Welcome to the West Coast Misfits, Jinx!
Disclaimer: Jinx belongs to DC Comics. Lila Cheney belongs to Marvel Comics. Jennifer "Jenni" Starr belongs to Aaron Whitaker, and the others are mine. The Joes belong to Hasbro.
Hello, folks. L1701E here! And I am back with a new little short-story starring Jinx, the former H.I.V.E. Member, who joined the West Coast Misfits at the end of "For Truth, Justice, and the Last Cup of BA's Coffee". This is the tale what happened to her right after joining up. Enjoy! Oh, and here's your quote: "Buttscratcher!" - Peter Griffin, Family Guy
West Coast Misfit Manor
"Welcome to the West Coast Misfits, Jinx." Ace Starr greeted gently, the group of young mutants looking at Jinx with varied expressions. Jinx beamed happily. General Whithalf smiled.
"What do you think, my dear?" The general smiled at the young sorceress. She couldn't help but grin.
"Thank you, General." She answered sincerely.
"Alright, we got another girl in the team." Lila Cheney, Starway, whispered to Jenni Starr, Shining Star, making the blonde girl giggle slightly.
"Great." Kyle Wildfire, the Thunderbolt, rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath, scowling at Jinx. "One of them H.I.V.E candy-ass grade-A sack of monkey crap jabronies."
"Oi! Watch your mouth, Thunderbolt." Lila admonished, slapping the young electrokinetic upside the head.
"Jinx, that is Ace Starr, aka Wildstar." A grinning Whithalf patted the back of the boy who greeted the sorceress. "He's a feral mutant, much like Wolverine." Jinx looked Ace over. The powerfully-built and muscular teenager with the wild mane of brown hair grinned.
"I'm also quite the singer." Ace joked. "Welcome to the team, girl! Allow me to introduce the rest of the team." He waved dramatically at the rest of the group. "We are the West Coast Misfits, a team of young superpowered people dedicated to fighting evil throughout the world." Many of the kids waved and said hi. Craig Starr, Darkstar, only nodded. "As for me, I'm quick, strong, agile, very flexible..." He waggled his eyebrows. "And I can create claws of blue energy strong enough to cut steel. And do this." Ace held up a small metal disk and then tossed it in the air. In one quick motion, the feral mutant made a gun shape out of his hand, and the tip of his index finger glowed blue.
Zap!
A blue laser beam burst from the finger, making a clean hole in the middle of the disk. Ace caught the disk and held it out to Jinx.
"Wow!" She grinned, clapping her hands. "That's impressive!"
"Thanks! The ladies love that trick." Ace grinned.
"Are you sure we're related?" Craig whispered to Paul. The young LA native nodded. "...Wonderful."
"Fighting evil. That's a good one. We don't even use our damn powers in public." Kyle grumbled, scowling and crossing his arms.
"You know why, so quit complaining." Craig scowled at the younger mutant.
"What brings her here, anyway?" A muscular teenager with red hair that had yellow streaks at the temples inquired, his voice showing a thick Boston accent. He was Jake Wildfire, the Red Dragon.
"You do remember the battle with Trigon, right?" Whithalf inquired.
"Not really." Craig shrugged. "We were rocks then, remember?"
"Yeah, that was not stellar." Paul shook his head.
"Well, Jinx here was a former HIVE Academy student who aided the X-Men, the Titans, and your East Coast counterparts in defeating that nasty demon." Whithalf explained.
"Why would a HIVE student help the X-Men? Weren't the HIVE working with the Hellfire Club?" Jake frowned in concern.
"The Hellfire Club betrayed the HIVE, remember?" Jenni reminded. "Left all those students to die."
"I lost my friend Selinda as a result." Jinx added.
"If you ask the Thunderbolt, it was a big mistake bringing her here." Kyle Wildfire, the Thunderbolt, concurred, glaring at the pink-haired young sorceress. "How do we know this ain't a HIVE trick?"
"They expelled me because I helped the X-Men and Misfits defeat Trigon." Jinx explained. "I have nowhere else to go." She bowed her head shamefully.
"Yeah, Kyle. Have some sympathy." Paul Starr, Starchild, frowned at the younger mutant. "She does deserve another chance, considering that she's not a bad gal."
"She was in the HIVE, we sure about that?" Kyle snorted, getting a smack upside the head from Craig for his trouble. "Hey!"
"Well, don't you worry, Jinx." Jenni Starr grinned as she and Lila put their arms on Jinx's shoulders. "We're happy to have ya here."
"Yeah." Lila chuckled. "As I said, another girl on the team at last."
"Trust me, I am not complaining." Ace grinned, looking Jinx over appreciatively, making her blush.
"Ace, knock it off." Craig grumbled. Ace laughed at his cousin.
"Relax, cuz." Ace chuckled. "I gotta be the Ace of Hearts, man. It's in my nature."
"Jinx, this is Jenni Starr, aka Shining Star. And this is Lila Cheney, aka Starway." Whithalf introduced the two girls.
"It's nice to meet you, I..." The pink-haired witch blinked as she realized something. "Wait. Wait a minute." She looked on in amazement. "Jenni Starr? Lila Cheney? Aren't you...the Superstars? Te rock band? You guys are mutants?"
"All five of us." Paul nodded. "I can shoot a laser outta my right eye." Paul pointed to his right eye, surrounded by the five-pointed star birthmark. "I also can hypnotize people. And as for the star, it's not makeup. It's a birthmark. Craig has the same powers."
"Paul and I also have the ability to telepathically communicate with each other." Craig added. "And as for Kyle, it's obvious why he calls himself 'the Thunderbolt'."
"Electrokinesis, they call it." Kyle explained. He held his hands out like he was doing a Cat's Cradle, and made electricity jump between his fingers. He then started forming it into simple shapes. "The Thunderbolt is a living electric battery."
"I thought his 'Thunderbolt' nickname came from his drumming." Jinx blinked.
"It does." Kyle made a construct of a drumstick and started twirling it around. "The Thunderbolt's a big Rush fan. He also takes drumming nods from Roger Meddows-Taylor and Phil Rudd."
"As for me, I can shoot energy beams from my eye and hands." Jenni explained. "I also have some hypnotic powers." She pointed at Lila. "Lila here is a teleporter."
"Your powers must be a big help to the band getting to shows." Jinx blinked.
"Not really." Lila admitted, rubbing the back of her head. "My powers don't work short-range. I can only do interstellar distances. From planet to planet, and all that."
"Yeah, we nearly ended up losing our instruments because of you." Craig scowled at Lila. The British mutant rolled her eyes.
"I did warn you guys." Lila reminded.
"Wait..." Jinx blinked. "If you guys have mutant powers, how come you guys didn't try to join the X-Men?"
"Join those sheep?" Craig snorted. "I don't think so."
"Craig is a bit paranoid when it comes to telepaths." Paul explained.
"Dammit, Paul..." Craig grumbled.
"We don't even get to tell people the truth about what we are." Kyle scowled. "The others want to keep their powers secret because they're ashamed."
"That's not true and you know it!" Jenni snapped.
"Aren't you even going to introduce me?" The red-haired Red Dragon waved.
"Oh, right." Jinx chuckled at Whithalf's grin. "Jinx, say hello to Jake Wildfire. He's Kyle's older brother."
"Older by three years." Jake held up three fingers.
"And it makes him think he's the boss of me." Kyle snickered.
"Kyle, shut up." Jake grunted.
"Don't mind Kyle, Jinx." Jake reassured. "He's always had a mouth. Got that from Uncle George. And Mom a little bit."
"You know, I've heard the name Wildfire somewhere before..." Jinx frowned. "I think from Mammoth..."
"You watch wrestling?" Craig answered. Jinx shook her head.
"No, but Mammoth is a fan." The sorceress answered. Craig smirked.
"Because the Wildfire family is huge in the wrestling world." The black-wearing mutant jerked his thumb at Jake and Kyle. "Jake and Kyle here are the sons of Eric Wildfire, the Blazer."
"We're third-generation." Jake smiled proudly. "One day, I'm gonna follow my dad in the ring." That is if General Whithalf will actually let me have a life outside this base. Bad enough the jerk dumped me on this scrub team, now he had to make life more miserable for my family by dragging them off to protective custody.
"I think Mammoth would like you." Jinx smiled.
"If you say so." Jake shrugged.
"That big retard is still alive? Funny, the Thunderbolt thought he'd be roasting in Hell alongside your other HIVE buddies." Kyle scowled. The statement made Jinx gasp.
"Thunderbolt, that's out of line!" Whithalf warned, show his rarely-seen serious side.
"Kyle, you arse!" Lila snapped.
"Well, it's true, ain't it?" The Bostonian mutant snapped back. "The Thunderbolt don't believe for five minutes that you actually do really want to change your ways, after all the grief you gave the Titans!" Jinx shook in response under the furious electrokinetic's accusations."How do we know you ain't spying on us for the HIVE, huh?"
"There is no HIVE, Kyle. Not anymore." Jake shook his head. "They're either all dead or Heartless." And personally, they deserved it.
"You know, you are a real piece of work, you know that?" Jinx angrily yelled at Kyle.
"How do you think we feel?" Craig groaned, jerking his thumb at the brown-haired electrokinetic. "We have to put up with this guy and his constant complaining on tours."
"To be fair, Craig, he doesn't complain about everything..." Paul blinked. The young mutant with the black star on his face shot a flat look at his purple star-marked twin brother.
"His complaining about keeping our powers secret feels like he complains about everything." Craig grunted.
"It's not fair, jabroni!" Kyle groaned. "We have these sweet super-powers, yet none of you guys want to use them!"
"Kyle, we had a vote. You lost, 4-to-1. Get over it." Lila groaned.
"The Thunderbolt may have lost that vote, but that don't mean he had to like it!" Kyle snapped. "What's the point of having powers if we just keep quiet about them?" Jinx's rage at the Thunderbolt momentarily vanished when she heard that.
"I'm a little curious myself." The witch admitted. "Why did you guys hide your powers?"
"With all the anti-mutant sentiment around, I cannot blame them." Whithalf sighed sadly.
"Because these jabronies care more about being in magazines than telling the truth about what we are!" Kyle growled.
"That's not true, Kyle." Jenni glared at the younger mutant.
"When we first came together, we realized that being mutants, we'd have a hard time getting ourselves a major record label." Craig explained.
"We needed a major label because not only would we make it big, but big record labels can distribute music all over the country, even all over the world!" Paul added. "Our music is heard everywhere: England, Japan, Australia, Italy, Russia..."
"The big labels would be very reluctant to sign a band of known mutants. Especially now." Craig continued. "It's too controversial. Even if the group is good, the label would lose money because of boycotts, protests, and God knows what else."
"However..." Lila's face formed a catlike grin. "If there was a band of mutants that could pass for normal humans..."
"Huh. Yeah. With those stars on your faces?" Kyle snorted under his breath. "Ow!" Craig smacked him upside
"You see, we decided to promote human-mutant peace our own way: through our music." Jenni contributed. "And since we can pass for human, albeit with the aid of a little makeup..." The blonde mutant pointed at the red four-pointed star-shaped birthmark over her right eye. "The labels think we're human, and they'll sign us."
"Which allows us to use their resources to spread our music's message all over the world." Paul grinned. "Millions of people get to hear our message and get inspired to live it."
"Be better if we were straight about what we were." Kyle growled under his breath. "People would have proof that mutants aren't evil with us."
"Shut up, Kyle." Craig growled.
"But wouldn't the label be concerned that your songs concern tolerance and peace towards mutants?" Jinx blinked.
"No." Craig shook his head. "We can keep the meaning hidden. Just as long as it gets the message across."
"And our message is simple: Have fun, enjoy life, and love others." Lila grinned. "Kinda like KISS."
"God knows you guys have about as much merchandise as them." Jake rolled his eyes. "How long until we see the official Superstars coffin?" *
"You're a riot, Red Dragon." Jenni rolled his eyes.
"You and your brother should go into stand-up." Lila shook her head.
"I'm sure that the young lady would like to see her room." Whithalf suggested.
"Oh, right!" Jenni grinned. "Come on, Jinx!" She and Lila walked Jinx inside. "Let's show you your room!"
"It's a little Spartan right now, I'm afraid." Lila admitted. The rest of the young mutants followed Jinx inside, except for one. General Whithalf noticed Jake still standing on the porch, leaning against one of the support columns.
"I don't trust her, Whithalf." The redhead said curtly. "I don't trust her one bit."
"Son, we know what happened to the HIVE. The poor girl and her friends were lied to, used, and massacred like animals."
"That doesn't mean she has the right to come here." Jake scowled. "Already bad enough that you suckered me and Kyle. And the hell was with you doing that to my mom and dad? Taking them from their home?"
"Son, we had to put your parents in protective custody." Whithalf sighed. He never could understand it. Why couldn't the Wildfire brothers see that the Joes were trying to protect them? "Son, the Hellfire Club would have gone after them if they learned that you and your brother are still alive. They could use them as leverage against us."
"That didn't give you the right to take them from our home." Jake replied. "And before you start, yes, I do care about my parents, and I don't want anything to happen to them, but I don't trust you or any of the Joes, either. I don't have to like being dumped on this team, and I don't have to like you putting my parents in protective custody." Jake sneered. "You used us, Whithalf."
"Red Dragon, you and Thunderbolt brought this on yourselves when you revealed yourselves to the Hellfire Club." Whithalf sighed.
"We did it to save Tessa!" Jake tried to keep his voice even. "She was our only friend in that hellhole, and you didn't give a damn about her! We promised her we'd watch her back! You couldn't even let us go back and get her out of there! They would've killed her! You may be willing to throw people's lives away like garbage, General, but I'm not willing to do that! I wasn't going to throw away a friend's life to protect my cover, and I don't give a damn what you think! We did the right thing, and you are punishing us for it!"
"Son, I'm not saying that you did the wrong thing." Whithalf tried to explain. "And personally, I think that was very noble of you to do that for Tessa, and I'm sure she appreciates it. We put you here because we didn't want the Hellfire Club to get their paws on you and Kyle. And as for your parents, you've spent time with the Club. You know how ruthless they can be. They will go after your family if they think it'll allow them to get their hands on you two. And as for Tessa..." A mirthful smile formed on the general's face. "I'm sure she appreciated what you two did for her." The redheaded fire-breathing mutant sighed.
"Yeah, I'm sure she does." Jake frowned, bowing his head. "I just wish that Tessa was here to say that. She probably thinks we abandoned her."
"I'm sure that she thinks you two had to get the hell out of there before the Hellfire Club killed you both." Whithalf countered. "And I'm sure she is using the fact you kept her alive to her fullest advantage. Who knows how much info she's gotten to Xavier and the X-Men thanks to you and Kyle doing what you did. And as for you being here...we do care about you two. It's not because we don't think you two won't be any help in the future. We just don't want the Hellfire Club to kill you two. They are ruthless monsters, and I will be damned if they get their hands on you two."
"If you say so, General." Jake sighed. "Whatever." He walked back inside. "And as for Jinx...I'm keeping an eye on her. I don't trust her. Just because the H.I.V.E. is practically destroyed, and just because Jinx helped beat that Trigon thing, doesn't make her magically one of the good guys."
"Jake, give her a chance." Whithalf implored. "She was lied to and used. Jinx was of great help in the fight against Trigon. She really wants to find a new path in life."
"We'll see, General. We'll see." The redhead grunted.
That night
Jinx smiled slightly as she laid back on her bed. Her room was a big room, with a bed, desk, and a bookshelf. It was rather Spartan, as the girls had admitted. The walls and ceiling were white, and he furniture was plain. She turned her head and her smile widened at the many shopping bags on the carpeted floor. The bags contained clothes, posters, books, and all sorts of other items. The girl Joes, Lady Jaye and Raven, alongside Jenni and Lila, had taken her out shopping to get her some things to decorate her room. Tomorrow, they were going to help her repaint her room.
I can't believe my luck. The pink-haired witch smiled. They weren't even bothered by my past. They just accepted me. Well, Kyle Wildfire is a jerk. His brother's alright, but he seems unwilling to be around me. The others...they all seem alright. I think I may have found a nice little home here. She turned her head and smiled slightly at the bags. Boy, those girls can shop! I have to remember to call Gizmo and Mammoth and tell them how I'm doing. I think they'd be happy to see I've found myself somewhere to belong again. The H.I.V.E. Wasn't really for me. Maybe the West Coast Misfits are the place for me.A knocking sound came from her door. The young sorceress looked up. "Yes?"
"Hey, Jinx!" Jenni greeted from the other side of the wooden door. "We're going to watch a movie in the living room. You want to join us? If you're tired, that's fine."
"No, it's alright." Jinx got up. "I'm in the mood for a movie." She opened the door, revealing a grinning Jenni standing at the door, and Jake Wildfire standing at the wall across from the door, looking at her with a blank face and arms crossed. "What's playing?"
"We're watching Star Trek. The newest one." Jenni explained. "The Superstars saw it in the theater. It was an awesome film. Kyle is a big Trekkie, and he saw it six times. You'll love it!" She ran off into the living room. The pink-haired witch was about to follow her when...
"Jinx." Jake spoke up. "Stop right there." Jinx stopped and looked at the young mutant codenamed Red Dragon.
"Oh. Hello, Jake." Jinx blinked. She didn't talk much to the redheaded Boston native. He wasn't much of a speaker. "What's wrong?"
"I want to make one thing perfectly clear to you, Jinx." Jake explained. "I don't trust you. I don't believe you really want to help this team. Not after all you did with the H.I.V.E and all that other stuff. I don't think that you helped the Misfits and the Titans for the reasons you claim." Jinx scowled.
"I heard that from your, no offense, idiot of a brother." Jinx retorted. "You weren't there, Wildfire. And neither was he! You didn't see what the Hellfire Club did to the other kids at the H.I.V.E. You didn't see the carnage they left behind. A friend of mine died because of them." Jinx shook her fists. "I was lucky to survive all of that. The H.I.V.E is gone. And there's nowhere else for me to go but here. I couldn't join the Titans or the Misfits. I'm sorry if you don't want me here, and I know you're angry at the Joes for what you feel they did to you and your family, but that gives you no right to take it out on me. I really do want to do some good now. If you can't accept that, that's fine. I don't care. I didn't join this team to impress you."
"Fine." Jake nodded. Jinx snorted and walked to the living room where the Joes and the West Coast Misfits were gathering around in front of a large-screen TV.
"Jinx?"
"What?" The luck-manipulator snapped at Jake.
"If it's any consolation...I'm sorry about your friend." The redhead told her. "I've spent time with the Hellions, and you are right. They are monsters. The kids in H.I.V.E...they didn't deserve what happened to them. They were bad kids, but the Hellions are mad dogs."
"I just wish we didn't have to learn it the hard way." Jinx sighed. She looked at the crowd, and then to Jake. "You want to join us?" Jake shook his head. "Why not? Lila and Jenni told me you kept to yourself ever since you came here."
"I didn't want to be here." Jake explained. "I wanted to be on the main team. I see no point in joining them in anything here. We're not really the Misfits, you know."
"Your team is called the West Coast Misfits, remember?" Jinx teased. "As far as I'm concerned, you're a Misfit. And since you're stuck here, why not try to make the best of it?" Jake sighed. "And look at it like this. You want me to earn your trust? Actually interacting with the team would help."
"Fine." Jake sighed again as he followed Jinx into the room.
"Hey, look who decided to join us!" Paul laughed. "The dragon's decided to leave his cave."
"Ahhh, can it, Starchild." Jake rolled his eyes as he took a seat on the floor.
"What's the H.I.V.E girl doing here?" Kyle scowled.
"Kyle, be nice." Flint warned.
"Shut up, Thunderbolt." Craig added, smacking the elctrokinetic upside the head.
"Hey!"
"Hey luck girl, come sit with me." Ace offered, patting a seat next to him on the couch. Jinx shyly did so. "You know, a lot of girls would love to be in your spot right now."
"Yeah, right." Lila snorted.
"Alright, everyone calm down." Lady Jaye ordered, standing in front of the TV. "Okay, everyone. You all know the rules. No throwing things at the TV, and no brawling or bawling when a character dies. We all know what happened last time, Raven." The Native American ex-Cobra pilot groaned. "And Whithalf, none of the Shirley bit tonight."
"Flint called me Shirley, what was I supposed to do?" Whithalf snorted, crossing his arms.
"Oh, for the love of-!" Flint moaned. "I didn't call him Shirley! All I said was the surely, he wasn't serious!"
"See? He just did it again!" Whithalf exclaimed. Jinx's jaw dropped.
"Don't mind it." Jenni reassured. "Sometimes we're more mature than the adults. You'll get used to it." Jinx shook her head at that.
Something tells me that my time here is going to be very interesting. The pink-haired girl thought to herself.
Thanks for reading!
* - KISS sold an official coffin back in the 2000s. I am not joking. Guitarist and KISS fan "Dimebag" Darrell was buried in one.