The SuperStarr Chronicles
Disclaimer: All characters belong to their owners. This is just for fun.
Author's Note: Hey there, everyone! L1701E here! I thought it would be fun to do a revamp of one of my favorite older fics: "The Starr Chronicles". It was one of the longest fics I ever wrote, going over 100 chapters. I looked it over sometime back in a fit of boredom, and I found myself still liking it, but I felt it could still stand some improvement. Hopefully, you'll all enjoy this new version.
Continuity Note: This is set a couple of days after the events of "The Cauldron".
Chapter 1: Arrival, Part 1
Out in space
Normally, the orbit of Earth was rather peaceful. There was space junk and satellites, but in general, it was peaceful. However, that peace would not last for very much longer. Because a spaceship streaked its way through the solar system.
The spaceship's body was in the vein of a long dark blue rectangular box, but with a wedge in the front. The wedge area had a pair of laser cannons mounted below it. The ship had a pair of wings on the sides that were attached to the fuselage by powerful engines...that were both smoking. The top of the ship had a sleek spoiler on it, with what appeared to be a sensor array underneath. The positioning of the array underneath the spoiler made it look like the spoiler was holding the array in place.
"Grrrrrrr..." The woman sitting at the seat in the center of the bridge of the spacecraft growled in frustration as she gripped the armrests of the seat. Her open mouth and grit teeth showed that she had small fangs. The strong plastic-like material of the armrests creaked as her clawed hands gripped them tighter, almost like they were threatening to crush the seat rests. Which this woman certainly could do. The woman was a tall Amazonian blonde, her wild curly wheat-colored hair hiding her leaf-shaped ears. One of her eyes was green. However, her left eye (the right eye if one was looking at her) was replaced by a cybernetic one, that emitted a soft green glow. Her facial burns and robotic eye were covered by her hair. Her head was topped by a brown fedora. Her Amazonian frame was covered by a long brown topcoat with a tan blouse and brown slacks, as well as a pair of cowboy boots.
Clara Creed had better days. And that was quite a statement, considering that she had seen a lot of things in her long life, both on Earth and in the stars above it. "I'm glad that we managed to ditch those fighters...despite the fact they blew out the engines..."
"This is all Lila's fault!" A teenage boy sitting at the weapons console growled. He had long black wild hair, his own right eye (the left if one was looking at him) surrounded by a black 5-pointed star-shaped birthmark. He wore a pair of blue jeans, black sneakers, and a Metallica t-shirt with a black leather jacket, and black biker gloves. The jacket had silver studs on the lapels, and the sleeves each had three silver stripes and a silver five-pointed star on them. The shoulders had military straps on them. The straps had four silver five-pointed stars on each of them, almost like they were indicating a rank. Craig Starr glared at one of the other occupants of the ship. "You and your damned kleptomania!"
"Oi! Give me a break!" A girl at the pilot's seat snapped, her voice having a Cockney accent. She was a tall thin English-Indian girl, her jet black hair in a style resembling that of Joan Jett. She had a gold stud in her nose, and silver studs in her ears. She wore a white crop top with a gold bandanna around her neck, and black leather pants with thick gold stripes going down the sides of her legs. She also wore black gloves, and had some golden bracelets around her wrists. Her feet were covered by a pair of black boots. "That bleedin' gem will have us set for life! You know how many credits that thing would net us?!" Delilah "Lila" Chopra-Cheney exclaimed.
"I never understood why you needed to steal that gem." A boy identical to Craig in appearance, but with a purple star birthmark and a friendlier demeanor sitting at the engineer's seat, frowned at Lila. He wore a purple leather vest with a Kiss t-shirt underneath it. He also wore purple jeans, and had on white sneakers. His hands were covered by black fingerless gloves, and his wrists decorated by bracelets of various colors. Around his neck was a silver bandanna with a zebra-striped pattern. "We made plenty of credits busking. And it was legit, too."
"Well, excuse me for thinking of the future." Lila rolled her eyes.
"How're the engines?!" Craig snapped. Paul looked at the display.
"I think they're shot." Paul announced. He rechecked the display to make sure. "Yeah, they're shot. Totally shot."
"...We're gonna crash." Craig realized, his face going pale.
"Anybody know where we're going to end up?" Paul asked.
"...I think I know..." Lila pointed at the viewscreen. It showed a certain Pale Blue Dot growing closer...
"Well, well, well..." Clara grinned. "I can think of worse places to crash land in..."
"Same here." Lila agreed, not letting herself get distracted from trying to maneuver the ship.
"Home. Good ol' mother Earth." Paul smiled.
"Big deal." Craig snorted. "Not like we've ever returned there before..."
"Yeah, but not here." Lila explained. "I think we're about to crash in upstate New York."
"At least we won't hit the city!" Clara pointed out. "That would suck if that happened." Not like the ol' Big Apple hasn't already seen its fair share of insanity over the decades...Like when Horton unveiled his Human Torch... "We'll likely scare some cows, though."
"Cows?!" Craig exclaimed.
"Yeah." Clara nodded. "Upstate New York is big on dairy farms. It's one of the leading dairy producers in the world."
"Wonderful! Just wonderful!" Craig groaned. "We're going to end up getting shot by crazy farmer rednecks!"
"Rednecks? Up there?!" Lila blinked.
"Lila, you really think the Southern US is the only place in the country that has rednecks?!" Craig exclaimed. "It's got farms, so it's going to have rednecks!"
The Brotherhood Boarding House
Lance Alvers laid back on the armchair in the living room of the Brotherhood of Mutants' boarding house, a scowl on his face.
Unbelievable. The earthshaker mentally grumbled as he started rubbing his temples. He could have sworn he felt a headache coming on... Un-freakin'-believable. He glanced over at his teammates. Well, two of them. Fred Dukes, the Blob, was sitting on the couch. Pietro Maximoff, Quicksilver, was leaning on the wall with his arms crossed, tapping his foot impatiently. The three young mutants stayed in place in silence, the recent incident with Asteroid M replaying in their heads.
"This is ridiculous!" The silver-haired speedster grunted in frustration, throwing his arms up. "We should be doing something! We can't just sit here and do something! This is so boring!"
"Like what, Pietro?" Lance scowled. "In case you haven't noticed, we don't exactly have a mission statement right now. Remember, both Magneto and Mystique got blown to bits with that asteroid..."
"Mystique recruited us to be a crack strike force!" Pietro reminded. "I say we whup the X-Men right now! They won't expect it!"
"Hey, Quicksilver?! I'd like to remind you of something!" Lance snapped. "They outnumber us!"
"...At least those X-Geeks took us home." Fred piped up. He looked at Pietro. "How's Toad?"
Pietro snorted. "How should I know? I'm not his mama!"
"He did take Magneto not choosing him rather hard..."
"It's not Magneto's fault that he's a clumsy dolt." Pietro retorted.
Lance sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It doesn't matter now, guys. Both Magneto and Mystique are space dust. We got no leader, and no idea what to do next. Really shows what they thought of us when they left us without instructions for this situation." He looked over at the other two. "Maybe we can go over to the X-Geeks for help or something."
"Join them?" Pietro scoffed. "Have you gone nuts?"
"...it is better than nothin'." Fred said. Despite his statement, Fred was...understandably reluctant to fully embrace Lance's idea. Considering his past with one of them, a certain redheaded mentalist...
"Like you have any ideas!" Lance snapped at his silver-haired superfast comrade. "You got a better one?! Let's hear it!"
In his room, a sad and depressed Todd "Toad" Tolensky sighed. The amphibious young mutant lied on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.
It's not fair! It's just not fair! Toad scowled. I was loyal! I did everything they asked! And yet, I get left behind! He picks that lousy cheating redhead Grey! His scowl deepened. She ain't so tough without her fancy mind powers. I don't know why Blob drooled over so much. She's a cheating jerk. He let out a sigh. It ain't fair. It ain't fair at all. He got up from his bed, and walked over to his window. He stared up at the night sky. The amphibious mutant then noticed what appeared to be a shooting star in the sky.
"A shooting star." Todd snorted derisively. He had heard the phrase 'wish upon a star' in the past, but he saw it all as a load of bunk. Still, the sight of the phenomenon was quite beautiful. He found himself thinking about something, and then shrugged. What's the harm of making a wish? "I wish things would go better for us..." Toad looked back up at the sky. Yeah, that was silly. He concluded. It was stupid, but at least I tried...hey... The boy's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Is that shooting star getting...bigger?" His eyes then widened. "Oh, shoot!" He quickly got up off of his bed and leaped downstairs. When he arrived, he noticed that Lance and Pietro were still arguing, and Fred was just quietly watching them.
"You guys!" Toad yelped, but then the house shook (thanks to Lance's powers reacting to his anger, no doubt), making him stumble down the stairs.
"What do you want, Toad?!" Pietro snapped as Fred and Lance moved to help Todd to his feet. The amphibious mutant dusted himself off.
"Guys, I think I saw something in the sky!" He yelped out. The other three Brotherhood Boys looked at each other in confusion.
"...what did you see?" Fred asked. "The stars?"
"Knowing Toad, he likely saw his face in a mirror and freaked out." Pietro smirked.
"Shut up, speedy." Lance grunted. "It was likely a shooting star, Toad."
"Oh, it was a shooting star, alright!" Todd said. "It was coming towards us!"
"Yeah, right." Pietro snickered. "You're seeing things, Froggy." As Pietro talked, Fred walked over to a window. He looked up at the sky.
"Uh, guys..." He said.
"I wasn't seeing things!" Todd argued.
"Uh, guys..."
"Shooting stars are a real thing, Pietro." Lance reminded.
"Yeah, but they don't come towards Earth!"
"Uhh, guys..." Fred winced.
"I know what I saw!" Todd snapped.
"Oh, please!" Pietro scoffed.
"GUYS!" Fred snapped.
"What is it?!" Pietro snapped back at the Texan powerhouse.
"There is something in the sky coming towards us!" Fred yelped. The other three Brotherhood mutants looked at each other. They ran to the window, and true to Fred's statement, the star seemed to be coming closer.
"We're all gonna die..." Todd whimpered.
"We gotta get the hell out of here!" Lance exclaimed. "Everybody out!" The four boys managed to flee out of the house.
Inside the ship
"Hang on, the thrusters aren't damaged!" Lila said. "I'll give this baby a proper landing!" She flicked a switch on her control panel. A trio of landing struts emerged from the ship's underside, and Lila pressed a couple more buttons. "Shields up!" A blue forcefield looking like it was made of interlocking translucent blue hexagons covered the ship. "Everybody buckle up!" She yelled as she pressed a button and a seatbelt went over her shoulder and waist.
"We're going to die..." Craig moaned as he buckled in.
"I survived crazier things than this, kid." Clara assured. "We'll be fine."
"...you are insane." Craig said. "You are certifiably insane."
"Nah, just hopeful." Clara grinned as she buckled in.
"In case we don't make it, I just want to say...I love you guys." Paul said.
"Hooo-LEE-!" Fred whooped as he saw the spaceship fly overhead and crash into the ground near them. The forcefield had hit the ground first, digging into the earth as the ship slid forward. It went a short distance before it stopped, leaving some grooves in the ground.
"Whoa..." The Brotherhood watched as the forcefield faded away.
"That thing is real..." Todd whispered in awe.
"You...you guys think there are aliens in it?" Fred asked.
Pietro rolled his eyes. I am blessed with these great minds around me... "It's a spaceship, Blob. Somebody has to fly the blasted thing."
"Hopefully, they're friendly..." Todd winced, hiding behind Fred.
"I'm kind of slightly hoping they aren't." Fred admitted with a smirk, cracking his knuckles. "I think it'd be pretty cool to beat up an alien." Meanwhile, inside the ship, its inhabitants were recovering from the crash.
"Uhgn..." Clara grunted, rubbing the back of her neck. "Did we make it? You guys alright?"
"The shields did a good job protecting us." Lila smiled, giving the blonde feral woman a thumbs up. "Engines are not in the best shape, but everything else is fine."
"Well, you know what they say..." Paul smiled as he unbuckled himself from his seat and got up to his feet. "Any landing you can walk away from is a good one." He took a stretch.
"You are too optimistic for your own good." Craig grunted as he unbuckled himself.
"Hey, that's how I work, bro." Paul grinned as he went over to Craig's seat and held out his hand to help hm out of it. The black-starred twin just lightly smacked it away.
"I'm fine." Craig grunted as he slowly got to his feet. Clara heard a beeping noise from her captain's chair. The blonde feral mutant looked at the small screen on one of the armrests. "Huh?" She blinked at the information given to her. "Looks like we crashed in a little place called Bayville."
"Bayville?" Craig snorted. "Sounds lousy."
"Oh, you never know. It might be a nice place." Paul smiled.
"Yeah, sorry Paul." Lila shook her head. "I'm going with your brother Mr. Happy over here. This 'Bayville' sounds like a snoozefest." The British girl then snapped her fingers. "I just remembered! I have to check on something. I'll be right back." She carefully walked off of the bridge.
"That just means we have to liven the place up a bit." Clara grinned.
"I bet she's gone to check on that damn gem." Craig muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. True to his prediction, Lila had gone to the back of the spaceship. The mutant girl walked up to a safe embedded in the wall. She pressed a couple of buttons on the keypad next to the safe, and then put her hand on a green panel underneath the keypad. A line of green light went up and down on the panel. The safe emitted a quick noise, followed by the sounds of it unlocking.
The girl then opened the safe and reached inside. She pulled out a red gem about the size of an American football. The interstellar teleporter smiled in happiness as she looked over the gem.
"You got us into a lot of trouble, my friend." She cooed at the gem. "But you're going to make up for it big time, sweetie. Once I get you appraised and sold, we're going to Easy Street, baby! Whoo!" She whooped slightly. The British girl then put the gem back in the safe and locked it up. She then grabbed a couple of items nearby.
One was a small black quiver filled with what looked like crossbow bolts. The bolts had black shafts, and they had fletchings in various colors. The bolts themselves were about 20 inches long each. She put the quiver over her shoulder. The second item she grabbed was what appeared to be a futuristic black laser rifle. Oddly enough, the sides of the rifle had a pair of what looked like a pair of golden crossbow arms folded up on it. Lila checked over the weapon, then she placed it in a brace at her hip...after making sure the safety was on, of course. Alright, now that I got me Laser Crossbow, let's go say hi to Earth... She found the others standing at the airlock.
"It's not Los Angeles, but it is nice to be back on Mother Earth." Paul smiled.
"I'd rather be in LA." Craig stated. "At least that place is never dull."
"Well, we can't win 'em all, Darkstar." Clara shrugged nonchalantly. "We crashed near a house, and the sensors detected four lifesigns."
"Oh, no..." Lila groaned.
"Likely a dumb redneck family." Craig snorted. "Not a problem. Paul and I can hypnotize them and make them forget we were ever here."
"Or at the very least keep them from freaking out so much." Lila suggested as she activated the airlock. "Here we go..." The airlock opened, and the four space-traveling mutants emerged through it.
"They...they look like Earthlings." Todd blinked.
"And a couple of them are real hotties." Pietro grinned lecherously. "Look at that big blonde..."
Lance's jaw dropped. "...I don't believe it."
"Wow." Blob blinked.
"Hi, boys! Take us to your leader." Clara greeted with a grin.
Coming soon to the SuperStarr Chronicles...
Logan looked out at the sunrise, a cup of coffee in hand.
"Yup..." The feral mutant thought, sipping the hot drink. A smile appeared on his face. "Looks like it will be a beautiful day..."
Bonk!A football out of nowhere hit him in the crotch.
"ARGH!" Wolverine screamed, falling to his knees and clutching himself. "My groin!" He fell to his side, groaning.
The dark-haired man had a shock of white in his hair, and wore an eyepatch over his right eye. His wrinkled graveled face glared at Professor Xavier. "I'm afraid I am quite serious, Professor. If we do not act against this demon soon...I fear the souls of everyone here in Bayville will be doomed to damnation."
The Professor steepled his fingers. "...what makes you think that this...'demon' will come here?"
"I have tracked this monster throughout the East Coast for several years. And I know he's come here to Bayville. He may have taken a host as we speak." The man explained. "Trust me, Professor. I have knowledge of fighting the demonic forces of hell. After all, to the world, I am John Gabriel. But to the monsters of the underworld, I am known as...the Devil-Slayer."
Logan narrowed his eyes at Clara.
"I know you..." He growled at her.
SNIKT!
His adamantium claws were out. "I want answers. And you smell like Creed."
Clara rolled her eyes. "Oh, brother. You know, you can just ask me instead of trying to...wait..." She blinked at his claws. The blonde woman then walked up to Logan and held up his hand. She felt his claws. "They're metal now?"
"...what?" The confused feral blinked.
"How did you get them covered in metal?"
"...what do you mean?!"
"I've seen you use these before. A long time ago. And these claws were not metal. They were bone."
"...bone?!" Logan exclaimed. "...I got these from Weapon X!"
Clara blinked in amazement. "You don't remember having these? You don't...you don't remember me, do you?"
"WE ALL GONNA DIE!" Kurt Wagner, dressed like a priest, screamed as he ran down the street...
Clang!
...until he met a lamppost face-first.
Pyro stood his ground, glaring at the angry crowd. The redheaded Australian pyrokinetic gave a nearby vending machine a side kick. The dented machine spat out a can of Coke. He took the can's tab in his teeth and opened it, like a soldier priming a grenade. He then pulled out a packet of Pop Rocks from his back pocket and ripped it open with his teeth.
Got a nice little surprise for you punks...The mad Aussie put the packet over the can of Coke. He smacked the packet and started shaking the can. He smirked evilly as he heard the sounds of popping and felt the can shake in his hand.
"See you in Hell, candy boys!" Pyro whooped, tossing the can of Coke. Outside, Amara Aquilla, wearing an overcoat filled with candy, watched the front.
"Where in Hades is he?!" She asked herself. She then noticed Pyro fleeing the building like the Devil himself was on his tail. Explosions erupted behind him.
BOOOOOOOOM!
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" The mad Australian screamed as he leapt for his life, the explosion pushing him forwards. "Oof!" He landed in front of Amara.
"Blessed Minerva!" The Nova Roman gasped as she ran to help Pyro up. "What happened?! Are you alright?!" The crazy Australian grinned at the Nova Roman.
"That was fun! We should do that again!"
"Face it, Jean!" Evan snapped at Jean, pointing at Scott. The optic blaster laid motionless on the hospital bed. "He's never going to come out of that coma!"
Whap!
Jean angrily slapped her compatriot across the face, leaving a big red hand-shaped mark on his face.
"YEOW THAT SMARTS!"
"Uhnnnn..." Scott moaned as he slowly rose up.
"Scott!" Jean yelped in joy as she ran to him. "Are you okay?" He blinked at her for a moment.
"That would be an ecumenical matter!" He answered loudly in a thick Irish accent.
"Oh no..." Evan groaned.
"Uh oh." Jean mumbled.
Tabitha Smith gasped in shock as she heard the news on the phone. "Oh, my God! Gary is in the hospital for puffball disease?!"
"This can't be real." Lance frowned as he looked at the cereal box.
"Yet we're looking at it." Lila agreed, scratching her head in confusion.
"You guys, I'm scared." Fred whimpered.
"I don't get it." Pyro frowned in confusion.
"It looks like me, flamebrain!" Fred wailed, tapping the mascot on the cereal box. It bore a remarkable resemblance to Fred's head, complete with a blond mohawk. "Maybe the Japanese are spying on me!"
"Fred, why would the Japanese spy on you?!" Lance asked incredulously.
"Isn't the Aussie here supposed to be the mad one?" Lila whispered, jerking her thumb at St. John.
"Yeah, he is." Lance nodded.
"I prefer to think of myself as pleasantly eccentric." Pyro grinned.
"Yeah sure, flamebrain." The earthshaker rolled his eyes. "You certainly are."
"I am!" Pyro insisted.
"HooooWAHBAHGAW!" Principal Kelly hooted. He then jumped on the table and started twerking.
"Kelly, the hell you doing?!" One of the school board members asked.
"I don't know!" The principal wailed. "Somebody help me, I can't stop twerking!"
"What is wrong with you, man?!" Another member of the board snapped. A female member of the board looked over at Professor Xavier. He was staring at this with a quizzical look and a slightly tilted head.
"Professor? What is going on with him?"
"I...I am not certain, Arlene." The bald man admitted. Kelly may not be the last person to break out in a sudden dance routine, I'm afraid...
"So..." Kerry Winters said as he leaned on the lockers. "What's that thing you're working on?" The jock pointed at a gadget that Lila was tinkering with.
"It's a baton." Lila explained. She held up the baton. It was black with a pair of blue rings on one end.
"I see." Kerry smirked. "You like working with gizmos, huh?"
"My whole life."
"Cool." An idea hit Kerry. "Say..." He smirked wickedly. "Why don't you come on over to my place? I got some nice gizmos you can play with..."
Lila smiled. "You want to know what it does?" She turned it on, the blue rings starting to glow. Kerry nodded. "This." The British girl jabbed the jock in the chest with the baton.
KA-ZAP!
"AGH! MAH NIPPLES!" Kerry screamed as he flew down the hall. He then found himself slamming into another wall of lockers spine-first. Several students ran up to him and tried to help him up. "Muh God...what a woman..."
Professor Xavier stared at the teenage boy standing across his desk from him. Said boy was clad in a suit of sleek blue and silver armor, with black lightning bolts on the chest. The helmet (which was in his hands) had what looked like a silver WWI-era doughboy helmet into it with a pair of blue metallic wings welded on it.
"This is...quite a revelation, young man." The bald telepath remarked.
"I've faced these monsters before." Sonic Blue said grimly. "They're a bastardization of everything I believe in when it comes to technology and humanity. I've fought them before, alongside some...help."
"But why are they here?" Xavier asked.
"Who knows?" The Cincinnati-based hero answered. "Maybe revenge, maybe they're doing some new conquest scheme, your guess is as good as mine."
Deadpool frowned as he read the screen on my laptop. He glanced at me.
"Yeah, I highly doubt most of that stuff is going to happen."
I smiled at the Merc with the Mouth. "Admittedly, yeah." I confessed. "Some I will, or at least want to do, some are just there to be silly. I wanted to poke some lighthearted fun at the whole preview thing."
"I can't believe that you want to keep the one with the cereal box."
"I liked that storyline." I explained. "I also hope to do a new version of the 'Speed of Sound' storyline. It was another one that I was especially proud of."
"Well..." Deadpool crossed his arms. "Gonna have me in it?"
"I don't know, 'Pool. We'll see." I sighed. "I gave you a one-shot in Marvel Comics 1000 Addendum. I have to work on that one, too..." I rubbed my eyes. "So many projects, so little time..."
For those curious, Clara Creed is not an original character. She's an actual Marvel character, first appearing in Origin II #2 (March 2014). I had learned of her thanks to the Marvel fan wiki, and I figured that I could use the character in a mentorship role for the Brotherhood, with a characterization that is very different from her more famous, and more vicious brother.
The "Human Torch" Clara mentioned is a reference to Jim Hammond, the android Human Torch. He first appeared in Marvel Comics #1 (October 1939).
I had decided to start this new version after the events of "The Cauldron" as I figured it would have been the perfect time for the Brotherhood to somehow get new members. After all, as the events of the next episode, "Growing Pains" showed, the X-Men's ranks swelled by quite a bit. Only fair that the Brotherhood get some new additions to their ranks at the same time.
In the original version of "The Starr Chronicles", Paul and Craig literally just showed up on the Brotherhood's front lawn. With this new version, I thought it would be nice to provide an intro that would not only allow them to arrive in a more interesting manner, but also give them a new mentor, and open up possible storytelling venues. After all, the X-Men's corner of the Marvel Universe is not unfamiliar with space opera...
Hope you enjoy this new version of one of my personal favorite stories. See you next chapter!