A storm was brewing on Muir Island as Warren was going over the treatment for his mutation with Dr. Adler.
"A new way of life is beginning for mutantkind, Mr. Worthington." Adler said to Warren. "Free of the pain caused by your mutantcy."
"I can't thank you enough, Dr. Adler." Warren said gratefully. Soon, he would be just like everybody else. "Your cure will give me what I always wanted: the chance to be an ordinary human being. Not a mutant, not a freak." He said the last three words in disappointment.
"It was your funding that made the transformation process possible." Adler pointed out as the doctor strapped Warren to the table. "It's only fitting that you should be the first to undergo the treatment." Adler went to the controls to begin the operation. "I caution you," Adler warned, "there may be some discomfort at first." Adler pressed a button as Warren was lowered into a horizontal position.
"Whatever it takes, doctor." Warren replied with determination. "Make me a new man."
As the machine above Warren glowed with energy, Adler came up to Warren. "You will be surprised at just how new." Adler then transformed into Mystique.
Warren gasped as he realized he had been duped. Mystique just chuckled as she went back to the controls. Warren cried out in pain as the machine fired two beams of blue light at him.
Mystique was setting the voltage when Apocalypse appeared in front of her. She gasped in surprise before pointing to the captive Angel. "See? The transformation begins."
Apocalypse crossed his arms. "Excellent. You serve me well, Mystique. Such loyalty will be rewarded. The rest shall be my slaves." He watched Warren try to fight back against the beam. "Increase the power." He ordered Mystique. "I want to hear the cries of a future being born!"
Warren's screams echoed through the lab.
Back in the pub at Muir Island, mutants from all over the world were waiting for Adler to come and give them their cure.
"Where's Adler?" One mutant named Abraham Kieros demanded irritably of the person next to him. "I've been waiting a month. I want my cure."
The person he was complaining to was Plague, one of the Morlocks that the X-Men had encountered when Scott was kidnapped. She was enjoying life back with the others at Vlad's summer home, but she still desired to be normal and jumped at the opportunity when she heard about the cure.
"We all do, sweetie." She said grumpily. "Sit down." She grabbed a bar stool and threw it at him, but Kieros dodged it.
It was heading to the booth where Danny, Rogue, Jean, Scott, and Xavier were sitting. Jean used her telekinesis to stop the stool from hitting them.
Rogue admonished the two mutants' childish behavior. "Can't a girl have a cup of coffee in peace?" Plague and Kieros looked guiltily at Rogue's glare.
"Oh hey," Danny noticed Plague, "you're one of the Morlocks. How's it going back home?"
"It's fine." Plague said shyly. "Although personally, I still see myself as hiding from the rest of the world. So I came here when I heard about the cure."
"Did you also have to cause a ruckus while waiting?" Rogue asked sarcastically.
Xavier tried to mediate the situation. "They haven't learned how to live at ease with their mutant powers, so they are frustrated. Some lash out while some have turned inward, letting their bitterness consume them." He looked at one mutant, Autumn Rolfson, sitting alone as she touched a flower, causing it to shrivel up and die as she looked at it sadly. "But they all feel dissatisfied with themselves and alone."
Jean, seeing that Xavier was a bit sad, tried to cheer him up. "You've given us a place where we belong, professor."
"Just takes us hard-headed ones longer to realize it." Rogue said knowingly.
Danny kissed Rogue's cheek. "You can be hard-headed at times, Rogue." He jokingly agreed with her.
"Says you." Rogue rebutted playfully. "Who was the one who confronted his ghost half even though he didn't have any weapons or powers?"
Danny grinned as he gave a shrug. "Hey, I didn't hear you guys complaining when I did it."
Rogue rolled her eyes as she tried to elbow Danny in jest, but it only went through him.
"I saw that coming." Danny stated.
"Guess there is a downside to dating a man who can walk through things." Rogue said in amusement. "I can't smack him when he gets on my nerves."
"I know, it's awesome." Danny replied. Rogue then leaned in for a kiss.
Danny moaned before he pulled away in pain as Rogue pinched him.
Danny yelped as Rogue smiled in victory.
"Guess you aren't as invincible as you think, huh, spooky?"
Their banter was interrupted when a supposedly "cured" Warren burst through the door.
"I'm cured!" He cried in excitement. "I'm cured! See? My wings are gone." His wings were indeed gone. He now looked like any other person. "Dr. Adler's treatment works! I'm not a mutant anymore! You don't have to be mutants!" The crowd of mutants started to approach him, amazed by his change. "You don't have to be hated! You can be cured!"
Scott pushed his way through the crowd to confront Warren. "We're mutants! That's what we are! There's nothing wrong with us that needs to be cured!"
Warren narrowed his eyes at Cyclops. "Look me in the eye and tell me that!"
"It'll be my pleasure!" Cyclops was about to take off his visor when Xavier called out to him.
"Cyclops! No!" Xavier stopped his student from doing something reckless. "It's not our place to tell other mutants what to do."
"If Adler can really change mutants into ordinary mutants, then each of us will have to look into our own hearts and decide." Rogue said wisely.
Danny agreed. "It's your choice." He said to the crowd. "Get the cure or not; it's up to you."
"You won't be laughed at or feared anymore!" Warren encouraged the crowd as they started smiling at the idea. "You'll be like everybody else!" They all started clapping and cheering at Warren's words.
Xavier decided that they had done all they could. He gazed sadly at Warren. He used to be one of his students and part of the original X-Men team, but he left because he couldn't deal with being a mutant. "It's time we headed home." He started to leave, with his students following him. Rogue just stood there as Warren kept on speaking.
"Who wants to be normal?" He asked them as they all began to shout.
"Me!"
"Take me next!" Kieros requested.
"Me!" Plague begged.
"Cure me!" Autumn pleaded.
Rogue looked down at the desperate cries of these poor people.
Danny lifted her chin with his hand. "Come on. There's nothing else we can do for them." He said the last sentence regretfully.
Rogue nodded as she followed Danny out of the pub.
"Mystique impersonates you very well, Mr. Worthington." Apocalypse said to Warren, who was standing in the shadows.
"Worthington is no more." Warren said as he came into the light. He was dressed in red and blue armor. His skin had changed after his transformation into a slave. It was now blue. His most defining feature, his wings, were now made of steel instead of the usual soft feathers. Warren looked at his new master. "Now there is only Archangel. Let the world beware." His wings unfolded themselves, and from them, he fired a missile at a nearby monitor, destroying it.
"The old world passes away." Apocalypse affirmed to his slave. "Together, we shall forge a new one in fire and blood!" Apocalypse's voice was starting to sound demonic and full of insanity. "The future is transformed! I am the instrument to purify the world! The evil of humans and mutants must be cut away!"
He turned to his new slaves, who had been recently assimilated into his cause. "You shall help me tear down the new order! Those who oppose me shall perish through my agents of destruction." He then named his new warriors.
There was Autumn Rolfson, who, although she used to look human, now sported green skin and yellow pupil-less eyes.
"Famine."
The newly transformed Plague also sported the same type of skin and eyes. Only her body was now more athletic, and appeared much younger.
"Pestilence."
Kieros had been turned as well, looking like the other two women.
"War."
Apocalypse then turned to Warren. "And my greatest creation. Death, the winged avenger! From the ashes of this world, I will build a better one! Go forth, my horsemen, and let chaos cleanse the world!"
Famine, Pestilence, and War got on their horses. Their steeds were all entirely mechanical.
The four disciples then headed out to fulfill their master's command.
After returning home, Danny and Rogue had a wonderful dinner date. Danny took her to a nice restaurant down the street, and the two laughed as they shared a plate of spaghetti. Rogue was on cloud nine the entire time. She never thought she would ever be able to date anyone, so she enjoyed the date for all it was worth. Danny never thought he would ever be able to attract a girl as pretty as Rogue, but he was happy to be proven wrong.
Soon, the news of Danny and Rogue's relationship spread through the institute like wildfire.
Jubilee was ecstatic that her foster brother had a girlfriend. She always wondered why he didn't date back at home. Whenever she asked him, he would always say, "They wouldn't understand me." Jubilee never knew what he meant until she found out that he had ghost powers. Now she was glad that her foster brother had someone who accepted him. Jubilee liked Rogue and thought that she and Danny made a cute couple.
Wolverine merely grumbled at the news. "Saw it coming from a mile away."
The X-Men were in the rec room playing some pool, with Rogue appearing to be the winner.
"Looks like you're behind the old eight ball, Gambit, and I'm about to sink it." She bragged.
"You not win the game yet, Chere."
"Do you think you have the energy to beat me?" Rogue teased him.
"Gambit has plenty. Observe. First, we charge the cue." He charged the cue with his energy.
"Don't let Gambit get to you, Rogue." Jean said.
"I'd like to wipe that smirk off his face." Rogue confided. "And I think I can pull it off."
As Gambit was going to hit the ball, it ended up flying into the air and was caught by Rogue.
"What?" Gambit exclaimed.
"Looks like you nicked the table, Gambit." Rogue taunted.
"Gambit." Storm joined the conversation. "The term rec room does not mean that you must wreck it."
When Gambit wasn't looking, Danny turned visible. He was the one who sabotaged Gambit's shot.
"Nice work, sweetie." Rogue gave him a peck on the lips as his reward.
"Storm makes jokes now." Gambit said in disbelief. "What next?"
On the television that Storm was watching, a reporter stood in front of the camera with the Eiffel Tower in the background.
"Hopes are high as leaders from around the world meet in Paris this week for the conventional weapons disarmament talks." He reported. "But much tough negotiation lies ahead." He saw a man approach the stand. "Wait, here's the conference chairman now."
"Good day." The chairman spoke. "The leaders of the world recognize the desire of people everywhere for peace. But we must proceed carefully." He warned the audience. "Can we disarm when mutants walk among us? Many questions must be answered if we are to ensure a secure future for mutantkind."
The audience cheered, but they were drowned out by a voice crying out in disgust.
"Fools!" They looked where the voice was coming from. It was coming from the top of a building where three gargoyles were perched. "You bleat for the future like a herd of sheep! I'll give you the future right now!" The middle gargoyle then glowed before turning into Apocalypse.
The crowd of people started running in fear as the reporter continued.
"I'm not sure what's happening," The reporter said nervously, "but it appears that a mutant terrorist is disrupting the peace conference!"
Apocalypse grabbed one of the other gargoyles and threw it down below, destroying the stand.
"Storm." Jean came over. "What's happening?"
"Trouble at the World Peace Conference." Storm informed them.
"Stop that mutant!" The chairman demanded as the police fired at Apocalypse.
"The weak and afraid shall be smashed!" Apocalypse formed a shield in his hand to block the bullets. "Show them!" He ordered his horsemen, who came out and fired on the police.
"Looks more like a World War Conference." Rogue commented on the destruction.
"He looks powerful." Danny observed.
"We must tell Xavier." Storm said.
"You can't run from a few mutants!" The Chairman cried after the fleeing cops. He let out a cry of fear as Apocalypse landed in front of him.
"I am Apocalypse!" He proclaimed. Look upon the future and tremble!" He grew into a giant as tanks started firing on him.
"The army is counter-attacking!" The reporter said to the viewers.
"War! Archangel!" He acknowledged his troops. "Destroy the irritants!"
War fired a beam of green light from his hand, creating a hole in the bridge that the tank fell into.
A chopper fired two missiles at Archangel, who swerved out of their path. He then used his metal wings to cut the back propeller off. The chopper lost control and collided with the Eiffel Tower.
"Who can protect us from these mutant terrorists?" The reporter bemoaned.
"No one can save you from the touch of Pestilence!" Pestilence rode towards the reporter and touched his face.
"No!" He fell to the ground, weakened by the disease he was infected with.
"All who oppose me shall be crushed!" Apocalypse promised as he stomped on the camera.
"Wow, I can't believe it turned from a supervillain attack into a Godzilla movie." Danny couldn't help but say.
"This is what I feared the most," Xavier said, now with everyone in the War Room, "a powerful mutant driven completely mad by his powers. This isn't like Magento or the conspirators who produced the Sentinels. They could be appealed to, reasoned with." The X-Men were giving each other worried looks. "We have to stop Apocalypse now, or there will be no future for anyone."
Danny thought back to Dan. This Apocalypse seemed to be just like him. Always craving destruction, but then again, Apocalypse said he would make a new world. So he wasn't just doing it for shits and giggles like Dan did. In all of his adventures, he never encountered anyone more evil than his alternate self.
Still, Dan or not, Apocalypse needed to be dealt with. Danny would make sure he was stopped.
The X-Men got on the Blackbird and headed to Paris, leaving Xavier, Jubilee, Danny, and Rogue behind.
"Why can't we go with them, professor?" Rogue asked. "They'll need all the help they can get."
"Yeah, I don't see how this is a good idea." Danny agreed with her.
"I have another mission for you two." Xavier addressed them. "I recognized the mutants with Apocalypse. They were all on Muir Island, hoping for Dr. Adler's cure. But one interests me more than others." He pulled out a photo of Archangel and handed it to Rogue. "This is the mutant who claimed that Dr. Adler had cured him. I want you to return to Muir Island. Dr. Adler's cure could hold the key to defeating this madman."
"On our way, professor. If there's something fishy going on up there, we'll find it."
The two lovers flew into the sky, heading to Muir Island.
In Stonehenge, a panel opened up as Apocalypse rose out. "Each generation has cried out for a new world but has built the same old one, corrupt and weak!" He saw his horsemen fly above him in the sky. "But the new world shall come to pass! I will purge the earth of these benighted humans!"
Apocalypse then started to shout out his demands to his minions.
"Take the food from their mouths!"
Famine flew past a nearby farm and blasted two men riding in a wagon.
"No! Please!" One implored as he felt his energy leave him. "No! Food!"
"Help! I need food!" The other one cried, suffering the same fate. "Please help! Food! Please!"
"Turn their weapons against them!"
A missile base fired several misses at the approaching War.
"War shall be their destruction!" He yelled. He raised his hands into the air as the missiles were under his control. They turned the other way and crashed into some nearby fighter jets.
"Exterminate them."
"We will." Archangel confirmed as he flew towards a dam. "They shall be purified with fire and water!" He fired his missiles at the structure, causing an explosion that created a major flood.
Danny and Rogue came towards Adler's lab as they landed through the hole in the roof.
"I never thought we'd come back to his place again." Rogue said.
"Well, you know what they say. Never say never." Danny replied.
Rogue observed the lab; it looked different than last time. More polished and clean. "Hmm. Looks like the doc's doing a little remodeling. Dr. Adler!" She called out.
A door opened, revealing the doctor. "Ah, what a pleasure to see you two again."
Rogue pointed to the hole in the roof. "You thinking about putting in a skylight, doc?"
"Experiments sometimes have unforeseen results." Adler answered sheepishly.
Rogue scowled. "It's your results we're interested in."
"What happened to the other mutants that you treated?" Danny demanded.
Adler refused to cooperate. "I discuss my treatment with no one."
"You'll discuss it with us, doc!" Rogue grabbed the doctor by the coat and placed him on the operating table, strapping him in.
"What are you doing?" Adler objected. "No! Don't!"
"What did your cure do to those mutants?" Danny interrogated.
"What would it have done to me?" Rogue started to finish restraining him.
Danny imagined Rogue looking like Dan, destroying an entire city with a smile on her face.
'Thank God, she didn't go through with it.' Danny thought. 'She would've become a monster just like me if I had my humanity ripped out.'
"No! Please!" Adler transformed into Mystique. "I'll tell you!"
"Well, looks like we got another mutant ready for the cure." Rogue quipped.
Danny recognized this woman. "Wait a minute, I know this lady." He turned to Rogue. "She was one of the mutant slaves back on Genosha."
"Guess she came for the cure like everyone else." Rogue speculated.
"There is no cure." Mystique revealed. "Apocalypse uses the treatment to turn mutants into his slaves. It makes them hate everyone, humans and mutants, like Apocalypse does. He wants to destroy everything."
Danny grimaced at that. Maybe Apocalypse and Dan weren't so different after all.
"I had to help him; he would have killed me." Mystique tried to make herself look innocent.
Danny snorted. "Oh please." He didn't believe it for one second. This lady reminded him of Spectra for some odd reason. "I doubt that you regretted helping him with his plans."
Mystique gave Danny a look of contempt. "He has a secret command center buried under Stonehenge, in England."
"Old Apocalypse won't like that you helped me." Rogue threw her across the room. "You'd better find some place to hide."
"You sure letting her go is a good idea?" Danny asked Rogue. "Look at her, Rogue. She practically screams backstabber."
"Well, we can't just leave her here for when Apocalypse comes back." Rogue retorted.
Seeing the two distracted, Mystique grabbed a gun hidden under the table and fired.
"Look out!" Danny grabbed Rogue and turned them intangible. The shot went through them and ended up destroying the machine that created the horsemen.
"We need that machine!" Rogue roared at Mystique. "It might be the only way to change those mutants back!"
"No one can stop Apocalypse!" Mystique fled through a door. The lab then started to self-destruct.
"We're gonna try!" Rogue vowed.
"I told you we shouldn't have let her go." Danny said in an "I told you so" voice.
Rogue threw her hands up in exasperation. "Alright, you were right. What do you want, a medal?"
Danny sighed. He didn't want to get into an argument with his girlfriend. "Let's just go stop Apocalypse from destroying everything." The two escaped the lab as it exploded.
The Blackbird had arrived in Paris as the civilians were fleeing from the Horsemen.
"Fools!" Pestilence mocked. "They cannot stop what they cannot touch!"
The Blackbird touched down as the X-Men got ready to engage.
"Remember, careful with the civilians." Cyclops told the team.
"Sure, Cyke." Wolverine replied sneeringly. "I'll try not to bruise them while I save their lives."
Pestilence came towards the X-Men. "Even mutants may feel the touch of Pestilence!"
"Incoming!" Wolverine yelled to the others.
"We can't let her touch them." Jean said.
Storm's eyes glowed white as she floated above the clouds. "Rise, fog, and divert our enemy from her path! Storm, your master, commands!"
The fog obeyed and obstructed Pestilence's sight. "I can't see!"
Cyclops fired at Pestilence. She screamed as she fell down and landed on a double-decker bus.
"It'll be a while before you plague humanity again." Cyclops said to her.
A blast came out of nowhere and destroyed a nearby vehicle. The other three horsemen arrived to deal with the X-Men.
"Who dares oppose the four horsemen of Apocalypse?" Archangel bellowed as he flew down and caught Pestilence in his arms.
"The X-Men do, bub!" Wolverine answered as he shoved his claw into War's horse, dragging him into the air.
"Don't you think we're getting a little carried away here?" Wolverine punned. War just kicked him off, knocking Wolverine back to the ground.
"Hey!" He landed on a car, making a rather noticeable dent. "Pig-faced runt couldn't take a joke."
"Feel the horror of War!" War blasted a statue, causing it to topple and fall towards Wolverine.
"Wolverine!" Gambit threw a card at the tower, saving Wolverine.
"Thanks, Cajun." Wolverine thanked him. "I think."
Storm pointed towards the four retreating mutants. "They are getting away!"
"And they'll lead us to Apocalypse." Cyclops said.
It was a full moon when Danny and Rogue arrived at Stonehenge.
"I wonder what rock that snake's a-hiding under?" Rogue wondered.
"If he's here at all." Danny mentioned. "Who knows if that lady was telling the truth or not?"
"Come on, big boy, where's your hospitality?" Rogue called out for Apocalypse.
Apocalypse stepped out to confront the two intruders. "You had your chance to be the first of my creations, the first to serve my will."
"Dang, and I missed it!" Rogue said with sarcasm.
"Eh." Danny waved his hand in a dismissive motion. "I'm sure working for him wouldn't have brought you that many benefits. I don't think he even has a good dental plan."
They both flew straight at him to punch him when Apocalypse teleported out of the way, making the two crash into the rocky wall.
Apocalypse had enough of their tomfoolery. "Weak and foolish mutants! You are corrupted by those who want peace! You cannot oppose me!" He charged up two purple blasts in his hands and sent them at Danny and Rogue, knocking them back.
Danny got up and saw that Rogue was leaning down on the grass, facing Apocalypse. But the thing that caught his eye was the position Rogue was lying in. Her butt was sticking out really nicely. Danny couldn't help but stare at the magnificent sight.
'And the best part is she's my girlfriend.' Danny thought to himself. 'If I die. At least I die happy.'
"You're corrupt like all the others." Apocalypse told them. "You must be exterminated! Then the world will be mine to shape and mold!"
Danny gave Apocalypse a deadpan stare. "Dude, you are one seriously crazed-up fruit loop. That is never going to happen."
Rogue bit her lip, trying not to laugh at what Danny said. She then put on a serious face as she stared down Apocalypse. "The professor was right. You are crazy."
Apocalypse was about to fire when he heard Archangel's voice.
"Apocalypse! A band of mutants has defeated us!" He kneeled down in shame. "We are not worthy!"
"No!" Apocalypse became enraged after finding out that his four henchmen were beaten. They were the best of the best. "My creatures cannot be defeated! I cannot be defeated!"
"Well, there's a first time for everything." Danny then unleashed a ghostly wail at Apocalypse, pushing him back into the stone structures.
Cyclops arrived with the rest of the X-Men. "And we also beg to differ."
Apocalypse groaned from the damage he took from Danny's attack. "Destroy them all." He ordered weakly.
The X-Men and the four horsemen engaged in a battle. Storm took to the air to do battle with Famine, while Scott fired his optic blasts at War.
Pestilence charged towards Jean. "Pestilence shall separate the weak from the strong!" Only to be lifted off the ground by Jean's telekinesis.
"I gotta slow these folks down." Rogue took off her gloves and snuck up behind Archangel.
"It is time to welcome Death, X-Men!" Archangel boasted.
Rogue placed her hands on Archangel's face. "Let's see if I can't improve your disposition."
"No!" Archangel shouted in pain. "No!"
Rogue's face started to turn blue as she absorbed Archangel's energy. She screamed as Archangel threw her off.
"What..." Archangel looked around. "What have I done?"
"Stop!" He screeched at the other horsemen. "There's been enough destruction! Stop!" He fired his missiles at them, knocking them out.
"No!" Apocalypse was angered beyond belief at this turn of events. "You are not fit! You are not worthy! You are only delaying the inevitable."
"Wanna bet?" Wolverine challenged.
Danny, who had been resting since the ghostly wail took a lot out of him, got back up filled with more energy.
"I guess the future isn't as set in stone as you think it is." He unleashed another ghostly wail at Apocalypse. Unfortunately, it caused the powerful mutant to land on the entrance to his lair. The panel opened up as the weakened Apocalypse was lowered down beneath.
Storm saw Famine, War, and Pestilence fly in retreat. "Cyclops! Jean! They're getting away!"
The area started shaking.
"Get clear!" Scott ordered everyone to get out of the way. Danny managed to carry the weakened Rogue in his arms.
From the ground, a powerful aircraft flew up and took off at light speed.
Archangel looked at where the ship was with a solemn look on his face. "I wanted to be normal, but all I did was prove that I'm capable of terrible evil."
"We're all capable of terrible evil." Danny said. He knew that better than anyone. "You're not alone in that."
"It wasn't your fault." Rogue condoled. "I wanted to deny myself too for a long time. That could have been me helping that madman. Don't worry, I took the evil away when I touched you. It's a part of me now."
"I just hope you're strong enough to control it." Archangel said. "I wasn't." He took off into the sky, not knowing where fate would take him.
"I may be biased, but I think you might be strong enough to control it." Danny said to Rogue. "After all, you're the strongest person I've ever known."
Rogue brought Danny in for another kiss. "You always know how to put a smile on my face." She looked up at the sky. "You think he'll be alright?"
Danny nodded. "If there's one thing I know, it's that when you're at rock bottom, you have nowhere to go but up."
Apocalypse was healing from his wounds in his ship. That mutant with the scream attack had damaged him beyond belief. But he would recover. The strong always did.
Apocalypse thought back on his existence. In ancient times, he was known as "The Morning Light." He was a powerful warrior who lived by the philosophy that the strong always prosper.
He would've conquered this world centuries ago if it weren't for his adversary.
He was known as "The Evening Star." And he always got in Apocalypse's way. Until he gave his life to stop one of Apocalypse's schemes. But with his dying breath, he swore that one day his descendant would rise up to put an end to Apocalypse once and for all.
Apocalypse remembered his rival's eyes. They used to glow emerald green.
Just like the one back at Stonehenge.