He looked around, still unfamiliar with his room at Avengers Mansion. Stretching as he got out of bed, Kevin ran his hands through his sleep-tousled hair and looked into the mirror behind the bedroom door.
There he stood, his normal 15-year-old self, wearing the baggy shorts and t-shirt he'd changed into before going to bed. He could hardly believe what had happened yesterday*. Imagine him, Kevin Masterson, with Thunderstrike's awesome body and powers. He shook his head. It was almost too much for him to take in...
*(It happened last issue - Thunderstruck Kell)
Jarvis had figured it out before Kevin - that Odin had given him the gift of his father's Thunderstrike powers. Jarvis had been a real life-saver since his mother's death*, and he was just as helpful in helping a very freaked-out Kevin deal with the sudden change to a super-powered being.
*(Again, last issue - Mortician Kell)
Kevin noticed, with a mix of sadness and pleasure, that he was looking more and more like his father. His blond hair had grown out some recently, now just below his collar. He ran a hand through it, remembering his father's own longish hair.
Shaking off his wool-gathering, Kevin began to get dressed. He wore his standard teenage "uniform" of faded Levis and a t-shirt, with some Nikes on his feet. Grabbing his Mets cap from the bedpost, he headed downstairs for breakfast.
Kevin sat down at a table that was groaning under the weight of one of the largest breakfasts he'd seen outside a restaurant. "Well, I guess I slept all right..." He looked out the window at the Founders' Statue in the park on the grounds of the mansion. "But I did have some weird dreams. About Thunderstrike, my dad...and Seth."
Jarvis noticed Kevin's involuntary shudder at the name of his mother's murderer. A rage grew inside Edwin Jarvis' breast at a being who would intentionally strike fear into the hearts of children... "Well, Master Kevin, you'd best eat a hearty breakfast. You have a rather busy schedule today." Jarvis began serving large portions of food onto a plate.
"Huh? Busy schedule - ?" Kevin's attention focused back on his conversation with Jarvis. "What do you mean?"
Jarvis smiled. "Well, you need to prepare yourself for your return to school. And that always means..."
Kevin slapped a hand to his forehead and sank back into the plush chair with a groan. "...and that always means SHOPPING. Aw, Jarvis...!"
"Now, now, Master Kevin. You must always look your best when entering into any situation. I'm sure we can find some items to suit your tastes." Jarvis smiled as he set the heaping plate of food in front of Kevin. "And Captain America wishes to give you a session of combat training this afternoon, as well. As Thunderstrike, of course."
Kevin's fork paused between the plate and his gaping mouth. "Y-You mean Captain America - THE Captain America - wants to give ME combat training? Oh MAN!"
Jarvis smiled. "Yes, well he was rather firm that you were to receive instruction." His smile faded. "Especially after the recent...unpleasantness...you've experienced. He was rather firm, indeed."
Kevin went back to his breakfast, eating it only as fifteen-year-old boys can eat.
While his physical body lay in a coma, Bobby Steele's mind was very active, indeed. The machinery monitoring his brain activity was, and had been, showing heavy mental activity ever since Bobby had arrived in the ICU. This was, the doctors told Kevin, a hopeful sign. They seemed to think that such a high level of activity was a sign that Bobby's brain would soon take over his basic life functions, and possibly even awaken. They added (rather hastily), though, that this was by no means a guarantee of his recovery.
What neither the doctors nor Kevin could know was that Bobby's brain was in overdrive. Within the depths of his subconscious, he re-lived every glorious play of his long football career. He re-lived every wonderful date he'd ever had. He re-lived his wedding day with Marcy.
Once that cycle had played itself, he re-lived some not-so-wonderful memories. He saw every missed tackle, every broken play he caused. He saw every rejection from every woman he'd lost. He saw the fights with Marcy. Worst of all these, he saw Marcy's death, the pain and fear in her eyes before they went blank.
Each time his mind got to this portion of the mental slide show, Bobby would rage inside his mind. He was filled with anger and hatred at the being who had invaded his home and stolen Marcy from him. He vowed vengeance, although he didn't really know how he would take it.
After this cycle of memories had gone on for a short while, a large figure had appeared at the corner of Bobby's awareness. He didn't feel threatened by the figure, just curious as to who (or what) was inside his mind. He watched the parade of memories, caught up in the good times, brought down by the bad times, then jerked into violent emotion by the final memory.
Each time this cycle started over, the large figure was nearer to Bobby...
The day had been extraordinary for him. Jarvis had taken him shopping for school clothes, hitting all the shops downtown in Manhattan. That had been more fun than he'd wanted to admit, but the best came after lunch.
*****
Jarvis had Kevin slip into an alley
and transform himself into Thunderstrike. Confused at first, Jarvis explained
that he thought Kevin might want to make some changes to Thunderstrike's costume.
While he'd not thought of this, it made sense to Kevin. "His" Thunderstrike
would probably be different than his father's, so a new look made sense.
When he had changed into Thunderstrike,
the old familiar costume his father had worn was there. Seeing it again, even
on his own body, brought all the hurt of Eric Masterson's death to the surface
again. Not to mention Kevin's latest heartache...
The clothier's store that Jarvis
took him to had been the place Eric Masterson got his look when he became
Thunderstrike. The clerk even recognized the hero.
"Well, look who's here again!
Come to re-do that look?" The well-dressed saleswoman man rubbed her hands together
as she fawned all over Kevin.
"Er, yeah. And I've got some..."
Kevin was cut off before he could finish.
Grabbing the muscular arm of the
hero, the saleswoman herded him off toward the merchandise before he could finish.
"Oh, we've got some delightful items through here..."
Jarvis had rescued him, setting
the woman straight and forcing her to listen to Kevin's idea. Before they had
left, Thunderstrike was a man with a new look.
*****
"Ready, Kevin?" a strong voice asked from behind him.
Turning, he was face-to-face with Captain America. His mask was off, resting behind his neck. Kevin was dumbfounded.
"Wh-Why don't you have on your mask? Aren't you afraid I'll..." Cap held up one of his gauntlet-covered hands.
"Kevin, you've been thrust into the role of a hero. You're entitled to see and know some things that most teenagers aren't. One of those things is what I look like under my mask." Cap put a hand on Kevin's shoulder. "I'm not going to share who I am just yet, but I don't think it hurts anything to let you see my face, okay?"
Kevin beamed proudly up at Cap. "Sure!"
Cap smiled. "Good. Now, let's get Thunderstrike in here and we'll be ready to start your training..." he said as he pulled his mask into place.
Kevin struck his walking stick against the floor, bringing the boom of thunder and flash of light that brought Thunderstrike.
Cap stood to the side and looked him over. "Not bad, not bad at all..."
Kevin's take on Thunderstrike was different than his father's. The blond hair was still long and pulled into a ponytail, but the beard had been trimmed into a stylish goatee. The lightning-bolt earring was gone, replaced with a simple silver loop.
The style of the costume itself was similar to his father's, but different: The top of the outfit was solid black, the bottom a vivid crimson, and he wore simple black leather boots. His arms were bare, and he had kept the red wristbands.
"You really like it, Cap?" Kevin was awed. Captain America liked HIS costume idea. Wow!!
Cap smiled. "Sure do, Kevin." His expression became more serious. "Enough superhero fashion comparisons; let's get you a crash-course in superhero combat..."
Captain America put him through so many exercises and gave him so many tips that he thought his head would explode. How did Cap (and all the other Avengers for that matter) keep it all straight? This hero stuff wasn't as easy as it looked...
Back in his room, Kevin changed back to his 15-year-old self. He wasn't as sweaty as his T-Strike form had been - thank Odin for Asgardian enchantments - but he was still exhausted. He lay down on the bed, thinking to himself "Man...all this training and I still have school to do tomorrow. I'm gonna be dragging..."
When Jarvis came to let Kevin know dinner was ready, the boy was sprawled out on the bed, asleep in his jeans and t-shirt.
Smiling to himself, Edwin Jarvis pulled the covers over Kevin. "Sleep well, Kevin. You've had a busy day." Jarvis turned the light out as he left the room.
Staying in the shadows, the figure made its way to the side of the mansion itself. Its head cocked to the side for a moment, the figure then rose into the air.
Floating in mid-air, the figure looked through a window at Kevin as he lay sleeping. Smiling the figure said softly "See you at school, Kevin..." before flying away.
NEXT
ISSUE:
WHO WAS THAT OUTSIDE KEVIN'S WINDOW? WHO'S LURKING IN BOBBY STEELE'S MIND? AND
WHAT HAS SETH BEEN DOING? JOIN US NEXT TIME AS WE ENTER THE MADDENING WORLD
OF...HIGH SCHOOL! BE HERE FOR "BACK TO SCHOOL!"
Thundering
Words Enough from me, we've got LETTERS!!
Kell, WOW! Thanks for the kind words,
Jesse! I'm flattered to be considered in such company as Jess Nevins or Mark
Bousquet! I'm glad the story read like a comic book - that's EXACTLY what I
was hoping. Nice to know I pulled it off.. Heh heh heh. What a cool issue,
Kell ... it should be fun to see where this goes. This series has a chance to
be one of the better character studies of a hero as we watch Kevin develop.
Nice job. Thanks! I've always loved Mark's
work, so praise from him is an honor to me. Thanks again for writing, Biscuit.
Hey Kell, I loved
it! You wanted my opinion, you got it. Good work! VERY good work. Just remember,
Thor and Seth had it out in issues 524-526 of my Thor series (The weeping Dawn
Saga) . In case you have to reference any recent battles between the two that
is. Wow, another in the "pantheon!"
Thanks for the words Ralph. And yes, YOU, gentle reader, should also check out
the Weeping Dawn Saga. See what "Rascally" Ralph did with Seth before I got
my hands on him...
Cool Concept. Coupla' Questions
though. Thanks, Judith! Coupla' Answers: Great job Kell... Thanks Avery! I was disappointed
when they killed Eric, too. Glad you liked how I managed to bring T-Strike back!
Well, everyone, thanks for all the
feedback! I never imagined I'd get so much response from a little ol' Thunderstrike
series...but I'm glad I did.
Don't stop now, keep writing me!
Kell
Thanks
for coming back to Kevin Masterson's world. I'm having lots of fun playing with
this particular part of the sandbox, and I've got some exciting directions to
explore. I hope you'll stick around to see what they are...
Obviously you don't know me, but I've been a big fanfic fan for about 3 months.
I've read quite a bit of stories, including yours, and found most of them to
be extremely well written. I try to read any new titles, as well as creator
owned ones.
Anyway, I just finished Thunderstrike 25. I don't exactly know how to put this,
but that was a great read for a number of reasons.
Normally I'm drawn to the work of Jess Nevins or Mark Bousquet: Big, epic adventures
with multiple characters and so on...
But TS was terrific, because it was an actual comic book. Not a novel (which
is how some of the stuff I like is written), but a truly good comic book.
I can't actually express what I'm trying to say, except that this was an excellent
piece of work. Not only did you treat Eric's death with respect, but you introduced
a potentially great character.
Without a doubt, this issue is the best thing that I've read of your work. In
fact, it ranks as one of the best examples of good fanfic I've found.
Thanks for a great story. This series is going to give you an opportunity to
really push your writing ability, and develop a character with interesting motivation.
Hopefully, the series will go for at least 30 issues, and will revolve almost
exclusively around Seth and Kevin. If you keep Seth going as the reason for
Kevin's continual existence as a super-hero, I think it could be amazing.
Anyway, great work Kell...Unfortunately, I now have to go and read absolutely
everything you've written (It's what I do when I find a writer I like: read
everything they've done. Now, anything with the name "Nevins, Bousquet, or Carpenter"
is essential reading).
Jesse Barling
As for the series revolving exclusively around Kevin and Seth, well it won't
be exclusively their story. But Seth is VERY much going to be a part of this
book for a good while.
Thanks again for the kind words, Jesse!
Mark Bousquet
Good work Kell, looks like another "Must Read" series.
Ralph Angelo
1) What's Thunderstrike's strength level (in tons)
2) He isn't going to last long against Seth's minions ,is he?
Judith Maher
1) I'm not sure of the exact level in tons, but he's probably just short of
Thor, since his strength comes from an enchantment by Odin
2) Read and see, Judith, read and see...
I'm looking forward to reading the series...
I was disappointed when Marvel killed Thunderstrike...it's good to see him back,
in whatever manner possible.
The world still needs heroes...!!!!
Avery Cooper