Exiles: New World (Marvel NEW)/Issue 2

The second issue of the Marvel NEW comic book series, Exiles: New World. Succeded by Exiles: New World Issue 3 and preceded by Exiles: New World Issue 1.

Synopsis
''Now you've seen the members and how they react to each other, but one particular Exile does not appreciate being abducted by the Timebroker, Kang. Can they put aside their differences and tackle their first mission? Even if they managed to do so, their first mission would leave a lasting impression on the Exiles about how risky it is to save reality.''

Continuity
This issue is set after the events of Exiles: New World Issue 1 as well as Weapon X: Damnation Issue 1. It is the second part of the Beginning story arc.

Plot
Continuing from the previous isse in the Panopthicron, Justicer Bull asks Kang if she can step in and cease all hostilities. Kang denies Bull's request and tells her to get out when it's necessary. In an immediate turn of events, Bull goes out of the Panopthicron and left the Watcher in confusion. Uatu asks Kang of what "necessary" means to her. Kang replies that if she thinks it's necessary, let her go. Uatu thought that Kang was supposed to be assertive, but the Timebroker states that it's no use being assertive to hard-headed fools.

-

Back to the Desert Beyond Space and Time, Greenskyn is seen lying on the ground with a sniper bullet planted on his head. The shooter, Punisher, is seen regaining his aim and setting his crosshairs on Rojhaz. The Exiles are both confused and alerted, trying to know where the shot came from. In the mean time, War Machine is seen examining Greenskyn's injury. He pulls out the bullet and identifies it as a .50 Cal bullet from the old world. Ghost Rider asks him if he comes from another planet, but War Machine responds by asking him if he's a child. Rider confirms and gets told by Rhodey to try and help him burn the wound.

Punisher, holding his breathe, prepares to pull the trigger on Rojhaz. A milisecond later, a bullet flies and a gunshot is heard. The Watcher gets surprised, but Kang casually looks on. The bullet ends up almost blowing through Rojhaz's skull, with it being caught by Captain Universe who at the same time managed to perceive the Punisher's sniper glint and see the person behind it.

After stopping the bullet, Punisher curses and tells himself to run as fast as he can. Spider-Man on the other hand, is interested in why a Punisher is here too. The Wielder of the Uni-Power flies, followed by a running Rojhaz and Ghost Rider on his motorcycle (leaving Rhodey alone to tend Greenskyn), pursuing the vigilante. He tries to outrun the superhumans but fails. Spider-Man grabs him high up, prompting the Punisher to try and stab him with his knife. The knife broke and the Punisher is seen with his eyes wide open, seemingly terrified.

Spider-Man questions of his doing, in which Punisher responds by telling him to go to Hell. Captain Universe drops him down, with the vigilante falling down near both Rojhaz and the Ghost Rider. He looks up and sees the two figures looking over him. Punisher, seemingly desperate, tells them to go on and do their worst. Rojhaz responds by telling him that he knows he's confused and that there's no need for hostilities there.

The Punisher gets up with Rojhaz's help and attempts a surprise attack afterwards. He fails due to Rojhaz's greater physique and skill. He ends up being restrained by the innocent Ghost Rider, apologizing to the Punisher if the chains are too hot. Punisher tries to break free but finds himself unable to. He wonders to himself if he's in Hell after Barracuda killed him. Rojhaz tries to calm him down once again, succeeding eventually.

Rojhaz tells Frank that he recognizes the Punisher in his world. While he's basically all the same with Castle himself, he's still a person of cooperation and understanding. He continues by saying that his Punisher would have not been this paranoid when he met heroes. Punisher rebuffs, telling him that he's not the same Punisher he knows. Rojhaz opts to find another way to discover more about his home reality's nature. More specifically, finding out if his world has superheroes.

Rojhaz begins spitting out names like Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, and others. All of which he thinks are ridiculous. That, was until he mentioned Nick Fury. After revealing of his knowledge of Earth-200111's Nick Fury, Punisher tries to quickly wrap things up by concluding that there aren't any "superhumans" he mentioned. Captain Universe disbelieves, telling him that even if there are no superhumans in his reality, there should be one close enough to being enhanced.

Ghost Rider states his opinion, thinking that the Punisher is chosen because he is the closest thing to a superhuman. Captain Universe rejects him, telling him that he's not even as strong as Captain America. Punisher tells Parker to screw off. However, mid-way through his sentence, Rhodey is heard screaming in the distance. His body is seen flying and eventually crashing down before Frank.

Frank looks down and wonders what the hell he is. But right after that, a loud roar is heard; Greenskyn apparently survived, with War Machine informing them that his wound simply healed after he had pulled out the bullet. In a matter of moments, Greenskyn's silhouette is seen under the sun. Rojhaz tells everyone to scramble. They all scramble, but the Punisher gets dragged by Ghost Rider under the excuse of the "big man" not ordering him to let him go.

Greenskyn ends up smashing a large crater on the sands, going on a berserker rage to kill his "assassin". Greenskyn attacks the heroes, but Rojhaz notices that he's not even trying to harm them: he's simply trying to find who shot him. Greenskyn then saw the unfamiliar Frank Castle, saying that he's not there (with the heroes) and that means he's the one who tried to kill him.

Frank is visibly surprised by the sight and curses before the Mighty Jade Giant rushes to kill him. Ghost Rider throws Castle away to safety, prompting him to insult him as being stupid. But when he insulted the Rider, a being bull-rushed Greenskyn and saved the two. After hearing a thud, the Punisher and Ghost Rider look at the appearance of Justicer Bull.

Justicer Bull announces her presence, telling the heroes to back off while she informs them why they're here. Rojhaz says that seems like everything makes sense to him after he saw the Captain Britain: the Captain Britain Corps wants to recruit them to battle a celestial threat or something. Bull says that the Captain's partially right, as it's not the Captain Britain Corps who wants them to fight. Captain Universe asks who wants them then, in which Kang's voice is then heard booming all over the desert.

After announcing her presence, War Machine says that her voice sounds familiar. Spider-Man and Rojhaz agree, while Greenskyn, Ghost Rider, and Punisher have no idea who she is. Kang and Uatu then teleport into the desert. Kang tries to identify herself, but before she could do that Rojhaz, War Machine, and Spider-Man take stances and regard her as their enemies, just as the real Kang was their enemies.

Uatu calms them down, but instead finds himself being spontaneously laughed over by the heroes (except Punisher and Bull). They all just can't believe that Uatu suddenly turns into a miniscule grey. Uatu sighs in disappointment and looks at Kang. Kang smiles and tells him that at least he managed to take the pressure off.

Uatu orders Bull to stop them, but he ends up seeing Bull giggling herself. Uatu asks why is she laughing now, and Bull responds by saying that she held her laughter back at the Panopthicron and by far he's the most ridiculous Watcher ever. Kang gets serious and coughs to get their attention. Spontaneously they all get serious after that.

Kang then tells them all about what the "Exiles" are about, informing them of their objectives, the multiversal theory, and others. Everyone gets a hold of what she said, except the Punisher who literally has no idea why he's there if she chose beings as strong as the green troll. Hearing this, Uatu looks at Kang and whispers to her, "I told you."

Kang replies by stating that perhaps, a man from a "real" world could be useful in a mission. Castle says that her reason is absurd, but Kang tells him that he'll believe her one day. Problem is, he believes (and trusts) neither Kang nor anyone there. Ghost Rider says that a team can grow with trust. Punisher scolds the Rider and tells him that there's no "team" for him. The amused Kang tells him that no matter what, this team is crucial for the safety of the multiverse.

After several seconds of silence, Punisher complies but with the term that they will not get in his way, especially Ghost Rider. He then continues by asking the boy to let him go. Rider finally does so, with the Punisher exhaling in satisfaction. Kang then invites them to the Panopthicron, summoning it right in front of them.

Before they can enter however, War Machine asks Kang of who's the Lady in Union Jack and why she's not with them the first time. Kang tells them that she's recruited from the Captain Britain Corps. In other words, she's a willing participant.

After receiving the answer, Bull asks him if he has a problem. Rhodes responds by asking her if she has done similar things to this. The Captain Britain says that she's saved universes before; she asks why he asked, and Rhodey tells her that it's good because at least they have a senior to take examples from. War Machine then enters the Panopthicron while saying that he'll see her again later.

-

Inside the Panopthicron, the members are introduced to their quarters and the place's interior. Much to Kang's chagrin, the members are quite confused of the place's maze-like structure. This is pointed out by Greenskyn, prompting Uatu to tell him that teleporters are available in their rooms. However, with Greenskyn being a being of strength rather than intellect, he has no idea what a teleporter is. Captain Universe tells him that essentially he can be anywhere he wants there, including the dining room; Greenskyn responds with a smile, prompting the Punisher to think that he'll stick to his rations this week.

After the tour's over, the Exiles are allowed to enter their quarters. Uatu informs that their quarters had been suited for their own needs, so there's no need to figure out what's what in there. He also says that they're expected to come to the main room in an hour. Hearing this, Bull says that she thought he said that time doesn't exist in this dimension. Uatu says that it's better for them to familiarize themselves with the clocks.

The members then enter their quarters, and to their surprise they received familiar rooms: Greenskyn's quarter looks like a chamber in a castle, Spider-Man's quarter looks like his apartment room, War Machine's quarter resembles a hybrid between a lab and a bedroom, Justicer Bull's quarter is relatively normal but decorated by the Union Jack's colors, Rojhaz's quarter is essentially a wooden cabin, Ghost Rider's quarter is biker-oriented, and the Punisher's quarter looks like a cleaner barracks.

In their quarters, they're observed by Uatu and Kang minding their own businesses. The most "interesting" one being the Punisher writing on a book. Kang asks Uatu of what he's doing, and the Watcher responds by telling her that he's probably filling in his War Journal, just like any other Punishers in the multiverse. Kang wonders of what he's writing in that. Uatu informs her that usually, war journals are used to document what they (the Punishers) have done during the day, just like a diary. Kang smirks and says that she can only assume what he's writing now.

In an instance, viewers get to see what he's writing, and it's all about the "absurdity", bizarreness, and torment he's gone today. He hopes that by the next day, he escapes from his nightmare. Afterwards, he goes on a short sleep to regain his strength after being beaten by Rojhaz and dragged around by Ghost Rider.

-

An hour later, Kang and Uatu are seen waiting in the main room for the Exiles to come. Kang sees her built-in digital watch and tells Uatu that they're late. Uatu asks her to relax, they'll be here in a moment. And after ten minutes passed, Uatu breathes in and immediately teleports the unsuspecting members to the room. Apparently, they're late because they couldn't figure out the teleportation device.

Nevertheless, the team then gets their briefing. First, they get information on the "Exiles" themselves, being told of past incarnations of the Exiles and derivative groups. One of the derivatives include a more serious version of them shown on the room's giant monitor. The group's leader is also appointed, but not outright appointed by Kang or Uatu. A vote is done by everyone there, and Rojhaz ends up being the leader. The second-in command ends up falling to Justicer Bull, who's congratulate by War Machine. Peter notices this and gives a smirk at him.

After all of those, Kang then tells them to prepare for their first mission, taking place in Earth-267. Given the overview of the universe, Castle finally knows what a "typical" universe from this multiverse is supposed to be. Uatu says that Castle's correct, and while it's neither a curse nor a blessing, he should be grateful that his world doesn't have superhumans. Ghost Rider asks them of what they're going to do there. Kang, actually having no idea of the objective, whispers to Uatu of what's up. Uatu telepathically tells her to inform it once they're there.

Telling them what Uatu told her, Rojhaz then stands up as their leader and says that it's time to go. However, before they can go, Uatu gives Rojhaz a device called the Tallus. Used to communicate with the Timebroker, information will be relayed to the Tallus which can only be worn by the team leader. Wearing it on his hand, Rojhaz then tells his team to gear up before going in there.

-

After getting whatever equipment they need, with the Punisher taking the most amount of equipments to deal with superhumans, the team is transported by Uatu through the Panopthicron's main teleporter, which apparently resembles an Asgardian Bifrost. Entering the "Bridge" (its nickname), the team then gets transported on the rooftop of the Daily Bugle's building in the afternoon.

Once there, the team takes a good look at what's around them. Greenskyn, astonished by the view, is left stunned while Ghost Rider tells him that this is what a city will look like years into his future. Punisher looks around and asks Rojhaz if he sees anything strange, because he clearly can't see anything wrong there. Rojhaz agrees with Punisher and answers that he has no idea either. Justicer Bull states that usually the biggest problems lie in peaceful settings. Captain Universe agrees, reminding Rojhaz of the term "looks can deceive".

Seconds later, a piece of newspaper flies up to Greenskyn's face. Angering him, he pulls out the newspaper and tries to tear it. Punisher immediately grabs it from him and takes a look at it. Punisher reads out its main page news being "Avengers Defeat Kang! Nuclear Disaster Averted!"

In an instance, the team surrounds the Punisher who complains about the fact that nothing's wrong here: this world's team of superheroes managed to defeat an evil version of their Timebroker (Castle is not aware that Kangs are usually evil) and averted a nuclear disaster. Right after that, Rojhaz's Tallus activates and Sue Storm's voice flows in. After succeeding in calibrating it, Kang tells them of their objective. But before they listen to her, Kang advised them to hold their hearts tight because what they're about to hear is crunching, but necessary to ensure this universe's safety.

The Exiles look at each other, not sure of what she's saying. War Machine tells Kang to just spit her words out. And after delivering a sigh and the warning of disappointment, she reveals the objective:

Kill the Avengers.

Hearing this, the Exiles are completely stunned. Even the experienced Justicer Bull is taken aback. Ghost Rider asks if this is the real objective or that she wants to take vengeance on them for beating her clone. Kang tries to calm them down but Rojhaz immediately reacts by asking what is really going on here. In the Panopthicron, Uatu intervenes and takes control of the communication. He tells the Exiles that they have to trust them. They received their objectives right from the board that oversees them, and one of them is basically the multiverse's cosmic guardian.

After a brief quarrel which resulted in the first time Uatu venting out his frustration, the Exiles accept the job. Rojhaz asks Uatu and Kang what to do. Kang tells Rojhaz that it's actually up to the heroes in how they tackle the situation; all she can provide is the information on the world's Avengers. Rojhaz tells her to show them the Avengers of Earth-267 and there he has it: Iron Man, Captain America, Colossus, Storm, Hercules, and Wasp.

Hearing the roster, Punisher tells Rojhaz that it seems like the only Avenger he can take on is the Wasp. War Machine tells him to relax, saying that they may have a Hercules but the Exiles have a Thor (Rhodey). Punisher however, revokes his statement and questions Rhodes' "godhood". Rhodes responds by telling him that it's just a little joke. Punisher responds by delivering a grimace that disappoints the Armored Thunderer. Ghost Rider, being an inexperienced warrior, delivers a small apology to Rojhaz because he can't just kill them or even beat them; they're Avengers. Justicer Bull tells the young man that they don't need to kill them all directly; they just have to let Kang out and let him unleash the nukes.

Parker, confused, asks her of what nukes she has in mind. Bull explains that the "nuclear disaster" averted by the Avengers must have had a relation with Kang; he could've had set off a nuclear meltdown right before the Avengers saved the day and prevented an apocalyptic disaster from happening. Greenskyn, hearing this, says that he has no idea of what she meant. Bull tells him that the only thing that matters is that he'll have people to smash later on. Greenskyn is visibly amused by this.

-

Several hours later, the Exiles are seen sneaking through the prison where Earth-267's Kang is held in captivity. They intend to free Kang from imprisonment after considering what Bull said. They succeeded in freeing Kang, but ended up destroying nearly half of the prison due to Greenskyn's thirst for battle. Luckily, the Exiles weren't spotted and managed to free the confused Kang who was told by them that they're sent by another Kang to help him.

While this universe's Kang was hostile at first, they accepted their offer to help him although he could realize the similarities some of them have with the native heroes. Although he did "trust" them, he wanted to make sure if they're real by speaking to the Kang who sent them. Rojhaz managed to convince him that their Kang doesn't want to speak with him, and they proceed with their plan to kill the Avengers.

One day, when the Avengers are having parade to celebrate an anniversary of their founding, the group rolls out their plan along with Kang. However, the Exiles decide to not outright kill the Avengers as they found out from Uatu that the native Kang was supposed to kill them. When the plan's intended time starts, apparently the Exiles discover that Kang has impersonated Iron Man and had killed him. Witnessing Kang's appearance, the Exiles are surprised as Kang goes on to announce that he has brought judgment to the Avengers for defeating him. And in an instance, the Exiles briefly see how Kang was supposed to kill the Avengers: nuking them.

-

When the nuke goes down, the Exiles seemingly think that they're going to instantly die. Fortunately for them, they're teleported back in time to the Panopthicron. There, Kang and Uatu congratulate them for their success. The Exiles, still struck by the experience, sit down on the main room's seats. Rojhaz asks Kang if that was supposed to happen, and Kang says yes.

Captain Universe, horrified by the experience, suddenly snapped and chokes Kang up. Inviting the alertness of the other Exiles, Peter says that he nearly forgot of how sinister a Kang can be and asks her of how could they know if Kang's not gonna do the same to them. Punisher tries to calm down Peter and tells him that he's having a trauma and that he doesn't need to do that. Parker turns to Punisher and reminds him of how he acted back in the desert. Punisher responds by countering him, mocking him for having the power of a god but the mind of a lunatic.

Parker drops Kang down and proceeds to face off against the Punisher, threatening him. However, the Punisher then reveals that he's well-aware that Parker has one fear and it's the one thing that hinders the team instead of him. He asks him of what gives him that idea, and Punisher responds by saying that he's afraid of death.

He reveals that when the nuke went off, he saw Parker literally freaking out as if he didn't have his so-called god-power. And with his fear, comes his paranoia over whether or not the Timebroker Kang will kill them. He states that he personally doesn't trust anyone there, but at least he can get over his fears and not whine like a child.

Hearing this, the entire room goes silent as Punisher stares into Captain Universe's heart. Even Uatu falls silent as he witnesses the ordeal. After a while, Parker silently takes off and teleports into his quarter with his own powers. The others, witnessing this, look at Punisher who in turn also look at them. Punisher then advises them to not fear death, and get on with the mission without compromise.

Punisher then storms off and proceeds to go to the dining room in order to fill his stomach. After he's gone, Bull smiles and praises him for his boldness. Kang gets up unfazed and says that she has never seen anything like that before. Rojhaz states that it's clear in why he did so: he's already in a bad day, he's confused, and now he's got to deal with all sorts of problems that's not supposed to be his.

War Machine asks Captain America of how he could do that in front of a virtual god. Rojhaz simply says that he knows what he's doing; he's a soldier, and he's not afraid of death. After saying so, Rojhaz turns to Kang to continue his conversation, asking her is the nuclear bomb necessary. Kang says that it is actually necessary, as the nuke was supposed to be the ones killing the Avengers. She then tells Rojhaz of a fact that the Punisher brought alongside him: not everything is rainbows and butterflies. And that's true for many universes: not every universe can have a happy ending. And the same moment she says that, Peter is seen in his room apparently holding his Captain Universe uniform with his classic Spider-Man suit equipped, staring at it, along with Punisher in his room writing down a continuation of his War Journal.