Thanks to:
x-BeypokeDigifan – Remy's in Egypt to fight Angel and Rogue and Jean will certainly come face-to-face in this chapter!
LadyEvils – I never understood why Evan went but not the other Morlocks, although to tell the truth I'm not very familiar with most of them, so I just opted for Callisto and Scaleface (because she has a cool name, lol). Pyro will be looking out for his lady.
Rogue14 – The big fight took forever to write and has plenty of Remy (I've never really used him much in my fics, but I found him surprisingly fun to write here). And I loved the last chapter of your fic!
X00001 – Uh, X23 wasn't in the other chapters because it wouldn't have changed much from the episode so it just kinda, uh, happened in the background. Wow, did I cover that gaping plot hole poorly or what? I just like writing X23 going all crazy, she's a lot of fun!
DemonRogue13 – Hope you enjoy this chapter, the longest I've ever written!
XX-Goth-Gal – I'm so glad I could make you visualise the scenes, I always think the best writing is when you forget you're reading. I actually put in Scaleface because I liked the name and is one of the few Morlocks I have some background info on (although not much). Hope this chapter can get you drooling too!
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters contained herein.
Author Note: This is the penultimate chapter and the longest I've ever written. My advice is to get yourself a coffee/ cigarette/ chocolate muffin or whatever because you'll be here a while! I should have the epilogue up in three days or so and the next chapter of my Jeance fic up shortly (sorry to everyone waiting for it, it took so long to get this chapter completed!). Give me feedback, let me know what you thought!
And happy bonfire night people! Pyro's favourite holiday, with all its explosions and legalised arson, is also mine. I have fireworks, matches and a deranged smile. I'm set!
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Egypt.
Storm flew up into the air, the sky darkening as she faced off with Angel. She summoned a bolt of lightening but before she could hit him, Angel shot a bunch of darts at her. Storm dodged to one side, the needlepoints getting close enough to tear her cape.
Gambit stepped forward and with a casual flick of his wrist sent several glowing cards at Angel. Using his metallic wings as a shield, Angel stopped the attack and aimed more darts at the group on the ground. Most of them ducked, six Multiple clones who were too slow disintegrating as they were hit.
Gathering her senses, Storm hurled a lightning bolt at the horseman. Again Angel used his wings to protect himself. Storm had expected that the metal they were now made of to conduct the electricity through his body and ground him but whatever the alloy was, it absorbed the lightning bolts with no ill effect. Storm summoned a shower of hail localised above Angel's head, hoping it would force him to seek shelter. Instead, he flew directly at her with a snarl on his face. Too slow to move out of the way of the sudden attack, Storm had the wind knocked from her lungs and was carried several feet toward the ground until Angel stopped dead. She continued to fall, Colossus lumbering noisily forward and catching her.
Both Havok and Magma began to focus their powers on their adversary, Havok blasting energy beams and Magma aiming bolts of lava. Angel dodged the attacks with ease, using his wings to ward off the shots that got to close. Another rain of darts from his wings forced them to cease and take cover.
Roberto pulled at a dart that had become lodged into the ground, prising it loose. Even his enhanced strength in his Sunspot form wasn't enough to bend the metal and he guessed that at the velocity they were fired at, they could do some serious damage.
"Don't let these things hit you! Try to stay out of their way!"
"What you t'ink we been doing?" Gambit sounded sarcastic as he rolled out of the way of another barrage.
Getting her breath back, Storm rose into the air to see if there was any other way they could ground the horseman. Before summoning a blinding shower of rain, she offered a prayer to the Bright Lady that the other teams were having more luck than they were.
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China.
"Caliban, please! Let us help you!"
Spyke shouted to his former friend, hands held out in a futile gesture of peace.
"Watch it!" Beast tackled Spyke, knocking him out of the way as a large chunk of Sentinel thrown by Caliban almost took the boys head off.
With a shout, X-23 ran at Caliban, claws extended. She ducked a massive fist and scratched the twin claws down the horseman's back, creating shallow cuts in his pale skin.
"Don't hurt him!" Evan struggled to his feet and began running to where the two were fighting. "He's a victim in this, just like we are."
Readying herself to make a killing blow, X-23 paused for a moment too long. Caliban punched her in the stomach, lifting her into the air and knocking her almost twenty feet away from him. She lay stunned, the others hoping that her healing factor was enough to deal with the probable internal injuries that such a blow would cause.
Callisto crouched for a moment next to the fallen girl, then looked up at Spyke. "When I first went into the sewers, it was just Caliban and me. He found the Morlocks and I offered them sanctuary. It was his idea to act against the Pow-R-8 factory and if he were himself, he'd want us to do whatever we had to. Evan, take him down."
Spyke nodded, releasing two four-foot bones from his arm and throwing them at Caliban. They burst into flame as they hurled toward the horseman – but Caliban caught them in mid-air, the spikes disintegrating into powder where he held them, the flaming sections falling to the floor at his feet.
Scaleface, still in human form, glanced over at the others. "Anyone else think we're screwed?"
With an inarticulate roar, Caliban rushed at them.
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"Father! Why are you doing this?"
Boom-Boom shook her head as she watched the Scarlet Witch attempt to reason with Magneto. "It's official. Witchy finally lost her mind."
From the piles of ruined Sentinels, there was movement. Chunks of metal rose into the air, floating over to Wanda and crashing down with lethal force. A second before she could be crushed, Quicksilver dashed over and scooped her up, carrying her out of harms way.
"That's not our father," he said grimly, setting her back on her feet. "At least not anymore."
The metal that had been intended for Wanda stirred, rising into the air, forming a torso, limbs. A head, still mostly intact, topped off the makeshift robot. The eyes lit up and it seemed to look down at the group of teens come to stop it.
Shadowcat backed away with a gasp, reaching blindly for Lance's hand.
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The Sphinx.
The stairs leading down into the chamber where the X-men had first learned the origin of Apocalypse were still open. The team started down it, Nightcrawler waiting until the others were at the bottom before teleporting himself and the Professor into the chamber.
The room was silent, fallen rocks still littered around from their fight against the statues that had come to life even as they were sealed from the outside world. The Professor glanced around. "Do you sense her?"
"No," replied Wolverine. "Apocalypse has amplified her powers so she could be right next to us and I wouldn't know it."
The silence prevailed for a few more moments as they cautiously went further. Then there was a noise, a rumble, the ground shaking minutely.
"Feel that?" Nightcrawler glanced around, but saw nothing. "Something big just powered up in this place."
The six of them stopped, waiting to see what happened next. Pyro used a flamethrower to create a light so that they could see better…
…And the fire took shape against his will, forming a large bird that almost seemed to look at them. As Pyro turned off the flamethrower and tried to manipulate the flames, Jean flew out through the centre of the bird and headed straight for them.
The Professor's wheelchair went straight backward, hitting the wall and spilling him out. A fallen rock rose apparently of its own volition and knocked Pyro flying straight back into Wolverine, both of them landing in a heap of arms and legs. Cyclops was picked up and thrown at Nightcrawler, the elf teleporting before the team leader could hit him.
Mystique transformed into an eagle and flew at the redhead with a shriek, talons aiming for her eyes, only to be repelled by a telekinetic shield. Nightcrawler popped up behind Jean, reaching out to grab her and teleport, hoping several ports one after the other would disorient her, but before he could touch her he was seized by invisible hands and flung at Cyclops, who was just getting back to his feet. Once again the team leader was knocked off balance and fell to the floor.
Deeper within the Sphinx, Apocalypse heard the noises and frowned. The noise was irritating but not enough to distract him, not after all the millennia he had been imprisoned before he could carry out his plans. A wave of his hand created a hologram of the three pyramids and he forgot the fight outside as he returned his attention to the matter at hand.
Nothing could stop him now.
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Mexico.
The Sentinel punched a giant fist downward, Blob catching it and holding off the robot before it could hit the twins. Shadowcat released Lance's hand and followed them as they hurried out of the way, grabbing Wanda by the shoulders when they stopped.
"Wanda, you have to forget he's your father or we're going to lose this – and we can't lose!"
A well-aimed piece of metal hit Kitty in the back and knocked her flying.
"Kitty!" Avalanche ran over to her, barely noticing the Scarlet Witch back away. Realising that Kitty was out for the count, he turned and started an earth tremor that had no effect on the floating Magneto but knocked the Sentinel off-balance. Narrowing her eyes, Wanda aimed a hex bolt at Magneto whilst he was distracted keeping the robot upright. His powers negated briefly, Magneto was unable to stop the Sentinel from falling apart, the shower of metal causing the rest of the Brotherhood to scatter. But with his powers enhanced by Apocalypse, Magneto quickly shook off the effects of the hex bolt.
Sitting up groggily, Shadowcat rubbed her head and glanced over to the battle. She barely noticed Boom-Boom creating a bomb the size of a beach ball and giving it to Blob to hurl at their adversary. The pyramid had captured her attention. Its peak had begun to glow blue.
"Oh no…what's happening?"
The bomb Blob threw knocked Magneto into the side of the pyramid, alerting the rest of the team to the new development. Instead of capitalising on their sudden advantage, they stared as the top of the pyramid rose into the air, rapidly getting out of their sight.
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China.
Caliban glanced away from his adversaries as the top of the pyramid he was protecting flew straight up into the air.
Spyke watched it nervously. "Where's it going?"
"My guess is, he needs the pyramids in the higher atmosphere in order to affect the entire planet." Beast looked around at the others, trying desperately to come up with an alternative plan.
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Egypt.
"Dis can't be good," commented Gambit as the top of the pyramid rose into the air.
"No," whispered Storm as she watched it until it was out of sight. "No!"
Magma's shoulders sagged. "We're too late."
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A SHIELD facility.
"Sir? As ordered, our last three Sentinels are pursuing the pyramids."
Fury nodded, following the soldier deeper into the facility through the security doors. The computer screens showed the Sentinels attacking the pyramids. As he'd feared, the pyramids had force fields and the blasts didn't seem to be affecting them. Maybe the robots would break through Apocalypses defences and maybe not. But there was still hope, as long as Logan's plan worked.
Nick Fury wasn't convinced that it would.
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China.
"Listen, it's not over." Beast spoke urgently into his headset, taking cover as Caliban hurled a boulder at the team, missing as they dived out of the way but a largish chunk broke off as it landed and caught Scaleface on the back of the head. ""Those pyramids in the sky are probably orbital relays."
He winced as Callisto half-carried X-23 over. The clone was still injured from her previous attempt at an attack, but was conscious long before she had any right to be and not looking too healthy. Iceman followed them, creating a shield between them and the horseman and allowing Beast to get his message to the other teams.
"Just destroy the base units that power them."
"Understood," replied Storm from Egypt.
"Got it," added Avalanche in Mexico.
Beast was relieved to have gotten his message through, but was more thankful to have heard from his teammates and know they were still alive.
Berserker and Spyke were attempting a joint attack when he looked out from behind the shield, Berserker blasting bolts of electricity at Caliban and Evan trying to distract him with flaming spikes. Caliban caught a spike out of mid-air, grinning cruelly at his former friend but not noticing Ray unleash his powers. The electricity flowed through the horseman's body, causing him to arch his back and cry out in pain. Alarmed, Berserker immediately stopped firing and took a few steps forward, unthinkingly going to see how badly the Morlock was hurt.
Immediately shaking off the effects of the electricity, Caliban turned to Berserker and hurled the spike he was still holding at the boy. He stopped dead, a look of surprise on his face as he crumpled, the spike going with him.
Bobby ran toward his fallen friend, losing his ice form in his panic. "RAY!!"
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Mexico.
"Quicksilver, keep Magneto occupied," ordered Avalanche. "The rest of us need to take down the base unit!"
Nodding, Quicksilver took off and created a whirlwind around his father, Magneto caught in its updraft. Rolling his eyes back in his head, Avalanche hit the pyramid with an earth tremor while Blob circled away from the trembling ground to take a run-up to the structure. Shadowcat and Boom-Boom phased through the floor, rising closer to the pyramid so that Tabby could strike with a series of bombs.
Toad was the only one to notice the trouble they were in.
The Sentinels head rolled toward the spinning Magneto, getting into Quicksilver's path before he could alter his course. With a cry of alarm, Pietro skidded to a halt, releasing Magneto. A moment later, the horseman buried his son beneath the torn remains of another robot.
"Look out!" Toad yelled the warning to the others, who didn't hear him. The base unit was beginning to crumble and they all thought it was about to fall…
Not seeing the chunk of metal spinning her way, Shadowcat didn't phase and was hit across the back of the head, hitting the dirt and sliding. Boom-Boom barely had time to look around when the same piece hit her in the arm, dislocating her shoulder and knocking her down. Avalanche ran over to check on them, ceasing his attack on the base unit. He was too distracted to notice the lump of metal shooting along the floor and was tripped before he could reach the girls. Quickly he rolled onto his back to get up, but was submerged beneath a pile of robot parts before he could get to his feet.
Blob lumbered over to where Quicksilver had been buried, pulling the chunks of metal off the boy. As he lifted a particularly large piece, it twisted and elongated in his hands, wrapping around his body so he couldn't move. Trying to walk only made him fall. Using his considerable strength he began forcing the metal apart, but knew at once it was going to take too long to free himself.
Toad glanced over at the Scarlet Witch who was using her powers to lift the rubble off her brother, not seeing the wickedly sharp spear raise itself off the floor and fly directly at her.
"Wanda!"
He was between her and the weapon in two leaps, shooting out his tongue and catching it inches before it could hit the girl. She turned and gasped, realising how close she had just come to dying – then the spear, still being controlled by Magneto, yanked Toad forward at high velocity. His head connected with a tree and he went limp.
"Todd!"
Wanda ran over to her teammate, kneeling beside him and checking for a pulse, forgetting all about her father. The metal that had propelled Toad into the tree rose again, twisting itself around her neck and lifting her off the ground. Choking, Wanda tried to force her fingers into the noose, not realising that the other end was coiling around a sturdy tree branch. As her vision grew dark, she began to panic.
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Egypt.
Storm and Gambit worked together to distract Angel, Storm using her control of the weather to hit him with wind, rain and lightening while Gambit kept him from retaliating by throwing charged cards. For a while it worked. Angel was able to protect himself but couldn't return the attack before having to protect himself again.
Colossus and Havok hit the base unit with everything they had, energy bolts and brute strength rocking the structure.
Angel saw the bolt of lightning emerging from the clouds and dodged rather than blocking. Gambit had become overconfident and was directly in its path, the shock coursing through his body and knocking him unconscious.
Multiple and several clones ran over to check on the Cajun. Storm ceased her attack momentarily, horrified at hurting her own teammate. Too late, she turned her attention back to Angel, who had gotten close enough to hit her with his wing. The metal broke her cheekbone and rendered her unconscious. She was saved from further injury by the six clones she landed on.
Angel turned his attention to the base unit, shooting darts at the pair attacking the pyramid. Colossus was saved by his metal form, but Havok wasn't so lucky, four of the darts penetrating his back. He collapsed to his knees, crying out. Colossus turned in time to see Angel flying straight at him, lifting him off his feet and carrying him into the air. They were almost fifty feet up before Piotr's sheer weight caused Angel to drop him.
Colossus had time to realise that there was no way to break his fall before he hit the ground and the world went black.
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The Sphinx.
The Professor engaged Jean on a telepathic level in an attempt to stop her using her mind to kill them all with a thought. It was a struggle. Her mind was powerful enough even without Apocalypse's enhancements. With them, he was engaged in the fight of his life.
Before the stunned eyes of the rest of the team, the Professor's astral form rose from his body, seemingly as insubstantial as smoke. Jean hovered in mid-air, her own astral form surrounded with green fire shaped like a bird.
Mystique gazed at the apparition. "The Phoenix…"
"What did you say?" Logan glared at her.
"Nothing." Mystique wasn't about to admit what she'd seen in the diaries that were Irene's legacy to her.
Astral Jean blasted at the Professor, the more experienced telepath blocking the shot and retaliating with one of his own that sent the girl's form tumbling. She steadied herself, the green flames that formed the Phoenix around her seemingly detaching themselves and attacking Xavier. He imagined himself a shield, blocking the bird. With a sneer, Jean's arms became scythes and she swung them at the Professor, forcing him to block her again. Neither of their bodies moved an inch in spite of the fierce battle their astral forms were waging.
Mystique smirked, reaching into the gun belt she wore for this mission and removing a small but high-powered handgun. She took a few steps backward so she was out of the line of sight of the rest of the team. She doubted that they would approve of her plan.
But if Jean's body's out of the way, her mind can't survive, we can get to Apocalypse – and I'll have my revenge for what she did to Destiny…
She raised the gun and fired several shots at the redhead.
The astral body of Jean gestured casually and the bullets turned ninety degrees, hitting the ceiling and sending down a shower of dust. At the same time Pyro blasted a flame at Mystique. She dropped the gun and threw herself backwards, somersaulting away from the fire. The bullets still in the chamber overheated in the path of Pyro's rage and exploded, blasting hot shrapnel through the chamber. Nightcrawler grabbed Cyclops's arm and teleported them away from the immediate danger. Wolverine raised an arm to protect his face but didn't bother to move, trusting the healing factor to take care of the worst of the damage.
Xavier didn't even notice the disturbance. He used Jean's momentary distraction to hit her with the staff he had imagined for herself. Her astral form flickered momentarily and she glared at the Professor, the scythes morphing back into arms and the Phoenix rising behind her once again, growing more luminous before bursting into light so intense that the onlookers were forced to turn away. The Professor's astral form fell backwards, seemingly sucked back into Xavier's body. The man in the wheelchair slumped, defeated.
Pyro glanced around nervously as Jean's astral form re-entered her body and she turned her head to glare at them. "What's our plan now?"
"Run!" Cyclops took off down the corridor toward where Apocalypse hid, followed by Nightcrawler, Mystique and Wolverine. Pyro ran after them, looking over his shoulder as he sprayed the area behind them with fire, knowing even as he did it that it wouldn't be enough to keep Jean from following them.
Ahead of them, a heavy stone door lay open and they ran through it, Pyro the last one in. Wolverine, Cyclops and Mystique put their shoulders against the doors to force them closed. They were almost there when Jean flew down the corridor after them, the lack of expression on her face only serving to make her more intimidating. The doors stuck, then slowly began to swing back open.
Cyclops got Jean in his sights and let loose a powerful optic blast that knocked the girl into a wall, loosing her telekinetic grip on the doors.
Turning to Logan, Cyclops said, "Wolverine, the Professor – "
"She won't bother him as long as we're the threat," replied Logan, hoping he spoke the truth. "We have to leave him. We can't do anything for him now."
The group managed to force the doors closed, realising it couldn't keep her out for long.
Pyro grabbed Mystique by her upper arms, throwing her against the wall. "You crazy bitch! You could have killed her!"
"And if I had, we wouldn't have the problem we do now." Mystique wrenched herself out of the mans grip. "Touch me again and I'll kill you."
"We have to stop Apocalypse or we all die!" Cyclops put himself between the two. "And we're running out of time!"
Wolverine sniffed, but could get no scent from the door at the other end of the room. "Nightcrawler, scout the other side!"
"Be right back." Nightcrawler bounded across the room and jumped at the second set of doors, teleporting before he hit. The other four gathered at the place where he'd vanished.
Seconds ticked by with no sign of the elf's return. Logan growled impatiently. "Come on, where are ya?"
"He's being too long," said Mystique, a note of worry in her voice.
Wolverine refrained from commenting about her sudden maternal concern. "Cyclops, blow the doors!"
The first set of doors blew open and Jean floated in, hair flying around her face and her eyes glowing an eerie blue. A fallen pillar lifted from the ground and flew sideways, pinning both Pyro and Cyclops to the floor beneath its weight. Mystique ran at Jean, leaping up to deliver a martial arts kick at her head. The shapeshifters forward momentum suddenly stopped and she stayed suspended in the air for a moment before being flung back into a wall.
Snikt!
Wolverine popped his claws and approached cautiously, knowing that the girl could use her powers to break his mind or smash every bone in his body. But one thing about Jean that hadn't changed since she became a minion of Apocalypse was her love of toying with her opponent. When he lunged at her, she used her force field to deflect the blows, letting Logan attack her but not allowing him to do any damage. His strikes became more desperate, fiercer as his worry about killing the girl receded, but all to no avail. And he could feel himself losing control, the rage that he kept at bay through sheer force of will beginning to take over.
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A quiet alarm sounded in Apocalypse's chamber as on the hologram of the planet, one of the grids that showed the range of the Eye of Ages vanished. Realising that this meant the Sentinels had actually breeched the Pyramids and may soon do the same to the others, Apocalypse decided to call for backup.
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Mexico.
Magneto watched expressionlessly as his daughter fought for air, choking on the metal noose that held her above the ground. He rose his hand to gesture for the noose to tighten still further, to cut into Wanda's larynx and kill her quickly…
The face of Apocalypse appeared in the sky above the base unit.
"Magneto."
He spoke no other words, but Magneto knew what had to be done. He flew into the air, leaving those who attacked the pyramids behind, unguarded.
The outer edges of Wanda's sight were dark and spots danced before her eyes. Her lungs heaved uselessly for air and her fingers scrabbled uselessly around the metal that choked her. Panic finally getting the better of her, the Scarlet Witch lost control of her powers, her fingers emitting the blue light that characterised her hex bolts, aging the metal in a second. The makeshift noose crumbled and Wanda spilled to the floor, gasping noisily and putting a hand to her bruised throat. For a moment, she struggled to regain her bearings, then looked around and realised that Magneto was gone.
Beside where she had landed, Toad was still motionless. She put a hand on his shoulder and shook him gently. "Todd? The base unit…"
The boy was still, made no sound, his skin deathly pale. Blood oozed from the gash on his head and dripped down his face like red tears.
"Todd? Todd? Please be OK, please…"
She struggled to her feet, knowing that Magneto could be back at any moment and if the base unit was still intact, everything they'd done would be for nothing.
Blob was still trying to fight his way out of the metal bonds that held him captive. The Scarlet Witch touched them, aging the metal as she had done to the noose, letting the boy free.
"This is our chance," she told him flatly. "The base unit's unprotected. We can destroy it."
Fred glanced around at the destruction around him, Kitty and Tabby unconscious on the ground, Lance and Pietro buried beneath mounds of metal, Todd crumpled at the base of a tree. "Let's take it down."
A blue beam was emitting from the top of the pyramid. Wanda blasted it with hex bolts while Blob smashed the side of the unit, knocking a giant hole in the side and redoubling his efforts when he realised he was damaging it.
Wanda could feel her power ebbing, still too weak from her close call to do much damage. For a moment it seemed as if the beam was weakening – then her power failed her and the beam came back as strong as ever.
Magneto floated in front of her.
Wanda fell backward, her dizziness overwhelming her. Behind Magneto, she could see Blob leaving off his attack and coming to help her, but with a gesture Magneto raised a pile of metal and the head of a downed Sentinel and dropped them on his head. It might not stop the Blob for long, but long enough for him to dispose of her.
"Father…" she whispered, raising her arms in a futile attempt to protect herself from the chunk of metal that hovered above her, blocking out the sun, knowing it would be the last thing she ever saw. "Please, no…"
A curt gesture sent the chunk of metal down on her with deadly force. Wanda closed her eyes, the wind from the projectile blowing against her face…
I'm still alive?
She opened her eyes and saw her saviour. "Pietro!"
"Hey sis. You look like you could use a hand."
Wanda took in his messy hair, his scratched and dirty face, and his uniform torn in at least a dozen places. "You look like shit."
"Thanks, that's the last time I rescue you!"
Magneto floated over some Sentinel parts and landed near the twins, advancing on them.
"Wanda, can you stop him?"
"I can't, I tried."
Behind Magneto, Avalanche crawled out from beneath the rubble he had been buried beneath, using the heel of his hand to wipe blood out of his eyes. Seeing Magneto, he got to his knees and pounded his fists against the ground, opening a fissure that ran over to the horseman, the tremors knocking him off balance. A tree swayed on the brink of the crack, dangerously near to Magneto but not falling.
Just as it seemed that Magneto would suffer no ill effects from the earthquake, a bomb hit the base of the tree and blasted it from its precarious grip on the ground. It hit Magneto and the man was obscured beneath it.
"Boom-Boom?" Wanda looked over to where Tabby was, obviously still in some pain and her shoulder appearing to be four inches below where it should be, but upright and ready to fight.
Blob freed himself and made his way over to the others, pausing on the way to help Avalanche to his feet.
"Where's Kitty?"
"I'm here." Kitty limped over to Lance and he put an arm around her.
Blob frowned. "So where's Toad?"
"I…" Wanda looked at the ground. "He's hurt. Badly."
Quicksilver zipped over to the boy and the others followed as fast as they were able. Kitty knelt beside him and put a hand to the side of his neck. "I've got a pulse!"
"But there's so much blood," said Wanda shakily.
Toad groaned and opened his eyes. "Did we win?"
"Yeah, right," said Pietro. "Don't you ever learn?"
Wanda elbowed him in the ribs, making him wince in pain. "Shhhh!"
"Oh yeah," said Toad, closing his eyes again. "We never win."
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The Sentinel may have destroyed the pyramids, but they would be of no further problem now that Magneto had dealt with them. And what the mutants hadn't realised was that he could restore power to the pyramids while the base units remained.
Apocalypse lay within the Eye of Ages, using his own powers to ensure the destiny of the human race continued as he had planned.
"And the evolution begins."
In New York, people glanced up at the sky as a violent storm appeared out of nowhere.
Lightening flashed over London, putting Big Ben into silhouette and temporarily blinding those unlucky enough to be nearby.
The winds in Hawaii built to gale force, although there had been no indication of such a tempest about to occur.
In Tokyo a previously fine day grew overcast and unnaturally dark, rain pelting the unsuspecting pedestrians.
An unseasonable snowstorm took the people of Toronto by surprise, the city rapidly turning white.
Sleet pelted the locals in Kenya, the roads becoming impassable in minutes.
Meteorologists the world over suddenly found that all their equipment was going wild, the earths atmosphere fluctuating wildly and without reason, the weather a symptom but the cause unknown.
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China.
Iceman blasted Caliban, encasing him in ice and freezing him solid. Beast took the opportunity to bound over to Berserker and check on the boy. Ray was pale and still, the spike sticking out of his side. Beast snapped off as much of the weapon as he dared without pulling it out of the wound, knowing that to do so would only cause more blood loss.
"He's still alive," said Callisto beside him. "But his heartbeat's erratic."
"How do you know?" asked Bobby.
"I can hear it."
"We need to get him to safety," said the Beast sharply.
"You do it, you'll be the fastest," said Callisto. "We'll get to the base units."
"I'll be right back." Beast picked Ray up carefully and hurried away to where they'd left the helijet.
"Spyke, you go see what you can do to the base unit, you too Scaleface. Iceman, see if X23's recovered yet." Callisto wanted to keep an eye on Caliban and make sure that when he broke free she could attack him and give the others time to destroy the base unit, but although the others followed her orders on the run, Spyke stayed behind.
"Evan, go! This is our chance!"
"I…" Evan glanced over his shoulder in the direction that the Beast had gone. "It was my fault that Caliban was able to hurt Ray. If it wasn't for my spike…"
"Evan, this is no time to feel guilty!" Callisto turned and glared at him. "If you can't get on with the job then you're no good to us, just go back to the helijet and keep an eye on Berserker. Otherwise, get over there and start fighting!"
Nodding, Evan ran over to the base unit and let loose a barrage of flaming spikes. The Morlock leader was right. Later he could seek absolution. Now was the time for action.
The ice around Caliban cracked, then exploded outward. Free, the horseman leapt straight for Scaleface and wrapped his arms around her reptilian neck, cutting off her air supply and stopping her attack on the base unit. He picked her up as if she weighed no more than a pillow and threw her into Spyke, both of them crashing into a boulder. With a cry Callisto leapt at her former friend but Caliban was ready for her, absorbing the kick she delivered and grabbing her arm as she landed, snapping the bones easily. As she cried out, he shoved her backward and delivered a blow to her chest that fractured a collarbone and slammed her to the ground.
Bobby iced up as he ran toward the action, trying to once again encase the horseman in ice. Caliban leapt to one side and rolled, jumping back to his feet near to where Spyke and Scaleface were trying to scramble up. Grabbing Scaleface by the neck, he picked her up and threw her at Iceman, knocking him over too. As Evan got back to his feet, Caliban plucked a spike from the boy's body and used it to club him beneath the chin, one place that wasn't protected by bony plates, lifting him from the ground with the force of the blow and sending him flying.
Still wielding the spike, Caliban walked over to where Iceman was trying to crawl from beneath the now unconscious Scaleface, holding the weapon high above his head with the intention of spearing the teen.
A high-pitched cry made him look up and before he could react, X23 barrelled into him and began carving at his skin. She was lightning fast in her attack, having being trained at the art of combat since birth. But Caliban was stronger and tried to dodge the clone; waiting for her to make the only mistake she'd be able to.
X23 ducked a fist and swept her arm in a wide arc, aiming for the horseman's eyes. Caliban caught her arm before she could succeed, attempting to crush the limb just as he had done to Callisto but encountering a metal grafted to her bones that was so strong he couldn't do it. X23 smirked at him and aimed a kick at his stomach, a claw slicing easily through the leather of her boot. Caliban twisted away from her, letting go of her arm in the process.
Somersaulting backward, X23 landed on her feet and faced off against him. Caliban roared and lifted a boulder, flinging it at her. X23 ducked it easily, as he had known she would. As soon as the boulder left his hands he was running toward her, grabbing her around the waist as she dodged the rock and slamming her into the floor with cruel violence, forcing the wind out of her.
Before he could continue his attack the Beast leapt on him, driving him to the ground. The instructor was the more agile of the two, but his anger over the injury of one of his students had clouded his judgement and made him reckless. Caliban caught hold of the teacher's wrists and threw him forward. X23 had just leapt to her feet and popped her claws when she was hit by 402 pounds of flying mutant and driven to the ground once again.
Beast looked up blearily as Iceman renewed his attack, realising that X23 was down for the count and that he had sustained two deep cuts down his side from her claws that were leaking blood, turning his fur purple.
He flipped a button on his communicator. "Wolverine…we're not gonna make it."
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The Sphinx.
Jean had finally tired of toying with Wolverine, a telekinetic fist driving him into the wall near his fallen teammates. Hearing the Beast sound so defeated spurred him into getting to his feet. "Don't give up. We've got one more play left."
He faced off against Jean, who hovered above the ground between him and the door to Apocalypse's chamber. He just had to get past her and through those doors…
A movement to one side made him turn. Cyclops and Pyro had made it out from beneath the pillar – but before he could be grateful, Wolverine noticed Pyro's eyes glowing the same eerie blue as Jeans, the aggressive way in which Cyclops approached him…
Oh shit, she's controlling their minds!
"MOVE!"
Mystique barrelled into Logan and took him down to the floor as Cyclops unleashed an optic blast that would otherwise have taken his head off. They were both back on their feet in a second as Pyro, looking sinister without his trademark deranged grin, unleashed his flamethrowers at them. Mystique distracted the Acolyte by turning into an owl and flying across the roof of the chamber while Logan raced toward the doors, knowing that even if he managed to avoid Cyclops's optic beam, Jean was still in front of him…
The chamber suddenly went darker as the flames died. Logan turned to see Rogue in the entrance, arms wide as she turned off Pyro's powers. Cyclops fired an optic blast at her but she dove out of its way and negated his powers too.
"Jean's controlling them," shouted Mystique as she landed in the corner of the room and returned to human form. "Turn her powers off!"
Too late. Jean fixed her eyes on Rogue and transported her consciousness to the astral plane.
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No…Rogue glanced around her, the chamber she had been in just seconds ago replaced by this wasteland of floating rocks and purple sky. She was back in her own mind and she didn't know how to get out.
Jean was ahead of her, hovering in mid-air. At one time the redhead would have sneered at her, taunted her, but now she merely watched silently. There was nothing she could have said to make Rogue feel any worse. She'd feared being sent back to this place ever since she'd been freed.
"Ah guess you're not feeling talkative today," she said to Jean, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice.
Jean hovered, silent.
"That's OK. You know how I feel about being here – hell, ah guess that's why you did it. But Professor Xavier told me a few things about this place."
There was no response.
"On the Astral plane, you tend to keep the same physical form and powers as in the real world unless you learn how to use the landscape to your own advantage. And you know ah can't."
Silence.
"But ah picked up some tricks since you left mah mind."
Rogue flew at Jean, arms outstretched as if to absorb her powers. Jean dodged the attack easily, a flaming aura rising around her to take on the shape of a Phoenix. Jean held her arms out as if embracing the power…
…And Rogue took the opportunity to use the memory of having Dorian's powers, shutting down Jean's powers. The horseman cried out, the Phoenix disintegrating. There was a brief moment of vertigo…
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Jean dropped to the floor, stunned.
Cannonball, entering the chamber behind Rogue, took advantage of the lapse to take to the air and blast through the doors that lead to Apocalypse's inner sanctum.
Logan indicated frantically at Rogue. "Go go go!"
Rogue ran through the gap left by Cannonball, Logan following close behind. Mystique went to follow them when Jean grabbed her ankle and pulled her to the ground. Mystique leapt to her feet and aimed a kick at the girl, knocking her to the floor.
"Not so tough without your powers, are you?"
Jean had never been in a fight where she didn't have to rely on her powers. Her time with the X-Men had taught her some fighting skills, but Mystique had years of experience and her powers still intact. As Jean attempted to mount an attack, Mystique blocked her easily and decided not to change shape. When she beat the redhead to a bloody pulp, she wanted the girl to know it had been her to do it…
"NO!"
Mystique got out of the way just in time. A stream of fire missed her by inches as Pyro got back to his feet and saw what was about to happen to Jean.
"Stay out of this," hissed Mystique.
"I won't let you hurt her!" Pyro let off his flamethrower again, but had no way of controlling the fire without his powers and Mystique was able to stay out of their way.
"You imbecile!" She ran over to Pyro and downed him with a kick to the back of the head that drove him to his knees. Before she could inflict any further injury to him, Cyclops grabbed her by the arm.
"We can't just kill her."
"You might not be able to, but I can!" She shook him loose and turned her attention back to Jean.
In the inner chamber, Rogue saw the Eye of Ages lit up as she stood above the unmoving form of her brother. With a thought she utilised Dorian's powers, turning off all the power in the room, technological and mutant alike.
Within the Eye, Apocalypse opened his eyes. "NO!"
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Mexico.
The tree that had buried Magneto rustled as the horseman rose out of the fissure and advanced upon the scared, injured group of teens.
They turned to him and prepared to fight.
Without warning, Magneto's eyes stopped glowing and he fell out of the air. The symbols of Apocalypse detached from his face as he lay motionless on the ground.
Fred grinned. "Hey, we won!"
Crouched beside Todd, Wanda wiped the blood from his face. "Did you hear that Todd? We won…can you hear me? Todd…"
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China.
"I'm all iced out!"
Iceman backed away from Caliban, realising he was in a lot of trouble.
The horseman took two steps forward and fell, landing on the scarred earth that would show the results of the military strike for decades to come. Bobby gasped as the markings fell off his face.
Beast limped over and looked down at the Morlock. "Maybe Wolverine's plan worked after all."
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Egypt.
Angel plummeted out of the sky. Storm, still woozy and nursing her broken cheekbone, summoned a wind that slowed his fall.
Multiple ran over to the fallen Angel. "Hey, the glowing marks all fell off!"
"Thank the Bright Lady…"
Sunspot helped her to her feet, trying to lead her away from the horseman. "He still looks blue to me. I don't think it's over yet."
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The Sphinx.
The arguments between Mystique, Cyclops and Pyro were halted as they heard a sigh from the door of the chamber. They'd been so busy bickering that none of them had noticed Jean going after Rogue and Wolverine until she fainted.
"Jean!" Pyro ran over and cradled her head in his arms.
The symbols of Apocalypse fell from her face, leaving her looking like a normal teen girl once again. Pyro looked at Cyclops and grinned in relief. She's gonna be OK!"
"Great," muttered Cyclops, hurrying over to the doors to see how Rogue and Wolverine were doing.
Rogue approached the Eye of Ages and glanced dispassionately at its sole occupant. "You've used us for the last time."
She went to close the Eye, reaching out…
Apocalypse grabbed her arm.
With a cry of combined alarm and disgust, she shook herself free and began closing the Eye, Wolverine running up to help her. As they finished, Apocalypse started pounding on the sides to be let out and Rogue backed off nervously. Worried that the mutant might be able to free himself, Logan jumped atop the Eye.
"Rogue, turn the power back on!"
Spreading her arms, Rogue used the last remains of Dorian's power to restart the Eye. The hieroglyphs spun, locking Apocalypse within. As the lights went back on, Wolverine jumped down and popped his claws, running them through the controls and damaging them beyond repair.
"Let's go!"
Logan grabbed Rogue's hand and pulled her away, the pair of them almost falling from the outer diamond of the Eye of Ages as it closed up. They ran toward the doors, Rogue looking back over her shoulder as the Eye vanished in a flash of blue light.
"Where'd it go?"
"I dunno," replied Logan, picking Kurt up and throwing him over his shoulder. "Hopefully it just fell through the cracks of time, never to be seen again."
"Somehow, I doubt we'll be that lucky." Rogue turned away from where the Eye of Ages had vanished and saw Scott hurrying through the doors, breaking into a relieved smile as he saw her.
"Are you OK?"
"Yeah, I am now." Rogue and Scott embraced, Logan shaking his head and leaving them alone. After a moments thought, he went back in and dragged Cannonball out too.
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Mexico.
"I've got him." Fred picked up Toad carefully, trying not to hurt the boy any further. He had lapsed back into unconsciousness, not saying a word since reminding the Brotherhood that they never won.
Wanda looked down at her hands, covered with Toad's blood, before going over to where Pietro stood above Magneto.
"I'm glad we stood up to him," said Pietro quietly.
"Yeah," said Wanda. "Me too."
Magneto opened his eyes, the first thing he saw the faces of his children wearing identical looks of concern. Between them, they helped him to his feet and Erik kept his arms over their shoulders as they led him toward the helijet.
Lance put an arm around Kitty, running his hand through her hair and checking the lump on her head. "Are you OK?"
"Fine," replied Kitty, smiling up at him, noticing he didn't look too good himself. His uniform was torn and there was a crust of dried blood from a cut across his forehead that had dripped onto his face. "Are you?"
"Yeah." Lance pulled her into his arms and rested his chin on her head. "Fighting with the Brotherhood again – strange huh?"
"Totally," said Kitty, speaking into Lance's chest. "Did it make you want to go back?"
Lance laughed. "No thanks. I'm happy right where we are."
"Wow, that was quite a party guys." Tabby walked past them, using her good arm to take the strain off her dislocated shoulder. "Thanks for the invite."
Lance blinked. "Is she serious?"
"Who knows with her?" Kitty stepped away from Lance reluctantly. "We need to get Toad to the med-bay."
"You're right."
They headed back to the helijet, the sky lit up as debris from the orbital pyramids fell back to earth.
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China.
Spyke knelt beside Caliban, checking that his friend was all right. Some distance away Scaleface examined Callisto's arm, the disfigured woman pale and ill looking.
"We need to get Ray back to the Institute," said Bobby urgently.
"He's right," said Beast. "Caliban, are you able to walk?"
"Yesss." The Morlock stood, looking around at the damage he had caused. The Beast narrowed his eyes as he realised that the man looked more wistful than remorseful.
X23 approached him. "How's your side?"
"Shouldn't even need stitches," replied the Beast. "We'll make an X-Man of you yet."
X23 scowled. "Don't bet on it."
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Egypt.
Gambit opened his eyes, wincing. "What was Remy drinkin' last night?"
"You were hit by lightning!" exclaimed Jamie, two clones behind him fidgeting.
"Lightning?" Gambit glanced over at Storm, who looked a little shamefaced.
"I'm blue."
"That's OK Warren," said Magma. "We forgive you."
"I don't mean I feel blue, I mean I am blue!"
"I don't get it," said Roberto. "I mean, we won. Shouldn't he be back to normal?"
"I don't know," admitted Storm. "But we do need to get back to the mansion to investigate further. Can you get Colossus? He's still out cold."
"I get all the good jobs," muttered Roberto as he went over to the Russian. Magma hurried over to give Warren a hand, obviously a little taken with Angel even if he was blue.
"Gambit, can you help me with Alex?"
"Oui," replied Gambit, ruefully examining the burnt areas of his trench coat.
Storm lowered her voice. "And don't touch the spikes on his back, no matter what."
"You t'ink they be poisonous?" Gambit looked over to where Alex was conscious but clearly in some pain, the darts from Angel's wings embedded in his skin.
"I don't know, but for his sake I think we'd better find out soon.
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The Sphinx.
Wolverine walked outside, relishing the fresh air that at more than one point during the battle he thought he'd never experience again. A moment later Kurt teleported beside him with the Professor. Logan hadn't known if it was a good idea for either of them to teleport so shortly after regaining consciousness, but it was the fastest way to get Xavier to the surface.
The Professor looked up at the sky, the fallout from the orbital pyramids looking like shooting stars. "Do you think Apocalypse was stopped in time?"
"We cut it pretty close – but yeah."
"Have you any idea where Mystique went?"
"She was gone when we came out of the chamber. My guess is, she's long gone."
Cannonball walked up the steps and went with the instructors as they headed for the helijet. Kurt remained behind for a moment, waiting for his sister.
Rogue and Scott emerged from beneath the Sphinx hand in hand, no gloves to limit their skin contact. Kurt gave her a smile. "You did it Rogue! The girl who shut herself off from the world just saved it!"
"Ah wish ah could say ah did it for the world."
Kurt gave her a hug before teleporting away, leaving her and Scott to be alone for a few more minutes. Scott slipped an arm around her shoulders, idly playing with a lock of her hair. "I don't know where – "
"Rogue, Scott."
They looked back to see Jean climbing the steps, looking almost despondent. "I just want you to know that the things I did – all the things I did – were because I –"
"Save it Jean." Scott's voice was unusually cold.
"Even you don't believe your excuses, so just leave us alone." Rogue turned her back on Jean and the couple walked away.
Jean scowled. They didn't want her side of the story? Fine. She'd been foolish to even try.
Behind her, Pyro approached and wrapped his arms around her waist, his mouth against her ear. "So, where to now?"
"I don't know." Jean leant against him, her mind whirling with images she had seen in the mind of Apocalypse, more lucid than any she had received from Destiny.
You can turn your back on me for now Rogue, but you WILL hear me out in the end – one way or the other.