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*****
"They're here!"
George felt a surge of powerful brainwaves sweep across the entire Earth. He instantly knew that Mystique must have informed Professor X, prompting Xavier to use the Cerebro amplifier to search for Magneto.
Sure enough, because he had replicated Magneto in every detail, Xavier's brainwaves naturally locked onto him.
"Hello, old friend!"
The instant Professor X's voice echoed in his mind, George triggered a preset memory: Magneto's wife and daughter being killed. Along with it, he deliberately laced the memory with an overwhelming wave of negative emotion.
Reading this, Xavier immediately choked up with grief.
"I'm so sorry, truly sorry. I can feel your pain and confusion as if it were my own."
"Charles, do you think crawling into my head lets you understand my suffering?"
George replied in Magneto's tone, cold and biting.
Xavier quickly launched into his most practiced skill—persuasion:
"This isn't the way. Come back, Erik. Let me help you."
George, still mimicking Magneto, began a heated argument with Xavier, and this soon caught Apocalypse's attention.
Activating his psychic powers, Apocalypse slipped into George's mind. Indirectly, he connected to Xavier's brainwaves, and through them, linked himself to Cerebro.
With his ability to manipulate signals and electronic devices, Apocalypse seized control of the amplifier itself, and by extension, gained partial control over Xavier.
"Incredible. To think such a person and such a device exist! It seems we can skip the first step altogether."
Diving into Xavier's consciousness, Apocalypse discovered that beyond telepathy, Xavier could also command the will of others.
And with Cerebro, he could locate anyone in the world—and control them remotely.
Thus, by briefly controlling Xavier through the device, Apocalypse could force him to target every soldier responsible for launching nuclear weapons across the globe.
In one step, he could command the simultaneous launch of every nuclear warhead, resetting the world in fire.
And indeed, he began doing exactly that.
At the same time, George carefully extended a thread of his own spiritual power, piggybacking along Xavier's brainwaves to observe the Cerebro chamber at the mutant academy.
He needed to monitor things. In the movie he remembered, Xavier ultimately snapped out of it, and although the missiles launched, none exploded.
But with his presence here, the butterfly effect might alter events. Perhaps this wasn't the same Marvel universe from that film at all.
With so many parallel universes, similarities abounded, but so did differences.
What if, in this version, Xavier failed to regain control? What if the missiles detonated, wiping out civilization, leaving Apocalypse to reign supreme again?
It was not impossible.
That was why George had to be ready. If Xavier failed, he could instantly intervene—using his power to hurl the missiles into space before detonation.
After all, his magnetic field now encompassed the entire Earth. Even from the North Pole, he could manipulate metal at the South Pole without difficulty.
He was the final safeguard.
"No, Alex—quick! Use your power! Destroy it! Destroy the machine! Destroy everything here!"
Thankfully, just as the world's nuclear arsenal streaked into the sky, Xavier summoned the last of his willpower. With sheer psychic strength, he broke free for a moment and shouted.
Hearing the order, Alex didn't hesitate. Tearing open his shirt, he unleashed his ability.
The custom ring on his chest blazed with light, gathering immense energy. A column of force as thick as a barrel erupted outward, obliterating much of Cerebro's equipment in an instant.
With the amplifier destroyed, Apocalypse could no longer manipulate Xavier through it—nor could Xavier be forced to control the soldiers.
Thus, while the missiles had indeed launched, they never detonated as Apocalypse had hoped.
"No!"
With a furious roar, Apocalypse opened a portal directly to the mutant academy.
Xavier's power was too valuable. He had already decided to reincarnate into Xavier's body, thereby claiming his telepathy.
With that strength combined with his own, even without Cerebro, he could dominate humanity's collective will.
Then it would all be simple. He would ascend immediately as humanity's absolute ruler. No one could resist him, and betrayal would be impossible.
"Come to me!"
Stepping from the portal, Apocalypse extended his hand and drew Xavier's unconscious body into his grasp.
At once, George manipulated Cerebro's remaining metals, shaping them into chains to bind everyone else—especially Alex, whom he struck unconscious with a single blow.
It had to be done. If Alex, in a panic, unleashed another blast into the facility's core, the entire school would be obliterated.
This way, George could at least ensure the school remained intact.
Even if this wasn't his universe, even if these weren't truly his people, there was still a connection. He couldn't simply stand by.
Same faces, same names—though some might be heroes here and villains elsewhere, he wouldn't confuse them across worlds.
In his home universe, Wolverine, Xavier, and Captain America were his friends. In another, should he encounter their darker counterparts, he wouldn't hesitate—kill when needed, bury when needed.
But if things aligned closely enough, and he could lend a hand, he would.
For instance, had he not acted just now, the school would have been reduced to rubble. Alex would have died in the blast, Mystique and the others would have been captured by Stryker.
"Well done."
Apocalypse, pleased by George's intervention, opened another portal. With Xavier unconscious in his grasp, he stepped into Cairo, the city of his ancient slumber.
Here he would construct a pyramid to serve as his reincarnation chamber, transferring his consciousness and soul into Xavier's body.
Although he had failed to annihilate humanity's nuclear arsenal, at least he had forced them all to launch. For now, no new weapons could be built.
That meant during the time required for his reincarnation, humanity posed no real threat.
As for their other weapons—planes, cannons, missiles—Magneto, one of his new Horsemen, could sweep them aside with ease.
And if anyone else dared resist, the other three Horsemen, each empowered by his enhancements, would crush them.
With that, Apocalypse stepped through the portal. Angel, Psylocke, and Storm followed close behind.
George, however, paused. In secret, he split off a thought-form clone, cloaked it in invisibility, and left it hidden behind.
(End of Chapter)