"You could never leave well enough alone Samuel! Now you die," an angered Sinister bellowed as he shot a blast of tremendous power at Momentum. The leader of the Six dodged the blast and flew off into the air surrounding himself in his impenetrable forcefield.
"I put an end to you today Sinister!" Momentum exclaimed as he rammed his body into that of Sinister's head on. The impact knocked the forty foot tall Sinister back into the water with a crashing splash. And then as Momentum was floating in the air he decided to do something he never done before.
Breathing deeply Sam said, "This could get real ugly real fast!"
Out of Momentum's hands came massive amounts of energy that piled on the exact location where Sinister had fell. Sam just kept putting out more and more energy until you could see the steam filling the air from the heated water. Eventually, Sam burnt himself out and fell into the water. Right beside him was the body of a bloodied and beaten Sinister who was back down to normal size.
Doom flew right into the midst of the gathering of heroes that were assembled to attack High Evolutionary's space station. The Horsemen sighed in relief because he had made it in time to stop the attack on High Evolutionary's base.
"What the heck are you doing here Shiro? Where's Momentum?" Phase asked.
"He's battling Sinister who has really been High Evolutionary all along Maria," Doom said. Gasps were heard from nearly everyone assembled.
"Then why aren't you back there helping him Doom?" Phase inquired again.
"Questions! Questions! I've come to warn all of you. Sinister planted bombs all on his space station just for when you all decided to show up. I had to warn you and stop that from happening. Momentum can handle himself."
"And he did quite splendidly at it," a voice said from behind all the heroes.
"Eric the Red," Blink mumbled under her breath.
The Shi'ar nodded his head and said, "Momentum has defeated Sinister with quite the fantastic stunt. My race's cruisers are handling any remaining Ming'Cha and have destroyed Sinister's orbital base."
"So I guess it's over," Spider-Man said somberly. Like all of the heroes he couldn't help, but to feel some sense of numbness. They had all expected to have one big battle that would end the war, but the Shi'ar came in and pretty much handled everything. It all was rather anti-climatic.
Somewhere….
Nine generals stood before their master. Daimon Hellstrom, Satana, and Belasco represented the Hell Worlds. Thanos, Count Abyss, and Super Skrull represented the Cosmic Powers. The last of the generals representing Earth were Apocalypse, Ikaris, and Cloak.
"You will all lead my armies to victory! Earth is weak and the time to move is near. Unite your forces as one and forge for me an undefeatable army."
All in one resounding voice they said, "Yes Lord Archimonde! We bow to your will!"
The might Archimonde leaned back and smiled. The time was growing near. Soon this dimension would fall to him and he would have a new kingdom to reign over.
New York (2 Months later)
Phase moved up from the boxes she phased into and with her was the former assassin and now adopted mother of Scotty Summers, Elektra. The two of them were checking out an operation set up by Black Tarantula. Ever since the war with Sinister and his forces ended rebuilding the planet had been a difficult task. Crime became extremely rampant and powerful as a result.
"That has to be about a million kilos of crack in all those boxes," Elektra said pointing to the boxes upon boxes that were being guarded by a bunch of grungy men with guns.
"We should probably take them out, but they won't even really be any type of challenge," Phase sighed. She wanted some action. Then to her surprise someone walked through a door by the boxes of crack. It was her sister, Belladona, the leader of The Guild, but what did The Guild have to do with Black Tarantula.
"It's time to move these shipments out. Lord Archimonde won't be too happy if this shipment of crysalis gets screwed up and I'll let him have you all for lunch. Now get to packing," Belladona commanded.
"Oh come on Bell! No family reunion invitation? No calls? No letters? And now look at the crowd you're hanging with! Tsk, tsk!" Phase scolded sarcastically.
Belladona's eyes alit with fury at the sudden appearance of her sister and Elektra, "Why you murderous bitch! You've killed our father and now you continue to torment me. Kill her and kill her little friend. I'm sure Black Tarantula would be glad to see Elektra Natchios dead."
"Elektra Natchios does not die!" the ninja said as she leaped into battle with Phase following her.
Space"Lord Archimonde is coming and his will is great Adam Warlock," Eon said in his booming voice.
"Then how do you intend to prepare for his coming?" Adam inquired. He knew Eon wouldn't divulge all his plans to him, but some knowledge was better than no knowledge. After this meeting he would have to return to Earth and warn everyone. He would not allow Earth to fall under vicious attack again. He would not allow his wife to be, Elektra, to be harmed.
"An army must be formed. New positions of power will be given out and I want you to travel the universe and decide who gets what. I only impose one rule on you. Two chosen must come from every race. So if you pick one human you must pick another. Always two. No more no less," Eon said as a dark green medallion appeared in the hand of Adam Warlock.
"What positions will I be choosing people for?" Adam asked. What Eon had just given to him was unexpected to say the least. Warlock knew he would be prepared to undertake this task nonetheless.
"You must choose five women for the Cosmic Sisters. Five men must be chosen for the Celestial Brothers. A monarch must be chosen to be the Galactic Ruler. For the position of Universal Warrior a fallen soldier must be chosen. When you pick the Lord of Magic you must pick one whose skill in magic is fleeting. The final place of honor is the Cosmic Teacher and for this you must find a traitor."
Adam's mind already was filling with possible candidates, but still one question bothered him, "What of a Cosmic Protector? We have not had one for almost three years!"
"A new Protector has already been chosen. Show yourself to our guest," Eon said as a man stepped out from the shadows behind his master.
"Hello Adam. It's been some time," Vision said as he stepped forward with the Nega Bands wrapped around his wrists.
Shock overcame Adam, but he managed to mumble out, "I thought you dead by the hands of Phoenix! She flung you into space!"
"I survived Adam and now I'm here. You and I must make haste. There are many preparations ahead of us," Vision said and from behind Eon watched this exchange with an all-knowing smile.
Tokyo"Good day to all! For this is indeed a good day! Two months ago the forces of a maniacal conqueror leveled Tokyo. And in two months this city has been rebuilt. A new shine is over the skyline of Tokyo! The shine of peace," Momentum said as a joyous roar went up from the crowd. Sam was impressed with the work that the people of the world had managed to accomplish within two months. Many of the major cities of the Earth were quickly being rebuilt. Though many prized treasures of the world such as the Taj Mahal were lost many things were saved. Perhaps this trying war was needed to unite and strengthen all of man.
"You may think that child, but I'm here now. This temporary peace will soon end and the peace of Archimonde will begin. None shall stand in my way. Especially not you!"
Author's NotesThis is my last issue of Mutant X and I have to say it's been a fun ride. I'd have the chance to control an entire universe to myself! It was an awesome experience and one I wouldn't trade for the world. I had a great deal of fun especially in the making of the villains. I'm leaving behind a coming threat to the Mutant X universe, because if anybody has followed my stuff for a while they always know I leave something behind for the next writer to chew on. Anyway it's been real and maybe just maybe I'll be back to write a few more Mutant X stories someday.
