Post by jordan on Mar 9, 2013 14:02:58 GMT -5
All Star Fantastic Four #5:
Intermission
Written by Jordan
*
I crouch upon a large gargoyle overlooking New York, garbed in the uniform of the Scarlet Spider. The red fabric pulls tight over my body, white lines streak down from one central point on the top of my head forming a spider-web effect. I took this design from my idol, Peter Parker. That’s a story for another time, though.
I look out from my gargoyle post over a massive complex. Made completely of concrete and lead, the AIM Super-Center is as impermeable as bin-Ladin’s compound. You can almost see the evil happening within. If only there was another flash mob.
The memories of that day come shooting back to me. The hot sun shining down on Anya and I; the colorful flash mob causing terror within AIM; Johnny Storm appearing to recruit Anya; Anya volunteering me. Oh, Anya.
But in truth, it’s been quite some time since last I saw her. I miss her. Every night, after I got off work, we’d go on patrol. It was nice and, most of the time, it was sane. Just the two of us against the world. I’m waiting on this gargoyle in hopes that she appears. We used to always meet here. She has a sort of fixation with AIM.
Suddenly a weight drops down onto the gargoyle beside me and my head jerks to the right. “Hey there.” She says, a sassy smile curving her lips. This is not the Black Spider that I remember.
“Um, hey there. New wardrobe?” I give her a look up and down. A tight, black leather uniform is pulled tight over her. A white spider stands in the middle, its eight legs reaching out and engulfing her entire body. She smiles.
“I saw your press conference. I figured you get a new costume, so I should too!”
“Silly me, I guess I should have figured that one out.” We both start laughing. Suddenly her face turns stone cold.
“Ben, it’s been a whole month since you left. A lot has changed, a lot more than just my costume.” Now I’m lost. What could she be talking about? “Tomorrow morning Anya Corazon has an interview with Dr. Gilbert, the COO of AIM Enterprises. I discovered about a week ago that one of their top associates was killed when he got too close to Level 8. Now it’s my turn.”
“What are you saying, Anya?”
“Ben, you know it’s impossible to breach the walls of the AIM Super-Center. This could be my only chance. And no one is more qualified than I am.”
“Anya, let me—“
“No Ben, this is my fight, not yours. You’ve made enough enemies. And you’ve got your hands tied with the Four, anyway.” She gives another sassy smile. My heart skips a beat.
“Anya, you know I can’t—“ She places her index finger over my lips, shushing me.
“I’ve got to go, Ben. I have to wake up early tomorrow.” With that, she leaps off into the distance. Why did I let her go?
*
My head hits the pillows with lightning speed. I stare up at the ceiling and wonder how my life is about to change. The Fantastic Four…wow. That’s insane. I brush my fingers through my straight, blond hair. As I pull my hand away, I notice long strings of sweat. It’s been a long day.
I flip on the television to another news report about the New Four: Valeria, Franklin, Johnny and me. The world has turned into such a strange, strange place. I flip through the channels but find nothing that I want to watch. I turn it off and lay back down.
I stay lying down for some time until I reconcile with myself to take a shower. I rise up and head to the shower. The hot water pours over me. Glimpse after glimpse after glimpse of the debacle in Latveria permeate my mind. Images of the magic, the fire, the face…even though I couldn’t see it all, I know that pure evil is painted over it like a bad mosaic.
I lean against my shower wall and think.
*
I swing across the nighttime cityscape at blinding speeds thanks to these new web shooters. The roar of wind in my ears keeps the images of Latveria out of my mind. I see a mugging taking place below me and I drop on top of it. I come down hard in front of the man with the gun. He shoots once, but I dodge.
“Listen, buddy, since we both know you have no aim, maybe you should just put the gun down and let us all be friends.” Another shot. “Bro, you have no sense of aim. I’m not trying to be mean or anything, but start going to a shooting range or something. You can’t kill masks with aim lik—“ Another shot. “Okay, playtime’s over. This is starting to get ridiculous.” I web the gun from his hand and tie him up. The man he was robbing is already gone.
I reach into the mugger’s pocket and pull out his cell phone and his wallet. First I flip through his wallet and discover an AIM security badge. Why would someone working at AIM need to mug someone else? I’ll definitely have to tell Anya about this. Richard Nevil. “I’ll remember you, Nevil.” I give him a little wink. I put the wallet back in his pocket and call the cops using his phone. I disappear.
*
I wait atop the gargoyle which overlooks the AIM Super-Center. I’m waiting for Anya. Tonight could be a long night. She had her interview this morning with Dr. Gilbert. I wonder how it went. If she got hired, when does she start? And most importantly, how is she going to juggle Anya Corazon and the Black Spider when she works full-time at AIM?
A rustle above me and Anya drops onto the gargoyle beside me, almost pushing me off. She catches me with a deep embrace. When she releases, the smile on her face makes it seem almost daytime outside. “You get hired?” I ask, a little smile of my own curving up across my face.
“Yes!” She yells, throwing her arms into the air. I quickly throw my index finger onto her lips.
“Quiet, we’re forty feet from AIM.” She nods, her smile still there. “So when do you start?”
“The fifteenth, it’s a Friday.”
“Exciting. What’s your job?”
“I’ll be working with one Carmilla Black in the animal research labs.”
“Excited?”
“So much.” She looks off into the sky. She frowns. “I have to go now, Ben. I really hope you don’t mind.” I grab her arm before she can leave.
“I have to tell you something before you go, Anya.” From her face I can tell she’s confused. “Tonight I stopped a mugging maybe four-hundred yards that way,” I point off behind me. “The guy works at AIM, name’s Richard Nevil.”
“Ben…why would someone at AIM want to mug anyone? They get paid more than enough. My starting salary is six digits and I’m in one of the lesser labs.”
“I’m not sure what to tell you, Anya, but there is definitely something wrong here. Look into it…please?” She looks like she’s contemplating this.
“Okay, but I really have to go now. Friday night, right here, okay?” I nod. She’s gone.
*
“Franklin,” my mother, Sue Richards, says my name like only a concerned mother would, “This last fight, you know you can’t do stuff like that a lot, right?” I nod my head. Why did I get the cursed powers? Why me?
“Mom, it isn’t really that bad—“ That was a mistake.
”Isn’t that bad?! Franklin, another fight like that could’ve killed you! Hearing her this angry hurts.
“Mom…I know that using my powers is…” I trail off on that thought, like a train derailed. I can’t say it. It hurts to much to say it.
“Knock, knock!” My father’s voice pierces the door to my bedroom. “Everyone decent?” He’s always so happy, no matter the situation.
“Come on, honey.” My father, the esteemed Reed Richards, bounds into my room, full of energy, full of proud—full of what makes a true man.
“Why do you look so…down, Franklin?” He asks, a slight frown piercing his face. What should I tell him? What can I tell him?
“It’s nothing, dad, really.”
“Nothing?! God, Franklin, just because you’re a part of the Fantastic Four doesn’t mean that your cancer is nothing!” There’s that word. It hurts just as much to hear as it does to say. God damn everything.
“Sue, maybe you should wait outside. Let me have a word with our son. Father and son talking time.” Sue nods and leaves reluctantly. Reed watches her leave, and then turns his attention back on me. “Franklin, this has been happening for years. We’ve been reluctant enough to allow you to take part in Johnny’s New Four, but we trusted you to only use your powers in emergencies, like teleporting us out of trouble.”
“Dad, I can handle this. I know that my powers are giving me…a tumor…but I can handle this. Just trust me, please.” I can meet my father’s gaze. I’m too ashamed.
“I do trust you Franklin. And your mother trusts you. But if we lost you…the whole world would go to hell. We wouldn’t know what to do. You know very well that you’re first in line to lead the New Four if Johnny gets injured, and how are we going to trust that you won’t overuse your powers if that day comes? How do we know you won’t feel the pressure of being the leader? You don’t always have to be the strongest.”
“But dad…what else do I have? What do I have to help the rest of the Four? How can I keep Valeria safe if I can’t use my powers?”
“We’ve trained you, Franklin.” He looks away for a second and then he tilts my head up with his hand, forcing me to meet his gaze. “Whatever you do, I’m sure you’ll make the right decision.” He gives me a warm smile before wrapping his arms around me in a tight embrace. “I love you son, and so does your mother. Never forget it. When you think of risking your own life, realize how many people that affects.”
“I love you too dad and I always will.” Moments like this…they make me realize how lucky I truly am.
Intermission
Written by Jordan
*
I crouch upon a large gargoyle overlooking New York, garbed in the uniform of the Scarlet Spider. The red fabric pulls tight over my body, white lines streak down from one central point on the top of my head forming a spider-web effect. I took this design from my idol, Peter Parker. That’s a story for another time, though.
I look out from my gargoyle post over a massive complex. Made completely of concrete and lead, the AIM Super-Center is as impermeable as bin-Ladin’s compound. You can almost see the evil happening within. If only there was another flash mob.
The memories of that day come shooting back to me. The hot sun shining down on Anya and I; the colorful flash mob causing terror within AIM; Johnny Storm appearing to recruit Anya; Anya volunteering me. Oh, Anya.
But in truth, it’s been quite some time since last I saw her. I miss her. Every night, after I got off work, we’d go on patrol. It was nice and, most of the time, it was sane. Just the two of us against the world. I’m waiting on this gargoyle in hopes that she appears. We used to always meet here. She has a sort of fixation with AIM.
Suddenly a weight drops down onto the gargoyle beside me and my head jerks to the right. “Hey there.” She says, a sassy smile curving her lips. This is not the Black Spider that I remember.
“Um, hey there. New wardrobe?” I give her a look up and down. A tight, black leather uniform is pulled tight over her. A white spider stands in the middle, its eight legs reaching out and engulfing her entire body. She smiles.
“I saw your press conference. I figured you get a new costume, so I should too!”
“Silly me, I guess I should have figured that one out.” We both start laughing. Suddenly her face turns stone cold.
“Ben, it’s been a whole month since you left. A lot has changed, a lot more than just my costume.” Now I’m lost. What could she be talking about? “Tomorrow morning Anya Corazon has an interview with Dr. Gilbert, the COO of AIM Enterprises. I discovered about a week ago that one of their top associates was killed when he got too close to Level 8. Now it’s my turn.”
“What are you saying, Anya?”
“Ben, you know it’s impossible to breach the walls of the AIM Super-Center. This could be my only chance. And no one is more qualified than I am.”
“Anya, let me—“
“No Ben, this is my fight, not yours. You’ve made enough enemies. And you’ve got your hands tied with the Four, anyway.” She gives another sassy smile. My heart skips a beat.
“Anya, you know I can’t—“ She places her index finger over my lips, shushing me.
“I’ve got to go, Ben. I have to wake up early tomorrow.” With that, she leaps off into the distance. Why did I let her go?
*
My head hits the pillows with lightning speed. I stare up at the ceiling and wonder how my life is about to change. The Fantastic Four…wow. That’s insane. I brush my fingers through my straight, blond hair. As I pull my hand away, I notice long strings of sweat. It’s been a long day.
I flip on the television to another news report about the New Four: Valeria, Franklin, Johnny and me. The world has turned into such a strange, strange place. I flip through the channels but find nothing that I want to watch. I turn it off and lay back down.
I stay lying down for some time until I reconcile with myself to take a shower. I rise up and head to the shower. The hot water pours over me. Glimpse after glimpse after glimpse of the debacle in Latveria permeate my mind. Images of the magic, the fire, the face…even though I couldn’t see it all, I know that pure evil is painted over it like a bad mosaic.
I lean against my shower wall and think.
*
I swing across the nighttime cityscape at blinding speeds thanks to these new web shooters. The roar of wind in my ears keeps the images of Latveria out of my mind. I see a mugging taking place below me and I drop on top of it. I come down hard in front of the man with the gun. He shoots once, but I dodge.
“Listen, buddy, since we both know you have no aim, maybe you should just put the gun down and let us all be friends.” Another shot. “Bro, you have no sense of aim. I’m not trying to be mean or anything, but start going to a shooting range or something. You can’t kill masks with aim lik—“ Another shot. “Okay, playtime’s over. This is starting to get ridiculous.” I web the gun from his hand and tie him up. The man he was robbing is already gone.
I reach into the mugger’s pocket and pull out his cell phone and his wallet. First I flip through his wallet and discover an AIM security badge. Why would someone working at AIM need to mug someone else? I’ll definitely have to tell Anya about this. Richard Nevil. “I’ll remember you, Nevil.” I give him a little wink. I put the wallet back in his pocket and call the cops using his phone. I disappear.
*
I wait atop the gargoyle which overlooks the AIM Super-Center. I’m waiting for Anya. Tonight could be a long night. She had her interview this morning with Dr. Gilbert. I wonder how it went. If she got hired, when does she start? And most importantly, how is she going to juggle Anya Corazon and the Black Spider when she works full-time at AIM?
A rustle above me and Anya drops onto the gargoyle beside me, almost pushing me off. She catches me with a deep embrace. When she releases, the smile on her face makes it seem almost daytime outside. “You get hired?” I ask, a little smile of my own curving up across my face.
“Yes!” She yells, throwing her arms into the air. I quickly throw my index finger onto her lips.
“Quiet, we’re forty feet from AIM.” She nods, her smile still there. “So when do you start?”
“The fifteenth, it’s a Friday.”
“Exciting. What’s your job?”
“I’ll be working with one Carmilla Black in the animal research labs.”
“Excited?”
“So much.” She looks off into the sky. She frowns. “I have to go now, Ben. I really hope you don’t mind.” I grab her arm before she can leave.
“I have to tell you something before you go, Anya.” From her face I can tell she’s confused. “Tonight I stopped a mugging maybe four-hundred yards that way,” I point off behind me. “The guy works at AIM, name’s Richard Nevil.”
“Ben…why would someone at AIM want to mug anyone? They get paid more than enough. My starting salary is six digits and I’m in one of the lesser labs.”
“I’m not sure what to tell you, Anya, but there is definitely something wrong here. Look into it…please?” She looks like she’s contemplating this.
“Okay, but I really have to go now. Friday night, right here, okay?” I nod. She’s gone.
*
“Franklin,” my mother, Sue Richards, says my name like only a concerned mother would, “This last fight, you know you can’t do stuff like that a lot, right?” I nod my head. Why did I get the cursed powers? Why me?
“Mom, it isn’t really that bad—“ That was a mistake.
”Isn’t that bad?! Franklin, another fight like that could’ve killed you! Hearing her this angry hurts.
“Mom…I know that using my powers is…” I trail off on that thought, like a train derailed. I can’t say it. It hurts to much to say it.
“Knock, knock!” My father’s voice pierces the door to my bedroom. “Everyone decent?” He’s always so happy, no matter the situation.
“Come on, honey.” My father, the esteemed Reed Richards, bounds into my room, full of energy, full of proud—full of what makes a true man.
“Why do you look so…down, Franklin?” He asks, a slight frown piercing his face. What should I tell him? What can I tell him?
“It’s nothing, dad, really.”
“Nothing?! God, Franklin, just because you’re a part of the Fantastic Four doesn’t mean that your cancer is nothing!” There’s that word. It hurts just as much to hear as it does to say. God damn everything.
“Sue, maybe you should wait outside. Let me have a word with our son. Father and son talking time.” Sue nods and leaves reluctantly. Reed watches her leave, and then turns his attention back on me. “Franklin, this has been happening for years. We’ve been reluctant enough to allow you to take part in Johnny’s New Four, but we trusted you to only use your powers in emergencies, like teleporting us out of trouble.”
“Dad, I can handle this. I know that my powers are giving me…a tumor…but I can handle this. Just trust me, please.” I can meet my father’s gaze. I’m too ashamed.
“I do trust you Franklin. And your mother trusts you. But if we lost you…the whole world would go to hell. We wouldn’t know what to do. You know very well that you’re first in line to lead the New Four if Johnny gets injured, and how are we going to trust that you won’t overuse your powers if that day comes? How do we know you won’t feel the pressure of being the leader? You don’t always have to be the strongest.”
“But dad…what else do I have? What do I have to help the rest of the Four? How can I keep Valeria safe if I can’t use my powers?”
“We’ve trained you, Franklin.” He looks away for a second and then he tilts my head up with his hand, forcing me to meet his gaze. “Whatever you do, I’m sure you’ll make the right decision.” He gives me a warm smile before wrapping his arms around me in a tight embrace. “I love you son, and so does your mother. Never forget it. When you think of risking your own life, realize how many people that affects.”
“I love you too dad and I always will.” Moments like this…they make me realize how lucky I truly am.
Now, devoted fans and friends, the Fantastic Four are about to meet a threat like none other they have seen before. Follow the story of the New Fantastic Four into All Star Fantastic Four Issue #6: Prelude, Part 1. Also, continue Anya Corazon’s war on AIM in the up and coming limited series Black Spider. Both coming this March.