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Post by Spider-Man Beyond on May 8, 2007 9:54:34 GMT -5
Supreme: Man of Majesty #2 Written by Matt Laaksonen (Themanagement) Edited by Daniel Dyer (Spider-Man Beyond) Ring, Ring. Ring, Ring. “. . . This had better be damn good to wake me up with a phone call Theresa!” There is a short pause at the other end of the line, “I’m terribly sorry Mister Dax, but I think that you should turn on the television.” Darius Dax is a dangerous man to disturb unnecessarily. To disturb his sleep is an entirely different type of offense. He knows that if his assistant is willing to take this risk, there is most likely a good reason. “Television on...” The computer that runs his apartment is voice activated. He hears the surge of power fire through the monitor, and what he sees astonishes him. “...the mysterious figure known only as Supreme suddenly launched into the air and flew, yes I repeat, FLEW into the air! We are going to stay with this story until we find out more.” Darius sits in his dark bedroom, silently. He stairs intently at the screen. Watching the footage over and over again. He can’t believe his eyes. He watches in disbelief as the security footage from the First Omegapolis Bank shows Supreme move at inhuman speed to disarm a masked bank robber. “This just in... we have received reports that Supreme arrived at the scene of a house fire on the southside only moments ago! This ‘Man of Majesty’ apparently walked through fire to save the life of a person trapped inside! Omega News is in route, and will bring more information as we get it” “Television off!” I need to figure a way to get in touch with this... Supreme. “Telephone, dial Theresa Jackson.” Ringing emits from the speaker mounted on the wall. “Mister Dax, I take it you watched the news.” “Theresa, use an encrypted line, I want you to patch me through to someone...” ***
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Post by Spider-Man Beyond on May 8, 2007 9:57:17 GMT -5
Ethan Crane stands outside the doors to Dazzle Comics. He checks his reflection in the revolving glass doors. He is a tall man with glasses, and dark brown hair. He’s muscular, but with a slim build. As he walks through the doors, he realizes he’s kind of nervous. Looking around, he sees the receptionist. “Welcome to Dazzle Comics, what can I do for you, Sir?” “I have an appointment with Lucas Tate, and was wondering if you could direct me to his office.” “Absolutely, you take the elevator to the fifth floor, turn right, and go to the end of the hallway.” “Thank you very much, Miss.” I was kind of taken aback when I realized that one of the people I saved in that robbery was Billy Friday. It’s more amazing that he’s showing up to work the day after such an experience. It’s kind of convenient that a professional comic book writer gave me the idea for a name... Supreme... does that sound kind of self-absorbed?Ethan follows the directions given by the receptionist, even though he already knew where the office was. He could see Lucas Tate from the sidewalk outside. This is an exciting day for him. He’s wanted to be a comic book artist since he was a boy. That dream was delayed for a few years after the accident, but today is the day he gets the job. He walks into the office and sees Billy seated in the corner, his arm immobilized. He quickly scans his shoulder to double check that it’s okay. Lucas Tate is seated behind his desk, smoking a large cigar. Seated in another chair is the most beautiful woman that Ethan has ever seen. She has blonde hair and blue eyes, is tall, and has soft facial features. “Yes, Diana has that effect on all the new guys,” Billy says with a chuckle. Was I staring? God, I just made an ass of myself within thirty seconds of walking through the door!“It’s okay,” she says. “It’s actually quite flattering. I’m Diana Dane.” Good lord she’s beautiful. “I’m Ethan Crane...” he says kind of stiffly. Lucas puts out his cigar. “Well, kids, as you know, Ethan is going to be the regular artist on Omniman.” Then, to Ethan he says, “Billy here is the writer for the book. Diana is the writer for Warrior Woman, and will be doing a crossover with Billy soon, so you should familiarize yourself with her characters as well.” “Hi, Billy, nice to meet you. I heard you had quite the ordeal yesterday. How’s your arm?” “It’s pretty sore, but I’ve got some killer pain meds. Luckily I can still type, and I only have a little bit of rehabilitation ahead of me. I don’t know what would have happened if that Supreme guy hadn’t shown up!” Ethan can see the excitement grow on Billy’s face. “I still can’t believe it. What are the odds of a comic book writer witnessing the appearance of an honest to God superhero?” Ethan can’t help but smile inside at hearing this. Hopefully, I can win over everyone the way I have Billy.“All right, kids, you all have deadlines, and these books aren’t going to write themselves. Get yur asses to work and I’ll make sure HR gets you your paychecks!” Apparently Lucas Tate doesn’t really care about first impressions.***
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Post by Spider-Man Beyond on May 8, 2007 9:58:48 GMT -5
“Well, Billy, I have to say that it was really nice of you to buy me lunch, I was getting pretty hungry.” Not entirely true, since Ethan doesn’t actually need to eat, but the gesture was nice, and it’s good to keep up appearances. “Sorry about yesterday, by the way. I hope it didn’t inconvenience you.” “No problem. Lucas called me and told me that you weren’t coming.” “Yeah, I was having a really messed up day, and frankly, I was pretty hung over. Today is a new day, my friend. I have had a life affirming experience. It’s like I had a divine intervention or something!” Ethan is kind of taken by surprise. “Well, I wouldn’t say that Supreme is divine or anything like that...” At least, I don’t want people to think that I am.“Not Supreme necessarily, but after my experience, I think that there may actually be something bigger than us, you know?” Well, inspiring hope isn’t necessarily a bad thing.“Anyways, I think that we should get down to business. You said that you were familiar with Omniman, which is great! But there is a serious problem with him that I want to address.” “What’s that?” “Well, Ethan, Omniman has been in print for about seventy years, and he has all this cluttered up continuity. It’s just too confusing for anyone wanting to read it now. So what I’m planning is a drastic overhaul of the character’s history, starting over from scratch. I’ve got every issue ever printed of Omniman at my apartment. I want you to pour over them... redesign villains, supporting cast, his flying fortress... everything!” ***
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Post by Spider-Man Beyond on May 8, 2007 9:59:44 GMT -5
Norman Watz stands silently in an alleyway, overlooking Omegapolis 27th precinct. He is clothed in a suit of armor that looks like it’s straight out of a science fiction movie. Metal plates are stylized to look like muscles, and underneath, multiple metal bands are layered on top of each other to protect his flesh, but still be flexible. His face is covered by a full-head helmet, with a thick black-tinted visor covering his eyes. He whispers into the microphone in the faceplate, “Okay, Boss, I’m looking at the precinct now. I need the layout.” He hears a short buzz over the receiver in his earpiece, followed by his instructions. The floor plan of the building materializes across the inside of his visor, showing entrances and escape routes, as well as a path to the cell block. “Loading up fine, Sir. It’s going to be a few hours until dark, that’s when I’m going to strike. I’m sure that nobody from Mike’s team is going to talk until then, from what I gather they all are being pretty well sedated... Yeah, guy on the inside says that they are all so scared of Supreme, they’re all spouting gibberish for the most part.” Norman turns on the suit’s personal cloaking device and leaps to the fire escape above him. He climbs to the roof, and decides to wait out the time. When the Society broke him out of prison five years ago, he had no clue what they had planned for him. Since then, they’ve sent him on one killing spree after another, all over the globe. The firepower they outfit him with never ceases to amaze him, and he has earned his codename of Warmaker. This suit of armor though, is an entirely different thing. Advanced weaponry, while impressive, is one thing; but this suit turns him into a walking gunship. Inside his helmet, he smiles. Tonight, the 27th precinct is going to burn to the ground.***
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Post by Spider-Man Beyond on May 8, 2007 10:03:51 GMT -5
Can’t say I don’t appreciate Billy’s enthusiasm; but I didn’t want to stay at the diner that long. I want to patrol the city and let people know that Supreme is here to stay.Ethan walks to an empty alleyway, using his senses to make sure that nobody is watching. He focuses his mind, and works his muscles with inhuman control. His muscles become more defined, his shoulders and chest broaden. His arms and thighs become heavier, his hair turns stark white. At the same time, the molecules of his clothes move and shift, and the clothing amazingly transforms into a skin-tight, white costume with red trim, and a stylized S emblazoned across his torso. A long flowing red cape drapes to his ankles. Where Ethan stood only a moment ago, now stands Supreme! Feels good getting back to normal. I’ve never held another form for that long before. It was starting to get kind of painful. I’m beginning to wonder what the extent of my powers are though. I can’t actually change shape, but altering my physical structure is amazing enough!He launches himself into the air, and flies out over the city, hearing cries from below. This is more amazing than what I could have dreamed. When I first fashioned a superhero persona for myself based off of Omniman (which is ironic enough), I really didn’t know if it was a good idea to announce my presence to the public.Supreme glides along the airways, swooping quickly between buildings, and over city streets. I hope that what I’m doing would have made my parents proud. I know that they would have wanted me to make something of myself, but am I being reckless? I don’t even know how powerful I actually am, what if I hurt someone.His internal questioning is short lived however, as he hears a cry for help. He looks for the source, and a few blocks away he see what it is. Some petty thief stealing a woman’s purse... and just a kid at that! Well, he’s about to get the surprise of his life.Supreme picks up speed and flies around the block, with the intent of cutting the teen off. He uses his senses to track him through the buildings, and just as the boy rounds a corner, he steps right in front of him. He flexes his body enough that the thief doesn’t injure himself running into him, but Supreme immobilizes himself with his flight ability, so that he doesn’t move at the impact. The teen bounces backward and falls down. “You know, stealing is never a good way to make a living. What’s you name?” The young man’s eyes are wide with terror. “My... my n-name... is Jacob, S-sir.” Immediately there is a crowd of people gathering around. Supreme tunes them out, and focuses on Jacob. I really didn’t want to scare the boy so bad. “Well, Jacob, are you in school?” The teen nods an affirmative. “Good, and what’s your favorite subject?” “... writing, Sir...” “Do you get good grades?” Jacob shakes his head as if to say ‘no’. “Well, why don’t you stay off the streets, work on your grades, and maybe you can be a writer. A really good friend of mine is a writer. It’s fun work. Now, you and I are going to return that purse, and you are going to apologize, and go home right?” “ Y-yes S-s-sir.” Jacob does as he’s told, and with a nod from Supreme, he runs away down the sidewalk, unmindful of where he’s going. The woman seems angry, “You’re just letting him go?” “Ma’am, he’s just a misguided boy. A little bit of understanding and acceptance can go a long way in a young man’s life.” She nods a reluctant acceptance, and Supreme smiles at the crowd and flies away. Well, that was easy enough, I hope Jacob learned his lesson. Good thing nobody got hurt. What’s that? On the other side of the city... an explosion!***
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Post by Spider-Man Beyond on May 8, 2007 10:07:53 GMT -5
Norman stares at the precinct. Night has fallen, and the shift just changed over fifteen minutes ago. Now is the time to act. “Boss, I just ran a diagnostic, everything is go, and I’m ready to move... No Sir, I’m going to hit and run, pretty simple with the firepower you’ve loaded me up with.” He uses the armor’s onboard systems to calculate the speed and power necessary to accomplish his planned move, and walks to the other side of the roof to build momentum. He feels a slight vibration from the suit as the servomotors power up. He runs across the rooftop and launches himself through the air. He clears the street on a planned downward-arcing trajectory, and smashes through the front doors to the station with a quick shoulder-roll back to his feet. “Howdy folks! My name’s Warmaker, and I’m the baddest motherfucker on the planet!” The gauntlets of his armor charge and crackle with power, the air around his fists shimmer with heat, and a torrent of destructive energy unleashes from each hand. Everywhere he points his hands, computer desks, walls, and anything else in his way explodes with terrible force. Already numerous police officers are dead, and more are injured. Between the fire, debris, and the cloaking device, he’s basically invisible, the police don’t even have a target to fire at. “Scurry like rats, you bastards! I’m burning everything you know to the ground!” Following the plan laid out on the inside of his visor, he walks to the stairwell and follows it down. There are five officers that have barricaded themselves at the base of the steps, blocking his way. How quant...He leaps down the steps and kicks his way through their make-shift blockade. He grabs one officer by the throat and swings him like a weapon at the other officers... all the while laughing at the bones crunching in his grip. Jesus, this suit is awesome! Next time I hear from the Boss, I’ll let him know that he’s a damn genius.The hallway is filled with the screams of frightened inmates and injured police. At the end of the hall, though, are the cells of the men from the foiled bank robbery. One of the men is laughing and cheering Warmaker’s rampage. “Burn you pigs! I told you that you were messing with the Society! I told you that we wouldn’t be here long!” Behind the Warmaker visor, Norman smiles. “How right you are, Michael! You won’t be here for long!” He throws an incendiary grenade through the slot in the door, and laughs out loud as the flames erupt in the small cell. “My mission is to make sure you don’t talk, not get you out of here.” The other men start screaming, but it’s too late. Warmaker opens up indiscriminately, killing them all. After that, he begins to fire shots into the walls, destroying specific points in the structure, with the intent of destabilizing the foundation. After that’s done, he runs up the stairs, and through the remains of the lobby. He can’t help but enjoy what he sees around him. As he’s walking out, he kicks an injured police officer, causing her rib cage to emit a satisfying crunch. Just as he walks outside, he’s hit so hard that despite the armor, he’s seeing stars. He hears the concrete crunching beneath him. He’s pinned to the ground. When his vision focuses, his entire body tenses with fear... Supreme is kneeling on top of him, holding his throat. “Mister, you have all of three seconds to give me one reason not to squeeze!”Continued...
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