The Misfits vs. The Viper, Revamped!

Disclaimer: GI Joe and the Misfits aren't mine. Red Witch owns Althea, Xi, and Trinity. The Starr twins are mine. The other Misfits belong to Marvel.

Hey there, folks! L1701E here! I was bored one day, and I decided to re-read one of my old Misfitverse series, particularly this one. And...wow. Really. Wow. It amazed me how much I had grown as a writer since then. So I thought, what if I gave it the revamping treatment? This WAS the first Misfitverse story I had ever written, after all ("Rising Starrs" was the first in my alternate timeline, but that one was written LONG after this one). SO, I hope you enjoy the revamped take on it!

Chapter 1: Introduction!

The Pit

It had been a month since the Misfits had gotten new members: Identical twins from Los Angeles, California. (1) The group had spent the time acclimating their new members to the team and the Joe way of life.

The young mutants were hanging out in a red-brick building the size of a high-school cafeteria, which was informally dubbed "The Misfit Clubhouse". On one corner of the roof was a construct that looked like a cross between a chimney and a crow's nest. It was used as a lookout area. It was dubbed that as it was essentially a large "fun area" for the team. The Joes built this area seperately from the main Manor because they knew that arguments between Misfits could get...destructive. As such, they thought it would be smart to make sure the Manor itself could not be caught up in such fights.

The clubhouse itself was essentially a big room filled with various activities. The walls were painted a relaxing shade of blue. One corner had a large TV with a couple of game consoles hooked up to it, and a shelf filled with games. A long blue couch sat in front of that. On one wall were a line of arcade and pinball machines (One of them was a Kiss-themed machine, much to the delight of the new recruits). Amusingly, one wall had a dartboard with a picture of the X-Man Cyclops (courtesy of Lance "Avalanche" Alvers) on it. The dartboard had darts in it...and an axe (again, courtesy of Lance). Another corner had a table for eating snacks and playing board games and puzzles.

At the center of the room was a pool table, and one of the Misfits was practicing shooting a cue ball at the target. It was a pretty teenage girl, with black and red hair that went down to her shoulders. She wore a red leather vest and black leather pants, black combat boots, gold bangles around her arms, and black biker gloves with red and silver bracelets. Around her neck was a black string necklace with an golden ankh pendant, and matching earrings dangled from her ears.

Scarlet Witch. Real Name: Wanda Maximoff. Physiology: Mutant Human. Affiliations: Misfits, (formerly) Brotherhood of Mutants. Powers: Probability manipulation, potential for sorcery.

"Okay, it's about how hard and where I hit the cueball, right?" She looked up at a teenage boy who was watching her, holding his pool cue. He was a bit of a lanky boy, his wild long black hair somewhat covering his face. His eyes were an intense chocolate brown. Over the left eye was a birthmark of a black 5-pointed star, in the style of the makeup of one Paul Stanley of Kiss. He was wearing a black KISS t-shirt with a sleeveless black leather jacket with studs on the lapels and small spikes on the shoulders, blue jeans with stylish knee holes, and black sneakers.

Darkstar. Real Name: Craig Starr. Physiology: Mutant Human. Affiliation: Misfits. Powers: Powers centered around birthmark-covered eye. Can fire laser beams from eye, or flashes of light that can hypnotize or blind people. Telepathic link with twin brother Paul.

"Yeah, pretty much." Craig nodded. "You want it to spin..." Craig pointed at a spot on the cueball. "Try to hit it there. Not too much, or the ball will fly off."

"Right." Wanda nodded. She hit the ball like he instructed. Wanda's cueball shot made it hit the solid red ball, and it landed in the pocket. "I did it!" Craig nodded in approval.

"Very good."

"You know..." Wanda smirked at the Los Angelan as she grabbed her chalk cube and rubbed it on the end of her cue. "If I keep improving, I just may be able to take you on in pool. I'll be the Tom Cruise to your Paul Newman."

"You're not a crazy Scientologist and your cue isn't named Doom." Craig retorted. "Let's see you hit it twice in a row." He was being watched by the two occupants of the couch. They had been watching TV, but found Wanda and Craig's conversation much more interesting than the movie they were watching.

"Would you look at that, yo?" A frog-like boy chuckled, his yellow eyes shining with humor. He wore a green t-shirt and blue jeans, and his greenish-blond hair was in a neat short cut. "And here we were, thinking he didn't like us."

Toad. Real Name: Todd Tolensky. Physiology: Mutant Human. Affiliations: Misfits, (Formerly) Brotherhood of Mutants. Powers: Toad-like mutation. Prehensile tongue, ability to cling to surfaces, superhuman leaping ability, able to spit slime and acid.

Todd was one of the first Misfits, having been found by GI Joe after being beaten and abandoned by Magneto. With the elite anti-terrorist group, the young mutant found himself a loving home and a family. He had become the adopted son of the Joe codenamed Roadblock. (2)

"Yeah." The occupant agreed. She had long black hair with blue streaks in it, and was wearing a blue top with black shorts, and had earrings that were made from triangular Chinese coins.

Wavedancer. Real Name: Althea Delgado. Physiology: Mutant Human. Affiliation: Misfits. Powers: Hydrokinesis.

Althea Delgado was the daughter of another Joe, codenamed Shipwreck. She was the eldest of six children, all mutants. Her younger sisters Daria, Brittany, and Quinn were telepathic triplet geniuses, the Trinity. She had a brother named Claudius who had a seal-like mutation. She also had an adopted baby brother named Barney. Because of his chicken-like mutation, he was called Beak. She looked over at Todd, who was her boyfriend. "That's good, though."

"Yup." Todd nodded in agreement. Craig glared at his new teammates.

"Don't you two have anything better to do with ourselves?"

Todd grinned. "Not really, yo."

"Aren't you two clowns watching a movie?"

Althea grinned. "This is more amusing right now." Craig sighed.

"You two are idiots."

"They're goofy, but they mean well." Wanda told the former gang member.

"It's cute that you're teaching Wanda to play pool." Althea smiled.

"What's the big deal about it?" Craig grunted. He tried to hide his blush. "I know how to play it, and she wanted to learn."

"I know that look, yo." Todd snickered at a blushing Craig. "That's the same look I had when I hung around Al here before we got together."

"Go to hell, frog boy." Craig growled in frustration. Todd laughed.

"Been there, yo. It was overrated."

"You and your brother are so different." Althea noted. Craig rolled his eyes.

"My brother is a goofball." Craig grabbed his own chalk and rubbed it on his own pool cue. Wanda shrugged.

"I think he's nice." Wanda lined up her shot at last.

"He is, but he can be a goofball." Craig shrugged. "The guy has this crazy idea of being in a world-famous rock band one day."

"Didn't you two perform for money back in LA?" Wanda recalled, taking her shot. She caused the ball to bounce away from the pocket. "Dammit!"

"You hit the ball a bit too hard and to the left. And yeah, Paul and I did busk, but that was different." Craig explained with a nod. "We did that so we'd be able to eat. Performing for a massive crowd...that's different."

"How, exactly?" Wanda asked. "You're still showing your skills to people, and you're still getting money."

"All that changes is the scale, really." Althea explained. "You're just busking in front of a much larger crowd in an arena." Craig thought about it.

"I suppose." The ex-gang member admitted. The four mutants heard the door close and looked over. A mutant boy with a very large gut, clad in a gray t-shirt and blue denim overalls walked in, carrying two big trays filled with burgers. He had a smile on his face and a blond mohawk.

Blob. Real Name: Fred Dukes. Physiology: Mutant Human. Affiliations: Misfits, (Formerly) Brotherhood of Mutants. Powers: Superhuman strength, invulnerablilty.

"Hey, everyone!" Fred greeted. "Just grilled up a bunch of burgers, and I thought you guys would like some." He motioned with his head at a red-haired man standing behind him with a smile and dressed in an orange-and-black uniform like that of a firefighter. The man was holding a third tray with various condiments on it. "Barbecue helped." Barbecue was the Joe firefighter. Hailing from Boston, he came from a family of firefighters.

"Kid's a natural with the grill." Barbecue chuckled, his voice having a New England lilt.

"I'm guessing that one of those trays had the burgers you are going to eat?" Craig shook his head. "God, I will never get used to seeing you eat."

"Hey, I'm a growing boy." Fred grinned as he and Barbecue placed the trays on the table.

"More like ten." Craig retorted. "Maybe if you didn't eat everything in your sight, you wouldn't have such a massive gut."

"That's not really his fault." Todd piped up.

"The gut's part of my mutation." Fred explained. "I was born with it. The strength and invulnerability came with it later on."

"Hey!" A voice piped up from above. "I smell burgers!"

"Yeah, Fred and Barbecue have made burgers!" Wanda called up.

"Alright!" A teenage boy slid down a firepole from the Clubhouse's lookout area. He looked identical to Craig, except for a cheerier demeanor, and his star birthmark was purple. He wore a black Kiss t-shirt with a purple bandanna around his neck, and purple jeans. He wore black and purple biker gloves and studded wristbands. He also had on a purple tiger-print headband around his head.

Starchild. Real Name: Paul Starr. Physiology: Mutant Human. Affiliation: Misfits. Powers: Powers centered around birthmark-covered eye. Can fire laser beams from eye, or flashes of light that can hypnotize or blind people. Telepathic link with twin brother Craig.

"Enjoying your little session plying lookout, brother?" Craig remarked.

"Yup!" Paul nodded. "This place is so big!" Craig sighed, and Paul eyed the trays of burgers as Althea, Todd, and Wanda gathered around the burgers and ate them. "Those ours?"

"Dig in, kiddo!" Barbecue held out a burger.

"Sweet! Thanks!" Paul took a burger and started chowing down. "These are great!"

"You might like them more with the condiments." Barbecue motioned at the tray of condiments. Paul blinked at the tray of condiments.

"Oh, right."

"You are an idiot sometimes, Paul." Craig took a burger and put some ketchup on it. "Already bad enough that you have to look like a refugee from a 1980s heavy metal video, but you have to be so damned goofy."

"Aww, I'm hurt, bro." Paul teased with a wide grin. "Not my fauly I like to look on the bright side of things. And my style is my style. It makes me unique." Craig rolled his eyes.

"Hard to believe those two are related, Freddy." Barbecue remarked to Fred.

"Indeed." Fred chuckled, eating his own burger and watching Paul and Craig converse. "But it does make sense. Remember, the Starr twins grew up in separate circumstances, so it makes sense they would have opposing personalities."

"Does he have to do that?" Craig sighed. Althea shrugged.

"Let it be, Craig." The leader of the Misfits told Craig as she put some lettuce on her burger. "He's gotten an interest in psychology since joining this team." She smirked wickedly at her comrade. "Besides, Darkstar. You of all people could use a psychiatrist."

"Real funny, Wavedancer." Craig grunted. "There are reasons I am the way I am."

"Indeed." Fred nodded, biting his burger. "Your rough and dysfunctional childhood has filled you with mistrust of others. Of course, I would have to actually speak to you more to get a further assessment of your issues."

"Oh, for God's sake!"

"Although I would not be surprised if you also have some resentment towards your brother." Fred added. "It's understandable. He grew up in a loving family and had a nice home, but you did not."

"I'm starting to have some resentment towards you." Craig mocked. Fred nodded.

"Ah, using sarcasm to cover up. Classic deferment technique."

Craig growled, and his birthmark-covered eye started glowing a hot purple. "Fat boy, you'd better back off."

"Take it easy, bro." Paul put a comforting hand on his twin's shoulder. "He's just trying to help."

"He's getting on my nerves!" Craig snapped. "He's asking for a laser in the face!"

"You are very lucky your laser can't hurt him, young man." Barbecue glared at the ex-gang member.

"It's alright, Barbecue." Fred waved him off.

"Let it go, bro." Paul advised. "The worst is over. We're together again, and we have a home."

"He is right." Fred smiled.

"You know, I'd love to see that Xavier Institute place." Paul remarked, wanting to change the subject. "It's such a big place!"

"Ahhhh, the X-Geeks ain't all that." Todd scoffed, putting some tomatoes on his burger. "They think they're all that, but they ain't!"

"Really?" Paul blinked in confusion. "I was hoping they were nice."

"They aren't a bad bunch." Barbecue assured Paul. "A lot of the Misfits' disdain for them is actually very old. You see, much of the core members of the group were part of Magneto's little mutant army. And they fought the X-Men a lot in those days."

"Trinity, Xi, and I were the only original Misfits who weren't part of that group." Althea explained. "At least, until you and Craig joined."

"Ah." Paul nodded in understanding. Craig snickered.

"The X-Men are pretty famous, actually." The Misfit codenamed Darkstar explained. "A lot of mutants on the streets of LA know of them."

"That makes sense. They made national news thanks to the Sentinel attack." Althea remembered.

"Yeah, and to be honest, not many mutants on the streets like them."

"...why?" Barbecue blinked. Craig shrugged.

"Why do you think?" The former gang member looked at the Joe. "The X-Men could've been a positive public face for mutants. They could've given humanity a good first impression of mutants, but they chose to hide themselves away. And then the damned Sentinel attacked, and the rest is history."

"Xavier feared humanity's reaction." Barbecue sighed. Craig shook his head.

"Mutants were not going to remain hidden forever. The X-Men could've helped at least soften the blow. But they chose not to." Craig bit into his burger. "And a lot of mutants paid for their cowardice."

"Big surprise." Todd rolled his eyes.

"Not to mention they would've been very media friendly." Paul continued. "Think about it. I saw them on TV. Colorful costumes, cool powers, if they played their cards right, they'd get their own cartoon and action figure line!"

"Thinking like an executive, huh?" Barbecue remarked at Paul.

"My adopted dad ran a toy company." Paul explained. "The X-Men would've made a great toyline. Even get their own cartoon tie-in to promote the toys."

"That is so 80s." Althea snickered. Todd's mouth tightened.

"Makes sense." He muttered, a little bitterness creeping into his voice. "Most of the X-Geeks looked like regular people. They would be photogenic. Hell, even Fuzzy is photogenic in his own way. Not like me or Fred."

"...I don't get it."

"Look at me. Look at Fred." Todd explained. "Neither of us would ever be considered People's Sexiest Man Alive anytime soon."

"They don't see what I see, babe." Althea smiled, rubbing Todd's back. Todd smiled and put his head on Althea's shoulder.

"Oh, right..." Paul realized. "In toylines back in the day, the villains would be given hideous appearances to make them scary."

"Yeah." Todd grumbled. "We'd end up being the bad guys."

"He is right." Fred concurred.

"Oh yeah, right." Paul sighed sadly. "You know, this conversation is getting a bit dark. How about we talk about something else?"

"Sure." Todd nodded. "Did anyone see the game last night."

"Oh yeah, defense sucked." Fred recalled. "It wasn't like those guys. They're usually really good."

"Maybe they had an off night." Paul shrugged. "It happens." He looked at the pile of burgers and remembered something. "Hey, Pietro and Xi are outside. Maybe they'd like some burgers."

"Good idea, I'll go get them." Fred nodded, then left to a nearby basketball court. The large Texan mutant witnessed two of his fellow Misfits playing basketball.

"Come on, Xi!" A skinny boy taunted, with slicked back neat silver hair, and cocky smirk on his handsome face. He was wearing a pair of gray gym shorts, and a blue-and-silver basketball jersey with a silver lightning bolt on it. He also had a blue headband on his headband, blue wristbands, and a pair of blue sneakers, with high white athletic socks with the blue stripes on them. He was dribbling the ball very fast. "There is no way you'll ever be able to catch me!"

Quicksilver. Real Name: Pietro Maximoff. Physiology: Mutant Human. Afilliations: Misfits, (Formerly) Brotherhood of Mutants. Powers: Superhuman speed.

"We did agree to not use powers, Pietro." The person he was facing warned him. Unlike most of the Misfits who looked rather normal, this one was obviously different. His face, while humanoid, had a lizard-like aura to it, and his flesh was covered in green scales. He had dirty blond hair, which was pulled back into a neat ponytail that reached down to his shoulder blades. He was also clad in a pair of black gym pants, and a Washington Wizards jersey, bearing Michael Jordan's number 45.

Xi. Real Name: Inapplicable. Physiology: Artificial humanoid-reptilian lifeform. Affiliations: Misfits, (Formerly) Cobra. Powers: Superhuman agility, reflexes, invisibility.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Pietro rolled his eyes. "Here's the thing though, buddy."

"What?" Xi blinked in confusion, slightly relaxing his guard.

"When we made that promise..." Pietro zipped past Xi, who yelped out a "Hey!" in protest. The silver-haired speedster leapt up and dunked the ball in the basket. He grinned widely. "I crossed my fingers." The ball bounced back towards Xi, who caught it, a frown on his face.

"I see." The Cobra-created assassin nodded in understanding. "Well..." A smirk formed on his face as he sauntered up to his fellow Misfit. He then turned invisible.

"Wha-HEY!" Pietro exclaimed. "Where'd you go, man?!" He felt the ball get swatted out of his hands. "What the-?!" The ball bounced on the court, and then appeared to fly through the air, land in the basket, then suspend itself in midair. A smirking Xi made himself visible, holding the ball.

"One of our new friends, the Starchild, told me a phrase he had heard." He tossed the ball to Pietro. "Don't get mad, get even. Said he had heard it in a movie." Pietro grunted.

"Yeah, yeah." The speedster grumbled. He was about to fire off a snappy comeback when the watching Fred whistled and waved his arms.

"Fellas, burgers in the clubhouse!" He announced.

"Wonderful!" Xi grinned as he and Pietro followed the large mutant.

"I'll get you back, Xi." Pietro mock threatened.

"And I will be waiting when you do." The three mutants went inside.

"Fred and I made these burgers, boys. Hope you like them." Barbecue grinned as he gave Pietro and Xi a burger. "We have to save a couple for Lance. I told him we were making burgers, and he said he'd come by in a minute."

"Where is the cat-loving rockhead?" Craig asked.

"He went to get his jeep repaired, Darkstar." The Joe fireman said. "After that little...misadventure last week."

"Ahh, yeah.." Craig remembered. "Lance and I had that brawl with the bikers. That was fun."

"Good to see you've made a friend on this team." Barbecue noted with a smile. Craig shrugged.

"He and I started talking music." The mutant explained. "Turns out Lance is a guitar player. Unfortunately, when Paul here heard that, he got it into his head about forming a band." He shook his head. "A band. Sure."

"Seriously, bro!" Paul grinned. "Think about it! An all-mutant rock 'n' roll band! The novelty alone will sell tickets out the wazoo!"

"How long would the novelty last, though?" Althea piped up. "Wouldn't you want to be more known for your music?"

"Not to mention I can't imagine many clubs and arenas would want to let a rock band of mutants perform for them." Todd added, biting his burger.

"I admit, I would love to see such a group perform." Xi smiled at Paul as he grabbed a random condiment and poured some on his burger then put the bun on it. "I have heard you sing and play, and I find it wonderful."

"Thanks, Xi!" Paul grinned. Xi took a bite of his burger, and his face contorted into a strange expression as his face turned red.

"Xi? You okay?" Wanda asked. Xi opened his mouth and a stream of flames flew out.

FWASHHHHHHHH!

"Yipe!" The Misfits and Barbecue ducked the stream of flame.

"Whoa...That was cool, man!" Paul hooted in delight. "Do it again!"

"I am sorry, everyone." A wide-eyed Xi gasped in shock. "I did not intend that to happen! The burger was quite hot!"

"You must've put my family's special home-made hot sauce on it." Barbecue picked up the condiment container that held the sauce in question. "It uses Carolina Reaper peppers. Hottest peppers in America."

"How hot, exactly?" Althea wondered, frowning at the container.

"One pepper was found to measure at 2.2 million Scoville Heat Units." Barbecue explained.

"Scoville Heat Units?"

"The Scoville scale is used to measure the pungency of chili peppers."

"Ah." Althea nodded. "Okay, I think we should stay away from that stuff for the time being."

"I've had that sauce on food before, and I find it really good." Fred shrugged.

"Of course he would." Pietro rolled his eyes. "With his stomach, he could eat garbage and still find it delicious." Fred frowned at the speedster.

"Too bad Trinity and Shipwreck went to the SHIELD Helicarrier, Althea." Wanda remembered. "What was that they were there for again?"

"SHIELD asked them to consult on an piece of tech they found in an alternate timeline." Althea recalled.

"Why didn't they just ask Reed Richards?"

"He and the FF were exploring the Negative Zone." Althea explained. "Although I have no idea why the hell they'd want to explore that place, considering things like Annihilus and Blastaar call that place home and fight over ruling it all the time."

"Because it's there." Fred shrugged. "It's why people explore, really. People want to see what's out there."

"I honestly feel terrible for Nick Fury right now." Pietro snickered. "Having to put up with Trinity."

"Trinity AND Shipwreck." Craig added. "How long until that old drunk causes a Helicarrier crash?" Althea's eyes narrowed at the Los Angelan and the speedster.

"My dad may have his problems and cause a fair share of headaches, but he's not going to do something like that."

"At least, not on purpose." Wanda snarked. Althea made a face.

"You are so helpful."

"I try." Wanda smiled at her friend.

"I remember he took Lady Jaye and that other nice Joe lady with him." Paul remembered. "The redhead with the slight Southern accent."

"The redhead is called Scarlet." Althea told Paul.

"Scarlet, that makes sense." He looked at Wanda. "Hey Wanda, they call her Scarlet, and you the Scarlet Witch. Has anyone gotten that mixed up?" She shook her head.

"No, that's not happened yet. It's not hard to tell the difference between us. I'm not the walking shout-out to Gone with the Wind."

"Naw, just the Wicked Witch of the West." Althea chuckled. Wanda rolled her eyes and playfully punched a laughing Althea's arm. Paul noticed Craig snicker slightly at that. The young wannabe rockstar smirked at his twin.

I can imagine you thinking about Wanda dressed up like the Wicked Witch. Paul teased his twin telepathically.

Don't you dare. Craig grumbled in response.

Come on, bro. Paul teased. We can read each other's minds. I know you were thinking some happy thoughts over Wanda.

I do not have a crush on Wanda! Craig mentally snapped, then cut off the link. He pulled up his jacket's lapels in an attempt to hide the slight blush popping up on his cheeks. Todd smirked at the mutant.

"Heh. I blushed like that when I first found myself thinking about Althea, yo."

"Shut up, Frog." Craig grumbled. The door was heard opening and closing, and it was revealed to be a tall, lanky teenage boy walking in. He was dressed in a dark blue t-shirt with an open brown leather vest and blue jeans, with black combat boots. His long brown hair was pulled into a ponytail.

Avalanche. Real Name: Lance Alvers. Physiology: Mutant Human. Affiliations: Misfits, (Formerly) Brotherhood of Mutants. Powers: Geokinesis. Genetic damage causes his powers to evolve and also makes Lance have occasional seizures accompanied by temporary amnesia.

"Hey, guys!" Lance waved with a grin. The others waved and said their hellos in their own way.

"Lucy, he's hooome!" Paul grinned, impersonating Ricky Ricardo.

"How're you doing, Lance?" Barbecue asked.

"Got the jeep all fixed up! It looks great."

"That's great, kiddo." The Joe fireman complimented. "Anyway, I gotta get going. I have to run some drills for the members of my fire squad." The Misfits said goodbye to him as he left the building.

"My sisters want to add some gadgets to it if it's alright with you." Althea told the geokinetic. "They fell in love with the Bond films and want to make real life versions of some of them.

"...I don't know." Lance put his hand on his chin in thought. "Maybe the ones from Goldfinger."

"You should get the gadgets from Spy Hunter, man." Paul grinned. "Missiles, oil slicks, the works!"

"Paul, man, it's a Jeep, not an Interceptor."

"Just saying." Paul grinned. He then eyed the pool table. "Hey, I got an idea! Wanda, my dear brother's been teaching you to play pool, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I'll bet that you'll beat Craig in a game of pool."

"Hah!" Craig laughed, leaning against a wall. "Wanda could never beat me! She's learning, but she's not at my level."

"Oh really?" Wanda retorted, a smirk on her face. "I did learn quickly. I think I'm ready." She sauntered over to Craig and poked his chest lightly. "Unless you don't have the guts to take me on..."

Craig raised his head up and narrowed his eyes. "I have the guts."

"This'll be interesting." Blob whispered to Pietro and Xi. Xi nodded in agreement. Pietro frowned at Fred.

"It is so damn weird to hear you use big words, big man." The speedster remarked. Fred shrugged.

"I think it's wonderful that Fred is working to improve himself." Xi smiled at Pietro.

"Psyche-Out doesn't mind." Fred shrugged. "He thinks it's great I'm reading his books." Pietro groaned and facepalmed.

"Let's do it, then." Wanda walked to the pool table and grabbed a cue and smiled at Craig. "Well?"

"She is so flirting with him." Althea giggled.

"Yeah." Todd laughed. "This'll be fun to watch."

"Go on, bro!" Paul encouraged with a laugh.

"You say you can beat her, Darkstar? Well, then. Put your money where your mouth is, Craig." Lance snickered, receiving a glare from the mutant ex-gang member.

"Grrr..." Darkstar growled. "Fine!" He walked over to the pool table and grabbed a cue.

"I say Wanda'll win!" Althea cheered.

"Darkstar's got experience. No offense, but he's got her beat." Fred said matter-of-factly.

"Wanda can hex Craig to miss." Pietro grinned.

"No powers, Wanda." Craig told her quickly when he overheard Pietro say that.

"Darkstar knows trick shots." Xi added. "He showed me some of them. He said he hadn't showed Wanda any of them yet."

"Shh!" Althea shushed the other Misfits. "They're about to start."

"Enjoy being beaten, Wanda." Craig mocked, racking the balls.

"Let's raise the stakes." Wanda grinned. "If I win...you gotta take me out on a date."

"Wait...WHAT?!" Craig yelped in shock, his face growing red. The other Misfits snickered. "The hell are you all laughing at?!" He yelled, looking around wildly.

"Look at that blush, yo!" Todd laughed. "He's like a tomato!" Craig growled, and took a breath.

"Okay...okay..." Mentally counting to ten to calm himself down, Craig took another breath. He then smirked at Wanda. "If I win..."

"Make her wear a chicken suit!" Pietro taunted. He narrowly dodged a purple laser from Craig and a hexbolt from Wanda. "Sorry. Sheesh, tough crowd!"

"Okay...you gotta...hmm..." Craig scrunched his face in thought "...Go hex Beach Head?"

"...That's it?" Wanda asked in an are-you-serious tone, blinking at the former gang member. "That's the best you got? Hex Beach Head. That isn't much."

"Give him a break, Wanda. He doesn't have much experience with this kind of thing." Paul joked with a grin.

"Shut up, Paul..." Craig grumbled, pinching his nose with a sigh. Wanda smiled.

"Alright, how about this. You win, I'll let you think of something else. Right now, let's just play." Wanda got ready to fire the first shot.

This should be easy... Craig thought. Wanda pocketed a ball in the break, which made Craig raise an eyebrow. "I've been practicing, Craig." She smirked. "So, I got the solid balls?"

"I got striped." Craig nodded. Wanda smiled, and took another shot. Much to Craig's shock, she ended up pocketing every ball. His jaw was right on the verge of hitting the ground. "How...how...?"

"Damn." Lance whistled in admiration.

"That was cool!" Fred laughed.

"Damn, Wanda! Dad should take you to that pool hall!" Althea chortled. "He'd make a mint!"

"Nice work, Witch!" Todd clapped his hands.

"You really have improved, Wanda." Xi complimented sincerely.

"That was totally stellar!" Paul grinned. "That was totally awesome! I have never seen anyone trounce my brother at pool like that!" Wanda shrugged.

"Had to happen sometime." She smiled at Craig, who was still staring at the pool table, completely agape in shock. "See you at eight, honey." She whispered in his ear, making his cheeks go red. She sat down on a couch, and blew him a kiss. A blushing Darkstar growled. A laughing Paul ran to his brother and threw his arm around his shoulders.

"Ha ha ha! Look at you! Don't be down, brother! You're getting the big date with your dream girl, the girl who cast a spell on you, ha ha ha!"

"Oh yeah, witch jokes." Wanda rolled her eyes. "How original." Craig lightly punched his brother's arm, but Paul was too busy laughing to really acknowledge it. The door of the clubhouse opened, revealing a bald muscular mustachioed black man wearing a camouflage sleeveless t-shirt and green military pants with black combat boots. Roadblock, the GI Joe heavy machine gunner who tended to speak in rhyme, walked into the clubhouse.

"Hey kids!"

"Hey Roadblock!" The Misfits all greeted in unison...except for Craig. He just grumbled. Roadblock cocked his head at the young mutant.

"Darkstar, why do you frown? It's far too good a day to be down." Roadblock asked Craig.

"Craig has to date my sister!" Pietro cackled. "She whupped him in a game of pool."

"How? How? How did she get that good?!"

"Told you! I've been practicing!" Wanda laughed.

"You'd think he'd be happy, considering his crush." Todd whispered to Althea.

"I think he just got a bit cocky, hon." Althea explained. Roadblock chuckled.

"Let that teach you a lesson." Roadblock told Craig. "Never underestimate an opponent, son."

"Thanks." Craig muttered sarcastically, pinching his nose. This is embarrassing.

"Also, the first piece of advice I can give you about a date, is to not be late."

"Yeah, Darkstar!" Wanda taunted. "I'm very punctual!"

"That makes me feel so much better." Craig grumbled. Paul snickered.

"I wonder how she got so good..." Paul asked innocently. The wheels in Craig's head began to turn in realization.

"You!" Darkstar snapped angrily, pointing at his twin brother. "You helped her practice!"

"I may have played a couple games with her." Starchild grinned. "I was just trying to get to know the gang better. And she did ask very nicely."

"I will kill you!" Darkstar lunged at Paul, but Barbecue, Roadblock, Lance, Toad, and Xi were holding him back.

"It's times like this I wish I could blast you to hell."

"Lucky for me we can't hurt each other with our powers, huh?"

"Yeah." Craig rubbed his temples. "Lucky for you, brother."

"Ahhh, I know you don't mean it." Paul grinned. "Face it. You're stuck with me. And you don't mind."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Craig lightly punched his brother's arm.

"Awww, look at that. You really do love your brother." Lance teased.

"Ha ha ha, you're hilarious. Don't get any ideas, Rockhead." Craig rolled his eyes.

"He does, he just doesn't want to admit it." Paul laughed. "Besides, look what we got here. We got new friends and a real home for the first time in a long."

"I know." Craig shrugged. "Recondo didn't need to take us in. Hell, he didn't have to if he didn't want to." Recondo was one of the GI Joes who found the Starr Brothers. When they joined the Misfits, Recondo became their guardian, as he had bonded with Paul somewhat. (3)

"The Joes are good people, Craig." Lance reassured.

"Indeed, Craig." Roadblock added. "We saw your were in strife, so we wanted to help you get a better life." Roadblock's Joe-Com beeped. "Hello?"

"How do the kids like the 'clubhouse', Roadblock?" General Hawk's voice could be heard on the other end.

"It's still standing, so they must like it." Roadblock smiled in response. "They've been having fun in it all day, they think it's a hit!"

"It sure is nice!" Fred grinned.

"Yeah, those arcade games look neat." Lance added. "Galaga is a blast."

"And who doesn't love Mortal Kombat?" Todd grinned.

"I quite enjoy Metal Slug." Xi smiled.

"That's nice, kids. But we have some serious business." Hawk explained. "We've gotten a mysterious message from someone known as 'The Viper'."

"The Viper? Someone named Viper? And you make fun of Todd's, Paul's and my codenames, Craig." Blob smiled.

"C'mon, Fred." Craig groaned. "I mean, Toad? Starchild? Blob? A codename should strike fear into the hearts of opponents. Darkstar, my codename, struck fear into the hearts of Los Angelites." Darkstar smirked. Paul laughed quietly.

"I called you that as a joke, and it stuck." Paul reminded. Craig groaned.

"There is an actual supervillain called the Viper." Lance remembered. "Is that the Viper we're dealing with here?"

"It's possible, but we're not certain. We had a call from this particular 'Viper' a few minutes ago." Hawk explained.

"What does this 'Viper' person want with us?" Xi asked.

"Maybe we have fans. At least I might have fans." Pietro quipped. Starchild raised a thin black eyebrow.

"You have fans?"

"That's a laugh." Craig snickered.

"Heyyy there, Darkstar. Don't be jealous that I got incredible looks!"

"Why the hell would I be jealous of your supposed looks, Maximoff?" Craig sneered at Pietro.

"Besides, Craig is more interested in your sister's looks, Pietro."

"You stay out of this." A blushing Craig told his brother. Paul waved him off.

"Besides, Pietro..." Paul pointed at Craig. "This guy could be your future brother-in-law." Wanda blushed at the idea, and Craig's cheeks reddened even more.

"Oh dear God, no!" Pietro wailed in horror.

"I DO NOT WANT TO MARRY WANDA!" Craig yelled out. Althea laughed as she took a seat next to Wanda and nudged her shoulder.

"Looks like you got a suitor." The water-manipulator whispered to the hex-caster. Wanda rubbed her neck nervously.

"I guess I do..."

"Oh no!" Pietro shook his head and arms. "No no no no no! Nooo way! Noooooo way! No way your anti-social brother is marrying my sister!"

"I DON'T WANT TO MARRY WANDA, YOU MORONS!" Craig yelled at the top of his voice, his eye glowing a dangerous purple.

"That guy is crushing on her hard." Toad remarked.

"Amen to that, brother." Lance, Fred, and Xi agreed. Hawk was heard sighing.

"I need some coffee..." Hawk muttered. "Are you all quite finished? I have some serious business here for you all."

"We're good now." Althea nodded. "Go ahead, General."

"Thank you, Wavedancer. Now, as I was saying, "The Viper" relayed a message to the Joes, but appears to be directly to you Misfits. Here's how it goes..."

Who is this "Viper"? What is the message? Does Craig, the Darkstar, have feelings for Wanda? (A/N: Craig: HEY!) Find out in part 2 of: The Misfits vs. The Viper!

(1)See "Rising Starrs, Revamped!"

(2)See "Ronin Toad" by Red Witch

(3) - Again, in "Rising Starrs, Revamped!"