Reaction II
Disclaimer: Hey, folks! L1701E here! This one-shot is set after Chapter 29 of RogueFanKC's fic "Kingdom Hearts: Mutants of Twilight". Basically, this the Superstars' reaction to the events in that chapter. I hope you like it!
Oh, and there is a language warning.
A hotel in New Jersey
The five young mutants that comprised the rock band known as "The Superstars" walked into their swanky hotel room.
Paul and Craig Starr, respectively the lead singer/rhythm guitarist and bassist of the Superstars, were twins that possessed the powers of hypnosis and the ability to fire purple beams of energy from their right eyes. Lila Cheney, the keyboardist of the Superstars, was a teleporter with the power to teleport across interstellar distances. Jenni Starr, the lead guitarist of the Superstars, and the cousin of the Starr Brothers, could fire lasers from her right eye or hands, and possessed hypnotic powers. Kyle Wildfire, the drummer, was the most powerful and the youngest of the team, with his power to generate and manipulate electricity.
"Well, that was a disaster." Jenni sighed.
"Speaking from the girl who beat up a guy there." Paul looked at his blonde cousin.
"Hey, it wasn't just me, Paul! Lila gave him a few good whacks, too." Jenni argued.
"Heh, yeah. The jabroni asked for it." Kyle snickered.
"Shut up, Kyle. You got yourself into big trouble, kid." Craig scowled at his teammate.
"For what, helping out?" Kyle scowled back.
"He deserved it." Lila grumbled, walking to the mini-fridge. "And at least I kept my powers secret, unlike Blunderbolt over here."
"Kiss the Thunderbolt's ass." Kyle scowled, leaping over the couch and turning on the TV.
"Female members of the Superstars attack grieving father!! Details at eleven, here on Twenty Questions!!" Hector Ramirez's voice was heard yelling from the TV.
"Oh, God." Kyle groaned. "This jabroni is a reporter? Whatever happened to hiring standards?"
"You have no right to crack jokes right now, considering what you just did." Craig grunted. "You deliberately risked exposure of your mutantcy!"
"Hey, the Thunderbolt is proud of being a mutant, okay?! The Thunderbolt didn't see those X-Jerks or those East Coast Misfits complaining!" Kyle snapped, changing the channel. The young mutant groaned as he saw the commercial. "Ah, man..." Lila's grip around the can of soda she was holding tightened angrily as she heard the voice from the TV.
"This is the testimony of the two loving parents, Robert and Joyce, whose efforts of love went unappreciated as their prodigal son, Bobby Drake, foolishly and recklessly endangered their family to join the X-Men and leaving the shambles of his disregarded kin. This is their story of triumph and rebirth of a new life as the Drakes pick up the pieces in a story of love, compassion, and adversity during the mutant crisis caused by the malignant Iceman." Lila looked up, her expression suddenly growing hard and angry.
Oh, hell no...Lila's eyes narrowed. They have no right...they have no right to drag Bobby through the mud like that...Jenni noticed Lila's expression.
Oh, I knew it...that Lifetime movie really got Lila steamed. Jenni remembered. She's always been standing up for Bobby Drake, ever since she first saw him at that Brown University disaster...
"Oh, please." Kyle groaned. "The Thunderbolt may not like that X-Dork..."
"You don't like any of the X-Men." Paul reminded.
"Yeah, but the Thunderbolt don't think that that Snowman clown would hurt his family like that." Kyle scowled. "Sheesh. His family dumps him, yet they paint him as the bad guy. God, it makes the Thunderbolt sick."
"You're lucky, Kyle. Your family still loves you." Craig reminded. "They still accepted you and Jake despite your mutations."
"So did mine." Jenni agreed with a nod.
"Turn. That. Crap. Off." Lila demanded icily, anger pouring out of her voice as she pointed at the TV. "Turn it off, or I will throw the TV out the window."
"Yeah, whatever." Kyle grunted, changing the channel. Satisfied, Lila Cheney left the room. "Sheesh. She sure gets weird whenever Iceman is mentioned. Ever since that Brown garbage." Both Paul and Jenni looked at each other. They knew why Lila was so steamed.
"Just leave it, Kyle." Paul suggested to the younger mutant.
"Yeah, we have something more important to talk about." Craig agreed, looking at Kyle.
"Don't you dare." Kyle warned.
"I'll go talk to Lila." Jenni left the room, going the direction Lila was headed. Craig watched his cousin leave, then looked at Kyle intensely.
"You do realize we'll have to tell Whithalf about your little bit of secret aid to the X-Men and Misfits." Craig told Kyle. The young Bostonian glared at the dark-haired LA native. Craig could be intimidating, but Kyle wasn't the type to be intimidated easily.
"Go ahead. Tell the old jabroni. The Thunderbolt don't care." Kyle scowled. "The Thunderbolt got sick and tired of being held back all the time."
"Kyle, you could have placed yourself and your brother in great danger." Paul tried to explain gently.
"And what about all the lives that were lost thanks to the Organization?!" Kyle snapped. "Maybe some of those people could've been saved if we had been allowed to help, instead of being forced to sit on our butts all the time!"
"Kyle, the reason we were formed was to be a secret weapon." Craig explained, significantly harsher than his twin brother.
"Some secret weapon." Kyle grunted. "The only ones out of the whole damn team, if you call it that, that have seen any action are Ace and Jinx. This whole West Coast Misfit thing is nothing but a bad joke! Like that boneheaded idea to keep our powers secret!"
"We voted, Kyle. You lost, 4 to 1." Craig told the electrokinetic.
"Because I'm the only one of you that has any blasted pride, that's why!" Kyle snapped. "You jabronis just want to run around pretending that you're just regular musicians when you damn well know we're not!"
"Kyle, do you know what could happen if it was revealed that we were mutants?" Paul sighed. "It'd be the end of our careers."
"Not every record label hates mutants, jabroni." Kyle groaned. "You guys are blowing this way out of proportion."
"You're trying to change the subject, Kyle." Craig grunted. "We will tell Whithalf what you did. It was boneheaded."
"Tell that to that weirdo sitar-holding clown!" Kyle smirked. "The Thunderbolt fried him."
"At least our powers can hurt Organization members." Paul realized.
"Yeah, but those Hellfire Heartless things are immune. In fact, using mutant powers on them will make them stronger!" Craig reminded. "And thanks to Kyle, we might end up having to deal with those things! We can't beat them."
"No, we won't. No one saw me." Kyle grunted. "You're paranoid, Craig."
"And you're an idiot and a hothead!" Craig snapped. "You and your brother have to keep yourselves low-profile more than any of us. Jinx and Ace don't have to worry about that so much."
"The Thunderbolt is tired of it!" Kyle snapped. "The Thunderbolt is sick and tried of sitting on his ass and being told to do nothing while the Organization gets away with all of their crap! You know, if that senile idiot allowed us to help out at the Watchtower, maybe Washington wouldn't have gotten nuked by the League's blasted laser cannon!"
"Not this again..." Craig grumbled. The tragedy in Washington, DC really outraged the Wildfires. It did a lot more than offend their sense of honor, it infuriated the brothers because they felt they could've helped stop it. Naturally, being very different, the two Wildfires took it different ways. The elder Jake kept it to himself, but the anger and resentment towards the West Coast Joes and especially General Whithalf could be seen in the young hero's blue eyes. Every time Jake looked at, spoke to, or even mentioned Whithalf, one could tell he wanted to tie the man in a knot. Kyle was much less reserved. He trashed a tank, an M-1 Abrams in fact, in a fit of rage, and further blew his top at anyone who tried to calm him down.
"And maybe Lady Jaye would be alive if we were allowed to help!" Kyle snapped again. Lady Jaye's death hit the West Coast Misfits hard. Lila and Jenni cried for hours. Paul and Craig eased their pain through their instruments. Jake and Kyle took it hardest. Jake smoldered, and Kyle took out his boundless rage in a manner befitting a thunderbolt: He wrecked a jet fighter, and used his electrokinetic powers to make a construct to hurl the wreckage into Whithalf's quarters. The General was in his office, so he was unhurt. Kyle didn't want to hurt anyone. He was just so furious he lost control.
"Yeah, our powers against the Hellfire Heartless. We would've been a big help, Kyle!" Craig exclaimed.
"At least we'd go out fighting!" Kyle roared, his blue eyes sparking with electrical power. "Not hiding like a bunch of damned cowards! The Thunderbolt doesn't want to spend any more time hiding! We can't beat the Organization by laying low!"
"Kyle, I know you think we're doing the wrong thing..." Paul tried to calm things down. "But the Joes don't want anything bad to happen to us." I'm really worried about Kyle. He was always the most powerful out of all of us, but he is also the least mature, and the most hotheaded. And considering what we've been through, it's only made his short fuse even shorter. Not to mention that resentment and anger he's always had towards Whithalf and the Joes ever since the team was formed. Kyle's power combined with his rage makes a dangerous combination. He's a good kid, but he is so blasted stubborn, always believing his way is right. I understand why he feels the way he does, but he just won't open his mind to the possibility that he's being kept hidden because nobody wants anything bad to happen to him.
"Besides Kyle, sometimes the best way to attack an enemy is not to attack. That's what Raven told me once." Craig said.
"What does she know? She used to be one of Cobra's nameless pilots!" Kyle grunted. "Look, I did the right thing! Why can't you accept it! The Thunderbolt weakened Sitar Boy! He hurt him!"
"Kyle, what do you think would've happened if, for arguments' sake, the Organization discovered your little display? If the Hellfire Club found out? What do you think they'd do?" Paul sighed.
"They'd come after the Thunderbolt." Kyle told him. "Duh! He and Jake really stuck it to those jabronies."
"And they would likely send out Hellfire Heartless, Kyle!" Craig exclaimed. "Those guys are ruthless! They won't just send 'em after you, Kyle! They'll send 'em after Jake! After us! After the West Coast Joes! You may have endangered all of us, you hotheaded moron!" The dark-haired mutant yelled.
"Now, now, hold on!" Paul cut in. "We don't know that the Organization knows about Kyle being alive or his little display of power."
"That Organization clown isn't as stupid as he looks or acts, Paul. If he figured out that that blast of electricity that hurt him didn't come from Berzerker or Storm, or Toad with that Keyblade..." Craig told his twin.
"Oh, man..." Kyle groaned. "And the Keyblade stuff. What the hell are those Keyblade things anyway?"
"They look like something from a Disney game. You ever liked Disney, Kyle?" Paul asked. Kyle shook his head.
"Nah. The Thunderbolt used to like Disney, but then he turned five." The electrokinetic cracked.
"Oh, stop changing the subject!" Craig growled. "Kyle, you did something incredibly stupid! If something happens as a result of this, I swear to God..."
"Go ahead and do it!" Kyle snapped. I don't care anymore. Meanwhile, Jenni had seen that Lila was standing at a balcony. The dark-haired girl was standing at the railing, looking down at the ground.
"Lila?" Jenni blinked.
"Hmm?" The interstellar teleporter turned her head to face the blonde.
"...You okay?" The blonde wondered.
"Yeah." Lila nodded. "If you could call it that."
"Uh-huh." Jenni walked up to her bandmate and friend. "You seem a little troubled." Lila sighed.
"What makes you say that?" Lila joked.
"Well, when that advertisement came on the tube, you really got furious." Jenni pointed out. "You have been getting defensive of Bobby Drake."
"You know why." Lila sighed.
"Yeah." Jenni nodded.
"...when I saw..." Lila pointed her head back down. "When I saw Bobby get yelled at by his father like that...it brought back memories."
"Yeah..." Jenni looked at her friend sympathetically. "Your family disowned you when they learned of your powers."
"Yeah, I was a special case." Lila sighed. "My powers manifested when I was around 10. At first, I thought I was dreaming. I'd go to sleep, and then I'd find myself in another world. When I woke up, I'd be back in my bed, like nothing happened. I'd tell my parents about my adventures, and they'd just think I had dreams. I did, too." Sadness crossed her face. "Until an alien spacecraft landed in our backyard." She gripped the railing tighter. "The alien who flew it, Spyder, he...he forced my powers to activate in front of my parents. When I managed to get myself back to Earth, they looked horrified. In one moment, I was no longer their space-loving daughter who wanted to be an astronaut. I was something from another world...I wasn't even human to them anymore. My mother wondered why she gave birth to me. My father wanted me gone. Spyder offered to take me off their hands. My father looked at me and said, "Take her"." Lila scowled. "You know what happened next."
"Do I ever." Jenni sighed. Lila's history was a rough one. She grew into a bitter slave, and when she escaped, she became a notorious space thief. Eventually, Nick Fury and SHIELD captured her when she tried to sell the planet Earth. Psychologists there managed to rehabilitate her. Not long after, seeking direction, she met Jenni, Paul, and Craig, who were forming a band. Revealing she had some musical talent, Lila joined up as their new keyboardist, but she also occasionally sang and played guitar. She grew to consider the band her family. She had come a long way, but the young woman still had some ways to go. "I can see why you were so defensive."
"Yeah." Lila nodded. "Although to my parents' credit, they never made a Lifetime movie about me. Who'd watch a movie about parents who sold their child to space slavery?"
"If the kid was a mutant, I'd say anyone in the FoH." Jenni cracked with a smile. She and Lila heard yelling. The two of them turned their heads.
"KYLE WILDFIRE, YOU ARE INCONSIDERATE! YOU ONLY CARED ABOUT YOURSELF!" Craig was heard yelling.
"THE THUNDERBOLT DID THE RIGHT THING, JABRONI! I DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHAT YOU THINK!" Kyle yelled back.
"Well, looks like Craig and Kyle aren't going to be settling that argument any time soon." Jenni sighed.
"What was Kyle bloody thinking, using his powers like that?" Lila sighed, her old English accent starting to show. "We told the Joes we'd keep our mutations secret." Jenni blinked for a moment. Lila normally didn't use her old accent when she spoke. It wasn't out of shame of her English heritage, Lila just was reminded of home when she used it. And it depressed the dark-haired interstellar teleporter.
"Kyle never liked that idea, you know that." Jenni reminded. "He was furious with the idea. He is very proud of being a mutant. He grew up on comic books and pro wrestling. When his powers emerged, he wanted to be a superhero." The blonde sighed. "He hated keeping his mutation secret. He always complained about it every opportunity he got. He accused us of being cowards. Kyle is loyal, but he's not above keeping his opinions to himself."
"Yeah, but what if the X-Men find out about us?" Lila sighed. "They'll try to recruit us. And if they find out we're Misfits...they'll hate us."
"But why? We never did anything to them." Jenni blinked.
"But we are Misfits." Lila sighed. "As far as the X-Men are concerned, anyone who is a Misfit is not only not worth their time, they're not even worth any sort of kindness."
"That's the thing I always found very sad about the X-Men." Jenni shook her head. "They can't let go of the past. When they look at the original team, they only see the old Brotherhood of Mutants. But they're not like that anymore. They're good kids who finally found a good influence. They want to make the world a better place, too." The blonde then looked over at her dark-haired friend. "And those problems make it more difficult for you to...you know..." Lila nodded.
"Yeah." Lila agreed. "He's one of the X-Men. And I understand him. I know what it's like to be rejected by people who are supposed to love you unconditionally. But if he finds out about me being a Misfit...he'll reject me." She bowed her head sadly. "I don't think I can handle it."
"You never know unless you try." Jenni advised with a smile. "Not all those X-Men really hate the Misfits. I'm sure it won't get in the way."
"I hope not." Lila frowned. "And there's...another problem..." Her fists tightened and her face formed a scowl. "Her." The blonde couldn't help but snicker. Lila had never liked this one girl.
"Oh, you're just being jealous." Jenni snickered. "She's actually very nice."
"Yeah, and so is jumping in a patch of poison ivy." Lila muttered, crossing her arms. Jenni chuckled. She knew the British girl didn't mean it. Meanwhile, Craig and Kyle had stomped away. Paul knew that it was best to leave his brother to brood. The dark-haired mutant had found a scowling Kyle playing a video game in the kitchen.
"Kyle..."
"The Thunderbolt don't want to talk about it." Kyle grumbled, not even looking up from his video game. Paul sat down next to the younger mutant.
"What're you playing?"
"Super Mario 3." Kyle told the dark-haired boy, still not looking up. "It's the best Mario game."
"Yeah." Paul smiled. "You okay?"
"I'm fine." Kyle grumbled. "No offense, but your brother is a jackass. For someone who is anti-authority, he sure enjoys kissing Whithalf's butt." Paul sighed.
"Craig's just concerned." Paul explained. "You know, the West Coast Misfits are the first caring family he ever really had. General Whithalf became the first positive father figure Craig ever had." Kyle snorted.
"If you say so."
"...Kyle, Craig's worried because of everything that's been happening lately. Anti-mutant sentiment, the Organization and the Hellfire Club making things ten times worse, the possible end of the world..."
"And if it weren't for me and Jake, we wouldn't be as in the know about them as we are!" Kyle snapped. "All the Thunderbolt wants is a chance to make those bastards pay for what they had done!"
"We all do, Kyle, but-" Paul tried to reassure.
"Do you know how Jake and I got involved in this?" Kyle interrupted. "Emma Frost tried to recruit me and Jake for her Hellions. But we refused, and my old man literally threw Beef out on his butt."
"Yeah, I heard about that. I heard he still flips whenever he's mentioned." Paul snickered.
"Yeah. Well, not long after that, General Whithalf met us and asked us if we would join the Hellions as spies for him. He told us about everything, and we wanted to help." Kyle put his game down and stretched his arms. "We agreed, and we joined up as spies." Kyle smirked. "They did not like us. We were the 'American Dream' Dusty Rhodes to their 'Million Dollar Man' Ted Dibiase. We were two boys from a wrestling family who kept in touch with their blue-collar roots among the sons and daughters of the rich." (1)
"Ah." Paul nodded. "Jake told me once that Beef tried to pick a fight with him."
"Yup." Kyle nodded. "The Hellions never liked us much. Not only because we weren't snotty brats like them, but also because we came from a family of pro wrestlers." He sighed. "They'd joke that our dad was an inbred redneck from the trailer park."
"Didn't your dad have a degree in Sports Medicine?" Paul blinked.
"Yup." Kyle nodded. "He does. Worked hard to get it, too. He also wrestled in high school and college. It's how his professional wrestling career got started. My grandpa wrestled professionally, too. The Hellions had no respect. Beef once tried to beat up my brother." Kyle smirked. "The big retard never got a shot in. He threw one blow, but Jake easily dodged it. He then grabbed Beef and knocked him out with a sleeper hold."
"Cool." Paul grinned. Kyle smirked.
"Yeah. After that, they stopped being overtly hostile. You know, Roulette tried to throw herself at Jake, but he always brushed her off. He said he didn't date 'Atlantic City harlots'." Kyle shrugged. "Besides, she's blonde. Jake likes dark-haired women. He had a bit of a crush on that Tessa chick." The ponytailed young mutant sighed. "Actually, to be fair, there was one of those kids who didn't piss us off. She was this purple-haired girl with a tail. She was a bit screwed up in the head, she believed she was a cat." Kyle shrugged. "She was alright. Anyway, we discovered Tessa was a fellow spy accidentally. We revealed ourselves to her. And she became our only real friend in that place." Paul nodded. "And when the Inner Circle suspected her of leaking, she knew she was toast." Kyle looked up. "We Wildfires believe that you should always watch your friends' backs. We revealed we were the leaks. We barely escaped with our lives." Kyle smirked at one memory. "The Thunderbolt gave Jetstream a black eye. He laid the smackdown and gave Bevatron, that second-rate version of the Thunderbolt, a broken arm. He cried liked Monet after running out of face cream. Jake took out Monet with a chokeslam." Paul rolled his eyes.
"I thought it was against the Wildfires' 'code of honor' to attack a woman." Paul blinked.
"She's no lady, jabroni." Kyle explained. "She threw the first punch. And besides, she wasn't hurt...not too badly."
"Ah, I see." Paul nodded. "So...why are you so mad at Whithalf?" Paul blinked.
"Because afterwards, the good general..." Kyle laced those words with sarcasm. "Thought it'd be a great idea to hide as away. 'For our own safety', he said. Pfeh."
"You have a death wish, don't you?" Paul blinked.
"Nah." Kyle shrugged. "The Thunderbolt feels he and Jake should've been taken to join those Misfit guys. But instead, they stuck us with the West Coast team, aka 'The Team That Does Nothing'." The young Bostonian's eyes grew hard. "The Thunderbolt promised the Inner Circle that he'd be back, and he'd come for them." His face then formed a cocky smirk. "The Thunderbolt don't want the Inner Circle to think he's a liar." Paul sighed.
"Kyle, General Whithalf didn't take that course of action to hurt you. You know how ruthless they are. If you went after them on your own, you'd end up likely dead, or worse."
"At least the Thunderbolt would go down fighting." Kyle grunted. "Not sitting here on his butt doing nothing like the rest of you seem to enjoy."
"Believe me, Kyle." Paul sat next to the younger mutant. "I want to help out more directly too. But we have to be the clandestine team. I don't like it either, but if it helps with beating the Organization, then we should do it, you know..." The raven-haired mutant tried to find the words.
"Oh, God..." Kyle groaned.
"Were you worried about Tessa?" Paul asked. "I've heard Jake mutter that he should've gone back to get her."
"...yeah, we were." Kyle finally answered with a sigh. "It's another reason why I can't stand being in this situation. Whithalf should've at least let us go back and try and get her! She was our only friend in that blasted place. If something happened to her, and we weren't there to back her up..." Kyle trailed off. "Jake and I believe that you should watch your friends' backs. She watched our backs, so we felt honor-bound to watch her's. She was our friend, so we didn't mind.
"Good thing she managed to escape and get to Xavier." Paul reassured. Kyle rolled his eyes.
"Yeah. Jake and I were very relieved she managed to get out of there." The ponytailed mutant nodded. "But why didn't she come to us? Why'd she have to go to that bald bonehead Xavier?"
"From what Trinity told me, Tessa was Xavier's very first student. He trained her to spy on the Hellfire Club for him." Paul explained. Kyle blinked.
"Wow. She never told us that." The electrokinetic blinked. "We knew she was one of the old cueball's students, but we always thought his first were Visor-Boy and Jean."
"Why do you dislike the X-Men?" Paul blinked.
"They're like sheep, man. Especially that dork Cyclops. All those guys have their lips glued to Xavier's wheeled butt to me, but Visor-Boy seems to have lips that are permanently stuck on. Xavier asks them to jump, they ask how high." Kyle scowled.
"Oh, you're being goofy." Paul waved it off.
"Whatever." Kyle sighed. "...Paul? Can I tell you something?"
"What?"
"After this Gathering thing goes down...The Thunderbolt wants out." Kyle told the dark-haired mutant solemnly. Paul blinked.
"What do you mean you want out?" Paul blinked. "Out of what, the band?"
"No." Kyle shook his head. "Not the band. Not the Superstars. After this Gathering thing goes down and the dust settles...The Thunderbolt wants to leave the West Coast Misfits." Paul's jaw dropped.
"Why?" Paul gasped. "Kyle...why would you leave us? Where will you go?"
"I'm tired, okay?!" Kyle snapped. "The Thunderbolt is tired of sitting on his ass and not be allowed to do anything while everyone else gets to fight! I want to fight! I want a shot at the Organization! It's not fair! Everyone else gets to take them on but us! We have to sit around and do nothing! What is the point of the West Coast Misfits?! We don't even get to storm that weird evil law firm!"
"Kyle, you have to lay low. Do you know what will happen-!"
" You don't have to do that, Paul! You don't understand!" Kyle snapped. "You don't have to constantly be reminded of our spying on the Hellions. You don't have to be constantly be hidden away! You don't have to be reminded of the crap that the Organization did!" Tears started to fall down Kyle's cheeks. "YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE TOLD THAT YOU CAN'T AVENGE THOSE PEOPLE THEY KILLED WHEN YOU HAVE THE POWER TO DO SO! YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE FORCED TO LET THOSE ORGANIZATION BASTARDS GET AWAY WITH ALL THEY'VE DONE!" Electricity started to fly up and down an enraged Kyle's body.
"Yipe!" Paul dove behind the table. "Not stellar!" Kyle angrily fired a bolt of lightning from his hands. The bolt hit the microwave, destroying it in an explosion. The young mutant fell to the floor and he started to cry. Paul slowly emerged from his hiding place.
"It's not fair..." Kyle whimpered between sobs. "They won't let us help...We could've saved 'em...we could've saved 'em..."A sympathetic Paul put his hand on Kyle's shoulder.
"We'll get a shot at 'em, Kyle. I know we will." The raven-haired mutant reassured gently. "You'll see. We'll get to help." He jumped over and hugged the younger mutant close.
"When?" Kyle whimpered. Paul and Kyle didn't notice it,but Craig stood at the door, staying out of sight. He saw Kyle's display of power and he sighed.
"Hey Craig."A feminine voice whispered. The mutant with the black star birthmark turned around and saw Jenni. "I heard what happened. Is Paul alright?"
"Yeah, Kyle only destroyed the microwave." Craig nodded, whispering. He looked at the sobbing electrokinetic. "Man...in all the time I knew him, I never saw him like this." Jenni sighed and crossed her arms.
"This whole Gathering thing is pushing us all to the breaking point." Jenni admitted. "If he thinks he's having it bad, our East Coast counterparts have it even worse. They're the ones who have to carry all the burden with those Keyblade things."
"Not like the X-Men can't do anything." Craig shrugged. "They can clean up after the Misfits destroy those Hellfire Heartless things."
"Actually, I've heard there were all different kinds of Heartless. They can't all be immune to mutant powers." Jenni countered.
"Where did you hear that?" Craig frowned. Jenni smirked.
"A theory Trinity told me. I don't know how they came up with it. Their explanations hurt my head." The blonde-haired girl explained. "This sounds like something from a video game, doesn't it?"
"Meh. Personally, I wished this whole thing was more like Grand Theft Auto." Craig shrugged.
"If you say so." Jenni rolled her eyes. "You know something funny? Those characters that the Misfits can summon, are all characters from Disney movies. I noticed that, and I thought it was funny."
"Their so-called summons are a midget dragon with Eddie Murphy's voice, an elephant with ears that appear to be on steroids, a genie who is in desperate need of Ritalin, a lion, a deer, and a fairy." Craig scowled. "This whole thing is getting way too weird for me. Characters coming from those old little kid movies coming to life? What's next, Mickey Mouse appearing?!"
"...I like Mickey Mouse." Jenni blinked.
"Jenni, I'm just saying. This whole Gathering thing is making things way too weird for me." The dark-haired mutant sighed. "I was perfectly happy with just dealing with psychos, thugs, criminals, and terrorists. Now I feel like I fell into Walt Disney's brain and I can't get out."
"Yeah, this whole thing is really pushing everyone to their limits." The blonde agreed with a nod. "The Misfits are feeling the pressure, and the X-Men are on the verge of getting massive coronaries with jealousy over the Keyblade business."
"How do you think we feel? We're Misfits too, and we got jack squat. Big surprise." Craig grunted.
"At least it's not a total loss. We can still play shows and stuff." Jenni smiled.
"You know, Kyle does have a point." Craig grunted. "When do we get a shot at the Organization? I mean, we've been held back through this entire campaign, and look what it's doing to Jake and Kyle. Those two are those most powerful members of the West Coast Misfits."
"Uh-huh." Jenni agreed.
"If they were willing to, Jake and Kyle would go rogue, and try to take on the Organization on their own. And none of us will be able to stop them. Especially Jake in his dragon form. In his dragon form, he's essentially a red-winged scaly Hulk. Powerful and unstoppable." Craig told the blonde. "And Kyle, with his mastery of electrical power...he can fry us all."
"They won't, Craig." Jenni reassured. "Jake and Kyle aren't stupid. Frustrated, yes. Bitter, yes. A lot of resentment? Oh yeah, they are boiling with it. But they're not stupid. They know why they're in the position they're in." She then looked at her cousin. "And you were a bit hard on Kyle. You said it yourself, he did have a point. I overheard you when I was talking to Lila."
"Yeah, but I didn't stupidly risk exposing myself to everyone." Craig scowled.
"I'm not arguing with you there, Craig." Jenni agreed. "What Kyle did was wrong. But he's a good kid. I'm sure he didn't mean to put all of us in danger."
"But he may just have." Craig grumbled, crossing his arms. "But I hope that nothing bad comes of it. I hope it, but I also doubt it."
"Always the pessimist, dear cousin." Jenni chuckled. Craig shook his head.
"I'm not a pessimist, contrary to everyone's belief. I am a realist." The dark-haired mutant frowned. "Do you really believe that those Organization Thirteen guys won't be curious as to where that lightning came from?"
"Hopefully, if Organization Thirteen does come for us, we'll be ready for them." Jenni nodded. "We have to be. For the Joes' sake. Anyway, back on track. I know what Kyle did was stupid. But you have to think. When people look at Kyle, all they see is a loud mouth and a bad temper. But what they don't realize is that Kyle is actually a very honorable, good-hearted kid. He would rib on a person, but he wouldn't intentionally put them in danger. He just couldn't take it anymore." Craig snorted.
"If he were in my old gang, he'd get he ass whupped for what he just did."
"But he's not a Raver. And you're not anymore." Jenni reminded. The Ravers were a street gang from LA. Craig was once a member, but left after his powers emerged.
"Jenni, if Kyle really was that honorable, then he should've seen what he did was stupid!"
"He lashed out!"
"That's all he's done since he got here was complain and lash out!" Craig growled.
"He's a thirteen year-old kid with incredible power who feels that no one is listening to him." Jenni countered. "Look Craig, this whole thing is driving us all crazy. Kyle and Jake are losing it even worse than the rest of us. I must admit, I just want this thing to be all over and get back to our lives."
"Yeah, but something tells me that even if we do win this Gathering thing..." Craig sighed. "...our lives will never be the same again. Think about it. Jake and Kyle want out. Lila's been acting weird, especially whenever that Iceman dork is mentioned. Face it, Jenni. Nothing will ever be the same again. Even if we win the Gathering."
"You say if. How come you don't say when?" Jenni blinked.
"I'm a realist. The bad guys have a lot of things on their side. Power. Knowledge. And the number one thing: Unity. They're all united. The good guys aren't. The X-Men are on the verge of tearing the Misfits apart over the Keyblades. And you can bet the X-Men will not want our help if they learned that we are the West Coast Misfits. And those Justice League clowns are too busy dealing with their PR disasters. Not to mention that there are other heroes, but they're too small-time."
"Oh, I don't know." Jenni shurgged. "Some of those 'Local Heroes' are pretty well-known. Like Kid Razor in Cleveland or Sonic Blue in Cincinnati. They've worked with the Avengers and the League quite a few times. And of course, that infamous incident between Razor and Starfire." Jen snickered. "I hope that arrogant loudmouth learned to keep his hands to himself after that." Craig continued on, ignoring what she had just said.
"Face it, Jen. We may not make it through this."
"We will, Craig. You just gotta have faith." Jenni smiled. Craig shook his head.
"Faith is something I never could have in my life." The dark-haired mutant frowned. "That's why I never could get into all those Disney movies and stuff."
"Because they promote a happier world." Jenni realized.
"I could never relate." Craig grunted. "I grew up in a ghetto. My family was terrible. The neighborhood was poor. Or only way out was through crime, or in a bodybag."
"You got out." Jenni reminded. "With family's help. It was that telepathic link you have with your brother that drew you to him." She looked at her cousin. "You had to admit, your life's gotten better since you met Paul." Craig thought it over.
"Yeah, whatever." He looked into the room, and saw Paul continuing to comfort Kyle. "This whole thing is going to fall apart unless we get some action soon." He walked away. "I'm going to call Whithalf and tell him we're all alright...if you call this alright." The dark-haired mutant muttered as he started to leave. "We're not going to win this...The X-Men and Misfits care more about tearing each other's throats out than fighting the Organization, the Justice League is too crippled by public opinion, the Fantastic Four would be more interested in studying the Heartless, the Avengers are on their own missions, and any other heroes are too small-time to do any good, and we're not allowed to help out in any way. We're doomed." Jenni giggled as she overheard him.
"Don't panic, Marvin!" She teased.
"Oh shut up, Douglas Adams." Craig rolled his eyes.
This is L1701E, saying thanks for reading!
(1) – Dusty Rhodes and Ted Dibiase are both legendary pro wrestlers. Rhodes is known as the "American Dream", and his gimmick was a blue-collar hero. Dibiase was known as "The Million Dollar Man", and his gimmick was a super-rich man.