Chapter One: The Legend of Jack D. Sparrow

He could hear them.

James D. Hawkins could hear the fists flying towards him. He could hear himself falling to the ground. But still he stood strong.

The fists came, and he fell over.

"Hah!" Scroop laughed as he pushed the kid over. "Not so tough now, are you Hawkins? Who's going to come and save you? Is your pirate friend Captain Silver going to rescue you? Or are you going to hide behind your mommy's skirt?"

James gritted his teeth. He could hear the words come out of his mouth before they did. "Don't say it." He snarled.

"Or maybe your daddy's going to come back from the World Navy in the nick of time and save you?"

"Shut up!" James yelled. He could hear their attacks against his heart beat, and he ducked as a pair of fists flew over his head. He tackled Scroop the ground and started hitting him as hard as he could.

But Scroop had always been stronger. "Hey Jimmy." Scroop sneered, as he grabbed Jame's wrists. "You ever see what happens to a fruit when you squeeze real hard?"

And he squeezed real hard, with the same strength that earned him the nickname 'Red-handed Scroop'. James yelled and writhed in pain. He hoped nobody came. He didn't want to feel the shame of being rescued again. He wanted to beat Snoops himself.

"Hey now, that's enough!" Doctor Doppler came around the corner, and James struggled to hold his tears in. "Get away from him you hooligans!"

"James throwed rocks at us!" Scroop yelled, shoving James off of him and getting up. "Then he tackled me! See? I'm bruised!"

"Really? Well maybe I'll add a few more. Off with you now!"

Doppler chased the children away, and then picked up James. "Stop it!" James yelled, shoving himself out of Doppler's arms and falling to the ground. "I can walk on my own!"

"Yes, but if I carry you then your mother will be more sympathetic." Doctor Doppler said.

"I don't need her sympathy!" James yelled. "I'll take my chances."

As the pair of them walked back to the Benbow Inn, James felt his heart beat get back to normal. It's beat soothed him, and started to permeate his being. Soon, he began to hear again, like a bat. He could hear things going on all over his little town on the small rocky island in the East Blue.

James' mom ran the Benbow Inn, and his dad left her to join the World Navy soon after the Golden Age of Piracy began. She was always so overprotective of him. When Doppler took him home, he was immediately swept up in her arms, given a few beats on the head for scaring her, and sent up to bed to get some rest.

It was almost nighttime when his mother walked back in. "Alright James, you've had a trying ordeal today. Do you want me to read you a story?"

"I don't need a story." James said. "I'm a big boy!"

"You're right maybe you don't." She shrugged and began to leave. "Ah well. I was getting ready to tell you the story of the One Piece, but I guess if you're not interested…"

"No! No!" James jumped out of his bed and tugged his mom's dress, trying to pull her back into the room. "I want a story! I want a story!"

She laughed, and picked him up. "A story it is then." She deposited him on his bed and picked a book up from her shelves. "The story of the One Piece, and Captain Jack D. Sparrow, the pirate king."

"He has the same middle name as me!" James yelled.

"That he does." His mother laughed. "Now…"

"In all of the Blues, there was never a pirate like Captain Jack Sparrow. The All Blues Trading Company feared him more than any other pirate alive. He and his crew would swoop in, out of nowhere, and vanish without a trace."

"The World Nobles were terrified. To harm them was a crime so terrible –"

"That hurting one would mean one of the Admirals came after you, right?" James asked.

"Who's telling the story?"

"Eep!"

"Yes, hurting a World Noble means an Admiral is sent after you, but Jack didn't care. He was clever enough to beat anybody who tried to hurt him, or his crew. They say that he would swoop in on Marine ships and then Vanish without a trace."

"When he was captured, the World Government and the All Blue Trading Company breathed a collective sigh of relief. They held him for a week, trying to figure out where he kept all of the treasure he stole from them."

"When he wouldn't talk, they began to be nervous about his crew coming to save him. So they held an execution."

"But when he was asked for his last words, he just smiled and said…"

James and his mother said the words together.

"You want my treasure! You can have it! I left all of my treasure in one place… now all you have to do is find it!"

"And so, the Golden Age of Piracy began, and everybody set sail for the Grand Line in search of treasure."

James' mother put the storybook away, and James tucked himself in. "Mom?" He asked.

"Yes sweety?"

"Do you think I could be the Pirate King one day?"

"Wah!" She froze, an almost comical expression on her face.

"Do you think I could sail the Grand Line and find the One Piece?"

"James D. Hawkins, did that man Silver give you this idea?"

"No!" James yelled. It was only a half-truth. He looked up to 'Long John' Silver like a father. He didn't want him to get in trouble with his mom. But he didn't entirely get the idea to be a pirate from him either.

Pirates… they meant adventure. He wanted that. He wanted to go on an adventure with his friends, to the end of the world. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life on this island, he wanted to go everywhere and see everything.

"Well good." She said. "You're not going to be the Pirate King James Hawkins. Nobody's found the One Piece, and nobody ever will. You're going to be a Marine, like your dad."

James humphed and turned over in his bed, pulling the covers up. He heard his mother wait for a while, before whispering 'I love you' and turning the lights out.

Then he crept out of bed and picked up the book again.

He ducked under his bed and opened the book up, for the hundredth time seeing the picture of Captain Jack D. Sparrow on the execution stand. He probably saw things that James could only dream of. Here's hoping he'd have many adventures when he got older.

Now… all you have to do is find it!

Jim D. Hawkins felt the wind through his hair.

The Marine jacket of his fluttered in the breeze as he zoomed around the shore. He'd designed his board himself; it was one of a kind. Even Doctor Doppler was impressed when he'd seen it, but Jim hadn't given it to him for the A.B.T.C. science division to study.

This was his.

He held on tightly to the sail, and leaned to the side. He put a hand down and skimmed the water, laughing. He wished there was a Sea King out here right now. Then he'd be able to race him, and see whether his little surf-rider was faster than it.

He flipped on his surf-rider, and skidded along the crest of a wave. "This is the life!" He yelled.

He could hear every wave of the ocean as it was coming. He could hear his mother cooking and the Doctor working with the A.B.T.C. science division's new project…

Uh oh.

"It's going to blow!" Doppler was yelling.

Jim immediately steered his surf-rider around and soared to their end of the bay. He didn't know how he could hear things far away, or how he could hear the future. He just did, ever since he was a little kid. His heart would beat steadily, and he'd be able to listen to the sound of his heart as it raced around the village, telling him what was happening. He called it his 'mantra'.

So he raced towards the science division's sea-side testing area. And he did what he did best.

He listened, and he planned.

"I thought you said that this wasn't going to go off!" The voice of Commodore Amelia rang out. "I thought you said it was safe!"

"Well that was before the Sea King snuck into the testing bay!" Doppler said. "The Sea King triggered the bomb before we had all of the precautions set up! If it goes off, it will be the equivalent of a buster call!"

That wasn't good.

Jim soared into the bay on his surf-rider. The A.B.T.C. were running around screaming like chickens with their heads cut off and then reattached so that they could scream.

He heard the water erupt in front of him. He steered his surf-rider away, just before the bay erupted. The Sea King roared, and if Jim hadn't steered away by then, he would have driven right into the Sea King's mouth.

"Doctor!" Jim yelled. "Where is it?"

The Doctor didn't hear what Jim said, but he heard him. He was about to yell at him to run, when he got distracted. "Oh, that's a nice vehicle. Small, portable, maneuverable, not dependant on Devil Fruit powers."

Amelia hit him on the head, creating a small lump. "Not now Doctor! Mister Hawkins! This is a restricted area! You are violating your parole! Now get out of here!"

She's trying to keep me safe. Jim realized. She's pretending nothing's wrong and telling me to get out of here.

He gritted his teeth, and urged his surf-rider to go faster. He heard it, almost in the middle of the bay. A big black ball with spikes surrounding it, perfectly designed to just wait in the waters and stick itself onto a ship.

It had a timer on it, saying one minute.

Jim swerved around the ball and plunged his hand into the water. He yanked it out of the bay by the chain, and dragged it along with him.

"No James, what are you doing!" Doppler yelled.

"Now you say something!" Amelia snarled.

Jim dragged the bomb out to sea. He heard the ticking of the bomb and the Sea King chasing after him. Just like he'd planned.

He heard the bomb count down to zero, and he steered his surf-rider around. He used the centrifugal force of the wind to swing the chain into the Sea King's open mouth. The Sea King lunged, but Jim sailed behind him, back towards the safety of the testing bay. He prayed he'd put enough distance behind him.

The Sea King looked behind him, confused.

Then the timer ran down to zero.

The explosion almost knocked Jim off of his board, but he held on firmly. The wave from the explosion reached over a mile high. Jim, in one of his rare moments where his hearing was disturbed, tried to regain his composure as the incoming wall of sea washed towards the base, and the men inside all screamed 'We're going to die!'

"Head up!" He yelled. The wave crashed over the wall, and he rode it into the courtyard.

When the chaos faded, the A.B.T.C. men picked themselves up. "Ah, I'm soaked." One of them moaned.

"Quit complaining. We could be Sea King food!"

"Sea King Food? We almost became pieces too small for one of them to eat!"

"All hands silent!" Commodore Amelia's aid Mr. Arrow yelled. "We are sailors of the All Blue Trading Company! You can complain if you're dead!"

"Jim that was some stunt you pulled!" Doctor Dopplor said excitedly.

"Hey, no need to thank me." Jim shrugged as Commodore Amelia stalked up to him.

"Hawkins." She snarled. "What were you doing here?"

"I heard you were in trouble, and I came to help." Jim said.

"You heard we were in trouble?" She asked. "And when were you when you heard this?"

Jim stiffened. He couldn't admit that he could hear as far as he could.

She nodded. "I see. Mr. Hawkins, on account of your bravery I will overlook this, the fifth time you were found in All Blue Trading Company restricted waters. But I will be confiscating your… strange craft for study."

"What!" Jim yelled. He watched as a pair of sailors began to carry away his surf-rider.

"Dr. Doppler, I trust you can escort Mr. Hawkins back to his home…"

He didn't wait until she finished her sentence. He ran for the two sailors.

Ever since he was little, he'd been picked on by bigger people. The one exception being Captain Silver, the biggest person he knew. Sometimes they came and attacked him in many.

That's why Jim D. Hawkins developed the Many Kata, the martial art of fighting many.

"Duex Kata!" Jim yelled, slashing out with the tips of his index fingers. The two sailors froze and keeled over. Jim had hit his targets; the nerve centers on the sailor's bodies that he couldn't miss with his special hearing.

"Jim!" Doctor Doppler's jaw dropped. "Why did you do that!"

"I built this surf-rider, and I'm going to let you take it!" He yelled. He leaped out into the testing bay, unfolding his surf-rider and sailing off into the sea.

"Oh dear." Doctor Doppler said. "Amelia, I hope you won't hold him responsible for that, he's just a child."

"He's a genius. You said it yourself Doctor. And he's already broken into the All Blue Trading Company Research Facilities several times. He's far too valuable to be left alone, just because you're a family friend of his."

"Commodore!" One of the sailors yelled. "Somebody got washed up in the waves!"

"Is he alive?"

"Just barely."

"Take him inside. Nurse him back to health. And Doctor? You have a day to bring Jim in. I've already received orders from the top brass. You can do it your way, or I can do it mine."

Jim Hawkins heard every word.

"What am I going to do boy?" He asked his pet crocodile.

Louis picked up a trumpet and began playing the blues. Louis was a gift to Jim, by Long John Silver. He still remembered the day when he came to stay at the Benbow Inn.

The fat old man laughed jovially. The other people in the Inn fled out of the front door as they caught sight of him. He was a cyborg; He had a metal arm, and a metal leg, and a metal eye.

"We'll have ten Sake!" He roared, somehow managing a friendly tone.

"Y-y-y-yes." Jim's mother stuttered.

They lounged about, laughing, when they were interrupted by a yell. "Hey!"

Jim stood in front of them, shaking, holding a pistol. "Get out of here, pirates!"

Captain Silver smirked. "Why hello there lad."

"Please don't hurt him!" Jim's mother yelled.

"Go away!" Jim repeated. "You're scaring people!"

"Is that so?" Silver asked. "Is that the only reason you want us gone?"

"There doesn't have to be another reason!" Jim yelled, his hands shaking so hard, he wasn't sure he'd be able to even shoot.

"Hey Bagheera!" A man almost as large and fat as Silver himself with a baseball bat slung on his back, slapped a smaller and sleeker man who had his nose buried in a book. "Are you hearing this? This kid's got moxie!"

The smaller man looked up briefly, then sighed and went back to reading, pushing his glasses up. "Don't get any ideas Baloo. I haven't forgotten the last time you took a shine to a kid with 'moxie'."

Silver leaned forward, so close to Jim that his head was resting against the barrel of the pistol. "Are you sure lad? We have a hefty bounty on each of our heads, dead or alive. Are you not trying to collect the bounty, to fix up this home for your mom? Or perhaps you want to join the marines, and think that this would be a good step?"

"No!" Jim yelled. "I don't care about any of that stuff! But you're scaring people so you need to leave!"

Long John threw his head back and laughed. His crew of ten followed suit. "Oh, very well lad." He said. "Boys, it seems we've met our match. Let's grab our drinks and be on our way!"

"That's it?" Jim asked. "You're not going to kill us?"

"Heaven's no lad!" Silver crouched down next to the boy.

"Do you know why there are only ten people on my crew? Most pirates would have hundreds. It's because I'm not a pirate who has any grand goals like burning villages to the ground. Me? I'm just having an adventure with my friends."

"Realy?" Jim asked. "Then why are you pirates?"

"Because sometimes the Navy doesn't like the fun we have. Take Baloo for instance. He once hit a World Noble."

Jim's eyes lit up in awe.

"We don't need money or prestige." Silver laughed. "We only have one reason too."

The pirates filed out of the door, but Silver stayed. "Lad… I have a favor to put to ye. We only came ashore because of this little bundle."

Long John took a baby crocodile out of his coat. "We found this lad floating in the sea, without a daddy. It's mommy was being attacked by fishermen. We rescued it, but it's hurt bad. We're trying to find a good home for it. Do you think you can raise a crocodile?"

"Mommy, can I keep it?" Jim asked excitedly.

"O-okay." She said, obviously still afraid.

"Hahah!" Silver placed the crocodile in Jim's hands. "You have the makings of greatness in you lad." And with a swirl of his jacket, he left.

Jim sighed, and patted Louis. "How am I going to tell mom that I want to be the King of the Pirates Louis?"

The crocodile blew its horn again.

"I want to go on an adventure, and make friends. Besides you I mean. Mom wants me to join the Navy. But I can't have adventures with somebody telling me what to do all the time."

Suddenly, he heard something high above him. "What's that sound?" He asked.

Then he realized it was the sound of seven children screaming as they fell from the sky directly above him.

"Move out of the way Louis!" He pushed the crocodile out of the way, and right where Louis stood, a bed landed.

The smoke cleared, and Jim looked through the smoke. On top of the bed were seven kids sitting on a mattress.

"Hello!" Said the tallest kid. He had bright red hair, and he wore a green suit and hat. "I'm Peter Pan!"

"And we are the Lost Boys!" the six others yelled.

"We come searching for adventure!" Peter beamed proudly.

Then all seven of them began looking in different directions. "Where is adventure?"

"Where did you come from?" Jim asked. "Did you fly down here on your bed?"

"No." Peter scoffed. "We fell down here on my bed. That would be pretty silly if a bed could fly."

"You're pretty silly." Jim said. "But where did you fall from?" He pointed. "There's nothing up there but clouds."

"That's where we came from!" Peter declared. "We came from Neverland! One of the many sky islands of the White-White sea!"

"Sly island?" Jim asked. "You came from an island from the sky? Riding on a bed?" He leaned on the bed, and he felt what it was made of. "A bed made of cloud?"

"Yep." Peter beamed.

"That is so cool!" Jim yelled.

Unknown to them, somebody else knew of Peter's fall from Neverland.

"Captain!" A bumbling little man bleated, as he looked through a spyglass. "Something just fell out of the sky!"

A tall man in a blood red coat swooped in and picked up the spyglass. "Could it be… another Sky Island?"

"And it's so close to our destination too Captain!"

"Yes…" The man in red hissed.

He put down the spyglass. "Men! The time has come! Steer the Jolly Roger to that island! The All Blue Trading Company's greatest creations await us, or my name isn't Captain James Hook!"

A/N: I love One Piece. It's the best Mange around in my opinion. It manages to be genuinely heartwarming no matter how dark the hero's lives are. Also: Pirates. With. Superpowers. I've been tossing around ideas for a while now. I could have written a story where all of the Marvel characters are in the One Piece world. I could have written an origin story for Crocodile, featuring Kuro and Chew. If anybody wants to write either story, please let me know. But I'm going to settle for just writing this story.