The THIRTEENTH Tale
by Mark Bousquet
VANISHING STORMS
TWO:
BRAINS, BRAUN and WHERE THE HELL IS JOHNNY STORM?
The THIRTEENTH Tale
by Mark Bousquet
VANISHING STORMS
TWO:
BRAINS, BRAUN and WHERE THE HELL IS JOHNNY STORM?
MIDGARD STANDARD YEAR 1999 / JANUARY
CHANDILAR
Johnny Storm, the second Human Torch, lay on the ground of a distant planet, his neck snapped like a twig, his body twisted cruelly upon the hard earth.
Eight hundred feet above him in a small window stood the Fantastic Four, looking down upon him. Reed Richards had lengthened his neck so he could drop his face out of the window, allowing for Ben Grimm and Sue Richards to have a better view at a sight none of them wanted to see. Their faces were pure emotion. Reed stretched a hand to wrap lightly around his wife's shoulders, but she didn't feel his touch.
She felt nothing but numbness as she looked down at the broken body of her brother.
Behind them, Dr. Doom waited for their reactions. He hadn't wanted to
kill Johnny Storm, but the youngest member of his oldest foe had forced
him to do so. Doom wanted the FF kept alive, so that they may see his coming
conquest of Earth. That was why he had wrested control of the Shi'ar Empire
from the dead hands of Lilandra, after all, and it would do him no good
for his greatest enemy to be dead and unable to watch in horror as Doom
conquered all.
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MIDGARD STANDARD YEAR 2200 / OCTOBER
LOGAN'S BAR AND GRILL
"Of course, the wind had been pretty much knocked out of their sails at that point," the Cosmic Flame spoke to the hushed crowd of warriors and gods. Phil looked out at a room full of captured faces, recognizing some by appearance and some by legend. He'd spent the last 150 years traversing the Dead Corner of Space, looking for any signs of life that Thanos had left. He'd found none and returned, crashing into Olympus, almost completely mad.1
1- ALL GOD'S CHILDREN 6: FRAGMENTED BALANCE, PART ONE
But then, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny probably had something to do with that, too.
He saw the so-called Orphans of War: Ben-Vell, Attumidunn, K'Zan, Eshir and Angela, who was busy waiting tables. Behind the bar, Logan the Barkeep poured drinks of various strengths and colors, all the while keeping his eyes focused on the stage. Members of the Council huddled together: Beta Ray Bill, Kovar, Ash'lin and Skrull 4. Dead center sat King Balder and Volstagg the Lion-Hearted. Moonstar sat in the back, her eyes never leaving the table of Elders, who sat in witness: the Collector, Kamo Tharnn the Possessor, Grandmaster and Astoria. Near them sat two representatives of the Intergalactic Council on Creating Life: Sugar Baby and Tree Baby.
They all paid attention to him, a simple Earth boy mixed up in a terribly cosmic lie that was about to be revealed.
Even Eros, the fat half-brother of Thanos, listened with rapt attention to the tale of Phil Sinton, the man of fire, the man who was the Cosmic Flame, Herald of Galactus.
"There was no heart left in the Fantastic Four to fight against Doom at that moment," Phil lowered his burning head. "They wanted to rage against him, but it was all too real. Despite Reed and Sue living on Titan, the Fantastic Four had been remarkably spared of tragedy over the years up to this point, and to see Johnny lying there, unmoving it was too much to take."
"Buuuuuuuuuuurp!"
Eros found a way to inject himself in the story. "I can verify that tale," he nodded his head as he wiped a large dollop of sauce onto his already-stained shirt. He licked his fingers as he talked, his voice empty of sorrow, "Reed, Sue and Franklin were crushed. They returned to Titan defeated and withdrawn because the body of Johnny was dragged away by Doom's troops. Doom, the old fuck, claimed he tried to find the body and send it back to them, but it was lost. Any way, uuuuuuuuuurp! Any way, they packed their shit together and went back to Earth."
"Thank you, Eros," Logan sighed under his breath. "But what say we take this moment for intermission?" the dark-green robot barkeep suggested to the crowd. In all the attention that was enraptured in the Cosmic Flame's tale, goblets and plates had gone empty. Logan was glad for the story, but a bar story couldn't be a bar story if everyone was sober. It said so right in his Guide Book.
Rule Number Two:
No Bar Story Worth Listening to is Told Without Alcohol, specifically ale, mead or beer. Lack of Alcohol Shows a Lack of Confidence in the Storyteller.
Rule Number Two-Point-One:
A dish of potatoes is nice, too.
"Aye, I could use some refreshment!" boomed Volstagg from the front, settling the issue. If Volstagg wanted to take a break, a break was taken.
"Wonderful," Logan beamed. "Now, who wants a refill?"
Phil sighed. At long last, he'd get his chance to go to the bathroom.
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THE FANTASTIC COLONIES
Captain America had traversed the galaxies to come to this floating moon of royal white and blue metal. He had arrived at the Fantastic Colonies. Inside was the man he had come all this way to see, a man who was nothing but a brain sitting in a jar of glass.
He slowed his ascent through the void of space as he approached, taking a long, slow arc around the rectangled machine of metal and wires that was the initial creation of Reed Richards over 150 years earlier. The structure was gigantic, housing the finest collection of scientists ever brought together. It was Reed's dream in his final days that science be used to combat the ills of war and not actively engage in the process.
Steve was here to see how the scientists were coming along with certain viruses that Thanos' troops were using throughout the Everything. He didn't have to be here, right at this moment, but he didn't like hearing old war stories about his friends that were long dead. The past was well, the past was best left the past, he believed.
It made him uneasy, coming here, he had to admit. In his final years, Reed was a different man, succumbing to many of the ills that were visited upon many men of science: a madness born of their own scientific abilities and the undeniable urge to experiment endlessly on themselves.
There was a section of the Fantastic Colonies, Steve knew, that was kept apart from the rest of the facility by one mile of empty corridors. A section that some claimed was haunted by Reed's ghost.
Breathing heavily, Captain America descended.
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LOGAN'S BAR AND GRILL
The Cosmic Flame took his place upon the stage once again as the crowd filtered back to their seats, full plates and glasses before them.
"So, what, you may ask, happened to Johnny's body?" Phil began, the crowd's noise level dropping from clamor to mumbles to whispers to silence. "Well, Doom was partly right. It was missing, but it wasn't his troops that had taken it."
Logan settled back onto his small stool behind the bar, a smile displayed broadly across his face. Nothing was going wrong tonight. Nothing at- and then he noticed a curious sight. Eros was missing. 'Now where the heck did he go?' he thought to himself.
"In fact," the Flame continued, "it wasn't even on that planet any longer."
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OUTSIDE LOGAN'S BAR AND GRILL
Eros vomited heavily around the back of Logan's Bar and Grill. His heavy frame leaned against the wooden structure as the food and beverage he had consumed was expelled out of him.
"My, my, the mighty Starfox," a woman's voice came from behind him. "How the mighty have fallen."
Eros didn't even bother to look up. "Don't call me Starfox, you stupid bitch. That sap died a long time ago."
"Ah, yes, the name still shames you, that's good," the voice came again, closer this time.
"Who do you think you are lady?" Eros asked, straightening out his fat frame. "Oh, hell, what do you want, Astoria? Selling Elder Scout Cookies?"
"I have an offer to make you," the Elder smiled in the Asgardian night. "I want you to join us."
"Join the Elders?" Eros asked, wiping away puke from around his mouth.
"No, silly man," she grinned. "I have a friend, shall we say. A friend who has very big plans for the Everything."
"Could you be more cryptic?" Eros asked, nonetheless intrigued. "Maybe you didn't notice I'm half in the bag. Not exactly a condition for figuring out stupid- wait, does this have anything to do with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny? Do you need me to play the Great Pumpkin or something?"
Astoria's smile widened. "You jest, Starfox, but I have a role for you to play, yes. Take my hand," she offered her hand to the Titan. "Let me take you to the man who'll help you regain your dignity."
Eros looked at her carefully, mulling over the offer at the same time he wiped puke onto his pant leg. "What's in it for me?"
Astoria looked at him sideways. "A place where you will be appreciated. And it will fel good to be appreciated after all this time, won't it?"
"Hell, I don't need that."
"I think you do," Astoria added under her breath, before continuing, "but never mind that. What, then do you want?"
"Wine. Women. Song."
Astoria chuckled, "That is what we hoped you would want for that is exactly what we aim to give you. Now, please, Eros, take my hand and let us leave this location."
He studied her hand for a moment, then looked at his own. "There's puke on my hand," Eros mumbled.
Astoria sighed. "It was just a figure of speech." She waved her hands and the two vanished.
Standing atop the roof of Logan's a Dani Moonstar watched everything
take place and wondered just what Astoria was up to.
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MIDGARD STANDARD YEAR 1999 / JANUARY
TAA V
In the mothership of Galactus the body of Johnny Storm lay on the floor. The Planet Devourer stood above him, his towering form casting a long shadow over the Human Torch.
Galactus said nothing. There was no one present but a Watcher and he had no need to make his feelings known for the history books. Silently, assuredly, his arm extended high over the ground and a blast of cosmic power crashed down onto the crippled body.
"Arise."
The dead body began to cough violently and Johnny Storm sat up, his eyes drooping but slowly making their way open. "What ? Galactus!"
"I offer you the power to stop Doom."
"I don't know what you're talking about. I "
"You will become my Herald. Accept my offer and save your planet. Decline and perish."
"I don't, I mean this is all so fast my head is so "
Galactus pulled back the Cosmic Power that he had given Storm and Johnny
felt life leaving him again. "No, wait!" he gasped. "I'll do it!"
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MIDGARD STANDARD YEAR 2200 / OCTOBER
LOGAN'S BAR AND GRILL
"Cease these lies!" Kovar the Kree Accuser boomed from his table. He slammed his fist onto the wooden surface, sending a half-eaten bowl of sweet potatoes flying.
"Um " the Cosmic Flame wasn't sure what to do so he stood on the stage and looked stupid. Logan would later tell him that he pulled off the look very well.
"Galactus can not resurrect life!"
"Well, hey, I don't-"
"Silence!" Kovar took a few adamant steps towards Phil, who suddenly, despite being a Herald of Galactus, felt very weak. "You spread lies! Lies about Galactus! Lies about-!"
The entire inn creaked and a hush fell over the crowd.
Logan found this to be odd. How could a hush fall over a silent crowd? There was no way that something not making any noise could become any quieter, so how did a hush fall over the crowd? He rewound the scene inside his mem-chips and played it back internally to see if, in fact, a hush really did happen. He watched the tape intently.
'Yep,' he thought to himself as he brought himself back online to the present, 'there was definitely a hushing sensation.' He became quite worried as he realized it might take him days to figure out how such an occurrence could have happened when, quite unexpectedly but quite happily, he stumbled onto a solution. 'The crowd couldn't have hushed. It must have been drawn into a vacuum of some kind from the Void. Yes, that must have been it. The sound was drawn into the Void.'
Logan was quite happy with himself until he realized that there was the possibility of a gateway to the Void somewhere inside his in.
To compensate for this, he immediately shut down all his systems that had anything to do with thinking too much. Finally, his attention went back to the reason the entire inn creaked. 'Good thing I shut those systems down,' he thought quickly, 'or I'd be worried about my entire inn creaking.'
Volstagg had risen from his feet. Slowly he turned his immense frame around to stand at the Kree. He spoke low, his hollow eyes seeming to fall even deeper into his own skull. "You interrupt the Lion of Asgard's story?"
Kovar wet himself. Gromanae, one of the few Watchers left alive, noted that this was the first time in history that such a thing had happened to a Kree Accuser.
"Nothing to say, boy?" Volstagg asked calmly. "If the storyteller lies, it is only for our benefit. We are the audience and he is the storyteller. We do not question the accuracy of his tale. Such an act is tantamount to treason."
Slowly, Volstagg turned back around and sat down, drawing his eyes to the Cosmic Flame. "Continue."
It would be five long minutes before Kovar moved back to his seat.
"Years passed," the Flame started again, wondering just why Volstagg
was given so much respect. "Johnny, now known as the Cosmic Flame, helped
defeat Doom and stop the Shi'ar invasion of Earth. He never told his family
or friends who he was and if they suspected, I honestly," he looked to
Kovar when he said this, "couldn't say. I do know that Johnny couldn't
stand being close to Earth and seeing them again without telling them he
was okay. But Galactus had ordered that and Johnny obeyed. This was the
first time I met Johnny, though I didn't know it was Johnny Storm at the
time, of course. It was in the middle of my senior year in high school
I had finally gotten a date with
"
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MIDGARD STANDARD YEAR 2001 / DECEMBER
GILKANE, NEW MEXICO
'Anna Crowley! Ohmygodohmygodohymygod- stop!' Phil Sinton tried to calm himself as he drove the woman of his dreams to a movie theatre outside of town. 'Relax, Phil, come on, it's just a girl, right? Right. Just because she's the hottest girl in the entire senior class and I've wanted her since I realized girls weren't icky is no need for me to panic like a-"
"Phil? Phil?!?"
"Huh?" Phil gasped. "What was that?"
"I said, 'Are you okay?' You look a little pale."
"I do? I mean, no, I'm okay. Really."
"Are you sure?" Phil's goddess asked. "If you're not, you can always take me home. I'll understand."
"No!" Phil said a little too loudly, causing them both to be startled for a second. "I mean, no, that's okay. I'm fine, really. It's just, uh " 'Think stupid! And make it good!" " uh, I was rushing to get ready and I think I took too hot a shower."
'Boy, that was stupid.' Phil wanted to kill himself.
"Oh," Anna said, looking at him strangely. It was a look Phil was used to from Anna. He didn't think she could look at him any other way. Then she smiled and Phil had to remind himself to breathe. "You're just nervous, right?"
"What? Me, nervous?" Phil tried to play it cool, but knew he couldn't pull that off.
"You must have heard the rumor that Jack was going to kill you because he didn't think I should go out with anyone else. But hey, he's like, away at college practicing with his football team. What am I supposed to do? It's not like we're seeing each other anymore."
Phil gulped. "Jack said that?"
"Yeah, but don't worry about it," Anna smiled.
"Um, okay, then, I won't," Phil gripped the steering wheel even harder. They rode in silence for a few moments, Phil cringing at the country music blaring out of his speakers. Anna had to prove that even a goddess had a fault by listening to this crap. "You, uh, don't think he'll still be mad when he gets home, do you?"
"Hmm? Oh, no, I wouldn't worry," Anna shook her head. "He only put that other guy in the hospital because his college coaches have him on steroids and he had an adrenaline rush. It had nothing to do with the fact that I went on a date with that guy."
Phil turned and looked at her, "He put a guy in the hospital?"
Anna didn't answer him as she stared out the window into the plains beyond. "I'll be honest with you, Phil," she spoke quietly. "A bunch off my friends thought I was crazy to go out with a skinny track nerd. But they don't understand what it's like to go out with the quarterback of the football team. It's a lot of pressure that I was under last year. I like going out with nobodies. It's so much less stressful."
Phil blinked hard, wondering if she was for real. 'My life is a bad sitcom,' he moaned to himself, wondering if Tony Danza was going to turn out to be Anna's long lost father. He was about to say something when her eyes popped open and she pointed to the sky. "What's that?"
Phil turned in the direction she was pointing and saw a flaming ball crash into the distance. "I don't man, what the hell was that?"
"Let's go find out! Hurry, I don't want someone to beat us there!" Anna pointed excitedly out the car window.
"But what about the movie?" Phil asked.
"The movie?" Anna asked him. "Phil, for god's sake, what if that's a meteor? Or better yet, an alien spaceship? Hurry!"
"But I thought you wanted a quiet-"
"Drive the car Phil or I swear to god you're never getting under this sweater."
Phil looked at her blankly, but his body saved him, shifting gears and
stepping on the gas.
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MIDGARD STANDARD YEAR 2200 / OCTOBER
LOGAN'S BAR AND GRILL
"Well, needless to say, what we found was the Cosmic Flame and I didn't get anywhere near Anna's sweater," Phil smiled and was surprised to hear the crowd groan. He wasn't sure what the reaction was for until he spied a group of girls sitting in the back smiling and grinning. 'Oh, man,' he slapped his head, 'I must've sounded like a total dork! Herald of Galactus and I still can't impress girls '
"But then," he coughed, wondering why, after 150 years away he was still the dork he was in high school, "you probably are more interested in how me and Johnny switched places, correct?"
"AYE!"
"Right, well, I'll skip up to that point. But, um, could I have a drink of water-"
The crowd groaned.
"-I mean ale, please."
"HURRAH!"
'Warriors," Phil shook his head.
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SOMEWHERE
Canticle had finally stopped crying. It had taken days, perhaps weeks, perhaps months, but she had, at last, stopped crying. She felt good and for the first time in ages, she felt alive. Since Franklin Richards had rescued her from Titan 3 2 she had begun the process of putting her life back in order.
2 - ALL GOD'S CHILDREN 11: FRAGMENTED BALANCE, PART SIX
His presence had, at first, unnerved her. Still in childlike form, she had let herself hope for just a moment that she hadnt been ISAAC's captive for over 175 years.
But she had.
With Franklin's help, she had discovered the truth about her parents - the heroes Siryn and Cannonball, who Franklin remembered fondly - and her ancestors and the truth about the Eternal War and Thanos and Captain America, the Cosmic Protector and on and on and on.
She was ready to help and Franklin, he'd told her, had some wonderful plans afoot.
And he wanted her to be a part of them!
After 175 years living inside a Machine, it felt good to be wanted by
anyone.
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MIDGARD STANDARD YEAR 2008 / JUNE
FOUR FREEDOMS PLAZA - NEW YORK CITY
Ben Grimm grumbled into his oatmeal. He was starting to feel old. It'd been nine years since Johnny had died on Chandilar, five since little Franklin put a gun his mouth, four since Reed and Sue took the Fantastic Four (themselves, along with Crystal and Pietro) into space for good, three since the villains got the crazy idea to spread themselves around the country, forcing most of the heroes to leave New York behind.
He felt old and tired. He wanted to retire and live the rest of his years with Alicia and raise some kids. The Fantastic Four could take care of themselves now. He'd brought together a good, experienced team after he was left in charge.
Ben didn't know if he had done it on purpose, but he supposed he had. The team he created was a husband and wife and a close friend, mimicking the Reed / Sue / Thing combination of the original team.
"Penny for your thoughts, husband?" Ben felt the calming hands of Alicia run themselves over his rocky shoulders.
"I'm tired. I want to run away to the mountains and get old with you," he said without turning around. He felt her hands clench ever so slightly against his hide.
"You say that all the time, Ben."
"But this time you know I'm serious," he said, this time putting his spoon down and turning around to look up at his beautiful wife. "There's no need to be here anymore. Kitty's turned into a fantastic leader. Piotr and Kurt are both good, honest men. And good heroes. The FF is a family again, Alicia, and this time, we're the outsiders."
"I'm hurt, Ben," came a cheery voice from the doorway.
"Oh, you know what I mean, Kat," Ben grumbled to Kitty Pryde, leader of the Fantastic Four. "Besides, we dont need two muscle bound lunkheads on the team. We never did."
"Hey, Ben," Kitty said, softer. "The FF isn't the FF without you. It never has been and it never will be. Besides, I'm -"
"It's been a long time, Ben."
Ben's heart froze at a voice he never thought he'd hear again. He spun around, knocking his chair over and sending the table flying. "You! How'd you get in here!?! How'd you-"
"I see you haven't changed the access codes in the old place. Always knew you were a softie."
Johnny Storm, looking not a day older than when he perished, stood in the doorway.
"You're dead!"
"Not any longer, old friend. For the first time in a long time, I'm finally alive again." Johnny smiled, but his old arrogance was gone. "Hey, Alicia. Kitty."
"Give me twenty reasons why I shouldn't knock you on your ass."
"Twenty? That's pretty high, isn't it, Ben?"
"Yeah," Ben said, his body still in shock, "but I'm looking forward to knocking you in two. Where the hell have you been? Reed and Sue-!"
"I know, Ben, I know," Johnny said silently, his eyes dropping to the
floor. "Come on, let's go talk."
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MIDGARD STANDARD YEAR 2200 / OCTOBER
LOGAN'S BAR AND GRILL
The crowd cheered and the Cosmic Flame beamed. After 150 years travelling alone in space, it felt good to be appreciated by anyone.
"So you probably want to know how the Cosmic Flame stopped being Johnny and started being me, right? Well, it's simple and it's complicated. Simple because it doesn't take very long to tell but complicated because I haven't the foggiest notion exactly how it was done.
"All I know is this: after that night when Johnny crashed to the Earth and me and Anna went to find him, we became friends. It didnt start like that, of course, but the Everything works in mysterious ways, as they say. I don't know, I guess he needed a friend on Earth. I know he felt awful about not being able to tell Reed and Sue and Ben, but, like I said, Galactus had decreed it so.
"He was okay for a couple years being a Herald, but it eventually wore on him. The last couple years were tough on him, real tough. He kept telling me that I had no idea how lonely space could be. I thought he was nuts, of course. I told him I'd give anything to be flying around space, visiting new worlds, saving others from Galactus's hunger.
"Then he came to me one day with a problem. This musta been 2005, 2006. He'd gotten a girl pregnant. An Earth girl. Some new hero. I don't even remember her code name, but her real name was Celsie and she was an art student at USD. She was one of the hundreds of Peace Kids, when that whole generation who took up the fight when villainy spread it's wings. He said he never even thought that he could get her pregnant, didn't think that part of him still worked with him being a Herald and all.
"But she was pregnant and, he found much to his surprise, he was in love with her. She was god, she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever laid eyes on. Pure California sunshine.
"He wanted to stay with her.
"Galactus wouldnt have gone for this, of course, and he thought he was stuck. That's when I suggested that I take his place. Look, I'm not going to lie to you. I was a bit of a dork, not good with the ladies, bouncing from one dead-end job to another. I was in search of some excitement and I thought, if I could take Johnny's place and become the Cosmic Flame well, I guess I thought I wouldn't be such a dork.
"Anyway, Johnny took off all excited and came back a couple days later with some friends: the Silver Surfer, Black Crowe and the Molecule Man. They well, I can't explain it exactly, like I said, but somehow the Surfer used his power to drain Johnny's power away from him and into me and the Molecule Man and Black Crowe had something to do with making me, as far as Galactus could tell, Johnny. I don't know exactly. Black Crowe kept saying that Galactus consumed planets and thus his weakness was something of a planet. Heck, seemed like mumbo-jumbo to me. I couldn't care less. I was the Cosmic Flame.
"Johnny married Celsie and they retired to Oregon. Johnny used some cosmic gems and artifacts to acquire all the cash they'd ever need. They didn't live a luxurious lifestyle, but they were comfortable. Celsie gave birth to a beautiful baby girl that they named Susan Q. Storm. Johnny raised her and their son Benjamin, who came a year later, and Celsie painted her life away. They attended PTA meetings together, and Johnny coached Benji's Little League team.
"And yeah, in case any are wondering, Suzie and Benji grew up to be the magician / adventurer pair called the Fantastics. They were big in Vegas.
"Johnny told Ben a couple years later, after Benji was born. What they said, I don't know. Two old friends like that, two guys who'd never really shared how they felt about each other something just right about that conversation staying between them. Sacred. After that, Ben and Alicia would vacation in Oregon at least twice a year, and sometimes they'd even fly out there for no reason. Johnny never set foot in Four Freedoms again. Or if he did, he never mentioned it to me. He never fought villains any more, either. Oh, he was on his neighborhood watch, things like that, but he didn't have any powers.
"Him and Celsie lived to get very old together. I left in 2050 for the Dead Corner of Space and they were both still kicking then. Still in Oregon. Now with grandkids and great-grandkids. I'd like to get to Earth and say my good-byes to them when this story is over.
"The last thing Johnny ever said to me he said he said
MIDGARD STANDARD YEAR 2050
OREGON
"Phil," Johnny Storm said, clasping his old arms onto the Cosmic Flame, "there's nothing, nothing, in this world more fantastic than a loving family. I hope some day you have one that will bring you all the joy mine has brought me. Good-bye. Good luck on your trip to the Dead Corner." The aged face of Johnny Storm smiled, "Better you than me."
Johnny Storm turned around and started to walk away, vanishing back into every day life.
END VANISHING STORMS
Don't call me Starfox, you stupid bitch.
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Y G G D R A S I L
send letters c/o mariner2@tiac.net
Hello and welcome back. It's been a long hiatus, during which much has changed, both with myself and with MV1. When I stopped, I said I'd come back when I was energized and refreshed. I am to both. I thank those that found AGC during my hiatus and those that poked and prodded, wondering when I'd take this up again.
Here we are. I hope you stick around for the journey still to come. Onto what in most cases are some very old, old letters.
Hey Mark, I must admit that I'm the newcomer to "All God's Children"...I
just started reading it yesterday (March 24th) and I've just finished
reading all the issues and I have one word to say: FANTASTIC! This
has
got to be the BEST comic story I have EVER read in my life---and that
is
no lie. Everyone is right when they say you should be a comic
writer---you have got to submit this!!! I have no comments on specific
issues but just some general observations. First off, about Canticle:
I think I know who it is; not Husk, but her sister Elizabeth Guthrie.
You said it's a relative and that's the only one I can think of right
now *lol* Anyway, secondly: Angelica is a truly amazing character.
And I can't wait to see what her mother, the Green Goblin of all people,
has up her sleeve. And about the Captain Mar-Vell deal, I hope you
bring him back. Not just because of the great battle that could ensue
with Thanos but I'd also like to see what he thinks of Captain
America---his old comrade---being the Cosmic Protector. I'd also like
to see his interaction with his relative, Ben-Vell. Very interesting
stuff you got going on here. About Eshir and Toomi: are they also
children of characters or families we know? Could Eshir possible be
the
descendant of Magneto? We know he has the ability to project
electro-magnetic fields. And he has white hair---hmm. And what about
Toomi? An Inhuman and an Attilan. That presents many possibly family
ties for her. Triton, Namor, Namorita, U-Man, Attuma, etc., etc. Can't
wait to see what you have in store for these characters. Also, lastly,
great job on bringing Dani Moonstar out of limbo! I've missed her and,
even though apparently something's been happening with her in X-FORCE
recently, I don't read that title and I'm glad to see her back. Again,
great job and an amazing story---you're a true pro. Looking forward
to
all of the future stories involving these truly intriguing characters.
:)
Travis Hogbin
ALL GOD'S CHILDREN
... is amazing, give me more! When's the next issue due out?
-ALEX COOK
All God's Children --- Mark Bousquet
Mark is quickly becoming my favorite writer in MV1. I don't normally
play favorites, especially with writers, but Mark's writing style truly
amazes me. Every story so far in AGC has made me think, something a comic---much
less a fanfic comic---normally doesn't do. He obviously has a real feel
for every character he writes. The relationship between Dani Moonstar and
Steve Rogers is written with great effect, especially considering the two
don't get a lot of time together. The other subplot with Angelica, Ben-Vell,
Toomi and Eshir is also great, especially when they meet the Man-Thing.
And Beta Ray Bill has actually turned out to be a character I truly enjoy
reading about in both AGC and Mark's other ongoing and amazing series,
Avengers West Coast. And finally, the whole thing Canticle has really got
me wondering. The suspense is killing me! *lol* Great work, Mark! :)
Travis Hogbin
ALL GOD'S CHILDREN #12 (Mark "The Biscuit" Bousquet)--Here we get the
introduction of Logan and his (it's?) bar and grill. This Logan is
an
interesting chap, and nothing like I was expecting--no, this guy has
more
metal parts than just claws! Interesting stuff all around, this issue,
the
aftermath of the "Fragmented Balance" arc. We get Balder and the orphans,
we
get a big glimpse into Eshir's lineage, and we get a cool "past times"
story
from the Cosmic Flame! But, for me, the best part was the Steve/Dani
scene,
as they are probably my favorite characters in all of AGC (that means
give
them more screen time, Mark! : ) ). Some nice hints from Steve into
the
final fate of the Avengers, and an intriguing mention (foreshadowing?)
of
Hank Pym. Same good stuff from AGC this ish!
- Sam Everett
Thanks for reading everyone. And thanks for writing.
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NEXT ISSUE:
FANTASTIC MYSTERY
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-- Mark Bousquet
19.November.1999