"MAROON AND THE EARTH-NI PROTECTORS!"
BOOK TWO: HEROES AND VILLAINS
CHAPTER TWO: IMPOSTOR ROUGE
On a cool, dark night in the cleaved city of Echo Creek, trouble brewed like a raging storm in the town bank. The doors and windows were in ruin, while the hopelessly outgunned security guards lay on the ground, moaning and writhing in pain. With the bank's defenses rendered moot, the riches inside were ripe for the looting...
But who were the mysterious malefactors that trespassed in the bank? A trio of hardened thieves, each from differing backgrounds. The first was a youthful, white-haired mewman gentleman, dressed a fancy scarlet getup adorned with precious stones, and a matching hat with a feather sticking out. This swashbuckling career criminal, known by his pseudonym "Lord Larceny," wielded an exquisite rapier made from mewman metal.
The second crook was a rugged man of Navajo heritage. He had long, black hair tied back in a ponytail, and a suave handlebar mustache on his face; What's more, he sported a crimson-hued cowboy getup, with two revolvers in their holsters. The criminal's given name was Wild Deak Robbins, a notorious outlaw inspired by a bygone era; The Wild West.
The last intruder was clearly the most intimidating of the three; Xaxira, a seven-foot-tall, red-skinned demoness boasting imposing features; Wicked, hook-like claws, a long devil tail, a pair of piercing yellow eyes, short white hair, pointed ears with gold piercings, a similarly shaped nose, and sharp, curved horns resembling an impala's. Dressed to kill in a coal-black outfit, this horrible hellion was a force to be reckoned with...
Together, this terrible trio was called the Royals Red; A diverse team of thieves formed by the Cleave. Over the past week, they were on a hot streak of daring robberies across Echo Creek and the other towns surrounding it.
"Milady Xaxira, would you care to open the vault?" Lord Larceny suggested to his demonic lover.
"Sure thing, darling." Xaxira crooned, as she channeled pyrokinetic energy into one of her razor-sharp talons. The demoness carved a circular hole through the vault's thick steel door; A hellishly impressive feat.
The hole Xaxira made revealed a tantalizing sight; A whole room full of stacked dollars and coins.
"Well, tan my hide! We're RICH!" Wild Deak shouted.
"You've done it again, my brightest flame!" Larceny congratulated his demonic lover, who grinned toothily.
"I aim to please, Larcy." Xaxira flirted back. The two thieves shared a passionate kiss, disgusting their irritable third wheel.
"Hey, Bonnie and Clyde! We don't got much time, so stop smoochin' and start LOOTIN'!" Deak commanded. The Royals Red made their way into the vault, and began filling their pockets and pouches with cash. However, their reaping of the finanical fields was interrupted by a mystifying masked interloper.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Boomed a deep, metallic-sounding voice. The three marauders looked to the bank's entrance, to set their eyes upon their adversary; It was Maroon! Or so it seemed at first glance...
Something was different about the leader of the Protectors this time around. Instead of the high-tech suit he usually wore, the vigilante was clothed in an off-color red top, covered by a black hoodie with the sleeves roughly cut off. Attached to the hoodie was a ragged black cape; and on their lower body were burgundy legging and black combat boots. The hero's battle helmet was a shattered, dark-eyed Maroon mask, mended back together with unpainted silver metal. To top it all off, there was an entirely different person in the suit; Judging by her bodily proportions, this Maroon mimic was a teenage girl.
"Who are you supposed to be?" Lord Larceny scoffed.
"The name is Rouge." The masked heroine proudly spoke.
"Never heard of you." The mewman master thief retorted.
"You don't scare us, kid." Xaxira hissed.
"Mosey on off before I fill you with lead." Deak growled, as he spun his revolver.
"Not gonna happen." Rouge remarked. The knockoff vigilante manually activated a pair of blades that stemmed from bracelets on her wrists, and shakily pointed them towards the Royals Red.
"Very well, then. It was nice knowing you." Larceny mocked. The thieving trio readied their weapons to attack, when a certain group of five burst through the bank's entrance. Now, Rouge was accompanied by the five Earth-Ni Protectors; Lady Butterfly, Martial Boy, Violet Devil, Snatcher and the real Maroon!
"Alright, you three! Give it up before things get messy." Maroon taunted.
"Ah, the mysterious Maroon! The real deal, of course. Not that defective doppelgänger." Lord Larceny remarked, when Rouge leapt at him with her wrist-blades. She tried her best to hold her own, but the duelist defeated her with only three strokes of his rapier, then kicked the inexperienced heroine to the ground.
"Now to put this whelp down for good."
Lord Larceny thrust his rapier toward Rouge's stomach, but his blade was blocked by Marco's trusty sword.
"How about a fairer fight?" Marco rhetorically asked.
"Show me what you've got, boy." The Lord retorted. While the two master swordsmen dueled it out, Maroon helped his copycat back to her feet.
"Who are you supposed to be?"
"The name is Rouge." Rouge answered, feeling quite out of breath.
"That's my line." Austin responded, when he saw a threatening foe in the corner of his eye. "GET DOWN!" He yelled, as he tackled Rouge to the ground. A loud boom sounded off; They had barely dodged a gunshot from Wild Deak. The outlaw aimed his revolver at the two to fire another shot, but his hand was struck by a stinging blast of gold-hued energy, causing him to spasm in pain and drop his gun.
Said pulse came from the mechanical wand of Star Butterfly, who smugly smirked at the corrupt cowboy. "Not so tough without a gun, are you?"
"Good thing I carry a spare!" Deak retorted, as he whipped out another revolver from his left holster, and opened fire at the former princess. Star quickly made an energy barrier with her wand to block the bullets, and she hovered in the air with her wings to fight the mad marksman.
As the brawl raged on, Tom was combatting Xaxira. Back in the Underworld, she had a notorious reputation for burglary, even stealing from the Lucitor family themselves.
"You're a real goody two-shoes, Lucitor."
"Try me." Tom retorted. Xaxira hurled a plume of flames towards Tom, but the demon prince did the same, so their attacks canceled each other out.
"Looks like, we're evenly matched." Tom remarked.
"You don't know how wrong you are." Xaxira snarled, when a jolt of pain surged through her back. The demoness yelped and quickly turned her neck 180 degrees, to gaze upon the offender; Tom's occultist girlfriend, Janna Ordonia.
Janna wielded a new weapon Austin made her after the WattBot incident; A pair of lightweight metal fighting sticks, each measuring twenty-eight inches in length. These sticks, traditionally used in the Filipino martial art of Kali, had modified tips that delivered electric shocks.
"Hey, Xaxi! Like my new toys?" Janna taunted. She thrust her Kali sticks towards Xaxira several times more, but the succubus swiftly dodged each of the heroine's strikes.
"Insolent human!" The horned hellion hissed, as she smacked Janna away with her pointed tail. "It's time to go!"
"Way ahead of ya!" Deak responded, as he threw a plethora of smoke bombs on the ground. The bombs belched out black, murky gas, causing the heroes to sputter and cough. Obscured by the darkness, the thieves booked it out of the bank; By the time the smoke cleared, the Royals Red had escaped with all the riches they could carry...
After the turbulent battle at the bank, the police had arrived. Needless to say, they were quite disappointed that the Protectors hadn't caught the notorious thieves of the Cleave.
"This is humiliating! We've been fighting the Royals Red for more than a week, and we still haven't caught them!" Tom angrily raved.
"Don't worry, we'll get 'em next time." Star responded.
"You said that last time."
While Tom and Star continued to chat, Austin was busy investigating the mystery of Rouge, his unauthorized copycat.
"I looked around the block. There's no sign of Rouge." Marco told his helmeted friend. "She must have left after the Royals did."
"Great. Now we've gotta deal with three master thieves and a knockoff Maroon." Austin retorted.
"Hey, metalhead!" Janna called out. "I found this at the scene of the crime. Pretty sure it came from your twin."
Austin snatched the "evidence" from Janna's hands, and saw what it was; A yellow and orange keychain with an opossum logo on it.
"It's just a keychain." The caped vigilante commented.
"It's an ECA keychain, dingus! That means the rip-off Maroon is one of our classmates." Janna explained. While the identity of Rouge was quite the mystery, a crucial piece of the puzzle had now been found...
The next morning, Austin visited the Diaz household to meet with Star and Marco. Over a heaping plate of Marco's delicious home-made nachos, the three teens were discussing some pressing matters; The Royals Red, and the mystery of Rouge.
"I gotta say, that Rouge sure fights sloppy. Larceny disarmed her in three strokes, she could have been killed!" Austin ranted.
"Yeah, she's not the best-Wait! How do you know they're a she?" asked Marco.
"Well, ummm..."
"You were checking her out, weren't you!" Star remarked, causing Austin to become rather flustered.
"HEY! I-I wasn't checking her out! Austin stammered, as he went a little red in the face.
"Was she cute?" The princess teased, ruffling her friend's feathers even further. The awkward tension was broken when Janna and Tom suddenly barged into the room, looking frustrated and angry.
"Bad news!" Tom huffed.
"What is it?" Marco asked. Tom slapped a comic book on the the living room table; It was a crude, hand-drawn comic book depicting the team, titled "The Earth-Ni Patrollers." Next to the title was an author's credit stating "By V. Offal"
"Aww, how cute! Someone made a comic of us!" Star cooed, believing the author to be a budding young artist. Unfortunately, such a belief was completely false.
"You might wanna look inside." Janna sighed, feeling bad for her oblivious friend. Star opened the book, and began to read through its contents; What she saw inside were some deeply offending pictures and words.
In this comic, the Earth-Ni Protectors were depicted not as valiant heroes, but as costumed thugs who invaded Echo-Palooza to menace the monster population. The book's contents included Star and Marco beating up innocent monsters like they were members of Ludo's gang, Tom savagely burning down buildings for Janna to rob, and Maroon beheading monster civilians with his wrist-blades. There was even a depiction of Globgor devouring mewman attendees and stomping their corpses into mush, despite him not even being on the team!
At that point, Star could go no further into the book. The former princess had dealt with slanderous depictions of her before, but this was far worse than any play the Pie Folk could put on. Star let out a yell, and whipped the book at a wall as hard as she could. Marco knew how despondent Star felt, so he comforted his love by wrapping his arms around her.
"What was THAT?" Star spat, seething with rage.
"I know. What loser would tear us down for making the world a better place?" Austin queried.
"I was able to trace the author. Tom and I are gonna pay him a little visit." Janna insidiously drawled, with a devious smirk on her face.
"I don't like that look..." Marco nervously murmured.
"I'll go too. To make sure they don't torture him or something." Star added.
"You sure you're up for it?" Marco asked.
"I've fought Solarians and Septarians. A smear campaign is nothing."
"Good luck, Star. If you need support, just gimme a call, and I promise I'll be there." Moved by his kind gesture, Star hugged Marco, and affectionately kissed his cheek.
"You're the best, babe. While we're out, why don't you and Austin look for clues on that Rouge girl?"
"Yeah, We better talk some sense into her, before she gets hurt." Austin added. Marco nodded his head in agreement; Looks like the two boys had a mystery on their hands...
As Star, Tom and Janna headed out to confront their libelous critic, Austin and Marco set off to search for clues, leaving the Diaz household behind...
With the teens gone, the house was left to Marco's family...and Star's rambunctious pack of puppies. Angie and Rafael, the latter holding Mariposa in his large arms, came across the pups chewing up the Earth-Ni Patrollers comic.
"Oh, not again! Looks like the puppies got into Marco's comic books." Angie noted, as she held the slightly damaged comic away from their reach.
"Let me see that! Perhaps I'll get some artistic inspiration." Raf mused. He perused the slobbery book for a mere five seconds, before the offensive depiction of Marco and his friends overcame the normally gentle father with rage.
"How appalling!" Mr. Diaz exclaimed. In a rare display of anger, he ripped the whole book in two. Artistic license be damned, that was his beloved son the book was painting as a ruthless bully. "But it does give me an idea..." He continued; Inspiration can come from the strangest of places, after all...
In an flaming Underworld carriage pulled by a skeletal horse, Star, Tom and Janna raced to the eastern edge of Echo Creek, to locate the author of "The Earth-Ni Patrollers." Once they reached their destination, the three teens stepped out of the carriage, and looked upon the author's home; A musty, dilapidated hut, which sat alone outside a pond.
"This is the place." Janna confirmed. "Let's go change his mind." The mischievous girl added, as she held up her trusty hypnotic pocket watch.
"We are NOT, hypnotizing him, Janna!" Star refuted
"You're no fun."
"Let's just get this over with." Tom groaned. The three teens exclaimed "Hero Up!" to magically change into their Protector outfits, and headed towards the hut where their harshest critic resided.
In a dimly-lit, rank-smelling room filled with art supplies and loose papers, an artist was hard at work. He was literally a troll; A heavy-set, green skinned monster with pointy ears, fangs and yellow eyes. He had a messy mop of white hair, and a scraggly beard on his neck. Vogg Offal was the name of this troll, and he was drawing up yet another crude and crass comic, at least until three uninvited guests showed up.
"Who goes there! Can't you see that the artist is busy!" Vogg snapped, not even looking up from his paper.
"Hey, are you V. Offal? We'd like to talk to you about this." Star declared, as she placed the first issue of the offending comic book on Vogg's desk. The troll looked up, and gasped when he saw Lady Butterfly, Violet Devil and Snatcher standing at his desk.
"Gah! Well, first things first...I plead the First. With the monarchy dissolved, I have the right to free speech."
"I understand, Mr. Offal. We aren't here to suppress your rights, we just want to talk about your comic. It was pretty hurtful."
"What you're writing is slander!" Tom angrily exclaimed. The demon prince slammed his fist on Vogg's desk, causing the green-skinned troll to flinch. While Star kept her calm, neither Tom nor Janna was having any of this guy's crap.
"WRONG! Slander is spoken. Libel is written." Offal retorted in a huff. "This isn't some thoughtless tripe made to lick your boots and sell merchandise. It's social commentary."
"But you're depicting us as crazy monster-haters! That's not true at all!" Star refuted.
"And you drew Globgor eating people! Granted, he actually used to, but he's not even on the team, leave him alone!" Tom added.
"We destroyed the WattBots because they were biased against monsters. What makes you think we're against them?" Janna queried.
"Well, Protectors, why don't you answer this; If you claim to love monsters so much, why aren't there any on the team?"
Meanwhile, Marco and Austin were walking through the Echo Creek mall, chatting along the way. The two Maroons were aimlessly searching for hints to the identity of Rouge.
"Last night, Meteora got into the studio, and got my helmet stuck on her head! Now my whole house is monster baby-proofed." Austin mused, making his hoodie-wearing pal laugh.
"Yep, she's a handful! Can you believe she used to be Miss Heinous?"
"Miss Who?" Austin queried, unsure of exactly who Marco was referring to.
"Miss Heinous! She was the headmistress of Saint Olga's, remember?"
"Oh yeah, the princess school!" Austin replied. He vaguely remembered the St. Olga's infiltration as a story Marco told him, back when he wore the mantle of Maroon. "You broke into that place like a ninja, beat up the guards and saved all the princesses, right? It was your finest hour!"
"Well...it didn't really go exactly like I told you." Marco admitted. Back then, he wasn't exactly comfortable with telling Austin he wore a frilly dress and wig when overthrowing the oppressive boarding school.
"What do you mean?"
"Remind me to tell you about Princess Turdina later." Marco answered. The two teens continued traversing the mall, and began riding an escalator up to the second floor.
Outside a designer fashion store on the mall's second floor, the rich and spoiled Brittney Wong was up to no good. Accompanied by a gaggle of other upper-class teenage girls, Brittney was relentlessly bullying a couple of young mewman women who wore archaic outfits.
"Like, what are you moonies even wearing? Newsflash; The Middle Ages are OVER!" Brittney jeered.
"Look at them, they probably never bathe." A member of her like-minded entourage added.
"And they don't have phones, either. They're pretty much Amish." Brittney taunted as she waggled her next-generation phone. "Am I right, or am I right, Sabrina?"
Brittney turned to Sabrina Backintosh, the hilariously accident-prone member of the Spirit Squad who she barely tolerated. Sabrina had distanced herself from the rest of the clique, and anxiously looked away from them. It was clear she felt guilty because of Brittney's bigoted behavior.
"UGH! Way to be a total disappointment!" Brittney scoffed. In a ruthlessly apathetic gesture, Brittney pushed her faux-friend down the escalator. Normally, this would mean a world of pain, broken bones and costly hospital bills for poor Sabrina. But in a great stroke of luck, she fell into the arms of one Austin Capers.
Austin's eyes widened, and he went beet-red; It wasn't every day a pretty girl literally fell into his arms. Additionally, she was a familiar face to the teen vigilante; During the battle of Echo-Palooza, he saved her from Manavi, a fearsome Dreaded Beast. Judging by her flustered reaction to being saved, Sabrina was feeling the same way as her hapless rescuer. They were both frozen in place, until Austin stumbled over the end of the escalator, causing both of them to fall to the floor.
Once Marco reached the second floor, he helped Austin and Sabrina back up. Then, he turned to see the pair of upset mewman girls, and a disgusted-looking Brittney; It was all he needed to put two and two together. Once Brittney saw Marco, she glared towards him with intense hatred.
"Barfo Diaz? What are you doing here?"
"Quit picking on those girls, Brittney." Marco commanded, his posture straight and his arms akimbo.
"Or what, puke boy? You'll get your pesky girlfriend Butterface to hit me with a rainbow sparkle kitten blast? Oh wait! She can't." Brittney mocked, infuriating Marco. A furious expression befell his face, as he clenched his fists in a grip that could crush bone.
"Trash-talk Star again. I dare you." He snarled through gritted teeth. If looks could kill, Brittney would be dead a hundred times over.
"Ugh, let's get out of here." Brittney scorned, as she and her clique turned tail; The wise thing to do, since Marco was at his boiling point by now. Once the bullies were gone, the girls they were ridiculing stepped up to Marco.
"Hey, thanks for sticking up for us, Earth dude." One of the mewman teens chimed in.
"No problem." Marco responded. Being thanked for a good deed took the edge off the vitriolic frustration he was feeling; Between Brittney and Offal, it seemed like everyone had it out for Star today.
As Marco spoke with the two girls, Austin and Sabrina were aimlessly standing around; Both teens felt a little awkward after the escalator mishap. Then, Austin broke the silence and spoke up.
"Hey, I'm sorry about the escalator thing. Didn't mean to freeze up like that." Austin apologized.
"It's okay. Thanks for catching me, umm..."
"Austin."
"Thanks for the save, Austin. Usually, I'm not so lucky..." The unfortunate cheerleader sighed, when Marco approached her.
"Oh, hey, Sabrina! Glad you're okay." Marco said. "What were you doing with Brittney?"
"I don't know..." She solemnly admitted. "I feel so out-of-place around her, like I barely fit in."
"That's 'cause you're not a jerk. You should hang out with friends who like you for who you really are."
"Or at least ones who don't push you down escalators. That's a huge red flag." Austin coyly joked. Sabrina faintly smiled, then abruptly jolted up with an anxious look on her face.
"Uh, I gotta go! Bye!" She called out, then speed-walked away. Once she was gone, Austin and Marco resumed their trek through the mall.
"We may not know who Rouge is, but I know who it isn't; Brittney Wong." Marco commented.
"Yeah, she's crazy mean. Definitely not hero material." Austin replied. Marco nodded in agreement, when a lightbulb went off in his head; A lead on the possible identity of Rouge. Someone who was both athletic and kind...
In the meantime, Star, Tom and Janna were still negotiating with the monster artist Vogg Offal. Previously, he asked why the Protectors had no monster members.
"What are you talking about, dude? Tom's a monster, isn't he?" Janna queried.
"Well, actually, he's a demon." Vogg refuted.
"What's the difference?"
"He's bourgeoisie." The white-haired troll scoffed with malice. "During the great Solarian war, the Lucitor Kingdom betrayed monsterkind and and allied with the Butterflies! They slaughtered and tortured countless monsters! In return, the mewmans deemed them socially acceptable."
By now, all three Protectors looked exquisitely horrified, especially Tom. It only got worse as the troll continued to speak.
"Besides, Prince Lucitor's not even a full demon...he's a half-breed!"
Now, Vogg had really gone and done it. The libel-maker's racist remark was the straw that broke the camel's back, as Tom immediately flew into a fiery, furious rage. The demon's three eyes glowed a bright red, and he levitated into the air. Rings of intense fire surrounded Tom, as he shouted at the troll in demonic tongue. Frightened beyond all belief, Vogg let out a shrill scream. In contrast, Janna was both impressed and lovestruck.
Star was incredible worried, though; If Tom got any angrier, Vogg was sure to be burned, thus proving his point against the Protectors.
"Tom, stop!" Star exclaimed. Her former boyfriend did not respond; He only kept screaming at his bigoted critic. "Janna, do something!"
"Why should I? No one talks to my boyfriend like that." Janna retorted, as she crossed her arms.
"He's gonna burn the whole place down!"
"Fine." Janna groaned. The raven-haired delinquent prodded Tom with one of her Kali sticks, lightly shocking him. The jolt snapped Tom out of his enraged state, and he landed back on his feet with a stumble.
"Ow! Janna, what the he-" Tom protested, though he was cut off by Janna kissing him on the cheek. That little peck caused the demon teen's rage to melt away, calming him down.
"Come on, dude. Let's get some fresh air." Janna suggested, as she took her boyfriend's hand. The two then left Vogg's musty hut, as the troll started to get up.
"Finally, they're gone. Annoying as your teammates are, I think they proved my point swimmingly." Vogg concluded, frustrating Star even further. However, Tom's fit of rage wasn't all bad; It exposed part of a mural that was obscured behind a black curtain.
"Wait, what's that?" Star asked, as she pointed to part of the mural she could see; It seemed to depict a green, scaly foot with five toes. Once Star pointed it out, the artistically inclined troll's yellow eyes widened, and he began to sweat profusely.
"T-that's nothing!" I-it's not...I don't have to show you anything!" Vogg stammered, furthering Star's suspicions. The mewman heroine whipped out her Magitech wand, and used its telekinesis setting to pull back the curtain. Once what lay behind was exposed, her heart skipped a beat, and she let out a shocked gasp.
"You've got a lot of explaining to do..."
Later in the evening, Austin and Marco were at the skate park, to see some friends who were likely candidates for Rouge's identity; Marco's old flame Jackie Lynn-Thomas, and her new French girlfriend, Chloe. Currently, Jackie was skating circles around her less skilled ex, while Austin was chatting with Chloe on a park bench.
"So, you're from France, huh?"
"Oui."
"Cool! I actually know a little French from my uncle. Ou tre fre, Mademoiselle!" Austin spoke, causing Chloe to giggle.
"I have no idea what you said."
"That might be Haitian Creole, now that I think about it."
As the two continued to converse, Jackie was doing all sorts of neat tricks in a skate bowl, along with some other teen skaters of various ethnicities and species. From the safety of the edge, Marco fidgeted with his board, anxiously watching.
"Whoo! Come on, Marco! Join the fun!" Jackie called out.
"Alright, Marco. You've ridden a dragon-cycle and got stabbed by a unicorn. This is nothing." Marco quietly assured himself. The former squire mounted his board, and began skating down the bowl. But when he skated up to the other side, he stumbled and fell off his board! Luckily, he was caught in the nick of time by a red-hued monster teen with three eyes, a tail and a pair of horns.
"I got you, little buddy!" The monster skater spoke, as he rode up to the rest of his friends; A green slime girl, a blue-haired mewman boy, and a grey-skinned demon girl with wings and horns. Each of them was decked out in essential skater gear, including helmets and pads. He then set Marco safely on the ground, just as Jackie caught up to him.
"Hey JLT, you know this guy?" The three-eyed monster boy asked.
"Mm-hm. Guys, this is Marco, he's new here." Jackie explained, introducing him to the friends she made while volunteering at Echo-Palooza. The mixed group of teens greeted him, so Marco smiled and waved in return.
"We were just about to hit up the Ramp of Destruction. Wanna come with?" The slime girl asked, as she gestured to an incredible large and daunting ramp.
"Oh, wow! No thank you, I prefer life." Marco protested, then turned to Jackie. "Also, there's something I gotta ask you about..."
The four teens regrouped at a picnic table near the skate park, where Marco was explaining the Rouge situation.
"So, there's this copycat Maroon calling herself Rouge, and we're looking for her. You know, since I'm Martial Boy, and Austin...he knows Maroon. The real one, of course." Marco elucidated, as Austin sighed in relief.
"Okay?" Jackie wondered, unsure where her former sweetheart was going with this tangent.
"While it's great that Rouge is doing some good, she's not very skilled at it." Austin added.
"Well neither was Maroon when he first started out." Marco cleverly retorted. "Look, you guys kept my secret, and I'm really grateful for it. So what I wanted to ask is...Jackie Lynn-Thomas, are you Rouge?"
Jackie's bright emerald eyes widened with surprise when Marco popped the question. "If you are, we won't tell anyone. You can join the Earth-Ni Protectors!" Marco added. After overcoming the initial shock, the skater girl burst out into raucous laughter.
"Oh my gosh! You are a class act, Diaz!" Jackie giggled, as she lightly slapped his shoulder. However, Marco just looked confused, and a bit disappointed. "Wait, you're serious, aren't you?" She queried, to which Marco nodded in return.
"Oh, I only wish that were me. You guys are awesome." Jackie remarked, causing Marco to smile and blush. Even though their romantic relationship ended up in the gutter, Marco still had a soft spot for his first true love. "But if there's anyone it could be, it's Chloe."
Austin and Marco turned their heads towards Chloe, who just smirked.
"You never know. It could be anyone behind that mask." Chloe hinted. "And Rouge is French for "red." She purred, making Jackie giggle and wrap her arm around her torso, holding her tight.
"Well, we better get going. Duty calls." Austin spoke, as he and Marco got up to and started walking away. Marco saluted the two teenage lovers, and they both waved back.
"Au revoir!"
"Tell Star I said hi!" Jackie called out.
"Well, that went quite alright." Marco remarked, when Austin suddenly got a notification on his phone. "What is it?" The martial artist asked.
"It's the Royals Red again! They're robbing a jewelry store on the other side of town!"
"Then let's go stop them!" Marco explain. The two teen heroes then sprinted into an alley, and transformed into their alter egos; Maroon and Martial Boy!
What Star saw concealed behind Vogg's curtain was nothing short of sickening. It was a hand-drawn mural depicting five monsters brutally slaying hordes of brutish, savage-looking mewmans. She recognized each of the monsters from her harrowing experiences; The slime monstress Viscosa, the feline woman Panthara, the giant bat Manavi and the hulking insectoid Lucanus. In the center was the most gut-wrenching sight of all; Seth of Septarsis, the most feared monster in Mewni's history, ripping apart the insane Solarian warrior, Mina Loveberry.
"What is this?" Star huffed, as she stared down the incredibly anxious troll. "Are you a Dreaded Beast?"
"No!" Vogg cried.
"Then what's that mural for?" Star interrogated, causing the monster artist to sigh.
"It's a tribute. A tribute to the Dreaded Beasts for doing the one thing you heroes failed to do!"
Now, Star was feeling an indescribable mix of emotions. Deep down, she and the rest of the team felt a great deal of guilt for never apprehending Mina's Solarian remnants. While they planned an attack on their camp, the Dreaded Beasts had beaten them there...
"Seth and his disciples did more for my people than you've ever done!" Vogg shouted with corrosive vitriol, enraging Star. Looks like his superpower was infuriating anyone who had the misfortune of speaking to him.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Star yelled as she charged up her wand, causing Vogg to scream in fright and fall to the ground.
"Please, don't vanquish me!" The troll cried. Star then came to her senses, and realized she was threatening a monster with magic; Something her ancestors had done all throughout Mewni's history. No wonder he was so afraid! The former princess took a deep breath, and placed her wand back in its hip-holster.
"Okay, calm down. I didn't mean to get so angry. Just tell me this; Why do you idolize the Dreaded Beasts?"
"Right before the Cleave, I was one of the monsters rounded up by Mina's army. They were going to throw me and countless other innocent monsters off a cliff, and there was nothing I could do about it."
"I understand how you feel, Vogg. But my family sacrificed everything to destroy magic, so such atrocities could never happen again."
"But when all was done and Loveberry was powerless, you let her go. She formed another army, and in the end, it was the Dreaded Beasts who brought her to justice, not you."
"That's not the whole story, though. We were going to storm Mina's camp and bring her to justice, but Seth beat us there. I only wish we made it there sooner, so we could stop her the right way." Star admitted. "I know we can't do everything, but I promise we'll protect this city and everyone in it with our lives." The mewman heroine promised.
"One last thing, Vogg Offal. The Dreaded Beasts aren't your friends. If you follow in their footsteps, we'll stop you, just like we stopped them. And trust me, I don't want to do that again." Star then turned around and headed out of Vogg's workshop, as the artistic troll felt shocked, and frankly, rather ashamed of himself...
While Star was speaking to Vogg in the hut, Tom was moping whilst sitting on a log, feeling emotionally drained. He felt awful for losing control back there, but was still angry not just because of those insulting comics, but Vogg's remark towards his mixed heritage. The demon teen dejectedly stared off into space, until a familiar voice called out to him.
"Hey, I'm back! How you feeling?" Janna wondered.
"Still pretty bad. Wait, what've you got there?" Tom queried, as he pointed to what Janna was holding in her arms; All the "Earth-Ni Patrollers" comics she could carry. The raven-haired rogue then threw the books on the ground, much to Tom's confusion.
"What are you doing?"
"These are all the copies of that stupid comic I could find. Now, you're going to burn them."
"Really? Tom excitedly asked. Janna smirked and nodded in return, and without hesitation, Tom scorched the fat hunks of libel with demonic fire. The flames grew greater, and burned the books into ash.
"This is nice. Thanks."
"Anything for you, demon boy." Janna coyly retorted. As the impromptu bonfire grew warmer, so did the flames in their hearts. Immersed in the moment, Tom and Janna both leaned in, and shared a cathartic kiss. However, their romantic moment was spoiled when Star showed up and snapped a picture of her friends smooching it up.
"Gah! Star, why'd you do that?" Janna exclaimed while furiously blushing.
"Tee hee hee, you two are so cute!" Star cooed, as she added the photo to her "Important" collection. Hey, with all the embarrassing pictures of Marco that Janna had, Star's candid picture was fair game...
As night began to fall, the Royals Red were ransacking a jewelry store, while the workers and guards were tied up in the back room. Xaxira cleaved through a glass display with her infernal claws, so Lord Larceny could stuff the precious gems in his loot pouch. For the Lord, this was just like old times; Back before the Cleave, he was the most notorious jewel thief in all of Mewni.
"How pitiful. These Earth gems are nowhere near as lustrous as the ones on Mewni." Larceny scoffed with contempt.
"Doesn't matter. Once we sell these, we'll have enough cash for a romantic getaway in the Land of Enchantment..." Xaxira flirted.
"You mean New Mexico?" Wild Deak retorted.
Before the thieves could steal any more gems, a dart whizzed past Wild Deak; Had he moved an inch, the projectile would have struck him in the neck.
"What was that!" The conniving cowboy exclaimed, as he whipped out his trusty revolver. The thieving trio looked towards the front door, and saw no one there. All of a sudden, another dart was launched towards the Royals, and it struck Xaxira's arm. The demoness flared up with rage, and let out a wretched hiss.
"SHOW YOURSELF" The imposing marauder shouted. All of a sudden, the masked heroine Rouge leapt out from behind a pillar, with her wrist-blades drawn.
"Remember me?" Rouge remarked. Infuriated, Xaxira attacked her foe with a fiery blast. The copycat vigilante dodged the demoness's blast, but bumped right into Lord Larceny! The sinister cavalier swung his rapier towards her, and the two engaged in another duel.
The warriors exchanged several strikes between blades; While Rouge was faring better the second time around, Larceny still had years of swordplay experience on her. He parried one of her strikes with ease, catching the masked girl off guard. The fancy thief then cut off her Rouge's right utility bracelet, and kicked her in the abdomen, knocking her to the floor.
"You're sloppy, kid. Real sloppy." Wild Deak jeered, as he aimed his gun at the heroine's heart. Before he could pull the trigger, the crimson-clad outlaw was struck in the chest by a blast of red energy, which momentarily stunned him. Two more heroes had arrived in the nick of time; Maroon and Martial Boy!
"It's the Protectors! Well, two of them, anyways." Deak commented.
"KILL THEM!" Xaxira screeched. The three thieves poised to attack, and Marco lunged into engage the Royals Red. Maroon rushed to Rouge, and helped the caped copycat back to her feet.
"You alright?"
"I am now." Rouge replied, when she spotted a certain cowboy aiming his pistol at her ally. "Behind you!"
Austin quickly turned and saw Deak ready to fire; He snapped his fingers, causing a rectangular metal shield to expand from his utility bracelet, deflecting the bullet. The two red-clad helmet wearers then hid behind a counter to devise a battle strategy.
"Looks like one of your bracelets is missing. Have one of mine." Austin offered. He removed his right utility bracelet from his wrist, and slapped it onto Rouge's. "All you gotta do is rotate it to what you want, and snap your fingers."
"Got it."
"Now let's make that cowboy reach for the sky..."
"Where are you, you bug-eyed varmints!" Wild Deak snapped, searching the jewelry store for his helmeted foes. Suddenly, Maroon jumped up propelled by his rocket boots, and slugged the outlaw in the face.
"I got a bullet with you name on it, Maroon!" The gunslinger threatened. Before Deak could aim his gun, he was struck in the back by a shot from one of Rouge's wrist-blasters. The two caped crusaders then circled their enemy, peppering him with stun-blasts all the while. Once he was vulnerable, the pair of heroes both hit him at once, knocking him over the counter. Then, he hit his head on a shelf!
"Woah, am I seeing double?" The incapacitated outlaw wondered in a dazed tone of voice.
All of a sudden, the temperature in the building began to rise fast. In his peripheral vision, Austin could make out an intensely bright light; Demon fire.
"Look out!" Austin exclaimed. In an act of great heroism, the vigilante pushed his less experienced ally out of the way, and was struck in the back by the full force Xaxira's fire blast. Poor Austin let out a distorted scream; Although most of his suit was thankfully flame-retardant, his cape wasn't.
"Maroon!" Marco exclaimed, horrified at what he was witnessing. The martial artist tried to aid his friend, but was cut off by the demoness's mewman partner.
"Don't touch my lady, you pig-headed lout!" Lord Larceny spat, as he swung his rapier towards Marco. With Martial Boy occupied, it was Rouge's responsibility to save the hero she emulated. She frantically looked around for something she could use to save Maroon from the flames, when it hit her; Sitting in a glass case was just what the doctor ordered; A fire extinguisher!
"Well don't you look pitiful." Xaxira taunted her writhing prey, as she bared her claws and fangs. "Time to finish you off, so you can burn in HELL!"
The demonic criminal was about to incinerate Austin with her fiery breath, when Rouge bravely leapt in front of her, wielding a fire extinguisher. "SAFETY FIRST!" She yelled, as she pulled out the safety pin, and sprayed her face and body with flame-retardant foam. Then, she used the remaining amount to extinguish Maroon.
"You little brat! I'll burn you to ash!" Xaxira hissed, with burning hatred emanating in her voice. She tried to strike the do-gooders down with the fires of hell, but nothing happened; Her powers were nullified!
"Now that you've cooled off, it's time for your NAP!" Maroon coyly remarked, as he snapped his fingers. A whip-cord launched from his left utility bracelet, and wrapped around the demoness's torso; Then, he pulled her into a nearby pillar as hard as he could, knocking her out cold.
"Milady! You masked menaces will pay for that!" Lord Larceny furiously screamed. He raised his rapier at the near-identical heroes, but was distracted when someone tapped his shoulder. The sinister cavalier turned around, and was hit hard with an uppercut from Marco! The medieval-esque thief fell to the ground, and dropped his trusty blade; He was down for the count!
By the time Wild Deak regained his senses and rose from the counter, the chips were down; Both of his partners in crime were defeated, and he was hopelessly outnumbered.
"Oh, screw this! Time to hotfoot it!" The outlaw shouted, as he made a mad dash to escape the jewelry shop. But to his surprise, the cavalry had just arrived. Lady Butterfly, Violet Devil and Snatcher stood proud outside the store, ready for action.
"Going somewhere, cowboy?" Tom taunted. Star extended her wand into its staff mode, and swept the no-good gunslinger's legs. Once he was on the ground, Janna took out her pocket watch and hypnotized him into a sleeping state.
Now, the Royals Red were all but defeated; Evil had lost, and good prevailed...
While Star, Marco, Janna and Tom were overseeing the arrest of the notorious outlaws, Maroon and his doppelgänger were at rest on the roof of a nearby building.
"You know, I don't like it when people impersonate me. This job is incredibly dangerous, I can't let innocent people get hurt trying to do it." Maroon reprimanded. Judging by her body language, Rouge seemed to feeling guilty about her apparent Batesian mimicry.
"I know, I know, I'm sorry. I thought this would be easier..."
"Well it isn't, and I should know. I was just like you when I first started out." The masked vigilante remarked. "But you were really brave back there. If you hadn't used that fire extinguisher, I would've been toast! Literally!"
"Y-you think I'm brave?" Rouge inquired.
"Of course. You may not have the skills, but you've certainly got the hero spirit. Maybe we could work something out; You could be my protege!"
"Thanks, but you're right. This job is way too dangerous for me. I...I don't know what I'm doing." Rouge admitted. She sighed, and shakily placed her hands on her scarred, ramshackle helmet. Then, she slowly removed it, revealing the girl behind the mask; Sabrina Backintosh!
Austin lightly gasped when Sabrina revealed herself to be Rouge; After the encounter at the mall, he'd written her off as too timid and clumsy to be his mysterious mimic.
"Hey, I know you! Didn't I save you at Echo-Palooza?"
"You did, and after that night, I realized something; All my life, I've been a total pushover. It's like I'm the universe's punching bag!"
"I know how that feels."
"I knew I had turn my life around, so I chose to be like you, and do some good."
"Really? Wow...well, how'd you make the suit?"
"I made most of it from scratch, but I got my cousin to build the bracelets, 'cause he's an engineer." Sabrina stated. "He even welded the helmet back together. I think it's one of yours." She mused. Upon closer inspection, Austin realized her headgear was a reconstruction of the Mark I Maroon helmet, which Marco smashed to pieces on the Echo Creek football field.
"Don't worry about me, I'm hanging up the helmet. I'm done being a hero."
"No, you're not." Maroon refuted, much to her shock. "Not everyone has what it takes to be an Earth-Ni Protector. But anyone can be a hero." Maroon clarified, causing the cheerleader's face to light up.
"Really?" Sabrina wondered.
"Take a look out there. What do you see?" The Protector queried. Outside the jewelry store, police officers were taking the Royals into custody. Firefighters were dousing the flames caused by Xaxira, and paramedics were treating the injured bank staff. As Sabrina watched ordinary people helping their community, she realized what was missing in her life.
"You don't have to needlessly endanger yourself to help people. It's the good deeds we do every day that matter." Maroon advised.
"Thanks." Sabrina replied with a smile. "You've given me a lot to think about."
"You're welcome. I wish the best for you." Maroon replied, as he got up and began walking towards his teammates.
"Wait!" The unlucky cheerleader exclaimed. "I know your busy, but could you please walk home with me? It's pretty late out, and I don't wanna get hurt even more."
Maroon paused for a moment, then spoke; "Sure. You can always count on me."
"Thank you so much!" The former vigilante squealed. The two heroes then headed homeward, under the countless moons and stars of the beautiful Earth-Ni sky...
The next morning, Star was chilling out on the living room couch of the Diaz residence, watching TV with her puppies at her side. Moments later, Marco entered the room whilst holding Mariposa, and sat down next to his loving girlfriend.
"Hey, Marco! What's up?" Star wondered.
"Not much. But there is something I wanna show you."
"Really? What is it?"
"I don't know, it's a surprise." Marco answered, causing Star to excitedly jump out of her seat.
"Yay, I love surprises!" The former princess squealed, while Mariposa cooed joyfully. Marco got up, and led Star to the house's in-house art studio, where Rafael and Angie were sitting down by an easel with a tarp over it.
"We're here. What's the surprise?" Marco inquired.
"Well, yesterday, we found this garbage lying on the floor." Angie explained, as she held up the ripped-up "Earth-Ni Patrollers" comic. Both Star and Marco cringed when they saw the book of libelous lies.
"We didn't approve that, it's Dreaded Beast propaganda." Star explained, much to Marco's surprise.
"Wait, it's WHAT?" The hoodie-wearing boy exclaimed.
"That book was a hurtful, pathetic excuse for art, but it gave me the inspiration I was looking for. Voila!" Rafael gleefully spoke, as he unveiled his masterpiece.
On the easel was a beautifully drawn picture. Lady Butterfly, Martial Boy, Violet Devil, Snatcher and Maroon were leaping into action, as a crowd of humans, monsters and mewmans cheered for them. The title read as follows:
"True-Life Tales of the Earth-Ni Protectors: By Rafael and Angie Diaz."
Star's face lit up when she saw the glorious work of art Marco's father had made. "Oh my gosh, that looks amazing!" She joyously squealed.
"You're making a comic book? With us as the heroes?" Marco questioned.
"Absolutely! I draw the art, and your mother's the writer!" Rafael responded.
"Awww, that's awesome! Group hug!" Star cheered, as she hugged the whole Diaz family at once. She kissed Marco on the cheek, then gave Mariposa a peck on the forehead, causing the baby to giggle. "You guys are the best!"
"And so are you." Angie kindly replied, making Star smile brightly. Her day was brightened by the family who gave her shelter when she first came to Earth; The family that would hopefully be her future in-laws...
During the afternoon, Austin was visiting the Echo Creek mud pits. The landmark had been drastically affected by the Cleaving, but not in the way you'd expect. While the pits remained intact, they were no longer a mundane historical site, but a place where monsters, mewmans and even daring humans were playing in the mud.
Austin admired the beautiful vista, until he heard a shrill, aggravating voice in the distance. Thirty feet away, Brittney and her clique picking on Cara & Tia; The two mewman girls from the mall. The spoiled socialite kept calling them "moonies," a derogatory term coined by prejudiced people like her.
Angered by Brittney's discriminatory behavior, Austin was about to confront her, when he noticed something; One of the girls in Brittney's crew was missing. As if on cue, Sabrina approached the clique, and stood up for the bullied women.
"Stop bullying those girls, Brittney! You can't treat people like crap just 'cause they're different from you." Sabrina protested.
"You better shut up if you know what's good for you." Brittney threatened.
"You're the one who needs to shut up." The cheerleader retorted, unafraid of her abusive former friend. Brittney gasped in disgust; Sabrina had never talked back to her before.
"How dare you talk to me like that, you stupid klutz!" Brittney tried to shove Sabrina to the ground, but the brunette avoided her attack. She then retaliated by pushing Brittney into the mud pit! She fell into the ditch with a big splash, and her expensive designer outfit became soaked with mud.
Sabrina glared at the rest of Brittney's clique, and they all ran off, not wanting to get pushed into the filthy pit. As Brittney screamed obscenities at her former foot-stool of a friend, Sabrina tended to the girls she was picking on.
"Are you two okay?"
"We are now, thanks to you." Cara replied.
"Good job throwing that jerk in the mud." Tia added. "She really deserved it."
"I've always wanted to do that." Sabrina answered. "Now let's get out of here before she gets out. Wanna get our nails done?"
"Sure!" The two ladies answered in unison. As the three newly-forged friends headed out on their way, Austin smiled with a warm glow in his heart; Sabrina took his advice to heart, and truly became a hero...
Voila! The longest chapter I've ever written is finally finished! Now, this particular episode has had a LOT of changes made since it was conceived last fall. For example, Star and Marco originally had each other's roles, and Vogg Offal was orignally a human. What's more, I gave a minor background character more development in one episode than Pony Head got in four seasons!
Anyways, a reminder; Check my profile bio after every chapter release to get a sneak peek at the next episode of Earth-Ni Protectors! Happy Maroon Monday to you all!