Back to GatefoldIssue #20 by Tobias Christopher
July 2017 |
As he slept in the glass tube after having been heavily sedated by the Jester & the Trapster, Franklin Richards was drifting between dreams and reality. Not knowing what was real and what wasn't anymore, the young hero felt like he wasn't even in his own body. The things he was seeing felt like they were real, but they couldn't possibly be.
He was seeing his Uncle Ben, alive and well at the Baxter Building; he was seeing what looked like an alternate universe version of himself, sitting on the moon and crying over the loss of a loved one. As he reached out to comfort the boy, he was gone, replaced with Deadpool heading to a bedroom while holding a plush My Little Pony. Deadpool just lifted his head and looked directly at Franklin.
"Get out of here, Franklin Richards, this is my series. Go back to ‘Mr. Most Prolific Writer's’ sandbox."
Franklin could soon feel himself getting pulled away from the room, roaming endlessly through time and space, when he suddenly found himself on the streets of what looked to be a devastated New York City.
"Tighty Whities?" a voice said, having seen Franklin standing on the street in his underwear thanks to his costume having been taken by his kidnappers, losing the homing device he was carrying. "You must be from a time when Mom was still buying our clothes."
Franklin turned around and saw his adult self standing there. This Franklin was over five hundred years old, wearing a black and gold costume with a full beard.
He was seeing his Uncle Ben, alive and well at the Baxter Building; he was seeing what looked like an alternate universe version of himself, sitting on the moon and crying over the loss of a loved one. As he reached out to comfort the boy, he was gone, replaced with Deadpool heading to a bedroom while holding a plush My Little Pony. Deadpool just lifted his head and looked directly at Franklin.
"Get out of here, Franklin Richards, this is my series. Go back to ‘Mr. Most Prolific Writer's’ sandbox."
Franklin could soon feel himself getting pulled away from the room, roaming endlessly through time and space, when he suddenly found himself on the streets of what looked to be a devastated New York City.
"Tighty Whities?" a voice said, having seen Franklin standing on the street in his underwear thanks to his costume having been taken by his kidnappers, losing the homing device he was carrying. "You must be from a time when Mom was still buying our clothes."
Franklin turned around and saw his adult self standing there. This Franklin was over five hundred years old, wearing a black and gold costume with a full beard.
"Say Uncle"
"How much sedative did you morons give him? He's completely zoned out, " Johnny said as he stared into the tube where his nephew was standing upright, with his head hanging low.
"Well, let's see," Trapster said as he looked at the bottle. "This stuff is strong enough to knock out the Lizard for twenty-four hours. Jester, how many doses have we given him since we kidnapped him three hours ago?"
"Fifteen,"
"Yeah, he's probably dead,"
"What was I thinking, hiring you idiots?" Johnny asked as he ran a hand through his hair. "I just wanted my powers back, I didn't want this!"
"Hey, Jester, if he's really powerless, we can take him out right here, that's half of the Fantastic 4 down."
"Then we can use the kid to lure the rest of them out and finish them for good!"
"I can hear you idiots," Johnny told them. "You think that I can't take you down, even without powers? Try it!"
The Jester backflipped, hitting Johnny in the face and sending him flying back against the wall. Trapster pulled out his glue gun and stuck Johnny's entire body to the wall, leaving only his head exposed.
"That is not how I expected that to go," Johnny said.
"That'll hold him," Trapster said. "Now let's plot the destruction of the Fantastic 2!"
# # # # # # # # # #
New Warriors Headquarters
"So, my idiot brother got himself captured?" Valeria asked as she was testing out the flame powers that Franklin had stolen from Johnny and given to her by mistake.* "I guess I should go rescue him."
(*Fantastic 4 #74)
"We don't even know where he is," Sam said as he looked at her. "And you don't even know how to use those powe--"
Valeria held out her hand and let a bird made of fire fly around the room.
"Flame on!"
Valeria's body covered itself in flames as she headed for the window.
"How are you going to even find him!?" Sam shouted to her, but Valeria was already gone.
"We'd better find them both before someone gets hurt," Juston said. "And by that, I mean Trapster and Jester. She's going to deep fry them both with some secret herbs and spices."
"I take it you want KFC for lunch?"
"What was your first guess?"
# # # # # # # # # #
"You're me," Franklin said as he stared at his older self. "But why is New York destroyed? And how did I end up here?"
"New York gets destroyed every few years, remember? You should be used to that by now," older Franklin told him. "And I sensed your astral form bouncing around reality, so I anchored you here until whatever's happening in your timeline stabilizes. So, how old are you, mini-me?"
"I just turned sixteen," Franklin said as his older self let out a painful seethe.
"Not... one of my better years," older Franklin said. "The hormones, getting that neural inhibitor fried and getting my full powers, being confused sexually--", older Franklin looked at his younger self getting a saddened expression on his face. "You probably have a lot of questions about that."
"Just one," Franklin said as he stared at the ground. "Do I love him?"
# # # # # # # # # #
"Does it hurt?" Josh asked as he poked at Adam's bandaged shoulder.
"Yes, so stop touching it!" Adam shouted as he swatted Josh's hand away as the two exited the hospital. "We need to find that laser that the Trapster shot me with so I can fix this."
"I thought you wanted to be a real boy," Josh said.
"I did up until I got shot in the shoulder, that really hurt! I think I'd rather be metal and silicone than flesh and blood after that,"
"Do you think they've found Franklin yet?" Josh asked.
"I'm sure he's fine," Adam told him as he put a hand on Josh's shoulder. "Tell. Him."
"I-- I can't, what if he thinks I'm pushing things and--"
"Then at least you're going to know how he feels," Adam said. "I've seen the way his face lights up when your name comes up. At least talk to him and figure this out."
"I'll think about it," Josh told him.
"Good, I'm going to Horizon to find out what exactly I was zapped with. I'll meet you back at headquarters."
# # # # # # # # # #
"Okay, we'll use the kid to lure Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman out into the open," Trapster said. "They'll have to lower their guard if they think he's in mortal danger. Then we've got 'em!"
"You seriously don't think this plan is going to work," Johnny told them. "This is my nephew, you morons! Sue would just as soon use her a force field to crush your brains than let you hurt her kid."
"And what about you, Storm?" Jester asked as he smacked Johnny's cheek. "What do you think she's going to do to you when she finds out that you're the one who handed him over to us?"
"Is it just me, or is it getting hot in here?" Trapster asked as the wall started glowing, before exploding and sending melted brick everywhere. Valeria flew in and saw Trapster and Jester, with the unconscious Franklin trapped in a glass cylinder. Even in his weakened state, she could still track his energy signature with a tracking device.
"It's the girl, get--" Trapster said while aiming his glue gun, which turned a bright red, burning his hand and forcing him to drop it. "OW!"
"Don't worry, I'll get her!" Jester shouted as the floor melted under him, sending him plummeting to the lower level.
"I don't need a gun to take care of you," Trapster said as a giant flame in the form of fist punched him through the wall.
"How-- how are you doing that?" Johnny asked in amazement. "You're doing things I could never do!"
"Duh, Uncle Johnny, I'm actually trying to use my potential with these powers instead of just having fun," Valeria said as she snapped her fingers, causing the glue around Johnny to melt. He burst free as he looked at her.
"Franklin gave you my powers?"
"In his own... special way," Valeria said. "You had these brainless idiots kidnap Franklin so you could get your powers back, didn't you?"
"It wasn't supposed to go this far," Johnny said as he looked at Franklin. "I just wanted to scare him a little, I didn't want... this. I just wanted him to give me my powers, then I was going to let him go."
"What did they do to him?" Valeria asked as Johnny pulled Franklin out of the cylinder, laying him on the floor as he kept his arms around the boy.
"They overdid it on the tranquilizer, we need to get him out of here. Are you going to tell Reed and Sue?"
"I think they'll figure it out if we have to tell them that Franklin's dead,"
"He's still got a pulse, we can still save him. Hang on, little buddy, we'll save you," Johnny said, his voice trembling as he held Franklin close, burying his head in the boy's shoulder. "Oh, God, what did I do to you? You're not my enemy, Franklin, you're my pal and I took Ben's death out on you. I'm so sorry, Franklin. Please, forgive me."
The tears fell onto Franklin's body as Johnny carried him out of the lair.
# # # # # # # # # #
"So, I was astral projecting through space and time?" Franklin asked his older self. "Cool. But, there's a version of you already in my time, he's running around with the West Coast Avengers."
"He must be from a later time," older Franklin told him. "The weird thing is, I don't remember meeting my older self like this. I wonder if the past is changing itself since I'm already there in two different forms. We need to get you back to your body before anything happens to it."
"Wait, I want to know what other kinds of cool powers I'm going to have," Franklin told him as he felt a pain in his stomach. He doubled over in pain, feeling like something was ripping him apart. "Ahh... it hurts."
Franklin looked at his hands, which were becoming transparent.
"I'm losing my hold on you," older Franklin said as he tried to focus. "Something's pulling you out of this time. Hold on, Franklin, before you--"
Before he could do anything to help his younger self, 16-year-old Franklin was gone.
# # # # # # # # # #
At New Warrior Headquarters, Franklin was laying in his bed, still unconscious.
"His pulse is weak, those drugs really did a number on his system," Juston told them. "I don't know if there's anything we can do for him outside of getting him to a hospital."
Sam held a flashlight as he looked into Franklin's pupil. "It's like there's no one home in there. You don't think that he--"
The lights started flickering as a familiar voice spoke up. The entire room started to shake as everyone tried to keep their balance.
"Someone help!" Franklin's voice echoed around the room. "I astral projected! But there's something wrong, I can't control where I'm going!"
"Franklin Benjamin Richards, you get back into your body this instant!" Valeria shouted at the ceiling.
"I can't!" Franklin shouted. "Something's repelling me, I can't get near it! I feel like I'm being pulled away, I can't hang on! I don't know where I'm going! I don't how much longer I can stay here!"
"Come on, Franklin, just hang on!" Johnny shouted. "Please, don't leave us! I'm sorry I yelled at you, we can work this out!"
"I'm sorry for taking your powers Uncle Johnny," Franklin said. "I've got just enough power left to do this."
Franklin focused as Johnny's powers left Valeria and returned to their rightful owner.
"Franklin, this is all my fault," Johnny said. "I'll fix this, I swear. Just tell me how I can fix this."
"Goodbye, everyone--"
"Franklin, don't you dare leave me-- US!" Josh shouted with tears in his eyes before whispering to where only Johnny could hear him. "I love you."
The lights stopped flickering as the group looked around.
"Franklin?" Sam asked as he looked around.
"Franklin's gone," Johnny said with tears in his eyes.
# # # # # # # # # #
Latveria
Dr. Doom was standing outside of a pentagram in a darkened room, with nothing but lit candles giving the room an eerie glow. In the center of the pentagram was a voodoo doll of Franklin Richards, made with the boy's real hair that Sophie conveniently had in her room. Dr. Doom chanted a spell in Latin as the doll's eyes shined a bright red.
"It is done," Doom said as he picked the doll up and handed it to Sophie. "I felt Franklin Richard's aura leaving his body and realized that it was the perfect opportunity to remove the most powerful obstacle that stands in the way of my defeat of Reed Richards."
"What did you do to him, Father?" Sophie asked.
"Franklin's attempt at astral projection left him wide open for an attack," Doom told her. "I placed a spell on his body, closing the door so that he can never return to it. And just to be sure, I sent him on a little... trip. The most powerful mutant in the universe is no longer a threat to my plans for the destruction of Reed Richards, and as long as that doll remains intact, he can never return to his body. That doll is the key to the lock, my daughter, guard it with your life."
"But... I love him, father," Sophie said. "Of course, with no free will to keep him from rejecting me...," Sophie looked down at the doll. "It looks like I might just be getting a life-sized version of you very soon."
TO BE CONTINUED...
"Well, let's see," Trapster said as he looked at the bottle. "This stuff is strong enough to knock out the Lizard for twenty-four hours. Jester, how many doses have we given him since we kidnapped him three hours ago?"
"Fifteen,"
"Yeah, he's probably dead,"
"What was I thinking, hiring you idiots?" Johnny asked as he ran a hand through his hair. "I just wanted my powers back, I didn't want this!"
"Hey, Jester, if he's really powerless, we can take him out right here, that's half of the Fantastic 4 down."
"Then we can use the kid to lure the rest of them out and finish them for good!"
"I can hear you idiots," Johnny told them. "You think that I can't take you down, even without powers? Try it!"
The Jester backflipped, hitting Johnny in the face and sending him flying back against the wall. Trapster pulled out his glue gun and stuck Johnny's entire body to the wall, leaving only his head exposed.
"That is not how I expected that to go," Johnny said.
"That'll hold him," Trapster said. "Now let's plot the destruction of the Fantastic 2!"
# # # # # # # # # #
New Warriors Headquarters
"So, my idiot brother got himself captured?" Valeria asked as she was testing out the flame powers that Franklin had stolen from Johnny and given to her by mistake.* "I guess I should go rescue him."
(*Fantastic 4 #74)
"We don't even know where he is," Sam said as he looked at her. "And you don't even know how to use those powe--"
Valeria held out her hand and let a bird made of fire fly around the room.
"Flame on!"
Valeria's body covered itself in flames as she headed for the window.
"How are you going to even find him!?" Sam shouted to her, but Valeria was already gone.
"We'd better find them both before someone gets hurt," Juston said. "And by that, I mean Trapster and Jester. She's going to deep fry them both with some secret herbs and spices."
"I take it you want KFC for lunch?"
"What was your first guess?"
# # # # # # # # # #
"You're me," Franklin said as he stared at his older self. "But why is New York destroyed? And how did I end up here?"
"New York gets destroyed every few years, remember? You should be used to that by now," older Franklin told him. "And I sensed your astral form bouncing around reality, so I anchored you here until whatever's happening in your timeline stabilizes. So, how old are you, mini-me?"
"I just turned sixteen," Franklin said as his older self let out a painful seethe.
"Not... one of my better years," older Franklin said. "The hormones, getting that neural inhibitor fried and getting my full powers, being confused sexually--", older Franklin looked at his younger self getting a saddened expression on his face. "You probably have a lot of questions about that."
"Just one," Franklin said as he stared at the ground. "Do I love him?"
# # # # # # # # # #
"Does it hurt?" Josh asked as he poked at Adam's bandaged shoulder.
"Yes, so stop touching it!" Adam shouted as he swatted Josh's hand away as the two exited the hospital. "We need to find that laser that the Trapster shot me with so I can fix this."
"I thought you wanted to be a real boy," Josh said.
"I did up until I got shot in the shoulder, that really hurt! I think I'd rather be metal and silicone than flesh and blood after that,"
"Do you think they've found Franklin yet?" Josh asked.
"I'm sure he's fine," Adam told him as he put a hand on Josh's shoulder. "Tell. Him."
"I-- I can't, what if he thinks I'm pushing things and--"
"Then at least you're going to know how he feels," Adam said. "I've seen the way his face lights up when your name comes up. At least talk to him and figure this out."
"I'll think about it," Josh told him.
"Good, I'm going to Horizon to find out what exactly I was zapped with. I'll meet you back at headquarters."
# # # # # # # # # #
"Okay, we'll use the kid to lure Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman out into the open," Trapster said. "They'll have to lower their guard if they think he's in mortal danger. Then we've got 'em!"
"You seriously don't think this plan is going to work," Johnny told them. "This is my nephew, you morons! Sue would just as soon use her a force field to crush your brains than let you hurt her kid."
"And what about you, Storm?" Jester asked as he smacked Johnny's cheek. "What do you think she's going to do to you when she finds out that you're the one who handed him over to us?"
"Is it just me, or is it getting hot in here?" Trapster asked as the wall started glowing, before exploding and sending melted brick everywhere. Valeria flew in and saw Trapster and Jester, with the unconscious Franklin trapped in a glass cylinder. Even in his weakened state, she could still track his energy signature with a tracking device.
"It's the girl, get--" Trapster said while aiming his glue gun, which turned a bright red, burning his hand and forcing him to drop it. "OW!"
"Don't worry, I'll get her!" Jester shouted as the floor melted under him, sending him plummeting to the lower level.
"I don't need a gun to take care of you," Trapster said as a giant flame in the form of fist punched him through the wall.
"How-- how are you doing that?" Johnny asked in amazement. "You're doing things I could never do!"
"Duh, Uncle Johnny, I'm actually trying to use my potential with these powers instead of just having fun," Valeria said as she snapped her fingers, causing the glue around Johnny to melt. He burst free as he looked at her.
"Franklin gave you my powers?"
"In his own... special way," Valeria said. "You had these brainless idiots kidnap Franklin so you could get your powers back, didn't you?"
"It wasn't supposed to go this far," Johnny said as he looked at Franklin. "I just wanted to scare him a little, I didn't want... this. I just wanted him to give me my powers, then I was going to let him go."
"What did they do to him?" Valeria asked as Johnny pulled Franklin out of the cylinder, laying him on the floor as he kept his arms around the boy.
"They overdid it on the tranquilizer, we need to get him out of here. Are you going to tell Reed and Sue?"
"I think they'll figure it out if we have to tell them that Franklin's dead,"
"He's still got a pulse, we can still save him. Hang on, little buddy, we'll save you," Johnny said, his voice trembling as he held Franklin close, burying his head in the boy's shoulder. "Oh, God, what did I do to you? You're not my enemy, Franklin, you're my pal and I took Ben's death out on you. I'm so sorry, Franklin. Please, forgive me."
The tears fell onto Franklin's body as Johnny carried him out of the lair.
# # # # # # # # # #
"So, I was astral projecting through space and time?" Franklin asked his older self. "Cool. But, there's a version of you already in my time, he's running around with the West Coast Avengers."
"He must be from a later time," older Franklin told him. "The weird thing is, I don't remember meeting my older self like this. I wonder if the past is changing itself since I'm already there in two different forms. We need to get you back to your body before anything happens to it."
"Wait, I want to know what other kinds of cool powers I'm going to have," Franklin told him as he felt a pain in his stomach. He doubled over in pain, feeling like something was ripping him apart. "Ahh... it hurts."
Franklin looked at his hands, which were becoming transparent.
"I'm losing my hold on you," older Franklin said as he tried to focus. "Something's pulling you out of this time. Hold on, Franklin, before you--"
Before he could do anything to help his younger self, 16-year-old Franklin was gone.
# # # # # # # # # #
At New Warrior Headquarters, Franklin was laying in his bed, still unconscious.
"His pulse is weak, those drugs really did a number on his system," Juston told them. "I don't know if there's anything we can do for him outside of getting him to a hospital."
Sam held a flashlight as he looked into Franklin's pupil. "It's like there's no one home in there. You don't think that he--"
The lights started flickering as a familiar voice spoke up. The entire room started to shake as everyone tried to keep their balance.
"Someone help!" Franklin's voice echoed around the room. "I astral projected! But there's something wrong, I can't control where I'm going!"
"Franklin Benjamin Richards, you get back into your body this instant!" Valeria shouted at the ceiling.
"I can't!" Franklin shouted. "Something's repelling me, I can't get near it! I feel like I'm being pulled away, I can't hang on! I don't know where I'm going! I don't how much longer I can stay here!"
"Come on, Franklin, just hang on!" Johnny shouted. "Please, don't leave us! I'm sorry I yelled at you, we can work this out!"
"I'm sorry for taking your powers Uncle Johnny," Franklin said. "I've got just enough power left to do this."
Franklin focused as Johnny's powers left Valeria and returned to their rightful owner.
"Franklin, this is all my fault," Johnny said. "I'll fix this, I swear. Just tell me how I can fix this."
"Goodbye, everyone--"
"Franklin, don't you dare leave me-- US!" Josh shouted with tears in his eyes before whispering to where only Johnny could hear him. "I love you."
The lights stopped flickering as the group looked around.
"Franklin?" Sam asked as he looked around.
"Franklin's gone," Johnny said with tears in his eyes.
# # # # # # # # # #
Latveria
Dr. Doom was standing outside of a pentagram in a darkened room, with nothing but lit candles giving the room an eerie glow. In the center of the pentagram was a voodoo doll of Franklin Richards, made with the boy's real hair that Sophie conveniently had in her room. Dr. Doom chanted a spell in Latin as the doll's eyes shined a bright red.
"It is done," Doom said as he picked the doll up and handed it to Sophie. "I felt Franklin Richard's aura leaving his body and realized that it was the perfect opportunity to remove the most powerful obstacle that stands in the way of my defeat of Reed Richards."
"What did you do to him, Father?" Sophie asked.
"Franklin's attempt at astral projection left him wide open for an attack," Doom told her. "I placed a spell on his body, closing the door so that he can never return to it. And just to be sure, I sent him on a little... trip. The most powerful mutant in the universe is no longer a threat to my plans for the destruction of Reed Richards, and as long as that doll remains intact, he can never return to his body. That doll is the key to the lock, my daughter, guard it with your life."
"But... I love him, father," Sophie said. "Of course, with no free will to keep him from rejecting me...," Sophie looked down at the doll. "It looks like I might just be getting a life-sized version of you very soon."
TO BE CONTINUED...