Disclaimer: Still working on hacking into the lawyers' databases… I've gotten past the first firewall, and onto the second one…

A/N: Since this chapter is so short, I'm going to upload another one, for your entertainment. Enjoy!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'blah…' -telepathy/what people say mentally

Chapter 47: Interlude: Apocalypse's Checklist

General Hallways, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 11:05 PM

As Apocalypse walked through the menagerie of halls located in his complex, he thought about who he was going to choose as the last Horseman of Apocalypse – the Horseman of Death. Apocalypse surveyed his list of acquired mutants so far. He had already destroyed the pitiful excuse of a twin brother of Mesmero when he had been released ((Thomas Five- my character)) – check; captured all the X-Men – check; had almost all the Brotherhood in cages suffering the same fates as the X-Men – check; had Erik under total control – check; had 3 Horsemen out of 4, with Raven was Pestilence, Lucas was Famine, Sabretooth was War – check. Although, now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure he should have brought someone as idiotic as Sabretooth back to life… oh well; the only reason he had chosen Sabretooth was because he was easily manipulated and could care less about anything else other than having another chance to kill Avalanche.

Apocalypse stopped his musing as he entered one of the twenty-nine hallways in the complex and walked past the first cell in the hallway. As he got to the second cell, he stopped and stared at the cell's occupant. 'This mutant is powerful; he has immense power in him, and I sense that he has the potential to find more. If I were to put him under my control, use his powers and then control him, my power would be unlimited… yes, I think I will use him for my plans…'

Apocalypse nodded his head decisively as he mentally unlocked the door to the cell. The occupant had no clue what was going on around him; he was too concentrated on his fears and nightmares, trying to keep himself from screaming in pain at the images that kept flashing through his head. He did his absolute best to not scream at what he saw, but when the image of his beloved dying in his arms entered his mind even more vividly than before, he couldn't stop himself; he screamed at the top of his lungs, pain, anger, and fear lacing his voice.

So, when Apocalypse lifted him from the floor telekinetically and brought him out of his cell and into the hallway, this poor prisoner had no clue what was happening to him. However, what Apocalypse didn't notice was that the other cell's occupant was silently watching what was going on, having regained control over his mind, vowing that he would help the other prisoner. Therefore, the conscious occupant was startled when he caught a few muttered words from Apocalypse, "Yes, this mutant will be the last key needed to unlock the door to my domination of the world; he will be the key to unlocking the hidden mutant inside every person on Earth; he will the source of my power!" Then, laughing grimly, Apocalypse left the hallway, the man now floating silently behind him.

As the lone cell's occupant watched Apocalypse go, he tried to yell out to the unconscious prisoner. He tried to try and snap the other prisoner out of his trance and tell him to get away from Apocalypse and free everyone else. But, before he could even utter a word, the images he had been forced to suffer through came back with a vengeance. The occupant's eyes snapped shut and he once more screamed in pain as the images flashed through his head once more. However, even with the pictures in the forefront of his mind, he kept the precious information he had heard from Apocalypse in the back of his mind, ready to tell it to whomever freed him.