Back to GatefoldIssue #19 by Tobias Christopher
June 2017 |
Having escaped from prison, the Jester and the Trapster decided to try their hand at running their own business, setting up a little shop in Brooklyn.
"Are you sure about this?" Jester asked. "I thought we weren't supposed to draw attention to ourselves?"
"We need the money, and with all these heroes running around, the only way to do it is by starting our own legitimate business," Trapster told him as he finished putting up the sign. "Welcome to Villains for Hire! If the heroes can do a temp service, then so can we! Now we just sit back and wait for our first customer!"
"I wonder who it'll be," Jester said. "Maybe the Kingpin or the Hobgoblin or--"
"You two idiots!"
The two villains turned around, shocked to see who was standing in front of them.
"I've got a job for the two of you."
"Are you sure about this?" Jester asked. "I thought we weren't supposed to draw attention to ourselves?"
"We need the money, and with all these heroes running around, the only way to do it is by starting our own legitimate business," Trapster told him as he finished putting up the sign. "Welcome to Villains for Hire! If the heroes can do a temp service, then so can we! Now we just sit back and wait for our first customer!"
"I wonder who it'll be," Jester said. "Maybe the Kingpin or the Hobgoblin or--"
"You two idiots!"
The two villains turned around, shocked to see who was standing in front of them.
"I've got a job for the two of you."
"Betrayed by Blood"
New Warriors Headquarters
Midnight
Everyone was asleep in the renovated abandoned mall that now served as headquarters to the team of teenage superheroes who called themselves the New Warriors. Well, almost everyone.
Adam Aaronson didn't need to sleep, after all, he was an android that looked like a regular teenage boy. The closest he came to sleep was when he stopped to recharge his battery, which didn't require anything but patience since recharges usually took several hours.
So while his teammates slept in their respective rooms, Adam usually just wandered around the headquarters, trying to keep himself busy. The teenage android looked in on his friends, seeing them all sleeping soundly. Andy was snuggled up with his puppy; Valeria had fallen asleep on her bed while reading a book; Kittania had worn herself out from sword practice; Josh and Sam had fallen asleep on the couch in Sam's room while watching a horror movie marathon, and Juston had fallen asleep at his workbench while trying to upgrade his armor. Adam picked his friend up and carried him to his bed, pulling off Juston's sneakers before tucking him in.
"Goodnight, buddy," Adam said.
"Aw, that was sweet of you," Franklin said as he stood at the doorway while eating an apple. "Now I know how I always end up back in my bed when I spend the night here."
"I just try to make my friends more comfortable," Adam told him. "Why are you awake?"
"Midnight snack, bro," Franklin said as he took another bite of the apple. "Why are you up?"
"I am always up," Adam said as he turned off the light on Juston's nightstand. "As an android, I don't require sleep."
"Oh, right, I guess I keep forgetting you're a machine," Franklin told him. "Even though your hero name is Machine Teen. What's it like to not have to sleep?"
"I honestly can't say, I've never known what sleep is," Adam said as they walked along the corridor. "My father would just shut down my CPU to simulate sleep at night until I learned what I truly was. But he's... gone now."
"Bummer," Franklin said, taking another bite. "So I guess you don't know what it's like to be a real boy, huh?"
"I was programmed to think and act like a real boy," Adam told him. "I even had a girlfriend at one point."
"I think that's your problem; you were programmed to think and feel like a real boy, but your father was an old dude by that point. How would he know how a real boy thinks and acts?" Franklin asked as he thought about it. "You know, I've been getting used to my powers... maybe I could try--"
"Turning me into a Cronenberg nightmare?"
"Good point," Franklin said as a chill ran down his spine.
"But I would like to experience what it would be like to be real, even for just a day," Adam sighed as he left Franklin standing in the corridor.
# # # # # # # # # #
"So, all we gotta do is kidnap one of those brats from the New Warriors and we get paid?" Jester asked. "But they beat us before!"
"Not this time. Our new employer has provided a list of how to take them out, and imprison the one we're after," Trapster told him. "And I know just the place to do it. Let's go pay a visit to Horizon Labs."
# # # # # # # # # #
The next morning, Franklin was sitting in the rec room as Sam walked in, taking a seat next to him. The t.v. wasn't on and he wasn't on his cellphone; he was just sulking as Sam stared at the boy.
"I grew with a lot of siblings. I can tell when something's wrong with one of them," Sam said. "What's wrong, kid? Does this have to do with Josh?"
"No," Franklin said. "I mean, kind of, but not like that, not this time. I did something bad. I... stole my Uncle Johnny's powers*. He was upset over my Uncle Ben dying and he was going off the deep end. It was the only way I could think of to keep him from hurting anyone."
(*Fantastic Four #73)
"Well, under the circumstances, you probably did the right thing," Sam told him. "I mean, with all that firepower, Johnny Storm could have really hurt someone, maybe even killed them."
"But he hates me now," Franklin said as he looked up at Sam. "He said I'm his enemy now."
"I'm sure he didn't mean it," Sam said. "Things will work out. Maybe I can get Bobby and Spider-Man to go talk to him. Maybe a visit from his amazing friends might help."
"Hey, there's a break-in at Horizon," Juston said as he looked into the room. "Icarus, Alpha and I are heading there now."
"We'll be right behind you," Sam said.
# # # # # # # # # #
The doors to Horizon Labs exploded open as the Trapster and the Jester rushed out with as much gear as they could carry.
"Do you really think this is going to work?" Jester asked.
"Horizon's just up the street from the New Warrior's headquarters. They'll be the first ones here," Trapster said as he pointed to the sky. "And here they come now!"
Icarus, Sentinel, and Alpha flew toward the two villains, who pulled out their weapons.
"Remember, it's Franklin that we want," Trapster said as he fired a blue gun at Icarus, pinning him to a wall.
"Gross!" Icarus shouted. "I'm stuck!"
"Don't worry, buddy, I'll get you loose!" Sentinel shouted as he aimed his wrist mounted laser.
"No, you won't!" Jester said as he fired a gun, sending a bolo at Sentinel, wrapping itself around him as he started to fall. Alpha quickly caught him before he could hit the ground.
"Looks like he's ready for us!" Alpha said. "Let's see if he's ready for--" several marble shaped bombs rolled over to Alpha, blowing him through the wall behind him. "I guess they were."
"Looks like we're just in time!" Cannonball said as he arrived with Franklin and Machine Teen. Cannonball propelled himself toward Jester, knocking him across the street.
"Just in time to be taken out!" Trapster said as he fired a laser gun he'd stolen from Horizon. Franklin created a shield to take the force of the blast, but it eventually shattered, sending Franklin to the ground.
"Don't worry, I've got this," Machine Teen said as Trapster picked up another laser he'd stolen. Trapster fired, hitting Machine Teen, sending him flying back into Alpha, who'd just come back to the scene.
"The kid's down, let's go!" Trapster shouted.
"Uh, a little busy here!" Jester said as Cannonball was punching him in the face.
"Oh, for the love of--" Trapster said as he fired the laser at Cannonball, forcing him to drop Jester. Trapster slung Franklin over his shoulder as they started running, just as Sentinel and Icarus freed themselves. They saw the two villains jump down into a manhole as they saw their friends getting up from the ground.
"We have to go after them!" Icarus shouted.
"We will," Cannonball said as he stood up. "Is everyone okay?"
Everyone looked around to make they were alright, which was then saw Machine Teen's shoulder was bleeding.
"Hey, that's a pretty good trick," Alpha said. "Is that like, fake blood."
"No, it's real," Machine Teen said. "And so is the pain!"
"Josh, get him to a hospital," Cannonball said. "Juston, go back to Headquarters and get the others. Alpha and I will--"
"No, I'm going after Franklin," Icarus told him. "I have to save him."
"Josh, I swear to you, I'll bring Franklin back, but Adam needs your help right now. Please," Cannonball told him. Josh just wiped a tear away and scooped Machine Teen up into his arms as he flew toward the hospital. "Alpha, let's go bring our buddy home."
# # # # # # # # # #
Cannonball and Alpha were soon in the sewers, following the homing device that everyone on the team had agreed to carry in case of emergency.
"They're not too far ahead," Cannonball said. "We can still catch up to them and put an end to this before lunch."
"They're right around the corner!" Alpha said as he flew around the corner, only to see Franklin's torn black and white costume laying in the sewer water, with his homing device beeping in the octagon symbol on the chest. "But how did they--"
"Maybe someone tipped them off where the homing device was," Cannonball said. "Come on, maybe the trail hasn't gone cold yet. We can still find them."
# # # # # # # # # #
"Alright, we should be safe from his powers as long as he's in this tube," Trapster said as he sealed Franklin into the clear tube. "And we'll keep him just sedated enough just to keep him off his game in case he does manage to get out. When he wakes up, we'll start questioning him about the merchandise."
"It's a good thing we got all these tips on how to take out the New Warriors," Jester said.
"That's right, and once we get our money, we're gonna go back and really wipe them off the map!" Trapster shouted. "Now, we just wait for this punk to wake up."
"You're not going to do anything!" Johnny Storm said as he stood in the doorway. He was dressed in all black with an orange streak in his hair. "You did your job well, boys. You captured Franklin and packaged him up for me. Now it's my turn. I want my powers back, Franklin, and you're going to hand them over if you ever want to leave this place."
TO BE CONTINUED...
Midnight
Everyone was asleep in the renovated abandoned mall that now served as headquarters to the team of teenage superheroes who called themselves the New Warriors. Well, almost everyone.
Adam Aaronson didn't need to sleep, after all, he was an android that looked like a regular teenage boy. The closest he came to sleep was when he stopped to recharge his battery, which didn't require anything but patience since recharges usually took several hours.
So while his teammates slept in their respective rooms, Adam usually just wandered around the headquarters, trying to keep himself busy. The teenage android looked in on his friends, seeing them all sleeping soundly. Andy was snuggled up with his puppy; Valeria had fallen asleep on her bed while reading a book; Kittania had worn herself out from sword practice; Josh and Sam had fallen asleep on the couch in Sam's room while watching a horror movie marathon, and Juston had fallen asleep at his workbench while trying to upgrade his armor. Adam picked his friend up and carried him to his bed, pulling off Juston's sneakers before tucking him in.
"Goodnight, buddy," Adam said.
"Aw, that was sweet of you," Franklin said as he stood at the doorway while eating an apple. "Now I know how I always end up back in my bed when I spend the night here."
"I just try to make my friends more comfortable," Adam told him. "Why are you awake?"
"Midnight snack, bro," Franklin said as he took another bite of the apple. "Why are you up?"
"I am always up," Adam said as he turned off the light on Juston's nightstand. "As an android, I don't require sleep."
"Oh, right, I guess I keep forgetting you're a machine," Franklin told him. "Even though your hero name is Machine Teen. What's it like to not have to sleep?"
"I honestly can't say, I've never known what sleep is," Adam said as they walked along the corridor. "My father would just shut down my CPU to simulate sleep at night until I learned what I truly was. But he's... gone now."
"Bummer," Franklin said, taking another bite. "So I guess you don't know what it's like to be a real boy, huh?"
"I was programmed to think and act like a real boy," Adam told him. "I even had a girlfriend at one point."
"I think that's your problem; you were programmed to think and feel like a real boy, but your father was an old dude by that point. How would he know how a real boy thinks and acts?" Franklin asked as he thought about it. "You know, I've been getting used to my powers... maybe I could try--"
"Turning me into a Cronenberg nightmare?"
"Good point," Franklin said as a chill ran down his spine.
"But I would like to experience what it would be like to be real, even for just a day," Adam sighed as he left Franklin standing in the corridor.
# # # # # # # # # #
"So, all we gotta do is kidnap one of those brats from the New Warriors and we get paid?" Jester asked. "But they beat us before!"
"Not this time. Our new employer has provided a list of how to take them out, and imprison the one we're after," Trapster told him. "And I know just the place to do it. Let's go pay a visit to Horizon Labs."
# # # # # # # # # #
The next morning, Franklin was sitting in the rec room as Sam walked in, taking a seat next to him. The t.v. wasn't on and he wasn't on his cellphone; he was just sulking as Sam stared at the boy.
"I grew with a lot of siblings. I can tell when something's wrong with one of them," Sam said. "What's wrong, kid? Does this have to do with Josh?"
"No," Franklin said. "I mean, kind of, but not like that, not this time. I did something bad. I... stole my Uncle Johnny's powers*. He was upset over my Uncle Ben dying and he was going off the deep end. It was the only way I could think of to keep him from hurting anyone."
(*Fantastic Four #73)
"Well, under the circumstances, you probably did the right thing," Sam told him. "I mean, with all that firepower, Johnny Storm could have really hurt someone, maybe even killed them."
"But he hates me now," Franklin said as he looked up at Sam. "He said I'm his enemy now."
"I'm sure he didn't mean it," Sam said. "Things will work out. Maybe I can get Bobby and Spider-Man to go talk to him. Maybe a visit from his amazing friends might help."
"Hey, there's a break-in at Horizon," Juston said as he looked into the room. "Icarus, Alpha and I are heading there now."
"We'll be right behind you," Sam said.
# # # # # # # # # #
The doors to Horizon Labs exploded open as the Trapster and the Jester rushed out with as much gear as they could carry.
"Do you really think this is going to work?" Jester asked.
"Horizon's just up the street from the New Warrior's headquarters. They'll be the first ones here," Trapster said as he pointed to the sky. "And here they come now!"
Icarus, Sentinel, and Alpha flew toward the two villains, who pulled out their weapons.
"Remember, it's Franklin that we want," Trapster said as he fired a blue gun at Icarus, pinning him to a wall.
"Gross!" Icarus shouted. "I'm stuck!"
"Don't worry, buddy, I'll get you loose!" Sentinel shouted as he aimed his wrist mounted laser.
"No, you won't!" Jester said as he fired a gun, sending a bolo at Sentinel, wrapping itself around him as he started to fall. Alpha quickly caught him before he could hit the ground.
"Looks like he's ready for us!" Alpha said. "Let's see if he's ready for--" several marble shaped bombs rolled over to Alpha, blowing him through the wall behind him. "I guess they were."
"Looks like we're just in time!" Cannonball said as he arrived with Franklin and Machine Teen. Cannonball propelled himself toward Jester, knocking him across the street.
"Just in time to be taken out!" Trapster said as he fired a laser gun he'd stolen from Horizon. Franklin created a shield to take the force of the blast, but it eventually shattered, sending Franklin to the ground.
"Don't worry, I've got this," Machine Teen said as Trapster picked up another laser he'd stolen. Trapster fired, hitting Machine Teen, sending him flying back into Alpha, who'd just come back to the scene.
"The kid's down, let's go!" Trapster shouted.
"Uh, a little busy here!" Jester said as Cannonball was punching him in the face.
"Oh, for the love of--" Trapster said as he fired the laser at Cannonball, forcing him to drop Jester. Trapster slung Franklin over his shoulder as they started running, just as Sentinel and Icarus freed themselves. They saw the two villains jump down into a manhole as they saw their friends getting up from the ground.
"We have to go after them!" Icarus shouted.
"We will," Cannonball said as he stood up. "Is everyone okay?"
Everyone looked around to make they were alright, which was then saw Machine Teen's shoulder was bleeding.
"Hey, that's a pretty good trick," Alpha said. "Is that like, fake blood."
"No, it's real," Machine Teen said. "And so is the pain!"
"Josh, get him to a hospital," Cannonball said. "Juston, go back to Headquarters and get the others. Alpha and I will--"
"No, I'm going after Franklin," Icarus told him. "I have to save him."
"Josh, I swear to you, I'll bring Franklin back, but Adam needs your help right now. Please," Cannonball told him. Josh just wiped a tear away and scooped Machine Teen up into his arms as he flew toward the hospital. "Alpha, let's go bring our buddy home."
# # # # # # # # # #
Cannonball and Alpha were soon in the sewers, following the homing device that everyone on the team had agreed to carry in case of emergency.
"They're not too far ahead," Cannonball said. "We can still catch up to them and put an end to this before lunch."
"They're right around the corner!" Alpha said as he flew around the corner, only to see Franklin's torn black and white costume laying in the sewer water, with his homing device beeping in the octagon symbol on the chest. "But how did they--"
"Maybe someone tipped them off where the homing device was," Cannonball said. "Come on, maybe the trail hasn't gone cold yet. We can still find them."
# # # # # # # # # #
"Alright, we should be safe from his powers as long as he's in this tube," Trapster said as he sealed Franklin into the clear tube. "And we'll keep him just sedated enough just to keep him off his game in case he does manage to get out. When he wakes up, we'll start questioning him about the merchandise."
"It's a good thing we got all these tips on how to take out the New Warriors," Jester said.
"That's right, and once we get our money, we're gonna go back and really wipe them off the map!" Trapster shouted. "Now, we just wait for this punk to wake up."
"You're not going to do anything!" Johnny Storm said as he stood in the doorway. He was dressed in all black with an orange streak in his hair. "You did your job well, boys. You captured Franklin and packaged him up for me. Now it's my turn. I want my powers back, Franklin, and you're going to hand them over if you ever want to leave this place."
TO BE CONTINUED...