Malibu Mall Madness
Disclaimer: "This'll make you say mama mia!"
Chapter 8: Talking Shop
The Malibu Mall
Lila Cheney had a big grin on her face as she left the bookstore, holding a bag. The bag had a couple books in it. The British interstellar teleporter had found a couple book she was looking for, but that was not the only reason she was so happy.
Robert Drake, the mutant known as Iceman, was one who had captured Lila's eye...and her heart in a way. Ever since she first caught sight of him at the Brown University disaster (1), the teenager had found her quite fascinated with the ice-maker. Sadly, because of her touring schedule with the Superstars and her being secretly a member of a West Coast-based branch of the Misfits prevented her from really expressing how she felt about him.
As a result of this, talking to her crush was rather awkward. Especially since she punched out his father for his cruel words he spat at Bobby when the Drake family attended a concert the Superstars were performing at.
Bobby was understandably none too happy to see Lila, considering he had hoped that one day, he may have been able to reconcile with his family one day. However, Lila manged to somewhat smooth things over. He didn't completely hate her, so she considered it a win.
I wish I could've told Bobby everything. Lila sighed in her head. But it's just too dangerous. If Bobby knew I was a Misfit, he may have told the other X-Men, and Jake and Kyle may be in even greater danger. And... She shook her head. No, don't think that way, Lila! Things will work out. She looked over the books in her bag. At least I manged to get that Sam Starwin book. The British girl chuckled to herself. I can't wait to read this new one...maybe after this bloody war is over, I can ask Bobby out. That is, if that damned bug Chakram actually decides to start being honest with him for once...Lila sighed. She was distracted, and was not watching where she was going...
Bump!
"Oof!" The two people both grunted as they hit the floor.
"Oh, God!" Lila got up, approaching the figure. "Are you alright?" She noticed the figure was clad in a long black coat and big hat as she helped the figure up. That coat and hat? At this time of year? "I'm so sorry! That was my fault. I wasn't watching where I was going."
"Of course I am alright!" The figure, a female roared. She angrily whipped her head, glaring at Lila. Lila noted she was Asian, her brown eyes burned with an angry fire. "And you should be more careful!"
"I am sorry." Lila apologized again. "I wasn't watching where I was going." The woman scowled.
"Of course you weren't." The woman sneered. "Typical stupidity of youth. Now get out of my way!" She shoved Lila aside as she stomped off.
"Bloody hell..." The British mutant grumbled as she picked up her books, and scowled at the woman. She couldn't help but get a bad feeling about her. Lila had strong instincts thanks to her Joe training, and those instincts were ringing alarm bells in her head.
I'd better follow this woman. Lila thought. She's giving me one bad vibe... Keeping her distance, the interstellar teleporter carefully tailed the strange woman.
Stupid teenager! The woman, a disguised Doctor Cyber, mentally grumbled. The brat had better pray that her little moment of idiocy did not foul up the Shocker's plans. For if she did, she would get a...wait... Her sensors picked up someone following her. She turned her head, and saw the hustling and bustling people going to various stores, talking, enjoying food from a kiosk, even sitting and chatting on phones. Cyber frowned and went on her way. My sensors must have a glitch. I will have to examine them after this job. Unbeknownst to her, Lila Cheney looked up from one of the books she was reading.
Elsewhere in the mall
"Knowledge can't kick Organization XIII's ass." Kyle scowled at Tessa.
"True, not on its own." Tessa smiled wickedly. "But when the knowledge is in the hands of one who can beat the Organization..."
"Yeah, yeah." Kyle flopped down on a bench. "The Thunderbolt gets it. He hates it, but he gets it." Tessa took a seat next to the electrokinetic.
"It is good to see you again, old friend." The British woman smiled.
"Yeah, same here." Kyle concurred. "How's Xavier treating you?"
"He and I had some things to talk over, but we manged to smooth those out for now." Tessa replied.
"I see." Kyle nodded. "That bald bastard screws you over, let the Thunderbolt now. He'll layeth a smacketh down on his freaky-eyebrowed candy ass. And if any of those X-Men try to stop the Thunderbolt, he'll take their little mansion, shine it up real nice, turn that sumbitch sideways, and stick it straight up their-!"
"I get it, Kyle. You hate Xavier." Tessa rolled her eyes. In the past, she had heard quite a few of Kyle's rants about the X-Men. "You hate the X-Men, they make life worse for mutants, yeah yeah. They make mutants look like out of control crazies, yeah yeah. They never really made anything better for mutants, yeah yeah. Kyle, I have heard them all."
"You have to admit, the Thunderbolt has a point."
"So you say." Tessa nodded. "I do get what you're saying, Kyle. I really do."
"I mean, think about it." The electrokinetic continued. "How long have the X-Men been around? And how much have they really helped since they came into existence?"
"They do mean well, Kyle. And change takes time."
"Look, the Thunderbolt wasn't expecting them to change things for mutants overnight. The Thunderbolt is not stupid." Kyle grunted. "It's just...I don't know. Those X-Men want to place themselves as the face of mutants everywhere."
"They kind of were forced to by the Sentinel attack." Tessa attacked.
"That's the problem." Kyle scowled. "They should've known that something like the rise of mutants can't be kept secret. Something like that can't be kept under the rug forever. They had an opportunity to actually show mutants to the world in a positive light." The young electrokinetic shook his head in anger and frustration. "And what did they do? They hide. They tried to hide what they were like cowards. They tried to keep themselves and mutantkind in general a secret. And look what happened!"
"I know, Kyle." Tessa sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I know."
"They screwed up." Kyle scowled. "They had an opportunity to introduce our kind on a good note. Do public works! Act like actual superheroes, but no, they had to be stupid, and the Sentinel exposed them! Thanks a lot, X-Jerks!"
"Charles Xavier was frightened, Kyle." Tessa explained. "Considering how people can react to those who are different from themselves, you can't really blame him."
"Tell that to the Fantastic Four, Tess." Kyle countered. "People love them! I see people wearing t-shirts, they have action figures! Hell, the Thunderbolt has heard that they're even getting their own movie! They got superpowers, and how long have they been running around before the Sentinel attack?" Tessa let out a little smile. She tended to forget that Kyle's brain contained plenty of knowledge regarding the history of the superhero.
"You do have a point..." Tessa admitted.
"And Captain America!" Kyle continued. "He was running around in World War II handing Nazis their own candy asses! Yet people didn't call for his ass to be outlawed!"
"Well, technically, Captain America doesn't have superpowers." Tessa corrected. "He just has peak human strength, speed, agility, reflexes, and the like. And I remember when the FF first debuted."
"Oh yeah, battling that Mole Man jabroni. God, how long ago was that?" Kyle chuckled.
"I also remember that the FF did get their fair share of detractors when they debuted." Tessa recalled. "A lot of people did not know what to make of them."
"If the Thunderbolt remembers his hero history correctly, it had been a while since we first saw any major superheroic activity." Kyle responded. "Most of the First Line and the Justice Experience were dead, Blue Marvel was God-knows-where...the Fantastic Four were the heralds of a new age of heroes." (2) Kyle smiled fondly.
"What're you smiling about?" Tessa asked curiously.
"During our tour, we met an old man. Turned out the old man's name was Patrick Carney."
"...I don't recognize the name, Kyle." Tessa blinked.
"The Yankee Clipper!" Kyle grinned excitedly. "The man was probably one of the only remaining survivors of the First Line!"
"Oh, I see."
"Yup!" Kyle chuckled. "He was a nice old man. Got to spend some time with him. I told him I knew all about the First Line and his adventures back in the 1960s...before the time belt he had blasted him to the 1980s."
"Sounds like you had fun." Tessa chuckled.
"Oh, yeah." Kyle smiled. It was a shame he couldn't even tell Tessa the whole truth about the Superstars' tours...and their real purpose. "It was cool. Even got to witness the new Yankee Clipper come about."
"Really?"
"Yup." Kyle smiled. "She's the new local heroine of Lincoln, Nebraska. Nice girl. A bit green, but Pat said he'd keep an eye on her and help train her." Shame we couldn't get her to join the West Coast Misfits. The new tricks she was able to do with that time-travel belt would be handy. Crud. "...Boy, this conversation got off track, didn't it?"
"I'm talking to you, of course it does." Tessa snarked good-naturedly. "Kyle, the X-Men were just scared."
"Well, maybe if they weren't so damned scared of showing the world they were mutants, then maybe things wouldn't be so damned bad after all."
"It's perfectly normal for people to be scared of things, Kyle." Tessa said.
"The Thunderbolt thinks fear is useless." Kyle scowled. "If people gave into fear, there'd be no innovation. Man would never have left the caves. Man would never have gone to the moon. Man would never have asked questions about how the world works or tried to figure it out. Fear holds people back."
"Fear also has its uses." Tessa smiled. "Fear can be used to warn people, to keep them on their guard. Fear can inspire courage, Kyle."
"Yeah, right." Kyle snorted.
"Fear is something that can be overcome, Kyle. Yes, I can see your point, but it doesn't mean that the X-Men are moronic or they want to make life worse for our kind. Sometimes, a good intention can just go wrong."
"It just would be nice to hear them admit they screwed the pooch." Kyle grunted. "Just once."
Meanwhile, a man in a quiet corner of the mall (finding such a corner was a small miracle, as far as this man was concerned), a disguised Shocker removed his hat, and pulled on his brown and yellow quilted hood. He pulled out a phone from his pocket.
"Okay, whackjob." He said into the phone. "Let's do this. Have some fun." He pressed a button. "Once Surf Master is rampaging, we do our thing."
"Right." Fer-de-Lance was heard answering. "We're all in position, amigo."
"I nearly failed to reach my position thanks to a stupid teenager, but I am in position now." Dr. Cyber answered.
"I'm in place." Flame answered.
"Alright." Shocker nodded. "Let's do it. Unleash the whacko." He removed the rest of his disguise and put on his gauntlets. "Let's do this." Up in the sky, the Surf Master was flying high above the mall.
"When the going gets tough! The tough get going!" The insane inventor sang to himself as he swayed and danced on his board. He heard a beeping from his board. "Huh?" He pressed the side of his head, activating a communications channel. "Hellooooo?"
"It's time, whackjob." Shocker announced. "Have fun. Just remember to keep the cops distracted while we do our thing, then get out of there. You got a place to go."
"Don't you worry about me, Quilt-Man." Surf Master chuckled. "I'll be able to get away! I am the Invincible Surf Master! No one can beat me!" He grinned evilly. "After this, I'll pay Iron Man a visit. Wouldn't mind showing that tin-plated turdbag who the man is. When I beat him down, that punk Stark will show he never should've fired me! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!" He cackled madly.
"Uh...okay..." Shocker answered. "Just make a ruckus."
"Oh, goody!" Surf Master clapped his hands happily. "I love ruckuses!" He took a dive through the air, his surfboard's jets roaring. His face stretched out into a massive grin, showing malicious joy in what he was about to do next. He thought about those little people in the mall, going about their lives. Shopping, eating, talking, enjoying their new possessions.
They looked like little ants to the crazed inventor. Little ants scurrying around, going from place to place. He was going to give them a show. They all had a part in his loss of his job, his passion, his life. And he was going to show them one did not screw with Samuel Farley...no, not Samuel Farley. Not anymore. He was the Surf Master. And he would show the world what they created. They drove him to this.
His grin somehow widened as he saw the glass ceiling of the mall go closer and closer.
Well, well, well! Looks like the really big fun is about to begin! What insanity will happen next? Can our heroes save the day? Will Lila ever get Bobby? Will Kyle ever cut the X-Men a break? How truly insane is the Surf Master? Find out in the next chapter!
(1) – See RogueFanKC's "Box Lunch Bruisings"
(2) – The First Line was from the Marvel miniseries Marvel: The Lost Generation.It told the story of an era of heroes between the Golden Age Invaders and the debut of the Fantastic Four. The Justice Experience was DC's attempt to create a similar bridge between their Golden Age Justice Society and the Justice League. They were developed in the Chase title in the mid-1990s.