Chapter 43
"Pyro!" Magneto's voice booms in the dark.
Pyro unleashes a fountain of flame upward to illuminate the chamber...to reveal one of the bird-headed statues bringing the axe it is carrying down. The other statues that were moving are now blocking the exit, making sure the intruders stay trapped while this 1st one takes its shot.
They scatter as Cyclops, who is the closest to getting hit, dives out of the way as the axe embeds into the floor, partially shattering it. He rolls, turns and fires a blast at the statue to little effect.
The statue swings its axe at him forcing him to duck as it smashes one of the columns up against the wall apart.
The pieces tumble down everywhere...including one large piece at a fallen down Shadowcat, who was tripped up by the violently shaking ground beneath their feet.
Superman blurs to her rescue...only it's not quite a blur and when he catches the piece Clark finds it is...heavy?
In fact so heavy he starts to drop to one knee.
In takes Colossus to come to his aid. They lift it together, preparing to throw it at the attacking statue...when the floor, damaged by the impact of the axe, begins to collapse under their feet.
Superman and Colossus are the first to fall into the dark void beneath, quickly followed by Shadowcat and as a chunk of floor topples over it takes Nightcrawler with it.
Clark's natural instinct is to fly...only he finds he can't. Like his strength and his speed it's gone and he's as helpless as his 3 fellow fallers as he is swallowed by the icky blackness.
Back with the rest they gasp as the ceiling partially collapses around them and they desperately try and avoid getting crushed by the chunks of stone.
The floor shakes violently and a section of it along with 2 statues that haven't come to life yet sinks down taking Cyclops, Pyro and Quicksilver with it. A great stone slab then slides in above them sealing them away and cutting off any chance of getting back.
Beast leaps at the bird-head statue determined to try and find a way to disable it. It manages to sweep him away with its right arm.
Luckily it's not too severe a blow and Beast manages to grab at a column and brings himself to a sliding halt, almost sticking to the side of the column.
The statue comes at him with its axe. Beast somersaults backward as the column is demolished and lands on the next column back.
One section of the column goes rolling across the floor...right at the Professor who tries to roll out of the way but it still manages to clip his wheelchair, sending him tumbling onto his side, banging his head and stunning him.
The floor beneath the Professor begins to collapse. Just as it gives way the wheelchair, with the nearly unconscious man in it, lifts into the air...courtesy of Polaris who is floating there next to her father. They move, taking the Professor with them, into the corridor up ahead they were planning to try first before all this kicked off.
Back in the chamber Jean has to save Iceman and herself by telekinetically lifting them both as more of the floor gives way. She backs them up to a part of the floor that is still standing...next to another giant bird-head statue, this one with a curved sword which comes to life, lifting the sword high, ready to strike them down.
Before it can, blasts of lightning strike at the sword arm courtesy of Storm who is flying right at it, not letting any sort of fear stop her in defending her students.
However, her attack has little to no effect on the statue which strikes at her with its sword.
Storm elegantly flips over the attack, letting the sword strike yet another column as she dives down the set of stairs down off to the right from where they entered. Jean and Iceman are already way ahead of her in running down them.
Pieces of the column the statue just destroyed start rolling down behind them. Jean stops, spins round and uses her powers to push one giant piece away. Another section nearby shatters on impact on the stairs. A small piece clocks Jean in the head sending her into Iceman and sending them both tumbling down the stairs.
"Jean!" Storm calls out with concern as she glides down next to the now clearly unconscious redhead while Bobby groans in pain, he's so going to be bruised but at least he's still conscious.
The statue stomps after them...as a door behind it closes trapping the 3 mutants with the very thing intent upon killing them.
Back with Magneto, Polaris and the Professor they have to hurry as a door ahead begins to close. Behind them Beast gallops across the floor and barely manages to slide under the door before it seals shut.
For a moment, at least, all the shaking and collapses have stopped. A flare rises up and explodes, illuminating the space where Cyclops, Quicksilver and Pyro have found themselves. A flare courtesy of Pyro's flame controlling skills.
The 3 of them look wide-eyed at the 2, so far, lifeless statues because they just know they're not that lucky.
"Nobody move," Cyclops instructs them before they do something foolish and hasty. He knows they can't just stand there though. "Ok, nice and slow. Lets find us a way out of here," he decides. Just back away slowly, no sudden movements and hope that's enough not to set the statues off.
As usual Quicksilver has his own interpretation on what 'nice and slow' means as he blurs away in a silver streak.
Pyro and Cyclops turn back to the statues just as their glowing eyes open.
"If we live through this I'm killing Pietro," Cyclops vows.
"I'm hearin' ya mate," Pyro says in agreement.
The two statues, one jackal-headed the other bird-headed move forward and Cyclops and Pyro back up.
Cyclops blasts the bird-head one as it raises an axe in its hands...again to little effect apart from to blow off some surface stonework.
Pyro unleashes a wall of fire at the jackal-headed statue...laughing manically. It does nothing to stop it striking down with its sword making both boys dive out of the way as the sword smashes into the floor.
The two boys roll and get back to their feet back to back as they try to simply survive.
With Storm, Jean and Iceman the white-haired woman is cradling Jean in one arm while using the other raised up to provide illumination with a glowing ball of lightning resting on her fingertip.
Of course all she is illuminating is the inhuman abomination trying to kill them.
Storm wishes Logan was here. This is the kind of thing he would just love.
In his absence Storm unleashes a bolt of lightning from her finger tip, momentarily making the statue step back before it advances again relentlessly.
"Jean! Come on Jean! Wake up!" Storm begs as she unleashes another bolt of lightning. She spots the fact the statue is still on the stairs. "Iceman...show him why you should always grit the stairs in winter!" she commands.
Bobby gets it as he ices up exactly where the statue is about to put its next step. He then creates an ice slide for it to go along as it slips and slides and crashes into the far wall. As it tries to get back to its feet Iceman freezes it solid...which seems to hold it for the moment.
Storm creates a new small ball of lightning and sends it upward so as to give them light as she returns her attentions to seeing how bad Jean is. There's a nasty lump forming there on Jean's head.
As Storm does that Iceman explores a little and comes across two lion statues on plinths either side of the corridor...which start to come to life, rise to their feet and roar. "Oh come on," he complains. "Can we not just get one break today!" he exclaims as he backs up.
The lion statues leap down and Storm realises she must leave Jean for the moment. She quickly but gently lays Jean down before rising into the air, the wind picking up around her and aimed at the statues as lighting erupts from her hands at their 2 new foes. "Iceman! Get Jean out of the way!" she orders.
Iceman does so as Storm grunts under the effort and redoubles her attacks.
"Nightcrawler! Superman!" Shadowcat calls out as she peers into the dark, rubbing her butt...again. How many bruises does she have now? A whole bunch she thinks.
BAMF!
Kitty yelps in fright as Kurt appears next to her...sort of. He's really hard to see in the dark. "How many times have I said not to do that?!" she grumbles because no matter how many times she has said it he still does it. Just bamfing in right next to her, scaring the life out of her. She swears Kurt's taken years off her life already.
"Sorry," Nightcrawler apologises. "I found your headset," he says, holding it up. Luckily he can easily see in the dark and it helped him find that and her. "But it von't do us any good," he says in relation to the fact it's broken and therefore they can't contact anyone on it.
Kitty takes it and removes the torch from it. "We can use this," she realises as she clicks it on and spins round to get some idea of what is around them.
"Over here!" a voice calls out from the dark.
Shadowcat and Nightcrawler head for the voice to find Colossus kneeling down beside...
"Superman!" Shadowcat calls out in panic at seeing him lying there. She and Kurt run over and as the torch light illuminates Superman's features both Kitty and Kurt gasp in shock.
"He's bleeding!" Nightcrawler says in disbelief.
Indeed. Superman was bleeding from a cut on his left temple.
"Vhat did you do?!" Nightcrawler demands to know from Colossus, squaring up the big Russian who could easily squish him but Kurt's friend is hurt and he won't take that lying down.
"I did nothing," Colossus pleads his innocence. "I found him like this."
"Nightcrawler!" Shadowcat snaps. "Not the time," she tells him off as she tries to examine Clark. Damn it. She reaches into one of the pouches on her belt. She has a mini 1st aid kit in there. "Here," she says as she hands over her torch to Colossus. "Hold it, please. I need to see," she requests.
Colossus does what he is asked and Kitty treats the cut as best as she was taught. They all know basic 1st aid. As she cleans the cut Clark suddenly winces.
"Ow, ow, ow what's stinging me?!" he whines.
"Me," Shadowcat answers.
Clark cracks an eye open. "What have I ever done to you?" he asks with an adorable hang-dog expression.
"You want the list," Shadowcat retorts with a smile. "And don't argue with your nurse when she's treating you," she tells him with a smug look of someone enjoying being a position of power they don't get to be in very often.
"Superman...your powers?" Nightcrawler raises.
"They're not working right. I got that when I was falling helplessly into the black," Superman says back, perfectly aware of what happened to him. He was falling. Then he hit the ground...headfirst and now he's here.
Kitty cleans and sticks a plaster on the cut. "It's not too bad," she says, relieved it's minor. She reaches for the torch and shines it in Clark's eyes looking for the reaction of his pupils which contract. Another good sign. "I'm, like, no expert but I think you'll be alright. Can you stand?"
"I'll try," Superman says grateful, truly for Kitty taking care of him. He starts to sit up and Colossus helps him to his feet. Clark takes a moment to reorientate himself.
"Feeling dizzy?" Shadowcat asks.
"No. No. I'm good," Superman reports. "Thank you, Shadowcat."
Shadowcat beams. "Like no problem," she says in her perpetually cheerful tones.
"So vhere are ve?" Nightcrawler asks as he looks around. He can see in the dark and he has no clue.
"Where's everyone else?" Superman asks.
"We are separated. We should find them quickly," Colossus states and then walks off in a particular direction.
"Not much of a conversationalist is he?" Superman drawls.
Shadowcat chuckles. "Not everyone is like you but he's right. We should get going."
Superman nods in agreement and the 3 of them jog to catch up with the metal skinned Russian.
"Vhat has happened to your powers?" Nightcrawler asks Clark in a low voice.
Superman shakes his head. "I don't know," he answers back in the same low tone. "I felt weird the minute I entered this place but I was too busy being creeped out to give it much credence."
"Ja, know zhat feeling. I'm still experiencing it."
"I don't think my powers are gone completely. I was struggling with that column I'll admit but if they were gone completely it would have crushed me. Lets just go with I'm at less than 10%," he judges, giving his best guess at the weight of that column.
"Vell it's better zhan nozhing," Nightcrawler tries to look on the bright side...and it is. Even a Clark at 10% is still pretty much as strong as Colossus there by Kurt's reckoning so if the big Russian tries something they should be alright.
"This place makes no sense," Shadowcat thinks and she's not just meaning Clark's power loss. She may not be an expert but this place is more like an underground palace than tomb in size.
All they can do is keep walking with their little torch lighting the way, illuminating a short distance ahead and making those small crystals embedded in the walls twinkle like stars in the darkness.
Beast, the Professor, Magneto and Polaris stand in the columned hallway they managed to reach and look to be in relative safety for the moment. It seems they are cut off from the many statues in the other chamber at least so that's a positive.
Beast is trying to reach the others on his communicator. "Hello! Hello Shadowcat! Do you read? Anybody?!" he asks in desperation and concern. "We need to search for them," he thinks and says to a Charles who is rubbing his pounding head.
Charles is awake and fine, apart from the headache.
"No!" Magneto discounts Beast's suggestion in sharp tones as he returns from scouting around. "We must not lose sight of the objective," he states.
Polaris folds her arms across her chest and gives her father a cold look for that. "That include your own son?" she asks with disdain. An emotion created from her hurt at his lies and deceptions.
Charles saves Magneto from having to answer. "He's right Polaris, Hank. This is too important. We must stay on the mission. They've been trained to take care of themselves. What I will do is send out a telepathic message, telling them all where to find us," he relays as he brings his hands to his head, closes his eyes and reaches out to all their minds...and by a simple count they're all still there and alive so that's a comfort.
Magneto, meanwhile, is scrutinising the hieroglyphs covering the walls and columns around them. "How's your ancient Egyptian?" he asks Beast because his is not great. He must work on that.
"Rusty," Beast admits. He's hasn't studied it in detail since college. "But I do recognise some of these markings," he says as he tries to recall the knowledge. He points at one mark which is a scarab beetle pushing the sun. "Especially that one."
Magneto knows what that one is from his own research. "Apocalypse."
Beast starts to read more and can see this is a story. Apocalypse's life story.
The Professor and Polaris close in, drawn by curiosity.
Beast starts to read the story. "This speaks of an age when the Pharaoh Rama Tut seemingly fell from the stars and brought some kind of...uh..." Beast struggles here with the symbol. "Doesn't translate. Technology...I think," he says not very sure of himself.
The Professor leans in and sees the diamond glyph. "That's what I saw in Mesmero's mind. That object," he says.
"Anyway," Beast continues. "He used this as a source of power to take control of the land."
"So he was what? Some sort of alien?" Polaris asks in disbelief, her question coming from the 'falling from the sky' bit. "I thought that was all conspiracy nuts," he says in relation to those Ancient Aliens guys who believe we have been visited in the past by beings from other worlds.
"It's more accurate than you believe, Polaris," Magneto says.
"You know something," Lorna realises. "Great, another secret!" she complains at him bitterly.
The Professor sighs. "Lorna," he speaks softly. "We all keep secrets. Sometimes it's necessary even when it might seem it's not."
"Do you want to know what fiction he fed me about what happened between him and Wanda? Take a guess how far away from the truth that was," she says with perfectly justified vitriol.
"May I continue?" Beast requests, trying to cut off the teenage temper tantrum that is threatening to erupt.
"By all means," Magneto says, he too wishing to avoid having that confrontation with his daughter right now.
Beast continues. "During this time a mutant grey-skinned infant was abandoned in the desert to perish. The child's cries were answered when he was found by a tribe of bandits ruled by a warrior named Ba'al. He saw the power in the child and took him as his own. He named him En Sabah Nur... which means the First One."
"Was he really the first of us?" Polaris wonders, that idea and imagining the captivating story getting her focus off her issues with her father. "The first mutant?"
"He may well have been," Charles answers. "Hank," he says for Beast to carry on.
Beast resumes. "Under Ba'al's protection and training Nur became a powerful warrior. His strength and speed were without equal. No-one could touch him. He was...unnatural. Rumours of En Sabah Nur's inhuman might had reached the Pharaoh Rama Tut who saw Nur as a threat to his rule and ordered his destruction. In the end Ba'al and his army were defeated. Only En Sabah Nur remained. Since nothing could withstand his wrath En Sabah Nur took the name Apocalypse."
Beast takes a momentary pause to let that sink in.
Back with Cyclops and Pyro the X-Man is focussing his blasts on the right shoulder joint of the bird-headed statue, the arm that wields the axe and he is driving it back a little. It raises its weapon in both arms ready to bring it down on Cyclops' head...when another blast manages to tear the targeted arm away revealing metal and motors.
"They're mechanical," Scott says in revelation. They're not stone. They're machines. Robots. The stone is just a covering like a skin.
Pyro is trying to burn the jackal-headed statue, laughing manically as always, when it slaps him away with its left hand sending him tumbling across the floor.
That is when Quicksilver chooses his moment to return from wherever it was he rushed off to. "I found a way out so lets finish these guys," he declares as he zips at the one Scott damaged and starts to spin around and around its legs, creating a whirlwind, lifting it into the air and slamming it into the wall.
The wall partially breaks...almost into Iceman and Jean who happen to be on the other side of it. Iceman is still holding up a very groggy Jean who isn't very aware of what is going on. He steps back from the wall with Jean near the statue he froze...just as it starts to break free of the icy prison.
Storm is still battling the two lion statues but she had broken enough of the stone covering off to also realise they were machines. Gathering her energies she sends a huge electrical surge into both, through the holes in their stone skin and fries the internal electronics to the point they shatter apart.
Storm drops to the ground exhausted from the effort.
The bird-headed statue shatters its icy prison and Iceman tries to refreeze it...only for his powers to dry up so to speak. "I-I'm totally iced out," he says in fear and a sort of apology he couldn't do more. "This has never happened before, I swear," he tries to make a feeble joke of it.
The statue makes a move to strike at them with its sword...only for it to rise off the floor.
The grunts of effort in his ear tell Bobby Jean is back with them. "Never happened before, huh?" she queries that with a critical eye. "That's what all men say," she quips with a smirk.
Storm manages a snort of amusement while Bobby makes a pained, embarrassed expression.
Jean advances forward, able to now stand free of Bobby's help, summons up the energy, lifts the mechanical monster higher into the air and throws it through the damaged wall...into the statue Scott had damaged which destroys them both.
The 2nd statue he and Pyro were battling, the jackal-headed one, is suddenly struck in the chest with a mighty telekinetic blow, sending it through the wall behind it as Jean floats through the hole she has made to where Cyclops, Quicksilver and Pyro are.
Jean lands on the floor. "Cyclops," she greet him coolly and professionally.
"Jean," Cyclops returns in the same manner.
"Whoa, did you two have a fight or something?" Quicksilver asks at the cool, distant manner with which they're greeting each other. He thought they'd be all lovey dovey at being reunited.
"Pietro unless you want to be left down here don't!" Cyclops snaps at him not to pry into that.
Oh they so had a fight Pietro gleams from that response.
"Did you get the Professor's message?" Jean asks, returning to business.
"Yes, he's somewhere above us," Cyclops confirms he did indeed receive the telepathic message.
Quicksilver, who has taken a moment to help Pyro to his feet, says, "Follow me. There's a tunnel," he points in the direction he had discovered they need to go.
Quicksilver aids Pyro as they run down the tunnel with Cyclops and Jean following after them and Storm and Iceman following them.
Back with Beast he once more picks up the story off the wall and relays it to the other 3 present with him. "Apocalypse hunted down the Pharaoh, seeking retribution for what had happened to his family. Rama Tut sent his armies to confront Apocalypse but even their might could not stop him. Apocalypse decimated them," he says, his voice in partial awe and horror at what Apocalypse must have done. He must have slaughtered thousands and thousands by himself. Gives you an impression of just what level of power they are dealing with.
"The Pharaoh fled before Apocalypse could reach him and he was never seen again," Beast relays the result of all this.
Beast moves to the next part of what happened, physically moving down the hallway as he does so. "Apocalypse declared himself Pharaoh and then set about discovering the source of Rama Tut's power. He found it deep within these chambers. A vessel. And inside the vessel a device called the Eye of Ages. He mastered the secrets of this strange technology and used it to extend his kingdom to encompass the entire world."
"That's why there are stories of him everywhere," Charles realises as the pieces fall into place to explain how Apocalypse is mentioned by seemingly every major ancient civilisation on the planet.
"Apocalypse's reign was highlighted by his cruelty and lack of compassion. He had no time for the weak whom he deemed inferior and not worthy of existence in a world controlled by him. He was in every meaning of the word a tyrant," Beast relays what is the depiction of Apocalypse's rule. He then goes on to tell the origin of a select group of Apocalypse's servants. "During his conquests he found others...like him. Unnatural. 4 others who he enslaved to serve him."
"The 4 horsemen," Magneto twigs from Beast's words. Apocalypse found 4 other of the earliest ever mutants to live and enslaved them.
Beast's brow furrows deeply as he reads on, disturbed by the content of the story. "As Ba'al had taught him Apocalypse believed in the principle that his adopted father and the tribe lived by, that only the fittest, toughest, most ruthless and pitiless, tested by hardship, would, and should, survive. He, therefore, tried to use his 4 horsemen to do exactly that...enforce conflict...bring suffering...because only through that sort of trial would the truly strong, the truly worthy, ascend but it was still not enough for him. He deemed humanity as a whole to be too weak. It needed to be...altered...evolved I believe it means. Through the Eye of Ages, Apocalypse would remake the world in his image."
"Mutants," Charles says as he suddenly understands. "He was going to turn humans into mutants. All humans." He touches his fingertips together as the gravity of it plays out. In a sense he sort of knows what would happen with what is happening to the meteor mutants...more accurately their disease.
"Is that possible?" Polaris asks.
"At a steep price," Charles answers, his tone grave.
Beast moves along, his fingers gliding over the glyphs. "Something else happened," he murmurs as he tries to decipher the glyphs. "Another visitor from the stars...no. That's not accurate," he realises he's translated that wrong. "It reads a Child of the Stars. A...God of infinite strength who could ascend into the heavens at will and the ability to...burn the earth with his eyes...and freeze water solid with his lips," Beast says with widening eyes. It can only be one possible type of being.
"One of Superman's people," Magneto deduces.
"Wait. What?!" Polaris cries. "What do you mean one of Superman's people?" she asks. "Isn't he a mutant?"
"...No," Charles answers after a pause. "He is not."
Polaris shifts her gaze to her father. "You knew," she hisses.
"You were not ready to understand," Magneto justifies himself.
Lorna is so mad at her father right now. She turns to the Professor. "So what is he...and the truth please?"
Charles might as well since Magneto opened his big mouth and it's hard to lie to her now after her father has been doing so. "Superman is an alien, Lorna," he confirms for the green-haired girl. He continues, "From a world called Krypton. His people have been coming to Earth for thousands of years as peaceful explorers. The X-Men and I took it upon ourselves to help protect him and aid him as much as we could," he explains how Superman ended up allying with them.
"Why?" Lorna asks in puzzlement. "He doesn't seem like he needs much help," she points out in relation to the vast power Superman seems to possess.
"Because he is all alone. His planet, his people, they're gone. Extinct," Charles gives her the stark, shocking, horrible truth.
"Oh," Lorna says, deflated. She doesn't know what to say in response to that. She plays with a lock of her long green hair instead as her mind tries to absorb the scale of what the Professor just told her.
Magneto did not know this either. Truly, he feels for the boy. Then again one could argue it only makes all the more logical sense that Superman should see his place is with those the most like him; mutants. Magneto must make more effort to try and make Superman see this truth so he joins Magneto in the cause of ensuring mutantkind's rightful place on Earth.
"We have suspected for awhile one of Superman's people might have been involved in imprisoning Apocalypse after the incident in London. The language carved on the spider stone is Kryptonian, the language of Superman's people. However we didn't have any further detail or facts much beyond that to allow us to be certain," Charles decides he might as well also reveal.
"I think we can be certain now," Beast reports, having used this time to read ahead a bit. He relays what he has found out to the others. "This...Star Child, after seeing the horrors Apocalypse had inflicted and the further tragedies he was planning, could not stand by and allow it to continue. His heart bled in sorrow for the children of Earth. In response he united Apocalypse's remaining enemies and lead them to war. He turned the tide and rolled back Apocalypse's advance across the face of the Earth. Many times the 2 great Titans engaged in personal combat but neither could decisively defeat the other so the war rolled on for many, many long years until a great, final battle took place upon the sands of Giza. During this battle the 4 horsemen fell before the Star Child's righteous anger and divine might. He then turned his gaze to Apocalypse, who was using this battle as a delaying tactic to buy himself enough time to initiate his plan to transform humanity. The Eye was now powered by Apocalypse himself but he could not delay the Star Child long enough and he turned the device against Apocalypse. The device drained him of his life energy but left him alive. Greatly weakened but alive...and what should have been Apocalypse's ultimate triumph was turned into his final, decisive defeat."
"Amazing," Charles whispers to himself as he contemplates all this. Though it does show how they must stop Apocalypse being freed. He battled a Kryptonian to a standstill...essentially is what Charles gleams from this story. That's a level of power like Charles has rarely seen in a mutant if he ever has. It is a level of power that might explain how no-one can see the future past Apocalypse's interference.
Beast finishes off the story. "At this moment the Star Child showed Apocalypse a compassion he did not deserve and spared his life. However, before leaving for the stars from whence he came, the Star Child set about ensuring the peoples of Earth would never again suffer under Apocalypse's ilk and constructed a prison to entomb Apocalypse for all time, hidden in the highest reaches of the world and sealed behind 3 doors so he would never get free to once more walk upon the Earth he had so terrorised."
"And?" Magneto pushes for.
"And that's it. It just stops," Beast tells them that there is no more story to tell.
"Then this isn't the Tomb of Apocalypse," Magneto says in frustration at the only conclusion one can draw from that story.
"All this...was written after the event," Charles realises. "It's all in Egyptian. Not Kryptonian. Those who survived the war must have written it as a warning," he makes the supposition.
"How does that help us?" Polaris wants to know.
"It doesn't," Charles has to concede and has to go on to grimly admit, "We have no idea where Apocalypse is imprisoned."
And therefore quite possibly he has risked the lives of his students for nothing.
Author's Note: I'd almost forgotten how much I loved this story as they all fight for their lives in the deep dark tomb. Clark just doesn't have good days any more it seems does he. I took the basics of Apocalypse's story from the episode and embellished them as needed to include the things I've added. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; Dark Horizons part 6 as the X-Men race to stop Apocalypse's release.