In Real Toons, we take the cartoon characters you see on your TV screen and imagine…
What if they learned they weren't real? How would they act on this knowledge? What would it do to them?
That is...What if Toons got real?
Real Toons is a mega-cartoon crossover, and as such each chapter will appear in the cartoon area of whichever character is narrating the story.
The Real Toons Story So Far
The tooniverse is in chaos! The perfect worlds of toons are being roiled by widespread mayhem and destruction (not to mention existential angst!) as reality breaches open up all over the tooniverse. Batman seeks to stop the problem at the source (the real world) and gathers a team to aid him - Duke the soldier; Snake Eyes the ninja; Dustin the former Power Ranger, Stellar the solar-powered Winx girl; Danny the ghost boy; and Joe Kerr, a reformed, sane Joker.
There's just two things you should know -
1) Batman isn't the only one with a plan to 'fix' the reality breaches. And
2) Due to all the tragedy his team has suffered, Batman and the others are a bit…off.
For more on the story: You can find Chapter 1 of Real Toons in W.I.T.C.H., Chapter 2 in Teen Titans and Chapter 3 in Kim Possible (or find all the stories in my profile). Also, you can see what happened to change Danny, a happy-go-lucky ghost boy, into a depressed, suicidal 'real ghost' in his backstory.
This tale is backstory on Stella, and tells how this very vain, vapid fairy became the hardcore Stellar, part of the Real Deal Crew found in Real Toons. As such, it's not a 'Chapter' in the Real Toons saga, but it's still important to know. (Future backstories will tell how Dustin, Duke/Snake Eyes, Joker and Batman joined the team).
Now, to begin the story.
What happens when toons get real?
You're about to find out.
Real Toons
Stella's Story
by Shawn Q. Evans
Starring Stella of Winx Club
Guest-starring Bloom, Flora, Musa, Tecna, Layla & the Witches
With Guest Appearances by Batman, Joe Kerr (Joker)
Duke from G.I.Joe
and Dustin the Ninja Storm Yellow Power Ranger.
Winx Club copyright Rainbow Srl
Batman and Joker copyright DC Comics
Duke copyright Hasbro
Dustin the Ninja Storm Yellow Power Ranger copyright BVS Entertainment
Respectfully dedicated to all the toons out there. Not just for what they are, but for what they could be.
"Believe in yourself, that's how it started" - Winx Club theme song
Hi! I'm Stella, of the Winx Club.
I'm one of the most powerful fairies in the Winx Club, if I may say so myself!
Well, not the most powerful. That'd be Bloom, with her Dragonfire. But I'm right up there!
It doesn't matter anyway, because I am the most stylish! Of that, there's no question!
I love hanging out with my friends, shopping and giving makeovers.
Like today, when I gave Bloom a watermelon facial.
Okay, it didn't go the greatest, but she didn't have to get all huffy about it!
"Hey, Bloom, I said I was sorry! How was I supposed to know Magix didn't have any seedless watermelons! That's all we have on Solaria! Bloom?"
"Huh? Oh, no, Stella, I'm not mad about that!"
"Then what?"
"Sky said he'd be over, but he hasn't called or anything! I'm really getting worried!"
"Oh, he's such a boy! He probably got all wrapped up playing some game with his friends, like Whack the Troll, and forgot the time!"
"I hope you're right."
"Of course I'm right! Boys are one subject I've majored in for years! Uh, Bloom, where are you going?"
"There's something...I feel something over this way."
"But the magic mall is that way! Bloom, I don't know if this is such a good idea! Your hunches usually mean something bad!"
"Don't be silly, Stella! It's probably nothing! I...is that Sky's jetbike?"
"It's still not too late to catch that sale on Pixie Pumps! Bloom? Oh. My."
There was some...hole in the air.
"Where is he? I don't get it."
"Bloom? Maybe...over there?"
I pointed to the hole. And right away, I regretted it.
Because the hole started talking to me. Telling me things. Crazy things.
"What is it? You think maybe it's a portal to Realix?"
"Bloom, I don't think you should..."
"But Sky must have investigated it! He might need our help! Oh!"
"No, Bloom! Get away! It's..."
It was in my head! Telling me about other worlds! Worse, telling me that we weren't real! That, that the magic wasn't real!
I held my hands over my ears and closed my eyes so I didn't have to hear it or look at it!
But it didn't work! I could still hear it! I had to get away!
But when I opened my eyes...
"Bloom?"
She was gone!
I quickly ran for help.
"Stella! What's wrong?"
"Tecna! It's Bloom! She was here, then she wasn't! There's a hole or portal over there and..."
"I see. Well, let's examine this hole in space, hmmm?"
"I, I don't think that's such a great idea! We really have to find Bloom!"
"Of course, Stella! Now let us see...Oh. Oh dear."
"No! Don't listen, Tecna!"
"It's...it's really rather fascinating."
I couldn't stop her! She went closer and closer, and I couldn't follow!
The voice was getting louder and louder in my head!
I started yelling nonsense to myself to drown it out!
"Yah yah yah yah!"
And then Tecna said...
"It all makes sense now."
...then there was some computer thingie in the air, and she was gone! Vanished! Just like that!
"No!"
I must have screamed loud enough to wake the dead. Or all of Flora's plants. Well, they like when you talk to them, so maybe they sleep, too. I don't know!
But the next thing I knew, Flora and Musa were there!
I tried to warn them, but it was like they couldn't hear me!
Or maybe the voice thundering in my head like a herd of Octaceratons was doing a number on theirs, too!
Then Musa was replaced by some musical symbol and Flora turned into a plant!
Flora was really a plant? Wow. No wonder it took her so long to get a boyfriend! You know, I really should have seen that one coming!
But then they disappeared, too!
No! No more! I powered up my winx and fired a solar blast at the helhole!
To no effect. A thing like this could give a girl a complex!
Then Layla was there!
I told her everything.
Finally. Someone who listened.
Layla's smart. And strong. She'll know what to do.
"Combine your power with mine, Stella, and direct it at the hole! I don't think Bloom and the others are truly gone. Maybe we can work a long-distance convergence and get them back!"
"O-okay, Layla! Here goes!"
I even powered up my Charmix for this!
"Hahhh!"
I think...I think it's working! Something's happening to the weird portal!
Oh no. It's getting bigger!
And Layla! She's too close to it!
"Layla! No!"
"I'm a...what?...a to-"
Then she was gone, too!
"Layla!"
What have I done?
I'm all alone now! All my friends are gone!
And the hole only got larger and larger! It's going to swallow up everything!
"Run!"
I yelled, to, like, everybody! But it's like they couldn't move. Fixed, what's that word, transfixed!
They all stared at that hole, in terror, then they were gone, too!
The teachers and Ms. Faragonda came then.
I didn't even have time to get off a warning, they were gone so fast!
And the thing just, it sucked up all of Alfea!
I couldn't, how, what was I going to do?
It was getting bigger and bigger and causing all of Magix to disappear!
And I couldn't do anything to stop it!
Red Fountain was next.
Oh, they tried to fight it.
Timmy. Riven. Helia. All of the warriors. Even Professor Saladin.
And my Brandon.
Dear, sweet, huggiekins Brandon.
All gone. All of them.
Then Cloud Tower, and all its witches.
Then the rest of the realm.
The portal got so big, it even threatened the sun!
And I thought…if the sun goes, how will I survive?
I couldn't let that happen! I needed to hang on so I can get my friends back! They were counting on me! I couldn't give up now!
I tried to absorb all of the power of the sun I could, then let it loose on the portal!
Did…did I do it?
Yes! It's getting smaller! I can do this! I can…
Then I felt something weird. Bad weird. From the sun.
I turned to it. It was flaring. Unstable! It couldn't take the stress!
It's about to go nova!
I'm sorry, snookums. I tried. I…
The solar shockwave was so intense I blacked out!
I came to when I heard them.
"Do you believe this little pixie?"
The witches!
"What have you done! You won't get away with this!"
"Us? We have nothing to do with this disaster!"
"You, you don't? Then why are you here?"
"If anyone is going to destroy Magix, it'll be us! Not some amateur who can't control her spells!"
"What? You think I did this?"
"It sure as heck wasn't us!"
"Hey, bewootches, check this out! There's some kind of intelligence behind this portal!"
"Then you can control it, Darcy?"
"Sure! Why not?"
"Excellent! And if you can't, I can use my power of absolute zero to stop it cold!"
I couldn't believe it. They were actually going to try and shut this thing down! The witches could save everything! Huh. Irony.
Should have known better, though.
"Darcy, what's going on? I thought you could control it?"
"I thought I...I...No!"
"Then I'll…Huh? We're not real? But...wow, now THAT'S evil. Wish I'd thought of ittttttt!"
"This can't be happeningggg!"
Oh no. Even the witches are gone! Icy. Stormy. All of them. Gone.
The portal continued sucking up everything. Soon all the realms were gone! Alfea. Magix. My home, Solaria. Bloom's world, Earth. My, my friends.
Everything.
All gone.
I don't know how long I drifted there.
"Magic is real. Magic is real."
In the darkness. The absolute darkness.
"Got to survive. Got to save my friends."
I couldn't even use my inner light, or I might extinguish it. Forever.
"Magic is real. Magic is real."
I repeated to myself. Over and over.
"What do you mean, this is it? She's the only survivor? Holy $&)#!"
Huh? Who?
"Bring her onboard. Nothing more we can do here! The Breach is gone!"
"I'll tell Mr. B"
Moving? Where? Oh! What's that…light?
Then I flared like the sun, before surrendering to unconsciousness.
"Ah! My eyes!"
"What the heck's going on?"
I drifted in and out of consciousness. I was lying on a bed. People all around me. A hospital?
I could hear some of their conversation.
...Cells are supercharged with sunlight...
...Must have happened when her universe collapsed...
...Sucked it all in...
...Hypersensitive to light. ..
...Going to need special control fabrics...
Yes. Control the power.
Huh? Then I mercifully dropped into a deep sleep.
When I awoke, there was a smiling man in a dark suit. He looked a little like Lord Darkar, except…nice.
"How do you feel?"
"My head's a little fuzzy, but…who are you?"
"I'm Bat-"
"-Man. Yes. Why do I know that?"
"That's what everyone says. Never mind. Let's talk about you. You've been through an awful lot, young lady."
"I..Yes, I have. That was all real? It wasn't a dream, a very bad dream?"
"I'm afraid not."
"Oh no! All my friends! Everyone! They're…!"
I collapsed into his arms. I couldn't believe what had happened.
I didn't care how it looked. I ignored that stupid little voice that said 'be strong'!
Why? What did it matter now? They were all gone!
I cried and sobbed until I couldn't anymore.
Then I noticed what I was wearing. And how dark the room was.
You know, although black really isn't my color, I must say I still look fabulous!
"Wait, why am I wearing this? What's going on?"
"You absorbed a massive amount of solar radiation."
The supernova!
"This suit is the only thing that can regulate your power output. Otherwise, you could incinerate everything in sight, without even trying."
Oh no! I'm a danger to everybody! No fair no fair! Why me?
Power. We can use this.
We can?
"Why were you there? What are you doing?"
He told me everything. How other worlds had suffered these 'reality breaches', as he called them, and the trouble they had caused. How they were tracking the breaches (that's how he found me). But, more importantly to me, how he planned to end them - by going to the source!
"Take me with you!"
"I can't stress this enough - We may be able to end the breaches and return the universe to normal, but there's no guarantee."
"I don't care! I have to do something! There must be a reason I have these powers. And I can't think of a better reason than saving my friends and my world!"
"As you wish. Report for training at 0800."
Then I was alone. So I decided to see the ship.
But when I left my room, the bright lights made me squint.
That's not all, though. I could tell my suit was dealing with the surge of power caused by the lights. I was like a light sponge. Pausing to look at myself in a mirror, I fairly glowed.
If only the other girls could see me now. I always said I wanted to be a star. Who knew it'd be like this?
Sniff. No. Stop that. No more feeling sorry for yourself. Got to be strong.
I headed to the caf'. Wonder what I can drink, in this condition.
"How's it going, Princess!"
"Shut up!"
Why did I say that? Yes, I don't want to be reminded of my loss, but why? What's happening to me? Got to get out of here!
"Geez, tou-chy!"
"Shut it, Dustin!"
"Me? What'd I do?"
I buried myself in my training. I wasn't going to be weak anymore. I couldn't! My friends were counting on me!
And Batman was an excellent teacher. He helped me so much.
To a point, anyway.
"I thought you were serious about this?"
"Wha? Of course I am!"
"Then why do you still use that?"
"My solar sceptre?"
"You don't need it. You probably never needed it. The power's in you. Not in that silly staff. It's an obstacle to your future development"
"But, but…"
No. He was right.
So I ditched it.
So what if it was part of my legacy of Solaria?
It was the past. It was holding me back.
And I didn't need it. Not anymore.
If I'm going to have a future, well, some things will have to be left in the past.
No matter how much it hurts.
As I found out, later.
"Missed! That's the third time your hair got in your way and threw off your aim!"
"Sorry. I'll put it in a ponytail or something."
"No. Not good enough. An opponent could always do…this!"
"Ow!"
He grabbed my hair!
"Hey! Crossing a line, here!"
"Do you think your opponents care if they cross a line? And they won't stop with merely pulling your hair. You know what you have to do."
"You, you don't mean…"
"Don't cry. It's not as bad as all that."
"I'm not crying!"
"Stella, come here."
He stood me in front of a full-length mirror.
"Look at you. You're a living solar generator! Now I want you to try something. Hold out your hand."
"Okay."
"The light's within you. Now imagine it traveling down your arm, through your fingers. Not like a solar blast, but a simple release."
"Oh!"
The light. It was shining out of my fingers! It sure made my nails look incredibly long!
"You could do the same thing with your hair."
"You mean…I would have hair made out of light?"
"Exactly! Then no one could use it against you!"
Yeah. And it would look good.
But still…cut all my hair off?
No, I…I have to do it.
Snip
For Brandon.
Snip Snip
For Bloom.
Snip Snip Snip
For Flora, and Musa and Tecna.
Snip Snip Snip Snip
For Layla. For all the girls at Alfea.
Snip Snip Snip
For Mom and Dad. And Red Fountain.
Snip Snip
For everyone!
Snip
(Even the witches? Well, maybe not them).
Look at me. I look so different now.
And my wings! They made it part of my solar collection and control system. All black and…
I'm not even a fairy anymore, am I?
No! Don't..!
This is the last time I cry.
I keep on telling myself - this is the only way.
I have to be strong.
I have to use my power to save my friends. To save everyone.
So, as the 'new me', I presented myself to the others.
"Hmmm. Interesting."
"It suits you, I think."
"Indeed. It's rather striking!"
"Wow, Stella, you look…awesome!"
"No. Not Stella. Not anymore. Call me…Stellar."
I'm Stellar, formerly of the Winx Club.
I'm the most powerful fairy of all.
Because I'm the only one left.
Maybe if I had spent less time on silly things like shopping and fashion, and paid more attention to my studies, I could have...
No. No more dwelling on the past.
Only the future.
Magic is real.
I'll fix it all. You'll see.
Nothing will stop me. Nothing.
Wow, our little fairy has really grown up!
Unless...there's more to the story?
Guess you're going to have to wait and see what's really going on with Stella
and what happens to her! Does she succeed in her quest? Or...?
Next, in Real Toons:
Batman takes the crew to another Universe to search for a Master and the last recruit
- the super-strong He-Man!
Needless to say, things are not as you might think,
what with all the reality breaches and death & destruction roiling the Tooniverse.
What happens?
You He-Man fans probably won't like it.
You other fans - heck, yes! It's fun.
And the Duck unveils his mad scheme!
The future looks very tough, indeed!
It's gonna get way worse before it gets better!
And in the next Backstory - Dustin, the former Ninja Storm Power Ranger!
See what happens when our Ninja Stormer meets a real ninja
and gets a taste of true power!
But...is he up to it?
Notes
"Believe in yourself, that's how it started" - Winx Club theme song
So what happens when they lose that belief in their self?
Bloom, Stella and Layla are the most powerful of the Winx Club. They're the ones that passed the magical reality test to decide who goes to the UnderRealm.
Stella's watermelon facial mask was in Fairy Insider, page 17.
Realix was the place where Lord Darkar almost took control of the Ultimate Power (and through that, the universe). Realix? Could the Ultimate Power be the power of the 'real world'?
There's a slight parallel with the Cornelia chapter of Real Toons W.I.T.C.H. in that Batman trains a youngster with superpowers (who both happen to be hot blondes, but that's my personal peccadillo showing, and has nothing to do with the story). But why does he treat Stella differently (and harsher) than Cornelia? Besides the obvious fact that Stella's powers change, while Cornelia's don't (although Cornelia's use of her powers does change, her power over earth doesn't change), Batman has to tread carefully with Cornelia because she still has someone to lean on - Will - whereas Stella is all alone. It's also because Bats senses Stella wasn't as serious a person as Cornelia, so it'll take more to 'whip her into shape'. In addition, Cornelia has more defensive capabilities than Stella, and these will be on display soon.
But all this begs the question - why does Batman feel the need to create his own, dark band of supertoon-powered stormtroopers who'll follow his every command? I could say it's because things have changed so much for the worse in the tooniverse, but there's more (much more) to it than that, as you will see in future chapters.
If you haven't guessed by now, Stella's not the only survivor of the WinxWorld. Who else survived? You'll have to wait and see.
The theme song sang 'don't touch the hair' so, of course, I HAD to touch the hair!
Stella gets her power from the sun AND the moon, so she's susceptible to dark influences. Say no more, I will.
Stella modeled dark/goth fashions when the Winx Club went to study at Cloud Tower (and she did look rather stunning!)
Of all the members of the team, Stella changes the most. Stella is more constrained to act a certain way than the rest of the Real Deal Crew, as she's a stereotype with an extremely limited range of action/reaction allowed her. One of the reasons for Real Toons is to open things up and explore the possibilities. So having her go through some changes seemed a good way to illustrate that. The trick is in doing it in a way that's believable and dramatic.
Notice how, in Danny's story, he changes from a cartoon ghost boy into a real ghost? And Stella changes from a girl with solar powers to a girl who's a living star? So does that mean Dustin the former Power Ranger changes from a play ninja to a real ninja? Or that Cornelia of W.I.T.C.H. (who's not really a witch, but an elemental) becomes a real witch? Stay tooned! Plenty more to come, but not all happens as you might think.
No pixies in this story 'cause they're kind of annoying.
I'm breaking one of the minor rules of superteams by having two attractive blondes on the team. I also do something not seen since the 40s, by having a hero(ine), Kim Possible, and her sidekick, Ron Stoppable, both join the team (kind of like the Seven Soldiers of Victory). (Having both Batman & Robin in the Superfriends together doesn't count, because at that time Robin went everywhere Batman did. Now, if Robin joined Justice League Unlimited, that'd be something). I break more rules, but no need to go into it here. I don't want to spoil the surprise.