Woohoo!! Oh so many reviews and new reviewers!! I love you all!! I hope you all had a great holiday (Chanukah rocked at my house!) and I hope you'll have a great new year! I'm so glad you all liked the last chapter, I had that one in my head since I started writing this thing oh so many months ago! I hope this chapter is good, and the next one will be awesome!! Once again, sorry about the lack of Romy in the last chapter, I PROMISE lots of Romy in the next chapter, as well Jonda for all those Jonda fans out there. I hope this dose of Betsy/Warren will hold you over for a while. The next chapter is gonna be… uh… something big, so stick around!! Oh yeah, and, as always, Keep Reviewing!!
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– CHINA –
"What is it?" Magneto demanded from Psylocke as the team waited inside a magnetic shield. Quicksilver continued to apply pressure to Scarlet Witch's wounds as his own began to heal rather quickly. Toad and Iceman just watched, waiting for what was going to happen next. Psylocke stood at the barrier of the shield as the watched the rumbling pyramid, more concerned and doubtful than she had ever been before. She tried to ignore still the terrible images of painful death and mistakes.
"I'm not sure, shut up." She said back without turning her head. Suddenly she shuddered as she felt whatever it was that was stirring with the pyramid burst form the top. It shot straight through the tip of the pyramid without heed and high up into the air. At first, it went too fast to see, but Psylocke knew what it was. She immediately turned away, her fears having been confirmed. Iceman stood up to meet her as she buried her head in his chest. All he could do was watch, just as everyone else, as whatever it was began to slow down.
"Angel…" Iceman muttered fearfully as he saw the man in the sky display his expansive wing span. His eyes glowed green as he callously looked down on the team within the magnetic bubble shield. There was a calm silence for a moment until Angel beat his wings and two firey bombs, one from each wing, flew at the shield like torpedoes. They all cowered; unsure the shield would protect them. It faltered a bit as the fire crashed against it, but remained stable.
"What was that?" Toad asked Psylocke.
"I don't know." She said indignantly at the fact he thought she would have all the answers.
"Whoa, man, it's rank." Toad replied.
"Ughh… like rotten eggs." Iceman added as he attempted to waft away the stench in front of his nose.
"Sulfur." Magneto concluded. "He's raining down sulfur."
"How long is this going to hold up?" Psylocke asked as Angel squeezed out two more pellets of burning sulfur from his wings. They hit the shield and once again it buckled under the pressure, causing Magneto to wince.
"Not long, I'm afraid…" He admitted, much to the harm of his pride.
"Let me out then, I'll see if I can talk him down." Psylocke proposed.
"Hey… no way." Iceman said protectively. "I doubt that's safe."
"Shut up, Bobby." She responded defiantly.
"Listen, if she thinks she can get somewhere with this 'winged-wonder' let her go. What chance do we have otherwise?" Toad argued. "I mean, I'm not gonna do it." Magneto sighed as Psylocke dug her heels into the ground, adamant about her point. He looked up to Angel in the sky as another burning sulfur bomb torpedoed their way. Once again, Magneto felt the assault on the magnetic field. He grimaced, then carefully waited for the moment to let the shield down. Psylocke ran out, not exactly sure where to go once she was free. As soon as she cleared the barrier, the shield was re-initiated. Angel immediately took it upon himself to destroy her, throwing burning sulfurous ash at her.
"Warren!" She shouted as she tried to gain his attention. He merely continued his assault as she ducked out of the way and slashed the bombs with her sword. "Angel, stop this!" She shouted again.
"Angel is no more." He said suddenly and stoically.
` "What?" She said frustrated, hoping for a different answer.
"I herald the Apocalypse. He is judge and jury in the trail of who is fit to go on in the new world… I am the executioner." He explained, sulfur raining from the sky. Psylocke couldn't help but notice, as he was speaking, the sulfur bombs destroyed everything in their path, but left her unharmed, falling in a ring that stretched around her two feet on all sides. "I am the Archangel of Death."
"I won't believe that." She said forcefully. "You wanted to help people! How could you--"
"The world will be a better place when it is rid of the burden of the weak of body and mind." He cut her off. "Your hopeless affection for Warren Worthington has left you careless. You must be removed."
"Then kill me!" She screamed.
"What?!" Iceman yelled from inside the helpless cove.
"He can't do it!" Psylocke reassured him. "Warren's resisting Apocalypse's control, he can't kill me!" She looked up at the Archangel to see another sulfur bomb hurdling right at her. She was too shocked to move out of the way, but found herself lying on the ground under a tree, Quicksilver on top of her.
"Are you crazy??!!" He screamed at her. "You trying to get yourself killed?!" She looked up over his shoulder at another sulfur bomb falling from the sky. He looked up at the bomb but, they couldn't get out of the way in time. They both cowered, not knowing what to do, then suddenly, the bomb was deflected by an ice shield over them.
"C'mon, stay under my bridge!" Iceman shouted as he reached under the shield.
"Thanks, Ice cube, but we're outta here." Quicksilver grabbed Psylocke and carried her under the magnetic bubble in a split second. Iceman trailed behind on his bridge. The sulfur bombs following after him hit the bridge, then rolled off. But eventually, they managed to melt through it. The bridge was in trouble of collapsing when the bombs abruptly stopped. He looked behind him to see why, and saw the bombs moving to side as they approached the bridge from above. Then he looked ahead of him to see the Scarlet Witch straining as she raised her hands in the air to hex the projectiles aside. He made it back under the shield safely, allowing the Scarlet Witch to breathe a sigh of relief, no longer having to exert her powers under such stress and exhaustion.
"What are we gonna do?" Toad shouted with fear and frustration as Psylocke beat Quicksilver who was holding her back from rushing out to the Archangel.
"Leave me alone! I can get him to--" She shouted.
"Silence." Magneto demanded. "Heroics like that will only get you killed." He spoke mostly to Psylocke, but also to Quicksilver at his attempt to save Psylocke. "If you won't follow orders, I'll deal with both you and the bird-man myself. You have no one to run to this time, Psylocke. You will follow my commands."
"No, you listen to me!" Psylocke screamed as she stomped Quicksilver's foot, getting him to let her go. "Look, he's still there, he's still fighting Apocalypse, I swear to you he is." She pleaded, then turned her focus to Scarlet Witch. "If you zap him, maybe it'll break down his defenses enough for me to knock him out."
"No. She's too weak." Magneto answered for her, trying to protect his daughter as she sat on the ground.
"I'll do it." Scarlet Witch demanded in defiance. Suddenly, they all jumped as a sulfur bomb finally ripped its way through Magneto's shield.
"Nobody freak, I got it covered." Iceman said as he blasted it over, turning it into a ball of ice.
"We're running out of time." Magneto sighed. "If you are going to do it, it has to be now." Psylocke looked over Magneto's shoulder at a weary Scarlet Witch. The Scarlet Witch nodded at Psylocke, signifying she was ready to go. Then Psylocke nodded at Magneto. He sighed one last time, and the magnetic dome that had been protecting them came down.
"Angel, listen to me!" Psylocke pleaded with him as Toad, Quicksilver, and Iceman took off to divert him from hurting everyone. The Scarlet Witch could do nothing, having to preserve her energy. "Warren, it's me, Betsy, remember?" She said, hoping it would snap him out him stupor enough to stay still for a moment. "The museum… just a couple of weeks ago… remember? We had a pash under the Van Gogh painting! Warren, just please, listen to me!" She was growing frustrated as he was unresponsive. Suddenly, the Archangel turned to stare at her. She thought for a moment she was getting through to him, until he beat his wings in her direction and a firey ball flew at her. When it hit the ground in front of her and exploded, it knocked her back to where Magneto was protecting the Scarlet Witch.
"You are failing!" Magneto spat at her. She just looked at him, and out of the blue, remembered something Emma had said.
"Jason cried like a little girl." Psylocke remembered.
"What are you staring at?" Magneto asked her with disgust as she made no action. Quicksilver and Toad were trying their best to keep the Archangel occupied, hopping and running about, so he wouldn't hurt the Scarlet Witch, Magneto or Psylocke.
"Mastermind…" Psylocke mumbled as she looked at Magneto and remembered the Jason she knew, and the Acolytes.
"What about him?" Magneto was growing impatient.
"Jason Wyngarde… Reagan… his daughter Reagan…" Psylocke continued to mumble. Finally, she looked away from Magneto and up at the Archangel. "Warren, you know me." Psylocke said as she got up to try again with Archangel. "Elisabeth Braddock, remember? You said you knew my name." He finally stopped his assault on Toad and Quicksilver, giving both them and Iceman a break, fire raging the Chinese landscape. "It was Reagan Wyngarde's birthday party. I told you I was 15, but I was only 13. You were just there for the weekend, but I lived there, remember? We played spin the bottle. I didn't remember it myself until now. I didn't want to remember the Hellfire Club. But I know now, it wasn't all bad. I met you, Warren, and here we meet again. It's destiny. You were my first kiss." Everyone stopped to stare at her and the way she just opened herself up. No one present had ever seen her so vulnerable. Archangel hovered silently in the air as he tried to contemplate her words. Suddenly, he was hit in the back with a hex bolt. The Scarlet Witch finally collapsed in her father's arms due to her physical wounds and exhaustion. Psylocke watched helplessly as Archangel dangled in the air, about to fall since he was no longer able to use his wings. Iceman created a slide to catch him as he soared toward the ground. When the Archangel landed, he appeared lifeless and unconscious. Iceman cautiously came to his aid. Psylocke stayed put. She felt as though there was a voice telling her not to go near him, but she wasn't sure if she could trust it.
"Warren?" Iceman asked carefully. "Angel?"
"No… wait…" Psylocke finally muttered as Iceman put his hand on Archangel's shoulder to shake him. "No!--" All of a sudden, he sprung to life, beating his wings in Iceman's face and throwing burning ash in his eyes.
"AAAAHHHH!!!!!!" Iceman screamed. Psylocke ran first to Iceman. She helped him concentrate on not feeling the pain while she aided him in getting the ash out of his eyes. The Archangel kept flapping burning ash from his wings, waiting until he could once again take flight. Magneto raised the last two of Harpoon's spears off the ground and sent them through Archangel's wings and into the ground, pinning him down. He let out a painful howl as Psylocke left Iceman to go to side.
"You didn't have to do that!" Psylocke shouted at Magneto as she straddled Archangel and smacked him in the side of the head with a psionic dagger. The Archangel screamed as he fell unconscious, this time, for real. "Warren? Warren??" She pleaded with him to wake up. "Warren?!" She grew frantic when she could no longer sense anything within him. "Warren? My Angel?? Oh please wake up… Warren?" Finally, he moaned as he blinked his eyes open. She heaved a sigh of relief when the green glow was gone, and she could see his cool blue eyes. "Warren…" She finally said, exasperated.
"Didn't you used to be a blond?" He whimpered at her.
"Yes…" She smiled, on the brink of tears of joy. "Yes… among other things."
"Bobby… I'm sorry, man." Angel said as he lay on the ground. Iceman was still sitting in the dirt trying to get the sulfur out of his eyes. He used his own cooling powers to soothe the burn.
"I… uh… I think I'll be okay." Iceman answered. Angel looked up at Psylocke still straddling him with a knee at each of his hips, and tried to sit up, only making worse the pain in his wings.
"Stay there!" Psylocke instructed him. "Magneto, get those things out of him." She growled angrily. Magneto, sitting on the ground, reluctantly raised one hand in the air to lift out the harpoons while he held an unconscious Scarlet Witch's head in the other. Psylocke focused on releasing Angel of his pain while the spikes were pulled out of him. When they were gone, Angel fell back on the ground and watched as Psylocke reopened her eyes. He put a hand on her cheek and smiled at her. She nestled his hand then looked at him; something wasn't right. She moved her face away from for him to see his hand remained. He was frozen in place. "What's going on?" Psylocke asked as she waved her hands in front of Angel's face.
"What do you mean?" Magneto asked bitterly.
"He's just stuck there… as if time stopped for him." She answered. Then she got a very odd feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Whoa…" Quicksilver said as he and Toad admired his rigid form. They poked at him, but he didn't move.
"Hey, man, another statue!" Toad said with excitement.
"Don't even joke like that!!" Psylocke screamed at him. Then, the feeling in her stomach rose to her throat as she saw a bright orange light reaching over the horizon.
"What is that?" Magneto asked. The light moved so quickly, the team could do nothing but brace for impact as it enveloped them all where they stood.
– MEXICO –
"How can that be?" Storm asked the Beast in disbelief. "How could she just come out of a coma like that?"
"I don't know!" was Beast's reply over a clap of thunder. "If he can clone, who knows what else he could do!"
"Do we know who that is?" Magma interjected, pointing to the woman hovering over the hole in the top of the pyramid. She wore a black swim suit type uniform with a lightening bolt across the torso and black, thigh high boots. She had a black mask over her peacefully shut eyes as she looked up in the sky. Her long blonde hair danced over her head and shoulders as it defied gravity.
"That's Carol Danvers… Miss Marvel…" Storm answered solemnly.
"Oh…" Magma muttered, remembering the woman now. She bathed in the light that came down from the clouds. She absorbed its energy and soaked up its power. The team was too stunned by what they saw to do anything until Storm reached out.
"Carol, what are you doing?" Storm yelled. Carol calmly bowed her head from the hole in the sky. When she opened her eyes, the green glow radiated off of her black mask, sending the team back a few steps, shocked. It was the first time they'd ever seen her eyes open, and even still, they couldn't see them.
"Why do you call me that? I know of no 'Carol'." She answered. Her voice was calm but angry; it spread out over the howling winds and roaring thunder. "I am the sower of hate and discord. I bring vengeful conflict and irreparable damage. I am the Warbird, horseman of the Apocalypse."
"No…" Beast muttered.
"Hey, listen lady--" Sunspot started,
overly confident. Warbird reached her hand up into the air and made a fist, as if she was grabbing some of the essence of the light. Then she cast her hand back down, throwing the raw power back at Sunspot, sending him flying back into the deep woods of the Yucatan peninsula.
"Alright, Beast, she's made her first move. We can't stall now. You lead the ground assault; I'm going to try to take care of whatever's up there that's giving her her power. Blob, you go get Roberto." Storm directed. Everyone did as they were ordered. Storm took to the air with a shaky start, fighting hard to pull some wind out of the tornadic atmosphere. The Warbird watched angrily as she pulled more light, preparing to throw it at Storm. She smiled as she was about to carry out Apocalypse's command, when her hand was held back. She looked over her shoulder to see Beast holding her arm, and Cannonball crashing back into the ground after having dropped him off at the top of the pyramid.
"Carol, please, this isn't you." The Beast pleaded with her.
"Me? How do you know what is me? I do not know what is me." With that, she pulled her arm down, sending Beast flying through the air, just as Sunspot and Blob were emerging from the forest. Sunspot screamed in the Blob's arms as Beast came hurdling toward him. The Blob calmly raised Sunspot up in the air, and Beast crashed into his stomach.
"Hey, watch where you're goin'!" Blob shouted at Beast indignantly. The Beast grumbled as she reeled from his collision.
"Sorry…" He mumbled as he sat up on the ground, then he looked up at Storm wrestling with nature in the sky. She could barely keep a stable position in the air as the winds fought to follow her commands over the Warbird's. Storm called the clouds to calm and separate as they spun around the light beam, but her cries were unheeded. They were moving too fast to break their momentum. She tried to lift herself above to see the source of the light, but the storm clouds were so thick they acted as a wall, preventing her from getting through. She acted as a conductor for lightening in hopes of relieving the unnatural pressure on the atmosphere, but it merely allowed for more pressure to be added. Storm barely got a glimpse of her impending doom as Warbird smiled wickedly at her. Warbird pulled at the light once again to throw it at Strom, when a wall of lava flew up in front of her. She grew frustrated at it, then directed the power of the light at it, instantly cooling it.
"Whoa…" Magma said as her control was being tested again. Then the wall of hard rock was shattered as the light bursted through it.
"Sunspot?!" Beast yelled at him, hoping he could do something to stop the horseman.
"There's nothing I can do!" He answered. "The clouds are too thick. I can't fire up."
"I'm on it!" Cannonball shouted as he took a few steps back. He shot off into the air, headed straight for Warbird at the top of the pyramid while she was distracted with Storm. When she finally saw him coming, Warbird tried to blast him, but his envelope of kinetic invulnerability protected him. Cannonball braced for impact as he collided with her, since he wasn't very good at slowing down. He hit the Warbird with enough force to knock her out of the light beam, and onto the ground. Nature reacted with Warbird's removal from the light, and the clouds and winds began to slow down. When the two landed, Warbird was on her back with Cannonball on top.
"Get off me!! Get offa me!!" She shouted frantically as she tried to wriggle her way out of Cannonball's grasp, but without the light, she had no power. "No! Don't touch me!!"
"Calm down, lady, you'll be okay." Cannonball tried to reassure her, growing afraid of her erratic behavior.
"No! No!--" Suddenly, Warbird froze solid as stone.
"Whoa…" Cannonball muttered as he stood up.
"What happened?" The Beast asked as he rushed to Warbird's side.
"I didn't do it!" Cannonball blurted out.
"What happened?" Beast asked again as he poked at the Warbird, completely solid. Suddenly, the light beam withdrew back into the clouds from where it came, no longer having anything to anchor it down. Storm was able to calm herself down, no longer struggling with the sky, but working with it, parting the clouds and sending them back into the atmosphere where they belonged. The night sky revealed itself, calm, warm, and clear.
"What's going on? I couldn't hardly draw enough winds to keep myself aloft, let alone--" Storm stopped dead once she landed on the ground to see the paralyzed silhouette of the Warbird. "What's… how did…?" She stuttered.
"She just stopped." Cannonball answered.
"Oh my god!" Magma shouted, drawing to their attention to the bright orange light sweeping across the sky. It replaced the dark night and wrapped up the X-Men without warning.
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Rogue151 – I don't usually answer questions like this, but I think you're just reading into it too far. It isn't Malice, it's just plain ole Apocalypse. Check out Ascension, the horsemen all had a funky green glow in their eyes. Sorry no Rogue in this one, definitely in the next chapter though. Stick around, next chapter will be AWESOME!!
Deacon – Sorry for the cliffhangers… but it keeps you all interested. Thanks for the offer on helping with my fight scenes, but I prefer to keep it… y'know… I just don't like to share! Plus, I reveal no secrets… not to anyone! Keep reviewing, and the next chapter will be totally awesome!
sakura blossoms4 – Hey, a new reviewer!! Nice. I really like your name, is it from "The Narrow Road to the Interior"? I just read that in English class, and somehow, it sounds familiar. Anyhoo, thanks for the compliment, stick around, the next chapter will be great!
Aro – Yay!! You're back!! Don't neglect my story any longer! If others must suffer because of it, so be it!! Sorry you had to read it over, this one big piece of work, let me tell ya!! The end is drawing near though, I'll be sad when it's over. But keep reviewing and maybe it won't be so bad!
Ishandahalf – Alright Romy lover, hope this was quick as a bunny on crack… however fast that bloody is!! What are the units for that? Bunnies on crack per second? Bunnies per gram of crack per hour?? Well, whatever, just get back to me on that! Sorry, there wasn't much Romy in the last chapter like I purported, and none in this chapter (Hopefully Betsy/Warren will tide you over???) There will DEFINITELY be Romy in the next chapter, as well as Jonda, so stick around! And keep those reviews a comin' supafast!
X-Men Fanitic – Hey, thanks! I totally didn't think the Prof and Storm were gonna be horsemen (Mystique and Magneto were given though) but I like the way the show did it. Even though I liked that way, I'm a die hard comic fan, so I thought it was blasphemy that Angel wasn't a horseman!! Fixed that problem though! Sorry about the lack of Romy, but there will be plenty in the next chapter, I swear!!
aimtbj – Yay!! Another new reviewer!! Are you situated well on the edge of your seat? I wouldn't want you to fall!! Stick around, Next chapter will kick ass! And, like the review whore that I am, Keep reviewing!!
Caliente – Hey!! Whassup?? Where ya been?! Oh well, you're hear now, and I love you for it. Thanks so much for the compliments about my fight scenes, I'm having particularly difficult time with the one I'm writing now, but, I should have it done soon (Nothing to do over Winter Break! w00t!). Hey, better just leaving some things to the imagination than ruining them, right?? Well, keep those reviews a comin'!!
jadesky1 – Woohoo!! Another new reviewer!! Yay! I love you! I'm glad you enjoy the romyness, more in the next chapter, I promise. Thanks for your collation on NYU… I'm very bitter now… it is their loss!!! I'm sorry about the whole Creole/Cajun thing. I always thought there was a difference, but I was never exactly sure what it was. I certainly didn't mean to offend, I won't make the mistake again. Thanks for pointing it out, and thanks for reading! Stick around for the next chapter!
X-Fan – Don't sweat it, more Romy next chapter. And every time you review, you make my day!! I'm so glad I have an addicted fan!! You might want to steer clear of hard drugs, those aren't good addictions. But keep reviewing my story, and the Next chapter will be great, I guarantee it!!
