firestar promptly fired a heat-ray from her hands, but Avalanche summoned a tremor, causing a stone pillar to shoot up in front of Firestar, spoiling her aim. Shadowcat took advantage of her teammate's attack; she promptly phased through the stone, grabbed Firestar's hands, and phased back in, trapping Firestar's hands in the stone. "Try heat-blasting your way out of that!" Shadowcat declared.

Avalanche grinned...and then froze. "Kitty, duck!!"

Instantly, Kitty ducked under a high-voltage blast from Bevatron's hands, as Firestar turned up the heat, blasting the rock apart, freeing her hands. Smirking, Bevatron started to charge up another blast, taking aim at the two...oblivious to Rogue sneaking up behind him, removing her gloves. Quickly, she tapped her bare finger to the base of Bevatron's neck.

The combination of Bevatron's high voltage and Rogue's absorption power was enough to send both of them flying, both equally dazed. Avalanche took advantage of Rogue's tactic, and summoned a tremor right beneath Firestar's feet, sending the pyro-technic girl flying...but Firestar did a mid-air flip, before firing a heat-ray at Avalanche and Shadowcat, forcing them to dodge, spoiling their plans to press the attack.

By then, Beef had recovered from his leader's tactic, and had chosen a new target. Roaring, he ran at Gambit, swinging at him with his massive fists., but Gambit easily dodged every punch. "Sorry, mon ami, but y' got t' do bett'r den dat t' get de better o' a form'r memb'r o' de T'ieves Guild." Gambit quipped, as he drew his bo-staff, and unleashed a precision strike to Beef's knee-cap; Beef roared in pain, before Gambit slammed him with a hit to his jaw, knocking him out.

Before Gambit could even blink, Thunderbird darted behind him and grabbed the ends of his bo-staff, pulling it against his throat, starting to choke him. "What about a former U.S. Marine?"

Gambit managed a chuckle. "Dat...might do it...if Gambit was sleepin'..."

With that, gambit pushed off the floor, reverse-somersaulting over Thunderbird, breaking the choke. Spyke took that opportunity, firing a salvo of bone-spikes. Thunderbird moved with an agility that belied his stature, easily evading every single spike, before catching the last one, and throwing it at Spyke.

Instantly, Nightcrawler 'ported in, kicking the spike away. He was about to 'port behind Thunderbird and attack...when a distinctly feline growl made him freeze, as Catseye pounced at him. Nightcrawler 'ported away, causing Catseye to miss, but the feline mutant recovered her balance, sniffed the air, and pounced towards an empty space...just as Nightcrawler reappeared. The German youth yelped, and 'ported away, just before Catseye reached him. Catseye growled to herself, before pouncing at the reappearing Nightcrawler again, eager to catch her new prey...

Suddenly, Catseye stopped in mid-air, inches from the reappearing Nightcrawler, as Jean grabbed the feline mutant with her TK, before throwing her a good twenty feet.

"Sharon!!" Thunderbird yelled, as he ran after Catseye, catching her in his arms. "Are you okay?"

Catseye smiled. "I'm just purrrrfect." she purred, as Thunderbird set her down.

Suddenly, a massive sandstorm filled the air, blowing up from seemingly nowhere, pinning all the X-Men down. "Where'd this come from?!" Shadowcat cried.

"It's that girl Dust! I'm sensing her right in the middle of it!" Jean exclaimed. She reached for Scott's mind. "Cyclops, she's twenty degrees to your left, and elevated forty-five degrees! You should be able to get her with your optic-blasts!"

"Got it!" Cyclops said, as he aimed to the left twenty degrees, aimed up, forty-five, and fired.

Jean's targeting had been dead-on; his blast sent Dust flying, stopping her sandstorm cold. As Cyclops stood up, he saw two crates come flying at him, guided by an unseen force; quickly, Jean raised a TK-bubble, deflecting the crates that Hellion had thrown.

Hellion chuckled as his team re-grouped. "Not bad!" he said. "I hate to admit it, but you X-Men aren't too shabby; with any other group of chumps, we'd have been gone, by now!" He sighed. "But, sadly, all good things must come to an end." With that, he closed his eyes, concentrating...

Suddenly, a large fork-lift suddenly lifted off the ground, hovering before them, guided by Hellion's will. Hellion grinned savagely. "What I wouldn't give to see the look on Super-Loser's face when he finds out how we utterly trashed his friends!" With that, he pulled back, preparing to throw...

The X-Men braced themselves, ready to evade. This would be close...

Within minutes, Superman had sighted the warehouse where the shipment was being moved, and his hearing detected the UHF transponders that the X-Men were using to signal Krypto; Krypto was leading them here.

As he and Dazzler flew closer, Superman's hearing started picking up fragments of what was going on inside...including that "Hellion"'s threat. His eyes narrowed in determination. "We're going in." he said to Dazzler, before he accelerated, heading straight for the warehouse.

Like lightning, Superman burst through the metal roof, before flying to intercept the thrown fork-lift, sending it flying to the side with one punch. "There's a very old saying, 'Hellion'." he said, his eyes narrowed. "Be careful what you wish for."

Cyclops grinned. "Great timing, Big Blue."

Superman smiled back. "Sorry I'm late, guys; hope I'm not interrupting."

Hellion snarled in fury, before he raised his hands, to telekinetically grab a crate to throw, but a golden eye-ray lanced towards him, forcing him to raise a barrier, as Dazzler flew in, followed by Krypto. "Starting without me again?" Dazzler lightly teased, as she touched down next to Superman. "Shame on you!"

As Bevatron started to gather energy for another blast, a red blur darted into the warehouse, heading straight for the electricity-wielding mutant. When Bevatron was right in front of him, Flash leapt towards him, flipping in mid-air, slamming Bevatron with a flying double-heel kick right in the face, sending him flying a good thirty feet. Flash easily regained his balance, landing on his feet. "Well, you know that had to hurt." he quipped.

Jean chuckled. "Friend of yours?"

Superman grinned. "Yep."

Just then, a single arrow shot through the skylight above, striking the ground near Thunderbird and Catseye, erupting in a fair-sized explosion, driving them back. Seconds later, a blue-white sonic pulse shot through the skylight, driving back Firestar, Beef, and Dust, as Green Arrow, Aquaman, and Cyborg dropped in through the skylight. "Hope you guys don't mind us dropping in." Green Arrow quipped.

Gambit grinned. "'ey, de more, de merrier, mon ami."

By then, Hellion had recovered. "So," he snarled, "the sucker-squad's all here."

Cyclops grinned. "You creeps ready for Round Two?"

Hellion's eyes narrowed. "Hellions," he ordered, "attack!!"

And with that order, a fair approximation of all hell broke loose.

As Hellion sent a half-dozen crates flying at him and his teammates, Superman quickly knocked the flying boxes aside...before he turned to see the roaring Beef charge at him. Superman met his charge head-on, as he dug in his heels; Beef's momentum forced him back a few feet, until he stopped. Beef's expression was almost comical as he tried to push Superman back, but could not. He pulled his arm back to punch...but Superman was faster.

WHAM!!!!

Superman's fist slammed into Beef's abdomen, sending him flying a good forty feet, cratering the wall. Beef was momentarily dazed, but quickly recovered, snarling. Quickly, Flash and Gambit darted over. Flash grinned. "You know, I've always considered myself a fast hand at poker..."

Gambit chuckled. "Dat so?" he asked, as he took out and charged a handful of cards. "In dat case, be Gambit's guest." Quickly, Flash took the cards, and darted over to Beef, circling him at high speeds...moving too fast for anyone to tell that he was sticking the cards all over Beef, before he zipped away, just as the cards detonated, sending Beef flying once more, to land hard, out cold.

As Dust started to whirl into her sandstorm, Dazzler took a deep breath, and blew into the sandstorm; her breath unleashed winds of impressive force, blowing away much of the sand, and revealing Dust at the center. Quickly, Jean telekinetically grabbed Dust, stopping her from spinning, as Dazzler darted over, and lightly tapped the girl with her finger, sending her flying, and knocking her out.

By then, Bevatron had recovered, and was starting to build up another charge, but Green Arrow took aim at him, and fired; his arrow exploded a few feet in front of Bevatron, coating him in a non-conductive haze. Bevatron coughed as his powers fizzled out, and then he caught the scent of brimstone...seconds before Nightcrawler 'ported in and booted him out of the haze, right into Green Arrow's range. Green Arrow promptly retracted his longbow, before slamming Bevatron's face with a punch, following with an uppercut, and whirling into a back-kick, sending him stumbling into Rogue's waiting hand; without a charge built up, Rogue's powers drained him easily, without harming her.

With a feral snarl, Catseye pounced at Rogue...only to slam into a hard-light barrier that Dazzler had generated. Getting back up, Catseye turned to snarl at Dazzler, who only smiled, and gestured behind Catseye. Catseye blinked, confused...

...and the froze, as her cat-ears flattened against her head, as she heard a sound that every domesticated feline feared on pure instinct. Slowly, she turned around...to see Krypto the Superdog behind her, growling at her, his teeth bared.

Krypto let out a bark that shook the room, causing Catseye to scamper away on all fours, howling in terror, but Krypto was faster; in seconds he had closed on her, and grabbed her tail in his teeth, causing Catseye to wail in pain. Krypto then lifted her up and slammed her to the floor, before floating up a few inches, to spin the howling feline around and around, and then letting go, sending Catseye flying a good thirty feet, to land flat on her face, before automatically resuming her human form, out cold.

Rogue chuckled. "So much for cats landin' on their feet."

As Thunderbird closed on him, Spyke unleashed a bone-spike salvo, which Thunderbird evaded, but it did distract him long enough for Cyborg to tackle him with a haymaker, knocking him back. As Thunderbird recovered, he started to close on them again, but suddenly stopped, as he looked down...to see his feet stuck in the floor...

Smiling, Shadowcat phased out of the floor. "All yours, guys!"

Grinning, Spyke popped out a fresh batch of spikes as Cyborg readied his sonic cannon, before firing as one; the sonic pulse accelerated the spikes, as both attacks sent Thunderbird flying, bruised and unconscious.

"All right!" Spyke exclaimed. "We rock!"

Cyborg grinned. "One word says it all, bro." he said. His grin grew. "Booyah."

Firestar unleashed a heat-beam at Aquaman, who darted out of the way, as Avalanche summoned a tremor, knocking Firestar into the air with a pillar of earth, before slamming her with a second pillar, knocking her out. As Aquaman regained his balance, the recovered Beef charged at him, catching him in his arms; Aquaman tried to break his grip, but couldn't – he'd been out of water for a while, and not at 100 percent...

"Hey, Arty?" came Lex's voice over his communicator. "Hang on; I'll see if I can get that big lug's attention with that conveyor belt."

At that, the conveyor belt nearby suddenly activated, whirring to life at impressive speeds, sending crates flying at Beef, distracting him enough for Aquaman to break free. Darting away, Aquaman exclaimed, "Hey, Shakey! Mind triggering the sprinklers?"

"No problem!" Avalanche replied, as he summoned a pillar of earth, which shot up to the control box of the sprinkler system and triggered it; instantly, a refreshing shower washed over Aquaman, restoring him to full strength.

As Beef came at him again, Aquaman easily stopped his charge, before slamming him with a punch to the gut, a headbutt, and then sent him flying with a back-kick, knocking him out.

As Superman and Cyclops closed on Hellion, the telekinetic youth sent all kinds of objects flying at them; crates, heavy machinery...everything he could see, his expression becoming more and more desperate as his attacks were countered by either Cyclops' optic-blasts or Superman's punches. When Hellion finally tired, Superman and Cyclops simply looked to each other, and nodded in wordless understanding.

Superman fired his eye-rays at the exact same time that Cyclops unleashed his blasts; their combined force easily shattered the TK-barrier that Hellion tried frantically to raise, sending a bruised, somewhat-singed Julian flying, to land hard, out cold.

Cyclops smiled. "Well, that takes care of that."

"Not yet." Superman said. "We still have to take out that shipment." He looked to his pals. "Cyborg, Green Arrow, you guys check the east side; Flash Aquaman, you take the west; Dazzler, you and Krypto help me check out the north wing." All his friends nodded in agreement.

"We can handle things here." Jean said. "Don't worry." Superman nodded, before he hurried further into the warehouse, followed by Dazzler and Krypto, as his friends headed in other directions, to find that arms shipment.

After watching the video-feed, Shinobi felt his blood start to boil. He'd expected his team to claim victory...

"Damn it, Frost, can't your brats do anything right?!" he snarled, before he walked over to one crate, opened it, and took out a high-caliber laser rifle.

"Shaw, what are you doing?" Emma demanded.

"What my father should have done long ago!!" Shinobi snarled, before he stormed into the warehouse, to get rid of his hated rival once and for all.

As Superman walked through the warehouse's north wing, he listened carefully, trying to hear any indication of crates being moved. Finally, his hearing picked something up, dead ahead of him. He headed towards the noise...

...and stopped, as his hearing picked up another sound; a laser-rifle powering up. Seconds later, a laser beam shot towards him, but Superman easily leaned out of its path. It was a high-powered beam, but nothing he really had to worry about.

"You seem to delight in ruining my plans, bastard."

Superman arched an eyebrow as he recognized the voice echoing from the shadows. "Shinobi Shaw." he called, listening for Shinobi's reply, trying to pinpoint him. "So your dad is involved with this. Should've known."

Another laser beam shot at him, from a different angle; Superman let it hit him, hardly feeling it at all. "So confident." Shinobi sneered from the shadows; he was moving now, to his left...and he was phasing through the machinery. He was a mutant, too; intangibility. "You're so confident with all that power, aren't you?"

"It comes in handy."

"All the unnatural power you have doesn't change anything...Kal-El." Shinobi mocked. "I know what you are, bastard!! I knew what you were when I first saw you!!"

"Is that so?" Superman replied; Shaw was to his right, now. "When I first met you, all I thought you were was a spoiled little rich boy." He chuckled. "Can't say I'm surprised, though."

Another laser-blast seared the air, and Superman dodged it easily. "You think I haven't heard of that fool Destiny's babblings?!" Shinobi shouted, getting angrier. "You will never rule this world, you filthy space-born bastard!! This world is mine!! I will be the next Lord Imperial, do you hear me, bastard?! I will rule the Inner Circle, not you!!"

By then, Superman had located Shaw – a few meters to his left – but kept still; Shaw seemed to be in a talkative mood. "'Inner Circle'?" he repeated. "Can't say I've heard of it."

"The Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club will rule all, bastard, and I will rule it!" Shinobi snarled. "You will never have what is mine by right, bastard!! You have no home, no heritage, and no claim to this world!! This world will be mine, and so will Alison Blaire!!"

Superman's eyes narrowed; the crass mention of his taushi was going too far. "Is that so."

Shinobi took a few steps closer, and took aim. "You are nothing, bastard!! NOTHING!! And you'll never be more!!" He prepared to fire...

Superman simply turned towards him, his eyes glowing red, as his invisible heat-rays made the rifle glow red-hot. Shinobi screamed in agony as he dropped the weapon. "Next time you want to sneak up on someone, Shaw, you may want to avoid ranting." Superman said, his eyes losing their glow.

Shinobi's face twisted in fury. "I will never bow to you, bastard!!" he roared. "It is my destiny to rule, not YOURS!! And none of your stupid, Boy-Scout, country-bumpkin politeness will change that!!" With that, he ran at Superman, fist ready to strike, as he used his powers; his particular kind of intangibility also enabled him to disrupt the molecules of anyone he touched in that phased state. Shinobi was trying to disable him.

Too bad for him.

Superman effortlessly caught Shinobi's fist, completely unaffected by Shinobi's powers. Shinobi's eyes went wide. "What..?"

"Sorry, Shaw; your tricks don't work on me." Superman said, his eyes narrowing as he released Shinobi's hand with a flick, causing Shaw to stumble backwards a few feet. "And as for that 'Boy-Scout, politeness' crack...that's a bit of a misconception, Shaw."

Shinobi's expression became fearful. "W-What do you mean?" he stammered.

"Sure, I'm polite to people." Superman continued. "Good people." His eyes narrowed into a glare, causing Shinobi to cringe. "But people like you, Shaw? People who think they can just take what they want, and do what they want, and to hell with everyone else?"

"Well...that's a different story." Superman added. "People like you irritate me. Now, I'm all for restraint, but when push comes to shove, in dealing with people like you...I have no problem in doing this!!"

CRACK!!!!

Superman's punch echoed like a thunderclap, as his fist slammed into Shinobi's face, sending the spoiled, arrogant young mutant flying a good sixty feet, to crash into a boiler pipe, cratering it, leaving Shinobi coughing, gasping for breath, blood dripping from his mouth, but otherwise in one piece.

Superman didn't normally hit that hard, but the little creep had it coming after the way he'd mistreated Alison, in the past and recently, in addition to being an all-around jerk; besides, he hadn't hit hard enough to do any serious damage – a wound to Shaw's pride was good enough. With Shinobi dispatched, Superman continued on his way, to find that shipment.

Within minutes, Superman emerged in the loading area...filled with numerous crates of weapons, as well as several trucks filled with similar crates. As soon as he had stepped into view, the workers loading the trucks screamed, before fleeing in terror. Superman's eyes narrowed in determination, ready to melt those weapons into slag...

...but he stopped, as a soft sound filled his ears. Superman turned towards the sound, as a young woman, about the same age as him, with long, blond hair, cold blue eyes, and ample curves, clad in white tight pants, a white tube-top, and a white cape, stepped into view, her hands lightly clapping, producing the sound. "Very impressive." she cooed.

Superman frowned. "Who are you?"

The woman smiled. "Who do you want me to be?" she purred.

Superman's eyes narrowed, as he folded his arms. "Yourself."

The woman lightly laughed. "Well, I don't hear that reply very often." she said. She lightly curtsied. "Emma Frost, White Queen of the Inner Circle." She sighed. "You've already met our Black Rook, Shinobi Shaw."

Superman arched an eyebrow. "You name yourselves after chess pieces?"

Emma nodded. "Truthfully, after this little debacle, Shaw will likely be demoted to Black Pawn, if he isn't kicked out of the Circle completely." she said. "Shinobi has many faults...including being a blabbermouth." She smiled slyly. "I am sorry, dearie, but we simply can't have you walking around, knowing what you know about us; I'm afraid that I'll have to erase those memories." She giggled. "And while I'm at it, why don't I have a look inside that fascinating alien mind of yours."

Superman chuckled. "Knock yourself out."

Emma smiled, as she put her hands to her head...and then frowned. She narrowed her eyes, focusing. She focused harder...and harder, until a small bead of sweat formed on her forehead.

Superman chuckled, before tapping the side of his head. "My Mom always said I had a thick skull; looks like she was right." he quipped. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you're a telepath." He chuckled. "That, or you're seriously constipated."

Emma's eyes widened, before she frowned at the shot. "Well, I've never heard that, before..." she muttered. She smiled. "Well, Kal-El, I may not be able to peek at your thoughts, but I can signal Hellion to, literally, bring the house down." she added. "Which is more important: stopping us, or saving your friends?"

Superman frowned...and then he smiled. "I may not be able to stop you from escaping," he admitted, "but I can make sure you leave empty-handed." He glanced behind Emma. "Right, taushi?"

At that signal, Dazzler darted towards the surprised Emma and slammed into her, sending the shrieking White Queen flying too fast for her to even react, as she slammed into a truck, knocking her out. "You called?" Dazzler asked, smiling.

Superman smiled back. "Let's take out the trash, Ali." he said. With that, the two darted in and out of the trucks, unloading every single crate of weapons in record time. When all the crates were outside, Superman and Dazzler fired their eye-rays, incinerating the crates and melting the weapons inside into slag. Their task complete, they turned to go...

...only to find Shinobi standing there, brandishing his rifle. "You won't be making a fool out of me, bastard!!" he snarled. "I'll get you for – YEEEEAAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!"

Superman suppressed a chuckle. "Good boy, Krypto."

While Shinobi had been ranting, Krypto had crept up on him...until he was close enough to bite Shinobi right in the rear.

As Krypto let go, Dazzler glared at Shinobi. "I heard what you said about my tausha, Shaw." she snapped. "Kal is a hundred times the man you'll ever be, and his people were probably one of the greatest civilizations in history." She pulled back her fist. "Oh, and F.Y.I? I'm one, too." And with that, she sent Shinobi flying with a punch.

Superman chuckled. "You enjoyed that."

Dazzler smiled. "Oh, like you didn't?" Just then, the entire warehouse began to shake; Emma had likely told Hellion to collapse the warehouse if he stopped hearing from her.

"We'd better get out of here!" Superman exclaimed. Dazzler nodded, and they darted back inside, to get their friends and get out, with Krypto following.

After meeting up inside the warehouse, the entire group quickly fled, as the Hellions mysteriously slipped away. By the time they had gathered next to the Blackbird, the warehouse had already collapsed. Seconds later, Lex's helicopter touched down next to the Blackbird, as Lex hopped out. "Quite the evening." Lex said.

"Yep." Superman agreed. "But for us – all of us – it's just business as usual."

"I hear you, Smallville." Cyborg agreed.

Jean smiled. "So, Kal, are you going to introduce us?"

Superman chuckled. "Well, you've already met Lex." he said. He gestured to Flash. "This is Wally 'The Flash' West."

"No applause." Flash quipped.

Superman gestured to Cyborg. "This is Victor 'Cyborg' Stone."

"Name says it all."

Grinning, Superman then gestured to Green Arrow and Aquaman. "And these are Oliver 'Green Arrow' Queen and His Royal Highness, Prince Arthur 'Aquaman' Curry of Atlantis."

Arthur chuckled. "Feel free to drop the 'Prince' part of that."

Smiling, Superman then gestured to the X-Men. "Guys, these are my friends from the Institute, the X-Men: Scott, Jean, Kurt, Kitty, Rogue, Evan, Lance, and Remy."

Walking towards Green Arrow, Cyclops extended his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Smiling, Green Arrow shook it. "Likewise."

"Anyone that Smallville hangs with is okay by us." Cyborg agreed, grinning.

Shadowcat then glanced to Dazzler. "Oh my gosh, Ali, I love your new uniform! It's even cooler than your old one!"

"Thanks!" Dazzler replied. "I figured that, if I'm part-Kryptonian, I might as well look it!"

Lex chuckled. "For a dorky little kid, that girl packs some serious power."

Dazzler half-frowned. "You sure know how to compliment a girl, Lex." she quipped back.

"Well, we'd better get going." Cyclops said. "Hey, do you guys want to drop by the Institute?"

Cyborg shrugged. "Cool by me."

"Okay." Flash agreed.

"Sure." Lex said.

"No problem." Green Arrow said.

"Fine." Aquaman added. With that, the entire group headed into the Blackbird, while Lex got into his chopper. In minutes, both vehicles were airborne, heading for the Institute, while Superman, Dazzler, and Krypto took to the air, flying home.

Shaw International Metropolis Division HQ, Metropolis

Sebastian Shaw was sitting in his desk in his personal office when his son and Emma Frost returned. Shinobi's eyes went wide. "F-Father..!"

"I am given to understand," Sebastian began, "that both shipments were lost, tonight."

Shinobi gulped. "Father, I-I can explain..."

Sebastian ignored his son, and turned to Emma. "Well?"

"We did lose the first shipment, sir." Emma said. "We attempted to protect the second..."

"...against Kal-El, his associates, and Xavier's students, using this new strike-force you have assembled...without my permission."

Emma slowly nodded. "We had assembled the Hellions for the purpose of protecting the Club's interests, my Lord."

"Indeed." Sebastian said. "I feel so much safer, now."

Emma remained calm – a trait he had long appreciated in the White Queen. "I admit, Lord Imperial, there is much room for improvement, but I do not believe that tonight was a complete failure. We tested our new strike-force against a team consisting of numerous Alpha-Class mutants – and one Omega-Class alien – and withdrew in one piece. That, Lord Imperial, is a victory, albeit a small one."

Sebastian considered Emma's words...and nodded. "I suppose it is." he agreed. "Very well, Emma; I approve of the creation of this team, but I strongly suggest you step up your training regimen of your students."

"Of course, my Lord." Emma replied, bowing. "I assure you, the Academy of Tomorrow does not tolerate failure."

"Good." Sebastian said. "You are dismissed." With that, Emma and Shinobi turned to leave...

"Not you, boy."

Shinobi froze as Emma left, turning back to Sebastian. "F-Father, I...that is, I did assist Frost in assembling the Hellions..."

"I'm sure." Sebastian said, getting up and walking over to his son. "My main concern, Black Rook, is that this entire debacle might have been avoided...if someone had been monitoring things more closely, rather than gallivanting around Kansas."

Shinobi gulped. "I...I assure you, it will not happen again, my Lord."

"Which brings us to your brief encounter with Kal-El." Sebastian continued. "Emma reports that she was unable to read his thoughts. Do you understand me, boy? That means she cannot erase his memory; whatever he knows about us cannot be erased!" His eyes narrowed. "Tell me, boy: what exactly were you doing running your mouth about the Circle?!"

Shinobi's eyes narrowed in a rare bout of defiance. "Before now, that space-bastard thought he had everything under control; that he had nothing to worry about!" he shot back. "Now he knows that we know of him, and have the ability to attack him! He and the others will be looking over their shoulders with fear, now that they know what we can do!"

"Yes!" Sebastian agreed sarcastically. "Now they know!"

Sebastian backhanded his son, striking with enough force to only turn his head; he did not need to prove himself the better – this was a reprimand, nothing more. "Idiot child!" Sebastian snarled. "The Circle's best tactic has always been to remain a secret; Kal-El knows of us, now! He'll be listening for your voice at every turn! You may have very well jeopardized everything!!" Sebastian calmed. "You will return home, boy, and pray that I can salvage what your stupidity has bungled...Black Pawn."

Shinobi's eyes went wide. "Pawn?!" he cried. "But...but Pawns are..!"

"...the lowest level of the Circle; they are not allowed to have a say in the business of the Circle – they follow orders, nothing more." Sebastian finished. He glared at his son. "Since you have proven yourself unable to think for yourself to even a small degree, boy, the rest of the Circle will do the thinking for you."

"You can't do this!!"

"Watch yourself, boy." Sebastian growled. "Be thankful that this demotion is the only punishment I'm giving for a failure of this magnitude." He turned his back on Shinobi. "Now...go." Scowling, Shinobi stalked away.

Sighing to himself, Sebastian sat back down in his desk, just as his phone rang. He picked it up. "Hello?"

"Shaw."

Sebastian wryly smiled; there was no mistaking that metallic voice. "Victor, how good of you to call." he greeted. "I presume you're calling about the shipments you had asked me to handle?"

"You presume correctly."

Sebastian sighed. "I am terribly sorry, my friend, but there have been some...problems." he said. "The weapons were lost; I made the mistake of assuming my son could handle them. Tragically, my ward is not as obedient or as competent as yours."

"I see." Dr. Doom replied. "That is disappointing, Shaw...but ultimately irrelevant; my sources tell me that the humans have successfully tested the meteor-element weapon in their prototype. The weapons we would have supplied will make no difference."

"Good." Sebastian said, smiling. "You were, of course, referring to the element that Kal-El has an adverse reaction to? What did you call it? 'Kryptonite'?"

"Correct." Doom answered.

"I see." Sebastian said. Smiling, he added, "As an apology, I would like to pass on an interesting bit of information; it seems that the young Miss Blaire has a bit more in common with Kal-El than most. From what my son reported, her ancestors must have hailed from Kal-El's home planet."

Doom was silent for a moment. "I had a suspicion that might be the case." he said. "Anita once told me that the Blaire girl was exhibiting additional powers, similar to those Kal-El possessed. Furthermore, several months ago, Kal-El once engaged in a deep-sea salvage operation with Richards and his family; further research showed that, 500 years ago, an unknown object crashed into the ocean...from the sky."

"And there lies the missing puzzle-piece." Sebastian said. "Glad I could be of some assistance."

"Indeed." Doom replied. "We will further discuss matters at a later date."

"Of course." Sebastian agreed. "Good-bye, Victor."

"Good-bye." Doom replied, before he ended the call. Alone again, Sebastian simply poured himself a glass of wine, as he considered what had taken place, tonight.

Xavier Institute

Fairly late in the evening, the X-Men returned to the Institute, to Charles' relief, along with Clark, Alison, and Clark's old friends. After a few introductions – and a few humorous exclamations, like Jamie's "Wow, Robin Hood is real!" reaction to Green Arrow – the entire group met Charles in the meeting room...where Charles heard a name that made his blood run cold.

"You're...certain, Clark?" Charles asked. "She called herself...Emma Frost?"

"That's right, Professor." Clark answered.

"What's wrong, Professor?" Jean asked. "Do you know this 'Frost' lady?"

Charles lowered his eyes. "Jean, you and Scott were the first students of the Institute," he began, "but you weren't my first students ever." He took a deep breath. "Emma Frostwas the very first mutant I ever tried to help; I encountered her sixteen years ago, when she was only four. Even at that age, her powers were obvious; she was a very powerful telepath, almost as powerful as you are, now, Jean." Charles closed his eyes. "For several years, I instructed her in the use of her powers, in the hopes that she might one day join the Institute."

His expression became terribly haunted. "But Emma wanted none of it; she rejected the very idea of human-mutant coexistence...and she shut herself off from me." he finished. "Her parents refused to let me continue instructing her...and that was the last I ever heard from her...until now."

"Well, it doesn't sound like she's changed her mind." Alison said.

"And she's clearly behind those 'Hellions' we encountered." Scott added.

Charles' expression became truly grave. "Then it's safe to assume that this is not the last time we'll hear from Emma or the Hellions."

"Hey, if you need to, you can always call us for backup." Flash said.

"Yeah; any friend of Smallville's is a friend of ours." Cyborg agreed.

Clark smiled. "Thanks, guys."

"Well, we'd better get going." Arthur said. "If I'm not back soon, Cousin Namor's probably going to be even more ticked than usual."

"Nice to see you again, Clark." Oliver said.

"Same here, Ollie." Clark said. "Don't be strangers, guys!"

"Don't worry, we won't!" Lex laughed, as he and the rest of Clark's old friends headed out. Shortly after that, Clark, the X-Men, and Krypto all left the meeting room.

Only Charles stayed behind, as he closed his eyes, concentrating, reaching into the psychic plane. 'Emma Frost.'

'Why, hello, Charles.' came Emma's reply. 'I had a feeling you'd come calling, after tonight.'

'Emma, what are you doing?' Charles asked.

'Securing our kind's future.'

'Emma...this is not the way...' Charles pleaded.

'You mean, it's not your way.' Emma snapped. 'That's always been the problem, Xavier. That's your way, not mine. You never respected me enough to let me consider my own philosophies; you were trying to indoctrinate me into your own pacifist idiocy.'

Charles refused to rise to the bait. 'Emma, you know that isn't true...'

'You're right; that's not entirely true.' Emma agreed. 'You were afraid of me.'

'I was afraid for you, Emma.' Charles countered. He remembered how much power he'd sensed in Emma, back then; he'd been so afraid for her, that it would adversely affect her psyche...

...as it apparently had.

'How sweet of you.' Emma mocked. 'Well, I'm not a little girl, anymore, Charles; I don't need you to hold my hand – I never did. You have your way, and I have mine; you have your own school, and so do I; we'll see who wins, in the end.'

And with that, Emma snapped down her mental shields, cutting Charles off, leaving him alone with his thoughts, his regrets; he'd tried so hard to reach her, to get through to her...

Now, he could only wonder if he had inadvertently guided the very thing that would destroy his hopes.

New York City

In her hotel room, Anita, in her green bathrobe, sat on her bed, absently going over her notes for her final exams. She didn't see the need, really; she was just studying subjects that her father had already taught her.

But she would succeed; she wasn't about to bring shame to her Papa.

Suddenly, her cell phone started to ring. Anita promptly picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hello, my dear girl."

Anita smiled. "Hello, Emma. How are you?"

Several years ago, when Anita had started to enter adolescence, her father had told her that there were some things that she, as a lady, needed to learn, which could only be taught by another lady; namely, that she needed a female role-model...and Emma Frost – the then-White Bishop of the Inner Circle, and now White Queen – had happily accepted Doom's offer to become Anita's tutor.

Shortly after meeting her, Anita had formed a kinship with the slightly older Emma; where Anita used her voice to control others, Emma used her mind.

"Oh, I'm fine, how sweet of you to inquire!" Emma replied. "I know your Daddy Dearest will likely tell you this, anyway, but I thought I should tell you first; I had an encounter with your reluctant husband-to-be, tonight."

Anita smiled. "And..?" she asked hopefully; if Emma had read his mind, she would know who he was..!

Emma sighed. "I am sorry, Anita; I couldn't get through." she answered. "Good grief, that man has a thick skull!"

Anita sighed. "Don't I know it."

Emma chuckled. "I did learn something interesting, though; your father once theorized that a spacecraft crashed to earth, 500 years ago, correct?"

"Well...yes."

"It must have been a Kryptonian craft, my dear...because the Blaire girl is Kryptonian."

Anita's eyes widened...and then narrowed in utter fury. "WHAT?!"

"There's no need to shout, my dear girl."

"Sorry." Anita said. She frowned to herself. "But I will be dead before I let that little half-breed twit get the better of me!!"

"I hope not." Emma said. "I trust things are going well for you, otherwise..?"

"They are." Anita replied. "We should be ready to move in a few weeks."

"Very good, my dear Anita; I hope you finally get through that dashing alien's thick skull. Take care!"

"Thanks!" Anita replied, smiling. "Hopefully, when I finally get through to him, we can both join your Academy!"

"Nothing would make me happier, my dear; we certainly could use the two of you. Good-bye!"

"Good-bye, Emma!" Anita said, before ending the call. After putting her cell phone away, she resumed her studies...though her thoughts started to drift.

Soon, she would be rid of that little half-breed...and Kal-El would be hers.

Xavier Institute

After meeting with the Professor, Alison, in her regular clothes, returned to her room, to resume her studying. After a few minutes, she heard a knock at her door. "Come in."

Clark slowly opened the door. "Hey." he greeted.

Alison smiled. "Hey."

Clark smiled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Listen...about earlier today...are you...mad because I went off with the guys without you?"

Alison lightly chuckled. "Well, maybe I was a little annoyed, but not really mad." she said. "Besides, you did stick up for me...and you decking Shaw was priceless!"

Clark smiled. "Nobody mistreats my taushi and gets away with it."

Alison smiled. "My hero." she teased.

"So...are we okay?" Clark asked.

Chuckling, Alison nodded. "We're okay...although being extra-nice to me for a few days wouldn't hurt..."

Clark chuckled. "Good to know." he said. His expression turned serious. "But...what were you and Ma talking about, today?" he asked. Then, he looked away. "Of course, if you really don't want to tell me, that's okay..."

Alison took a deep breath. "Clark...I was telling her about...my one visit to Aunt Embeth's."

Clark froze. "Oh." he replied. "Are...you okay?"

Alison weakly smiled. "As much as I can be." she answered. Her smile grew. "And being with you helps."

Clark smiled, and lovingly enfolded her in his embrace. "I love you, Alia." he said, using the name he had given her. "Don't ever forget that."

Alison smiled. "I love you, too, Kal." she replied. Smiling, she added, "And I won't forget...although being reminded every so often doesn't hurt."

Clark smiled...and then he froze. "Uh-oh."

Alison could hear it, too. "You've got to go." she said.

Clark nodded, standing up and turning to go...before looking back. "Well? Aren't you coming?"

Alison smiled radiantly, her powers causing her to literally glow. "R-Really?"

"Really, Ali." Clark answered. "You've proven yourself many times over. I want you with me, out there." His smile grew. "Let's go, Dazzler."

Smiling, Alison stood up. "You got it, Superman!" she replied. Her smile grew, as she recalled Lex's half-joking words. "One thing, though: call me...Power Girl."

Clark's smile grew. "Okay, then, Power Girl," he said, "let's go!" And with that, Clark darted out, to suit up, as Alison promptly changed into her own uniform at top speeds, before they both darted out towards the nearby window, opened it, and took to the sky.

They were both needed.

Author's Note: I am SO, SO sorry about the delay; I have had the absolute WORST case of writer's block in HISTORY. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!

Coming Soon:

The Kree-Skrull War.

It's been going on for millennia.

Once, the Kryptonian people tried to negotiate a peaceful end…

…but they had no choice but to defend themselves from both sides, earning the everlasting hatred of the Kree.

One of the hardest days of the Man of Steel's life gets even worse, as his people's old foes come back with a vengeance.

Can our hero triumph alone?

Or will a galactic guardian get the green light to assist him?

Find out in "Accused," coming to your computer soon…