The pain was a white-hot lance through Remy's arm, eclipsing everything else. He choked back a scream, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He glared at Archangel, his face a mask of betrayal and disbelief. "Warren?" he rasped, "Mon ami, what... what have they done to you?"
Archangel stood motionless, his metallic wings gleaming under the harsh lights of the lab. His eyes were cold, devoid of the warmth Remy remembered. There was nothing human left in that gaze.
"X-Men will save us," Gambit spat, the words laced with bravado that belied the fear churning in his gut. "They'll kick your creepy blue ass back to whatever tomb you crawled out of."
Apocalypse chuckled, a low, rumbling sound that vibrated through the room. "The X-Men are weak," he repeated, his voice smooth and condescending. "They cling to a dying world, afraid of the inevitable evolution. They cower from the power they possess. You cling to them, Gambit, but they are nothing but a crutch."
He gestured towards the machine. "This device... will unlock your true potential. It will strip away the limitations you place upon yourself, the empathy that holds you back. You have the power to charge anything with explosive energy, to reshape the world with your will. Yet, you squander it on petty games and meaningless trinkets."
Remy gritted his teeth, his good hand clenching into a fist. "My power ain't for you to steal, monster. It's mine. And I'll use it to blow you to kingdom come!"
Apocalypse merely smiled, a chilling display of cruel amusement. "You misunderstand, Gambit. I am not stealing your power. I am merely... refining it. Focusing it. You will become Death, the ultimate expression of your potential. You will cleanse this world of its weakness, paving the way for a stronger, more worthy future."
He turned to Caliban. "Begin the process."
Caliban, his sickly pale skin glistening under the laboratory lights, shuffled forward and began adjusting the dials on the machine. The hum intensified, the air crackling with energy. Remy could feel the vibrations through the restraints, a sinister premonition of what was to come.
"Non!" Remy yelled, his voice laced with desperation. He strained against the bonds, the metal digging into his skin. "Stay away from me! I ain't your puppet!"
Archangel remained silent, an impassive sentinel. Remy watched him, a desperate plea forming in his throat. He’d known Warren, fought beside him. There had to be something of him left, a flicker, a spark of the man he once was.
"Warren, please!" he cried, his voice cracking. "It's me, Remy! Don't let him do this! You're a good man, Warren. You gotta fight him! Remember the X-Men! Remember the X-Mansion! Remember... Jean!?"
The last name seemed to hang in the air, charged with a desperate hope. For a fleeting moment, Remy thought he saw a flicker of something in Archangel's eyes, a flicker of confusion, of pain. But it was gone as quickly as it came, replaced by the vacant stare that had become so terrifyingly familiar.
The machine whirred to life, bathing the room in an eerie blue glow. Remy felt a surge of energy coursing through his veins, a searing pain that threatened to tear him apart from the inside out. He screamed, a primal sound of agony and defiance.
"I'll never be your horseman!" he roared, his voice breaking. "Never!"
But his resistance was futile. The machine was too strong, Apocalypse's will too absolute. As the energy surged and pulsed, Remy felt himself changing, something inside him twisting and breaking. the cajun charm, the easy going nature, fading away replaced with cold calculating rage,
His vision blurred, his mind fragmented. He could hear Apocalypse's voice, a low, triumphant drone.
"Welcome, Gambit... to your new destiny."