Fated Hour, Part Two

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

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

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

Scott was instantly on-guard.

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

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

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

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

It was giving Scott the creeps.

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

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

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

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

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

...it usually *was*.

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

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

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

Magneto chuckled.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He *still* didn't trust Magneto.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"*Got it.*"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Superman just ignored him.

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

Still nothing.

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

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

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

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

...and slowly *stood up*.

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

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

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

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

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

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

He was *nuts*.

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

Superman just stared at him flatly.

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

Superman's eyes narrowed crossly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lance froze. "What..?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

...because Superman *meant* it.

He *believed* it.

He *lived* it.

And for him, it *worked*.

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

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

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

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

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

Then, he turned away, too weak to speak.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*The meteors had changed course.*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Quickly, Lance ran off, to get help. He knew that Summers was around here, somewhere...

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

"General, something's happening!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"*I* can."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scott smiled. "Hey."

Jean smiled back. "Hi."

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

"Chere!" Remy exclaimed, grinning. "Well, now Remy *know* 'e ain' in 'ell, 'cause 'e sure wouldn' see an *angel* if 'e *was*!"

"Oh, *that's* it!" Rogue yelled, removing her gloves. "Say yer prayers, Swamp-Rat, 'cause Ah'm drainin' ya *dry*!"

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

That stopped everyone. "What?" Ororo asked.

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

"How?" Professor Xavier asked.

"Magneto has *Kryptonite*!" Scott exclaimed.

Kitty gasped. "*OH MY GOSH!*"

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

"We gotta help him!" Evan exclaimed.

'Let us worry about that.' Three voices said mentally.

Jean, Kitty and Lance recognized one of them from the incident at Northbrook High a few months earlier.

"Cyborg." Shadowcat spoke. Then a portal opened behind the group and a streak of red raced down the hallway before joining the X-Men.

It was the Flash. He, Cyborg and Batman had been told Superman was on Asteroid M by a surprising source.

"What are you standing around for?" Flash asked them.

"Right." Cyclops nodded, following Flash.

The group ran to where Superman was being held as a toxic green light emanated from the room. Shadowcat shorted out the control panel and the doors opened to reveal Cyborg standing in front of the Kryptonite.

"This stuff has to go." He opened a Boom Tube leading to a uninhabited planet in another reality before throwing the Kryptonite through it.

After the Kryptonite disappeared and the portal closed, Superman began to breathe easier, his color improving. Scott and Logan helped him up.

"How you feeling, big guy?" Scott asked, smiling.

Superman half-smiled. "*Lousy*."

"*Whoa*..." Alex murmured, "...the dude's *real*..."

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

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

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

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

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

"We have to stop him!" Scott declared.

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

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

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

Scott smiled. "No problem, big guy."

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

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

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

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

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

"Good luck!" Scott said.

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

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

*The alien.*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

'*YES!*'

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

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

Superman was ready to *rock*.

He flew back towards Earth, heading for Asteroid M.

It was time to *end* this.

"Hold it right there!" Flash ordered.

"Magneto!" Thunderbird yelled. He and the others reached the control room *just* as Magneto was heading towards the metal podium.

"We owe you some payback." He continued.

"What..?!" Magneto roared in anger.

The Professor glared at his old friend.

"You've gone too far, Erik." He said. "We can't let you do this."

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

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

Scott grinned. "What took you so long?"

Superman smiled. "Traffic was murder."

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

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

"And I wouldn't rely on that Kryptonite in the future, Magneto." Superman said. "It's been transported to an uninhabited planet even as we speak!" Then, he grinned at Sabretooth. "Thanks, Vic! Couldn't have done it without you!"

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

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

Sabretooth snarled. "*So?!*"

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

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

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

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

"Wolverine!" He yelled. "Alley-oop!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lance chuckled. "Nice."

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

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

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

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

He ran at Superman, leaping into a flying kick at Mach Two, to hit him right between the shoulder-blades. He was intercepted and knocked out of the way by the Flash and the two ran around the asteroid.

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

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

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

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

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

"*General, we have incoming!*"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*International Space Station*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*New York City*

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

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

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

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

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

*North Pole*

Godzilla was monitoring the sky when he spotted the bright dots and prepared to intercept them.

'Pulling meteors toward Earth, huh?' The King of Monsters thought. 'Not if I can help it, pal.'

He headed in the direction of Asteroid M to put a end to Magneto's murderous scheme.

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

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

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

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

"Ha!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Good luck." Scott said.

"Be careful." Jean added.

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

Superman smiled. "*Merci.*" he replied.

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

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

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

"Whoa..." Alex murmured.

"Can he really do it?" Lance asked.

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

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

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

"SKREEONGK!"

A loud and familiar cry coming from the north got their attention.

Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Rogue and Spyke had no idea what produced it.

"Vat was that...?"

Jean scanned the nearby area with her telepathy.

"It's him." She said.

"Who though?" Kitty questioned.

"We encountered something when we met Clark at the North Pole. Something big and tall."

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

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

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

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

"Iron Man?!"

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

"General, we have a bogey!"

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

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

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

"Negative, sir. Whatever this is, it launched from...the *North Pole*, sir...and it's moving *way* too fast to be a missile. It's going at Mach Five...*no*...Mach *Six*...*no*..."

"Something else appears to be heading that direction as well."

"And that is?" Fury questioned the man.

A loud roar could be heard from the Helicarrier's bridge. They saw a gigantic gray skinned dinosaur slowly advancing to the lights in the sky.

"Sounds like whoever just launched from the North Pole is going to get some super-sized help." Fury noted dryly.

"And then some." Iron Man added. "That's Godzilla, King of the Monsters."

Fury happened to glance to the Avengers...and saw the knowing grin on Cap's face.

"*Go get 'em, kid.*" Cap whispered.

Fury honestly didn't know if that kid – Superman – could do it...so he wasn't going to leave it to chance. "*Double-time, people!*" he barked. He kept watching the screen. '*Good luck, kid...*' he thought.

'*...you're gonna need it.*'

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

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

"Something's coming up from the North Pole!" Ben replied, gesturing to radar. "It's heading towards those meteors, and I mean *fast!*"

Reed blinked. "What could it be?"

Ben grinned. "Three guesses!"

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

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

Reed smiled, looking out the Station's porthole. '*Godspeed, Superman.*' He thought.

If *anyone* could stop those meteors, *he* could.

Little did the Fantastic Four know, he wouldn't be doing it alone.

"Wait, are you hearing faint footsteps?" Johnny suddenly asked.

Reed, Sue and Ben heard the ground shaking from the space station.

"What's causing these tremors?" Ben questioned.

Reed stretched over to a monitor.

"Something seems to be standing in the middle of the Arctic Ocean." He informed his teammates.

Sue got a look at what he was seeing and was deathly pale.

"No way..." She trailed off in horror.

Superman shot up through the atmosphere, breaching it and coming out into the edges of space. He could see the meteors clearly, now; they were coming in, accelerating with Earth's gravity.

"Need some help." Superman's enhanced hearing picked up on Godzilla standing in the middle of the Arctic Ocean.

Several of the small meteors were destroyed by Godzilla swinging his long tail around. He was waiting for the meteors to enter the atmosphere before destroying them.

This made his job easier, as he had less meteors to worry about.

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

...except one.

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

Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Shazam and Martian Manhunter also attacked the last meteor in a attempt to destroy it.

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

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

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

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

Superman exhaled sharply, and used *30* percent.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It was only seconds away, now...

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

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

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

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

With a roar of sheer will, Superman blasted the meteor apart, as it exploded into harmless dust, miles above the city. With a gasp of relief, Superman pulled up, streaking across the New York sky, a sonic boom echoing behind him. He flew north, towards the dying Asteroid M.

He hoped he wasn't too late.

Spider-Man could now easily see the blazing red streak in the sky. **T-That's a** meteor'*!*' Spider-Man thought. It was heading towards the city...

Suddenly, Spider-Man could see a red beam lance after the meteor. Then another. Then *another*. '*Hey...is that..?*'

Then, a final red beam blasted the meteor apart, miles above the city, and *something* shot overhead, a sonic boom echoing behind it, the city now safe.

Behind his mask, Spider-Man smiled. **You** rock'*, Big Blue...*'

From the Station, Reed and his team saw it all. "He did it..." Reed murmured, smiling.

Ben let out a huge, whooping laugh, hugging Reed and Sue in both arms.

"Son of a gun!" He whooped. "That crazy alien *did* it!"

Sue hugged Reed as Ben let them go. "Reed, he *did* it!" she exclaimed.

Johnny laughed aloud. "I don't believe it!" he crowed.

Reed laughed, as he looked down at their planet, safe once more. "Superman...thank you..." he said softly.

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

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

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

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

"Not bad at all."

When Superman returned to the far north, everyone else had evacuated the Asteroid...but it was falling too fast.

They couldn't get away.

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

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

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

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

"Rrrah!"

The ground began to shake as footsteps could be felt and a challenging cry was heard.

After returning to the North Pole following the elimination of the meteors Godzilla opened his mouth and fired his atomic breath, slightly speeding up the destruction of Asteroid M.

"The hell!" Lance exclaimed after the beam of energy passed over his head.

"Holy-" Kitty gasped in shock at the size of the new arrival. He was as tall as a mountain with a row of spikes going down his back.

"Mein gott. Vat is this?" Nightcrawler asked, white as a ghost.

"Kitty, Kurt, Rogue, Spyke. We'd like you to meet Godzilla, King of the Monsters."

"Is this ta figure you were talkin about?" Rogue questioned.

Superman's eyes narrowed; he wasn't *about* to lose his family. Not like this. Not now.

Not *ever*.

Superman then tapped *50* percent of his power in his eye-rays. His beam widened...to the width of a *car*, with enough sheer destructive force to level a *city*. His beam hit the Asteroid with the force of a small *nuke*, crumbling the rock, allowing his friends' beams to go deeper, their blasts combining to utterly destroy the Asteroid. In seconds, the structure crumbled into dust.

All three of them ceased their blasts.

"Whoa..." Scott murmured, "...Superman...how much power did you *use*?"

Godzilla let out a victory cry after Asteroid M turned to dust.

Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Shazam and Wonder Woman had flown back down to earth to join the other heroes. Batman, Cyborg and Flash then arrived through a boom tube.

"This fight with Magneto shows one thing." Batman started.

"And that would be?" Cyborg asked.

"Earth needs another team to protect it." He continued.

"What are you proposing?" Flash questioned.

"How does a Justice League sound." Martian Manhunter commented.

"Pretty good." Green Lantern added.

"So it's official." Wonder Woman finished.

Superman, tired from everything he'd endured today, especially the Kryptonite, said, "Fifty percent and count me in for the new team." He placed his hand on top of the other eight.

Scott smiled. "You couldn't have picked a better time to cut loose, big guy."

Superman smiled tiredly. "Thanks." he said, feeling drowsy. "But, right now, I...am...*pooped*."

He felt his eyes just close; he just needed to *rest*...

Scott had to smile as he saw Superman fall asleep, standing up. **After what he's been through, he's** earned' *it.*'

But then he started to tip backwards. "Whoa there, big guy!" Alex said, rushing to prop up Superman.

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

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

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

Godzilla remained at the North Pole to regain the energy that was lost from destroying the meteors as well as Asteroid M.

Quickly, all the X-Men, and Gambit, moved to help carry Superman towards the Blackbird, except Professor Xavier, who could not. "Let's go home." The Professor said, smiling. "We've all had a busy few days."

"Uh...Professor X?"

The X-Men stopped at Toad's sheepish question, as he stood with the rest of the Brotherhood, who had also escaped with them. "Uh...I know we ain't exactly all the best of pals and stuff, but could we...I don't know, maybe...hitch a ride home?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Superman had saved the day. *Again*.

He'd been exposed to that rock, that 'Kryptonite,' he'd chased a whole *shower* of meteors through re-entry – and blasted every single one – and he *still* saved the X-Geeks!

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

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

As he watched the Blackbird fly away, Magneto smiled.

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

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

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

With that, Magneto levitated away.

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

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

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

She shifted into her namesake, and flew off.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Are you feeling okay?" Kurt asked.

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

Rogue chuckled. "He's okay."

"You had us worried." Jean said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Everyone else gave similar words of agreement.

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

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

Scott knew that expression. "Uh-oh."

So did Jean. "Uh-oh."

As did everyone else. "Uh-oh."

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

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

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

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

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

He was still needed.