DISCLAIMER: I own Derrick Bolris. The Misfitverse this fic takes place in belongs to Red Witch, the characters of G.I. Joe belong to Hasbro, and everything else belongs to Marvel.
Chapter 11: Runaways VS Fantastic Four
"Holy crap," Derrick sighed as the Runaways stumbled into the Hostel.
"Took the words right out of my mouth," Chase said, immediately plopping himself on a couch to watch TV.
"We just barely escaped with our lives," Nico groaned.
"Well, at least the wedding itself went decently," Xavin pointed out. "Aside from the fact that I'm essentially exiled from the Skrull Throneworld."
"You could stay with us, Xavin," Karolina offered.
"I suppose I could," Xavin smiled. "If you're beside me, Karolina, I'll know I'm on the right path."
"Get a room!" Molly yelled.
"Uh, guys?" Chase said. "Look at the TV."
"This is LA news," said a woman on the television. "What appears to be the Fantasti-Car, the transport mode used by the New York heroes known as the Fantastic Four, is setting down here in Los Angeles. I'm going to try and interview Mr. Fantastic."
"The Fantastic Four?" Karolina said. "What are they doing here in LA?"
"Probably doing the dirty work their Avenger buddies couldn't do: throw us into foster care," Gert snorted.
"Excuse me! Mr. Fantastic!" the reporter said. "What exactly are you doing here in Los Angeles?"
"We've heard that there's a Skrull hiding somewhere here in Los Angeles," Reed explained, extending his head out of the Fantasti-Car. "We're here to investigate."
"What the hell?" Derrick said. "We only got back, what, five minutes ago?"
"I'm not surprised they're here for me," Xavin said grimly. "The Skrulls have had a long history with the Fantastic Four, none of it good."
"So, what do we do?" Molly asked.
"We have to confront them," Xavin said.
"What? Xavin, we can't do that!" Karolina cried. "We can't risk them taking you away!"
"Nor can we risk leading them to your lair," Xavin said.
"She's right," Nico said. "We're not running this time. We're taking this straight to them, Runaways to Fantastic Four."
****
"Come on, Reed," Johnny groaned. "Where's the Skrull?"
"Interesting," said Reed, glancing at a hand-held device. "According to this, the Skrull is moving…"
He looked up and saw the Leapfrog bounding for the Fantasti-Car.
"Straight towards us!" he finished.
The Leapfrog landed in front of the Fantasti-Car, allowing the hovering car to sail over it. The Runaways filed out of the Leapfrog, and when the Fantasti-Car landed, the Four exited their mode of transport as well. Xavin was in her Skrull form.
"What are you kids doing?" Reed asked. "Skrulls are very dangerous individuals!"
"Yeah, the only good Skrull is one that's back on his homeworld!" Johnny added.
"Throneworld," Xavin corrected.
"Whatever," Johnny said.
"If you're as much as genius as you're made out to be," Gert said, "you'd know that if Xavin was going to kill us, she'd have done it already."
"You're siding with a Skrull?!" Johnny cried, throwing his hands into the air. "I don't believe this!"
"Hang on a sec, Torchie," Ben interjected, "I think I've seen these runts before."
"Hey, you're right, Ben," Sue said, "they're the Pride's kids."
"Uh, I really don't have any affiliation with the Pride," Derrick said, raising his hand.
"Neither do I," Xavin added.
"Either way, you're going down!" Johnny yelled. "FLAME ON!"
Johnny suddenly became completely cloaked in fire, throwing a fireball directly at Xavin.
"Johnny, NO!" Sue cried, but her concern was unnecessary, as Xavin's arms became coated in the same kind of rocky hide Ben had, allowing her to deflect Johnny's fireball.
"The Super-Skrull?" Reed said.
"Heh, would've thought the Super-Skrull had the good sense to stay away from Earth after the last butt-kicking we gave him!" Johnny quipped.
Xavin's arms fell limply to her sides.
"Are you blind?" she asked. "I'm a Super-Skrull-in-training from Tarnax VII. I look absolutely nothing like Kl'rt!"
"Yeah, well, your Skrull buddies killed my father," Johnny growled. "You all look the same to me!"
He wound back to throw another fireball, but this time, Nico was ready to defend her new friend.
"Back off, hot-head," Nico warned, pricking herself.
"Hey, emo girl, you don't need to cut yourself to win me over," Johnny quipped.
"When blood is shed, let the Staff of One emerge!" Nico recited, releasing the Staff of One.
"What the heck?!" Johnny cried.
"Fire extinguisher!" Nico cried, and the item in question fell from the sky onto Johnny's head, bursting into a shower of foam that drowned out Johnny's flame. "Well, that wasn't really what I intended, but I guess it works."
"Hey!" Ben roared. "You might be kids, but no one does that to Torchie but me!"
Ben charged, but Molly quickly grabbed his outstretched arm and threw him into a building, using his momentum against him. Reed and Sue charged into action, launching the battle between the Runaways and the Fantastic Four into full swing.
With Johnny incapacitated, both unable to even light his finger aflame and only semi-conscious, the rest of the Four were outnumbered seven to three. Sue, however, quickly imprisoned Derrick, Chase, and Molly in a bubble.
"Hey!" Molly roared. "Let us out you freakin' bimbo!"
"Now that's just not nice," Sue remarked. "Guess I have to keep you in there until you calm down."
"Sure about that?" Gert asked as Old Lace barreled towards Sue, mouth stretched open.
Sue had no time to react, Old Lace swinging her tail around and slamming it into Sue's stomach. Her concentration broken, the Invisible Woman was unable to sustain the force field, thus releasing the trapped Runaways.
Meanwhile, Reed was confronting Nico, Karolina, and Xavin. Reed constantly stretched himself out of the way of Karolina's energy beams, Nico's spells, and Xavin's flame streams. Xavin soon deactivated her flame, however, and changed her tactics.
"Let's see how you deal with an opponent on equal footing!" she challenged, stretching herself in the same way Reed did. Xavin, however, punched Reed in the face before entangling him in her entire body, coiling around him like a snake.
"All right, that's enough!" Sue screamed, trapping every combatant (including Johnny) into separate bubbles. "All right, this fight is getting both sides absolutely nowhere. We need to calm down and settle this like adults."
"I thought we were," Chase said.
"Okay, maybe that was a bad example," Sue blinked. "Well, either way, let's just discuss this like rational people."
****
After several minutes, everyone was released from Sue's bubbles (with the exception of Johnny who insisted on attacking Xavin). After several minutes of rational speech, Reed spoke up.
"Wait a minute," Reed said, "Xavin said she's a Super-Skrull-in-training. The Skrulls are training children to be super-soldiers?"
"Look for answers somewhere else, Mr. Less-Than-Fantastic," Nico said. "We're done here."
"Hey, hold up!" Ben cried as the Runaways entered the Leapfrog. "We can put in a good word for you with the Avengers!"
Some of the Runaways did pause at that.
"Then maybe we can get you some mentors, have you properly trained…" Reed listed.
This prompted the Runaways to leave.
"Well, that mission wasn't a total success," Reed said as the Leapfrog leapt away, "but it wasn't a complete failure, either."
"Are you kidding?!" Johnny snapped. "Reed, we just let a Skrull get away!"
"Oh, be quiet, Johnny," Sue admonished. "Xavin actually seems like one of the few good Skrulls. I just wish she and her teammates would trust us more, though with their history I honestly can't blame them."
"Let's just get back to the Baxter Building," Ben sighed. "Doctor Doom probably attacked while we were out."
"Don't jinx it, Ben!" Johnny groaned.
****
On the S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier, Captain America came to visit Morbius again.
"It's been three months, Michael," Captain America said. "You have to have decided by now."
"I have," Morbius said. "I have decided to become an Avenger."
"Then welcome to the team, son," Captain America smiled.
"Do not let my decision swell your head, Captain," Morbius snarled. "I only concluded that being an Avenger was the lesser of two evils."
"Either way, you'll be a fine addition to the team," Captain America said. "Now come on, I'll take you to the Avengers HQ."