"MAROON AND THE EARTH-NI PROTECTORS!"

BOOK ONE: TURF WARS

CHAPTER SIX: FIRST OUTINGS


In the dark, decrepit depths of the subterranean Septarian temple, the Dreaded Beasts were having a conference with their feared leader, Seth of Septarsis. The mighty reptilian sat on his throne of carved stone. Kneeling on the floor beneath him were his four faithful followers; Lucanus, Panthara, Viscosa and Manavi.

"My disciples, the night of your next mission has finally come." Seth spoke in his deep, gravelly voice. His followers were dead silent; None of them dared speak out in his ominous presence. "Seek out the demon prince Lucitor, and kill him. He's the greatest threat to our goals."

"That filthy half-breed's gonna get what's coming to him." Lucanus scornfully remarked.

"We will not fail you, Master." Panthara promised, as she and the other revolutionaries bowed to the mighty monster, and left the temple on the warpath to lure and slay their demonic foe...


The sun was just peeking out from the horizon in the cleaved city of Echo Creek, as the several moons of Earth-Ni started to shine like diamonds. Strangely enough, these beautiful orbs of light could only be observed from Echo Creek and the other select areas of the planet that merged with Mewni. During the dusk, Star, Marco, Janna and Tom were all walking down the street, in their tailor-made superhero costumes, no less.

"I gotta say, I'm super pumped to do some good for this place. Corn knows it needs more heroes." Star commented. Marco noticed several people gawking and pointing, especially a few young children.

"Do we have to be in our costumes right now? I feel kinda weird about it." Marco bashfully admitted, as he tried his best not to make eye contact with oncoming passersby.

"What's wrong with them? I mean, you look rather dashing in yours, if I do say so myself." Star flirted back, making Marco blush and crack a smile.

Eventually, the four teen heroes came across a familiar locale: One that shouldn't have been there, considering recent events. A small, quaint taco shop with a sign outside, which read "Britta's Tacos II"

"Britta's Tacos? I thought that place blew up when the dimensions merged." Janna wondered.

"This isn't where it used to be, though. They must've moved into a new shop." Marco replied.

"Man, they moved fast." Star added. Our heroes were feeling rather hungry, and had a long night ahead of them. Logically, they decided to fill up on some decent Mexican food before their patrol.


The costumed crew approached the window of the taco shop to order their food, and saw a familiar face working the register; A young man named Oskar Greason. This keytar-playing high school dropout was Star's first crush on Earth, albeit one that she quickly outgrew.

"Hey, Oskar!" Star cheerfully called out.

"Umm...who are you guys?" Oskar asked, not recognizing any of the teens, despite Star's familiar voice.

"I'm Lady Butterfly, and we're Earth-Ni's newest superheroes! Call us...the Justice League!" Star proudly exclaimed.

"That name's already taken." Marco deadpanned.

"Oh...how about "The Fantastic Four?" Star suggested, as Marco sighed.

"Also taken."

"Plus, aren't there technically five of us?" Tom suggested. While he was currently unable to fight crime, Austin was the team's de facto leader, with the most crime-fighting experience.

"Right! We're the Maroon 5!"

"Okay, that one's a band." Janna retorted.

"The name's a work in progress." Marco remarked. The teens ordered their tacos, and Oskar quickly whipped them up. Once the food was ready, they each split the bill and headed to a table to eat.

"Lady Butterfly...so mysterious..." Oskar mused to himself, oblivious to her obvious true identity.


The to-be heroes were all sitting at a table, chatting as they dined on their tacos. However, as they were starting to finish up, Marco got an incoming video call notification on his phone from Austin's number. He set the ringing phone up in a position where all four of them were visible, and answered the call, to be greeted by the following;

"Bonsoir, my fabulous friends."

In a surprising twist, it was not Austin who they saw onscreen, but his flamboyant and fashionable aunt, Rita Jean-Marcelin.

"Rita!" Star cheerfully exclaimed.

"Hello, Lady Butterfly. Glad to hear you enjoyed my nephew's gifts."

"Where's Austin, anyways?" Marco wondered.

"Ozzy's been asleep for the past eight hours, and he's still dozing off."

"Wow, he really was tired." Janna coyly remarked.

"Well, I'm glad to hear it. After all that's happened, he deserves a good night's sleep." Star spoke.

"Indeed he does. Speaking of Austin, he told me your instructions for tonight. Lady Butterfly; You and Snatcher will be patrolling the west side of town. Violet Devil and Martial Boy; You will be patrolling the east." Rita instructed.

"Got it!" Tom answered.

"Now off you go, heroes! Save the day and make Aunt Rita proud!" She proudly exclaimed, and signed off of the video chat immediately after. Now, it was time for the four friends to part ways and patrol the city...

"So, I guess we're splitting up." Star sighed, feeling a little bummed about leaving Marco.

"Yeah..." Marco responded. "I'm sure we'll be fine, though. I've got my karate skills, and you have your wand again!"

"I guess you're right." Star noted, as she walked up closer to her masked boyfriend. "For luck!" Star leaned in and pecked Marco on the cheek, and received a peck back from him. "You're gonna do great, Marco! I know it!" She encouraged, as she activated her lightweight mechanical butterfly wings, and prepared to take off.

"You too, Star!" Marco exclaimed. Star picked up Janna, and the two flew off into the air, heading for the town's West Side. The two boys watched in awe as the ladies took off, but the silence was soon broken when Tom turned to Marco and retorted;

"I'm not carrying you, dude."


Moments later, Star was soaring high in the air as she carried Janna in her arms. The two were currently flying towards the West Side on their first patrol. Star was ecstatic to finally help the people of Earth-Ni as a hero they could look up to. Sure, she assumed a superhero persona when she teamed up with Maroon for the first time, but she only fought Cobalt Watch with him, never stopping to help the community. Tonight, things would be different...

Suddenly, Star's prototype wings started to glitch out. While Austin fixed most of the bugs in the harness, a few still managed to slip through his fingers. Luckily, this time they didn't lose power fully; They just blinked on and off, making the girls suddenly shift in altitude.

"Sorry 'bout that." Star profusely apologized.

"Tom is way better at this." Janna quickly retorted. That offhand comment made Star feel quite hurt at first, but she realized the connotations of what Janna said, and grinned with devilish delight.

"Oh, is he?" Star queried, as she batted her eyelashes. Janna quickly realized what she said, and turned tomato-red.

"I didn't mean it like that!" She stammered.

"Janna and Tom, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-" Star mockingly chanted, when her little rhyme was interrupted by the bone-chilling sound of a woman's terrified scream.

"Someone's in trouble!" Star exclaimed. The winged girl swooped down towards the ground, and landed on top of a one-story building to set Janna down. The two looked down at an alley to see two men with knives threatening a woman. The woman was wearing an ornate, old-fashioned dress, and wore a hairstyle that Star clearly recognized; It was no doubt that the victim of this mugging was a mewman noblewoman.

"I speak the truth, ruffians! I only have gold coins, not these "dollars" you speak of!" The noblewoman pleaded, as she showed off her finely crafted purse filled with gold doubloons. The muggers were clearly getting angrier, so she tried to flee; However, another mugger wielding a crowbar ambushed her from the other side of the alley, trapping her.

"Gold or money, we ain't picky. Hand us the purse, or else things will get ugly." The crowbar-wielding mugger threatened. The endangered socialite started to panic, but before any party could make their next move, one of the knife-wielding crooks was hit with a blast of magic. Everyone looked up to see two mysterious masked heroines standing above them; Lady Butterfly and Snatcher!

"Leave her alone!" Star shouted, as she leapt into the alley to fight. The man with the crowbar ran to strike her, but she extended her wand into its bo-staff mode, tripped him with the elongated hilt, and conked him over the head with the blunt front end of her mechanical wand.

Terrified of the extradimensional superhero who stood before him, the last mugger tried to flee; However, he ran straight into Snatcher, who used her trusty pocket watch to lull him into a hypnotic trance.

"You do not want to mug that woman. You want to be a chicken." Janna commanded. With her request, the entranced mugger folded his arms to simulate wings, and strutted around in a ridiculous avian manner. Star and the nearly-mugged mewman both laughed at the former threat making an absolute idiot out of himself.

While the crook was pecking at the ground to feed on gravel, Janna slyly reached out, and snatched the thief's wallet from his pocket. "Now, you're a racecar." Janna joked. The mugger screamed "BEEP BEEP!" at the top of his lungs, and quickly ran down the road while loudly droning "VROOMVROOMVROOOOM!" making Star laugh even harder.

"Thank you girls so much for saving me. Here, take this." The Mewman socialite said, as she offered Star a pouch of gold coins.

"Thanks, but you can keep it. We aren't in it for the money, right, Snatcher?" Star asked, when she saw that her partner was grinning as she sifted through the mugger's wallet.

"Hey!" Star called out in a disapproving tone, as she placed her hands on her hips.

"What?" Janna responded.

"Superheroes don't steal people's wallets."

"He was a thief, and I stole from him. I don't see what the problem is."

"That makes you just as bad as him! It's like the old Earth saying, a tongue for a tongue leaves the whole world tasteless."

"That's not how the saying goes."

"Who cares! You shouldn't steal from people, even if they deserve it. Am I right?" Star rhetorically asked, as she turned towards the woman they rescued for an answer. However, it turns out she left halfway through their dispute.

"Look, you scared her off!" Star argued, as Janna rolled her eyes and groaned. Looks like the two heroines weren't getting along as well as they hoped...


At roughly the same time that the mugging started, Tom and Marco were watching over the east side from the top of a clock tower.

"So, are you ready to save some lives tonight?" Marco asked, to see that Tom was just staring out in space, deep in thought about who-knows-what. "Uh...Tom?" Marco asked, causing the half-demon to stop spacing out with a jolt.

"What?" Tom queried, feeling a little disoriented.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Tom sighed, as he looked down at the ground, and then back at Marco. "Hey dude...could I ask you for some advice?"

"Sure. What's it about?"

"Well...it's about this girl that I like." Tom quavered, surprising Marco.

"Girls? What makes you think I know anything about girls?" Marco asked.

"Um, Hello? Jackie! Kelly! Star! You're a chick magnet!"

"Woah, I'm flattered. Maybe I can give you some tips. So, who's the lucky lady?" Marco wondered, as Tom froze up, and let out a deep sigh.

"Don't laugh at me, but...it's...Janna..." Tom confessed, shocking Marco into an awkward silence. "So, can you give me some tips?"

"Tips?" Marco asked, feeling very confused.

"I mean, have you two ever, you know...dated?" Tom replied.

"D-dated? What? Janna and I never dated!" Marco profusely explained, when he suddenly remembered a rather tender moment they shared after the Cobalt Crisis. "Well...she did kiss me once." He confessed, making Tom's jaw drop.

"Wait, Janna kissed you?"

"On the cheek, dude. And it was after I rescued her from Austin's evil dad, so we were both feeling pretty emotional." Marco clarified, only confusing Tom further. "Long story." The karate expert added.

"Look, the problem is I'm not even sure I should make a move on her. When Star and I first dated, I was super possessive of her. Because of that, she broke up with me. Janna's my friend, and I don't want to put her through that." Tom confessed.

"That was when we first met, though. Since then, you've done so much to improve your anger issues for Star. Honestly, I feel sorry that you two broke up so suddenly." Marco replied. "I think Janna would love having you as her boyfriend. She's crazy about demon stuff, and you're a literal demon! Plus, don't you already hang out a lot?"

"Yeah, we're pretty close right now." The half-demon replied. This was true; In the short time he had gotten to know Janna, he connected with her more than he ever did with Star. It was like the witchy delinquent had a charm that brought out the best parts of him.

"Also, this is gonna sound weird, but earlier today I saw her ogling you while you were lifting those weights." Marco said, making Tom's three eyes widen in surprise.

"Woah, really?"

"Yeah, she was recording you, too, which for the record is super creepy."

"I'm flattered."

"Just be yourself, and I'm sure Janna will love you for who you are." Marco suggested, when Tom lightly punched his shoulder.

"That was cliche, dude."

"If it ain't broke, don't fix i-" was all Marco could utter, when their chat was suddenly interrupted by the loud, discordant sound of a crash. The two boys quickly turned to see what was all the commotion, and were shocked to see that a blue bus with an "Echo-Palooza" ad on it had crashed on the city bridge; Now, it was precariously teetering off the edge. If nothing was done, it wouldn't be long before the vehicle and its innocent passengers would fall to their demise...

"Let's go!" Marco exclaimed, as the two superheroes sprung into action.

Inside the bus, the passengers were in a state of panic and terror, which was further escalated when the vehicle started rolling backwards. Everyone screamed in fear as the vehicle started to tip over the edge, but suddenly, it stopped in place. Tom was directly under the displaced end of the bus, and used his flight and enhanced strength to keep it from falling off the bridge. The half-demon hero pushed the bus to safety, finally stabilizing it.

The door of the bus was heavily damaged, and as a result, couldn't open, leaving the passengers trapped inside. To free them, Marco whipped out his sword, and swiftly cut the door. Now that they were safe, the relieved crowd flowed out of the vehicle, and thanked the two boys for their help, as they headed on their way.

Once most of the passengers left, Tom took a peek inside the bus to see if anyone else was still inside. Suddenly, he locked eyes with a short, stout old man, who screamed out in terror upon seeing a real live demon.

"Gah! Demon! DEMON!" The senior citizen shouted.

"Woah, woah! I'm a good guy, see!" Tom explained, as he stepped closer to the elderly man; Wrong move.

"Get away from me, you dirty devil!" The elder snapped, as he swung his cane at Tom and smacked him on the head a couple times, before fleeing as fast as he could.

"Ow! Get back here, you jerk!" Tom furiously growled, as Marco entered the bus. A teenage girl quickly walked up to him, exclaimed "My hero!" and gave the masked vigilante a quick peck on the cheek before she left the vehicle.

"Like I said, chick magnet." Tom remarked in a deadpan tone, as Marco turned red in the face...


On the top of another building, Star was carefully scouting the area. On the other hand, Janna was siting down browsing on her phone, until she saw something that might interest Star.

"Huh, looks like all the Banagic wands got recalled." Janna remarked. Star said nothing in return, and didn't even stop to look at her; She only kept gazing out at the cleaved city's streets.

"Star?" Janna asked, to hear no answer yet another time; Looks like Lady Butterfly was giving her the silent treatment.

"Are you still mad about the wallet thing?"

"Superheroes don't steal from people." Star spoke, breaking the silence.

"Well, maybe I'm not cut out to be a hero." Janna quavered in an unsure tone, confounding Star. "It's just not something I'm good at."

"Well, what are you good at? Stealing other people's stuff? Stalking my boyfriend?" Star snapped back. NOW she was hitting a nerve. "You've stolen Marco's house keys, his wallet, even his social security number!"

"Woah, calm down, Star! I don't do anything bad with that stuff. I just like to watch Safe Kid squirm." Janna teased, further bothering the ex-princess.

"You have to watch what you do, Janna! You can't make mistakes like that...or else you'll end up like me..." Star quavered, her voice slightly breaking. Janna could see a pained expression on her friend's face, and immediately realized that something else was emotionally bothering her.

"Like...you? What do you mean?" Janna asked, as Star sat down and sighed deeply.

"When I destroyed magic, all magical creatures ceased to exist. My spells, Glossaryck, the grandma ghosts...all of them are gone..." Star painfully admitted. "I felt awful about it, but I knew I could bring peace to Mewni with magic gone. But now, Seth is back and I feel like I just made everything worse!" Star clamored, as she started to weep.

"I'm a disgrace..." Star sobbed, when Janna placed her hand on the Mewman's shoulder.

"You're not a disgrace, Star." Janna refuted, as Star tearfully looked up at her. "You did the right thing."

"Janna...can...can you give me a hug?" Star meekly asked.

"Alright, sure." Janna sighed. "But not a long one; Just for four to five seconds."

"FORTY-FIVE SECONDS?" Star squealed, as she suddenly lunged towards Janna, and squeezed her alarmingly tight. "Thank you sooo much!"

Janna grimaced in pain from how tightly Star was hugging her, but at least her friend was now in a better emotional state. However, their embrace was interrupted when they heard a loud commotion in the distance.

"What's going on back there?" Star wondered, as she finally released Janna from her tight hug. The raven-haired girl inhaled deeply, after nearly getting the life squeezed out of her. Star activated her mechanical wings, and hovered up in the air for a better vantage point. Once she was higher up, she saw a shocking sight in the distance...


What exactly did Star see? A sinister foe from her recent past, one she thought she'd never see again; Mina Loveberry, the last surviving Solarian warrior. She was accompanied by eight of her loyal followers, who were wielding weapons like daggers, scythes, hammers, clubs and flails. Mina's broken right hand was equipped with a wooden prosthesis that sported a long metal blade, like some barbaric play on Captain Hook.

Mina and her band of Neo-Solarians were up to no good; They were threatening a group of mewman and monster teenagers who were going out together; This cornered camaraderie included Star's friend Penelope Spiderbite, and her boyfriend Slime.

"Where are the Dreaded Beasts?" Mina shouted with vitriol, as she and her loyal cronies pointed their weapons at the integrated group of teens.

"For the last time, we don't know what you're talking about!" Slime pleaded.

"Balderdash! One of them's slimefolk, just like you!" Mina snapped.

As the Neo-Solarians continued to harass the group, Star and Janna witnessed the whole scene from the rooftops.

"Wait, is that Mina?" Janna questioned.

"I thought Austin took her down! How is she already back?" Star responded, surprised that her old enemy had only been imprisoned for a meager three days.

"Does she EVER give up?" Janna remarked, as her blonde-haired partner groaned.

"That's Mina for you. Let's stop her for good this time..."


"We've had enough of your lies, slimy. Taste my blade, monster scum!" Mina yelled, as she raised her bladed gauntlet to smite Slime. Penelope quickly pushed her monster love out of the way to block the attack, but the sinister Solarian was hit by a blast of gold-colored magic energy, knocking her away before she could connect the blow. Everyone looked up in bewilderment, to see Star and Janna standing over them.

"Star Butterfly? I thought you and your stupid boy toy destroyed magic!" Mina scoffed, seeing right through Lady Butterfly's disguise.

"This isn't magic, it's SCIENCE!" Star loudly retorted, as she charged up her wand to fire another energy blast. However, Mina was able to dodge it this time.

"Get them!" Mina screamed, as the Neo-Solarian thugs started to charge. Star swiftly jumped to the ground to fight the xenophobic goons, and Janna followed her lead.

The former princess was quickly rushed by five warriors at once, but stood her ground. She incapacitated three of them with an pulse of of amber-colored energy, then extended her wand into a staff, and used it to dispatch the other two with stunning grace and exquisite technique. "Man, did I miss this!" Star remarked. She was surely glad to have a wand again, even if it was significantly weaker than before.

Although she seemingly lacked combat experience, Janna was holding her own against some Neo-Solarians, using a mix of martial arts, and her own special moves.

"Woah! Where'd you learn those moves!" Star inquired, once she saw Janna disarm a warrior of his club, and smack him over the head with it.

"Diaz taught me karate after the whole Cobalt incident." Janna replied, when another warrior swung his flail at her. The delinquent ducked, and poked his eyes, making him scream and fall to the ground. "Doesn't mean I can't fight dirty, too."

"You go, girl!" Star cheered, when Mina suddenly lunged at her with her arm-mounted blade. Star acted fast, and blocked her strike with her elongated wand. The two mewmans engaged in a fierce duel of sword and staff; It was strike after strike, and parry after parry, until Mina started getting the upper hand against her former mud-sister.

"Give it up, little miss rebel princess!" Mina jeered, as she kept striking at Star's staff with her arm-sword. The superheroine struggled against her psychotic foe, until she remembered her other secret weapon.

Star activated her mechanical wings, which gave her the boost she needed to overpower Mina. She grabbed the sinister Solarian warrior, and threw her against a wall, making her groan in pain.

"Y-your wings! I thought you destroyed magic!" Mina stammered, clearly shocked by what she saw.

"Magic or not, I'm a Butterfly, and no one can take that away from me." Star spoke, as she charged up her new wand to deliver the final blow to her enemy. But before she could, everyone froze when they heard the sounds of oncoming sirens; A pair of police cars had entered the scene.

"Everyone, FREEZE!" A policeman shouted.

"That's her, officer! That's the girl who stole my friend's wallet!" One of the muggers from earlier hollered, as he pointed an accusing finger towards Janna.

"You literally tried to mug someone!" Janna snapped in outrage.

"You'll never take me alive, human scum! Mina hissed, as she fled the scene on all fours. Her Mewman goons all scattered to avoid arrest, leaving only Star, Janna, and the Neo-Solarians' would-be victims with the cops.

"SCATTER!" Janna exclaimed, as she threw down some smoke bombs, creating a cloud of thick smoke that concealed them. Star picked Janna up, activated her mechanical wings, and flew off into the sky to escape the tense scene.

As the two heroines careened into the air, Penelope, Slime, and the other Mewnian teens looked to the sky in awe. "Thank you..." Penelope quietly spoke. Thanks to Star and Janna, they were safe from the clutches of those close-minded bigots...


Meanwhile, Tom and Marco were still on the bridge, questioning the man who drove the bus on the circumstances of his vehicle's crashing.

"So, how exactly did you crash the bus?" Marco queried.

"Well, I was just driving along, when my bus got T-boned!" The bus driver exclaimed. However, Marco noticed something strange about his story.

"Hold on...if you got side-swiped, where's the other car?"

"Oh no, it wasn't a car that hit me. This is gonna sound strange-"

"This is Echo Creek. Nothing you say is gonna sound strange." Tom interjected.

"Well, my bus was rammed by a monster!" The motorist chattered, surprising the two heroes.

"Hold on. What did the monster look like?" Marco asked.

"Like THAT!" The bus driver screamed in fear, as he pointed towards four monsters who were heading straight towards them; A huge humanoid stag beetle, a bipedal black panther, a giant bat with a long tail, and a woman made of indigo-colored slime.

"It's the Dreaded Beasts!" Tom hollered. The two boys prepared for a fight; Tom formed flames in both of his palms, while Marco whipped out his sword. Conversely, the bus driver ran away, knowing this fight wasn't worth sticking around to see.

Panthara made the first move, by pouncing at Martial Boy. Marco was luckily able to dodge in the nick of time, and swung his sword to retaliate against his monster adversary. Before he could land a hit, he was grabbed from behind by Viscosa, who lifted him into the air with her slimy arms.

"Tom, I need help!" Marco called out.

"I'm coming, buddy!" Tom replied, as he flew in to save his friend. However, he was intercepted mid-flight by the bat monster Manavi, who tackled him from the air.

"Listen to this!" Manavi quipped, before letting out an ear-piercing screech that made Tom wince and fall to the ground. He then swooped down and opened his jaws to bite the dazed demon, but Tom threw a fiery punch right at his foe's face, hitting him so hard he fell off the bridge.

Violet Devil rose to his feet, to see that his fight wasn't over yet. Lucanus lifted the crashed bus with the mighty mandibles on his head, and effortlessly threw it at Tom. The prince of the Underworld quickly thrust himself in the other direction, successfully dodging the hurled vehicle.

"You like that, Lucitor?" The insectoid brute jeered. "Pound for pound, we Shomutos are some of the strongest monsters out there. You're a snot-nosed prince with a corn-chomping daddy."

Lucanus's racist remark towards Tom's mewman father infuriated him, and he blasted Lucanus with a plume of fire. The Shomuto recoiled from the scorching pain, but was hardly harmed thanks to his tough exoskeleton. Tom continued pressing on his enemy, hitting him with rage-powered punch after punch.

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Tom screamed, when Lucanus slugged him in the face.

"I gotta say, Tommy; You fight better than I thought. Haven't had a scrap like this since the Solarian fiasco."

Tom let out a primal yell and threw a fire-punch, but Lucanus caught it and slammed him to the ground. "But Seth says you gotta die, so burn in hell! It's what you're good at..."

Lucanus raised his arms to crush Tom with, but the half-demon thrust his legs towards him, and hit him in the stomach with a fiery attack, causing the insectoid to groan in agony. Tom leapt back up, and hit him with a wave of fire, knocking him back even further.

"Call me whatever names you want, but I'm the prince of the Underworld. You're just a big dumb bug." Tom insulted, angering Lucanus into charging him again. To make matters worse, Manavi glided back into the air. Now it was two against one!


While Tom was busy fighting Lucanus and Manavi, Marco was still caught in the grasp of Viscosa.

"Look, Panthara; A human. Such a weak, pathetic little creature." The slime monstress remarked.

"He's gonna make a nice scratching post." Panthara added, as she contracted her razor-sharp claws, terrifying Marco. The feline foe sauntered towards the struggling boy, and raised her claw to make the first strike; However, the karate expert quickly countered by kicking her in the face, and elbowing Viscosa's eyes, causing her to involuntarily spaz out and let him go.

"Weak? I've fought monsters far tougher than you. Just ask Ludo's guys." Marco boasted.

"You've never fought a Dreaded Beast." Panthara growled.

"Well, then you'll be my first."

Marco quickly got into a combat stance, and leapt towards Panthara to kick her in the shoulder. The felid swiped at him multiple times with her deadly claws, but Marco was able to dodge each strike thanks to his Neverzone combat experience. Diaz ducked and dipped down to sweep Panthara's legs, knocking her to the hard concrete ground.

"Well, looks like you underestimated me, kitty-cat." Marco retorted, when he was suddenly smacked by one of Viscosa's gooey, yet powerful arms. Marco landed on his feet, and brandished his sword to battle the sinister slime-woman.

While Marco could clearly handle Panthara, Viscosa was an adversary he had trouble with. He couldn't harm her with his sword, and her movements were fast and fluid, like the flow of water. Marco tried to hold her off, but she was too quick and unpredictable, and used her unorthodox fighting style to best him.

"Like I said. Weak and pathetic." Viscosa scornfully remarked, as she kicked Marco up against the edge of the bridge, making him groan out in agony. "Panthara, would you do the honors?"

Panthara snarled sadistically, and slowly walked towards the incapacitated teen with her claws and fangs bared.

"Tom, HELP!" Marco cried out in terror. Tom, who was still holding off Lucanus and Manavi, saw his friend in mortal danger, and snapped. His three eyes suddenly turned blood red, and he started to charge towards the monsters who were slated to slay him. Manavi swooped towards the demon in an effort to take down his target, but Tom used his telekinetic powers to grab the bat, and repeatedly slammed him into the ground.

Then, he threw a flurry of fireballs towards Panthara and Viscosa, making them drop Marco and fall back. Lucanus charged towards Tom full-steam from behind, but Tom thrust his fist into the ground, causing an eruption of lava that knocked the sinister Shomuto away.

Viscosa lunged towards Tom, but he blasted her with a plume of white-hot fire, incapacitating the slime monster. Last was Panthara, who pounced towards Tom claws first, but he used his telekinesis to throw her into the wrecked bus. Now, his demonic anger was at a tipping point.

Tom started to levitate in the air, as he became surrounded by a swirling cyclone of blazing flames. The debris on the ground started floating off the ground, as Tom fiercely stared down the staggered Dreaded Beasts. However, before he could lay upon them his full fury, a horrified voice called out.

"It's the devil! He's going to destroy us all!" A voice jeered. Tom fell out of his trance, and looked to see the old man from before; The very same one who struck him with his cane.

Tom looked around the area to see a crowd of scattered humans, Mewmans, and even a few monsters, all aghast and in shock. He then looked down to see Marco; Even he was quite unsettled by Tom's behavior.

"Let's get out of here." Tom spoke, as he picked Marco up, and flew off with him to retreat. By the time the Dreaded Beasts got to their feet, the two masked teens were long gone...


After dealing with the Neo-Solarians, Star and Janna landed in the safety of the city park, where they sat together on a bench to unwind and unpack all that had unfolded on their first patrol.

"Well, that was a total bust." Janna sighed.

"Yeah. Looks like Mina's back, and what's worse; She got away." Star added. "However, for someone who says she isn't cut out to be a hero, you're pretty darn good at it. You kicked those so-called warriors' butts!" The blonde complimented, making Janna grin slightly.

"Really? Wow, um...thanks."

"I'm sorry I was so harsh on you earlier. If you don't want to do this anymore, I'm okay with it, and I'm sure Austin will be, too. It's your choice." Star said. Janna took a moment to think, and decided on her answer.

"Tonight made me realize something; When you and I fought Mina and her thugs, it felt so...satisfying. Who knew doing good feels good?" Janna explained, making Star's face light up.

"Yay!" Star squealed, as she tightly hugged Janna again, making her wince. "You're gonna make a great hero, Janna. I know it!."

"Not as good as Lady Butterfly." Janna retorted. Even though Mina and the rest of those Neo-Solarian creeps escaped, the night wasn't a total bust; Now, Janna was truly committed to the cause to help make Earth-Ni a better place...


Meanwhile, Tom and Marco landed on top of another building. Once they were safe, Tom asked Marco how he was holding up.

"I'm glad we got out of there. Are you okay? Tom queried.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but what about you? I saw you go into some kind of rage back there, just like when we were sparring today." Marco answered.

"I...I'm not sure. Things got out of hand back there. It's no wonder people see me as a monster."

"That's not true, Tom."

"Tell that to the geezer on the bus!" Tom exclaimed. He was still disturbed by that event; Since the Cleaving, some humans had a deep fear of Tom and other demons, due to their negative connotations in most religions.

"But not all humans hate demons. Just look at Janna." Marco proposed. Tom's frustration lifted when he brought up the name; The name of a friend who loved him for what he was, a friend he wanted to become something more with.

"Speaking of Janna, here's my advice. For over ten years, I had a crush on a beautiful girl named Jackie Lynn-Thomas. But I never told her, at least not 'till Star came into my life. Then, you put a curse on my neck because you thought I was dating her."

"I said I was sorry, dude!"

"Anyways, what I'm saying is; Don't wait 'till the last minute to tell her how you feel. Even if she says no, which is highly unlikely since you're the demon prince of the Underworld, you'll still be friends."

With Marco's surprisingly wise advice, Tom knew what he had to do. "You're right. Tomorrow...I'm going to tell Janna I love her."

"Attaboy!" Marco cheered, as the two high-fived. With his new-found confidence to ask Janna out, tomorrow seemed like a promising day for Tom Lucitor...


Meanwhile in the Septarian temple, Seth was carefully working on a little side-project of his; A stone carving of him, Lucanus, Panthara, Manavi and Viscosa terrorizing humans and Mewmans. This stone etching was situated next to two other carvings of Seth, along with two groups of various other monsters.

The feared Septarian stopped working on his masterpiece when he heard someone entering his cave; However, it was merely his devout disciples, back from their failed mission.

"Ah, I see you've returned. Have you killed Lucitor?" Seth questioned. The Dreaded Beasts all froze, terrified that they had failed their master. Lucanus kicked Manavi closer to Seth so that he'd have to explain their failure; Even though he was a vicious monster warrior, he was still the smallest in the group; Therefore, the others would pick on him when things went wrong.

"W-well the thing is, Master Seth...we kind of had a slip-up, and...he got away." Manavi shuddered. Seth glared at him with his piercing orange eyes, causing the bat to tremble in terror.

"WHAT? I specifically told you fools to kill him!" Seth snapped, causing Manavi to faint in fear.

"Master, there must be easier targets for us to eliminate." Panthara suggested.

"Perhaps our greatest enemies; Our chiefest oppressors, who have been weakened by the destruction of their precious magic." Viscosa added, as Seth realized who they were referring to.

"In case you don't know, we mean the-" Lucanus bluntly spoke, when Seth cut him off with the answer.

"The Butterfly royals. I've killed one of those wretched tyrants before. Tomorrow, we'll wipe their putrid bloodline off the face of the world..."


Well, there we are! A chapter of "Maroon and the Earth-Ni Protectors" where the TITLE CHARACTER doesn't even make an appearance! However, it's justified, since poor old Ozzy needs his beauty rest. Anyways, I'm happy to say that we're two thirds of the way through Book 1, with six out of nine chapters complete! (It was originally supposed to be eight, but I ended up splitting the last chapter into two shorter ones.) So stay tuned for more adventures of our heroes, and don't forget to check out my bio for a sneak peek at the next chapter!