Chapter Sixty: The Dust Settles.

Madelyne Pryor was unsettled after what happened and it was hard to really blame the poor girl after all that she had went through. She was currently in a private room that she figured was heavily monitored. Half of the time, all she did was sleep and she could see some of the things that happened to her. The fact that she was not who she thought she was…..well it really stirred some things up. She thought that she should run but reminded herself that the last time she ran, it went really bad for a lot of people.

She thought about if she would have a life of her own or if her life, what it was, was merely a lie. Her heart kept drumming quicker over her chest. The redhead woman crossed her arms one over the other, along with her legs. She could sense that something might be coming around the corner, although what she is, she did not know.

Tensely, she slumped down into a state of simulated slumber. It was hard to believe that everything she knew….well she was not quite sure that it was a lie. However, there was something that went through her mind.

She could not help but offer the tiniest smile though as she saw his green eyes approaching. She never…..well she always thought that he would come. Something in the back of her mind, likely from Jean's memories, it reminded her of what occurred.

"Maddie, if you want to pretend that you're asleep, and don't talk, I understand, I just wish to tell you something….information that you need to know," Harry whispered suddenly and the girl sat rigid. She did not say anything. "I know that you've been tormented, but you'll be all better before too long, trust me. And then….then everything will be alright. I'm running some tests to make sure Essex did not do anything further to you. In a week, we'll know."

Maddie did not say much of anything, mostly because she did not have much of anything to say. Her mouth wanted to speak but she could not register the words that she wanted to say.

"If there is anything that you need, you know that you can ask," Harry said to her and once again the girl looked at him.

There was darkness that flowed through her, like there might have been through anyone.

'The Phoenix says that the Cloning Process….might have caused her to tap into some of the Phoenix Force, and something else entirely as well, although she's not sure what,' Jean told Harry, careful to shield both of their thoughts.

'Why do you think that I'm running these tests?' Harry asked and Jean nodded, she figured that the point was well taken.

'The poor girl's still in shock,' Jean thought, she could feel it, after all she was a clone. 'Ororo came by a little bit ago, you must have been busy. Scott's being put to rest….Shield found him in pieces in his lab.'

'Yes, lovely,' Harry thought dryly, he was pretty sure that other pieces of Scott would show up. He was not going to say anything out of respect for the dead although he would say that Essex really crossed a line.

'So where is Essex now?' Jean asked.

'That's an interesting question,' Emma thought as she hopped onto the bond network to give her two cents but Illyana snickered. 'What did you do?'

'Nothing, nothing,' the Russian girl said in a sweet and innocent voice, that none of them were buying for a second.

'You're up to something,' Kitty thought suspiciously but she decided to cross her arms. 'What did you do, transfer Essex's mind into a female clone and send him into Limbo for conditioning.'

'Yes,' Illyana said without missing a beat, in complete serious.

Kitty laughed for a couple of moments but then it struck her that Illyana was serious.

'Well it is one way to ensure that Essex doesn't become a problem again,' Kara thought cheerfully as she clapped her hands together.

'It was long overdue,' Zatanna agreed, she heard enough about the misadventures regarding Essex to know that they had been going around in years.

'Can't say that I'm really sorry about him,' Rogue thought as she folded her arms over her chest. She had her problems with Essex, the fact that he had a female clone body of himself on hand raised some interesting questions.

'Not even a little bit?' Betsy asked and Rogue shook her head.

'Not even a tiny bit,' Rogue confirmed as she threw her head back, biting down on her lip with a long size.

'Very well then,' Betsy said in amusement as she laughed but there was a moment where everything was calming down. 'So….it's a good thing that we finally have a chance to catch our breaths.'

'You aren't kidding,' Dinah thought.

Harry smiled as the bond chatter continued and he caught a nice look at Maddie, who laid on the bed, her eyes rather vapid and unable to focus after a few seconds. Although he did feel that there was something that was off. Given what the girl been through, Harry was not surprised.

'So, she'll be okay?' Gwen asked as she felt like she was raring to go, in fact she was better than ever.

'Yes, and there are no side effects to the Legacy Virus either, is there?' Harry asked and there was a confirmation with their team a lot of the way through. He was smiling, that could have gone rather badly and he was currently combing the universe for any traces of Brainiac. The citizens of Kandor were currently be placed at the faux Fortress, which was expanded. The red solar lamps were installed for now, because Harry was not sure if it was a good idea to have a few hundred powerful super powered Kryptonians running around Earth. About half of a dozen was sufficient at least a lot of the time.

Harry had a lot to do and he set off to check up on J. Jonah Jameson.

J. Jonah Jameson was actually silent for a moment and feeling the burn. He knew who was going to kill him and knew that it would happen soon. The fact that he survived the explosion, well it was a miracle to say the least and Jameson did not believe in miracles.

"I'm fine, just some bumps and bruises, I'll be able to get up and back to work soon!" Jameson yelled but he felt his ribs ache as he tried to get up. The large nurse tried to lower him back into the bed and he was wrestled back into the bed. His scraped up back brushed against the bed and he gritted down on his teeth, coughing madly.

"You're not fine, Mr. Jameson," the nurse said as she surveyed him. "And you have a visitor."

"Oh….do I," Jameson managed, although he braced himself for this visitor.

Harry turned up immediately and he charmed the nurse, causing her to walk off into the direction of the office. The door blew shut immediately.

"We need to talk," Harry told Jameson.

"Yeah, I know," Jameson grumbled gruffly as the pain medication was finally was kicking in so Jameson was rather subdued all things considered. He crossed his arms over his chest and coughed for a second. "Lane is damn lucky she got her ass pulled out of the fire when she did, they told me that Speester was there and the Green Lantern."

"So, I heard, I wasn't there," Harry told Jameson.

"And they told me that wall crawling nuisance Spider-Man was seen!" Jameson said and Harry could literally see Jameson's heart monitor spike the moment that he started right on Spider-Man.

"Yes, he was spotted, although he was nowhere near the building until after it exploded," Harry said he was rather amused by Jameson's antics, but he was down for business. "This isn't a social visit….."

"You found out about it, didn't you?" Jameson asked him, he figured that Potter would be the resourceful type that was being blackmailed.

"Yes….you should have known that your attempts to take down Spider-Man would have come back to haunt you," Harry told him shaking his head. He knew that it could have been an extremely liability headache. "I will pay out the rest of your contract, and allow you to clean out your office of anything. It's currently being monitored for any suspicious activity."

Harry did not want to let Jameson know about the mysterious ghost that was found roaming around the outside of the office, at least until the point where he was curious how he was doing it. However, Jameson reached over and tipped a glass of water, and drank it, with a pensive look in his face. The newspaper publisher locked his eyes onto Harry's face and paused.

"It doesn't seem like I have any choice," Jameson grumbled.

"Take the deal, or this will come out ugly, and it won't end well for you, at least you have enough money to disappear for a long time," Harry saide.

Jameson did not say anything at least for a moment. He calmly sipped his water, causing the water to gulp down his throat. There was a few seconds where he paused and then he dropped it down on the bedside table.

"I think that it would be acceptable, and I accept it," Jameson said in a subdued voice. "Not as cracked up for this shit as I used to be, if you think you can find anyone….."

"Oh, I have someone in mind," Harry said in a mysterious voice and Jameson did not have anything more to say. "I'll see you when you get out of the hospital."

"Yes…yes…yes, sure, sure," Jameson said as he rolled his shoulders back and coughed at a moment where he felt his eyes water.

Lois was standing outside, waiting for Harry. She was dressed in a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans, looking rather casual. The pair of boots topped off the outfit. "So…did he go down kicking and screaming or….."

"He actually was not too bad," Harry admitted as Lois raised an eyebrow. There was one of those expressions on her face that indicated that she was surprised. Jameson is one who was going to listen to reason, well almost never. "He actually seemed resigned to the fact that it was going to happen but he was not sure when it was going to happen."

"Oh….well that goes without saying," Lois said as she made her way with Harry towards the elevator, drinking a cup of coffee along the way. It was still early in the morning so she could not function without her caffeine. She slowly placed it to her lips, sipping with a smile on her face. There was a few seconds where she paused and decided to speak. "Well….what now?"

"So, how would you like to run the new and improved Bugle?" Harry asked and Lois spat the hot coffee at Harry in surprise.

"What…what?" Lois asked and Harry responded in a really amazed smile on his face and the woman raised her eyebrow. "You have to be having me on….."

"No, Lois, I'm not kidding, I don't joke about anything this important," Harry said to the brunette woman. "How would you like to do it? It might be a big responsibility, but I wouldn't have asked you unless I thought you were up for it."

Lois raised an eyebrow and she nearly sputtered. This amused Harry as he waited for her to get it out of her system. "Um….wow, just wow, I mean….."

'Did she go to the Kitty Pryde school of speech?' Chloe asked and there was laughter along a rather pouty "Hey!" from young Miss Pryde.

"So….are you in?" Harry asked Lois and Lois frowned, crossing her arms. There was one statement that came from her mouth.

"Do, I get some time to think about it?" Lois asked and Harry nodded. She had to admit, after he initial shock was over, she found the thought to be fairly enticing.

"So, we're all settling in after what happened," Lana said as she was walking towards Harry with some of the projects that they were going. "I'm sure that we can find something with about a hundred Kryptonian females to do. And I'm sure that you're already finding something for them to do."

Harry gave her a bright smile and also one of those. "What exactly are you implying?" type of looks and Harry could see Reilly and Alex go down the stairs. He knew that both of them were trying to settle in.

"Well….I never thought that I would have a sister," Peter said as he popped up.

"So how are you feeling?" Harry asked deciding to cut to the chase.

"Could you at least try with the small talk?" Peter asked and Harry raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I'm fine, thanks for asking mother, Aunt May was already asking questions. I don't think she bought the fact that I fell down a flight of stairs at ESU."

Harry was not going to burst Peter's bubble, but he knew for a fact that Aunt May had found out after Peter's activities months ago. Granted, she implied it to Harry when they had a nice discussion a few months back but Harry was

"No, you do need to learn how to lie better," Harry said to him. "Jameson's making a full recovery."

"Well, as much as the jolly one gets on everyone's nerves and takes a few years off of everyone's hearing…..it kind of would be weird not to have him around in our lives," Peter said and he decided to add something to lighten the mood. "Plus, if he died, what's to stop him from coming back haunting everyone as a ghost?"

"Absolutely nothing," Harry said as he looked at Reilly who made her way back up the stairs. "Hey, Reilly do you need anything?"

"No, I'm good, but I'll let you know, I want to thank you for letting me have the job," Reilly said as she wrapped a strand of hair around Harry's finger. "And….I'll be happy to serve you and RAO in any way."

Peter's eyes widened.

"Oh, you must be him….are you okay?" Reilly asked in a cheery voice and Peter nodded.

"Yes, I'm fine," Peter said as he looked from Reilly, who was giving doe eyes to Harry, to Harry, who offered one of those charming smiles.

'Oh, Freud would have a field day with this one,' Peter thought as he shook his head in half agitation. His mood did not improve when Reilly planted a kiss on Harry's cheek and descended down a chair.

Harry was not going to deny that he was….well he was not going to deny that he was amused regarding the situation and Peter's reaction. However, there was something that popped into his mind that distracted him for a little bit.

'Har-rell, if you could report to the school, we have a present for you,' Phoebe projected to him mentally. 'So do get here pretty soon before it gets away.'

"So what was that?" Peter asked and Harry smiled.

"Just one of my many admirers," Harry said with a smile on his face as he looked at Peter. "Everything is good, the Legacy virus has been cured and Osborn….."

"Is still locked away in Ravencroft," Peter said with a smile. "I don't like it, he could have escaped any time, and there was something that he said….that he could have escaped any time….but he would do it on his own terms and not a second before."

"Well, I'm sure that whatever he's up to, we'll figure it out soon," Harry said and the unstated part about him putting a stop to it was left unsaid although that was something that everyone figured out. "So….."

"Do you think he's playing mind games?" Peter asked and Harry smiled at him. "Right, Osborn, of course, his mouth is moving."

"Yes….I'll talk to you later, Peter, something has come up," Harry said as he walked past a trio of girls on the stairs, a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead that passed into the night. "Courtney, Mary, Caitlin."

Without another word, Harry made his way to the gate and opened it to the Massachusettes academy.

'I'm waiting for you in my mother's office, it is currently vacated so we shall not be bothered,' Phoebe thought with a wide grin on her face.

Harry could hardly wait and he made his way up to the office, reaching the door in time. Then again, he did move quickly.

'Come in, Harry,' Phoebe thought to him.

Harry walked in there and saw one of the Cuckoos sitting on the desk, with her legs crossed. She had a pair of glasses that rested on the bridge of her nose. She was wearing some extremely lacy white lingerie, a bra that contained her perky teenage breasts, a pair of sheer white stockings, a pair of lacy thong panties, and a garter belt. She smirked at him.

"Hi, Phoebe where are your…."

"My sisters are preoccupied at the moment," Phoebe said and there was a bit of a grin on her face, as she walked over, unzipping Harry's pants without any pre-amble. "I still have your surprise in the other room, but they need to get punished a bit more before they see any of the goods."

Harry smiled as she groped his package.

"Oh, finally, I get you alone without those bitches hogging you," Phoebe said with a lustful look in her eyes, as drool came down her mouth at the sight of his large package. Without another word, she pulled down his boxer shorts completely and saw it stick out, complete and erect.

Wanda and Zatanna were relaxing outside, it was a beautiful spring day, in fact exams were upon those who were going to college. So they were taking advantage of the brief time that they had to relax. Kara, Gwen, and Chloe rested outdoors as well, and then Jean, Kitty, and Rogue also were there. M'gann and Megan came outside to join them.

"I'm sure Harry's going to be back to take his rounds at the Massachusetts Academy," Kara said with a smile. "Although with the number of needy bitches that place has, that might take a while."

"Harry will be up to it, though," Chloe commented with a wide smile across her face and Kara looked at her, as if she should bout it. "The again….Harry is up to it….so how are our clones….settling in?"

"Well Aunt Lara and Mother wanted to take an extensive look at them, they might not be ready to join us completely for a few weeks," Kara said and there was a sense that she meant that they were not ready to join them. "The clones could go all Bizarro if there are any genetic defects in them…."

"Sorry, but Bizarro?" Gwen asked as she breathed in and out.

"It means that they have genetic defects which causes the skin to calcify," Kara confirmed to Gwen. "They look quite brutish and very ugly when the clones go Bizarro. It's not really fun at all, in fact….it's rather putrid looking."

"I see," Gwen said as she nodded her head.

"Kryptonian DNA is very different from anything else as there have been attempts to genetically clone us during the years and all have grown rather….well you know," Kara said as she pulled a face. "They went completely nuts….."

"Well that could happen when people play God," Allison said, most frustratingly, she was caught in a concert outside of the city when the events of the past week happened and she just flew back. She seemed to miss some excitement.

"So where is everyone else, a bright day like this?" Chloe asked.

"Donna and Diana after visiting their mother," Kitty told them as she thought about it. "Lorna went to visit her mother, Atlee is working on her apprenticeship with Karen…."

"You know, I think it might be high time to induct that one into the family," Kara said with a bright smile and Kitty raised an eyebrow. "Well officially, she's kind of unofficial…..I mean…."

Kitty smiled and raised her hand before she waffled Kara across the back of the head with a hard slap. Granted it made her hand sore.

"Ouch, what was that for?" Kara asked as Kitty was stronger than a normal young adult girl would be, given her constant exposure of being pumped full of Harry's fluids.

"For talking like me," Kitty said sweetly as she held up a plate of cookies. "So who wants cookies?"

"It depends, did you cook them?" Rogue asked and Kitty folded her arms, biting down on her lip and giving Rogue a pouty face.

"No….I swear, they're store bought," Kitty said, she finally gave up cooking. Although Harry did think that her recipes were good as projectile weapons, so she was now working on a project with RAO along those lines, but that was another thing entirely.

"I think Harry's coming," Chloe said as Gwen rested lazily on the other blonde's shoulder. "Gwen, get up, you're causing my shoulder to fall asleep."

"No, I don't want to comfortable," Gwen said and the group laughed and Harry turned up right now after a few seconds. His green eyes were swimming with amusement.

"Yes, Jan….I know, you and Mary Jane have been working on the line rather well….we should be able to launch by this summer, perfect, yes, a huge nation wide ad campaign, and I know that the girls who signed on are ready to help, even after all of the snags that have been brought in," Harry said as he looked at them.

"So the modeling is on?" Kara asked and Harry smiled at her. The blonde jumped up and down.

Alison smiled at the excitement that brimmed through the young blonde. She would have to be honest, she was looking forward to showing that she was more than a pop princess. She understood that she would have been a key factor with this clothing line and she was one of the girls that agreed to sign on. It was tastefully done, unlike some of the shoots that her former manager tried to sign her up for, which were borderline softcore porn.

"Yes, I'm sure that you're all in," Harry said and he turned to Chloe. "So did you hear anything from Lois?"

"About…the offer that you gave her, she's actually really considering it but you know Lois, she wants to be the one who is in control," Chloe said and Harry smiled at her, knowingly.

"Yes, I know exactly what it's like for Lois to be in control," Harry said without missing a beat and there was a few seconds where the group laughed.

"It's true, she does seem like the type," Zatanna snickered and Wanda nodded in agreement, as she smiled at the thought of it.

"But I guess that I just am someone to attract smart, powerful females," Harry said and Jean turned towards some of the girls who were grinning. Her eyes narrowed and they stopped.

"I wouldn't praise them too much….I don't think that their heads would be able to get through the door," Jean said and there was some laughter, although some pouting.

"We're not that bad," Megan said as she crossed her arms and then she amended things rather quickly. "Okay, maybe just a little bit, but not too much, I swear, not too bad."

"Are you?" Harry asked and the young welsh girl crossed her arms and pouted for a moment, as Harry patted her on the head to console her.

Selene jumped onto the call. 'Today's the day, Har-Rell.'

'Today?' Kitty asked in surprise, she knew about a few things.

'Yes, today, if you could join me at the Church with Jean, Kitty, and Kara,' Selene said to Harry. 'You are the only four that are allowed to go.'

'Well, we'll be there with bells on,' Harry said as by the perspective of everyone else in the world , he would only be gone for an hour.

"Important meeting, be back in an hour," Harry said and Gwen was about the only one who had more of a clue of what was happening outside of those at the Church, other than Kitty, Jean, and Kara obviously.

"Well, best of luck for you," Gwen said and Kara smiled at her. "See you in a little bit."

Jean did not say anything but she knew that it would be much longer from their perspective. But that was another story for another time.

The End (At Least Until Adventures In Time Coming Out the Summer of 2015, approximately. Might be later, unlikely to be sooner. Any complaints might get it pushed back. So don't try me.)