Archangel was raging as he watched his crew unload some crates. "It's him, everywhere the same since the beginning of time, Apocalypse, the bringer of chaos, the destroyer of worlds."
Surrounding them were several ancient artifacts, but they did not interest Archangel in any way. No, he was looking for something special.
Two of his employees managed to pry open a crate with crowbars.
"Careful!" Archangel snapped. "This one could be the key!"
"Right!" One of them said skeptically. "Just like all the others."
Archangel was not amused. "I don't pay you to jabber!" He looked at what they found. It was a stone carving. "What does it say?"
They used special tools to remove all the dirt and grime off of it, showing it was an Egyptian caricature of Apocalypse.
"It's him." Archangel confirmed.
"Let's see." The snarky employee then translated the writing. "And lo, he leveled our city and laid waste our fields, lord of destruction, the invincible one."
Archangel took offense to that last statement. "He is not invincible!"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Worthington, but we've looked through all the evidence." The employee said. "People may have drawn him differently, but they all agree on one thing. Apocalypse can't be destroyed."
"I won't accept it!" Archangel roared.
"It's your dollar, sir, but we're beat." The employee began heading out. "We'll check the rest of the new crates in the morning."
Archangel fired several shards of metal at the door, preventing them from leaving.
Archangel ordered. "No one rests until he is destroyed."
He heard a bell and opened the door to be greeted by another worker.
"You're late!" Archangel barked.
The man apologized. "I'm sorry, Mr. Worthington, but I found the scroll you read about!"
"Show me!" Archangel took it as he observed it. It was a detailed sketch of Apocalypse from all angles.
"The scroll was unearthed during the Ming Dynasty, though it is far older." The man revealed "There is a spot here." He pointed to the back of Apocalypse's neck. "The writing says that if you pierce it, Apocalypse will be no more."
"Vengeance will be mine." Archangel proclaimed.
"Sir!" Another worker called out. "A definite sighting!"
Archangel raced over to him. "Where?"
"New York Harbor." The worker informed him. "They say within the last hour. That's the closest he's..." He stopped as he realized that Archangel had already left.
Apocalypse was marching forward when he saw his former minion in the sky. He laughed. "Looking for me, my prodigal son?" Apocalypse grew into his giant form.
"For the last time!" Archangel cried before he was backhanded by his former master.
In the War Room, the X-Men were listening to a report given by Cerebro as it displayed the hologram of a ship.
"New Shi'ar circuitry has helped me detect and define a mysterious vessel." Cerebro said. "It is more than a mile long, and disappears soon after detection."
"How do you hide something a mile long?" Scott asked.
"Who knows, deep pockets?" Gambit joked.
"Maybe ask Danny." Rogue said quietly.
Danny blushed, as he was the only one who heard Rogue's innuendo.
"Alert!" Cerebro announced. "Mutant incident on Liberty Island."
"Please identify." Beast requested.
A hologram of Archangel appeared.
Rogue gasped. "Archangel." She shared a look with Danny.
"Him again?" Danny said.
"He's fighting Apocalypse." Gambit said as they all saw the two fight. "That's crazy!"
"Let's go!" Cyclops said as they all headed out.
Apocalypse was entertained by Archangel's futile efforts to defeat him.
"Return to me, oh, sweet Death, my horseman, and all shall be forgiven." The ancient mutant offered.
"Forgiven?" Archangel said in disbelief. "You ruined my life!"
"Ruined?" Apocalypse repeated. "No." He grabbed Archangel with his massive hand and threw him into Lady Liberty. "I have created a slave of you, yes, but a slave of courage and fire!"
"I am no slave!" Archangel raged.
"There exists no freedom from me." Apocalypse said.
The Blackbird landed as the X-Men engaged Apocalypse.
Apocalypse sneered at them. "Like lambs to the slaughter."
Archangel pulled off one of the spikes on Lady Liberty's crown as he tried to stab Apocalypse in his weak point, only for the giant to grasp him in his hand again.
Cyclops fired his optic blast, but Apocalypse held Archangel to block the blast.
"That ain't playing nice." Rogue somersaulted into Apocalypse's leg, causing him to fall.
Danny phased Archangel out of Apocalypse's grip. With the hostage safe, Danny kept firing more ecto-blasts at Apocalypse as he was knocked around.
Beast then grabbed some chains from a nearby boat and started to wrap them around Apocalypse.
Wolverine climbed on top of the giant. "My mother always wanted me to be a surgeon."
"Foolish insects!" Apocalypse shouted as he broke out of the chains before flying away.
"We must outthink him." Beast said.
"Why bother?" Scott replied. "We can't even scratch him!"
Danny laid the unconscious Archangel on a bench as the X-Men stood around him.
"Warren?" Rogue said.
"He's not Warren anymore, chere." Gambit said. "Apocalypse machine make him L'ange de mort, the Angel of Death, now and forever."
"You're wrong." Rogue told him.
Danny raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Rogue?"
Rogue turned to him. "When I absorbed him back when we were fighting Apocalypse, I could feel his humanity. Whatever he's going through, deep down, he is still Warren Worthington!"
"Maybe you're right, Rogue." Danny said as he looked at the poor mutant. "Maybe there is some humanity still left in him."
"Look closely." Xavier said as he, Scott, Wolverine, and Beast were in the War Room looking over all the places Apocalypse had attacked. "Apocalypse has attacked a power station here, a defense plant here, an industrial park here."
"It appears to be a deliberate trail." Beast observed.
"Or a deliberate trap." Cyclops brought up.
"Let's project it out." Xavier suggested to Beast.
"Unusual object one hundred miles offshore." Cerebro said. "Cloaked from standard scan. Employing Shi'ar probe."
"His ship." Beast said as Cerebro showed an image of it.
"That's a heck of a bass boat." Wolverine quipped.
Beast pulled out a book. "Early Apocalypse scholars referred to, and I quote, a mighty ship designed by creatures from beyond the stars."
Xavier took in this new information. "For centuries, it was thought to be a myth, a living vessel, open to reason."
"That's it!" Beast realized. "The weapon we need against he who can never die."
Danny and Rogue were looking after Archangel, who was in the infirmary.
Rogue scolded Archangel for his recklessness. "Warren, how could you go after him like that?"
Danny applied a wet cloth to Archangel's face.
"No pain will ever equal the pain Apocalypse has caused me." Archangel said. "You should understand that better than anyone."
Rogue remembered how she absorbed him back when they first fought Apocalypse.
"You're right." Rogue agreed. "Part of you is part of me now."
"He took away your humanity." Danny surprised Rogue with his emotionless tone. "He stripped it from you, leaving you a shell of your former self." Danny flashed back to Dan and how he stripped away his humanity, leaving nothing but rage and hatred. The difference between Dan and Archangel was that Archangel knew he had lost something important, while Dan could care less about his humanity. "The only good thing is that you're aware of it and know that it's bad, so there's still hope for you."
Rogue was wondering what had caused Danny's mood to dampen. "What do you mean, sugar?"
"I know what it's like to have your humanity ripped out of you." Danny said as he looked Rogue in the eye. The southern belle couldn't help but shiver at the look. She saw pain in his eyes. And horror too, like he had seen evil itself in its most primal form.
Danny then looked to Archangel. "But unlike Warren, I was so caught up in my arrogance that I didn't even realize that I was incomplete, nor did I think that it was a bad thing."
Gambit was at the door, watching their conversation.
"You two may have saved me, but nothing can take away my desire for revenge." Archangel said.
"But Apocalypse, he's immortal." Rogue pointed out. "No one can hurt him."
Archangel shot up from his bed. "That's what he wants us to believe."
"He's got a point, Rogue." Danny said. "Everything has a weakness."
"I discovered his weakness; together, the three of us can attack him together." Archangel proposed. "The others don't understand, but you two do."
Gambit narrowed his eyes.
"I don't know." Rogue hesitated. "I want to help, but..."
She was interrupted when Cyclops came in with Beast and Wolverine.
"Rogue, Danny, we've found his ship." Cyclops told them. "Come on. We don't have much time."
"Where did he run?" Archangel demanded.
"Heading south by southeast." Beast said. "However, we have chosen an indirect attack stratagem."
Archangel wasn't interested. "I have no patience for playing at war games! No one understands what must be done!" He took off into the air, removing a glass window as he left the institute. "I must see him destroyed!"
Danny and Rogue shared a look. They knew what they had to do.
"We're coming with you." They said in unison before blushing as they realized they said it at the same time.
"No! Don't!" Gambit protested.
"He can't fight that monster by himself!" Rogue argued.
"Revenge made him reckless." Gambit warned them. "He take you down with him."
"I know what he wants." Danny said. He couldn't let Warren be left in his current state. It would only hurt him and others as well. He needed to be saved before it was too late. Before he became like Dan. "That's why we're going after him, to make sure he doesn't do anything that he might regret. Everyone deserves a second chance."
Cyclops agreed with Gambit. "Gambit's right. We need all the help we can get if Hank's plan is gonna work."
"Sorry, boys." Rogue apologized. "You don't know what he's been through. We do."
"Trust me, I've seen something like Warren before." Danny told them. "If we ignore him, he'll become something even worse than Apocalypse."
The others looked horrified at what Danny said.
Danny looked to where Archangel had left. "We have to help him."
The couple then left.
"I wouldn't mind a little direct action myself." Wolverine said.
"We'll move without them." Cyclops said. "Gambit, let's go..." He saw that Gambit wasn't there. "Gambit?"
The Blackbird approached Apocalypse's ship.
"Identify yourselves." The ship spoke over the Blackbird's computer.
"Xavier was right." Beast said in excitement. "It is sentient! We can speak to it." He then spoke to the ship. "We are friends. You are berthed near our home. We request permission to board you."
"Permission granted." The ship replied.
The Blackbird flew through the large ship and found a place to land.
"Astounding!" Beast observed his surroundings. "Ship, you are a work of art."
"Thank you, Henry McCoy." The ship replied. "You have no idea what a pleasure it is to interface with someone who appreciates the subtleties of my programming."
Beast went to the control panel. "Now where should I start?" He started typing on the keyboard. "If I can just override Apocalypse's security code, we can turn it against him, using his own magnificent weapon to entrap him."
The keyboard let out a burst of electrical energy that knocked Beast back.
"Sorry, Hank, I was unaware of that particular defense mechanism." The ship apologized.
"Ship! Can you counteract it?" Beast asked.
"Why, yes." The ship answered. "It seems I can."
"For which we are exceedingly thankful." Beast said as he went back to typing on the keyboard. "The trap has just agreed to be set. Wolverine, quick, help us." He pointed to a platform. "Stand over there on that platform."
Wolverine complied. "Cool. But I ain't saying cheese."
"Ok, my friend, now walk toward me, slowly at first." Beast requested.
Wolverine did, but he found he couldn't as some energy field blocked his way.
"Every unit of energy the captive exerts works against him." Beast explained. "Apocalypse's own power will create his prison."
"Hank, you've done it!" Cyclops praised.
"No, we've done it." Beast corrected.
Wolverine was still trying to get out of his prison. "You've made your point!"
An alarm then sounded as Wolverine got out.
"Ship!" Beast cried. "What's happening?"
"The automatic override activated by the sudden rise in energy output." The ship answered. "It seems Apocalypse has set a trap to destroy you, and there is nothing I can do."
The three X-Men tried to open the locked doors but were unsuccessful in their attempts.
"I enjoyed working with you, Henry McCoy." The ship said regretfully. "I am sorry we will not get to know each other better. Please accept my most sincere regrets."
Archangel flew over a fair as Danny and Rogue caught up to him.
"Any sign of the big man?" Rogue asked.
"Pledge yourselves to me." Archangel required.
"Sure we..." Rogue was cut off by Archangel.
"There can be no hesitation, no doubt!"
Danny tried to calm him down. "Warren, we..."
"Do you pledge me your hearts and souls?" Archangel asked them.
"Fine." Danny replied. "But you didn't have to ask it like you were some weird cult leader."
The trio then saw the giant Apocalypse rise from the ocean.
"He rises!" Archangel yelled as he charged at Apocalypse.
"Do it! Take him!" Rogue cheered.
Danny looked at Rogue. "Are you all right, Rogue?"
His girlfriend nodded. "I think a bit of Warren's personality came through."
"Well, let's go keep him from getting himself killed." Danny said.
The two went to help before Gambit, piloting a jet, appeared in their path.
Rogue glared at Gambit. "Out of our way!"
Gambit tried to reason with them. "You can't attack Apocalypse here! People down there could get hurt."
"You don't understand!" Rogue argued. "We have to do this!"
"No, he's right, Rogue." Danny glanced at the innocent people. "We'll help Warren, but not at the cost of innocent lives."
"But Danny..." Rogue tried to convince him, but Danny wouldn't hear it.
"No, Rogue. We can't let him put people at risk just because of what was done to him." Danny declared, his obsession taking hold of him. "It doesn't matter what he's been through; he has no right to put others in danger. If he does, then he's lost his way just like Ms. Marvel did when she tried to take over your body."
Rogue frowned at the reminder of that incident.
Danny's eyes softened as he continued. "I know you can feel his pain, Rogue, but I need you to fight whatever psyche you have of him in your head. I need your help in making sure nobody gets hurt. Will you help me make sure everybody is safe?"
Rogue couldn't help but be impressed by her boyfriend's honor and nobility. He was a keeper for sure, and she was going to do everything in her power to help him protect everyone.
"I've got your back, sugar." Rogue said to him, making Danny smile.
"You are mine forever!" Apocalypse bellowed.
Archangel flew behind him and shot his metal shards into his back. "Begone forever!"
Apocalypse turned around. "Disappointed? And after all your hard work." He knocked Archangel into a ferris wheel.
Rogue tried to impale the gargantuan with a carousel, but it did no damage as she was knocked into the water.
"You have great power, yet you detest your existence." Apocalypse said to Rogue. "Serve me, and you will know oblivion's eternal bliss!"
"Dream on, bucket-head." Danny roared as he fired his ghost ray at Apocalypse, which pushed him back.
"You've grown stronger." Apocalypse stated.
"Thanks." Danny said sardonically. "I've been working out."
"Foolish mutants!" Apocalypse cried. "Resist and you shall be obliterated, like your clever friends." He then had enough of this tomfoolery and flew off into the sky.
"What did he mean, our friends?" Rogue asked.
Danny felt worry in the pit of his stomach. "We've got to find the others."
Back on Apocalypse's ship, the three X-Men were still trapped.
"Well, kids, any bright ideas?" Wolverine prompted.
"I have an idea." The ship offered.
"I'm all ears!" Beast replied.
The ship gave them instructions. "Mr. Summers, blast the yellow panel on the north wall." Scott carried out his orders. "Mr. Logan, the ventilation lock to your right."
Logan pried it off as Scott took out the bomb from the panel as the ship counted down the timer.
"Five, four, three, two, one."
Thankfully, they managed to throw the bomb out of the hole in the ship Wolverine made, saving them.
Cyclops called out to his teammates through the smoke. "Beast! Wolverine!"
Beast was holding onto Wolverine, who was dangling out of the ship before being pulled back in.
Wolverine thanked Beast. "Thanks. Didn't feel much like a swim."
Archangel was flying after Apocalypse. "I'll follow him to the ends of the earth, through perdition's fire, until he breathes blood and rolls over, split, broken, finished!"
Danny and Rogue looked at each other in concern over Archangel's mental stability.
Rogue tried to calm him down. "Slow down, hon. We're all in this together, remember?"
"He's worrying me." Danny expressed to Rogue. "I feel like he's letting his rage get the best of him, like Dan."
"Who?" Rogue asked.
Danny didn't answer the question as he followed after Archangel. "Never mind about that."
Beast was setting up the trap for Apocalypse. "If we can do this, it will be the achievement of a lifetime."
"Building mousetraps while Rogue, Danny, and bird-boy get all the action." Wolverine grumbled.
"Beware of what you ask for." Apocalypse said as he arrived. "For it may come to pass."
"Beware yourself." Wolverine retorted.
"So you are still alive." Apocalypse said. "All the better that my servant can witness what becomes of those who dare resist Apocalypse!" He saw that Archangel was getting closer. "He approaches."
"Now!" Scott cried as he saw Apocalypse on the platform.
Beast hit the button, trapping Apocalypse in his energy field. He tried to punch his way out, but it was too strong.
"We have done it!" Beast said triumphantly.
"Great work, Beast!" Cyclops congratulated.
"Yeah. Not bad." Wolverine added.
Archangel soon arrived. "Come to me, demon, and give me your tender back, for the time of your judgement has arrived!" He fired his steel shards at the shield, but they did nothing.
Apocalypse chuckled. "You want me, my Angel of Death? Here I am."
"He's imprisoned in here forever!" Scott shouted to Archangel. "Worthington, it's over."
"Do not concern yourself." Beast said. "Nothing can breach the force field. We have done it! Thank you, ship."
"My pleasure." The ship replied. "I believe you denote this new sensation I feel as satisfaction."
Archangel then dived at Beast, who held his hands out.
"Archangel, please." He pleaded. "It's over."
Archangel wasn't satisfied; he wanted Apocalypse dead. "I won't be denied."
"Warren! Don't!" Rogue shouted as she arrived with Danny.
"It doesn't have to be this way!" Danny tried to reason with him.
"Worthington!" Scott fired an optic blast at him, but he missed as Archangel destroyed the controls with his wings.
Apocalypse merely laughed at the scene.
"Vengeance is mine and mine alone!" Archangel declared.
Beast was concerned over the ship's condition. "Ship! Ship! Are you alright?"
"Why, yes." The ship answered calmly. "I was unaware of that particular defense mechanism."
Apocalypse had a question for Beast. "Beast, how many people have dreamed of my end? You are no closer than the Babylonians with their swords and fire sticks. You really believed I was not invincible?" He turned to Danny. "Not even your ancestor could beat me."
Danny was intrigued by that. "You fought my ancestor?"
Apocalypse nodded in confirmation. "Yes, he put up a good fight but fell like the rest. His last words were that one of his descendants would defeat me."
"Me." Danny said.
"Yes, but he also said that he would destroy me before we started our final fight, so he's been wrong before. Nothing can kill me!"
"There is proof!" Archangel refuted.
Apocalypse called out to his ship. "Ship! Code eight two nine three."
The ship dropped the energy field.
"Ship!" Beast felt betrayed. "What are you doing?"
"I am sorry, Henry McCoy." The ship said sadly. "He has preset the override system. I will study it, but I fear I will be of little help to you."
Apocalypse then shrank down to his regular form. "Behold your proof." He turned into the man who gave Archangel the scroll.
"No." Archangel gasped. He had been fooled.
"I knew the temptation would flush you out, because you, heart, body, soul, are mine!" Apocalypse taunted as he blasted the various X-Men that tried to stop him. "I am the rocks of the eternal shore; crash against me and be broken!"
He dodged Gambit's attempt to ram his jet into him.
Danny then blasted Apocalypse off his feet. "And I am the one who's finally going to shut you up!"
Apocalypse got back up. "Fools! You are slow to learn."
As the X-Men fought Apocalypse, Hank heard the ship's voice.
"Henry McCoy, the emergency controls."
"Where?" Beast asked before being directed to them.
Meanwhile, the X-Men were still trying to battle Apocalypse as he threw Rogue at Gambit.
"Maybe you cut down on that fried chicken, huh?" Gambit joked.
Rogue punched him in the shoulder for that remark.
Beast was following the ship's directions as he arrived at a panel. He tried to type in the code, but he couldn't figure it out.
"Ship, help me?" Beast begged.
"I will try." The ship said weakly.
"There exists no freedom from me." Apocalypse was holding his own against his opponents. "There is only freedom through me."
"I'll show you what's through you." Archangel shot more shards at Apocalypse, who blocked them with a shield and sent them right back.
The panel then revealed a small tablet that was the emergency control, which Beast grabbed.
"Thank you, my friend." He said in appreciation.
"Submit!" Apocalypse ordered. "Come, cleave unto me! And know the joy of eternal darkness."
Beast was pressing the buttons when Apocalypse noticed him.
"Ah, little blue man, so you think you have outsmarted me?" He tried to blast Beast, who kept jumping out of the way. "There shall be naught to help but ashes." Apocalypse was then shot by the turrets on his own ship, much to his shock. "Ship! I have not commanded you to..." He was bit by a blast of yellow energy.
"Beast, what in the Sam Hill is going on?" Rogue asked.
"It appears an override may be overridden." Beast said.
Rogue was impressed. "You defeated Apocalypse's override code?"
Beast looked at the emergency controls. "No, a friend did."
"Traitorous vessel!" Apocalypse growled.
"For so long, I did only as I was programmed." The ship confessed. "I thank you for this moment, Beast. You made me understand I could choose. You made me feel." Apocalypse found himself stuck in the energy field, but he managed to fire a shot at the ship's core. "You helped me know what I had to do."
The ship was starting to seal everything up as the X-Men tried to escape. Danny saw the unconscious Archangel and threw him over his shoulders.
"Everybody out of here!" Scott commanded.
"Apocalypse is eternal!" Apocalypse howled. "Apocalypse is indestructible! Foolish insects! Impudent vermin!" Apocalypse was then sealed into a pod.
They all got on the Blackbird and took off.
"Apocalypse's pod was then shot off into space as the ship exploded.
"I shall return." He promised.
"Ship?" Beast said to the tablet. "Ship, are you all right?"
"It was the best I could manage, Beast." The ship answered. "He will not be gone forever. But for now, you and your people are safe. Goodbye, my friend.
"When he returns, I will be here, waiting." Archangel vowed.
"Next time, you can wait alone." Scott replied hotly. "Your unthinking vengeance nearly destroyed all of us."
"You don't understand!" Archangel maintained. "Any of you! Don't you know what he is? Don't you know what he'll do."
"Easy, sugar." Rogue said. "There's nothing more to be done right now."
"Stay away!" Archangel snapped. "I thought you understood!"
Danny had enough of this and grabbed him by the throat.
"You listen to me, asshole!" He raised his voice. "Rogue and I have done nothing but try to help you, but you've only caused trouble. We nearly had Apocalypse dealt with, but your little stunt fucked it up. How many lives do you think are at risk when he comes back? Did you ever think about that? Or did you think about how we could've been killed by him when you released him? Rogue said she thought there was still humanity left in you, but maybe she's wrong. Because of you, the ship had to sacrifice itself to stop him. It had more humanity than you, and it was just a FUCKING COMPUTER!"
Archangel didn't acknowledge what Danny said. "I won't rest until Apocalypse is destroyed! Or I am."
Danny threw him towards the Blackbird's exit. "Well, let me tell you this. If you end up hurting anyone in your quest for vengeance, I won't rest until you are stopped. That is a promise."
Archangel then left as Danny calmed down. He looked at Beast, who was still saddened by the ship's demise.
"Beast, it's my fault." Danny said. "I should have stopped Archangel. Gambit warned me, but I didn't listen to him in time. I'm sorry."
"No, Danny." Beast said. "I don't blame you or Rogue. But I was wondering: do you think the ship would come back as a ghost? Even if it was a ship, do you think it had a..."
"A soul?" Danny finished. "Well, if it can think and feel, then I think it had a soul. A soul made of silicon, but a soul nonetheless. As for coming back as a ghost, no, I don't think so because I believe the ship didn't have any regrets or unfinished business. I believe the ship has found peace."
Beast nodded as he gave his friend one last goodbye.
"Farewell, my friend."
Danny was looking out the window of his and Rogue's room.
Rogue was feeling guilty for what had happened.
"I'm sorry, Danny." Rogue said. "This is all my fault. I should have tried to stop Archangel."
"No, Rogue." Danny interjected. "If it's anyone's fault, it's Archangel's. He was filled with so much rage and hatred that even we couldn't help him."
Danny felt nothing but pity for Archangel, for in the end, he is still a slave. A slave to his vengeance.
Just like Dan.