#18 What If...

Apocalypse has defeated the Twelve?

Part II: "What Have We Lost?"
Written by Brent Lambert
Dec 2014
Chapter Five
TChalla walked in the sand with Brunnhilde at his side. Hauptmann and the rest of his bodyguards kept a
safe distance behind them. TChalla had little fear of an Australian attack; Apocalypse hadnt grown that
bold yet. What did The Sky Fathers say?
They will send soldiers, but only those capable of death. TChalla, they fear they may make things
worse.
TChalla laughed. I hardly see how.
The Celestials. Long ago, Odin and the rest agreed to keep out of Earths affairs. Even the offering they
give us now is putting that at risk. Brunnhilde spoke with desperation and a need to be understood.
TChalla was wise enough to hear that. They are gods. I would not bring what they fear amongst mortals.
What they offer is enough.
Brunnhilde smiled in relief and nodded. It will be an honor to fight for humanity. My Valkyries are
prepared.
Would you come to The Council meeting with me? Tell them all that you know.
It would be my privilege.
They continued to walk. Brunnhilde let the water lap at her boots. I heard battle has started in Africa.
Yes. Blade and Fury managed to make the first wave a success, but The Sadist will not make it easy for
us, TChalla said, his thoughts briefly fearing for his friends. A king could not afford that emotion.
Brunnhilde frowned. I have heard that name many times. Why do they call her that?
Prelate Reyes started off her career as a medic, healing the men and women of Apocalypse. She then
moved into being an interrogator. Her overzealous use of her anatomy knowledge made her unsuited for
gathering intel. But she could strike fear. I have heard my fair share of chilling stories.
Do her tactical skills match her torturous ones? Brunnhilde asked.
Unfortunately, yes. The woman is brilliant. She is going to make Africa a hard acquisition every step of
the way.
Then let me kill her. I have enough people to assault her home with the singular goal of killing her.

TChalla laughed. Her zeal reminded him so much of Shuri. You are brave for suggesting it, but no. I
would have your people fighting alongside mines. We need you to live for our cause, not die for it.
I will gladly do that, Brunnhilde said. An ocean breeze blew through her hair. TChalla found it beautiful.
It was truly a shame he had no time for beauty anymore. His world was drowning in war and death. Even
those two words evoked a different, new level of terror when spoken. Apocalypse truly had left no part of
the world untouched. The tyrant robbed them of everything but their courage and utter will to survive.
Strong concepts, but not enough to live with. It made hard, callous people.
If we survive the battles to come, I would very much like to just talk Brunnhilde. Your world must be full of
such sights, TChalla smiled. It felt odd and atrophied.
Brunnhilde nodded. I would like that.
TChalla returned the expression. So let us go to talk about war shall we?
What leaders of man will be there? Brunnhilde asked, a steel entering her voice. She became the
warrior again. The woman TChalla needed, not necessarily wanted. He believed she would be an angel
of death in Africa. He had to believe that because he wanted her to survive desperately.
I sometimes think it would be easier if it was just men, but all the races of Earth that are left have united
against Apocalypse. You will meet Dracula, Black Bolt, Grotesk, Andromeda, Sersi and Shuni Obigze.
Dracula? Truly?
Yes. Apocalypse even finds the Vampire Nation distasteful.
He would wipe the Earth of us all. Surtur would find good company in this Apocalypse.
Black Panther hoped it would never come to that.

Chapter Six
Messiah wasnt sure about having personal guards with him at all times, but his X-Men and TChalla
insisted on it. He just wasnt going to spend the amount of time it would take to get them to change their
minds. So as he entered the Tokyo restaurant, he was flanked by Meggan, Marrow and Siena Blaze.
Waiting for his arrival were Mystique, Morph and Viper.
My apologies for being late. Ran into Prelates in Vietnam. Messiah saw all of them frown. Im not too
important to avoid a fight. I do what I have to, same as the rest of you.
Oh lets be real. You go down, this whole thing is screwed, Morph said.
Viper agreed. You and your X-Men are really the only group willing to constantly fight in America. The
Last Alliance cant afford to lose that.
He wasnt sure how genuine she was being. Messiah was well aware that Viper and HYDRA had
connections with The Purifiers. He wouldnt bring that up here. Work needed to be done. So we all know
how much Gyrich and Weaver hate the X-Men. Theyve made it known to TChalla enough times to make
the mans ears bleed.

-2-

Henry Gyrich and Helena Weaver had been the generals tasked with keeping the Pacific and Southern
Asia contested territory. It wasnt in the hand of The Last Alliance or Apocalypse, but the two sides were in
a constant battle for supremacy. The struggle here wasnt as bad for The Last Alliance as it was in Africa,
where Apocalypse nearly controlled the continent. The evenness of the struggle was why Messiah had
never really thought about positioning any of his people in the area. But it wasnt like Gyrich and Weaver
even wanted him around anyway. At least till now.
Believe it or not, the two have asked for my help. And by me of course they mean the X-Men, Messiah
said, sitting down across from Viper to have a sip of tea. He hadnt had a hot drink since the last time he
was in Australia. When you were constantly on the move, the delicacies of taste became low on the
priority list. He silently thanked his Uncle Lucas for all the survival skills he had taught him in his younger
years. That world seemed so far away sometimes.
He had come here as a teenager to try and stop Apocalypse from devastating this place like he had
Messiahs world. Utter failure was an understatement for how he had managed to do in that department.
No one wanted to believe a ranting teenager talking about the end of the world coming. It was too much
for most people to digest and seeing the carnage that existed every day around him now, Messiah didnt
blame them.
If Gyrich and Weaver want the X-Mens help then its a suicide mission, Mystique said.
I know you have your reasons for not wanting to help Gyrich. Strong ones. But Raven, I wouldnt have
brought you and Morph here if I didnt need you on this, Messiah said, only getting a small nod from
Mystique as response.
Yea if I ever have to take one of Cybermancers ferries again, Im pretty sure Ill just choose to drown at
sea, Morph said, turning his hand into a paper bag and simulating himself vomiting into it. And the price
she chargesyea so just spill already boss. Whats so important?
Its called The Three Jewel project and it could turn the tide completely against The Last Alliance in the
Pacific.
Mystique pushed her lips to the side of her face. Is this really serious enough to call in two teams for?
Messiah shook his head. No. Theres more. The Three Jewel Project is just one problem. Apocalypse
has decided to send Pestilence and his Marauders here. The Last Alliance is holding them off in Hawaii
now, but theres no telling how long thats going to last. We need to defend Tokyo and everyone here
knows why.
Viper nodded. Pym and his Ultron project cant be exposed yet. Theyre not ready.
Exactly, Messiah said, looking at the leaders of two of his squads. I dont care how the two of you split
these missions up. Either one is going to be dangerous as all hell. Stay here in Tokyo or go to Monster
Island and shut down The Three Jewels. Your choice.
My team would be better for the defense of Tokyo, Mystique said. Morph has Winter and Tsunami if
they really get in a pinch and Vanisher is there for extraction if need be.
Then theres Dust, Morph said. Girl can get into tight places. Overall, my team is better suited to sneak
in somewhere. So yea, gotta go with Raven on this one.
Messiah nodded and stood up from the table, putting a black hood over his bald head. Then its decided.
Raven, you and Viper need to start discussing the defense. Morph, meet up with General Weaver and
have her give you the basic layout of what their intel has discovered.

-3-

And just where are you going? Mystique asked, her tone a bit more clipped than Messiah preferred, but
he let it go considering she was probably on edge at the idea of working with Gyrich.
Singapore. The Thieves Guild is going to be stealing something for me.

Chapter Seven
Husk gripped her brothers waist tight as he rocketed them through the skies of Morocco. She had always
kept close to him. They were the Guthries who fought. Fought for their family and their freedom.
Cannonball and Husk owed Magneto their lives for saving their family from the Prelates. So they fought
and they fought hard.
Drop me off! Husk said above the roar of her brothers blast field. The forces of The Last Alliance were
trying to hold the line against the Prelates. If they failed here then Casablanca was wide open for siege.
Husk and the rest of The Acolytes Alpha Squad wasnt about to let that happen. They had fought too hard
to help take back the city in the first place. Magneto would not want them to fail.
She spotted exactly where she wanted to drop. The Prelates were trying to roll in a plasma cannon. They
could take out Last Alliance soldiers by the dozen. Down there Sam!
Cannonball turned and Husk leaped off his back, her body composed of dense diamond. She fell through
the air like a bullet and would have crashed head on into the plams cannon if she wasnt telekinetically
tossed aside. The bloe sent her crashing into a group of Prelates, breaking bones and crushing heads.
Husk rolled to her feet and saw who had thrown her.
Addison Falk, the Gray Prelate, was glistening from residual telekinetic energy. He smiled like a man that
was told he was handsome too often. You Acolytes are always charging in like a pack of idiots.
Husk returned the smile with a shit eating one of her own. And you talk too much. Because these idiots
just broke your big toy.
The Gray Prelate turned around just in time to see Cannonball come crashing down on the plasma
cannon. He barely erected a shield in time to protect himself from the ensuing blast. He went soaring over
Husk as she dug her fingers into the dirt. Hands rose up from the ground and embraced Husk, pulling her
in.
Husk had been pulled into a mutant made cave courtesy of her teammate Kamau. She hit the African in
the chest. Dont scare me like that you bastard!
Youre made of diamond. You should feel at home, Kamau said, diamond chain blades wrapped around
his wrists. Husk knew the man was only dong what he felt was right. Scaring the hell out of her was an
unintended side effect. He looked up as he heard a roar. Cannonball making a lot of noise.
Husk smiled. You should see him when he eats.
Kamau looked up again as the ground above them rumbled. Want to get back in there?
What would Magneto say?
Kamau grabbed Husks wrist. Then hold on. Were going up fast!

-4-

The ground collapsed around them and Husk felt the ground pushing her up like water through a hose.
They came flying out of the ground and into the air. Kamau spun and sent Husk flying into a large, twoheaded Prelate. She broke both of his necks on impact.
About time you showed up, Callisto said, dodging a clawed hand and stabbing the lizard Prelate I the
face with her bo staff. Thought you had ran and hid, little pretty.
Callisto ducked and odged through the Prelates like it was a dance and she was a killing black swan.
Husk didnt have an ounce of that grace, punching and knocking her way through Prelates. Kamau made
Callisto look clumsy, using his blades, sword and feet to make short work of the army trying to take back
Casablanca. Cannonball was in the air using a rifle to chop through the opposition. But the Prelates
werent completely broken, the Last Alliance soldiers here being mostly human. Inexperienced humans,
fresh out of the cloning plants in Japan.
<Guys! Shiva and Skin are in a pinch. Need to move!> Karma said telepathically to her team. She was
maintaining communication back in Casablanca.
Kamau sank into the ground like it was water and went out of sight. Prelates tripped over themselves
trying to go after him. Husk smiled as she shed her diamond skin and became a living cloud of sulfuric
acid. She moved over the battlefield, burning her enemies with heat and acid, trying her best to keep up
with Kamau.
Callisto, not to be outdone, was using the heads of Prelates as bases from her to vault from in order to
keep pace with them. They could all mentally feel Karmas panic.
<Move it! Move it! Alliance is dropping a plague bomb in 10!>
Husk shed out of her gas form and came rolling out in a full titanium body. Damn! Theyre losing that
many people?
Then in the distance, she saw Shiva doing her best to cut her way through the Prelates circling around
her. One Prelate was a teleporter and was moving closer and closer to Shiva. Husk bulldozed her way
through the Prelates surrounding Shiva. She grabbed a skinny one by the neck and slammed him to the
ground.
Shiva! We need to go! Husk yelled, ducking under an optic blast.
The teleporter harassing Shiva was shot in the chest by Cannonball, using a rifle from a dead Alliance
soldier. He landed by Shivas side. Time to go! He wrapped his hand around her waist and took to the
air.
<Kamau has Skin and Callisto is already moving. Pick up the pace Paige!>
Yea yea, Husk said, shedding her skin and taking on the form of a steel eagle. She flew away from the
battle. Even though the soldiers were clones, she felt bad for what was coming next.
The plane roared over her and dropped a dozen basketball sized bombs in the midst of The Last Alliance
forces and Prelates. The bombe unleashed plumes of red smoke into the air and started choking the
opposing armies. Husk already knew what was going to happen. Their organs would liquefy and their skin
would harden. Windpipes would crowd with liquid clogging it, choking their screams. Husk could only
hope that the Gray Prelate was among them, but somehow she doubted it.

TO BE CONTINUED...
-5-