The SuperStarr Chronicles
Disclaimer: "A BEAR did COCAINE!"
Chapter 18: The Bear Necessities, Part 1
Japan
A slim man wearing a white kimono sat in a temple, his eyes closed. His long dark hair was tied in a high ponytail. Sitting across his lap was a scabbard that contained a katana.
A rustling sound was heard, making the man's eyes open. He was pulled out of his meditation when he noticed a swarm of black-clad ninjas surrounding him.
"I take it that you are here to avenge your master." The man said, getting up to his feet. He stuck his sword's scabbard onto his belt.
"We are." One of the ninjas said.
"Your master was a threat to the world." The man said. "And I thought I had destroyed all of you."
"You thought wrong, samurai!" One of the ninjas pulled down the covering over his mouth, and grinned evilly. The grin revealed that the ninja had fangs. "You cannot stop our ascendence! We will rule this land!" The man scowled and unsheathed his katana.
"Not today." The samurai and the vampire ninjas charged. Swords clashed, fists and feet flew. The samurai fought valiantly, his skilled feet, hands, and sword cutting down the vampire ninjas left and right. Despite this, the samurai was still only one man.
Chok! Chok! Chok! Chok!
"Aaaagh!" The samurai howled in pain as four shuriken got embedded into his back. He grunted as he fell to one knee...and then another.
"Ha! Foolish samurai!" One of the ninja cackled as he walked towards the man. "You may be a mighty warrior, but you are still merely a man. And a man is vulnerable to poison...like the one in those shuriken."
"I...still...live..." The samurai hissed.
"Not for much longer." The vampire ninja smirked. He raised his katana, and brought it down on the samurai's neck...
"Cut!" A voice called out, and a bell rang. The samurai and the seemingly dead vampire ninjas all rose to their feet. The samurai chuckled at the vampire ninja.
"You couldn't resist adding a bit of...what do the Americans call it? Ham, could you?" The samurai said with an amused smile.
The vampire ninja shrugged. "Hey, when it comes to a film like this, a little ham would not hurt."
The director took off his headphones, smiling triumphantly at the samurai. "That was excellent, Sunen! But then again, I should not have been surprised. You inherited your family's acting knack."
Kingo Sunen smiled. "Indeed, my friend."
"Take five, everyone!" The director called out. "We'll prepare the ambush by Musashi's students afterwards!" The actors and crew started to mill about. Kingo walked into his trailer to take a rest. The immortal actor heard a ringing sound. He picked up his phone and noted the name on it.
"Moshi moshi?" He greeted.
"Moshi moshi, Kingo." The voice of his assistant, Keiko Takamoto, responded. "We have a problem."
"A problem?" Kingo repeated.
"Code Indigo." Keiko responded.
The Eternal sighed. "Ami is in trouble again?"
"I'm afraid so, Kingo." The woman confirmed. "What is going on with her?"
"It is not unusual for teenagers to want to rebel." Kingo said sagely. "And considering how she lost her parents..." Pains crossed the actor's face. Death was not an unusual experience for him. In his long life, Kingo made many friends, and outlived all of them. He looked at a photograph in a frame. It depicted him and a little smiling girl of around ten years old. Her black hair was frizzy, and her features and complexion indicated she was Afro-Japanese. "She never believed that their death was an accident."
The skies over Upstate New York, the night earlier
A plane flew over the mountainous forests of the state. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed across the cloudy skies. The rain pounded hard on the plane's frame, making loud plink noises. Two men sat in the cockpit. One was the pilot, the other was the co-pilot.
"I don't like this." The pilot said, frowning at the sky. "This storm is a bad one."
"Don't worry about it, Mitch." The co-pilot assured. "We've flown through worse."
The pilot, Mitch, looked over his compatriot. "Yeah, but I got a bad feeling about this flight, Tom. Real bad."
"We have to get this stuff to Binghamton, remember?" Tom reminded.
"Yeah, I know. I know." Mitch nodded. "But I just can't shake this bad feeling."
"Don't you worry about it, pal." Tom smiled. "All we gotta do is get this new cocaine to our destination, and we're gonna get paid. Just think of the money."
"Well, we are getting paid quite a handsome sun of money..."
"That's the spirit!" Tom grinned. "It's not much further, anyway." Unseen by the two pilots, a figure was flying towards the plane. It was a man wearing a black bodysuit with white boots and gloves. The costume had an emblem of a white stylized skull on the chest and a white utility belt. The man was also wearing a black helmet with the skull logo on it. The helmet's HUD scanned the plane.
There it is. Just as Franco said. Frank Castle, the Punisher, thought as the HUD alerted him to the plane's cargo. This new form of cocaine will never make it to the streets. A rocket launcher built into the jetpack put itself into position over his shoulder.
Mitch looked over at the plane's radar screen. "Hey, Tom?"
"Yeah?"
"The radar's picking up something." Mitch reported.
"I don't see anything." Tom said. He frowned as he looked through the cockpit's windows. "But then again, considering this weather..." The radar started to beep.
"Tom, there's something coming right for us!" Mitch exclaimed. Tom looked at the radar then saw the rocket flying towards them.
"OH SHI-!" The two men exclaimed. Mitch yanked at the control yoke, desperately hoping that he could get the plane to dodge it. Unfortunately for the two drug runners, this hope was in vain.
BOOM!
The rocket hit the plane's cockpit, and the plane blew into smithereens. Castle hovered in the air, watching this impassively. He activated a comm signal.
"The jetpack worked, Micro." Frank Castle, the Punisher, said over the radio.
"Told you it would, Frank." Linus Lieberman, aka Microchip, bragged. "So, I take it it's Miller Time?"
"Crime never takes a break, Micro. And neither do I." Castle reminded.
"Frank, you're still human. Humans need rest." Microchip pointed out. "You can continue your work tomorrow." Castle mulled this. As much as he hated to admit it, his friend was right. He may have dedicated his life to the elimination of criminals, but he still was only human. And humans needed rest and downtime. Castle moved the joysticks on his jetpack, and flew off. Besides, as far as he was concerned, he was done here. Unseen by the vigilante, a crate full of the new cocaine had been blown out of the plane by its explosion and fell towards the Earth.
SMASH!
The crate burst open, spilling its contents on the ground.
A black bear wandered over to the broken crate. It blinked at the pile of wood that was formerly a box. The pile revealed broken bricks that revealed white powder. The curious ursine walked over to the broken box and licked some of the powder. It tasted...sweet, like sugar. The bear blinked and licked it lips. This powder tasted good! It started scarfing down more. And its body started to glow...
Bayville High
"How are you feeling, Mr. Matthews?" The school nurse asked.
"My sight's coming back a bit." Duncan said. "I can still see Ethan Meyer's butt sometimes. So many pockmarks..." He groaned, rubbing his eyes and shaking his head. Ah God, that's not gonna leave my brain anytime soon... His parents walked into the room.
"You alright, kiddo?" James Matthews, Duncan's father asked.
"Yeah, I'll recover. I always do." Duncan nodded.
"What happened here, exactly?" Louise Matthews, Duncan's mother asked the nurse.
"Evidently, another student went crazy and started streaking throughout the school." The nurse explained. "Several students got temporarily blinded because of it." The parents blinked at each other.
"Can't blame them." Duncan muttered, rubbing his eyes. "God, his butt...I'm gonna have nightmares for a friggin' month..."
"He'll be alright. At least, in the eye department." The nurse assured. "But I can't speak for any potential psychological damage. You'll have to go to the counselor for that. And he's pretty busy so far."
"How can a streaking kid do this?!" A puzzled James asked, scratching his head.
"Evidently, his butt was horrific." The nurse shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I didn't see it."
"I am going to need so much therapy for this..." Duncan muttered.
"Does he have to go home?" Louise asked in concern.
The nurse shook her head. "No, he's doing alright. He just needs a bit of rest."
"I'm good, guys." Duncan waved it off.
"Alright, son." James nodded, satisfied with that answer. "Take care, okay?" He patted the blond jock's shoulders. Duncan nodded.
"We'll see you when you get home, hon." Louise said, giving her son a smile. "If you need anything, just call."
"Thanks, guys." Duncan said. The two left the room.
"I never understood that weird thing Duncan has going for him." Louise shook her head in amazement as they left the school and went to their car.
"You think this may have something to do with that time that we made love in that cemetery?" James suggested. "I mean, we did discover that you were pregnant with Duncan not long afterwards."
"...well...maybe?" Louise shrugged. "You know, I wonder which one of us came up with that silly idea?"
Mr. Matthews blinked at her. "...you did, remember? You were wearing that witch outfit and you said you were feeling a bit kinky..."
"Oh, yeah." Mrs. Matthews grinned. "That was a fun night."
"Yeeeeah, it was." Mr. Matthews admitted with a nod.
The Xavier Institute
"I heard an...incident occurred at the school today. Are you all alright?" A concerned Xavier asked the young mutants as he wheeled up to them. With him was Storm and Wolverine.
"Urgh..." Jean groaned, rubbing her temples in frustration. Evan snickered.
"Yes, something happened, but it wasn't quite what you think." Scott assured. "Show 'em, Kurt."
"Ja, it was actually kind of hilarious." The blue-furred German mutant pulled out his phone. "Check it out!" He showed it to the instructors, playing the video on it.
"I AM THE BUTTLORD! I AM THE BUTTLORD! I AM THE BUTTLORD!" The naked Ethan Meyer screamed as he ran around the cafeteria being pursued by Principal Kelly and Henry McCoy.
Xavier blinked at the footage. "Well, that was not something I expected to see today." The bald telepath remarked.
Ororo's jaw dropped. "What on Earth?!"
"Yeah, evidently Ethan Meyer wanted to try his hand at streaking." Scott said.
"Like, I'm going to have nightmares about this...so grody..." Kitty moaned, rubbing her eyes.
Evan cackled. "I heard Pietro got blinded for a while. I wish I could have seen that!"
"Ethan Meyer...He's the student who enjoys bullying others, right?" Xavier inquired.
"The same." Scott confirmed with a nod.
"...how can one ass have so many blackheads?!" Logan blinked in disbelief. Xavier facepalmed. Jean's face turned green.
"Oh God!" The redheaded mentalist clapped her hands over her mouth as her cheeks expanded to the size of baseballs. She ran like a demon towards the nearest bathroom. Xavier noticed this.
"I'll have to talk to Jean about this."
"Ah actually don't blame her. Meyer is a sick, sick man." Rogue shook her head.
"I thought streaking went out with the 1970s." Ororo blinked.
"Evidently he's trying to bring it back." Logan cracked.
"I wonder what caused this." The bald telepath noted.
"I get the feeling one of the Brotherhood was behind this." Scott muttered.
"It's certainly possible." Rogue agreed. The others looked at her. "Remember when we fought that alien bounty hunter?"
"Oh, I remember." Evan smirked. "Pietro getting his nuts crushed by a soccer goalpost will be a memory I'll treasure forever."
"During that battle, Ah absorbed Paul Starr's powers." Rogue reminded.
"Yeah, like you had Paul's star birthmark and everything, only it was green." Kitty recalled. "It looked totally cool. Really gave you a whole 'rocker queen' vibe."
"...Yeah." Rogue nodded. "Well, I managed to figure out something more from what little Ah got from Paul. Ah learned that Paul and Craig have the same powers."
"Well, that makes sense. They're twins." Evan said.
Rogue nodded. "Well, they can do more than just shoot laser beams from their star birthmark-covered eyes. They can also create flashes of light from them."
"Flashes of light? What for?" Logan frowned.
"They can temporarily blind people with them, but they can also hypnotize people." Rogue explained.
"Hypnotism..." Xavier frowned in thought.
"You think one of those Starr twins was behind this?" Scott noted.
"If they are, I'm thanking them." Kurt said. "Meyer is a jerk."
"It certainly is a possibility." Xavier said, steepling his fingers.
"What should we do?" Scott asked. "I mean, we know Kelly doesn't care if we don't use our powers outside of school grounds."
"Somehow, I get the idea the Brotherhood won't care about that kind of thing." Rogue snorted.
"Don't you think that you are being a bit quick to judge the Brotherhood on this?" Ororo said.
"Ororo is right." Xavier agreed. "For all we know, Mr. Meyer may have chosen to do this of his own free will." He smiled in amusement. "Sometimes, we forget that even in a world like our own, the popular interpretation of Occam's razor still can apply."
"Who's razor?" Evan asked.
"Occam. As in William of Ockham." Xavier explained. "He was a 14th century English monk that was a philosopher and theologian. He was attributed as saying that 'entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity', even though he never used those exact words. The popular misinterpretation of this is 'the simplest explanation is the best one'."
"So, what you're saying is..."
"We need to find proof first." Scott clarified. "Can't blame everything on super-powered people."
"Exactly." Xavier nodded.
The Brotherhood House
"Hmmmm, hm hmmmmmm..." Clara Creed hummed with a smile as she stirred the contents of a big pot in the Brotherhood House's kitchen. She scooped out some of the contents with her wooden spoon and tasted some of it. "Mmmm, divine." The blonde feral licked her lips in satisfaction. "Yup, they're going to love this chili." The Canadian woman heard the door open. "And here comes the superkid parade..." She walked into the hall, watching the door open. "How was your day, kiddos..." She blinked when she saw Pietro walk in first. That wasn't the strange part, he naturally was the fastest of all the Brotherhood members, but the silver-haired speedster was furiously rubbing his eyes.
"It was horrifying. My eyes..." Pietro moaned as he went upstairs. "Oh God, my eyes..."
"...huh?" A confused Clara blinked. "Is something wrong with his eyes?"
"He whined about his damned eyes all day!" Craig Starr grumbled as he walked in. He tossed his backpack on the couch, than sat down next to it and turned on the TV. Clara watched the dark-haired Los Angelan turn on the TV, and try to find something good to watch.
"What was that all about?" Clara asked.
"Pietro's a baby, that's what." Craig grumbled.
"Well, tell him I'm making chili." Clara said. Craig perked up a bit at that.
"Huh. Must be a special occasion."
"I wonder why that guy went crazy and started streaking..." Lila muttered with a frown as she walked into the house, followed by a laughing Paul and Todd. She was counting some money in her hands.
"Lila, did you steal that?" Clara asked. "I can smell if you're lying."
"Nope." The British-Indian girl grinned proudly. "I got a commission!"
"A commission." Clara repeated. She had a look on her face that indicated disbelief.
"Yup." Lila confirmed with a nod. "A nice girl asked me to build a taser for her. I'm gonna start work on it on the ship later."
"Hopefully you'll do your homework first." Clara said.
"Yes, mum." Lila answered teasingly, plopping down on the couch next to Craig. "Ooh, I love that movie!" Clara smiled at the laughing Paul and Todd.
"You two are in a good mood." The blonde feral noted.
"Man, today was hilarious!" Todd managed to get out.
"What happened?" Clara asked. She noticed Lance walk in. "How ya doin', Earthshaker?"
"Fine." Lance answered simply. He noticed the blonde feral standing in the hall...and the smell coming from the kitchen. "What're you doing?"
"Making chili." Clara answered, heading back inside.
"Alright!" Lila whooped, pumping her fist.
"Yeah!" Paul added, rubbing his hands and licking his lips.
"What's that about?" Todd asked Craig.
"Clara makes good chili, Frog." Craig explained. "Try it. You'll love it."
"Yup, her chili is the stuff of legends!" Paul grinned.
Lance frowned. "She really likes playing mom to you bunch, doesn't she?"
"Yep!" Paul nodded happily. "She loves it, really."
"Mystique never made us chili." Todd pointed out.
"Did somebody say chili?" Fred asked as he walked in.
"Clara's making chili, big guy." Lila announced.
"Really?!" Fred blinked in amazement.
"Yeah!" Paul nodded in excitement. "Her chili is delicious!"
"Well, alright!" Fred licked his lips and rubbed his hands.
"By the way, I got a call from Principal Kelly." Clara pointed out as she walked back in. The blonde shot Craig a look. "It was about you."
"I don't swing his way, and that's also illegal." Craig retorted.
Clara rolled her eyes. "No! He said you caused another student to start some kind of naked rampage?" Todd and Paul burst out laughing again. Clara could have sworn she heard Pietro screaming from upstairs. Lance scowled at Darkstar.
"Yeah, he did! It was hilarious! Check it out, yo!" Todd pulled up the video on his phone and handed it to Clara. The Canadian feral blinked at the footage she saw.
"That boy needs to wash his butt." Clara noted, pointing at the screen.
"Ehhhh, don't feel too bad for him. That guy's a jerk." Todd said.
"I was not on school grounds when I hypnotized his stupid ass." Craig grunted.
"Why'd you do it?" Clara asked.
"Because he was being a jackoff. He deserved it."
"Oh, look at you!" A furious Lance snapped. "Look at you! You get on me about how I need to think about how my powers can harm people, and yet you go and make that Meyer guy go on a naked rampage! Oh, yeah! It's okay when you use your powers wildly! That's not hypocritical!"
Craig sneered at the geokinetic. "Yeah, I didn't nearly kill anybody."
"YOU NEARLY KILLED MY EYES, YOU BASTARD!" Pietro was heard screaming from upstairs, but he was ignored.
"He does have a point, Craig." Paul pointed out. "I mean, you did give Lance plenty of guff about his powers being used irresponsibly."
"I wasn't endangering people to impress a girl." Craig defended.
"You know, I don't blame Craig." Todd scowled. "I mean, the guy's whack, yo. He's a bully. I'm one of his favorite targets." Clara looked at the amphibious mutant sympathetically, then shot Craig a frown.
"What? What?!" Craig scowled. "You heard the Frog! The kid was a punk! He deserved it! And no, I did not hypnotize him on school grounds! I am not Earthquake Boy here!"
"Earthquake Boy?!" Lance yelled angrily, jumping to his feet. The house started to shake, his powers reacting to his rage.
"Lance, calm down!" Paul yelped.
"WHAT IS GOING ON DOWN THERE OW!" Pietro yelped from upstairs. Craig just crossed his arms and sneered at Lance.
"Lance, knock it off, yo!" Todd yelped. Clara grabbed Lance in a sleeper hold. Lance hacked and wheezed.
"Calm down...Calm down..." The blonde Canadian whispered into the struggling young mutant's ear. "Calm down..." It seemed to have an effect, as the shaking stopped, and Lance seemed to do exactly that. She let him go and he glared at her.
"What the hell?!" He exclaimed.
"You were going to wreck the house." Clara said simply.
"I never did that." Craig said smugly.
"Stop it, you are not helping." Clara ordered. "Lance does have a point."
"Where do you get off-!" Lance started to argue, but then he blinked at Clara in surprise when he processed what he just said. "Wait...what?! You...you're on my side here?"
"In a way." Clara nodded. "You have a point, Lance. Craig should have thought over using his powers on that Meyer kid."
"I didn't nearly bring down a scoreboard on people's heads." Craig argued.
"No, but you do remember that people don't remember their actions under the trances your hypnotic powers can put them in, right?" The Canadian blonde reminded. Craig nodded. "Did you snap him out of it?"
"Yeah, duh." Craig answered.
"Well, I can imagine it would be awkward to explain to him how he ended up running around the school naked screaming that he was 'The Buttlord'." Clara said.
"Yeah, I don't get why that's a bad thing, yo." Todd snorted. "The dude's a jackoff."
"He may be, but still." Clara said. "You do have a point, Craig. Yes, you didn't remotely cause as much damage as Lance did."
"Thank you!" Craig threw his arms up in the air.
"But you still did cause quite a bit of chaos today." Clara added. "You can't get on Lance about not having any self-control, and then use your powers like that. Makes you come off as a bit hypocritical."
"Yeah, Craig." Lance smirked. "She's right." The Los Angelan growled at the geokinetic. Clara put her hand on his shoulder.
"I got some dinner made. Go get Pietro." Clara ordered. Craig nodded and got up. As he left the room, he shot a sneer at the smirking Lance and flipped him the bird. Clara then smiled at her wards. "Okay, you lot. I got some pipin' hot chili, and I can't wait for you all to chow down!"
"Craig said your chili was good, yo! Can't wait!" Todd whooped as he hopped into the dining room.
"Trust me on this, Todd! It's heavenly!" Paul added as he followed the amphibious young mutant inside.
"I could use some fuel." Lila smiled as she headed towards the kitchen. "Can't work on an empty stomach."
"I dunno." Fred admitted as he followed the others. "I'm a Texas boy. I've never heard of no Canadian chili..."
"You'll love it, big guy." Lila assured as she took a seat.
"Paul, get the plates and bowls!" Clara called out from the kitchen.
"Got it!" Said young mutant went into the kitchen and retrieved some plates and bowls. He set them on the table as the rest of the Brotherhood took seats. Except for two.
"Hey, where's Pietro? And Craig?" Lila noticed the two were missing. "It couldn't have taken Craig that long to grab Mr. Ambiguous." They then heard a noise. "Oh, that must be them."
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Pietro wailed as Craig Starr dragged him down the stairs by his ear. The Los Angelan dragged the speedster into the dining room. Pietro continued to wail as Craig yanked on his ear.
"Stop whining and sit down!" Craig snapped as he shoved the speedster into a seat. He took his seat as Clara walked in, carrying a big pot.
"Dinner is served, kiddos!" The blonde Canadian placed the pot of chili on a hot plate in the center of the table. She scooped the chili out of the pot with a ladle and started pouring it into the bowls. "I bet Raven never did anything like this for you."
"Uh, no. She never did." Fred said. He picked up a spoon and tried some chili. The powerhouse's eyes widened. "Whoa...this is good."
"Tell me about it!" Todd licked his lips after trying Clara's chili.
"That's not surprising, Kermit. Her chili is divine!" Lila grinned. Lance silently tried the chili.
"Huh. Not bad." He muttered quietly. Clara smirked, her sharp ears able to pick it up.
Heh. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach indeed. She thought in amusement as she took a seat and started chowing down herself. "Oh, I forgot. I also have some bread. I forgot to grab it-"
"I'll get it!" Paul got up and ran into the kitchen.
"This...this is actually pretty nice." Todd admitted.
"Yeah, this chili is great." Fred agreed. Paul walked back in, putting a basket with slices of French bread on the table. "Ooh, bread!"
"Save some for the rest of us, big guy." Lila said, taking a slice and dipping it in the chili. Lance ate his chili quietly. Clara gave him a smile.
"Nice to see you liking the chili, Earthshaker."
"It's not bad." Lance said. "This is going to be a regular thing, isn't it?"
"Why not?" Clara said. "I mean, don't you ever want to eat with your friends?"
"Since when were we friends?" Lance asked. "You gave me a roundhouse when we first met, remember?"
"True, but it was only because I wanted to end that fight with you quickly." Clara explained. "After all, too many superhumans tend to think that just because they have powers, they don't need to learn any good old fashioned fisticuffs." She smirked wickedly. "It's a nice way to surprise people."
"If you say so." Lance muttered, rubbing his face.
"Don't you worry, Earthshaker." Clara chuckled, ruffling Lance's hair. He scowled at the feral woman. "I meant no harm."
"Awww, Clara wants to be Lance's new mommy." Pietro chortled.
WHAP!
"Ow!" He screamed, rubbing the spot on the back of his head. He glared at Darkstar, who was sitting across from him. "How did you-?!"
"Watch your surroundings, Speedy." Craig answered.
"He's right." Lila smirked, holding up Pietro's wallet. "You never know what will happen if you don't."
"What?!" Pietro yelped. He shoved his hand into his pocket and felt around. True to his shock, his pocket was empty. He jumped out of his seat. "How did you-?! Give me back my wallet, you little-!" The wallet thumped off of the silver-haired speedster's forehead and landed on the table in front of him.
"Relax, Mr. Ambiguous." Lila assured. "I was just illustrating a point." Pietro grumbled in frustration.
"At least she didn't steal my jeep." Lance scowled at Clara.
"Sorry about that, kiddo. I needed a car, and I forgot to rent one." Clara told him. "So, enjoying the chili?"
"...yeah, it's actually not bad."
Clara smiled. "Nothing like it. I learned how to make chili from a nice Mexican-American family back in Texas in...1952, I think."
"They had chili back then?" Todd blinked.
"Chili has been a thing in Texas since the 19th century, kiddo." Clara explained.
"You travel a lot?" Todd asked. Clara nodded.
"I've always had a bit of a wanderlust." The blonde Canadian said. "I've been all over the world several times over."
"Cool!" Fred whooped.
"Being kidnapped into space and then ending up here was the first time I ever left Los Angeles." Craig remarked. He shrugged. "You see LA, you see every city."
"I did a bit of traveling myself." Lila smiled. "When I figured out and refined my powers, I was able to see some real wonders. I saw natural formations like nothing on Earth. Rivers colored like forests. Mountains of solid gold. Forests like silver."
"Wow. A mountain of gold. Like, actual gold?" Todd asked, his yellow eyes wide. Lila nodded. "Wow. If we had one of those, we'd have it made. I mean, we could get some serious coin out of something like that!"
"Yeah, good luck getting any gold out of those mountains, mate." Lila said. "I think those mountains were sacred ground."
"You know, I am curious about something." Clara said. She looked at the four Brotherhood boys. "How did Raven find the lot of you?"
"I grew up in a circus." Fred said. "I traveled a lot. All over the Southwest, mainly. One time, one of the clowns took me out to a desert. He claimed that he heard a legend that a flaming man blew up over it in the 1950s."
"A flaming man." Pietro repeated in disbelief. "That's ridiculous."
"You can outrun Formula 1 cars, and you think that's ridiculous." Craig snorted in disbelief.
"Wait, a burning man? Like that Human Torch?" Paul blinked.
"It can't be him." Lila shook her head. "I saw a thing about him and the rest of the Fantastic Four fighting somebody called the Wizard yesterday."
"There was one before Johnny Storm." Clara reminded. "Jim Hammond. Of the Invaders."
"Oh yeah, the war guys." Todd nodded.
"Jim vanished in 1955." Clara recalled. "I always wondered what happened to him."
"So, the old Torch is dead." Lance said.
"Jimmy couldn't die in the way you all think of dying."
"Why? Was he a vampire or something?" Todd blinked. Fred shuddered. Clara rolled her eyes.
"Good God, don't you kids know your history?!" The blonde sighed. "Jim Hammond was an android. This was public knowledge. I was there when Phineas Horton unveiled him back in '39. He invited reporters to cover it. And I also met him during the war."
"Oh yeah, you did do missions for the Canadian government during the war." Lance recalled. Clara nodded.
"That I did. But we're getting way off topic here. I want to know how Raven got the four of you together."
"Why do you want to know that?" Pietro scowled.
"I'm curious." Clara answered. "Raven hardly ever does anything without a reason. She clearly gathered you four together for something. And she wouldn't abandon you all without a reason either."
"Well, she did." Lance said. "When Magneto's Asteroid M blew up. At first, we thought she got blown to bits, too. But I saw two metal orbs fly out. Magneto and Mystique were in them."
So, Raven is still alive. Clara thought. She'll head back here. I'll have to make some plans for that...
"Wait, Asteroid M?" Craig blinked.
Paul chuckled. "Sounds like a nightclub run by NASA."
"It was a real base." Fred said. "Magneto was our boss."
"Magneto?" Paul, Craig, and Lila blinked at each other in confusion.
"Who's Magneto?" Paul asked.
"A very powerful mutant. THE mutant." Todd said. "I'm talkin' super-powerful, yo. He could move metal around and stuff."
"Magnetokinesis." Lila stated. "He had magnetokinesis."
"No, he was called Magneto." Fred corrected. Lila rolled her eyes.
"Magnetokinesis is what the power to manipulate magnetic fields is called." The British-Indian girl explained.
"Oh." Fred blinked.
Magneto? Clara frowned. I could have sworn I heard that name before...
"You know, I bet that this Magneto guy dislikes hot weather." Lila smirked.
"Why?" Fred asked.
"Do you know how magnets work?" Lila asked.
"Lila, I doubt these guys even know how to spell the word magnet, much less what a magnet is." Craig snorted. Pietro scowled. He marched up to Darkstar and got in his face.
"Certain metals can become magnetic if their electrons are all lined up." The silver-haired speedster growled. He then stomped back to his seat. Craig blinked at this.
"Damn." He muttered.
"Well, that just happened." Lila chuckled. "Mr. Ambigious there is actually right. His explanation applies to ferromagnetism, though."
"Ferra-huh?" Fred blinked.
"The kind that makes metals magnetic." Pietro said. "That's Magneto's power."
"I'm still not getting the whole 'Magneto hates hot weather thing', yo." Todd scratched his head.
"When something is heated, their molecules go faster." Lila explained.
"It's how water becomes steam when it gets hot enough." Paul added.
"Yup. The molecules go bonkers, and then they lose their magnetic properties. It's why a magnet loses its power when it is heated up enough."
Clara shook her head. "This science lesson is fun and all, but we're getting way off topic here. How were the four of you brought together?" Silence reigned at the table for a few minutes.
"...Mystique found me livin' in the streets, in Brooklyn." Todd recalled. He dipped some bread in his chili. "I ran away from the group home I was livin' in at the time. The kids there...they liked makin' fun of me. She said that I was like her in a way. She told me that people made fun of her because of how she looked, too."
"...I can actually believe that." Clara muttered with a sigh. "Certainly explains some things about her."
"Well, I don't think we need to tell you guys how we ended up here." Paul said. He gestured to Lila and Craig. He looked at Lance. "So, what's your story?"
"My story?" Lance asked.
"Yeah. How'd you get here?" Paul repeated. "I admit, I am curious. But it's fine if you don't feel comfortable talking about it."
"You know what? What the hell..." Lance sat up. "I was living in Deerfield at the time."
"Deerfield?" Paul asked.
"A suburb of Chicago. Pretty affluent." Lance said. "There's not much to say, really." He admitted. "I tried to get Kitty to use her powers to help me steal some test questions. At the time, I was high on my power, you know?" (Author's Note: In the episode "The X-Impulse")
"You were drunk on it." Craig said.
Lance nodded. "After that whole mess, Mystique found me and brought me here. She helped me understand and control my power further."
"She obviously did a lousy job at it." Craig snorted. Lance scowled at him, but then brushed it off.
"I was in a circus. In Texas." Fred said. "Mystique found me there. She told me I could use my power for somethin' bigger than just tuggin' trucks."
Yeah, I am not liking this.. Clara thought.
"Nothing wrong with doing that." Paul shrugged. "Entertainment is an important role."
"I really don't see the point of this." Pietro grunted.
"Nobody said you have to talk about how you got here, Mr. Ambiguous." Lila snorted.
"She is right, speedy." Clara nodded. "You don't have to talk about if you don't want to."
Pietro smirked. "You know what? I'll talk about it. I'm not ashamed of it."
"You don't strike me as someone who could use some shaming." Lila muttered. "I mean, it certainly explains why you're such an arse."
"Wait, you're rich?!" Todd's jaw dropped.
"Duhhhh." Pietro mocked.
"We needed money, and you could have given us some!" Todd exclaimed.
Lila rolled her eyes. "Not surprising, Kermit. That's the rich for ya."
"My father was an investor. Made a ton of money off of it." Pietro said. "My mother died when I was very young. I don't remember her. And all he would tell me about her was that she was a Serbian Romany woman. In fact, I was born in Serbia."
"Oh yeah, I think you mentioned that." Clara recalled. "So, how did a rich kid end up living here?"
"And in such a crappy house, too?" Craig said. Pietro glared at the ex-gang member.
"After my powers manifested, Mystique found me. She talked about how we were the future, destined to be humanity's superior successors." He glanced at Todd. "Although I can't imagine that applies to all mutants..." Todd bowed his head sadly. Lila rubbed his shoulder in comfort. Craig angrily grabbed Pietro's shirt collar.
"Talk about the Frog like that again, and the next time you return to your home country, it will be in a coffin." Craig growled, his star-covered eye glowing.
"Darkstar's right, Mr. Ambiguous." Lila said. She gave Todd a smile. "Kermit here was real helpful to me in repairing the spaceship's engine. More helpful than you ever were." Todd let out a small smile at that.
"Be nice, Pietro." Clara said.
"From there, we fought the X-Men a buncha times." Todd frowned. "And then the whole Asteroid M crap. And now we're here."
Hmmmm... Clara thought as she watched the Brotherhood eat. Raven grabs up a bunch of super-kids from all over the place, presumably at the order of this 'Magneto' guy...yeah, there's nothing good coming out of this. The sales pitch Raven gave these kids...fill their heads with dreams of power and rule...what the hell are you doing to them, Raven? I knew you were a bitter woman, but...what have you become?
She looked at the kids at the table. I get recruiting Lance, Pietro, and Fred. After all, the three are powerhouses. Lance's geokinesis, Pietro's speed, Fred's strength and durability. With a bit of imagination and proper training, these three alone could be dangerous. But then, why also Todd? Training him for infiltration and silent work, maybe? That would fit him. His powers would allow him to enter almost anywhere, and if given proper training, the kid could be a ninja. According to Lila, he has a talent for tech. Maybe a hacker?
She found herself being pulled out of her thoughts by Lila.
"You know, I admit, I am curious as to how this Magneto guy got a space station." The interstellar teleporter said.
"What do you mean?" Fred asked.
The English girl waved her fork around. "Well, the first module of the International Space Station was launched and placed into orbit in 1998." The British-Indian mutant explained. "And it took years, as well the cooperation of several countries to build it up to what it is today. It also cost a pretty penny."
"So if this Magneto guy had a space station, it must have taken him many years and a lot of money in order to pull it off." Clara deduced.
"Not to mention materials." Lila added. "Man would need a lot of material to build a space station. Especially all on his own. And he'd have to find ways to avoid it being discovered."
"All I know is, the bastard didn't choose me." Todd muttered. "He chose Jean Grey over me, simply because she can do that whole wannabe-Jedi BS with her mind."
"Toad, use your brain. Why would he choose you?" Pietro sneered. "All you can do is leap around and sling out your tongue." Todd scowled at the speedster.
"Pietro, can't you be nice for five minutes?" Paul frowned.
"What? I'm just saying!"
"Todd helped me fix the ship. He was more useful than you there." Lila grunted.
"He was also more useful in that fight against Bounty." Craig added. He smirked at Pietro. "You were too busy getting your nuts smashed." Pietro growled at the dark-haired mutant.
"Alright, you lot. Calm down. We don't need a brawl at the dinner table." Clara said.
"I'd rather not talk about that Asteroid M crap anyway." Todd muttered.
"We don't have to if you don't want to." Clara assured. Yeah, if Raven is not dead, she'll be coming back for these kids. I'm not going to let that happen. She smirked wickedly. "You all want to hear a funny Mystique story?"
"I can't imagine Mystique being 'funny' in any way." Lance muttered.
"Oh, you'll all love this one." Clara chuckled. "It was 1982, back home in my beloved Canada. Raven had been hired to kill the Canadian Prime Minister at the time, Pierre Trudeau."
"Who hired her?" Todd asked.
"I forget who, I'm afraid. When you've been around as long as I have, sometimes things tend to blend together and details get lost."
"Huh. That must suck sometimes." Fred noted.
"It does. If only to make it harder to remember fun stories to tell people." Clara smiled. "Being as long-lived as I am can suck in some ways. I have buried many a friend and lover over the years. But I have seen the world change. I've witnessed some incredible stuff."
"And now you're playing den mother to a bunch of teenage mutants." Lila chuckled.
"I've worn many a hat in my long life, Miss Cheney." Clara said sagely. "Being a den mother is just a long line of jobs I've had. Anyway, she used her power to shapeshift to try and get close to him. The Canadian government had asked me to watch over him, having learned of the plot. She had ambushed him, but she didn't count on one thing."
"What's that?" Todd inquired.
Clara smirked wickedly. "Mr. Prime Minister had a hell of a right hook. He utterly KO'd Raven. Knocked out three of her teeth, too." The kids burst out laughing.
"Oh, that's hilarious!" Pietro cackled, wiping the tears from his eyes.
"I hope somebody got a picture of that!" Lila laughed.
"I'm sure it found its way to the Internet at some point." Clara chuckled.
"How did you two meet?" Lance asked.
"That's another story." Clara said. "It was in Kansas in 1930..."
A forest in upstate New York, the next day.
The dry sticks crackled as the thick-soled black boots carefully stepped on them. The boots' owner was a man dressed in hunting fatigues, including orange safety gear.
Kevin Jackson knew this area well. He had been hunting in this area for years, starting from when he was a boy, hunting with his own father. In fact, he had hoped to do the same with his own son on the way. He heard a roaring noise.
"Huh?" The hunter blinked in confusion. He looked around. "The hell was that noise?" He heard the roar again. A shudder went down his spine. "Yeah, I think I'd better get the hell out of here." He carefully went back the way he came. Yeah, maybe I'll try again tomorrow. My permit will still be good... Something knocked the hunter over. He gasped as he fell to the ground. He looked up and saw something that shocked him.
"What in the name of-?!" Jackson gaped in shock. He gaped up at the black bear. It was massive, standing at nearly nine feet tall. Its jet black fur had white streaks in it, most notably on the head. Its body glowed a dark blue, and matching lightning seemed to spark from its eyes. "Wha...what is that?! Some kind of super bear?!" The bear roared. Jackson screamed and ran for his life. The bear opened its mouth, and a ball of blue energy appeared. The energy ball grew larger, and then...
Boom!
The bear fired a beam of blue energy from its mouth. Jackson ran desperately. He screamed as he saw the energy beam head towards him. He tried to duck, but the beam enveloped him. His last thoughts were of his family. Of how much he loved them, and worry about what they'd do without him...
Keiko Takamoto first appeared in Iron Man: Crash (April 1988). Crash was billed at the first-ever computer-generated graphic novel, set in the then-future year of 2015.