Freex: A New Twist #1
August, 1999

"Nowhere To Go"

Written by J.D. Struss
Created by Gerald Jones
Property of Malibu Comics

"Lewis, where did she go? I can't see her, can you?"

"That guy moved so fast, I couldn't tell where they went"

"Who cares? She wanted to go anyway. Just let her go."

"Angela, she's a part of us, whether we like it or not. Besides, we need her."

"For what Huck? What do we need Val for?".

"We all need to stick together Ray, okay? And don't call me Huck".

"Ok Huck".

"Look, were not doing any good standing around here in this crappy building. She went towards the buildings over there with Rush. All we need to do is follow the sounds of chaos and we'll find them."

"Good point Michael."

"Thanks Angela"

"Ok, enough talk! Let's go after Val before we lose her completely."

A green blast shattered the silence in the BioTex building, as well as thousands of dollars of expensive equipment.

"Nice play, Val-baby," said Rush, who was destroying anything he could with his lightning speed.

"Don't call me babe, retard. And stop running that mouth. Just destroy anything you can," Val said, tossing her shoulder length hair over her neck.

For a split second, a hurt expression graced Rush's face but was soon replaced by a well practiced smirk. "Lighten up Val. This is fun! Enjoy yourself!".

"Yeah, I'll enjoy myself," she said, her mind elsewhere. She was soon brought back into reality by two armored men, high tech security guys with guns pointed right at them. Before they could yell their signature "Freeze !" line, Rush sped towards one of them, knocking him to the wall hard. "Blast
em Val! Blast em good!"

Val let loose a green fissure of power from her palm, aimed directly at the side of the armored man. "Hey, you missed! You were supposed to fry his rented butt!".

"I never said I was going to kill anyone on this gig Rush."

"Well, everyone has their downside. This son-of-a-cop's gonna teach you a thing or two about real life and there aint no room for a downside like yours."

"Yeah, whatever. Is this the main lab?".

Rush ran to where Val was and looked around. "Must be. Let's trash it!".

Val remained still. "Why did you take me on this job of yours? Whatever you get paid you have to split it with me."

Rush talked while he went to work. "There's two reasons honey. One, Rush saw you hangin with those freaks in that abandoned apartment building and since Rush is such a nice guy, he wanted to help your pretty face. Two, Rush doesn't get a lot of people to talk to in his line of work. I mean, who am I going to talk to? Normies? The guys you were hangin with? Hell no! Rush picked you, sweetie pie, because Rush likes the wave you ride on, ya know?"

He stopped right where she was standing and grinned at her. "hey, why aren't you fryin these experiments here? I can't do everything you know!".

"You want these experiments fried? Then lets fry 'em! Damned genetics!
Let's
fry em all!". As she spoke, a green aura began to form around her and exploded, causing Rush and Val herself to fall under its immense force. Around them, the building started to burn...

"God, how long is this going to take?", complained Angela, who was called Sweet-face by Ray, their resident strong man. Ray in turn called himself Boom Boy, Michael-Plug, Lewis-Anything and their missing teammate Val Pressure. They hadn't been a team for long and didn't even have a stereotypical name for them all. They were just loners, strangers really, who had been cursed at puberty with powers that they didn't ask for.

"We have to find her, no matter what," Lewis said, searching the side streets for any sign of Val. In the hour and a half she had known him, she had already developed a crush on Lewis, their apparent leader. It wasn't just his All-American looks or soft voice but it was the way he kept hoping, no matter how dire the situation was. Angela wished she was like that.
Michael saw Angela look at Lewis from behind and his spirits sank. Already he was infatuated with this innocent girl who had spaghetti like straps growing out of her chest. That was her "power," her curse, but it was a useful one. She could take down anyone with one of those things, Michael thought. All he had was the power to go "inside" machines, leaving his physical self behind. He wished he had a power like Angela's or even Lewis.

Lewis had been a star quarterback in high school and he was happy with that role. He could still hear the cheers from his last game, as he caught the ball and ran towards the end zone. He remembered his attention straying to the adoring crowd and he remembered the hard blow to his head as his opponent tackled him to the ground. And then....nothing. For what seemed like an eternity but was in reality 10 seconds, his head was no longer there. In its place was a puddle of silver goo and as Lewis regained consciousness and put his face back together, he could hear the screams grow louder and heavier.

It took a minute for him to realize what had happened and he ran. Away from all the questions that were sure to come and all the horrified looks from the town.

It was Michael who had brought them all together, through various electronic means. Michael had gathered us, to tell us that we need to stick together, to find out what caused their powers. Lewis agreed and like in high school had taken control of the situation. He looked over at Ray, the second member to be recruited by Michael (through Lewis) and wondered what he was thinking.

Ray thought of nothing but The Adventures of Huck Finn. He loved that book, not only because it was a great book but because it was the only book Ray had ever been allowed to read. His parents didn't want him to read. They said it would just make him want what he couldn't have. Ray didn't like this explanation and, after years of shameful isolation in the basement, broke free of his prison and left. Lewis had been the one who saved him, who told him their were people like him. Ray would always remember when he first saw Lewis, smiling up at him. He didn't mind that Ray looked like a giant gray rock, with massive arms and legs. Lewis reminded ray of Huck and, of course, ray liked Huck.

"Look! That green light! That's gotta be Val! Come on!", exclaimed Michael, running side by side with Lewis. Angela and Ray caught up.

"You know, I think our clients wanted a cleaner job than this but anybody who can do that is a valuable partner to anyone, including those bozos," said Rush, carrying a hurt Val out of the flaming wreckage.

"You...you still want me as a..?"

Val couldn't finish her question because Rush had disappeared. She looked back and saw Rush caught in one of the tentacles of Sweet-Face.

"Dammit! Why can't you leave me alone? I just want to be left ALONE!", Val said, igniting a mild blast that sent Sweet-face reeling. Lewis stretched his long "morph body" and tried to talk to Val.

"Val, look, were not here to hurt you. We have to stick together. Trashing that building won't do you any good."

"Oh yeah? Can you do any better? Can you...".

"Back off, loser!", cried Rush, punching Lewis in the jaw.

"You hurt Lewis!", cried Ray, steeping in front of a zooming Rush, knocking him out with his stone body.

"Leave Rush alone!", cried Val.

"I knew it! I said we should just leave you-that you didn't need us-but Lewis said you did!", said Sweet-face.

"I don't need anyone!", yelled Val, blasting at the floor where Sweet-face stood, knocking her on her feet.

Rush came up beside her and looked at Val's four teammates. "Man! Your all freaks! You're not normal ultras, you're actual circus people! F-R-E-E-X. Your not even normal enough to have the correct spelling." He turned to Val. "Let's blow this bunch hot stuff! Fry these birth-deffects and let's get out of here."

Val stopped in her tracks. "'Slimy birth defect'? And just what do you think I am?".

Rush was speechless for a moment, his face registering complete shock. "Oh man. But...you could pass for a normal ultra. You look good, got a nice ultra power. No one has to know you're deformed. We'll pretend you're just like me." He placed his arm on her shoulder.

Val thought for a moment, shrugged his arm off and said, "Guess again jerk! I'm not like you. I'm not like anybody but at least they understand that. Leave Rush. Go live your normal ultra life and leave us Freex be."

Rush looked at her a moment and then started to run. "Its your life sweet cakes. Waste if you want...or let my cop-daddy snuff it." In an instant, Rush was gone, leaving Val to face her four teammates.

"I guess Rush was right. We are...Freex. We didn't choose who we are but we have to live with it," Val said, walking to her waiting teammates. "We better get out of here before the police come."

The members of the Freex ran, leaving behind their past and a blazing genetics lab.

Captain Rome arrived on the scene 3 minutes later and was assessing the damage when 5 hooded figures clad in red and dark blue approached him. "I think its the people from Biotex," said his partner, adapting a nervous stutter. When captain Rome turned around, he saw why. Rome coughed lightly and sucked in his breath. "They tell me you clean up biological accidents. Make it fast before I have too much to answer for."

"We know our work, captain Rome. Most accidents are cleaned up in minutes. Some take 16 years." Rome left the hooded men to do their work, and on the way home to a cold dinner and an empty house, tried not to think about what those men had in mind.

NEXT ISSUE - The Freex take refuge in a hippie's house, where the Bloodhounds track them!

A Look at the Main Characters of FREEX:

Anything(Lewis)-Former football hero who ran away from home after the public saw the manifestation of his powers. He's the leader of Freex but is kind of snotty and full of himself.

Pressure (Valerie Sharp)-A girl who has had a hard life, spending time in various private schools before ending up in Juvy where she injured a guard. Very abrasive but her powers, creating massive bursts of green energy, are formidable.

Plug(Michael)-Can leave his body, which turns into goo when he leaves it, and enter any technological interface and gather info. He has a crush on Angela but is constantly ignored by Lewis. Very innocent and normally happy go lucky.

Sweet-Face(Angela)-Has "spaghetti" like straps bound to her chest that can reach out and hold, punch, or slam an opponent. She does not like Val at all but has a crush on Lewis.

Boom-Boy(Ray)-Sheltered because of the embarrassment of his parents, Ray never got a proper education and as a result is a bit slow. He read The Adventures of Huck Finn all the time and often calls Lewis "Huck" because he admires him.

Supporting Characters

Rush-An arrogant speedster who cares nothing about anyone but himself, he is apparently the son of a police officer but takes care of himself.

Captain Rome-Policeman investigating the Freex going ons.

Villains

The Bloodhounds-Mysterious group of man/wolves who are tracking the Freex.

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