The Pryde

of Courtship

By Jake H.

 

Chapter 1

 

Jean Grey wasted no time in evaluating the young man’s condition. Other than the fact that he was relatively unhurt from his fiery descent from the upper atmosphere and impact, something just kept troubling her. On communicator, she was relaying every step she took to the Professor.

 

       “Charles, his condition just seems to be getting worse, as if there were something draining his life away.” Jean said, monitoring his heartbeat.

 

       “Scott, Eric,” Charles said over the comms. “Do you feel there could be any contamination dangers in bringing him to medical?”

 

       Eric was the first to respond. “I believe if there were any contaminants, they would have been disintegrated during his reentry.”

 

       “Agreed, Professor. Let’s get him in containment before he dies.” Scott said, preparing to stabilize his flight.

 

       “Then make it so.”

 

       Without further delay, Eric slowly raised the young man to waist height and began slowly walking him to the mansion. Scott was holding onto his neck and shoulders, trying to prevent any injury. Jean was constantly monitoring his life signs. It took them just a few minutes to get him to the medical lab, and Charles was waiting on them.

 

       “Put him down here.” he said, preparing the med scans.

 

       “Professor, his signs are constantly getting weaker.” Jean stated, showing him her declining readings. “If we don’t do something soon, he will die.”

 

       Charles Xavier wheeled himself over the top of the man’s head. He concentrated for a moment, and rested his hands on the young man. Probing his mind, Charles saw a jumbled mess of memories, but his last conscious thought was overwhelming.

 

       Charles broke the link and looked at the young man’s bag, which had been carefully laid aside. “Damn.” Looking quickly at Magneto, he pointed to the glowing container. “Eric, get that out of here. Put it in a radiation-proof box.”

 

       Without a moment’s hesitation, Eric complied, removing the bag. Scott, on the other hand, was a bit confused. “Professor? I don’t understand.”

 

       “His thoughts were laced with fear of whatever was in that bag. The fear of death. If my interpretation is correct, whatever it is, it is deadly to him.”

 

       Jean nodded her head. “I have to concur. As soon as it left, his vitals began returning to normal.”

 

       Cyclops was still confused. “If that is the case, then why would he be carrying such an item?”

 

       “I don’t know, Scott.” He said as he began powering up the scanners. He was about to say more, when Jean cursed.

 

       “What the hell is going on here?” she said, looking at a broken needle. “All of a sudden, I can’t penetrate his skin, and I lost some readings. Its like a wall sprang up all around him.”

 

       “What do you mean?”

 

       Picking up a scalpel, Jean turned to her husband and teacher. “Watch.” With all of her strength, she attempted to plunge the blade into the young man. The blade snapped.

 

       “Wow.” Scott said, trying to accept such a spectacle. “Why don’t you try something a bit more…sturdy?”

 

       Jean went to a locked drawer, mentally unlocked it and pulled it open. She removed a small, oaken box and removed another scalpel. She walked back over to her patient and stood over him. “This is adamantium. I only use it for those of us who have practical invulnerability. Like Rogue.”

 

       She again attempted to plunge the blade into the young man’s forearm, but with no effect. Not even the cloth was damaged. Fortunately, the blade did not break or bend.

 

       The Professor rested his elbows on the arms of his wheelchair and steepled his fingers in thought.” Interesting, indeed.” He sat silent for another moment, and then looked up at Scott. “Cyclops, I want you to tell Eric to start running every test we can on that substance. As for you, I want you to get Rogue here. After that, run tests on that cloth and give me a molecular makeup of it.”

 

       Turning the Jean, Charles went on. “Keep monitoring him. If he wakes, call me. Meanwhile, have Rogue absorb and then test that invulnerability and any other abilities he has. I want to know the extent of what he is capable of.”

 

       Jean glanced over at her teacher. “What are you going to do, Professor?”

 

       “I am going to call some help.”

 

 

       “I am telling you Reed, you need to come down here and take a look. It is absolutely unique.” Charles pleaded to a computer screen.

      

       “Ok, ok. I will be there in a couple of hours.” Reed Richards said. He looked worried, but wasn’t done. “Who else is going to be coming?”

 

       Charles sat back and reviewed the list. “I got a hold of Dr. Strange, Hank Pym, Bruce Banner, and you. That’s all I feel we need, for now.”

 

       After sending what data there was to be had to the four ‘guests’, preparing for their arrival, Charles Xavier went back down the mansion’s basement, and into the medical lab. He found Jean working hard on compiling information on the mysterious stranger. For the past three hours, she had been unable to penetrate the surface of his body with any type of device, energy, or x-rays. But, there had been a breakthrough.

 

       “What did you find out, Jean?”

 

       Jean plopped down in a chair, nursing a headache. “Well,” she said finally. “I found that his physiology is nothing like what I have seen before. His heart rate is at 187 beats per minute, but from what I can gather, that is slow for him. His molecular structure is like 4000 times denser than a human. I… I don’t know what to think.”

 

       “I have some findings that you might be interested in.”

 

       They both turned at the new voice, to see Eric standing in the doorway. “Whatever that substance is, it has some absolutely fantastic properties.”

 

       Charles half turned, facing his friend. “Like what?”

 

       “Well, the fact that it puts out a high level of radiation that does not seem to affect humans or mutants, but seems to be deadly to our guest. Also, given a proper containment field, the energy coming off that thing would power most of New York State for a few months.

 

       Whistling his amazement, Charles turned away in thought. “Did you get a molecular scan done?”

 

       “Of course, Charles.”

 

       “Can you synthesize it?”

 

       “Shouldn’t be a problem.” Magneto said. “Are you expecting to use it?”

 

       Charles shook his head. “No. Just a precaution. If what I believe Rogue is going to tell us, then we might want a backup plan.”

 

       Just as Charles was finishing his sentence, Scott Summers and Rogue walked in the room. Scott was carrying a stack of paperwork and what appeared to be a shimmering robe. Rogue looked absolutely exhausted.

 

       “Scott, do you want to start?” Jean said as she got up, allowing Rogue to rest.

 

       “Sure.” he said as he referred back to his notes. “The bag contained what appears to be several changes of clothes of unknown origin, three packets of seeds, a handful of melted lead, a handheld computer dating from 1985, and an absolute clear crystal, besides that blue rock.”

 

       “And your analysis?”

 

       “The clothing is indestructible by any means that we have available. It simply cannot be damaged.”

 

       Charles put up a hand to stop him. “Don’t tell me, an extremely high molecular density?”

 

       “Yes. How did you know?”

 

       Without answering Scott, Charles turned to face Jean and Eric. “The material comes from wherever he comes from.” When they nodded, Charles motioned for Scott to continue.

 

       “Ok, second. I am assuming the lead was a containment box that blue rock was in?” Scott guessed. “The crystal is simple. It was manufactured as what appears to be an alternate hard drive. Information was actually written in computer language on the surface. I deciphered it and it was just schematics information, all dated between 1983 and1985. Which brings up the hand held computer. It is superior to what we have today, but the date stamped on the case is 1985.”

 

       Eric let out a sigh, soaking what had been said. “Sounds like a temporal displacement to me.”

 

       “I think there is more to it than that.” Rogue said, finally joining the conversation. “As you know, I absorbed his abilities to test them…what I found was scary.”

 

       “Scary?” Charles said, hesitantly. “What do you mean?”

 

       Rogue took a deep breath before continuing. “Like his invulnerability seems to have no bounds. Its almost like he cannot be hurt physically. His strength is at least 40 times what Juggernaught can do.” But she was interrupted.

 

       “Forty times!?” Charles, Eric and Jean exclaimed.

 

       Rogue nodded, and then went on. “At least. The computer could not calculate beyond that. Speeds were off the charts, even beyond Quicksilver. Various heightened senses, massive heat projection vision, x-ray vision, freezing breath, among others.”

 

       “Damn.” Eric said, saying what most everyone was thinking. “That could be like having a gamma bomb waiting to explode in your backyard.”

 

       Before anyone could respond, a shimmering portal appeared in midair, and through it stepped Bruce Banner, Hank Pym, Reed Richards, and finally Steven Strange.

 

       “Greetings.” Charles said. “I’m glad you could make it gentlemen.”

 

       Hank spoke first. “Its good to finally be invited to your school Charles. I wish it were under different circumstances.”

 

       “Agreed, but if you would follow me, then I will let you perform what tests you need to.”

       After leading them all into the medical lab where the young man was lying, Charles allowed them to do what they needed. After another 30 minutes, they were done. Reed was allowed to go first.

 

       “The answer is simple, my friends. He is not of the world, and he is not of this dimension. I believe that he was ejected here for some reason.”

 

       “I will concur with Reed’s findings. He has not been altered, mutated, or enhanced. This is all natural.” Banner said as he nonchalantly tested his strength against the young man’s hand. Unsuccessfully, of course.

 

       Hank spoke up. “And he is not a mutant. I believe that his entire body might simply be a power converter, kind of like what the Silver Surfer is.

 

       At that very moment, they all turned to an unfamiliar voice lying on the table. The young man had propped himself up on his elbows, and without opening his eyes, spoke.

 

       “Am I dead?”

 

       The nine companions glanced at each other, unsure of who should answer. Finally, Charles sat up straight and addressed the young man.

 

       “No. You are far from dead,” the Professor said, pausing. “Know this, though. You are among friends, and we mean you no harm.”

 

       Under his breath, Scott mumbled, “As if we could actually hurt you.”

 

       Snapping his head around and opening his eyes, he looked directly at Scott, then each one of the others in turn. He took stock of his surroundings, and then looked down at his hands. He took a deep breath and turned to Charles. “Where am I?”

 

       “You are in Westchester, New York at my schools of Higher Learning and for mutants. I am Professor Charles Xavier, the founder.”

 

       “Why was I not erased?” the young man said.

 

       “Erased?” Jean said in surprise. “Why would you have been erased?”

 

       Before the young man could respond, Steven Strange stepped forward. “I believe I may know what happened.” Turning to him, Strange continued. “You have been dimensionally displaced. I believe that instead of erasing you, your home reality simply shifted you out of its influence. Tell me, what is the date?”

 

       “June 6^th, 1985. Unless I was unconscious longer than it feels.”

 

       Eric smiled and made himself seen. “I was correct. You are also temporally displaced. The date here is February 15, 1999.”

 

       The young man closed his eyes and looked away. “Fourteen years. Damn.”

He faced them all again. “Did anyone else survive?”

 

       Charles shook his head. “Not to our knowledge. But, you seem to have us at a disadvantage.”

 

       “Oh. I apologize. My name is Zal-El. I come from Argo City, Krypton.” Zal paused, then shrugged. “Since it doesn’t matter anymore, my public name was Devin Cox, but the world knew me as Superman.”

 

       “That name makes sense.” Hank Pym said. “How powerful were you in your home dimension?”

 

       “Well, at the time of my dimensions death, I was probably the most powerful being on the planet. Not the most dangerous, but definitely the most powerful.”

 

       Rogue stepped forward. “Yeah, I know. My name is Rogue and I have the ability to absorb and use other people’s powers. I absorbed some of yours, and tested them.” She paused, looking at Charles, who simply nodded. “If our calculations are correct, you are by far the most powerful being here, also.”

 

       Zal thought for a moment, soaking in this revelation. “Is this world in short supply of heroes?”

 

       “Not really. There are many powered beings on this planet alone. But this world could always use someone such as yourself.”

 

       Zal nodded then spoke again. “Professor Xavier, I had a master’s degree in computer engineering from UCLA. Would you need a teacher? The only thing I would request would be room and board. If allowed to, I would like to continue my life as it was.”

 

       Charles smiled, knowing that Zal would make a fine addition to this world. After allowing him to read this worlds history, roster of students, and other necessary information, they all sat down with him and explained the existence of the X-Teams, the Avengers, Fantastic Four, among all the important solo heroes. After being brought up to speed, and given a decent meal, Zal was shown to his quarters.

 

 

 

          SEVERAL DAYS lATER

 

 

          "And what about the casualties?" Xavier said.  He was concerned. His X-Men had just returned to the mansion and reported they were in a scuffle in Syracuse.

 

       "Professor, There is nothing to worry about." Storm said. "Nobody was hurt, there were just some over-zealous bigots. We defended ourselves and left after the police arrived. They were not even so much as bruised."

 

       "Very well."  The Professor frowned as he turned to Nightcrawler. "Kurt, perhaps you should wear the imager until things have settled down politically again."

 

       "Yes, Charles. If you say so."

 

       Just then, they heard a knock at the conference room door. All of the X-Men were already here, so most figured it was Jean or Scott. The door opened to confirm their suspicions. It was both of them.

 

       Scott cleared his throat and addressed the room. "Excuse me..."

 

       Charles smiled at the sight of his two recently retired students. "Scott, Jean. Please be seated while I explain what happened to the rest."

 

       After they were seated, Charles turned to the rest of the X-Men and cleared his throat. “What I am about to tell you all must not be repeated to the press, the government, or anyone else without my approval. Do you all understand?”

 

       After they all gave their nods of agreement, he continued. “On Friday, after you all had left, we discovered a young man during his reentry into the atmosphere. He survived a 70 mile fall and landed on the school property.”

 

       Beast cringed. “How grave were his injuries?” he asked as everyone else gave a concerned mumble.

 

       Charles held up his hand to silence the group. “He was unscathed.” After their expressions of shock died down, he went on. “He is an alien, from another world, from another dimension, from a different reality similar to, but not like ours. He was a great hero on his world, one of the most powerful around. You can feel free to look up his power charts for a comparison.”

 

       Storm was the next to interrupt. “So where is he going to stay and what is he going to do?”

 

       “I was getting to that.” Charles said. “On his world he held a Master’s degree in computer engineering. He is also a very skilled martial artist, so we are going to allow him to teach both here for his room and board. As for his plans, he wants to continue his quest for world peace, and I see no reason to stop him. He does have a secret ID, so keep it confidential.”

 

       With a nod to Scott he stood and walked to the door. He opened it and in walked a tall, well-defined man of about 22 years of age. He was wearing a full black bodysuit with a red cape, and a pentagram with a red and yellow ‘S’ on his chest. He was blonde haired and blue-eyed, and walked with a grace not usual to a man of his size.

 

       Charles smiled and motioned at the newcomer. “May I introduce Zal-El, otherwise known as Superman.” When Zal sat down, he took over the conversation.

 

       “I know now that I may be stuck here permanently, so I suppose introductions should come first?”

 

       "Certainly. First, I would like to introduce Storm, the leader of the X-Men. There is Gambit, Forge, Bishop, Jubilee, Marrow, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Psylocke, Havok, Blink, and Beast,” he said as he gestured to each of his finest and friends. "And of course you have already met Rogue, the Headmaster of the school, Magneto otherwise known as Eric, and of course Scott and Jean, formerly known as Cyclops and Phoenix."

 

       "Gentlemen. It is a pleasure to know you all." Zal said as he stood again. "And ladies, " he bowed deeply, "I am always at your service." His eyes locked with Kitty Pryde's and were transfixed for a moment, but he sat down again and paused. " I hate to bring this up, but I have to say it."

 

       "What do you have on your mind, Zal?" Eric asked.

 

       "Is it true that there is not really anyone on this planet that can..." he looked away trying to find the words. "...compare to my races' power?"

 

       Most of the X-Men looked shocked, and it was Scott that answered. "Yes. You are correct. With your experience, I feel there is no one who can match you."

 

       "Then please consider me just another person. If trouble arises, I shall help. Otherwise, I am here to learn what I can from you, as well as teach you what I can about me and my kind."

 

       Charles hovered from behind the table. "Come, Zal. Scott, Jean and I will show you to quarters. And get you and appropriate wardrobe." The four of them left and shut the doors behind them.  The combined X-Men sat back and absorbed the knowledge of having Zal amongst them.  Gambit was the first to speak.

 

       "He's trouble."

 

       "Gambit, shut up. Don’t lash out at the man just because you are having a bad day." Bishop said. "He seems to be a pretty nice fellow."

 

       Hank McCoy got up to leave. "I think Forge and I will have some wonderful topics to discuss with him."

 

       "Agreed." Forge said as he followed Beast out the door.

 

       Magneto was sitting back, contemplating the situation. "I believe he has a good soul, but I also fear that he could be more dangerous than any foe we have faced. Even with our combined powers, we would be hard pressed to stop him, if we could at all."

 

       Marrow looked at Blink. "He was impressive, no doubt. What do you think?"

 

       "I wonder what the student body is going to say. What influence will he have?" Blink said as she and Marrow left.

 

       Alex Summers was also considering the thoughts of the rest and decided now was the time to chime in. "Eric, if he is dangerous, is it wise to allow him to stay around the students? I know we have no choice, but if he gets outta line, I’m gonna burn him down."

 

       Kurt, looking up from a computer terminal, laughed at the comment. "Alex, you haven’t read the report on his power levels have you?"

 

       "Well, no. But..."

 

       "You should. Come on, I’m springing for burgers and fries and we'll discuss it later. That fight in Syracuse made me hungry." The two friends left, leaving doors open behind them. Then Kurt stuck his head back in the door. "Rogue, Gambit, you come too. He needs to cool off." Without a word, they followed Nightcrawler out.

 

       Jubilee was still sitting at the table with her head in her hands. "Well, what difference does it make? Did you guys see his pecs? I think he can get lucky with me around."

 

       "Jubilee!" Eric said as he stifled a laugh.

 

       "What?!" she said, startled. "I can try, cant I?"

 

       "I suppose. Come on. You have watch duty, and I have some things I have to show you on the computer." He rose and left with Jubilee on his heels.

 

       Betsy Braddock turned to Kitty Pryde, who was deep in thoughts of her own. "Kitty? What’s wrong?"

 

       Kitty shook her head. "I don’t know Betsy. There's something about him.  He's eloquent, graceful, charming.... he has this aura of confidence, but seems to be vulnerable at the same time, which is hard to imagine with that much power. On top of all that, he's cute."

 

       Betsy grinned, sensing the mixed emotions coming off of her friend. "You like him."

 

       "Betsy! I don't even know him. How can you say that?"

 

       "Its almost obvious, 'Cat. Perhaps there is something there that reminds you about Pete or Piotr?"

 

       "Maybe, but I don’t see it. "

 

       Betsy was about to say something else, but did not want to press it. "You can always try and discover what lies in yourself. You never know, after that look he gave you, he might feel the same way."

 

       Over the next 3 weeks, Kitty looked in on him whenever she could, sometimes to the point of spying. The very next day he had gone out and had returned with about 100 lbs. of coal. He would hold one tightly with one hand, and type with the other on his computer. After about an hour, he would dust off his hand to see a large diamond in the rough. He would blow it off and put it in a leather pouch and start on another one. After he had made about 20, he made several phone calls to Tony Stark. She would bring him his meals sometimes, and he was always very appreciative. They sat down and talked on several occasions about each other, discovering that each of them was quite versed in various unique computer technologies. One day she peeked in on him to find him reading 'The Intricate Art of Dating', making notes and calling various businesses about availability of boxed chocolates and movie tickets. During one of these calls, she overheard him mention 'a very special lady in his life'. This made her feel great, but she had not pressed any feelings at him. Jubilee had been vying for his attention, but he figured out what she wanted and had pretty much ignored her. He explained to her that was not his custom before marriage. 

 

       A Month later; at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and Institute of Higher Learning, all was becoming more peaceful and calm. Life was getting simpler for the students, faculty, and of course, the X-Men. Only recently had there been some major events transpiring here. Other than a rescued Kryptonian from an alternate probability, but the mutant hating groups were dwindling, easing the pressure on them. The government recognized them and was holding talks with Xavier and Eric. But yet, there was the Kryptonian. He did not bother to hide what he was, or who he was to the student body. But as of yet, he had not made himself publicly known either. There were shady press reports every so often claiming that some powerful alien was here, despite the effort to conceal his presence, and various tabloid garbage. He had lived here for over two months, but had already made quite an impression on both schools.

      

        Every morning since his arrival, he could be found on the front lawn of the mansion, practicing the intricate maneuvers of the Koh-Re. At other times, he would have Scott, Jean, and Alex Summers bombard him with their combined might, so he could test himself in combat conditions. His only goal in such exercises was to simply touch his opponents. The only time the three X-Men won was when Jean accidentally shut down the physical synapses in his brain. Most of the student body found the time to attend at least two of his Koh-Re classes a week. During his off times, he could be found at his computer, writing a conversion dictionary and a reading-writing textbook on Kryptonese, and sometimes talking to Shadowcat while doing so. He was no longer making diamonds, but only Kitty knew about them in the first place. At other times he would sit with Hank and Bishop over a cup of coffee, discussing Kryptonian technology. Charles had tested his knowledge and found him to be a genius, but not quite as smart as Reed Richards. On his personal/social side, he had pretty much kept to associating with the X-Men. Jean knew that he secretly feared of accidentally hurting someone, so he was distancing himself from most.

 

       There were only seven people that he had regular contact with. He would speak to Magneto, the new headmaster of the school, about history and the development of mutants over the past 50 years. Charles, besides testing, was helping him cope with the transition to this world, along with helping him deal with the deaths of all of his friends and family. His training sessions with the Summers family was rewarding for both sides. It gave the Kryptonian the opportunity to test himself against multiple meta-humans, something he knew could happen frequently. As for the Summers', it allowed them to keep up their reflexes, and gain practical knowledge about this man and his race. This was quite valuable because there was no practical knowledge on what the X-Men could do against such a foe. It also gave them the knowledge of what to do, just in case. Zal also divulged his limitations dealing with red solar radiation and Blue Kryptonite to Scott, Jean, Eric and Charles as a precaution.

 

 He was spending a lot of time with Kitty, mostly at her request, but there were some developing feelings there. And finally, there was Storm. The Kryptonian spent long hours with the leader of the X-Men, studying past mission logs, getting debriefings on current missions, and discussing her deployment, teamwork, and practical strategies. Storm was happy to comply, considering she found this man fascinating. These were her thoughts as she stood in the open doorway of the mansion, watching him work on techniques that would have been impossible without his tremendous powers. She was noticing how the sheen of sweat made his muscle tone stand out on his bare chest and back. He was wearing only a pair of Reeboks and gym shorts to work out in. Although it had the effect of distracting most of the female population of the school, Storm enjoyed the sight nonetheless.

 

       "Great view."

 

       Storm turned with a start, but relaxed as she saw that the voices belonged to some of her fellow X-Men. The three newcomers sat down on the mansion steps, soon followed by Storm. Jubilee was the first to comment.

 

       "Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmm," then turned to Storm. "Do you know if he is seeing anyone?" she asked plainly.

 

       Storm and Rogue started laughing. But it was Rogue who spoke. "Girl, he is like too old for you.” she said still giggling.

 

       "Too old? He's only like 22 or 23, right?

 

       Rogue looked at her friends. "No, Jube. That’s he old he is on his world. Here he is like..." she paused, trying to calculate the math, albeit unsuccessfully. "Well, he's old here."

 

       "Well I don’t care how old he is," Jubilee said turning to look at the Kryptonian again. "Just look at that. That is still a hot commodity in my book."

 

       "You got that right, Jube." Kitty said, having a hard time tearing her eyes from him. "In more ways than just his looks, though."

 

       The four women went silent when they saw him pick up a handful of sand. He closed his hands together and stared at them. Twin red beams shot from his eyes, making his hands glow white. He started working his hands together, compacting the material. Satisfied, he blew on his hands until ice formed up to his elbows.  The women could feel the air become suddenly a few degrees cooler. When he opened his hands, there was a dense, blue glass ball.

 

       `"Wow." Jubilee said. "He could make a fortune doing that. Authentic hand-blown Kryptonian glass."

 

       Rogue turned to Shadowcat who was also impressed. "First she wants to date him, now she wants to be his agent." The three older women laughed at that thought.

 

       "What's so funny?" Jubilee questioned. "Just because I have a firm financial mind on my shoulders, doesn't mean..." her voice trailed off as the man put the ball into a leather harness, flew up to the branch of a nearby tree, and tied the harness off. "What is he doing?" she asked.

 

       Storm turned to the three of them. "Do you remember yesterday when you asked me if I had been creating lightning bolts due to the rumbling sounds coming from apparently nowhere?" The three other women nodded. "Well, I found out the source of that sound. Watch."

 

       Their attention was drawn back to the Kryptonian. He was standing, 30 feet away, half-facing the dangling ball. His left was in a defensive position, while his right was cocked back ready to strike. He concentrated hard, and then suddenly, with a cry, his right hand shot out, palm striking the air in front of him. A loud sonic boom erupted from the force of the blow, startling the four women. Instantly, the glass ball exploded without the Kryptonian moving his feet.

 

       Storm smiled and looked at her companions. "A controlled sonic boom. Simply amazing." The four friends got up and started walking over to him as he started to dry off with a towel.  He had just slipped a sleeveless t-shirt over his head when they got there.

 

       Zal turned and addressed the women. "Good Morning Ladies, is there something I can do for you?"

 

       Rogue smiled with a twinkle in her eyes. "Yes Zal, actually there is. I would like you to escort my friends here dancing tonight in Manhattan."

 

       "Well, I.... have never....."

 

       "Don’t worry about it. They will teach you."

 

       He looked into each of their eyes. Jubilee was swooning, Storm was pleasantly surprised, and Kitty was anxious. "Sure, I would be my pleasure." he said as his gaze met Kitty's, then he looked at Rogue. "Aren't you coming?"

 

       "No. I cant. I have watch duty tonight. Besides, I think Gambit would throw a conniption."

 

       "I'm sorry to hear that." Zal said as he turned back to the other three. "What time shall I pick you ladies up?"

 

       They looked at each other and back to him. "Six," they all said in unison.

 

       He bowed deeply and started to fly away. "Then expect a knock on your doors at 5:55. I will be waiting."

 

       Jubilee waved goodbye and turned to Storm. "Cool! I got a date and didn't even have to ask."

 

       The four women dispersed to perform the classes, research, and chores they each had to do. That afternoon, Storm, Jubilee and Kitty were walking side by side to the mansion. They were all looking forward to tonight. When they got to the floor where all of their dorms were, they found several men and women setting up what appeared to be a salon in the rec room. Storm watched them for a brief second and stropped the nearest man. "What's going on here? I don't remember seeing authorization for this."

 

       The man she stopped was already nodding waiting for her to finish." Ms. Munroe?" he looked past her. "Ms. Pryde? Ms. Lee?" When all three of them shook their heads in acknowledgement, he continued. "Ah, yes. This is compliments of a Mr.Cox. He has ordered a full manicure, pedicure, mud treatment, massage, and your choice of style for your hair, and he has supplied several silk cocktail dresses. He had mentioned something about a date?"

 

       The women looked at each other and grinned. "He never does anything halfway, does he?" Kitty asked.

 

       "Apparently not." replied Storm.

 

       "Cool! A makeover!" Jubilee said as she entered the salon.

 

       The women submitted to the treatment, fully soaking in luxury they had never felt before. They were helped into their dresses, shoes, makeup, and gold and diamond jewelry, all tastefully done. When 5:55 rolled around, they felt like they were almost queens. They all turned and looked at the doorway when they heard a man clearing his throat. "Miladies," the Englishman in a drivers' uniform said. "Your limousine awaits."

 

       Jubilees face lit up. "A limo? Could this get any better?" The driver promptly turned and walked downstairs. The women followed him downstairs only to find Scott and Jean waiting on one of the stair landings.

 

       "Hey girls," Scott said. "I would be careful around him, he looks shady to me." Then he broke a smile. "Seriously, have fun." Then Jean broke in. "Yeah, enjoy this. Its not often you will get the full royal treatment."

 

       Kitty responded in kind. "I just don't know what to expect next. He seems to think of everything."

 

       Jean and Scott looked at each other, smiled, and without another word, continued walking upstairs. When the three women got to the bottom, they noticed a red velvet carpet leading to an open door to a stretch Caddie. On either side of the carpet were hundreds of long-stem red roses. They walked outside among cheers and whistles of the entire student body. Blushing, the women got in the back of the limo. The door was closed behind them. There, in front of them, was Zal in a solid white tuxedo. He handed each of the women a glass of champagne.

 

       "Ladies, did I forget anything?"

 

       Still reeling from the pleasant surprises, Kitty spoke first. "Well, actually yes you did, Zal. Usually when a man brings flowers, they are accompanied by chocolate. The roses were good..." she said with mock annoyance.

 

       "Ok, so I cant remember everything."

 

       Strom was the next to speak up. "Zal, where did you get the money for all of this?"

 

       Zal took a sip of the champagne and sat back. "Well, when I first got here, I discovered that industrial-quality diamonds are quite rare. There was this company doing seabed drilling, or something like that, and they were paying top prices for diamonds for their drills, no questions asked. Since industrial diamonds don’t have to be perfect, they were easy for me to make. They paid me 6 million in cash for almost two dozen, around a hundred carats apiece."

 

       Jubilee's eyes went wide. "Six million? Wow!"

 

       Zal said, "Well, not anymore. I guess I will have to make some more for expenses."

 

       "On all of this," Storm ventured.

 

       "Oh, no. I donated two and a half million to the school, two and a half more went to Tony Stark for him to distribute to worthy charities, since he set up the transactions for me, and the rest I have in cash still. Anyway, the night is yours. We are on our way to Manhattan, and will be there in less than an hour. Anything you three want to do is fine by me."

 

       The 'date' went just about everywhere. First, they all ate at one of the nicest restaurants they could find. After waiting an hour, and a substantial tip later, they were seated and served. Next, they went shopping. Jubilee picked out these 'wicked-looking Gargoyles' as she put it. They looked like regular sunglasses to Zal. Storm found this signed copy of Bram Stokers' Dracula at an antique store, and Kitty found an authentic silver and bronze 14th century Celtic medallion in an occult shop she knew of. Of course they wanted to dance. The four of them went club-hopping, having a good time but effectively wearing the women out. They all decided to retire to a coffee house and relax for a bit before heading back to the mansion. After less than 10 minutes, Jubilee fell asleep slumped over in a booth. Storm busied herself by starting to read her book while sipping an extremely large latte'. After having a cappuccino and a French vanilla mocha, respectfully, Kitty asked Zal to go with her on a short walk.  When he accepted, she told Storm that they would be back in about 20 minutes and that they would go when they got back. Storm just motioned them on with a wave of her hand and continued reading. Kitty and Zal walked outside and strolled down 42nd street. Zal noticed that even at 3am the city was still bustling with activity. Kitty started to speak.

 

       "Zal, " she said with a soft voice. "Would you mind answering a couple of questions for me?"

 

       Zal turned his full attention to her. "Sure, Kitty."

 

       She paused, unsure what she wanted to ask him first. "Zal, I was wondering how do you compare Kryptonian girls to the ones here on Earth?"

 

       "That’s quite easy. The women here on Earth are definitely more fun, "he paused thinking about his answer. "Kryptonian girls seem to be… rather uppity. But other than my late cousin, I have not spent time around any of my kind in ten years."

 

       Kitty grinned, knowing that she got an answer that she, along with most of the schools female population, was hoping for. "The second is going to be hard for me to ask," she said, her voice wavering slightly. "So don’t be surprised if I can’t get it out." Zal nodded, a worried expression sketched in his features. "Zal, I think I have these.... feelings... for you. I believe they are genuine and real. I think I’m falling...that I want to be...what I’m trying to say is..." she stammered. She stopped them both and turned him to her. She took his hands into hers and looked into his eyes, attempting to say something more. Zal, understanding finally what she was saying, took the initiative. He bent down pulling Shadowcat closer. She found her arms around his neck, pulling him to her. Their lips met, and they stood there for long moments, embraced.  Finally, he pulled back and stood upright again.

 

       Kitty opened her eyes and looked at him again. "I guess you have a talent of reading between my lines."

      

       Zal smiled, bringing this woman closer. "Perhaps, but what does this mean?" he said curiously. "Is this a proposal, or 'testing the waters'?"

 

       Kitty looked surprised at the comment, but regained her composure. He was definitely very straightforward. ""Well, how about this. We'll call it 'testing', for now,” she said as a sly smile pursed her lips. They were about to embrace again when Zal heard an almost inaudible pop. Suddenly, Kitty went limp in his arms. When she slumped, he noticed some type of dart stuck in her back. Fearing she had been severely poisoned, he was listening for physiological disruptions in her system, and scanning the probable locations of the darts origin. He was about to pick her up and leave when this large metal box slammed down over the both of them. Instantly he noticed the gas that was flooding the box, and the red-colored lamps that had been retrofitted on the inside of the box. Before he could react, the knockout gas had taken hold, putting the Kryptonian down.

 

       After an hour had passed, Storm was beginning to get worried. She woke up Jubilee and started to search. I didn’t take them long to find out what happened. Lying on the street, partially concealed, was Kitty’s medallion. Attached to it was a note tied with a red ribbon. Storm picked it up and read it. "I have another quarter, time for me to play some more pinball."

 

       "Oh, no." Storm sighed.

 

       "What? What happened?" Jubilee asked.

 

       Storm looked to her companion. "They have been captured by Arcade, Jube."

 

       "Arcade?" Jubilee said. "You mean that guy who put you in that Muderworld theme park a few years back?"

 

       Storm shook her head in agreement. "The one and the same."

 

       "Well, so?" the younger woman asked. "Isn’t Zal like immune and invulnerable to anything?"

 

       Storm walked over to a pay phone and dialed the emergency number to the mansion. "I don’t know, Jube.  I really don’t know."

 

      

       Zal woke to find himself in some type of large clear plexiglass ball. Kitty was inside of another, right next to his. "Kitty? Are you alright?" he asked.

 

       Katherine opened her eyes and looked around. Suddenly terrified, she realized where she was. "Zal, can you get out of there quick?"

 

       Zal gained his bearings and braced himself inside the bubble. "Sure. No problem." Kitty watched him as he punched the inside of the dome. Nothing happened. Then she saw him focus his eyes on a spot in the ball. He turned away for a second. "Kitty, I don’t have my powers."

 

       Kitty looked at him rather puzzled, then shook it off. "Well, hold on. I'll come over there and get you out."

 

       "No Kitty! Wait!" Zal said as he saw the giant plunger behind her cranking itself backwards. "Stay solid if you can. We are about to go for a ride."

 

       Kitty looked back just in time to see the plunger strike forward sending the two balls into motion. They were getting bounced around everywhere, hitting bumpers and going around on slides. He saw the he and Katherine was drifting apart. Her ball dropped directly between the plungers. He started shifting his body weight around, and after a couple of seconds, followed her down the same hole. Apparently, he went down sooner that anticipated as he saw the chute reorient itself to another path. The chute caught Zal's ball between itself and the wall. The ball gave a groan of strained metal and shattered. Zal dove inside of the closing chute, hoping this would be the path Shadowcat took.

 

       At the bottom of the chute, Kitty phased just as her ball shattered on the ground. She floated down halfway into the laminated steel floor before stopping and air walking to the surface. She was trying to get her orientation in this dark room, when she heard something else coming down the chute. She saw Zal's white tux as he plummeted the last 100 feet onto the ground. He struck and rolled several times trying to soften the impact. She rushed to his side only to notice that his left shoulder was severely dislocated.

 

       "Oh, God, Zal." she said as he stood up discarding his ruined jacket. "You weren’t kidding when you said that you were powerless." She watched as he started feeling the placement of the bones in his shoulder. "How is that possible, Zal? I thought your powers were natural, like mine?"

 

       Zal looked around. "Do you notice the red tint to everything here, Kitty?"

 

       "Yeah."

 

       "That would probably do it." He was slowly pushing his shoulder back to its natural position, wincing with pain every few seconds.

 

       "I don’t understand,” she said.

 

       "You see I come from a world with a red star. When I am exposed to a red-star solar energy, real or artificial, I lose my powers and essentially become the equivalent of a normal human. Whoever captured us obviously found this out. Thankfully, at least so far, they don’t know about Kryptonite," Zal explained, obviously bracing himself for the pain to come.

 

       "Is that worse?" Kitty questioned, curious about him.

 

       "Quite painful. Imagine having a severe stroke and a heart attack at the same time."

      

       "Have you ever had this happen to you?" she asked.

 

       Zal grabbed his shoulder and looked at Kitty. "Once or twice." he sighed. He pulled out and pushed up on his shoulder, putting it back in place. He let out a brief scream of pain. "By Rao. That hurt."

 

       Kitty had jumped when he screamed, but came to his right side and put her arms around his waist. "Well, I don’t care. No matter what shape you are in, you will always be Zal."

 

       He looked down at her and smiled. They leaded closer, their lips within inches of embracing again, when a loudspeaker blared throughout the room. "Now, now. We'll have none of that."

 

       Zal yelled back. "Who are you and why have you done this to us?"

 

       "Well, my good fellow," the voice responded. "I am Arcade, and you have been targeted for assassination. I was lucky enough to get the contract." The voice paused and then continued. "And whoever said I wanted both of you. I got Ms. Pryde here as an added bonus."

 

       The Katherine spoke up. "Why Arcade? Why is Zal being targeted?"

 

       The voice laughed. "Lets just say that his presence cramps too many peoples style. But enough talk. Since I have a 'cat' and a being with the reflexes of a cat, I thought maybe you two would like to be the mice for the rest of your lives." The speakers audibly clicked off and the lights came on. There were four 30-foot tall mechanical cats. Three of them instantly swiped at Zal, missing by inches as he dodged out of the way. He spotted a hallway on the far side of the room that was too small for these machines to get through. As the next one swiped, he grabbed onto its paw with his good arm and allowed himself to be tossed in that general direction. This time he landed on his feet and ran inside of the hallway, stopping when he was safely inside.

 

       The last cat was seemingly puzzled as its claws swung right through Shadowcat. She calmly started walking towards Zal, while their claws were passing through her intangible form. Then one of the cats jumped right over her and belly-flopped on top of the seemingly indestructible girl. Instantaneously, all four cats detonated, throwing pieces and parts everywhere. Zal looked horrified.

 

       "Kitty!" he yelled. He stepped back into the room, looking for her. When the smoke cleared, he saw her standing in the exact spot that she was before the explosion. "Kitty? Are you alright?" Zal noticed that she was virtually unscathed.

 

       "Zal," she said with a slow, shaky voice. "I can’t see. The explosion flashed my vision."

 

       "Take my hand," he said as they started walking to the hallway. "I think he was counting on that. He needed to disable us both. I believe he has succeeded."

 

       They started to walk down the corridor, when they both heard an almost inaudible click. Zal turned to see that the passage had sealed itself behind them. "Zal, look out!" Kitty yelled, feeling the movement of the air around her.

 

       Zal turned in time to see a blade dropping over Kitty. He rushed and pushed her out of the way and caught the blade before it struck him. Even under red solar lamps, training with Kara, he was able to catch a blade with his bare hands without getting cut. This time he wasn’t so lucky. He caught the blade, but it bit into his left hand imbedding itself to the bone. He pulled it out and tore off his necktie, making it into a makeshift bandage. Within a few moments, it was slowly turning red. "Kitty, this hallway empties into a room in about 50 yards. I will guide you from here."

 

       "Ok. Can do." Kitty phased and started walking. He counted over 12 blades, 7 pit traps, electrified walls, among various other traps that activated along the hallway. She got to the end and stopped. "All right. Stay there and I will be there in a moment." he said aloud and turned to himself. "Photo sensors. I hope that is all there is."

 

       He started walking around the traps, ignoring the pain from his hand and shoulder. He looked down into the first pit trap and noticed the spikes of rough cut glass. "Hmmm. That would have hurt." He finally maneuvered through the last of the sprung traps until he stood next to Kitty.

 

       "I think my sight is returning. Instead of nothing, I see this big, dark blur."

 

       Zal chuckled and found her hand. "There isn't much to see right now, Kitty. This room is quite dark."

 

       "That would explain it."

 

       "Come on. Lets find out what type of deathtrap he has in store for us next."

 

 

       Back at the Institute of Higher Learning, Storm had assembled the X-Men.

 

       "Look," Scott said. "We all remember how hard it was to escape from Arcade the last time. But we are talking about a Kryptonian here. I can’t even phase him with a full power blast. At best, I’ve knocked him to the side, and he still kept coming."

 

       The Charles Xavier spoke. "There are still things that will affect him. Jean has shut down his physical synapses once."

 

       Jean perked up. "Professor, that almost put me down doing that, and it was an accident." she said remembering that day. "And there aren't too many telepaths in the world that can match us."

 

       Xavier nodded in agreement. "True. Also, I happen to know that he is susceptible to magic."

 

       Then Nightcrawler interrupted. "Well my friends, that is not likely either. I just got off the horn with Dr. Strange. He said that he knows of no other sorcerer in New York with enough power to put him down. Mostly dabblers." Rogue then quietly addressed the group.

 

       "I know how they got him." All eyes turned to her. "There is the danger room program I used to test his powers. The computer discovered one of his weaknesses. It used red-solar radiation..."

 

       A look of understanding appeared on Charles' face. "That’s right. He told us about that. But how would something like that get public so quickly? Anyway, that nullifies their powers while under its beams." He turned to his greatest students. "We need to start scanning for traces of red-solar radiation. It would be very rare to find a lamp that produces that type of light. We find those, and we might find them."

 

       Back at Muderworld, both Zal and Kitty were quite certain they were in real trouble. There were no traps, no monsters, nothing. Except for a simple red button put into a wall. There were also cameras in every corner of the ceiling. The door of the corridor had sealed itself as soon as he had stepped inside. Therefore this seemed to be somewhat 'final'.

 

       "Ok. What do we do now?" asked Zal.

 

       "What do you do indeed?" came the voice over the loudspeakers. "Here is my favorite part. Let me explain. On the other side of the wall before you, there is a simple 20-kiloton low-yield nuclear device." Zal and Kitty looked at each other sharply, even though Kitty's eyesight was only partially restored. "The button in front of you deactivates it. But wait. There’s more. Whoever touches the button will have 10,000 amps passed through their body, therefore making you quite 'post-toasty'. And Ms. Pryde, if you destroy my cameras or phase through the wall, you will automatically detonate the device. The switch is mechanical only and will not be disrupted by your abilities. So, here are your options: Mr. Alien here can press the button, saving his girlfriend and possibly millions of innocent lives, assuming there are any within the blast range. You can let the 5 minute timer lapse, and both die, or Ms. Pryde here can phase and save herself, because I don’t think you can phase the both of you and get far enough away, can you? Or lastly, Ms. Pryde can press the button, sacrificing herself to save her boyfriend there. Oh, and the button is protected by a deflector screen, so don’t try to throw anything to hit it. The only thing getting through is one of your hands, and air." The voice cackled for long seconds and then spoke again. "The choice is yours and you now have 5 minutes to decide your fate. Bye now!"

 

       When all was silent, Zal took Kitty's hands into his own and sighed. "Kitty. You will not press the button." She looked up into his eyes, her vision finally clearing.

 

       "Zal, if my sacrifice means that you will live...."

 

       He shook his head in disagreement. "Katherine, you have a very noble soul. But do you think they will let me out of here alive if you die? He was hired to kill me."

 

       A tear rolled down Kitty's face when she realized that he was right. "Then you are going to press it?"

 

       "Do I have a choice? It is my code to protect the innocent. Even if it is just you, I will gladly place your life ahead of mine."

 

       Finally breaking down, Shadowcat began to cry as she put her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. Without moving, Zal spoke loudly.

 

       "Arcade! Are you there?"

 

       "Of course. Have you come to a decision?"

 

       Zal looked down at Kitty. "Do you have a transport mechanism ready to transport her to safety?"

 

       "Yes I do."

 

       Zal nodded. "I want you to link it to automatically transport her away when I press the button."

 

       They could hear Arcade's voice perk up at the mention of the apparent suicide. "Ok. The steel floor in the middle of the floor will automatically convert to a ball, transporting her to Manhattan harbor as soon as the button is pressed. I will spare her the sight of your death."

 

       Zal nodded and looked at Kitty. "Please get on the transport. Here, I’ll take you there." He led her to the middle of the room where they could see the outline of the transport. He set her down on the ground. She looked up at him.

 

       "Zal, I couldn't say this earlier. But now I think I can. I think I am falling in love with you."

 

       He smiled and turned to the button without moving his feet. "I'll remember you said that Kitty." She could see his right hand tensing.  In a flash, he roared out a low cry and palm-slapped the air in front of him. She turned quickly to hear the button on the wall go 'cli-click'. He had pressed it! The loud speakers roared to life.

 

       "No! You cant do that! You have no powers!" But it was too late. The transport ball closed around both of them and shot through the ceiling, carrying them both to safety.

 

       "How did you do that?" Kitty exclaimed. "I saw you do that in the mansion courtyard, but that was with your powers. Did you get them back or something?"

 

       The Kryptonian laughed, pulled her close and put a finger to her lips. "I learned that trick four years ago, before I had powers. My powers were what made the sonic booms. It is one of the requirements you have to be proficient in or you can’t advance in Koh-Re." He leaned down and kissed her.

 

        They were still embraced and the ball blew open in the middle of the harbor. They broke to see the X-Men's jet closing in on them. The lower gates opened, and Zal took her hand and flew into the waiting craft. Inside, the X-Men bombarded them with questions. They put the jet on hover and held a meeting right there in the cargo area. Kitty and Zal explained the entire situation to the amazed mutants. All the while, Jean was making sure that Zal's wounds were healing. Under the circumstances, she noticed that if he were a normal human, he would have lost the use of his hand. But it healed up just fine, right in front of her eyes. Storm came over and whispered into Kitty's ear.

 

       "That’s some catch you have there." she said and winked at her friend. "We saw you two in the ball." Kitty just smiled sat down to relax.

 

       "Well, I really..."

 

       Then Jubilee spoke softly into her other ear. "Its not fair. You got more time with him than I did!"

 

       Kitty shrugged and Zal just smiled.

 

            

End of Chapter 1 of The Pryde of Courtship.