Misfitverse: The Korvac Saga
Disclaimer: "They're heeee-re..." - Carol Anne, Poltergeist
Chapter 9: Sharing Information!
Avengers Mansion, the 31st Century
The Avengers has escorted the Lost Mutants inside the spacious Mansion. However, three members weren't trying to get to know the kids at this time. Iron Man and the Gammazon, Jhen Walters, had taken the Tachyon Torch out to the hallway to cool off. The redhaired pyrokinetic exploded at the kids after they mentioned Stark Industries. A confused Danielle Moonstar had pointed out that Iron Man was supposed to work for Stark, which enraged the hero.
"Are you always this courteous, or is this a special occasion?" Randall Pierce, the Iron Man of the 31st Century, mocked Harry Storm, the Tachyon Torch. Harry scowled at the red-and-gold armored scientist.
"Don't start with me, Pierce." Harry grumbled. "You know what happened in their time."
"Oh, God...here we go again..." Jhen grumbled. "You know, it's been a millennium. The rest of the universe moved on."
"She's right, Torch." Randall nodded, crossing his arms. "It's history. Ancient history. It was a dark time in history, but it's still history. The best thing to do is learn from it, and move on. As they say, 'Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it'."
"You don't have to worry about that, Pierce." Torch scowled. "You don't know what it was like. I have the blood of a great hero in my veins. Johnny Storm was a hero, until Stark made it so that heroes were mored feared than the villains."
"Stark forgot what being a hero was all about." Randall countered.
"Yeah." Jhen nodded. "He was a product of his time. In the 20th and 21st Centuries, people were terrified. They were always afraid of something." Jhen added.
"Like a lot of people in the 21st Century, Stark had his own fears regarding his fellow superheroes." Randall continued. "Hell, it's historical fact that the Batman had worries about his fellow members of the Justice League because many of them were superpowered."
"In that era, fear ran rampant." Jhen added again. "They always found something new to fear. In the Second World War, the world feared Hitler."
"In the 1950s to the 1990s, the Americans and the Soviet Union feared mutual assured nuclear destruction." Randall remembered.
"In the dawn of the 21st Century, humanity feared mutants and terrorism." Jhen continued. "Stark was a product of that era. He gave in to the fear that ran that era." The green-skinned clone shook her head. "A tragedy. The only truly fearless beings of that time in history were the Green Lantern Corps and Kid Razor."
"Stark was a brilliant inventor. He did have a good intention. He wanted humanity to no longer fear its protectors, but he went about it the wrong way. Instead, he made them more fearful than ever. It's tragic, really. His story is like something out of Shakespeare." Randall sighed in agreement. "You know, now that those kids are here, it'll be a wonderful opportunity for history."
"Based on what they assumed about you, they died before Stark really lost it." Harry grunted. "What good is that?"
"Well, Sam told us in the past that they, like him, were in the original X-Men. There's a lot history doesn't quite know about the X-Men at the time. I never asked Captain Marvel, because I didn't want to bother him." Randall explained. Jhen sighed.
"He said that time still bothered him." The clone explained. "First time he ever actually felt failure as a leader. He said he was haunted by it for a long time afterwards. He couldn't lead again for a while afterwards. This must be so hard for him, seeing his dead friends alive again, especially after so long."
"At least with these kids here, it'll be an excellent opportunity to clear up some...misconceptions and rumors about the original X-Men and the original Misfits." Randall explained. "Like that infamous rumor about that one X-Man."
"A lot of 'em had infamous rumors." Jhen rolled her eyes. Meanwhile, in the living room of the Mansion, Commander America, Sonic Blue, Kid Razor, Thor, and the Insect Queen were siting on one of the long couches in the room. The foyer was a huge room, with a large screen, around 70 inches, on one wall, with a control panel underneath it. The floor was covered by a nice carpet and fancy rugs. The walls were covered in photos and mementos of various adventures. Captain Marvel stood off to the side. He leaned against a corner, watching the Lost Mutants and the Avengers speak. He wasn't really following the conversation. The blond immortal was lost in his thoughts.
This is insane. This is completely and utterly insane. Sam thought. But then again, I shouldn't be surprised. These guys were former New Mutants and Hellions. Teenage mutants always did bring insanity with them. Sam chuckled lightly to himself. Oh, those were the days. Back when we were all together. When the most we worried about was what the Misfits were up to. His rueful reflective smile creased downwards into a frown. Ever since they came back, all these old feelings have come back. After they died, I had no confidence in myself. I second-guessed everything that I did. I didn't even have the confidence to give poor Greer some friendship when the other survivors, Tabitha and Jubilee especially... Sam gritted his teeth and set his jaw in frustration. This is ridiculous! I've stood up to some of the worst villains in the universe and not even batted an eye. I have worked with God knows how many generations of heroes. I've fought the Badoon, the White Martians, Mordru, the Borg, and I've won! I've been a hero, I've been a legend. He looked over at Haroun, Jennifer, and Marie. I mourned you as well, Hellions. Even though we were on opposite sides, you guys didn't deserve what happened to you. Funny, where are Beef and Bevatron? Not to mention Synch, Bedlam, and Skullfire? I'll have to find out at some point. The Lost Mutants and the Avengers continued their conversation.
"What did you remember before suddenly appearing in Central Park?" Commander America inquired, his hands steepled.
"Well..." Dani scratched the back of her head. "We were in the Astral Plane."
"Oh, I've been there." Lorelei DeYoung appeared.
"Oh, my goodness!" Marie gasped.
"Holy-!" Ray's jaw dropped.
"What the-?!" Roberto blinked.
"Hi, kids." Lorelei waved.
"Don't worry about her." Razor waved. "She's my spirit guide. Kinda like Ronnie Rocker was to the Kid Razor of your time."
"Yeah, guys." Danielle frowned. "We were ghosts ourselves for a little while."
"I'm like that ancient cartoon character. What was he called? Jasper?" Lorelei frowned.
"Casper." Haroun told the ghost.
"Ah, thanks." Lorelei nodded.
"I...don't remember seeing you in the Astral Plane." Dani blinked.
"You were in the Astral Plane in the 21st Century." Lorelei explained. "Then you were brought forward one thousand years, in new bodies."
"And I don't look a day over 145." Jennifer grinned, admiring her reflection in a polished surface.
"Not to mention you don't look like burnt bacon." Roberto joked.
"Not. Funny." The blonde growled at the Brazilian solar battery.
"Yeah, shut up man." Doug groaned, lightly shoving Roberto.
"Hoo boy..." Sam sighed.
"Yeah, Blondie here is hot, but she seems like the type you shouldn't piss off." Ray snickered.
"Yeah, I'm from Jersey!" Jennifer agreed, glaring at Roberto. "And you are so lucky I don't have a baseball bat right now."
"Ah." Thor chuckled warmly. "You live up to thy reputation."
"Huh?" Ray blinked.
"You clowns may only have one or two lines in the Encyclopedia of Superhero History, but there's a lot of legendary insanity that erupted from you lot." Razor smirked.
"As diplomatic as always, Razor." Monica rolled her eyes. A beeping was heard.
"Oh!" Lonna Leing looked at her watch. "I'm so sorry, children." She got up from her seat. "I must go."
"Go where?" Ray blinked.
"Being an Avenger isn't my only job." The Xanthu native smiled. "I also am a host."
"A host?" Ray blinked.
"Yes." Lonna answered. "Did they not have game shows in your time? I host one."
"Not have game shows?" Dani's jaw dropped. "We had lots of game shows! Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, Deal or No Deal..."
"What's a Wheel of Fortune?" Razor asked Monica. The blue-armored speedster could only shrug in response.
"Never mind." Dani sighed.
"Ah, I see." Lonna nodded. "Anyway, I must go. Again, I apologize, everyone." She left the room. The heroes said their goodbyes in different ways. Danielle looked at Commander America.
"Look Captain..."
"Commander America." Commander America corrected.
"Oh, right." Dani nodded. "Sorry, it's just in our time, he was called Captain America."
"Quite alright." The futuristic Star-Spangled Avenger smiled warmly.
"Anyway, I don't really know how we can help you guys." Dani sighed. "When we were in the Astral Plane, we were told that somebody in this time was subtly altering reality, and the effects were rippling forwards and backwards from this time, and that eventually, the ripples would hit our time, the 21st Century." Sam's head perked up.
The Prophecy...oh my God...Guthrie, you idiot! The blond immortal cursed under his breath. Why didn't you see it?! The Prophecy of the Lost Mutants! They're the Lost Mutants! The Lost Mutants of mutant myth! When a great evil rises, the Lost Mutants will rise once more, and bring about the evil's great fall. The ripples in reality, my friends' return...it's connected! For the first time in the conversation, Sam spoke up.
"This was no fluke." Sam looked at his old comrades. "You guys were brought back for a reason."
"What doth thou mean, old friend?" Thor looked at the Kentuckian.
"I'm sure the Avengers had heard the Prophecy of the Lost Mutants." Sam answered as he went to a bookshelf. "Here we are." He pulled out a book. "A tome of mutant lore and legends."
"We've all heard that legend, Captain Marvel." Monica reminded the immortal. "I was told it when I visited Haven to help the Royal Guard deal with the Fatal Five."
"Mutant legends? This I gotta hear." Ray snickered.
"The X-Men and Misfits were very impactful." Sam smirked. He opened up the book to a random page. "I remember this adventure, heh heh. It's when the X-Men first discovered the Toad was living with GI Joe. Anyway..." He opened the book to a page.
"Oh, that's just an old mutants' tale." Razor grunted.
"They say that within legends, there is always a slight bit of truth, young musician." Thor told the blonde Asian sagely.
"That really happened, rocker girl." Roberto told Razor.
"I should know. Look at this, Dani." Sam gave the book to Danielle. The other Lost Mutants gathered around the page.
"Oh..." Dani blinked in surprise.
"Whoa!" Ray's jaw dropped.
"Incredible." Haroun's eyes widened.
"Sacre..." Marie gasped.
The image Dani saw was of Dani herself. It looked like someone had drawn it. The image also contained notes and writing in a strange language.
"The writing is in Epsilon-Omega, a mutant-created language similar to Esperanto." Sam explained. "It's the language used by the mutant residents of Haven. It's an old language." (1)
"...can you translate?" Dani blinked. Sam smirked.
"I'm over one-thousand years old. I can speak, read, and write 35 languages fluently." He chuckled. "It calls you the Star of Phobia."
"Makes sense. Dani's power is to create illusions. She used it to bring people's fears to life." Doug reasoned. He then frowned. "You guys realize I could've translated that."
"Look at this..." Amara turned the page, showing a picture of herself. Razor got up and snatched the book. "Hey!"
"Deal with it, time-jumper." Razor scowled at the Nova Roman, making Monica groan.
"Just like the original. An arrogant self-centered fool." Haroun grunted. Razor looked at the page.
"You have got to be kidding."
"It's no joke, Razor." Sam told the young rocker.
"So, you believe this prophecy is coming true?" Commander America realized.
"It makes sense. It's got to." Sam nodded. "It all fits. My Cosmic Awareness told me something was up, but it couldn't quite pinpoint it. The changes in reality these guys told us about, the disappearing heroes...in fact, Rancor once told me her precognitive, Oracle, had visions of a great evil coming. The prophecy is coming true."
"Ronnie Rocker did say that something or someone may be behind all this." Jennifer remembered.
"Mordru, perhaps?" Thor suggested. "He doth have bad blood with the Legion."
"Nah." Sam waved it off. "This isn't his style."
"Looks like this mystery has more to it than simple disappearances." Commander America frowned.
"Indeed, Commander." Monica nodded. "I got a bad feeling about this..."
Well, well, well! Looks like our heroes have just learned their place in history! What insanity will happen next? What is the game show Insect Queen hosts? Will our heroes find the missing Legionnaires? What other heroes are active in this century? Find out in the next chapter! Suggestions needed badly!
(1) – Epsilon-Omega is from the Ultimate X-Men comics. In that comic book, Epsilon-Omega was designed so mutants could have their own language separate from human ones.