Chapter 183: Prison Talk

I continued to lay on the couch inside the Fortress of Solitude to clear my mind, though it was proving difficult; I eventually stopped thinking about Jean's Dark Phoenix and switched my focus to Apocalypse and how we would deal with him. However, after an hour of mulling over my thoughts, my thought process was pretty straightforward: beat him until submission and force him to surrender, and if he didn't want to do that, there was only one option left.

The only problem with this supposed plan is that I don't know what his mutant abilities are; well, I've seen him use a few, such as teleportation telepathy, and apparently, he can enhance other mutants. Now, that doesn't sound very frightening, well, except for his telepathy, considering he nearly broke through my defensive barriers. Though I know he's got other mutant abilities, I find it hard to believe that someone with a god complex like himself wouldn't be at least very powerful to back off his arrogance.

'Besides, If he weren't strong, Magneto would've killed him, or if Apocalypse needed to be alive for him to keep his enhanced mutant strength, he'd have simply kept him prisoner somewhere hidden.' Mused Pharaoh with a slight frown as he rubbed his chin while looking toward the sky, only to shake his head afterward.

'Well, either way, I'll need to be careful whenever I end up facing him again; for all I know, he could turn me into ash by simply touching me.' Mused Pharaoh lightly with furrowed brows as he sat upright while folding his arms, staring at the crystal wall.

After a bit more thinking, I just shook my head and stood up, deciding to save the rest for whenever we're all ready to fight him. Stretching my body a little, I exited my fortress before taking to the air as I speedily flew through the skies, heading back towards the X-Mansion. Arriving at my destination within a few seconds, I lowered myself right outside the mansion, the front garden having been destroyed thanks to Storm; entering the building, I walked down the halls while passing the numerous students minding their own business.

Walking down one of the many halls that lead to the basement, I headed through the silver passageway, taking multiple turns before I arrived at the cells where Storm, Pietro, and Magneto were being held. Entering, I walked past a few empty cells before I arrived at three people of interest. Other than Magneto, who was still unconscious from the sedation gas, Storm and Pietro were awake, though they were looking much different.

"Yo, Pietro, funny seeing you here; finally decided to use that phone number I gave you?" Asked Pharaoh with a raised eyebrow as he stood before the one-way glass mirror while staring at Pietro, sitting in a fetal position in the corner.

"That voice, Tut, is that you?" Asked Pietro softly as he lifted his head and looked at the one-way mirror while slowly standing up with a hopeful expression.

"The one and only." Said Pharaoh with a faint smile as he crossed his arms, his words causing Pietro to be elated as he ran towards the mirror.

"Tut, listen; you've got to help me! That blue fucker kidnapped Wanda, and I was forced to become one of his stupid horsemen, or whatever he calls it, or he was going to kill her. You've got to let me out, Tut!?" Remarked Pietro anxiously with a furious expression as he slammed his hands against the glass wall, causing it to shudder slightly, but it held firm.

"Calm down, Pietro, you're not going to save Wanda when you're behaving like that; besides, Wanda is currently safe; I can hear her whispering to herself. So, just take a second to calm yourself." Stated Pharaoh lightly as he pressed his hands against the glass wall, his words causing Pietro's eyes to momentarily brighten before he slowly calmed down.

Seeing Pietro calming down, I silently stood there for a minute or two while he regained his composure, though he was still very anxious about Wanda.

"You good now?" Asked Pharaoh with a raised eyebrow while leaning against the glass wall, earning a nod from Pietro.

"Y-Yeah, t-thanks, Tut. But still, I need to go and save Wanda; who knows when that man will do something terrible to her." Said Pietro with a nod as he clenched his fists in anger before glancing back at Tut.

"Unfortunately, I can't do that, Pietro. Firstly, I don't know if you're somehow still being manipulated by Apocalypse or not, so I can't just set you free. Secondly, even if I did, I'm pretty sure both of us know you can't beat him; you'd just be running to your death, both literally and figuratively. Thirdly, if you go by yourself, he can just use Wanda to threaten you again, and then we're back to square one with you as his lackey." Declared Pharaoh solemnly as he eyed Pietro, causing him to glare at Pharaoh angrily before he slowly calmed down the more he spoke.

"E-Even if that's true, Tut, I-I can't just stay trapped in this cell while doing nothing." Remarked Pietro with a frown as he bit his lip while pushing against the glass wall.

"Well, you won't need to; the X-men and I intend to fight Apocalypse. Not only had he manipulated one of their own, Storm, he wants Jean, my best friend, so you don't need to worry about Wanda so much since she'll be safe after he gets his shit rocked." Stated Pharaoh with a shake of his head as he faintly smirked before frowning while his gaze hardened.

"Can't I at least help? I don't want to rely on others to save Wanda; she's my sister, and I should be the one helping her." Asked Pietro softly as he looked at Pharaoh in desperation, causing him to sigh while rubbing his head.

"Haa, I'll talk about it with Professor X; personally, I would let you out, mainly because you're not a threat to me whatsoever, but that isn't the case for everyone else. If you're somehow still being manipulated by Apocalypse and start backstabbing the X-Men, you could probably kill at least half of them before they realize what was even happening. So I'm sure you could understand why they wouldn't want you helping." Declared Pharaoh lightly while rubbing his head as he looked at Pietro, who was sporting a frustrated expression before he nodded.

"Haa, I-I understand. Thanks for the help, Tut." Said Pietro lightly with an unsightly expression; as he nodded before backing away and sitting on the bed while lowering his head.

Sighing to myself, I lightly shook my head before leaving Pietro alone as I walked to the right, standing right before another cell, though, unlike Pietro, Storm was obviously still being controlled by Apocalypse.

"Yo, how's it going, Storm?" Asked Tut with a faint smile as he stood before the glass wall, his words causing Storm to raise her hand, sparks of lightning emerging, but the mutant suppressive collar inhibited her ability.

"To go against our God Apocalypse is utterly foolish and blasphemous; you'll all die for your treacherous actions." Stated Storm arrogantly with an ugly expression as she glared at the glass wall, while Tut merely raised an eyebrow.

"It can't be treacherous if I had never aligned myself with him, to begin with; also, that dumbo Apocalypse is no God. Besides, does he even have the strength to kill me?" Replied Tut curiously as he looked at Storm, who angrily stood up and approached the one-way glass wall.

"Our God believes the weak deserve to die, and while you may not be a part of said weaklings, you will surely be killed and used as an example to show the world who the strongest really is." Declared Storm passionately in anger as she eyed Tut, who yawned a little before nodding.

"Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever; since Apocalypse is so powerful, why don't you tell me his abilities? After all, Apocalypse is a God, no?" Remarked Tut with a shake of his head before smirking as he eyed Storm, who scoffed before backing away.

"Hmph, I'm no fool; I wouldn't dare think of turning against our God; besides, even if I did, our God has so many powers, some of which you puny mortal minds could never even imagine." Said Storm as she returned to sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall while Tut just clicked his tongue.

"Tsk, it was worth a try." Muttered Pharaoh with a frown before he shook his head and looked away, walking towards the third cell to the right.

Standing before the third cell, there he was, a young Magneto, sleeping on a stretcher thanks to the sedation gas; checking upon his body, making sure he was still properly asleep, I turned back around and left the cell.

"Well, I'll see you later, Storm, after we've beaten Apocalypse and freed you from his manipulation." Said Pharaoh with a faint smirk as he walked past Storm's cell before glancing at Pietro, who was sitting in the same spot as before.

Leaving the prison, I walked down the silver halls, heading towards Jean's voice as I figured it was about time to speak with her since the longer she took to get over the fear of herself, the harder it would be for her to do so.

'Tsk, stupid Scott.' Mused Pharaoh in annoyance as he passed the infirmary, only to see Scott being tended to by an older woman.