Chapter Text
From the first moment they found themselves in the past, Magneto tried to have her back. He used various tactics. First, he pretended to be kind and pitiable, but when that didn’t work, he decided to be assertive and aggressive. When that also failed, he realized he just needed to be patient and persistent.
“He’s dead,” he told her one day as he began to lose his patience. He wasn't used to hearing so many "no's," and now wasn’t the time to start.
“Ah know,” she said through gritted teeth, filled with anger, bitterness, pain, remorse, and so many emotions she could hardly distinguish them. “And yet, it’s him Ah think of every day.”
“With me, you could have what you wouldn’t have with anyone else,” his arrogance was palpable.
“You know Ah chose him that night, not you. Are you really gonna settle for bein' mah second option?” she snapped back, her voice sharp.
“I’m not your second option. I’m your only option.”
She said nothing else. And that would be the last time she confronted him and shouted at him. From then on, she became calm, passive, and submissive—traits that had never been a part of her personality but now began to surface and linger.
***
Days passed in Egypt, and that dynamic went on. She felt less and less hope, and started to believe his words that nothing could be done to bring back the one she truly wanted. In contrast, Magneto constantly reminded her that he was there; he always made his presence known, as if trying to convince her that the man she really loved had abandoned her instead of sacrificing himself to save her—as if he had made a choice.
It frustrated her more, and she took it out in battles.
He didn’t abandon me. He didn’t have a choice… He was willing to do anything for me, and he did.
When she remembered how handsome he looked in that white suit in Genosha, and how she broke his heart with words she didn’t even believe herself, Rogue had an overwhelming desire to scream at her past self. She wanted to tell herself how impulsive and desperate she was, thinking the right path was choosing the man who offered a miraculous solution to all her problems… which, in the end, turned out to be an empty promise.
If Remy were alive, they could have figured things out together. He had offered that to her, but she didn't listen at the time. And now she had lost him forever.
***
In some moments during that new life, Rogue finally accepted the inevitable.
He wouldn’t return. It didn’t matter how much she screamed or begged whatever gods were above. Magneto’s words echoed in her mind every time a memory with him came to console her.
“He’s dead.”
He was gone.
Maybe it was for the best the way things ended. If there was a life after death, he would be free on the other side, thinking she had chosen Magneto over him, therefore there would be nothing left for him to lose.
When Rogue thought of that, she was in her room, hugging some random pillow, crying uncontrollably.
No.
She didn’t want it to end like this. She couldn't. If she had said how she felt before he died, maybe he would have come back to her somehow…
“But he won’t come back.”
He always did. Not this time.
Erik was there. He had always been there, waiting for her. Even when she didn’t ask, even when she wished he was someone else, he was the one who had shown up in the end. And his persistence would eventually pan out. However, he never suspected that she stayed with him partly to punish herself. She often recoiled at his touch. She closed her eyes and imagined it was Remy touching her when Erik was on top of her, and she felt nothing. This was the life she resigned herself to.
“Destiny brought us together. You were made for me. In every universe, it will always be us,” he said, probably trying to sound romantic.
She closed her eyes when he said that and wondered if it could be true. If so, it meant that in every universe, she would lose Remy LeBeau. In every universe, she would have to learn to live without him… there was nothing worse… So she accepted.
***
When she discovered she was pregnant, the only one who wasn’t shocked was the Professor, probably because he had sensed something telepathically between her and Erik. She just hoped he hadn’t caught the real reasons why she was with his longtime friend.
Beast offered to help her and monitor the pregnancy like a doting mother hen. He never left her side, was always concerned about diseases, nutrition, and her health.
It wasn’t uncommon for the two mutants to remain hidden while the others went on missions. In the beginning, Rogue couldn’t stand staying still, but Hank’s company was good. He had always been a passionate man who loved sharing his discoveries; he recited poems he learned, made observations about the beauty of the Egyptian language while they studied it, and told her stories of the great pharaohs.
It was all an excellent distraction to keep her from remembering how terrified she was of the dreaded day when she would give birth…
***
After Charlie was born, Rogue found herself as a new person. Someone with a new purpose. She forgot the struggle of her labor and the absence of the man she had allowed to be her child’s father. The excuse was that he was out there fighting, trying to protect her… But even Cyclops abandoned everything to witness the birth of his son.
Rogue remembered how happy he was arriving at the mansion with Nathan in his arms. How he showed all his friends his greatest gift. Back then, Madelyne—Jean had convinced Cyclops to let the baby go for a few seconds so others could hold him a little (so Nathan would get used to everyone).
Rogue clearly remembered refusing to hold the baby. After the memories and knowledge she had absorbed from the doctor she touched to help during the birth began to fade, her insecurity returned, overcoming the mutant with deadly touch. That excessive fear of harming something so fragile and innocent with her powers petrified her… until she felt Remy’s touch on her shoulder.
“Rogue,” he had whispered so close to her ear that only she could hear.
Rogue noticed that Remy, as much as he got along with children, also distanced himself from Madelyne when she allowed the X-Men to hold Nathan. She noticed how he kept a safe distance, hoping no one would notice. Still, he didn’t seem restless, just uncertain about holding someone else’s child.
For that reason, Rogue was even more surprised when he approached her and easily picked up baby Nathan. He adjusted the blanket around the baby’s body and handed him over to Rogue with the utmost care.
Frightened, she looked at Madelyne, who only smiled at the scene, showing complete confidence in the friend who had helped her during birth. Then she looked at Remy. His eyes were solely on her as he helped her do something she was secretly anxious to do.
Every time before picking up Charlie, Rogue would wrap him in the blanket just like Remy had adjusted Nathan’s to help her hold him. Every time, she thanked him in her mind.
As Charlie started to grow and move more, Rogue felt her anxiety increase. She was terrified of causing an accident, especially when the baby managed to free one of his little arms from the blanket that wrapped him. Each time, she would hand him to Erik as quickly as possible.
This made his presence extremely important. Furthermore, Erik didn’t like others holding his son, never thinking they did it the right way, and perhaps for that reason, the baby never stayed quiet in anyone's arms except his father's.
***
Life in Egypt went on.
For a long time, they suffered and fought so many times that Rogue almost thought they would be fighting in the past for the rest of their lives. She was getting used to the climate, the language, the clothing… the people.
The baby’s first words were there, and it took her a while to understand what they were. That made her wonder if she would ever see her friends again. If she would ever return to the US.
And if she would ever visit his grave in New Orleans.
She wanted to show Charlie to him at least once. To tell him how he had helped her hold the baby… and how she wished the father of her child was someone else.
The more she thought about it, the more irritated she became, until one day, Magneto cornered her. In front of the other X-Men, they argued because she wasn’t opening up; they argued because he was frustrated with the silence she gave him, with all that unnatural meekness in her usually rebellious and lively persona, even when he said he loved her, which only made her angrier, although she never really raised her voice, she never did anymore.
“It’s not my fault you’re scared to touch him. It’s not my fault you kill everything you touch” he finally spat out in a moment of anger. He believed that was the reason for her frustration. Touch. Not being able to touch who she loved.
In a way, he wasn’t wrong, for Rogue lamented every day that she was the one who had given birth to Charlie and yet didn’t know what her own child’s skin felt like.
But what she lamented the most was that she could not touch the man she loved; not because of her powers, but because he was gone forever and she was left alone. Erik only helped when she needed him to take her son from her arms—the only person she still truly wanted around—so she wouldn’t hurt him… but even after seeing how miserable she felt about it, he never tried to find a way to help her out of that condition.
Remembering everything she had gone through with him since meeting him in the Savage Land, Rogue finally realized… he never really seemed interested in finding a solution to her struggles. Struggles that could make her incapable of getting close to someone without hurting them physically, everyone besides Magneto himself.
“I don’t care,” Remy had said when he hugged her tightly after kneeling on the cold kitchen floor.
He was about to get a glass of water after a solo, untimely training in the Danger Room when he heard sobs in the middle of the night.
Seeing that it was Rogue, he ran to her and crouched down to see what had happened. He gently moved her hair away from her face. She never understood how he managed to do that—such intimate gestures with her in such a natural way without even touching her directly.
“What happened?” she never imagined his eyes could show pure fear. He was always so confident, sarcastic, and in control of his emotions… It was a rarity to see him showing such vulnerability.
And he showed it only for her.
Through sobs, she explained. She was having a crisis after many emotions took over her while she slept… combining them with her own emotions, Rogue was thrown into a suffocating despair. She ran, then flew to the kitchen in search of water but ended up losing control, bumping into furniture, and stumbling.
Instead of screaming or asking for help, she just crumbled to the floor and cried silently.
She felt a terrible sensation that she would pass out right there… and maybe she would have if it weren’t for him.
He approached, and her whole body tensed.
It was what she wanted, what she needed, but fear made her show the opposite.
She pushed him away, desperately begging him not to risk himself with her.
“I’ll hurt ya.”
But he came back; he always came back.
He looked at her with those piercing red eyes and spoke without fear, without pity, only the pure truth.
“I don’t care.”
He wrapped her in his strong arms without fear or hesitation. He had a wonderful smell, was warm and comforting.
Her tears soaked the fabric of his clothes, but he didn’t mind—it even seemed like he liked it. Knowing that she was letting it all out.
She felt his face sink into her voluminous hair.
They still weren’t really touching. It wasn’t skin-to-skin… but for her, it was enough at that moment.
There were a few times she gave him that opening, and when it happened, Rogue remembered why she kept him at an arm's length. But in that situation, she needed him too much to get through it.
She held onto him like her life depended on it, forgetting even her extraordinary strength as she squeezed him. He didn’t grunt in pain, just accepted it, relieved to know she was reacting.
“Chère. Things won’t always be this way,” he gently massaged her back. “You’ll control dis. You’ll see. And I’ll always be wit' you. We’ll find a solution together.”
Those sweet words echoing in her mind were a stark contrast to what she had heard from Erik.
When she flew out of the house they were hiding in, away from Charlie’s cries and Magneto’s cold gaze, Rogue realized how alone she really was.
He didn’t come to check on her, didn’t worry about looking for her, even knowing their enemy was always on their tail.
When she snuck back into the room they shared, he pretended to be asleep. She didn’t try to wake him up, just lay beside him and slept with a rage she couldn’t vent.
***
Ever since they arrived in Egypt, much had happened to Kurt, Charles, Rogue, Hank, and Erik. In the beginning, they allied with Apocalypse, forming a bond, an unexpected friendship not just with him but with his loyal followers and even his children.
At that time, Apocalypse's name was En Sabah Nur, a mutant fighting against the tyranny of Rama-Tut, a man Beast discovered was a time traveler like them, who used advanced technology to dominate Egypt and declare himself pharaoh.
The mutants then had the idea to help En Sabah Nur overthrow Tut and use his technology to return to 1997. Thus, they formed an alliance with the gray-skinned mutant. For a long time, they took refuge alongside the Egyptian mutant, blending with the common population as best they could, and fighting Tut's minions to free people and acquire useful technologies.
Through one of the devices Beast kept, Forged managed to communicate from the Present. That day raised everyone's hopes and spirits.
The genius mutant explained the situation of the X-Men in their original year and revealed that things weren’t going well since Apocalypse was set loose with his Horsemen, stronger than ever.
Unlike before, Forge explained they were released one by one, always appearing when the remaining X-Men were recovering from a previous battle. Luckily, mutants from all over the globe showed up to help with each new challenge, strengthening the group.
With the help of allies like Shadowcat, Colossus, Iceman, and even Cannonball, they defeated three Horsemen: Famine, War, and Pestilence… but they knew, according to the Bible, it was only a matter of time until Death arrived. Everyone knew they needed to be ready, and that was when Shadowcat and Forge managed to create a communicator that could contact Beast’s team in the Past and Scott’s in the Future.
Even after all the hurried explanation and update, Forge seemed to avoid mentioning the identities of the mutants used by Apocalypse in the Present, and since they had more pressing matters to discuss, Beast forgot to ask again.
For days they communicated, trying to find a way to bring everyone in Egypt back, and they were all hopeful that things would be finally resolved within a month… until Forge stopped responding. Days, weeks, months went by, and nothing. Charlie was born in the meantime, and the silence from the Present stretched so long that more things changed in the Past.
It was during this time that Xavier noticed the madness taking hold of En Sabah Nur’s mind.
It started as a hunch, discomfort with certain words the mutant leader said. His hatred grew, his disgust increased, his euphoria for power slowly distorted his heart.
Believing there might be hope and that there was a chance En Sabah Nur wouldn’t be consumed by Apocalypse's madness, Xavier tried to stop his changing, wanting to save the person he had come to know and consider a friend. He tried to explain the problem with those choices, what consequences they could have on a grand scale, and perhaps out of naivety, the telepath thought Sabah Nur listened.
When they completed two and a half years in Egypt (and had been out of contact with Forge for nearly a year and a half), the X-Men realized their hope of returning lay only in their own hands. Concerned about what might have happened in the Present, they made a risky and swift decision.
Overthrowing Tut and acquiring his technology became the mutants' top priority. They fought, incited rebellions, destroyed minions and weapons, and freed prisoners.
On the day they won, however, they lost a friend. Driven by the power he could gain, by what he could conquer on a global, perhaps universal scale, Sabah Nur exchanged his last words as a friend of the X-Men before choosing to transfigure himself with Tut’s technology and become an even greater threat. Worse yet, his children followed him… and that was how the dreaded Horsemen emerged.
Apocalypse was born, and the X-Men’s hope of returning home once again turned int a distant dream.
Forge hadn’t returned Beast’s desperate calls, nor had the X-Men in the Future contacted them.
They had nothing.
Apocalypse pursued them, and in a turn of events, Tut allied with them, teaching them how to understand the weaknesses of the technology he had been using, explaining the details of his time travels and where he came from. And just as Sabah became Apocalypse, Rama-Tut turned into Nathaniel Richards.
Months passed (making their total stay in Egypt almost three years), and a few weeks before the final battle (planned for weeks) could take place, a miracle happened.
Rogue and Kurt were walking through the market in the city of Nekhen, buying supplies to last them until the date set for the rebellion against Apocalypse… when Bishop found them.
It was a startling sight: the face of a friend they thought they’d never see again among the unfamiliar faces in the crowd.
Thanks to her distinctive hair (and the fact that Kurt was completely covered to hide his obvious mutation), Bishop spotted and subsequently hugged Rogue first.
Taking him to the house where they were hiding in the city, Bishop was greeted with warm smiles and embraces from Beast and Xavier.
They celebrated briefly as he observed how different they all looked since the last time he’d seen them: darker skin due to the sun, wearing the typical clothes of the place with the same naturalness they once wore their X-Men uniforms, and even a bit of an accent.
“And you’re the same old Bishop, sugah,” Rogue said a little too enthusiastically, winking at him (in a forceful manner, as if she were faking it) as she sat beside Magneto to eat with him.
The time traveler forced a smile and joined the circle of friends in the simple house, so different from the vast Mansion where he used to dine with them before. Looking around, it was weird seeing how friendly everyone was toward Magneto. Did they forget all the damage that man had caused the world? All the people that are dead because of his actions? Bishop was trying, but couldn't understand what kind of power that man held over them. All in all, he eagerly ate a dish typical of the era and then got straight to the point, knowing his time was short and there was a lot to tell after they lost contact. Before his arrival.
The last time Forge communicated with Beast, Pestilence was the final opponent of the X-Men… and also the last one they managed to contain by themselves.
However, the battle wasn’t easy, requiring all the remaining X-Men and their allies to fight against the feared warrior. Cable, Jubilee, Forge, Bishop, Sunspot, Quicksilver, Iceman, Cannonball, Colossus, Shadowcat, Magik, and Emma Frost fought bravely, protecting civilians and preventing the Horsewoman from getting close to Bishop’s wristband—the weapon they were betting on to bring the group of mutants back and defeat Apocalypse once and for all. They held her off long enough for the help Pietro called for to arrive: Wanda and Polaris managed to turn the tide, weakening Pestilence’s feared power and imprisoning her.
Magneto showed concern at the news, fearing for his daughters, until Bishop assured him they were fine.
Their greatest trial, however, came soon after. He arrived when they least expected it, and what they experienced with Pestilence seemed like a walk in the park.
The Horseman of Death didn’t terrorize countries, didn’t attack random areas, nor did he chase political leaders… His mission was clearly retaliation, directly targeting the mutants who imprisoned his companions.
He found the place where they were hiding—a bunker beneath the abandoned and destroyed X-Mansion—and ended everything they had managed to rebuild, despite Forge's reinforced security and the special army Kelly recruited. They were decimated.
Along with what was left of the Mansion, the Horseman destroyed the device they had built to communicate with the Future and the Past, as well as Bishop's wristband.
The X-Men managed to escape by the skin of their teeth but watched the place they once called home, which they once planned to rebuild as soon as all their friends were safe, vanish in the blink of an eye, turning it into a huge lifeless gray crater.
Death's next goal was to free his Horsemen. He traveled to the different locations where each was held and freed them one by one. It didn’t matter that they knew of his coming; it didn’t matter how much they prepared; Death always prevailed and left behind a trail of ashes.
For months, the Present didn’t know what to do, recovering and trying to warn the government to prepare without success… Death wasn’t seen much, especially after releasing the other three Horsemen in order to continue spreading chaos around the world; but he always came whenever there was an attempt to destroy one of them. Like a terrible and corrupted guardian angel, he appeared at any sign of threat against his protégés.
And then, it was time for the Avengers to intervene.
With their help, the X-Men managed to prevent Apocalypse's expansion, defeating the three freed Horsemen. However, Death didn't let it lie, and continued to pursue them, destroying strongholds and evaporating regions with a mere blink in retaliation. He managed to frustrate the heroes’ plans numerous times, freeing the other Horsemen as if he was picking up children from school.
After a while of this cat-and-mouse game, tired of having his loyal Warriors imprisoned so many times, Apocalypse used Death as a threat, a trump card in case he was attacked directly by the heroes again: he demonstrated to everyone a dose of his most powerful Horseman’s strength, making miles and miles of an uninhabited area disappear in a second. It was enough to make the heroes rethink their strategy and remain quiet for a while.
Thus, Apocalypse’s empire continued to expand, and there was nothing they could do about it.
That’s when, with Forge's suggestion, they decided to bring together the greatest minds in the world to create a time device to help bring the other X-Men back. Specifically, Jean or Xavier—the world’s greatest telepaths—to proceed with the plan they had developed.
The wristband that Bishop used to find the X-Men in the Past was nothing more than a prototype developed by Reed Richards and Tony Stark, and although it was still in the testing phase, it was enough to give the mutants hope.
Smiling with joy after bringing good news, Bishop explained their next steps.
“Forge, Stark, and Richards are already developing four more prototypes. Trust me, they’re not resting. This wristband can only take one person, like mine did before, but the next time I return to fetch you, I swear it’ll be to bring all five of you back.”
He then looked at Xavier with a more serious expression. “Professor, we’ll need your help; yours or Jean’s, in particular. The Avengers have come up with a plan to stop Apocalypse… specifically the Horseman of Death. We have a theory that through his mind—”
He was about to explain more of the details of what was happening in the Present, to prepare them for the news and specifics not mentioned earlier that would undoubtedly leave the only female member of the group in the Past unsettled… when the sound of a crying child interrupted him.
Searching for the source with his eyes, Bishop noticed a small wooden crib in the direction of the noise, which Rogue approached.
From there, while gazing lovingly downward, she took out Charlie and took great care not to touch him, wrapping him in white cloths before adjusting him in her arms.
In silence, Bishop watched the scene unfold, not even moving the spoon over the plate he was holding. He didn’t know what to say, but his mind slowly connected the dots, especially when he heard Rogue whispering while gently rocking the little one from side to side.
“Shh, shh. Mama’s here…”
Bishop noticed how the child’s almost platinum blonde hair color seemed familiar and realized when the desperate mutant, unable to calm her son after a good few minutes of consoling him, looked at the Master of Magnetism in distress and frustration.
“Erik,” she stared at the mutant through teary eyes.
She couldn’t breastfeed that baby; she couldn’t even touch his soft skin, kiss him, or caress him in any way. She remembered how the moment of childbirth had been one of panic. Not just because it was her first time and they were in a place without comfort and technology, but because of the fear that she would hurt the baby, kill him before his first breath.
She spent countless sleepless nights worrying about the moment her child would come into the world. When she felt the pain of imminent birth, she screamed, calling for Magneto. He had tried to calm her, saying he would be there at the birth to support her, but he lied—he wasn’t there. That was what she screamed in despair.
In the end, after an excruciating wait, he arrived. Delirious, she felt the pain and the moment of relief when the baby was expelled. Feverish, she waited for the baby’s cry. It didn’t come. She screamed again, her worst fear becoming reality. Then she heard the cry. Her baby was alive. Magneto had created a barrier between her and the baby so there wouldn’t be contact between them.
“It’s a boy,” she heard. All she wanted was to be able to hold her little boy in her arms and kiss him, but she couldn’t.
She passed the baby to Erik, her eyes lingering on him sadly. The baby was nursed by wet nurses—kind women who volunteered to help, thinking the foreign girl couldn’t produce milk.
Oh, if only that was the problem…
Already aware of what was happening, Magneto set his plate aside and walked toward the girl.
The white-haired man silently took the baby, who calmed down in seconds in the arms of… his father?
Bishop then looked at Xavier, then at Kurt, Hank… all of them, not knowing what to say as they witnessed a strangely domestic scene that he never imagined possible. At least not with those two.
Kurt shrugged upon noticing Bishop’s questioning and startled look, almost as if saying, “ This is life , mein freund.”
The time traveler then looked at Rogue, who was watching her own son calm down in his father's arms with a look of both relief and anguish.
Magneto then kissed the baby's forehead and smiled as he placed him back in his crib.
Rogue sighed and looked at Bishop.
“Sugah, Ah think you’ll have to recount the number of passengers you’ll need to bring to the Present.”
What Bishop was about to say vanished, and silence filled the space again. It was heavy and full of doubts.
“You two—? I mean, is he yours?” He pointed at Magneto and Rogue, still in disbelief.
Rogue smiled.
“Yes. This is Charles Lehnsherr. But we call him Charlie.”
The mutant still couldn’t formulate complete sentences, trying to remember where all this came from.
After taking Madelyne's son and returning to a Present where more than half of the X-Men had vanished, he knew he had missed a lot, but this…? When did that start? How was it possible?
The lingering silence of the mutant became a weight hard to ignore, as each word left unsaid exposed a lot, especially the person who wasn’t there to express what he would think of all this.
Did it happen after his death? Had Rogue always loved Magneto?
Whether before or after, Bishop didn’t know what could be less painful.
“Sugah, he’s just a baby; ya'll don’t need to be so scared,” Rogue, who most felt the weight of that glaring silence and was clearly bothered by it, and who knew exactly who he was thinking of, broke the silence.
“Oh,” Bishop cleared his throat. “Right. Sorry. Um—Congratulations?”
Rogue rolled her eyes, still angry at his confused and unenthusiastic tone.
“Thanks. Now, let’s get to what matters. Are ya’ll gonna defeat this Horseman of Death, or are we gonna have to go there ourselves and take care of business?” She brought a fist to the palm of her other hand.
Before he could answer, Bishop was interrupted by the beeping of his wristband. In three seconds, something invisible—the force of space-time—pulled him off the stool he was sitting on. Everything blurred, and he was sent back to the Present, thinking he would have a plan but leaving with only more questions.
Bishop's visit was a new hope for the X-Men in the past. They were almost resigning themselves to their current situation, even though Beast and Nathaniel's efforts were proving slow and frustrating, so the mere appearance of the future mutant relieved them, at least knowing what was happening in their original time.
Rogue only regretted not presenting Charlie to Bishop sooner, before he began explaining their plans, as he was clearly shocked by the baby's existence.
For the X-Men in the Past, hope remained in the fight against Apocalypse more than in the Present.
They knew Forge and Bishop wouldn’t rest until they brought them back, but they wanted to do something from where they were, without placing all the responsibility on their friends' shoulders. And so they did. They kept on fighting until victory was at their reach.
***
The plan to defeat Apocalypse was simple: first, they would destroy his Horsemen, and later, they would attack their father. Through careful strategies and ambushes, the mutants of 1997 managed to take down each henchman one by one. Although it took them months to achieve it, seeing the people freed from their tyranny bolstered their perseverance.
Still, as it was predicted, the battle against Apocalypse himself was excruciating, laborious, and felt never-ending. Many of the X-Men's allies were lost, but in the end, they emerged victorious.
The tyranny of the mad mutant was over.
Yet, the manner of his defeat troubled Rogue's mind for a long time. During the fight, Hank, Magneto, Beast, Kurt, Nathaniel, and Xavier all struggled against Apocalypse, who remained almost unharmed by their desperate attacks.
Magneto felt particularly frustrated; his magnetic powers proved ineffective against the advanced technology of the first mutant, the fact that it was developed by mere homo sapiens from the future only made it worse in the proud mutant’s eyes. He continued to fight with whatever he could muster, but it was Xavier and Nathaniel who ultimately dealt the most damage by confusing Apocalypse telepathically and through technological glitches.
Finally, they cornered the fanatic mutant in the most crucial chamber of his hideout and engaged in an exhausting and complicated final battle. They pushed themselves to their limits, knowing their fates depended on it.
Yet, the X-Men were weakening, while Apocalypse showed no signs of fatigue. He managed to knock out Beast and Nathaniel and was about to overpower Rogue when something strange occurred.
Kneeling, Apocalypse began to hallucinate, seemingly conversing with someone invisible. He trembled in fear, staggering and uttering strange, nonsensical commands.
Suddenly, his clothes changed color, and he began to glow, as if made of pure energy. Some parts of his technological armor melted, and he continued to shout orders at his armor, as if trying to exert control over whatever was happening to him.
Then the glow ceased, and he collapsed to the ground, breathless. After their initial shock, the X-Men seized the opportunity to strike.
They attacked him repeatedly, weakening him further until they managed to trap him in his own time machine.
In a final act of desperation, he used the last of his strength to flee through time and disappeared.
After a few minutes of anxious waiting, they realized he wasn't coming back.
Nathaniel regained consciousness shortly thereafter and speculated that Apocalypse had lost control of the machine and was now trapped in his own ship, traveling randomly through time.
This revelation seemed to relieve everyone.
They had won.
They didn’t fully understand how, but they had won.