Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men. Ilehana Xavier belongs to Corrinth and is used with permission. Blaze, Shockwave, Gaia, Mercury and Iona belong to Lamby and should not be used without my permission.
A/N: A little artistic licence been used here with my Apocalypse description, so please forgive me!
Scene 19He was laughing. A cold, wet, horrid sound, demeaning and evil. As she stood there, Blaze wondered what was so funny. A giant figure, Apocalypse seemed a much bigger than Blaze remembered him being the one time she had seen him in person before. Dressed head to foot in the full regalia of a Mayan high priest, his robe stretched to the floor, and was made of a motley of animal furs, including jaguar. Around his neck, an elaborate pendant of jade was large enough to almost be considered armour. And on his head, plumes of all manner of beautiful jungle birds vied for attention, set in a headdress so magnificent, placed low on Apocalypse's brow.
But it was his face that captivated Blaze the most. Or, more accurately, his faces, as it became clear Apocalypse had the ability to change his form at will. As he stood there laughing, his face went through a chaotic menagerie of both expressions and features, ugly and beautiful, handsome and evil. All the time, his eyes stayed on Blaze, cold and relentless. She couldn't help but shiver, almost petrified by his malevolent stare. The fear stayed with her as Famine approached, a scrawny wench of a mutant, skeletal hands grasping outwards. But fear was something Blaze was used to riding out, and as the Horseman attacked, Blaze responded in kind.
For a moment at least, it seemed the lithe and athletic, not to mention well-fed Blaze was going to easily be a match for the wispy Famine. Readying her firepower, bringing her arms back into her body as she caressed the beginnings of a fireball with both hands, Blaze's eyes were hard and hungry for victory. Famine shook her head, dispelling the cobwebs of Blazes last punch, and then suddenly flung herself to grab Blaze's wrist. There was a hiss as Famine found her hands burning, but the brainwashed mutant hung on, even as the smell of charring flesh filled the humid air. It was Blaze who struggled to break the contact, pulling backwards, eyes wide and gasping in shock.
Apocalypse laughed again as the redhead, whose mutant power was fuelled by a hypermetabolism that required her to eat substantial amounts every day, hit the floor hard, wrists still held by his Horseman. On her knees, hunger pains crippled Blaze, all semblance of power fading rapidly like a candle flame reaching the end of its wick, drowning in wax. At that moment, a pasty looking jaguar and two well-beaten men were forced onto the forecourt in the shadow of the pyramid. The masked Death fluttered his bat-like wings, looking from his master to the prisoners and back again, as though begging to be let loose to have some fun himself.
"Never did I believe that destroying the X-Men could prove so easy." When Apocalypse spoke, his voice was ageless, dark, menacing. His chaotic face settled into a wide, frog-like grin and tiny dark eyes, a truly hideous visage with skin more blue than was healthy. "Like lambs to the slaughter you bring yourselves to me, prostrate yourselves before me like the worms you are…" At his words, the brainwashed minions behind each X-Man pushed their prisoners forward, trying to make them genuflect before Apocalypse.
Too weak and wobbly to argue, Ilehana simply lay down as if she were about to take a catnap. Blaze crashed forwards from her knees, but with her hands still held by Famine, she was forced to twist contortedly, muscles tearing as she landed on her side. Logan, bones controlled by the steely-eyed thief Mercury, had no choice but to fall into the proposed position. Gambit dropped to one knee, eyes firmly on Apocalypse, knowing full well that the staff he'd been shortly been parted from was a bare foot away, dropped like booty on the pavement by his captors. One wrong move by Apocalypse, and Remy would be armed again.
"If you're going to kill us, at least let us die standing." Blaze spat, twisting her neck so she could meet Apocalypse's stare, trying weakly to wrench her arms free of Famine again.
"Kill you?" Apocalypse's smugness cut the proud X-men to the core, "No, I will trap you in your own worst nightmares, in the chaos of your own darkest fears. And in that moment, when fear grips you like death itself, I will own you as I own those who stand around you. You will be my slaves, and you may rest safe in the knowledge that it is by your own hands the rest of the X-Men will be defeated."
"Think I'll pass, if it's all the same to you." Logan snarled, fighting a losing battle against Mercury's hold on him with every breath. At that moment, a red stream of light cut through the camp, scattering tents and minions, and the sky began to darken threateningly. Cyclops and company had been listening all along, and now it became clear that the four spies were not going to be able to get out of this easily, the others charged. A poof! of smoke and Nightcrawler had bamfed in, clobbering Mercury soundly with a roundhouse kick that freed Logan. Remy dropped and rolled the foot to his staff, athletically spinning to his feet and raising his weapon threateningly.
But then something changed, and as the X-Men and Apocalypse's minions glanced up at the sky to try and find the source of the strange noise, Apocalypse chose his moment. He knew exactly why there was a helicopter approaching, just as he'd been warned that the X-Men were most probably on their way here. The girls in the helicopter may be young, but their responses to his subtle persuasions had been absolute and powerful. And now they came to return to him the key, his book, in which so long ago a portion of his power had been trapped by those called the Guardians. With it returned to him and no Guardians to speak of, he would be able to break the mystical seal on his highest seat of power, the temple pyramid behind him, and with his army fortified bring the world into chaos.
But first there were these pesky X-Men to deal with, make an example of. As they reacted in that few seconds to the helicopter's approach, Apocalypse raised his hand, swamping Gambit in bright purple energy. Even as the others looked back at the flash of light, and the redhead screamed out "NO!" Apocalypse knew he had the X-Man exactly where he wanted him…
#…The twelve-year-old street urchin with messy red-brown hair was more skin and bones than anything else, and looked like he'd been crawling through hedgerows backwards all morning. It wasn't far from the truth either; it had been an eventful morning for the boy-thief, what with the New Orleans authorities not taking his latest crime with the best of humour. He'd screwed up, big style, almost got caught. And to top it all, the damn thing he'd been trying to steal hadn't held up too good against Remy's uncontrollable mutant power. The cops were on his tail and he'd not a thing to show for it.
Somehow, he'd made it home. Where the hell else was he supposed to go? The HQ of the thieves guild was all he knew anymore, and he knew the rules. He had to report back to his master, the thieves guild boss, his adoptive father. Remy's report had lacked excuses, he knew by now they didn't pay. And now he waited, red-on-black eyes downcast, knowing full well he was about to get the merde kicked outta him for screwing up.
His pere didn't say anything as he slapped young Remy across the face with a bitter backhand, knocking the boy's head against the wall. Remy bit his lip, eyes screwed tight, knowing that crying out would only make it worse, make him hit him more. Best not to cry, best not to fight back, best just to stay quiet, an' hope it would be over soon… #
Blaze screamed out "NO!" as Remy was hit by Apocalypse's blast, her fury enough of a boost to let her wrench free of Famine. The mutant who'd denied her powers for years didn't bother trying to toast the Horseman, a sound snap kick and she had Famine down, but she didn't finish her off. Blaze had seen before what effect Apocalypse's attacks had on people, but she wouldn't believe that Apocalypse could brainwash Gambit the same as he had Archangel.
Running towards her friend without thinking, she called on her mutation, aiming her hands at Apocalypse himself. But even as she reached Gambit, reached inside her for her well of power, a spinning staff knocked her feet out from under her. A sound kick to the ribs took away her breath, as the staff was raised, glowing. Gambit slammed the staff down hard, pinning Blaze underneath one end. His power ran through it, only when he lifted the staff away did a sickening pop fill the air. Blaze's broken form was thrown a foot above the ground, and she landed heavily, no longer breathing…
