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THEY PILED OFF OF the jet onto the ruins of Cairo. "Hank, Olivia, you go with the kids. Moira will be waiting on the plane," Raven turned and looked at Scott, who looked hesitant. "What?"
"Not all of us can fully control our powers," He frowned.
"Then don't," Raven stated plainly. "You need to embrace them," She paused. "We all do," Olivia couldn't help but smile as Raven shed her human form and her beautiful blue skin took its place. It was time. Peter slipped on his goggles and held Raven by her neck, speeding off to Eric.
Hank and Olivia watched them go, then turned to each other. "You ready for this, kiddo?" He placed a hand on her shoulder.
Taking one last look where Raven and Peter used to be, she nodded. "Hell yeah," She turned to the kids. "Come on, we need to take cover."
Following Hank, they ducked and ran through the city ruins until they found a solid wall that they could all hide behind. "There's an entrance. It's clear," Hank exclaimed. No one moved, however. Everyone paused — it all seemed too easy. As Oliva readjusted her eyes to the sky, she could just make a small blob, becoming clearer every second. Jean gasped from next to her as the birdman's mental wings extended. "Kurt! Get in there!" Hank yelled to the teleporting boy, who immediately had poofed away, a blue cloud left where he had stood. The birdman slowed his momentum and flapped his wings in one big swoop. Oliva ducked as the sharp metal feathers flew towards them. Jean acted quickly, rising pieces of broken stone and wood to block them. But upon realizing Kurt had escaped him, the birdman quickly turned back to the pyramid. "In the pyramid! Move!" Hank instructed.
"Go!" Olivia pushed Jean and Scott forward as the four of them rushed for the pyramid entrance in an effort to help Kurt. A sudden lightning bolt forced them back. Olivia instinctively grabbed Jean's arm to pull her back. From the lighting emerged a girl, another one of Apocolypse's disciples. All they could do was stare in shock as she controlled the weather around them. The air swirled as dust and debris were lifted into the wind. With the powerful gust of wind, the young girl flung a car. Grabbing Scott as well, Olivia quickly pulled the teens down. Hank managed to grab the car. Scott stood, releasing himself from Olivia's grip and flicked his sunglasses off, shooting a red beam of light at the disciple, who just managed to jump out of the way, and with the small amount of momentum he had, Hank managed to swing the car back towards the girl.
In another twist, the car was sliced in half just before it could land on the girl. With a violet beam erected from her palm, another disciple, a woman, landed swiftly just in front of Jean, Olivia, and Scott. She said something to the girl and before they could do anything, lighting was being shot at them. Jean and Scott ran screaming, dodging the bolts. Olivia did her best to avoid them, but she knew the worst that could happen if they hit her was a mild headache, but the best — she would be fully powered up. She had been separated from the others and the lightning girl was on her trial. A precise lightning strike underneath her feet tripped Olivia. She let out a yelp as she fell face forward into concrete slabs. She felt her nose crack and bend in a way no nose should. Before she could even move to get up, another strike of lightning shot her painfully in the back. Olivia cried out in pain as more and more electricity filled her. It just kept coming and coming, she couldn't contain it.
In an act of desperation, Olivia allowed the girl to fill her power limits. It was way more than she could handle — her jaw tightened in pain to keep her screams at bay — the pain was excruciating. When the lighting finally stopped, Olivia remained still. She could hear the girl's footsteps approach her. Every now and then she would flinch or twitch from the overwhelming amount of electricity in her veins. When the girl finally stopped at her twitching body, Olivia let go. A massive energy surge of electricity exploded around her. The girl, caught in the explosion, was flung far away. Shaking, Olivia barely managed to sit up against a wall. In the distance, she could see the magnetic field in which Eric was controlling it and she thought she could see Peter, as well, but it might have been just a hallucination, as seconds later, she passed out.
When she started to come to, Olivia's head was pounding. Jean and Kurt leaned over her in the jet, nervously watching. "What happened..?" She groaned, rubbing her temple.
"We got the Professor," Jean sighed with relief.
Olivia nodded slowly, trying to set herself up to see Charles. She nearly vomited as she world spun. Jean was quick to cradle her. The jet started up and they shakily got into the air. Olivia kept her eyes closed, knowing she would vomit all over Jean if she didn't. There was a sudden thud on the roof of the jet. Olivia strained her ears to listen as everyone else looked around nervously. "What the hell was that?" Moira exclaimed. Sparks flew from the ceiling as the disciples attempted to break-in.
"Kurt!" Jean called to get the blue boy's attention. "Everyone, grab hold of Nightcrawler!"
Kurt shook his head, panicked. "I've never done it with this many people!"
"Get us out of here!" Jean huffed, insistent.
Squinting her eyes open, Olivia managed to grab Kurt's hand. She tried her best to smile at the nervous boy. Kurt grabbed hold of the professor while Jean and the others grabbed whatever part of him they could. Olivia jumped as the ceiling caved in and standing above were the birdman and the purple plasma woman. The birdman dropped in, and to give Kurt more time, Jean moved the controls of the plane to put them in a dive. The birdman fumbled and the woman on the roof fell forward. "Kurt! Hurry!" Jean exclaimed as they approached the ground faster and faster. Kurt groaned, shutting his eyes as his powers became sporadic. "Kurt!" Jean yelled once more.
Kurt strained himself harder and Olivia shut her eyes, expected to hit solid ground, but instead, her stomach twisted and suddenly she fell onto carpets. Groaning, she rubbed her eyes and looked around — Kurt had done it — all of them were safely out of the jet. Her relief turned to worry, however, when she caught sighed of Kurt passed out in the middle of them. Olivia was at his side at once, checking his pulse. "Is he okay?" Scott asked.
"It's his energy," Olivia explained as she checked the boy for injuries. "He's drained."
Everyone took a moment to pause, to breathe. "Get out," The sudden voice of Charles caused them all to turn. He laid in Jean's lap, convulsing. Olivia hadn't even noticed that he had lost his hair. "Get out!" He yelled. Jean tried her best to calm him.
"Professor it's okay. You're with us," Charles huffed as his eyes snapped open. Breathing heavily, he took in his surroundings. "It's okay," Jean soothed once more.
Olivia reached out and touched his ankle softly. Charles raised his head and his breathing softened at the sight of her. Turning her attention back to Kurt, she signalled Hank. "Could you lift him and lay him there? I'll get a pillow," The Beast nodded. In a small corner of the destroyed house were some old, dusty pillows. They would have to do. She placed two against the wall and Hank tentatively placed Kurt down, resting his head against them. "Thank you," Olivia sighed, leaning on the wall to support herself. Hank's eyebrows knitted with concern. "Don't look at me like that," She rolled her eyes and huffed. "I'm fine,"
Hank cocked his head. "Are you? Kurt brought you on the jet passed out cold, your nose is broken, and you have scaring all over your arms..." He sighed and shook his head. "What happened?"
Olivia shrugged, rubbing the scars Hank had pointed out. "The girl with the white hair who can control the weather...I let her hit me with some of her lightning,"
"You what?!" Hank screeched.
"It's fine!" Olivia huffed. "Once she got close enough to me I expelled the energy and created an energy surge, kinda like an atomic bomb. Sent her flying," She chuckled lightly but immediately stopped at the sight of Hank's disappointed face. "Oh, come on! I did what I had to."
"You exceeded your limits, that is what you did," He crossed his arms. "You know you could've been seriously injured or killed? Did you have any idea what you were do-"
"Of course I did!" She exclaimed. She ignored the looks that Scott, Moira, and Jean gave them. "I made my choice and I stand by it. You're treating me like I'm some sort of baby who can't think for herself! I'm not your child, Hank. You're not my dad." She regretted the words as soon as she said them. Hank's face dropped. "Hank, I-"
He placed his hand up. "Don't. I get it. You're an adult. I just...care about you, okay? I only want you to be careful next time."
He left her standing alone with her thoughts. How could I say that? I didn't mean it! "He knows that," Jean's voice echoed in her head. "You were just angry. After all of this is over, you can apologize." Jean sent her a sympathetic smile. Olivia mentally thanked her and looked out at the destroyed city in front of them. How are we going to get out of this? She thought sadly.
A distant yell alerted them all. "Charles!? Show yourself!" Apocolypse's voice sent a shiver down Olivia's spine. "Charles!" She looked down at the man in question, who was pale and weak. Her stomach tightened. "Show yourself!"
Then, someone screamed. A yell caught in Olivia's throat as she recognized the voice. "Peter..." She gasped. She rushed to the window to see him, leg stuck and nearly snapped in two. Charles slowly sat up, his jaw slacked and eyes wide. Peter's groans continued and it took everything in Olivia not to go to him. He was hurt and she needed to help him. Apocalypse held him by the hair, pulling his head back as the eldest disciple approached with a katana. Olivia's hands flew to her mouth as she was about to strike, but suddenly, she swung the sword at Apocalypse, slicing his neck.
That backfired, however, as Apocalypse, completely unphased, grabbed her neck and lifted her high off the ground. After a few moments, the skin of the woman melted away to reveal Raven
"Raven..." Charles called out in pain. Olivia turned to see the man's eyes watering.
"I'm going out there," Hank balled his fists.
"I'm going with you," Scott chimed in.
"No," Charles coughed, groaning as he tried to sit up. Hank and Scott both stopped in their tracks. "It's me he wants."
Moira stepped forward. "Charles, you can't give yourself up. If he has you he has all of us," That stopped Charles momentarily. "The whole world."
"Charles! Come! Rescue your weaklings!" Apocolypse called out once again. Olivia watched as Charles battled himself, his face contorted into pain as he fought with the idea of staying or going. "Give your life for theirs!"
Charles let out a choked sob. "N-No," He sat up quickly, eyes filled with determination. But as he sat up, something dawned on him. "He was right. There is still some part of me connected to him."
"And that means?" Olivia asked nervously.
Charles looked at her, courage surging through him. "I can get inside his head." He smirked.
"Charles! Will you do nothing?!" Apocolypse yelled louder.
Quickly, Charles laid back down on his pillow and sighed deeply. "Thank you for letting me in..."
AUTHORS NOTE
I'm so happy to update this book again! Apocalypse is almost finished, so that means we get into some good bonding time with Peter and Olivia!! Hope you enjoyed it!