THE AGGREGATION OF THE HORSEMEN

Part IV: Red Plague

By Shawn Gauthier and Jeff Axtman

Before he became the Communist ‘super soldier’ known as Omega Red, Arkady Rossovich led a life without purpose. He wandered the winding road of life aimlessly and without cause. He was a loner, a nobody. Just another face in the crowd.

Then he discovered one fateful day that he was a mutant with the ability to emit from his pores a deadly pheromone that siphoned life forces. Suddenly everything he believed true about himself was proven undoubtably and terribly wrong. Arkady went mad.

Then came the Soviet government. They gave him purpose… a reason for being. Realizing Arkady’s potential, the Communist scientists transformed him into an unstoppable agent of destruction, inbuing him with unbreakable carbonadium coils. He was made the last line of defense for the Kremlin, the ultimate weapon of the Cold War – Omega Red!

For years, he served as his nation’s greatest defender and a steadfast symbol of the strength of Communism. But then the impossible happened: the USSR crumbled, leaving behind a fractured picture of the Soviet Union’s former glory. Arkady’s nation had fallen from grace, leaving him a forgotten protector in a land that no longer needed or wanted him.

Again, his world was turned upside down, and Omega Red found himself with nowhere to go. He decided to go freelance and become a mercenary, one of many desperate attempts to give him something to live for. Eventually, he was hired by the head of the Russian mafia, Ivan Pushkin, a.k.a. Ivan the Terrible. He served his role well, but in a gruelling battle with Maverick, his carbonadium coils were fused together and he was tossed from a cliff high in the Swiss Alps. Ultimately, Pushkin was able to locate and rescue Arkady, later fixing his damaged tendrils.

Now Omega Red owes his life, his very existence, to Pushkin. For the first time since he became a defender of Communism, he has found a purpose in life: to repay the incredible debt to Pushkin by serving him with unwavering faith.

Which brings him back to the here and now… the cold, barren wastes of the Siberian Tundra. Pushkin had ordered him to survey this secluded area for a possible rendevous site between him and some high-class constituents. He realizes it is a menial task, but ever since Pushkin had been brought down by the Winter Guard, business had been undeniably slow.

As Omega Red crunches across the frozen ground, he realizes the irony in his situation. Finally, he has found an aim in life, and yet here he is, wandering through the desolate tundra, not entirely sure of what he is looking for.

Suddenly he is alarmed by a bright flash of light in the distance. To his surprise, he can make out the vague form of a large man appearing from somewhere within the light. Immediately, Omega Red identifies this mysterious intruder as a possible threat, and charges to the attack.

But as he nears his opponent, he is hit with a blast of energy that sends him reeling backwards. As he lays stunned on the cold, solid ground, Omega Red is aware of a dark shadow that is suddenly cast over him. He looks up into the crimson eyes of his attacker, the man who appeared from the light.

“I do not wish to engage in battle with you, Arkady Rossovich,” he says, his voice as icy as the bitter Siberian winds.

Omega Red rises to his feet so that his face is mere inches from the other’s. “How do you know of me, stranger? Who… are you?!” he shouts, his blood boiling in his veins. Almost reflexively, he extends his tendrils from his wrists so that they flail about his newfound enemy menacingly.

“I pose you no threat, Omega Red,” he says calmly, his fiery gaze never faltering for even a second. “I am familiar with all mutants, but it is only the strong that interest me, and deserve my undivided attention. I am called Apocalypse, and you, Omega Red, are one of the strong. A mutant fit for survival in the coming epoch.”

Slowly, Arkady backs down and sheaths his carbonadium coils; but still he scowls up at Apocalypse. “Stop speaking to me in riddles, madman! What is it you want with me?”

“I wish to make you Pestilence, the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse. With you by my side, my forces shall be complete, and I shall be prepared to make my move.”

“An interesting offer, to say the least,” Omega Red responds, his fists clenched tightly by his sides, “but my loyalty belongs to Ivan Pushkin.”

“Ah, yes,” Apocalypse replies, his voice unusually low. “The human saved your life, so you pledged your undying faith to him. That is the first sign of your weakness.”

Omega Red’s eyes flash with rage as he stares up at Apocalypse. “Weakness?” he growls.

“Affiliating yourself with mere Homo Sapiens is degrading,” Apocalypse counters coolly. “You are infinitely better – stronger – than they could ever hope to be, and I want you to prove so by joining me.”

“And what can you offer me in return for my services, Apocalypse?” Omega Red asks.

For a moment, Apocalypse is silent as he stares down at his quarry. When he speaks again, his tone is sharp and slow. “I know about you, Arkady Rossovich. Do not think me ignorant of your situation. I know that the mutant pheromones inside your body require you to drain the life forces of others constantly in order to survive. I have the means to neutralize the effects of the death factor and stabilize your body.”

Immediately upon hearing those words, Omega Red straightens up, his interest piqued. “You have… the carbonadium synthesizer?!”

“No. The whereabouts of that particular device, even I do not know. Rather, I have developed an alternative method of neutralizing your deadly pheromones using the technology in my possession.”

“Then… you can… cure me?” Arkady says, his voice small.

“Not only can I cure you, Omega Red…” Apocalypse replies confidently, “I can make you STRONGER.”

Several minutes later, on the other side of the globe; the Libyan Desert, Egypt.

Far below the sweltering sun in Apocalypse’s personal stronghold, the transformation pod slowly closes around Omega Red’s body as he lies in his translucent sarcophagus. Apocalypse steps back to admire his handiwork – four sealed pods side by side, each containing one of his new Horsemen.

“The first phase of my plan is now complete,” he says approvingly. “My Horsemen have all been gathered, and soon they shall be prepared to usher in a new age in which only the strong shall survive!”

Behind him, Apcalypse’s Dark Riders enter the vast chamber. The leader of the group, a mutant by the name of Danielle Moonstar, steps forward and falls to one knee before her lord and master.

“Forgive me for the interruption, m’lord,” she apologizes as she stares timidly at the stone floor, never daring to look directly into Apocalypse’s eyes. “There is someone with us who wishes to speak to you concerning the Askani’Son.”

Apocalypse whirls his head around to look her up and down. “Who could possibly know…?!”

“It is I, Apocalypse,” says a large, blue-skinned man as he steps forward from behind the other Dark Riders, Trial, and Tusk. “You may or may not recognize me as Post, former minion of Onslaught and mortal enemy of the one called Cable.”

“What is it you want with me, lackey?!” Apocalypse bellows.

“We both share a common goal, En Sabah Nur… the complete and utter destruction of the Askani’son. I believe that by joining you, we could both further our mutual cause.”

Apocalypse stares at Post for what seems like an eternity to Moonstar and the others present. The only sound that fills the dark hall is the whirs and hums of the transformation pods as they continue to change their prisoners in Apocalypse’s image. Finally, he speaks again.

“Perhaps you are correct, Post,” he replies, his gaze distant as he speaks. “Ours is a common road. We share a dual fate that might be beneficial to my plans for the future. An alliance may be in order.”

“Then it is settled?” Post asks hesitantly. “Am I now a servant of Apocalypse?”

At these words, Apocalypse smiles wickedly. “Not quite yet.”

And with a slight nod to Moonstar, his most trusted minion, she reaches out with her vast psionic powers. She enters Post’s tragically convoluted mind, past the deteriorating psionic barriers that Onslaught had erected, and into the deepest recesses of his fractured psyche. There, she destroys any remainder of telepathic manipulation that Post had experienced in the past and wipes his mind free of the remaining human fears and emotions that had once made him the man known as Kevin Tremain. And with a final nudge of her psi-powers, she multiplies Post’s hatred for Cable tenfold.

With a slight shout of pain, she leaves his mind and falls limply to the stone floor of the fortress. At once Trial and Tusk help their leader to her feet. Apocalypse glances at her, then back to Post, who is eerily silent, a blank look etched on his dispassionate face.

“I trust the process was a success? Is he now fully devoted to me and my cause, Moonstar?” Apocalypse questions.

“It… is done…” she replies weakly as she puts a hand to her head. “His is the will of Apocalypse.”

“Excellent,” Apocalypse says solemnly.

Suddenly, from across the room, Trial gasps in surprise. Apocalypse watches as he withdraws a data receptor protruding from his arm from the main computer console, which is uplinked to all four transformation pods.

“What is wrong, Trial?” Apocalypse demands.

“Master, the transformation pods have stopped running! The process is complete!” he blurts out.

Apocalypse steps forward and gestures with a hand to the modules lined up against the far wall. “Then let me introduce you all to the new Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse!”

“DEATH!”

Apocalypse opens the first pod and pulls back the translucent film surrounding the person inside. Suddenly, the young woman’s eyes shoot open and begin glowing bright pink. She steps from the sarcophagus to reveal a costume made of purple armor. Scars adorn her face where there used to be metal nuero-locks put in place by Sinister to hold back her lethal powers.

“My gift to this one, once called Threnody, was control and confidence. As a mutant under the employ of my hated enemy, Sinister, she had very little control over her death-siphoning powers and even less confidence in her self. Now she can control her powers to their fullest extent, giving her the ability to siphon off death-energies from those still alive and to redirect that energy into extremely powerful plasma blasts.”

“WAR!”

The pod door slides open, revealing inside more of an animal than a man. The beast, short blond hair covering its entire body, springs from the sarcophagus. It growls inhumanly as it tears at the already shredded brown and gold costume still covering most of its body.

“My gift to this one, formerly Sabretooth, was pure, unbridled bestiality. Often primal rage, the instinctive bid for survival, is the one thing in war that turns the tide of a battle. I have let Creed embrace his feral persona, creating a beast of raw power with a lightning-quick healing factor, jaws that can crush anything, and claws that can shred the meat cleanly from an enemy’s bones.”

“FAMINE!”

Apocalypse presses a button on a console near the third transformation pod, immediately opening the hatch. Emerging from the sarcophagus is a man, covered in what appears to be wood-armor. Long, sharp talons of wood extend from his fingertips and crackle with a bright orange energy. Upon setting foot on the stone floor of the great fortress, roots extend from his feet and slither along the ground, implanting themselves between the cracks and crevices and anchoring their owner in place. He looks up, and his inhuman eyes flash wickedly.

“In the case of the one once known as Black Tom Cassidy, I have transferred his hunger for power into his new abilities. I have made him complete, melding his body with true organic wood, allowing for greater use of his inherent mutant bio-blasts and granting him control of all fauna in close proximity to him. By utilizing complicated root systems under his control, for example, he can absorb the nutrients from his victims’ bodies, leaving them callow, withered husks of what they once were.”

“PESTILENCE!”

With the push of a button, the final module slowly opens to reveal the Fourth Horseman inside. He is adorned in red metallic armor from head to foot. From his wrists, stark white carbonadium tendrils slither and coil around his body. His bright red eyes shine wildly in contrast to his pale white skin.

“Direction and determination were my gifts to this one, formerly Omega Red. His powers were well-suited for my transformation process, which increased their overall effectiveness dramatically. Now, he has the ability to secrete his death pheromones from his pores, making it an air-borne contagion. In addition, his near-indestructable carbonadium coils can infect a victim immediately upon contact with them. Thus, his plague is inescapable.”

Turning from Post, Trial, Tusk, and Moonstar, Apocalypse motions to the Horsemen before them.

“And so, my chosen, you have been gathered before us today as a living testament to my motto of survival of the fittest! In the near future, you will be set upon the unsuspecting weak, spreading chaos and destruction to the four corners of the earth!”

Deeper inside the ancient fortress, in a hidden room located somewhere within the labyrinthine halls and corridors of Apocalypse’s great fortress, there is a fifth transformation pod. It is twice the size of the other pods and it glows with a strange yellow energy that lights up the entire chamber. Odd shadows dance across the walls, adding to the element of mystery surrounding the module. Huge cables and conduits run along the floor, connecting the sarcophagus to an enormous power grid located in the corner of the room. The computer systems grind and click, performing their individual tasks to transform the subject inside completely into Apocalypse’s mysterious Fifth Horseman.

Yet only Apocalypse intends to know of this transformation pod’s existence, and as such has hidden it within these ancient walls… for the power held inside of it is unimaginable. Once released, it will be an unstoppable force to be reckoned with, and no one on Earth – save for the strong – will survive.

Within lies… ARMAGEDDON!

For more on Apocalypse’s upcoming plans, check out the Genetic Eclipse prologues in Cable #7 & Shadowcat #5! Then be sure to read Uncanny X-Men #14 for Part 1 of the storyline that will change Apocalypse forever!

NEXT ISSUE: Genetic Eclipse Part 2! Why has Apocalypse kidnapped Kitty Pryde… and will she be able to escape his clutches alive?! Plus: Apocalypse sends his Horsemen into battle against the Uncanny X-Men!