Back to GatefoldIssue #7 by Tobias Christopher
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The New Warriors have come together to defend the city of New York from the threats that the other heroes are too busy for! Whether it's powerful entities bent on destroying reality, or just stopping innocent fruit stands from being pillaged, the New Warriors will be there!
Or over there, it's a little crowded right here…but they'll be somewhere!
Or over there, it's a little crowded right here…but they'll be somewhere!
"Sibling Rivalry"
10 years ago
Franklin Richards was playing with his toys on the floor, building a little family out of Lego's for the arrival of his baby sister. It wasn't a masterpiece, but the blue part was supposed to represent the family, with orange and blue blocks to represent Uncle Johnny; clear blocks and blue to represent his mother; white and blue with long arms for his father; and a huge orange block statue for Uncle Ben. He had a tiny blue block for his new sister to attach to his mother's arms.
"I'm makin' this for the baby, Unca' Ben," Franklin smiled as he held up the crudely made Lego family.
"Dat's great, kid, I think they're comin' now with the baby!" Ben said as Johnny walked through the door with the newborn baby. Ben was so excited, he accidentally stepped on Franklin's Lego's, crushing them under his weight as he walked toward Johnny. "Hey, Frankie, come meet your new sister."
Franklin stared down at the remains of his now powdered Lego family as he went to look at the new baby.
"Hi, I'm Franklin, I'm your big brother," Franklin said as the baby sneezed right in his face. "Gross!"
"Aw, she sneezed, how adorable!" Johnny said.
# # # # #
A few years later, Franklin was playing with his play-doh, while his three year old sister was doing the same. "Mama, look what I made!" Franklin said as he held up a crudely shaped lump. "It's Uncle Ben!"
"Aw, Franklin, that's adorable," Sue said as she looked at her daughter, who had a fully detailed model of New York, complete with a little Fantastic Four. The Thing was perfectly molded with every crack and crevice. "Reed, look at what our daughter built out of play-doh!"
Franklin growled a bit under his breath as he squeezed the lump in his hand.
# # # # #
A few more years later, Franklin was working on his science project for school, a home-made volcano that he'd been working months on.
"That looks great, Franklin," Reed told him. "I can't wait to see it in action. Valeria, is your project ready?"
"Yes, daddy," Valeria said as she pulled the blanket off of her project, revealing a table full of green mold.
"That's it?" Franklin asked with a laugh. "You took three months to grow mold?"
"Actually I whipped this up this morning," she said as she put a microscope on the table. "Look for yourself."
Reed looked through the microscope and saw an entire civilization of mold based creatures, that were quickly advancing. "Oh, my God. She's created life."
Franklin's jaw dropped as his volcano puffed out a small stream of smoke that sounded more like flatulence.
# # # # #
Which brings us to today, where 10 year-old Valeria Richards was standing on a ladder over Franklin's bedroom door, fixing a bucket over it.
"A bucket of water?" Johnny asked as he walked past. "Amateur."
"Oh, it's not water, Uncle Johnny," Valeria told him. "It's something much more fun. It's a bio-chemical solvent that when dries out... well, I owe Franklin for what he did to my Bumblebee*."
(*Last issue)
Franklin was rushing around inside of his bedroom, grabbing his stuff as he opened the door, getting drenched as the bucket fell on top of him, completely soaking him from head to toe.
"Really?" Franklin asked. "I don't have time to change, I have to go meet up with Andy, I'll just dry off along the way."
Franklin ran out the door as Valeria looked at Johnny. "I'll be in my room. When Franklin calls in an hour, tell him that's for Bumblebee."
# # # # #
Andy was asleep in his bed when a small golden retriever started licking his face to wake him up. Andy started laughing as he woke up. "Okay, okay, Mike, I'm awake! I didn't train you to be an alarm clock."
The puppy just whimpered as Andy got out of the bed while stretching and yawning. He looked at his watch and quickly stood up. "Holy shit, I'm late!"
Andy rushed toward the bathroom, pulling off his shirt and tossing it onto his puppy as he started the shower. Mike started bouncing around to get the shirt off of him as he ran into the bedpost.
# # # # #
"Why is no one staring at me like I'm some kind of freak?" Kitannia asked as she walked down the sidewalk with Adam as they headed for the junkyard. The former Princess of Riff had been dressed in a pair of jeans, boots, and a Justin Bieber t-shirt.
"This is New York, Kit," Adam told her. "This place is full of freaks and weirdos who walk out in the open. You should see some of the X-Men. I mean, Wolverine's hair? WOW."
"It has been four days since we last saw Juston," Kittania told him. "His mental state has been less than healthy since the death of his pet robot."
"That Sentinel was the closest thing Juston had to a best friend," Adam told her as they got to the junkyard. "We tried to salvage everything we could, but without that special piece that he put inside of me to save my life, he can't rebuild the Sentinel and have it be the same as it was."
Adam rattled the gate and waited for a response. "Come on, Juston, it's us. Open up!"
There was no response as Adam pushed the gate open as they carefully walked in.
"Are you sure this is wise?" Kittania asked.
"No," Adam laughed as he just walked in.
# # # # #
"Sorry, I'm late," Andy said as he ran out the door a few minutes later, holding his shoes in his hands while trying to slip them on without falling over. "I overslept again."
"This is why I trained your puppy to wake you up," Franklin told him as they started walking. "We need to find a headquarters for our team. My parents said Kitannia, Juston and Adam can stay for a little while, but just until we find a permanent place. It took all the powers of my puppy dog eyes just to let them give permission for me to lead this team. I don't want to push it any further."
"Well, how hard can it be to find a headquarters in New York?" Andy asked. "I mean, the X-Men, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four all found places, right?"
"Well, they're all adults with income, too," Franklin reminded him. "We're just kids who are doing the hero thing outside of school and on weekends. I don't think we even have five bucks between the five of us."
Andy reached into his pockets and turned them inside out. "How much do you think I can get for this lint?"
# # # # #
Pete Petruski returned to the small apartment that he was sharing with Jonathan Powers after the two had recently escaped from prison.
"Did you get the Pecan Sandies?" Jonathan asked as Pete put the bag down.
"Didn't have time, I could only grab the moon pies," Pete told him.
Jonathan seethed when he looked in the bag. "Pretty sure I asked for Pecan Sandies."
"How did I get stuck here with you?" Pete asked as he fell back onto the couch. "I am a world-renowned criminal, and here I am, hiding from the world with... the Jester."
"How do you think I feel?" Jonathan asked with a mouth full of moon pie. "I am a trained actor. I should be on Broadway!"
"We need to get our self-respect back," Pete said. "We need to, I don't know, take out a big name hero and start climbing the underworld ladder again," Pete looked down at the newspaper and saw the headline, 'New New Warriors Thwart Fruit Stand Robbery', which was just above the story, 'Slowest News Day in History'. "What have we here?"
Jonathan grabbed the paper and looked at it. "The New Warriors? They don't look so tough."
"No, but that's the brat son of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman," Pete said as he pointed at Franklin. "If we take down the son of two of the city's biggest heroes, we'll earn our street cred back and we'll be back on top."
"And how exactly are we supposed to do that?" Jonathan asked. "We're flat broke and we're on the lam from the cops."
"I still have some contacts, I can get us some gear," Pete said with a smirk. "Then, the Trapster will do what he does best."
"Masturbate to 'Orange is the New Black' and fall asleep in a pool of his own tears?" Jonathan asked.
"We have work to do," Pete said as he stood up, ignoring that comment. "Soon those teenage boys will kneel before me! WOW, that came out wrong!"
# # # # #
Josh Guthrie got off the bus, holding his guitar case in one hand, and a small carry-on bag in the other. He was here to start living his dream of being a professional musician, he just needed his big break. He'd been saving his money for a long time to afford a ticket to New York, and now that his younger siblings were old enough to take care of themselves, he could be free to go chase his dream of fame in the Big Apple. And hitting his big brother up for a place to stay wouldn't hurt, either.
"Excuse me," Josh said as a man walked by. "Could you tell me where the Xav-" the man just continued walking by as Josh tried to get someone to tell him where the Xavier Institute was. "Pardon me, but- Excuse me, Ma'am? Sir, could you- Maybe I can just get-"
"Piss off, kid," a nun with a cigar in her mouth said as she flipped him off with both hands.
"Come on, I'm just a country boy looking to make his big break in New York," Josh said as he looked around, just as a shady looking man approached.
"I can get you into movies, kid," the man said. "I can have you starring in one by this afternoon."
"Well, I'm more of a musician than an actor," Josh said as he turned around to think about it, just as the man was suddenly tackled by several police officers. "But then again, I could use the cash to start off my new life here. I'll tell you what-"
Josh turned around to see the man being dragged off by the police. "Look at those nice officers, escorting that guy to his movie set. Oh, well, I'll just have to work for my big break, I suppose."
Josh picked up his guitar case and carry-on bag, and started walking.
# # # # #
"Alright, looking through the newspaper, we can afford a base if I get a job washing dishes, you get a job waiting tables, Juston works in a car detailing place, Adam gets a modeling job, and Kittania does some PETA spots," Franklin said. "Then we pool our tips for the next twenty years, and we can get something small and cramped."
"Waiting tables, huh?" Andy said as he thought about it.
"I say we head back to the Baxter Building and wait for the guys to show up. Maybe they have a better plan," Franklin said as they started walking. As they got past a small cafe, they heard a cry for help. The two boys turned around just in time to see a thief dressed in a plastic face mask, with a black domino mask over it, run out. He was wearing a black brimmed hat and white and black striped clothes.
"Dude, does that look like-"
"It can't be-"
"THE MEATBURGLAR!"
"Rob'em, Rob'em!" the Meatburglar shouted as he started running with a sack full stolen burgers.
"Let's do this," Franklin said. "What do you say; Fastball Special?"
"Oh, I love that one. And best of all, the X-Men never copyrighted it!" Andy smiled as he grabbed Franklin and launched him at the Meatburglar. Franklin curled himself into a ball as he struck the thief, knocking him to the ground, just as the police arrived.
Franklin stood up as people started taking pictures of the capture.
"The New Warriors stopped the Meatburglar's reign of terror!" a woman shouted.
"That's right, the New Warriors are here to help those in need, and now people can eat their burgers in safety," Franklin smiled as Andy rushed to catch up to him.
"Hey, Franklin, you smell something burning?" Andy asked as he sniffed the air.
"Yeah, what is-" Franklin asked as his clothes suddenly disappeared in a cloud of smoke, as ash fell to the ground. Franklin quickly covered his exposed parts as Andy held a library book in front of him. The book was 'Little Men'. "VALERIA!"
# # # # #
Valeria looked at her watch and laughed while she worked on a new experiment, fusing a hamster's DNA with that of a pickle. "Sweet, sweet revenge."
# # # # #
"Juston?" Adam asked as approached the workshop, where noises had been heard. Adam knocked on the door and waited for a response. "Buddy, are you okay?"
"Don't come in!" Juston shouted. "I don't want you to see this just yet!"
"I hope he's not watching 'Orange is the New Black'," Adam said to Kittania. Juston slowly opened the door and poked his head out.
"What?" Juston asked.
"It's been four days," Adam told him. "We were getting worried about you."
The dachshund puppy poked its head out from behind Juston's legs. "We're fine, Adam. We've just been busy working on...stuff. Isn't that right, Servo?"
"Servo?" Adam asked.
"Yeah, I named him after my favorite t.v. robot," Juston told him.
"I guess I shouldn't talk, I named my puppy Crow," Adam said. "Come on, we're supposed to meet with Franklin so we can look for a headquarters."
"Why don't we just use the junkyard?" Juston asked him. "There's plenty of room here."
"Maybe we can, but as a living space?" Adam asked.
"Hey, I wouldn't mind doubling up," Juston smirked as he looked at Kittania.
"I can scan your body temperature, it goes through the roof when you look at her," Adam said as Juston tried to cover his mouth while he laughed awkwardly.
# # # # #
Andy returned to the alley, where a still naked Franklin was waiting behind a dumpster.
"These were all I could get," Andy said as he tossed a bag behind to him. "Why didn't you just use your powers to poof something up?"
"I tried," Franklin told him. "I guess using my powers depends on my emotions. I have to be happy, or really, really pissed off to use them. I guess being embarrassed is one of my weaknesses. Speaking of which..." Franklin stepped out from behind the dumpster, wearing a pink sweatshirt and blue and white short shorts. "Where did you get these clothes?"
"80's retro shop around the corner," Andy told him. "The guy who works there accepts pocket lint."
"I look like I just stepped out of a Wham! video," Franklin said as Andy dug around his pockets and tossed him a pair of yellow fingerless gloves.
"Hey, that video was playing on the t.v. when I was picking these out," Andy smiled. "Funny coincidence, huh?"
Franklin went to grab Andy around the throat while Andy was looking the other way, but stopped himself. "Let's just go home before anything else happens."
"Actually, Adam texted me. We're meeting at the coffee shop across the street," Andy told him.
"I'm dressed like an 80's video," Franklin told him. "And I'm too humiliated to change these clothes into something better. And... why didn't you bring me any shoes?"
"Ohhhhh, I knew I forgot something," Andy said. "I'll go and find-"
"Forget it!" Franklin said as he started walking. "Knowing you, you'll get me clown shoes or something. I'll find my own, thank you."
"C-c-clown shoes?" Andy asked as a shiver ran down his spine.
# # # # #
"Nice... outfit," Juston said as he saw Franklin walking in with a pair of sandals on his feet. "You look like-"
"We already did the WHAM! joke," Andy said as he walked in and sat down in the booth with his friends.
"Well, we're all here, let's talk about new headquarters," Adam told the group. "We think we should use the junkyard where Juston's been staying."
"What?" Franklin asked. "That's not big enough for-"
"It is if someone uses their powers to make it livable," Adam said. "Hint, hint."
"I'm not sure if my powers work that way, I mean, after today-" Franklin started to say as Andy showed them the picture on his phone.
"You took a picture!" Franklin shouted.
"It was above the waist, and everyone else was doing it," Andy said as Franklin grabbed the phone and deleted it. "Aww, that was going to be my screen saver."
"Must resist... urge to choke," Franklin said through gritted teeth, just as the doors opened and the Trapster and Jester strolled right on in.
"Alright, a quick cup of coffee, then it's off to find and crush the New Warriors!" Jester said.
The teens in the booth just stared at each other.
"I am NOT fighting crime in these clothes," Franklin told them.
Next: Franklin fights crime in his new retro clothes!
Franklin Richards was playing with his toys on the floor, building a little family out of Lego's for the arrival of his baby sister. It wasn't a masterpiece, but the blue part was supposed to represent the family, with orange and blue blocks to represent Uncle Johnny; clear blocks and blue to represent his mother; white and blue with long arms for his father; and a huge orange block statue for Uncle Ben. He had a tiny blue block for his new sister to attach to his mother's arms.
"I'm makin' this for the baby, Unca' Ben," Franklin smiled as he held up the crudely made Lego family.
"Dat's great, kid, I think they're comin' now with the baby!" Ben said as Johnny walked through the door with the newborn baby. Ben was so excited, he accidentally stepped on Franklin's Lego's, crushing them under his weight as he walked toward Johnny. "Hey, Frankie, come meet your new sister."
Franklin stared down at the remains of his now powdered Lego family as he went to look at the new baby.
"Hi, I'm Franklin, I'm your big brother," Franklin said as the baby sneezed right in his face. "Gross!"
"Aw, she sneezed, how adorable!" Johnny said.
# # # # #
A few years later, Franklin was playing with his play-doh, while his three year old sister was doing the same. "Mama, look what I made!" Franklin said as he held up a crudely shaped lump. "It's Uncle Ben!"
"Aw, Franklin, that's adorable," Sue said as she looked at her daughter, who had a fully detailed model of New York, complete with a little Fantastic Four. The Thing was perfectly molded with every crack and crevice. "Reed, look at what our daughter built out of play-doh!"
Franklin growled a bit under his breath as he squeezed the lump in his hand.
# # # # #
A few more years later, Franklin was working on his science project for school, a home-made volcano that he'd been working months on.
"That looks great, Franklin," Reed told him. "I can't wait to see it in action. Valeria, is your project ready?"
"Yes, daddy," Valeria said as she pulled the blanket off of her project, revealing a table full of green mold.
"That's it?" Franklin asked with a laugh. "You took three months to grow mold?"
"Actually I whipped this up this morning," she said as she put a microscope on the table. "Look for yourself."
Reed looked through the microscope and saw an entire civilization of mold based creatures, that were quickly advancing. "Oh, my God. She's created life."
Franklin's jaw dropped as his volcano puffed out a small stream of smoke that sounded more like flatulence.
# # # # #
Which brings us to today, where 10 year-old Valeria Richards was standing on a ladder over Franklin's bedroom door, fixing a bucket over it.
"A bucket of water?" Johnny asked as he walked past. "Amateur."
"Oh, it's not water, Uncle Johnny," Valeria told him. "It's something much more fun. It's a bio-chemical solvent that when dries out... well, I owe Franklin for what he did to my Bumblebee*."
(*Last issue)
Franklin was rushing around inside of his bedroom, grabbing his stuff as he opened the door, getting drenched as the bucket fell on top of him, completely soaking him from head to toe.
"Really?" Franklin asked. "I don't have time to change, I have to go meet up with Andy, I'll just dry off along the way."
Franklin ran out the door as Valeria looked at Johnny. "I'll be in my room. When Franklin calls in an hour, tell him that's for Bumblebee."
# # # # #
Andy was asleep in his bed when a small golden retriever started licking his face to wake him up. Andy started laughing as he woke up. "Okay, okay, Mike, I'm awake! I didn't train you to be an alarm clock."
The puppy just whimpered as Andy got out of the bed while stretching and yawning. He looked at his watch and quickly stood up. "Holy shit, I'm late!"
Andy rushed toward the bathroom, pulling off his shirt and tossing it onto his puppy as he started the shower. Mike started bouncing around to get the shirt off of him as he ran into the bedpost.
# # # # #
"Why is no one staring at me like I'm some kind of freak?" Kitannia asked as she walked down the sidewalk with Adam as they headed for the junkyard. The former Princess of Riff had been dressed in a pair of jeans, boots, and a Justin Bieber t-shirt.
"This is New York, Kit," Adam told her. "This place is full of freaks and weirdos who walk out in the open. You should see some of the X-Men. I mean, Wolverine's hair? WOW."
"It has been four days since we last saw Juston," Kittania told him. "His mental state has been less than healthy since the death of his pet robot."
"That Sentinel was the closest thing Juston had to a best friend," Adam told her as they got to the junkyard. "We tried to salvage everything we could, but without that special piece that he put inside of me to save my life, he can't rebuild the Sentinel and have it be the same as it was."
Adam rattled the gate and waited for a response. "Come on, Juston, it's us. Open up!"
There was no response as Adam pushed the gate open as they carefully walked in.
"Are you sure this is wise?" Kittania asked.
"No," Adam laughed as he just walked in.
# # # # #
"Sorry, I'm late," Andy said as he ran out the door a few minutes later, holding his shoes in his hands while trying to slip them on without falling over. "I overslept again."
"This is why I trained your puppy to wake you up," Franklin told him as they started walking. "We need to find a headquarters for our team. My parents said Kitannia, Juston and Adam can stay for a little while, but just until we find a permanent place. It took all the powers of my puppy dog eyes just to let them give permission for me to lead this team. I don't want to push it any further."
"Well, how hard can it be to find a headquarters in New York?" Andy asked. "I mean, the X-Men, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four all found places, right?"
"Well, they're all adults with income, too," Franklin reminded him. "We're just kids who are doing the hero thing outside of school and on weekends. I don't think we even have five bucks between the five of us."
Andy reached into his pockets and turned them inside out. "How much do you think I can get for this lint?"
# # # # #
Pete Petruski returned to the small apartment that he was sharing with Jonathan Powers after the two had recently escaped from prison.
"Did you get the Pecan Sandies?" Jonathan asked as Pete put the bag down.
"Didn't have time, I could only grab the moon pies," Pete told him.
Jonathan seethed when he looked in the bag. "Pretty sure I asked for Pecan Sandies."
"How did I get stuck here with you?" Pete asked as he fell back onto the couch. "I am a world-renowned criminal, and here I am, hiding from the world with... the Jester."
"How do you think I feel?" Jonathan asked with a mouth full of moon pie. "I am a trained actor. I should be on Broadway!"
"We need to get our self-respect back," Pete said. "We need to, I don't know, take out a big name hero and start climbing the underworld ladder again," Pete looked down at the newspaper and saw the headline, 'New New Warriors Thwart Fruit Stand Robbery', which was just above the story, 'Slowest News Day in History'. "What have we here?"
Jonathan grabbed the paper and looked at it. "The New Warriors? They don't look so tough."
"No, but that's the brat son of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman," Pete said as he pointed at Franklin. "If we take down the son of two of the city's biggest heroes, we'll earn our street cred back and we'll be back on top."
"And how exactly are we supposed to do that?" Jonathan asked. "We're flat broke and we're on the lam from the cops."
"I still have some contacts, I can get us some gear," Pete said with a smirk. "Then, the Trapster will do what he does best."
"Masturbate to 'Orange is the New Black' and fall asleep in a pool of his own tears?" Jonathan asked.
"We have work to do," Pete said as he stood up, ignoring that comment. "Soon those teenage boys will kneel before me! WOW, that came out wrong!"
# # # # #
Josh Guthrie got off the bus, holding his guitar case in one hand, and a small carry-on bag in the other. He was here to start living his dream of being a professional musician, he just needed his big break. He'd been saving his money for a long time to afford a ticket to New York, and now that his younger siblings were old enough to take care of themselves, he could be free to go chase his dream of fame in the Big Apple. And hitting his big brother up for a place to stay wouldn't hurt, either.
"Excuse me," Josh said as a man walked by. "Could you tell me where the Xav-" the man just continued walking by as Josh tried to get someone to tell him where the Xavier Institute was. "Pardon me, but- Excuse me, Ma'am? Sir, could you- Maybe I can just get-"
"Piss off, kid," a nun with a cigar in her mouth said as she flipped him off with both hands.
"Come on, I'm just a country boy looking to make his big break in New York," Josh said as he looked around, just as a shady looking man approached.
"I can get you into movies, kid," the man said. "I can have you starring in one by this afternoon."
"Well, I'm more of a musician than an actor," Josh said as he turned around to think about it, just as the man was suddenly tackled by several police officers. "But then again, I could use the cash to start off my new life here. I'll tell you what-"
Josh turned around to see the man being dragged off by the police. "Look at those nice officers, escorting that guy to his movie set. Oh, well, I'll just have to work for my big break, I suppose."
Josh picked up his guitar case and carry-on bag, and started walking.
# # # # #
"Alright, looking through the newspaper, we can afford a base if I get a job washing dishes, you get a job waiting tables, Juston works in a car detailing place, Adam gets a modeling job, and Kittania does some PETA spots," Franklin said. "Then we pool our tips for the next twenty years, and we can get something small and cramped."
"Waiting tables, huh?" Andy said as he thought about it.
"I say we head back to the Baxter Building and wait for the guys to show up. Maybe they have a better plan," Franklin said as they started walking. As they got past a small cafe, they heard a cry for help. The two boys turned around just in time to see a thief dressed in a plastic face mask, with a black domino mask over it, run out. He was wearing a black brimmed hat and white and black striped clothes.
"Dude, does that look like-"
"It can't be-"
"THE MEATBURGLAR!"
"Rob'em, Rob'em!" the Meatburglar shouted as he started running with a sack full stolen burgers.
"Let's do this," Franklin said. "What do you say; Fastball Special?"
"Oh, I love that one. And best of all, the X-Men never copyrighted it!" Andy smiled as he grabbed Franklin and launched him at the Meatburglar. Franklin curled himself into a ball as he struck the thief, knocking him to the ground, just as the police arrived.
Franklin stood up as people started taking pictures of the capture.
"The New Warriors stopped the Meatburglar's reign of terror!" a woman shouted.
"That's right, the New Warriors are here to help those in need, and now people can eat their burgers in safety," Franklin smiled as Andy rushed to catch up to him.
"Hey, Franklin, you smell something burning?" Andy asked as he sniffed the air.
"Yeah, what is-" Franklin asked as his clothes suddenly disappeared in a cloud of smoke, as ash fell to the ground. Franklin quickly covered his exposed parts as Andy held a library book in front of him. The book was 'Little Men'. "VALERIA!"
# # # # #
Valeria looked at her watch and laughed while she worked on a new experiment, fusing a hamster's DNA with that of a pickle. "Sweet, sweet revenge."
# # # # #
"Juston?" Adam asked as approached the workshop, where noises had been heard. Adam knocked on the door and waited for a response. "Buddy, are you okay?"
"Don't come in!" Juston shouted. "I don't want you to see this just yet!"
"I hope he's not watching 'Orange is the New Black'," Adam said to Kittania. Juston slowly opened the door and poked his head out.
"What?" Juston asked.
"It's been four days," Adam told him. "We were getting worried about you."
The dachshund puppy poked its head out from behind Juston's legs. "We're fine, Adam. We've just been busy working on...stuff. Isn't that right, Servo?"
"Servo?" Adam asked.
"Yeah, I named him after my favorite t.v. robot," Juston told him.
"I guess I shouldn't talk, I named my puppy Crow," Adam said. "Come on, we're supposed to meet with Franklin so we can look for a headquarters."
"Why don't we just use the junkyard?" Juston asked him. "There's plenty of room here."
"Maybe we can, but as a living space?" Adam asked.
"Hey, I wouldn't mind doubling up," Juston smirked as he looked at Kittania.
"I can scan your body temperature, it goes through the roof when you look at her," Adam said as Juston tried to cover his mouth while he laughed awkwardly.
# # # # #
Andy returned to the alley, where a still naked Franklin was waiting behind a dumpster.
"These were all I could get," Andy said as he tossed a bag behind to him. "Why didn't you just use your powers to poof something up?"
"I tried," Franklin told him. "I guess using my powers depends on my emotions. I have to be happy, or really, really pissed off to use them. I guess being embarrassed is one of my weaknesses. Speaking of which..." Franklin stepped out from behind the dumpster, wearing a pink sweatshirt and blue and white short shorts. "Where did you get these clothes?"
"80's retro shop around the corner," Andy told him. "The guy who works there accepts pocket lint."
"I look like I just stepped out of a Wham! video," Franklin said as Andy dug around his pockets and tossed him a pair of yellow fingerless gloves.
"Hey, that video was playing on the t.v. when I was picking these out," Andy smiled. "Funny coincidence, huh?"
Franklin went to grab Andy around the throat while Andy was looking the other way, but stopped himself. "Let's just go home before anything else happens."
"Actually, Adam texted me. We're meeting at the coffee shop across the street," Andy told him.
"I'm dressed like an 80's video," Franklin told him. "And I'm too humiliated to change these clothes into something better. And... why didn't you bring me any shoes?"
"Ohhhhh, I knew I forgot something," Andy said. "I'll go and find-"
"Forget it!" Franklin said as he started walking. "Knowing you, you'll get me clown shoes or something. I'll find my own, thank you."
"C-c-clown shoes?" Andy asked as a shiver ran down his spine.
# # # # #
"Nice... outfit," Juston said as he saw Franklin walking in with a pair of sandals on his feet. "You look like-"
"We already did the WHAM! joke," Andy said as he walked in and sat down in the booth with his friends.
"Well, we're all here, let's talk about new headquarters," Adam told the group. "We think we should use the junkyard where Juston's been staying."
"What?" Franklin asked. "That's not big enough for-"
"It is if someone uses their powers to make it livable," Adam said. "Hint, hint."
"I'm not sure if my powers work that way, I mean, after today-" Franklin started to say as Andy showed them the picture on his phone.
"You took a picture!" Franklin shouted.
"It was above the waist, and everyone else was doing it," Andy said as Franklin grabbed the phone and deleted it. "Aww, that was going to be my screen saver."
"Must resist... urge to choke," Franklin said through gritted teeth, just as the doors opened and the Trapster and Jester strolled right on in.
"Alright, a quick cup of coffee, then it's off to find and crush the New Warriors!" Jester said.
The teens in the booth just stared at each other.
"I am NOT fighting crime in these clothes," Franklin told them.
Next: Franklin fights crime in his new retro clothes!