X-Men: Come the Apocalypse (pt. 11) Author: Nathan Summers Date: 1997/11/12 Forum: alt.comics.fan-fiction An impromptu battle will soon occur at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning... {Beast}: HAZARD!!! {Cable}: Hazard? As in Carter Ryking Hazard? Last I heard, he was locked up in the vault. {Hazard}: Well I _was_ But now I'm not. Its as simple as that. {Cannonball}: Well sir, its pretty clear that you k.o.ed the other X-Men. Don't think we're just gonna let you walk away like that. Without wasting a moment, Sam powers up his blast field and rockets full-force at Hazard. When he is less than ten feet away, Hazard shines a strange red light from the palm of his left hand into Sam's chest. It didn't really matter which area of Sam's body was hit by the light, the result would be the same. {Cannonball}: What the hell? {Hazard}: You see, I have counter-attacks for all of your powers. Take Cannonball here. It was a simple matter to just reverse his blast field in effect, hurling him into the wall. {Cannonball}: uhhhh** {Wolverine}: The kid had better be okay, otherwise this'll hurt a lot more! {Hazard}: You're supposed to be the most dangerous X-Man. Doesn't matter. Like I said, I can counter-attack your every move. I can _beat_ you. Shocked? Watch. {Wolverine}: Then get ready! Wolverine runs like a leopard, hacking away at Hazard. He had total confidance that he could defeat any foe, let alone a second-rater like Hazard. He was wrong. Hazard slipped his fingers in the space between Wolverine's claws and actually overpowered him! Hazard then activated his electro-gauntlets and electricity began swirling around Logan and Hazards' hands. The effects on Logan were quite devastating. {Wolverine}: ARRRGGHHHH!!! That electricity... being conducted through my claws... entire skeleton frying! Once Logan was nearly unconscious, Hazard backed away and pulled two adamantium miffs from his belt. He placed them over Logan's hands and explained their purpose. {Hazard}: If you put up any kind of fight whatsoever, these miffs will electricute you until you either give up or collapse. I might point out that if you try to remove them, they will kill you. That or seriously injure you. I can also activate them manually with this control panel. {Storm}: What is wrong with you? Logan and Sam have already fallen victim to that madman! We must fight like a team, not solo. I will attack from the left side. Havok, you attack from the right. Hit him with everything you have! {Hazard}: Oh, gee, thanks for telling me your attack plan. This shouldn't take long at all At the exact moment Storm's lightning makes contact with him, Hazard fires his own electrical blasts from the tiny holes at the tip of each finger on his gauntlets. They keep the energy flowing like this for a while until Havok steps in. {Hazard}: So you think you can double team me, huh? Wrong! I can take you both on as easily as I would one opponent. It is a simple matter to channel the energy from both gauntlets through just this one. I can use my free hand to deal with Havok. Hazard blasts Havok with all of the plasma energy he has with his right hand, as he continues blasting Storm with his left. Neither of the three seem to be affected by each other's attacks at all, nor do they appear to weaken the slightest. {Havok}: Damnit! Our powers are too similarly charged. Plasma blasts won't affect me or him! {Storm}: As the goddess of the elements, I am unaffected by electricity and his counter-attack for my lightning must be the same. {Havok}: The only possible outcome for this would be for us to-- He was going to say, "cancel each other out." A wave of white light washes over them until nothing else can be seen. When it fades out moments later, all three of them are sprawled out across the floor. Only Hazard gets up. {Hazard}: There. I intended for us to cancel each other out because I knew that I could handle it. You couldn't. Problem solved. {Iceman}: Cecilia! We're the only ones left. We have to-- to-- oh man... {Hazard}: A few blasts of super-heated plasma will have you out soon enough. {Iceman}: Cecilia, Hank! I feel so sick. Its up to you... gonna pass out. Water drips off of Iceman as he reverts to human form more slowly than usual. Soon, all that remains is the human Bobby Drake with a big puddle beneath him. He soon collapses from exhaustion. {Hazard}: Let's see... a concentrated blast of pure plasma energy has Cable out. He was right too. Before Cable can react, a straight blast of purple plasma energy has him out cold. Hazard then turns his attention to Beast and Cecilia. {Beast}: Carter, please, listen to me! You shouldn't be fighting us. We need your help and-- {Hazard}: I was left completely empty after my first, not to mention only, encounter with you. Empty! Nothing. A shell. A guy by the name of Apocalypse changed all of that. He refilled me. He _overflowed_ me with power. He increased my powers, altered them, gave me new ones. All I had to do was pledge total loyalty to him, and the Dark Riders. {Beast}: No! Then we're too late. {Hazard}: That is correct. I serve Apocalypse now. Even if you'd reached me sooner, I still would've joined him. I would _never_ help you. Never! Hazard screams these final words into Beast's face and lifts him off the ground by the neck. He scowls at him for a moment before tossing him into the nearby wall. {Hazard}: You are the new one, are you not? Cecilia Reyes I believe? {Cecilia}: I-I surrender. {Hazard}: Not an option! {Joseph}: Nooo! You will not harm her! {Hazard}: Ahhh! Magnetic blast... short-circuiting everything! Hazard calls on the last reserves of his power and hits Joseph with all of it-- a combination of ion particles, electricity, and plasma. Joseph sinks to the ground like a stone in water. {Domino}: Think you've won, don't you? {Hazard}: Recovered so soon, I see. {Domino}: Don't change the subject. {Hazard}: Ah, yes. I suppose I still need to take care of you. {Gambit}: uhhh, an' me. {Hazard}: I don't see why I should bother. This'll only take a moment. {Gambit}: Yep. The kinetic playing cards didn't hit Hazard directly, but Remy didn't intend them to. They set off multiple explosions around Hazard, stunning him temporarily. This in turn gives Domino an opening. {Domino}: Okay, get ready! {Hazard}: Looks like you actually caused me a little bit of damage. A real little bit. And isn't that mini proton cannon a bit large for a hand-held weapon? {Domino}: It doesn't weigh much, and it gets the job done. {Hazard}: Never had it misfire, have you? Not until now! {Domino}: What? Oww! Damnit, he did something to my gun! Nobody messes with my guns! {Gambit}: Crazy girl! Hold up! {Rogue}: Dom, listen to Gambit! Its a trap, sugah! Hazard catches Domino up in an adamantium coil fired from the top of his left wrist before she could attack and charges it with plasma energy. {Domino}: YEARGHH!!! He then flings her into Rogue and the plasma is transferred to her body. {Rogue}: Uhhh... He whips the coil around a bit before striking Gambit in the back with it. Gambit was about to scream, but by then, Hazard had caught him by the foot and tossed him over his head. The coil is retracted and he moves on. Suddenly, a blast of telekinetic energy carries Hazard into the steel reinforced wall. This can only mean one thing-- Phoenix has recovered. {Phoenix}: C'mon Ryking. You think you can take me on? Ha! You caught me unprepared last time. Now I'm ready for you. So let's-- ARGGHH!!! {Hazard}: I havn't even done anything yet. {Phoenix}: scott... i hear you... its okay now. everything will be fine. stay there. stay there.**** {Hazard}: ??? Just saves me the trouble of taking her out myself. Who's next? {Maggott}: That what be me. Maggott hurls his techno-leeches at Hazard, thinking that they will be able to handle him as easily as they did every other enemy they've encountered. Hazard simply catches the pests and tosses them aside. He then punches Maggott across the jaw, finishing him off. {Hazard}: My, my. Is that everyone? {X-Man}: Not by a longshot! {Hazard}: Another victim? {X-Man}: Uh, uh. You're not just facing another member of the X-Men. You're facing _the_ X-Man. You're facing Nate Grey! Make peace with your god, you'll need him. Nate takes to the sky, a silhouette of the Phoenix covering him. He then fires a blast of fiery psionic energy from his left eye down on Hazard who barely gets a proton shield up in time. {Hazard}: (thinking) Whoa. Cut that one close. He would've killed me right there if I hadn't gotten my shield up. {X-Man}: Don't bother thinking to yourself, I can still hear you just the same. You may as well say what's on your mind aloud. Hazard fires a series of four pulsed plasma blasts at Nate. They simply vanish into the psionic field surrounding him. Hazard mobilizes and flies up to Nate's level using his propulsion jets. Nate takes a swing at him, but misses. Just barely. {Hazard}: (thinking) Gotta be careful with these things. I don't have much experience using them. I might loose my balance and that psycho-freak will have me. Boots don't fail me now! {X-Man}: They probably won't. But your lungs just might! {Hazard}: Hazard chokes and gasps as Nate closes off his air-way. He grabs at his throat, thinking that will help him breathe. After a while, his eyes roll back and he plunges from the sky. {X-Man}: I'm not quite finished with you yet. Nate scoops Hazard up in a telekinetic cocoon and brings him back up to his own level. Hazard was slowly recovering. {Hazard}: almost had... me there... boy... shoulda' just... let me fall... now yer... in big trouble... Hazard re-activates his propulsion jets and gets beack into the fight. He cups both hands side-by-side and releases a full power plasma blast is a brilliant hue of purple. The blast explodes all over a place once it hits Nate and leaves a big, burned hole in his shirt, as well as a black mark on his chest. {X-Man}: ARRRGGGHHH!!! That does it! Nate shoots a blast of "psionic fire" from the palms of both hands which washes over Hazard, nearly destroying him. Hazard falls all the way to the floor and lands on his back. The shock to his nervous system was so great that he hardly felt any pain at all. Not until now at least. {Hazard}: oh, lord. {X-Man}: I told you to pray _before_ this fight, idiot! {Hazard}: This isn't over yet, kid. Hazard wraps Nate in nearly a dozen plasma coils, trying his best to subdue the immensely powerful young telepath. Nate ignores the incredible pain, grabs the coils, and throws Hazard across the room. Hazard kicks Nate in the chest before Nate can do more. {X-Man}: Now you want full-contact fighting? Fine by me. Nate's fist charges with psionic energy and he punches Hazard in the cheek. And then in the chest with the other hand. Nate tops it off with a back-hand to the ribs. Hazard takes a swing at Nate, but misses. Nate then decks him to the floor. {Hazard}: Well isn't this embarassing. Knocked me flat on my face. I still have plenty of power. I can keep this up all day. {X-Man}: Well, if you insist. {Hazard}: Wait a minute-- my brain's all tingly. What're you doing? Stop! My brain! My mind exploding! {X-Man}: Precisely. {Hazard}: ARRGGGHHH!!!!! {Nate}: Ahhh... looks like my nose is bleeding again. I'm bleeding from both nostrils. Bleeding like a faucet! Oh, man... ears ringing too. Left ear bleeding. Right ear bleeding now. Oh my God, so much blood. Blood flowing from my mouth. From my tear ducts! I'm hemorrhaging. {Hazard}: Gotta beak this off quick. Purple plasma energy bagan to outline Hazard's arm. It then grew thicker. It grew so thick that he morphed it into a giant fist. Hazard punched Nate in the gut, knocking him out and prepared to leave. He melted the top of the ceiling with a plasma blast and used his rockets to fly out. {Hazard}: I'll be back once I make some repairs. Within a ship of some sort drifting near the Shi'ar galaxy... {Deathbird}: Mainframe? What's a "Mainframe?" {Bishop}: No, his name is Mainframe. I remember reading about him on Cerebro's records. One of Apocalypse's old henchmen. He never really did much. Except once, when Scott and Jean were kidnapped by Stryfe, they fought him during their escape. I thought that they'd destroyed him as well. {Deathbird}: Apparently not. What's a "Stryfe?" {Bishop}: Stryfe was another old villain long dead. {Mainframe}: I do suppose you're wondering how I survived my encounter with Cyclops and Phoenix. {Bishop}: It had crossed my mind. {Mainframe}: Auxilary power of course! That and the Phalanx. {Deathbird}: The Phalanx!?! {Mainframe}: Yes. I stayed at that wreched moon base living off of my back-up power cells until the Phalanx came. During their second attempt to assimilate all of the galaxy, starting with the Shi'ar system, they encountered Apocalypse's space station. They found it all but deserted. I was the only living thing there. Nevertheless, I was assimilated. But I was too advanced for the collective and I managed to break free. They didn't bother hunting me down as they already knew I was too unstable to assimilate. That and I was partially mutant. I stole an escape pod and returned to the moon base. And this ship is what I toggled together. {Bishop}: But our encounter with the Phalanx was only a month or so ago. I can't be sure in space. {Mainframe}: Your point? {Deathbird}: What my comrade is trying to say is, how did you possibly construct this ship in such a short amount of time? {Mainframe}: It kept me busy. Now I have much work to do. We may continue later. {Bishop}: Wait! I still have many more questions! Why are you holding us prisoner? Mainframe! MAINFRAME! {Deathbird}: Its no use, Bishop. He's gone. Somewhere in the harsh environment of Egypt... {Cyclops}: {Phoenix}: {Cyclops}: {Phoenix}: {Cyclops} {Phoenix}: {Cyclops}: