Disclaimer: I do not own Kidz Water Hydrators. They are property of Kidz Water and/or Marvel Comics. No profit is being made from this story.
Author's Note:"Kidz Water Hydrators" was a series of mini-comics (four issues in total) published by Marvel as a promotional gimmick for Kidz Water. I stumbled upon it while browsing and my curiousity was piqued. Promotional comics or not, I found myself taking a liking to these characters and wanting to write them as a 'proper' superhero team. Hence this story.
A plain, unmarked tanker truck was driving down a dirt road. On either side was a field filled with beautiful yellow flowers. The driver of the truck ignored them. He was far too preoccupied with his cargo.
He knew it shouldn't bother him. He'd hauled dangerous cargoes before, but this was different. He had heard the rumours of what this stuff could do to people and if even half of them were true it made him shudder.
They had assured him that the very latest safety precautions had been taken and there was no danger to him. Despite that he couldn't help gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white. A part of him wanted to speed up so he could reach his destination and get it all over that much sooner, but just imaging a crash, as unlikely as that was out here in the countryside, kept him at his current speed. Beads of sweat ran down his forehead and he reached up with one hand to wipe them away, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on the road ahead.
Had he thought to glance in his rear-view mirror he would have noticed another truck rapidly coming up behind him. He would also have seen the driver of the other vehicle lean out of the window and aim a bulky weapon resembling a high-tech super soaker at the tanker truck's rear wheels.
A jet of yellow goo shot from the barrel and splattered over the wheels. There was a sharp hiss followed by a loud bang as the tires blew out. Hearing that the truck driver immediately slammed his foot down on the brake and the truck screeched harshly as it came to a halt. The driver got out of the cab and climbed down to the ground, panting hard. Only then did he see the other truck, now parked a few yards away. Its driver got out and the man's jaw dropped.
Standing in front of him was a humanoid figure wearing a modified green hazmat suit with a yellow helmet, boots and gloves. On his back was a tank connected by a hose to the weapon in his hand. The face behind the helmet's visor was gruesome, with pale green lumpy skin, pointed teeth and large yellow eyes.
"Wh, what are you?" the truck driver managed to sputter out.
The figure said one word. "Contaminator." He then pointed his weapon at the hapless driver and pulled the trigger. The man barely had time to scream as he was covered in ooze.
Contaminator looked around at the flowers and snarled. "I hate flowers. I'm so tempted to put this substance to its intended use, but no. It will soon serve a far more important purpose."
The Hydrators were outside their headquarters, enjoying the warm sunshine. Two of the team, Ice and X-Stream were standing side by side on a track, preparing for a footrace.
"Get ready to eat my dust" said Ice confidently. He was a strongly built African-American man with dark eyes and his dark hair cut in a flattop.
"We'll see about that" X-Stream laughed. He was shorter and leaner, with spiky black hair, pale blue eyes and a boyish face that usually wore an amused smile. "Loser buys lunch."
"Deal."
Their teammates watched from the side-lines, eager for the race to begin. There were four of them. The first was the team leader Hydro, a tall man with brown hair, rugged features and brown eyes. Next to him was Crystal, whose green eyes and thick mane of red hair made her stand out in any crowd. At her other side was Misty, a beautiful Japanese woman with shoulder-length black hair and dark brown eyes. Finally, there was Vapour. He was even taller and more muscular than Ice, with blond hair worn in a crew cut and blue eyes.
Just as the race was about to start there was a sudden beeping from the team's communicators. Headquarters had received an urgent message.
"I'm afraid the race will have to wait," said Hydro. "Duty calls."
Moments later the team was assembled in the control room. All of them were now wearing their uniforms, blue bodysuits with yellow stripes running down the arms and legs, yellow belts, black trunks and turquoise boots with red trim. Each member also had a wrist-mounted hydro-phaser connected by a hose to a backpack. Their uniforms proudly bore the Hydrators insignia, a half yellow, half blue raindrop with the letter 'H' in the middle.
Hydro faced his teammates with an uncharacteristically grave expression on his face. "We have a major emergency on our hands."
"What's up?" X-Stream asked.
Hydro pressed a number of keys on the control panel and a monitor came on. It displayed an image of a chemical tank filled with pale greenish liquid.
"This is an experimental weedkiller being developed by Agri-Spray Ltd. During testing a worker was exposed to it" he said grimly. "His body broke out in sores and he developed an unquenchable thirst. All attempts to treat him failed. Eventually he went insane and died."
The others gasped. "That's horrible," said Misty.
"I know, and I'm afraid that isn't the worst part. The weedkiller was being transported to a site for safe disposal when the tanker truck carrying it was hijacked. A local birdwatcher got a glimpse of the culprit."
He pressed another key and the image changed to a figure in a strange outfit similar to a hazmat suit. It was a little blurry but the Hydrators recognised who it was immediately.
"Contaminator!" Ice exclaimed.
"I can't think of anyone worse to get a hold of that stuff" Vapour added. "We have to find him immediately."
"Is there any way to track him?" Crystal asked.
"There is" Hydro replied. "I contacted Agri-Spray and they sent us the formula for the weedkiller." He pressed another key and the screen displayed a complex chemical formula. "Ice, can you recalibrate your scanner to detect it?"
"Way ahead of you." Ice made a few adjustments to his scanner and seconds later it began to beep. "Oh no. I'm getting a reading and it's heading for a city, fast."
"Let's move out Hydrators!"
The Hydrators wasted no time in taking to the skies, Hydro, Crystal, Vapour and X-Stream on their sky-cycles, Misty flying alongside them and Ice riding on an ice slide. Moving at top speed they were soon approaching the city's reservoir.
Sure enough, up ahead of them was the familiar figure of Contaminator. He was flying through the air using a jet-pack that left behind a trail of foul black smoke. His tox-blaster was holstered and both his arms were wrapped around a chemical drum.
"He's going to poison the reservoir!" Hydro exclaimed.
"We've got to stop him!" Vapour called.
"Wait, I have an idea…"
Unaware of the Hydrators closing in on him, Contaminator switched his jet-pack to hover mode and came to a halt directly above the reservoir. He grinned with malicious glee as he looked down at the surface of the water.
"Once I contaminate the water the city will be doomed! All who drink it will succumb to infection and madness! There will be chaos, rioting, looting! I love it!"
"Hold it right there, Contaminator!"
He looked around to see his most hated enemies heading towards him. His grin broadened as he opened the drum.
"Too late Hydrators. Too late."
With that he upended the drum, sending its contents plunging towards the reservoir! Contaminator laughed victoriously.
His mad laughter came to an abrupt stop as he noticed a thick sheet of ice spreading across the water's surface. The weedkiller splashed harmlessly on the ice and seconds later it also froze solid.
"What!"
Then he spotted Ice. The Hydrator had ridden his ice slide in low and frozen the surface of the reservoir while his teammates had provided a distraction.
"I'm not beaten yet!" Contaminator yelled. He held up the now-empty drum. "I have an entire tankerful where this came from!" He let go of the drum and zoomed away…
Only to fly right into a thick fog-bank created by Misty. He looked around in utter bewilderment, his visibility reduced to zero. "Where did this come from? I can't see!"
"Good work Misty," said Hydro.
"Thanks" she replied with an amused smile. "He doesn't know whether he's coming or going in there."
"Ice, Vapour, get the weedkiller into storage. The rest of us will handle Contaminator."
"You got it," said Vapour.
The two of them flew down to the reservoir. Vapour switched his hydro-phaser to its steam setting and melted around the frozen weedkiller, taking great care to leave enough space to avoid melting it as well. Ice encased it further to prevent any leaking out. He did the same to the discarded drum. Vapour then used his great strength to lift the large chunk of ice out of the reservoir.
Meanwhile Contaminator had managed to find his way out of the fog-bank. His relief at doing so instantly turned to rage as he saw Hydro, Crystal, Misty and X-Stream flying right towards him.
"You won't get in my way again Hydrators!" He drew his tox-blaster and fired at Crystal but she blocked it with a crystal shield.
"Yuck!" she exclaimed as the goo splattered against her shield. As it fell away, she made a mental note to clean up the area afterwards. Fortunately, they were no longer over the reservoir.
The team fired their hydro-phasers but Contaminator dodged the water jets and returned fire. X-Stream tried to evade but he wasn't quick enough. The yellow slime covered the front of his sky-cycle and immediately ate into it with a hiss. The cycle lost power and fell like a stone.
"Hold on!" Misty flew down and caught X-Stream's wrist, stopping his fall. "Are you okay?"
"Sure" he replied with a grin. "You know this is starting to become a habit. Not that I'm complaining."
She smiled. "Who's counting?"
"But seriously, thanks."
"Any time."
Hydro and Crystal were continuing the aerial battle with Contaminator. Jets of water and goo flew back and forth through the air. To make matters worse the smoke from his jet-pack was befouling the air, making them choke and cough while their eyes burned. Seeing this the mutant laughed mockingly.
"What's wrong Hydrators? Need a breather? I'm just getting warmed up."
Seeing her friends' difficulties, Misty quickly created a light mist to dilute the noxious fumes. Their symptoms eased slightly.
"This isn't working" Hydro managed to say. "We need to use teamwork."
Crystal wiped her eyes. "Any ideas?"
"Just one." He hurriedly whispered it to her and she nodded. Summoning the strongest shield that she could, Crystal gunned her sky-cycle's engine and flew right at Contaminator. He fired another blast of ooze but again her shield blocked it. At the last second before collision he swerved out of the way…
And right into the path of a hydro-phase blast that sliced through his jet-pack. At once it sputtered and died. Contaminator howled as he began to fall. Hydro and Crystal swooped in and each caught hold of one of his arms.
"Ready to come quietly now?" Hydro asked pleasantly. "It's a long way down."
He snarled but nodded. "I yield."
"Smart move," said Crystal.
Once Contaminator had been turned over to the authorities, the Hydrators located his base and destroyed all traces of the deadly weedkiller. Only when they were certain they had wiped out all of it and cleaned up the goo fired from his tox-blaster did they return to headquarters.
The next day X-Stream and Ice were ready to race. Both of them crouched down on the starting line, their faces set in determination.
Crystal raised a flag. "Ready and go!"
They took off in a sprint. The others watched excitedly and cheered for both of them as they tore around the track. Finally, they crossed the finish line in a dead heat.
Panting from the exertion but still grinning, both guys slapped each other on the back. Crystal and Misty thoughtfully brought them bottles of water which they gratefully accepted and guzzled down.
"A draw," said Vapour. "I guess we'll never know who's fastest."
"It doesn't matter," said Hydro. "We're a team. We're at our best when we work together."
"I'll drink to that" Vapour replied as he held up his own water bottle and took a swig.
Author's Note: X-Stream's line, "You know this is starting to become a habit" is a reference to Issue 3 where Misty also saved him from falling to his doom.
Contaminator is my OC. His outfit and weapon are based on the GI Joe villain Cesspool.