Age of Apocalypse Revolver
Harvest Moon
By Michael Edwards
Pietro's report had brought a cold certainty to Magneto how important the mission to destroy the clone chambers was. Logan, Sabertooth, Rogue, Gambit were assembled for this mission. Jean would serve us their communications with her telepathy.
"The disgrace that Apocalypse shows our mutant brothers sets in stone what we have always thought of him. He is a monster through and through."
"This clone facility and its honeycombed chambers must be destroyed, and I am putting Rogue in charge of this mission."
"What?" said Rogue. "But, Erik I dunno if I…"
Logan chuckled, "Come on kid, Erik is putting in confidence in you. Don't choke now."
"Logan is right, chere. Gambit is always at your side."
"Oh boy," said Sabertooth. "Can we just get this over with?"
"You got somewhere ta be, ugly?"
"No, Runt, but I'll gladl-"
Magneto stopped their argument with a simple demonstration of his power. Bound by magnetic fields.
"ENOUGH with your bickering, this is a serious situation and I will not let you two's rivalry jeopardize it!"
Magneto dropped both of them roughly to get the message across. Logan felt his back with the back of his hand. Having a little over a hundred pounds of adamantium didn't make for a soft landing. Sabertooth was up on his feet and traded looks with Magneto.
The seriousness in Magneto's eyes cowed Sabertooth and he lowered his head. Feeling like a shamed puppy. Logan got to his feet and left the room. Rogue screwed up her courage, her hands shaking.
"Let's get going!"
Gambit put his hand over her shaking hand, she smiled at him. Knowing he would always have her back.
Mitch had a hammer in his hand as he was pounding some sheet metal. His first aeronautical invention had been left behind. His current one would be bigger and could fit the whole team. A diagram was tacked to a board in the corner of the workshop. It showed a stealth airplane that would run on magnetic power provided by either Rogue or Magneto. It would be able to travel fast and it would make it easier to travel across the war torn world.
Mina watched him work. She held a device in her right hand that was sapping the excess energy that her body had built up. Mitch looked at her and threw a greasy rag at her. She caught it with her free hand and threw it back at him.
"Haha!" Mitch bent down and picked up the rag. "You got some reflexes Mina."
Mina smiled and came over to Mitch, hugging him at the waist level.
"You never have to worry about being in danger while I'm around."
Mitch ran his hand through her hair and she ran back to her seat where she played with some dolls that Pietro and Ororo found.
Pietro and Ororo enjoyed a special shower provided by Ororo's powers. The intensity of their intimacy radiated a primal desire from both. Ororo placed a hand on his cheek and looked at him with her deep brown eyes. He smiled despite himself. The rain ran off their naked bodies. Washing everything away except the passion between them.
Piotr and Katherine finished unloading the stock of supplies that got from the underground railroad. Piotr noticed they were ex-military. Likely special rescue operations. His face was placid and Katherine saw it. She knew why.
"Honey, I know what's on your mind."
Piotr looked at the canned goods and his gaze became distant.
"This war has taken much Katya; from me and from everyone."
Katherine didn't know what to say. She could only place her hand on top of his. His big fingers interlaced with hers. His rock, his beloved whom he would die for.
Rogue's team sat inside of a metal container that she carried with her magnetic powers. She could see the outline of the city and she lowered to the ground and opened the container to let them out.
"Alright boys, let's smash this place up real good so no more experiments can be done with the dead."
Gambit went with Rogue, Logan found himself stuck with Sabertooth. The two didn't even look at each other. Instead they followed their enhanced senses to find their targets of destruction. Stealth killed every Madri zealot that served as a security. No infinites to deal with made the job easier.
It didn't prepare them for what they would see. A massive pool of yellowish liquid and body parts and organs. Conveyor belts that whisked them out of this pool to be processed. Logan and Sabertooth followed the conveyor belts and saw what was being done.
"What th' hell?" gasped Logan.
"They're cloning deceased mutants…to upgrade the damn infinites."
"Body parts grafted on," said Logan. "Looks like th' bastard McCoy is changin' his recipe."
"Would be a shame if we trash this place," said Sabertooth with a toothy grin.
"Readin' my mind," said Logan.
They ripped apart the conveyor belts and downed power lines. Which fell into the genetic broth of body parts. Setting it on fire. They kept trashing everything in sight until a series of explosions started going off.
"Looks like we've done our job, let's get out of here!"
Gambit and Rogue had a tougher go. The hole Gambit made in the wall drew the attention of the new model infinites. They came at Gambit and Rogue with all due speed. Gambit let his cards fly, blowing up support structures and bringing pieces of the roof down on them. Rogue powered her way through them with her fists. Rending metal and explosions of gore followed every blow. Gambit leaped his way past the ones that were heading for him as Rogue took a support column and played fly swatter with them. Gambit charged the main support structure as soon as he got to it. It was only when he started to leave he noticed an auburn haired woman looking at him. She walked down a hallway and through a corridor before Gambit could say anything.
He decided to act in haste and fled so that he would not get caught in the explosion about to happen.
Outside it seemed like the job was done, but something nagged at Rogue.
"Ah don't know, Erik said there were honeycomb structures in this facility."
"You think the explosions didn't reach them, chere?"
"She might be right, cajun. If there are multiple sub levels we have only done surface damage."
"Dammit, I hate a sloppy job." Sabertooth punched his palm.
"Let's get back in there and wreck some more stuff!" said Rogue.
Magneto looked in the distance from his vantage point near the mansion's cliff wall. His fists clenched.
"I don't have a good feeling about this," said Magneto.
Breaking some walls and moving some debris, the team found lower levels. They got down their own ways. Gambit played with his deck of cards. Ready to unleash hell. Logan and Sabertooth had their claws ready.
The lower levels were exactly like that of a bee hive. The construction was beyond anything any of them had ever seen. Rogue floated down and covered her nose from the smell. It seemed like the rooms were growing and developing. Logan and Sabertooth opened the sacs growing from the walls and there - they found technology growing. Monitors to keep track of vitals. Tubes were growing to hold the clown bodies.
"What th' hell?"
"The entire time I was with Apocalypse, I ain't seen shit like this."
"Ah building that grows itself and what it needs," said Rogue. "This may be tougher than we thought."
"Agreed, chere. We need to take this all out in one go."
"Any ideas, Cajun?"
"One, but it will take time."
"How much time?" asked Sabertooth.
"I'll let you know," said Gambit looking up as the sounds of loud stomping came from above.
"Right now, I need you to keep the infinites off me."
The three went up to confront their adversaries as Gambit found the nexus of the facility or what he assumed was it. Using his mutant power, he began charging as much of the surface structure as he could. Unfortunately, he didn't know how long it would take to charge up for the big bang that would completely destroy this monstrous facility.
Pietro ran as fast as he could. Covering miles in moments. His father sent him on an urgent errand. Ororo wanted to join him. But this task meant he had to be quick and sadly she would slow him down.
"I wonder why my father wants me to check on Rogue and her team's progress," Pietor thought. "He seemed unnerved and it wasn't like him."
Rogue punched one infinite into another, causing them both to go flying into the distance. Logan tore one apart with his claws. He was covered in wounds that were healing. Sabertooth used his brute strength to sever limbs and heads.
"How much longer Cajun?" asked Logan. "We can't keep this up forever!"
"I t'ink that does it," said Gambit as he climbed up with great haste. Rogue picked him up not so gently while Logan and Sabertooth ran to get clear.
The explosion that happened was less than a nuke, but greater than dynamite. Logan and Sabertooth were thrown by the force of the explosion and covered in debris. Rogue and Gambit were the only to get clear from the blast radius.
Logan kicked a big slab of charred concrete off him. Popped his arm back into place and sat there while his second degree burns healed. Sabertooth had more difficulty as an entire ton of wreckage not destroyed by the blast weighed on him. It took him some time to find leverage and get out.
"$$%#%%," Sabertooth cursed. "That hurt!"
"I never said how big the explosion would be, mona mi."
"Next time, keep yer stupid ideas to yourself!"
"Shut up," said Logan as he walked toward them. "He made th' right call, not like you had a better idea."
"That's it! Let's throw down, runt!"
Rogue, bored with the incessant fighting, picked Sabertooth up by his hair and flung him into the distance.
"Cool off, you're giving me a headache!"
Just as the three were winding down, Pietro appeared. Only to witness another explosion. This one came from underground and miasma came from the hole. What came out was a creature that belonged to Canadian myth. The W-E-N-D-I-G-O!
