Rising Starrs!

Disclaimer: "Yoda is one kooky puppet. He looks like mix of the Hulk and an old dwarf crackhead!" - Kyle "Thunderbolt" Wildfire on Yoda.

Chapter 4: Origins Revealed!

The beach

"This is some serious stuff." Recondo explained to Craig. He and the three Joes were conversing on the beach. The Misfits were talking amongst themselves.

"We barely got out of there alive, pal." Craig spat. "Those Viper clowns are madmen! You think we're making this up or something?"

"No, we don't." Cover Girl reassured. "We are taking you seriously, Craig."

"So why is Mr. Safari over here looking at me like I'm talking outta my butt?" The young mutant scowled, jerking his thumb at Recondo. "Isn't it you guys' job to take care of these Cobra guys? Well, we're telling you that Cobra is here, and you're not doing anything!" He threw up his hands in anger. "I knew it! I shouldn't have listened to Paul!" He started to stomp off, but was stopped by Lady Jaye putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Take it easy, Craig." Lady Jaye tried to calm the angry young man down. "We are taking you seriously. If Cobra is in the area, we will take care of it." Craig's nostrils flared angrily.

"Then why the hell aren't you doing anything?"

"We have to figure out what exactly Cobra is up to before we do anything." Cover Girl explained.

"I told you!" Craig snapped. "Some Cobra guys tried to kidnap us. We're not sure why...but I have my theories."

"What kind of theories?" Lady Jaye inquired. Craig shrugged.

"Well...I've been hearing about some kind of lab. Local kids, mainly mutants vanishing." He shook his head. "I didn't think much of it all at first. Thought it was just some ranting from some crazy people. Quite a few of those homeless guys are not quite all there in there in the head, you see. But then those Vipers came for us." He ran a hand through his wild black hair. "So we ran. And we've been running ever since." Meanwhile, most of the other Misfits were conversing amongst themselves.

"So, what do you think of those twins the Joes found?" Althea asked her teammates.

"We think they're kinda cute." Trinity answered in unison, big grins plastered on their faces.

"You're kidding, right?" Pietro groaned. "Did you see the clothes Paul wore? My God, you'd think that kid would join the rest of us in the 21st century!"

"Just leave it alone, Pietro." Fred rolled his eyes.

"I am curious about these twins." Xi scratched his chin in confusion. "Paul and Craig look identical, except for those stars on their faces."

"Yeah, that is kinda funny, yo." Todd chuckled.

"I think they're kinda neat." Althea smiled. "Makes 'em look like members of Kiss, you know." The hydrokinetic then smirked as she looked at Todd. "Of course, my favorite member was always Gene Simmons." The amphibious mutant blushed at Althea's smirk.

"Oh, God..." Wanda groaned, rubbing her forehead. Althea chuckled.

"Wanda, seriously. We gotta get you a man of your own." The aquakinetic then realized that Wanda had been glancing slightly at Craig. I think maybe Wanda has found herself a man already...

"First, we gotta find a guy either crazy and/or stupid enough to ask her out." Pietro snickered. Wanda scowled.

"You wanna get your head handed to you, dear brother?" The hexcaster growled. Meanwhile, Paul and Lance were conversing.

"Wanda, please don't kill Pietro." Daria implored.

"And why shouldn't I?" Wanda frowned at the Triplets.

"Because if you kill him, who will we experiment on?" Quinn explained.

"Yeah, we got some great new gadgets we want to try out on him back at the lab." Brittany grinned widely. Pietro's eyes widened and his face paled to a ghostly white that nearly matched his hair.

"Oh, dear God..." The speedster whimpered, scooting quickly away from the triplets. He didn't stop until he was behind the safest, most durable thing he could think of: The Blob. The Texan powerhouse blinked at Pietro, and then gave Trinity a dry look.

"I take it you three are still angry at Pietro for wrecking your candy-making machine."

"No, of course not. We forgave him." The Trinity answered in unison...then shifted their eyes at each other.

"It was an accident...I told them it was an accident..." Pietro whimpered. Fred sighed.

"Girls, you're going to give him severe trauma issues and psychosis if you keep this up."

"Anyway, I was wondering." Xi continued on. "If the Starr brothers are twins...why are their birthmarks different? I mean, they are both stars, but Paul's is purple and Craig's is black. Do they paint their birthmarks?"

"I don't think Craig is the type to do that." Fred shook his head. "Maybe it's just their mutations. Some X-Genes can put out some crazy results. Look at us."

"It's not that much different from me and Pietro, Xi." Wanda remarked. "We're twins, but our mutations are radically different."

"Ah, I see." Xi nodded. Pietro peeked up.

"Freddy, you gotta stop reading so much. It's making you no longer talk like you."

"What?" The young mutant codenamed Blob blinked. "It's not a crime to want to improve yourself."

"Speaking of people who need to improve themselves..." Pietro looked around. "Where is our resident rockhead?"

"He's talking to Paul." Althea answered, jerking her thumb behind her. A short distance away, the geokinetic and Paul Starr were having their own private conversation. "Lance learned that Paul was a musician, so the two of them got to talking."

"I see Lance still is holding on to those rock star dreams he has." Pietro remarked. He then noticed Wanda stealing a glance over at Craig, and trying to hide it. What the hell is up with Wanda? She's been eyeing that Craig guy quite a bit. The speedster's face formed a slight scowl as he looked at Craig, who was still taking with the Joes. I'll have to keep an eye on him... Meanwhile...

"You play guitar, too?" Lance nodded at Paul's question. "Awesome!" The young mutant with the purple star birthmark grinned. "So do I! Where'd you learn?" Lance shrugged nonchalantly.

"I learned by listening to Aerosmith and Van Halen. How about you? You had lessons or something?"

"Me? No." Paul shook his head. "I learned by listening to Kiss. They're my favorite band."

"Yeah, Kiss are pretty cool." Lance nodded in agreement. He then noticed the album cover on Paul's shirt. "Destroyer. That's a hell of an album."

"I loved that album!" Paul remarked. "Listened to every track ten times over." He scrunched his face as he thought about a way to keep the conversation going. "You know, my brother Craig is a bass player." The geokinetic blinked at his new friend.

"He plays bass?" Paul nodded at Lance's question.

"Yeah, he does. He learned how to play his bass the same way I learned to play guitar: He listened to music, and he figured it out."

"Ah, I see." Lance nodded. "You know, it's too bad we don't have any drummers in the Misfits, otherwise we'd be able to get band going." He sighed in longing, running a hand through his long brown hair. "It's a bit of a dream of mine, to be in a band." Paul perked up even more, if that was possible.

"Really? Mine too. I want to be on that stage, singing my heart out and playing my guitar, to the delight of millions." Paul smiled. "It's good to have a dream."

"Yeah. It is. Hey...what's that?" Lance noticed something stick out of Paul's pocket.

"Oh, this?" Paul pulled out a picture. "It's of me at eight." Paul handed Lance the picture. The Misfit examined it. He noticed three smiling children in the photo. The child in the center was clearly a younger Paul Starr. The child to Paul's right was a skinny girl with short brown hair. The one to his left was a blond boy with a big crazy-looking grin.

Hmm… Lance narrowed his eyes slightly. The blond kid in the picture looks a little familiar…Something about that grin... "Hey Paul, who are the kids in there with you?"

"Oh, them? Well, the blond guy's named John. He was from Australia. He wasn't actually named that, but he preferred being called that." Paul explained. "The girl is named Jennifer. Her dad was a sheriff right here in LA." The dark-haired mutant then started to laugh as he found himself recalling a fond memory. "The three of us had all sorts of misadventures together and stuff." He looked at the photograph with a wistful smile. "John was always a little cracked in the head. Good guy, but not quite all there. Jenny was a real nice girl, although she lived in a strict household. Her father hated me and John." Paul then sighed sadly. "I haven't seen either of them in a long time." He then started talking further. Lance was listening, but his mind was going crazy with a train of thought that the picture was inspiring.

Hmm, I know that blond kid in the picture is familiar...it's that grin...and he said the kid's name was John...no way! The elder mutant took a slight look at Paul. Paul seems like a nice kid. Why would a nice kid like him hang out with a psycho like Pyro? Lance frowned slightly. Hmmm, we never did learn much about Pyro's early life. Maybe there is more to that loon than anyone realized... A big thought struck him. If Paul and Pyro were friends, then...does Paul know about him being in the Acolytes? Does Paul even know about Pyro being a mutant? He shook his head. He'd worry about that later. There were more important things to be concerned about right now. He noticed Paul sighing.

"Boy, what a life I lived. Once from being a rich kid to now living in an old movie studio."

"An old movie studio?" Lance blinked. Paul nodded.

"Yeah. The Fabulous Pictures studio."

"Fabulous Pictures..." Lance repeated to himself. "Weren't they the studio that did the Attack of the Chainsaw Man movies?" Paul nodded.

"Yup."

"I always wondered what happened to them. They put out some good movies."

"Unfortunately, they went bankrupt in 1995." Paul explained. "They never tore down the old studio. It still resides here in Los Angeles."

"Really?" Lance grinned. "Do they still have the props and sets from all the movies and stuff?"

"Yeah, they do." Paul grinned back. "You oughta see it! They have that store set from that famous scene in Attack of the Chainsaw Man 2 where the shopkeeper fights off the Chainsaw Man with cans of baked beans. They really should make it into a museum."

"Awesome!" Lance grinned. He then decided to change the subject. "So. How'd you and your brother over there end up living in an abandoned movie studio?"

"Well, it's quite a strange tale." Paul explained. "And it's long, so I'll have to make it short. As babies, Craig and I were separated and abandoned. At least, that's what we can figure. We don't know who our real parents are. I'm not even sure which of us is the older twin. You see, I would end up being adopted by this rich family living here in LA. I ended up living a life of celebrities and champagne, if you will."

"Wow." Lance's eyes widened.

"My dad was a successful toy company executive and my mom did some acting work." Paul's cheerful voice took on a saddened tone. "However, they were killed by gang members. They were members of a gang that were rivals with a gang that Craig was a member of. A few months later, my powers emerged. Some unscrupulous people in my dad's company, using legal means, managed to cheat me out of my inheritance, and I ended up on the street." Lance shot Paul a sympathetic look. "It's...more complicated than that, but as I said, I'm giving you the Cliff's Notes version."

"That's harsh, dude."

"Yeah. It is." Paul nodded sadly. Then he perked up. "But luckily, my mutant gene gives me a telepathic link with Craig. It allows us to track each other and communicate with each other telepathically. Using it, I was able to find Craig and he let me live with him in this abandoned movie studio he found."

Under protest. Craig grumbled telepathically.

Oh come on, dear brother. Paul 'laughed'. You know I made your life a little more interesting...and a little less lonely. "We lived there for a while, until those Cobra guys caught us and tried to trash the place. We barely managed to escape, aaaand we're here."

"What about Craig?" Lance asked.

"Well…Poor Craig's had it rough. He grew up in a broken home, and it made him very bitter." Paul found himself shaking his head and rubbing his head slightly. Thanks to his telepathic link with Craig, he got to experience his brother's rough childhood memories firsthand. It was...uncomfortable for him. "He got into fights all the time at school, and he broke the law a lot. At age 12, he left home and joined a gang. His powers emerged the same time mine did. We both felt a strange urge to find each other. And that's what we did. The link that let us into each other's minds helped us find each other."

"Wow." Lance said. "But what of your friends Jennifer and John? Surely they…"

"I lived with Jenny's family for a while, until my powers emerged. And John…disappeared." Paul replied.

"Ah." Lance nodded. He noticed Paul had paused before saying John had disappeared, as if there was something more, but he couldn't say. Hmm...maybe Paul does know about what happened to Pyro. Lance decided to let it drop. However, before he could question his newfound friend further, he sensed a presence behind him. The geokinetic turned around and saw Althea emerge from the still chatting group.

"Hey, guys." Althea greeted as she walked up to the two boys.

"Hey, Al." Lance waved. Paul only nodded with a smile. "How's it going?"

"I see you have found a friend in Paul here." Althea smirked in mirth, crossing her arms. Lance nodded.

"Yeah." Lance chuckled. "Turns out him and his brother have a talent for music. And we have a mutual love for Kiss, so we're thinking of maybe forming a band or something."

"The world's first all-mutant rock band." Paul grinned. "It would be huge!" Althea started to laugh.

"An all-mutant rock band. I'm sure that will fly real well."

"Hey, it could!" Paul defended. "What better way to bring people together than through music?"

"Man has a point." Lance shrugged.

"I'm sure that any music you guys make would do just that." Althea shrugged with a smile. "When you guys start, I want front-row tickets. Anyway, can I tell you something, Paul?"

"Yeah, sure. What?" Althea grinned at the young mutant with the purple star birthmark over his eye. She walked over to him and whispered something in his ear.

"I think your brother has gotten the attention of my friend Wanda over there, if you know what I mean." Paul blinked.

"Really?" Paul blinked. "Which one of you is Wanda again? The girl in red?" Althea nodded. Paul then glanced at Wanda. He nodded in understanding.

"Ah, I see. I sensed it from Craig as well, although good luck getting him to admit it. He's spellbound by her, although he wouldn't admit it." Paul grinned. Althea burst out laughing, confusing the mutant hypnotist. "What?"

"Sorry, it's just you said the word 'spellbound' in reference to Wanda." Althea laughed. "Let's just say that we call her the Scarlet Witch for a good reason."

"Well, the 'Scarlet' part I get because she is clearly fond of red..." Paul scratched his head. "But I don't get the 'Witch' bit. Is she a magician?" Althea shrugged.

"Sort of. Her mutant powers allow her to mess with probability."

"Probability?" Paul blinked. Althea nodded.

"Yup. Essentially, she can play with the odds. Y'know, like increasing the chances of winning the lottery and stuff." Paul nodded in understanding as Wanda walked up.

"That's a weird power."

"Not really." Wanda remarked with a shrug. "Sometimes, it's a pretty cool." She pointed at Pietro, who was looking out at the ocean. "Watch." The dark-haired teenager formed a hexbolt and tossed it into the water. Suddenly, a tidal wave rose up and doused Pietro.

"AAAGH! HEY! WANDA!" Pietro screamed, instantly figuring out what had happened. Wanda laughed happily.

"Oh man, I never get tired of that!" Wanda laughed. "I love being a hexcaster!"

A desert island in the middle of nowhere.

"Uhn..." Cobra Commander groaned as he opened his eyes underneath his blue helmet. "Ohhhh..." He lifted his head. "Huh?" He got up and looked around. He found himself on a small uninhabited island. "What the-?! Where am I?" He started to walk the coast of the island. "What's going on here? Who did this to me?!" He explored the island for a while, growing more frustrated and confused. "WHERE IS EVERYBODY? AHHHHH &$#! &$#! &$#! &$#!" Cobra Commander started to jump up and down in place. He was clad in his regular blue helmet, a Hawaiian shirt, and shorts. "How in the HELL did I end up here?!" He threw his arms up in the air. "I don't get it! How'd I get here?! One minute, I was on my personal plane to Hawaii and I fall asleep. The next minute, I ended up here! How did this happen?!"

Well, looks like we learned more about our two new friends! What insanity will happen next? What more will we learn about the Starrs? What is Cobra up to? Find out in the next chapter! Suggestions needed badly!