AWAKENING

By Shawn Gauthier

History is taking place everyday all around us. Sometimes in this fast-paced society we lose sight of this fact. We fail to notice all the small events taking place around us and how they build upon one another until something earth-shattering happens. Many people can say that they were present for these earth-shattering events but only a few can say that they noticed all the small events leading to it. If more people would pay attention to the small nuances in life, they would be able to foretell such events.

This is to be such a moment. So sit up and pay attention because this is the beginning of something earth-shattering!

It all starts in a hidden chamber beneath the hot sands of the Libyan Desert in Egypt. Five hundred feet beneath the sun-baked sands of the desert to be exact. There is no light in the room. Dust covers everything in the chamber and clings to the many cobwebs that hang from the ceiling.

Suddenly, the silence of the room is broken by the hum of a single motor. A small, solitary red light blinks on, casting an eerie glow at the far end of the chamber. The light is joined by another and another as more computers spring to life. Dust molecules fly through the air until they are captured by an air filtration system that has turned on for the first time in years. Soon after, the room fills with a symphony of lights and noises.

Upon removing the dust and dirt from the room a large capsule begins its slow descent to the chamber floor. The outer hull of the capsule is covered with computer panels and blinking lights. Its massive frame is large enough to have fit four grown men comfortably. Amazingly the large capsule comes to rest gently onto the floor without a sound. Immediately sections of the capsule begin to twist and turn in such a manner as to reveal its contents. The sole occupant of the capsule steps out into the chamber.

BE WARNED! APOCALYPSE HAS AWAKENED!

En Sabah Nur, the legendary first mutant of Earth. He who threw off his chains of slavery to become the massive mutant with god-like powers who now steps from within the capsule. He is credited with the formation of the Dark Riders, as well as the Four Horsemen, who alone have killed hundreds in the name of Apocalypse’s dream. A dream of a world where only the fittest survive. In his world he is judge, jury, and executioner. He has sent thousands to their deaths because they have been found guilty of one crime only: being weak.

Apocalypse, the mad tyrant who has time and time again been predicted to rise to power and reshape the world to his bloody and deadly image. In short, he is power and evil incarnate.

Apocalypse has risen again, like before, to plague the Earth at critical junctures through out history. This time his mission is simple: he must destroy the prophecized Twelve and the Askani’son, a.k.a. Cable, before they are able to gather together to challenge his rule. Once these heroes are eliminated nothing can stand in the way of his quest for total domination. His lips would spread into a smile as he thinks of the savagery of the work that lays ahead, but Apocalypse’s lips have long since forgotten how to smile.

Suddenly, without warning, long mechanical tentacles spring towards the mutant conqueror from the computer consoles that line every corner of the room. First they ensnare Apocalypse’s hands and feet before wrapping themselves around his neck and face. Even more tentacles come from the surrounding darkness, puncturing and hooking themselves into their target before retracting in an effort to draw and quarter their prey.

In response, Apocalypse’s hands morph into large blades and manage to cut away at some of the tentacles surrounding them. But before the severed tentacles can fall away, even more spring forth from the darkness to take their place. At that moment some of the hooked tentacles start to rip free from his body taking large chunks of his flesh with them.

“Enough!” roars Apocalypse, as his hands begin rotating at high speeds, causing the blades to become a pair of deadly propellers. Once his hands are freed he begins cutting away at the other tentacles that have attached themselves to him. Numerous screams fill the room as the tentacles retreat back into the computer consoles from which they came.

Not wanting to give his enemies another chance to strike, Apocalypse moves to the closest computer console while his hand takes a shape that allows him to plug himself into one of the console’s terminal ports. A surge of electricity leaves Apocalypse’s body and travels through the computer system. More screams are heard as the creatures that attacked him are electrified.

To escape the excruciating pain of high voltage traveling through them the creatures immediately purge themselves from the computer system. As a result, they emerge from a console on the other side of the chamber. This gives Apocalypse his first real look at his attackers. There standing about thirty yards away are, what at first glance appears to be two Hounds. But upon a closer examination Apocalypse can see that their exterior is covered with Phalanx technology. A deadly combination of technologies merged into flesh.

In unison, the two combatants spring at Apocalypse with unimaginable speed. Unfortunately they are not fast enough as Apocalypse moves with a speed that defies his size. With one powerful swing Apocalypse swats the first of the Hounds into the hibernation capsule that he has just emerged from. Immediately the automatic systems kick in as the door shuts and the hibernation sequence commences.

The second of the Hounds manages to evade Apocalypse’s other fist and gets in close enough to slash at its intended target. A force field, however, keeps the creature’s claws at bay. Apocalypse then pulls a small object from within him and attaches it to the Hound before finally pushing the creature away.

The creature lands on the other side of the room in the crouch position ready to launch its counterattack. However, before it can execute its attack the small device attached to it explodes, tearing apart the creature’s right side. The explosive device is still not done with it’s victim. On a microscopic level, small cells of the Techno-Virus begin to attack the Phalanx. As the new cells start to overcome the Phalanx, the creature begins to spasms and howl in pain. Death does not come quick for the Hound.

“Show yourself!” bellows the giant form of Apocalypse. “Where are you, Trial? Your tests have failed yet again, but I am intrigued by your test subjects. You have been busy while I slept.”

“Thank you, Master,” responds Trial, who appears to be more machine than human. “They were a hybrid between Operation Zero Tolerance’s Hounds and a Phalanx Scout Drone. I have sent over twenty such tests into the surrounding cities and villages and they have performed extremely well at eliminating the weak. To date they have brought about four hundred and sixty eight deaths of those who were deemed to be too weak to survive.”

Trial is Apocalypse’s newest addition to his army. He has an overwhelming lust for inflicting pain and misery on others. He is a genius when it comes to technical and biological advancements, and has combined his two loves by spending most of his time creating improved killing machines.

It is this ability that caught Apocalypse’s eye, and led to Trial being drafted into Apocalypse’s army. Now everytime Trial succeeds in creating a new and more effective killing machine, his master rewards him by replacing more and more of his flesh with alien technology. It is Trial’s hope that one day with his master’s assistance and advanced technology, he can himself become the ultimate killing machine like those he creates. It is obvious that he must be very good at his job, since he now bears almost no resemblance to his former human self.

Trial also doubles as the new caretaker of Apocalypse’s current headquarters. Though he is capable of this chore, Apocalypse finds him to be a lacking replacement for his former caretaker, Ozymandias.

Ozymandias had once been a master to Apocalypse before his ascension to power and had served him well for generations after his ascension. In fact it is Ozymandias’ ability to foresee the future of mutantkind that will enable Apocalypse to complete the task at hand, the killing of the prophesied Twelve. Ozymandias had used his chisel to carve future battle scenes of the conflict between Apocalypse and the Twelve. The final scene, Apocalypse’s favorite, consisted of Apocalypse standing triumphant over the shattered bodies of the Twelve. But more importantly the picture was detailed enough to show Apocalypse who the Twelve would be.

The Twelve are those twelve mutants who are to play key roles in shaping an idyllic future for mutantkind. Legend has it that the Askani’son will gather these mutants together, and so Apocalypse’s mission is simple: he will destroy the Twelve before the Askani’son can gather them, thus leaving only himself to shape the future of mutantkind.

“Trial! Have your scouts been able to track the activities of the twelve mutants I told you about earlier?” asks the mutant master.

“Yes, Master,” answers Trial as he punches a few buttons on a keyboard to extract the information requested.

Apocalypse immediately begins to review the information on the current activities of the Twelve. The first sign that something is wrong comes as he observes that the X-Men have now split into two teams, half following Cyclops’ more aggressive dream while the rest have stayed to follow Xavier’s dream. Ozymandias had not predicted that Xavier’s first student would develop his own backbone and stand against his former teacher. Puzzled, Apocalypse reads on but what he reads only serves to disturb him even more.

Both Alpha Flight, Canada’s own superhero team, and Excalibur, England’s answer to the X-Men, are still in existence. Ozymandias had predicted that both teams would have been dissolved by now. In addition, Havok, who was predicted as being one of the Twelve, was recently killed in an aircraft explosion. Magneto, who should have become ruler of Genosha by now, is missing. And lastly, the Twelve’s gatherer, the Askani’son, a.k.a. Cable, is also missing.

It quickly becomes obvious that while Apocalypse slept, something happened. Something that has altered the course of events in the universe. What then of the Twelve’s identities? Could they have also been affected by this event? This thought disturbs Apocalypse most.

Without a word, Apocalypse leaves the computer screen and darts down the hall towards where Ozymandias’ hieroglyphics are carved on the tunnel walls. He runs past pictures depicting the formation of the original X-Men team, drawings of the Mutant Massacre, the X-Tinction Agenda, and the X-Cutioner’s Song, and finally the past pictures of the Onslaught. All these are pictures of things that have been.

He then rounds a corner that leads to pictures of things that will be. But to his surprise the walls are blank. All of Ozymandias’ work is gone. Sandy footprints cover the floor, thus telling Apocalypse two things.

The first is that most likely Ozymandias’ drawings have come to life and fled the area for parts unknown. Apocalypse himself is responsible for altering Ozymandias’s state, making it possible for him to see the future and filling him with the incredible desire to record it on the caverns walls. So he knows what his former servant is capable of. That his drawings could come to life does not surprise him in the least.

The second thing that the sandy footprints tell him is that some unknown force has altered or boosted Ozymandias’ powers. Ozymandias had to be present for this to happen and Apocalypse is sure that his former servant has not been here for quite some time. Yet here before him is proof of what Ozymandias can now do. Who could enhance his powers like that? And more importantly, who could give Ozymandias enough confidence to move against him? The idea of a new unknown player becoming involved does not bode well with Apocalypse.

Putting these thoughts aside, Apocalypse continues to the end of the hall where Ozymandias’ most important picture is. The picture depicting his triumph over the Twelve. As he nears the end of the hall, Apocalypse is relieved to see that the picture is still there.

As he gets closer, however, his hopes are dashed. The picture, though still there, has changed. Now instead of showing a triumphant Apocalypse, it shows the Askani’son standing victorious over his broken form. In the background is chiseled the Twelve faceless mutants who will witness this event.

The identities of the Twelve have indeed been changed by the same event that affected the course of events in the universe. Their identities are now unknown to him. In frustration, Apocalypse punches his fist through the wall containing the picture, watching with grim satisfaction as the wall crumbles to dust.

Everything has changed while he slept.

Apocalypse slowly makes his way to the entrance of his complex. His mind is racing with possibilities. What has happened to change the course of the universe? Where is the accursed Askani’son? Who has his former servant, Ozymandias, allied himself with to oppose him? Which twelve mutants will now become the new legendary Twelve? He is sure that Ozymandias still knows who the Twelve will be.

As the massive door to the complex opens up, Apocalypse stares out into the horizon at the strange new world. For the first time in a long time, he does not know how things will turn out. For the first time he does not have all of the answers. But he knows where he can get the answers he needs. Ozymandias. He has to find Ozymandias!

“Computer, where is Ozymandias?” he asks.

The answer comes back in a cold, digitized voice, “Ozymandias’ location cannot be detected.”

It is as he feared. Some powerful and mysterious force is aiding and hiding his former servant from him. How should he go about finding his former servant? Finally the answer dawns upon him. If one of his former servants is hiding from him, then he will simply have to use another one of his former ‘students’ to find the him.

“Computer… locate the team of mutant children called X-Force and teleport me to their location.”

Within seconds, Apocalypse’s image starts to shimmer and dim as the fortress’ computer follows his instructions.

The search for Ozymandias has begun…

NEXT, IN CABLE #2: The Search For Ozymandias starts here! As both Cable and Apocalypse race to reach Ozymandias first, the lives of the legendary Twelve hang in the balance!

NEXT ISSUE: The Search For Ozymandias continues, as Apocalypse comes face to face with the Askani’son – Cable himself! But will this be their final showdown? And what happens when the party is crashed by a foe from the X-Men’s past?!