[OP: "Sunshine"--One Republic]

Trinity was shoved out of the medical room and across a tiny courtyard to some holding barracks.

Certainly they were meant for mutants, based on the way they were reinforced.

"Trinity?" Kitty was looking out of a slat in the bars of one (there for ventilation, maybe). "Is that you? Oh, gosh, we thought they had you carted off already."

"No..." Trinity muttered.

The cell smelled filthy, and it looked even worse.

She leaned on the door, trying not to step in anything.

"They said I'm good enough to be an Elite," Kitty said in a low voice. "That means I'll be put against tougher mutants.... Trinity, I can't fight, not that good. Even with all the training, I've only been a mutant for a few months! Against someone who's a killer, I'm so dead."

"At least you have a shot," Trinity said.

"Oh...right...sorry," Kitty said. "Maybe they'll give you someone really weak, though..."

"And what, Kitty? They expect us to kill each other. I'm not doing that," Trinity said. "There's no way I'm gonna win."

"Even if you could, you won't?" Kitty said.

"Would you?" Trinity said.

Kitty paused. "I...I don't want to think about it. Maybe I could just tire them out...if I dodge enough. Or knock them out."

"Yeah...good idea," Trinity said.

"One of the guards here looked at me funny," Kitty said. "I didn't like it.... I'm almost more afraid of what happens if I survive one fight.... This is like...the worst Young Adult novel ever...like The Time Machine, 1984, and all the other freaky books just mashed themselves together."

"Kind of reminds me of The Last Battle," Trinity said.

"Last as in it ended the war? Or last as in it ended their lives?" Kitty asked.

"Both," Trinity said. "But then they all went to Heaven, so...it was happy. Farewell to the Shadowlands...that's what they called their world. It's funny, the whole series is about going to different worlds...but in the end they all go to the same one, Heaven. They're all together...and they keep saying 'further up and further in', because it never ends. Not like here..."

Kitty sighed. "Do you think Heaven is real, Trinity?"

"Yeah, I do," Trinity said. "I'm going there...I believe that."

"You really believe that?" Kitty said. "You never wonder if...maybe it's all just stupid? The whole...we're all happy and stuff, and we have what we want."

"I don't know," Trinity said thoughtfully. "I don't know if Heaven is actually like that...getting everything we want.... I mean, my family always says that we don't really know what we want--that's why God doesn't always give us what we ask for. Maybe it's different than we think. But I do think we're happy. No more tears, or crying, or sorrow, or sickness, or pain. And we're with God--that's the best part, I guess. And I know it says that there won't be any more sun, because God will be the light."

"No more sun," Kitty muttered. "Be hard on the beaches."

Trinity laughed dryly. "I guess we wouldn't need a tan anymore.... Don't you believe in Heaven, Kitty? You're Jewish, right?"

"Sure...we believe it," Kitty said. "But...I don't know. I guess not like you. We don't...really think about it like that. We think about God setting His kingdom up on Earth. We're all waiting for the Messiah to come and bring us justice.... I mean, everyone hates us anyway, so..."

"Everyone hates Christians too," Trinity said. "I guess the only difference is we think the Messiah already came."

"I never got that," Kitty said. "Why would you think that? The world is still a mess. If he really came, he'd put everything right."

"That's what they thought before, too," Trinity said. "But we believe that the Messiah didn't come to fix our government and stuff...He came to fix our hearts...to reunite us with God. And that's what mattered the most. Freedom inside. I mean...isn't it better to have that? Either way, the world is still a mess, but with our faith, there's till something we can have even now.... I mean...I get why you believe what you believe instead.... Technically we have the same God...we just think Jesus is God also."

"Hey, I know Jews who'd tear you apart for saying that," Kitty said. "Just sounds goofy to me, really, thinking someone is the Son of God."

"Why not?" Trinity said. "I think the Old Testament too.... My pastor talked about it on Easter...the prophecies and stuff. God mentions having a son..." [Psalm 2:7, if you're curious.]

"Yeah, but a human being His son?" Kitty scoffed.

"I guess that does sound crazy," Trinity said. "We believe that's why Jesus understands our weakness, though...and He had to be tempted and stuff, so He had to be human--but also God.... I guess it is weird.... I don't know though, Kitty...if it made perfect sense, would it really be anything we couldn't have just guessed? There's not much work there. I kind of like that it's weird. Means I have to believe it by choice. It's not just something any idiot could figure out--or maybe it is, and we're just that bad at it."

Kitty snorted. "Well, now you sound religious, all right...but...yeah maybe." She sighed. "Maybe my faith isn't that strong, then. I'm not finding it that comforting at all."

"Maybe you will when you need it," Trinity said.

"You seem calm," Kitty said.

"I'm...not sure if I am," Trinity said. "I guess I just figure...at this point, it's God or nothing for me. I'm way past where I can do anything to help myself now. I'm a human in an arena full of mutants.... I might as well be Daniel in the lions's den or David with Goliath...so...what else do I got?"

"I knew both of those stories too," Kitty said. "But you believe them more than I do."

[Not making a statement on Jewish people, by the way. This is just Kitty's journey. I know Jewish people believe firmly in the stories of the Old Testament--and have genuine faith. But for her, it seem like it was more of a struggle.]

* * *

The walk to the gate of the Temple was somber and quiet.

Dust led them around any patrols.

But it was oddly empty.

Unfortunately, she heard someone on a street comment on why.

"Half the city is going to the War Games today.... What, you didn't hear? They got a bunch of rebels.... Yeah, a bunch of kids mostly. They're going to have them fight out their sentences. Sounds like it's going to be quite a match. Mostly Grunts, but they got some Elite levels too. I'm placing bets.... What's that? No, I heard that the Lord Apocalypse is going to make an address about it later. Yeah, the whole city will be looking for those rebels soon. But the Games'll scare 'em off anyway. Nothing ever comes of these fools..."

Dust reported this to the rest of the group.

"Oh no..." Shine gasped.

"We don't have a lot of time." Logan was starting to get testy. "Let's get a move on. I want to bust Apocalypse's head in."

"At least we know they haven't fought yet." Storm tried to make Shine feel better.

"Right..." Shine looked like she was about be sick. "Right..."

"Not sure she's ready for this," Domino muttered. "She was so tough before. Now she can't even handle this?"

"Shut up," the older Rogue said to her. "You watch. Shine'll be fine in a second."

"You sure?" Domino said.

"Just watch," Rogue said.

Shine leaned on a wall.

"Give me a minute, okay?" she said.

She closed her eyes and tilted her head up at the sky.

Just then, dawn broke over the horizon and the walls of the city.

Shine, still with her eyes closed, muttered something. "'Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.'" [Ps 46:10]

"Be careful," Dust said in a hushed voice. "Talk like that would get you arrested and then beaten."

"Talking any other way will get me worse than that," Shine murmured.

But the strained look went out of her face.

She opened her eyes. "All right...I'm okay now."

"What?" Domino said.

"Told ya," Older Rogue said smugly. "Now if only I was okay..." She shook her head.

"Oh my." Dust suddenly looked up at the sky. "It's...impossible."

"What is?" Storm looked up.

The sun had just broken through the clouds, turning them all rosy-pink and gold.

"The...the air has been so thick here for years, the sun hasn't actually broken through the contamination..." Dust said strangely. "I forgot what it looked like...spend so much time underground anyway."

Emma put a hand up to where the light was now hitting the walls.

"Well, what do you know?" she said strangely.

"I'm sure that's murder on everyone's depression," Morph said. 

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Shine said.

"It is..." Dust said.

"It's a sign," Storm said. "I feel the air stirring a little."

"Sure it wasn't just you?" Domino was skeptical. "Did you move the clouds?"

"I didn't do a thing," Storm said. "I can control my power.... I think it's a sign."

"More than that." Shine pointed. "Look where the light is shining off the Temple. Right there."

"Yeah, that would be the podium," Warren, who was with them because they wouldn't leave him at Cristy's house, said in a dead voice. "That's where Apocalypse speaks to people from."

[This is from the show, to give you an idea--I changed the design of the city and temple from what they did--totally just didn't forget about it.... Actually there is going to be a reason for it. Just sit tight.]

Shine glanced at it. "And that is where I'm going."

"What?" Warren said. "First of all, that's insane. Second of all, only Apocalypse, Sinister, and their Angels of Death get to stand up there at all. You'd be shot right way."

"No one knows that you've been snapped out of it." Shine turned to look at him. "I bet if you were there, they'd think little of it."

"Uh, Sunshine," Wally said, "I get that, you know, you do crazy things, and I'm just supposed to go with it because it always works out...but, even for you, this sounds a little bit out there. We're trying to sneak in, right? If you do that, the big bad guys are going to know exactly where you are."

"And all eyes will be on me," Shine said. "And not on all of you.... We all know--one thing I'm good at is stalling. Talking.... What if I could keep them on me for long enough...you just have to get in real fast, find our friends, bust them out and then come back for me and we end this? If I draw Apocalypse to me in a way he won't expect, it may give us an edge."

"That's mad," Emma said. "Entirely mad."

She put a hand to her chin. "But if you could pull it off...he'd never expect that. The arrogance of his whole regime...anyone daring to defy it, it would be sure to shock him. But what will you talk about?"

"I don't know, whatever the Spirit gives me.... Maybe I'll do what Morph does," Shine said.

"Uh, no, don't do what I do," Morph said. "There can only be one Captain Misguided Declaration of Heroism.... Shine, this is a crazy plan."

"Yeah, you can't do that," Scott said. "No way, we're not letting her...right?"

The others all looked at him.

"It worked on Magneto..." Logan said hesitantly.

"It worked on Creed," Storm said.

"It worked on Psylocke..." Emma muttered.

"You're all actually going with this?" Domino said. "Are you all out of your minds? Even I'm not lucky enough to pull that off."

"I don't need luck," Shine said.

"As cool as that sounds, I'm kind of with her and Cyclops," Forge said. "Not that my opinion matters."

"Go ahead, if you have one," Shine said. "All of us matter."

"I'll go ahead," Younger Rogue said. "You do that, and you're dead. Not even a contest. I thought you weren't gonna sacrifice yourself unless you had to."

"This is what I have to do," Shine said. "I can feel it."

"You can feel it? What is your brain numb, then?" that Rogue cried. "Some Guy up in the Sky is telling you to do something totally nuts, and you just listen?"

"Some guy in a wheelchair from the future tells you to do something he has no context for, and you listen," Shine shot back in full form.

Rogue opened her mouth--and then shut it, trying to think of a better retort.

"It wouldn't kill you all to have a little faith in her," Emma said. "I mean, we've made it this far."

"Losing half the team," Forge said.

"That wasn't her fault," Older Rogue said. "Caliban tricked us all. She was the only one onto him anyway--and Frost. If we had a problem with it, we could have said so. Take responsibility for yourself, metal man."

Forge blinked at her.

"Sugar, if ya want to do this, fine," Rogue said. "We have to find Gambit.... He's probably in the prison.... Ya buy us 10 to 15 minutes, that should be enough for Fast Boy here to get us in and out. Forge already knows what it looks like a little, right?"

"Well...sort of," Forge said

"And we got the floor plan," Rogue said, "so maybe we can do it. Ya'd have Warren to back ya up. Is that enough?"

"Anyone else would be recognized as a rebel, so I think it has to be," Shine said.

"And if I don't agree to this?" Warren said.

"Have fun with Sinister turning you back into an angel of death," Shine said.

Silence.

"Are you threatening me?" Warren looked dark for a moment.

"No," Shine said, her voice came stronger. "I'm warning you. You either are on our side, the one team in the world right now who can possibly help you break free from them, or you'll be suckered back to work for them. As I understand it, it was your own fault the first time, unlike our Angel, who was lied to. So, either you run back there now and just turn yourself in, or you help us. No time for second guessing now--and we're losing our daylight window. Dust?"

"We have about 5 minutes left," Dust said. "And we're just outside the post. They'll notice us soon enough. If you will do this mad plan, do it now. But I don't know that sunlight is what I would rely on for direction."

"It's a sign," Shine said. "And it's better than no plan at all. Look, I don't know if I can do this...but I do know, out of this team here, I'm the only one who could probably pull it off. You all don't have the gift that I do for it. It's smarter to use our gifts well. I'm not that fast. Me walking around inside is wasting my time. You find them, come back for me. It's smarter that way."

"In a crazy way," Logan allowed. "Fine, Likstar...if this tin angel here can keep 'is shirt on and help ya out, go for it. Like we said before, all ideas are a long shot now anyway. Anythin' to get the kids back alive."

"While we're at it, we should try to find a way to get them," Morph said. "Maybe Forge can hack more computers if we get inside. I bet there's a main control deck somewhere. I can help too...but we have to find Raven...and Kurt too."

"So...I guess this is it," Shine said.

She looked at them all. "Well, God be with you."

"And with you," Storm said.

Shine kissed Wally, who looked a lot like he was trying not to cry.

"Well...I don't know if this is appropriate to say," he said, "but if you're going to go up there and distract them by stealing the spotlight from old Apocalypse--give 'em hell...if you know what I mean."

"I think they'll get that on their own, but I can try," Shine said. "I love you...and hey, hurry up, all right? No slacking off finding everybody."

She nodded at Emma. "Remember what I said. And please, don't take any stupid chances today."

"Coming from the person about to do the stupidest thing I've ever seen, I'll just take that with a grain of salt," Emma said.

"I will miss you so much when this is all over," Shine laughed. Then sighed. "All right, Angel...let's do this."

"For the record, this idea is stupid," Warren said. "But fine...I guess those b-----ds will find me one way or the other. I'm not exactly subtle here."

He picked her up, and they flew away.

"Ya know, I kind of like 'im better than the one we know," Logan said. "He's not as much of a pansy."

"I don't know--he seems morbid to me," Storm said.

"That's kind of ironic," Emma said.

"Why?" Storm said.

"Oh, well, I sort of thought the other you had a thing with him," Emma said.

Storm looked...the most horrified they'd seen her at such an idea.

"Well...the other me must have very different taste," she said after a minute.

"Ew," Marie-Rogue said. "Next you'll be sayin' you've got a thing with Iceman." She was talking to her other self.

"Uh...no," that Rogue said. "But while we're on the subject, what is with you and the thief?"

"Hey, ya don't even know 'im," Rogue said.

"Ladies?" Morph said. "Time? This isn't really important right now, right?"

"Well, when you're sayin' that, Morph, I guess it's not," Older Rogue said. "Let's go find our buddies...and hopefully crush Apocalypse...y'know...before bedtime."

[Here we go...]

* * *

But before those events could be unfolded, there's a need to backtrack a bit, in order to make sense of things.

Of course, everyone was wondering what had happen to Mystique after she left Forge.

Several hours ago, when that had happened, she'd been recaptured, naturally, and then taken away.

She lost count of the maze of hallways and stairs they went through, mostly because she was putting all her energy into not losing form with the lash they were using.

Finally they took if off her, and her extremities were pretty numb--but also tingling from the shock...so...weird.

Emma would have recognized the room she was taken to. It was clearly some kind of throne room.

But sort of like an old Greek or Babylonian temple, but darker, and the decor was tasteless, and non-existent mostly, just war banners from the look of it. Nothing classy.

The mark of Apocalypse for sure.

Mystique thought to herself that he'd never had any taste for art or human accomplishment. Everything was alien and ugly with him.

She'd have expected to be more nervous about this.

But the truth was, after anticipating this day for so many weeks...it really felt more like a dream just becoming real than it did like a shock.

Apocalypse himself was in the throne room.

With anyone else, he might have put on pomp and tried to make an impression.

But apparently, he considered this catch not worth it.

"So you have it?" he said, when they came in.

"He has it, my lord," Havoc said.

They all bowed.

Mystique wasn't going to, but Pyro pushed her down.

Apocalypse peered down at them.

Was he taller than before?

"So...this is the famed time traveler," he said. "And you have the Talis.... Give it to me now, and I will spare your life."

Mystique tried to think of what Morph would say.

"Ah, so sorry, I left it in my other suit," she said.

"Are you daring to mock me?" Apocalypse said.

Then he suddenly frowned. "I don't sense it.... Does he actually have it, you fools?"

"He did before, I swear," Havoc said. "My scanner is...destroyed."

"Hang on." Nitro pulled one out. "Let me check."

He looked through.

Moron should have thought to do that before, Mystique thought to herself. Like she couldn't just have hidden it.

"Uh...where is it?" Nitro said.

Mystique laughed.

Apocalypse frowned at her.

"Sire, I swear he had it on him!" Havoc cried, cowering back. "Must have stashed it somewhere when he ran off. We can find it again."

"Then do it!" Apocalypse thundered. "Now!"

They ran out of the room.

Mystique shrugged casually. "They won't find it."

At least if Forge had done anything at all creative.... He better not be as useless as Emma implied.

Apocalypse stared at her. "Very clever."

Suddenly he raised a hand and blasted at her.

Mystique jumped out of the way, just barely, and hit the ground.

Apocalypse came closer and then motioned to the corner.

Out of the shadows of the back of the room stepped a mutant Mystique didn't recognize at all.

He was tall and looked like one of Apocalypse's enhanced creations.

"Did you really think you could hide from me?" Apocalypse said. "Mystique?"

Mystique deduced that the new mutant was probably a telepath based on that...or she was just that predictable.

Well...oh well.

Smiling, she reverted to her usual form. "Surprise?"

Telekinetic force slammed her into the ground.

"I can dispatch her for you, Master," the mutant said, in a voice that matched his appearance.

"No yet," Apocalypse said. "When one of my own returns to me, it's a cause for celebration...in due time. She is still useful. Well, Mystique...you've come back to me of your own volition?"

Mystique found she could get up now.

She spat blood out of her mouth from hitting the floor and looked up.

"Well...I didn't exactly plan it that way," she said. "Your dogs picked me up. Maybe they should have been better trained. A child could have thought through that trick."

"Perhaps, but detecting deception is not a strong point of my hunters," Apocalypse said, not caring at all. "In this world, no one has any need for that."

Right...

"But I am puzzled as to why you impersonated another shape-shifter," Apocalypse said. "If I had a sense of irony, some might call that humorous."

If you knew you didn't have a sense of irony, did that mean that you did have one?

Okay...that thought had to be Morph's influence right there.

Mystique shook herself.

"Perfect trick, right?" she said. "Only way to con a con is to tell the truth. Only a shape-shifter can imitate another shape-shifter."

"If you were going to take his place, you should have brought the Talis to me," Apocalypse said. "Playing games like this is not going to get out back into my good graces."

Mystique knew she was dead if she didn't play along.

But...

Well...

One would think after one thwarting, someone would get the hint.

She straightened. "I'm not trying to get back into your good graces."

Sure, blow her only chance at survival--that was brilliant.

But even she couldn't act good enough to pull this off.... Who would like this regime? Who would be able to fake supporting it for longer than a minute?

In a way, she was just sparing herself exposure later. 

"Aren't you?" Apocalypse said.

"I read her mind," the telepath said. "She's being sincere. Also, I know where they're headed. Right here. Be here in a few hours. Shall I give the order to have them intercepted?"

Mystique's heart almost stopped.

"No," Apocalypse said, narrowing his eyes. "If those impudent ants want to come here, let them. We'll deal with them quickly once they arrive. Besides...I have much to learn from watching them. Every rebel in this city will be drawn to them. We can finally stamp out the rest of the Resistance. I trust you've already found the ones in what they used to call Manhattan."

"Yes," the telepath said.

"Good, see to it they're dealt with," Apocalypse said. 

"Then what do we do with her?" the telepath asked.

"I do not keep you here to question me, Exodus," Apocalypse said. "Alert Lord Sinister. He'll have his pick of victims soon enough. I will decide this matter personally.... After all, Mystique and I do go back 50 years."

"Yes, Sire." Exodus stepped aside.

"So is he brainwashed too?" Mystique said.

"Exodus is a loyal follower of mine," Apocalypse said.

"So yes," Mystique said.

"Not everyone has to be made to see," Apocalypse said.

[Exodus is, in fact, a comic book character who did work for Apocalypse. Also was insanely powerful. Not sure if he was brainwashed, though it's likely. But he could just have been following him for his power. He's not in any of the movies or shows.]

"So why don't you have him with the other ones?" Mystique said. "Have to keep one around just in case someone tries to con you? I guess even you can't always see through deception."

"In your time away, you seem to have acquired a disrespectful tongue," Apocalypse noted. "Normally I would not let that stand, but, in light of your soon reconciliation, I will overlook it. Well, you should rejoice, Subject. My kingdom is at hand. Soon, all will be complete, and my vision will finally be fulfilled. The one you used to believe in."

Mystique shuddered.

"I never believed in it," she said. "I just worked for you out of fear. I knew you could crush me. All of us."

"Interesting." Apocalypse regarded her with something like bewilderment and something like contempt. "And now you are not afraid of me?"

Mystique knew if she said yes, she'd pay for it.

Well...it wasn't really true anyway.

"No...I am," she said.

Apocalypse seemed surprised, if possible. 

"Not many people admit to being afraid of someone while in the same room," he said. "And yet you defy me? Or is this just a precursor to your surrender?"

"Ask your telepath," Mystique said.

"He is busy. And I have no need of one to understand you," Apocalypse said. "Many women like you have served me over the millennia. Lost, purposeless...and I gave them a purpose and honor--serving me."

"Women who had nowhere else to go," Mystique said. "And no power to resist you...yes, I'm sure there were many. If you were a human, I know what else to think of that, but I suppose you're above that."

Apocalypse must not have been so far removed from society to not know what she'd just implied.

And he glowered at her. "My tolerance for your disrespect will only go so far, even with knowing the end of it."

Mystique didn't care to push her luck.

"If you fear me, why do you not beg for mercy?" Apocalypse said. "I might listen. After all, I am nothing if not kind to my followers."

Mystique shivered. She looked around.

No escape...

"Once, I would have," she said. "Already...once, I would have betrayed all of them, to save my own skin. Once...it wasn't even that long ago. Just months ago. Once, I was more afraid of you than of what you wanted."

"Once." Apocalypse couldn't seem to fathom this. "And now?"

Could it be...he actually didn't understand?

Mystique suddenly remembered what Shine had said, that Apocalypse didn't know love, or anything about goodness.... All he knew was hate, anger, fear...death...

But then, his minions, he named them after war, famine, death, and plague.... What was so shocking about it?

In one of those moments that never make sense to us until afterward, Mystique suddenly had a paradigm shift.

Shine was right...Apocalypse was small. Small minded. Small-souled.... If not for his power...who would ever take him seriously?

He could crush her like a gnat...but he couldn't fathom why she'd defied him, even before meeting Kurt and the DJs...

He almost couldn't fathom it now.

And he wanted to know, before he did whatever things to her he was going to do.... He just had to know, didn't he? How someone could have left his orbit?

Unlike Magneto, she'd hadn't been planning it all along--she'd actually changed her mind.... That must be a shock.

Suddenly, she laughed.

A mocking laugh, but also one of pure disbelief at herself.

Apocalypse looked angry. "Are you mocking me?"

"Oh...I don't know," Mystique said. "Maybe I'm mocking myself."

"For your impudence?" Apocalypse said.

"No...for ever thinking of you as anyone I should follow," Mystique said.

Apocalypse suddenly straightened even more. "What?!"

"I know you could kill me," Mystique said, shaking her head. "I should be terrified of you.... Well...maybe I am...still."

She looked at her hands. "Somewhere...but it's just not in my soul anymore. I no longer have to obey you. Maybe I never did. You can kill me, but you can't actually earn my devotion."

She looked up. "Isn't that what just keeps you up at night? One thing I learned about you...all this crap?" She gestured around. "To get worshiped? Sure...it works...but it's not actually like anyone values you. They just serve you because they have no choice. All your little minions--I think it's like my friend says: If you have to brainwash someone in order to get their loyalty, you must not have that much to offer them on your own."

This was lunacy, and she knew it.

"You dare insinuate that I have nothing to offer people?" Apocalypse thundered.

She was so dead.

But in for a penny.

"Nothing but war and violence and death," she said.

If anyone could have heard her, they'd have still thought she sounded like Mystique...dry, flat, in a way. Always one to sound like she was just stating facts, not on some soapbox.

But really, that would have easily made this sound more unnerving to the casual observer, because it made her seem unafraid.

Even if she, in fact, wasn't unafraid. She could feel her insides twisting at this kind of defiance.

She might be sick.

Yet she couldn't stop herself.... For once her disgust with the situation was more than her ability to hide it and feign compliance.

"Victory and power!" Apocalypse was actually stooping to argue with her of all people.

Mystique had a weird sense of power here.... It would be short-lived, she knew, but for a moment, he'd forgotten that she was a worm and he was, in his mind, a god. She had actually made him angry.

"Have you walked in the gutters of your own world?" she said. Somehow he was not stopping her, not yet. "I have. Ask those people if they see victory and power. You put mutants in charge? No, you put mutants in bondage, more than the humans ever did. Only someone without any truth or justice of their own would use brainwashing and mind control to make their followers listen. So whatever you do to me, you monster...I know the truth."

She laughed oddly. "You're nothing. Less than nothing. Not even an idea. People can follow an idea...but only drones can follow blind power. That's why I'm not bowing to you right now."

"Impudence!" Apocalypse came closer to hit the floor in front of her and sent her flying back, almost knocking her out. "I ought to order them to cut out your tongue...but that would render you useless.... Well, Mystique, it seems that you have learned a good deal from your new friends...and have forgotten your place also. From where I plucked you out of? You were rubbish when I found you, and you still are. Mutants like you are not even worthy of being part of my kingdom, mutants who'd would rather blend in with pathetic Weaklings than live up to their glory. I only chose you because it was of use to me.... Don't expect to get any place of honor...but you are still of use to me, for a short time...so I'm not going to destroy you...yet."

Exodus must have signaled for someone, because some more guards came in and picked Mystique up while she was still dazed.

"Take her to the labs," Apocalypse said. "Lord Sinister will know what to do from there. Give him a chance to get reacquainted with an old friend. Make sure he knows that she's to be dealt with personally. Those little upstarts think they can steal Apocalypse's followers? No one can steal from me. I will show them the error of their ways, as I have all who came before them. And I will send them a personal message on your behalf, Mystique. For this disrespect. Enjoy your stay."

"Huh?" Mystique didn't like the sound of that last part. "Wait--"

"Shut up, prisoner." The guards dragged her away.

Mystique struggled to break free, having a bad feeling about this. "No, he's a monster! You fools, he's going to destroy us all!"

They only responded by hitting her hard enough to shut her up.