Typical Parker Luck - A Peter Parker Love Story

XVIII - Apocalypse

A/N: Takes place during X-Men: Apocalypse

After a very anxious flight, we landed in Cairo.

When I stepped out into the desert heat, I put my hand on the hilt of my sword cautiously.

Twenty or so feet away stood Apocalypse and his four horsemen. Charles lay on the ground, removed from his wheelchair.

These four horsemen were unfortunately made up of two people I knew: Charles' old friend Erik Lehnsherr—Magneto, and my brother Warren. Charles looked over to Warren, seemingly sharing a thought.

Upon seeing my twin and the man who raised me, I had to bite my tongue to keep from screaming.

After seeing the break in my nerves, Hank briefly pulled me back inside the Quinjet. "It's okay, it's okay," he assured me. "We're gonna make it okay, Eve," Hank said firmly.

I nodded and swallowed the pain in my throat.

I never freaked in the face of danger. But when it came to my family, suddenly my heart was pounding and I was on the verge of tears.

As I stepped back out of the Quinjet, Magneto was levitating above the sand, pulling metal from the ground and creating a barrier with shards of metallic pieces. The pieces bended and warped into a giant metal pyramid.

Apocalypse descended down into the strange structure carrying Charles.

Anger building, I sprinted towards the pyramid, drawing my sword. Chunks of metal swirled around me. A large sheet hit my chest and pushed me back rather gently.

I looked up to Erik whose face was conflicted. "I don't want to hurt you, Eve," he yelled across the sand dunes. "But I will if I must."

"Is power that important to you?" I shot back, stepping out of the path of the flying shards of metal. "Well, you know what's important to me? Saving my family."

I ran then took flight, praying Tony's suit would protect me from flying bits of metal. As I reached the entrance of the pyramid, I could hear the voices of my friends behind me as they were stuck fighting their way out of the Quinjet.

Magneto hadn't stopped me, but Warren did.

There, in the doorway of the great metal pyramid, stood Warren. His blonde hair curled wildly on top of his shaved head. His face had black designs swirled on it—which I hoped was just warpaint and not actual tattoos. But Warren's once white feathered wings . . . were made of metal.

I smirked at him, trying to keep worry from sliding onto my face. "This is some rebellious phase, I'd say. But I'm here for you and Charles. Though I didn't think I'd find you on the wrong side."

"Eve, it's not what it looks like," Warren said quickly. "Apocalypse was going to come after you  if I didn't join him," my brother explained. "I never wanted to. But if it meant I could stay in close proximity to Charles—"

"I understand," I said, my hand brushing the tattoos on his face. "You look . . . ridiculous," I added. "What about Charles?"

"He's down in the pyramid. I-I don't know what Apocalypse is going to do to him. I can't stop him. I've just been going along with his plan. I didn't want anyone to get hurt . . . I'm sorry."

I moved my hand down his cheek, rubbing the black designs. "Those better not be permanent," I said simply.

The pyramid began rumbling unnaturally as if it were trying to throw us off the side.

I drew my sword and sprinted down into the depths of the warped metal structure. Warren followed after me.

What I saw next made my heart drop:

Apocalypse laid on a golden, glowing platform. Charles lay parallel to him, their bodies rising through the air, propelled by nothing but a strange purple aura.

As I reached the alter, Charles screamed, his eyes going black and his veins bulging.

I put my sword away and yanked him off the table, throwing his limp body over my shoulder. Warren watched my back as we ran out before Apocalypse would wake.

Kurt saw Warren and I sprinting across the desert sands. He intercepted us then teleported us into a nearby abandoned house. Quickly, the other X-Men found their way to hide with us.

Charles lay twitching across a woven rug left in the house.

I rubbed my hand over his now bald head looking down at him in worry. His hair had seemingly disintegrated in the ritual.

With a guttural gasp, Charles' eyes jolted open, the black lens dissipating from them.

"Evie?"  he breathed in disbelief. He hadn't called me that in years.

"I'm here," I said softly, tears forming in my eyes as I took his hand. "Warren's here too."

Warren broke down when Charles looked over to him.
"I'm so sorry," my brother said. "I didn't mean for any of this—"

"Nobody did," said Charles. He sat up then pulled us together.

I breathed a sigh of relief. My little family was whole again.

"You look ridiculous," Charles said, referring to Warren's hair and facial designs.

Warren frowned playfully. "I get it, I get it," he said.

Charles gripped the side of my face with a grin. "You! And your new suit—very lovely by the way—you keep giving us these scares with all your save-the-day missions." He sighed. "I'm so glad you're alright." Charles hand moved down my head gently, then ruffled Warren's blond mop-top.

And for a moment, even amidst all the chaos, all I saw was my family as if the world had faded away.

I stood and hugged Kurt, Scott, Jean, and finally Hank and all his blue.

"Good job, kid," Hank grumbled with a smile.

Before we could gather our wits and potentially form a plan, the wall of the house crumbled away to reveal Apocalypse and what was left of his Horsemen.