Thank you to the following who reviewed the previous chapter.
MarvelMaster616 –
I always had an intention to bring Magneto into the picture. Considering what Essex and Cassandra are going to do to his daughter, he'll do whatever he finds necessary. Apocalypse doesn't know what he's in for, considering both Alex and Erik are determined to save members of their family. It's a given Alex would be willing to go further than anyone would dare to.
Chapter 20: Drastic Measures Part 1
Weapon X Facility – Five Month Ago
Never once did Alex Summers think he'd be in a position like this. He was sitting in a plastic cell with Lorna, who was wearing a collar, and plastic zip-ties around her wrists to contain her powers. Her long dark hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. Beside them was Ororo, who was sitting there in worry for Logan, who'd been dragged away by Weapon X scientist Abraham Cornelius.
All they knew about Weapon X was from what Logan had told them. According to Logan, Weapon X had at one point succeeded in turning him into a mindless killer. Apparently, when Charles had gone into Logan's subconsciousness to figure out what had been wrong, he'd learned Logan's mind had been programmed with the mission of killing him. But Charles had decided to take a chance on Logan and keep him around. Ever since, he'd been loyal, training Lorna and Alex when they were younger. Through a twist of fate, Logan became a father-like figure to the young X-men with an old-fashioned parenting style of tough love. However, it was oftentimes something the X-men found that they needed. If Logan taught them anything, it was that he taught them to be robust and work for everything that they wanted to achieve.
How Weapon X managed to find them, they couldn't begin to understand. All they knew was that Sabretooth had arrived with one of Weapon X's top agents, Raven "Mystique" Darkholm. Somehow, Sabretooth and Mystique had overpowered them all, which was how they were currently locked up in a containment unit.
They all weren't just worried about Logan, who was probably facing unspeakable torture. They were also worried about Ororo's little brother Evan, who'd gotten taken by a team of scientists almost immediately upon their arrival.
The glass pane of the plastic cell gave Alex a view of the professor, as well as his other teammates. Kitty was hysterically crying as she clung to Bobby, who was holding her tightly against him. Peter was remaining stoic. But even Alex could see he was scared shitless. Rahne was quietly praying for their friends' safety, clutching her wooden cross around her neck.
They've been in this horrible play for a total of five days. The first thing Doctor Cornelius did was drug Logan and begin torturing him. The second thing Cornelius decided to do was take Ororo's brother for a strange experiment. With it being day five, none of them knew their friends' fates as they all sat in their prison cells, hoping for help to arrive. Alex's heart felt as though it were about to burst from his chest as he heard the doors to the prison open. Upon them opening, his stomach dropped as he stood, pressing his palms against the glass.
Evan was currently being dragged by the scientists, and he was moaning in pain. However, he looked different. They could see he was completely covered in a marrow shell with bone-like spikes sticking from his form.
"Evan!" shouted Alex as Ororo gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.
"What did you do to him?!" Ororo cried, tears filling her eyes as her cell door was opened. Spyke was tossed into the cell as Ororo rushed to his side.
"We gave him a few augmentations," said one of the scientists smugly. "Don't worry. He'll live."
"What about Logan? What are you doing to him?" yelled Hank, clutching the bars of his cell.
"The animal will live as well," another scientist said. "That is if you all cooperate. Now, who of you is next to get some enhancements?" He turned to Rahne, who had the power to turn into a werewolf. "What about you, little wolf?"
Rahne shook her head, tears filling up in her eyes. "No . . . No!" she cried. She didn't want to think about what these people would do to her as she heard Logan's tortured screams filling the air. As the scientists opened her cell, she started to scream and kick. But it was useless as they dragged her by her hair. Her hands were handcuffed tightly in front of her.
Suddenly, that was when the lights started to flicker above them. It was usually a sign of electromagnetic interference in the atmosphere. Of course, it wasn't uncommon Lorna would experience episodes like this due to her bipolar disorder. However, they knew that it could no possibly be her.
"Lorna? Was that you?" asked Charles.
"Professor, no it wasn't me! It . . . It's him!" Lorna said, staring up towards the ceiling. She could see a mysterious figure floating outside. That was when something got thrown towards the windows, breaking them open as Magneto floated into the room. The scientists and guards who were in the space let out loud gasps as they saw Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, as well as Frederick Dukes, Lance Alvers, and Todd Tolansky.
Magneto just floated in coldly, using his magnetism to force the guns out of the guards' hands. As he did this, he began to fire bullets towards not just the guards and scientists, killing them instantly, but also the cells.
The glass to Lorna and Alex's cell broke, which allowed them to step out of the cell. As Alex ripped off his collar, he could see something in Magneto's eyes. It was a look of fatherly concern for Lona. As Alex looked at Lorna, he could see hope in her eyes that her father was going to change, somehow. However, Alex wasn't as helpful as Lorna.
"Dad," Lorna said as Alex released her from the collar. "Why are you –?"
"I heard what happened, Lorna," Magneto said simply. "Now, let's go, and free Wolverine. After that, you can all go."
Lorna nodded willingly. Even though her father hadn't said he'd be willing to come to the X-men, at least he was willing to save them. There was an ounce of hope in Lorna that her father still somehow cared.
Wanda and Pietro cast their own concerned looks towards their younger half-sister. However, Pietro cast Alex a look of disgust. It was well-known amongst the Brotherhood that Pietro and Alex did not get along. They'd rivaled since day one when Alex began dating his little sister. As far as Pietro was concerned, if you dated his sisters, you were dead in his eyes. However, he sometimes gave Alex a pass, because Alex cared about Lorna a lot.
Lorna used her magnetism powers to blow the door off its hinges, pushing back several guards who were coming towards them. Even though her hands were still tightly tied up, at least she could somewhat fight. Afterall, Logan had trained her for situations like this.
Beast was carrying Spyke's unconscious body as Ororo controlled the air pressure in the room to show away more guards. With that, she began to take off towards the main lab with Wanda and Todd. Rahne followed close behind, morphing into her wolf form and pouncing on several guards, her teeth sinking into their shoulders as they cried out in pain.
"Get the hell of little bitch!" a guard yelled as he tried to force Wolfsbane off. However, her grip with her jaw was strong as she tore away at their flesh, blood gushing from the wounds as they went down to the ground.
Alex fired several blasts of energy at more scientists headed their way, forcing them backwards as he rushed to find Ororo and Logan. He took off down the hallways until he reached the main lab, where he saw Ororo punching out Dr. Cornelius. Alex ran over to Logan, who was floating in a tube with an oxygen mask taped over his face. He had wires and needles sticking out of his skin as he twitched and struggled in agony. His face held an expression of rage as Alex proceeded to release him from the tube. The minute Logan exited; his claws extracted. His body was dripping wet and naked as he bared his teeth.
"Logan, Logan it's alright," Alex said as Ororo came over. "It's over."
Logan took stock of where he was. Alex and Ororo were standing before him, trying to calm him. Ororo placed her hands gently on his bare chest, rubbing it gently.
"Easy Logan. It's alright. We're free now," Ororo told him gently.
"How?" Logan spat. That was when he saw Pietro and Wanda in the room. "Why the fuck did you come here?"
"We heard our sister was in trouble," said Wanda, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at Logan.
"Don't think we'd just leave Lorna to suffer in here. We care about her, too," Pietro insisted.
"And the X-men have been more of family to her than you and Erik ever have been!" snapped Alex as he and Ororo got Logan out of the lab. All they wanted at that point was to go home. However, what Alex couldn't deny at that moment was how much Pietro, Wanda and Erik all loved Lorna, and how they would do whatever they could for her if she were in trouble.
He would forever remember this day. It proved to him that Lorna's blood family still somehow cared about her, even though they chose to live in isolation.
Krakoa – Present
Struggling deep inside the pod, Lorna Dane gasped painfully. Tears stung on her face as the goo encasing her inside the pod drowned out her cries for help. Her arms and legs were pinned down by vines, which cut off all circulation of her body.
She twisted, trying to free herself. But it proved to be useless as a sob burst past her lips. She didn't want to think about what was happening to Hank and Rahne, who were in pods next to her. She could feel her body was changing the longer she laid in this strange, flower-like pod. Each time the pod hissed; it was almost as though she were sinking deeper into the earth. She felt as though she could barely breathe. She choked as some of the red slime entered her mouth.
Throughout her time in the pod, Lorna's body had significantly changed. One of the first thing that changed was her powers. They were growing stronger, and more intense. The next thing that changed about her was her physical appearance. Her hair, which used to be dark brown, was slowly turning to a bright, florescent green color.
Outside the pods transforming Hank, Rahne, and Loran, Cassandra and Nathaniel smiled bitterly. They anticipated this would happen. They could hear Lorna's tortured cries as she practically suffocated due to the goo encasing her whole body.
'Oh, Miss Dane, I know you're in pain, but believe me when I say it will be worth it,' taunted Cassandra to Lorna telepathically. That was when she and Nathaniel turned to En Sabah Nur's horsemen.
Scott, Jean, Rogue, and Warren stood there with cold, emotionless expressions on their faces. Their minds were warped beyond recognition due to En Sabah Nur's influence.
"You see, my dear children?" Cassandra asked. "All we've done here, it's for you. We've built this place as a homeland for you, where you will be worshiped as Gods to the world. You will bring the weakling homo sapiens and homosuperior to their knees. You will show my pathetic cousin that his dream will never be achieved. Now, knowing how pathetic my cousin happens to be, he will try to find us, so that he can save his pets. You will give him the shock of his life, children."
"Yes, Mother," Jean replied, smiling coldly. "We won't fail you or En Sabah Nur, or Father."
"Good," Nathaniel told her. "Now, prepare for war. It's coming sooner than you think it is, children."
"Yes, Father," Warren said.
"Now, you may head to your quarters to relax. You'll need it before the war comes to us," Nathaniel said.
Cassandra's eyes shifted to Scott and Jean.
'I think you two deserve something special . . . something passionate. Go, make love. It will only bring you more of an advantage as the leaders,' Cassandra said to Scott and Jean. She then turned to Rogue and Warren. 'And you will watch them make love.'
"Yes, Mother." The teenagers proceeded to go to Scott's quarters, where Scott and Jean were going to engage in a moment of passion.
Once in Scott's quarters, Warren and Rogue watched in fascination as Scott and Jean stripped themselves naked, crawling underneath Scott's sheets as their mouths collided in a passionate kiss. Jean's tongue shoved into Scott's mouth as her arms wrapped around his neck. Her naked flesh rubbed up against Scott's as they stayed under the silky sheets. Scott kept himself on top of her as he busied himself with kissing and touching her, and Jean reciprocated with her own gestures. It got to a point where their hips were thrusting and they were colliding in a heated moment of making love.
Blissful moans escaped the duo as Warren and Rogue watched, their mouths salivating at the sight of such passion. If Essex and Cassandra said this would help them in battle, they were going to do it. It wasn't as though they had much of a choice, because En Sabah Nur's control was so strong over them all.
Jean and Scott rolled around underneath the sheets, kissing and making love before they pulled out and changed positions. This allowed Jean to be on top and Scott on the bottom. They repeated the process, turning on Warren and Rogue who went to the bed, wanting to get closer.
Nathaniel and Cassandra could sense it every step of the way. They smiled erotically at one another as they came together, kissing one another fervently as they stripped naked to make love as well. They were celebrating that they were coming so close to ruling the planet. After years of oppression from weak mutants and weak humans, they could finally be free.
Xavier Institute for Higher Learning – Cerebro
"Professor? Can you sense Lorna anywhere?" Alex Summers asked impatiently as he paced the Cerebro room.
"I – I feel her presence, Alex. She's in pain. But I do not know her location. I have to dig deeper," Charles whispered, closing his eyes as he tried to concentrate.
For the past few hours, Alex felt sick. He couldn't believe that he was resorting to reaching out to Magneto's Brotherhood in this time of need. However, he also knew that if he was going to get Lorna back, they needed to take risks that they normally wouldn't.
He hated the thought of trusting Magneto. But he also knew Magneto, Wanda and Pietro all loved Lorna. If they loved her, they would agree to help. It was only a matter of time before Magneto, Wanda, and Pietro arrived to help.
'Come on, Lorna. Where can you be, baby? Scott, where are you?' he thought, when suddenly, the professor gasped loudly.
"Professor?" he asked, rushing to the side of the man who'd been like a father to him for the past few years. "Professor, what's wrong?"
"I . . . I think I know where your brother took Lorna," whispered Charles. "There's – There's someone else around . . . wherever she is. I can hear him."
'Another telepath,' a foreign voice said in Charles' mind.
"Professor," whispered Alex anxiously.
"Alex . . . I – I can feel the presence of another mutant. Omega class . . ." Charles whispered, his nose beginning to bleed as his eyes shut tighter. "He – He's named En Sabah Nur . . ."
Alex felt a cold feeling in his stomach. He didn't know what this meant. However, he was pulled from his thoughts as Wanda and Pietro raced into the room, looking both angry and worried. Pietro glowered at Alex. He still hated Alex for dating his little sister. However, he also knew Alex loved Lorna. He couldn't argue with that.
"If you succeed with saving her, I won't kill you," Pietro spat.
Alex nodded. "Likewise." He then turned back to the professor as Magneto entered. "Charles?"
Charles didn't answer as he groaned painfully. Before his eyes, he could see flashes of an island somewhere near the oceans of Brazil, specifically where Nova Roma was located. Suddenly, that was when Alex heard a loud, petrified scream. It was Amara.
He left the Cerebro room, bolting at full speed towards Amara's quarters. He took the stairs two at a time, his heart racing anxiously as Amara's screams continued filling the air. By the time he reached her bedroom, he saw her twisting around in her bed in a cold sweat. Her face was permeated with fear as she cried and screamed, sobs escaping her lips as her whole body trembled.
"AMARA!" he shouted, running to her side. He grabbed her shoulder and shook her violently.
"N-NO . . . N-NOOOOOOO!" Amara screamed, bursting awake with a violent gasp. Tears flew down her face as she sat up, wrapping her arms tightly around her knees as she rocked backward and forward. A sob burst past her lips as she burrowed her face deeply into her knees.
"Amara, what's wrong?!" Alex asked her anxiously, rubbing a hand up and down her back.
"I – I think I . . . Oh God!" sobbed Amara. "I . . . I think I m-met your brother . . . before. He – He . . ."
"Slow down," Alex told her gently. "Just tell what you saw in the nightmare. What is it that you think you've done?"
"I – I keep seeing . . . I keep seeing some island forming. I think I did that," Amara sobbed. "I – I keep hearing this woman talking to me. She's telling me that . . . that I'm going to help make the world evolve. W-What d-does that mean?" She looked at Alex with pure terror in her eyes.
"Amara, I promise you we will figure this out. We're going to do whatever it takes," Alex said to her gently. "Just try going back to sleep, alright? When you wake up, we'll be back, with hopefully my brother."
Amara nodded, laying back down on her bed and closing her eyes. Alex threw the blanket over her shoulders and kissed the top of her head, stroking back some of her hair. He left Amara's bedroom, meeting Logan and Ororo outside in the hallway.
"Tell Bobby, Peter, and Kitty to meet me in the War Room, fifteen minutes," Alex ordered.
"Are you sure you want Kitty and Bobby to be part of this? They haven't been trained enough for being out in the field!" Ororo said.
"We're stronger in numbers Storm. Just trust me," Alex insisted. He headed off to the War Room, his heart continuing to race as he prepared to change into his X-men uniform. Entering the War Room, he saw his uniform on the mannequin. He exchanged his pajamas for the suit, running his hands over it as Magneto walked into the room.
"Havok," he said. "Do you know what you are doing?"
"Honestly? I don't know where we are going. That's what the professor will be telling us. All I know is I have to save my brother," said Alex.
"And even if you do, who is to say that he is the same person you remember him to have been?" asked Erik cynically.
Alex narrowed his eyes at Erik. He knew Erik would take extremities that he as an X-man never would. He almost knew exactly what Erik was thinking without the master of magnetism even having to say it.
"Magneto, if you so much as touch my brother, I will fucking kill you!" Alex growled angrily, clenching his hands into fists at his side. "He's being controlled. I will find a way to get through to him. And if I do, you will not kill him. I won't let you. I love Lorna, too. But you will not touch my brother. He's my responsibility, so let me handle him, and me alone."
"What if he kills you?" Erik asked. "Then what will happen?"
"I'm chancing it," Alex said as Bobby, Kitty, and Peter walked into the War Room with Ororo.
"You're certain he can change?" Erik asked.
"No, I am not. But I have to try. He's still my family," Alex said heatedly. "That means, you play by my rules. You hear me? That means no killing."
Erik nodded reluctantly as Alex took his seat at the head of the table. Logan and Charles entered the room together, along with Wanda and Pietro.
"Alex, why did you agree to have them help us?" Kitty asked, glaring at Magneto as she sat down. "He'll just screw us over. This has got to be a joke!"
"I'm sorry, Kitty. But if we're going to save Lorna, Hank, Rahne and my brother, we need to play cards we normally don't play," Alex said.
"So, where are we going?" asked Peter.
Charles sighed as he began describing what he saw in Cerebro. "From what I've gathered, reading the minds of Lorna, Hank, and Rahne, they were taken to an island called Krakoa. Apparently, it was formed by Amara's powers due to manipulation from my cousin, Cassandra Nova. She's taken in Alex's younger brother, along with three other individuals. Unfortunately, the reason why these four teenagers went along with Cassandra's deeds is because of not just psychological manipulation. They were influenced because they did not come from the most pleasant of circumstances. Their telepath, Jean Grey, who kidnapped Lorna, killed her parents at a young age. The unfortunate part of that is that her parents were both raging alcoholics who killed her older sister right in front of her. Their tragedies made it perfect for Cassandra to take advantage of them."
Everyone shuddered at the professor's revelation.
"The island of Krakoa was formed for what I could assume to be a base for Cassandra to live on. She pictured it as a utopia where only the best mutants in her mind can live. But what she plans to do with it further, I do not know. All I know is from what I've seen in Lorna's mind. However, Cassandra is doing something to Lorna. Lorna . . . she's changing . . ." Charles whispered.
"Into what?" asked Wanda.
"Her powers are enhancing beyond previous limits. At the rate her DNA is being rewritten, she's growing close to the Omega-level scale of mutation. Hank and Rahne are changing, as well," Charles whispered.
Everyone digested those words until Alex spoke up. "That means, we need to go to Krakoa immediately. Since we do not know the structure of the island or where Lorna, Hank, and Rahne are, it looks as though we are going in blind. But I have faith in this team that we will be able to succeed."
"When do we go?" asked Bobby.
"Right now. Let's go," ordered Alex as he led everyone out of the War Room, and to the Blackbird. Upon taking his seat on the Blackbird, he manned the steering wheel in the pilot's chair as he closed his eyes.
'Hang in there, Scott. I'm coming. I'll save you, no matter what it takes. I promise,' he thought.
However, he was also walking into this mission with a huge amount of uncertainty. The only think that he was certain of was that he was going to save his girlfriend and his brother.
