What Are The West Coast Misfits Thankful For?
Hey there, Misfit fans! This is L1701E here! Here's a fun little one-shot for you all starring California's premiere mutant super-team, the West Coast Misfits! Just sit back and enjoy this little conversation between the members of the team.
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Sunbow, Hasbro, and Marvel.
Malibu Base
It was an average November day in Malibu, California. Even though it was the fall, it felt like summer. The sun shined, and temperatures were high. The West Coast Misfits, California's premiere and greatest mutant team, were all sitting around the front yard of the Misfit Manor. All the members were doing various things. The girl members of the group: Theresa "Siryn" Rourke, Rahne "Wolfsbane" Sinclair, Alison "Dazzler" Blaire, and Athena/X23, were sitting around the pool, sunning themselves.
"Longshot, my back is sore." Ali called. The Farrah-haired lightengale pushed down her glasses and looked around. "Longshot, I said my back is sore!"
"Coming, Ali!" The Mojoworld-born luck-changing warrior ran up to his girlfriend and started rubbing her back.
"You trained him well." Athena joked.
"He still needs some work." Ali replied with an amused smile.
"Hey Longshot, she's got you whipped, jabroni!" Kyle "Thunderbolt" Wildfire laughed, his voice spiced by the unique accent of his native Boston. The Thunderbolt was watching an old Survivor Series on a portable DVD player.
"Shut up, Kyle." Longshot grumbled. "Where's Terrell, Tommy, and John?"
"They're out getting the groceries." Theresa replied.
"They'll be out for a while, knowing Tommy." Rahne laughed. "They probably keep coming out only for Tommy to have eaten it all!" Terrell "Velocity" Mason zipped up, carrying grocery bags.
"No, Tommy did not eat all the groceries. We gave him something for that."
"MMMMMMMMFFF!!!" An angry Tommy "Chilljaw" Sharpe screamed in a muffled voice, stomping up to Terrell. The shark-like mutant's jaws were clamped shut by a thick metal muzzle. The girls burst out laughing.
"That's a good look for ye, Thomas." Theresa laughed. Tommy glared. John "Thunderbird" Proudstar's voice was heard from the car.
"Hey, Speedy! Give me a hand here! You too, Sharky!"
"Coming/Mmf." Terrell and Tommy replied. A blue Ferrari pulled up near the pool.
"Hey!" Ali screamed. "Ace, don't you know what a driveway is?!" Ace "Wildstar" Starr peeked up from the sunroof of his Trinity-modified car.
"Driveway? Don't use 'em!" Ace grinned. "I'm a rocker! I park where I like! Besides, I just washed it! Like it?"
"It looks fine." Athena groaned.
"Ace, remind me never to ask you for a ride to the beach ever again!" Toshiro "Sunfire" Yoshida grumbled as he emerged from the passenger seat. From the back seat came Jack "Beast King" McCormick, and Randy "Rictor" Gomez. The two boys pulled surfboards out of the back seat.
"We're going to go wax our surfboards, man." Rictor said as he handed Jack his own surfboard. Ace looked in his car's dashboard. The GPS inside revealed the date and his eyes widened.
"Hey guys!" Ace realized. "Thanksgiving is coming up!"
"Thanksgiving? I do not understand what that day is." Toshiro blinked.
"No surprise!" Kyle laughed. Toshi glared at the Bostonian electrokinetic.
"You keep quiet, Gaijin!" The Japanese solar battery snapped. Kyle shot Toshi a raspberry.
"Why don't you come over here and make the Thunderbolt keep quiet!" Kyle razzed. A growling Toshi's fist burst into flame.
"Hey, relax Toshiro! You know how much Kyle enjoys teasing you." Theresa groaned. Toshi calmed down.
"I didn't think you were the type to let a gaijin boss you around." Kyle teased the Solar Samurai.
"DIE!!!!" Toshi roared. The Japanese mutant tackled his younger Bostonian team-mate. The two boys started brawling. The other West Coast Misfits groaned.
"Anyway, what's Thanksgiving?" Longshot asked Ali.
"Thanksgiving is a day where we all reflect YI!!!" Ali dodged a solar fireball. "TOSHI!!! Anyway, Thanksgiving is a day where we all ACK!!!" Ali ducked a lightning bolt. "KYLE!!!! Anyway, Thanksgiving is day where we EEK!!!!" Ali managed to avoid a jet of solar flame and a blast of lightning. "THAT'S IT!!" Ali angrily screamed. She fired a laser blast at Toshiro and Kyle.
"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEOWWWWW!!!" The two mutants screamed as the laser scorched them. The two looked like ash statues.
"Did you want that in original recipe or extra crispy?" Kyle hacked. He and Toshi fell flat on their faces.
"Whoa!" Ace whistled. "Hey Longshot, never anger that living lightbulb."
"I don't intend to." Longshot gulped nervously. He just had gotten very scared of Alison Blaire.
"As I was saying before I kept getting rudely interrupted…" Ali shot a quick glare at the downed Kyle and Toshi. "Thanksgiving is a day where we all reflect and give thanks for all that we have."
"Where did this holiday come from?" Longshot asked.
"What're you guys talking about?" John asked as he, Terrell, and Tommy walked in the manor with bags full of food.
"Thanksgiving." Ali grinned.
"Oh don't get me started on Thanksgiving!" John grumbled.
"Nice work, Ali! You got him started up again!" Terrell groaned as the large, muscular Apache teenager codenamed Thunderbird started ranting and raving about ungrateful settlers.
"Meah!" Tommy added.
"He was yakkin' all month about Thanksgiving! We finally got him to shut up about it, and now this!"
"Mmf mm mfff Mali! (Thanks a lot, Ali!)" Tommy grumbled as he and Terrell shoved John into the house.
"Will you shut up, you goofy Apache?!" Terrell exclaimed as they went inside.
"Thanksgiving started with the Pilgrim settlers." Ali explained. "They came to America from England seeking religious freedom. During one of their first winters here in America, they ran into trouble."
"Oh yeah, I heard this story all the time in school as a kid!" Ace laughed. "The Pilgrims, they weren't exactly used to living on the land. They nearly starved, if not froze to death. Until the local Native Americans came along." Ace chuckled. "They taught the Pilgrims how to hunt, trap, and fish. As a way of saying thanks, the Pilgrims invited the Native Americans to a big dinner. They feasted and partied. The Pilgrims decided to call it 'Thanksgiving' because they were giving thanks to the Native Americans for helping them survive." Ace added. "That's the version from a point of view that's not John's." John, Terrell, and Tommy walked outside. Tommy managed to remove his muzzle in the house. "You guys want to know what I'm thankful for?"
"What?" Ali wondered.
"Well, I'm thankful for the usual stuff." Ace shrugged. "Good friends, good family, good times. Now if you will excuse me, this Ace of Hearts has to go downtown."
"For what?" Longshot blinked.
"Let's just say there's a party in town, and I would never want to miss a party." Ace laughed. The lion-like feral teenager laughed as he leapt into his car, backed up, and drove off.
"What are you guys thankful for?" Ali asked the others.
"Me? I never thought about it much. I don't celebrate Thanksgiving." John shrugged.
"I'm thankful I got my powers, yo." Terrell said. "If it weren't for them, a kid would be dead now. I was walking down the street in Compton, and I saw a couple of gangs race toward each other in their cars."
"Drive-by." Athena said.
"Yeah." Terrell nodded. "The gangbangers inside didn't even notice they were bearing down on this girl. I ran across the street to save her. Before I knew it, I found my legs burning, and everything was moving slower. I didn't realize that it was just me going faster. I found myself being able to run at incredible speed, and I was able to grab the girl and save her life. The gangbangers started firing bullets everywhere. I could see a few bullets racing toward me. I hoped they wouldn't hit me or the girl. Suddenly, I felt my mind connect to the air around me, and I could feel the air obey me and push the bullets away from me and the girl." Terrell sighed. "That's what I'm thankful for. I'm glad I was given the ability to save someone's life."
"You don't need special powers to do that." John said.
"No, but I'm glad I got 'em." Terrell sighed. He then smiled. "My mama always said I was a special kid."
"I'm thankful that me parents accepted me." Tommy smiled. "Not many parents keep children born with physical mutations like meself. I never knew life as a normal-looking kid. I was born a shark-man, and I'll die a shark-man. But me parents still loved me. Every night, they called me their little fish-boy."
"How ironic." Kyle chuckled. "They called you 'Fish-Boy' and we call you 'Fishface'. Your name grew up."
"What are you thankful for, Kyle?" Tommy wondered.
"The Thunderbolt is capable of being grateful?" Toshiro raised an eyebrow. Kyle shot Toshiro a finger.
"Bite the Thunderbolt, jabroni!" Kyle snapped. "The Thunderbolt is thankful he is a warrior!"
"Here, here!" John agreed. "You're not the only one thankful for that!"
"The Thunderbolt is grateful for being who he is. I'm not afraid of anyone or anything. And I'm also grateful I have my talents in insults and fighting." Kyle smirked.
"Why am I not surprised?" Ali sighed.
"Aren't ye grateful that your family accepted your mutation, Kyle?" Rahne blinked. Kyle shrugged.
"Isn't everyone thankful for family and friends, you goofy Scot? The Thunderbolt wanted to be original!" Kyle rolled his eyes. "I'm going up to my room to play some wrestling games."
"Well, I'm thankful Moira took me in." Rahne smiled. "I had a rough childhood. And I was nearly burned at the stake when me powers emerged. She found me and took me in as her adopted daughter. That's what I'm thankful for. And I'm also thankful for the friends I made, both as an X-Man and a West Coast Misfit."
"I'm thankful that I was able to get help when me powers emerged." Theresa smiled. "Da helped me out a lot with control with me powers. Well, finer aspects. Me Uncle Tom taught me basic control."
"Uncle Tom?" Longshot blinked. Theresa shook her head.
"I…don't talk about him much. He's the…black sheep of the family." The West Coast Misfits looked at each other, then decided to change the subject.
"I'm thankful that I was given my gift of singing." Ali laughed. "My dad wanted me to be a lawyer. Bleah. That wasn't for me. I wanted to be different. So I guess that's why I was gifted with my singing. Maybe I was meant to sing." She turned and Longshot had a hurt look. Ali giggled. "You're so goofy, Longshot. I'm thankful for you, too." She gave him a little peck on the cheek. Longshot appeared to perk up a bit.
"Heh heh. You're a wuss, Longshot." John chuckled. "YEOW!" He dodged a dagger.
"Well, I'm thankful I was able to 'convince' Mojo to give me some decent benefits back home." Longshot chuckled. "Also, for you guys. You guys are a great bunch." He gave Ali's hand a slight squeeze, and Ali smiled.
"What are ye thankful for, Sunfire?" Theresa asked. The Japanese mutant shrugged.
"I do not celebrate Thanksgiving. That is a Western holiday."
"You don't have to be Western to be thankful, Toshi." Rahne grinned.
"I never thought about it." Toshiro shrugged. "My father is dead, and my grand-uncle tried to use me as a weapon against the United States."
"Aren't you thankful you're using your powers to do something good?" Ali wondered.
"Perhaps." Toshi sighed. "I am not sure what I am thankful for…except for the fact that I have grown to think of you all as allies…and perhaps…friends."
"That's sweet." Ali smiled.
"What about you, X23?" Rahne asked. Athena blinked.
"Well, I'm new at this, but…Well, I am grateful to Ace. After that whole thing with Red Dragon, Ace took me back to LA with him and I ended up living with him and his family for a while. I learned a lot from that family. They treated me really well." X23's face formed a small smile, a bit of a rarity. "They thought of me as one of their own." She noticed Rictor and Jack leaving the house carrying snacks. "Where were you two idiots?"
"Totally enjoying some munchies." Jack grinned.
"We thought we'd go inside and get something to eat while you guys were talking." Rictor grinned.
"You two are idiots, you know that?" Athena blinked.
"Whatever. You dudes want to know what I'm totally thankful for? I'm thankful for having you guys as friends. Not to mention the surfing! It's awesome! RIGHTEOUS, EVEN!!!"
"I'm thankful for the fact my Cousin Gonzales got me here to America. God knows what could've happened to me in Virus's hands, man." Rictor grinned. The young Hispanic mutant then sipped his soda. Ace drove up to the kids.
"ACE!!!" Theresa screamed. Ace stumbled out of his car. He looked completely freaked out. "Ace…are ye alright? What happened to ye in town?"
"Hey Ace, I think you totally ran over some kid with an orange parka." Jack blinked as he looked at the back of Ace's car.
"As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!" Ace gulped.