[96] : Apocalypse Retreats, The Phoenix Gets into Trouble

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"You... lied to me!"

Erik was being strangled by Roger, making it impossible for him to focus on controlling the metal pieces in the sky. He struggled to speak to Roger, trying to use his powers to manipulate metal blades and other sharp objects to strike Roger. 

But unfortunately, even those magnificent metallic monuments had no effect on Roger. Regardless of their number, those small blades were useless against him.

Apocalypse and Erik had planned well, aiming to separate Roger, whom they found troublesome, and then split up to take on Charles. 

However, they made a mistake.

They shouldn't have split up.

One-on-one, aside from the Phoenix and Apocalypse, Roger didn't fear anyone in the X-Men universe, including Erik before him.

So their separation only gave Roger the chance to defeat them one by one.

"I didn't lie to you."

Yet, Roger had no intention of killing Erik now. Even though he held Erik's life in his hands, he didn't intend to crush his throat. He just wanted to prevent Erik from concentrating on using his powers, while asking him:

"Maximoff, does that surname ring a bell?"

"What...?"

Hearing that name, Erik's eyes widened, and he stopped struggling momentarily.

Roger landed on the ground with him, throwing him to the ground, and repeated, "Maximoff, it's the surname of your former lover, isn't it? She had a child with you, a boy, and he's all grown up now."

Erik no longer tried to attack Roger. He thought back to that name and, after a long pause, asked Roger:

"Are you... telling the truth?"

"Looks like you really had some romantic escapades outside..."

Hearing Erik's acknowledgment, Roger spoke with a tone of admiration.

Roger had noticed this while watching the movies. Erik seemed like a mutant supremacist, always wanting to create a society exclusively for mutants. But at the same time, he was a bit of a playboy. 

Aside from his now-deceased wife and daughter, there was also an affair with an old lover many years ago, which led to the birth of Quicksilver. 

Additionally, according to the X-Men TV series, there was a girl named Polaris who was also believed to be Erik's child.

Counting all this, Erik had at least three romantic liaisons, resulting in one son and two daughters. If the rights to Wanda had already reverted to Marvel back then, Erik might have had another daughter.

With so many wives, lovers, and children, Roger admitted that he couldn't match Erik's exploits, so he genuinely felt a bit of admiration for him.

Erik didn't understand what Roger was admiring about him, nor did he want to discuss his past affairs with Roger. After a moment of silence, he asked:

"Who is he?"

"Hmm?"

"The boy you mentioned, who is he?"

Learning that he had a son out there, Erik lost his will to fight. Now, he only wanted to know who his son was.

"You've met him before. Remember the young guy who broke you out of prison ten years ago?"

Roger reminded Erik.

Erik thought for a moment and then asked in surprise:

"Is it him?"

"Yes, it's him. He didn't know at first; his mother never told him. But now..."

In X-Men: Days of Future Past, it was clear that Quicksilver didn't know that Magneto was his father. He saw breaking Magneto out as a challenge, or maybe just a game, not as a mission to rescue his father.

Quicksilver likely learned the truth about his parentage somewhere between the events of Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse.

"Where is he?"

Erik asked again.

Roger smiled but didn't answer immediately. Instead, he countered with a question:

"Aren't you planning to continue fighting?"

Erik glared at Roger without responding.

Fight? What a joke.

Those huge metal pieces came crashing down, and even Iron Man would have been flattened, yet Roger stood unscathed. The most outrageous part was that even his clothes remained intact!

The difference in power was too huge. Now that Erik knew he wasn't alone in this world, he had a son out there, his only desire was to meet this last remaining blood relative. He had no intention of continuing the fight.

Seeing that Erik had given up, Roger stopped mocking him and turned his attention elsewhere. He noticed Hank, who had just finished fighting Angel, dragging the winged mutant's body towards them.

As Hank made eye contact with Roger, he casually tossed Angel to the ground like he was throwing away trash and remarked:

"You two seem to be having a good chat."

Earlier, Hank had been struggling against Angel in mid-air, nearly falling to his death. After finally taking down Angel and rejoining Roger, he found Roger and Erik chatting like old friends.

It was like playing a game where you're battling an opponent, thinking your ally is fighting their counterpart, only to find them dancing together when you come to help.

In such situations, anyone would feel frustrated.

In his beast form, Hank's mood wasn't great, and his tone was a bit sharp.

Roger gave Hank an apologetic smile, pointing to the unconscious Angel and said:

"You could handle him, so I didn't step in. Besides, Erik switching sides isn't a good thing?"

"..."

Hank glanced at Erik, who was sitting on the ground, and didn't say anything.

The X-Men felt some guilt towards Erik because if they had found him earlier, or if they had truly searched for him, perhaps his wife and daughter wouldn't have died.

So, they couldn't bring themselves to blame Erik, and Hank certainly couldn't say anything to him after the recent loss of his family.

After a moment of silence, Hank changed the topic and asked Roger:

"Is it over here?"

"More or less. Apocalypse used a diversion tactic. We should head back quickly, although... I doubt anything serious has happened at the school."

Roger spoke to Hank in a relaxed tone.

Right now, the mutant academy was filled with talented people: Professor X, Havok, Mystique, and other first-generation X-Men were present, along with Cyclops, Phoenix, Storm, and Quicksilver from the second generation.

Meanwhile, Apocalypse had only himself and Psylocke as a sidekick.

With such odds, Roger couldn't see how the academy could lose.

The only concern might be the academy's physical structure, as fighting Apocalypse could easily result in some destruction to the buildings.

Hank shared Roger's thoughts and also believed that the academy should be fine. However, he still had some lingering doubts. Apocalypse was someone even Roger considered himself inferior to. Could the academy handle such a formidable foe?

"Let's hurry back. Can you take both of us with you?" 

Hank asked Roger.

Earlier, Roger had brought only Hank to this place, and during the trip, Roger explained why he could carry Hank while flying without causing him any discomfort.

It was due to a kind of bio-field that Roger generated, which protected anyone he held from the pressure of flight.

But back then, it was just Hank. Now, with Magneto joining, Hank doubted whether Roger could manage to take both of them back.

"I can lift a plane, so carrying two people is nothing. Let's go."

Without giving Hank and Erik time to react, Roger grabbed them both, slinging one over each shoulder like sacks, and shot straight into the sky.

He had no intention of carrying them gently. After all, these two weren't exactly beauties.

One was a beast, the other an old man, did they really expect Roger to treat them gently?

Dream on.

…

Roger had assumed that there wouldn't be any trouble at the mutant academy, and Hank thought the same.

But when they returned to the X-Mansion, they found it reduced to rubble.

Charles lay on the ground, his wheelchair shattered, while Mystique sat beside him, tending to his injuries.

Alex and Cyclops were nearby, comforting the younger students amidst the debris. Nightcrawler sat on the ground, looking lost.

Quicksilver, Pietro, who was the fastest among them, seemed to be injured. His leg was braced with a stone slab, apparently having been broken by Apocalypse, much like in the original storyline.

Storm was beside him, caring for him, too preoccupied to notice Roger and the others returning.

The scene looked like a disaster zone, causing Roger to frown instinctively. He scanned the area, realizing that two people were missing.

Apocalypse.

And Jean Grey.

"What happened here? Where's Apocalypse?" 

Roger landed with Erik and Hank, set them down, and immediately approached Charles to ask.

Charles looked despondent and didn't answer Roger's question.

It was Mystique who replied:

"Apocalypse is dead."

"So quickly...? Well, I guess not that quickly."

Roger replied reflexively, then remembered that his conversation with Erik had delayed him, and over twenty minutes had passed since he left.

If the X-Men acted quickly, it wasn't impossible to wrap things up within twenty minutes.

"So... was this Apocalypse's doing?"

Roger glanced at the surrounding ruins and asked again.

Mystique sighed and said, "It was Apocalypse and Jean who did this..."

"Jean?"

Hearing Mystique mention Jean Grey, Roger's previously relaxed smile disappeared. He realized something serious had happened, something far different from the scenario he had imagined, where the X-Men would team up to take down Apocalypse.

With this realization, Roger couldn't help but ask:

"What exactly happened here? Where is Jean now?"

"She's probably gone to see her father."

Charles suddenly spoke, looking at Roger and adding:

"Stop her, Roger. We can't let her learn the truth, it won't do her any good."

"Wait a minute, you knocked me out, and you still haven't explained what actually happened here."

Roger halted Charles' cryptic remarks. He wasn't interested in Jean Grey's whereabouts at the moment; he just wanted to know what had just happened here.

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