Friends

It was early morning below the Institute, as Rogue, Kitty, and Kurt, all in uniform, dragged themselves out of the Danger Room. Rogue had chosen a black bodysuit with a green plastic-reinforced chest-plate, with yellow boots and yellow gloves on her hands.

'*Oh, Gawd.*' Rogue thought, '*suddenly gettin' recruited by Mystique is startin' ta look pretty good by now.*'

"*Mein Gott*." Kurt lamented, "zat session vas a *killer*...even my *tail* hurts..."

"Why does Logan have these so *early* in the morning?" Kitty wailed.

"And whah wasn't Clark with us?" Rogue said.

"Flyboy did his drills during the night." Logan said, walking up to them. "Not bad, you three, but I'm not doing cartwheels. I expect you to bring those times up. For now, go get breakfast." With that, he walked off, and the three young mutants left the training floor, to get ready for school.

Within the hour, the three had showered and changed into their regular clothes, and were sitting at the kitchen table for breakfast with the others...except Clark.

"Where's Clark?" Kitty asked.

"Ah the lad." Banshee remarked.

"Still in the hangar from what I can hear." Thunderbird stated.

"He's working on a project there." Scott replied.

"He's been working on it ever since he got back from his patrol." Jean added, munching on a piece of toast.

"Vat project?" Kurt inquired.

"All he said was that it was a 'family heirloom' that he was repairing." Ororo said, as she sat down.

Rogue arched an eyebrow. It was a fact – although an amazing one – that Clark was actually an alien; what kind of 'family heirloom' could he be fixing up?

After breakfast, Rogue headed up to her room – her *and* Kitty's room, she corrected with a sigh. The Professor had decided to give her a roommate to help her adjust. '*More lahke drive meh nuts.*' she thought. Kitty was a sweet girl, no argument there. Rogue's main beef was that she was so *different* from her; Kitty listened to upbeat, 'girly-girl' type music...which drove Rogue nearly *insane* when she was trying to listen to Evanescence. She chewed bubble-gum and read all sorts of 'teen magazines' and was always filling in the magazine quizzes...and always asking for *her* opinion, most often when she was trying to read her latest Stephen King novel.

And, dear *God*, with her it was always 'Superman' this, and 'Superman' that. Clark *was* a hero, Rogue admitted; he used his incredible power for the good of all humanity, while taking *zero* credit for it. Rogue couldn't help but admire him.

But listening to someone go *on* and *on* about it...it got old *fast*.

As she was about to head out, Rogue saw Kitty and Kurt head in the opposite direction...towards the elevator to the underground floors. "Where are ya goin'?" Rogue asked.

"We're just going to see what Clark's working on!" Kitty said. "I bet it's *really* cool!"

Rogue rolled her eyes. 'Shoulda known.' She thought. "Did it eva occur to ya two that he might want some *privacy*?"

"Oh, come *on*, Rogue! Maybe we can help him!" Kitty said.

"Ja!" Kurt agreed. "Aren't you just a *little* curious about vat he's vorking on?"

Rogue sighed. "You're goin' no matter what Ah say." she muttered.

Kitty and Kurt nodded. "Are you coming?" Kitty asked.

"*Fahne.*" Rogue said. "But only ta keep ya both from pesterin' him ta death." With that, she followed the two to the elevator, and they took it down to the hangar floor.

"So, did you both hear?" Kitty asked. "Logan and Jean went on a recruiting mission, yesterday; they were gonna try to recruit some mutant with super-strength, or something." She sighed. "But Mystique *totally* got to him first."

"Looks like zhe Brotherhood is trying to match Superman." Kurt said. "It's bad enough zat zhey transferred to Bayville High."

Kitty beamed. "Good *luck*!" she gushed.

Rogue rolled her eyes. '*Here we go...*'

"Superman's the strongest guy in the *world*!" Kitty squealed. "He can probably chew up and spit out that guy if Mystique and the Brotherhood send him after us!"

By then, the elevator had reached the hangar floor, and the three young mutants stepped out onto the metal floor. There, next to the Blackbird...was a fairly small, sleek, almost torpedo-shaped, silvery-metal craft, with powerful thrusters at its stern, and a cockpit that looked large enough to hold a single person...and it was *hovering* there, of its own power.

And there, underneath it, with a silvery metallic box of glowing crystals and unrecognizable electronic tools just within his reach, was Clark, in a white t-shirt and blue jeans, tinkering with it.

Smiling, Kitty ran over, stopping a few inches away. "Hi, Clark!" she said.

"Hey, Kit." Clark replied, never stopping from his work.

"Ah'm sorry, Wonder-Boy. Ah *tried* ta stop 'em." Rogue said.

"No problem, Rogue. I figured someone was going to get curious about my little project, sooner or later."

"*Vhoa*..." Kurt murmured, his blue face a lighter shade, "...is zat..?"

"Yep." Clark said. "This is the Trans-Warp ship that my father used to send me here. I'd been meaning to try and get it back into flying shape for a while, now."

"You *know* how to repair it?" Kitty asked, amazed.

"I took a crash course from the Fortress' knowledge-chamber; I drop by there every once in a while." Clark replied, reaching for a small scanning-tool and a glowing gold crystal from his toolbox. "I also picked up the equipment I needed to fix it up."

Rogue blinked. "'The Fortress'?" she repeated.

"*Huh*?" Kitty said.

"Oh, sorry; I never told you guys about that, did I?" Clark said, pausing. "I was talking about my old hangout, the Fortress of Solitude. It was built from a nano-crystal that my father put in the ship, to teach me about where I came from. It contains all the knowledge of Krypton and all the worlds it had contact with; it was where I lived and trained for four years before the Professor found me."

Rogue smiled. '*A Fortress of Solitude...wish Ah had one.*' she thought.

"So...vat exactly are you doing, now?" Kurt asked.

"Well..." Clark replied, taking the crystal and inserting it into a slot in a device inside the ship, the slot extending out to allow the crystal to be inserted, but remaining out as Clark inserted it, "...I'm currently inserting fresh Crystalloid Trans-Warp Cells into the ship's Trans-Warp drive, since the old ones were used up in the trip here. It was a ten-year trip."

"How far away was Krypton?" Kitty asked.

"Over two billion light-years." Clark said.

"*Whoa!*"

"Yeah." Clark agreed, as he lightly began to turn the inserted crystal, checking the instrument as he did so. "My father designed the Trans-Warp drive to use seven Cells in series, one taking over as the previous one was used up, and automatically adjust power consumption as each cell was being used up. As a result, as I insert the Cells, I have to precisely calibrate each one before I completely insert it into the drive-core." Checking the instrument once more, he then tapped the crystal, and it fully inserted itself, beginning to glow even brighter. "I also plan to re-model the cockpit, as I've grown a bit since I last used it. As well, I hope to install an enhanced cooling system, to better bleed off the excess heat during reentry." he chuckled. "I'm hoping to have this baby ready to fly sometime close to spring break, with my university work and patrols."

"Wow..." Kitty murmured, "...well, good luck!"

"Thanks." Clark replied.

"Well, we'd better get goin'; Scott's waitin' for us." Rogue said. "Later, Wonder-Boy!"

Clark chuckled. "Later, Stripes!"

"*Auf wiedersehen*, Clark!" Kurt said.

Clark chuckled. "*Auf wiedersehen*." he replied. Then, the three headed out, letting their friend repair his spaceship.

*Bayville High School*

As the first class bell rang, 16-year-old Fred Dukes wandered the halls, looking for his classroom. Fred was *big*, he admitted. He was much taller than most other students, and he was fat – no sense in mincing words. He had light skin, brown eyes, and a mostly bald head with a dark blond mohawk. He wore his usual clothes: a light green, extra-large t-shirt under his extra-large jean overalls. Normally, the fact that he was so big would've bothered him...but not anymore.

He was a mutant, unlike most of these students. His weight gave him incredible strength, and a near-immovable mass. He also remembered that blue lady, Mystique – who was really the principal – mention something about a "uni-directional gravity field" that he generated, making him almost *impossible* to move.

Something would have to hit him with more force than a *bazooka* to budge him...and that fact, after so many years of being laughed at or made fun of, gave him some *pride*.

Still, he was having trouble finding his next class. He grabbed one student as he passed – a tall, blond-haired, green-eyed jock in a letterman jacket. "Hey, you." Fred said, gesturing to his schedule. "Where should I be?"

The jock smirked. "Try a freak show." he said.

Fred saw *red*. His face twisted in rage, his fists clenching. The minute he'd found out what he really was, he'd *sworn* that *nobody* would ever make fun of him *ever* again.

With a loud roar, Fred shoved the guy against the lockers, sending him sprawling. He walked over and grabbed the row of lockers, about to topple them and *squash* this jerk...

"*Stop*!"

Fred stopped, looking up...and saw the most beautiful girl he'd ever *seen*. She had long red hair, and glittery green eyes. Fred momentarily forgot how to *breathe*. '*Wow.*'

As the guy recovered, the girl looked at him. "Duncan, you'd better go get to class. I'll meet you later, okay?"

"Ugh...okay, Jean." the guy – Duncan – said, before walking off.

The girl – Jean – smiled. "I'm sorry about Duncan." she said. "He's not all that bad a guy, once you get to know him." She held out her hand. "Jean Grey."

"Fred Dukes." Fred replied. "Hey...are you...like me?"

Jean nodded. "I know we're not exactly on the same side," she said, "but that doesn't mean that we can't be friends, right?"

Fred blinked, and then smiled. "Sure." he replied.

"Your class is just down the hall, the first on the right." Jean said. "Later!" Then, she walked off.

'*Oh, yeah! Fred Dukes is the Big Man on Campus!*' Fred thought. Finally, things were going his way.

And they were going to *stay* that way.

It was lunchtime at Bayville High, as Kitty sat down with Rogue and Kurt, with his image-inducer active. "Ugh...Ah think mah lunch just *moved*." Rogue muttered, looking at her tray.

"Yet another reason I'm glad I'm a vegetarian." Kitty said, taking out her salad and veggie-burger.

"Vhoa...is zat zhe guy zat Jean und Logan tried to recruit?" Kurt asked, pointing to a big guy in the lunch line.

"Yep." Kitty said. "I think Jean said she was going to talk to the guy, try to patch things over."

By then, the guy had loaded up his tray with sloppy joes, and was walking to a table...when he slipped, sending his tray flying...

...right into the lap of star-quarterback, Big Man on Campus Duncan Matthews.

'*Oh, this **so** will not end well.*' Kitty thought.

His green eyes narrowing in cold fury, Duncan stood up and threw one of the sloppy joes back at the big guy. The guy managed to duck, and Duncan's throw hit someone else.

In seconds, a full-scale food-fight had broken out.

"Okay, I'm out of here!" Kitty exclaimed.

"Same here!" Rogue agreed. "Fuzzy?"

Making sure no-one was watching, Kurt 'ported himself and Rogue out of the cafeteria, while Kitty discreetly phased through the floor, into the empty girls' locker room below.

It was after school, as Jean was walking home with one of her friends, Taryn Fujioka. Taryn was a 16-year-old Japanese-American girl, and around the same height and frame as Jean was, with long, dark brown hair, dark eyes, wearing her usual short blue-green dress under her light blue button-up sweater. Like Jean, Taryn was one of the "popular" students; she was on the soccer team with Jean, and the two had a fair bit in common.

Jean inwardly sighed; today had been a heck of a day. First, she'd averted an angry Fred Dukes from pounding her boyfriend, Duncan. *Then*, several hours later, she'd had to calm him *again* during that food-fight...*after* Scott had almost turned his optic-blasts on Fred. They had been lucky that everyone had cleared out at that point; they had to watch themselves for near-misses like that.

'*Now I know how Clark feels.*' Jean thought, remembering the several times that Superman had been partially photographed. '*I wonder if Superman has days like these.*'

"So, Jean, did you hear? There was another Superman sighting!" Taryn almost squealed. "Someone in Japan almost got a full photo of him! My grandfather says that he's going to try to buy a copy of it for me!"

Jean had to suppress a smile; almost *all* the girls at Bayville High were talking about Superman, now...with Taryn included. "Oh?" Jean asked. "Someone saw him?"

"Well, someone saw *something* flying away from that sinking cruise ship off Japan's east coast." Taryn said. "But who else *could* it be?"

Jean had to *fight* to keep from smiling knowingly. "So...he saved everyone?" she asked.

"Totally! The ship's boiler had blown out, and it damaged its hull, causing it to take on water! The ship was so far out that no rescue vessel could reach it in time!" Taryn said. "Why won't he show himself, though?"

Jean shrugged. "Who knows?"

Just then, Jean saw Fred start to walk up to her. "Hey, Jean?" he asked. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure." Jean replied. She nodded to Taryn, who went on ahead. "What is it?"

"Can I show you something?" Fred asked.

"Okay." Jean agreed, and she began to follow Fred.

*Europe, a few miles off the coast of Latveria*

Superman was flying home at top speeds, heading back from a successful mission. He'd had to drop his repairs on the ship as he'd heard that airplane send out a distress call over China. He'd helped it to land and flown off without anyone seeing him, unlike that cruise-ship incident near Japan. These incidents were getting a bit more frequent, now...and it was starting to worry him.

Suddenly, Superman heard the tell-tale sound of engines blowing out...only this time, it wasn't due to simple mechanical failure.

This plane was being *shot* down.

Instantly, Superman altered course, flying towards the falling craft at speeds over Mach Four. He found the craft crashing towards a small island, just off the coast of the country of Latveria. It wasn't a commercial craft...but a *military* craft, with eagle insignias on the wings. Curious, Superman used his X-Ray vision to look inside...

His eyes widened in awe. **No** way'*.*'

Instantly, Superman dove beneath the craft, helping it level off, to land safely on the sandy beach. As the ship touched down, he walked to the hatch, to greet its occupants...

"*Cap! We're hit! We're going down!*"

Aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. gun-ship provided for their mission, Captain America, or "Cap", leader of the Avengers, tried to steer the dying craft into a stable landing. Cap was in his twenties, tall, and strongly built, his eyes blue, his blue cowl covering his short blond hair, as part of his blue, kevlar-reinforced battle-suit, with a white star across the chest, and red-and-white stripes just beneath the star, with a plain brown utility belt around his waist, with red gloves, black combat boots, and a circular, red-white-and-blue shield on his arm. Cap – then known as Steve Rogers – had been the world's first genetically-engineered "super-soldier" during World War II. He'd been frozen in the frigid Atlantic waters...only to have been thawed out by S.H.I.E.L.D. to lead the Avengers team over fifty years later.

"*Pym*!" Cap barked. "Get that engine back online!"

"No good, Cap!" Hank "Giant Man" Pym replied. Hank, in his early thirties, was tall and lean, his dark orange suit and goggles hiding his hair and eyes. Hank had the ability to grow to well over sixty feet tall, or shrink to less than the size of an ant.

"Cap, we're going to hit in less than a minute!" Janet "Wasp" Pym exclaimed. Janet was in her twenties, with short ebony hair, light skin and dark eyes clad, in black tight pants and a yellow-and-black striped sleeveless top. Janet, Hank's wife, had the ability to shrink to insect size, growing a pair of insect-wings, which enabled her to fly, as well as the ability to fire bio-electric "stings."

"Hold tight, people," Cap said, "This is gonna hurt..!"

Suddenly, the aircraft was stopped by a glowing green hand made out of light energy. A figure could be seen outside the window.

"What the..?!" Giant Man exclaimed.

"We're...leveling off?" Wasp stammered, confused.

"Thor?" Cap asked, turning to face their fourth teammate. "Did you..?"

Thor Odinsson, who thought of himself as the Norse thunder-god – a claim that got harder and harder to dispute, the more Cap got to know the guy – shook his head. Thor was tall, even more so than Cap, and built like a tank, with long, blond hair, and a trim beard around his mouth. He wore a dark blue, mail-like vest with four silver circles reinforcing its front side, with black tight pants, and steel-toed boots, carrying a weapon that was a cross between an axe and a war-hammer – "Mjolnir." he called it.

"Was not I, Captain." Thor boomed.

Then, the gun-ship landed, shakily but safely, on the beach. As the hatch opened, Cap and the other Avengers darted out, ready for whatever was waiting for them...but they got the surprise of their *lives*.

The gun-ship settled to the ground...as a young man, no older than nineteen, *set it down with his bare hands*, and then walked towards them, smiling pleasantly. He was tall, only a few inches shorter than Cap, and with an equally strong frame, maybe *stronger*, for his age. He had light skin, short black hair, slicked back with a few tufts arcing over his forehead, and piercing blue eyes. He wore a blue bodysuit with a red cape, red boots, a yellow belt, red tight shorts...and a stylized red 'S' in a red-outlined yellow diamond on the chest.

Right next to him was a brown-haired young man wearing a green, white and black bodysuit with green boots and a lantern symbol on his chest.

'*Wait...is this that 'Superman' that keeps popping up on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar every so often?*' Cap thought. *'And who's the other guy?'*

Finding his voice, Cap said, "Who are you?"

"Kyle Rayner, one of Earth's four Green Lanterns." Green Lantern introduced himself.

Superman smiled. "Just someone trying to follow your example, sir." he replied. "I figured you might need a lift."

"Well...thanks." Cap replied, lightly smiling. Then, to his teammates, he said, "Let's go, people – we have a job to do."

"Mind if I tag along?" Superman asked, surprising Cap. "Maybe I can help."

"Cap, you can't be *serious*!" Hank exclaimed. "Whoever this kid is, he's a *greenhorn*! We're not running a *babysitting* service, here!"

"*Hank*! He just saved our lives!" Janet scolded. Smiling, she said to Superman, "We'd be happy to have your help, Superman."

"Indeed!" Thor boomed, smiling. "Your powers appear impressive, young one! Not even some of my siblings could have accomplished the feats you have! Your assistance would be most welcome!"

At that, the other Avengers looked to Cap, the final decision resting with him. Superman also looked to him, waiting for a response.

Cap smiled. "I say we give the kid a chance."

"Captain..." Hank said, "...powers or not, he's just a kid..."

"So was *I*, back in the day." Cap countered. "Someone gave *me* a chance." Grinning, he added, "Plus, Superman here has an even better record than *I* did, when I was starting out!" To Superman, he finished, "We'd be happy to have you with us, son."

Superman grinned. "*Thank you, sir!*" he exclaimed.

"Okay, people: enough lollygagging." Cap said. "We move out." With that, the Avengers, plus Superman, headed further into the island.

The small band moved through the foliage of the island, stopping just as they saw a large clearing, with countless robot soldiers, numerous tanks, several anti-air batteries, and several fighter-craft. At the very end of the compound were twenty missile launch-pads, each one armed with a single missile. "So, what's the mission, Captain?" Superman asked.

"Our objective is to neutralize these missiles." Cap replied. "These are TX-372 'hot-impact' missiles, stolen from an R&D lab in Alaska. In addition to the explosive charges, their heads contain shells that, on impact, ignite a chemical reaction, superheating the heads to well over 1000 degrees."

"They could be used against armored targets..." Superman observed. "The heads would burn through armor...and explode *inside* the target..."

"*Bingo*." Cap confirmed. "Unless we pull the plugs on those puppies, every armored building in the U.S. is going to be fair game for every terrorist that has one...and they're set to go on the market in less than an hour."

"Who's selling them?" Superman asked.

"We don't have conclusive proof," Cap said, "but if I had to guess, I'd say it's someone linked to *Doom*."

"Who?" Superman asked.

"Dr. Doom, born Victor van Damme." Giant Man explained. "The guy was the one funding Dr. Reed Richards and his team's quantum teleporter; the dumb bastard messed up the codes, mutilating himself and Richards' team. He's all living metal, now...but he's arguably the most dangerous man on the planet. He's in charge of Latveria, now; made himself king and turned its whole economy into a powerhouse practically *overnight*."

"Why would he steal the missiles?" Superman asked.

"*He* probably didn't; not his style." Cap said. "But he probably bought 'em second-hand. Doom *has* to be behind this little sale; he's too much of an ego-maniac to let anyone conduct business on or near his turf unless he's in on it."

"So, what's the plan?" Superman asked.

"Thor, you take out the fighters." Cap instructed. "Giant Man, you cover him by neutralizing those AA batteries. Wasp, while those robots are distracted with us, you get small and sabotage those missiles. Superman and I will handle the infantry." He looked thoughtful. "Now...how to handle those tanks..."

"Captain?" Superman asked. "I think I've got them covered." He started to inhale...

"Sure, kid; you're just gonna huff and puff and blow 'em down!" Giant Man sneered. "No offense, Cap, but this *has* to be the stupidest idea you've *ever*..."

...and Superman exhaled, unleashing a gale-force wind strong enough to make Hurricane Rita look like a *breeze*. The gale-breath sent every tank flying, along with half the robot infantry, as well as confusing the AA batteries and fighters.

Giant Man's expression was almost *comical*.

"What was it you were saying, pal?" Green Lantern asked Giant Man.

"*Go!*" Cap ordered; instantly, the Avengers leapt into action. Thor flew into the air, and swung his hammer, sending surges of lightning blazing across the sky, knocking out two fighters in one blast. Giant Man instantly grew to over the size of a skyscraper, and began stomping on the AA batteries, taking advantage of their confusion. Wasp shrunk to insect size, and flew towards the missiles, her wings fluttering, unnoticed by the robots.

And Captain America, followed by Superman, charged into the fray.

Cap slammed one robot with his shield, before throwing it like a boomerang; the shield hit one robot, bounced off and hit another, then ricocheted off a third before returning to his hand. He then saw Superman's progress; the kid was doing just *fine* – already, he'd taken out ten robots, and was currently freezing another ten with some kind of ice-breath.

By then, the robots had started firing back; Cap easily deflected their bullets with his shield...and bullets just *bounced off* Superman, not hurting him at all. Superman's eyes started to glow, and he fired a deadly red beam from his eyes, instantly incinerating twenty robots. Cap shook off his amazement and threw his shield again, taking out ten robots of his own.

'*Damn,*' Cap thought, **the kid sure gets** my' *vote for Rookie of the Year!*'

"Wasp!" Cap called over his communicator. "Progress?"

"*I've got 18 missiles neutralized,*" Wasp reported, "*But it looks like Doom reconfigured these last two! I need to get big to shut them down!*" Cap then saw Wasp return to normal size, and began tinkering with the last two missiles.

By then, nearly all of the robots were nothing but scrap; the AA batteries were all gone, and the fighters were grounded. As Giant Man returned to normal size and Thor touched down, Cap and Superman stopped; all was well.

Suddenly, Cap saw one of the robots – who they'd assumed was offline – sit up, and take aim at Wasp. "*Janet, look out!*" Cap yelled, racing towards the robot.

Too late.

The robot fired, before collapsing again. Janet gasped, as the bullet raced towards her...

And easily bounced off a green shield construct.

"For future reference you shouldn't turn your back on a robot that's still active." Green Lantern told Wasp.

"Noted." Wasp said.

Suddenly, those last two missiles started to lift off, shooting into the horizon...as the last robot launched them. Cap threw his shield, destroying it, but it was already too late.

"Those two...they were programmed to hit a naval base in New York...that's why they were reconfigured – for a demonstration." Wasp murmured.

"By Odin's beard...none of us can fly fast enough to catch them..." Thor muttered. "*Blast* it!"

Superman didn't look ready to give up. "Wasp," he asked, "how could you stop a missile in mid-flight?"

Wasp was confused. "Well...the power source is near the tip of the missile; destroy that, and the missile goes dead."

"Captain," Superman asked, "could you disarm a missile if I could get you on one?"

"Kid, give it a *rest*!" Giant Man said. "Those things are moving at Mach Two..."

"I've done well over *Five*." Superman said. "So, Captain, do you think you could handle that much g-force?"

"I'll *have* to." Cap replied. "Let's go, son." With that, Superman lifted him up under his arms, and flew after the missiles, accelerating to Mach One, then Two...and then *Three* and above.

In seconds, they had caught up to the missiles. Superman deposited Cap on one missile, before he flew over to land on the other. Cap pried open the panel near the tip of the missile, and scanned for the power source...and found a little black box, marked with an electrical symbol. He drove his shield down, severing the cables leading to and from the box; instantly, the missile went dead, its thrusters dying, the weapon starting to sink. Looking over, Cap saw that Superman had fired his eye-rays through the power-source, neutralizing the second missile. Superman then flew off, lifted Cap back up, and flew them both back to shore.

'*Damn, this kid's **good'*****!*' Cap thought, with a smile.*** *Whoever he is, the Avengers could **use** guys like him!*'

After Superman and Captain America had landed, the Avengers had gathered near their crashed gun-ship, as Superman stood with them, to say goodbye once they'd radioed for a pick-up. Green Lantern had already left by this point and was returning to Los Angeles.

"Thanks for your help, son. We couldn't have done it without you." Captain America said.

At the praise from his childhood idol, Superman smiled proudly. "Coming from you, sir, that means a lot." he replied.

"I *suppose* you did okay." Giant Man grumbled.

Wasp nodded. "You were a great help to us, Superman!" she said.

"*Ha ha!*" Thor laughed, mightily clapping Superman on the back, which probably would have knocked over anyone else. "You have distinguished yourself in battle, my friend! I would be proud to fight alongside you, once more!"

Superman chuckled. "Thanks, Thor."

By then, Captain America had just gotten off the radio. "Well, our ride should be here fairly soon." he said. To Superman, he added, "Before we leave, there's just one thing I'm curious about, son. Why *did* you want to help us? You could have just set us down and gone on your way."

Superman smiled sheepishly. "Because you're my hero, sir." he said. "When I was growing up, I looked up to you; *God*, for most of my childhood, I wanted to *be* you! Even to this day, every time I'm facing a tough decision during an emergency, in the back of my head, I always ask myself, '*What would Captain America do?*' I just...wanted to help, Captain."

Captain America smiled. "My friends call me Cap, son." he replied. "For now, I have two pieces of advice. One: keep your head low and keep right on doing what you're doing. Two: when you're revealed to the public, come find us – we could *use* a man like you on the Avengers."

Superman smiled. "I'd like to, Cap, but I'm going to have to decline. Part of me wants to join...but the rest thinks that I can do more good as an independent. Sorry, Cap."

Cap chuckled. "I had a feeling you'd say that; it was worth a try!"

Superman nodded...and at that point, his belt-communicator started beeping. Superman took it out and opened it. "Superman here."

"*Superman, it's Cyclops. Meet us just outside the construction site on the east side of Bayville; Jean's been kidnapped.*"

"I'll be right there." Superman replied, before closing the communicator and putting it back. "Sorry, but I have to go; my friends need me."

Smiling, Wasp walked over to him. "Well, if you ever change your mind, our door's always open." She said. "And next time you see Green Lantern, thank him for saving my life."

Giant Man scowled.

Smiling, Superman turned to go...

"Hold on."

Superman stopped at Cap's voice, turning around. "You've made some friends, today, Superman." Cap said. He took out a small, electronic device, and handed it to him. "In the future, if you or your friends *ever* need us, you just take that communicator and give us a shout; we'll be there whenever you need us."

Smiling, Superman took the comm-unit, and clipped it to his belt. Then, he held out his hand. "It's been an honor, sir."

Smiling back, Cap shook his hand. "No, Superman, I'd have to say that the honor was ours." he replied.

"Take care!" Wasp said.

"Yeah, whatever. Later." Giant Man grumbled.

"May the blessings of Asgard be with you." Thor said, raising his hammer in salute.

Smiling, Superman waved goodbye to his new friends, and then took to the air, flying towards Bayville at top speeds, a sonic boom echoing after him.

His family needed his help.

When Jean came to, she had a *monster* headache.

Looking around, she saw that she was inside an old wooden shed...and that she was tied to a chair.

The last thing she remembered was talking to Fred...he'd asked her on a date...and she'd told him she was seeing someone else.

A big mistake on her part, in retrospect.

Fred had *flipped*, and attacked her. She remembered using her TK to fight him off...until something had fallen on her – an old iron pipe, she guessed – and knocked her out. '*Professor?*' she telepathically called. '*I'm here.*'

'*I know, Jean; I managed to locate you with Cerebro. The others are on their way.*'

Just then, Fred – wearing dark green khaki pants, a white sleeveless t-shirt, and a matching green vest, came in...carrying a tablecloth, a vase with roses, and a few plates, with cutlery. "Dinner'll be here, soon." he promised.

Jean blinked, confused. "Dinner?"

"For our date!" Fred said, smiling.

"Fred..." Jean said, "I told you, I'm already with someone..."

"That Duncan jerk?!" Fred said. "He's a total *jackass*! You can do *way* better!"

Jean sighed. "Fred, I'm *flattered* that you've taken a shine to me. *Really*!" she said.

"I just...thought we could be friends..." Fred said.

"We *can* be." Jean said. "But this isn't the way to go about it."

Just then, there was a noise outside...as Jean felt a familiar mental presence. '*Hang on, Jean!*' came Scott's mental call. '*We'll have you out of there in no time!*'

"Aw, *darn* it!" Fred muttered, turning to go. "Hang on, I'll be right back." With that, he lumbered out of the shed.

After Fred had left, Jean spied one of the knives he'd left...and got an idea. With her telekinesis, she lifted up one of the knives, guided it behind her chair, and started cutting the ropes...

It didn't take Superman very long to reach the construction site. As he touched down, he saw the X-Van pull up, and Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, and Rogue, all in uniform, darted out. "Sorry I'm late." Superman said. "Had to help a few friends."

"No problem, big guy." Cyclops replied. "We'd better fan out, and find..."

"*Hey!*"

Superman and the X-Men all turned to see a big guy come lumbering into view, looking angry. "I'm guessing that's our guy." Superman observed.

"Yep; Fred Dukes." Cyclops confirmed.

"I'm *trying* to have a nice dinner-date, here!" Fred shouted...and froze as he saw Superman. "Hey..." he added, pointing at Superman, "...*you're that Superman guy!*" He grinned. "That blue lady said that I might get a crack at you!"

"There's no need to get upset, friend." Superman said calmly. "We just want our friend back safely. So why not just let her go and we all go home, okay?"

"*Man!* Lance and Todd were *right* about you! You *are* a Boy Scout!" Fred sneered. "Well, *nobody* beats the *Blob*, pal! I'm the strongest guy to ever come out of my state! Back in the rodeo show, I always *wanted* to see which of us would win!" With that, he started to charge at them.

Cyclops instantly let fly with an optic-blast, knocking Fred – Blob – back a few feet...and then Blob dug in his heels, stopping. "*Ha*! Is that all you got?!" he taunted. "*Nothing* hurts me! I'm *immovable*!"

*Bamf!*

"Zhen you should be too slow to catch me!" Nightcrawler laughed as he 'ported onto Blob's shoulder. Blob roared, and tried to grab Nightcrawler, but he leapt away, giving Blob a kick to his head, angering him further. Rogue tried to close on him after Nightcrawler's distraction, removing her gloves to drain him, but Blob swatted her aside, knocking her back.

"Okay," Shadowcat said, poking her head out of Blob's stomach as she phased through him, "I've just seen what you've been eating, and you *totally* should have a *salad*! I mean, *ew*!" Roaring in fury, Blob grabbed Shadowcat's ankle as she phased out of him, lifting her off the ground, upside-down, causing her to shriek.

In less than a second, Superman darted to Blob, grabbing his arm and *flipping* him, causing him to drop Shadowcat. As Blob recovered, Superman unleashed his super-breath, the gale-force winds sending Blob flying back a good twenty feet...but Blob got back up, and ran at Superman, unleashing a punch...

Almost effortlessly, Superman caught Blob's fist, his eyes narrowing. He lightly compressed Blob's fist in his grip, causing Blob to howl in pain, before twisting his arm into a *jujitsu* lock, followed by a palm-down chop right to Blob's kidney-area. Most of the force was absorbed by Blob's layers of fat, but it was still more than enough to send him flying.

"What the...*that HURT!*" Blob roared. "You *HURT ME!*"

"You're the one who wanted to fight me, Blob." Superman replied. "There's a very old saying for times like this: *be careful what you wish for.*"

Roaring in pure fury, Blob rushed at Superman again, fists flailing, but Superman easily evaded every single punch, before countering with a back-kick, sending Blob flying again...who promptly got back up. "Even the great Superman can't stop the Blob!" Blob crowed. "I can take *anything* you dish out!"

Superman frowned; the level of power he was using was taking too long to wear Blob out, but he didn't want to use much more than he was using currently. The best way to defeat Blob was to get him into the air, but his gravity-field made that difficult. He had an idea, but he needed to use more force to do it...

Suddenly, a crate suddenly flew over to Blob and crashed onto his head.

Infuriated, Blob whirled around...and saw Jean, there. "*You said you were my friend!*" Blob roared.

"I wanted to be, Fred." Jean said. "It didn't have to be this way."

"*You're just like everyone else!*" Blob roared bitterly. "*I HATE YOU!*"

"Jean!" Superman called, getting an idea. "In five seconds, levitate everyone else five or six feet off the ground!"

"Okay." Jean agreed. Instantly, Superman shot into the sky, over a hundred feet in the air...and *dove* back down at supersonic speeds. Jean promptly levitated herself and the other X-Men off the ground, with only a confused Blob still on the ground...

Superman slammed the ground with his fist, creating a shockwave that would've made Avalanche *green* with envy; the ground itself *rippled* with the force of his blow.

'*For every action,*' Superman thought, **there is an equal and opposite** reaction'*!*'

The shockwave traveled to Blob, tossing him up into the air, overcoming his gravity-field easily. Like lightning, Superman shot into the air and slammed him with an aerial haymaker punch, sending him flying...as Superman flew *past* Blob to deck him again with an uppercut.

For several seconds, Superman slammed Blob back and forth like a yo-yo, before he knocked him upwards...to accelerate above him and slam him with a double axe-handle strike, sending him streaking down to earth, *cratering* it.

Slowly, a very dizzy Blob stumbled to his feet. Superman touched down. "Had enough?"

Blob shook off his daze, and *roared* in anger. "You think you can hurt me?! *Nothing* hurts me! *I'm the Blob!*"

"Ahem."

Blob turned around...and winced as a bare hand touched his arm.

"Old Blue and Bitchy neva told ya 'bout *mah* power, did she?" Rogue hissed. "Mah power is *yer* power, Lard-Butt!"

And with that, she grabbed his arm and tossed him up into the air. "All yers, Wonder-Boy!"

Instantly, Superman flew up to Blob as he fell...and *decked* him.

***WHAM!***

Superman's punch echoed like *thunder* as Blob went sailing off into the horizon, well out of sight. Superman then touched down. "Well, given Fred's ability to take damage, he'll be okay, except having a headache and a bruised ego."

Rogue nodded. "Nahce punch, Wonder-Boy." she chuckled.

"Not bad yourself, Stripes." Superman replied, smiling.

"Jean, are you okay?" Cyclops asked.

"I'm fine, Scott." Jean assured him, smiling. "I knew you'd come find me." She gave him a hug. "Thanks."

Scott smiled. "Don't mention it."

"Superman, that was *awesome*!" Shadowcat gushed. "You *creamed* him!"

Superman just shrugged. "We *all* did." he corrected. "I just wish I hadn't had to use that much force."

Kitty blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well...I've always tried to keep my power usage at a minimum." Superman admitted.

"How much do you *use*?" Kurt asked.

Superman smiled sheepishly. "Oh...maybe...ten percent?"

"*Whoa!*" Kitty cried. "You mean, all your powers – the eye-rays, strength, speed, breath, everything – so far, you've only been using them at *ten percent power?!*"

Superman shrugged.

"He's not kidding!" Scott laughed. "Remember, Jean and I have *seen* him in Danger Room sessions before you guys did!"

"If *anything*, he's *under-selling* himself!" Jean added, laughing.

"Hopefully, I'll never *have* to use full-power." Superman said softly.

"*Vhoa*." Kurt murmured. Then, the X-Men piled back into the X-Van, and drove off, as Superman took to the sky, flying home.

It was nighttime at the Institute, as Logan stepped out for a smoke. He had only just lit the cigar...

...when he *heard* something.

Snarling, Logan tracked the sound to its source, just inside the gates...as a familiar scent caught his nose. He stopped. '*No freakin' way...*'

At that, the smiling, trench-coat-clad form of his old war pal Steve "Captain America" Rogers stepped into view. "Hey, there, Jim."

James Logan genuinely smiled as he hugged his old comrade-in-arms. "Steve, you old Boy Scout! So they *finally* fished you out of the Atlantic!" he said. "Took 'em long enough!"

Steve nodded. "I hear you've got your hands full, helping Xavier with his students."

Logan chuckled. "So, Fury's still keepin' an eye on us 'non-normals,' huh?"

"You know the General; hope for the best, but expect the worst." Steve replied. "But you don't have anything to worry about from old Nick Fury, right now." He looked at Logan. "A few hours ago, on a mission, the Avengers and I had a bit of...help."

Logan chuckled. "So *that's* where Flyboy got to."

Steve nodded, smiling. "That kid's got *potential*, James. He's likely the best thing that's ever *happened* to this world." he said. "Fury wasn't thrilled to hear that he wanted to stay independent, but based on the kid's actions so far, he's not going to complain."

Logan smiled wryly. He knew Flyboy could make an impression, but hearing that he'd actually impressed old Iron-Pants Fury...that was a feat in *itself*.

"So," Steve said, grinning, "any spots where a couple of old soldiers can drink a toast to their comrades gone by?"

Laughing, Logan led his old friend out through the gates. "On old Fury's dime? I know *just* the place."

In the hangar, Clark was hard at work on his ship; he'd opted to put in a few more hours before doing one last patrol, and then turning in...

"Need any help?"

Looking up, Clark saw Jean there, smiling. "Thanks for the rescue, today."

"Hey, it was a team effort." Clark said, smiling.

"I know, but I wanted to thank you, anyway." Jean replied. "So?"

Clark chuckled. "For starters, you could hand me that Trans-Warp cell – it's the glowing gold crystal, there."

Jean handed him the Cell. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, just pass me the Warp-Field Scanner; it's the hand-sized grey electronic tool with the view-screen."

Jean handed it to him. "This?"

"Yeah." Clark said, smiling at her as he took it. "Thanks!"

Jean smiled back. "Hey, what are friends for?"