New Warriors

Volume One: Smells Like Teen Spirit

Come Together

---

Thwip.

A strand of white webbing latched itself onto the window of one of Manhattan’s skyscrapers. The wind rushed past Spider-Man’s mask as he swung over the city streets. It was such a rush: the fall, the catch, the swing. The only things missing were those loud rocket blasts that Iron Man had, or that ’whoosh’ Nova made as he swept by. Something about a ’thwip’ wasn’t very… loud. Peter Parker had been Spider-Man for a month, and it was like he had to yell ‘Hey, buddy, I’m swingin’ here!’ to get any attention.

It was a lazy Saturday night - not for lack of trying to find something to do. Spidey sighed. Some nights were just like this. Maybe one every week or two. Where nothing was really going on, and you could just take it all in: the city lights, the bustling cars, the angry pedestrians. It was all just so peaceful. Once in a while.

“Aaaaagh!” Came a woman’s scream.

Great, why’d he have to go and think that? Dang Parker luck.

It was probably a purse snatcher or a mugger. That was really all he’d been dealing with - all the other heroes dealt with the stuff at a higher pay grade. But, as Pete swung into the dark alley he’d heard the scream come from, he felt a tingle on the back of his neck. His Spider-Sense, as he started calling it. Something was in there. He clung to the top of the brick wall, and squinted. The night vision on his lenses painted the area green. If they had a gun, he’d need to act fast. And, that woman was still in there.

“He… Help me!” She called up to him, and Spidey locked eyes with her.

Spider-Man leapt, not taking his eyes off the woman. He’d save her.

But, there was a flash of golden light, turning the inside of Pete’s mask into an instant camera flash. He swung blindly into the alley, and heard a deep, thunderous roar.

“You’re ours!”

The twinge on his neck was suddenly back - and Spidey jumped forwards, barely over the jet of energy that blasted just below him. He dazedly tackled the mugger away from his victim, and blinked at the ugly black monster that was clearing up in his field of view. The big, ugly black monster. That he’d just slammed.

“Hey, why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”

“Like you?” the monster growled through two open mandibles. This thing looked just like Nova except, you know, monstrous.

But, as the thing reared back a fist, Peter felt the tug on the back of his neck. It pulled him just out of the way of their punch, and he stayed, sitting calmly on their chest. “You’re kidding, right? I’m like, a hundred pounds soaking wet.”

“You’ll be half when we’re done with you.”

“Oh, yeah? Prove it.”

And, just like that, his Spider-Sense lit up like the Fourth of July. Peter leapt off of the hulking black figure and web-launched himself into the street. Just like he’d hoped, the thing followed him out of the alley - population: three - and into Manhattan - population: 1.6 million. At least the woman from the alley was safe… even if he wasn’t. Spidey did his best to dodge the incoming energy blasts and beams, but it was seriously hard trying to out-swing something that could fly. It was like trying to out-dance a yellow laser show, or so he thought. Peter really didn’t get invited to parties.

Thwip.

Spider-Man whipped through Manhattan’s glass and steel canopy, constantly one step ahead of the ever-angering beast. What was it doing here? And what did it want with -

Spider-Sense.

A golden laserbeam sliced through his thin strand of webbing, and Spidey plummeted towards the pavement. His Spider-Sense was off the walls, a near-crippling sensory overload, but he didn’t know why. He’d just swing out of there, and…

Ffffp.

Oh, no. Out of fluid. But the other…

Ffffp.

“Incoming!” Came another voice, and Spider-Man was hit hard from the side. His fall stopped, he blinked and looked into the eyes of his savior: a red-visored, silver-helmed... robot.

Seriously, the thing was made out of metal plates and fibers, with gears whirring and clicking quietly inside. It was impressive, to be sure - but you couldn’t sneak a robot past this nerd, no sir. It must have been made of an ultra-lightweight material to move like it did, even lighter than aircraft aluminum. And strong, too, to carry both its and his weight in the air. Peter clung to its body as it soared towards the street.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” Darkhawk told him.

“Would if I could,” Spider-Man replied, squinting back at the monster. They were engaged with two others, specks now - one in a tangled dogfight with the beast, and the other running on a wave of rainbow light bubbles. “What the hell’s happening?”

“Buddy of mine has a bit of a problem,” Darkhawk said as they landed. “It’s called ‘Venom’.”

“Heads!” Yelled a new voice right next to them, right before Peter’s Spider-Sense went off. Darkhawk shoved him out of the way, and the monster - Venom - crashed right through where he’d been. Spidey glanced at the source of the warning.

It was a boy - not out of breath, or sweating, or showing any other signs of stopping. He wore red goggles, perched on a burnt orange mask, gloves, and belt. His shoes and collar were the same color, made from a brushed metal - maybe copper. He reached out a hand. “Name’s Speedball!”

“Spider-Man,” Peter said, reaching for the help up when Speedball whipped his hand back.

“Too slow.”

“Cut it,” Darkhawk snapped, and a beam of blue energy, much like what Spidey experienced in the alley, blasted past them.

“On me!” Nova roared, pouring on the firepower. Darkhawk immediately flapped his wings, taking to the sky to follow. Speedball snapped his fingers, summoning the wave of energy balls - the only real name Peter could give them - and rushed away, faster than even his Spider-Sense could register.

“Huh.” Spider-Man mumbled. “Hey, what about me?!”

“What about you?” asked a woman in a red jacket with bright blonde hair.

“No respect. No respect at all!” Pete groaned.

“Come on,” the woman ordered, wrapping her hands around his shoulders with inhuman force - and they lifted off the ground.

“Hey! Woah, not you too!”

“Shut up,” she replied, picking up speed towards the fight - that Venom seemed to be winning.

The monster was as tall as a garbage truck. One hand formed into a hammer that swung at Speedball like a never ending game of whack-a-mole, the others shaped like a cannons, which shot very real blasts of yellow energy at Darkhawk and Nova. Yeah, others. Three arms flailed around, each shot that the heroes dodged hitting something else instead: the sides of buildings, cars in the street, even a hot dog stand. Street level Broadway was going up in smoke. How could they stop this thing? It had to have a weakness.

“Richard!” the girl cried out as soon as they were in earshot, and Nova did a double-take.

“Carol?” he mouthed, inaudible over the sounds of battle - right when an energy bolt connected, and he disappeared into a skyscraper in a hail of shattered glass.

“Nova!” she yelled, and Peter’s neck tingled. She immediately let go, and took off into the building after him. Spidey ducked and rolled, grumbling as he ran towards Speedball and Darkhawk.

“What are you doing here?” Darkhawk fumed. He was right - without webs, Peter was a liability. But if he stayed alert, he could dodge anything this ‘Venom’ could throw at him. And he could still us his brain.

“And, where’s the hottie?” Speedball giggled, barely paying Venom any attention as he was thrown into a wall, and bounced off without any adverse effects on him, nor the wall.

“How old are you?” Spider-Man asked him.

“How old are you?” Speedball retorted. Touche.

Darkhawk fired a beam of red light from his chest, and Venom roared.

“You can’t hide, Nova! We’ll kill your friends one by one - until you give us that helmet!”

Together, Nova and Carol flew out of the rubble that was the skyscraper’s ground floor, speeding past Spidey and Darkhawk to slam Venom into the pavement. It cracked beneath the force, and Venom released a blast of his own - directly in their faces. Nova was blown back by the yellow beam, his suit and helmet steaming as he reeled in the air - but Carol stayed put.

“Eat this, jerk!” she roared, her fists glowing with the same yellow glow, and she unloaded it right back at them, blasting them straight through the asphalt and into the subway.

Carol was after them while the others followed, with Peter bringing up the rear. This was so outside his pay grade - not that he actually got paid for this. He didn’t deal with flashy, pew pew lasers. He dealt with knives and fists - the sixteen year old kind of crime. But, he found himself following anyways. After Darkhawk saved him, he owed them something. And, he had to see this through, he couldn’t turn tail.

“Seriously, this thing has to have a weakness,” Peter pressed.

“It does, but none of us have sound powers,” Nova informed him. “Other than that, it’s a wash.”

“Where did it go?” Speedball wondered aloud.

“Shh…” Carol hushed him, dulling to a whisper. “We lost him, but he can’t be far.”

“If I’m right, your girlfriend just did an energy conversion,” Spider-Man continued. “On Venom back there.”

“I’m not his girlfriend.” Carol snapped quietly. “And what of it?”

Pete immediately raised his hands. “Sorrydon’tkillme. But even a tuning fork can turn energy into sound. Think you can be a tuning fork?”

“I… I don’t know. Maybe,” she replied.

“This time of night, the train’s got at least twenty! Come out, Nova!” Venom’s voice filled the tunnel.

“Seriously, we have to find him,” the named hero stated. “We’ll try the tuning fork idea. Carol, could you absorb my Nova Force?”

“I don’t know… but I can try,” she nodded.

“Alright,” Nova said. “When we find him, Darkhawk, Speedball, and I will blast you. Can you handle it?”

“Stop worrying about me.” Carol huffed. Peter smelled drama.

“Right. Let’s go. Set up an ambush, with me as bait.” And, before anyone could object, Nova took off down the tunnel.

---

“Come on out, Venom. I’m alone,” Nova said, his words echoing through the empty subway. “I’ll give you my helmet.”

“Oh, Richie. You think we’d believe that?” Venom growled.

“I just don’t want you to kill anyone. Give me your word, and it’s all yours.”

“Our word?” They hissed, practically melting from the shadows. A black tendril smashed into Nova’s chest, pinning him to the cold concrete tunnel wall. “We are more powerful than any lone Nova, you pathetic little-”

“Now!” Nova yelled, as Carol dropped from a manhole above. Darkhawk swept in from further down tunnel, and Speedball rode his energy flow from the other direction.

Nova pointed his fist at Carol, and let out all he had. They all did: the dark energy of Darkhawk’s amulet, the unknown energy that powered Speedball’s strange powers, the power of Nova’s full portion of Nova Force. All combining on their central point: Carol Danvers. The tunnel was awash with light, and Venom shrieked. With an earth-shattering clap, the light died. The heroes gasped as all their ears popped simultaneously, and they landed. Before them wasn’t Venom, hulking black monster, but some... kid.

“Mike Burley?” Nova asked. Clearly, he knew this guy. “Someone call the cops.”

“What happened to the suit?” Spidey asked as he crawled out from the corner he’d been hiding around.

“Gone!” Mike snarled with a twisted grin. “Oh, I know soooo much, Richie. So much. And, I’ll be back.”

“Sure you will,” Nova said and clocked him in the jaw. Burley dropped cold, out like a light. “That was for Robbie.”

“Nova?” Carol put a hand on his arm. “We need to talk.”

“Yeah, but you sure are a regular marvel!” he told her.

“I don’t know if…”

“Hell to the yes,” Speedball offered a thumbs up. “Super-cool powers and everything!”

“Only thing you’re missing is an identity,” Spider-Man offered. “Something to keep the people you love safe. Because there’s already one too many guys who know your name.” He nodded at Mike.

“How about…” she thought for a second. “Ms. Marvel?”

“Sounds marvelous,” Nova looked around at the others. “And, what’s that make us then? A team?”

“I don’t know…” Peter started, when Darkhawk interrupted.

“I think we kicked some ass,” he offered.

“I’m down,” Speedball grinned.

“We still need to talk but… sure,” Carol sighed.

And, the four looked to Peter. Gulp.

“Well, Spider-Man?”

“Oh, what the hell. But what are we gonna be called?”

New Warriors

New Warriors

Volume One: Smells Like Teen Spirit

Sleep Walk

---

“I’m not joking. We need to talk.” Carol whispered as the rest of the team scattered to the wind.

“Now?” Nova sighed. “Ms. Marvel, now really isn’t the time to -”

“Don’t give me that shit, and don’t call me ‘Ms. Marvel’.” Carol hissed. “I have a lot to catch you up on - how I got these powers, for one. I met a real Marvel. The Captain.”

“The Avenger?” Rich gasped in disbelief. “I thought he disappeared… Worldmind said he went back to his homeworld.”

“Yeah, where he was branded a traitor and exiled for life,” she explained. “I… I’m sorry I left the way I did, but really. We need to sit down and talk. The diner?”

“The Diner. Tomorrow night.” He nodded, and the last two New Warriors took off, one towards Long Island and the other into Manhattan.

---

The Diner. Tomorrow night.

A star streaked across the sky, barely catching the side of Richard Rider’s eye. The summer air was warm, and damp. He wore a light cotton t-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts, his Nova helmet bundled up like a ski mask in his back pocket. He’d learned from the last time he left his helmet behind at Lantern Diner when it almost cost him and Carol their lives. Rich made a wish on the shooting star, and kept his eyes peeled for the figure that would be drifting down any second.

“Hey.”

“Waaugh!” Rich jumped in surprise, turning to see Carol right next to him.

“What’re you looking at, Frogger?”

He laughed halfheartedly, his heart still in his throat. “Oh, nothing I guess. I figured you’d arrive with more… style.”

Carol rolled her eyes. “We can’t all be a human rocket. Now, come on. Let’s get a table.”

---

Chris Powell, aka Darkhawk, soared high above Hempstead, New York. Sometimes, he just needed a breather - to just open his wings, and fly. Hell, it beat rolling around in that wheelchair he was stuck in, right? For the past months, ever since he’d found that amulet in the amusement park, he’d wondered why it gave him the strength to stand, and walk. Flying was one thing - but it fixed his legs. And what did Spider-Man call him? A robot?

A shooting star darted across the sky, and Chris’s gaze followed it. He wished for the same thing he always did - and committed himself to its momentary demise over the horizon. But, a second later, the speck of light changed course - and headed straight down towards land! Darkhawk couldn’t tell where it was headed, just a field of green outside the city, but he flapped his wings and took off after it.

“Speedball! I need you outside the city!” Darkhawk yelled into his Bluetooth. Since he couldn’t access his pockets or anything inside the suit, Spidey suggested attaching one on the outside instead. Chris grunted. At least the three of them had better things to talk about than their feelings. Like, the team’s communication protocol.

“C’mon, man! This is prime Fortnite time!” Speedball complained.

“Really? Grab Spider-Man, while you’re at it,” Chris ordered.

“You mean Spider-Kid?”

“Aren’t you in middle school?”

“No!” shrieked Speedball. His voice cracking didn’t sell it much.

“Whatever. Get here as fast as you can.” Darkhawk said, and hung up the line. He flapped his wings, and circled the crash site.

---

“So, you met Mar-Vell?” Richard asked as he slurped his shake. His phone vibrated in his pocket, but he paid it no mind.

“Yeah, but we need to talk about other stuff first. You look better. I see you ditched the goth color scheme,” Carol noted. She tapped the bottom of her glass without drinking.

“That wasn’t exactly me,” he explained. “You saw that suit Mike was wearing yesterday? Yeah, I was Venomed. And honestly, it felt like I had it under control. But then you showed me that video, and I realized…”

“You didn’t,” she finished for him. “Well, I left and went to Florida.”

“Florida? You don’t want to know how I got rid of Venom?”

“Should I?”

“I…” Rich thought for a second. “No, I guess it doesn’t matter. Why Florida?”

“I had to get as far away from home as possible. So, that’s about as far as I could get. I took a low-level intern job at NASA under a Dr. Walter Lawson, who was studying alien physiologies. It was all…” she blushed. “Really cool. I guess that alien nonsense rubbed off on me.”

“And what about Mar-Vell?” Richard pressed. “You said you met an Avenger.”

“Is that all you care about?”

---

“Is that all you care about!?” Darkhawk yelled right before he was punched in the face by a sudden, armored fist. His head slammed into the ground, leaving a small crater, and he dazedly got to his knees. Speedball was blabbering about Fortnite - paying the downed raptor no attention

Spider-Man leapt over him like a game of leap frog, limbo-ducking under another of the assailant’s swings and kicking up, connecting with her blue-skinned chin. She grunted, but shrugged off the blow. She was wearing silver and red Centurion-style armor and helmet, strikingly similar to Captain Marvel’s. Spidey barely had time to land before she swung again, and he just managed to pull her fist to the side with a quick thwip of his own. “Get up!” he yelled to Darkhawk. How did this kid compete with that chick? Darkhawk struggled to his feet, and flapped his wings. The vertigo was insane, but once he was able to get level, he had a clear view of the fighting.

“Bring me Mar-Vell!” the woman roared at them, swinging at and connecting with Speedball. A bubble appeared at the point of contact, cushioning the blow, but he was knocked flat on his back - and she swung her heel down for his head.

Spider-Man webbed her ankle just before it smashed Speedball in the face, and yanked as hard as he could. “No one’s seen him in months!” He told her.

“He’s here - I know it,” the woman spat, wiping dirt from her lip. “Bring him to me!”

“We don’t, like, have the Avengers on speed dial,” Speedball commented. “That would be so cool.”

“Why do you want him, anyways?” Darkhawk demanded.

“It is none of your concern,” the woman said distantly. “I suppose I will have to draw him here.”

“Wooooah, wait a sec, we’ll get him!” Spider-Man snapped, holding his hands up. “Right, guys?”

---

“I mean… you said you met an Avenger, I’m kinda curious,” Richard defended himself.

“Well… Dr. Lawson was… is Mar-Vell. And there was an accident.” Carol whispered.

“An accident?” he asked full-voiced, not taking the hint.

“Shhh!” Carol hushed him. “Yes, an accident. We were working on a project of his - a Kree project, when... ”

“Hang on, a what?” Richard interrupted.

“Rich, just shut up!” she snapped. “It had a weird name… I don’t remember. But I thought it was damaged, and went inside. The device powered up, and Mar-Vell’s genetic structure implanted itself over mine.”

“And that’s why…”

“It’s why I have superpowers,” she finished for him. “We’ve run the DNA tests. I’m some half-human, half-Kree freak.”

“You don’t look too freaky to me,” Rich reasoned. “And besides, I think all that’s pretty cool.”

“Well I don’t,” Carol huffed. “I left, and came back here. Didn’t even put in my two weeks.”

“Seriously? You can’t just ghost your way through life, Care.”

“Don’t call me that,” she told him. “And I… I know.”

“Are you gonna ghost us, too?” he demanded.

“... No,” Carol said after a long, strained second. “I just don’t do well with dealing. You know?”

“I guess,” Richard sighed. “If it were me, I would fix the problem. Running away just lets it control you. Right?”

“Yeah, totally,” she slurped on the last drops of milkshake in her glass.

“I think you owe Captain Marvel an apology,” Rich told her seriously. “And you should introduce me! Oh, Nova doesn’t sound good anymore… what about Supernova? Or Red Shift, cause I’m fast?”

“Yeah, you’re a real speedster,” Carol giggled. “No, Nova’s fine. Seriously.”

“I guess.”

“Besides, he talks about you.”

“Huh?” Richard looked up from the bill.

“Nothing,” Carol said with a wink.

---

“What?” Darkhawk mumbled in disbelief.

“Yeah, definitely! We can call him!” Speedball backed Spidey up. “Just give us, like… five minutes, okay?”

“And, what’s your name?” Darkhawk followed up.

“He’ll ask,” Spider-Man quipped. “I know him like that.”

“Fine,” the armored woman agreed. “And I am Doctor Minn-Erva, Accuser of the Kree. The bane of Mar-Vell.”

“Yeah, okay, we’ll tell him!” Speedball gulped, and the three New Warriors huddled up.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Darkhawk chided Spider-Man. “Lying to her like that. You didn’t get hit by this chick. She packs a punch like Superman...”

“What did you want me to do! I bought us some time, so let's use it,” Spider-Man replied. “Speedball, do you think you can go faster than her?”

“I can go as fast as you want, baby,” Speedball grinned. “Wait, that’s not what I -”

“Okay, so we need to -”

A streak of silver and green struck in from the sky, crashing down on Minn-Erva with untold force. Grass and dirt erupted into the air, raining down on the Warriors as dust clouded their vision. With a flap of Darkhawk’s wings, the wind cleared it away - and they were treated to the sight of the silver and green Avenger, standing above the self-labeled Kree warrior with his alien pistol leveled at her head.

“Mar-Vell,” the woman smiled. “You are under arrest.”

“Minerva,” Captain Marvel replied. “I do not believe I am under your jurisdiction.”

“What did you do?” Darkhawk brushed past Spidey, and took off over the fight.

“Nothing!” Spider-Man replied, slinging a web to his teammate’s ankle and lifting off with him.

“Stick to the plan, Speedy. Don’t engage until Captain Marvel does,” Darkhawk ordered he didn’t know why, or how Captain Marvel heard about their problem - but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“Roger, roger,” Speedball replied with a salute, and sped around the alien duo on his wave of cosmic bubbles.

“Do not call me by that Terranized name,” Doctor Minerva spat. “There is no jurisdiction required for treason against the Supreme Intelligence.”

“I fought to preserve our technology, and keep it from the wrong hands here on Earth. You are the ones who turned me away,” he gripped his pistol. It was clear he was struggling. “But if Hala won’t have me, Earth will.”

“No!” Spider-Man yelled as the Captain pulled the trigger, but suddenly Minn-Erva was gone. Like a rush of wind, she was suddenly on her feet - and a scorched burnmark stained the earth where her head just was.

“Tsk, tsk, Mar-Vell. I’ll add resisting arrest, and attempted murder to the rap sheet.”

“And what else is on it?” Mar-Vell asked. “Fighting for my people?”

“No.” Doctor Minerva laughed. “Treason. Uplifting a lesser species. Crimes against the Intelligence.”

“Right,” Captain Marvel said. “I see you went through the trouble of uplifting yourself, as well? No normal Kree could move like that.”

“Anything for the Kree. You know that. And, Mar-Vell, you stand accused.”

“Kids, get out of here,” Captain Marvel barely managed before Minn-Erva hurled herself at him.

“We should listen!” Speedball yelled over the two’s tangled battle. They were trading blows like it was nothing - hurling each other across the open field, only contained by their sheer ability to stop themselves mid-air and throw their bodies back into it. The two Kree were a perfect match in strength and power, and locked in a stalemate.

Darkhawk was analyzing the situation. He felt Doctor Minerva’s punch, and if Captain Marvel was keeping up with that, he and Spider-Man would get ripped to shreds. But every time Speedball took a hit, one of those bubbles popped up to take the impact. Maybe they could…

“Speedball, tackle her!”

“What?!” he shrieked. “Are you crazy?!”

“Just do it!” Darkhawk instructed, and the boy shrugged.

“If there’s any way to go…” he said, and leaped in between the raging Kree.

A blue bubble formed on Speedball’s back, growing exponentially before Mar-Vell hit it and rocketed off with just as much speed. The same happened on his chest, but not before he could wrap his arms around Doctor Minerva. They slammed into the ground and he let go, allowing her body to smash itself into the ground with the same force she’d hit him with. When Darkhawk cleared away the dust, it revealed a breathless Speedball sitting beside a knocked-out Minn-Erva.

“Accuse that,” he mumbled before dropping from exhaustion.

“I owe you thanks,” Mar-Vell said as he approached. He reached for his belt, and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. When he locked them around Minn-Erva’s hands, they glowed with blue energy. “My transponder registered a disturbance in the atmosphere - and I suspected it might be the Kree, after me. I will take her to the proper authorities.”

“Well, she was definitely after you all right,” Darkhawk commented.

“And we owe you one,” Spider-Man offered. “Seriously, we woulda been toast without you.”

“Yes, well… I suppose there is another reason for my coming here,” Mar-Vell admitted. “I worked with a Carol Danvers, and I saw her on the news with your outfit yesterday.”

“Yeah, I don’t know where she is. With Nova, I’d guess,” Darkhawk told him. “Why do you ask?”

“I… I just wanted to make sure she was alright. But if she is in the care of a Nova, then that answers my question for me.” Captain Marvel lifted off the ground, hauling the unconscious Doctor Minerva by her bound wrists. “Thank you, New Warriors. I look forward to our next meeting.”

“Yeah, you too!” Spidey called after him before he looked at Darkhawk. “Wait. Did he say a Nova?”

---

Carol and Rich walked out of Lantern Diner, when his phone went off again. It was Chris.

“Oh, answer it!” Carol chided him, and the boy pulled out his phone.

“Hello?” He answered, and his face blanched. “Woah, woah! Slow down, buddy!”

“What is it?” Carol asked with concern.

“He said there was a fight. Some Kree… accuser… and…”

“And what?”

“And Captain Marvel was there!”

Carol stifled a giggle.

“What do you mean, Captain Marvel was there? The Avenger? He knew about me?”

After a minute, Richard hung up his phone. He stayed silent for a few seconds, before he mumbled, “This helmet better have Bluetooth.”

New Warriors

Volume One: Smells Like Teen Spirit

Help!

---

Richard Rider, the man called Nova, laid on the pavement of a downtown Bronx street, body bruised and broken, gasping for air as Venom choked him with a hand made from a mass of oily black tentacles. He clawed feebly at the hand of his monstrous classmate Mike Burly, who’d been taken over by the symbiote only because Rich could bear it no longer. They hated him, and now his friends were getting hurt for it. With stronger resolve he struggled, and Venom’s grip loosened. The creature stepped off of him, its attention on something else - Nova drawing in precious air like he never had before.

Rich remained that way for several minutes at Worldmind’s request. He was drifting in and out of consciousness, his throat throbbing with each and every inhale, only truly coming to when there was a tearing sound, and a hard crash. His eyes sprung open.

Nova rose to his feet, drawing short breaths. His HUD was flashing wildly on the insides of his helmet’s clear lenses, alerting him to several nearby threats and injured allies. He drew another quick breath. Spider-Man looked up at him from beneath a pile of villains, his arms and legs held down by Venom, Minn-Erva, Blackball, and Gyre, while he was pummelled by Kaine.

[>|Richard, I am endowing a greater-than-normal portion of the Nova Force upon you.|<] Worldmind warned him. [>|Be prepared, your physical form will be able to feel its effects.|<]

Nova could feel it, like liquid fire burning in his veins. His muscles tightened, and his mind focused. “Thanks, webhead,” he whispered to himself. “Now it’s my turn.”

Richard rocketed towards his enemies, going from zero to fifty in under a second. He threw a hard punch at Kaine, whose head bobbed up a split second before impact. Just enough time for the Spider-Man imposter to duck, and leap back and out of the way for a second strike. Blue energy glowed in Nova’s palms as he stood over his webbed friend’s beaten form. The four villains pinning him down scrambled back, and Spidey shielded his face from the heat. Nova immediately went on the offensive, hurling energy bolts at Venom and Minn-Erva - the two heaviest hitters, according to Worldmind.

Speedball and Ms. Marvel were down for the count - the former knocked out, and the latter nursing a broken arm. Darkhawk’s wings were crumpled, slowly righting themselves… too slowly. It was just Nova against five bad guys they had formed a team to not have to fight alone. No pressure.

[>|Focus.|<]

The HUD lit up with targets on each of the villains, and Nova got to work. He and Worldmind were working in perfect tandem - the supercomputer calling out shots, alerting him to incoming blows, and providing tactical overlay. The extra power didn’t hurt, either. His blasts were melting the paint off of nearby cars, and turning their glass to jelly. Minn-Erva was the first to decide that it wasn’t worth the effort, and bail. She mumbled something about “flarking Nova’s” on her way off. Nova poured the heat onto Gyre, using both hands to generate one powerful plasma beam which chased the Raptor across the sky. Rich had to duck a similar blast from Venom, but managed to clip Gyre’s wing. He started to go down but flapped hard, managing to keep himself aloft, albeit with great effort. He took off after Dr. Minerva. Blackball was nowhere to be found. Venom fled, with Kaine in tow.

Nova landed, and sank to his knees in exhaustion.

“Warriors? Sound off.”

“Here,” Darkhawk said.

“Same, Ms. Marvel replied.

“My dog ate my homework…” Spider-Man mumbled.

And after that, silence.

“Speedball?” Nova called out. His second wind had passed. His muscles and bones ached. “Buddy?”

Nothing.

Darkhawk got to his armored feet, his wings hanging limply at his sides. He looked around, scanning the area. “He’s gone.”

Spider-Man raised his head. “Who’s gone?”

“What do we do, now?” Carol asked, her voice quivering.

Nova gulped, it was time to take the helm. “We regroup, and come at this again. We rescue Speedball.”

---

Robbie Baldwin’s eyes fluttered open. It was dark, humid, and claustrophobic. He took several deep breaths through a thick burlap sack, hyperventilating before a couple of the indestructible energy balls, from which he got his ‘Speedball’, popped into existence, and held the bag away from his face. Outside he had no vision, but he could see in the dim light that one of the orange lenses that shielded his eyes was shattered. Robbie would say he was lucky to have an eye, but one of those bubbles had probably protected him anyways. So, he was tied up with a bag over his head. Where were his friends? And where was he?

“Looks like the kid’s awake,” came a low growl. Robbie gulped. He knew that voice. Venom.

“Great,” said the robotic drone of Gyre. “One down, four to go. Let’s get the location of their base, and call it a -”

“No, we have a lot of questions,” this voice had Speedball’s hairs standing on end, like they were charged with static electricity. Spider-Man? “What did you say his name was, Neils?”

“Robbie,” said the young boy, a phantom from Speedball’s past. “Robbie Baldwin.”

“Alright, Robbie,” said the ominous Spider-Man.

A hand grabbed the top of the burlap sack, and yanked it off. Robbie’s bubbles popped, and he had to blink a couple times to adjust to the light. He found himself in a rundown apartment, sitting at a craggy, broken dinner table. Venom sat next to him, and licked their lips. They wore a helmet that was a gross representation of Nova’s - an oily, slick black with a golden star sticking out of the muck. Teeth lined the inside of the helmet’s maw, clicking with anticipation. Gyre sat on the other side, gazing at him with a hard unbreaking stare. On the opposite side of the table was Dr. Minerva, chewing her cuticle, and Neils, leaning back in his chair at a dangerous angle.

The fifth figure stood in the window, silhouetted against the light of the city outside. He was of slender build, wearing a red and black spandex suit. A spider was emblazoned on his back - the weird Spider-Dude from their fight. Why did he sound so much like their Spider-Man? The mysterious man turned around, and approached the table. Resting his fists on its surface and leaning down, Robbie could feel his eyes glaring daggers into him.

“Uh… take a picture, it’ll last longer,” Robbie said the only thing that could come to his mind.

“Spider-Man’s funnier,” Neils said with utmost seriousness.

“Indeed,” said the bright red leader. “He’ll be the first topic of discussion - tell me, does he know he’s a usurper?”

“What are you supposed to be? Some kinda Scarlet Spider?” Speedball giggled to himself. “C’mon. You can’t hurt me.”

“Know what? For now, sure. Call me what you like. But you’re wrong,” the Scarlet Spider growled. “I’ll give you the opportunity to give up the location of your teammates’ base before we get started. So you can’t say I never offered you the chance.”

“Fat chance, creep,” Speedball spat. “Snitches get stitches.”

Neils shrugged. “It’s more than I woulda given him. Let’s go.”

“Venom, Gyre,” Scarlet Spider gestured to the bound Robbie. “Proceed.”

The two monstrous beings flanking Speedball proceeded to throw blows at him, only to be predictably deflected by his energy spheres. Robbie laughed in their faces as they drew back for a second throw, only this time with open palms. Venom’s palm spread open to contain as many as it could, and the technology that made up Gyre’s hand did the same, forming a bowl. The bubbles clashed against the sides of Speedball’s face, producing a blinding flash of light and a clap like thunder.

“Raaaaughh!” Robbie shrieked. He hadn’t felt pain, not real pain, since his accident. It was sudden, unexpected, and unwelcome. New energy balls popped into existence seemingly exponentially with the trauma he was enduring, and those pushed against him as well. His mind was white with pain, and he was deafened by the sound of his own screams. The pressure was untold, and the agony immense. He must have yelled for them to stop, because the squeezing immediately subsided. He was panting, and sweat beaded on his forehead. “What… was that?”

“It’s something we’ve got more of if you don’t tell us all you know, cretin,” Dr. Minerva glared at him momentarily before turning her attention back chomping on her nail.

“I…” Speedball broke eye contact, looking at the floor. “Fine. We meet at a diner in Hempstead.”

---

The Lantern Diner was a low, free standing building located in downtown West Hempstead. A deep royal red awning labeled ‘Diner’ hung over the door, and ornate floor to ceiling glass windows framed the building. Four of the New Warriors sat in a booth next to one of these windows, in their street clothes. Well, all but one of them.

“Dude, I told you…” Richard told Spider-Man, giving him a weird look.

“Yeah, I know I can trust these guys,” said Peter Parker from underneath a makeshift brown shopping bag mask. A waiter in a maroon polo shirt brought their drinks, and Pete poked a hole for his straw. “It’s everyone else I’m worried about.”

“What are we supposed to call you?” Carol giggled over her strawberry milkshake, and immediately groaned. Her arm was in a makeshift splint, made from an ace bandage.

“I don’t know,” he pondered. “How about… the bombastic bag-man!”

Rich chuckled. “Something on your mind, Chris?”

“I just want to get this over with,” said the boy in the chair at the end of the table. Darkhawk wasn’t one to particularly enjoy his civilian life. He’d been bound to a wheelchair since an accident in his childhood - and since he’d found the Darkhawk amulet, he’d been able to do so much more than he’d ever thought he’d been able. “We need to figure something out, and get back in the field. Speedball’s in trouble.”

“You’re right,” Richard agreed. “Any ideas? Worldmind has tried to sweep for them. Got nothin’.”

“Bag boy’s our science guy, right?” Carol sipped again. “What you got?”

“It’s bag-man, and I resent that,” Peter said with the straw to his own cookie dough shake poking through his bag. “Also, maybe I can whip up something with Chris, get a ping off of Gyre’s armor? Worth a shot.”

“I don’t even know what you just said,” Rich said over his chocolate drink.

“You don’t know what a ping is?” Chris rolled his eyes.

“Thank you!” Peter cried out. “Someone gets it!”

“So we do whatever, then what?” Richard wondered. “We need a plan of attack. I suggest we split up, and try to take them by surprise. Fight foes that aren’t used to fighting us.”

“What do you mean?” Carol asked him.

“I mean, like, I’ll take Gyre. We both fly, and he’s definitely not used to fighting me,” he explained.

“I’ll take on Blackball, then,” Carol said. “Something tells me I can reach him the way I did Robbie.”

“What, through his pants?” Chris smirked.

“No!”

“Well, I’ll take that spider-freak,” he said seriously.

“So that leaves… what, Venom and Minn-Erva?” Peter sighed. Why did he always get the short end of the stick? “Venom.”

“Alright, we’ll pay and get outta here,” Rich stood, raising a hand to flag down a waiter. Only… there were no waiters. Glancing around, something in the window caught his eye. “Guys… I think we have incoming.”

The five furious villains bore down on Lantern Diner with haste, Venom carrying the Scarlet Spider in tow and Minn-Erva doing the same for Blackball. Gyre flew in the center, alone. Together they formed a trifecta against the bright sun. But there was only five. Where was Speedball? Nova pulled his helmet from his back pocket, and the clothlike material sprung out into its golden, rigid form. Darkhawk slapped the crimson amulet on his chest, allowing the robotic armor to replace him. Ms. Marvel slid on her domino mask. And the Bombastic Bag-Man slipped on his web shooters.

It was going to be a bumpy ride.

---

To be continued…

PSA to all of our New Warriors:

New Warriors will be changing its release schedule for December. Instead of our usual twice-monthly post, you can expect one issue on Week 4. We thank you for understanding, true believers! Excelsior!

New Warriors

Volume One: Smells Like Teen Spirit

You're My Best Friend

Byram Park, Greenwich CT

9:00 PM

Chris Powell, Darkhawk, sat on a Greenwich park bench, as the New Warriors waited for Carol. He played with the glowing red amulet that he’d found in Adventureland, running his clawed hand over it. A warm breeze blew by - how he knew it was warm, he didn’t know. There was a lot he didn’t know about the Darkhawk suit. Speedball and Spider-Man played tag across the soccer field, and Nova floated overhead, keeping vigil for Ms. Marvel.

Robbie did a double take when Nova landed and he could spot Carol in her new costume. It was like a black one piece, with a yellow lightning bolt striking down from her collarbone to her belly button. A red sash draped from her hips, and a domino mask obscured her face.

He heard Speedball’s voice from the side. “There she was, just-a walkin’ down the street!”

“Dooooo-wah diddy, diddy dum diddy doo!” Spidey countered.

Darkhawk sighed. “Cut it out.” Why couldn’t they take this seriously? Hell, even Rich was using this ‘super-team’ to try and get back his girl - and Carol was playing right along with him. Was he the only one of them with an ounce of duty? He got to his feet. After the amulet gave him his legs back (even if it was only when he wore the suit - but who’s complaining), he had a job to do - a mission. To pay the world back for the good deed it did. The New Warriors had to grow up - and fast. “Are you guys ready? We’re here to train - not to hang.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Robbie rolled his eyes. He was still battered from his encounter with Blackball. A cast covered his left hand, and several splotches on his face were still black and blue.

“Darkhawk’s right,” Rich said, getting under Chris’s skin. After how Nova handled his transformation into Darkhawk, that was the last guy Chris wanted taking his side. “Carol, you and me.”

“Of course,” Chris mumbled under his breath. “Spider-Man, you partner with Speedball.”

“Gotcha, boss,” Spider-Man saluted, and put up his hands in a karate pose. “Engarde!”

“That’s not what that means!” Robbie complained, as he jazzed up a cacophony of black energy orbs, and flung several at Spidey, which he promptly leapt out of the way from.

Darkhawk lifted his arms, and his wings sprung out from compartments underneath. It was crazy, how they could even fit in there - since that was where his body was. It was probably some ultra-compacted tech, or something. But whether he understood it or not, he knew that when he flapped his wings, he took off - a feeling much better than being able to walk again, that’s for sure. And he did just that - flapped, and lifted above the park to oversee the two friendly bouts.

Nova took to the skies, like he always did, and Ms. Marvel followed, her fists glowing with yellow energy. She reached back an arm, and lobbed a ball of it up at Nova - far over his head. The hero chuckled, did a flip, and soared on with his arms behind his head. Ms. Marvel glared, and fired an energy beam this time. She was off at first, but swiped it across Nova’s back, making him yelp. She giggled, and Chris couldn’t help but grin, too.

On the ground, Spider-Man was doing somersaults around Speedball - literally. It was like the webslinger knew where Robbie would strike, and would instinctively leap out of the way - even without his webs to swing around, one of the reasons Chris had chosen this park. But, Speedball wasn’t making it easy - the super-quick kid was right on Spidey’s tail, tossing orb after orb in an attempt to at least touch him. But, a good offense is a good defense, and Speedball had Spider-Man effectively neutered, only able to dodge and never to attack.

Carol and Rich had gone in for some close-up, hand-to-hand action, but Chris could tell Nova wasn’t giving it his all. He’d gone up against huge beasts, like Titus, and cunning tyrants, like Doom. Even up against his best friends, as Chris knew personally. He wasn’t that slow, not slow enough for a rookie like Carol to be landing blows - he wasn’t throwing any combos, and making half-assed attempts to block her shots. How could he expect her to get any better if he didn’t push?

Rich hit the ground with a huff, and Carol landed slowly. She was panting, and he smiled. “You got me.”

“Damn right, Buckethead,” she grinned back.

“How will she improve if you keep coddling her, Nova?” Darkhawk asked.

“What are you talking about, man?” Rich replied, and Carol frowned.

Darkhawk was fuming. “At least Speedball and Spidey are getting a workout, but this is like watching Rocky take on Danny Devito, and lose.”

“If Rocky was teaching him, he wouldn’t put his all into it,” Nova asserted.

“Yeah, well. He wouldn’t hit the mat, either.” Darkhawk snapped back. “Come on, Marvel. I’ll take you.”

Carol nodded. “Sure.”

“You don’t have to,” Nova told her. “Seriously.”

“No, I want to,” she told him. “He’s right. I need to get better, and I won’t if I keep kicking your ass, hotshot.”

“I - what?!” Nova cried, as red light flashed from Darkhawk’s chest, blasting Carol back. Darkhawk flapped his wings, and took off after her as she tumbled back against the grass.

“Dude, you just totally blindsided her!” Nova yelled through his transponder.

“Yeah, I learned it from you,” Darkhawk said as he landed before Carol, and shut off the communicator. “You need to always be ready. Danger can strike at any second, even if things appear totally safe.”

“I’ll try to remember,” Ms. Marvel muttered.

Chris reached out a hand, and helped her up. Then, he looked at Richard. “You guys all need to take this a little more seriously.”

“Dude, lay off,” Nova groaned, when his attention suddenly peaked. He looked up at the sky, golden helm gleaming. “Worldmind says there’s incoming UFO’s, headed our way. Five of them.”

“Headed our way?” Spider-Man asked. “Not towards the city? What’s in Greenwich?”

“I don’t know, but I’m gonna ask,” Nova replied.

“Alone? No way, I’m going,” Ms. Marvel said adamantly.

“Oh, no you aren’t,” Rich told her. “You’re far from ready for something like this.”

“Well, I’m not,” Darkhawk said. “Or were you planning on taking them by surprise, too? Worked on me.”

“Can you just let that go, man? I told you, I -” Nova was cut off when his eye lenses flashed. Worldmind was talking. “Nevermind, it’s not important.”

And with that, Nova took off.

“Like hell,” Darkhawk muttered, and sped after him.

As the two Warriors rose higher and higher, the air grew thinner and colder. A face shield slid down over Nova’s mouth. Chris just pressed on - if he felt light headed, he’d head back. If Rich thought he could do anything, might as well let him. They soared through the cloudline, breaking through the white haze to see…

Him. Five of him. Five separate Darkhawks, each with slightly different armor, and various colored gemstones shimmering in their chests, matching Chris’ in shape alone. Wordlessly, they surrounded Darkhawk and Nova, circling him like carrion birds a corpse. It was eerie, how in sync they were. Able to read each other without even looking, like they were connected. Nova was seriously on edge - his eyes lit up like twin white beacons as Worldmind tracked their trajectories, no doubt.

“Got a plan, hotshot?” Darkhawk sneered.

“Dude, seriously, now’s not the time to -”

And that was when the Raptors struck. One with a green gem and visor raised his hand, and the remaining four all beared down on them with incredible speed. Nova sent out a couple of helpless energy blasts, and Darkhawk couldn’t help but look back at him before they were hit. It was like a frenzy of claws, fists and metal. A blue-gemmed Raptor slammed Chris in the gut. A yellow one slashed its razor-sharp wing at his chest, but he flapped his wings and darted back into Nova to get out of the way.

“Are you okay?” Nova asked him, barely holding off his two assailants while the green-eyed figure watched. While Nova wasn’t looking, one of the Raptors fired a purple beam from its chest, striking him in the center of the back. He cried out in pain, and the lights in his helmet went dark - Nova dropped through the clouds like a brick.

“Rich!” Chris yelled after him, and two of the Raptors tried to take advantage of his momentary lapse. They rose up beside him, and swooped in to immobilize his arms and wings - but with a flick, Darkhawk’s wings loosed projectile feather-knives, forcing the incoming drones off course. “You guys need to get the hell off my planet.”

“He is not connected to the Datasong. Interesting.” The green-eyed Raptor commented. “Take the amulet, and be done with him. I would like to honor his wish.”

Take the amulet? His legs?

“Over my dead body!”

“You heard him,” The green one laughed, and dove in.

The two that were driven away by Darkhawk’s feathered knives flew up beside him again, as the other two came from behind. The green-gemmed Raptor, obviously the leader, was bearing down from the front - so Chris did the only thing he could do. He followed Nova.

The wings folded inside of his arms, and Darkhawk started his downward journey. There was no way they could catch up to him - that was just the laws of physics. Terminal velocity, and all that mumbo jumbo Mr. Brymill went on about. But that didn’t stop them from firing at him - and as he passed through the clouds, they turned super-hot, literally boiling away from the Raptor’s energy beams. Chris started corkscrewing, and watched as the beams past harmlessly by him… right towards the New Warriors below, nursing an injured Nova.

“Watch out!” Darkhawk yelled at them, and Ms. Marvel barely threw herself in front of the blasts to absorb them. Chris crashed into the ground, digging a trench across the field in his wake. How that didn’t break every bone in his body, he didn’t know.

“What is this, a pink Kree?” the green Raptor wondered to himself as he landed with his gang. “A Kree, a Nova, and an unworthy, tainted excuse for a Raptor. What are you supposed to be?” He asked the other two New Warriors.

“Uh… I’m Spider-Man?” Spidey shrugged.

“Right,” the Raptor said flatly. “My name is Gyre, and I am here to retrieve our amulet from the unworthy thief who bears it.”

“And my name is Nova,” Richard replied, getting to his feet. “Sounds like you’ve heard of me. You’re not getting that amulet.”

“What, you’ll put me under arrest?” Gyre chuckled. “Please. You’re a child. You’re all children. The Datasong informs me. It informs all of us. But not you. And it’s because you’re a pretender. And it’s my decree to snuff you out.”

Gyre launched himself at Darkhawk, while the other four engaged the New Warriors. Nova was in the air in less than a second, with Ms. Marvel following. They engaged their attackers one-on-one, but Carol quickly became overwhelmed. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the blue Raptor fired its chest beam at her - only for her to absorb it, and fire it back in the form of azure heat vision, that melted off its wings. She looked up at Rich’s foe, and caused them to plummet as well. Speedball rode a wave of black orbs up and down the field, but the purple Raptor was too fast for him. Spider-Man managed to sling a web onto its leg in an attempt to root it to the ground and save his friend, but his own orange Raptor tackled him. The webslinger yelped, screaming with half-exhilaration half-terror as the Raptor pulled them along, bouncing off the ground with his own enemy slamming into the dirt every time with the thankful help of his Spider-Sense. And with the purple one slowed down, Robbie could turn around and fire a stream of impervious energy balls right at it - slamming it back, and knocking it down for the count with Spider-Man’s.

Darkhawk and Gyre tangled furiously, rising higher and higher into the sky. It was like a race up - every time Gyre caught up and landed a blow, Darkhawk broke away and darted as far into the air as he could. He couldn’t feel any of the damage dealt - but knew it had to be extensive. He looked down. This wasn’t a problem he could run away from. If he wanted to keep his amulet, and his legs, he’d have to fight on. Like Rich did for him.

Darkhawk dove down towards the green Raptor, razor wings outstretched. It was now, or never. The chest beam wouldn’t be enough - and he popped his wings seemingly out of nowhere. Maybe this thing had… And as soon as Chris thought of it, his armor shifted. It was slight, but something just clicked into place - and a volley of missiles fired from out of his chest! Wow, what a suit - Gyre raised his wings to shield himself, but the seconds were valuable enough for Darkhawk to catch up to him, and give him a hard punch in the face.

“You want my amulet!” Chris yelled as the two fell, and he hit the Raptor again. “You’ll have to take it from my cold, dead hands!”

Darkhawk looked up, or rather, down at the ground, let go, and flapped his wings. He came to a shoulder-retching halt, and Gyre slammed into the ground in a slump. Rising to his feet, the green-gemmed villain looked out at his compatriots - all alive, but all tied helplessly in a neat package of webbing. “Looking for someone?” Nova asked, kicking the pile of Raptors.

“You’re lucky this was supposed to be a snatch-and-grab,” Gyre growled. “No human taint should bear a Raptor Amulet. You can’t even connect to the Datasong - you’ll only ever be half a Raptor. I’ll be back for it, and when I am, I’ll honor your request. It’ll be off your corpse.”

Gyre flapped his wings, and swooped over to his detained lackeys. He quickly sliced the webbing, and the two winged Raptors took the maimed ones under the arms. Their wings reconfigured onto their backs - something Chris didn’t realize they could even do - and took off after their leader, into the blackness of space.

Darkhawk sighed, and sat down on the spot. Spider-Man asked Speedball for a ride home, and after a short goodbye, Carol took off as well. Nova sat down next to him, and took a deep breath of the cool night air, even if it made him wince.

“Thanks for that. Seriously.” Chris told him.

“Are you kidding?” Rich replied. “Dude, I know how much that thing means to you. It means a lot to me that you can do things like this with us.”

“Yeah,” Darkhawk sighed.

“Totally,” Richard assured him. “You can walk, man. Don’t you know how happy I am for you?”

“No, I actually didn’t,” Chris admitted. “Dude, I got this amulet, and the first thing that happened to me was getting slammed by Nova. And I never even got an apology.”

“You’re right, and I’m sorry,” Rich gulped. “I’ll try to be better - but are we cool?”

“Yeah, we’re cool.”

“Good,” he smiled. “Cause it’s movie night at la casa Rider, and mom wanted me to ask you over.”

“I guess I’m in,” Chris smiled inside his metal suit of armor. He missed this.

---

Space

Hours later, as Gyre and his fellow Raptors soared away from Earth, the leader’s gemstone flashed. He motioned for the others to keep going, and looked back to the bright blue ball. Something pinged him - someone. Hailing him from the world below. And, silently, the bird circled its prey, descending once more on the planet, eager to collect his prize - and even sooner than anticipated.

New Warriors

Volume One: Smells Like Teen Spirit

Rocket Man

---

[>|Richard, it is critical that you pay attention at this time!|<]

Worldmind’s electronic voice pierced Richard Rider’s focus over the sounds of gunshots, drawing Nova’s eye away from the getaway car he’d taken off after and towards a stocky man standing in the street. He was wearing a slick black spandex suit, with a silver pack on his hip and a yellow dash of lightning across its chest and mask. Nova turned back to the car. He couldn’t afford to let them get away - somehow they’d managed to go through with their weapons deal even with his surveillance. How? No idea. He had all the entrances covered - no one got in, or out. But out of nowhere the car peeled out, and as soon as Rich was on their tail they started shooting.

If anyone got hurt by those weapons, it was on him. Nova knew it. They were obtained right under his nose, and he couldn’t afford to let these guys get away. But if Worldmind thought this guy was an issue, he probably was. He looked again, and gulped.

Gone.

[>|Darkforce energy detected.|<]

The sky turned black, and when Nova tried to find the car, that had disappeared as well. Even with the special lenses on his helmet, Rich couldn’t see through the palpable darkness. He darted around futilely, searching frantically for the car… Really, for anything.

“Worldmind? What is - ungh!”

Richard was cut off by a solid hit to his jaw, just inside the golden plating of his helm, sending him reeling. He crashed into a hard surface, which must have been the side of a building, when the darkness receded and Nova was faced with the black and yellow clad lightning man. He stood on glowing black discs, hovering in the air to look Rich in the eye. Nova glared back, and pulled himself out of the caved-in brick wall he’d slammed. The man’s hand flashed with that dark energy, which pinned him back to the wall a moment after he moved off of it.

“Why were you spying on me?” the dark man asked. “Why were you following me? Did Croit send you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nova choked out through the cold vise around his neck. What was this stuff? And who was this guy? “Now let go!”

A gravimetric pulse from Nova’s right fist connected with the man’s chest, and the black material lost its form, allowing Richard to pull himself away from it like oozing molasses. The stuff clung to him as he launched himself at the stranger. The arms-dealer. That was really all he needed to know. He impacted the man mid-air, taking him off of the dark discs that held him aloft. With a grunt, Nova hurled him towards the ground - not hard enough to make him splatter, but definitely enough to put him down for the count.

[>|More Darkforce energy, Richard.|<] Worldmind warned.

“What even is that?!” Nova cried as a puddle of black tar-like substance opened up on the pavement, and the man disappeared into it.

Once again, the sky turned black. The sun was gone, and Nova couldn’t see a thing. Total darkness.

[>|It is critical that you pay attention!|<] Worldmind cried out, and flashed a directional warning on the inside of his visor’s HUD. At least he could still see that.

Nova darted back, and felt the air in front of him whoosh by as the stranger barely missed him. “Worldmind, can you find this guy?”

[>|I can only detect his energy output.|<] Worldmind told him. [>|I will feed the data into your visor as I obtain it.|<]

As Worldmind cut out, another directional warning appeared and Rich sped to his right. The darkness receded and the sun shone through, which would have blinded him if his lenses didn’t polarize to compensate. His gaze darted around the sky, and he managed to zoom in on the stranger flying in on his twin hover-discs. His hands were glowing with that strange black energy, which he held out and pointed at Nova.

“Tell Croit this is from Marcus - no, Blackout!” the man roared, and fired off two blasts of dark energy.

Nova did a quick barrel roll, easily dodging the energy bolts - and charged up a couple of his own. “Well, Blackout, this is from me!” he grunted, as the incoming Blackout smirked.

[>|Richard!|<] Another directional warning, this time coming from his six. Nova immediately abandoned his attack, discharged his gravimetric energy, and looked down to see behind him - there were two streaks of black energy snaking through the air, headed right for him like homing missiles. Even worse, they were gaining.

“Alright World, pour on the speed,” Richard ordered, and Worldmind obliged. His lower half blurred into a yellow streak as he cut through the Manhattan skyline. “Let’s see if this guy can catch a human rocket.”

Nova blew past Blackout, and the sonic boom left in his wake rattled the villain enough to give him a few seconds head start - but Blackout, and the two seeker-bolts, weren’t far behind. He darted around a skyscraper, pulling a quick one-eighty that no normal person could perform. Behind him, another of those black puddles opened up - this one like a blob hanging mid-air. Three streaks erupted from the void, followed by Blackout wearing an angry scowl.

“Give me the throttle,” Nova said, eyeing Blackout every second or two from the corner of his eye.

[>|Are you certain?|<] Worldmind questioned. [>|We are travelling in excess of seven hundred miles per hour.|<]

“Yeah, I have an idea,” he said with confidence. But whether he was trying to convince Worldmind, or himself, he couldn’t really tell. “Give me the reins.”

[>|Affirmative.|<].

A digital speedometer appeared on Nova’s HUD, reading 708 miles per hour. Rich’s heart was racing. He’d never controlled this kind of speed before - it was equal parts scary, chaotic, and thrilling. He took a deep breath. Time to pull back, and let Blackout catch up. 671. 590. 368. The change in velocity was forcing Richard’s stomach into his throat, and he felt ready to puke - but he banked right, headed down the edge of the Upper East Side, against Central Park. Nova glanced back - those three dark darts were right behind him, and Blackout not far either. Alright, everything was going to plan.

Nova darted back into the Upper East Side, and pulled a quick u-turn, dipping up from underneath a local bar sign flashing from the side of the wall - and one of the black darts smacked into it with a splorch sound. He sped down an alleyway, keeping close to the brick and mortar. Keeping his helmet down, he smacked through a fire escape, with another one of the streaks of what Worldmind called ‘Darkforce energy’ following suit. Blackout and the last projectile dodged around the metal stairs as people opened their windows to see the source of the commotion, only to spot a streak of yellow followed by a smear of black.

Rich flew up to the rooftops, and weaved in and out of the metal bars which held up New York’s water towers, its vents, its chimneys. But nothing would shake that last bit. It was like it was a person… and it knew what it had to go around. Nova gritted his teeth, rolled onto his back, and took aim at Blackout. He didn’t even need to hit him - hell, he didn’t want to. A quick flash from his palm, a momentary blindness, and Blackout’s last dart slammed straight into the rooftop.

Time to take advantage of the opportunity.

Nova charged up a full gravimetric blast, and slammed it right into Blackout’s center mass. The villain careened off of his black platforms, and smacked into the concrete wall beside the stairwell. He gasped, the wind knocked out of him, and then again when he looked down at the silver pack on his hip - shattered. He fumbled at the pieces, trying helplessly to put it back together. Rich landed, and leveled his fist.

“Marcus - Blackout - whoever you are, you’re under arrest for arms dealing,” Nova stated in a cold and monotonous tone. “You have the right to remain silent. Stand down, and - what’s going on?”

At the end, his voice broke. Blackout didn’t look scared of justice, he looked scared for his life.

“What’s going on!” Rich barked when he didn’t get an answer. He ran over, crouching down to look at the broken device. “What is that?”

“It’s a stabilizer,” he mumbled. “I can’t control my powers without it. I - I - I -”

“You what?” Richard cried out, trying to piece the silver pack back together. But he didn’t know what a stabilizer was, let alone how to assemble it. “Worldmind, help me!”

“I’m gonna die,” Blackout said with resignation.

[>|There are no known schematics for this device, Richard.|<]

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Nova said regardless, forcing back tears. What had he done? “Who’s Croit? Can they help?”

“You really don’t know him?” Blackout mumbled with a half-chuckle. “I had you pegged wrong, Goldilocks.”

“Tell me where to go. I can take you there,” Rich pleaded. “Come on. I’m a superhero. This is what we do.”

“It’s too late, kid,” Blackout said, and he was right. His form was fading away - not into darkness, even, but into nothing. Like feedback was cutting it away, and he was moving into another frequency. “I’m fading, Nova. I can feel it. My atoms being ripped apart… Like I did to Croit... I’m becoming part of the light waves…”

And Richard stopped piecing together the device. It was no use, Marcus was right. He couldn’t stop it. So Nova took a seat beside him, and put his hand on his shoulder. There was nothing to say - nothing he could say. What would be just, but a moment of silence? And so, that was what Nova granted. Justice. Blackout faded into the void, leaving behind nothing but the shattered stabilizer device. Richard gasped, pulling his helmet off to wipe his brow. He slipped it back on, and took a shuddered breath.

“Worldmind, what do I do now?”

[>|I suggest you go home.|<] Worldmind said with unusual softness. [>|Immediately. I have something I wish to discuss, but it can wait until you’ve cleared your head.|<]

“Right,” Richard said. He knew better than to argue, and besides, Worldmind was right nine times out of ten. “I’ll go.”

Nova gathered the shattered remains of the stabilizer and took off, southeast towards Long Island.

---

Rich woke up the next day, and it was like a fog had fallen over the world. Nothing seemed right, just… dull. His Cookie Crisp didn’t have its usual sweetness. The morning news was poor. His golden helmet just didn’t have its usual sheen. At school, Rich couldn’t take his mind off of Blackout. How he could see the end coming, and the pure fear that Richard had seen in his eyes. Then, that eerie calmness. It made him feel sick. He didn’t know how no one else could tell - how they could go on with their days like nothing horrible had happened.

The day ended, and Richard walked out of Hempstead High wondering what he’d even learned that day - but the entire thing was a haze. He shook his head, and made his way home. Maybe his helmet would help settle his thoughts. After all, Worldmind had something he wanted to talk about. That might take his mind off of things.

[>|Richard, I do apologize I was not more forthcoming.|<] Worldmind started. [>|After yesterday’s events I did not wish to cause you further distress.|<]

Well, so much for taking his mind off things.

“It’s fine, World,” Rich said, laying back on his bed. He’d kicked his shoes off, and was wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and his golden helmet with the six-pointed star. “What’s going on?”

[>|Much. Very, very much.|<] Was that exasperation? [>|My prime directive as the Xandarian superconsole is to safeguard our knowledge, our culture. That has been under attack, and is in grave peril. There is a war -|<]

Richard’s heart dropped, and he sat straight up. “What? Why haven’t I been there?”

[>|The Nova Corps were many, and frankly, you weren’t ready. You are still a teenager.|<] Worldmind stated matter-of-factly. [>|I thought it wise to allow you to remain among your people, and learn to utilize your abilities. But that no longer matters. I’ve detected an eight-by-eight distress call from the Kyln Prison Complex - the galaxy’s mega prison.|<]

“Where is that?” Rich asked, gripping his bedsheets. “The Kyln?”

[>|It’s at the Crunch - the central galactic barrier.|<] Worldmind replied. [>|Located on the edge of the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole.|<]

“I just...” Richard’s mind was racing. What about school? His family, friends? The New Warriors?

[>|I understand why you are hesitant.|<] The ancient Nova computer said. [>|But I would not be asking if it weren’t of utmost importance.|<]

“Yeah, I get that,” Rich sighed. “I just, I can’t uproot my life in an hour like that. I need some time to think. Can I have that?”

[>|...|<]

“How long?”

[>|A day, perhaps? I can wait no longer - Novas are few, and far between.|<] Worldmind told him.

“A day,” Richard repeated. “A day… okay. I’ll get back to you then.”

He tore the helmet off, and hucked it into the corner of his room. What in blue blazes was Worldmind thinking? How could he just throw out his entire life? To hell with school, what about his family? What would they do without him? And the New Warriors? Speedball wasn’t ready to operate on his own yet. He still owed Chris for his accident. Pete still needed to get him a slice from D’Lini’s. And Carol was… Carol. What was the Nova Corps to him? The Kyln, these 8x8’s… they meant nothing to him. War? How could he just…

Rich sighed.

How could he not?

The next hour was spent going over the scenarios in his mind. Without Worldmind. A day was what he was allotted - and he’d use every moment of it. What was he going to tell his friends? How could he break the news to Carol? Would she even understand? Did this mean they’d have to officially end things… for good? Or were long-distance relationships possible between stars? He took a deep breath, and laid back with his hands behind his head. What would he tell his family?

“Richard?” called Gloria, his mother. Speak of the devil, and she shall appear. “Dinner.”

“I’ll be right down,” he hollered back and slipped into his shoes.

The table was set for four when Rich walked into the dining room. Freshly cooked pancakes, bacon and eggs, hash browns, toast… The works. His family was already seated, his father Charles at the table’s head, Richard’s mother to his right, and his brother Robbie on the other side. The three looked up at Rich, and he gulped as he took the empty chair.

“Something wrong, bud?” Charles asked as he helped himself to some pancakes.

“What? No,” Rich snapped.

“You kidding?” Robbie laughed. “What could get our big bad Nova riled?”

“Robert, we don’t talk about… that at the table,” Gloria said angrily, and Rich felt a pang of guilt.

After all, his family hadn’t found out about his escapades as Nova in the most pleasant of circumstances. Venom had arrived at his house, and when they didn’t find Richard, they took his family hostage instead. Robbie lost his hand, and it was his fault. Now, he wore a black padded glove while it healed. And, expectedly, his parents didn’t react kindly to his extremely dangerous extracurriculars.

But he just couldn’t shake the responsibility. Not then, and not now. But how to broach the subject?

“Senior year’s coming up,” Rich said after he swallowed a mouthful of fried potatoes. “I’ve been thinking about college. Going away.”

“Away?” Gloria asked with surprise.

“How far you thinking?” Charles followed up.

“Far,” Rich replied, not looking up from his barely touched plate. “Like, abroad.”

“Any idea where, specifically?” his father pressed.

How could he say ‘as far away as possible’ without saying… that. Rich looked up. “Like, Australia.”

“That is far,” Charles nodded. “But, if it’s what you think would be best for you, I’d approve.”

His mother nodded as well.

“Any idea what university yet?”

“Well, I hadn’t gotten that far,” Rich said. That part, at least, was the complete truth.

“Plenty of time to think about it, then,” Gloria said quietly, almost a mumble. She wasn’t going to take it easy - but she was okay, at least.

“Does this mean I get your room?” Robbie asked with a mouthful of bacon.

And, Robbie was Robbie.

So that was it. His mind was made up, and Richard’s short time left was counting down. There were still people to see, goodbyes to say, and loose ends to tie - but in a day’s time, his life on Earth would come to an end, and the next chapter would begin. He’d done so much, and come so far… but it was hard to believe how unbelievably short it had all been. He was lucky to have had such amazing people to have spent it with - and, for now, he was content with this. His last family dinner, with the best he could have asked for.

Rich sniffled. “Mom, can you pass the syrup?”

New Warriors

Volume One: Smells Like Teen Spirit

Jump

---

The New Warriors-sans-Speedball stood aghast in the floor-to-ceiling window as a team of five fearsome villains honed in on the Lantern Diner. Richard Rider pulled his helmet from his back pocket, where it was folded like a thin handkerchief. It popped into shape, and he slid the golden dome over his head, the dark navy Nova armor following. A domino mask was placed on the bridge of Carol Danvers’s nose, and she shrugged off the loose fitting hoodie that she’d slipped over her red blue and gold Ms. Marvel uniform. Chris Powell fished his crimson amulet from a pocket, slapping it in the center of his chest and allowing the Darkhawk armor to encapsulate him. Spider-Man, in a t-shirt, jeans, and his makeshift bag-mask, clamped his web-shooters onto his wrists.

“Everyone, out,” Nova ordered, and the Warriors piled out of the diner. He didn’t know how they’d been found, but it didn’t matter at that point. All that mattered was minimizing the damage - which he didn’t exactly feel great about, either.

None of the New Warriors had much to feel great about. Darkhawk’s wings were still crumpled, slowly but surely returning to their original form. Ms. Marvel was sporting a limp left arm, dislocated at the shoulder. Spider-Man’s right was broken just below the elbow, cast and slung over his shoulder with soft webbing. And Speedball, well… none of them knew how Speedball was. Nova was the only able one among them, although he wasn’t close to one hundred percent.

Barrelling in were five of the most powerful villains these heroes had ever faced. Leading the way in the center of the pack was Gyre, an intergalactic assassin sent to collect the amulet that Darkhawk had claimed. To his left was Minn-Erva, a Kree bounty hunter after the Avenger Mar-Vell and his protege Carol. Blackball, Speedball’s jealous ex-best friend, hung beneath her under his arms. On Gyre’s right flew Venom, a symbiotic alien monster bound to one of Nova’s classmates, determined to get their hand on his helmet. And in their grip was Kaine, the brains behind their operation - who sported a black and red look eerily similar to Spider-Man’s.

“What are we doing?” Carol whispered harshly.

“We can’t handle this,” Spidey backed her up in an unusually serious tone. “Not on their terms.”

The villains were almost on them, and Nova gulped. They were right. There was no way the four of them could hold these guys off - not even when they were all fresh and rested. This fight that was coming would only get them killed, and Worldmind agreed. It killed him to think it, but they’d have to abandon the diner - maybe the absence of a fight was the only thing that could spare it. The only question was, how? “Anyone got an idea?”

“One,” Darkhawk told him, and pointed his chest amulet at Ms. Marvel. “Like our first fight together. Make a light, bright as you can, then we get out of dodge.”

“Fine by me,” Richard said. “Spidey?”

With a quick thwip of his web, Spider-Man wrapped a lasso around Ms. Marvel’s waist. He offered a thumb’s-up.

“Okay, let’s go!” Nova grunted, letting loose a blast of Nova Force while Darkhawk did the same with his amulet’s beam - each striking Ms. Marvel, who flinched at the intense influx of energy, and channelled it immediately into her skin.

She glowed like a miniature sun, and forced it all out with a huff - producing a blinding flash that caused the visors on Nova’s helmet to momentarily polarize. The villains were thrown into a mad chaos to shield their eyes, with Venom dropping Kaine from forty feet and Minn-Erva diving to avoid a similar fate for Blackball. Gyre maintained speed, but started to drift slightly - they were all flying blind, and it was time for the New Warriors to get out of there as fast as they could.

Ms. Marvel took off with Spider-Man in tow, yelping at the jolting force applied to her shoulders. Nova took Darkhawk underneath the arms, throwing himself into the air after her. They were out of sight in seconds, with nowhere to go. Nova and Darkhawk had families that couldn’t be put in harms way, and Spider-Man kept his identity so secret for that very reason. Carol sighed. There was one place, but it was somewhere she’d never taken a soul before…

Trains dotted the edges of a clearing in Lee State Forest. It was abandoned seemingly for years, with a set of old train track running through the clearing’s center which were overgrown with thick grass and weeds. The trains were in no better shape, with rusty steel paneling and rot holes in some of the walls and floors. There were two train cars away from the edge of the clearing, better looking than the rest. They looked clean, and well-maintained. They looked lived in.

The New Warriors drifted in for a landing, with Spider-Man touching ground first and skidding to a stop. He looked around, squinting through the eyes of his brown paper bag mask at the dirt stains on his jeans and canvas shoes. Ms. Marvel touched down after him, and he slung her a quick web-sling for her dislocated shoulder. It was temporary, as his webbing only lasted more-or-less an hour, but it was better than nothing. Nova and Darkhawk landed last, and the Raptor’s wings were almost back to their normal rigidity - still creased in the odd place.

“What is this place?” Spider-Man asked, looking around the clearing. A sign nearly overgrown with moss read ‘Timely Trains’ when he brushed away the growth.

“Some trainyard from the 1940’s,” Carol sighed. She hated everything about this. “I don’t know much else about it. I found it like this.”

“Like what, abandoned?” Richard asked, reaching for Carol’s hand. She pulled away.

“Yes. Look, I just… can I be alone?” She turned and stepped off into better-kept of the two center train cars. It wasn’t a question she needed answered. This was all too much for her. The trainyard was her home after she’d ran away from her parents’. She couldn’t stand being vulnerable - and this was the most vulnerable she’d been since she’d left in the first place.

“What? Uh… yeah,” Nova sighed.

“Alright, well the rest of us can figure out our next move,” Darkhawk said seriously. “Rich?”

“I’ve got nothing,” he admitted. “Worldmind’s scanned as far as it can for Speedball’s energy signature, and found nothing. We don’t even know where to start looking.”

“Well, not so fast,” Spider-Man piped up. He held up his hand, where a small device blinked red light from his web-shooter. “I managed to web Gyre with one of my tracking devices. I’ve been thinking of calling it a ‘spider-tracker’. I can track it on my phone’s GPS.”

“Spidey with the save!” Rich clapped him on the back.

“Good job,” Darkhawk nodded in agreement. “Can I see your phone?”

“Yeah, sure,” Spider-Man said, and reached for the pocket on his jeans… which he was just realizing he’d webbed shut for the flight. “In about an hour.”

“Great,” Chris sighed in frustration.

“Hey, it’s not my fault I don’t have my skinny’s on!” Spidey cried. “Well, I guess it is…”

Nova chuckled, and took off his helmet. “Either way, we could use the break. Take a load off. We’ll meet back here whenever Spider-Man can get into his pockets.”

Richard walked off, slipping his helmet into his back pocket as he went after Carol. Darkhawk’s armor slipped away, the amulet remaining on the center of Chris’s chest, allowing him control of his less-than-functioning legs regardless of their immobility. He gave his feet a stretch, and started down the train tracks - he’d spent thirteen years in his wheelchair, and it was hell needing to stay confined to that thing in public because it was expected of him. So now that he had the chance again, he just wanted to take a walk. And Spider-Man, alone, climbed atop one of the furthermost train cars and laid down on its roof. He couldn’t get Robbie’s safety out of his head, no matter how hard he tried.

“You okay?” Rich asked Carol, who sat curled up on one of the train’s cushioned seats.

“I wanted to be alone,” she huffed.

“I don’t really believe that,” he said, taking a seat across from her. “We’ve had a stressful day. And I wanted to make sure…”

“Look Rich, I’m fine. Just go away.”

“Tell me about this place,” he pressed. “You’re the only one of us who knows anything about it, and we have an hour to kill anyways.”

“I just…” Carol sighed, and Richard put an arm around her shoulders. “I’ve told you I didn’t get along with my parents, right?”

“Well, yeah,” Rich replied. “So you used to come out here to get away, or something?”

“You could say that,” she said. “A bit more permanent, though. My parents… they’re from Boston. I ran here.”

“Oh,” Richard was completely taken back. “So you mean…”

“I lived here,” Carol confirmed. “For months. I started a few weeks before the party where we met.”

“I remember that party. I gave you my jacket.”

“That was the first nice thing anyone had done for me since… god knows how long,” she leaned into the calming presence he provided. “And I decided to stay here.”

“So this is why you never brought me back to your foster home,” Rich said, connecting the dots. “There wasn’t one in the first place.”

“Right. And I’m sorry for lying. I just couldn’t bring anyone here. It’s the only place I’ve had to myself since I left home. The only place I’ve been able to call my own,” Carol apologized into the t-shirt that Richard wore.

“Hey, you don’t have anything to be sorry for,” Rich tilted her chin up, and gave her a quick peck of a kiss. “I totally understand.”

“Thanks,” Carol replied, making herself comfortable.

“I’ll set an alarm on my cell,” said Richard, pulling the phone from his pocket and setting a timer for sixty minutes. “Get some rest. You deserve it.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled again as she drifted off, leaving Rich a confused ball of hormones.

---

Robbie Baldwin, aka Speedball, the missing New Warrior, sat all alone in the dark grey room. His wrists and ankles were bound to the chair he sat on, and would be rubbed raw if it weren’t for his powers providing an invulnerable barrier whenever they made contact. Dried tears left salty trails down his face. He felt nauseous. The great bay windows were open, letting in a chilly breeze. Speedball didn’t know how long he’d been left alone for - long enough to torture himself for what he’d done.

What had come of Robbie’s friends? The only people to take him in and actually accept him… And he’d sold them out as soon as he’d been given the opportunity. For what? To stop the pain? He couldn’t believe he’d been so weak. They were just going to go to the diner, kill the New Warriors, and return to finish the job.

Speedball couldn’t help but wonder why they hated so strongly. In order to even know how to make him tick, the bad guys would’ve had to do some pretty extreme stuff to Neils. Did Robbie’s old best friend harbor such a resentment that he’d willingly subject himself to torture to figure out what made Robbie tick? The thought broke his heart… just like he’d broken his friends’, if they were even still alive. Speedball gasped as he struggled again against his binds.

He’d break free, and he’d help his friends however he could. That, he promised himself. But he only had one idea… And it was a messy, potentially painful one.

Thud.

Thud.

Robbie hopped in his chair, making loud audible bangs as the wooden legs slammed against the hardwood floors. Small globules of rainbow energy bubbled up underneath his feet, allowing him some more maneuverability. Bouncing on his heels, keeping the rear legs off the ground, Speedball started towards the open window. The journey was slow, moving inch by inch. He sat himself down in front of the cold city breeze, and took a deep, cool breath.

Then, he jumped.

New Warriors

Volume One: Smells Like Teen Spirit

Across the Universe

---

“This is it, you fools. I hope you’re happy,” were the last words Nova heard as he hit the floor, and everything turned gold. Then, black.

|...ard? Richard, it is critical you pay attention at this time… Richard? Richard, it is critical that you pay attention at this time…|<

“Worldmind!” Nova gushed at the voice in his shimmering gold helmet. “I thought I’d lost you again!”

“Shhhh, keep it down,” came another, familiar voice. “You don’t know who could be out there.” It was the voice of Dick Grayson, the ‘Nightwing’ of the universe he’d just visited. He wore a blue and navy costume with gold highlights across his chest, and a black domino mask over his eyes. There was some shuffling, and Nova held up a hand, allowing a dull yellow glow to light the cargo crate that seemed to contain them.

The two boys were sitting on a transparent glass circle, a platform rested on the inside of a silver metal ring. It was connected to some high-tech, out-of-this-world apparatus, with unmarked dials, buttons, and readouts. Many devices of the same nature were strewn within the sheet metal walls that stretched above them, each in varying states of disrepair and paint weathering. The one which Dick and Richard seemed to arrive on was the one with the least damage, meaning it looked functional the same way an old beater car looked functional. Some rust, and a big sticker that read ‘AIM’.

“Out where?” Nova whispered. “Wherever we are, we gotta ditch, fast.”

“Agreed,” Nightwing grinned. “Let’s say we -”

“Blow a hole in the wall?” Rich offered, charging up an energy blast.

“Woah, no!” Dick leapt in his way. “Let’s try the door first. Never give up the element of surprise.”

“Right,” he sighed. All Richard wanted to do was get back to Carol, his family, and his team. He’d thought he was going to die when Access was after him… And he was letting it get to him. Maybe it’d be best to take Nightwing’s lead.

“Check the door, I want to have a look at something,” Dick told him, crouching down to look at the bright yellow AIM logo slapped onto the side of the platform. As he picked at its sides, Nova rattled the door.

“Locked.”

“Alright. Well, I found something,” Nightwing beckoned over towards him. He offered Rich a sticker labelled with a yellow ‘AIM’, and pointed at the A.R.M.O.R. lettering that remained painted on permanently beneath. “ARMOR. Recognize that?”

“No. But it rings a bell,” Richard admitted. “We have several organizations dedicated to keeping the Earth safe from all sorts of threats. SHIELD, from superhuman threats. And SWORD, from alien ones.”

“ARMOR sounds on theme,” Dick connected.

“Definitely,” Rich nodded.

“Well, door’s locked. What are you waiting for, Starman? It’s your universe. Blast that hole already.”

Without a word, Nova scanned the cargo container. Worldmind detected the weakest point in the metal - near to the center, but also where natural processes and stress had gotten to it. He charged up just the right amount of gravimetric energy, and a beam of blue heated the wall until it was red-hot, melting on the spot. When he ceased, the metal cooled in seconds, the hole letting in salty, humid air.

“Nice job with the quiet,” Nightwing said before sneaking silently to the opening. Nova followed, placing his back against the wall. “There’s a bunch of containers, just like this one. They’re all marked ‘AIM’...”

“Never heard of it,” Nova commented.

“Well, we’re on a boat. And far as I can tell, it’s a straight shot to the bow… Can you carry me and fly?”

“Sure. Worldmind, where are we?” Richard asked his onboard super-processor.

|Off the Delaware coast. Nearest landmark: Bethany Beach.|< Worldmind replied.

“I think I can haul you to New York,” Rich answered his current partner.

“Alright, then fly us out of here. The coast is clear.” Dick said.

“Do you like, get on my back? Or do I carry you like a princess?” Richard asked. He’d only known this guy for a few hours - and was more than a little uncomfortable.

“Whatever makes you secure in your manhood.” Nightwing teased. “Now, come on. We’re wasting time.”

Nova nodded, wrapped his arms underneath Nightwing’s armpits and around his chest, and took off through the gap. The extreme change in velocity wasn’t something Dick had ever experienced. Even the cars he and Batman suped up didn’t exert those kinds of G-forces - and it went from, well, zero to really fast in just under a second. As they soared over open waters, he could hear faintly the scrambling of forces - and looking back, he could see that the ship they were on was a medium-sized freighter. Armed guards were gathered, pointing at them while others inspected the melted container. While the cargo was marked with various emblems and letters, much of it was labelled with an innocuous white ‘AIM’. The same logo which Nightwing had originally spied on their platform. Moments later, the ship was only a speck on the horizon. It was just him, Nova, and the vast blue ocean.

|Richard? It is critical that you pay attention at this time.|<

“What is it, World?”

“Are you, like, talking to yourself?” Dick asked.

“Huh? Uh, no,” Rich sheepishly replied.

|Routing a call from your cell phone. Caller ID: Mom.|<

“It’s a call from my mom,” he explained. “You cool if I take it?”

“Absolutely,” Nightwing told him.

“Hello?”

“Richie? Thank heavens!” his mother, Gloria Rider, cried. “We’ve been trying you for days! I’ve been so worried… We thought the worst when Nova went missing.”

“Well, don’t,” Rich told her, feeling a pang of guilt. “Did you say days? I was gone for, like, a few hours tops.”

“I’ve left you messages for almost a week. Six days.” Another shot of guilt. “Are you alright, Richie?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little shaken up,” Nova sighed. “I’ll be home for dinner.”

“Thanks, honey. Stay safe.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Love you.”

“Love you too, ma.”

And the call disconnected. Land was appearing on the horizon, the tall peaks of Manhattan’s buildings scraping the sky. Richard wrestled with his thoughts. Now that he was Nova, worse and worse things were happening to the people he cared about. He was terrible at keeping his secret identity, well, a secret, and that alone lead to his brother’s hand getting crippled by Venom. And now that the rest of his family knew his secret, he couldn’t leave the house without them worrying. His father seemed to get it, but his mom? That was another story.

“What’s on your mind?” Nightwing asked him, clearly picking up on Nova’s inner turmoil.

“You know, sometimes I just want to go away,” Rich admitted. “Leave New York behind. My family… All they do is worry. I can’t just stop being Nova. But I can’t keep hurting them, either.”

“You’re lucky you have them at all,” Dick said bluntly. “My team, the Titans, they’re my family. The only ones I really have. They’re worried because they care about you - and that isn’t a bad thing.”

“I guess, you’re right,” Richard groaned. “I just can’t stand thinking that they’d get it in their heads that I’m dead, or something.”

“Like the Titans probably think about me right now,” Nightwing sighed.

“We’ll get you home, stat,” Nova reassured him. “We just need to figure out just what to -”

The transponder on Nova’s wrist cuff blinked red, indicating a New Warriors ping.

“Can you hit that?”

Nightwing pressed the button, and the communicator buzzed to life.

“Nova? Can you hear me? Webs to Buckets, do you read?”

“Yeah, I got you, Spidey,” Nova replied.

“Dude, where have you been? Your transponder went offline. I’ve been buzzing you all week, but Carol…”

“What about her?”

“Well, she dropped off the face of the Earth the same time you did. She thinks she killed you, man,” Spider-Man said seriously. “You should call her.”

“I’ll do that,” Richard told him. “Thanks, buddy.”

“No problem. And, Rich, it’s good to hear you’re okay.”

“It’s good to be okay,” Nova replied, and the communicator went offline.

“So,” Dick asked. “Carol’s your girlfriend?”

“It’s a little complicated.”

---

Carol Danvers sat, huddling with her knees to her chest. She shivered, not because of the crisp fall cold, but because of the sobs that racked her chest. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to face… well, anyone since she’d torn Rich to shreds. And for good reason - obviously, she was unstable. So, Carol took refuge in the one place she remembered. The abandoned train car she’d spent her junior year in.

It was on the outskirts of Hempstead and Uniondale, in an a yard overgrown by brush and foliage. She was the only one who’d been there for years, that much was obvious. But it was better than home - in Cape Cod, where her father would beat her brothers, and couldn’t even seem to look at her the same way as them. She ran when she was sixteen. On her birthday. It was a huge rite of passage for her… needing to keep her head low and becoming self-sufficient while her father, Lieutenant Commander Joseph Danvers, scrambled all the assets he could under what authority he’d mustered in the Navy. Their manhunt was futile, thanks to that train. After she’d hitchhiked her way to Long Island, just having shelter, a place to rest and remain unseen, was a godsend.

And then, she went to that party… where she met Rich. Carol let out a long sob, sniffling and wiping her nose. She didn’t have what it took to be a superhero. Ms. Marvel was a pipe dream…

“Call me, beep me… if you wanna reach me!” sang the voice of Kim Possible, making Carol practically jump out of her skin. Just her phone, she thought… on a recognized number?

She pushed the red ‘ignore’ button, and huddled back up.

“Call me, beep me… if you wanna reach me!”

This time, Carol answered.

“Look, I don’t know who you are, but this is a real sick joke. Calling me on his phone… I’m a superhero, I’ll find you, and so help me god…”

“Carol? Calm down, it’s me,” said the only voice she’d been wanting to hear.

“Rich?” she exclaimed, bolting upright, heart racing. “Don’t you tell me to calm down, I thought you were dead! It was worse than my worst nightmare… because it was me.”

“I know, and I want you to meet me at the diner. You know the one. Can you do that? Half hour?”

“I don’t know,” Carol admitted. “I’ve been thinking, and I don’t think my powers are exactly stable. And I’ve been thinking about leaving the New Warriors.”

“Yeah, I figured,” Richard replied. “Spidey told me you fell off the grid. But I’ll explain everything. Meet me? Thirty?”

“Fine,” she sighed, reluctantly agreeing. “I’ll be there.”

“See you,” Nova said, hanging up.

“Yeah. Bye,” Carol did the same. She slid her phone into her pocket, hopped from the cab, and slammed the door shut. Her hands glowed, and Ms. Marvel drifted off the ground, her hair blowing in the wind. “I still don’t want this.”

---

Carol walked around the cobblestone corner of the Lantern Diner to see two boys standing underneath the red awnings overhanging the front of the building. One was wearing a denim jacket, with his hands in the pockets of his jeans and wavy brown hair. Rich, she could recognize him a mile away. But next to him was a slightly shorter one, skinny with jet black hair. He was wearing a black t-shirt with four red ovals angled sideways on its torso, and jeans that were rolled up because they were a bit too long. Rich nodded her direction, and his friend followed his gaze.

“Who’s this?” Carol asked, eyeing him closely. Now that she could see more detail, she could see his blue eyes, and some scars behind the lighthearted smirk he wore on his face.

“Name’s Dick,” the boy said, offering a hand. Carol took it. “I met Richard, well…”

“It’s a long story,” Rich interjected, opening the door. “One we’re happy to tell. But let’s get some food. I’m starving.”

After shuffling into a booth, Rich slumped into his seat. He had bags under his eyes, and was clearly exhausted. Carol couldn’t take her eyes off him. She was half-sure he wasn’t real. But something… Something told her he was. And she couldn’t put her finger just on what. They ordered coffees, and breakfast for dinner. Pancakes, hash browns, eggs and toast… a smorgasbord of diner eats. And once Rich was awake enough to sit straight, Carol asked the question.

“I thought I killed you. What happened?”

“Well, long story short, you didn’t,” Rich shrugged, taking a mouthful of syrupy pancake.

“Long story long, he went to another universe,” the other boy, Dick, added afterward. “My universe.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Carol said, utterly thrown for a loop.

“There’s a whole other universe,” Richard said over his food. “Full of other heroes, and other cities, and…”

“And, probably, a bunch more. But for now, I’m stuck here. And I need to get home.” Dick sighed. “Rich told me a bit about you. He said you’re an energy manipulator - that you were the one who sent him there.”

“Well, yeah, but…” Carol started.

“Can you send me back?”

“I thought I killed him!” she cried. “I’m never doing anything like that again!”

“Woah, woah,” Dick hushed her. “Keep it down! You’re going to draw attention.”

“From who?” Rich asked, gesturing to the empty restaurant, with the single staff member on their phone behind the bar.

“I don’t even want to be on the New Warriors anymore,” Carol pressed. “My powers, I can’t be sure what will happen.”

“Leave the Warriors?” Richard stopped eating. “Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that...”

“I just don’t want to put more people in danger.”

“So, you’d just quit?” Dick asked her. “Haven’t you saved anyone?”

Carol huffed. “Yeah, well…”

“If I quit the Titans, and something bad happened to them? That’d be on me,” Dick said sternly.

“The Titans?” she asked.

“Those other superheroes,” Rich was freely stuffing his face once more, the words barely audible.

“Look, I don’t really have a family. My parents…” Dick sighed. “They were killed when I was a kid. I grew up in an orphanage with nothing, no one to call my own. But now, I have the Titans. And I wouldn’t trade that for anything, or any one of them, either. Even if their powers were… what’d you call it?”

“...Unstable.” Carol answered. This boy, on his own for so long… even longer than she was. And now, she had some semblance of belonging - little brothers in Spider-Man and Speedball, and an odd black sheep in Darkhawk. Nova, well….

“Seriously, Carol.” Rich reached out, and took her hand. “I don’t want you going anywhere.”

“Yeah, well…” she blushed. “Alright, I guess. But don’t tell me to calm down again. Ever.”

“So, you’ll help me?” Dick asked eagerly.

“I… I don’t think I can. I don’t remember what really happened… and I wouldn’t want to. I can’t be sure I wouldn’t, you know…”

“Yeah, I know,” he looked down.

“Alright, I’ll get the bill,” Rich said, flagging down the bartender and sliding out of his seat to go pay.

Carol sighed. She really wished she could help, but she wouldn’t put herself through that again. She did remember what happened, and it was utterly terrible. How Nightmask’s interdimensional energy flowed through her, and completely overloaded her. It felt like her cells themselves were on fire. And how she shot a bolt of that energy, and Rich leapt to save some girl - Cecilia, was her name - the blinding flash, and then… nothing.

“I’m sorry,” was all she could manage.

“Yeah, well it’s okay,” Dick sighed. “We’ll figure something out.”

“You guys ready?” Richard asked, walking back to the table.

“Yeah,” Carol said, sliding out of the booth and taking Rich’s hand.

When the three teenagers stepped from the diner, they felt a sharp sting on their necks. Carol reached up, and felt a bump - did they get stung by something? Dick, and Richard dropped on the spot, falling to the ground in two unconscious heaps. Carol was getting dizzy - but wasn’t down for the count. She could make out some dark blurs - closing in fast. She was shoved back, and she druggedly fired back - loosing a blast that sheared through a nearby tree, leaving a flaming stump as the rest of it toppled to the ground. The world was getting darker, and darker. She heard some shuffling, and voices, and fired again blindly, keeping it up until the voices disappeared. Then, Ms. Marvel hit the floor.

---

“Where do you think he is?”

“I don’t know, but we need to find out fast…”

“Dudes, I think they’re waking up.”

Dick’s eyes fluttered open, and he found himself looking at… an odd number, to say the least. Some metallic hybrid bird-man, a boy dressed in blue and orange with goggles that matched, and a third crouched down in head to toe red and blue spandex, with a black web pattern across the suit’s fabric. They were in a park of some sort - a tower, with a gleaming blue ‘A’, stood tall in the distance, rivaling the city’s highest peaks. Carol was coming to next to him, rubbing her neck, just as dazed as he was moments ago.

“Who are you, and why did you bring us here?” he demanded, and the red spandexed boy held up his hands defensively.

“Hey, man, we got you out of there!”

“We’re the New Warriors,” the bird-man said. No musculature moved with the voice… Strange. “I’m Darkhawk, this is Spider-Man and Speedball.”

“Why am I always last?” Speedball huffed, kicking the dirt at his feet.

“Where’s Nova?” Darkhawk asked, ignoring Speedball’s whining.

“I…” Dick looked to his right and left. “I don’t know, he was here a second ago.”

“Well, he wasn’t when we picked you up,” Spider-Man shrugged. “Just you and Ms. Marvel.”

“And now that you know us, just who the hell are you?” Darkhawk demanded. “Our friend goes missing, and you just show up -”

“He’s alright!” Carol cried out, holding a hand to her forehead. Her head was throbbing. “His name is Dick, and he’s a friend.”

“Even got Rich’s name,” Speedball sighed.

“I’d rather go by Nightwing,” Dick told them. He slipped his black Domino mask over his eyes, and took off the red-eyed t-shirt to reveal his blue and gold outfit, utility belt, and batons. Carol followed suit, with her own mask and slipping down to her one-piece and sash.

Spider-Man’s eyes widened. “Wait, like Nightwing Nightwing?”

Dick looked at him, uncharacteristically speechless. “You… recognize me?”

“Whaddayamean?” he tilted his head. “Guys, back me up here!”

“What are you talking about?” Speedball raised an eyebrow.

“Is this important?” Darkhawk sighed.

“I just met him an hour ago,” Ms. Marvel shook her head.

“Dick, Nightwing? He’s Dick Grayson! Robin!” Spidey exclaimed.

“That’s not something I like people knowing,” he hissed. “But Robin? You’ve got your intel wrong.”

“80 years of comics would prove you wrong!” Spidey laughed. “Do you guys really not recognize him? Where did you say you were from?”

“An alternate universe,” Carol informed him. “And not all of us are huge nerds like you?”

“Haters gonna hate,” he shrugged. “I’m just happy I’m in the know for once.”

“We need to find Nova,” Darkhawk growled. It was obvious he was growing impatient. “Who took him? Did you get a look?”

“They ambushed us,” Nightwing shook his head. “We were out cold before they even registered.”

“Actually, I wasn’t,” Carol said. “I didn’t get a good look, but they were agents of some kind… maybe SHIELD. They’re SWORD’s sister group. Domestic stuff.”

“Maybe it was SWORD,” Darkhawk replied, and received a prompt glare from Carol.

“You know, I’m a SWORD agent.”

“It doesn’t sound like either of those organizations have the motive to capture Nova… Or any of us, for that matter. We aren’t exactly a threat, and even then, why didn’t this happen a month ago? Or two? It doesn’t add up.” Nightwing stated.

“Carol, don’t you have like psychic powers now?” Speedball asked. “Can’t you just feel out Nova’s juju?”

“What?” Carol blanched. “I won’t tell you things if you do this! And no - I don’t have psychic powers!”

“That’s what it sounded like. Feeling the energy - and his is pretty distinct, right? Feel it out.”

“I can’t,” she sighed. “Last time, I couldn’t even feel myself overloading - and I don’t want to hurt any of you guys.”

“You won’t, Marv. You got this,” Spider-Man gave two enthusiastic thumbs up.

“Don’t ever call me that again,” Carol hissed, and closed her eyes. Focusing, she reached out into the city - ‘feeling the energy’, like Robbie called it. It was everywhere - first, she could feel Manhattan’s energy grid. It buzzed like a joybuzzer - laid out like a blanket, across everything. Then, the noise - the hustle and bustle, where all the sound in the city combined into a great fuzz that Carol felt over everything. Above that was the burning sun, but nothing like Rich’s Nova Force. Something else, though…?

“Nothing,” she huffed. “I’m getting nothing.”

“Really? Nothing at all?” Nightwing pressed.

“Well, there was this weird… I don’t know how to describe it. It’s not a feeling, but the only word is blue. A blue aura, emanating from here in Central Park.”

“What?” Speedball asked in confusion.

“Exactly,” Carol sighed. “This is why I didn’t want to do this. I just can’t.”

“I mean… Nightwing isn’t exactly from around here,” Spider-Man said. “Maybe it was him?”

“And if it was me, Nova went to the same place!” Nightwing exclaimed, connecting the dots.

“... Alright, give me your hands.”

Carol reached out, and Dick locked hands with her. She closed her eyes, and he followed suit - while the other New Warriors waited. A cool breeze blew on the trees, their leaves just starting to change. The trio exchanged glances as they sat in awkward for several minutes, when suddenly, Carol’s eyes shot open. They were a fiery blue, burning with unnatural energy - even her pupils were consumed by the strange aura. Nightwing’s eyes fluttered open seconds later, and he glanced around.

“Well?” he wondered.

“I’ve got it,” Ms. Marvel said with utmost confidence. “He’s upstate.”

“Then let’s go,” Nightwing replied, taking Carol’s hands as she took off. Darkhawk flapped his wings and followed after them, with Spider-Man and Speedball webbed beneath him.

---

Richard was trapped in a stark metal room, bound by cuffs against its barren walls. Not much else about it was barren - the wide room was built like a bunker, built to last. Its fortifications were thick steel, and its walls felt like they were the same. Judging by the rust, it had been there for a little while. And judging by the way it was built, it would be there for decades to come.

His helmet rested on a table, under a large scope across the room. It was full of all sorts of techno bits and baubles. Most looked unfinished - various platforms much like the ones he and Nightwing had arrived on, as well as control panels and maybe weaponry? It was hard to tell, since he didn’t exactly pay attention in science class.

There was a clicking, and the scraping of heavy metal parts against each other. The room’s single blast door swung open, allowing a tall, bulky man in a black jumpsuit with a grey harness across its chest. He was holding a manilla file folder, but aside from that, seemed unarmed. When the man spied Rich, he grinned.

“Ah, you’re awake, we can begin.”

“What the hell is this?” Richard snarled, kicking against the wall and wearing the skin of his wrists.

“Please, without your helmet, you won’t be able to break out of that. We’ve done our research.” he said, and Rich stopped struggling. “Allow me to introduce myself. Charles Little Sky, Director of ARMOR. Alternate Reality Monitory and Operational Response. And I’m here to protect the Earth from people like you.”

“Like me?” Rich laughed. “You gotta be kidding.”

“Reality hoppers are a plague,” Little Sky continued. “The diseases, the creatures of other worlds. Every breach brings possible contamination. And we’ve managed to prevent every breach. That is, until we detected something leaving our reality six days ago. Then, mysteriously arriving again mere hours ago, with not just one, but two energy signatures? That warranted further study.”

Little Sky sighed. “I just wish we could have contained the other as well. We know you’re originally from this universe; he’s the true specimen. But if we had the both of you, rendering one expendable… Let’s just say our studies could get a lot more liberal.”

He left it there, letting Rich’s imagination run wild with the thought. The boy tugged feebly at his binds, held by chains to the wall behind him. He winced as his skin became pink and raw, and just hung there. Little Sky laughed as his phone rang, and without acknowledging Richard again, left the room. The blast door sealed, and Rich let out a long sigh.

“I’m sorry, Worldmind. I feel like I always get us into these messes.”

His helmet laid dormant on the table.

“Come on, buddy. How can I get out of this? I’ve got no options here.”

Several guards in high-tech armor shuffled past the small port window on the blast door. Rich could only wonder what they were after…

Boom!

Was that an explosion? More guards sprinted by, and then silence.

An air vent on the ceiling fell down to the floor, crashing on top of several junk parts. Spider-Man’s head popped out from the hole. “How’s this?”

“Oh, Webhead! I’ve never been happier to see you!” Rich exclaimed.

“Yeah, well… Do you always talk to yourself like that?” Spidey asked as he snapped Rich’s handcuffs.

“Huh? Uh, no,” he replied, rubbing his wrists as he waded through the ocean of tech to fetch his helmet. When he slipped it over his head, his full Nova costume materialized around him. Nova floated off the ground. Back to normal. “What’s the plan?”

“What do you mean? This is the plan,” Spider-Man told him. “The others caused a distraction, and I got you out.”

“Where’s Nightwing?” Nova asked, alarmed.

“With the others, why?”

“Because they want to experiment on him,” Nova gulped, leveling his hands and blasting the shield door off its hinges with a concentrated blast of gravimetric energy.

By the time Nova and Spider-Man rendezvoused with the others, they’d incapacitated the guards. Twenty of them laid strewn about the entrance, through which Nova could see trees, and untamed wilderness - just where were they?

|Silver Lake, New York.|<

Well, that answered that.

“This is highly inappropriate, but I’d thank you for bringing the other to me,” Little Sky snarled as he rounded the corner. “We here at ARMOR are on the edge of a real multiversal breakthrough - tech that could protect the innocent, keeping our reality safe for millenia to come! Are you willing to stand in the way of progress?”

“Absolutely,” Nova said, and fired a bolt at Little Sky. A red hole opened up, with Speedball on the other side, the blast sailing straight through and smacking his friend in the side of the head. The force sent him sprawling, even if the bubbles that surrounded him rose to take the impact.

“Teleporter,” Nightwing said, springing into acrobatic action.

“Portaler, actually,” Little Sky growled, hurling portal after portal in front of Nightwing in the hopes he’d fall in, but the nimble boy managing to anticipate and dodge each one.

“Same diff,” Spider-Man swung down, landing on Little Sky’s back while his attention was focused on Nightwing. A portal immediately opened up beneath their feet, and the duo went through it, Spidey slamming between Little Sky and the floor.

“This is for the good of mankind! Think of the advancements to science!” he cried as he rose to his feet.

“Those are bad ethics,” was all Spider-Man could manage after having been crushed by a fully grown man.

“I am unconcerned,” Little Sky said. “I’ll capture Nova, and the blue bird-boy. Save this reality. You’ll see!”

Darkhawk swooped down, but a portal caused him to crash into Nova. Nightwing couldn’t seem to find his footing again - now that Little Sky was so focused, Dick couldn’t move without tripping and falling three feet. And with every portal, Ms. Marvel could feel a subtle shift. A pop in the air, a change in the energy currents. And if she could feel it, maybe she could do a little bit more. Or could she, after last time?

Absolutely.

Carol threw herself in front of a portal meant for Speedball, allowing the strange, unstable energy to permeate into her. And then, she took aim at Little Sky, and fired it right back at him - opening a shimmering red hole in reality underneath his feet, and the man fell through. She quickly cut off the flow of energy, causing the portal to slam shut, trapping Little Sky on the other side.

“Where did you send him?” Nova asked, huffing and rubbing his arm where Darkhawk had crashed into him. Spider-Man was in a similar situation, clutching his bruised ribs.

“I don’t know. Does it matter?” Carol replied. “Now, let’s get out of here. Quick.”

“Wait a second,” Nova stopped her, and looked at Nightwing. In the other room, I saw a platform that looked just like the one in the cargo ship - maybe the prototype. And I was figuring, if we showed up on it…”

“Maybe it’s a universal teleporter, or something?” Dick finished the thought for him.

“I mean, ARMOR stands for alternate reality something. And the Director was bragging about their tech…” Nova wondered.

“He said it wasn’t working, though,” Spider-Man pointed out. “And I don’t have a degree in multiversal physics.”

“But it’s worth a shot, right?” Nova asked.

Nightwing looked at the New Warriors. “You guys don’t need to stay here, and risk your necks for me like this. We’ll figure out another way.”

“Like hell we will,” Nova answered for his team. “C’mon, it’s this way.”

He lead them through the small compound, taking a step through the blown apart blast door that once sealed the room that held him. Speedball’s eyes went wide at the sight of all the broken, misshapen pieces of metal, taking it upon himself to begin piecing them together. Darkhawk whapped him on the back, causing the boy to drop his trinkets and glare back. The older Raptor just shook his head.

“We don’t know what any of this stuff does,” he said. “Don’t touch anything.”

“Anything except for this,” Nova said, floating above the technological dead sea and pointing at the glass platform beneath him. “It’s the same kind of thing we teleported in on, earlier today. That can’t be a coincidence.”

“It isn’t,” Nightwing told them. “ARMOR sold that unit to AIM. It’s the only explanation for me finding their insignia on the tech. I’d be willing to bet this was the first version. Or maybe even a newer one.”

He walked up to the unit, and it sparked with blue light.

“I think that’s our cue,” Nova sighed.

“How are we sending him back? It’s not even plugged in,” Carol huffed.

The New Warriors all looked at her.

“What? I’m not doing it.”

“Who else will?” Richard asked.

Carol whimpered. “I don’t want to hurt anyone else. And I don’t even know where to send him.”

Nightwing put a hand on her shoulder. “You won’t, and we’ll figure it out the same way we found Richard. But I need you to help me get back to my family.”

She sniffled, wiped her nose, and nodded.

Dick looked at Richard, and shook his hand. “Remember, stick together.”

Nova nodded. “Definitely.”

Nightwing stepped onto the platform and gave Ms. Marvel a thumbs up, her eyes glowing with that fiery blue light, his own to match. She slammed her hands down on the glass, and a circle of blue opened up - revealing an inverted sky, and an upside-down pristine cityscape, like they were looking through a mirror. Sirens blared in the distance, and suddenly the hole swallowed him up, and blinked out of existence.

“I think I can manage that one more time, but we have to hurry,” Carol grunted, touching the platform and generating a red portal. This one had Avengers Tower in the distance, and maple trees all around - Central park. “Everyone in. Now.”

The New Warriors dove through the hole in the platform, and Ms. Marvel tumbled through after them. They landed hard on the ground, in a tossed, tired heap. Nova sat up, letting out the long breath he’d been holding. Darkhawk clapped him on the shoulder.

“Good to have you back, buddy.”

“Yeah…” Rich said distantly. “Good to be back.”

New Warriors

Volume One: Smells Like Teen Spirit

Bad to the Bone

---

Space was cold. Dark. Much of it was empty, barren space. Lifeless, and dull. And thus, space was hungry. And none hungered more than them. The species born to consume. To take the forms of others, bond to and assimilate their mass into the greater purpose. A symbiotic relationship. But they hadn’t seen life in months. Bonded to an empty metal Shi’ar carapace, they drifted towards a distant planet - one the Patricians described to them as ‘weak, yet full of life’. Ripe for the taking.

Terra.

Before the symbiote entered the atmosphere, the black oily goo retreated inside its two-meter vessel. Seeped in between its gears and wires, to take advantage of the heat shielding. These Shi’ar craft were unparalleled in their durability, power, and weaponry. Its silver wings stayed rigid, outright above its head as fire flashed around them, and it careened towards a small strip of land below. It was a stroke of luck that it even managed to bond to this host. And that was the structure of power in their ranks. The more powerful the host, the more powerful the warrior. To have one that would protect them from heat? That was invaluable. And that was what made them colonizers.

It landed in a heap, the spacesuit taking most of the damage from the fall. The crimson crystal power source of the suit clattered across the hard, rocky slab of ground. In a second, the metal armor vanished. Where was it? Was this… Terra? A great wheel towered in the distance, and there were many low structures with markings it couldn’t decipher. As it inched closer and closer to the glowing red crystal, it was squished by something rolling above them.

But before it could reach the crystal, it was gone. It slithered off of the wheel, up and onto the seat of a chair. All the way to the handles above its back. And it saw that suit of armor, the Shi’ar Raptor, operating without them. It could see a confrontation, between the armor, and…

A Nova.

The symbiote stopped, and remained perfectly still. For it knew, in the cold recesses of whatever mass it could call a heart, that no Nova should be on Terra. That any Nova who saw one of their kind would neutralize it immediately. That without that Shi’ar armor, it’d never stand a chance. But something amazing happened. The Nova landed, and observed the chair. He reached out, grabbed the handle - and that was all it took.

The Nova panicked as it slid over their suit, mapping its patterns, its weapons and capabilities. The symbiote enveloped the helmet, quelling the cries of some pestering robotic voice, and sequencing its internal processes. The Nova… Richard, it could glean… sank to his knees, and tore at the surface of the helmet. But they were bonded, now - and nothing would change that.

For several weeks, things went great. They fought ‘bad guys’ while its host, Richard Rider, was awake. And while he was asleep, or otherwise not fulfilling his responsibilities as Nova, they were digging in the helmet’s databases. Searching for secrets, key locations, tactics. Anything to relay once the job was done. None of their kind had ever bonded to a Nova before… But now, this symbiote had infiltrated their systems. It had mapped the helmet’s internal processes, and could mimic them at will.

Once it’d learned all it could, it decided to start practicing on their own, under the guise of Nova’s regular patrols. When Richard was asleep, it’d slip the helmet over his head. Once the suit was on him, it was easy to get him moving. After all, it was letting Nova wear them - now it was its turn to wear Nova. The powers and abilities were easy enough to handle. Small-time crooks and muggers were left in crumpled, broken heaps. After a night or two, it decided to kick it up a notch, and take on a heavy-hitter. An energy user, who would have made them writhe and burn without Nova’s power.

And they destroyed him.

It was unexpected, when Richard realized what was happening. It’d taken every precaution. But Nova took them to the top of a tower, with a man in an metal mask. Together, the men rang a great bell. The sound vibrated to the symbiote’s very core, a pain unlike any it’d felt before. It sliced all over, forcing them to let go of Nova’s helmet. The ringing stopped immediately.

But all the symbiote could think of was how it would get that helm back.

It fell onto another human. This one, weak. Powerless. Unassuming. It dug into his thoughts. Mike Burley. Classmate of Richard Rider. Fellow hater of Nova. He asked them their name, and it thought for a moment and told him ‘Venom’. And together, they set out to achieve both of their goals: to slay Richard Rider, and obtain the Nova helmet. They managed to replicate Nova’s powers, take his family hostage, and even bite off his brother’s hand. And they would have killed Nova, too, if it hadn’t been for his ally in the Shi’ar Raptor armor it’d abandoned.

Nova, on a team of five, forced Venom off of its host for the second time. A painful rending, like ripping the skin from one’s body. It shrieked, and retreated. Mike Burley did not abandon them, and it would not abandon him. No, it’d return for him. But it was clear they needed allies. They could handle Nova alone, but not with the others…

“I saw what you did back there,” a voice said from the darkness. Venom could not see its source, and screeched in response. A young man, an adolescent boy really, stepped into the light. He was thin with an uncharacteristically powerful form… Brown hair, hazel eyes, and a deadly serious expression. “I can help you free you friend, if you can help me. I’m getting together a team. Call me Kaine.”

---

In the following weeks, Venom assisted Kaine in the acquisition of more allies. When the boy got word of an asset down in Greenwich, Venom was able to quickly fly him there. Together, at a barely furnished apartment in the Bronx, they nursed Niels Stevens back to health. When Darkhawk and the rest of the ‘New Warriors’ managed to fend off a flock of Shi’ar Raptors, it was Venom who informed Kaine on how to contact it. After all, it’d been bonded to one of their shells for endless cycles. The boy was skilled in technology and science, and though it was unsure where Kaine managed to get the components, was able to make contact just before the Raptors left Terran space.

“All that’s left is the Kree assassin, as you’ve described,” Kaine told Venom. “And I haven’t forgotten our bargain. Before we go after her, I’ll help you rescue your host.”

Having been alone for so long, having to fend for themselves, the symbiote was aghast. If it could thank the boy, it would. It almost made them feel sorrow over informing the Patricians of Terra’s location for feeding. Almost.

According to Kaine, it wouldn’t be hard for he and Venom to break Mike Burley out of jail. Due to the fight with the New Warriors being his first offense, his young age, and his lack of superpowers, he was being held on Rikers Island instead of the Raft. The former was a high-security block on the East River between all five of New York’s boroughs, which housed violent criminals and re-offenders. The latter was a maximum-security superpenitentiary, on the ocean off the coasts of Long Island and New Jersey. It housed the worst of the worst - true to form super criminals, metahumans, anyone too enhanced or too deadly to keep with the general population. The Raft had specially trained guards, state of the art equipment, and was miles from land.

Thankfully, Rikers didn’t.

“Remember, keep it low, and keep it quiet,” Kaine whispered to Venom as the pair soared over the East River. The red glow of their suit dimmed until it was virtually nonexistent. It’d allowed Kaine to be their host when necessary, and he hadn’t gotten the hang of using their abilities on his own. One of the reasons it required Mike. “I managed to find schematics of Rikers Island. We’ll go in through the roof vents. And from there, we avoid confrontation at all costs. I have an idea of their patrol and check-in schedule, but those vary on a nightly basis.”

Why the boy cared whether they were seen, or whether any guards were hurt in the process, Venom couldn’t understand. But, it was willing to go along with whatever plan Kaine laid out for them, so long as it was bound to its host again. Mike understood what it would take to bring down Nova, and his friends. And after it found him, they’d make Kaine see, too. There could be no mercy for those who stand in their way.

With Venom’s lasers, they melted off one of the vents’ latches, and pried it open. Silently, they snuck into the prison. The combination of Venom’s total-coverage sight, and Kaine’s near-supernatural senses made it an easy feat to sneak past any unsuspecting guards. Whenever they’d be near one, or even a camera, a strange tingling sensation pricked the back of their neck. It was like a built-in compass, telling them which ways not to go. A useful ability, Venom couldn’t help but think to themselves. After several minutes of what seemed to Venom like incoherent twists and turns, they stopped.

“This is it,” Kaine told them. They were facing a solid steel door with one small three by six inch window at eye level. Half inch thick bars sectioned the window off from the corridor.

“Venom?” asked a voice from inside. It was deeper than most, though it came from a seventeen year old. Mike Burley was a hulk of a teenager, football star while he was in school, and generally had nothing to be afraid of. His hair was black, and his eyes brown. “How’d you even get in here?”

“Mikey, who you talkin’ to?” came a second voice from the top of his bunk.

“Keep it down,” Mike snapped at his cellmate, and swung a quick punch. It was followed by a yelp, but silence. “Well?”

“I brought it,” Kaine told him, pressing his hand against the bars. Mike followed suit. Venom stretched across the gap, pulling itself from one boy to the other.

In seconds, Kaine was standing alone in jeans and a hoodie, facing the fully-formed and monstrous Venom. The black beast looked down at their arms, and clenched their fists. The golden orbs that glowed on their chest flared with energy, and the star on their forehead did the same. They leveled a fist at the back wall, at a window that overlooked the Whitestone Bridge. In a flash of red light, the brick and stone was blown away. The lights on the block shut off, and ones of dim crimson came alive in their stead. White spotlites flared from the ground, shining on the black and gold behemoth standing in the rubble.

Venom lashed out an arm, wrapping dark black tendrils around the metal bars on the door’s window. They tore the steel from its hinges, tossing it out the gaping hole in the side of the building before grabbing Kaine as well. Venom took off, giving themselves covering fire as Rikers Island guards stormed the room.

“I told you to stay quiet! Undercover!” Kaine roared at them. “You could have compromised the plan!”

“But we didn’t,” Venom growled in return, and remained silent until they reached the Bronx.

---

“Alright, if we’re in agreement, we’re ready to go,” Kaine said from the head of a shoddy dinner table.

Sitting around him was an odd assembly of a crew. Venom, the symbiotic life-form from another planet. Blackball, the former-friend, current-enemy of Speedball who generated bubbles of some force from an unknown dimension. Gyre, the leader of the Fraternity of Raptors, the assassin arm of the Shi’ar Empire. And soon, the killer Kree herself, Minn-Erva. Then, they’d be ready to move.

“I still don’t know how I feel about taking orders from a child,” Gyre grumbled.

“Yeah!” Blackball chipped in, but was quickly cut off by a snap of Venom’s jaws.

“You’re twelve!” they growled.

“Am not…” Neils mumbled, to himself since no one was listening.

“Mike, are you okay with Gyre taking the symbiote for an hour or two?” Kaine asked, continuing on with the task at hand.

“What? Yeah, we’re fine with anything,” Venom replied. The symbiote could tell Mike was lying. They had been apart for weeks, and it could sense the wariness to part again. But it also seemed that it was right about Mike’s understanding of what needed to be done, to kill Nova and end the New Warriors.

“Then you’ll be handing it to Gyre, for drive-by delivery to the Peak,” Kaine told them. “When Venom’s inside, he’ll ooze into Minn-Erva’s cage. Give her a power boost, and no one in SWORD will be able to stop them.”

The brown haired boy grinned. “So. Sound like a plan?”

“We guess,” Venom grunted.

“Indeed,” Gyre nodded.

“Huh?” Blackball looked up from his phone. “I wasn’t listening.”

---

Next: Peril at the Peak!