[Age Of Apocalypse] – The Apocalypse War VII – Aftermath II
After a few minutes, Val looked at the people around him and shouted, "Okay! Since everybody has relaxed, we must clean this place up. There's a lot of destruction everywhere due to the fight."
He ensured everyone heard him as he continued, "We need to help our fellow Egyptians. We can't cause destruction on their land and then leave as if nothing happened. We are above that. We need to set an example for the younger generation as role models. We must show them that heroes can help restore things and not just destroy them. Understood?"
Seeing them nod, Val smiled and shouted, "Let's get to work!!"
"YES, SIR!!!"
As Val's voice echoed throughout the place, everyone started working and helping the locals clean the area around the pyramid and rebuilding whatever was lost.
Wolverine and Sabertooth helped pick up rubble and debris on the road together. Angel and Havok helped the wounded to their feet and assisted those hurt. They were mostly around helping the civilians in search of their family members lost in the confusion.
Gambit showed card tricks to the children, who clapped and giggled when they saw the fireworks. Beast lent a helping hand to the nearest doctor and started relieving himself by giving healthcare aid to the people.
Jean, Emma, and Charles used their telepathic powers to lift the rubble, debris, and other pieces off torn-down houses. Together, they are trying to help repair the homes by placing the items up again.
Magneto had recovered from Apocalypse's punch, and he levitated every metallic piece in the vicinity and placed them on the ground in an organized way.
The Egyptian military and police accompanied them, working with the locals in clean-up operations and patrols for law and order.
They all worked together to show strength in support as people, unified against an enemy that stood for destruction and chaos. Even S.H.I.E.L.D and C.I.A were lending a helping hand and helping the people get the treatment and support they needed.
Even Val was doing his part.
He lifted the rubble and placed the stones back up before handing them to helpers while repairing the buildings. He helped children escape the debris while Angel carried them in her arms and delivered them to their waiting mothers. He cooperated with the local Egyptian soldiers by helping and restoring peace for the locals while watching every corner for thieves and looters.
He used his powers to absorb all the fires in the area and ensured no stone was left unturned. He searched the pyramids and other places for looters who may still be lurking around.
Why was he doing this?
Because he wanted to change the mentality of the heroes and the people. The main argument the mutant haters have against mutants is that they cause destruction everywhere they go. This is entirely correct. X-Men, in particular, just appear when the villain enacts his nefarious plan, beats him up while causing destruction, and then leaves while handing the restoration part to the governmental organizations. They think that their job is done since the 'villain' has been defeated and his evil plan has been thwarted.
Val wanted to change this mentality. He wanted to instill in them the notion that if their powers could destroy, they could also restore. If the younger generation of heroes and mutants see their role models doing this, they would religiously follow it. And, over time, it would be a common thing for the hero to do. This way, people around the world would come to love them, mutant haters wouldn't have the chance to say that mutants cause destruction only, and lastly, it would make the villains appear evil even more since all they want is destruction.
After hours of helping clear everything, Val gazed around and smiled when he saw that the place looked much better than before, albeit destroyed. One by one, the X-Men got into the Blackbird.
Charles turned around before entering the Blackbird and asked Val, "Are you coming?"
"No!" Val shook his head and said, "I'm going home."
He levitated off the ground and...
* BOOM *
He flew away, leaving a brilliant blue streak in his wake.
* * *
* WHOOSH *
Val flew across the ocean and entered the United States, heading toward his mansion. While flying, he had a perfect smiling face; however... that perfect smiling face suddenly glitched and slowly revealed Val's actual state.
His whole face and neck were covered with blue lines. Most of them were on his cheeks and jawline. His glowing blue eyes were getting dull by the second. And the worst part was that his skin was turning to dust, similar to what happened to Star-Lord when he held the Power Stone for the first time.
Val gritted his teeth and pushed himself further toward his mansion. He couldn't see or hear clearly and murmured, "C-Come on! C-Come on! Ju-Just a bit m-more!"
He continued flying for a few more minutes until he couldn't take it and crashed into the forest below him. He knew that this forest was near his mansion, and he tried to get up, but his body wasn't responding.
"I-I can't! I can't let them see my weakness! Come on! J-Just a little bit more! Home is r-rig.. t-there...."
Val tried to fight it off, but slowly, his eyes felt heavy, and he closed them, slipping into unconsciousness.
A few seconds later, a big, white wolf casually strolled around the forest. It stopped at the sight of the passed-out Val and tilted its head before growling in fascination and moving to approach the unconscious Val.
It sniffed around Val first, then it sniffed him all over. Suddenly, it remembered Val's scent and...
* AWOOOOO *
At some distance away in the forest,
Nina stood before a huge brown bear sitting on the ground, looking at her innocently.
She used her telepathic link with the bear to convey her thoughts, "Listen, Mr. Bear. Yo—"
But before she could finish, she was interrupted by the loud howl of the wolf.
* AWOOO *
Nina turned toward the howl and muttered, "Wolfie?"
She returned to the bear and ordered, "Come, Mr. Bear. Wolfie says it's super urgent."
The bear nodded, and Nina climbed onto its back.
* ROOOAAAR *
The bear roared and ran toward the direction of the sound.
A few seconds later, both spotted Wolfie whimpering over a body. They approached him, and the bear sat down, allowing Nina to slide off his back before he lay down to rest.
"Wolfie, what happened?" Nina asked with worry present in her voice.
Wolfie whimpered and stepped aside, allowing Nina to see that the body was none other than Val.
"Uncle Val!!" Nina shouted and hurriedly knelt beside him. She looked at his face and accidentally touched his cheeks.
"Aaaah!" She screamed in shock when Val's left cheek crumbled apart.
"W-What is this?!" Nina asked in a panic before biting her lips.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she murmured, "Uncle Val's dying? Uncle Val's dying!"
As tears started falling, the forest around her began to shake as the trees shivered and animals started growling. Mr. Bear and Wolfie, close to her, acted like they were in distress, which they actually weren't.
However, she quickly returned to her senses and said, "I-I need to bring him to Mom! S-She would help him!!"
She wiped her tears, stood up, and ordered, "Mr. Bear! I would put Uncle Val on your back. Don't let him fall, okay?"
Mr. Bear nodded in agreement, and Nina used her telepathic powers to lift Val up carefully and place him on its back.
* SHIINNG *
She made a psionic vine around Mr. Bear and Val to help secure him and immediately sat on Wolfie's back.
She shouted, "Let's hurry!"
* AWOOOOO *
On hearing his master, Wolfie dashed toward the mansion and...
* WHOOSH *
Using different shortcuts and many trees' roots as platforms, they could cross large distances within seconds and reach the mansion.
Nina saw the huge wall of the mansion before him and quickly made a psionic ramp to slide above it.
She entered the mansion's backyard along with the bear behind her. She spotted Magda sipping her green tea while reading a book and ran toward her.
Magda was peacefully reading her book when suddenly she saw Nina on Wolfie's back, along with the huge brown bear behind him.
She stayed calm since it was normal for her to see Nina with different animals with whom she was sharing a telepathic link, but that calm shattered instantly when Nina shouted while crying, "Mom! Uncle Val's dying!"
"WHAT?!" Magda promptly jumped out of her seat. Her drink, book, and seat fell to the ground, but she didn't pay attention.
Magda saw Val psionically tied to the bear's back and asked, "What happened to him?!"
Nina got off Wolfie's back, clutched Magda's dress, and burst into tears, saying, "I-I don't know! I found him unconscious in the forest, and his whole body crumbled!"
"Okay, Nina. Don't worry! Don't worry!" Magda calmed her down before carefully looking at Val.
She picked Nina up and said, "Uncle Val has greatly helped us. So, we need to repay the favor."
"Mhmm!!" Nina sniffed a couple of times before nodding.
"Then, let's go. Follow me."
Nina and Magda entered the mansion with Mr. Bear and Wolfie behind them.