In every major conflict, the one who achieves victory is often the one who strikes hard and fast. That’s exactly what the Mutant Liberation Front did to the X-men at the beginning of X-men Supreme Volume 6: Liberation Decimation. They flexed their muscle in X-men Supreme Issue 127: Terror Sell. It marked their first direct encounter with the X-men and, much like the X-men’s first encounter with the Brotherhood, it ended in the X-men’s humiliating defeat. The Mutant Liberation Front made the world vulnerable and the X-men were powerless to stop them. Now, with Professor Charles Xavier absent, what hope do the X-men have in their next clash?
This isn’t a conflict I intended to drag out. I had no intention of waiting until the end of X-men Supreme Volume 6: Liberation Decimation to depict the final showdown between the X-men and the Mutant Liberation Front. I don’t want this fanfiction series to drag people along like the comics have at times. All too often, we see conflicts develop gradually over the course of many arcs, but they fail to deliver in the end, rendering all that patience worthless. I don’t want that to happen with X-men Supreme. I know I used similar tactics with the Uprising arc in X-men Supreme Volume 1: Mutant Revolution and the Overlord arc in X-men Supreme Volume 2: War Powers. I’ll be using a different tactic here.
The beginning of this showdown is already underway. The events of X-men Supreme Issue 131: Double Threat brought a new and unwitting player into the game, Madison Jefferies. He might be an obscure character in the X-men comics, but the importance of his role moving forward cannot be understated. He has a target on his back with the Mutant Liberation Front, Wolverine, and Henry Peter Gyrich, who is seeking to usurp General Grimshaw as President Kelly’s method for confronting mutants. But why is he a target? Why is he now the key to this conflict?
There will be no ambiguity here. There will be no half-victories or partial defeats. The X-men and the Mutant Liberation Front are on a collision course again. Toad, Stryfe, Reignfire, the Kleinstocks, and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, who I hope fans of the Deadpool movie are enjoying, are ready to make their move. They don’t want to make the same mistakes as Magneto. They want to end this conflict quickly and efficiently. They may not get a better chance now that the X-men are operating without Charles Xavier so they’re going to take it.
This marks one of the greatest tests to date for the X-men. Cyclops, who is now the undisputed leader when it comes to confronting such conflicts, must lead the X-men into battle against a team that humiliated them once before. Madison Jefferies has already ensured they’re a step behind, but they also have a chance to end this as well. And that’s going to be the catalyst for this critical arc, which I’ve dubbed Natural Disorder. As always, I’ve prepared a preview of what to expect as that catalyst starts to manifest.
“William Kincaid? As in…” began the President.
“Yes, sir. As in the same name as Jonathan Kincaid, the American who defected to Genosha twenty years ago and became one of Cameron Hodge’s goons. He also happened to be my little brother. Is that going to be an issue?” asked the General.
“That depends. How personal did you take it when we labeled Hodge’s regime criminal?”
“Let’s just say Jonathan was the black sheep of the family. We had a falling out and I didn’t hear his name until he ended up dead. I’ve had my loyalty questioned on more than one occasion, but I’m still in a uniform. That should tell you where my loyalties lie.”
“I can vouch for the General’s credentials and not just because he passed every polygraph test,” added Henry Gyrich, “Were it not for him, none of this would be possible.”
“I’m still not sure that’s a good thing,” said President Kelly.
“You gave General Grimshaw’s methods a chance. All I’m asking is that you give our way a chance. I’m confident the results will speak for themselves.”
Robert Kelly still remembered the impact left by Johnathan Kincaid. Having once been a major spokesman for Cameron Hodge, the he actually met with him the John Kincaid personally a number of times. He wasn’t the most articulate man he ever spoke with. His older brother seemed to share some of those traits, but he carried himself differently. For that reason, he maintained his share of skepticism as Kincaid and Gyrich booted up a projector and began their presentation.
“As you can see, the GRSO unit has been equipped with the latest in mutant suppressing technology,” said General Kincaid as he showed off a few schematics, “Every operative utilizes a high-tech battle-suit. It’s flame resistant, cold resistant, and most importantly in our current political climate…it’s resistant to psychics.”
“Even psychics like Charles Xavier?” questioned President Kelly.
“Especially psychics like Charles Xavier,” the General replied, “To go along with such a formidable defense, each soldier’s primary weapon is a special pulsed energy rifle, capable of delivering high-intensity force to any target. It can be made to stun or kill. I can say from experience that they’re a lot more versatile than bullets.”
“If the technology seems familiar, it should be,” added Gyrich, “Much of it was taken from Genosha during the first occupation of the island.”
“So this is what you’ve been doing with it in your spare time? Why wasn’t it deployed earlier?” questioned the President.
“Like most tech from Genosha, this stuff is a few decades ahead of its time. It wasn’t until we got your recent seal of approval, and the money that came with it, that we worked out the kinks,” said General Kincaid, “The CIA has been conducting small-scale field tests, mostly involving petty from the MSA where mutants stay out past curfew.”
Kincaid went through a series of slides, depicting high-resolution photos of GRSO’s activity. There was a shot of three operatives subduing a rowdy mutant in the desert. There was another of them fighting off a couple of mutant twins in some dingy basement. There was even an image of them arresting a mutant that was trying to meet up with the Mutant Liberation Front at one of their attack sites. It wasn’t the cleanest operation, but it was impressive.
“Not bad. Although the targets aren’t exactly high profile,” said President Kelly.
“It’s been a work-in-progress, but I say they’re ready for the big time,” said Kincaid, “After the Mojovision debacle, someone’s gonna make a move. It could be Genosha. It could be the Mutant Liberation Front. It could be the X-men. Whoever strikes first, it’s sure to be messy.”
“That’s exactly why we feel the MSA isn’t equipped for this,” said Gyrich, “Let’s face facts, Mr. President. Grimshaw’s people are glorified police officers. To take on the Mutant Liberation Front, you need something with more punch.”
“I won’t argue that, but firepower doesn’t mean anything if we don’t know where to find these monsters,” said the President.
“That was before a few nights ago when my GRSO unit encountered this,” said Kincaid.
The General brought up another slide. It showed a few images of the GRSO attack in Florida where Wolverine was involved. There were a series of images showing the well-known X-man fighting the unit. It turned into quite a mess, which never sat well with the President.
“X-men,” groaned the President, “And I was so close to making it through the day without a headache.”
“I share your sentiment for those costumed misfits,” said General Kincaid, “But in this case they may be our best lead. The incident you’re seeing wasn’t supposed to be a big deal. It involved some nameless mutant who was accused of helping the Mutant Liberation Front. As you probably know, over 80 percent of those accusations often turn out to be bogus or pranks in horrible taste. However, the presence of an X-man means they could be onto something that we’re not aware of.”
“Could they have a lead on the Mutant Liberation Front?” asked President Kelly.
“We don’t know, but they’re clearly up to something. Shortly after this encounter, we received a slew of new intelligence that may put us in a position to stop it,” said Gyrich, “That’s why we need your authorization to deploy GRSO in full force. We want to be there when someone fires the first shot.”
“That sounds rather risky, Mr. Gyrich. I’m all for a proactive approach, but I’m not sure a bunch of men in high tech uniforms will make a difference in this battle.”
“My thoughts exactly, Mr. President,” said General Kincaid with an ominous grin, “That’s why we’ve prepared a much bigger gun…one we’ve been saving for our first major operation.”
General Kincaid brought up a new slide. It depicted an image that left President Kelly stunned yet intrigued. Henry Gyrich had droned endlessly about the resources he was acquiring for this new approach. Now he actually brought some substance to the table. It was risky in that it could create an even messier situation. However, desperate times often required equally desperate measures.
“Is that what I think it is?” asked President Kelly.
“Indeed it is,” said Gyrich.
“But how did you…”
“I have a few friends that owed me a few favors,” said Kincaid, “Now before you make your decision, I think you should see some of the modifications we made. We’ve taken every precaution to make sure that whatever mutant we encounter, they won’t stand a chance!”
Also, in keeping with my efforts to update negated portions of the pics section, I've done another major (and overdue) update to the ever popular X-ladies section. As always, I'm open to receiving commissions and submissions for this section. So if you want to submit something to the X-men Supreme website, please contact me and we'll work out the details.
Emma Frost Pics
Black Queen Pics
There’s a lot of upheavals on the horizon for the X-men Supreme fanfiction series. This arc is hardly the end of X-men Supreme Volume 6: Liberation Decimation. It is, however, a major game-changer. I know Marvel comics have had plenty of those with the X-men, but I promise that this one doesn’t involve clones, time travel or sterilization. I’m a long ways away from resorting to those methods for this fanfiction series. I want to make awesome in other ways. And in order to ensure the quality of that awesome, it’s very important that I continue to get feedback. So please take the time to post your comments directly in the issues or contact me directly. Either way is fine and I’m always happy to chat. Until next time, take care and best wishes. Excelsior!Jack
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