Final Chapter!
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"Where'd he go?" Wolverine asked, "I wasn't done with him!"
'Well congratulations,' came Apocalypse's voice
"Where the hell did that come from?" Cyclops asked
"He's speaking to us telepathically," Phoenix said
'Correct, Ms. Grey. You defeated my Horsemen, gave me a hell of a fight and I'd say to a small degree, beat me. But you didn't completely defeat me. I have gained something out of this"
"Oh well and what's that?" Storm asked
'The humans. They see you as a threat once again. You can tell from the Sentinels they've built to destroy you. Soon, the war will begin once again between man and mutant. The weak ones will die, the strong will live. And I will be their ruler'
"It won't come to that," Cyclops said, "There will be no war. We'll prevent it"
'You keep thinking that, Mr. Summers. But in the long run, the war will ravage the planet. Everyone must take a side or risk destruction. The war is inevitable'
"You planned this, didn't you?" Wolverine asked angrily
'I saved some mutants from death to use in this plan. But really, you can thank Pyro for starting it all. Wouldn't have done it without him'
"Well in that case then," Iron Man said, "Pyro, you're under arrest"
"Yeah? Stop me," Pyro challenged, "We're outta here"
Iron Man went to shoot at him, but Avalanche stopped him by causing an earthquake. In that moment, the Brotherhood took their chance to flee from the scene, as the X-Men surveyed the destruction around him. Cyclops and Iron Man headed over to Bastion's body and severed head
"Who the hell was this?" Cyclops asked
"I think he was the leader of the Sentinels," Iron Man replied, "I'll get Fury to take a better look at him"
"Was Apocalypse right?" Shadowcat asked, "About the coming war"
"It won't happen," Iron Man said, "I'll make sure it doesn't happen"
"Well, I say we call it a day," Wolverine said, "Got things to take care of"
"I'll see you around," Iron Man said
He picked up Bastion's head and flew away into the sky, as Spider-Man gave the X-Men a small wave, before heading for the rooftops. The X-Men then got onto the X-Jet, as Cyclops and Storm started the engines up
"Wow, how seriously messed-up can we get?" Gambit asked
"Apparently, a lot," Wolverine said, kneeing beside Daken's prone form
"Storm, take us out of here," Cyclops said
She hovered the jet into the air, before taking off back towards the mansion
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"Apocalypse?" Nick Fury asked, "A powerful mutant who wants a war?"
"That's the one," Tony Stark replied, "A war between humans and mutants"
"Hopefully, it won't come to that, but seeing how the President's responded"
"He ordered the creation of the Sentinels?"
"In response to attacks from the Brotherhood. They had to be stopped"
"What did you get on the Sentinel leader?"
"Not much," Fury replied, "Its name is Bastion and its mission is to protect humanity from the mutant world by any means necessary. Including killing mutants"
"What do you propose we do about Apocalypse?" Stark asked
"Well, for starters, we keep an eye out for him. He shows up, we'll take him down, hopefully permanently this time"
"We can't have a war between humans and mutants. It ended very messily last time around. We have to find and stop Apocalypse"
Stark let out a sigh
"But I don't think that will do it"
"What makes you say that?" Fury asked
"Apocalypse said the war is inevitable," Stark answered, "If that's the case, then destroying Apocalypse is not going to prevent. It will happen, no matter what"
"This whole thing started because of the Brotherhood. If we can shut them down, then there's a chance we can stop this. The President is afraid of the mutants and their powers. Probably explains why he agreed to the Sentinels. But because of the Sentinels, the mutants are going to strike back and the war will start"
"So we stop the Brotherhood and the Sentinels. That's not going to be easy"
"I never said it was," Fury said solemnly
He looked through the window, staring at the head of Bastion, which was hooked up to wires. The door read 'HIGHLY RESTRICTED ACCESS', as Fury and Stark turned away from the door and headed back to Fury's office, where Logan and Laura were waiting inside
"Logan, how's things at the mansion?" Fury asked, "I see you have X23 with you"
"My name is Laura," she growled
"Takes after you," Stark commented
"I just wanted to know how Daken is going," Logan said
"He's doing fine. We have him under observation. I believe he's in a coma, as a result of Stark's fall. But don't worry, Logan, we'll find out about the brainwashing used on him and see if we can't break it"
"Very well then. Thanks"
Logan and Laura got up to leave the room
"Oh and Logan? Laura's free to go. Her help has granted her amnesty"
"Good. Let's keep it that way"
Logan and his daughter then left the room, as Fury lit up a cigar
"This is going to be very interesting from now on"
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"Something on your mind, Scott?" Professor Xavier asked
He had been released from the medical ward and was back in his wheelchair again. He had found Scott sitting out in the garden alone, deep in thought
"Thinking about Apocalypse said," Scott replied, "About the war between man and mutant. How it's inevitable"
"We did achieve amnesty with humanity previously," Xavier said, "Who's to say it won't happen again? We can prevent this war"
"I'm not too sure about that, Professor. It's all in play. The Brotherhood's attacks, the Sentinels built in response, the mutants' reactions to that. It will all lead to it"
"Are you sure you're not completely worried about the war that's yet to come?"
"Yes"
"You can't lie to a psychic, Scott. I know what else is troubling you"
"Jean"
"That and Miss Frost. I see that Jean is making her choice"
"So I should do the same?" Scott asked, "I make the choice to walk away"
"And from that, there are other choices. I understand Miss Frost is into you"
"How can you tell?"
"How can I not? Well then, I'll leave it to you. Remember, Scott, the war doesn't have to happen if we can do what we must to prevent it"
Xavier headed back to the mansion, as Scott sank back into his thoughts
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Pietro sat beside the prone form of his father, staring at his face
"I guess you'll be happy about this. A war is coming, between humans and mutants. However, whoever survives will get ruled over by some glorified shapeshifter. Is that what you wanted, Father? A war? Well, we've started it. Maybe we'll finish it"
"Why do you always sit at his side and talk to him?" Wanda asked, walking in
"I never told you this because I knew how you'd react. I lied to you, Wanda, because I wanted you by my side. This man is our father"
"Excuse me? You lied to me about him? I thought he was the one who could lead us to salvation from humans. You knew how I felt about meeting our real father"
"Yeah, you said something about killing him for abandoning us. I'm sorry, Wanda"
"I'm sorry too, Pietro, for trusting you. Don't try and find me"
With that, Wanda walked out of the room, as Pietro sighed
"Good one," he said to Magneto, "I don't know why I followed you. Maybe because I wanted to know you. Know what you're like. But you just lost me my sister"
Pietro then got up and left the room. As he did, Magneto's eyes shot open, an image of a large, powerful mutant resting in his pupils. A mutant whose creation had just awoken Magneto and restored his memories. A mutant who seeked to destroy the world of men and mutants. A mutant with the same powers as Magneto and Charles Xavier combined, granting him great and destructive power
A mutant by the name of Onslaught. And he was here on Earth
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