Christina's Lily Pad
Author's Note: Hey there, folks! L1701E here! As many know, I am a big fan of todd fan's "Sidney Chronicles". One day, I was reading about the old DC Multiverse, and I thought it would be fun to create an alternate version of todd fan's Sidney-Verse. So, I devised "Earth-13000", an alternate version of the Sidney-verse that allows me to create my own version of the Sidney-verse without interfering with todd fan's canon.
On Earth-13000, events of the Sidney Chronicles happened differently, especially "Passing the Torch".
This story is set ten years after Earth-13000's version of "Passing the Torch". This is the first entry in the blog of one Christina "Christy" Tolensky, this universe's counterpart to the Sidney-verse's Christina "Tina" Tolensky. In the core Sidney-verse, Tina grew into a cold, bitter young woman. In this timeline however, Christy has grown to become a happier and more well-adjusted young woman. This is the first entry in her blog, in which she talks about the state of the Tolensky Family after ten years. Prepare to be surprised.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Marvel Comics, me, or Todd fan.
Christina's Lily Pad
Christina's Lily Pad is the official blog of the Liberty Legionnaire known as Lucent.
June 24, 20XX
Okay, so my friend Anna convinced me to try doing this blog thing. So bear with me.
Hello, my name is Christina Tolensky, but everyone calls me Christy. I live with my Aunt Gina and Uncle Kyle in Los Angeles, California. Okay, technically, Gina is my cousin, but there is such a large age gap, people think she's my aunt. Kyle Wildfire is my cousin-in-law. They had raised me and my adopted brother Tristan since I was eight years old.
I am a member of the Liberty Legion, the children and legacies of the members of Freedom Force, the world's premier mutant super team. I kinda like being in the Legion, although I wish Kat would stop taking all the chocolate chip cookies. I think we're going to need to set up an intervention for that girl.
The Legion are an alright bunch. The Liberty Legion got its name from an old team of heroes that operated during World War Two. This Legion is mostly made up of Freedom Force's kids, like I said. The main team me, Arctica (Daughter of Iceman and Starway.), Fluke (Son of Pyro and the Scarlet Witch), Hotstreak (The daughter of Pyro and the Scarlet Witch), Beak (Adopted son of Karma), Slate (Son of Avalanche and Shadowcat of the X-Men), Wildheart and Cardshark (Daughter and son of Wildstar. They're half siblings, different mothers). We have a bunch of reserve members, too.
I get along well with my teammates. Among my best friends are Anna Drake/Arctica and Madison Allerdyce/Hotstreak. Like me, Madison is connected to a goddess. Her patron is Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire and dancing. Maddie met Pele during a vacation the gang took to Hawaii. Pele gave Maddie a magic crystal that is aiding Maddie in learning to control her powers. (1)
Anyway, if anyone knows me, then they know that I am the sole surviving daughter of Todd Tolensky, Toad of Freedom Force, and Sidney Cagney , the singer with the too-short career. Ten years ago, my elder sister Leola caught the Legacy Virus and passed on thanks to it. Not long after, my mother died. And the losses completely destroyed my father and me, not to mention our relationship.
Dad practically became a zombie. Every day he was awake, you could tell. Mom and Leola's deaths shattered him, and it seemed all he wanted to do was just end it all. And I took the losses hard, too. It didn't help that they were only a short time apart. I grew bitter and angry at the world. I spent most of my seventh year of my life in trouble with somebody. I can remember every single detail of the detention room at my old school. Not to mention the cops picked me up on a couple occasions.
I know what you're thinking. Why didn't my dad put me in line? Well, I'm sure he could've...had he had the strength to do it. Dad just couldn't do it. He couldn't raise a kid on his own. Not in the state he was in. He tried to be a good father, but he what he really needed was to get his head together, and he never had the chance at that time. He tried to fill the void by taking in an abandoned human baby who became my little brother Tristan. I think it seemed to make things worse. At the time, I was dealing with emotional problems that my dad couldn't handle, and add on a baby? At the time, I think my dad developed a taste for punishing himself.
For two years, he tried to raise me on his own in Mutant Town. I fell into a bad crowd during that time, being involved in Gene Nation. Boy, do I regret it. My dad wasn't able to help me deal with my grief and anger, because he was consumed by his own grief over Mom and Leola's deaths. My Uncle Bobby and Aunt Lila tried to get him to get help, and finally, they got through.
What Dad did next was what some would view as a bad move. Dad sent me and Tristan to live with my Aunt Gina and Uncle Kyle. As a kid, I was angry at him for it, but nowadays, I'm glad he did it. He could've done worse. When Rogue of the X-Men gave birth to Dmitri, she developed post-partum depression. That really messed her up, considering she had never really gotten over Colossus's death. The whole thing took a toll on her sanity, and one day, she up and left the Institute and vanished, leaving her baby behind. Thank God the X-Men are still there, especially her mother Mystique. She's raising her grandson as well as her stepdaughter Mo'e'ha. Mo loves her "Mama Raven". Imara is uncomfortable with it, but she is civil. I can't say she hates Mystique, because I don't think she does. I think it's that she's uncomfortable with her father and an ex of his starting again. I think it has a very nice "full circle" thing to it. (2)
Mo and I both know what it's like to have step-mothers. I have a stepmother myself. She's nice. Anyway, my Dad spent several years on the road, traveling around as a way to get his head together. Now, I know you may think what my Dad did was cruel, but he did NOT abandon me. He still kept in contact with me. He would always send letters, and postcards, and e-mails, and videos, and he would try and visit on me and Tristan's birthdays and Christmas. He wanted me to be sure that it was not my fault that he was away all the time and that he loved me. He just needed to get himself back on track. When Dad visited, he and I would do stuff together, and we were able to slowly rebuild things between us.
The distance really helped the both of us, I think. It allowed us to heal and get things straight about each other. I think if he continued to try and raise me and Tristan the way he was, the bad feelings would've festered and who knows what would've happened. Dad sent me and Tristan to live with Aunt Gina and Uncle Kyle because they had a stable home, which I needed and he couldn't provide. They could keep me out of trouble. Uncle Kyle is a bit of a disciplinarian, but he's fair. The last time I broke curfew (on purpose, anyway), I regretted it.
My Aunt Gina is a bit of a celebrity. She is the one who writes those Japanese-Italian cookbooks. When she was a kid, she helped run her grandmother's restaurant, which was an Italian restaurant. When she was a little younger than me, she spent several years in Japan with the legendary hero Sunfire. She was having a rough time at that point in her life, and Sunfire and his twin sister Sunpyre (She's got a real thing for American culture) helped her find inner peace by training in the way of the samurai. While there, she picked up a love of Japanese cuisine, and she does make some delicious sushi. She taught me that same stuff, and it really helped me out. Growing up with Uncle Kyle also gave me a love of pro wrestling (His family's been doing it for 50+ years), so I learned a bit of that stuff. When I get a little older, I hope to start wrestling like my Uncle Kyle. I may not have Wildfire blood, but I can wrestle as good as any Wildfire. Aunt Gina worries I'll get hurt.
Anyway, Dad's travels really helped him out. They even gave him a hand financially, too. Dad would keep journals of his travels. What he did, what he felt, what he saw. A friend Dad made in Bangladesh, a cop named Neal Sharra, I think, convinced him to have the journals published as books. Dad was reluctant, but he was convinced when he was told that his journals could inspire people. He got them published about four years ago, and they became best-sellers. He made a mint! Recently, Dad accepted an offer to host a show on the Travel Channel, Todd Tolensky's Traveler's Guide. It's a good show, and Dad's real funny on it.
Earlier, I said I had a stepmother. How Dad met her is a heck of a story. Ironically, it was thanks to those Gene Nation punks. My dad was visiting me about five years ago. While there, he was attacked by a bunch of young mutant Gene Nation members. They view us Freedom Force members as race traitors. Whatever. Dad put up a good fight, but he was out-of-shape. Not to mention those punks had youth and numbers on their side. They beat the hell out of him and left him to die in a sewer. I was so terrified when I heard about it. I didn't want to lose Dad, not while we were working so hard on repairing our relationship. Luckily, he was rescued by one of the Morlocks, Laura/X23, a clone of the X-Man Wolverine. She, like Dad, lost someone she loved dearly, only he was killed. She took him to the hospital, and she found herself visiting him often there.
I think it was because they sensed a common pain between them. X23 was originally created by HYDRA as a weapon, and Dad was abused by my grandfather, who beat my grandmother to death. Thankfully, I never met him. Aunt Gina killed him. She doesn't like to talk about that. I don't blame her. Anyway, not only did they have loveless childhoods, but their biggest loves were taken from them cruelly. Laura was given her name by another Morlock, Lucid. They eventually had a child together, Deborah, aka Sobek. She looks like a velociraptor. Sadly, Lucid was killed by the Viper not long after Debbie was born. With Lucid gone, Laura stopped using her name and demanded that people called her X23 again. She allowed herself to regress to her old cold clone self, only showing warmth around her daughter. Dad was happy to see her visit and encouraged her to visit him more. They would become friends as Dad recovered. (3)
As time went on, they grew close. I think they found they had a lot in common. As I said, they both had painful childhoods as well as they were still both hurting from the loss of their exes. As far as I know, they were able to help each other heal. The Morlocks noticed that around Dad, Laura seemed happier and warmer, and I could tell that whenever Laura wasn't around, Dad missed her. He was for the first time in years, genuinely happy. Thanks to some...angelic help, Dad and Laura gave a relationship a shot. They married a year and a half later. As a result, Laura Tolensky is now my stepmother. Sobek is now my stepsister, Debbie Tolensky. She's a great kid. She practically worships me. I like being worshipped. Dad and Debbie bonded real well. It was a bit awkward when Wolverine found out, but in the end, he gave Laura her blessing. He's gruff, but he's a big ol' hairy softie deep down. And Dad makes Laura happy. I still live with Aunt Gina and Uncle Kyle, as well as with my cousins, their kids, but I visit every so often. Debbie loves my visits, and it does feel good having a sister again, even if I'm the elder this time around. A few months ago, Dad and Laura announced that Laura was pregnant again. She and Dad are going to have twins. The shudder in horror could be heard all over the sewers. A pregnant Laura is a scary thing, especially if she's hungry. If you're not careful, you'll be her next meal. Callisto is very grateful that Laura is agreeing to stay at the Institute for her pregnancy. Bayville's sewers never really recovered from her pregnancy with Debbie.
Having Laura and Debbie did a lot of good for Dad. For the first time in years, he is genuinely happy. One can tell. He thought there was no one else out there for him after Mom died. Same with Laura. I guess fate has a way of proving people wrong.
Anyway, we at Freedom Force sometimes work with the X-Men. They tend to get a lot of flak from humans and mutants alike. Humans don't like 'em because they're mutants, mutants don't like 'em because they fight for human-mutant peace. Much of the mutants are into Gene Nation. It's kinda like Scientology for Mutants, this alternate religion thingy. Mutants in Gene Nation reject human culture. They have their own plays, their own language called Epsilon-Omega, they even don't celebrate human holidays like Christmas. They have their own language. It's led by this charismatic mutant called Exodus. He is insanely powerful, not to mention completely nuts. He's a powerhouse on his own, but worse when he has followers. The more he has, and the stronger their faith, the more his power grows. Aiyagh. He's so dangerous, the older guys in Freedom Force forbade us to face him.
To make things even worse, he has a bunch of flunkies who call themselves the Acolytes. Great, he has to rip off Magneto, as well. Anyway, this guy is worshiped by a lot of the mutant community almost like he is a god or something. Hell, one of the younger X-Men is into Gene Nation. Mari Guthrie, one-third of Fenris, is into that stuff. She got into it after her little sister died of Legacy, and it's distanced her from her brother and twin sister. Man, if only Cannonball hadn't decided to make himself scarce after the Legacy crisis. But then again, I'm not surprised she grew into an angry kid. Her name means bitter in Scottish Gaelic! Wolfsbane was really hit hard by Cannonball's vanishing. She loved him a lot, and even now, ten years later, she still awaits his return. (4)
The X-Men are alright. They have a lot of history with my old man. He, and much of the original members of Freedom Force East, used to be in Magneto's old Brotherhood of Mutants when they was my age. But they're a good bunch, really. Uncle Fred is very nice, just as long as you don't make fun of his weight. Aunt Wanda can have a helluva temper, and Uncle John is nuts. Uncle Lance is alright. He's also a lot smarter than many people think. Aunt Eileen is not an original member of the Brotherhood, but she fits right in. She's the leader of the team.
I like living in Los Angeles. My mutation has always reflected my dad's amphibian DNA instead of my mother's feline DNA, which I used to hate. I used to wish I was more like my mother in mutation. All I have to indicate I'm Sidney Cagney's daughter is a tiger tail. As a result, I'm more sensitive to temperature changes. I hate going to Bayville in the winter. New York winters are really cold, and I can't stand it. Half the time, I get sleepy. Of course, Anna Drake loves cold weather. Thats easy for her to say, considering her mutation makes her immune to freezing to death. As Kat once joked, "Anna Drake could walk around in the Arctic butt naked and not get frostbite." The mental image nearly made Fluke's nose gush blood, like in those goofy Japanese cartoons. However, LA is always toasty and warm, which I love. I love hot weather. I love walking around in the warm sun.
Wow. This blog entry has really gotten long, hasn't it? How long have I been sitting here typing this thing? I gotta go, Aunt Gina's making dinner.
COMMENTS:
(Subj: Nice job)
Nice job, Christy! Your blog sounds like it'll be great fun. But if I were you, I would edit this a bit before putting it on the official site. There are some things we HAVE to keep secret after all.
- Anna
--
(Subj: RE: Nice job)
Thanks, Anna.
Yeah, good point. I'll give it a read-over before putting it on the official site. I just wanted people to learn a bit about me, but I ended up blabbing my whole life story.
- Christy
--
(Subj: Don't mention Pele)
Your blog sounds like it'll be a regular read for me. Only please don't mention Pele. I like being able to talk to her sometimes through my crystal, but at times, she won't shut up. Not to mention I think people will think you're crazy.
- Maddie
--
(Subj: RE: Don't mention Pele)
I wouldn't worry too much about it. People have seen Thor run around, so Pele isn't that much of a stretch. And you're right, Pele can get chatty. Even worse, we ALL can hear it.
- Christy
Thanks for reading!
(1) – In the "core" Sidney-verse, Tina and Maddie do NOT get along well. Tina also despises Arctica.
(2) – In the "core" Sidney-verse, Rogue teaches Literature at the Xavier Institute, and is raising Dmitri as a single mother, while her adopted mother Mystique resides quietly in Genosha. On Earth-13000, Mystique joined the X-Men after the Legacy crisis. She and Forge got back together and married in the Ten-Year-Gap.
(3) – In the "core" Sidney-verse, X23 never really was given a real name. On Earth-13000, when Lucid and X23 were together in the Morlocks, he named her Laura to help her become more human. When he died in this timeline, she stopped using it. Her name symbolized her growing humanity, and with Lucid gone, she felt there was no point to keeping it. When she and Todd started a relationship, she started using it again.
(4) – In the Earth-13000 Sidney-verse, Cannonball/Sam Guthrie left the Xavier Institute after the Legacy crisis because of his grief over his daughter Tanya's death, ending his marriage with Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane, and imploring his children to forget about him. His current location in this timeline is unknown.