MV1 #77 OCTOBER Year 3

"A  New War Part One: Gathering"

What Has Gone Before: On the day of Justice and Firestar's wedding, everything went wrong, as various threats killed any number of the Warriors. One threat in particular was Speedball, a member who turned evil and used his kinetic power to kill many of the team before being forced into the kinetic dimension along with Night Thrasher. Firestar led a team to rescue Thrasher, finding him severely beaten and rescuing Speedball from his darker half.

Herrold's was the kind of place Dwayne Taylor remembered only vaguely.

Waiters and waitresses in tuxedos weaving in and out amongst tables covered with fine lace tablecloths and full silver place settings. Chandeliers glowing with the light of electric bulbs meant to replicate candlelight. The smells and sounds of a five-star restaurant filling the air, and a finely dressed French maitre'd at the door, making sure that only the most upper of New York's upper crust got in.

It was the kind of place from his other life, the one that had taken place during his brief childhood. The places that he had known before his parents were murdered. Before the places became an endless stream of gymnasiums and workout rooms, before his childhood became a daily regiment of training and studying to be the ultimate weapon against crime.

In the end, of course, it had all turned out to be a lie. His parents were murdered not by some random criminals, but by Chord, the man who had become a surrogate father to him, under domination by Tai, who had become a surrogate grandmother. Tai had in fact been an evil warlord from Southeast Asia, using Dwayne to gather the New Warriors as a sacrifice for the well of power that would make her almighty.

After that, however, Dwayne had been forced to take control of the Taylor Foundation more directly, which had led him to more close acquaintance with places like Herrold's, where he now sat absent-mindedly reading the wine list.

"Penny for your thoughts, tall dark and brooding?"

Dwayne looked up and couldn't help but smile at Silhouette, his former girlfriend. Standing in front of him in a sparkling emerald evening dress that nicely complimented her chocolate-brown skin, she wore a playful grin he hadn't seen on her face in quite some time.

"Sil," he said, motioning for her to sit at the table. "I guess it's appropriate that you're the first one to arrive."

"How so?" Silhouette asked, sitting down and noticing the ring of empty chairs around the table.

"You were the first one I met, when my crusade on crime started. Long before the Warriors, you and I were a team."

"Along with my brother," she reminded him quietly.

Midnight's Fire. Fast, strong, a good fighter. The dark mirror of Dwayne Taylor, he had been an ally for a short time, until Dwayne had inadvertently caused Silhouette to be shot and crippled. That's when Fire had turned to crime. Sil had been bitter, but eventually came back into Dwayne's life and had recently been completely restored to health, in a way she didn't like to talk about.* (*By John Kowalski a.k.a. Death in New Warriors Annual #5 – Researchin' Randy)

Silhouette was ready to ask another question, but stopped when she saw another familiar face walk into the place. Flaming red hair and a beautiful young face that was marred by an aura of sadness. The maitre'd pointed over to Dwayne's table, but Angelica Jones didn't go there immediately. Instead she crossed the room and walked over to another table where an enormous man was sitting all alone. He stood after she tapped him on the shoulder, and the two embraced.

"Dwayne, isn't that...?"

"James Proudstar. Also known as Warpath. Yes. He was in town on personal business, and I kind of figured Firestar wouldn't mind seeing more of her friends after what happened to Vance.* So I set him up with an invite to this restaurant." (*Again, in New Warriors Annual #5 – See what happens when you miss an issue Randy)

Angelica, the mutant known as Firestar, now walked over to the table. She smiled slightly, wincing as she noticed the patch over Dwayne's left eye. He had earned that damage during his stay in the Dark Speedball's dimension*, and although Angelica had led the mission to rescue him, she felt responsible for him being there that long. Dwayne didn't stand, just smiled and gestured for her to sit. Silhouette stood and gave Angelica a hug for a second. If it hadn't been for Firestar, Silhouette would have lost Dwayne, and she knew the feelings Angelica was going through after losing Vance. Seeing the people she and Vance had been closest too couldn't have been easy. (*As revealed in Vault #11 – Writes That One Too Randy)

"I'm here, Dwayne. I felt I owed you that," Firestar said, sitting. "Don't take this personally, but I wish you could just tell me why I had to come so I can leave. It's still a little painful being around you guys."

"I understand, Firestar. Thank you for coming. We're expecting a few more, so why don't we order some appetizers?"

Their escargot and pate de fois gras had arrived by the time the next two members of their party showed up. They were having some trouble at the door.

Richard Rider, the human rocket known as Nova, was dressed in a ragged brown suit, probably the only one he owned. He was most likely the only man there not in a tuxedo, and he didn't see anything wrong with that.

"Listen, pal...I'm a guest of Dwayne Taylor's, and I don't really want to be here in the first place, but I am going through this door. This was the best suit I had, and it's good enough for this place, got it?"

The maitre'd resolutely stood in front of Rider. "Sir...we require a tuxedo to enter this restaurant. You will not be coming in without one."

Rich tensed his muscles and the woman at his side put her hand on his arm. Her skin was a pale blue, her eyes solid black with no pupils. She had an exotic beauty, and looked otherworldly. Appropriate, since Nita Prentiss was from Atlantis, cloned cousin of the famed Sub-Mariner. Her dress, however, was only otherworldly in its beauty, a stunning white gown that nicely set off her blue skin and black eyes. Her demeanor was calm, but it was nearly impossible to read the expression in her face.

"Rich," she said. "Let me talk to him."

She said something quietly in French to the maitre'd. He responded indignantly, pointing at Rich. She smiled, made another comment, and the man chuckled. He stepped back to Richard.

"Sir...since you are here as a guest of Mr. Taylor, I will let you in. But if you ever attend Herrold's again, I would recommend renting a tuxedo."

"Yeah, well, this place isn't exactly on my must-visit list anyway, but thanks," Rich replied.

Nita smiled and took his arm, guiding him toward the table.

"That would have been a lot more satisfying if you'd let me toss the guy out the window," Rich muttered.

"Violence isn't always the solution, Rich," Nita answered.

The two of them reached the table. Silhouette and Firestar stood, but Dwayne continued nibbling on his escargot. The four friends exchanged hugs and handshakes, and Rich looked over at Dwayne.

"Don't get up, Dwayne," he said sarcastically.

"Rich, thanks for coming, I know you're busy.*" (*With Force Works! – Long-time reader Randy)

"Real busy, Thrash," Rich said, taking a seat. "I'm here because I wasn't there to help rescue you from the dark side of the toothpick, and I'm sorry about that, but could we get down to whatever it was you wanted to see me about?"

"Just a few more minutes," Dwayne said as the others took their seats. Silhouette noticed that there were two empty seats left.

A few minutes later, Rich stared distastefully at the glass of wine that he had received in lieu of the beer he had ordered. Nita sipped her sparkling water, telling her friends about joining up with the Aquarian and his Peace Corps.* (*See Alex Maggi's Marvel Spotlight, coming soon – Plug-meister Randy) Dwayne remained tight-lipped throughout the conversation, unwilling to give even a hint of why they were all here.

The two remaining guests arrived within seconds of each other, exchanging pleasantries at the door. Robbie Baldwin, the bouncing marvel known as Speedball, shook hands nervously with Alex Power. The last time these two had met, it had first been when Robbie's evil twin had been attempting to kill Alex and friends and then the middle of a riot in the super-prison known as the Vault.* (*The Vault #11-12 – Ain't Backstory Fun Randy)

Alex and Robbie walked over to the table and sat down, exchanging greetings with everyone. After a few moments of "How are yous?" and "What's been going ons?" all eyes turned to Dwayne Taylor.

"I've been thinking while I recuperated from recent events," Dwayne said, causing Speedball and Firestar to wince. "Thinking about what we used to be. Thinking about the Warriors."

"I knew it!" Rich shouted. "Thrash, the Warriors are gone! They died when Vance did!"

Others in the restaurant glanced over and Rich quieted down, not wanting to blow everyone's secret identities. Having Nita here was risky enough, but since she was known to have dealings with the Taylor Foundation, that could be explained. Yelling out about Thrash and the Warriors, however, was a no-no.

"Sorry, Angelica," Rich said. "But that's true. That was the end of the Warriors, that day. So many enemies, and they slaughtered us."

"They killed our friends," Dwayne replied, his voice hard. "But they can't kill justice. That's what the Warriors stood for, remember?"

"I'm with Force Works now," Rich answered. "Firestar's got a gig at the Vault. Nita's hooked up with some tofu-chewing granola supergroup. Alex has a side deal going with the government or something. It's just you, Sil and the toothpick who aren't out fighting for truth, justice and the American Way, Dwayne."

"You not getting enough fiber in your diet, Rich?" Robbie chimed in. "Did Thrash kill your dog or something?"

"Listen," Rich said. "Dwayne, you restored my powers, and I owe you for that. But the Warriors made so many mistakes, hell our whole reason for being had sinister overtones. Let it die, man. Find a new dream and make that happen. And you, toothpick, shouldn't you be telling people you're not really dead?"

"I wanted to tell Rina* first," Robbie responded. "But I couldn't find her. I was kind of hoping Dwayne had gotten in touch with her. Truth be told, that's why I'm here." (*A.k.a. Timeslip – Hopeless Romantic Randy)

"I know the Warriors weren't perfect," Dwayne said. "I know we made mistakes. But we did a lot of good, too. Tai may have been the reason we formed, but we stopped her plan, remember? Stopped her, the Sphinx, the Soldiers of Misfortune, Psionex, so many others...that's worth something. We made a difference."

"Past tense, Dwayne," Firestar said. "We did a lot of good. We also lost a lot of friends, and the man I loved. I'm trying to get over that, and seeing the people who were connected to both of us won't make it any easier on me."

"I didn't even bring up reforming the Warriors yet," Dwayne said, shaking his head in frustration.

"But you were going to, Dwayne," Silhouette said. "We're all trying to cut to the chase, while you're trying to make this some kind of grand re-opening for the Warriors."

"Okay, what's the chase?" Dwayne said angrily. "The Warriors aren't needed anymore? I'm not needed? We've got Force Works, and Peace Corps, and the Vault, and the Avengers, and who the hell needs another group of young hotshots trying to save the world, huh?"

"That's not it," Alex said, but Dwayne cut him off.

"Well, listen up," Dwayne said. "It's a big world, and it hasn't been saved yet."

"So what do the Warriors do that nobody else does?" Nita asked calmly. She wasn't threatening or confronting Dwayne, she was posing a legitimate question.

"We go after the people others won't touch. Fight crime in the corners of the world that the Avengers can't be bothered with. Hit harder than the Peace Corps can. Take on the corporate fat cats and white-collar criminals whose connections keep them out of the Vault. I know you all have other things to do. All I'm asking is that you help when you can."

"I'm in," Silhouette said.

The others turned, surprised.

"Dwayne, you and I have had our problems. But I know that when you have that fire in your belly, you can accomplish damn near anything. And even if it's just you and me, I'm in."

"Hey, I got nothing better to do," Speedball said. "If I join up, will we reopen some kind of crash pad for family-challenged Warriors?"

"Something like that," Dwayne answered.

"Then I'm in too," Speedball said. "One for all and all for one, right?"

"I don't believe this," Rich said. "Listen up, Thrash. I'll say this one more time and then I’m out of here, you guys can enjoy your broiled shark tail or whatever. I'm with Force Works now. Even if I had extra time, I'm done with the Warriors. I've moved on. I can't think of anything that would keep me involved."

At that moment, there was a scuffle at the maitre'd section. A striking asian woman, dressed in an elegant dress with a dragon pattern on it, was being held by the maitre'd as she struggled to fight her way in. She was yelling something in a foreign language.

"Khmer," Thrash said, recognizing the words, "I've found them!" in her frantic cries. The woman was from Cambodia, a place the Warriors had a certain history with.

Before they could do anything, a lean figure stepped up behind the young woman. Dressed head to toe in an orange costume with black stripes, Thrash recognized him as his old foe, the Bengal. The Bengal kicked out, fully extending his leg above his head and striking the maitre'd in the stomach. The maitre'd crumbled, letting the girl charge in. Rich chuckled, and Nita glared at him.

"Okay...that was worth staying for," Rich said.

The girl ran over to the table. She was probably about Silhouette's age, and her face was smooth and beautiful. There was something very exotic in her features, and when she spoke, there was a musical quality to her voice. Unfortunately, Dwayne knew only a few words of Khmer, the language of Cambodia, so most of her ramblings were no more useful than music to him. He understood the words "danger" and "world" and "dragon," but beyond that, he couldn't help.

The maitre'd had recovered, and was on the phone, no doubt to the police. Others, having seen the violent display at the door, were paying their checks and quickly leaving. James Proudstar turned and stood up, not sure what exactly was happening.

Bengal had run up behind the woman, and was standing behind her protectively. The last time Dwayne had met him, Bengal had been limited in his English to "Janes, deed the jungle breat?"* (*In New Warriors #7-9)

"Bengal?" Thrasher said. The Bengal looked up, recognizing his name. "Do you speak English? Can you translate?"

He just stared at Thrasher. Great, Dwayne thought. Then the words came out, in broken English.

"Melina...daughtere of Dragon Tempeel...graat daanger...neet Warriors."

"You set this up, didn't you Thrash?" Rich said, standing up. He looked around to see that the restaurant was mostly cleared, and those who were still there weren't paying any attention to them.

"Well, I'm not buying, Thrash. Thanks for reminding me why I'm better off with Force Works. They never set something up to convince me I was needed."

Rich turned to go and saw a massive wall of green standing in the doorway of the restaurant.

The Hulk.

The maitre'd had fled, along with everyone else in the restaurant except for the former Warriors, Bengal, Melina and James Proudstar.

"KILL THE WARRIORS!" The Hulk bellowed, his voice shattering glasses near on a table near him.

"Okay," Rich said. "Now I'm convinced."

Hi there, and welcome to the newest relaunch of the New Warriors. This book had an aborted relaunch by David Morelock, and then an annual that turned the entire team on its ear and killed a lot of the cast by Scott Harris. Ever since then, I've been dying to revive them, first with a guest-starring stint in The Vault, and then in this title. Originally, I had intended to do this as an anthology story, but it occurred to me that the Warriors had a perfectly good title for the story, and that there might be potential for more stories. Problem was, I already had the Vault, Web of Spider-Man, and X-Men (the last two with co-writers, but still...) so I needed someone to help me co-plot and basically take over after the first arc. Enter my co-writer, Frankie Rodriguez.

Thanks Randy.  I have finally made it. After deciding that I did not want Fanforce to be a series, I am finally on a regular title. I would like to thank my friend Randy for having me along. Get ready, because the Warriors are back and better than ever. Our run has been crafted well to last till at least 100 (renewals permitting). The Warriors will grow again from trauma and turmoil from annual 5.

So the big question is, where does this fit in continuity? It all takes place between the end of "The Claw Gambit" and the beginning of "The Slorenian Crisis" for Nova, right before he fully joined up with Force Works. For Firestar, it's right after the devastating events of the Vault #12 and before Vault #13. For the others, it's basically in that same time frame. Rest assured, we're being very careful to avoid continuity conflicts, and since a lot of the former Warriors are tied up in other titles, we may have some interesting team choices for you later on.

So what's coming up? This story will run for three more issues, establishing the Warriors and pitting them against some old foes of theirs and an old foe they've never faced before. After that? A guest-starring Spider-Man, the answer to the question "Where is Timeslip?", and the return of old foes and old friends. Let us know what you thought of the series!

Like Randy said, Spidey will indeed show his face.  You will see characters that you haven't seen since earlier issues of this wonderful series.  Return of old friends are on the horizon. And the promise of fighting crimes other heroes never touch will come into play. So sit back, relax and enjoy. Plus, we want mail. Lots and lots of mail. Let our journey begin.

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The Warriors vs. The Hulk! Why is the Hulk fighting the Warriors, and who is the powerful new ally who will try to help them defeat the green goliath?