War Journal Entry #225: The headline on in Los Angeles Times says it all; The Pride Lives!

It seems like I picked the perfect time to come to L.A. after all. An entire drug ring, tentatively identified as consisting of upstarts who moved in from Las Vegas, was butchered last night. No loss there. But the Pride's symbol and the words "The Pride Lives!" were written in the pushers' blood at the scene and that's enough to have scared the hell out of the whole city.

The possible return of the Pride is the only topic on the morning news. I just watched a press conference with the chief of police trying to reassure the public and failing miserably. Even under a horde of TV cameras no one sweats that much. I'm sure the fact that his immediate predecessor is doing life in San Quentin for being a Pride lackey wasn't far from his mind during his little speech.

Odds are the cops weren't expecting this story to leak so fast. But their problem is my gain. No doubt the whole L.A. underworld is soiling its pants right now. When the scum panic my job only gets easier.

I'm looking forward to their reaction to finding out I'm in town.

I don't know if the Pride really is back or if this is some sort of brutal hoax. But it makes my need to find the Pride's kids all the more urgent. Because if the Pride really is alive then their children will certainly lead me right to them.

Mickey Musashi cursed softly as she reached for the phone on the nightstand by her bed.

"'ello?"

"Mickey, did I wake you up?" came Phil Urich's voice.

"Yes, and I hope it was for a good reason, Phil. It's Saturday and I didn't get to sleep until late."

"Oh, it's for a good reason, all right. Turn on the news. You'll see."

Muttering another curse under her breath the former New Warrior grabbed the remote control from the nightstand and hit the power button. The screen flared to life in a second and Mickey quickly flipped to KTLA. She then dropped the phone in shock over the headline plastered on the bottom of the screen.

Recovering her wits the heroine quickly scooped the phone up again. "Is this for real, Phil?!"

"That's the million dollar question. The whole office is going nuts over this! But one of our top reporters has a cop who was on the scene for a source. She trusts this guy and he says it's legit. Other people here with sources in the police have been asking about it and getting confirmation as well. I don't know if this is really the Pride's work, but I know for a fact that the LAPD is seriously freaking out about it."

"Considering how many boys in blue turned out to be in bed with the Pride it's understandable," replied Mickey. "The question is what we are going to do about this."

"That's why all of us are going to need to meet up and figure out a plan. The Pride may not have operated out in the open, but they were Masters of Evil level in terms of bad. We can't just sit on our hands on this one."

"Agreed. I'll call the others. When can you get off work?"

Phil sighed. "No idea. I haven't seen the office this crazy since the Pride story first broke. If I can't make it see what the other think and then we'll figure out something from there."

"Should I come in? I do work at the Times too, after all."

"No, I'll handle things here. I'll leave rounding up the others to you. I have to go now. A meeting is about to start. Later."

"Bye."

Once Phil had hung up Mickey's eye drifted back to the TV where a reporter was recounting a list of organizations the Pride had been discovered to have been manipulating. She frowned deeply before starting to dial.

An urgent knocking on the door of her room awoke Nico. "Come in already!" she called as she turned on a lamp and began to grope for her glasses.

Karolina swept into the room clad in a t-shirt and pajama bottoms. "Nico! You need to get to the monitor room like ten minutes ago!"

"Jeez, Karolina, where's the fire? What's going on?"

"It's all over TV! Just get down there and you'll see! I gotta go wake the others!"

"Whoa, whoa! Wait! Karolina, for pity's sake, calm down and tell me what's going on."

The alien girl stopped, took a deep breath and tried to say something but the words caught in her throat. She then looked at her teammate with a pained expression. "I'm sorry. It's just…I don't want to even think it much less say it. Just go see for yourself."

Before Nico could say anything her Karolina bolted from the room.

"For god's sake, Chase, could you have at least put on some pants?" admonished a bathrobe-clad Gert as she and Chased strode down the hall to the monitor room.

"Like you've never seen me in my boxers. And it's not as if they're not clean. Well, pretty much clean," protested Chase as pointed to the smiley face-covered boxers with one hand and adjusted the strap on his wifebeater with the other.

"I don't see any skid marks so I guess that counts as mostly clean," remarked Victor, wearing black sweat pants and a maroon t-shirt, as he jogged up behind them with Molly just a few paces behind.

"What are skid marks?" asked Molly who was also wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt with the words "Brand Hex" written on it.

Chase swore quietly under his breath but said nothing more.

"'Morning, guys. Thanks for at least putting on pants," said Gert. "Does anyone know what the hell is going on? Karolina seemed majorly freaked when she woke me up."

"Same here," replied Chase.

Victor gave a small nod. "Ditto."

"I think she was crying a little bit when she left my room," added Molly.

It was then that the quartet arrived at the door to the monitor room. As they entered Nico turned from the largest screen, her face extremely grim. Karolina stood a few feet away, looking slightly calmer than she had before but there was a slight redness around her eye that clearly indicated she'd been crying shortly before.

"Guys, we have a problem," said Nico coldly as she jerked a thumb at the screen. Displayed prominently on the screen was a group photo of the runaways and their parents taken the year before the kids had learned the truth about their families. Black bars had been put over the kids' faces to help protect their identities but the faces of their parents were very clear. This photo had been used by the media endlessly when the truth about the Pride had first come to light.

But now at the bottom of the photo were the words "Are the Pride Alive?"

Victor frowned deeply and Gert and Chase went slack-jawed.

"Mom?" whispered Molly.

Mark French rubbed his eyes as he took another sip of coffee. It tasted awful but he gulped it down anyway. Both his body and mind were fatigued but French knew given what had happened in the last few hours it would be quite a while before he'd have time for a luxury like sleep.

It was then that Taylor arrived at her partner's desk looking equally haggard. She tossed a file down in front of French before unceremoniously plopping down at her desk which faced his. "The boys in the morgue just confirmed the IDs on the stiffs from the warehouse. It was like you thought; all were members of the Hard Six racket from Vegas."

French nodded to himself. "I though I recognized "Lucky" Eddie Malone from a bulletin we got from LVPD. I gotta say, he looked better when his head was still attached to his body."

"So what do you think, Mark? Are the Pride really alive?"

"The Pride's kids and Captain America sure seemed to think not. I don't put much stock in what those kids say. But an Avenger and Cap no less…"

Taylor looked thoughtful for a moment. "Captain America saved the lives of my grandfather and his whole unit back in the war. Back then black units were cannon fodder. But grandpa said Cap didn't hesitate for a second helping them in the fight. Hell, he personally blocked a volley that would have turned my grandpa into Swiss cheese with that shield of his.

"After it was all over everyone was still alive and all the wounds were minor. Then Cap congratulated the whole unit on their bravery and shook the hand of every man there. Those boys had never been treated that way by a white man before and they certainly didn't expect that from a legend like Captain America. Grandpa talked about Cap like he was a saint till his dying day."

French blinked. "Wow. You've never told me that."

Taylor shrugged. "Never really had a reason to bring it up. But the way my grandpa talked about Captain America when I was growing up, well, I guess his feelings rubbed off on me. I know it might seem weird but I guess I always looked at Cap as someone who could do no wrong and was always right."

"And now it looks like he was wrong about the Pride and it bothers you," finished French. "If it's any comfort it looks like a lot of people could have been wrong about the Pride being dead. The question now is what we do next."

Taylor straightened up in her chair and put on an all business expression. "We're cops. We'll investigate. CSU is still at the scene, but from what Cliff has figured out so far a group of attackers is unlikely. Odds are, somehow, one person did all that."

"I don't know of many normal humans that can butcher over a dozen heavily armed thugs" said French. "So I guess it's time to start shifting through the FBI's supervillain database."

"What about the Pride angle?"

"The Pride weren't known for getting their hands dirty. A mess like this doesn't jive with what he know about the Pride's abilities either. So either someone is doing the Pride's dirty work or someone trying to pin taking out Malone's gang on the Pride for their own reasons. Either way, the sooner we get some suspects to work from the sooner we can start figuring out what the hell is really going on."

"Then we'd best get started," replied Taylor as she turned on her computer. "I ran into the caption on the way here. He wants a report in two hours and if we don't have something to show him we're going to be in for an earful."

"Days like this make me wish I'd stayed in the Navy," grumbled French as he got down to work.

War Journal Entry #226: Before I left New York I convinced a number of scumbags with west coast connections to give me information on the big players in LA now that the Pride are gone. I didn't leave any of them alive to give the local lowlifes any warning so the element of surprise is totally on my side.

To get to the truth about the Pride's possible return and their kids I'm going to need information. The easiest way to do that is to get out of the local scum. But in order to inspire the fear in them that I need I'll first have to get their attention.

I've decided to start with Hu Ling Zhu. The reigning king of LA's Chinatown, Zhu made his fortune smuggling illegal Chinese immigrants in the US. But instead of a chance for prosperity and the American dream Zhu packs his victims off to work in sweat shops and brothels to pay for the their passage to the States.

My source told me that Zhu conducts most of his deals over lunch at a restaurant called the Shining Wave. Zhu is the owner of the place and closes it every day between eleven and one to do business. It costs him the lunch crowd but I imagine Zhu values the privacy more.

That also helps me. Anyone in the restaurant then is sure to be working with Zhu and therefore fair game.

It's time to make myself known.

Hu Ling Zhu chewed thoughtfully on the bit of meat bun in his mouth and looked at the small, mousy man who sat across from him. Gordon Wang had been Zhu's personal accountant for many years and Zhu trusted his mathematical skills to keep his criminal empire flowing smoothly.

"You're certain of those figures, Gordon?" asked Zhu in Cantonese. "I expected to make quite a bit from having the next batch of fools from the homeland swallow baggies of heroin before coming ashore to be profitable. But these numbers are beyond my expectations. Not that I'm complaining, but…"

Wang made a reassuring gesture with his hands before replying also in Cantonese. "I assure you, Mr. Zhu, I confirmed the current price of heroin and triple checked the numbers before bringing them to you. By having the newcomers swallow the drugs you'll save yourself on the costly bribe fees to our inspector friends. As per our arrangement with the inspectors, the cost to look the other way on immigrants is far, far lower. By combining the two you stand to make an exceptional profit.

"The gods have smiled on you, Mr. Zhu and blessed you with fortune."

Just then the door to the Shining Wave burst open and a powerfully built man in a black trench coat stepped through the threshold. On his chest he wore a t-shirt with a large white skull on it. In his hands were two submachineguns .

"Hu Ling Zhu, I'm here to kill you," informed the Punisher, coldly.

Sheer shock had caused the criminals in the room to freeze. This proved to be a costly mistake as the vigilante began firing. Two of Zhu's half dozen bodyguards died instantly as a swarm of bullets flew through their chests.

With the thugs closest to the door dead now dead the Punisher dived to his left and rolled behind the counter. He came up in a half-crotch and fired to his right, killing the bodyguard who had been protecting the entrance from the kitchen. Now all that remained of Zhu's protectors were the two guards flanking him and the one who had been guarding the hall leading to the toilets.

The Punisher ducked low to help avoid the hail of gunfire that now came. Most of the bullets sailed far over his head and the rest were stopped by the counter which had expensive stone paneling.

Once the volley stopped there was silence for a moment. Now clear of their initial shock the bodyguards were in full professional mode. They glanced to their client and saw that Zhu had drawn his gun and had taken cover under his table alongside a cowering Gordon Wang.

"Get him!" mouthed Zhu, enraged.

The two guards who had been flanking Zhu spilt to come at the Punisher from each side of the counter. But as they began to round the counter the vigilante leapt up, not even looking at his enemies, and landed on the countertop. His guns held waist high and turned to each side the Punisher began to fire. Two more bodyguards died.

The last bodyguard had been caught by surprise again. But he recovered more quickly this time and fired off three shots from his pistol. Two of the shots caught Punisher near his right shoulder. But the Kevlar in the vigilante's armor stopped the bullets and the Punisher wasn't even slowed as he leapt forward.
Frank landed on the edge of a table violently tipping it on its side and sending expensive dinnerware into the air. The bodyguard futilely fired two more shots that lodged in the table. The Punisher's arm then snaked out and fired, killing the last guard.

"I won't beg! I'd rather die than beg!" shouted Zhu, this time in English. The crime lord then fired a few rounds at the table the Punisher was hiding behind before making a break for the bathrooms. He only made it three steps before a volley of bullets tore into his lower legs sending Zhu to the floor with a scream.

The Punisher then fully stepped out from behind the table, gave Wang a glance to confirm that he was still cowering, and then strode forward.

Zhu tried to aim his gun but his hands shook so badly the weapon slipped from his grip and hit the floor with a clatter. The Chinese man cursed, gritted his teeth and turned to look at Castle.

"I won't beg," Zhu said simply.

"It wouldn't have done you any good," informed the Punisher. With another squeeze on the trigger of the gun in the vigilante's hand the life of Hu Ling Zhu ended.

His target now dead the vigilante now strode over to Gordon Wang who was weeping and trying to recite a Buddhist prayer at the same time. Wang stopped when he noticed the Punisher's shadow fall over him.

"Please don't kill me!" begged the accountant. "I just did the books! I never hurt anyone, I swear!"

The Punisher scowled and raised his gun to the side of Wang's head. "You knew exactly how Zhu made his money and you helped him. That makes you as guilty as the rest."

Wang had squeezed his eye shut and continued to weep. Then he felt the gun lower from where it had been pressed against his temple.

"Normally I'd paint the walls with your brains," informed the Punisher. "But today's your lucky day. I need someone to tell the scum in this town that they've got something new to be afraid of now. That's going to be you. Understand?"

Scarcely believing his good fortune Wang nodded his head enthusiastically. "Yes, I understand! I know who you are! I'll tell everyone Mr. Zhu was killed by the Punisher!"

"Then get the hell out of here before I change my mind."

Gordon Wang immediately scrambled to his feet and ran out the front door as fast as his legs would carry him.

Once the accountant was gone Castle paused for a moment to pick up some of the papers Wang had been showing Zhu when they'd been interrupted. He glanced through them briefly before tossing the papers back on the floor and heading out the door.

As he stepped outside a few people looked at him from behind parked cars and places on the sidewalk where they'd taken cover when the shooting had started. The Punisher ignored them and briskly walked to the spot where he'd parked his battle van halfway down the block. The onlookers were still hiding as Castle climbed into the van and drove away.

Some time later the runaways had gathered in the Hostel's "briefing room" as Nico called it. The room's many chairs and holographic display capabilities made it ideal for team discussions. It had most recently been used to help the team try a figure out who Victor's father might be.

Now dressed in their normal clothes the group was silent as they settled in and got comfortable. Gert silently opened a box of strawberry Pop-Tarts and began to pass it around.

"I know what we all saw on the news was a big shock to everyone," began Nico. "But whatever's going on we have to be smart about this."

"That stuff on the news was bull," dismissed Gert. "If our folks were really alive we'd all be dead right now. End of story."

"No way!" retorted Chase. "We beat our folks before and we can do it again if we have to! Only this time we make sure they're dead!"

"Gert's right, Chase. If our parents wanted to come after us they could have done it plenty of times when we were asleep or something and we wouldn't have been able to fight back. After all, we're living in their old HQ so it's not like they wouldn't know this place inside and out" said Karolina.

"That's a good point," agreed Nico. "Besides, flashy stuff was never our folks' style. They'd know that something like this would just bring the Avengers running. That would be the last thing they'd want if they were alive and looking to regain control of the city."

"Could they even do that without the help of those giant things?" asked Molly as she pulled a pop-tart out of the box.

Nico shrugged. "No idea. But I think they'd make a good try of it."

"This seems like a trick to lure you guys out of hiding to me," said Victor. "You gotta admit, if there was one thing that would get all of your attentions…"
"I've been considering that idea as well," replied Nico. "This has trap written all over it."

"But with our folks gone who would have it out for us that bad?" quizzed Karolina.

"As far as I know, all those idiots in costumes we've beat are still in jail," added Gert. "I don't think it's one of them."

"Captain Jerkwad and S.H.I.E.L.D. would like to get their hands on us. But even I don't think they'd go this far," said Chase.

"When you guys took down the Pride you took a lot of powerful people down with them. Maybe someone like that is looking for payback," suggested Victor.

Nico scratched her chin a bit. "That's true and it does make sense. But that would be a really big list of people to deal with."

"The feds seized the assets of everyone they caught working with the Pride. Without resources butchering a drug gang or finding someone who could would be pretty damn hard," pointed out Gert.

"Hard but not impossible," countered Nico. "And there's still a lot about what our parents were up to that we don't know much about. It did take us a couple weeks after we ran away again to find this place, remember?"

"So what are we going to do about this?" asked Karolina.

"Try and figure out who might want to pull something like this," replied Nico. "It's not going to be easy but there's nothing else we can do. We should start by seeing if any of the people that got taken down with our folks got off on technicalities or something like that. It's not much but that's the best I can think of right now. So we might as well get started."

"Give me supervillains to homework any day," snorted Chase as he stood.

"If you don't want to help in the research give the Leapfrog a onceover," said Gert. "See if you can find any more helpful surprises your folks left in there."

"Fine. I still haven't figured out how to change the damage setting on the lasers from "stun" to "deep fried". Once I figure that out I--"

"Chase, you know I love you but I really don't want to hear about the lasers again."

As the others filed out of the room Karolina and Nico hung back.

"Things are about to get real bad, aren't they?" asked Karolina.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure they are."

"This isn't the usual game of whack-a-supervillain. This one hits really close to home. I'm worried, Nico."

The goth tensed and took a deep breath before speaking. "We're all worried. But we've got to face this. Our parents' ghosts are always going to be with us. We just have to be strong enough to put those spirits to rest."

The knock on the door of Mickey's apartment was quick and urgent. When she opened the door her teammates Chris Powell and Johnny Gallo, also known as Darkhawk and Ricochet, quickly stepped inside looking worried.

"Hey, guys. What's wr--" began Mickey.

"We've got more trouble," interrupted Chris.

Johnny was already heading for the living room where Julie Power, formerly Lightspeed of Power Pack, was setting out drinks on the coffee table. "Hey, guys! I hit Starbucks on the way over here. I don't know what each of you takes so I just got moccaccinosfor everyone. I hope that's okay."

"Hi, Julie," said Johnny, his mood lightening a bit. "Yeah, that's fine. But turn on the TV. Chris and I heard something big on the radio on the way here. It looks like things have gotten even more complicated."

As Julie reached for the remote Chris entered the living room followed by an annoyed looking Mickey. "Is today National Don't Give Anyone A Straight Answer Day or something? Because I'm getting tired of being told to check the TV news when I'm talking with people who know what's going on."

"Old time, New York-style trouble is what's going on," replied Chris.

The remote now in hand Julie turned on the TV and flipped to KNBC.

"…from footage taken by a tourist at the scene and obtained exclusively by KNBC, we have confirmed that the man seen leaving the scene of the shooting in Chinatown is the notorious New York-based vigilante known as the Punisher," informed the smartly-dressed newscaster.

Mickey's mouth fell open. "The Punisher?! What's that psycho doing here!?"

"Racking up a body count. As usual," muttered Chris.

"I thought that guy mostly stuck to New York," said Julie. "In fact, I read something about him taking out a bunch of mob guys in the Bronx on the net just a few days ago."

"Do you think he's here because of that thing with the Pride?" asked Johnny.

"No," said Mickey. "Word about the Pride possibly being back only broke this morning. Just hopping on the first flight to LA isn't the Punisher's style. He's a planner. So his being in town and the Pride situation are likely just coincidence."

"Weird coincidences are the norm for people like us," conceded Julie.

Chris nodded. "Ain't that the truth. But since the timing is likely a coincidence that means the Punisher is in town for another reason. And whatever that reason is it means more dead bodies."

"So what should we do?" asked Johnny. "Do we try and figure what's going on with this Pride situation or do we go hunting for the Punisher?"

"Is the Punisher even something we should be dealing with?" said Julie. "He doesn't have any powers. Maybe we should leave him to the police."

"The police have always been pretty useless when it comes to dealing with the Punisher," replied Mickey. "Too many of them are sympathetic to him. After all, a dead crook is one less crook they have to worry about. Like it or not, we're going to have to be the ones to deal with him."

"That's not going to be easy. The Punisher is a smart SOB. Guys with a lot more experience than us have tried to take him down and failed," warned Chris.

"Guys like Spider-Man, Daredevil, and even Wolverine, from what I've heard," added Johnny. "Hell, I've heard the Punisher even tangled with the Hulk and walked away."

"We're not much of a bunch of superheroes if we're reluctant to take on this guy just because he's tough," retorted Mickey. "But you're right, Chris. The Punisher is no fool and if we go after him without some sort of an edge he's got a pretty good chance of getting away."

"You know, if we catch the Punisher it would be big news," mused Julie. "Some good PR never hurt a new super team."

"I don't really think we should be worrying about that right now," said Johnny. "I'm all for getting our names out there, god knows no one remembers me, but we can try and spin things after we catch the gun-totting lunatic."

"Sorry, you're right. Saving lives has to come first."

"Odds are that Phil has already heard about this but just in case, Chris, use my phone to call him and let him know and tell him we're trying to come up with a plan for dealing with the Punisher," said Mickey as she pulled a cell phone from the pocket of her jeans and handed it to Chris.

"When that's done I'd like it if you guys could start going over everything you know about the Punisher. If any of you have ever run into him anything you remember might be helpful.

"I've going to my bedroom to make a few calls. I still have a few connections from my days in the New Warriors that I'm going to try and work."

There were nods all around. Without further words Mickey turned and headed to her bedroom.

In the monitor room of the Hostel Nico pushed herself away from a computer screen and began to rub her eyes. "God, and I thought geometry gave me headaches. Researching all our parents' evil pals is even worse. How are you guys doing?"

"Nothing that stands out," reported Victor.

"I'm not really finding anything either," said Karoline.

"I've got nothing as well," said Gert. "I'm starting to think that maybe we need a new plan."

"If you've got one I'm all ears," said Nico. "Everything we've found so far shows that DA's office and the feds are going out of their way to make sure all the Ts are crossed and Is dotted when it come to anyone who had anything to do with the Pride."

"Not surprising," commented Gert with a shrug. "Just about any of these cases could make someone's career. It's no wonder everyone involved is working to make sure everything goes smoothly. Everyone wants to ride the fall of the Pride to the top."

"That's the LA way," sighed Karoline.

"I'm all for trying something new, but other than research what kind of plan do we have?" asked Victor.

Just then the main monitor flared to life and 10-39 began to flash on the screen in bold red digits.

"Crap," grumbled Nico. "Talk about bad timing for a supervillain attack."

"It's really cool that you guys tied this place's system into the LAPD communications network," said Victor as everyone began to jog towards the area of the Hostel where the Leapfrog awaited. "You even use the their code for supervillains. It's way better than the scanner I had in my old room."

"It's something our folks set up," explained Gert. "We just tinkered with the system a bit."

In short order the four teens arrived where the Leapfrog sat waiting. Chase stood in the door of the entryway gesturing for them to hurry. "Molly and Old Lace are already inside. Hurry it up or we'll miss the chance to kick some butt!"

"Where is it and who's involved?" demanded Nico as she climbed aboard.

"I don't know about the who but the where is a pharmaceutical research lab called Optidrug. The scanner says the cops are getting everyone out and trying to close off the area until they can figure out if whoever's doing this means that SWAT can handle it or if they need to call in the National Guard."

"At least that means there shouldn't be civilians in the way," said Nico. As the door to the Frog clanged shut she turned and looked at Victor. "Feel like getting your hands dirty?"

Victor blinked in surprise. "For real?"

"Supervillain attacks are as real as it gets and our fights haven't been getting any easier. We could use another set of hands."

The young cyborg's face became serious. "Yeah, I'm ready to step up."

"Hey, wait!" shouted Chase. "Robo-kid is still on probation. How do we know he won't turn on us in a fight again?"

"I'm the leader, it's my call, Chase!" snapped Nico. "Now stop complaining and start piloting the Frog. People are in danger so I'm not going to waste time arguing with you."

Chase scowled for a moment before turning and hustling to the cockpit.

"Congratulations on the field promotion," said Karolina. "Don't worry about this being your first real supervillain fight. Just stay cool and listen Nico and you'll be fine."

Nico blushed slightly. "Um, thanks, Karolina."

"Don't worry about me," reassured Victor. "I'm ready for this. It's clobberin' time!"

Gert rolled her eyes. "God save me from the superhero fanboys."

When Mickey re-entered the living room she saw here three teammates clustered around the TV. "I like The Price Is Right to but now is really not the time, guys."

"We're not watchin' game shows," insisted Johnny. "We left the TV on while we were talking to see if there would be any more word on the Punisher. Instead, this popped up just a minute ago."

"Some supervillain is attacking a research lab," explained Julie.

"Who is it this time?" sighed Mickey.

"No idea. But a news chopper over the area showed people evacuating and a big hole in the side of the building," informed Chris.

"So someone with some real punch then," assessed the former New Warrior. "Johnny. Julie. Do you guys have your costumes handy?"

"Mine's in the car," replied Johnny.

"I keep mine in my bag," said Julie. "Gotta love unstable molecules. They can also make clothes really compact."

"Then suit up while I get changed. Chris, fire up your amulet. We've got a bad guy to stop."

Julie jammed a fist into the air. "Time to be big damn heroes!"

On a busy road a nondescript white van was speeding and expertly maneuvering around the other vehicles. Inside the Punisher sat driving, silent, only taking his eyes off the road for occasional glance eyes towards the van's GPS system. On the screen a bright green dot indicating the location of the Optidrug facility was quickly growing closer.

The Leapfrog landed in the main parking lot of Optidrug with a lot of noise and the cracking of some pavement. Moments later the runaways rushed out and Nico, the Staff of One now in hand, quickly surveyed the scene.

"Looks like the cops got everyone out but there might still be people trapped inside. Remember, this company likely has money to burn so property damage is not our concern. Helping anyone still inside and stomping whoever did this before Excelsior shows are. So let's do it."

With no further words Nico, Gert, Molly, Karolina, Victor, and Old Lace charged into the hole into the side of the building.

"Nail 'em one for me!" called Chase from the doorway of the Leapfrog.

Inside the young heroes found themselves among the ruins of what had once been a high-tech research lab. Smashed computers and machinery were strewn all about, several puddles of oddly-colored liquids coagulated on the floor, and a small cloud of acrid smoke filled the air.

"Um, where's the supervillain?" asked Victor.

Just then another wall exploded. From the dust emerged a powerfully build figure clad in a dark green Victorian-style suit and holding a box under one arm. The man's hair was wild and greasy and his complexion disturbingly yellow. His beady eyes, twitching with a hidden rage, quickly focused on the runaways.

"Okay, buddy, hold it right there!" shouted Nico. "This crap ends now!"

"You are in painful need of a lesson in manners, little girl," snarled the man as he tossed the box aside readied himself to attack. "No one addresses me as 'buddy'. You will call me 'mister'. Specifically, you will call me Mr. Hyde!"

Outside Chase heard a loud crash from within the building. With a curse he dashed down the gangplank and ran a few steps across the parking lot. "Gert, watch yourself in there," he whispered.

Just then the teen felt something hard and metallic pressed to the back of his head. "Chase Stein, I'd like to have a word with you," informed the deep, gravelly voice of the Punisher.

To be continued…

Author's Notes: I've branched a bit from established continuity here so now Victor's first supervillain fight will be Mr. Hyde instead of Swarm. I've also taken a few creative liberties with the set up of the Hostel, but nothing that I think is too unreasonable.

Mr. Hyde is a long time Marvel villain who I think will give the team a good fight. If you don't know much about him read his official entry on Marvel's website or check Wikipedia. I'll be sharing a bit of information on him as well but I won't be going in-depth.

I know this chapter was mostly talk so there will be a nice dose of action next time. Of course, things will also get more complicated for everyone involved.

The "Brand Hex" on Molly's t-shirt is a nod to the Marvel Boy mini-series. Given his role in Runaways/Young Avengers I enjoyed the idea of giving him a little bit of a shout out.

Speaking of shout outs, Julie's line about being "big damn heroes" is a nod to the film Serenity.