Chapter 200: Anger Felt Round The World
Having just watched all of my friends and teachers get brutally defeated so quickly without even being able to fight back was one of the worst things I'd ever witnessed; it just went to show how truly powerful Apocalypse was.
Seeing them all suffer such extensive injuries on my behalf simply because I didn't turn myself in, as Apocalypse said, filled me with immense guilt; I knew, even if I turned myself in, I'd most likely end up dying while Apocalypse probably wouldn't uphold his end of the deal. But still, seeing people you care for winding up dead on your behalf felt terrible, especially since I was doing nothing but sitting on my ass watching them from the safety of the X-mansion; I wasn't even there helping them fight him.
"T-This isn't good. W-What do we do?" Asked Kurt with an ugly expression as he looked at the TV, observing the battlefield where roughly every X-men lay unconscious and defeated with various severe injuries.
"I-I don't know." Said Eloise softly as she leaned forward, resting her arms on her knees while she glanced at the TV, watching as Tut finally arrived at the scene, only for he too to witness the carnage Apocalypse had caused.
"What can we do? Even if you teleported us there, what could we really do? You saw what happened to them; they're some of if not the strongest fighters in the X-Men; how can we do anything?" Questioned Scott with an ugly expression as he glared at Kurt, who clenched his fist in anger but didn't respond since he, too, knew their assistance would amount to next to nothing.
"C-Calm down, T-Tut, had just arrived; I-I'm sure he'll be able to do something." Said Jean with a forced smile and a guilty heart as she glanced at Scott and Kurt before looking back at the TV, the four watching Tut and Rogue fight.
With my words, everyone quietened down and intently watched the TV as Tut and Rogue put up a final attempt at defeating Apocalypse; with Rogue in his arms, he flew toward Apocalypse, using his body to protect Rogue from those three deadly beams of energy which burned his back before he slammed into Apocalypse, pushing him to the ground. Using that chance, Rogue grabbed his face while Apocalypse flung away Tut before he looked up at her, uttering a few words, followed by Rogue's body, starting with her hands, turning into dust as she slowly disintegrated.
"T-Tut-" Said Rogue fearfully as she stood up and approached Tut, only for her whole body to turn into dust the moment she took her first step.
"ROGUE!!"
Silence. That's all there was as we watched the TV, eyeing the spot where Rogue was previously standing, yet now, all that was left was a pile of dust. I felt tears stream down my cheek, yet I didn't bother wiping them and just blankly stared at the TV, too shocked to react.
"R-Rogue, s-she's. S-She's dead." Muttered Kurt with a furious and sad expression as he wiped his teary eyes while clenching his fist.
"Rogue." Said Eloise softly, and despite having seen so many deaths through her dreams, a single tear couldn't help but stream down her face as she looked at the TV.
"DAMMIT!" Yelled Scott angrily, tears emerging from behind his glasses while he slammed his fist onto the armrest, only for him to close his eyes and lift his glasses, wiping the tears.
Thanks to Scott's yell snapping me out of my stupor, I gritted my teeth and wiped my face before standing up and approaching Kurt, grabbing his hand.
"Take me there, Kurt." Stated Jean with a furious expression as she tightly held Kurt, who wickedly smiled in response with a nod.
"Way ahead of you." Said Kurt with a murderous smile as he tightly held Jean's hand before looking at the TV, preparing to teleport, only for it to suddenly change to a black screen while static noise sounded out.
Hearing the static, I turned around and looked at the TV, only to frown when I saw the black screen; approaching the control panel, I tried to fix it or figure out what was wrong, though before I could, I suddenly felt a faint tremble beneath my foot, causing my frown to deepen as I froze, only for another tremble to surge through the ground.
"D-Do you guys feel that?" Asked Jean with a frown as she turned around and eyed the three, only for another trembling to be felt, causing them all to nod.
"It's probably just an earthquake, Jean; c'mon, get that thing working; I don't want to wait a second longer." Said Kurt with a nod as he dismissively waved his hands at Jean, causing her to furrow her brows while nodding.
Although the sudden trembling warranted some attention, we had more important things to do, and just when I was about to send in another drone, the door opened, along with Professor X entering.
"Professor." Said Scott as he looked at Charles, whose expression seemed rather haggard and full of calm fury.
"Going right now would result in your death." Stated Charles softly as he glanced at Kurt before looking at Jean, who angrily clenched her fist before slamming it onto the control panel while a faint ethereal flame erupted surrounding her body.
"SO WHAT!? I JUST WATCHED ROGUE SACRIFICE HERSELF FOR MY SAKE! I REFUSE TO SIT ON MY ASS AND DO NOTHING WHILE PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT DIE ON MY BEHALF!" Yelled Jean in utter fury as she pointed at Professor X while approaching him, causing the ethereal flames around her to get more intense with every step, forcing Kurt, Scott, and Eloise to retreat.
"I understand, Jean, but you misunderstand; that is not what I meant. Pharaoh is currently fighting against Apocalypse, and if you were to go right now, you'd die in the aftermath of their clash. You wouldn't even be able to get close to either of them, so wait, at least, until an outcome is decided." Said Professor X softly as he looked up at Jean, who slowly began to calm down while she looked at him in confusion.
"W-What do you mean, Professor?" Asked Jean with furrowed brows as she eyed Professor X, only for the ground to tremble once more, causing him to point towards the ground.
"The trembling isn't an Earthquake; it's the result of Pharaoh and Apocalypse's fighting. Their effect is traveling throughout all of the Earth." Stated Professor X lightly, his words causing Jean, Kurt, and Scott to widen their eyes in shock while Eloise nodded.
"I thought so." Muttered Eloise softly as she looked at the hanging light, which shook slightly from the trembling.
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"Can you see anything, Sir?" Asked Maria respectfully as she stood beside Fury, eyeing a large monitor that displayed Pharaoh and Apocalypse's fight.
"I'm one eye down, Hill; if you can't see anything, I can't see anything." Replied Fury calmly as he unfolded his arms before reaching into his pocket, grabbing his phone and calling someone.
"Ahh, I-I'm kind of busy right now, Sir; trying not to die while escaping those two monsters isn't easy!" Said Barton in slight annoyance while cursing under his breath as he piloted a helicopter, which was full of rescued citizens and Shield soldiers, only for the said helicopter to shake violently.
"I'll call in ten then. Don't die." Stated Fury with a nod as he hung up the phone before putting it in his pocket while focusing back on the monitor, which showed glimpses of Pharaoh and Apocalypse all throughout the skies of Egypt.
"How fast are they moving?" Asked Fury with a frown as he folded his arms once more while trying to track their movements with his eye, which was proving to be next to impossible.
"Well, based on how quickly they appear between different locations, they're moving at about 50% light speed, give or take 3%." Replied Maria as she reached down and grabbed a tablet, reading through numerous different accumulated dates before looking at Fury, who squinted his eye.
"Hmm; how far are the aftershocks reaching?" Asked Fury with a nod, causing Maria to swipe on the tablet.
"The entire planet, Sir."
"I see. I'm glad he's on our side." Muttered Fury with a nod, while Maria nodded in agreement.
"Yes, since if he wished, I don't think there is anyone capable of stopping him from destroying or taking over the world." Said Maria lightly as she set down the tablet before gazing back up at the monitor, only for Fury to faintly smirk.
"His Mother is still alive, and the only thing scarier than a Black mom is an Asian one. She may not be stronger than him, but she'll sort his ass out quickly, far better than we ever could." Remarked Fury with a faint smirk while looking up at the monitor, causing Maria to glance at him in slight confusion before shaking her head.
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"Thanks, Johnny." Said Hana with a slight smile as she sat on the couch watching Johnny fiddle around on the TV.
"It's fine, Mrs. Kent. Tut's helped us quite a lot, so helping you is like us repaying him a little. Also, everything should be hooked up correctly; now I can get this annoying sister of mine out of my ear." Said Johnny with a faint smile as he removed himself from behind the TV before reaching onto his ear, removing an earpiece before setting his hand aflame, burning it.
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So, is Nick Fury correct, or what?