Post by thejellyfish on Apr 25, 2014 16:15:42 GMT -5
Some say it all started when Roxxon scientists dug too deep into the fabric of space and time in their “black science” labs on the East Coast, however, most say it all began when the Taylor Foundation was bought by James Keller of Keller Dynamics. James Keller, in true narcissistic fashion, wished to mark his name upon the earth, to be revered by future generations. In buying the Taylor Foundation, he thought he had found the solution.
The New Warriors, Dwayne Taylor’s very own paramilitary superhero group, was also acquired in the buyout. With two of the founding members out for the count, James sought to implant his younger brother Julian, and Julian’s former classmate, Amara Aquila into the team’s ranks. Many people saw this as another great move by the young CEO, a step that James thought would prove that he was greatness incarnate.
This is not the story of how James Keller saved the world.
This is the story of how James Keller destroyed it.
//Present Day, Noon
“Julian, are you really so sure about this?” said Amara Aquila, the mutant known as Magma, with a large hint of worry in her voice.
Julian Keller, the mutant known as Hellion, telekinetically lifted the fork to his mouth and thought carefully before answering. Amara was not known to fly off the handle, but she had been under constant duress in recent weeks, and Julian worried that he might set her off with something he said. If he was completely honest, he was nervous as well, but it didn’t bother him too much.
“Look, I know that when I called offering the job, you thought that it was going to be some secretary gig, I get it, I should have told you. But, I think we have a chance to do some real good here. Isn’t that what we were always taught?” he replied through bites of food.
“I’m not mad about the job thing, I got over that. It’s just…” She paused. “We don’t know these people all that well. The people we’re replacing are starting a family, one of them has been in space – f****** space - for some weird reason, another is only seventeen, and how do we know Dwayne Taylor isn’t just going to try and take his company back? I don’t know about this, Jules. I don’t know about them.”
Julian paused for a moment, taking in everything she had just said. “You haven’t called me Jules for a long time, Amara.” he shot back with a sly smile.
“Shut up, we are not going there again.” She said, poking him with her pointer finger. “And is that really the only thing you got from all that?”
“I know, I know, I’m just messing with you. I agree though, some of these people are a bit unknown to us, just think of it as a learning experience. It’s about time we got to go out into world and showed the people who really are.” Julian said, looking at his metal hands, a souvenir from the day his mutant powers manifested. “And don’t worry about Dwayne, my brother gave him a cushy job and a nice corner office. He also bought Vance and Angelica a house and even hired a nanny for them. All part of the initial deal made between the two of them.” he finished with a smirk.
Just as Julian finished speaking, the elevator doors opened, revealing James Keller and an eclectic group of people. One wearing his nicest clothes, another dressed to go to the beach, and the other two dressed in their superhero costumes.
Julian and Amara realized that these people were the New Warriors, and immediately walked over to them.
“And here we are team; this is the living area, where you will spend most of your downtime, when not out and about in Los Angeles. Oh, and these two lovely people are Amara Aquila and my younger brother, Julian. They’re your new teammates.”
The first person to step up was one of the people in their costumes.
“I’m Sun Girl, you guys can call me Selah, though.” she said, extending her hand for Julian to shake. Julian took her hand and shook it, impressing the young hero greatly. “So, um, is it true that you’re both mutants? The only mutants I’ve met are Vance and Angelica, and they didn’t like talking about it all that much.”
“Selah, you can’t just ask people if they’re mutants.” the young man in the futuristic armor said.
“Sorry about her. She’s excited to be here, that’s all, so excited that she just single-handedly stopped a car chase on the south side of town. I’m Richard Rider, of the Nova Corps. And yes, I go by Nova on field missions. I have to say, never thought that when I’d come back to Earth, I’d be using my Nova powers for a corporations benefit.” he said before walking off to the side with Selah.
“I’m Speedball, and I thought we were going to the beach.” said the blonde haired young man with a pout.
“Robbie, be nice, and we’ll go to the beach later.” scolded the other man. Robbie turned and made a disgruntled face at the man.
He sighed loudly, “I’m Robbie Baldwin, and I’m very excited to go to the beach.” he corrected, “And getting to know you guys.” he added, looking towards Amara with a sly smile.
Julian felt a small twinge of jealousy as Amara smiled back at Robbie. He often had to keep reminding himself that that time had passed, they had both moved on to different people and become different people, but there would always be that part that still felt something.
Eventually, Robbie moved towards the rest of the team, allowing the last person to approach Julian and Amara. “Sorry about him, he’s a bit of a handful. I’m Dwayne Taylor, and as I understand it you two will be helping us out, yes? Good. I can’t wait to get started.” He extended a hand towards James and proceeded to discuss things with his current business partner, when an explosion resonated across the building.
As everyone moved towards the windows to get a better look, James received a call from the engineers down in the manufacturing plant, alerting him to the location of the explosion. Dwayne was the first to react.
“Team, suit up. We need to get down there ASAP.”
With the team all suited up, they immediately set about trying to stop the fire and leading people out of the manufacturing plant to safety, afterwards regrouping to search for the cause of the explosion, which lead them to a hole to the sewers and a lot of missing equipment.
Entering the sewers, Hellion and Nova lit up their powers, using the glow to lead the team through the dark.
“Well, if it ain’t the New Warriors, come to their grave!” announced a gravelly voice from the shadows, flipping the light switch on and revealing the trap that they had just walked into, hundreds of heavily-armed gangsters. The Akuras, the Irish Mob, the south side Hispanic and African-American gangs, and even Triad and Yakuza clans were there to greet them.
A man in a suit walked out from the shadows to greet them, his teeth filed down like a shark and his skin as pale as the moonlight. “You didn’t think I was just going to let you and your delicious weapons tech leave Boston, did you Dwayne? How foolish. You know, I suppose, before we kill you, I should introduce my little helper, who’s been planning this score ever since the Keller kid decided to compete with Stark. Now, you joining in on his fun was all the incentive I needed to help her out.” He walked closer to the New Warriors, who stood battle ready in case anything went south.
“Oh, sweetheart, you mind coming out here for a second?”
After he finished speaking, a purple blur flew by the New Warriors, and landed next to Tombstone. “New Warriors, I’d like you all to meet my lovely daughter, the Beetle! I’ll let you all get acquainted.” Tombstone said as he left his daughter with the team.
Hellion looked to Night Thrasher and saw the slight nod that meant it was go time. They had figured that the explosion was caused by a robbery, and decided to go in with a plan. Hellion mentally grabbed the Beetle’s suit, throwing her across the room into her father’s back, while Sun Girl and Nova launched into the air dispatching various gangsters. Speedball jumped into the air and bounced off of a few gangsters while Magma set about creating small walls for him to bounce into.
Night Thrasher ran at Tombstone and Beetle, dispatching Beetle once again with a small EMP device and grabbed Tombstone, throwing him against the wall.
“The New Warriors aren’t going anywhere, Lonnie. You should know that by now.” said Night Thrasher, deploying a trap to keep Tombstone in his place, before joining in with the rest of the battle. Meanwhile, Hellion and Magma regrouped towards the center, funneling people towards the others, where they would be dispatched with ease by the rest of the group.
“You sure about ‘em, yet?” yelled Hellion over sound of gunshots.
“They’re alright, almost like a certain person I know.” Magma yelled back with a smile.
Suddenly, a blast from behind sent Magma flying and caught Hellion off guard. Hellion could feel the hands of Tombstone grab his head and put enough pressure where he could be lifted off of the ground, but not have his face crushed. Hellion could feel his breathes become weaker with each inhale getting less and less oxygen.
He could hear screams of terror come from his teammates, but wasn’t quite sure of who was saying what. With the shouts and yells of his teammates fading, everything went quiet.
To Be Continued Next Month in…
New Warriors #2: O N Y X
The New Warriors, Dwayne Taylor’s very own paramilitary superhero group, was also acquired in the buyout. With two of the founding members out for the count, James sought to implant his younger brother Julian, and Julian’s former classmate, Amara Aquila into the team’s ranks. Many people saw this as another great move by the young CEO, a step that James thought would prove that he was greatness incarnate.
This is not the story of how James Keller saved the world.
This is the story of how James Keller destroyed it.
New Warriors #1
by thejellyfish
Change of Coast, Change of Heart
//Los Angeles, California
//Keller Dynamics Headquarters//Los Angeles, California
//Present Day, Noon
“Julian, are you really so sure about this?” said Amara Aquila, the mutant known as Magma, with a large hint of worry in her voice.
Julian Keller, the mutant known as Hellion, telekinetically lifted the fork to his mouth and thought carefully before answering. Amara was not known to fly off the handle, but she had been under constant duress in recent weeks, and Julian worried that he might set her off with something he said. If he was completely honest, he was nervous as well, but it didn’t bother him too much.
“Look, I know that when I called offering the job, you thought that it was going to be some secretary gig, I get it, I should have told you. But, I think we have a chance to do some real good here. Isn’t that what we were always taught?” he replied through bites of food.
“I’m not mad about the job thing, I got over that. It’s just…” She paused. “We don’t know these people all that well. The people we’re replacing are starting a family, one of them has been in space – f****** space - for some weird reason, another is only seventeen, and how do we know Dwayne Taylor isn’t just going to try and take his company back? I don’t know about this, Jules. I don’t know about them.”
Julian paused for a moment, taking in everything she had just said. “You haven’t called me Jules for a long time, Amara.” he shot back with a sly smile.
“Shut up, we are not going there again.” She said, poking him with her pointer finger. “And is that really the only thing you got from all that?”
“I know, I know, I’m just messing with you. I agree though, some of these people are a bit unknown to us, just think of it as a learning experience. It’s about time we got to go out into world and showed the people who really are.” Julian said, looking at his metal hands, a souvenir from the day his mutant powers manifested. “And don’t worry about Dwayne, my brother gave him a cushy job and a nice corner office. He also bought Vance and Angelica a house and even hired a nanny for them. All part of the initial deal made between the two of them.” he finished with a smirk.
Just as Julian finished speaking, the elevator doors opened, revealing James Keller and an eclectic group of people. One wearing his nicest clothes, another dressed to go to the beach, and the other two dressed in their superhero costumes.
Julian and Amara realized that these people were the New Warriors, and immediately walked over to them.
“And here we are team; this is the living area, where you will spend most of your downtime, when not out and about in Los Angeles. Oh, and these two lovely people are Amara Aquila and my younger brother, Julian. They’re your new teammates.”
The first person to step up was one of the people in their costumes.
“I’m Sun Girl, you guys can call me Selah, though.” she said, extending her hand for Julian to shake. Julian took her hand and shook it, impressing the young hero greatly. “So, um, is it true that you’re both mutants? The only mutants I’ve met are Vance and Angelica, and they didn’t like talking about it all that much.”
“Selah, you can’t just ask people if they’re mutants.” the young man in the futuristic armor said.
“Sorry about her. She’s excited to be here, that’s all, so excited that she just single-handedly stopped a car chase on the south side of town. I’m Richard Rider, of the Nova Corps. And yes, I go by Nova on field missions. I have to say, never thought that when I’d come back to Earth, I’d be using my Nova powers for a corporations benefit.” he said before walking off to the side with Selah.
“I’m Speedball, and I thought we were going to the beach.” said the blonde haired young man with a pout.
“Robbie, be nice, and we’ll go to the beach later.” scolded the other man. Robbie turned and made a disgruntled face at the man.
He sighed loudly, “I’m Robbie Baldwin, and I’m very excited to go to the beach.” he corrected, “And getting to know you guys.” he added, looking towards Amara with a sly smile.
Julian felt a small twinge of jealousy as Amara smiled back at Robbie. He often had to keep reminding himself that that time had passed, they had both moved on to different people and become different people, but there would always be that part that still felt something.
Eventually, Robbie moved towards the rest of the team, allowing the last person to approach Julian and Amara. “Sorry about him, he’s a bit of a handful. I’m Dwayne Taylor, and as I understand it you two will be helping us out, yes? Good. I can’t wait to get started.” He extended a hand towards James and proceeded to discuss things with his current business partner, when an explosion resonated across the building.
As everyone moved towards the windows to get a better look, James received a call from the engineers down in the manufacturing plant, alerting him to the location of the explosion. Dwayne was the first to react.
“Team, suit up. We need to get down there ASAP.”
With the team all suited up, they immediately set about trying to stop the fire and leading people out of the manufacturing plant to safety, afterwards regrouping to search for the cause of the explosion, which lead them to a hole to the sewers and a lot of missing equipment.
Entering the sewers, Hellion and Nova lit up their powers, using the glow to lead the team through the dark.
“Well, if it ain’t the New Warriors, come to their grave!” announced a gravelly voice from the shadows, flipping the light switch on and revealing the trap that they had just walked into, hundreds of heavily-armed gangsters. The Akuras, the Irish Mob, the south side Hispanic and African-American gangs, and even Triad and Yakuza clans were there to greet them.
A man in a suit walked out from the shadows to greet them, his teeth filed down like a shark and his skin as pale as the moonlight. “You didn’t think I was just going to let you and your delicious weapons tech leave Boston, did you Dwayne? How foolish. You know, I suppose, before we kill you, I should introduce my little helper, who’s been planning this score ever since the Keller kid decided to compete with Stark. Now, you joining in on his fun was all the incentive I needed to help her out.” He walked closer to the New Warriors, who stood battle ready in case anything went south.
“Oh, sweetheart, you mind coming out here for a second?”
After he finished speaking, a purple blur flew by the New Warriors, and landed next to Tombstone. “New Warriors, I’d like you all to meet my lovely daughter, the Beetle! I’ll let you all get acquainted.” Tombstone said as he left his daughter with the team.
Hellion looked to Night Thrasher and saw the slight nod that meant it was go time. They had figured that the explosion was caused by a robbery, and decided to go in with a plan. Hellion mentally grabbed the Beetle’s suit, throwing her across the room into her father’s back, while Sun Girl and Nova launched into the air dispatching various gangsters. Speedball jumped into the air and bounced off of a few gangsters while Magma set about creating small walls for him to bounce into.
Night Thrasher ran at Tombstone and Beetle, dispatching Beetle once again with a small EMP device and grabbed Tombstone, throwing him against the wall.
“The New Warriors aren’t going anywhere, Lonnie. You should know that by now.” said Night Thrasher, deploying a trap to keep Tombstone in his place, before joining in with the rest of the battle. Meanwhile, Hellion and Magma regrouped towards the center, funneling people towards the others, where they would be dispatched with ease by the rest of the group.
“You sure about ‘em, yet?” yelled Hellion over sound of gunshots.
“They’re alright, almost like a certain person I know.” Magma yelled back with a smile.
Suddenly, a blast from behind sent Magma flying and caught Hellion off guard. Hellion could feel the hands of Tombstone grab his head and put enough pressure where he could be lifted off of the ground, but not have his face crushed. Hellion could feel his breathes become weaker with each inhale getting less and less oxygen.
He could hear screams of terror come from his teammates, but wasn’t quite sure of who was saying what. With the shouts and yells of his teammates fading, everything went quiet.
To Be Continued Next Month in…
New Warriors #2: O N Y X