Fish Story, Part Two

It hadn't taken Rahne long to track down Hank in wolf-form; in minutes, she'd picked up his scent, and followed it through the forest...where she saw a bunch of hunters trap him and take him away.

From her hiding spot in the brush, Rahne suppressed a feral growl; her wolf-self wanted to *pounce* on these men with guns, and free her fellow pack-member – and tear out a few throats while doing so – but her human mind argued the wolf down – wolf-fangs didn't match up against shotguns. They needed a *plan*. After a few minutes, the wolf concurred, and Rahne stealthily followed the hunters to their camp, where they locked her unconscious teacher in a cage.

Rahne's feral rage flared up at that, but she managed to calm down. After noting its location, Rahne ran back to the campsite, to tell her friends of what had happened. When she reached it, she changed back to human form.

"Hunters 'ave captured Mr. McCoy!" She cried.

Everyone else froze.

"Where?!" Kitty exclaimed.

"Their camp is a few miles away, just o'er the ridge to the north." Rahne reported.

"We have to rescue him!" Jubilee cried.

"Easy, Jubes; panicking won't help him." Bobby said.

"We need a plan." Lance said.

Alison nodded. "Rahne, show us the camp; we need to know what we're up against." she said. Rahne nodded, and she headed back into the woods, with the others following her.

Soon, they had reached the hill overlooking the hunters' campsite. "Looks like about ten of them," Lance observed, "all armed. We go at 'em head-on, Mr. McCoy could get hurt."

"We'll need the element of surprise." Alison said. She smiled. "I think I have an idea. Gather 'round, guys." As the others all drew close, Alison continued, "Here's what we'll do..."

*Atlantic Ocean*

Deep beneath the waves, Namor swam towards the very outskirts of Atlantis' territory, moving like lightning through the water, his element, heading for the borders of Atlantis...

...where the Traveler Shrine lay.

Namor frowned to himself as he recalled all the legends associated with the Shrine, and the object that lay within it. '*It cannot be true.*' he told himself. The legends spoke of the one who had escaped from that object in a beam of light as it fell into the seas. It was said that a tribe of his people had confronted the strange man as he escaped into their domain, but their primitive weapons had caused the stranger no harm. The stranger's very *gaze* was said to bring fiery death, and even his *breath* was a weapon; he was said to have might beyond what any Atlantean could fathom, and could move swifter than *thunder*, and could move through the *sky* as effortlessly as he could through the sea.

Even after the strange Traveler was said to have left, it was still impossible – to this *day* – to approach the object; an invisible force was said to repel all who approached it.

'*A force-field.*' Namor thought; he knew that Richards had once theorized about such a thing being possible, but it was *well* beyond anything both his people and the surface-dwellers were capable of producing.

'*But not beyond what Superman's kind – whoever they are – are capable of.*' Namor thought. Now that the heat of his anger – the initial rage of being defied – had cooled, his logical mind began to process exactly what he'd learned. **He stated that such technology was not created on Earth; does that mean** he' *is not of this world?*' Namor reasoned to himself. Regardless of its origin, the technology of that 'Fortress' rendered it impervious to attack.

Despite his initial fury, Namor had to respect such superior defensive capabilities. '*That Fortress' **offensive'*** **capabilities are likely** just **as formidable.*' he thought.*** *Such technology could make him a powerful ally...*'

Namor frowned. '*...or a deadly enemy.*' he finished his thought. He already had enough to worry about on the home-front with foes like Attuma, the barbarian warlord who ruled a savage tribe of Atlanteans, with his eyes on Atlantis itself. **An enemy with such superior technology would be an intolerable threat, let** alone' *what would happen if Attuma got word of such weaponry.*' If Attuma learned that there was a crystal stronghold capable of repelling the *entire* Atlantean Fleet, he would no doubt want to take it for himself.

Namor chuckled to himself. '*But he would have Hades' own time **getting'*** **it.*' He thought. '*Truthfully, I think I would actually** enjoy **seeing Attuma try to take that Fortress.*' Frowning, he returned to the issue at hand.*** *If the object in the Shrine **is** a ship, warning or no, Superman will certainly go looking for it...with Arthur's help, knowing my cousin.*' While Arthur was, ultimately, as loyal to Atlantis as *he* was, his loyalty to his friends was *just* as strong.

Loathe though he was to admit it at times, Namor had to admire that in his cousin. Also, since the Shrine was *outside* Atlantean soil, *technically*, Arthur was doing nothing wrong. Still, if the object *was* a ship, letting Superman take it would only *solidify* his technological advantage; Namor had no way of knowing if Superman's wish for peace was sincere – giving him greater power would only make him a greater potential threat to Atlantis...

"Namor!"

Namor stopped, as Namorita swam up to him. "I thought you were going to converse with Richards and his family, Namorita." Namor said.

"I had hoped to speak with you before you reached the Traveler Shrine." Namorita replied. "I stopped at the Royal Palace, but I was told you were heading to the Shrine."

Namor frowned, folding his arms.

"And *why*, my dear cousin, would you want to stop me?" He inquired warily. Namorita's slightly guilty expression told it all. Namor sighed, putting his hand to his forehead. "Arthur is helping him." he said flatly. "I suppose I should have known."

"Namor, he means no harm!" Namorita exclaimed. "He merely wishes to retrieve the only remaining piece of his home! Surely, you cannot begrudge him that!"

"Be that as it may," Namor countered, "giving him that object – whatever it is – could only make him a *greater* potential threat, Cousin."

"Namor, we *all* saw how powerful his technology is!" Namorita said. "If he had so desired, he could have *obliterated* the Fleet! Giving him the Speeder he seeks will make no difference!"

Namor had to nod; the point was well made. "However," he replied, "in the past, nearly *all* threats to Atlantis have come from the surface, Namorita. What happens when the surface-dwellers learn of his existence, and that of his Fortress?"

"Namor, you're *always* so quick to blame the people on the surface!" Namorita scolded. "There are *good* people up there, too! People like Reed and his family – no matter *what* you say, Cousin, I *know* you respect them – and like Doctor Strange, as well as the Avengers, never *mind* the fact that Arthur was taken in by kind people on the surface!"

Namor frowned. "That may be true, Namorita, but the fact remains that we have enemies *above* the surface; enemies who will covet this technology – either for power or for profit – or take its presence as a threat to them, and attack us for it. And what if one of our undersea foes – like Attuma – learns of it? It would make him an even more *determined* enemy!" His expression hardened. "The truth is, Cousin, that Superman and his Fortress represent a grave potential threat to Atlantis."

Namorita's eyes narrowed. "*I do not **believe** you, Namor!*" she exploded. "Superman is one of Arthur's oldest and dearest friends! He showed our cousin kinship at a time when he was far from the country he was born to, in a land that his very nature was *foreign* to! And you actually have the *nerve* to call him a *threat?!* He should have all the honor we can *give* him! Letting him stay upon the Pole and retrieving the Speeder shouldn't even be an *issue!* We should have *welcomed* him with open arms, but you *threatened* him! *YOU SHOULD BE **ASHAMED** OF YOURSELF, NAMOR MCKENZIE!*"

Namor could only watch in bewilderment as his cousin finished her tirade. He was genuinely surprised by her fury; her use of his birth-name *alone* had startled him, coming from *her*. Namorita was always calm, and had always – with Arthur, in the more recent years since his return – acted as a buffer between him and the people on the surface; he knew that his temper was a barrier to his interactions with the surface, and his cousins had always helped to "translate" his fury, to make his intentions clear.

As Namorita calmed down, Namor lightly chuckled. "Merciful *Neptune*, Namorita, I *swear*, you and Cousin Arthur will be the death of me, yet." he joked, which earned a light smile from his cousin. His expression returned to his normally-severe semi-frown. "Come on; we shouldn't keep Arthur waiting." With that, he swam on, followed by his cousin.

"Lord Attuma, we are approximately ten minutes away from the Traveler Shrine. Sensors detect King Namor approaching in the distance, as well as Princess Namorita."

Attuma frowned.

"He won't be 'King' Namor for much longer." He said. "And what of Namor's other cousin?"

"We detect Prince Arthur on the surface above us, my Lord." the Captain reported. "We are also detecting another vessel in the water near him; its readings are consistent with the vehicle used by Richards and his team."

Attuma nodded. "I see. Are our other ships nearby?"

"Yes, sir; we will rendezvous with the other two ships in five minutes."

"Sir!" The First Officer reported. "Our surface sensors are detecting a massive power-signature approaching Prince Arthur!"

*That* surprised Attuma. "How massive?"

"It's...it's off-the-charts, my Lord! It's like nothing we've ever *seen!* The only thing resembling it is...is...the energy signature of the object in...the...Traveler Shrine..."

A deadly silence fell over the bridge. "*Merciful Neptune...*" One officer murmured.

"The legends are *true*..." Another gasped.

"The Travelers...they've come back..."

"*ENOUGH!*" Attuma roared. "Quiet, all of you! There's no talk of Travelers, here! There are no such things!" Calming, he added, "Proceed as planned. Once we're in range, I want shock-troops sent out; I want Namor and his family alive if possible...but *dead* if *necessary*."

His commands issued, Attuma looked to where that ancient Shrine lay. '*It is not true.*' He told himself. '*It cannot be.*'

It hadn't taken Superman too long to reach the Fortress and retrieve a spare EPM. Currently, he was flying over the Atlantic Ocean, with the large, cylindrical crystal strapped over his shoulder, its base composed of grey metal, the crystal itself glowing a brilliant white. Superman's eyes were narrowed, as his telescopic vision scanned the horizon...until he saw them.

In seconds, Superman reached the spot on the water where Arthur was treading water, and a few meters away from him was a high-tech-looking submersible, with the familiar '4' insignia upon its hull; it was the Four's main vehicle, the "Fantasticar," in its amphibious mode. Superman slowly descended, to hover above the surface of the water, smiling.

"I take it that you convinced Reed and the others to tag along." He joked.

Arthur grinned.

"Actually, when I told him about what was up, Reed and the others *volunteered!*" He replied. "Right now, 'Nita's running interference with Namor; hopefully, she'll either convince him to lay off, or she'll distract him long enough for you to power up that ship of yours and get out."

Just then, Reed's voice came in from the speaker-phone of the Fantastic Four's submersible: "*Superman, the energy we're detecting from that object you're carrying is **massive**; what is it?*"

"An EPM; an Entropic Power Module. EPMs are the basis for all Kryptonian power-systems." Superman explained. "Essentially, it's a replacement car-battery for the ship."

Arthur chuckled. "Well, after half a millennium, it could probably *use* a boost." he said. "The Shrine is in pretty hard shape, after half a millennium; we'll have to excavate it."

The familiar chuckle of Ben Grimm came over the speaker. "*And that's what **we're** here to help with.*"

Superman nodded, smiling.

"Thanks." He replied. "First things first." With that, he tapped his belt buckle, activating his nano-suit. "I'll need this to send commands to the Speeder, once we're in range."

"Okay." Arthur said. "Here we go, then." With that, Arthur dove under the surface, and Superman dove in after him, as the Fantastic Four's submersible followed.

Superman followed his old pal down through the blue deeps, the sun illuminating the ocean water, lighting the area around them. As they descended, the sea became gradually darker, eventually turning to a very dark blue, with only the lights from the submersible and the EPM's white glow providing illumination.

And as they descended, Superman started to detect a power-signature; a very faint one, but it was *there*. It popped up on the visor of his nano-suit after he passed around 1000 meters below sea-level. "*We're getting a very faint reading.*" Sue reported; they had picked it up, as well. "*It's dead ahead, a few more miles down; it's identical to the signature of that Module.*"

"I see it." Superman agreed. "It's the Speeder, all right."

After a few minutes, they touched down on the surface, and in the distance, Superman could see a collection of ancient, Greek-style stone ruins, consisting of mostly large stone columns, covered by a stone dome-roof. The entire structure was very large, but a good number of the stone columns had fallen towards the center...

...where the Speeder lay.

It was *exactly* how he'd described it; even half-buried under columns of stone, there was no mistaking it: rectangular-parallelogram in shape, its hull made of silvery metal and white crystal, extending back at the stern, and slightly tapering at the bow, with an opaque screen just above the partial tapering...and, once every few seconds, an off-white, semi-translucent layer flickered around the Speeder; its shields had automatically adjusted themselves to only coat the Speeder's hull, conserving power. On its port side, Superman saw a blackened spot, around where its port engine-pod was, where it would extend from the ship when active.

It had been *shot* down.

Quickly, Superman tapped his helmet, initiating a scan of the Speeder. "It's EPMs are just about *depleted*." he called over his nano-suit's radio. "I have to get in and install the new EPM." The Speeder's shields were at their limit, at their *minimum* sustainable strength; if the shields failed, at this depth, if the Speeder's hull was compromised to any extent, the pressure would cause it to *implode*.

"*Understood.*" Reed replied over the sub's radio. "*we'll have to move those columns, though; we'll help.*"

"*Not me!*" came Johnny's protest. "*I hate water! Someone has to watch the sub, right?*"

Sue chuckled. "*Correction: Reed, Ben, and I will help excavate, while my baby brother watches the sub.*"

Superman smiled. "Okay."

Within minutes, three of the Fantastic Four, in high-tech scuba gear, emerged from the airlock of their submersible, and start to walk towards the ruins of the Shrine, following Superman and Arthur. As they drew near the buried Speeder, its shields flickered again. "Be careful not to touch the Speeder's shields." Superman cautioned. "One touch will send you flying."

"Got it." Ben agreed. "Now, let's dig this baby up!" With that, they got to work.

Working together, Superman, Ben, and Arthur lifted the very heaviest stone columns away from the Speeder, taking care to avoid contact with its shields. Reaching out with his elastic arms, Reed curled his limbs around several blocks of stone, before hauling them off of the crashed ship. Using her force-fields, Sue was able to levitate several medium-sized columns off of the Speeder. After about fifteen minutes, the Speeder was free from debris, with not so much as a mark, save for the carbon-scoring of the blast that had shot it down.

"My God..." Reed murmured, reverently, gazing upon the ship, "...we are *looking* at an alien spaceship..."

Sue smiled, standing next to her husband.

"I *know*." She whispered.

"I gotta hand it to your people, Supes," Ben chuckled, "You guys built stuff to *last*; if you tried stickin' a Ford or a GM vehicle down here, it wouldn't make it past *one* year, let *alone* five *hundred!*"

"Thanks, Ben." Superman said, "But right now, I need to get this EPM installed, or the Speeder won't *last* another year; its power could fail at any *second!*" Quickly, he took out his belt computer, sending commands to the Speeder; only a handful of systems were still online, due to the low power.

Fortunately, one of those systems was the Emergency Teleportation System.

After he'd entered a few commands, a beam of blue light shone from the Speeder's bow, engulfing Superman, and transporting him inside.

The inside of the Speeder was fairly large, enough to carry over 30 people if they crowded in, and *dark*, illuminated by only the light of the Speeder's few online systems. Quickly, Superman moved to the middle of the Speeder's cockpit, in front of the control console, and knelt, touching a panel on the floor; instantly, the panel lifted up, revealing another console, with two EPMs attached to it on the top; one EPM was completely black – depleted – and the other was a *very* dark grey – it was on its *very* last legs.

If he'd gotten here *any* later...

Superman quickly tapped a few keys on the console, bringing up the system status; estimated time to power-failure was three minutes. Tapping a few more keys, Superman unlocked the depleted EPM from its slot, before removing it, setting it to the side – he could recharge it back at the Fortress – and inserted the new one into that slot.

The second he did, bright blue holographics popped up in front of him, displaying the two slots, with a white circle surrounding the slot with the dying EPM – the current power-supply; he had to change the settings so that it would take power from the new EPM. Superman rapidly tapped the holographics, moving the cursor-symbol to the circle, clicking it, twisting it to lock it in place, before dragging the circle to the other slot, and tapping it, before clicking the 'Accept' symbol to confirm the action; like magic, the circle moved to the slot that held the fresh EPM.

The fresh Module instantly flared to life, its brilliance only *doubling*...seconds before the Speeder's interior lit up, revealing the true color of the white-silver crystal-metal inner hull, as well as the control console, as every system started to power up. After retracting the power-control console, Superman sat in the control chair, putting his hands upon the crystal-circuitry panels; the Heads-Up Display automatically came up, showing targeting, navigation systems, weapons, sensors, ship status...and *shields!*

Superman quickly diverted additional power to the Speeder's dying shields; instantly, the flickering dome-image around the image of the Speeder upon the screen stopped flickering, and was reinforced by five additional domes, indicating that the shields were back at full power.

Sighing in relief, Superman tapped a few keys, doing a ship-wide diagnostic; it seemed that the port-side engine-pod had been damaged. The Speeder was still operable, but it just needed about five minutes to re-route power. Superman promptly sent the commands to start the repairs, and activated the Teleporter, 'porting out of the Speeder, to tell his friends the good news.

The Teleporter-beam deposited Superman back outside, exactly where he'd left.

"We made it in time." He reported, smiling. "The Speeder's shields are back up at full power; it should be ready to go in a few minutes."

"Kal, that's *great!*" Sue exclaimed.

"Now," Arthur said, "we just need to scram before my grumpy cousin shows up."

"A bit late for *that*, Cousin."

The entire group turned to see Namor swim up, followed by Namorita.

"Namor." Reed said quickly, "this doesn't have to escalate..."

Namor raised his hand, wordlessly asking for silence.

"I have come to a decision." He said. "After further consideration, I see no harm in allowing that object – whatever it may be – to be salvaged." He glanced to Superman. "For now, you have my permission to take it."

Superman smiled, and lightly bowed. "Thank you, Your Highness."

"*However*," Namor continued, "the fact remains that your presence at the Pole constitutes a potential threat to my people."

"Namor," Sue said, "you can't honestly *believe* that Superman would attack Atlantis..."

"Even if he does not, Susan, the threat remains." Namor countered. To Superman, he added, "Atlantis has enemies, Superman, both on the surface and below it. These enemies, upon learning of your existence and that of your Fortress, would stop at nothing to either seize your technology, or attack Atlantis on the assumption that such power is allied with us."

Namorita frowned. "Namor..."

Namor turned to face his cousin, an eyebrow arched. "Is this thought incorrect, Cousin? Is it not a *possibility?*"

Namorita stayed silent.

"Your Highness." Superman said, "I will not allow the Fortress to fall into any hostile hands..."

"But can you guarantee its secrecy?" Namor asked. "Can you *honestly* say that your existence will *never* become public knowledge?"

Superman paused; it was true – people were getting more and more curious about his existence. Professor Xavier had once said that mutants' existence couldn't stay secret, much longer. And the Fortress had been found – by Namor's people – once before. The Fortress' defense network masked it from satellite scans and radar, and its weather-generator hindered visibility...but *no* system was foolproof.

"No." Superman admitted.

"Then you see my dilemma."

"*Uh, guys?*" came Johnny's voice over the radio. "*I hate to interrupt the political discussion, but we've got incoming! I'm lookin' at three bogeys – BIG ones!*"

"You needn't worry." Namor said, as he put his communicator away. "I, too, detected those ships; they are three *Manta*-Class Cruisers. I will hail them and warn them away." He tapped a key on his communicator. "Attention, unmarked vessels. You are on a collision course with us. Alter course immediately."

No reply.

"Odd." Namor thought aloud. "Standard procedure is to automatically reply and request confirmation." Into the communicator, he added, "Unmarked vessels, I say again: alter course! This is your King speaking!"

"*Not **my** King, fool.*"

Namor's eyes widened momentarily, and then narrowed in pure *fury*.

"*Attuma!*" He spat.

"Oh, well that's just *swell*." Arthur muttered.

"*I didn't know you believed in Travelers, Namor.*" Attuma mocked through the communicator. "*Once I rule Atlantis, these idiotic myths will be the **first** thing to go.*"

"You will *never* take Atlantis, barbarian!" Namor roared.

"*Oh, no?*" Attuma asked archly. "*Not even at the cost of your cousins' lives? Perhaps when we hold blades to their throats, you'll change your tune.*" He cackled evilly. "*Or, better yet, I'll kill you myself and use your cousins to force a surrender! And as for the surface-dwellers...their fates were sealed the second they entered **my** realm.*" With that, the transmission ended.

"I'm guessing that this 'Attuma' isn't in your Top-Ten Favorite People." Superman hazarded.

"Hardly." Namor said. "Attuma is the chieftain of a barbaric tribe who once shunned Atlantean society. Now, Attuma seeks to conquer all of Atlantis. We have clashed on several occasions."

Arthur nodded. "Apparently, Attuma thinks he's destined to rule Atlantis – he once read the Atlantean Chronicles, and figured that *he* was the great conqueror of Atlantis...even though the Chronicles don't mention him by name."

Superman chuckled. "Yeah, prophecies can be a real *pain*."

"Regardless, Attuma has even *less* love for surface-dwellers than Namor." Namorita added. "His lust for conquest would not end with Atlantis."

"I will be *dead* before I let that savage take our country." Namor said firmly.

"Well, it looks like we've got a fight on our hands." Superman said.

Ben grinned, and cracked his knuckles. "Fine by *me!*"

At Superman's words, Namor turned to him, an eyebrow arched. "You would aid a people not your own, led by a king who had previously attempted to *attack* you?"

Superman grinned. "What kind of neighbor would I be if I didn't help *my* neighbors when they needed it?"

Namor was silent for a few seconds, before saying, "Attuma will send shock troops, first, as his vessels are not yet in firing range; likely, he will lead them himself." His eyes narrowed. "Assist if you wish...but Attuma is *mine*."

"Whatever you say, Fishy." Ben said. He grinned savagely. "***It's clobberin' time!***"

Aboard his ship, Attuma smirked, drawing and extending his trident from his belt.

"Captain, you have the bridge." He said. "*I* will be leading our troops."

The captain nodded, bowing. "As you wish, my Lord..."

"*L-Lord Attuma!*" The First Officer cried. "We're...we're detecting a change in the energy readings from the object in the Shrine! They're...they're *increasing*, my Lord!"

*That* surprised Attuma.

"Increasing?" He repeated. "How?"

"I-I don't know, sir, but it only started a few minutes ago! It started...when that other surface-dweller – the one in silver, with the cape – actually *entered* the object, sir! He just...disappeared in a flash of light, and reappeared minutes later, just like...just like how the...*Traveler was said to have emerged from it*..!"

A deathly hush fell over the bridge. "*Neptune be merciful...*" one officer whimpered, "...*the Travelers...they ARE back!*"

Snarling, Attuma closed on that officer and drove his trident through his back; he was dead instantly. "Now, *HEAR* me!" he roared. "If *any* of you even so much as *breathe* the word 'Traveler' in my presence ever *again*, you will *share* his fate!" With that, he stormed off, to meet his troops.

Despite his words, that revelation about the object was unnerving. It had lain dormant for centuries, but now – as soon as that stranger had shown up – its power was coming back.

Well, that could work to his advantage; after he killed Namor, captured his family and did away with the surface-dwellers, he could take the object as his prize. When Atlantis learned that he wielded the power of the Travelers, they would bow down in fear *alone*. Smiling to himself, Attuma continued on his way.

Within seconds, Superman had spotted the three incoming Atlantean Cruisers. "300 meters and closing, eleven o'clock." he reported.

"We see them." Reed replied.

Just then, several ports on the Cruisers opened, swarming the sea with Atlantean shock troops...led by one larger Atlantean man, clad in blue-and-gold, manta-ray-style armor, carrying a large trident. **Well, I'm guessing** that's' *Attuma.*' Superman mentally noted.

Namor snarled in fury, before swimming full-speed at the incoming force. Instantly, Superman, Arthur, and Namorita swam after him, followed by Reed, Sue, and Ben, who could not swim as fast as they could. As one trooper tried to intercept him, Namor swam faster, pulling back his fist.

"*Imperious...**REX!***"

Namor punctuated his battle-cry with a haymaker, sending the trooper flying. With that, the battle was joined.

As one trooper came at him, Superman sent him flying with a punch, only to be swarmed by two more, who grabbed onto him; Superman simply started to spin, throwing them off easily. He then turned to intercept one trooper who'd been sneaking up on him...only to see Arthur tackle him, sending him sprawling with a punch. Arthur chuckled. "Just watching your back, Smallville!"

Superman chuckled, before swimming at super-speed to slam into the trooper that was coming straight at Arthur, knocking him out. "*Ditto!*"

Ben grabbed hold of the first trooper that came at him, before throwing him into a cluster of troopers, knocking them all out. Another trooper rushed him, but Ben slammed him with a punch, then grabbed his ankle, and spun him around before letting go. "Heads up, Princess!"

Laughing, Namorita slammed the incoming trooper with a flip-kick, followed by a hell-kick to the face, sending him flying, minus a few teeth. One trooper tried to grab her from behind, but she easily broke free, before throwing her attacker into the first trooper, knocking them both out. Turning, she saw a cluster of troopers rush at her...

Instantly, Superman intercepted them, and unleashed a burst of frost-breath, which easily passed through his visor; as expected, the burst froze the water directly ahead of him *solid*.

The expressions of the troopers were nearly *comical* as they frantically tried to slow down...only to crash into the mini-iceberg, knocking themselves out, as the iceberg started to float upwards, towards the surface.

Namorita smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem."

As four troopers came at them, Sue formed force-field orbs around Reed's fists as Mr. Fantastic unleashed a double stretch-punch at them, his attack's momentum doubled by Sue's kinetic bolts; his fists slammed into two troopers with terrible force, knocking them out. As Sue's bolts dissipated, Reed grabbed the other two, and pulled them in...to smack into the force-field wall that Sue had raised.

Two more troopers charged at them...but they were knocked out cold, as they were clotheslined by one of the mechanical arms of the Fantasticar.

"*Ha ha!*" Johnny laughed.

"*Who **says** reckless driving is a **bad** thing?*" Reed simply chuckled as he unleashed a stretch-punch to knock out one trooper, before sweeping his fist to take out two more, while Sue telekinetically grabbed one and slammed him into a cluster of troopers.

Despite all their efforts, they were vastly outnumbered, and were surrounded by a circle of shock troops. Superman looked around...and smiled.

"Hey, Arty? Reed?" He asked. "Ever been to the rodeo?"

Arthur grinned. "Smallville, that is just *crazy* enough to *work!*" he laughed. With that, he swam over to Reed, who nodded in understanding, and grabbed Reed's arms, before swimming at one trooper. Arthur slammed the trooper with a punch, giving Reed enough time to grab hold of him, as Superman lifted up Reed's feet, turning Mr. Fantastic into a living lasso. With a kinetic nudge from Sue to get the trooper moving, overcoming the water's resistance, Superman spun the trapped trooper around and around, using the lassoed Atlantean to send every other trooper flying. In seconds, all the shock troopers were sent sprawling.

Reed smiled as Superman let go of his feet, releasing the trooper. "Good teamwork."

Superman looked ahead, his eyes narrowing.

"It's not over, *yet*." He said, before he darted ahead.

While the others dealt with the shock troops, Namor closed on Attuma, his eyes narrowed in fury, his expression mirrored by the barbarian. "Where's your Fleet, Namor?" Attuma mocked. "You've nothing to hide behind!"

Namor smirked. "You send legions to handle the handful of us and accuse *me* of cowering?" he retorted. Snarling, Attuma charged him, trying to stab Namor with his trident, but Namor leaned aside, slamming Attuma's skull with his elbow as the barbarian swam past.

Attuma recovered in seconds, and came at Namor, trying to pin him with the shaft of the trident, but Namor grabbed hold of the trident, stopping Attuma's charge. "Atlantis," Attuma roared, "is *MINE!*"

Namor's eyes narrowed. "Not while *I* live!" he declared, as he shifted his weight to one side and twisting, slamming Attuma's face with his own weapon, sending the warlord stumbling back.

Before Namor could press the advantage, a single trooper tackled into him, driving him back towards a large rock. Namor quickly recovered, and head-butted the trooper, before slamming him with a punch, knocking him out...

...but the trooper had done his job: given Attuma time to recover, and making sure Namor's back was to the rock. "The King is *dead*." Attuma sneered, raising his trident. "*Long live the King!*" And with that, he charged at Namor, who prepared to *try* to block the attack; it would be close...

Suddenly, Attuma's charge stopped dead in its tracks. Attuma's eyes went wide, as he tried to mover his weapon forward, but it would *not* budge.

"Two against one isn't exactly a fair fight, let alone eight against *dozens*. I guess fighting fair isn't in the 'Barbarian's Handbook.'"

Looking behind Attuma, Namor saw that Superman had simply grabbed hold of the other end of the trident, and was holding onto it, preventing Attuma from attacking with, apparently, no effort at all.

Attuma's eyes narrowed in pure *hate*.

"You *filthy surface-dweller!*" He roared. "You *DARE* defy me?!"

"It's what I seem to be doing, these days." Superman replied.

Attuma roared in sheer rage. "Let go of my weapon, surface-filth!"

Superman smiled.

"*Sure!*" He replied. With that, he spun Attuma around by the trident-handle, before letting go, sending him flying.

Snarling, Attuma quickly recovered, and swam at Superman, ready to strike with all his might, his expression twisted with rage...

...but his fury became surprise as Superman caught his fist effortlessly, like a parent catching the hand of a spoiled child. Superman's eyes narrowed. "I'm *through* playing nice." he said firmly.

*WHAM!*

Even in the water, Superman's punch echoed like thunder, striking Attuma in the face, sending him flying across the ocean floor, to crash *through* a large rock, landing hard amongst the rubble.

Namor frowned. "I was perfectly capable of handling him."

Superman chuckled. "Just being a good neighbor, Your Highness."

Slowly, coughing from the force of the impact, Attuma stood up, a tiny trickle of blue blood leaking from his lip into the water. "You," he snarled, pointing to Superman, "have *sealed* your fate, abomination!" Taking out a communicator, he ordered, "*Fire torpedoes!*" With that, he swam off...

...towards the three Cruisers that were looming in the distance.

In seconds, each Cruiser fired a torpedo, which lanced through the water, heading towards them; in seconds, they would hit...

"*Sue! Shield the others!*" Superman called, as his eyes started to glow red. "*The water is about to get **very, very hot!***" At once, Sue raised a barrier around everyone else but Superman.

With the others safe, Superman unleashed a 20-percent-power, wide-field blast from his eye-rays; the blast was further widened by the water refracting the beam, but that was just fine. The beam covered *everything* ahead of Superman in an endless wave of blazing red, nova-hot energy, utterly *incinerating* the torpedoes and superheating the water to near-boiling temperatures. As the beam ended, Superman unleashed several bursts of frost-breath, cooling the water to the point where it was safe.

Once the water was cool, Sue lowered the shield.

"*Whoa.*" Arthur murmured.

Namorita looked fearful.

"'*His very gaze brings fiery death...*'" She quoted.

Superman smiled.

"Blasting torpedoes is good enough for me." he joked.

"That will not stop Attuma for long." Namor said. "He will fire a *full* salvo, now. Can your eyes repel that?"

Just then, Superman heard his belt-computer beep, and smiled. "I don't *have* to." he said. With that, he took out his computer, and tapped a button; instantly, the Speeder's Teleporter-beam engulfed them all, 'porting them inside the Speeder.

Inside the Speeder, Superman immediately sat at the control chair in the cockpit, retracting his nano-suit's helmet, his hands a blur over the control console. As he worked, Reed looked around in awe.

"Amazing..." He murmured.

"Not bad." Namor said. "But can it survive combat with *three* Cruisers?"

Sue looked stricken. "What about Johnny? He's still out there! The sub is a sitting duck!"

Superman quickly ran a quick-pass diagnostic of the Speeder's systems; any deeper problems could be dealt with later – right now, he needed battle systems. '*Shields are good, and engines are running better than expected, though the port engine-pod looks a bit shaky, but I can compensate.*' he thought. **Port-side Ion-Cannon is** gone'*, but I already knew that – since I stashed it at the Fortress when King T'Challa let me take it – and starboard Ion-Cannon is fried.*'

Suddenly, the HUD of the Speeder started to beep, as the radar/sensors screen showed that the three Cruisers had fired; three full salvoes, heading right for them. The Speeders shields could take it, but the Fantasticar...

"*Uh, guys?*" came Johnny's voice over the radio. "*A little help?*"

Quickly, Superman pored over the diagnostic readout. **I've still got the Polaron Disruptor, but what I** really' *need right now are...*' "*Yes!* We still have Interceptor Drones!" he declared. Over the radio, he called, "Hang in there, Sparky! We've got your back!" Superman then entered the commands to start the engines.

At once, the Speeder effortlessly rose from the sea-bed, hovering inside the Shrine, whirring as it hovered, its engine-pods extending from its two lower sides, resembling wings, but with the propulsion units built into the length of the wings.

"Computer," Superman instructed, "enable Interceptors One through Six." At once, the targeting holographics came up in front of him. He pointed to a target-point, ahead of the Fantasticar. "Wide spread, maximum field-radius." he added, before tapping the holographic 'Fire' command.

Instantly, two additional pods extended out from the Speeder's wings – the weapon-pods – before firing six glowing-white crystalline orbs, which lanced through the water, to stop in front of the Fantasticar. In seconds, their glow doubled in luminosity, as each of the Drones raised blue-white energy barriers, which combined to form a solid, semi-translucent *wall*.

The torpedoes impacted the wall, exploding harmlessly, not even so much as *scratching* the barrier. Superman smiled to himself; under heavier weapons-fire – like the laser-cannons of a Kree warship – an Interceptor Drone could withstand, at most, one or two hits before its barrier failed and it was destroyed, but he'd known that the little nano-assembled automatons could handle a simple, chemical-based concussive blast or two without any problems.

"*Whew! Thanks, Supes!*" Johnny called over the radio. "*Got any more tricks up your sleeve?*"

Superman chuckled.

"I think so." He replied. Quickly, he took out his belt-computer and plugged it into the control console, uploading the file he had on the scan that the Fortress had done previously of the Atlantean Cruisers that had tried to attack the Fortress into the Speeder's tactical systems.

In seconds, the HUD now showed computer-enhanced screens of the Cruisers. "*Three Class-D shooter vessels. Armaments include low-power beam weaponry and concussive shells.*" Three red dots appeared on the Cruisers' dorsal hull. "*Three power-generators running in parallel detected; simultaneous strikes will cause overload. Shielding not detected; hull plating 100 percent vulnerable to Polaron Disruptor.*"

Superman looked to Namor. "I don't suppose you'd mind us teaching Attuma a little lesson, Your Highness?"

Namor nodded. "Attuma may be Atlantean, but he is *not* one of my people. Do as you see fit."

"Computer, activate targeting grids." Superman ordered; instantly, a targeting grid appeared over the images of the Cruisers. "Recall Interceptors and arm Polaron Disruptor." At once, the six Interceptors retracted their barriers and zipped back into the Speeder, as the weapon-pods started to spark with blue-white electricity.

Superman touched the grid, setting a green targeting reticule on the lead Cruiser, before tapping a symbol to the side of the grid, before touching the images of the other two ships, setting red reticules on them. "Set Primary and Secondary Targets. Key Disruptor to single-shot pulse, 15 percent charge, 50 percent impact dispersion-radius." he instructed. Seconds later, the 'Fire' command appeared on the screen, indicating the Disruptor was ready. Superman tapped it.

Instantly, the weapon-pod fired a three-pronged cluster-blast of blue-white energy, which lanced through the water, spiraling towards its target, slowly condensing into a single blast...seconds before it hit.

The Disruptor-blast exploded in a starburst of blue-white electricity, erupting with terrible force, and latching onto the lead Cruiser's hull like a ravenous starfish, curling deadly electrostatic tendrils around the ship, wreaking pure, unadulterated *havoc* with every single one of its systems. Then, tendrils leaped from the lead Cruiser onto the other two, caught in its blast-radius, spreading the destruction to the other two Cruisers.

After a minute, the blast died down, but the damage was done; every single light on the Cruisers went dark, as every system went *dead*; the power-generators stopped, the radar went blind, the engines choked and gasped to a stop, the weapons systems froze, and the communications system went *mute*. Slowly, the three ships, utterly powerless, floated down towards the sea bed, coming to a stop...where they stayed, completely helpless.

Arthur whistled. "Now *that's* a *weapon.*"

"The Polaron Disruptor." Superman explained. "Even on its lowest settings, its blast can utterly *devastate* the electronics of an unshielded foe. Even *with* shields, getting hit by a Disruptor-blast is *not* fun."

"*Ouch.*" Ben murmured, looking to the crippled Cruisers.

Superman then happened to glance to Namor; the Atlantean King's facial expression was unchanged, but his eyes said *exactly* what was on his mind.

'*None of our weapons could even **dent** his Fortress...and a single shot sunk **three** of our ships.*'

Namor met Superman's gaze. "We have much to discuss."

"I agree." Superman replied, as he started to enter the commands to ascend. "I suggest we head to the Fortress, to clear everything up."

"Very well." Namor agreed.

Reed grinned. "Fine with me!"

Superman chuckled. "I figured it would be."

Ben laughed.

"Hey, Matchstick!" He called over the radio. "We're headin' to Supes' place, so follow us!"

"*Got it.*" came Johnny's reply. With that, the Speeder and the Fantasticar started to rise towards the surface, leaving the crippled Atlantean Cruisers behind. Soon, they had breached the surface, hovering above the water. Superman then took the holographic controls, and plotted a course, before accelerating; the Speeder responded in less than an instant, picking up *mind-boggling* speed, searing through the sky towards the Fortress. Superman quickly slowed the Speeder down to a velocity that Johnny could follow.

Ben chuckled. "Peppy little thing, ain't she?" he joked. Superman could only chuckle, as he flew the Speeder towards the Fortress, followed by the Fantasticar.

He wondered how Ali and the others were doing.

Upon the bridge of his ruined Cruiser, Attuma roared in sheer *fury*, unleashing venomous curses in Atlantean.

'*How could this have happened?!*' He mentally fumed. *Finally*, he'd had the upper hand against Namor...only to have that unnatural surface-dweller interfere!

"Did you see?" One bridge-officer murmured. "That stranger...his *eyes!*"

"I *know!* And his *breath..!* There's no mistaking it!"

"Captain!" Attuma barked. "How long until this ship and the others are operable?!"

The Captain looked stricken. "I'm...I'm sorry, my Lord, but the blast from that ship completely destroyed our systems; repair is *impossible*, Lord Attuma! Our only option is to abandon ship; we can't do anything else!"

Attuma snarled to himself. It had taken *months* to acquire these vessels...and now they were no more than *paperweights*. "You abominable surface-filth! *I'll have your HEAD!*" he roared aloud.

It would take time, Attuma knew – time to gather his forces, acquire more ships – but he would do it. And once he did, he would track that surface-trash to his home – likely the crystal object in the Pole – and *kill* him.

Attuma smirked. '*And with his technology at my disposal, Atlantis will be mine **overnight***' he thought. '*Enjoy your triumph, today, filth, because I'm **coming** for you.*' His next thoughts were muttered aloud.

"So help me *Neptune*, filth, your days are *numbered.*"

By the time Dr. Patronete returned to camp, with all his sensors set up, it was just about nighttime. As he drew near the site, he could hear his hired help partying; the air was filled with raucous laughter, radio music, and gunshots.

"What on *Earth* are you *doing?!*" Lewis shouted. "All this racket will scare the Sasquatch away!"

"Ya don't got to worry about *that*, Doc!" One hunter declared. "We've already bagged us a Bigfoot!"

Lewis' eyes widened in surprise.

"*What?*" He exclaimed. "Show me!" With that, the hunter promptly led him to another part of the camp.

The hunter led Lewis into a tent, before heading back out. The only thing occupying the tent was a large steel cage...and inside it was a large, blue-furred, simian-like creature.

Lewis couldn't believe it.

"My God..." He murmured. "All my life, I've worked and searched...and now, you're *here*..." He managed to smile. "I didn't think you'd be *blue*, though!"

The Sasquatch glared at him, its eyes narrowing. "I hope you're satisfied."

Lewis let out a yelp of surprise, leaping back.

"You can...you can...*talk?*" Lewis exclaimed.

The Sasquatch arched an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Lewis managed to recompose himself. "I...I'm sorry...I just...never expected you to be capable of speech."

"Well, then I should be an even *more* valuable prize, shouldn't I?" The Sasquatch said bitterly.

Lewis arched an eyebrow quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"Drop the pretense, 'Doctor.' It's perfectly *obvious* that you plan to sell me to a zoo."

Lewis' eyes widened in horror.

"Oh, no, no, no!" He exclaimed. "All I intended was to find conclusive *proof* that you existed, so that this habitat and others like it could be *preserved* as sanctuaries for your kind!" His expression turned sad. "I never wanted this at *all*."

The Sasquatch's expression softened.

"I believe you." He replied. "But, whether you intended it or not, that's what's going to happen."

Lewis' expression became firm. "Not if *I* can help it." With that, he headed out of the tent.

Storming out of the tent, Lewis confronted the leader of the hunters.

"Is what I hear *true?*" He demanded. "Do you mean to sell the Sasquatch to a *zoo?!*"

The hunter grinned.

"Sure do, Doc." He replied. "We figure he'll fetch a pretty penny at the New York Zoo!"

Lewis' eyes narrowed.

"That is *not* what I hired you all to do!" He shouted. "Release the Sasquatch immediately, or you're all *fired!*"

The hunter frowned, and simply cocked his shotgun.

"In case you ain't noticed, Doc, there's a lot more of *us* than there is of *you*." He said, as the other nine hunters walked over, surrounding him. "Way I figure, *we're* in charge, now, and *we* say Bigfoot's gonna be a star attraction, like it or not. You can tag along, or..." He didn't finish.

Lewis could only lower his head, as the hunters headed off, to get ready to leave with their prize.

'*This is all my fault.*' He thought. The Sasquatch was going to be paraded around like a carnival attraction...

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

The sun was just starting to set as the hunters started to load Hank's cage onto one of their trucks. Hank could only sigh sadly. '*I suppose it's sadly fitting for a beast-man to be sent to a zoo...*'

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the trees, causing all the hunters to turn, aiming their weapons at the underbrush.

"What was that?!" One yelped.

*RRRRRRAAAAAWWWWWRRRRR!*

That massive, inhuman roar caused the hunters to all jump in fright, seconds before a reddish-furred wolf leapt from the underbrush, pouncing at one hunter, tackling him to the ground and pulling his rifle away. The other hunters started to take aim...

...but they froze in utter *horror* as the wolf started to *change*, growing larger, its hind legs growing, lengthening, its front legs straightening, its paws becoming *hands*; in seconds, the wolf had become a half-wolf...*thing!*

Snarling at the hunters, Wolfsbane grabbed the hunter and tossed him at his cohorts, knocking several down. The others tried to take aim, but the ground suddenly started to shake, knocking half of them on their rears.

As the first hunter started to get up, a pair of hands reached up *through* the ground, and pulled him down into the earth, screaming, up to his neck. A second hunter went for his gun, but dozens of identical-looking pairs of hands grabbed him from the brush, and yanked him in, as a scuffle sounded from the brush, before the hunter was tossed back out, unconscious.

As Wolfsbane slashed one hunter, before kicking him away, three more started to take aim...but a frigid blast of air shot in at them from the brush, freezing their weapons solid, before a blast of electricity shocked them into submission.

The remaining hunters started to back away, scared, as a totally black humanoid creature, surrounded by flame, stepped into view. Sunspot simply picked up one of their trucks, and threw it onto another, smashing them into scrap; now, the only vehicle left was the one with Mr. McCoy.

The hunters tried to run, but they were intercepted by a girl seemingly made of living *fire*, who created a wall of flame, blocking their path. The turned another way, but another girl blocked them, sending waves of sparks flying at them.

Frantic, the hunters tried to flee into the forest...but they stopped, frozen in fear, as a being – seemingly a young woman – made of pure *light* stood in front of them. The light-creature simply raised her hand, and shot a light beam from her fingertip...

...which missed them entirely.

At first, the hunters breathed a relieved sigh...until they heard the feral snarl as Hank leapt out of his cage, the lock melted by Dazzler's light-beam. The hunters tried to flee, but Dazzler had created a hard-light barrier to block their path, letting Hank get a little justice. With one mighty, sweeping-fist strike, Hank sent the hunters *flying*, to land hard, out cold.

The sound of a shotgun clearing made Hank turn, to spy the lead hunter, battered and bruised, aiming at him.

"I didn't came all this way for *nothin'*." He snarled. "Get back in the cage, freak, or I'll..!"

*CRACK!*

The hunter was cut off as a shotgun-handle cracked him in the side of the head, and he went down, revealing Dr. Patronete behind him, holding the weapon like a club.

"Sir." He said to the fallen hunter, "You're *fired!*"

As he put down the weapon, Dr. Patronete looked to Hank and the others, all of which who had come into view. He sighed sadly. "I'm so sorry that this happened."

Hank lightly smiled. "I know."

Dr. Patronete smiled regretfully. "You're *not* Sasquatch, are you?"

Hank shook his head.

"Well...what exactly...*are* all of you?" Dr. Patronete inquired.

Hank smiled. "I'm sorry, Doctor, but you're not ready for that."

Dr. Patronete chuckled.

"No, I suppose not." He agreed. He turned to go. "I'll alert the authorities to come and pick up my ex-employees; I'd advise you to be elsewhere when they arrive."

Kitty smiled. "No need to tell *us* twice!"

Dr. Patronete smiled. "I do hope that, one day, I can understand *exactly* what happened, here." With that, he hurried off.

Hank sighed. "As do we, Doctor. As do we." With that, Hank and the others started to load the fallen hunters into the cage, before the park authorities arrived.

It only took the Speeder a few minutes to reach the Fortress.

Upon reaching his sanctuary, Superman guided the Speeder into the Fortress' vehicle bay, setting it down and powering down the engines, the engine-pods retracting back into the ship. As the Fantasticar touched down next to the Speeder, and Johnny exited the vehicle, Superman 'ported himself and the others outside. Smiling, he said, "Welcome to the Fortress of Solitude."

Sue looked around, marveling at the white-crystal walls, with traces of golden quantum circuitry within them. "*My God...*"

Reed smiled, choking back a tear. "This...this must be what Heaven looks like..."

"It's...*breathtaking*..." Namorita murmured. She looked to Namor. "Cousin, *how* could you have *wanted* to destroy such a place?"

Superman chuckled.

"Fortress." He instructed aloud, "Commence download of Speeder's flight-log."

"*Acknowledged.*"

Reed looked up at that reply. "This place...this is all one gigantic computer, isn't it?"

Superman smiled. "That and *so* much more." he said. "The Fortress houses the entire knowledge-base of Krypton and all the worlds it had contact with before its destruction."

"So then what Namorita said is true." Namor said. "You're not of this planet, are you?"

Superman shook his head. "I am Kal-El, son of Jor-El and Lara, and I am the sole survivor of the planet Krypton." he said.

Namor slowly nodded. "I suppose that explains a few things."

Superman chuckled. "I guess so." he said. "Please, come with me." With that, he led his guests deeper into the Fortress.

As they walked, both Reed and Sue bombarded Superman with questions. "What kind of processing power does the Fortress have?"

"How many worlds was Krypton in contact with?"

"Is it possible for the Fortress to interface with our computers, or does it use an entirely different programming language?"

Johnny laughed. "You *sure* bringing Sis and Reed here was a good idea, Supes?"

Namor frowned. "I trust that the matter at hand will be resolved." he said.

"*Sheesh*, Namor, give the guy a *break*, will you?" Arthur said. "He *did* save your neck, a few minutes ago!"

"No, it's okay, Arthur." Superman replied. "We need to get this straightened out as soon as possible."

By then, they were in an incredibly vast chamber, where the main door to the Fortress was located; this was the Fortress' central hub. At the moment, they were standing upon a large, white circular disc. "Fortress," Superman instructed, "Command Center." Instantly, the disc started to glow blue, as a wide blue beam engulfed them, teleporting them away.

The beam deposited them in another chamber; this chamber had numerous computer consoles, each lined with multicolored crystals, with screens showing near-indecipherable holographics – in the Kryptonian language. There were also several shielded windows looking out over the polar snows; this chamber was situated near the very top of the Fortress.

"This is the Fortress' Command Center." Superman explained. "From here, I can monitor activity all over the globe. I can also operate every single one of the Fortress' systems, and view any data-file in its Archives."

Ben whistled. "Nice place."

Namor arched an eyebrow. "You can operate any of its systems...including battle systems?" he inquired warily.

"The defense network can be operated from here." Superman said.

"And what kind of armaments does it have?"

Namorita frowned. "Namor..."

"It's a fair question." Namor said.

Superman sighed. "Suffice it to say that I don't see Doom forcing his way in here, anytime soon."

"Impressive." Namor admitted. "How was it constructed?"

"The nano-crystal I used to build it consisted of trillions of nano-bots." Superman explained. "They were pre-programmed to automatically begin construction once they were triggered. Once I activated the crystal, they started to assemble into the Fortress, taking in excess carbon dioxide from the air and converting it into material that they used to reinforce the Fortress' structure."

Namor arched an eyebrow. "Transmutation?"

"A more accurate description, Your Highness, would be 'Atomic Restructuring,' but that's the idea."

"*Most* impressive." Namor said. His expression hardened. "It is that very reason, however, that I fear for Atlantis' safety with your presence."

Superman nodded. Walking over to a console, he simply picked up a crystal-processor, and walked back. "This, Your Highness, is a crystal-processor; it's every bit as powerful as a supercomputer, likely *more*." he said. He simply touched it with his fingertip; instantly, its holographic interface appeared around the crystal. Superman touched it again, and the holographics vanished. "You try, Your Highness."

Arching an eyebrow, Namor reached out and touched the crystal...and frowned as nothing happened. "I fear it is defective."

Superman shook his head. "No, Your Highness; Kryptonian technology is *encoded* so that only those with Kryptonian DNA can use it." he replied. "I think that should put *some* of your worries at ease; even if one of your enemies *did* break in here, the Fortress would be *useless* to them."

"Clever." Namor admitted. "Still, that does not address the fact that its presence could entice our enemies to attack us out of fear."

"*Or* it could *deter* them." Reed interjected. "*That's* just as likely, Namor; if it ever gets out that a stronghold with alien technology of incredible power is on Atlantean soil, your enemies will *definitely* think twice about attacking you."

Sue smiled. "And I'm *sure* that Superman would aid you if you were attacked."

Superman nodded. "What are neighbors for?"

"Perhaps." Namor said. "Still, it might be beneficial if you were to agree to an exchange of knowledge, so that Atlantis might be better prepared to defend itself."

Superman shook his head. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, but I can't do that."

Namor frowned, an eyebrow arched. "And why not?"

"Two main reasons." Superman replied. "For one, many of the defensive technologies the Fortress possesses utilize concepts and technologies that no-one on Earth has thought of yet; it would be like giving the schematics for a combustion engine to a society that hasn't discovered metal-working, yet – you just wouldn't be able to make use of it."

"I suppose that makes sense." Namor admitted. "And what of the other?"

Superman looked grave. "That reason is even *more* important." he said softly. "It is one of Krypton's *highest* laws: to *never* directly interfere in the natural development of another society – to do so is *strictly* forbidden."

Namor frowned. "Your people did not wish for the balance of power to be upset."

"Namor." Sue said, frowning.

Superman shook his head. "Many hundreds of thousands of years ago, when my people were just entering their technological revolution, they encountered a race whose planet had been decimated by a comet; their infrastructure and resources were *severely* depleted. Millions were going to die." he said. "My people decided to help them by giving them a single modified EPM, to help them get back on their feet; properly maintained, it could provide them with *more* than enough energy to rebuild." He lowered his gaze. "A week later, a Kryptonian scout-ship reported that it had been destroyed."

Reed blinked. "The EPM?"

"No." Superman whispered. "The *planet.*" He took a deep breath. "The different factions of this race started fighting over my people's gift, and they just...destroyed each other."

No-one spoke at that.

"Kal." Sue said finally, "Your people *couldn't* have foreseen what would have happened..."

"And that is *precisely* the point, Sue." Superman said. "Interfering with another race had disastrous consequences that we could not have foreseen. From then on, the Council of Twelve decreed that *no* Kryptonian was to directly interfere in another race's development in *any* way, lest such a tragedy happen again."

Namor arched an eyebrow. "But aren't *you* 'interfering'?"

Superman chuckled. "I'm only providing an example, Your Highness. It's up to humanity to follow it."

No-one spoke at that.

"So." Johnny piped up, "exactly what happened with that ship of yours? How did it get here?"

Smiling, Superman moved to a console, tapping a few holographic keys, bringing up the data from the Speeder's computer.

"Hmm...it looks like the Speeder *was* shot down." He said. "The data's pretty corrupted, but it looks like the Speeder wandered into a battle between the Kree and the Skrulls."

Sue frowned. "Don't they sound nice."

Superman nodded. "As much as the Kree and the Skrulls hated each other, they hated *my* people even *more*, since they refused to get involved in their war *and* repelled their invasion forces when neither side wanted to take 'no' for an answer. Seeing a Kryptonian ship was the only thing that could make them stop fighting long enough to gang up on it." He tapped a few more keys. "My people's technology might have been more advanced, but the Speeder wasn't built to take repeated laser-blasts from *fifty* Heavy Cruisers."

Ben frowned. "Nice guys."

Tapping a few more keys, Superman brought up the rest of the data. "Let's see...it looks like the pilot's name was...Kon-Lir!" he said. Sighing, he added, "But that's it; the rest of the data is too corrupted."

"Well, would the Fortress' database have anything on him?" Reed inquired.

Superman smiled.

"It just *might!*" He exclaimed. "Fortress: search Krypton's historical database under keywords 'Kon-Lir' and 'Earth'."

"*Searching...files found.*"

Instantly, the screen displayed the search results.

"500 years ago, Kon-Lir was on a survey mission to this galaxy." Superman said. "This report says that he was marooned on Earth for eighty Earth years – he was assumed dead until a rescue ship found him." He scanned through the file. "It goes on to say that he was reprimanded for breaking the Supreme Law – the one that says to never interfere with other races."

"So he interfered with human development?" Johnny asked. "It doesn't *look* like humanity's been interfered with; no super-advanced technology, no crystal houses...*zip.*"

"There's more than one way to interfere, Johnny." Superman said. "Fortress: bring up telemetry data from Speeder and superimpose on Earth-map."

Instantly, the screen showed the Atlantic Ocean, fairly close to England. "Okay...Kon-Lir probably stayed in England, since he would try to recover his ship, though he had no way of knowing *exactly* where it fell, and he likely didn't want to risk being found out." Superman reasoned. "Based on historical records, there doesn't appear to be any indication of Kryptonian ideologies suddenly popping up, and there *definitely* isn't any sign of Kryptonian tech..."

And then, it *hit* him.

"Kon-Lir *was* marooned." He said softly. "There was no way to repair his ship; no way to get home. Slowly, he began to adjust to life on Earth."

"So...how does that make him interfere?" Arthur asked.

"Simple." Superman said. "He fell in love."

No-one spoke for a full *minute* at that revelation.

"*Whoa.*" Arthur murmured. "You mean...there might be people with *alien* DNA walking around?"

Superman nodded.

"It's definitely possible." He said. He lowered his eyes. "One of my people, though unintentionally and with no ill will, interfered with human development."

Reed smiled. "Well, humanity – mostly – turned out okay, so I guess it worked out for the best."

Sue smiled.

"Does your database have anything on Earth? Had Krypton ever sent any other scouting missions to Earth?" She inquired.

"A few." Superman replied. "The most recent one was about forty years ago, ten years before Krypton was destroyed. Earth was considered a Class One planet, under D-Level Observation, due for re-evaluation of Contact-Decision forty years after that mission – had Krypton survived, the Council of Twelve would be voting on whether or not to make contact with Earth, about now."

"Well, if that ain't a darn shame, I don't know *what* is." Ben said.

Superman smiled.

"I might not be the *last*, after all." He said softly. He turned to the others. "Thank you, *all* of you, for giving me back a piece of my world."

"No problem, Supes." Ben said.

Arthur nodded. "Glad to be of help, Smallville."

Namorita then lightly nudged Namor with her elbow. Namor sighed. "I *suppose* that, at least for the time being, I can *tolerate* your presence here."

Arthur chuckled.

"That's just Namor's way of saying thanks for saving his neck." He said. "You take care now, Smallville."

Superman smiled. "You, too, Arty."

Johnny chuckled.

"Hey, Supes." He said, "I know you said that Kryptonian tech couldn't be used by humans...but isn't there *some* way that, once you get that Speeder fixed up, you could tweak it so that...oh, I don't know...maybe...*I* could drive it?"

Superman's eyes widened in utter horror at the thought of Johnny behind the Speeder's controls, his expression mirrored by everyone else. His eyes narrowed firmly, as his reply made his sentiment clear.

"*Hell. No.*"

Johnny snapped his fingers. "Darn."

Ben chuckled. "Nice try, Matchstick."

"We'd better go, before my brother gets any *more* ideas." Sue chuckled.

Reed looked stricken. "Do we *have* to?"

"We can't stick around forever, Stretch." Ben said.

Superman nodded.

"The Fortress will automatically let you out when you enter the Fantasticar." He said.

"We'll just catch a lift with Reed and the others." Arthur said.

Namorita nodded. "It was nice meeting you!"

Namor simply gave a curt nod, before he and his cousins followed the Fantastic Four to the teleporter that had taken them here; after Superman entered the commands on the console, the teleporter automatically 'ported them to the vehicle bay, where they got in their vehicle, and headed out. After running a full scan on the Speeder, Superman decided to head back to the campsite. He stepped on the teleporter, and 'ported back to the main hall, where he exited the Fortress, taking to the sky and flying back towards the park.

He hoped everything was okay.

Night soon fell after they had returned to their campsite, after rescuing their beloved teacher. After a celebratory campfire and hot-dog roast, everyone had turned in for the night...except Alison.

Alison cringed in her sleeping bag, enduring another horrible headache, with even the crickets' chirping amplified to deafening levels. Thankfully, after a few agonizing minutes, the headache died away...but Alison was wide awake.

Sighing to herself, Alison sat up.

'*Maybe a little swim will calm my nerves.*' She thought. After quickly changing into her bathing suit, Alison left her tent, heading for the pond.

The moon was out, tonight, in full, bathing the forest in silver light, making the water gleam. Alison sighed to herself. '*If Clarkie were here, this would be **perfect.***' she thought. She wondered how her sweetie was doing; hopefully, his mission to retrieve the lost Speeder had been a success...

Suddenly, the sound of feet touching down sounded behind her, seconds before a pair of strong, wonderfully warm arms embraced her from behind. "Hi, *taushi.*"

Alison smiled happily, before turning around and hugging Clark, still in uniform.

"Hi, *tausha.*" She cooed. "You will not *believe* what happened while you were gone!"

Superman grinned.

"Baby, I don't think *you'll* believe what happened, either!" He exclaimed. Giggling, Alison took her boyfriend's hand in hers, and led him towards the pond.

For the next hour, the two sat next to each other upon the beach, telling each other what had happened in each other's absence. When both tales were told, Superman smiled.

"Ali, I am *very* proud of you, *and* of the New Mutants." He said.

"Thanks!" Alison replied, beaming. "Maybe I *can* help with crime-fighting, in the future!" Smiling, she added, "And *I'm* proud of *you!* You defused an international incident, recovered the lost Speeder, *and* saved the ruler of the lost city of *Atlantis!*" Her expression became a bit rosy.

"Is there *anything* you can't do?" She cooed.

Chuckling, Superman replied, "Well, I seem to have trouble finding a few moments to have my *taushi* all to myself." His smile grew. "The Speeder's logs show that there was a Kryptonian marooned on Earth, Ali, and he had children; children whose descendants may still be around! I might not be alone!"

Alison smiled. "That's a nice thought." she said. "So, what will you do with that Speeder?"

"Well, I'll probably get it back into tip-top shape, as well as make some modifications to it." Superman replied. "Jor-El had previously developed new shielding technology and new weaponry before Krypton was destroyed; luckily, he always took detailed notes – it should be fairly easy to adapt them for the Speeder. Plus, I think I'll try to install a Trans-Warp Drive in the Speeder; it should be able to handle it, and once I move the *Krypton* to the Fortress, I can use its Drive as a template, which, combined with Jor-El's notes, should make it fairly simple."

"Cool!" Alison said. "What'll you call your new ship?"

Superman thought for a moment. "I think I'll call it...the *Argo*."

Alison blinked. "'The *Argo*?'"

"Argo was Krypton's sister-planet." Superman explained. "Initially, it was a colony of Krypton, which quickly grew in population until it was just as populated as Krypton."

Alison's eyes widened. "Clark...could any of your people have survived on Argo?"

Superman closed his eyes, shaking his head.

"Argo was decimated *before* Krypton was lost." He said softly. "Millennia ago, another race used Argo as a staging area, trying to invade the Xerius Galaxy; my people developed a weapon to combat them."

He took a deep breath.

"It was called the Eradicator." He continued. "It was a Kryptonian weapon of mass destruction. It did *exactly* what its name implied it did; the Eradicator sent out an electromagnetic wave that altered the brain activity of the race it was keyed to attack – within days, the Eradicator drove every *member* of the invading race utterly and horribly *insane*. Within a week, they had killed each other."

"When my people tried to retrieve the Eradicator, they found that it had an unexpected flaw; it could automatically adjust itself to attack a *new* race after the previous one was gone; it nearly drove the retrieval party *mad*." Superman finished. "My people had to use a robotic drone to go in and deactivate the Eradicator, before burying it *deep* below the surface of Argo." His eyes clenched shut. "In the months before the Krypton-Shi'ar War, the Eradicator *somehow* was reactivated. By the time my people realized what was going on, it was too late; every Kryptonian on Argo was dead." He took a deep breath. "When I learned about the Argo Tragedy in the Fortress, I also learned that my Aunt, Uncle, and teenage cousin were on Argo when the Eradicator went off." he said. "My Uncle's name was Lin-El, my Aunt was Zira...and my cousin was named Kara; Kara Zor-El. She was only about fifteen...and the Eradicator drove them all *insane.*"

Gently, Alison took her beloved's hand, her eyes filled with sympathy. "I'm so sorry, baby."

Superman smiled.

"Thanks, Ali." He replied. His smile became a bit sly, which made color surge to Alison's face. "I believe I owe you a rain check for earlier today."

Alison giggled, closing her eyes as her beau leaned closer to her, before she opened them again, placing a fingertip on Superman's lips, halting his advances; she wanted to say this before her heart took over her mind. Superman just stared at her, his eyes wide, worried if he'd upset her...and looking so goofily *adorable* that Alison couldn't *help* but give him a sweet peck on the lips. "Clarkie, wait." she cooed. "As much as I would absolutely *love* to fool around a bit, we should talk, first."

Superman smiled, nodding. "Of course, *taushi*."

Alison smiled lovingly.

"Clarkie, I *want* you." She cooed. "I love you with all my heart and soul, and I want my first time to be with *you*." She giggled. "I'm pretty sure I gave you that impression, earlier today."

Superman chuckled. "And *how*."

Alison smiled. "In spite of that," she continued, "I'm still not quite ready to go that far." She chuckled. "Maybe it was a *good* thing that you got called away before things went too far. I mean, I will *never* regret sharing myself with you, Clarkie – *ever* – it's just that...I want the moment to be *right* when we make love." She met his gaze. "Am I making *any* sense?"

Superman smiled, and gave her a tender, loving kiss.

"You don't have to explain, *taushi*." He said. "I understand *completely*; you're *more* than worth waiting for. I *love* you, Alison; as long as you're happy, *I'm* happy."

Alison smiled happily, before kissing him again.

"You are the most wonderful man *alive*." She cooed. With that, she stood up, her smile turning coy. "Even though we're not going to do *that*, we *can* do...other things." She walked towards the pond, before looking over her shoulder. "Care to go for a swim?"

Superman grinned. "As if you even need to ask." he quipped. In seconds, he'd shed his belt and uniform-top, before wading into the water after Alison.

Once they were both out in the deep water, Alison swam across from Clark, giggling, before diving under the surface...seconds before she popped back up and hopped onto his back, playfully trying to pull him under. Laughing, Clark let her win that little battle, going under, where he pulled Alison into his arms and kissed her for a couple of wonderfully long minutes, before they popped back up above water.

Alison smiled, her hair prettily slicked back against her head, as the rest floated about her in the water. "*Wow...*"

Clark smiled. "I'll say."

Alison giggled, as she pressed her finger to the side of her nose. "I could have done without the water up my nose, though."

Clark grinned slyly.

"Well, now it's *my* turn." He said, before he ducked under the surface.

Seconds later, Alison burst into uncontrolled laughter as she felt her boyfriend tickling the bottoms of her feet. "*Clark! Nononononononononono!*" she squealed, as Clark's merciless tickling assault rendered her completely powerless. Then, as Clark's tickling ceased, Alison could only sigh in bliss as she felt his hands gently glide up her legs, before resting around her waist, as Clark reappeared above the surface, snaring her lips in a powerful kiss, one which Alison reciprocated with every fiber of her being. As the kiss ended, their eyes met, Clark's eyes wordlessly asking her a question. Slowly, Alison closed her eyes, answering him.

'*Oh, God, **yes.***'

Slowly, tenderly, Clark grasped the zipper of Alison's swimsuit-top, and unzipped it, slowly revealing the creamy skin of her curves, until the zipper was undone. Lovingly, Clark slipped the fabric from her shoulders, before tossing it to the beach, with the rest of his uniform.

It was as if a radiant flower had just opened its petals.

Alison's bare breasts were utterly *exquisite*, perfectly round, firm yet supple, moving perfectly with every breath she took, and tipped with pink. Alison's eyes remained closed as Clark kissed her again, his hands lovingly cupping her curves, slowly caressing them, marveling at how soft she was to his touch, and savoring her slow moans of pleasure.

Alison was in *paradise.* She could not remember how many times she had dreamed of her Clarkie touching her this way...and now, she knew that the reality was *so* much better than the fantasy. She reciprocated the kiss with every ounce of love she had in her now-ecstatic heart, savoring every time her *tausha* gave a loving squeeze, every time his wonderfully skilled fingers glided across her nipples.

After what seemed like an eternity of bliss, Clark pulled his *taushi* close to him, in the most amazing, most perfect hug he'd *ever* had, smiling as he heard her lightly gasp. "I love you." he whispered to her, before kissing the side of her throat.

Alison smiled blissfully, savoring her beloved's kiss.

"I love you, too." She cooed, her voice breathy, as she whispered into her lover's ear, her breath tickling him. Soon, his lips found their way to hers, and they shared the most passionate kiss they had *ever* shared.

After a few more wonderful minutes, they ended the kiss, gazing into each other's eyes. "Clark...that was *wonderful.*" Alison whispered, her eyes sparkling happily.

Clark smiled back. "No words could ever describe how much I love you, *taushi*."

Alison giggled. "*Those* words seem to get the message across!" Her smile turned shy.

"Clark...tonight...could I sleep with you?" She blushed. "It's just that, after this, I don't think I can stand to be away from you, tonight." She giggled. "Or ever *again*, for that matter!"

Clark chuckled.

"For tonight, I would *love* to." He replied. "But, as for all *other* nights, I don't think Professor Xavier would approve."

Alison smiled.

"Fair enough!" She chimed. Clark smiled, and reluctantly released his exquisitely beautiful girlfriend from his arms, as they headed back to shore. As they walked onto the beach, Alison picked up the pile of clothes, before pressing them to her chest, to hide her beauty from any prying eyes. Smiling, Clark lifted her into his arms, gently wrapping his cape around her, before carrying her to his tent. Once he reached the tent, Clark set Alison down, before silently opening the tent and taking out his sleeping bag, without waking Hank; having a half-naked Alison in his sleeping bag would have been difficult to explain. After setting it down, Clark very gently exhaled over Alison, drying her off, and then he unzipped the sleeping bag, and got in, before Alison followed him, wreathing her arms around his neck, nuzzling into the crook of his neck, as Clark embraced her, savoring the touch of this beautiful, special young woman that he loved more than life itself. As his *taushi* fell asleep, Clark was content to simply watch the stars, and listen to her breathing, before joining her in dreamland.

It was a few hours before sunrise by the time Kitty woke up. After dressing, she got out of her tent, and headed to the kitchen tent, where she found Clark, Ali, and Hank starting to pack things away.

"Hey, Clark!" Kitty greeted. "When did you get back?"

"Late last night." Clark replied, before smiling at Alison.

Alison smiled back. "Yesterday was certainly...eventful, for the *both* of us."

Kitty slowly started to smile. When Hank was out of earshot, she asked, "What's going on?"

Clark and Alison just smiled at each other knowingly.

"Oh, nothing." Alison said. "Clarkie and I just...had a nice time cuddling, before we turned in."

Kitty's smile grew, but she didn't press her friends, any more. She didn't have to; their smiles told it all.

Before too long, everyone else had woken up, and they were soon packed and hiking towards the clearing where they would meet Logan and the Blackbird. As they hiked, the had all gotten caught up.

"You mean you *found* that spaceship that crashed on Earth, Clark?" Jamie exclaimed. "That's so *cool!*"

Clark smiled. "Thanks, Jamie." he replied. "I just need to fix it up, and it'll be good as new." He then quickly added, "And before you ask, *no*, you guys can't drive it."

Bobby snapped his fingers. "Darn."

"But *I* heard that you guys all saved Mr. McCoy!" Clark exclaimed.

Hank smiled. "That they did."

Clark smiled. "I am *very* proud of all of you." he said.

"The *coolest* part was when Rahne let out that roar!" Jamie exclaimed. "It scared 'em *silly!*"

Rahne froze. "Jamie...I dinnae make any roar."

"Huh?" Bobby asked.

"Rahne...you *had* to; we all heard it!" Jubilee exclaimed.

"No, you *couldn't* have!" Roberto said. "I was with Rahne just before she attacked! It wasn't her! We thought one of *you* did it!"

"It wasn't any of us!" Ray exclaimed. "Who did it?"

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"You know, we don't want to keep Logan waiting." Kitty said quickly.

"Yeah." Lance quickly agreed. "We should get a move on." With that, they all hurried to the clearing, where the Blackbird was waiting. After they all quickly got on board, the Blackbird took to the sky, flying off towards home.

Had it lingered a few moments more, one of its passengers might have spotted an immensely tall, thickly-brown-furred being, standing on two powerful legs, looking up at the Blackbird as it flew off. When it was gone, the being absently scratched its side, before it lumbered back into its forest home.