Calamity Factor
Requested by Alphared45667, inspired by Light Seeker101's 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Sun, Moon, and Stars' and part of the 'Spider of the Ranger's universe. The Calamity trio are joined in their adventures alongside three mutant half brothers. Not only will they shake up the prophecy but work towards using their awesome powers to bring worlds that fear and hate them together. Mutant and superhero/villain suggestions welcomed; you shall be credited if used!
Anne or Beast?
Crickets chirping.
Wet ground.
Humid and wet air.
A splitting…yet strangely refreshing headache.
He stirred to his knees and glanced around; spying trees aplenty and sensing a weather like a rainforest. On top of that there were bugs the size of small cars flying in the air, one of which was carrying something in its…claws? What where those things called?
"…Well, this isn't California, that's for sure."
He pushed himself onto his feet and sniffed the air, letting out a sigh of relief when he was done.
"And it ain't the Savage Lands either. Good."
Then again, even if it was the Savage Lands, this obviously wasn't on Tony; the poor kid was traumatized by that place….Well, so was he and Lucas, but he was literally built to throw off trauma and Lucas had always been a dino freak, so he learnt to take the good with the bad.
"Still doesn't answer where I am." He mused before, spying a nearby tree, he began to climb to get a better view of his surroundings. If he could at least make out a building or….
"…Aw, crud."
Nothing but forest and or marshland for as far as he could see. He honestly might've preferred the Savage lands to….
Wait.
He sniffed the air again.
There was somebody nearby. Warm blooded like he was…but not Tony, nor Lucas. And moving towards him.
Jumping from the tree and landing on his feet, he raced towards this newcomer, then he slowed down. Didn't want to scare them after all; they might be the only person for lord knows how many miles.
Then he saw them, crouching behind a bush: A girl of Asian descent, darker skinned and with frizzy hair, kind of like an afro, he reckoned. She wore a school uniform or sorts and seemed to have lost a shoe…
Wait a tic! He knew this girl! Well, sort of….She was one of the trio from the park who'd swiped that box..
"Oh, thank god, another person!" The girl sighed in relief, bringing him out of his memories as she suddenly pulled him downward beside her. "Be quiet! It could still be after me."
If he were a normal person, he would've asked what was after her, but considering what he'd seen so far and his own experiences, he kept his mouth shut.
He spied where the girl was looking and listening; a bush of some kind.
"…a trap?" he whispered, getting a nod from the girl after she tensed and blushed at his voice.
CALAMITY
Sprig Plantar, 10 years old of Wartwood village, was on a mission.
He'd prove to his grandfather Hop-Pop he was responsible by catching the Beast that one eyed Wally had been screaming about this morning. All he'd needed to do was bribe his baby sister Polly with some candy and he was exploring the woods, looking for any sign.
He was currently in an open area, with nothing to out of the ordinary.
"Hmmm." Sprig mused. "Seems like the best place for a traAAAAAAAAH!"
He suddenly found himself hanging upside down, a rope tied around his ankle and something moving from the bushes…
Out stepped what looked like a tree person holding a sharpened stick of sorts, gasping for air
"Caught ya! Thought you got the best of ol' Anne, eh?" they smirked, proud of herself. "Well! You didn't!"
Sprig gasped as he recalled Wally's description of the creature that had attacked him:
"Giant head? Spindly limbs?! Face bump?! THE BEEEEEAST!"
"Loud thing, ain't he?" Another voice cut in, this one another odd creature; he seemed to be male, with dark black hair that had hints of blonde, shaped to kind of resemble a horned owl. He wore an orange and black hoodie and jeans, along with boots that reminided Sprig of Flint, the local law frog. "Also, nice trap."
"Wow, really?" Anne asked, a chuckle escaping her. "I only copied what I saw on a Tube video."
"Still, went better than my first…"
"AND THERE'S MORE THAN ONE!" Sprig screamed in horror.
"Stop. Screaming." The newcomer begged through his teeth as he massaged his ears and turned away, muttering to himself: 'The downside of super-senses.'
"And stop. Following. Us." Anne demanded.
"Wait…Us?" The boy asked.
"Well, yeah, dude. I mean, do you want to…?"
"No, no, just…most folks focus on themselves in this kind of situation."
"Sorry, but I am NOT leaving a fellow…"
"Jokes on you, beasts!" Sprig cut in. "I taste terrible!"
"Ew. We're not going to eat you." Anne said, putting her stick down.
"Speak for yourself; I hear Frog tastes chicken!" The second one retorted, wiping drool from his mouth.
"You tried to eat Wally!" The frog boy said, his confusion clearly making his steam run out.
"…There's more of him?' The new one asked. He went ignored as Anne, exasperated, explained:
"I TRIED asking 'Wally' for help. He ran off screaming the second he saw me!"
"…That does sound like Wally." The Frog boy mused.
Rustling and a shriek from behind made the two humans run for cover; Anne a little quicker than her companion.
"Where are you going?!" Sprig asked in fear, trying to wriggle his way out as another shriek filled the air. Anne then paused, looked forward and then back before doubling back and trying to free Sprig, just as the sound of footsteps became loud enough for anyone to hear.
'….Gosh darn it, why couldn't I be more selfish?!' The male one thought, quickly swiping at the rope and the grabbing Anne as she caught Sprig before diving into a hollowed-out log. Anne the clamped a hand over Sprig's mouth as the boy did the same to her, looking out to see a sight he honestly should've been more surprised by:
A praying mantis, scarlet in color and easily the size of three men, clambering through the forest in search of food. It came close to the log, making the trio tense…and then it walked away.
Waiting a few minutes, the boy let out a sigh of relief, as did Anne. He noticed she seemed especially relieved, as if she had been being chased by the creature.
"You…you saved me." Sprig realized, a smile overtaking his face. "You're not monsters. You're heroes! Ugly, ugly, ugly heroes!"
"Call me 'ugly' again and maybe I will eat you." Anne smirked.
"Eh, I'll take it." The other one said, the faintest hints of tears in his eyes before he brushed away, acting as if he was yawning.
"You're not going to eat me." Sprig said. "So…you got names, beasts?"
"My name's Anne. Anne Boonchuy." Anne declared, then looked to the other human with her.
"Danny. Just Danny."
Anne normally wqould've pressed for more details, but her stomach rumbled.
"So…" She started.
"Sprig Plantar." Sprig introduced himself as he offered a hand to shake making the two humans smile at his positivity. Danny quickly took the hand and Anne followed, only to grimace when she saw slime on it.
"So….your hand just threw up on my hand…..Got anything to eat?" Anne asked, Sprig instantly pulling apart some wood to reveal a host of instects living within. Without a second to waste, Danny grabbed several and stuffed them into his mouth, chewing them and savoring their flavors and crunch as instantly, his hunger began to die down.
. "Thanks, Sprig." He smiled
"…Got anything that's not bugs?" The girl asked, grossed out.
"Not a fan of bugs, huh?" Sprig mused, helping himself to a worm. "I'll do some scourging."
And he hopped away, only motioning the two humans to wait a moment. Danny finished what was in his mouth before grabbing a grub he offered to his fellow human.
"Tastes like chicken." He claimed, but was gently refused as he noticed Anne's grossed out face turned to one of slight confusion. "What?"
"You were eager to eat Sprig a second ago." The Thai girl recounted with a smirk as Danny popped the grub into his mouth.
"That was before he said 'thanks.' He does that? He's off the menu." Danny said, wiping his mouth with his sleeve before realizing something: No laundry. "Oh man! I really liked this hoodie, too….Ah well. Wherever we are is too tropical for it anyways."
He ripped the bit of the sleeve off and tossed it aside, then noticed Anne was shivering. He then quickly removed the hoodie and placed it over the girls' shoulders, an act which surprised her.
"You need it more than I do. The cold never bothered me anyways." Danny said. "I'm Canadian, after all."
"Really?" Anne asked as she slipped the hoodie on. "You don't sound it. No 'eh' and all."
"First of all, that is a stereotype and second…Half, but it counts." Danny recounted. "Alberta based."
"…My geography and social studies isn't that great, isn't Alberta like the Texas of Canada?" Anne asked.
"Some parts more than others, yeah." Danny said.
Just then, Sprig returned, carrying several roots and mushrooms that Anne hurriedly helped herself to.
"Hey, this is pretty good." She smiled, offering Danny a root. He took it, sniffed it and then licked it before popping it in his mouth; it tasted like a carrot with a burger after taste/
"So, first question." Sprig said, taking a deep breath before shouting. "What the heck are you two, and where did you come from?!"
"We're human beings and come from..." Anne started, then went ham as she declared: "ANOTHER WORLD! Either that, or this is a dream."
Neither she or Sprig saw Danny wince at the 'human being', Sprig being to awestruck by Anne and he being from another world.
"So…you're lost?" Sprig guessed, getting a nod from Anne.
"One minute, I was in my world with my friends and the next thing I knew I was here. I don't know how to get home….or if I even can go home."
Anne looked down at her feet, missing her parents and home. Sprig and Danny felt a need to comfort her, butr she suddenly perked up.
"So, yup, that's my story." Anne beamed, her attention focused on Danny. "How 'bout you, Mr. Survialist?"
Danny chuckled at that; not only the nickname but Anne's brightness was heartwarming and catchy.
"I am as lost as you." The boy admitted. "Last I remember was a bright light…I think a tune of some kind and then here we are."
Sprig took note of this before being asked what he was doing out in the woods.
"Proving I'm responsible!" The young frog beamed.
"….How?" Danny and Anne asked.
Suddenly a gang of humanoid frogs and toads, most no higher than the kids' waists, appeared and jumped the two humans, quickly tying them up. An elderly looking frog raced to Sprig with what looked like a purple blob with a ribbon on its head, relieved he was okay and proud of him for having caught the beasts.
"Dude, what the heck? You set us up? I thought we were connecting!" Anne roared indiginantly
"…First time?" Danny asked her, an almost bored tone in his voice. "Just let him rant and hate, they'll probably let us go soon enough."
'Can't exactly go all out with her and Sprig so close.' He inwardly mused. Plus, it would be nice to stay friends with someone as long as possible.
"N-no, no, no! This wasn't my plan!" Sprig desperately denied.
A roar suddenly stopped any celebration or declarations of hate, as a green praying mantis stormed in and started attacking
"EVERYONE! MANTIS FORMATION!" The largest and best dressed Toad called out. Instantly, the frogs and toads began to jump onto one another, forming a pseudo mantis in their formation.
"…Okay, that is kind of impressive." Danny and Anne mused.
"Sasha would like that." Anne added.
"…Who?" Danny asked.
"My friend. Head cheerleader of our school." Anne smirked.
"…Interesting." Danny admitted.
The Mantis ran away suddenly, which filled the frogs and toads with pride…before the red one Anne, Danny and Sprig had narrowly avoided appeared. And to clarify? It was TWICE as big as the green one.
The Mantis formation was easily dispatched and the red mantis, in front of what was basically a buffet, started picking up and attacking whoever it spied.
During the confusion, Sprig managed to loosen the ropes holding Anne and Danny together; an act that surprised the two of them.
"What the heck?" Danny asked.
"Is this another trick?" Anne asked, but both were ignored.
"I'll distract that thing. You two get out of here." Sprig said, revealing a slingshot he started using to fling rocks at the mantis…which understandably, ticked it off. "..Uh oh.."
The Mantis then ignored the buffet and went straight for the annoyance and the two tied up creatures.
"SPRIG!" Hop-Pop and Anne cried out despite it all.
'…No choice.'
"Sprig, get back. Anne? Stay perfectly still." Danny whispered.
SHINK!
From each of Danny's knuckles emerged a long, shiny and sharp claw that cut through the ropes like butter, releasing him and Anne. The boy then raced to meet the claws of the mantis, smirking as he pushed back against it.
The Mantis, not used to someone pushing it back and understandably angered by this new creature's cockiness, let out a shriek and began to swing wildly. Danny just deflected its clawass as he bobbed and weaved between each attack, a smirk on his face.
He even managed to deliver a few kicks and slashes to its form, making it stagger and bleed as he beckoned for more.
"Try it, bub."
Meanwhile, the others stood in awe of what they were seeing; this beast was putting a MANTIS through the ringer? Seemingly quite easily, too!
The Mantis then leapt into the sky and then downwards, preparing to squash Danny, who leapt upwards to meet it, kicked it in the throax with all his might and swing his claws at its arm, cutting off the limb entirely.
As the mantis flayed in pain, Anne swung some of the rope that had been used to tie her and Danny up around it's body and pulled downwards.
"SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING!" She cried out to no one in particular, her eyes glowing blue for a milsecond.
"ON IT!" Danny said as he raced behind the mantis and used his claws to rip open its back, sending it crashing down. He then grabbed the rope and held in down, at which Anne grabbed the creature's severed limb and swung with all her might…!
Decapitating the mantis, who finally dropped dead.
For a full two minutes, the only sounds that could be heard where the gasping of air of the two humans, before Anne stopped to admire the makeshift scythe.
"Oooooh, yeah. Mama like!" She grinned. "I'm keeping this!"
Danny chuckled at that.
"Go for it. I got enough blades."
An awkward silence overtook them before they hurriedly said:
"So/yeah you're/I'm a mutant."
They responded at the same time, which got their sentences jumbled up. They both blushed and chuckled at this, before Danny realized something: Anne didn't seem to want to distance herself from him. In fact, she seemed…intrigued but trying to be 'poltically correct' or 'respectful of beliefs she was unsure of' if he needed to make a comparison.
And with that alone? He knew he had or rather, could, make a friend.
The toads and frogs meanwhile, were celebrating the vanquishing of the red mantis, which had apparently been a thorn in their side for quite some time.
"Well, now that that's settled, what the heck are we gonna do with these things?" The leader of the mob asked aloud as he motioned to the two newcomers, before he smirked. "Maybe we oughta run them out of town just to be safe. Let them be someone else's problem."
The mob seemed to be in agreement and Danny sighed, having seen this coming.
"Alright, alright. We're a getting. We're a getting, we hear ya." He said with a smile as he backed away, offering Anne a hand. "Just give us a map we'll be on our way."
"What?!" Anne snapped. "No way, dude! We just saved their ungrateful butts, the least they could do is…!"
"Anne." Danny said sadly.
"…Oh my god, this is what they felt." Anne said aloud, lost in a memory….
"Stop right there! They're not monsters." Sprig said, leaping in front of the two. "They're just lost and needs our help. We should take care of them."
"Are you nuts?!" The lead toad said.
"What if they go nutty and attack tomorrow?" Another asked.
SHINK!
"Don't tempt me." Danny said.
"…dude?" Anne asked, confused. One minute he was all for leaving, now he was all for scaring?
"They remind me of people I hate but can't hurt." Danny smirked evilly. "Nothing keeping them safe here."
FACTOR
Elsewhere in the multiverse, a certain mercenary with a mouth felt pride in someone else…and now knew he had teasing fuel for his favorite punching bag friend! Yes, that was the word, friend!
AMPHIBIA
"Don't worry yourselves silly." Hop-Pop said. Getting everyone's attention. "I'll keep an eye on 'em, both of 'em."
Danny sheathed his claws in shock, as Anne looked on in hope and awe as the mob relented and wandered off, carrying the mantis' corpse with them and planning to cook a feast out of it.
Sprig looked down at his feet in shame.
"I'm sorry, Hop-Pop." He said to his grandfather. "I just wanted to prove…"
"Sprig, standing up to that angry mob to help these creatures out wass ome of the bravest and most responsible stuff I've ever seen!" The elderly frog beamed, proud of his grandson.
"That was pretty cool, Sprig." The blob, Spig's baby sister Polly, smiled. "It was also really dumb!"
"Yes. Really, really dumb."
Sprig gasped in amazement.
"You think I'm responsible?!"
"…Well…" Hop-Pop started sheepishly.
"Sounds like it to me, dude." Anne smirked, messing with Sprig' hat.
"How about we just call it a good deed?" Danny suggested. "Good job, but don't push it."
Hop-Pop smiled.
"I like you, boy. You a sibling?"
Danny nodded at that.
"So, thanks for offering to help us." Anne said. "But honestly, I think me and Danny-boy…"
"Don't call me that." Danny demanded.
"Will be okay with a map, some grub and maybe a cloak or two." She finished.
"Oh, a map and cloaks won't be enough." Hop-PopPlanter explained as he revealed a map "This here valley is surrounded by mountains that are impenetrable with ice, snow and beasts this time of year."
"It should clear up in a couple of months." Sprig noted.
"But until then, you try to cross those mountains?"
"You will die." Polly added.
Danny seemed more interested in anything else, judging by the smirk on his face.
'Finally! A chance to prove I can handle the toughest conditions!'
Anne, on the other hand?
"Are you telling me I'm stuck in this crazy place for two months? Where am I gonna stay?
CALAMITY
The two were brought to the Plantar family farm and housed in the basement. It was damp and made of rock, but Danny and Anne were just happy to not be outside (Anne more than Danny).Hop-Pop's one condition for them staying was that they help out with farming duties and get up early for breakfast. Conditions neither human had a problem with.
Polly didn't seem to trust them, using a rolling pin she named 'Doris' to threaten them. On the other hand, Sprig had offered to share some of his toys with them, although he ended up taking them all back. Still, Danny smiled at the gesture.
"Tony would get along great with him." He mused as he goit ready to sleep.
"Who?" Anne asked, intrigued when she saw the normally scowling boy smile.
"My brother. One of them." Danny mused. "The one in a hoodie. He's shy and still a kid at heart, thank goodness."
Anne smiled at that.
"He sounds kind of like Marcy." She mused.
"Which one was she?" Danny asked.
"Why the interest?" Anne asked, protectiveness clear in her tone.
"Oh, no, no! Nothing like that!" Danny assured her. "Just, your blonde pal reminded me too much of mom, I mean my teacher and the other one seemed…kind of sneaky."
"…Marcy. Sneaky?" Anne asked, getting a laugh out of that. "She IS super smart and into C , but sneaky? HA!"
Danny shrugged. He'd smelled something off about Marcy…nothing too bad though…
He then spied Anne taking something out of her backpack: A music box decorated with images of frogs and three grey gems.
Wait, what?
"Say, didn't those have color in them?" he asked aloud, startling Anne.
"Dude!"
"Sorry." He shrugged. "Ah well. At least its with us and not…"
He wouldn't say that name. He refused to. The one upside to this whole affair was that he had not once heard HIM the whole time he was here.
"Never mind. Hey, why'd you even want that old thing?" Danny asked.
"Why did you and your brothers?" Anne retorted back. "In fact, you seemed desperate for it."
"Ladies first." Danny replied.
"…I like Frogs." Anne admitted, waiting for Danny to respond. The boy just shrugged and then turned to sleep.
"Night, Anne."
"What, not going to tell me your reason?"
…
"Oh, come on, dude! Nobody falls asleep that fast!"
…
"DANNY!"
Sighing and recognizing it had been a rough…how long had it been? A day? A couple of days? Whatever, it was.
Anne then laid down her head and began to doze off.
CALAMITY
Far away from Wartwood, at an ominous tower, a large toad humanoid in armor walked forward, his attention focused on one prisoner in particular.
"Take a look at this please, Sasha." He said, the requested filled with anger and the promise of pain. "It was found far from here, in the South Forest. Now we know that you've been lying to us. Now we know that there are more of you."
The aforementioned Sasha, a girl with blonde hair in a ponytail and a beauty mark under one of her eyes, said nothing, glaring at her captor as he moved to another cell. Inside said cell, there was a human boy hung upside down with a slab of metal over his eyes.
"We found this." Grime said. "Look familiar?"
"Well, it sounds like you're holding something up." The boy noted. "But with this slab, I can't see jack, you blind in one eye overpromoted moron!"
Grime growled
"No worries, though. Gimme a sec." The boy said, as from his eyes there suddenly came a burst of energy which destroyed the slab and chains holding him in place. He then backflipped to his feet and smirked before looking at the shoe.
"Well, that's not one of mine." He said, then saw the widened eyes of the Toads. "….What?"
"…You could've done that at anytime?" Grime realized.
The boy smirked and let out a chuckle.
"Trust me Grime. If I knew where I was and or needed to go? We wouldn't be having this conversation."
CALAMITY
And in the grand city of Newtopia, King Andrias, first of his line and ruler of Amphibia for 1000 years, smiled giddily when he heard of the two new arrivals in his city as he got ready for the day.
The first, a girl in a blue hoodie and an awestruck look on her face, was clearly the Mind. A welcome coincidence that she landed so close to him; the Core would no doubt want to see how smart she was.
The other one, however?
'Has earth starting chimera-izing?' The king wondered, as the other tried to hide deeper into his hood despite his injured leg which wazs wrapped in a cast and above all else…..the freely waving tail.
CALAMITY
As Amphibia slept, all seemed quiet, the sudden arrival of the six other-worlders forgotten as most turned to bed and the nocturnal creatures began their evening prowl.
That was until a portal suddenly opened up.
From said portal emerged a terrifying band of newcomers: One that looked like a werewolf, another who looked like he was made of tar, a giant, a skittdish many walking with a cane and a pink haired young man dressed like a rockstar alongside a beautiful woman of white hair and clothes that looked psychadellic or headache inducing.
"Reminds me of the Savage Lands." The giant noted.
"Oh, if what Apocalypse says is true, and he has yet to lie to me, this place is about as far from the Savage lands as Genosha is a proper utopia." Smirked the leader, a tall, well built man with pale skin, blood red eyes and sharp teeth noted. He wore a regal like battle armor and what looked like a shoulder cape that was split into twelve tails; six atop his shoulders and six underneath.
He then reached into his shirt and pulled out what looked like a compass with three arrows, each of which glowed a different color; blue, pink and green and pointed in another direction.
"Well, they're split up, just like we postulated. Good."
"Ey, Boss." The werewolf looking man said, lifting the remains of what looked like a crystal of sorts. "Mordred was here. And if he was here…"
"Then Lancelot and Tristan have to be too." The woman mused as the leader of this group chuckled in sinister delight.
"Oh, this just keeps better and better. Three of my prized cuckoos alongside one of Apocalypse's potentially biggest problems, on top of a land brimming with test subjects? "
Was it his birthday? Because he was feeling better than he had in quite some time. But! For now, he had to focus on other matters.
"George, Ruckus. Stay and help me set up the lab. The rest of you? Find and bring Lancelot and the trio back in as pristine condition as possible. Mordred too, if possible. Tristan is replaceable."
With a nod of understanding, Ramrod, Hairbag, Slab and Vertigo rushed away at their master's command.
To be continued….
And thus we end the first chapter of this new Amphibia tale. Hope it perked your interest; especially with this story taking cues from Marcy's journal, having chapters inspired by her entries, but not a word for word adaptation. We'll also see more of Sasha's story, which will be similar yet also different than what we got in the show.
As stated in the summary, this story takes place in the same universe as 'Spider of the Rangers', 'Power Rangers Dragon Drive' and 'My Ranger Academia' . The next update of the first will give some background info on what's going on.
Now, while mostly taking from the X-Men movie canon (mostly the original timeline, but traits and characters from the second will come about as well, ESPECAILLY the New Mutants movie), elements of the animated series and comics will be sprinkled in.
The plan is for the pattern of chapters to be Anne/Danny focused, then Marcy and then Sasha, followed by either a flashback chapter or a check in to how things are going back on earth. Also, this story is listed as Marcy/OC because that relationship has already been sorted out. The plan is for Anne and Sasha to end up with one of the other two newcomers, but are still under development and open to suggestions.
Went for the Nasty Boys as the henchmen due to several plans for the Marauders working better for season three/when the kids return to earth. Open to suggestions on which members fight which groups.
And yes, the scythe thing was indeed a nod to Cowboy Alchemist's 'Living in a Frog World.' Give it a read if you haven't, you are missing out on a fic so amazing it honestly would make an excellent novel or TV show, in my opinion.
Next time on Calamity Factor: Waking up in Newtopia:
"Marcy Wu finds herself living her dream of being in a fantastic new world, only to be joined by a skittish boy who seems to be determined to leave but also keep people safe. Who is Tony and why is he so determined to keep his face and appearance hidden? And is Newtopia really as safe as Lady Olivia and Andrias portray it to be?"