Thank you for those who reviewed on the last chapter:

MarvelMaster616:

It felt right to have it all happen on Krakoa, given what's been occurring in the comics as of lately. This was all Sinister and Cassandra have been training their "children" for since the beginning. Now, it's all coming together, finally. Considering how Alex reacted to seeing Scott that way, trust me when I say things ARE going to get personal, and Alex is not going to hold back. Not only does Apocalypse have Scott, but he's also got his girlfriend, too. Overall, you're just going to have to see what occurs.

Chapter 18: Evolving

Xavier Institute For Higher Learning – Infirmary

"Professor, are you sure that you are alright?" asked Ororo as she took care of Charles' wounds.

For the past twenty minutes, everyone in the institute had been left frightened. Hearing the news that four mutants had kidnapped Lorna, Hank and Rahne was a shock to the system for everybody. But no one was affected more than Alex Summers, who was sat in the infirmary in silence as tears poured down his face.

"Yes, Ororo, I am fine," Charles insisted.

"If that's your definition of fine," whispered Ororo as she bandaged one of his wounds. Charles had somehow ended up with broken ribs, severe abrasions, bruising, and a head injury from whoever had attacked him. Turning to Alex, she said, "Alex, are you positive that it was your brother?"

Alex nodded. "Yes," he said. "I – I need to check on the other students, with Logan. I need to tell them what happened, and why Lorna, Hank and Rahne aren't here."

"Alex," Charles started to say. "Just know that I will do everything in my power to look for Lorna."

Alex nodded, but breathed out a sigh. As much as he trusted the professor, he also was worried that the professor was going to have little luck in keeping this promise. He proceeded to exit the infirmary, wiping the tears off his face. He knew that since the kids upstairs had been left terrified by what occurred, he needed to be robust for them. He needed to be their rock as they prepared to search for Hank, Lorna, and Rahne.

Walking up the stairs slowly, Alex could feel the sickness returning. For years, he thought his little brother to be dead. Seeing that he was alive was a shock. But seeing him acting so cold, as though he didn't care about what he was doing, made Alex fear that Scott was being controlled somehow.

'He couldn't have known what he was doing,' he thought. 'That's not the Scott that I knew.'

He wondered if it were even a possibility that he would be able to save Scott at all. For years they'd been separated. Alex was determined to make sure that Scott came back home. He would do whatever necessary to ensure that.

Finally, after what seemed to be a lifetime, he reached the top of the stairs, and was slowly walking into the living room, where he saw the others clumped closely together, whispering and asking questions. He could see that Bobby and Kitty were cuddled next to one another, shivering. Amara looked white as a ghost. Peter was keeping his usual stoic facade, but behind that, Alex could tell that the Russian mutant was terrified, as well.

Kitty and Bobby looked up to face Alex. Kitty had tears pouring down her face, but she asked the question that needed to be asked. "Alex, is it true? Did – Did your brother kidnap Rahne, Hank and Lorna?"

Alex sighed before he took the floor. He cleared his throat and swallowed the lump out of it, before saying what he needed to say. He had to give the kids a sense of reassurance that things were going to be alright, even if he was uncertain.

"Yeah, yeah, he did," he whispered. "But it didn't look right. I – I think he's being controlled. He didn't know what he was doing. If he did, he wouldn't have done it. That's not the brother that I remember to have had as a kid. But I can promise you guys this. We'll find Beast, Wolfsbane, and Polaris, and we'll bring them home. That's what we're going to do, okay? Just, don't worry about anything yet."

"How are we not supposed to worry?" asked Bobby as he kissed Kitty on the forehead.

"What I suggest you guys do is just put your focus into something other than what happened tonight," said Alex. "We have a Danger Room session tomorrow morning. I suggest you guys go, and try and get some sleep. I'll be up there in a bit to check on you guys, okay?"

"Well where are you going?" asked Peter.

"I'm going down to the weight room. I need to release some steam," Alex said.

The others nodded. They knew what that meant for Alex.

Alex turned his back away from the students and proceeded to head down to where the weight room was located. He knew right now, that he needed to punch something and release his frustration he felt. Once he reached his destination, he didn't even bother to wrap his knuckles or put on gloves. He wanted it to burn, and he wanted to punch until his knuckles bruised or bled.

He shifted into a fighting stance in front of the punching bag, and he proceeded to hit it with his fists, pounding into it hard and aggressively as he clenched his teeth in anger and grief. He punched for all the moments he ever suffered. He punched for all the times he woke from nightmares. He punched for the fact that his little brother had been manipulated and used.

He punched over the fact that Lorna had been kidnapped, along with Hank and Rahne, right under his nose.

Clenching his teeth, he felt his knuckles beginning to burn as they hit the leather material of the punching bag. He threw several punches and elbow strikes at the bag before aiming a roundhouse kick at it, repeating the process.

As he punched the heavy bag, he felt sweat soaking his body as he remembered all the nightmares he'd had of Scott the past few weeks. Alex aimed another hard punch as he thought of the plane crash . . . how his brother had been thought to be dead.

He hadn't died. He lived. He lived, and probably suffered through more than Alex could ever begin to imagine. Aiming another kick at the bag, he breathed heavily as he heard someone entering the weight room. It was Logan.

Only Logan and Lorna got close to him when his temper reached this point. Lorna did it because she loved him, and she was able to calm him and cool him off. Logan did it, because Logan was, in Alex's mind, stupid for it.

Finally, Alex aimed a crane kick at the punching bag, and he stopped, leaning against it as he allowed the tears to flow again. He sniffled slightly as Logan came further into the room.

"Alex, if that were yer brother, then he ain't the person you remember him to have been. Maybe that's truly what he is," Logan said.

Alex shook his head. "I refuse to accept that," he said. "You don't know him, Logan."

"And you think you still do?" asked Logan seriously. "Look, kid. Sometimes, we wanna believe that people are something they aren't. And when we learn the truth, it's too late. What I'm saying is, maybe ya gotta let him go. Let him learn the hard way."

Alex shook his head, tears rolling down his face. "I know I may sound selfish, but I'm not ready to let him go," he said.

Krakoa – Main Lab

The warming paradise of Krakoa proved to be everything that En Sabah Nur had ever dreamed of having. Centuries ago, he'd imagined giving the mutants a homeland, and all the humans of the world worshiping him, bending at their knees to adore him and bless him. Now, that vision was becoming a reality.

Standing in the main lab of Krakoa, En Sabah Nur stood beside Cassandra, who was loomed over the helpless figures of Rahne Sinclair, Hank McCoy, and Lorna Dane, he held a soft smile. All three were strapped down to medical tables, their wrists, ankles, knees, torsos, and waists restrained with pure adamantium. Each were wearing power-dampening collars and had gags tied around their heads to prevent them from speaking.

Lorna was shaking, tears rolling down her face as she cried openly. Also in the lab space were Scott, Jean, Warren, and Rogue. As Lorna looked at Scott, she couldn't help but silently plead towards him with her eyes.

Seeing Alex's younger brother looking this way didn't sit right with her. She could see from the expression on his face that he looked too cold and uncaring, as though he had no humanity in him at all. It reminded her of how her father was, so much. For years, her father held nothing but bitterness towards humanity, given all he'd ever suffered through. Sobbing, Lorna couldn't help but think about Alex.

'God, Alex,' she thought. 'Scott, what happened to you? Why are you this way? Why are you doing this? For the love of your brother, please help us, Scott.'

"They are quite the catch," En Sabah Nur said. "All three, unique, but they can all use some improvements."

"Indeed," Cassandra said with a cold smile. "It's time all three of them realize how pathetic my cousin is. And Lorna, I am sorry to say, but your father had the right idea. But he thought too small. He thinks that he can just simply create a place for mutants, and that's it. What we've formed here, it's much larger than anything your father could begin to imagine. He's probably not even capable of what we've created here." Touching Lorna's dark brown hair, she smiled a little wider when Lorna attempted at flinching away from her. Lorna's sobs came out louder as she tried speaking. But it proved to be useless. "You have your father's eyes," she added.

Lorna's sobs grew fitful as she struggled, twisting and writhing. Beside her, Rahne was shaking violently. Even Hank looked terrified, as well.

"All three of you are about to experience getting some augmentations done," said Cassandra quietly. "But don't worry. The process of augmenting a mutant's DNA is painless . . . mostly. But what we've got here on Krakoa, it won't do it as quickly as the tubes, but it will make it a little more precise."

She nodded at her lover, who sprayed some water onto an area in the ground. Blooming from the ground were three plants that looked like flowers. It was lily-like petals, but once the petals rose, it revealed green, leathery material with deep depressions.

The depressions in the pods opened like mouths, revealing the interior to be surrounded by red goo, vines, and something that resembled a tongue. They seemed to hiss, as though they were alive, somehow. Vines surrounded them, moving towards Hank, Rahne, and Lorna.

Jean telekinetically unlocked the restraints on the three mutants, and the vines from the plant-like pod wrapped their way around Hank, Rahne and Lorna, tying them up to where they couldn't move an inch. The harder they struggled, the tighter the vines constricted.

"I wouldn't vouch for that," said Nathaniel. "Struggling will only make it worse."

The vines surrounding Wolfsbane, Beast, and Polaris dragged them towards the pods, which opened even wider. The tongue-like feature wrapped around their bodies as the gags came out of their mouths via Jean's telekinesis.

"W-Why us?" Lorna gasped. Looking to Scott, she said, "S-Scott! Please, l-let us g-go! Y-Your brother . . . Alex, he's alive!"

She could have sworn something flickered across Scott's face, but that quickly went away as she and her friends were dragged into the pods. They were pulled into the pods head-first, the goo encasing them and drowning out any attempts at speaking. Lorna could only gasp as she felt as though she were drowning. The pod closed around her.

An overwhelming painful sensation filled her body as tendrils from inside the pod slithered up her nostrils. Her skin felt as though it were on fire as the red slim surrounded her head. When she tried to free her hands to force the mouth of the pod open, however, the vines tightened around her body, holding her in its hold.

She could only cry out. But she knew her cries weren't going to be heard. All she could do was moan as she felt her powers intensifying.

While Lorna, Hank and Rahne lay there inside the pods, Nathaniel and Cassandra turned to Jean, Scott, Warren, and Rogue.

"Well done," praised Nathaniel. "You four did an exemplary job with what we asked of you. Now, you four may go to your quarters, until you are needed again. Go make yourselves at home. You'll be here a while."

"Yes, Father," said Scott, and he led the way towards their new living quarters on this strange paradise.

Cassandra's hand snaked into Nathaniel's, and she gave a seductive tug onto his hand. Her eyes flickered with seduction as she smiled her cold, yet beautiful, smile.

'Come on, lover,' she said. 'We are long overdue for our moment of passion.'

'Yes, darling,' Nathaniel agreed. Turning to En Sabah Nur, he said, "Make yourself at home, my Master. We might as well get comfortable, before the last phase in our plans commence."

"Thank you, Nathaniel," said En Sabah Nur. "I hold deep gratitude for all you and Cassandra have done."

Nathaniel smiled, and Cassandra guided him off to their room on the island.

Their bedroom on Krakoa was one unlike any other room. Inside the room was a bed surrounded by a headboard of wild flowers and vines. The sheets were pure silk being produced by caterpillars. With that, the two lovers began kissing passionately.

Nathaniel's hands found their way to Cassandra's shirt, and he tore it off as her hands went to pull his pants and boxers down. Nathaniel then removed Cassandra's pants and underwear until they were both naked, slamming their naked flesh into one another as they moved to the bed, underneath the soft sheets. Sinking into the softness of the bed, Cassandra rolled on top of her lover and kissed him deeply, sinking her tongue into his mouth. Moans filled the air as Nathaniel's legs wrapped around her waist, pulling her in closely. His hands clutched her buttocks and smoothed over them.

They pounded into one another fervently in a passionate, steady rhythm. They continued this until it was Nathaniel on top of Cassandra. He stroked her breasts and kissed her neck as her arms wrapped around him, pulling him even more on top of her. Her legs wrapped around him as he continued to make love to her. Sweat soaked their bodies as moans continued to escape them.

'I love you, Nathaniel,' Cassandra said telepathically.

'I love you, too, my beautiful Cassandra. Soon enough, we will make a new world,' Nathaniel promised her excitedly.

The Xavier Institute – Alex's Room

For the first time in a while, Alex felt helpless. He hadn't felt this helpless in years. Ever since the professor had taken him in, he'd been given a home. He'd been given stability. Lorna only added to that stability. Now, his anchor was missing.

The fact that Scott had kidnapped Lorna had shaken Alex so much, that he couldn't sleep the entire night. He could only toss and turn in his bed as the tears continued down his face. Now, it was breakfast time, and classes were to commence. But he couldn't bring himself to roll out of bed and get dressed into normal clothes.

Rolling over onto his side, his arms moved to clutch around his stomach as he tried to breathe deeply. He swallowed the lump out of his throat as more tears went down his face. He couldn't believe that he was in his position.

'Why, Scottie?' he thought. 'What happened to you? Why did this happen to you? Who is making you do this? I know this isn't you.'

Wiping a tear away from his eye, he heard Ororo knocking on his door. He could hear her entering with a breakfast tray.

"I thought you might be hungry, Alex," she said.

Alex just shook his head.

"You know that starving yourself isn't going to bring Lorna back," she said, the sympathy evident in her tone as she sat beside him. She rested a hand onto his back.

"It's not even that, Storm," whispered Alex. "I'd thought Scott had died in that crash. But to see him last night, alive, and taking Rahne with him . . . God. It just makes me wonder what could have possibly happened to him all these years."

Storm fell silent. She didn't know what she could say that would make Alex feel better. However, she also knew what it was like to be strained from a sibling. Her and Daniel had drifted apart upon he being experimented on by Weapon X. As a result, he ended up living in the sewers with the Morlocks.

"Alex, to an extent, I understand how you feel. You know Daniel and I are strained right now due to where he's at," said Ororo.

"That's different. That isn't the same. You cannot compare apples to oranges, Storm," he said as he sat up. He burrowed his face into his hands. "I just can't help but feel as though I failed at protecting those kids. I failed at protecting Lorna. I couldn't save Hank or Rahne . . ."

"Stop beating yourself up. You didn't know that this was going to happen," said Ororo. "Do not let the guilt consume you. Right now, the professor is trying to get some answers from Alpha Flight. We will find out soon enough what's happened to your brother, and why he's on the wrong pathway. Afterwards, we will find a way to bring him and back and we will bring him home."

Alex sighed, and nodded. "Alright, Storm," he said. "All I can hope and pray for is that we find out sooner rather than later. Because I don't know what my brother has suffered through for him to pick the wrong side. Your brother, that's understandable. But Scott . . . this isn't him. I know him, or at least I did. And I know that Scott is that one who always wants to do the right thing. He was always the more mature one out of the both of us. He was a true soldier, just like my father."

"I promise Alex, we will find a way," Ororo repeated. "We aren't going to give up on finding Lorna and your brother."

Alex nodded, wiping the remaining tears away. "Ororo, I'm just debating something," he murmured. "I'm debating whether or not we should tell Magneto that his daughter has been kidnapped."

"Why would you suggest that?" asked Ororo.

"Because even though he and the professor have disagreements, there's no denying that Magneto loves his daughter. If he didn't, why did he save us from that Weapon X facility a while back? There's still a part of him that cares about her. And if we end up facing the person, or people, that turned Scott over to the side he's on, then we'll need all the help we can get. We would have to do whatever it takes to ensure that Lorna gets back home, Storm. I will do whatever necessary," he said sternly.

"Even if it means working with the Brotherhood?" asked Ororo.

"Yes," Alex said.

Suddenly, that was when a telepathic call from the professor entered Alex's mind. 'Alex, Ororo, Logan; please, come to my office. There's someone here who wishes to share with us something regarding your brother, Alex.'

"We'll be there, Professor," said Alex with a heavy sigh. He rose from his bed, and Ororo followed suit towards Charles' office. Alex couldn't help but feel sick to his stomach at the thought that the answers behind what happened to Scott were awaiting him.

Krakoa – Jean's Quarters

'What is this place?' wondered Jean Grey as she sat on her bed in her quarters on Krakoa.

Upon awakening from what felt like the longest nap she'd ever taken, she'd found she was in a room far from her room she'd had back in Antarctica. Her entire room was surrounded by the reddest roses she'd ever seen. Her bed seemed to be made of lilies and lavender flowers, and seemed to be designed according to her taste. The wooden furniture in her room was deep and rich. Vines surrounded her room. Her sheets were made of pure silk, and were the softest things she'd ever felt.

However, she couldn't help but wonder at how she ended up in this strange place. As beautiful as it was, it almost seemed too perfect. It was a paradise, plain and simple.

As she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she saw she was dressed in her sweatpants and a t-shirt. The grassy ground beneath her bare feet felt cool. A breeze ruffled her short hair.

Turning around, she saw Scott standing in the doorway to her new room. He too was dressed in sweats and a t-shirt.

"Hey, Red," he said to her with a small smile.

Jean smiled in return towards her best friend. "What is this place?" she asked.

"I don't know. But it's quite beautiful here," Scott said. "I didn't even know a place like this could exist. Ever. This is paradise compared to some other places we lived."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Jean said, moving to sit on her bed. "But, Scott, I have to ask. Do you think that Mom and Dad are hiding something from us?"

Scott fell silent briefly at Jean's question, before answering. "Honestly, Jean, I do not know," he said. "I can only guess that this is part of our mission. Was this what Mom and Dad have been preparing us for?"

"If all they've been preparing us for was paradise, then I don't fully believe it. There just has got to be more to it," said Jean.

"Why do you say that?" asked Scott.

"I don't know. I just have some reasons to be suspicious. That's all, Scott," Jean said.

A silence fell over the pair. Jean's words loomed over them as they digested what she had to say. All they'd been trained for, it led to just this? There had to be a lot more to this new island paradise that they were living on. This couldn't have been the only thing that Nathaniel and Cassandra could've possibly promised them. Sure, this strange new island was a symbol of evolution, but there just had to be something deeper underneath the surface.

"Scott, do you think that Mom and Dad are hiding something from us?" Jean asked.

Scott sighed. "I don't know, Red. I don't know. But I am sure Mom and Dad will tell us, eventually," he said.

"Unless if they never planned to," whispered Jean.

"What do you mean?" asked Scott.

Jean sighed. "Like I've said, Scott; I don't know," she admitted. "I just – I feel unsettled, to be honest with you."

As Scott and Jean sat there doubting whether their "mother" and "father" were telling the truth, little did they realize they were more right than they knew.

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