Hyperforce

#1

Earthfall

Through the atmosphere a small craft tumbles out of control, falling chaotically, and it begins to burn as it falls. Aboard, two occupants try to hide their fear from one another, but to no avail. They are both visitors here to Earth, neither is an Earthman, but both pray their salvation is here, for if not here, then their world, and themselves are doomed.

"Will the ship hold together, Wallum?" The younger of the two asked. A mere boy, perhaps seventeen, powerfully built, with jet black hair, stands at the back of his co-occupants seat, gripping it tightly as the pilot, the man known as Wallum fights to maintain some semblance of control over the plummeting craft.

Wallum is an older man, perhaps in his 50’s; his baldhead and black skin are both unremarkable. A small salt and pepper beard covers his face. He grips the controls in a white knuckled frenzy, fighting as hard as he can.

"I will not lie to you Markus, we are in dire peril."

Markus stares at the man grim faced a moment then nods knowingly "Prepare your self Wallum, I’ll do what I can."

The small, sharp angled ship, very modern in its looks and bronze color awkwardly drops through the atmosphere, at times flying straight at others flipping over wing over wing. It is almost completely out of control.

Markus closes his eyes, places his arms to his sides, and begins to glow from within! Suddenly he rises off the floor of the ship, floating and in deep concentration. Then his legs rise up behind him, and he goes to a horizontal position floating within the ship. The glow emanates from his body and reaches out, touching the walls of the ship, and suddenly the ship slows! Further, it actually steadies somewhat.

"Wallum, that is all I can do. Its velocity is to great."

"What you did was momentous Markus! If the Gods are with us, you will have saved us."

The ship hurtled on, slower then it had been going, but it still trailed flame as it crashed into the ground sliding long and hard along the ground in a grassy field, smashing into trees, and through them shattering everything in its path, but miraculously, no harms seems to come to the ship.

"Are you alright?" Markus asks the older Wallum as he helps him up off the floor of the ship.

" I am alive my prince, that is all that can be asked, and further I feel healthy, if but for a few small bruises."

"Then we must hurry. The damage they did to the Stargazer’s propulsion system with that last volley was extensive, and our enemies will be here momentarily. We must leave the ship immediately, or we will be captured."

Both men push the heavy door to the ship open and roll to the ground, as from above, blasts of crimson energy tear at the ground, in three precise rows.

"RUN!" Markus shouts at Wallum, pushing the older man away from him, in another direction.

Wallum complies sprinting away from Markus, who concentrates an instant as his eyes glow, then he throws both arms forwards, fiery plasma suddenly leaping from his hands to engulf the small craft that had followed them down to the surface, and was firing energy blasts at them!

The ship explodes dramatically, showering them both with hot debris. Instantly again Markus throws his hands above his head and concentrates muttering something as a dome of energy appears above them, deflecting the larger pieces away from them!

Markus runs to Wallums side. "Are you alright?"

The older man nods his head. "You learned your lessons well, young Prince."

The boy smiles, "I had an excellent Teacher."

Suddenly both men turn towards the heavens as a screaming siren-like sound grows louder as it approaches nearer and nearer!

Wallum turns to Markus, dread etched on his face. "War-Bots. He’s unleashed them on us. We may be dead before we can even seek help."

"Do not give up hope my mentor and friend. Prince Bol-Ton will NEVER surrender!"

As he speaks, both men see dots appearing in the sky, dots that grow larger almost instantly, then suddenly they are there! Crashing into the grassy countryside around the two men and their downed craft, throwing up a cloud of dust and soil.

Then they hear an ominous thumping sound coming from every direction around them

THOOM

THOOM

THOOM

"Stay behind me, Wallum." Markus speaks softly, as he crouches slightly.

The cloud of dust parts, as suddenly ten-foot tall mechanical monsters begin to approach. Crimson in color and with rounded forms, the man shaped robots begin to close in on their prey.

"You have no choice, Markus, you MUST use your Star-Bolt. It is the only way to destroy them all."

Markus turns quickly towards the older man, "NO! You know you would not survive it if I unleashed its fury."

"You will not survive if you do not! And for your parents, nay for our worlds sake , you MUST survive!"

"NO! I will not forfeit you! There HAS to be another way!"

As he speaks, Markus furrows his brow and screams "Photon Blast!" Instantly photonic energy coalesces around his hands and unleashes, slicing through his first target like a hot knife through butter! Now he begins to work shouting a different named energy manipulation almost every half-second!

"Solar shield!" is followed by "Anti-Grav beam" followed by "Force blast" followed by "Vibration beam" Each blast finds a different target, each beam destroys yet another of the behemoths that continue to get closer and closer.

Then, disaster strikes, as suddenly an energy beam from one of the War-Bots pierces the shield Markus had erected, and slams into him, knocking him ten feet across the grassy hillside.

Dazed and battered the youth tries to get to his feet as he hears the approaching monsters thudding towards him.

Suddenly an image appears in front of him, a hologram of the man he despises most in the entire universe. A dark cloaked, thin figure with a pointed headgear and equally pointed beard flecked with gray stares coldly and emotionlessly at him.

"Dragonius." He spits out angrily

"King Dragonius to you, boy. Surrender and you will live. Deny that surrender and you both die now, crushed to death under the heels of my War-Bots. What say you?"

"Go to hell, usurper." Markus spits defiantly.

"You first boy. War-Bots, kill them."

The nearest War-Bot raises its foot above Markus’ head, and begins to bring it down when suddenly, inexplicably, twin beams of golden energy rip from above, slicing through the robot as a booming voice roars "No one dies here, mister!"

Markus and Wallum both turn towards the sound of the voice as they see two figures descending rapidly towards their attackers.

The first is wearing a gold skintight suit, pulsing with energy. His head is covered, allowing only his eyes, and mouth to be visible. He looks like a living star, and in truth that is what he is!

The second is dressed more dramatically, Markus figures him to be about the same age as himself, both the mid teens. This youth is dressed in a red and blue, tight armored suit. Under arm metallic red wings adorn each arm. His head and face is like wise covered, and his actions are different then the glowing mans, He is more physical, and his speed is amazing as he attacks, punching the first War-Bot he encounters with a thunderous "Boom!" Then, boot jets roaring, he leaps skywards, looping through the air, avoiding returned fire from his foes, pausing momentarily and then retaliating with an energy attack of his own, as he unleashes energies from his hands, disintegrating the War-Bot firing on him on the spot!

Wallum crawls quickly to Markus’ side "Did you see that?"

"Yes, It was some kind of electron power burst. It seemed to stop the electron flow in the atoms of its target. I believe I could duplicate it. But he is unleashing it technologically."

"Amazing." Wallum mutters, almost reverently.

"Indeed." Markus agrees.

Meanwhile The golden man touches each of his gloves and then fires again, this time his energies seem thicker, almost heavier looking as they strike with much more force, shattering the Wear-Bot it strikes instead of merely slicing through it! Then he calls out to his partner "Dragonfly, to your left!"

The red and blue winged youth nods and grabs his right wing with his left hand, detaching it. Instantly it solidifies in a boomerang, crescent moon-like shape, and he hurls it directly at a War-Bot encroaching on Markus and Wallum from behind!

Shrakt!

The wing slices through the War-Bot cleaving it in twain. Then it turns in mid air to fly back and land in place across his back and under his arms.

"Yeee-HA! Dragonfly shouts as he power dives into a War-Bot, driving it into the hillside. Across the field, his glowing golden partner shouts, "Dragonfly! Don’t get cocky!"

The young hero smiles back at his partner and replies, "Relax Solaron, we have this under control." As he speaks the War-Bot he had pinned suddenly backhands him across the ground, throwing him fifty feet, where he lands in a heap.

"Unngghh." Dragonfly groans. "Anyone get the plate number of that semi?" he quips as he fights to get to his knees.

But it is to late, as the War-Bot closes on him, its right hand, bigger then a an engine block, raises above his head and begins to descend dangerously.

"Ohboy, this is gonna hurt." Dragonfly quips painfully.

Then another hand appears, catching the larger robotic hand, stopping its descent easily. Dragonfly turns towards the hand and his gaze follows up its arm to the smiling longhaired man who is holding the straining War-Bots arm almost effortlessly.

"You looked like you could use a hand, so I thought I’d oblige."

The man is huge, perhaps seven feet four inches tall, and built proportionately. Muscle ripples across his blue and white suited form, a flowing blue and white cape adorned with twin lightning bolts blows in the wind from his back. A lightning bolt also is emblazoned on his chest, and rounded circles appear on each arm in white on a blue background. His boots are also adorned with lightning bolts.

"Who are you? Mr. Lightning?" Dragonfly asks as he scrambles to his feet.

"Haha, not quite, friend. The name is Captain Power!"

As he speaks, as if to punctuate his words he unleashes a haymaker right into the War-Bots mid section, shattering it like glass!

Pa-KOOOM!

The larger section of the torso hurtles half a mile across the field where it lands as a lump of twisted, unrecognizable metal!

Miles above, aboard the alien star cruiser that was chasing the Stargrazer and its two occupants, the Commander of that vessel scratches his chin in disbelief. "These fools, these Earthmen defeated a half dozen War-Bots like so many children’s toys." He turns towards the crewmen on his bridge, and shouts demandingly. "Release them! Release them all! I want every War-Bot on this ship on that planets surface NOW! Destroy those fools!"

Solaron lands next to the two heroes. "Captain, my name is Solaron, it’s a pleasure to meet you." Both men exchange handshakes, as Markus and Wallum approach them all.

"Greetings, heroes. My name is Wallum, and this is my young charge Prince Markus Bol-Ton. We both thank you for your much needed and timely assistance."

"Hey, no prob, Wally." Dragonfly answers extending his hand and shaking both men’s in turn. "It’s what we’re here for."

Solaron shoots his partner a stern look then turns back to the others. "What is this all about, Wallum? Who are you both?"

"We are travelers, from far away, and we require aid. This is why we came looking for you all."

"Wait a minute." Captain Power interjects, "You came looking for us? I don’t understand."

"We came looking for heroes." Markus answers, "We knew the age of heroes was just beginning on your world, and that your great and varied powers could aid us in our battle."

"What battle, what are you two talkin’ about?" Dragonfly impatiently asks. Then his head turns to the east, instantly zeroing on two small dots that are flying towards them. "We have company, but I think it’s more of the good guys, or umm in this case at least one good girl."

All five men stare, as the two figures grow larger until they finally land from the sky near them.

One is a gorgeous girl; perhaps twenty years old, with flowing silver hair. She wears a red and silver costume, with the red fading into the silver, a short silver cape adorns her back. The other is a horrific monster, shaggy black fur, fangs and bat like wings cover his brutish form. He wears a long pair of tight, form hugging blue and yellow padded shorts that end just above the knee. As he touches down, the wings seemingly disappear.

"Hi, My name is Silver Shadow, and this is Kreature. We heard about the commotion on the news and decided to see if we could help."

Dragonfly immediately sidles up to Silver Shadow and tells her, "I’m Dragonfly, just stay behind me, babe and I’ll make sure none of these things comes near you."

She laughs, and answers "That’s okay Lancelot, I can take care of myself. Besides, it looks like you boys took down everything here before we even arrived."

"There will be more." Markus answers grimly, many more."

"How do you know this, Markus, where are you from? Who are you both?" Solaron steps forward and asks directly.

Wallum answers, "We are from a planet named Juxtaria."

"Whoa! You guys are aliens?" Dragonfly interjects.

"As you would term it, yes." Markus answers.

"Markus is the crown prince of all Juxtaria, next in line for the throne of our world. I am his trainer in the use of his powers. My ancestors have trained his for a millenium. It is our sworn duty and our proudest accomplishment."

"So what are you two doing here, obviously on the run?" Captain Power asks.

"An evil has engulfed our world, an evil named Dragonius. He has usurped the throne and has ordered the capture and death of the royal family. He is a techno sorcerer of incredible power. He defeated Markus’s father in combat and immediately claimed power by right of strength. Most people did not want to follow him. Those he began to exterminate. The rest fell under his sway easily enough then. He means to kill the royal family, but to do so he must have them all present, accounted for, and summarily defeated by him. To do otherwise, under our laws is simply an act of barbarism."

"Sounds pretty barbaric to me either way." Dragonfly spits out.

Wallum ignores Dragonfly’s remark and continues speaking "What we need is to hide young Markus until his powers have matured enough to defeat Dragonius in fair combat for all our world to see. Only then can our world be free of his madness."

"Then why do you need us?" Silver Shadow asks.

"We need you to first help us defeat these marauders that are at our heels, and secondly when the time is right to join us going back to Juxtaria, and to help Prince Bol-Ton in his assault."

"You don’t ask for much, do you Wally?" Dragonfly answers.

"I ask for the salvation of our race, from a terrible evil, one that will definitely find its way to your world now that it knows powered humans exist here."

"And we have you to thank for that?" Solaron answers with a tinge of anger to his voice.

"We needed aid, we were being followed and attacked. Your world offered help that has never been seen before. You are our hope for survival. I do not ask this lightly."

"No." Solaron agrees, "I suppose you do not."

Then, they are all interrupted by a screaming, whistling sound from above. Dragonfly turns his head skywards squinting slightly, as his vision suddenly picks up many forms dropping from miles above. "We have incoming guys, LOTS of incoming."

"How did you see them?" Silver Shadow asks amazed.

"Spectroscopic vision, cutie. I can pick out heat signatures across cooler backgrounds from miles away. Just one of my, ahem, many amazing abilities."

"Haha. Don’t get ahead of yourself, junior." she laughs as she brushes by him, the so far silent Kreature following her, and sneering a growl in Dragonfly’s direction as he does.

"Hey lady, keep your dog on a leash." Dragonfly acknowledges.

"He’s not my dog, he’s my-"

Boom!

The first of the War-Bots land, immediately followed by a dozen more, then another dozen, then yet another!

"I think we may be in trouble." Admits a stunned Dragonfly.

All around them dozens of the heavily armed War-Bots continue to land, covering the countryside as far as the eye can see!

To be continued!

So what have we here? We have the first issue of a new; all original series set in a new all original universe. There are a lot of surprises and twists coming down the road folks. What this also is, is the premiere issue of the Cosmic Comics Universe! Hyperforce is the book that all the rest will circle around.

So what about next issue? What happens there? Come back and find out gang! I will tell you that you have not met all of the team yet, and more will show up next issue. Also there’s going to be a blow out battle between the fledgling Hyperforce and the alien invasion force from Juxtaria!

So join us back here, won’t you?