Chapter 44

Tibet...

Was where Logan, Domino, Gambit and Sabretooth had managed to follow Mesmero, Rogue and Mystique to. They had managed to land in a near blizzard...kudos to them.

Domino is utterly insane. Logan knows this to be true now more than ever because who in their right mind lands a jet halfway up a mountain?

It's amazing any of them are still breathing.

They come across the jet Mesmero, Rogue and Mystique used. Sabretooth climbs atop of it and sniffs the air to see if he can catch their scent on the howling wind.

Domino tightens her coat up around herself. She's not exactly dressed for winter to put it mildly.

Logan strides froward from the jet and at the 3 sets of footprints in the snow heading off up a mountain path. They can't be that far behind because the prints aren't filled in yet. He bends down. "Hmm, 3 of them," he comments to the others. "And since I can't detect a 3rd scent that must be Mystique." Therefore it is them.

Gambit rolls his eyes. "How about you 2 stop all de sniffing and just follow de footprints!" he snaps half in annoyance, half in frustration.

Domino gets where he's coming from. A long flight over the pacific with Logan and Sabretooth in the same plane...well just imagine the barrels of not fun that was.

"Honestly what is with dose two d'ey miss de obvious," Gambit mutters to Domino as they begin to hike up the mountain. Logan and Creed follow.

"You got several hours," Domino quips.

Gambit chuckles. "Not bad mes petit. Not bad," he gives her praise for her joke.

"Thank you. Oh when this over I'm turning you into a eunuch for sleeping with Rogue," Dom vows.

Gambit pales because she is not joking.

Giza, Egypt...

Down in the maze beneath the Sphinx Shadowcat phases through a wall, scouting ahead. She looks around, backing up...

BAMF!

Backing right up into Nightcrawler. Both teens jump, gasp, spin round and face each other.

Kitty glares at him for a moment for once again startling her(she swears she's going to just snap and kill him one day for that) before resuming looking around. What she sees most closely resembles a columned hall almost, with some of the columns toppled over. There's a set of stairs upward. This could be it. "I think we're close," she says to Kurt in relation to getting to where the Professor said he was in his telepathic message. "Why don't you go up and join the Professor. I'll look for the others," she proposes.

Kurt's expression is sceptical to say the least. "And leave you alone with steel face? Forget it," he refuses. "He shouldn't be trusted."

Kitty arches a solitary eyebrow. "And yet you teleport ahead and leave Clark all alone with him? Hmm? Some friend," she shoots him apart.

"Clark can take care of himself," Kurt argues.

"And I can't?" Kitty asks him, coming dangerously close to being offended.

"Zhat's not vhat I'm saying," Kurt tries to get himself out of the hole he has dug for himself.

"Plus need I remind you Clark's powers are on the fritz," she adds another layer to her tear apart Kurt's logic cake.

"He's still capable of looking after himself."

"And I'm not?" she returns to that.

"Zhat's not vhat I'm saying. Stop twisting it!" Kurt whines at her.

Kitty is coming close to losing it...in laughter. Kurt's too easy. "Kurt...Colossus is not bad. He's a bit of a softy really," she appraises him to be. "Just a bit on the quiet side," she says, not finding that too endearing. Possibly because of Peter and how much she loves his innate babble.

They are both startled when the wall behind them is punched through and Colossus stomps through. "I...I grew concerned," he explains himself almost embarrassed to admit it. In truth it's more his actual real personality coming through that Magneto does not permit him to show.

"See that. Who said Russians were all big bullies, huh?" Superman quips as he steps through the hole Colossus made.

Kitty gives Kurt a look like 'I told you so!'

Superman bends down as something pricks his gaze. He picks up one of those little crystals that Colossus has knocked loose when he demolished the wall from the small pile of debris. There's something about them that has been bothering him all the time they've been searching. Why are they everywhere? And he does mean everywhere. In every wall. Even in places where the walls are just bare stone. It doesn't make sense to go through that much effort when you aren't bothering to decorate those walls with paintings. He brings the crystal up to eye-level and examines it as best he can. "Shadowcat, can you shine that light over here?" he requests for more illumination.

"Sure," Shadowcat agrees and wanders over, shining the light through the clearly blue crystal as it is illuminated. "Man it's pretty," she says, her gaze dreamy. She likes pretty, sparkling things. "What kind of stone is it?" she wonders, not recognising it.

Clark does. "The kind that is responsible for my power loss," Superman says gravely.

"What?" Nightcrawler asks.

Colossus looks on quietly but intrigued and puzzled.

Even with Colossus present Superman tries to explain it. "Blue crystals...power loss...any of this ringing a bell?"

"Oh," Kitty and Kurt say together.

It's blue kryptonite. This is a problem. They've had time to study the variant since they discovered it and Clark's suit isn't as good at protecting him against it as it is against the green stuff. Blue kryptonite gives off a completely different form of radiation that somehow falls in exactly the 3% of radiation the suit can't block. They've been trying to solve it without huge success so far.

"This whole place...it was designed to be a trap for me...or someone like me," Superman concludes.

"How do you come to that conclusion?" Colossus, of all people, asks.

"Stones that can weaken me embedded in every wall. Stones that couldn't have been here in this quantity 5,000years ago." Clark figured that his previous encounter with kryptonite around say the Crystal of Air in China or the spider stone were pieces brought here long ago before Krypton's destruction made the stuff rain from the sky but that was only small amounts. All this...is something else entirely.

"I still don't think that makes any sense, Superman," Shadowcat thinks...because it just doesn't. Who did it? Where did they get this amount of blue kryptonite from? How did they know about its effects on Kryptonians? That's just the 3 big questions. It leads on to many, many more.

"No," Superman agrees that it doesn't make sense. "But anyone else got a better explanation?" he asks.

The answer is no. No-one has a better explanation.

"It's only their small size that prevents them taking all my powers. They have limited range. In the centre of a room I'll be a bit more powerful," Superman gives the only good news he can think of.

"We should continue on," Colossus says. The faster they get out the better for everyone.

"Right on," Superman says in agreement. Though their trip together wasn't so bad. Gave him a chance to try and get to know Colossus and see if he could figure out what it was Magneto had over the guy. Difficult when he was very, very quiet but Clark did find out Colossus grew up on a farm like him so there's a commonality he can use to try and get to know the big Russian better.

The 4 continue their trek towards the Professor and hopefully freedom from this maze. They don't get more than a few steps forward when a red crimson beam blasts a hole through the wall to the left of them.

"There you guys are!" Shadowcat says in relief at seeing Cyclops, Jean, Storm, Iceman and yes even Quicksilver and Pyro as they enter through the hole.

The relief is short lived as the wall further along to the left of Shadowcat virtually explodes and a giant jackal-headed statue and a bird-headed one steps through. Right back to where they started.

"Didn't we just leave this party?" Superman asks, in light humour.

"Tell me about it!" Nightcrawler joins in.

Cyclops and Pyro blast at the bird-headed one before running out the way of the would otherwise be killing them axe as they fail to stop it.

Meanwhile, Superman runs over to a toppled over column. He kicks it, sending it rolling toward the jackal-headed statue and with perfect timing it steps on it as it was advancing on Jean and Storm and co. It falls backward but that'll only slow it down.

"Thanks," Jean says with a smile before it fades when she notices the plaster on his head. Her hand gently reaches toward it.

Meanwhile, at the same moment, Clark has noticed the lump on Jean's head. His hand gently reaches for that.

"You're hurt?" they say together in soft worry for the other...and in Jean's case sheer confusion at how Clark can possibly be injured.

Clark rolls his eyes at their simultaneous queries. "Explain later. Run for our lives right now," Superman decides to say as he takes her raised hand into his own and yanks her along.

"And you can't fly?" Jean works out as she runs alongside him.

"Later!" Superman tells her again as the group all run for their lives in retreat of the forever advancing statues of death.

Up above with Magneto, Polaris, Beast and the Professor, now they had finished reading the story of Apocalypse, their attention had switched to the end of the corridor and the large, clearly metal, heavily decorated, double doors that blocked further progress. They walk to stand in front of them.

"It does beg the question," Beast speculates. "If Apocalypse is not entombed here..."

"What lies within these chambers," Charles finishes it.

"Answers," Magneto declares what it is and reaches out his left hand and uses his powers to tear the doors open. They fall forward away from the group.

"Blunt force is your solution to everything isn't it," Polaris criticises him as she strides purposefully forward.

Magneto sighs.

Beast and Charles say nothing.

The 3 follow her in.

There, in the centre of a large chamber, surrounded by 4 needle pillars standing at corners of what would be a square, is the silvery-grey, covered in strange writing, diamond shaped object the Professor saw in Mesmero's memories and that the walls described.

"Unbelievable," Beast says, truly struggling to find the words at seeing the floating object, just hovering there a few inches off the ground without any indication on how it is doing so.

"Is that that vessel of Rama Tut's from the story?" Polaris asks.

"I believe so," Charles answers as the 4 move closer toward it. "And to think it's been buried under the Sphinx for 5,000years," he says in wonder at just grasping that sheer fact.

As they draw near the strange writing and...actually hieroglyphs as well they can see, they light up and the top half of the vessel slides apart in different direction, opening up, with the parts just hovering there through some unknown means. One section of the bottom half falls open to create a ramp to up inside.

The 4 pause and look at each other before deciding they need to go inside. They do so. They notice an oval indentation in the floor of the vessel.

Beast bends down and brushes his fingers over the edge of the indentation. "Looks like the base for the Eye of Ages," he makes an educated guess from the depiction of the Eye they had seen earlier on the walls when Beast was telling the story. It was an oval shape.

"Yes," Magneto agrees. "But where was it taken?" he asks the only important question right now. Apocalypse's location.

For a supposed vessel there is very little of any sort of instrumentation...or at least nothing recognisable. However, off to the left sitting on a raised part is what looks like a helmet.

The Professor rolls up to it takes it in hand and examines it. It's..familiar. Very familiar. "A cerebral interface," he can plainly see. Just like he uses with Cerebro. "Perhaps this very vessel can tell us," he says in relation to the answer to Magneto's question.

"That's risky, Charles," Beast cautions. They have no idea what sort of brain that interface was designed for. It could kill the Professor.

"I know," Charles accepts Hank's warning. "But I believe it is the only way."

Wow. Polaris can't help but be impressed by the bravery.

Charles puts the helmet on and closes his eyes as he tries to connect. The whole vessel lights up around them.

Just then Beast's communicator beeps.

"Hank!" comes through Logan's distant sounding voice on the device. "Hank are you there?!"

"I'm here!" he responds in a loud voice. "What's your status?"

"We've tracked Rogue to Tibet!"

"And it is freezing my award winning ass off tell him!" comes through Domino's whiny voice.

Hank can't help but smile a little at hearing her and knowing she is alright but he can also hear the blizzard in the background and know she's probably not exaggerating.

"Later Jinx!" Logan tells her off before resuming his report to Hank. "Rogue's here with both Mesmero...and Mystique!" he struggles to say through the gale force winds.

The conversation makes Charles pause for a moment and listen in.

"They're in Tibet," Hank relays what he is hearing.

"Yes," Magneto says as if this clarifies things. "The highest reaches of the world."

"That's where Apocalypse is!" Polaris gets it with momentary excitement at the fact they have what they set out for.

"Wolverine, what are you're exact coordinates?" Hank needs. Logan gives them and Hank nods along. "Right. Makalu Peak," Hank gets. 5th highest mountain in the world. "Ok. Got it. Until we can get there stop them anyway you can!" he instructs Logan because they're going to need those 4 to buy the rest of them time to get there.

Tibet...

What none of the 4 hunters realise is that they are being watched and listened to from up ahead.

Rogue smiles as she hears what they've been waiting for. "That's it. He's told them where we are."

"And we want them to know that why?" Mystique asks. From leaving the States to here they've been leaving a trail they knew could be followed. That's why Rogue has not used her stolen powers beyond needing to save the energy for Apocalypse.

"The Great Apocalypse foresees all," Mesmero responds. "In their rush to try and get here to stop us Xavier will bring the very object Apocalypse needs to carry out his plans. Destiny has a way of ensuring all falls into place."

"It's got a wondrous majesty about it, don't it Mama?" Rogue says, her face alight with that very wonder.

"However, now they have passed on our location these 4 are no longer necessary," Mesmero decrees.

Rogue looks a little pained at that. "Shame. Ah'll miss Dom," she reflects. "But sacrifices must beh made and all that," she says so casually it's hard to believe that it's the same Rogue they all knew.

"Indeed," Mesmero concurs as he unleashes a powerful psychic attack on the 4 below him.

The cry out in pain as he invades their minds and leaves a powerful instruction they can't ignore to destroy themselves.

Believing he has achieved what he set out to do Mesmero turns and he, Rogue and Mystique resume their walk up the mountain.

Down on their knees Domino, Logan, Gambit and Sabretooth try to let the pain fade.

"Xavier's mental black just saved our lives," Logan says as that is all that prevented them doing what Mesmero instructed them to...which would have been bad since he was being told to basically go Berzerker rage on them all. He and the others get back to their feet.

"Especially yours," Sabretooth says with cruel humour to Logan. "Mesmero was telling me to push you off the mountain. Problem is I'm still tempted," he smirks as he resumes the walk.

Logan snarls angrily.

Gambit and Domino walk past him.

"Why don't you two do us all a favour," Domino says, grumbling at them. There is only so much even she can take of these two.

And Gambit finishes her thought. "Why don't you both jump off de mountain!"

Giza, Egypt...

Back with the group of 9 mutants and 1 alien fighting for their lives they were climbing what you would guess you could call stairs...but they were huge. Each block was as tall as a person so it was slow work climbing up and their 2 giant attackers were gaining ground every second.

For Kitty, who isn't the tallest person to start with, it's a big struggle. She is aided by Colossus who is on the step above her. He offers his hand which she takes and he lifts her up. Next to him Superman is lifting Jean up to the next step above.

She looks back and gasps. They're out of time. The statues are here.

The bird-headed one tries to squash Quicksilver with a fist. "Whoa," he says as he flips backward out of the way up to the next step before blurring away.

The jackal-headed statue moves to climb the steps...and that is when you can see they were designed for them. They're exactly the right sized steps for giant statues.

Kitty also sees an opportunity. She dives forward and grabs the leg, phasing the whole thing until it sinks into the stone almost up to the knee. She phases out the bottom step and reappears on the floor.

"Jean," Superman calls out and she knows what he wants her to do. "Colossus, together," he says.

Colossus nods and they both leap at the stuck statue, fists stretched out. Jean gives them both a telekinetic shove, accelerating them and they impact into the chest...right into it, smashing through the stone and metal, toppling it over, destroying and disabling it.

As he pulls himself free Superman shakes his head. Ok, he feels that more when he's only durable and not invulnerable. Luckily this is a big space and he's much further away from his blue kryptonite blight than he might have otherwise been. Still he's far away from his usual level of power.

"Yeah! Whoo!" Shadowcat cheers. "What a team!" she celebrates. "Look out!" she shouts as her mood shifts 180 as the other statue brings its axe down at Colossus and Superman who are still standing within the hole in the chest of the statue they have felled together.

"Sorry about this," Superman says, thinking quickly as he raises his foot and pushes off Colossus' chest, sending the Russian one way and himself the other as the axe comes down right between where they were moments earlier.

Superman rolls backward over the statue and lands on his feet in a crouch. He glances up at the statue. If only he had his full powers...but he doesn't and this fight is far from over yet.

Tibet...

Rogue, Mystique and Mesmero enter the cave that is the entrance to the tomb/prison of Apocalypse. Behind them a stone door slides into place sealing them away from the outside world...and sheltering them from the god awful weather. The 3 walk to the other end of the cave, up to the 3rd and final door, upon which is engraved the scarab beetle pushing the sun symbol for Apocalypse.

Mystique notes how there are so many languages and symbols and relics from so many different cultures scattered about the cave. Huh, Rogue wasn't kidding about what she said about this guy having once had a kingdom that stretched across the world.

Mesmero pulls his hood down. "The day has finally come, Great Apocalypse," he announces with something akin to joy. "I now deliver the final key. The shape-shifting mutant, Mystique," he introduces her as he holds his arm out in her direction.

Mystique gasps in shock. That's not what they told her! "What do you mean I'm the key?! I thought you said you needed me to get the key!"

"Whoopsie," Rogue playfully feigns regret, holding her finger to her curving upward lips as she laughs at the joke. "Sorry Mama, we were not entirely truthful ah must confess."

"Then what is the truth?!" Mystique wants to know, her tone scolding.

"Together we're tha 3rd key. Ya and ah. We're both needed for Apocalypse ta cross tha threshold," Rogue explains it. "Wasn't sure how ya would take it so we decided not ta tell ya until we were here."

"I agreed to this because you both said our futures, mine and my children's, would be secured. That we would be able to be together as a family," Mystique reminds them both of what they promised. "Was that true?"

"Of course," Mesmero assures her. "Apocalypse will not forget those that are loyal."

"Why didn't you just enslave me if this was so important?"

"Mama!" Rogue says in shock. "Do ya really think ah would have allowed him ta do that ta ya? Though that's not to say he didn't try when he thought ah wasn't looking!" she accuses him with a harsh, scolding glare.

Mesmero chuckles as if this is nothing, a minor thing, a trifle. "I was unable. Your powers of control are formidable," he tells Mystique.

"Don't worry Mama. Ah promise ya we had words about it," Rogue says shooting Mesmero another scolding glare.

Mystique supposes she should feel better that Rogue opposed her enslavement. "Just remember this circus freak. Next time you try, remember you can't and then imagine what I'll do to you," she threatens.

Rogue giggles. "As much fun as this is we should get on with it."

Mystique agrees. "What is needed of me?" she asks for details.

Mesmero walks forward and theatrically takes his staff and points it downward at a small hole in the door near the floor. "Upon entering through there you'll find the engraved sign of Apocalypse. Place your hand on it and the door will open," he instructs her.

"It's lahke a pressure switch," Rogue elaborates. "That's why it needs two of us. Ya have ta hold tha door open while ah give Apocalypse tha energy he needs. Once freed he can disable tha mechanism and we can all serve him in a much bettah world."

Mystique looks suspicious for a moment. Seems a little easy but she has no reason to doubt her daughter. Mystique approaches the door and transforms herself into a snake, a cobra to be exact. She slithers through the hole, missing the look and dark smiles Rogue and Mesmero give each other.

On the other side Mystique finds herself in a small circular stone room with a pedestal in the centre. Apart from the hole she just entered through there are no other exits. She transforms herself back to her natural form and sees the mark of Apocalypse on the top of the pedestal. She reaches forward with her right hand and the mark glows...she pauses in surprise before deciding to go through with it and places her hand down flat.

The stones around her start to rotate round and round and she tries to pull her hand back...only she can't. It's stuck. She uses her other hand to try and yank it free but to no avail. Some force is holding her hand against the pedestal.

The stones begin to realign and she briefly sees Rogue and Mesmero...but she also feels something else, something deeply unpleasant as a force seem to hijack her body. She can't control her powers as the hand touching the pedestal turns to stone and it spreads upward along her arms. There is one last cry from her before she is completely petrified to stone, her face locked forever in an expression of fear and pain.

The stones have now aligned to create a passage through. The 3rd and final door has been opened.

Rogue walks in up to her mother. "Whoopsie," she says falsely, directly to the stone face. "Guess ah forgot ta mention that. One last security measure. Whoevah opens tha last door has ta sacrifice their life. Tries ta put off tha uncommitted. Sorry Mama, lahke ah said sacrifices must beh made...and ya deserve this," Rogue says, her voice turning full of malice. "Ya will nevah use meh again and it warms mah heart ta know that your last thought is ta know how it feels ta beh used and betrayed lahke ya have used so many othahs...especially you're own children. When ya see Anubis tell him Rogue sent ya," she says in reference to the Egyptian God of the Dead, her voice revealing her bitter, bitter anger of Mystique.

Mesmero finds this deeply amusing. Rogue had quite the vindictive streak. Using Mystique's motherly desires against her to manipulate her into aiding them and then Rogue willingly agreeing to sacrifice her own mother in the service of Apocalypse. These are traits that will serve Rogue well in the new order to come. May even slightly impress their Master.

Rogue waves her mother off with a snort of disdain and heads down the staircase in front of her, at the bottom of which lies the Eye of Ages and within that, Apocalypse himself.

Mesmero then hears something behind him and turns round to see the slab covering the door glowing brightly. Can't be.

Outside Gambit has his hands pressed against it, charging it up. "Fire in de hole!" he announces as he dives out of the way. Domino, Logan and Sabretooth were already pressed up against the rock face on the other side.

The stone slab explodes and the 4 charge in.

Mesmero stands at the door ready to defend it. He raises his arms high. "Destiny has played its hand. Do not interfere!" he orders. He can guess it's Xavier's doing that they aren't dead.

"Oh bite my frozen award winning ass!" Dom tells him off snidely. And it is both award winning and frozen so completely accurate statement.

Logan snarls in rage and pops his claws. They give him the first shot as he charges at the bald telepath.

Mesmero twirls his staff and readies it in a defensive position indicating he knows how to fight with it.

Logan strikes with his claws and Mesmero uses his staff to block. As soon as Logan's claws touch the staff an enormous electrical charge goes right through him, stunning him, sending him crashing to the floor. No normal staff then if it can survive adamantium.

Gambit charges in with his own staff and they exchange blows until Gambit's staff breaks in half. He looks at it in shock. This is not going to be as easy as thought.

Mesmero aims his staff at Gambit and the end glows and fires a blast into the Cajun thief's chest sending him flying and smashing into a statue.

Domino tries a few shots and to her surprise Mesmero manages to use his staff to deflect every single one...including one right into a charging Sabretooth which Mesmero then follows up with a blast of his own knocking the big feral mutant down.

Domino blinks and aims her weapons again.

Mesmero smirks. The fools probably thought him an easy mark. They have no idea who he is or what he is capable of doing. "You know, child, Rogue wished for you to survive. Surrender now, pledge your eternal servitude to Apocalypse and you may yet live through this," he offers her.

"I'm not a child," Domino scoffs. "I'm more woman than you'll ever be able to handle, bub...oh dear God I just sounded like Logan," she says in disgust.

Mesmero laughs and the battle resumes with Domino firing shots off and he deflecting them but she has a plan. Trust her. Logan will recover. She just needs to get Mesmero's focus on her and not him so he doesn't see it coming.

The problem Domino doesn't realise she faces is time...or lack of as Rogue draws near the Eye of Ages. She reaches over and touches a spider symbol on top of it. It glows and the top half sections of the Eye open, revealing the withered form of Apocalypse within, exactly as he had been left 50 centuries ago. The grey skin, the blue markings on his face and body and his blue lips, dressed in a royal Pharaoh's clothing.

"Ah am here, mah Pharaoh," Rogue says in reverence. "All has gone according ta your plan."

Ancient eyes blink open for the first time in a long time and though his body is weak his eyes show the true power within and now, as fate has decreed, his time had come once again.

Giza, Egypt...

The group of X-Men and Acolytes had finally reached the top of those stairs with great effort and the fact the last remaining statue was still in pursuit of them hadn't helped. It once again swings and misses with its axe at the stragglers. Cyclops blasts a hole in the double doors at the top of the stairs and they enter the chamber with the vessel and Magneto, Beast, Polaris and the Professor.

The statue walks though the wall next to the door, bursting in.

Magneto makes a move to deal with it when Polaris steps in front of him. "I've got this," she tells him assuredly. She needs something to work out her temper on. She raises her hands, picks the statue up and with a cry of rage throws it backward into the wall.

Cyclops, Storm and Pyro blast it with varying attacks.

When Clark notices one thing, the fact there are none of those twinkling crystals in this chamber, a smile comes to him and his eyes glow deep red and he joins the attack with heat vision erupting from his eyes in a powerful blast.

Inside the vessel the Professor is trying to interact with it and sort through the many confusing images he sees. His eyes are closed as he concentrates with all he has. "This is a vessel," he says, his voice strained. "It was built here on Earth ages ago...no wait," he corrects himself as he sees the truth. "Ages from now. It travels instantaneously." His eyes snap open. "I know how to operate it!" he says in glorious revelation.

"And I know where to take it," Beast says, realising this is their way out and their way to get to Tibet, hopefully in time.

Meanwhile the statue manages to resist all attacks on it as it once more resumes its advance.

Polaris digs deep into her festering anger at her father and unleashes her full power, her eyes glow green as a green aura erupts all around her. She splays the statue out, pinning it back, leaving the joints more vulnerable.

The attacks from the group begin to crack the stone covering.

"Superman, the right knee with me," Cyclops instructs and the two boys unleash their visual blasts together and slice the leg off at the knee.

The statue drops down on its stump but remains upright as Polaris strains to hold it in place.

"Everyone! On board! Now!" Beast orders.

They all run toward him. Quicksilver just blurs away ahead of everyone, as usual thinking of only himself. Superman and Cyclops ensure they are at the back to make sure everyone else gets on board first.

They hear the statue squawk loudly behind them, turn and fire a joint blast that blows the left arm off.

The statue topples over forward, damaged but not destroyed yet. It squawks loudly again. It won't quit for as long as it functions.

Tibet...

The fight with Mesmero continues. Gambit was on to Domino's ploy of distracting the bald tattooed freak as he moves in close and dodges the swinging staff making Mesmero look anywhere but at Logan who charges in when he sees his chance. Using his claws he manages to pin the staff to the floor even as the electrical-like charge shocks his body and he cries out in pain.

"Hey super Hairy," Dom calls out to Sabretooth. "Give him the coup-de-grace!"

Sabretooth roars and charges right at Mesmero, flinging himself at the man. He grabs him and propels them both hard into the wall, something Sabretooth can take a lot better than Mesmero can. They smash into the wall and Mesmero is knocked out.

Course this makes no difference to Rogue down at the bottom of the stairs. It is Apocalypse she serves, not Mesmero.

Apocalypse's hand reaches up and out for her.

"These powers that ah have gathered in your nahme ah freely give ta ya so tha world may be graced with your glorious presence once again, Great Apocalypse," she says as she takes the offered hand, her green eyes full of the love for him Apocalypse forced into her.

Rogue knew there would be pain but it was all ok. She was in service of her Lord and Master and her cry of pain is the cry of a new world being born.

At the Institute...

This is always the worst bit. Hanging around. Waiting to see if their friends survived their latest challenge.

It's also rather dull, just waiting to hear. The best you can do is try and distract yourself even if that means watching mediocre television.

Most of the remaining students were there, doing that, sitting around...

...until suddenly Marie and Wanda cry out in pain. The French girl's eyes go completely white and Wanda's glow scarlet red.

They rise off their chairs and hang, suspended in mid-air.

"The First One is free!" they scream together before chanting along, almost in rhyme, "Woe, woe to the world for now darkness will befall it and spread to all 4 corners of the Earth. The Children of Apocalypse shall rise and humanity will evolve or die. Four will be chosen to ride the steeds and they shall lead his new armies. Night has fallen and the sun shall never rise again. Death will touch the millions. Suffering will become all man will know. The strong will survive and get stronger. The weak will perish as they should. The Age of Apocalypse has begun!"

The two girls then fall like stones to the floor, shaking as if having fits.

"Mr Cassidy!/Mr and Mrs Kent!" come the truly terrified screams.

Tibet...

From Rogue, ghostly images of the people she has absorbed flow into Apocalypse as he takes their life energy to replenish his own.

Magneto, Polaris, Gambit, Pyro, Sabretooth, Colossus, Quicksilver, Regan, Martinique, Alicia, Frenzy, many, many more of the mutants that have joined Magneto's ranks. Then come the X-Men. The Professor, Beast, Storm, Banshee, Thunderbird, Domino, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, Cyclops, Jean, Iceman, Siryn, Betsy, Tarot, Volcana and on and on it goes, from all those she took in that one night. Lastly come two people almost identical in appearance. Both look like Clark but are the two disparate sides of his personality including the more rebellious one Rogue had inadvertently and unknowingly kept all these months.

As each moment passes Apocalypse's vigour returns. His youthfulness returns to his face. His body grows young, virile and strong.

Up above Logan and Domino charge through the 3rd door, desperately trying to get to Rogue, not realising they are already too late. They only pause momentarily at seeing Mystique. Logan manages a growl. She did this to herself.

They run through and get halfway down the stairs to see Rogue in the grip of Apocalypse.

"Oh my God," Domino whispers in horror as she realises what this means. They've failed.

The transfer ends and Rogue collapses to the floor unconscious. Logan and Domino rush to her side.

"Rogue," Logan says in a gruff but soft concern for his daughter as he raises her head to rest in his lap.

"Rogue," Domino also says her name in concern for her little sister as she brushes some of Rogue's now sweaty hair back off the girl's face.

Then a bright, blinding light catches their gaze. They look as Apocalypse rises from the Eye of Ages, literally pulsating with glowing energy and all they can do is look on frozen in wonder, mystery and horror.

Giza, Egypt...

That is one stubborn statue. Clark has to give it that. Lost an arm, lost a leg but it's still coming, using its axe to pull itself toward them as he and Scott leap inside the vessel. Last ones aboard!

Magneto looks out as the statue comes nearer. "Any time Charles," he strongly encourages his old friend to get on with it.

The diamond like vessel closes up and begins to glow.

As the statue prepares for the final blow the vessel vanishes and its axe hits nothing but air.

Tibet...

Under the vessel in Egypt there had been a circular motif filled with hieroglyphs. In the cave in Tibet an identical ring lights up as the vessel appears in a blinding flash of light.

Down the stairs Apocalypse floats past Domino and Logan without sparing them a glance as he heads for the stairs and freedom. After so very long, nearly an eternity, freedom at last.

Logan and Domino share a look and an understanding. She pulls out her weapons. He pops his claws. It may be hopeless but they have to try.

With a roar Logan charges at Apocalypse, leaping into the air, preparing to finish this fatally.

Domino fires off her weapons, giving Logan cover. The blasts gets nowhere near the great, ancient mutant as they bounce off what looks like a TK shield.

As Logan draws near, Apocalypse finally permits the man a mere glance out of the corner of his eye. He closes his right hand into a fist and sends Logan flying back, right into Domino and the two collapse down on the floor in a heap out like lights.

In the cave the passengers of the vessel disembark, joining Sabretooth and Gambit, to be confronted by the floating mutant glowing and pulsating with energy as he crosses the threshold of the door.

They all gasp, suddenly short of breath at the sight of him. This was it. The dark force...the terrible thing that was coming to plague their world. There it was right in front of them, free.

Apocalypse stretches his arms out to his side as the group of 16 prepare to confront him. He won't leave this place without a fight. This they promise.

Apocalypse claps his hands together in front of him and an unstoppable wave of telekinetic energy erupts from them. It flattens all who stand in his way with immense, close to bone shattering force...and it was as easy as if swatting flies for Apocalypse. He continues his path, past his fallen foes, towards the vessel and floats inside.

Magneto, holding his ribs, manages to rise up and use his power to try and stop the vessel closing up and prevent Apocalypse escaping.

Superman pushes himself to his feet, every cell of his body feels like it is bruised. Clark's never felt anything like that but Magneto's delay has given him another shot. Everyone else is down and only Clark's alien physiology is allowing him to have recovered this quickly. It's up to him. He propels himself through the air at Apocalypse with all the speed and power he can muster.

Moments before he strikes home Apocalypse's right hand shoots up and Superman freezes in mid-air, held suspended by an invisible force and he cannot move. Not forward, nor backward, nor anything. He's stuck helplessly like a fly in invisible amber.

Apocalypse's head turns, his intense gaze latches on and Clark feels like he is being looked at down to his soul.

"DESTINY," Apocalypse's immense telepathic voice rings inside Clark's head which is a shock to him let him tell you. His eyes widen in response. The only other time anyone got inside his head, not including Jor-El, was when magic was involved.

"DESTINY," Apocalypse repeats. "DESTINY CANNOT BE STOPPED. NOT EVEN BY YOU...KAL-EL."

Clark's eyes go real wide now at the use of his real name.

"WE SHALL MEET AGAIN," Apocalypse promises. "ON YOUR 2ND DAY OF DESTINY AND YOUR TRUE PURPOSE SHALL BE REVEALED. UNTIL THEN..."

Next thing Clark knows is being shot away faster than a bullet and colliding with the cave wall and penetrating into it several feet before the impact does what it shouldn't do and knocks him out cold.

Apocalypse glances down at Magneto and lowers his hand to point a finger at the man in the red helmet. Another small wave of telekinetic energy is emitted, striking Magneto down. He lands hard next to the fallen Professor.

With that the vessel closes up and vanishes in a flash of light signalling Apocalypse's escape.

A few moments go by before anyone has the strength to say anything.

"We...have failed," Magneto says in a pained voice.

"Yes," Charles says, his voice pained and defeated. He then adds with great foreboding of what lies ahead, "Our greatest battle is just beginning."

To be Continued in SmallvilleX Evolution: Ascension

Author's Note: Well this wasn't going to finish any other way than with Apocalypse's escape now was it. Though I must admit I did enjoy writing evil Rogue in this. She's a lot of fun. Now whether she remains under Apocalypse's thrall you'll just have to wait and see. It occurred to me re-watching this episode that it didn't make a huge amount of sense the way they were able to follow Rogue, Mesmero and Mystique all the way to Tibet. With all the powers Rogue stole they could have been away without trace unless they wanted to be followed which is what I decided to add. I had the ending in my head for ages. Clark unable to even touch Apocalypse and the great mutant speaking telepathically to him, something that's never been possible by anyone else. I considered finishing this story off with an epilogue to show what happened immediately next but I decided it doesn't need one. Anything I need to say can be told flashback style at the start of the next story. So thanks to everyone who wrote reviews and I hope to see you back for my next story!