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#7
JUL 14 |
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Hellfire Club
NYC Location
Ozymandias looked out the window to the west. “They’ve been set free.”
Sebastian Shaw stood behind the stone-skinned man as he made this uncomfortable proclamation. “Who is free?”
“The Final Horsemen. One of Apocalypse’s many, many contingency plans. I had hoped that the Clan Akkaba would have chosen a different weapon to unleash. But it seems that future was hard to avoid.”
Shaw didn’t buy that explanation or Ozymandias’ giving in to inevitability. He didn’t make the man his White King because he thought Ozymandias was just a talking tarot card. No, the man had once been a warlord and Shaw knew that he was filled with as much ambition as him. “Why didn’t you just tell them to not resurrect the Final Horsemen?”
“Apocalypse, for all his proclamations of being strong and promoting the strong, put many restrictions on those who served him. I have only discovered recently that Apocalypse put genetic locks on me, locks that kept me from my full potential and limited my sight to only one timeline. With his death, those locks began to decay. My powers grow and now I see many timelines. And if I had told Slade to leave the Final Horsemen be it would have only assured their coming. So I left it to fate.”
Shaw looked down at the Destiny Diary that was sitting on his desk. He picked it up and examined the worn text for a moment. “What are you saying, Ozymandias? Are you saying that this book is useless? That it has no meaning?”
“Not at all.” Ozymandias turned back to Shaw and held his hand out. Tentatively, Shaw placed the book in the clairvoyant’s hand. For just a moment, the book seemed to feel Ozymandias with some kind of surge. “These books are a powerful guide and we owe Destiny a great deal for writing them, but they are not written in stone, forgive the pun. Fate can be changed.”
Shaw smiled in that way that a shark might smile when it knew its prey was in sight. The world was Shaw’s prey and he intended to eat heartily. With his new Inner Circle at his side, Shaw hadn’t felt this confident in years. He possessed the power and allies that he would need to change the world. “That is precisely why we are working together. We will change all of our fates and make ourselves the true powers in the world.”
Ozymandias nodded. “But it will not be an easy road, Shaw. There will be many obstacles. Two shall arise out of these coming events. Rest assured that, whatever Apocalypse and Stryfe become, they will be a threat. And Sekhmet shall make her gains as well.”
“We’ve overcome obstacles before. We can do it again.”
Ozymandias turned back to the window. “Perhaps fate will be kind to us.”
The Wilds of Turkey
“Need some help, Wisdom?”
X-Factor had arrived.
BLINK!
Right behind them came Logan and his team of X-Men. Logan looked at the tired Wisdom and the newly arrived X-Factor. “Guess it’s just a damn mutant convention out here today.”
“And I see your timing is still impeccable mate,” Wisdom said with a half-smile.
Wisdom counted his blessings when the X-Men showed up right along with X-Factor. He owed the blokes a great deal more than he was ever going to give them a lick of credit for.
The three mutant groups had regrouped and pulled away from the marching Final Horsemen. Four dark entities moved with a meticulous drawl towards the mutants. It was as if they were entirely unconcerned at the fact that over a dozen mutants were intent on ripping them to pieces. Their bored, leisurely manner shook many of the gathered mutants. Who were these people to have no fear of them?
“Logan, please tell me you have some kind of plan?” Emma asked him. This was Wolverine, after all, and he didn’t think he was living unless his back was against the wall.
“I got a couple of ideas, Frost, but we’re going to need to go in for another round before I can be sure it’ll work.”
“Just splendid. I’m supposed to be on Wendy Williams tomorrow and I’m going to have go looking like Tina after a night with Ike.”
“So, are we going to attack these blokes or what?” Wisdom asked. He wasn’t fond of the idea but they needed to do something. Running away would just put innocent people at risk. “They don’t look too worried about us.”
“Not like they should be,” Magik said. She rested her Soulsword on her shoulder waiting for Logan’s attack order. Maybe Logan would let her cut loose and set her free of Wisdom’s leash. Illyana wasn’t beyond restraint, but she felt an opportunity here. These Horsemen were powerful and could very well warrant a full release of her abilities. Logan seemed more likely to make that call than Wisdom.
“Doesn’t look like they’re going to wait for us to make up our minds,” Polaris said. She immediately erected a green magnetic dome around all of the gathered mutants. Pestilence opened her mouth wide and thousands of yume beetles came out of her grossly overextended mouth. The chittering black cloud washed over the dome like a wave. Lorna believed her shield would protect all of them from mere insects, but she nearly doubled over at what happened next. The yume beetles were consuming the energy of her field.
Strong Guy moved to Lorna’s side and kept her from hitting the ground. She was sweating, cool to the touch and pale. Beetles were beginning to seep through her field. Guido looked back to Logan. “Do something, dammit!”
It was Storm instead who acted. “Telepaths! Attack their minds!”
Electricity flowed out of her hair and eyes. The white-hot power ripped through the yume beetles that penetrated Lorna’s shield. Then it arced up and filled in the gaps of the dome, latticing it like thread. Storm felt what Lorna did, the beetles were consuming their powers, but Storm responded in kind, electricity raging out of the dome like the fingers of an angry god.
“What we looking like?” Wolverine asked, looking back at Emma, Betsy and Quentin holding hands. Right about now, Logan wished that Chuck, Jean or even Nate was here to help them. Judging by Emma and the other’s pained expressions they weren’t doing these Final Horsemen any real damage. He was itching to put his claws up against Apocalypse’s goons. The way things were looking now it wouldn’t be long before he had his chance.
Quentin’s eyes glowed pink. “You wanna try and help, you arse, feel free”
“They have defenses like Sekhmet,” Emma said.
Psylocke groaned. “We’re barely getting through.”
Sage was bent down examining one of the yume beetles that Storm had charred. Even in the midst of chaos, the woman was still clinical about everything she did. Her calm was borderline annoying. “This beetle holds some genetic similarity to the mutant Maggott’s digestive system. It can and will consume anything.”
Wolverine growled. “This shit ain’t working. Emma, stop! I got an idea.”
The giant axe of Decimus Furius now swung in strike after strike against Polaris and Storm’s joint barrier. Both women shuddered with every blow. Guido, still holding Lorna, looked up at Logan. “Better hurry the hell up! Lorna can’t take much more.”
“She won’t have to,” Quentin said, stretching out his arms. A pink telekinetic dome was created over the top of Lorna’s field. Quentin’s face was locked into a grimace of absolute determination. The expression was entirely uncharacteristic of the smug young mutant who never wasted an opportunity to let you know how powerful he was. “Don’t know how much time I can buy, so I hope for once you’re thinking with something besides your claws, Wolverine.”
“We need to divide. Make them fight alone and use the environment to our advantage.” Wolverine grabbed Blink’s wrist tight enough to make her wince. He didn’t mean to, but they were running out of time and needed to do this quick. “It’s all in my head, Emma. Just put it in Clarice’s ahead and she’ll do the rest.”
Emma nodded, tapping into Logan’s mind and relaying his plan to Blink. He had it all worked out and Emma found herself more and more impressed with the intellect hiding under his feral instinct. Blink received his plan, but still looked at the short, hairy man for confirmation. He gave a stern nod. “Go ahead kid.”
Blink closed her eyes. “Everybody hold on.” She could feel space warping around her and every other mutant, including the Horsemen. Deep down, she knew this was where the pavement would meet the road.
The Xavier Mansion
Charles Xavier may not have been on the frontlines but he watched them. These were his students and friends that he sent out into the heat of battle. Witnessing all of it was the least he owed them. By witnessing, he had found a way to aid his people. From afar, he could guide them to victory.
Logan’s plan was sound and it seemed getting his memories back unlocked a tactical side to the man that Xavier previously only suspected to be there. The others still really had no idea what that plan was and Charles found his way into the battle through that. He slid Cerebro on and activated the machine with the power of his mind. Reaching out globally to the minds of the weary mutant warriors, he showed them Logan’s plan and their parts in it. It was his small part in this mad battle against Apocalypse. He hoped preparing them with Logan’s strategy would keep them alive.
But even a telepath as controlled as him couldn’t help but to feel stray thoughts. Storm was angry with her new powers; so very angry. Blink was racked with the memories of other worlds. Warren felt apprehension on facing this new Death. Logan did too, though he would never admit it. Charles wanted to be there for them.
“Be careful, X-Men. So much is on your shoulders,” Xavier said, sliding Cerebro off.
“I have my men ready to move in if this goes to hell,” G.W. Bridge said from behind Xavier. Charles knew that Bridge had personally come because of the level of the crisis. Rory Campbell and Alisande Morales had informed all their necessary commanders about the situation. Charles had no illusions about the government not becoming involved.
“Good, George. I trust my allies to take care of this, but it is better to be safe,” Xavier said, feeling every bit his years.
Director Bridge put a hand on Xavier’s shoulder. “I don’t even think my men will be necessary, Xavier. I’ve seen what your people can do, the mountains they move. I wouldn’t be worried.”
“Whenever it involves certain people I’m always worried, Director. Apocalypse is one such individual.”
Bridge nodded. “Some bastards just don’t know how to stay dead.”
The Hellfire Club
“If these Final Horsemen defeat the X-Men then what is our next step of action?” Astrid asked. She was one of many Hellfire Club members assembled to discuss the matter of Apocalypse’s newest weapons. Having just herself awaken from a years-long coma, Astrid was particularly unaware of much of the history involving Apocalypse. What she did know was that Apocalypse was an extremely powerful mutant and made most mutants look like ants in comparison. It all made her more nervous than she was willing to admit to anyone present.
“Apocalypse has never had the best of relations with the Hellfire Club,” Madylene said. The Hellfire Club had in times past attempted to take advantage of Apocalypse and those he cavorted with. It never worked out very well for either party. And in some ways, Madylene could think of Apocalypse as her ‘grandfather’ of sorts. The mutant had created Sinister who, in turn, had created her.
“There must be a way to turn this to our advantage,” Osborn said. He wasn’t extremely familiar with mutant affairs, but he knew the basics, and the basics demanded that mutants not be allowed to go unchecked. There had to be a way to manipulate this for the Hellfire Club’s further gain. Without that guarantee he couldn’t endorse any action to be made against the ancient mutant.
“There is,” Ozymandias said. He was sitting at the long, expensively dressed table to Shaw’s right while Osborn was to the left. Ozymandias kept his expression stern. “Apocalypse had plans upon plans. Things are being revealed to me now that I had no idea about.”
“Sounds tantalizing,” Miss Sinister said. She licked her lips and giggled just a little. Ozymandias gave her cold, unfeeling eyes in response to the action. She merely giggled some more and took a sip of wine. “A man like Apocalypse with secrets must always be interesting.”
“But can we use any of it?” Sunset asked. She had no interest in jeopardizing either herself or her company if there wasn’t real worth in pursuing the matter. Joining the Hellfire Club had been a matter of personal growth for her. She considered herself a marathon runner in the game of power and not a sky diver. Unlike Miss Sinister, she didn’t get off on radical pursuits.
“Of course we can. The Final Horsemen were far from Apocalypse’s only hidden weapon. Even I am changing.” Ozymandias spoke with absolute certainty. It was a certainty that prompted silence in the dining room for a few minutes.
“Changing how?” Madylene finally asked. She knew all about changing and the costs that came along with it. Becoming the Goblyn Queen had changed her immensely and because of it, she nearly murdered her own child. It wasn’t a moment she was particularly proud of, despite what many would think of her. So when Ozymandias spoke of his changing she couldn’t help but to wonder who would it harm in its wake?
Ozymandias had already foreseen Madylene’s apprehension and understood it. He was just as fearful and at the same exhilarated at the path he was soon to find himself down. “For thousands of years I believe Apocalypse cursed me with certain abilities, but recently new powers have surfaced. Hidden powers.”
“It’s true,” Odysseus said. “His DNA is changing. It is quite amazing. Humans have ‘junk’ DNA, but not him. Every strand serves a purpose. A system long dormant is being activated.”
“So we can make Apocalypse’s tools our own,” Shaw said. It was as simple as that for him. Apocalypse was a man of great power and thus must have left behind tremendous resources. There was nothing else for Shaw, only what could increase his wealth and influence. Already Shaw had gained much power in the past few months. Adding the wealth of Apocalypse to his own, Shaw could only imagine the possibilities.
“But do we want to?” Norman asked.
Sunset agreed. “Apocalypse wouldn’t just leave all these weapons to be so easily taken.”
“He has been called the Chaos-Bringer. What better way to sow chaos?” Ozymandias asked.
“And consider this: do we really want Apocalypse’s legacy to be left in anyone’s hands but ours?” Shaw raised a wine glass to the air.
Chicago
“Are you sure?” Jean asked the man who had so abruptly showed up on their doorstep. The man was her son in the strangest way possible, but he was still hers nonetheless. She wasn’t going to run away from that. Family was too important no matter the origins or circumstances.
Cable missed a few days sleep. It was all over his face. “I’m sure, Jean. The Brotherhood is coming here. I’ve been tracking them for weeks.”
Jean sighed and looked back at her fully assembled team. They were on their way to help Logan, Ororo and the others against the Final Horsemen. “Looks like we’re staying here.”
Jubilee folded her arms across her chest. “Stryfe has some bad effing timing.”
Phoenix shared in the sentiment as she was sure every member of her team did. They all had friends out there that they wanted to help. The Brotherhood was just too important to make light of. “You got an ETA for us, Cable?”
“Soon.” Jean frowned at him. “That’s all I can tell you.”
“Your ‘soon’ might get people killed,” Madrox accused.
Cable didn’t flinch. “You willing to risk leaving this city wide open?”
“Not on your life,” Jean said. She was the leader and had to make the tough choices. Leaving friends to fend for themselves was one. “Chicago is a beacon of progress. Stryfe would tarnish that.”
Cable’s eyes opened wide as he felt a number of teleportation signals buzz in the back of his mind. “Oath! They’re here!”
Members of the Brotherhood materialized all around them, but no one was able to react. The Chicago team’s opponents moved with uncharacteristic blinding speed. Stryfe sent out a telekinetic wave that propelled Cable and Jean into the air, sending them smacking into the jet’s nose. Toad wrapped his tongue around Madrox’s neck and slammed him head first into the hangar roof. Mystique shot a tranquilizer dart into Wolfsbane while Hemingway smacked Longshot into the ground like a fly. Random blasted Jubilee and Dazzler with cannon shot from each arm. Zero sent a frequency from his chest that scrambled Warlock on a cellular level. All of this was done in record time.
Cable opened up an eye and standing over him was Tempo and Stryfe. His cloned brother floated over him. “Time manipulation is extremely useful for ambushes.”
“Bastard!” Cable attempted a psychic attack that was immediately repelled. Something was wrong with Stryfe. A telepath knew someone’s psychic ‘smell’ for a lack of a better word and Stryfe’s was off. Another odor hung around him and it was hauntingly familiar.
You felt it too? Jean asked.
Did I? It’s like he’s not even the same person.
Stryfe kept the mutants restrained by his telekinesis. “Today you all get to witness the death of another city. Chicago will be the match for a global war.”
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To Be Continued...
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