X-Men, Meet the Starr Brothers, Revamped!

Hey folks! L1701E here! I had suffered a bit of writer's block, so I thought it would be nice to look through my older stories and do what I did with "Rising Starrs" and give it a further run-through. This was the very first Misfitverse story I had written so many years ago. Man, how I had evolved since then. Well, anyway, I hope you enjoy this new version of the story that first brought the Sensational Starr Brothers to the world, and started a wild, wacky, Misfit timeline!

I will make a bit of a confession, this story was a nightmare to go through. It was literally the first Misfitverse story I ever wrote. Yes, "Rising Starrs" was the first chronologically, but this one was the first I wrote. And it was...bad. Yeah, it was bad. So, I had to do some serious work on this.

Disclaimer: Red Witch owns Althea, Xi, and Trinity. I own the Starr Twins, and Marvel owns the X-Men and the ex-Brotherhood.

Chapter 1: Super Stardom and Dark Rage! Paul and Craig Starr!

The Xavier Institute

Boom! Boom! Boom! Blam!

"Yahhh!" A blonde girl whooped as the robotic arm that was heading towards her exploded. She heard a laser heading towards her. Her eyes shone with mirth, and a small sphere of energy appeared in her hand.

Boom-Boom. Real Name: Tabitha Smith. Birthplace: Roanoke, Virginia. Affiliation: X-Men, (Formerly) Brotherhood of Mutants. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers: Can create spheres of explosive force of various sizes.

"Hah!" She deftly dodged the 'deadly' beam, then tossed her time bomb. Upon impact, the bomb destroyed the laser beam. "Whoo!" She whooped in delight, pumping her fist.

"Simulation complete!" A voice announced.

"Hell yeah, that's how it's done!" Tabitha whooped. "Danger Room! What's my score?!" With a beep, a holographic number appeared in front of her, with the text "New High Score". "Alright!" The X-Men's resident wild child grinned. She heard the hissing of the Danger Room's doors opening. The blonde turned around and saw a teenage boy standing shyly at the door.

He was wearing a gray t-shirt, with a blue workshirt over it and blue jeans. His hair was mostly put into a blond short cut, except for some orange locks on the front of his head.

Berzerker. Real Name: Ray Crisp. Birthplace: New York City, New York. Affiliation: X-Men, (Formerly) Morlocks. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers and abilities: Electrokinesis.

"Oh. Hey there, Sparky." Tabitha greeted.

"Hey, Tabs."

"What's going on?"

"Eh, nothing much." The electrokinetic admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

"I'm done here in the Danger Room if you want to use it." Tabitha then glanced at the wrecked combat arms. "Well, as soon as the self-repair program finishes cleaning this stuff up."

"Ah, that's fine." Ray smiled. "Hey listen, uhm..."

"What? Spit it out, Sparky. I got stuff to do."

"Uh, well, there's this new coffee shop in town, and I was kind of thinking, maybe you and I could go there, or something like that."

"Oh, really? Sure! Sounds fun!" Tabitha smiled.

Alright! Ray thought. "Great! See you tonight, then?"

"See you then!" Tabitha walked out, giving Ray a wave. Let us leave these two, and switch to another pair of X-Men enjoying the day...

"And in weather news, we are expected to have sunny days all week long, with highs into the mid-to-late 70s in the area..." The meteorologist reported on the television of the Xavier Institute's common room. A young man, wearing a blue polo shirt with a pair of brown slacks, smiled in approval. His eyes were covered by a pair of eyeglasses with red lenses. His brown hair was in a neat short cut.

Cyclops. Real Name: Scott Summers. Birthplace: Anchorage, AK. Affiliation: X-Men. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers and Abilities: Eyes can fire concussive energy blasts. He requires special visor or sunglasses with ruby quartz lenses to control his powers.

"Well, that's nice." Scott smiled in approval. "Maybe I can take Jean to the beach this weekend..." He laid back on the couch, and put his hands behind his head. "That would be nice...would be a great way to enjoy the day..."

"What're you mumbling about, Scott?" Said teenager turned his head to see a young woman smiling at him. She was a stunning one, with bright flaming red hair and green eyes. She wore a yellow sweater and blue jeans.

Marvel Girl. Real Name: Jean Grey. Birthplace: Red Hook, NY. Affiliation: X-Men. Physiology: Telepathy, telekinesis.

"Just thinking about my potential plans for the weekend." Scott explained. "The weatherman said it will be very nice this weekend. I'm thinking that maybe you and I could spend it doing something together. Like maybe hit the beach or something like that."

Jean thought about it. "That actually sounds like a nice idea. I was kind of thinking that maybe we could have a nice picnic in the park, though."

"We can do both." Scott compromised. "Have a nice picnic lunch, then go to the beach." He then noticed that the place was rather quiet. "Huh. Quiet around here. Normally, around this time, the Misfits would come by and make us miserable in some way."

Jean shrugged. "It's a bit of a lazy day today. Maybe the Misfits are out on a mission or something like that."

"Maybe." Scott agreed with a nod. "I'm personally hoping that's the case."

"Or maybe they just decided to take the day off from annoying us." Jean suggested.

Scott chuckled. "That would actually be pretty funny if they decided to do that. It would be a pleasant surprise if they actually did, considering their love of showing up where they're not wanted."

"I would be surprised, too." Jean then heard a crash. "What on Earth?"

"AHHHHHHHH!" A young brown-haired boy screamed as he ran by. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" He wailed.

Multiple. Real Name: James "Jamie" Madrox. Birthplace: Los Alamos, New Mexico. Affiliation: X-Men's "New Mutants". Powers and Abilities: Upon impact, Jamie can create perfect duplicates of himself.

Jean and Scott watched this.

"What on Earth?" The telekinetic telepath blinked.

"Oh, God no..." Scott groaned, putting his head in his hands. "They're here." Right after he said that, a trio of dark-haired young girls around Jamie's age floated by at great speed after the duplicator, pink electricity crackling up and down their bodies.

Trinity. Real Names: Brittany, Daria, and Quinn Delgado. Birthplace: The Pit, Florida. Affiliation: Misfits. Powers and abilities: Telepathy, the ability to fire "psi-bolts", telekinesis.

"Come to mama, cutie!" Brittany, the triplet with pigtails gushed.

"I love you, Jamie!" Quinn, the triplet with a ponytail on the left side of her head cooed.

"Kissing time!" Daria, the triplet with a ponytail on the right said of her head squealed.

"WHY ME?!" Jamie screamed as he ran by. "WHY, GOD, WHY?!"

"Oh God, they are here." Scott groaned, sinking dejectedly into the couch. "It's like God loves to torment us or something." Jean sighed.

"We really should have realized we spoke too soon." The two mutants heard an explosion. Jean and Scott looked at each other.

"Tabitha." They both realized in unison.

"PIETRO, GET OUT OF MY UNDERWEAR DRAWER!" The voice of Tabitha Smith, aka Boom Boom, rang throughout the mansion, accompanied by some insane laughing. "YOU SICK PERV!"

"The Misfits' average day: Get up, annoy X-Men, go to bed." Scott grumbled. "Don't the Joes take them on missions or something?"

"I have heard that the Joes don't take them that often." Jean answered. "They don't want to traumatize them."

"No offense to people who have been through traumatic events, but maybe some trauma would do them some good." Scott grumbled.

"Scott!"

"Sorry, sorry." Scott pinched the bridge of his nose. The two then heard a rumbling. "Oh God, I am thankful we had this place modified to handle earthquakes."

"YOU STAY AWAY FROM KITTY, YOU NO-GOOD ARROGANT PUNK!" The Russian-accented voice of Piotr Rasputin, aka Colossus, was heard snapping somewhere.

"BITE ME, TIN MAN! I'M JUST HERE TO MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT!" A male voice snapped back at him. The owner of the voice then walked into the common room, but there was something different about his walk. Scott could have sworn he was strutting. Not to mention the huge grin on his face. He looked like he had just won the Super Bowl. He was a tall and lanky, yet handsome teenager with brown hair in a mullet. He was clad in a dark blue t-shirt with a brown leather vest and blue jeans, with brown boots.

Avalanche. Real Name: Lance Alvers. Birthplace: Chicago, IL. Affiliation: Misfits, (Formerly) Brotherhood of Mutants. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers and Abilities: Avalanche can generate seismic waves. Due to genetic experimentation, his powers have evolved into geokinesis.

"Are you…strutting?" Scott asked his mortal enemy in disbelief.

"You're walking like a peacock." Jean quipped.

"Hi ya, Summers!" Lance waved in an unusually chipper tone. "I came to see Kitty and to remind you that you suck."

"Oh, why do I suck this time?" Scott frowned and folded his arms. Lance chuckled, and then his face broke out into a grin.

"Well, we got to do something you guys don't get to do lately."

"What, be a bunch of insane idiots?" Scott sneered.

"BLOB, GET THE HELL OUTTA THE KITCHEN BEFORE AH POUND YOU!" Rogue's voice roared from the kitchen.

"I'M HUNGRY, WOMAN! LET ME EAT IN PEACE!" Fred Dukes, aka Blob yelled back. "Please."

"DON'T THEY FEED YOU AT THE PIT?!"

"YES!"

"OBVIOUSLY NOT ENOUGH!"

"YOU GUYS HAD CHOCOLATE CAKE, AND BEAST TOLD ME I COULD HAVE SOME!"

"YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO EAT THE WHOLE DAMN THING, YA HOG!"

"THERE'S ANOTHER ONE IN THE FRIDGE! HE SAID I COULD HAVE THIS ONE!"

"Anyway…" Lance explained. "We went to Los Angeles. No big deal. We may have met a few celebrities. Again, no big deal."

"What celebrity would be dumb enough to hang out with you? Kanye West?" Scott mocked, his voice indicating he was not buying it.

Lance snorted. "Kanye West? You wish. I'd whup his butt and make him eat his fishsticks! We picked up two new guys." The Misfit codenamed Avalanche laughed at the looks on Scott and Jean's faces. "That right, our happy little family has grown." Scott and Jean looked at Lance like his pants were on fire, and then they looked at each other.

Jean, you think he's lying? Scott asked via telepathy.

I don't sense he is. Jean answered. They then looked at Lance.

"Bull." Scott scoffed. "If there were two new mutants in LA, Cerebro would've picked them up!"

"Oh Scott, I just remembered. Cerebro had to be cleaned out yesterday." Jean glared at Avalanche. "Toad slimed it."

"To be fair, that was not his fault." Lance countered. "Some jackass, a certain silver-haired one, thought it would be funny to slip him some Hyper Jolt Cola." Jean blinked.

"...Hyper Jolt Cola? Isn't that stuff banned in ten states?"

Scott nodded. "Twelve now. They just banned it in Massachusetts last week."

"And they still won't ban Power8." Jean sighed.

"It doesn't harm normal humans, so as far as they're concerned, if mutants get sick, that's their problem." Scott sighed.

"And your Cerebro can't possibly pick up every mutant on Earth. Even with Xavier's power, it can't do it."

"You'd be surprised." Scott retorted. "I take it these new recruits are why you're here?"

"Yup!" Lance grinned. "We wanted to introduce them to you guys."

"You think that these new guys might be actually sane?" Jean asked.

"We might as well find the mythical city of el Dorado." Scott sighed.

"That place might actually be real." Lance shrugged. "Remember, Atlantis is a thing. Just ask Althea...although if you do, I'd be ready to duck." Jean opened her mouth to ask, but Scott shook her head at her.

"Trust me on this Jean, I think we're better off not knowing."

Bamf!

An indigo-furred teenage boy appeared in the air, with yellow eyes. He was wearing a black-and-red t-shirt with khaki shorts and white sneakers. His hands and feet were odd, having only two thick fingers and a thumb on each hand, and having two thick toes on each foot.

Nightcrawler. Real Name: Kurt Wagner. Birthplace: Witzeldorf, Bavaria, Germany. Affiliation: X-Men. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers and abilities: Teleportation, can blend into shadows, superhuman agility and flexibility, can cling to surfaces.

"Guten Tag!" Kurt greeted.

"Hey, Kurt." Scott smiled, hi-fiving the German teleporter.

"You have to see this!" Kurt pointed outside. "The Misfits have set up some kind of painting!" Scott and Jean blinked, then looked at each other.

"A painting?"

"Yeah." Lance nodded. "One of our new guys wanted to make a good impression, so he made you guys a painting as a gift." The geokinetic started to leave. "Shall we?" Scott and Jean followed him outside. The Xavier Institute's students and staff had gathered around in front of the Institute. In front of them was the gathered Misfits, with a couple of their handlers. They were standing around an easel that had been covered by a large red cloth.

"Okay, I admit it. This is gonna be good." Scott smirked.

"Here ye, hear ye, X-Geeks!" Fred Dukes, the Blob, called. "One of our new members wishes to present to you this gift! He hopes you like it! And if you don't, I shall personally destroy you!"

"Fred!" Althea Delgado, Wavedancer, snapped.

"Sorry, old habit." Fred then gestured to Xi. "Xi, remove the tarp." The lizard-like artificial lifeform nodded silently and pulled off the tarp. The X-Men oohed, aahed, and murmured at the revealed painting.

"What is it?" A puzzled Amara "Magma" Aquilla whispered to Tabitha "Boom-Boom" Smith.

"It's Kiss." Tabitha explained. True to her answer, the painting depicted the legendary rock band in homage to their famous Destroyer album.

"...are they gods?"

"To music fans, they are."

"Amara, how long have you lived here and never heard of Kiss?" Bobby Drake, Iceman, snarked. "Especially since this guy plays it when he fixes up his dirtbikes." He jerked his thumb at Samuel "Cannonball" Guthrie.

Scott looked over the painting. "It's really neat." He complimented sincerely. "I take it one of the new recruits is a bit of a fan?"

"Oh, yeah." Althea grinned. "He and his brother were busking for money when we found them."

"Street musicians!" Amara smiled in delight. "Roma Nova has its fair share of those!"

"I take it you have seen your fair share?" Tabitha asked.

Amara nodded. "Yes. I would also give them some money for their entertainment." The Nova Roman princess smiled. "I enjoyed listening to them when I would sneak out of the palace."

"Ho ho ho, I have got to hear some stories about those misadventures!" Tabitha laughed.

"Brother, huh?" Scott asked.

"Yup." Lance nodded.

"I wonder who painted that. It's...interesting." Ororo wondered. She then looked around. "Shipwreck isn't here, is he?"

"Naw, he's on a mission." Cover Girl explained. "He does send his regards, though. Said he'll be thinking of you."

"Lovely." Ororo grumbled. "I hope his mission took him very far away."

"He's dealing with some smugglers in the Mekong Delta." The tank driver told her. "It's believed that they may be helping Cobra obtain some weapons."

"He's in Vietnam." Logan snickered. "Good luck gettin' him back." He then looked at the painting. "Where are we gonna hang it up?"

"Okay, I'm curious. Which one of you maniacs painted this thing?" Scott inquired.

"Right here!" Althea grinned. She and the other Misfits parted ways, revealing a pair of twin boys.

One of them had a muscle frame that was slightly lanky. He had a mane of wild black hair that reached down to halfway down his back. His chocolate brown eyes screamed playfulness and good cheer. His clothes were very influenced by the 1980s: A pair of white hi-tops covered his feet. He wore purple acid-washed jeans, held up by a black belt with silver studs. He wore a KISS t-shirt with a purple bandanna around his neck. His hands were covered by fingerless black gloves, and he had a Joe-Com on his right wrist. He had an unusual birthmark on his face: A 5-pointed star around his left eye. The birthmark helped him slightly resemble Paul Stanley.

Starchild. Real Name: Paul Stanley Starr. Birthplace: Los Angeles, CA. Affiliation: Misfits. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers and abilities: Star-covered eye can fire purple energy beams, and flashes of light that can temporarily blind and/or hypnotize someone. Telepathic link with twin brother Craig.

The other had a similar frame, but was a bit more muscular. Like his brother, he wore a KISS t-shirt, but he also wore a black leather jacket with studs on the lapels and small spikes on the collarbone areas. He also wore a pair of black biker gloves on his hands, and a pair of well-worn blue jeans and black combat boots. Attached to his belt was what appeared to be a police nightstick. And unlike Paul, his star birthmark was black in color. His eyes were covered by a pair of dark sunglasses. He looked over the group intensely, like he was observing them.

Darkstar. Real Name: Craig Allman Starr. Birthplace: Los Angeles, CA. Affiliation: Misfits. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers and abilities: Star-covered eye can fire purple energy beams, and flashes of light that can temporarily blind and/or hypnotize someone. Telepathic link with twin brother Paul.

Standing between them, was one of the members of GI Joe: A smiling brunet and mustachioed man wearing jungle gear.

Recondo. Real Name: Sgt. 1st Class Daniel M. LeClaire. Birthplace: Wheaton, Wisconsin. Affiliations: US Army, GI Joe. Primary Military Specialty: Jungle warfare, Infantry. Secondary Military Specialty: Intelligence.

Scott blinked at the Joe with the two new boys. He then turned to Lance. "Uh, Alvers, the Joe team is pretty big, so I'm not quite familiar with all of them..."

"That's Recondo." Lance explained. "He's the Joes' resident jungle warfare expert, and he's the new guys' Joe handler."

"Fascinating."

"Yeah, he was one of the Joes who found them." Lance continued.

"Welcome to the wonderful world of Misfit handling." Beast shook Recondo's hand. "We shall pray for you."

"It's not so bad in my case." The jungle trooper chuckled. "I only got two of them. And they're good kids."

"Ladies, gentlemen, and X-Geeks!" Toad called out. "Presenting the two newest members of the Misfits: Paul and Craig Starr, Starchild and Darkstar!"

"Hey, everyone!" Paul waved happily, a big smile on his face. The X-Men waved and said various greetings.

"Look at those two." Ray chortled. "They look like a pair of rejects from Rock Band."

"Let's just be nice." Sam Guthrie, Cannonball, sighed.

"Mm." Craig slightly pulled down his sunglasses and looked over the X-Men, his eyes scanning them like he was checking to see if they were a threat.

"You'll have to forgive my brother. He's not used to hanging around lots of people." Paul explained. Xavier wheeled up to them as the other X-Men and Misfits mingled.

"It's a pleasure to meet you gentlemen." Xavier smiled, holding out a hand to the boys.

"Nice to meet you, Professor." Paul smiled, shaking the offered hand.

"Well..." Xavier chuckled. "It is nice to meet such a well-mannered young man." He noted the eagerness in Paul's handshake. "And quite energetic, too."

"Thanks!" Paul grinned. "Mom and Dad always told me being kind would always do some good." Xavier held out his hand to Craig, who just took a step back. "Don't mind Craig, he's heard about you and you kind of freak him out a bit."

"Oh?"

"The telepathy." Paul explained. "It creeps him out."

"Ah, I see." Xavier nodded in understanding. He then turned to Craig. "I assure you, Mr. Starr, I would not enter your mind without your permission. My code of ethics forbids it."

Craig snorted. "Code of ethics. Hardly a guarantee. A telepath has the power to invade a person's mind and do whatever they want. They can learn a person's deepest darkest secrets. They can alter a person's memories and personality. That kind of power...is some dangerous stuff, Professor. And I should know." He made his eye glow. "I can kill a man by looking at him if I wanted to. Or I can override his will and force him to do what I command. And when you have that kind of power dumped right in your lap..." He looked at the professor. "The temptation to misuse it is...strong. There's a dark side to what we are."

"I see..." Xavier nodded. Paul watched the two converse.

Well, those two are being more civil than I thought. That's good. The young mutant thought. I was actually worried for a moment there. I hope that the Professor wasn't really offended by what Craig said... Jean looked over at Scott.

"That Darkstar guy creeps me out a bit, but he does have a point." The redheaded telepath admitted. Scot shook his head and decided to table the issue.

"Starchild, huh?" Scott looked at Fred. "What kind of codename is Starchild?"

"It's very appropriate for him." Fred explained with a grin.

"Paul and Craig are quite talented musicians." Cover Girl explained. "The boys managed to earn quite a bit of money doing it."

"I do hope we can get them to do a performance for us in the future." Amara said to Scott. "I love street musicians."

"Eh, maybe, Amara. Maybe." Scott answered.

"Actor, comedian, musician, artist. I can do it all!" Paul grinned widely, doing a dramatic bow for Amara, making her giggle. He then looked up at the mansion. "Wow, this place is really swanky! It's really tubular!"

"Tubular?" Rogue repeated in disbelief. "This guy really just said that, right?"

"Like, I think it's funny." Kitty giggled. Rogue rolled her eyes.

"I'm getting the feeling that he watches way too many 80s movies."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Kitty retorted. "Like, you loved Prince of Darkness! And that's from '87!" Rogue opened her mouth to object, but then shut it.

"Fair enough." She noticed Paul approaching them. "Hi."

"Hi!" Paul grinned. He held his hand out to Rogue. "You must be Rogue, right?"

"Uh yeah, that's me." Rogue nodded.

"Do you have a 'real name' or..."

"It's Rogue. Just Rogue."

Paul chuckled. "So, kinda like Cher or Beyonce?"

"Except Rogue can't sing." Kitty chortled. Rogue glared.

"Shaddap. Ah can sing Glen Campbell damn well, and you know it."

She can sing, huh? I'd love to hear her voice. "Your accent is really neat." Paul said to the Southerner. "Georgia?"

"Mississippi." Rogue explained.

"Ah, neat." Paul nodded. "It's nice to meet you."

"Sorry about that, it's rather...odd to see a Misfit be polite like this." Rogue admitted, shaking Paul's hand.

"None taken." He looked at Kitty. "You must be Kitty Pryde." Paul grinned.

"That's me." Kitty nodded, shaking Paul's hand.

"Lance told me a lot about you." Paul explained. "He said you were really nice."

"Well, that's nice of him." Kitty smiled. Rogue rolled her eyes. Starchild then held out his right hand like he was holding something long and thin. He waved his left hand over it and raised it. When he flicked his wrist, a pair of red roses appeared in his hand in a puff of smoke and a few sparks. He then gave one of the roses to Kitty. "No wonder Lance and Piotr fight over you." Shadowcat giggled as she took the rose. Paul then gave her a wink. "And of course, one for you." He gave a rose to Rogue, who accepted it with an amused smile.

"A bit of a charmer, huh?" Rogue snickered.

"Yeah, people say that about me." Paul smiled, rubbing the back of his head. Piotr Rasputin's jaw dropped.

"What in the-?!" The Russian mutant blinked. Lance smirked at him.

"What's the matter, tin man? Can't handle competition?" The geokinetic mocked. Piotr growled at Lance. "Relax, metalhead. Paul's harmless."

"I get the feeling this was your doing." Piotr grumbled.

"You wish, metal man. You wish." Lance smirked, crossing his arms.

"You know, Amara, that Starchild guy is actually kind of cute." Tabitha grinned. Amara nodded. Ray frowned as he looked at Tabitha. His frown deepened as he noticed he was clearly checking him out.

Aw, great. The electrokinetic grumbled. I finally get to ask Tabby out, and she's mooning over starboy over there!

"Well..." Ororo observed the scene. "It's actually...civil. That's nice."

"Don't get yer hopes up, 'Ro." Logan grunted, crossing his arms. "This won't last very long. We'll be right back to brawling and the usual stuff. What the-?" He felt a pair of hands cover his eyes.

"Guess who?" The Canadian mutant heard a Japanese-accented voice whisper in his ear. Logan smiled.

"I should've known." Logan smirked as the Joe ninja Jinx made herself visible. "How ya doin', babe?"

"Doing well, thanks." Jinx smiled, giving him a kiss. "I see you've met our new guys."

"Yes." Ororo smiled. "They seem rather...unique."

Jinx shrugged. "Well, we did find them in Los Angeles."

"LA. That explains a lot." Wolverine rolled his eyes. He looked at Recondo talking with Beast. "How'd you guys end up roping that poor bastard into being a handler?"

"He was one of the Joes that found the Starr boys." Jinx explained. "They took a liking to him, and the rest is history."

"So, you could say they adopted him?" Ororo quipped. Jinx laughed.

"Yeah. Cover Girl was one of the Joes who was there, too." Said Joe overheard Jinx's statement.

"Have you tried contacting their family?" Ororo asked.

"We don't know who they are." Cover Girl admitted. "Neither do the boys."

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm." Cover Girl nodded. "The boys were split up and raised by different families. One ended up with a rich family, and the other ended up living in a rather rough family." She motioned to the boys. "Paul there ended up with a rich, loving family. Craig was not so lucky. According to him, he ended up in a home that was, in his own words, a 'real crapsack'."

"Gods of Earth and Air..." Ororo put her hand to her mouth. "No wonder they ended up so different."

"Wow." Wolverine winced at Craig. "Poor bastard. How'd he get out?"

"He was in a gang, and he ran away." Cover Girl explained. "The boys ended up on the streets of Los Angeles. According to Paul, he was driven out on the streets because some people didn't want a mutant to get his inheritance. Their powers allowed them to find each other, and they lived in the old Fabulous Studios space."

"That place never got torn down?" Logan blinked. "Huh. Those kids lucked out."

"According to Paul, there's a lot of old props and stuff there. It's like the place was utterly forgotten." Cover Girl shook her head. "They put out some good movies back in the day. A real shame."

"Incompetent management will do that to ya." Logan said.

"So how'd you meet them?" Ororo asked.

"Well, they literally ran into me, Lady Jaye, and Recondo." Cover Girl explained with a grin. "They were fleeing from Cobra. Dr. Mindbender had been capturing some local homeless mutants to do some sort of experimentation, maybe to enhance their soldiers. They certainly have tried that stuff before. Long story short, they take us there, we bust it up, we fought a monster, we beat the monster, and we rescued the mutants."

"Surprised you only recruited two of them." Logan remarked.

"They were the only ones who wanted to join." Cover Girl explained. "A couple others helped us out, but they decided to stay in LA and help protect it."

"Joining the ranks of the Local Heroes." Jinx smiled. "Hope it works out for them."

"Paul has kept in contact with them." Cover Girl said. "According to him, they recently helped save Los Angeles. Got themselves a little team going with some of the other mutants." Amara overheard this and turned to Lance.

"Is that true?" The Roma Novan asked the earthshaker.

Lance nodded. "Yup. They helped us out, we made an offer in gratitude, and they said yes."

Amara raised an eyebrow. "You jerks are capable of being grateful?" The geokinetic girl asked in a tone that indicated a mix of amusement and disbelief. Lance pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Yes, Magma. We are."

"Besides, not all of us have that fancy Cerebro, yo!" Todd piped up.

"I suggest we all go inside." Xavier suggested. "It would be more comfortable. And we can show Starchild and Darkstar around." With that, the group went inside.

"Holy cow, is that a piano?!" Paul whooped, pointing at the grand piano.

"Yes, that is mine." Ororo smiled. "I like to play it."

"She's pretty good." Jean pointed out.

"May I?" Paul asked.

"You play?"

"Yup!" Paul nodded. "My parents got me piano lessons when I was a kid. Drove my piano teacher crazy. He wanted me to play Beethoven, I wanted to play Elton John." He took a seat on the bench, and started playing and singing. "I remember when rock was young! Me and Susie had so much fun!"

"My brother, ever the performer." Craig muttered, rolling his eyes in amusement/mock annoyance as Paul continued to sing Elton John's "Crocodile Rock." The young mutant got some of the young mutants clapping and stomping their feet, and even singing along. "Yup, he always brings the show."

"That's not all!" Paul grinned. He motioned to Craig. "My brother also plays music. He plays a mean bass guitar." Craig blushed and pulled up the lapels of his jacket.

Stupid brother of mine... "I only did it so we could get money to eat." He glared at everyone. "Will you all stop looking at me?!"

"Especially you girls." Pietro snickered. "A certain someone will get really mad."

"Oh, you mean Wa-GMMMPH!" Todd started to answer, but Althea clamped her hand over his mouth.

"Toddles, I love you, but you really need to work on the whole 'blabbing-things-out' bit." The aquakinetic sighed.

"Anyone want to see me sing some Jerry Lee Lewis?" Paul offered.

"Who's that?!" Tabitha said.

"Who's Jerry Lee Lewis?" Paul grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Let me introduce you to the Killer!" He then burst into a rendition of "Great Balls of Fire". Lance smirked as he watched this.

I wish I had my guitar right now. He thought. I'd love to jam with this guy again. Kitty noticed this.

"Like, whatcha thinkin' about?"

"Oh, nothing." Lance shrugged. "I jammed with the Starr boys. They're good. Paul wants to start a band."

"And I take it he asked you to join this hypothetical band?"

"I admit, I think it'll be fun." Lance answered with a shrug. "Who knows? It might actually get big." Kitty snickered.

"That'll be the day."

"Hey, ya never know." Lance smirked. Meanwhile, Craig had managed to slip away and found himself standing at a balcony. However, the former gang member would find himself with company rather quickly.

"Guten Tag." Craig turned and saw a smiling Kurt standing next to him.

"Oh." Craig blinked. "What do you want?"

"That's not normally the reaction I get when people see me." Kurt chuckled.

Craig shrugged. "I had a friend who had red skin and could throw fire and ice in her hands. Blue fur is hardly that weird."

"I like to think of my fur as indigo, to be honest."

"Looks blue to me."

Kurt then looked out at the horizon next to Craig. "See anything interesting out there?"

"Just looking out." Craig answered. "The crowd bothered me a bit."

Kurt overheard laughing, and Paul doing an impression of Christopher Walken. "Not a fan of your brother being in the spotlight, huh?"

"Naw, I couldn't care less." Craig answered. "Let him play superstar all he wants. I've always been more of the type to keep out of the spotlight, as my brother would say."

"I see." The two then looked at the horizon quietly for a short time.

Craig finally broke the silence. "So...the X-Men, huh?"

"Ja." Kurt answered.

"You guys are actually pretty famous."

"Unfortunately, yes." Kurt sighed. "Thanks to the Sentinels."

"You guys should have revealed yourselves beforehand." Craig said simply.

"The Professor said that humanity wasn't ready for our kind." Kurt countered.

"Then that's what you should have done. Gotten humanity ready." Craig explained. "I grew up on the streets of LA. A lot of mutants ended up there. You know why?"

"I think I can guess."

"Yup." Craig nodded. "You guys are talked about quite a bit by those mutants. Let's just say...you guys are mixed."

"Mixed?"

"Some like you. Some have no opinion." Craig turned to glare at Kurt. "Many don't think very highly of you."

"They don't like us?" Kurt blinked in shock and confusion. "Why?"

"Why do you think?" Craig sneered. "What the hell have you X-Men done for us? You guys had an opportunity to make us mutants look good. But instead, you clowns chose to hide in your mansion."

"That is rather funny coming from you." Kurt scowled, crossing his arms. "From what I heard, you used to be in a street gang. You were a criminal."

"I did what I had to do to survive, blue boy." Craig growled. "Somehow, I doubt your blue ass would know anything about that."

"Just because you had it rough does not give you the right to judge me." Kurt responded. Craig glared.

"You X-Men want to act like you're the faces of mutantkind, but you don't want to actually show it to people!"

Inside, Rogue was looking over the rose that Paul gave her.

"Penny for our thoughts, chere?" Remy asked. "What're you thinkin', there?"

"Just lookin' over this here rose, sugah." Rogue explained. "Ol' Starchild, as the Misfits call him, he's a bit of a charmer."

"Remy see." Remy frowned. Rogue smirked at the Cajun.

"Why Cajun, are you getting' jealous?"

"Moi? Non." Remy sniffed. "Jus' makin' sure mah chere ain't getting' swept off her feet by a man who's intendin' harm."

"That's sweet of yah, but ah can handle mahself." Rogue said, her smirk never leaving her face. The two then heard a scuffling outside. "What the-?" Scott and Lance ran out to the balcony and saw Kurt and Craig looking like they were about to fight.

"You're a jerk!" Nightcrawler snapped.

"And you X-Men are hypocrites!" Craig snapped back.

"Alright! Knock it off! Knock it off!" Scott pushed the two apart, Lance helping hold back Craig.

"Cool out, man." The earthshaker told the ex-gang member as some of the others went out on the balcony. "Cool out. Not worth it."

"Oh, dear..." Xavier sighed.

"Knew it." Logan rolled his eyes. "I knew it."

"Well, it least the quiet lasted this long. New record." Jinx told the Canadian mutant, trying to put an optimistic spin on it.

"What happened, Kurt?" Scott asked.

"This psycho tried to take a swing at me!" Kurt exclaimed, pointing at Craig.

"Furball, if I took a swing at you, you'd be out on the ground right now!" Craig snapped, his star-covered eye glowing hotly.

"I take it 'Darkstar' over there has some issues?" Logan asked Jinx. The ninja nodded.

"Yup." Jinx nodded. "The streets of LA will do that to you."

"He definitely is a perfect fit for you guys." Scott scowled at Lance. "That Darkstar guy is a punk."

"Don't you start, Summers!" Lance snapped. Recondo came up to the young mutant.

"We had a talk about this." The jungle trooper told him.

Craig sighed. "I know, I know." He held up his hands. "I just got fed up with this guy acting like the hypocrite he is."

"Is that what you told him about us, Alvers?" Scott growled at Lance.

"Hey, we ain't a cult, man!" Lance snapped. "He thought that about you guys long before he met us."

"Maybe you should go cool out, kid." Recondo told Craig.

"Yeah, yeah..." Craig grunted, walking away. Recondo sighed and turned to Xavier.

"Sorry about this, Professor. I'm still kind of new to this whole Misfit wrangling thing."

"Quite alright, Recondo." Xavier reassured the jungle trooper with a smile. "The ones who were former Brotherhood were quite firebrands themselves."

"We were also cooler!" Pietro quipped. Todd and Fred frowned.

"People made fun of us, man." Todd scowled. "Girls hated me!"

"Why?" Althea blinked in confusion.

"They didn't see what you see, my little daughter of Poseidon." Todd smiled.

Wanda rolled her eyes. "In my case, it was the stupid nicknames. I have no idea how in the hell you are able to put up with them, Althea."

"I think they're sweet." Althea explained.

"If you say so." Wanda shrugged.

Later that day.

Ray Crisp sulked in the hallway. He could hear the muffled sounds of Paul singing and playing piano. Evidently, the neophyte Misfit had suddenly decided to throw a little party, which both groups surprisingly got behind.

"Something botherin' you, Ray?" A voice asked the electrokinetic. He looked up and saw Scott.

"Oh, hey."

"You look a little glum." Scott said. "Want to talk about it?" Ray sighed.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt. I was going to take Tabitha out to that cafe for coffee, but she's mooning over Starboy in there."

"Aw, that sucks, man." Scott said. "Anything I can do?"

"It's ridiculous, man!" Ray groaned. "What the hell is up with that guy?" Scott sighed.

"Ray, he didn't do anything. Yeah, he's a Misfit, but he actually seems kind of nice." He chuckled. "A nice Misfit. The times are changing."

"He thinks he's some kind of rockstar, and now the girls are drooling over him." Ray grumbled. The two noticed Piotr stomp up to them. "What's your deal?"

"Lance. Kitty. And the Starchild."

"Oh here we go..." Scott muttered, rolling his eyes.

"She's going crazy over the Starchild guy, and Lance is loving it!"

"I'm sure it's harmless, Pete." Scott reassured. "He isn't trying anything. And as you said, Lance is laughing at it, so he's clearly not bothered."

"Humph." Piotr frowned, crossing his arms. "We'll see."

"I'm sure it's nothing..." Scott noticed Remy stomping up. Aw no, not another one...

"Dat Starr boy is getting on Remy's nerves." Gambit grumbled.

"What is it, Remy? Rogue is dancing?"

"Remy never saw Rogue smiling like that before Starboy started singing." Remy grumbled. Scott rolled his eyes.

The optic blaster pinched the bridge of his nose. "God forbid she actually likes something."

"Oh yeah?" Remy sneered. "Why don't you take a look and see what your beloved Jean is doing?" Scott peeked out and saw Jean sitting on the piano, swaying and snapping her fingers as Paul sang Elton John's "Island Girl."

"I see Jean enjoying herself while Paul Starr is singing Elton John." Scott answered dryly. "He's actually not half bad."

"The girls are going nuts for him, man!" Ray exclaimed.

"He's handsome dude who's a good singer. Girls tend to go nuts for that." Scott reminded. "You know, like that pop singer the girls were crazed over for a while?"

"Didn't he turn out to be some sort of alien hivemind?" Remy remembered.

"Yeah, he did." Scott nodded. "The Fantastic Four took care of him."

"Ah, right." Remy smirked. "Dat idiot Storm wouldn't stop mugging for the camera. It was pretty funny when Ben Grimm poured de tar and feathers over him."

"I actually painted that." Piotr smiled. "It was rather inspiring."

Scott chuckled. "Yeah, that was pretty funny." He shook his head. "Look, you guys. He's harmless. Don't you think you guys are being a bit ridiculous?" Scott frowned, crossing his arms. He then blinked. "Oh God, I just did the Roadblock rhyming thing, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did." Piotr nodded. Scott sighed.

"Look, you guys can sulk and be silly." He told them. "I'm going to get a drink." He left, leaving his three friends to do exactly that.

"...That Starchild guy is going to take our girlfriends from us, man." Ray grunted. "I say we do something about it."

"But what?" Piotr asked.

"...I don't know." Ray shook his head. "But we gotta think of something. And fast."

Well, there you have it! This is the start of Paul and Craig's first meeting with the X-Men. Looks like Paul's stolen some hearts, and Craig's thrown some punches! What's gonna happen next? Find out soon! Thanks for reading, and suggestions for the next chapter are welcome.