Back to GatefoldIssue #71 by Jason Bruss & Tobias Christopher
September 2016 |
“The Price”
The Baxter Building
"Franklin, where are you going?" Yoshi asked as Franklin walked past in just a knee-length towel.
"Going sunbathing on the roof," Franklin told her. "Getting an all over tan. ALL over."
"Young man, you go put some clothes on, you are not exposing yourself!" Yoshi told him.
"Yeah, I am," Franklin told her. "You gonna stop me? You gonna hit me, twist my arm? Come on, nanny, get violent with me."
The two just stared at each other for a few seconds before Franklin headed for the staircase. "Thought so."
As soon as Franklin got up to the roof, he tossed his towel off, revealing he was wearing rolled up pants. He pulled his shoes and socks out of his bag and sat down, hating himself for acting this way.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Nathaniel Richards stood in the lab of his son, the world famous Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four as he worked in secret to remove the ankle bracelet that had locked him into this time and place.
"At last," Nathaniel said as he finally got the monitor off. "Now I'm free of this contraption and I can finally-" Nathaniel cut himself off as he saw the calendar on the wall and started to remember why he had come here in the first place.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
In the not too distant future
Somewhere in time and space
The city of New York had been devastated some time ago, with buildings decaying, cars overturned and trash everywhere. There was a massive thunderstorm hanging over the city as lightning filled the clouds. A heavy rain came was pouring down as Immortus was standing in front of a large statue. A young boy dressed in rags and hobbling on a crutch joined him in looking at the statue.
"This is where the greatest hero to ever exist is buried," Immortus told the boy as they stared up at the statue.
"Sir, would the world have been a better place if our hero hadn't died?" the boy asked in a cockney accent.
"Tiny Jim, a lot of things would be better for our world if they hadn't turned out the way they did," Immortus said. As the rain continued, Immortus stared down at the energy tracker on his wrist. There was just enough juice to make one last jump through time, but he would have to make it count. Could he possibly make it back in enough time to save the future?
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Current Day
In an abandoned warehouse, the Wizard carefully checked his equipment. It was crude, but it was the best he could cobble together from stolen parts. Currently the device was stealing energy from the city to power his mad schemes.
Not too far away was the She-Thing, now trapped in her current form. She was standing over a table, pounding her rocky fists onto it, breaking the table in half.
"Hey, watch the furniture, I had to steal that from Ikea," the Wizard told her. "Then I had to kidnap a stockboy to assemble it for me."
"Can I leave yet?" a muffled voice came from the closet. "I'm going to be really late for school!"
"Quiet!" the Wizard shouted. "I have so much more stolen furniture for you to assemble!"
"I won't do it!" She-Thing shouted. "I won't betray the Fantastic Four!"
"Oh, too bad," the Wizard told her. "Because the nanites I injected into your body to cure your cancer have so much more work to do. It'll be weeks before you are completely cured. If I shut them down now... well, you wouldn't have weeks, now would you?"
She-Thing just remained silent as the Wizard smirked. "I thought so. You see, my dear, you are the lynchpin of my new Frightful Four. We will reign in a new era upon this city once we have removed the Fantastic Four. And you, my pretty, will be the one to help us do it."
"Frightful Four? But there's only two of us," She-Thing said as the door opened. The Puppet Master walked in, followed by the Sandman. "Baker? Is that you? But how?"
The Sandman was unresponsive as She-Thing looked at the Wizard. "What have you done to him?"
"Oh, that isn't the real William Baker, my sweet," the Wizard told her. "Merely a genetic duplicate, created by the Jackyl's generous donation of his technology. And by generous use, I mean I stole it. The Puppet Master here controls him for me, in exchange for my having gotten him paroled."
"He is 100% under my control," Puppet Master smiled. "Isn't that right, Sandman?"
"Yes, Puppet Master," Sandman told him. "We are all out of peanut butter, master. Would you like for me to get some more so that I may-"
"Okay, silence, you don't have to talk anymore," Puppet Master said, putting his hands in front of the Sandman's mouth before silently mouthing to She-Thing. "100% percent."
"Now, my dear, it's time for you to start earning your keep," the Wizard told She-Thing with a smile. "Your first task: kill Alicia Masters."
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
The Baxter Building
"I think I need a vacation from my vacation," Johnny said as he fell face first onto the couch.
Yoshi walked into the room as Reed smiled at her. "So, how are the kids?"
"Just ask what you really want to ask," Yoshi told him. "Your father hasn't been causing any trouble. He's been in your lab all morning, not making a sound."
Reed instantly started to panic as he ran for the lab. Sue just looked over at the Richard's nanny. "So, how are the kids?"
"Valeria and her team are off helping the Avengers and Defenders fight some kind of fourth dimensional monster," Yoshi told her. "Franklin's sunbathing on the roof in the nude. That boy is doing everything in his power to ignore me. He hates me."
"Oh, come on, all adults think teenagers hate them," Sue told her.
"Actually, she's right about that one," Johnny said in a muffled voice as he lay face first on the couch. "He does hate her. What did you expect? You just took off one day without saying goodbye. The kid had gotten used to having a nanny around, then you just Mary Poppins-out like it was nothing. Kid didn't even get a goodbye song."
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Reed ran into his lab, and immediately saw the ankle monitor that had kept Immortus in this time laying on the table. "Dammit."
"I'm still here, son," Nathaniel said as he walked out into the open and sat down at the console to continue running programs on the computer. "I came back for a reason, and I'm going to accomplish my task, no matter what."
"We nearly lost Sue and Johnny in Hawaii," Reed told him. "You need to be completely honest with me. Who is going to die?"
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Johnny was in the home gym, when Franklin and Josh walked in.
"Had enough sunbathing?" Johnny asked as he worked the bench press.
"I was fully clothed the whole time, I just told Yoshi that I was going to be naked," Franklin told him as he started running on the treadmill. "You think I'd expose my junk out in the open again*?"
(*New Warriors #7)
"Kid, you need to start cutting her some slack," Johnny told them. "She had her reasons for leaving."
"Yeah, and now I have my reasons for not wanting her here," Franklin replied.
"Franklin, tell him how we got attacked by Doombots," Joshua said as he lifted weights.
"You were what?" Johnny asked. "Are you okay?"
"Pizza Parlor needs a new wall and furniture, but yeah," Franklin said.
"Great, with everything else, now we need to worry about Doom," Johnny told them. "What else can go wrong?"
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Alicia had just finished her work for the night, and was leaving her studio to head back to the Baxter Building. As she left the studio, she headed out the door and immediately ran into a large rock figure.
"Ben, why didn't you say you were coming?" Alicia asked as she felt his rocky chest, then realized that something was wrong. "You're not Ben."
"No, it's not," She-Thing said. Before Alicia could say anything She-Thing flicked her forehead to knock her unconscious. Alicia fell to the ground as She-Thing scooped her up into her giant rocky arms. "I'm sorry, Alicia. But it's your life or mine."
TO BE CONTINUED...
"Franklin, where are you going?" Yoshi asked as Franklin walked past in just a knee-length towel.
"Going sunbathing on the roof," Franklin told her. "Getting an all over tan. ALL over."
"Young man, you go put some clothes on, you are not exposing yourself!" Yoshi told him.
"Yeah, I am," Franklin told her. "You gonna stop me? You gonna hit me, twist my arm? Come on, nanny, get violent with me."
The two just stared at each other for a few seconds before Franklin headed for the staircase. "Thought so."
As soon as Franklin got up to the roof, he tossed his towel off, revealing he was wearing rolled up pants. He pulled his shoes and socks out of his bag and sat down, hating himself for acting this way.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Nathaniel Richards stood in the lab of his son, the world famous Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four as he worked in secret to remove the ankle bracelet that had locked him into this time and place.
"At last," Nathaniel said as he finally got the monitor off. "Now I'm free of this contraption and I can finally-" Nathaniel cut himself off as he saw the calendar on the wall and started to remember why he had come here in the first place.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
In the not too distant future
Somewhere in time and space
The city of New York had been devastated some time ago, with buildings decaying, cars overturned and trash everywhere. There was a massive thunderstorm hanging over the city as lightning filled the clouds. A heavy rain came was pouring down as Immortus was standing in front of a large statue. A young boy dressed in rags and hobbling on a crutch joined him in looking at the statue.
"This is where the greatest hero to ever exist is buried," Immortus told the boy as they stared up at the statue.
"Sir, would the world have been a better place if our hero hadn't died?" the boy asked in a cockney accent.
"Tiny Jim, a lot of things would be better for our world if they hadn't turned out the way they did," Immortus said. As the rain continued, Immortus stared down at the energy tracker on his wrist. There was just enough juice to make one last jump through time, but he would have to make it count. Could he possibly make it back in enough time to save the future?
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Current Day
In an abandoned warehouse, the Wizard carefully checked his equipment. It was crude, but it was the best he could cobble together from stolen parts. Currently the device was stealing energy from the city to power his mad schemes.
Not too far away was the She-Thing, now trapped in her current form. She was standing over a table, pounding her rocky fists onto it, breaking the table in half.
"Hey, watch the furniture, I had to steal that from Ikea," the Wizard told her. "Then I had to kidnap a stockboy to assemble it for me."
"Can I leave yet?" a muffled voice came from the closet. "I'm going to be really late for school!"
"Quiet!" the Wizard shouted. "I have so much more stolen furniture for you to assemble!"
"I won't do it!" She-Thing shouted. "I won't betray the Fantastic Four!"
"Oh, too bad," the Wizard told her. "Because the nanites I injected into your body to cure your cancer have so much more work to do. It'll be weeks before you are completely cured. If I shut them down now... well, you wouldn't have weeks, now would you?"
She-Thing just remained silent as the Wizard smirked. "I thought so. You see, my dear, you are the lynchpin of my new Frightful Four. We will reign in a new era upon this city once we have removed the Fantastic Four. And you, my pretty, will be the one to help us do it."
"Frightful Four? But there's only two of us," She-Thing said as the door opened. The Puppet Master walked in, followed by the Sandman. "Baker? Is that you? But how?"
The Sandman was unresponsive as She-Thing looked at the Wizard. "What have you done to him?"
"Oh, that isn't the real William Baker, my sweet," the Wizard told her. "Merely a genetic duplicate, created by the Jackyl's generous donation of his technology. And by generous use, I mean I stole it. The Puppet Master here controls him for me, in exchange for my having gotten him paroled."
"He is 100% under my control," Puppet Master smiled. "Isn't that right, Sandman?"
"Yes, Puppet Master," Sandman told him. "We are all out of peanut butter, master. Would you like for me to get some more so that I may-"
"Okay, silence, you don't have to talk anymore," Puppet Master said, putting his hands in front of the Sandman's mouth before silently mouthing to She-Thing. "100% percent."
"Now, my dear, it's time for you to start earning your keep," the Wizard told She-Thing with a smile. "Your first task: kill Alicia Masters."
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
The Baxter Building
"I think I need a vacation from my vacation," Johnny said as he fell face first onto the couch.
Yoshi walked into the room as Reed smiled at her. "So, how are the kids?"
"Just ask what you really want to ask," Yoshi told him. "Your father hasn't been causing any trouble. He's been in your lab all morning, not making a sound."
Reed instantly started to panic as he ran for the lab. Sue just looked over at the Richard's nanny. "So, how are the kids?"
"Valeria and her team are off helping the Avengers and Defenders fight some kind of fourth dimensional monster," Yoshi told her. "Franklin's sunbathing on the roof in the nude. That boy is doing everything in his power to ignore me. He hates me."
"Oh, come on, all adults think teenagers hate them," Sue told her.
"Actually, she's right about that one," Johnny said in a muffled voice as he lay face first on the couch. "He does hate her. What did you expect? You just took off one day without saying goodbye. The kid had gotten used to having a nanny around, then you just Mary Poppins-out like it was nothing. Kid didn't even get a goodbye song."
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Reed ran into his lab, and immediately saw the ankle monitor that had kept Immortus in this time laying on the table. "Dammit."
"I'm still here, son," Nathaniel said as he walked out into the open and sat down at the console to continue running programs on the computer. "I came back for a reason, and I'm going to accomplish my task, no matter what."
"We nearly lost Sue and Johnny in Hawaii," Reed told him. "You need to be completely honest with me. Who is going to die?"
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Johnny was in the home gym, when Franklin and Josh walked in.
"Had enough sunbathing?" Johnny asked as he worked the bench press.
"I was fully clothed the whole time, I just told Yoshi that I was going to be naked," Franklin told him as he started running on the treadmill. "You think I'd expose my junk out in the open again*?"
(*New Warriors #7)
"Kid, you need to start cutting her some slack," Johnny told them. "She had her reasons for leaving."
"Yeah, and now I have my reasons for not wanting her here," Franklin replied.
"Franklin, tell him how we got attacked by Doombots," Joshua said as he lifted weights.
"You were what?" Johnny asked. "Are you okay?"
"Pizza Parlor needs a new wall and furniture, but yeah," Franklin said.
"Great, with everything else, now we need to worry about Doom," Johnny told them. "What else can go wrong?"
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Alicia had just finished her work for the night, and was leaving her studio to head back to the Baxter Building. As she left the studio, she headed out the door and immediately ran into a large rock figure.
"Ben, why didn't you say you were coming?" Alicia asked as she felt his rocky chest, then realized that something was wrong. "You're not Ben."
"No, it's not," She-Thing said. Before Alicia could say anything She-Thing flicked her forehead to knock her unconscious. Alicia fell to the ground as She-Thing scooped her up into her giant rocky arms. "I'm sorry, Alicia. But it's your life or mine."
TO BE CONTINUED...