MV1 #78 NOVEMBER Year 3

"A  New War Part Two: Choosing Up Sides"

What Has Gone Before: Despite the recent tragedies, Night Thrasher attempted to gather some of the old Warriors in the five-star restaurant Herrold's to discuss reforming the team. The discussion was marred by reluctance, negativity and outright hostility, but things changed tone considerably when a mysterious woman named Melina burst in, accompanied by old foe the Bengal, and was followed by a very hostile Hulk.

The Hulk charged towards Rich Rider, who was too surprised by this sudden turn of events to move. Rich saw a blur of action in front of him as James Proudstar intercepted the Hulk. Proudstar slammed into the Hulk with a shoulder block, diverting the beast away from Rich and into a table full of half-eaten dinners that shattered into splinters and bits of French cuisine.

Proudstar was knocked back into a table himself and he jumped to his feet, grimacing in pain from the sudden twinge in his shoulder. He had gone toe-to-toe with the Juggernaut before* but the Hulk was something different. Almost like a force of nature. (*In X-Force #4 – Suppressing Memories of Liefeld Randy)

The Hulk, on the other hand, looked completely unscathed. Unscathed...and angry. "Hulk will kill the Warriors!"

"Not likely, mean green!" Nova yelled as he activated his flight and charged the green goliath. Dwayne Taylor, standing at the table with Bengal, Melina and the remainder of the assembled Warriors, barely had time to yell "Rich, no!" before the human rocket crashed into the Hulk and carried him out through the window and onto the street.

Where all the people were.

Namorita wasted no time in leaping into action, letting her own flight abilities carry her through the shattered window and into the screaming crowds outside. This was New York, so there were enough people who weren't screaming and panicking, but instead standing and watching the fight. In fact, two overweight men in construction hats began exchanging money and taking sides. Namorita knew those were the people she would have to protect.

Proudstar was out there with her, already rushing over to the Hulk to help Nova.

The girl that Bengal had called Melina was still standing next to Thrasher. He couldn't understand much of her language,* but there was no mistaking her pleading eyes. She had come to the Warriors for help. But how had she known to find them here? And more importantly, why was the Hulk after her? (*Cambodian – Linguistic Randy)

The other Warriors moved into action now as well. Robbie Baldwin slammed a hand into the ground, transforming into Speedball and bouncing out into the streets. Silhouette moved in a blur, shedding her evening gown to reveal a spandex costume underneath. Firestar grimaced and activated her microwave aura, flying out after the others. Alex Power turned into mist and flew out in a burst of rainbow light.

Melina shut her eyes, seemingly frustrated. Thrash watched as she began weaving her hands in a pattern that reminded him of his martial arts katas. Seconds later, fluorescent energy erupted from her hands and swirled around her body before dissipating. When she spoke again, it was the same voice, but in crisp English with a slight London accent.

"Night Thrasher...you and the Warriors must help me. That beast is chasing me at the behest of his master, who has reopened the Well of Dragons in Cambodia. I saw him there, trying to harness the power. I saw something come out of the well...a man. He began speaking to the master of the beast, and then suddenly they looked at me. The master's eyes glowed, and the beast charged after me. If it hadn't been for Duc, the beast would have killed me then. But he held the beast off long enough for me to cast an invisibility spell and get us away."

Outside, the battle began in earnest. The Hulk backhanded Nova, sending him careening into a glass window and the pickup truck behind it. Proudstar moved in to grab the Hulk, but the creature was faster than he looked and he spun and grabbed the young mutant by the arm. Roaring furiously, he lifted Proudstar up and slammed him into the ground hard enough to crack open the sidewalk and drop Proudstar into the sewer below with a huge splash.

Speedball bounced up and concentrated all his kinetic energy into his fist, punching the Hulk with all his might. Once, he'd done this by accident and knocked Terrax halfway across New York City.* (*In New Warriors #17 – Back Issue Randy)

The Hulk absorbed the impact and crashed through the same window that Nova had, landing on top of the truck and demolishing what remained of it. Nova rolled clear at the last second, barely avoiding another close encounter with the Hulk. He yelled out at Speedball.

"Nice job, toothpick! Why don't you just punch me directly?"

Inside the restaurant, Thrasher was trying to adjust to what had just happened. "Wait a minute...you're a sorceress? Who's Duc? Do you mean the well in Cambodia that Tai tried to use?"

"I am a daughter of the Dragon Temple, and I channel its energy," Melina said. "Duc is the one you know as the Bengal. We must go and help your friends."

Dwayne was injured still, and he hadn't even had time to rebuild his armor yet, but he knew Melina was right. He stood up and nodded, then ran outside with Melina closely behind, chanting and weaving spells.

Nova shot out from the window and the Hulk emerged right behind him, holding the damaged remnants of the pickup above his head.

"Hulk will smash flying man!"

With that, the Hulk let loose of the pickup, which overshot Nova and headed toward a group of New Yorkers. They had been standing around snapping pictures and yelling excitedly, but now the screaming started.

They screamed and tried to scramble out of the way. A few of them got clear, at the expense of others whom they knocked to the ground and trampled, leaving them lying in the truck's path.

Namorita flew in front of the truck and caught it in mid-air, putting it down on the ground. Still hovering, she yelled at the crowd. "Get out of here!"

Firestar opened up with a burst of microwaves, hitting the Hulk square in the chest. He looked up at her, quiet, and then growled. Alex Power, who had been about to close in on the Hulk, hesitated, uncertain and a little afraid.

Nova was circling, about to close in for another shot, and Proudstar climbed out of the sewer, soaked throughout in stinking water and none too happy about it. Speedball stood near the Hulk, trying to figure out his next move.

Thrasher ran towards the Hulk, yelling, "Hold back, hold back! Give me a minute! Melina, you too!"

Bengal intercepted Melina, who was right behind Thrasher. "Melina...daanger!"

Silhouette watched an unarmored, injured Dwayne Taylor approaching hundreds of pounds of green bestial fury and nearly screamed. What was he doing? She was about to shadow-melt or speed to his side when she noticed him pulling something out of his pocket.

A grenade.

The Hulk continued growling, his attention focused on Firestar, until Thrasher was in close. He turned then and roared, raising his arms to pound the "puny human." Thrasher took advantage, leaping into the air and planting his right arm on the Hulk's shoulder as he swung over on the right side. He winced as pain shot through it, but still managed to use his left arm to pop the grenade into the Hulk's open mouth.

"Hulk will Sma-Uuuuk!"

"No!" Namorita yelled, assuming that Dwayne had just killed the Hulk.

She was as surprised as the Hulk when the grenade exploded harmlessly, releasing only vast amounts of smoke. Smoke that poured directly down the Hulk's throat, causing him to cough violently, exhaling enough of the black vapors to blind himself. Thrasher had finished his gymnastic move long before, pushing off and landing behind the Hulk.

Silhouette shadow-melted then, teleporting to his side. The others knew what to do after that. Firestar and Melina unleashed bursts of microwave and magical energy while Proudstar charged in and punched the Hulk in the jaw. Nova and Alex Power flew in as well, landing solid blows to the Hulk's upper body. In the distance, Speedball clenched his fist, keeping the Hulk in place with his kinetic abilities.

The smoke cleared, and the others held their breath. They'd hit the Hulk with everything they had.

He wasn't even breathing hard. A final cough expelled the spent smoke grenade from his mouth.

"Nita, we need you!" Nova yelled.

Namorita didn't hear him. She was busy herding the people out of the area. Some of them yelled and cursed at her, but she swept them along as gently as possible, moving them out of the combat zone. In the distance, she heard sirens.

Silhouette shadow-melted, taking Thrasher with her as the Hulk spun around and smashed the ground where they had been. At the same time, Alex Power misted and drifted upward and Nova flew into the air again. Proudstar delivered another body blow to the creature, and it responded by punching him in the face, sending him careening down the street, making huge furrows in the pavement.

Firestar blasted again, with more intensity this time, and Melina continued chanting, developing another spell. Speedball began to sweat as he focused his kinetic power, trying to keep the Hulk from moving. The beast, suddenly realizing it was restrained, roared with fury.

"Puny Warriors cannot hold Hulk! Hulk is strongest one there is!"

Veins stood out on the Hulk's head as he lifted his arms above his head and slammed them into the ground, causing a shockwave to ripple out and hit Speedball. Combined with the feedback he felt when the Hulk broke his hold, it was enough to knock Robbie Baldwin unconscious.

The Hulk leaped into the air, intent on smashing Robbie Baldwin beneath his feet. Silhouette ran in a blur of motion and picked him up, sweeping him out from underneath the jade goliath seconds before he landed, causing a crater.

A few yards away, Namorita returned to help Proudstar up. "You okay?"

"I guess. Although I've got a ringing in my ears like you wouldn't believe. Even the Juggernaut doesn't hit that hard!"

Alex Power misted around the Hulk, causing him to flail his fists through the gaseous form. "Gas boy leave Hulk alone!"

Alex solidified behind the Hulk, activating his gravity powers. He tried to touch the Hulk and send him flying upward, but the Hulk was too fast for him. He grabbed Alex's arms and threw him into a nearby building. Alex cried out as he hit, and even the extra mass that he had managed to accumulate in mid-flight didn't protect him from having a couple ribs broken. He crashed into the roof of a car on the street, moaning.

The Wraith, dressed in a black and orange bodysuit with small guns mounted on the wrists, passed through the floor of Avengers mansion and up into the security vault. This was the most secure part of the facility, and he knew that if it weren't for his support suppressing security from outside, or his government contacts getting him up-to-date plans for the mansion, he wouldn't be in here right now. Or at the very least, he'd be in here with some very angry superheroes wanting to know what he was doing.

What he was doing was floating above the floor, looking around, the security lasers passing invisibly through his immaterial body, the motion detectors unable to see him, the cameras electronically looped. He floated over to a set of drawers and began scanning them with his eyes. He knew what he was looking for.

In order to avoid the sound detectors from picking him up, he had been outfitted with a burst radio transmitter complete with three pre-encoded transmissions. He released the second one now.

Outside, in an unmarked van filled with electronic equipment rare and expensive enough to bankrupt small countries, a man in a green military uniform with no visible insignia smiled and nodded as he heard the computerized voice come through. "I'm in, and I've located the weapons. Launch diversion in five...four...three...two...one."

The man flipped a switch, and two people driving nearby suddenly felt their accelerators pushed to the floor, and their steering wheels jerk out of their hands. Neither of them could do anything but yell in terror and surprise as they collided head-on. The cars burst into flames as the man pressed another switch activating the small shaped charges underneath the street, and the people inside the cars screamed for help when they realized their power-locked doors wouldn't open.

That ought to get the Avengers' attention, the man thought.

Inside, Wraith solidified. No alarms sounded, but he knew he had just triggered a dozen of them. He reached out and yanked the drawers in front of him open, a small burst of energy from his palms shorting out the security in the drawers. Underneath the facemask, he smiled as he saw the torn armor that had belonged to the heroes known alternately as Torpedo and Turbo. He reached in and grabbed it.

He frowned when he saw that the other drawer was empty, but he didn't have time to do anything about it. Slamming both doors shut once again, he punched the third transmission out and turned insubstantial, fading through the floor.

The man in the van received the second transmission. "I've got the items. Will rendezvous in two minutes" He triggered another explosion behind the mansion, then started the van rolling slowly into traffic.

A few minutes later, still driving slowly through the jam that had been caused by the accident, he saw Wraith phase in through the floor and solidify, dropping the Turbo armor into a prepared box that slammed shut and locked. Another metal box stood empty next to it. The man driving the van looked back at him, confused. "I thought you..."

"The Darkhawk amulet is gone," Wraith said. "I didn't have a transmission for only having one item."

"Damn," the man said, shaking his head. "He won't be happy to hear that."

Nova landed beside Dwayne Taylor. "Dwayne, this guy is way out of our league. We need to bug out, call in the big guns!"

"And leave this monster to rampage through New York? Good plan, Nova!"

"What else can we do, Thrash? Nita won't fight, two of our heavy hitters are already out. Me and Proudstar are hurting him, but it's not enough! We need help!"

From above, an energy blast cut through the sky and blasted the Hulk, causing him to roar in pain and frustration. All eyes turned skyward to see who had delivered the blast.

Their savior was a young man, dressed in a navy blue uniform with a golden starburst on the left half of his chest. Some sort of golden bands adorned his outstretched arms, and it was clear that he had just fired the blasts from there. Nova recognized him.

"Genis?"

"Captain Marvel, Nova!" he responded, letting loose twin photon blasts from his nega-bands. They impacted with the Hulk again, knocking him back a couple steps.

"Hit him!" Night Thrasher yelled.

Proudstar charged in and hammered the Hulk with his fists. Nova did the same, flying close and gut-punching the Hulk. Firestar followed up Captain Marvel's blasts with full intensity microwave bursts, bright enough that the others had to shield their eyes.

The Hulk looked dazed, shaking his head. "Why...why you attack Hulk?"

His confusion was gone a second later, replaced by the rage. He reached out for Proudstar, who by this time had learned to get out of the way. Nova had also flown back up to the same level with Firestar and Captain Marvel, who had flown over to join her.

Melina cried out, releasing a burst of magical energy that struck the Hulk. "He's being controlled!"

The energy struck the Hulk and he howled with pain, thrashing his arms around at no one in particular.

"What are you doing to him?" Thrash asked.

"Someone is focusing the energy of the Well of Dragons to control him. My spell will sever that link."

On the other side of the world, a figure stood in shadow watching the man who had rescued him from that well. He was obviously straining now, and he heard once again, "Hulk is strongest one there is!"

Then the man closed his eyes, and it was as if the stress had left him. He turned to his ally with a smile.

"Ah, well. Lost control."

"Tell me you at least killed one of them," the figure said. "That thrice-damned Night Thrasher, perhaps?"

The other man didn't answer. He just said, "Prepare the others. They'll be coming soon."

The figure nodded. He didn't like being ordered around, but he did like power. And this new ally had promised him all the power he could want.

The Hulk collapsed onto the street, panting. It was an odd sight to see the massive, powerful beast on all fours gasping for breath as if he'd just run a marathon.

He rose to find the New Warriors surrounding him, looking ready to continue the fight.

"What is Hulk doing here? Where is jungle?"

"He doesn't remember," Melina said. "Whoever it was in Cambodia must have abducted him and brought him there."

"Well his muscle is gone now," Thrasher said. "He'll have to answer to the New Warriors."

The Hulk didn't seem to have much interest in that, and as he heard the sirens of the approaching police cars, he decided to take his leave. He leaped into the air and disappeared into the distance. Namorita pulled Alex Power off the damaged car and helped him to his feet as he struggled to shake off the pain. Speedball had gotten back up on his own and walked over to join the two of them.

Nova walked over to Captain Marvel. "How did you wind up here?"

"I sensed a big power build-up on Earth, and traced a surge of it here."

"What do you mean, sensed?"

"Have you ever heard of cosmic awareness?"

Melina and the Bengal walked over to the two men, with the rest of the Warriors right behind her. "You are the protector. You share a very special relationship with the universe. This is why you sensed the well."

"Uhhh...right. At any rate, my cosmic awareness is kind of tugging me to the main powersource, so..."

"Why don't you come with us?" Thrasher suggested. "If this is so powerful, you might need allies."

"Thrash, there is no us," Nova began, but Firestar interrupted him.

"Nova, regardless of your feelings about the Warriors, you're still a hero, and this case directly involves us. You know you're going to go because it's the right thing to do. So let's skip the pointless argument, huh?"

"Us?" Thrasher said. "You're coming, Firestar?"

"Yes," she said evenly. "I still don't want to join the Warriors, but yes, I'll come on this mission."

"I wouldn't mind having a few words with the guy who sicced the Hulk on me, either," Proudstar said. "You mind if I tag along?"

"We'd be happy to have you," Silhouette answered.

"It's settled then," Dwayne said. "Let's get going."

Speedball yelled out, "Yahoo! The Warriors ride again!"

Randy: First off, a big thank you to Ralph Angelo for letting us borrow Genis for this story. We're pretty far ahead of Captain Marvel in continuity, but we've promised to be good and Ralph as amazingly generous to let us put Genis in. His inclusion was Frankie's idea, and I think it's a terrific one. We've also got our first letter!

From Matthew Wang -
Randy and Frankie,

I just read your first issue of the brand spanking new New Warriors and I have to say that I really liked it. I loved the New Warriors when they were being published and I always get excited whenever I see them appear in any book. I think your new team line-up is very interesting with the addition of Bengal and Proudstar, but don't you guys think that they are a little underpowered at this point?

I liked your characterizations and their respectively reasons for not joining for Rich, Namorita, Alex, and Angel. They felt true to form and logical.

I hope Alex changes his mind though, because I always loved Power Pack and I liked him as Power House. Other members I would like to see join are Timeslip and whatever happen to Mickey (the old Turbo).

My only complaint for this issue was that the computerized fold-in cover blew the new team membership for me! I hate when that happens.

Looking forward to the next issue.

Randy: Timeslip is (as you may have seen) busy over in Defenders: Space 1999, but we may be able to work out a guest shot in an upcoming arc. Mickey, sadly, was killed in New Warriors Annual #5, along with Carlton, meaning that we've had four heroes die in that suit, five if you count the original wearer Brock Peters. Powerhouse, meanwhile, will be awfully busy in the pages of the Avengers, but we'll see him popping in for a few issues here as well.

As to the team being underpowered? What do you think about the addition of Captain Marvel for power? And don't worry, we don't consider our roster static. We'll have guest stars, plus changes in the roster, all in the first year's run.

Frankie: Don't consider Proudstar and Bengal unpowered. First off, Proudstar has had a power increase recently, so he has not only super-strength but speed to match. We will surely develop Jimmy more in the future. Bengal, hehe, has no real background or much use in the real MU, making him our new baby. We have a lot of surprises in store.

If you're not on the MV1 Talk list for discussion of MV1 fanfic, you can join by going to http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/mv1talk. You have to register with onelist but it's a painless process that generates ZERO spam. Or, if you want to send us letters, you can send them to rwlander@snapjudgments.com.

The Warriors embark on a trip to Cambodia, where they meet up with some familiar foes and find out the identity of the Hulk's master. Meanwhile, what is going on with Ultra-Girl in Los Angeles, and how will it affect the Warriors?