Downtown Los Angeles early in the morning was almost as busy as the rest of the day. People moving about their early daytime activities whether it be work or any number of other errands or things. In the middle of all the busy office buildings and banks and other corporations stood one gleaming skyscraper.

Standing out from the rest two figures stood upon its roof high above any of traffic and distractions below. Worrying about but the target they coveted. The orange ball moved between their hands to the target behind them. Two men. A contest of wills and power. Two old friends bonding over a game. It was a story as old as time, and it continued this day.

Richard Rider stood defensively and prepared for the attack. It could come from any direction and without any warning. He had to be on his guard. Reaching up he wiped the sheen of sweat off his face before turning back to glance at his goal. As he ran forward towards the looming goal, he caught a glimpse of his adversary. Out of the corner of his eye Rich watched the figure getting closer and closer. As Rich jumped, he prepared to deliver the package. Just as victory was assured, the figure slammed into legs causing them both to fall to the ground roughly.

“Told ya, that you couldn’t bring me down, Buckethead. I may have been injured before, but I’m back and more than ready to keep beating your ass.” Vance Astrovik laughed as he hopped up of the ground.

Reaching a hand down he pulled Rich to his feet. The basketball that had been in Rich’s hand rolled across the ground finally coming to a stop at court’s edge. A game of rousing one on one in the middle of the night hadn’t been on their schedules. After everything that had happened lately, a little bonding didn’t hurt.

“Oh please. Besides I thought we agreed no powers?”

“I don’t need my mutant powers to bring down a chump like you.”

“Where’s Angel at, doesn’t she need to get your balls out of her purse?”

“Oh good one, buddy. The scintillating wit of Kid Nova lives on.”

Richard stopped moving forward as his often forgotten codename of days past slipped out of Vance’s lips. “Oh, you did not go where I just think you did, Marvel Boy.”

The two old friends stared each other down, before bursting into laughter. They moved and plopped down under the roof access overhang. Rich pulled off his red sweatband and tossed it aside.

“So the Wedding is almost here?” Richard threw the comment out as he glanced up at the slowly lightening sky. The stars were still twinkling but it was obvious that morning was coming.

Vance smiled and lightly punched his friend on the arm. “Yeah, things are just coming together. Angel actually had me picking out china and napkin designs yesterday. Can you believe it?”

“It’s hard enough to imagine you in a store in the first place. Seriously dude, you really need your balls back, maybe just get her to let you have ’em back for short periods.”

“Jackass. Come on, admit you’re jealous of what we have.”

“Me jealous of you? Ha, don’t make me laugh Marvel Boy. The day I need a woman in my life again is the day that…”

Vance laughed out loud as he grabbed his friends shoulder. “There’s a girl isn’t there?”

“What makes you think that?”

“You always get preachy about women when you like one. Who is she, man?”

Rich shrugged his shoulders as he stared up at the stars twinkling above. “Even if there was a girl like you think, what makes you think I’d just blurt it out. Maybe if there was a girl I’d be respecting her privacy or something.”

“Whatever man, but whoever she is I say make a move dude. You’ve been out of the serious relationship game for years, ever since Nita. Wow, didn’t even think about that, how do you think Nita would react?”

“If there was someone, I’m not worried about that. She’s moved on since then I’m sure. Either way it doesn’t matter. Things are about to change. I can feel it.”

“Change how?”

“I don’t know, but I feel something inside me calling out. I feel like there is something bigger for me right now, but can’t put my finger on what it is.”

Frowning, Vance shrugged slightly and looked at his watch. The time read almost eight in the morning. “Hey dude. Shouldn’t the sun have come up like hours ago?”

Glancing up at the still dark sky, the two young men’s frowns deepened. Moving up Vance glanced at the moon and then towards where the sun should have come up. “You think this might be the change you were mentioning before?”

As it was now obviously clear the sun wasn’t coming anytime soon, Richard almost sighed. Things were never easy for them. Even on the day off. “I really hope not, cause if that’s the case I got a bad feeling about this.”

A Threaded Moon Tie-In

TWILIGHT OF A NEW MOON

By Scott Redmond

The gig had ended early just like every one that had come before it. Serious actress was not a label that would appear anywhere near Julie Power anytime soon. With another complete failure behind her she hit the streets with an obvious dejected walk. Bad enough that the tryout had been so damn early in the morning, but now her stomach was rumbling begging for breakfast. Glancing up at the sky she shrugged, as it seemed ever darker than when she arrived when the sun should be shining. Chalk it up to Los Angeles to have weird schedules.

Dashing across the street a curious glance was thrown around as no cars blew past or honked at her, and no people were walking up and down the streets like normal. It was a veritable ghost town.

“Did I miss something?” muttering, she lifted the giant purse on her arm up and began the search for the small pink cell phone she coveted so. It had to be under the mess of tissues and wrappers somewhere. “I know I put you in here. Damn it. If I call, maybe Thrash or someone will get a ride down here for me.”

Keeping powers on the down low was difficult when the urge to jump up and fly back to base was hammering in the skull. Powers had been what lead her family into quitting the superhero game and moving back west. Normalcy was supposed to be on their plates. Until Julie ended up in the City of Angels of course. All that changed with the MGH and Champions just weeks before.

Passing a wide-open alleyway she missed the figure withering upon the ground and the man huddled over him seemingly biting at the prone figure’s neck. She was so into the cell phone search most of what was happening passed right by her radar. A pale finger shot out and tapped her shoulder eliciting a short scream from painted ruby lips. “You scared me. You should never just walk up and tap a strang—you could really use some sun there man. I have never seen a complexion that bad.”

The eyes locked onto her own with the ferocity of a born predator. Blood stained lips smacked together as his hands flew for her throat again. Stumbling in surprise she ended up on her ass on the sidewalk. Kicking out she caught his knee hearing a loud resounding crack. A hiss sounded as the man bared bloody fangs in irritation. All her years of watching horror movies flashed before her eyes as only one word kept repeating: Vampire.

“You have got to be kidding me! Vampires in Los Angeles… I should have stayed in Washington.” Scrambling up she swung her purse connecting with the creature’s jaw. It wasn’t hard enough to do any damage, but just enough to throw it off from going after her.

Dashing around the corner, her fleeing came to an end as a group of vampires huddled over a very dead young woman. Violently turning their heads her way, they hissed as a new meal had appeared. “Oh shit.”

“Word coming in that there are vampires in the skies over the city. The police and fire departments have issued a total curfew while calls are made to the west coast branch of the Avengers as well as the Champions for help. As of this broadcast, none of those calls have been returned. The rumor is that the New Warriors have been reached but are still hours away. The question this reporter has to ask is this: if no one else is around, who will save us from this nightmare?”

The monitor flipped off, as Richard tossed the remote on the conference table. Every channel was full of the same thing. Firestar, Justice, and Silhouette stood at the table absorbing the information as well. The door opened as Turbo entered the room in full gear. Hidden eye moved to catch Nova’s, as the two shared a hidden significant look.

“The Warriors are too far away to do any good at this point. I really wish Robbie’s team were here, though. The extra muscle would be really helpful.” Justice glanced away from the monitor as he spoke.

“So do I, Vance, but they’re not here. It’s up to us. I haven’t been able to contact Julie or Dwayne, so it’s up to the rest of us. Nita and Chris are already downtown taking on the vampires.” Seeing the looks given when Chris’ name came up, Nova’s hand rose to cut them off. “I know we’re still not sure about trusting Chris right now with his withdrawal problem, but as you said we need all the help we can get. Mickey will stay here to coordinate the battle.”

A stifled gasp slipped from the woman’s lips as she moved forward. “Why am I being left here? I should be in the field with the rest of you.”

“It’s safer for you here. You’re powers aren’t the best against this type of threat, and you’re better with the electronics than the rest of us.”

“Bullshit! Why don’t you man up Richard and say the real reason.”

The tenseness in the room was finally noticed as the secret couple turned to stare at the others. Raising and eyebrow Justice crossed his arms. “Is there a problem the rest of us should know about here?”

The two moved apart and shook their heads. Clearing his throat, Nova put the team leader face back on as he turned to address the others again. “No. There’s nothing to worry about. We have our assignments let’s move out. We’ll keep in contact with you through the whole battle, Mickey.” The two didn’t even meet eyes as she nodded.

Up above the roof split, as the specialty skylight Dwayne had installed began to open. Firestar and Justice took off into the air, with Silhouette secure on a telekinetic platform trailing behind them. Placing his helmet on Nova moved over and laid a hand on Turbo’s shoulder carefully. She flinched slightly then relaxed as they finally looked at one another again.

“I’m sorry, Mickey. I didn’t do this to you just because of our relationship. I really am keeping what is best for the team in mind. I hope you can realize that.” Pulling back he flew up towards the sky, before stopping to turn back for a moment. “See if you can get ahold of Dwayne, his silence now is not good. Especially with what is out there.”

Watching the dwindling figure of Nova disappear, Turbo sighed as she approached the giant bank of monitors. Patching in all the news feeds, she moved them up alongside maps showing the locations of all her teammates. Blips appeared for Namorita and Darkhawk as they moved around downtown, and the blips for the others that just left were moving uptown. Just as her fingers hit the keys a sixth blip suddenly appeared, corresponding to the communicator given to Lightspeed as a precaution.

“Hello! Is anyone there? Does this damn thing work or not!”

Grabbing the microphone, she flipped it on quickly. “Julie! It’s Mickey, what’s your location?”

“Oh thank god. I’m outside the studios. Had an interview this morning, then you’ll never guess what I ran into…”

“Let me guess: Vampires.”

“Actually no it was the Loch Ness Monster strangely enough. Yeah, how did you know?”

“They’re all over the city right now. The others have headed out to figure out the source and fight them off. You should probably head inside someplace, it’s safer that way.”

“No, I may not be part of the team officially, but I’m sure as hell not going to play the damsel in distress. Point me towards the others and I’ll go help.”

“Nova took a team towards uptown, and Nita and Hawk are downtown. No sign of Night Thrasher as of this moment. So take you’re pick. The help is needed on either side.”

A buzzing sounded from another panel, as Night Thrasher’s secretary Peggy popped up on a screen. “Mr. Taylor’s morning appointment is here. Jessica Jones from the L.A Times. Should I send her up? Also there is a Mr. Foster here who is supposed to start work as a mechanic today, he’s on his way up also.”

Cursing softly in Chinese, Mickey hit the switch to let Peggy hear her voice. “Yes send her up Peggy. I’ll deal with her, Mr. Taylor is still out right now.” Moving back to the screen with Julie on it she watched the small blip moving towards the others.

Leaning back she sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Two civilians in the building, and Dwayne nowhere in sight. Vampires were overrunning the city, and her teammates were in danger fighting them. The day was not really shaping up to be the best. At least nothing else could seemingly go wrong. Just as the thought formed there was a flicker and then a groan as the power died throughout the entire building.

A red/blur blew through the sky, red hair trailing behind in the wind. Three dead figures moved after, their fangs bared and dripping red with blood already. Whirling around microwaves are unleashed, slamming into the first Vampire. An unearthly scream erupted as the undead figure tumbled to the ground, their face flaking away. Surging forward again, Firestar glanced back to watch the two vampires still following behind her. Putting on the brakes quickly, she flipped back as they passed right by her. Her hands glowed as she unleashed more microwave energy, and watched the screaming burning messes falling to the ground as ashes.

Down the way Justice struggled as his telekinetic powers formed bubbles around vampires, and walls to keep them away from a huddling mass of civilians. Sweat trickled down his brow as the creatures pounded against the wall, weakening it with each hit. His concentration was wavering and he knew he had to do something quickly. The cries of a little girl cowered with her mother behind him, pushed Justice to increase his concentration on the field. A crack appeared in the shield and a fanged head poked through with an unholy grin on its face.

Nova tumbled out of the sky as two vampires latched on, trying to bring the flyer to the ground. Struggling he tried to get a hand free to fire a blast at his attackers. The bony hand of one latched onto his throat, as she tried to find a way to remove the mask. The other tried to bite through the mask, and a surge of energy ripped through her body. The creature was vaporized from the inside out as the ashes tumbled away. Finally with a hand free, Nova slammed it into the remaining creature’s face and fired.

Regaining balance as the creature died, he spotted Justice fighting off his attackers. Surging across the field, the power grew in his hands. A portion of the Nova Force was redirected to his hands and the energy ripped out to slam into the backs of the vampires. They cried out as the energy scalded them and sent them flying. Hovering before his teammate’s makeshift shield, Nova began firing at any vampire that came their way.

“Nice to see you finally drop in there, buddy.” A little sarcasm dripped from the telekinetic’s words as he shored up the shield.

“You know me, buddy, I was checking out the chicks. Little too pale for my taste.”

“Not to mention they’re bloodsuckers.” A pillar of telekinetic energy flew out and struck two vampires, slamming them into a wall.

“Yeah well they say that all women suck you dry eventually. So not much difference there.” More energy blasts were unleashed at the approaching hordes of creatures.

Microwaves slammed down into the last few vampires moving towards the boys, as Firestar hovered over them with her arms crossed. “I take offense to that statement boys. I haven’t sucked Vance dry…yet.” With a smirk she took off for their next target, the park.

Shaking his head Vance dropped the shield. “Now don’t be jealous of my woman old buddy. I’m sure you’ll find one of the non sucking variety to.” Pausing he rubbed his chin. “You know when you think about what I just said, that wasn’t a very good thing was it?”

Chuckling Nova clapped his friend on the back before taking off after Firestar. There were a lot more vampires all over town, and they needed to keep up the fight. At least he knew for sure that Mickey was back at the base, safe and secure.

A grumble and a curse slipped past her lips as Mickey made her way out of the control room. Vampires running around town, and now the tower power was gone. Not hard to imagine the two incidents were connected somehow. Her heart jumped and she whirled around as the ping of the elevator sounded. A tall dark skinned man left the life, and for a second she almost thought Night Thrasher had finally returned. The man paused as he saw her, but then he moved over with his hand extended.

“Bill Foster, the hero once known as Goliath. You must be Turbo. Thrash asked me to come and start work today as your team mechanic.”

Accepting the handshake Turbo glanced around sheepishly. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Foster, sorry right now turned out not to be the best time to start work. I don’t even know where Thrash is at the moment. He’s not answering calls, and the city is overrun by Vampires apparently.”

Before the man could speak the other elevator opened to reveal a willowy brunette woman with a blackberry in hand. A charming smile spread across the woman’s face as she moved over towards the two. “Turbo, perfect. I was afraid that none of the Champions would be here to interview. Where did you want to do this? Conference room? Some secret Champions War Room?”

Shaking her head to get a firm grasp of what was going on, Turbo stared at the woman. “Umm this isn’t exactly the time for an interview. As you can see the power…wait if the power is down how did you both get up here on the elevators?”

“Back-up generators. Things like the elevators and a few other key systems are connected to a myriad of back-up generators in case of failure of the main power source. Your computer systems in the war room as well as the security doors over areas like the armory should still work at this point.” Catching the woman’s blank stare he smiled. “I designed this building, a long time ago. You’re not the first Champions to call this place home.”

Before the young woman could respond an alarm ripped through the air from the room she had just left. Cursing she dashed into the room, knowing the other two would follow her. A flashing red light gave some illumination to the room. On the screen there was indication of some sort of breach to the building security.

“Warning! Warning! Defenses Breached! Intruder Alert!”

“Computer show me the breach.” The screen fizzled back to life as camera views of the lobby popped up. The bank of glass doors for entrance was completely shattered. Hordes of the living undead were pouring through the openings.

“Don’t vampires need to be invited in or something?” Jessica said as she stared at the screen in fear.

Bill shook his head as he softly cursed. “Not in this case. Public office building, open to everyone and everything.”

Standing up, Turbo started to move out of the room when another alarm ripped out of the speakers. Suddenly thick metal plates began sliding down around the windows. On the screen the same could be seen in the lobby as the once open doorway was now sealed off. All over the building the process was being repeated.

“Level Ten Lockdown Initiated! All Exits Sealed!”

“That doesn’t sound good.” The reporter muttered as she fell backwards into a chair.

Bill slid into the seat and began pressing keys. “The power outage mixed together with the violent breach of the building has lead to the computer initiating the lockdown. The protocol was created in case of super villain attacks on the building. The idea was to contain them here to fight opposed to the fight moving outside where civilians and property would be at risk.” Pushing a few keys, Bill cursed. “The override has been changed. As has the code for the defensive measures.”

Turning away from the screen where the vampires were now moving for the stairs, Turbo paused. “What does that mean?”

With a grim face Bill turned and stared at the young woman. “It means that without Night Thrasher, there is no way we’re getting out of this building.”

The parks of many cities were a paradise for the early morning jogger. No kids hanging around with their loud music. No little old ladies sitting on all the benches to feed birds all day long. No skaters that believed they were entitled to the full run of the park with no regard to anyone else. Just the runners were in control for those few glorious hours between the before and after sunrise. A fact that made it a perfect spot for a buffet of sorts for the hordes of vampires descending upon the city at that very moment.

A few bodies lay scattered around the entrance of the park, and Nova said a silent prayer for them. Beside him Justice and Firestar tried to avoid looking at the bodies. Such beauty ruined as an impromptu graveyard for the victims of the dark creatures. Hisses and cries emerged from the center of the park as the three stared at each other, before dashing towards the disturbances. Emerging from the thick brush, their eyes settled on Silhouette fighting a thick group that had just finished feasting on a mother and her children.

Nova Force blasts ripped out, slamming the creatures away. Microwaves blasted out and decimated every vampire they touched. The rest were smashed as a telekinetic bubble contracted around them. Nodding her thanks, Sil moved over towards the three.

“Thanks for the assist. Uptown clean?”

Nova nodded as he stared at the bodies still. “They were so young…”

Grabbing his chin, Sil moved his eyes from the sight. “Focus Nova. We’re not done yet. What’s the status of the rest of team?”

Taking a breath he nodded at her. “Still no word from Night Thrasher. Nita and Hawk just checked in. They’re encountering heavy resistance there. Lightspeed is there to assist them. We’ve also lost contact with the tower and Turbo. We were about to head back to the tower.”

Nodding Sil took a look around the park. “Sound strategy. The park is cleaned up now, I think I got all of the undead bastards…”

A hiss erupted from the shadows as a pale male leapt from the bushes and knocked Silhouette to the ground. Grasping her tightly, his head surged down towards her neck. Rushing forward Nova grabbed at the creature and threw it off. Microwaves slammed into him as he hit the floor, frying him instantly. Turning back towards Silhouette, Nova’s face instantly pales. “Oh no…Sil…”

A foot surged out and sent him tumbling back. Crutches were dropped as she rose to her feet. The once healthy looking skin was now paler, almost sickly looking. King and warm eyes were now cold and heartless. Blood ran down her neck, as fangs poked from her lips. Silhouette was now one of them. Hissing she leapt forward and slammed Firestar aside as she grabbed Justice, and went right for his throat.

NEXT: The Champions are Vampires? And a turning point for the team as ‘Threaded Moon’ concludes!

ChampsCorp

First off sorry this issue took so long to finish. Second of all thanks to Hunter for letting me crossover with his awesome “Threaded Moon” arc in Runaways. When I first read the story and the comment from the news during the story about the Champions, I knew this was too good of a change to not bring up. I mean come on…Champions vs. Vampires… this stuff almost wrote itself, in my head at least. I’m also a big fan of inter-connectivity between titles and this was perfect chance to show that since the two teams are sharing the same city as a hometown. Hopefully with this issue I’ve done well to match up with Hunter’s issues. The Runaways are the real heroes of Threaded Moon; the Champions are just along for the ride.

When I first started writing Champions I definitely didn’t expect to be writing this story, but I’m really glad I did. Gave me a chance to really cut loose after the first arc, which came off sort of stifled and forced to me at least. Now that the setup of that first arc is gone, the real fun has begun. Next issue the tie in concludes, and stay tuned for the Champions very first annual after that.