Jump 13: The Last Avenger - Episode 7: Lost Before He Woke - Part 3

The inside of Famine’s mind was in utter turmoil. It was clear that Apocalypse had damaged her psyche terribly, but it wasn’t irreparable. Wandering through, I was able to catch glimpses of memories she was able to hold onto. Scenes of her brother, her father, her sister, fighting with the X-Men, I saw it all. Her name was Wanda Maximoff, daughter of Magneto, and avid defender of mutant kind. She was at a crossroads when Apocalypse approached her, and had no idea how far he would twist her to suit his own selfish purposes. At the very depths of her mind, the entrance to her very soul, I saw her being bound by a representation of Apocalypse. The tyrant had her in chains, laughing as she lay on the “ground”, having long since resigned to her fate.

“Wanda!”

She and Apocalypse both looked at me in surprise, neither having expected another presence to reach this far into her mind.

“Who are you?”

“A friend. I’m here to free you from Apocalypse.”

Apocalypse merely laughed and tightened the mental chains around Wanda, causing her to gasp in pain.

“It is no use. There is no hope of breaking free from Apocalypse.”

She had returned to her look of depressed resignation as Apocalypse sneered at me.

“That’s not true at all. I’ll save you from his control and give you back your freedom.”

I attempted to approach the two of them, but was knocked back by a mental barrier meant to keep telepaths from removing Apocalypse’s influence. I regained my focus and tried again, actively fighting the resistance I met before being knocked away again. I tried a couple more times, each attempt getting me closer than the last, but always resulting in a failure to reach them.

“Please, stop trying. The only way to free me is with my death. I am no longer the person I once was.”

“That’s fine. I’m not either. You can become something entirely new once you’re free. But don’t you give up on me. I will save you.”

“Why do you try so hard? I don’t know you, you don’t know me. The atrocities I’ve committed are unforgivable.”

“None of that matters to me. If I don’t save you, somebody I care about is doomed to suffer the same way you have. The whole of Genosha will never be the paradise for mutants you envisioned it being. So I could care less if anyone forgives you, I need you to help me fix the problems in this world. To avenge those that have been lost and the ideals they held dear.”

I felt something click within my mind before hearing a voice.

Thou art I, I art thou. I reemerge from the sea of thy sole. I go by many names. You once knew me as Khufu, Narmer and Ramses. Now you shall know me once more, and use my power as you see fit. For I art thou, and thou art I.

I felt intrinsically linked to this voice, and a mental fortitude well up inside of me. Grasping this internal strength, I once more pushed at the barrier separating me from Wanda. It shattered and I stood face to face with the surprised representation of Apocalypse.

“Begone from this place where you don’t belong.”

The Apocalypse in front of me was powerless to stop me from erasing his presence from Wanda’s mind. I offered her a hand and a small grin. She was hesitant to grab my hand, so I took hers myself and pulled her up.

“Just what are you?”

“Just a man that wants to save the world.”

“I…see.”

“Are you going to get rid of those chains? There’s nothing left to shackle you down.”

“You… you are right. I must reclaim what I have lost at the hands of Apocalypse. I must avenge my family and all the other mutants he had struck down. I thank you. When I wake you have my powers, the powers of the Scarlet Witch, at your disposal.”

The chains around her vanished and she gave me a look of determination and confidence. I nodded and left her mind, the healing complete.

“I can tell she’s mentally back to normal, and that you’ve grown mentally stronger.”

I opened my eyes and returned to consciousness hearing the sound of Psyche’s voice. Wanda’s appearance was reverting back to a more normal state, her skin was losing the grayish hue that resembled Apocalypse and the other horsemen, and her hair was returning to its natural auburn state.

“Yes, she should be able to become herself again with some time. When she wakes up, give a bit to adjust to her surroundings before getting information out of her. She’s offered to help us as thanks for freeing her, and to reclaim Genosha as a safe haven for all mutants.”

“You do good work when pushed to the edge.”

“Anything less wouldn’t help us save Karen.”

“True enough Duke. Speaking of Karen though, come here for a second.”

I stood up and did as she asked. When I was in front of her she slapped me in the face with almost all the strength she could muster.

“That’s for breaking my sister’s heart. Do you know how perfect you two seem for each other? Don’t say anything back, I’m just extremely upset with you. When we save her you need to properly apologize, or I will never forgive you even if she does. Call me when she wakes up Psyche. I’ll be in my room.”

I was hurt much by her slap, and I have no doubt she was well aware of this but… the message that she sent with it was all that was needed. I couldn’t avoid the pain in my chest, nor ignore the pain I had caused with my actions. Sora had every right to be angry, and I was impressed that she held it in for as long as she did. Karen means the world to her, and not only did I break her heart, I got her captured.

“Sucks being popular, doesn’t it?”

“You’re not going to be upset with me too?”

“While Sora might not be able to see past what she’s experienced, I’ve had the pleasure of connecting with you on a deeper level. Don’t look at me like that. When you helped ease the pain of my past a part of you stayed with me. I can tell how all of this is making you feel, and the strength of your conviction in regards to setting things right. Knowing all of that, how can I blow up at you after Sora did? You’ll face hell once we save Karen anyway.”

Psyche’s expression didn’t change, but I could feel the warmth of her words regardless. I sighed and chuckled a bit.

“Yeah…I will, won’t I?”

“You don’t seem too worried, so I won’t worry about it either. Take a breather while she finally has a good rest. I think since you’ve healed us both we should have a better understanding of each other. I’ll give you a mental call when she’s ready to see you and Sora. I think the kids are worrying about Karen, so make sure to let them know we’ll save her.”

I nodded and left the room, wandering until I found one of the kids, a girl named Sarah, praying in a corner by herself. I asked her what she was doing, and she told me that she was asking God to help Karen come back ok. I told her that we were going to bring Karen back safe and sound, and she responded by telling me she’d pray for the rest of us too. I felt a little more confident when she said that, and I wondered if her power was related to it. Sarah was one of the few kids without a visible power, and we couldn’t access Mr. Sinister’s files when we rescued them all. God or no god, her thoughts gave me a bit more courage for the coming battle.

I spent the rest of my time interacting with the other children. It was about mid-morning and they had been woken up when we came back. Sora and Psyche couldn’t exactly be subtle carrying two unconscious bodies. So they all tired themselves out again by the time Wanda was awake and understood the situation. I left the kids and returned to meet with the three to discuss our next plan of action.

“Wanda, do you want to tell them, or should I?”

“No, I should be the one to say this. To rescue your friend, Karen, is to attack Apocalypse head on. She is already at the risk of being transformed into a new horseman as we speak. If you wish to get to her before the damage is too severe, the best chance you have is to strike tonight. But doing so would be suicide, as Apocalypse has the loyalty of many mutants, and his remaining horsemen. Just getting in would likely take all day.”

Sora and I took some time to process this information. I was the first to break the silence.

“How quickly can we mobilize the other X-Men members?”

“I’ve already sent out a mental message to everyone. Those that aren’t afraid of certain death would take a day to prepare.”

“There’s got to be someone that can get to us tonight.”

“Well...”

Before Psyche could continue, a pink portal opened up in the room, and two figures stepped through it before it closed. A man with silver hair and features resembling Wanda, and a woman with pink skin, magenta hair and a small diamond on her forhead.

“Pietro? Clarice? You’re alive?”

The man, Pietro, was suddenly in front of Wanda, holding her in a tight embrace.

“I took the liberty of going through your mind while you were asleep Wanda. I saw your brother and your former team and recognized some of the faces. They’re not easy people to find. They were kidnapped and experimented on to be mutant hunting dogs, but the Sentinels overthrew their masters before they could be completely turned. They’ve lost the ability to speak, but have a mental connection courtesy of a deceased telepath.”

“Pietro, is this true?”

He nodded his head at Wanda before turning his attention to me. Before I could blink he was by my side, looking me over before putting a hand on my shoulder and offering me a warm smile.

“That’s his way of thanking you for saving his sister. When he and the Acolytes found out she had become a horseman of Apocalypse they had given up hope and lived hidden away from the world. He hadn’t been on Genosha for years, but one the members of his former team of mutants wanted to check on the state of the country. While not members of the X-Men, they’ll be willing to help us free their former home.”

“Pietro, Clarice…”

It looked as if Wanda was about to cry, but she replaced the look with one of confidence and hope.

“If the Brotherhood and the Acolytes stand with you, we may stand a chance against Apocalypse after all. Let us devise a plan of action. I’ll tell you everything I can remember about his stronghold.”

Even with our increased forces, the odds were still stacked against us. The mutant guards and even the horsemen could be defeated, but Apocalypse seemed nigh invincible from what Wanda described. We didn’t have much choice but to leave the detail of dealing with Apocalypse up to fate. Something interesting we took note of was that Mr. Sinister, the horseman Pestilence, was the only horseman not under any sort of mind control and was fairly open with his hatred of Apocalypse. Something we could potentially use to our advantage if the situation allowed it.

By mid-afternoon we had come up with a plan to attack Apocalypse and free Genosha, or die trying. The remaining time before we would begin our mission was spent collecting our allies from the parts of the globe they had taken to hide from the conflict with Clarice’s powers. When night had finally fallen, we had a rather impressive lineup of powers at our disposal. Pietro, donning his Quicksilver alias, was to lead a preliminary strike team meant to draw out their main forces, while Sora, Psyche, Wanda, Clarice and I would sneak in to rescue Karen before taking on the horsemen and then Apocalypse himself.

While Sora hated to admit it, I was the best choice of leader for the mission and she begrudgingly accepted that I was taking Karen’s role. I felt bad for putting her through this emotional pain, but something about being in charge also felt right to me. I knew she wouldn’t let anything hinder the mission, especially since her sister’s safety was on the line. So it was that all of us gathered would be assaulting the headquarters of Apocalypse.

Clarice, or Blink as she was called during missions, began by sending Quicksilver’s team to the designated area outside of the castle. With another portal we viewed the successful start of the attack and moved to begin our part of the plan. Blink got us to a hidden spot outside of the base and we found an open window. She made a portal to the inside and we began making our way to where they would most likely be keeping Karen.

Psyche masked our presence with her telepathy, making us appear transparent and masking the sounds we made to all those that would have normally come across us. Maintaining this was a strain for her, but for the sake of the mission she endured it. Unfortunately for us, she or anyone else wasn’t being held in the prisons, which meant she had likely already been placed on the operating table. The odds weren’t looking good, but we pressed on to the lab of Mr. Sinister. When we arrived we were greeted by a terrible sight.

“Ah, Wanda Maximoff. How nice of you to come back to us of your own free will. Although, if it’s your old position back, I’m sorry to say we already have a suitable replacement to be the new Famine. Your new friends may even recognize her.”

We were all shocked that not only was Mr. Sinister waiting for us in his lab, but he could see us despite Psyche’s mental cloaking.

“How can you-”

“How can I see you? That’s quite simple my dear, because your powers as a telepath are useless against me. I’ve seen and beaten quite a few powerful ones in my time on this Earth. Although I will applaud you for making it this far without being caught. Most can’t even get past the gate. That little diversion you placed out front was a nice touch. Almost seemed like an actual planned frontal assault.”

“Enough games Sinister! You and Apocalypse won’t be able to play with the lives of mutants or anyone else anymore after we’re through with you.”

“Oh I beg to differ Wanda. And I believe Death and War would like to show how much they appreciate you leaving us.”

From somewhere behind Sinister emerged the other horsemen, looking ready to fight at a moment’s notice.

“Before we start this reunion of ours I’d like to introduce you to the newly appointed horseman of Famine. She was quite a tough one to crack, but that just means she’s all the more powerful in the end.”

There was an operating table behind Sinister with a figure on it that began to stir. When it sat up there was no mistake that Karen had been turned into a new horseman of Apocalypse.

“Ah if it isn’t my dear sister, my former ally, the former Famine and a truly detestable man I once knew. What a pleasure that the first enemies I fight as a reborn being for Apocalypse are you all.”

“Sis…”

“Karen…”

Sora and Psyche were visible distraught at this turn of events, and I don’t doubt that I was myself. Karen was staring at us with a sadistic look of please at our emotional distress.

“Wonderful, simply wonderful. Now that you all know us, the horsemen of Apocalypse, there isn’t much left to do but take you all out and dissect you to further my research.”

Before they could make a move, Blink had begun to form energy javelins to teleport the horsemen away. She tossed two into the air and Psyche held them in place with her telekinesis.

“Take your targets and don’t hold back. Leave Karen to me.”

We had thankfully accounted for a development like this, which is why Blink was there. Psyche directed a teleportation javelin at Death and Sora followed after him. She did the same to Sinister, only following him herself with Wanda. Blink opened a portal and I knocked War through it before she followed after giving me a nod. I was let alone with Karen, now Famine, looking mildly interested in the plan she watched unfold.

“So you think you can take me on yourself now? Ha! You couldn’t even beat me before I was reborn anew, what hope do you have of defeating me?”

She formed a serpentine dragon made of water behind her in an instant, and pointed it menacingly at me.

“I don’t have to defeat you Karen, just get you to remember who you are.”

“Fool! You don’t even know who you yourself are. What right do you have to claim my allegiance to Apocalypse isn’t the true me? There is no Karen, only Famine. Now I have more power than I ever dreamed of, and nothing will get in the way of my loyalty to the ruler of mutant kind.”

Talking wasn’t an option anymore, as the water dragon was sent towards me with the intent to kill. I dodged away, shooting a few bone spikes at Karen to force her on the defensive. In one swift motion, the projectiles were in a wall of water that instantaneously froze and unfroze. Their momentum was stopped completely and they clattered to the floor and Karen moved to attack in tandem with her dragon of water. She allowed water to coalesce around her arms to form blades of water and moved to slash at me with them. I formed a blade of bone to counter her, but was forced to retreat and dodge both her and the dragon as she cut cleanly through my bone and nearly took an arm off of me.

I needed a plan to keep her at bay besides dodging so I could figure out how to get her back to normal. The castle interior was of no concern to her, as the dragon collapsed walls, destroyed equipment and generally caused whatever destruction it wanted. Karen herself was no better, cutting things indiscriminately slicing anything between me and her.

“What’s the matter Duke? Can’t bear the thought of hurting me more than you already have? If you don’t fight back, you’ll die in such a boring way.”

She was right, and it pained me to acknowledge that fact. I stopped avoiding her and returned to the offensive. Forming another bone sword to use, I channeled electricity through it and tried a different approach. Facing the water dragon, I sprinted towards it and drove my electrified weapon through its body. As I hoped, the energy I sent inside the water construct disrupted whatever was holding it together and it dispersed into normal water.

I couldn’t breathe a sigh of relief just yet, as I still had to deal with Karen’s unrelenting personal assault. Dodging the swings of her deadly water swords, I shot bolts of electricity at her that were blocked by a seemingly auto generating wall of water around her. The power I was putting into the bolts wasn’t enough, and I realized I’d have to up the voltage if I was going to have any hope of striking her. So I increased the power I poured into to each successive bolt I threw, but regardless of the energy it wasn’t enough to break through her defenses and I was nearly killed again for getting to aggressive with my tactics.

I thought to myself that there had to be a way to catch her off guard, a way for me to use more power so that I stood a chance. I felt that there was a part of my electrokinesis that I hadn’t discovered, but needed to have any hope of breaking through her seemingly perfect guard. I gathered all the energy I could and channeled it through my body, thinking I could try to forcibly tear through whatever guard she put up with enough electrical interference. I instead felt my weight decrease to almost nothing, and saw my body become a living embodiment of lightning. Karen’s eyes widened in surprise as she continued with one of her attacks, her sword and arm passing through me before she recoiled in pain. I saw my chance and before I could even think about not wasting it, grabbed her and forcibly pulled her into an embrace.

The energy emitting from this form was too intense for her to guard against and she began to scream in pain from the forced proximity. I reverted back to normal after a few long seconds, feeling completely drained and a bit fearful that I was going to fail after all putting it all on the line. Karen was still reeling from the electricity she had been struck with, but I could tell she was beginning to recover.

“Karen…”

“There is… no Karen. Only Famine.”

“No, Karen is still there. You’re still the Karen that everyone knows. You’re still Sora’s sister and favorite person in the world.”

“No…”

“You’re still the X-Men leader that gathered the rejects of Apocalypse’s society and protected them.”

“No..”

“You’re still the person that inspires hope in those who’ve long since abandoned it.”

“No.”

“You’re still… you’re still the woman that the current me has fallen in love with.”

“NO! You’re wrong! I’m not Karen anymore! I can’t be Karen anymore! I don’t deserve to be called that by anyone, especially not you!”

I looked at her face and saw tears streaming down them. I pulled her closer and for a few moments, we stayed like that. Then she pushed me away and grabbed her head in pain.

“I’m Karen… No! I’m Famine, bringer of destruction for Apocalypse….. But I’m the leader of the X-Men… that want to stop Apocalypse..”

She continued having a mental battle with herself for a while, and I could do nothing be watch. Then, the Famine personality seemed to regain dominance and suddenly lunged towards me with a newly formed water sword. I was still drained from before, and couldn’t move out of the way before getting stabbed. I saw my blood begin to drip to the floor as clarity returned to Karen’s eyes.

“Duke I… What have I done?”

Before she could say or do anything else, I gingerly place a hand on her face and gave her a smile.

“What are talking about? It takes a lot more to put me down, remember?”

Through an act of god, or the real Karen winning dominance at the last second, I wasn’t stabbed too deeply, or in any vital areas. Karen dispersed the water sword and pulled me close, treating me to relieved laughter as I noticed the others return via a portal from Blink. Sora was the first one through and ran towards us without any regard for the situation.

“KAREN!”

Karen released me and turned to face her sister. The two didn’t waste any time in embracing and exchanging apologies and forgiveness. Psyche, Wanda and Blink took more time getting to us, preferring not to ruin the moment between siblings.

“I’m glad you got her back to normal Duke. I don’t know what the X-Men would do without our leader. Karen come here, let me check on your mind.”

“It is good that you were able to save her. We managed to defeat the other horsemen with no losses. Pietro and the others are still facing the remainder of Apocalypse’s forces. We must defeat him if we wish for them to truly stop attacking us.”

“Are we all up to the task? You guys look kind of beat.”

“Like you’re one to talk. You look the most tired of anyone here, ‘mission leader’.”

“While I hate to agree with her, she has a point. We could always leave to fight another day now that we’ve saved Karen.”

“You guys know as well as I do that even without Sinister to operate, Apocalypse will just appoint more horsemen and reassert his dominance again. This is our best chance at taking him down.”

“I had a feeling you’d say that. I guess we’ve got no choice but to listen to the words of our mission leader.”

“I promised you my strength as long as you fought for Genosha. Now is no exception.”

“Who gave you the right to be so cool in a crisis? I think I see how you saved Karen.”

“This is what we’ve been aiming to do for years. We can’t let this chance slip through our fingers.”

Blink gave me a nod of approval.

“Then it’s settled. We go to put an end to the Age of Apocalypse.”

Ignoring any tiredness I felt, I followed Wanda as she led us to Apocalypse’s throne room. We were all looking ragged and worn from the previous battles, but I didn’t feel as if it mattered. This was our only course of action, and nothing would stop us from putting it all on the line. Apocalypse was sitting in his throne, waiting for us to arrive with an amused expression.

“My horsemen defeated, my castle under siege, and now my throne room breeched by intruders. Do you not know who it is you gaze upon? Do you understand the power you foolishly seek to challenge? I am En Sabah Nur. The first mutant to ever grace the Earth. Dominion over mutant kind is my birthright. The lot of you should be bowing at my feet, begging for forgiveness and asking to be made my new horsemen.”

“No way that’s happening ugly. We came here to do one thing, take you down.”

“Nothing you say is going to convince us otherwise. Mutants don’t need a ruler like you.”

“Hmph. We’ll see if you don’t change your minds after this.”

Suddenly my mind felt like it was being drilled into by Apocalypse’s will. Fighting it seemed to barely have any affect and I was sure I’d be overcome when I felt another presence in my mind, blocking Apocalypse.”

“I see, you have a telepath with you. An exceptionally powerful one at that. Good. I was afraid that this wouldn’t be an entertaining way to show Genosha that nothing usurp me from my throne.”

Apocalypse stood up and began to walk towards us. At first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but he was visibly growing in size. The ceiling above us had to be around 100 ft. tall, and he was halfway there when he stopped.

“Everyone spread out and hit him with everything you’ve got!”

We dispersed from our group and began to assault him from multiple sides. He laughed at us and turned his attention to Sora first.

“What a nice breeze you’ve made for me. Allow me to show you my thanks.”

He pulled a fist back and would have slammed it into her had Blink not opened a portal big enough to take his fist and redirect it at his head. Apocalypse looked no worse for it, which made me wonder how much of his power he thought we were even worthy of. A couple of explosions on his torso brought his attention to Wanda next.

“Ah, my former choice for Famine. You did such a good job, but I don’t think I want you to return to the position.”

A panel on his leg opened and a blast of energy fired from it, forcing Wanda to meet it with her own bolts of risk being hit. She was losing the fight, and Blink threw a teleportation javelin at her to move her to a safer place. Karen was attempting to freeze parts of his feet, but he kept shattering the ice effortlessly and payed her no mind. I tried to cut him with a bone sword and watched as it shattered on contact. Hitting him with electricity didn’t seem to do anything, and I realized how out matched we were against this monster. But it still wasn’t over yet.

“Bring in the others!”

Blink opened a couple of portals and the other ten mutants that composed the strike team came through ready to help. Pietro used his super speed to scale Apocalypse and deliver an uncountable amount of blows to his face before retreating to dodge energy blasts from his eyes. Pyro created a phoenix out of fire that Took to the air and attacked Apocalypse from above. Polaris took varying parts of the throne room with her power over magnetism and bound Apocalypse’s legs. Blob, Mercury, Seamus, Toad and Senyaka all joined in on the physical assault, with Blink opening portals for them to attack different portions of Apocalypse. Domino took aim and fired round after round from her various guns at his eyes with deadly precision.

Things were looking up for us with our numbers bolstered until Apocalypse sent out a powerful energy wave from his entire body. It knocked us all away from him and showed that he was losing his patience with us. We all got to our feet and suddenly felt the gravity around us increase by an enormous degree. Psyche and Polaris were quick to shield us from Apocalypse’s telepathy, but it was unrelenting, and we still felt its affects.

“Nothing we do is working! It’s like he’s invincible.”

“If things keep going this way we won’t last much longer. He’s hasn’t even been serious yet.”

“I don’t know if he has any weakness, but we can’t let him win.”

“…”

“Do you have an idea Psyche?”

“A stupid one. I need you all to buy me time. This isn’t going to be easy.”

While I was worried that she didn’t explain what she intended to do, there wasn’t much time to press her for details. Apocalypse fired another blast of energy at us, and Pyro, Wanda and I combined our powers to clash with it. We managed to hold it back, but were steadily losing ground. Blink opened a portal behind us and we dodged out of the way, the blast going through to strike Apocalypse in the back.

“You test my patience with this feeble tricks. But what shall you do without them?”

Moving faster than any of us expected, Apocalypse closed the distance he had made between himself and us to make a grab for Blink. Pietro carried her off at the last second and he only grabbed air. Blob took the chance to grab Apocalypse’s hand and root himself to the ground. The second of pause Apocalypse had when he couldn’t easily lift his arm back up gave Seamus and Toad to climb on it and attack other parts of his body. Pryo made a giant flame tiger to harass him from one side as Karen made another water dragon to do the same on the other. Sora created miniature tornadoes and blasted Apocalypse with them to try and force him down.

The tyrant bellowed in rage and lifted Blob into the air before attempting to slam him into the ground. Blink once again made a portal to redirect his attack at his head, causing him to actually stumble for once. Blob jumped off of his hand and attempted to body slam his head, but Apocalypse extended the length of his hand to re-grab him and throw him into the ground. Thankfully, Blob was able to get back on his feet and seemed ok, if a bit more out of breath.

We continued to hit Apocalypse with everything we had and then some, but as we started to tire out he only seemed to use more and more power. Pyro eventually ran out of fluid to make fire to use his powers on, and had to rely on any fires Wanda’s powers caused to attack with. Karen was starting to lose control over the water she manipulated, Sora could barely keep herself in the air, Domino ran out of ammunition, and everyone else was just exhausted. Apocalypse sneered at us when he realized we were almost out of steam.

“You insects have lasted much longer than I expected, and for that you have earned a tiny bit of my respect. However, now is the time for you to say goodbye to your pitiful lives!”

“No, Apocalypse. It is you, that must say goodbye to this world.”

Psyche was radiating a bright, orange light from her person and took to the air.

“I, the Phoenix Force, have come to heed the call of the young Psyche Summers. You shall no longer plague the Earth with your presence Apocalypse.”

Everyone, including Apocalypse, was stunned at this turn of events as Psyche flew to hover in front of Apocalypse.

“What sort of trick do you think you’re trying now? I won’t be fooled by this.”

Apocalypse grabbed Psyche and attempted to crush her in his hand but…his hand was turned into ash.

“There are no tricks, only judgement at the hands of the Phoenix Force.”

Apocalypse was coated in some sort of fire and he screamed as he was turned into ash before not even that remained. Psyche floated down to the ground, but the energy surrounding her did not fade. We all cautiously approached her, unsure of what to do next.

“Psyche? Are-are you okay?”

“Psyche is fine. For now I, the Phoenix Force, am in control of her. She sought me out amongst the cosmos, and pleaded that I lend her my power.”

“Then are you going to let her come back to us?”

“In time. For now, I wish to explore the Earth, for it has changed greatly since I last had a host. Her wish has yet to be fulfilled, so you shall see her again. But I must go now, to gauge the extent to which I must involve myself in the affairs of Earth once more.”

Before any more questions could be asked Psyche flew into the air and burst through the ceiling before speeding off, a trail of lingering fire all the remained.

“That was not how I expected to defeat Apocalypse, but what’s done is done. I am sure she will be alright, but right now Genosha is in need.”

“I… yes, you’re right Wanda. What we need to focus on right now is reestablishing fair control over Genosha. I take it you and your sister will want to turn this country into the mutant paradise your father dreamed it would be, right?”

“Indeed. Although it will be difficult, I would appreciate the help of those aligned with the X-Men. Together we can spread both my father’s and Xavier’s ideals in equal measure to live at peace with the world.”

“I wanted Psyche to be here when we finally won...”

“I know Sora, but she did what she did to give us this chance. We can’t spend time looking for her when the Sentinels are still out there waiting for a moment of weakness to destroy us all. Once we unite the populous, then we can think about tracking her down. She didn’t even say goodbye after all. I need to give her a mouthful the next time I see her.”

With the tension easing from our battle, Blink began to open portals to our respective homes. We would all need rest for the days to come. Mutants still under the influence of Apocalypse needed to be dealt with, the people living in the slums and outskirts of the country needed to be welcomed back into society, and the way the people of Genosha regarded one another was in need of a change as well. Something that both Wanda and Karen would tirelessly work towards.

I helped wherever I could make myself useful, which often involved training any potential X-Men and defenders of Genosha. The relationship between Karen and I had… remained complicated even after we talked it over. We hardly let ourselves be alone together and our conversations between each other were beyond awkward when they weren’t about business. Sora seemed to have forgiven me, and we returned to being on friendly terms. Psyche still hasn’t returned, but we’re sure she’s doing alright even though we worry. Regardless, things have started to look up for the inhabitants of Genosha these past two months. But I can’t shake the feeling that I should be doing more. Like some import mission was given to me, and I’ve still got more to accomplish…