The SuperStarr Chronicles
Disclaimer: "Why should I get off my butt? I play games when I'm on my butt." - Jirard Khalil, The Completionist
Chapter 15: Night of the Daemons, Part 4!
Central Park, New York City
"Come down here and die, you flying jackoff!" A bald-headed white man yelled. He wore a white-and-gold suit of armor. Instead of a helmet, the armor had what looked like a clear bubble over the head. The armor had golden power pods at the hips, and blasters on the forearms. Said blasters were firing blasts of golden-colored energy. The target was a flying tall thin Latino man in a blue costume. The costume had a red cape and a blue cowl that showed his brown hair. The cowl had a red visor. The costume had a chest emblem of a large red "M", and a silver utility belt with a round silver belt buckle that had a red apple on it. The costume was completed by red boots and gloves.
"Not today, my armored friend!" Gary Hernandez, aka Captain Manhattan, whooped as he deftly dodged the laser blasts. The armored man continued blasting at the flying superhero. "Especially since my friend here can easily toss you around." The armored man frowned in confusion.
"What friend?!" He yelled out. As if it was perfectly timed to illustrate the flying superhero's point, another superhero grabbed and lifted the man up.
This one, like Captain Manhattan, was clad in a predominantly blue costume. The costume bore an emblem of a stylized yellow letter "B". The costume had a red cowl that also bore the same "B" symbol. It also had a yellow cape, red gloves, boots, and trunks with a yellow utility belt. The wearer was a stocky man with a square jaw.
"The name's Captain Brooklyn, scrap heap!" A scowl formed on the face of Thomas Mancini, aka Captain Brooklyn. His voice had, naturally, a Brooklyn accent. "And like the flyboy said, I can toss you around like yer nothin'!"
"It's Carapace!" The armored supervillain yelled as Captain Brooklyn demonstrated his superhuman strength by tossing the armored villain across the park. He landed hard on the grass, letting out a yelp of pain.
Agh, I need to work on the intertial dampeners in this suit... Carapace mentally groaned. Captain Brooklyn looked up at his Manhattan-based counterpart.
"Yo, 'Hattan! Where's the kid?" What looked like a solid black portal appeared next to him. A man clad in a solid white costume with black spots all over it flew out of the portal...with a line of webbing on his chest. "Never mind!" He called out. A teenage boy clad in a red and blue costume with wide white eyes and black lines evoking webbing on the red parts flew out, holding on to the other end of the webline. The costume's chest had an emblem of a small black spider, and a larger red spider on the back. The lanky teenager twisted his body, and dropped the Dalmation-patterned villain with a dropkick.
"Got the Spot!" Spider-Man called out to the two elder heroes.
"Nice work, kid." Captain Manhattan complimented as he landed on the ground.
"Yeah." Captain Brooklyn smirked, giving Spidey a friendly light punch on the shoulder. "Not bad, Queens."
Spider-Sense! Danger! Spidey whipped his head around and saw the missile flying towards them. "Guys!" He called out. The three heroes and one villain turned towards Carapace. The armored man had somehow made a shoulder-mounted missile launcher appear on his suit.
"See you in hell, heroes!"
"Carapace, you idiot!" Spot yelled. "Don't fire that-!"
FWOOSH!
The launcher fired a missile at the foursome.
"Oh, geez!" Spot groaned.
"I'll block it! I'm invulnerable!" Captain Brooklyn got in front of the other two heroes and the Dalmatian-patterened supervillain.
"I got a better idea!" Spot created a black portal in front of him. "Put it in here!" Spider-Man and Captain Manhattan looked at each other. The Webhead fired a pair of weblines at the missile. At the same time, Captain Manhattan reached out with his telekinetic powers. Combining their powers, Spider-Man and Captain Manhattan managed to pull the missile off-course and send it into the portal which Spot quickly closed. Manhattan then yanked Carapace towards them.
"You idiot!" The Latino telekinetic snapped. "You could have endangered a lot of people!" Spider-Man sent him to Dreamland with a punch.
"Where'd the missile go, Spot?" Brooklyn asked the former scientist.
"It's in the portal dimension that I travel through." The Spot explained. "I can retrieve it."
"You'd better hope you can retrieve it, pal." Brooklyn warned, tightly gripping the Spot's shoulder. "Because if ya don't..." He got in the Spot's face. "You'll have ta deal with me." The Spot gulped nervously.
Bayville, New York
"Doo-be-doo-doo..." Duncan Matthews sang to himself as he walked towards his car. "Man, what a beautiful day." He looked at the small poster in his hand. "Heh. The Sadie Hawkins Dance is coming soon. I'll have to see if I can get some tickets for it. I'm sure Jean would love to go..." It was clear that the blond football player had no idea what a Sadie Hawkins dance even was. Unnoticed by him, a black portal opened up in the sky.
He got into his car and started it. The blond teenager continued to hum as he drove, not noticing the black portal above him. The missile that Carapace fired flew out of the portal and slammed into Duncan's car.
KABOOM!
The missile blew the car to smithereens, erupting into a large explosion.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Duncan screamed as he flew out of the explosion, still sitting in his seat and gripping the steering wheel. His clothes were torn and covered in soot. It was clear that the jock had a very strange brand of luck.
Principal Kelly's home
"Ahhhhh..." Principal Kelly smiled as he looked out of the large clear doors of his dining room. He was dressed in a robe, which covered his blue and white pinstriped pajamas. His feet were in a pair of backless slippers. He held a cup of coffee. The doors showed his backyard. It was a modest little patch of grass, but that was fine with the principal. The main view was of the tree-covered hills behind him. "Today is such a beautiful day. The sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky." He happily sipped his coffee. Since it's the weekend, I don't have to see any of Xavier or Creed's superkids. Yup. I'm in my own little oasis of normalcy. Nothing weird happens here. And that's just the way I like it.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Duncan screamed as he flew by. This caused Kelly to spit his coffee all over the window. He watched with a gaped jaw as the blond jock flew by. The principal sighed and went into his kitchen. He put the coffee on the counter and opened up the fridge. He fished out a can of beer, then closed the fridge door.
"I picked the wrong week to quit drinking..." Kelly groaned as he opened the can and took a swig from it. He looked at the beer can...and then he started chugging down the contents.
Dreagmore, Scotland
It was supposed to be a fun time in the town. On this day, the town was celebrating the anniversary of its incorporation. And as part of the town's birthday celebration, the museum was allowing a public viewing of a meteorite. A long time ago, said meteorite fell from the stars and crashed into the Scottish Highlands. The
"Dammit! Dammit all ta hell!" Ian MacInnis cursed in frustration as he tried to keep himself from falling over. The ground quaked beneath the former soldier. "Gah!" He felt himself get knocked down by a silver blur. "That little-!"
"Yeah, he's a pain! We get it!" Craig snapped. "Consider yourself lucky! We're stuck with him!" He glared at the epicenter of the earthquakes: one Lance Alvers. "And this guy has to be an irresponsible idiot!"
"What?!" Ian asked.
"He nearly killed a ton of people with a scoreboard because he got horny, GAH!" Craig's statement was interrupted by Pietro knocking him over.
"Hey, remember that trick that you used to blast Pietro's foot?" Fred asked. "Why not do that again?!"
"When I did that, that silver-headed bastard was running on a predictable path!" Craig watched Pietro zip around. "He's running around randomly!" It figures that he starts acting competent when he's under mind control!
"What is wrong with them, yo?!" Todd yelped as he leapt onto a wall and clung on to it.
"They're under a spell!" Lady Daemon said. "I can free them, but I need to concentrate!"
"Hey, Lila!" Fred said to the British-Indian girl. "You still got those sleep arrows?"
"...right!" Lila realized. She grabbed a bolt containing the sleep gas and loaded it in her Laser Crossbow. "I need to be kept steady so I can aim!"
"Good luck with that!" Craig snapped.
"I got an idea!" Lila said. She turned to Fred. "Big Guy! Toss me into the air!" She ran towards him. Fred nodded. The large mutant flattened his fingers and interlocked them. He then bent down, holding his interlocked hands down like they were a step. The British interstellar teleporter ran up to Fred and put her foot in his hands as if she was running on a step.
"Alley Oop!" Fred tossed her upwards. As she reached the zenith of her little fight, she pulled out a bolt from her quiver, the same kind of bolt she used to put Fred to sleep. She loaded it into her Laser Crossbow, then took aim.
"Night night, rockhead." Lila muttered, then fired the bolt. The bolt, tipped with the glass sphere filled with the noxious green knockout gas. The bolt hit Lance in the shoulder, and the gas cloud floated over his face. Lance's eyes rolled back into his head and he fell over. The quakes stopped and he snored lightly.
"Good job, kids!" Clara complimented, giving Fred a thumbs up. Fred caught Lila and let her get to her feet.
"Nice work, Big Man." The interstellar teleporter hi-fived the powerhouse.
"Well, that's one problem solved." Paul said. "YEOW!" He dodged Pietro.
"How do we fix this?!" Todd yelled.
"Leave it ta me." Lady Daemon said. She started waving her hands and chanting.
"We have to find a way ta get the speedy little pain here!" Ian said.
"Hmmmm..." Clara frowned as she tried to watch Pietro zip around. Too bad he's not using a pattern. She eyed the sleeping Lance. Maybe... The feral woman turned to Paul and Craig. "I'm going to try and get to Lance!" She ran towards him.
"The hell you doing?!" Craig exclaimed.
"I got a plan!" The feral woman answered. As she hoped, Pietro zipped towards her.
"Crap!" Craig growled, his eye glowing.
Craig, Pietro's under magical control! We can't hurt him! Paul telepathically reminded.
He's very lucky for that. Craig grumbled. Clara smirked. She pulled a flash grenade out of her jacket and tossed it. The blonde then covered her ears and shut her eyes.
BOOM!
The flashbang exploded in a burst of brilliant light and loud noise. Pietro ended up disoriented, and stumbling over.
"MEG! NOW!" The Canadian screamed. The Scotswoman blasted the speedster with a sickly-green burst of eldritch energy. The energy coated Pietro's body for a brief second before fading.
"Aaagh, my ears..." The silver-haired speedster whimpered covering said body parts with his hands. "What was that noise?!"
POW!
"Ughn!" He groaned as Craig downed him with a punch.
"Was that really necessary?" Clara frowned at her young charge.
A nod from Darkstar. "Yes. Yes, it was."
"What about Lance?" Lila said, pointing at the sleeping geokinetic. "He'll wake up, and when he does, he's going to be starting to shake this town down all over again."
"Leave that ta me, lassie." Lady Daemon assured with a smile as she walked over to Lance, her hands still glowing. "When I'm done with him, th' lad will be wakin' up feeling fresh as a daisy."
"The shaking didn't seem that bad." Paul looked around. "I mean, if Lance really wanted to bring these buildings down, he could have easily." He looked at Craig. "Like that time with the scoreboard. And that was accidental."
"He's that powerful?!" A shocked Ian asked.
"It's why he out of all of us should especially be careful with his powers." Craig muttered, scowling at the geokinetic.
"So, what do we do now?" Todd asked. "Blondie here's twisted sister got the meteorite."
"And with that, she could bring those Outer Dark guys to Earth." Fred said. "What do we do?"
"We find her and kick her ass, that's what." Craig answered.
"And how we gonna find her, yo?!" Todd asked. "Call Sherlock Holmes?!"
"I can track her, but I need to head back home." Lady Daemon answered as she helped Lance up.
"What happened?" Lance asked, rubbing his head. "And why do I feel like I had a really good night's sleep?"
"A little magic can cure any ailment." Lady Daemon chuckled. "But we must hurry. We have ta get back to my home."
"I can teleport you there." Lila offered. "But we'd have to make a quick stop across the galaxy."
"The hell for?!" Todd snapped.
"My teleportation is not like Blueboy's." Lila explained. "I create a tachyon field that converts matter into particles that go faster than light."
"Why is she talkin' Star Trek?" Blob blinked.
"And because the particles go faster than light, when I teleport, I go very far away, very fast. I can't teleport shorter distances as a result of it." Lila continued.
"Where is this quick stop?" Ian asked.
"A Dyson sphere." Lila explained. "I'll tell you more about it another time."
"I know the sphere. Can we leave this clown there for a while?" A frowning Craig grunted as he picked up an unconscious Pietro.
"Tempting, but no." Lila shook her head. "I don't trust that doofus to not end up accidentally breaking something."
"...good point." Craig admitted.
"Can you take us to the castle?" Ian asked.
Lila nodded. "I've been there before, so I can take ya there." She held out her hand. "Grab me arm." The group obeyed.
FWASH!
In a flash of brilliant white light, the group vanished. Almost instantaneously, the group returned to the main hall of Castle Daemon.
"Whoa..." Todd blinked. "That was...heady."
"My God, it was full of stars..." Lance mumbled.
"That place we briefly appeared in. Was that..." A wide-eyed Ian asked as he turned to Lila.
"Yup. The Dyson sphere." Lila confirmed with a nod.
"Wha-happun?" A dazed Pietro mumbled as he woke up.
"God slapped you." Craig shoved the speedster to the floor. Pietro grunted as he hit said floor.
"Hey, this is a nice carpet..." He mumbled.
"I have to go grab something." Lady Daemon ran into another room.
"What do you suppose she's going to grab, yo?" Todd asked. "Some kind of magical amulet? A wand?"
"I think it's a crystal ball." Fred suggested. Ian and Clara laughed.
"Good one, big guy." Clara chortled, ruffling Fred's hair.
"A crystal ball?!" Pietro rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Come on, Blob! That's ridiculous."
"That's a bit stereotypical, don't you think?" Lila added.
"Yeah, I'm with Lila on that." Paul nodded. "It's a bit silly to assume that she has a crystal ball." Just then, Lady Daemon walked in with a small item under a cloth.
"What is that?" Pietro asked.
"A little thing that I intend to use to help find my blackguard sister." Megan explained. "Follow me, please." The sorceress led the Brotherhood to the castle's dining room.
"Are we gonna have some lunch?" Fred asked.
"Can't you stop thinking about food for five minutes?!" Pietro scowled.
"Ya did pack away quite a bit of haggis, lad." Ian reminded. Lance and Pietro looked at each other and shuddered.
"How the hell could he eat that stuff?!" Lance whispered harshly.
"It's Fred. Man could eat moldy metal and like it." Pietro muttered.
"Can't fight an evil sorceress on an empty stomach, man." Fred snickered.
"That's why you guys should eat bugs, yo." Todd eyed a fly. He caught it with his tongue and ate it. "They got lots of protein."
Pietro rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Ugh! And he wonders why people find him disgusting...
"Are they always like this?" Ian asked Clara as the group entered another room. The centerpiece of this room was a round wooden table with plenty of seats around it. The table was covered by a forest green tablecloth.
"Yes, but you get used to it." Clara smiled. "This bunch got potential."
"Take seats, everyone." Megan ordered.
"Hey wait, can these things handle Blob here?" Pietro asked, jerking his thumb at said mutant.
Whap!
"OW!" The speedster screamed as Craig smacked him upside the head.
"The chairs are strong." Megan assured with a smile. "They can handle your friend." The group did as she ordered. The blonde Scotswoman placed the covered object on the center of the table. She removed the cover, revealing that the object she found was...a crystal ball.
"Hey, I was right!" Fred grinned, pointing at the object in triumph.
"You have got to be kidding me." Lance rolled his eyes.
"A crystal ball, Megan? Really?" Clara frowned.
Megan shrugged, then smirked. "I know. It's a bit stereotypical, but it still gets the job done. Now all of you. Hold hands." The group did as ordered...mostly.
"Wait, do I have to hold Todd's?" Pietro said, realizing the amphibious teenager was sitting next to him.
"Will you stop whining?!" Lila snapped, holding Todd's hand herself.
"Hey, I'm just saying! You know this guy rarely showers, right?" Pietro reminded.
"There's a reason for that..." The amphibious teenager growled. Craig smacked Pietro upside the head.
"Hold his hand, punk!" He snapped. Pietro obeyed.
"There you go." Lila smirked. She looked at Clara. "Heh. You were right. He's not completely untrainable."
"I hate you. I hate you both so much." He muttered.
"What's the point of this?" Lance asked.
"Ye ever heard of a séance, lad?" Ian asked. Lance nodded.
"Yeah, I've seen horror movies." He shuddered. "And in them, this never ends well."
"That's because in those movies, they're done by idiots who don't take proper precautions." Ian said.
"Well, instead of using this to contact the dead, we're going to find Alisabeth." Megan explained.
"Wait, she's a powerful sorceress like you, right?" Paul asked. Megan nodded. "Well, what makes you sure she won't try and hide from you?"
"Alisabeth loves clashing with us." Ian smirked. "She'll make herself known."
"Considering the amount of magic that is potentially in that meteorite piece, that will be hard for her to hide." Megan agreed. "Now, all of you. Close your eyes...and concentrate."
"Concentrate on what?" Fred asked.
"Concentrate on the ball." Megan said. The group did as they were told. The clear ball started to fog up. The fog at first was thin and white. But then it grew more intense and grayer, like it was a storm cloud about to unleash a torrent of rain on the ground below. When the fog within the ball became a dark thick almost-black pea soup, it then started to glow a brilliant white. The ball then projected an image. An image of a large gray mountain in front of a lake. Megan opened her eyes. "Alright. That's where she is." The group opened their eyes.
"Hey, a mountain." Fred said.
"Not just any mountain, lad." Ian said. "That's Bla Bheinn."
"...blabbin'?" Todd blinked in confusion.
"Bla Bheinn." Megan repeated. "It's part of the Black Cuillin mountain range."
"Located on the Isle of Skye." Clara recalled. "Visited there once in 1987. Beautiful scenery, but I remember it being cold as all hell."
"Welcome to the Hebrides." Ian chuckled.
"Great. Cold. I hate the cold." Todd muttered.
"So basically, she's hiding out in a mountain."
"You guys do realize that this may end up being a trap, right?" Lila reminded. "That crazy witch likely has some nasty surprises waiting for us there."
"Like maybe monsters or something." Fred realized.
"Yeah, that wouldn't be surprising." Lance grumbled.
"Oh man, getting' eaten by monsters." Todd groaned. "That'll totally bomb, yo."
"Don't worry about it, Toad." Pietro smirked. "One look at you and one whiff of your stench, and they'll die of horror."
WHAP!
"OW!" Pietro screamed and clutched his head where Craig smacked him.
"I can't help that, yo..." Todd muttered.
Bla Bheinn
Deep within the mountain, a cylindrical chamber had been carved out. There were several torches placed around the walls of the chamber. In the center stood the meteorite, placed upon a white column. Standing against a wall was a mirror. Alisabeth Daemon smiled as she looked over the visitor from the depths of space.
"I can feel the mystical power coming off of you." The blonde bombshell cooed at the rock. "You will be absolutely perfect for bringing my mistress to this world."
"Are you seriously talking to the meteorite?" Kthara asked in disbelief. The blonde sorceress turned to the mirror.
"Forgive me, Kthara." Alisabeth apologized. "But you have to admit, it is quite a wonderous-looking rock. I can see why Dreagmore sees it as such a big deal."
"I do not really care about how it looks." Kthara scowled, crossing her arms. "Can it bring me and the Outer Dark to this world?"
"I do believe this meteorite has more than enough mystical power contained within it." Alisabeth nodded. "But I will need to make a blood sacrifice."
"I recall." Kthara said. "I take it you have someone to give up their life for this?"
"Oh, I'll have no problem getting some blood sacrifices." Alisabeth smirked. "Because I know my sister will be trying to stop me. And she'll be bringing her little friends along..."
Castle Daemon
Lance Alvers found himself looking at a display case. Within the clear box was a short sword. The double-sided blade was 20 inches long and vaguely leaf-shaped, and the handle was oval-shaped and gold in color. The blade gleamed in the light, and the grip was golden-colored. Despite the age of the sword, it seemed to be in very good shape and well-maintained.
"It's called a xiphos, lad." Ian told the young mutant.
"A xiphos?" Lance repeated.
A nod from Ian. "Aye. That sword there is quite old."
"Doesn't really look it."
"Looks can be deceivin', kiddo." Ian smiled. "Meg got this in Greece."
"It's Greek?"
"Yes. Used by Ancient Greek soldiers. It's believed this sword in particular's blade was made from metal provided by a meteorite."
"Huh." Lance stared at the sword. "Like the meteorite your girlfriend's psycho sister made off with." He frowned at the old weapon. "You think this has magical powers, too? I mean, that meteorite in town..."
"Maybe." Ian crossed his arms. "Meg did sense some potential magical power from this old sword. That's why she bought it."
"She likes old stuff like this, huh?"
"It's her way of keepin' the world safe, lad. And a lot of our collection are little souvenirs from the adventures we've had over the decades." Ian said. "The stuff she keeps here in the castle is minor stuff. She keeps the really dangerous stuff in...other places."
Lance's eyes widened. Ian laughed at that.
"The world is a lot more mad than you'd expect, young man." He said sagely.
"There you two are." The two saw Lady Daemon walking towards them. She smiled at the earthshaker. "Ya like that sword, lad?"
"Uh, uhhhh, yeah." Lance said. "It's pretty cool. Ian here said it was very old and Greek."
"Aye, it is." Megan glanced at the ancient sword.
"It don't look really old."
"Looks can be deceivin', kiddo." Meg said. "After all, Ian, Clara, and meself, we're over a century old, but look like we barely reached 40." She smiled at the sword. "That's a reason why I wanted this old xiphos. I can identify with it."
"Ian said that you sensed some magical power from this sword."
"Indeed." Megan nodded. "I think that's why the xiphos still looks so new despite it being thousands of years old."
"Ian said the sword was made from a meteorite." Lance said. "Maybe it was similar to the meteorite in Dreagmore."
"Perhaps." Ian agreed. Meg then opened up the display case and took out the ancient melee weapon.
"Clara told me about you, about your gift, Mr. Alvers." Meg said.
"Oh, God..." Lance groaned, facepalming. "How long are people going to get on me about that damn scoreboard?!"
"Scoreboard?" Ian blinked.
"I nearly brought a scoreboard down on the principal of me school's head when I used my powers to amuse Kitty." Lance explained. "Craig likes to get on me about it."
"Can't blame him, lad." Megan said. "You do have the potential to be the most destructive of your comrades. Power like that has to be used carefully." She looked at the sword in her hands...and noticed Lance was staring at it. "You like this sword, Mr. Alvers?"
The earthshaker shrugged. "I guess."
"You should learn how to use one." Megan suggested. "Swords require focus and precision to use. Learning a bit of fencing could help you learn to be more precise with your powers."
"Fencing?" Lance scowled, crossing his arms. "That sounds like something bored rich kids do in their stuffy academies. In case you don't realize it, lady, I'm from the US. We don't do fencing there."
"Meg could teach ya, lad." Ian suggested.
"Aye." Megan agreed, swinging the xiphos in her hand like a trained fencer. "I picked fencing up during my university days." She noticed something about Lance as she swung her sword. "Can't stop lookin' at this here xiphos, can you, lad?"
"It...it is kind of a cool sword." Lance admitted. "It's weird."
"What is?" Ian asked.
"I feel like..." Lance looked at the sword. "Like I've seen this sword before."
"Maybe ya saw a sword like that in a museum, lad." Ian suggested.
"Maybe." The earthshaker agreed, rubbing the back of his head. Megan smirked.
"Ya know, lad..." She said. "Those powers of yours may cause more problems than they can solve if we're going to Bla Bheinn." She glanced at the sword. "You may need something a bit more precise if we're going to face my sister." A smirk formed on the beautiful ageless blonde's face. She handed Lance the xiphos. Ian blinked at this.
"Uh, Megan dear?" The auburn-haired Scotsman asked nervously. "Are ya sure it's a good idea to give this boy that?"
"You saying I can't handle a sword, old man?" Lance sneered as he accepted the xiphos and stomped off. The two Scots watched him stomp out of the room, xiphos in hand. Ian frowned at his lover.
"Megam me dear, don't get me wrong. I know your magical skills let you see...things, but is it still a good idea to let a temperamental teenage boy have a xiphos?"
"Don't worry, Ian my love." The sorceress assured him. "He said he felt that he had seen the sword before. When he said that, I found myself sensing something with that old xiphos."
"The lad's connected to it, isn't he?" Ian deduced.
"Indeed." Megan nodded with a smile. "Besides, the boy needs it. That sword will be helpful to him when facing Alisabeth."
Bla Bheinn
Bla Bheinn, aka Blaven, was a Scottish mountain that was nearly 3,050 feet tall. The mountain was located on the Isle of Skye, the northernmost and largest of the islands that composed the Inner Hebrides. The mountain's name came from a combination of Old Norse and Scottish Gaelic words that meant "blue mountain". The name fit the mountain, as it was mainly composed of bluish black coarse-grained igneous rock known as gabbro, whose texture made it a popular destination for mountaineers.
Clara's spaceship arrived in front of the mountain. The ship landed on the west side of the mountain, as a way to avoid grabbing the attention of the nearby village of Torrin, which was located hear the mountain's eastern side.
The door of the ship opened, and a ramp sprouted out of a slot underneath it. The ramp was gray with dark blue carpeting on it. One the ramp touched the ground, safety railing sprouted out of the sides of the ramp. Clara stepped out onto the ramp. She was dressed in her Sabreclaw costume. The woman looked around as she walked down the ramp.
God, this mountain is as beautiful as I remember it. She smiled slightly as she reminisced. Still as cold as it was then, too. Brr! She shuddered slightly from the chill. Her costume was designed to help provide some protection from the cold, but she still felt the chill on her face. Man, what I would give to be back in Joey's home right now, enjoying some hot cocoa...and his bed. She smiled wickedly for a brief moment, then looked up at the door.
"Okay, we have arrived! Everybody out! We got a sorceress to fight!" The blonde feral reminded loudly.
"MOVE IT!" Craig was heard roaring.
"WAHHHHHHH!" Pietro screamed as he was tossed onto the ground.
BAM!
"OW!" Pietro yelped as he hit the ground. A blinking Clara watched him get back up to his feet.
"I was moving, you jackass!" He yelled up at Craig as the dark-haired Los Angelan disembarked. Lance then disembarked next. He was quiet, and he was holding the xiphos in his hand. On the way to the mountain, he had been pondering the old sword. It was weird. The ancient weapon felt rather...comfortable in his hand, like the young earthshaker was born to use it...
"Clara wasn't kidding when she said the Hebrides was cold as hell." Craig muttered as he pulled his jacket tighter around him as he disembarked.
"Brrrr." Fred agreed as he followed. He rubbed his arms. "I don't think it ever got this cold in Texas..."
"Where exactly in Texas are you from, Big Guy?" Lila asked as she disembarked.
"I dunno." Fred admitted. "I was found by a circus when they were performing in Lubbock."
"Hmmm..." Lila whipped out her phone and did some checking. "Huh. According to this, in the winters, mornings in Lubbock can dip below freezing."
Fred blinked at this. "Sweet baby Jebus..." The powerhouse muttered in amazement.
"Never thought I'd get to see the Hebrides..." Paul remarked. Finally, Lady Daemon and Ian MacInnis disembarked.
"Welcome to the Hebrides, everyone." Lady Daemon waved.
"Looks desolate." Craig noted.
"Aye, but is beauty makes up for it." Ian smiled. "I've been all over the world, but there is no place like home."
"Hey, one of us is missing." Paul noticed. "Where's Todd?"
"I'll go get him." Lila said as she walked back into the spaceship. She noticed that Todd was walking slowly up to her, seemingly covered in blankets. "Todd?"
"Cold..." He mumbled sleepily underneath his blankets. The British-Indian interstellar teleporter pulled up one of the blankets and saw Todd shivering. "Too cold..." He looked up at Lila. "I don't really wanna do anything, yo..." Why me? Why am I always like this when it gets cold?
"Oh, dear..." Lila said. "Todd, you alright?"
"Don't wanna go..." Todd mumbled. "Not feeling well..." I hate being a mutant, yo...
"Okay, here..." Lila gently guided the young mutant to a comfy chair on the bridge and sat him down in it. "Alright, you stay here and rest, alright?" Todd nodded. "Okay. We'll beat up the mean sorceress and go take you back to the castle and get warmed up. Do you want me to warm up the bridge a little bit?"
"You...you can do that?" Todd mumbled. Lila nodded, a smile on her face. She looked up at the ceiling.
"Computer!" She called. "Increase the temperature of the bridge by ten degrees." The ship's computer beeped in response and obeyed the order. "Feeling better?"
"A little." Todd answered. Lila's smile never wavered. He sounded a little better already!
"Okay. You stay here and keep warm, alright?" Lila gave the younger mutant a hug.
"Good luck, Lila." Todd said to her. She gave him a wicked smirk.
"I'll give Lady Daemon's mad sister a big ol' kick in the mouth for ya." She left the ship.
"Is he alright?" Fred asked. "Not that I'm not worried about him or anything."
"It is okay to say you're worried about him, Fred." Paul told the Texan powerhouse. "Besides, you're his friend, aren't you?"
"I guess..."
"I think the cold is affecting him worse than the rest of us." Lila said. "His mutation is amphibian-based, right?"
"Well, yeah. That's why he's called Toad." Lance answered. "Why?"
"Amphibians go through a process called brumation when it gets really cold." Lila explained. "It's kind of similar to hibernation."
"So, he's falling asleep?" Fred blinked.
Lila shook her head. "No. Brumating amphibians can be active, but they slow down their metabolic and heart rates. Todd's mutation must make him much more sensitive to the cold, so his body is making him want to brumate."
"And since we're in the Hebrides, which is cold as hell..." Clara realized. "Oh, boy..."
"Yeah." Lila nodded.
"What's he doing now?" Lance asked.
"He's sitting on a chair in the bridge." Lila said. "Under a lot of blankets."
"Aw, terrific!" Pietro groaned, throwing his hands up in the air. "Typical Todd! Always never any help!"
Whap!
"OW!" Pietro screamed as he clutched his head where Craig smacked him.
"It's not his fault, you little punk." Craig growled.
"We'll have to leave him in the ship, then." Clara said.
"I'm afraid so." Lila nodded.
"Fine." Lance said. "Come on. Let's get this BS over with." Within the mountain, the mad blonde sorceress Alisabeth Daemon watched the group in her own crystal ball. An evil smile formed on her beautiful face.
You wanted sacrifices, Kthara? Well, here they come...
Yeah, this took forever and a day to write. Man, I can't write action scenes... Hope you all enjoyed this little belated Christmas gift.
Carapace first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #583 (March 2009).
Captain Manhattan is a New Universe character, first appearing in D.P.7 #30 (December 1988). Nothing was revealed about his identity in the comics, just that he was a telekinetic. So, I thought for this version of him, I'd give him a name. He's a white dude in the comics, so I made him Latino in the SSC-verse to reflect New York City being a diverse city.
Dr. Johnathan Ohnn, the Spot, first appeared in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #98 (January 1985).
I imagined Duncan flying out of his exploded car like John McClane flew out of that exploding airplane in Die Hard 2. That movie inspired this part.