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| Issue #1 March 2007 |
"My Oh My What an Arrival" Written By Doug Bookey and Brent Lambert |
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The Savage Land Chronicles with Shola as a Footnote
Entry One
I’m writing this journal because this is something I should remember in detail. Things like this only happen once in our lives and I want to remember it. Here I am on a plane with one of the greatest mutants on the planet, Magneto. Just being in his presence makes me feel stronger and able to take on anything. I still want to pinch myself and make sure I’m here. Everything has been moving so fast lately I just never really realized I was working shoulder to shoulder with one of the pioneers of mutant rights. We’re all pulling into The Savage Land now and damn is it beautiful. I was expecting something exotic, but this place could make Eden jealous. My feelings could easily be summed up in one word right now. Whoa!
Magneto stepped down the stairs and as he made it to the last step he put his helmet back on. Eric had almost forgotten just how beautiful this unnatural jungle was. It was in this beautiful paradise that Magneto had begun his long crusade for the freedom of his people. Those had been the days of optimism before the harsh reality of how long his dream would take to be realized set in. Now here in this place the Master of Magnetism hoped to start a new hope.
“It has been quite a passage of time since I last visited this Wonderland,” Magneto said as he looked back to his companions, who were making their way off of the aircraft.
“So is this where we shall begin our new home?” Mystique asked seeing that the land around them was relatively flat in comparison to the rest of the jungle. Raven was skeptical about the idea of forming a colony so quickly, but she had seen Magneto work his wonders before. In that she had no doubt.
Eric nodded in response to Mystique’s question, “Yes, this is where we shall begin anew. First though we must traverse this jungle to an old base of mines, which will provide us with sufficient technology to secure our future here.”
“What of the boy?”
“You will stay with him Mystique. Shola and I shall do the traveling,” Magneto answered.
Shola timidly asked, “Why not just fly there?”
Magneto sighed slightly at the question, “Unfortunately, I am far from the most welcome guest here in The Savage Land. I have made quite a few enemies in this land over the years. Making my presence so openly known will make things slightly more difficult for all of us.”
“My intention wasn’t too be petty.”
Magneto held up a hand to command silence, “Shola, do not be afraid to ask questions of me. I may carry a big stick, but I do know where to aim it.”
The young African-American man smiled and his heart stopped beating. He had seen Magneto pissed off before. Hell, the entire world saw it when he sunk that submarine! No one in his or her right mind could blame Shola for wanting to skate on thin ice with the visionary.
“Now let us depart. Our future awaits us.”
The jungles of The Savage Land could make any prison’s hot box look like a trip to Siberia. Beads of heated sweat ran marathons down Shola’s face as the younger man took the lead and pushed aside thorny bushes that blocked their path. Shola could barely comprehend how Magneto managed to move around with his suit, helmet, and cape all on.
“Are you sure you don’t want to take any of that off? The risk of heat stroke is an obvious one.”
Magneto laughed, “I have grown accustomed to traversing many climates in these garments. Your concern is appreciated, but you need not worry about me.”
The laughter gave Shola the courage to ask the one question that had been burning in the back of his mind ever since his father first introduced him to Magneto, “How did you know my father?”
Magneto stopped walking at that moment and turned to Shola, “Well, we weren’t blowing up humans together if that’s what you think.”
“No it’s not that I was just-
“Joking. I was only joking Shola. Your father worked with Charles Xavier and myself during my days in Israel. He was a courier who helped moved medical supplies to the hospital that Charles and I worked at. Once, he saw your powers emerging he came to me for assistance. I could not deny such an old friend my aid.”
“And so here we are,” Shola sighed
Magneto nodded, “Indeed here we are, but I am glad to have your company. I have a feeling your powers will prove extremely useful in the coming tasks that we will have to undertake.”
“As long as those tasks don’t involve me tossing folks around then I think we’re in business,” Shola joked, but Magneto didn’t seem to catch the comic gesture.
“We are at war Shola. The day may come in which you have to use your powers on the inferior humans. You can’t be afraid of your powers! You must embrace them,” Magneto advised.
“Believe me sir I’m not afraid of my powers,” Shola replied not saying all that he really wanted to say. He understood and admired what Magneto wanted to do for mutants, but he couldn’t condone the way that he wanted to go about achieving that goal. Not all humans’ hated mutants so all mutants shouldn’t be trying to kill them.
“Good. You should embrace your powers. You are a god among men,” Magneto reminded as the two mutants continued their trek through the jungle.
“How much further until we get to the base?” Shola asked as his breaths were becoming harder and harder.
“We should be coming up on it right now,” Magneto replied as he pushed back a group of vines to reveal the greenery-covered base.
“Let’s hurry up and get there then,” Shola exclaimed as he wrapped the both of them in telekinetic bubbles and floated them down to the base.
As they landed Magneto clenched his fists, “Something is wrong here.”
Shola looked around cautiously, “I don’t see anything.”
“No it’s not that. The base has been hollowed out and plundered of all technology. I can feel it with my powers; the electronics are not here as I hoped they would. ” Magneto exclaimed.
“Who would do that? Who could do that here?” Shola asked a bit bewildered by the revelation.
The entire base began to shake and vibrate violently while Magneto started floating off the ground. Tiny particles of metal began to rip from the ground and whirl around Magnus. Magnetic energy ripped forth from his eyes and tore through the air. Shola could even begin to feel his fillings shake a little. The Lord of Magnetism was angry at his technology being stolen and nature itself was feeling it.
A few curse words echoed through Shola’s mind as the magnetic storm ripped through the air. Magneto looked like he still had a bit of a temper to him. Looking back the Lord of Magnetism realized what he was doing, “I’m sorry Shola. I let my emotions get the better of me. I was hoping to use the equipment to fashion a crude operational center and defense perimeter to protect us until we could establish more suitable arrangements.”
“Maybe we can salvage some of the building material and make a makeshift shelter. At least until we can get something more permanent,” Shola suggested.
Magneto floated down the ground and nodded, “I agree, but we need to find out who stole those technologies. In the wrong hands, it could be trouble.”
Mystique had only set up the tent because she didn’t want to the boy to suffer from the Savage Land’s blistering heat. Otherwise she would have simply stuck it out until Magneto and Shola returned. That was exactly her point in bringing along the Grey child. He was going to make them all work harder than they really had to. What happened if someone tried to come after them? All of their attention would be thrown off because they would be trying to defend the child.
In truth Raven was just plain uncomfortable around children. Even though she had her fair share of children she had never raised a single one of them. That fact stung her a little and that just compounded her apprehension around Jacob. He was a constant reminder of how she had failed as a parent figure. Every time she looked at Grey she saw why she was probably one of the worst mothers to have ever walked the planet.
Magneto shouldn’t have taken the child. Regardless of how she felt about the matter internally, it was impractical to have such a burden along for this already large task. She didn’t understand why Eric felt the need to have the boy along as some attempt to make up for the mistakes he made with Pietro. At least that’s what she saw it as, but she was sure Magneto would justify the matter in some other way.
“You must be hot?” Jacob asked looking at the tent.
“No, it is for you child. I have been through far worse.”
Jacob shook his head, “Thanks, but I think I’ll stay outside. This place is so extra pretty.”
“Beautiful things sometimes hold deadly secrets. Don’t let this place fool you Jacob. It’s dangerous,” Mystique advised.
Jacob sat down on the ground and looked up at the pterodactyls flying overhead, “Yea, but that’s why you’re here right?”
“Yes, that’s why I’m here,” Mystique replied as she sat down next to young Jacob.
“I am sorry for my outburst Shola. It was uncalled for,” Magneto said as he began to use his powers to disassemble the metallic parts of the base.
“It’s okay sir. No big deal,” Shola replied as he used his telekinesis to stack all the metal that Magneto was gathering up into nice, neat stacks. It’d make easier to carry through the jungle on the way back. It seemed that now they had even more reason to keep their presence secretive. Someone had taken Magneto’s technology and Shola’s gut told him the person was still in the Savage Land.
While Shola was stacking the metal he suddenly heard a rustling in the large collection of vines only a few feet away from him. Before he had a chance to inform Magneto two figures launched forward from the greenery and Shola was slammed to the ground by a powerful fist. His head hit the ground with a thud and he was knocked unconscious.
Magneto looked back and exclaimed, “What is the meaning of this?!!”
His anger filled question went unheard as a multi-colored energy hit him and sent his world into a swirl. His body to the ground and slumped as the assailants approached cautiously.
“The Creator has returned!” Vertigo and Barbarus exclaimed as they looked upon the fallen body of Magneto. “Grab him and the whelp I believe Brainchild will be interested in both of them.” Vertigo quipped.
