Interactions

The Fortress of Solitude blinked to life as Harry returned and sat himself down upon a block of ice. There were certain things that he knew that he needed to do.

"The training should not take too long since you already know a fair bit about your powers work," Lara explained to him as her hologram turned her head around to face him, a smile crossing her face. "If you went into this blind without some grounding in your powers, it could take anywhere from eight to twelve years inside this Fortress."

Kara whistled and she was not the only one who did so. She leaned against Harry as the two sat down next to each other and Harry threw his arm around the blonde as she rocked in place a little bit, the blonde crossing her legs.

"Thankfully you've been able to access some of your powers and have fine-tuned most of them,"As Alura continued the explanation to them on Lara's behalf. "Flight was one power that could potentially have been hard for you to learn, but as it is representative of the freedom that you longed for, it came to you quite quickly if I'm not mistaken?"

"No, you're not," Harry agreed with her as he faced the holograms firmly, and did not even blink.

Kara could feel the intensity that was rolling off of Harry; she'd be lying if it was not a tiny bit intimidating. It caused a shudder to flow through her body and the blonde picked up on a few more stray thoughts. She practiced her powers only a tiny bit, enough to do some crowd control out there but in a fight, there were certain things that she had not been able to grasp just yet.

"I'm a bit nervous," Kara admitted to Harry but he wrapped his arm tightly around her.

"Don't be, it's not that bad," Harry commented as the holographic program in the Fortress kicked into place.

Kara smiled, she was going to take Harry's word for it. What was the worst that could happen after all? It was just a training session after all, a simulation.

Harry turned around, his eyebrow raised, it occurred to him how much the area around him resembled the Danger Room. In fact the resemblance was an uncanny one. The wizard looked at the surroundings that manifested itself around the two last survivors of Krypton.

"As you know, trying to pinpoint oddities within your surroundings is extremely important in achieving a victory in the long run," Lara explained to him.

Harry nodded with a smile, that was a lesson that had been hammered into his head over and over again. Or as a wise man once said, CONSTANT VIGILANCE!

Several walls appeared around Kara and Harry creating a maze-like area. Harry flashed back to his fourth year at Hogwarts, the final task in the Triwizard Tournament. It was not a happy set of memories to go back to and this scenario reminded him of that situation. Despite his heart drumming a death march against his rib cage, Harry remained calm and focused.

"Are you okay?" Kara asked Harry, concern dripping from her tone.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry informed her, feeling the flashbacks attempt to overwhelm him but this was not the time to be concerned by them. He shook them free from his mind.

It was time to go through the first stage of this training simulation.

"The exercise is extremely simple," Lara informed Harry as she hovered over the maze. "Get through the maze without triggering any traps."

Harry interpreted that to mean that getting through the maze was not a race to say the very least. That actually did bode out quite nicely in many ways, it would show patience, which was something that he had trouble trying to teach the New Mutants in the Danger Room. They were people who jumped in to the battle without thinking about things clearly.

Sometimes that worked and other times it failed to work more often than not. That was just the nature of training; one had to be up for experimenting through various steps, to see what worked, and what did not work.

Harry spotted Kara as she nervously fidgeted from one side to the next as she looked towards the maze.

"Focus your hearing, isolate one sound at a time, do not try and listen for anything that is further ahead or behind you," Harry told her and Kara nodded towards him in understanding.

"Super hearing is one that I had trouble with," she admitted as she stepped forward before Harry's smile continued to be reassuring.

"It often is an extremely tricky one, but you'll get the hang of it," Harry offered her with a smile crossing his face as he lead her through the maze.

They moved their way through half of the maze, thankfully not tripping any traps. That proved to be useful as their journey continued throughout the maze. The two Kryptonians worked together with Harry grabbing Kara around the arm as she nearly missed hearing something. The blonde stood on her heels with a set of widened eyes.

"Oh, sorry," Kara whispered to him and Harry inclined his head with a nod, they needed to keep going through the maze to reach the end.

"That's quite alright Kara, just keep your cool and everything will come out alright," Harry responded as he held her up into the air, hovering with the blonde. Her eyes widened as she swayed through the air.

'Got to keep focus, if we lose the focus, we are done,' Harry thought to himself and also partially to Kara. Given their closeness, there was going to be a mental link that was formed.

Kara thought of the lofty expectations that had been put on her and the irony of this situation. She was sent from Krypton to guide Kal-El, well now technically Har-Rell, to make sure he understood how his powers underneath the yellow sun. The fact of the matter was the opposite was true, he found a way to guide her and teach her to be as strong as he was.

She felt a bit useless at first, due to the fact that he had already found his place on Earth but Kara shook those thoughts off. She was not useless, she could still support him. She drew confidence from him.

Kara was proud of what she heard about him, Rachel, Rogue, and Amara in particular could not say enough good things about him, and the other New Mutants had their own words of praise for him. The only one that did not seem to have a glowing review of Harry was Scott. He didn't seem to like Harry for some reason.

Which was just as well, Kara did not like him either, he reminded her of his father, always a condescending jerk.

"We're going around this tight corner!"

Harry stopped and paused, with Kara copying his movements as the two took the corner. There was a loud thumping that continued to resound all around them. The two Kryptonians offered a lengthy and labored sigh as they continued to edge their way forward.

"Next corner, and turn, taking this path," Harry offered, he saw that part of the floor was rigged.

He paused and used his X-Ray vision before he grabbed Kara's sleeve. She stopped and watched.

"Takes us into a vortex, good eye," Kara told him as he hung onto her and she nodded.

She would have to learn to be more careful.

"Yeah, it does, it lures us into a false sense of security and tricks us into taking the easiest way to the center of the maze," Harry remarked to her as the two of them picked up the pace.

'Only fly twelve inches above the ground, any higher and we'll be weighed down and knocked out,' Harry informed her through the link.

Kara and Harry made their way through the maze, the training taking a few more minutes than it would have without the obstacles. Which was the point of the training exercise; it was testing to see if they could avoid obstacles and not have them trip either of them up. Kryptonians tended to have this ability to run head long into situations that could be easily avoided, which could have been mitigated with a bit of deep thought.

"Keep it up," Lara encouraged Harry as she twisted her head around a slight bit and they were about ready to reach the exit.

Both stopped and scanned the exit and sure enough, it allowed them to escape. Both Harry and Kara flew out of it.

"You did it!" Kara yelled as she threw her arms around Harry and he responded by pulling her closely into him.

"No, Kara, we did it," Harry informed him, feeling pleased that the two of them worked together.

"Harry is correct," Peve informed both of them. "It is not the effort of one that wins the battle but the effort of the team."

"I couldn't agree more," Harry said as the simulator turned off temporarily. He guided Kara over.

"Do you have problems trying to get your team to work with each other?" Lily asked him out of the blue.

"Yes, all of the time but I think that I made some headway," Harry offered to her. "I think I hurt Scott's feelings that I was a better leader than he was."

"Then maybe he shouldn't have such soft fucking feelings and he should just man up and do something about it," Lily offered him in an abrasive tone of voice.

Kara waited for Harry before she decided to ask him the question.

"Hey Har?"

"Mmm."

"Do you think….well do you think you could teach me anything about fighting the normal way? You know without powers."

Harry smiled at her as Kara placed her hand on her chin and surveyed him.

"It wouldn't be a problem at all."

Kara looked giddy with anticipation.

"So when can we begin?"

Harry smiled at her with a wide grin before he placed a hand on hers.

"There's no time like the present," Harry offered as he snapped his fingers and the red solar radiation bombarded through the Fortress. "Okay, you'll be mortal in a few minutes."

Kara crossed her arms and waited until Harry gave her the signal to go.

"Okay, you're good, hit me with your best shot," Harry offered as he prepared himself to drop into a battle stance and eagerly awaited what Kara had to give him.

Kara smiled as she lifted her hand and rushed forward towards Harry. One punch aimed towards him but the emerald eyed wizard ducked it before he twisted her arm behind her back and pushed her down to the ground.

She slammed down hard as he stood on her back, pinning an arm behind her back and twisted it around. The blonde twisted herself out of the grip and only got up because Harry allowed her to. Frustration swam through her eyes.

Gwen Stacy loved trying to dig up information about the unknown. It was one of the things that likely got her into so much trouble. She walked towards the handsome structure that was in downtown Manhattan. She adjusted the headband on her hand as she was about to delve into the unknown.

'The first Church of Shi'ar Enlightenment,' Gwen read the sign on the marquee, the words passing through her eyes. 'Well the place seems rather innocent enough, I guess.'

Gwen knew by now that appearances are going to be deceiving.

"So, this is the place you wanted me to tag along to check out?"

Chloe turned up to walk beside Gwen. Her eyes traveled towards the sign of the church and her mouth hung open as she read it.

"Well this is an interesting little place, isn't it?" Chloe asked Gwen and Gwen responded with a brief nod.

"Yes, the Church….I saw an exhibit relating to the Star Child during a trip I went on over the summer and I did some digging," Gwen informed Chloe and Chloe stopped her.

"Whoa time out, you mean the Star Child, as in the same Star Child that alien nutcase was going off about a week ago!"

"Yes, that Star Child," Gwen informed Chloe and the blonde with the headband stepped forward with the other blonde, the one without the headband, following her.

"So, is he some kind of myth or something?" Chloe asked before Gwen looked over her shoulder and smiled.

"All myths are based on fact, but then again, you wouldn't exactly shy away from the strange or the weird, would you?" Gwen asked Chloe and Chloe shrugged her shoulders.

She had an entire wall devoted to some of the weirdness that happened in the world around them and she had a feeling that she didn't even scratch the surface. The two blondes walked inside the church.

So far the church interior seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary. Gwen's eyes darted around, sure there were not the normal religious figures painted on the windows, so it looked rather Spartan at first glance. The young blonde moved forwards before she leaned forward.

"Well this might be the most bland church ever," Chloe commented as she broke the silence that existed between the two females. "I mean it's a good thing that you aren't smacked in the face with religion, religion, religion every time you turn around but I was expecting something….well that stands out!"

Gwen shook her head before she whispered out of the corner of her mouth. "Things aren't always what they seem, Chlo."

"Oh, I know that, I know that," Chloe informed Gwen as she waved her hand slightly before she turned to the office door. The blonde's own interest bubbled to the surface. She wanted to find out a bit more about this as much as Gwen did. "So, Lilandra Neramani, the head of the Church."

Gwen smiled before she asked Chloe the question.

"What have you heard about her?" Gwen asked and Chloe shrugged before she turned to Gwen.

"Nothing until now," Chloe informed Gwen as she stepped forward. "So what do you need to do to talk to her?"

"I'm guessing that you just knock on the door," Gwen offered Chloe with a half teasing smile and Chloe's expression turned quite exasperated.

"Yeah, I knew that," Chloe informed Gwen but there was a bit of trepidation that flowed through her body. Almost like she was about ready to dive into a situation that might change her life forever, things would never be the same again.

'Ah well, Carpe Diem,' Chloe thought to herself as she raised her hand and proceeded to offer a knock on the door.

The knock on the door was answered right away. Gwen stood beside Chloe, about a header taller than her. The blonde continued to tap her foot on the ground and waited before she swayed her hips from one side to the next. She started to whistle but Gwen turned towards her, annoyance flashing through her eyes.

"Please don't do that," Gwen told Chloe and Chloe shrugged her shoulders, before an apologetic expression flickered over her face.

"Sorry," Chloe told Gwen and Gwen turned towards her. "I'm beginning to think that no one is here."

"Well that was a wasted trip," Gwen remarked, although she tried to put her ear to the door. There was someone inside, and they were trying to make sure no one was talking.

"What?" Chloe asked as she saw Gwen listening intently at the door.

"There's someone behind the door," Gwen offered Chloe in a small voice but Chloe felt a great deal of apprehension flood her. She did not know if she wanted to know.

"I really hope that we have not stumbled upon some demented cult ritual," Chloe whispered to Gwen, now she was keeping her voice down.

Gwen grabbed the door and turned the knob but it was locked from the inside. She shrugged, not thinking that it was going to be that easy but she would be a fool if she did not at least try to go in that route. The blonde with the headband was back to square one and now she was on the outside looking in.

At least until the moment where someone answered the door, a redhead with a beautiful face and brown eyes, who was dressed in a black shirt and a long dress shirt along with heels poked her head out the door, and fixed her expression on Chloe and Gwen.

"Yes, may I help you?" the redhead asked in a polite tone of voice, although she seemed to be rather curious as to why they were there.

Chloe, being the master of tact that she was, decided to inform this young woman of precisely why they were here. "We're here to see about the Star Child."

The redhead's eyes widened for a moment but then she smiled. "Well we're always here to seek out new believers to the cause, especially now that he has returned."

"What do you mean he has returned?" Gwen asked the woman. "My name is Gwen Stacy, this bundle of fun over here is Chloe Sullivan."

The redhead smiled. "Patricia Swann."

"As in the daughter of the legendary reclusive scientist Doctor Virgil Swann?" Chloe asked, her interest, not to mention her geekdom being piqued to an entirely new level. The blonde's eyes blazed with curiosity and when Chloe smelled something that awoke her curiosity, she was going to dig into it like no one else.

"Yes, my father, he passed away a year ago but he left behind a great legacy," Patricia commented in a somber tone of voice.

"Sorry to hear about your loss," Gwen told her.

Patricia waved it off. "Don't be, he left STARR Labs in very capable hands, the observatory is something that should be used to benefit people here and help establish contact with other alien worlds. Not something that is used to spy on other alien nations because we are paranoid that they could invade us."

"Am I sensing an undercurrent of bitterness?" Chloe remarked to her.

Patricia shook her head. "It's just that….there are certain government agents that thought that they could swoop in and take my father's hard earned work for their own purposes."

"Well some people think that aliens are among us and are here to take over," Gwen remarked to Patricia and the redhead shrugged her shoulders.

Patricia shook her head. "It's just that….there are certain government agency's that thought that they could swoop in and take my father's hard earned work for their own purposes."

Patricia also neglected to mention that they were in a safe place because if they were retrieved and translated, they might lead to a vital clue of how to stop the Star Child. And the Star Child could be stopped for all of the wrong reasons, as opposed to helped for all of the right reasons.

"So, is Miss Neramani around? Gwen asked as she switched topics.

"She is just getting done with a meeting with someone else who is interested in the church," Patricia offered before she checked the list. "A Professor Charles Xavier."

Now Gwen's interest was pushed up to the highest degree. Chloe also looked interested.

"Xavier runs that private school that some of the kids at Bayville go to," Chloe remarked to herself in a casual tone, she had her own theory about that school but it was not her place to blow the lid off of it yet. It was just a private theory that she kept underneath her hat. "I wonder what he has to do with this."

Gwen's expression widened as she thought about what Xavier might be up to but naturally there was nothing but a few thoughts of extremely idle speculation that went through her head.

A few snatches of conversation greeted the trio of females but Chloe did not say anything straight away. At least until she saw the statue that was in the corridor and this caught her interest.

"Hey, Gwen, look at this," Chloe whispered to her as she pulled on Gwen's sleeve and the blonde spun around before looking at the statue.

Gwen's expression turned towards the statue.

"Just like the statue that I saw when I was on vacation," Gwen commented as Patricia listened intently.

"You're referring to the temple on Nova-Roma, aren't you?" Patricia asked Gwen and Gwen's head inclined with a nod.

Chloe, on the other hand, was not about to let this statement go without a thought.

"You went to Nova-Roma?" Chloe asked Gwen and Gwen's eyes turned towards her as a smile crossed her face.

"Yes, yes I did," Gwen informed her in a slow tone of voice.

Chloe's expression was awestruck but she recovered quickly. "I thought that place was closed off to outsiders."

"It is," Gwen informed Chloe and she swung her head back, before her mouth hung open.

"Damn, how do you have all of the luck?" Chloe asked.

Gwen did not respond to that statement straight away but a look of smugness crossed her face as she edged forward. She saw a few pictures on the wall.

"So are these people part of the church?" Gwen asked in a would be casual tone of voice, careful not to seem too eager. Of course, she wanted to get all of the answers that she needed. Her arms folded as she watched everything.

Patricia's face contorted into a smile, her curiosity was amusing and she seemed eager to learn. Although the redhead could not help think that this young woman had a stake in this situation, a personal one. Lilandra would be extremely interested to find out even more about what this girl had to say.

"Yes, they are members of the church," Patricia remarked to them. "It has quite a following among celebrities."

"That's Marie Logan, doesn't she run some animal preserve?" Chloe asked to her.

"And was the star of the moderately popular 1980s sitcom, Hello Megan," Patricia offered before she turned her head around. "It has a fairly dedicated cult following from what I've heard."

"Amazing," Gwen told them. "And that's the pop star Alison Blaire."

"They all have pledged themselves to the church in different ways, but naturally we only take in true believers, those who are without skepticism that the Star Child has returned," Patricia offered as she spun around. "After we found a picture of the statue on Nova-Roma, some of the members of the board clued us in on exactly what was going on."

Chloe was bitten by the curiosity bug. "So who prey tell is on this board?"

Patricia kept her mouth shut before she faced them. "That information is on a need to know basis."

Patricia decided not to inform them that she did not know all of the members of the Board, although she had a few hunches about some of their identities. The redhead turned her head around as they kept walking forward.

"Professor Xavier, I appreciate your interest but you are not what the church is looking for. And I have given you a sufficient opportunity to say your piece. This is far beyond mutants and humans."

"Miss Neramani, I think that…."

"I know what you think and I understand the dream that you have. And I wish you the best of luck in your dream, although I'm not too confident that you'll succeed if you continue with your current course of operation."

"Well, I thank you for your time never the less," the voice of Xavier stated as he rolled out. Gwen and Chloe stepped into the alcove, hoping to get a few hints of why Xavier was at the Church.

"So, is this it, Charles?" Ororo asked as she followed him out of the office. The twenty five year old mutant was curious to see what he was going to say.

"I wish to find out what they know about Harry's arrival," Xavier remarked in a calm voice. "If I had known about this Church months ago, I feel that I would have had more then the mess of puzzle pieces that is Harry Potter."

Gwen felt a bit of smug satisfaction for some reason although she could not place the reason why this was.

"Perhaps it is not our place to learn everything about him," Hank offered as he walked off with them.

A dark haired woman stepped out of the office. She had midnight black hair and blue eyes, wearing a black shirt with long sleeves that stretched around her. She wore a tight pair of black pants that wrapped around her supple lower body. She gave the sense of an extremely beautiful woman with assets, although she was rather conservatively dressed and covered them. She wore a pair of dark high heel shoes.

"Patricia, sorry for keeping you waiting for so long," the woman remarked before she turned to Gwen and Chloe. "We haven't had the pleasure."

"I'm Chloe Sullivan," Chloe informed her.

"And I'm Gwen Stacy," Gwen commented as she reached forward to shake hands with the woman. "And you must be Miss Neramani."

"Please, call me Lilandra," the woman encouraged Gwen as she took a moment to survey both of them and her eyes narrowed towards them. "I think that it would be wise for us all to be on a first name basis given that the two of you have tried to dig up information about the Church.

Gwen's eyes widened before she opened her mouth.

"Curiosity is not to be blamed but you should be careful, for every person who understands all of the good the Star Child brings to the world, there is group of people who would like to bring him down," Lilandra told them as she frowned. "The Friends of Humanity have their new scapegoat."

"Of course, they do," Chloe said through gritted teeth. Lilandra and Patricia looked towards her. "Sorry, I've….I've had dealings with the Friends of Humanity recently."

"Most have," Lilandra offered, they tried to vandalize an altar a few days ago but she made them regret it. Creed and his band of hoodlums were going to be a problem but there were going to be the least of the problems. The arrival of that Tyrell was also another problem although that had been dealt with.

Lilandra knew who exactly Tyrell was, his people tried to white knight themselves as saviors. Yet they were far from saviors, rather they destroyed planets, offering twisted justification. If the planets did not bow to their demands, they would obliterate them like they were nothing.

She remembered her kind, the Shi'ar, which she was among the last survivors of. Most of her kind had been wiped out, another casualty in the galactic war between the Kree and the Skrull. Her brother tried to make a deal and sold out his own people, leading them to their doom, to save his own skin. And he was supposed to be their emperor.

He was exiled to the Phantom Zone where he would be forever more, like many other war criminals in the twenty eight galaxies.

Her sister, on the other hand, she disappeared into the night as well, in the chaos of the destruction. Not before causing her own chaos on the way out.

"Let's discuss more about the church in my life and I'll give you as much information as I am able to," Lilandra remarked to them and Gwen caught this statement.

Lilandra might be a top member of the church but she was not the undisputed force. There was this mysterious board of directors she needed to unearth as well but one thing at a time, one thing at a time.

She and Chloe would take this information, to see what else they could find out. Gwen really wished she had spent more time looking around Nova-Roma but it was too late now.

"Same old, same old at the Mansion?" Harry asked Rachel and Jean as they met him on the Astral Plane.

The two red heads sat around, feeling that this would be the best way to meet. Even though the temporal influx properties of the Fortress had to line up just right for it to work, they were confident that this was a good way to meet and discuss what had been happening.

"Business as usual, Scott's acting like his usual charming self," Jean remarked as she tried to keep herself calm. The last thing she needed was some Phoenix Force related tantrum to mess up everything.

Rachel twisted her head around, placing the palm of her hand on her face. "You'd think he'd learn by now that his leadership isn't something that he's entitled to but something he has to earn."

"I've been trying to lead the New Mutants, but a couple of them are showing promise for taking leadership in the future," Jean offered as she watched Harry. "And we took in that new girl that you mentioned, although she is looking forward to meeting up with you."

"Yes, Megan Gywnn, I know," Harry commented to them with a smile as he thought about it.

"Sam, Jubilee, Bobby, and Tabitha are all wondering what it's going to take to have you at least stop by three times a week to train them," Rachel remarked before she paused. "Actually I know everyone's thinking that, but they're the four who are being the most vocal about it."

"Tell them to take it up with Xavier," Harry commented, he was not going to do any free training unless it was for his own school. The training he did was to thank Xavier for the room and board that he gave him, there was nothing more to it than that. "I've got a lot to do."

Training in particular, well it was going to be a challenge as it was an entirely different kettle of fish than what Harry had experienced at the Xavier Institute. The fact of the matter was that Harry thought that he had been ready for training like this for a long time, but he was proven wrong. The Kryptonian training was that intense.

Rachel appeared to sense what Harry was thinking and she shifted her position from where she sat on the Astral Plane.

"Training intense?" Rachel asked and Harry smiled back at her.

"No one said it was going to be easy, although I feel like I already have a solid foundation in place," Harry remarked to Rachel before he shifted one leg over the other as he sat cross legged in the air. The wizard smiled before he continued to talk. "The Kryptonian training at the Fortress…well it's like if the Danger Room was upgraded about twelve or thirteen times."

"At least," Jean offered, barely suppressing a smile that twitched across the corners of her lips.

Harry agreed. "Yes at least."

Harry knew that there was a lot of new security features that he could make use of which used the Kryptonian technology. Granted, a lot of the most Stone Age Kryptonian technology was really advanced by Earth standards and he was going to take some time to really make this work. It was going to be an amazing set up by the time he was done. The young wizard twisted his expression around.

"Mission wise, it's been pretty quiet," Jean chimed in as she placed her hand to her chin. "Is there any news about….your friend?"

"If you're speaking of that alien nutcase that showed up, no I don't know any more about him than you do," Harry offered to Jean as he shifted how he sat in the air of the plane once again. "He seems to think that….well my people victimized his people. He's not the poster boy for sanity."

Jean smirked. "Yeah, I got that much after he tried to blow up the planet because you kicked his ass."

"Sore losers exist all throughout the universe but there are other threats around," Harry commented before he ran his hands through his hair. "Speaking of what, has anyone heard anything about our favorite Master of Magetism?"

"No, he's been quiet," Jean told him but Rachel's expression flickered harshly.

"Not a good thing, a quiet Magneto means that he's plotting someone," Rachel offered as she turned on her seat. "So far, no go with Kitty either."

"Yeah, I knew that once Megan didn't stop by and let me know," Harry commented, trying not to show the extremely real worry that he had. "I don't know what happened with her."

Harry's lips curled into a sigh before he turned his head around and Jean reached to the side, as she placed her hand on his.

"Kitty worked hard in the Danger Room, I would think that she would have some kind of survival instincts," Jean told him before she decided to give Harry the news. "Laura checked back in finally. We told her that you stopped by. She's not too happy about the fact that she was gone and missed you."

"Figures," Harry commented as he shrugged his shoulders.

Rachel's lips curled into a smile as she shifted her expression towards Harry. "So she might want to jump you as she comes back home."

"Again, that's about right," Harry offered as he rolled his shoulders. "So, I think that our time on the Astral Plane grows short."

"It's hard for even Professor Xavier to maintain this field, and he's been at this a lot longer than I have," Jean remarked to Harry but the wizard's lips curled into a smile.

"You'll be better than Xavier. Give yourself some time."

Jean flushed with a smile at that statement, she appreciated the faith that Harry showed in her and was determined to live up to every word that he said and more. The taller redhead stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Harry tightly, pulling him into a strong hug.

"Thank you Harry, I really appreciate it," Jean said as she leaned down and pressed her lips onto Harry's. He returned the gesture, tightening his arms around her.

Rachel patiently waited her turn and she was honest, she was getting a bit turned on by this gesture. Then again, she and her mother had spent some time working out the tensions each other felt thanks to each other's powers.

"Senior year of High School treating you alright, still?" Harry asked after the kiss broke and he pulled Rachel into a hug.

Jean answered this question honestly, a smile spreading over her face. "About as well as it would given the circumstances, I guess. It isn't the blow off year that the upper class was talking about the last couple of years."

Jean was determined to graduate with the highest honors possible. That was just the her competitive nature coming to the fore, even though she took a course load this year that might be considered to be a bit insane on top of her responsibilities with the X-Men along with her extra-curricular activities.

Although there was something that terrified her, there were rumblings that the schools around the United States were going to issue a mandatory policy where students were tested for mutant powers much like some schools tested students for drugs. Even though it was two different things, some people have equated having mutant powers to being on drugs because they were ignorant. Jean did not agree with it but it was there before her.

The effort was being spearheaded by the Mutant Response Division and funded by Oscorp. Also it was being backed by Senator Robert Kelly, the uncle of current Bayville High School Principal Edward Kelly, who had taken a rather harsh anti-mutant stance. He managed to call in some favors to get Trask's sentence reduced in exchange for him building Sentinels for the government to make sure fugitive mutants who would not register with the MRD would be hunted down.

While the Mutant Registration Act had not been passed yet, there was a fear that it would. Congress was run by big business more than by the whims of their voters, so with Osborn backing it, it was obvious that some senators were ruled by the thoughts of having a few extra dollars in their pockets.

Jean shook her head, politics gave her a headache, dealing with sociopaths that wanted to kill her was much more pleasant on her sanity. What that said about her current level of sanity, the redhead had no idea.

"So, I'm taking care of that dragon of Kitty's until she gets back," Rachel commented as she turned around. "Because, let's face it, I can't exactly send the little bugger to the pound."

Harry laughed as he tightened his grip around Rachel and leaning down planted a kiss on the top of her forehead.

"You know you like him," Harry remarked to Rachel with a smile.

Rachel shrugged. "Yeah, yeah, right."

She was smiling though.

"Love you Harry," Rachel told him as Harry smiled.

"Love you too Rach, you too Jean," Harry commented in a light tone of voice before he turned towards them.

"See you later Harry," Jean informed him as both of the redheads gave Harry a few more parting kisses before the connection broke.

It was a credit to their training, Harry's a bit more so as of late in the Fortress, that the link was established for as long as it was.

Kara slumped against the block of ice, her shoulder sore from the impact from being thrown around the Fortress. She rubbed on her shoulder and tried to block out the pain.

"I didn't hurt you too badly, did it?" Harry asked.

Kara shook her head and grimaced. "You make it look so easy."

Harry smiled towards her. "That was what I thought the first time that Logan put us through the paces. Then again, he's been doing this for an extremely long time."

Kara leaned back onto the block of ice before she winced as she felt a stabbing pain course through her shoulder. She knew that Harry did not mean to hurt her, but there were some things that happened during the course of battle. He placed his hands on her shoulders and started to rub them in circular motions.

The blonde closed her eyes as she felt Harry rubbing her shoulders. The pleasure coursed through her body as Harry continued to work her shoulders with an amazing amount of gentleness. Her eyes flickered open and shut for a little bit before a soft little moan escaped her lips from his tender efforts.

Much to her disappointment, Harry stopped.

"Alright there, Kara?"

Kara bit down on her lip, red in the face slightly but remained calm without any shame. "Yes, Harry, I'm fine do you think….you could continue?"

Harry smiled, said nothing, but resumed his actions all the same, using his hands to work over the back of her neck and her shoulders. The blonde hoisted herself up off the seat, as Harry continued to work over her. The emerald eyed sorcerer was the best in the universe at what he did.

Kara lost herself to the pleasurable sensations and felt an unbearable heat fill through her body. His fingers brought so much pleasure and he slipped her jacket off, unknowing to her, to access more of the tender flesh that was her upper back. His fingers worked around circular motions.

Harry worked his hands around her neck and lightly brushed his lips across the back of her neck. This caused Kara to jump up but Harry gently pushed her down by the shoulders.

"Just relax, Kara," Harry told her as he leaned forward and started to nibble on earlobe.

Kara was nearly driven nuts by this, wondering if Harry knew what he was doing to her. The blonde's eyes glowed as she felt the arousal from what he was doing.

"Kara, relax," Harry breathed in her ear, his hot breath hitting it.

Kara felt cool liquids pooling from between her thighs as his hands worked over her upper neck and down her back. The blonde threw her head back as he worked her over, the moans continued to become even more vocal.

Suddenly his lips met hers in a tender kiss which she returned. He worked onto her lips and placed his arms around her bare waist. The blonde tilted her head back, allowing further access with Harry kissing her deeply before she returned the favor. The wizard's tongue poked at her lips.

'Open your mouth, love,' Harry thought and Kara opened her mouth, as Harry's tongue stuck into her mouth, before he went down her throat.

Kara tilted her head back and sighed with a smile as his tongue worked into her mouth, working inside the blonde's mouth. She felt his tongue massage her lips and gums, as he reached underneath her shirt. The blonde's eyes widened but Harry grabbed one of her hands with his.

'Relax.'

Kara felt herself tilted back on the block of ice as Harry made her feel so good. The touch, the pleasure she craved, and he was the one person that could give her the sensations that she craved. His super powerful touched pleasured her super powerful body, and his thumbs rubbed the skin underneath her shirt.

With a tug, Harry removed her shirt the rest of the way.

"Thank you, Harry," Kara told him, after they were done. They rested in the makeshift bedroom area of the Fortress, with a red blanket draped over them.

Kara snuggled next to Harry, feeling his warm arms wrapped around her. She still saw the images of Krypton dying around her as she found her way onto the ship. Yet with Harry, the pain was far less than ever before.

"There's no problem, you helped me," Harry breathed as he brushed her hair from her face.

"But you helped me in a way that I can never repay," Kara commented but Harry pulled her into his chest, before he planted his lips onto hers.

"You can repay it every single day, by being your amazing self," Harry told her.

Kara's lips curled with a smile, she could do that. She dropped her head onto Harry's chest as the two rested with each other.

Gotham City was a town that was notorious for one of the highest crime rates in the country and insanity that could not be matched. It was not a place that someone wanted to be in the dead of night, on a full moon, beside a broken down rental car. Those were the thoughts of a young woman with strawberry blonde hair, dressed in a white jacket, a blue top, and sequined pants with high heeled boots as she waited looking around nervously for a cab to arrive.

That was the fate of the young pop star as she stood in the middle of the streets of Gotham City. Nineteen years old, Alison Blaire felt the perils of fleeting fame. She had her adoring fans but her agent was pressing on her to become something that she was not to widen her demographic. That was not something that Alison was going to jump onto the bandwagon of. The young pop star made a promise to her fans and she was going to keep it.

"Okay, the cab said that it was supposed to arrive in fifteen minutes," Alison whispered to herself, she was trying not to lose sense of herself as she twisted her head around. A hand was placed on her hip as she stood back against the wall.

Gotham City was an interesting place, although it was one that caused Alison to question her agent's sanity.

'Maybe she thinks my CDs will sell better if I get stabbed,' Alison thought in a manner that she wished she was joking about but there was no joking about something like this. Her eyes closed as her lips curled into a frustrated expression. The blonde's hand reached around the back of her head.

It was unwise to lose her shit especially in a place like Gotham City, where crime rate ran rampant.

"Hey, sweetie, are you lost?"

Alison tried not to lose her cool as a trio of burly thugs edged their way towards her. One of them had a knife out already and the blonde pop star saw that the bouncer at the back of the club simply did not give a shit.

Actually he was well past giving a shit, he was passed out.

Alison made a pact with herself, if she got out of this alive; she was firing her agent first thing in the morning.

"No, I'm fine, there's someone, friend of mine's picking me up, big burly guy, you don't want to mess with him," Alison remarked as one of the thugs stopped and took a step back.

The thug raised an eyebrow before a leering grin crossed his face. "Hey, you're Alison Blaire, that pop star."

Alison was grabbed around the arm and pulled forward where the thug watched her. The blonde trembled, biting down on her lip as she tried to squirm away.

"Hey, baby, I know it's stressful being on the road, how about we take you for a little ride?"

The ride was postponed as there was a figure swooping above them. This caused the thug to drop Alison and she slid away. The second thug offered one oh so charming declaration.

"OH SHIT IT'S THE FUCKING BAT!"

That was the last thing that came out of his mouth before a pair of feet slammed onto the top of his head. Another swift motion and a second thug was knocked down as quickly as the first.

Alison watched the progress of the swooping avenger of the night. She could not see the person who saved her, they appeared to move too fast. Or perhaps it was the situation that she was in that gave the impression that was happening. Never the less, the blonde pop star felt her heart thump against her chest.

She could not follow the progress of the shadowed figure. Whoever it was, they wore a lot of black.

The next thing she knew was the thugs that tried to attack her were strung upside down and there were the loud sirens. Alison turned her head around, hoping to say a word of thanks to her mysterious savior, whoever they were. He or she worked quite quickly.

The blonde's heart continued to drum a steady beat across her chest as she arched her neck up in the air.

Alison stepped to the side, it all happened so fast, she froze up. She wondered what Arcane would do in a situation like this. He would not freeze up like a scared child and let some thugs grab him. He was amazing; he would take care of the situation faster than a speeding bullet.

Despite what people would say, Alison was not completely infatuated by him. No she was not in the slightest. She just respected his heroics.

A dark warehouse, with the smell of urine and dead cats filled through one of the worst parts of New York. Smoke that could choke even the most hardened man puffed through the air, as the lime rotted on the walls. There were blood stains on the carpet which had cigarette burn holes on whatever was left of the carpet.

"Oh, sounds like my mom's house. Wonder if she's baking pie?"

A tall individual stepped forward, dressed in a combination of red and black edged forward. He had a katana strapped to his back as he looked around, keeping himself walking through the shadows. The assassin sauntered forward and started to sway his hips seductively as he walked.

"Hey, hey, that's hired mercenary to you, buddy."

The hired mercenary moved his way towards the figure in the shadows. He always felt a tingle as he made his way into the warehouse. His head spun around before crossing his arms over each other.

He was one of the top mercenaries in the world, the Merc with the Mouth, the man with the plan, he was Deadpool.

"Don't forget ruggedly handsome."

He was pretty good at what he did but he had more than a few screws loose.

"Well, we all have our problems."

Deadpool, Wade Wilson, turned around, looking past the fourth wall, before he raised a hand and waved. He stood up straight as someone cleared their throat, before his eyes snapped forward. He edged forward.

"You use the term edged forward a lot, is it hard wired into your brain? And eyes do a lot of snapping too. At least you didn't have me spin around or something."

Deadpool stepped across the room.

"Ah much better."

"So you've come here."

"Yes mysterious shadow dude, I've come here, fanboys would riot if I stayed gone long but you called me, it's funny how much my business has picked up since I started using Craigslist," Deadpool commented to himself as he smiled. "What did you call me to of, oh mysterious mystery man of mystery?"

"I've called you hear to employ you to steal an item of great importance," the individual in the shadows remarked.

"Oh, have you now?" Deadpool asked. "Theft, I like it, a good old fashioned five finger discount. But the real question do I get to unalive someone?"

Deadpool paused before he turned towards the fourth wall.

"I can't say the D-Word, corrective therapy, plus soccer Moms be bitching."

He snapped towards the mysterious hidden figure in the shadows. Deadpool started humming "who can it be now" underneath his breath.

"I want you to get an item from SHIELD."

"Ooh, that doesn't come cheap," Deadpool offered as he stood up on his tiptoes. "How much are you talking to? More zeroes than there are in a Summers family reunion?"

Deadpool paused, before he added as an afterthought.

"We should really stop bashing him, it's like going up to a coma patient by this point and kicking him in the end no matter how cliché and boring it might seem. And saying things are cliché and boring is really cliché and boring. Besides, it's fun!"

"You will be paid handsomely," the man in the shadows stated, glowing eyes flickering towards Deadpool.

"Oooh, scary," Deadpool cooed as he turned around. "Don't worry, my good man, there's no need to fear, Deadpool's here! Put me in Coach, I'll do well!"

The Merc with the Mouth stepped back a half of a step as the hand from the shadows handed him more information on what he needed.

"Um to be continued, I guess," Deadpool remarked as his head turned towards the fourth wall. "BUY MY VIDEO GAME KIDS!"