Family

Night had fallen over all of Bayville, including the Institute. All of the inhabitants of the stately Institute were sound asleep...except one.

In the underground hangar, Clark, in his uniform, was doing the last few tests of the *Krypton*'s systems, his nightly patrol already done; he was checking life-support, propulsion, communications, the Trans-Warp Drive...*everything*.

Tomorrow was the big day; the *Krypton*'s – and his – first Trans-Warp flight.

It had taken him months, but the ship was finally ready to fly. The plan was that he and Logan – in the Blackbird – would fly out over the Atlantic, far from prying eyes, and Clark would launch the *Krypton* from the Blackbird's cargo bay; he'd designed a system that would let the Blackbird simply drop the *Krypton* in mid-air, at which point the ship's thrusters would ignite, and the *Krypton* would reach escape velocity...before engaging the Trans-Warp Drive. Clark would do a short Trans-Warp burn towards Mars, followed by an hour of deceleration for insertion into a stable orbit around the Red Planet. He would then exit the ship, and descend for a quick fly-by and soil-and-atmosphere sample. He would then return to the *Krypton*, and engage a Trans-Warp burn to Jupiter, followed by an hour of slow-down, to do the same on Jupiter. Once he returned to the *Krypton*, he would turn the ship around and burn back to Earth, for rendezvous with the Blackbird in mid-air.

By then, Clark had finished the tests – all green. Putting his electronic instruments aside, Clark decided to test the nano-suit he'd built for this occasion. He tapped a button on his belt buckle, activating the suit.

Instantly, the little nano-bots contained in a small compartment in the buckle stirred to life, spreading across his body; to an observer, it appeared that a coating of silvery liquid metal was spreading over him. The nano-bots easily integrated with his uniform, turning the blue and red into a single shade of silver, the crest of the House of El now a white 'S' in a silver diamond outlined in white, his belt now silver, as well. The nano-bots turned his boots white, and formed gloves as they coated his hands. Even his cape went silver as the nano-bots coated it. As the little machines reached his head, they formed a sleek, streamlined silver helmet around his head, with a large space for his face, enabling him to see easily. Then, the nano-bots completed the package by generating a hard-light visor-field over that space.

Clark smiled behind his visor; the suit was working perfectly. The scanners in the helmet seemed to be working at 100 percent efficiency, flawlessly feeding data to the visor-screen. The radiation filters were working flawlessly, filtering out only potentially harmful – harmful to humans, anyway – radiation, letting normal sunlight through, so it wouldn't dampen his powers. It was ready to use.

"Hey, Clark, are you all ready for...*whoa!*"

Clark chuckled at Scott's reaction as the X-Men field leader walked into the hangar, in a white t-shirt and blue shorts. He tapped his belt, shutting off the helmet, the nano-bots disassembling from around his head, melding with the ones covering his body. "Sorry about that." he said. "I was just testing the nano-suit for tomorrow. Anyway, what are you doing up?"

Scott grinned sheepishly, holding up a half-full glass of chocolate milk. "Thirsty." he explained. "So, I guess you're pretty much ready for your little outing, tomorrow?"

Clark nodded. "The *Krypton*'s good to go." he said.

"Good to hear." Scott said. He chuckled. "Wish we could go with you."

"Well, maybe someday." Clark said. "But for now, I think it's best if I go alone; Trans-Warp could be dangerous, and if the worst case-scenario happens, I can survive in vacuum."

"Yeah, you're right." Scott agreed. His expression turned a little sad. "I bet Alex would've loved to go." he whispered.

"Who?" Clark asked.

"Yeah, you're right." Scott agreed. His expression turned a little sad. "I bet Alex would've loved to go." he whispered.

"Who?" Clark asked.

"My little brother." Scott said softly. "The last time I saw him, we were only kids. My Dad, he was an Air Force pilot; we were all taking a vacation to Hawaii: me, Alex, Mom and Dad." His expression became haunted. "Something went wrong; the plane Dad was flying started to lose altitude. Mom put me and Alex in parachutes and told us to bail out." He reached under his shirt, and pulled out a set of Air Force dog-tags around his neck. "Dad gave me his dog-tags; he told me to give them back to him when we met up on the ground. Then, Alex and I bailed out."

His fist clenched. "My chute failed; the last thing I saw before blacking out was Alex crying for me as I fell...and then I woke up in a hospital. The doctors told me that I was the only survivor of the crash."

Clark was silent for a few moments. "I'm so sorry." he said.

Scott half-shrugged. "Alex would've been about 15, now." he said. Then, he asked, "So, how long do you figure you're trip will take?"

"Oh, about five or six hours, once I break Earth's orbit." Clark replied.

Scott nodded to himself. "Five or six hours..." he whispered softly.

Clark arched an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Oh, just wondering." Scott said. "Anyway, I'll just let you get back to work. 'Night." Then, Scott left the hangar, and Clark resumed his testing, before shutting off the suit and leaving the hangar, to get a bit of rest.

*Xavier Institute, April 27*

"Chuck, I need to talk to ya."

It was about mid-morning on Saturday when Logan finally worked up the resolve to talk to Xavier about what had been bugging him. All the kids were just relaxing after their Danger Room sessions, except Flyboy, who was loading his spaceship into the Blackbird for his little outing. "Of course, Logan." Charles said, as Logan walked into his office. "How can I help you?"

Logan sat down. "I need you to take a look inside my head." he said. "There's some stuff up here that's been bugging me for some time, now." '*And it's been givin' me nightmares.*' he thought. Last night had been the worst one yet...

*...waking up in a tube full of green fluid...*

*...unimaginable pain, especially in his hands...*

*...Sabretooth laughing at him...*

*...running through snow...*

*...seeing his claws, and screaming in horror...*

Logan looked at his hands, remembering that last image. He was a mutant, and thus, his healing factor and heightened senses were natural, for him. But his adamantium skeleton, and his claws...they *weren't*. Someone had done that to him.

And he wanted to know *why*.

Charles looked regretful. "I am truly sorry, Logan," he replied, "but sometimes, the mind needs to work things out on its own. If I try to help you, I may end up doing more harm than good."

Logan frowned. "Someone *did* this to me, Chuck." he said, extending his claws for emphasis, before retracting them. "It's been hanging over my head for years, now. It ain't coming back on its own, so I need a little help."

"I'm sorry, Logan," Charles said, "but if your mind is suppressing your memories of whatever happened to you, for *this* long, trying to jostle them telepathically could be dangerous. The most important thing is that you're well and that you can think clearly. Perhaps it's best to let the past stay buried, at least for now."

Logan sighed. "Fine, fine." he grumbled.

Smiling, Xavier spoke with his mind: '*Does Clark suspect anything?*'

Logan half-smiled. Flyboy's senses were even more finely tuned than *his*, so they had to communicate this way in order to avoid being heard. '*Flyboy hasn't got a clue, Chuck.*' he thought back. '*I heard him tell Scott that he was gonna be in space for five or six hours, once he gets underway.*'

'*Five or six hours...that should be enough time.*' Charles sent, smiling. Out loud, he added, "I suppose Clark will want to get going, soon."

Nodding, Logan said, "I'll go suit up. Wouldn't want Flyboy to miss his window of opportunity." With that, he got up, and headed out of Charles' office.

In the very back corner of the Blackbird, Kitty sat, in her street clothes, her laptop computer on her lap, typing away. She'd had to come here, as it was the only place where she could type in peace.

This morning, despite being Saturday, had been hectic. When she'd gotten up, still in her PJ's, she'd absent-mindedly phased through the bathroom door...only to be kicked out by an annoyed Rogue, in her pajamas, a hairbrush in hand, who'd told her that doors were often closed for a *reason*. Later, after dressing, Kitty had been typing a letter to her parents at the breakfast table, enjoying the quiet; the only other person in the room had been Mr. Logan, who'd been reading a newspaper.

And then, the other X-Men had come down for breakfast, and the silence was shot.

She'd tried typing in the living room, but Evan had just been 'spyking' a poster to the ceiling, and then just left after her complaint that it was a *public* space...and then the poster had fallen over her head in the middle of typing.

She'd even tried typing in the branches of a tree outdoors, but Scott had been working on his car. That had been fine...until Scott turned up the volume on his car radio, almost causing Kitty to fall out of the tree.

Sighing, Kitty stopped typing, and began to read over what she'd typed.

'*Mom, Dad, it's great here at the Institute, but it's a little crowded sometimes, and that makes it a little hard to find a moment alone. We didn't talk much about it at Hanukkah when I visited, but there's a few more people at the Institute. I'll just tell you about everyone in our little family.'*

*'First, there's Scott, the team leader. He's pretty cool, but he can act so uptight sometimes...and then sometimes, he acts just like any guy his age.*'

Kitty giggled to herself. She'd added that last bit after hearing Scott crank up his car radio. She continued on.

'*Next, there's Jean. You'd take one look at her and assume she's just 'Little Miss Perfect,' but she's really nice. Plus, she's pretty tough, when you consider the kind of strain her 'gift' can put her under.*'

Kitty nodded to herself. Jean had once explained the difference between her telepathy and the Professor's. Professor Xavier had to work to get *into* someone's mind; Jean had to work on keeping thoughts *out*.

That had given Kitty a whole new respect for her teammate.

'*Then there's Kurt. I told you about him, remember? He's one of the nicest guys I've ever met, and I'm proud to say that he doesn't creep me out anymore! In fact, we're pretty good friends...although it does kinda bug me when he just pops in without warning. He's really fun to be around...which kinda helps when Scott's in one of his serious moods.*'

Kitty chuckled to herself. Kurt was always pulling pranks on everyone, but they were always in good humor; they always made everyone – even the victim – laugh...after they chased Kurt for a while, of course. The only student Kurt hadn't pranked was Clark...mostly due to the fact that Clark could see through walls and hear everything that Kurt plotted.

'*Next is my roommate, Rogue. She's okay, but she's kinda grouchy sometimes. That's probably due to her powers; if I had problems touching, I'd be grumpy, too.*'

Kitty felt bad about saying that, and quickly did a rewrite. Rogue wasn't really a grouch; she just had a dry – an *incredibly* dry – sense of humor, one which Kitty was learning to appreciate.

'*Then there's Evan. He's a pretty okay guy, if a little reckless, sometimes.*'

That was true, Kitty admitted. Evan was a good guy, and he loved using his powers...maybe a bit too much. Kitty could tell that Evan wanted to just cut loose...but he – as well as everyone – knew what could happen if mutants were ever exposed.

'*And then, there's Clark – You-Know-Who! Clark's really cool, but he can be even more uptight than Scott, every now and then. But that's totally understandable! I mean, he has a lot to worry about with his...'job'. Plus, he does remember to have fun, every once in a while! I'm glad he's with us; who knows what would've happened if the Professor hadn't found him?*'

That thought made Kitty pause; if Clark had never been found by the X-Men, what would've happened? Kitty was sure that he would certainly be out helping people and saving the day...and people would be asking questions about him, and wondering if there were *other* 'gifted' people in the world. But Kitty's main worry wasn't about being exposed; it was about Clark.

If he hadn't met them, who would remind him to have fun?

Clark was a great guy – in fact, he was the closest any guy would ever get to being "The *Perfect* Guy" – but he could be too serious, sometimes. And Kitty couldn't fault him for that; he carried the weight of the *world* on his shoulders.

A true Man of Steel.

But the sad fact was, if he hadn't met them, it was very likely that Clark would, ultimately, still be *alone*. He'd once told her that he'd felt that he could never find love on Earth, since he'd felt that he could never share his secret with any human woman...and Kitty could tell that he *still* felt that way, to an extent. Without them, it was very likely that he would *completely* alone.

'*Well, that'll **so** never happen, as long as we're here!*' Kitty thought. She smiled to herself; all she needed to do now was fix the Institute's resident superhero up with the right girl, someone who would be *good* for him, who could help him loosen up just a bit.

But she'd worry about that later.

'*And then there are the teachers, here. First, there's Mr. Logan. He's okay, but he's a total loner; sometimes I think he'd be happier on his own than in a family. Miss Munroe is the complete opposite; she's the nicest person you'll ever meet. And finally, there's Professor Xavier, who more-or-less keeps everyone together, around here.*'

And then, she'd caught up to where she'd stopped. Kitty sighed; she needed a good way to finish...

*Bamf!* "Hi, Kitty!"

Shrieking in surprise, Kitty fell back...and then half-glared at Kurt, who'd just popped in unannounced. "Kurt!" she scolded. "I was writing! God, can't I just get *one* moment alone, around here?"

"Sorry." Kurt said sheepishly. "I vas just going to tell you zat Clark und Herr Logan vere going to go launch Clark's ship, soon; ve'd better leave zhe Blackbird."

"Oh." Kitty said, closing her laptop. "When were they leaving?"

All of a sudden, the Blackbird shifted. Kurt grimaced. "I'd say...right about *now*."

Kitty looked stricken. "We're not supposed to be here!" she cried. "Oh, if Mr. Logan finds out..."

"Ve'd better keep quiet." Kurt said. Brightening, he added, "On zhe ozer hand, zhis means ve can vatch Clark's ship launch!"

Kitty half-smiled. "I guess so." she admitted. Then, Kurt silently walked towards the cockpit, to listen in, and Kitty followed.

Within a few minutes of departure, the Blackbird was out over the Atlantic Ocean, fast approaching the launch-point for the *Krypton*. Wolverine, in uniform, was at the Blackbird's main controls, and Superman was at the auxiliary control console, running some last-minute diagnostics on the *Krypton*'s systems. Superman was wearing the nano-suit over his uniform, with the helmet deactivated. "So, Flyboy, how's yer space hot-rod looking?" Wolverine inquired.

Chuckling, Superman replied, "The *Krypton*'s ready to fly, Wolverine."

"Good to know." Wolverine replied. Then, he paused. "Hang on; I'm getting a telepathic call from Chuck. Elf and Half-Pint are AWOL." He sniffed. "Funny; I'm getting their scent around here..."

Superman listened...and then smiled. "I think I can explain that." he said. He got up, walked to the cockpit door, and opened it.

Instantly, Kurt and Kitty toppled into the cockpit; they'd been listening. "We're sorry!" Kitty cried. "We didn't mean to stow away! I was just typing in the Blackbird, and Kurt just came to get me out, and then we never got off in time!"

Superman smiled. "Well, I don't think that's such a big deal." he said. "What about you, Wolverine?"

"Eh. I guess we can let 'em off the hook...*this* time." Wolverine said. Then, a beeping sound came from the main control console. "Besides, we've got bigger worries, Flyboy; we're almost to the target. Time to get moving."

"Roger." Superman agreed, as he tapped his belt, extending the nano-suit's helmet over his head, before heading out of the cockpit, towards his ship.

"Good luck!" Kurt called.

"Be careful!" Kitty added.

"Thanks, and I will!" Superman replied, before continuing on.

Soon, Superman reached the cargo bay, where the sleek, silvery, torpedo-like Trans-Warp ship was stored. Tapping his belt, Superman opened the *Krypton*'s cockpit, the clear glass-plastic canopy sliding open; the canopy was *more* than capable of withstanding vacuum. Settling in and buckling the straps over his chest, Superman tapped a key on the control console; instantly, the canopy closed, as the ship began pumping the air out of the cockpit, so that he could exit and enter the ship freely in deep space, avoiding explosive decompression. In seconds, the cockpit's atmosphere matched the vacuum of space.

"*Look alive, Flyboy. We're less than two minutes from the target.*" Wolverine's voice came from the radio.

"Roger. Commencing final pre-flight check." Superman said. "Main propulsion status: green; communications: green; Trans-Warp Drive: green; defense shields: green; cooling systems: green; life support: green; overall status: green. Initializing delivery system." He tapped a few keys on the console.

Instantly, two steel cables with powerful magnetic clamps at the tips extended towards the *Krypton*, adhering to its hull; this was how the ship would be "dropped" before it launched. "*Confirmed; delivery system is active.*" Wolverine said.

"Commencing primary ignition sequence; main engines standing by."

"*Acknowledged. We are thirty seconds to target.*"

"Roger. Starting countdown: T-Minus thirty seconds." Superman said, tapping a few keys; at once, the main screen of the console, just below the Heads-Up Display on the canopy, showed a thirty-second timer, steadily counting down. "Relaying co-ordinates for re-entry and rendezvous."

"*Co-ordinates received. Commencing delivery.*" Wolverine said, and the cargo bay doors opened, the cables paying out behind the Blackbird, letting the *Krypton* trail behind it.

Superman smiled. "I'll see you all soon." he said.

He heard Wolverine chuckle. "*Roger that, Flyboy. Delivery in 3...2...1...*"

Instantly, the magnets on the cables detached, and the Blackbird, veered away, out of the *Krypton*'s path, reeling in the cables and closing the cargo hatch.

The *Krypton*'s timer kept counting down: 00:03...00:02...00:01...00:00...

...and then the ship's main thrusters ignited, with enough propulsion to force Superman back against his seat, even for a minute, as he held the controls, guiding the ship up through the atmosphere...and then leaving it, out into the black of space.

'*Wow.*' Superman thought, as he looked out through the canopy, down at Earth. He'd seen Earth before, but it was a bit different, this time around. Then, he began entering the necessary calculations for the first Trans-Warp burn, towards Mars. Instantly, two sleek wings extended out from under the ship, as two small pylons extended back from the top, as the *Krypton*'s Trans-Warp Drive began to power up, the pylons energizing.

Superman quickly finished the calculations, as the ship's computer plotted a course between Earth and Mars, as well as targeting the spatial beacon of the Fortress of Solitude, so that he could easily find his way back. Then, he entered them, gripped the controls, and held on tight.

In less than an instant, the ship's pylons flared to life, and the *Krypton* streaked away from Earth at trans-light speed.

Inside his ship, Superman could only hang on as the *Krypton* blazed across space, inside a tunnel of swirling light...and then, it stopped, as the ship transitioned back into normal space, its wings and pylons retracting, still moving at impressive speeds...

...and there, dead ahead of him, was the Red Planet.

'*It worked! It worked!*' Superman mentally exclaimed, as he quickly entered the commands for insertion into a geo-synchronous orbit around Mars. It was a victory for Kryptonian craftsmanship and human science. Even though what he found on Mars – and Jupiter – would likely not see public eye for quite some time, it was a major step forward. He chuckled to himself. **Boy, would Dr. Richards** love' *to see whatever I find today.*' he mused; Reed and Sue would *definitely* have loved to have gone on this little expedition.

The *Krypton*'s autopilot engaged, Superman briefly looked back at the speck that was Earth in the distance, where his friends – his family – who had helped make this possible, were.

He wondered what they were doing, now.

As Flyboy's ship flew off, Wolverine turned the Blackbird around, heading for the Institute. "Well, there he goes." Kitty said, as she looked at the rapidly fading shape of the ship, the *Krypton*.

"Ve'd better get back quickly." Kurt said. "Ve haven't got much time!"

"I'm goin' as fast as I can, Elf." Wolverine said. "We've got *plenty* of – "

And then it happened.

"*ARRRGGGHHH!*" Wolverine howled, clutching his head; his brain felt like it was *on fire!*

"M-Mr. Logan?!" Kitty cried. "What's wrong?!"

Wolverine didn't know why, but his head was filling with...*impulses*, urges to kill, to maim...

...to *hunt mutants*.

"*GET TO THE CARGO BAY!*" he ordered, with possibly his last lucid breath; the cargo bay was reinforced with multiple steel plating – even with adamantium claws, it'd take hours for him to dig through...hopefully long enough for Chuck to figure out something was wrong and rescue the kids. "*DO IT **NOW**!*"

Thankfully, the kids didn't argue, and when they left, he locked the cockpit door behind them, keeping himself in. Thankfully, their leaving caused the homicidal tendencies in his head to go quiet, as new imperatives filled his brain. Something was commanding him to...to...

...go *north*.

Wolverine, in a trance, re-programmed the autopilot, turning the Blackbird into a course heading to northern Canada. Soon, the Blackbird landed at the co-ordinates specified. Wolverine left the Blackbird, lumbering off, to find the one who'd summoned him.

*Northern Canada*

As the sun began to set over the snow-covered woods of Canada's far north, Sabretooth was on the prowl.

He'd been hunting around these parts, honing his skills for the next time he and Logan faced off...or the next time he saw that flying kid, that 'Superman' that Mags was so damned determined to recruit.

Victor gritted his teeth; he could still feel that little punk's fist slam into his ribs, not to mention hitting the ground after his little nose-dive from ten thousand feet, courtesy of Superman's uppercut. '*When I get my hands on you, you little..!*'

Sabretooth suddenly roared, as a searing pain filled his head, and another will imposed itself on him, superceding his own. Slowly, Victor began to lumber off, guided by an unknown voice, towards an unknown destination.

As expected, within an hour, the *Krypton* had inserted itself into geo-synchronous orbit around Mars. After entering the commands to keep the ship in a stable orbit around the planet, Superman took a soil/atmosphere sampling cylinder from a side panel in the cockpit, clipped it to his belt, and then unbuckled from the chair, and opened the canopy, floating out into space, the canopy sealing behind him.

Flying towards Mars' outer atmosphere, Superman stopped at its very edge. He was about to venture onto another planet, another *world*, something that no man in this star system – human, mutant, or alien – had yet accomplished. Taking a deep breath, Superman flew into Mars' atmosphere, down towards the Red Planet.

The Red Planet lived up to its name; as he breached the upper layer of dust, Superman could see red everywhere: red soil, red mountains...even the sky was red with dust. '*Iron oxide,*' Superman thought, **this place is** literally' *rusting.*'

Flying low, Superman passed over a long range of mighty mountains, and then over a deep canyon; both were truly impressive sights, and Superman was glad that the recorder in his nano-suit's helmet was working, sending data to the ship – he *definitely* wanted his friends to see this, to experience the beauty of this world. Flying low, Superman slowed his flight enough to scoop up a soil sample in his cylinder, and then taking an atmospheric sample, before sealing the cylinder to begin the cylinder's on-board quarantine-analysis, making sure that he wasn't bringing any potentially dangerous pathogens back; if there was anything in the soil, he could drop it at the Fortress for safe sterilization.

Clipping the cylinder to his belt, Superman flew around Mars, taking in all the sights. He flew around for about an hour and a half, before he arrived at the last sight he would take in before leaving.

*Olympus Mons*, or 'Mount Olympus,' one of the largest mountains on Mars, named after the home of the mythical Olympian gods of ancient Greece. Superman flew to the top of the mighty mountain, landing upon its summit, looking around. The view was incredible.

His visit complete, Superman flew up through the dusty sky, and back out into space, passing by Mars' two satellites, *Phobos* and *Deimos*, before he rejoined the *Krypton*, tapping his belt to open the canopy, and buckling in, the canopy closing behind him. Placing the filled cylinder in its slot on the side panel, Superman grasped the controls, breaking orbit around Mars and heading further out into space. He quickly typed in the calculations for a Trans-Warp burn to Jupiter, as the *Krypton*'s wings and pylons re-extended. Entering the commands, Superman held on, and the *Krypton* jumped to trans-light speed for a few seconds, before coming out, powering down the Trans-Warp Drive, resuming normal propulsion, with the largest planet, Jupiter, in sight.

'*Boy, it's a shame that the others had to miss this.*' Superman thought. '*Poor Kitty and Kurt are probably bored out of their minds...*'

It was a full hour after the Blackbird had landed before Kitty nervously phased her head through the cargo bay door, looking around. Phasing completely through, she looked around the craft.

No sign of Wolverine.

Phasing back into the cargo bay, she opened the door. "All clear, Kurt. Mr. Logan's not here."

"Phew! Vell *zat's* a relief!" Kurt exclaimed.

"Not *really*, Fuzzy!" Kitty cried. "Without him, we can't get home!"

"Oh...right." Kurt said. "I guess ve'd better go look for him."

Kitty nodded, as she got out the spare uniform in the on-board change room, Kurt doing the same. "Hopefully, he's cooled off by now." she said, as she darted in to change, Kurt going elsewhere to change. After suiting up, Nightcrawler and Shadowcat left the Blackbird, and began to look for their missing instructor.

When Wolverine came to, the first thing he noticed was that his head felt like Juggernaut had been tap-dancing on it. Looking around, he saw that he was in a scientific facility...

...an *eerily familiar one*.

Then, he growled as he saw Sabretooth a few feet away, looking just as out of it as he was. Creed growled back, but it was only a half-hearted growl like his was. As much as they hated each other, neither of them felt up to *really* acting on that hatred...

"Ah, up and about, I see."

Looking around, Wolverine saw a spindly bald guy in a white lab coat, with dark goggles over his eyes, behind a sheet of glass, various computers behind him. Snarling, Wolverine lunged at him...

The scientist smirked, and tapped a button on an electronic device.

Wolverine howled in agony, convulsing in mid-lunge. "We'll have none of that, Weapon X." he said.

"What...did you...*do* to us?!" Wolverine snarled, as his convulsion slowly stopped.

"Oh, come now, Victor, Logan, *surely* you're wondering about your...enhancements? Your unbreakable adamantium skeletons?" the scientist asked. "Project Weapon X was meant to produce the ultimate mutant-slayers; my superiors made quite the financial investment in you two...and now it's time to see...a *return* on that investment."

"No deal, Poindexter!" Creed snarled. "The only jobs I take are *paying* ones! I don't do freebies!"

The scientist chuckled. "Oh, you think you have a *choice*!" he laughed. "Victor, during your enhancements, we inserted a computer chip into both your brains to ensure your compliance, in the event you both decided not to cooperate." With that, he tapped the device again.

Wolverine and Sabretooth both erupted in howls of agony, their wills being assaulted and undermined by another will. Just then, a console behind the scientist beeped, causing him to turn. "Well, how fortunate." he chuckled. "We have two test-subjects. Care for some practice, boys?"

Sabretooth smiled gleefully, but Wolverine saw who it was on the computer screen: Elf and Half-Pint. "*No.*" he grunted.

The scientist frowned, twisted a dial, and hit the button, causing Wolverine to scream in utter agony, his own will being suppressed. After his howls ceased, Sabretooth chuckled cruelly.

Even under mind-control, Creed was a sadistic bastard.

"Now," the scientist ordered, tapping a button to open a nearby door, "*go!*" At that, Wolverine and Sabretooth ran out, to complete their task.

It took an hour for the *Krypton* to insert into a stable orbit around Jupiter.

Looking out through the ship's canopy, Superman saw the swirling atmosphere of the mighty gas-giant, as well as its many moons, the closest one being the highly volcanic satellite, Io. Taking another sample cylinder, Superman unbuckled from the cockpit and opened the canopy, flying down into the swirling atmosphere.

As he entered the atmosphere, Superman activated the scanners of his nano-suit, and was surprised. His scanners revealed that there were multiple discrete layers to the atmosphere, varying in density: an outer, less dense gas-layer, much less dense than Earth's atmosphere; a denser layer over 5000 feet below that, twice as dense as Earth's atmosphere; and a third, incredibly dense, liquid layer, even denser than the Dead Sea.

But that hadn't been what had surprised him.

Superman had just enough time to get out of the way...of a huge flock of *bird-like grey creatures*. These creatures flitted past him, letting out tiny squeak-like cries. Superman was amazed. '*How do they survive?*' he thought. There was no liquid water, no apparent food...

...and then his suit's scanners told all; the scanners were picking up reactions going on in the creatures' bodies. They were oxidizing hydrogen sulphide and other chemicals in the atmosphere. '*They're chemo-synthesizers...*' Superman marveled. But there had to be some way of reducing the by-products, to keep this food-chain running...

Once again, his scanners told the tale, as they picked up the presence of tiny organisms in this layer, which were taking in the by-products of this process, reducing them, and releasing hydrogen sulphide and other substances, including methane.

Perfect balance.

Still, there had to be some way of controlling this population, Superman mused, or else there would be *billions* of them...

"*Snnnnrrreeeeyaarrrkkkk!*"

Superman quickly darted out of the way as two massive winged creatures darted past him at breakneck speeds, heading right for the "birds." These creatures were *enormous*, with a wingspan over fifty feet long, with no apparent eyes or mouth, only a cylindrical "head" with jagged mouthparts, and a short tail at the back, with four spherical chambers in their wings, two in each wing. At once, the flock scattered, forcing these two mighty avian predators to pick only one of them.

Which they did.

One mighty beast skewed one "bird" in its mouthparts, flying off, sucking the fluids from it, before dropping it into the path of the other, who did the same. This pattern was repeated numerous times, before the predators simply let the unlucky prey fall, flying off.

Superman followed these creatures, fascinated. '*A co-ordinated hunting pattern...they're obviously intelligent*.' he thought. **They might be a mated pair...though which is male or female is** anyone's' *guess, if they even **use** opposite sexes. But how do they fly? They're much too heavy to rely on wing-beats like conventional birds, not in atmosphere of this density; plus, their wings don't even flap!*'

But then his scanners picked up something about those chambers on their wings; as they flew, the chambers took in methane gas...where it was *combusted*. That combustion gave them enough propulsion to generate the lift they needed to stay airborne! '*They're living jet-planes!*'

Then, the two predators dove into the second layer, and Superman followed them. He got close enough to hear one creature emit a strange call; not the fierce shriek of its hunt, but a softer, gentler call.

Seconds later, a tiny, bleating cry answered it...as a smaller version of the creature flew up; a *baby*. '*They **are'*** **mates, then.*' Superman thought, smiling.*** *And this is their baby.*'

The baby, though not nearly the size of its parents, was quite big, as large as Superman was, in terms of mass. Its flight-chambers were not fully formed, only producing less than a quarter of the propulsion that its parents were capable of, but in this denser layer, it didn't need as much; it stayed there, safe, while its parents hunted.

The baby bleated as it flew close to its parents, who emitted soft, soothing noises. The baby flew above one parent, and then touched down on its back, close to its "head." The parent softly crooned, and then extended a tube from its mouthparts, which extended back to the baby, who took it in its own developing mouthparts, and started suckling.

It was *nursing*, being fed part of the kill from the hunt.

After suckling for a minute, the baby flew off, before landing on the other parent, who offered its own feeding-tube, which the baby happily accepted. '***Both** parents care for their child.*' Superman thought, smiling. It made sense, since this looked to be their only child; only one offspring was produced, but it was well cared for, making it very likely to survive to adulthood.

By then, the baby had suckled its fill, and flew off, squeaking happily, flying between its parents, who nuzzled it with their wing-tips, as well as touching wing-tips with each other. Just then, the baby let out a surprised squeak.

It had noticed him.

The baby broke off its flight, and flew towards him, circling him, letting out tiny squeaks. The parents soon followed, circling him warily, studying him; clearly, they didn't know what to make of him.

'*I know the feeling.*' Superman thought with a smile. By then, the baby was gently poking him with its wing-tips. Chuckling, Superman gently reached out and petted the baby on the back, causing it to *thrum* like a happy cat.

The nervous parents inched closer, emitting sounds, warning their child away. Superman simply watched as the small family flew away, the parents flying protectively close to their baby.

Flying lower, Superman soon came to the lowermost layer. His suit's scanners told him that it was rich in bacteria, with traces of decomposing matter in it. Now he had the complete food-chain; the "birds" fed on hydrogen sulphide, who were preyed on by those predators, who both excreted waste gases for micro-organisms in the upper layer, and in turn died and fell into the bottom layer, to be broken down into gases for the upper microbes, who produced hydrogen sulphide and methane.

Taking out his cylinder, Superman took a tiny sample of the bottom layer, then a tiny sample of the middle layer, and then flew up to take a tiny sample of the upper layer, before flying out into space, meeting up with the *Krypton* and getting back into the ship. As he put the cylinder away, he smiled to himself.

This little voyage had been *amazing*.

Promptly typing the commands necessary, Superman turned the ship around, to head home. Entering the last calculations, he held on as the *Krypton* extended its wings and pylons, before accelerating to Trans-Warp for a few seconds, before coming out of Trans-Warp, retracting its wings and pylons, with Earth in view.

Immediately, Superman began to enter the commands to begin re-entry, to meet up with the Blackbird over the Atlantic. He hoped they were ready...

Shadowcat and Nightcrawler had been searching the woods for the past two or three hours, with no sign of Wolverine. **Superman had to pick** today' *to go into space.*' Shadowcat mentally lamented; his hearing could've helped, not to mention his strength, in case Mr. Logan hadn't shaken off whatever craziness that had taken hold of him.

Shadowcat shivered as the woods got dark, both from the cold, and from how this place was getting *spooky*. "Do you see anything, Kurt?"

"Nein." Nightcrawler replied. "I don't see Herr Logan any – hold on! Zhere he is!"

Quickly, Nightcrawler ran into the woods, Shadowcat following him. Before long, they could see Wolverine. "Mr. Logan, we were so worried..." Shadowcat began, but stopped, as she realized that something was wrong. Wolverine seemed to be in some kind of trance...

...with *Sabretooth standing right next to him*.

"Oh, man," Nightcrawler cried, "it looks like someone made a new friend!"

"But...but they're mortal *enemies*!" Shadowcat cried.

"*Ja! Ours!*" Nightcrawler exclaimed. Then, he only had a few seconds to leap out of the way as Sabretooth lunged at him.

Shadowcat shrieked, phasing herself as Wolverine pounced, passing right through her. "Mr. Logan, please, whatever's happening to you, we can *help*!" she exclaimed. Wolverine snarled, and ran at her...

"Zat's it! Ve're out of here!" Nightcrawler declared. He quickly grabbed Shadowcat's arm, and 'ported them both out of there.

Nightcrawler's 'port deposited them in the branches of a tall tree. "Phew...I vasn't sure I could 'port vith more zhan one person." he said.

Shadowcat smiled. "Thanks, Fuzzy."

"No problem." Nightcrawler replied. "But vat made Herr Logan go off zhe deep end?"

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's affecting Sabretooth, too." Shadowcat said. Chuckling, she added, "Not that he had far to go."

Suddenly, the tree they were in lurched violently. Looking down, Shadowcat gasped in horror as she saw Wolverine, slashing the tree down with his claws. "*Hang on!*" Nightcrawler cried, as he 'ported them both to another tree. He kept 'porting them from tree to tree, as Wolverine followed them on the ground...until Shadowcat lost her footing, sending her tumbling to the ground, landing in a patch of snow in a clearing...with a cliff behind her, and with the insane Wolverine closing on her, deadly claws extended.

Shadowcat gulped. "Please, Mr. Logan, snap out of it!" she pleaded. Wolverine kept advancing, a feral growl coming from his throat. Nightcrawler 'ported in behind him, ready to attack...

Wolverine's expression shifted, the rage fading, before it came back.

That was all Shadowcat needed to see. "Mr. Logan, it's me, remember? Kitty? Half-Pint?" she said. "I know that they've got you all tweaked out of control, but I also know that you're fighting it." She took a deep breath as Wolverine drew closer. "You can *win*, Mr. Logan. Please, don't give up."

Wolverine just snarled, his claws inches from her face.

Shadowcat lightly sniffled. "Do you *really* want to hurt me, Mr. Logan?" she whispered.

Those words seemed to reach him; Wolverine's expression softened. "N...*No*..." he choked out, his claws slowly retracting. "K...Kit...Kitty..."

Shadowcat smiled, and hugged her teacher. "Yes, it's me!" she exclaimed. "I knew you could do it!"

Wolverine looked grim. "I know where to go." he said. "I know where to find the place where...this was done to me." With that, he headed back into the woods, with Shadowcat and Nightcrawler following.

Before too long, Wolverine had led them to a high-tech facility, deep in the woods. As they headed into the main laboratory, Wolverine howled in agony, clutching his head. Then, a new voice spoke: "It was not wise to come here, young mutants."

Looking around, Shadowcat spied a creepy-looking scientist glaring at them. "*What did you do to Mr. Logan?!*" Shadowcat yelled.

The scientist smirked. "Project Weapon X was designed to produce the perfect mutant-slayers." he said, causing Shadowcat's eyes to go wide. "We found it appropriate, using one of *you* to destroy you all."

"Mein Gott," Nightcrawler whispered, "you...you did *zat* to him? To a human being..?"

"*Nothing about you creatures is human!*" the scientist exploded. "Your kind are a plague upon this world!" He cackled gleefully. "And I've developed a *vaccine*! Wolverine, Sabretooth...*kill* them."

At that, Sabretooth walked into view, smiling cruelly. He was about to pounce...

"*NO!*" Wolverine howled, and he lunged at Sabretooth, slashing him with his claws.

Shadowcat looked around the lab; one of these gizmos had to be the one controlling Wolverine. "Up for some sabotage, Kurt?"

"*Jawohl!*" Nightcrawler exclaimed, and he 'ported to the nearest control console, randomly pushing buttons and twisting dials.

"*STOP IT!*" the scientist yelled, running at Kurt, who 'ported away.

Shadowcat giggled. "*This* is how you do it, Kurt!" she exclaimed, as she ran towards the electronic equipment, phasing through every single console.

One of the side-effects of her powers was that she could short out any electronic device that she phased through; it had to do with interrupting the flow of electrons, though she couldn't remember the specifics, right now. All that mattered was the end result.

Almost instantly, the consoles began to spark, bursting into flames. "***NO**!*" the scientist cried.

Like magic, both Wolverine and Sabretooth snapped out of their trances. They glowered at each other...but quickly took notice of the flames spreading through the lab. "We can finish this *later*, Creed!" Wolverine said; surprisingly, Sabretooth didn't argue. "Let's go!" Wolverine said to Shadowcat and Nightcrawler, and they all ran for the exit.

"*YOU RUINED IT!*" the scientist howled, as he made for the emergency exit. "*YOU RUINED IT ALL!*"

Wolverine just stopped, scowling at him. "Project Weapon X has just been *terminated*." he growled, before following the others out.

The smoke from the fire was visible by the time they all returned to the Blackbird. Shadowcat and Nightcrawler began to get on, but stopped as they saw Wolverine and Sabretooth glaring at each other. His eyes narrowing, Wolverine slowly extended his claws.

Sabretooth sneered. "Another time, Short-Stuff...when I'm in the *mood*."

Wolverine retracted his claws. "Fine by me, 'Tooth, so take a hike."

"Gladly." With that, Sabretooth walked off.

Nightcrawler blinked. "So...is zat his vay of saying 'zhank you'?"

Wolverine chuckled. "It's the closest 'Tooth's ever gonna get to one." he said. "Now, we've still gotta meet up with Flyboy, so let's get moving." With that, he boarded the Blackbird, and Shadowcat and Nightcrawler followed. Soon after, the Blackbird took off, heading out towards the ocean.

Within the hour, the Blackbird was out over the Atlantic. "Ve're approaching zhe rendezvous point." Nightcrawler reported.

"Roger." Wolverine said, and he switched on the radio. "Blackbird calling *Krypton*, over."

Static.

"I repeat, *Krypton*, this is Blackbird; please respond." Wolverine repeated. "You there, Flyboy?"

"*Blackbird, this is Krypton. I'm on your five, eighty degrees above the horizontal. Give me some room; I'm coming in a little hotter than expected.*"

"Copy that." Wolverine replied, and he switched on the rear camera, allowing them to see Superman's ship as it descended, before turning the Blackbird to align it with the *Krypton*.

Then, the could see it: a blazing red object rapidly approaching the Blackbird. Then, retro-firing thrusters built into the ship's nose-cone began firing, slowing its descent, as numerous cables began to trail behind the *Krypton*, expanding once they were out, to bleed off the heat of re-entry, as well as increase the drag on the ship, slowing it.

Soon, the *Krypton*'s flight-path was level behind the Blackbird, as the ship was starting to cool, its cooling-cables shrinking and retracting back into it. "*Blackbird, we're good to go for docking.*"

"Roger. Extending docking cables." Wolverine said, tapping a few keys. The Blackbird began to slow, its cargo hatch opening, the magnetic-tipped cables trailing behind it. As they got close to the *Krypton*, they adhered to its hull, and began to reel in the spaceship.

In minutes, the *Krypton* was inside the cargo bay, the hatch closing, as the Blackbird turned to head home. Wolverine quickly engaged the autopilot. "Tell Flyboy that *he* can fly this bird home," he said, "'cause I'm *beat*." With that, he passed out.

Quickly, Shadowcat got up, and headed for the Cargo bay, followed by Nightcrawler. She opened the door to the bay...and had to stop, as the *Krypton* was still quite hot. She saw the ship hiss as pressure was equalized, and Superman hopped out, still in his space-suit. Tapping his belt, he switched off his helmet, quickly giving the ship a cooling gust of ice-breath, before smiling at them. "Guys," he said, "you won't *believe* what happened, up there!"

"*We* won't?!" Kitty laughed. "Clark, *you* won't believe what happened, down *here*!" Then, she smiled sheepishly. "But...do you know how to fly the Blackbird?"

Superman shrugged. "Shouldn't be much harder than flying a space-ship." he thought aloud. "Why?"

Gesturing for him to follow them, Kitty said, "That's kind of a long story..."

Looking among the ruins of the lab, the director of Project Weapon X could only let out a soft sob. So many years of research, gone...

Suddenly, the sound of helicopter blades cut the air, as a jet-black helicopter landed before him. The hatch opened, and a man, in his late twenties or early thirties, with short, light brown hair, and cold blue eyes, in a black business suit, stepped out.

The director trembled as the man surveyed the wreckage...his eyes narrowing as his gaze fixed on him. "This is quite a surprise." he said dangerously. "I was told a day ago of the plan to retrieve the subjects." He gestured to the ruins. "You can imagine my surprise as I saw this from the air."

"I...I know how bad this looks, sir," the director stammered, "b-but we can still retrieve them! I've memorized the tracking frequency of those chips! We can track them easily..."

"...if those chips are still active. Those mutants may have gotten wise after this little...*fiasco*." the man finished. "No, Doctor, we've decided to move on with our efforts. As amusing and ironic as it would be to have a *mutant* mutant-slayer, we've decided to rely on less...*organic* means. Simply put, Doctor, you and your project have been *terminated*."

The doctor was confused...until he felt the bullet from the silenced gun pierce his heart, killing him instantly.

The man removed the silencer from his firearm, before putting both weapon and silencer away. That had been necessary; the doctor's incompetence had been a liability even when the Weapon X project had been promising.

In the coming battle against mutants, incompetence was something that the organization couldn't afford.

The man scowled as he walked back to the helicopter. *Mutants*. They disgusted him. He'd honestly hoped that the two subjects were still there, because he had to get rid of one of them, to secure his position. Only *one* slayer would have still been acceptable.

But now, there would be a better way to get rid of the mutant scum. And *then*, they could turn their efforts to eradicating the flying freak that zipped through the sky, playing hero. This world was meant for *humanity*.

Freaks and mutants had no place here. It was up to their organization to keep humanity *pure*.

"Your orders, sir?"

As he sat down and buckled in, Graydon Creed replied, "Get us out of here." At once, the pilot guided the helicopter into the air, heading away from the wreckage.

When Logan came to, he could see the face of Xavier, as well as Elf and Half-Pint, all staring down at him, smiling. "Ugh..." Logan groaned; his head was *killing* him.

"Welcome back." Xavier greeted.

"We were so worried!" Half-Pint exclaimed, hugging him.

Just then, Logan saw Reed Richards, as well as his wife, walk over. "The Professor called us and told us about your predicament." Reed said. "We came as soon as we could."

"I believed that Reed was the only one capable of removing that chip from your brain." Xavier said.

Reed nodded. "In theory, it wasn't too difficult; though adamantium is indestructible to conventional methods, it is easily malleable once heated to a high enough temperature. I managed to design a laser-edged scalpel to heat the adamantium in your skull enough to cut it, allowing me to open a hole in your skull large enough to excise the chip. I then simply replaced the removed section and re-heated it to..."

"Reed." Susan said. "A little too much information."

"Oh. Right."

Just then, Flyboy and the other two members of the Fantastic Four walked in. "Hey, how are you feeling?" Superman greeted.

"Like Chuck's brother just performed 'Riverdance' in my skull." Logan muttered. "I'll live."

Turning to Superman, Sue said, "Superman, Charles just told us that you were actually *on* Mars *and* Jupiter!"

Smiling sheepishly, Xavier said, "I hope you didn't mind, Superman, but I told Dr Richards and Mrs. Dr. Richards about your...outing."

"No problem, Professor." Flyboy replied. To the Fantastic Four, he added, "Yes, I was there."

"Please...tell us you recorded the trip." Reed pleaded.

"Uh, boy." Johnny groaned. "Here we go..."

Superman just smiled, and walked to a computer console nearby, inserting a disc, and showing a video of his trip. "I think you'll want to see Jupiter first."

Reed blinked. "Why?"

Seconds later, he got his answer. Logan whistled. "Winged critters."

"*I don't **believe** it!*" Sue exclaimed. "There's...there's life elsewhere in this system! *Right in our own back-yard!*"

Superman grinned. "Doctor, you haven't seen *anything*, yet."

Seconds later, they all saw why. Logan whistled again. "*Big* winged critters."

"My God...*look* at them." Reed whispered. "A perfectly co-ordinated effort...they're *intelligent*..."

"Take a look at those chambers on their wings." Superman suggested.

Reed did so...and nearly did a double-take. "They're...they're *combusting methane*..."

Johnny blinked. "Okay, I'm no science-geek, but even *I* think that's cool." he said. "They're living *jets*!"

A few seconds later, the video showed the same big critters...but with a *smaller* critter like them. Kitty's reaction was immediate: "*Awwwww...*"

"They're a *family-group*..." Sue murmured.

Ben chuckled. "Careful, Reed." he joked. "Sue might start hinting." That caused Sue to fix Ben with a half-hearted glare.

Reed turned to Superman, and shook his hand. "Congratulations, Superman," he said, "you just proved that life exists elsewhere in this system!"

"Reed...we *have* to go to Jupiter!" Sue exclaimed.

Reed sighed. "That'll be tough," he replied, "because without seeing this data, NASA will never approve funding...and we can't show them the data without telling who we got it from."

Sue sighed. "Darn."

Superman nodded. "Well," he said, "if my existence ever becomes public knowledge, feel free to show NASA this recording; I'll just hang onto it in the meantime."

Reed smiled. "Thanks." he replied. "Well, I guess it's time for us to go."

"It was good to see all of you, again." Xavier said. "Feel free to drop by when you can."

"We will." Sue promised. With that, the Fantastic Four headed out.

"Well, Logan," Charles said, "I suppose the questions you had have been answered."

"Yeah." Logan said. "And you were right; my brain *did* have a good reason for blockin' that place out." Lying back in his bed, he added, "I think I need a little shut-eye, Chuck." Nodding, Charles, Kitty, Kurt, and Superman all left the room, giving Logan the time he needed.

"Kitty, what's going on?"

Kitty laughed. "Just keep your eyes closed, Clark!" she exclaimed, as she led him down the hall. She'd given him a few minutes to settle after his trip, before leading him to their surprise.

If Mrs. Kent hadn't clued them in, they would have missed it.

Finally, she led him into the prepared room. "Okay, open your eyes!"

Clark did so. "Kitty, what's going on..?"

"*SURPRISE!*" everyone, including the visiting Mrs. Kent, cheered, as the lights were flipped on. "*Happy 20th Birthday, Clark!*"

Clark blinked. "What? It's not my birthday; my birthday is the..." He did the mental arithmetic...and his eyes widened. "Whoa...it *is* my birthday."

Laughing, Martha hugged her son. "You *forgot*?" she laughed. "Well, I suppose we can't blame you; with all the heroics you do, as well as your schoolwork...*plus* that little trip you took today."

"Your mom told us." Jean said. Laughing, she added, "Clark, why didn't you *tell* us your birthday was today?"

Clark looked sheepish. "Well, technically, it's *not*." he admitted. "I have no idea of the exact date of my birth; this day was the day that my ship landed in Smallville."

"Close enough, CK! Close enough!" Evan laughed.

"But...how did you get all of this ready without me figuring..." Clark began...and then he looked to Scott. "You were asking about the length of the trip! You all did it while I was off-world!" he laughed.

Scott chuckled. "Guilty as charged."

"Well, come on! Open your presents!" Kitty laughed, nudging Clark towards the gifts that everyone had gotten for him.

Scott had given him a telescope, so he didn't have to use his ship to look at the stars.

Jean had given him a copy of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds."

Kurt had given him the movie "The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy," in case he built a movie-player into his ship before his next fight, with an attached note saying '*Watch out for Vogon poetry.*' causing Clark to laugh.

Kitty had given him a framed picture of the planet Earth, so that he could always look at the world that was his home.

Rogue had given him a smaller framed photo of all of them, taken at Christmas, to always help him remember that he was family to them.

Evan had given him the complete collection of the old sit-com "Third Rock from the Sun."

And Martha, Ororo, Logan, and the Professor had all contributed to give Clark a new computer, complete with software that could be used to analyze the data he'd collected on his flight.

Clark smiled after opening his gifts. "Thanks, guys." he said.

"Now," Martha said, "who's up for cake?"

Instantly, all the students bolted downstairs, towards the dining room, followed by the teachers, Mrs. Kent, and Clark.

After cake had been served – a testament to Mrs. Kent's culinary mastery – they had all moved to the living room, to watch the DVD antics of the hilariously insane-yet-lovable alien High-Commander Dick Solomon and his family/unit as they attempted to blend in and understand Earthly ways. Kitty was just finishing typing her letter home, sitting by the window.

Hearing the laughter of her new family, Kitty smiled...and thought of the perfect way to end. '*Like I said, around here, it's hard to get a moment alone.*' she typed. '*But I don't really mind. This is just what it means to be part of a family.*'

*Deep space*

In the deepest parts of space, millions of light-years from both Earth and the Xerius Galaxy, a single, massive, cylinder-dome-shaped ship floated; it was the Ark-ship of the Xenterran race.

The Xenterrans had fled their world in this vessel, due to their world's climate and volcanic activity changing too rapidly for their technology to mend. They had built the Ark to carry their people to a new, uninhabited world. The Xenterrans had been a peaceful, enlightened people, capable of telepathy and telekinesis...

...or rather, they *had* been.

The bridge of the Ark – as well as the rest of the Ark – was littered with the bodies of the spherical Xenterrans, the floor coated with their violet blood...as their killer, a black, spindly, nano-assembled mechanoid, stood at the main computer console, now an empty shell...for the twisted intelligence that now controlled the Ark.

It had been ten years since Brainiac had found this ship, after floating in space for twenty years. He'd managed to upload himself to a Kryptonian satellite, and promptly left orbit before Krypton's destruction...but his A.I. had been severely fragmented.

Because of Jor-El.

But Jor-El was dead, along with his entire race. No-one would threaten Brainiac again.

After the Xenterrans had found his probe, it had been easy to use the probe's nano-repair-system to construct a body, overpower them, and insert his program into the ship.

By then, it was too late for the Xenterrans. It had been child's play to simply shut off life-support, causing the Xenterrans to chew on vacuum for a few minutes...allowing him to have the ship to himself.

In the past ten years, he'd continued his new directive, and traveled to distant worlds, taken in all their knowledge...

...and promptly eradicated them. Eventually, he would do this to *all* worlds, and his program would be complete.

Currently, Brainiac was trying to decide which planet to absorb and destroy next...

'*Trans-Warp signature detected.*'

Brainiac was mildly surprised when he got that message; Trans-Warp – a practically brand new technology in Krypton's final days, so much that it had never been approved for mass use – was easy to detect, even from the far end of the universe.

It had come from the planet Earth.

Brainiac searched his vast database, and found the file. Earth, a Class One planet, under D-Level Observation, due for re-evaluation of Contact-Decision in thirty years; had Krypton survived for another thirty years, the Council of Twelve would be deciding whether or not to contact Earth's inhabitants...but it was unlikely. The people of that world showed promise, but they were still too primitive, too prejudicial and xenophobic as a whole to risk contact.

And they were *far* too primitive to have developed Trans-Warp. Brainiac recalled, just before Krypton was destroyed, that a single vessel had escaped at Trans-Warp speeds...from *Jor-El's home*.

Kal-El. Jor-El's son. He was alive. On Earth.

A member of the Kryptonian race had survived...one who would have reason to destroy Brainiac...

Brainiac instantly set a course for Earth; it would be several years before he reached Earth, even at top speeds, but this was a threat that *had* to be neutralized.

And an unknown impulse was urging Brainiac to destroy Kal-El. An organic being would have called this urge '*desire for revenge*,' but Brainiac was a flawless intelligence, not limited by emotion. He was acting in self-preservation, nothing more.

The Ark proceeded on, towards the distant Earth, guided by its master's single computation.

*Kal-El must be destroyed.*