Here we are. My conclusion for a new X-Men trilogy. I’m psyched to share this story with you, but first let’s recap some stuff briefly. This trilogy is not a reboot. It continues from the events at the end of X3 and use’s the characters we are left with there while introducing new ones in the installments I previously wrote(see ‘Where X-Men 4 Should Go‘ and ‘My Follow Up To X4’). Something I would like to correct, it occurred to me that introducing Emma Frost instead of Jubilee in X5 would be a much better choice. I also never intended for a recast, mostly because I’m not that good at that thing. I do however, have it on special authority that we may be treated to a special edition casting call from one of the best we know. Who could that be? With all that said, enjoy.
Our movie starts in Egypt in the early 1800’s. It is the dead of night and a mysterious figure stealthily, but very hastily, makes his way to an ancient ruin hidden in the dunes. As he enters it’s hidden doorway, we see his face and you see the incredible sense of urgency in him. And rightly so, for he has a task of great importance. The time has come that his Master told him about, and now his Master must awaken. As he moves through the main chamber and into the vault, he notes the eerie amalgam of ancient Egyptian architecture and alien technology. He approaches a control panel of sorts and begins a sequence to open the fearsome coffin at the vault’s center. A light hiss followed by a growing white light that fills the room. A large figure slowly, but powerfully emerges. The man who released him drops to his knee’s swiftly in fear and reverence.
“My King, your chosen time has come, just as you said it would. The Earth is teaming with growth and progress.” the man says with his forehead pressed firmly to the ground.
In a voice that could shatter mountains, the figure commands, “Rise, Ozymandius. You have done my bidding to every word. The world is ripe to be judged. And only the strong will survive.”
It’s present day again at the Xavier Institute. It’s been quiet the past year, but the horror of the Mutant Massacre is still fresh to the team and the Genoshan ordeal made them realize just how far the government is willing to go to destroy them. As a result, Storm has maintained contact, albeit an uncooperative one, with the surviving Morlocks via their new leader, Marrow. Meanwhile, Beast has been doing his part on the political stage in regards to U.N. intervention in Genosha for their crimes against Mutants. On top of that, the school has had a large increase in student admittance. Things are generally well with everyone… but Wolverine hasn’t forgotten how large the X-Men personal cemetery has gotten. Today Colossus has caught him visiting the garden where there comrades lay. Logan doesn’t look at him, but Piotr knows that Logan is aware of his presence.
“What is wrong, Tovarisch?” Piotr asks in a tone less a question, but allowing Logan a chance to vent.
“Just feelin’ my age, Pete. Lotta stuff I don’t remember about my life. Standin’ here… not sure I care to know the rest of it.” Logan states unflinching.
“Be careful what you wish for.” Piotr says with a grin.
To which Logan stoically replies, “Yup.”
“Come, it’s been ages since I have sketched you.”
“Not today, Pete.”
“I brought beer.”
“Ah, what the hell.”
We move to Emma Frost teaching a class of young mutants and potential future X-Men(this is just for Easter Egg inserts and some character development). When we visit Bobby Drake, however, things are changing. We find him sitting on his bed, alone with the door closed. He has recently started having trouble controlling his powers, and though he has been able to keep it hidden, his body seems to want to revert to the Ice-form he has developed. He has recently been waking up in the morning in this form and to himself feels more comfortable that way. What scares him is the possibility of not changing back. And now we go to Storm walking down the halls on her way to the Sub-basement while Gambit follows exchanging friendly banter(since I can’t write smart dialogue with a French accent I won’t try. You should thank me. Gambit Rules). As the 2 approach the War Room, a message comes in. Storm patches the transmission to the overhead display. It’s Moira McTaggart.
“Moira, it’s been a while. How are you?” Storm says, knowing that this must be important. She nor any of the X-Men have heard from her since Charles death.
“Storm I am sorry to be so forward, but I need you and Logan to get here right away.” Moira says hastily, yet without emergency.
“Is something wrong?”
“I will tell you more when you arrive, but please hurry, time is a factor.” and then cuts the transmission. Storm senses no threat or possible ambush in Moira’s invitation , but knows something is amiss.
“Whose ‘dis McTaggart?” Gambit asks quite forwardly.
“Old friend of Charles’. We haven’t heard from her since Charles died. This is very odd.”
Storm then contacts Emma and has her psychically connect them. Storm tells Logan to meet her in the hangar and leaves Emma in charge while they are gone. Once they both arrive in the hangar, Storm begins to tell Logan about the situation while they board the Blackbird. And now we move elsewhere…
We go to Mr. Sinister in his lab. He is finishing the final stages in his master’s plan. And while he moves about his lab with long strides and calculating precision, we have the impression he is alone. The plasmic discharges of a large device cast eerie light across the pale face of Sinister, revealing a very… sinister grin. As the static hum of the machine begins to fade as it powers down and a portal in its front opens, and an unseen figure steps into view behind Sinister, towering over him, and speaks in a penetrating voice:
“You have done well Essex.”
“Ah, but it takes little effort when I have such excellent material to work with.” Sinister says casually with a trademark grin.
“Arise my Angel. You have been reborn. The frail shell that you once were is gone. Now step forth and claim your position,” the massive figure commands, ”as my Archangel of Death.”
The Archangel moves forward, his visage is terrible as it is beautiful. All that was once Warren Worthington is gone. The angelic wings that he had so tragically lost are now replaced by a grotesque
organic steel. As he approaches the mountainous figure, he kneels before him with wings outstretched, as if to display the magnificence his new master has bestowed him.
“You shall be my harbinger. My Horseman you shall lead into battle, to cleanse this world of the meek who have inherited it,” and as he finishes he raises his clenched fist, ”and to prepare this world for the coming of Apocalypse!”
And we see the other 3 Horsemen step in behind Angel as the scene fades and the ominous crescendo cues. I have chosen Plague as Pestilence, Sunfire as Famine, and Caliban as War.
Now Storm and Logan have reached Muir Island now and Moira McTaggart accompanied by a blond haired man greets them on the landing pad. Moira introduces the 2 X-Men to Sean Cassidy, her husband, and tells them he is also a mutant. Logan, being his usual self, is ready to get down to business and demands to know why the urgency. Moira reassure’s him and asks that they wait, as there is someone who wants to speak with them. With puzzlement, our heroes follow McTaggart into a small building on the edge of her Island compound that appears to be her home when she isn’t in the labs. As they enter the main room of the house, Ororoe nearly collapse’s and Logan is speechless for the first time in his life.
“Hello, my X-Men.” Charles Xavier says with great warmth and a generous smile on his face.
“Oh my God! Charles!” Storm manages to choke out in front of her tears.
Wolverine, however, is not as Enthralled. His anger shows as he demands to know if Xavier has been alive and well this whole time, and why would he let his X-Men think otherwise. Xavier apologizes but insists that there are far more important things to tend too. While this is greatly unsatisfying to Logan, he listens as the Professor tells them about the immense psionic signature he has felt along with a mysterious scientist who had been consulting with Moira about Mutant Genetics. However, Xavier knows more about the situation than he tells his X-Men...
Meanwhile, Apocalypse has put his Horsemen to a task, and they have begun their culling. They are killing every human or mutant in there path as they make towards New York City. Thousands have already been killed as Emma Frost hears the psychic outcry. She immediately makes contact with Storm to make her aware of the genocide that has unexpectedly begun. Storm and Logan cut there conversation with Xavier short, but before they leave, Sean Cassidy meets them at the jet and tells them he can help. As they begin the supersonic flight back to New York, Sean tells them he thinks there is more to this than their beloved Professor has told them, and goes on to inform them about the nature of the geneticist who came to visit Moira. By this point the slaughter is being televised world wide as the U.S military attempt to stop the Horseman. The attempts are feeble as the Horseman slaughter the troops effortlessly. This has bought some time however as Emma Frost has gathered the other X-Men at the mansion: Gambit, Colossus, Iceman, and Shadowcat. Storm, Logan, and Cassidy still en route however, and Emma decides not to wait and takes her group to meet the Horsemen. Emma wanted to intercept the Horsemen before they could reach the city, but it was too late. The Horseman had already made it to Murray Hill, a district of NYC near the Queensboro bridge, and the death toll was getting catastrophic. When the 2 groups meet though, the X-men are mortified, and time stops. They have had teammates die, God knows they’ve buried more than enough, and even already had to kill one of their own. Wasn’t it enough? And now this. What had happened to Warren was a prolonged tragedy that began when the Marauders ripped off his wings and crucified him during the Massacre til he had seemingly been killed by the Sentinels. But this was different. This wasn’t like Jean becoming the Pheonix, that was caused by a long series of mistakes made by many parties that eventually led to her breakdown. This was someone else’s work.
“Warren! Why are you doing this!?”, Kitty pleads.
“There is no Warren! I am the Archangel of Death! I am the Harbinger of Apocalypse and I bear his wrath to purge this world of it’s weak! Only the STRONG will survive!” Death declares with unshakable conviction, his voice seeming to echo within itself.
Definitely someone else’s work.
Before another word can be spoken, the Horsemen attack the X-Men with brutal force. The shear power each Horseman possess as an individual is incredible, but the X-men are used to working as a team and employ tactics, but the Horsemen have aerial supremacy, and the X-Men can’t account for that… not yet.
It almost seems lost… until back up arrives. Before Storm can land on a nearby rooftop, Wolverine dives out of the Blackbird into the fray followed closely by Sean Cassidy. With Storm and Sean in the air, and Wolvie doing what he does best, the tide starts to turn. Emma fills the new additions in on the situation. Wolverine slay’s Plague, as he can heal fast enough to get close to her. Colossus throws Caliban into a building and Gambit collapse’s it on him. Storm Brings unleashes Hell on Sunfire neutralizing him while Iceman and Sean occupy Archangel. Archangel then shatter’s Iceman while in his Ice form. This puts them into a rage. Colossus hurls Logan at Archangel, but is countered and Logan is nearly cut in half. Storm and Sean seize the moment and force Archangel to the ground, where Kitty immediately phases his wings into the ground. While pinned Storm blasts him with a bolt rendering him unconscious. When Iceman was shattered, Emma broke the link with the team to focus on helping Bobby’s consciousness reconstitute himself using water vapor in the air. When the team finally see’s him before approaches the fallen Angel, he has a more primal appearance, with sharp edges and spines protruding from his body and he also notes that he is unable to revert to his human form, he is stuck, As the X-Men gather around their comrade, Warren opens his eyes. The X-Men are alarmed at first , but when he speaks they know something is different. He is confused briefly, but everything rushes back to him, his ’death’, meeting Sinister, his transformation… Apocalypse. APOCALYPSE!
As Warren looks down at himself, he howls, “What have yoU DONE TO MEEEE!” Warren pulls his wings from the ground in an explosion of asphalt and continues, “APOCALYPSE!!! APOCALYPSE!!! I WILL DESTROY YOU!” He takes to the air with incredible speed, ignoring his friends, as though they weren’t there and their battle didn’t happen.
The X-Men immediately follow on the Blackbird. It’s noted that Warren fly’s exponentially faster with his new wings and Emma is tracking him telepathically. The team is then introduced to Sean Cassidy, noting how useful his ability to fly and emit sonic screams for many uses. Sean then asks:
“Ya all got such cool codenames. Gambit*, Wolverine, Colossus… when da I get mine.”
To which Wolverine replies, “You scream like a damn Banshee.”
“It works for me.” Sean grins and kicks back.
Emma informs them that it appears they are heading to Egypt, and they are only minutes behind Warren. They land outside what appears to be a large, ruined temple, only recently uncovered. Sign’s of Warrens entrance are obvious while they move into the catacomb. No resistance is found, only distant sounds of battle the team can’t seem to find. Once they reach the main chamber however, they are too late. Warren lay defeated at the feet of Apocalypse and Sinister. Apocalypse tells the X-Men he has been waiting for them, and attempts to convince them to join him, as mutants are the superior species, and as such are rightful heirs to the planet. Sinister guardedly, but with slight joy, adds, “Such a thing wouldn’t be to difficult for you, would it Remy.” Several teammates look at him, but Gambit waste no more time and unleashes a volley of Energized projectiles and Wolverine is right behind it, and the climax begins. In the battle several X-Men are badly wounded, Emma from a psychic backlash from attempting to enter Apocalypse mind, as well as Shadowcat, and Banshee being taken out of the fight. While it rages on, Sinister slinks away. Gambit notices and follows. He watches as Sinister activates some computer panels and then walks to another exit. When they get outside Gambit engages Sinister, who easily avoids his attack. Sinister then goes on to ask Gambit why he feels the need to redeem himself by playing hero with these X-Men and attempts to persuade Gambit to come with him by telling him how he had planned to kill Apocalypse all along. Meanwhile, Iceman has found his powers are drastically increased since he was shattered. That combined with Storm’s lightning while Colossus and Wolverine keep Apocalypse busy by keeping up close and personal begins to take a toll on the villain. He then forces the X-men back and retreats into his rejuvenation chamber. He had underestimated these X-Men. He wouldn’t make the mistake next time. As he activates the escape sequence, he realizes he has also underestimated Sinister. But it’s too late. At the same time Gambit had returned to the X-Men and told them it was time to collect their friends and get the hell out. As the Heroes exit, explosions begin rocking the ruins and eventually collapses. They board the jet, sure that nothing could’ve survived the explosion. On the plane Wolverine turns to Gambit and tells him he has a lot of explaining to do. Gambit told them how he followed Sinister from the fight, and saw him sabotaging Apocalypse equipment then followed him out another exit where he briefly engaged Sinister, leaving out the conversation, resulting in him escaping. He won’t tell them yet how he knows Sinister.
Our story ends with our X-Men back home. Everyone has healed from the injuries and Warren has decided to leave the mansion and team for a while. Apocalypse had done a number on him and he felt he had to rediscover his humanity. Storm and Wolverine decide to keep the knowledge of Xavier being alive to themselves for now, sharing the knowledge only with Emma. Sean is back home and most things have gone back to normal. But now there is a rift between Gambit and Logan. Logan, and a few others, knows that Gambit is hiding something…
Fades to black, and we hear a laugh starting, low at first then louder and we can tell, it is the sadistic laugh of a man that knows far more than us... Sinister. Roll credits.
So there you have it. Thanks for reading, I know it was really long but I fell in love with it. I would have put a lot more with dialogue and all but I am already scared people won’t read it. I will write comments to fill in any holes or comments anyone has.