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After dealing with Stryker and those soldiers, Beast gathered the older and more combat-capable students at the school and began assigning tasks.
The ones with weaker abilities stayed behind to look after the younger students and to keep watch over Stryker and the soldiers.
Those with stronger powers—like Cyclops, Jean, and Nightcrawler—would go with them to rescue Professor X.
Although they didn't have much combat experience, the situation was too urgent to leave them behind.
Especially someone like Nightcrawler, whose teleportation ability made him perfect for rescue missions.
So this rescue team for Professor X ended up with a total of nine members.
They were: CIA agent Moira, Hank the Beast, Mystique Raven, Havok Alex, Cyclops Scott, Nightcrawler Kurt, Phoenix Jean, Quicksilver Peter, and the newly hired teacher, George.
Once everyone was gathered, Beast led them into a special underground room he had modified himself. Inside were brand-new combat suits, all made from special materials with extremely high defense.
There was also a supersonic jet he had developed himself.
He believed in the professor's ideals—show goodwill to humans and coexist peacefully—but he also remained wary of humanity.
Everything he built was to ensure that if danger ever came to the school, they could fight or escape at any time.
"Fly in the direction of the arrow. It'll lead us to the professor's exact location."
Once on the jet, George lifted his hand, and a golden arrow appeared in front of the aircraft, guiding Beast as he piloted it.
Not long after the jet left New York, everyone suddenly heard Professor X's voice echoing in their minds.
"Listen, people of this world. This is my counsel to you all—humans and mutants alike.
You have lost your way, but I have returned, and the final judgment is near.
Everything you have built…"
Meanwhile, on a hillside outside Cairo, Egypt, Apocalypse was forcing Professor X to transmit his pre-war declaration to the entire world.
George stood nearby, looking completely relaxed as he watched.
After Apocalypse finished delivering his declaration of war, he turned toward Cairo and began using his power.
Before their eyes, all the buildings in Cairo rapidly disintegrated under Apocalypse's ability, then slowly reassembled into a massive pyramid.
His rebirth ritual required an enormous amount of energy, and this pyramid would help him gather vast quantities of solar energy so he could complete the process.
While Apocalypse was constructing the pyramid, Professor X, still unwilling to give up, asked George:
"Are you truly going to take part in this slaughter and destroy the world?"
"I don't have a choice."
George said that on the surface, but in his mind, he secretly established telepathic communication with Professor X.
"Of course not. Don't be surprised—keep your expression natural."
Hearing the sudden voice in his mind, Professor X's expression changed, but he quickly composed himself.
"Who are you?"
"It's me."
George winked at Professor X, leaving him momentarily stunned.
"Erik? How do you have telepathy? No… you're not Erik!"
"I'm indeed not Magneto, but I'm not your enemy either. I disguised myself as Magneto to deal with Apocalypse."
George explained to him:
"I have a plan that should be able to take out Apocalypse. In a bit, I'll—"
"Isn't that too risky?" Professor X was uneasy. He knew nothing about the impostor standing before him and wasn't sure if this man could pull it off.
George, however, replied calmly:
"Relax. I know him very well, and I'm confident.
If we try to fight him head-on, it'll only be even more dangerous."
"Then we'll follow your plan. I'll cooperate with you," Professor X agreed in his heart.
Given the situation, they had no choice but to bet everything on this.
Half an hour later, when the pyramid for Apocalypse's rebirth was nearly halfway complete, a supersonic jet arrived in the skies above Cairo.
The mental projection George left behind had already taken care of Stryker, so Mystique hadn't been captured or taken to his base. Instead, she flew the jet straight to Cairo, saving a great deal of time.
In the original timeline, Professor X was already halfway through the rebirth process by the time the others arrived, but this time, the pyramid wasn't even finished yet before they reached the scene.
Of course, that had always been part of George's plan.
"Looks like some fools with no sense of their own limits have come looking for trouble."
Angel spread his metal wings and pointed at the rapidly approaching supersonic jet. He was now extremely confident in his power.
"Yeah, a bunch of people courting death," George said casually. Secretly, he was already communicating the battle plan to Professor X and relaying it to the team inside the jet.
"Your Majesty, don't worry. Continue building the pyramid. We'll handle this minor nuisance."
"Capture them all. I want them to understand who the true ruler of this world is."
Apocalypse nodded and continued focusing on the construction of his rebirth pyramid.
With the Four Horsemen strengthened by him—especially Magneto, who was already the strongest mutant in the world even before being empowered—the others stood no chance.
The jet landed, and six mutants in X-suits stepped out.
Beast, Mystique, Quicksilver, Cyclops, Havok, and Phoenix. George, Nightcrawler, and Moira stayed inside.
The mental projection George was using said he wasn't good at fighting. Moira, being human, couldn't participate at this level of combat, and Nightcrawler needed to wait for the right moment to rescue Professor X.
The two sides met without much talk and immediately clashed.
The Four Horsemen of Apocalypse versus six X-Men.
They traded blows, coordinating with each other, and the fight quickly turned fierce and evenly matched.
However, it didn't take long before the X-Men started to fall behind.
Even though they had Quicksilver, whose abilities went beyond conventional rules, the Magneto that George was impersonating displayed terrifying power.
Even while holding back and only using the level of power Apocalypse believed he should have, George formed an electromagnetic wall and trapped Quicksilver.
Seeing that his side had taken full control, Apocalypse decided to stop lending a hand and focused all his attention back on building the pyramid.
In another three or four minutes, the rebirth pyramid would be finished, and then the ritual could begin.
At that moment, Nightcrawler made his move. He teleported directly to Professor X's side, grabbed his arm, and then teleported back into the supersonic jet.
Seeing his rebirth vessel, Professor X, being taken away, Apocalypse paused and was about to stop building the pyramid. But George's confident voice quickly came through, calming him.
"Your Majesty, trust me—there's no escape for them!"
George extended one hand and immediately stopped the jet from taking off, then flew over himself and forcefully entered the aircraft.
(End of this chapter)