Previously, Annihilus kidnapped Cannonball, Icarus, Spider-GIrl and Valeria Richards to the Negative Zone in an attempt to blackmail Johnny Storm into returning the Cosmic Control Rod. Johnny and Alpha attempted to rescue their friends, only for Johnny to become the prisoner of Annihilus and Alpha to be captured by the warlord Blastaar!
Cannonball's group managed to find and save Johnny, only for Blastaar to invade the palace of Annihilus with a brainwashed and insane Alpha, who has been ordered to destroy his friends!
Cannonball's group managed to find and save Johnny, only for Blastaar to invade the palace of Annihilus with a brainwashed and insane Alpha, who has been ordered to destroy his friends!
Issue #28 by Tobias Christopher
March 2018
March 2018
"Negative - Part Three"
"Destroy them, my slave!" Blastaar shouted as removed the chain holding Alpha back. "Destroy them all! Your master commands it!"
Alpha let out a terrifyingly bloody scream as his hands charged up with photon energy before launching himself at his team.
"Duck!" Cannonball shouted as he shoved Icarus out of the line of fire. The older Guthrie brother then charged himself with kinetic energy, launching himself at Alpha.
"This will not end well," Johnny said as he flamed on and grabbed Spider-Girl, lifting her into the air for safety. Icarus got in front of Valeria, facing her as his massive red wings spread out to keep her safe from incoming shockwave.
Cannonball and Alpha collided with each other as a massive surge of energy rang out, shaking the walls and causing debris to start falling. While Johnny and Spider-Girl avoided the falling debris, the shockwave blasted Icarus, causing him to scream in pain as he took the full force of the blast to protect Valeria. When the shockwave subsided, Icarus fell forward, his wings singed and smoking as he fell into Valeria's arms.
"Are you okay?" Valeria asked.
"Not really," Icarus squeaked out, now racked with pain.
In a crater now in the middle of the room, Cannonball and Alpha were struggling with each other. Alpha went to punch the older mutant, but Cannonball blocked him and grabbed Alpha around the waist, lifting him over his head.
"You've got the powers, kid," Cannonball said as he spun Alpha around. "But you don't know how to use 'em!"
Cannonball tossed Alpha at the wall, where he created a large dent before hitting the ground. Cannonball climbed out of the crater just in time for Alpha to fly at him angrily, sending him through the wall on the other side of the room.
"They're going to kill each other," Spider-Girl said.
"I think we have bigger problems right now," Johnny said as he pushed her out of the line of fire when Blastaar fired his weapon at them. "Valeria, can you find us a way home?"
"Already working on it!" Valeria said as she saw Icarus had passed out. She dragged him to a safe place as she started looking around for anything she could use to get them home.
"My palace!" Annihilus shouted as he blasted his own energy at anyone he saw moving. "Blastaar, you fool! You will pay for this idiocy!"
"It is you who will pay with your life!" Blastaar shouted as he charged toward Annihilus. "The Negative Zone is only the beginning! I will start here, then I will conquer and destroy the Earth!"
"Should we do something?" Spider-Girl asked as she stood on the sidelines.
"Let them have their playtime, it'll buy us time to get Alpha settled down so we can go home," Johnny told her as he turned his attention to Cannonball. "At least in theory!"
"Give me a break, the guy's like a living battery!" Cannonball shouted as he bodyslammed Alpha. "He's not even breaking a sweat!"
"Can't you like, knock him out?" Spider-Girl asked.
"If tossing him through a wall didn't do it, then I'm kind of out of ideas on that one!" Cannonball shouted as he grabbed Alpha by the legs and spun around with him before launching the younger hero into another wall.
"I think I found our way home!" Valeria shouted as she poked her head out from the next room. "Is Alpha ready to go?"
Alpha suddenly took to the air and started firing photon blasts at everyone that was standing. That's when he spotted Icarus laying unconscious and flew toward him, grabbing him by the wings, ready to tear them off.
"I have to do everything around here," Valeria sighed as she stepped back into the room. "Hey, Alpha! Over here, you idiot!"
Alpha turned his attention to her, letting Icarus fall back to the ground as he charged his photon energy while flying at her.
"Blastaar's going to have you destroy the Earth!" Valeria said in a smug tone. "You know what's on Earth? Your puppy."
Alpha's fist stopped a half-inch away from her face as he planted his feet on the ground and blinked.
"My puppy?" Alpha turned his attention to Blastaar and flew toward him, turning him around. "You son of a bitch!"
Alpha uppercut Blastaar, launching him through the roof and every upper level of the palace until he flew upwards into the empty space of the Negative Zone, where he just kept going until the alien warlord was just a sparkle in the distance.
"Oh, hey guys," Alpha said to his friends in a raspy voice as he pushed his bangs out of his eyes. "Anyone else feel a draft in here?"
Alpha looked down at his naked body and screamed like a little girl as he quickly used his hands to cover himself. Cannonball took off his jacket and handed it to Alpha to wrap around himself.
"Welcome back, buddy," Cannonball said as he scooped Icarus up into his arms. "Can we go home now?"
A blast suddenly fired at his feet as Annihilus stood by his destroyed throne.
"Hardly. If I can't get my Cosmic Control Rod from you, I'll dismember the lot of you and send you back to Earth in pieces before I go reclaim my weapon for myself."
"Nice plan, but you forgot one thing," Valeria said.
"And what is that?"
Valeria pointed up. "All the holes we put in your ceiling."
Annihilus looked up just in time for the ceiling to come crashing down on top of him, as the others ran out of the palace.
"Is he dead?" Spider-Girl asked as the team got outside.
"Nah, he's immortal," Johnny told her. "He'll dig his way out and bother us again in a few months. Now let's go home. How are we getting home, exactly?"
Valeria held up a device. "Cobbled it together from bits and pieces I found in the palace. A little kinetic energy from Cannonball and we should be able to just go straight home."
Cannonball handed his brother over to Johnny and Alpha as he built up some energy, powering the device as Valeria opened a portal back to Earth.
# # # # #
New Warriors Headquarters
"We can't wait for the others to return, if Franklin's out there, we need to find him now," Juston said as he started the device. "Searching... searching.... searching...."
"Hello, I see you're trying to find a boy who's lost his aura, would you like help?"
"Fucking paperclip monster!" Juston shouted. "Get off my device! Aaannnd we're searching.... searching...."
"Hopefully Franklin's someplace warm," Adam said as he started shivering. "Did someone lower the temperature in the headquarters?"
"Now that you mention it, it is kind of cold in here," Ms. Marvel said.
"Found him!" Juston shouted. "He's in... oh, shit. Latveria?"
"ROAD TRIP!" Adam shouted as he pulled out the keys to something he'd been working on. "I'm driving!"
"We can't go to Latveria! That's Dr. Doom's territory, we'll get curbstomped if we go alone with no back-up!"
"A smaller team might have a better chance of getting in and out than the entire group," Ms. Marvel said. "I say we try it."
Adam went to open the doors, only to find a heavy snowfall outside.
"Wasn't it 70 degrees outside this morning?" Juston asked. "Looks like we have a bigger case to deal with for the moment. Everyone put on your longjohns."
# # # # #
Latveria
The portal opened as everyone landed in individual holding cells.
"The hell?" Cannonball asked. "Now where are we?"
"Dr. Doom's guest room," Valeria said as she stood up and looked around. "But why?"
"Because," Sophie Von Doom said as she stood at the doorway. "The New Warriors have stood in my way one too many times. When my brother learned you were in the Negative Zone, I figured it would only be a matter of time before you returned and decided to come pay me a visit, so I beat you to the punch and had you imprisoned here by rerouting your portal device."
"Alright, this game is over," Johnny said as he flamed on and tried to shatter the glass, but found it was flame resistant.
"I think you'll find that each cell counteracts your individual powers," Sophie laughed. "There is no escape for any of you. You'll all stay here until you die."
"Ain't no cell that can hold me," Cannonball said as a gas began pumping into his cell. "I-- I'm so tired all of a sudden."
Cannonball slumped against the wall, falling asleep before he could do anything else, just as everyone else started to fall sleep as well.
"The same fate will fall the Richards family, and anyone else who decides to come," Sophie laughed as she turned to leave the room. She headed back up to her chambers, where the comatose body of Franklin Richards lay in a glass casket on a table. He'd been dressed in a black suit and tie, holding a rose in his hand.
"Now nothing will ever separate us again, my love," Sophie said as she ran a hand along the side of the basket. "You are mine, now and forever."
# # # # #
Several universes and timelines away, in a place that's nearly impossible to reach, the aura of Franklin Richards was wandering around an apocalyptic landscape in a confused state. He'd been separated from him body for so long, that his memories of his life had started to fade to the point where he couldn't even remember his own name.
"You'd think I'd remember the world having gone to Hell," Franklin said. "Hello? Is anyone here?"
And that's when he heard the crunching of trees nearby, with six Sentinels headed his way.
"Terrific," Franklin said to himself. "I don't know what those things are, but I know I don't want to mess with them."
"Halt, mutant!" the head Sentinel shouted.
"What's a mutant?" Franklin asked himself as he turned to run, coming face to face with several teenagers in different costumes. A female Wolverine, teenage Iceman, a young Spider-Man in a black and red costume, a younger Captain America and Woody the Birdboy Wonder were standing on the battlefield, ready to attack. "Who are you guys?"
"Holy cow, Franklin's alive?" Spider-Man asked.
"We'll deal with that later," Captain America said as he raised his shield. "In the meantime, NEW X-AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
Alpha let out a terrifyingly bloody scream as his hands charged up with photon energy before launching himself at his team.
"Duck!" Cannonball shouted as he shoved Icarus out of the line of fire. The older Guthrie brother then charged himself with kinetic energy, launching himself at Alpha.
"This will not end well," Johnny said as he flamed on and grabbed Spider-Girl, lifting her into the air for safety. Icarus got in front of Valeria, facing her as his massive red wings spread out to keep her safe from incoming shockwave.
Cannonball and Alpha collided with each other as a massive surge of energy rang out, shaking the walls and causing debris to start falling. While Johnny and Spider-Girl avoided the falling debris, the shockwave blasted Icarus, causing him to scream in pain as he took the full force of the blast to protect Valeria. When the shockwave subsided, Icarus fell forward, his wings singed and smoking as he fell into Valeria's arms.
"Are you okay?" Valeria asked.
"Not really," Icarus squeaked out, now racked with pain.
In a crater now in the middle of the room, Cannonball and Alpha were struggling with each other. Alpha went to punch the older mutant, but Cannonball blocked him and grabbed Alpha around the waist, lifting him over his head.
"You've got the powers, kid," Cannonball said as he spun Alpha around. "But you don't know how to use 'em!"
Cannonball tossed Alpha at the wall, where he created a large dent before hitting the ground. Cannonball climbed out of the crater just in time for Alpha to fly at him angrily, sending him through the wall on the other side of the room.
"They're going to kill each other," Spider-Girl said.
"I think we have bigger problems right now," Johnny said as he pushed her out of the line of fire when Blastaar fired his weapon at them. "Valeria, can you find us a way home?"
"Already working on it!" Valeria said as she saw Icarus had passed out. She dragged him to a safe place as she started looking around for anything she could use to get them home.
"My palace!" Annihilus shouted as he blasted his own energy at anyone he saw moving. "Blastaar, you fool! You will pay for this idiocy!"
"It is you who will pay with your life!" Blastaar shouted as he charged toward Annihilus. "The Negative Zone is only the beginning! I will start here, then I will conquer and destroy the Earth!"
"Should we do something?" Spider-Girl asked as she stood on the sidelines.
"Let them have their playtime, it'll buy us time to get Alpha settled down so we can go home," Johnny told her as he turned his attention to Cannonball. "At least in theory!"
"Give me a break, the guy's like a living battery!" Cannonball shouted as he bodyslammed Alpha. "He's not even breaking a sweat!"
"Can't you like, knock him out?" Spider-Girl asked.
"If tossing him through a wall didn't do it, then I'm kind of out of ideas on that one!" Cannonball shouted as he grabbed Alpha by the legs and spun around with him before launching the younger hero into another wall.
"I think I found our way home!" Valeria shouted as she poked her head out from the next room. "Is Alpha ready to go?"
Alpha suddenly took to the air and started firing photon blasts at everyone that was standing. That's when he spotted Icarus laying unconscious and flew toward him, grabbing him by the wings, ready to tear them off.
"I have to do everything around here," Valeria sighed as she stepped back into the room. "Hey, Alpha! Over here, you idiot!"
Alpha turned his attention to her, letting Icarus fall back to the ground as he charged his photon energy while flying at her.
"Blastaar's going to have you destroy the Earth!" Valeria said in a smug tone. "You know what's on Earth? Your puppy."
Alpha's fist stopped a half-inch away from her face as he planted his feet on the ground and blinked.
"My puppy?" Alpha turned his attention to Blastaar and flew toward him, turning him around. "You son of a bitch!"
Alpha uppercut Blastaar, launching him through the roof and every upper level of the palace until he flew upwards into the empty space of the Negative Zone, where he just kept going until the alien warlord was just a sparkle in the distance.
"Oh, hey guys," Alpha said to his friends in a raspy voice as he pushed his bangs out of his eyes. "Anyone else feel a draft in here?"
Alpha looked down at his naked body and screamed like a little girl as he quickly used his hands to cover himself. Cannonball took off his jacket and handed it to Alpha to wrap around himself.
"Welcome back, buddy," Cannonball said as he scooped Icarus up into his arms. "Can we go home now?"
A blast suddenly fired at his feet as Annihilus stood by his destroyed throne.
"Hardly. If I can't get my Cosmic Control Rod from you, I'll dismember the lot of you and send you back to Earth in pieces before I go reclaim my weapon for myself."
"Nice plan, but you forgot one thing," Valeria said.
"And what is that?"
Valeria pointed up. "All the holes we put in your ceiling."
Annihilus looked up just in time for the ceiling to come crashing down on top of him, as the others ran out of the palace.
"Is he dead?" Spider-Girl asked as the team got outside.
"Nah, he's immortal," Johnny told her. "He'll dig his way out and bother us again in a few months. Now let's go home. How are we getting home, exactly?"
Valeria held up a device. "Cobbled it together from bits and pieces I found in the palace. A little kinetic energy from Cannonball and we should be able to just go straight home."
Cannonball handed his brother over to Johnny and Alpha as he built up some energy, powering the device as Valeria opened a portal back to Earth.
# # # # #
New Warriors Headquarters
"We can't wait for the others to return, if Franklin's out there, we need to find him now," Juston said as he started the device. "Searching... searching.... searching...."
"Hello, I see you're trying to find a boy who's lost his aura, would you like help?"
"Fucking paperclip monster!" Juston shouted. "Get off my device! Aaannnd we're searching.... searching...."
"Hopefully Franklin's someplace warm," Adam said as he started shivering. "Did someone lower the temperature in the headquarters?"
"Now that you mention it, it is kind of cold in here," Ms. Marvel said.
"Found him!" Juston shouted. "He's in... oh, shit. Latveria?"
"ROAD TRIP!" Adam shouted as he pulled out the keys to something he'd been working on. "I'm driving!"
"We can't go to Latveria! That's Dr. Doom's territory, we'll get curbstomped if we go alone with no back-up!"
"A smaller team might have a better chance of getting in and out than the entire group," Ms. Marvel said. "I say we try it."
Adam went to open the doors, only to find a heavy snowfall outside.
"Wasn't it 70 degrees outside this morning?" Juston asked. "Looks like we have a bigger case to deal with for the moment. Everyone put on your longjohns."
# # # # #
Latveria
The portal opened as everyone landed in individual holding cells.
"The hell?" Cannonball asked. "Now where are we?"
"Dr. Doom's guest room," Valeria said as she stood up and looked around. "But why?"
"Because," Sophie Von Doom said as she stood at the doorway. "The New Warriors have stood in my way one too many times. When my brother learned you were in the Negative Zone, I figured it would only be a matter of time before you returned and decided to come pay me a visit, so I beat you to the punch and had you imprisoned here by rerouting your portal device."
"Alright, this game is over," Johnny said as he flamed on and tried to shatter the glass, but found it was flame resistant.
"I think you'll find that each cell counteracts your individual powers," Sophie laughed. "There is no escape for any of you. You'll all stay here until you die."
"Ain't no cell that can hold me," Cannonball said as a gas began pumping into his cell. "I-- I'm so tired all of a sudden."
Cannonball slumped against the wall, falling asleep before he could do anything else, just as everyone else started to fall sleep as well.
"The same fate will fall the Richards family, and anyone else who decides to come," Sophie laughed as she turned to leave the room. She headed back up to her chambers, where the comatose body of Franklin Richards lay in a glass casket on a table. He'd been dressed in a black suit and tie, holding a rose in his hand.
"Now nothing will ever separate us again, my love," Sophie said as she ran a hand along the side of the basket. "You are mine, now and forever."
# # # # #
Several universes and timelines away, in a place that's nearly impossible to reach, the aura of Franklin Richards was wandering around an apocalyptic landscape in a confused state. He'd been separated from him body for so long, that his memories of his life had started to fade to the point where he couldn't even remember his own name.
"You'd think I'd remember the world having gone to Hell," Franklin said. "Hello? Is anyone here?"
And that's when he heard the crunching of trees nearby, with six Sentinels headed his way.
"Terrific," Franklin said to himself. "I don't know what those things are, but I know I don't want to mess with them."
"Halt, mutant!" the head Sentinel shouted.
"What's a mutant?" Franklin asked himself as he turned to run, coming face to face with several teenagers in different costumes. A female Wolverine, teenage Iceman, a young Spider-Man in a black and red costume, a younger Captain America and Woody the Birdboy Wonder were standing on the battlefield, ready to attack. "Who are you guys?"
"Holy cow, Franklin's alive?" Spider-Man asked.
"We'll deal with that later," Captain America said as he raised his shield. "In the meantime, NEW X-AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!"
TO BE CONTINUED...