Roxxon Oil, Cairo Research and Development Plant - Upstate New York

"Mr. Dearborn?" the receptionist at the large oak desk pressed a button on the intercom in front of her and removed the headset from her ears. "Mr. Hale will see you now."

"Thank you, Kelly," Arthur Dearborn said as he got up from the plush leather waiting-room chair and ran his fingers through his hair. Arthur crossed the waiting area and opened the door to his employer's office.

"Arthur. Good to see you," the man sitting behind the massive desk beamed at Dearborn as he entered the office and closed the door behind him. "I had a feeling you'd be paying me a visit."

"Mr. Hale," Arthur said with a nod. Jonas Hale got up from his desk as Dearborn crossed the room towards him. Arthur stuck out his hand and Hale shook it firmly. Dearborn winced at the firm, greasy grip of Hale. Hale seemed not to notice. Dearborn was once again struck by the casual attire and attitude of Hale… the jeans and black t-shirt, the dark sunglasses, leather flight jacket, slicked-back brown hair and handlebar mustache.

"Kelly tells me you've been waiting outside my office for well over an hour now, Arthur," Hale said with a tight-lipped smile. "What seems to be the trouble?"

"Well, sir…" Arthur said as he took a step backwards and plunked himself down into one of the chairs in front of Hale's desk. "With all due respect. I'm a little vexed as to what's been happening around here recently. The trip into the city to see Jameson…"

"Stop right there, Arthur," Hale said. "That trip was necessary and you know that. I really don't see why we're discussing this."

"Sir, I'm just trying to explain…"

"I know, Arthur," Hale said. "I understand completely where you're coming from. But you of all people know what Roxxon is about. What we're capable of accomplishing…"

"But, sir. Ferguson, Jenkins and I were attacked," Dearborn said. "We were assaulted in that parking garage by men who wanted information about the Molten Heart project. I would have had to reveal my abilities if that Spider-Woman person hadn't shown up. But we're not even pressing charges. I just don't understand why…"

"Dearborn," Jonas Hale crossed around the front of his desk and placed his hands on the sides of Dearborn's chair. "I need you to compose yourself here. You're the best man I have. I need you, Arthur. Roxxon needs you. Don't sweat this, ok?"

Arthur opened his mouth to respond, but the sound of the intercom on Jonas' desk interrupted him before he could.

"Excuse me, Arthur," Hale said as he moved to his desk and pressed one of the numerous buttons on his phone. "What is it, Kelly?"

"Mr. Hale, there's a call from a Mr. Limieux for you on line two."

"Ah, I've been waiting for this call all day," Hale said and then looked up at Arthur. "We'll discuss this in-depth later on all right, Arthur?"

"Mr. Hale…" Arthur got up from his chair and followed his boss to the door.

"Just trust me, Arthur," Hale said as he opened the door and hustled Dearborn out, "this'll all make sense by the unveiling tomorrow."

"I suppose," Arthur said as Hale closed the door behind him. Dearborn grudgingly turned towards the hallway and stomped in the direction of his own office.

Moments later he was sitting at his own desk in front of his company computer. Arthur was a Roxxon man. There was no doubt of that. But Arthur wasn't a foolish man by any means. He knew that more often than not, Roxxon was involved in things that weren't exactly on the up and up. More than that, he knew that Roxxon was sometimes involved in things that weren't even legal. But what could he do? What should he do? He wasn't the type of man to make waves…

Arthur closed his eyes and placed his face in his hands. When he opened his eyes again his hands were glowing with a brilliant golden light. Dearborn took a deep breath and then placed his hand into the keyboard of his laptop computer. The computer immediately turned on and booted up. Dearborn had the company intranet connection enabled within moments.

"I must be out of my mind," he said as the personal files of Jonas Hale came up on his screen. He had pulled this trick before… but it seemed even more wrong this time around. If he stopped now he might be able to apologize to Mr. Hale and…

"My god…" Dearborn said as a certain file opened in front of him and spilled its contents across his computer screen. Dearborn narrowed his eyes and continued to scan the files… all thought of getting out or apology gone.

Not far down the hall, Jonas Hale shifted his eyes to his own computer as a warning message popped up on the screen. Hale smiled as he watched the connection between his laptop and the one in Dearborn's office being made, and as Dearborn began to filter through his files.

"Ah, Arthur… predictable as ever."

The Crash Pad

"Roxanne!"

"Um… Rico?"

"You don't have to put on the red light!"

"Rico..."

"Those days are over."

Riiico…"

"You don't have to SELL your body to the night!"

"Rico!"

"R-R-R-ROXANNE!"

"Rico!"

"What, Spider-Girl? What?"

"It's not Roxanne, you idiot!" Spider-Woman insisted. "It's Roxxon! Roxxon Oil! And if you call me Spider-Girl one more time…"

"Enough, you two," Turbo said. "Spider-Woman, why don't you just start from the beginning and tell us what you know."

"Yeah, Spider-snacks… bring the knowledge," Rico said.

"Whatever…" Spider-Woman crossed the hangar where Rico and the rest of the team were gathered around the War-Chopper, "all I know is I take this guy Manny and his posse out. And he's all too willing to share some info with me on why he and his crew were trying to punk these Roxxon guys."*

[* Happened last issue -- Dino]

"So why was he doing it then?" Rico said and Spider-Woman shot him an annoyed look.

"Because some big time Roxxon project - an energy source of some sort called the Molten Heart - is supposed to be hit by a competitor. Now…"

"The Molten Heart," a new voice said from behind Rico, "I've heard of that."

"Um, excuse me," Spider-Woman said. "But who are you?"

"This is Eddie, Spider-chica," Rico said, hooking a thumb at the young goateed man currently pulling his one good arm out of the guts of the Warriors' helicopter.. "You should listen to him. He knows what he's talking about."

"Uh… thanks, Rico," Eddie said. The entire team was looking at him now and it was making him really uncomfortable. "The Molten Heart was designed by Roxxon to be a sort of mobile, geothermal energy plant. It's supposed to convert geotherm energy into electricity a lot more cheaply than anything else being used right now. It's a really big deal. If somebody's out to destroy it…"

Spider-Woman stepped in front of Eddie and cut him off abruptly. "We should head over to wherever they're debuting this Molten Heart thing and protect it!"

"No, we should call the police," Turbo said. "Who knows if this Manny guy was even telling you the truth, Spider-Woman?"

Spider-Woman glared over at Turbo. "Trust me. Manny is a worm and a coward. He's also a snitch. But I've used him for info before. He was definitely telling the truth."

"Look. We should just do both," Bolt said. "We can call the cops and let them know what we know and then we can meet back here tomorrow morning and head over there. Check it out ourselves."

"Hell yeah, Boltster," Rico said. "Eddie and I will even have the War-Chopper running by then. This'll be the perfect opportunity to test it. We can roll in style for our first mission."

"Right," Turbo said. "We meet back here tomorrow morning. Until then I suggest everybody go… wherever and, uh, just get some rest."

Channel Four Studios - Downtown New York

"Cut! Perfect! Everybody take five while we get set up for the next shot. Thomas! Thomas, get over to soundstage six to shoot your bullet wound scene."

Suzy Sherman stepped away from the set as the director continued to shout instructions to the rest of the cast and crew of Secret Hospital. The stagehands ran up onto the set and immediately began to change the scenery with props taken from the studio storage facility. Soon a hospital waiting room would become the interior of a Manhattan penthouse.

Suzy moved directly to the coffee pot. The cast was working late again… as usual. Suzy could barely keep her eyes open and her lines were getting more and more muddled in her head. Her thoughts kept running back to the New Warriors and her part in the battle with the Super-Skrull. She hadn't talked with any of them since the team had returned from their strange battle with the Intelligensia.* Almost an entire week had passed and she wondered if maybe the whole thing had fizzled out from a lack of interest.

[* The Warriors battled the Super Skrull and the Intelligentsia in issues #1-2 -- Dino]

It probably hadn't been the greatest of ideas to give Turbo her cell-phone number either. She'd probably compromised her secret identity. If only she had a better handle on this super-hero crap. But she had to admit that she was grossly inexperienced when it came to fighting crime and interacting with other super-types.

"Thomas!" Sid, the director, shouted from across the set, "I thought I told you to go to soundstage six!"

"All taken care of, boss," Thomas said as he crossed the set and stopped in front of the coffee machine with Suzy. Suzy glanced up at him and then back over her shoulder at Sid. Even if the New Warriors were still on, she doubted she'd even have time to be a part of the team with all the work she was doing lately.

"…think of my shirt," Thomas said and Suzy looked up at him in confusion.

"What?"

"I see I'm still as adept at conversation as ever," Thomas said. Suzy smiled and fingered the rim of her coffee cup.

"I'm sorry, Thomas. My mind was elsewhere."

"It's cool, Suzy," Thomas said. "It's late. Sid is on the warpath and he has us all on edge."

"Yeah…"

"I was just wondering what you thought of my shirt?" Thomas held up a bloodstained rag and Suzy grimaced.

"Pretty nasty," Suzy said. "They're really going to make you go through that whole gunshot scene?"

"Looks like it. Damn writers took forever to decide though."

"You don't seem very worried about whether or not your character survives," Suzy said.

Thomas started laughing. "It's all a façade. I'm actually scared as hell I'm going to be out of work in a month. But there's no way I'm letting Sid or what he laughingly refers to as his writers see that."

"Well, the way I'm going, you can save me a spot in the unemployment lines."

"I seriously doubt that, Suzy," Thomas said. "You haven't flubbed a line in days, and you really seem to be getting a handle on your character."

"Right… like playing a west coast cheerleader transplanted to New England is a huge acting stretch. But thanks for the compliment."

"Anytime," Thomas said. "And look, don't sweat it. Sid and the producers love your look. I have a feeling you'll be working on this show as long as you want to be."

"Thomas!" Sid screamed from across the set. "Why aren't you bleeding all over soundstage six yet?"

Thomas smiled. "Gotta run."

"Later," Suzy watched as Thomas turned and sprinted over to the soundstage. A faint vibration shuddered through her hip and Suzy reached for her cell-phone. The small text screen displayed the number Turbo had given to Ultra Girl in case of emergency. Suzy put her thumb to flip the phone open when Sid began to yell again. Suzy paused, and then hesitantly placed the phone back into her back pocket.

"Voicemail can get it."

Empire State University Campus, Co-Ed Dormitory

Mickey flipped her cell-phone closed and leaned back onto her bed. Ultra Girl wasn't answering her phone. Mickey had hoped to tell her about tomorrow's mission. But if Suzy wasn't even going to pick up the phone there was no way she was going to leave a message that might compromise the girl's identity… or Turbo's for that matter.

Ultra Girl had seemed well-meaning to Michiko. A little air-headed maybe, but definitely the kind of person the new New Warriors could use as a member. Maybe Suzy wasn't interested in the team anymore. It had been nearly a week since anybody on the team had spoken to her. Hell, Mickey wasn't sure she wanted to remain on the team herself.

The Warriors seemed to be doing well enough with Ricochet and Spider-Woman's enthusiasm pushing things along. If only Turbo could shake the bad feeling she had about the team taking up residence in the old New Warriors' headquarters. Mickey had hoped to ask Night Thrasher about it before they even set foot inside. But Night Thrasher had gone off to intern for Stark-Fujikawa.* He had been gone since the first incarnation of the Warriors had split up. Turbo had absolutely no idea how to get in touch with him. Vance and Angel had no idea either. Turbo had contacted them at Avengers Mansion but they hadn't been much help. Her only real option was to just continue to do whatever she could for the team and hope for the best.

[* As established in Marvel's Nova #1 -- Dino]

Michiko sat up in bed and her eyes settled on the backpack she used to carry her Turbo armor around. She was restless and her roommates were gone for the night. Both girls had left her a message explaining that they'd gone out to drink. She had nothing to do. Nothing at all…

Mickey got up and began to slip on the Turbo armor. Maybe she wasn't sure about sticking with the New Warriors. But they were about the closest thing she had to friends right now.

About twenty minutes later Turbo landed on top of the Crash Pad and then dropped down through the skylight she and Rico had used earlier that day to get inside. Bolt jumped up from the couch with a start when she dropped down and his hands flared with electric light. But as Turbo smiled and began to approach, Chris relaxed and slumped back into his seat.

"I see you've started to make yourself at home," Turbo said as she surveyed the room. A TV, couch and plush chair were set up around the room.

"Figured somebody had to decorate this mother, and the last team was nice enough to leave most of the furniture," Chris replied. "This place was way too drab."

"Can't argue with you on that one. Now all we need is some pretty drapes for the…" Turbo paused as she heard a shout from the hangar area. "They're still at it?"

"Non-stop since you guys left this afternoon." Chris got up from the couch and thumbed the power button on the remote control. The television switched off and Chris began moving towards the hangar.

Mickey followed Chris as he entered the hangar, and saw Rico and Eddie still working on the War-Chopper. Turbo peered over at Eddie as he sat hunched over the engine compartment of the copter, his palsied right arm clutched to his chest. Suddenly a spark of electricity shot into the air from the helicopter engine and Ricochet jumped straight up to the top of the helicopter.

"I told you not to mess with that before I got over there, Rico," Eddie said. "You all right?"

"Yeah, yeah…" Rico replied and Eddie laughed.

"Dumbass. Now get down here and hand me a torque wrench."

"Ricochet still insists they can have it done by tomorrow morning," Bolt said and Turbo turned to him and laughed.

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"Any luck getting a hold of Ultra Girl?"

Turbo frowned. "No. I'm beginning to wonder if she even wants to be on the team anymore."

"How about you?"

"Um… what about me?"

"You still sure you want to be on this team?"

Turbo looked away. "Sure. I mean… I kind of owe it to a friend of mine that died, you know?" Turbo looked back to Bolt and smiled hesitantly. "You?"

This time it was Bolt's turn to look away. His thoughts immediately ran to his time with the Pale Riders.* None of the team knew anything about his past and they all seemed to trust him completely. But there was no way he was going to tell Turbo what he was thinking. "Hey… who wouldn't want to be a super-hero, given the chance?"

[* Bolt was a brainwashed member of Apocalypse's Pale Riders in the Apocalypse: Ageless Fury maxi-series -- Dino]

Turbo leaned against the doorway and sighed. "Right. Who wouldn't want to be a super-hero?"

The Crash Pad - the next morning

The entire team had gathered in the living area of the Crash Pad and Turbo watched each of them as they readied themselves. Eddie and Ricochet were wiped out on the couch in the mini-living room. Bolt was up and moving around the headquarters. He had been talking about setting up a mini-kitchen to go with the living room, but so far had only made a run to McDonalds to pick up some breakfast.

Ultra Girl wasn't there, but Turbo hadn't really expected her to be. Spider-Woman was perched on top of the armchair and seemed ready to pounce on top of both Eddie and Rico.

"Ricochet!" Spider-Woman said. "Get up, Rico. It's time to go."

"Just five more minutes, Ma," Ricochet said and promptly kicked Eddie in the face.

"Hey! What the hell!" Eddie said. He opened his eyes and then frowned deeply at Rico, who was still sleeping. "Stupid bastard." Eddie kicked out a foot and pushed on Rico's back, sending him heavily to the floor, arms flapping all the way.

"Take that, Super-Skrull!" Rico yelled and the entire team burst into laughter. Ricochet flushed a deep crimson.

"What are we messing around for? Is it time to go or what?"

"You sure you're ready, Rico?" Eddie hopped over Rico's head and started to move towards the hangar… laughing all the way. "Or do you need more alone time with the Super-Skrull?"

"Ok, guys," Turbo said as she followed Eddie into the hangar and the rest of the team followed her. "Let's get going."

"Everybody into the chopper!" Ricochet bounded over everyone's heads and jumped into the passenger area of the War-Chopper. The rest of the team followed behind and Eddie watched as Ricochet squeezed past everyone and hopped back out into the hangar with a pack slung over his shoulder.

Rico threw the pack at Eddie's feet and smiled. Eddie looked down with a sinking feeling and, sure enough, saw a glimmer of his Hornet armor as it peeked out of the open flaps of the pack.

"What the…? I don't do this anymore, Johnny."

"C'mon, Eddie," Ricochet said. "What's a super-team without the science guy? You know you're dying to get back in that suit! And how can I be expected to ride off into battle without my trusty sidekick?"

Eddie knew that Johnny was joking, but a sidekick was what he had always felt like around Ricochet… especially after that bizarre time with the Slingers and the love triangle between the two of them and Dusk. Eddie looked away from the bag and back up to Ricochet, but he made no effort to pick up the pack.

"Eddie, you're killing me here!" Ricochet said. "Turbo, tell him he's gotta come!"

Spider-Woman stuck her head out of the cockpit. "If he doesn't want to come, he doesn't have to, Rico. God, what are you… twelve?"

"Nobody asked you, Spider-baby."

"She's right, Rico," Turbo said. "Besides, we don't know exactly what we're flying into here. We can't guarantee his safety…"

"My safety?" Eddie said as he glared at Turbo, simultaneously hating himself for being so easily manipulated and trying to stifle the unmistakable urge to get the suit back on. "Move over, Rico."

"Oh, yeah," Rico said as Eddie picked up the pack and began pulling on the familiar purple-and-black armor. Bolt and Turbo moved to the cockpit as Hornet pressed a button to open the hangar's skylight.

"Here's goes nothing," Turbo said breathlessly as she cranked the engines. The New Warriors all held their breath as the turbines whined and the engines shuddered to life. For a few brief moments the War-Chopper remained planted to the ground and then, miraculously, it climbed into the air.

"WA-HOO!" Ricochet hung out of the side of the helicopter and whooped and hollered into the open air. The War-Chopper lifted higher and higher until it breached the opening of the skylight and turned to the north…

It wasn't until the War-Chopper was far out of sight that the man who had been watching the team stepped from the shadows of the roof. He crossed to the skylight and confidently punched a code on the keypad. The locks immediately disengaged and the man dropped down into the living area of the headquarters. He frowned as he observed the television and couch and armchair sitting in the Crash Pad. He crossed to the couch and swept his hand across the McDonalds wrappers scattered all over it, then plunked himself down in their place. When the team returned… they would be dealing with him.

Roxxon Oil, Cairo Research and Development Plant - Upstate New York

A huge gathering of press, stockholders and government officials stood in the huge parking area in front of the Roxxon building. A large stage platform had been raised with a podium sitting in the middle. Arthur Dearborn stood behind the podium with a bank of microphones in front of him.

"Roxxon Oil has always been a standard-bearer in the struggle to supply clean energy to the world cheaply. I can say with absolutely no reservations that today marks a milestone in that struggle…"

In the audience, Cristal Limieux yawned. The bore on the stage was really putting a downer on her day. She had no real desire to be in Upstate New York at a Roxxon facility. Honestly, no one she knew would want to be here either... except for her father.

She was only here because she'd received an early acceptance to Julliard. When her arrival in New York City from her native Paris coincided with Francois Limieux's planned business trip, her father hadn't hesitated to swoop her up and whisk her away to this demonstration.

Her father glared down at her as she yawned again and gave her a nudge. Papa was displeased as usual. Cristal straightened her posture a bit and struggled to resist the third yawn that was creeping up on her in as many minutes, as the dull suit behind the podium continued.

"We are rapidly depleting this planet's stores of fossil fuels. Solar energy is still decades away from being a viable energy source for all but the most specialized applications. Wind and water energy are both unpredictable, and the associated equipment is expensive to maintain."

"That leaves us with geothermal energy, and it's that source, the virtually limitless energy of this planet's molten heart, from which we plan to draw the fuel for the future."

Dearborn stepped away from the podium as the crowd gave him polite applause. He scanned the crowd and found the eyes of Jonas Hale. Hale smiled and nodded and Dearborn crossed the stage to a control panel. He pressed a button on the panel and a mechanized strut whirred. The panels shielding the Molten Heart fell away and it was revealed to the crowd of onlookers.

The Molten Heart sat on the stage motionless and the audience peered at it skeptically. The device was about ten feet tall and shaped like the nose of a rocket. The pod was colored completely black and had four turbines at its base. Dearborn pressed a few more buttons on the panel before him and the pod lifted into the air.

"Constructed of a vibranium/titanium alloy and utilizing specially-designed photovoltaic cells, similar to those used in solar energy converters, the Molten Heart will plunge ten miles through the crust and mantle of the planet and convert the heat and light to usable energy on the spot. This energy will then be transported back to the surface via hard-line connection, and supplied to the world from Roxxon plants everywhere. What you see before you is a prototype, but the plan is to have half a dozen Molten Heart units on every continent by 2007."

Dearborn smiled as the applause began to sound again from the crowd of onlookers but then paused as a helicopter rose from behind one of the many buildings and hovered over the stage where Dearborn and the Molten Heart stood.

The propeller from the helicopter sent a flurry of wind rushing at the onlookers and Dearborn himself. Dearborn reached for the microphone and was about to raise it to his lips to call for the helicopter to move along when a sudden explosion rocked the entire facility. Dearborn dove for the ground and then raised his head, sweeping his panicked eyes quickly across the Roxxon company grounds.

The explosion had damaged one of the hangars across the airfield, and it was well on its way to burning to the ground. Dearborn knew that if the blaze wasn't controlled that it would catch the rest of the hangars and destroy the equipment inside. Dearborn set his eyes to the air and saw that the helicopter was descending. The crowd had panicked and was evacuating with help from the security force Roxxon had on location.

Dearborn got up to follow the crowd and his eyes flashed angrily with an inner light. This was his show and it was becoming a circus before his eyes. There was no way that he was giving up the Molten Heart without a fight. And there was no way he was letting a Roxxon hangar burn to the ground on his watch.

"That hangar is going to burn to the ground if we don't do something fast," Ricochet said. The War-Chopper had set down, and he was already bolting for the burning hangar.

"Ricochet, stand down!" Turbo said as she swooped out of the helicopter and landed in front of Rico. "The burning building is just a distraction. We still have to keep the Molten Heart safe!"

"So what do we do then?"

"We split our resources and tackle both of the problems," Turbo said, "like a team."

"Yeah… I can dig it," Ricochet said.

"Spider-Woman, Hornet and I will head to the hangar," Turbo said. "You and Bolt protect the Molten Heart at all costs. Let's move, Warriors!"

Turbo lifted into the air and together with Spider-Woman and Hornet, raced towards the burning hangar. Bolt climbed from the cockpit of the War-Chopper and joined Ricochet. Together they began to approach the stage with the Molten Heart but Ricochet paused when he saw Bolt stop moving.

"What is it?"

"The guards," Bolt said as he stooped down and examined an unconscious guard at his feet.

"Guess the muscle was too much for them," Rico said. "Let's keep moving."

The two heroes jumped up onto the stage and paused again as they spotted the saboteur. A figure in a yellow and blue jumpsuit was hunched over the Molten Heart - which had stopped hovering over the stage - and appeared to be setting some sort of device underneath it.

"Ten to one, that's a bomb," Bolt said and then began to run across the platform towards the hunched figure.

"Yeah, like I'm taking that bet," Rico replied and then leapt after Bolt. The figure in blue and yellow turned and Ricochet's danger-sense went off like a shot in his head.

"Bolt, look out!" Ricochet shouted, but it was too late. The saboteur whipped a gun from his belt and fired. Bolt tried to fire a shot of electricity at the villain, but the gun was faster. A strange sticky mixture spurted from the gun and covered Bolt from head to toe. Rico could see Bolt gasp for air and knew the kid was beginning to suffocate.

"Didn't Miss Manners ever teach you to fight fair?" Ricochet said and sent one of his throwing discs hurtling at the villain's head. The figure in yellow and blue snatched the disc out of the air and then pulled another gun from his belt.

Rico's eyes widened in shock as the gun fired, and he was caught in the neck by a dart. "How… how did you do that?"

"Piece of cake, kid," the figure said, "for the man they call the Spymaster." Ricochet's world began to wobble, and the last thing he saw before the tranquilizer in the dart dropped him was the Spymaster's back as he turned back to finish his work on the Molten Heart.

Turbo, Spider-Woman and Hornet landed in front of the hangar and paused. None of them were used to putting out fires. People were struggling to evacuate the building as the fire continued to spread over the roof of the hangar and down the curved walls.

"Our first priority is the people inside," Turbo said. "Spider-Woman, that falls to you and Hornet. Once you have everybody clear maybe I can use my turbines to blow this puppy out."

"That'll never work, Turbo," Hornet said. "You'll just make things worse if you go up there blowing the fire around."

"If you have a better idea, Hornet, I'd love to hear it."

"You terrorists just made the biggest mistake of your lives!" a voice shouted from behind them, and the New Warriors turned. Standing behind was a man glowing with all the intensity of the sun--Spider-Woman and Turbo were forced to shield their eyes and Hornet had to tint the glass eye-slit on his helmet. The man was covered in golden armor that blazed as bright as the fire. Energy crackled around his fists and he took a threatening step forward. Arthur Dearborn, in his full Sunturion form for the first time in months, was nearly out of his mind with rage.

Spider-Woman took her hand from her face and groaned. "I think we're in trouble."

New issue, new letters. Go Dino Pollard, writer of Ultimate X-Men, Bishop, Gambit, and even some non-mutie titles!

These guys are GOOD!

Me and Mike, or the characters?

I'm loving the characters in this book. (Ah, that answers that...) Ricochet and Hornet have always been favorites, and I'm really starting to like Spider-Woman, Turbo, and Bolt despite my earlier reservations. The jury's still out on Ultra-Girl, however.

Yeah well, the way Ultra Girl's been acting, you're not the only one who's undecided on her. Stay tuned. (Glad you like the rest of them though.)

This series is a real winner, and the direction Russ and Mike are taking it in promises to be a load of fun. The concept is a great one.

I'm wondering how the old Warriors will feel about these new guys horning in on their territory, though.

Stay tuned. The answer to that is coming up sooner than you think.

Next thought is from Brad Horton, he of Captain Marvel, Deadpool, Cable, and X-Men Omega fame.

I'll admit, I'm not too keen on the characters starring in NW, but I decided to try this issue out, and I was thoroughly interested. I'm gonna do some online research to delve into the characters' histories a bit more so I can get what's going on when I go to read the back issues. I'll be back for next issue as well. :)

Here it is. And hey, let me and Mike know anything you might find online on the characters. Not like we did any actual research or anything...

Lastly, we have this title's first Editor's Choice Award, decided by and penned by co-EiC (not to mention X-Force, Excalibur, and Wolverine writer and all-around Shadow King pimp) David Wheatley.

New Warriors #3 By Russ Anderson and Mike Exner III.

I just like this issue from start to finish. The fight between Bolt and the Eel, the taking over of the old New Warriors place (yeah lousy grammar, but hey), Spider-Woman's foray in to Roxxon and all written with a nice tongue in cheek edge.

Yeah, Mike's great at tongue-in-cheek. Just ask Rachel Leigh Cook...

It doesn't take itself too seriously, without going the parody-esque route of Captain Marvel or the caricature path of Deadpool. It's light and frothy - the strawberry milkshake of M2K. And it works for them, because although these people are heroes they are also kids and they're having fun.

I have no idea how to take that strawberry milkshake comment... but I love it anyway! So much so, that it's now the title's pull-quote.

There's also a chemistry between Russ and Mike as well, because you can feel it the story and the words. I enjoyed it.

Yeah, Mike and I hang out a lot. He even lets me wear his sister's hat.

(No, don't try to figure out what that means, Mike's the only one who's going to get it.)

Congrats, guys, you are this week's Editor's Choice.

Thank yew, thank yew... Now if only I could figure out a way to fit the Shadow King into this title...

Letters concerning this issue can be sent directly to me at RussLee74@comcast.net, posted to the Marvel 2000 mailing list (you can join at Yahoogroups), or on the M2K message board, accessible from the M2K main page.

- Russ Anderson
24 May 2002

Story © 2001, Russ Anderson and Michael Exner III. Most characters presented are property of Marvel Entertainment Group.