What? You guys don't like this? I guess I'll quit after this... wait, wait, wait... when has that stopped me before? HA! This chapter's title works on more than one level... more on that later. Oh, and excuse the grammar.
Chapter Four - Traitors
"WOOHOOOOO!" Tabitha Smith yelled from the roof of a ruined building in Northern Mexico. Tabitha was pretty much the same as our version, except with less responsibility. She tossed several marble-sized bombs into the air and watched them explode like tiny fireworks. The fire remained in the air and grouped into a large fireball, which turned into a dancing clown. On the street, a thin man with long, wiry red hair laughed like a lunatic. The dancing clown jumped all over the street, setting fire to everything it touched.
"Hahaha! YEAH! Tabby, baby! Hook me up with some more of that fire!" Johnny Allerdyce yelled. It was no coincidence that his nickname was Pyro. Tabby threw several more bombs into the air and detonated them. When Pyro collected the flames, Evan Daniels called to him.
"Pyro! Set it here!" Evan created a pole-length spike from his arm. Evan's thick black hair was tied into long dreadlocks, which he swung around freely. Pyro set fire to Evan's bone spike and he twirled it around like a fire dancer. After a few seconds, it got too hot for him.
"HAHAHAHAHA! Burnt fingers are no fun, eh mate?" Pyro removed the flames and made them swirl towards the sky as Tabby cheered.
A block away, Scott and Wanda watched as the trio of street urchins partied in the street.
"You think they can help us?" Scott asked.
"I don't know… I'm almost afraid to ask… I guess we have no other choice. Hey there!" Wanda called.
"Hey, we got company!" Pyro yelled. "G'day, strangers!"
"Hello. I'm Wanda, this is Scott."
"Pleased to meet ya both! That tight little package up there is Tabby, and this jackass is Boner!"
"Hey, you forgot to introduce yourself, Flamer!"
"Uh… listen… where are we?"
"I dunno," Pyro stopped to think for a moment. "Come to think of it, we have no idea where the Hell we are."
"Mexico, man," Evan said. "We found that stash of tequila last night, remember?"
"Oh yeah, I remember! Hey, which one of us nailed Tabby?"
"You both did!" Tabby yelled. They all laughed.
"Look," Scott said, "I'm going to be honest here. You're all idiots. C'mon, we'll find our own way back."
"Not a good idea!" Tabby yelled. "These parts aren't too safe anymore. Gotta travel in numbers if you want to stay alive!"
"Yeah, and there's so many bloody corpses around here that it's just the three of us! Those corpses ain't bloody, they're all burnt and crispy! I just say bloody 'cuz I'm a bloody Aussie!" Somehow, this was funny to them.
"Just what's so dangerous here that it's taken the entire population but spared you three idiots?"
"Something that likes mutants," Tabby said. "Apocalypse's guys ran through here and killed everyone except the mutants. We just kinda wandered here!" Evan ducked into an alley, but didn't go unnoticed by Pyro and Tabby.
"Aw, he still sad?"
"Still sad that his auntie's a slave to Apocalypse?"
"SHUT UP!" Evan yelled.
"'Auntie O! Auntie O!'" Pyro teased.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP PYRO!" Evan ran back out of the alley, covered in bone spikes. He fired them all at Pyro. One of them stabbed him in the shoulder and another in the knee. "YOU JUST DON'T KNOW WHEN TO QUIT LAUGHING, DO YOU?!"
"Hey, chill, Spyke!" Tabby yelled. "We're just teasing!"
"Some teasing!"
"Aw, don't take it personal, mate," Pyro told him, pulling the spikes out. He didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, it seemed to Wanda that this happened very often. "We know what you're going through, but what do you want us to do, mope around and be all depressed and shit about all this? Nah, mate! We gotta have a sense of humor!"
"Right, right…" Evan took a deep breath. "Scott, Wanda… I get your names right?" They nodded. "Yeah, we're going north later, seeing if we can make it to Texas or something. You guys can tag along if you want."
"No thanks, we-"
"Thanks, we won't be too much trouble," Wanda interrupted. Scott glared at her. Again.
"Excuse me, but you don't own me, Wanda. You can stay with these idiots, I'm finding my own way back."
"Scott, wait!" Scott ignored her. The trio continued their little late night fireworks as Wanda watched Scott walk away into the night.
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"Any sign, Ariel?" Jean asked through her radio. The X-Men, along with Kurt, Toad and Rogue, had set out to look for their missing teammate and brother, respectively. They had all split off in different directions. There wasn't anyone near Jean for at least half a mile.
"Nothing…" Kate answered.
"This isn't looking good," Alex said. "We've been looking for three hours! We should've found something by now!"
"Take it easy," Rogue said to him. "If Wanda's with Scott, then they'll be okay."
"Whoa, get a load of this!" Toad yelled. "I found someone's bike…" Toad hopped around the corner and saw the burnt wreckage of the second motorcycle. "Found th' second one."
"Any signs?" Alex asked.
"Uh… yeah. First bike looks like it fell over. Second bike… looks like it kinda got blown up."
"Blown up?!" Kate cried. Everyone could hear her breathing heavily.
"Relax, Kate, it must've been some kind of accident… Toad, anything else around there?"
"Yeah. Someone dropped their radio. I-YIPE!"
"Toad? Toad?!"
"Er… ow. Sorry. This trash can here's got tons of static on it. Lemme see if th' radio works… er, stand by." Toad clicked it on. "Testing, testing… testing, testing…"
"Set it to channel 2."
"Testing, testing…"
"I'm not hearing anything."
"Thing's busted then," Toad said through his working radio. "Man, I'm gettin' outta here… I can't touch anything here without gettin' zapped!"
"Wait," Freddy chimed in. "The radio's not working, and there's static everywhere?" Freddy thought for a moment. "Something shorted it out. Any electronics around there?"
"Nothin' else here."
"Berzerker… alright, everyone regroup. Magneto's not going to like this."
"No, he won't," Mesmero said. Dressed in a heavy black robe with red markings on his face, Mesmero had somehow appeared out of thin air. A wave of his hand later, Freddy found the world spinning and going black…
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Pietro cursed himself. How could he have been so stupid? Wolverine had led Pietro, along with Rahne, Cannonball and Gambit into the chamber, telling them it was a hiding place. The moment they were inside, Wolverine locked the door and Mastermind confused them while he confined them with chains.
"How could you do this to us?!"
"Shut up, Cannonball. You kids'll thank me later."
"Under the rule of Apocalypse, the world will be a better place," Mastermind said. The only one not struggling to break free from the chains was Gambit. It seemed that he had accepted his fate.
"That's not all, is it?" Pietro asked. "Why aren't you taking us to him now? You're waiting for something."
"W-we're waiting for him to arrive."
"HA! You just made that up! Thought I couldn't detect that little pause?" Wolverine sighed and popped the claws out of his knuckles. He pointed them right at Pietro's face and grinned.
"Not that it matters now, huh? How do you expect to get out of here anyway?"
"Like this!" Gambit yelled. One of the chain links exploded, and the others followed in a chain reaction… so to speak. He grabbed the chains holding Cannonball and charged them as well. Wolverine rushed to stop him before he could help Rahne, who was next in line, but enough of the links had broken away for Cannonball to ram Wolverine into the metal wall, leaving a man-sized dent. Despite his strength, the blow was too much for Wolverine. He dropped to the floor, groaning. With his partner out of commission, it was all up to Mastermind.
"Wolverine!" Gambit yelled. He took a playing card from his coat and threw it at Cannonball. Rahne changed into her wolf form and pounced on Cannonball. Only his armor kept her from delivering a lethal bite.
"Fun time's over, Mastermind!" Pietro managed to see through the illusion and ran for him. Cannonball flew in his way, and soon the others followed.
"You're gonna pay, Wolverine!" Rahne threatened him.
"Hey! I'm not Wolv… oh, right, Mastermind…" Pietro dashed around the chamber, avoiding playing cards, fangs, and high-impact tackles. One of Cannonball's assaults left a giant dent in the chamber door. Pietro had an idea.
"I'm feeling tired!" Pietro lied. "Guess I better stop and catch my breath."
"GOTCHA!" Gambit flipped a full deck of cards in Pietro's direction. He zoomed away and watched the multitude of charged cards blast away at the door. Pietro slipped out and down the Sentinel factory before they could realize what had happened.
It didn't feel right leaving the others behind, but Pietro had no choice. If Mastermind's spells were affecting them, then there was no way he could help. He sprinted for the door, carefully not to run so slow that the human workers could see him.
"Thank God! The Colonel got us an air conditioner!"
"About time!"
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"They what?!" Magneto yelled. His voice echoed through the metal halls. "No, no! This can't be! How could this happen?!"
"Hey, settle down!" Forge cowered as metal objects flew in every direction. "I told you, I've found Mesmero's trace there. All we have to do is find him!"
"You IDIOT! Have you ever DEALT with Mesmero?!"
"Magnus, at least Mesmero is unaffiliated! After he was tossed aside by Apocalypse, all he cares about is stealing junk off the street…"
"That's not the point, Forge! He's brainwashed my students! I will not tolerate this!"
"Quit your whining, Magnus!" Mystique yelled. "You've awoken Kevin."
"Who in blazes is Kevin?!"
"The child! Everyone needs a name, you know."
"Mystique, Mesmero has your children as well! They could be anywhere!"
"Then let's find them!"
"IT'S NOT THAT EASY!" Magneto slammed his fist against the wall in rage. His hand remained there until he was calm enough to think clearly. "Forge, your mutant detector… what kind of range does it have?"
"…About a hundred miles."
"Use it. Report your findings to me." Forge flipped the main switch of a large device with several cables running along the wall. The machine was easily four times Forge's height, but it was the most efficient design he could come up with. He figured that a month later he would be able to come up with a smaller version. The main screen lit up and displayed a radar map with two red dots right in the center, and then two orange ones next to them.
"That's us and the baby… orange one's Magnus, since he's enhanced… wait, there's another orange one…"
"Forget that. Is there nobody else?" Mystique asked.
"Hold on, it's still running… might take a few minutes to work its magic." A few seconds later, eight red dots appeared fifty miles south of the Institute. Four orange spots appeared next to them, and then disappeared. The screen whined and then exploded, and the machine shut down.
"What happened?"
"I don't know… it picked up four enhanced signals, but something blew the damn thing… but there should have been three red mutants on the screen, and just one orange one… Mystique, you're not enhanced, are you?"
"No, I'm norm… oh…" Mystique looked down at baby Kevin. "No, it couldn't be. Not at his age."
"Mutants don't usually show up as mutants until their teens," Forge explained. "I mean, the baby being a mutant already was a surprise in itself. Someone must've exposed him to a Cyttorak gem."
"Apocalypse," Magneto said. "It all makes sense now. He had plans for the child. He sent his agents to make sure nobody else got to him. Why he didn't order them to take him with them is what I am wondering."
Magneto, Mystique and Forge looked at baby Kevin, then exchanged worried glances.
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The old castle in Northern Germany was dead that night. Various mutants walked around it, guarding the ground and keeping watch in the towers, but even with the activity, it seemed dead. Dark, quiet, foggy…
"I hope that you are pleased," Mastermind said as he bowed. The tall, powerful mutant En Sabah Nuhr, Apocalypse, nodded to the smaller man. Apocalypse wore thick, dark blue armor on him and black robes over them. He had no hair, and his skin was a gray color with dark blue markings. His eyes glowed an eerie yellow, and his imposing appearance was made even more unsettling by the look of disappointment on his face. Wolverine and Mastermind, both bowing humbly to their master and unable to see his face in their position, waited for his answer.
"Very displeased," Apocalypse bellowed. His servants could not hide the look of terror in their faces. Not that Apocalypse needed to see their faces to know this. "Quicksilver?"
"He… he escaped. I tried to stop him, but my illusions no longer work on him."
"His mind powers are growing," Wolverine said. "He can't be fooled."
"Wolverine? Why did you not take action?"
"I was busy with the other three, master… they are tough mutants. They will serve you well."
"Yes. They will," Apocalypse said. It was clearly a command, not an assumption. Wolverine and Mastermind remained at Apocalypse's feet.
"Rise." They stood, but did not look at Apocalypse's face. "I am putting you in charge of the new shipment." Apocalypse motioned towards the stone stairway, where Mesmero stood with a look of satisfaction on his face. Apocalypse turned to his other two slavers and smiled wickedly.
Elsewhere in the castle, the gray-furred Beast had set up another series of advancers. Each of the X-Men stood within a glass tube. Kate Pryde, Marie Darkholme, Freddy Dukes, Jean Grey, Todd Darkholme, Kurt Darkholme, and Alex Summers, all lined up.
"Today is the greatest day of your lives!" Beast announced. "Today, you join the ranks of the few, the proud, the elite!"
The nullification devices were in effect. Kate and Kurt tried to escape, but received electric shocks instead of freedom. Freddy pounded away, but he was weakened by the machine.
"Where is Magneto?" Apocalypse asked Mesmero.
"I… Magneto will come to us, master. He will not abandon his precious X-Men."
"I hope so. If Magneto is not in my possession soon, I will use you as kindling for my fire." Apocalypse nodded to Beast. All seven machines were activated and began to charge up.
"Oh my… master, there is a problem! Shall I shut down?"
"Shut down?" Apocalypse was displeased. "After you do that, I expect a good explanation for it."
"Yes, master." The machines stopped and returned to their normal setting. "The boy's belt… it's holding him back. If the machine is to work properly, it will have to be removed."
"The boy has no control over his power. The belt remains."
"The belt will cause a severe malfunction."
"Then the boy will not be advanced." The tube opened, and Alex was free. "Havok. You are free to go."
"Master…?"
"Silence. Go, boy."
"I will… thank you." Alex turned back to his friends. Their faces told him that they didn't consider him the same. He mouthed something to Rogue.
'I'll get help.' Alex ran out of the castle as fast as he could.
"Shall I continue?" Beast asked.
"No. We will wait."
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Scott considered himself lucky. He had found an ice cream truck, so he was driving it in an arbitrary direction.
"AAAH! HEY!" Something had run in the way of Scott's ice cream truck and he swerved in response. When he finally stopped, he wondered why he had swerved when there was nothing else after the initial blur. He stepped out and looked around.
"Whoa, sorry about that!" the silver-haired Pietro apologized after zipping back to him. "I'm just in a bit of a hurry!"
"Wait, wait, wait… you're the first person I've seen since yesterday. Who are you and why are you so damn fast?"
"Pietro," Pietro quickly shook Scott's hand, "I'm a mutant… gotta go!"
"HEY! Wait, you little spaz! I'm Scott! Where are you going?"
"I… I dunno! I'm just running in an arbitrary direction and hoping I find som… oh. Yeah, so where are you going?"
"I don't know, but I need to get in touch with my family. They're all the way in New Zealand with what's-his-face, and I'm in… I guess this is North America."
"New Zealand? …You're looking for Magneto, aren't you?!"
"I guess… guy's an uptight asshole, but my family's staying with him."
"In that case, I can't help you. Later!"
"Hold it!" Pietro started to run, but Scott was quick with an optic blast. "I said wait, fucker! You know Magneto, so you're gonna help me find him!"
"No way! You're on your own!" Pietro scrambled, but Scott hit him again. "C'mon! Cut that out!"
"You're gonna help me whether you like it or not!"
"Look…" Pietro stood up and dusted himself off. "If you have to know, Magneto happens to be my father, and I don't like him any more than you do, so let's-"
"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I CARE?! You stupid Lehnsherr kids are all so fucking dramatic! Your sister's hanging out with a bunch of lunatics in Mexico, and we gotta go back for her."
"You left Wanda with a bunch of street thugs?!"
"It was a mistake, okay?! We all make mistakes! We're only mutants!"
"Okay, I'll help you find Wanda, but I am NOT getting involved with that worthless clown! Got it?!"
"Yeah, I got it. Climb in." Pietro sat next to Scott, and they began to drive south… at least, Pietro told him it was south. "Oh yeah, and you need to work on your insults."
"Bite me."
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Wanda sat up against the plain wall inside an abandoned apartment complex. She had been given a sleeping bag, but she couldn't sleep. Evan slept in a pile of blankets in the corner, occasionally snoring. Tabby slept in Pyro's arms across the room in a larger sleeping bag, holding an empty beer bottle in one hand.
Wanda wondered where Scott was. She knew he was stubborn, but she doubted he would go long without realizing he had made a mistake. Not that she was in the best of situations.
"Why do you have to be so difficult?" she whispered.
Wanda heard something… a whisper. She kept low and kept her hands up. A young boy entered the room, moving slowly to avoid making any noise. Two others followed him, then three more. They all looked exactly the same.
The first boy slipped his hands into the sleeping bag shared by Pyro and Tabby. He pulled out a bag of something… it looked like potato chips. The second and third boys dug through Evan's blankets. They found nothing. The next three were on their way towards Wanda.
"Thieves!" Wanda waved her hands, and all but one boy disappeared. Her cry awoke the others. Evan jumped up and covered himself in spikes and Tabby held two bombs in each hand. Pyro approached the boy and held him up in the air.
"What's up, Jamie? Looking for some loose change?"
"No sir… I just wanted some food…"
"Food's ours, kiddy! Finders keepers, that's the law!"
"But I can't find anything on my own!"
"Too bad. Out."
"Wait," Wanda said. "Jamie, where are your parents?"
"Dead. The Horsemen got them."
"C'mon, guys. Don't be so hard on him."
"You don't know him," Evan said. "He sees a new girl and plays innocent."
"Get outta here!" Pyro threw him on the floor. Jamie's eyes were filled with tears. He held them back as best as he could and stood up.
"Jamie, wait!" Wanda said. "Stay with us. Who knows what you'll find out there."
"Are you insane?!" Tabby yelled. "This kid's dangerous!"
"Isn't that what 'normal' people said about the rest of us? If we judge him before we even get to know him, then we're no better than Trask."
"Fine! Let the kid stay," Pyro yelled. "But if anything goes wrong, we're throwing BOTH of you out on the street!"
'Not that the street is any different from here,' Wanda thought. "C'mon, Jamie. You can sleep in my bag."
"Really? Are you sure?"
"It's no problem." Jamie smiled and quickly got in the sleeping bag with Wanda. The others settled down as well, but kept their eye on him. As Wanda drifted to sleep, Jamie gave the others a devilish grin.
"Good night," he said.
So now we've got more characters in. What was up with those orange dots? What did Apocalypse have planned for baby Kevin? What does Apocalypse have planned for X-Force? Why did Apocalypse let Alex go? What's that little bastard Multiple up to? More questions!! Also... notice how Trask's name is mentioned so often, but he hasn't actually appeared yet? That'll be fixed soon.
Chapter Four - Traitors
"WOOHOOOOO!" Tabitha Smith yelled from the roof of a ruined building in Northern Mexico. Tabitha was pretty much the same as our version, except with less responsibility. She tossed several marble-sized bombs into the air and watched them explode like tiny fireworks. The fire remained in the air and grouped into a large fireball, which turned into a dancing clown. On the street, a thin man with long, wiry red hair laughed like a lunatic. The dancing clown jumped all over the street, setting fire to everything it touched.
"Hahaha! YEAH! Tabby, baby! Hook me up with some more of that fire!" Johnny Allerdyce yelled. It was no coincidence that his nickname was Pyro. Tabby threw several more bombs into the air and detonated them. When Pyro collected the flames, Evan Daniels called to him.
"Pyro! Set it here!" Evan created a pole-length spike from his arm. Evan's thick black hair was tied into long dreadlocks, which he swung around freely. Pyro set fire to Evan's bone spike and he twirled it around like a fire dancer. After a few seconds, it got too hot for him.
"HAHAHAHAHA! Burnt fingers are no fun, eh mate?" Pyro removed the flames and made them swirl towards the sky as Tabby cheered.
A block away, Scott and Wanda watched as the trio of street urchins partied in the street.
"You think they can help us?" Scott asked.
"I don't know… I'm almost afraid to ask… I guess we have no other choice. Hey there!" Wanda called.
"Hey, we got company!" Pyro yelled. "G'day, strangers!"
"Hello. I'm Wanda, this is Scott."
"Pleased to meet ya both! That tight little package up there is Tabby, and this jackass is Boner!"
"Hey, you forgot to introduce yourself, Flamer!"
"Uh… listen… where are we?"
"I dunno," Pyro stopped to think for a moment. "Come to think of it, we have no idea where the Hell we are."
"Mexico, man," Evan said. "We found that stash of tequila last night, remember?"
"Oh yeah, I remember! Hey, which one of us nailed Tabby?"
"You both did!" Tabby yelled. They all laughed.
"Look," Scott said, "I'm going to be honest here. You're all idiots. C'mon, we'll find our own way back."
"Not a good idea!" Tabby yelled. "These parts aren't too safe anymore. Gotta travel in numbers if you want to stay alive!"
"Yeah, and there's so many bloody corpses around here that it's just the three of us! Those corpses ain't bloody, they're all burnt and crispy! I just say bloody 'cuz I'm a bloody Aussie!" Somehow, this was funny to them.
"Just what's so dangerous here that it's taken the entire population but spared you three idiots?"
"Something that likes mutants," Tabby said. "Apocalypse's guys ran through here and killed everyone except the mutants. We just kinda wandered here!" Evan ducked into an alley, but didn't go unnoticed by Pyro and Tabby.
"Aw, he still sad?"
"Still sad that his auntie's a slave to Apocalypse?"
"SHUT UP!" Evan yelled.
"'Auntie O! Auntie O!'" Pyro teased.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP PYRO!" Evan ran back out of the alley, covered in bone spikes. He fired them all at Pyro. One of them stabbed him in the shoulder and another in the knee. "YOU JUST DON'T KNOW WHEN TO QUIT LAUGHING, DO YOU?!"
"Hey, chill, Spyke!" Tabby yelled. "We're just teasing!"
"Some teasing!"
"Aw, don't take it personal, mate," Pyro told him, pulling the spikes out. He didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, it seemed to Wanda that this happened very often. "We know what you're going through, but what do you want us to do, mope around and be all depressed and shit about all this? Nah, mate! We gotta have a sense of humor!"
"Right, right…" Evan took a deep breath. "Scott, Wanda… I get your names right?" They nodded. "Yeah, we're going north later, seeing if we can make it to Texas or something. You guys can tag along if you want."
"No thanks, we-"
"Thanks, we won't be too much trouble," Wanda interrupted. Scott glared at her. Again.
"Excuse me, but you don't own me, Wanda. You can stay with these idiots, I'm finding my own way back."
"Scott, wait!" Scott ignored her. The trio continued their little late night fireworks as Wanda watched Scott walk away into the night.
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"Any sign, Ariel?" Jean asked through her radio. The X-Men, along with Kurt, Toad and Rogue, had set out to look for their missing teammate and brother, respectively. They had all split off in different directions. There wasn't anyone near Jean for at least half a mile.
"Nothing…" Kate answered.
"This isn't looking good," Alex said. "We've been looking for three hours! We should've found something by now!"
"Take it easy," Rogue said to him. "If Wanda's with Scott, then they'll be okay."
"Whoa, get a load of this!" Toad yelled. "I found someone's bike…" Toad hopped around the corner and saw the burnt wreckage of the second motorcycle. "Found th' second one."
"Any signs?" Alex asked.
"Uh… yeah. First bike looks like it fell over. Second bike… looks like it kinda got blown up."
"Blown up?!" Kate cried. Everyone could hear her breathing heavily.
"Relax, Kate, it must've been some kind of accident… Toad, anything else around there?"
"Yeah. Someone dropped their radio. I-YIPE!"
"Toad? Toad?!"
"Er… ow. Sorry. This trash can here's got tons of static on it. Lemme see if th' radio works… er, stand by." Toad clicked it on. "Testing, testing… testing, testing…"
"Set it to channel 2."
"Testing, testing…"
"I'm not hearing anything."
"Thing's busted then," Toad said through his working radio. "Man, I'm gettin' outta here… I can't touch anything here without gettin' zapped!"
"Wait," Freddy chimed in. "The radio's not working, and there's static everywhere?" Freddy thought for a moment. "Something shorted it out. Any electronics around there?"
"Nothin' else here."
"Berzerker… alright, everyone regroup. Magneto's not going to like this."
"No, he won't," Mesmero said. Dressed in a heavy black robe with red markings on his face, Mesmero had somehow appeared out of thin air. A wave of his hand later, Freddy found the world spinning and going black…
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Pietro cursed himself. How could he have been so stupid? Wolverine had led Pietro, along with Rahne, Cannonball and Gambit into the chamber, telling them it was a hiding place. The moment they were inside, Wolverine locked the door and Mastermind confused them while he confined them with chains.
"How could you do this to us?!"
"Shut up, Cannonball. You kids'll thank me later."
"Under the rule of Apocalypse, the world will be a better place," Mastermind said. The only one not struggling to break free from the chains was Gambit. It seemed that he had accepted his fate.
"That's not all, is it?" Pietro asked. "Why aren't you taking us to him now? You're waiting for something."
"W-we're waiting for him to arrive."
"HA! You just made that up! Thought I couldn't detect that little pause?" Wolverine sighed and popped the claws out of his knuckles. He pointed them right at Pietro's face and grinned.
"Not that it matters now, huh? How do you expect to get out of here anyway?"
"Like this!" Gambit yelled. One of the chain links exploded, and the others followed in a chain reaction… so to speak. He grabbed the chains holding Cannonball and charged them as well. Wolverine rushed to stop him before he could help Rahne, who was next in line, but enough of the links had broken away for Cannonball to ram Wolverine into the metal wall, leaving a man-sized dent. Despite his strength, the blow was too much for Wolverine. He dropped to the floor, groaning. With his partner out of commission, it was all up to Mastermind.
"Wolverine!" Gambit yelled. He took a playing card from his coat and threw it at Cannonball. Rahne changed into her wolf form and pounced on Cannonball. Only his armor kept her from delivering a lethal bite.
"Fun time's over, Mastermind!" Pietro managed to see through the illusion and ran for him. Cannonball flew in his way, and soon the others followed.
"You're gonna pay, Wolverine!" Rahne threatened him.
"Hey! I'm not Wolv… oh, right, Mastermind…" Pietro dashed around the chamber, avoiding playing cards, fangs, and high-impact tackles. One of Cannonball's assaults left a giant dent in the chamber door. Pietro had an idea.
"I'm feeling tired!" Pietro lied. "Guess I better stop and catch my breath."
"GOTCHA!" Gambit flipped a full deck of cards in Pietro's direction. He zoomed away and watched the multitude of charged cards blast away at the door. Pietro slipped out and down the Sentinel factory before they could realize what had happened.
It didn't feel right leaving the others behind, but Pietro had no choice. If Mastermind's spells were affecting them, then there was no way he could help. He sprinted for the door, carefully not to run so slow that the human workers could see him.
"Thank God! The Colonel got us an air conditioner!"
"About time!"
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"They what?!" Magneto yelled. His voice echoed through the metal halls. "No, no! This can't be! How could this happen?!"
"Hey, settle down!" Forge cowered as metal objects flew in every direction. "I told you, I've found Mesmero's trace there. All we have to do is find him!"
"You IDIOT! Have you ever DEALT with Mesmero?!"
"Magnus, at least Mesmero is unaffiliated! After he was tossed aside by Apocalypse, all he cares about is stealing junk off the street…"
"That's not the point, Forge! He's brainwashed my students! I will not tolerate this!"
"Quit your whining, Magnus!" Mystique yelled. "You've awoken Kevin."
"Who in blazes is Kevin?!"
"The child! Everyone needs a name, you know."
"Mystique, Mesmero has your children as well! They could be anywhere!"
"Then let's find them!"
"IT'S NOT THAT EASY!" Magneto slammed his fist against the wall in rage. His hand remained there until he was calm enough to think clearly. "Forge, your mutant detector… what kind of range does it have?"
"…About a hundred miles."
"Use it. Report your findings to me." Forge flipped the main switch of a large device with several cables running along the wall. The machine was easily four times Forge's height, but it was the most efficient design he could come up with. He figured that a month later he would be able to come up with a smaller version. The main screen lit up and displayed a radar map with two red dots right in the center, and then two orange ones next to them.
"That's us and the baby… orange one's Magnus, since he's enhanced… wait, there's another orange one…"
"Forget that. Is there nobody else?" Mystique asked.
"Hold on, it's still running… might take a few minutes to work its magic." A few seconds later, eight red dots appeared fifty miles south of the Institute. Four orange spots appeared next to them, and then disappeared. The screen whined and then exploded, and the machine shut down.
"What happened?"
"I don't know… it picked up four enhanced signals, but something blew the damn thing… but there should have been three red mutants on the screen, and just one orange one… Mystique, you're not enhanced, are you?"
"No, I'm norm… oh…" Mystique looked down at baby Kevin. "No, it couldn't be. Not at his age."
"Mutants don't usually show up as mutants until their teens," Forge explained. "I mean, the baby being a mutant already was a surprise in itself. Someone must've exposed him to a Cyttorak gem."
"Apocalypse," Magneto said. "It all makes sense now. He had plans for the child. He sent his agents to make sure nobody else got to him. Why he didn't order them to take him with them is what I am wondering."
Magneto, Mystique and Forge looked at baby Kevin, then exchanged worried glances.
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The old castle in Northern Germany was dead that night. Various mutants walked around it, guarding the ground and keeping watch in the towers, but even with the activity, it seemed dead. Dark, quiet, foggy…
"I hope that you are pleased," Mastermind said as he bowed. The tall, powerful mutant En Sabah Nuhr, Apocalypse, nodded to the smaller man. Apocalypse wore thick, dark blue armor on him and black robes over them. He had no hair, and his skin was a gray color with dark blue markings. His eyes glowed an eerie yellow, and his imposing appearance was made even more unsettling by the look of disappointment on his face. Wolverine and Mastermind, both bowing humbly to their master and unable to see his face in their position, waited for his answer.
"Very displeased," Apocalypse bellowed. His servants could not hide the look of terror in their faces. Not that Apocalypse needed to see their faces to know this. "Quicksilver?"
"He… he escaped. I tried to stop him, but my illusions no longer work on him."
"His mind powers are growing," Wolverine said. "He can't be fooled."
"Wolverine? Why did you not take action?"
"I was busy with the other three, master… they are tough mutants. They will serve you well."
"Yes. They will," Apocalypse said. It was clearly a command, not an assumption. Wolverine and Mastermind remained at Apocalypse's feet.
"Rise." They stood, but did not look at Apocalypse's face. "I am putting you in charge of the new shipment." Apocalypse motioned towards the stone stairway, where Mesmero stood with a look of satisfaction on his face. Apocalypse turned to his other two slavers and smiled wickedly.
Elsewhere in the castle, the gray-furred Beast had set up another series of advancers. Each of the X-Men stood within a glass tube. Kate Pryde, Marie Darkholme, Freddy Dukes, Jean Grey, Todd Darkholme, Kurt Darkholme, and Alex Summers, all lined up.
"Today is the greatest day of your lives!" Beast announced. "Today, you join the ranks of the few, the proud, the elite!"
The nullification devices were in effect. Kate and Kurt tried to escape, but received electric shocks instead of freedom. Freddy pounded away, but he was weakened by the machine.
"Where is Magneto?" Apocalypse asked Mesmero.
"I… Magneto will come to us, master. He will not abandon his precious X-Men."
"I hope so. If Magneto is not in my possession soon, I will use you as kindling for my fire." Apocalypse nodded to Beast. All seven machines were activated and began to charge up.
"Oh my… master, there is a problem! Shall I shut down?"
"Shut down?" Apocalypse was displeased. "After you do that, I expect a good explanation for it."
"Yes, master." The machines stopped and returned to their normal setting. "The boy's belt… it's holding him back. If the machine is to work properly, it will have to be removed."
"The boy has no control over his power. The belt remains."
"The belt will cause a severe malfunction."
"Then the boy will not be advanced." The tube opened, and Alex was free. "Havok. You are free to go."
"Master…?"
"Silence. Go, boy."
"I will… thank you." Alex turned back to his friends. Their faces told him that they didn't consider him the same. He mouthed something to Rogue.
'I'll get help.' Alex ran out of the castle as fast as he could.
"Shall I continue?" Beast asked.
"No. We will wait."
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Scott considered himself lucky. He had found an ice cream truck, so he was driving it in an arbitrary direction.
"AAAH! HEY!" Something had run in the way of Scott's ice cream truck and he swerved in response. When he finally stopped, he wondered why he had swerved when there was nothing else after the initial blur. He stepped out and looked around.
"Whoa, sorry about that!" the silver-haired Pietro apologized after zipping back to him. "I'm just in a bit of a hurry!"
"Wait, wait, wait… you're the first person I've seen since yesterday. Who are you and why are you so damn fast?"
"Pietro," Pietro quickly shook Scott's hand, "I'm a mutant… gotta go!"
"HEY! Wait, you little spaz! I'm Scott! Where are you going?"
"I… I dunno! I'm just running in an arbitrary direction and hoping I find som… oh. Yeah, so where are you going?"
"I don't know, but I need to get in touch with my family. They're all the way in New Zealand with what's-his-face, and I'm in… I guess this is North America."
"New Zealand? …You're looking for Magneto, aren't you?!"
"I guess… guy's an uptight asshole, but my family's staying with him."
"In that case, I can't help you. Later!"
"Hold it!" Pietro started to run, but Scott was quick with an optic blast. "I said wait, fucker! You know Magneto, so you're gonna help me find him!"
"No way! You're on your own!" Pietro scrambled, but Scott hit him again. "C'mon! Cut that out!"
"You're gonna help me whether you like it or not!"
"Look…" Pietro stood up and dusted himself off. "If you have to know, Magneto happens to be my father, and I don't like him any more than you do, so let's-"
"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I CARE?! You stupid Lehnsherr kids are all so fucking dramatic! Your sister's hanging out with a bunch of lunatics in Mexico, and we gotta go back for her."
"You left Wanda with a bunch of street thugs?!"
"It was a mistake, okay?! We all make mistakes! We're only mutants!"
"Okay, I'll help you find Wanda, but I am NOT getting involved with that worthless clown! Got it?!"
"Yeah, I got it. Climb in." Pietro sat next to Scott, and they began to drive south… at least, Pietro told him it was south. "Oh yeah, and you need to work on your insults."
"Bite me."
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Wanda sat up against the plain wall inside an abandoned apartment complex. She had been given a sleeping bag, but she couldn't sleep. Evan slept in a pile of blankets in the corner, occasionally snoring. Tabby slept in Pyro's arms across the room in a larger sleeping bag, holding an empty beer bottle in one hand.
Wanda wondered where Scott was. She knew he was stubborn, but she doubted he would go long without realizing he had made a mistake. Not that she was in the best of situations.
"Why do you have to be so difficult?" she whispered.
Wanda heard something… a whisper. She kept low and kept her hands up. A young boy entered the room, moving slowly to avoid making any noise. Two others followed him, then three more. They all looked exactly the same.
The first boy slipped his hands into the sleeping bag shared by Pyro and Tabby. He pulled out a bag of something… it looked like potato chips. The second and third boys dug through Evan's blankets. They found nothing. The next three were on their way towards Wanda.
"Thieves!" Wanda waved her hands, and all but one boy disappeared. Her cry awoke the others. Evan jumped up and covered himself in spikes and Tabby held two bombs in each hand. Pyro approached the boy and held him up in the air.
"What's up, Jamie? Looking for some loose change?"
"No sir… I just wanted some food…"
"Food's ours, kiddy! Finders keepers, that's the law!"
"But I can't find anything on my own!"
"Too bad. Out."
"Wait," Wanda said. "Jamie, where are your parents?"
"Dead. The Horsemen got them."
"C'mon, guys. Don't be so hard on him."
"You don't know him," Evan said. "He sees a new girl and plays innocent."
"Get outta here!" Pyro threw him on the floor. Jamie's eyes were filled with tears. He held them back as best as he could and stood up.
"Jamie, wait!" Wanda said. "Stay with us. Who knows what you'll find out there."
"Are you insane?!" Tabby yelled. "This kid's dangerous!"
"Isn't that what 'normal' people said about the rest of us? If we judge him before we even get to know him, then we're no better than Trask."
"Fine! Let the kid stay," Pyro yelled. "But if anything goes wrong, we're throwing BOTH of you out on the street!"
'Not that the street is any different from here,' Wanda thought. "C'mon, Jamie. You can sleep in my bag."
"Really? Are you sure?"
"It's no problem." Jamie smiled and quickly got in the sleeping bag with Wanda. The others settled down as well, but kept their eye on him. As Wanda drifted to sleep, Jamie gave the others a devilish grin.
"Good night," he said.
So now we've got more characters in. What was up with those orange dots? What did Apocalypse have planned for baby Kevin? What does Apocalypse have planned for X-Force? Why did Apocalypse let Alex go? What's that little bastard Multiple up to? More questions!! Also... notice how Trask's name is mentioned so often, but he hasn't actually appeared yet? That'll be fixed soon.