CHAPTER NINE
WESTCHESTER, NEW YORK. XAVIER'S SCHOOL FOR GIFTED YOUNGSTERS.
"And what do we suppose The Bard meant when he had Juliet lament, 'Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo'?" Hank McCoy, known as Beast to his teammates, posed this question to a room full of students in his Shakespearian Literature class.
Jubilation Lee tentatively raised her hand. "Um, didn't it just mean, like… she wanted to know where Romeo was? You know, like, she missed him or whatever?"
"Ah," Hank replied with a smile. "That is the answer I expected, young Jubilee. It's a not uncommon misinterpretation of the word 'wherefore.' It does not, as one might assume in modern English, mean 'where.' It actually means 'why,' or 'for what reason.' Juliet is not asking where Romeo is, but rather why Romeo is. She is decrying the injustice of the fact that the young man she has fallen so hard for is a Montague, part of the family that is loathed by the Capulets. This is why she continues on to say, 'Deny thy father, and refuse thy name.' How much more powerful does this scene then become?"
*Attention all X-Men!* The voice of Professor Charles Xavier was suddenly broadcast, telepathically, directly into the minds of Hank McCoy and several other members of the faculty. *There is an individual of immense power approaching the school at an incredible speed. I cannot currently assess his intentions; his mind is clouded to me. Given this individual's power level we need to be prepared for the possibility that his intentions are hostile. Assume defensive positions immediately and advise all students to shelter in place. Repeat, all X-Men, assume defensive positions immediately.*
"Oh my stars and garters," Hank exclaimed.
. . . . . .
Superman descended from the sky and touched down in the courtyard outside of the school, his white cape billowing behind him. He paused for a moment to marvel at the majestic mansion. He couldn't help but think of the Luthor mansion in Smallville, and all the times he had visited Lex there back when they had been friends. After a moment of reflection, he began walking toward the front entrance.
Suddenly the door flew open. Scott Summers, a.k.a. Cyclops, stepped forward. His right index finger hovered near the trigger button that would open the visor he wore over his eyes. He was flanked on either side by Hank McCoy and Wolverine.
"Don't. Take. Another. Step," Cyclops said, punctuating each word as if it were its own sentence.
"I'm not here to start trouble," Superman replied. "I need to speak with Professor Xavier."
"Regarding what?" Cyclops demanded.
"I would rather discuss that with Charles directly," Superman replied.
There was a snikt as Wolverine popped his claws, as if to say wrong answer.
"Fine," Superman said. "I'm here for the mind stone."
Cyclops cast a glance toward Hank. Hank frowned, looking quite serious. Two more mutants stepped out into the courtyard: Piotr Rasputin, a.k.a. Colossus, and Bobby "Iceman" Drake. They began to circle Superman, eyeing him up and down.
"If I could just speak to the Professor," Superman said again.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Cyclops said.
Superman shook his head. "That's not going to happen."
The sky above the mansion slowly turned black. Superman looked upward to see two dark and menacing storm clouds rolling in, blocking out the sun and casting the entire mansion in shadow. Standing on a balcony on one of the upper levels of the mansion was Ororo Munroe, better known by her moniker of Storm. Her eyes were an opaque white that matched her flowing white locks of hair. There was a threatening rumble of thunder.
"This is your final warning," Cyclops said. His index finger twitched slightly. "Vacate the premises immediately."
"Let the record show that I asked nicely," Superman replied. He resumed walking toward the school.
Wolverine let out a crazed roar and leapt at Superman. Beast was right behind him, jumping into the air to pounce on the perceived intruder. Cyclops pressed the button on his visor, unleashing a powerful concussive blast of ruby-red energy from his eyes.
Superman shifted his focus and stepped into a state of super-speed that he affectionately thought of as "bullet-time," remembering the time he and Chloe had watched The Matrix at her house on DVD one day after school many years ago. Everything around him seemed to slow down to the point of perfect stillness, the world seemingly freezing in time. Wolverine and Beast were both suspended in midair as if flying. The concussive energy stream coming from Cyclops' visor looked like a solid object, stopping abruptly a few feet away from him.
To Superman's left, Colossus was in the middle of "metaling up;" his legs, arms, and torso were mostly metallic now, but the transformation was not yet complete as his shoulders, neck, and head were all exposed flesh. On his right, Bobby Drake was casting a blast of ice from his hands. Much like Cyclops' eyebeam, the rush of ice was halted in midair – appropriately, frozen.
He looked upward. A bolt of lightning was just starting to streak down from the black storm clouds. The sight of the forked arc of electricity halted in space and time was quite remarkable, even to a man who had seen as many wonders as Superman had.
He paused a moment and sniffed the air, catching a whiff of sulfur. He turned around and saw a billow of smoke suspended a few feet above the ground. From within the plume of smoke he saw the demonic-looking silhouette of one Kurt Wagner, also known as the teleporting mutant Nightcrawler. Superman had apparently stepped into bullet-time just as Kurt was attempting to catch him in a sneak attack by teleporting behind him.
He casually reached out a hand and gently pushed Kurt back into the puff of smoke, returning him to wherever he had just teleported from.
Next, he turned and walked over to Colossus. A simple tap to the forehead with one finger.
Iceman. Superman gingerly took Bobby's outstretched hand and repositioned it, now aiming it in Cyclops's direction.
Beast hung in the air with his arms outstretched, fists clenched. He was baring his teeth like a wild animal, a crazed look that belied his vast intellect. Superman gave him a little shove, moving him into the path of Cyclops's optic blast.
Wolverine, similarly, was suspended in midair with his adamantium claws extended, ready to break into a berserker barrage. Superman grabbed him by the ankle, spun him over his head, and lobbed him upward toward the emerging bolt of lightning.
Superman heard the rapid, rhythmic patter of footsteps coming quickly toward him. How was that possible? He spun around to see a man dressed in a silver trench coat and sporting a pair of goggles sprinting in his direction. Of course, he thought. Pietro Maximoff.
He increased his focus, attuning his senses and slipping further into bullet-time. Pietro seemed to slow down as if trying to run through water. The mutant looked confused, obviously unable to process how it could possibly be that, to him, Superman now seemed to be speeding up.
With a gentle puff of air from his pursed lips, Superman blew a stream of frigid air onto the ground in front of Pietro. The surface became slick, causing the mutant speedster to slip and loose his footing. He went careening out of control, tumbling awkwardly and ultimately landing flat on his face. With a second puff of air, Superman froze Pietro's legs in place so that he couldn't get back up.
Superman walked toward the front door of the mansion once again. He relaxed his focus, stepping out of bullet-time and allowing the world around him to resume its normal speed. He did not so much as cast a glace backward as behind him Colossus fell to the ground unconscious, Beast was blown across the courtyard, Cyclops' visor was frozen shut, and the signature "BAMF!" of Nightcrawler's teleportation failed to produce Nightcrawler himself. There was a deafening zap and a roar of thunder. A moment later Wolverine landed hard on the ground, literal smoke rising from his unconscious form.
He walked through the front door of the mansion. Just as he crossed the threshold, something caught the attention of his super senses. Instantly, almost instinctively, he returned to bullet-time.
Crouched down behind the door was the petite southern belle known to her teammates as Rogue. She had removed one of her signature white gloves and had her hand outstretched, no doubt preparing to grab the Man of Steel and siphon his abilities. Superman paused for a moment in front of the statue-still young lady. He remembered the time, not so long ago, that the Justice League Avengers had tried to take down an absolutely out-of-control Incredible Hulk. Rogue had used her powers to steal some of the Hulk's strength. She had been a valuable ally in that fight. He knew that she had, perhaps more than most, always considered her powers to be a curse. They kept her isolated from the very human need for physical contact.
Her eyes flitted upward toward his. A demure smile crossed her lips.
How…?
Rogue sprang to her feet and slapped her exposed hand onto the side of Superman's face. He immediately felt his energy being drained. He grabbed her wrist, his eyes wide with shock.
"The Professor analyzed your power set while you were flyin' here," Rogue said in her slight southern accent. "He suggested I borrow some of Pietro's speed while you were out there talkin' to Cyclops. It's a good thing I did, or I wouldn't be able to do this!"
She slapped her other hand onto the other side of Superman's face.
"You… don't… know… what… you're… doing…" Superman strained through a clenched jaw.
"I'm stealin' your powers," Rogue said brightly.
Superman ripped Rogue's hands off of his face, then gave her a super straight-arm shove. She went flying backward through several walls, crashing into the mansion's living room.
In an instant Superman was beside her, standing over a pile of broken beams and drywall debris.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Rogue sprang to her feet, sending pieces of broken boards flying as she did.
"Never better, sugah!" she said. She slugged Superman on the chin, sending him reeling. It was a rare thing for anyone to hit him hard enough for him to feel it. He remembered the last time quite clearly. His battle with Darkseid.
Rogue went to land another punch. This time Superman caught her fist with his hand before it could connect.
"You need to stop this right now," Superman said.
"Don't reprimand me," she replied. "You're the one who's trespassin' on school property!"
"I just need to speak with the Professor!"
"He doesn't want to talk to you!" Rogue found herself levitating slightly up off the ground. She looked down at her feet in astonishment, realizing that she was floating. She laughed. "Wow! This is incredible!"
"Look, I don't want to fight you, but if I have to-"
"Why can't you take a hint and just leave!"
She flew straight into him, grabbing him around the waist and sending them both crashing through several more walls. The kitchen, the dining room, and several classrooms passed by in a blur as they hurtled through more and more areas of the mansion.
They soon found themselves outside, crashing to the ground in a large field behind the mansion. Superman stood up and dusted himself off.
"I don't want to hurt you, Rogue," he said.
"How did you know my—ahhh!" She stopped and threw her hands over her ears. "What the heck is that?" She looked frightened, her eyes darting back and forth. "What is that awful noise?!"
Superman was confused. "What noise?"
"It's so loud! I can't… ahhh!" She was on her knees, eyes closed tight. "Make it stop!"
He looked around. A few feet away, a bumblebee was buzzing around a dandelion.
"Oh. Rogue, that's… I think it's your super hearing," Superman said gently.
"Stop shouting!" she yelled. She looked up at him, her eyes welling up with tears. She looked terrified. "Wh… why can I see your skeleton?!"
Superman sat down beside her. "That's x-ray vision," he said very quietly.
"H-How…? Is… Is this how you see and hear everything? Oh my god. How do you handle it?" She was shaking like a leaf.
"Just breathe," he said gently. "This will pass. Just try to tune it out. You're going to be okay."
"I… I can hear everything," she said. "People talking. Car horns. It… oh god it's too much!"
He placed his hand very softly on her shoulder.
"It's okay. It will pass. I'll stay right here with you until it does," he reassured her.
"Wh… why are you bein' nice to me?" she asked.
"I told you. I don't want to hurt you. I just need to speak with the Professor."
She began to rock back and forth, crying even harder.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"It's okay, Rogue," Superman said. "It's okay."
. . . . . .
THE LOWER LEVELS OF THE X-MANSION. SEVERAL MINUTES LATER.
Superman walked down the long corridor leading to the huge metallic circular door that was branded with the "X" insignia. He dug his fingertips into the metal, then pried the whole door loose from its moorings. He threw the big metallic disc to the floor with a tremendous thud.
Beyond the door was a large round room with a catwalk leading to Cerebro, the device that could enhance mutant telepathic abilities exponentially. About halfway down the catwalk sat Professor Xavier, a calm yet pensive expression on his face.
"I'm sorry it had to come to this, Professor," Superman said sincerely. "I want you to know that none of your students have been harmed. I'm sure your X-Men have sustained far more serious injuries in Danger Room simulations than they have from me. I will even help rebuild the parts of the mansion that were damaged today. I have nothing but respect for you and your school. I'm sure my intentions are difficult for you to read. I know that my mind works differently. Telepaths have had a hard time reading my thoughts in the past," he said, thinking of his old friend Ryan James. "But I promise you, I am only here for the mind stone."
"I see," Charles replied. "And what makes you think that I have the mind stone?"
"I met with Kent Nelson recently," Superman explained. "You might know him as Doctor Fate. He was the custodian of the soul stone. He told me that the mind stone was here, in Westchester, under the protection of a powerful telepath."
"That is true," Charles said. "But I am not the telepath who protects it."
Superman noticed that Charles was looking at someone just over his shoulder. He turned around to see Dr. Jean Grey.
There was a flash of light.
. . . . . .
SMALLVILLE, KANSAS. THE LOFT IN THE KENT BARN.
Clark sat up on the couch with a gasp, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. Disoriented, he looked down at his clothes. He was no longer wearing his white Superman costume. Instead, he was wearing a simple blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans.
"Clark!" The voice was his mother's. "Oh, thank god! We've been so worried!"
He turned around to see his parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent, approaching him with concerned looks on their faces.
"What happened?" Clark asked, confused.
"You fell asleep while you were studying for your history exam," Martha said, sitting down beside him on the old sofa.
"That was a day and a half ago, son," Jonathan added. "We've been trying to wake you ever since."
"You must've been dreaming," Martha said, putting a hand to the side of her son's face, feeling for any sign of a fever.
"It was so real," Clark said.
But the details of the dream were already starting to fade. He couldn't quite remember what he had just experienced. Just that it had all seemed so important, so urgent.
Now, as he looked around at his loft, and at his loving parents, suddenly it didn't seem important at all...