MisVentures: Gym Time

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their owners. This is for fun.

Author's Note: This is set before Craig Starr's debut in LycoX's "MisVentures".

Location Unknown

Bam!

Bam!

Bam!

A teenage boy grunted as he hit the punching bag. His long wild black hair was tied in a ponytail. He wore an AC/DC t-shirt and purple gym shorts, with black sneakers and white socks. His hands and wrists were covered by white wraps and black fighter's gloves. Over the boy's right eye (the left if one was looking at him), was a black birthmark in the shape of a perfect 5-pointed star.

Darkstar. Real Name: Craig Allman. Birthplace: Los Angeles, CA. Physiology: Mutant Human. Affiliation: Marauders. Powers and abilities: Can fire lasers and energy bursts from his star-covered eye. Telepathic link with his twin brother Paul.

Craig Allman liked working out in this gym. It allowed him something he had really grown to treasure ever since getting involved with this outfit: Some time with his own thoughts. It had seemingly been forever since he had his mind to his own. Some months back, he started hearing a strange voice in his head. The young mutant feared that he was going mad. He was adopted, so he had no idea if he had any family history of any mental illnesses like schizophrenia or anything like that.

He ran away from home, desperate for help. It was then he ran to a man named Essex. And that was how the young mutant, codenamed Darkstar for the black star over his right eye, ended up a Marauder.

"Giving that bag a good beating, I see?" A female voice noted in amusement. Craig turned and saw a woman smirking at him. She was tall, and her short hair was dyed a dark purple, held back by a white headband. She wore a white sleeveless t-shirt and gray sweatpants. The clothes did little to hide her curvy frame, and the shirt showed her muscular arms.

"Phillipa." Craig noted.

Arclight. Real Name: Phillipa Sontag. Birthplace: Omaha, Nebraska. Physiology: Mutant Human. Affiliation: Marauders. Powers and Abilities: Can generate seismic energy from her hands and feet. Superhuman strength, superhuman durability.

"You look like you're ready to fight Ivan Drago and Clubber Lang all at once." The former Army trooper remarked.

"Heh." Craig smirked. Out of all the Marauders, Arclight was the one that he seemed to get along with the most. It was like he brought something out in the plum-haired mercenary. "You here to get a workout in?"

"You got it, little man." She headed for the bench press. The mercenary checked the weight plates on the sides of the barbell. Nodding in satisfaction, she laid down and gripped the barbell.

"You need a spotter?" Craig asked.

"I'm good, kid." Philippa answered, lifting the barbell. "No offense, but you wouldn't be able to lift this. Not with those stringy arms."

"Ha ha ha." Craig rolled his eyes. Philippa smirked as she continued lifting. She liked Darkstar. He was quiet, kept to himself...and he didn't make crude remarks about certain parts of her body like Riptide was fond of doing. It also helped he hated Riptide as much as she did. She grunted as she continued lifting, Craig quietly watching. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"...why are in this group?"

"I get paid." Philippa answered. "I like what I do. Even more when I can make a livin' from it." Silence between them for several moments as the purple-haired powerhouse continued to lift. "That voice botherin' you again?"

"Not much lately." Craig shook his head. "...how'd you end up here? You don't have to answer, I'm just curious." Admittedly, Craig never really bothered to get to know his teammates, for various reasons.

"You ever heard of Siancong, kid?"

"Yeah, that big war there. It ended a few years ago." Craig nodded. "I saw a thing on TV about it. Ben Grimm was talking about his experiences there. Before he got all rocky."

"I served in Siancong." Arclight said. "US Army ground forces. I don't like talking about it."

"You don't have to." Craig said. "If you don't want to."

"You wanted to know how I got here? Then you have to know about Siancong." Arclight racked up the barbell and got up. Craig handed her a towel, and she wiped her face. "That place...well, 'hellhole' was a kind way to describe that country."

"Nightmares." Craig deduced. "You had nightmares about the place." Arclight frowned at him and he shrugged. "It's not hard to figure out. Lots of people who were there were messed up from it. I've seen some homeless people who fought there. Heard the screams."

"...yeah." Arclight admitted. "It left me with scars, too. Coming back here...I had trouble readjusting. Had a lot of rage. For a while, I found a release in bodybuilding." She smirked and flexed a muscle. "Ya know, I had even ended up doing some fitness modeling."

"Yeah, I could have sworn I saw you on a poster a long time ago." Craig nodded.

"It seemed that things were lookin' up for me. That maybe...things would get better." Arclight said. She walked to a chin up bar and started doing chin ups. "But then...the X-Men fought that Sentinel. Mutants were exposed...and things went to hell."

"The X-Men ruined your life, huh?"

"Indirectly." Arclight admitted. "A photographer thought that he could...get a certain favor from me. I bet you understand what I mean."

"Yeah." Craig sneered. "Pig."

"He didn't want to take 'no' for an answer. I fought him off, and it revealed my powers. I was a pariah overnight. I wasn't 'Phillipa Sontag, war veteran and model' anymore. I was a freak, a monster. I still had my Army training, so I started workin' as a mercenary. I discovered somethin' else about myself doing it."

"What's that?"

"I like fightin'." Arclight said. "I enjoy it. And I especially like getting paid ta do it. Essex allows me to do that."

"So that's why you're here?"

"Pretty much, Starboy."

"Darkstar. You makin' eyes at my girl?" A male voice asked...not completely maliciously. Craig turned and saw a tall muscular man staring at him with his arms crossed. He was Native American (Cherokee to be exact), and wore a black Harley Davidson t-shirt and gray gym shorts.

Scalphunter. Real Name: John "James" Greycrow. Birthplace: Muskogee County, OK. Affiliation: Marauders. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers and Abilities: Technomorphic abilties. Regenerative healing factor. Skilled marksman and hand-to-hand combatant.

"We were just talkin', Greycrow." Craig said.

"He's been nothin' but a perfect gentleman." Arclight added. Greycrow nodded and went over to some dumbbells.

"That voice in your head botherin' ya lately?"

"Not much lately."

"Good." Greycrow nodded. "I don't want you getting any distractions on this team."

"You know he can't help that, John." Arclight pointed out. Greycrow just grunted and flexed. Craig frowned at the purple-haired powerhouse. She smiled at him. "He worries about you. He doesn't like to admit it."

"I don't worry about him. Kid's tough." Greycrow grunted.

"Sure you don't, hon." Arclight smirked. Craig noted the look in her eyes as she watched her main squeeze exercise.

"Heh." Greycrow noted it as well. "See that, Darkstar? Women like a man with muscle."

"Your muscles weren't what I was into, but they are a nice bonus." Philippa chuckled. She looked at Craig, who frowned, placed his head down and rubbed the back of it. "Got you thinking, huh?" She frowned. "Did Quested make fun of your birthmark again?"

"He's not the first. I'm used to it." Craig said. Philippa scowled. She had to remember to knock out a few more of Quested's teeth later today.

"Don't let him get to ya." She said. "I think the star makes you look handsome."

"Some girls back home seemed to think so." Craig admitted. Philippa laughed.

"See that, John? The kid's a potential ladykiller."

"Yeah, yeah." Greycrow muttered as he continued to pump. He glanced up at Craig and frowned. "You got something to do?"

"Yeah, I've been practicing those punches you taught me."

"Good man." Greycrow complimented as he continued to pump. "A man should know how to fight."

"I've done some fightin' in my time." Craig said. "Quite a few guys liked to mess with me."

"I noticed. I can see it in ya." Greycrow agreed. "Yer a scrapper."

"That's why he likes you." Philippa said to Craig, shooting Greycrow a teasing grin. "He thinks you got potential."

"I don't like him." Greycrow grunted.

"Sure ya don't." Philippa snickered. She licked her lips. "You know, Johnny..." She got up and hugged the Cherokee weaponeer from behind. "If you really wanted a workout, I got a very special one for you..."

"And that's my cue to leave." Craig got up and headed out. "I know you two like your private time."

"Smart man. We ain't performers." Greycrow said. "If you wanna watch some screwin', I got some porn you can borrow."

"Ehhhhhh, I'm good, thanks." Craig frowned and waved it off. The young mutant continued on his way.

"Heh." Arclight smirked as she watched Craig leave, and the door close. She looked into Greycrow's. "I like him."

"Yeah, I noticed. You hang out with him a lot." The Cherokee man said.

"You know, maybe after all of this..." The former soldier ran a finger down her beloved's chest. "You know that plan ya got to go elope in Vegas?"

"...yeah?"

"Maybe we can bring him along and then adopt him."

Greycrow scowled. "I don't want no damn kids."

"You like him too, John. You just won't admit it." Philippa teased.

"...don't tell him that. I don't want him getting any ideas. And I don't want you makin' him think he's in some sort of family or something."

"Why? You afraid of being a daddy?" Philippa continued teasing. "You took him out hunting a few times. You've taken him fishing and camping, too."

"Kid should learn how to live off the land. Good skills for a man to know." Greycrow explained. "He keeps his mouth shut and his ears open. Kid's a good learner."

"See? You're teaching him to be a man. That's somethin' a dad does." The purple-haired powerhouse leaned closer to her Native American lover. "You deserve a reward for that..." She purred seductively. Greycrow smirked.

Alright, kid. He thought. You got yer uses, after all... Meanwhile, Darkstar was walking down the hall, removing his gloves and undoing his wraps.

"Hey, brat!" A male voice, slightly nasal, called out. Craig looked up and saw two more men. One was a white-haired man, wearing a crisp black shirt, dark blue slacks, and undoubtedly expensive shoes.

Riptide. Real Name: Janos Quested. Birthplace: Suffolk, UK. Physiology: Mutant Human. Affiliation: Marauders. Powers and Abilities: Can spin at superhuman speeds. When spinning, can unleash sharp shards of bone at opponents. Immunity to vertigo.

Riptide. Craig sneered. Out of all the Marauders, Janos Quested was easily the one Marauder that the young mutant openly and outwardly despised over everyone else. Everything about him made Craig want to behead him with his eye laser. His rich-boy background, his sneering face, his smug attitude, his snooty English accent, even his name made Craig want to kill him. What kind of name was Janos Quested? (Author's Note: Quested is an actual surname, of English origin)

Craig then noticed the man standing next to him. He was a broad-shouldered Inuit man, with red hair in a bowl cut. He wore a plain black sweater and jeans, with cowboy boots.

Harpoon. Real Name: Kodiak Noatak. Birthplace: Kotzebue, AL. Physiology: Mutant Human. Affiliation: Maruaders. Powers and Abilities: Can transform objects into energy by throwing them.

Whereas Craig hated Riptide, he and Harpoon...well, they pretty much had that thing where each didn't think of the other positively or negatively. Harpoon was a weird one, as far as Craig was concerned, not much of a talker. He was the one that he knew the absolute least about, only that the man was an Alaskan Inuit. The first Inuit Craig ever met in person. Harpoon was willing to educate Craig about the Inuit, sensing the boy's curiosity about him. Even taught him some basic words in the language. At least that was something.

"What are you up to, punk?" Riptide mocked. "Thinking you're Ricky Hatton or something?"

"More like Mike Tyson." Craig grunted. The white-haired man burst out laughing.

"You hear that, Harpie?" Riptide laughed. "The little brat thinks he's a badass." Harpoon merely rolled his eyes.

"What're you two up to?" Craig asked.

"Me? I'm thinking of going to that dance club I found." Riptide answered. "Meet some lovely ladies. Shame that no girls will ever look at you, what with that birthmark of yours. Starface."

Craig grunted. "Like I care."

"Where are Sontag and Greycrow?" Harpoon asked. "We wish to speak to them." It was then a wicked idea hit Darkstar. He knew that right now, Arclight and Greycrow were in the throes of passion. That meant they would be at it a while (evidently Greycrow had quite a bit of stamina thanks to that regenerative healing factor of his), and they really did not like to be interrupted while in their...private time. Well, if anyone besides Craig did. That's because he only bothered them if it was important. As in life-or-death important.

"They're in the gym, getting a workout in." Craig said, jerking his thumb behind him.

"Heh. Nice to see you're not completely useless." Riptide chuckled, ruffling Craig's hair hard then giving him a hard smack in the shoulder as he and his large Inuit companion went past him. Harpoon did give Craig a slightly apologetic look. Craig sneered at the white-haired man and headed down the hall, rubbing his shoulder.

I hope Sontag smashes your skull in half, jackass. Craig mentally grumbled as he turned a corner, then peeked down it. The young mutant heard the door hiss open, followed by the sounds of screaming and cursing.

BOOM!

Arclight showing how she got her name. Craig smirked. He saw a screaming Riptide fly into the wall, then fall on the ground, face down and body prone.

BOOM!

Harpoon then joined Riptide in hitting the wall. The large Inuit man then landed right on top of Riptide.

"My SPIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!" Riptide wailed; his voice muffled by the fact he was smashed further into the ground.

Heh. Moron. Sorry, Noatak. Craig mentally snickered as he walked away. The hall reverberated with the sounds of a furious Arclight kicking and cursing out Harpoon and Riptide.

Siancong, originally known as Sin-Cong, first appeared in Avengers #18 (May 1965). In History of the Marvel Universe #2 (October 2019), it was established that for decades, a war raged in the country, a war that ended only a short time before the start of the modern Marvel Universe. This was a way to retcon characters who were originally established to have been involved in certain events that could not stay as part of the sliding timescale of the Marvel Universe. Mainly, WWII and Vietnam. In the original comics published in the 1980s, Arclight was a Vietnam veteran. Nowadays, she's a Siancong vet.