'Your game ends now, Apocalypse!' Warren Worthington III a.k.a. Archangel shouts as he breaks into Apocalypse's lair on Arrako, and lashes out with his razor-sharp wings at the uber-mutant, who dodges the attack and frowns at his former soldier. 'What you do here is up to Arakko. But I won't allow you to manipulate anyone else I care about down on Earth' Archangel scowls. En Sabah Nur tells Archangel that he has some respect for his passion: 'But no one "allows" Apocalypse to do anything!' the ancient mutant booms as he increases his mass several times and knocks Archangel back with a powerful punch. Archangel frowns as he brushes some rubble off and tells Apocalypse that he is no longer afraid of him. 'I survived your twins. Survived the Death Seed. Survived what you made me!' he declares, to which Apocalypse states that he would see to it that all of their brethren become survivors in turn.
At that moment, in Aswan, Egypt, where several locals and tourists look in as Nathan Summers a.k.a. Cable, Laura Kinney a.k.a. Wolverine and Forge confront the diabolical Mr. Sinister. 'Sinister's playing dirty. That ends – now' Cable declares as he raises a large weapon. 'Why, I would never' Sinister smirks. While Wolverine points her claws towards Sinister, Forge also aims a gun at Sinister's head, and tells the others that he has no hang-ups about atomizing Sinister once and for all. 'But not here. These people have been through enough' Forge points out, as the civilians stand among rubble and flame of the battle that has just played out. Wolverine looks over at the dazed civilians and retracts her claws, while Cable stands over Sinister and warns him that he is not taking his eyes off him. 'I think you mean "eye," singular' Sinister jokes.
Dani Moonstar a.k.a. Mirage walks over to where Emma Frost is crouched nearby, clutching her head, while in her diamond form, and asks her if she thinks she could help calm the crowd. 'I'm not sure my projections will lower the tension' Dani explains. Emma ignores the younger mutant and tells her that Sinister is only here to betray them, and that she wishes they all had diamond skin – wishes they were all beyond harm. 'Well, that's terribly rude' Sinister wails. 'Betrayal may be a favored pastime of mine, but I have perfectly valid reasons to enroll in Apocalypse's little round-robin' he claims.
(Earlier)
Sinister steps confidently through a portal and announces 'A little birdie – by which i mean, genius recording nanotechnology I've planted near some key mutant figures – told me you were seeking an heir. Well, look no further!' to which Apocalypse turns and grabs Sinister by his throat: 'Your mutant gene is not your own. You are a pretender to our species' he frowns. 'Exactly. After all the trouble I went through to become a mutant... who has more reason to want to see us succeed?' Sinister asks as Apocalypse continues to hold his throat tightly.
(Now)
Doug Ramsey a.k.a. Cypher walks past Emma and announces that he will do his best to calm the people down. He stands before a group of them and addresses them in Egyptian Arabic. He tells them that he knows they are all frightened, and assures them that the danger has passed, but that he needs them all to avoid any structures until engineers can test their integrity. He adds that there are people he can call to help them. 'Oh yes, the translator's good for something beyond gossiping to landmasses. I forgot' Sinister mocks, before Forge frowns at him and responds 'More than we can say about you, pale boy'. Sinister looks annoyed and tells Forge 'Surely you died once or twice on the island. I wager you appreciated my comprehensive genetics work when it came time to fertilize those golden eggs you lot abused so readily'.
'Shut up, Sinister' Cable declares as he pushes past the manipulative villain and approaches Emma and Dani, asking them what is next. 'This game over, or do we hoof it back to Apocalypse's proving grounds?' he asks. 'I'm tired of sand, Nathan. Tired of all of this' Emma responds, when suddenly, all seven mutants turn as a voice calls out 'Genocide's rampage was more targeted than it seemed'. It's Tomi Shishido a.k.a. Gorgon, who holds up a small red object, possibly the remains of Genocide's armor. 'Stale air. Smells just like -' Wolverine begins, as the ground parts beneath them all, and Gorgon points out that Apocalypse's warren weaves under the city itself. 'This was all planned. We never left his test' Gorgon declares. 'Damn. Once more unto the breach' Forge frowns, while Cypher scratches his head.
Back on Arakko, Apocalypse uses a shield to deflect several of Archangel's razor-sharp feather-blades that are hurled towards him. 'You never learn, Apocalypse. Mutantkind doesn't want your kind of "help"!' Archangel exclaims, before he is knocked backwards by Apocalypse who transforms his hand into a large weapon. 'Yes. That was made abundantly clear during my final efforts to save Krakoa' Apocalypse remarks. He remembers fighting Cyclops, Iceman, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Wolverine and Storm, as he tells Archangel that Xavier was a man of vision, but that his vision failed their homeland, so it fell to him to ensure that Krakoa was not lost as Arakko once was – to win this war of ideals. But the mutants Xavier tutored slung stubbornly to the past – even those among them who Apocalypse believed worthy of respect, like Storm, failed to see that only he could lead mutants to a better future. Apocalypse stands over Archangel and claims that that experience humbled him, and announces that he is not who the mutants of Earth need to lead them forward now.
Back in Egypt, under Aswan, Cable leads the way along a bridge which is surrounded by large statues of the First Horsemen. Cable tells Sinister that if he even twitches suspiciously, Wolverine will make sure his cape isn't the only thing sliced to ribbons. Suddenly, Cypher tells Cable to hold up, as he notices some etchings on the bridge, and realizes that they aren't random, but is some sort of language. 'Hmm. This might disable -' Cypher begins as he presses a panel next to the etchings, only for large jagged spikes to raise upwards on the bridge, right in front of Cable. 'I'm going to assume those etchings said exactly where the that trap was placed. Down to the centimeter' Cable scowls at Cypher, who smiles sheepishly and gulps.
Gorgon steps forward and offers to clear the way, to which Sinister decides that this seems like as good a time as any for a dramatic betrayal – and flicks a small object towards Gorgon. Wolverine sees this: 'Warned you' she snaps as she shoves her claws through Sinister's side, causing the villain to cry out in agony and keel over, just as the object he threw at Gorgon strikes Gorgon in the head. Gorgon swirls around and leaps towards Cypher with his blade raised overhead. Gorgon growls, while Cable warns everyone tyo back up – but it's too late, as Gorgon crashes into Cypher, he begins to fall over the side of the bridge – but luckily, Forge reaches out and grabs Cypher by his jacket. Wolverine rushes towards Gorgon while informing everyone else that it is a control disk, and Sinister has sent Gorgon into a berserker rage. 'He's beyond reason. Unless we can disable it – we have to put him down!' Wolverine exclaims as her claws clang against Gorgon's blade, before Gorgon kicks her backwards. Wolverine falls to the bridge, as Cable moves forward and calls out 'Fine by me' as he opens fire at Gorgon, sending Gorgon careening backwards.
'We've had enough death!' Mirage announces as she raises a psi-arrow. 'There has to be another day' she remarks as she fires her arrow, striking Gorgon's mind and causing him to collapse at Sinister's feet. 'Nonlethal psionic arrows? Feh' Sinister mutters, before stating that he expected Gorgon to eviscerate a few of them before his brain was scrambled. In her diamond form, Emma steps forward and declares that this is ridiculous, and warns Sinister that his stint in this game ends now. 'What're the odds ol' Gorgie's stone gaze works while he's unconscious?' Sinister asks as he removes Gorgon's blindfold. 'I'm sure Apocalypse will appreciate some new statuary in his endless underground maze' Sinister jokes before turning and running away down the bridge. 'No. You've weaponized your last mutant, Sinister' Emma declares as she places her diamond-hard hand over Gorgon's eyes.
(Earlier)
Reclining on a chair aboard a yacht, Emma Frost wears a wide-brimmed hat and holds a cocktail glass in one hand. 'It would be so easy to be someone else. To do anything else. I tried it under absoutely horrendous conditions and pulled off the charade beautifully. Even as a brunette' Emma declares as she holds up a brunette wig in her other hand. 'But you cannot' a figure standing in front of her responds. 'Because my dirty little secret is that I'm somehow the responsible one. I care too much. I are so much it kills me' Emma responds, narrowing her eyes.
(Now)
Sinister looks over his shoulder: 'I'm sure we can discuss this like rational – oh, who am i kidding? Bombs away!' he declares as he hurls a sphere towards the other mutants, which hits the bridge and causes it to explode, knocking Emma and Wolverine off the bridge, along with Gorgon's unmoving body. 'What a delightful accident!' Sinister exclaims. 'You're coming with us, cretin!' Emma telepathically tells Sinister as she reverts to her human form. 'Jump' she instructs him. 'Oh, no you don't, you wretched -' Sinister begins, before following Emma's command and leaping from the bridge. 'I was so close!' he calls out.
At that moment, Archangel tells Apocalypse that he is not capable of humility. 'Perhaps not' Apocalypse agrees, before boasting that he is shrewd. 'And I will put the needs of my species above my own pride' he claims. 'Any lives lost in the process – those are expendable to you, then?' Archangel asks. Apocalypse adjusts what looks like a holographic doorknob and claims that he will not lie to his Angel of Death. 'Human lives still matter very little to me, beyond the repercussions mutants may face for taking them. But with mutant lives...I've grown a bit more precious'. Large doors part, to Archangel's shock.
'What...?' Archangel utters, wide-eyed as he sees eleven several stasis tanks hanging in the room before him. Eight of the tanks are already inhabited – four contain Emma, Wolverine, Gorgon and Sinister, while the other four house the mutants earlier lost on this mission – Monet, Rictor, Exodus and Armageddon Girl. 'Each of them, teleported here, at the moment of their failure' Apocalypse explains, before telling Archangel that, if he wishes, he may stay here to safeguard them when they awaken. 'But you cannot stop me now, Archangel. I will see to it that mutantkind has a future...I will find my heir!' Apocalypse declares.
At the ruined bridge, Cable suggests that he can use his telekinesis to jump them across to the other side one-by-one. 'No. Think of who we've lost. I'm done. I'm heading back. Screw Apocalypse -' Mirage begins, when suddenly, there is a rumbling, as the four statues of the First Horsemen appear to come to life and loom the remaining four mutants. 'I don't think we can leave, Dani. I think we have to finish this!' Cypher exclaims.
