NOTE: This issue takes place after the events of Avengers #19

The Crash Pad

"I bet you’re all wondering why I called this meeting."

Dwayne Taylor sat at the round table. Sitting to his left and right were Speedball and Rage. The rest of the New Warriors—Patriot, Joystick, Ricochet, Gravity, and Spider-Woman—were also seated around the table. Also at the table, next to Ricochet, was Eddie McDonough, who now served the Warriors in a support capacity.

"Is it about M.T.?" asked Ricochet. He was referring to the Machine Teen, another member of the team who had recently become missing in action.

Dwayne shook his head. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is staying tight-lipped. No one there will answer any of my inquiries and I haven’t been able to reach Fury."

"Hey big guy, weren’t you just with Fury?" asked Spider-Woman.

"Yeah, but we kinda had other things to worry about," said Rage. The events in Latveria still left the young hero shaken, including his behavior when he fought Cannonball.

"So if it’s not about Machine Teen, then why did you call the meeting?" asked Patriot.

"Speedball and Rage gave me a status report on the team the other day, right before the… incident in Latveria," said Dwayne. "Both of them told me the team seems to be functioning well, but it can function much better. With a bit more trust put into each other."

"Whenever a coach used to say that in high school, it meant some sort of bonding trip was coming up," said Gravity. "We gonna go camping and sing Kumbaya?"

"Not quite," said Dwayne. "Speedball and Rage agreed that the best way to start building that trust is to reveal our identities to each other."

"Excuse me?" asked Patriot.

"The original Warriors did it, and it brought us closer together," said Rage. "I think it’s a good idea."

"Not so sure about this," said Gravity. "I think we need some sign of trust from you three before we do anything."

"Understandable. And that’s why I’m going to tell you what my interest in the Warriors really is," said Dwayne. "I used to be Night Thrasher, the founder of the original Warriors."

Speedball’s hands went to his goggles and mask and he pulled them off. "My name’s Robbie Baldwin. I’m… well, I’m still in high school. Embarrassingly enough."

Rage pulled the metal mask off his face. He still sported some bruising as a result of his short stint as a member of the Fantastic Four. "I’m Elvin Haliday. I’m still in high school, too."

"You are?" asked Ricochet. "C’mon, you look like twenty-seven. Twenty-five at least."

"Part of my powers," said Rage. "I was doused in chemicals and it made me the way I am."

"We’ve taken the first step, how about the rest of you?" asked Dwayne. "We’ve entrusted you all with this, because we feel it’s for the good of the team."

"This is ridiculous…" said Patriot.

"Not much point, you already know who I am," said Joystick, pulling her half-mask off. "Janice Yanizeski, ex-supervillain, current college student."

Ricochet looked at Eddie. "What do you think?"

"Might as well," said Eddie.

Ricochet nodded and pulled off his mask. "I’m Johnny Gallo. I go to E.S.U."

"I used to be a superhero," said Eddie. "Went by the name of Hornet. Rico and I were part of the Slingers."

"What the hell…" said Spider-Woman as she pulled her own mask off. "I’m Mattie Franklin. I’m still in high school, too."

Gravity followed her lead and removed his mask. "Greg Willis, E.S.U. student by day, superhero by night."

"Good, I’m glad you all decided to do this," said Dwayne. He turned to look at Patriot. "But there’s still one person left."

All eyes followed Dwayne’s lead and focused on the man who brought them together. Patriot sat upright, arms folded over his chest. His mask was still firmly in place and he made no move to take it off.

"I have one question," said Patriot. "Just what will this accomplish? How will knowing who’s behind the mask make things easier on us? Make us more effective as a team? If anything, it makes us more vulnerable."

"You don’t know that," said Dwayne. "It wasn’t tru—"

"If it wasn’t true with the Warriors in the past, then why did you and Rage leave the team?" asked Patriot. "Why was there a falling out? Why did the team disband in the first place? I’ve been in situations like this in the past. We can’t make this personal. We’re here to do a job."

"So you’re saying you won’t follow along," said Dwayne.

"I’m saying I refuse to be forced into revealing who I am by mob rule," said Patriot.

"Guess that’s just too bad," said Ricochet. "You’ve been so damn secretive all this time and it makes it almost impossible to trust you. We all came here because we want to do something good, be better than what we are. And you’re playing all of us."

"Don’t start with me, Ricochet," said Patriot. "You have no idea."

"Then give me one," said Ricochet. "Tell me how you know so much about all of us. You’ve probably known who we all are underneath these masks before today."

"He has," said Dwayne. "He figured out the identities of Robbie, Elvin and myself. Assuming the information wasn’t given to him."

"Just what’s that supposed to mean?" asked Patriot.

"It means just what I told you the last time we spoke," said Dwayne. "I know you have an ulterior motive, Patriot."

"Did you have an ulterior motive when you formed the Warriors, or was it just because it was the right thing to do?" asked Patriot.

"Don’t even try to compare yourself to me, I told my team everything from day one," said Dwayne.

"I have my reasons," said Patriot.

"Care to share them with the rest of the class?" asked Joystick. Patriot remained silent. "Then how about the way you blackmailed me into this gig?"

Dwayne glared at Patriot. "What the hell kind of game are you playing?"

"My methods may seem questionable to you, but I get results," said Patriot.

"Yeah, by hanging with guys like the Taskmaster," said Speedball. "What’s next? Coffee with Doc Doom?"

"I used the Taskmaster as a means to an end. No different than when Night Thrasher joined the Folding Circle," said Patriot.

"He’s right. Using the Taskmaster was a smart play," said Dwayne. "But there are still other things. Like how you knew about Machine Teen."

"I told you, I have my sources," said Patriot.

"Then tell us who they are," said Dwayne.

"No."

"Fine, have it your way," said Dwayne. "Don’t let the door hit you on the way out."

"Excuse me?" asked Patriot.

"You heard me," said Dwayne. "You’re gone. I told you once already Patriot, this is my team. I pay the bills, that means I call the shots. I was letting you lead. But obviously, that’s not a task you can handle. Now get off my property. You’re trespassing."

"I assembled this team, you didn’t give a shit about the Warriors," said Patriot. "You just didn’t want someone infringing on your trademark."

Dwayne stood from his chair. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way." Rage stood behind his adoptive guardian. "The choice is yours."

Patriot looked around the table for some sign of solidarity. All he found were accusatory stares. Rather than try and argue his point any further, he stood and left the room.

Dwayne sighed and sat back down. "Now that that’s done, we have another problem. Who’s going to lead this team?"

GeneTech

After a handscan confirmed his identity, Patriot entered the laboratory responsible for giving him his superhuman abilities. A man dressed in a lab coat and thick-framed glasses greeted him with a smile.

"Ah Patriot, good to see you again," he said. "I—"

"Spare the pleasantries, Rosen," said Patriot. "I’ve been kicked out of the Warriors."

Walter Rosen balked at the statement. "What? How? You formed that team."

"And they kicked me out because I refused to take off my mask," said Patriot. "I told you allowing people from the old guard into the operation would cause trouble."

"This isn’t good, GeneTech has invested a lot in you," said Rosen. "After our failure with Generation X, we needed to try a different approach. It was the hope of myself and those who have backed GeneTech that forming our own New Warriors would be a perfect solution."

"Then you shouldn’t have allowed Taylor and his friends to take control of the operation," said Patriot.

"The last thing we needed was Taylor investigating," said Rosen. "If his offer was rejected, he would have been far more suspicious. Unfortunately, now we have to resort to… other means."

"Just what do you mean by that?" asked Patriot.

"Follow me," said Rosen.

The Crash Pad

"Me?" asked Speedball.

"Why not?" asked Dwayne. "You’ve been with the Warriors the longest. No one can question your dedication to the team."

"Yeah, but I dunno if I’m really right for the job," said Speedball. "I mean, I’ve never really been the leader type. What about Elvin?"

"Don’t even think about it," said Rage. "I’m way too timid to be a leader."

"Okay, then Rico. He’s got experience and he seems to know what he’s doing," said Speedball.

"No thanks," said Ricochet, twirling one of his discs between his fingers.

"Joystick? Spider-Woman?" asked Speedball. Both the young women shook their heads. "Alright, then Gravity."

"I—"

"He doesn’t have the experience," said Dwayne.

"Then you do it," said Speedball. "You’re practically leading already. C’mon man, we need that old Night Thrasher magic."

"My days of playing superhero are over," said Dwayne.

"Well… we can bring back some of the others," said Robbie. "Like Vance or Angel. Or Nita—she’s perfect, get Nita. I’m sure she—"

"Robbie, you’re the most qualified," said Dwayne. "And even though you don’t want to admit it, you know this is the right move. You know you’re good enough to do this job and do it right."

"Okay, I’ll do it," said Speedball. He looked around the table. "But only if everyone is cool with it. I don’t want any problems. So we put it to a vote."

"That’s fair," said Dwayne. "All in favor?"

Five hands went up. The only ones absent belonged to Gravity and Speedball. Greg glanced around and slowly raised his own hand. Speedball took notice of this.

"Look Grav, if you don’t think I can do it, then I won’t," he said.

"Nah, that’s not it," said Gravity with slight apprehension. "Dwayne’s right, it’s a smart move."

"So what do you say?" asked Dwayne.

Speedball sighed. "Alright, I’ll do it."

GeneTech

Deep within the bowels of GeneTech was a secluded holding area. The highest levels of security were kept within here, and Walter Rosen alone possessed full access to the facility. Rosen led the way through various security checkpoints, with Patriot following close behind.

"Before we found you, before our association with Emma Frost, GeneTech had another plan to create superheroes," said Rosen. "We experimented on several volunteers and we were able to successfully grant them superhuman abilities. But there was just one problem…"

"What?" asked Patriot.

Rosen removed his glasses and placed his eye against a retinal scanner. After a moment, the final door opened. Inside were five tubes. Each one contained a person held in suspended animation.

"The experiments resulted in mental instability," said Rosen. "We had beings with the power to be heroes, but without the motivation or the sense of responsibility. Our efforts to create a team of superheroes ultimately failed."

"I have a question."

"Go ahead."

"Why is GeneTech so interested in creating superheroes?"

"We have our reasons," said Rosen. "Unfortunately, due to a number of factors, I cannot reveal those reasons."

"So why are we here?" asked Patriot.

"These five individuals were together known as Psionex," said Rosen. "After our last attempt to use them resulted in the deaths of Frost’s students, we felt Psionex should be retired."

"But you kept them here in suspended animation?" asked Patriot. "That’s horrible."

"There was a chance we might be in need of their services again," said Rosen. "And it looks like that time has come."

Patriot suddenly realized what was happening here. "Absolutely not."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You want to send these guys after the Warriors, don’t you?" asked Patriot.

"It’s our only option," said Rosen. "The Warriors are necessary for our goals. And you’re going to lead the charge to apprehend them."

"Not even close," said Patriot. "I won’t betray the Warriors like that. GeneTech can find themselves another puppet, Rosen. Because I’m through."

Patriot turned and walked towards the door. Rosen moved a hand to his watch and pressed a small button on the side of it. Suddenly, Patriot collapsed to his knees in pain.

"Have you forgotten your place?" asked Rosen. "You accepted this position and everything that came along with it. After your last outing, you wanted to be a hero again so bad, didn’t you? Couldn’t stand living a normal life, could you?"

Patriot struggled to get to his feet. Rosen knelt down by his creation and pulled off the blue and red mask. Beneath it was a Caucasian man with short, brown hair.

"Your days as Prodigy were over, Ritchie," said Rosen. "The Slingers were gone and you had no purpose in life. So when we found you, we offered you a chance to reinvent yourself. We tested our new Super Soldier Serum on you. We made you into the next Captain America. We gave you a new identity. And all we asked for in return was your cooperation."

Rosen stood and looked at the pods which contained the members of Psionex. He pressed the button on his watch again and the pain Patriot had experienced was now gone.

"You owe us your life, Mr. Gilmore," said Rosen. "And Psionex will bring in the Warriors, with or without your help." He looked over his shoulder at the former Slinger. "So what’s your decision?"

Ritchie Gilmore, the man who had once been known as Prodigy, looked up at Rosen. There was hatred in his eyes as he gazed upon the man who had made him into the Patriot. Finally, he spoke.

"Alright, I’ll do it."

NEXT: With a change in ranks, some of the Warriors are having a bit of trouble adjusting. But they won’t have time to get on the ball when Psionex attacks, led by none other than Patriot!

WAR ROOM

Damn, but that was fun.

This is an issue I’ve been waiting to write since I first came up with the idea of tackling New Warriors. When I first got the idea, I wanted to use a new team of Warriors, with some mainstays. This was when Young Avengers only had promotional material and nothing was known about any of the characters save for their names and appearance. Patriot seemed really interesting and I wanted to use him, but I wanted to play around with his identity. I decided I’d make things interesting and have the man behind the mask be none other than Prodigy from Slingers.

If you look at the past issues and Patriot’s attitude, you can see how the seeds were lain for this. It’s been a fun ride up to this point and now here’s where things really get interesting.

Dino Pollard
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