Strangers: A New Twist #6

Written by Lex
Edited by James Pedrick
Created by Steve Englehart
Property of Malibu Comics

"Ms. La Brava, do you have any comments about the governor’s race now that the issues have turned to ultras?"

"I don’t believe that there is any ‘ultra issue.’ I also believe that Mr. McCoy is wrong in his view that all ultras need to be regulated. All ultras are not ‘evil.’ Take, for example, us Strangers, or Hardcase, or Prime or The Squad a couple years back. We are all trying to make the world a better place as best we can."

"But the Demolition Squad got powers and look what they tried to do with them the other day."

"You’re confusing the matter. 59 people got powers from the Jumpstart. It’s what we’ve chosen to do with those powers that is important. We Strangers chose to do good with our powers. Other may choose to not do good, or they might go into hiding. It’s all a matter of a person’s

"I think that we have to do the best we can to stop the ultras who choose to do bad things with their powers. The point I’m most concerned about is not forcing laws on all ultras. We are just regular people who have gotten special gifts. We don’t need to be suppressed or sent away to concentration camps for our ‘protection.’ That would be a step backwards in getting rid of segregation for good. We don’t need more of that."

"Look at what the good ultras can do and have done. The Strangers, for one, have saved the Golden Gate Bridge and shut down an ultra crime boss. We can do so much for this state, this country, and this world, so don’t oppress us. That’s all we ask."

Lady Killer, Grenade, and Yrial sit at a small table with microphones. They are in a large room overflowing with reporters and television cameras.

"I certainly will, David. It was very nice of you to keep your bakery open even though you are now a Stranger."

"Anything I can do to help my community. Plus I couldn’t deprive everyone of my famous baked bread."

"Mrs. Josephine takes her bag of bread loafs and leaves. A few minutes later a much younger lady walks in. She is wearing a green sweater and tight blue jeans. She looks about Dave’s age.

"It was so great hearing from you the other day. I’m glad my Grandpa told you to call me. Anyway, I decided to come see you and your famous bakery."

"Well that was my minor in college. My major was philosophy but I love to bake so I went into this business."

"Well I spent lots of time with theories of what happened to the dinosaurs."

"Well they basically say that anything can and will happen given the right circumstances."

"Sure, just a sec." Dave reaches under the counter and grabs a glass and then fills it with water. He goes to her and puts her hand straight up in the air. "Ok now hold it really still. I’ll put a drop of water on your hand. Now see how it trickles down your hand there?" Dave wipes the wetness from her hand. "Now what would happen if I did that again?"

"Ah…let’s see." The new drop of water falls a different direction down her hand. "There, ya see? That’s probability. The drop didn’t go the same way because of little contours in your skin, the small hairs on your hand, tiny imperfection in the skin."

Dave gives s flirty laugh. "Not that your skin would have any imperfections."

The whole class whines and does as the teacher says. She hands out the test sheets.

"It was excellent, Candy. But I must admit I looked at you more than the movie."

"Oh you." Candy blushes. "I’m glad they still had Titanic here. I saw it once when the people who built me were taking me out for a test run. I’m glad I got to see it now that I can think for myself and understand what is going on in it."

‘It’s been a while since that cable car accident, and I feel so great! The cancer that was killing me was supposed to kill me weeks ago but I’m feeling better than ever. If the Strangers got ultra powers from it then I must’ve gotten my cancer cured. What a miracle.’

‘Oh no, that creepy voice again. At first I thought it was from my cancer but it just can’t be. How could it be talking to me? It must be my imagination.’

"Oh, I’m real Mr. Bushnell. I am very real!" A large, dark figure comes out of the shadows of the room.

"I, that was once a cancer growing inside of you, am alive. I am the wish for death. I am Deathwish!"

"What’s all the noise in here!" Mr. Bushnell’s private nurse, Henrietta, bursts into the room. "Oh Good Lord!" she shrieks.

"Ah, a life to feast on." Deathwish walks over to Henrietta. "You see, I feed on life. Any life will do." He puts his hand on her neck and begins to absorb her life force. Her body begins to shrivel but stops and begins to glow. A strange energy fills the room.

Suddenly Deathwish explodes in a blast of black smoke. The explosion crumbles the entire building they are in and the sound is heard all across town.

"Let’s go check it out," says Bob as he transforms his clothes into his Atom Bob costume. He also changes Candy’s clothes into her Electrocute costume.

Dave and Angela stop laughing when they hear the explosion. Dave sees the water in the glass he’s holding ripple.

"Hmm. Impact tremor from the explosion. Must’ve been a big one. There might be some injured people so I better go." Dave turns on his yellow flame and flies out of his bakery.

"There’s been a disturbance on Powell. An explosion I think. They want the Strangers there."

"Okay. I’m sorry everyone but we have an emergency. I’ll have to ask that it not be filmed because you might get hurt if there’s any trouble." Lady Killer, Grenade, and Yrial quickly exit the building.

A few minutes later the principle of the school runs down the hallway to Leon’s classroom. "Sorry to interrupt but there is an emergency for Leon. You have to meet the rest of the Strangers at this address." He hands a piece of paper to Leon.

"Alright!" Zip-Zap rushes out of the room at full speed. He gets to the site of the explosion at the same time Atom Bob and Electrocute arrive. "So wuz up?"

Suddenly they hear a terrible scream. A large, dark figure appears out of the smoke. "Nothing can defeat Deathwish!"

"Ah more meat, but you are familiar to me. I know. You rode the cable car too. It is what created me. Now I shall feast on your life!" He reaches for Zip-Zap but he just ducks and runs at super fast speed.

"You’re just cancer tissue brought to life," says Spectral, thinking out loud. "I think I know how to deal with you." He changes to his green flame. "If I can make you grow too big to sustain yourself then you’ll be destroyed and that’ll be the end of you. You won’t be able to kill anyone."

He shoots a column of green flame at Deathwish. The monster grows larger and larger.

"Hah! You can destroy the tissue if you like but you can’t kill the desire!"

"It’s not working," says Spectral in agony. "I don’t have enough power!"

"Let me give you a hand," says a man who jumps into the air above Spectral and then falls down on top of him. Instead of landing on Spectral the man falls inside him. Suddenly Spectral’s power increases ten-fold and Deathwish grows too big. The monster explodes in a poof of

"Sorry to surprise you like that." The man "hops" out of Spectral’s body. "My name is Boost. I was on the cable car when the Jumpstart happened. I got the power to jump inside anyone and boost their ultra power." The man looks no older then early twenties, possibly even eightteen or nineteen.

A few feet away some black smoke floats into some of the wreckage. It finds the unconscious body of Mr. Bushnell and enters him through his mouth.

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