Issue 99: Star Shattered

Star Shattered is the ninety-ninth issue of the Winx Club Comic Series.

Synopsis
Recently, Stella has been hooked on a TV show about a supernatural hunter called Elvyra, so much so that she has come to know every episode by heart and idolize the leading actress, Jenny Carter. Lucky for her, Jenny is visiting Gardenia to meet with fans, and Stella wastes no time rushing out to Gardenia Park to meet her idol in person. Unfortunately, Stella's good fun does not last long, as Jenny seems to have been plagued with a curse! After seeing what the curse was firsthand, Stella informs the Winx of Jenny's problem, and they agree to help the troubled actress. Though, something about the whole thing does not sit well with Bloom.

Plot
The story starts off in a graveyard with three teens wandering through it. The only girl in the group is tired of her two friends acting scared when breaking into the graveyard was their idea and points out that they are approaching the gate to the exit. However, when the trio of teens reach the gate, it has been closed shut, leaving them trapped inside. One of the boys begins to smell a foul odor and, when they all turn around, they are met by a monstrous tree with snakes sprouting out from it like branches! Just when they think all hope is lost, a blonde girl dressed in black wielding a chainsaw arrives to save them, proclaiming herself to be Elvyra: Terror to Nocturnal Horrors.

As it turns out, the scenario is part of a television series which Stella is a huge fan of. However, Aisha finds the show to be boring while Flora does not like how the tree is the monstrous villain in this episode. Stella tries to quiet the two of them down as a woman on the TV announces that Jenny Carter, the lead actress to the Elvyra TV series, is meeting with fans in Gardenia Park. In less than a second of hearing such a thing, Stella rushes out of the Winx Loft and straight for Gardenia Park to meet with her idol.

In fact, just a few minutes later, Stella arrives at Gardenia Park and fights her way through the crowd to get to Jenny at the center. She manages to catch Jenny's attention and asks her for an autograph. Jenny, in turn, believes that she should be the one asking for an autograph from a member of the famous Winx Club, but despite that, Stella believes that Jenny's autograph would be worth more because she is her idol and she asked for one first. Much to the disdain of most of the people in the crowd, Jenny agrees to give Stella an autograph and admits that Stella came just in time for her to tell her something. As Jenny signs Stella's notepad, Stella goes on about how she has seen every episode of the Elvyra series and that she knows every one by heart. Jenny insists that she has something important to tell Stella and Stella eagerly awaits what she has to say as she believes that Jenny can tell her anything she wants about the show. Jenny insists that they can do that later as now she needs to tell Stella about some disturbingly strange incidents that have been happening to her recently. Stella does not quite catch what Jenny is saying and believes that she is talking about an episode from the Elvyra series called "Disturbing Strangeness," which Stella thinks is one of Jenny's best episodes. She remembers the episode as one where Jenny faces evil blobs and praises her for being able to fight a monster that she most likely could not, but Jenny interrupts her by shouting over how she wishes to tell her something important. Just as Jenny is about to whisper her problem into Stella's ear, a large amount of clear liquid ooze washes over the park! The ooze throws up multiple benches and even captures Jenny!

Once covered in the ooze, Jenny loses control of her body as more of the ooze begins to melt some of the structures in the park and tries to catch others within it. Stella then takes it upon herself to stop the ooze before more people get hurt and transforms into her Believix.

She rushes over to Jenny's side and tries to get her to stop spreading the ooze but Jenny is still unable to control her body. Acting fast, Stella casts her Double Eclipse spell around Jenny and, with enough concentration, releases a powerful Solar Storm that destroys all of the ooze in the park.

With the ooze gone, Stella rushes to Jenny's side to check if she is okay. As she helps Jenny up, Stella realizes that what Jenny was trying to tell her is that strong negative magic has been drawn to her recently and that it constantly makes her into its victim. She then asks if Jenny has any idea why it keeps being drawn to her, but she is still in shock. All she can say is that she tried to contact her sooner but was unsuccessful. Stella apologizes for not listening before and promises to listen now, which prompts Jenny to tell Stella that she has been plagued by a curse that has been ruining her life. Stella promises to help dispel Jenny's curse with her friends so long as she explains the situation calmly and Jenny begins to become ecstatic. After promising to help Jenny a second time, Jenny springs to her feet, eager to meet with the rest of the Winx Club.

A short while later, Stella returns to the Winx Loft with Jenny in tow. After some brief introductions, Jenny admits to being happy that she gets to meet with all of the famous Winx fairies but laments over how her reason is an unpleasant one. Bloom assures Jenny that it is alright and asks if she wants to talk about her problem right now. Jenny decides to begin her tale, starting with the moment where she had to act out her fight scene against a species of giant crocodile, which Stella immediately recognizes as the scene in the episode titled "Terror in the Swamps." Continuing her story, Jenny claims that everything was fine when she had the staff in her hand for the scene, however, a sudden beam of light shot out of her hand! The beam then crashed into the actor playing the giant crocodile and incinerated his entire costume. In the beginning, occurrences like those were few and far between, however, they have been happening much more frequently within the last couple of days; including today where she could not even control her own body against the negative magic.

Jenny begins to tear up as she claims that she will never escape this curse without the Winx's help and Stella tries to reassure the panicking actress that they will help her with this. Just then, Jenny begins to feel faint and Roxy helps her onto the couch before she falls to the floor. Stella offers to get Jenny water as Flora fans her face, but Jenny claims that she does not need any. Suddenly, she springs up from the couch now that it is getting late, meaning that she needs to return to the set of the next Elvyra episode. She asks the Winx if she can count on their help and, after they agree to help her, Jenny dashes out the front door, believing that she can now rest easy knowing that she has the Winx's help.

Once Jenny is gone, Bloom admits that she thinks that there may be something truly wrong with Jenny as her story sounded way too exciting; like she was trying to play it up. Stella insists that Jenny's reactions were reasonable as she may have suffered some kind of trauma, however, Bloom still cannot buy the actress' story. Flora cannot help but feel bad for Jenny, but the girls' train of thought is interrupted by Tecna calling them into her room.

Once the girls all meet up in Tecna's room, she reveals that she has found a story describing the set of the Elvyra series to be cursed. Musa urges for her to read more of the article now that she is intrigued and Tecna does so, telling the girls that the set is said to be cursed because of a string of supernatural occurrences that threaten to cancel the show. Bloom wonders why that would be the case considering that the Elvyra series does not seem to be at risk of facing cancellation and Stella agrees, admitting that she thought it was all a publicity stunt. The two fairies are interrupted by Tecna, who alerts them all of an interview she found; one of Jenny's ex-boyfriend, Cliff Molloy.

In the video, Cliff introduces himself as Jenny's former boyfriend and explains that they broke up because Jenny had been changing a lot recently, even to the point of scaring him. Even though he fears Jenny now, Cliff cannot shake the feeling that something seems to be after Jenny, trying to ruin her life and career.

The girls begin to worry for Jenny's safety as Musa tries to convince Bloom that Jenny's predicament is a serious one. Tecna then alerts the girls to a trend she found out: that all sites Jenny has visited have been described as the various sources to her curse. Realizing that Jenny had just left to go to the set of the latest Elvyra episode, the Winx rush out the door to catch up with her before it is too late.

A short while later, the Winx arrive on the set of the next Elvyra episode and are mesmerized by how lifelike some of the props are. Jenny catches them coming in as someone else is helping her get ready and asks what they are all there for. Aisha and Flora claim that they came to lend her a helping hand and Jenny, touched by their kindness and cooperation, decides to tell her producer so that they may freely wander the set while she is busy. As Jenny is called on set, she introduces the girls to her producer, Albert, who also happened to save Stella from tripping and falling over one of the many wires on the floor.

The girls wander around as Jenny and the set workers get ready to start filming. Albert and Stella talk over how she has the face of an actress and Albert saves Stella from tripping on yet another cable. Aisha and Roxy catch Stella almost tripping and laugh to themselves over how clumsy she is. Meanwhile, Bloom sneaks into Jenny's dressing room to look for her clues, believing in her instincts. Bloom quickly makes it to her desk and finds a letter inside an ornate golden box covered in jewelry. Skimming through the letters, Bloom realizes that they are all love letters that Cliff would send Jenny during their relationship, but she is interrupted by a loud creaking sound.

Outside of the dressing room, the entire set has become warped! Props have come alive and are attacking the set workers, even trying to eat them! Bloom rushes out from Jenny's dressing room to ask what had happened but even the Winx barely know the answer, so the girls promptly go into their Believix to combat the props and put an end to the chaos. As the girls battle the props, Stella notices that the negative magic has begun dragging Jenny away from them! To put a stop to this battle as quickly as possible, Bloom unleashes a powerful Dragon Heart to dispel them all, giving the Winx a chance to chase Jenny down. The girls chase Jenny and the negative magic ooze into one of the doors and find themselves in another completely different area; as if they have been warped into a different world!

Stella suspects that the negative magic is what changed the set but Bloom wants to keep saving Jenny as their main priority. The Winx quickly see that the negative magic ooze is trying to pull Jenny into a nearby villa and pursue it. Once inside the villa, Bloom advises that they all remain alert as she can feel that it is haunted from top to bottom. She realizes that they have been caught in a magical trap and Roxy begins to fear the possibility of being trapped forever in the villa if they do not find Jenny in time. Tecna suspects that Jenny is the true target of the negative magic as it only bothered to snatch her up out of everyone back on set and Bloom praises the two of them for their thoughts as she urges for everyone to pick up the pace.

Suddenly, the seven fairies find themselves in a jungle after barely moving at all! Aisha, Roxy and Stella start to fear the surrounding balls of light and come to the conclusion that they are being watched. Bloom realizes that the balls of light are, in fact, eyes, and the Winx find themselves surrounded by gorilla-like creatures. However, Stella is no longer scared and even identifies the gorilla-like creatures as scimpanzoni! Since the rest of the Winx do not understand, Stella explains that they are from an episode of the Elvyra series titled "Fear Runs on Trees" and that the only way to escape is to overcome all of the dangers and pitfalls from the show. As the scimpanzoni close in on them, Stella flies into the air and urges for the Winx to do the same as she explains that, in the show, Elvyra saves the day by locking the scimpanzoni in a hut. The rest of the girls follow Stella and catch sight of the hut in the distance. They rush for it and, once they are all inside, Roxy slams the door shut. However, it is too soon for the Winx to catch their breath as they now find themselves inside a cemetery!

The seven of them wander the cemetery, keeping their eyes peeled, as Stella tries to remember what episode the set is from. Suddenly, a skeleton emerges from its grave and starts throwing bones at the Winx! While this is happening, Stella remembers that all of this is from another Elvyra episode titled "From the Depths of the Earth," where Elvyra defeated the skeletons when the sun rose. Since they do not have time to wait for the sun to rise, Stella casts her Solar Storm onto the skeletons, defeating them easily.

With the skeletons gone, the Winx soon find themselves in front of a medieval castle and, as they enter it, Stella begins to realize what is going on. When asked what she means, Stella claims that the medieval castle is from an episode titled "The Witch's Daughter," where it is revealed that Elvyra's mother is a witch. Elvyra even discovers that she has witch powers and decides to give them up in order to continue the fight against evil. Musa wonders what that has to do with them and Stella reveals to the girls that the episode tells Jenny's story; that Jenny is a witch herself. Taken aback by such a claim, Musa asks Stella how she could know something like that and Stella answers by simply claiming that she has seen every episode of Elvyra and has come to learn all of them by heart.

She believes that the answer is much simpler than the others think as if something happens in reality as it does in a TV show, then it must mean that it is trying to retell real events. The girls do not try too hard to understand and shrug off Stella's explanation until Stella claims that it is due to this reason that Jenny keeps being kidnapped as she has come to believe that the negative magic is trying to keep Jenny from giving up her powers. Flora starts to feel bad for Jenny as Stella claims that it is not too late to save her. Remembering "The Witch's Daughter," Stella comes to the conclusion that the one behind everything must be Jenny's mother, much like how Elvyra's mother was behind it all in the episode. Just as Stella makes her assumption, a voice shouts from behind the Winx that Stella's hunch was correct and the girls all turn around to find Jenny standing arrogantly behind them.

Jenny praises Stella on her intuitive deductions and reveals that her mother is not involved in any of this nor does she plan on giving up her negative magic. She then admits to being scared of Stella when they first met as she had thought Stella had come to realize her whole plan, and this fear caused Jenny to improvise by asking for help and putting on an act. As she brags about being such a good actress, Stella lashes out at Jenny for deceiving her as she was her idol. Ignoring Stella's accusations, Jenny declares that she will defeat all of the Winx now that they are within her magical trap and, with them gone, her career as a witch can progress without any obstacles standing in her way. Stella then shouts at Jenny's selfish wishes as doing so will destroy the Elvyra series and she will be tossing aside both her fans and her acting career. Jenny scoffs at Stella as she claims that she never cared for Elvyra or her acting career and admits that she only used the show as a way to practice her negative magic. She proclaims that the only thing that matters to her now is becoming the strongest witch that ever lived, however, Jenny is interrupted by a voice from behind asking if she truly only cared for that goal.

Jenny turns around to find that Cliff was somehow able to enter her trap and demands to know how is was capable of doing so. Cliff claims that he came looking for Jenny after hearing about her "curse" and what happened on set earlier in the day but, when he arrived, he found himself in a crazy new place. Bloom then cuts in to reveal that she had found letters from Cliff in Jenny's dressing room. She noticed that the letters were only a few days old and she became sad to know that Jenny stopped writing to him. Bloom insists that she understands that Jenny still cares for Cliff just as he still loves her as the very act of keeping all of his letters was proof enough for her to see that. As Bloom tries to continue, Jenny yells at her to mind her own business as she had no right to go through her things, but she is interrupted by Cliff, who now wants to know if Jenny still loves him. Jenny is unable to answer Cliff and when asked why she cannot give an answer, she claims that it does not matter whether she still loves him or not as she still has a mission to accomplish. Enraged, Cliff claims that Jenny never cared for him and reminds her that the only reason they broke up was because of her lust for power and her big ego. Jenny even admits to knowing that and claims that practicing witchcraft had always been her dream. She then accuses the Winx of being nuisances to her as, without them, Gardenia and destiny would already be within her grasp. Jenny tries to shove Cliff aside as she still believes that she must rid herself of her problem but Roxy insists that she will be sorely mistaken if she believes that the Winx can be taken down so easily.

Without warning, Jenny launches red lightning from her hands at Roxy, knocking the young fairy unconscious! Bloom rushes over to her unconscious friend as she accuses Jenny of being a coward and Stella tries to retaliate by launching her Dance of the Sun spell at Jenny, however, Jenny is able to block the spell with a shield made of negative magic. Tecna begins to suspect that they may have underestimated Jenny beforehand, but Stella suddenly has an idea in mind. Reminding herself of what happens in "The Witch's Daughter," Stella tells the girls that Elvyra defeated the villains by using a reflective spell. Stella then distracts Jenny by insisting that she show them the full extent of her powers if she still believes herself to be such a powerful witch. Taking Stella up on her challenge, Jenny channels all of the negative magic ooze through a spell called "Power of the World" and launches it at the Winx. In that moment, Musa uses her Magical Echo spell to shield herself and the Winx as it also deflects Jenny's attack. Stella taunts Jenny for forgetting what happened on her own TV series and, once Jenny lands helpless on the floor, Flora restrains her arms through the use of magical vines.

With Jenny soundly defeated, Bloom tends to Roxy, asking if she is alright. Roxy assures her that she is fine, but she did not expect Jenny to use a surprise attack. As the rest of the Winx approach Roxy to tend to her, Stella reflects on everything that had happened; that the Jenny she came to admire and idolize on TV was nothing like the real Jenny Carter. Speaking of Jenny, the girls mull over what to do with her, until Bloom declares that they will take Jenny to the only place they know suitable for witches: Cloud Tower.

Bloom believes that, with Headmistress Griffin's help, Jenny will come to understand her powers and, more importantly, understand what it truly means to be a witch. Jenny orders for the Winx to let her go and as she struggles, Stella takes notice of Cliff, whose demeanor seems to have worsened through the course of their battle. She tries to cheer Cliff up by telling him not to lose heart and insists that all of this simply meant that Jenny was not his true love. Cliff tells Stella that he knows this but he cannot help that he still has a lingering love for Jenny and he even tells Jenny that he wants to forgive her, even after everything she did. Unfortunately, Cliff's words are lost on Jenny as the power-hungry witch does not want his forgiveness. Bloom then claims that there are people in the world who do not know how to feel regret and, almost as if she pities Jenny, Bloom looks away as she has Aisha and Musa take her away to Cloud Tower.

Bloom then returns to Cliff, assuring him that a good girl who will truly love him will come around in due time. As Cliff hopes that Bloom's words will ring true, Stella huffs over having to find a new TV show to follow now that Elvyra will most definitely be canceled. Roxy tells Stella to find one that is much less dangerous and, as they all leave Jenny's magical labyrinth, Stella jokingly asks the girls how the show "Lying on the Beach" sounds. Flora laughs over how the title sounds like a promising one and Bloom adds that even if a witch ends up being casted on that show, they can still get quite the tan then. Cliff, Tecna and Roxy laugh as they exit the labyrinth and Jenny is hauled off to Cloud Tower in the other direction.

Spells Used

 * Double Eclipse - Used by Stella to create a dome around Jenny in preparation for her next spell.
 * Solar Storm - Used by Stella to completely disperse the negative ooze that was controlling Jenny's actions with full concentration. Used a second time to destroy the skeletons that emerged from their graves.
 * Harmonious Attack - Used by Musa against one of the living props, freeing a set worker that it ate.
 * Heart of the Dragon - Used by Bloom to destroy all of the animated props.
 * Lightning of Nazgaroth - Used by Jenny to attack and incapacitate Roxy without warning.
 * Dance of the Sun - Used by Stella in an unsuccessful attack against Jenny.
 * Protective Shield of Sandor - Used by Jenny to protect herself from Stella's Dance of the Sun.
 * Power of the World - Used by Jenny to summon up the full extent of her powers.
 * Magical Echo - Used by Musa to deflect Jenny's attack.
 * Plant Growth - Used by Flora to restrain Jenny.

Mistakes

 * The Winx's Believix forms hold minor errors and changes throughout this issue.
 * In her Believix's first appearance, Stella's top is slightly altered as the sleeves do not cover her shoulders, allowing for dark fuchsia straps to be seen. For the rest of the issue, her top is drawn correctly but her gloves go missing.
 * Bloom's gloves are full ones instead of fingerless ones.
 * Musa's gloves are missing.
 * Flora's bracelets are missing.
 * Tecna's shorts-half of her jumpsuit goes missing, making it look like she is wearing a leotard, her sleeves are much longer and are missing their cuts, and gloves are not fingerless.
 * Aisha's glove and bracelet are missing.
 * Roxy's long sleeve is missing.
 * On page 26, as Jenny attacks the Winx, a speech bubble with the phrase "Magical Eco!" is pointed at Jenny, though, it is highly likely that it was meant to be Musa shouting the name of her spell, Magical Echo.

Debuts

 * Jenny Carter
 * Cliff Molloy
 * Albert
 * Unnamed Set Workers

Characters

 * The Winx Club
 * Bloom
 * Stella
 * Musa
 * Flora
 * Tecna
 * Aisha
 * Roxy


 * Enemies
 * Jenny Carter
 * Humans
 * Cliff Molloy
 * Albert
 * Unnamed Set Workers
 * Cloud Tower Staff
 * Griffin (mentioned)

Trivia

 * This is the first comic to present a witch from Earth.
 * Throughout the course of the issue, Stella lists a few notable episodes from the Elvyra TV series which are "Disturbing Strangeness," "Terror in the Swamps," "Fear Runs on Trees," "From the Depths of the Earth" and "The Witch's Daughter."