Marvel: The Awakened One

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Apocalypse’s story in this universe was well known. As the first mutant, he once ruled ancient Egypt like a god, enslaving people and making them build huge pyramids for him.

He built a new pyramid every time he was ready to move his consciousness into a new body.

This transfer was the secret to his immortality.

Apocalypse could move his mind into another mutant, taking over their body and keeping their powers for himself. This is how he survived for thousands of years and gained so many mutant abilities.

The ritual needed a huge amount of energy. Each pyramid acted as an amplifier, giving him the power to finish the transfer. Afterward, he would seal his old body inside the pyramid and leave it behind.

Once Hawk put the clues together, he realized why Apocalypse had brought him here. ”You want my body?”

A pyramid. A transfer ritual. Apocalypse was looking for a new host.

Then another idea hit him.

Where was Professor X?

Almost as if he heard the question, Apocalypse slowly lifted his right hand.

Flames burst out around an altar deep inside the pyramid, lighting up a stone platform. Professor X was lying there, still in his wheelchair. There were no restraints, since as a paraplegic, he couldn’t escape by himself.

Hawk looked at him without thinking.

Professor X met his eyes, and his pupils narrowed.

”Watch out!!”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A huge fist hurtled toward Hawk’s face. He snapped his attention back to Apocalypse, stepped into the attack, and answered with a punch of his own.

BANG!

Their fists crashed together, sending a shockwave through the chamber. The runes on the pyramid’s walls lit up as the blast hit, and the whole structure started to shake.

The swampy pressure came back, making the air around Hawk feel thick.

Power rushed through Apocalypse’s huge body. He twisted his arm hard and sent Hawk flying.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Hawk flew backward in a red blur and crashed into the wall.

A strange light flashed in Apocalypse’s red eyes.

The metal behind Hawk turned to liquid and started to move. Dozens of tentacles shot out from the wall, whipping toward him from all sides.

Just before they could grab him, Hawk shot forward like a cannonball. ”Let’s see whether this pyramid can strengthen you forever.”

His fist drew back.

”DIE.”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Hawk punched Apocalypse in the chest, who now stood nearly six meters tall.

The mutant was torn from the floor and thrown back. As soon as his feet left the ground, his huge body started shrinking back to normal size.

Apocalypse had to stay in contact with the pyramid’s floor to keep drawing power.

Hawk ignored the pressure and vanished. He reappeared next to Apocalypse in midair, grabbed his ankle, and swung him upward like a whip.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Hawk followed him into the air.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

One punch became two, then three.

Red afterimages flashed around Apocalypse as Hawk attacked from all sides. His fists moved too fast to see, and each hit made the pyramid shake.

At the same time, the air got heavier. The pressure pushed against Hawk’s arms and legs, making every move feel like he was pushing through thick mud.

Finally, he delivered one last blow.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Apocalypse fell like a meteor and smashed into the stone altar below.

As soon as he hit the altar, the crushing pressure vanished. Apocalypse got up from the broken altar, his wounds started to heal.

Crushed flesh repaired itself, broken bones moved back into place—and all the damage Hawk caused disappeared right in front of him.

Apocalypse looked at his healed chest, then up at Hawk. He spoke for the first time since Hawk arrived.

”An interesting vessel.” His red eyes narrowed. ”I will take it.”

Hawk laughed. ”Did your brain rot while you were sleeping?”

Apocalypse’s face stayed blank. ”The test is complete. Your body satisfies every requirement.”

”...” Hawk’s eyes widened in realization.

Apocalypse opened his hand.

Professor X was pulled from the stone slab and dragged into his grasp. The moment Apocalypse looked into his eyes, red light spread through the Professor’s blue irises until both men possessed the same blood-red gaze.

Apocalypse opened his mouth.

Professor X moved at the same time.

”AHHHH!” They screamed together.

HUMMMM!

A supersonic sound swept through the chamber, making the runes on all four walls come to life.

This time, they didn’t glow gold.

Red light filled the symbols, matching Apocalypse’s eyes. The pyramid’s resistance came back even stronger, slamming into Hawk like a tidal wave.

The walls appeared to melt into streams of blood. Countless red tendrils erupted from the metal and lunged toward him from every direction.

In seconds, they multiplied, filling the chamber with a thick mass that seemed ready to swallow him whole.

One tendril coiled around Hawk’s ankle.

Another seized his waist.

More tentacles wrapped around his arms and legs, pulling him toward the wall as if trying to merge him with the pyramid.

Nearly cocooned beneath the bloody restraints, Hawk sneered.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Hawk tensed his entire body. A shockwave burst from his core. The tendrils snapped apart with sharp cracks, and pieces flew through the air.

Hawk flew backward and looked at the altar.

It was empty.

Apocalypse had disappeared.

So had Professor X.

Hawk landed on the stone platform and stared at the spot where they had stood.

Then he got it—this was a psychic attack.

His mind cleared. He looked up, bent his legs, and jumped.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Hawk broke through the roof of the pyramid.

The fake world broke apart around him.

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Back in reality, inside the true pyramid, Hawk had never been surrounded by bloody tentacles. Countless metallic arms had emerged from the walls and locked around his torso and limbs, leaving only his head exposed.

The dull haze cleared from his eyes.

Hawk flexed.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

He thought the restraints would break.

But they didn’t...

Hawk frowned. ”Is this Pure Adamantium?”

He checked the metal’s density again. ”No. Adamantium alloy.”

That was a bit annoying... Pure Adamantium and Adamantium alloy were not the same thing.

Pure Adamantium was almost impossible to destroy and very hard to make. The alloy was still very tough, but it could be made in bigger amounts. Most importantly, pure Adamantium wasn’t magnetic, but the alloy could be controlled with magnets.

Hawk’s Golden Phoenix Cloth was made from Pure Adamantium.

Wolverine’s claws and skeleton were made from the alloy. That’s why Magneto could control the metal in Logan’s body and toss him around like a rag doll.

These restraints had the same magnetic properties.

That meant Magneto could control them.

As Hawk looked at the arms holding him down, they started to move. The restraints pulled him toward the altar, where Apocalypse stood with one hand out.

”Do you understand why you failed?” Apocalypse asked.

His red eyes stayed on Hawk, and his rough voice sounded like a priest giving a final judgment. ”You were too proud. Outside the pyramid, you had every opportunity to avoid my attack. Your arrogance allowed me to draw you into my altar.”

Tied up from the neck down, Hawk’s mouth twitched. ”Is that also why a group of ordinary humans overthrew you? Were you too arrogant to notice them?”

Apocalypse’s smug look disappeared. His blue face grew darker. ”I believed they would be grateful for my mercy.”

”Clearly, you were wrong.”

”Humanity proved itself unworthy of that mercy,” Apocalypse replied. ”And so have you.”

Hawk gave a quiet scoff. ”I’m curious. How exactly do you plan to steal my body?”

Apocalypse’s face returned to its usual calm.

”I will kill you. Then your body will belong to me.”

”Really?” Hawk looked down at the restraints, then back at him. ”You can’t even damage my skin. How do you intend to kill me?”

”True...” Apocalypse nodded without hesitation. ”Your body is tougher than anything I’ve seen. I can’t kill the version of you standing here now—but I can kill the version of you from before your body became this strong.”

Hawk raised an eyebrow. ”My timeline is set. No one can change the path I’ve already taken.”

”That was true before you came to this universe.” Red light started to pour from Apocalypse’s eyes. It spread through the chamber and covered Hawk’s trapped body.

HUMMMM!

Something moved inside him.

Since Hawk arrived, the natural laws of this universe had kept his River of Time suppressed. Now, under the twisting red light, something was pulling it out of him.

”...” Hawk’s face grew serious.

Apocalypse spoke more quietly. ”I will enter every node of your timeline and execute you at that precise moment.”

The red glow kept pulling at the River of Time.

”Like seawater entering a cracked dam, I will seep into your past. Moment by moment, life by life, I will consume your existence.” Apocalypse locked eyes with Hawk.

”I will kill you across every timeline in which you have ever lived.”

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~# 70 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!

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