Children of Tomorrow
Chapter 9: The Other Avengers Kids

-Resistance Base; January 17; 11:23 AM-

A bright flash pulsed in a small poorly lit tunnel. In the center of the pulse stood Franklin Richards, Henry Pym, Alex Rogers, Damian Barton, Seren Odinchild, Jay Cage, Emilia Strange, a wounded Ben Parker and Cynthia Stark, and two other Resistance members. Alex held Cindy in his arms and Seren carried Ben. The group looked around t observe their surrounding. It looked (and smelled) like a sewer. They stood in murky and very unclean water and there was an ominous mist looming above them.

Franklin sunk to his knees. His nose was bleeding heavily. The boy in the black cat suit helped him up.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine Azari." He said. "Hate using my Nexus powers." He said quietly. "Can someone else open the door while I... you know, shake this off?"

"Sure." The girl in the red sun glasses moved her hand along the brick wall of the tunnel until she got to one brick. She pressed down on it and an entire section of the wall sunk in and slid to the side, revealing a metal hallway with two men with assault rifles standing in the middle of it. They took aim at the doorway but ceased when they saw who it was.

"Oh," One said. "It's just you guys." He looked over to see Richards leaning on the wall. "Is he okay, Milly?" He asked the girl with the sun glasses.

"He'll be fine." Milly responded. "Go tell Peace to ready the infirmiry. We have guests who need some help." She told the two. "Now!"

"Yes mam." Both men ran down the hall to a much larger door and opened that, revealing multiple people rummaging about in a fairly large compound.

"Lets go." Milly said to the others. The group of heroes walked down the hall and into the large compound that was the Resistance secret head quarters. There were over two dozen people running around, some with important information, others to talk to someone else while a larger number of people sat around the area eating, sleeping, or just talking. Some were dressed in combat gear while others were wearing coats and regular civilian clothes.

The group took it all in. Alex could actually see an expression other than sorrow on the faces of the people in the compound. The sight seeing didn't last long as a girl in a long trench coat came around the corner marked: Medical Bay. She had short black hair and a very present sign of asian descent. She turned to them.

"Where are the guests?" She asked.

"It's them." Franklin turned to Alex and Seren who were carrying Ben and Cynthia.

Peace looked to the two. "Alright, follow me." She sped back into the medical bay, followed by Alex and Seren. In the medical bay were about a twenty beds in the rectangular rooms and only one other bed at the far sie of the room was occupied. By a blonde girl who seemed to be sleeping.

Peace pointed at two beds. "Put them here." Cynthia and Ben were placed in beds. While Ben was still and silent, Cynthia was spasaming and moaning in pain as the arrow petruded from her chest, blood still pouring from her wound. Peace turned to the door where a few other Resistance members stood. Peace reached to her belt and grabbed a needle which she quickly stuck into Cynthia's arm and pressed down.

"What's she doing?" Alex asked as Henry Pym who slowly pushed both him and Seren out of the medical bay.

"Just sedating her." Henry responded. "Trust me, she knows what she's doing. Peace is the best there is at what she does." He smiled and finally got the two out of the medical bay and closed the door as both he and Peace went to work.

Alex and Seren looked at each other in worry before turning to the others.

"Don't worry." Franklin said. "Peace is our resident healer extraordinare. If there's anyone that can heal your friends, it's her." He leaned against the wall. "They'll be just fine." There were a few chairs outside of the infirmary. The five Avengers kids took seats. They all sat in silence. "Um... I could give you guys a tour of the-."

Azari, the man in the catsuit put his hand on Franklin's shoulder. "They need time to themselves Franklin." He told him. "We should let them have it."

"Right." Franklin nodded to the kids. "If any of you need anything, come find me." He smiled as he rounded the corner. "Mi casa es tu casa." He said before leaving along with Azari and Milly.

And there the team sat.

-H.A.M.M.E.R. Base; 12:30 PM-

Norman Osborn paced from side to side uneasily as Victoria Hand, Electro, and an unmasked Hobgoblin stood in front of him. The four met in Osborn's office which was a room very and strangely similar to the oval office in Washington.

"Sir." Philip Urich, also known as the Hobgoblin started. "What are we going to do about the Avengers children? With all due respect, we can go in and obliterate them. We know where they are hiding, they are weak and low in numbers. They won't see it coming." He advised.

"No." Osborn stopped pacing and stood in front of his desk. "I dont want to risk a second defeat at their hands Urich." He said. "Let them be. And let our mole do their work. We have more important things to worry about. Besides, haven't you forgotten that we too have lossed well over a dozen Vulture Men and airships?"

"What is more important than finding these brats?" Electro asked.

Osborn sighed heavily on purpose only to signify how annoyed he currently was. "The Cosmic Cube! The Tesseract! The glowing cube that could possibly decide the fate of this universe!" He shouted before taking a deep breath and calming down. "I need to have it before the Skull does." Osborn told them. "Hand." He pointed to his assistant. "Change of plans. I need the Leader hear today."

"I thought you might." The woman handed him a manila folder. "I took the liberty of filling all of his paperwork out myself. It went by much faster. He's on his way now."

Osborn opened the folder to see all of Samuel Stern's papers for leaving the Cube filled out. He grinned. "That's what I like to hear." He put the folder on his desk. "I want you all to look at this." Osborn tapped a button on his desk and the lights dimmed. A holographic projection appeared in the middle of the room, just in between Osborn and the other three. The hologram was security footage from the Torture Chamber. It showed three girls dressed in odd black and white uniforms using an array of powers to move through the Guardsmen patrolling the area at the time.

"What is this?" Electro asked.

"Wait." Osborn commanded. The projection then showed the three girls opening up Drew's cell and teleporting away. The hologram then turned off. "That was footage of three very unknown women teleporting into the Toture Chambers, seamlessly navigating through our security, freeing Spider-Woman's son, and teleporting out with him." He summarized. "All of that happened while we were too busy focusing on the fight with the other Avengers kids."

"What are you implying?" Victoria asked.

"They knew the perfect time to infiltrate us." Osborn said. "That was no accident. There was a set time that they freed the boy and got away scot free."

"Who are they?" Electro asked.

"Hobgoblin had facial scanners run and we have almost no leads. Almost." Another projection appeared showing a zoomed image of one of the girls. She was blonde and extremely attractive depite the cold look in her eyes. "This is Celeste Cuckoo."

Electro thought for a second. "You mean-."

"Yes. One of the Stepford Cuckoos and Emma Frost's daughter." Osborn finished.

"She went missing shortly after the Purge and was persumed killed in action." Victoria said. She held a small remote and pressed down on one of the buttons, changing the hologram screen to an image of a girl who looked almost exactly like Celeste only her hair was cut short. "This is -or, was- the only sister we knew existed until now. Mindee Cuckoo now resides on Genosha with the rest of the mutant population."

"Do you think they were from Genosha?" Hobgoblin asked.

"I highly doubt that." Victoria stated. "With Magneto in his current state I doubt he would send a strike force to break one person out of the prison."

"Wierd." Electro said. "We'll get looking for them asap sir." He said. "Along with Deadpool."

"Much appreciated." Osborn said. He looked at the three. "Now, carry out you duties. Victoria, set up a lab for Sterns when he gets here."

"Yes sir." And with that, the three left the office and closed the door. Osborn turned off the hologram and turned on the lights. He sat down in his chair behind the desk and tapped yet another button on the desk. Suddenly, a panel rose up from surface of the desk, resembled the screen to a laptop. A red light was blinking on and off at the top right corner. Osborn pressed the light and an image appeared. This image was in the form of an older bald man with a beard and mustache combo.

"Stane," Osborn said. "What did you need?"

Since the Hero Purge, Obadiah Stane has since become head of all weapons manufacturing in the new world and was damn good at it. He sat in his office which had a large glass panel in the back, showing the process of several thousand machines creating even more weapons. "I was just informing you that, well, we found a spy earlier today."

"From the Red Skull?" Osborn asked.

"No. This one's from the Resistance." He reported. "No one important. I had him killed. But he did gather some intel and sent it to Richards before we got to him."

"What intel?"

"The shipment of weapons shipping in from Latveria."

"Doom's weapons."

"Yeah. Nothing too important."

Osborn thought for a second. "Tell Doom that his weapons cache is going to be attacked by the Resistance."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I know Franklin Richards. All these years we've battled, I've learned to anticipate his move before he even thinks of making them." Osborn chuckled. "Ironic. He's supposed to be the telepath."

"I'll be alerting Doom soon, sir."

"Good." The monitor switched off. "Very good."

-Unknown Location-

Drew opened his eyes to the sight of an all white room with a few beds that were also white. He looked around and saw nothing but the beds. Drew glanced down at his clothes and found that they had been changed from the dirty prison shreds to the complete opposite. He had on an all white t-shirt and sweats that felt pretine and clean, something totally new to him. He also felt the wound he had on his chest was gone. To make sure, the boy lifted his shirt and saw that he was absolutely fine, as if nothing had happened.

"Am I... Dead?"

He heard a laugh in the distance. "No, silly."

He quickly sprang from the bed. "What the hell?" He looked around the room. "Where are you?"

He felt someone touch his hand. "Here." A girl whispered.

Drew immediately spun around to see a young girl dressed in an all white clock and completely white hair looking up at him. She giggled. "I was behind you the whole time!"

"Who are you?" Drew asked. "Where am I?"

"Oh, well I'm Carrie." She looked up and thought with her finger on her chin. "Or will I be Amanda today? Maybe I'm Carly..."

Drew could tell that this little girl was obviously disturbed. "Yeah, okay... Little girl. Now where am I?"

"Oh, you're in the City." She responded.

"What city?"

"The City."

"Like... New York City, Salt Lake City, Kansas City, what city?" He asked, kind of getting frustrated.

"Just the City." The girl smiled.

Drew slapped his own forehead. "Nevermind. I'll go find out myself."

"Okay then." The girl smiled. "I'll see you later Mr. Drew." She waved off before completely disappearing. Drew stared at the spot the girl was just standing in.

"I must be dead." He said to himself. He heard a swish behind him. Drew spun around again to see a girl walking through a door. She had short blonde hair and vivid blue eyes. She wore the same uniform that the three girls who rescued him had on only she wore what appeared to be a doctors coat.

"Oh," She said in surprise. "You're awake. I didn't expect that so soon. Your healing factor is phenomenal. You're lucky you have it. Otherwise, you would have died a day or two ago."

"Maybe I'll have more luck talking with you than Carly, Amanda, and Carrie." He said.

"Oh. You got to talking with Anna?" The girl laughed. "Dont mind her. She's a little crazy."

"You dont say." Drew smiled. "So who are you and where on earth am I?" He asked again, hoping that this girl would give him a better answer than the one Anna had given him.

"Well I'm Nurse." She said.

"Wait, your name is Nurse?"

"Yes." She smiled.

"Oh. Okay then."

"And as for where you are," She paused. "Well you're not really on earth."

"Then where am I?"

"Space."

Drew looked at her then laughed. "No seriously. Where am I?"

Nurse smiled. "Seriously. You're in space, well, different from the you know just by looking up."

Drew stopped smiling and thought. "Why am I in space?"

Nurse nodded towards the door she just came through. "Follow me and I can tell you." She began walking, followed by Drew. They exited the room and saw multiple kids, teens, and young adults, all wearing variants to the black and white uniform Nurse wore. Some of them appared different, others looked completely normal. They were in a hallway the somewhat curved to the side as you strolled along it and on the side was a clear wall, showing the outside. Space. Billions of stars could be seen next to... Wherever they were. Above them was another story. Other teens could be seen flying above them on the higher floors.

"We live in an tragic dimension during a a tragic time." The girl said. "We are the Children of Tomorrow, created to rid the world of disease and evil."

"Yeah, I've been told." Drew said as he and Nurse followed the pathway. "What exactly are the Children of Tomorrow?"

"We are an advanced race of human beings. Most of us are gifted with some kind of special powers."

"So... You're mutants?" Drew asked.

"No. We are a higher form. Beyond the mutant x-gene." She told him. "For us, we are all gifted in some way."

"So that girl, Anna. She is special?"

"Yes. A little odd at times but special."

"What about you?"

"I have no special powers."

"Really? With a name like Nurse you'd think you'd have some sort of power."

"I am the City's only doctor. That's what makes me special."

"Doctor?" Drew looked at her. "You look fifteen."

"Sixteen." She corrected. "We, the Children, have evolved because we live in the City."

"What's the City?"

"The thing your standing on now. Our massive home. In the City, time goes by at a more complicted rate than in your time. It has been what allowed us to evolve into what we are now." She explained. "And we have access to some of the most advanced technology to date. Technology that can bypass and erase the strongest drugs and hallucinogens. You'll find that you can use your powers now."

Drew looked to his hand and let an arc of his bio-plasma energy dance across his fingers. "Awesome." He smiled.

The two came to a dead end. Nurse stood in a blue circle on the ground. She looked to Drew. "Well? Come on." She smiled. Drew stepped into the circle with her and they slowly levitated into the air.

"You said you were created. Created by who?"

"We were created by Kang just before his death at the hands of Norman Osborn. We exist just outside of your galaxy and you'd find that-."

"Woah, woah, woah." Drew interrupted. "Kang? As in the Conqueror? You do know he was the bad guy right?"

"Operative word being was. He created us to save the world. In fact, our leader is his son." She noted. "Kang created most of us but a few here are strays we've picked up along the way. Like you."

The elevator stopped. "Which reminds me. Why am I here?"

"You needed help. So we helped you." Drew looked up to see Anita, Celeste and the red headed girl that saved him earlier. "We are the good guys." Anita said.

'And we'd like to extend to you our hand so that you too, Drew, can become one of us. A Child of Tomorrow.' Drew heard in his head. He looked at Celeste who gave him a beautiful smile.

"Celeste dear," They all looked up to see a fellow teenager floating above them. He looked normal. Jet black hair and brown eyes. His uniform however, was different. Where the others suits were white, his were black and where they were black, his were white. "We don't want to mind rape the brain of the new kid yet, do we?" He landed on the ground and wrapped his arm around Celeste who kissed him on the cheek.

"No, I suppose not." She responded.

"Drew. Welcome to the City." He greeted. "I am the Marker, or Nathaniel if you want to be less formal." He smiled then turned to the women to his side. "You've already met my girlfriend Celeste, the City's doctor, Nurse, my sister Anita, and Jennifer." Drew looked to them all and studied them. "I trust that Nurse has bored you enough with our backstory." He smiled.

"Uh yeah. I think so."

Nathaniel turned to a large holographic computer screen. "I'm not going to waste time with a speech or anything but we would like for you to join us in our cause to save the planet. Maybe even the universe."

"Um. Why?" Drew asked. "I mean, I'm not exactly a-."

"We extend the offer to all gifted children we see in need. Not just the ones born in the City." Nathaniel nodded to his girlfriend. "Celeste is a mutant I found when I visited the remains of the X-Mansion. Anita may be my sister but she wasn't born in the City like me. You are no different. You're gifted and that's all we need."

"What about my friends?" He asked. "Jay, Alex, the other Avenger kids?"

"They don't have a role in our plan."

"And I do?"

"You do."

"What exactly is that role?"

"I don't really like giving out my plans to people I can't fully trust." Drew looked out into space, contemplating the offer. Nathaniel wrapped his arm around Drew's shoulder. "Look, I know it's a lot on you right now. So why don't you go around the City, get to know the other Children then you can come back and make your choice." He said. "If you want to go back home, we can send you back. If you want to stay, you are more than welcome to."

Drew sighed. "Yeah. I guess I could stick around for a while. Just until I make up my mind."

"Great." Nathan turned to the others. "Jennifer, do you mind showing Drew around the City?" He asked her.

The red head nodded. "Sure thing. Lets go." She began walking towards the door, followed by Drew.

"I think you're really going to like it here." Nathaniel said.

-Resistance Base; 3:31 PM-

For hours, Alex and his team have been sitting outside the infirmary, waiting to hear something about Cynthia and Ben. Emilia had rested her head on Damian's shoulder and Alex had been staring at the ground in deep thought the entire time.

Every heart in the sitting area skipped a beat when the door opened. Out stepped Henry Pym and the girl called Peace.

Everyone stood up and made a semi circle around the two. "Are our friends going to be okay?" Seren asked before anyone else could form the words.

"Ben is perfectly fine." Henry reported. "He was pretty bruised up but thanks to Peace's healing powers and his own healing factor, he'll be okay."

"What about Cindy?" Alex asked.

"She's okay too. He said. "I had to modify her broken arc reactor. But she's sleeping now. They both are." The door opened behind them revealing Ben wearing nothing but black sweat pants. Almost his entire chest and stomach was bandaged along with his wrist and forehead. "Or they were."

Ben leaned heavily on the doorway. "What? No roses or 'Get Well Soon' cards?"

"Ben!" Seren moved passed the two and wrapped the boy in her arms tightly. "I'm so happy you're okay." She lifted him into the air.

"Uh. Thanks Seren."

The other four moved towards Ben. "I have to admit, you're just annoying enough to miss." Jay said, trying his best to come off emotionless.

"Aw." Ben said, smiling. "See? You can show emotions every once and a while."

Jay folded his arms. "Nevermind. I take it back."

"No, no, no. No takebacks."

"Did you see Cindy?" Emilia asked Ben.

"Yeah, I did."

"How was she?" Alex asked.

"She was sleeping." Ben told them. "She had this huge bandage over her reactor thingy. But she looked fine."

"Good." Alex huffed.

"I don't suggest you stay here again and wait for her." Peace said. "It'll be a few more hours before she wakes up."

"Yeah. You guys should walk around the base, you know, get yourselves aquainted with the people around here." Henry said. "Speaking of aquaintances, I'm Henry Pym Jr. I'm an Avengeer kid too if you hadn't guessed. Son of the Giant-Man and the Wasp. Around here I go by the codename Honet." He chuckled a little. "Not to mention world class engineer, inventor, biochemist, and-."

"Okay, Hank." Peace interrupted. "They get it." She smiled before turning back to the group. "I'm Yuri Howlett. Peace is my codename. I'm the daughter of the X-Man Wolverine. I'm also the Resistance doctor. Well. I'm the only doctor we have."

"Yeah. Welcome to our base. The former HQ of the mighty Fantastic Four." Henry said.

"That's where I knew the address from." Jay stated. You're based underneath the Baxter Building."

Yuri shrugged. "What's left of it anyways."

"Please," Henry took off his lab coat and slung it over his shoulder and pulled his goggles off of his eyes and hung them loosely around his neck. "Make yourselves at home. I have a date with a genetically enhanced ant." He laughed. "See you guys later."

Yuri looked at the group. "He's... he's a weird guy. He drinks. A lot. Bad for his liver." She turned back to the infirmary. "I'd better stay with your friend. Make sure she's okay." She opened the door. "I'll call you when she's up."

"Thanks." Alex said. He turned to the others. "Well... You heard them." He ran his hand through his hair. "I guess we just... Walk around."

"Yeah. Right." Jay unfolded his arms. "I'm hungry as hell right now so I'm gonna go find a kitchen." He began to leave.

Ben's stomach growled. "Ugh. For once, tall, dark, and scary is right. I'm going with him." Ben followed.

"I'm going to find the shower room." Seren said. "And maybe polish my sword." She walked off.

"I'm gonna go... Look around or something." Damian began to make his way down the hall.

"Can I come?" Emilia asked.

"Uh. Well I kinda do things like these by myself. Alone."

"Oh. Sure." Emilia looked a little disappointed. She turned around. "Hey Seren!" She called. "Wait up!" She ran after the asgardian.

Alex stood there, all alone. "Oh yeah, don't worry about me you guys. It's not like I need to spend time with anyone." He put his hands in his pockets and walked off.

-Queens, New York-

"Bullseye come in." A voice began through the marksman's com link. He tapped it.

"This is Bullseye. Go."

"Are you in position?"

"Right where you said I should be." Bullseye was sitting at the window of an apartment building with a sniper aimed at an opposite apartment complex. His hand had been healed and was no longer bandaged. "How do we know he's even in there?"

On the rooftop of the same apartment building Bullseye was in stood Crossbones. Shortly after his defeat at the hands of the children, he was sent to this location where his next mission awaited. He carried an assault rifle in his hands and had his hand to his com. "I don't question the boss upstairs. Our intel says that a man in red and black asked everyone who lives on the street if they had a..." He sighed. "A chimichanga."

"Oh yeah. That's him."

"They said he went into that building. If you see him, fire the tranq darts at him." Crossbones commanded.

"And you go in and empty the clip of adamantium rounds into his skull, right?" Bullseye finished.

"Right. Shouldn't be too much trouble as long as we keep our distance."

The coms began to break up and static was heard but it began to clear up. "Don't forget the element of surprise." A third voice came in. "Geez, you guys are the cliche of over talkative comic book villains, aren't you?"

"Deadpool." Crossbones gritted his teeth.

"How the hell did you-?"

"I know people Bullseye." Deadpool responded. "And by know people, I mean I know technology. And by know technology, I mean communication signals tech. And by-."

"Shut up!" Bullseye shouted. "We get it!" He grabbed the sniper rifle and began to peer through the windows, looking for Deadpool. "Where are you, you damn coward?"

As Bullseye scanned the building, Crossbones did the same. "Don't let him get to you, Bullseye."

Bullseye glanced into each window, checking for Deadpool. That was when he spotted the merc waving at him with a cellphone to his ear. "Cocky prick." Bullseye noted before pulling the trigger.

The tranquilizer crashed through the glass but unexpectantly hit the floor. Bullseye checked his scope to find Deadpool gone. "What the-?"

"Did you get him?" Crossbones asked on the com.

"No. I... I missed." Saying the words made the Thunderbolts stomach churn. He began looking through the scope again.

Behind him the merc with the mouth sat, looking at him. He took the moment of Bullseye's distraction to teleport into the room. He slowly stood from the sofa and retrieved his katanna blade. Deadpool rose it above his head and was about to lower it into the villains back until he noticed the wide array of weaponry Bullseye had on the shelves of the apartment. His eyes lit up like christmas lights as he sheathed his sword and picked up an advanced looking sniper rifle. He starred at Bullseye as he clipped the large gun onto his back and another assault rifle onto the back of his belt along with a few pistols.

Deadpool began to laugh. "You are freakin' deaf aren't you?"

Bullseye immediately spun around, firing several tranq darts into Deadpool's chest. The merc looked down at his chest and pulled the dozen darts out of him.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how much did you think that would work?" He unsheathed his katanna. "1 being the worst and 10 being the best. If I were you," He began stepping towards the somewhat frightened Thunderbolt. "I'd be in the negatives."

Crossbones tapped his com. "Bullseye," He called. "You got anything yet?" No response. "Bullseye? You read me?" Still to answer. "Damn." Crossbones grabbed a pistol with a hook at the end and shot it at an open pipe, clinging the hook to it. He then clipped the pistol to his belt and jumped from the edge. Crossbones tightened his grip on the cable and caused him to stop falling at his desired floor. Crossbones crashed through the window and immediatley drew his rifle.

His eyes widened when he saw Bullseye with two katanna swords impailing each of his hands into the wall and all of the weapons and equiptment he had gone with a single 'IOU' message on the door of the apartment, marked with Deadpool's emblem. Crossbones grabbed the peice of paper and read it.

Deadpool: 'IOU. P.S. Not really. P.S.S. I'm serious. Chances are you're not getting any of the stuff I took back. P.S.S.S. When Bullseye wakes up, tell him I said thanks for the chimichanga money. P.S.S.S.S He's not getting that money back either.

Crossbones sighed and kneeled down to the unconscious Bullseye, checking his pulse. Then he tapped his com twice. "Tell Osborn, Deadpool rabbited. And now he's extremely armed and dangerous."

-The Resistance Base-

Alex struck a punching bag with such force it sounded like a gunshot had sounded off. Rogers had found the gym of the Resistance base and has been using the punching bag to think. He had taken off his shield and jacket and left them in the corner of the dimly lit room. The more Alex hit the punching bag the more Alex grew in aggression. The ativity helped him to think.

'It was my fault.' He thought. 'I am the leader and I let my team down. Cindy could have died on my watch. Her blood would be on my hands. We got lucky this time. Next time... We might not be so lucky. What kind of leader am I? Hell, that wasn't even leading! It was more like flailing angrily.' He gritted his teeth as the impact on the bag grew stronger. 'Who was I kidding? How the hell could I be a leader? The only human contact I've had for the past few years has been punching people in the face!' He was about to strike the bag again but stopped just before he hit, knowing he would have done serious damage to the target.

Alex sighed. He grabbed a towel and wiped his face. He heard a rustle behind him and spun around.

"That's a load of bull. I was lookin' forward to see you bust through that bag." He heard a deep and gruffled voice say. "You got talent kid, I'll give ya dat."

Alex narrowed his eyes to try and see past thed darkness of the corner the voice came from. All he could make out was a large silhouette. "Um... Thanks."

He could hear whoever was sitting there stand up and begin to walk into the light. His footsteps were heavy and nearly made the room shake. Finally, it was clear to Alex who he was talking to. He was seven feet tall and was rock hard. Literally. Alex Rogers was talking to the Thing.

"Woah." Alex whispered as he stared up in awe at the man in front of him.

"Go ahead." Ben Grimm said. "That's a common reaction. I get from ya newbies."

"No." Alex shook himself from his daze. "No, sir. That's not what I meant." Alex put the towel down. "It's just..." He smiled. "You're the Thing!"

"I was the Thing. Now I'm just your ever lovin' blue eyed Ben Grimm." He corrected.

"Yes sir." Alex extended his hand. "Alex Rogers. It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Grimm."

The Thing shook Alex's hand. "Rogers?" He glanced at the shield laying on the ground. "As in-?"

"Captain America is my dad, yeah." Alex stated.

"Yeah." Ben moved towards the wall of the gym. "You look like 'im. And your mom too."

"You knew my mom?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. Sharon... Carter, I think it was. She was a sweetheart."

"Oh." Alex cleared his throat. "Are you a part of the Resistance?" He asked.

"Me? Nah."

"What?" Alex sat down on the bench across from Ben. "Why? With someone like you fighting with us it could give us an edge or-."

"Woah! Kid." Ben stopped him. "I may not lookit, but I'm over fifty years old."

"Yeah? And?" Alex blurted out. Ben looked down at him. Alex lowered his head. "Sir, with all due respect, It doesn't matter how old you are. You were a member of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. Someone like you shouldn't just quit."

"Well, 'with all due respect,'" Ben mimicked. "I watched fight no more. I made a promise to a friend years ago."

"A promise not to fight?"

"No. A promise to protect."

-18 Years Ago; Baxter Building-

"Yes, Captain America I know the meeting point. I'll bring my team." Reed Richards had stretched his entire body around his lab, deleting files from his computers, destroying expirements, all while talking on the phone to Captain America.

A few hours ago, Norman Osborn gave Dr. Doom permission to attack the Baxter Building. He had waged war on the entire superhero population. The Four were just the last to be targeted. Reed was taking every precaution to make sure Victor von Doom did not gain access to any of the Building's files and had evacuated the occupants of the building.

"Reed," The Human Torch flew next to his team mate. "What's the big deal? We've beaten Dr. Doofus before. We can do it again."

"This times different Johnny. He has Osborn on his side." Reed explained.

"So what are we gonna do? Sit here an' wait for them?" The Thing asked.

Susan Storm stood with her children Valeria and Franklin. "Reed, we really should get to the location Cap sent us."

"I can't let Victor get his hands on my research. I'm deleting as fast as I can."

"Well, hurry it up Stretch." The Thing said.

"You all can go without me. I'll catch up.

"We are not leaving you Reed." Sue stated. "Just hurry up, okay?"

"Ben," Reed turned to his best friend. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" Reed unstretched his body and walked out of the lab, followed by Ben.

"What's up Reed? You look spooked."

"Where's Alicia and your sons?" Reed asked.

"Hiding out back at the old apartment. Why?"

Reed sighed. "If this doesn't work... Cap's rebellion. If I die, if Sue dies-."

"Reed don't talk like-."

Reed held up a finger. "If we die, I need you to promise that you'll take care of Franklin and Valeria."

"Of course Reed. I mean, what kinda godfather would I be if I didn't?" Ben shrugged.

Reed put his hand on Ben's shoulder. "Thank you."

A red light began to flash. "Doctor Richards!" H.E.R.B.I.E., the buildings A.I. said. "We have multiple incoming jets arriving."

-Present-

"And that's when everything went straight ta hell." Ben looked down in sadness.

Alex felt his sorrow. "I'm sorry." He apologized. "I didn't know."

"You're alright kid." Ben smiled. "I rarely ever get anyone to talk to around this dump."

"So what happened next?" Alex asked.

"What do you think? Reed an' me were the only two members of the team left. Susie and Johnny weren't so lucky. I grabbed Franklin and Valeria and left like Reed told me to and he went off to fight with Cap. But in the fight, Valeria got hit. She slipped from my hands and ran back to her mom. She was hit by Doom." He said.

"Did she die?"

"No. Just comatosed." Alex remembered the blonde girl he saw in the infirmary. Maybe that was her? Ben continued his story. "I took my boys, Alicia, and those two somewhere safe. The X-Mansion. The X-Men had left that place a while ago and it hadn't even been touched by Osborn. We camped out there for a few years until..." He took a deep breath. "Alicia, my wife, she uh... She died."

"I... I'm so-." Alex began.

"Kid, if you say you're sorry again, I'm gonna punch you." He said before chuckling. "It's okay. She died of natural causes." He nudged Alex. "Anyway, we burried her in the X-Mansion's rose garden." He smiled, thinking of the warm memories of his wife. "She woulda wanted that." Alex smiled as well. "Then Franklin got old enough to get curious and dragged our asses back here. Franky wanted revenge. He wanted to pay Osborn back. So he built this secret compound underneath the Baxter and started a new Resistance. And... Here we are." Alex took in all the information he had just recieved. "So," Ben stood up. "To answer your question, I don't fight because I promised my best pal that I'd watch his kids 'til my last breath. So I'm gonna make that breath hold out a little longer."

Alex smiled. "Well, if there was any reason not to fight, I'd say that have to be a good one."

"Yeah." Ben opened a large locker that held a lot more punching bags. Ben grabbed a few. "So, you an' the punchin' bag," He started. "What were ya thinkin'?"

Alex stood as well. "Excuse me?"

"No one gets that angry at a punching bag for no reason. You were thinkin' about somethin'."

"Oh yeah. Just... You know, just working out some stress."

"Huh. Well you want my advice?" Alex nodded. "When you punch, don't hold back. I saw you pullin' your punches and if that were a real fight, you'da been creamed."

Alex noticed the punching bags Ben had grabbed and slung over his shoulder. "I don't think those bags will give you much of a challenge." Alex grinned.

"What?" He looked to Alex then back to th bags. "Oh these? These aren't for me. Mine is over there." Ben pointed to a metal tube with multiple dents and was barely hanging onto the chain that held it to the cieling.

"Oh." Alex muttered.

"These are for you." Ben took one of the bags from his shoulder and hung it next to the one Alex had been working his aggression out on.

"For me? I have one. Thank you but no thanks."

"You won't have one when I'm done with ya." Ben put another bag next to the one he just put up and then another. "You just gotta let loose. When you vent to the bag, you hit it with everything. That's the point of venting." He smiled. Alex was about to speak but was interrupted. "Before you say anything, hit the bag. With everything you got."

He gently nudged Alex towards the bag. The blond looked at the larger man behind him then to the bag. Alex reared a fist back before launching it at the punching bag. It made contact and caused the bag to swing back and forth.

Alex turned back to Ben and shrugged.

"That was everything you got?" Ben asked. "When I say everything you got, I mean it kid. Look, in my old days in the FF I struggled with it too. I held back for people I didn't need to hold back on. But could you imagine what woulda happened to me if I had held back on the Hulk? I woulda been a pile of orange dust." He laughed, along with Alex. "But the problem was... I was only fightin' cause I was angry. Angry that I got turned into the Thing. But now I fight because it's the right thing to do. Don't hit cause you're angry kid. Hit beause you need to." He nodded at Alex. "Now," Ben pointed to the same punching bag. "Punch it."

Alex turned to the bag and immediately aimed a fist at it. The hit connected and his fist went through the material of the bag, causing sand to pour out of the opening. Alex pulled his fist out.

"No that's what I'm talking about!" Ben laughed. "Now the next one."

Alex smiled and punched the second bag. This time it snapped off its chain and fell to the ground. He moved to the last one and prepared to punch it. The boy let out a type of shout before striking it. The punching bag snapped off the chain again but rammed into the wall behind it, creating a crater.

Alex looked at Ben again who was clapping. "I am one helluva coach." He smiled. "You want a soda or somethin'?"

. . . . .

Emilia and Seren had just stepped out of the large women's shower of the Resistance. They wrapped towels around their bodies and walked into the locker room where they had stored their clothes.

"Ugh." Emilia started. "That had to be the coldest shower I've ever taken."

"I'm used to cold showers." Seren smiled. "Why couldn't you just make the water warmer?" She asked.

Emilia paused for a second. "I couldn't stay focused. I have a lot on my mind. No focus, it becomes that much harder to use my powers."

"Something you want to talk about?" Seren opened the locker she placed her armored clothes in.

"Oh, I don't want to bore you." Emilia sat on the ground.

"Please," Seren laughed a little. "I got a lot of venting back home. Nothing can relate to the problems of an Asgardian." She smiled.

"It's just I'm worried about Cindy and... Other things." In her mind, Emilia thought about the words of the Ancient One. "If you are going to be a part of this team, you can't keep secrets from them." Emilia took a deep breath she stood from the floor and looked at Seren who had taken off her towel and began putting on her armor. "Seren, can I trust you? I mean, really trust you?"

Seren stopped dressing to face Emilia. "Of course you can."

"Okay, I've been doing some thinking as to why Osborn wanted me so bad. Why he singled me out. And I have a pretty good idea. Seren, I'm-."

She stopped when she heard the door to the locker room open. There were footsteps and the woman who made them came around the corner. Milly, one of the people who had rescued them. She still had her sunglasses on. Milly stopped walking when she noticed the two inside.

"Oh. Am I.. Uh..." She pointed to Seren who had no shirt on. "Interrupting anything?"

"Oh, what?" Seren grabbed her t-shirt and pulled it on. "No, We're just getting dressed."

"Yeah, I know." Milly smiled and approached the two. "I'm joking."

Seren looked to Emilia awkwardly before looking back to Milly. "So, Milly, we don't know a lot about you."

"Yeah, are you an Avengers kid?" Emilia added.

"Yep." Milly began undressing to get in the shower. "Well, technically my dad wasn't an Avenger. Honorary member. And my mom was never an Avenger."

"Who were your parents?"

"Daredevil and Elektra. The classic duo." Milly Murdock answered.

"Woah." Emilia smiled. "Does that mean you're blind like him?" She motioned to her shades.

"No." Milly took off the shades to reveal her black eyes. "I'm deaf. I wear the shades as a type of tribute to my dad."

Seren and Emilia exchanged confused glances. "You're.. Deaf? As in you can't hear?"

"Yep."

"Then how can you hear us now?"

"I can see sounds."

"You can see... Sound? How?" Emilia asked.

"It's really hard to explain. Sometimes I can't even decipher it. I mostly read lips and with enhanced vision it makes it really easy, you know?"

Emilia chuckled. "Not really, no."

"I don't blame you. Franklin was the only person who really understood it." Milly pulled her hair from the ponytail it was currently in and let it flow down her back. "He had a way of getting into my head."

"I'm guessing you and Franklin... Were an item?" Emilia asked, as Seren slid on her boots.

"Yeah. For almost a year. I ended it a while ago."

"You mind us asking why?"

"We had... Other interests."

"As in...?" Emilia started.

"He just... Changed." Milly looked at both Seren and Emilia. "He just became someone else who I didn't really know anymore. Ironically, he was the one to break it off."

"I'm sorry." Seren said now fully clothed.

"Well, there are plenty more men in the sea, right?" She smiled as she walked towards the showers. Milly grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her body. "Can we continue this conversation another time? I really need a shower."

"Sure." Seren said before the girl walked into the shower part of the locker room, dropping the towel on the ground. Seren turned to Emilia who sill had her towel over her. "Um Em? Are you getting dressed?" She asked the girl.

"Oh yeah. I was waiting for you." The girl snapped her fingers and in a second was wearing a black hoodie and jeans. Her black hair also had white highlights around the tips.

"No cloak?" Seren smiled, heading towards the door.

"Just something I learned from Cindy." Emilia followed her.

The two exited the locker room and began walking down a somewhat wide hallway with other Resistance members going through it. "So Emilia," Seren started. "What were you saying earlier?"

"Oh, right." Emilia looked down at her feet. "Well-."

"Hey!" The two girls turned around to see Damian walking towards them. He held an old looking book in his hand.

"Oh. Hey Damian." Seren stopped walking to let him catch up with them. "Where've you been?" She asked.

"Around." He said simply. He noticed Emilia's new look. "Nice hair." He complimented.

The girl smiled. "Thanks."

"I found this in one of the rooms." He handed Emilia the book he had. "It might be something you're interested in. Or not."

Emilia took the book and looked at the plain leather blue cover. She opened it to the first page where ir read: Guide to the Wiccan, Notes by Billy Kaplan. Seren looked at the book.

"Who is Billy Kaplan?" The asgardian warrior asked.

"He was the Young Avenger, Wiccan." Damian answered. "And apparently he kept a journal. I thought it might be more of use to you than anyone else here." He said to Emilia.

"Thanks." The sorceress smiled.

The three eventually came to the kitchen where they found Ben Parker enjoying a bowl of microwave ramen noodles and Jay Cage eating a sandwich. They both sat at the table in the small excuse for a kitchen which was only a wooden table with four unmatching chairs, a small sink, and a fridge. No wonder everyone else was eating in the hallways.

Ben looked over to see Damian, Emilia, and Seren. "Hey guys," He smiled. "Who am I?" He stood up and gave the group a thumbs up, carring his bowl of noodles in his other hand. "Believe it!" He said. The group stood and looked at him with blank stares on their faces. Damian walked past him, totally ignoring his pathetic joke. "Because, you know, the show... Naruto? He eats ramen and says..." He sat down. "Nevermind."

"Yeah," Jay finished his snadwich. "I didn't laugh when he did it to me either."

"Yeah that's because you have no sense of humor."

Seren took a seat next to Ben while Emilia took the one next to Jay. "Have you guys seen Alex?" Damian asked them.

Before anyone could say anything, they heard a response. "He's in the gym." The five turned to see a boy around their age standing in the doorway. "I just saw him over there. Guy has a hell of a right hook."

Ben stood up and moved closer towards the boy. "Don't I know you?" He asked? "You look famliar."

"I'm Sam Jones." He responded. "I was one of the people you rescued from the Vault."

"Oh yeah!" Ben smiled. "I remember you. Glad to see you made it here safely."

"Yeah. I'm glad to see you looking five time better than you did when I last saw you." The two shook hands.

"You should have seen me an hour ago." Ben commented. "So you're a part of the Resistance?" Ben asked him.

"Card carrying member." He smiled. "I'm an observation officer."

"That sounds exhausting." Ben moved to sit back in his seat.

"So Sam," Jay started. "How did you get involved with the Resistance?"

Sam grabbed a soda from the small refridgerator. He shrugged. "I guess you could say it's in my blood. My dad was Rick Jones."

The children stared at him blankly as a moment of silence went by. "Okay." Ben said. "I give up. Who's that?"

"You guys seriously don't know who Rick Jones is?" Sam asked.

"Wait!" Ben smiled. "Wasn't he a rapper?"

"That was Rick James." Jay corrected.

"Oh." Ben sunk back into his seat. "Then no, I don't know him."

"Rick Jones was the guy who kept the Avengers together." Sam explained. "He convinced them to be a team. Hell, in a way he was a founding member."

"That's not what history books say." Damian leaned on the wall, away from the table.

"The history books are crap." Sam opened the bottle of soda and took a long drink. "Well, I can't blame you. My dad wasn't exactly a person you'd remember. Anyways, he was a member of Cap's Resistance and..." He thought for a while. "You know what happened to them. I grew up on the streets, alone. Like most people here. But as soon as I heard there was another Resistance forming, I had to join."

"I understand." Seren said. "Honoring your family. Noble."

"Yep. Been a member for about eight years now. I honestly don't know what I'd be doing if I wasn't apart of this." He inhaled deeply for a moment. "What about you guys? Are you all going to join the Resistnace?"

"I don't see why we shouldn't." Emilia said. "We came all this way to meet up with you guys."

"Not many of us have anywhere else to go." Jay added. "Staying here would make sense."

"Well I think it'd be great to have you guys stay." Sam said. "Having more kids with powers on the team would definitely give us the edge we need over Osborn."

Damian crossed his arms. "Maybe."

-The City-

Drew walked down a quiet corridor with his guide Jennifer. They walked in silence since leaving Nathaniel's tower. He took the oppurtunity to think over all he had learned today. About the City, the Children of Tomorrow, and the sights there were to see from the massive space station.

"So." Drew looked to the girl. "Do you have a real name?" She asked. "I mean, your mother's name was Jessica Drew."

"Um," He rubbed his head. "I never really had one. I just called myself Drew."

"You never wanted a real name?"

"I never needed a real name. I guess my mom died before giving me one so I just went with her last name. Drew." He explained.

"Oh. It suits you."

Drew grinned bashfully. "So how'd you get involved with these guys?" He asked.

"I grew up here. I came from earth after I was saved by Nathan." She told him.

"Do you have any special powers?"

"I'm a mutant, so yes." She answered. 'I have telepathy and telekinesis.' Drew heard her thoughts in his head.

"Oh, so you're like Celeste?" Drew asked.

"No. Celeste is on a much higher level than me. At this point, I can just read minds and talk in your head. She can do so much more with her powers, it's not even funny." She told him. "And as far as my telekinesis," She paused. "I don't know. I don't really test it that much. I don't have a reason to."

"The earth being ruled by several maniacal tyrants sounds like a reason to." Drew said rather coldly.

"I tend to leave that kind of stuff to Nathan."

"Why are you guys just now making a move against Osborn? This has been going on for almost twenty years."

"Again, ask Nathan. He is the guy who makes all the moves and calls all of the shots. No one questions his decisions. Everything he does have a reason."

"Do you know his big master plan?" Drew asked her.

"No, I don't."

"Why don't you read his mind and find out?"

"I can't betray the trust of the man who took me in, Drew." Jennifer responded. "Besides, Celeste would kill me." She smiled, causing Drew to chuckle.

Before Drew could say anything else, Jennifer stopped in front of a door. "Here's where you'll be staying. Well, that is, if you decide to stay with us." She opened the door to reveal an all white room almost like the infirmary he woke up in just a little smaller. There was a bed and a desk in the opening and a door leding into a personal restroom. There was a closet next to the desk that had multiple black and white outfits hanging there.

"Thanks." Drew walked into the room. Jennifer was about to close the door but Drew turned back around to her. "Hey," He sleared his throat. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Can you give me one good reason to stay here?" He asked her.

Jennifer thought for a second. "Let me counter that with a question. Do you really want to make use of your powers other than beating up punks in prison? There's so much more to you than you think, Drew. There's a reason Nathan wants you here. Even if you don't see it yet." She said. "You can leave or you can stay here. No one will hold your decision against you, but I'll be a little disappointed." With that, she smiled and walked away.

The door closed in front of Drew as he thought about what she had said. He moved to the bed and sat down on the edge. He turned his arm to see the spider insignia. "What would mom do?" He asked himself. Drew looked to the closet and one of the uniforms caught his eye. He smiled. And moved to pick it up, admiring it. "I'll just try it on."

-Resistance Base-

Alex took a drink from his soda can as Ben Grimm crummbled his twelth one and threw it into the nearby crash can.

The former superhero burped loudly. "Sorry 'bout that." He apologized.

Alex chuckled. "It's fine."

There were footsteps by the door leading to the rest of the base. It opened to reveal Franklin. He looked at the two. "Alex, I had a feeling you'd be in here. Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure thing." Alex looked to Ben who stood up and began walking towards the door.

"I know when a secret's comin.'" He smiled at Franklin. "I'll be in my room."

"What else is new?" Franklin joked.

Alex grabbed his shield, slung his jacket over his shoulder, and moved towards the door. "What's up?" He asked Franklin.

"I just got a tip from one of my moles on the inside of Osborn's operation that a huge shipment of Von Doom's weapons are arriving on the docks tonight." He told him. "I want you on the black ops team to make sure Osborn gets none of those weapons."

Alex thought. "Sure, I'll go tell my team and we'll be ready to-."

"No. It's called black ops for a reason. We don't want fifty freakin' people on a mission like this. I want you and your archer on this one."

"Damian? Why him?"

"I'm guessing he has expirience in this sort of thing. So. You in?"

"Yeah."

"Good. We'll be out in about an hour. Get your stuff together and meet me at the hanger." Franklin walked away.

"Wait! I don't know where the hanger is!"

"Azari will show you." Franklin shouted back.

"Azari?" Just then, Alex turned around to see the same boy who had saved him in his fight with Crossbones. The boy in the black cat suit. Only this time his mask was off, revealing his face.

"Pleasure to meet you." The boy said in a deep african accent. "I'm Azari Monroe."

"Let me guess. Son of the Black Panther?" Alex said, shaking his hand.

"And the X-Man Storm." Azari added. "I will be your guide until we leave for the mission."

"You're going too?" Alex asked him.

"Indeed. I am always involved in the black ops missions."

"Gee, I wonder why." Alex smiled.

"Was that sarcasm?" Azari asked him as they walked down the hallway.

. . . . .

Milly Murdock had just stepped out of the girls shower room and was proceeding to walk down the hallway. She had a lot on her mind. The most urgent were the new kids joining them. Franklin had told her to keep an eye on them. These new kids have been causing all kinds of trouble for both Osborn and th Resistance. Any group of kids who can break out of the Vault would be powerfully allies; allies the Resistence needed.

The second was the fact that today was the third anniversary of the day she joined the Reistance. It wouldn't be such a big deal if she hadn't have been thinking about it all day long. Milinda "Milly" Murdock grew up alone, like most kids now, and found food for herself. When the Resistance first started, she had no intentions of joining, but she was made a target of the Thunderbolts. She was beaten brutally and was surely going to die until she was saved by Franklin and the Grimm brothers. After that, she decided to stay on the team permanently.

Ever since she and Franaklin had broken up, she has become a lot more antisocial. She rarely ever talks to anyone and mostly sits in her room and reads her books. But recently, Franklin has had the Resistance on countless missions the past few months. Milly hoped that with these new kids on their side, she'd have more "me time."

The girl stopped in her tracks when she sensed a lot of laughter and sound coming from the kitchen. She rounded the corner and saw the new kids all laughing and getting along with Sam Jones who seemed to be at the center of attention. Milly thought back to when that used to be her. She missed when the Resistance would have moments like that. She let a smile creep onto her face at the memories.

"And then I told him-." Sam stopped telling his story when he noticed Milly standing in the entreway. "Oh, hey there Milly." He said. "Guys, this is Milinda Murdock. Our very own lady without fear and the daughter of Daredevil and Elektra." He introduced.

"We've met." Seren smiled.

Milly slapped the back of Sam's head. "Milly. Not Milinda."

"Duly noted." Sam said rubbing his head.

"So you guys have how many super powered members?" Damian asked.

"Including me? Five. Franklin, Azari, Peace, Pym, and myself. Well, those are all the ones who are active anyways." Milly told them.

"Wait," Ben started. "Who is Azari?"

"Me." Ben turned around quickly to see the boy in the black suit standing behind him. Ben immediately fell to the ground in surprise. The teens around him began laughing. Ben picked himself off of the ground.

"He was not there before!" Ben shouted, pointing at Azari.

"I apologize." Azari stiffled a chuckle as Alex walked into the kitchen behind him.

"Yeah." Ben sat back down. "Ninja cat people jumping from ot of no where." He mumbled.

"Damian." Alex called to the archer. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure." He began to leave the kitchen.

"Milly." Azari said. "We have a mission."

The girl sighed and followed.

"A mission?" Ben stood up. "Without us?"

"It's stealth." Alex told him. "Limited number of people, as less noise as possible."

Ben was about to speak when he thought about him trying to be stealthy. "Okay, I guess you have a point."

"You all stay here." Alex told them as the four others began to leave. "We'll be back."

"Maybe." Damian added.

"Be safe, guys..." Emilia said but by the time she got it out, they was gone. She sighed and stood up. "I'm going to go practice my magic." She grabbed the book Damian had given her earlier and left.

The rest of the group sat in silence until Sam cleared his throat. "So." He gave a big smile. "Who's up for the tour?"

-Resistance Hanger-

"So do we even know what mission we're going on?" Damian asked Azari as they entered a room with a few small aircrafts in them.

"I assume Franklin will tell us on our way there." Azari said.

"You assume?"

"Sometimes he tells us, sometimes he won't." Milly explained. "He likes to keep us on our toes like that."

"Huh." Damian shoved his hands into his pockets. "Guy sounds a little unstable."

"You're one to talk." Milly responded.

Damian turned to the girl and his eyes met hers but his glare was blocked by her red shades.

"This one is our transportation." Azari pointed to the sleekest looking black jet. "The Blackbird 2.0."

On the top of the jet was a boy in a long sleeve shirt and baseball cap, covering his long black hair. He had a bunch of wires in his hands coming from an open panel on the top of the Blackbird.

"Grimm!" Milly called to the boy who responded with a wave.

"That's one of Ben Grimm's sons?" Alex asked Azari.

"Yes. I'd like to introduce you to Jason Grimm."

"Don't forget his better looking brother." The group looked towards the opening of the Blackbird to see another boy wearing a basketball jersey walkng towards them. "Azari, these the new kids everyone's been talking about?"

"Yes. Well, two of them at least." Azari stepped aside. "Alex, Damian, this is Rocky Grimm. Our pilot."

"The best damn pilot you'll ever have." Rocky shook the boys hands before turning to his twin brother who was closing the panel at the top of the Blackbird. "Jason! Saddle up! We're leaving."

"Aye aye Cap'n!" Jason jumped from the top of the jet and landed next to his brother. "Alright, we've got snow falling tonight." He told them. "I was adjusting the internal temperature and making sure the cloaking field would operate at fifty degrees. I'll be inside." He climbed into the jet.

"Yeah," Rocky looked to Alex and Damian. "My bro's a little antisocial."

"I know how that is." Alex looked to Damian who was to his far right, examining the jet. "Where's Franklin?"

"Ask and you shall receive." The group turned to see Franklin walking towards them, wearing his usual Fantastic Four jacket. He walked past them. "Lets go team." He smiled as he entered the Blackbird 2.0. "We've got a weapons base to destroy."

-The City-

Nathaniel sat in the same room he had been in when he met Drew earlier. He had dismissed the girls and was now working on his plan to save the world, typing on the holographic keyboard of his personal computer. In fact recently he rarely ever did anything else. He had a one tracked mind most of the time and that's what Celeste calls his one flaw. Most of the children in the City and his own sister thought he was obsessed. But Nathan knew the plan was too important to focus on anything else. Nathan was so close to saving the world but soon would come the most drastic mission and if he were to fail, there would be the most drastic of consequences. But he was prepared to take that chance. He promised he would.

However, his thought process was interrupted by footsteps. He at first thought it may have been Celeste but the steps were too heavy while hers were extremely petite and soft, almost moving in a rythmical sound.

He turned around and when he saw who the teenage boy standing in the doorway he smiled. He switched off his computer and folded his arms. "So does this mean you're going to join us?"

There in the entrance of the dome-shaped room, stood Drew but wearing one of the outfits left for him in the closet of his room. The suit was a majority of white with a large black spider insignia creating a unique pattern of black lines leading down his chest towards his arms and legs. His face was covered in a white full face mask with two narrow black one-sided lenses over his eyes. It fit him perfectly.

"Yeah." Drew answered. "I'm in."

"Good. Welcome to the Children of Tomorrow Drew. Or maybe better known by your new codename. Spider-Man."

Next: Black Ops

A/N:

Yep. For you all who couldn't tell, Drew's new suit is identical to the costume Peter Parker wore in his Future Foundation days. I thought in this case and for what I have planned the costume fits.