Okay, okay, okay... THIS is the turning point in the story. After this chapter, things WILL get bloody. Those wondering where Mr. Sinister is... he's dead. Last chapter, he was called "the late Dr. Essex," so yeah, he's gone. But don't fret, kiddies! His journal lives on! I'll get to that eventually. Oh, and excuse the grammar.
Chapter Eight - The Drums of War
Scott sat back in his chair with his eyes closed. He wasn't anywhere near as calm as he looked, but he figured it was best not to tell Pietro and the pilot, Lucid.
"So where are you boys from?" Lucid asked.
"Reading," Pietro replied.
"I see. And you?"
"Napping."
"Ah. Yes, I've been to both those places, but I can't ever seem to stay as long as I'd like. We'll reach our destination in a few… ah. No…" Lucid looked at a display screen. "An hour. We'll be there in an hour."
"Pietro, what've you found?"
"I've found that this Essex guy is looney. He keeps talking about some Egyptian guy named En Sabah Nur. I thought this was supposed to be about Apocalypse."
"You idiot." Scott took the journal from Pietro's hands. "En Sabah Nur is Apocalypse's real name. Now let me see what else Dr. Essex knew." Pietro sighed and looked out the window. He noticed that they were flying over the ocean without a single mass of land visible for miles.
"Uh… where are we going?"
"Just got word from Ms. Callisto that Apocalypse has relocated. We're going to the Spanish base."
"Spain? Interesting. I've never been to Spain. Hey four-eyes, you think Spanish women would go for me?"
"No. Especially if there aren't any left."
"Gotta be some Spanish mutant chicks. Hey Lucid, you know how much of Spain's population is left?"
"Ah…" Lucid took a moment to think. "Not much, really, but I think it's all concentrated around Apocalypse's base."
"Just how many bases does this guy have?"
"Exactly seventy-two. There are six major bases, in Germany, Mexico, Spain, Thailand, Japan and Africa. There's a bit of a pattern, all his bases are in the north of a country. The biggest one is in Africa, he's got a very large concentration of troops there, and the second is Japan, but he rarely goes there. Japan and Spain seem to be prototypes for new mutant metropolises, since he's built small cities around both of his bases, but there aren't many actual troops in Spain. I myself have been to the Japanese center on various errands. The masters have a taste for foreign dishes, so I fly there and stock up on the necessary ingredients from time to time. We would grow a lot of the crop and livestock ourselves, but the climate in Ireland is just so different, we haven't managed anything."
"Yeah, thanks for the life story," Scott said, not looking away from the journal. "Lucid, you do any research on En Sabah Nur?"
"Not really, no. Not too interested in politics, myself. I'm just a simple servant, after all."
"Just say 'no' next time, huh?"
"Well, there is one thing I know about him, he likes psychological torture. He likes making his victims do weird things. Heard he once made a man kill his own mother."
"That isn't making this sound any easier," Pietro said. "I mean… Wanda."
"Yeah, Wanda…" Scott stared off into space for a moment. "Anyway, I better pay attention to this book." Pietro leaned back in his chair and went to sleep.
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General Trask walked through the Indian jungle, accompanied by twelve armed men. A path of damaged and fallen trees led him straight to the bloody graveyard of six of his own soldiers. Bullet holes lines the trees, but there was absolutely no sign of Sabretooth. Trask looked down at his men, some with deep gashes in their chests, some with entire arms and legs missing, one without a head, which didn't appear to be at the site.
"This is what we're fighting, gentlemen," Trask told his men. "Monsters, killing machines. Vicious animals incapable of reasoning, always taking violence over peace. If there was any doubt in your mind, this horrible act will surely remove it." Trask took a radio from his belt. "Arcade, status report."
"Hmm? Oh. It's done, General. Finished it about a minute ago."
"Already?"
"Yeah. It doesn't take long to install. I was going to use the rest if these three days to analyze it and send construction plans to the factories."
"Good, good." Several hours later, Trask stood inside one of the base's hangars with Arcade. The upgraded Sentinel head had been mounted on a jeep. Arcade had a control panel in his hands, connected to the Sentinel head by various wires and cables.
"Okay, it's ready to go," Arcade told the general.
"Good. Bring in the test subject." The side door opened, and young Private McGregor was brought in by two soldiers. "Private Doug McGregor, a wolf in sheep's clothing. Did you think you could sneak into our ranks unnoticed?"
"I'm not a mutant!" McGregor protested.
"But you are! The Sentinel even thinks so. What do you think it's going to do about that?" McGregor said nothing. "You know, it's funny. You were the one who retrieved the XT upgrade system from those mutant spies we had weeded out last month, and now, as you're revealed to be a spy yourself, you're about to become the first victim of the new Sentinel XT." Trask motioned for the guards to set McGregor free. "I am a reasonable man. You are free to use your mutations to defend yourself against the XT, and should you live, you are free to go."
"This isn't right, General. I didn't choose to be a mutant."
"And I wasn't given the choice to fight this war, but it has to be done. No, let us begin." The XT's head-mounted cannons appeared from the sides, but did not fire. "Defend yourself!"
"I don't know how!"
"Don't play dumb, mutant!" The XT fired a stream of bullets, hitting a crate behind McGregor and knocking him forward and onto the ground. McGregor stood up, but the XT's anti-mutant field stopped him, and he fell right back down again. There was a brief flash of light from him, but then it disappeared, and he lay motionless.
"The Sentinel isn't reading anything," Arcade said. "No brainwave pattern at all. It killed him."
"Good. Very good." A wide grin grew on Trask's face. A soldier went to McGregor's body to inspect it, but as he reached down, his hand passed right through. Moments later, the body faded away and disappeared completely. "What the devil?!" Trask yelled in outrage. "Where did he go?"
"Hmm… I've studied this. Dead mutants, particularly mutants with psionic abilities, have been known to leave mental imprints, sort of like ghost images. On rare occasions, psionic mutants disappear altogether when they die. A friend of mine calls it Psi-Ghosting."
"But… he is dead?"
"Yes. That was just an image imprint. We get him."
"Then that's good. Arcade, I am sending these XT models into mass production."
The factories in Canada and Saudi Arabia had downloaded the plans for the XT system and added it to a third of their Sentinels, as the resources necessary for the upgrade weren't readily available. The XT Sentinels were not painted the standard red color; only the black paint was added, leaving the parts that would be red a shiny silver color. This was Colonel Matthews's idea.
"You have found Apocalypse's stronghold?" Matthews asked.
"Northern Spain. He has many mutants with him."
"Even with this enhancement, I'm afraid it won't be enough," Matthews told Trask as they watched Sentinels being assembled by workers and machines in the final staging area of the Canadian factory. "There are just too many of them."
"I'll admit I have my doubts, Colonel," Trask replied, "But this is our only chance. If these new Sentinels don't win the war, then humanity is finished."
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"WHAT?!" Mystique yelled. They had returned to the Institute as Magneto had requested, and Forge had to break the news to Mystique about Kurt's condition. Toad took baby Kevin as Mystique wrecked whatever she could in Forge's lab. "HOW COULD HE DO THIS?! MAGNETO BETTER BE DEAD, BECAUSE IF I SEE HIM AGAIN I WILL RIP HIS SKIN FROM HIS BODY!"
"Raven, please…"
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE FORGE?! OF COURSE YOU DON'T! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!"
"Raven, this wasn't what Magneto had in mind. He's probably been captured himself, maybe even killed. We can't panic right now!"
"I think it's better if we let her work her anger out," Toad said. He left the lab with Forge and baby Kevin as Mystique continued to pound and kick anything she could. When most of Forge's machinery had been destroyed, she fell to the ground and her anger became sorrow.
From the hallway, the others could hear Mystique sobbing. It had been a rough day for Forge. Having lost most of his teammates and his leader, and then tell Mystique about her son's mutation. The only luck he had was with Freddy. A further inspection revealed that he would live, but would not recover from his injuries. Though Jean was visibly distraught, Forge could tell that she was happy that he would live. Pyro, Evan, Rogue and Kate sat in the cafeteria, having themselves some leftovers.
"Well, it looks like I'm going to have to serve as acting leader," Forge said to them. "We'll have to wait a few days before we can get anything done. Mystique damaged most of my equipment, so I'll have to be in there making repairs."
"What about Tabby?" Pyro asked. "What happened to her?"
"I don't know, Pyro, but I'm not going to sugarcoat it. If Magneto didn't return, I doubt she found a better fate." Pyro nodded solemnly. Rogue took this to mean that Alex was included in his observation.
"They're probably slaves to Apocalypse," Evan said. "He likes to take the people you care about and poison their minds. Face it, we can't hold on to anything anymore."
"Don't talk like that," Forge told him. "We'll get them back, all of them. Even your aunt."
"How?!"
"I… I don't know yet, but we will." In the infirmary, Jean sat next to Freddy. She had requested to be left alone with him.
"So they told you," Freddy said dryly. His voice was slightly forced, as it was becoming difficult for him to breathe. "I won't be able to fight with you guys again."
"All that matters is that you're alive."
"I guess… I feel useless now. All I could give this team was some extra muscle, but now that's over."
"Freddy, you're far from useless. You're the only person who means anything to me anymore. If you're not going to stay with the X-Men, neither am I."
"You can't quit just for me, Jean. Magneto needs you. You gotta fight for Xavier's dream."
"Fuck Xavier's dream. Humans are pretty much gone. What are we fighting for now? It's useless."
"So you're just gonna give up? Listen, Jean. You need something to look forward to, even if it's not realistic." Freddy took a deep breath. "I know Xavier was crazy, and so is Magneto, but there's not much left. Apocalypse's destroyed everything else. If nothing else, just stay because you have nothing better to do."
"I'm only staying as long as you do."
"Then I guess I'm still an X-Man." Freddy smiled and rested his head against his pillow. Forge walked in through the metal door.
"Freddy needs to rest. Excuse us, Jean."
"Right," Jean watched Forge carefully as she left the room. As soon as she was gone, Forge's shape changed to that of Mystique.
"Er… Mystique?"
"Fred, what did you see at Apocalypse's castle?" Forge asked.
"He's advancing mutants, like that machine Magneto has. That's what he did to Kurt."
"Do you know if there's any way to reverse it?"
"Not really sure," Freddy said. "I think it might work like Magneto's machine. Counter-radiation reverses the effect, but it's hard to get it to work right. I remember Gambit volunteered for it a while back, but he decided he didn't like being enhanced. It'd be tricky to get Kurt to sit still."
"Yes…" Mystique looked at the x-rays on the light board. "He's grown strong."
"You don't to tell me that. I'm sorry this happened, Mystique."
"I'm sorry I agreed to this. I'm going to have to use the others to turn Kurt back to normal."
"What? How?" Mystique replied by morphing back into Forge.
"In Magneto's absence, I'm going to have to serve as acting leader. The rest of the X-Men will have to follow my orders, even if it means I have to send them to their deaths."
"Mystique, have you gone insane?! You can't do this!"
"I will, Fred. Magneto has cost me two of my children, one of which I can still save."
"You can't do that to them! They didn't do anything to you!"
"Get some sleep, Freddy," 'Forge' said, "You're delirious. I'll check back in the morning." 'Forge' went to the small IV bag attached to Freddy's arm (which was quite a difficult task to attach) and added a red fluid to it. Moments later, Freddy closed his eyes and drifted off into sleep.
"He was feeling some chest pains. I had to sedate him," 'Forge' told Jean, who was sitting in her room. "He should be alright in the morning."
"Thanks, Forge."
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Apocalypse sat on his throne in a Spanish palace, which served as his base. The Horseman Death, Archangel, approached him, kneeling before him with his metal wings folded behind him.
"You will go to New Zealand," Apocalypse said. His voiced echoed through the palace, and anyone not already intimidated by him shuttered. "The child is with them. Bring him to me, unharmed."
"And the others?" Archangel whispered.
"Do as you see fit."
"Yes, master." He stood up, wings still folded, and walked out of the throne room. "None shall stand in your way."
Apocalypse motioned for Archangel to begin his mission. He stood up, bowed his head, then turned to leave. As he walked through the palace's main hall, mutant toadies and slaves huddled away from the main passage and kept their heads lowered as Archangel walked past them with his wings spread a few feet from him. He was viewed as a symbol of Apocalypse's power, and many believed he was as powerful as Apocalypse himself. Behind him, the two remaining Horsemen, Storm and Avalanche, appeared and followed their leader.
In the throne room, Beast approached Apocalypse and bowed. A skinny, skeletal-looking mutant with an eye tattooed on his forehead came to Apocalypse's side and whispered into his ear.
"Beast. You have finished?"
"Yes, master. Magneto is waiting." Outside the palace, in a small plaza, Magneto was tied to a metal post with his hands behind his back. There was no nullification device to keep Magneto from freeing himself, but he was unable to.
"It looks and feels just like metal," Apocalypse said. With his appearance, the mutants in the plaza all dropped to the ground. Behind him, Beast and Mesmero walked with the newly-advance Wanda Lehnsherr. The only physical difference was that her hair was a light gray color and her eyes were a metallic silver. She wore a skin-tight black bodysuit and carried a long, pointed metal rod. "But you have no power of this material. It was created thousands of years ago, in Egypt, by a man named En Sabah Nur, who found no reason to use this substitute metal when it was more difficult to create than to simply mine true metal. He was young, but all things change, Magneto. It was almost as if it was created with you in mind. Now…" Apocalypse summoned one of his mutant servants from the bowing crowd. The dark-haired mutant looked at the end of the metal rod Wanda carried and a small wave of heat flew from his eyes and into the sharp end, and the point turned red and produced clear smoke. "…All things do change, Magneto. Even the loyalty of your children."
"Wanda, no…" Mutant slaves pulled Magneto's armor off and ripped the cloth covering his chest. Mesmero held his hands next to Wanda's head as she raised the burning metal rod and thrust it forward…
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It was late in the night when Scott and Pietro arrived in Spain, just outside the city. They were about to leave the plane, but Lucid stopped them.
"They will be looking for you," Lucid told them. "Wear these disguises." Scott wore a ragged cloak with a hood that hid his face in shadow, and an eye patch over his right lens, giving to most the impression of a dark man with a single glowing eye, and Pietro wore a similar disguise, only he had a scarf wrapped around his mouth to conceal his face. There was little activity at night, but there were many mutants sleeping in the streets by their market stands. A lone mutant played a mandolin, but the others were annoyed, and another mutant spat a spray of black fluid at the musician's face, burning it away and slowly dissolving his head.
"We better play it safe," Scott said. "Pietro, ask someone where Apocalypse is."
"Me?! I'd like to keep my face, Scott!"
"Just do it!"
"Okay, okay," Pietro slowly approached a middle-aged woman with clear eyes. In a slow, raspy voice, Pietro said to her, "I bring news for the master. Where is he?"
"I knew you would come," the woman said. "It is just as I saw it."
"What?" Pietro had slipped back into his real voice.
"Pietro Lehnsherr and Scott Darkholme. I knew you would come."
"Way to go, Pietro! Of all the mutants here, you had to pick a psychic!"
"I am no psychic, my boy. I can see the future. They call me Destiny. Don't worry… I am not your enemy. Not son of Raven could ever be my enemy."
"You know my mother?"
"Yes. Close friends, long ago, but I haven't spoken to her in ages. I have only seen her in visions. She settled down to take care of you, but I was captured by human soldiers. I was rescued by the Horsemen, and now I reside here."
"Can you tell us where Apocalypse is?"
"I can, but I hope you're not going to fight him. His minions alone are more than you could hope to defeat. Your father…" Pietro payed closer attention. "…He is here. Magnus has been tortured near to death."
"What about Wanda?"
"She… she is with the Horsemen."
"Is he hurting her?!" Scott yelled. "Tell me!"
"No. She is with the Horsemen."
"No… you're lying! You're one of Apocalypse's slaves! He told you to tell us these lies!"
"I speak the truth, Scott. I have seen visions of you since the accident that separated you from your brother. I knew you would not have control of your powers, and I knew that you would be adopted by Raven. You and Kurt, and Marie, and Todd. I knew that you would meet Wanda and the X-Men, and that you would be captured by Beast. I knew that you would escape, and that Wanda would find her way to War's nephew, and you would meet Pietro after he would be betrayed by his leader. I knew Death would take you to Callisto, and she would send you here."
"So what's going to happen now?!" Scott swept the eye patch off and held his finger on the switch on his glasses.
"You will go to New Zealand. The Horsemen are on their way there. You must hurry."
"I don't think I can trust you, Destiny."
"You there!" Wolverine called from down the street. "Keep it down!"
"Run," Destiny whispered. "Lucid has yet to leave."
"Smells famil… PIETRO!" Wolverine extended his claws and ran towards them. Quickly, Pietro ran out of his way as Scott fired his beams and hit Wolverine in the face. With Wolverine knocked on his back, they took advantage of the situation and ran for plane. Pietro was already there, telling Lucid what had happened, but Scott was still in the city, running from Wolverine.
"Looks like someone's gonna owe me." Pietro ran back and circled around Wolverine, who tried to slash at him, but only caught the air. In the blink of an eye, Pietro picked Scott up and ran back to the plane.
"New Zealand, you said?" Lucid asked. "Alright. This scrap pile's got enough fuel left to make it." The plane took off and headed for its destination. Back in the city, Wolverine lifted Destiny off the ground with one arm, ready to stab her.
"Stop," Apocalypse said. "Did you tell them?"
"Yes, I told them," Destiny replied.
"Then I have other work for you." Apocalypse disappeared, and Wolverine let her drop. She followed him, but she had lied to Apocalypse. The information he wanted her to give them had not been revealed. He had wanted her to tell them that the X-Men were in Germany, but what Destiny had told them was the truth. She knew that Apocalypse would find out sooner or later, but she wasn't concerned with her own well-being.
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The entrance to the Xavier Institute was forced open by Wanda Lehnsherr, now called Pestilence and now wearing a tattoo across her eye like the other Horsemen. Avalanche was the first to enter, followed by Storm, Wanda, and Archangel.
"Wanda, you… oh no…" Jean had been walking near the entrance, and now she realized that the Horsemen had come. "THE HORSEMEN ARE HERE!" she yelled. Wanda waved her hands and Jean was thrown down the hall. The Horsemen split it, Storm and Archangel going to one end of the hall and Wanda and Avalanche going down the other.
"Lance…?" Kate had opened the door to her room when she heard Jean call out, but hadn't quite understood what she had said. Avalanche turned to her, without a hint of emotion in his eyes. He held out his hand and the doorway collapse into itself, blocking any exit and trapping Kate inside. She ran through the mangled metal mess into the hall.
"What in… Wanda!" Toad called. "Where's Scott… oh." He realized the situation. Quickly, he jumped on Avalanche's shoulders, arching his upper torso forward so that he was looking him in the face. He grinned, and then spat some slime in his face.
"What are you doing?!" Kate yelled. "Why did you do that to him?!"
"'Cuz he's th' enemy, that's why!" Toad jumped to Wanda, but a wave of her hand sent him veering slightly to the right and crashing head-first into a metal wall. Now Pyro, Rogue and Evan were out, ready to take on the intruders. Pyro was particularly thrilled; he would get a chance to use the new flamethrower Forge installed where his right hand used to be.
"Wanda? Aw, no, they got you?" Pyro decided he'd focus on Avalanche. "Alright, mate, let me show you what did your pal in!" Pyro fired a stream of flame at Avalanche, but Wanda stepped in to extinguish the fire. Suddenly, Pyro's new flamethrower no longer worked.
"Aww… Evan, mind taking over?"
"No problem!" Evan grew a large collection of spikes on his arms and charged for Avalanche, but the ground became unstable and Evan slipped, cracking most of the bone-spikes. The impact went through his spikes and into his real bones.
"Lance, don't do this! They're my friends!" Kate pleaded. "Just like you!" Avalanche said nothing to her, nor did he make any moves. Kate took this to mean that he remembered her, and that he didn't want to hurt her. The only reason Avalanche didn't attack her was because he knew her power would save her from anything he tried. He looked at Wanda and nodded. Avalanche raised thick rocks through the metal floor and trapped Kate behind them. Kate started to run through them, but halfway through, Wanda made her lose control of her power, and she was stuck in the rocks.
"Lance, what are you doing?! I thought we were friends! Let me out of this! Wanda, why?! Why?! What did I do to you?! Lance! Wanda!" Wanda looked around the room. Toad was out cold next to a Toad-sized dent in the wall. Evan was on the floor with a broken arm and shards of shattered bone spikes. With his flamethrower suddenly broken and no other source of fire nearby, Pyro was harmless. Kate was stuck in the rock, still calling out to Lance. As far as Wanda was concerned, there was no danger there. Avalanche motioned for her to continue down the hall and find the others. When she disappeared into a metal room…
"HAH!" Rogue yelled. She jumped on Avalanche's back and grabbed his face. Avalanche tried desperately to get her off, but he was weakening with every second that passed.
"NO! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Kate screamed. "LANCE! LANCE!" Rogue was beginning to worry, since it was taking far long than usual for Avalanche to go down. In her mind, his memories played out, from birth to adolescence, and then a memory came through like a punch to the face. Rogue was thrown back and onto the floor, and shortly afterward, Avalanche collapsed. Pyro helped Rogue up as Kate screamed and cried frantically.
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! LANCE! LAAAANCE!"
"You okay?"
"I don't know…" Rogue rubbed her head. "I… oh… I better help Kate…" Rogue held up her hands and concentrated. The rocks around Kate burst, and she was free. Why she was unable to phase even after Wanda was gone was unknown to them.
"WHY?! WHY?!" Kate ran to Avalanche's side. "Lance, are you alright? Lance! Lance! Please be alright!"
"What's her problem?"
"They were best friends," Rogue said, recalling Avalanche's memories. "His name is Lance Alvers. I guess seeing him turn into a Horseman was traumatic for her."
"You guess?"
"I don't know, his memories stop there… oh, my head…"
In Forge's lab, Mystique held baby Kevin as she kept Forge company while he rebuilt his machines. His work was almost complete.
"No need to apologize," Forge said with a touch of sarcasm. Forge heard a loud bang outside. "Wonder what that is?" Forge went to the door, but it was blown open by Storm. She stepped aside as Archangel entered the room.
"Give me the child," he said.
"Oh my… Mystique, run!" Mystique ran towards the only other exit, but just as she reached it, it flew off its hinges and Wanda stood in her way.
"Give me the child," Archangel repeated. Mystique held Kevin close as Forge tried to protect them. He held out twin pistols and fired at Archangel, but he closed his wings around him as a shield. Forge continued firing, but in a swift stroke of his left wing, Archangel cut the barrels off his pistols. With his other wing, he cut off Forge's hands, both mechanical and organic. Forge screamed as the blood began to spread across the floor. Mystique would defend herself, but she needed to protect Kevin. But then, she had made that as a promise to Magneto.
"Get away from her!" Scott Darkholme yelled. He fired his beams at Archangel's back, but the Horseman didn't even move. Quickly, Pietro ran past him and took Kevin from Mystique's arms, then ran out of the room. Archangel turned to face Scott, but made no moves. Instead, Storm blasted him against the wall with a strong gust of wind. On the floor, Scott lifted his head and looked at his mother, and then past her.
"Wanda?" he called. "Wanda, they... oh no! Wanda, snap out of it!" Archangel remained in the room as Storm flew out of the room in pursuit of Pietro.
"Auntie O!" Evan called. Storm payed no attention to her nephew and continued flying down the hall. "Auntie O..."
"I'm crazy," Pietro said to himself. He was running through the halls of the Institute in circles... in fact, he had passed Storm twice. The third time, she waited for him. A bolt of lightning flew from from her hands and spread into the walls and onto the metal floor. When the wave of electricity reached Pietro, he fell over, screaming in pain. He accidentally dropped the baby, but a gentle wind caught him and brought him to Storm. "Wait... get back here!"
Returning to the lab, Storm handed the baby to Archangel, and immediately, Kevin began to cry. Wanda held her arms upward, and the metal ceiling split. Archangel flew out, followed by Storm, who then created a gust of wing that would take Wanda with them.
"Raven… we failed!" Forge yelled. "We promised Magneto..."
"I don't owe Magneto anything anymore. If Kurt had been saved, then this would have turned out differently."
"You would have GIVEN it to them?! You're heartless, Mystique! Magneto trusted you! I trusted you!"
"Quiet, both of you!" Scott yelled. "It doesn't matter how it could've happened, all that matters is that it did! Now what's so special about that kid?"
"Scott!" Mystique ran to her son and hugged him tightly, now that she was no longer held back by the situation. "Scott, I've been so worried!"
"Uh... relax, mom... I'm fine."
"We don't know," Forge said. "That's the thing. Apocalypse spared him, then we saved him, and now he wants him back."
"Your hands…"
"I know, I know… I'd better get over to the infirmary soon. We'll have to start thinking of a way to get him back."
"I will be more than happy to help retrieve Kevin, if you can tell me how to reverse Apocalypse's advancements."
"What?! Are you insane?! How am I supposed to study one of his advanced mutants?!"
"We have one right here," Rogue said. A very disoriented Avalanche followed her, rubbing his head.
"One of them is still here!" Scott yelled. "Stay back!"
"It's okay," Rogue said. "I happened to pull a huge weight off his shoulders."
"I'm Lance," Avalanche said.
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In the Spanish palace, Mesmero gasped. Though he was not directly controlling the Horsemen, he kept a mental link to them to ensure their obedience and to keep up with their location. He looked over his shoulder, horrified by what he saw. The remaining Horsemen had already returned, and presented Apocalypse with the child.
"Beast," Apocalypse called. The furry scientist immediately dropped from the spot in the ceiling beam where he had been perched and bowed before his master. "The Horsemen have done their part. Now, you will finish this." Beast took baby Kevin from Archangel, bowed his head to Apocalypse, and then left the throne room. "Where is Famine?"
"Mystique's daughter touched him," Mesmero explained, stepping forward. "When she absorbed his abilities and memories, she took the spark as well." The spark, as Mesmero referred to it, was a sort of psychic control device that kept the Horsemen in a trance-like state that ensured total obedience.
"A new Famine will bow to me. The Summers boy." With those new instructions, Mesmero bowed his head and left for the dungeon. With that business over, the skinny mutant with the eye tattoo scampered to Apocalypse and whispered into his ear. "Yes, of course. The new human weapon is no threat to us. Nonetheless, we will humor them. They are on their way here. Arm the soldiers."
In the Canadian Sentinel factory, Colonel Matthews oversaw the completion of the newest batch of Sentinels. As they marched out of the factory, General Trask stood on a raised platform as his soldiers prepared themselves for war. A larger man stood in front of a line of uniformed men, handing each a helmet, a backpack, and a rifle as they passed. Those that had already been armed stood in formation, in blocks of several hundreds. Between the soldiers, the Sentinels marched by, as a way to boost the morale of the soldiers. Each squad of Sentinels was made up of seven units, including a silver-plated XT Sentinel that acted as leader.
In the lower chambers of the Spanish city, in a what had been a sewer in old ages now dried by lack of use, Apocalypse's own mutant slaves were preparing for a war. Tall columns lined the massive chamber, and Apocalypse and his higher officials stood on large, raised platforms that were once walkways when the sewer had been flooded. Apocalypse's skinny, eye-tattooed lackey's glowing eyes watched the army from his master's side. Between each row of columns, a crowd of mutants waited for their turn at the front, where three smaller mutants fitted each slave with battle armor and gave them either a spear, a lance, or an axe. Their main tactic was to use their mutant power, but Apocalypse knew that his enemies would be able to overcome this disadvantage to a limited extent, and made sure that his own men were equipped to fight. He did not believe in cowardly firearms, but the armor each slave was given was thick enough to protect them from bullet fire. With the separation of the columns, there were four crowds of mutants moving through, and so, Apocalypse would appoint four generals.
As the bright light of six advancers faded away, Beast opened the chambers. The first to step out was Colossus, no longer capable of switching between organic and metal forms, both now combined. His skin had the same texture and flexibility of human skin, but when the light hit it, it shimmered in a bright silver color like a dual-colored fabric. He stood at the same height he once stood in his metallic form, but he had twice the strength. Colossus would be the first general.
The second was Wolverine, who had no real physical different on first glance. He extended his strong, gray claws and grinned with gray teeth. Every bone in his body had turned gray and smooth like metal without luster and grown tremendously in strength and durability. His healing factor was three times as potent as before. He was a tough opponent before, but now, he was near-invincible. Wolverine would enjoy his rank as the second general.
The third advanced mutant was Magma. Physically, she was the same as she was before. She decided to test her new powers by engulfing herself in flame. Before her advancement, she would have looked like a girl made of magma itself, but now, she was a girl made of orange light, like fire taken shape and each individual strand of hair glowed like a thread of fire. Magma would be Apocalypse's third general.
The fourth mutant to step forward as Sunspot. Up until his advancement, Sunspot was forced to limit his activity due to his greatest weakness: he required the sun to fuel his mutant powers. Now, he could store massive amounts of energy within his body. As if to prove this, Sunspot powered up in the dark lab, projecting a thin ray of light around his pitch-black form. Only his glowing white eyes and his teeth were visible in the void.
The fifth and sixth mutants changed very little in appearance. Mastermind and Mesmero emerged from their respective chambers, looking much the same as they did before. Strangely, Mesmero's eyes had changed color; one was blue, the other red. Both of their mental powers had increased drastically, and though neither had been made a general, Apocalypse had big things planned for them.
"Today, we make our first move against the oppression of the mutants," Trask announced to his army. "We have waited many years for this, but at long last, we will fight back. I have asked myself sometimes if we are doing the right thing. I wonder if this is a foolish idea, to take on these mutants. Then, I look at the faces of my brave men, and see the determination in their eyes. I see that they are willing to fight for what they believe in, willing to fight for what is right! Only a pure-blooded human is so brave to fight for their freedom! You are not cowards, you are soldiers! You are men! You are human!" The soldiers below cheered. "We are all that is left of humanity, but by the end of this nightmare, we will be the majority. The world will be ours once more! Mutants use their trickery to hide their lack of combat skill, a skill found only in pure-blooded humans, found only in our blood! You, the pure-blooded soldiers, the proud fighters who have banded together from all parts of the world, you will take back the world! They will be no match for you! March forth, brave soldiers! I have seen the future, men, and I have seen victory! Nothing will stand in our way!" The soldiers below cheered at his encouraging words. It was clear that they were ready for battle. Upon Trask's orders, entire platoons loaded into giant circular metal crates, and inside, they all took small pills designed to prevent nausea, and they fastened themselves tightly to seats lining the walls. Each metal troop carrier was picked up by a large crane and magnetically attached to the back of an individual Sentinel. The Carrier Sentinels took flight and headed east, to Spain.
What will Apocalypse do to baby Kevin? What was up with McGregor's death? Who IS Sabretooth working for? Does Trask's army stand a chance? Has Lance finally been freed from Apocalypse? And just what is up with the skinny guy with the eye tattooed on his forehead? Just so you know, the main team's getting narrowed down, so more focus will be placed on the central characters.
Chapter Eight - The Drums of War
Scott sat back in his chair with his eyes closed. He wasn't anywhere near as calm as he looked, but he figured it was best not to tell Pietro and the pilot, Lucid.
"So where are you boys from?" Lucid asked.
"Reading," Pietro replied.
"I see. And you?"
"Napping."
"Ah. Yes, I've been to both those places, but I can't ever seem to stay as long as I'd like. We'll reach our destination in a few… ah. No…" Lucid looked at a display screen. "An hour. We'll be there in an hour."
"Pietro, what've you found?"
"I've found that this Essex guy is looney. He keeps talking about some Egyptian guy named En Sabah Nur. I thought this was supposed to be about Apocalypse."
"You idiot." Scott took the journal from Pietro's hands. "En Sabah Nur is Apocalypse's real name. Now let me see what else Dr. Essex knew." Pietro sighed and looked out the window. He noticed that they were flying over the ocean without a single mass of land visible for miles.
"Uh… where are we going?"
"Just got word from Ms. Callisto that Apocalypse has relocated. We're going to the Spanish base."
"Spain? Interesting. I've never been to Spain. Hey four-eyes, you think Spanish women would go for me?"
"No. Especially if there aren't any left."
"Gotta be some Spanish mutant chicks. Hey Lucid, you know how much of Spain's population is left?"
"Ah…" Lucid took a moment to think. "Not much, really, but I think it's all concentrated around Apocalypse's base."
"Just how many bases does this guy have?"
"Exactly seventy-two. There are six major bases, in Germany, Mexico, Spain, Thailand, Japan and Africa. There's a bit of a pattern, all his bases are in the north of a country. The biggest one is in Africa, he's got a very large concentration of troops there, and the second is Japan, but he rarely goes there. Japan and Spain seem to be prototypes for new mutant metropolises, since he's built small cities around both of his bases, but there aren't many actual troops in Spain. I myself have been to the Japanese center on various errands. The masters have a taste for foreign dishes, so I fly there and stock up on the necessary ingredients from time to time. We would grow a lot of the crop and livestock ourselves, but the climate in Ireland is just so different, we haven't managed anything."
"Yeah, thanks for the life story," Scott said, not looking away from the journal. "Lucid, you do any research on En Sabah Nur?"
"Not really, no. Not too interested in politics, myself. I'm just a simple servant, after all."
"Just say 'no' next time, huh?"
"Well, there is one thing I know about him, he likes psychological torture. He likes making his victims do weird things. Heard he once made a man kill his own mother."
"That isn't making this sound any easier," Pietro said. "I mean… Wanda."
"Yeah, Wanda…" Scott stared off into space for a moment. "Anyway, I better pay attention to this book." Pietro leaned back in his chair and went to sleep.
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General Trask walked through the Indian jungle, accompanied by twelve armed men. A path of damaged and fallen trees led him straight to the bloody graveyard of six of his own soldiers. Bullet holes lines the trees, but there was absolutely no sign of Sabretooth. Trask looked down at his men, some with deep gashes in their chests, some with entire arms and legs missing, one without a head, which didn't appear to be at the site.
"This is what we're fighting, gentlemen," Trask told his men. "Monsters, killing machines. Vicious animals incapable of reasoning, always taking violence over peace. If there was any doubt in your mind, this horrible act will surely remove it." Trask took a radio from his belt. "Arcade, status report."
"Hmm? Oh. It's done, General. Finished it about a minute ago."
"Already?"
"Yeah. It doesn't take long to install. I was going to use the rest if these three days to analyze it and send construction plans to the factories."
"Good, good." Several hours later, Trask stood inside one of the base's hangars with Arcade. The upgraded Sentinel head had been mounted on a jeep. Arcade had a control panel in his hands, connected to the Sentinel head by various wires and cables.
"Okay, it's ready to go," Arcade told the general.
"Good. Bring in the test subject." The side door opened, and young Private McGregor was brought in by two soldiers. "Private Doug McGregor, a wolf in sheep's clothing. Did you think you could sneak into our ranks unnoticed?"
"I'm not a mutant!" McGregor protested.
"But you are! The Sentinel even thinks so. What do you think it's going to do about that?" McGregor said nothing. "You know, it's funny. You were the one who retrieved the XT upgrade system from those mutant spies we had weeded out last month, and now, as you're revealed to be a spy yourself, you're about to become the first victim of the new Sentinel XT." Trask motioned for the guards to set McGregor free. "I am a reasonable man. You are free to use your mutations to defend yourself against the XT, and should you live, you are free to go."
"This isn't right, General. I didn't choose to be a mutant."
"And I wasn't given the choice to fight this war, but it has to be done. No, let us begin." The XT's head-mounted cannons appeared from the sides, but did not fire. "Defend yourself!"
"I don't know how!"
"Don't play dumb, mutant!" The XT fired a stream of bullets, hitting a crate behind McGregor and knocking him forward and onto the ground. McGregor stood up, but the XT's anti-mutant field stopped him, and he fell right back down again. There was a brief flash of light from him, but then it disappeared, and he lay motionless.
"The Sentinel isn't reading anything," Arcade said. "No brainwave pattern at all. It killed him."
"Good. Very good." A wide grin grew on Trask's face. A soldier went to McGregor's body to inspect it, but as he reached down, his hand passed right through. Moments later, the body faded away and disappeared completely. "What the devil?!" Trask yelled in outrage. "Where did he go?"
"Hmm… I've studied this. Dead mutants, particularly mutants with psionic abilities, have been known to leave mental imprints, sort of like ghost images. On rare occasions, psionic mutants disappear altogether when they die. A friend of mine calls it Psi-Ghosting."
"But… he is dead?"
"Yes. That was just an image imprint. We get him."
"Then that's good. Arcade, I am sending these XT models into mass production."
The factories in Canada and Saudi Arabia had downloaded the plans for the XT system and added it to a third of their Sentinels, as the resources necessary for the upgrade weren't readily available. The XT Sentinels were not painted the standard red color; only the black paint was added, leaving the parts that would be red a shiny silver color. This was Colonel Matthews's idea.
"You have found Apocalypse's stronghold?" Matthews asked.
"Northern Spain. He has many mutants with him."
"Even with this enhancement, I'm afraid it won't be enough," Matthews told Trask as they watched Sentinels being assembled by workers and machines in the final staging area of the Canadian factory. "There are just too many of them."
"I'll admit I have my doubts, Colonel," Trask replied, "But this is our only chance. If these new Sentinels don't win the war, then humanity is finished."
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"WHAT?!" Mystique yelled. They had returned to the Institute as Magneto had requested, and Forge had to break the news to Mystique about Kurt's condition. Toad took baby Kevin as Mystique wrecked whatever she could in Forge's lab. "HOW COULD HE DO THIS?! MAGNETO BETTER BE DEAD, BECAUSE IF I SEE HIM AGAIN I WILL RIP HIS SKIN FROM HIS BODY!"
"Raven, please…"
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE FORGE?! OF COURSE YOU DON'T! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!"
"Raven, this wasn't what Magneto had in mind. He's probably been captured himself, maybe even killed. We can't panic right now!"
"I think it's better if we let her work her anger out," Toad said. He left the lab with Forge and baby Kevin as Mystique continued to pound and kick anything she could. When most of Forge's machinery had been destroyed, she fell to the ground and her anger became sorrow.
From the hallway, the others could hear Mystique sobbing. It had been a rough day for Forge. Having lost most of his teammates and his leader, and then tell Mystique about her son's mutation. The only luck he had was with Freddy. A further inspection revealed that he would live, but would not recover from his injuries. Though Jean was visibly distraught, Forge could tell that she was happy that he would live. Pyro, Evan, Rogue and Kate sat in the cafeteria, having themselves some leftovers.
"Well, it looks like I'm going to have to serve as acting leader," Forge said to them. "We'll have to wait a few days before we can get anything done. Mystique damaged most of my equipment, so I'll have to be in there making repairs."
"What about Tabby?" Pyro asked. "What happened to her?"
"I don't know, Pyro, but I'm not going to sugarcoat it. If Magneto didn't return, I doubt she found a better fate." Pyro nodded solemnly. Rogue took this to mean that Alex was included in his observation.
"They're probably slaves to Apocalypse," Evan said. "He likes to take the people you care about and poison their minds. Face it, we can't hold on to anything anymore."
"Don't talk like that," Forge told him. "We'll get them back, all of them. Even your aunt."
"How?!"
"I… I don't know yet, but we will." In the infirmary, Jean sat next to Freddy. She had requested to be left alone with him.
"So they told you," Freddy said dryly. His voice was slightly forced, as it was becoming difficult for him to breathe. "I won't be able to fight with you guys again."
"All that matters is that you're alive."
"I guess… I feel useless now. All I could give this team was some extra muscle, but now that's over."
"Freddy, you're far from useless. You're the only person who means anything to me anymore. If you're not going to stay with the X-Men, neither am I."
"You can't quit just for me, Jean. Magneto needs you. You gotta fight for Xavier's dream."
"Fuck Xavier's dream. Humans are pretty much gone. What are we fighting for now? It's useless."
"So you're just gonna give up? Listen, Jean. You need something to look forward to, even if it's not realistic." Freddy took a deep breath. "I know Xavier was crazy, and so is Magneto, but there's not much left. Apocalypse's destroyed everything else. If nothing else, just stay because you have nothing better to do."
"I'm only staying as long as you do."
"Then I guess I'm still an X-Man." Freddy smiled and rested his head against his pillow. Forge walked in through the metal door.
"Freddy needs to rest. Excuse us, Jean."
"Right," Jean watched Forge carefully as she left the room. As soon as she was gone, Forge's shape changed to that of Mystique.
"Er… Mystique?"
"Fred, what did you see at Apocalypse's castle?" Forge asked.
"He's advancing mutants, like that machine Magneto has. That's what he did to Kurt."
"Do you know if there's any way to reverse it?"
"Not really sure," Freddy said. "I think it might work like Magneto's machine. Counter-radiation reverses the effect, but it's hard to get it to work right. I remember Gambit volunteered for it a while back, but he decided he didn't like being enhanced. It'd be tricky to get Kurt to sit still."
"Yes…" Mystique looked at the x-rays on the light board. "He's grown strong."
"You don't to tell me that. I'm sorry this happened, Mystique."
"I'm sorry I agreed to this. I'm going to have to use the others to turn Kurt back to normal."
"What? How?" Mystique replied by morphing back into Forge.
"In Magneto's absence, I'm going to have to serve as acting leader. The rest of the X-Men will have to follow my orders, even if it means I have to send them to their deaths."
"Mystique, have you gone insane?! You can't do this!"
"I will, Fred. Magneto has cost me two of my children, one of which I can still save."
"You can't do that to them! They didn't do anything to you!"
"Get some sleep, Freddy," 'Forge' said, "You're delirious. I'll check back in the morning." 'Forge' went to the small IV bag attached to Freddy's arm (which was quite a difficult task to attach) and added a red fluid to it. Moments later, Freddy closed his eyes and drifted off into sleep.
"He was feeling some chest pains. I had to sedate him," 'Forge' told Jean, who was sitting in her room. "He should be alright in the morning."
"Thanks, Forge."
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Apocalypse sat on his throne in a Spanish palace, which served as his base. The Horseman Death, Archangel, approached him, kneeling before him with his metal wings folded behind him.
"You will go to New Zealand," Apocalypse said. His voiced echoed through the palace, and anyone not already intimidated by him shuttered. "The child is with them. Bring him to me, unharmed."
"And the others?" Archangel whispered.
"Do as you see fit."
"Yes, master." He stood up, wings still folded, and walked out of the throne room. "None shall stand in your way."
Apocalypse motioned for Archangel to begin his mission. He stood up, bowed his head, then turned to leave. As he walked through the palace's main hall, mutant toadies and slaves huddled away from the main passage and kept their heads lowered as Archangel walked past them with his wings spread a few feet from him. He was viewed as a symbol of Apocalypse's power, and many believed he was as powerful as Apocalypse himself. Behind him, the two remaining Horsemen, Storm and Avalanche, appeared and followed their leader.
In the throne room, Beast approached Apocalypse and bowed. A skinny, skeletal-looking mutant with an eye tattooed on his forehead came to Apocalypse's side and whispered into his ear.
"Beast. You have finished?"
"Yes, master. Magneto is waiting." Outside the palace, in a small plaza, Magneto was tied to a metal post with his hands behind his back. There was no nullification device to keep Magneto from freeing himself, but he was unable to.
"It looks and feels just like metal," Apocalypse said. With his appearance, the mutants in the plaza all dropped to the ground. Behind him, Beast and Mesmero walked with the newly-advance Wanda Lehnsherr. The only physical difference was that her hair was a light gray color and her eyes were a metallic silver. She wore a skin-tight black bodysuit and carried a long, pointed metal rod. "But you have no power of this material. It was created thousands of years ago, in Egypt, by a man named En Sabah Nur, who found no reason to use this substitute metal when it was more difficult to create than to simply mine true metal. He was young, but all things change, Magneto. It was almost as if it was created with you in mind. Now…" Apocalypse summoned one of his mutant servants from the bowing crowd. The dark-haired mutant looked at the end of the metal rod Wanda carried and a small wave of heat flew from his eyes and into the sharp end, and the point turned red and produced clear smoke. "…All things do change, Magneto. Even the loyalty of your children."
"Wanda, no…" Mutant slaves pulled Magneto's armor off and ripped the cloth covering his chest. Mesmero held his hands next to Wanda's head as she raised the burning metal rod and thrust it forward…
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It was late in the night when Scott and Pietro arrived in Spain, just outside the city. They were about to leave the plane, but Lucid stopped them.
"They will be looking for you," Lucid told them. "Wear these disguises." Scott wore a ragged cloak with a hood that hid his face in shadow, and an eye patch over his right lens, giving to most the impression of a dark man with a single glowing eye, and Pietro wore a similar disguise, only he had a scarf wrapped around his mouth to conceal his face. There was little activity at night, but there were many mutants sleeping in the streets by their market stands. A lone mutant played a mandolin, but the others were annoyed, and another mutant spat a spray of black fluid at the musician's face, burning it away and slowly dissolving his head.
"We better play it safe," Scott said. "Pietro, ask someone where Apocalypse is."
"Me?! I'd like to keep my face, Scott!"
"Just do it!"
"Okay, okay," Pietro slowly approached a middle-aged woman with clear eyes. In a slow, raspy voice, Pietro said to her, "I bring news for the master. Where is he?"
"I knew you would come," the woman said. "It is just as I saw it."
"What?" Pietro had slipped back into his real voice.
"Pietro Lehnsherr and Scott Darkholme. I knew you would come."
"Way to go, Pietro! Of all the mutants here, you had to pick a psychic!"
"I am no psychic, my boy. I can see the future. They call me Destiny. Don't worry… I am not your enemy. Not son of Raven could ever be my enemy."
"You know my mother?"
"Yes. Close friends, long ago, but I haven't spoken to her in ages. I have only seen her in visions. She settled down to take care of you, but I was captured by human soldiers. I was rescued by the Horsemen, and now I reside here."
"Can you tell us where Apocalypse is?"
"I can, but I hope you're not going to fight him. His minions alone are more than you could hope to defeat. Your father…" Pietro payed closer attention. "…He is here. Magnus has been tortured near to death."
"What about Wanda?"
"She… she is with the Horsemen."
"Is he hurting her?!" Scott yelled. "Tell me!"
"No. She is with the Horsemen."
"No… you're lying! You're one of Apocalypse's slaves! He told you to tell us these lies!"
"I speak the truth, Scott. I have seen visions of you since the accident that separated you from your brother. I knew you would not have control of your powers, and I knew that you would be adopted by Raven. You and Kurt, and Marie, and Todd. I knew that you would meet Wanda and the X-Men, and that you would be captured by Beast. I knew that you would escape, and that Wanda would find her way to War's nephew, and you would meet Pietro after he would be betrayed by his leader. I knew Death would take you to Callisto, and she would send you here."
"So what's going to happen now?!" Scott swept the eye patch off and held his finger on the switch on his glasses.
"You will go to New Zealand. The Horsemen are on their way there. You must hurry."
"I don't think I can trust you, Destiny."
"You there!" Wolverine called from down the street. "Keep it down!"
"Run," Destiny whispered. "Lucid has yet to leave."
"Smells famil… PIETRO!" Wolverine extended his claws and ran towards them. Quickly, Pietro ran out of his way as Scott fired his beams and hit Wolverine in the face. With Wolverine knocked on his back, they took advantage of the situation and ran for plane. Pietro was already there, telling Lucid what had happened, but Scott was still in the city, running from Wolverine.
"Looks like someone's gonna owe me." Pietro ran back and circled around Wolverine, who tried to slash at him, but only caught the air. In the blink of an eye, Pietro picked Scott up and ran back to the plane.
"New Zealand, you said?" Lucid asked. "Alright. This scrap pile's got enough fuel left to make it." The plane took off and headed for its destination. Back in the city, Wolverine lifted Destiny off the ground with one arm, ready to stab her.
"Stop," Apocalypse said. "Did you tell them?"
"Yes, I told them," Destiny replied.
"Then I have other work for you." Apocalypse disappeared, and Wolverine let her drop. She followed him, but she had lied to Apocalypse. The information he wanted her to give them had not been revealed. He had wanted her to tell them that the X-Men were in Germany, but what Destiny had told them was the truth. She knew that Apocalypse would find out sooner or later, but she wasn't concerned with her own well-being.
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The entrance to the Xavier Institute was forced open by Wanda Lehnsherr, now called Pestilence and now wearing a tattoo across her eye like the other Horsemen. Avalanche was the first to enter, followed by Storm, Wanda, and Archangel.
"Wanda, you… oh no…" Jean had been walking near the entrance, and now she realized that the Horsemen had come. "THE HORSEMEN ARE HERE!" she yelled. Wanda waved her hands and Jean was thrown down the hall. The Horsemen split it, Storm and Archangel going to one end of the hall and Wanda and Avalanche going down the other.
"Lance…?" Kate had opened the door to her room when she heard Jean call out, but hadn't quite understood what she had said. Avalanche turned to her, without a hint of emotion in his eyes. He held out his hand and the doorway collapse into itself, blocking any exit and trapping Kate inside. She ran through the mangled metal mess into the hall.
"What in… Wanda!" Toad called. "Where's Scott… oh." He realized the situation. Quickly, he jumped on Avalanche's shoulders, arching his upper torso forward so that he was looking him in the face. He grinned, and then spat some slime in his face.
"What are you doing?!" Kate yelled. "Why did you do that to him?!"
"'Cuz he's th' enemy, that's why!" Toad jumped to Wanda, but a wave of her hand sent him veering slightly to the right and crashing head-first into a metal wall. Now Pyro, Rogue and Evan were out, ready to take on the intruders. Pyro was particularly thrilled; he would get a chance to use the new flamethrower Forge installed where his right hand used to be.
"Wanda? Aw, no, they got you?" Pyro decided he'd focus on Avalanche. "Alright, mate, let me show you what did your pal in!" Pyro fired a stream of flame at Avalanche, but Wanda stepped in to extinguish the fire. Suddenly, Pyro's new flamethrower no longer worked.
"Aww… Evan, mind taking over?"
"No problem!" Evan grew a large collection of spikes on his arms and charged for Avalanche, but the ground became unstable and Evan slipped, cracking most of the bone-spikes. The impact went through his spikes and into his real bones.
"Lance, don't do this! They're my friends!" Kate pleaded. "Just like you!" Avalanche said nothing to her, nor did he make any moves. Kate took this to mean that he remembered her, and that he didn't want to hurt her. The only reason Avalanche didn't attack her was because he knew her power would save her from anything he tried. He looked at Wanda and nodded. Avalanche raised thick rocks through the metal floor and trapped Kate behind them. Kate started to run through them, but halfway through, Wanda made her lose control of her power, and she was stuck in the rocks.
"Lance, what are you doing?! I thought we were friends! Let me out of this! Wanda, why?! Why?! What did I do to you?! Lance! Wanda!" Wanda looked around the room. Toad was out cold next to a Toad-sized dent in the wall. Evan was on the floor with a broken arm and shards of shattered bone spikes. With his flamethrower suddenly broken and no other source of fire nearby, Pyro was harmless. Kate was stuck in the rock, still calling out to Lance. As far as Wanda was concerned, there was no danger there. Avalanche motioned for her to continue down the hall and find the others. When she disappeared into a metal room…
"HAH!" Rogue yelled. She jumped on Avalanche's back and grabbed his face. Avalanche tried desperately to get her off, but he was weakening with every second that passed.
"NO! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Kate screamed. "LANCE! LANCE!" Rogue was beginning to worry, since it was taking far long than usual for Avalanche to go down. In her mind, his memories played out, from birth to adolescence, and then a memory came through like a punch to the face. Rogue was thrown back and onto the floor, and shortly afterward, Avalanche collapsed. Pyro helped Rogue up as Kate screamed and cried frantically.
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! LANCE! LAAAANCE!"
"You okay?"
"I don't know…" Rogue rubbed her head. "I… oh… I better help Kate…" Rogue held up her hands and concentrated. The rocks around Kate burst, and she was free. Why she was unable to phase even after Wanda was gone was unknown to them.
"WHY?! WHY?!" Kate ran to Avalanche's side. "Lance, are you alright? Lance! Lance! Please be alright!"
"What's her problem?"
"They were best friends," Rogue said, recalling Avalanche's memories. "His name is Lance Alvers. I guess seeing him turn into a Horseman was traumatic for her."
"You guess?"
"I don't know, his memories stop there… oh, my head…"
In Forge's lab, Mystique held baby Kevin as she kept Forge company while he rebuilt his machines. His work was almost complete.
"No need to apologize," Forge said with a touch of sarcasm. Forge heard a loud bang outside. "Wonder what that is?" Forge went to the door, but it was blown open by Storm. She stepped aside as Archangel entered the room.
"Give me the child," he said.
"Oh my… Mystique, run!" Mystique ran towards the only other exit, but just as she reached it, it flew off its hinges and Wanda stood in her way.
"Give me the child," Archangel repeated. Mystique held Kevin close as Forge tried to protect them. He held out twin pistols and fired at Archangel, but he closed his wings around him as a shield. Forge continued firing, but in a swift stroke of his left wing, Archangel cut the barrels off his pistols. With his other wing, he cut off Forge's hands, both mechanical and organic. Forge screamed as the blood began to spread across the floor. Mystique would defend herself, but she needed to protect Kevin. But then, she had made that as a promise to Magneto.
"Get away from her!" Scott Darkholme yelled. He fired his beams at Archangel's back, but the Horseman didn't even move. Quickly, Pietro ran past him and took Kevin from Mystique's arms, then ran out of the room. Archangel turned to face Scott, but made no moves. Instead, Storm blasted him against the wall with a strong gust of wind. On the floor, Scott lifted his head and looked at his mother, and then past her.
"Wanda?" he called. "Wanda, they... oh no! Wanda, snap out of it!" Archangel remained in the room as Storm flew out of the room in pursuit of Pietro.
"Auntie O!" Evan called. Storm payed no attention to her nephew and continued flying down the hall. "Auntie O..."
"I'm crazy," Pietro said to himself. He was running through the halls of the Institute in circles... in fact, he had passed Storm twice. The third time, she waited for him. A bolt of lightning flew from from her hands and spread into the walls and onto the metal floor. When the wave of electricity reached Pietro, he fell over, screaming in pain. He accidentally dropped the baby, but a gentle wind caught him and brought him to Storm. "Wait... get back here!"
Returning to the lab, Storm handed the baby to Archangel, and immediately, Kevin began to cry. Wanda held her arms upward, and the metal ceiling split. Archangel flew out, followed by Storm, who then created a gust of wing that would take Wanda with them.
"Raven… we failed!" Forge yelled. "We promised Magneto..."
"I don't owe Magneto anything anymore. If Kurt had been saved, then this would have turned out differently."
"You would have GIVEN it to them?! You're heartless, Mystique! Magneto trusted you! I trusted you!"
"Quiet, both of you!" Scott yelled. "It doesn't matter how it could've happened, all that matters is that it did! Now what's so special about that kid?"
"Scott!" Mystique ran to her son and hugged him tightly, now that she was no longer held back by the situation. "Scott, I've been so worried!"
"Uh... relax, mom... I'm fine."
"We don't know," Forge said. "That's the thing. Apocalypse spared him, then we saved him, and now he wants him back."
"Your hands…"
"I know, I know… I'd better get over to the infirmary soon. We'll have to start thinking of a way to get him back."
"I will be more than happy to help retrieve Kevin, if you can tell me how to reverse Apocalypse's advancements."
"What?! Are you insane?! How am I supposed to study one of his advanced mutants?!"
"We have one right here," Rogue said. A very disoriented Avalanche followed her, rubbing his head.
"One of them is still here!" Scott yelled. "Stay back!"
"It's okay," Rogue said. "I happened to pull a huge weight off his shoulders."
"I'm Lance," Avalanche said.
-------------------------------
In the Spanish palace, Mesmero gasped. Though he was not directly controlling the Horsemen, he kept a mental link to them to ensure their obedience and to keep up with their location. He looked over his shoulder, horrified by what he saw. The remaining Horsemen had already returned, and presented Apocalypse with the child.
"Beast," Apocalypse called. The furry scientist immediately dropped from the spot in the ceiling beam where he had been perched and bowed before his master. "The Horsemen have done their part. Now, you will finish this." Beast took baby Kevin from Archangel, bowed his head to Apocalypse, and then left the throne room. "Where is Famine?"
"Mystique's daughter touched him," Mesmero explained, stepping forward. "When she absorbed his abilities and memories, she took the spark as well." The spark, as Mesmero referred to it, was a sort of psychic control device that kept the Horsemen in a trance-like state that ensured total obedience.
"A new Famine will bow to me. The Summers boy." With those new instructions, Mesmero bowed his head and left for the dungeon. With that business over, the skinny mutant with the eye tattoo scampered to Apocalypse and whispered into his ear. "Yes, of course. The new human weapon is no threat to us. Nonetheless, we will humor them. They are on their way here. Arm the soldiers."
In the Canadian Sentinel factory, Colonel Matthews oversaw the completion of the newest batch of Sentinels. As they marched out of the factory, General Trask stood on a raised platform as his soldiers prepared themselves for war. A larger man stood in front of a line of uniformed men, handing each a helmet, a backpack, and a rifle as they passed. Those that had already been armed stood in formation, in blocks of several hundreds. Between the soldiers, the Sentinels marched by, as a way to boost the morale of the soldiers. Each squad of Sentinels was made up of seven units, including a silver-plated XT Sentinel that acted as leader.
In the lower chambers of the Spanish city, in a what had been a sewer in old ages now dried by lack of use, Apocalypse's own mutant slaves were preparing for a war. Tall columns lined the massive chamber, and Apocalypse and his higher officials stood on large, raised platforms that were once walkways when the sewer had been flooded. Apocalypse's skinny, eye-tattooed lackey's glowing eyes watched the army from his master's side. Between each row of columns, a crowd of mutants waited for their turn at the front, where three smaller mutants fitted each slave with battle armor and gave them either a spear, a lance, or an axe. Their main tactic was to use their mutant power, but Apocalypse knew that his enemies would be able to overcome this disadvantage to a limited extent, and made sure that his own men were equipped to fight. He did not believe in cowardly firearms, but the armor each slave was given was thick enough to protect them from bullet fire. With the separation of the columns, there were four crowds of mutants moving through, and so, Apocalypse would appoint four generals.
As the bright light of six advancers faded away, Beast opened the chambers. The first to step out was Colossus, no longer capable of switching between organic and metal forms, both now combined. His skin had the same texture and flexibility of human skin, but when the light hit it, it shimmered in a bright silver color like a dual-colored fabric. He stood at the same height he once stood in his metallic form, but he had twice the strength. Colossus would be the first general.
The second was Wolverine, who had no real physical different on first glance. He extended his strong, gray claws and grinned with gray teeth. Every bone in his body had turned gray and smooth like metal without luster and grown tremendously in strength and durability. His healing factor was three times as potent as before. He was a tough opponent before, but now, he was near-invincible. Wolverine would enjoy his rank as the second general.
The third advanced mutant was Magma. Physically, she was the same as she was before. She decided to test her new powers by engulfing herself in flame. Before her advancement, she would have looked like a girl made of magma itself, but now, she was a girl made of orange light, like fire taken shape and each individual strand of hair glowed like a thread of fire. Magma would be Apocalypse's third general.
The fourth mutant to step forward as Sunspot. Up until his advancement, Sunspot was forced to limit his activity due to his greatest weakness: he required the sun to fuel his mutant powers. Now, he could store massive amounts of energy within his body. As if to prove this, Sunspot powered up in the dark lab, projecting a thin ray of light around his pitch-black form. Only his glowing white eyes and his teeth were visible in the void.
The fifth and sixth mutants changed very little in appearance. Mastermind and Mesmero emerged from their respective chambers, looking much the same as they did before. Strangely, Mesmero's eyes had changed color; one was blue, the other red. Both of their mental powers had increased drastically, and though neither had been made a general, Apocalypse had big things planned for them.
"Today, we make our first move against the oppression of the mutants," Trask announced to his army. "We have waited many years for this, but at long last, we will fight back. I have asked myself sometimes if we are doing the right thing. I wonder if this is a foolish idea, to take on these mutants. Then, I look at the faces of my brave men, and see the determination in their eyes. I see that they are willing to fight for what they believe in, willing to fight for what is right! Only a pure-blooded human is so brave to fight for their freedom! You are not cowards, you are soldiers! You are men! You are human!" The soldiers below cheered. "We are all that is left of humanity, but by the end of this nightmare, we will be the majority. The world will be ours once more! Mutants use their trickery to hide their lack of combat skill, a skill found only in pure-blooded humans, found only in our blood! You, the pure-blooded soldiers, the proud fighters who have banded together from all parts of the world, you will take back the world! They will be no match for you! March forth, brave soldiers! I have seen the future, men, and I have seen victory! Nothing will stand in our way!" The soldiers below cheered at his encouraging words. It was clear that they were ready for battle. Upon Trask's orders, entire platoons loaded into giant circular metal crates, and inside, they all took small pills designed to prevent nausea, and they fastened themselves tightly to seats lining the walls. Each metal troop carrier was picked up by a large crane and magnetically attached to the back of an individual Sentinel. The Carrier Sentinels took flight and headed east, to Spain.
What will Apocalypse do to baby Kevin? What was up with McGregor's death? Who IS Sabretooth working for? Does Trask's army stand a chance? Has Lance finally been freed from Apocalypse? And just what is up with the skinny guy with the eye tattooed on his forehead? Just so you know, the main team's getting narrowed down, so more focus will be placed on the central characters.