Apocalypse’s Methods

"Fine, I agree!" Alex took a deep breath and nodded with a resentful expression. Just as Mr. Sinister had said, time waited for no one. He had to save Charles and the others first.

As he spoke, Alex flipped his palm, and an egg-sized clump of blood slowly seeped out from it. The crimson blood carried a faint golden sheen, making its extraordinary nature obvious at a glance.

"Excellent!" Mr. Sinister, who had kept a blank expression all along, finally showed a trace of excitement. He stared eagerly at the blood in Alex’s palm like a hunter eyeing his prey, as though he wanted to pounce on it immediately. He even cried out instinctively, "Give me the blood, give me the blood, and I’ll take you to Apocalypse right away!"

Alex snorted and flipped his hand, drawing the clump of blood back into his body. He turned to Mr. Sinister and sneered, "Mr. Sinister, I don’t trust you!"

"Do you have any other choice?" Mr. Sinister paused slightly, then slowly turned to look at Alex. He spoke casually, his words brimming with confidence.

"Mr. Sinister!" Alex growled, a faint chill flashing in his eyes as he glared at Mr. Sinister. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Push me too far, and I won’t mind killing you first!"

Mr. Sinister wanted to say more, but when he saw Alex’s gaze, he could not help feeling intimidated. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Fine, I can take you to Apocalypse first, but…"

"Spit it out!" Alex was truly enraged now, and his words were anything but polite. Once this is over, I’ll tear Mr. Sinister to pieces!

Mr. Sinister had not expected Alex to be so overbearing, and he actually began to regret it. Was cooperating with Alex too dangerous?

Unfortunately, there was no turning back now. Mr. Sinister sighed inwardly, turned to look at Spirit Pill and the others behind Alex, and pointed at them. "But I also need blood from them." After a brief pause, he added, "I need their blood first. Otherwise, the deal is off!"

Alex wanted to refuse, but seeing Mr. Sinister’s expression, he ultimately nodded and agreed. Despite his harsh words, he truly did not want things to reach the point where both sides were destroyed. That would benefit no one.

After signaling for Spirit Pill and the others to provide several blood samples, Alex handed them to Mr. Sinister. He did not forget to threaten him, either. "Don’t try anything, or I’ll spend the rest of my life hunting you down!"

"Don’t worry. I’m a man of principles." Mr. Sinister waved his hand, then turned and flew into the air. "Follow me. I’ll take you to Apocalypse."

Alex pushed off with one foot and shot into the sky, closely following behind Mr. Sinister. A pair of energy wings flickered in and out of view behind him.

Alex did not bring a single X-Men member with him. He had strictly ordered them to remain there and await instructions. It was not because he considered them deadweight, but because he feared Mr. Sinister might be leading them into a trap.

Though the X-Men were unwilling, they could only obey Alex’s order. Crystal, however, did not care about any of that. Seeing Alex give chase, she moved and flew after him, landing beside him in the blink of an eye.

"You…" Alex felt a headache coming on when he saw Crystal beside him. He wanted to send her back, but seeing the look on her face, he could only let her stay. Still, he warned her coldly, "Stay with me. Be careful!"

Crystal smiled sweetly and suddenly wrapped both arms tightly around Alex’s arm, pressing half her body against his chest.

Alex jumped in surprise. After a moment, he gave a helpless smile but did not move, allowing Crystal to cling to him ever more closely.

Five or six minutes passed without them noticing. Mr. Sinister finally stopped. Below them lay an abandoned factory, bleak and deserted, without the slightest sign of anything unusual.

"Apocalypse is in there!" Mr. Sinister pointed to a cluster of buildings at the factory’s northwest corner. His expression was somewhat strange, seemingly reverent yet tinged with fear. "Give me the blood, and I won’t accompany you inside."

Alex was suspicious, but he did not dare search with Psionic Power for fear of alerting Apocalypse. He turned to Mr. Sinister. "Are you sure Apocalypse is here?!"

"He’s here!" Mr. Sinister nodded with a serious expression.

"Get lost!" Alex tossed a clump of blood to Mr. Sinister with a wave of his hand, then vanished. In an instant, he appeared atop the roof of the factory buildings Mr. Sinister had indicated.

In the sky, Mr. Sinister looked down at Alex below before shifting his attention to the blood in his hand. He could not hide the excitement on his face. "With this, my goal will soon be achieved!"

Just as Alex and Crystal landed, a black shadow suddenly flew in from the distance, carrying fierce gusts of wind.

"Have we been discovered?" Alex was somewhat surprised. When he landed, he had deliberately covered himself with a layer of disguise.

Crystal stepped out of Alex’s embrace, the delight on her face gradually fading into an exceptionally serious expression. She raised her hands slightly, ready for battle at any moment. Crystal knew perfectly well when to be affectionate and when to be serious.

Knowing they had been discovered, Alex no longer hid himself. He turned around and saw that the newcomer was the modified Angel—and he was alone.

"Don’t attack. He’s Angel!" Alex reached out to stop Crystal, who was about to strike, and hurriedly explained. Then he immediately unleashed his powerful Psionic Power, attempting to control the modified Angel.

Before Alex’s unparalleled Psionic Power, Angel’s Psionic Defense was only slightly stronger than paper. It was shattered in an instant, allowing Alex to successfully take control of Angel.

The moment he gained control, Alex immediately tried to awaken Angel. Unfortunately, he found that he could not locate Angel’s original consciousness. More precisely, Angel’s consciousness had also been modified and twisted into another personality, leaving Alex with no way to proceed.

"What kind of method is this?" Alex was astonished. Several times, he wanted to forcibly reverse Angel’s new personality, but he feared it might lead to unforeseen changes, such as giving birth to yet another different personality. Thus, he hesitated to act.

Crystal knew what Alex was doing. Seeing him stand there in a daze, she could not help asking in surprise, "What is it? Can’t you do it?"

"Forget it. We’ll leave him here for now!" After hesitating for a moment, Alex finally gave up on acting for the time being. He knocked Angel unconscious, then continued deeper into the factory with Crystal.

Alex and Crystal had only just entered the factory when, before they could even inspect their surroundings, a sinister voice rang out. Plague and two other Apostles of Apocalypse, whom Alex had encountered once in New York, slowly emerged from behind a machine tool, smiles of utter confidence on their faces.

"We’ve been waiting for you for a long time!"