Issue #30 (May 2018)
Written by Tobias Christopher Featuring: Juston
Machine Teen
The Rawhide Kid
Ms. Marvel
Icarus
Sophie Von Doom
Vincent Von Doom
Cannonball
Franklin Richards
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"Malefactor Rising"The Previous Winter
12-year-old Riley Scott was walking with his father along the canal, with the boy's father trying to find the right way to tell his son some bad news. "Why hasn't Mom come home yet?" Riley asked as he stared out into the water. "She's left us, son," the man said. "Shes not coming back. We've both been miserable for a very long time, so she decided it's time to make a change." "Is it because of me?" Riley asked as he stared up at his father with innocent eyes. The man just sighed as he put his hands on his son's shoulders. The boy had been conceived while his parents were young and in high school, promptly ruining their future plans of college. The boy's father just stared into his eyes and gave him a gentle smile. "Yes, son, it is," the man said as he pushed the boy over the railing into the icy water below. Not too far away, a company was dumping toxic chemicals into the lake. As Riley sunk deeper into the water, the chemicals mixed with the icy water... New York Two Hours Ago It was a nice, sunny day outside. There were no clouds in the sky, and the weather was pretty much perfect for a day out with friends or family. As people enjoyed the perfect late summer day, no one expected the hand to reach out of the water onto the railing. Soon, Riley Scott had pulled himself out of the water, frozen steam drifting off of him as his cold, soaked body finally emerged from the water. Leaving the trail of ice water behind as he stumbled down the sidewalk, one thing was clear. The innocent, fun-loving boy who loved to smile was gone, now replaced by an icy creature who just wanted his suffering to end. It didn't take long for Riley's new powers to affect the weather around him. Soon, the temperature of everything in his vicinity began to drop, soon followed by a barrage of ice and snow. Now "Okay, pretty sure we need to start to panic right about now," Juston said as he tried to open the hatch of the frozen over tank that he and Adam were now trapped in. "We're gonna die, aren't we?" "We've still a good while before frostbite sets in," Adam told him. "We're not going to die, we can-- hey, where's Ms. Marvel?" "Maybe she got out before we got iced," Juston told him. "If she's out there, maybe we still have a chance of getting out." The Rawhide Kid sat up in the snowbank he'd landed in. Shaking the snow off of his hat before placing it back into his head, Rawhide Kid stood up and stared over at Riley, who was still visibly shivering. "Kill me," the boy pleaded once again. "Told you before, that ain't happenin'," Rawhide Kid told him. "This here ammo's reserved for some really bad guys. I'm sure there's someplace in this town that I can take you where you can--" A barrage of sharp icicles started flying at the young hero, but before they could reach him, Ms. Marvel's embiggened hand swatted them away like they were flies. "That's enough of that," Ms. Marvel said as she looked at Riley. "Here, let me warm you up." Ms. Marvel's large hands shot out toward Riley, growing big enough to trap him in-between. "I hope that's enough to-- Oh, no," Ms. Marvel said as she dropped Riley, her hands now ice cold. "Was not expecting that." "He keeps beggin' me to kill him," Rawhide Kid told her. "But I ain't about to murder a little boy." "We have to lure him somewhere really warm," Ms. Marvel told him. "Any thoughts." "Don't look at me, this is my trip to New York. I think. You see, I--" "No time for backstories right now, we have a city to thaw out," Ms. Marvel told him. Latveria Icarus struggled with his restraints, unable to scream with the tape over his mouth. The chains binding his wrists and ankles were pulled so tightly to attach to the ceiling and floor that he zero ability to move. He could feel the hooks in his wings, keeping them in place as well. He was resisting the urge to cry, as the pain in his wings was the most excruciating pain he'd ever felt. The door to the dungeon soon opened as Sophie Von Doom stepped in, smiling at her captive. She walked up to Icarus, running a finger down his bare chest. "So, this is the creature that tried to steal my Franklin's love," Sophie said. "You failed, by the way. Franklin is now all mine, and you're stuck here, chained and helpless. But don't worry, I still hold enough hatred for you to not only rub my victory in your face, but to also torture you. You see, I'm going to cut off those pretty red wings of yours, and then have them stuffed and mounted in my bedroom. The bloody stumps you'll have left will be a reminder that no one crosses the daughter of Doom!" Sophie turned to walk away, smirking to herself. "I'll be back with a rusty pair of clippers. It'll be a slow process, one that I want you to feel every excruciating moment of. Maybe I'll even be in a zesty enough mood to bring your big brother in and make him watch as I cut you." Vincent Von Doom walked into the chamber where the other New Warriors were being held captive, seeing them all in their respective cells... except for the open one. Before he could react, a hand grabbed Vincent by the throat, lifting him up into the air. "Where's my little brother?" Cannonball calmly asked through gritted teeth. "Where are we heading?" Rawhide Kid asked, making sure Riley was still trailing behind him. "There," Ms. Marvel said as she continued to light crumpled pieces of paper on fire before tossing them at Riley. Each piece would burn out before even getting close to the boy, but it seemed to make him angry enough to follow them. "A Szechuan place?" Rawhide Kid asked. "This is no time to eat!" "Trust me!" Ms. Marvel said as the two got inside the doors. "Listen, we only have one shot at this, so here's what we do." "How's that blow torch coming along?" Juston asked. "I think I've just about got the ice melted off of the hatch," Adam told him. "I just hope that brat hasn't turned Ms. Marvel into a statue while we've been stuck in here." "I'm sure she's fine," Juston told him. "She's got all of those awesome powers, she could just ground that kid into hamburger. Of course she's no Kittania." "You still haven't gotten over her, have you?" Adam asked. "Have you even thought about dating other girls?" "What? Why? Kittania's going to come back... some day," Juston told him with an uneasy laugh. "I mean, she has to, right? She's only ruling over an... entire... planet." Adam put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Juston, you let it out. It's just the two of us here." "I just--," Juston said. "I really miss her. I've never felt anything like I've felt for her. And she just left me to rule over some dumb planet. What does an entire race of cat creatures have that I don't?" "You're not spayed or neutered?" Adam asked. "There was that one close call when Alpha was trying to juggle those chainsaws," Juston reminded him. "How'd he do in that talent show, by the way?" "There was no talent show, he was performing for his puppy," Adam said. "Hey, whatever happened to the puppies we adopted?" Juston asked. "We decided to let the guy who runs the junkyard take them in since we were busy with the team," Adam reminded him. "They're better off there, they get a lot more attention." The two puppies were barking at each other in the junkyard. "Soon," the first puppy barked, being understood by the other. "We'll soon have the power to return to our true forms. We just need to rescue our brother." "Yes, then we'll destroy the brats who cursed us with these forms before we destroy this world and continue our quest," the other dog barked back. "We just need to regain our lost powers." The door to the restaurant froze over and shattered as Riley walked in, ready to blast whoever was waiting for him. If they weren't going to end his life, he'd end theirs. "Now!" Ms. Marvel shouted as he large hands grabbed Riley, holding him in place. Rawhide Kid came running out, shoving the hottest spices in the kitchen into Riley's mouth while Ms. Marvel held him. Rawhide Kid massaged the food down his throat before Ms. Marvel let him go. Riley started gasping as he fell to his knees, the pale color disappearing from his cheeks. The ice on his body started melting as Rawhide Kid kicked him in the face to knock him unconscious. "Was that really needed?" Ms. Marvel asked. "What if his ice powers got replaced with fire powers?" Rawhide Kid asked. "I don't want him awake to roast us!" "Hopefully he stays out long enough for someone to take him somewhere where he can't cause trouble," Ms. Marvel told him. "Who are you, anyway?" "Rawhide Kid, ma'am," the young hero said as he tipped his hat to her. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to bad guys to round up elsewhere." Ms. Marvel's large hand wrapped around him. "I don't think so. Not with those loaded six-shooters. You're coming with me until me and my team know that you're not going on a shooting spree." "You don't understand, these aren't--!" Rawhide Kid said as he was dragged out of the restaurant, leaving Riley unconscious. As the two headed down the street, the ice and snow started to melt, along with the ice on the tank. As she opened the hatch on the tank, Ms. Marvel saw Adam and Juston hugging with Juston crying on his friend's shoulder. "Should I come back, or were you two about to--?" "What? NO!" Juston shouted as he pushed Adam away. "That's Franklin and Josh's thing! Wait, is it over?" "For now," Ms. Marvel said as she held her large hand up, holding the Rawhide Kid. "But now we have a new situation." Latveria Cannonball was blasted through the wall, landing on the ground as Malefactor floated through, his hands glowing. "You dare assault the son of Doom?" Malefactor asked. "Until now, I've kept my powers in reserve, unwilling to unleash the full force of them upon your world at my father's request. But I think I'll make an exception for you, boy. Feel the wrath of Malefactor!" An alternate Earth, several lifetimes away "I don't understand," Franklin said as he looked at the group of heroes. "I don't remember having a brother, or a sister, or any of you, for that matter. I have zero memory of anything before coming here. Plus, there's this." Franklin put his hand through Alex's chest. "Am I a ghost?" "Well, you did die," Spider-Man told him. "Maybe we should start at the beginning." "Okay," Alex told him. "Let's start when my family died when I was twelve, just after the Power Pack had formed." "The Snarks murdered my entire family just after we got our powers. I was badly wounded, but somehow survived, thanks to the Fantastic 4, who intervened at the last second. They managed to defeat the Snarks with the help of the other Spider-Man and a few other heroes. By the time I woke up, I had no home to return to. The Richard's formally adopted me as one of their own, and you me instantly became like brothers, Franklin. I missed my family, but I loved having you as a brother. Then Valeria came along a few years later, and things always seemed... off about her. Even as a child, she seemed cold and distant, always using her brain over her heart. Then came the day that Dr. Doom unleashed his most devastating plan yet. He'd created a virus that targeted the X-gene. A virus that was more devastating than AIDS, cancer and polio combined. One that would wipe out every mutant and potential mutant on Earth while his Doombots targeted every non-mutant hero while they were distracted by the chaos. The Fantastic Four, plus you, me and Valeria went to stop him. The resulting battle killed Doom, the Thing, and your parents. Johnny did his best to raise the two of you with my help, and you ended up okay. You even had a solid relationship with a hero named Icarus until... something bad happened to him. But Valeria, something snapped inside of her. While me and Johnny were trying to reform the Fantastic 4, Valeria decided to continue Doom's work. She adjusted Doom's virus to target everyone, not just mutants. She wanted to rebuild the world, and was going to use the survivors of the plague to make a world in her image. When we found her, she had donned Doom's armor. We were too late, the virus had been unleashed. Johnny, being at ground zero, was the first to die. I got sick, but I recovered after a while, maybe my powers protected me from the full force. Meanwhile, you tried to talk Valeria down, but she tricked you into getting close enough to pull your heart out of your chest. You died in her arms. I only survived because she thought the virus would finish me. When I finally was able to move around, half of the world's heroes were dead due to the virus; the other half were targets of Valeria's Doombots and eventual reprogramming of the Sentinels. As far as we know, the group you see here are the last of Earth's heroes. I decided to take up Captain America's mantle when I found his body. The world still needed hope, and I still had the combined powers of my siblings to help me. I eventually found the rest of this group and we started fighting back. But we've lost more heroes than we've won battles. But we won't give up." Franklin didn't know what to say as he stared at Alex. "If you're my brother, then I'll fight with you to end this. I'm with you until the end." "Glad to hear that," Alex told him. "We've got another surprise for you behind that door." Woody opened the door for Franklin, where a blind and wingless Icarus was sitting on a bed, just listening to the noises coming from outside. TO BE CONTINUED... |