Rockin' in the Southside
To Red Witch: Again, good to see you back, Red Witch! Yep, there's a girl in the Starr family! Well, one can assume that Jenni would have the same effect on the boys that Paul and Ace have on the girls (or Craig has to a small degree on Wanda). Anyway, I read the new chapter of 'This Soap Opera called Life' and I loved it! Poor Kelly. He's barely been with the Misfits one day and already, he's about to be in need of a nice big rubber room. But then again, Kelly going nuts is a good thing!
To Aaron: I'm glad you liked the fight and the introduction of Jenni Hendrix Starr. I'm glad I did a good job of portraying your characters. I'm also glad you liked Jake and Kitty's reactions to Shining Star and Fyre, as well as the thing with Johnny B. Goode always leaving without his teammates. You'll see the X-Men and Misfits' reactions to the Southsiders very soon, I promise! Just keep on reading, pal!
Disclaimer: "My advice to you: Start drinking heavily." - John Belushi as Bluto, from the movie Animal House
Chapter 4: Getting to Know You!
The streets of Chicago
"Ahhh…" Senator Robert Edward Kelly smiled as he drove down the street. "My car freshly washed and waxed, and no mutants anywhere in my sight. Life is good." Suddenly, with a FWOOSH, a blur of lightning raced by. The bigoted senator screamed as the blur sped by, causing his car to flip over. "Why me?" He whimpered underneath his upturned car.
An old firehouse in Chicago
The blur of lightning stopped in front of an old brick firehouse. The lightning blur turned into Johnny B. Goode.
"We're here!" Johnny grinned.
"Ugh." Kitty held her head. "That was strange. How does Pietro and Terrell do it?"
"Their bodies are adapted for speed, Kitty." Jake replied simply. "They can naturally handle the rigors of moving about at great speed as easily as I can handle a burning mouth."
"Home sweet home." Fyre smiled as Johnny made the electric ball the gang was contained in disappear.
"I hope no one swiped my video games." Mike said nervously.
"Nobody would want to touch your things, dude. Relax." Vixen grinned.
"Oh very funny." Mike pouted. "I thought I was the clown around here."
"You are a clown, WrongWay." Jenni laughed. She turned to Jake and Kitty. "Come on inside. It's nice and comfy."
"You mean you guys live here?" Kitty blinked.
"It's not as bad as it looks, girl." Lisa smiled. "We fixed the place up, and it's cozy." Jason entered first and turned on the lights. The old firehouse looked very cheery and well-cared for. The inside looked like a teenager's dream: Several couches, a huge fridge filled with snack foods in the kitchen, a computer, a firepole, and the most important thing: A big screen TV with what appeared to be several other smaller TVs around it. "See?"
"Amazing!" Jake exclaimed. "How'd you-"
"You'd be surprised what people put in junkyards these days." Vicki laughed, flopping down on a couch.
"C'mere you!" Jason jumped Vicki and started tickling her.
"Jason! Stop that!" She screamed between laughs. "You know I'm ticklish!"
"Sorry about that, dude." Johnny sighed. Jake waved nonchalantly.
"I'm used to that. The leader of the East Coast Misfits has a boyfriend. They do PDAs like that all the time." Jake chuckled.
"You guys want soda?" Mike rummaged through the fridge.
"Sure, thanks." Kitty smiled as she sat down on a chair. Mike pitched the X-Man and unofficial East Coast Misfit a soda. Jake sat down on a couch and caught his soda.
"Hey Mike! Get down here so I can kick your butt again in Hot Pursuit!" Eric called, picking up a game controller in front of the TV.
"Not today, pal!" Mike leapt over the couch and grabbed the other controller. The two boys sat down in front of the big screen TV and started playing a game. "Man, your driving is off today, Trouble! And naturally, the cops are after you!"
"Oh shut up. Even in video games I get sirens chasing after me!" Eric grumbled.
"So that's how you got your codename, huh?" Jake laughed.
"Yeah." Eric replied simply.
"No matter where he goes, he finds some way to get himself into trouble." Lisa laughed. She eyed the picture of her in Kitty's belt. "So you're the girl I've been e-mailing to?"
"I guess so." Kitty blinked. "This place is really nice."
"We fixed it up all ourselves." Lisa replied. "Some of us live here."
"You know the story." WrongWay wailed. "Parents find out you're a mutant, and they kick you out because they think you'll kill 'em just because you have powers."
"Did that happen to you, Mike?" Kitty blinked.
"Nope. My parents don't even notice it." Mike laughed. "My ability is very subtle. When people think of mutant powers, they think of stuff like flight, super strength, invulnerability, super speed, blah blah blah. Not necessarily an ability to find anything."
"My parents were jerks." Eric grumbled. "My old man and my old bag of a mother viewed me as a punching bag. My powers emerged when I got into another one of my fistfights with my old man. He tried to beat me with a beer bottle, but it broke and it didn't hurt. I didn't notice at the time. I punched the old waste of bones and organs twice. First punch nearly took his jaw off his head, second broke two ribs." Eric smirked proudly. "My mom called the cops. By the time they came, I was gone."
"Eric and I knew each other for years." Mike said. "We're like brothers. When we joined this group, we found and fixed up this firehouse and Eric lives here now."
"Lot better than my old home, that's for sure." Eric shrugged.
"I left before my parents could figure out my mutantcy." Lisa said. "They're old-fashioned folks. Wouldn't understand."
"That voice has a bit of an Irish accent in it." Jake noticed.
"I'm half-Irish." Fyre laughed. "I'm also half-Cambodian. It's a crazy combination, I know. But then again, I'm a crazy girl."
"I can see why you're into Pyro. You gushed about him endlessly in your e-mails." Kitty said.
"He likes fire. So do I. I think we'd make magic together." Fyre sighed longingly.
"That's not all you two would make." Mike joked. "Hey!" He dodged a fireball.
"Once he gets a look at me, he'll beg to be with me!"
"There's this girl named Angelica on our team." Kitty smiled. "She'd thank you for taking Pyro. He chases Angelica around all the time. She can't stand the guy!"
"Oh, I think I can keep him…distracted." Lisa purred, creating a feather boa out of fire around her neck, then throwing one end over her shoulder.
"My parents don't mind me being a mutant." Vicki shrugged. Kitty noticed her guitar was gone, and a silver necklace with a guitar pendant was around her neck. "I never knew my real parents. When I was a baby, I was left in front of a music store and I was adopted by the people who owned it, a couple hippie types. All I had was this necklace that turns into a guitar and back. My powers are weird. When the guitar is a necklace, I can use my hex and charm powers. I cannot fly or use the energy beams and shields unless it becomes a guitar."
Maybe Kid Razor may know something. Kitty thought. That necklace sounds like something he'd be interested in.
"Neither do mine." Jenni said. "Eric, Jason, and Lisa live here. Vicki, Mike, me, and Johnny still live at home."
"Actually, I stay here for periods of time at times." Johnny said, tinkering with some gadget. "In case you're wondering, my real name is John Bradley Gooden, but when I race into battle, I'm Johnny B. Goode, like the classic Chuck Berry song."
"Your parents don't accept your mutation?" Kitty said.
"No, they don't mind it, but they're a little concerned I might accidentally cause some damage with my electrical powers. You see, my X-Gene activated when I got struck by lightning. Sometimes, I build up too much static, and it causes all electronics around me to go wonky. It drives my parents crazy!" Johnny laughed. "One time, my dad was using a treadmill. I walked by and suddenly, the thing went out of control. So I stay here for a little while till their tempers cool."
"John is the techno-geek of the bunch." Jason laughed. "He can fix any machine. Anyway, I didn't leave because of my mutation. I left because I grew tired of existence. I moved out and my parents didn't really care."
"Man, you guys are an…interesting bunch." Jake said with a sip of his soda.
"Yeah, that's what everyone says." Jason laughed. "We're also a band, too. The Southside Rockers. I play rhythm guitar, Vicki plays lead, Eric's the drummer, Jenni plays acoustic guitar, bass guitar, and is the singer, John is the mamger and keyboardist, Lisa's another keyboardist, and Mike's the bassist and saxophonist." What the gang didn't notice was that outside the firehouse, a shadowy figure watched them, long hair and trenchcoat blowing in the wind.
"So…" The figure snarled. "The Southside Misfits have two new people, huh? No matter. They will be of no help. They will not be able to stop my latest plot. No one will be able to stop me, and no one can stop Metallix. Not even the Southside Misfits." The figure laughed evilly.
Looks like we got a mystery on our hands! What will happen next? Who is that figure? Who is Metallix? What're they up to? Find out in the next chapter! Suggestions needed badly!
