Stardust (species)

The Stardust were an ancient celestial species composed of sentient stardust who founded the Stardust Crusaders to enforce order in the universe.

Description
The Stardust were composed of a sentient cosmic plasma, or 'stardust', which enabled them to master an innate ability that translated into Common as 'Super-Science' - the ability to shape matter and change the laws of physics by manipulating matter from stars, which almost everything in the universe was made out of. Although the Stardust could use this ability to manipulate reality in an almost infinite number of ways, they usually cast their powers via 'Infinity Rays' that were programmed to cause a specific effect to a target or area; for example, if a Stardust needed to rid an area of gravity, he or she would cast an anti-gravity ray to nullify the effects of gravity in the area.

In their true forms, the Stardust resembled stars with five points akin to the traditional star symbol (☆), which was the form they reverted to when inside the Red Supergiant Star that birthed their species. When outside the star, members of the Stardust such as the Stardust Crusaders usually shapeshifted into forms that resembled god-like examples of the species that they governed in order to inspire fear and obedience; however, most if not all of the Stardust Crusaders chose to resemble humanoids due to the prominence of humanoid species in intergalactic affairs. In these forms, the Stardust resembled physically imposing humanoids clad in dull one-piece outfits that were accentuated with dual-colored geometrical patterns in random spots (such as circles or repeating rhombuses). Stardust could send telepathic messages to each other that travelled across the universe in a matter of microseconds, and could teleport across immense distances at the same speed. Whenever one of the Stardust died, their remains would be teleported back into the core of their home star to be recycled and used to create more members of the species. The memories and persona of deceased Stardust were stored within a library inside the star and kept conscious so that they could be consulted for knowledge or advice, essentially becoming immortal but immobile.

History
The Stardust were originally the same species as the Living Stars, which came into existence as some of the first sentient cosmic entities shortly after the creation of the Original Universe. When these living stars discovered that they could manipulate the matter that constituted their bodies for a variety of effects, including the power to travel through time, they decided that that they had a responsibility to harness that power to protect the integrity of the time stream in order to ensure that future life in the universe would be able to thrive and prosper without the possibility of time distortions altering the destinies that their creators, whoever they may be, had intended for them to reach. However, the 'Living Stars', as they had so named themselves, were not unopposed in their goal: some among them rejected the proposal of using time travel to protect the universe, deeming time travel too much of a temptation, instead deciding to remain in the present to punish beings that threatened life on a smaller scale. These Living Stars broke away from the rest and renamed themselves to ‘The Stardust’, embarking down a slightly different evolutionary path. To further separate themselves from their Stardust cousins, the Living Stars used their newly discovered abilities of time travel to isolate themselves in a temporal pocket dimension that existed one second out of synchronization with the rest of the universe: the Forest of Lights. Meanwhile, the Stardust established a Red Supergiant Star as their base of operations and founded the Stardust Crusaders to police the universe.

In 150,084 CMT (Day 4 of The Mazkertis Paradox arc), one member of the species known as Stardust the Super Wizard was destroyed in a battle with the Heckumvirate, and his remains were teleported back to the Red Supergiant Star. When word spread that Stardust had been killed, the rest of the Stardust Crusaders teleported back to the star to hear his testimony. Stardust stated that, even in death, his goal remained the same: to put an end to the man who threatened the universe: Mazkertis. As a result, five Stardust Crusaders teleported into a Cooperative meeting room to request the Cooperative's assistance in apprehending Mazkertis. The leader of the Cooperative, Lord Zrintch, informed the Crusaders that the Cooperative were aware of Mazkertis and had already begun to work against him, so he agreed to their proposition of an alliance.

By Day 76, the remains of Stardust the Super Wizard had been used to create a successor nicknamed "Nu-Stardust", whose predecessor informed him of a way to stop Mazkertis: a sword that would prevent anyone stabbed by it from healing themselves. However, before Nu-Stardust could complete the construction of this sword, he came to a terrible realization: during the battle between Stardust and the Heckumvirate months ago, the Heckumvirate had neutralized one of Stardust's own "hecks", ridding him of the ability to care about something. This piece of hecklessness had been passed down to Nu-Stardust, who found that, as a result of it, he could not bring himself to care about completing the sword or using it on Mazkertis himself.

Trivia

 * The Stardust were inspired by the character Stardust the Super Wizard by Fletcher Hanks.