The SuperStarr Chronicles
Disclaimer: "What did you do, Ray?!" - Winston Zeddemore, Ghostbusters
Chapter 19: The Bear Necessities, Part 2!
The spaceship outside the Brotherhood House
Lila Cheney was happily humming along to the sounds of Joan Jett as she sat at a workbench in one of the spaceship's rooms. She had on a pair of goggles over her eyes, and in her hand was a soldering iron. She was hard at work, soldering some transistors onto a circuit board.
"What are you doin' there, yo?" A familiar Brooklyn-accented voice asked. Lila turned around and pulled the goggles up to her forehead. She noticed Todd standing in the doorway, his yellow eyes blinking.
"Oh, hey Todd." Lila greeted. "Just doing some soldering."
"What for?"
"The Hawkins girl." Lila explained. "She wanted me to build a taser baton for her. A girl needs to protect herself in this day and age, so I said I would." She smirked wickedly. "Not to mention she paid me. It's nice earning money for your work."
"Oh. Neat."
"...is something bothering you?" Lila asked. "You know, you can talk to me, remember? I have said this before."
"I was just thinkin'." Todd said. "About that whole thing in Scotland." He shuddered.
"Oh yeah, that was scary." Lila agreed. "I mean, that mad Scotswoman, wanting to suck out our souls, that Kthara woman..." She found herself letting out a shudder. "Yeah, I'm surprised I haven't had any nightmares yet from it."
"Yeah." Todd said. "I was so useless during that whole thing."
"You mean when you had to stay in the ship?"
"Yeah."
"That wasn't your fault, mate." Lila assured. "Your amphibious physiology just made you more sensitive to cold. And Scotland can get pretty bloody cold."
"And I wasn't exactly the cavalry when it came to Alisabeth Daemon." Todd added. "I mean, you saw what happened, yo."
"You still saved the world, mate." Lila smiled.
"By accident."
"Considering what Lizzie Daemon was planning, I would rather have her be stopped by accident than get me soul sucked out and used to fuel a demonic invasion of Earth."
Todd opened his mouth to object, but thought about what Lila said. "...yeah, fair enough. It's just...it hardly makes me seem like a conquering hero."
"You're not useless, mate." Lila said. "And if anyone asks, I'll tell them you beat up Lizzie Daemon all by yourself." She chuckled. "Yeah, you really wailed on her and her little demon friends! A regular wrecking machine, you were! Throwing fists and feet like you were a living god of war and combat, ha ha! It's like you were Captain America himself!" She turned around, continuing her rant when she noticed Todd looking very down. She stopped her ranting. "Todd, I'm sorry. I didn't..."
"Eh, it's not you, yo." Todd reassured. He gave her a weak smile. "I appreciate it, though."
"I was just trying to help, mate." She looked Todd over. "Man, you really had a number done on you, huh?"
"I'm used to it."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you should just take it." Lila noted.
"It's not like I can fight back, yo." Todd countered. "I mean, look at me. I'm small, I ain't tough."
"I think you can give someone quite a fight if you want to."
Todd thought back to the whole Asteroid M incident. When he was able to temporarily get the best of Jean Grey. "...I suppose..."
"Did anyone try to teach you how to fight?" Lila asked.
"Well, Mystique did." Todd recalled. "But she gave up. Said I was too stupid and clumsy."
"God almighty..." Lila groaned.
"Yeah. I did try, but...I just couldn't do it."
"What did she do, throw you at a bunch of angry rabid ninjas and tell you to go fight them?" Lila exclaimed in shock.
"Yeah, she hated working with us." Todd said. "Said that we were supposed to be a crack team of fighters for mutantkind's future, but thought we were all idiots."
"...you know what, I can do a bit of brawlin'." Lila said. "I'm more than just a pretty face and a knack for gadgetry."
"What're you saying, Cheney?" Todd asked.
"Well, I'm planning to get myself a date tonight with a certain sexy Kentucky farmboy." Lila smirked. "But afterwards, I'm gonna show ya how ta throw a punch."
"Lila, you don't have to..."
"I don't mind. I want to." Lila said, giving the amphibious teenager a smile. "Besides, learnin' to scrap is a good skill to have."
"Thanks." Todd said. "You're one of the only girls that never makes fun of me or calls me ugly. Although, considering you've been out in space, I can bet you've seen worse-looking things than me."
"I know what's like for people to make fun of you because of how you look." Lila said. "Keep in mind, on some worlds, us humans are pretty hideous-looking by their standards."
"Huh. Never thought about it like that." Todd said.
Lance Alvers had walked into the Brotherhood House's living room and noticed Clara Creed was sitting on the couch, watching an old movie.
"What're you watching, Clara?"
"An old samurai movie." The blonde Canadian answered. She smiled and patted the couch next to her. "Ya wanna watch it with me?" Lance blinked at her, then at the TV. The movie looked...interesting.
"I...guess." Lance took a seat next to the woman. The two watched the movie in silence for a little while. "...what is this film called?"
"The title translates to English as 'Supernatural Samurai Fighter'." Clara explained. "It's a long-running series of samurai movies. It's about a wandering ronin who fights monsters."
"Oh." Lance blinked. The two continued watching the movie. "Man, these effects are cheesy."
"Yeah, but that was the 1970s for you." Clara said. "I saw this movie in a Japanese theater in 1974."
"What was it like?" Lance asked.
"The theatergoers laughed at the effects, too." Clara chortled. "But that's part of the fun. You know, I heard they're doing a reboot of the film series."
"Oh yeah?"
"Mm-hmm." Clara nodded. "Sounds neat. They got a friend of mine to star in it. Kingo Sunen."
"Kingo...wait, didn't he appear in the last Hyperion flick?" Lance asked.
"As Dr. Yokohama, yes." Clara nodded. "That was a good film."
"...yeah." Lance nodded. "You said you met Kingo?"
"Yup." Clara answered.
"How? Isn't he, like, mega-famous in Japan?" Lance said.
"Yup. I first met him about ten years ago." Clara said. "My wanderlust had taken me to Japan. It was not my first time there. I first visited the country in the 1960s, but that's a different story. I met him at a club, and the two of us got to talking." We also ended up getting into a brawl with a couple of Deviants. I had known of them before thanks to my knowing Pixie and the First Line. Not to mention St. Elmo pre-Alpha Flight...
"Hey, you...you still with us?" Lance asked.
Clara shook her head. "Sorry about that. When you get to be as old as I am, you tend to get more wistful."
"Oh yeah, you're over a hundred years old." Lance remarked.
"True." Clara said. "And I got a lot of great stories to tell."
"What, that you once wore an onion on your belt because it was the style at the time?" The geokinetic mocked. Clara giggled.
"Nice to see young people appreciate classic comedy." She said. Lance rolled his eyes.
Fred Dukes was in the kitchen, washing the dishes.
"Splish splash, I was takin' a bath..." The Texan powerhouse did his best Bobby Darin as he continued his task. Pietro groaned as he walked into the room, rubbing his eyes. "How's yer eyes?"
"Fine." The silver-haired speedster answered.
"Good, you can dry these dishes." Fred pointed at the dishes sitting in the rack next to the sink. The rack was on a special tray to catch any water that dripped from the drying dishes. Pietro blinked at the rack. Pietro scowled.
"Wait, why do I have to do it?"
"Because it's your turn. Look at the chore wheel." Fred said. Pietro looked at the paper wheel on the fridge.
"I thought it was Toad's turn tonight..." The speedster muttered as he looked at the wheel. Unfortunately for the speedster, the wheel shows that on this day, he was charged with dish-drying duty. "Ahhh, blast it."
"It won't take you long, man." Fred argued. "Just do it."
"I really don't get why you're doing this."
"Doing what?"
"Playing good son to the blondie." Pietro clarified.
Fred shrugged. "Why not?" He said. "Better than hanging around Mystique."
"Of course." Pietro rolled his eyes. He grabbed a dishcloth and started drying the dishes.
"What, you actually liked having her here?" Fred frowned at his Brotherhood compatriot.
"Hey, don't get me wrong, Mystique was a taskmaster and all, but..." The speedster frowned as he tried to find some words to enunciate his point. "...well..."
"She reminds me of one of the circus performers I knew growing up." Fred piped up. "The 'Mazing Melina, they called her. She was a magician."
"Ohhh, boy..." Pietro groaned under his breath. Here he goes with one of his circus stories again...
"She was very fond of telling tall tales, you see." Fred smiled. "She was a sweet lady, smart as a whip, and she could make some mean pancakes."
"My kingdom for some earplugs..." Pietro muttered to himself as he tried to filter out Fred's talking by concentrating on drying the dishes. I'll have to call Father. See what he wants to do...
The Xavier Institute
"Hey come on! This is unfair!" Jubilation Lee screamed. She then let out a yelp as she dodged a laser. "Hey! I helped out back in Cleveland! YOW!"
"Jubilee, there's a reason why we didn't want you to come with us on that mission." Scott Summers' voice told her over the Danger Room's speakers. Scott himself was in the control area, watching over the proceedings. "Things like this are dangerous. You nearly got killed when Doughboy tossed you into that clothing store." Maybe we should redesign the uniforms to include more protective gear, like helmets. Scott thought.
"But I'm still here! And I got a sweet jacket out of it! HEY!" Jubilee argued. "I just wanted to meet Kid Razor! And I helped save that Harsaw girl! WHOO!" She dodged another laser. "What the hell is your deal, man?!"
Scott shrugged. "Since you wanted to be a member of the X-Men, this is what it could be like, Jubilee. Something to think about next time you decide to play stowaway."
"This is cruel and unusual punishment, man!" Jubilee screamed. "I'm gonna get the Hague on you! This is a violation of the Geneva Convention! This a war crime, you motherfu-YEOW!"
"You'll be fine, Jubes." Scott chuckled. He was serious, though. The lasers were on low power. He looked down at the control panel. Man, I wish we could have recruited Harsaw. But I don't blame her for turning it down, considering how she got introduced to us. The door hissed open, and Professor Xavier wheeled in. "Hey, Professor."
"Hello, Scott." He noticed Jubilee dodging the lasers and cursing Scott out. "...what is this about?"
"Jubilee played stowaway when we went to Cleveland." Scott explained.
"Whatever for?"
"You know Cleveland's local superhero?"
"Ah, yes. The one who is also a musician. What is he called again?"
"Kid Razor." Scott said. "Well, Jubilee is a big ol' fangirl of his. And she stowed away because she wanted to meet Kid Razor. And I thought afterwards, 'well, since she wants to be a part of the X-Men team so badly, why not give her a taste of it'?"
Xavier frowned as he looked down at the Danger Room. "Scott, don't you think this is a bit much?" Scott considered the Professor's words.
"I guess you have a point." He typed some commands into a keyboard. "Okay Jubes, it's done. Take a break. You did good."
"Thank you..." A dazed Jubilee groaned out, then fainted.
"I take it you wanted to speak to me?" Scott asked.
"Yes." Xavier nodded. "Remember when we discussed making the X-Men more public?"
"Of course."
Xavier let out an amused smile. "Well, I think your trip to Cleveland bore a bit of surprising fruit."
"You mean besides learning Kid Razor is a royal jackass?" Scott remarked.
"This." Xavier held out a tablet to Scott. Scott took the device and noticed that it was set on a video. He pressed the little white triangular "play" symbol on the screen. The screen showed a gray-eyed strawberry blonde-haired woman, wearing a pair of stylish eyeglasses with gold frames.
"Hello, world!"A smiling Kate Kildare waved. "My name is Kate Kildare of Hestia Public Relations. I am calling on all Internet sleuths out there!" (Author's Note: Remember Kate Kildare from Chapter 16?)
"Who is this?" Scott asked.
"I wish to take on the public relations for this mysterious group of superheroes that appeared out in Cleveland." She showed a photo of the X-Men and Kid Razor fighting the Dark Watch in the Avenue.
"How did she get that?"
"Possibly a bystander witnessed it. The mall did have attendees at the time." Xavier suggested.
"If you are one of these mysterious masked people, give me a call! I'll make you as legendary as the Invaders and the First Line!" She waved, the number of her firm appearing on the screen.
"She's going to get calls from a lot of cranks." Scott said.
"Indeed." Xavier said. "Perhaps there is an opportunity here."
"Oh, I see what you're getting at..." Scott realized. "Polanski did say that mutants can't be hidden forever, and I did say that we should be more public..."
"Indeed. We'll have to check to see if this Miss Kildare is...legit, as I believe the modern youth likes to say." Xavier noted.
Woods Manor
Woods Manor was a large mansion out on the outskirts of Bayville. It was a Victorian-style mansion, two stories tall, but thanks to remodeling over the years, it did have aspects of Italianate and Tudor stylings. It was an old home, belonging to one of the oldest families in Bayville: the Woods family. The primary resident of the old mansion was watching a large-screen television.
"And in other news, police are still looking into the mysterious fire that erupted at Bayville High School during a soccer game several days ago." The news reporter announced. "Chief Rothman has announced that the fire's cause may have been a prank gone horribly wrong."
The woman steepled her fingers as she watched the news report. She was a dark-haired woman, her equally dark eyes shone with curiosity. She was dressed in a purple sweater and black slacks. Her feet were covered by a pair of comfortable black loafers.
Once upon a time, Jillian Woods was a superheroine. Thanks to an incident involving a wannabe wizard during her university days, she ended up mystically connected to a dimension of shadows known as the Darkforce. This connection gave her the power to manipulate shadows, travel through them, and incredible durability. This resulted in her being known as the Shadowoman, Bayville's dark protector. The woman heard a sound. A butler walked towards her, holding a tea service. Said butler was a tall wiry man, his brown hair neatly combed and his face tactiturn.
"Your tea, madam." Darren Drinkwater announced, placing the tea service on a table next to her.
"Thanks, Darren." Jillian said, still watching the TV. Darren glanced at the screen.
"Still thinking about that mysterious fire at the high school, I see."
"Mm-hmm." Jillian noted. "Something about that fire bothers me."
"How so?"
"Well, people seem to have consistent memories of how the fire started." Jillian noted.
"I don't see it." Darren said. "All that indicates to me is that whatever caused that fire at the soccer field had numerous witnesses. The stories would be consistent."
"That's the thing, though." Jillian noted with a frown. "They're too consistent. Too perfect." She shook her head. "The stories are all the same down to the last detail. There should be some slight variations. Not radical, but people remember things differently. Some people have sharp memories, others do not. But the stories of the witnesses? All the exact same."
"Ah, yes. I had forgotten that you still have friends in the Bayville Police Department." Darren nodded.
"It's very weird."
"I hope it's nothing that requires you to put on that old outfit of yours." Darren said. "It's been rather nice having you around the house more often."
Jillian smiled at her butler...and her old friend. "I know. Maybe I'm just paranoid."
"If that's the case, I'll get the funny farm on the horn." Darren cracked. Jillian dramatically rolled her eyes.
"You're a funny guy, Darren." She muttered...a small smile appearing on her face. The veteran heroine eyed a magazine cover showing Thor. With the rise of this new generation of heroes, maybe it's time for the Shadowoman to make a comeback...
Darren also noted the magazine. "Oh, you are considering bringing back the Shadowoman."
"Am I really that predictable?" Jillian teased. Darren picked up the magazine and looked at the cover.
"Ah, yes. That lunatic in the Southwest. He believes he is the Norse god of the weather, right?"
"According to the Norse and Germanic pagans, he was also the god of trees, physical strength, and fertility." Jillian added. "And quite frankly, a god wanting to be a crimefighter is hardly the weirdest thing in the world. And it is especially appropriate for Thor. The myths also portrayed him as an adventurer and a protector of humans."
"Quite." Drinkwater put the magazine back down. "...is this why you're considering becoming active as Shadowoman again? You want in this supposed..." He glanced at the magazine cover again. "...new age of superheroes?"
"It's not an ego thing." Jillian insisted. "It's just..." She pointed at the TV. "This fire."
"You think it may have been the work of...him?"
"Manslaughter?" Jillian frowned, then shook her head. "No. He's an assassin, not an arsonist. That's not his style. Although with this 'new generation of superheroes' showing up, I can see him eagerly taking an assignment to take out one of them."
"Blowtorch Brand was an arsonist." Darren recalled.
"Yeah, but why would anyone pay Brand to torch a high school soccer field?"
"Football mums can get very aggressive and vengeful." Darren stated. Jillian laughed.
"You know what? I can actually believe that..."
On the outskirts of Bayville
Mike Lasseter was an ordinary man. And he lived a rather ordinary life. He was driving his way home, but he was not alone. Sitting in the passenger seat was a woman. She was reading something on her phone.
"Heh heh heh." Maxine Kanyon chuckled at the funny story she was reading. The dark-haired woman turned to Mike and smiled at him. "Man, that water park was fun."
"No kidding." Mike concurred, a smile on his own face. "It had a wonderful beach. Burgers were expensive, though."
"Mmm. But it was worth it." Maxine nodded. "They were delicious. And they did come with fries."
"Yeah, I suppose." Mike said. The car continued driving down the road. The bear peeked out from the woods that lined the sides of said road. The large ursine stared at the vehicle as it went further into the distance. Seeing the car seemed to drive the bear into an an unnatural rage. The bear snarled and took off into a run after the unfortunate vehicle. Inside, Mike and Maxine continued talking, unaware of the monstrous creature heading towards them.
"I can't wait for my sister to come visit." Mike said.
"Oh, nice. How are your nieces doing?"
"Oh, they're just fine. Lisa is 5 now."
"Five?!" Maxine gasped. "Five already? They grow up so fast."
"Yeah, they do." Mike agreed. "It feels like it was just yesterday that I was..." He noticed the bear in his rear view mirror. "What the-? Is that a bear?" His companion looked up at the mirror.
"Why is a bear running towards us?" Maxine blinked in confusion. The bear roared in fury at them.
"Is it just me, or is that bear...really big?" Mike noted.
"And it's glowing!" A wide-eyed Maxine added. The two looked at each other. "Hit the gas!" She screamed. Mike obeyed, and sped up. He looked in his rear-view mirror and noticed the bear was not only still chasing him, but it was keeping up with his car. The panicked man looked at the car's speedometer.
I'm going 80! Mike thought. What is going on here?!
"What the hell is up with that bear?!" Maxine yelped.
"I don't know! I'm not a bear expert!" Mike exclaimed.
"RRROOOOAAAAAAARRRRRR!" The bear roared, its eyes glowing. Its mouth also started to glow.
Maxine's eyes widened. "It's a Bearzilla!"
FWOOM!
The bear fired a beam of blue energy from its mouth.
"LOOK OUT!" Maxine screamed. Mike desperately janked the wheel. The car just barely avoided the beam. "What the hell was that?!"
"Some kind of super-bear!" Mike exclaimed.
FWOOM! FWOOM! FWOOM!
The bear continued to fire energy blasts from its mouth. The car juked and dodged the blasts.
Maxine screamed as she saw the beam shear off the rear-view mirror on her side of the car. The paint around the area hit started to bubble and boil. "OH MY GOD!"
"Call the cops! Call the Army! Call the Fantastic Four! Call somebody!" Mike ordered frantically. Maxine hurriedly worked her phone. The bear then slammed into the car. The two screamed as the car careened off the road and into a ditch. The two climbed out of the car, both beaten up. The bear roared at the two, its mouth glowing.
"Run! Just run!" Mike yelled. Maxine nodded. The two ran as the bear blasted the car with its mouth beam.
BOOM!
The car exploded, sending the two screaming people flying. The bear snarled and ran off towards Bayville.
"Oh, God..." Maxine groaned, holding up her head. She felt something on her head, and moved her hand so she could see it. "Oh, man..." She winced at the sight of the blood on her head. She rubbed her head. "I hope I don't have a concussion...Mike?" She saw Mike and gasped. "Mike!"
He was laying nearby, his chest heaving and groaning indicated he was still alive.
"Oh my God, Mike!" She ran to him, and winced at the odd angles his legs were bent at. "Mike!"
"Need...doctor..." He groaned out. Maxine worked her phone.
Oh thank God my phone still works... She thought as she dialed the hospital...and animal control.
Saint Elmo first appeared (and died) in Alpha Flight Special Edition #1 (June 1992). I first learned of the character thanks to the Marvel Appendix. Since the comic never exactly clarified Elmo's nature, the Appendix theorized he could be a god...or likely an Eternal. I decided to go with his being an Eternal, as Eternals had been mistaken for gods in the comics. Well, Saint Elmo was presumably inspired by Erasmus of Formia, the Italian martyr who became the patron saint of sailors, but you get the idea.
Darren Drinkwater is an original character. Since this version of Jillian Woods/Shadowoman is more of a Batman/The Shadow-type vigilante, I figured it'd be appropriate that she have an Alfred.
Manslaughter first appeared in Defenders #133 (April 1984).
Peter "Blowtorch" Brand first appeared in Defenders #135 (June 1984). I had been reading Defenders Epic Collection Vol. 8: The New Defenders (It's an underrated era of 80s Marvel in my opinion), and it inspired me to give a shout out to Manslaughter and Blowtorch Brand here.