Atop the central hall of Apocalypse's royal capital.
Erik Lehnsherr hovered proudly in the air, his dark crimson cloak snapping without wind as his ringing words echoed through the ancient, majestic palace.
"Heh heh. What you're really made of, this old man will have to test for himself!"
Gambit—or rather, Remy LeBeau, the Horseman of "Death"—hugged a blue-black alloy staff as he leaned sneakily against a stone pillar at the edge of the hall. Watching "Magneto" confront Apocalypse in midair, he narrowed his eyes uncertainly and muttered under his breath.
Then he looked toward the red-and-black spatial gateway in the center. Besides Steve Rogers, the chief executor of the Order Whip who had captured him back then, several others had emerged: one was a "devil" clad head to toe in red leather, with a mouthful of fangs and a savage tail.
Even the Gatekeeper of the Underworld, Warden Barnes—an old acquaintance whom he had thought Apocalypse had killed in the Wolf Tower super-prison—stood among them in full armor.
Though only his right arm remained, his blazing fighting spirit was like a furnace of molten steel, faintly warping the air with heat.
Boom!
Explosions and thunderous blasts rang out continuously beyond the palace. Havok, Alex, and Mystique, Raven, had already led Order Whip executors and combat troops into battle against Apocalypse's mutant prisoners in the vast plaza outside.
Fully armored and grim-faced, Alex strode through the plaza. With casual punches and palm strikes, he blasted the charging prisoners into dust with violent shockwave energy.
Raven had long since changed her appearance and vanished into concealment, wielding a dagger as she stabbed enemy after enemy in the back.
The Order Whip's mutant operatives and the Winter Wolf warriors from the Wolf Pack were all fully armed. Every one of them wore helmets