-XXXX-
"They're in New York," Cyclops said, "That mutant…his power wave is surging so high, it's spiking off the meter. This is one powerful guy"
"We'll stop him," Jean said, "We have to free the others first"
"Is she going to be okay?" Shadowcat asked, looking at X23's prone form
"She should be fine," Iceman replied, "I can't see any injuries"
"Okay, everyone get ready," Cyclops said, "This fight coming up, it's going to unlike anything we've faced before. Some of us could die here"
"We're ready," Iceman said
"I'm not giving up on my father or brother," X23 said, slowly waking up, "They've been brainwashed by that mutant. I can save them"
"If worse comes to worse, we may have to kill them," Cyclops said
"Guten tag"
Shadowcat screamed in shock when Nightcrawler suddenly appeared on the jet
"Jeez, trying to give us a heart attack?" Gambit demanded
"Meine entschuldigungen. I am deeply ashamed for what I've done"
"What happened to you?" Storm asked
"That monster, Apocalypse, kidnapped me. Used the same serum that Stryker used on me. Made me do his bidding"
"So, what can we expect from our friend, Apocalypse?" Cyclops asked
-XXXX-
Death fired several steel feathers, impaling civilians, as War and Famine were slicing into the civilians, cutting a bloody swath through them. All the while Apocalypse watched them, a smile on his face. A sudden energy blast struck him and he whirled around to see three Sentinels heading towards him, being led by Bastion
"You will perish here, fiend," Bastion said
He raised his hands and fired twin energy blasts at Apocalypse, who created a shield with his right arm to block the attack. Death flew at one Sentinel, firing feathers at it and dodging the restraining tendrils, before diving close and slashing his wings forward, decapitating the Sentinel, as War slashed a Sentinel's leg, then used his claws to run up the body and stab it multiple times in the face. The third Sentinel was taken down by Famine, as Bastion kept up his assault against Apocalypse
"The destruction of mutants in inevitable," Bastion said
He fired a blast at War at close range, stripping the flesh from his torso, before dodging Famine's claws and shooting him in the back with energy. Death flew down and slashed with his wings, as Bastion flew up and away, firing an energy beam at him. Dodging the beam, Death flew at Bastion and sliced at his chest, but Bastion flew down, landing on the ground and was about to fire another energy blast, when War lunged forth and neatly sliced his head off
"Well done, my horsemen," Apocalypse said, "Now, let's continue"
At that moment, Death was kicked to the ground, as someone swung overhead and landed before Apocalypse
"Nice duds," Spider-Man said, "Who are you?"
"I am Apocalypse. And you are Spider-Man"
"Great, we've been introduced. Shall we get down to the butt-kicking?"
"Very well then. Horsemen, take him"
"Ah shucks," Spider-Man said, seeing the Horsemen
He dodged Famine and fired several web balls at War, as Death sliced through his web. Spider-Man shot two weblines out, flying towards Death and delivering a kicking backflip to him, before attaching a line to his chest and flying in. He dodged one of the wings, punching Death and then pushing him away, while attaching weblines to him and pulling him in, delivering a punch each time he did, before spinning around and stomping on Death's back, slamming him to the ground
"Impressive," Apocalypse said
Spider-Man then did a flip away from Famine's claws and swept his legs out, as War caught his backhand, twisted his arm and landed a spin kick on his ribs, Spider-Man skidded along the pavement, shooting web balls at Death, who sliced them apart and landed before Spider-Man, stabbing his wingtips into the ground around his head
"Time to die," Death growled
A small rocket struck him in the chest, as Iron Man landed before Spider-Man and helped him to his feet. At the same time, the X-Jet landed on the street
"Looked like you needed some help," Iron Man said
"Well, we're about to get some more," Spider-Man said
"Well, this is perfect," Apocalypse grinned, "This is how it should be"
"Game's over, Apocalypse," Cyclops said, "Now release them"
"I've got an entertaining idea. How about you fight them and see if you can release them? Course, they will try to kill you. No holding back. Can you risk killing them?"
"We will stop you," Cyclops said, "X-Men, take him down"
"Destroy them, my Horsemen," Apocalypse said
Cyclops fired an optic blast that threw Famine through the air, as Death fired his steel feathers. Jean diverted them with telekinesis, as Spider-Man pulled himself into the air with webs, then shot towards Apocalypse, who simply batted him aside with ease. Iron Man took off into the air, as Death flew at him, firing feathers. Iron Man deflected the bladed weapons with his armguards, as Death sliced at him, denting his armour. Iron Man then punched Death in the jaw, scoring a punch in return
Colossus charged at Apocalypse, getting smashed through a building as a result, as Gambit charged up a few cards and threw them. A large opening appeared in Apocalypse's chest, as the cards sailed through harmlessly. The opening then disappeared, as Apocalypse grinned at Gambit
"Oh damn, didn't see that coming"
War snarled and lunged forth, as X23 tackled him, rolling across the road. Famine charged at Havoc, dodging the twin energy blasts and lunging at him. Nightcrawler appeared before him, kicking him in the face, then grabbing him and teleporting to a low-rise building and dropping Famine off the edge. Famine landed on his feet, growling at Nightcrawler, before racing towards Iceman, who created a barrier of ice, but Famine leapt over that with ease, as Jean's eyes turned fiery red. Apocalypse saw this and grinned, heading towards her, one of his hands transforming into a large sword. An aura of flames in the shape of a bird appeared around Jean and she began to levitate, before unleashing a blast of pyrokinetic energy. Apocalypse blocked the flames with a shield from his left arm, as he slashed at her with the other. Jean blocked with flames and punched Apocalypse across the street
"Wow," Cyclops simply said
Iron Man and Spider-Man were flying about, dodging and blocking Death's attacks, showing aerial and acrobatic skills enough to rival Death's enhanced abilities
"Yeah, come towards the big spider, you ugly bird," Spider-Man called
Death growled and shot towards him, as Iron Man flew in front, firing off flares and blinding Death. As the Horseman reeled back, Iron Man flew in and delivered a power punch, knowing Death towards the road, as Spider-Man zipped after him
"Time to wrap up the present"
He created a cocoon of webbing around Death, trapping his limbs, but Death snarled, using his wings to slice through the webbing, as Spider-Man zipped away with Death close behind him and Iron Man close behind him
Apocalypse smashed through Iceman's wall and kicked him across the city square, before dodging Cyclops' optic blast and smacking Colossus aside with ease. Famine lunged at Gambit, who threw him aside with his staff, before throwing several energised cards. Famine sliced through them, only for them to explode and hurtle him across the street, as Gambit grinned, twirling his staff around
"That wasn't a wise move for you, my friend"
Famine got to his feet with a growl, as Gambit looked up past him
"This is not good"
Five Sentinels had arrived, marching towards the mutants with their red eyes flashing
"Nope, not good at all"
-XXXX-
