Chapter 38: Chapter 36: The Negotiation
Hello, y'all! (I am from the American Midwest). Yesterdays and todays chapters were a little shorter than I was comfortable with so I wanted to release another chapter to make up for the wordcount these two days. I do so very much hope you enjoy it. Also thank you Enzo_Morningstar92 for commenting I think in every chapter and adding pictures where I missed them. You rock man. Now Enjoy this chapter toodles!
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Inside Apocalypse's spaceship, the two sat across from each other. Apocalypse leaned back in his throne, arms crossed. "You seek something from me, power perhaps?"
Tony let out a deep breath and thought, Here goes nothing. "I seek two things from you. First, a Life Seed. I know what they are—Life Seeds are created by Celestial Gardeners every few thousand years, meant to bring life to barren planets. I need one so I can breathe life into Mars."
Apocalypse remained silent, merely giving a thoughtful "Hmmm."
Tony pressed on. "Our people may need a home in the future, and this would solve that problem. Over 90% of the population has the x-gene, and when they start awakening, they will be our responsibility. We need a place to put all that extra population."
Apocalypse remained silent, his expression unreadable, so Tony moved to his second point. "Second, I need your help in mutation. I already had your 'loyal' servant Mr. Sinister implant the x-gene ability to communicate in all languages within me. This way, I could talk to Krakoa and turn it into a mutant home. Krakoa being part of Okkara—that was once your home, right? I am bringing mutants back to it, going full circle."
Apocalypse roared, slamming his fist on the throne. "Do not speak what you know not of, child!"
Tony promptly shut up and moved on. "I still have room for growth. I can plant four more x-genes without suffering genetic breakdown due to the load on my body. Because of my innate psychic powers, one of them can be an Omega-level psionic gene, which I got from a mutant named Jean Grey—the host of the Phoenix Force. The others, while lesser, are equally useful. A girl who goes by Sage, whose mind functions like a supercomputer; a child named Takeshi Matsuya with technokinesis and technological intuition, which will help my work as a scientist immensely; and lastly, someone named James Madrox, who can create multiple clones of himself so I can be in many places at once, which I desperately need. I brought blood samples of all of them. Can you help?"
Apocalypse laughed. "Of course I can, but why should I help a whelp like you?"
Tony smirked. "Because your job is the Evolutionary Caretaker of mutants. I know of multiple impending threats to mutantkind, and I wish to trade knowledge of them with you in return for your boon."
Apocalypse leaned forward. "Very well. Tell me the knowledge, and if I deem it sufficient, I will grace you with my gifts."
Tony exhaled. From what he understood, Apocalypse was many things, but a liar he was not—it was beneath someone like him. "A man by the name of Bolivar Trask invents Sentinels, machines that adapt to mutant powers, nullifying them. They are then used to destroy over 16 million mutants. But they don't stop there. Even farther in the future, the self-aware Sentinels decide to eliminate every human with the x-gene, even the recessive ones, which causes over 90% of mankind to be wiped out. We are now in a unique position to end Bolivar Trask before he completes his mutant-slaying Sentinels. This is important because we don't want his schematics to get out."
Tony paused before continuing. "There's more. Billions of years ago, a bacterium gained sentience. He named himself Sublime. He has been trying to control humanity ever since they came about, as humans can host him. But recently, he has run into trouble—he can't take over mutants. So Sublime is hell-bent on eliminating all mutantkind from the face of the earth. Currently, the mutant narrative is very negative due to news reports, and all of this is orchestrated by him.
"The next threat is a mutant called Leech, who has the ability of power negation. Worthington Labs develops a 'cure' for the x-gene using him to depower all mutants who take it. Lastly, there is the Scarlet Witch—a reality-bending chaos sorceress. She, with a single sentence, 'no more mutants,' depowers all mutants on the planet at the same time. I would like it if you left her to me, though. With proper training and my guidance, she will be a boon to the mutant cause."
Apocalypse sat in silence for a full five minutes, absorbing everything Tony had just laid out. Then, he finally spoke. "That is a lot to take in. You carry many burdens. I will take care of Trask, Leech, and Sublime. I will leave the Witch to you. Now come."
Tony hesitated. "Where are we going?"
Apocalypse chuckled. "To get you your powers, of course. But first, let us make a stop."
They walked through a corridor into a vast treasure room filled with ancient artifacts. Apocalypse led Tony to an ornate box, placed his massive hands on it, and slid it open. Inside, a glowing crystalline object pulsed with energy.
Tony's eyes widened. "A Life Seed."
"Take it," Apocalypse commanded.
Tony wasted no time, carefully placing the Life Seed into his flat-space dimensional pocket. He could feel the potential radiating from it. This would change everything.
Next, they entered a large chamber with a sarcophagus-like machine in the center. "Now, hand over the blood samples and lay in the sarcophagus," Apocalypse instructed. "By the way, this will be a most excruciating ordeal."
Tony swallowed hard. "Of course it will."
He removed his clothes and stored them in his pocket dimension before lying down in the sarcophagus. The machine hissed as it sealed around him.
Apocalypse stepped back. "Prosh, activate the x-gene integration sequence."
The last thing Tony heard before agony consumed him was the mechanical voice responding, "Acknowledged. Beginning genetic restructuring."
Pain unlike anything he had ever known ripped through his body. Every cell burned as his DNA was rewritten. He wanted to scream, but even that was impossible. His vision blurred, darkness creeping in from the edges.
Then everything went black.
When Tony woke, a full day had passed.
Apocalypse stood over him, arms crossed. "You survived. The process was a success. Your new genes have fully integrated."
Tony groaned, sitting up. He felt different. His mind was sharper, his senses clearer, his body humming with raw potential. He clenched his fist and, with a thought, a perfect clone of himself stepped out of his body before merging back into him.
He grinned. "Oh, this is going to be fun."
Apocalypse nodded approvingly. "Go now, warrior. You have much to do."
Tony didn't need to be told twice. With a final nod, he activated his teleportation and disappeared, returning home—ready to test out his new powers.