Beast Within

*Undisclosed location, November 20, 2007*

In the secret, underground bunker, numerous technicians clad in black were hard at work at their computer consoles. All were identical black uniform, wearing high-tech goggles...and every one of them had a black armband, with white lettering. All bands had identical lettering: F.O.H.

Just then, the doors to the darkened room opened, flooding the chamber with light, as a man, in his early thirties, with short, light brown hair and cold blue eyes, clad in a black business suit with black gloves on his hands, wearing an identical black armband walked in. The head technician saluted him. "Mr. Creed, sir! If we had known..."

"...you would have been ready." Graydon Creed replied coolly. He glanced to the monitors. "Are the tracking satellites working?"

"Yes, sir; insertion into orbit went smoothly, and the tracking systems are fully functional." The technician reported.

Graydon's face twisted out of reflex at the next words. "And the mutants?"

The technician scowled, clearly sharing his sentiment. He gestured to the large screen.

"See for yourself, sir." He said. He nodded to another technician.

Instantly, the large screen showed a map of the world, with numerous red blotches spotted across it. Graydon knew what they were.

*Mutants*.

Graydon's face twisted in disgust. There were more of the disgusting creatures than he'd expected, *much* more.

"They're multiplying...growing in number." He muttered.

"Yes, sir." The technician reported. "They're spreading...just like *cancer*."

Graydon nodded; the mutant problem was growing more and more serious each day. "Any word from our associate at S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Dr. Trask reports that he's had to proceed with some caution, sir; the schematics for the weapons appear to be more heavily guarded than anticipated. It will take a bit more time than expected."

"Very well, but time is not something we have in abundance." Graydon muttered. "Our race is asleep, blind to these...*muties*; the only way to save humanity is if we wake them up by exposing and *eradicating* these creatures."

The technician nodded.

"Yes, sir." He agreed.

Graydon scowled. "And what of the flying mutant?"

The technician looked apologetic. "We...still don't have a lot on him, sir. He simply moves too fast for our satellites to track! Our scanners still can't pick up Superman's signature..."

"*Don't call it that!*" Graydon exploded, backhanding the technician. "That *thing* is not a man! Men don't fly! Men don't stand in radiation and survive! Men don't endure deep-sea pressure and lift submarines! Whatever that...*thing* is, it *isn't* a man!"

"Y-Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir; it was a slip of the tongue." The technician babbled. "There...is one thing that worries me, sir. It's capabilities, sir...based on our readings of other mutants...he's different from them, sir. He's more powerful - *much* more powerful than any other mutant; *infinitely* so. I think that he's...something *else*, sir."

"Don't be ridiculous." Graydon snapped. "Of *course* it's a mutant; what *else* could it be?"

"Yes, sir. My apologies."

Graydon calmed. "And our future test-subject?"

"Our operatives are in place around Bayville, sir; readings indicate that the subject's mutation is still dormant, but it will not be so for much longer. Once it manifests, we'll have our test-subject for the weapons, once they're developed."

"Good." Graydon said. "Notify me when you hear more." With that, he simply walked away.

*Xavier Institute*

In the control room overlooking the Danger Room, Superman, in uniform, observed as Dazzler completed her individual session in record time, smiling proudly; she was really getting good - *all* the New Mutants were. Most of his team were scoring 50,000 in their simulations...and Aly was scoring 60,000.

Over the past few weeks, their new relationship had progressed nicely. They went out several times a week - with Aly being incognito - to do simple things, such as picnic lunches, walks in the park and skating at the local rink. And whenever he could, he took her flying, spending time alone with her above the clouds, where they often couldn't help but share a kiss.

He'd never been happier.

The Professor, the X-Men and New Mutants - all in uniform - were in the control room with him, as well as Banshee, Thunderbird, Wolverine and Storm...and a few guests. One of them was their friend, Hank McCoy, who'd dropped by, for an additional analysis of his abilities that they were going to perform, today. The rest of his team were a bit nervous - or perhaps star-struck - by the other four guests.

"You've got quite the team, here, Kal." Dr. Reed Richards said with a friendly smile. Reed, A.K.A 'Mr. Fantastic,' was the leader of the superhuman team known as the Fantastic Four. Reed was in his late twenties, tall and lean, with short brown hair, light skin and brown eyes framed by glasses, clad in a blue bodysuit with a large number 4 on the chest. Reed and his team had gained extraordinary powers from an incident with a quantum teleporter - an incident caused by Doom, who had also been altered. Reed's body was basically living taffy; he could stretch and bend in ways that could make a contortionist *green* with envy. He was also the most brilliant scientific mind that Superman had ever known, with doctorates from multiple universities.

Superman smiled.

"Thanks, Dr. Richards." He replied. Reed chuckled.

"It's *Reed*, remember?" He laughed.

Next to Reed, Dr. Susan Richards, A.K.A, 'The Invisible Woman,' smiled.

"They've certainly got talent...and *spirit*." She said. Reed's loving wife was in her mid twenties, a bit shorter than her husband, and of a willowy frame with ample curves, with long, blond hair and blue eyes, clad in a uniform identical to Reed's, and a scientific mind to match her husband's. The incident had given her the ability to generate force fields capable of bending light - hence her nickname.

Wolverine chuckled at the last part of her statement. "'Spirit' is one way to put it."

Susan nodded. "At times, it must be like dealing with a dozen versions of Johnny."

"*Hey!* I'm not *that* bad!" Johnny 'The Human Torch' Storm protested. Susan's younger brother - and the team hothead - was in his late teens, with short, dirty blond hair and blue eyes, clad in a uniform identical to Reed's. The incident had given him the ability to ignite himself, becoming a being of living fire, and could channel his blazing energy in deadly fire-blasts...or unleash it all at once in a deadly blast.

A deep chuckle sounded from Benjamin "The Thing" Grimm, the fourth member of the team and Reed's best friend. Ben had been affected the most by the incident; he was a golem-like humanoid of living orange rock, over six feet tall and strongly built, with immeasurable strength, the only trait remaining of his original form was his green eyes.

"So says the guy who once laced Stretch's coffee with laxatives." Ben chuckled. Reed frowned.

"That was *you?*" He said, annoyed.

Superman chuckled. "I don't think they're *that* bad."

Ben laughed.

"You probably say that because those eyes of yours make it easy to dodge pranks!" He said. "I'd like to see Matchstick try to pull one on *you!*"

Johnny grinned. "That a challenge, Ben!"

Sue's eyes narrowed.

"*Johnny*..." She warned.

Professor Xavier smiled.

"We're all honored that you and your team took the time to stop by, Reed." He said.

Reed grinned. "And miss the opportunity to do an analysis of a real life alien?"

Sue smiled.

"We wouldn't *dream* of it!" She added.

Johnny chuckled.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Supes." He said. "When Sis and Reed get on a roll." but his voice trailed off as Dazzler walked into the control room.

Alison smiled at Superman.

"Did I miss anything?" She asked. Superman smiled back.

"Not at all, Aly." He replied, as he cast a mildly annoyed glare in Johnny's direction. "Right, Johnny?"

"Huh? Oh. Right. Nothing." Johnny stammered, casting his gaze at the floor and away from Alison.

Hank chuckled.

"I feel somewhat out of place, here!" He exclaimed. "I'm the only one with no active mutation or special abilities!" Professor Xavier had recently revealed to the students that Hank did have an X-Gene, but it was currently inactive.

"No need to worry, Hank." The Professor assured him. "You're always welcome."

"Well, we have the bio-sensors." Reed said, holding out a handful of tiny, disc-shaped devices, no larger than a penny. "But to do the amount of processing that we'll need, it'll take some time to fully analyze the data once we've collected it."

Superman had been expecting that.

"Not necessarily, Reed." He said. "I think I have something that can speed things up." He reached for a device clipped to his belt, one he'd taken from the Fortress for this occasion; it was about the size of his hand, made of white crystal, consisting of a single indentation, with a portion that looked like it could fit into a computer disk-drive.

"What's that?" Sue inquired.

"An adapter." Superman said, plugging it into the computer console.

"For *what?*" Reed asked softly.

Superman smiled, knowing that Reed would *love* to see this. He reached for his belt, and held out one of the clear, rod-like, crystalline processing units from the Fortress.

"*This*." He replied, placing it in the slot on the adapter; the crystal mini-computer began to hover in the slot, lightly glowing.

Sue's eyes went wide. "*That's* a computer?"

"It...it *can't* be..." Reed murmured. "Where's the circuitry? The microchips? Where did you...?"

And then he remembered. "Wait...is that from...?"

Superman nodded. "Courtesy of Kryptonian technical know-how, straight from Krypton to your door."

Sue's mouth dropped open in awe.

Reed didn't speak.

Johnny rolled his eyes. "Uh, boy. Here they go..."

"How does it work?" Sue asked. "What kind of computer *is* it?"

Superman smiled sheepishly.

"Brace yourselves." He warned. "*Quantum*."

"'Quantum'?" Reed repeated. His eyes went wide. "My *God*...you're...you're *kidding*..."

"Nope."

"Uh...someone want to fill us in?" Avalanche asked.

"All computers today store data using only two electron states - ones and zeroes." Sue explained. "But a physicist once theorized that a computer could be built that used all *thirty-two* quantum states of electrons, but so far, no-one on Earth has ever been able to build such a quantum computer." She looked to Superman. "But apparently Kal's people figured it out."

Superman smiled sheepishly. "Yeah...we kinda got the hang of quantum technology a while back."

Reed arched an eyebrow. "'A while back'?"

"A few million years."

"Holy *smoke*, Supes! How advanced *were* your people?" Ben exclaimed.

The Professor chuckled. "We shouldn't be too surprised; from what Kal told us of his home galaxy - Xerius - it was one of the first formed after the Big Bang. Logically, if his people evolved before ours did, they would be much more advanced."

Superman quickly entered a few commands into the computer console, before taking the bio-sensors and clipping them onto his forehead and shoulders. "Okay, I've instructed the sensors to feed the data into the nano-crystal processor; once the simulation ends, I'll do the analysis with the crystal and feed the results to the main computer."

Reed nodded. "If that crystal processes as fast as you say, we should also be able to do the DNA analysis from the hair sample you supplied."

Superman lightly grimaced, scratching his head.

"Yeah...I'd rather not have to do that again." He said.

"No kidding. I nearly had a hernia trying to yank that hair off your head." Ben agreed.

Superman glanced to his team, grinning.

"Okay, guys." He said. "Ready to put me through my paces?"

Iceman chuckled. "You bet, Big Blue!"

Berzerker grinned. "Prepare to get your alien butt kicked, Chief!"

Superman chuckled; this was to be his simulation - a friendly Battle Royale, with him on one side and his teammates on the other.

"Okay, then." He said. "Let's go!" With that, he and the New Mutants headed down into the Danger Room.

As they entered the Danger Room, Superman smiled as his teammates surrounded him. "You guys ready?"

Dazzler giggled.

"Are *you?*" She sweetly teased. "Because I'm not going easy on you just because we're dating!"

Superman laughed. "Sweetheart, I wouldn't have it any other way!"

"*Commence simulation*."

At the computerized prompt, the simulation began. Iceman gathered a layer of ice over himself, becoming a frozen humanoid, before firing ice-beams ahead of himself, forming a constant "sled" of ice, enabling him to circle Superman rapidly, before firing twin frozen beams at him, encasing him in a solid block of ice. Iceman grinned.

"*Gotcha!*" He declared triumphantly...

...until two glowing red points appeared in the ice, as Superman's eye-rays seared through it, and Superman effortlessly broke free. Smiling, he took aim and fired a pencil-thin, surgically precise eye-beam, slicing through Iceman's sled and sending him tumbling, dazed, but okay. "Nice try, Bobby."

Just then, a wave of crackling sparks passed over him, preventing Superman from seeing anything ahead; Jubilee was trying to distract him. Superman listened carefully...

*Someone was playing music*.

Superman smiled, as he easily dodged the barrage of laser-beams that Dazzler sent at him from behind Jubilee's distracting bursts. He heard her giggle.

"Heads up, baby!" She called.

Superman laughed, letting her last beam strike him; it pushed him back a few feet, but he was otherwise unfazed.

"Not bad, Ali." He said. "But not quite good enough!" With that, he floated a few feet off the ground, and flew straight at Dazzler and Jubilee, flying between them at high speeds, the rush of air at his passing knocking them off their feet.

As Superman touched down, he felt something lightly impact him from behind. He turned to spy Boom-Boom peppering him with her charges. He easily caught the last one she threw, it exploding harmlessly in his clenched hand.

"I'm afraid that won't work, Tabitha." He said, smiling.

Boom-Boom grinned. "Wasn't *supposed* to!" At that, Superman arched an eyebrow...

"*Dog-pile! Dog-pile!*" Multiple exclaimed as he - or rather, *fifty* of him - jumped at Superman, burying him under a pile of Jamie-clones. Suddenly, the mass of Jamies started to spin. And spin. And *spin*, until they were spinning fast enough to toss off every Jamie-clone, revealing the spinning red blur beneath them. Once he was free, Superman stopped spinning.

"Good try, Jamie." He said.

A dizzy Multiple replied. "Thanks, Superman."

Hearing a snarling behind him, Superman turned in time to see Wolfsbane, in her wolf-form, pounce at him. Superman raised his arm to block it and the wolf bit his arm...

...and let out a mild yelp as her teeth tried to break his skin. Superman grimaced.

"I bet *that* hurt." He said. Still, Wolfsbane held on, trying to keep him focused on her attack...

"*CANNONBALL!*"

Superman heard Cannonball ignite before he yelled out his trademark warning and simply dodged upwards, letting Sam fly by under his feet, missing him completely, and impacting the wall, before falling on his rear, dazed, but unhurt. Superman simply shook his arm as he descended and Wolfsbane let go, reverting to her human form as she fell back.

"Good tactics, guys." Superman said with a smile. "But you probably shouldn't yell out a warning before you attack, Sam."

Cannonball groaned. "Sorry, suh. Force of habit."

Turning, Superman spotted Magma - in her fiery form - in time to see her send a wave of flame at him, washing over him, but not phasing him at all. As Magma prepared another fire-wave, Superman simply inhaled and unleashed a fraction of his gale-breath, blowing out the fire and sending her flying, to land on her rear, resuming her natural state.

Just then, Superman lightly winced as he felt the sting of an electrical shock hit him, as he turned to face Berzerker, who was sending a surge of electrical energy at him. Superman simply raised his right foot and *stomped* it down; the stomp created a shock wave that shook the Danger Room, knocking Ray flat on his rear.

At that, a blast of super-heated energy struck Superman, knocking him back a few feet. Superman turned to see Sunspot, in his flaming black powered-up state, hovering above him. With a calm smile, Superman flew up to his level, meeting the challenge. Sunspot threw another flame-blast at Superman, who easily dodged it. Sunspot fired again, and Superman again evaded it. His glowing orange eyes narrowing, Sunspot closed on Superman, firing a punch at him; Superman blocked the punch and then whirled the motion into an arm-lock.

"Not bad, Roberto." He said.

"I'm not done yet!" Sunspot declared, as he flew backwards, slamming Superman into the steel wall, cratering it, surprising Superman enough to drop the arm-lock. Sunspot flew away and sent a constant stream of blazing energy at Superman...who simply flew to the side.

"Nice hustle, Roberto!" Superman said, smiling. "But now I think it's time to *chill*." With that, he exhaled a wave of his ice-breath at Sunspot, instantly cooling him back to his normal state. Roberto yelped as he started to fall...but Superman caught him by the foot, before depositing him safely on the ground.

"*Simulation complete.*"

As Superman touched down, the rest of his teammates started to pick themselves up.

"*Man*...he is *good*..." Iceman muttered.

"Och, I'm *never* complaining about steak bein' tough ever ag'in!" Wolfsbane groaned, putting her hand to her jaw, to soothe her aching teeth.

Superman chuckled.

"That was a great session, team. I'm proud of all of you." He said.

After picking herself up, Dazzler walked to him, smiling.

"No *wonder* you're the top scorer, around here!" She cooed.

Superman looked regretful. "I...didn't hurt you, did I, Aly?"

Alison giggled, shaking her head. "Your control was *perfect*; my butt may be a little sore from the landing, but nothing major."

Superman smiled. "I'm glad."

"*Okay, kids, session's over; get back up here*." Wolverine's gruff voice said from the control room. "*Flyboy, Diva, you two can flirt on your **own** time!*" At that, they all headed back to the control room, as Superman and Dazzler suppressed slightly embarrassed chuckles.

In the control room, Superman moved to the crystal, touching it; the instant he did, numerous holographic symbols flared to life, surrounding the crystal in a cylindrical shell. Superman touched one holographic character, causing a square holographic screen to pop up from the main holograph. He tapped a few symbols on that screen, and then pressed on it, pushing it back into the main holograph, before tapping the side of the main holograph, causing it to rotate, bringing new options towards him. He simply tapped a few more symbols and then touched the crystal, shutting off the holographs. "All done."

The instant he said that, the main screen showed a detailed analysis of the data collected. Reed's eyes went wide.

"That kind of analysis would have taken our computer several *hours*, or *days*..." He murmured. He glanced to the crystal. "I...I would *love* to examine it..."

Superman smiled.

"I'm afraid you won't find out much, Reed. Kryptonian technology has always been keyed to respond only to those with Kryptonian DNA. It's always been a precaution my people took to prevent our technology from being misused. Sorry."

Reed sighed.

"Well, it was worth a try." He said. He gestured to the screen with the data-analysis. "Based on the data, we can make some new conclusions about Superman's abilities. The sensors measured your energy emissions during the sessions, Superman." The screen showed the outline of a person - him - filled in with mostly red and orange. "Every time you used your powers, your overall energy levels drop, but quickly return to normal levels." The readout showed the outline going mostly orange, but then slowly regaining the red color. "Based on this, your body must store solar energy in a kind of reserve, since you had no access to sunlight until the Danger Room started allowing artificial sunlight to filter in. This energy must be what your body's 'energy-transfer system' uses for metabolic purposes and based on your metabolism...your cellular aging rate is *infinitesimally* slower than ours; Kal...you're practically *immortal*, or at least the closest thing to it that any of us will ever see!"

Superman nodded soberly. It was what he'd expected...and feared; the yellow sun of Earth was prolonging his life...while his friends - and Ali - would wither away, in time.

Sue then tapped a few keys on the console and the readout showed spherical red regions spaced throughout the outline.

"Hank's allusion to your body's internal energy-transfer system also makes it clear why you have a vulnerability to this 'Kryptonite' substance, Superman." She said. "Since you are able to stand in the intense radiation of a nuclear core - as you had to do to prevent power plants from going critical - this system must be able to absorb *all* forms of radiant energy...except *one* wavelength."

Superman nodded. "*Kryptonite*."

Multiple blinked. "So...you get sick from Kryptonite because it gives you indigestion?"

Superman chuckled. "I think 'food poisoning' is the better analogy, Jamie, but that's basically it."

Hank nodded. "This system is capable of supplying every cell in your body with everything it needs, as well as destroying any pathogen it encounters, provided you have access to solar energy...therefore, if Kryptonite suppresses it to a great enough extent, it would be fatal." He observed. He frowned. "I shudder to think what Doom would do with this knowledge."

Superman frowned. "If he's in cahoots with Magneto, then he already knows I can't take that stuff."

Ben grumbled. "He's one shifty bastard."

Reed nodded in agreement, before turning back to the screen. "We've also taken a closer look at your DNA, Kal...and it's simply *amazing*..." The screen showed an image of a simple, double-helical strand of DNA. "This is a strand of *human* DNA." He continued, as a single spot - one gene - became illuminated on the strand. "And this is the X-Gene. Though mutants have this gene, the rest of their DNA, on average, is the same as a regular human." Then, a second DNA image appeared. This DNA, however, consisted of multiple strains, all tightly coiled together.

"And *this*, Kal, is *your* DNA."

Superman was mildly surprised. "It's base pairs are the same type as human DNA."

"You're correct; your DNA uses the same building-blocks as ours, there's just *more* of them." Reed said, nodding.

Superman frowned sadly.

"So...my DNA is incompatible with human DNA." He said softly, glancing sadly to Alison for a moment, who looked a bit regretful. There was a sober silence at that statement...

"Well...not necessarily..."

Reed's musing made Superman turn in surprise. "What?"

"It may be possible, if my theory is true." Reed continued. "Rather than half of each parent-DNA combining to produce the progeny-DNA, the human DNA could be incorporated *directly* into the multi-helix, and the progeny will still retain much of it's Kryptonian abilities." He tapped a few keys, and the human DNA slowly incorporated itself into his DNA, the entire molecule now more tightly coiled. "Based on this, it would take several generations before the strain of multiple incorporation's induces the multi-helix to assume the double-helical structure, at which point the progeny would the majority of the Kryptonian genes and be mostly human..."

"Reed." Sue chuckled. "A bit too much information."

"Oh."

Professor Xavier smiled.

"Well, this has definitely been an informative afternoon." He said. "That concludes today's lesson, students. You are all free to go."

Hank glanced at the crystal still connected to the main computer.

"That is an amazing device, Superman." He commented. "May I?"

Superman smiled.

"Sure, Hank." He replied, and he simply took the crystal from it's adapter, handing it to Hank, letting him look at it while he unplugged the adapter.

Hank carefully gazed upon the crystal.

"It's so simple, so *elegant*..." He murmured. Reed nodded.

"...and yet it's more sophisticated than every computer on the planet *combined*." He agreed. Sue joined in.

"We're actually looking at an *alien* technology, the product of a civilization *millennia* ahead of ours..." She murmured.

Johnny chuckled. "*Breathe*, guys. *Breathe*."

Hank then handed the crystal back to Superman, who clipped the crystal onto his belt. Suddenly, Hank's hand started to twitch. Superman noticed. "Are you alright, Hank?"

Hank looked uncomfortable, despite his smile.

"Oh...y-yes, I'm fine." He said. He glanced to the Professor and Reed. "Professor, Doctor, I was wondering; could I speak with the both of you before I leave?"

"Of course, Hank." The Professor said.

"It's alright with me." Reed added. He glanced to his wife. "Do you mind, Sue?"

"That's fine, Reed. I just wanted to take another look at some of the data, anyway." Sue replied.

"Yeah, and I wanted to just take a look around the place." Johnny added.

"Not by yourself, Flame-Brain." Ben said, grinning. "You remember what happened the *last* time we let you wander off?"

Johnny groaned. "For *crying* out *loud*, guys, am I *ever* going to live that down?" he lamented. "Besides, his insurance covered everything!"

Cyclops blinked. "What happened?"

Jean chuckled.

"Scott, I'm not sure we *want* to know!" She said. With that, the students left the control room.

Once the students had left, Charles, Reed, and Hank moved to Charles' office.

"Now, what's bothering you, Hank?" Charles inquired. "Does it have to do with that muscle spasm, earlier?"

Hank nodded.

"Charles...I think my mutation is becoming more active." He whispered.

Charles looked worried. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." Hank said. "Recently, I've been waking at all hours of the night; I've been extremely agitated at times; I've even had...*violent* urges, as if there's some kind of...of beast inside me, clawing to get out."

Reed looked thoughtful. "Has this ever happened before?"

"Once before, but never to this extent." Hank said. "Before, I've kept it suppressed through mental discipline, but recently, I've been taking a serum of my own design. So far, it's been effective...until now."

Reed nodded. "Your body must have developed a resistance to this serum."

"Yes, that is likely the case." Charles agreed. "Hank, my advice to you is to resume your mental efforts to contain this 'beast.' Drugs are only a temporary solution, at best."

Hank nodded.

"I know that *now*." He said, smiling sadly. "Thank you for your time, Charles, Reed."

Charles smiled. "We're glad to be of help, Hank."

Reed nodded. "Good luck."

"Thank you." Hank said, as he got up, and headed out of the office.

After donning his regular clothes, Clark left his room, heading downstairs to the living room. As he reached the bottom, he saw Scott and Jean heading out the door. "Hey, guys." he greeted. "Going out?"

Scott nodded. "We're just going to a movie." he said.

Jean nodded, smiling. "We might decide to...take the *scenic* route back."

Clark chuckled; he knew what that meant – Scott and Jean wanted a little 'alone time.'

"Well, have a nice time." He said.

"We will." Scott replied, as he and Jean headed out.

Walking into the living room, Clark found the New Mutants – except Alison – there, all engaged in various activities, from reading to playing cards to just lounging around. Also present were Ben, who was reading a newspaper in the recliner, and Johnny, who was playing a video game against Kurt; both were waiting for Reed and Susan to finish the data-analysis. As Clark walked in, Ben looked up. "Oh, just so you know, Supes, Stretch and Susie wanted to talk to you about your old neighborhood, tomorrow, so you'll be seeing us, again."

Johnny chuckled, as he maneuvered his character on the screen.

"In other words, expect a barrage of Science-Geek speak, sometime tomorrow." He quipped.

Clark grinned.

"Thanks for the heads-up." He said. "Hope you guys aren't freaked out; it can get nuts, around here!"

Ben laughed. "Supes, you're talkin' to a guy that has to worry about *erosion* every time he takes a shower! I think it'll take a *lot* to rattle us!"

Clark chuckled.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." He said. With that, he headed out, going towards the kitchen to grab a drink...

...and met Aly, there.

Alison smiled at him, as she sipped her chocolate milk, in her street clothes.

"Hey, Clarkie." She cooed.

Clark smiled back.

"Hey, Aly." He replied.

Alison smiled coyly, sitting at the table, taking out a pair of straws.

"Wanna share?" She asked. "I know it's your favorite..."

Clark grinned.

"You know me so well." He answered, sitting down and taking a straw, then dipping it into the glass.

Alison giggled, sipping from their glass.

"So...interesting discovery, today." She commented.

Clark nodded, smiling.

"Yeah." He agreed. He'd thought that it was impossible for him to ever have children; now, it might be possible. "That's...something to think about."

Alison nodded. "Yeah; I mean, this is *wonderful* news, Clark." she cooed. Her smile became shy. "I mean, I thought the 'DNA issue' was the main concern about that; I'd...figured that Kryptonians...*did* things the same way as us..."

Clark smiled sheepishly.

"My physiology is mostly the same as a human man, Aly." He said. "So...yes, I 'do things' the same as humans."

Alison lightly blushed.

"Well, the female population of the Earth is glad to hear it." She said. Her blush intensified, as she added, "*Especially* me."

Now *Clark's* face was a bit red. "Well...we still have plenty of time before...*that* issue comes up." he said, and Alison nodded in agreement. Clark's face became a bit sad. "I guess the only real issue left is the...'life-span' issue."

Alison smiled, and reached out, holding his hand.

"Like I said before, Clark, I don't *care*." She cooed. "All I want is to be with you. We'll find some way to deal with the life-differences in the future...but just being together, *now*, is all that matters."

By then, they had finished the glass. Smiling, Clark stood up, as did Alison, and he took her in his arms, holding her close. "Have I told you how *wonderful* you are, lately?"

Alison smiled coyly.

"Well...not *lately*..." She sweetly teased.

Clark's smile grew.

"Well, you *are*." He said, and he punctuated the sentence by snaring Alison's perfect lips in a sweet kiss. Alison gave a tiny squeak of surprise...which became a soft, contented sigh, as she happily reciprocated, their tongues resuming the beautiful dance they'd first partaken on their first date, and partaken of numerous times since. Alison closed her eyes, her silken arms draping around Clark's neck, encouraging him to deepen the kiss...which he did, to her delight.

After a few minutes of kissing, Clark's lips left Alison's, as he placed a tender kiss on her graceful, slender, swan-like neck, which caused her to lightly gasp with pleasure. Clark kissed her throat several more times, before he moved to recapture her lips...

...and then his hearing picked up a distress call.

Clark suppressed a mildly annoyed sigh, as Alison giggled, discerning his problem from the pause in their kiss, their tender moment ended. "Duty calls." she cooed.

Clark smiled.

"I'll be right back, I promise." He said.

"I know." Alison replied, giving him a kiss on his cheek. "I'll be right here, so get going!" Clark smiled at her, and darted off, shedding his clothes in his room, back in his uniform, and then running for the nearby window, opening it and flying off, a sonic boom echoing behind him.

*Bayville High, November 21*

As classes began the next day, Hank smiled as his students poured into his chemistry class, including several of the Institute students. He was in a pretty good mood; he'd had one "flare-up" the previous day, but he'd managed to suppress it, without needing his serum. He turned to the blackboard, to begin the lesson...when he saw Evan raise his hand. "Yes, Evan?"

"Can I go to the bathroom, Mr. McCoy?" Evan asked.

Hank smiled. "No problem, Evan. Go on." He replied. At that, Evan headed out of the classroom. Hank promptly resumed the lesson; his topic for today was stoichiometry, the balancing of chemical reactions. After a few minutes, he happened to look out the window...

...and spotted Evan heading off on his skateboard, with a few other skaters.

Hank's expression saddened, but he continued with the lesson. He was a little hurt by Evan's actions...and a bit annoyed...

Suddenly, he felt it; that overwhelming, almost primal urge, as if some *beast* were trying to take control of his body. Hank's hands went to his head, as he suppressed a cry of agony.

Kitty took notice. "Mr. McCoy, are you okay?"

"Y-Yes, Kitty, I'm...fine." Hank choked out. "I just need some air. Please, excuse me." With that, Hank headed out of the classroom.

Hank quickly darted into the staff washroom, splashing cold water on his face, repeating his mantra to himself...but it wasn't working. Roaring in anguish, Hank blindly lashed out, ripping the hand-dryer from the wall.

Finally, the agony stopped, as Hank looked with horror at what he'd done. '*Thank goodness no-one else was here.*' He thought. Quickly recomposing himself, Hank headed to the Principal's office, to report the "accident."

After a day of skating in the park with his pals, Evan was about to head home...when he thought he heard something. Waving good-bye to his skating pals, Evan skated towards the sound, coming into an old amphitheater. Evan skated to the stage, hopping off his board and walking onto it, to find..."Mr. McCoy?"

Hank was facing away from him, and looked pretty agitated, as he was reciting something. '*Sounds like Shakespeare...*' Evan thought. "Sir? Are you okay..?"

Snarling, Hank whirled on him, and Evan stepped back.

"Whoa...look, I'm sorry I cut class, but...can't we talk about this?" He stammered.

At once, Hank calmed. "Evan...I-I'm so sorry..." he said, "...I've...just been having a bad day."

"Oh." Evan said. "Sorry."

Hank smiled. "As for cutting class...I'll let it slide..." he took out a piece of paper, "...if you can memorize this passage for class, tomorrow."

Evan took the paper. "Sure!"

Hank smiled...and then tensed up, looking around. Evan noticed. "Anything wrong, sir?"

"I...no, Evan." Hank said, calming. "I just...got the feeling that we were being watched, that's all." He smiled. "You'd best head back home. I'm fine." Evan nodded, and hopped on his board, skating off.

In the bushes around the amphitheater, several soldiers in black, with white-lettered black armbands, were watching. "Command was right." the leader said. "The mutant's 'ability' will manifest, soon." His voice turned cold.

"We'll get our shot, soon..."

After school let out, Scott and the others promptly returned to the Institute for training...except for Evan. This was the third time that Evan had blown off training, and it was starting to worry Scott. Clark wasn't there, either, but he was *working* at the Bugle; he had a *legitimate* reason.

In the Danger Room, Cyclops and the rest of the X-Men were just about to complete the session, racing towards the goal-area, across the metal expanse, dodging the laser-blasts of the turrets that popped up sporadically. The goal was nearly in sight...

Suddenly, Rogue yelled out as she fell into a randomly generated pit in the metal floor.

"*Chere!*" Gambit cried.

"Remy, go get her; we'll keep the turrets off of you." Cyclops instructed. Gambit dashed towards Rogue, as the rest of the X-Men kept the turrets occupied; Cyclops obliterated several turrets with his optic blasts as Jean kept Gambit covered with a PSI-bubble, Avalanche shattered several more with a precisely-aimed seismic shockwave, Nightcrawler 'ported from one turret to the next, smashing them with flying kicks, and Shadowcat simply phased through several turrets, shorting them out.

Gambit quickly helped Rogue out of the pit, lifting her into his arms, as he and the rest of the team ran for the goal...

...and then the end-buzzer sounded, ending the session when they were inches from the goal.

Cyclops sighed as he and the X-Men stopped, the Danger Room deactivating. Storm's voice came in over the audio system: "*Good effort, team, but I'm afraid you'll have to do the session over, this evening.*"

Shadowcat frowned. "Well, maybe we *would've* done it if Evan had been here to cover Rogue!"

Cyclops nodded. "This is getting to be a habit for Evan." He said.

Rogue glanced to Gambit. "Ya can put meh down, now, Swamp-Rat."

Gambit smiled. "As much as Remy enjoy dis at de moment, he happy t' comply." He answered, setting Rogue down.

Rogue lightly smiled. "Thanks...for comin' back for meh, Remy." she said.

Gambit grinned. "Y' called Remy by name!" he exclaimed. "Remy be wearin' y' down, chere; Remy be wearin' y' *down*."

Rogue put her hand to her head. "Oh, *Gawd*..." She groaned. Then, the X-Men headed out of the Danger Room.

After changing back into his street clothes, Scott headed down to the living room, just as Clark, in his work clothes, walked in. "Hey, Scott." Clark greeted. "How did your session go?"

"Not that great." Scott admitted. "Evan never showed."

Clark looked surprised. "*Again?*"

"Yep." Scott said. "It's getting to where we can't depend on him."

Clark frowned. "Maybe I can talk to him." He said. "I think I saw him heading this way as I was on the bus."

Scott nodded.

"Well, good luck with that." He said.

"Thanks." Clark replied, and he headed upstairs to change, as Scott headed to the kitchen to grab a soda.

After donning his regular clothes and removing his inducer, Clark headed downstairs to wait for Evan. Sure enough, within a few minutes, Evan walked through the main doors. "Hey, Evan."

Evan turned to Clark, looking somewhat guilty. "Hey, CK."

"So...have a nice day at school?" Clark asked, arching an eyebrow. Evan's expression said it all. "Evan, school is *important*..."

"Hey, *you* never went to high school!" Evan countered.

"True, but I *was* home-schooled...in my own way." Clark parried. "Scott just told me that you didn't come to practice, today. Evan, that's the third time this week you've blown off training."

"Yeah, well, *you* miss training, sometimes, too!"

Clark looked hurt.

"Hey, that's hitting below the belt." He said. "We're *friends*, remember? We *all* are, and we just want to know what's going on!"

Evan relented.

"Aw, man, CK, I'm sorry." He said. "Look, I was just out skateboarding; I *know* I should be in school and training with you guys, but I'm *good* at it! I may have a shot at going *pro*, one day, as long as I keep practicing!"

"Hey, we don't have a problem with that!" Clark said, smiling. "Just make time for school and training, too!"

Evan sighed. "I *want* to, CK, but I can't find the time; how am I supposed to balance 'boarding, school, and training all at once?"

Clark smiled. "Just set priorities, Evan; I'd save skateboard practice until *after* everything else is done. You have *plenty* of time to go professional."

Evan lightly smiled. "Really?"

Clark chuckled. "Really, Evan. You don't have to rush."

Evan grinned. "Thanks, CK." he said. Laughing, he added, "I guess I don't need to explain balancing stuff to *you!*"

Clark laughed. "Yeah! Last year, I had to balance university, X-Man duties *and* being Superman!" he agreed. "And that was all *before* I got a job at the Bugle, became a team-leader, and got a girlfriend!"

Evan chuckled. "*Jeez*, man, how do you keep from going *nuts?*"

"Well, I guess I was used to it, by then." Clark said. Smiling, he added, "And as for the rest...Aly makes it all worthwhile."

Evan smiled. "You really care about her, don't you?"

Clark nodded. "Oh, yeah. She's *definitely* one special lady."

"Way to go, CK!" Evan said. Then, his expression turned serious. "Hey, when you go on patrol, tonight, you think you could look in on Mr. McCoy? He was acting funny, today."

"How so?"

"Well...he seemed pretty freaked when I met him, this afternoon." Evan added. "Just watch out for him, okay?"

Clark nodded. "I'll keep my eyes peeled." he said. "Anyway, I'd better get started on *my* homework, and then get patrolling; Reed and his team will be back, tonight." He chuckled. "Reed's a bit curious about the technological achievements of Krypton."

Evan chuckled. "It's still a bit hard to believe that we're living with an alien, man." he quipped.

Clark laughed. "Hey, there are times when *I* have trouble believing it!" he said. Then, he headed back to his room, to get started on his own work.

It had just gotten dark as Hank returned to the school, heading into his chemistry lab. Today, he'd almost hurt one of his students. His mental discipline wasn't working.

He needed a better serum.

Coming into the lab, Hank quickly set up, gathering the reagents he would need, setting up the glassware the reactions would require. Soon, he was ready, and he mixed the initial reagents, carefully adjusting the temperature with the Bunsen burner, keeping it *just* hot enough, before adding the rest of the reagents, slightly increasing the temperature. Soon, the reaction was complete, and Hank transferred the reaction-flask to a distillation apparatus, turning on the steam, and gradually boiling off the impurities in the mixture. Soon, it was done, and Hank moved the flask to an ice-bath, cooling it until it was safe. Once the serum was cooled, Hank transferred it to a bottle, but leaving part of it behind. He took a deep breath...and downed the remaining serum.

Instantly, Hank howled in utter anguish; every cell in his body felt like it was on *fire!* The primal urge was back, and stronger than *ever*. Hank felt himself losing consciousness, blacking out...

The last thing he heard before he passed out...was a bestial roar from his own throat.

Superman was just flying over Bayville, his patrol finished, as he went to just check on Hank.

He'd been a bit worried about him after seeing Hank's hand twitch, yesterday. He'd thought it was just a one-time incident. He may have been wrong...

Suddenly, Superman heard Hank's voice howling in agony, coming from the high school. Superman darted to the school, looking through it from above, and spied Hank...

...as he started to *change*.

Hank's upper body began to enlarge, becoming more muscular, as his entire body began to grow thick blue fur, his shirt and lab-coat shredding from the growth, his brown pants remaining intact. His black hair turned dark blue, and started to grow to mid-length. His hands expanded, as did his feet, becoming almost ape-like in nature. His teeth lengthened, becoming ape-like fangs. As the change became complete, Hank – now some kind of beast – roared in primal fury, before lumbering off...

Superman's eyes widened in horror as he saw who was wandering into Hank's path. He rapidly descended, darting into the school, hoping he wasn't too late.

Edward Kelly had just been finishing some late-night paperwork when he heard the roar. Getting up, Edward headed into the dark hallway, immediately ill at ease. "Hello?" he called. "If this is some kind of prank, you kids are in *big* trouble..."

Suddenly, a huge, blue, ape-like beast leapt out at him, roaring. Edward froze, too terrified to move, as the beast closed on him, ready to attack...

...and then a blur darted between him and the beast, intercepting the beast's pounce and tossing it back. Edward couldn't really tell in the dark...but he thought he could make out the colors of the figure's uniform.

Red and blue, with a long cape.

"Sir, get out of here." The figure instructed. "Get to safety; I'll keep him back."

Edward didn't need to be told twice; he ran for the exit as fast as he could. He could wonder what had happened and who that figure was *later*.

As long as he could live to teach another day, that was enough for him.

As Principal Kelly ran off, Superman faced the transformed Hank, staying calm as Hank growled at him. "Hank...I know you can hear me." he said softly. "We can help you back at the Institute; just trust me..."

Hank roared, pouncing at him, and Superman countered with a fraction of his gale-breath, knocking Hank back a good twenty feet. "Now, Hank, you know that isn't going to work with me." Superman said firmly. "Now, just relax; nobody's going to hurt you..."

Snarling, Hank darted around a corner, smashing through a window and darting outside as Superman ran after him; he had disappeared into the bush by the time Superman reached the window.

Quickly, Superman darted into the sky, scanning the ground for Hank as he activated his belt-communicator. "Professor, it's Superman. We have a problem."

"*I know, Superman; Cerebro has just detected the activation of Hank's X-Gene.*" the Professor replied. "*Keep tracking him; the X-Men will follow your communicator signal.*"

Then, Reed's voice came in over the communicator. "*We'll be coming, too, Superman. We just found out what happened; the Fantastic Four is at you and your team's disposal.*"

"Thanks, Reed. We may need all the help we can get." Superman replied. "I'll keep the signal active so you guys can find me." Then, his hearing caught something. "You'd better hurry, guys; we're not alone, out here..."

The soldiers in black were watching as the transformed mutant burst out of the school. "Notify command. Tell them they'll have their test-subject very soon." the leader said. "Get the rest of the squad out here; tell them to follow our signal. We'll surround the mutant, and then we all should be able to take it in." The rest of the soldiers nodded in compliance, and they moved out, following the mutant.

Superman spotted Hank slowing down in the park, and notified the others where to meet him, switching off his communicator and clipping it back on his belt. He flew ahead and touched down in a clearing, just as the X-Van pulled up, and the X-Men all got out, followed by the Fantastic Four. "I think someone's trying to capture Hank." Superman said softly. "They're trying to close in on him, up ahead."

"We'd best spread out, and move in quietly." Mr. Fantastic said. "The Professor is in the van; once we contain Hank, he should be able to get through to him."

Cyclops nodded in agreement. "Okay, let's get moving." With that, the entire group spread out, slowly moving towards Hank's location.

Within minutes, they were looking out through the bush at the bestial Hank, who had stopped running, and was simply pacing, on all fours, like an ape did. Suddenly, Hank perked up, growling, and Superman wondered if he'd sensed them...

Suddenly, a handful of black-clad men, all heavily armed, burst from the clearing, surrounding Hank. Two men drew launchers of some kind, and fired nets attached to cables, trapping the roaring Hank. "We've got it." one man – the leader – said. "Tell the others to move in and get ready for transport. For now, tranquilize it." Several others nodded, opening black cases...and taking out nasty-looking syringes...

Johnny bristled angrily. "I oughta flame-on and *fry* those creeps..."

"Stay cool, Johnny." Mr. Fantastic said. "Our priority is saving Hank. Sue, can you sneak up on them and cut those cables?"

Sue smiled, and then became invisible.

"No problem." She said.

Reed nodded. "Johnny, when Sue cuts those cables, just give those men a little...*distraction*."

Johnny grinned. "Gotcha."

"When Sue cuts the cables, I think I can blow those nets off Hank." Superman said.

Cyclops nodded. "Jean, Lance, once Hank's loose, disable those soldiers and give him time to escape. The rest of us will go after him and try to contain him."

Ben grinned. "And then Supes and the four of us can *clobber* the rest of those goons when they show up."

"Agreed." Mr. Fantastic confirmed. At that, Sue headed down towards the men, just as the two had gotten their syringes ready.

In less than a second, Sue had generated an invisible force-disc and threw it, slicing through the cables, surprising the soldiers.

That was the cue they'd needed. "*Flame-on!*" Johnny yelled, igniting his body into living fire, becoming the Human Torch. The Torch flew up above the soldiers and sent low-powered flame-blasts at the ones carrying syringes, partially catching them on fire. The soldiers howled in fright as they ran around, trying to put out the fire, confusing the others.

While the soldiers were distracted, Superman inhaled, and unleashed a fraction of his gale-breath, blowing the nets off Hank, who promptly ran off, further into the park.

As the soldiers attempted to regroup, Jean unleashed a TK-pulse, as Avalanche summoned a moderate seismic wave; the pulse and the tremor combined to knock the soldiers down. Once they were down, the X-Men all ran from the brush, chasing after Hank...

...and then about twenty more armed men ran in from the side, taking aim at the X-Men. Sue quickly became visible, and generated a force-field wall between the X-Men and the soldiers, just as the soldiers opened fire; Sue's field easily repelled the bullets, allowing the X-Men to escape.

Superman and the Fantastic Four quickly stood between the soldiers and where the X-Men had gone. "If you want to get to *them*, you have to go through *us*." Superman said firmly.

Mr. Fantastic nodded, his eyes narrowing. "And that's easier said than done."

By then, the first few soldiers had recovered. The leader glared at them. "You god-damn mutie *freaks*...you all stick together, *don't* you?!"

"Yeah. Too bad for you, huh?" The Torch quipped.

"You all have ten seconds to clear out." Sue said. "Otherwise..."

"...you get *clobbered*." Ben said.

The soldier snarled, clearing his rifle and taking aim, and the others followed.

"In case you freaks didn't notice." He growled, "you're *outnumbered!*"

Mr. Fantastic sighed. "They always choose the hard way."

"Yep." Superman agreed.

Ben chuckled.

"Well, then..." He said, "...*it's **clobberin' time!***"

The soldiers prepared to fire, but Superman quickly darted through the group, snatching their weapons before a single shot could be fired, crushing the firearms into a useless lump of metal, tossing it aside. While he did this, Mr. Fantastic twisted himself like a rubber band, and unleashed a sweeping-fist strike that sent ten soldiers flying.

Sue had promptly turned invisible, and was taking out numerous soldiers within the group, the confused soldiers not knowing what was happening.

The Thing was a little less subtle; he barreled into the group, his massive fists sending soldiers flying every which way. By then, some of the soldiers had started to recover, so the Torch let a single flame-blast fly ahead of Superman, just as Superman unleashed his gale-breath; the gale combined with the flame, creating a surge of superheated air that knocked every single soldier flat on his back, out cold.

As Superman and the Fantastic Four regrouped, even *more* soldiers started to pour in from beyond the brush. "Looks like they had more friends." Reed commented.

Superman got an idea.

"Hey, Ben..." He said, "...ever go bowling?"

"*Bowling?*" the Thing repeated...and then he grinned, getting the idea. "*Sure!* Always *wanted* to try something like that!"

At once, Ben knelt down, curling himself into a massive ball-shape. Superman floated up, and lifted him up by his belt, lifting Ben like a massive bowling-ball. Taking aim, he pulled his arm back...and then threw it forward, letting go.

Ben's massive form rolled across the ground at impressive speeds, bowling over every single soldier before coming to a stop. Ben laughed, as he got up. "Now *that's* how you *really* clobber someone!" he joked.

Superman chuckled. "I guess we got a strike."

Reed nodded, as Sue re-materialized next to him. "We'd better try to catch up with the others." Mr. Fantastic said. "Hank still needs our help." Superman nodded in agreement, as he and the Fantastic Four headed after their friends.

Cyclops and the rest of the X-Men chased after Hank; Superman and the Fantastic Four could handle those guys, whoever they were. They ran after Hank, following him into a forested area...and then they lost sight of him. "Jean, can you track him?" Cyclops asked.

Jean put her hands to her head, focusing.

"To the left!" She cried, and Cyclops turned in time to see Hank leap at them; he quickly fired an optic-blast, knocking him back. Hank fell back, snarling, ready to pounce again...and fell into a pit that Avalanche had generated.

Cyclops walked to the edge of the pit. "Easy, Hank...we're not going to hurt you..." He began...but stopped as he realized that the pit was empty.

Hank had dug his way out.

Just then, Hank clawed his way out of the ground behind them, ready to attack, but Gambit let a single charged card fly, its burst scaring him, driving him back. "Don' y' know dat it ain' polite t' sneak up on people, *Monsieur* McCoy?"

As Hank stumbled back, Shadowcat phased his feet into the ground, trapping him. "Mr. McCoy, we want to *help* you..." she began, but froze as Hank roared, breaking free, swiping at her...and missing, as Nightcrawler had 'ported her out of the way.

Now, only Spyke was left, standing between Hank and Rogue. Spyke formed bone-spikes along his forearms, ready to block. "I don't want to fight you, Mr. McCoy..."

Hank just looked at him...and then his expression changed, becoming regretful...before he ran off.

"Everyone, after him!" Cyclops ordered.

"Wait!" Spyke exclaimed, as he recognized where they were...and where Hank was headed. "You guys go get the Professor, and head to the old amphitheater; that's where Mr. McCoy is headed! I'll head him off!"

Cyclops looked concerned. "Evan, are you sure about this?"

"He's still in there, Scott; I'll be okay." Spyke said. "You can trust me on this one!"

Cyclops nodded. "Okay." he agreed. "Be careful." Spyke nodded, and he raced after Hank, as the others doubled back, to get the Professor.

Spyke soon came to the old amphitheater...and, sure enough, Hank was on the stage, pacing, still agitated. "Mr. McCoy?" Spyke called, causing Hank to growl. "It's me, Evan, remember?" Hank still growled, but he didn't attack.

"I memorized that passage, like you asked me to." Spyke continued. "It's the one you were reciting here, today, isn't it?"

Hank stopped growling, though he was still tense.

Spyke took a deep breath, and began to recite the passage, as he slowly inched towards his teacher, repeating it over and over.

Slowly, Hank started to calm, even as Spyke stood in front of him. "I know you're stronger than whatever it is that's got you tweaked, Mr. McCoy." Spyke said. "We want to help you."

By then, all the others had arrived, including Superman and the Fantastic Four. '*Listen to Evan, Hank.*' came the Professor's powerful but gentle telepathic voice, as their mentor rolled his wheelchair up to the stage. '*The man that you are is stronger than the beast within you. You can fight it, Hank; just let me help.*'

By then, the Professor was in front of Hank, and simply placed a hand to Hank's temple. Hank tensed for a moment...and then passed out. The Professor smiled. "He'll be okay."

Everyone smiled at that revelation. "We'd better get him to the Institute." Cyclops said.

Mr. Fantastic nodded. "Ben?"

"Gotcha, Stretch." Ben said. He walked over to the unconscious Hank, and lifted him up on his shoulder. "Upsy-daisy, big fella." With that, they all headed back towards the X-Van.

As they passed through the area where the soldiers had been, they found that all the soldiers were gone. As they headed for the van, Superman stopped, and picked up a scrap of black cloth. "What is it, Superman?" Jean inquired.

"This was part of those soldiers' uniforms." Superman said. "Look at this lettering."

"'F.O.H.'?" Cyclops read aloud. "What's *that* stand for?"

Superman looked uneasy. "Nothing good, if those guys were any indication." he thought aloud. With that, they all piled into the X-Van, heading to the Institute, as Superman took to the sky, following them from above.

"*...we just received a report of some kind of wild beast breaking into Bayville High School. With us is the Principal of that school, Mr. Edward Kelly.*"

The news anchorwoman on the TV pointed her microphone towards the principal. "*This thing was enormous, some kind of...ape-creature! It would have surely killed me if...someone hadn't stopped it.*"

The anchorwoman arched an eyebrow. "*Someone saved you?*"

The principal nodded. "*I have no idea who, but he stopped its pounce in its tracks; he was stronger than **anything** I've ever seen! And...this is going to sound silly, but...I thought I caught the colors of his uniform and cape: red and blue.*"

The anchorwoman turned to the screen. "*Well, viewers? Where could this beast have come from? And could this have been another sighting of the elusive hero known only as 'Superman'...*"

The TV exploded as Graydon Creed put a bullet through it in sheer fury, several of his lieutenants in the room with him. "*Disgusting.*" he snarled. He'd just heard of the fiasco in Bayville, how those freaks – including *that* one – had messed up their operation. And to hear them making a *hero* out of that freak...

"I know how you feel, sir." One lieutenant said. He suppressed a snarl. "My own *son* often watches reports about that...*thing*."

Graydon nodded, calming.

"We'll have to get a test-subject, elsewhere." He said. "I suppose we still have time; Dr. Trask said that the weapons won't be ready for another few months."

"Yes, sir."

Graydon nodded to his lieutenants. "You are dismissed." His subordinates nodded, and headed out.

Alone, Graydon removed his black gloves...and gazing upon the hideous scarring of his hands.

The scars were a reminder to him; a reminder that no price was too high to eliminate the mutant menace. They were the result of the treatment used to purge his DNA of the dormant X-Gene that his parents had passed to him. It had been agonizing...but it had been *worth* it, to cleanse his genetic material. There was but one blemish on the purity of the Creed line.

And he would soon *eliminate* it.

Graydon's face twisted in hate as he put on his gloves.

'*This world is for **humanity'*****.*' He thought.*** *Freaks and mutants have no place here. They're trying to destroy us...*'

'*...and the Friends of Humanity will **stop** them.*' With that, Graydon simply headed out of the room, to continue his plans.

After he'd changed into his street-clothes, Clark headed to the infirmary to check on Hank; Reed and his team had decided to head back to New York, as the evening had been eventful enough...though Reed and Susan still wanted to learn more about Krypton, Clark thought with a smile.

As Clark came into the infirmary, he saw that Hank – though still in his blue-furred state – was awake in his cot, and lucid, surrounded by the Professor, the instructors, the X-Men, and..."Lex?" Clark asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I came as soon as I heard about the 'beast attack'." Lex replied.

Hank lightly smiled. "Thankfully, I'm myself, again." he said. He sighed, looking at his hands. "In a manner of speaking."

Kurt chuckled. "Hey, zhe chicks dig zhe fuzzy dudes, Herr McCoy!"

Hank chuckled. "Thank you, Kurt." he said. He frowned. "But I doubt that I'll be able to continue teaching in my current state."

"We could give you an image-inducer..." Scott suggested.

Hank shook his head.

"I appreciate the thought, but I'd rather not." He said. "All my life, I've hid my mutation from the world; an inducer would just be hiding, and I don't think I can do that, anymore."

Lex lightly smiled.

"Why not come work at LexCorp?" He suggested. "My R&D Division can always use a mind like yours, Hank, and you needn't worry about your appearance; the people in that division are used to things that are...'out-of-the-ordinary'. You'd fit right in!"

Hank smiled sadly. "Thank you, Mr. Luthor, but I don't think that's the place for me." He said. "All I've ever wanted to do is teach...and now I *can't*."

Lex smiled regretfully. "Well, it's your decision."

Thunderbird then stepped forward. "Why not become an instructor at the Institute. After all, a majority of the people here have secrets of their own."

Hank paused, considering it...and then smiled. "I think I'd like that."

The Professor smiled. "Well then, Hank...welcome to the Institute!" He extended his hand to Hank, who smiled, and shook it.

Lex grinned. "Well, all's well that ends well, eh, Clark?"

Clark smiled. "I guess so."

Lex then glanced to his watch.

"Sorry; gotta run. Stockholder meeting." He said. "It was nice seeing you all, again!" With that, he hurried out of the infirmary.

After Lex left, Clark and the others all left the infirmary, letting Hank have his rest. Clark was heading to his room when he met Alison in the hallway.

"Hey." She greeted. "Is Mr. McCoy okay?"

Clark nodded, smiling. "He's our new instructor."

Alison beamed.

"That's *great!*" She exclaimed. Her expression became worried. "And what about *you?* Are you okay?"

Clark smiled.

"I'm fine, Aly." He assured her.

Alison smiled.

"I'm glad." She cooed. She lightly blushed. "I mean, of *course* you're okay; you're *invulnerable!* I just meant..."

"I know what you meant, Aly." Clark assured her.

Alison looked worried. "Who *were* those guys?"

"I don't know." Clark said, "But they sure knew about mutants."

"Could they try anything like this again?"

Clark shrugged.

"I honestly don't know." Ne admitted, "but if they *do*, we'll stop them."

Alison smiled.

"I know you will, baby." She cooed. Clark smiled, and gently placed his hands on her waist, drawing her close. Alison smiled, sighing happily, her beautiful eyes closing. Clark slowly leaned down to her...

...and his hearing picked something up.

Clark sighed, a sound Alison knew, understanding completely. She placed her hands on his chest, laughing into his chest. "Trouble?"

Clark looked worried. "There's a power-plant on the verge of meltdown in China."

Alison's expression mirrored his. "You'd better get going."

Clark nodded, and then smiled, quickly kissing her.

"Be back soon." He promised. With that, he darted off, changing into his uniform, opened a window, and flew off, towards China at Mach Five speeds.

*Baxter Building, New York City*

Inside the Baxter Building, the high-tech headquarters of the Fantastic Four, Reed and Sue stood in the control room, putting a call through to S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ. Tonight's events had unnerved Reed.

Soon, they were put through to the General. "*Richards.*" Nick Fury greeted. "*I trust this is important.*"

"I believe so." Reed replied. "General, do the letters 'F.O.H.' mean anything to you?"

Fury arched an eyebrow. "*No. Why?*"

"That insignia was on the uniform of a bunch of armed men who tried to kidnap Hank McCoy, this evening." Sue said.

"They also knew about mutants, General." Reed added.

Fury looked concerned. "*Well, I've never heard of them; either they're very new, or they're covering their tracks well.*"

"Or both." Reed said.

"*Or both.*" Fury agreed. "*In the meantime, there's a power-plant in China that's about to go critical. You and your team had better get there, **pronto**.*"

Reed happened to check the radar...and smiled.

"We'd be happy to, General..." He said, "...but I think someone will beat us to it."

Fury's face changed into what Reed *swore* was almost a smile.

"*Xavier's golden-boy, huh.*" He said. "*Well, just see if he needs any help, and try to keep the public clear so he can do his job without any snoops with cameras looking around.*"

"We will, sir. Richards out." Reed said, as he ended the transmission. Reed sighed.

"Looks like these 'F.O.H.' guys are none too fond of mutants." He said. "I hope they don't try to expose mutants, anytime soon."

Susan smiled. "Well, if mutants are ever exposed, Superman should be a good example of why mutants aren't a threat...despite being an alien."

Reed smiled. "You're right." he agreed. He chuckled. "Why are you always right?"

Sue giggled, looping her arms around his neck, her face inches from his. "I'm your *wife*, silly. It's my *job!*"

Reed laughed, embracing his gorgeous wife.

"And what exactly is *my* job?" He inquired. Sue just giggled, before they shared a sweet kiss. After the kiss ended, Sue leaned up...and whispered something in his ear.

Reed's eyes went wide...and then he grinned. "Oh, yeah. *Now* I remember!"

Sue just smiled, slipping out of his embrace.

"We can do that *later*, lover. Right now, Superman may need our help." Reed nodded, smiling, as they both hurried off, to get the rest of their team, and to go help their friend.