Dazzled in Dallas!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners. The Starr family are mine.

Author's Note: This fic is set about a month or so after the events of RogueFanKC's "Mutants of Twilight". I know what you are thinking. "Wait, if this story is set after MoT, why put it up when that story is unfinished?" Well, it's perfectly clear RogueFanKC is never going to finish MoT (He hasn't put up a new chapter of it in nearly 5 years), and I had this in my head for sometime, so I thought I might as well write it.

Chapter 1: The Briefing!

Malibu, California

Near the city of Malibu was a military base. However, this base was not an ordinary one. It was created for special troops...with some special wards. This was known as Malibu Base, a headquarters for a group of Joes put together to fight terrorist menaces along the United States's West Coast. And these Joes also had something special in their ranks: A group of teenagers with superhuman powers and abilities.

Six of those youths had gathered at a meeting room, and they all had sat at a table. An elderly, but spry man walked into the room with a smile on his face. He was a tall man, his gray hair being white at the temples, and wrinkles on his face being the only real obvious indicators of his age. He wore a green dress uniform that was neat and pressed. General Walter Whithalf walked up to a podium.

"Good morning, kids!" He greeted happily at the kids at the table. They responded in various ways. "And how are we today?" Shame we don't have the full team here with us, what with the Superstars touring the Australia at the moment. But that is alright. This mission won't need all of them, and we can always get them at short notice.

"Doing wonderfully, General!" A lanky teenage boy answered with a smile. He wore a plain black t-shirt and black jeans. Around his neck was a silver chain with a small pendant of a yellow eight-pointed star. His hands were unusual as they only had three fingers and a thumb each. His hair was also in a just as rather unusual style: It was in a mullet similar to that of 80s pop star Limahl.

Longshot. Real Name: None (Given the name "Arthur Centino" by GI Joe). Birthplace: Mojoworld. Affiliation: West Coast Misfits. Physiology: Artificial Mutant Human. Powers and Abilities: Psychometry, superhuman agility and reflexes, luck manipulation, and trained in stunt work and martial arts.

Mojoworld was an alternate dimension that was bombarded by television broadcasts from Earth. These broadcasts would drive the citizenry mad, and it allowed the being named Mojo to conquer this world and addict his people to his gladitorial games and television shows. Longshot was a being that was genetically engineered to be a stuntman for Mojo's shows. After an adventure the West Coast Misfits had in Mojoworld during the leadup to the Gathering of Twilight crisis, Longshot came to Earth and joined the West Coast Misfits.

"Wonderful!" Whithalf grinned. "Now, I bet you are wondering why I called you six all here today?"

"I'm hoping it's something fun." Another boy grinned as he pulled a pair of earbuds out of his ears, showing his canine teeth were more like fangs, his chocolate brown eyes gleaming with mirth. He had a brawny frame, and his wild brown hair almost resembled a lion's mane. His facial features, although human and handsome, had a bit of a feline air about them. Over his left eye was a birthmark in the shape of a blue 5-pointed star. He wore a blue Whitesnake t-shirt and blue denim jeans. Around his neck was a zebra-print bandanna, and his hands were covered by a pair of black fingerless biker gloves. Around his wrists were some black wristbands with silver studs. His fingernails also seemed to double as claws.

Wildstar. Real Name: Ace Starr. Birthplace: Los Angeles, CA. Affiliation: West Coast Misfits. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers and Abilities: Feline-based mutation grants superhuman strength, speed, reflexes, reaction time, healing factor. Also has superhuman senses. Can fire blue energy beams from fingers.

A native of Los Angeles, Ace Starr came from a family of musicians. Three of his cousins were members of the Superstars, the world's first all-mutant rock band. Ace himself was a bit of a virtuoso, the feral mutant being a guitar player since the age of three.

"You know what I'm thinking?" Ace grinned. "I'm personally hoping that it'll be like a Bond film. You know what I mean? Over the top villain with equally over the top scheme to take over the world...cool henchmen with gimmicks...some spy gadgets, and of course..." A smirk formed on his face. "The lovely Bond girls." Another boy next to Ace sighed and slumped back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose slightly. This one was tall and muscular, with collar length bright red hair, and intense blue eyes that shone with power. At his temples, his hair was a bright yellow. He was clad in a red polo shirt and black slacks. He then sat up straight and glared at Ace.

"Can't you be serious for five minutes, Wildstar?" He grumbled, his voice showing a thick Boston accent.

Red Dragon. Real Name: Jake Robert Wildfire. Birthplace: Boston, MA. Affiliation: West Coast Misfits. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers and Abilities: Flight, fire breath. Can transform into an anthropomorphic dragon for short periods of time. Dragon form has superhuman strength, invulnerability, speed, reflexes, healing factor. Cannot be maintained for long due to it being great energy drain.

Coming from a Boston family of professional wrestlers, Jake Wildfire and his younger brother Kyle were recruited by General Whithalf to go undercover in Emma Frost's Massachusetts Academy. After they revealed themselves to save their friend, the X-Men's spy codenamed Sage, the brothers were brought to Malibu and made members of the West Coast Misfits. The brothers were infuriated by this, as they felt that General Whithalf was punishing them for saving the British mutant.

"Aw come on, Jake!" Ace grinned. "I know you aren't the biggest fan of fun, but still." He patted Jake on the shoulder. "Even you have to admit, it's been pretty dull doing nothing much but training and helping out other heroes with minor stuff."

"...perhaps." Jake admitted. "But still, if this is a real mission, then we can't afford to goof around."

"I dunno, it works for our East Coast counterparts." Ace snickered. Jake rolled his eyes.

"Of course it does." He muttered bitterly. "It works for them. Everything always works out for them."

"I have to admit, I am a bit nervous." A blonde girl piped up, her voice showing an Irish brogue. She wore a green sweater with a yellow-and-black plaid skirt. The collar of a yellow shirt peeked out from the top of the sweater.

Siryn. Real Name: Theresa Rourke-Cassidy. Birthplace: County Mayo, Ireland. Affiliation: West Coast Misfits. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers and Abilities: Can generate sonic vibrations that can be used for various effects, mainly in the form of a sonic scream. Flight.

A second-generation mutant, Theresa had inherited her father Sean "Banshee" Cassidy's sonic abilities. She was working at Moira McTaggert's hospital for young superhumans when she first met future fellow West Coast Misfits Wildstar and Jinx. When the hospital was destroyed in a monsterous attack, she was one of the few survivors. She joined the West Coast Misfits to avenge the fallen, and after the Gathering ended, she decided to join the team.

Theresa chuckled. "It's funny. I helped fight at the Gatherin' of Twilight, and we've done some other stuff, but me stomach still has the butterflies."

"You'll do fine, Theresa." Another girl reassured. This one had pink hair that was once put up in a style that made her hair once resemble horns, but now was down. She wore a black dress with purple-and-black-striped leggings and black combat boots. Her dress had pink highlights and around her neck was a pink-and-purple bandanna.

Jinx. Real Name: Unknown. Birthplace: Unknown location in India. Affiliations: (Formerly) H.I.V.E. (Currently) West Coast Misfits. Physiology: Enhanced Human (Sorcery). Powers and Abilities: Probablilty manipulation, skilled gymnast.

Once a member of the HIVE, a group of young superhumans who menaced the Teen Titans, Jinx left the group after the Hellfire Club deceived the HIVE Academy, and helping the Titans, X-Men, and Misfits defeat Trigon. Her actions got her expelled from the Academy, and with nowhere else to go, General Whithalf found the young luck manipulator and brought her to Malibu, where she found herself a new home, family, and life with the West Coast Misfits.

"You survived the Gathering, you can handle anything." The pink-haired ex-villain told the Irish girl.

"I suppose ye have a point." The Irish blonde smiled.

"Ohboyohboyohboyohboyohboy!" A young boy, around twelve or thirteen years of age, bounced happily up and down in his seat. Much like Theresa's accent showed her Irish connection, this boy's voice showed him clearly as a native of the American South. His wild brown hair was in a messy mop, and on his head were a pair of red goggles with yellow-tinted lenses. He wore a white t-shirt with "Flash" written on it in red lettering, underlined by a red lightning bolt. His outfit was completed by red jeans, and a pair of white hi-tops, with red wristbands.

Impulse. Real Name: Bartholomew "Bart" Allen. Birthplace: Manchester, AL. Affiliation: West Coast Misfits. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers and Abilities: Superhuman speed.

Before the West Coast Misfits, Bart Allen was a patient. A young mutant who was struggling with an imperfect mutation that was detrimental to his health, he was a patient at Moira MacTaggert's hospital for young superhumans in Scotland. It was there he met and befriended Siryn. When the hospital was devastated in an attack, the young mutant was one of the few survivors, and he joined up with the West Coast Misfits to help them avenge his fellow patients. Afterwards, he became the third of the West Coast Misfits' new recruits. He looked over at Theresa.

"Are you excited?! I sure am excited!"

Theresa chuckled at her young friend. "Take it easy, Bart. I'm sure the General will give us something simple to do."

"God, I hope it's something fun." Ace looked at the general. "Please tell me it's something fun."

"I'm sure whatever this mission, you'll find some way to amuse yourself." Longshot reassured the feral mutant.

"Don't be too sure, Longshot." Jake grumbled. "Knowing Whithalf, it won't be any good." He shot a look at the general as he spoke.

"Ah Jake, ever the Gloomy Gus. Don't you worry, son. This mission is important." Whithalf smiled, pulling a remote out of his pocket. He pointed it at a large screen behind him. The general clicked a button, and an image appeared on the screen. Bart's jaw dropped.

"OH MY GOOOOOOOOODDDDD!" The young speedster gasped in shock.

"Helloooo, nurse!" Ace grinned widely.

"Oh, wonderful..." Jake grumbled, tightly closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Oh, my goodness!" Theresa put her hand in front of her mouth in surprise.

"Heh." Jinx smirked, crossing her arms. "I guess it is true, after all."

"Wow..." Longshot stared at the image on the screen, his eyes glazed.

The image was of a teenage girl singing on a stage. Her face had blue shapes painted around the eyes, and she was clad in a white sleeveless bodysuit with a high collar, and around her neck was a golden necklace with a disco ball pendant. Her wrists had golden bands around them, and her right arm had a golden bangle on it. Flashes of light in various colors were around her body.

"She's...beautiful..." Longshot mumbled.

"Everyone, meet Alison Blaire." General Whithalf pointed at the screen.

"The Dazzler?" Theresa blinked. "The singing star?"

"One and the same." Jinx answered.

"Oh God help me..." Jake groaned.

"Damn, she's a hottie!" Ace whooped. Jinx frowned at this.

"OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD!" Bart bounced up and down in his seat. "IT'STHEDAZZLER!"

"A fan of hers, huh Irish?" Ace asked, pointing at Bart. Theresa nodded.

"Aye. She's quite popular among the patients at the hospital. Bart was hoping she'd visit the hospital one day. Ye know, like celebrities do for those sick kids?"

"Yeah, you see it on the news." Jake shrugged. "Great opportunity for some quick good PR."

"And totally not out of the kindness of their hearts, right?" Theresa frowned at Jake.

The redheaded Bostonian frowned. "I don't have a tendency to think positively of people these days."

"You'd think the Gathering finally being over would lighten you up a bit, Jake." Jinx snickered.

"Don't get me wrong, Jinx. I am glad it's over, but..." Jake shook his head. "Nothing has changed. People still hate mutants." He fell glum. "And I'm still stuck here."

"It's not as bad as you think, son." Whithalf tried to reassure the redhead. "Things have greatly improved between humans and mutants. Also, we've become regarded as heroes."

Tell that to those people in Washington, DC. Oh wait, they're dead. Jake mentally grumbled. Unlike those that lost their hearts, they didn't get to come back! And I'm sure the families of DC's dead would be very happy that the Gathering is over...

"Yeah, Jake." Jinx said, a smile on her face. "Also, the Superstars have been hailed as heroes. Really helped jolt those record sales."

"But I'm still stuck here." Jake grumbled.

"You still mad about being on this team?" Ace blinked. "Didn't you have that talk with-" The leonine mutant got interrupted by a glare from the Bostonian redhead.

"I only agreed to stay on this team because she asked me to stay, and I promised I would. Doesn't mean I have to like it." Jake sneered and crossed his arms. And it sure as hell does not mean I have to consider any of you my friends...

"Well, anyway...Alison couldn't visit because even if she knew about the hospital, Moira thought it'd be too much of a security risk." Theresa explained.

"It sucked. She seemed so nice." Bart sighed. "But I get to meet her now, so this is awesome! The others will be so jealous!"

"What a beauty..." Longshot stared at the image, his eyes glazed over. Jake noticed this and frowned.

"Hey! Longshot!" He snapped his fingers in front of the artificial humanoid's face. "Get your head in the game! This is a mission!"

"Huh?" Longshot snapped back to reality. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was just..." He blushed.

Jake rolled his eyes. "This is a mission briefing, not a dating service."

"Miss Blaire has just done something life-changing." Whithalf explained. "She's just recently revealed her mutation."

Jake actually looked amused. "Well, she's a mutant after all."

"Indeed, Jake. The Superstars were dead on. I owe Lila twenty bucks." Jinx smiled in amusement.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Theresa blinked in confusion.

"The Superstars believed Alison was a mutant." Jinx explained to the blonde Irish girl. "One of their...projects during the Gathering was trying to find proof. Blaire herself has claimed that her lightshows were actually special effects, but the Superstars were not so sure about that."

"Indeed." Jake nodded. "The Superstars were never really able to investigate it, for a couple of reasons. Dazzler and the Superstars tend to operate in..." He waved his hand. "Different musical circles."

"Different musical circles?" Longshot asked in confusion.

"Basically, Dazzler and the Superstars did different kinds of music. As a result, they hardly ever got a chance to mingle." Jake explained.

"Do they interact at award shows?"

"Not really. The kind of music the Superstars do don't really get award consideration that much." Jake said.

"Why were they so interested in Alison being a mutant?" Theresa asked.

"Why do you think, Miss Cassidy?" Jake answered. "They were hoping that they could recruit her to the West Coast Misfits." He sighed and rubbed his temple. "Which was exactly what this team needed. Another member who could do light tricks. Not like we had four already..."

"We couldn't be picky, son. Had to take what we could get." Whithalf said.

"Yeah, yeah..." Jake waved it off. Although it would be nice if we could get some more people with more unique powers on this team. But I doubt we'll get that anytime soon, despite the fact we can now be open about the existence of this team...

"Anyway..." Whithalf continued. "She will be performing tomorrow night in Dallas."

"Too bad she isn't singing in Nashville." Theresa smiled. "I could get some pictures of the Grand Old Opry for me Da. He's a very big fan of American country music."

"Motown, myself." Ace grinned.

"Finally admitting that you love that music, Ace?" Jinx teased.

"Who said I was ashamed, Pinky?"

"However, not everyone was very happy that Alison has revealed her mutation." Whithalf continued on.

"Of course not." Jake grumbled.

"Why?" Bart asked. "Alison is awesome! She didn't suddenly become a bad person because she was a mutant!"

"A lot of people would disagree, speedy." Jake pointed out.

"May I continue, please?" General Whithalf asked.

"Sorry." Theresa apologized.

"Quite alright." The elderly general waved it off with a smile. "Anyway, we got word a group called the Watchdogs have made several threats against her." Whithalf pressed a button on his remote. "As you all know, the Watchdogs are a right-wing terrorist organization." He gestured at the image. It was of a typical Watchdog member. He was clad in what looked like a purple body suit with orange-brown body armor, and matching combat boots and forearm-length gloves. Around their waists were tactical belts with numerous pouches on them. The helmets were the most interesting thing about them: They were Power Ranger-esque. The helmets were in the shape of a roaring dog's head, the mouth forming the visor, and a silver area underneath where the wearer's mouth would be.

"Looks like an evil Power Ranger." Bart giggled. Theresa shushed the young mutant.

"They kind of do, don't they?" Ace snickered.

"Yeah, they kind of do..." Jinx smiled.

"The Avengers, especially Captain America, were kind enough to give us information about them." Whithalf continued. "According to the Captain, the Watchdogs' usual MO is to attack places like abortion clinics, adult stores, and anyone they deem 'immoral'."

"Makes sense they'd go after mutants." Jake grunted in disgust. "They view them the same way they view gay people, as abominations."

"Real Christian of them." Theresa scowled in disgust. "I distinctly remember something along the lines of the Bible saying that one should not judge others lest ye get judged yerself."

Jinx rolled her eyes. "I doubt any of those pricks ever actually read the Bible."

"You're assuming they can read, Pinky." Jake snorted.

"Literate or not, the Watchdogs are dangerous." Whithalf warned. "They are linked to quite a few deaths, and quite a lot of property damage."

"That don't surprise me." Ace scowled. "They sound crazy."

"Captain America can attest to that. Several local superheroes have also been known to have dealt with various 'dogpounds'." Whithalf nodded.

"Dogpounds?" Bart laughed. "They really like their dog theme, don't they?"

"Supervillain groups love their gimmicks, man." Ace snickered.

"A 'dogpound' is like a terrorist cell." Whithalf explained. "It's one of the reasons why we have so much trouble taking them down for good." He then perked up. "Speaking of local superheroes, one of Dallas's is on the case as well." He pressed a button on his remote, and the image changed again. This time, an image of a blonde woman appeared on the screen.

She wore a blue domino mask and a blue bodysuit with a chest emblem of a white 5-pointed star. Around her waist was a red belt with a silver belt buckle in the shape of a 5-pointed star. The belt had a pair of red holsters with matching stars on them, too. In the holsters were a pair of futuristic-looking revolvers. Also attached to the belt was a coiled-up lasso. Her hands were covered by red gloves with stars on them, and her feet had matching cowboy boots. Her identity was protected by a blue domino mask with a white 5-pointed star on it.

"Meet Shooting Star." Whithalf introduced. "She is one of Dallas's more prominent Locals. She was also a member of the Rangers, an informal team of heroes based in Southwestern states."

"Southwest? Like Arizona, right?" Theresa asked.

"Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, around there." Jinx nodded.

"Oh great, we're going to work with a Local Hero." Jake muttered as he facepalmed. "That's going to be fun."

"I don't see what you're complaining about, Jake." Ace shrugged. "This Shooting Star girl seems really badass."

"She does seem to be quite fascinating." Longshot added.

"I would like to remind you all that we may have won the Gathering of Twilight, but we paid a big price for it." Jake growled. "It cracked the superhero community in half. Many local-level superheroes felt that we left them for dead."

"Jake, we couldn't help them protect their homes." Jinx reminded. "We had to stop the Organization itself. Cut off the head, and all that."

"Aye." Theresa agreed. "Nobody who fought at the Gathering was doing it because they wanted any of the local superheroes to die."

"Tell that to that jackass in Cleveland." Jake reminded. "We all know what he pulled in Metropolis."

"Kid Razor was a maniac!" Jinx retorted. "He always hated Superman, anyway!"

"Pinky's got a point, Dragon." Ace said. "That guy had an ego the size of a small state. You could smell the jealousy whenever Superman was brought up around him."

"I don't really get why anyone would hate Superman." Bart blinked. "We all met him. He's like, super nice and everything! Why would that Kid Razor guy hate Superman so much?"

Theresa sighed. "Bart, Razor is one of those people who refuses to see that Superman is so liked and respected because he is very nice to people. Razor wasn't liked like Superman was, and it made him mad and jealous. But instead of becoming nicer, he only got meaner, because he wanted to force people to respect and like him. But it doesn't work that way."

"He did raise a good point...before he tried to bash Superman's head into paste with his guitar." Jake said. "People died in Cleveland. People died in many places despite the Locals' best efforts..and not a one of us were there to stop it. None of us even considered helping them."

"And a lot more people would have died if that big group of heroes, including us, didn't take the fight ta the Organization themselves." Theresa reminded.

"You don't need to remind me of that, Theresa." Jake told her. "But a lot of Locals feel otherwise. It would be wise to keep that in mind when working with Shooting Star here. I'm just saying, they have perfectly understandable reasons to be bitter."

"Hopefully, things will go smoothly between her and us." Whithalf nodded. "We can always use the extra help."

"I can't wait to meet the Dazzler!" Bart whooped. "This is so awesome! Dazzler! Alison Blaire herself is a mutant like us! That is so cool! You guys think she'd want to join the West Coast Misfits?!"

"Bart, I'm sure Alison would rather be singing for crowds than doing what we do." Theresa told her younger friend.

"She just might..." Longshot mumbled wistfully. Theresa shot the artificial mutant look.

"Don't go giving Bart any ideas." The Irish girl warned.

Jinx ruffled Bart's hair playfully. "Look at it like this, Impulse. Even if she decides to stay a civilian, we can still be friends."

"I guess so..."

"This isn't a recruitment mission, anyway." Whithalf added. "If Miss Blaire does wish to join us, it should be of her own free will."

"Probably for the best." Jake said. "This team already has four members with energy-based powers. We already have a redundancy problem as it is."

"I think we have done fine so far, Jake." Longshot pointed out.

"So far, but even our luck is bound to run out at some point."

"Well, let's pray it holds out here." Whithalf smiled. "Anything else?"

Theresa raised her hand. "...shouldn't we get the Superstars from Australia? I mean, most of us aren't exactly experienced at this kind of thing..."

"Don't you worry, my dear." Whithalf reassured. "You kids are much better at this than you think. Remember, you all managed to help win the Gathering of Twilight. You can handle bodyguarding a superpowered singer."

"Man's got a point, Terry." Jinx said. "You've all been doing very well in the training. I think you got this."

"There's a chance someone close to Alison could be connected with the Watchdogs." Jake looked at the elder general. "That's something we have to keep in mind."

"We did background checks on everyone involved with Miss Blaire, from her musicians to even the roadies. We found no known connections to any hate groups, including the Watchdogs."

"Still, we should be wary." Jake said. "There may be new ones we don't know about yet."

"Then we'll just have to be extra careful." Whithalf said to the young superhumans in his charge. "Are there any other questions? No? Then you are all dismissed." The kids all left to get ready, except for one. Jake Wildfire sat in his seat, glaring at the general. "Son, you can go now. I suggest you go get ready." Wordlessly, the young mutant did so. His face was still like stone. General Whithalf sighed as he saw Longshot trying to talk to Jake.

If only I could reach that boy somehow... He thought. Jake and Kyle always hated being on this team, and the Gathering only seems to have made things worse. I wish they could finally get it through their heads that they have friends here and people who care about them...

Well, well, well! It looks like our heroes have a new adventure! What insanity will happen next? Can our heroes protect the Dazzler? Will Longshot get a date with his new dream girl? Will the Red Dragon ever lighten up? And what of the Superstars? Find out in the next chapter!