Chapter 57

The Cauldron

At the Institute

The gates to the institute opened letting Dean drive in with his Camaro. He hurried to the entrance, not even bothering to put it inside the garage.

Dean ran out of the car and into the mansion, "Oh yeah! Let the weekend begin!"

"Wait you're forgetting your homework!" Jean said holding his bookbag, but she was too late, he was already inside, "Make that ignoring it" she sighed as she got out of the car.

Something in the trees watched her movements carefully.

Jean went to enter the mansion but stopped when she heard rustling in the leaves of the trees.

"Hello?" Jean said as she entered the woods to investigate, "Kitty, are you climbing trees again?"

She looked around and spotted a glimpse of someone leap away.

"Evan? Is that you?" Jean went farther until she came across the old well that's by the mansion. She heard something behind a bush in front of her so she used her telekinesis to yank it out of the ground.

Toad sat there crouching with a surprised look on his face that she found him, "Oh so that's the way you wanna play, huh?" he hopped towards her.

Jean ducked as he hopped towards her, letting him jump over her.

Toad grabbed a tree branch and broke it to use as a weapon.

"Toad, what are you doing?" Jean asked sounding unamused at his antics.

Toad used the stick in his hands to sweep her legs and Jean fell on her back, "Gettin' a jump on the competition, yo" he said twirling the stick in his hand as he walked towards her, "Heh heh, you want some of this?" he swung the stick downwards but Jean stopped it with her telekinesis.

"Toad, what are you trying to prove?" Jean asked as she knocked him on his back.

Toad got on his feet, "That I'm a champ not a chump, yo. And guess what? We all gotta prove it"

Jean raised an eyebrow, what did he mean by that?

Toad went to swing the stick like a baseball bat.

Jean crossed her arms, "Would you knock it off!" she stopped him mid swing and broke the stick with her telekinesis.

"Huh?" Toad looked at the broken stick in his hands, "Can't throw a Toad away" He chucked the broken stick and leapt at her.

Jean used her telekinesis to send him right into the old well.

Toad shouted as he fell inside and hit water with a loud splash.

Jean went over to the well, "Toad?"

Suddenly she heard a rumbling sound in the air.

Jean looked up and saw a metal sphere approaching her.

The sphere landed right in front of her.

Jean cautiously approached the sphere and could clearly see her reflection on it.

The top of the sphere opened and released some steam.

Jean leaned closer to look inside when metal tentacles came out of the sphere and pulled her. She shouted but before she could call for help she was pulled inside of the sphere and it closed.

Toad wrapped his tongue around the wooden support beams for the well's roof and pulled himself out. He spotted the metal sphere float into the air and fly off.

"No, It wasn't over, could have still won" Toad pleaded, "It should've been me! ME!" he yelled in sadness.

On the beaches of Hawaii

A young blonde-haired teenager surfed the Hawaiian waves. His name was Alex Masters, formerly Summers.

Alex was orphaned at a young age. He had parents and an older brother, but sadly they all died in their plane crash. He eventually was adopted and moved to Hawaii with his foster parents. Now he spends most of his time surfing, trying to forget his traumatic past through the majestic sound of the ocean crashing on top of itself.

"Alex!" a teen shouted from the shore.

"I don't see him" His friend told him.

"There he is" he spotted him lying on his surfboard, "Lounging, the bum. Wanna paddle out there?"

"Nah, he looks like he just wants to be alone. We'll catch up to him later" They walked off the beach.

Alex swam with his board to an area where he would be undisturbed by waves of any kind so he could just relax and bathe in the sun. He lied down on his board and faced the sky. His hands felt sore again so he stretched them out to try and relax them but they still hurt.

For some reason his hands had been bothering him for the past few weeks and he had no idea why.

Alex felt a bump underneath his board, "Huh?" He looked to see what it was when something made the board flip over resulting in him falling in the water. He grabbed his board to help him float and felt something pass by his legs, that can't be good.

Alex looked behind him and saw a shark fin approaching very fast. He tried to get on top of his board but slipped and went under.

Alex saw the huge shark open its jaw ready to bite a chunk out of him. He held his hands in front of him out of fear and suddenly red energy beams came out of them that hit the shark right in its face sending it a few feet away.

Alex didn't know what to think about what just happened but his thoughts were interrupted by the shark coming closer once again.

Alex puts his hands out again and a bigger red beam came out that went right into the shark's mouth.

The shark swam away with its mouth steaming from being burned.

Alex came back up and gasped for air. He floated on top of the water, not wanting to move from the pain and soreness he was feeling from his red glowing hands.

Alex looked at his hands and they stopped glowing right in front of his eyes, "What?"

At the institute

Logan walked into Cerebro, "So what's the case this time?"

"Cerebro has pinpointed the emergence of a new mutant, only partially developed" Charles said removing the Cerebro Helmet.

"Yeah so what's the emergency?" Logan asked.

"His name is Alex Masters, once known as Alex Summers, Scott's brother" Charles said rolling towards the exit.

"Brother?" Logan asked walking beside him, "I thought Scott was the only one to survive that plane crash"

"Yes, so did I, and so does Scott. Have him meet us in the hangar" Charles said as they exited Cerebro and the circular door closed behind them, "We're flying to Hawaii. Oh, and, uh, Logan…let's be prepared for trouble. I doubt we're the only ones who have an interest in this young man" he said ominously.

Logan raised an eyebrow, "You think he is going for him too?"

Charles looked troubled, "I have a feeling"

Hawaii

Alex sat on the shore of the beach afraid and confused at what happened. He looked at his aching hands, "Aw man, what is goin on with me?" he wondered aloud as he laid back on the sand. This was way too weird for the average teenager.

A shadow suddenly loomed over Alex, "I know the kind of pain you're feeling, Alex" the shadow spoke, "I once had it myself"

"Huh?" Alex got up quickly, startled by the man in red armor that stood in front of him, "What? Where did you come from?"

The man in red armor moved closer, "I've just arrived to see you, because I know—"

"You don't know nothing' man! Just back off!" Alex backed away from him, he had no idea who this weird stranger was but his vibe was weird, "Creep"

"Your bones, they burn. Your hands ache. The pressure in your head, I can give you relief and answers. You never have to feel pain again" The man said, somehow knowing his symptoms.

"You some kind of doctor?" Alex asked curiously, how could he know what his body was going through.

"No, Alex. I am Magneto" He floated above him, "And I have come to offer you, sanctuary" he offered Alex his hand.

At the Institute

Logan was inside the X-jet getting it ready for takeoff when he spotted Charles speaking to Scott.

Scott looked shocked, "What? My little brother...he's…he's..." he struggled to say the words.

"Alive, Scott. Alex is alive" Charles said confirming that what he heard was not his mind playing tricks on him.

"Oh, man. I thought he was gone or—or I would've been looking for him. I should have been looking for him! I mean, I just accepted it!" Scott was mad at himself, "Why didn't I—"

"Easy, Scott. Take a breath" Charles put his hand on Scott's shoulder, "Don't blame yourself"

"But all this time…where has he been?" Scott asked.

"Well, as far as I can determine, living with foster parents in Hawaii" Charles said.

"Then come on, let's go" Scott ran inside the x-jet and Charles followed.

Right as Rogue, Kitty, Evan and Dean walked in the x-jet left.

"Hey, what's the deal? I thought we were Hawaii-bound?" Evan said.

Kurt teleported right in front of them wearing beach clothing and holding a boogie board, "Here I am, ready to give my all to the cause, Hula-hula" Kurt noticed everyone else had a sour face so he looked back to see no x-jet, "Oh, Man!"

"We got ditched" Rogue frowned.

"Hey you can't blame Scott. Meeting a brother he hasn't seen in, like, 10 years? I wouldn't want a crowd either" Kitty said honestly, "No way"

Dean snapped his fingers, "Hey, Hawaii doesn't have the only beaches in the world, right?"

Everyone looked at him sort of lost.

"Hello? Road trip anyone?" Dean suggested with a smirk.

A couple of minutes later Dean and the rest of them took the x-van. They exited a garage and scared a cat that was passing by. The x-van stopped and opened the roof.

Kurt was in the driver's seat, Dean in the copilot, and Kitty and Evan were in the back waiting for Rogue.

"Hustle it up Rogue!" Evan shouted, "Before Auntie-O shows up and hijacks our plans"

As Rogue came running towards the car a cat ran by her feet, "Shoo! I hate cats" Rogue got into the van and the cat went into some bushes.

"I couldn't find my sunglasses" Rogue said as they drove off.

"What happened to Jean?" Kitty asked.

Dean shrugged, "She wasn't in the mansion, I texted her and no reply. She can do what she wants"

Rogue heard the sourness in his voice, maybe they weren't on the best of terms lately.

After the van was out of sight the cat came out of the bushes and morphed into Mystique.

Mystique spoke into her communicator, "Change of plans. They're on the move"

"Not for long" She heard Lance's voice on the other end.

Hawaii

The X-jet landed on the beach where Cerebro sensed Alex earlier.

Scott looked outside the glass for any sign of his brother, "You see anything?"

"No" Logan said, "And the tide's coming in. This cove will be underwater in an hour"

"Take a closer look around" Charles said staying in the jet.

Scott and Logan left the x-jet and searched the shore of the beach.

Scott walked up to a discarded surfboard and examined it, "You think it's his?"

Logan looked around for clues, "Maybe" he spotted two pairs of footprints in the sand and followed them. They continued for a few more feet until the footprints stopped leaving no further trail, "Hmm, looks like company dropped in on him, literally, and left the same way"

"What kind of company?" Scott asked.

Logan sighed, "Magneto" he said ominously.

"Who?" Scott asked, the name sounded familiar.

Logan ignored the question and took a few steps further to get a better look at the surrounding area. It was quiet, too quiet for a beach. Shouldn't there be seagulls all around here?

"Logan, who's Magneto?" Scott asked again.

Logan's eyes narrowed as he listened carefully with his acute hearing, "I got a feeling you're about to find out"

Charles searched for his old friend with his telepathy but couldn't get a read on him, 'I know you're here, Eric, I can sense it. Show yourself'

The X-jet started rumbling and it levitated off the ground.

Logan turned around and saw the jet floating without the thrusters, "It's him!" he shouted as he ran towards the X-jet.

The X-jet rotated 360 degrees and began to fly away.

Logan leapt and grabbed onto one of the landing wheels as it took off.

Scott stood there speechless. Everything happened so fast that he couldn't even react. How the hell did the X-jet just float like that?

Scott just realized that with everyone gone he was stranded in Hawaii without even a communicator.

Suddenly a shadow loomed over him.

Scott froze when he saw the shadow. Whoever was standing over him could be the one responsible for this. He turned around and held his glasses, ready to fire an optic blast.

The person standing there didn't look menacing or dangerous so Scott relaxed his trigger finger.

Scott saw a teenager of similar size to his own but a few inches shorter, he had shoulder length blonde hair and he wore beach clothing.

Scott looked at the teenager's face with wide eyes as he recognized it, "Alex?" he said in disbelief, "Is it really you?"

"Scott?" Alex said having to take a second to look at his brother, he didn't recognize him with his glasses at first but after a moment he did, "Scott!" Alex jumped down from the cliff he was standing on.

Scott ran at him and they embraced each other in a tight hug.

"Man it's like you came back from the dead!" Alex said with happiness in his voice, "I've had dreams just like this" a tear trickled down his cheek.

Scott let go of him, "Me too! Oh, wow! Man, this one's real though, and look at you. What happened to that scrawny little kid I used to pick on?" He joked.

"Oh, hey, that reminds me" Alex hit Scott on the shoulder, "I owed you that for 10 years" he said with a smile.

Scott laughed, "And you still hit like a girl" He joked as he rubbed his shoulder.

Alex smirked, "Believe me, bro, there's more to this punch than you know. I still can't believe it, when Magneto told me you were showing up I—"

"Whoa wait, Magneto?" Scott said in confusion, "You're with him? That guy just kidnapped my professor"

"No, no, no you got it wrong. He told me all about it, he just wants to show him something. Come here for a second" Alex lead him somewhere.

Scott was skeptical but he followed.

"He wants to show all of us" Alex said.

"All?" Scott queried.

"Yeah, you know, mutants" Alex said, "He told me you were one. And guess what, so am I. See? Check this out" Alex let the red energy flow out into his hands, "I couldn't believe it, I got these powers growing inside of me. Man, I was freaked out until Magneto clued me in. He's great Scott, he knows so much. He wants to meet with us, that's all" Alex spoke of Magneto in admiration.

Alex led him to an open metal sphere, "I'm going. I mean, how could I not? But you gotta come too, ok?"

"That thing there" Scott pointed at the sphere, "It'll take us to Magneto?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah, come on. It's kind of scary, you know? But exciting, please?" Alex pleaded to his brother.

Scott sighed, "This doesn't smell right Alex" he said hesitating, "But….I'll go, just to keep an eye on you and to the Professor"

They climbed inside the sphere and it closed before shooting off into the same direction the x-jet went.

The X-jet flew through the sky uncontrollably with Logan slowly climbing it.

Inside the X-jet Charles tried his best to get the jet to start working or at least stabilize it but it was no use, the controls weren't responding.

"Charles, Relax" Magneto's voice echoed through the jet, "I am in control"

"What is this about Erik?" Charles asked as he looked around outside to see where he was.

"I am simply taking steps to ensure our survival. We both know that humankind will not only learn of us, but they will fear us, for we are the future. And what man fears he tramples. So I shall be ready for them" Magneto said ominously.

Suddenly metal claws sliced through the roof of the jet.

"Ah yes, Wolverine. The man with the adamantium claws" Magneto said amusingly.

Logan's body began began to move around on its own and he lost all control of his motor functions.

Logan grit his teeth as he tried his best to hold on.

His claws started to bend, cracking the bones inside of the metal.

"Of course adamantium is a metal" Magneto said.

Logan's body began to flail uncontrollably.

"And I'm sure you must realize that I…am the master of magnetism" Magneto said having had enough of toying with him.

Logan flew off the plane and he landed in the ocean relatively close to an island.

At the institute

Ororo walked into the mansion and noticed it was considerably quiet.

"Hello? Anyone home? Professor?" she walked around to see if anybody was there.

A cat passed by her feet, "Oh, hello, you're not quite the Kitty I was hoping to see. Can you tell me where everyone's gone?" She asked not paying the little creature any mind.

Ororo walked up the stairs, "Logan?"

The cat followed closely behind her.

As Ororo walked through the hallway she saw the shadow of the cat change into a humanoid form, "Well, look what the cat dragged in." She turned around to face Mystique.

Mystique leapt and aimed a flying kick at her.

Storm summoned thunder to her hands and projected it outwards in a single bolt.

Mystique was struck by the thunder in midair and was sent flying down the staircase.

Ororo went downstairs after her assailant.

Mystique, having recovered quickly enough, drop kicked Ororo sending her flying back.

Ororo knocked into a statue shattering it on impact.

Mystique went to stomp on her but Ororo moved out of the way and Mystique's foot got stuck in the wall.

Ororo summoned a gust of winds that blew Mystique away.

Mystique grabbed onto the railing of the staircase but unfortunately her grip wasn't strong enough so the wind took her back upstairs.

'I swear, If I have to go up these stairs one more time' Ororo thought as she carefully went upstairs.

Mystique tackled her to the floor and they tumbled, both attempting to gain the upper hand.

Ororo knocked Mystique off her and got back on her feet.

Mystique huffed angrily, "Give up and I'll make this quick wind rider, I shouldn't even have to prove myself to him"

Mystique morphed into a rhino and charged at her opponent.

Ororo's eyes widened as she instinctively produced a gust of wind underneath her to propel her upwards, and successfully dodge the charging beast.

Ororo landed safely on the ground while her opponent got her horn stuck in the wall, "I don't know why you have chosen to attack me and in truth I don't much care" She created a thick fog making it impossible to see two feet in front of yourself.

Mystique morphed into her humanoid form to get herself unstuck. She looked around and could see no sign of Ororo.

Mystique morphed into a grizzly bear and tried to sniff her out.

"This is my home and you are not welcome here" Ororo said within the mist.

The bear turned around, having tracked its prey, and was about to strike.

Ororo fired another thunderbolt and caught Mystique off guard.

The bear cried out in pain before morphing back into Mystique who immediately dropped to one knee panting.

Ororo then charged at her through the mist and struck her with a heavy right hook that knocked Mystique out.

Ororo then commanded the fog to disperse, 'Just what are you up to Mystique?'

A metal sphere crashed through the roof of the mansion.

Ororo backed away, not knowing what to do.

The sphere opened and the tentacles grabbed Ororo, pulling her inside before leaving again.

"Oh, man. You feel that ocean breeze?" Rogue said enjoying the fresh air whistling through her hair. She was always sweating underneath her clothes, "I've been going into meltdown here, all covered up like this, I hate it"

"Ya? You should try being blue and furry" He switched off his image inducer showing his true blue form, "Its murder"

"Kurt, the road!" Kitty shouted.

The road up ahead looked like it was sprouting rock spires.

Kurt swerved to the right, avoiding the rock spires.

They hit the road railing, making sparks fly everywhere, but luckily Kurt centered the van again.

Suddenly something knocked into the van from behind making them fall forward from the force of it.

"The hell was that?" Evan asked.

Whatever it was it knocked into them again almost pushing them off the cliff.

"What is going on?!" Kurt asked frantically as he sped up to get away from whatever was hitting them.

Kitty looked back and spotted the Brotherhood inside of a jeep, minus Blob, and Phantazia flew above them.

Avalanche shouted something at Kratos who was driving and he simply ignored it.

Kitty locked eyes with Avalanche and could see the regret in his eyes, attacking her was something he didn't want to do, "It's the Brotherhood, all of them!"

Dean summoned a lightning bolt to his palm, "I get the feeling they're not here for the beach" he got up and stood on his seat before turning around to aim at them.

Kratos came flying at him and tackled Dean off the X-van.

"Dean!" Rogue went to grab him but wasn't fast enough.

The X-van swerved and Kurt turned the wheel to keep it from swerving out of control.

Kratos and Dean tumbled down the side of the cliff together.

Avalanche, now behind the wheel, willed a few more rock spires to sprout out from the street only to shake up the van.

"I'll slow 'em down" Evan said as he shot a few spikes at the jeep. He managed to shatter the headlights but didn't hit a wheel.

Avalanche slowed down and went right behind them so they were out of firing range. He then caused a rockslide on the side of the road leaving Kurt no choice but to go off it and take a rocky downward slope that lead down to a beach.

They shouted as they bounced around the bumpy road.

As they trailed down the rocky road they spotted Blob up ahead blocking the way.

Blob propped his huge gut out and when the van ran into him it stopped right in its tracks.

"Come here often?" Blob asked with a smirk.

Avalanche parked his jeep right behind them, "Let's party" he said as they all hopped out of it.

Blob grabbed the x-van and flipped it upside down forcing the x-men to fall on the sand.

The four of them got up only to realize they were surrounded by the Brotherhood, and that they were vastly outnumbered. Even more importantly their leader and the two backup ones weren't here at the moment leaving them without someone to come up with a decent plan.

Avalanche sent vibrations through the ground turning the sand they were standing on into quicksand sucking them in.

The X-men were caught off guard and completely buried in the sand.

"Hey man, that didn't take too long at all" Toad joked.

Kratos and Dean tumbled down the cliff side, punching each other on the way down.

The two of them rolled off the cliff onto a patch of sharp rocky ground by the edge of the ocean where waves occasionally crashed.

Dean landed hard on ground, enough for a few of the rocky points to pierce his back.

While Kratos landed safely on top of Dean and started wailing on him.

Dean caught his hands, "You're in a hurry" he noticed.

"I have no time to waste on the likes of you" Kratos said thinking very little of him. He then headbutted Dean so hard that the ground underneath them shattered, letting them drop into the ocean.

Kratos grabbed Dean to keep him close and the two of them started trading punches.

'Sorry for the intrusion, but I was forced into this' Dean prayed to Poseidon as best as he could at the moment.

The Brotherhood stood over the spot where they buried the X-men.

Avalanche's eyes narrowed, that was a little too easy.

Kurt teleported behind them with Rogue next to him. A little bit of sand was transported as well.

Rogue had both of her gloves removed and absorbed both Phantazia and Toad rendering them unconscious.

Kurt tackled Avalanche while Rogue avoided a fireball from Pyro by floating into the air.

Kitty phased out of the ground with Evan who was spitting up sand.

"Time to prove yourself, Evan" Quicksilver zipped over to Evan who was feeling groggy and pushed him into the sand.

"And you're staying behind!" Blob shouted as he landed on Kitty with his full weight.

A second later Kitty phased out of Blob, wobbling from side to side with a delirious look. The sand might have cushioned the impact but she till got hit full force by his weight.

"Yuck….I like totally...need a shower now" she said right before she passed out and and fell on her back.

Dean jumped out of the water and onto a small piece of sandy land by the cliffside and gasped for air.

Fighting underwater was tricky. Your Oxygen was limited, your movement was hindered, and on top of that he didn't want to use his lightning out of fear of what it might do underwater.

Kratos followed his lead and hopped onto the small piece of land. He charged at Dean not letting him have a moment of rest.

Dean dodged a few of his punches without too much trouble.

Kratos then pulled back his fist and threw a powerful punch.

Dean decided to test his brother's strength and blocked.

Kratos's punch connected with Dean's forearm.

Dean was sent flying backwards from the force of the punch. He smirked, 'That didn't even—' a sudden sharp pain shocked him out of his thoughts.

Dean shockingly looked down and saw a stalagmite protruding from his stomach. He looked behind him and saw that he had crashed into the rocky cliff side. And right where he flew into was a long sharp stalagmite.

Kratos raised an eyebrow and looked behind Dean, he didn't even see that stalagmite there, "Ha!" He laughed amusingly, "That was quicker than I thought it would be"

'You've gotta be fucking kidding me!' Dean mentally shouted angrily, of all things to happen.

Kratos laughed as he walked closer, "You know what the funny thing is, father forbid us from killing each other, and I didn't do a thing. It was all you"

Dean winced at the excruciating pain he was in. His mind was in a panic, and his body was bleeding out, things didn't look good.

"You probably could have dodged that punch but you didn't, and now because you weren't aware of your surroundings you've basically killed yourself" Kratos said shaking his head in disappointment, "Well I can't give you all the credit, I did knock you into it after all. So I'll call this an assisted suicide, eh, what do you think?"

Dean tried to reach behind him to break the stalagmite but he felt his insides tearing from stretching too much.

A metal sphere descended from the sky and landed right next to them.

"I must be going" Kratos hopped in the sphere, "I doubt I'll see you again, but if I do, don't be such a disappointment" the sphere closed and it flew away.

Kurt was on top of Avalanche trying to wrestle him to the floor.

Avalanche stomped on the ground creating a shockwave that sent a spire of sand into Kurt, knocking him off.

Kurt backflipped and landed on his feet.

Avalanche prepared himself for an attack, he was starting to see a pattern in Kurt's attacks.

Kurt ran at him full speed.

Avalanche tensed as he awaited a teleport.

Kurt leapt at him with a flying fist.

Avalanche waited for Kurt to teleport but he never did. He threw a heavy right hook meant to intercept his opponent.

Kurt vanished in a bamf of smoke at the last second, avoiding Avalanche's fist, and teleported underneath him striking him with an uppercut that sent him flying upwards.

Kurt then teleported above him and struck him with a double axe handle sending Avalanche flying downward.

Then right before he hit the ground Kurt teleported behind him and hit Avalanche with a tornado kick that sent him skidding across the ground.

Avalanche wiped a few drops of blood that were trickling down his chin, "That's not gonna be enough to stop me" He vibrated the sand beneath his feet allowing him to surf the ground.

Kurt spotted Avalanche coming at him fast and teleported in a panic. He appeared behind Avalanche and threw a right hook but his opponent was moving too fast to hit.

Avalanche skidded to a halt before reversing the vibrations, moving backwards, and elbowing Kurt in the face.

Kurt was caught off guard from his sudden reversal of direction.

Avalanche grabbed Kurt's head and dragged it in the sand as he surfed the ground.

Kurt's body flailed uncontrollably.

Avalanche then smashed Kurt's face against a boulder, knocking him out.

In the meantime Quicksilver had been running literal circles around Evan and started slowly burying him in the sand, "I got you beat and you know it Evan!"

Evan was sweating bullets, he'd been firing wave after wave of bone spikes at his speedy nemesis but not a single one hit him. A few came close but that was it.

Quicksilver then made the circles he ran smaller and smaller, "Cause I always speed to the top" he buried Evan in a mountain of sand up to his face and stood on top of him.

Rogue dodged a fireball and blasted Pyro with an EM blast.

The flames in Pyro's hands vanished.

Rogue quickly flew over to him and grabbed his face, absorbing him, and rendering him unconscious.

Rogue turned around and saw the rest of the triumphant Brotherhood standing there. She tensed and purple energy radiated out of her hands, "Alright who's next?"

Avalanche held his hands up, "Whoa, relax Rogue, It's over"

"And here comes your reward" Blob said pointing at the incoming metal spheres.

Logan made his way to the shore of the island he spotted.

He panted slightly as he stepped onto the beach. Swimming happened to be his least favorite activity.

Logan suddenly caught a whiff of a familiar scent.

"You look tired" Logan heard from behind him.

He looked over to a nearby cliff and spotted Sabretooth with a devious smirk.

"Hard to stay afloat with metal bones, huh?" Sabretooth mocked him.

"Why do I get the feeling I wasn't dropped here by accident" Logan said finding this situation too much of a coincidence.

"Heh, you got that right, Bub" Sabretooth said before leaping at him.

Dean was still in the same spot, impaled through the stomach, bleeding out, and desperately trying to keep his body intact.

Because the stalagmite was the only thing keeping Dean standing he had to keep his body tense to keep it from falling to shreds. If he were to relax even for a moment his body would be ripped apart, if it weren't for his dense muscles he would already be dead.

'Need to get out of this…losing too much blood' Dean thought. He snapped the point off the stalagmite and stopped, 'If I slide off this right now I'll have a hole in my stomach which will let even more blood flow out, but it'll be easier to heal without anything there'

His body had accustomed to recovering from various injuries these last few months, let's see if it can handle this one.

Dean pushed off the cliffside and dropped onto the sand like a ton of bricks.

Once he got off the stalagmite his body began to grow numb. A puddle of crimson liquid began to form underneath Dean's unmoving body.

He could feel the liquid soaking his clothes, 'I feel…..cold'

Dean's vision began to blur, 'Am I going to die here…' his thoughts were filled with that of his friends, 'I wasn't any help to them…'

Charles was still a fugitive in his own jet.

As the jet flew, wobbly, Charles noticed that he was heading directly north. To the point where everything around him was covered in snow and thick ice.

Then as he looked at the sky he spotted a vast aurora, a mixture of jade and violet colors. The colors moved majestically like waves.

The northern lights were quite the spectacle but Charles' attention was caught by a floating object in the sky.

Charles eyed the object as it got closer and realized it was a giant piece of floating rock that had a metal base on top.

"What is this place?" Charles asked in awe.

The X-jet descended onto a landing pad and Charles saw a red figure up above controlling it.

"Welcome Charles, to Sanctuary. Asteroid M" Magneto said.

Logan tackled Sabretooth to the ground but before he could do anything Sabretooth kicked him off.

Logan landed on his feet and extended his claws on one hand, "Tell me where Magneto took Xavier and maybe I'll go easy on ya" he extended the claws on his other hand, "Maybe"

"Hey, he had it easy. A free pass to sanctuary, while the rest of us gotta fight to get in, which actually suits me just fine" Sabretooth smirked before charging at him again.

Logan avoided a swipe from Sabretooth's talons, "I never thought I'd see you willingly take orders"

Sabretooth avoided a slash from his claws, "Metal head's got the right idea about humans, so I think I'll stick around for a while. At least until a certain group of people get off my back"

Logan thought about what he said, 'A certain group…Weapon X! So there are more of them out there looking for their escaped operatives'

Sabretooth sliced his chest with his talons leaving four scratch marks.

Logan growled, 'When I get out of this I need to have a talk with Chuck' he engaged his opponent once again.

The X-jet landed and came to a stop.

Charles looked at the coordinates that he was brought to, '72.62°W longitude, 80.31°N latitude…That's the geomagnetic North Pole'

Magneto wasn't capable of moving metal objects from hundreds of miles away the last time Charles saw him. It only makes sense that being close to the magnetic pole has increased his power.

Charles lowered the ramp and rolled out of the jet.

Magneto stood there waiting for him with his arms crossed.

Charles got a better look at him as he approached. He barely looked like he aged at all, in fact he almost looked younger.

"It's been a long time old friend" Magneto said with a bit of sadness in his voice.

Charles recalled their last encounter…given that they haven't seen each other in almost a decade you could imagine that it didn't end well.

"What is all of this about?" Charles asked.

"A rebirth" Magneto said, "Your X-men face a trial by combay, as do my own…..recruits" he said the word as if he didn't have faith in most of them, "Mutant pitted against mutant. One shall lose, one shall win. Only those who emerge victorious shall take their place here on Asteroid M. Once gathered here in this place of solitude, they can then fully realize their mutant abilities, safe from those who might mistreat them"

"Erik, don't do this. We can introduce ourselves to mankind as friends, not enemies" Charles pleaded.

"You are an idealist, Charles. I am a realist. It's a dark future that rushes towards us, and we must face it prepared" Magneto said with a determined expression as he walked away.

As he did he willed Charles's wheelchair to move with his pace.

"The gathering is almost complete" Magneto said, "Just Wolverine and Sabretooth to go" they continued walking and they entered a hall with semicircle indentations in the walls, probably for the spheres to land and their passengers to exit.

"A storm is coming for mutant kind, Charles. And our resolve must be ironclad. Side with me, not against me" Magneto said wanting his friend to be on his side.

"Your invitation begs the question, what happens to those who won't come willingly?" Charles asked knowing full well that Magneto doesn't show mercy to those who stand in his way.

Magneto lead him to a room that had glass chambers that were filled with sleeping gas, "If necessary, sometimes salvation must be force fed"

Charles saw some of his students in the chambers. Rogue, Jean, and Storm.

Charles's eyes widened as he rolled closer. He touched the glass in front of Ororo's chamber and looked down in disapproval, "Erik... you haven't saved them" he turned around and faced his old friend with a serious look, "You've abducted them"

Kratos, Avalanche, Quicksilver, and Blob came from the sphere hall and stood behind Magneto.

Magneto glanced back and saw who passed among the Brotherhood. He then looked back at Charles, "A certain amount of persuasion may still be needed, I'll admit. But for every unbeliever…." A metal door opened and Scott and Alex walked through it together, "there is a new convert"

Charles looked shocked to see him willingly walking about, has his student switched sides?

Author's note: I honestly just kept on forgetting to post smh, at least the next one is coming along quickly. Looks like Dean was cut off before he could do much, will he be able to redeem himself? Find out next week! Until then read and review ;)