Back to GatefoldIssue #5 by Tobias Christopher
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Previously, Franklin Richards and H.E.R.B.I.E. discovered that entire worlds were being devastated by a powerful force. When no other hero had the time to step up to investigate, Franklin gathered a ragtag group of heroes and ventured off to discover what was destroying other planets.
They discovered a trio of super powerful brothers, who short circuited the neural inhibitor inside of Franklin's head before the group escaped to form a new plan of attack. Now the trio of world destroying brothers were headed toward Earth, and only Franklin and his team may be able to stop them...
# # # # #
The planet Nelson, home world to the Riffs, a gentle race of humanoid cat creatures who don't believe in war. A planet that was currently burning to the ground due to the massive cats made of fire who were running rampant, destroying everything they touched.
"Another planet void of imagination," A sighed as he watched the place burn to the ground. The creatures, those that remained, were running in fear as the fire cats chased them all down. "With the powers that these creatures possess, they could have truly made something great. Instead, they just cower in fear from the rest of the universe."
"Should we be diverting from the path to the ones who humiliated us?" C asked his brothers. "What if we're giving them time to mount a defense?"
"My brother, that is what we want," A replied. "For so very long, we've gone world to world, searching for a place that poses a proper challenge for our power. For such a world that can match our power must be a place of great imagination. We want these fools to fight back against us."
"And what happens if they do manage to stand up against us?" B asked. "Will we then spare their world?"
"Of course not," A replied with a smirk. "Their world will die, but we will however spare the champions. That will be their reward."
Elsewhere on Nelson, as the rest of the world burned, a young Riff was being carried by her bodyguard.
"We should be fighting back!" the feline humanoid said. She had light blue fur all and was wearing Amazonian garb. "They're killing us!"
"The Princess must remain safe!" the big bulky bodyguard with black and white fur said. "Remain here until I return!"
The bodyguard shut the door to the large steel room as he went to fight for his Princesse's honor. Princess Kittania pounded on the door as she looked around for a way out. Unfortunately by the time she escaped, she would be the sole remaining survivor of her race on the planet.
They discovered a trio of super powerful brothers, who short circuited the neural inhibitor inside of Franklin's head before the group escaped to form a new plan of attack. Now the trio of world destroying brothers were headed toward Earth, and only Franklin and his team may be able to stop them...
# # # # #
The planet Nelson, home world to the Riffs, a gentle race of humanoid cat creatures who don't believe in war. A planet that was currently burning to the ground due to the massive cats made of fire who were running rampant, destroying everything they touched.
"Another planet void of imagination," A sighed as he watched the place burn to the ground. The creatures, those that remained, were running in fear as the fire cats chased them all down. "With the powers that these creatures possess, they could have truly made something great. Instead, they just cower in fear from the rest of the universe."
"Should we be diverting from the path to the ones who humiliated us?" C asked his brothers. "What if we're giving them time to mount a defense?"
"My brother, that is what we want," A replied. "For so very long, we've gone world to world, searching for a place that poses a proper challenge for our power. For such a world that can match our power must be a place of great imagination. We want these fools to fight back against us."
"And what happens if they do manage to stand up against us?" B asked. "Will we then spare their world?"
"Of course not," A replied with a smirk. "Their world will die, but we will however spare the champions. That will be their reward."
Elsewhere on Nelson, as the rest of the world burned, a young Riff was being carried by her bodyguard.
"We should be fighting back!" the feline humanoid said. She had light blue fur all and was wearing Amazonian garb. "They're killing us!"
"The Princess must remain safe!" the big bulky bodyguard with black and white fur said. "Remain here until I return!"
The bodyguard shut the door to the large steel room as he went to fight for his Princesse's honor. Princess Kittania pounded on the door as she looked around for a way out. Unfortunately by the time she escaped, she would be the sole remaining survivor of her race on the planet.
"Cat & Mouse"
Franklin was laying on the table in the lab as Juston and H.E.R.B.I.E. were standing over him.
"You had your brain hacked by that freak in a robe," Juston said as he ran a scanner over Franklin. "They fried your neural inhibitor. Don't you feel any different?"
"I'm hungry, does that count?" Franklin asked.
"I don't get it, shouldn't he be lifting rocks with his mind or Jedi like stuff?" Juston asked. "But it seems like he's still powerless."
"Maybe he's subconsciously blocking his powers," Adam said.
"Or maybe his powers were dormant in the back of his mind long enough that they got so weak from non-use that they'll pop up when he least expects," Andy said as he had his back t the group while watching cartoons. "Heh heh, Spongebob made a bubble buddy."
There was a long, awkward pause between the others as they stood around Franklin. Juston simply scratched the back of his head as he tried to find the words to reply.
"Whatever's going on, he's perfectly healthy, which is all that matters," H.E.R.B.I.E. said after about a minute as Franklin sat up. "So, you three have fun on your little field trip, and Franklin and I will-," the robot watched as Franklin picked up a high power laser rifle that Juston had assembled. "What are you doing?"
"I'm going with my friends," Franklin told him. "I started this quest, and I'm going to see it through to the end. We stand together, that's what friends do."
"When did we say we were friends?" Juston whispered to Adam.
"Does that mean you're going to get a costume and a code name?" Andy asked.
"Suit up, we leave in twenty," Franklin told them as he headed to his room to get dressed. H.E.R.B.I.E. followed behind him, wanting to stop him however he could.
"Hold the door for me, I'll be back," Juston said as he headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" Andy asked.
"To get something we might need!" Juston shouted.
"Franklin, those guys nearly killed you, they left you catatonic," the robot told his charge as Franklin ran into his bedroom. "There is no way that I'm letting go back out there again. The others can handle this."
"H.E.R.B.I.E., all my life I've sat around and watched my parents and Uncle Ben and Uncle Johnny be heroes," Franklin said as he pulled his shirt off and walked into his closet. "I've always wanted to be able to do the stuff that they do. I want to save lives and do the right thing for everyone. This is my chance to do that. I can save this planet. And I need you to have my back on this. You're my best friend, I need you."
Before H.E.R.B.I.E. could reply, Franklin stepped out of the closet, wearing a black and white full body costume with the '4' logo on the left corner of his chest. "Let's go save the world."
# # # # #
Planet Nelson had burned to the ground, with every creature having been killed. The brothers looked around, admiring their handiwork. The bones of Princess Kittania's bodyguard were laying in a smoking pile in front of them.
"Alright, brothers, I've grown bored of this place," A told them. "Let's go to Earth where we'll hopefully find a real challenge for once."
As the trio began to float away, a plasma blast struck at their feet, stopping them where they were.
"Don't bother, boys, we brought the challenge to you!" Machine Teen shouted as he fired a shoulder mounted laser cannon at them. The trio jumped out of the way as the brothers just started laughing. "I've come to kick ass and chew bubble gun, and I'm all out of-" Alpha checked his pocket. "Hey, I've still got gum! Anyone want a piece?"
"It looks like they've come prepared!" B shouted as he picked up his repaired staff. "Let's see what they can do in a fair fight."
"Now you want to fight fair?" H.E.R.B.I.E. asked as he scanned them. "Their staffs seems to be the main source of their power, take those out and you might have a chance!"
"You heard the robot dude, let's do it!" Alpha shouted as he flew at the trio, who fired their staffs at him. Alpha ducked and dodged the blasts, punching C to the ground.
"You think a few punches and a laser gun are enough to stop us?" A asked as he charged up his staff to fire at Alpha while he had been distracted.
"No, which is why we brought the big guns!" Juston said as he Sentinel landed on the planet. "Sentinel, take 'em down!"
"Energy signature detected," the Sentinel said as he held up his hand and fired a powerful blast at A, who held up his staff and fired a blast of his own. The two blasts met, struggling to push each other back.
"Foolish, robot, I destroyed you once!" B said as he was ready to destroy H.E.R.B.I.E. again.
"You leave my robot alone!" Franklin shouted as he charged up his gloves and punched B away. "No one hurts my buddy."
C blasted Alpha away, just as the laser blast from Machine Teen struck him back down. He held out his hand to fire a second blast his other attacker.Alpha flew back and pushed machine Teen out of the way as the blast hit him.
"Andy!" Machine Teen shouted as he rolled Alpha over onto his back. "Are you okay?"
"That stung," Alpha said as he sat up. "But I think I'm okay."
"Not for long," C said as he prepared to blast them both, just as a bo staff struck his arm, knocking his staff to the ground. The bo staff flew back and struck C in the face, sending him flying back.
"That was awesome!" Alpha said as he looked up Princess Kittania. "Dude, it's a cat lady!"
"I am Princess Kittania, and I seek vengeance for the death of my people," Kittanaia told them C tried to sit up, but she struck him back down with her bo staff.
"Well, join the party, Princess," Machine Teen told her. "Let's go help our friends."
A and the Sentinel were in a stalemate, as neither of their blasts could outmatch the other.
"I grow weary of this," A said as he held out his hand and fired a stray blast as Juston, knocking him off of the Sentinel. Franklin saw what had happened and punched B out of the way, running as fast as he could to reach Juston. He rushed to the top of an eight foot pile of debris and jumped off, catching Juston in mid-air as the two hit the ground.
"You okay?" Franklin asked.
"This freak's starting to piss me off," Juston told him.
"Me, too," Franklin told him as Machine Teen, Alpha, H.E.R.B.I.E and Kittania joined up with them. Franklin and Juston just stared at Kittania, struck with awe at her beauty, unable to form words.
"... Okay, this is weird," Alpha said as he smacked the two of them. "Snap out of it! We've got some ass to kick!"
"Right," Franklin said. "Let's finish this."
B and C saw A fighting the Sentinel and joined in, firing their staffs from behind and hitting the Sentinel from all sides. The Sentinel, unable to defend against all three attacks, started to fall.
"NO!" Juston shouted as he rushed toward the fight. "Stop!"
Juston was too late, as the energy from the trio was too much. The Sentinel exploded, sending parts and debris flying everywhere as Alpha and Machine Teen jumped in front of their friends to shield them from the explosion.
"One down," A smirked as Juston pushed his way through Alpha and Machine Teen, seeing what was left of his Sentinel.
"No," Juston whispered as tears started falling down his face as he fell to his knees. "He can't be-"
"Suck it up, we're not out of the woods on this one!" Franklin told him as he prepared for the final fight. "Give 'em everything we've got!"
The trio struck the ground with their staffs, causing a quake. The group fell to the ground a B and C joined their staffs together and blasted the group, sending them flying. Franklin saw his friends in trouble and crumpled his fist in anger as he stared at the trio.
"Leave. Them. Alone!" Franklin shouted as he his eyes started to glow. He blasted the trio with a powerful blast of energy, sending them flying hard enough to knock their robes off of them revealing their true forms.
Alpha sat up and looked and looked around. "Holy shit, Franklin did it. He beat them."
"He certainly did something," H.E.R.B.I.E. said as he picked himself up. "Are those-"
"Whoa," Machine Teen said.
"Pathetic," Kittania said. "These are the creatures that killed my people?"
Three boys, no older than twelve, sat up. A was wearing a cowboy outfit, with a red cowboy hat on his head; B was wearing a grey sweater and jeans with a necklace made of two intertwined snakes; And C was wearing a white collared t-shirt and blue shorts.
"They're kids!" Juston said as he wiped the tears away.
"Oh, we're so much more than that," A said as he stood up, picking up his staff. "We are immortals. And you? You're nothing more than insects to be crushed beneath our boots."
"I'm sorry, it's so hard to take these guys seriously now," Alpha said. "They're so adorable!"
"They're not adorable, they're genocidal monsters, and it's time to finish this fight," Kittania said as she picked up her bo staff.
"We agree," A said as the trio stood up and joined their staffs together and fired. Franklin jumped in front of his friends as his eyes started to glow. He returned his own blast of energy, as the trio struggled to keep up with his power. The resulting energy blast backfired on all of them, resulting in a blinding flash.
"We should really add sunglasses to our costumes," Alpha said as he rubbed his eyes. "Wait a minute, something's not right here. The trio's gone!"
"Yeah, and so is Franklin!" H.E.R.B.I.E. shouted as he saw a smoke rising from the spot Franklin had been standing.
TO BE CONCLUDED...
"You had your brain hacked by that freak in a robe," Juston said as he ran a scanner over Franklin. "They fried your neural inhibitor. Don't you feel any different?"
"I'm hungry, does that count?" Franklin asked.
"I don't get it, shouldn't he be lifting rocks with his mind or Jedi like stuff?" Juston asked. "But it seems like he's still powerless."
"Maybe he's subconsciously blocking his powers," Adam said.
"Or maybe his powers were dormant in the back of his mind long enough that they got so weak from non-use that they'll pop up when he least expects," Andy said as he had his back t the group while watching cartoons. "Heh heh, Spongebob made a bubble buddy."
There was a long, awkward pause between the others as they stood around Franklin. Juston simply scratched the back of his head as he tried to find the words to reply.
"Whatever's going on, he's perfectly healthy, which is all that matters," H.E.R.B.I.E. said after about a minute as Franklin sat up. "So, you three have fun on your little field trip, and Franklin and I will-," the robot watched as Franklin picked up a high power laser rifle that Juston had assembled. "What are you doing?"
"I'm going with my friends," Franklin told him. "I started this quest, and I'm going to see it through to the end. We stand together, that's what friends do."
"When did we say we were friends?" Juston whispered to Adam.
"Does that mean you're going to get a costume and a code name?" Andy asked.
"Suit up, we leave in twenty," Franklin told them as he headed to his room to get dressed. H.E.R.B.I.E. followed behind him, wanting to stop him however he could.
"Hold the door for me, I'll be back," Juston said as he headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" Andy asked.
"To get something we might need!" Juston shouted.
"Franklin, those guys nearly killed you, they left you catatonic," the robot told his charge as Franklin ran into his bedroom. "There is no way that I'm letting go back out there again. The others can handle this."
"H.E.R.B.I.E., all my life I've sat around and watched my parents and Uncle Ben and Uncle Johnny be heroes," Franklin said as he pulled his shirt off and walked into his closet. "I've always wanted to be able to do the stuff that they do. I want to save lives and do the right thing for everyone. This is my chance to do that. I can save this planet. And I need you to have my back on this. You're my best friend, I need you."
Before H.E.R.B.I.E. could reply, Franklin stepped out of the closet, wearing a black and white full body costume with the '4' logo on the left corner of his chest. "Let's go save the world."
# # # # #
Planet Nelson had burned to the ground, with every creature having been killed. The brothers looked around, admiring their handiwork. The bones of Princess Kittania's bodyguard were laying in a smoking pile in front of them.
"Alright, brothers, I've grown bored of this place," A told them. "Let's go to Earth where we'll hopefully find a real challenge for once."
As the trio began to float away, a plasma blast struck at their feet, stopping them where they were.
"Don't bother, boys, we brought the challenge to you!" Machine Teen shouted as he fired a shoulder mounted laser cannon at them. The trio jumped out of the way as the brothers just started laughing. "I've come to kick ass and chew bubble gun, and I'm all out of-" Alpha checked his pocket. "Hey, I've still got gum! Anyone want a piece?"
"It looks like they've come prepared!" B shouted as he picked up his repaired staff. "Let's see what they can do in a fair fight."
"Now you want to fight fair?" H.E.R.B.I.E. asked as he scanned them. "Their staffs seems to be the main source of their power, take those out and you might have a chance!"
"You heard the robot dude, let's do it!" Alpha shouted as he flew at the trio, who fired their staffs at him. Alpha ducked and dodged the blasts, punching C to the ground.
"You think a few punches and a laser gun are enough to stop us?" A asked as he charged up his staff to fire at Alpha while he had been distracted.
"No, which is why we brought the big guns!" Juston said as he Sentinel landed on the planet. "Sentinel, take 'em down!"
"Energy signature detected," the Sentinel said as he held up his hand and fired a powerful blast at A, who held up his staff and fired a blast of his own. The two blasts met, struggling to push each other back.
"Foolish, robot, I destroyed you once!" B said as he was ready to destroy H.E.R.B.I.E. again.
"You leave my robot alone!" Franklin shouted as he charged up his gloves and punched B away. "No one hurts my buddy."
C blasted Alpha away, just as the laser blast from Machine Teen struck him back down. He held out his hand to fire a second blast his other attacker.Alpha flew back and pushed machine Teen out of the way as the blast hit him.
"Andy!" Machine Teen shouted as he rolled Alpha over onto his back. "Are you okay?"
"That stung," Alpha said as he sat up. "But I think I'm okay."
"Not for long," C said as he prepared to blast them both, just as a bo staff struck his arm, knocking his staff to the ground. The bo staff flew back and struck C in the face, sending him flying back.
"That was awesome!" Alpha said as he looked up Princess Kittania. "Dude, it's a cat lady!"
"I am Princess Kittania, and I seek vengeance for the death of my people," Kittanaia told them C tried to sit up, but she struck him back down with her bo staff.
"Well, join the party, Princess," Machine Teen told her. "Let's go help our friends."
A and the Sentinel were in a stalemate, as neither of their blasts could outmatch the other.
"I grow weary of this," A said as he held out his hand and fired a stray blast as Juston, knocking him off of the Sentinel. Franklin saw what had happened and punched B out of the way, running as fast as he could to reach Juston. He rushed to the top of an eight foot pile of debris and jumped off, catching Juston in mid-air as the two hit the ground.
"You okay?" Franklin asked.
"This freak's starting to piss me off," Juston told him.
"Me, too," Franklin told him as Machine Teen, Alpha, H.E.R.B.I.E and Kittania joined up with them. Franklin and Juston just stared at Kittania, struck with awe at her beauty, unable to form words.
"... Okay, this is weird," Alpha said as he smacked the two of them. "Snap out of it! We've got some ass to kick!"
"Right," Franklin said. "Let's finish this."
B and C saw A fighting the Sentinel and joined in, firing their staffs from behind and hitting the Sentinel from all sides. The Sentinel, unable to defend against all three attacks, started to fall.
"NO!" Juston shouted as he rushed toward the fight. "Stop!"
Juston was too late, as the energy from the trio was too much. The Sentinel exploded, sending parts and debris flying everywhere as Alpha and Machine Teen jumped in front of their friends to shield them from the explosion.
"One down," A smirked as Juston pushed his way through Alpha and Machine Teen, seeing what was left of his Sentinel.
"No," Juston whispered as tears started falling down his face as he fell to his knees. "He can't be-"
"Suck it up, we're not out of the woods on this one!" Franklin told him as he prepared for the final fight. "Give 'em everything we've got!"
The trio struck the ground with their staffs, causing a quake. The group fell to the ground a B and C joined their staffs together and blasted the group, sending them flying. Franklin saw his friends in trouble and crumpled his fist in anger as he stared at the trio.
"Leave. Them. Alone!" Franklin shouted as he his eyes started to glow. He blasted the trio with a powerful blast of energy, sending them flying hard enough to knock their robes off of them revealing their true forms.
Alpha sat up and looked and looked around. "Holy shit, Franklin did it. He beat them."
"He certainly did something," H.E.R.B.I.E. said as he picked himself up. "Are those-"
"Whoa," Machine Teen said.
"Pathetic," Kittania said. "These are the creatures that killed my people?"
Three boys, no older than twelve, sat up. A was wearing a cowboy outfit, with a red cowboy hat on his head; B was wearing a grey sweater and jeans with a necklace made of two intertwined snakes; And C was wearing a white collared t-shirt and blue shorts.
"They're kids!" Juston said as he wiped the tears away.
"Oh, we're so much more than that," A said as he stood up, picking up his staff. "We are immortals. And you? You're nothing more than insects to be crushed beneath our boots."
"I'm sorry, it's so hard to take these guys seriously now," Alpha said. "They're so adorable!"
"They're not adorable, they're genocidal monsters, and it's time to finish this fight," Kittania said as she picked up her bo staff.
"We agree," A said as the trio stood up and joined their staffs together and fired. Franklin jumped in front of his friends as his eyes started to glow. He returned his own blast of energy, as the trio struggled to keep up with his power. The resulting energy blast backfired on all of them, resulting in a blinding flash.
"We should really add sunglasses to our costumes," Alpha said as he rubbed his eyes. "Wait a minute, something's not right here. The trio's gone!"
"Yeah, and so is Franklin!" H.E.R.B.I.E. shouted as he saw a smoke rising from the spot Franklin had been standing.
TO BE CONCLUDED...