Supreme: Man of Majesty #3

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Supreme: The Man of Majesty #3

Written by Matt Laaksonen (Themanagement)
Edited by Daniel Dyer (Spider-Man Beyond)

Supreme picks up his speed, scanning ahead to see the source of the explosions. To his surprise and horror, he sees an armored man tearing the 27th precinct to shreds. Just as the man walks out the front doors, Supreme tackles him to the ground at tremendous speed. The sidewalk shatters with the impact. Supreme grabs him by the throat to restrain him, he scans the armor, and is amazed to find he can’t see through it. Looking at the carnage this man has unleashed, he is sickened.

“Mister, you have all of three seconds to give me one reason not to squeeze!”

Warmaker’s gauntlet charges up with power. Before Supreme realizes what is happening, Warmaker fires a burst of energy directly into Supreme’s face. He is thrown backwards, temporarily blinded.

“You wanna fight me, you son of a bitch!?”

Warmaker takes advantage of the moment. He unleashes three devastating punches on Supreme. The punches don’t put him down however, so he stomps on the side of his knee, and then grabs his arm. Wrenching with all the strength the armor can generate, he swings Supreme through the air, and into a parked squad car. There is such force in the throw that Supreme is launched into the grill of the car, through the engine, and is actually driven into the cab.

“You want to take Warmaker down? You have to be tougher than that!” Warmaker lets loose a blast of energy, and the car explodes. “So much for the ‘Supreme’ hero!” he quips sarcastically.

Warmaker turns from the wreckage and fires the jets built into the boots of his armor. He hovers for a moment, and then launches into the sky at amazing speed. When he looks back, though, he sees Supreme has freed himself from the scorched remains of the police cruiser, and is now in the air, and closing fast.

How tough is this guy? Gotta figure out a way to get him off of me!

Suddenly, he sees an airliner taking off from the nearby airport, and he sees his ticket to freedom. Quickly calculating his aim with the armor’s onboard computer, he fires, and completely destroys one of the engines of the plane that is beginning it’s ascent from the runway.

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Oh my god, he’s trying to crash that airliner!

Supreme veers away from the chase, picking up speed to intercept the plane before it crashes.

It’s about to go down in a residential neighborhood, but am I even strong enough to stop it? I’ve never even tried to handle something that big!

At inhuman speed, Supreme is underneath the airliner. He reaches up above him and places his hands on the hull of the plane. He lifts the nearly 275,000 pound aircraft above the quickly oncoming buildings.

I have to do this just right. The other engine is running, and if I do any more than redirect the momentum, it will tear itself apart!

Supreme, using his vast power, actually turns the aircraft around, aiming it back toward an empty runway of the airport. He scans the structure of the damaged aircraft, making sure that it is intact. He then uses his vision to shut down the other engine of the plane.

Okay, now it’s all on me, and about a hundred lives are on the line!

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Jason Matsen has piloted literally hundreds of flights. His love of flying began when he was a child, his dad was a pilot. He began his career as a pilot for the military. After his term of service was up, he went to work for Omega-Air.

This flight begins just like any other. His Boeing 757 is loaded down, and ready to fly. All systems check out normally, and his crew is comprised of people that he has worked with quite often. The Rolls-Royce made engines fire perfectly, and the airliner is tearing down the runway. Lifting off without a hitch, he begins his ascent to the heavens, and suddenly, one of his engines explodes.

From there, everything in his life becomes entirely unbelievable. Instead of falling, the plane actually lifts higher into the air, maintaining speed.

This thing is flying itself. It’s turning around!

The plane is actually flying back toward the airport. He hears the reactions of his copilot, but doesn’t really comprehend the words. He can hear the screams from the passengers and flight attendants, but they have no meaning.

Maybe I’ve finally lost it. Maybe I’m already dead and my mind is trying to fill in the blanks with something logical.

“Mayday, Mayday, flight 341 is out of control. Ground Control, my port engine just exploded, and the fucking thing is flying itself! Do you understand?!” Oh my god, my other engine just shut down? What the Hell is flying this plane?!

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Supreme works his way toward the front of the aircraft and begins to slowly apply pressure to slow it down. He continually looks through the structure, making sure that it isn’t collapsing under it’s own mass, and amazingly, it’s holding together.

Perfect, the pilot has enough sense to lower the landing gear, even though I know he has no clue what’s going on. I definitely need to meet this man when all of this is over with.

The Man of Majesty brings the plane down to the runway, and between the brakes and his own amazing strength, the plane comes to a quick halt. He checks to make sure that nobody is injured, and flies away.

When he realizes that he can’t find any sign of Warmaker, he flies back to the police station. Firemen and paramedics are on the scene, attending the emergency. He looks over the crowd, to find the officer in charge.

“Officer, do you have any clue as to who that man was?” he asks.

Though the officer doesn’t know whether or not to actually trust Supreme, he is motivated by the fact that Supreme attempted to stop Warmaker. “No more than you. Though witnesses say that he specifically targeted the bank robbers that you apprehended.”

“Do you think that they were working for somebody?”

“Yeah, we thought that from the moment we brought them in. In between their fearful rants about you, they mentioned ‘the Society’ multiple times.”

“The society?” That must be who outfitted that man with such powerful weaponry. “Do you have any clue as to who they were talking about?”

“No, we don’t. We’ve contacted the feds, and they are on their way.”

Supreme stays long enough to give a statement, and then flies away.

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

“... and so, as I officially announce my candidacy for Mayor of this great city, I step down as Chairman of the Board for Dax industries. Control of this great company is officially handed over to my longtime assistant Theresa Jackson. If anybody is as dedicated to this company and the betterment of this city, she’s the one.” This ceremony means nothing more than a show. Darius Dax is handing over control of his company in name only. Theresa may have her name on the papers, but he’s in charge.

After the ceremony is over, and Darius handles the ensuing press conference, he steps outside, and climbs into the back of his limo. Once again, Darius finds himself captivated by the man known to the world as Supreme. Watching the news footage in awe, he sees Supreme survive a vicious assault from the man known as Warmaker, and then landing an airliner under his own power. He smiles to himself.

This situation just keeps getting more and more interesting, I need to get in touch with this “Man of Majesty”.

Darius picks up the phone mounted on the door, runs a quick scan to make sure the line is secure, and then dials a number that he hasn’t used in a long time, “Sally Davis? High, it’s Darius. Sorry it’s been so long. I hate to call this late, but I think it’s important that you see me as soon as possible. If you head to the airport tomorrow, I’ll have a plane ready to pick you up.”

After making a couple more quick calls and assuring himself that the necessary arrangements are in order, he pushes the intercom button, “Bernard, take me home.”

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

I need to see if I can find out anything about this so-called “Society”.

Picking up speed, Supreme flies west, out of the city. As he travels over the countryside, he makes sure to avoid satellite signals, so he isn’t tracked, and heads to the Appalachian Mountains. Aiming toward a specific spot, he heads toward the ground. Just as he is about to fly into a cliff side, the stone melts away to reveal a tunnel into the mountain. He flies into the tunnel, and the rock melts back into place behind him. Traveling down the dark tunnel, he flies into a massive cavern.

“Computer, illuminate.”

From seemingly everywhere at once, light erupts into the darkness. Lining the walls are computer monitors and control panels. The entire cavern is filled with souvenirs from his travels around the world. A massive generator powers the ensemble.

“Ruff, ruff!”

Supreme turns to see his dog flying up from the living quarters below the main hall.

“Hey, Radar, how you doing, boy?”

“Grrr!”

“I know... being cooped up in here is terrible, but I think I’ll be needing you soon enough.”

“Rrr?”

“Radar... I don’t even know where to begin...”

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Sally Davis hangs up the phone, amazed at what she has just heard. When Darius first contacted her four years ago, she couldn’t believe what he had told her. She always knew that she was adopted, but she never dreamed that she actually had a brother out there in the world. Sadly though, Darius informed here that her brother was killed in the meteor shower that destroyed Littlehaven years earlier; the same meteor shower that killed her foster parents.

Now Darius is saying that the meteor shower was not an act of nature, and the man responsible for the tragedy is alive and well. All she ever wanted in life was to belong to something. The Davis’ were wonderful, and when they were taken away from her, she was never the same again. Now, everything in her life has come full circle. Darius has knowledge that can be used against the monster that caused this. The monster that took her parents away, and killed the brother she never knew.

“Supreme, everyone thinks you’re the world’s greatest hero, but I know the truth, and for killing my parents, I will find a way to make you pay!”

Continued...