"Somewhere in Subspace" ("Super Smash Brothers Ultimate Tie-In #1 of 2", prelude to THE MYSTIFYING ILLUSIONIST ANNUAL #1 and THE MYSTIFYING ILLUSIONIST #6-7)

Written by: Collin M. Cole

Final Destination, somewhere in the Subspace Emissary...

"Ladies and gentlemen of all walks of life.", A giant glove hovered over its followers. "As you know there are many different worlds across countless dimensions."

The glove, the Master Hand if you will, had studied the many dimensions of the Subspace Emissary, gathering many dark-hearted minds from time and space. Among the many present: King K. Rool, consistent adversary of the Kong Family; Ridley, feared space-pirate; Ganondorf, king of the Gerudo; Bowser Koopa, ruler of the Koopa kingdom; and King Dedede, self-proclaimed king of the Dream Land.

"The Ancient Minister has been in hiding for some time. After betraying us... after betraying me... we have no choice but to eliminate all their worlds.", Master Hand suddenly clutched a world, "H.A.M.M.E.R.", and shattered it to pieces. It was no use to the Hand anyway, since it was the last project the Minister had created before fleeing.

"I've sent the Ringmaster to search for the Minister, though he is having trouble due to this strange Aura Guardian.", Master Hand explained, "Though I will say, this Aura Guardian is not the same I've encountered a decade ago through this "Wii" contraption."

King K. Rool looked at Dedede, both of bored of hearing the same speech this talking glove was giving the hundredth time now.

"So, Master Hand...", K. Rool interrupted, "I have a bunch of bananas back home to attend to, so..."

The Master Hand shot out lasers from its fingers, vaporizing a portal back to Crocodile Isle, leaving K. Rool speechless.

"Snack time can wait, K. Rool.", Master Hand snapped at the crocodile king, "You be thankful I haven't destroyed your trip back home."

"Would anyone else care to object?", the Hand looked across Final Destination, all were silent. "Good answer. Now, there are many more worlds we must scour if we are to find the Ancient Minister. K. Rool and Dedede will be investigating Donkey Kong Island. Ganondorf and Bowser, you will be searching Magicant using the newly-rebuilt Subspace gunship I have prepared for you. And Ridley...", the Master Hand noticed through a portal that three individuals were traveling in Tallon IV: a blue-armored robot boy, a mustached plumber with a red-hat, a familiar bounty hunter. "...I believe someone is trespassing upon your property."

The team of villains split up, the Hand continuing the search for its former higher-up. It would still need more time to fully regain its full power, but at least the Ringmaster and the others would be able to take care of the heroes who thwarted its plans a decade ago.

A portal to Castelia City caught the Hand's attention, showing a Zoroark transforming into some sort of superhero. The sight of this Pokémon seemed to confuse the Hand. The dark-type seemed to be helping the innocent people of Castelia City with its powers rather than terrifying them. He had heard somewhere in time and space that this Pokémon was named Ryan Zorro, and this superhero identity the Zoroark had was the "Mystifying Illusionist." The Zoroark didn't seem to be owned by a Trainer, yet it seemed to run around the city helping those who were and weren't.

The Hand was suspicious of this Zoroark, particularly its superhuman form. Worse, the Aura Guardian, Riley Aaron from Iron Island in the Sinnoh Region, was in Castelia as well. Great. Now it had to deal with not one, but two of these "superheroes."

And when there are superheroes, there are super-villains. The Hand knew of this "Galvan-Man" the Zoroark constantly talked about, who had finished tweaking a Mirage System. Perhaps this human-Pokémon hybrid would be essential to ridding the universe of the two...

The Hand reached for another world to obliterate, the red-hat plumber's younger brother appeared to be timidly wandering around a horrifying mansion owned by the vampire Dracula. Unlike before, however, it didn't have the strength to destroy it. So, all it could do was wait. Wait for the right time to strike upon the many worlds it had gathered together for the last decade.

The Hand checked on its subordinates. On Tallon IV, Ridley had already defeated the robot and the plumber and was about to battle with his nemesis Samus Aran, K. Rool and Dedede were approaching the Kong family home, and Bowser and Ganondorf, with Subspace gunships in their arsenal, had begun their attack on Magicant.

"Excellent, it seems that our plan is coming along quicker than I expected." Pleased, the Hand checked on its power source, "Wouldn't you agr..."

Unfortunately, its main "power source" had escaped. The Hand was furious, even more so when it discovered that the prisoner had leaped into the Castelia City portal. And without the source, there would be no power for the Hand to shatter the many worlds.

But, that was fine, since the Ringmaster was heading to Castelia City to eliminate the Aura Guardian anyway.

"Ringmaster!", the Hand summoned, the Ringmaster responding almost immediately.

"Yes, Master Hand? What do you need?"

"The power source you have captured earlier has escaped to Castelia City in the Unova Region. If you locate it, make sure it doesn't run off again. If you retrieve it, return it to me afterward, understand?", the Hand instructed.

"Yes, Master Hand. Anything else you need?"

"Yes, actually. If the Aura Guardian and this strange "Mystifying Illusionist" get in your way, you know what to do."

"The Gale Shard has already been submerged into the Diving Pokémon. Its Shadow Form should take shape eventually."

"Good. Make sure those two "superheroes" are distracted while you reacquire my source of power. You're dismissed, Ringmaster."

The Hand then checked back at the cage with his power source was being kept, chuckling evilly.

"You run and hide quite well, Minister. But can you and your little apprentice do both?"

What could Master Hand be planning to do with all our heroes? Where is the Ancient Minister hiding? And just who is the Minister's apprentice? Well, we can't reveal much! But we can say for sure that the identity of the mysterious brave apprentice will be revealed in the next Nintendo Direct later this year! So, make sure you check out that exciting event for more details!

In the meantime, if you're new to the Mystifying Illusionist, check out the previous issues for the adventures of this year's most mysterious superhero!

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the year's most-anticipated video game, will be available December 7th exclusively on Nintendo Switch! (Game and system sold separately.)

Don't miss the superhero event on the year:

THE MYSTIFYING ILLUSIONIST ANNUAL #1

"Everyone's Story!"

Available December 7th, 2018!

Trainers, make sure you fav and follow so you don't miss out on this exciting tale!

Also Coming Soon:

THE MYSTIFYING ILLUSIONIST #6

"May The Aura Be With You!"

Available mid-August!

Follow Collin M. Cole of Twinleaf Publishing (at Twinleaf2623) on Twitter to get up to date on everything related to the Mystifying Illusionist!