Back to GatefoldIssue #13 by Tobias Christopher
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"A Wedding and Two Funerals"
Josh had started a fire in the cave, while the rain was pouring down outside. Franklin was resting against the wall, trying to recover from being tased by Sophie Von Doom earlier. After stoking the fire to keep them warm, Josh brought some food over to Franklin.
"You should eat," Josh said. "You need to get your strength back so we can get ou f of here when the rain stops. My hypnotic suggestion probably won't last long against Doom's daughter."
"How did you manage to get back?" Franklin asked.
"I ended up in a world where they had a functioning portal," Josh told him, "I promised I'd come back and put on a concert if they sent me back here to save you. I'm still pissed you that tried to ditch me."
"I was saving you," Franklin said. "She would have killed you."
"I can handle myself," Josh told him. "We're a team, remember? We look out for each other. Don't do that to me again, okay? Now eat, dammit, I want to get out of here."
Three hours later, and the rain still wasn't stopping. The fire was starting to die down from lack of fuel as Franklin slept on the ground. Josh was staring out of the cave into the falling rain while staring a picture of him and his siblings.
"I wish you were here, Sam," Josh said as he touched the picture. "You'd know what to do."
# # # # # # # # # # # # # #
On Earth, Samuel Guthrie was headed toward the Baxter Building after having received his word that his little brother was in New York and staying with the Fantastic 4. The door slowly opened as H.E.R.B.I.E. stared out at him.
"I'm here to see Josh," Sam said as he looked at the robot.
"Oh, right, Cannonball of the X-Men," the robot said as he opened the door. "You have the power to jet propel and create blast fields. Interesting..."
"Uh, yeah," Sam said, feeling awkward about talking to a robot. "Is he here?"
"He took off with Franklin about a week ago, haven't heard from him since. I think they skipped out on this dimension," H.E.R.B.I.E. told him. "Why don't I take you to Dr. Richard's lab and maybe we can try to contact him?"
Valeria was getting some things from the lab and dropped a thermal detector behind the desk. She crawled under to get it as H.E.R.B.I.E. led Sam in.
"This sure is a nice place," Sam said as he looked around. "You really think we can contact Josh from here?"
"Sure, just stand over there," H.E.R.B.I.E. said as the robot reached out to hover his pincer arm over a small red button. Sam stepped over and realized he was standing on a pad.
"Hey, what's this?" Sam asked as the robot pushed the button. Shockwaves of energy surged through Sam's body, enough to render him unconscious after screaming in pain for several seconds. He fell to his knees, then fell onto his side as H.E.R.B.I.E. floated over to him.
"Sorry, kid, you showed up at the wrong place at exactly the right time," H.E.R.B.I.E. said as he started dragging Sam away as Valeria watched in horror.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # #
The rain was finally stopping, and the sun started to shine into the cave. Franklin started yawning as he woke up, seeing Josh sleeping against the wall near the entrance. He got up and stretched as he walked over to his friend, gently nudging him.
"Come on, Josh, time to go," Franklin told him. "My energy tracker is picking up energy signatures. Sophie's coming back, we have to hurry."
"Okay," Josh said as he opened his eyes, seeing Franklin being bathed in the sunlight. It was probably the most beautiful sight he'd ever woken up to, but he quickly shook it off and grabbed his stuff. "We should go directly to that brainiac planet, they probably have good security, we'll probably be safer there than anywhere."
"Good thinking," Franklin said as he opened the portal. "Let's go."
Minutes after they had left, Sophie had returned with even stronger Doombots.
"They couldn't have gotten too far," Sophie said. "The next time, I won't fall for parlor tricks. Next time, Franklin is mine."
# # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Franklin and Josh exited the portal, arriving on the world of the hyper-intelligent creatures who had helped Josh earlier. Upon their arrival, they were greeted by the big headed creatures of the planet Saugen Ihr Gehirn.
"Welcome, friends," Bob said as he greeted them. "We sensed your arrival and came to welcome you in person. Did you come to give us our concert?"
"Of course, a promise is a promise," Josh told him. "Just show where to perform and we'll get this show started."
"Soon, my friend, soon," Bob said. "But first, we have prepared a banquet in your honor. You are both honored guests here."
"Cool," Franklin said as he looked around. "This place isn't that bad. A lot better than a lot of the worlds we've been to."
"I know, right? For a place without art or music, it doesn't suck as much as I thought it would," Josh replied as they followed Bob to the banquet hall.
A short while later, Franklin and Josh were sitting at a table with the other beings of the world, staring at a massive banquet in their honor.
"Holy shit, look at all this food," Franklin whispered to Josh.
"I know, I'm gaining weight just looking at it," Josh whispered back, just as Franklin sneezed. Josh handed him his napkin. "Bless you."
The other beings around the table just gasped as the two teens just stared at them.
"Okay," Josh said as Franklin took the napkin, accidentally knocking a fork off of the table. He reached down and grabbed it before it hit the floor and handed it back to Josh as the beings gasped again, while Franklin took a sip from a cup of purple liquid on the table. "Oh, you've got a little something on your chin. Here, let me."
Josh took another napkin and wiped Franklin's chin as the beings gasped once again. "Dammit, what is with all the gasping?"
"Are they really?" one of the beings asked Bob.
"Only if the blonde one-" Bob said as Franklin brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes as he looked at Josh. "Now they are. Well, this is a momentous occasion! Eat and drink, my friends, we have much to celebrate tonight! Our two new Earth friends have brought us so much in so little time!"
"It's just a concert," Josh said as he looked around. "Right?"
"We can't harm them tonight, not after this," one of the leaders said to Bob. "We must give them the night at least."
"Fine," Bob sighed. "One night for them to enjoy themselves. Such a shame, too, they made such a lovely couple."
Josh and Franklin were led to a huge concert hall where the stage had been set up for Josh to play. The beings of the planet Saugen Ihr Gehirn were packed into the hall to watch the boy with the golden voice sing for them.
Josh took the stage, carrying his guitar with him as he looked out into the crowd. "Uh... hi," Josh said as he smiled at Franklin sitting in the front row. "My name is Josh, and I guess I'm supposed to rock this world with a little music. Hope you enjoy it."
You don’t like the way I act
Girl, you’d better face the fact
You can wait a long while
I’m not about to change my style
This is me, how I like to be
Take it or leave it
I am free, how I like to be
Take it or leave it
What you get is what you see
You’d better believe it
Take it or leave it
You think I’m a big disgrace
Why don’t you get out of my face
You say I’m the hurting kind
Girl, you’d better keep in mind
This is me, how I like to be
Take it or leave it
I am free, how I like to be
Take it or leave it
What you get is what you see
You’d better believe it
Take it or leave it
Baby, take it or leave it
A few seconds after he finished the first song, there was a dead silence in the concert hall. Josh was starting to think he was bombing before the entire place erupted in a thunderous applause.
Three hours and two encores later, Josh and Franklin were led to a place where they could rest. It looked like a large honeycomb that stood several stories tall.
"Hope it's not all sticky on the inside," Franklin said as they were led to a room, where the door itself was shaped like a hexagon.
"This is your room, we hope you enjoy it," the owner of the building said. "It's our finest honeymoon suite."
"Thanks, we're really tir- wait, WHAT?" Josh said as he his eyes widened. "Honeymoon suite? But we're not-"
"Oh, don't be coy, we saw you do the ceremony at dinner," Bob said as he had their luggage brought up. "Sneezing? Dropping the fork and catching it? Brushing your hair out of eyes to stare at your lover? You followed all the rituals perfectly, it couldn't have been a coincidence. By this planet's law, you two are legally married," before the two could say anything, they were shoved into the room. "Have a pleasant stay, gentlemen."
Franklin and Josh just stared at each other, then stared at the honeycomb shaped bed.
"I'll sleep in the bathtub, provided there is one," Franklin said. "In the morning, we'll get this straightened out. You were really great tonight, by the way."
"Thanks," Josh said as he fell back onto the bed, his wings spread out on the mattress. "Sam would kill me if he found out I got hitched."
"What about my parents? They don't think I'm responsible enough for a dog, what am I going to tell them if I bring home a husband?" Franklin asked. "Look, even if we can't get a quickie divorce, there's no way this thing is legal on Earth. We'll spend a few days here, then we'll go home. I think we've built our hero skills enough, right?"
"Right," Josh told him as Franklin stood up. "Good night, Franklin."
Franklin walked into the bathroom and found everything was shaped like a hexagon, including the shower stall, which had no tub to sleep in. Franklin just sighed as he kicked off his boots and sat down in the stall, putting his arms around his knees to get some sleep.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Franklin woke up the next morning, feeling sore the position he slept in. He showered, changed clothes and headed out to the bedroom, finding the bed empty. "Josh?"
Franklin left the room and ran right into Bob. "Ah, Franklin, I was just coming to see if you were awake."
"Yeah, yeah, where's Josh?" Franklin asked.
"Your husband is-"
"No, no, none of that," Franklin said. "Where is my friend?"
"Oh, he left early, he's taking a tour of our glorious world," Bob said. "Would like the tour as well?"
"Oh, what the hell," Franklin said. "That could be fun. Can we catch up to Josh?"
"In time," Bob said as he led Franklin out. "All in very good time."
# # # # # # # # # # # # # #
The portal opened as Sophie Von Doom stepped out, followed by the Doombots.
"Ugh, look at this horrible world," Sophie said with disgust. "But my love is here. Destroy it all until we find him."
TO BE CONTINUED...
Josh had started a fire in the cave, while the rain was pouring down outside. Franklin was resting against the wall, trying to recover from being tased by Sophie Von Doom earlier. After stoking the fire to keep them warm, Josh brought some food over to Franklin.
"You should eat," Josh said. "You need to get your strength back so we can get ou f of here when the rain stops. My hypnotic suggestion probably won't last long against Doom's daughter."
"How did you manage to get back?" Franklin asked.
"I ended up in a world where they had a functioning portal," Josh told him, "I promised I'd come back and put on a concert if they sent me back here to save you. I'm still pissed you that tried to ditch me."
"I was saving you," Franklin said. "She would have killed you."
"I can handle myself," Josh told him. "We're a team, remember? We look out for each other. Don't do that to me again, okay? Now eat, dammit, I want to get out of here."
Three hours later, and the rain still wasn't stopping. The fire was starting to die down from lack of fuel as Franklin slept on the ground. Josh was staring out of the cave into the falling rain while staring a picture of him and his siblings.
"I wish you were here, Sam," Josh said as he touched the picture. "You'd know what to do."
# # # # # # # # # # # # # #
On Earth, Samuel Guthrie was headed toward the Baxter Building after having received his word that his little brother was in New York and staying with the Fantastic 4. The door slowly opened as H.E.R.B.I.E. stared out at him.
"I'm here to see Josh," Sam said as he looked at the robot.
"Oh, right, Cannonball of the X-Men," the robot said as he opened the door. "You have the power to jet propel and create blast fields. Interesting..."
"Uh, yeah," Sam said, feeling awkward about talking to a robot. "Is he here?"
"He took off with Franklin about a week ago, haven't heard from him since. I think they skipped out on this dimension," H.E.R.B.I.E. told him. "Why don't I take you to Dr. Richard's lab and maybe we can try to contact him?"
Valeria was getting some things from the lab and dropped a thermal detector behind the desk. She crawled under to get it as H.E.R.B.I.E. led Sam in.
"This sure is a nice place," Sam said as he looked around. "You really think we can contact Josh from here?"
"Sure, just stand over there," H.E.R.B.I.E. said as the robot reached out to hover his pincer arm over a small red button. Sam stepped over and realized he was standing on a pad.
"Hey, what's this?" Sam asked as the robot pushed the button. Shockwaves of energy surged through Sam's body, enough to render him unconscious after screaming in pain for several seconds. He fell to his knees, then fell onto his side as H.E.R.B.I.E. floated over to him.
"Sorry, kid, you showed up at the wrong place at exactly the right time," H.E.R.B.I.E. said as he started dragging Sam away as Valeria watched in horror.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # #
The rain was finally stopping, and the sun started to shine into the cave. Franklin started yawning as he woke up, seeing Josh sleeping against the wall near the entrance. He got up and stretched as he walked over to his friend, gently nudging him.
"Come on, Josh, time to go," Franklin told him. "My energy tracker is picking up energy signatures. Sophie's coming back, we have to hurry."
"Okay," Josh said as he opened his eyes, seeing Franklin being bathed in the sunlight. It was probably the most beautiful sight he'd ever woken up to, but he quickly shook it off and grabbed his stuff. "We should go directly to that brainiac planet, they probably have good security, we'll probably be safer there than anywhere."
"Good thinking," Franklin said as he opened the portal. "Let's go."
Minutes after they had left, Sophie had returned with even stronger Doombots.
"They couldn't have gotten too far," Sophie said. "The next time, I won't fall for parlor tricks. Next time, Franklin is mine."
# # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Franklin and Josh exited the portal, arriving on the world of the hyper-intelligent creatures who had helped Josh earlier. Upon their arrival, they were greeted by the big headed creatures of the planet Saugen Ihr Gehirn.
"Welcome, friends," Bob said as he greeted them. "We sensed your arrival and came to welcome you in person. Did you come to give us our concert?"
"Of course, a promise is a promise," Josh told him. "Just show where to perform and we'll get this show started."
"Soon, my friend, soon," Bob said. "But first, we have prepared a banquet in your honor. You are both honored guests here."
"Cool," Franklin said as he looked around. "This place isn't that bad. A lot better than a lot of the worlds we've been to."
"I know, right? For a place without art or music, it doesn't suck as much as I thought it would," Josh replied as they followed Bob to the banquet hall.
A short while later, Franklin and Josh were sitting at a table with the other beings of the world, staring at a massive banquet in their honor.
"Holy shit, look at all this food," Franklin whispered to Josh.
"I know, I'm gaining weight just looking at it," Josh whispered back, just as Franklin sneezed. Josh handed him his napkin. "Bless you."
The other beings around the table just gasped as the two teens just stared at them.
"Okay," Josh said as Franklin took the napkin, accidentally knocking a fork off of the table. He reached down and grabbed it before it hit the floor and handed it back to Josh as the beings gasped again, while Franklin took a sip from a cup of purple liquid on the table. "Oh, you've got a little something on your chin. Here, let me."
Josh took another napkin and wiped Franklin's chin as the beings gasped once again. "Dammit, what is with all the gasping?"
"Are they really?" one of the beings asked Bob.
"Only if the blonde one-" Bob said as Franklin brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes as he looked at Josh. "Now they are. Well, this is a momentous occasion! Eat and drink, my friends, we have much to celebrate tonight! Our two new Earth friends have brought us so much in so little time!"
"It's just a concert," Josh said as he looked around. "Right?"
"We can't harm them tonight, not after this," one of the leaders said to Bob. "We must give them the night at least."
"Fine," Bob sighed. "One night for them to enjoy themselves. Such a shame, too, they made such a lovely couple."
Josh and Franklin were led to a huge concert hall where the stage had been set up for Josh to play. The beings of the planet Saugen Ihr Gehirn were packed into the hall to watch the boy with the golden voice sing for them.
Josh took the stage, carrying his guitar with him as he looked out into the crowd. "Uh... hi," Josh said as he smiled at Franklin sitting in the front row. "My name is Josh, and I guess I'm supposed to rock this world with a little music. Hope you enjoy it."
You don’t like the way I act
Girl, you’d better face the fact
You can wait a long while
I’m not about to change my style
This is me, how I like to be
Take it or leave it
I am free, how I like to be
Take it or leave it
What you get is what you see
You’d better believe it
Take it or leave it
You think I’m a big disgrace
Why don’t you get out of my face
You say I’m the hurting kind
Girl, you’d better keep in mind
This is me, how I like to be
Take it or leave it
I am free, how I like to be
Take it or leave it
What you get is what you see
You’d better believe it
Take it or leave it
Baby, take it or leave it
A few seconds after he finished the first song, there was a dead silence in the concert hall. Josh was starting to think he was bombing before the entire place erupted in a thunderous applause.
Three hours and two encores later, Josh and Franklin were led to a place where they could rest. It looked like a large honeycomb that stood several stories tall.
"Hope it's not all sticky on the inside," Franklin said as they were led to a room, where the door itself was shaped like a hexagon.
"This is your room, we hope you enjoy it," the owner of the building said. "It's our finest honeymoon suite."
"Thanks, we're really tir- wait, WHAT?" Josh said as he his eyes widened. "Honeymoon suite? But we're not-"
"Oh, don't be coy, we saw you do the ceremony at dinner," Bob said as he had their luggage brought up. "Sneezing? Dropping the fork and catching it? Brushing your hair out of eyes to stare at your lover? You followed all the rituals perfectly, it couldn't have been a coincidence. By this planet's law, you two are legally married," before the two could say anything, they were shoved into the room. "Have a pleasant stay, gentlemen."
Franklin and Josh just stared at each other, then stared at the honeycomb shaped bed.
"I'll sleep in the bathtub, provided there is one," Franklin said. "In the morning, we'll get this straightened out. You were really great tonight, by the way."
"Thanks," Josh said as he fell back onto the bed, his wings spread out on the mattress. "Sam would kill me if he found out I got hitched."
"What about my parents? They don't think I'm responsible enough for a dog, what am I going to tell them if I bring home a husband?" Franklin asked. "Look, even if we can't get a quickie divorce, there's no way this thing is legal on Earth. We'll spend a few days here, then we'll go home. I think we've built our hero skills enough, right?"
"Right," Josh told him as Franklin stood up. "Good night, Franklin."
Franklin walked into the bathroom and found everything was shaped like a hexagon, including the shower stall, which had no tub to sleep in. Franklin just sighed as he kicked off his boots and sat down in the stall, putting his arms around his knees to get some sleep.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Franklin woke up the next morning, feeling sore the position he slept in. He showered, changed clothes and headed out to the bedroom, finding the bed empty. "Josh?"
Franklin left the room and ran right into Bob. "Ah, Franklin, I was just coming to see if you were awake."
"Yeah, yeah, where's Josh?" Franklin asked.
"Your husband is-"
"No, no, none of that," Franklin said. "Where is my friend?"
"Oh, he left early, he's taking a tour of our glorious world," Bob said. "Would like the tour as well?"
"Oh, what the hell," Franklin said. "That could be fun. Can we catch up to Josh?"
"In time," Bob said as he led Franklin out. "All in very good time."
# # # # # # # # # # # # # #
The portal opened as Sophie Von Doom stepped out, followed by the Doombots.
"Ugh, look at this horrible world," Sophie said with disgust. "But my love is here. Destroy it all until we find him."
TO BE CONTINUED...