Chapter 4: End The War
Billy's spell put everyone on the outskirts of where Apocalypse was mustering his forces - which was good, because, belatedly, Billy had been worried that he had been imprecise with his spell and that they were going to show up right in the middle of everything and have to react on their back feet with not one but two speedsters in play.
And he was doubly glad that they hadn't ended up in the center of everything when he saw that Katarina had, in fact, brought many of her Hydra forces with her. They hadn't even gotten close enough to see Apocalypse or the Horsemen yet, but they could see plenty of green uniforms.
And then, beyond the sea of green, standing tall and gray and imposing on the beach as Mia's winds whipped the waves higher and higher and sent civilians fleeing from not only the Hydra forces but from the forces of nature crashing against the sand - there was Apocalypse.
And there was Katarina, standing beside him, a smirk on her face that was so hungry and familiar that Billy took a step back and held onto James's hand tighter - both out of an urge to protect him and a need to be protected. He was still terrified of her, even if he knew James had every reason to be more afraid than he was.
James turned slightly toward Billy when Billy didn't seem ready to even think about letting go of his hand. He waited for Billy to meet his gaze, then forced a little smile. "Love you, little prince," he said just loud enough to get Billy's attention. "Don't worry. She's going down."
On Apocalypse's other side, the gathered heroes could see Noh, standing tall and with his arms crossed, glaring his threat toward the fleeing people. Those who hadn't seen the dramatic change in Noh's appearance could now see the dark, imposing figure he cut next to Apocalypse; he was almost a matched set to Mia and her jet black fur, though she was still flying high above the others as she commanded the weather.
And beside Noh, Tommy was still in greens, but his green was sickly - and he looked pale as well. Normally, he looked windswept, but now, he looked disheveled, as if he was falling apart. He kept bouncing on his toes and glancing toward Apocalypse and Noh as well, standing taller when he noticed they both were.
It looked like Katarina was commanding her troops, so she hadn't noticed the heroes' arrival. But Apocalypse did.
Scott let out a sound that wasn't more than a hiss, but it was enough to let the others know that something was off. "Damnit," he said under his breath - which was the only clue they got that Apocalypse had sensed him before they saw Apocalypse give an order to Noh, who straightened up and nodded once, sharply.
And then, faster than anyone could react - and while Rachel and Nate were focused on the look of sudden pain on their dad's face - Noh rushed straight to Billy. If he couldn't speak, he couldn't do anything - and Apocalypse had said he wanted the prince alive. The others would fall into line quickly enough.
In the amount of time it took them to blink, Noh had already hit Billy hard enough to send him flying backward, breaking his concentration. It was only the fact that Billy had some defensive spells in place that stopped him from winding up unconscious with a broken jaw, which was what Noh had been shooting for, but he let out a cry all the same when he fell back down the ten feet he'd been thrown up and broke his arm on the landing.
Both James and America set their sights on Noh for that, though America was there first, absolutely furious as she punched him hard and sent him flying - away from Billy. She had promised the god of her universe that she'd protect Billy, and no white-haired Kree was going to get in her way.
Noh quickly grabbed hold of her hair, twisting her hard enough that she couldn't beat on him - for the moment. But that had only pissed her off more, and she ended up twisting and kicking. It didn't matter how elegant the hit was as long as she hit him.
She connected with his right leg, which opened up a star portal that she could push them both into. And with the void of space behind them, she pulled him with her, giving herself the advantage with the new playing field, since he couldn't fly.
This couldn't last, of course. Even as hardy as they both were, the cold of space and the negative pressure would get to them. But it was enough to throw him off, and it was enough to get her hair free and to pummel him while he was trying to orient himself in space.
She hit him hard enough to knock the breath out of him, though before she could get another good hit in, he spit at her. Literally.
It was such an odd thing to do that she paused, but that was long enough for Noh to get his control on her as she started to hallucinate - seeing her moms and not him as he said, "Take us back."
She nodded, struggling to focus, but she wanted to get out of the cold of space as well, didn't she? So, she pulled Noh back toward the still-open star portal, and the two of them tumbled back to Earth together.
Somewhere in mid-air, America heard Nate's voice in her head: Get it together, America!
She blinked and wiped the spit off of her face. She came back to herself just in time to plow into the ground, but that just had her furious. She hated that he'd gotten the drop on her, and she hated being controlled, so she kneed him between the legs, figuring that would slow him down long enough to reverse their fortunes.
It definitely slowed him down, but that just meant they were on even footing when it came to speed. They both hit hard, and neither of them were holding back. And since she was fairly invulnerable and his healing was sped up by Apocalypse, their quick wrestling match was almost a draw.
For the moment.
James hadn't waited to see the outcome with America before he ran to Billy, trying to check him over and momentarily forgetting he had a job to do, much to Rachel's irritation and understanding. She was pretty ticked off that things had gone that way already, but she knew eventually those two would get distracted by each other in a fight like this.
When James got to Billy, he put a hand on his shoulder to keep him down as he looked him over, swearing under his breath between reassurances and promises to kill someone over this. "Focus on getting yourself home," James was telling him.
"I'm okay; I'm okay," Billy said, though he was panting and holding onto his arm, looking a little green. "I need to get Tommy. I'm okay."
"Squish that up into a wish, we'll handle Tommy," James said. "We won't let anything worse happen to him."
"Right. Right." Billy sucked in a breath through his teeth and then closed his eyes, finding his concentration again to start up the spell.
Which was right about the time that another horseman arrived in a blur. But instead of James getting hit, it was a nastier replay of the football game as James barely managed to catch Tommy with a clothesline that sent him backward off his feet for a moment. "Go, we got it," James said as he turned toward where Tommy was gathering himself up - but he was a little too close to adjust for the attack that followed.
Tommy usually held back, even in training, but as a Horseman, he wasn't even close to it. Not only was he putting his full strength behind his hits but he was adding in his concussive powers, so that he instantly broke ribs with each hit. If he hadn't been hitting a healer, it would have been even worse, but as it was, bits of bones were now poking into James's organs because of how shattering the hits were. Another couple hits, and James's arm and leg on the side facing Tommy were broken as well.
For just a second, Tommy grinned at James, both of his eyebrows raised. "Not so tough, huh?" he asked before he grabbed James by the shirt - and paused, glancing toward Apocalypse and Katarina, who seemed to be hovering close to Apocalypse instead of getting her hands dirty. James could actually see him trying to fight whatever command he was supposed to be following.
The truth was that Tommy was more than happy to trounce James himself, but even controlled, he didn't want Katarina to get hold of James again. Not considering all the history there. And even though Tommy still had a soft yellow-ish glow around his eyes, James could see that he was, in fact, fighting. It wasn't working, but he was trying.
"Stay here," Tommy said, tossing James aside as he turned toward his brother - and when James tried to push himself up again, he suddenly found that it was like moving through molasses. Sinister had been right. Tommy wasn't a speedster; he bent reality around him to make himself move through it faster. And now, Apocalypse had given him the ability to bend reality around others to make them slower.
Tommy's path to Billy was clear as James struggled to heal up and get to his feet. Rachel had kept to the plan and had rushed into the air to meet Mia in battle, and Alex, still sticking close to Scott, was with Sinister and Nate as they faced a wave of Hydra soldiers standing between them and Apocalypse. The fight had begun in earnest, and Billy's defenders were in space or stuck on the ground.
Billy's eyes were glowing as he cradled his arm, but when he looked up to see Tommy heading toward him, his entire expression fell, and he shook his head, sucking in a breath through his teeth. "Come on, Tommy," he said quietly. "Since when do you actually follow instructions?"
Tommy blinked but then smirked. "Yeah, that's me. The prince who can't do anything right," he said. He rushed forward, but Billy knew it was coming and had already put a magical trap in place, so that Tommy hit a wall and fell flat on his back as soon as he got up enough speed to make a rush for him.
Billy was panting, clutching his arm, but when Tommy hit the wall, he smirked and started up another spell - that he wasn't able to concentrate on to finish, because Tommy threw a wave of concussive energy at him. Billy reacted blindly, tossing a half-finished spell at his brother that didn't stop him like he'd meant it to but that did stop his powers temporarily.
While the twins were fighting, Hydra soldiers rushed to move in … not only to surround the battle field that the twins were creating for themselves, but to collect James while he was unable to do more than growl at them. But as soon as Billy broke Tommy's concentration, James found he could move a whole lot better and threw his weight into getting away from the Hydra soldiers that were dragging him toward Katarina and Apocalypse.
At first it wasn't anywhere close to easy - even being able to move faster. His side hadn't healed from the broken ribs, and he'd barely patched up his arm and leg enough for them not to shatter on standing. So he was stuck being careful while Hydra was dragging him. They were making more headway than James was comfortable with - especially seeing the expressions that both Katarina and Apocalypse wore.
The only thing that had kept them from making it all the way across the beach quickly was how hard James was digging his heels into the sand. But that couldn't last long, and the moment that he saw Katarina turn his way fully to go toward him, James started to panic.
The more pressure that the soldiers and the Horsemen put on dragging James and his friends toward Apocalypse, the less of a grip he kept on his rapidly slipping sanity. And the moment he saw the blasts from across the beach that said his family was in the fray, that was it. He lost his grip entirely and snapped - tearing through Hydra like they were paper dolls. But he had no direction. Only targets. So instead of rushing through them with direction, he more or less stood his ground, not realizing they were herding him toward Katarina anyhow as he killed them off as soon as they were close to him.
Meanwhile, Rachel had gone after Mia, with steam rising up around her in response to Mia's powers. Mia had constant rainstorms all around her, and it left the battlefield wet and slippery, so Rachel didn't bother with walking. She flew up to meet Mia - and only avoided getting struck by lightning because she could see the thought in Mia's mind as she reached out to try to get Apocalypse out of her.
Rachel threw herself sideways, though her ears were ringing and she could smell burnt hair - which was a new thing for her, since her hair regularly caught fire and never smelled burnt.
She realized quickly that she had to stop Mia from using more dangerous methods - especially because even if Rachel avoided them, her friends and family on the ground might get caught up in it all the same - so she dove into Mia's mind.
Which was also pouring rain.
Rachel let out a noise of disgust as she built herself a telepathic shield and dried herself off. She hated feeling wet on the best of days, and this was in the psychic plane, where she had always been warm and toasty.
"What do you think you're doing?" Rachel shouted at Mia, who was in the center of what looked like a building hurricane. Rachel wasn't close enough to see her, but the force of her psychic power made sure the question reached Mia all the same.
Mia didn't respond, and Rachel flew closer, holding up a shield against the driving rain. The closer she got to mia, the more she could hear whispers on the wind, until she realized it was Apocalypse's voice.
There wasn't any one order on the wind; it was more like all of his desires for his Horsemen were being communicated at once. She could hear him ordering them to tear the world apart, to kill anyone he saw as weak… and to bring him anyone he saw as strong.
"Mia!" Rachel called out again, but now that she was closer, she could see Mia curled in a ball in the air, oblivious to everything else around her. She'd surrendered herself to the onslaught of abuse; she couldn't bring herself to fight back anymore.
Rachel let out a frustrated sound before she gathered her power around herself and simply nodded. If she was going to save Mia, she'd have to play rough and drive out Apocalypse's influence.
Now, she just had to figure out how to do that when his influence was as present in her mind as the rain itself.
"You doing okay, Scotty?" Alex asked as he blasted through several Hydra soldiers who had been pointing weapons at Nate, whose eyes were glowing as he had already gone to work looking for a way past Apocalypse's defenses. The kid was entirely distracted, and that meant Alex and Scott were on either side of him - and that meant Alex couldn't worry about both of them at the same time.
"I'm fine," Scott said, harshly enough that Alex knew he really wasn't.
"If he's in your head-"
"He's not." Scott took a deep breath and let it out. "He's distracted. He doesn't want me. That doesn't mean he doesn't have the power to direct some rage my way, but it's nothing comparatively. I'll be fine. And it'll take more than a temper tantrum to break the defenses Jean put up." And that much was true. No one had ever gotten through his defenses unless he let his guard down first. He wasn't sure if it was a parting gift from Jean, but he wasn't going to question it.
Alex spared a glance at his brother, but when Scott looked determined, he simply nodded and went back to having Nate's back. They hadn't expected to have to fight an entire army's worth of Hydra soldiers on top of this fight with Apocalypse - and the Avengers and X-Men who were supposed to come fight Hydra weren't there yet - but Alex saw no reason to hold back.
And it was weirdly fun to have his brother back. There was something about the two of them facing tough odds and working in tandem, blue and red, the sound of ozone splitting louder than the sound of Hydra's guns.
And even weirder was the fact that Sinister was on their side, defending Nate with a force field bubble that kept the soldiers off and Apocalypse physically away. For Scott and Alex he kept expanding his own force field when Scott and Alex couldn't catch all of the soldiers fast enough. And when Sinister blasted a dozen soldiers with his own power… it was weird, but, hey, it was also satisfying to watch Hydra go down around them.
And while they had the physical fight handled, Nate was reaching out telepathically, already on the offensive. Sinister had done his best to teach him how to take on Apocalypse, but even with all of that, Nate honestly hadn't been prepared for just how fortified Apocalypse's mind was. He could feel the weight of ages and ages of training and power coming against his own youth and rage, but he also knew that he had to win this fight to keep his family safe.
Which was how he found himself floating in the psychic plane, staring at a huge, black wall of energy. He'd made a dent in it, but he was sweating as he stared at the place in Apocalypse's defenses where the wall was thin.
He could see through to the other side. And what he saw would have been enough to drop his own defenses if - and he hated to admit this - Sinister hadn't prepared him beforehand about staying focused and not getting distracted by what he saw. But that didn't leave him any less shaken when he saw that Apocalypse's mind, his current thoughts, were all centered on James and Billy.
Nate narrowed his eyes and formed a spear in his hand, shattering the thin spot in Apocalypse's defenses and rushing in - before the wall closed up behind him. He glanced back and saw the wall and then nodded, setting his shoulders.
He wasn't getting out until the job was done, one way or another.
Billy and Tommy were used to fighting each other - but it had always been a playful kind of spar, not anything with real stakes. And even with Apocalypse pulling Tommy's strings, they were still holding back. It wasn't much on Tommy's end; he was pulling his punches, but only a little. But Billy, for all his fury, didn't want to hurt Tommy; he wanted to save him.
It was very clear though, that Apocalypse wanted both reality-bending twins. And he could see, even though he had an eye on James's fight and was dealing with Nate knocking around his psychic defenses, that Tommy was trying not to hurt his brother.
And this is why you will always be the second thought, Tommy heard in his mind.
Tommy paused, his eyes wide, and let out a soft sound that Billy misinterpreted entirely. As Tommy gasped, Billy instinctively took a step toward his brother - and Tommy used that moment to hit Billy in the stomach and then jaw, succeeding where Noh had failed at breaking Billy's jaw because Billy hadn't been prepared for it.
Tommy hesitated for a moment again, because now, he was sure that Billy would replace him, and the instant that happened, he would become disposable. But he couldn't fight the pull of Apocalypse's command, and the next thing either of them knew, Tommy had run across the battlefield, through the swarm of Hydra - past a few arriving Avengers who were starting to help with the Hydra problem - and had dropped Billy in front of Apocalypse.
Apocalypse smirked as he looked down at Billy, whose eyes were wide and who was practically tripping over himself trying to scramble backward. He reached out and snagged Billy's arm, and Billy let out a crackling sob behind his broken jaw as Apocalypse twisted his broken arm to make him stop moving.
Apocalypse didn't even look up at Tommy before he issued his orders. "Now go and get the other one," he said. He didn't have to say James's name. Tommy knew exactly who he wanted.
And so, eyes wide and looking much like Billy - knowing that he was about to be replaced - Tommy had no choice but to do as he was ordered.
Tommy rushed into the knot of Hydra soldiers fighting James - they were a lot closer now even if they'd been losing their numbers at an alarming rate - and before he could get a hit in, James spun with a deep, rippling snarl. One hand flashed out to slash Tommy from shoulder across to his hip and the other went through the neck of the Hydra soldier just over Tommy's shoulder.
Tommy sank to his knees, one hand pressed to his chest as he tried to stop the bleeding. He was a faster healer than most, but he knew he wasn't fast enough to avoid a killing blow if he didn't get out of there. He scrambled as much as he could while he was bleeding and hurt, but he was so sure he was dead that he couldn't help but mutter what was on his mind:
"Yeah, saw that coming. Replaced with the better twin, now go interrupt James while he's gone feral…"
While Tommy was trying to slowly get away, James was advancing and tearing up the Hydra soldiers all around Tommy - but something about the way Tommy looked … the white hair and familial features splattered with blood … it was enough to snap James out of his red haze. He took a stumbling step sideways then sort of blinked around himself at the Hydra soldiers and tried to backtrack out of the center of them. But they'd already gotten too close to where Katarina and her closest men were waiting.
Before James could say anything, the crowd of Hydra soldiers closed off the path to Tommy and he turned in time to drop flat in an attempt to avoid a dart.
Inside Apocalypse's mind, Nate could actually see black tendrils of energy gathering, preparing to overtake someone else's mind. And for just a second, he stopped flying toward the dead center of Apocalypse's mind and will and regarded those tendrils, wondering if he could break them apart before they infected someone else.
And he wondered, too, who of the Horsemen had been lost that Apocalypse was already reaching out for a new one. If that was what was happening.
But he could almost hear Sinister's lessons in his mind, reminding him not to get distracted. He could try to help the Horsemen, yes, and he might even manage to give them some breathing room. But the only real way to help them - permanently - would be to stop the man pulling their strings, not to give those strings some slack.
Almost as soon as he thought of Sinister's encouragement, he heard a piercing, agonizing scream from somewhere deeper in the recesses of Apocalypse's mind. And as soon as he turned that way, Apocalypse threw him into a sandy pit that housed his memories. Nate hadn't seen him coming, and he hadn't been prepared to fall through the hot sand into a vision of his dad.
Nate had known this might happen. Sinister had even tried to train him for it by throwing his own memories at Nate, memories involving the people Nate cared about cut open, in pain and in fear, at the most vulnerable they had ever been. And Nate knew that this was a distraction, that he needed to keep his wits about him, that Apocalypse was using his dad against him.
But this was the part of training he had never mastered. And there was no way he could have prepared for seeing his dad that way. Isolated and presumed dead, trapped in his own body, tormented constantly.
Nate tried to tear his gaze from the memory, but before he could do that, white hot pain exploded across his chest, and he looked down to see a psychic knife sticking out of it. He opened and closed his mouth, in shock, as he heard Apocalypse's voice over his shoulder.
"This is who he sends against me?" He stepped back and let Nate sink to his knees, still gasping. "Perhaps he wanted you to lose. He didn't even prepare you properly. You will die here - and by the time I am through, no one will be left to mourn you."
As soon as Nate had been hit on the psychic plane, Scott and Alex heard him let out a gasp of pure pain. He was still fully concentrated on the telepathic fight, his eyes glowing, floating upside down, but he was panting and obviously hurt, and it had both Summers brothers exchanging glances.
The tide of the fight was turning - and it wasn't to their favor. America and Noh were still locked in combat; James was too close to both Tommy and Katarina; Rachel and Mia were too far above the clouds to see them; and Billy was in Apocalypse's grasp. The only good thing was that reinforcements had arrived to help them deal with Hydra - but that just meant that their path was clear to get to Apocalypse before anything worse could happen to Billy or to Nate.
Scott didn't even say anything to Alex; both of them simply turned together to fire at Apocalypse, blue and red mixing together to knock him back, though he didn't let go of Billy and instead glared their way.
But then, when Apocalypse reasserted his grip on Billy's arm, something… happened. Not one of them could have explained it, but it was as if, for a moment, everyone looking at Billy was looking directly into the sun.
"...the hell?" Alex said.
"We'll not question it," Sinister said, throwing out a hand. In an instant, the protective shield that had kept them from being shot by the Hydra soldiers shimmered - and then reappeared around Billy. Hydra was distracted dealing with the other heroes and with James's fury, but Sinister still took a couple shots in the chest while he was protecting Billy.
Scott frowned but didn't question it. Sinister was right to keep Billy away from Apocalypse, and if Scott was reading the situation right, Billy had either tapped into that godlike power he had latched onto before or the source of that power had given him some protection.
After all, that other Billy had said he'd be watching.
Either way, it was an opening. Apocalypse had been separated from Billy, who now had some space to recover from getting his broken arm twisted around. And with fewer Hydra soldiers in their way, Scott and Sinister and Alex could do what they'd been hoping to do in the first place - and keep Apocalypse busy so Nate had a chance to fight back against a distracted foe.
Scott glanced back at Nate, whose forehead was still creased. And then, he let out a moan of agony, and Scott knew immediately exactly what was happening. He knew what happened to those who shared the same mental space as Apocalypse.
With a cry of rage of his own, Scott let loose a full-force beam, smiling grimly when both Alex and Sinister added their power to his. For the first time, Apocalypse went flying into the sea, hurt badly enough that when he emerged, his focus was on the three of them.
And that was where they wanted it to be.
"Betcha I can hit him harder," Alex said over Scott's shoulder - and Scott smirked at that. Even in a battle this important, some things never changed; he could always rely on his little brother.
When the first dart flew, the Hydra soldiers closest to James had backed off fast, giving Katarina room to operate. None of them wanted to accidentally catch one of her darts if they could avoid it at all. James got to his feet in a rush, realizing he had little room to work with - and no real escape routes that involved not killing people.
He dodged or deflected her attacks without much fuss at first, but it wasn't just Katarina he had to keep an eye out for. He was too focused on her when one of the Hydra soldiers took a pot shot from behind and blew out his knee, dropping him to the ground for long enough that Katarina had time to rush up to him.
He was reeling when she reached out to take his head in her hands. She just wanted contact to turn up her powers, which James realized very quickly were amped up a lot higher than they had been before. Just like his dad had told him. He just hadn't realized it would be this … extreme.
"I knew you'd come back sooner or later," Katarina said with a grin while James looked as if he was stuck to the spot, staring back at her in shock. "We have a lot of catching up to do - and you need a haircut, for starters." She was smirking a little too widely as she leaned in for a kiss.
James was holding his breath, but at the last possible second, instincts kicked in and he pushed her back hard enough to topple her backward before he got to his feet in a fighting stance.
He was shaken, but he wasn't out of the fight yet. When Katarina regained her footing, James popped his claws without meaning to - just very aware that he couldn't lose at this point. With a shout, Katarina directed her men his way one more time, and one more time, James dove into the fight - desperately trying to cut himself a path away from her.
Far above the clouds, Rachel was freezing cold and shivering on the psychic plane, but she was aware of the fact that she was steaming in the physical world. She could see flames licking around her psychic form, but the rain itself was an expression of Apocalypse's power, and it was making her cold.
She hated to be cold.
But she was willing to put up with it, because she was now nearly to Mia. The rain and wind had been pushing her back, but she had finally figured out how to approach - by more or less diving in and letting the water run off of her, turning it to steam in her wake so that Mia's mental landscape below wasn't as wet as she and Mia were.
Mia was panting, and she looked so lost in her own hurt that Rachel had already decided that she was simply going to shut her down, to encase her in a psychic bubble in her own mind and let her sleep in her conscious and subconscious mind until this was over.
But before she could do that, she heard Apocalypse's voice booming all around them, like thunder:
"Bring me Wolverine."
Rachel gasped at the force of the command, especially because she could see, for the first time, the tendril that connected Mia to Apocalypse. The rain had been carrying Apocalypse's presence, yes, but new commands came from a trail of black… and Rachel threw her psychic form outside of Mia's mind for a moment to see that there were similar trails of black leading to all four Horsemen.
All of them had been ordered to go for James.
Rachel swore. She didn't have time to cushion Mia as much as she wanted to, but she was burning hot enough that she knew she could easily put her to sleep. Whether Apocalypse could wake her up again with another command was another matter entirely, but she could take Mia out of the fight for now.
And that certainly freed her up to help her little brother, who was fighting almost blindly against the Hydra soldiers trying to contain him - though in the time that it took Rachel to guide Mia away from the waves so that she fell onto the beach and not into the water to drown, Noh had rushed to answer Apocalypse's order, moving so fast that no one could stop him before he hit James hard enough to put him on the ground.
Noh looked down at James, frowning, but before he could follow through, Katarina reached out to touch his arm. "This one's mine," she said.
Noh simply nodded at that as he stepped back from James - and looked toward where America was picking herself up from the explosion he had used against her so he could run toward James. And Rachel could hear, in his all-too-open mind, that he far preferred fighting America to the idea of handing James over. So, he didn't argue it and simply rushed back to America to continue their hard-hitting fight while waiting to see if he'd need to intervene.
"Stay where you are," Katarina said, as James got to his feet once again. When he looked toward her, Katarina was right there, grinning maliciously and angled in such a way that James knew exactly what she had in mind, and instead of saying what he was thinking, all that came out was a low, rumbling growl as a warning.
"You know I do so love it when you growl. You've forgotten all your lessons, haven't you?" Katarina said with a grin that was too much like her mother. "That's alright. We had fun last time, and if I'm in a rush, I've heard there's a quick way to get you trained up with the right shot placement."
James' growl rolled deeper still, and whatever fears or concerns he had seemed to melt away into targeted rage.
"You don't scare me," Katarina said - much more convincingly than she had been before. "I know you can obey, given the right motivation. I'm allowed people to play with - so come to me. Heel. I might even let you see your prince from time to time. From a distance, of course."
Her hand flashed with a glimmer of metal in the low light and rain, and James braced himself for what he knew was coming - having forgotten entirely that the uniforms had been revamped into Mark seventy three - or whatever the hell Tony was calling them now. Still, when the darts bounced off his leg, he ducked down to grab them, then rushed toward Katarina with a snarl. She wasn't expecting him to go toward her like that, and she tried to stab him in the arm with another dart - only then realizing that her darts were useless. She couldn't get them to bite through the fabric. She needed to find a spot that was damaged first.
She slipped under his arm and aimed a kick at his side where Tommy had broken his ribs - they were long healed, but still tender, and she'd do what she could to throw him off while she looked for a target. "Let's try that again - all I need to do is touch you," she taunted. She shifted her tone. "Don't you want me to?"
Katarina's lip curled back and she took a swipe to try and grab whatever exposed skin was closest, and James dipped backward to avoid her - barely. "You will go to him," Katarina snarled, her eyes glowing as she and James danced around each other. He was holding back, and he didn't know why - if it was from something she was forcing on him, or if he was just … choking when faced with her so close and so aggressive.
What was surprising though, was that she was an impressive fighter once she did get moving. James found himself playing solid defense to keep her from touching his skin, though that ended up with her in his space more often than he'd like, but his strategy changed when she shifted from simply taunting and making threats on Billy, or Kate, or any of his family and team to running a hand across him as they passed by - across his chest, shoulders,back, arms, stomach… always in a too-familiar manner and paired with a whispered out reminder of what she'd done to him before, and what she would do again given half a chance.
She had just run her hand up his back and reached over his shoulder as they'd passed each other. She was reaching for his face, and as soon as she managed to touch skin, it was like an electric charge shot down his spine. He was unable to pull away from her as she leaned in to dose him with a kiss. With the boost Apocalypse had given her, she didn't need the poisons and drugs to soften him up for her powers to work. She just liked to use them anyhow. As soon as she pulled back, James found himself trying to move while his actions went along with her orders to be still. "Now, since you wanted to fight back so hard before, maybe you just need a little better chemical restraints." She toyed with one of her darts, letting him see the reflection on the needle as she reached for the collar of his uniform in search of bare flesh.
She was dragging it out, and the more she did that, the more his heart raced in panic. In a flash, that panic shifted into a kind of precise rage as James burst forward and started to attack in earnest by spinning and then throwing an elbow back to knock her away from him.
Katarina tried once more with her darts, but James took rushed her again to throw her off and beat her down. The moment that the soldiers saw their mistress was in trouble, they dove in to help … and yet, the fight was quick. He was killing men as quickly as they could get in front of him - and in less moves than James had planned on, he had one arm wrapped around her chest from behind to hold her arms down and keep her hands away from his skin.
"Don't let him order you around," James growled over her shoulder, trying to do the right thing and get her through the psychic commands. "You can fight back against him."
"What do you care?" she hissed back. "It won't matter to you. Not when you'll be doing as I like either way."
"Not how this is going to work, Karina," James said, butchering her name purposely because he knew she hated it when he did that.
"You got it wrong again," she snarled, then shifted in his arms so he had to work to keep her from touching him again. "It's not Karina. It's not Katrina or Karen or Katy, or anything close to it." Her eyes glowed more intensely. "Now, it's Death."
"If you say so," James countered. She threw an elbow back into his stomach, a little low to be a proper gut shot, but too high to be anything more personal. He readjusted his grip slightly without loosening up and she threw her head back to force him. He tried to stand his ground, but the moment she had her hand above his knee on his inner thigh - laughing delightedly at the fight, he nearly came out of his skin. It wasn't a proper threat of drugs or injury - it was just… too intimate. He nearly pushed her away, but she used his panic to push him into a wrestling match instead. He was openly taken off guard by her threat, though - and he had to hustle to keep her from touching his bare skin to her absolute amusement. And out of the corner of his eye, he saw Apocalypse starting to break away from his fight with the Summers boys on his way closer.
He made the play to toss her and though that worked, her men rushed again - grappling at his arms and legs to give her a better shot. He was trying to pull away from them but they pulled him to the ground and held him there. He pulled to get his hands back as she approached with a sadistic grin. As she situated herself to draw it out, James was quickly losing his calm edge. It was clear that she was enjoying his distress and how much he was losing his focus when faced with her that close and looming over him. She was more than happy to take advantage of his growing panic attack, too.
She knew he'd lose his nerve if she could get him down like this. Try as he might, she doubted that anyone could just .. shake off everything she and her mother had done to him. And Viper had taught her to make use of everything. "This will all go easier if you behave," Katarina sang out - but she was avoiding any attempt to directly give him an order yet as she climbed over him and he began to panic. Apocalypse might want to get his hands on her prize, but she wanted him begging her first. "I promise I won't be quite as brutal as my mother was."
"Get off," James said in a whisper, scrambling to get away from her to no avail.
"Perhaps once you've come to your senses." Before he could pull free from the soldiers, she took a moment to reapply her lipstick - the same one her mother used all the time, so James knew it was far worse than what she'd tried already. She was grinning maliciously down at James as she reached over to run her hand down the side of his face. "Let me help you see sense and heel, lover," she purred out as he struggled to get loose and upend her.
James turned his head to avoid her grasp and to look for a way out, when he saw that she had another dart in hand - and with her on top of him, there was no way she could miss. His heart paced with a speeding train as flashbacks interrupted his thought process of how much Katarina liked stabbing him in the neck with those damn things.
A little sound escaped him as his body went into autopilot. She rested one hand on his neck to balance and to terrorize him as she toyed with the edge of the fabric there. The shock of her powerset hit him hard, but the panic was pushing him past his sensibilities to the point that he couldn't focus on what she wanted. Trapped and facing certain torture, James completely lost his mind as he fought with a renewed vigor making use of every bit of strength he had at his disposal.
Again, the world went entirely red as survival instincts kicked into high gear. He had no idea how he got free - slicked in blood and simply reacting to everything around him. He didn't remember the fight or how long it lasted, and he didn't know how he'd managed to break through all of it and pin her … but he was cognizant enough to take control of the situation now.
Katarina was clearly off guard, but at finding herself pinned flat with James holding her down and growling, she began to laugh delightedly just before he covered her hand with his, then stabbed her with her own dart directly in the center of her chest. She stared at him with wide eyed terror for a moment before shifting her focus to the dart sticking out of her chest. A heartbeat later, James grabbed the rest of the darts at her thigh and jammed them into her stomach for good measure before he got to his feet to loom over her for a change.
And just like when he and Nate had stormed Madripoor, James … really wasn't himself just then. He was lashing out, vindictive and mean and he flat out didn't care how that impacted her or anyone else.
When she reached up to grab his arm, he slapped her hand out of the way as he took a hold of her wrist and twisted it until it broke, growling low all the while until Katarina started to lose control of herself.
"Guess that was one dart too many," James hissed through his teeth - just at the edge of losing his control completely, but still with it enough to be nasty about it. He kept a tight hold of her without blinking as he watched her writhe in pain.
James, focus, Rachel said in his mind. You're way too close to Apocalypse.
James glanced up and looked around, though just before he spotted Apocalypse, he let go of Katarina's wrist to get a more substantial grip on her. He met Apocalypse's gaze just before he snapped her neck as a matter of housekeeping. He didn't trust that Apocalypse wouldn't do something to keep her around. And as much as he wanted her to suffer slowly, he wanted to be sure she was dead more than he wanted to stretch that vengeful streak.
But it was by a fine margin. Mentally, he wasn't playing by the rules he'd always stuck to. He just couldn't.
And then … he saw Apocalypse smirk as he headed toward him and he seemed to realize how right Rachel was as he started to take a few backward running steps the other direction. There wasn't a lot of places to go on the beach. But he really was way too close. Almost as close as he'd been in Sinister's lab. He tripped over a dead Hydra soldier - his dad's warnings echoing in his ears about how there would be no choice if Apocalypse managed to get a hold of him. He was too close.
His vindictive vengeful moment passed as he realized how much trouble he was in - scrambling backward in the sand as the monster approached - and as Apocalypse started to reach for him, he took a page out of Natasha's book of dirty tricks - and threw a handful of sand in Apocalypse's face to give himself the chance to get on his feet and run.
Which was a perfect opening for Scott and Alex to hammer Apocalypse halfway into the sea with another blast of red and blue.
The further James got from Apocalypse and the eruption of colored light, the more scared he was, realizing how close that had been. He was still too close - at least until he heard a shrill whistle and he looked up to see Tony flying overhead.
"You really need to get better at avoiding supervillains, kid," Tony said, then tossed a cuff toward James. "Why don't you try screwing with them while you're airborne?"
"This is why I love hanging out with you," James called back as he fixed the cuff on his wrist - and the next second, he was covered in armor and lifting off the ground to join Tony in an air assault.
Tommy was still scrambling back toward Apocalypse, still processing what had happened when Apocalypse sent him to James. James had stopped his fury because of him. And he wasn't sure what to think of that, especially when it was hard to think of anything other than Apocalypse's plans for him at the moment.
But when he saw Billy, he was relieved on so many fronts. Billy wasn't a Horseman, and that was good for him, but it was also good for Tommy, who wouldn't have survived being replaced.
But almost as soon as the thought went through his head, he felt a dark influence in his mind, and he was furious all over again - furious that his brother was once again the preferred choice, the favored child. And despite everything, he burst toward Billy, hitting the shield hard in his attempt to get to him.
"Tommy," Billy said, speaking through his teeth and holding his jaw with his good hand. His eyes and hands were glowing, but speaking was painful enough that he hadn't attacked yet.
Tommy circled the shield a few times, narrowing his eyes as he tried to figure it out. But as soon as he heard Billy start to say something again, he threw out a hand, forcing heaviness on his brother. And since Billy was already hurt, that weight and slowness of Tommy's enhanced powers rendered him unable to fight back.
Now, Tommy just had to figure out how to get to him behind the shield.
He was aware, beyond Billy, of Apocalypse as he fought against Scott, Alex, and Sinister. He looked up just in time to see Apocalypse rush toward Alex and toss him aside hard enough that he left a long trail in the ground where he had fallen - and then Scott blasted him as hard as he could, stepping between him and Alex.
Tommy frowned and looked back at his own brother - and at the ground beneath Billy's feet. He knew all at once how to get to Billy and simply hit the ground hard with one fist, breaking it up underneath Billy, who screamed as he fell.
America and Noh were still locked in combat, but when America heard Billy scream, she gritted her teeth and bashed her head into Noh's forehead, sending him stumbling back a few steps so she could go check on Billy.
"Babe, take over for me!" America said, abandoning her fight with Noh entirely to rush toward Billy.
She didn't give Tommy time to react before she rushed toward him, trusting Rachel to handle Noh and keep her path clear. Tommy was sliding down to where Billy had fallen, clearly prepared to drag his brother to Apocalypse.
"Oh no you don't," America said, grabbing Tommy by the back of the shirt and tossing him back. She decked him, watching as he crumpled in front of her, and then slid down to Billy to pick him up and get him to safety.
She had just gotten him out of the hole when she heard a too-familiar sound - and realized that Rachel's command to sleep must have been overridden in Mia's mind, because there she was, crouching by Tommy to check on him, looking concerned even beyond the orders she was under.
As soon as America turned back to Mia, Mia smirked, her tail twitching at the end, and then ported away from America, calling down lightning that left America smoking where she was standing. She had only just tossed Billy out of the way in time, so that she took the brunt of the hit, and he landed next to his unconscious brother.
With a cry, America burst forward and pounced on Mia, kicking open a new portal. If Mia was in a different dimension, she couldn't teleport, right? So, she threw open a portal to a barren world and closed it behind her, leaving Mia fuming - but unable to reach the others.
America settled into a fighting stance and did a "come on" motion with one hand. "Totally different atmosphere, princess. Good luck."
Nate knew the moment that Apocalypse was under attack from his family, because he had a reprieve.
He didn't think Apocalypse would leave him alone for long, but for the moment, he was on his hands and knees, shaking and gasping and trapped in Apocalypse's mind until one of them prevailed. Everything hurt - in a way he simply hadn't felt before, even with Sinister.
But now that he had some clarity, now that the others were engaging Apocalypse, splitting his attention, Nate could get his breath.
He knew he didn't have much time, but he also knew that while he was hurt and panicked, he didn't have the juice to finish this. And so, he closed his eyes, groaning as he pushed himself upright and into a lotus position.
A blue glow gathered around him, first settling at his center and then expanding around him, strengthening him and healing his psychic wounds - at least enough that he wasn't mortally wounded. From there, it settled on his skin, providing him some protection and power as well.
When his eyes opened again, they were glowing brightly. Apocalypse was still distracted; he had to move. Exhausted, he got to his feet and then let the blue energy around him grow, leaving cracks in Apocalypse's mind where the energy hit.
He headed right for the center of Apocalypse's mind. He had to keep him there, had to trap him and keep him from reaching out to anyone else or escaping this body when it died.
Rachel had rushed in to take over America's fight with Noh, throwing out a hand to put him in the air to take away his speed advantage to start. When she reached out to touch his mind, which was usually incredibly open, though, she almost immediately recoiled. She had known that Apocalypse was controlling Noh, but she hadn't expected to feel that much pain when she touched the connection to try to give Noh more power over his own actions.
Just that one touch, and she could hear not just Noh but all of the Horsemen screaming their mental anguish. And it had her furious for the Horsemen, yes, but also worried about her brother, who was supposed to be fighting this guy.
She kept Noh telekinetically suspended but ran with the urge to check on Nate, reaching out through the connection they'd had since they were kids until she found the familiar warmth of his consciousness.
At first, all she could feel through the connection was hurt and exhaustion - and then, she came up against a wall of darkness separating her brother from her. He was locked in Apocalypse's mind, and if she wanted to help him, she would have to get through that wall first.
She hadn't noticed it, because she was so involved in looking for her brother, but the strain of the fight as well as the many emotions she could feel through the telepathic linkup she was operating to keep track of everyone involved in the fight were pushing her closer to the edge. And her frustration at being unable to get to Nate spilled out into fire at last.
That was good for Nate, anyway, because some of that fire licked past Apocalypse's defenses - as she had intended it to do. She'd meant to reach out to bolster Nate, to give him a second wind now that their dad and uncle and … whatever Sinister was … had Apocalypse's attention as well.
What she hadn't meant to do was manifest that fire physically. She hadn't even realized she had done that until she felt her dad's panic through their link - and heard Noh swear in his native tongue with words that Rachel didn't know but that the Phoenix did.
And the Phoenix seemed to rise up to meet that aggression, flaring around her and, for the first time in a long time, doing more than whispering at the edges of her mind.
No, this time, it was much more direct.
Rachel could see the Phoenix's plans to break open Noh's mind as the weak link of the Horsemen, to tear out the tendrils connecting him to Apocalypse and to the other Horsemen and to use those connections to tear Apocalypse forcefully from everyone else. She could burn those connections to ashes. She could tear down the wall between her and Nate.
She was so distracted with the Phoenix's promises that she didn't notice until too late that Noh had thrown something her way - and then, a claw detonated the second it hit her chest, and she lost her concentration on the telekinesis holding Noh above the ground.
They both fell, but Noh was faster to recover, rushing to her with a hit so hard that she was sure the only thing that had saved her was the fact that the Phoenix was involved. She was doubled over, unable to get a breath and sure that he had done her some real internal damage, but he had rebounded from the hit, flying backward and streaming fire from the way the Phoenix had rebuked him.
Noh skidded along the ground, wincing and hissing and trailing smoke behind him where he lay. He let out a low sound from the back of his throat and got to his feet, but as he did so, he heard Apocalypse call out to him in his mind:
Deal with these insolent pests!
Noh narrowed his eyes, warring with his instinct to fight the Phoenix before he turned toward Apocalypse and saw that his master was holding a hand up against Alex's blasts. Nate was floating not far from Apocalypse, his eyes glowing blue, obviously fighting on the psychic plane. Scott wasn't engaging Apocalypse at all and instead was completely distracted by the sight of Rachel engulfed in flames, while Sinister was in the middle of healing from a bad hit, bleeding heavily even as his body pieced itself back together and shouting for Scott to focus. The fight looked almost even.
And Noh couldn't ignore a call for help from his master.
He rushed over to sneak up on Alex from behind before he took him by the shoulder, spun him around, and kissed him full on the mouth, immediately seizing control of Alex with orders to attack anyone threatening Apocalypse. Starting with Nate.
Scott hadn't run too far from Nate and Alex as he'd tried to call to Rachel to help her calm down, but when he heard Nate cry out when Alex blasted him, he spun around to see Alex, his eyes slightly unfocused, squaring up for another blast.
Scott rushed over to stand in front of Nate, letting the blast hit him instead of Nate. "Alex, snap out of it!" he said, wishing he'd seen what had happened, still splitting his attention as he called mentally to Rachel to get a handle on the Phoenix so this didn't all end in tragedy.
Alex narrowed his eyes, but instead of answering, he rushed Scott, fighting hand-to-hand instead, since Scott was between him and Nate. But that meant Scott and Alex were distracted, and Noh could see that Apocalypse still looked staggered.
And just as Apocalypse looked like he was starting to recover, a rocket came out of nowhere and blasted into his head, sending him to one knee, though he didn't seem overly injured. But Nate was pressing his advantage from the distraction by the smirk on his face. So, in a snap decision, Noh decided to deal with Nate first - and then James.
Since Nate was so focused on winning the fight against Apocalypse, he wasn't prepared for Noh to rush in and kiss him, too. Nor was he prepared for the sensation of losing control.
The thing was -Nate had always been in control. He'd always been the strongest telepath in the room. He'd never had to struggle with someone else's will. But Noh's mind control wasn't purely telepathic; it was also a drug, a physical substance along with nanites. Yes, they were guided telepathically, but there wasn't a mind to fight against directly.
To Nate's horror, he was losing track of reality, until, in just a few seconds, he found himself utterly convinced that his friends, his family, were about to rush into danger, and he had to stop them.
Now.
As Noh stepped back from Nate, Nate put his hands out in front of himself, his eyes glowing brighter as he issued one command to everyone who had pitted themselves against Apocalypse: Stop.
The battlefield went oddly still. The Phoenix screeched overhead, but Rachel was starting to get some control back, desperately pushing back the Phoenix because she could hear her father's panic. Billy and Tommy both stopped too, looking toward Nate and Apocalypse from where they were starting to pick themselves up. Scott stopped, and Alex reversed their positions so that he had his brother's arms pinned behind him. Even Sinister was reeling.
Which was when America opened another star portal, carrying Mia's unconscious form over her shoulder, and stepped through to see how badly things had turned. She swore and set Mia down, then rushed Tommy so he couldn't hurt Billy while he was frozen.
Noh smirked, perfectly pleased with himself, and turned toward Apocalypse, dripping with pride - until he heard Apocalypse's next command in his mind: to bring James to him.
Noh bowed and turned toward James, rushing the armor and immediately getting blasted back by the armor's automatic defenses. He hissed and shook his head; he'd taken a lot of damage from the Phoenix, and even with Apocalypse's help, he was starting to slow down and reach the end of his healing powers.
He ordered Nate to telekinetically draw down the armor so he could tear it apart from a stronger position, though the automatic defenses still electrocuted him when he started to tear it off. He began with what he could see of the rockets and other defenses but then ripped off the faceplate, hissing at every step because the armor was dealing him damage.
"Noh, knock it off," James said.
"I should tell you the same," Noh said, wincing when another bit of armor shocked him and he lost the feeling in that hand.
"I'm not your enemy," James insisted.
"You won't be for much longer, no," Noh said, letting out a frustrated sound as he jammed one of his fingernails into the armor to blow open a particularly resistant section. "It's your fault we're down one Horseman."
"I'm not the right guy for that, Noh." James tried to grab onto Noh's wrists. "You know that."
Noh laughed dully as he pushed to grab James's wrists instead. "We all saw how you handled Katarina. You've been holding yourself back," he said. "And my master asked for you."
"You're better than this," James argued, trying now to get free of Noh's grip. He couldn't outright fight him with all that Nate was doing to their side, but he could try to get away.
"Yes, I am the best Horseman," Noh said, grinning broadly enough that James could see blue blood on his teeth and knew he was badly hurt too. "I'm not at all surprised, are you?" He readjusted his grip on James and, with most of the defenses finally disabled, started to drag James toward Apocalypse.
"Not when you're answering to your master," James spit out, sounding angrier. "I thought you only had one?" As soon as he saw that there wasn't a thing he could say to slow him down, James glanced toward his family, then shifted to Noh's native language. "You'll betray your own kind for this pitiful excuse for superiority?"
Noh stopped dragging James, suddenly tense before he turned to face James again. "He… is my master," he said, but he sounded far less self-assured than he had been before.
"He thinks he's superior to everyone."
"Yes, he does," Noh said, and James could practically see the wheels turning in his head.
"That doesn't mean he's right. Don't do this, Noh-Varr. Help me. Let my brother go. Please. That's all I ask for. Do that and I won't fight you. I'll go willingly with you to your master."
At that plea, Noh lost all of the tension in his body as something other than Apocalypse's influence kicked in. When they'd first met, Rachel might have rewritten some of his mind psychically, but she'd left in everything that made up his core values and how that shaped him. She'd left in the original Kree brainwashing, the belief that his people were supreme, and the mantra that above all else insisted that Kree took care of their own.
Noh nodded to himself and, without a second thought, released his hold on both Alex and Nate. He didn't say a word, but James knew it had worked when he saw Nate shake his head and very soon after that, Billy started to move as well. "I don't want to fight you either," Noh told him. He glanced toward the other Horsemen. Tommy was nearly unconscious because America wasn't letting him out of her grasp in the air, so he couldn't get any traction, and Mia was unconscious as well. "Please, come with me; Mia's hurt and I can't tend to her until the battle is over."
"I said that I wouldn't fight you. Thank you for releasing my brother." James reached up to clasp Noh's arm in what could only be seen as a brotherly gesture and projected to Nate. "I know you're busy and I know you're getting your bearings, but …this is your shot, little brother. And lets face it - this is the most good I can do in this fight. I'll distract him - and if it all goes wrong, you've got the carbonadium bullets if you need to stop me. Billy can get Dad my sword. Just don't hold back on me if you need to stop me, okay?"
Nate was scrambling to get back the momentum he'd lost, but he still spared some of his focus to respond. You won't have to do anything like that. I almost had him contained before that stupid command. I can get there again without you doing anything that stupid.
I know you can, but look… this is happening anyhow. I don't have a choice in what happens to me at this point. Might as well make it worth something.
Nate replied with a string of swear words, but he literally didn't have the energy to argue with him when he was trying to fight Apocalypse again, this time swearing because the distraction winning him some space in Apocalypse's mind was James.
Love you, Nate.
Nate's eyes glowed brighter for a moment as he recognized the goodbye for what it was. And so did Rachel, who was listening in. And for a moment, Nate's eyes flashed with fire, too - and both his and Rachel's powers combined to scorch a trail in Apocalypse's mind.
They were racing the clock, and all three Summers kids knew it. The second Apocalypse turned James into Death, Nate was dead. That or they'd have to go to extreme lengths to stop James from killing him.
But Noh didn't know all of that was happening as he smiled tiredly and closed the distance between himself, James, and Apocalypse and then bowed to Apocalypse, his expression twisting as he gave obeisance before his master. "As you requested," he said, though to perform his deep bow, he had stepped between Apocalypse and James.
Apocalypse had his chin tipped up as he took a step forward, then beckoned Noh to rise - only to grab him around the throat with one hand and dart forward to grab James in a similar fashion. Neither of them were expecting anything close to that, but when Apocalypse spoke, it was clear that he was more angry than anything else. Both boys were trying desperately to get away from him, but it was clear quickly that he was just holding on to James - and then he wrenched James around so that he was trapped in front of him like a shield - his arm across James' chest as he kept a tight grip on his throat to make sure that James was between himself and the Summers family that was desperately trying to fight him. And to make sure that James got front row seats while Noh was getting the life crushed out of him.
There was no way to stop it from happening. James had no back up and no prayer of getting free. Everyone who had been under Nate's command was still slowly coming back to their senses. Alex had pinned Scott, but they were both untangling themselves and swearing, distracted by Rachel's growing fire and panicked because James was between them and Apocalypse - and projecting to Rachel to have them attack anyway. America had her full focus on protecting Billy, who was badly hurt. Rachel was pouring her attention into trying to stop the Phoenix from going too far while still giving Nate the power he needed to do the job right. But Sinister had no reason to stop Apocalypse from killing one of his own Horsemen; that would make Nate's job easier.
"Pay attention, boy. There is no mercy in my kingdom for split loyalties, no room for doubt, carelessness, or mistakes," Apocalypse said, glaring at Noh. "Noh-Varr - you had full control and relinquished it for an misplaced loyalty to a dead tribe. I refuse to acknowledge their delusional self-proclaimed authority in this world or any other. You have proven that you are worthless to me, no matter your gifts when you do not understand who it is that rules this world." As Noh tried fruitlessly to pull Apocalypse's fingers off of his throat and get a breath, Apocalypse smirked and leaned slightly over James's shoulder, forcing James to watch Noh struggle. "And you, James Howlett. You've wasted far too much time in a misguided attempt to cheat fate," he told James, who could see that his friend's struggles were weakening.
"Let him go," James all but breathed out - desperate to save Noh, but that only earned a scoff from Apocalypse. "I won't fight you - just-"
"You would have served me either way. This pitiful distraction has simply revealed to me a weakness in War that I will not tolerate. That was your doing - intended or not, I choose to take it as an appreciated gesture before you will take on the mantle you were born for - not War, but Death."
James heard what he'd said but couldn't process it while he watched Noh's pupils dilate. He abandoned trying to get Apocalypse to let go of him and started struggling to get to Noh - purely out of panic, though that peaked when Noh's arm slipped down entirely. "Let him go!" James snarled, completely losing his grip and any trace of self preservation.
"He's only the first of your so-called family that will die by your actions. Watch carefully, boy. More will follow soon enough."
"Iwishyouwouldletthembothgo!" Billy called out desperately - and with just enough power despite how battered he was from the fight that Apocalypse did drop them, which freed up Scott and Alex to, together, blast Apocalypse back from them.
James should have run. Instead, he rushed to Noh, still panicking and trying to fix it - horrified when he realized that Apocalypse had completely crushed Noh's throat before he let him go, and Noh wasn't healing. There wasn't anything he could fix in the incredibly short amount of time that it took Apocalypse to recover from the blast, though this time, when he got a hold of James, it was to grab him by the hair and yank him backward away from Noh.
"Enough," Apocalypse growled out as he dragged James back - searching for just enough cover to start transforming him.
"LetJamesgo!" Billy shouted, then corrected himself: "IwishyouwouldletJamesgo!" And the fact that he had to correct himself told everyone that Billy was panicking badly too.
But James was well beyond reason at that point. He was mid-panic attack, trying to get away, guilty as hell for how Noh had met his end, and terrified. Finesse was entirely out the window as he kicked, swung, stabbed, and bit anything he could reach to try to get Apocalypse to let go even as Apocalypse started the transition that would change him into a horseman, too.
He managed to claw Apocalypse a few times before he went still under Apocalypse's control. His eyes were even starting to glow a dull yellow with that same hopelessness, hatred, guilt, and rage that had infected the others, but it wasn't until America threw a rather large rock at Apocalypse's head as an opener and rushed in to try to snatch James that Apocalypse had to readjust his grip on James to deal with the incoming heroes.
It was just a second, but that was enough time for America to come to his rescue, tearing him from Apocalypse's grip and half shredding the uniform in the process. Both Summers boys' eyes were glowing, but Nate's were bright with fire that James saw for just an instant before America adjusted her hold on him, pinning him down and covering him so that the Elder Summerses could blast away without worry.
And Nate took full advantage of that opening, too, harnessing the fire Rachel had given him with his own blue glow to craft a box around Apocalypse's consciousness, smiling grimly.
Scott saw Apocalypse actually stumble back a step. A moment later, Tommy clutched his head with a scream of pain before he staggered and passed out. The connection between Apocalypse and his horsemen was at least temporarily interrupted. Scott smacked Alex on the back. "Now," he said - and pointed at Sinister as well. Oddly enough, Sinister took the cue with a nod to join Alex in blasting Apocalypse back, forcing his attention to be split between the telepathic fight and the physical fight.
In tandem, Rachel and Nate were able to contain Apocalypse to his own mind, cutting off any avenues of escape into the minds of the Horsemen, who were all out of the fight anyway.
"IwishTommyandMiawereinimmunitybubbles," Billy said through his teeth, pulling out a spell he'd been working on for a long time, one that would, for a short time, protect the people inside it from any influence, telepathic, magical, or otherwise. He couldn't maintain it for long, but it would protect the surviving Horsemen. And he'd been waiting for exactly that moment to use it, too.
With Apocalypse contained, and with everyone else either injured or pouring what they had left into the attack, Scott called out to Billy for the sword, and a door opened up, allowing Scott to reach into the other dimension and pull a red-glowing katana out. He glanced toward Nate, whose eyes were still glowing - but then, Nate turned his way and nodded. He wasn't trapped anymore, not with Rachel helping him. If Apocalypse died now, Nate wouldn't go with him.
He gripped the hilt tighter as he approached Apocalypse, and for just a moment, he hesitated, only because this would be the third person he had killed since returning to the life he'd left. But he couldn't ask anyone else to do it, and he couldn't trust Sinister with the blade. So the duty fell to him, and the moment's hesitation passed.
In one swift motion, he removed Apocalypse's head from his shoulders - and then, all at once, the attacks stopped, and silence rang out.
Well, silence except for the sound of flames crackling, of James hyperventilating, and of America abandoning him to rush across the sand to get to Billy, who was whimpering as he tried to get to James to comfort him if he could. And then, there was a thud as Nate passed out, absolutely exhausted from the effort of fighting Apocalypse.
