| Roll Call: |
|---|
 Muskateer |
 Enchantress |
 Firestar |
 Nightingale |
 Texas Ranger |
 Thing |
Guest Starring: Satara |
"Hi, Ben!", Firestar cheerfully waved as she flew circles around the descending Quinnjet.
It was midday at the Carstairs Estate in the San Fernando Valley. The Avengers main mode of transportation had arrived a few moments ago to pick up those team members who had stayed behind to recover from injuries they had sustained in the battle against the Crimson Claw. Upon spotting the approaching Quinnjet, Firestar had taken flight to greet the incoming craft.
"Lookin' good, small fry!", Benjamin Grimm yelled back in response. He couldn't recall seeing the young Avenger looking so cheerful before. This little vacation must have been enjoyable for Firestar.
Under the Thing's expert piloting, the Quinnjet landed out behind the main house and the private clinic, kicking up loose dirt and gravel as it touched down. Once on the ground, Ben powered down the engine and put the craft in standby mode. He then exited the cockpit and proceeded to open the side hatch. Firestar landed nearby.
"Ready ta head back ta the Big Apple?", Ben asked as he climbed down from the Quinnjet.
"Yeah, I'm ready to go home," Firestar answered as she casually approached. She stopped, suddenly realizing what she had just said. "That's funny. I never really thought of the Avengers Mansion as my home before. That is until I was out here. Maybe I'm not as homesick as I thought I was."
"Maybe yer just realizing that ya really are an Avenger, small fry."
"You might be right, Ben. For a long time I wondered what I was doing here; if I even fitted in. Maybe I've sub-consciously put those concerns to rest."
Off in the distance, the two Avengers could see the other passengers approaching. The Texas Ranger in his white cowboy-esque costume was leading the way. Behind him were the masters of this estate, the Blood warrior Blade and his wife, Bryn. With them was their daughter Satara. She and Firestar had become fast friends during this mini-vacation. Bringing up the rear were Muskateer and the Enchantress, both wearing new versions of their costumes. (Editor's Note: See Muskateer #16 & 17 for more details.)
"That's good ta hear, kiddo", answered the Thing. "Sounds like ya've come to terms with bein' Blood too."
"I suppose. Probably as best as I can. I have to admit that it has been interesting learning about them, learning about my family." In her mind's eye, Firestar's thoughts wandered back to a long discussion that she had with Blade upon that very subject last Monday morning...
Cassandra sat up and sighed. She vainly looked around for a clock but none was in sight. It was still night outside, though she was wide awake. The others in the makeshift recovery ward were sound asleep, courtesy of the medication given to them by the doctors.
"I think I'm up for the duration," Cassie muttered to herself. Given the time difference, it was quite possibly already morning on the East Coast. Tossing her cover sheet aside, she rose from the couch. A simple act of concentration and her nightgown was replaced by her standard Firestar costume.
The young Avenger quietly made her way to the door and exited the dark room. The hallway outside was equally quiet. Firestar silently made her way through the private clinic. A few of the nurses brought from Sanctuary were still up, but didn't pay her any attention. Her own minor wounds had already been healed the day before. (Editor's Note: As seen in X-Factor #5)
The door to one of the private rooms opened and Nightingale emerged. Sensing Firestar's presence, she turned to face her teammate and student. "Good morning, Firestar. You're certainly up and about early."
"Hi, 'Gale. I couldn't sleep any more. 'Sides, looks like I'm not the only one up early."
"Depends on your perspective," 'Gale answered with a shrug. "I'm running on Sanctuary time now-a-days. For me, it feels like two o'clock in the morning. For you, I would imagine that it's about seven AM."
"Oh, yeah," Firestar said catching on to what Nightingale was saying. "Forgot about the time difference. How is everyone doing?"
"Resting comfortably. We were fortunate that there were not more serious injuries."
"That's good," Cassie answered in relief. "I was really worried. I've never seen anything like this before. Can't recall when so many heroes have been hurt before. It's kind of scary. You always think that everyone is so invulnerable."
"The difficult part is just beginning," Nightingale offered. "Trying to keep these highly active individuals still long enough to heal, now that's going to be a challenge."
Firestar just smiled slightly. She had to agree with Nightingale on that point. She couldn't imagine someone like Muskateer just laying around and resting. "Well, I'll let you get back to work. Nice to see you again. Oh, we still on for our next class?"
"Most certainly. And you will be seeing more of me. At Black Diamond's pressuring, I'll be returning to the group, but only in a reservist capacity."
"That's great. I'll be seeing you then. Bye."
Firestar wandered out of the Clinic and made her way towards the main house. She was feeling hungry and hoped she could find something to eat in the kitchen. "Its lovely here," Firestar thought to herself as she made her way through on the gardens. The sweet smell of flowers filled the air with their pleasant aroma.
The Estate belonged to Blade and Bryn Carstairs, who were Firestar's aunt and uncle. It was a revelation that had only been discovered a little over a day ago. That made Firestar 'one of the Blood', which was something that she didn't really know the meaning of. Bryn had taken the time to fill her niece in on some of the family history, but there was a lot more to be told.
A light on in the kitchen told Firestar that there were still others up at this late hour. Opening the screen door, Firestar entered the large and spacious kitchen to find Blade already awake and cooking.
"Morning, Firestar. You've risen early." Blade was dressed in only trunks and a cooking apron. He was an impressive physical specimen. There was no trace of body fat on his muscular form. A clock on the wall told her that it was a little after four AM, local time.
"Mornin'. I couldn't sleep anymore."
"That's understandable," Blade responded with a glance and smile. "Come on in, I'll make you something to eat. Some of the other guests are awake as well and I'm cooking for them, so there's room for one more. Besides we can chat for a while. I imagine that you have lots of questions about us."
Firestar moved closer, tentatively at first, and took a seat on a stool across from where Blade was cooking. "Thanks. I think I'd like that a lot."
"How would you like your eggs?"
"Over easy is fine."
Blade looked up once more. "You sure you want something that simple? I am a full fledged chef."
"I have simple tastes, uncle," Firestar answered with a shrug. "Fancy food doesn't appeal to me much."
"As you wish." Blade reached over to a nearby bowl and pulled two eggs out. Cracking them in his fingers, their contents dropped onto the griddle. "Its unusual for someone to grow up completely unaware that they are of the Blood."
"Just me and my brother," Firestar answered. "Or so I am told."
"Correct. But, you seem to be taking it much better than Richard did. He had several nervous breakdowns after learning of his heritage. Even briefly operating as a criminal."
"That's not very comforting."
"No, I imagine that it's not. But for better or for worse, it's part of your heritage. Not all Blood go mad. That's just a myth perpetuated by the Bloodletter."
Toast popped out of a nearby toaster. Firestar rose from her stool and maneuvered towards the counter.
"Sit, relax," Blade directed. "You're my guest. I'll take care of that."
"S'okay. I'm used to helping out. Did it all the time back home with my mom. Or rather my step mom." There was a trace of homesickness in Firestar's voice as she searched for a plate to put the toast on.
"It sounds as though you miss your stepmother." Blade pointed towards the cabinet that held the plates.
"Yeah... Don't get me wrong, being in the Avengers is a blast, but I do sometimes wonder why they picked me. They're really nice to me, but they're not my mother. Until yesterday, she was all the family that I had." Upon completing her task with the toast, Firestar went to the refrigerator looking for juice. With a glass of orange juice and toast in hand, she returned to her stool. "There's so much for me to learn," Firestar lamented.
"Then perhaps I should just start from the beginning?"
"Please do."
"According to legend, our progenitor, Azor, was born on Earth some twenty thousand years ago. Quite possibly he was the first true mutant. He possessed awesome powers and at some point transported himself and a horde of followers to another earth-like world. That world is my home, a planet we call Ean."
"Azor appeared to be immortal. As such, he bore many children, each of which possessed what you would consider to be superpowers. The average Blood possesses the ability to teleport themselves, enhanced vision, and some sort of lethal energy discharge. However, there are those who do not follow these standards. They are considered to have 'sport' abilities."
"Once on Ean, the followers built cities and raised nations with Azor as their god-emperor. The children of Azor were considered 'of the Blood of Azor'. Over time this was just shortened to being 'of the Blood' or just plain 'Blood'. Since Azor himself was immortal, its only natural that each of his children possesses an unusually long life span."
"You think that I'm immortal?" The idea of living forever was a dual edged sword. It was appealing on the one hand and very frightening on the other.
"Probably not. Let me ask you a question." Blade stopped his work for a moment and looked directly into Firestar's blue eyes. "How old do you think I am?"
"If I had to guess, I'd say about thirty-five."
Blade grinned in approval. "Most kind, but I was born in what would correspond to the Earth year of 1899."
A look of astonishment came to Firestar's face. "No way!"
"It's true. I am eighty-seven years old."
"Wow!", Firestar whistled in amazement. "I only hope I age that gracefully."
"Most likely, you will. You may not live forever, but quite possibly several times longer than a normal human would. Anyway, back to my tale. Some ten thousand years ago, Azor ascended to godhood. His rulership was replaced by a council of Blood, each representing the nine city-states of Ean. Hence, they were called the Council of Nine."
"Since Azor had taken normal humans to Ean, there are two distinct social classes on my home world. The lower class of normal humans, and what could be considered a noble class composed entirely of Blood. In addition, Ean did not develop as fast as Earth did with technology. The powers possessed by the Blood did tend to suppress the need for technology."
"Something like not needing explosives, since energy blasts were common among the Blood nobles?", Firestar offered. "Or cars for transportation since you can teleport at will?"
"Exactly. As the human saying goes, 'Necessity is the mother of invention'. Necessity is most lacking on Ean. If you wish to compare, Ean is about as technologically advanced as Earth was during its middle ages."
"Sounds primitive. I don't think I could live without my CD player."
"My own children would tend to agree with you."
"But that doesn't explain what you are doing here on Earth."
"I am getting to that," Blade explained as he handed Firestar a plate with her eggs. She added some seasoning and began to eat. "The Council of Nine has ruled ever since the ascension of Azor. But some Blood feel that they were suppressing knowledge of certain things, hiding details about our history. Among those who were leery of the Council of Nine was my father, Pathfinder, and his brother, Warrior."
"Do all Blood have such odd names? I mean, who would name their kid Pathfinder?"
The question gave Blade a chuckle. "Being nobility, Blood are often given long, flowery titles that reflect their power, their personality. Pathfinder's given name is Otto, 'he who finds the paths', hence his nickname is Pathfinder."
"So your father, my grandfather, possessed the ability to find trails? That doesn't sound like much of a power."
"Pathfinder is able to find 'trails' leading to different dimensions, even different times and take others with him. That makes it a fairly impressive power. To be more correct, you could say that 'he could find paths between times and dimensions'."
"Okay, maybe he's a bit more impressive than I thought then. That would make Blade your nickname?", Firestar deduced.
"My given name is Danar, 'he who wields the blades'."
"Or just Blade for short."
"Precisely. I would imagine that your Blood name would be something along the lines of, 'Cassandra, she who wields the fire of stars'."
"Hmmm...", Firestar muttered contemplatively. "That actually sounds pretty cool."
"Getting back to the story, Warrior and Pathfinder had learned of the world of our origin, Earth. This knowledge had been suppressed by the Council of Nine for thousands of years. They couldn't figure out why. What could the Council be hiding?"
"So, the brothers decided to find out for themselves. Like my father, I too was fascinated by the myth of Earth as were my brothers and sisters. We all agreed to accompany Pathfinder and Warrior on their journey to Earth, each of us having our own personal reasons. The plan was for us to explore Earth and return home using Pathfinder's time-walking ability to make it seem like we had never left."
"What went wrong?"
"To this day, I am not completely certain. Pathfinder and Warrior went off to speak privately shortly after our arrival. None of us ever saw Warrior again. When my father returned, he announced that Warrior had departed to conduct his investigations in private and that in the meantime we should explore to our hearts' content."
"That seems really odd," Firestar replied. "What do you think really happened?"
"I fear that Pathfinder did something to Warrior. Perhaps dumping him into another dimension. Maybe even slaying his own brother. I cannot be certain."
"You think your father killed his own brother?!" Cassie dropped her fork in shock.
"I would not be surprised," Blade answered with a nonchalant shrug. "My father was emotionally unstable, if not slightly mad. And you have to realize that we all grew up in an environment vastly different from yours. We were all the earthly equivalent of Lords and Ladies, above Ean law and completely lacking in strong morality. Our progenitor did consider himself to be a god, after all. Why should his children be bound by petty rules meant for lesser beings?"
"I see your point," Firestar conceded.
"From there, we all took off in different directions. I later discovered that we had arrived in the city of Leinster, Missouri on a June night in 1927."
"I traveled south in this strange new land, learning the language and experiencing several adventures. I became a professional soldier, not too surprising for one of my background. I offered my services to Great Britain during our Second World War and was a covert operative behind enemy lines. That was when I first met Bryn."
"She was also a spy?"
"No. My Bryn is a most extraordinary woman." Firestar couldn't help but notice the pride in Blade's voice whenever he spoke about his wife. "Her bloodline contains a trace of the ancient Norse deities. As such, she has been blessed with great strength, physical toughness, and longevity." Blade leaned closer to Firestar, and whispered. "Don't tell your Aunt I told you, but she's seventy-one years old."
"I never would have guessed," Firestar answered with a mischievous grin, she too having leaned closer to hear this secret.
"Before the rise of Hitler, Bryn left her native Germany and came to America to study medicine. That is the wonderful contradiction about Bryn. She has been blessed with a most compassionate spirit who takes delight in nursing the sick and injured back to full health. Even those she managed to injure in the first place."
"Sounds like she has a hair trigger temper."
"That she does. When war broke out, Bryn returned home. Not to fight for either side, but to tend to her friends and family. She had been reduced to hiding in a cave outside of Berlin. I had been injured in combat, but managed to slip away. I crawled into that particular cave, thinking I would be safe. Bryn thought me an invader and beat me senseless. Then she proceeded to nurse me back to health."
"Never had I encountered such a woman in my life! Not on Ean, nor on Earth. I swore to win her heart. It took a mere nine years to make her my wife. We returned to the states and bought this land. Shortly thereafter, our union produced Sabre. About a decade later, we had Satara who I believe is your age."
"What happened to the rest of your family? And my father?"
"Ah, yes. I got sidetracked with the particulars of my own story. As for my other siblings, years passed before I found out later what became of them. Or was forced to deduce what happened."
"Your aunts, Jilen and Sala, departed Leinster together. Sala was the youngest of the family, but she was a beauty. She gravitated towards wealthy society, her looks opening many doors. Sala has married twice and bore one son who is commonly known as Commodore."
"Jilen was about as opposite from Sala as you could get. She was a brooding, secretive, and a very unhappy woman. The only thing that brought her joy was her art. She married and had twins in 1962, Marie and Jacques."
"That would be Marie DeBray? The one who sees the future?", Firestar asked.
"The same. But I'll hit upon their story in a moment. I'm sorry to say, but neither of my brothers are rational or sane men."
"Somehow, I was afraid of that."
"It's not your fault, Cassandra," Blade answered in a soothing tone. "You are not to blame for the acts of your parents. Tyrkan was a cruel, emotionless man. I later discovered that he single-handedly burned Leinster to the ground. From there, he wandered the countryside, burning things as he went."
"That's just lovely," Firestar stated with a heavy sigh. "My father makes Blowtorch look like an amateur."
"At some point, Tyrkan actually married and settled down in New York City. That's when your half-brother Richard was born. Tyrkan eventually tired of married life and left, burning down things as he went. I lost track of him at that point. Although obviously he came into contact with your mother at some point."
"How can you be sure that Tyrkan is my father? Why not your other brother?"
"I am absolutely certain that Affrighter is not your father. You see, my other brother is even more deranged than Tyrkan. His reason for coming to earth was to accumulate power. Legend foretold that Azor gained his power on Earth, so Affrighter reasoned he could grow in power here as well. He seeks nothing less than godhood itself! So far, his bizarre schemes have failed. But, we have learned that Affrighter is incapable of siring children on his own. As such, he has attempted to steal his own nephews and nieces and corrupt them toward his vile ways."
"Oh, great," Firestar remarked, casting her gaze towards the ceiling. "And I thought Genocide and IMAGE were bad enough. Now I've got a insane uncle after me as well."
"You'll have to add the Bloodletter to the list also. His mission on Earth is to slay all Blood."
"This just gets better and better. How does this Bloodletter figure into all this?"
"Since we never returned to Ean, the Council of Nine realized that we had pierced the barriers between dimensions. They kept an order of assassins, the Black Guard, to enforce their will on the other Blood. In time they became known as the Bloodletters. A Bloodletter was dispatched to Earth to kill us all."
"Has he ever succeeded?"
"Unfortunately, yes. He first chose to attack Sala in Rhode Island. He vastly underestimated her abilities and paid a serious price." Seeing Firestar's confusion, Blade added, "Sala can trigger earthquakes. She destroyed an entire city block while escaping the Bloodletter. It wasn't until many years later that the Bloodletter returned to hunt us."
"Sala was also the first target of Affrighter, shortly after she had sired her son. She dumped a tenement on him for his trouble. Affrighter never crossed Sala again after that. Next, he learned of Sabre and came to take him. I hurt my brother, but I didn't kill him. He did learn his lesson and mostly left my children alone."
"Unfortunately, Jilen became his first success. Affrighter learned of the birth of her twins and sought to claim them. He broke into her Paris flat, killed her husband and took the children. To make matters worse, the Bloodletter appeared and attacked both Blood. To his credit, Affrighter tried to fight off the Bloodletter, but failed to save Jilen. She was killed by the Bloodletter."
"So that's what Bryn meant when she said that Marie's had a difficult life."
"Exactly. Jacques fell under Affrighter's vile influence. Marie, thanks to her precognitive abilities, was always able to stay ahead of Affrighter and his attempts to condition her. In time, the Commodore rescued Marie, but was forced to slay Jacques in the process."
"How horrible..."
"Marie didn't blame her cousin, but rather Affrighter. In fact, she joined up with the Commodore and often serves as his first mate. I know we can never make up for what happened to Marie, but we have to try. She's a lovely girl, though her powers put off most people."
"I can imagine." Firestar rose and went to the refrigerator to refill her juice glass. As she did, Satara strolled into the kitchen, yawning. She only wore shorts and a cutoff t-shirt that left her midrift bare. Her long blonde hair was currently unbraided and hung down her back. Satara's physique was as chiseled as her fathers.
"Hey, dad. Something smells really good in here."
"I figured you be in here before too long," Blade answered with a grin. Both of his children were hardy eaters. He had her plate ready before she took her seat next to Firestar.
"Mornin', cousin," Satara stated with a smile. "It's so refreshing to have family near my own age. It's not like we can pal around with normals very easily."
"I know what you mean," Firestar answered in agreement. "I was always worried about burning someone."
"Or breaking their bones in my case." Satara hungrily dug into her breakfast. "Normal people are just way too fragile."
"I was just bring Cassandra up to date on the family," Blade explained and he transferred food to awaiting plates. The plates were then covered to keep them warm and placed in a upright cart for transportation over to the clinic.
"About the only thing we haven't covered is my brother-- Richard, I believe you said his name was?"
"Richard McLean is his birth name. Tyrkan abandoned him, and his mother, at a very young age. He does not have any significant memories of his father."
"Join the club," Cassie added sarcastically.
"You said it, cuz!", Satara chimed in. "Tyrkan sounds like a real jerk!"
"His mother died when he was a teen. Richard gravitated into petty crime and eventually came under the influence of one of the local syndicate bosses."
"Rich isn't starting to sound too hot either," Firestar interrupted. "He was a gang member?"
"For a time. And you have to realize that this was before his Blood powers actually surfaced. For some reason it took longer for his abilities to appear than normal."
"That's weird. I've had mine for several years now."
"Most likely a side effect of your entering puberty," Satara inserted. "It happens to many mutants as well. Although, late bloomers are not unheard of."
"To make a long story short," Blade continued, "Richard turned states evidence against the mob boss. The syndicate responded with an attempt to kill Richard by tossing him out of a seventh story window. It was at that moment his Blood abilities surfaced. He glided to the ground instead of falling."
"Might have had something to do with the adrenalin surge he no doubt was experiencing," Satara suggested.
Firestar shrugged in agreement. "Then what happened, uncle?"
"Richard used his newfound abilities to bring the criminal syndicate to justice. Donning a black costume, be became known as Phosphene."
"Can't say that I've really heard of him," Firestar announced. "But I'm not a native New Yorker either."
"You were still a child as well," Bladed added. "During this time, Phosphene was recognized by the Commodore and told about his Blood heritage. Richard took it well at first, but as time wore on he began to suffer a minor nervous breakdown. For a time he lived with his Aunt Sala, who managed to shake him out his depression. But it was only temporary as he suffered another breakdown. A new persona was forged in this period-- one that sought not to help others, but rather to diminish them. Richard became the Phantasm."
"I think I did hear about Phantasm for a while. But he disappeared a few years back, didn't he?"
"In a matter of speaking, he did disappear, Cassandra. When we learned that the Phantasm was Blood, we approached him seeking to meet a new family member. Instead, we discovered that it was instead Richard in a new identity. We managed to capture him and restore his sanity, but to this day he is still not the same man he had been. Occasionally he operates as Phosphene or as the Phantasm, but being a superhero is now a low priority."
"Okay, I'll bite," Cassie stated. "What's he do now?"
"Richard has parlayed his knowledge of criminals into a career in writing mystery novels. He uses the pseudonym of 'Matt Quarry'."
"Can't say that name rings a bell. But then I don't read many mysteries."
"He's been mildly successful. I believe that he may be in town negotiating a movie contract for one of his books. If I can get a hold of him, perhaps we can bring you two together."
"Sounds okay to me, uncle."
"That pretty much covers everything involving our little family."
Firestar was silent for a time, considering everything that she had heard. "It just occurred to me. Are there any other Blood on Earth apart from your family?"
"Not that I'm aware of."
"But it is possible that there are other Bloods. And it is also possible that someone outside of your family could be my father."
"It is possible," Blade conceded. "However, the Bloodletter has never attacked anyone outside of my family. It seems very unlikely that other Bloods have made it to Earth."
"It was just a thought." Now finished with her breakfast, Firestar took her plates to the sink and washed them. Satara followed suit. "Anything I can do to help?"
"Actually, yes there is something you girls can do. Would you mind delivering some of the meals I've been making?"
"Not at all, uncle."
"Sure thing, dad."
Satara simply picked up the cart holding the breakfast trays and carefully carried it to the clinic. Cassie opened up doors along the way.
"It must be nice to be so strong," Cassie remarked as the pair crossed the short distance between the main house and the clinic.
"It's got its pros and cons, cuz. You know, some of your Avenger teammates are going to be staying in the clinic for a few days. Why doncha stay out here as well? I think it'd be a blast to have you around for a few days. And you can find out more about us. And we about you."
Cassie considered for a time. "That does sound like a lot of fun. If Black Diamond can spare me then, sure I'll hangout for a few days."
"Okay!"
Cassie's mind snapped back to reality as the Carstairs family came closer to give their goodbyes. In the background, Muskateer and the Enchantress entered into the Quinnjet.
Bryn gave Firestar a big hug. "Feel free to come back anytime. We loved having you as a guest."
"Thanks, Aunt Bryn," Firestar answered with a grin. "I may just do that one of these days soon."
"Bryn speaks for both of us," Blade added as he too hugged his niece and gave her a piece of paper. "You're a delightfully refreshing young lady. Here is the last location I have for Sala. I'm sure she'd like to meet you."
"Thank you, uncle. I'll be in touch."
Satara was the last to approach. The two cousins clasped hands. "This week has been a blast. We've got to do it again sometime."
"It's been fun," Firestar added with a grin.
"Don't forget what we talked about, okay?"
"Hey, small fry!" Turning, Firestar could see Ben Grimm at the hatch of the Quinnjet. "Next stop: the Big Apple! You comin' or not?"
"I'll be right there, Ben." Turning back to Satara, Firestar said, "I'll consider it, cuz."
"You do that," Satara answered. She, and her parents, stepped away from the Quinnjet as Firestar climbed on board. A few moments later, the Quinnjet rose slowly into the sky. Once at a sufficient altitude, the craft rapidly accelerated, quickly fading over the distant mountains.
