X-men Supreme Issue #70 - Kings and Tyrants Part 2 PREVIEW

I hope everybody had a very Merry Christmas! I certainly did. But in addition to the usual holiday cheer, I've continued work on the X-men Supreme fanfiction series. X-men Supreme Volume 3: Ashes of Hope is nearing its end. It's already exceeded the length of X-men Supreme Volume 1: Mutant Revolution and X-men Supreme Volume 2: War Powers. It's had to in some ways because I've had so many different plots going on, including the landmark Phoenix Saga. But there still remains one major issue from X-men Supreme Volume 3: Ashes of Hope that needs to be resolved. That issue, of course, is the Presidential Election. It's the eve of election night in the latest arc, Kings and Tyrants. And after biding his time, Magneto has finally reared his head again. Once again, Senator Robert Kelly is the target. What is his plan and how is it going to effect the election? That all gets resolved in the final issue of the Kings and Tyrants arc! As always, I've prepared a preview of what to expect in this penultimate issue of X-men Supreme Volume 3: Ashes of Hope.

 “Ungh…where am I?” he groaned.

“Somewhere you need to be before you’re big day, Senator,” said Magneto.

The cold, stoic voice of Magneto quickly roused the aspiring politician. He would know that voice anywhere and hearing it so close to him was enough to send chills down his spine. Instinctively, he tried to get up, but he was dismayed to discover that he was bound by his wrists and ankles on a gurney. Fear was his first reaction, but fear quickly turned to outrage as he remembered what happened.

“Magneto!” he spat angrily, “I should have known you were behind this!”

“Yes, you should have,” said the master of magnetism casually, “Did you really expect me to just sit by while you and your mutant-hating cronies made a bid for power?”

“I expected you to do something stupid, but this is madness!” he exclaimed as he struggled with the shackles, “What do you think you’re going to accomplish by abducting me? If you think holding me hostage is going to stop my election, you’re dead wrong!”

“Oh I have no intent on holding you prisoner, Senator. I’ve long since accepted that you’ve swayed enough of the ignorant masses. In all likelihood, they will make you their president regardless of what I do.”

“Then I take it you’re going to kill me!” Senator Kelly surmised, “That would be even more foolish! You’ll make me a martyr! You and every freak like you will be monsters and nothing will stop humanity from rising up to oppose you!”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Senator. You’re hardly in a position to intimidate me.”

“I’m on the verge of becoming the leader of the free world! You damn well ought to be afraid!”

“And so should you,” said Magneto with an ominous grin, “Because when I’m done with you, you’ll have plenty of reasons to fear your new prestige.”

Senator Kelly looked at the master of magnetism strangely. Now this was getting weird. He could understand Magneto abducting him, but something about this was different.

“You see, I’m not going to kill you. I’m not going to torture you. I’m not even going to hold you here indefinitely,” he explained, “In fact, as soon as we’re done here you’ll be free to leave. I’ll even provide you with transport back to your hotel.”

“Now I know you’re crazy! All that time locked up in Guantanamo must have fried your brain!” spat Senator Kelly.

“Oh there’s nothing crazy about what I’m going to do,” said Magneto, “I’ve since learned that waging war on a global scale is messy and chaotic. If humans and mutants are to continue down their respective path, it makes much more sense to merely level the playing field. That’s exactly what you and I are going to do.”

“You’re dreaming! I’ll never help you!”

“I never said you had a choice in the matter.”

Magneto casually waved his hand, summoning his powers and levitating Senator Kelly up with his gurney. With another gesture, he opened a metal slot on the floor just off to the side and raised three more gurneys up from below. Like the senator’s, they all had an unlucky victim strapped to them.

“My family!” he exclaimed as he struggled with the restraints again, “What did you do to them?!”

“Settle down, Senator Kelly,” said the Scarlet Witch as she and Lorna made their way over to the three other gurney’s, “Your family is fine. They’re just unconscious.”

“We’re not going to hurt them either. Just as we’re not going to hurt you,” said Polaris.

“You’re lying! If you monsters so much as breathe on my wife or my children, I’ll spend every waking hour of my life making sure you suffer!”

“Boy, this guy is more stubborn than I thought,” commented Avalanche.

“He’s officially lost my vote,” said Pyro.

“You’re Australian, John. You can’t vote to begin with,” Havok pointed out.

“I swear after this I’m done with politics forever,” said Toad.

“You and me both!” said Blob in agreement.

Despite the senator’s outburst, Magneto placed his gurney next to his wife’s. Polaris and the Scarlet Witch then used their respective powers to retrieve some equipment from across the complex. When the senator saw what was coming his way, his face paled.

It looked like something right out of a mad scientist’s laboratory. It was a sleek, metallic array of high tech components shaped like an oversized stereo system that stood about fifteen feet in height and seven feet in width. It had four cylindrical-shaped pods arranged symmetrically around an egg shaped core. From the tips of each pod a series of tubes ran into the core, drawing what appeared to be a strange kind of energy as well as a mysterious greenish liquid. Senator Kelly was no expert in exotic technology, but even he sensed a bad omen from this device.

“What in God’s name is that?!” exclaimed the senator.

“Something that will grant you some much needed perspective,” said the master of magnetism stoically, “If it looks out of this world, then congratulations. You have a working brain. What it is and where it came from isn’t important. It’s what it does that truly matters.”

“And what does it do? Cripple people? Torture them? Turn them into a mindless meat puppet for you to control?” scolded the senator.

“My dear senator, you make it sound like I’ve no sense of subtlety,” scoffed Magneto, “No, this device will not harm you or your family. Quite the opposite, in fact. You’ll all look and feel better than ever.”

This is to be the final update of 2012 and I think most will agree it has been a very eventful year for the X-men Supreme fanfiction series and for X-men fans in general. Marvel has really shaken up the world of X-men with events like Avengers vs. X-men and new series like All New X-men. For X-men Supreme, it has also been pretty eventful. I've had the X-men undergo some major changes, the biggest of which happened in the Phoenix Saga. I've already laid the groundwork for a very eventful year in 2013. The world of X-men Supreme will continue to change. New characters will be introduced. New threats will emerge. New relationships will be forged while old relationships change. Some will grow stronger. Some will be deeply strained. I'm very excited about the future of this fanfiction series and I hope to continue telling stories in this remarkable fanfiction series.

As always, I continue to seek feedback and reviews from all my readers. There haven't been a lot of comments on the new issues lately. I really hope that changes for 2013. Please remember, I'm always open to chat X-men so please contact me if you wish or post your comments in each issue. It has been an amazing year for X-men Supreme and I want it to continue improving in 2013. So for everyone who has followed along for the past year, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! Until next year, take care and best wishes! Excelsior!

Jack