X-men Supreme Issue 96: Time Bomb Part 1 PREVIEW and New Commissions

Since the X-men Supreme fanfiction series began, there have been some major turning points that occurred because of fateful decisions.These decisions didn't just have immediate consequences. They affected the overall course of X-men Supreme moving forward. And nobody has had to make more of these decisions than Magneto. He also happens to be the one who has put the world of X-men Supreme on the brink more than anyone else. First he led an uprising. Then he tried to wipe out all of humanity with an asteroid. Then he unleashed the Cambrian. It has finally taken a toll on him, so much so that's no longer in a clear state of mind. This has led to him making a decision to unleash Warlock, a sentient alien technology on the whole world. He is prepared to make one last effort to subdue the human race and the X-men have to stop him. But this time, stopping him isn't enough. Something has to be done about him and about the damage he has done. And that decision will be what leads to the final conclusion of X-men Supreme Volume 4: Politics of Fear.

This has been an interesting and challenging direction for this fanfiction series. With the introduction of General Grimshaw and Captain Freeman as well as new dynamics between the X-men and the human race, I've set up a collection of circumstances that has made X-men Supreme increasingly distinct. The conflicts in this fanfiction series simply cannot be found anywhere else, but it still maintains the core theme of X-men and the characters. And that has been my goal for X-men Supreme from the beginning. I don't just want it to be different than the comics. I want it to uniquely resonate with the themes of X-men. And that's why the conclusion of the Time Bomb arc is so important.

And it isn't just Magneto who will be facing some major turning points. Beyond the conflicts between the X-men and Magneto, there are still many personal conflicts to go around. And no character in X-men Supreme has endured more hardship than Wolverine. Since X-men Supreme Volume 4: Politics of Fear began, he has endured blow after blow. He learned the horrible truth about his past in Japan. He also had a fateful encounter with Mystique that raised even more questions about his past. But his breakup with Storm has led him to hit rock bottom. He is now in such a damaged state that he struggles to function without the aid of alcohol. But then he encountered a girl who looks strikingly similar to him in X-23. In the comics, she's one of the newer complications to Wolverine's complex history. Now I'm very excited to introduce her to the X-men Supreme fanfiction series. And how she interacts with Wolverine will set the stage for the course of his character. It's also the subject of this extended preview for the next issue of the Time Bomb arc, which will also act as the penultimate issue of X-men Supreme Volume 4: Politics of Fear.

“I can see it in your eyes…how much it hurts,” Wolverine went on, “It sucks. Believe me, I know. The pain is so bad you just want to…but you can’t. No matter what you do, it never goes away.”

“Stop!” she yelled, “I won’t let you trick me!”

“This ain’t a trick, kid. And before you yell at me, think again. You are a kid…a child who was clearly tortured by the same people. You got every right to be pissed off. But what the hell do you hope to gain by killing me?”

“I…I need to end this! I escaped and killed everyone who made me! All that’s left is you! Either I’ll kill you or you’ll kill me! That’s how it has to be!” said X-23, her voice cracking under the strain.

“Killing me won’t undo the shit that was done to you. It won’t even make you feel better,” said Wolverine as he approached the feral girl despite his injured state, “Besides…why would you want to kill the only one on this planet who understands what your pain? Hell, I’m probably the closest thing you have to family.”

“No…I can’t have a family!”

“You really believe that?” scoffed Wolverine, “Maybe the only one tellin’ lies here is you!”

She was on the verge of breaking down. The former living weapon could smell it in the tears she was holding back. She was still poised to attack, but she wasn’t going to. Somehow Wolverine was certain of that. It put him in a strange position. He was never good with empathy, sympathy, or anything of the sort. Yet here he was trying to reach out to the only person who could possibly understand him and vice versa.

“You ain’t some weapon. You ain’t a lost cause either. An old bald guy who’s a hell of a lot smarter than either of us once told me there’s no such thing as a lost cause,” he said as he reached out to touch her face.

“Don’t!” she seethed.

“You probably think you’re just a weapon. That’s probably what you’ve been told by people who deserved your anger way more than I ever will. Well guess what? You ain’t a weapon. Real weapons don’t cry like you’re crying right now.”

“I…I’m not crying! I can’t!”

“Stop lying to yourself, damn it!” said Wolverine firmly, “You don’t have to be X-23. That’s number, not a name. Ain’t anyone ever call you by a real name?”

The girl was silent. Her hands were still trembling even as her claws threatened to impale the feral mutant in the neck.

“If you don’t have one, why don’t we make one up right here on the spot?” he went on, “I ain’t good with names. You look like me. You act like me. You’re stubborn like me. How about…Laura? Sounds kind of like me, but fits a teenage girl.”

“Laura…” X-23 found herself saying.

“Sounds better, doesn’t it?” he said, “I could help you with more than just your name. Just let me sober up and I’ll take you somewhere better than this.”

“I don’t want your help!” she cried, tensing up again.

“But you need it, don’t you?” said the feral mutant as he gently placed his hands on hers, “Take a good long look at me. I’m a pathetic son-of-a-bitch. I just broke up with my girlfriend, I’m out on a bender in this shit hole part of the city, and I hate my own guts more than I could hate anyone else’s. Do you really wanna walk the same path I’m walking? Because this is how you’ll end up.”

Every word he said struck a nerve that had never been struck. X-23 was still inclined to cut this man to pieces. So many instincts were urging her to, but something else was holding her back. Those emotions that her creators tried to breed out of her were holding her back. It was so painful. Every tear was more agonizing than the last. These weren’t emotions she was supposed to feel. It was just too much for her.

“Listen to me…” said Wolverine.

“NO!”

In addition, I know it wasn't long ago that I mentioned X-men Supreme's newest artistic ally, Jack Crowder. He already helped endear himself to this fanfiction series by bringing Captain Jack Freeman and General Nathan Grimshaw to life in his first piece. Well now he has done two more. For the first one, he took a scene right out of X-men Supreme Issue 65: The Phoenix Saga Part 3 where Emma Frost first dawned her uniform in the world of X-men Supreme. For the second, he did a nice solo image of Nightcrawler in a scene taken right out of his Supreme Reflections entry. They're both great moments that I'm proud to add to my pics section.

X-men Supreme Official Panels

Time is running out for X-men Supreme Volume 4: Politics of Fear. Another era in this fanfiction series is about to end. The immediate future of this series isn't in question. It will continue. However, the distant future is still not settled. I hope that the end of X-men Supreme Volume 4: Politics of Fear will get people excited about the future of X-men Supreme. I hope that means more feedback and more intrigue. But if it continues to decline and nobody can help me fix it, then my committments to X-men Supreme may have to change. I want to keep writing it, but I want to keep making it awesome and I can't do that without support. So please take the time to contact me and let me know how I'm doing with this fanfiction series. That way I can make sure that X-men Supreme continues to be awesome. Until next time, take care and best wishes. Excelsior!

Jack