A/N: Hi everyone! I'm blown a away by everyone's kind responses! Thank you!

There is something I didn't make very clear in the last chapter. While Clark has access to a library computer, he does not have access to the internet. The World Wide Web, while made public in 1993, was just beginning to be widely present in public use in the USA in 1997. Google didn't exist, hell, Yahoo was barely a website. Back then, many claimed that "surfing the net" was a new fangled fad for young people that would soon die out like anything else.

In the hills of Texas, I've personally visited places where the residents still to this day don't have internet or tv, content with their small town lives. Smallville is a small Kansas town in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. They don't have internet at the library. So how was he searching on a computer without internet? Well before the internet, computers (especially at libraries) were used as a sort of automatic indexing machine for a store of data. A library computer would be loaded with a few encyclopedias, perhaps some atlases among other things. The search parameters were SUPER finicky, there wasn't a "do you mean this?" Or a "showing results for this other thing as well" function. The results didn't get more vague as you scrolled. If you typed in EXACTLY the title of what you were looking for, it would be pulled up, and if you misspelled it or didn't capitalize it properly, it wouldn't be among your results. This is a real thing, and is SUPER annoying when you run into in present day, because we are all used to google, which is optimized to a magnificent degree.

However! I must give credit where credit is due! While most of the arguments made are invalid due to a lack of internet, there was one legitimate plot hole I failed to consider. There is one other data source that libraries often had access to. Newspapers. Specifically, the Daily fucking Bugle. As much as I'd like to claim that it's a New York publication and wouldn't reach Smallville, The New York Times in real life is also a New York publication, and everyone in all of America received it, especially in the 90's. There is no way he wouldn't look at someone reading the Daily Bugle and immediately start searching up marvel shit, and the jig would be up.

So here is what we are gonna do:

We will assume, that in this AU, while the rich elite and governments have access to more advanced comic book tech, the general public at this time only has access to tech levels consistent with their real life counterparts, due to S.H.I.E.L.D. intentionally suppressing alien derivative tech as "too advanced" for the public.

We will also assume that while SI, Oscorp, and HT make weapons and some other things, they don't make shitty bunny ear tvs or tractors or trucks, so all the brands Clark has encountered in Smallville are all their real life counterparts, not the fictional ones associated with marvel. While Tony mentions "intellitech crops" in Iron Man (2008), we'll just say those were rolled out post 2001.

And the Daily Bugle? Um… uh… Sh-Shut up! (Runs away)

Ok, so here's what we're gonna do about that (cracks fingers). In this AU, the New York times still exists, and has the "slot" so to speak for National publication in the 90s. However, in this universe, around 2002, there will be a series of scandals with the New York times, causing them to be boycotted and trashed as a rag, which leads them into hard times. One of their top crack reporters, "Tough but Fair" J Jonah Jameson, is thinking about resigning, disillusioned by the strange things coming to light about some of his colleagues. At this time, a much smaller rival newspaper, the Daily Bugle, offers him the position of editor in chief. Ecstatic, he quits the Times, and excepts the job. Between his skills, contacts, and fame/reputation, the Bugle is led into a meteoric rise, surpassing the NY Times as the premier New York publication in 2003. By the time the MCU rolls around in 2008, they will have completely replaced The NY Times as a national publication. More importantly, however, all this will happen after Clark has already figured out he is in Marvel. So we still get Jonah and the Bugle, but we will also still have a story that works, and hopefully everyone is happy. Idk exactly how newspapers work, but this is what we are going with. If you want to nitpick beyond that, then this probably isn't the story for you.

Now! With all that out of the way, let's have some Superman fun! Chapter 2, here we go!

I don't own DC or Marvel.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Thankfully no one had noticed the crushed pencil, and I had put the remnants in pocket so no one could retrieve them later. Despite the fact that I was majorly freaking out, my heart beat was strong and steady, and I didn't sweat, even in gym class. I treated everything like it was made out of cotton candy, and I managed not to break anything else for the rest of the day. My body felt light and full of boundless energy, power thrumming under my skin.

I was currently sitting on the bus on the way home, contemplating the day. It fucking figures that just when I finally realize that I don't want to be Superman, that's when my powers awaken. Will control ever get easier? Or will I have to be this excruciatingly careful about everything for my entire life? To live every day like I'm building a model ship in a bottle? And what about sex? If I, y'know, finish, will I just end up Homelandering whatever woman I'm with? What am I gonna do?

I watched the corn whip by, and realized that I probably could have run home. If I was stronger, I was probably faster too. But people would probably notice if I got off on the wrong stop, so I rode the bus the rest of the way home.

That night was… surreal. I had long since excepted that this was my real life, and Ma and Pa were my real parents, but being told I'm an alien? It felt… wrong. Like I was in a dream. I stared down at my ship in the concealed cellar I never knew we had. After I had shown them my powers by crushing a pebble into dust, they had taken me to the secret hiding place. The entrance had been buried, and I had never once known about its existence.

My spaceship was about 9 feet long and 6 feet wide, and looked like it was made out of glittering diamond. It was sleek and smooth, and had a reverse teardrop shape. It was beautiful in an otherworldly way, and didn't have any sort of seams or openings that would indicate it was hollow. It looked… organic. Alien.

"Clark?" Ma questioned nervously.

"I… I don't…" I was silent for a few more seconds, gathering my thoughts. "Well… I already knew I was adopted so… this doesn't really change anything between us… right?"

She let out a relieved sigh. "Of course not!" She declared, and Pa nodded emphatically.

"I meant what I said this morning Clark, you are our son, and nothing can change that!" Pa came in for a hug, with Ma joining him. While they hugged me, I didn't hug them back, picturing the pencil from earlier.

I looked back towards the space ship. "It's just… an alien huh? It's hard to believe this is real! Like… this stuff belongs in comic books! What am I supposed to do?"

They hugged me harder, and I gently, carefully, hugged them back, matching the light pressure I felt from them.

Ma spoke up. "Clark, I'm not sure there is much to be done, given the circumstances. If the government hasn't come for you by now, it's likely they don't know you exist. So long as we keep this secret, you can more or less live a normal life, if that's what you want."

I thought about it. I didn't necessarily need to be Superman, I could just chill and let the MCU happen around me but…

I pulled back from the hug, so I could look them in the eye, "With great power, comes great responsibility." I said, quoting my second favorite hero of all time other than Superman. "For now, I'll keep my head down. But I can't just sit back and do nothing, not when I have the power to help people."

Pa sighed, "That's probably the right thing to do, but… later. When you're grown. For now, just… live life, Ok? Have a childhood for heaven's sake!"

I nodded. Turning back towards the ship, I ran my hands along its surface, but couldn't feel any sort of seam that would indicate it was anything more than a single solid piece of crystal.

"Does it open?" I asked. Ma answered.

"Only once, when we found you, after it closed, we haven't been able to get it open again."

I kept feeling all over it, trying to find some way to activate it. It remained inert.

At some point Ma and Pa had left the cellar, and by the time I gave up trying to activate the ship, it was already dark. I closed the cellar and kicked the dirt back over the trapped door. After I returned to the house, they were sitting on the couch, talking. When I walked in, they stopped.

"I'm… going to bed." I said lamely. They nodded, and before I forgot, "And Mom? Congratulations." She got a wide smile on her face, "Thank you Clark! You'll make a wonderful big brother, I just know it!"

I went back to my room, and waited until it sounded like they were in bed. Then I opened my window, and climbed out. My vision swam for a moment at the heights, but I jumped out anyway.

(OST: Superman TAS theme)

Landing surprisingly lightly, I started jogging towards the road, testing my speed. After I got out of the driveway, I really opened up, moving faster and faster, the wind whipping past like I was riding a motorcycle. Finally, I sprinted as fast as I could, and could begin to feel an invisible aura around me, and the air resistance lessened, gliding smoothly past. The landscape flashed by, but at the same time, I could register everything around me, not missing anything.

Curious, I jumped, and went sailing into the air! Easily clearing 20 ft, and as soon as I landed I bounded again, harder, and went sailing 50 or 60 feet up, before hanging in the air a bit, the "aura" I felt noticeably propelling me forward. Landing softly like I was under moon gravity, I realized what the "aura" was! Flight!

Seeing a hill in the distance, I blurred towards it, using it like a ramp to jump as high as I could, pushing off with all the strength I had! I rocketed into the night sky, and when I concentrated on the feeling of the invisible aura, I pushed forwards, gaining speed.

In both lives I had experienced dreams where I could fly, but now? I actually could! It was the most awe inspiring thing I've ever experienced in my life!

I sailed upwards, and after gaining a large amount of height, I had a crazy idea! Relaxing, I let myself free fall back towards earth like I was skydiving, my stomach doing cartwheels. Just before I hit the earth, I flexed my invisible flight aura again, catching myself and rocketing forward an instant before I would have slammed into the ground. I kept flying, an ear to ear grin on my face as I jetted low over a corn field, my fingers brushing the stalks as I streaked past.

So maybe there are a lot of things that are concerning about being Superman. But right now? There's no one I'd rather be, than me. Maybe I wouldn't succeed in being Superman, but I'd try my damnedest anyway! The MCU won't know what hit it!

(End OST)

After an hour or so of flying around having fun, I began to feel a deep sense of fatigue. The powers I was using had only just recently awakened, and I had been putting them through their paces in the dark of the night, so my energy wasn't recharging the way it would during the day. Not wanting to strain whatever system fueled my powers, I headed home.

As I laid in bed, I couldn't help but smile like an idiot. Seems like my life was going to be -pretty- interesting from now on! I'm fucking Superman. I can hardly believe it!

I'm the days that followed, I used my powers around the house as much as possible, to the combined amusement and exasperation of my parents. While Pa was a bit skeptical at first about me doing my chores at super speed, as he saw it as "taking the easy way out", I explained that while it seemed like they got done quickly to him, I still had to do all of them just like before, except now there was the added difficulty of doing it all at super speed without breaking anything. Seeing the logic in this, he happily excepted, and even admitted that work had been piling up lately, and all the work I had been doing as control training was helping out a lot.

At that I rolled my eyes. If he needed help, why didn't he say so? I love Pa to death, but sometimes he can be a bit too stubborn.

Ma adapted quickly to my use of powers, almost immediately considering the implications of them and asking me to do tasks that normally might be dangerous for a human, but were fine for me. While this may sound kinda bad, doing things that I was uniquely suited to do helped me view my powers as a gift, not a curse, and I found that I absolutely loved using my powers to help people. Cleaning the gutters and touching up the roof might be hard for some, but I could literally fly, so I didn't have to worry about balance, and I absorbed the sunlight like a health drink, so I never got burned or had heatstroke.

I appreciated the fact that she treated this all as normal, and whenever we all sat down and ate her home cooking, there was an atmosphere of love and care in the house that seemed to fill my heart to the brim. With the potential problems I would one day have to deal with, it would have been easy to spiral into stress and anxiety, but that honestly felt impossible at Kent farm.

The love Ma and Pa felt for their family infused every interaction we had, and even when I got in trouble for breaking something, (which happened a lot at first) or startled one of them by appearing suddenly with a whoosh, they didn't yell or sigh disappointedly, often just chuckling or shaking their head with a smile. I hated every time I broke something, but Ma must have seen how self conscious I was about it, because "it's just a thing" became a sort of catchphrase with her, and I could tell she genuinely meant it, not a hint of passive aggressiveness in her tone.

The grace they extended me was honestly heavenly, and I couldn't help but think about how if more people were more like them, this world wouldn't nearly have all the problems it did. I felt like I was experiencing the light of humanity first hand, and I mentally took notes. If I wanted to be a good Superman, I would need to learn their ways.

Between school, my 'control training' (high speed farm chores), and the wonderful peaceful atmosphere of Kent farm, Six months seemed to pass in the blink of an eye.

Ma had already been 3 months pregnant when they first told me the news, so the baby was due any day now. Ma and Pa had wanted it to be a surprise, so they didn't actually know if the baby was a boy or a girl. They had kept the names secret, only discussing it with each other. While my senses seemed to improve slightly every day, I still hadn't unlocked X-ray vision or actual super hearing, so I remained in the dark.

I was currently at school, and let me tell you… you think regular school is boring? Try it with a brain capable of super speed calculation, super enhanced memory, and the leftover high school education of a previous life. School was already super dull because of my past life memories, but now? The academic portions were basically hell. The only saving grace was that my 'peers' were finally getting old enough to hold a proper conversation. While most people probably would have avoided friendships all together, basically my entire previous life in foster care had been spent taking care of other kids of different ages to me, so I was used to it.

Plus, being a kid again let you get away with a LOT of mischief you couldn't engage in as an adult. Climbing a tree as an adult man is weird and potentially creepy, but as a kid? It's expected. Hanging out at the arcade? Kids will be kids. Stuff like that. I didn't do anything creepy or destructive, but I did have a bit of fun with sneaking in to places after hours, meeting up with friends to explore the woods, that kind of thing.

So I was actually more or less well liked, even if my slightly 'parental' attitude was seen as condescending to some of the more competitive children. I wasn't trying to be a jerk, and I didn't think I was 'better' or 'worth more' than they were, we were all 'human' and thus equal in value, but sometimes the way I succeeded seemed a bit too effortless for some of the more tightly wound kids liking. They worked hard, and I respected that, but they still didn't like me. Which honestly? I didn't give two shits about.

Still, often times newer kids would attempt to push me around.

Case in point?

This kid.

I was sitting outside at one of the lunch tables, eating a sandwich Ma had packed for me and talking to a friend of mine, when she pointed to the left of me, I turned to where she was pointing, and saw a kid my age standing next to me, looking as if he had asked a question.

"I'm sorry, what was your name again?" I asked candidly. I hadn't bothered to learn it before, but I probably wouldn't have trouble after today. After I made an effort to memorize something, it usually stuck around.

He was a large athletic looking boy around my size, and had pin straight blond hair and freckles. His face flushed slightly in anger and embarrassment, and while he wasn't quite yelling, his volume definitely increased. "My NAME. is WHITNEY. FORDMAN. And I ASKED you a QUESTION Kent!"

Whitney Fordman. Got it. "And what question was that?" I responded. "I wasn't listening, sorry about that. I was busy. What's up man?"

He scoffed, "Whatever. Can I see your homework? Lana says I can't copy hers."

While I didn't necessarily have a problem with it, I usually preferred to help people who at least made an attempt to help themselves. Class had just ended, and I knew he hadn't worked on it then, as I had seen him talking with his buddies. I sighed, "You're not even going to try doing it yourself? You won't learn anything from copying. Why don't you give it your best effort and if you're still having trouble I'll help you out."

He reddened even further in anger. Oh boy.

"I'm not having trouble Kent! I already know all this stuff, so help me save some time! You already did it so quit being such a little bitch about it!" Without my permission, he grabbed my backpack and started to open it.

Now… I'm usually a calm and reasonable person. I'm not in the business of starting confrontations. But I also know that if you don't occasionally show some spine, people will walk all over you. It's human nature.

Still sitting, I leaned forwards and grabbed my bag, tearing it away from him only slightly faster than he could react. Like all sports affiliated males, his 'no take ball from me' instinct triggered, and he reached out for it again, but I slapped his hand away, just hard enough to sting.

"Jeez Kent! What's your problem!?" He spat, angry at not getting his way.

"I don't remember agreeing to let you do anything with my bag." I stood up, and he looked surprised at not having the size advantage he was no doubt used to. For the moment, he was speechless.

"This isn't a basketball court Whitney. Stealing is a foul out here." I said, not being able to resist a little mockery.

He stared, as if this interaction wasn't quite what he had planned out in his head. He swallowed nervously, then managed to speak. "Ugh! Whatever Kent! Frick you! Butthole!" He turned, stomping away. Did he not know any swear words? Surely he must have learned some by now.

I shook my head, sighing in irritation and sitting down again. I know I shouldn't let myself get angry at some dumb 13 year old, but it pissed me off he tried to take my bag like that.

Just as I was finishing my lunch, Mrs. Wilkins, the vice principal, came up to me, "Clark, your folks called, your mom is in labor, she and your dad are at the hospital."

My eyes widened. "I'll run over right away!" I responded, but she stopped me.

"Hold your horses Clark, your Dad was quite clear that you shouldn't leave school early. He said to meet him at the hospital after school instead of heading home. Do you have a ride?"

I sighed in exasperation. Of course Pa wanted me to stay in school. Heaven forbid I miss a day for a major family event. "Yeah, I have a ride. It isn't far." She seemed skeptical, but didn't push any further.

The entire rest of the day I couldn't bring myself to pay attention, and when the bell finally rang, I shot out of my seat and towards the door. There was a brief "Clark! The bell doesn't dismiss you, I do!" Which I ignored, rushing straight out the door and jogging as fast as a regular human feasibly could.

On my way out, I passed the vice principal again. "Tell Martha 'good luck' for me! And 'Congratulations' too!" She called as I passed.

I gave her a thumbs up and tore out through the front doors. When I was around the corner and out of sight I turned right into a cornfield and put on speed, leaving a trail of dust as I cut across the Johnson farm to get into town, rocketing through the space between two rows. In a split second I was at the other side and slowed down to human levels again, and I rushed along the sidewalk, wishing I could use my powers freely.

15 minutes later I had finally reached my destination, and when I went to talk to the front desk lady, she waved me through, recognizing me. "Martha's in room 103, you can't go in, but there's some chairs in the hallway you could wait at." I smiled at not having to waste time. Small town for the win!

At room 103, I saw Pa's coat on one of the chairs, but no Pa. He was probably in there, helping her through it. I didn't sit down, pacing out of nervousness. For a long time, we had thought that Ma couldn't even have kids. Not the old fashioned way at least, alien spacecrafts notwithstanding. What if there were complications? Was she alright? Is this the last time I'm going to see my mom? Surely she'd be fine, it couldn't end like this could it?

I sighed, exasperated. Pacing was so slow! I wanted to do more, actually expend some nervous energy for heaven's sake! But I couldn't. Sitting down, I remained motionless, not daring to tap my foot on the floor, lest I accidentally kick clean through the tile. I squeezed my hands together, hard, and it seemed to help.

I just wish I knew if Ma was alright! I tried to listen, hoping I could make out something, when I felt a weird pressure release in my ears, like they had popped on a plane ride, and suddenly I heard everything.

Not just the room Ma was in, not just the people in the hospital, but almost everything happening in town, I could hear with perfect clarity, all at once, all on top of each other. Grabbing the sides of my head in pain, I clenched and stretched my jaw, hoping I could make my ears "pop" again, and it would 'turn off' but no luck. Similarly to my strength, now that it was here, it didn't seem inclined to go away. Super hearing had chosen right here and now to activate, and didn't seem to give a shit that it was the worst time for me to have to deal with this.

Realizing trying to "turn it off" was probably the wrong approach, I breathed deeply, and put my hand on my heart, trying to pick up its sound among the cacophony of other noises. Finally, I found the sound that matched the rate and tone of what I was feeling, and concentrated on that. Slowly, I began focusing on what was relevant. Like how you can be in a crowd but only pay attention when you hear your own name, I filtered everything out. Focused only on what I wanted to focus on. There was a warm feeling similar to sunbathing in my head, similar to when I memorized textbooks at super speed, and slowly, the sounds faded into background noise. They were still accessible if I concentrated, but they were not what I would pay attention to.

Focusing on the room behind me, I heard everything from the breaths of the doctors, the shifting of their clothes, the sounds of medical machines and fans whirring, and I filtered it all out. Finally, All I was focused on were three heartbeats. Pa's tone, strong, steady, and reassuring. Ma's, quickened and obviously in pain, but still vibrant and healthy. And a third, so tiny and small it reminded me of a little bird. The baby. The child of my parents. My little sibling. They were alright, all three of them. I let out a sigh of relief, and waited. They would be alright. Mom would be fine. Everything was alright. It had to be.

Hours later, after what seemed like an eternity, Ma's heart beat began to relax back to normal levels, and so did I. After a dozen or so minutes, the door opened, and Pa looked out with a dopey grin on his face, seeing me. "Clark! I'm glad you're here, come on in! There's someone in here you've gotta meet!"

Walking into the hospital room, I saw Ma looking the tiredest I've ever seen her. She was incredibly pale, with one of her eyes pink in the corner from a popped capillary. Her breathing was ragged, her eyes were puffy, and her entire body was drenched in sweat. Looking at my watch and doing the math from when I got the call, she had been in Active labor for nearly 11 hours, which was quite a bit longer than average. From the looks of her, she had every reason in the world to be absolutely miserable, but her face held no misery as she looked down at the wrinkly pink child in her arms. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and her eyes were luminous with happiness, pride, a hefty amount of relief, and an entire world's worth of intense pure love.

A bolt of fear and jealousy struck my chest, and I immediately crushed it down and tore it to pieces, furious with myself. This was a happy moment. HAPPY.

Luckily, Pa was looking at Ma and Ma was looking at the Baby, so they didn't see my lapse. I schooled a smile on my face, and leaned in, focusing on my curiosity, trying desperately to release the tension and enjoy the moment. The sounds of Smallville started bleeding back in, deafening me, and I focused on the sound of my heart, filtering them back out. I heard the babies heart, and Ma and Pa's. They were similar. There was no significant alien difference vs human similarity that isolated me from the three of them, each heart different and distinct, yet similar and warm.

Finally, the tension bled from me, and when I opened my eyes, and saw the baby, I was struck by how -tiny- it was. There was a small dusting of dark lanugo on the baby's head, but I knew it would fall out in a few weeks, eventually to be replaced by the real hair color. I pictured it, would the baby's hair be brown like Pa? Or red like Ma? Or some shade of auburn in between? I thought of my Jet black hair, and was reminded of the chick of a Cuckoo bird.

Darker plumage. Larger. Alien. Malicious.

I nearly shook my head in frustration with myself, and took another breath, telling myself to calm the fuck down. This was a Joyous occasion. I could NOT make this about me.

Looking back at the child, I heard Ma speak up, her voice raspy and tired. "Clark, meet your new Baby sister"

Strangely, I relaxed a lot at that. Thinking of the baby as a "her" instead of an "it" immediately endeared her to me. Perhaps I also felt relieved, because I felt a little brother would constantly compare himself to me, and well… I'm aware that as a Kryptonian I'm a bit hard to compete with. Not to say a girl wouldn't do that, but… I guess there was a degree of separation that enforced the fact that we weren't competing for the same single slot, but equal and distinct members of a happy family. The last of my nervousness was expunged, and I found myself with a genuine smile.

"Hey… little sister. I promise, I'll protect you with my life, just like Ma and Pa. The four of us are a family now, and I gotta tell ya, they're the best parents you could ever ask for. Among the top 10 in the world at least."

Pa rolled his eyes but smiled happily, and Ma looked at me proudly.

I continued. "So I guess… what I'm saying is… I'm your family too. To the end of the line. I'll be the best brother ever for you! I promise!"

A tear ran down Ma's cheek, and I smiled in return. Yeah. This was a happy time. And this time, I felt it.

I blinked, realizing something. "What's her name?"

Pa chuckled. "Earlier we decided…" he paused, looking to Ma for clarification, and she nodded, giving the go ahead.

"She's named after Martha's grandmother, and my favorite aunt. Clark Joseph Kent, meet Alexandria Ruth Kent. The newest member of out family!"

I froze, blinking a few times. That sounded… close.

"Alexandria… Ruth?" I confirmed.

Ma nodded happily. "The name Alexandria honors my grandmother, but it's a little bit of a mouthful. We'll call her Lexi for short. It's quite the cute name for a little girl, isn't it?"

Ma was beaming, and I didn't dare ruin the moment. "Uh… yeah! Sure is!"

I looked at… Lexi a little closer. I don't know what I was expecting, it's not like a baritone Clancy Brown laugh was gonna come out of her, but I was… nervous.

I reached out my finger to her hand, wanting her to maybe grab it, but as I did, a lime green crackle of static electricity sparked between us. Immediately, her hand jerked, her face scrunched up, and she began wailing, as babies tended to do. "I-I'm SO sorry!" I sputtered out, feeling guilty enough to sink into the ground at hurting the newborn.

"Oh hush Clark, she's perfectly fine." Ma said, Lexi pushed against her chest, Ma's hand rubbing circles on her back.

Yikes. What a first impression. Hope she doesn't hold a grudge.

A/N: And there we are. Hope you enjoy! Don't you hate it when you want to do something casual but then you start loving it and making plans about it? Because I'm starting to want to go all in with this fic.

While we haven't really seen any marvel stuff quite yet, (sorry) this still is technically the MCU+, so here is a post credits scene!

Charles Xavier's eyes widened. He had just felt something through Cerebro, something peculiar. For only a brief flash, he sensed a mutant signature. The only problem was, he distinctly sensed it had come from an infant, and it disappeared before he could hone in on its exact location. Trying for a few more minutes, he eventually gave up. If he focused any harder, he could potentially harm the one he was searching for.

Taking the helmet off his head, he looked at the recording of the reading, confirming what he felt, that the signal had come from somewhere in the mid western United States.

Mutants usually only were detected by cerebro when their X gene was in a non-dormant, or 'active' state. Normally this only happened in adolescents.

If a baby was showing up on cerebro as a mutant, even briefly, it could potentially mean the presence of another mutant farm. It was a little known fact, but the X gene was present in a significant portion of humanity. In over 99.98% of these cases however, the X gene remained dormant, leaving the carrier of the gene as a "normal human".

A "mutant farm" referred to any facility that attempted to forcibly awaken or enhance these dormant X genes in order to "manufacture" a group of loyal mutants. As an infant, young Kurt Wagner had been a victim of such an experiment. Mutant farms often used a variety of methods to awaken the X gene, between torture, chemicals, life and death combat, or exposure to powerful exotic energies, it never boded well for anyone imprisoned in such cruel places.

If there was a new mutant farm in the Midwest, it was his duty to find it, and free everyone within. And when he did, the X-men would have a few words to say to those who dared to experiment on mutant kind!