KH: Mutants of Twilight Track-A - Brawl at Brown University

by L1701E

One-Shot. In an alternate timeline of RogueFanKC's Misfitverse, the X-Men are introduced to a very different version of The Superstars, and a brawl breaks out at their show in Brown University! Read and Review, please!

Kingdom Hearts: Mutants of Twilight – Track A: Brawl at Brown University

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their owners. This is purely for fun.

This story is a retelling of RogueFanKC's story "Box Lunch Bruisings" set in an alternate timeline I call "Track-A". "Track-A" is an alternate timeline of the Misfitverse written by my former friend RogueFanKC. Many years ago, he and I had a really bad falling out, which was my fault. It's something I'm not proud of and I deeply regret it.

In September of 2022, he told me that he forgave me for my actions towards him, but he will not forget what I did, and he said he never wanted to hear from me ever again. Which was understandable.

I chose to start Track-A with a retelling of "Box Lunch Bruisings" because it was the story that introduced the Superstars in RogueFanKC's Misfitverse. I felt it was the perfect point in the MoT-Verse timeline to introduce this alternate version of them. I hope you enjoy this story, as I had a ton of fun writing it.

Misfit Manor, The Pit

Misfit Manor's kitchen was abuzz with activity, much more than usual. You see, the Misfits were involved in a very special project. One that was...very different from what one would expect a bunch of mutants living on a military base would be doing.

"Agh!" Lance Alvers hissed in frustration as he accidentally nicked his thumb again. This was the third time he had done so. Chopping garlic and carrots didn't seem to agree with the earth-shaker. A scowl crossed his face as he turned to his fellow Misfit. "Can you explain to me why the hell we're doing this again?"

The Misfit he was talking to was pulling some chicken out of a deep fryer. She sighed in irritation. "Because, Lance. Hawk and Xavier think doing this whole box-lunch thing will help smooth over any bad feelings between us and the X-Men after that whole thing with the Phoenix Force and Apokolips. Not to mention they needed to rebuild the obstacle course thanks to us practically destroying it last time we went through it. And finally, it's part of our punishment." Althea Delgado explained.

"Punishment?!" Lance said incredulously. "Punishment for what?!"

"You mean you don't remember that fight we got into?" Wanda Maximoff drawled in a deadpan voice as she grated some cheese. "The one in Main Street of Gotham City? The Justice League, and the police departments of Gotham and Metropolis got dragged into it!"

"I remember it, yo!" Todd Tolensky chuckled, munching on some chocolate-covered grasshoppers. "Low Light got a chuckle out of Cover Girl giving the Flash a knee to the nards."

Quinn frowned at Todd. "I don't know how you can eat those. Yech." She stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"What?" Todd blinked. "They're delicious! Got plenty of protein, too."

"I remember Lance caused some major damage to said Main Street when he started a quake that fractured a sewer pipe." Fred recalled as he drained some pasta.

"Worth it." Lance smirked. "Jamie told me that ol' Metalhead got doused with sewage real good. He couldn't get the smell off, even after taking ten showers with soap and bleach, ha ha ha!" The earthshaker laughed as he continued cutting his vegetables. "Dammit!" He cursed quietly and sucked his finger. These vegetables hate me!

"Also, General Hawk is still very mad at you, Pietro." Althea added, jerking her thumb at the speedster.

"What, me?!" Pietro yelped in shock, dramatically putting a hand on his chest. "What did I do?"

"You don't remember?" Wanda scowled. "Oh wait, of course you wouldn't."

"You handed some photographers from the National Enquirer pictures of the Joes drunkenly celebrating New Year's Day." Brittany reminded as she and her sisters got into a small food fight with some potatoes.

"Oh yeah, the ones with them singing karaoke in their underwear with lampshades on their heads." Quinn said.

Lina winced. "I can still hear Duke and Flint's screams when they saw that issue."

"I did wonder why you suddenly were spending more time tutoring me and babysitting Claudius and Barney more." An amused Justin smiled.

"Oh shut the hell up, you wannabe-Ned Flanders." Pietro muttered as he used his superspeed to mix some cookie dough.

Xi frowned in confusion. "What exactly is this 'box-lunch fundraiser' for?"

Quinn licked some frosting off her fingers. "It's being held for Brown University." The young telepathic triplet explained. "They're using it to raise some funds for the new hall they're building. It's evidently almost done, so any extra money will go to charity." Lance frowned.

"Why would they do this? You'd think they'd have no problem getting some rich alumnus to donate the cash. Heck, doesn't that happen a lot?" He questioned.

"Well, there's a reason why they were having trouble getting the funding." Quinn continued. "There was some big embezzlement scandal recently there, involving some of the high-up faculty."

"Oh, I see." Lance nodded. "Makes sense. Why donate when you don't believe the money will go to where it's supposed to?"

"And as for why we and the X-Men are involved, well..." Quinn shrugged. "The higher-ups at Brown figured that since the scandal has caused them to have troubles getting funding, they figured that they may as well let us help raise some cash."

"So, they're desperate." Lance deduced.

"It does work." Althea nodded. "Our presence would raise a lot of notice, and since they're already in bad shape, they figured we couldn't make things any worse."

"No such thing as bad publicity." Pietro snickered.

"You would definitely be the expert on that..." Fred muttered.

"That does explain why they'd be so willing to let us do this." Lina said as she removed an apple pie from the oven.

"That explains the purpose, but how does this box-lunch auction work?" Xi asked as he put some random food items into a box.

"It works like this, Xi." Daria Delgado explained while piling fix-ins into a sub sandwich. "It's basically an auction. You bid on a box-lunch without knowing who made it. Whoever gets the highest bid wins the box-lunch. But this particular auction has a little twist." She smiled dreamily. "Whoever wins the box-lunch in this auction has to go on a date with the person who made it."

"Really?" Xi blinked.

"Mm-hmm." Daria nodded. "There will be two auctions: One for the boys' lunches, and one for the girls' lunches. Hopefully, we'll win Jamie's box lunch!" She and her sisters giggled in delight.

"Let me guess, ya drugged the food, didn't you?" Todd frowned, placing some chocolate-covered grasshoppers in a bag.

"Us? Never." The triplets answered innocently in unison. The amphibious mutant could have sworn he saw little halos over their heads to match their angelic expressions.

"Besides, if he runs for it, we have a plan for that." Brittany held up a dart gun. "These darts with low-grade horse-tranquilizers will make sure he won't get too far." The triplets giggled as they revealed they all had dart guns.

"Am I the only one here that's disturbed by this?" Lina whispered. Fred and Justin shook their heads.

"Alright, alright, alright." Althea sighed, waving at her sisters to be quiet. "I have to make a confession to all of you. There's also another reason why we're going to this little shindig." Althea smiled. "We're going to meet some new mutants that G.I. Joe recruited."

"New recruits?" A confused Xi inquired.

"That's news to us." Fred concurred.

"Yeah, the Joes wanted to keep this as much on the down-low as possible." Althea explained. "You see..." The smile on her face grew wicked. "They will not just be appearing at this whole thing. They're performing there."

"Performing?!" Wanda repeated in disbelief.

"Yup." Althea confirmed, her wicked smile remaining intact. "The Superstars." The other Misfits were utterly shocked. Well, except for Xi.

"Shut. The. Front. Door." Brittany yelped.

"No way!" Wanda gasped in surprise. She and Lance glanced at each other in shock.

"Way!" Althea nodded fiercely.

"Who?" Xi asked.

"The Superstars." Lance repeated. "The world-famous rock band. Their last album went platinum seven times over. Number one in sixteen countries. They're mutants?!"

"All five members." Althea confirmed.

"Whoa!" Daria gaped in shock.

"We-we listen to their music when we work in our lab!" Quinn added.

"Yeah, their songs are energizing." Brittany nodded.

"Wait, how did they recruit the Superstars?!" Fred asked.

"I listen to their stuff when I tinker with my Jeep." Lance recalled. "They do a great cover of Queen's 'I'm in Love With My Car'."

"How did the Joes even learn the Superstars are mutants?!" Justin also asked, just as dumbfounded as the other Misfits.

"I...I knew they were mutant rights supporters, which has gotten them a lot of controversy, but...I never imagined they'd be mutants themselves." Lina said.

"Yeah, this...this is new." Todd agreed.

"Makes a weird bit of sense." Fred tapped his chin.

Pietro scoffed at his insectoid and amphibious compatriots. "Please. Have you seen them on stage?" Lina shook her head. "Trust me. I saw them do a live performance on TV once. It wouldn't surprise anybody if it was revealed they were mutants."

"Well, there's a story behind how the Joes learned the Superstars' little secret." Althea glanced at Fred and Justin. "Remember that recon mission Barbecue, Recondo, and Airtight went on in Los Angeles some time ago?"

"Yeah, they were looking into an arms deal between Cobra and a local H.A.T.E cell." Todd nodded.

"I don't see how this involves the Superstars." Lina said.

"Well, the group were checking up on some old friends in the area. You see, they were members of a mutant gang in the area before they were famous: the Fallen Angels. The deal was happening on their territory."

"I get it." Lance realized. "The Angels didn't want Cobra or H.A.T.E on their turf."

"Pretty much." Althea confirmed. "They brawled with the Cobra and H.A.T.E guys there. The Superstars ended up joining forces with the three Joes. The band used their powers to break the deal up."

"But wouldn't they have gotten outed as mutants?" Lina pointed out. "I can't imagine any of the Cobra or H.A.T.E people there agreeing to keep that quiet. Cobra especially would have salivated at the idea of revealing their mutations to the world."

"That's the beauty of their powers. Well, two of them at least." Althea grinned. "Let me show you." She pulled out her phone and put up an image she showed to her teammates. It depicted two lanky handsome teenage boys with chocolate brown eyes. One wore a black bodysuit with a futuristic glittery purple jacket with silver epaulets, and silver stripes on the sleeves in the vein of a military rank. The lapels were black and had silver five-pointed star-shaped studs on them. He wore black fingerless bliker gloves. Around the waist was a black belt with silver studs on it, and on his feet was a pair of silver boots. Over his right eye (left if one looked at him) was a purple mark in the shape of a perfect five-pointed star. His eyes were friendly, and he had a smile on his face.

His twin had the same face, but his star-shaped mark was black. He was frowning, and his eyes were more intense. He was dressed smiliarly, but traded in the black bodysuit for a pair of black leather pants and a black t-shirt. His belt was black, with silver studs on it. His jacket appeared to be a plain black leather jacket, with studs on the lapels, and silver spikes on the shoulders in place of epaulets. The sleeves were white with black five-pointed stars on them, and silver rank-style stripes on them.

"Paul Starr. Craig Starr." Althea introduced. "Paul is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and keyboardist. Craig Starr plays bass guitar. Both brothers have powers centered around their star birthmark-covered eyes. You see, they can fire laser beams from them, and create flashes of light from them. Powerful flashes that can temporarily blind...or put someone in a hypnotic trance."

"I get it." Xi smiled in understanding. "The Starr Brothers were able to hypnotize the HATE and Cobra members into forgetting they saw the Superstars use their powers."

"Exactly." Althea confirmed.

"Wait, the stars on their faces weren't makeup?" Justin said.

"Nope." Althea shook her head. "The stars on their faces appeared not long after their powers manifested." She swiped to another image on her phone. This one showed a tall Amazonian African-American girl. Her hair was in braids, decorated by black, white, and blue beads. She wore a blue futuristic jacket, white pants, and glittery blue boots. The jacket had silver and gold rank stripes on the sleeves and collar, and matching epaulets. The jacket had gold and silver buttons on it. The outfit gave the impression of a futuristic space navy uniform. She had a blue 5-pointed star over her right eye. "Meet lead guitarist Joanna Cargill, aka Joanna Starr. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Joanna is a powerhouse. Superhuman strength, durability, and stamina. Has been observed having brief bursts of superhuman speed."

Althea swiped the phone's screen, revealing another image. This one was of a handsome Filipino boy. His dark hair was windswept, and decorated by a pair of cyan futuristic goggles. He wore a futuristic leather jacket similar to Joanna's, only cyan instead of blue. He had on black pants and cyan boots. He had a cyan 5-pointed star over his right eye.

"Keyboardist Michael Macagapal, aka Mike Starr. Born in Manila, Philippines, but grew up in New York City. Aerokinesis and Hydrokinesis."

"Pfft, a low rent Storm." Pietro mocked.

"We can't all have unique superpowers, Pietro." Quinn frowned.

"You of all people should know that." Justin smiled. "You're not the only speedster around." Pietro scowled and crossed his arms.

"Razzum frazzum Flash..." The silver-headed speedster muttered. Althea then pulled up a fifth and final image. This one depicted a skinny teenage boy of Mexican heritage. His short brown hair was kept out of his face by a green headband. The brown sleeveless shirt and glittering green leather jacket showed that he had toned arms. The shirt had a golden design on it meant to evoke a seismogram. Around his wrists were a pair of brown studded wristbands and green gloves covered his hands. He wore a pair of green leather pants with brown stripes down the sides. His outfit was completed by a pair of comfortable black combat boots. Around his own right eye was a green 5-pointed star.

"And finally, drummer Julio Esteban Richter, aka Julio Starr. Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, raised in Mount Pleasant, Texas. Seismokinesis."

"Eh, a low-rent you." Pietro smirked at Lance.

"Awww, shut up." Lance grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Interesting..." Xi noted. "They have the same last name, but they clearly are not related."

"That's the gimmick, Xi." Lance said. "The idea is that the Superstars are all the children of an alien rock musician who hooked up with various women all over the place when he toured Earth. They're doing a concept album about it. I'm looking forward to it. Sounds awesome."

"An alien rock musician." Pietro scoffed, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes in disbelief.

"To be fair, it's not that implausible." Lina defended.

"She is right." Fred nodded.

"Whoa." Todd blinked.

"Impressive bunch there." Xi complimented with a nod.

"I'd like to arm wrestle Joanna." Fred chuckled. "Test my strength against her. Are they going to join us here?"

Pietro snorted. "Don't be stupid, Blob."

"...kind of. They'll be Misfits, but not with us." Althea answered. "Remember that Joe strike force in California?"

"Yes, I remember." Lina recalled. "Those two spies the Joes had sent in to report on the Hellfire Club's activities were sent there. From what I remember...they did not take it well."

"Yeah, they were furious." Lance added. "They called Whithalf a liar. Didn't Red Dragon try and take a swing at him?"

"No, he just spat at him and cursed him out." Althea said. "Thunderbolt was the one who tried to take a swing at him. Threw a chair at him, too."

"Well, they shouldn't have exposed themselves as spies." Pietro snorted.

"I get it." Althea admitted. "I mean, it was stupid, but I do get why they did it." She sighed. "But we can't do anything about that now. The Superstars are also going to be operating from the Joe base in California. Basically, we got a new team of Misfits now."

"Huh." Fred rubbed his chin in thought. "A West Coast Misfit team..."

"I thought they weren't going to form a new Misfit team yet." Xi blinked.

"Yeah, the original plan was that after some things got settled in, they would start forming a new team." Althea recalled. "But with the Wildfire brothers and the Superstars, the timetable got upped."

"Didn't they get another member, too?" Todd remembered. "Jinx."

"Yeah, Whithalf found her after that whole thing with Trigon and brought her on board, too." Althea confirmed. "But that's not important right now. Here's the thing. Because the Wildfire brothers are on the team, and the Superstars can't afford to have the knowledge they're mutants get out, we have to keep quiet about the existence of the West Coast Misfits."

Justin raised his hand. "Is this a good idea?" He piped up, uncertainty showing in his voice. "I mean, things already aren't the best between our two groups. If the X-Men find out we have a second team of Misfits and we already knew about it, won't it make things worse?"

Pietro snorted. "I would like to remind you that they already hate us, Ned Flanders. It's not like that would change with this little revelation."

"It's not like we're hiding them just for laughs, Justin." Althea tried to reassure her blond-haired teammate.

"Although it is funny." Pietro snickered. "I mean, an entire team of Misfits right under their noses! I can imagine the X-Geeks will feel like an utter bunch of idiots when they find out, ha ha!"

Whap!

"OW!" Pietro yelped, rubbing the spot on the back of the head where Fred smacked him.

"We have good reasons to do this. Hopefully, we'll be able to properly introduce the X-Men to them in the future. When it's safe for the world to know about them being mutants." Althea explained.

"I have to agree with Justin on this." Lina concurred. "Concealing this from them might not be the best of ideas. We can't keep them hidden forever."

"I'm just worried that the X-Men might..." Justin frowned as the human-Whitelighter hybrid tried to find the words. "Might...take out their grudge with us on them. I mean, I've been reading up on the old files. I know why the X-Men and Misfits have their bad blood. The West Coast Misfits don't have that history. I...I don't want the history between this team and the X-Men to end up poisoning things between the X-Men and the West Coast guys. They don't deserve it."

"It's not like we have a ton of choice on this, I'm afraid." Althea sighed. "It's imperative they have to be kept on the down-low, as they say. So, yeah. None of you say a word about this. I've already endangered them by speaking about them to you. This isn't about some petty ridiculousness over the X-Men 'stealing recruits'. If the wrong ears hear about the West Coast Misfits, it will put their lives in danger. So keep this quiet, alright?" The other Misfits nodded...and then turned to Toad.

"What? What?!" He yelped.

"If the West Coast Misfits end up being revealed and endangered, it'll likely because of this guy's big mouth." Pietro mocked and jerked his thumb at Todd as he went back to the oven and pulled out some gingerbread cookies.

"Hey, I ain't that bad!" Todd snapped.

"Yeah, right!" The silver-haired speedster laughed. "You couldn't keep a secret even if you were paid to!"

"You want a beating, yo?!" Todd growled, holding up his fist. Althea put a calming hand on his shoulder and sighed.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but he does have a point." The water-manipulating kunoichi said. "Don't get me wrong, Toddles. I love you more than air, but you do tend to let your mouth run sometimes."

"So, what'll the band be doing as members of these...West Coast Misfits?" Brittany asked.

"They'll be working incognito, helping to investigate and deal with threats while maintaining their cover as a rock band."

"But they are an actual rock band." Lance pointed out.

"Exactly! That's why it's a perfect cover for them." Althea grinned. "Nobody's going to question them being a real band, because they actually are. They made music, perform at concerts. As someone with ninja training myself, I think it's brilliant."

"Yeah, like the Blind Master taught us." Todd let out a grin of his own. "If a ninja goes undercover, they have to have a working knowledge of what they go undercover as to make their performance more realistic. For example, we go undercover as a priest, we need to know the rituals."

"Research, research, research." Althea said amusingly, recalling the sensei's words. Meanwhile, Fred and Lina had managed to find a private little corner to have their own conversation.

"So, what do you plan to have in your box-lunch, Fred?" Lina asked shyly.

"Uh-uh." Fred shook his head and hid his box behind his back. His large gut was easily able to keep it out of the insect girl's view. "You're going to have to bid for it, just like everyone else. But don't you worry. I'm going to leave a clue in the wrapping that it's mine."

"A clue, huh?" Lina smiled sweetly. "That sounds like a fun challenge."

"I will give one hint: the wrapping." Fred told her. "You'll tell from the wrapping that it's my box lunch."

"Well, I do know one other thing." Lina said. "Whatever you're making, it will be delicious." It was then that Todd looked over Pietro's shoulder to see what he was baking.

"Man Pietro, those gingerbread cookies you're making smell delicious Whoa boy!" His yellow eyes widened as he yelped. The other Misfits gathered around and saw the cookies Pietro made.

"Oh, sweet baby Jebus..." Lance grumbled.

"Why did you bake those gingerbread men like that?!" Althea asked.

"Are they doing what I think they're doing?!" A disgusted Quinn scowled.

"Yup." Pietro smirked proudly.

"Pietro, we really need to talk." Fred shook his head.

"Well congratulations, my dear insane brother." Wanda groaned. "You just gave new meaning to the term 'baker's dozen'." The hexcaster facepalmed hard, and mentally asked every deity she could think of what she did in a past life to deserve having Pietro for a brother.

The Xavier Institute

Like the Misfits, the X-Men were also working hard on box lunches for the auction. Sam Guthrie had walked into the dining room, carrying several box lunches. He headed towards a pile of them, and carefully placed the box lunches on the pile. He noticed a whistling Bobby Drake carefully placing a cherry pie on top of a powerful spring in the box. He pressed the pie down, and quickly closed the box. The prankster then got to work wrapping it up.

"...what are you doin'?" A confused Sam blinked. Bobby looked up at the Kentuckian mutant with a serene smile on his face.

"Just preparing a little gift for a miss Lina Chakram in Fred Dukes's name." Bobby answered, wrapping the box. "Miss Chakram will get a very nice surprise when she opens this baby up. The ol' pie-in-the-face is a classic. Annnnd done!" Bobby grinned triumphantly. Sam looked at the box.

Said box was wrapped in red with the blue five-pointed star that was the Dallas Cowboys' logo on it. The box also had a caricature of Fred Dukes's face on it. The ribbon was white, with "BLOB" written on it in golden bold lettering. Sam had to admit, it looked like something the Misfits' resident Texan powerhouse would make.

"Uh...why are you doing this?" The blond Kentuckian asked.

"You know that Lina is crushing on Freddy, but neither of them are too shy to make a move?"

Sam nodded. "This is a weird way to encourage them..."

"No, Sam! Lina will bid on this if she thinks it's Fred's. If she wins it, she'll get a pie in the face! She'll think Fred made it, and she'll be furious at him."

"...why are you doing this?"

Bobby flashed a wicked grin. "Because it'll break Fred's heart, and Lina will be free. I'll sweep her off her feet with my own box lunch." He pointed at a second box lunch. This one was wrapped in blue with white ribbons on it.

"What's in that one?" Sam asked.

"Tamales." Bobby said.

"You made tamales?"

"Yup." Bobby nodded. "Growing up, we had this neighbor who cooked for a Mexican restaurant. He taught me to make Mexican food. He said I had a knack for it. Lina is going to love my tamales."

"Bobby, what if Lina loses?"

"Then somebody else will get pied, and I'll get some laughs." Bobby chuckled.

"But won't the Misfits know that's not Fred's? I know some of us like to make fun of him, but he's not so dumb he won't know which box lunch he made or did not make."

"I admit, that bit puzzled me, too. But I'll think of something." Bobby shrugged.

Sam rolled his eyes and walked away. "I ain't gonna say anything..." Mainly because it'll be funnier to see it blow up in your face. "...but you're goin' ta Hell for this."

"At least I'll have Lina's heart." The icemaker chuckled, looking over his prank box lunch with pride. He glanced at the real one. Lina, my tamales will blow you away...

West Coast Misfit Base. Malibu, California

"Well, the Superstars are still in Rhode Island." General Walter Whithalf reported. He and two other men were having a little conference in a meeting room.

"Makes sense they would be." General Hawk nodded. "After all, their tour still is going through the northeast. They're heading to Connecticut next." The two looked at the third man in the meeting room. He was sitting in one of the chairs surrounding the circular gray-and-white marble and wood table, leaning back and his hands steepled. His brown hair was in a short and neat cut, showing it was graying at the sides. He was dressed in a green Army dress uniform, with several medals on it.

"I admit, I was surprised you all wanted me involved with this group." The man said. "I mean, considering that I have criticized the Misfit program in the past."

"We wouldn't have called you in to help if we weren't in desperate need of it, Joseph." Whithalf assured. "With my responsibilities, I cannot take full command of this post. And we both know you are used to the...fantastic..."

General Joseph B. Colton, aka the original G.I. Joe, nodded in agreement. He had to admit, his adventures over the years showed him the world was more incredible than he ever could have imagined. "True. But that was what my issue with the Misfit program was. I get the point of the program was to help rehabilitate wayward superhuman teenagers and all, but putting them in colorful costumes like the Fantastic Four or the Justice League and making them fight other people in costumes and terrorists and the like?" He shook his head. "It sounds more to me like we're making these kids into living weapons."

"I understand that, Joseph." Hawk nodded. "But that was never the intent. The intent was to help a bunch of superpowered teenagers."

"Besides, it's not as if teenage superheroes are anything new." Whithalf smiled. "After all, there are the X-Men, the Titans." His smile went wistful. "I have to tell you younguns about the days of the Kid Commandos."

Colton frowned. "You know what they say about good intentions. The road to Hell and all of that."

"Yeah, we understand." Hawk said. "But these kids? Superpowered battles are nothing new to them. I take it you read the files."

"Yes, I have." Colton nodded. "The former Brotherhood of Mutants, I get. But the West Coast Misfits? Those kids are rock musicians, not soldiers."

"Soldiers can come from every walk of life." Whithalf reminded the younger man sagely. "May I remind you where you came from?"

"I remember." Hawk smirked. "Which is I think you of all people shouldn't be going on about us recruiting a rock band."

"Yes, I know. Punk rock kid from Rhode Island. That's what you called me when we first met, Walter." Colton nodded, rolling his eyes. "And yes, I was in a band myself as a teenager."

"You should meet them, Joe." Hawk encouraged. "They're good kids. At heart. They mean well."

Colton chuckled. "Alright, I will say hello to them. I'll also help how I can with the Jugglers. I haven't been actively involved with them in years, though..."

"But you still have connections with them." Hawk reminded. "That will be handy."

"Indeed." Whithalf agreed. "We appreciate this, Joe."

Colton nodded. "No problem. I still have my issues with the Misfit program, but if they're needed to save the world from what's coming..." A sigh escaped his lips. "I guess it is what it is."

Brown University, Rhode Island

It was a nice day in Rhode Island. The clear blue sky had very few clouds, and the temperature was not too warm, but not too chilly. The X-Men, Misfits, and GI Joe had arrived on the campus thanks to the Mass Device's teleportation abilities. Blob and Rogue had been put in charge of laying out the box lunches. The group got to learn a little bit about Cover Girl's past thanks to this event. Mainly that the ex-model was a alumnus of Brown.

She actually had started her modeling career during her college days to help pay tuition. The X-Men and Misfits had also suffered an unfortunate run-in with Malerie Surprise, the Southern US-born model/mogul who was an old rival of Cover Girl's. The run-in caused the heroes to learn that the new hall was being named after Surprise. Shortly afterwards, the two groups of superhuman teenagers approached the stage the Superstars were going to perform at.

"Wow." Scott whistled to show how impressed he was with the way the stage was set up. The stage had a large black backdrop with a starfield theme. The floor of it was decorated to look like the surface of an alien world, with purple paneling and some painted rocks that had bits of glitter on them. Julio's drum kit and Michael's keyboards were on an elevated platform with a set of stairs in front of it. The sides had walls of speakers. Finally, there was a large monitor in the back. It was a simple setup, but it was still quite nice.

"I saw the Superstars perform on TV. They were doing a show in Tokyo." Amara said. "The stage there was much more elaborate."

"To be fair, they were performing in a stadium, Amara." Jean pointed out. "This is a college."

"You gotta love they're keeping with the whole space thing they love so much." Tabitha snickered. She then noticed Storm trying to fry Shipwreck again. "Maybe they could hire Storm to do some special effects."

"Well, considering the Superstars' whole thing is they're space aliens, that's not surprising." Bobby chortled.

"They're half-aliens." Lance reminded. "The gimmick is they're the children of an alien rock star that hooked up with a bunch of Earth women."

"Yeah, their next album is going to be a concept album telling the story." Althea nodded. "The Superstars let us listen to a couple of demos for it."

"It's gonna rock, yo!" Todd grinned. "And those were just demos. Imagine when the songs are fully done!"

"How'd you get to meet the Superstars, anyway?" Scott asked.

"Yeah, I don't get the impression they'd like hanging out with you guys. Considering they're celebrities and all. And you guys are...you." Rogue said.

"They see us as the rock stars of the mutant world." Lance smirked smugly.

"Well, it's not really as crazy as you all think." Althea said. "You see-!" She started to explain the cover story, but she was interrupted by a friendly voice.

"Hey, Al! How you guys doing?!" The voice greeted warmly. The hydrokinetic kunoichi couldn't help but smile when she turned and saw Paul Starr walking up to them, the other four members of the Superstars right behind the dark-haired rocker. He had waved at Althea as he and the other four Superstars walked up to the group. They were clad in civilian clothes, Paul and Craig using makeup to hide their star-shaped birthmarks.

"Paul! How are you all doing?!" Althea laughed, giving the rocker a hug. "It's good to see you!"

"Hey, it's always stellar to see you and the Misfits again!" Paul agreed. "And we're doing awesome, as always."

"X-Men, say hello to our friends: The Superstars!" Althea introduced, waving at the band.

The X-Men were admittedly in awe of the young musical celebrities in their midst. After all, it wasn't every day even for this group of merry mutants that they got to cross paths with the famous. Paul Starr wore a pair of purple jeans with black boots. They were held up by a black belt with silver studs. He wore a KISS t-shirt with a silver bandanna around his neck. His wild black hair was kept out of his face by a purple headband. Around his wrists were some silver bracelets and a pair of zebra-print ribbons, and he wore a pair of purple tiger-print opera gloves, with the fingers removed.

Craig Starr wore a similar outfit, but much less glam rock. His jeans were black and he wore a KISS t-shirt as well, but he also had on a sleeveless black leather jacket with studded lapels. The boys had covered their star-shaped birthmarks with makeup. He also had a nightstick that was hanging on his hip, held up by his own belt. His hands were covered by black fingerless gloves.

Joanna Cargill's hair was in braids, decorated with white, black, and blue beads. She wore a Janet Jackson Rhythm Nation 1814 t-shirt with blue jeans and blue sneakers. She also had on a blue baseball cap, and wore studded wristbands around her wrists.

Julio Richter wore a brown t-shirt and green cargo shorts, with black sneakers. He had on black fingerless gloves like Craig's.

Michael Macagapal wore a cyan flat cap. He also had on a black shirt with the top button undone, and a partially-undone cyan tie, with a pair of blue jeans, and wingtip shoes. His outfit was completed by a smartwatch around his right wrist.

"Wow. This...this is an honor." Scott said.

"Like, I can't believe it! The Superstars! This is so totally cool!" Kitty whooped.

"Nice to meet you!" Paul smiled.

"Hey." Julio waved.

"Greetings!" Mike tipped his cap.

"How you doing?" Joanna greeted.

"Mm." Craig nodded.

Jean turned to Althea. "I believe you were about to tell us how you guys met?"

"We attended a show they did in Miami." Althea said. "A nutjob high on Mutant Growth Hormone attacked the show, screaming about 'the libs trying to gay children'."

"The...what?" Rogue blinked. Althea rolled her eyes.

"I have no idea. We helped the Superstars stop him from harming anyone." Althea explained. The cover story for explaining how the Superstars and the Misfits first met was perfect, as it had plenty of truth to it. The Misfits did attend the concert in Miami, and the MGH-addled madman's attack did happen.

"Oh yeah, Ah heard about that on the news."

"Although we didn't have to do a whole lot." Todd snickered. "The Superstars beat the holy tar outta him, yo."

"Nobody wrecks a Superstars show." Craig scowled.

"Oh yeah, they say you guys can get...fierce when bigots jump the stage." Rogue recalled.

"Dumb druggie bastard ended up in traction for a week." Julio snickered.

"They're only useful for punching practice." Joanna shrugged.

"It's really neat to meet you guys." Sam said.

"Yes, we've never met famous musicians before." Amara added with a nod.

"Well, I do hope that we gave you a good first impression of famous musicians." Mike winked at the Nova Roman, making her giggle.

"Wait, you've heard of us?" Ray asked. The Superstars looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

"Well, yeah! Of course we have!" Mike said.

"You guys are aware you're famous yourselves, right?" Joanna asked.

More like infamous. Craig thought.

"Yeah, we've heard about you guys on TV." Julio nodded. "Not all of it good, though."

"Meh." Mike waved. "We know that there's a lot of exaggeration."

"Well, we have heard about you guys speaking up for mutants." Scott said. "It's something we really appreciate."

"It is nice to see celebrities speak up for mutants." Kurt agreed.

"There is a reason why we do so." Craig explained. "Before we got famous, we used to busk on the streets of Los Angeles for money."

"Busk?" Scott blinked, showing his unfamiliarity with the term.

"You were street performers!" Amara realized in amazement. "I've seen many back home! They were wonderful."

Craig nodded. "We've seen many kids our age turned out on the streets or have run away for a variety of reasons." Craig said. "They were mutants, they were mentally ill, LGBTQ+, whatever."

"Mmmm, I do remember reading an article in a magazine about mutant kids forming gangs in major cities." Scott recalled.

Craig nodded. "They have to. They're the only ones who will watch out for and protect one another. No one else will." He narrowed his eyes at Scott. "Not even the X-Men." The X-Men looked a bit taken back by that. Pietro tried to hide a smirk.

"I...see." Scott said.

"We've seen gangs like that back in LA." Joanna added.

"It's why we use our music to call attention to it." Paul continued. "The media sadly likes to portray mutants in a very negative way, but they aren't so bad, really."

"Yeah, we were friends with members of one such gang." Mike continued. "They did fight with others, but they only did so to help keep their turf safe from real criminals. Hell, people actually preferred being protected by them instead of actual police!"

"Considering how cops act, I don't blame them." Joanna frowned.

"I take it they liked your music?" An amused Rogue cracked. Mike shrugged.

"Well, can't fault them for having good taste." He smiled winningly.

"So, why are you performing here?" Jean asked.

"Well, we love doing charity events." Paul explained. "As Craig said, we've seen a lot of kids our age have to make their own way without any parental support. He and I can relate, as we're orphans."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Kitty said sincerely. Paul shrugged, a smile on his face.

"It's alright, thanks. The band has become a family to us."

"Yeah, this doofus decided to enter a box lunch." Craig rolled his eyes and jerked his thumb at his twin. He then noticed that some of the X-Girls had started to crowd around Paul. And it wasn't just the X-Girls. Some of the college girls were starting to crowd around the young singer like iron filings to a magnet. "And here we go again."

"What the-?" Scott blinked.

"Yeah, I'm still wondering how he does that myself." Mike nodded, crossing his arms. "I mean, come on, Julio. We're not exactly unpleasant to look at ourselves."

"Paul can have 'em, man." Julio grinned.

"Could you imagine a girl version of him?" Joanna said, jerking her thumb at Paul.

Oh God no! Julio tried not to show any sign that disturbed him greatly. A female Starr? There's no way that could be a thing!

Remy scowled. "Remy don't like this Starchild guy one bit."

Scott sighed. "Look, let's just calm down. Besides, Paul Starr seems nice enough. From what I understand about him, he's actually a gentleman, so I think it'll be fine. Not to mention he's a famous rockstar. Asking a known mutant girl for a date would sink his career, and he doesn't seem like the type who is stupid enough to do that."

---

A curious Xavier had spotted Cover Girl in conversation with another woman. This woman was a statuesque beauty of Indian heritage, and was clearly in her mid-to-late 50s. Her dark hair had a streak of gray in it, reminding the X-Men's founder of Rogue's hair. She wore a cream-colored women's cut suit with a yellow blouse. Around her neck was a pearl necklace. Amusingly, Xavier noted that instead of high-heels, she wore a pair of practical and comfy white hi-top sneakers. He wheeled up to Cover Girl and the woman. "Ah, Cover Girl. Forgive me, but I take it you are familiar with this woman?"

"Oh yes, she's a friend of ours." The brunette ex-model smiled at the bald telepath. "I believe that we told her about you. Sonja, this is Charles Xavier. Charles, meet Sonja Singh."

"Pleasure." The British-Indian woman shook his hand, her accent showing she was a Londoner.

"Sonja here is the Superstars' manager." Cover Girl explained. "She's the reason the band is performing here."

"The Superstars love doing charitable events." Sonja smiled. "I take care of the Superstars when it comes to their careers and business. I'm also essentially their guardian. The music industry does have its darker side, and I do my best to protect them from it." She added. "I was the one who found them and convinced them to let me represent them. Those kids are all orphans and runaways."

"Yes, I have heard that Paul and Craig Starr have no known family." Xavier recalled. "Have you tried to reunite any of the other band members with their families?"

"Actually, I have." Sonja said, a happy smile on her face. "Well, except for Paul and Craig Starr, of course. I have no idea who their parents are."

"I perhaps could help with that. I know some people." Xavier offered. Sonja shook her head.

"I appreciate it, but I don't think they'd help much, I'm afraid. Paul and Craig themselves have no idea who their parents are. They grew up separately. It's why they're so different from each other despite being identical twins."

"I see." Xavier asked. "How did they find each other?"

"Well, that's quite a story itself." Sonja smiled. "I don't wish to discuss it without their permission, if that's alright with you."

"Of course." Xavier nodded. His instincts told him there was more to this, but he shrugged it off. Those same instincts also told him there was more to the Superstars, as well as Sonja herself. The temptation to use his powers to eavesdrop was great, but he had little trouble resisting it. If there was more to the Starr brothers' reunion, the Superstars, or Sonja, it would reveal itself in due time. In Xavier's experience, things like that always did.

---

A nondescript-looking man glanced around. He pulled his red cap down, hoping it would help hide his face. He quickly glanced at the object he had hidden under his coat. He moved towards the Superstars' stage.

This'll show those traitors once and for all... the man thought as he quickly pulled up some of the tarp and pulled the object out of his coat. He attached it to the metal stage rigging underneath the tarp, and pressed some buttons on it. A small green light activated, and the man smiled.

"Hey!" Red Cap turned his head and saw a security guard heading towards him. "Hey, you! What're you doing there?!" Red Cap's eyes widened and he ran off. "Hey! Hey! You get back here! What're you doing?!" The guard started to pursue, but then he remembered that Red Cap placed something under the stage. He went over to look at it. His eyes widened when he pulled up the tarp and saw the object. It was clear what it was.

"Ah, geez." The guard winced when he saw the bomb. "This looks bad." He eyed another guard nearby. I'd better show him this. "Hey, Jerry! Over here!" He called out, waving at him to come over here. The other guard walked over.

"What's up, Chad?" He asked.

"Get a load of this." Chad pointed out the bomb to Jerry. He let out a wince of his own.

"Aw, hell. That's clearly a bomb." Jerry groaned.

"Yeah." Chad nodded. "You know anything about bomb-disposal?"

"You wish." Jerry snorted, then shook his head. "I didn't train for this. My thing was jungle warfare."

"And mine was firefighting." Chad said. "I saw some clown in a red hat slip this under the stage."

"...we'd better get Sonja." Jerry nodded. "The Joes are here, maybe they can help."

"What're you guys looking at?" The two turned and saw the Trinity smiling at them.

"Oh, uh...hey girls." Chad waved. Jerry stayed silent, but nodded. These men may have seemed like standard stage security, but they were actually secretly Joe "Greenshirts", new recruits that were undergoing Joe training. They would get full codenames when promoted to full team membership. They were posing as private security to help keep secret that the Superstars were actually members of the Misfits' California-based offshoot team.

"What're you doing?" Brittany asked.

"Looking at a bomb." Chad pointed it out to the triplets. The girls blinked at the improvised explosive device.

"Ooh." Quinn winced.

"Yeah, it's simple, but it'll make quite a bang when it goes off." Daria agreed after visually examining it.

"You know, I don't think you girls should be talking to us." Jerry frowned in concern. "If those X-Men spot you..."

Brittany rolled her eyes. "They're too busy dealing with the box lunches right now." She eyed Daria looking the bomb over. "Sis?"

"Yeah, we can defuse this easily. It's not complex." Daria pulled a tool out of her belt.

"Oh yeah, we can take care of it." Quinn agreed with a nod. "No need to worry anyone."

Brittany eyed the new Malerie Surprise Hall. A flash of inspiration hit the young telepathic genius. "In fact, I know the perfect way to handle this problem..."

---

Renee Dietz smiled at the crowd. Despite some of the tensions due to the presence of the X-Men and Misfits, it was a pretty successful box lunch auction so far. Thankfully, GI Joe and campus security were working together to make sure things didn't erupt into a fight. After all, in these situations, there was always someone who wanted to play tough guy. Notably, one student tried to throw a banana at Scott, but ended up having the piece of fruit shoved up his nose.

The slightly heavyset brunette woman went up to the podium and held up another box lunch. This one was the prank box lunch that Bobby had made and wrapped to look like it was Fred's handiwork.

"Gee, I wonder who made that one?" Rogue rolled her eyes and snorted sarcastically at the box, with his caricatures of Blob and the Dallas Cowboys logo plastered on it. Next to her, Lina jumped up in excitement.

"That has to be Fred's!" She yelped. "That clearly is his!" She raised her hand. "Ten dollars!"

"Isn't this a bit obvious?" Amara asked, her face scrunching in suspicion. "I mean, we know Fred is...a bit lacking in the brains department, but wouldn't this be a bit blatant for him?" As Amara spoke, Dietz called for more bids. Nobody else bid on the box lunch.

"Girl, this is the Blob. He would." Tabitha snorted as Lina claimed the box lunch.

"I can't wait to see what he made!" The insect-like girl grinned. Unnoticed by her, Bobby Drake watched intently.

That's right, Lina. You'll love what "Fred" cooked up for ya. The cryokinetic fought down the urge to smirk.

"And now, a box lunch from one of our very special guests: Mr. Paul Starr himself." Dietz announced, as an assistant put another box lunch on the table. It was wrapped in white with purple 5-pointed stars on it, and tied with a zebra-striped ribbons. Many of the girls there gasped in excitement.

"Uh oh..." Scott groaned. Lance snickered.

"What's the matter, Summers?" The geokinetic mocked. "Can't stand that your girl ain't immune to the rockstar mystique?"

"I will blast you." Scott snarled.

"Thirty dollars!" Rogue yelled.

"Fifty dollars!" A sorority sister yelled. "Like hell some mutie freak is getting a date with Paul Starr!"

"Uh, Karen? I don't think he'd like that." Another sister pointed out.

"Shut up, Lisa!"

Jean held up her hand. "Sixty dollars!" She glared at Karen. "And if you talk like that again, I will lodge my foot in a very painful place!" She threatened the wide-eyed sorority sister. Lisa smirked at Karen.

"I'll hold her down for you." Lisa offered, making Karen glare at her.

"Seventy dollars!" A girl yelled out.

"One! Hundred!" Amara countered.

Oh my, this box lunch is proving more popular than I thought! Dietz mused bemusedly.

"Like, no way, Amara!" Kitty whooped. "That date with Paul Starr is totally mine! One-hundred and fifty dollars!" Scott smirked at Lance.

"What was that about the rockstar mystique?"

"I. Will. Bury. You." The earthshaker growled at the optic blaster. The bidding over the box lunch got ugly. Tempers flared as the price went up, and Dietz found herself worrying that some fights were going to break out. In a tent, as the Superstars were getting ready to perform, they watched the box lunch auction go down on a monitor.

"Damn." Joanna blinked in amazement. "Who'd have thought one box lunch would cause all of this?"

"Especially since it was just a sub sandwich and some chips." Paul noted.

Mike scowled at his bandmate. "How the hell do you do it, man?" The Filipino elemental asked. Paul just merely shrugged.

"Trust me. I'm his brother, and I'm just as clueless as you." Craig snorted. He then eyed one girl on the monitor. A certain dark-haired girl in red, with golden ankh earrings. She looked rather bored by the whole thing. The Los Angelan mutant found himself slightly transfixed by the bewitching looks of Wanda Maximoff...

"Craig? Craig? Earth to Craig?" A familiar accented voice shook the dark-haired mutant out of his reverie. He turned to see the face of Julio Richter. "You went into space on us, amigo. You okay?"

"I'm...fine." Craig muttered, trying to force the blush out of his face.

"Oh, the big bad Darkstar has a cru-uuuush..." Joanna teased with a big grin.

"Oh, who's the poor girl? Or is it a guy?" Mike teased. Craig shook his head.

"None of your business." He grumbled.

"Be nice, you guys." Paul said. "I think it's sweet." "It's Wanda, isn't it, dear brother?" The purple-starred mutant boy teased. "She's just your type."

"Shut up, Paul." Craig mentally grumbled back at him. "I hate that link. I hate it so much..." He muttered. Sonja Singh then peeked into the tent.

"Kids, time to get ready to play! It's intermission time!" She announced.

"Thanks, Sonja!" Paul waved. "Alright, guys. Let's do this." He held out his hand. "Let's take this show and audience to the stars!" The other four Superstars put their hand on his. They let out a combined "WHOO!" and raised their hands up. The five young mutants then went up to the stage.

"Give 'em a show, kids!" Sonja whooped. A warm smile was on her face. I love these crazy kids.

"And now! Ladies, gentlemen, whatever you choose to identify as, get ready for some very special entertainment for you all!" Dietz whooped as she stood on the Superstars' stage. "We at Brown University are proud to present...the Superstars!" The crowd whooped and cheered as the band took the stage.

"Hello, Brown University!" Paul whooped as he picked up his purple 5-pointed star-shaped guitar and slung it over his shoulder. "Are you ready to rock?!" The crowd's cheers became more intense. "Alright, everyone! One! Two! One, two, three, four!" The band then started performing their latest hit song, "Nightlight". The Superstars wowed the crowd with their performance. As was tradition with their live shows, they not just performed their own songs, but did a couple covers, notably Dakota's "Into the Night", Bad Company's "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy", and Red Rider's "Lunatic Fringe", as well as a couple songs from the band they considered themselves the spiritual successor of: Kiss. Particularly "Detroit Rock City", "Time Traveler", and "100,000 Years". Fans were danging and singing along.

Charles Xavier watched the performance with a smile on his face. While he would admit, the Superstars were not exactly his cup of tea when it came to music, he was amazed about how their music seemed to easily melt the tensions of the crowd. It was like he was seeing his dream come to life.

"Incredible." Hank McCoy noted.

"No kidding." Jake Clawson agreed.

"It's almost...magical." Ororo added.

"Their take on Kiss ain't too bad." Logan complimented. Charles had to agree. It was almost like the Superstars' music had some kind of magical power to make people happy...

KABOOM!

The Malerie Surprise Hall suddenly went up in a massive explosion. The crowd gaped and murmured amongst themselves.

"Now there's something you don't see every day." Mike noted.

"Huh." Joanna blinked. "Looks like somebody screwed up with the pyrotechnics."

"The hell was that?!" The Blind Master gasped. Cover Girl burst out laughing.

"There was a rumble, and Surprise's new hall is now rubble." Roadblock explained.

"Hey, you suppose those freaks were behind this?" Karen asked, jerking her thumb at the X-Men and Misfits.

"Wasn't us!" Rogue snapped angrily. The monitor on the Superstars' stage then went to static...before showing some new footage. It was of Malerie Surprise herself, talking to another man.

"What the hell did you do, Surprise?!" The man snapped at her. "You set off the bomb too early! And you moved it! It wasn't supposed to go off until the freaks and those traitor Joes got on the stage to get that special commendation from that fat blob Dietz!"

"I don't know!" Surprise angrily hissed back. "Your man must have screwed up! Why'd he put it in the hall named after me?! Has that brainless buffoon never seen a stage before?!"

"Jerry is not a buffoon!" The man angrily responded. "He's one of my best men! If he said he put it under the stage, then he put it under the stage! Somebody must have moved it!"

"Don't look at me! I was all to happy to help you out here because I want to see that skank Cover Girl get her body parts sent to every corner of the country! It's not my fault your men are morons!"

"Don't you take that tone of voice with me, lady!" The FoH man jabbed Surprise in the chest with a finger. "The only reason the Friends of Humanity donated that money to your damn company was because you wanted to help us take out those genejokes...wait..." He seemingly looked out at the audience. "Is that a drone? With a camera?!"

"Smile, you're on Misfit TV!" The voices of Daria, Brittany, and Quinn Delgado mocked in a unified sing-song voice. "Thanks for the confession! I'm sure the police will really enjoy watching this!"

The man was shown about to pull out a gun from a holster on his belt. "Destroying the drone won't erase it." Daria warned. "The footage is in the cloud. Also, we were the ones who moved the bomb."

"We can't take the credit for discovering it, though. A pair of very nice security guards found it." Quinn added. Chad and Jerry smiled at each other.

"We helped save the day." Chad smiled. "We're heroes."

"Yeah. We rule!" Jerry high fived his fellow guard. "Alright!"

"Thanks to our little drone here, everyone watching the concert is now watching you!" Quinn continued. Surprise's face turned a ghostly white.

"...Everyone?!" The entrepreneur yelped.

"This...is not surprising." Piotr sighed.

"Huh." Scott looked at Althea. "I've got to admit, your sisters are clever little punks."

"Dammit all to hell!" The FoH man cursed. He pulled out his phone. "Troops, time to go to Plan B! I repeat, Plan B! We're gonna have to cleanse this place the old-fashioned way!"

And then...it hit. Like a wave of pure hatred, a swarm of FoH troopers came from seemingly nowhere, charging towards the crowd. They roared in fury and bloodlust, carrying various weapons, from guns to more improved items like planks, pipes, and baseball bats. The crowd of students and teachers scattered and screamed in horror, running for their lives.

"I take it we can hurt them?" Rina Logan, aka X23, asked the artificial lizard-like Misfit known only as Xi.

"Yes." He confirmed. Rina smirked and unsheathed her claws.

"BRING IT OOOOOOOOOON!" She roared as she charged the FoH soldiers. She was followed by Xi, Toad, Razor, Blind Master, and Logan. Althea sighed.

"Yeah, is anyone surprised? We should have seen this coming." She remarked as she dodged an FoH soldier who swung a two-by-four at her head. She tripped the soldier, causing him to fall on his face.

"Yeah, you have a point, Wavedancer." Jean agreed as she created a telekinetic shield to protect the crowd from rocks and Molotov cocktails that the anti-mutant forced were trying to rain on them. I should have stayed in bed today...

One FoH soldier hefted up a bazooka and pointed it at the stage.

"GOT YER ONE-WAY TICKET TA HELL RIGHT HERE, YA TRAITORS!" He yelled, a manic grin on his face.

"Oh, geez!" Paul's face blanched in fear. Joanna also paled. Her invulnerability likely would allow her to survive this. However, her bandmates and friends would not. Also, if she tried to use her power to protect her teammates...well, either way, her being a mutant would end up being revealed. The X-Men had to remain in the dark about them being mutants.

"Everyone! Duck and cover!" Craig roared as the Superstars scrambled off the stage for their lives.

BLAM!

"AAAGH!" The FoH soldier roared in pain as a bullet hit him in the shoulder. It caused him to jerk his bazooka up as he fired it. The rocket flew clear over the stage, causing it to hit the ground near two more FoH soldiers, sending them flying. The Superstars turned and saw Sonja standing in front of the tent next to the stage. She held a gun, and it was pointed in the direction of the soldier. The barrel was still smoking.

"Kids!" The British-Indian woman called out to them. She waved towards the tent. "Get in the tent!"

"What about our instruments?!" Mike asked.

"Forget them! You're more important! Get in here!" Sonja ordered. The five teenage musical mutants obeyed their manager/den mother.

"Big ol' brawl and you want us all to hide in here." Joanna frowned as the group entered the tent. She scowled as she peeked out at the big fight. The powerhouse found herself greatly understanding why the Wildfire Brothers hated the Joes.

"Not hiding." Sonja said. "We're getting out of here." She picked up her phone. "You all remember the plan in case of something like this. We teleport you out, wait for the fight to be over, and then teleport you back in here secretly. As far as the X-Men will know, you all were here the whole time."

"No way." Craig shook his head. "Punks like them have always been pains at our shows since we made it big. Nobody wrecks a Superstars show!" The young mutant secretly known as Darkstar was not speaking in humor. The Superstars may have been regarded as great musicians, they also had a reputation for being rather ferocious brawlers. Before this show, the group had performed at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence the previous night. A group of FoH members tried to rush the stage...and the beatdown the Superstars gave them was regarded by the concertgoers as legendary. The dimwitted soldiers would spend the next year in traction, one of them would have to relearn how to walk.

"This isn't some random bunch of hoodlums!" Sonia argued, trying to keep her voice to a whisper. "This is a full-on bloody invasion! Not to mention you might run the risk of revealing your little...special talents?"

"We can't just sit by and do nothing." Paul insisted.

"Yeah. We got a rep to maintain." Joanna agreed, punching her palm. "Big ol' fight out there, and we're stuck in here! Nobody messes with the Superstars!"

Sonja shook her head as she noticed how Joanna was looking outside the tent. I will never understand these kids' love for brawling. And I was British Army! "Kids, let the X-Men and Misfits handle this. Your 'rep' is not worth it."

"Sonja, I know you're just trying to protect us, but..." Paul shuffled nervously a bit. "I don't feel comfortable just standing by and doing nothing."

"Paul, staying out of the way is helping out here." Sonja tried to reassure the young mutant. "The Misfits can't fight these lunatics and keep an eye on you at the same time."

"She has a point." Craig grunted. "I don't like it, but she has a point."

"Well, I don't." Joanna scowled, crossing her arms. "There's a big ol' fight over there, and we're sitting it out like a bunch of scrubs."

"Besides, it's not like we needed to use our powers to beat up a bunch of bigots." Mike shrugged. "I mean, I got my sticks." He turned to Julio. "Yo Julio, you had them, right?"

"Yeah, they were in my drum kit." The Mexican mutant nodded. The group then heard an explosion. They peeked outside, and saw a sight that horrified them.

"The stage!" Sonja screamed.

"Our instruments!" Joanna added. The stage was reduced to a ruin, their instruments practically destroyed. Craig noticed his beloved bass guitar. The bass was meant to resemble a black axe, much like Gene Simmons's bass. And now it was a broken, smoldering wreck. The young mutant grit his teeth and growled angrily. His star-covered eye glowed a hot angry purple. He glanced at two laughing FoH soldiers, high-fiving and looking smug. One was carrying a bazooka.

"That wasn't the one Sonja shot." Paul noted.

"Hell yeah! Nice job, Timmy!" The non-bazooka holding soldier laughed.

"Yeah!" The bazooka-wielder chortled. "Shame those mutie-lovers weren't on the stage when I blew it up, Chuck!"

"Would have been fun to see those little traitorous punks get blown to hell!" Chuck agreed. "At least they won't be able to brainwash any more of our people with their lies."

"I. Liked. That. Bass." Craig growled.

"Oh, it's personal now!" Joanna agreed. The two Superstars ran out of their tent and charged the two soldiers.

"What the hellAGH!" Timmy yelled as he saw Craig Starr's nightstick smash him across the mouth. Chuck got a taste of Joanna's fist. And with that, Paul, Julio, and Mike jumped into the fight. Well, Paul grabbed a fire extinguisher and tried to put out the flames with it.

"Oh, brother..." Sonja groaned, putting her head in her hands.

"Yo, Mike!" Julio pulled out a pair of light blue escrima sticks from a compartment in his damaged drum kit, and tossed them to his bandmate.

"Thanks, amigo!" Mike whooped as he caught the sticks. Thankfully, those were practically indestructible.

"AGH! HELP ME!" Timmy screamed. Well, he tried to scream. Craig's nightstick broke his jaw, and based on the blows the young mutant was raining on him with said weapon, it was like he was hellbent on breaking every other bone Timmy had.

"You. Owe. Me. A. Bass." Craig snarled. He finished the FoH soldier off with a stomp to the face.

"HRAAAAAAAA!" Joanna yelled as she downed Chuck with a powerslam that would have had the late Davey Boy Smith clapping in pride. Sonja sighed.

And here comes another gray hair... The woman mentally groaned as she rubbed her temples. She loved these kids like they were her own. She really did. Sonja had a special empathy towards mutants, considering her own past. But like all parents of teenagers, whether biological or otherwise, there were times when she wondered if some god caused this purely for the sake of trolling her.

---

"Glue missiles, away!" Jamie whooped, pointing his glovatrix at some of the charging soldiers. In response to the verbal command, said gauntlet fired some small missiles at the soldiers. The missiles released their payload: globs of glue that held their hands to their sides.

"You people have no shame!" Jean snapped.

One of the soldiers glared at the redheaded mentalist. "You're one to talk! You freaks think you're all gods! That you can do whatever you wa-!" The soldier, and his companions, then suddenly stopped stiff. Their eyes rolled back, and they suddenly collapsed. Roadblock ran over and checked their pulses quickly.

"No need for the mood to take a dive, these people are very much alive." The heavy machine gunner announced.

"Nice job, Jean." Multiple complimented. She just looked at him in confusion.

"I...didn't do that." She said. Roadblock noticed out of the corner of his eye Paul Starr giving a quick and clandestine smile and thumbs up. Another person noticed it as well.

"Paul, watch it!" Sonja hissed, trying to help put out the flames. "Remember, they're supposed to think you're a baseline human."

"Sorry!" Paul apologized, his voice a whisper. "I didn't want them to get overwhelmed."

"They have it handled." Sonja assured. "Just stay out of the way and help me put this fire out."

"My shoulder..." The FoH soldier who originally tried to shoot at the Superstars whimpered. He was on his knees, and clutching his would from Sonja's gun. "My shoulder...it hurts so baaaaad..."

"Oh, shut up!" Wanda grumbled as she downed the man with a roundhouse kick. "God, these jerks whine so much..." Another soldier scowled as he pulled a gun on Wanda. The hexcaster turned around...and heard something cutting through the air.

WHAM!

"AGH!" The soldier screamed and dropped his gun as the nightstick smashed into his hand. He clutched his wounded hand and found himself blitzed by Craig Starr. The dark-haired LosAngelan kicked him in the mouth, then stomped on his body. He quickly picked up his nightstick and smashed the soldier across the mouth with it, knocking out three of the man's teeth and sending him into dreamland. Wanda stomped towards him.

"The hell are you doing, Dar-Craig?!" Wanda hissed in irritation. She managed to stop herself from revealing Craig's West Coast Misfit codename. "You guys are supposed to keep a low profile!"

"Oh, please." Craig sneered. "People know our reputations for getting into brawls with bigoted morons like this trash right here." He gestured at the downed soldier. He then lowered his voice to a harsh whisper. "And just because we said we'd keep our powers a secret doesn't mean we can't or won't fight without them. We don't need powers to take down these bitches anyway." Craig tried to put venom into his words, but he found himself struggling to do so with the girl he was glaring at.

"Even though it puts your very lives at risk!?"

"I appreciate the concern, Wanda. But it's hardly needed." Craig drawled mockingly. The two continued glaring at each other, but they both found they really had some trouble churning up some real actual anger towards each other.

It didn't help that their cheeks were red.

---

Over at the Student Center, one of the second class of mutants of Xavier's school was doing their part to stop the madness.

"C'mere!" One FoH soldier snapped as he grabbed a terrified student. He raised a brass knuckle-armed fist. "I'll teach you to betray our kind, youuuuuuYYYEOWCH!" He screamed and ran off as a fireball hit his butt.

"Get back, you pigs!" Amara snapped angrily. She stood in front of a crowd of students, scaring off a group of FoH students with some fireballs. She then helped the students get inside the building. "You'll be safe here!"

"Come 'ere and die, mutie!" One of the FoH men said as he advanced towards Magma, about to bash her with a bat. The blow was blocked by one of Mike's escrima sticks.

"Now now, sir Billy Bob. It's not nice to attack a lady." The Filipino keyboardist smiled confidently at the man. The soldier snarled at Mike. To the Nova Roman's amazement, the hydrokinetic/aerokinetic seemed completely unperturbed. But then again, he was a member of a rock band that was known for being rather vocal about their support for mutant rights, so he was likely long used to people like this.

"You want some of this?! I'll kick your little ass too, mutie-lover!" 'Billy Bob' snapped and swung at Mike with his bat. He continued swinging at the young mutant, but Mike easily weaved and dodged.

"Yeah, you're never going to make it to the majors with that swing, buddy." Mike taunted.

"Mike! I got this!" Magma prepared a fireball in her hands.

"Relax, babe." The Filipino mutant smirked. "This dude's nothin' to me!" He twirled his sticks. "I've been training in escrima since I was three."

"What the hell is escrima?!" The soldier exclaimed. "Is that some mutant thing?!"

"It's a martial art. Also known as Arnis or Kali." Mike smirked. "It's the martial art of the Philippines. And I doubt your tiny little mind is capable of learning it."

"I don't need no pansy-ass marriage arts! I'm gonna break your skull then shove those little sticks of yours down yer throat!" 'Billy Bob' roared. He swung his bat, but Mike easily rolled to the side, then smashed the bigger man in the knee with one of his sticks. 'Billy Bob' howled in pain as he fell forward and dropped the bat.

"Yup." Mike nodded. "You are too dumb to learn it." The keyboardist was a whirlwind, repeatedly smacking 'Billy Bob' with his sticks. He smirked as the man fell down. "Consider yourself lucky, pal. I'm Filipino. I could've used a knife." He mocked as 'Billy Bob' fell unconscious. He then shot Amara a wink, which made her blush and giggle a bit. "I also do weddings, bar mitzvahs, and birthday parties."

When the chaos started, Lina Chakram ran to get her box lunch to a safe place. "Oof!" The insectoid mutant girl got knocked over, causing the box lunch she won to fly into the air. "Oh no! My box lunch!" She wailed as it flew in an arc in the sky. It landed in the hands of an FoH soldier.

"What in the-?" The woman asked in confusion. "What is this?" Someone tapped her shoulder. "Huh?" She turned around.

"Thank you." Fred took the box lunch, then knocked the soldier out with a careful punch.

"Thank you so much, Fred!" Lina happily took back the box lunch and opened it.

"Uh, Lina? I didn't make that-!"

SPLAT!

A cherry pie in a pan attached to a spring popped out and splatted the insect girl in the face. She glared at Fred. His eyes widened.

"Lina, I didn't make that-"

"You jerk!" She angrily threw the box lunch at Fred and stomped away. Fred went after her, trying to tell her he didn't make the box lunch. Bobby Drake noticed this, and pumped his fist in triumph.

Yeah! He mentally whooped, a victorious grin on his face. Take that, Blob! At that moment, Jean Grey telekinetically deflected some grenades, causing them to hit the box lunch displays. The grenades blew the displays to pieces. Several surviving box lunches survived, flying into the air. One of them was Paul Starr's...and it landed in Iceman's hands. The cryokinetic's eyes widened when he realized this. "Uh oh."

"THERE IT IS!" One college girl screamed, pointing at it. "GET HIM!"

"Aw crap..." Bobby muttered. The brunet mutant ran for his life, a swarm of screaming college girls chasing him. He saw an FoH soldier, and the young cryokinetic got himself a wicked little idea. He tapped the man's shoulder.

"What?" He asked.

"Hey, could you do me a favor? Hold this for me, would you? Thanks!" Bobby handed him the box lunch and ran for it.

"...huh?" The FoH soldier blinked in confusion at the wrapped box in his hands. He looked up when he heard the sound of a stampede. His eyes widened as he saw the swarm of college girls charging towards him.

"THAT GUY HAS IT!" One of them yelled. "GET IT! GET THAT BOX LUNCH!"

"OH NO! AHHHHHHH!" He screamed and tried to run, but ended up getting piled on. "HEY OW GET OFF ME AGH DON'T TOUCH ME THERE!" Bobby watched the man get mobbed, an amused smile on his face.

"Heh heh heh..." He chuckled to himself. "Man, I am good."

WHACK!

"Uhn!" Bobby grunted as he got whacked by a baseball bat. The young mutant fell over. Luckily for him, his ice armor was able to muffle most of the blow, but it still made him feel a bit loopy. A sneering FoH soldier tossed his baseball bat aside and pulled a gun out of his holster. A smirk formed on his face. Unknown to him, someone else picked up the bat and headed towards the FoH soldier.

"Uh, what hit me..." Bobby shook his head. He turned over. "Hoo boy..." Bobby looked up at the smirking FoH man.

"Welcome to Hell, mutie." He pointed his gun at the downed X-Man. A thud could be heard as his eyes rolled to the back of his head...and he collapsed. Bobby blinked as Julio walked up to him, holding the baseball bat that the FoH man discarded. He looked at the bat and smiled.

"Home run." The Mexican mutant quipped. He held out his hand. "You okay, man?"

"Yeah...yeah. Ice armor took the brunt of it." Bobby nodded, then took the hand and let the drummer help him up. Julio smiled at him.

"That's good." He picked up the FoH member's gun and took the clip out. "Stay safe, okay?"

"Yeah, thanks." Bobby smiled at the musician. He went back into action, a smiling Julio watching him. The drummer felt his heart skip a beat a bit.

Wow. He has a gorgeous smile... The Mexican drummer thought dreamily. He was taken out of his reverie by a noise. "Nope!" He casually knocked out a charging FoH member with a punch to the mouth. A second charged towards him, but the Mexican mutant whacked him in the gut with his bat, and then smashed his jaw in with the improvised weapon. Julio looked at the downed men and sighed. "You guys are clowns!" He watched Bobby get to work trying to stop the FoH soldiers from harming anyone. The smile returned to his face. I hope I get to know Iceman a little better in the future...

---

The FoH member hit Joanna with a punch that seemingly knocked her back.

Good thing ol' Jake Wildfire taught me how to sell blows. The mutant guitarist thought. Joanna had no problem hiding her strength, but the thing about invulnerability was...it was not something one could hide easily. She could feign feeling a hit, but the thing she couldn't fake was a man breaking his hand when punching her jaw. The FoH man screamed and clutched his fist.

"AAAAAGH!" He howled in pain. "Is your jaw concrete or something?!"

"Nope. I drank my milk." She smirked, miming putting her jaw back in place. "Builds strong bones." the angry FoH man lashed out with his other fist at her jaw, but it had the same result. "Yup. Bigots like you tend to be real soft." The powerhouse bit down the urge to burst out laughing at the screaming man putting his injured hands under his arms. She smirked and kicked the soldier in the crotch.

"BYYYYY-YOHYOHYOHYOHYOH!" The soldier howled, jumping up and down and clutching his crotch.

"You liked that, little nuts?" She taunted. The mutant guitarist then grabbed the man and hit him with a spinebuster that would have made Arn Anderson proud. "Heh."

"GET THAT MUTIE-LOVER!" A voice roared. Joanna turned around and saw a group of FoH members charging towards her. She grinned widely. It was no secret among the rest of the Superstars that Joanna loved a good brawl.

"Come get some!" She whooped as she charged them. The men tried to pile on her, but she was able to force them off. "It's a party!" She saw one FoH soldier charge towards her with a bat. "What's happenin', my brother?!" She deftly stepped aside and used the soldier's momentum against him, grabbing the back of his head and shoving him into another group of FoH members.

Meanwhile, right nearby, Scott Summers was using his optic blasts to help out. He saw one FoH soldier menacing Karen and Lisa.

"Gonna bash you traitors..." She snarled, pointing her rifle at them. Scott blasted the rifle out of the woman's hands, then blasted her.

"Go! Run!" Scott ordered.

"Thanks!" Lisa helped Karen up and the two ran.

WHAM!

Scott found himself getting hit in the crotch by a baseball bat.

"WAAAAAAAUGH, MAH BOYS!" Scott wailed as he went down to the ground. The optic blaster had crumpled into a fetal position, covering his lower torso and whimpering the entire time. The FoH soldier that hit him grinned madly. The corners of his mouth were foaming. It was like he had gone rabid.

"I am going to enjoy this." He crowed triumphantly, raising the bat over his head. "I've been wanting to kill a mutie for so long..." A sneering Joanna grabbed one of the man's arms and twisted it. The sound of bones creaking could be heard and the man screamed in pain, dropping his bat. She locked the twisted arm under one of her own, then punched the man in the face. "Augh! My nose! You human-hating trai-!" Another punch to the face. Another. Another. Another. And another. The man slumped over, unconscious. Joanna then released the locked arm, letting the man fall to the ground. The mutant musician then walked over to Scott.

"Need a hand?" She offered one to him.

"Thank you." Scott whimpered in a high falsetto, taking the hand. She helped the X-Man get back up to his feet.

"You need a doctor?" She asked.

"Would not hurt." Scott admitted. Joanna looked around and saw Lifeline nearby, helping a civilian who got injured in the brawl.

"The doc's over there." Joanna said.

"Oooooh, I think they're inside me. Is this what it's like to be a woman?" Scott moaned. Joanna frowned.

"You're lucky you're cute. In that sad nerd kind of way." The powerhouse muttered as she helped Scott towards Lifeline.

Later that day

Renee Dietz looked over at the damage to the campus with a sigh. She turned to Sonja, Xavier, and the Blind Master.

"I will be honest with you all." The woman said. "The other members of the school board are getting on me about the damage done here, and I'm afraid I'll have to institute a lifetime ban on the X-Men and the Misfits. I am sorry." Dietz apologized sincerely. "If it is any consolation, I think you guys are real heroes. You saved a lot of lives today, including my own. I won't forget that."

"We appreciate that." Xavier said. "If you wish, I would like to donate towards repairs."

"G.I. Joe would also like to do the same." Blind Master added.

"Same with the Superstars." Sonja added.

Julio picked up one of the box lunches that survived the whole affair. It was blue, wrapped in white. He walked up to Renee.

"Hey, who's is this?" He asked, holding up the box. Renee blinked at it.

"Why, I believe that was from Robert Drake." Dietz recalled. "We never got to put that one up for bid."

"I'll buy it!" Julio quickly said. "How much?" Xavier and the Blind Master chuckled, and Sonja shook her head, her face showing an amused smile.

"Julio, I think Miss Dietz has more important things to worry about right now." The manager pointed out.

"Think of it as a way to help donate to the rebuilding." Julio held out some money. An amused Dietz took the money.

"Thank you." She said sincerely. Julio happily walked off with his prize. Sonja looked around at the wrecked campus, then at Xavier and the Blind Master.

"I take it this is a regular thing with you lot." She said.

"Oh yeah." The Blind Master groaned. "Unfortunately."

"I wish it wasn't." Xavier sighed. "Quite a few of my students are fond of your music. I hope this doesn't give you a negative view of the X-Men." Sonja chuckled.

"Don't you worry about it, Professor." The British-Indian woman assured. "I know the Misfits. And besides, I know managers that can tell you some very crazy stories about the artists they worked with."

"I envy you. You get to work with a rock band." Blind Master said. "Compared to our kids, you have it easy."

You have no idea, Zatoichi. Sonja thought. The four heard a screaming. They turned their heads and saw a screaming Malerie Surprise run by...being chased by a bull that was being ridden by a cackling Cover Girl.

"Toro! Toro!" The tank driving Joe beauty cheered. Xavier sighed and facepalmed. Sonja blinked.

"Huh. Reminds me of the last time the Superstars performed in Spain." She remarked. Xavier and Blind Master shot her a confused look. "Long story."

West Coast Misfit Base, Malibu, California

General Colton walked into the living room of the West Coast Misfit Manor, where he found four more young mutants hanging out. Two of them were sitting on the couch watching TV. They were both girls, petite in body type. One of them had pink hair that was styled almost like handlebars...or devil horns. Her features indicated she was Indian. Her skin was a pale gray in color, and her eyes were pink, with slit pupils like a cat's. She was wearing a black dress, with black-and-purple striped leggings.

Jinx. Real Name: Unknown. Birthplace: Unknown location in India. Affiliations: H.I.V.E. (Formerly). West Coast Misfits (Currently). Physiology: Baseline Human (Mystically Enhanced). Powers and abilities: Probability manipulation, limited spellcasting knowledge, skilled acrobat.

The other girl had magenta-colored hair. Her skin was lilac in color, with dark pink triangular markings above and below her solid greenish-white eyes, and a matching diamond-shaped marking on her forehead. Her features showed she was of Afro-Chinese heritage. She wore a green sweater and blue jeans with sandals.

Blink. Real Name: Clarice Ferguson. Birthplace: Cartusia, Bahamas. Affiliation: West Coast Misfits. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers and Abilities: Teleportation, portal generation. Skilled martial artist.

The third was a young teenage boy, about thirteen years old. He had brown hair that reached down to his collar, and a pair of blue shades on his head. He wore a blue t-shirt with a yellow collar and sleeves, and a pair of khaki shorts with white socks and blue loafers. He was sitting on the floor in front of the couch, playing a Nintendo 3DS.

Thunderbolt. Real Name: Kyle James Wildfire. Birthplace: Boston, MA. Affiliation: West Coast Misfits. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers and Abilities: Electrokinesis, flight. Skilled grappler and fighter.

The fourth was sitting in an armchair next to the couch, reading a book. It was clear that he was tall and muscular. His hair was a bright fiery red, pulled into a short ponytail. At the temples, his hair was a bright yellow. He wore a red polo shirt and black jeans, and loafers that matched Kyle's.

Red Dragon. Real Name: Jake Robert Wildfire. Birthplace: Boston, MA. Affiliation: West Coast Misfits. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers and Abilities: Flight, Fire Breath. Can transform into an anthropomorphic dragon for short periods of time. In dragon form, Red Dragon has superhuman strength, invulnerability, and healing factor. Skilled grappler and hand-to-hand combatant.

"And here they are." The four looked up and saw Hawk, Whithalf and Colton walk into the room.

"What do you want, Warden?" Kyle sneered at Whithalf.

"Kyle, be nice!" Clarice shushed. The electrokinetic just scowled at her in response.

"Who is this guy?" Jinx asked.

"Everyone, this is Joe Colton. The original G.I. Joe." Hawk introduced. Colton waved.

"Original?" Jake blinked.

"Yes. This man was the inspiration behind the Joe team." Whithalf explained.

"Pleasure to meet you all." The man smiled. He held his hand out to Clarice. The Bahamian girl blinked.

"I'm sorry, I'm not used to people...not freaking out about how I look."

"Trust me, kiddo. Colton here's seen a lot of crazy stuff in his day." Whithalf assured as Blink shook Colton's hand.

"Indeed." Colton smiled. "A pink girl is actually very low on the weird scale for me. I should tell some stories about my days with the Adventure Team in Siancong."

"The Adventure Team?" Jinx asked.

"A group of adventurers that traveled the world back in the day, HIVE Girl." Kyle explained.

"Not much is known about them." Jake added. "I'm guessing for national security reasons."

"You guessed right, son." Colton confirmed with a nod.

"Figures." The redhead muttered. "The military loves their secrets..." He glared at Whithalf. The elder general ignored it.

"General Colton will be working with us." Whithalf explained.

"Great. Another damn warden. Exactly what we need." Kyle groaned.

"Kyle, shut up." Clarice muttered.

"Make me, Pinky." Kyle sneered.

Colton chuckled. "Angry little guy, aren't you?" Whithalf sighed at that.

"I take it I told you about the Wildfire brothers?"

"Ah yes." Colton nodded. "The angry little spitfires."

"It's not like we don't have a reason to be angry." Jake glared at Hawk and Whithalf.

"Jake, Kyle, we're trying to protect you. Why won't you two see that?" Hawk groaned. "We've argued with them so much about this..."

"Because you are a liar. You lied to us." Jake said.

"Lied to them?" Colton asked.

Whithalf sighed. "We told them about the Gathering, and they wanted to help stop it. So, we had them infiltrate the Massachusetts Academy. They exposed themselves to save another spy from the Inner Circle."

"She was the only real friend they had there." Hawk added. "And since they made themselves targets of the Hellfire Club in the process, we brought them here to keep them safe."

"The only reason you're hiding us is your own damned cowardice!" Jake growled out.

"We have to suffer because you clownish jabronis are too damn scared of the Hellfire Club!" Kyle added. "You Joes are so goddamned pathetic! You really are! A bunch of fancy rich wimps got you all wetting your pants! Elite military anti-terrorist unit the Thunderbolt's ass!"

"We don't want them to kill you!" Hawk exclaimed. "Why don't you understand that?!"

"Because we ain't cowards, you jabroni!" Kyle angrily yelled. Jake, being the cooler-headed but no less angrier Wildfire, just stayed quiet, but he still was scowling.

"Uh, guys?" Blink piped up. "You may want to take a look at this." The group turned to the television. It was the news, playing a special report.

"At Brown University in Rhode Island today, a rock concert fundraiser turned into a disaster when an attempted bombing led to an attack by Friends of Humanity. Members of GI Joe and their controversial mutant wards known as the Misfits had been attending the show alongside known allies of the Misfits, the mutant team known as the X-Men." The newscaster said. "Witnesses reported that before the bomb destroyed the hall that the fundraiser was being held for, footage was played on a monitor revealing that the bombing was caused by enterpreneur Malerie Surprise for the purpose for killing an old college rival of hers, the GI Joe member known as Cover Girl."

"Wait, aren't the Superstars playing there?" Clarice asked as the newscaster continued on.

Jinx nodded. "Yup. And knowing them, they got into a fight."

"Lucky bastards." Kyle grumbled.

Hawk sighed. "I shouldn't worry. The Superstars aren't stupid, but I can't help hope they didn't end up revealing their powers."

"Of course there would be a disaster." A frowning Jake shook his head. "Anytime the X-Men and Misfits do something, something crazy has to happen. I swear, it's like they attract trouble."

"I'm with Jake on this." Clarice agreed. "Mutants already have a bad reputation as it is. Those two circuses don't help things." Sonja Singh and Julio Richter walked into the house, Julio's stage outfit looking a bit damaged, and him holding Bobby's box lunch. The other four members of the Superstars walked in behind them and greeted the others as they walked up the stairs.

"Yup, they got into a fight." Jinx sighed.

"You lot are in quite a bit of trouble!" Sonja said to them. "Get cleaned up, and then come on down here!"

"Yes, Sonja." The others answered in unison. She glanced at Colton. "Oh..."

"Sorry about this." Hawk apologized. "General Colton, this is Sonja Singh. She's the Superstars' manager."

"A pleasure." Colton smiled, holding out his hand.

"Nice to meet you." Sonja smiled back, shaking the offered hand. "Again, I apologize about the kids."

"Ahhh, teenagers can be rambunctious. I should know, I was one myself once." Colton chuckled.

"Oh, I'm sure." Sonja chuckled.

"What's that you got there?" Whithalf asked, pointing at Julio's box lunch.

"Iceman's box lunch." Julio smiled as he opened it. "I bought it." He looked at the contents. "Holy-!" He whooped in delight.

"What is it, Julio?" Jinx asked.

"Tamales." The Mexican mutant answered. He pulled out one tamale and bit into it. "Mmm..." He licked his lips in delight. "...delicious."

"Sounds like the Iceman has a talent for Mexican food." Jinx chuckled.

"No kidding!" Julio grinned. "These are like my mama made!" Handsome, and can cook...I think...I think I'm in love...

West Coast Misfit Manor, that night

Colton found Jake on an upstairs porch, looking out at the night sky.

"You alright, son?" The elder man asked. Jake turned around. The silence between the two seemed to stretch to an eternity.

"...I'm sorry. I know it was lights out and all, but I couldn't sleep."

"Something bothering you?" Colton asked, approaching the redheaded Bostonian.

"...Nothing you can help me with."

"Try me." Colton challenged. Jake just stayed silent. "You know, son. From what the other Joes told me about you, I get the feeling that you have a death wish."

"Hmph." Jake snorted. "I hardly have a death wish. Contrary to what the Joes think, I'm far from suicidal."

"Well, that's good to hear." Colton said, a small smile forming on his face.

"I want to stop the Hellfire Club now because I know there's a war coming." Jake pointed out. "It's not that I want to die stopping them. I have no more desire to do that than many other people do. I've just accepted that I could die during it, that's all."

"I hope not, myself. You should be given a chance to grow up."

"The thing is..." Jake sighed. "I don't want to die here. I know what the Hellfire Club are like. They have to be stopped, General. And I think the Joes don't understand that. They don't get it."

"They do, son." Colton tried to assure the redheaded Bostonian. "The thing is, they can't just go at them, guns a-blazin'. The Hellfire Club are very powerful people, and not just in superhuman abilities."

"I'm not a coward, General." Jake said. "I'm not afraid of the Hellfire Club, General. Just because the Joes are, it does not mean I have to be."

"Is that why you are so angry at them?" Colton said. "Because you think they made you look like a coward?"

Jake bowed his head. "...I know you think that sounds selfish and egocentric, but...yeah. I..I am scared, General." The redhead said. "But not of the Hellfire Club. I'm not scared of what's coming. I'm not scared of dying. I just..." Jake seemed to choke up a bit. "I don't want to be remembered as a coward. I don't want to be seen as someone who ran away when evil like them rose. I want to stand and fight, General. I don't want to hide. Hiding is not going to stop the Hellfire Club. But the Joes won't listen."

"Nothing wrong with being scared, son." Colton told him. "You know, the Joes told me about you and your brother's work spying on the Massachusetts Academy."

"That's how we ended up here." Jake recalled. "We revealed ourselves to save the life of a friend of ours."

"From what I heard about you, you seem like a very courageous young man." Colton noted.

"Too bad the Joes don't see it." Jake sighed.

"They do." Colton assured. "And I think that's your problem."

"...what?"

"You're too courageous." Colton said to him. "It's okay to be brave. But the thing is, there's a point where bravery becomes foolishness."

Jake frowned at the elder man. "Are you saying I'm an idiot?"

"No." Colton shook his head. "What I am saying is that you're so obsessed with stopping the Hellfire Club that it's blinded you. You refuse to see that people are trying to protect you from pointlessly dying."

"So, we just... do nothing?!" Jake responded. "Just let them get away with what they're planning?!"

"Of course not, Red Dragon." Colton answered. "But you won't see that we can't just charge in and throw fists. We're not fighting a bunch of schoolyard bullies here."

"It's just...nobody seems to understand." Jake said. "These people are pure evil, and I'm the only one that seems to want to do anything about it."

"Jake, just because it seems like no one is doing anything doesn't mean anyone isn't." Colton said. "We can't afford any mistakes when facing the Hellfire Club, because of the connections they have. We have to move carefully. That takes time. But we will win in the end." Jake gave him a look that said he was not convinced. "How about this. I'll make a promise to you."

"A promise?"

"You said you feared that if you didn't make it through what was coming, you would be seen as a coward. I will promise you this, Red Dragon." Colton put a hand on Jake's shoulder. "If you don't make it through what's coming and I do..." He smiled at the young mutant. "I will do everything in my power to ensure that you are not remembered as a coward. Because I don't think you're a coward. Far from it. I think you're a very brave young man. Spying on the Hellfire Club, helping the Joes get information on them...that shows me you are incredibly courageous."

"And all I got for it was stuck here." Jake growled.

"They're only making sure you make it through this."

"The Joes have no faith in me." Jake said. "They think I can't help stop them."

"They do, son. They just don't want you to get in over your head." Colton said. "You are not a coward. And the other Joes? They don't think that either. They are scared of the Hellfire Club. But that does not make them cowards. And their trying to protect you does not mean they have no faith in you nor do they see you as a coward. They know the Hellfire Club are dangerous, and they don't want them to kill you or your brother. Is Kyle like this, too?"

"Yeah." Jake nodded. "But he also hates the Joes because he thinks they're deliberately trying to keep him out of a big ol' fight." He snickered. "Kyle was born an angry fighter. First thing he did when the doctor got him out of our mama's womb was punch the poor man." He noticed Colton's look. "I'm joking."

"Right."

"Yeah. I honestly find this whole Misfit thing kind of silly." Jake admitted. "I only agreed to help because I was told of what the Hellfire Club are planning. Kyle because he wanted to fight."

"I'll have to talk to Kyle in the morning, then." Colton said. "A kid that young with a bloodlust..."

"It's not what you think." Jake said. "Kyle's got a lot of anger inside him. It's because, well..." Jake sighed. "We had a pretty normal family. Well, my dad was away a lot, working to feed the family."

"What does your dad do?"

"He's a pro wrestler. You ever heard of Eric Wildfire?" Jake asked.

"The Blazer?" Colton smiled. "I saw him wrestle live once. He took on Gunther Bain in Boston."

Jake nodded. "Yup. Besides that, our family was a pretty normal one. Kyle and I were picked on a lot by moronic kids. It especially hit Kyle hard. It's why he's so combative. He got into a lot of fights because of it. And I think a part of him enjoys fighting. It's why he hates the Joes."

"I see." Colton nodded. "I'll have to talk to him in the morning about that. And in the meantime, you should get some sleep."

"I'll try." Jake nodded and went back inside. "Oh, and General?"

"Yes?"

"...thanks." Jake said. "I...never felt I could talk about this. With anyone. Not my teammates, not the Joes. Can...can this just be between us?"

"If that's what you want, I will respect your wish." Colton nodded. "But I do recommend that you talk to the others about this. And open up to your teammates more. It would help."

"I don't think it would, but I will consider it." Jake said. "Goodnight, General." He walked back inside. Colton looked out at the sky.

I got my work cut out for me." He thought. I had my issues with the Misfit program. The Wildfire brothers are proof. They clearly are miserable here. And they won't accept help. Those two could be a serious problem in the future...

The Fallen Angels were an actual group. They had a miniseries in 1987, a spin-off of the then-ongoing New Mutants title. In 1989, there was a sequel miniseries in the works that would have focused on the non-New Mutants members of the group, but it never got published. The first two issues were completed, but never released.

In "Box Lunch Bruisings", RogueFanKC showed that Kyle Wildfire was the Superstars' drummer. The problem with that was he had intended to reveal later on in Mutants of Twilight that Kyle also had spied on the Hellfire Club for the Joes. That's a plot hole. The Hellfire Club should have been able to easily pick him off. So here, he's not a Superstar. Plot hole avoided!

RogueFanKC created another big plot hole with his version of the West Coast Misfits: Having Paul, Jenni, Craig, and Ace together on the West Coast Misfits. You see, Paul claimed he and Craig were orphans in Box Lunch Bruisings, but saying that while being in a band with his cousin makes him look like a liar. A bad liar. He can't be an orphan if he's in a band with a cousin and on a superhero team that also includes another cousin. He has family, and if that's the case, why haven't they told Paul and Craig about their biological parents?

Do Lila Cheney, Jenni Starr, and Ace Starr still exist in the Track-A universe? Don't you worry! Jenni and Ace Starr, as well as Lila Cheney, still do exist in the Track-A timeline. Things are just a little different for them here. Lila is back in England, Jenni is living in her native Chicago with the Southside Rockers. Yes, they exist in this timeline, too. Ace is back in Los Angeles. I want to have Paul and Craig meet their long-lost cousins after the Gathering in this timeline. Also, I do want Bobby Drake and Lila Cheney to meet up in a future Track-A story and for them to form a nice little friendship...

Joanna Cargill/Frenzy first appeared in X-Factor #4 (May 1986) by Bob Layton and Keith Pollard. I brought her in to give the team another powerhouse.

Rictor/Julio Esteban Richter first appeared in X-Factor #17 (June 1987) by Louise and Walt Simonson. I brought him on board because I did like the idea of one of the West Coast Misfits having a romance with one of the X-Men. In RogueFanKC's Misfitverse, he intended Lila Cheney to start a relationship with Bobby Drake. Yeah, at the time RogueFan originally wrote Box Lunch Bruisings and Mutants of Twilight, Marvel had not retconned Iceman to be a closeted gay man yet. Since Rictor himself is gay, I thought I could have them start a relationship instead. The idea is that in the future in this timeline, Bobby realizes he actually is gay, and Julio helps him come to terms with it, eventually leading them to get together.

Mike Macagapal/Typhoon is a semi-original character like Althea Delgado. He comes from a prototype character created by Dave Cockrum. This prototype character was combined with another Cockrum-created prototype character called Black Cat to become Storm. I gave Mike a mix of aerokineses/aquakinesis as a nod to this.

I originally intended to completely excise the scene with the X-Men making the box lunches. The reason was, well, timeline-wise, "Box Lunch Bruisings" came after "Apokolips Deferred", a big epic adventure that featured the X-Men in a major role. I felt that "Box Lunch Bruisings" should have given the Superstars more spotlight. They were making their MoT-verse debut here, after all. Also, in the Track-A timeline, the scene with the X-Men really would not have been that different. But I realized I wanted to set up the whole box lunch prank Bobby did, so their interaction stayed. I also added a couple scenes with the West Coast Misfits to show they were around at this point to show how they reacted to the disaster, and to help reinforce that the Track-A West Coast Misfits are different from RogueFanKC's version.

Joe Colton, the original G.I. Joe, first appeared in G.I. Joe #86 (May 1989). I brought him in because I thought that since this is an alternate reality, I can shake things up a little bit. I've been toying with the idea of having him be the commander of Malibu Base here instead of Whithalf. Not to mention, he'd be someone Jake and Kyle Wildfire would bond with as thanks to his concerns about the Misfit program turning kids into weapons, unlike the rest of the Joes, he'd be sympathetic to their dislike of being on the team.

When it came to the Superstars' facepaint, I originally intended Julio, Joanna, and Mike's paint to be more elaborate, hinting at their powers and inspired by pro wrestler Sting back in his late-80s/early-90s "Surfer" gimmick. However, it occurred to me that just having versions of the Starr twins' star-shaped birthmarks on their faces would not only be simpler, but also help conceal the fact that the stars on the Starr boys' faces are products of their mutations. Not to mention the stars help fit the "half-alien children of an extraterrestrial rock star" gimmick.

Sonja Singh came about because I thought that the Superstars could use a manager to help them handle the business side of the music industry, not to mention give the Superstars a "den mother" of sorts. Also, one of the things I don't like about current X-Men books as they don't have any human allies and friends anymore. Having such human friends makes it look like the X-Men actually are succeeding at promoting human-mutant peace, but I think having such friends also help remind the X-Men of their own humanity. I do want to do more with her, including having her befriend a certain X-Man...

Siancong, originally known as Sin-Cong, first appeared in Avengers #18 (May 1965). History of the Marvel Universe #2 (October 2019) established that shortly before the "modern" Age of Heroes (started with the debut of the Fantastic Four), a decades-long war ended there. This was a way to help keep certain characters that were originally established to be part of certain events that could not fit in Marvel's sliding timescale within the timescale. For example, Frank Castle/The Punisher. He was originally established to be a veteran of the Vietnam War. But because the war ended in 1975, and the sliding timescale keeps moving forward, he's now a veteran of Siancong.