Malibu Mall Madness
Disclaimer: "Oh my God, you've got a weapons room, too?" - Stewie Griffin, Family Guy
Chapter 4: Lasers and Lightning!
The skies over Malibu
High above the skies of Malibu, California, a figure was riding what appeared to be...a futuristic flying skateboard.
"WHOO-HOO!" Sam Farley, the self-proclaimed Surf Master, hooted in delight as he flew high in the sky. He decided to try some aerial tricks. Simply by shifting his weight on his legs, he was able to change the pitch and tilt of his board. Combining this with his skills as a surfer, Farley was able to perform aerial tricks like barrel rolls and loop-de-loops. "THIS IS AWESOME!" The mad grin returned to his face as he felt the wind blow through the long brown hair that his helmet let free. "Oh YEAH! This is great!" The madman noticed that he was about to fly over the park he was ranting in earlier in the day. He also noticed another familiar sight: the bum sleeping on the park bench. The very same bum that had hit him in the head earlier in the day.
"Zzzzzzz..." The homeless man snored peacefully, using some old newspapers as a blanket. "Zzzzz...message from Starfleet, captain...zzzzz..."
"Hee hee hee..." The self-proclaimed Surf Master giggled insanely to himself. "Time to test the maneuverability." With a mental command, he was able to force the board to point its nose downward. With a second mental command, Sam Farley fired the jets on is board, causing him to go into a nosedive towards the bum.
"Zzzzz...humn?" The homeless man blinked blearily as the noise of the flying surfboard caused him to leave Dreamland and re-enter the waking world.
"Ha ha ha ha!" Farley cackled as he dove towards the man.
"Huh? Wha-?" Still lying on the bench, the man turned and opened his eyes. "Wh-WHA?"
"HA HA HA HA HA!" Farley laughed insanely as he bore down on the homeless man. He crouched his body down to reduce drag and increase his speed.
"OH GOD NO!" The homeless man screamed in terror, throwing his hands up in front of his face in reflex. Faster and faster the cackling inventor raced towards the man, the poor homeless man's fate seemingly sealed. However, at the last possible second...
Fwoosh!
The surfboard pulled up, and a hooting Farley shot upwards into the air.
"WHOO!" Farley whooped, pumping a fist in the air in delight. "Now that is how ya fly! Yeah!"
"Oh God...Oh, dear God..." The homeless man panted, tapping his chest as if it could steady his racing heart. He pulled out a bottle of whiskey from his jacket. "I gotta quit drinkin'." He then tossed it away.
"HA HA HA HA HA!" Sam Farley cackled insanely. "I love this suit, ha ha-huh?" His suit's sensors alerted him to a gathering down below. "Well..." He grinned. "This should be interesting..." He swerved his board, and raced towards the signal's source.
The Mall Food Court
"So, how have you guys been?" Jenni asked Ray and Roberto kindly.
"Ah, the usual." Roberto smiled. "Kicking Organization ass, and getting no respect for it."
"Well, if it is any consolation, I admire and respect you guys greatly." Jenni reassured. "I think you guys are very brave to fight the Heartless like you do."
"Are you serious?" Kyle tried not to laugh.
"Quiet, you!" The blonde Chicagoan girl hissed at the Bostonian mutant.
"Thanks, Jen." Ray smiled, obviously dumbstruck by Jenni's kind words. "That means a lot coming from you."
"Oh, for the love of-!" Kyle groaned, shaking his head in disbelief.
"So, how are you guys liking Malibu so far?" Jenni asked the two members of the X-Men.
"Actually, we've only been to the mall so far." Ray explained. "But it's nice."
"Yeah, we like it here." Jenni nodded in agreement.
"Malibu is a refuge for us." Kyle added. "People don't bother us all the time here. We get treated like regular folks, which is nice."
"Not to mention, believe it or not, Malibu is also rather mutant-friendly." Jenni contributed. "So, for mutant rights-supporters like us, it's a nice place to be." Kyle shrugged.
"It's not bad, but the Thunderbolt misses Boston."
"Wow." Roberto blinked. Ray raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't think that anywhere was remotely mutant-friendly."
"Does explain why no one is hassling us." Roberto finally noticed.
"Yeah, we like it." Jenni smiled. "This new mall is also really sweet."
"So, what're the Superstars doing here in this mall?" Roberto wondered. "You guys gonna perform here or something?" Jenni shook her head.
"Not today, I'm afraid." Ray and Roberto seemed saddened. Since they first encountered Jenni Starr at Brown University, the two young mutants (alongside with quite a few of the other Institute's young male residents) had become smitten with the Superstars' blonde bombshell. As a result, they picked up quite a bit of the Superstars' merchandise and music, and hoped they would get another chance to see Jenni sing live...as well as a concert that would end in peace.
"Aw, that's too bad."
"And the Thunderbolt has to deal with his idiocy all the time around the Starr family." Kyle grumbled quietly under his breath, hoping Jenni didn't hear it.
"Ah, we could use the break." Jenni shrugged, taking a bite out of her salad. Kyle sneered at his bandmate/fellow West Coast Misfit.
Oh yeah, because what we do is so exhausting. Kyle took a bite out of his apple and chewed it in a visibly annoyed manner.
"What's your deal, man?" Roberto blinked at the electrokinetic. The Bostonian shot the Brazilian solar battery an 'are-you-serious' look.
"You serious?" Kyle retorted. "You are serious."
"Kyle, don't-!" Jenni started to get up.
"No no no no no, Jen! I want them to hear this!" Kyle snapped. He got up and got in Roberto's face. "You wanna know what the Thunderbolt's deal is? You shut your mouth and listen up, Sunny! The Thunderbolt don't like you! He don't like any of you X-Men! You know why?"
Oh no... Jenni fought the desire to let her jaw hit the ground.
"Because you jabronis are an embarrassment, that's why!" Kyle roared in Roberto's face. "Do you X-Clowns realize how hard you guys help make things for mutants?"
Oh God, Kyle... Jenni tried not to visibly wince. Don't say anything, please don't...
"You say you X-Men want to show that mutants and humans can live in peace." Kyle scowled. "Well, guess what? You make things worse for mutants every single time you try and do that! You, as well as those Misfit jabronies you like to pal around with-!"
"We're not friends, pal!" Ray snapped. The Thunderbolt ignored his fellow electrokinetic.
"As the Thunderbolt was saying, you and those Misfit jabronies like to pal around with have done nothing but disgrace mutants! You guys make mutants look like out of control lunatics that people should fear!" The young Bostonian's scowl deepened. "Like that disaster that was that Brown University's little BS box-lunch."
"Now that wasn't the X-Men's fault..." Jenni tried to interject.
"Yeah, it was those idiots in the FoH that wrecked everything!" Roberto reminded.
"You know why clowns like them pull the crap they do?" Kyle retorted. "Because they are afraid of you guys. And they are afraid because you keep giving them reasons to be afraid! How many times have you guys tried to give mutants a good name, and how many times did you end up making things worse for 'em?"
Wow. Jenni thought in surprise. For a moment there, I thought Kyle would reveal his mutantcy.
"Hey, some of it was the Misfits' fault!" Ray snapped. Jenni stood up, making a calming gesture with her hands.
"Hey, why don't we just all just calm down, take some seats and let's all have us some milkshakes together, huh? My treat." The blonde offered.
"We don't need any damned milksakes, Jen!" Kyle snapped. "What these jabronies need is a good ass-whuppin'!" At that moment, Jenni was thanking every deity that she could think of that Kyle was wearing his favorite pair of blue shades. The only thing about his powers that he never had really been able to master yet was that when he got really mad (Which can happen quite a bit with his legendary temper), his eyes would start to glow bright yellow. Fortunately, Kyle's shades were opaque, so they could successfully hide Kyle's glowing eyes.
However, there was still risk involved. Kyle's shades were vulnerable to anything any other pair of shades were vulnerable to. Also, if he didn't have them, the risk of accidental exposure was increased. During the Brown University disaster, Kyle's eyes started to glow during his brawl with FoH soldiers. Luckily, the Misfit member Justin Moore, codenamed Whitelighter, pointed it out to the Boston native, and he was forced to cover his eyes and feign injury, much to his chagrin. As such, Jenni was understandably worried about Kyle's exposing his mutant nature by accident. And unlike the other Superstars, Kyle would not care if that happened.
God, let Kyle's shades stay on. Please, let Kyle's shades stay on... The blonde girl silently prayed.
"You want an ass-whuppin'?" Ray got in Kyle's face, fists clenching.
"You ain't so tough, jabroni!" Kyle shoved Ray. "You ain't nothin' without your powers!"
"Hey hey hey, come on!" Jenni leapt up and pushed the two electrokinetics apart. "There's no need for this!"
"There's always need for a good fight!" Kyle growled.
"He wants one, he can come and get one!" Ray snapped.
"What the hell is his deal, man?" Roberto grumbled.
"I don't know!" Jenni shot an annoyed look at Kyle. "He's been a royal pain lately."
"You know why, Blondie!" Kyle hissed poisonously. He pushed himself back from Jenni's arm and stomped off. Jenni sighed, and turned towards the two New Mutants.
"I am truly sorry for Kyle's behavior." Jenni apologized sincerely. "Normally, he's not this bad. If we just leave him alone to cool off for a while, he'll be alright."
"Tell that to the papers." Ray remarked with a scowl and crossed arms. "Everybody knows about his temper."
"Yeah." The blonde admitted, rubbing the back of her head. "But...it's been a stressful time lately for us. The fallout from the concert, the rest of the tour...it can be weary." Jenni scratched her head. "Thank God we got this break here in Malibu." Unknown to the three young mutants, Kyle had hidden behind a nearby column. He wanted to hear this conversation.
"Kyle grumbled about us making things harder for mutants." Roberto remembered. "What's he talking about?" Jenni struggled to find an answer...until she was it by inspiration. Of course!
"Kyle's older brother." Jenni explained. "You see, Kyle has an older brother that is a mutant. And it hasn't been really easy for him. He's one of the reasons why the Superstars are ardent supporters of mutant rights. I've met him, and he is..." Jenni struggled to find the words. "...intense. And quiet. But he's very nice." Ray snapped his fingers when he realized something.
"Hey, wait a minute, I just remembered something! Muir Island!"
"What about Muir Island?" Roberto snorted.
"On Muir Island, we met a guy named Wildstar." Ray explained.
"Oh, really? Is he a new superhero?" Jenni feigned unfamiliarity with her cousin's codename.
"He works with Jinx and a bunch of Joes on the West Coast." Ray explained.
Hmmm...Jenni thought. Now I truly understand why Jake had concerns about the West Coast Misfits being kept secret. "That is a surprise." Jenni thought. "I thought he was one of Los Angeles's local superheroes."
"I just noticed something." Ray explained. "You see, Wildstar...actually, he told us his name was Ace, had a star on his face. It had eight points and it was blue, kinda like the stars you and your cousins wear on stage." Kyle smirked.
Oh-ho, the Starrs are busted! Kyle mentally whooped, pumping his fist. Now Jenni will have to tell the truth! Jenni blinked for a moment.
"Oh..." Jenni sighed. The blonde then nodded. "Okay, you got us. I have a confession to make."
Finally! Kyle's face split into a wide grin. Finally, you have to tell the damn truth! You finally have to tell someone you're a mutant!
"The Wildstar is Paul, Craig, and my cousin." Jenni confessed. "And as you all know, he himself is a mutant. He's one of the reasons why the band supports mutant rights." She sighed and looked at her cup. "Ace is a great guy. His parents accept him, as well as his friends in LA, but he's gotten his fair share of flack for being a mutant. And it's not right. As I said, he's a good guy. His star is a birthmark..."
That star you have on your face is a birthmark, too! Funny you forget that...Kyle scowled, crossing his arms.
"And in honor of him, we put stars on our own faces on stage." Jenni smiled. "With our own twists, of course. Mine's red because red is my favorite color. Same with Paul and Craig. Purple is Paul's favorite color, and Craig's is black."
"Ah, I see." Ray nodded in satisfaction. Kyle's jaw dropped.
Unbelievable! Kyle mentally groaned, smacking his forehead with his palm in disbelief. Jenni is unbelievable! She had an opportunity to tell the damn truth, and she doesn't take it! And these two X-Clown jabronis are so stupid! They should've been able to figure it out! What the hell is WRONG with them?
"I thought you guys did it as a nod to KISS." Roberto blinked.
"Well, that too." Jenni grinned.
Well, well, well! Looks like Kyle's temper nearly got him into trouble again! What insanity will happen next? What are the other New Mutants up to? What havoc will Surf Master cause? Will Scott notice the New Mutants have run off? Find out in the next chapter!