Siryn's Song, Part Two

Xavier Institute, Bayville, September 23, 2007
It was Monday morning as Clark awoke, getting up, still in his white t-shirt and black shorts; he'd gotten a few hours of sleep, which was all he ever really needed. He'd had a late patrol, taking full advantage of the night hours...the quiet night hours.
Siryn had made good on her word. For a little over a week, she'd been singing almost non-stop, with only a few breaks: during school hours, and during the late night – these were the only times she kept quiet. Her melodious advances, extending into UHF, hadn't affected him directly...but they were distracting, making it harder for him to hear real distress calls.
It was getting annoying.
After Clark had gotten up, his roommate, Remy, stirred in his bunk on the other side of the room. "Ugh...mornin', already?" he muttered, sitting up, in his black t-shirt and black shorts. "Merde...de nights, dey just too short."
Clark chuckled. "Tell me about it."
Remy caught the joke. "Ah, so de fille still be singin' fo' y'?" he replied, getting up.
Clark nodded, as he got up to head for breakfast. "School hours and late night are the only times she clams up." he said. "Is she ever going to take a hint?"
Remy chuckled, following. "Dat's de funny t'ing about de femmes, mon ami: dey want what dey can' 'ave." he said. "By sayin' t' Mademoiselle LeRoux dat she can' 'ave y', y' jus' makin' 'er want y' all de more."
Clark arched an eyebrow. "But...according to that logic, the only way to make her stop wanting me...is to go out with her! How is that a solution?"
"Who said dere was a solution?" Remy replied. "De femmes, dey complicated creatures; guys 'ave prob'ly been puzzlin' over 'em since de dawn o' time, an' prob'ly on Krypton, too...an we prob'ly be puzzlin' 'em when time stops, mon ami. If dere is a solution, Remy ain' got it."
Clark sighed. "Terrific." he said. Chuckling, he added, "But wanting what you can't have isn't a trait that's exclusive to women, is it?"
Remy laughed. "Non. Remy be livin' proof!" he replied. "Remy ain' givin' up on de Institute's Southern belle, jus' yet."
By then, Clark had reached the kitchen, followed by his roommate, as the rest of the students arrived; Clark had almost forgotten how crowded the Institute was, now – getting breakfast was almost as tough as a Danger Room session.
Walking to the counter, Clark managed to pick up a waffle – swerving to avoid the stampede of Bobby, Ray, and Sam rushing for the cereal – and moved to the toaster, next to Logan sipping a coffee. "Rough night, Flyboy?" he inquired.
"Not too bad." Clark answered, smiling. "I just had to make a stop at a hydroelectric plant to put out a fire, and patch up an oil tanker before its oil tanks breached."
Logan arched an eyebrow. "So, a fairly quiet night, then."
"Not too bad, like I said." Clark said. Sighing, he added, "I wish my days were a little quieter."
Jean looked up from her toast. "Siryn was bugging you, yesterday?"
"Yep."
Kitty frowned. "God, what is her problem?!" she exclaimed. "She's been pestering you, all week!"
Remy chuckled. "Remy got a t'eory, but 'e already 'splained it t' de big guy."
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Oh, Gawd, Ah'm not sure Ah want ta hear it, Swamp-Rat!"
Remy grinned. "Why, chere, Remy t'ought y'd be int'rested!" he said. "Siryn's problem wit' Superman be de same one Remy got wit' y': de more y' say non, de more Remy wants y', an' it's de same way wit' Siryn."
Bobby spoke up: "So, big guy...just how hot was she?"
Clark frowned. "I don't see how that matters, Bobby."
"Oh, my God...she was smoking hot, wasn't she?" Ray exclaimed.
Roberto frowned. "Dude, that is just not fair."
"No, it's not fair!" Jubilee exclaimed. "Clark's trying to do good with his powers, and now this 'Siryn' is trying to keep him from doing that!"
Tabitha shrugged. "Hey, you can't blame the girl for having good taste."
By then, Clark's waffle was done, and he took it from the toaster as it popped, placing it on a plate. He was about to grab the maple syrup...
...when his hearing picked up a transmission on the emergency channel.
Seeing Jamie trying to reach the cereal in the cupboard above, Clark handed him the waffle. "Enjoy, Jamie." he said.
"Wow, thanks, Clark!" Jamie exclaimed. "But...what will you have?"
"Sorry; I'm on duty." Clark replied. "I just picked up a plane in distress over China; no time to eat. Later, guys."
With that, he darted to his room, changing into his uniform and opening a nearby window, flying out in all of three seconds, soaring towards the plane.
"...come to me...my Kal-El...don't deny yourself...come to me..."
Superman sighed as he flew; Siryn was starting earlier than usual. He blocked out the mutant enchantress' singing, flying on towards the people who needed his help.
He was really getting tired of her distractions.
Bayville High
The morning passed fairly quickly, and Scott and the others met at their usual table in the cafeteria when lunch came around...all except Jean.
Scott looked around for his best friend...and his face fell as he saw her sitting at the same table as Duncan and his crowd.
"Looks like de big guy ain' the only one wit' femme problems." Remy observed, in his street clothes – a black button-up shirt, black jeans, and black shades hiding his eyes; he'd transferred to Bayville High at the start of the year.
Scott shrugged. "Hey, Duncan is Jean's boyfriend; of course she'd sit with him." he said.
Remy crossed his arms, an eyebrow arched behind his shades. "Uh-huh."
"Scott, you so obviously like Jean!" Kitty exclaimed.
Scott shook his head. "We're just friends, and that's all."
'Sure,' a tiny little part of his mind said, 'you just keep on telling yourself that, Summers. That's why you want to pound Matthews every time you see him with Jean.'
Scott shook his head, clearing his thoughts. Even if that were true, Jean was with Duncan, he thought bitterly; the guy had boyish good looks, was filthy rich, and was the freakin' school quarterback – practically royalty...
"Hey."
Scott was surprised as he saw Jean walk up to them. "Hey." he greeted, smiling. "I thought you were sitting with Duncan, today."
"I was, but then I decided to sit with my best friend." Jean replied, smiling that oh-so-radiant smile. "Anyway, what were you all talking about?"
"Oh, nothing." Scott said quickly. He looked to everyone else. "Right, guys?"
"Right." Kurt quickly agreed, the others echoing his reply...
...though Remy's eyebrow was arched, his smug smile saying, 'Just friends, huh?'
"Hey, guys." Evan muttered, glancing to another table. "Check it out."
Scott followed Evan's gaze...to where Anita LeRoux, clad in a violet halter-top and stylish blue jeans, and the rest of her snobby clique were sitting.
Anita had arrived at Bayville High the Monday after the weekend they'd first encountered her, enrolled in the junior year. The minute she'd walked through the doors, her presence had reduced half the male population to drooling morons. She'd very quickly found her niche in the popularity hierarchy...near the top. In addition, she was quite intelligent, as far as grades were concerned; she was just as brainy as any of the career-academics in their grade.
'I guess being taught by Dr. Doom does have an upside.' Scott thought.
"Well...Ah wonder what Her Bitchy Majesty is up to." Rogue said.
Scott nodded. "We should try to find out." he said. "I say we try to talk to her."
"Right." Lance said. "I know I'm sure in a hurry to have my powers blow up in my face."
"Look, as long as we're in school, Siryn can't do anything because she'll just end up blowing her cover." Scott reasoned. "It's worth a shot." At that, the others agreed. Then, the lunch bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, and Scott and the others left the cafeteria...to try and talk to their new foe.
Scott and the others found Anita by her locker, on her own, before the start of classes, the hall mostly empty. Anita turned around to face them, one of her chestnut eyebrows arched. "Fighting on school grounds?" she said. "And I thought you X-Men were so well-behaved."
"We're not here to fight." Scott said. "We just want to talk."
Anita slowly folded her arms. "So talk."
"Why are you here?" Jean asked. "What do you want?"
Anita smiled. "Why, I want to defeat you foolish X-Men." she said. Her smile became sly. "And, of course, I want Kal-El as my husband, but that's something of a...'work-in-progress'."
"But why are you doing this?" Kitty asked. "He's trying to do good with his abilities; to help everyone, both mutants and humans. Why can't you just let him alone?"
Anita smiled. "Surely you know? He's destined to be the future leader of our race!" she replied. "If he's to lead us, he'll have to snap out of his little fondness for helping those foolish humans; he's going to have much more important things to worry about." She smiled dismissively. "Believe me, dear; in the long run, you'll be thanking me."
Just then, Duncan walked over to them, smiling at Jean. "Hey, babe." he greeted. "Why did you head off so suddenly? I thought we were going to talk before classes started."
"Oh...something came up." Jean replied.
Duncan shrugged, and smiled, nodding to Anita. "LeRoux." he greeted.
Anita simply smiled. "Walk into a wall."
Duncan smiled goofily, turned, and then did just that. "Ow!" he yelped. "What the..?!"
"Oh, you boys!" Anita giggled, twirling a strand of her hair. "Always doing anything for a laugh!"
"Oh...right." Duncan muttered, walking off.
Anita smirked. "You've got a real keeper there, Grey."
Jean frowned. "That was pretty stupid." she said. "What if someone saw that?"
Anita laughed. "Jean, I hardly used any of my power!" she said. "Some people are just easily controlled." She sighed. "And then, there are some men who have amazing willpower...like Kal-El." With that, she simply walked away, as the bell rang for class, prompting Scott and his friends to head to their classes.
High above the Earth, at the outer edges of the atmosphere, Superman floated above the planet, his eyes closed, as he listened to the world below.
After rescuing the Chinese airplane, he'd done a quick patrol before returning to don his nervous, clumsy "Clark Kent" persona before heading to Bayville University. After classes had ended for the day, he'd resumed patrol, making every minute count...
Superman frowned, as Siryn started up her singing again. 'School's out.' he noted mentally. 'That lady sure doesn't waste any time...'
This was getting ridiculous. Was this how it was going to be; him straining to hear trouble over her endless droning? How on Earth was he supposed to..?
Superman's eyes widened in horror as his hearing caught the faint transmission on the emergency channel; there was a rail-bridge out in Texas...and it sounded like one train was heading right for it!
Instantly, Superman took off at top speed, easily shrugging off the heat of re-entry, as he soared towards Texas, a sonic boom echoing behind him. He reached the bridge in seconds; the rails were out of alignment – if the train hit it, it would jump the track...straight into the ravine. Quickly, Superman grabbed the rails and pushed them back into alignment, before using his eye-rays to weld the in place, and then flying away...seconds before the train barreled through, safe.
If he'd been any later...
Superman's eyes narrowed in fury as he heard Siryn resume her melody, as if nothing had happened. He quickly took off, flying towards New York, the source of her song, heading towards the building-top where her melody was coming from.
He could see her as he flew; she was sitting on the edge of the roof, looking much like her mythological namesake, in her uniform; she looked quite fetching, to anyone else.
But Superman knew what kind of evil she was capable of.
He landed on the rooftop fast, lightly shaking the roof; he wanted her to know that he was serious.
Siryn smiled, ceasing her melody. "I knew you couldn't stay away from me!" she cooed.
"Enough games, Siryn!" Superman shouted, in no mood for her flirting. "I don't care about this prophecy that you, Magneto, and your father are preoccupied with! And I'm not going to be your husband, no matter what you do!" Calming, he finished. "The singing stops."
Siryn giggled, twirling a strand of her hair. "My sweet Kal-El," she purred, "one of the lessons that my dear Papa taught me was that, when pursuing a goal...never take 'no' for an answer."
"This isn't a game, Siryn." Superman said. "I just stopped a train from crashing; a train whose distress call I almost didn't hear because of your singing."
Siryn tilted her head. "So?"
Superman's eyes narrowed. "'So?!'" he repeated. "Your singing almost killed those people!"
Siryn smiled. "Well, then, hero," she purred, "if you want me to clam up...you'd better pucker up." Her smile became sly. "Don't just think of those poor innocent souls...think of your friends."
Superman's eyes narrowed.
"I can easily make them do whatever I want." Siryn said. "And I can teleport myself away in the blink of an eye, before you can even arrive." She smiled at him. "All I want is you, Kal-El. Are you going to let your friends suffer for you?"
Superman froze; he couldn't let his friends get hurt. Not for him...
"I'll let you think about it." Siryn cooed, and she snapped her fingers, causing a green haze to begin to enfold her.
"This isn't over." Superman said.
"Oh, I surely hope not, handsome..." Siryn's voice cooed, as she disappeared.
Alone, Superman didn't know what to do. He was completely stuck.
Then, he smiled, as he remembered the perfect person to go to for advice. He quickly took out his belt-communicator, activating the call-masking, and placed a call.
"Hey, Ma? Can I come talk to you?"
Within minutes, Superman had flown across the country, to the quiet town of Smallville, Kansas, to the Kent Farm at the edges of town, where no-one could see him land...and where his Ma, the fifty-something Martha Kent, came out to greet him. Her face was wrinkly, her mid-length grey hair tied in a bun, with glasses framing her blue eyes, clad in old blue jeans and a grey sweater.
"Clark! Welcome home, sweetie!" Ma Kent greeted, happily hugging him. "It's so good to see you!"
Superman smiled, returning the hug. "It's good to see you, too, Ma." he replied. "I need some advice."
"Of course, honey! Please, come in!" his Ma said. Then, they both headed into the little Kent household.
Superman quickly told his Ma the story over a cup of tea. "...you mean that this little witch is harassing my boy?!" Martha cried. Her eyes narrowed in maternal fury. "Let me at her! I'll crack her spoiled little head with my frying pan so hard, she won't even so much as hum a showtune for the rest of her life!"
Superman laughed. "I don't think that'll help, Ma." he said. "She's a sorceress. Plus, her power is in her voice; she can make anyone do whatever she wants, except me. Even so, her singing is distracting me from helping people. Not only that, now she's threatening my friends if I don't agree to be her husband!" He sighed. "I have no idea what to do."
Martha sighed. "I wish I knew what to say, sweetie." she said. "Oh, if I could, I'd boo and heckle that girl every single time she opened her mouth."
Superman sighed. If only it were that simple; if he could only just drown out Siryn's melodies...
Then it hit him.
"Of course!" Superman exclaimed. "Ma, you're a genius!"
Martha smiled in surprised joy. "Well, I'm glad I helped, though I don't know how I helped!"
"The same way you always do, Ma!" Superman declared. "By being one hell of a good mother!" He quickly kissed her cheek, said good-bye, and flew out the door, soaring into the sky...
...heading north.
As Scott and the others returned to the Institute, Miss Munroe and the New Mutants were there to greet them. "Have any of you heard from Clark?" Ororo asked.
Scott shook his head. "No, we haven't heard from him since breakfast, this morning." he said.
Amara looked worried. "I hope he's all right." she said softly.
"W-What if that Siryn girl has captured him?!" Jubilee cried.
Ray chuckled. "He should be so lucky." he murmured.
"Ray!" Jubilee shouted. "Not helping!"
Kitty smiled, placing a friendly hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "He's fine, Jubilee." she assured her. "We've known him a while, and let me tell you, Superman always comes through, in the end. He always has...and he always will." That seemed to calm the young mutant.
"X-Men, the Brotherhood are on the move, heading for a populated area of Bayville Park; suit up and intercept them."
At Professor Xavier's telepathic message, all the X-Men headed to suit up, before piling into the X-Van and driving off, heading for Bayville Park.
North Pole
In the deepest glacial ice of the North Pole, a massive, crystalline structure stood, consisting of countless gleaming crystals, jutting up from the ice at 45-degree angles, interweaving in ways no human mind could fathom.
It was the Fortress of Solitude, the last remnant of Kryptonian technology and knowledge in the entire universe...and the training ground, laboratory, workshop, and former dwelling of Krypton's Last Son.
Superman had flown here the minute he'd gotten the idea, standing within the off-white crystalline halls of his old home, after deactivating the intricate, complex lock on the doors, the lock re-randomizing after he'd entered. He was now in his workshop, at the bench, tinkering with his belt-buckle, using an electron micro-welder to weld the final components in place.
It was so simple. Siryn's voice had the ability to extend into UHF and ULF, sounds that were "felt" by the human nervous system rather than "heard." It was how she controlled people – through suggestion.
It was also the reason why he was immune. Unlike the rest of the people on this planet, he could hear UHF and ULF, and thus could consciously ignore her suggestions. Still, even though her voice couldn't control him, it was still a distraction, having that girl whisper her advances all the time.
But what he hadn't realized – until now – was that Siryn used the same Ultra-High and Ultra-Low Frequencies each time. These frequencies were different from the emergency channels he listened to; it was why he could still hear distress calls – the frequencies were close, which explained why it had been difficult to hear distress calls with Siryn singing...but there was a difference.
And that was Siryn's weakness.
His welding complete, Superman clipped his buckle back on, tapped a button on its side...and listened.
He smiled triumphantly.
Then, his hearing picked up something: his friends were in trouble.
Quickly, he flew out of the Fortress, the lock re-randomized, and soared towards Bayville...with a plan forming as he flew.
Bayville Park
'Man, we're getting our butts kicked.' Cyclops thought, as he and his team began to recover.
They'd managed to intercept the Brotherhood before they'd reached the populated area...and, thankfully, Siryn wasn't with them. They'd managed to handle things, keeping the Brotherhood in check...
...until Siryn had arrived, and completely turned the tables on them.
As the X-Men got up, the Brotherhood were recovering from the beating they'd gotten before Siryn had arrived. Siryn smiled at the X-Men. "If only Kal-El had just accepted his destiny, this need not have happened." she purred. "What happens now is on his head."
"Oh, you're full of crap, lady." Avalanche muttered.
"If you were so concerned about him, you'd be arguing with him." Cyclops said.
Suddenly, a sonic boom echoed overhead, and Siryn smiled. "You know what? I think I'll do just that!"
In seconds, Superman had landed between Siryn and the X-Men, looking grave. "Kal-El, you're here!" Siryn cooed. "I trust you know what you have to do?"
"Yes." Superman said.
Shadowcat looked confused. "Superman..?" she murmured. "W-What are you doing..?"
"Why, he's saving you all." Siryn purred, extending her hands to Superman. "You've made the right choice, Kal-El." she cooed. "Come to me."
Slowly, to the X-Men's horror, Superman walked to Siryn, taking her hands. Siryn beamed, her face flushed. "It was a fact that we would be together, Kal-El." she whispered, her voice breathy. "And now you'll see what a pleasant fact I can be." She closed her eyes. "Kiss me."
Superman didn't move.
Siryn opened her eyes. "I'm waiting!" she said, annoyed.
Superman just grinned. "Don't hold your breath."
Superman simply flicked his wrists, sending Siryn flipping back, shrieking, to land hard on her rear.
Siryn stood up, angry. "You're not making things easy on your friends, you know!" she hissed. "Scott, blast Jean with your optic-blasts!"
Cyclops didn't move. 'Huh..?'
Siryn got angrier. "I said, blast her right now!"
Superman laughed, tapping his belt-buckle. "Sorry, Siryn, but I'm afraid there's a heckler in the audience; nobody could hear a word you said." he chuckled. "It's a little something called a Sonic Wave-Neutralizer, courtesy of the know-how of my home planet! It works on a very simple principle: two waves of equal magnitude and opposing phase, when they interact, will cancel out. And since your voice uses the same frequencies each time, it was easy to calibrate the Neutralizer to send out a UHF/ULF sound with a phase in diametric opposition to your voice. All I have to do is switch it on...and neither I nor anyone in a fifty-mile-radius can hear anything you say on UHF or ULF!"
He turned to the X-Men. "Sorry I'm late, guys; it took me a little while to get the calibration just right."
Siryn's eyes widened, her mouth dropping open in utter and complete shock.
Rogue laughed. "Ya oughtta see yer face, Yer Royal Pain-in-the-Highness!" she said. "Prahceless!"
Jean grinned. "You heard her, Scott." she said. "Siryn said, 'blast her, right now!'"
Cyclops grinned, turning to the flabbergasted Siryn. "If you say so, Siryn!" he laughed, and he opened his visor, firing an optic-blast, sending Siryn flying into the bushes.
Now only the Brotherhood remained. "Oh, man," Toad whimpered, "we're gonna get our butts kicked something fierce..."
Suddenly, with a harpy-like shriek, Siryn levitated out of the bushes, landing on her feet, glaring at the X-Men. "My abilities were crude before my father found me." she hissed. "They were a cudgel, but Papa refined them into a rapier!" She glared at them hatefully. "But sometimes, a cudgel works just as well!"
With that, she opened her mouth, unleashing a devastating scream, a shrill, deadly banshee-wail, a pure wall of sonic force, tearing up the ground in her path, uprooting trees and bushes, crumbling rocks...and sending her three teammates flying.
Superman stood his ground, his arms blocking his head, as he took the brunt of Siryn's scream, its force slowly moving him back...until he dug in his footing, refusing to budge.
As the scream seared towards the X-Men, Jean quickly raised a PSI-barrier, a wall of psychic energy...which began to vibrate as Siryn's scream hit it. Jean's hands went to her head. "I...I can't hold it..!" she cried. "She's...she's too strong..!"
"You can do it, Jean!" Cyclops said. "You're stronger!"
Jean managed to hold the shield...until Siryn's sonic-scream ended, her shriek dying away, leaving the park-field in ruins...but the X-Men were unharmed, and Superman was unphased.
As she dropped the shield, Jean collapsed, and Cyclops caught her. "Jean, are you okay?"
"Yeah...I think so..." Jean murmured. "I've...never blocked anything like that before..."
Cyclops smiled. "I told you that you were stronger." At that, Jean weakly smiled.
Superman glanced back to them. "You guys okay?"
"We're a little shaken up, but otherwise fine." Cyclops said. "But do you think you can handle things, big guy?"
Superman glared at Siryn. "I think so."
Siryn's eyes narrowed, smiling archly. "This is a momentous occasion, Kal-El," she said, "it'll be something to tell our children about..."
"...our first lovers' spat!"
Superman kept on-guard as Siryn conjured spheres of flame in her hands. "Raekis Shriker Pyror!" she chanted, her words seeming to take substance within the fire-bolts as she cast them at him. Superman raised his arms, blocking most of the force, but the impact still sent him flying back a good twenty feet, though he landed on his feet. "Raekis Sumnol Shriker Glacis!" Siryn hissed, as she conjured blasts of frigid energy, firing them at him. Superman was ready, and fired his heat-rays, blasting every frosty spell to shards...but as the shards touched the ground, they froze the entire field...coating his feet in ice.
"Raekis Shriker Blitzrius!" Siryn chanted, as she sent a bolt of lightning searing from her hand, striking Superman before he could break free, sending him flying back thirty feet, landing hard...
...but he quickly did a handspring, getting back on his feet in record time, remembering what Dr. Strange had once told him.
If his will was stronger, he could take anything she could dish out.
"Raekis Shriker Blitzrius!" Siryn hissed once more, as the lightning blazed from her hand towards him, but Superman focused...and zipped away at super-speed before it hit him, zipping behind Siryn and sending her flying with a gust of gale-breath.
Siryn shrieked as she flew across the field, but caught herself, levitating and landing on her feet. "Raekis Sumnol Lithos!" Siryn shrieked, causing fingers of stone to rise up around Superman, enfolding him...
...until his eye-rays melted the rock, and he burst free. He glared at her. "You'll have to do better than that, Siryn."
Siryn started to look nervous. "R-Raekis Shriker Pyror!" she cried, sending flame-bolts at him again, but Superman inhaled and extinguished them with his ice-breath. "Raekis Barrius Glacis!" Siryn cried, as she conjured a barrier of ice between herself and Superman. Superman's eyes glowed red, as he fired his eye-rays, melting the barrier, but slowly, as Siryn's magic was fueling it...but she was losing energy...
With one burst of effort, Superman shattered the barrier with his eye-rays, the blast from the shield breaking sending Siryn flying, to land ingloriously on her rear end. Superman glared at her. "Had enough?"
Siryn just looked at him with wonder. "No-one...other than my father...has ever defeated me..." she murmured. Slowly, she stood up, gazing up at him...and then she smiled, before she darted over and hugged him.
"You're my equal!"
Superman was too shocked to move. Oh, don't tell' me...'
Siryn backed away from him, her eyes shining. "I will have you, Kal-El." she purred. "There is no other for me but you...and there is none for you but me...but you'll see that, in time, my darling."
By then, the rest of the Brotherhood had picked themselves up from Siryn's sonic-attack. "LeRoux, whose side are you on?!" Quicksilver yelled.
"Hush!" Siryn snapped, before gazing at Superman with loving eyes. "Good-bye for now, my Kal-El." she whispered, before blowing him a kiss, and then vanishing into green mist, taking her teammates with her.
Superman groaned, holding his forehead in his hand. "I don't believe this..."
Gambit chuckled. "Like Gambit said," he said, "de more y' say non, de more de femme want y'!"
Shadowcat giggled. "Well, you do have to give her points for persistence!" she joked.
Cyclops smiled. "Thanks for the assist, Superman!" he said.
Superman smiled. "No problem, guys." he replied.
"Well, let's just head home." Cyclops suggested.
"Sounds good to me." Superman agreed. Then, he chuckled. "But, when you think about it, it's kind of funny!"
"How's zhat, Big Blue?" Nightcrawler asked.
"Some guys can attract a girl like crazy," Superman said, "but I screwed it up, except in reverse: I attracted a crazy girl!"
Everyone had to laugh at that. "Don't worry!" Shadowcat assured him. "I know you'll find the right girl, Superman; someone who'll be so perfect for you, and who'll make you so happy, you won't even remember so much as meeting Siryn!"
Superman smiled. "Thanks, Shadowcat." he said. "But, for now, let's go home." With that, the X-Men headed for the X-Van, as Superman took to the sky, heading for home.
In her hotel room, after dropping off her teammates at the boarding house, Anita had promptly taken her phone...
...and called home.
"Oh, Papa, you were right!" Anita all but squealed. "He's perfect! He actually defeated me! He actually figured out how to counteract my powers, and he withstood my spells! He's my equal!"
"I am truly happy for you, my dear Anita." came the metallic voice of her father, the man known as Dr. Doom, his metallic voice softer, though it could still petrify the bravest soul...but Anita would never fear her beloved father's voice...unless she had done something to displease her father, in which case that voice would dispense discipline for her transgressions.
Then, Anita frowned. "But he has to be the most stubborn man I've ever met! Honestly! He will not listen to me! It's so frustrating, Father; for him to be so perfect and yet so stubborn...it drives me insane!"
Her father chuckled. "Most strong men do tend to be stubborn, my child; do not be discouraged." he said. "Have patience."
Anita calmed herself. "Yes, Father." she said. "And what of the rest of the plan, if I may ask?"
"You may." her Papa replied. "Everything is going according to plan, my dear. My associate's assessment of the humans is accurate to a fault; their plans will be manipulated to benefit us, to force Kal-El to accept his destiny. And all of this will occur right under General Fury's nose, making it a wonderful low blow." He chuckled. "Ah, my dear Anita, if it is at all possible, you must tell your father the exact expression on the General's face, when he discovers what has occurred."
Anita giggled. "I will, Papa." she promised. "Good-bye."
"Good-bye, my sweet child."
Anita then hung up, and sighed to herself, smiling dreamily.
'Soon, Kal-El,' she thought happily, you'll be mine'.'