August 19, 1992
Lorna stared at her husband. She could feel his blood pouring out over her hands, over the knife she was holding in his side. One of his hands was on the side of her face, almost as though he was caressing her.
He began to sink to the ground, and Lorna knelt next to him. She wanted to do something, to help him, but the knife was still in her hand. She was doing this. She was killing him.
A burning began in her forehead. It seemed to heat the tears that she was crying, making them burn down her face.
"I love you," Alex whispered.
In the back she heard Max and Luna screaming. Her eyes managed to find them, to see the horror and the despair on their faces. She had just mortally wounded their father in front of them. It was like the nightmare was never-ending.
Alex's hand started to slip from the side of her face. The burning in her forehead was becoming more intense and she could feel her mind beginning to slip away. She couldn't stop it.
There were footsteps. Feeling a glaze come over her eyes, she saw her father approaching.
"Fight it," he hissed, "This...this thing just made you kill your husband!"
Lorna looked down at Alex. He wasn't dead yet, but it was clear that he was dying. She struggled to reach out and touch his face, her heart stuttering painfully in her chest. She couldn't lose him.
"I didn't raise you to be this weak!" her father shouted.
Lorna blinked. Her hand fisted into the cloth of Alex's uniform. She gritted her teeth, feeling the fury flooding through her. She wasn't going to give into the numbness. Apocalypse had made her kill her husband. What would he make her do next? Kill her children?
She threw her head back and screamed. One of her hands scrabbled blindly at her forehead. She collapsed to the ground, still scrabbling at her forehead. Her nails cut into her skin, and she could feel blood mingling with her tears.
The burning was still in her forehead, but there were other things to concentrate on. Alex was bleeding out next to her. She had done that. Apocalypse had made her do that. He was going to pay for that.
"Mom!" Luna yelled.
Lorna could feel the dirt in her eyes and ears, but she wasn't going to let him do this anymore. She still had family to protect. Her father knelt next to her, putting his hand on her shoulder.
"Lorna, you can do this," he said, "He did this for you. He could've dodged it, but he did this for you, so you could break out of this."
She saw her father's hand bury itself in the dirt.
"He loves you," he said, "Loves you enough to die for you."
Lorna wanted to cry.
"I know you love him," Moira said, "He's never...Alex is pretty closed off. He's never been like this about someone before. So, remember that he loves you just as much as you love him. Maybe more. And he is willing to die for you."
"I don't want him to die for me!" Lorna said.
Moira smiled softly at her.
"I never said you did," she said, "I just want you to remember that Alex doesn't do anything by halves. He loves you. I just want you to remember that. And, well, hold him back sometimes. You know how he can get."
It hurt too much. She thrashed, still slashing blindly at the crystal in her forehead.
"Oh God," she gasped.
There was a roar from the other side of the lawn. It was Apocalypse, but she ignored it. Her fingers were finally finding some leverage on the diamond and began to pull. It felt like pulling a dagger out of her forehead.
Lorna ripped it off. She tossed it as far away from her as she could and collapsed onto the ground. She could still feel the tears on her face as her father gently put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's alright," he said softly.
She shook her head as she forced herself to her knees. Luna was hurrying towards her, and she felt her daughter's arms wrap around her neck. Max collapsed beside her and Lorna coughed, trying to get back her breath.
"Your color mom," Luna said.
Lorna swallowed and looked at her husband.
"Alex," she whispered.
Alex turned his head to her, his hand over his side, trying to keep the blood in. She moved over to him, her children with her, and cradled his head.
"Hey," he said, "Not like...I haven't been...stabbed before..."
"But not by me," Lorna said.
She touched his face. Lorna had been taught all of the best places to stab someone, what would make them bleed the most. She had gone for a major artery when she fought him, and she knew that he was in pain.
"It's not over," Alex said.
Lorna felt the rage behind her eyes as she looked up at Apocalypse. He was fighting the rest of the X-men. She saw him hit David into the ground, heard his arm snap. Charles was yelling, and the rest were moving in. Logan and Rogue came up from the Institute, Rogue's eyes glowing magenta.
She was in an island of pain, surrounded by battle. Lorna looked back at her children. Max was holding Luna now, and they were both crying. Max was keeping it in better than his little sister, but they were losing their father.
"Lorna...kick his ass," Alex said.
Her eyes went back to Apocalypse.
"You...made me..." she seethed.
She forced herself to her feet and walked away from her children. A green film dropped over her eyes. Apocalypse looked at her, perhaps surprised, and she clenched her hands into her fists. Words were forming on her tongue, but she couldn't find a way to articulate them.
Lorna screamed wordlessly. She sent as much metal as he could at him. He put his hand out, stopping it. Lorna glared at him, feeling the rage make her knees and hands shake. She needed to overcome him.
Her father walked next to her and stretched out his arm. She could feel him adding his strength to hers, just like they had when she was a child, still being groomed to take over his position in the Brotherhood.
There were more footsteps. Max stood beside her, one arm outstretched and his face full of a familiar fire. Luna was looking at them, kneeling beside her father, sobbing. Max's eyes met Lorna's, and he nodded at her.
Lorna felt something give. The objects went through and knocked Apocalypse to the ground. Lorna stepped up, ripping the armor Apocalypse had given her off her arms. He was going to pay for this.
"Mom!" Kurt shouted.
His mother smiled weakly from behind the glass. Kurt looked over at Mystique and waved the bottle.
"I've got it," he said.
Mystique punched a button on the control panel and the door slid open. Moira slumped to the floor, and Kurt knelt by her. He opened up the bottle and a trickle of the blood found its way into her lips. She swallowed, and Kurt waited.
"You...might've been infected," Moira said, "Take some."
"Not until I figure out if you've had enough," Kurt said.
"Kurt, don't be dumb," Mystique said, "Just listen to your mother and take some of the blood."
Kurt looked at her. She sounded frank, almost like a woman concerned for her friend's son. However, they both knew that she was his biological mother. Kurt wanted to say something to her, but he couldn't find it in him to do so. Not now.
The black veins were disappearing from Moira's eyes. Emboldened, Kurt took a sip of blood. It was cold, clotted, and gross. It also tasted a little bit alcoholic. He'd have to talk to Deadpool about that.
He held out the bottle to Mystique.
"You've been exposed too," he said.
Mystique smiled and took the bottle. She drank some and made a face.
"This is gross, but it tastes a little like vodka," Mystique said, "Where did you get this?"
"Around," Kurt said.
He got to his feet and looked at his mother. Despite how terrible she looked, her eyes and skin looked normal. Kurt gave her his hand and helped her up. She shook a little, but she managed to stay up by leaning on his shoulder.
"Did you figure anything out...from the control pad?" Moira asked.
"Not much," Mystique said, "It looks like the 'horsemen' were given the diamonds as chips to keep them under Apocalypse's control, and he picked them because they impressed him in battle."
She shook her head.
"As for Apocalypse, he's immortal," Mystique said, "We're not going to be able to beat him by usual methods."
"Then we're just going to have to find some unusual ones," Kurt said.
It shouldn't be this way. Apocalypse had all of the X-men and Brotherhood targeting him. David knew that meant that he should be a bloody smear on the ground, but he was holding his own.
He wasn't just holding his own. He was also winning. David's broken, useless arm was testament enough to that. No one was really getting close to him, and those whose powers seemed to be hurting him couldn't get close.
Lorna, Max and Magneto were controlling as much metal as they could find. Objects continued to fly out of the Institute, hitting Apocalypse again and again. He didn't seem too worried about it though, and that worried David.
At least Lorna wasn't under his control any more. He could see where Rogue and Logan had joined them. Remy hadn't come up with them and that wasn't good. He couldn't help himself but worry that his friend was gone, another victim of Apocalypse's schemes.
Rogue, David thought, I know this is difficult...but Remy-
He's barely alive, Rogue thought, He might be dead soon, but I didn't...I didn't hold on long enough to kill him.
David couldn't bring himself to ask specifics. Still, he was relieved.
We bound him, but...Rogue thought.
We have a way to help him, David thought, It's going to be okay.
Rogue's eyes widened just as Apocalypse tossed a metal chair their way. Logan pushed her out of the way. Rogue grabbed for the chair and charged it with magenta light. She tossed it at Apocalypse, and the resulting explosion forced him back.
Scott sent off a blast from his eyebeams, getting closer. Apocalypse tossed him aside and Scott hit the ground. He raised his fist above him, and David knew that Apocalypse could easily smash his ribs or head.
Kurt appeared next to Scott and teleported him away. Apocalypse hit the ground and growled in his frustration. Kurt teleported Scott to the other side of the crowd before teleporting away again. He reappeared with Mystique and their mother in tow.
David was relieved to see that his mother was alright, and he could see the glow in his father's eyes. They weren't going to win the way they were fighting though. They weren't going to be able to fight him with their usual methods.
They had to wear him down, had to do something to make him expend a sizable chunk of energy. A thought occured to him, and he swallowed. He felt fear well up in him, but he had to be brave. Alex had already been brave that night.
Dad, get Emma and Jean ready, David thought, I'm going to try something.
What? his father asked.
Just be ready, David thought.
David put his hands to his temples. The world shifted. The Institute and the lawn seemed to melt away. It was difficult though, just like it had been at the camp. Apocalypse's mind had a great deal of gates, and it was well guarded.
At the camp David hadn't known that Apocalypse had infected his mother, bled his brother, and made the people he respected kill each other. It gave him the strength to push on and break through the first barriers. It was like he was standing in a void, one with no edges. He'd never gotten this far before.
A second later the ground began to rumble beneath their feet. He saw Apocalypse in the corner, his expression furious.
"You dare," he said.
David put his hands to his forehead and put out as much energy as he could.
You've all got to see this. The brat's actually fighting him.
Apocalypse batted it all away, but David thought that it took a considerable amount of effort. David ran around the side and tried to muster up all the power he could. He needed to goad him.
Just give up and die already!
Apocalypse sneered at him.
"You think you can hurt me," he said, "Perhaps I should show you how wrong you are."
He stretched his hand out towards David. His heart stuttered and a sharp pain pushed him to the ground. David fell to the floor, gasping. He'd known that something like this was going to happen, but he hadn't known that it would happen so quick.
"Time to die," Apocalypse said.
Apocalypse clenched his fist, and David moved in a flurry in his mind. He had to move fast.
Finally! It's about ti-
David pushed, and he felt something rip through his head. Then, nothing.
A/N: Only three more chapters to go.
