Author's Note: I back!.. in a limited capacity. At the very least, I wanted to make some revisions to this story and give it something extra. Some tidbits and lore to add to the story.
For those who are new to this tale, welcome! I am Virgil the Bard, and this story is heavily inspired by the Last Son series of fanfics that I egotistically believed I could top. I'll probably be starting off with similar story beats, but will eventually branch off of creating a fanfic of a fanfic after the first one. Also, go check out the Last Son series by The Writer with No Name, and if you mention me in a review, be nice. They wrote those stories the way they wanted to, I'm just putting a more focused spin on it (and I have the benefit of hindsight).
So, without further adieu, let us begin the first issue of...
Superman the X-Men #1- A Meeting of the Minds
Deep within the Arctic tundra, inside an alien crystal fortress hidden by thick snowstorms and miles of snow and ice, stood a lone figure clad in a blue jumpsuit. The suit's blue color was broken up only by red strips that surrounded his outer ribs, waist, and outer thighs. A yellow belt adorned his waist with a buckle that shared its shape with the symbol on his chest; the letter S inside a five-sided shield. Unlike the buckle, the shield on his chest had a red outline and a yellow background. Normally adorning his shoulders was a red cape, but not now. Now he was learning.
It was here that the young Kal-El stood as the collective knowledge of Krypton and the twenty-three galaxies known to its people. Kal was the last son of Krypton, sent to Earth by his mother and father thirty years prior, and while he was first dissuaded to pursue his heritage, he stood there now, absorbing the knowledge at a speed faster than the average human could process. He had learned a lot in his youth, about his past as well as his future. He had the potential to be a guiding light for the people of Earth, and he didn't want to live that potential down.
Currently his studies had shifted toward a concept that interested him greatly: mutations in humans that grant super human abilities. One of his closest friends, Imra, is a mutant with telepathic abilities, and Kal was curious if there were any other mutants in his native time.
He found that there was quite a bit as a program that he was running revealed hundreds of thousands of mutant life signs, which took him aback. He quickly regained his composure though as he spotted a group of mutant life signs that displayed on the holographic projection of Earth heading straight toward him.
"ALERT, UNIDENTIFIED AIRCRAFT INCOMING! AIRCRAFT IDENTIFIED AS ONE PROTOTYPE BLACKBIRD MODEL STEALTH CRAFT!" declared the Fortress' security program, named Skeets by Kal. Kal immediately used his senses, his superior hearing and enhanced sight, to see through the crystals toward what looked like a black carrier jet.
"Life signs?" inquired Kal.
"TEN! EACH REGISTERED AS X GENE POSITIVE!"
"Open up the hangar door," Kal commanded, "I'll go talk to them," and with that, he flew out to meet the jet at mach speed.
Jean Grey always felt the temptation whenever she passed by Cerebro. She didn't quite know why, her telepathic abilities were next to nothing compared to Professor Xavier's, but she still felt the draw. It was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind, as if she might find something that the Professor lost that day at Cape Citadel; hope.
It was nothing but a hopeless shadow war that they fought, a war for mutant acceptance in a world where the weirdest things in recent history were a billionaire flying in a suit of armor and a team of four heroes who received powers from interdimensional travel. Mutants were just a completely different ball game. Perhaps that's why the Professor felt mutants would be feared when news of them reached the general public, their spontaneous nature. It was perhaps because of the events of the Battle at Cape Citadel, and Warren's sudden departure from the team, that she and the boys had felt so on edge.
There has to be someone who can help, she thought to herself as she placed the helmet on her head. And with that, the search began.
This is it, thought Scott Summers, leader of the X-Men, as he stood in the hallways below the Xavier Academy for the Gifted, I'm going to ask Jean out on a date. In his right hand was a single red rose. It reminded him of her hair, the only clear detail he could make out about her from behind the ruby quartz glasses that protected the world from his deadly powers.
But what if she says no? the fear hit Scott like a truck. He'd been planning this for over a month, coordinating with Ororo, Jean's best friend, to make sure that the feelings were mutual. But what if Ro's mistaken? He immediately shrugged that thought off. "Just walk it off, Scott," he muttered to himself, "If she says no, just walk it off." After finally gathering his courage, he proceeded toward Jean, absentmindedly aware of the fact that she was in the Cerebro room.
Only two people were authorized to use Cerebro; Professor Xavier and Professor Frost. Why is she… A scream came from Cerebro, both auditory and telepathic, that frightened Scott. He rushed toward Cerebro, attempted to pry the doors open by force before activating the emergency unlock mechanism, and went to Jean, cradling her in his arms.
"Jean, can you hear me?" Scott exclaimed as Jean seemed to be in a fever.
"Jean, it'll be alright," Scott was startled by the appearance of the Professor, Emma Frost at his side, looking at them with her default glare. Scott always felt uneasy around Professor Frost.
"Professor, I found your friend," Jean declared as she smiled, exhausted.
"Okay, Professors X and Frost, I understand coming," Bobby Drake, the youngest of the X-Men began, "But why are we bringing the Stepford Cuckoos again?" He pointed to his left where five eight year olds sat, each the spitting image of their 'mother', Emma Frost. Each of their piercing grey eyes set upon him like a wolf pack that was about to pounce upon its prey.
"Insurance," Frost stated bluntly.
"We won't need…" Professor X began, only to be interrupted by their pilot, James 'Wolverine' Howlett.
"Incoming!" Wolverine yelled, ready to roll the plane to dodge whatever was coming at them. Instead, the figure of a man in blue wearing a red cape stopped in front of them in the middle of the air.
And with that, the Stepford Cuckoos went to work, telepathically bombarding his mind.
Just Outside of Midvale, Delaware: Thirty Years Prior
Charles Xavier, a seven year old boy with a destiny greater than any could imagine, stood in the midst of his father's collection of Egyptian artifacts. His father had recently been killed on an expedition and Charles felt nothing. Everyone else had mourned the death of the 'foremost archaeologist of our generation' but Charles barely knew the man, and so he stood in the middle of his father's greatest achievement, simply to get a feel for the man Brian Xavier was.
Instead, he was inexplicably drawn to the headdress of an Egyptian prince by the name of Khufu. Slowly, he moved to take the headdress off of the mannequin head display and onto his own head. In an instant, his mind wandered, literally and figuratively, to a place he didn't recognize, a world he didn't know.
"There's no time, Lara!" shouted the voice of the dark haired man next to Xavier. Xavier felt the world shake as he realized he was witnessing this event through the mind of this Lara.
"But will he be safe, Jor?" asked Lara as she placed the child in her arms, whom Lara thought of as the spitting image of her husband, Jor-El.
"I've programmed the ship to pilot itself to Earth. Its shields and armor are designed to protect it from any possible threat, he'll make it," Jor-El responded.
"But he'll be an outcast, different," Lara's thoughts screamed a different tune. She wanted her son to survive their planet's destruction, yet she wanted to be there to see him grow into the man she knew he would become.
"Nothing will be able to harm him," Jor hugged his wife and son before the child was placed inside the blanket-cushioned ark that would carry him to safety. "He'll have a memory of us! A pair of Artificial Intelligences that I've uploaded our memories and personalities to." He then turned toward the child, "You will not remember me, but I want you to know that I love you. Even though you will be raised as a human being, you are not one of them. You will have great powers, as you shall soon discover. Your powers will far exceed those of normal men, but don't let that frighten you," he paused, sorrow marked his face despite his wan smile as the world shook again, "For this reason, I have chosen the planet Earth as your new home. Go, discover where your strength may lead you. Humanity can be a great people, Kal-El, if they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason, above all, their capacity for good, I will send them you, my only son."
"Charles!" shouted Emma Frost as she sat beside him.
"Sorry, Emma," Professor Xavier replied, "Just thinking about the past."
"Yes, because now is the perfect time to think about the past," Emma proclaimed in her usual scolding tone. Xavier immediately knew what happened as soon as he felt the psychic link between the Five-in-One, as the five clones of Emma liked to be called, and the man floating outside of the Blackbird. Without hesitating, Xavier moved to break the link.
Meanwhile, the Five-in-One found themselves in the last place they thought they'd be, a mindscape. The mindscape was a large room with round, futuristic architecture and warm reds and golden-yellows that contradicted the setting.
"Hello," said a voice to their right. The Five turned to see the owner of the mindscape, a dark haired, blue-green eyed man. Though, instead of the red and blue ensemble he wore outside, he had a red leather jacket, a blue T-shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of black boots. "Looking for something?"
The Five were about to respond when they felt a psychic pulse that vibrated across the mindscape, "Stop!" At once, the Five withdrew, replaced by a brown haired man in a well-tailored suit. "I apologise for the behaviour of my students," he spoke with a clear English accent, "My name is Charles Xavier. I'm a professor at a school, an institute of sorts, for people with… gifts. Abilities such as yours and mine."
"What brings you up here, Professor?" asked the man as their surrounding image seemed to strengthen.
"I'm here to deliver a message," Xavier stated as he placed the index and middle fingers of his right hand on his temple as their surroundings were replaced by Krypton during its final days. Instantly, the images of Jor-El and a mannequin holding the young Kal-El stood beside them, "I was hoping you could…" Kal concentrated as the mannequin was replaced by a blonde woman with startling green eyes.
The memory played out as it had when Xavier first experienced it all those years ago. When it ended, Xavier looked to Kal, "My world, OUR world, has a problem," Kal looked back at Xavier, wiping the perceived wetness from his eyes, "Over the past millennium, humanity has developed what I call the 'X-gene'. It's a genetic anomaly that can cause instantaneous evolution to whoever possesses it, if they're placed under certain kinds of stress. Originally, this anomaly was rare, appearing in .01% of the entire human population. However, that number increased a hundredfold within the past twenty years. Not only that, we've faced prejudice in the past. With your help, I hope we can shape the future in such a way that our children won't be judged by what they are, but who they are."
Kal smiled at that, "You remind me of another civil rights activist," he paused, "Tell your pilot to set the landing gear." With that, the mindscape dissolved and Kal disappeared along with it.
Each member of Xavier's Academy for the Gifted that came along piled out and gazed in awe at the crystalline palace that surrounded them. "Awww, Hank's gonna hate missing this," declared Bobby. His codename was 'Iceman' and as such he found himself extremely jealous of whoever formed the ice crystals of this fortress.
"Keep your cool, Bobby," Scott, Cyclops to his teammates, responded, "We're guests."
"I'm always cool," replied Iceman as Cyclops gave him a 'really' glare that was clear even with his goggles on.
"Sorry to alarm you," proclaimed a voice from above which caused Wolverine to instinctively bring the claws he had in his knuckles with that creepy 'snikt'. "I usually don't get many visitors up here."
"You're tellin' me, bub," Wolverine replied in his usual gruff voice as he sheathed his blades back into his skin. "From what Chuck's said, you're not human."
"No, I'm not."
"And he also said that we shouldn't be worried about you."
"I hope to prove him right."
"Kal-El, this is James Logan, also called 'Wolverine'," the Professor declared as Wolverine growled as if to assert his superiority. That, coupled with his animalistic hairstyle, made Kal wonder if his nickname was a joke or not, "this is Emma Frost, a fellow telepath," the cold-faced blonde next to the five girls who psychically attacked Kal, and looked a lot like her, nodded, "Scott 'Cyclops' Summers and Bobby 'Iceman' Drake." The two younger boys, both with brown hair and the taller of the two wearing a red and gold visor over his eyes, acknowledged.
"What exactly brings you all here?" Kal asked.
"I was hoping to enlist your help," Xavier began, "My goal is to set a positive example for mutant kind, to show others that they need not be afraid of us. Considering your own abilities, I was hoping you might be willing to assist us."
"I'd love to help," Kal stated with a smile, "But I've got some people I need to see first."
"Of course, Kal-El," Xavier focused slightly, projecting the image of his school into the mind of his new friend, "You'll find us in Midvale, just outside of Metropolis."
"Thanks," Kal began to float in the air, "And call me Clark." With that, he flew off to a place he once called home.
Smallville, Kansas
Smallville was a quiet hamlet, only an hour away from Keystone, and it was exactly what people would expect from its name; small, safe, and quiet. However, there was a secret that the residents of Smallville kept, what they referred to as the 'First Son of Smallville'.
Today, their First Son was coming home.
Martha Kent was working in the kitchen at the time, preparing dinner for herself and her husband. She brushed back her brown-red hair, which had barely started greying, as she continued her work.
A knock came at the door, startling her. I must be going crazy, she thought to herself as she went to get the door. It swung open, revealing her six foot four inch tall son, Clark. "Jonathan!" Martha screamed for her husband before embracing her boy.
"Hey, Mom," was all Clark could get out.
"Three years," Martha began, "You've been away for three whole years. You didn't call, you didn't write."
"I've been swamped," Clark paused, "I learned more about where I'm from. It's not as bad as we thought after Zod invaded on my eighteenth birthday."
"You're staying for dinner," it wasn't a question.
"Wouldn't miss it, Mom."
After three years of catching up to do, as well as a large dinner, Martha began to clean up. "So you'll be in Midvale for now?" the pepper haired Jonathan asked as he drank the last of his Diet Pepsi.
"Yeah, I even have enough time to apply for financial aid at Metropolis U, so I'll be attending college while juggling responsibilities with Professor Xavier and the rest of the world."
"Just don't overdo yourself, Clark," Martha told her son, "Remember there's other heroes out there, too. You don't have to carry the world's weight by yourself."
Clark smiled at that, "I will, Mom, thanks."
After deciding to stay the night in his old room, Clark found it difficult to get to sleep. For the first time since he turned fourteen, he was excited about what the future held and what lay in store for him.