Battle for the World
"ARE THEY OUT OF THEIR MINDS?" Althea shouted. "HOW THE HELL COULD THEY USE SENITNELS?"
"Not that they're doing much," Arcade pointed out. The Horsemen were taking down the Sentinels with ease.
"Yeah but they've weakened the barrier," Althea said. "They've done enough!"
"Come on let's get over there!" Lance remarked.
"Right!" Althea nodded. They pressed their teleportation watches. However only she, Xi and Arcade showed up at the X-Mansion.
"Something's not right here," Arcade looked at his watch.
"Huh?" Althea looked around. "How come Arcade, Xi and I are the only ones to get through? Where'd the others go?"
"Uh Sis…" Quinn appeared on one of the X-Men's monitor. "We had a little problem. The Mass Device kind of went kablooey again."
"How?" Althea asked.
Behind them there seemed to be a lot of peanut butter, jelly and milk all over the machine. "We have no idea," Daria said simply. "We can't get in contact with the guys either!"
"Wonderful," Althea groaned.
"We'd better start without 'em!" Logan grunted.
Nick Fury was there as well. "I knew Trask's stupid overgrown Go-bots wouldn't work. Logan I'm out of options."
"The Joe team?" Althea asked.
"They've been sent to protect Washington D.C.," Fury informed her. "Just in case."
"So it's up to us," Logan nodded. "We're gonna split up into four teams. Kurt, get Evan. We're gonna need his help. Scott, Jean see if you can round up anyone else. Arcade I want you to help cover the logistics so like it or not, we need you here. But I'm gonna leave Paige and Jesse here to help you. Not to mention make sure you don't trash Cerebro again."
"Hey!" Arcade snapped. "That was Jesse-boy! He…"
"Not now Arcade!" Althea snapped. "Trinity try to fix that thing and contact the boys will ya? How's Remy's leg?"
"Still broken," Brittany remarked.
"Broken? How…?" Logan began. "Never mind! Okay Rogue I need you for a special assignment…"
"Special assignment?" Rogue asked.
"Let's just say if something goes wrong, which it probably will, you're our ace in the hole," Logan told her.
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"OF ALL THE TIMES FOR THE STUPID THING TO BREAK!" Pietro groaned. "Where the heck are we?"
"It looks like we're in the middle of nowhere," Lance looked around the cornfield where they ended up. "I don't see Al or Arcade anywhere. Maybe they made it."
"So what do we do?" Todd asked. "We can't stay here and miss the fighting."
"We're gonna have to improvise," Lance grumbled. "Quicksilver see if you can find an airport or something."
"Gotcha!" Pietro ran off. A minute later he returned. "We're in luck," He grinned.
Ten minutes later…
"I can't wait to get back to Washington," Senator Kelly told his aide. "Campaigning on the road for Mutant Registration in these hick towns is a pain. Folks keep whining about their jobs or the economy or education instead of the real issues!"
"Yeah that is annoying," His aide said. "Especially around Election Day."
"Let's just get on the jet and…" He then saw his jet taking off without him. "WHAT IN THE WORLD? THAT'S MY JET?"
"Sorry sir," The head of airport security shrugged. "It was them Misfits. Said it was a matter of national security so…"
"MY JET! THEY STOLE MY JET!" Kelly screamed. "I HATE MUTANTS!"
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"Evan!" Kurt shouted as he scoured the sewers. "Evan!"
"What do you want here Topsider?" Façade revealed himself. Two other mutants appeared.
"Guys look!" A very large bald Morlock pointed. "He might be one of us!"
"No Sunder," Lucid told him. "He's one of the X-Men, remember?"
"I need to find Evan!" Kurt told them. "It's about his aunt! It's urgent!"
"The only family Spyke needs is us," Lucid told him.
"It's okay guys," Evan appeared. "What's this about my aunt?"
"Apocalypse," Kurt cut to the chase. "He's kidnapped her and the Professor."
"WHAT?" Evan instinctively shot his spikes out partially, making them rise. "Tell me everything!"
"Only time for the short version," Kurt said. "The Professor tried to talk Apocalypse out of his plans for world domination. Storm went with him but he captured them both. And now he's using them as puppets along with Magneto and Mystique in order to turn the entire world into mutants!"
"Wait, I've heard of Magneto," Lucid frowned. "He's a very powerful mutant. If someone like him can be controlled…"
"It doesn't bode well for the rest of us," Callisto appeared with more Morlocks.
"Even if what he says is true, why should we worry?" Feral flicked her tail. "Let him turn the Topsiders into mutants! It's what they deserve!"
"A lot of people are going to die in the process," Kurt explained. "He's going to slaughter millions of innocent people and he's going to use your aunt and Xavier to do it! Do you all really want that?"
"You have to ask?" Feral snarled. "They drove us down here! Why should we care what happens to them? They are the enemy! At least we'd be free of 'em and good riddance!"
"Quiet Feral!" Evan growled with authority. He turned to Callisto. "I have to go, my aunt…"
"I know," Callisto said softly. "Be careful."
"You can't be serious!" Feral snapped.
"She's his aunt Feral!" Tommy shouted. "How could you be so cold? Oh wait I forgot…"
"Don't go there Pancake Girl…" Feral snarled. "Unless you want to be sliced into ribbons!"
"Enough!" Callisto shouted. "It is not the Morlock way to kill mindlessly. Even if they are Topsiders! And it is certainly not our way to allow anyone to control a mutant for their own purposes, even if he is a fellow mutant. Besides if this Apocalypse succeeds what will stop him from trying to enslave other mutants? He may even come after us! Spyke go save your aunt. Do what you must."
"Thanks," Evan nodded. He turned to Tommy. "I'll come back as soon as I can."
"I know you will," She whispered to him. She kissed him on the lips. "Be careful."
"You know me," Evan said.
"Oh great now we're really worried," Lucid quipped.
"Come on," Evan put a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "Let's go!" They teleported back to the mansion.
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Apocalypse monitored the events on his machine and with his mind. "So the fools are going to oppose me with one final assault?" He mused. "This was not entirely unexpected."
He turned to his horseman Mystique. He found the woman's greed and lust for power distasteful yet it was that drive and her abilities that made her a perfect choice to be a horseman. "You know what to do," He told her. "Protect this temple. Destroy them all."
Mystique bowed and left. It's a shame to destroy such mutants with spirit, He thought. But if I cannot control them completely and if they continue to oppose m, regrettable as it is they must be disposed of. Well it's not like they cannot be replaced anyway when the new order is brought in and humanity is in its next phase of evolution.
Still there was a small part of him that regretted killing fellow mutants. But he pushed it aside. No, I must not have feelings for or trust anyone. The last time I did I was betrayed most cruelly. There can only be one. And only one can usher in this new age. And I am that man.
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"Okay teams this is it, everything you've ever learned about yourselves, your strengths and your limits, it all comes down to this very moment," Logan spoke to the teams using the intercom. They were all connected using both the Institute technology and SHEILD technology. "Tonight we're the world's last, best hope to stop this madman. So we're gonna trash those pyramids any way we can, no matter who we gotta go through to do it."
Each team was at their designated position. The Egyptian pyramid team consisted of Jean, Amara, Peter, Tabitha, Jamie and Xi. The Mexico team was Wanda, Kitty, Roberto, Warren and Alex who Scott had picked up using the Blackbird. The China team was Hank, Evan, Bobby and Ray. At the Sphinx were Logan, Althea, Scott and Kurt. The remaining were backup. "You've all been put into special teams. Teams whose members have the best shot of taking down each horseman."
"Yeah makes perfect sense to send a water ninja to the Egyptian desert," Althea quipped.
"The operative word is ninja Wavedancer," Logan told her. "Now move out!"
The battle began around the world. Despite their initial pleas the mutants couldn't convince the mutants being controlled by Apocalypse. Jean ended up in a psychic battle with Xavier. Ororo raged down hailstones and lighting on her own nephew. Even Wanda was finding it difficult battling her own father, no matter how much she hated him.
Logan and his team made their way through the Sphinx. "Can you sense Mystique?" Scott asked.
"No," Logan grunted. "Apocalypse must be amplifying her powers. She could be standing right next to us and we'd never know it."
That was when a puddle morphed behind them. Mystique attacked them. Scott blew a hole in her stomach but to his horror she recovered almost instantly. Logan slashed with his claws but her body simply reformed itself. Then she turned herself into several bats. "Since when could she do this?" Althea groaned as she tried to fight them off with the others.
"This isn't going well…" Kurt groaned.
"I just hope the others are having better luck," Scott grunted.
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In Mexico things were not going well at all. Wanda struggled to remain conscious. She looked around and saw that everyone else was unconscious. However Magneto was flying high up in the sky. "Kitty…" Wanda's voice was hoarse as she tried to wake her up. "Now's our chance. The pyramid is unprotected…We can still…"
It was no use. She was out cold. Wanda struggled to her feet and used her powers to destroy the pyramid. She managed to disrupt its systems. However Magneto realized what she was doing and started to attack her. Wanda was still weakened from the battle and could not escape in time. "Father…" She cried out just as he threw a part of the Sentinel at her.
Suddenly something grabbed her and dragged her out of harms way. She looked up and realized that she was in the arms of her brother. "Hey sis," Pietro smiled as he gently put her down. "Looks like you could use a hand." He nodded his head to the remaining Misfits.
"So we bummed a jet, got lost and still managed to make it here in time," Todd grinned. He looked around. "Hey! Al's not here!"
"She's in Egypt with Xi," Wanda explained.
"It figures," Todd groaned.
"Look out!" Fred cried out as Magneto tossed the jet at them. He used his strength to protect the others.
"Avalanche! Bring him down!" Pietro ordered.
Kitty awoke to a familiar rumbling as Lance buried Magneto beneath the rubble. However it didn't take him long to escape it. "This is not good…" Todd gulped as he dodged the metal debris.
All over the world the X-Men and Misfits were fighting. Tabitha gave time bombs to Peter to throw as well as for slingshots for Xi and thousands of Jamies. However it was not enough. Even Amara's firepower couldn't stop them from the Professor's new strength. In the end only Jean wearing Cerebro could match him. Still it was a stalemate. She could only stall him.
The others were not faring any better. Ray tried to fry Ororo using her own electricity. However she made it rain, shorting out his own powers. Kurt and Althea tried to break into Apocalypse's chamber, only to be knocked unconscious by him. And Mystique had just beaten Scott and seriously hurt Logan.
"They're all losing!" Arcade cried as he monitored the situation. "Trinity can you hear me?"
"Yes," Daria said. "We're monitoring the situation. Apocalypse has broken up the pyramids into little bits. We got a couple of Sentinels trying to break 'em up…Wait a minute. We had a couple of Sentinels. Magneto just destroyed them."
"This isn't good," Arcade groaned. "There's already disturbances in the atmosphere. Low level radiation is just beginning to emerge. In ten minutes it will fill the world! It's over!"
"Wolverine…" Hank gasped. "We're not gonna make it."
"Hang on…" Logan rasped. "We've got one play left…"
"Fools," Apocalypse said to himself. "You are doomed." He lay down in the Eye of Ages and powered up the machine. "And the evolution begins."
He felt the energy flow through him, giving him power. It surged through his body, straining it to the ultimate. He winced in agony, yet determined to stay focused, for what was a little pain compared to the glory about to come. He was giving birth to a new world order. It was a sacrifice he was willing to make.
And then the pain and the energy stopped.
He looked up, weakened and woozy and saw the girl. The one called Rogue glaring at him. To his horror he saw her closing the doors of the Eye of Ages. He tried to fight her off but he was too weak and she was much stronger than he was. "No!" He shouted.
"You've used us for the last time!" Rogue shouted as she closed up the Eye of Ages, imprisoning Apocalypse.
Logan jumped on top of the Eye of Ages in order to keep Apocalypse locked in as he tried to fight his way out. "Rogue!" Logan shouted. "Turn the power back on!"
She did so. Soon the machine powered up. Logan jumped off it just as it started to glow. He slashed at the controls and they ran out of the way. It then disappeared with a great flash. "What happened?" She asked. "Where'd it go?"
"I dunno," Logan picked up Kurt. "Hopefully it fell through the cracks of time, never to be seen again."
"For some reason I don't think we'll be that lucky," Rogue mused.
"How are they?" Logan asked Sam.
"They're waking up," Sam said.
"Ugh…" Althea groaned. "Sam? What happened?"
"I busted Rogue in and she got Apocalypse," Sam grinned.
"How did you…?" Althea gasped.
"Simple," Logan grinned. "Remember that kid who could cancel out energy and powers we told you about? I had Rogue 'borrow' his powers for a second. She shut down both the Eye of Ages and Apocalypse with one blow." He handed Kurt to Rogue.
"Did we make it?" Scott asked as they hobbled out of the Sphinx. "Do you think Apocalypse was stopped in time?"
"We cut it close but uh," Logan sighed. "Yeah."
"Yippee…" Althea groaned.
"You did it Rogue," Kurt said. "The girl who shut herself off from the world, just saved it."
"I wish I could say I did it for the world," Rogue sighed.
"Rogue…Kurt," They turned around and saw Mystique. She looked weak and haggard and very ashamed. "I just want to say…The things I did…All the things I did were…"
"Save it Mystique!" Kurt interrupted her.
"Even you don't believe your excuses," Rogue turned her back on her. "So just leave us alone!"
Kurt teleported Rogue to the nearest SHEILD Jet. "That's your cue to get out," Logan growled at Mystique. "I'd take it if I were you."
"Remind me why we just don't grab her and throw her lying ass in jail?" Althea grunted.
"We couldn't hold her anyway for long," Logan grumbled as Mystique transformed into a bird and flew away. "We'll get her next time."
"Good news!" Arcade's voice went over the intercom. "All the captives are now free. Apocalypse isn't controlling them anymore!"
"Thank god…" Scott sighed.
"Thank Rogue," Althea told him.
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Back in Mexico…
"Well that was a fun trip," Kitty moaned as Lance helped her to the waiting SHEILD jets and helicopters.
"Not exactly my idea of a fun date," Lance grinned at her.
"Ohhh…" Warren groaned as he found himself slung over Fred's shoulder. "What happened?"
"We saved your butts," Todd remarked casually. "You owe us big time! Hey! He's fainted again!"
"Father…" Pietro said softly as he and Wanda helped Magneto carry him to the jets.
"Yes Pietro?" Magneto asked.
"You're under arrest," Pietro frowned at him.
"Oh no he's not!" A voice said.
"What?" Pietro looked up and was knocked back by a psychic blast.
"Who…?" Wanda looked up into the sky and saw two figures floating there.
"Hello sister," Lorna said mockingly. "Nice to finally meet you."
"As much as I love family reunions," Lucas said. "We have places to go. Thanks for bringing our leader back to us!" He used his powers to knock the weakened mutants down as Lorna used her abilities to commander one of the SHIELD helicopters. She fashioned it into a spaceship type orb Magneto once used.
Then Lucas used his telekinesis to grab Magneto. "Hello there," Lucas grinned. "We've never met but I believe you know me dad, Charles Xavier. Your daughter Polaris here and I have had some lovely chats about the two of you. Let's get to know each other better shall we?" He helped him into the orb. "Come on Love! We can't hang about here all day!" They went inside the orb and it flew away.
"Holy…" Fred's jaw dropped as the orb disappeared into the sky. "Was that…?"
"Xavier's kid and Magneto's other kid?" Lance groaned. "Looks like it."
"Magneto has…another daughter…" Wanda gasped. "With his powers. I didn't want to believe it but…"
"And it looks like Baldy's kid isn't half as tolerant as his old man is," Pietro growled.
"Oh this is totally not good," Kitty groaned. "Why do I have the feeling Apocalypse was just a warm up compared to those three?"
Next: A party to celebrate the victory! But the dangers are nowhere near over for our heroes! What will happen? Wait and see!
