It was a sunny day in Central Park, with no chance of anything spoiling this perfect day. In the middle of the park, Josh Guthrie was sitting in a blanket in the grass, strumming a guitar as he played his new song for his boyfriend, Franklin Richards. Franklin was laying on the blanket, his head resting comfortably on Josh's lap as he listened. As Josh finished his ballad about his love for Franklin, the other young man just stared up at him.
"That was beautiful," Franklin said softly. "Just like all of your songs."
"Well, what can I say, you inspire me," Josh blushed as brushed Franklin's shaggy hair out of his eyes. Franklin just sighed as he sat up, looking sad as he stared down at the ground. "What's wrong?"
"I'm just sad that... none of this real."
"What? Of course it's real. We've been dating for weeks, and I've never been happier," Josh reminded him as he raised his boyfriend's head, giving Franklin a gentle kiss. "We're going home next week so you can meet my Mama and siblings, remember? These past few weeks have been the happiest time of my life. For the first time in a long time, I'm actually content with my life. I have a great boyfriend, a team of good friends, and I'm finally able to bond with my big brother. Life is perfect."
Franklin tried to smile and touched Josh's cheek. "This is a dream, Josh. I'm still out there, somewhere. I still need you to find me so we can be together. Bring me home, Josh. Please. You need to find me. I lov--"
Icarus gasped as he opened his eyes, unable to move. His arms were outstretched as he found both of his arms and legs were chained to the wall, with his wings bound with chained hooks that had inserted into them to keep them spread. He tried to scream, but found his mouth was taped shut as he struggled with his restraints.
As he looked around, Josh realized that none of his friends were around. He was in complete solitude in the basement prison of the Doom family.
"That was beautiful," Franklin said softly. "Just like all of your songs."
"Well, what can I say, you inspire me," Josh blushed as brushed Franklin's shaggy hair out of his eyes. Franklin just sighed as he sat up, looking sad as he stared down at the ground. "What's wrong?"
"I'm just sad that... none of this real."
"What? Of course it's real. We've been dating for weeks, and I've never been happier," Josh reminded him as he raised his boyfriend's head, giving Franklin a gentle kiss. "We're going home next week so you can meet my Mama and siblings, remember? These past few weeks have been the happiest time of my life. For the first time in a long time, I'm actually content with my life. I have a great boyfriend, a team of good friends, and I'm finally able to bond with my big brother. Life is perfect."
Franklin tried to smile and touched Josh's cheek. "This is a dream, Josh. I'm still out there, somewhere. I still need you to find me so we can be together. Bring me home, Josh. Please. You need to find me. I lov--"
Icarus gasped as he opened his eyes, unable to move. His arms were outstretched as he found both of his arms and legs were chained to the wall, with his wings bound with chained hooks that had inserted into them to keep them spread. He tried to scream, but found his mouth was taped shut as he struggled with his restraints.
As he looked around, Josh realized that none of his friends were around. He was in complete solitude in the basement prison of the Doom family.
Issue #29 (April 2018)
Written by Tobias Christopher Featuring: Icarus
Franklin Richards
Vincent Von Doom
Sophie Von Doom
Cannonball
Valeria
Spider-Girl
Alpha
The Human Torch
The Rawhide Kid
Juston
Machine Teen
Ms. Marvel
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"The Jack Frost Comparison"LATVERIA
"I completely advise against this," Vincent Von Doom said to this adopted sister Sophie as the two walked down the halls of Castle Von Doom. "Keeping the New Warriors prisoner is only going to end badly for us, like the last time*." (*NW #12-#18 TC) "This time, dear brother, we are more than prepared to keep our prisoners right where we want them," Sophie replied as they arrived at the dungeon, where Cannonball, Valeria, Spider-Girl, Alpha, and Johnny Storm were in personal holding cells, all of which were built to counteract their individual powers. "We're still missing three of them, and they'll be coming for their friends once they realize what's happened," "Two powerless little boys and a new girl who has no idea what she's up against," Sophie reminded him. "They pose no threat to us. Anyone in this group who did pose a threat is now under our thumb. Enjoy our victory, brother." "Can anyone else move?" Cannonball asked weakly, hoping his voice could be heard. A paralyzing gas was keeping him immobile. He couldn’t even move his head to look outside of the cell. "Come on, Sam, fight this. Your team needs you. Fight. This. Just move your finger." He focused all of his strength on trying to get his finger to move for him as his hand lay on the ground. "Move you bastard," Sam said through gritted teeth as he tried to will himself into performing the simple task. Before long he saw his finger twitch. "Alright, now we're getting somewhere." NEW YORK The Rawhide Kid had finally figured out how to navigate the city, and soon picked up the trail of the people he had come to find. Those that had taken everything from him and left him for dead. He spotted three well-dressed men arriving at a fancy Italian restaurant, where they were probably planning another massacre. "Enjoy your final meal, boys, you won't be leaving there alive," the young man said as a snow started falling. "What in the world? What kind of messed up city has snow at this time of year?" And that's when he saw the source of the bad weather stumbling up the street... "Fucking weather changes," Juston said as he grabbed his allergy medication. "Weather shifts dick with my sinuses. I'm going to have a headache for the rest of the day now, I just know it." "Maybe some supervillain has a weather machine that he's planning on using to ransom the city with," Adam told him as the trio of heroes bundled up for the cold weather. "I can rewire that kind of thing, no problem." "Yeah, and I can build one to counteract it in a few minutes," Juston replied. "We still have to find the jerk." "Maybe it's a mutant," Ms. Marvel said. "You know how they're drawn to New York City. Maybe someone just hit puberty and ended up pulling a Jack Frost." "Micheal Keaton version or the killer Snowman version?" Juston asked. "There was more than the Keaton one?" "Yeah, both were released within a year of each other," Juston said. "Hell, even the DVD covers look similar." "I think I like the Russian version they used on Mystery Science Theater better," Ms. Marvel told them as they headed out into the cold. "You watch MST3K?" Juston asked in a shocked tone. "I have every episode on my computer, including the rare lost episodes they can't air because of rights issues," "I think I'm going to like having you on the team," Juston said as they saw the approaching blizzard. "Aw, fuck." "We'd better get the tank," Adam told them. "The what now?" Juston and Ms. Marvel said in unison. Adam led the two to the parking garage, where he revealed a large purple and black tank that had been modified into a snowmobile with treaded tires that could get through any amount of snow and mud. "How the hell did I miss that in here?" Juston asked. "It helps that you don't own a car for a start," Adam told him. "Let's roll!" The Rawhide Kid stared at the young man stumbling down the street, a cold frost floating all around him. His skin was pale and his lips were a light blue as if he'd just taken a swim in a cold lake in the dead of winter. His shaggy brunette hair was frozen in place, looking as if it had frozen after coming out of the water. "Are you okay, kid?" Rawhide Kid asked, drawing the pistols from his holsters. "Are you the one causing all of this?" "Kill me," the boy pleaded as he struggled to get the words out. "Please." Rawhide Kid stared down at his pistols, realizing he couldn't kill a kid. "I'm not going to do that, kid. Maybe we can get you some help--" It was then that the boy screamed in anger, sending the Rawhide Kid flying back with a cold gust of wind. The tank came rolling up the street as Adam looked down at the monitor. "Holy shit, that kid's body temperature is -15 degrees and dropping!" "Shouldn't that make him... dead?" Ms. Marvel asked. "That is one pissed off snowcone," Juston remarked as he looked at the boy. "How do we handle this?" "Well, we could try talking to him," Ms. Marvel suggested. "This isn't an episode of Dr. Phil, this kid is making the city into a giant snowglobe!" Juston reminded her. "I have an idea," Adam said. "We'll try the heat cannon. Maybe if we can raise his body temperature, we can stop this." "Okay, we're going to talk about you building all of this super cool shit without me later," Juston said. Adam pushed a button and fired up a heat cannon, aiming at the boy and firing, creating a circle of heat around the boy to warm him. "That should do it," Adam said as he saw the boy had become even angrier. "Yeah, that did it alright," Juston said sarcastically as the boy encased the tank in ice. Several universes, dimensions and lifetimes away, on an Earth very different from the one as we know it, the New X-Avengers were faced with an army of Sentinels. Led by a younger version of Captain America, the team rushed forward as Franklin just watched. The team headed toward the first Sentinel, which wasted no time blasting them back. The group hit the ground as Franklin quickly thought. "Ice dude, Claw Girl, go for the legs!" Franklin shouted. "Spider Dude, weird bird boy... guy, blind their visuals! Guy with a shield person, keep them off balance!" "We have names!" Wolverine shouted as she clawed at the sentinel's leg while Iceman froze over the legs of the next one. Woody used smoke bombs while Spider-Man used webbing to blind the Sentinels while Captain America threw his shield to bounce off of the Sentinel's head. After a short battle, the Sentinels were down. The team, having been worn out in the fight, knew they couldn't stick around. "Let's go before they send more," Captain America said as he looked at Franklin. "You coming?" "I-- I guess," Franklin said as he followed the team back to their headquarters, which was under the ruins of the Xavier mansion. "Maybe someone can tell me what's going on and how I got here." "Being dead must have rattled his brains," Woody said as he took of his hood and mask, revealing a blonde teenage boy; Spider-Man took off his mask, revealing a young black man. Iceman defrosted, revealing a teenage Bobby Drake. "You don't remember anything?" Captain America asked as he took off his mask, revealing a grown Alex Power. "Franklin, it's me, Alex, your big brother. Don't you remember what happened?" "Is that my name…Franklin?" the young man asked. "I don't remember anything." "Well, let's start with Dr. Doom ripping your heart out of your chest," Iceman said. "Right before she wiped out half the heroes on Earth." "Dr. Doom?" "Yeah, Dr. Doom," Spider-Man told him. "Your little sister, dude. She's the one who destroyed the world." TO BE CONTINUED... |