Jean was missing.
Realizing this, Charles's first reaction was to use his powers to reach out, to connect with Jean's mind. But no matter how desperately he called her name, he received no response.
He tried contacting Saiki Kusuo next.
"What is it, Professor Charles?" Saiki's mental voice responded almost instantly.
"Jean is missing."
Those three words stopped Saiki in his tracks. Not because he harbored any particular feelings for Jean that made him worry, but because a terrible suspicion suddenly formed in his mind.
A suspicion that was confirmed when he teleported back to the pyramid.
Jean, who should have been outside with the others, was now lying on the same stone bed Charles had occupied earlier. Her eyes were tightly shut, clearly unconscious. Apocalypse stood beside her, looking down imperiously, strange incantations spilling from his lips.
Sometime during Saiki's absence, another stone altar had appeared nearby – one clearly prepared for Apocalypse himself.
So that was why the ancient mutant had let Charles go so easily. Just as Saiki suspected, Apocalypse had found a more suitable vessel. Neither Saiki nor Charles, however, had imagined that vessel would be Jean.
Logically, with Saiki present, Jean shouldn't have been in mortal danger. But Jean was one of the X-Men, one of their own. They couldn't just stand by while a teammate was in peril.
"Give the order, Boss." Erik Lehnsherr's voice was grim, using a title he usually reserved only for the most formal, serious occasions.
"Excuse me, have you seen this man?"
Just as they were steeling themselves to charge in and rescue Jean, a young woman seemed to appear out of nowhere. She held out a photograph, directing her question to Pietro.
The girl had striking green, curly hair and a face that was both beautiful and innocent. Her clear voice instantly made Pietro blush. He stammered for a moment, lowering his head to look at the photo to hide his embarrassment. He blinked. Wasn't this the same kind of badly photoshopped picture Wanda carried – the kind where the subject was barely recognizable? Except, in this version, the mother figure beside the man had been cut out.
Pietro looked up, confused and about to ask, when Wanda, standing behind him, gasped in surprise. "Lorna? What are you doing here?"
Lorna, who had seemed rather listless and emotionless just moments before, broke into a smile upon seeing Wanda.
"Fancy meeting you here, Wanda." She waved the photo slightly. "You know, I'm looking for that man. I heard there was someone living here who grants any request, so I thought I'd come ask him to help me find the man in the picture."
Wanda's smile vanished, replaced by an unnerving, almost chilling expression. She pointed a finger towards Erik.
"I don't think you need to look any further."
Lorna understood Wanda's meaning almost instantly. A cold sneer touched her lips. Around them, pieces of metal began to rattle and hum, drawn towards Lorna's outstretched hands.
Raven clicked her tongue, glancing sideways at Erik, who suddenly looked like doom was impending. "You can tell she's your kid, alright," she quipped.
Erik shot her an irritated glare. "Now is not the time for jokes, Raven."
Turning back to Lorna, he exerted his own power, forcibly suppressing the metallic objects coalescing around her. Meeting the girl's hostile, rejecting gaze, Erik felt a pang in his chest but kept his emotions in check, striving for a stern, serious demeanor.
"I am truly sorry for what happened to you and your mother," he said gravely. "However, this isn't the right time for this conversation. We have urgent business. Once this is resolved, I promise I will give you the explanation you deserve."
Lorna, unlike the often volatile Wanda, possessed a measure of control. Though resentment still simmered beneath the surface, Erik's words helped her calm down somewhat.
"What business?" she asked coolly.
"One of our teammates has been captured," Erik answered honestly. "We're going to rescue her now."
Lorna stepped up beside him. "Then I'll help. The sooner we deal with this, the sooner we can settle our own affairs."
Truthfully, Erik and Raven's direct intervention was no longer necessary. Having received Erik's promise, both Wanda and Lorna were suddenly filled with fierce determination.
Polaris—Lorna, outwardly cold but inwardly ferocious—acted decisively. With clean, brutal efficiency, she unleashed her powers, and the massive pyramid before them groaned, buckled, and collapsed into utter ruin.
Everyone else: "..."
Seemingly oblivious to the breathtaking destruction she had just wrought, Lorna dusted off her hands. Her expression remained impassive, but her tone held a hint of seeking praise as she addressed Erik. "How was that? Ahem, I mean, now that that's taken care of, when can we talk?"
Erik stared at the rubble. "...I don't think you understood me, child. We were going to rescue someone."
"I know," Lorna replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The bad guy kidnapped your friend. I just got rid of the bad guy and his base. Isn't the crisis averted?"
"But the problem is, our teammate was still inside with the bad guy!" Hank couldn't help but point out, his voice strained.
Lorna scoffed. "Sacrifices are necessary to eliminate evil. Your fallen comrade will understand your difficult decision."
"I think you're the one who needs eliminating!" Alex retorted, unable to hold back his frustration. "And we don't even know Jean's condition yet! Don't just declare her dead, okay?"
Erik looked like he was developing a massive headache. Perhaps it was karma for all the trouble he'd caused in his youth, ensuring that not only was his reputation shot in his later years, but any newly discovered children were proving to be more problematic than the last. He felt too weary to even begin correcting Lorna's twisted, extremist thinking.
"Let's go," he said tiredly to the rest of the team. "We need to check the situation immediately."
CRUNCH... RUMBLE...
Before they could even take a step towards the ruins, a figure erupted from the debris, hovering in the air. He ignored Erik and the others approaching him, instead roaring back towards the wreckage.
"Give her back to me! Do you mean to betray me?!"
Erik and the others followed Apocalypse's furious gaze. There, standing amidst the rubble, was Saiki Kusuo, holding an unconscious Jean Grey in his arms.
In the next instant, Saiki teleported, appearing before them and handing Jean over to Hank.
"Thank God," Hank breathed, his naturally gentle voice sounding incongruous coming from his blue-furred, bestial form. He took Jean carefully. "Is she alright?" he asked Saiki anxiously.
"Don't worry. Charles realized she was missing quickly. I got there before he could begin the transfer process."
Hank let out a huge sigh of relief.
Finally enraged beyond measure, Apocalypse launched his attack. His ability to learn and adapt was terrifying; even while facing multiple opponents, he moved with ease, steadily absorbing and mimicking their powers.
However, his current body was failing him. Without a new host, Apocalypse was rapidly aging, weakening. Adding fuel to the fire, Jean woke up. Furious at the thought of nearly having her body stolen by some decrepit old man, she furiously joined the battle.
What followed was an intense confrontation... which the author, having integrity and refusing to pad the word count, will now skip over.
Ultimately, under the combined assault of the mutants, Apocalypse was defeated. As his eyes closed for the final time, he looked towards Saiki Kusuo, his tone unchanged.
"I am disappointed, child. In the end, you chose stagnation."
"Shut up, you glam rocker," Saiki couldn't help but retort, finally speaking aloud. "Did you seriously never notice that your telepathy had no effect on me? Furthermore, all of my psychic abilities are stronger than yours. Tell me, how exactly am I supposed to become stronger by staying beside someone weaker than myself?"
Apocalypse: "..."
Suddenly, he felt like Saiki actually had a very good point. There was simply no way to refute that.
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