Flight 262 landed at a European airport and the passengers disembarked. Most were greeted by friends and family...but one young woman walked on alone, heading out, clad in a designer brown jacket, with slim black slacks. She was 17, fairly tall, with a slender frame, ample curves and long, flawless legs, her long hair a deep chestnut, tied in a ponytail, her green eyes sparkling with cold mirth behind her designer shades.
Anita LeRoux walked on, picking up her luggage; her clothes and personal effects in one suitcase...and her spell-books in the other. She was a sorceress, as well as a mutant. Her in-born talent caused her voice to extend into UHF and ULF, sounds that the human nervous system "felt," not heard. It had manifested when she was only five.
Her parents had been less than understanding. She'd been born to Mark and Diane LeRoux; Mark being a wealthy Quebec industrialist, the owner of LeRoux Enterprises, and Diane being a spoiled socialite. Neither of them would win any awards for "Parent of the Year." They'd often left their only daughter alone with abusive Nanny Elizabeth, who delighted in tormenting Anita, until she'd gotten fed up enough to tell her to go jump out a window.
She'd been fortunate enough to do so when her powers had emerged; Elizabeth had promptly complied. Her voice, she'd later learned, carried incredible power of suggestion.
After that incident, her parents had thrown her into a "children's mental hospital," effectively washing their hands of her. Anita had honestly expected to die there...but she'd been rescued.
By Victor Von Doom, who had adopted her.
In the first year, her new Papa had doted on her, and Anita's shattered spirit had healed...until he discovered her "ability." Anita had half-expected him to toss her out...but instead, her father began to train her in the use of her gift, as well as in the sorcery he'd long mastered. It had been hard – unbearably so – at first, so much that Anita had heartbrokenly thought that this was how her father planned to get rid of her.
But, as time went on, she realized that her Papa was harsh out of love; he wanted her to be strong, to master her gift. She dove into her lessons, learning everything she could, determined to be what her father knew she could be.
She smiled as she remembered the first true training-duel in which she'd actually struck her Papa; at first, she'd been horrified...but Papa had laughed, and hugged her, telling her he was proud of her.
And now, she was more powerful than she'd ever thought she'd be...though not as powerful as her Papa. She'd mastered her mutant ability; she could exert an unnatural control over any who heard her voice, as well as channel her voice into a "sonic scream" of deadly voice. Her powers had prompted her to take another name.
Siryn, in homage of the three mythological creatures who had nearly forced the Greek hero Odysseus to crash in The Odyssey. Almost no-one could resist her voice...
...including her parents.
She'd met Mark and Diane some time ago, after she'd mastered her gifts. To say they'd been surprised was an understatement. The look on Mark's face was comical as Anita had ordered him to sign over majority stock to her, giving her control of the company. And she had absently suggested them to do the world a favor and die as she'd left.
She honestly didn't know if they'd jumped out the window because of her suggestion, or because they'd lost everything. It didn't matter; her real father – the father she adored, the one who had raised and nurtured her – ruled Latveria.
Later, her father had been disfigured by an accident with a quantum teleporter, designed by Dr. Reed Richards; he'd become a creature of living metal, even more powerful than before, now calling himself Doom.
No matter what he called himself, to her, he was still her beloved Papa.
Still, Anita despised Richards, for besmirching her Papa's scientific reputation, perhaps even more than her father loathed him. It was her primary objective in life, to humble the man who'd insulted her Papa...
Anita smiled, as she mentally corrected herself; right now, that was her secondary objective. Her primary objective had led her here, to Bayville.
Last year, Papa had struck an alliance with another mutant, Magneto, providing a magically-cooled super-conductive core, as well as magically cloaking an island, to further Magneto's plans of mutant dominance of the world. Magneto had also hoped to recruit an incredibly powerful being – an alien – who was destined to lead the mutant race. Magneto's plan had failed, but the alien – Kal-El – had visited Castle Doom and confronted her Papa...with Anita secretly watching.
Kal-El and her father had engaged in a battle of wits...and Kal-El had held his own, before making the winning move in a game of chess that Papa had been playing against himself, and then leaving.
He'd impressed her father – which was a feat in itself – so much so that he'd told Anita that, if she chose to pursue him, he would approve, deeming him worthy of his daughter.
Oh, how right her Papa was. He was perfect.
And so, here she was. Her father had advised her to meet with Magneto's previous employees – the "Brotherhood," she believed – and assist them in defeating the students of Magneto's ex-colleague, Charles Xavier – the X-Men – in addition to her own objective. Apparently, Magneto and her father were still allies, as Magneto still meant to start a war with humanity...with Kal-El leading the mutant race.
Well, that was fine with her, as she planned to be at Kal-El's side, ruling beside him. With a smile, Anita walked out of the airport, to find her new associates, and to begin the search for Kal-El...
...the man who called himself "Superman."
Xavier Institute
It was early Saturday morning when the New Mutants – still not quite used to the early training sessions – walked into the silvery-metal hallway leading to the Danger Room, the high-tech holographic training chamber beneath deep beneath the Institute, all wearing their new uniforms: black bodysuits with yellow gloves and shin-high boots, and yellow belts, with shoulder-pads with an 'X' insignia on them. Still, this session was a bit different from the others they'd had; before, they'd each had individual sessions, basic training in using their powers.
This would be a team session, involving all of them...guided by their new field-leader.
"This is gonna be so cool!" Jamie – code-named "Multiple" – exclaimed. "I can't wait to see Superman use his powers!"
Roberto – nicknamed "Sunspot" – smirked. "I thought that this session was going to be us showing what we can do."
Tabitha – or "Boom-Boom" – yawned. "Couldn't they have scheduled this session after sunrise?"
Ray – "Berzerker" – chuckled. "Well, that sure tops being a mutant on the 'freakiness scale'."
"I think it's amazing!" Jubilee – who'd kept her own nickname – exclaimed. "He's actually from another world!"
Sam – who'd taken the nickname "Cannonball" – looked thoughtful. "Guys, Ah don't think we should be talkin' about it around him; he's the last one of his people – that's gotta be hard to talk about for him."
That sobered the New Mutants. The fact was that their leader was the sole survivor of his world, the only Kryptonian – that was what his people were called – left alive.
That had to be hard to deal with.
"Aye; 'tis a hard thing to learn 'bout yourself," Rahne – "Wolfsbane" – agreed, "to know ye're the last one to remember an entire civilization."
Amara – "Magma" – nodded. "On Nova Roma, we're the only ones who truly remember the Roman Empire. There are relatively few of us compared to the rest of the world...but to have the legacy of an entire race passed to one person..." she shuddered, "...we can't even imagine what that's like..."
By then, they had reached the door leading to the Danger Room. Opening it, they all headed inside, to face their first challenge as a team.
In the control room overlooking the Danger Room, the vast, metal chamber laden with holographic emitters and potentially deadly devices – kept at low power for training uses – Superman, in uniform, looked down at the chamber.
He wasn't sure he was cut out for this.
The rest of the X-Men and the instructors were in the control room, as well, also in uniform, save for Professor Xavier. Cyclops was clad in his black bodysuit with a yellow 'X'-crest across the chest, his shades exchanged for a ruby-quartz visor. Beast just wore yellow and black pants. Jean had donned a black bodysuit with a long green triangle extending down the mid-section. Archangel wore a blue bodysuit with his metallic wings attached to the back. Thunderbird's uniform was red and black with a mask concealing his face. Nightcrawler wore a black bodysuit with a red vest over it, his image-inducer off, revealing his true, fuzzy blue self, with his yellow eyes, tridactyl hands and feet, and spaded tail. Colossus's uniform was red and yellow and had no sleeves. Shadowcat's uniform was similar to Jean's but the triangle on hers was light blue, and with a yellow-lapeled collar, and she wore a yellow belt, with yellow gloves and light blue, shin-high boots. Psylocke's uniform was dark blue and sleeveless just like Colossus'. Spyke's uniform was similar to that of the New Mutants. Banshee had on his green and yellow wing suit. Gambit had donned his black bodysuit under his brown trench coat, casually leaning against his bo-staff. Avalanche's uniform consisted of a dark blue bodysuit, with reinforced chest-padding, and grey boots, a glass dome over his head. Bishop's uniform consisted of a blue and yellow uniform with a black line coming down the right side of the uniform and a red scarf around his neck. Storm's uniform consisted of a dark navy-blue bodysuit with a long, dark blue cape. Sunfire's uniform consisted of a red and white bodysuit with a red and white mask. And Wolverine's uniform consisted of an orange-and-black bodysuit, with a cowl that made him look like a feral beast.
'Great.' Superman thought. 'Everyone's here to watch me make an ass of myself.'
Cyclops smiled. "Ready for this, big guy?" he asked.
Superman half-smiled. "As ready as I'll ever be."
Jean smiled. "You know, Clark, even though I can't hear your thoughts, I know what you're thinking." she said; it was an established fact that Superman was mostly immune to X-Gene-based powers – including telepathy – due to the tremendous amount of energy in his body. "You'll do great!"
"Yeah!" Shadowcat agreed. "You've saved the world from falling meteors, so this should be easy!"
Superman smiled. "Thanks." Then, he took a deep breath. "Well, here I go." With that, he took the elevator leading down to the Danger Room.
Superman walked into the Danger Room just as the New Mutants had arrived. "Okay, everyone," he began, "as you know, this is a team-based exercise. The objective here is for you all to work together to complete the session; any questions?"
Jubilee raise her hand. "Yes, Jubilee?" Superman said.
"Will you be helping us?" Jubilee inquired.
Superman chuckled. "I think that would be cheating." He answered. "This session is about you using your powers; you wouldn't benefit if I did the work for you. I will, however, give the occasional hint on what to do next. Anything else?" No-one else raised their hands. "Okay, then." Looking to the control room, he called out, "We're good to go!"
"Commencing simulation." came the computerized voice of the Danger Room. Instantly, the holographic emitters powered up, replacing the gleaming metal chamber with a forested area, a massive steel door in front of them.
Wolfsbane's eyes lit up. Instantly, she shifted into her wolf-form, and began sniffing the ground...before she stopped, and began to dig, unearthing a pressure-sensitive switch. She resumed sniffing, before she located and unearthed the second switch. She promptly returned to human form, none the worse for wear.
"Very good." Superman said. "But these switches have to be activated simultaneously to open the door. Jamie, your turn!"
"Yes, sir!" Multiple said, as he lightly slapped the side of his head, generating another Multiple. Both Jamies each took a switch and stepped on it as one; the door swung open easily, as both Multiples ran at each other, fusing back into one Jamie, good as new. Superman and the New Mutants then headed through the door...
...and were confronted by about a dozen robotic drones. Superman recognized them; they were the same kind of droids that he had encountered last year, when he had assisted the Avengers, led by his childhood hero, Captain America. They were the mechanical minions of the Latverian tyrant, Dr. Doom.
Apparently, Logan must have programmed the training-drones to look like this, as a joke.
Superman chuckled. "I don't think this requires any explanation."
"Yeah, it's pretty self-explanatory, Big Blue!" Berserker's hands crackled with electricity as he fried another two robots. Magma then powered-up, her entire body going black with red stripes, her face glowing red, her hair going red as flame. She then unleashed several flame-blasts, turning four drones into slag, before powering down. Then, Cannonball took aim, and launched himself at them, his ballistic attack taking out the remaining four robots.
Looking ahead, Superman spied several towers, each with gun-turrets...guided by a video camera. "If you get tagged by those guns, the session ends." Superman said. "Those cameras track movement, but they can be distracted by bright lights."
Jubilee's face lit up. "I can do it!" She exclaimed.
"Bingo." Superman said, smiling. "All yours, Jubilee."
Zipping ahead of the group, Jubilee took aim and fired at the nearest camera, flashes of multi-colored light flying from her hands, sounding very much like real fireworks, effectively blinding the turret, allowing everyone else to dart by, unseen, as Jubilee kept her distracting burst trained on the turret enough for her to rejoin her team undetected. By repeating this process, they passed by the turrets unseen.
Further ahead, they came to a vast ravine, with a massive stone column in front of them. "We should be able to use this as a bridge." Superman said. "We'll need to weaken its foundation before we can knock it over. Boom-Boom?"
No answer.
"Boom-Boom?" Superman repeated. The rest of the New Mutants looked around...and then Amara sheepishly pointed to the back of their little group. Superman looked in that direction...
Sighing exasperatedly, he walked to the single stone where Tabitha was sitting, listening to her CD player, oblivious to the rest of them. Superman simply lifted away one earphone. "Boom-Boom."
"Huh?" Tabitha asked. "Oh, sorry; I was just listening to my CD by Alison Bla – "
"You can listen to it later." Superman said sternly, extending his hand. "Right now, your team needs you."
Tabitha smiled, and turned off her CD player, placing it in his hand. "Whatever you say, Super-Cutie." She cooed, gliding her finger along his chin as she walked over to the boulder. Superman simply shook his head in response. As he walked back, he was glad to see Boom-Boom laying her explosive charges around the base of the stone. When she was finished, the team moved clear...and then the charges exploded in modest-sized blasts, cracking the stone.
"Okay." Superman said. "We just need one good impact to knock it over. Cannonball?"
Sam nodded, before he took a step back, aimed at the rock, and launched himself, striking the rock with impressive force, knocking it over; the rock easily spanned the ravine, acting as a bridge, allowing them to cross.
Further ahead, they came to a huge metal barricade, blocking their path. "Okay, we're going to have to cut through that barricade." Superman instructed. "Sunspot, Magma, aim for the two sides."
Sunspot grinned. "Watch and learn." he said, as he and Amara powered-up, firing flame-blasts at the metal, gradually cutting through, causing the barricade to fall back, the way now clear. As the two young mutants powered down, Superman and the rest of the team simply walked through.
"Simulation complete."
At once, the hologram faded, as the Danger Room returned to normal. "Nice work, everyone." Superman said. "Not bad for a first run," he looked to Boom-Boom, "but I think Logan will want to talk to you about using this CD player during training, Tabitha." He handed it back to her.
Tabitha pouted. "I was just having a little fun..."
"There's a time and a place for everything." Superman replied.
Banshee's voice then came over the speaker. "You're up next, lad."
Chuckling, Superman said. "Okay, everyone; you'd better get to the control room. It's time for my own training drill."
"All right!" Multiple exclaimed. "We're gonna get to see Superman in action, after all!" At that, the New Mutants cleared out, taking the elevator to the control room, as Superman prepared for his own session.
"Commencing simulation."
The Danger Room was instantly replaced by a bustling metropolis; it was the same basic simulation he'd always used, based on the program he'd designed for use in the Fortress of Solitude – it was a random-event-generating program, and it was different each time. The objective was always the same: to prevent damage and loss of life to the city.
Suddenly, Superman's hearing picked up police sirens across town, and he took to the sky, flying across the city at top speed. Below, he could see a single car – with two masked criminals inside – being pursued by two police cars. The criminal in the passenger seat leaned out the window, and fired a machine-gun at one police car, puncturing its tire, causing it to spin out of control, rolling...
Instantly, Superman dove down and caught the police car in mid-roll, setting it down safely, before taking off after the crooks. As he closed on them, the criminal tried to shoot him, but the bullets harmlessly bounced off of him. Once he was within range, Superman grabbed the back bumper and lifted, coming to a stop, holding the car above his head, before simply shaking the crooks out of the car, setting it down after they'd fallen out. He quickly grabbed their guns and crushed them in his hands, before picking them up by their collars, and handing them to the police officers as they arrived, and quickly taking to the air once more.
Hearing a scream, Superman took off towards the north side of the city...in time to see a tall building start to fall towards the populated street. He quickly flew towards the building, grasped it, and pushed...slowly forcing it back upright. He then darted inside heading to its foundation, and used his eye-rays to weld the weakened supports columns back together, before darting out, again.
Suddenly, he heard a loud noise echoing from the eastern sea-port. He flew to the seaside...and saw a huge tidal-wave come surging towards the city, towering over it. Superman deeply inhaled, and blew his freezing-breath at the wave, turning it into an immense block of ice. Flying underwater, Superman lifted up the huge ice-mass, and carried it further out to sea, using his eye-rays to gradually melt it, so that the huge amount of water wouldn't cause another wave to form. The ice safely melted, Superman flew back to the city...
...in time to see a large meteor – the size of a house – falling towards the city. Superman shot towards it at top speed, unleashing his freezing breath on it, chilling it to the point where it was brittle, and then slammed into it, fracturing it into several smaller meteors. He then darted back and forth, slamming each meteor with his fists, shattering each one into harmless dust, until the skies were clear.
"Simulation complete."
Superman smiled as he touched down, the Danger Room returning to normal. "Real original at the end, there, Logan!" he joked.
He heard Logan chuckle over the speaker. "Hey, it ain't nothin' you haven't handled before, Flyboy!"
"Well done, Clark." came Professor Xavier's voice over the speaker. "You and the New Mutants did very well."
"Thank you, Professor." Superman replied. Suddenly, his hearing picked up something. "Sorry, I've go to go; I just heard the real thing!" Then, he quickly darted out of the Danger Room, zooming upstairs, and bolting out the nearest window, flying off at top speed.
Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House
It was another slow Saturday for the Brotherhood, as Pietro and his pals just lounged around, watching TV.
Normally, Pietro hated standing still, but he just wasn't in the mood to zip around.
Unbeknownst to his pals, he'd received a call from "Daddy dearest"...who'd given him a world-class tongue-lashing for trying to blow the cover on mutants. Apparently, Magneto was trying a new tactic in his pro-mutant agenda...though he still was on his tirade to recruit "Kal-El," the man "destined to lead Homo superior to greatness."
Pietro had felt like gagging when he'd heard that.
Just then, he heard a knock on the door. He zipped over, opened it...
...and froze, his mouth hanging open.
Standing there, in the doorway, clad in designer black slacks and a trendy brown coat, designer shades on her perfect nose, was an incredibly, arrestingly, heart-stoppingly, jeans-tighteningly smoking hot young woman of 17. Pietro's train of thought went on hormone-autopilot: 'Holy crap...green eyes, chestnut hair, perfect skin, perfect lips, endless legs, and oh my God look at those curves and me with no brakes...'
The girl – or goddess – looked about the place with mild disdain. "Such squalor." she commented. "I'm so thankful that Papa isn't making me stay here with you three."
'Huh?' Pietro thought, his brain finally winning out against his hormones. "Who're you?" he managed to ask.
The vision smiled coldly as she glided in past him. "Anita LeRoux," she said, "your new leader." She looked at his pals sitting on the couch. "I think I can manage to work with you three."
Pietro's eyes narrowed. 'No matter how hot a girl is, nobody just bosses me around!'
His pals shared his unspoken sentiment, getting up off the couch. "Hey! You can't just walk in here and tell us what to do!" Fred bellowed.
The girl – Anita – just looked at them all from over the rim of her shades, smiling like they'd said something really stupid. "Oh, really?" she asked. She turned to Pietro. "Walk into a wall."
'Ha! I'm not going to...' Pietro thought, but his thought was cut off as he found himself walking into the nearest wall. He promptly fell flat on his rear.
Anita turned to Fred. "Take off your socks and stick them in your mouth."
Before he could stop himself, Fred sat down, removed his shoes, then his socks, and stuck them in his mouth.
And then she turned to Todd. "Go to the freezer and stick your tongue to its inside wall."
Todd immediately walked into the kitchen...and seconds later...
"AAAAHHHH! Guyth! Halp! Halp! Mah tung! Mah tung ith thtuck to the feether!"
Anita promptly snapped her fingers, as Todd's tongue came unstuck, causing him to tumble back into the room. "I trust that my point is made?" Anita said.
"Holy...how'd you do that?!" Fred cried, once he'd yanked his socks out of his mouth.
Pietro had a different thought. "Hey...can you do that to Super-Dork?!"
Anita smiled. "So you do have a brain!" she said. "That is precisely why my Papa – your father's ally, Maximoff – sent me here; to win over Kal-El."
"No way! We don't work for Magneto, no more!" Fred said.
Anita glared at him. "Do I have to order you not to eat for a week?!" she hissed.
"Sorry." Fred whimpered.
Todd shook his head. "I hate to break this to ya, but that ain't happening anytime soon, yo." he said. "Old Mags tried using that Kryptonite stuff on him, and he didn't even crack!"
Anita laughed. "My methods, foolish boy, are more sophisticated than mere pain could be; Kal-El will be eating out of my hand before the week is out!" she said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to meet my future husband."
Pietro scowled to himself, before he asked, "What makes you think he's an easy mark?"
Anita looked over her shoulder as she walked off. "Kal-El is incomparably mighty." She cooed. "But even the great Odysseus had to tie himself to his ship's mast...because he couldn't resist the song of the Siryn." With that, she walked off, leaving Pietro and his pals behind.
After making her point to her new team – motley though they were – Anita had returned to her hotel room, and donned her new uniform, putting on a long overcoat on over it, concealing it from prying eyes, and then undoing her ponytail, her shimmery chestnut tresses flowing freely. Satisfied, Anita left the hotel, heading for the tallest building in New York City, and heading to the very top. A security guard tried to stop her, but after a smile and a hypnotic word, he'd submitted to her will, and opened the top door for her.
Now she stood atop the roof of the building, looking down on the city...like how Kal-El must have, so many times.
She smiled to herself. She'd had to make her point to those boys, but now she would radiate all the charm and grace that her training had bestowed on her...
...and Kal-El would be hers.
She undid her coat, putting it aside, before clearing her throat...and beginning her song.
'Kal-El...come to me...'
After averting the train-crash in Tokyo, Superman had flown back towards home, passing over New York City as he did...when he heard it.
It was a song...an incredibly haunting, beautiful song, traveling over the air...and extending into UHF, for his hearing could pick up words on one frequency.
"...come to me...come to me...I am for you alone...there is none for you but me...come to me..."
They were whispers, in a woman's voice; flirtatious, as if trying to lure him away. Superman promptly ignored the whispers...
...as his hearing picked up another sound: a woman's cry.
Superman shot across the sky, diving at lightning speed, towards the alley where two gunmen were trying to hold up an old lady. As he dove, he spied another red-and-blue figure diving towards the alley, and he smiled.
He grabbed the first gunman, flying away before anyone could see him, as the web-line grabbed the second. Superman and his colleague both deposited the two crooks next to a police car, darting away before anyone could notice.
Superman touched down on a high rooftop, the other costumed hero soon following on his web-line. "Hey, Big Blue! What's up?" Spider-Man said, as he perched on a side flag-pole. Spider-Man wore a red-and-blue bodysuit, with black web-patterns, a black spider-crest on the chest, with a red mask with reflective white eye-lenses, his frame lean, yet athletic. He possessed the agility and proportionate strength of a spider, as well as the ability to adhere to walls...and some kind of precognitive ability – a "spider sense," he thought he'd heard Spider-Man call it. He'd often seen Spider-Man as he flew by New York, and occasionally assisted him when he could.
Superman smiled, and shrugged, as he leaned against a wall. "Oh, not much, Little Red." He replied. "Business has been a bit slow, these past few weeks."
"Hey, finest kind of business, in our line of work!" Spider-Man quipped.
Superman nodded...and then he heard that song, again. "Hey, Spider-Man...you haven't heard anything...weird, recently, have you?"
Spider-Man arched an eyebrow behind his mask. "How weird?" he asked. "Because around here, 'weird' gets re-defined on an hourly basis!"
Superman chuckled at the joke. "I was just wondering if you'd heard any...strange singing, recently." he said.
"Nope. Sorry, big guy." Spider-Man replied. "The only singing I've heard is people singing Alison Blaire songs, and it's getting old. Don't get me wrong; Alison's an amazing singer – not to mention amazingly gorgeous – but some of the people singing her songs...their voices...they could make Simon Cowell run screaming from the room."
Superman paused. That name...Alison Blaire...it echoed from his childhood...
'No. It couldn't be.' Superman thought. "It was just a hunch." he said.
"Well, I'd better get going." Spider-Man said. "Later, Big Blue!" With that, he leapt out into open air, swinging off.
Then, the song came back, again. Now Superman was curious; he flew off, listening carefully...tracking the sound to the roof of the highest building in New York. He looked around; the coast was clear, so he touched down, looking around. Suddenly, he heard footsteps, as he whirled around...
...and paused, as he now beheld a 17-year-old young woman, and a very pretty one at that. Her long, chestnut hair seemed to shimmer as it flowed down her back, pooling over her delicate shoulders, her emerald eyes sparkling, her shell-pink lips glistening in a smile. She wore silver seashell earrings, and a sea-green halter-top consisting of two straps of silk criss-crossing over her chest, with a silver clam-shell pinned in the center, accentuating her ample curves, as well as skin-tight, green spandex pants, accentuating her long, slender legs, and green sandals on her feet, with two straps of semi-transparent sea-green silk encircling her wrists like armlets, before trailing to her back like a cape, encircling her waist.
The young woman smiled at him. "Impressive..." she cooed.
Superman folded his arms. "Were you the one singing?"
"Of course!" the woman giggled. "How else would I have gotten you here, Kal-El?"
Superman froze, his eyes narrowing. "How do you know that name?" he demanded. "Who are you?"
"I am called Siryn," she replied, curtsying, "but my birth-name is Anita LeRoux." She smiled at him, looking at him through her dark eyelashes. "Which one do you prefer?" she cooed.
Superman arched an eyebrow, both at how this woman – Siryn – seemed to know his birth-name...
...and at how she seemed to be flirting with him.
"Who told you my name?" Superman inquired cautiously.
"My father." Siryn replied. "Oh, and Papa sends his regards."
Superman paused. "Your father?" He asked. "How would he know my name?"
"Oh, come now, Kal-El; surely you remember!" Siryn exclaimed. "You played chess with him, a few months ago!"
'Chess?' Superman thought...and then he remembered...
He'd confronted Dr. Doom in his castle in Doomstadt, Latveria, about his involvement in Magneto's plan. He'd stood in front of the living-metal madman, looking him right in his yellow eyes.
"Magneto believes that a war is coming." Doom had said. "I believe that he is right."
"Then know this, Doom." Superman had replied. "In the future, I will be there to stop it."
And at that, he'd reached for the chess game that Doom had been playing against himself, moving a black rook to take a white bishop, a move that would win the game, before leaving and flying away, heading home.
Superman looked at Siryn incredulously. "You're kidding." he said. "You're Doom's daughter?"
"Adopted daughter." Siryn admitted. She smiled at him. "Even before the two of you met, Papa had been following your achievements; you've impressed him...and that was before you defeated him at chess – do you know how many times I've tried to do that?"
"I might be able to ball-park it." Superman replied. "So what brings you here?"
Siryn smiled. "Papa thinks that you would be a good match for me." she cooed. Then, she moved closer to him, looping her arms around his neck.
"And I think you should know...that I whole-heartedly agree."
Superman arched an eyebrow quizzically at that. 'Okay...' he thought. He gently unwound Siryn's arms from his neck, saying, "Well, Miss Siryn, I'm flattered that you've taken a shine to me – really, I am – but I'm afraid that I'm married to my work. I have a responsibility to use my powers to help all of humanity, and it's one that I can't shirk."
Siryn smiled. "Oh, but you can." she purred. "You're going to kiss me, right now."
Those last words had extended into the UHF range, carrying a tone of command...which Superman promptly ignored. "And why would I do that?" he asked.
Siryn looked cross at his reaction. "I said, you're going to kiss me, right now."
Superman's eyes narrowed. "And I said, 'Why would I do that'?" he replied.
Siryn looked shocked...and then she smiled. "You're immune..." she murmured, "...if I had used my power to that extent on anyone else, they'd have ended up in a coma..."
"'Your power..?'" Superman repeated. "You're a mutant, aren't you?"
Siryn nodded. "Papa was right about you, Kal-El," she purred, "you're powerful, intelligent, and now immune to my vocal charms? You're perfect!"
"Um...thanks?" Superman replied.
Siryn frowned. "However, there are a few things that we'll need to work on." she said. "The main one is this 'heroism' habit of yours. As adorable as it is, Kal-El, I'm sorry, but it simply has to go."
Superman's eyes narrowed. "Really." he said flatly.
Siryn nodded. "Trust me, Kal-El; you'll have much more important things to worry about, such as guiding the mutant race..." she smiled, "...and where to spend your honeymoon with your new bride."
Superman frowned. "So that's it." he muttered. "Magneto convinced Doom to send you here; he thought that I might be more inclined to accept his theory if I heard it from a pretty face." He looked into Siryn's eyes. "Well, you can tell Magneto and your father the same thing I said months ago."
"No."
At that moment, Superman's hearing picked up an emergency call; there was a boat in distress in international waters. "Now, if you'll excuse me, there are people who need my help." Superman finished. With that, he took to the air, flying off, a sonic boom echoing in his wake.
As Kal-El flew away, Anita paused; she'd been rejected...
She smiled. 'Wow!' she thought; she'd expected Kal-El to be a tough nut to crack, but not that tough! He was completely immune to her charms; she'd have to use her magic to get through his shell!
'Well, Kal-El, I love a challenge!' Anita thought with a smile. With that, she donned her coat once more, walking back into the building.
Time for Phase Two of her plan.
"X-Men, report to my office immediately."
It was just after sunset when Scott and the rest of the X-Men got the Professor's telepathic summons. They quickly hurried to their mentor's office. "What's wrong, Professor?" Scott asked.
"Cerebro has detected a new mutant signature in Bayville Park." Professor Xavier replied. "Anita LeRoux; her voice extends into UHF and ULF, which gives her incredible power of suggestion. Be careful, X-Men; the reading I got indicated that her mutation had manifested much earlier than normal...indicating that something has been concealing her from Cerebro."
Scott nodded; Cerebro was the Professor's mutant-detection system, which amplified his telepathic abilities exponentially. If something was powerful enough to mask a mutant from Cerebro, then that mutant showing up now was no accident. "We'll be careful." Scott promised. With that, the X-Men moved out.
Within the hour, the X-Men had suited up and taken the X-Van to Bayville Park, which was empty at this time of night. As they left the X-Van, they could hear a beautiful singing in the distance. "Everyone stay alert." Cyclops instructed, and everyone immediately was on-guard, as they walked through the park.
Before long, they came to a clearing, with a large boulder at one end...with a 17-year-old young woman sitting on it, clad in a sea-green halter-top, and green spandex pants; it was her song they'd heard.
It had to be this 'Anita LeRoux' that the Professor had told them about.
Anita stopped her singing as they walked in, looking at them. "Hmm...I was hoping for someone else to show up, first." she said.
"There's no need to be alarmed," Cyclops began, "we're..."
"...the X-Men. I know." Anita replied, rolling her eyes. "No doubt here to try and recruit me. Well, I'm so sorry to disappoint you..."
At that, the Brotherhood, in battle-gear, walked into view.
"...but I have my own team." Anita finished. To the Brotherhood, she added, "Get them." At that, the Brotherhood came at them.
Toad fired a slime-glob at them, but Jean raised a telekinetic shield, repelling the glob. As Blob came at them, Cyclops stunned him with an optic-blast, knocking him off-balance enough for Avalanche to generate a small quake and trap him in a small pit.
Quicksilver started running circles around them, but Nightcrawler 'ported into his path, unleashing a foot-sweep, knocking him off-balance. Gambit then casually flicked a card at Quicksilver's feet, the blast startling and angering him, causing him to dash at Gambit...who'd been ready; as Pietro came near, he unleashed a clothesline-strike with his bo-staff, which had been hidden in his coat. Quicksilver stumbled away, into Rogue's path, who knocked him out with a tap of her hand.
Toad fired another slime-glob at Spyke, who blocked it with a spike-shield he'd formed on his arm, before firing a spike-salvo, pinning Toad to a nearby rock...allowing Shadowcat to phase him into the rock, trapping him.
By then, Quicksilver had recovered. "Hey, LeRoux!" He snapped. "A little help?!"
Anita rolled her eyes. "Do I have to do everything?" she muttered. "Scott, blast Rogue with your eyes."
Suddenly, Cyclops found himself firing at Rogue, who'd just managed to duck out of the way. 'What the..?!"
"Jean, levitate yourself ten feet and then drop."
Jean suddenly levitated herself up ten feet...and then just stopped; Cyclops was just barely in time to catch her.
"Kitty, phase yourself into the ground."
Shadowcat shrieked as she suddenly found herself sinking up to her neck in the earth, stopping there, thankfully.
"Kurt, teleport twenty feet into the air."
Bamf! "GOTT IN HIMMEL!" Nightcrawler cried, as he managed to catch a tree branch after his sudden 'port.
"Evan, fire your spikes in every direction."
"Everyone, duck!" Spyke cried, as he fired a multi-directional spike-attack; everyone had ducked in time.
"Lance, put yourself in one of those pits."
"Holy..!" Avalanche cried, as his powers suddenly activated, trapping himself in an earth-pit.
"Remy, charge your coat."
"What the...MERDE!" Gambit yelled, as he quickly shed his glowing coat, before it burst into flames.
By then, the Brotherhood had recovered...mostly. "Get me out of here!" Toad cried.
"Hang on, little pal!" Blob exclaimed; he ran over, picked up the rock, and prepared to smash it on the ground.
"No, Fred! Not THAT way!"
Blob smashed the boulder into pieces, freeing the now-dizzy Toad. "You okay, little pal?"
Toad groaned. "Peachy."
Anita smiled at the X-Men. "When a Siryn says 'jump'...mortals don't ask 'how high'."
Just then, a sonic boom echoed overhead. "Finally! Some backup!" Avalanche exclaimed, as he used his powers to free himself and Shadowcat.
In seconds, Superman landed, surveying the situation...and glaring at Siryn. "Like father, like daughter, I see." he said.
To the X-Men's surprise, Anita – Siryn – smiled. "Flatterer!" she giggled. Then, she hopped off the rock, and ran into the forest.
"Superman...do you know her?" Jean asked.
"I'll explain later." Superman said. "Can you guys handle things here?"
"Now that she's gone, yeah!" Cyclops said.
"Good. I'll go after Siryn." Superman said, and he ran after her, as the X-Men prepared for Round Two.
Superman followed Siryn through the woods, his super-speed easily enabling him to catch up to her...only to have her teleport out of his reach, perching on a tree-branch above his head. "Come find me, hero." she cooed, before she conjured a violet mist, which filled the area, before she disappeared into it.
'She's a sorceress.' Superman realized. 'Terrific.'
Magic was one of the few things – other than Kryptonite – that could give him trouble. His body was hardy enough to take the physical beating that attack-spells could generate, but spells had the nasty habit of also inflicting nasty side-effects, such as confusing or obstructing the vision of the victim.
Right now, this mist was as thick as pea soup, even for his vision.
Superman waded into the mist, looking for that little spell-caster. "Give it up, Siryn." He called. "Whatever your dad and Magneto are up to, it won't work. The X-Men and I will stop you."
Siryn parried with a question.
"Why are you doing it, Kal-El?"
That threw him. "What?" he replied.
"Why are you bothering with those losers, the X-Men?" Siryn's voice elaborated. "You don't belong with them." Then, a misty apparition of Siryn appeared before him, looking up at him, her hand tracing circles on his chest...which felt real. "Why are you helping them?"
Superman quickly shook the apparition off, causing it to vanish. "They're my friends." he said firmly.
Siryn's chiming laughter echoed through the area. "Oh, my sweet Kal-El, they're only using you." she purred, another Siryn-phantom appearing, embracing him, her head nuzzling into his chest. "They only pretend to care for you because of your power. You're so much more powerful than them; of course they want you around."
"That's a LIE!" Superman shouted, shaking off the phantom. This was why magic was so dangerous; it was something he couldn't fight on his terms.
But then, he remembered a warning once given to him by Doctor Strange, Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, during one of their discussions, before he'd left the Fortress, after the good Doctor had discovered him, mistakenly thinking him a threat to Earth: "Magic is ultimately the manifestation of the will; the stronger the will, the more powerful the magic. If your will is stronger, you can overcome any spell."
If he focused his will, he could shake off Siryn's spell.
"Even if that were true, they're not worthy of you; neither are those foolish humans." Siryn's voice purred, as another phantom embraced him, her arms circling his neck, her lips inches from his. "Your destiny is to lead the mutant race...just as it is mine to be beside you. The strong deserve each other, my Kal-El; you are the true power behind your team, just as I am the power behind mine. You can rule this world, my darling...if you only choose to."
You must never directly interfere in their natural development; that is forbidden by our highest laws.
The words of his biological father, Jor-El, came to him instantly. He shook off the phantom. "No." he said, focusing his mind.
"You can't run from your destiny, Kal-El...nor can you run from me." Siryn cooed, her voice purring into his ear, as yet another phantom wrapped herself around him from behind. "Every time you listen for trouble, I'll be whispering in your ear, singing for you...until the day you're ready to accept your fate...and me."
Superman shook off the apparition. "I'll stop you, Siryn." he said.
Siryn's voice giggled from everywhere. "You mean to send me to jail?" she cooed. "Oh, my darling Kal-El...I'm already a prisoner...because you've captured my heart."
Finally, Superman's mind broke free of the spell, finding a solution.
He inhaled, and unleashed his gale-breath, blowing the mist completely away.
The area clear, Superman looked around – there was no trace of Siryn...but he could still hear her voice, in the distance, now, giggling.
Just then, the X-Men came running up to him. "You okay, Superman?" Cyclops asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Superman replied. "You guys?"
"We're fine." Jean answered. "It was the strangest thing; after you went afer Siryn, the Brotherhood just...backed off. We have no idea why."
Siryn had planned this. "I think I do." Superman said, as he told them of the chase, and the strange – and eerily love-laced – conversation he'd had with her.
When he was done, his friends looked incredulous. "Wait...you mean Siryn's leading the Brotherhood...and she staged all this so she could flirt with you?" Shadowcat exclaimed.
Gambit chuckled. "De mean streak aside," he quipped, "she be one belle femme; hats' off t' y', mon ami."
Superman half-glared at his roommate. "Gambit, this is serious."
Shadowcat looked nervous. "All that stuff about us...not really caring about you..." She murmured, "...y-you didn't believe her, did you? Because we do!"
Superman smiled. "Of course I didn't, Kit!" He laughed. Kitty looked relieved as she heard that.
"But, damn, how'd she get so good with her powers?" Avalanche said.
"She had a good teacher." Superman said.
"Who? Magneto?" Rogue muttered.
"Worse. Doom." Superman said.
Everyone froze. "'Doom'?" Cyclops asked. "As in, 'Dr. Doom'? The nutcase ruling Latveria? The guy who was helping Magneto?"
"That's him." Superman said. "She's his adopted daughter."
No-one spoke for a full minute after that. "Aw, holy hell!" Rogue muttered.
"Jeez..." Spyke murmured, "...she's gonna be a handful..."
Cyclops nodded. "We'd better head back to the Institute." He said. "We should let the Professor know what's going on." Superman nodded in agreement, and took to the air, as his friends headed back to the X-Van.
As Superman touched down in front of the Institute, his friends dropping the X-Van at the garage before catching up to him, he saw that Logan was coming out to greet them...holding a letter. "Hey, Flyboy," he said, "I've got a letter for a 'Kal-El'; you'll never guess where it's from."
"It's from Doomstadt, Latveria." Superman deduced.
Logan chuckled. "Lucky guess." He handed Superman the letter.
Superman opened the letter, read it...and handed it to the nearest X-Man, who happened to be Kitty. She began to read aloud:
"'To Kal-El: I trust my letter finds you in good health, which is most likely the case, given your abilities.'"
"'I send greetings from both myself and my associate, Magneto, to you, the apparent future leader of the mutant race.'"
"It's Doom." Cyclops muttered. "So, he and Magneto are still working together...and Magneto's still going on about that nutty 'prophecy.'"
"'As such,'" Kitty continued, "'I have deemed you worthy of my dear daughter's attentions. I trust that you understand the immense honor I have bestowed upon you...one which is not to be shunned.'"
Gambit chuckled. "Dat's a first." he said. "Most peres be tellin' y' not t' go near de filles."
"'I also trust that you will soon cease your foolish 'heroics' and assume your true responsibilities. I hope that your 'friends' do not cloud your judgement, and, in fact, it is my sincerest hope that they, too, accept my associate's view; I see no reason that they cannot join you, and since you clearly care for them, I would encourage it.'"
"Victor's lost his mind." Thunderbird's eyes narrowed behind his mask.
"No way that's happening." Avalanche said.
"'In conclusion, I wish you the best, and trust that you will accept your destiny, as I have accepted mine.'" Kitty continued.
"'Oh, and Anita says hello.'"
"'Sincerely, Victor von Doom.'" Kitty finished. "And there are X's and O's in the corner next to Siryn's name."
Kurt chuckled. "Vell, zhat girl has it bad for you." He said.
"Kurt! So not helping!" Kitty said. To Superman, She asked. "So, what are you going to do, now?"
"I'm going to keep on doing what I've been doing." Superman replied. "Doom isn't going to intimidate me, and his daughter isn't going to distract me."
Cyclops chuckled. "I figured you were going to say that, big guy."
Jean smiled. "And we're going to be right beside you, like you always have been for us." The others all nodded in agreement.
Superman smiled. "Thanks, guys." He said. Then, he frowned...as he heard Siryn making good on her word; she was singing, her voice extending into UHF, enabling him to hear her whispers even from this distance...
...and making it slightly harder for him to pick up the distress signal of the airplane over Australia.
"Sorry, guys; gotta go." Superman said. The X-Men nodded in understanding, and Superman took to the sky, flying towards the trouble at top speed. As he flew, he sighed to himself.
'Jor-El leaves me all the knowledge of Krypton and all the worlds it had ties with...and in all that, he never thinks to leave me any advice about how to deal with women.'