Chapter 365: [469] - Apocalypse and Hawk

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"Hear me, everyone in this world. This is my warning to every last one of you, human and mutant alike."

"You have lost your way. The final judgment is upon you, and all your towers and monuments will fall."

"A new era is dawning, and you have no choice."

"I send this message for one purpose. To the strongest among you. To the outsider who now walks among you..."

"I have returned!"

"Protect yourselves... That is what I want to tell the world..."

The voice entered the minds of every human and mutant on Earth, spreading everywhere. Hawk and Wanda heard it as clearly as everyone else.

But the ending felt out of place. The voice stayed the same, but that last warning, which ended almost as soon as it began, contradicted everything that had been said before.

It was Professor X's voice. Apocalypse had already taken over his mind and used his telepathy to send the message to the whole world. Only the last desperate warning came from the Professor himself.

No, that wasn't quite right.

The world was just the audience. The message was meant for one person.

As the voice faded, Wanda turned toward Hawk. "He's coming for you?"

The strongest among you. The outsider who now walks among you.

It wasn't a riddle. Apocalypse was calling Hawk out directly.

"Is he threatening the world to force you into playing the hero?" Wanda asked. "Or is he inviting you to join his crusade?"

Professor X's last effort had cut the message short, so they couldn't tell if Apocalypse was declaring war or trying to recruit Hawk.

Hawk smiled. "I don't know, but one thing is certain."

"Hmm?"

"He just invited me to a meet-and-greet." No matter what Apocalypse wanted, he had told the world he was back and invited Hawk to find him. Whether they would be allies or enemies was still unknown.

Wanda's eyes narrowed. "You heard his voice?"

Hawk nodded.

"He breached your mental defenses?" Her frown deepened.

Hawk met her eyes and stayed calm. "Yes. With Professor X making his telepathy stronger, Apocalypse pushed his voice through my barriers and into my mind."

Wanda stiffened, her expression changing at once.

Nearby, Jean rubbed her aching temples. She had used a brief moment during the broadcast to talk privately with Professor X using her own psychic power, but her mother's reaction brought her back to the room.

"Mom, what does Daddy mean? Why is that bad?"

"It means Apocalypse has the power to kill your father." Wanda said. "He used Professor X to project his power directly into your father's mind."

Jean's face went pale. She made herself stay calm as she looked at Hawk.

"Daddy?"

"It's not that serious." Hawk chuckled softly. "Your mother is overreacting."

Jean immediately looked back at Wanda.

"Mom?"

"I'm not exaggerating." Wanda gave Hawk a cold stare. "Your supernatural energy is weaker in this dimension. You said so yourself. If your power had come with you, would this mutant's voice have reached your mind?"

"..." Hawk held her gaze for a moment, then silently shook his head. He couldn't dispute that.

Had the power of his Cosmo followed him into this universe, no voice in existence could have penetrated his mental defenses...

At full strength, Hawk could kill a Celestial with a single punch. A mutant like Apocalypse didn't have the power or the weight class to force a direct psychic connection with him.

Even now, Apocalypse couldn't do it by himself. He needed Cerebro and Professor X's stronger telepathy just to get past Hawk's natural mental barriers.

Wanda watched him shake his head, then took a slow breath.

"Well, there's our answer."

"What answer?" Jean asked, completely lost.

Wanda kept looking at Hawk. "This Earth is a trap made just for you."

Hawk met her gaze without reacting. Beside them, Jean gasped.

"What?"

"A trap?"

"Daddy, is this..."

"It's not nearly as dangerous as your mother says. She's overreacting." Hawk looked at his worried daughter, who had grabbed his arm, and gave her a gentle smile.

As he spoke, he shot Wanda a pointed look.

She ignored it. "You are not going. As long as you stay out of his reach, even with Professor X under his control, Apocalypse won't be able to fully suppress your mind."

Her reasoning made sense. A Saint with Cosmo had reality-bending energy and a body strong enough to fight the universe itself, mixing supernatural power with unmatched strength. Hawk had lost his energy when he entered this dimension, but his physical strength remained. Even without his supernatural energy, he was still the strongest warrior around.

People had argued forever over whether a warrior or a mage would win in a direct fight, but one principle never changed: whoever controlled the battlefield held the advantage.

Wanda didn't know if Apocalypse controlled this reality, but this was clearly Hawk's away game. He would be fighting on unfamiliar ground, and the universe had weakened him as soon as he arrived.

The answer was clear. Ignore the invitation. It didn't matter if Apocalypse wanted an ally or an enemy. Hawk just couldn't go.

Now that she understood the danger, Jean looked up at him. "Mom is right, Daddy. Whatever that mutant is planning, you can't go."

Hawk started to speak, but Wanda's firm look and Jean's pleading eyes stopped him. After a moment, he let out a quiet laugh.

"Alright. I won't go."

Wanda said nothing. She merely stared at him.

Whether he meant it or not, Wanda planned to keep a close eye on him. She had promised Gwen she would look after him while Gwen was away, and Wanda couldn't imagine Gwen coming back, looking her in the eye, and asking:

Wanda, where is Hawk?

Not happening.

Wanda's mind raced as she saw the faint smile on his face. Then she repeated herself, her voice laced with warning.

"You are not going."

"Fine." Hawk nodded, ending the conversation. The three of them left the room and walked into the hallway.

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Outside, Mystique, Cyclops, and Quicksilver had heard the voice in their heads as well.

"That was Charles."

"Apocalypse must have taken control of the Professor."

"The Professor is in Cairo!"

Jean's declaration made Mystique and the other X-Men turn toward her at once.

Raven stepped forward, noticing how pale she looked. "Jean, are you alright? You look..."

Jean shook her head. "The Professor spoke to me."

While Apocalypse used Professor X to send his message to the world, the Professor managed to send a separate message straight to Jean, like a hacker finding a quick back door.

She quickly relayed what he had told her. "Magneto is there too. Apocalypse plans to use him to manipulate Earth's magnetic field and wipe out humanity."

Magneto, the Master of Magnetism.

A name could be misleading, but a title like that had meaning. Erik usually just threw metal around, mostly because he didn't have the scientific knowledge to use his full power.

His real strength was controlling magnetic fields.

If pushed to his limit, he could reverse or tear apart Earth's magnetic poles.

He couldn't destroy the planet itself. Without its magnetic field, Earth would slowly start to become like Mars. But reversing the poles was something he could do. Mountains would fall, oceans would flood continents, and human civilization would disappear in the chaos.

The planet would survive. Humanity would not.

The moment Raven heard that Professor X was in Cairo, she became alert.

Scott stiffened. "We have to rescue the Professor."

Jean's face showed her inner conflict.

Her mother had just concluded that Cairo was a lethal trap meant specifically for her father. Jean had begged Hawk not to go. She could hardly forbid him from walking into the trap, only to turn around and charge into it herself.

But Professor X was there.

If Hawk and Wanda hadn't shown up, Jean would have gone to Cairo without a second thought. But now that she had her parents back, she found herself acting like a scared daughter who didn't want to make the hard choice alone.

Her gaze passed straight over Hawk and settled on Wanda.

"Mom!"

"..."

It was typical. A daughter might love her father, but when things got tough, she always turned to her mother.

Wanda studied her conflicted daughter. Then she thought of Professor X, the man who had cared for Jean throughout the decade before they found her.

Slowly, Wanda turned toward Hawk.

Hawk noticed her gaze and looked back at her in silence.

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