X-men Supreme Issue 173: High Evolution Part 5 PREVIEW!

The final showdown of X-men Supreme Volume 7: United and Divided is upon us. Magneto’s ultimate endgame is here. Professor Charles Xavier, General Grimshaw, President Kelly, Captain Freeman, Cyclops, the Scarlet Witch, the X-men, and X-Force have been on a collision course. The High Evolution arc has just accelerated everything. They’re all past the point of no return. There’s no turning back. Magneto and the High Evolutionary are set to make their boldest move to date. When all is said and done, the X-men Supreme fanfiction series will never be the same.

I’ve tried to make major volume of X-men Supreme end with a bang in the best possible way. X-men Supreme Volume 1: Mutant Evolution had Uprising. X-men Supreme Volume 3: Ashes of Hope had the Phoenix Saga. Each final arc signaled a major upheaval coupled with a major transition for this fanfiction series. Sometimes, it ended on a high note, setting the stage for a new set of challenges. Other times, the end was solemn and bittersweet. For both X-men Supreme Volume 5: Dark Truths and X-men Supreme Volume 6: Liberation Decimation, the endgames were pretty bleak. I don’t deny that.

For a while now, Professor Xavier and his X-men have had more setbacks than victories. You could argue the same has been happening in the X-men comics for years. However, I haven’t taken this fanfiction series down these darker paths to create a sense of futility. I knew before I finished X-men Supreme Volume 5: Dark Truths how I wanted things to play out. I had the ending for X-men Supreme Volume 7: United and Divided in mind when ended things with Dark Legacy. The culmination of that plan is about to play out in High Evolution.

That’s not to say that the ending will be a perfect victory for the X-men and all that is good. Every triumph, even from the X-men’s best moments in this fanfiction series, have come at a price. It’s just a matter of extent. Throughout X-men Supreme Volume 7: United and Divided, there have been many events that have kept the X-men divided. The schism between Charles Xavier and Cyclops kept them from working together during the Drug War and Crimes Against Inhumanity arc. As a result, both teams struggled and suffered losses. On top of that, their inability to be the X-men they’ve always been left the world vulnerable to Magneto and the High Evolutionary.

It has made for a long, turbulent journey for the X-men. Charles Xavier has seen his dream falter, evolve, and almost disintegrate before his very eyes on multiple occasions. Once again, he and Magneto are in a bitter struggle for the future of mutants and humans alike. Once again, Magneto is poised to exterminate the human race for the sake of mutants. He and the High Evolutionary have left nothing to chance. This is the ultimate endgame for them. There’s no backup plan. There’s no fail-safe. Either they succeed or everyone perishes. That’s all there is to it. The stakes literally couldn’t be higher. As always, I’ve prepared an extended preview of just how this final battle will culminate for the X-men.

“NO! THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING! THIS WORLD OF MINE! ALL THIS HARD WORK!” exclaimed the High Evolutionary.

“Has officially gone to shit,” grinned Mystique.

That harsh truth stung. Shortly after the revelation that Mystique had been posing as Cyclops, the High Evolutionary used his monitor to check on the transverse electromagnetic modulation thrusters. He tuned in just in time to see that Cyclops, Angel, and Illyana had subdued the Brotherhood and made some adjustments to his device. Using Illyana’s portal, they brought in some Warlock technology of their own. With it, they attached what looked like beacons to the flickering core that had been retrieved from Genosha. Once it was in place, the chaos truly took hold.

Warnings blared. Sirens went off. A mysterious blast shot up from the surface of the Earth. It was like a massive lightning bolt, arcing its way through the depths of space. It arced towards Asteroid M where it connected with the transverse electromagnetic modulation thrusters. From that connection, the core from Genosha shorted out. It also sent a deep tremor that rocked the entire asteroid. Such chaos left the High Evolutionary enraged to the point of madness.

Phoenix, still surrounded by cosmic flames, rushed to Mystique and Dark Beast. They were both wounded so she instinctively made sure they were protected. As the images of Cyclops leading the attack against the Brotherhood played out over the High Evolutionary’s monitor, Phoenix felt a surge of emotions.

“Scott Summers, you brilliant and frustrating man,” she mused as she hovered over Mystique and Dark Beast, “How can I be so pissed yet so hot for you at the same time?”

“He told me to tell you that he would explain everything when this is over,” said Mystique, “I would tell you to go easy on him, but given how he’s been acting lately…well, let’s just say he needs to be humbled.”

“We both do,” she said distantly while smiling at the monitor.

“In the meantime, we need to make sure your friend here doesn’t wake up cranky.”

Phoenix agreed and used her telepathy to keep Dark Beast unconscious. It was a welcome sight for Nightcrawler, Wanda, Captain Freeman, and Professor Xavier even though they were still trapped in Magneto’s metal confines. There were a lot of questions to be answered, but for once things were going their way.

“You knew about this, didn’t you?” said Professor Xavier.

“To a large extent, yes,” said Wanda, focused on her still unconscious father.

“It vasn’t just X-Force, Professor,” said Nightcrawler, “Ve received help from everybody ve could reach. Zhat included District X, X-Factor, Jubilee’s Lights, and our friends on Muir Island.”

“And all in utter secrecy,” said Xavier, sounding both impressed and somewhat disturbed, “How did you put it all together like this?”

“Not forgetting that some of us have a huge problem with you going behind our backs,” said Captain Freeman with a cold.

“Ve had to because you couldn’t, Professor,” said Nightcrawler, “Ve didn’t need soldiers or authorities for a threat like zhis. Ve needed heroes.”

The relief Xavier felt was now coupled with a sense of sorrow. It resonated in a way that was even more powerful than the outrage that the High Evolutionary was experiencing. He knew from the beginning that Mutant Monitoring Initiative was a risk. He worked so hard to make it succeed. Now he had proof that those efforts weren’t enough. On top of that, he lost sight of what his X-men stood for and it nearly cost him dearly.

While Xavier processed that painful realization, Captain Freeman set aside his emotions and re-focused on the mission. The sudden turning of the tide meant they might be able to salvage some objectives.

While everyone was still reeling from the shock, he adapted his body more fervently. He adjusted his bones and limbs so that they were more malleable. He also changed the bulk of his arms so that he had greater strength. Meanwhile, the High Evolutionary scrambled to salvage any sense of control.

“I can still rebuild!” he said frantically, “You think disabling it will prevent me from destroying your world? You’re wrong! I’ve plenty of other options at my disposal!”

“And I have just as many options to dispose of you!” grunted the Green Beret.

In another startling loss of control for the High Evolutionary, Captain Freeman broke out from his metal confines. Once free, he went right for the High Evolutionary. The imposing figure turned around just in time to receive a devastating punch to the head.

“Augh!” he groaned as he keeled over his console.

“Consider yourself lucky,” said Captain Freeman, “Beating you to a pulp was only a secondary mission objective.”

“You couldn’t have done that a little sooner?” groaned Wanda, who was still stuck.

“Blame your old man! He kept doing too many metal tricks for me to adapt,” said Captain Freeman, “That’s why my primary mission objective is more important.”

“What do you mean by primary objective?” asked Professor Xavier suspiciously.

“I know you’re naïve, Xavier. But you can’t be that deluded,” said the Green Beret, “X-Force isn’t the only one who can play the deception game. Sometimes we need to lie to both our allies and our enemies.”

Leaving the High Evolutionary hunched over his computer array, Captain Freeman turned his attention towards Magneto. He was groaning lightly, hinting that he wasn’t completely knocked out and could still be a threat.

Ignoring every other detail for the mission, he walked up to Magneto’s unmoving form and pulled out a small handgun he had stashed in his uniform. It didn’t look like an ordinary handgun either. It was gray with a plastic texture. With little, hesitation, he pointed the gun right at Magneto’s head.

“What the hell are you doing?” exclaimed Wanda.

“It’s exactly what it looks like,” said Captain Freeman as he cocked the gun, “The High Evolutionary was the brains of this operation. Now I’m taking out the muscle.”

“Put the gun down, Captain! This wasn’t part of the mission!” yelled Professor Xavier.

“Wrong again, Xavier. This was always part of the mission,” said Captain Freeman stoically, “Don’t hate me for it. I’m just following orders.”

I’m very excited to see the High Evolution arc conclude, along with the many stories that have led to this moment. I’ve been writing X-men Supreme for over eight years now and every arc seems more ambitious than the last. This one is, by far, the biggest one I’ve written since the Phoenix Saga. There have been so many twists and turns leading up to it. I hope the end result is as rewarding to read as it was to write
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At this point, after writing X-men Supreme for so long, I’ve had a chance to really develop and refine this fanfiction series. I write every issue with the intention of making it better than the last one. I feel as though I’ve come a long way since it began back in 2010. This world and these characters I love have evolved so much and they’ve helped remind me why I love X-men so much. The feedback I’ve gotten in that time has been incredible and I hope I get plenty more as I prepare to conclude this incredible arc. Please, if you can, take the time to send me feedback. Either contact me directly or post your comments in each issue. Either way is fine and I always appreciate constructive comments. Until next time, take care and best wishes. Xcelsior!

Jack