Back to GatefoldIssue #68 by Jason Bruss & Tobias Christopher
June 2016 |
“PRESENT TENSE”
Franklin woke up early, yawning as he looked over at the other bed and saw Josh was still sleeping. He decided not to wake his friend as he got up and looked at the time, seeing it was well past nine. He walked out into the living room in a pair of pajama pants, not even bothering with his slippers or a robe. It's not like he was walking around the place naked or anything.
As he headed to kitchen to get a drink, he just decided to forego the glass and just drink the milk out of the carton since there was barely anything left. As he put the carton to his mouth, he heard a familiar voice.
"Franklin Richards! You use a glass, young man, and where are your slippers? You are going to catch a cold, young man," Yoshi said as she stood at the doorway. "I go away for a little while and you become completely reckless."
"Yoshi, what are you doing here?" Franklin asked her as he nearly dropped the milk carton. "I thought you were traveling the world."
"I decided to come back and check up on you," Yoshi told him. "Now go put some clothes on, then take my bags to my room. You clearly still need a nanny. Now, Franklin!"
Franklin ran off to his room. Yoshi sighed as she texted Reed to let him know that she was here. "Nothing's changed."
Franklin had started to get dressed as Josh started waking up. He looked over and saw Franklin sitting on the other bed, putting his socks on.
"What time is it?" Josh asked as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"Get dressed, we have to leave for the day," Franklin told him. Seeing Yoshi after all this time reminded him how sad he was when she left years earlier. He wasn't going to relive that pain again.
# # # # # # # # # #
The Baxter Building
"I think something's wrong with Franklin," Sue said as she helped Reed in his lab later that morning. "H.E.R.B.I.E. won't even tell us what's going on."
"I'm sure that whatever's going on with Franklin, he'll tell us when he's ready," Reed told her. "He's almost an adult, he needs to learn to handle his own situations. If he needs our help, he'll ask for it. We need to give him his space."
"Maybe you're right, what's the worst that can happen?" Sue asked sarcastically as a sudden burst of energy knocked them back. They hit the floor and looked up, seeing the form of Immortus standing in the middle of the lab.
"Immortus?" Reed asked in shock. "What are you doing here?"
"To save this family," Immortus told him as he removed his helmet, revealing the face of Reed's father, Nathaniel. "Someone in your family is going to die unless you accept my help."
"You've deceived this family for the last time," Reed said bitterly. "I am done with you coming back and forth from the future. What kind of father does these things to his children?"
"Reed, please," Sue said as she put a hand on his shoulder as she looked at Nathaniel. "Who dies?"
"The date. I need to know the date," Nathaniel said as he rushed past them to find the nearest paper sitting on Reed's desk. He picked it up as his eyes widened. "I'm already too late."
"What are you talking about? We're all fine," Sue told him. "Johnny, Ben, and the children are perfectly healthy. In fact, we just returned from a war in the Negative Zone, and there were no casualties."
"Something is wrong with the timeline," Nathaniel said as he looked at them. "We could all be in real danger here."
# # # # # # # # # #
Johnny was laying in bed, with his arms wrapped around Lyja as she slept. He gently brushed the hair away from her cheek as he remembered the fight back in the Negative Zone.
The rebels had Annihilus' troops on the run as Johnny, Lyja, Ben, and She-Thing were leading the charge. While Ben and Sharon had on ahead, Johnny and Lyja were making sure no one was following them to attack from behind.
"Thank you, Johnny," Lyja told him. "You are risking your life to save the people of the Negative Zone. You are a true hero."
"I don't know about that," Johnny told her, not seeing that one of the troops was aiming its weapon at him. "You know, after this we should-"
"Johnny, watch out!" Lyja shouted as she jumped in front of him, taking the blast in her midsection.
"Lyja!" Johnny shouted as the soldier got away before he shoot a fireball at him. He picked her up and held her close. "Don't die on me, please."
"Johnny?" Lyja asked weakly as she looked at him. Johnny kissed her as a tear fell down his face.
"Don't you ever do that to me again," Johnny told her. "I never want to lose you, Lyja. I-"
"I feel the same way," Lyja whispered as she reached up and touched his cheek.
"You were willing to give your life up for me," Johnny said in a soft voice as he kissed her forehead. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life making this up to you."
# # # # # # # # # #
"I don't get it, kid," Ben said as he walked with Sharon back to her apartment along with Alicia after her doctor's appointment that morning. "Why'd you keep it from us? If you're really this sick, you could have really gotten us into trouble during that war."
"Ben, I'm stage four breast cancer," Sharon told him with a sigh. "I just- I don't know, I wanted to prove to myself that I still had some fight left in me. And I do have a lot of fight left in me. I'm not dead yet, Ben, and as long as I'm alive I'm going to do everything in my power to help others, and that includes my friends."
# # # # # # # # # #
Johnny and Lyja were standing in the shower together as Johnny kissed his shapeshifter girlfriend gently as the water rained down on them.
"I hope you enjoy it here," Johnny said as he smiled at her. "I... really missed having you around."
"And I missed having you around," Lyja said as she pressed her lips against his, but when she pulled back, she was now in the form of male soap star Brandon Beemer. Johnny jumped back as he saw what she'd turned into. "What's wrong, Johnny? Does this form not please you? I can be anything you want," Lyja said as she took the form of a younger Pamela Anderson, another person she saw in Johnny's drawer when he'd left it sitting open the night before.
"Lyja, this really isn't what I-" Johnny said nervously as he closed his eyes as she ran a finger down his chest. "I just-"
"Johnny, I just want to please you," Lyja said. "I want to make all of your fantasies come true, even those that are buried deep within you."
Johnny heard her voice shift again as he kept his eyes closed as he felt lips pressing against his again. He opened them and saw Bobby Drake standing there, touching his cheek softly. "Just tell me who you want me to be, and I'll be that person. For you."
"Lyja, stop," Johnny said. "Please, change back."
Lyja did as he said as Johnny pulled her close. "I don't need anyone else, got it? I just want you, the woman I see before me. You're beautiful just the way you are, you don't need to be anyone else to please me."
Lyja smiled as Johnny kissed her, holding her close to him.
# # # # # # # # # #
Ryker's Island
It had been a long time coming for the prisoner who had just made parole. He had a lot of thinking to do in his time here, reflecting on those he hurt and what he should do if he ever got out. And he knew exactly where he had to start.
As he finished gathering his belongings, Phillip Masters picked up a picture of Alicia, gently running his finger over it.
"Next time we meet, things are going to be different," Phillip said in barely a whisper as he walked out of the cell a free man.
# # # # # # # # # #
"Don't you see?" Nathaniel asked angrily as he looked at Reed and Sue. "The timeline is in danger! I need to go further back and-" that's when Nathaniel felt the ankle bracelet locked onto him by Yoshi, he just smiled at him before punching him. "What's the meaning of this?"
"Thank you, Yoshi," Reed told her. "You won't be traveling anywhere outside of this building for the time being. You are in our custody until further notice."
"This is ridiculous!" Nathaniel shouted. "Lives are at stake!"
"Lives are always at stake because you show up to make things worse!" Sue told him. "I have had enough of you putting my family's life at stake. This ends now."
"Sue, you don't understand, something bad is going to happen," Nathaniel said as he looked at Reed. "Son..."
"We'll set you up with a room, but from here on out, you're done time traveling," Reed said. "Welcome to the present," Reed said, then bitterly added. "Dad."
# # # # # # # # # #
Latveria
Vincent Von Doom and his sister Sophie were watching television as Sophie turned it to a Justin Bieber concert.
"Why is the Prime Minister of Canada singing?" Vincent asked. "And why does he look like someone I want to punch?"
"In my timeline, he was torn apart by lions when someone pushed h into a lion pit at the zoo," Sophie told him.
"Our timelines appear to be radically different," Vincent told her. "The only thing we sem to have in common is our lineage."
"That and my intended is alive across virtually every timeline," Sophie told him. "And as luck would have it, I know exactly where he is."
"Virtually?" Vincent asked with a raised eyebrow.
"There was some... unpleasantness and he died in my world," Sophie sighed. "I loved him with all my heart, and was broken up the day that he died. And as he lay there, dying in my arms after I slit his throat, I vowed to find him again and renew our love."
"How romantic," Vincent told her as Sophie scrolled up a picture in her phone of the New Warriors.
"Don't worry, my love, I'm going to find you and make you mine all over again," she said with a devious grin.
NEXT: Renewed love and fatal attractions!
As he headed to kitchen to get a drink, he just decided to forego the glass and just drink the milk out of the carton since there was barely anything left. As he put the carton to his mouth, he heard a familiar voice.
"Franklin Richards! You use a glass, young man, and where are your slippers? You are going to catch a cold, young man," Yoshi said as she stood at the doorway. "I go away for a little while and you become completely reckless."
"Yoshi, what are you doing here?" Franklin asked her as he nearly dropped the milk carton. "I thought you were traveling the world."
"I decided to come back and check up on you," Yoshi told him. "Now go put some clothes on, then take my bags to my room. You clearly still need a nanny. Now, Franklin!"
Franklin ran off to his room. Yoshi sighed as she texted Reed to let him know that she was here. "Nothing's changed."
Franklin had started to get dressed as Josh started waking up. He looked over and saw Franklin sitting on the other bed, putting his socks on.
"What time is it?" Josh asked as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"Get dressed, we have to leave for the day," Franklin told him. Seeing Yoshi after all this time reminded him how sad he was when she left years earlier. He wasn't going to relive that pain again.
# # # # # # # # # #
The Baxter Building
"I think something's wrong with Franklin," Sue said as she helped Reed in his lab later that morning. "H.E.R.B.I.E. won't even tell us what's going on."
"I'm sure that whatever's going on with Franklin, he'll tell us when he's ready," Reed told her. "He's almost an adult, he needs to learn to handle his own situations. If he needs our help, he'll ask for it. We need to give him his space."
"Maybe you're right, what's the worst that can happen?" Sue asked sarcastically as a sudden burst of energy knocked them back. They hit the floor and looked up, seeing the form of Immortus standing in the middle of the lab.
"Immortus?" Reed asked in shock. "What are you doing here?"
"To save this family," Immortus told him as he removed his helmet, revealing the face of Reed's father, Nathaniel. "Someone in your family is going to die unless you accept my help."
"You've deceived this family for the last time," Reed said bitterly. "I am done with you coming back and forth from the future. What kind of father does these things to his children?"
"Reed, please," Sue said as she put a hand on his shoulder as she looked at Nathaniel. "Who dies?"
"The date. I need to know the date," Nathaniel said as he rushed past them to find the nearest paper sitting on Reed's desk. He picked it up as his eyes widened. "I'm already too late."
"What are you talking about? We're all fine," Sue told him. "Johnny, Ben, and the children are perfectly healthy. In fact, we just returned from a war in the Negative Zone, and there were no casualties."
"Something is wrong with the timeline," Nathaniel said as he looked at them. "We could all be in real danger here."
# # # # # # # # # #
Johnny was laying in bed, with his arms wrapped around Lyja as she slept. He gently brushed the hair away from her cheek as he remembered the fight back in the Negative Zone.
The rebels had Annihilus' troops on the run as Johnny, Lyja, Ben, and She-Thing were leading the charge. While Ben and Sharon had on ahead, Johnny and Lyja were making sure no one was following them to attack from behind.
"Thank you, Johnny," Lyja told him. "You are risking your life to save the people of the Negative Zone. You are a true hero."
"I don't know about that," Johnny told her, not seeing that one of the troops was aiming its weapon at him. "You know, after this we should-"
"Johnny, watch out!" Lyja shouted as she jumped in front of him, taking the blast in her midsection.
"Lyja!" Johnny shouted as the soldier got away before he shoot a fireball at him. He picked her up and held her close. "Don't die on me, please."
"Johnny?" Lyja asked weakly as she looked at him. Johnny kissed her as a tear fell down his face.
"Don't you ever do that to me again," Johnny told her. "I never want to lose you, Lyja. I-"
"I feel the same way," Lyja whispered as she reached up and touched his cheek.
"You were willing to give your life up for me," Johnny said in a soft voice as he kissed her forehead. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life making this up to you."
# # # # # # # # # #
"I don't get it, kid," Ben said as he walked with Sharon back to her apartment along with Alicia after her doctor's appointment that morning. "Why'd you keep it from us? If you're really this sick, you could have really gotten us into trouble during that war."
"Ben, I'm stage four breast cancer," Sharon told him with a sigh. "I just- I don't know, I wanted to prove to myself that I still had some fight left in me. And I do have a lot of fight left in me. I'm not dead yet, Ben, and as long as I'm alive I'm going to do everything in my power to help others, and that includes my friends."
# # # # # # # # # #
Johnny and Lyja were standing in the shower together as Johnny kissed his shapeshifter girlfriend gently as the water rained down on them.
"I hope you enjoy it here," Johnny said as he smiled at her. "I... really missed having you around."
"And I missed having you around," Lyja said as she pressed her lips against his, but when she pulled back, she was now in the form of male soap star Brandon Beemer. Johnny jumped back as he saw what she'd turned into. "What's wrong, Johnny? Does this form not please you? I can be anything you want," Lyja said as she took the form of a younger Pamela Anderson, another person she saw in Johnny's drawer when he'd left it sitting open the night before.
"Lyja, this really isn't what I-" Johnny said nervously as he closed his eyes as she ran a finger down his chest. "I just-"
"Johnny, I just want to please you," Lyja said. "I want to make all of your fantasies come true, even those that are buried deep within you."
Johnny heard her voice shift again as he kept his eyes closed as he felt lips pressing against his again. He opened them and saw Bobby Drake standing there, touching his cheek softly. "Just tell me who you want me to be, and I'll be that person. For you."
"Lyja, stop," Johnny said. "Please, change back."
Lyja did as he said as Johnny pulled her close. "I don't need anyone else, got it? I just want you, the woman I see before me. You're beautiful just the way you are, you don't need to be anyone else to please me."
Lyja smiled as Johnny kissed her, holding her close to him.
# # # # # # # # # #
Ryker's Island
It had been a long time coming for the prisoner who had just made parole. He had a lot of thinking to do in his time here, reflecting on those he hurt and what he should do if he ever got out. And he knew exactly where he had to start.
As he finished gathering his belongings, Phillip Masters picked up a picture of Alicia, gently running his finger over it.
"Next time we meet, things are going to be different," Phillip said in barely a whisper as he walked out of the cell a free man.
# # # # # # # # # #
"Don't you see?" Nathaniel asked angrily as he looked at Reed and Sue. "The timeline is in danger! I need to go further back and-" that's when Nathaniel felt the ankle bracelet locked onto him by Yoshi, he just smiled at him before punching him. "What's the meaning of this?"
"Thank you, Yoshi," Reed told her. "You won't be traveling anywhere outside of this building for the time being. You are in our custody until further notice."
"This is ridiculous!" Nathaniel shouted. "Lives are at stake!"
"Lives are always at stake because you show up to make things worse!" Sue told him. "I have had enough of you putting my family's life at stake. This ends now."
"Sue, you don't understand, something bad is going to happen," Nathaniel said as he looked at Reed. "Son..."
"We'll set you up with a room, but from here on out, you're done time traveling," Reed said. "Welcome to the present," Reed said, then bitterly added. "Dad."
# # # # # # # # # #
Latveria
Vincent Von Doom and his sister Sophie were watching television as Sophie turned it to a Justin Bieber concert.
"Why is the Prime Minister of Canada singing?" Vincent asked. "And why does he look like someone I want to punch?"
"In my timeline, he was torn apart by lions when someone pushed h into a lion pit at the zoo," Sophie told him.
"Our timelines appear to be radically different," Vincent told her. "The only thing we sem to have in common is our lineage."
"That and my intended is alive across virtually every timeline," Sophie told him. "And as luck would have it, I know exactly where he is."
"Virtually?" Vincent asked with a raised eyebrow.
"There was some... unpleasantness and he died in my world," Sophie sighed. "I loved him with all my heart, and was broken up the day that he died. And as he lay there, dying in my arms after I slit his throat, I vowed to find him again and renew our love."
"How romantic," Vincent told her as Sophie scrolled up a picture in her phone of the New Warriors.
"Don't worry, my love, I'm going to find you and make you mine all over again," she said with a devious grin.
NEXT: Renewed love and fatal attractions!