Franklin Richards in…

FRANKLIN VS. OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

By Tobias Christopher

Editor’s Note: This issue takes place before Franklin and Valeria are sent off to boarding school in Fantastic Four (vol. 2)!

Franklin Richards was lying on his stomach in front of the TV eating a bowl of cereal and watching Saturday morning cartoons. He was wearing his favorite pair of Spider-Man pajamas as he watched the animated adventures of the Punisher, who traveled the world, shooting bad guys with a paintball gun with his animal sidekick, Ms. Lion.

The doorbell rang and Franklin was torn: answer the door or wait for the cartoon to go to commercial? These were the day to day decisions that he dreaded. He could let someone else answer it, but he was the only one home as he waited for his babysitter.

The rest of the family had been sucked into another dimension during Reed’s latest experiment to see just how many licks it takes to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop. They’d probably be back soon but, luckily, Susan Storm had interdimensional dialing on her cell phone and was able to reach a sitter on Earth.

The doorbell rang again and Franklin sighed. He got up and ran toward the door, opening it and finding twenty year old Alex Power on the other side. The former leader of the Power Pack was all grown up, with scruffy blonde hair that nearly reached his shoulders and looked as if he didn’t have a care in the world these days. He was wearing a blue t-shirt, black jeans and sneakers. His pushed a strand of hair out of his eyes as he smiled at Franklin. “Hey, buddy,” said Alex as he walked in. “Your parents said to come over and watch you until they got back. Reed ever figure out that tootsie roll pop dilemma?”

“No, Unca’ Johnny ate it before the experiment was finished,” replied Franklin as he went back to watching cartoons.

Alex sat down on the couch behind Franklin and watched as the Punisher was fighting a giant dragon. “I remember this show from when I was a kid. I think the next episode’s where the Punisher gets trapped in the Never-Ending Story.”

“Shh!” said Franklin as he continued to be entranced by the cartoon.

“Hmm,” replied Alex, a little worried about Franklin being so entranced by the TV. Picking up the remote, he turned it off. “You know what? It’s a beautiful day outside, why spend it indoors? Get dressed, kid, we’re spending some time in the sunlight.”

“But I want to watch cartoons!” said Franklin.

“Fine, Little Rosey is on next,” Alex told him as he looked at the TV guide. “The adventures of Roseanne as a child. Sounds like fun.”

Franklin was already dressed in a blue t-shirt with the F4 logo on it, blue jeans and red sneakers as he ran out the door.

Shortly, at the park, Alex was holding a football as he looked at Franklin. “Alright, go long!”

Franklin started running as Alex tossed the ball, which hit Franklin in the face. Alex winced and quickly ran over to Franklin. “You’re supposed to catch the ball with your hands, not your nose.”

“I want to go home,” said Franklin as he held his bleeding nose. “Outside is dangerous.”

“Being outside is fun!” replied Alex as he gave Franklin a tissue. “Come on, there has to be something you enjoy doing out here. Do you like bike riding? Basketball? Swimming?”

“Can we get ice cream?” asked Franklin.

“That’s not a bad idea, there’s an ice cream cart not too far away,” replied Alex. “Hang tight, I’ll be back with some.”

As Alex ran off, Franklin tossed the football up and caught it, not realizing he was being watched by a boy his own age. He had dark black hair and was holding a teddy bear in his arms.

“Well, well, Franklin Richards,” the boy said to himself. “Son of Mr. Fantastic. Think, Teddy, what we could do with the Fantastic Four’s technology at our disposal. That empty headed brat doesn’t deserve to share Reed Richard’s DNA.”

The boy remained silent as he listened to the bear in his arms. “Of course, we’ll switch brains with him! I’ll take over his life and then I’ll be the son of Reed Richards! Then, once I have his technology, I’ll have everything I need to take over the world! Now, go, Teddy! Go and bring me Franklin Richards!”

Franklin continued to toss the ball up into the air waiting for Alex to get back when a giant shadow loomed over him. “Alex?”

Turning around, Franklin saw a six-foot-tall robotic teddy bear with glowing red eyes standing over him. “Sorry, Mr. Bear, I don’t have a picnic basket,” said Franklin as the bear reached for him, just as Alex was returning with two ice cream cones.

“Oh, HELL NO!” shouted Alex as he got between Franklin and the bear, giving Franklin the two ice cream cones to hold. “I go away for one minute and a freakin’ robot bear shows up! Get away from my friend, you–”

The bear roared and smacked Alex hard enough to knock him right out of his sneakers, which remained firmly in place in the grass. Alex flew twenty feet, rolling as he hit the ground. The bear reached for Franklin again, who simply shoved the two ice cream cones into the bear’s eyes. The giant teddy bear swatted at the cones as it stumbled around, falling onto its back.

“Teddy?” asked the evil boy as he appeared. “No one does that to my teddy bear! Do you know who I am?”

“Someone who uses too much hair gel?” asked Franklin.

“Fool, I am Dr. Denton, Destroyer of Worlds!” the boy shouted. “You should fear me! I shall now take you to my lair where I’ll remove your brain and replace it with my own!”

Franklin shrugged and simply kneed Dr. Denton in the groin, sending him to the ground. “Yeah, no, we’re not doin’ that.”

Alex stood up, dizzy from the ride he just took as he walked back across the grass. “Did I just get bitch slapped by a giant teddy bear?”

“Yep,” replied Franklin as he looked at Dr. Denton lying on the ground, whimpering. “I wasted two perfectly good ice cream cones.”

“Come on, we’ll get two more,” said Alex as he took Franklin’s hand as he picked up his sneakers with the other. “You know, maybe spending time indoors wouldn’t be so horrible.”

As Franklin was about to reply, the bear grabbed Alex by the shirt, tossing him away again as his sneakers fell back into the grass. This time, Alex fell into a nearby fountain, getting soaked as he sank into the water.

“This is why I don’t like teddy bears,” said Franklin as the bear closed in on him. Grabbing one of Alex’s sneakers, he shoved it into the bear’s mouth as it roared at him. As the bear was distracted, it slipped on Alex’s other shoe and fell backward.

“Do I have to do everything myself?” asked Dr. Denton in a high pitched voice as he grabbed Franklin from behind.”Take him!”

The bear spit out Alex’s now shredded shoe and picked Franklin up and started carrying him away. Meanwhile, Alex stood up in the fountain.

“Oh, now I am PISSED.”

Stomping through the grass, so soaking wet his socks made sloshing sounds as he walked, Alex headed toward the giant bear. Tapping it on the shoulder, the bear turned around and got ready to roar as Alex simply put his hand on the creature, causing it to start to float away, but not before snatching Franklin out of the bear’s arms.

“What did you do to my teddy!” shouted Dr. Denton.

“He’ll come down soon enough,” said Alex angrily as he cracked his knuckles.

“You can’t touch me! I’m just a kid!” replied Dr. Denton, sticking his tongue out. Alex realized he was right.

“No, but I can,” said Franklin as he reached down into the back of Dr. Denton’s pants and used the training his Uncle Johnny had given him to give the other boy the mother of all atomic wedgies. “Alex, can we go home?”

“Yeah, and we can watch all the damn cartoons your heart desires,” replied Alex.

Meanwhile, not too far away…

“I have you now, Spider-Man!” shouted the Vulture as he had the web-slinger cornered. “And now nothing can save you from–”

The Vulture was cut off as a giant robotic teddy bear fell right on top of him.

Later, Franklin and Alex were watching cartoons. Alex had dried off and was wearing a pair of Johnny’s sweat pants and a t-shirt while he was waiting for his own clothes to dry.

“Thanks for hanging out with me,” said Franklin as he hugged Alex. “You’re one of my favorite sitters.”

“No, problem, kid,” replied Alex. “We’ll have to hang out again real soon. I just hope today didn’t destroy any hopes of you playing outside.”

“Actually, I was hoping you’d teach me to play football next time,” said Franklin. “Just, you know, don’t give me another nose bleed.”

The two turned their attention back to the TV. “And coming up next, it’s the Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.”

Franklin and Alex looked at each other.

“Want to learn to play football right now?”

“Definitely!”

Alex shut the TV off as the two ran for the door.

Author’s Note

Dr. Denton, Destroyer of Worlds and his teddy bear are from the short-lived Slapstick mini-series. I hope you enjoyed this one shot as much I enjoyed writing it.

-Tobias Christopher