Fated Hour, Part Two

The metal sphere had dropped Scott and Alex off at Magneto's base, a floating meteor to the far north. Magneto had welcomed them, and ushered them to their own rooms, where they found new clothes: black pants, black gloves, a white long-sleeved shirt, and a brown jacket.

Scott was still suspicious, but these new clothes looked warmer than what he had, so he changed.

After changing, Scott left his room, meeting up with Alex in the hallway, clad in the same attire. They both then walked down the hallway, and met with Magneto...as well as Sabretooth and Mystique.

Scott was instantly on-guard.

"What's going on?!" He demanded.

"Calm yourself, Scott." Magneto assured him. "I'm sure that Charles told you that Raven is an associate of mine, and you *must* have realized that Mr. Creed was in my employ."

Scott calmed; he *still* didn't like this, but as long as things didn't get out-of-hand, he could stay cool.

"Whoa...what's that?" Alex asked, pointing to the large machine behind Magneto. Scott noticed it, too. Whatever it was, it was *big*, with a large hatch, which was currently open, revealing a chamber large enough to hold a person.

It was giving Scott the creeps.

"Ah. I was wondering when one of you would notice." Magneto said pleasantly. "This device is one of my greatest creations, powered by a shard of the Ruby of Cyttorak."

Scott arched an eyebrow. "And what is the Ruby of Cyttorak?"

"I'll spare you the mythological details; it was simply the artifact that enabled Cain Marko to activate his dormant X-Gene." Magneto explained. "This device uses the Ruby's power to *fully evolve* the powers of any mutant who steps into it." He looked to them both. "After stepping inside this device, you both will have *perfect control* over your powers."

"*Whoa!*" Alex exclaimed. "Sign me up!"

Scott didn't like the sound of that. Conventional wisdom dictated that if something sounded too good to be true...

...it usually *was*.

"What's the catch?" Scott asked. "What kind of side effects does it have?"

Magneto smiled. "None that you need to worry about." he said. "One quick dose, and everything will be so much clearer."

Scott's eyes narrowed. "*You* use it, then."

Magneto chuckled. "Oh, I *have*, Scott." he replied. He gestured to himself. "When you look at me, you see a mutant who has fully evolved, who has reached the pinnacle of his X-Gene's potential." He smiled. "This state can be yours, too. This is what I offer to *all* mutants."

"Come on, Scott! It looks okay to *me*!" Alex said, smiling. "I say we do it!"

Scott still wasn't convinced. "I don't know..."

Suddenly, Scott's shades lifted off his face, by Magneto's power; Scott instantly shut his eyes. "You must love the color red," he commented, "to want to see it every minute of your life. You don't *have* to, Scott. There are *other* colors in the world: blue, green, orange, yellow, violet, and every other color in the spectrum. They can be *yours* again, Scott. You can *see*, again. Don't you want that?"

Scott hesitated. There it was. Ever since joining the Institute, his hope had been to *see* again, without leveling everything he looked at. The Professor had given him those glasses, allowed him to see, but only in shades of red. What Scott wanted, more than anything else, was to *see*, to truly *see*; to look at the blue sky, at the green grass...

...to see Jean in all her technicolor glory.

And now, it was here. *It was right in front of him...*

'*...don't...*'

Scott paused. He thought he'd heard a faint whisper in his mind.

'*...alters your mind...*'

It had sounded like the Professor. '*It couldn't be. I'm imagining things.*' Scott thought. After all, wouldn't the Professor *want* him to be happy? He'd always played by the rules, stayed cautious, took the long way, the 'worthwhile' way...and he was still stuck in shades of red. Maybe it was time to just toss the rules to the wind, just *once*, and get something he'd wanted for *so long*...

Scott stopped, as he remembered something: he'd nearly made that mistake, before. Back on that winter hike, he'd been about to blast Lance...but Clark had stopped him, reminded him of what he'd been taught.

He'd nearly done it, again, turned his back on everything that he believed in, everything he'd been taught, everything that was *important* to him...

Scott's brow narrowed. "*No*." he said. "I won't deny wanting to see, again, but I'm not going to take short-cuts. If my powers evolve, they'll do so on their *own*. So...give me back my shades."

Magneto sighed, as Scott felt his shades rest back on his eyes, and he opened his eyes. The world was as red as he recalled. "I am truly sorry to hear that." Magneto said. "And what about you, Alex? Don't you want to have your powers under control?"

Alex looked to Scott, then back to Magneto. "Well, yeah," he admitted, "but I think Scott's right; short-cuts are usually bad news. If he isn't going to...I don't think I should, either."

Magneto looked regretful. "I see." he said. "Very well. You may return to your rooms."

Scott's eyes narrowed. "I thought we were free to go home after we saw what you wanted us to."

"I *do* intend to send you home." Magneto said. "However, there are a few things that require my attention, first. So, please, remain as my guests; I will send you home soon."

"All right. I suppose that's fair." Scott said. With that, he turned and left, with Alex following him.

He *still* didn't trust Magneto.

As the two Summers brothers left, Magneto sighed to himself; he knew who had talked Scott out of it. He tapped a button, opening the hidden panel that housed the cryo-stasis chambers. He walked to Charles' chamber, removing his helmet. '*Even in stasis, your mind is astounding, Charles.*' he thought; he knew he was safe – the chamber dampened Charles' telepathy enough so that, at best, he could only *speak* telepathically. '*You got to him, didn't you?*'

'*I only barely reached Scott, Erik.*' Charles thought back, still seemingly asleep. '*Scott made that choice on his own.*' He smiled.'*I couldn't be more proud of him.*'

'*How touching.*' Magneto thought flatly. '*When Kal-El sees the light, he may change his tune.*'

'*Erik, what have you done to him?*' Charles thought.

'*Nothing lethal...yet.*' Magneto thought. **Even Kal-El's inspiring willpower must have a limit; soon, the pain will be too great for even** him' *to stand, and he will accept his destiny.*' With that, he put his helmet back on, and walked away from his old friend.

"Okay, Lensherr." Sabretooth said, "the kids turned you down! I'm next in line!"

Magneto sighed exasperatedly. "Very well." Sabretooth promptly got into the device, the hatch closing behind him, and Magneto activated it.

Flashes of red light emanated from inside, as feral, animal roars echoed from within...and then Magneto shut off the device, opening the hatch.

Out walked an evolved Victor Creed; his change had embraced his more animalistic side, turning him into an even more savage-looking creature, resembling his old self, but with thick, light brown fur, his coat shredded due to his increase in size and mass, with only his pants left intact, as he towered over them. Victor grunted. "*Nice.*" he growled.

"Remember, Creed: due to your alterations, this effect may be temporary; repeated exposure will make it permanent." Magneto cautioned.

"*Got it.*"

"Now it's *my* turn." Mystique said.

Magneto checked the device, frowning. "Not yet, Raven. The device needs to cool down, first." he said. "In the meantime, we have work to do; the meteors are nearly in range." With that, he headed off, followed by Mystique and Sabretooth.

Pietro hadn't been in this good a mood in a long time.

He was walking down the hall, going to see the reason for his cheerful spirit. He reached the door, and opened the viewing-window, since his father kept the door locked.

Super-Dork was still there, still on the floor, bathed in the green light of the space-rock. He was still conscious, though he looked like he wouldn't be for too much longer.

He'd been that way for the past four hours.

"Hey, Super-Dork!" Pietro taunted, savoring every syllable. "Where's your super-speed, *now*, huh? Where's that super-strength? Why not use those eye-rays, or that breath of yours?"

Superman just ignored him.

"Oh, that's *right*! They're not *working*, right now!" Pietro mocked. "With that rock, you're just as mortal as the rest of us!"

Still nothing.

Pietro frowned; this was the third time he'd heckled the loser, but still no reaction. As much fun as it was to make fun of him, you could only mock someone who didn't react for so long.

But he was going to milk this opportunity for all it was worth.

"Face it, Super-Geek!" Pietro snapped. "You're not getting out of there! The only way you're gonna *live* is if you work for my dad! And *that* means working for *me*!"

Superman then spied the control that opened and closed the panel. He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth...

...and slowly *stood up*.

Pietro was shocked. "No, you...you *can't*..."

Superman took a few steps, his motions indicating that every step was agony, but his jaw was firmly set. He took one more step...

His teeth gritted in agony, as he fell over, flat on his face.

Pietro smirked. "*Told* ya!" He sneered. "Later, loser! Don't die *too* fast!" With that, he walked off.

Lance was watching as Pietro left, shaking his head. The team speedster had a real hate for Superman. Fred and Todd didn't hate him *that* much.

As for himself, well, he just didn't bother, too much. Knowing Superman, he'd probably be dead, soon; he wasn't going to take that offer.

He was *nuts*.

Walking over, Lance looked in through the window. "Hey." he said. Superman turned his head...arching an eyebrow quizzically at who it was. "Yeah, surprise, surprise." Lance said. "I've got nothing better to do. So, how you feeling?"

Superman just stared at him flatly.

"Oh yeah. Dumb question." Lance said. He *had* to ask. "Look, why don't you just take Magneto's offer?" he asked. "Whatever moral issue you've got, it *can't* be worse than...*that*!"

Superman's eyes narrowed crossly.

Lance frowned. "Sure, you say that *now*." he muttered. "That whole 'death before dishonor' thing is just plain *stupid*. Being a hero is even *stupider*. There's only one way that a hero's life ends: with a bullet in his head." He looked to Superman. "Or radiation in your room, in your case."

His voice turned bitter. "I guess that's how it goes. In the end, you're *alone*."

"Only if...you *choose* to be."

Lance looked in, startled; he'd *talked*, sounding a bit better – he must be used to the pain, for now. "You're only alone...if you choose to be alone, Lance."

Lance saw red. "*What the hell do **you** know?!*" he yelled. "What would *you* know about being alone?! You've never been abandoned! You've never been passed from one foster home to the next! You've never..!"

Superman's glare stopped him in his tracks. "Lance..." he said, "...*you don't know the **meaning** of the word!*"

Lance froze. "What..?"

"Magneto told you I'm an alien." Superman said. "But what he *doesn't* know is that I'm the *only* survivor of my people! I am the *Last Son* of Krypton, Lance! *There are NO OTHERS!*"

'*Holy...he's the last?*' Lance thought.

"I'm the only one who remembers them, Lance." Superman said. "I'm the only carrier of Krypton's legacy. When I'm gone, the Kryptonian race, and all its achievements are gone *forever*. Everything they cherished, believed in, stood for...when I go, it all *stops*."

'*Whoa...heavy...*' Lance thought.

"I will never see my home world...because it *blew up*." Superman said. "I will never see my parents, because they're *dead*, along with *every other member of my people*. I will never love a woman of my kind, and thus I will likely never have a child of my own; I'm a different species from humanity, so it's likely that I can't have children with a human woman."

"*So don't you **dare** tell me I don't know what it is to be alone.*"

Lance was nearly shocked silent. "Then...then *why*?!" he cried. "Why do you even *bother* with anyone?! Why do you even *care*?!"

"Because I have a choice, Lance. It's the same choice *everyone* has." Superman said. "*Everyone* has a story, Lance; everyone has problems, troubles, things that hurt us."

He looked Lance square in the eye. "You can choose to let those things keep you down, Lance. Then they become your excuse." he said.

"Or you can choose to rise *above* them...and then they become your *strength*."

Those words were eerily similar to what counselors had told him...but Lance wasn't annoyed, not this time...

...because Superman *meant* it.

He *believed* it.

He *lived* it.

And for him, it *worked*.

Lance was getting the funny feeling that what he'd been doing all this time...was *wrong*...

He didn't like that feeling, not one bit.

"Lance," Superman said, his voice cracking – the pain was getting to him, "you don't know...what he plans to do...with this place..."

Lance was confused. "What? What's he gonna do?"

"You have to...destroy this place...your powers can...millions of innocent people...you can *save* them..."

Lance

Lance was *royally* freaked out, now. What *was* Magneto up to? Lance had to find out. He walked off, looking around, for anything that might give him a clue.

It wasn't too long before Lance found Magneto, in a room with a strange-looking metal podium, with funny-looking handles, along with Mystique...and a 'wolfed-out' Sabretooth. Lance tried very hard not to look freaked-out. "Uh...Magneto?" he asked.

"Yes, Lance?" Magneto replied, standing on the podium.

"I...was just wondering: why *do* you need a power-boost?" Lance asked. "I'm just curious."

Magneto smiled. "Well, I suppose you would find out, anyway," he said pleasantly, "so I'll *show* you."

He gestured, his magnetism powering up a screen, showing a planet – Earth, Lance guessed – with a bunch of dots far from it, on a course that would take them away from Earth, passing by it. "Hey...are those..?"

"Meteors? Yes, they are." Magneto said. "*Iron-rich* meteors, to be exact. *Watch*."

He grasped the handles, and *concentrated*. Lance felt the place just *shift*, and he felt pins and needles across his scalp. After a minute or so, Magneto stopped, extremely tired. Lance looked at the screen...and *froze*.

*The meteors had changed course.*

They were on a much closer course past Earth, now...so close that *one more nudge like that would send them **towards** it.*

Lance somehow managed to conceal his horror. "Oh." he said. "Of course."

Magneto smiled. "One more pull, and humanity will know us as this world's new masters."

"Right. Gotcha." Lance said. "Well, then...I won't bother you." He headed out of the room, getting well out of sight.

'*Holy crap, that guy's **nuts**!*' Lance thought. He was no saint, he admitted. He hadn't ever made an honest buck in his *life*...

...but he drew the line at *murder*. He wasn't *about* to be a part of *genocide*.

'*I hope you insured this place, Mags,*' Lance thought, readying his power, **cause you're about to get** rocked'*!*'

Suddenly he froze. *Kitty*. She and the X-Men were here, and Superman was still here, too. Superman would likely tell Lance to forget about him...but he *couldn't* forget Kitty. He had to bust them out, first.

Besides, for all he knew, Magneto had earthquake-proofed the place.

Quickly, Lance ran off, to get help. He knew that Summers was around here, somewhere...but first he intended to free the rest of the X-Men.

*S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier*

"General, something's happening!"

Nick Fury arched an eyebrow at that statement. "What?" he asked from the command chair.

"Satellite readings indicate that the M-19 meteors have...altered course, sir!" the lieutenant added.

Fury arched an eyebrow. "Could anything in Dr. Richards' team's report possibly explain this?" he asked.

"No, sir. The only possible explanation is a collision in space, but Dr. Richards' team never observed anything inbound that could alter their trajectory. And even so, it could only send *one* meteor off-course! They're *all* off-course, sir!"

Fury's eyes narrowed. '*I don't like this.*' he thought. "Are they incoming?"

"Negative, sir. The meteors are still going to pass us...but they're pretty close, sir."

Fury turned to the Avengers standing off to the side; the whole team was here – Captain America, Wasp, Thor, Giant Man, and Iron Man, in his red-and-gold-colored high-tech armor. "Captain, could Doom be behind this?" Fury asked. He'd been waiting for that bastard to make a move...

"I don't think so, sir." Cap replied. "There's no motive; no demands, no threats...when Doom does anything, it's either to gain power, or in response to someone 'insulting his honor.' We haven't heard from him in *months*. I don't think he's behind this."

Fury nodded; Cap was right. This wasn't Doom's style. And this might all be a false alarm; the meteors could still pass safely.

But he still didn't like it. Not one bit.

Scott was just sitting in his room, thinking. Alex was sitting on the floor across from him. "So...this Magneto guy, he's really bad news?"

Scott nodded. "I'm sure of it." he replied. "I just can't prove it..."

"*I* can."

Scott looked up. "Alvers? What're you doing here?"

"You're right, Summers. Mags is off his *rocker*!" Lance exclaimed. "He's using this place to pull *meteors* onto Earth!"

"*WHAT?!*" Scott exclaimed. "I *knew* he was up to something?!" He glared at Lance...

"Hey, man, I *swear* I didn't know! I only just found out!" Lance said. "He's got all your friends here, too! Even Superman! He's using some green rock to make him sick!"

"*Whoa!* Scott...you *know* Superman?!" Alex exclaimed.

Scott froze. "A *glowing* green rock?" he asked. Lance nodded. "Oh, no...that has to be that 'Kryptonite' stuff he told us about!"

"I know where they are! We have to bust 'em out!" Lance exclaimed. "Follow me!" With that, he ran off, and Scott and Alex followed him.

Lance led them to a room full of cryo-stasis chambers...with their friends trapped inside. Scott stopped before the one holding Jean...and he blasted the controls with his optic-blasts, opening it, causing Jean to tumble into his arms.

Slowly, Jean opened her eyes. "Scott..?"

Scott smiled. "Hey."

Jean smiled back. "Hi."

By then, everyone else had been freed. "What the..?" Rogue asked groggily...and she froze. "*Oh, **Hell**, no!*"

"We don't have *time* for this!" Scott shouted. "Superman's in *trouble*!"

That stopped everyone.

"What?" Ororo asked.

"*Flyboy*'s in trouble?" Logan asked.

"How?" Professor Xavier asked.

"Magneto has *Kryptonite*!" Scott exclaimed.

Kitty gasped. "*OH MY GOSH!*"

"Zat can *kill* him!" Kurt cried.

"We gotta help him!" Evan exclaimed.

*'Leave that to us, comrades.'* They heard Colossus' voice in their heads.

"Oh yeah." Lance recalled something important. "I freed the rest of your teammates before I went to find you."

"Very well. We'll leave the rescue to Archangel, Banshee, Beast, Bishop, Colossus, Gambit, Iceman, Psylocke, Sunfire and Thunderbird." Cyclops instructed the others.

Scott smiled. "Everyone, this is my long-lost little brother Alex. Alex, everyone."

"Hate to break up the family reunion," Lance said, "but Mags is gonna pull *meteors* to Earth, remember?!"

Professor Xavier's face went pale. "*What?!*"

"It's true, Professor." Superman said. "This place is a giant superconductor, and it's enhancing Magneto's powers...enough to pull the iron-rich meteors towards Earth."

"Dear Lord..." the Professor murmured, "...even in my most horrific nightmares, I would have *never*..." He lowered his gaze. "Erik, my old friend...how *could* you..?"

"We have to stop him!" Scott declared.

"Well, we'd better *hurry*!" Lance said. "I heard Mags say that he only needed one more pull, and then it's Armageddon, all over again!"

Superman gestured towards the panel. "Well, *that* stuff certainly has to go." he said.

Lance grinned. "I think I can help." he said. He walked over, and touched the lead, using his power.

Instantly, the lead began to rumble, and fold...completely encasing the Kryptonite. "I think you can move it, now." he added.

Superman smiled. "Thanks." he said. Reaching for his cape, he tore a clean strip from its edge, shortening the cape, and tied the strip around the lead bundle, before hefting it over his shoulder like a backpack. "I just need a little sunlight, and I can just toss this stuff off the *planet*."

"Well, we've crossed a few time-zones, getting here." the Professor said. "By my calculations, dawn is minutes away."

"Good." Superman said. To everyone, he added, "Can you guys keep Magneto busy while I recharge?"

Scott smiled. "No problem, big guy."

Jean nodded. "We can handle things, here. You just get yourself better!"

"Just be careful, Flyboy." Logan warned, sniffing the air. "Creed's around here. If he finds ya in yer state..."

"Plus, he's packin' a whole lot more power!" Lance said.

"He must've used that device." Scott observed.

"I'll be careful." Superman said. "I know where the balcony is." He smiled. "Just keep Magneto from using his power again; you'll have backup, soon!"

"Good luck!" Scott said.

"You, too!" With that, Superman headed off, while Lance led them in the opposite direction, towards Magneto.

Sabretooth was just walking through the hallway...when he smelled it. There was no scent quite like it.

*The alien.*

'*How the hell did he get out?!*' Victor Creed mentally fumed. Then, he smiled. '*But he's still weak from that rock...*'

What Magneto didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Sabretooth began to track the scent, following his prey.

He found Superman waiting on the balcony where he'd landed, watching the horizon...waiting for something. Victor could see just a hint of red on the horizon.

Roaring, Sabretooth pounced, grabbed Superman's feet, and dangled him over the edge. He'd thought about just tearing him to shreds...but that was too *good* for the flying runt.

"*Let's see you fly NOW, runt!*" Sabretooth sneered. "*I'm gonna drop your sorry little alien ass! Beg for your life, runt! **BEG**!*"

Superman looked at him...and just smiled. "Just do me a favor and let me *drop*." he said.

Enraged, Sabretooth did just that; he let go, letting Superman fall.

Laughing, Sabretooth headed back in. **Payback is** sweet'*!*'

Superman was laughing to himself as he fell; Sabretooth had done *exactly* what he'd wanted him to do. Still, he wasn't out of the woods yet; he hoped he'd timed this right. He watched the horizon. '*Come on...come on...*'

Then, the golden rays of the sun burst out of the mists, streaking towards him and bathing him in their warmth.

'*YES!*'

Superman instantly pulled up from his death-dive, shooting high into the sky, easily breaking orbit, hovering in space. He looked towards the sun...and hurled the lead-packaged Kryptonite towards it...where it would eventually be incinerated. That task done, he let the rays of the sun bathe him.

In seconds, his full power was restored. He felt better than ever.

Superman was ready to *rock*.

He flew back towards Earth, heading for Asteroid M.

It was time to *end* this.

Scott and the others reached the control room *just* as Magneto was heading towards the metal podium. Scott unleashed an optic-blast, sending him flying. "Game over, Magneto!"

"What..?!" Magneto roared.

The Professor glared at his old friend. "You've gone too far, Erik." he said. "We can't let you do this."

"I'm securing the future of our people!" Magneto exclaimed. "And in case you haven't noticed, Charles," Sabretooth, Mystique, and the other Brotherhood members walked into view, "my forces outmatch yours."

"Forgetting about us." Archangel, Banshee, Beast, Bishop, Colossus, Gambit, Iceman, Psylocke, Sunfire and Thunderbird ran into the control room.

Suddenly, the room began to rumble, as the ceiling shook violently...and Superman burst into the room from above. "Mind if I drop in?"

Scott grinned. "What took you so long?"

Superman smiled. "Traffic was murder."

"What the..*how did you get out?!*" Quicksilver cried.

Lance then stepped into view. "Bet you want to take back some of those words you said, eh, Pietro?" he quipped.

"And I wouldn't rely on that Kryptonite in the future, Magneto." Superman said. "It's half-way to the *sun*, by now!" Then, he grinned at Sabretooth. "Thanks, Vic! Couldn't have done it without you!"

"*What the...I DROPPED your sorry ass! I SAW YOU FALL!*" Sabretooth roared.

Superman shook his head. "Vic, Vic, Vic...didn't you notice the sun coming up?"

Sabretooth snarled. "*So?!*"

Superman laughed. "I'm *solar-powered*, you moron!"

Magneto's face twisted in rage. "Creed, you ***IDIOT**!*"

Pietro was equally enraged. "*You...you lousy TRAITOR!*" he roared at Lance. Then, the entire combined Brotherhood leapt to the attack.

Sabretooth leapt at Superman, swinging at him. Superman easily dodged the punch, and countered with a lightning-fast flurry of punches, striking Creed's gut faster than a *machine-gun*. "Wolverine!" he yelled. "Alley-oop!"

Instantly, Wolverine came at Sabretooth, leaping off Superman's shoulders, slashing the dazed Creed numerous times with his claws.

As Sabretooth stumbled back, Logan grinned. "I guess I can let you help in my battle *this* time." he said. "Batter-up, Flyboy!" At once, Superman picked up Logan by his ankles, spun him a few times, and sent him flying right at Sabretooth, turning him into a living torpedo, claws-first.

Logan's claws connected, sinking deep into Sabretooth's chest, causing the feral mutant to howl in pain...to be silenced as Superman flew at Sabretooth, slamming him with a punch, sending him crashing through the floor, going deep into the asteroid's bowels.

Logan winced. "He'll be feelin' *that* tomorrow." he said.

Roaring, Blob rushed at Scott...only to stop, confused, as Jean levitated him off the ground. Scott smiled at her, and then slammed Blob with an optic-blast, sending him flying. As Blob got up, Alex swung at him, his hand-blasts igniting, sending Blob flying once again.

Alex grinned. "Hey...I think I'm getting the hang of these, Bro!"

As a dazed Blob started to recover, Storm summoned lightning, shocking the massive mutant into unconsciousness.

As Toad hopped at Kitty, he let fly a slime-glob...which impacted against the solid wall of rock that Lance raised from the floor. Smiling at Lance, Kitty then ran through the wall and leapt at Toad, phasing his feet into the ground, rising out behind him.

Remy then stepped forward. "Since y' liked Remy's last game, 'e went n' made 'nother, just for y'." he said. He took out his deck and shuffled it. "Remy t'ink 'e call it...*Fifty-Two Pick-Up!*" He split his deck in half, with one half in each hand, spreading them like a fan. One-by-one, each card began to glow a deadly red.

Toad's eyes widened. "*Uh-oh.*"

Remy flicked the cards at him with darts-champion accuracy, setting off a cascade of explosions, sending a very singed Toad crashing into the wall, out cold.

Lance chuckled. "Nice."

"Y' should see Remy at de poker table."

As Evan ran at Mystique, brandishing a bone-staff, the shape-shifter back-flipped away, kicking Evan in the chin as she did. "Sorry, but I can't stay and play." she said. With that, she changed into a rat, and scurried into a hole, escaping.

Evan was about to go after her, when Quicksilver started to run circles around him. Evan got an idea; he took aim and threw his staff. The bony spike stuck into the floor...directly in Quicksilver's path. The speedy mutant tripped on it, falling flat on his face.

Angered, Quicksilver was about to *really* stick it to Evan...when he saw Wolverine and Superman looking down at where Sabretooth had fallen, and he saw red.

He ran at Superman, leaping into a flying kick at Mach Two, to hit him right between the shoulder-blades.

Superman never even so much as flinched.

Quicksilver stumbled to the side with a sore foot, and then ran at Superman again, ready to deck him...

Superman turned, and caught his fist, eyes narrowed crossly. "*Enough.*"

He flicked his wrist, sending Pietro flying, to land hard on his rear.

Scott then noticed that Magneto was heading for the metal podium; none of them could get there in time. "*Superman, stop him!*"

Instantly, Superman's eyes narrowed, glowing red, as he fired his heat rays...

The deadly beams lanced through the podium's power-supply seconds after Magneto's hand touched the controls.

The resulting explosion sent the Master of Magnetism flying, landing flat on his back...

...and he began to *laugh*...

Feeling something ominous in the air Godzilla headed over to the direction of Asteroid M.

"*General, we have incoming!*"

Nick Fury closed his eyes. '*I hate being right.*' "Status?"

"The meteors have changed course again, sir! They're heading straight for Earth!"

Fury's eyes narrowed. "Get our weapons satellites into position! Arm our anti-air missiles! Prepare to fire!"

"We *can't*, sir!" the lieutenant cried. "There was a massive electromagnetic surge during the course-change; it knocked out all our satellites! And without satellite telemetry, our missiles are *blind*! A systems-reboot will get them back in ten minutes!"

"*And how long until those things hit?!*"

The lieutenant looked to have aged fifty years. "In...five minutes, sir."

"Then you've got *four* minutes to get those satellites online!" Fury barked. As his people worked their asses off, Fury could only watch as the meteors inched closer to Earth...

*International Space Station*

"But...Reed, that *can't* be right!"

Reed nodded. "It *is* right, Sue! The meteors have changed course! They're headed straight for Earth!"

Sue was horrified. "We've got to *do* something! We have to stop them!"

"Ben, how long until you can get the shuttle ready?" Reed asked.

"Sorry, Reed; it'll be a good fifteen minutes before that bird's good to go!" Ben exclaimed.

"*I* can do it! I'll go out there, flame-on and *fry* those things!" Johnny said.

"It wouldn't work, Johnny." Reed said. "Your powers need *oxygen*, remember?"

"*Dammit*, Reed, I've got to *try*..!"

"It won't help!" Sue exploded. Glumly, she added, "There's nothing we can do..."

Reed felt as glum as Sue felt. Millions of innocent people were going to die...

...and there was nothing they could do about it.

*New York City*

Dawn had yet to come to New York, and Spider-Man was spending those last few dark hours on patrol. He'd stopped a few robberies, busted up a few gangs, and just generally upheld the law. It had been a good night.

Stopping on top of a skyscraper, Spider-Man happened to look up into the waning night sky...

...and spied numerous bright dots, much brighter than stars.

'*Weird,*' he thought, **it's too late for stars, so what are** those'*?*'

He didn't know why, but those lights were making his spider-sense get antsy.

Elsewhere...

Igneel emerged from his cave home and glanced up at the dots in the sky.

The Fire Dragon King then took flight.

Magneto's laugh made everyone's hair stand on end.

"*You're too late!*" The Master of Magnetism crowed. "I pulled the meteors enough to get them into Earth's gravity-well! Even *I* can't stop them, now!"

By then, the entire base was starting to shake. "This base is about to fall apart, but it has served its purpose." Magneto said, standing up. "I would advise you and your students to leave, Charles." To Superman, he added, "You're welcome to try and stop the meteors, Kal-El...if you *can*!" Then, before anyone could stop him, he darted into a hidden door, escaping as it shut behind him.

Scott didn't know what to do. He looked to Jean, who looked back mournfully.

"Ha!"

Everyone turned to see Pietro as he got up, the rest of the Brotherhood getting up, as well. "You lose, X-Geeks!" Pietro declared. "You can't stop those meteors, now!"

"Whoa...*meteors*?" Toad said. "*That's* what your dad was doing?! He was pulling *meteors* towards Earth?"

"But...but..." Blob murmured, "...my Grandma lives in Texas...meteors aren't gonna fall *there*, are they?!"

"*No.* They're *not*."

It had been Superman who'd spoken. "Give it up, Super-Dork! You *lost*!" Pietro yelled. "You can't turn them back!"

"No, I can't." Superman admitted. "I had something else in mind."

"What, you're gonna blast 'em as they fall?" Pietro sneered. Superman just smiled. "No...no *way*." Pietro said incredulously. "*No freakin' way!* Not even *you're* dumb enough to try that!"

"Superman...can you do it?" Scott asked.

"Get everyone out of here." Superman instructed. "Get as far from here as you can."

"Good luck." Scott said.

"Be careful." Jean added.

"*Bon chance, mon ami.*" Remy said.

Superman smiled. "*Merci.*" He replied.

"Are you out of your little green *mind*?!" Pietro yelled. "That's not brave! It's *stupid*! Those humans are gonna *die*, and there's nothing you can *do* about it!"

Superman just smiled. "Sorry, Pietro." He said. "I guess, when I read the dictionary, I skipped the Q-Section...*because I don't know the **meaning** of the word 'quit'!*"

"Whoa..." Alex murmured.

"Can he really do it?" Lance asked.

"Remy 'ate t' say it, but 'e ain' sure if *anybody* can pull dat off." Remy said.

Kitty smiled. "He can...and he *will*." She said, looking up after Superman.

"Superman doesn't know *how* to fail."

"Rrrar!" Magneto went over to a screen and saw a large dragon with red scales fly into orbit.

"Who is that?" Quicksilver asked.

He had never seen this dragon before.

"The Fire Dragon King Igneel. I crossed paths with him during the space station incident." Superman explained.

Then the ground was shaking.

Peering down from the observatory, everyone spotted a nearly 400 foot tall gray-skinned dinosaur lumber through the water.

"Godzilla." Jean whispered.

"Talk about some major reinforcements." Scott added. "Those three will definitely stop the meteors."

"Why would the King of the Monsters get involved?" Kitty asked.

"I have no idea. Now if you'll excuse me."

With that, he shot up through the hole in the ceiling, flying out into the sky, and through it.

"Come *on*, people! *Talk* to me..!"

"Sorry, General, but we're still six minutes away from complete reboot!" The lieutenant said.

'*Dammit, we've got to get fliers in the air and take those things out!*' Fury thought. "Thor?"

"Even the son of Odin requires air, General." Thor replied.

"Iron Man?!"

"*Sorry, General, but there's still too much EM interference from whatever knocked out those satellites. My suit would turn into a paperweight before I even left the stratosphere.*"

"General, we have a bogey!"

'*Oh, what **now**?!*' Fury thought. "Another inbound?"

"N-No, sir, it's...*outbound*."

*That* surprised Fury. "Did any of our allies launch any missiles?"

"Negative. It's moving too fast to be a missile."

One of the S.H.I.E.L.D agents happened to be looking through a pair of binoculars.

"This can't be real." The agent whispered.

Captain America came over to him.

"Is that a...dragon." Cap trailed off after looking through the binoculars.

He then turned to the rest of the Avengers.

"Did you just say dragon?" A confused Wasp asked.

"Radar is also picking up on another bogey. This one seems to be in the water."

SKREEONGK.

Captain America looked through the binoculars again.

"No way. Godzilla is also heading towards Asteroid M."

"*Double-time, people!*" He barked. He kept watching the screen.

He wished those three luck. *'You'll need it.'*

"Holy...Reed, take a look at this!"

Ben's exclamation startled Reed out of his glumness. "What is it, Ben?"

"Two blips are heading toward the meteors, fast."

Reed blinked. "What could it be?"

"Two?" Sue questioned.

"Three guesses who they are." Ben grinned.

Reed paused...and then grinned. "Of *course*!"

Sue slapped her forehead, smiling. "How *dumb* are we?! How could we forget about *those two*?"

Reed smiled, looking out the Station's porthole. *'Godspeed, you two.'*

If anyone could stop those meteors, it would be Igneel and Superman.

The two shot up through the atmosphere, breaching it and coming out into the edges of space. The meteors were clear as day, now; they were coming in, accelerating with Earth's gravity.

Superman flew into their path; the first meteors were small, the size of basketballs. His eyes glowed red as his heat-rays fired, incinerating them from afar. As they got closer, Igneel swung his tail.

Now the meteors were getting bigger; the next batch were the size of houses and minivans. Superman blasted them with his eye-rays until they fractured into smaller pieces, and pummeled them when they got close. He darted from one meteor to the next, slamming each one into dust. He couldn't slow down, not now. Finally, all the meteors were gone...

...except one.

'*Hoo, boy.*' Superman thought; this last meteor was a *monster*, the size of a *skyscraper*, or *bigger*. His eyes narrowed, and he fired his eye-rays.

The beam impacted the meteor...but it didn't slow down.

Superman gritted his teeth; he was only using 10 percent.

"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Igneel covered a fist in flames and punched the meteor with all his might. Cracks began to form in it after the full-powered punch.

He upped his power-usage to *20* percent.

His eye-beam widened, doubling in destructive force...but the meteor did not slow.

Superman exhaled sharply, and used *30* percent.

The beam widened again. *Finally*, the meteor began to glow red as the beam struck it, fracturing...

It was getting dangerously close to the atmosphere. Any closer and it would start re-entry.

...and then the meteor exploded in a mighty blast, fracturing into space-dust.

Superman stopped his beam, breathing a sigh of relief...until he saw a horrifying sight.

The meteor hadn't been completely destroyed. One minivan-sized fragment remained...which had just been pushed into a fast re-entry by the blast, glowing red from the heat of the atmosphere.

Superman dove after it, flying into an equally-fast re-entry, his own form taking the heat easily. He fired his eye-beams...but the turbulence of re-entry made him miss, his beam going wide.

He focused, and fired again...but his beam went wide to the left, missing by a narrower margin.

He could see where the meteor was heading: New York City.

Igneel released a flaming kick at the meteor before it's descent.

He fired *again*. This time, the beam impacted on the side, blasting off a chunk...while the rest kept falling.

It was only seconds away, now...

Superman's eyes narrowed in determination. He would not let this happen.

*Failure was **not** an option.*

He lined up the meteor, and *fired*. The beam hit dead-center, causing the meteor to heat up, glowing red...

Five seconds, now...four...*three*...*two*...

Igneel rapidly descended and rammed into the cracks he made earlier. This made them larger and the meteor crumbled from the barrage of attacks.

With a gasp of relief, Superman pulled up, streaking across the New York sky, a sonic boom echoing behind him. He flew north, towards the dying Asteroid M.

Igneel also flew towards Asteroid M.

He hoped he wasn't too late.

Spider-Man could now easily see the blazing red streak in the sky.

'*T-That's a **meteor**!*' Spider-Man thought. It was heading towards the city...

Suddenly, Spider-Man could see several attacks connect with the meteor.

Finally it crumbled apart.

A cheer broke out among the entire Helicarrier crew as the last meteor vanished from the screen.

"All meteors destroyed, sir!" the lieutenant reported. "I...I have no *idea* how, but they're gone! I...I guess we have a guardian angel, or something!"

Fury managed to keep a smile off his face, even though the Avengers were grinning to themselves.

"Not bad, kid." He said to himself.

"Not bad at all."

Igneel and Superman returned to Asteroid M after everyone else had evacuated the Asteroid...but it was falling too fast.

They couldn't get away.

Superman landed next to Scott and his brother. He looked to the falling Asteroid, then to Scott.

Scott nodded in understanding, and looked to Alex, who also nodded.

Scott looked up at the meteor, and took off his glasses, firing his optic-blasts at the falling structure. Alex focused, firing his hand-blasts. Superman then joined in, firing his eye-rays.

All three blasts hit the asteroid, crumbling it...but not fast enough to destroy it in time.

Igneel aimed his head towards the sky as his pupils disappeared and a massive burst of fire came out of his mouth.

The heat produced was felt by the other X-Men.

'This is insane.' Jean thought. 'It's like the Sun is falling to earth.'

"It burns." Kitty's skin started to burn.

Asteroid M was also hit by Godzilla's atomic breath.

The energy blasts, heat vision, fireball and atomic breath cause the asteroid to crumble and soon utterly destroyed it. In seconds, the structure crumbled into dust.

They all ceased their attacks.

"RRRAR!" Igneel roared loudly.

"It's finally over." Scott sighed. "Thanks for stepping in."

This was directed to Godzilla and Igneel.

Superman then started to tip backwards.

"Whoa there, big guy!" Alex said, rushing to prop up Superman.

"Easy, now." Lance said, rushing to help Alex support him, "We've got you...*whoa*, son of a *bitch*! What's this guy eat for breakfast? *Rocks?!*"

Colossus and Thunderbird helped keep him upright as well.

"*Holy!* What's he made out of, Scott? Cast-iron?" Alex exclaimed.

Scott smiled. "More like stainless *steel*, Bro."

Quickly, all the X-Men moved to help carry Superman towards the Blackbird, except Professor Xavier, who could not.

"Let's go home." The Professor said, smiling. "We've all had a busy few days."

Godzilla stomped towards the ocean and began to swim away.

Igneel took to the skies to return to his cave home.

"Uh...Professor X?"

The X-Men stopped at Toad's sheepish question, as he stood with the rest of the Brotherhood, who had also escaped with them.

"Uh...I know we ain't exactly all the best of pals and stuff, but could we...I don't know, maybe...hitch a ride home?"

The Professor smiled.

"Well, seeing as how you honestly did not know about Magneto's plan...I suppose we can let you ride with us." At that, the X-Men, carrying Superman, all boarded the Blackbird, followed by the Brotherhood. The Blackbird then took off, heading home.

Scott buckled the snoozing Superman into a chair, and then sat down in a chair himself, next to Jean.

Jean smiled. '*Thanks for getting me out of there.*' she sent to him telepathically.

Scott smiled. '*Hey, what are friends for?*'

'*And the Professor told me that he knew that you refused to use Magneto's machine.*' Jean added. **I could not be more proud of you, Slim. Superman isn't the** only' *hero, around here.*'

Scott felt like his smiling-muscles were about to cramp up. '*I do what I can, Jean...just like any X-Man would.*'

Pietro could only scowl at the sleeping Superman from his seat in the back.

'*I do not believe this. I abso-freakin'-lutely do not **believe** it!*'

Superman had helped save the day. *Again*.

He'd been exposed to that rock, that 'Kryptonite,' he'd chased a whole *shower* of meteors through re-entry – and destroyed them with some help – and he *still* saved the X-Geeks!

Right now, Super-Dork was sleeping peacefully in his chair, completely oblivious to Pietro's festering hatred.

'*You're gonna get yours, Super-Loser.*' Pietro thought. '*I'm gonna make sure of it.*'

As he watched the Blackbird fly away, Magneto smiled.

Kal-El had done it. He had actually saved the humans from his meteors.

It only reinforced what Magneto believed: that Kal-El was the leader that *Homo superior* needed.

'*Very well, Kal-El.*' he thought. '*Proceed with your heroics. When mutants are revealed, you will see humans for what they are: completely unworthy of you.*'

With that, Magneto levitated away.

Magneto hadn't been the *only* one watching the Blackbird.

From a mountain cliff, Mystique watched...in her new, evolved body: leaner, slimmer, stronger, her shifting powers at their full potential, her hair slightly longer, her clothes tattered from using that machine before the Asteroid had fallen.

'*I'm through playing second-fiddle to Lensherr.*' she thought. '*Time for my own agenda.*'

She shifted into her namesake, and flew off.

With a loud roar, Sabretooth dug himself out of the snow he'd been buried in, now normal again...well, as normal as he ever got. He was *steamed*.

That little runt had knocked him *all the way through the Asteroid, and out the other side!*

"I'm coming for ya, runt." Sabretooth growled. Looking around, he then groaned. "In probably half a year, maybe *more*...when I get back to civilization."

Grumbling to himself, he started to hike through the snow.

When Superman came to, he was in a bed in the Institute infirmary, clad in only his uniform pants.

He sat up, feeling *much* better, now. He looked around...and smiled. Everyone had been waiting for him. Currently, they were all asleep, all in their street clothes. The Professor was asleep in his wheelchair; Scott and Jean were snoozing in their chairs; Kurt was sleeping on top of a medical cupboard; Rogue was sitting cross-legged against the wall, eyes closed; Evan was sitting on his skateboard, asleep; Logan was leaned against a wall, snoring; Ororo was sitting in a chair, her head resting against a pillow; Remy was sleeping lightly as he sat by the wall, his bo-staff in his hand; Lance, snoring, was sitting on the floor beside a chair...

...the chair which held Kitty, snoozing, Superman's uniform-top and belt in her lap...his cape stitched and mended.

Superman smiled: Kitty, the sweet baby sister he'd never had. He got out of bed, walked over, and quietly took the uniform-top from her lap, putting it on. She'd stitched the cape perfectly; it was as good as new. He then took the belt, putting it around his waist, the buckle locking together with a *click*.

That *click* woke Kitty up. "*You're okay!*" she squealed, leaping up and hugging him.

Superman chuckled. "Well, I *won't* be if you hug the stuffing out of me." he joked. Kitty smiled apologetically, letting go.

Her exclamation woke everyone else up. "Hey, look who's back!" Evan exclaimed.

"Are you feeling okay?" Kurt asked.

Superman froze; his hearing picking something up. "Train. Bridge out. Texas..." he began, but then stopped. "No, wait. False alarm. TV Western Movie Marathon."

Rogue chuckled. "He's okay."

"You had us worried." Jean said.

"You've been out for a *day*, Superman." Scott added.

Superman chuckled. "Hey, *you* try getting dosed with Kryptonite for four hours, and *then* chase meteors through re-entry, and see if *you* end up looking like a million bucks!" he laughed.

That made everyone laugh. "While you were out, Superman, there's been a fair bit of news." Ororo said. "It seems that the planet just had a near-miss...but somehow, the meteors just 'vanished.' No-one knows how."

"That reminds me." Logan said. "Fury called here to get the details; we told him we had everything under control. He told me to tell Flyboy this: 'Not bad.'"

Kitty frowned. "That's *it*?!" she exclaimed.

"Half-Pint, this is Brigadier General Nicholas 'Iron-Pants' Fury we're talking about." Logan said. "When it comes to praise, he's tighter than a Republican at tax-breaks. A 'not bad' from him is nothing to sneeze at."

Professor Xavier smiled. "Superman, you have – quite literally – saved the world." he said. "Only a rare man can hold the weight of the world on his shoulders...but it takes a *true* Atlas not to shrug." His smile grew. "It's an honor to have you here."

Superman just smiled. "Hey, I just do what I can, just like everyone else." he said. "And it *was* a team effort."

Remy chuckled. "Remy got t' admit, y' do some righteous stuff, *mon ami*." he said. "Remy's jus' curious: is it too late for Remy t' apply t' dis place? Maybe all dat hero stuff is somet'ing dat Remy can do, aft'r all."

The Professor smiled. "We would love to have you, Remy."

"Oh, *Hell*, no!" Rogue yelled. "Ya *can't* let him in, Professor! Do ya *know* how much he'll be pesterin' meh?! He'll drive meh *nuts*!"

Remy frowned. "Remy don' go *nowhere* he ain' wanted, chere." he said. "All y' got t' do is look Remy in de eyes an' tell 'im y' don' want 'im t' bother y'. Do dat, an' Remy will trouble y' no more."

Rogue paused. "Uh...um...well..." she stammered, flustered.

Remy grinned. "Dat's what Remy t'ought, chere."

Rogue's eyes narrowed, though her face was slightly pink. "Ah *ain't* yer 'chere'!"

Chuckling, Lance interrupted, "Since we're on the subject...do you think you could hand out one more application? Because...well...I was just wondering..."

The Professor chuckled. "Well?" he asked everyone.

Scott smiled. "He *did* help us out."

Logan chuckled. "It's fine with me."

Everyone else gave similar words of agreement.

The Professor smiled. "Welcome to the Institute, Lance."

Just then Superman picked up something; this was no false alarm – it was on the international emergency channel. "*Uh-oh.*"

Scott knew that expression. "Uh-oh."

So did Jean. "Uh-oh."

As did everyone else. "Uh-oh."

Lance didn't. "'Uh-oh'?"

"Spain. Ship coming in. Engine fire. They're taking on water." Superman said, his eyes closed as he listened.

Jean chuckled. "Looks like another job for Superman!"

Instantly, Superman headed out of the infirmary, but not before Lance called, "Hey, Superman...Kal-El...whatever you call yourself...good luck!"

Superman stopped, and looked back, smiling. "My friends call me Clark Kent." he said. With that, he darted off, opening a window and zooming out of it, flying off at top speeds, a sonic boom echoing behind him.

He was still needed.