GENETIC ECLIPSE

Part IV: Second & Third Seal

By David Wheatley and Daniel Sauve

Author’s Note: This story is continued from Shadowcat #6.

The Xavier School For Gifted Youngsters. Or, if you prefer, The Xavier Institute For Higher Learning. Either way, it has been a haven for many mutants. From a young orphaned boy who could fire beams of force from his eyes, to a woman with other’s minds absorbed into hers, to a firecracker mallrat… the list is long, and contains some of the most famous – and infamous – mutants ever to live on Earth. And though this house has seen death and pain… most of those who have loved this house consider it a place of peace.

Today, however…

Charles Xavier has the Legacy Virus. If he’s lucky, his powerful telepathic ability won’t kill those he cares for when he dies. His X-Men are about the campus, with two notable exceptions. Rogue is at a movie in the village and Wolverine is in Madripoor. Charles reminds himself that they all have lives of their own and smiles.

He glances at the clock and takes a drink of coffee. He is up late tonight with paperwork. Academia does not run itself, as well he knows, and he is a touch behind. It’s busy work, and it is keeping his mind off the inevitable.

War sniffs the air, savoring the calm before the storm. He looks at the study. It’s not the first time he’s been in here for this purpose, and he sees that Xavier is distracted with the paperwork in front of him.

Hearing his name in the intruder’s thoughts, Xavier notes the presence in the room behind him, wondering how he had entered so quietly. Sabretooth is not usually that cautious.

He knows Creed’s purpose, and what is driving the mutant called Sabretooth. Creed’s mind may be full of animal rage, but he was still an open book to Xavier. He also reads that he is not just Creed or Sabretooth any longer. He is also War – a Horseman of Apocalypse.

Charles played ignorant – hard as it is, as a sense of fear and anger entered him at this intrusion – and sent a single, crystal clear telepathic signal to his X-Men, to his friends, and one other…

{Come.}

War snorted, and Charles readied himself, but the expected attack did not happen. He sensed War’s shock and seized what little advantage War had given him by sending out a psionic blast.

A blast of not rage, but calm toward Creed. The ‘glow’ that soothed Sabretooth’s rages may have been disabled when Logan drove his claw in to Creed’s head, but Xavier is a telepath of the highest order and he knows that it has not made Creed invincible on the psi plane.

However, over recent weeks, Xavier has had doubts about many things and even in this move he is placing a great deal of hope in the attack, taking the chance and knowing that against this enemy one slip will cost him dear.

He sighed as Creed grasped at his head, confused and whimpering like a wounded tiger. It was a wise risk but Xavier knows that War will quickly recover… but this is only a delaying tactic. He also senses that War is not alone.

The black Horseman entered the room with a silence that he was almost unheard, standing behind a woman. He could easily finish her now, but that’s not enough. He wants this to be a memorable experience and he reaches out and touches the stick that extends from him on to the surrounding plants. The foliage shrivels and dies with shocking speed.

He grins to himself as he feels the energy flow into him, empowering him. The energy glows black within him and he laughs. The attic garden is a joy to the woman known as Ororo Monroe, but with all the flowers dead around her, her eyes opened wide in horror, then narrowed just as quickly as Storm recognized the man responsible instantly.

“Black Tom.” As she speaks, the wind gathers around her, lifting her off her feet.

The man snorted in derision. “Black Tom Cassidy is nae more, weather witch. I am Famine. The hunger has come.”

“Iceman! Did you…”

Robert Drake nods to his new teammate Spark. “He’s in his study,” he says, sliding on the leading crest of ice he is creating.

“This had better be important,” Marrow mumbles as she falls in behind the X-Men’s frosty field leader. Iceman knows that Charles wouldn’t call at this hour if it were not, and he began to wonder at what was wrong.

The door to the study is locked, and suddenly the X-Men feel a sharp pain in the centre of their heads. Iceman says nothing as he flash freezes the locked door and shatters it. Then the importance of what was happening was confirmed.

Xavier is laid on the floor, his hover chair tipped over. The Professor is barely conscious, and there is a familiar and feral form, standing over him, growling in a frenzied pleasure.

“Creed,” said Iceman, his tone matching his frozen form.

“Creeeeeed?” the form of Sabretooth growled as he turned. “Not CREEEEEEEEED! WAR! WAR KI…”

Bobby Drake was one of Charles Xavier’s first students. He has experience in combat, which is why he quickly blasted Victor Creed with ice.

However there is also a creeping horror in his gut at the memory of one of his best friends claiming the name of a figure from the Book Of Revelations, a name associated with Apocalypse. But the X-Men’s current field leader presses himself on, knowing that if he is to prove himself a worthy field leader then this is a fight he must win.

“Keep hitting him, girls!”

“With pleasure!” Marrow answered, drawing twin daggers of her own and leaping in to the fray. Sabretooth moved with an unearthly speed as Marrow came in, his claws raking at her arm as he moved.

Marrow fell to the floor, having expected this to be like battling Wolverine. However, unlike her battle with Logan, the only lesson this man wants to teach her is how to die in as much pain as possible.

“Morlock…” Creed hissed, as he tasted her blood on his fingers, Iceman and Spark still in shock at the speed and savagery of his move. Iceman knew very well what the technology of Apocalypse was capable of and he had obviously used it on Victor Creed. Both react quickly as Creed goes to finish what he started several years ago, but they aren’t quick enough, as the claws head down towards Marrow’s heart.

Creed unleashes a savage roar, almost deafening and cutting out the sounds around him as the claws come down; but then Marrow’s not there, and there’s a stench of brimstone in the air. At the same time, several charged cards enter the room from the window, hitting Creed dead center and knocking him back against the wall, where he hears a sound that explains everything.

*BAMF!*

“Nightcrawler!” shouted a relieved Iceman as Kurt Wagner appears, holding Marrow in his arms.

“Cut that a little close, mein freund,” answered the former leader of Excalibur.

“Better late than never,” said Bobby, thankful that Nightcrawler had returned from Excalibur to be with Xavier whilst he was ill, and unleashed a blast of ice, encasing Creed. “It won’t hold him for long,” he said, as Gambit grabbed the Professor from off of the floor.

“Sarah? Ca va?” he asked as he came close and the X-Men beat a retreat to regroup.

“I’m fine,” she said, very softly. “Just need to sleep.”

“She’s losing blood,” said Kurt. “I’ll get her to the infirmary.” Iceman nodded, letting Kurt vanish in a flash, a bamf as the air rushed in to fill the void and a stench of brimstone filled the air. He wondered how hard it was for him going from being leader to being just another one of the ranks. There was a cracking noise coming from the study as Creed started to break free from the ice.

“Quoi?” asked Gambit, unable to believe that Creed could escape so quickly. The last he’d been heard of was at the Weapon X Project, where Logan had fought him again, eventually leaving him buried under the remains of the project when Juggernaut trashed the complex. He’d just lost his adamantium, had been severely wounded and infected by a death virus from the latest Weapon X.

“He’s not the man he was,” said Iceman. “Apocalypse got to him.”

“Merde,” said Gambit. “Which one is he?”

“War,” answered Spark, a primal fear in her eyes. “He called himself War.”

“Where’s Stormy?” asked Gambit as he took stock.

“I… don’t know,” said Iceman, thinking back to his recent differences with her. He wondered if he’d ignored her absence because he didn’t want her there. “I…”

“Creed… not… alone,” muttered Xavier. “Another… Horseman….” He passed out.

“Remy,” said Iceman, taking Xavier off his hands.

“Bien,” he said and started to run upstairs, leaving Bobby and Spark alone.

“I want you to head for the Danger Room,” said Iceman. “Set up some of the programs like you’ve been shown and wait. Either I’ll come in and switch off the programs or Sabretooth will enter and the room will turn on him.”

“What about you?”

“If he comes in, forget about me,” said Bobby. “Just go. Please?” Spark nodded and Iceman created a patch of ice across the hallway. “Sorry, Professor,” he said and placed him on the ice and slid him down the corridor. It would keep him safe for now and out of the way.

There was an almighty crash in the study and Bobby knew that War was free and coming after him.

Meanwhile, in the attic, Black Tom was easily evading Storm’s attacks, and anchored to the floor by his wood form to secure himself against the winds.

“Ye’ve not got a hope, X-Man,” he said. “Thanks to Weapon X and Apocalypse, I’m virtually undefeatable. I can go on forever and ye cannae!”

“We shall see,” said Storm, and unleashed a barrage of lightning assaults on him, which he met with his own energy blasts.

“That’s nae all I can do,” he chuckled gleefully, and placed his hands on the floor. “I dinnae just drain the life from organic materials. I lay waste to everything!” The room seemed to grow darker as the very building began to strain at the emaciation powers wielded by Famine. The winds being controlled by Storm suddenly became too powerful for the structure to withstand in its weakened state and it began to collapse around her.

“NO!” cried a voice as he entered the room to see it in such a state of wastage.

“Lebeau,” smiled Famine. “Let’s see how far me touch reaches!” Gambit could feel the energy being leeched from him, as the room fell about him. Storm was unable to help avoiding the debris as it was flung by the winds. Gambit leapt up, grabbing on to the doorframe and pulled himself up, out of Black Tom’s reach.

“Nice move, Cajun,” answered Black Tom, and unleashed a power blast at Storm who avoided it, but was hit by a flying brick and fell to the floor with a thud. “However it willnae save ye, or yuir leader.”

“Merde,” answered Gambit, knowing he was caught between a rock and a hard place and his choice became no easier as he saw the doorframe start to buckle in its weakened state.

“I’ll nae get you with the power yet,” said Tom with a smile. “I’ll wait for ye to fall into it. It will nae be long now.” He too could see the doorframe about to break as well. Remy looked at the floor. It seemed to have a focus for Tom’s power and he knew if he fell, he was done for.

“Say goodbye to Storm,” he said as his hands went down towards Storm’s inert body. As soon as he connected, Gambit knew Storm was as good as dead. There was no choice and he charged the doorframe and it snapped off under the pressure. Black Tom looked up from Storm as the Cajun fell towards the dark mass beneath him, and knew he was going to claim the first victim of the night.

Gambit knew it too and flung the doorframe at Famine, and it exploded, knocking through the broken wall and down to the grounds below. The dark mass remained however, focused as it was and Gambit closed his eyes, hoping it would be over quickly.

He waited and it still seemed he was falling so he opened his eyes to see he wasn’t falling but flying.

“Howdy, sugah,” came the voice of the woman he loved. Rogue had returned from watching her film in Greenwich.

“Bon soir, ma petite,” he sighed. “Next time, I’ll see the chick flick,” he answered as she put him down gently on the stairs.

“You wanted to see something with plenty of action,” reminded Rogue, and flew in to check on Storm.

“D’accord,” muttered Gambit knowing that they had to get Storm downstairs to the infirmary.

“I’m not frightened of you, Creed,” said Iceman, standing his ground.

“The name’s War, and yes, you are.”

“Don’t make me kill you.” Bobby ignored his taunts, his powers charged and ready. He knew if he stayed in his ice form there was very little damage War could do he couldn’t fix.

“You ain’t got the guts,” said Creed.

“Not for your type of killing.”

“There any other kind?”

“Yes,” he whispered as he remembered Charles and the Legacy Virus. He focused on War, locating the water in his body and freezing it, coating the Horseman in a sheath of ice. He’d only done this once before, but the principal was the same.

He hadn’t done so before because he didn’t know what he was facing. Now he did – the power of Apocalypse given to an unrepentant butcher. There was no choice. They had to stop him, before another Morlock, before another Psylocke, before anyone else fell victim to this man, this animal.

He sat down against the wall, thinking that he was no better than Creed for what he’d done. How could even the technology of Apocalypse prepare for something like that? When he’d faced Apocalypse before with X-Factor, he’d been a different person. The boy had grown up.

“Well,” said a voice from down the hall. “This is cute.” The other Horseman. It had to be, thought Bobby. He looked over to the figure. The wooden figure had a distinct lack of water within him.

“Cassidy,” he said.

“Call me Famine!” he said and unleashed a bolt of energy. Iceman instinctively dove out of the way, but he had not been the target. The bolt hit Sabretooth, freeing him. In seconds his healing factor had him up to speed and now Iceman was not facing one but two of the Horsemen Of Apocalypse.

In the infirmary, Nightcrawler was making sure that Marrow was secure. He felt a slight shudder go down his spine as he remembered the last time he had seen a Morlock in here, because of the damage done at the hands of Sabretooth and his comrades in the Marauders. It was not long after he had been struck down by Riptide and then he had been out of action for a while.

Then had come Excalibur, and he had slowly healed. Now he was back with the X-Men, and it looked as if history was repeating itself again, even only partially.

“Ach,” he said to himself, running his hand through Sarah’s hair whilst she slept, her arm bandaged and a transfusion being given. “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” He looked at ranks of the team; faces he hardly knew and most of those that he knew well were gone.

Then he heard voices and he looked over his shoulder. Rogue dropped off Gambit and Storm then sped off to help Iceman.

“Mein gott!” he said as he helped Storm on to a bed. “What happened?”

“Black Tom Cassidy,” said Gambit. “The new Famine.”

“Two Horsemen?” said Kurt, thinking. “Only two?”

“Not enough?” asked Remy, looking at Sarah, thinking back to the last time he’d seen something similar, a Morlock suffering at the hands of Sabretooth. Something that was his fault. “De hell wit’ dis!” He picked up some medical instruments from the bedside. “My turn, Creed!”

Kurt watched open-mouthed as Remy stormed off. He was wondering that if there were only two of the Horsemen, where were the others? His thoughts went to the other X-Men. They may have been separated, but they were still family, and he suspected they needed to work together if they had to stop this madness. To do that they needed to get past War and Famine.

There was nothing he could do here so he teleported upstairs.

Iceman began to back slowly away. Two-on-one was not fair, but who said being an X-Man was ever fair?

“Time to die, boyo!” said Famine, and Bobby swore if he were going down he’d take one of them with him, somehow, as Black Tom touched his head, to the laughter of Sabretooth. He could feel the life being drained from him, causing the ice sheath around him to crumble. When that went, it would soon be over. ‘Sorry, Professor,’ he thought. ‘I’ve failed you.’

“Ah don’t think so,” said Rogue, flying into Black Tom and smacking him with her fist. The touch alone was enough to severely wind her, but it put Black Tom through the wall. Iceman hit the floor like a sack of potatoes and reverted to human form.

“Hiya, cutie,” said Sabretooth advancing towards her. “Guess your rescuer ain’t gonna be the white knight?”

“How about a dark elf, then?” said Kurt, teleporting in and coming to the aid of the closest thing he had to a sister. He punched and teleported, just a fraction allowing him to punch and teleport again. He repeated it, but it served as nothing more than a distraction to Creed, who eventually grabbed him by the throat.

“Give my regards to yer brother,” he said as he prepared to rip out Nightcrawler’s larynx, only to be met with an explosion as a scalpel entered his back and it unleashed the kinetic energy put there by Remy Lebeau. He dropped Kurt, who fell to the floor coughing.

“You ain’t got what it take to stop me, Lebeau. We both know that,” said War turning to face the Cajun.

“I beat you before,” said Remy, his staff in his hand, other medical implements in his hand.

“I wasn’t myself,” answered Creed. “Wanna try again?”

“Oui,” said Gambit and was about to unleash the charged implements when a blast of bio-kinetic energy hit him. Black Tom was back up. The X-Men were helpless at the feet of the Horsemen.

“We’ve wasted too much time,” said Famine and War acknowledged him with a growl and stood over the body of Gambit as Famine crouched down to touch Rogue and Kurt, killing two birds with one stone.

“No!” came a voice and the Horsemen looked up. Spark stood there. “You want them, you’ll have to come through me!”

“You an’ what army?” asked War with a chuckle.

“That would be me,” said a voice behind him. “Hello, Tom.”

“Cain!” said Famine.

The Juggernaut had arrived.

Read Uncanny X-Men #15 for part 5 of Genetic Eclipse!

NEXT ISSUE: Genetic Eclipse Part 6! The Juggernaut has arrived – but will Cain’s friendship with Black Tom hamper the X-Men’s fighting skills? And can even the Horsemen Of Apocalypse stop the Juggernaut?