Starborn
Starlight, Star-bright
Beautiful stars with gleaming light
I wish I could spread wings for flight
And touch all the stars in the night
Starborn, Star-torn
Whether a child of concrete or a child of corn
As a youngster you could have sworn
That in your life, you'd never be forlorn
Starmart, Star-art
The stars shall be your new start
So when the world begins to fall apart
Follow the stars, child, follow your heart
-Shi'ar Nursery Rhyme
One extra shot.
That's all it took to separate two universes: the one we know, and the one we're about to discover…
"Hit them again"
"But, sir, they are sure to go down with just that shot" a gunner argued.
"We want to be sure" the Shi'ar officer said firmly. "Hit them again"
"Very well" the gunner said, "Prepare laser four. On my mark…"
Inside a burning airplane, a family, whose story you think you know, is about to have its destiny changed…
"Alex, Scott, listen to me. You have to be brave" Katherine Summers whispered to her two sons with a cracked voice and blurry eyes.
"We don't want to leave you!" six year old Alex wailed clinging onto his mother. Scott was in a state of shock; with the exception of the silent tears streaming his cheeks, he was hardly reacting at all.
"Listen to me" Christopher Summers said as he squatted down and stared the best he could with tear filled eyes at his oldest son. "I want you to take care of Alex. And I need you to be brave…"
Scott stared at his father bleakly. "But what about you and Mom? You'll be OK, right?"
Christopher brought his son in a hug and his body shuddered with a heart-broken sob.
"Scott" Katherine called. "Come here"
Scott stumbled quickly to where his mother and brother were. "I want you to have this" she said as she removed a piece of jewelry from around her neck. "This is St. Theresa, the patron saint of pilots. She's been taking care of your father and me for a long time but now I want her to take care of you" Katherine put the necklace around his neck as she gently nudged a wailing Alex to the open door of the plane and checked his parachute.
"But Mom..."
Scott was interrupted by a deafening explosion. But that was nothing compared to what he heard next: the scream of his mother and brother being tossed out of the plane.
"KATE! ALEX! NO!" Christopher shouted, quickly recovering from his stumble and staring down at the two falling figures.
"Mom?" Scott whispered quietly, numbly, to his father's back. "MOM! ALEX!" he screamed.
And then the next thing he saw was a bright light engulfing him.
Hundreds of miles below and thousands of miles away, in Annandale-on-Hudson, another life is being affected by this twist.
Make that two lives…
"Catch, Annie!" an 8 year old Jean Grey laughed as she tossed the big red ball. Her best friend, Annie Malcolm, laughed as well as the ball soared over her head and into the street behind her.
"I'll get it!" she told her cheerfully, "You really don't know your own strength!" Annie turned and jogged to get the ball.
Jean started to follow her but stopped suddenly, as her view of the street and the ball and Annie burned to white. Suddenly, a vision flashed before her eyes. She let out a cry and fell to the ground.
"Jean!" Annie exclaimed as she stopped chasing the ball and ran back to Jean. "Oh my God! What's wrong? What happened?"
Jean tried to slow her breathing. Behind them, a car zoomed down the street way over the speed limit presently squishing their ball. After a few deep breaths, Jean finally collected herself.
"I-I don't know. Everything, everything I saw just went white"
"That happened to me once, too. My daddy said it was from something called 'Low Blood Sugar'" Annie explained with pride. She was very proud of her knowledge because her father was a doctor. "He said you have to drink lots of soda and sugary candy to get more sugar in your blood"
Jean was about to explain the vision she had had of the two boys and the plane afterwards but the offer of soda and candy was too much. She grinned and got up. "Well, you're the doctor's daughter. Whatever you say!" Jean giggled and gave Annie a mock solute. Annie giggled too and they both ran to Annie's house.
Jean made a mental resolution to tell her later…after her sugar high.
Aboard a Shi'ar warship, two lives are being further broken beyond repair…
"Hello, Major Summers"
Christopher glared tear stained eyes at the alien officer. "How do you know my name?"
"Oh, we know quite a lot about you Mr. Summers. You're a very highly qualifiedpilot, are you not?"
Christopher didn't say a word, instead, he glanced at Scott who was chained to the opposite wall of the ship's small dungeon cell.
"Do what you want with me, but let my son go" he pleaded.
The officer smiled. "I do admit" he mused, "we were expecting to intercept your wife but your son will do just fine. We have a proposition for you."
"Not interested" Christopher grumbled under his breath glaring at the officer with all his might. The man didn't seem to notice.
"Would you be interested in serving our emperor in the Shi'ar Royal Guard as a pilot?"
"What kind of sick emperor must you have to think that you can gain a man's allegiance by killing his wife and son?" Hate was coursing through his veins but the officer merely smirked.
"I'd watch your language if I were you" he said as he turned around and headed towards Scott.
Christopher's eyes widened in horror. "DON"T YOU TOUCH HIM!"
The officer ignored his captive and squatted down to Scott who was hanging his head.
"Scott, perhaps you could persuade your father" he said with fake kindness as he pulled out a gun.
Scott slowly lifted his head and his eyes bored into the officer's.
"Go to Heck"
Without anybody knowing, Scott had slipped one of his skinny ankles out of his shackles. In one swift move, his scrawny foot connected with the man's groin. It wasn't that hard but the man let out a cry and dropped the gun. As he took a step back to regain his balance, he kicked the gun with the back of his foot and it skidded across the floor only to land right in front of Christopher.
"You little bastard!" the man hissed as he headed for Scott.
"I'd watch your language if I were you" Christopher said tauntingly but without smiling as he pointed the gun at the officer. The officer spun to look at him. He let out a sigh and put his hands in the air.
"Give me the keys" he ordered the officer.
"Now, Mr. Summers, you wouldn't shoot…" but the man jumped to a side as Christopher shot at his feet.
"I won't ask you again" he growled. The man obliged and threw the keys at his feet. Keeping the gun pointed at the man, he undid his shackles then walked over and undid Scott's.
"You will pay for this, Earthling"
"Go to Heck" Scott repeated running out of the dungeon with his father.
"Thanks for not swearing" Christopher said, picking up some speed after turning a corner.
"I should've" Scott said angrily, "They deserve it"
Christopher was about to respond but stopped when he found himself staring at the glowing end of a laser gun. Several others were pointed at them. Christopher had no other choice but to drop his own hand gun and put his hands in the air. Scott followed his father's lead.
A man appeared from behind the armed men. He was wearing a long cloak and had markings under his eyes. He walked forward with a superior step and stood right in front of Christopher.
"So this is the aviator?" he said with contempt. He looked at him up and down while an official behind him nodded.
"And he has refused my offer?" he asked the officer that had originally imprisoned the pair. The alien had come up behind them and nodded his head respectfully.
Emperor D'Ken spat at Christopher's feet. "Then dispose of him on the first ship to the Slave Pits. He's too rebellious for my taste"
Three officers lowered their guns and grabbed Christopher. The officer from before grabbed Scott by the collar. "And the brat?" he asked D'Ken almost lifting Scott off of the ground. D'Ken didn't even turn around but responded, "Like father, like son"
Scott hardly had time to think what that might have meant before the officer's elbow connected with the back of his head in a devastating blow. Scott Summers fell to the ground unconscious.
On Earth…
"Something's wrong" Charles Xavier mused to himself. "I don't' know how or why, but…something feels wrong"
He wheeled away from his telescope near the window. "Can you feel it?" he asked his cat in a whisper. "Do you know what's happening?"
When he got no response from the orange tabby, he sighed. He'd gotten the vaguest hit of a telepathic cry for help earlier in the day but he couldn't trace it. And with his trusty Cerebro down, it would be awhile before he'd be able to fix it on his own. Probably a few weeks.
Charles took a deep breath and resumed his book on astronomy while he took his break. He promised to keep working on Cerebro as soon as he finished his chapter. Charles Xavier never trusted his nagging doubts…
Back in deep space, our young hero discovers that friends are found in the oddest places.
Namely prison ships…
Scott stared at the dirty floor of his cell with has arms crossed on top of his knees and his head upon them. He was trying his hardest not to think. When that proved unsuccessful and the events of the last hours began replaying in his mind, he refocused his concentration on not crying.
"Sonny?" a voice asked from the cell to his right. "Sonny, are you all right?" Scott didn't honestly care who it was or even if it was friend or foe.
"I hate him!" Scott said simply as the tears threatened to come out again.
"Join the club" a lower, rougher, voice said.
Scott looked up slowly and his hand immediately darted to the back of his head when his vision slightly blurred and he knew that he might pass out again. His head still throbbed from the blow from the officer.
"Who said that?" he asked.
"I did" Scott watched as what looked like a fatter version of the Monster from the Black Lagoon appeared out of the shadows. "My name's Ch'od. I'm part of the rebellion against D'Ken"
"D'Ken" Scott repeated as he mentally taught himself to hate the name. "My name's Scott" he said as he felt he could release the lump on the back of his head. His hand ran down to the back of his neck where he felt a clasp. His mother's necklace! He's almost forgotten. Looking at it good for the first time, he saw the image of the loving saint and thought of his mother. Instantly, his anger was replaced by grief and he bent his head over again and let out a sob.
"There, there" the first voice said, "it is all right"
"No it's not!" Scott shouted as several sobs followed the first.
"Shush, Raza. You're making matters worse. We both know that it's not all right and that it won't be until that insane emperor is off the throne"
"Ay" Raza agreed. "Thou art right, my companion. D'Ken has made the lives of all those under the Shi'ar a living hell. I'm sorry for lying to you, Scott"
Scott sniffled but nodded. "It's OK. It's just, D'Ken killed my mother and my brother. He shot them out of our plane and then abducted me and my dad"
"How terrible" Ch'od whispered in a husky voice. His voice was low but his eyes were burning strong with hate but also with understanding.
"If anyone had done that to Raza's girl, Nico, Raza would not rest until there was blood!" As he made a punching gesture towards the cell bars that connected with Scott's, he caught a glance of the cyborg alien that looked like a pirate.
"Someone should do something about him" Scott murmured.
"Oh, but we're trying" Ch'od explained. "The emperor's sister is in hiding since her exile but a rebellion has formed to put her on the throne. I was originally on the emporer's side until I witnessed his maddness first hand"
"Ay" Raza chimed in, "Raza as well. D'Ken-"
But before Raza could start on his story, a deafening explosion rang out from the metal door down the hall and two figures ran in holding guns. One was a stranger but the other was very familiar.
"Dad!" Scott cried out. Christopher gave him a reassuring smile and shot at his cell's electronic lock with his gun and it sprang open. He helped Scott to his feet while the other character freed Ch'od and Raza.
"Who's that?" Scott asked his Dad as the five of them ran across the hall lined with cells to the opposite door.
"Her name's Hepzibah-something-or-other" his father said. "some guards tried to...hurt her and she fought back. I helped from my side of the cell and we escaped
"First, I could've done it myself"the cat-womansaid with pride, "and secondly, it's not 'Hepzibah'. You say it-"
Another explosion interrupted her as two dozen guards greeted them on the other side of the door. "In the name of the emperor, you are ordered to stand down" one of them said.
"Maybe in the name of your emperor" Scott shot back angrily. Christopher glanced at Hephzibah and she nodded, passing two hand guns that she had behind her back to Raza and Ch'od.
"What are you fools waiting for? Shoot them all ready!"
Scott singled out the source of the voice and his eyes narrowed. It was the officer who had hit him, the officer who had killed his mother and brother, the officer who had destroyed his life. Scott felt as if he was seeing red.
Actually, he was seeing red. His anger found a way out through his eyes in a destructive red blast that knocked out the officer. Widening his eyes in surprise, Scott noticed that the beam also widened and neatly knocked out all the guards. Only then did Scott realize that that beam was coming from him. He shut his eyes tight and when he reopened them, the beam was gone as was his headache.
"Way to go, Scott!" Ch'od cheered.
"No Slave Pits for us!" Raza courused.
"That's really going to come in handy later" Hepzibah pointed out as they began running again, jumping over the bodies of the fallen guards. Scott figured that they must have not known that humans weren't supposed to shoot lasers from their eyes. He looked to his father for answers but Christopher had none.
What was he turning into?
Back on Earth, life continues as usual.
Or does it…?
"Oh, God, my head hurts"
Jean giggled. "Of course it does, silly. You practically inhaled that slushy"
Annie smiled back at her friend. "Very funny. You should be bouncing off the walls tonight after eating that whole bag of Halloween candy"
Jean did a little jump and they both laughed. "Seriously, though. I'm going to go ask Daddy if I can have an Aspirin"
She skipped off to her dad's study room. Jean reached across the table and took a big sip of Annie's slushy. She strained to hear what was being talked about in the room upstairs. At first she heard nothing at all. Then suddenly, she heard it clearly and loudly as if they were both standing next to her.
"I don't think that Aspirin is the best thing for a girl your age, Annie. I'm only thinking of what's best for you"
"How can you be so mean? What kind of father are you that you let your own daughter suffer in pain!" Jean heard Annie practically shout. Jean's eyes widened. How could Annie be so harsh with her own father?
"Jeez, Annie I'm just looking out for you. Alieve is better"
"Oh, Ok. Dumb Annie…"
'How strange' Jean thought as she heard Annie clomp back down the stairs. "My dad says that I can have an Alieve" she announced.
"I heard. How come you snapped at him so quickly?"
Annie stopped in front of her pantry to stare at Jean. "I didn't snap at him"
"Yes you did" Jean insisted. "You said he was mean because he was going to let you suffer"
Annie didn't move. She just looked at her best friend like she was a complete stranger.
"Jean, I didn't say any of that. I just thought it…" she trailed off, too shocked to speak. The friends just stared at each other in amazement for a few minutes. Finally, Jean spoke up. "You don't think…"
"I don't know what to think" Annie said as she reached into the pantry. To both the girls' surprise, the Alieve bottle zoomed to Annie's hand. At the same time, the slushy cup that Jean forgot she was holding moved from her hand and slid across the table to the corner closest to Annie.
Annie dropped the bottle and both girls screamed.
Weeks go by for us but no time goes by for another little boy.
A little boy who's about to wake up in a nightmare…
Alex Summers rubbed his eyes and stared up at the roof of the white hospital room.
"What-what's going on? Where am I?" His eyes darted around the unfamiliar surroundings in fear. "HELLO?" he called out in terror.
A nurse came rushing into the room. "Doctor, he's awake!" she called back out into the hallway. She quickly approached Alex's bed. "It's OK, baby. The doctor's coming now"
"Who are you? Where are my mommy and daddy? Where's Scott? I had the worst nightmare and I…"
"Alex Summers, right?" the doctor asked jogging into the hospital room.
"What's happening? I want my mommy!" he cried.
"Alex" the doctor said quietly, "I'm…why don't you get some rest? You've been sleeping for a very long time. Do you want something to eat?"
"Where's my mommy?" he cried.
"You'll see her soon. I promise" The doctor turned around and left Alex with the nurse as she tried to calm him. Suddenly, a bright light filled the room and the doctor spun around to see its cause. His eyes opened wide with horror as he saw that the bright light was coming from the little boy's hands. The boy put his hands in front of his face to ward off the nurse and a beam shot out of them, knocking the woman out. Alex screamed and another blast shot out of his hands, blowing out the roof.
The doctor ran back into the room holding a needle. He had been warned about the child before he was sent here so he had slightly prepared himself, though he had no idea what he'd be facing. He dove to the side of the boy's bed and injected his arm. Alex fell unconscious and the glow and blasts from his hands disappeared. The entire hospital staff stood outside the door, staring in awe.
Another nurse came in shakily and helped the doctor up. "Doctor…"
"What the hell is going on?" he murmured as the nurse ushered him out of the room and into his office. "Would you like some coffee?" she asked but the doctor wasn't paying attention to her.
"First those two girls with telepathy and telekinesis that were sent here all the way from Annandale-on-Hudson…"
"This is one of the nation's best hospitals and you are one of the, if not the, nation's most highly qualified…"
But Doctor McCoy wasn't listening to her. "…and now this boy from Alaska that can shoot lasers from his hands. What's happening to the human species?"
"Perhaps I could shed some light on the situation"
The nurse and the doctor turned to the door were a bald man had just entered in a wheelchair.
"Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Charles Xavier…"
And so it begins.
First off, X-Men aren't mine. Secondly, you might have noted that some things are different from the comics. I would just like to point out that I do know the story of the Starjammers and that all of it has been altered because of the switch in D'Ken's hostages. See you in chapter two when you get to meet the new team of X-Men.