ACT XIII: Comet II, the Underestimated Part 1: Comet Comes To Earth

Once the royal carriage passed through the interdimensional portal, Comet curiously peaked out the window to see his new home away from home. Until today, the only lands he had ever visited outside of Mewni's borders were the Underworld and the Cloud Kingdom. The prince was curious as to how a dimension could possibly function without any magic, and worried that he would be unable to cope. Much to his pleasant surprise, he saw that while their magical sources were nonexistent, their technological advancements were almost more advanced than Mewni's. Everywhere he looked, he saw vehicles moving without the aid of invisible goats, square-shaped mirrors for communication, and machines that gave people money if they inserted a special card. And still as they went on, there were more things that caught his eye.

As they stopped at a stoplight, Comet saw a street performer entertaining a group of people across the road. He watched in amazement as the performer placed a glass cup on the table, covered it with a handkerchief, smashed it with a mallet, and then pulled the cloth away to reveal the glass was still intact.

"And you said there was no magic in this dimension!" He teasingly said to his father. The king of Mewni could only roll his eyes at his son's naivety.

At last, the royal family arrived at Echo Creek Academy; the school where Comet would be completing his academic requirements. Mars and Lake escorted their son inside the building towards the principal's office. There, they met a Latino couple who were waiting for them with the principal.

"Ah, right on time." Principal Skeeves stood up from her desk, prompting the couple to stand up, too. "Mr. and Mrs. Diaz, meet King Mars Dragonfly, Queen Lake, and their son, Comet. Comet is the boy I told you about yesterday."

"Wait, you mean to tell me that story my grandpa told me was true?" Angelo beamed with excitement as he eagerly shook the king's hand. "It's a true honor to meet you, your majesty! To think that my great-grandfather was friends with a king!"

Mars was somewhat put off by the human's enthusiasm, but managed to put on a smile. "Ahem, yes. King Simon always spoke highly of Carlos Diaz. So naturally, I wouldn't even consider any other host parents for my son."

Rosa happily shook hands with the queen before turning to the prince. "Well, we are honored to be hosting royalty. What's your name, amigo?"

Comet cleared his throat and bowed, respectfully. "Prince Comet Galaxius Astro Celestio Cosmo Dragonfly the Second at your service. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Diaz for agreeing to let me stay with you while I stay here."

"My, my! So polite!" Rosa remarked.

"He's also going to need a guide." Lake suggested. "Someone to show him around and keep him out of trouble."

"Oh, our daughter will be happy to take care of that!" Angelo insisted. "It'll be a good opportunity for both of them."

Principal Skeeves grunted in disagreement. "Mr. Diaz, you and your wife have been the best host parents of all our previous foreign exchange students. But your daughter has been nothing but trouble these past few years."

"That's not true." Rosa replied, defending her daughter's name. "Alright, so Marcia's been dealing with some problems. We were just as disappointed as anyone when we heard what she did to those boys. But you know as well as we do that she's the best student in this school."

"Yeah, that's right!" Angelo added. "I mean, heck, the only kid with better grades than her is that Filipino kid - uh, what's his name… Jonah. I mean, my girls' a little rough around the edges, but she's never started any fights! Maybe if your teachers would do their jobs and-"

"Alright, sweetie, cálmate." Rosa gently massaged her husband's shoulders to calm him. "Maybe this could be a mutually beneficial thing. I mean, this prince Comet seems like a pretty good kid. Maybe he can keep her out of trouble."

Skeeves let out a long sigh before grabbing the microphone on her desk. "Marcia Diaz, report to the principal's office, please." She announced. "Marcia Diaz to the principal's office."

On the other side of the school, every student in Mr. Skullnick's class froze in fear before turning towards the back of the classroom. A fourteen year old Latino girl with worn-out sneakers, ripped jeans, a red hoodie, and a leather jacket lazily looked up from her seat. Marcia rolled her eyes as she got up and made her way to the door. Mr. Skullnick wrote out a hall pass for her, but she just ignored him and slammed the door on her way out. As she made her way down the halls of the school, other students made sure to get out of her way; for they knew better than to cross paths with Marcia Diaz.

Marcia held a reputation for being the toughest, no-nonsense student in Echo Creek. Two years ago, she had gotten into a fight with a much larger senior student which resulted in her receiving a bloody nose, but knocking the senior unconscious. One month later, the senior returned with three friends to put the girl in her place. Marcia walked away with a broken arm and the four boys went to juvie after six months in the hospital. From that day forward, no one dared to even look at her the wrong way lest they incur her wrath. Even most of the teachers were too afraid to confront her. That wasn't to say that she was a poor student; far from it. Marcia's short temper and fighting spirit were matched only by her sharp wit and high intellect. Many of the teachers who were afraid of her were grateful that they never had to confront her about poor grades.

As she arrived at the principal's office, her heart skipped a beat once she heard the sound of a skateboard rolling down the halls. Jackson Lee Thomas had been Marcia's crush ever since they were in kindergarten together, but she never had the courage to tell him that. Unable to face him while she was in trouble, Marcia hid behind one of the lockers until she watched Jackson skate on by. She let out a wistful sigh before shaking her head; disappointed at her cowardice.

When she finally entered the principal's office, she immediately noticed the bizarrely-dressed trio standing beside her parents. "What the hell is this?" She asked.

Angelo cleared his throat as he gave the introductions. "Marcia, sweetie, you remember I told you we were taking in a new foreign exchange student yesterday? Well, this is him!"

"... ahem." Comet put on his best smile and graciously bowed before the girl. "Prince Comet Galaxius Astro Celestio Cosmo Dragonfly the Second at your service. I'm a magical prince from another dimension."

Marcia blinked before turning towards her parents and principal. "Is this guy for real?"

Angelo frowned. "Marcia, be nice to our new guest. He's going to be staying with us for a while this time. Maybe even more than just one year."

"That's right, Ms. Diaz." Principal Skeeves spoke up. "And what's more, your parents have convinced me to put you in charge of this boy while he attends this school. They think you'll learn responsibility in the process."

Marcia rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

A few minutes later, Angelo had finished loading Comet's bags into the back of his car while the prince gave his final goodbyes to his parents. Lake was particularly upset at having to send her only son away, as evident by how tightly she hugged him. "Stay in touch, sweetie-pie." She sniffled. "Call us every chance you get."

"I will mom. I promise." Comet nodded before extending his hand towards the king. "Well, uh, goodbye, father. I'll make you proud."

Mars smirked as he shook his son's hand and brought him into a hug. "I know you will, my boy. Remember; that scepter is the most valuable thing you possess. You have to keep it safe at all costs. Understand?"

"Yes, father." Comet nodded, again.

With that, the king and queen got back into their carriage and rode off to return to Mewni. Comet took a deep breath as he watched his parents fade away in the distance; this would be the first time he'd ever been without them. But he put on a smile as he turned back to his host family. "I can't wait to see your home, Mr., Mrs., and Marcia Diaz! I'm sure it's lovely!"

Rosa beamed as she opened the car door for the prince. "Won't it be nice to have Comet's polite and well-mannered attitude in our home, Marcia?"

Marcia rolled her eyes again. "We could've gotten that from a goldfish."

Comet gasped and sat next to her in the backseat of the car. "I love goldfish! Well, all marine life, actually. Aren't they fascinating?"

Marcia grew increasingly annoyed with the boy's energetic behavior. "Can you take it down a notch, please?" She asked.

"Oh, uh… a thousand pardons, m'lady." Comet apologized and buckled his seatbelt. "I'm just so excited to be visiting a new dimension for the first time. And I hope that you and I can be good friends while I'm here."

Marcia didn't say anything, she just looked out the window and ignored their new guest for the duration of the ride home. Not used to such awkward silence, Comet resorted to chewing on his scepter to occupy his mouth. Thankfully, Marcia's parents soon broke the silence.

"This will be so much fun!" Rosa exclaimed, happily. "We haven't hosted anyone since that Noceda kid came to us!"

"Ugh, did you have to bring him up, honey?" Angelo groaned.

Comet was confused. "Who's Noceda, Mr. Diaz?"

Angelo grunted as he explained. "Lucio Noceda was a bad seed. He faked some paperwork to make us think he was an exchange student from the Dominican Republic. But the truth was, he was just running away from his family in Connecticut and used the funds from the program to get free room and board."

Marcia chuckled. "I liked him. He was nice."

Soon enough, the car pulled up to the Diaz residence. Comet was more than willing to handle his own bags, but Angelo and Rosa insisted on helping, and even urged Marcia to grab at least one bag. The host family escorted their guest upstairs and showed him to his room. It was a modest twelve foot by twelve foot bedroom with a twin-sized bed, a dresser, and a closet. Comet was slightly disappointed by how bare it was, but smiled, nonetheless.

"I know this isn't much, your highness, but-"

"Oh, it's more than enough, Mrs. Diaz." Comet replied, happily. "Thank you."

"Alright, well give you some time to get settled." Angelo offered. "Dinner's at six."

Comet nodded as the parents left. Marcia was about to head over to her own room down the hall, but stopped when she saw the prince taking his scepter out from his belt. She arched an eyebrow as she watched him wave the scepter around like a conductor's baton in front of his luggage. Suddenly, the bags began to unzip themselves and his clothes levitated out and into the dresser drawers. Marcia's jaw went slack at the sight of this; maybe the whole "magical prince" thing wasn't complete bullshit after all.

Later that night, Comet had settled on watching "Unicorns of the Sea: A Narwhal Story. Narrated by Dr. Jan." The prince popped the DVD into the player and watched with interest. Comet's eyes shone brightly as he watched the mini-documentary, entranced by the graceful movements of the narwhals.

"What a majestic creature…" He whispered, blissfully. Just then, Marcia walked downstairs and headed towards the kitchen. Comet saw this as an opportunity to bond with his new housemate. "Um, good evening, Marcia. Would you like to watch this with-?"

"You're not my friend. You're my exchange student." Marcia remarked, coldly. "Make it past two weeks, I might remember your name. Until then, you're just a chore for me, got it?"

"Oh… uh, okay…"

Marcia didn't necessarily mean to sound rude, but she was still trying to process the display of magic she had seen earlier. Until the prince dropped the polite prince act and showed what he could really do with that power, she would keep her distance. Over the course of the next week, the rift between Comet and Marcia grew increasingly strained. She kept up her responsibility of showing him around the school and introducing him to all of the teachers, but other than that she rarely spoke to him and remained aloof.

But at home, it was a different story. Comet continued to reach out to his housemate, but she always ignored him, refusing to share any of her interests or listen to any of his. Despite this, he noticed that she always seemed to be spying on him in one way or another. One morning, when he just got out of the shower, she barged in and headed over to the sink to brush her teeth. Comet was flustered by her presence and tried to cover himself as he demanded she leave, but she just ignored him and went on brushing her teeth. Comet tried to maintain his dignity as he dressed himself, but he couldn't help but feel like Marcia was spying on him in the mirror. The next day, he was trying to study the Great Book of Magic, but Marcia kept barging in to ask for numerous supplies to borrow; all while glancing over his shoulder to see what he was studying. The day after that, during gym class, the boys and girls were divided up into teams to play dodgeball and Marcia kept singling out Comet to see what kind of reaction he'd give.

At last, Thursday night came along and Comet was reading the Great Book of Magic while heading downstairs to grab a snack. He was in the middle of reading his father's chapter, but grew frustrated when he reached a page in which Mars talked about his son's namesake. Apparently, the king had cast a spell that prevented Comet from reading that page, but he wouldn't tell him why. He was so distracted by his reading, that he didn't even notice Marcia coming from the opposite direction until they bumped into each other. Comet had dropped the Book and his snacks and Marcia just glared at him.

"S-sorry." Comet called out.

"Better be." Marcia sneered, continuing down the hall. "Why don't you watch where you're going?"

The prince frowned as he picked the Great Book back up. "On second thought; I'm not sorry, and you're a jerk."

Marcia stopped and angrily turned around. She cornered the prince and slammed her hand on the wall next to his head. "Would you care to repeat that?" She growled.

Comet gulped in fear, but stood his ground. "W-what's your problem, you… you ruffian?! I've tried to be courteous towards you, and you just keep antagonizing me! Maybe your principal was right about you, Marcia Diaz! You are nothing more than a… a hateful person who likes to cause trouble!"

Marcia's eyes narrowed at the prince before huffing through her nostrils. "You think you know me, little man? You don't know anything about me, pendejo! You don't know me at all! I never asked you to come live with us!"

She moved her hand away from the wall and stormed off towards the front door, leaving Comet to silently slide down to the floor and process what had just happened. The prince went back up to his room to continue his studies, but found that he just couldn't focus. After an hour of blankly staring at the pages, Comet got up from his bed, grabbed his scepter, and went over to Marcia's room. As he suspected, she hadn't returned. Comet scanned the room with the scepter for her energy signature and then followed it like a compass out of the house and towards town.

Little did he realize that he was being watched. A frog monster dressed in armor led her allies through a portal and pointed in the prince's direction. "Prince Comet is alone." She grinned. "We follow him into town and ambush him there!"

"Once again, excellent work, Buff Frog!" Luna rubbed her scaly claws together in anticipation. "With such power at my command, the monsters shall rule over Mewni with great prejudice and terror!"

Meanwhile, in downtown Echo Creek, Marcia Diaz exited a convenient store with a smoothie and beef jerky. She decided that she would sneak back into her house after midnight when everyone was asleep to avoid any drama. But just as she finished her snacks, she spotted a familiar boy with heart-shaped marks on his cheeks approaching her.

"Leave me alone." She grunted.

"Wait, can I please just say something?" Comet begged.

Marcia shrugged and sat down on the sidewalk, not saying a word as Comet sat next to her.

"I… I wanted to apologize for my harsh judgement of you." Comet said, meekly. "I never asked to come to this dimension. And you never asked to be stuck with me. I'm sorry if my being sent here has inconvenienced you in any way. It's just that… all my life I've had to prove to my father that I'm this perfect prince worthy to carry on thirty-seven generations worth of legacy. One day, I'll be expected to take my father's place at the throne, and when that happens I'll have to look after the scepter and the entire kingdom. I'm not even sure if I can explain it, but there's just so much pressure that comes with my title! There are even times when it feels as if all of these expectations are eating me alive from the inside-out. But I… I can't let my father down. So I just tell myself; 'keep smiling. Keep up appearances. Remember how to behave.'"

It was then that Marcia realized that none of this boy's behavior was an act. She had failed to understand that Comet was brought up to be a prince, and he had no idea how to act otherwise.

"I thought that coming to this dimension would give me a chance to be myself." Comet went on. "Find my own interests and make some real friends. Not like those bureaucratic brats I'm forced to mingle with. I mean, I was able to get along with Prince Ponyhead for a little while, but he thought I was 'too boring' for wanting to study my family's Great Book of Magic. And I had a girlfriend for a while, but she was only interested in me because of my status. The truth is, I've never had a friend before… not really. You wouldn't understand."

"Actually… I kinda know exactly what you mean." Marcia admitted, scooting closer to him. "Y'see, back when I was a kid, I had to put up with a lot of crap from the other kids. Every day, someone would pick a fight with me and I'd come home with a bunch of bruises. One day, I just kind of… snapped. I punched this asshole so hard that I actually ended up knocking him out. I would have gone to jail if my friend Jonah hadn't been a witness. But I knew that the guy wasn't going to let it go, so I started taking self-defense classes behind my mom and dad's backs. Then, when he came back with his friends, I managed to kick all of their asses in front of the whole school. From that day forward, I got what I always wanted; to be left alone. But now… the few friends I had won't talk to me, everyone thinks I'm just some aggressive troublemaker, and sometimes… sometimes, it feels like my own parents are afraid of me. Jonah still hangs out with me, sometimes, but I've pretty much ruined any chances of ever making more friends any time soon. But, at the same time, I like that nobody messes with me anymore, so I just keep up the act that I'm this bad girl on the block while keeping my grades good… but to be honest? I'm actually pretty lonely sometimes."

Suddenly, a crossbow bolt struck the cup out of Marcia's hand and embedded itself into the wall behind the duo. Comet jumped to his feet and took the scepter out from his belt. His heart jumped up into his throat as he gazed upon the small armada of monsters gathered before him. Marcia, shocked at seeing such a sight for the first time, stumbled backwards and tried to find her footing.

"What the hell are those things?!" She stammered as she threw her hands up in a fighting stance.

"Oh, no…" Comet gulped. "It's Luna and her cronies. They're after my scepter."

"Comet Dragonfly!" The sinister kappa cackled. "Hand over the scepter, or my men will come over there and take it!"

Comet did his best to shake off his nerves and aim the scepter at Luna's army. "I… I am Prince Comet Dragonfly the Second! And I demand that you leave this dimension, at once!"

"Very well…" Luna snapped her fingers. "ATTACK!"

A bear monster lunged forward at the young prince, but before he could cast a spell in defense, Marcia got in front of him and knocked the attacker unconscious with a single punch to the jaw. As Marcia tried to shake the soreness out of her knuckles, she looked back at Comet.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah, thanks."

"Kill them both!" Luna ordered.

All the other monsters rushed forwards, but none of them were able to lay a hand on either of the two teens. Comet used the scepter as a blunt weapon while Marcia relied on her fists. But as the monsters kept getting up to attack, Marcia realized that they couldn't keep this up forever.

"How about you use some of that fancy magic, your highness?!" She suggested as Buff Frog tackled her to the ground.

"Okay. Okay, okay, okay, okay!" Comet chanted to himself. "Just gotta… gotta cast a spell. Cast a spell, cast a spell."

"Any time, your highness!" Marcia grumbled as she continued to fight off the monster horde.

Fear swelling in his chest, Comet aimed the scepter at Buff Frog and shouted the first thing that came to his mind. "NARWHAL BLAST!"

Buff Frog gasped in shock as a giant narwhal made of pure magic flew from the scepter and blasted her off of Marcia. The blast continued onwards, knocking back all of Luna's compatriots. Taking advantage of this, Comet charged and continued blasting them with the same spell. "NARWHAL BLAST! NARWHAL BLAST! NARWHAL BLAST!"

Luna took out her inter-dimensional scissors and opened a portal back to Mewni. "Retreat! Retreat!" She ordered. Once the last of her men were on the other side, the rogue monster shot daggers at the prince. "This isn't over, Dragonfly! I will have that scepter!"

Once the portal closed, Comet had a chance to catch his breath. He looked down at his family's prized heirloom as the realization that he had successfully protected it hit him. A sensation of pride swelled up in his chest, only to disappear once he felt someone's hand rest on his shoulder. He shrieked in surprise and turned around, aiming the scepter at a startled Marcia.

"Whoa! Calm down! It's just me, dude!" She said, calmly. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. You… you saved me." Comet smiled. "I was wrong about you! You're no ruffian, you're a hero! A fearless, selfless hero!"

Marcia chuckled as she brushed her hair away from her face. "You're not so bad, yourself. But, uh… 'narwhal blast?'"

Comet blushed. "I don't know! I panicked!"

Marcia laughed for the first time since Comet had met her. Something about her laugh made him feel better. "Hey, Marcia? About all that stuff we said to each other?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I was just thinking… since we're in the same boat - having to pretend to be someone we're not for the sake of appearances - well, how about we just be ourselves with each other?"

Marcia smiled and shook the prince's hand. "Sure thing, your highness."

"Great! Boy, I'm tired…" Comet's energy had finally run out and he slumped into Marcia's arms. The Latino girl shook her head in amusement as she slung the sleeping prince over her shoulder and carried him back to the house.

Angelo and Rosa nervously paced around the kitchen, wondering whether or not they should call the police. Thankfully, Marcia soon kicked the door open and carried Comet inside.

"Marcia!" Angelo rushed towards her and wrapped his arms around her. "Where have you two been? Are you alright? What happened to Comet?"

"He'll be alright." Marcia promised. "We went out for a walk, started talking, got to know each other, he got a little tuckered out. I'm gonna carry him up to his room. We've got school tomorrow."

"Do… do you need help?" Rosa offered.

Marcia waved her off, slightly annoyed. "I just carried him five blocks, mom. I can take him up the stairs."

Rosa and Angelo shared a concerned look with each other. They loved their daughter more than anything else in the world, and wanted her to be happy. But the fights she had gotten into in the past had put a considerable strain on their relationship with Marcia. But if she was kind enough to carry a sleepy guest back to their house, perhaps things were starting to get better. The couple made their way to their own bedroom when they heard Marcia call out to them from the stairs.

"Hey, dad…"

Angelo turned back towards his daughter. "Uh… yes?"

"... you're looking a little pale." Marcia remarked in a concerned tone."Are you feeling alright?"

Angelo felt his eyes water slightly, but flashed a smile and gave her a thumbs-up, nonetheless. "Yep! I'm a-okay!"

The next day, after school, Comet finished his homework and magic studies just in time for dinner. The Diaz parents ordered a pizza, and Comet immediately fell in love with it after taking the first bite. Much to their delight, Marcia leaned over and gave the prince a friendly nudge.

"Didn't I tell you the best part of Earth was the food?" She asked.

"Mm-hmm!" Comet nodded as he took a much larger bite.

"If you think this is good, wait 'til you try tacos."

Later that night, Comet quietly made his way downstairs to watch one of the movies his mother had suggested to him. He kept the volume high enough to enjoy for himself without waking his host family. However, just as the movie was about to begin, he heard footsteps coming from the stairs.

Marcia was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and her hoodie, and her hair was tied up in a bun. Comet watched, intently, as she made her way into the kitchen, put something in the microwave for a few minutes, and walked towards the living room with her culinary creation. She placed the plate of nachos on the coffee table before taking a seat next to the prince. Kicking her feet up, she grabbed a handful of the cheesy chips before offering the plate to her new friend.

"W-what're you doing?' He asked, cautiously.

"Being myself." She shrugged. "With you. So, what're we watching?"

And thus began a unique and beautiful friendship.

To Be Continued!

Author's notes: This is the ultimate twist I've been waiting to reveal! This is not just a gender bent Starco AU! It is a gender bent bad boy x princess Starco AU! Did anyone catch the reference to the Owl House in this chapter? Tell you what, if this story gets 300 total reviews before ACT XIV, I'll write a GB Owl House AU with the regular cast, the Beta cast, and the pilot cast as a sort of multi-AU. Deal? Deal.