Chapter 4: Apocalypse

Now, I realize that almost all of us, once in the comic mindset and seeing the title of this post, immediately know to whom I refer. But even those of us who think we know Apocalypse don't really know the Ultimate version of Apocalypse, or at least our version (he just recently showed up in the Ultimate X-Men comic line, but we'll just ignore that, shall we?).

The Apocalypse mission was the last one the Avengers went through, and, boy, was it epic. Not only in the sheer scope of it all, but in the after effects as well. This mission is where we officially diverge from the comics continuity, though we will continue to pick and choose what we like from where the Ultimates line is now going. But from this adventure on out this game is really our own for the taking, with nothing else tying us down.

Anyway, as to what happened...

The mission started out foreboding enough. Every mutant on earth was psychically called by a powerful force to meet in Cairo, Egypt, so that they might finally gaze on their "father". This father proved to be Apocalypse, an incredibly powerful being who claimed to be the first mutant ever born. Not only did he gather an army of mutants to his cause of overthrowing humanity, but he had also appointed four "horsemen" as his generals. Exodus, a powerful psychic, was the Horseman of Death. Hemingway, an enhanced clone of Rock (created when Rock was captured by the Red Skull), was the Horseman of War. Poisonous, a mutant who could control plantlife and, coincidentally, was Zex's murderous uncle, acted as Horseman of Pestilence. And finally, Thunderbird, a mutant who controlled intense flame, was the Horseman of Famine.

Apocalypse literally went to war with the world, and S.H.I.E.L.D. had its hands full trying to hold his forces back. The X-Men, Ultimates, Avengers, Fantastic Four, and European Defense Initiative all played their part in trying to fight the mass mutant army, but Apocalypse only seemed to grow stronger by the day. He even summoned forth a gigantic spaceship, the Oblivion, long buried under the sands of Egypt. The Oblivion sported powerful technology the world had never seen, and laid waste to anyone who stood against it.

Over the course of their adventures, the Avengers gradually learned the truth of Apocalypse's existence, along with his ties to their own party. Indeed he was the first mutant, the result of a genetic experiment conducted millenia ago by a group of highly advanced aliens known as the Celestials. Apocalypse was chosen from a band of traveling nomads in the Egyptian desert to have his DNA forcibly evolved, and at first things seemed to be going beautifully. But the Celestials realized too late that the experiment had gone too well. En Sabah Nur, or the First One as he was called, began evolving far beyond anyone's expectations. He even learned how to transfer his highly-adaptable cells into other organisms, effectively "mutating" them. But since they were mutated by his own cells, Nur maintained a powerful psychic link with those he had enhanced, allowing him to take control whenever he so chose. Though one might think this would place an incredible strain on his mind, instead Nur's brain evolved alongside his body, constantly adapting to accept these new burdens and to bless him with advanced telepathic and telekinetic powers. When En Sabah Nur became violent and overthrew the Pharoah of Egypt, his name was changed to "The End" or, in our current language, "Apocalypse".

The Celestials tried to stop their Frankensteinian creation, but it was too late. Apocalypse slaughtered the crew of the Celestial starship the Tiamat, renaming it the Oblivion and attempting to use it to secure his will. It was only through the actions of one Rama-Tut, a female human general from within Apocalypse's own army yet who remained unaltered by his touch, and the Pharoah's former vizier, Ozymandias, that Apocalypse was overthrown. Rama-Tut and Ozymandias found a weapon known as the Chronal Disruptor aboard the Oblivion, a gun that greatly increased the flow of time for whatever it hit. They used it on Apocalypse, and, though his body was highly adaptable, he had to work overtime just to keep himself from dying of advanced cellular degeneration. Ozymandias placed him in a massive sarcophagus and sealed it with magic. It would only open after one thousand "godtouched" (mutants) had been sacrificed, insuring that the only way Apocalypse could be freed would be if many of his own "children" were killed. Rama-Tut took the throne, and she and Ozymandias fell into historical obscurity.

Those Apocalypse had enhanced gradually faded into the background, though the cells they had inherited from him remained. These cells diluted through the gene pool, and in the modern age when mutants became more common they were rediscovered and named the "X-gene", the genes responsible for mutation. No one knew, at least until Apocalypse returned, that the X-gene was actually his own cells, and it was through these very cells that he was able to commandeer so many mutants to his armies. Those of strong will were still able to fight it, since the effect of the psychic link was diluted, but they were a small number indeed.

Not only did the Avengers learn that Apocalypse was the source of all mutants, but they also learned about the curse that gave Ruby Teer her powers. Ruby, it turned out, was the descendant of Zaladane, a sorceress who served Apocalypse when he came to power in Ancient Egypt. As punishment for her actions, Ozymandias cursed her line to forever "make the pain of others their own", hence Ruby's ability to take the wounds of others. Ruby and her ancestors were also doomed to die when they gave childbirth, meaning they could never have a meaningful relationship for very long.

Ruby, of course, wanted the curse lifted, and came to the belief that if anyone knew how to undo it, it would be Ozymandias' foe, Apocalypse. Luminance (Seth), being deeply in love with her, also sought to end her torment, but no one could have known to what depths he would go to do so.

While exploring the ancient tomb of Rama-Tut, the Avengers found the Chronal Disruptor and hid it from everyone, including S.H.I.E.L.D., for fear of what Fury would do with such a weapon if he ever got his hands on it. But they were determined to face Apocalypse and put an end to his campaign.

The time soon came where Apocalypse, confident in his power, directly assaulted the Triskelion with Oblivion, an army of mutants and commandeered Sentinels. The Avengers, Ultimates, and X-Men fought hard to keep his forces at bay, but in the end they were forced to evacuate. The evacuation was halted, however, by the sheer firepower of the Oblivion, and it was here that Luminance made a fateful decision. Seeing the hopelessness of the situation, he abandoned the escape helicopter and, using his powers to absorb every aspect of light in the area and convert it into a massive shield of energy, managed to hold off the Oblivion long enough for everyone else to escape. Seth couldn't hold the shield forever, though, and was seemingly consumed alongside the Triskelion in a blinding flash of energy.

The Avengers, though saddened, strengthened their resolve at the loss of their teammate, and after crippling the shield that protected the Oblivion finally led a last-ditch attack on Apocalypse's floating base. They pierced through the mutant warlord's defenses, breaking into the main tower of the ship. It was here, though, that Apocalypse revealed one of his cruelest acts. Throughout their adventure the Avengers had killed off his Horsemen, and now En Sabah Nur sought to replace his fallen generals. He revealed to them his new Horseman of Death: Eclipse, a reborn Seth DeSavre, whose powers had been twisted from mastery and control of light to mastery and control of darkness.

Eclipse fought the Avengers, but it was finally through Ruby's voice that he was made to see reason and recovered his mind from Apocalypse's hold. When the Avengers finally confronted the immortal mutant, however, Apocalypse made a move to kill Ruby. Seth pushed her out of the way of a flying spear, which instead skewered him, but not before he inacted a strange exchange of energy with her. Ruby tried to take on his wounds so that she might heal them for him, but to her despair she could not. It was then that Seth revealed he had, during the bizarre "exchange", taken her curse upon himself. He had learned from Apocalypse that only one enhanced by the monster's touch could take on the curse, and so he had willingly given himself over to be remade as Eclipse, if only so he could finally free her.

As he lay dying, Seth also revealed that he had "picked up a few tricks" from Apocalypse, namely the ability to transfer one's genetic abilities to others. Seth was able to instill everyone on the team with temporary accelerated healing factors, and transferred the rest of his light manipulation powers to Ruby, replacing the cursed abilities she had lost. After this exchange took place, Ruby kissed him, and Seth died in her arms.

The Avengers went on to face Apocalypse, and the battle that resulted was truly a tour de force. They used the Chronal Disruptor on the mutant, but Apocalypse proved more than ready for that trick. Though his body still had trouble dealing with the quick advance of time, he had learned from his loss in the past, and knew how to manage his cellular structure to at least give him a fighting chance. During the fight, however, Waffleman was forced to remove his amulet, and it was then that Apocalypse learned that Waffleman's body was a gateway to all other realities. Apocalypse revealed to the Avengers that his plan was not to lead mutants to rule over humans, but rather to wipe the planet clean of life and inject his cells into every organism that would then evolve. Apocalypse did not wish to rule all life. He wished to be all life. But why bother with a planet, if he could use Waffleman to reach out to all forms of existence, everywhere?

Waffleman fled, and Apocalypse took chase through New York even as Waffleman's ever-growing reality distortion effectively destroyed the Oblivion. New York itself began changing erratically as the dimensional nexus grew nigh uncontrollable, and only the timely intervention of Dr. Strange, Sr. kept the Avengers from transforming into bizarre new organisms. Apocalypse himself proved immune to such reality distortion. The Avengers fought hard against the father of all mutants, and in the end Apocalypse was sucked into a dimensional black hole from whence there was no escape. Waffleman recovered his amulet, and quickly began flying around fixing all the unreality that still afflicted New York.

In the papers, the Avengers were labeled as heroes, and Apocalypse listed as officially dead. The team had suffered casualties, no doubt, but the world was safe again. The mutants under Apocalypse's banner were either arrested or went into hiding. The Ultimates, concerned with how the rest of the world viewed them, decided to go independant, leaving official S.H.I.E.L.D. business to the Avengers. Everything seemed to be going back to normal.

Until Seth DeSavre showed up, alive and well. Or, at least, alive.

Next post I'll go into what happened to Seth and the others, and the changes that have occurred in the two years since what is now known as "The Apocalypse War". Yes, our game takes place two years after this massive event!