Misfitverse: The Korvac Saga
Disclaimer: "You can't handle the truth!" - Jack Nicholson, A Few Good Men
Chapter 7: To Meet the Avengers!
Haven, the 31st Century
Haven. In the media and in the eyes of pop culture, the planet was known as "The Mutant Homeworld", because the majority of Earth's mutants, and their descendants, resided there. However, it wasn't quite right. The planet's population was really more of a mix of various races. Haven was a home to anyone who needed it.
A woman stood at a balcony of an ornate palace, staring out into the horizon. She wasn't looking at anything in particular, her mind and eyes were lost in thought. Her dark hair was styled in a similar manner to the ancient legendary hero known as Wolverine. However, she also had a long black ponytail that reached down to her lower back. She was dressed in a tan-and-brown costume that had a plunging neckline. She had her hands clasped behind her back.
Her name was Rancor. She was a direct descendant of Wolverine, his great-great-granddaughter. She was also the ruler of Haven. She ruled fairly and with honor, but she was also known for her temper and stubbornness. She knew about the tales of prejudice that plagued humanity in the 21st Century, and she set out to make sure that the natives of her world never suffered from prejudice the way her ancestors did. As a result, Haven was known for being rather isolationist. They weren't xenophobic, like the planet Daxam was, but Haven were isolationists. They even turned down several offers to join the United Planets out of fear that other member planets would demand their membership revoked simply because the planet was a home for mutants. (1)
"Your majesty! Your majesty!" A feminine voice cried out. Rancor's sharp hearing picked up the cries. The Queen of Haven turned her head. She saw a white-cloaked and hooded woman run into the balcony chamber. She was carrying a large leather-bound book. "Waah!" She tripped and fell to the ground with an "Oof!", dropping her book. Rancor sighed, one corner of her slightly twitching upwards as she shook her head.
"Oracle, you never fail to make an entrance, as usual." Rancor chuckled slightly. Oracle was a member of Rancor's elite protectors of Haven, the Royal Guard. She was, as her codename indicated, a precognitive.
"Sorry, your majesty." She babbled nervously, collecting herself and picking up her book. Her hood fell back, revealing that she was a pale woman with short pink hair. "I have to tell you something."
"What is it this time?" Rancor frowned, crossing her arms. "Are the Masters of Disasters at it again? You know what happens when those two are in the same room! You'd think after a thousand years, the English and the Argentines would get over that damned feud!"
"Well, to be fair, your majesty, they only really start fighting during World Cup time." Oracle grinned.
"Well, I haven't heard any explosions today, so I doubt it's those two at it again." Rancor sighed. "What was so important that required you to perform your famous routine?" Oracle ran over to a monitor in the room.
"Majesty, look at this." She pressed a button, which showed a newscaster reporting.
"And in Earth news, New York City was shocked by an event in Central Park today..." Footage was played of the Lost Mutants appearing out of nowhere in a flash of light. Rancor blinked.
"You are joking." Rancor blinked. "Probably time travelers again. Would not be the first time. Let the Avengers or the Legion deal with them."
"That's what I thought as well, majesty. But look." Oracle paused the footage. "Look at the children in the park." Rancor rolled her eyes and looked at the teenage mutants.
"What? I don't know any of them."
"But I do." Oracle countered.
"You?" Rancor blinked. "Is this some kind of practical joke? Because if it is, it is not a very funny one."
"I've seen these children before." Oracle answered, pausing the footage.
"Where?" Rancor wondered. "Because I don't recognize them at all."
"I know. I never saw them before either...until I recognized them from this book." Oracle smiled, patting her book.
"The book?" Rancor looked at the book.
"My tome of mutant lore and legends." Oracle explained. She opened it up. "Look." She pointed at the image of Danielle Moonstar on the screen. "And look here." She pointed at a page in her book. The page showed a drawing of a teenage girl that seemed to bear a remarkable resemblance to Dani.
"What?" Rancor blinked.
"Don't you see?" Oracle grinned. "This image is of one of the Lost Mutants of legend. The Star of Phobia, able to bring fears to life. It's them! It's the Lost Mutants! They've come! They're here to save us!"
"Save us?" Rancor scowled. "Save us from what?"
"Don't you know the legend?" Oracle looked shocked.
"I don't believe in fairy tales." Rancor scowled. "Besides, there are lots of prophecies concerning these Lost Mutants."
"Majesty, you know I've been having precognitive flashes of a great darkness coming. It's the legend! When a great cosmic evil rises, the Lost Mutants shall rise and bring us salvation from it! The evil is coming! The Lost Mutants have come to help combat it! Look!" She pointed at the image on the screen, and then flipped the pages of her book. "They're here! The Lady Luck! The Fortuneteller! The Mistress of Earth and Fire! The Wielder of the Lightning! The Universal Speaker! The Metal Comet! The Child of the Sun! And the Star of Phobia! It's them!" (2)
"...Have you been tricked into drinking Centaurian Lager again?" Rancor looked at Oracle like the pink-haired precog had gone completely mad. "Last time you did, we had to re-pave an entire street, and I don't want to remember what you did to that statue."
"No, I am not drunk, majesty! And I am not crazy!" Oracle answered. "It's them! It really is! I know that you don't believe, but the people do! They have to know something very bad is coming! And they will be saved from it!" Strange thing, though... Oracle added mentally. Not all of them have returned. Where are the rest of them? Rancor groaned.
"By Xavier, I'm surrounded by loons. I bet my ancestor never had to deal with madness like this."
The Guthrie Mansion
"Say what you will about the 31st Century, I'm just glad you people still have video games!" Ray smirked as he played a racing game with Roberto. The other former New Mutants were watching. The former New Mutants were gathered around the two players.
"Come on, Ray!" Amara cheered. "One more lap!"
"You're right on his neck, 'Berto!" Doug encouraged. Dani had decided to stay neutral.
"You're cheating, man!" Roberto snapped at Ray.
"Yeah, I'm ahead of you. That's cheating." Ray rolled his eyes. "Uh huh. Keep talking, Mr. I'm-in-love with-Tom-Selleck!"
"Why you little-!" Roberto started strangling Ray, making the others try to separate them. Meanwhile, Jennifer, Marie-Ange, and Haroun were observing, off to the side.
"Interesting." The Moroccan cyborg noted. "Not much different than Bevatron or Beef."
"I don't know about this." Jennifer shook her head, brushing some of her blonde hair behind her head.
"Know about what, Jennifer?" Marie inquired, looking at the New Jersey native.
"Working with Xavier's crew." Jennifer answered. "I mean, aren't we supposed to be their enemies or something?"
"I hold no personal grudges against any particular New Mutant." Haroun shrugged. "I have no reason to dislike them."
"I agree." Marie nodded. "They seem quite nice. In fact, they seem to be quite similar to us Hellions."
"Yer kidding." Jennifer blinked.
"Two words: Food. Fight." Haroun looked at the blonde.
"What're you guys talking about?" Amara wondered, looking over at the three former Hellions.
"What is your problem, man?" Ray hacked, rubbing his throat.
"We're just remembering some of the insanity our fellow teammates gotten themselves into." Haroun answered. "Do you remember when we went to recruit Buford?"
"Oh, yeah." Jennifer groaned. "I want to forget that day."
"What happened?" Amara wondered.
"You New Mutants think you're crazy?" Marie giggled. "Let me tell you about the day we recruited Beef."
"We were sent to see if Buford was willing to join us." Haroun continued.
"We found him at a county fair." Marie smiled. "It was actually quite fun."
"Oh, no..." Jennifer groaned, putting her head in her hands in embarrassment. "You are not going to tell the pig story!"
"Pig story?" Amara's jaw dropped.
"A piglet had taken a liking to Jennifer." Marie giggled. "It was so funny."
"The pig would not leave me alone!" Jennifer groaned. "It kept following me around everywhere!" Amara burst out laughing. "Oh, great! Thanks a lot, you two!"
"She also ended up falling into a mud pit in an attempt to escape!" Marie snickered, making Amara laugh harder.
"You. Suck." Jennifer glared at the French redhead.
"Okay, you lot." Sam walked up to the mutants. "You all are going to meet some friends of mine."
"Friends?" Dani blinked. "What kind of friends?"
"Are your friends those Legionnaires guys those people in the park called us?" Doug wondered. Sam shook his head.
"The Legion of Super-Heroes? I've worked with them, but I'm a member of the Avengers."
"Oh yeah, those people in the park mentioned them, too." Doug put a finger on his chin in thought. Jennifer shuddered slightly as she remembered seeing Amara change into her fiery Magma form, and the effect it had on her. Haroun and Marie looked at her.
"Jennifer, are you alright?" Haroun asked, noticing the blonde New Jersey girl wrapping her arms around herself.
"I'm fine." Jennifer tried not to show her shudder. Sam raised an eyebrow. "It's nothing."
"Roulette freaked out in the park when Amara changed into her Magma form." Dani explained. "I had to admit, I was slightly freaked out when that Punisher pointed that gun at me."
"I was burned to death." Jennifer explained. "As a result, now whenever I see fire, I always want to run away screaming."
"Natural side-effect of resurrection. Fear of what killed you." Sam nodded in understanding. "I know a guy who died in a fall and returned to life shortly afterward. Gained a real bad fear of heights. He couldn't even walk up the front steps of a house without having a panic attack."
"Did he...get over it?" Jennifer blinked. Sam frowned in thought.
"Last I heard, he was still in therapy." The immortal hero remembered. "It's been five years, but he's doing good."
"Great." The blonde groaned.
"Man, you really crapped out, huh Roulette?" Roberto blinked. "At least Amara, Jetstream, and I don't have to worry about it."
"That is not funny, Sunspot." Marie chided, shaking her head.
"And we do have names." Haroun told the Brazilian mutant.
"He's right." Sam agreed. "Jennifer, your pyrophobia will be a problem."
"Hey 'Mara, maybe you can help Blondie over there with the fire problem." Dani suggested.
"I believe that will be an excellent idea." Haroun nodded.
"I don't know..." Amara frowned. "Helping out one of the Hellions?"
"Miss Aquilla, I think that at this point, the New Mutant/Hellion feud should be put to rest." Haroun suggested.
"Wait a minute, how come you know all of our names?" Ray noticed.
"Hey Doug, shouldn't you know who these guys are? You were a Hellion, too." Roberto blinked.
"I wasn't on their team." The blond translator shook his head.
"Back home, we were given information on you." Marie explained. Sam sighed. He then pointed at Jetstream.
"Haroun al-Rashid." The immortal then pointed at Roulette. "Jennifer Stavros." Lastly, he pointed at Tarot. "Marie-Ange Colbert. There, now you all know each other's names."
"How did-?" Jennifer's jaw dropped. Sam shrugged.
"I'm immortal. I know stuff." He answered. "Look, I know some of you have trepidations about working together..."
"I don't." Marie raised her hand.
"Circumstances do call for an alliance, and I am willing to work towards that." Haroun nodded, as stoic as always. Sam continued on.
"But you're going to have to. You guys were brought to this time for a reason. I'm going to introduce you to the Avengers."
"Are they like the Avengers of our time?" Dani asked curiously. Sam smirked.
"I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."
Avengers Mansion, a short time later
The Avengers had gathered around in front of their Mansion headquarters.
"Oh, this is so exciting!" Monica grinned. "I can't believe that we're actually going to meet real life 21st Century natives." Razor snorted.
"Yeah, sure." The blonde Asian snorted. "You know what they're going to ask us first."
"You're telling me." Harry Storm, the Tachyon Torch, agreed. "My ancestor, Johnny Storm, was one of the greatest heroes of that time, and how did those ungrateful bastards treat him?" The redhead looked at Commander America. "I tell you, Commander, they had no appreciation for heroes back then! They were treated more like criminals than the villains were in those days!"
"Oh, stop it, Tacky." Jhen groaned.
"Yeah, Harry." Lonna agreed. "Give it a rest. Humanity wasn't as enlightened back then as it is now. Back in those days, the slightest superpower terrified them."
"Yeah." Razor snickered. "If a 21st Century man saw us today, he'd run and hide under a rock like the caveman he was, whimpering 'Make the bad superheroes go awaaaay'!" She and Harry burst out laughing.
"Oh can it, you two!" Monica snapped. "People weren't that paranoid in those days."
"They were when it came to mutants." Harry chuckled. "To them, the X-Gene came with a thirst for human blood. I heard that in that time, they grouped mutants alongside vampires and werewolves."
"Might I remind you two clowns that the guests Sam will be bringing are mutants themselves?" Commander America frowned.
"Whatever." Razor rolled her eyes.
"Behold! They come!" Thor pointed up at the sky. A golden streak was seen racing in the wild blue yonder, trailed by stars. It was Sam Guthrie, Captain Marvel. He was towing a construct of what appeared to be a bus behind him. Seated in the construct were the Lost Mutants. The kids looked around in amazement.
"This is incredible!" Marie grinned, looking down. "Look at that view! Isn't it amazing?" She asked the person sitting with her, Doug Ramsey.
"Mm-hmm." The blond mutant translator nodded. "Yeah, I have to admit, this time is amazing." He looked over at the French redhead. "Never thought you'd see real flying cars in your lifetime, huh?"
"We just returned from the dead. Flying cars aren't far behind that." Marie smiled.
"Last stop, Avengers Mansion." Sam announced.
"Here he comes!" Jhen whooped. Sam landed in front of the Avengers.
"Avengers, I'd like to introduce...the Lost Mutants." The blond immortal made the construct vanish, revealing the New Mutants and the Hellions.
"These guys? The Avengers?" Ray gaped. "But they look like the Avengers of our time!"
"The original team was very inspirational." Sam shrugged.
"I ain't impressed." Razor snorted.
"You're never impressed." Monica rolled her eyes.
"Sorry I'm late." Iron Man apologized as he walked out of the Mansion. "But I've been doing some repairs on the Quinship, and..." The crimson-and-golden-armored hero looked at the Lost Mutants. "...who're these kids?"
Well, well, well! Looks like our heroes have just met some new allies! What madness will happen next? How will the Avengers and the Lost Mutants get along? Find out in the next chapter! Suggestions needed badly!
(1) – In the original Guardians of the Galaxy comics, Rancor was a villainess who was obsessed with Wolverine, and it was implied that many of her ancestors were murderous tyrants as well. I decided to tone her down a bit.