Back to GatefoldIssue #14 by Tobias Christopher
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Franklin Richards and Josh Guthrie have been traveling across different worlds in an attempt to become better heroes after Franklin's leadership of the New Warriors had been usurped from him by his little sister.
It didn't take long for Franklin's stalker with a crush, Sophie Von Doom, to track the two down. They escaped and made their way to a world filled with ultra-intelligent beings, who have plans for the duo to stay permanently..
It didn't take long for Franklin's stalker with a crush, Sophie Von Doom, to track the two down. They escaped and made their way to a world filled with ultra-intelligent beings, who have plans for the duo to stay permanently..
"Escape From the Planet of the Brains"
Josh Guthrie opened his eyes, realizing that he was no longer laying on the comfortable bed he'd fallen asleep on the night before. He realized he was now sleeping on a cold concrete floor, with no light in the room.
"Franklin?" Josh asked as he stood up and tried to feel his way around. "What happened to all the lights?"
From outside, curtains were suddenly drawn open, letting light into the room. Josh held his hand over his eyes to shield him from the sudden brightness, which was when he started to realize he was no longer in the hotel room he'd fallen asleep in the night before. The room was empty except for Josh's guitar sitting in the corner.
"What's going on?" Josh asked as he started to panic.
"What's going on?" one of the planet's inhabitants said as he stood outside of the window. "What's going on is that you are now our main attraction. Welcome to our zoo, Mr. Guthrie."
# # # # # # # # # #
Franklin was getting bored with the tour that he had been dragged through of the planet's sights and attractions. He really wished that Josh was there to help him make jokes about how boring this all was.
"Are we going to catch up with Josh anytime soon?" Franklin asked with a sigh. "Not that I don't appreciate your hospitality, I just really want to see my friend."
"Of course, it's natural to miss your true love so soon after marriage," Bob told him.
"I fuckin' swear, I will punch you if you call him my husband again," Franklin said angrily. "We are not married, and we are not in love. He is my best friend, not my lover. Now, please, would you take me to him?"
"Very well," Bob said with a smirk. "Perhaps it is time that the tour ended. Follow me and we'll go right to him. Would you care for a drink, Mr. Richards?"
"I guess I could go for a soda," Franklin said. "Look, I'm sorry I snapped. It's just... I really do care about Josh. He's my only real friend, I just want to make sure he's safe."
"Oh, I understand," Bob said as Franklin was handed a cold soda. "Trust me, he's completely secure right now. If fact, I believe right now he's performing for a crowd."
"Can I go watch?" Franklin asked as he drank from the can. After a few seconds, things started getting blurry. "Wha- what the hell is happening to me? What was in that soda?"
"I would explain it to you, but I'm afraid there is no time," Bob said as Franklin passed out on the ground.
# # # # # # # # # #
Sophie and her Doombots had arrived at the heart of the city, where the Doombots began to lay waste to everything they could see.
"Destroy everything until we find my love!" Sophie shouted. "I want Franklin Richards found!"
"Please, we are a peaceful race," one of the big headed creatures said as he came out to meet her. "We have no weapons, we only have our advanced intellect. You must be feeling tired, why don't you sleep?"
"Oh, another mind trick?" Sophie asked. "Sorry, I fell for that already when the little red winged bastard used his mind trick on me. Now I have earphones that block out those suggestions. No weapons, you say? Perfect, I can claim this world as a gift for my father. He can drain your so-called advanced intellect and add it to his own. Doombots, continue on!"
# # # # # # # # # #
Franklin opened his eyes and found he was strapped to a table. He was shirtless with electrodes attached to his chest, with an IV attached to his arm to pump him with sedatives to keep him from using his powers.
"What's going on?" Franklin asked. "Where am I?"
"You are in a laboratory," Bob told him. "You, the most powerful creature in all the known worlds, are about to make our race the most powerful in every universe. Once we drain you of that power, that is. We'll try our best not to kill you, but unfortunately, there may be some dissection involved."
"Why?" Franklin asked, barely able to keep his eyes open.
"Because we are already the smartest beings in the universe, but that's not enough, we need to be the most powerful as well," Bob said. "And with your powers, we will be unstoppable. We can use your gifts to gain further knowledge and further power. We will be the ultimate in both knowledge and strength."
"You're insane," Franklin said weakly. "With great power comes..." Franklin fell asleep before he could finish his sentence.
# # # # # # # # # #
"I'm not performing for you!" Josh shouted as he pounded on the window. "Now let me out!"
"Sorry, we can't do that," the Zookeeper told him. "But you will perform for us."
"Yeah? You gonna make me?" Josh asked.
"As a matter of fact," the Zookeeper said as he pulled a lever. Within seconds, the air started getting sucked out of the room. Josh started gasping as he fell to his knees as the Zookeeper pulled the lever up. "You have two minutes to catch your breath, Mr. Guthrie. The next time, I take away all the air."
# # # # # # # # # #
Bob was about to cut into Franklin's skull when a guard burst in.
"A female human is destroying everything!" the guard shouted. "She wants the boy! She has an army of robots!"
"Use a mind trick on her to make her stop!" Bob told him.
"We tried, she's immune to our suggestions!" the guard shouted. "She wants the boy, or she's going to destroy our whole world!"
"I need time to drain him of his power, then we can stop her," Bob said. "What about the other boy? Can he do anything?"
"We have him in a cage at the zoo, remember? I doubt he'd want to help us," the guard said. "What do we do?"
Bob looked down at Franklin. "Curses."
# # # # # # # # # #
Sophie and her robots continued their rampage as the inhabitants continued fleeing in terror. Franklin was still woozy as he had been brought to the scene.
"Can you stop her?" Bob asked as Franklin sat down on the ground.
"Yeah, but I'm not going to. Not until you let Josh go. You bring me my friend and we'll stop her," Franklin said weakly.
Bob looked at the guards. "Get the other one, and hurry!"
Sophie was ordering her Doombots to march on when she saw Franklin being pushed toward the street. He was still weak as he fell to the ground and tried to pick himself up.
"At last," Sophie smiled. "My love. We can finally go home. What have they done to you?"
"Drugged me," Franklin said as he leaned against the wall. "You have to stop this destruction."
"Oh, I will, darling, as soon as you are secured and ready to be taken back to Latveria," Sophie told him. "My poor baby. A little time away from all of this will be just what you need. Doombots, take him!"
"Get your hands off of him!" Josh shouted as he dive bombed the Doombots, knocking them over like bowling pins. "I told you before, no one touches my little buddy!"
"Destroy him!" Sophie shouted as the Doombots took aim and fired their lasers at him. One hit Josh in the wing as Franklin watched his friend fall toward the ground.
"NO!" Franklin shouted angrily as he waved his hand, turning the Doombots into a pile of pillows for Josh to land safely on. "I've had enough from the Dooms! Leave me alone! Go back to where you came from!"
Franklin snapped his fingers as Sophie vanished in a cloud of black smoke. The young hero finally collapsed to the ground, having spent all of his energy. Before Bob could send his guards to get Franklin, Josh got off the pillows and sang the highest note he could muster. The guards held their ears in pain as Josh picked Franklin up.
"It's okay, Franklin, I've got you," Josh said as he noticed the portal device on Franklin's belt. He grabbed it and quickly a portal, not caring where it went. He jumped through, closing the portal behind him.
# # # # # # # # # #
"Where am I?" Sophie asked, realizing she was in her original universe, the one that Dr. Doom had plucked her from. "When I get back to Latveria, the first thing I'm going to do is make a plot to exterminate that winged freak once and for all!"
# # # # # # # # # #
Franklin felt a cold chill running over him as he opened his eyes, seeing that he was back in the cave on the wilderness planet while a heavy rain storm was happening outside. He was still shirtless as he sat up and saw Josh sitting across from him, just staring out into the rain.
"You saved my ass again," Franklin whispered with a slight laugh as he tried to sit up. "I'm supposed to be the one saving you."
"I want to go home," Josh said, his voice shaking. "We're not heroes, Franklin. We're posers, pretenders. The only reason we escaped is because your stalker came looking for you. Now we're stuck here, with no food, no fire, no clothes, and I lost my guitar."
Franklin was still too weak to get up as he closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Josh. I'm sorry I dragged you into this. But you're wrong, we are heroes. We've done a lot of good since we started out. So we fucked up in this situation, that doesn't mean we give up. That just means we try harder the next time. But maybe you're right about going home. I want to see my family again."
"The portal generator's out of juice," Josh told him. "We barely made it here. We're stuck. This is where we die, Franklin. On this planet where it's been raining for six straight hours. I didn't even have time to get some wood for a fire before it started up. And we left all of our stuff on that last planet."
"We still have each other," Franklin told him. "Maybe I can use my powers to make some food, or a fire, or something once the drugs wear off. We're not dying here, Josh. And even if we were doomed to be here forever... there's no one else I'd rather be with."
"I love you," Josh said as he finally started to smile. "... as a friend, I mean."
"I love you, too," Franklin laughed. "As a best friend. But let's not tell anyone that we, you know, got married. Not that it'd be legal on Earth or anything, but I don't want to freak out my parents."
"I know," Josh said as he continued staring outside. "Think we'll ever make it home?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if H.E.R.B.I.E. knew exactly where we are right now," Franklin told him.
# # # # # # # # # #
On Earth, H.E.R.B.I.E. was sitting still in Vincent Von Doom's secret lab. The son of Dr. Doom patted him on the head as he stared into a giant glass cylinder where Sam Guthrie was still passed out.
"Machine Teen has been infected with the same virus I had implanted into Reed Richard's A.I. system," Vincent said as he sat down at his computer. "It's time for the real games to begin. Machine Teen, hear my words."
# # # # # # # # # #
New Warriors Headquarters
Machine Teen was sitting in his room, having just finished updating his systems when his eyes started to glow red.
"Yes, my master," Machine Teen said.
"Begin spreading my little virus," Vincent said. "I want every piece of tech in both the New Warrior's HQ and the Baxter Building within my power in the next hour. It's Doomsday, my slave, a day where we will celebrate my greatness for the rest of time."
TO BE CONTINUED...
Josh Guthrie opened his eyes, realizing that he was no longer laying on the comfortable bed he'd fallen asleep on the night before. He realized he was now sleeping on a cold concrete floor, with no light in the room.
"Franklin?" Josh asked as he stood up and tried to feel his way around. "What happened to all the lights?"
From outside, curtains were suddenly drawn open, letting light into the room. Josh held his hand over his eyes to shield him from the sudden brightness, which was when he started to realize he was no longer in the hotel room he'd fallen asleep in the night before. The room was empty except for Josh's guitar sitting in the corner.
"What's going on?" Josh asked as he started to panic.
"What's going on?" one of the planet's inhabitants said as he stood outside of the window. "What's going on is that you are now our main attraction. Welcome to our zoo, Mr. Guthrie."
# # # # # # # # # #
Franklin was getting bored with the tour that he had been dragged through of the planet's sights and attractions. He really wished that Josh was there to help him make jokes about how boring this all was.
"Are we going to catch up with Josh anytime soon?" Franklin asked with a sigh. "Not that I don't appreciate your hospitality, I just really want to see my friend."
"Of course, it's natural to miss your true love so soon after marriage," Bob told him.
"I fuckin' swear, I will punch you if you call him my husband again," Franklin said angrily. "We are not married, and we are not in love. He is my best friend, not my lover. Now, please, would you take me to him?"
"Very well," Bob said with a smirk. "Perhaps it is time that the tour ended. Follow me and we'll go right to him. Would you care for a drink, Mr. Richards?"
"I guess I could go for a soda," Franklin said. "Look, I'm sorry I snapped. It's just... I really do care about Josh. He's my only real friend, I just want to make sure he's safe."
"Oh, I understand," Bob said as Franklin was handed a cold soda. "Trust me, he's completely secure right now. If fact, I believe right now he's performing for a crowd."
"Can I go watch?" Franklin asked as he drank from the can. After a few seconds, things started getting blurry. "Wha- what the hell is happening to me? What was in that soda?"
"I would explain it to you, but I'm afraid there is no time," Bob said as Franklin passed out on the ground.
# # # # # # # # # #
Sophie and her Doombots had arrived at the heart of the city, where the Doombots began to lay waste to everything they could see.
"Destroy everything until we find my love!" Sophie shouted. "I want Franklin Richards found!"
"Please, we are a peaceful race," one of the big headed creatures said as he came out to meet her. "We have no weapons, we only have our advanced intellect. You must be feeling tired, why don't you sleep?"
"Oh, another mind trick?" Sophie asked. "Sorry, I fell for that already when the little red winged bastard used his mind trick on me. Now I have earphones that block out those suggestions. No weapons, you say? Perfect, I can claim this world as a gift for my father. He can drain your so-called advanced intellect and add it to his own. Doombots, continue on!"
# # # # # # # # # #
Franklin opened his eyes and found he was strapped to a table. He was shirtless with electrodes attached to his chest, with an IV attached to his arm to pump him with sedatives to keep him from using his powers.
"What's going on?" Franklin asked. "Where am I?"
"You are in a laboratory," Bob told him. "You, the most powerful creature in all the known worlds, are about to make our race the most powerful in every universe. Once we drain you of that power, that is. We'll try our best not to kill you, but unfortunately, there may be some dissection involved."
"Why?" Franklin asked, barely able to keep his eyes open.
"Because we are already the smartest beings in the universe, but that's not enough, we need to be the most powerful as well," Bob said. "And with your powers, we will be unstoppable. We can use your gifts to gain further knowledge and further power. We will be the ultimate in both knowledge and strength."
"You're insane," Franklin said weakly. "With great power comes..." Franklin fell asleep before he could finish his sentence.
# # # # # # # # # #
"I'm not performing for you!" Josh shouted as he pounded on the window. "Now let me out!"
"Sorry, we can't do that," the Zookeeper told him. "But you will perform for us."
"Yeah? You gonna make me?" Josh asked.
"As a matter of fact," the Zookeeper said as he pulled a lever. Within seconds, the air started getting sucked out of the room. Josh started gasping as he fell to his knees as the Zookeeper pulled the lever up. "You have two minutes to catch your breath, Mr. Guthrie. The next time, I take away all the air."
# # # # # # # # # #
Bob was about to cut into Franklin's skull when a guard burst in.
"A female human is destroying everything!" the guard shouted. "She wants the boy! She has an army of robots!"
"Use a mind trick on her to make her stop!" Bob told him.
"We tried, she's immune to our suggestions!" the guard shouted. "She wants the boy, or she's going to destroy our whole world!"
"I need time to drain him of his power, then we can stop her," Bob said. "What about the other boy? Can he do anything?"
"We have him in a cage at the zoo, remember? I doubt he'd want to help us," the guard said. "What do we do?"
Bob looked down at Franklin. "Curses."
# # # # # # # # # #
Sophie and her robots continued their rampage as the inhabitants continued fleeing in terror. Franklin was still woozy as he had been brought to the scene.
"Can you stop her?" Bob asked as Franklin sat down on the ground.
"Yeah, but I'm not going to. Not until you let Josh go. You bring me my friend and we'll stop her," Franklin said weakly.
Bob looked at the guards. "Get the other one, and hurry!"
Sophie was ordering her Doombots to march on when she saw Franklin being pushed toward the street. He was still weak as he fell to the ground and tried to pick himself up.
"At last," Sophie smiled. "My love. We can finally go home. What have they done to you?"
"Drugged me," Franklin said as he leaned against the wall. "You have to stop this destruction."
"Oh, I will, darling, as soon as you are secured and ready to be taken back to Latveria," Sophie told him. "My poor baby. A little time away from all of this will be just what you need. Doombots, take him!"
"Get your hands off of him!" Josh shouted as he dive bombed the Doombots, knocking them over like bowling pins. "I told you before, no one touches my little buddy!"
"Destroy him!" Sophie shouted as the Doombots took aim and fired their lasers at him. One hit Josh in the wing as Franklin watched his friend fall toward the ground.
"NO!" Franklin shouted angrily as he waved his hand, turning the Doombots into a pile of pillows for Josh to land safely on. "I've had enough from the Dooms! Leave me alone! Go back to where you came from!"
Franklin snapped his fingers as Sophie vanished in a cloud of black smoke. The young hero finally collapsed to the ground, having spent all of his energy. Before Bob could send his guards to get Franklin, Josh got off the pillows and sang the highest note he could muster. The guards held their ears in pain as Josh picked Franklin up.
"It's okay, Franklin, I've got you," Josh said as he noticed the portal device on Franklin's belt. He grabbed it and quickly a portal, not caring where it went. He jumped through, closing the portal behind him.
# # # # # # # # # #
"Where am I?" Sophie asked, realizing she was in her original universe, the one that Dr. Doom had plucked her from. "When I get back to Latveria, the first thing I'm going to do is make a plot to exterminate that winged freak once and for all!"
# # # # # # # # # #
Franklin felt a cold chill running over him as he opened his eyes, seeing that he was back in the cave on the wilderness planet while a heavy rain storm was happening outside. He was still shirtless as he sat up and saw Josh sitting across from him, just staring out into the rain.
"You saved my ass again," Franklin whispered with a slight laugh as he tried to sit up. "I'm supposed to be the one saving you."
"I want to go home," Josh said, his voice shaking. "We're not heroes, Franklin. We're posers, pretenders. The only reason we escaped is because your stalker came looking for you. Now we're stuck here, with no food, no fire, no clothes, and I lost my guitar."
Franklin was still too weak to get up as he closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Josh. I'm sorry I dragged you into this. But you're wrong, we are heroes. We've done a lot of good since we started out. So we fucked up in this situation, that doesn't mean we give up. That just means we try harder the next time. But maybe you're right about going home. I want to see my family again."
"The portal generator's out of juice," Josh told him. "We barely made it here. We're stuck. This is where we die, Franklin. On this planet where it's been raining for six straight hours. I didn't even have time to get some wood for a fire before it started up. And we left all of our stuff on that last planet."
"We still have each other," Franklin told him. "Maybe I can use my powers to make some food, or a fire, or something once the drugs wear off. We're not dying here, Josh. And even if we were doomed to be here forever... there's no one else I'd rather be with."
"I love you," Josh said as he finally started to smile. "... as a friend, I mean."
"I love you, too," Franklin laughed. "As a best friend. But let's not tell anyone that we, you know, got married. Not that it'd be legal on Earth or anything, but I don't want to freak out my parents."
"I know," Josh said as he continued staring outside. "Think we'll ever make it home?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if H.E.R.B.I.E. knew exactly where we are right now," Franklin told him.
# # # # # # # # # #
On Earth, H.E.R.B.I.E. was sitting still in Vincent Von Doom's secret lab. The son of Dr. Doom patted him on the head as he stared into a giant glass cylinder where Sam Guthrie was still passed out.
"Machine Teen has been infected with the same virus I had implanted into Reed Richard's A.I. system," Vincent said as he sat down at his computer. "It's time for the real games to begin. Machine Teen, hear my words."
# # # # # # # # # #
New Warriors Headquarters
Machine Teen was sitting in his room, having just finished updating his systems when his eyes started to glow red.
"Yes, my master," Machine Teen said.
"Begin spreading my little virus," Vincent said. "I want every piece of tech in both the New Warrior's HQ and the Baxter Building within my power in the next hour. It's Doomsday, my slave, a day where we will celebrate my greatness for the rest of time."
TO BE CONTINUED...