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Posts: 1751
Join Date: Jul 2008
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Jason was the son of New York City waitress Luanne McCoy. He was told that his father was a German immigrant who never stayed around long enough to find out that Luanne was pregnant. When Jason was 10, Luanne married Mitch, an alcoholic gambler whose antics eventually drove Luanne to suicide when Jason was 15. Furious with his stepfather, Jason killed Mitch and went on the run. Jason's story was leaked all over the news, which attracted the attention of his real father. When he learned that Luanne had a son 15 years ago, he knew Jason was his.
He managed to locate Jason before the cops did and told him the truth about himself. He told Jason that he was the Cobra King, notorious supervillain and former member of the Nazi Party. He protected Jason and trained him to be a great warrior. When Jason learned that Cobra King was killed in battle with the Adventure Club, he was devastated. He knew he lacked the talent to engage the team on his own, so he bided his time.
Unfortunately he waited too long and the Adventure Club retired and disappeared. But now he knew that one of its members was still fighting crime. The Fist was living in New York City under the guise of Glenn Stewart, and he was about to become the target of the new Cobra King.
* * * * *
Late that night when Glenn was returning home, he saw something moving in the shadows. He froze, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He turned, and caught his assailant by the arm. The man was wearing some kind of device on his wrist that fired a tiny dart at Glenn. The blade split into his shoulder, causing him to release his enemy.
"I've been waiting a long time for this, Glenn Stewart! You will die a slow and miserable death for what your people did to my father!" His fist slammed into Glenn's jaw. Glenn took a knee in the gut, and dropped to his knees.
"You're insane!" retorted Glenn as tackled his opponent.
"The Cobra King lives again!" he proclaimed, and pushed his hand against Glenn's face. He forced his fingers into his eye sockets, causing Glenn to cry out and pull away from him. Cobra King leaped to his feet and engaged Glenn in a fierce battle of hand-to-hand combat. Having been weakened by the dart, Glenn was taking most of the blows, but Cobra King was taking a beating too. Finally Glenn missed a crucial block and was struck in the solar plexus. Before Cobra King could strike again, Roderick lunged at him. The two fought, while Glenn lay motionless on the ground. He was out of breath and unable to aid his friend.
"You're one of them!" hissed Cobra King. He shoved a knife into Roderick's chest, whose age greatly limited his reflexes. Glenn let out a heart wrenching cry of defiance, as he watched his mentor crumble before his eyes. Glenn felt his strength return and he hit the villain from behind.
"You going to kill me now?" asked Cobra King, while laying on his back.
"No," Glenn replied. Two years ago he would have lacked the willpower to restrain himself from slaying Cobra King. "You will live to face justice." He promised, and struck him again, just hard enough to send him into unconsciousness.
He ran to Roderick. "Don't worry, I'll get you to a hospital."
"It's too late for that, son," the old man said.
"Don't say that, Roderick."
"It's time, Glenn. Besides, dying to protect my family is how I always wanted to go out. I couldn't have asked for a better end."
"But you can't go. You still have so much to teach me."
"No. When I saw what you just did, I knew my job was done." He reached out and grasped Glenn's hand tightly. "There's a key in the top drawer of my desk. I want you to take it. It opens a safety deposit box to the bank on Madison Avenue. There you'll find the answers to all your questions."
Glenn felt Roderick's grip on his hand loosen. He released it, knowing the old man was dead. "Goodbye, Roderick."
* * * * *
Glenn's curiosity had reached its maximum as he slipped the key into the lock and opened the door. Inside the safety deposit box was a large dusty book. He set it on the table and sat down. He stared at the cover for a few moments, preparing himself for what he might find. He then opened the cover and began examining its contents.
It was a photo album, complete with letters and other old documents that were collected over several decades. He found pictures of Roderick and many other men, including Glenn himself. He was wearing a red costume and went by the codename "Fist". Apparently they were all members of a superhero team called the Adventure Club, and Roderick was called "Bruiser." As he flipped through the book, everything became clear.
He learned about the Adventure Club's greatest enemy the Gray Phantom, the many challenges they faced through the course of their career, and about the Fist, who was the Glenn Stewart from a parallel universe. Roderick and Glenn had been teammates a long time ago, and Glenn saw them all as mentors. But one day he disappeared, leaving them all with only guesses of where he went.
Roderick believed that this world could have its own Glenn Stewart, and so that was when he began his search, which led him to the slums that fateful day in 1999. Roderick had always known the kind of man Glenn could become, and had done his best to make sure Glenn fulfilled his destiny. He gave his life for that cause. He recalled something that Roderick had said to him the day they met: I think in a different life you could have become a completely different person. I'm here to make sure you become that person.
Glenn closed the book. Thanks to Roderick, he knew what he was supposed to do. He was going to become the hero he knew he could be, but not as Glenn Stewart, or even as the Fist, but as Bruiser.
THE END
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