First Federal Bank, New York City, where Robbie Baldwin a.k.a. the young hero called Speedball bounds through the roof of the bank, kinetic energy bubbling around him, ‘Well, lookit lookit! I arrived just in time!’ he exclaims as he lands on the floor beside the villain called Boomerang, who has one of his boomerang weapons around the neck of a hostage. ‘Oh, for crying out loud. I didn’t break outta Seagate Prison to be taken down by some kid’ Boomerang mutters. ‘Some kid? Some kid? Boomeranng, mah bruthu, you wound me!’ Speedball exclaims as he bounds back into the air, boasting that he is not just “some kid”, but Speedball, the Masked Marvel. He calls himself the stopper of crimes and lover of women. ‘Hear me roar!’ Speedball declares as he lands several feet away from Boomerang.
In the blaze of color that was emitted during the bounce, Boomerang loses his grip over the hostage, who quickly rushes away. ’If we’re done with the intros…’ Boomerang begins as he arches his arm back, ready to toss his weapon, he declares that he will just skip to the part he slices Speedball’s head off with his blade-rang. ’No, no, we still have to do the part where I show off my nifty powers’ Robbie replies as he releases his kinetic field in front of himself, protecting the hostages behind him. By doing this, the kinetic field sucks the velocity out of Boomerang’s “little toy” as Speedball calls it, and the blade-rang falls to the floor.
Speedball uses this moment to burst towards Boomerang, telling him that it is all about the bouncing, and lands in front of Boomerang, and bashes his head against Boomerang’s, knocking the villain to the floor. ‘and that is what I call a head butt’ Speedball tells one of the hostages who approaches him. ‘Wow, that was incredible. So are the rest of the New Warriors on their way?’ the woman asks, while the security personnel surround the motionless Boomerang. ‘Ma’am…the New Warriors don’t exist’ Speedball replies, frowning.
Bounding off into the open air, dodging the many skyscrapers around the city, ‘But I have a plan to remedy that situation. And soon’ Speedball thinks to himself, deciding that he should never have let the group drift apart in the first place. ‘Thrash is going to school in Seattle…Rage is going to some posh boarding school on Staten Island…what’s with this sudden bout of academia, anyway?’ Robbie wonders. Bounding onwards, he reminds himself that Vance and Angel are Avengers now, but that they were Warriors first. He recalls that Nova turned him down when he asked him about restarting the team, but Robbie decides that he isn’t finished with Nova, with any of them. Speedball tells himself that the others have to miss it as much as he does. ‘We had a good thing going there’ he adds, before deciding to make a few phone calls and knock on a few doors, then the Warriors will be back in action. ‘And just wait’ll they see my new look!’ he tells himself, contemplating a costume change.
Meanwhile, in the East New York neighbourhood of Brooklyn, two young boys are spray painting the side of a wall down an alleyway. ‘Oh yeah? Well, I saw him talking to Captain America, Lester!’ one of the boys exclaims. ‘Shut up, Payton. Aegis don’t have time to talk to no Captain America’ Lester replies, boasting that he saw him hanging with Thor and Iron Man the other day. ‘Whatever, man’ Payton mutters, before declaring that his mom says Aegis is a hero, that she says he is making it so she can walk home from church all be herself at night. Lester declares that his brother knows a guy who runs with a gang and that he says they are all afraid of Aegis. Lester looks up and boasts that nothing can hurt the guy, not bullets, not knives, not nothing. ‘So what do you think? You think he’d like it?’ Lester asks as he and Payton step back from their spray painting, and admire the large “Aegis” that they have scrawled on the brick, unaware that someone is standing on a dumpster behind them, watching them.
At Avengers Mansion, home of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. ‘NOOOO!’ Speedball exclaims as he dodges several metal balls that are thrown his way in the training room. Angelica Jones a.k.a. Firestar melts one of them with her microwave energies, ‘You can’t turn me down! Firestar and Justice are the heart and soul of the Warriors! If you guys come back, everything else will fall into place!’ Speedball tells his friend. Angelica tells him that she knows the Warriors are important to him, before telling him that his new costume looks great, but points out that she can Vance are Avengers now, and that they like it here. ‘Not to mention the fact - that it’s always been my dream to be an Avenger. Remember the day we all met, fighting Terrax?’ the injured Vance “Justice” Astro calls out from the control booth.
Vance reminds Angelica and Robbie that it was the very same day that he tried out for Avengers membership and got turned down. ‘I’ve worked too hard to get where I am now’ he adds. Firestar melts another weapon and assures Robbie that the Warriors will always be some of her best friends, but that the Avengers have taught her a lot about being a hero. Vance tells Angel that she has melted the last of the balls and that the work out session is over. Propped up by crutches, his left leg in a cast, Vance tells Speedball that he knows the Warriors are still very important to them. ‘I want you to hear that, Robbie. You’re like one of the family. You’ll still see us, buddy. We’ll still get together to hang out’ Justice assures him.
‘Sure. I understand. We’ll hang out. Sounds great. I’ve…ah…I’ve gotta get going’ Robbie calls out, he turns and thanks his friends for letting him work out with them. ‘I’ll see you around’ he tells them, while muttering ‘Sell-outs’. Angelica asks Vance if he heard that, but Vance tells her that Robbie didn’t mean it, that this is just hard on him, but that he will pull through.
Meantime, at the Genetech Research Facility in Sayville, Long Island. Three scientists are in a large laboratory, where a portal has been constructed. ‘Testing…testing…one…two…is this thing on?’ Dr Walter Rosen mutters into his Dictaphone, stating the date as Wednesday August 4th, 1999, and that he is the Chief Executive Officer of Genetech. ‘Hey, Rudy, how come he always gets to talk?’ ‘Cuz he’s “Chief Executive Officer”. Didn’t you hear him?’ Dr Casciola points out as he stands beside the portal. Dr Rosen asks Dr Casciola and Dr Rudy to be quiet, before he continues with his dictating. He states that afte seven months of testing and calibrating, his research team and he are finally prepared to test their latest project - an inter-dimensional gateway. Dr Rosen explains that he was inspired by Dr Reed Richards’ exploration and documentation of the so-called “Negative Zone”, and hoped to similarly pioneer an as-yet undiscovered alternate dimension.
Dr Rosen asks Dr Rudy to give him their observations of the portal. ‘I get to talk now? Cool’ Dr Rudy remarks, while stating that he has been observing the gateway for exactly ten minutes now, and that its pattern has remained consistent and uniform up until three minutes ago, as something is disrupting it. He turns back to the portal and touches it while beginning ‘Closer examination reveals - hey…hey, wait second!’ he shouts as the portal opens, and a large alien emerges. ‘What is this? This must be Earth! AGAIN!’ the alien shouts, before introducing himself as Blastaar the Living Bomb Burst, ruler of the planet Baluur, and ruler of Earth. He looks at Dr Rosen and Dr Rudy and asks ‘Why are you creatures not bowing before me? Do you seek to anger your new sovereign?’ Dr Casciola suddenly calls out ‘No…no! If we do as you say, you won’t hurt us, right?’, but Blastaar declares that he makes no promises, and fires a charge of energy at him. Dr Rosen and Dr Rudy drop to their knees, and Blastaar smiles: ‘Much better’.
Elsewhere, specifically the Oatridge School for Boys on Staten Island. Elvin “Rage” Haliday uses his incredible strength to pull a tree from its roots in the ground, while local students gather around to watch. ‘Sorry, dude, but I don’t think I can rejoin the team right now’ Elvin tells Robbie who stands near him. ‘Elvin, come on. You got a better offer or something?’ Robbie asks. ‘Don’t tell me…you’re joining the Avengers too?’ he mutters. Rage points out that he was a member once, until they found out he was underage, despite how big he is. Elvin sets the tree down on the ground and points out that is ancient history, adding that back when he was Rage he had a lot of anger inside him. ‘You don’t say…’ Robbie remarks. Elvin points out that the Warriors were a good outlet for his frustration with the world around him.
Elvin tells Robbie that he is more at peace with things now, like school, and that he is even allowed to use his powers to help out around the school, like with this old stump. ‘Heh. I’m kind of a celebrity, even’ he adds, motioning to the kids who are standing around watching. ‘Heeey…if I turn into Speedball will flocks of girls in those cute little uniform skirts mob me?’ Robbie asks. ‘Um, this is a school for boys’ Elvin points out. ‘Dude, I gotta teach you how to take advantage of this celebrity thing!’ Robbie exclaims.
Meanwhile, at New York’s Port Authority nus terminal, the young mutant called Bolt, a.k.a. Chris Bradley walks through the large terminal and thinks to himself ‘Okay, hotshot, you came all the way to the Big Apple from your safe, comfortable life in Florida. Now what?’, before deciding that he has to find a job and a place to live - not to mention make a super hero costume. ‘Gee…Chris, the possibilities are endless’ he tells himself, when suddenly, he turns as a voice calls out to him: ‘Chris Bradley!’, and an instant later, a young woman jumps at him, wrapping her arms and legs around his body, she kisses his lips. ‘Donna! I told you you didn’t have to meet me here!’ Chris exclaims, dropping his duffel bag in surprise. ‘My boyfriend has decided to run away from home and live in the same city I do, and I’m not supposed to meet him at the bus station? Yeah…right’ Donna Fumaro replies.
‘Okay, okay, point taken already’ Chris tells Donna as she drops to the ground. ‘It’s really great to see you, honey. I missed you’ Chris adds, before Donna, wrapping her arms around Chris’ neck, asks him if he is sure he is doing the right thing, coming to New York to play super hero is a big step, she points out. Chris reminds Donna that he is a mutant, and tells her that it is either hide, like he was doing with his family in Florida, or face the hand life dealt him head on, and try to use his powers to leave this world better off than he found it. After picking up his duffel bag, they hold hands as they walk through the terminal, and Chris points out that, either way, he doesn’t have much of a shot at a normal life anymore. He tells Donna that everyone from the old neighborhood treated him like an alien when they found out he was a mutant - everyone except her.
‘Oh, I think you’re an alien, too. I’ve just god a thing for aliens’ Donna jokes. Chris tells her that she is the best, and leans in to kiss her, but an electrical charge radiates from his mouth, ‘OUCH!’ Donna exclaims, pulling away, she tells Chris that he shocked her. Chris tells Donna that he is sorry, and explains that the disease, the Legacy Virus screws up his powers, that it makes them hard to control. ‘They flare up at the most…inopportune…times’ he adds. Donna tells Chris that is the reason why he should not be on his own right now, that he needs someone to take care of him. ‘That’s why I have you’ Chris replies, adding that his parents tried to do the right thing by moving them all down to Florida to hide them from anti-mutant haters.
Chris adds that when he was with the X-Men, he learned that pulling the covers over your head is no way to fight your fears. Chris points out that the best way to improve mutant / human relations is to get out in the public eye and try to change things. ‘Guys like Beast and Quicksilver and Justice…being mutants didn’t stop them from being accepted as heroes’ he declares, before putting his arm around Donna as they carry on walking through the terminal. Donna asks Chris if he is dead-set on this super hero thing, to which Chris replies that he is afraid so. ‘Then I guess it’s time to go shopping for some tights, huh?’ Donna asks, and they both smile.
Meantime, at the Power residence, on New York’s Upper West Side. ‘…so, Alex, whattya say?’ Speedball asks as he stands before Alex “Powerhouse” Power, who floats above him on the roof of the Power residence. ‘Gee, Robbie, last time I joined the Warriors it nearly tore Power Pack apart’ Alex points out, reminding Robbie that his brother and sisters were always ticked off at him for stealing the super powers the aliens gave them. He adds that he tried explaining to them that he was doing it to protect them, but they weren’t buying that. He reveals that his parents saw how they were always fighting and made them see a child psychologist. ‘Oogie’ Speedball mutters. ‘Yeah, that’s what I saw’ Alex replies.
Speedball tells Alex that at least he isn’t still mad at the Warriors for ruining Power Pack’s spaceship, to which Alex replies that it took a while, but he got over it. Suddenly, the door to the building roof opens and the youngest Power sibling, Katie, emerges, informing Alex that it is time for dinner, before she suddenly sees Speedball, and shouts ‘Oh no. You’d better now be joining those New Warriors again. I’ll tell Mom!’ she warns her brother. Alex turns to her and assures her that his not joining the New Warriors, and tells her to save it. Katie then smiles and tells Speedball that she will join if he needs help. Speedball smirks back and thanks Katie, telling her he will keep her in mind.
High over Manhattan, Michiko “Mickey” Musashi a.k.a. Turbo has arrived at the scene of warehouse fire. As she drops towards the fire, she tells herself that if her parents don’t lay off about finding a boyfriend she is going to disown them. ‘Why can’t they understand that I’m happy without a man in my life?’ she wonders. Down below, firemen have gathered, and one of them remarks that they don’t know what is burning in there, but that it must be some kind of accelerant, as they cannot get the upper hand. Turbo lands beside the chief fireman and introduces herself, asking if she can help. “Turbo”? the fire chief replies, before telling her that he has never heard of her, but that he is not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. ‘You know anything about fighting a fire?’ he enquires.
‘I’m a fast learner’ Mickey tells him as she takes to the air, hovering above the warehouse, while thinking to herself that since she reconfigured the armor, she has gotten better at controlling the turbines. She begins to create a cyclone, which she hopes will suck the oxygen and fire right out of the building. Turbo knows she has to keep the cyclone contained so that it doesn’t tear up the street or endanger any of the firemen. She releases the powerful cyclone down towards the warehouse, and in spectacular display the cyclone bursts into the warehouse, but shortly, various items from inside are sucked back out, as the cyclone is so powerful. Turbo tells herself it is a good thing she aimed the mouth of the cyclone towards the river. ‘Woo! Lookit her go!’ one of the firemen calls out. ‘Thanks, Turbine! We can take it from here!’ the chief calls out. ‘You see that? That’s one of the X-Men, I think!’ another remarks.
Elsewhere, Dwayne Taylor a.k.a. Night Thrasher tells Speedball over the phone that he cannot help him right now, as he is tied up with his work at the Maria Stark Foundation. ‘Wait a second…I thought you were gonna be working at Stark-Fujikawa’ Speedball replies. ‘Hm? Oh. Yeah. Right. Stark-Fujikaka. That’s what I meant’ Dwayne replies oddly. ‘This is priceless. Night Thrasher’s working so hard he forgets the name of the company’ Speedball mutters, before asking Dwayne if he is saying “No”. ‘Afraid so’ Dwayne replies, to which Robbie suggests they make a road trip out to Seattle to visit him, to which Dwayne frowns and replies that would not be a good idea right now. ‘Like I said, I’m really busy. But, I’ll call you, okay? Take it easy’ he tells Speedball, trying to end the phone call.
Later, Speedball bounds behind former New Warrior Chris Powell a.k.a. Darkhawk, who tells Robbie that he doesn’t have the time, as his grades are slipping and he really needs to bring them up or else. ‘Darkhawk, my man, I know the feeling. Gotta keep the ‘rents happy’ Speedball replies, referring to parents, while telling Chris to come by the Crashpad when he gets the chance. ‘And raid your fridge? You know it, dude’ Chris tells him.
Shortly, inside a church, Speedball meets with another former New Warrior, Tandy Bowen a.k.a. Dagger, while her partner Tyrone “Cloak” Johnson stands nearby. Tandy tells Robbie that she can’t commit herself to the Warriors, as she and Cloak are a team. Speedball replies that he understands, and assures her that he doesn’t want to come between the two of them, before asking if Cloak would want to join the team as well. From under his hood, Cloak just frowns back at Speedball, who remarks ‘Er…I’ll take that as a “no”’.
Later still, Speedball turns and frowns as the Slingers Ricochet and Hornet laugh at him, while their teammates Prodigy and Dusk stand motionless behind them. ‘Note to self: cross the Slingers off our Christmas card list’ Robbie tells himself.
Back at the abandoned Manhattan factory that doubles as the Warriors’ Crashpad, Robbie sits slumped over the large computer station, and sighs, telling himself that this is going nowhere fast. ‘Where’s Katie Powers’ phone number?’ he wonders, before deciding to look at the contestants once more. Images of Nova, Namorita and himself appear on screen. Suddenly, ‘Well, I thought of it first’ a voice calls out. ‘Hunh? Who goes there?’ Robbie calls out, spinning around, he then sees Richard Rider a.k.a. Nova and the Atlantean Namorita drop down through an opening in the roof. ‘Hey, Toothpick. Just wanted to stop by and see how you’re doing’ Nova tells his friend, adding that he knows he really wants to get the Warriors back together, and heard he is having no luck.
‘And that’s why I was coming over, too. To make sure you’re all right’ Namorita declares, frowning at Nova. Namorita continues to dig at Nova, telling him that it is nice to see him stick by his friends. ‘What a great trait for a person to have’ she adds, before muttering ‘Too bad you couldn’t display it when I needed you, back when I was mutating again’. Nova tells his ex-girlfriend that he has had enough of her guilt trips, that it isn’t doing either of them any good. He apologizes to her for not being there when she needed him, and assures her that it is eating him up inside.
‘HEY!’ Speedball shouts, slamming a fist down onto the console. ‘Is there a reason you two are here?’ he asks Rich and Namorita. ‘Um…we wanted to cheer you up’ Nova replies, turning back to Speedball. ‘Yeah’ Namorita agrees. ‘Oh, I like this tactic of tearing each other’s heads off, sure turned my frown upside-down’ Robbie mutters. Nova and Namorita realize what they have done, and there is silence, before Nova asks them what is with them having new costumes. Speedball walks over to his friends and leans against a railing, explaining that he needed a new look, that you have to keep current if you want to keep being the idol of millions. ‘I just got tired of feeling like a walking Sports Illustrated cover’ Namorita remarks, referring to her bathing suit costume, now replaced by a white two-piece with fish-net additions.
‘Fine, be that way’ Nova remarks, pointing out that his costume responds to his thoughts, so he can play too, and an instant later, his costume is re-designed, featuring a sleeker blue and gold look. ‘Not bad, Bucket-Head -’ Speedball begins, when the phone begins to ring. ‘Dominos’ Robbie jokes as he answers the phone. ‘What? Yeah, Mr Rosen, it’s Speedball. Slow down’ he tells the caller, Dr Rosen. ‘Whoa…okay, okay. You did the right thing in calling us. We’re on out way!’ he announces.
Seconds later, Nova and Namorita fly back out through the opening in the rooftop, and Speedball bounds behind them. ‘Blastaar, huh? Maybe we should call the Fantastic Four. They’ve fought him before’ Namorita suggests, but Nova declares that they can handle this on their own. The trio continue on down between the towering buildings, and Speedball smiles, ‘Yeah, baby! YEAH!’ he shouts, exclaiming ‘See, Bucket-Head? Feels good to be doing this again, doesn’t it? This is an omen! The Warriors weren’t meant to die!’ But Nova glances at Speedball and tells him to chill out, that this does not mean the team is back together again.
Suddenly, Turbo approaches her former teammates, announcing that she listened in on the call via her helmet radio, and thought she would pitch in. ‘The the more the merrier, Turbo. Just make it clear to the Toothpick here that you’re not rejoining the team’ Nova tells her. ‘Sure, sure…you say that now’ Speedball smiles.
Back at Genetech, Blastaar stands on the outside of the building, ‘Where are the Fantastic Four? Where are the Avengers? Surely this ball of waste still has someone who sees fit to try to oppose me’ he boasts, when suddenly, he sees four figures approach him, descending from above. ‘At last, my opposition arrives’ he tells himself, releasing a blast of energy, he shouts ‘Come, so that you may fall all the more swiftly’ he calls out. ‘Whoa, spread out!’ Turbo tells everyone as they all dodge the blast. ‘Blue blazes!’ Nova gasps. ‘Are you still saying that?’ Namorita mutters.
Blastaar is unimpressed, and shouts ‘This is an indignity! I am Blastaar, ruler of Baluur! Earth now sends pups against me? I have conquered more world’s than you have ever dared dream exist!’, this angers Nova, who flies towards Blastaar, ‘PUPS? Pups? We’re big enough to take you down, you ugly freak!’ Nova shouts. ‘Prove it’ Blastaar declares as he releases two powerful surges of energy at close range, knocking Nova backwards. ‘Nova!’ Namorita calls out as he is knocked back so far, that he goes all the way to the city. ‘Oh my God!’ Turbo utters, while Speedball declares that Nova is gonna wish he was the one with bounding powers. There is a THUD as Nova lands in in an alleyway - where the boys Lester and Payton are hanging out. ‘Whoa…that’s gotta hurt’ one of them remarks, while the other points out that Nova is still breathing.
Back on the sprawling grounds around Genetech, ‘Pee-euw! You guys are better off attacking Blastaar from a safe distance - he smells when you get too close!’ Speedball tells the girls as he bounds towards the villain, and lands on him, before jumping upwards. ‘Gnat! I’ll -’ Blastaar begins, but he is interrupted by Turbo, who flies towards him and exclaims ‘You’ll suck air is what you’ll do!’ as she fires a powerful turbine at him. Blastaar falls to the ground, ‘Humph. You pups are rather tenacious’ he mutters, while Namorita closes in and punches him in the face, asking if he still wishes the Fantastic Four had shown up. ‘Hardly’ Blastaar retorts as he smacks Namorita hard across the field, where she lands at the base of a tree.
‘Vicious little thing, I’ll -’ Blastaar begins as he prepares to fire a blast at Namorita, but she suddenly vanishes. Before he can compose himself further, the alien screams in agony as a blast of microwave energy strikes him from above - courtesy of Firestar, who along with Justice, drops down to the battle. ‘Hope you guys don’t mind a couple of friends horning in on your action’ Firestar calls out. She begins to add that she told Justice he should be letting his leg heal, but her fiancée interrupts, telling her that the Avengers may be able to remove him from the active roster, but that they cannot stop him from helping out his friends. ‘Yes! Yes! YES!’ Speedball grins.
Not far from the Genetech Research Facility, A police blockade prevents Chris and Donna from driving any closer. Donna turns to Chris and tells him that she knew they would let them get this close to the fight, as the police have to block off the roads, or else everyone who heard about the fight on the radio would be here. ‘But this is the perfect chance for me to make my debut as a super hero!’ Chris tells his girlfriend. A police officer approaches Donna and tells her that she is going to have to turn back, as there is a super-villain on the loose. ‘The Avengers are on the scene, though. Nothing to worry about’ he adds.
Chris tells Donna to turn around and go back the way they came, as he has a plan. ‘Why does that worry me?’ Donna replies, and once they have driven a stretch down the road, Donna pull over to the sidewalk at Chris’s direction. Chris gets out of the car, duffel bag over his shoulder. ‘This is a bad idea. I don’t want you to get hurt’ Donna tells him. Chris reminds her that the Avengers are there, and points out that they won’t let him get hurt. ‘I’ll just throw a few zaps and impress them’ he assures her, before announcing that he will cut through the woods on foot, and that he will call her tonight. ‘Watch for me on the news’ Chris adds. ‘Famous last words’ Donna tells him.
Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, a young man wearing a golden chest plate stands over the fallen Nova. ‘So, this has gotta be embarrassing, huh?’ he asks. ‘You okay, um…?’ he queries, unsure of who the young super hero is. ‘Nova. My name’s Nova’ Rich replies as he sits up, rubbing his head. ‘Right. Nova. You okay?’ the young man asks, while Lester and Payton hang around nearby. Nova replies that he will live, and announces that he has to get back to the fight and help his friends. ‘Whoa…a fight? Like, with a super-villain? That rocks!’ one of the boys exclaims, before suggesting that if they need help, then Aegis can help, as he is a super hero, too.
Nova turns to the young man in the chest plate and remarks ‘That would explain the get-up’ before asking him if he has powers. ‘I’d rather not…’ Aegis begins, to which one of the boys throws their baseball at him, and exclaims ‘He sure does have powers! Check this out! Nothing can hurt him. Stuff just bounces off!’ Nova turns to Aegis and tells him that is not bad, before asking if it is a force field, and how powerful it is. ‘Beats me’ Aegis replies, before explaining that nothing has been able to hurt him so far, and that he has been shot at plenty of times. ‘Come on, Nova! You gotta let Aegis help you!’ one of the boys declares. ‘Yeah, you gotta!’ the other exclaims.
Back at Genetech, another of Turbo’s turbine blasts smack into Blastaar, but at the same time, Firestar tried to hit him with another burst of microwave energy. ‘I’ve got - hey!’ Firestar exclaims. ‘Look out! Firestar, I had him!’ Turbo replies. Justice tells the girls that they have got the right idea, but that they are not used to working together anymore. ‘We’re out of practice. We need to coordinate our attacks’ Justice states. Speedball smiles and exclaims that Justice is getting it done. ‘I missed you, man!’ he adds, while Namorita rematerializes on top of Blastaar, attacking him, she wonders what it takes to knock this guy down. ‘More than you can muster, child’ Blastaar boasts, but as Namorita touches him, he grabs her and throws her away, ‘ARGH! Your touch - it burns!’ he shouts.
After landing on the grass nearby, Namorita wonders how she did that, while Justice hovers overhead, and telekinetically moves some large rocks down towards Blastaar. He tells Namorita to hang tight while he lays down some cover fire, but before Vance can drop the rocks, Blastaar shatters them into rubble with a burst of energy. An instant later though, the alien cries out in agony as surges of energy race through him. ‘Is there room for one more at this party?’ Chris asks, releasing his electrical energy at Blastaar, he is dressed in a purple and white costume. ‘Who’s this dude?’ Speedball asks. Under strain thanks to the Legacy Virus, Chris introduces himself as Bolt, before telling everyone to take cover, ‘I can’t control it!’ he shouts as his energies surge about around him, creating several small fires.
‘Yo! You guys haven’t beaten him yet? What, I gotta do everything myself?’ Nova calls out as he appears overhead, carrying Aegis, Nova announces that he can help. ‘Great. The more the merrier!’ Justice calls out, before telling the young heroes that they have got to start fighting like a team and stop trying to take Blastaar down individually. Vance tells Turbo to see what she can do about putting out the fires. ‘On it!’ Mickey calls out as she releases another powerful surge of wind, while thinking to herself that this is her second fire in one day, so she will have to become a certified fire-fighter.
Nova turns to Namorita and asks her if she is okay, pointing out that she looks kinda woozy. Looking up at Nova with a bruise forming around her left eye, Namorita replies that she as taken worse beatings. ‘Let’s put this guy down. Hard’ she declares. ‘Just like old times’ Nova tells her as they fly towards the alien, they both punch him at the same time, knocking him backwards. ‘Yes! Teamwork. That is what I’m talking about!’ Justice exclaims, while Bolt continues to lose control over his power. ‘That dude’s conna catch something on fire again’ Aegis remarks, before approaching Bolt and suggesting that he can absorb the excess energy. The electrical charges radiate towards Aegis, and his plan works, but after absorbing the energy, Aegis is not able to hold it.
‘Okay then, let’s do what we do best!’ Speedball exclaims as he, Firestar and Turbo ready themselves. ‘You said it, Speedy - Warriors - let him have it!’ Justice shouts as he, Speedball, Firestar and Turbo release their formidable powers, while Aegis lets loose the power he absorbed from Bolt, all striking Blastaar, and rendering him unconscious, he falls to the ground, the energies smouldering over him. ‘YES!’ Speedball exclaims as he jumps into the air. ‘In your face, Blastaar! We did it!’ Robbie exclaims. ‘Okay…so we knocked him out,. Now what do we do with him?’ Turbo asks. Dr Roman and Dr Rudy approach the young heroes, and one of them suggests that they could re-open the portal to the Negative Zone and send Blastaar back. ‘Only your teammate - the fellow with the electricity - knocked out the power to our facility’ he explains.
Justice suggests that Aegis could channel Bolt’s energy again, into the building’s generator, as that would provide enough power for the portal. ‘Great idea, but that doesn’t answer the question of what we do with Blastaar’ Namorita points out, reminding her friends that the guy is a tyrant, and that he was boasting about what a hard-case he is. ‘Is it right for us to send him back to a world he ruled with an iron thumb? What about all the people he’d oppress?’ she asks. The heroes all gather together as Nova suggests the Seagate, or one of the other prisons outfitted to hold super humans. ‘We could lock him up’ he points out. ‘That’s the way it works, isn’t it?’ However, Firestar wonders if they have that right, considering that Blastaar is not a citizen of this country, or of this world, really. ‘What gives us the right to imprison him like that?’ Firestar asks her friends.
Justice suggests that they call the Avengers, pointing out that they are more familiar with this kind of thing. ‘No way! We don’t need their help. We can handle this ourselves!’ Nova exclaims. ‘Bucket-Head’s right!’ Speedball agrees. ‘Um, we could just kill him’ Aegis suggests. The others all turn to him and frown. ‘What? It’s the only way to be sure he never torments anyone again’ Aegis points out. Nova goes over to Aegis and tells him that as he is new to this, he will try to make allowances, ‘But if you wanna be a hero - ther are certain rules to follow. There are lines you just don’t cross. It’s what separates us from them’ he explains. Speedball asks if anyone has any ideas that don’t involve capital crimes, to which Namorita announces that she thinks she has it, and holding up a device, points out that it is a map to the negative zone. ‘Well, let’s get the portal up and running, and I’ll tell you what we’ll do with Blastaar’.
Later, at the portal inside Genetech, Bolt casts his electrical energies upon Aegis, who reflects it towards the technology, while telling Bolt not to give him too much, as he can only channel so much of it at a time. Someone announces that it is working, as the energy starts up the technology that opens the portal. ‘The Toothpick was right. This guy does stink’ Nova mutters as he drags Blastaar to the portal. ‘You know what to do, right? You know the plan?’ Namorita asks him. Nova assures her that he knows what to do, and as he enters the portal with Blastaar, tells Namorita that he won’t let her down again.
Later still, Speedball, Namorita, Turbo, Firestar, Justice, Aegis, Bolt and the scientists have gathered in the laboratory, and Namorita asks if it is too soon to start worrying. Speedball declares that Bucket-Head will get the job done, as has been doing this longer than any of them. ‘Like he’d let us forget’ Namorita mutters, before Speedball calls out ‘While we’re all here…didn’t it feel good to be doing this again - as a team?’, to which Bolt announces that he has never been part of a team before, but that it did feel cool. ‘See? Sparky over here’s got the right idea. All of us showing up here can’t be a coincidence. It’s a sign!’ Speedball exclaims.
Suddenly, ‘Hey, guys! So who missed me?’ Nova calls out as he flies back into the lab from the portal. ‘See? I knew he’d make it back. You’re just in time’ Robbie declares. ‘In time for - ? No. The answer’s still no’ Rich tells Speedball when he realizes what his friend is talking about. Speedball tells Nova that if he really didn’t want to be part of this team, then he wouldn’t have snapped at Justice when he wanted to bring the Avengers in. Robbie adds that he knows Rich is trying to establish his rep as a hero, and tells him that doesn’t mean he can’t hang out with his friends.
‘And that’s what all the Warriors are - friends. There’s no dues - just a place to come and hang out where you can be yourself’ Speedball explains, asking who else is going to be able to relate when Spider-Man horns in on your fight with Doc Ock. Nova smiles, and tells Speedball that he has a point. ’You guys are my friends. I’m in’ he announces, while thinking to himself that he hopes he doesn’t live to regret rejoining the “Bush Leagues”. ’See? If the Big Apple’s most up-and-coming super-dude can do it, you guys can, too!’ Robbie tells the others.
Namorita announces that now that her cousin Namor is back in charge of Atlantis, there is no real reason why she can’t stick around. Turbo reminds everyone that she promised Mike Jeffries that she would put the Turbo suit to good use, and remarks that she thinks Mike would approve of her staying with the team. Aegis states that he doesn’t want to be presumptuous, but that if the offer is there, then he would like to hang out with them all. ‘Totally! I’ve got a lot of ideas about how we can really make a difference!’ Bolt exclaims. Speedball turns to Firestar and Justice, but Firestar tells her friend that she hates to ruin his winning streak, but that she and Vance have to decline, as they are committed to the Avengers.
Justice tells Speedball that he was wrong about something: ‘When you visited us at the Avengers Mansion, you said we were the heart and soul of the team. You couldn’t have been more wrong. That honor goes to you, Speedball’. ‘Awww guys, I need a hug!’ Robbie remarks, before a reporter, followed by his camera man rushes towards the young heroes. ‘Excuse me, Justice, is it? Brent Cobb, Eyewitness news. What you can you tell us about what brought the Avengers out to Long Island?’ he asks. ‘Well, Brent, first I have to point out that this was not an Avengers operation. Sure, Firestar and I are Avengers - but what you actually witnessed here was the rebirth of the New Warriors!’ Justice announces, explaining that the other-dimensional tyrant known as Blastaar tried to usurp control over the entire planet today, and that he would have succeeded if not for some of the most courageous young heroes he has ever met. ‘All in all, Brent, we’re just happy we could help’ Justice states, to which the reporter asks what happened to Blastaar?
Inside the Negative Zone, Blastaar wakes. ‘Urm…where am I…?’ he mutters to himself, before clenching his fists and shouting ‘I am Blastaar, the Living Bomb Blast - ruler of the planet Baluur! Show yourselves!’ - but when he gets no response, he takes a closer look at his surroundings - a red, barren landscape, with green water, and colourful spheres seen in the sky above. He suddenly realizes that he knows this place, that it is Vashom, and that it has not been inhabited for centuries. ‘NOOOOO!’ he booms, the sound resonating across the abandoned planet.
That night, back on Earth, specifically at the Crashpad, Speedball, Nova, Namorita, Turbo, Bolt and Aegis have gathered around a table, as Namorita tells Bolt and Aegis that they are welcome to join the team, but that it will be on a provisional basis to start. Turbo tells the newbies not to let that frighten them, and states that the Warriors have always been about friendship and learning from each other. ‘We’ll watch your backs’ she assures them. Speedball picks up a television remote and points out that it is time for the news. ‘Let’s see what they’re saying about us’ he suggests.
The television monitor comes to life, and a reporter announces that some Long Island residents were evacuated from their homes this afternoon when Blastaar, a known Fantastic Four opponent, tried to use the city as the staging ground for his latest takeover bid. ‘Fortunately, the Avengers were able to contain the situation’ the reporter states, adding that the Avengers spokesperson, Justice, had this to say: ‘We’re just happy we could help’ a recording of Justice remarks. ‘Wha? WHAT?’ Speedball gasps. ‘Avengers? Avengers? I can’t believe this!’ he exclaims, before deciding that it is okay, that there is no reason to panic. ‘Sure, we got off to a rocky start, but it’s gonna be smooth sailing from here on out’ he assures everyone. Suddenly, the Crashpad is plunged into darkness. ‘Heh…um…they must of shut off the power. Guess I forgot to tell Night Thrasher we’d be using this place’ Robbie mutters.
Epilogue 1: New York’s Central Park, Chris walks through the dark park and approaches a park bench. ‘Okay, Bradley…so you’re a big-time super hero now. What’s next? Going to Disneyland?’ he wonders. ‘Nope’ he decides as he lies down on the park bench, using his duffel bag as a pillow, he tells himself to settle in for the night.
Epilogue 2: Somewhere else, a series of men and woman wearing purple and white costumes with enormous shoulder pads, and each with their own unique Roman numeral on their costume stand before a woman with long dreadlocks, wearing a similar costume. ‘Up until now, our missions have been strictly small-time. Never before have we chosen such a high profile target’ she states, before announcing that they cannot afford to wait any longer, that they must strike now. She explains that medical advances have allowed too many genetic weaklings to survive, and that the human race is suffering as a result. ‘They world may view us as its enemies. But in reality…Genecide and Eugenix are its saviors!’ the woman called Genecide boasts. She adds that to make their point, they are targeting one of the biggest genetic insults to walk the Earth, and holds up a magazine - the Spring issue of “NOW”, which depicts Namorita….
