hero The Untold Tales of Henri de Ceredigion : The Mysterious Recruit

[CardiMuscleman]

Chapter One

"Bonjour, my dear lieutenant, and who do we have joining us today?"

As Captain de Ceredigion strode into Musketeer HQ in the year 1636, he found his trusted deputy, Lieutenant D'Artangan nearly buried in paper work, and had to supress a chuckle when a hand emerged holding a sheet of paper which was handed to the Captain with a muffled "Just the one, sir, a strange lad, about the same age as me, says he comes from Brittany, but, well, he doesn't seem to know much about the place!"

As the Captain read the sheet of paper, he frowned and sighed "Oh, not another one" and said "That's because, he's English. I mean at least the Duke of Buckingham put some effort into my name. Henry becomes Henri, Cardigan becomes de Ceredigion, I mean, what sort of disguise is Greffier de Cantium anyway? They might as well just called him "A Clerk from the county of Kent". Oh well, I'd better go and see him!" and with that bade his lieutenant goodbye who offered a word of advice.

"Be careful with him, he's rather clumsy!"

***

"Atten-shun!"

As the Captain left the headquarters into the bright spring sunshine, all his worst fears were realised, there before was a man, about the same size as Aramis and, if indeed such a thing was possible, even thinner than Aramis. As the cadet stood to attention, his baldric fell down around his feet and with a panicked "Sorry, sir" he replaced the baldric, only for it to fall down again.

"Cadet" said the Captain, "would I be right in assuming that you are new in Paris?"

The cadet nodded and as he did the captain sighed "That baldric is a good two sizes too large for you, you're nothing like the size of Athos and certainly no Porthos. Still, let's go through some basic drill" and as the Captain commanded "Cadet, march" and drilled the cadet through his paces, he and his alter ego, the Ultimate Musketeer, mused on the new recruit.

"Gad, if I had not had seen it with your own eyes, I would never believe it in a million years. All we need is a good breeze and he'd blow away all that back to England!"

"True, although why on earth, we need another English Musketeer I cannot say. One's enough, surely!"

"Aye, perhaps Charles is worried that you've become too French!"

"If that was the case, kindly explain why he has a French wife? Surely me becoming French is a good thing?"

"To the point of marrying a French woman, having two French children, becoming captain of the French Royal Guard and being a hero to boot!"

"Point taken" smiled Henri as he called the recruit to a halt and was amazed to see the young lad, puffing and panting.

"But that wasn't even half a league!" he said to which the recuit panted "Sorry, sir, I am not used to all this marching!"

Just as Henri was about to declare this new recruit unfit for service, Athos came haring around the corner, came to a screeching halt, saluted and panted "Captain, find the Ultimate Musketeer, and quickly, the Armoury had caught fire!"

As Henri nodded his understand, he dismissed the recruit and calmly walked inside headquarters, once there he ducked into the tunnel that led outside the garrison, dived behind a bush and a moment later the Ultimate Musketeer could be seen runing along the banks of the Seine, faster than a horse to the now well ablaze Armoury where Aramis and Porthos were keeping the gathered crowds safe. As the Musketeer arrived, Porthos moaned with desire, saluted and moaned "There's twenty barrels of gunpowder in there, if it should blow" and then whispered "like my manhood at your sight!" to which the Musketeer declared "Fear not, I am here to help" and was about to dive into the Seine when, as if by magic, the river suddenly froze for a good five hundred pied in both directions. As the Musketeer and Porthos looked at each other, Porthos whispered "Since when could you freeze rivers just by looking at it?", the Musketeer whispered "I can't" as suddenly the river seemed to rise up into the air in front of them. It then hovered over the armoury and then fell, throwing Porthos and Aramis to the ground, the solid river suddenly exploded and rain poured down, putting out the fire, saving Paris and leaving the Musketeer at a complete and utter loss as to what had happened.

"Glad to be of assistance" declared a voice above them and as Porthos, Aramis and the Musketeer looked upwards, the Musketeer gasped, Aramis crossed himself and Porthos moaned as he spilled his seed, for there, standing upright with nothing to support him was a man, dressed in an almost blue outfit with a fleur de lys on his chest in bright yellow who nodded and then flew off, like an eagle, away from the scene.

"Who, in the name of His Majesty was that?" asked the Musketeer and Aramis in unison, following the flight of the man

"I don't know" whispered Porthos, "but if I suck him and spill my seed into you, would you be upset?"

[CardiMuscleman]

Chapter Two

"Alexei, you haven't been making any more Ultimates have you? Not that Porthos would object!"

"No, you're the only person I have transformed into an Ultimate. Why do you ask? Do you think Porthos would like to become an Ultimate Titan?"

"I shall ask him one day" chuckled Henri, "but no, it's just that...well. you'd better look for yourself!" and with that Henri knelt down and allowed Alexei to stare deep into his eyes and as Henri fell into a trance, he was able to describe in vivid detail the new hero of Paris. Releasing Henri from his hold, Alexei said "Well, he doesn't sound like something I would make" and then asked "Best have a look in the library when you get back to Headquarters, it's possible he could be the result of the interaction between an ordinary person and an object from space"

"How?" asked Henri

"Well, the things I could tell you about a certain Vandal Savage" came the smiled reply, "DId you know he's actually a caveman who, to all and intents and purposes, is now immortal?"

***

"So what are we looking for Henri?" asked Porthos as Henri dropped a large pile of books in front of him at the library.

"That man we saw at the armoury is around twenty years old, therefore we are looking for something that happened, in an around the county of Kent around the years 1610 to 1620 that features the words, comet, meteorites, Kent and well anything odd or unsual"

"But Henri, I'm not that fast a reader, remember, it took me the whole of the spring just to read the first chapter of your trave guide to the world!"

"Allow me to assist" smiled Henri and with that snapped his finger and his thumb started to glow. Holding it above Porthos's head he smiled "A little Ultimate to help you" and touched Porthos's forehead and as soon as he did Porthos's eyes started to sparkle with intelligence and within moments the two were piling through the books at a rate of knots.

Indeed, just half an hour later, Porthos declared "Found something" and placed his finger in the book he was reading. It was a copy of a journal called "The Visitations of Kent" and was mentioned in a book about the history of Kent from the start of the Tudor era and as Porthos read the passage Henri nodded sagely

"Thus, on the night of St. John's Day, in the year of our Lord 1615, the Lord God did give up a firey ball that did make impact upon the lands of poor Kent family, whose ancestral history lie in the heart of the county that they lived in. When they went to see what the ball was, they were shocked to find an infant, as like the Christchild Himself presented before them. They took the child unto themselves and raised him as a good Christian child"

"That was written in 1633, Henri" said Porthos, "you don't suppose?"

"Well, there is only one way to find out I say. Looks like the Ultimates are going to pay a call on our new recruit. Promise me one thing, Porthos?"

"Aye?"

"Spare your seed for the time being, just in case we are wrong!"

[CardiMuscleman]

Chapter Three

That evening, the Musketeer and Titan stood outside the cadet's quarters at Musketeer Headquarters in absolute silence. Putting a finger to his mouth the Musketeer gently knocked on the door with his smallest finger, making it sound as if someone was knocking with their whole hand and then, in the voice of Henri said "Cadet de Cantium, are you in there?"

"Yes, sir" came the answer

"Cadet, I have two people who wish to see you. Are you decent and may they enter?"

"Yes, in both regards, sir"

"Gentlemen, pray introduce yourselves!" and with that he grabbed hold of the door handle and with a smile, pulled the door out of its frane and exclaimed "Behold, the Ultimate Musketeer and the Ultimate Titan here to show you your future!" and with that they posed heroically in the door frame.

"Thank you for the visit, gentlemen" replied the cadet, "however I cannot entertain you for long as I have a drilling lesson with the captain tomorrow!"

As both men looked at each other in astonishment, the Titan smiled wryly and as the Musketeer repaired the door, the Titan went to the cadet, sat on his bed causing it to bulge so much that it was on the verge of snapping and with a chuckle, gently moved his arm underneath the cadet's nose and with a moan, bent it, causing the arm to touch the cadet's nose.

"Do you see that, mon amis" moaned the Titan, "that is two pied around arm, just imagine the strength such an arm could generate, the power that it would endow you with. Become a Musketeer like myself and my ally, mon amis, and the women of Paris will be drawn to you as the most beautiful and masculine man in the city!" and with that he made the arm twitch

"If you are wishing to test my loyalty to the Crown" said the Cadet, "by offering me a chance to test your strength and power, then I shall have to politely decline the offer. Captain de Ceredigion was most insistent that I bury myself in my studies!"

As the Titan looked at the Musketeer, his eyebrows raised, the Musketeer knelt down in front of the cadet, gently pulled the pamphlet he was reading down and said with a wry smile, "But surely lad, you must know that being a Musketeer is seen by many of the women as making you such an elgible bachelor that no woman would resist you. Imagine if you possessed the strength of Porthos, the poetry of Aramis and even the politeness of Captain de Ceredigion, all that in one man" and with that he gently made his bosom bounce as it to emphasis the point.

"I appreciate the visit, mes amis" replied the cadet, "but if al you are trying to do is drive me from my lessons then it will not work, thus, if that is your only reason for this visit, then pray, I beesech you to visit another of the cadets for I am devoted to my studies!" and with that he gestured to the door and as both heroes nodded, they left, each with an expression of sheer bewildement on their faces.

"Mon cher" said the Titan as they entered the main courtyard, "is he alright?"

"I really don't know" replied the Musketeer, "perhaps I was a bit tough on him this morning. But I was only doing what came..."

"Oh, Titan, Musketeer, thank the Lord I have found you!"

As the two looked up they saw D'Artangan come racing towards them and panted "I came as soon as I was told..."

"Told what, mes amis?"

"That the Palace is on fire!"

"WHAT?" and with that both heroes charged out of the courtyard faster than a musket ball, however as D'Artangan watched them leave with a smile on his face, his attention was caught by a streak of red in the night sky that seemed to be heading in the same direction

***

"OPEN THE GATES IN THE NAME OF HIS MAJESTY!"

As the Titan and Musketeer charged into the courtyard of the Lourve, they quickly started issuing instructions.

"Titan, start a water chain. I will search the palace, find the King and Queen, bring them to safety, find the source of the fire and then take the buckets from you two at a time"

The Titan nodded and as he started to gather the courtiers, the Musketeer turned to a man behind him and said "Monsieur, there is nothing that you can do just standing there, therefore please join the line that my ally is creating in order to ensure the King's health"

"You may be my Musketeer and Titan, monsieur, but that does not give you the right to boss me around" replied the man and as he turned around both heroes instantly dropped to one knee and declared "Your Majesty!"

"Anyway, there is no need for concern, I was rescued several moments ago as was my wife, and as for ensuring my health, well, if you do not mind me saying, you are too late. This fellow helped me!" and with that he pointed to the palace entrance where the man they had seen dousing the fire over the Armoury was gently escorting the Queen down the steps, holding her hand as if escorting her to a dance. Handing her over to the King, he bowed and declared "It is my duty to serve, your Majesty!"

"NOW LOOK HERE!" roared the Musketeer getting to his feet, but in the time that he did, the hero had shot into the air and hovered over the palace saying "I am sorry I cannot stay, I hear the calls of other citizens of this fair city in need of help!" and with that shot off, a streak of red behind him in the night sky. It was a calling card that made the Musketeer so furious, he stomped his foot, causing everyone in the courtyard to wobble and roared "IF ANYONE NEEDS ME, I SHALL BE INCREASING THE SUPPLY OF LIMESTONE!" and with that crouched down and jumped several leagues distance.

As the King watched him, he turned to the Titan and said "Forgive me, mes amis, but have I upset the Ultimate Musketeer?"

"He's just having a bad day, your Majesty" replied the Titan, "I shall try and calm him down" and after bowing followed his lover in the same manner.

[CardiMuscleman]

Chapter Four

As the Titan landed in the King's quarry, he shook his head in disappointment as he found the Musketeer, dressed in only his loincloth, sweat pouring off his back pounding the cliff face in raw anger

"NEVER"

PUNCH

"HAVE"

PUNCH

"i"

PUNCH

"BEEN"

PUNCH

"SO"

PUNCH

"INSULTED!" and with that the Musketeer pulled both arms back and with a scream of pure anger, punched the cliff face so hard that a six hundred pied section of the cliff just collapsed in front of the Musketeer.

"Mon cher, I know you are upset, but..."

"UPSET?" screamed the Musketeer turning around showing his heaving bosom and as the Titan stared at his love who added "THAT...SO CALLED SUPERIOR MAN HAS INCENSED ME TO BEYOND WORDS!" the Titan could see that his love's heart was pounding so quickly he could only count a hundred in a few seconds. Approaching him cautiously, the Titan offered the Musketeer a hand and as he did he said "I am here for you mon chere!" which caused the Musketeer to collapse into the Titan's bosom and wail "Oh, mon chere, I've never been this upset before. Please, do the right thing for me, I beg you!"

The Titan nodded and taking hold of the Musketeer's sword, he embraced his love, held the sword aloft and declared "Thy glory has been restored" and a moment later, placing the Captain on one of the many lumps of limestone now littering the quarry, Porthos sat on one opposite and said gently "Henri, are you upset because this Superior Man is doing all the things that you normally do?"

"Oh, Porthos" wailed Henri, sobbing into his gloved hands, "The Ultimate Musketeer was the, if you will pardon the English expression, icing on the cake. I love being a Musketeer captain, please understand me, but him, he's everything and more I could want to be. This, Superior Man, is taking all that away from me. I...Oh, Porthos, I don't want to be plain old Henri again for ever!" and with that he raised his head and issued a loud wail that pulled at Porthos's heart.

"But he is a hero" replied Porthos, holding Henri's hand, "why cannot we just ask him to let us deal with half the problems we used to!"

"Because to make matters worse" sniffed Henri, "he's English. You heard him when he spoke, there was a southern English twinge to it"

"Mon cher, maybe cadet de Cantium knows something about him. After all, he is English as well, remember!"

Henri suddenly lited his head out of his gloves and said "Pardon?"

"Cadet de Cantium comes from England, and this superior man comes from England, maybe..."

"YES!" declared Henri jumping off the stone, "that's it. Oh, Porthos, you are a genius!"

"Am I?"

"The thing that landed in England, in 1615, it landed in the same county as the cadet comes from. Maybe...yes, I am sure of it. Stand back Porthos!"

As Henri became the Ultimate Musketeer again, he crouched down and said "Porthos, tell the cadet that the Captain will be drilling him on short daggers as part of his training tomorrow!" and with that leapt into the distance leaving Porthos scratching his head.

[CardiMuscleman]

Chapter Five

"Good morning, de Cantium, and how are we this morning?"

"Ready for my lesson, Captain!"

"Excellent, now, I have asked Musketeer Porthos to help with today's lesson, as it does take more than one instructor. You are familiar with him I trust?"

"Aye, he is said to be the strongest man ever to live, save the man he is named after, the Titan, Hercules!"

"Pray, lad" smiled Porthos, puffing out his chest, "you will make me explode with pride!"

"On the subject of Titans, I understand that you got a visit from the Ultimate Musketeer and the Ultimate Titan last night. Did you...approve of them?" and with that the Captain gave the cadet a nudge and winked at him.

"I believed that they were kindly fellows, sir, however I dismissed them as I knew I had to study for this lesson!"

"You dismissed them?" exclaimed the Captain, "but lad, they were there to welcome you into the corps, show off how strong you could be, how powerful you could be. Are you telling me that you didn't even allow the Ultimate Titan to perform his favourite trick?"

"Trick, sir?"

"Of bending all the bars in your window around his arm and then bending it to make all the bars break. Oh, the number of cadets who have witnessed that feat of strength and power and are still talking about it a month later" and with the Captain looked at the cadet and said "You didn't do anything to upset them did you?"

"Nay, sir, I dismissed them with a polite manner!"

"That's a relief" smiled the Captain, "anyway on with your lesson. Porthos, would you stand at the far end of the courtyard and then when you are ready, attack this man!" and with that the Captain walked away, the cadet exclaimed "What?" and Porthos walked to the end of the courtyard and after a moment, drew his sword and charged at the cadet who in a panic, drew his sword and was nearly pushed over backwards by Porthos as he tried to defend himself from the attack.

"And stop" said the Captain and as Porthos pulled back, the cadet fell over.

"Now, what do you think went wrong there, lad?"

"I was taken by surprise, sir!"

"Let's try that again and this time, don't be taken by suprise...In your own time, Porthos!"

Porthos retook his position and charged again, this time the cadet drew his sword and managed to defend himself, but as he did he suddenly felt something cold around his neck and froze.

As the Captain removed the dagger from the cadet's neck, he said "Never, ever assume that you will be attacked by a solitary attacker. Those guardsmen always operate in groups. So, what do you do next time?"

"Defend myself, sir, and listen out for others!"

"Excellent, right, once more from the top, as Shakespeare would say!"

This time as Porthos charged and the cadet made himself ready, Henri every so slightly rose above the ground but so little it looked as though he was standing on tiptoes and taking out another dagger gently glided over to the cadet who as Porthos attacked and he defended suddenly realised that Henri was behind him but too late, only this time as he felt the cold steel he started to look rather pale.

"No, no, no, no, no!" exclaimed Henri in desperation, "What did I say? Listen out for others!"

"Sir, please, I beg you, I don't feel well!"

"I'm sorry, I am not going to use an excuse of you missing breakfast for that lack of concentration!"

"Sir, I...I have never felt this way before, I feel as if I am being drained!"

"I shall tell you what is being drained, cadet, and that is my patience. You said that you wanted to be a Musketeer but so far I have seen nothing that convinces me of that detail"

"Er, mon amis..."

"Ah, sorry, Porthos, you wished to comment on the cadet's lack of skills"

"Is he supposed to be turning green?"

"With envy, maybe!"

"No, I mean, green literally"

As Henri peered at the cadet he gasped as his face and hands had turned a bright shade of green.

"Well, I have heard of people having an allergic reaction to daggers before, but never turning green before!"

"Its...the...dagger...sir...its...got...Kryptonite...in...it"

"Kryptonite? What's that when it is at home? Some new mineral they have been finding in the ground?"

"It...is...all...that...remains...of...my...home..." and with that the cadet collapsed. As Henri looked at the dagger embedded with green crystals, he showed it to Porthos and then said "Porthos, I rather think this cadet is not all he is cracked up to be. When he recovers, bring him to my office, I want to have words with him!"

[CardiMuscleman]

Chapter Six

"And he's still not recovered?"

As Porthos opened the doors to the Captain's quarters, Henri peered out to see the cadet, now his usual pink colouring, lying on the chair outside his office completely limp. Going back to his desk, he sat down and examined the dagger he had used as part of the training exercise and said "Porthos, these green crystals in this dagger, would you like to know where I got them from?"

"Oui, mon amis!"

"Canterbury, a large town in the county of Kent, specfically about two miles outside and around fifty feet below the ground. Luckily, thanks to the fact that the sun rises later in England than it does here I was able to find what I was looking for, leave the ground as it was untouched and then jump all the way back here, but I have reason to believe that these crystals either came from that thing that delivered that child some twenty years ago and as a result have something to do with the cadet,, what though I have no idea!"

"And this, for what of a better term, Superior Man?"

"Superior...? Oh, the person who seems determined to put the Musketeer and Titan out to pasture? I cannot say for sure, but, well, it does seem odd that he appears just as the same time as the cadet" and he turned the dagger around he asked the crystals "What are you?" and as he did there was a knock at the door and so putting the dagger away, Henri declared "Enter" and the cadet, still looking a little peaky entered slowly and said "Forgive me, sir, but I am still not well"

"Cadet" said Henri, as he gestured the cadet to take a seat, "I want you to know that the only people in this room are me, Musketeer Porthos and yourself. This is not a court martial but I want you to treat it as if it was, in other words, everything you tell me must be completely the truth. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Good, now let us start with the simple things, and remember, nothing but the truth" and with that he pulled out a piece of paper and read from it "Your name is Greffier de Cantium, correct?"

After a pause the cadet replied "Non"

"At last" declared Henri, and looking over the paper said "As I said, my lad, we are on our own, so your real name is?" and with that added to Porthos, "as this is likely to be an English name I'll spell it out for you"

"My name, sir, is...Kal El"

"You see, Porthos, an English name, spelt Kay Eee Ell...sorry, what did you say?"

"Kal El, sir"

"That most certainly is not English" replied Henri and looked at his sheet again, "so you were not born in Canterbury, England?"

"No, sir, Krypton, 27.1 light years from here!"

"27.1 what?" exclaimed Henri

"Light years, sir" said the cadet and with his head bowed said "Forgive me, sir, but, I am not of this world. I was born on the planet Krypton, 27.1 light years from here" and then raising his head added "some three hundred years from now!"

Henri lowered the paper, rubbed his forehead and asked "Porthos, did this lad just admit to being born, in the future?"

As Porthos nodded blankly, the lad stood up and declared "My father was a brillant scientist on the planet and calculated that the stresses on the planet would reach a point where the planet would explode. Knowing this he informed the highest council of scientists, but they all dismissed him, but he knew what he believed in and so designed a test rocket in order to prove that the planet could be escaped from. Sadly, the destruction of the planet came faster that he had thought, and as a result, there was only one surviovur, me, for I was a baby and that rocket became my cradle!"

Henri sniffed as he heard the tale and excusing himself while he wiped his eyes with his gloves asked "So, how did you come to be here, lad?"

"A wormhole, sir. I was launched in the earth year 1891 with the aim of landing on Earth in 1918, however I passed through a wormhole which sent me back in time to 1604 and I arrived on Earth in 1615"

"You're the Christchild!" Henri exclaimed, "the one that was found in the crater of an explosion near Canterbury" to which the lad nodded saying "I was adopted by the Kent's, sir, a couple who had tried to have a child in the past but had not been able to, hence when I came here I took the name de Cantium"

"However" said Henri, "that does not explain this!" and with that he pulled out the dagger and instantly, the lad staggered backwards saying "No, sir, please, put that dagger away" and as Henri did so, the lad stammered "That's Kryptonite sir, the only other remains of my planet. If I am exposed to it for long enough, I could die!"

"But we cannot be harmed by it, correct?"

"Yes, that's right!"

As Henri got up from his chair, he walked around the lad and as he did so he started to think, then suddenly stopping in front of the lad he said "You're the Superior Man, aren't you?" and as the lad opened his eyes wide in shock, Porthos gasped "What? He's that hero!"

"Well, think about it" said Henri, "this lad comes to become a Musketeer and within a matter of moments this Superior Man turns up" and with that turned again to the lad and said "It's all right, lad, you're amongst friends"

The lad nodded again and with a smile Henri said "Well, come on then, lad, introduce us!"

The lad stepped into the middle of the room and then started to spin very quickly before coming to a halt dressed in a red and blue outfit that made Porthos moan "Oh, mon dieu, he's beautiful"

"My lad" smiled Henri, unsheathing his sword, "you are not alone" and raising it aloft declared "For the glory of France" and a moment later the Ultimate Musketeer and Ultimate Titan stood in front of him and with a chuckle they both said "Now, about that visit?"

[CardiMuscleman]

Chapter Seven

As the sun started to sun on that day, it found the Superior Man standing over the Ultimate Musketeer and Ultimate Titan, both of whom were naked, covered in sweat, puffing and panting and as the Superior Man noted "Please forgive me, my friends, I never meant to tax you that much. Your hearts are beating at almost six hundred times a minute!"

"It...is...alright...my...lad!" panted the Musketeer, taking deep breaths as he did so, "myself...and...the...Titan...love...to...be...pushed!"

"Aye!" moaned the Titan as he licked the last of his seed from his thumb.

"You did ask to see how powerful I was, sir, and to be honest, I have no idea. All I know is that just as those green crystals that are all that remain of my homeworld can drain me to the point of death, it is that which makes me all powerful" and with that pointed to the sun as it continued to set, "I believe, if truth be told, I am the most powerful man on this planet!"

"And thus" replied the Musketeer, starting to get his breath back, "is the reason for my suggestion" and with that he got up, placed an arm over the Superior Man and pointed towards the sunset.

"Over there, my lad, is the New World. First discovered about a century ago or so, but now, there are colonies aplenty. English, French, Spanish, therefore my lad, as captain of His Majesty's Musketeers, I charge you to defend our colony, New France, from anyone who wishes it harm. I know it's not quite what you wanted to do, but, well, we can't have too many Musketeers with incredible strength and power can we?" and with that both the Musketeer and Superior Man chuckled.

"Then I shall take that duty" and with that the Superior Man lifted himself into the air and as the Titan stood up, the Superior Man saluted to both men who returned the salute and with a declaration of "Go, mon amis, go and defend the future of France", the Superior Man turned and with a cry of "Up, up and away" shot off over the ocean with a loud bang in his wake.

"Mon cher" said the Titan as he hugged the Musketeer, "your heart is as big and as strong as you are!"

"True" smiled the Musketeer, "but it will never be as powerful as his!" and with that pointed towards the sunset

***

Epilogue

"Dayum" moaned Jimmy as he rubbed his hands over Superman's chest, "now I know how you are, Clark, I cannot not see what you have covered up. How are you able to keep the biggest and most muscular chest I have ever seen in my life, covered by a suit and tie?"

As Superman chuckled, disguised in his every day role as Clark Kent, reporter for the Daily Planet in Metropolis, he replied "I've had some three hundred odd years practice, my love" and kissed Jimmy moments before "EVERYONE IN MY OFFICE, NOW!" boomed through the newsroom and as the staff all gathered, the editor Perry White was in his usual foul mood.

"GARBAGE!" he yelled, "Yesterday's paper was garbage. If it was not for the reports by Lois on the announcement of Lex Luthor's run for President and Clark's article on the history of this city, illustrated by Olsen's photos, I would have had half a mind to cancel the paper. Now, get out there and find me some proper news stories. Lane, Olsen, Kent, could you stay behind for a moment!"

As the reporters and photographer stayed behind, Perry stood up and sighed.

"You three are the only people I consider to be real journalists, therefore I am sending you all on assignment. Lane, I want you to interview the chief science officer at S.T.A.R Labs about their recent discovery of a wormhole about 14 light years from Earth, Kent, I know that this branch of science is your speciality, therefore I am hoping that you will be able to translate into English, Olsen, I want to see so many pictures that the picture editors will be overwhelmed!"

As all three nodded and left, a quiet "Kent, before you go" stopped Clark.

"I wanted to congratulate you on making Olsen an honest man. You know ever since you transferred here from Le Journal de Montréal, I did pronounce that right, it's almost as if he can see something in you that the rest of us can't. After the marriage and honeymoon, do you want me to extend the by-line to Clark Olsen Kent and Jimmy Kent Olsen!"

"No need, sir" smiled Clark adding, "Oh, by the way, can I do a follow up to that article about the Quebecan living history group I was with back in Canada. I wouldn't mind playing Musketeers again!"

"Just so long I get a three thousand word article" chuckled Perry, "and a quote from Superman if he shows up!"

***

"You see, Porthos, d'Artangan is an excellent deputy. Whilst we were being put through our paces, he managed to place like a professional!"

As Porthos smiled, there was a loud groaning outside and a second later, a man walked in wearing the most terrible choice of clothes that Henri had seen in a long while.

"Ah, excellent" he said, noting "I would avoid any caves if you were you, lad" to Porthos and then stopping in front of the desk and stating "Henri de Ceredigion, otherwise known as the Ultimate Musketeer, have you ever heard of Daleks?"

Before Henri could answer, a rumbling could be heard and as Porthos, Henri and the man stepped onto the balcony, they watched as a large craft started to land in the courtyard.

"The Doctor, the Musketeer and the Titan!" the man chuckled, throwing his arms over the two men, "I'll remind Alexandre not to write about this one!"