X-Men: Come the Apocalypse (pt. 20) Author: Nathan Summers Date: 1998/01/28 Forum: alt.comics.fan-fiction The battle to crush the Dark Riders for good rages on... {Aurora}: Do you know what I am? Do you?!? {Mimic}: A chick with a bad attitude. {Aurora}: I am sentient power! And you are a mortal. An optic blast from Mimic sails past her as Aurora easily glides off to the side. {Mimic}: If you say so. It really doesn't matter to me. Your powers will be mine soon enough either way. {Aurora}: You could never hope to possess these powers! {Mimic}: I can hope. (Thinking) But that's about all! I can't get a definite lock on her powers. She's so flipped out, I don't know which power goes with which personality. Those mood swings aren't helping me much either. {Aurora}: Feel my wrath, pathetic human! White light explodes from Aurora's body. It washes over Mimic, blinding him. All that could be visible from below was the incredble aurora above, illuminating everything. Mimic didn't dare attack, there was no reason to. {Mimic}: Arrgh! Going down. A tiny speck falls out of the enormous light. It hits the ground and and everyone notices that it's Mimic. Aurora can't be far behind. {Aurora}: I am a being of light! I am light! You doubt me? 10,000 volts of electricity should change your opinion. {Mimic}: No, don't! Mimic's skeleton becomes visible as electricity swirls all about his body. Smoke streams from him as Aurora calls her attack off. She wasn't just blasting him. She was harnessing the power. Tapping into, controlling the Electrical Force. Perhaps she really was light incarnate. A powerful energy blast from Havok nearly takes care of McCoy. {Havok}: You see how weak you are? You might be able to push around Fatale, Random, and the Morlocks. But not me. I'm not your prelate and I never will be! {McCoy}: Tsk, tsk. Not only have you bruised be up, you've broken my toy. I wouldn't dream of threatening you, Al-- Ugghhhh!!! Another cosmic blast from both hands blows McCoy into the granite wall, cracking it. The blast and the impact have McCoy out good. {Havok}: And don't call me by my first name. {Voice}: 'Lex, ya'll better watch yahself. Random plasma blasts from down the dark hall enter the room. Havok ducks down, but is still struck by one. Rogue zigs, zags, and bobs and darts maneuvering through them. {Hazzard}: I'm on the warpath, Rogue! Don't try to escape me. {Rogue}: Ah'm not tryin' to escape yah. Ah'm tryin' to give mah team a chance o' stoppin' yall. (Thinking) Divide and conquer should do the trick. {Hazzard}: I'm more powerful then I've ever been! {Rogue}: Ah'd believe that since we only fought ya once. {Hazzard}: I can now manipulate my plasma energy. Watch. Plasma flows over Hazzard's left arm and forms a shape. Actually, it was really like an exo-skeleton. It corresponded with the movements of Hazzard's arm. {Rogue}: Been takin' lessons from Unuscione? {Hazzard}: Nope. I taught myself this little trick. Hazzard reaches up and grabs the hovering Rogue with his plasma- arm. Rogue struggles and begins pulling away but the arm gets longer. It then becomes more like a tentacle then an arm. Rogue was hopelessly trapped. {Rogue}: not too humiliating but I'll find a way out. {Hazzard}: I could hold you at bay forever like this. {Rogue}: Sugah, Ah don't have forever. Rogue flies, still entangled in the... thing. She circles around a support column faster and faster, bringing Hazzard along for the ride. He slams into it, giving Rogue some slack. She backs up as far as she can and rams into the column with all her strength. It cracks and then collapses completely. Much of the ceiling comes down with it and Rogue and Hazzard are buried in the debris. {Rogue}: Uhhh, that was really not fun. Wonder if Ryking's still alive. {Hazzard}: Oh, I think he's hanging in there. No thanks to you. {Rogue}: Well, if yah had died, it wouldn't be mah problem. The ceilin' came down on ya, Ah didn't kill ya. {Hazzard}: Either way, you won't have to worry about it. A wide jet-stream of plasma flows from Hazzard's open hand. It strikes Rogue in the side, sending stinging pain throughout her body. {Rogue}: ARRGHH!!! The pain in mah ribs will linger for a while, Ah bet. But the rest of mah body's okay now. {Hazzard}: I'd be careful getting up. {Rogue}: Ah appreciate the concern, but you shouldn't be. Ah'm gonna tear you apart n-- {Hazzard}: Can't say I didn't warn you. {Rogue}: No kidding. Mah ribs are prob'ly cracked. {Hazzard}: Take a breather. {Rogue}: You must think Ah'm a real idiot. You could take me down real easy right now. But ya're stallin'. Ya was hurt pretty bad just now. And you know what the funny part is? {Hazzard}: What's that? {Rogue}: Ah was just now stallin'! Rogue gets to her feet quickly and punches Hazzard across the jaw, making him spit blood out. Moving so fast was hell for her ribs, so she ignores the pain and takes to the sky, knowing it will soon pass if she stays off her feet. {Hazzard}: Nice, very nice! And gritting your teeth, I see. {Rogue}: Don't matter, it didn't hurt me as much as it did you. Ah'm fine now anyway. {Hazzard}: Not for much longer! A plasma wire springs forward from one of Hazzard's wrist gauntlets. It wraps Rouge and surges energy through her body. {Rogue}: Urgghh!!! Still... not enough. Rogue folds her arms over and becomes a projectile, hurtling towards Hazzard. She hits him and stops. He flies backwards, in the process snapping the wire and freeing Rogue. {Rogue}: Just gotta keep this up a little longer. {Hazzard}: Okay, you've stunned me. But I'm already back on my feet. {Rogue}: How kind of you ta point that out, but Ah have eyes, you know. Hazzard, really exhausted is left open by an uppercut from Rogue. He falls down, almost beaten. {Rogue}: Where's all that bravado now, huh? {Hazzard}: G-go to hell, bitch. Still sitting down, Hazzard lets loose twin plasma blasts from his gauntlets. They were probably capable of taking Rogue down in her current state, but he was sloppy in his tiredness. The beams crash through the ceiling, off by a few feet. {Rogue}: Ah think we know the winner of this little brawl. {Hazzard}: It's not over just yet. Hazzard, now in a crouching position, charges up for another blast. He was a little more coordinated this time. It still didn't do him any good. Rogue picks up a pole-like piece of debris and swings it just as Hazzard is about to blast. She smashes his wrist gauntlets, making the blast rage out of control. {Hazzard}: Oh, no! Not this again! {Rogue}: Ah thought ya could control your powers now. {Hazzard}: I can, but I always just relied on this armor. {Rouge}: That's sad. All of the failsafe mechanisms in Hazzard's armor begin going off automatically to keep the blast under control. They overload and his nervous system is fried. {Rogue}: Ah knew that would wrap things up. Cyke would be impressed. Now Ah think Ah'll collapse Beast leaps to avoid yet another blast from Random. {Random}: Stay put, damn you! {Beast}: This really isn't helping either of us. How about this? I'll come to you instead. Beast attempts to drop-kick Random, but it only serves in getting his foot caught in the mercenary's chest. Random pulls it out and spins him around, lettting go after two full circles. {Beast}: I'm faced with a bit of a delimma! Beast flips around in mid-air and hits the wall with his feet, staying there. Random blasts a steady stream across it and Beast runs horizontally. He jumps forward, Random still blasting. Once he's behind Random, he turns around and comes down smashing his fists into Random's shoulders. {Beast}: My word, you're made of Silly Putty! {Random}: Not quite. Random grabs Beast from behind and hurls him forward. Beast lands on his feet and comes back, charging. {Random}: You're a resilient son of a bitch, I'll give you that. {Beast}: Don't you insult my mother! A swift left to the chin surprises Random more than anything. His face streches with the blow. {Beast}: This is getting ridiculous. Random morphs one of his hands into a mace, smashing Beast in the head. {Beast}: Oww... Random has some difficulty changing it back. {Random}: That was odd. He has even more difficulty charging it into a tripple-barreled rifle. {Beast}: You don't seem to be doing so well. Perspiration streams down Random's face. He attempts to fire the weapon but it melts to a slag. He tries to reform his arm, but it begins dripping off. When he finally does succeed, more of his skin is dripping off. The more he concentrates to get himself under control, the more he looses control. Eventually, nothing but a puddle is left of Random. {Beast}: Curious, and most odd. He could counteract energy attacks, but I had none, so this did him no good. I kept his going, like no one ever did. He began losing control. He'd concentrate, but the more he tried to alter his form, the more it would disassemble. I suppose he'll pull himself back together eventually. But that won't be until the battle is long over. Random must have had some kind of genetic defect since this is constantly happening no matter who enhances him. Apocalypse will deem him unworthy and dispose of him. I'll have to turn my attention to this later. {Blob}: RAGGHHH! Nothing moves The Blob! {Domino}: I totally agree. Domino was a flea compared to Blob (and she wanted to keep it that way). She easily rolls between his legs and sweeps/kicks his massive calf out from under him. But his momentum continued. Blob flips through the air and falls twenty feet from the catwalk. He lands, cracking the floor, on his back. {Blob}: Ugghhh... that really sucked. {Domino}: I'll make sure he stays out for a long time! Domino pulls her single blaster from its holster and blasts a support column near Blob. The ion blaster was on a high setting, so the column was blown away. It falls (with some of the ceiling) on to Blob, crushing him. {Domino}: So... that's it? I won? Wow. I guess brains really beat brawn any day. And some major marksman skills. That fat-ass won't be pestering any of us for a while. The energy-net containing Iceman sends electrical pulses through his body whenever he makes a sudden movement. And he's been making quite a few. Iceman's strengh is slowly being sucked out of him. He's gradually changing back to human form. Anf that means water. Water which causes the net to short out and startle Post. {Post}: What the?!? {Iceman}: Guess who's back! Now get ready for my deep freeze! A wave of ice washes over Post, but it doesn't freeze him. Instead, he converts it into energy and launches a fire back-lash. It strikes Iceman and burns him, but not that badly. The fire fades out since much of him was still ice. It did succeed in making him completely human. {Iceman}: Cripes, now you've gotten me all wet! {Post}: I can bring you down again. {Iceman}: You didn't do a very good job of it the first time. Maybe you're immune to my extreme cold, but not this! Iceman re-freezes and blasts a barrage of hail stones, all hitting Post's head. {Post}: Arrgh... that better not be the best you can do. {Iceman}: Nahh, I think I can come up with something else. With his rock-hard fist, Iceman punches Post across the face. He then enlarges both arms and makes them more jagged. A blow to the stomach and again to the forehead really has Post out. But he furiously kicks Iceman away. {Post}: Weapon systems engage! {Iceman}: Too late, m'man. Two large blocks of ice are formed and Iceman smashes Post in the temples with them, at the same time giving him a massive brain- freeze. {Post}: ARRRGGGHHH!!!!!! {Iceman}: That would probably keep you out for a while, but I want to make sure. Iceman bulks up his entire body and pummels Post with everything he has until he's out cold (no pun intended). {Iceman}: That was even easier than I thought. I guess it payed off catching him off guard like that. {Bishop}: Uggh! Fatale attacks yet again, this time swiping Bishop across the face with her wrist spike. Bishop is not in good condition. Blood streams from his mouth, and his lower lip is swollen as well as his right eye. Dried blood is visible in his nostrils and now he has a deep gash across the face. {Fatale}: You really aren't defending yourself very well. {Bishop}: Gahhhh... Fatale spins around, kicking Bishop in the head. Bishop is about ready to give up, but he knows he has to keep up the fight. {Fatale}: Come on, already! I need a real challenge. The femme assassin hurls three energy balls at Bishop, all of them hitting him. {Bishop}: Arrghh! Some... something's wrong. I-I can't absorb them! {Fatale}: Too bad, huh? Two more blasts follow. {Fatale}: You can take some punishment, I'll give you that. {Bishop}: By the way, I was lying! {Fatale}: What? Bishop's eyes and hands light up. He answers Fatale with an enormous wide blast packed with everything he's got. It carries her through the air and knocks her for a loop. {Moses Magnum}: I am master of the Magnum-- {Cyclops}: Shut up. Now. Cyclops' visor lights up as an optic blast charges. He releases it, blowing the enemy back. He lands on a kinetically charged card previously placed by Gambit. It blows him into the air allowing Cyclops to blast him again. As he's coming down, Gambit throws several more cards at him. {Cyclops}: Looks like we've got this one under-- {Gambit}: What is it? {Cyclops}: Just... my stomach... feels like-- {Gambit}: You just had lower abdominal surgery by Wolverine? {Cyclops}: Yeah, that about covers it. {Gambit}: Take a breather, man. Gambit'll wrap dis up. {Cyclops}: Are you sure you can handle it? {Gambit}: Not to worry. Dis cajun got everything under control. {Cyclops}: Thanks Gambit, I appreciate it. Cyclops walks around to catch his breath, confidant that Gambit can handle Moses Magnum. He notices some other battles going on around as well. One takes him totally by surprise. {Cyclops}: (thinking) Hey, what's that light up ahead. Some kind of silhouette... Oh my God!!! The Phoenix! Sure enough, it was the familiar fiery manifestation of the Phoenix Force. And it was enormous. Cyclops notices a single figure fall out of it. It then fades back into psionic energy and disappears. {Cyclops}: Now who do we have here? Jacknife! I don't think he created it. It took him out. But he was fighting... Nate Grey! Nate stumbles out from the dark shadows groaning. {Nate}: Ack. Did I... did I do that? {Cyclops}: I think you did. {Nate}: He had me beat! How did I finish him off like this? {Cyclops}: You got help from something else. {Nate}: You? {Cyclops}: Not me. {Nate}: Then who? {Cyclops}: I didn't necessarily say it was a person. {Nate}: I don't understand-- {Cyclops}: Neither do I, completely, but I have a hunch. Unfortunately, I can't share it now. Look! Gambit, Iceman, Bishop, Domino, Rogue, Havok, and Aurora soon join them. They reunite with Cyclops and Nate and prepare to go to the convening point in order to meet with the others. That about wraps it up for this week. Part 21 is coming next Wednesday on A.C.F.F. --Tim/Nate