Apocalypse's headquarters are amazing; the place is huge, and has many mutants within. A few are new, like Salome, but most have been there for quite a while, and are large and physically intimidating, which makes her feel self-conscious. As soon as they arrive, Apocalypse directs a Hound (a frightening creature which disturbs her) to show her around, and disappears into the bowels of his home. Salome wonders what she's gotten herself into, but she's excited about the future, about a sense of belonging. She gives only minimal thought to the family she left behind without warning.
The Hound isn't particularly interested in being a tour guide, and soon wanders off, leaving her alone to explore the vast building. However, she soon finds that she actually isn't alone; a group of large men are walking toward her, and their expressions are menacing. She backs up a bit, not wanting to start a fight, but they continue to advance.
“Only the strong survive,” one taunts as he gets in closer. “Are you weak, little girl?”
Salome stares him down, trying to strategically retreat from his advances. When he gets too close, she releases a burst of electricity, which stuns him a bit, but not nearly as much as she'd hoped. That leaves an opening for another man, who darts in and hits her with a glowing psionic whip. She screams, and goes down, firing off another blast of her powers, which seems to inconvenience the man only slightly.
“Lord Apocalypse recruits such pretty new whores,” the first one comments as he swoops in and kicks her, hard. “Too bad they rarely pass testing.”
Terrified, Salome tries to release another burst of electricity at him and the others, but is already drained. Once they sense her vulnerability, all of them move in. Those who had been more resistant to her powers had gone in first, to sap them out of her and leave her helpless. Now powerless, she becomes their punching bag, taking all manners of kicks and blows until she is left bleeding and nearly unconscious before them.
“Now, gentlemen, I think we can take the spoils of war,” one man says brightly, grinning at the others, and they all nod. They've done this before.
They take turns raping her as she lies semi-conscious on the floor, her eyes staring languidly up at the ceiling. She tries to free her mind so it can be unaware that her body is being violated, but of course she is cognizant of the entire ordeal. She is---was---a virgin, and the experience is both frightening and painful for her. The blood streaming from her broken nose dries and hardens, making it difficult to breathe, and she coughs weakly every so often. She doesn't have the strength to struggle as she is brutalized.
Once they've finished, the men get up and leave, talking jocularly about the encounter, and casually about their plans for the rest of the day. They leave her alone in the hall without moving her or cleaning her up; the most they'll do for her is throw her clothes at her and let her lie as she is. But she does not move until she's sure they've completely left the area. Dazed and aching, she tries to pick herself up, and manages to crawl a few feet before stopping to rest. She is not going to cry, no matter what, and is not going to give her tormentors the satisfaction of her misery. She crawls a few more feet before large hands lift her up into the air. Frightened, she looks into the face of her captor, and finds it is Apocalypse himself. He says nothing as he carries her battered body to her quarters, but the look on his face is not cruel. He leaves her on her bed, locks the door from the inside as he exits, and she is suddenly alone in the dark with her pain.
The next day, she forces herself to get up. Her face is purple with bruising, nose horribly twisted, and she walks with a pronounced limp, but marches with purpose to Apocalypse. He looks at her, impressed that she's on her feet, but silently wonders if she'll hysterically demand to go home after the traumatic experience. Instead, she stares at him defiantly.
“Teach me to be strong. I don't ever want to be a victim again.”
“It's not easy,” he replies slyly, a pleased smirk slowly creeping across his face. She has passed his first test.
“I don't care. I want power and security, so nobody's going to mess with me. I want to be at your side. The winning side.”
He smiles broadly, his face dark and foreboding, but she ignores his strange expression of glee.
“Indeed…welcome, little one, to the army of Apocalypse.”