Chapter 73: Dark on the Horizon

A month or so after Gabby finally made herself at home, everyone was finally starting to return to normal. Chelsea was back to being her usual snarky tough love self, Rogue was back to being how she normally was, albeit much more social and mature due to her having to help raise Damian. And Bast was having her moments as well. However, hers were slightly more noticeable because she was just found out to be pregnant with Johan's child.

When Katerina found out she was going to be an aunt, she squealed in delight and hugged her brother as hard as she could in a fit of joy. The rest of Bast's friends were really happy for her.

"Congratulations kitten." Romano told her.

"Yeah, congrats." Marcus nodded.

"Now you get to see what it's like to raise an ankle biter." Chelsea teased, getting an indignant huff from the three year old in her arms. "Oh quiet you, I'm just picking." She told her son.

"Can you make us the godparents?" Kai and Pele asked eagerly.

"I'll talk with Johan about it, but I think he'll say yes." The future mother nodded. Just then, Gavin walked in with his costume on.

"Kai, Pele, come on. It's time for training." He told them.

"Okay." The twins sighed.

"You're not going with them?" Bast asked Chelsea as the girls left with the pseudo vampire.

"Nope. They're all Gavin's this time." The blonde told her before smirking. "And I told him that he can do whatever he wants with them." She added evilly.

"That's just sadistic." Marcus shuddered.

"Those kids gotta learn how to beat powerful mutants like Apocalypse, right? He's our best bet." The Dragoness shrugged.

"As true as that is… We might wanna have the infirmary ready." Romano commented.

(Elsewhere)

Inside the danger room, Gavin was with the others getting ready for training as the simulation room made an exact replica of the sky house from DBZ.

"Alright maggots listen up! I'm about to teach you the pecking order." Gavin said in his typical Takahata101 crazy demeanor. This caused everyone to look at him oddly. "It goes: You, the dirt, the worms inside of the dirt, my stool, the Prof, and then me." He continued. "Now, any questions?"

"Umm, yeah. I-" Jamie started to ask before he was sent flying off the tower screaming by a pimp slap from Gavin, much to everyone's surprise.

"Enjoy the climb back up, bitch!" The boy yelled down at him. "Any more questions?" He asked, and was met with silence. "Good. Then we can begin." He said with a grin that promised pain.

'We are so fucked.' The kids thought in unison.

(Elsewhere)

"So what is your reason for coming here today, Emma?" Xavier asked.

"I already informed Amanda about it, so you were next on my list." The blonde told him as she handed him a folder of brain scans from Gavin.

"These readings… Does this mean?" He asked, getting a nod.

"I'm afraid so, the seals are failing, and his personalities are starting to merge back together into one psyche… And there's no way to stop it." She replied.

"This...This is very troubling." Xavier said, a look off concern on his face. "How long do you think this will take?"

"A few weeks maybe? I'm not sure." The telepath sighed.

"I just hope he remembers who we are when it's done." The man sighed tiredly.

(Elsewhere)

Three hours later Gavin stood with his arms folded, tapping his foot as all the kids all lied down on the ground in a pile, completely exhausted and unable to move, scuff marks and other such injuries all over them as dust floated in the air around them. It looked like the aftermath of an anime training montage.

"My everything…" Amara groaned in pain.

"I think I'm paralyzed from the neck down." Ray groaned.

"Ohhh, something's jabbing my kidney…" Bobby groaned before Laura crawled out from under him.

"Yeah, me!" She groaned before falling flat on her face.

"...Ow…" Jamie groaned.

"You guys are all useless…" Gavin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

(Later)

Rogue was walking out of Xavier's office later that evening. "Same time next week, Prof?" She asked, carrying files in her arms.

"Yes, I'll see you then, Rogue." The man told her. The auburn haired girl walked down the halls, the files and binders in hand. These were part of her new job at the institute: Helping Xavier plan and begin breaking ground on five new schools that would be opening all over the country come next year. The Xavier's East Coast Institute, the Xavier's West Coast institute, the Xavier's Northern institute, the Xavier's Southern institute, and the Xavier's International institute.

Before she could get to her room, however, she was suddenly slammed against the wall, causing her to drop her items as she felt a pair of lips smash themselves against hers. To her surprise and slight pleasure, it was Gavin.

"I missed you." He told her as he started kissing her neck. This made Rogue moan in pleasure as she held him to her neck.

"...Mind if we take this to your room?" She asked. "I have things to do tomorrow after graduation." She told him.

"Let's go." He said as he carried her to his room. When they got there, Gavin threw her on the bed and got on top of her, kissing her repeatedly and stripping her down while also squeezing her breasts softly.

"Oh, I missed this~." The girl moaned quietly.

"You and I have been working so much lately. We barely get any time to ourselves anymore." The boy nodded, looking over at Damian who was sound asleep. "Good, he's out like a light." He sighed before he threw away both their shirts and started unclasping Rogue's bra.

"Then Ah guess that means Ah'm at your mercy then." The southern belle told him as he removed her bra, revealing her pale breasts.

"That it does." The pseudo vampire grinned before he started sucking on her right nipple. "Now, what would you like first?" He asked her, stroking her folds through her black panties.

"Mmmm… Finger me…" She whispered. The boy smiled as he did so, rubbing her constantly as he stripped her last article of clothing away, and then shoved two of his fingers into her pussy. "Ohhh shit!" She moaned as his pace quickened.

"Does that make you feel good? Does that make you want to scream my name in pleasure?" He whispered huskily.

"Yes, oh fuck yes!" She moaned, hugging him close as he pumped his fingers in and out of her rapidly. "Gavin, Gavin, ohhh yes! More, more!" She moaned.

"More? Ask, and you shall receive." He purred as he sped his hand up.

Rogue moaned in ecstasy as he kept fingering her. "Of fuck! Ah'm gonna cum! Ah'm cumming!" She moaned as she came all over Gavin's hand. The young CEO then licked juices off his fingers and hummed at how she tasted. It was just as he remembered.

"Mmm, would you like to have a taste of me before we go to bed tonight?" He asked her as he got in front of her face, his length for her to see. It was just as big as she remembered.

"Don't mind Ah do." The girl grinned before she took his entire length in her mouth all at once, causing him to throw his head back and had to muster every ounce of willpower to keep himself from shouting.

"Oh god I missed this!" He groaned as he thrusted himself in and out of her mouth, feeling her swirling her tongue around his shaft and sucking on the head.

'He tastes as good as Ah remember. Ah love this man so much.' She moaned internally. She kept bobbing her head back and forth to take more and more of his shaft in, fondling the sack attached to it to add to her boyfriend's pleasure.

"Anna, I'm gonna cum!" The pseudo vampire groaned. The Southern Belle increased her bobbing speed in response. Groaning the boy gave one final push before he released his load inside her mouth.

Rogue moaned happily as she swirled his semen around in her mouth. "So tasty~!" She smiled as she swallowed it erotically. Gavin sighed as he fell back on the bed, pulling the covers over them.

"I love you, Anna." He told her as he held her close, stroking her hair.

"Ah love you too, Gavin." Rogue replied with a happy smile as she breathed in his scent.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile with Logan and Chelsea, the two were tired as well, but that didn't stop them from at least having a nice long good night makeout before turning in. Drake was too busy snoozing away in his bed to notice, luckily.

"Good night 'daddy'. I love you." The Dragoness chuckled as they pulled away. Logan chuckled as well as he patted her head.

"Love you too, Scales." He told her. "Now, can ya not hog all the blankets this time?" He told her in a teasing manner.

"Hey, I'm cold blooded! I need all the warmth I can get!" She snapped back.

"I know, I know." The scraggly mutant chuckled. "I just wanna have some warmth too." He added, before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in close to him. "There, that should handle it." He grinned.

Chelsea rolled her eyes as she turned off the light and slowly fell asleep in her husband's arms. Honestly, sometimes it seemed like he was trying to toot his own horn.

(Later)

Later that night, Rogue woke up with a sudden feeling compelling her to steal the life force of everyone in the institute. Problem was, she was still being held tightly by Gavin in his sleep. With a bit of effort, she was able to get free before setting about stealing their life forces with the exception of Gavin and Damian. Not bothering to dress herself and instead wrapped herself in a towel before walking outside where a limo was waiting.

When the door opened, she got in and was greeted by Mystique, who blinked when she saw Rogue wearing nothing but a towel. "Being a little risqué aren't we, Rogue?" She asked the girl as the car drove off.

The girl said nothing as they were driven to their destination. This was when they reached the police station clock tower. Rogue stepped out and flew up to where the Gargoyles were, and caught Lexington off guard as she grabbed him by the face and drained some of his life force. Before the other Gargoyles could react, Rogue quickly drained small amounts of their life forces as well. When she was done, she went back to the limo.

Next stop was Xanatos tower, and her targets? Puck and Alexander Xanatos.

Alexander was easy since he was asleep. Puck was trickier since she had to ambush him and take him by surprise to avoid being caught in a spell. After she finished, it was onto the next location: Magneto's hideout.

Using Mystique's powers, she flew in by turning into an owl. After a minute of looking she found her first target: Colossus.

Quietly, she jumped on his back while he was carrying a crate, causing him to stumble before dropping it on both of them. After a second, Rogue busted it open and dragged the strong mutant out, having absorbed his powers. Right as she was about to find another target, she was suddenly jumped by Wolf and Sabertooth.

"What're you doin' here pale—why the hell're you in a towel?" Sabertooth questioned, noticing the girl's attire, or lack thereof, rather.

"This is a little awkward." Wolf said as he looked away from Rogue. Smirking, the girl conjured her cosmic energy and blasted the two men with her power and knocked them down before leaping onto them and draining them right before a sudden inferno engulfed her in fire.

Pyro laughed insanely as he burned Rogue alive… Right before she walked right out, her entire body turned into metal. Oh, and her towel was reduced to ash. The man couldn't help but stare at her as she decked him and drained him quickly just in time to dodge an attack from Coldsteel and Jackal. Coldsteel was about to say something when he noticed the girls… lack of dress, to put it lightly.

"...Why?" He deadpanned. This got him blasted in the face. Jackal meanwhile couldn't help but lick his lips at the sight of Rogue's body.

"Now that's what I call eye—Gah!" He gasped before he could get a good look, the mutant girl roundhouse kicked him in the face and grabbed and drained him right as both Gambit and Hyena came in.

"Alright, what's all the-" Gambit started to say before seeing Rogue. "... I didn't know she was into that." He muttered as he looked away with a small blush. Hyena meanwhile couldn't help but scoff.

"Obviously she's not, Cajun. Look at her, she's way too glazed over to know what she's doin'. My guess is whoever's behind this wants her like this to keep her targets off guard." She scoffed. Gambit looked at Rogue's eyes and saw that they were indeed glazed over.

"I guess you're right. Though it also means that her boyfriend is gonna kill the culprit." He mused as he got his staff out.

"Probably." Hyena nodded. "Where's Coyote when ya need him?" She groaned as Rogue went metal and cosmic before charging at them. They kept fighting for several minutes until Rogue stepped on Gambit's foot and then facepalmed him into the ground. Then she grabbed Hyena by her metal neck… before slamming her purple lips to the other woman's.

"MPH!" Hyena squawked in surprise before she was drained and knocked out. Rogue yawned as she transformed into Hyena and acted like she was unconscious as Magneto and Demona entered the building, Coyote not far behind. Magneto looked around and frowned when he saw his subordinates out cold, and somehow knew who it was right away.

Transforming right in front of the two and caught them off guard before she teleported behind them and slammed their heads together, draining them at the same time.

With her task done, Rogue excited the building and got back in the limo. Upon seeing Rogue nude, Mystique facepalmed and regretted that she had nothing to cover up her daughter.

'Gavin's going to murder Mesmero when he finds out about this.' She groaned internally. Their last few locations were the houses of Katerina and Romano, Johan and Bast, Marcus, and finally Emma. All when by without so much as a hitch.

(The next morning)

Everyone woke up the next morning and found that they overslept. Rogue meanwhile, was in the bathroom with a green towel around her body as she looked at herself in the mirror. "Man, what a weird dream…" She sighed as she helped Damian brush his teeth, which were starting to get bigger.

Gavin smiled as he hugged her from behind, kissing her cheek and then her neck. "Does that make it feel better?" He asked her.

"A little." She smiled in reply. Damian smiled as he rinsed his mouth out, giving his mother a smile.

"Done mommy." He told her.

"Good job baby." She yawned. "Ah better get moving, the Prof wanted me to help him with some stuff before Ah went to school today." She told Gavin, kissing the two goodbye.

"See you later, honey." He called after her, picking up his son. "Come on sport, time for me to drop you off with your Aunt Irene for the day." He told him.

"Okay." The boy smiled.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile, Roxy was having a similar headache as Rogue. "Everything okay, Roxy?" Devin asked.

"Yeah. I just have a headache, and I don't know why." She replied before looking down. "Though for some reason, I feel like I should know." She added in confusion.

"You think it could be…?" He asked her, referring to her 'grandfather'.

"I hope not." Roxy shivered. "If it's him, then we're in trouble." She added.

"Yeah." Devin nodded.

(Later)

Rogue walked out of the office of the architects they commissioned for the institute designs with Xavier. "That was quick." The girl said as she put the blueprint cylinders in the back of the car.

"Yes. I was expecting it to take longer, so this is a little surprising." The telepath nodded. "Would you like for me to accompany you to school?" He asked her.

"No thanks. Ah'll be able to get there myself." She replied.

"As you were, then." The man nodded before the two went their separate ways. Though as she made her way to school, the limousine approached her again, and this time, it brought her to the Brotherhood's house.

In her trance, she walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. When Wanda answered it, Rogue grabbed her by her collar and slammed her lips to Wanda's to start to drain her. When she was done, Daken came into view and widened his eyes when he saw Wanda suddenly drop to the floor with Rogue standing there.

"Wanda!" Daken exclaimed as he ran towards her. "You'll pay for that, bitch." He growled as he deployed his claws. Right as he was about to thrive a strike at her, Rogue teleported out of its way and reappeared behind him before draining him.

Next was Pietro, who heard the commotion. "What the? What's going on?" He questioned as he looked at what was happening. Upon seeing Wanda and Daken out cold with Rogue standing over them, his eyes widened before he tried to run. This was easily stopped by Rogue using Jean's powers to lift him off the ground before pulling him to her so she could drain him.

Last were Toad and Blob. And she knew exactly how to handle them. By using Drake's acid breath, she made the two boys retreat around her before freezing them in place with ice. Next, she waited for Toad to make the dumb move of shooting his tongue at her, which she caught and drained him with. Then she grabbed Fred by the face and drained him, taking him down.

Last was Tabitha and the girl was currently walking to her apartment after shopping. When she walked inside and closed the door, she turned around and was greeted with Rogue grabbing her face and draining her and causing her to drop her groceries as well.

(Elsewhere)

"Isn't this great guys? Today we'll be graduating and moving on with our futures." Jean sighed happily. Gavin yawned as he rolled his eyes.

"I really don't care at this point." He sighed, tossing a red velvet box in his hand. "All I care about, is this." He said, showing them an engagement ring inside, it was a platinum ring with a blood red ruby set by onyx gems.

"Are you finally gonna pop the question?" Lance asked.

"Yeah. I just need to find the right time." The boy nodded. Just then, they were met by Culson.

"Good morning students, having a good morning I hope?" He asked them.

"Yep. Lookin' forward to finally being able to move forward." Scott nodded.

"Good. Though I must ask you, please keep the mutant shenanigans to a minimum if possible, won't you?" He asked them.

"Right." The tremor generator nodded.

(Later)

At the end of the day everyone was in the football field for the graduation ceremony as Culson gave a speech to the students, Gavin fiddled with the engagement ring in his hands as he droned out the speech… right before Magneto, the Acolytes, and the Brotherhood came walking towards the field.

"Oh dear." The principal sighed. The crowd saw the group of mutants approaching and started vacating the area in case a fight broke out.

Though luckily, Spider-Man and his team from SHIELD came to help keep the people calm. "Remain calm everyone, please go to the gym for now. We will handle things from here." Danny told them calmly.

"Yeah folks! No need to panic, because your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is here to help!" Peter added, swinging in.

"Well, there goes graduation." Scott sighed.

"What the fuck?!" Gavin groaned as he swatted the chairs around him out of the way.

"What are you doing here, Magnus?" Xavier questioned.

"We're here for her." Magneto stated as Rogue suddenly started floating around and attacking the groups with powers that weren't her own.

"What the- What's going on?" Devin questioned as he shielded himself and Roxy from the chairs that were flying everywhere.

"It has to be Mesmero." Chelsea growled as she transformed and tried to grab Rogue in her talons, but was repelled by a telekinetic force field.

Gavin growled and leapt at his girlfriend before grabbing her. "Anna, you're really starting to act naughty." He warned. "And you know what happens when you act that way." He added as he tried to force her down.

Rogue looked at him and then said something telepathically. 'I'm sorry Gavin. I love you.' She told him before she blasted him in the face with an optical beam and then teleported away.

"Agh!" Gavin grunted as he crashed to the ground.

"Gavin!" Devin yelled as he ran to his brother's side. "You okay?" He asked.

"I'll live." The pseudo vampire replied as he got up. "What. The fuck. Was that?" He growled as he glared at both Magneto and Demona (who was in her human form).

"Mesmero is controlling her. That's what's happening." The redhead gargoyle replied.

"When did this happen?" Ororo asked as she approached their on again/off again allies.

"Last night. He used her to steal some of our life forces and tried to wipe our memories clean." Magneto replied. "Luckily, my security cameras captured it all." He added as Culson approached them.

"Pardon the interruption, but what exactly does this Mesmero want with Rogue, exactly?" The man asked.

"This does not concern you, Agent of SHIELD." Magneto stated.

"It does when national security is involved." Culson retorted.

"He's not exactly wrong. What does Mesmero want with Rogue?" Bobby asked.

"Isn't it obvious? He plans to do what he's been doing from the very beginning: bringing about the return of—." Demona started to say before a flash of light shot down from the sky, and Odin, Thor, Puck, Titania and Oberon came stepping out of it.

"The return of Unsaba Nur, the first mutant. Otherwise known as Apocalypse." Oberon finished.

"Precisely." Demona nodded.

"And we don't know where his tomb lies." Xavier sighed.

"That's where we come in, Xavier." Titania spoke. "It was us who helped create the magic of the doors that sealed Apocalypse away, so we know approximately where it lies." She continued.

"And thanks to Mr. Xanatos, I know exactly where his Egyptian tomb is." Puck added. "I can bring you there in two shakes of a lamb's tail, in fact, Mr. Xanatos is already waiting there for us." He added.

"Then let's not waste any time and suit up." Gavin urged.

(Later)

The X-Jet and Magneto's metal orbs soon touched down in the center of Egypt right in front of the Sphinx. Johan and Katerina quickly got out of the jet they were in with Fury, Spider-Man and the gang, and a platoon of SHIELD agents.

Xanatos was already there waiting for them. "Oh good, you made it." He said, soon allowing the others to notice that Lexington, Goliath, and Angela were there too.

"Can't exactly ignore something this serious, can we?" Scott stated.

"Anyway, how exactly are we gonna find this tomb?" Johan questioned.

"We'll have Shadowcat travel through the ground and into the tomb to open it from the inside." Xavier explained as Hank helped put a breath mask on Kitty's head.

"My scanners have indicated that the entrance should be about here." Xanatos told them as he drew a circle in the sand. "So if Ms. Pryde was to drop straight down from this angle, she should reach the exact spot in mere seconds." He added.

"Alright. Let's do this." The phasing girl said as she took a stance before she dived at the specified angle. She then started slipping through the layers and soon reached solid ground, however she was startled when she saw large statues there that seemed to be looking at her.

"Kitty! Are you okay?!" Lance said in concern when he heard her scream.

"I'm fine, Lance. Just got startled by some statues." She replied as she looked around. "Okay, what am I looking for?" She then asked.

"There should be a stone button about the size of a dinner plate with a scarab beetle on it. Find it and push it." Puck told her.

"Got it." Kitty nodded. After looking around for a bit, she found it and pushed it before quickly getting away from it as it opened.

"Good work, human, clearly you're not as useless as I originally thought." Demona told the girl as the group entered the temple. Kitty just huffed indignantly at her words.

"Let's hope that Gavin and the others are having better luck." Devin sighed.

(Elsewhere)

In Tibet. Logan, Sabertooth, Chelsea, Laura, Daken, Gavin, Oberon, Titania, Thor, Odin, Brooklyn, Bronx, Hudson, and Broadway were in pursuit of Mesmero, Rogue and as they just discovered: Mystique.

"Why is Mystique here?" Gavin wondered.

"If I had to hazard a guess, it would be because of the fact that the final gate can only be opened by sacrificing a shapeshifter." Odin told him as he helped clear the way of the blizzard.

"Indeed, it is only by taking the life of a shapeshifting mutant that the final door can be opened." Oberon nodded. "I made it that way in hopes that it would be next to impossible for it to occur, and that said mutant would be unwilling to do so at the cost of their own life…. Clearly I misjudged the depravity of the minds of mortals."

"Yeah. Depravity is pretty common if you know where to look." Gavin sighed.

"*cough* Demona *cough cough*." Brooklyn coughed. That caused the horror aficionado to snicker quietly. Meanwhile the trackers soon picked up another scent.

"This way guys." Laura called. Chelsea, meanwhile, was trying hard not to shut down from the cold. Luckily for her though, Logan and Titania were quick to help her.

"W-who's b-b-b-bright idea w-was it to h-have m-m-me come here?" She stuttered, the cold taking a toll on her.

"Your immunity to magic will be useful in a fight against Mesmero should he have any sort of magical tools." Titania told her.

"That and we could really use the extra muscle with how strong the big bad is." Logan added.

"R-right…" She sighed shakily, wanting to just be out of the cold. Though the heating aura spell that Titania put around her quickly alleviated the issue.

However as they reached the summit where the scents lead them, all of them except Oberon and Titania were suddenly attacked by Mesmero's mental powers.

All of them screamed in pain as the attacks tried to force them to obey, but luckily, Oberon, Titania and Xavier's mental protection kept them from doing so. "Those blocks just saved our lives." Logan sighed.

"Yeah especially yours." Sabertooth nodded. "Mesmero was telling me to hurl you off the cliff. Problem is, I'm still tempted." He growled.

"Funny, that's exactly what he told me to do to you." Chelsea snapped at him before turning to Daken. "And he was telling me to eat you alive." She added angrily, her eyes flashing Draconic for a second as her scales rippled. "Thing is, I'm almost considering doing it." She added as she started walking ahead.

Back with Mesmero, Rogue and Mystique, the trio were now standing in front of the tomb. "My lord, I have brought to you the final pieces of your revival. The absorption mutant Rogue, and the final key: the shapeshifting Mutant, Mystique." He told the first mutant. This caused the blue sharpshooter to do a double take.

"What?! I'm the key?!" She exclaimed in surprise.

"Indeed. Inside you will find the symbol of Apocalypse, place your hand on it, and the final door will open." He told her.

"I only came here to make sure the future of mutant kind was assured! I wasn't planning on this!" She retorted.

"Do not worry, Apocalypse always rewards those who are loyal to him." Mesmero told her. Glancing at the hole in the door warily, Mystique transformed into a cobra and slithered through it. When she got inside, she found herself in a cylindrical room with Apocalypse's symbol on a pedestal.

(Elsewhere)

Back with the others in Egypt, they were all being chased by giant robotic statues, while Xanatos, Xavier, Hank and Magneto were trying to learn as much as they could about Apocalypse through the hieroglyphs on the walls.

"If I'm reading this right, the vessel for the Eye of Ages should be beyond this door." Hank told them.

"Seems likely. Rama Tut was a crafty old fox, though we in Avalon knew him by a different name." Puck said as he appeared near the door and started looking for a way through.

"And what would that be?" Magneto inquired.

"Kang the Conqueror. If memory serves he was originally from… the 34th century?" The fairy said as he knocked on the door before clapping his hands. "Open Says Me!" He grinned as he floated upside down, causing the door to open.

"Really?" Beast sighed with a facepalm.

"I'm surprised that a pharaoh is actually a time traveler." Xavier commented, his voice laced with surprise.

"Though seeing as he had such advanced technology, it makes sense." Xanatos nodded. As the door opened they soon found a giant diamond shaped ship of some sort, which opened up the revealed to have a Cerebro interface.

"Well, this looks oddly basic." Puck noted.

"They must be Minimalists in the future." Xanatos shrugged as Xavier took the interface helmet and put it on. It was at this moment that the others came charging in, and were getting pursued by one of the robots.

"Everyone get aboard! Now!" Hank exclaimed.

"Don't need to tell us twice!" Bobby yelled as he jumped in.

(Elsewhere)

Back with the others in Tibet, Mystique placed her hand on the symbol of apocalypse, and then found that she couldn't move. As she tried to get free, the room started to swirl and glow.

"Can you hear me, woman?" The weakened voice of Apocalypse spoke to her mentally.

"Um… Yes?" Mystique replied warily.

"This seal requires that you sacrifice yourself by turning your powers against you to open the door. However, I can save you from this fate… If you pledge yourself to me by promising me your servitude, your powers… and your body." The mutant spoke as the woman suddenly started to slowly turn to stone. "Choose wisely." He added as the petrification continued. As it reached her shoulder, the woman came to a decision.

"Yes. I pledge myself to you, my lord Apocalypse." She answered. "I am yours."

"Excellent." The voice said before her spirit suddenly split from her body just as the petrifying was complete, then her soul was transferred elsewhere. As soon as this happened, the door opened and Rogue started walking towards Apocalypse's resting place, right in time for the others to arrive.

"Oh dear…" Titania muttered in concern.

"We have to stop her, now!" Gavin yelled as he charged forward.

"Young Gavin, wait!" Oberon yelled. But it was too late, as the boy charged forward and drew his sword, before he struck Mesmero with it, causing the man to fall to the ground, but retaliated by blasting him with an energy blast that burned a hole in his chest.

"ARGH! You bastard!" Gavin yelled in pain as the wound healed. The others quickly came to his aid, however they soon were shocked as the room started getting filled with a white substance that slowly took the form of duplicates of Apocalypse himself.

"Okay that's disgusting." Chelsea said as her nose wrinkled.

"No argument here." Daken nodded, feeling equally disgusted.

"Yeah." Laura nodded.

"I'll try to get Rogue, you guys get rid of these things!" Gavin yelled as he transformed into smoke and slipped past them, but briefly stopped when he saw Mystique's stone body. Glaring at it, he thrust his hand into its chest, causing it to shatter.

'Ah, that was therapeutic.' He sighed mentally. He then turned to where Rogue was and approached her, grabbing her hand before she could reach out towards Apocalypse who was laying in the eye of ages.

"Nice try, dirt bag." He growled as he glared down at the man.

"You dare to impede my return?" He asked weakly.

"And avoid a literal Castlevania scenario? Uh, yeah." The pseudo vampire nodded, however as he turned to face Rogue to try and snap her out of it, she suddenly shanked him in the mouth with Wolverine's claws. "GWA!" He got out in shock and pain.

Rogue sighed as she took Apocalypse's hand, and he started absorbing the life forces that she had inside her. As he did so, his body regained the strength he had been deprived of for so long.

"Damn you!" Gavin spat as he coughed up blood. "Releasing seals to level one." He growled before he lunged at Apocalypse as he floated out of the sarcophagus and grabbed him.

"You think yourself capable of beating me? Fool." He said convincingly before tossing him aside.

"That's because I'm a mutant god!" The boy yelled as he decked apocalypse in the face as they tumbled into the room with the others where they had reduced the duplicates of nothing but the liquid they came from.

Chelsea let out a Draconic hiss as she and the others surrounded the two with Oberon and Titania standing with Gavin as the boy drew his sword. "Heh heh… Oops. Did I accidentally just start a war?" The boy chuckled nervously to the two rulers.

"Yes, but not against us." Titania told him.

"Oberon and Titania, out from under your little rock are we?" Apocalypse asked.

"Only to keep you from destroying the mortal world." Oberon stated as he gathered his power.

"This ends here, Apocalypse." Titania said with a glare as she too gathered her power.

"You cannot stop what is to come. This world will be remade in my image." The ancient mutant declared.

Gavin seemed to look at him oddly. "I feel like we've been here before, have we been here before?" He asked as Apocalypse clenched his fists.

"This world will become a world of mutants, and you won't stop me!" He yelled.

"Oh my god this is happening again!" The pseudo vampire said, recognizing that this had happened before with Dormammu.

"Yeah it is." Johan muttered, also recognizing the scene. Quickly everyone started attacking the first mutant with everything they had, but it didn't seem to work.

Apocalypse rose his arms and then clapped his hands, causing a telekinetic wave to send everyone flying, Oberon and Gavin the only ones who were still standing. The Grey skinned man then stepped forward and as Oberon threw a punch and Gavin tried to stab him, he caught both attacks with his telekinesis and then sent them flying with another shockwave.

Apocalypse then approached the futuristic machine and went inside, and when the doors started closing, Magneto attempted to halt his progress by using his powers to keep the pyramid from closing. Apocalypse turned to him and sent out another wave to incapacitate him.

As the pyramid closed, it soon disappeared, leaving the others alone. Everyone slowly got up and tried to recover from what had just occurred. "This… Apocalypse is stronger than any other foe I've ever encountered." Goliath groaned, rubbing his head.

"Yeah, and he's just as much a megalomaniac as Thailog was." Brooklyn growled.

"We're in for a tough fight, aren't we?" Katerina asked as she rotated her shoulders to work out the soreness.

Oberon sighed as he helped Gavin up. "That we are, child." He nodded.

"Sorry, Oberon. I guess I was pretty useless, huh?" Gavin apologized.

"There is no need for apologies. None of us expected Apocalypse to be that strong." The Fairy King told him. "To be quite perfectly frank, I expected him to be much weaker."

"Regardless, it seems we will need to work together to stop him." Xavier said as Jean and Logan helped him up.

"Agreed. This is a fight neither side can fight alone." Magneto nodded.

"Then it is settled." Titania nodded. "My lord, it is your decision to make. Shall we assist them?" She asked Oberon. The blue skinned fairy thought for a few moments before nodding.

"Yes, we shall. If we don't, then the mortals of the world will be devastated should Apocalypse succeed." He decided.

"Then it seems we're in agreement." Xavier said as he, Goliath, Xanatos, Oberon, Fury, and Magneto all shook hands.

"Yes, I believe it does." The fairy king nodded.

(Elsewhere)

The eye of ages soon landed on a Mayan Temple in Mexico, and Apocalypse descended down into the center of the pyramid and started gathering power. The power then started to swirl around and then it took a new shape.

It first started off as an orb of blue liquid until it started to become humanoid in shape and then started to take a feminine form. Red hair soon sprouted from the new woman's head as her body started to morph. Her skin then became scaly and dark navy blue. Her figure filled out, giving her an hourglass shape with wide hips, a heart shaped ass, a pair of sexy and thick thighs, a slim waist, sculpted and smooth stomach, and lastly a 106 cm J-cup bust.

Apocalypse looked at his new creations naked form before he had the enhancement technology cover her and meld with her skin. Then he took a glowing orb from his bag, it was Mystique's soul!

"Now, to deliver upon my promise." He said as he placed the woman's soul inside her new body's mouth and made it swallow the orb. As soon as it merged with the new body, the organs started working and she opened her eyes (which were now gold with black corneas), taking in a deep breath. "How do you feel, Harlot, my queen?" He asked her as she fell to her knees in front of him.

"I feel disoriented. I would like time to adjust to my new body." She replied.

"Take your time, beloved. In the meantime I will gather those who I will make my horsemen." The man told her as he conjured some clothing around her. Which consisted of a white loincloth with skulls around the waist, knee high white stiletto heels, elbow length gloves, a spaghetti strapped white bikini top in the shape of skulls and lastly a crown band with a skull on the forehead and a white dog collar with a shackle on it. "Are your clothes to your liking, Harlot?" He asked.

"Very nice. It's easy to move around in this." She nodded.

"Excellent." Apocalypse smiled as he gave her a lustful kiss before disappearing into the eye of ages, leaving Mystique to wait for him by lying seductively on the throne in the pyramid's throne room. Her lord's Duplicates taking care of her every whim.

Yes, she had to admit. It was good to be queen.

Dragon Emperor0: Well I'd say Mystique is happy with how her future is looking, wouldn't you say?

ThermalsniperN7: Getting treated like a queen? Yeah, Sure has every right to be happy with her future. Same goes for Johan and Bast. They're gonna be parents!

Dragon Emperor0: I can only imagine just how that baby is gonna turn out.

ThermalsniperN7: Probably a badass like its father. That might be a given. Anyway, see you guys next time.