The X-men have been brought together by Charles Xavier and Tony Stark in order to protect a world that hates and fears them for their mutations. However, this mission that they are on is on-going, met with many successes and failures.

One of these successes was fighting off against an underground group of mutants known to the world as the Morlocks, who had kidnapped their resident winged teammate, Warren Worthington III, as an act of misguided revenge. However, the Brotherhood has escaped the custody of Alpha Flight and has teamed up with the New York City Morlocks while Magneto seeks to build a homeland for mutants.

As a result, the X-men found that they were in a confrontation with Magneto, who ordered Morlocks Blink and Gateway to send the X-men on a little "vacation" to a place in Antarctica known as the Savage Land. Now, out in the middle of nowhere and lost, the X-men must find their way back home to put an end to Magneto's plans.

Issue 37: Savage Land, Savage Hearts Part 2

The Savage Land

"Shit, Cyke . . . of all the places I would never dream of visiting," Logan mused as he stood over the cliff next to his student. He stood there, taking in the sight.

The Savage Land was nothing more than a real-life Jurassic Park. The dinosaurs were so uncanny that it made Ororo and Jean's eyes widen with fascination. Never had they ever seen a place so beautiful and intriguing. Over on another snowy mountaintop, there were mastodons letting out noises of contentment. On another mountaintop, Sabre-toothed tigers were purring, licking their fur. The brontosaurs were eating from the trees. Pterodactyls were guarding their nests filled newborns. Stegosauruses were also eating away on the lush vegetation of the bushes beneath them, a contented look on their faces. Parasaurolophus were running freely towards the river to drink from it, as well.

"Wait, you know of this place?" asked Bobby incredulously.

"Every person who has ever served in the military at one point has heard of the Savage Land, Popsicle," Logan said dryly, pulling his Wolverine cowl off his face.

"Well, we have to find a way to get back," Anna-Marie said.

"Yeah, no kidding," Warren said in agreement as he stood shoulder to shoulder with Hank.

Logan and Scott stood over the cliff overlooking the Savage Land below. Thankfully, so far, the dinosaurs they were seeing thus far were vegetarians. What they didn't want to run into was a T-Rex or an orviraptor. The last thing that the X-men needed was to have to run for their lives being chased by vicious, ancient animals.

"My father told me about this place. He came here, once, and only once, due to the fact that he and several operatives had been sent here on a rescue mission. When he told me about it, I at first didn't believe that it was true," Scott said. "But then, he'd showed me photos. It's funny. As a kid, this was a place I could only dream of visiting. But now . . . all I can pray to God for is that we don't run into raptors."

"Well, there's no way for us to get back, unless someone here knows the coordinates home or if someone suddenly developed the mutant power of teleporting," Professor Xavier said.

"Well, let's be glad that the dinosaurs so far in our line of vision are vegetarian," Forge quipped.

"But it won't stay that way," pointed out Jean.

"That's why we have to find a way back home. We have got no way to contact anyone! No way that we have a comms connection out here. So, can we please focus on figuring out how the hell we can all get the hell out of the place and back to New York so we can find out what Magneto is planning? Because let me tell you, I do not want to have to be here long," Scott asked.

"Thank you, Scott, you spoke for me," Jean said.

Suddenly, that was the moment a portal opened, to reveal no one more than Gateway, Blink, Caliban, Callisto and Feral.

"Oh shit . . . did I mention I have got a severe cat allergy?" Forge asked.

"Forge, shut up!" Jean smacked his arm in exasperation.

"Goddammit, Callisto," Warren said angrily. "Are you serious? It goes from acting like a vigilante by causing property damage all over New York, to working with Magneto as his lapdog! Are you ever going to learn?"

"Angel, have you ever known me to be the type who just gives up easily?" Callisto asked.

"Callisto, we had a deal. You and I dueled, I won, and you stay away from us!" Ororo said, her eyes glowing white.

"I never make promises, Storm," Callisto said callously. "And, do you really think that Magneto would let Gateway and Blink drop all of you off here? Of course not. That would make it almost too easy."

That was the moment Scott and Jean were grabbed by Gateway and pulled into one of his portals. The two landed down on top of a tree which appeared to be a couple of hundred miles away from their previous location.

"GATEWAY!" Jean screamed as she and Scott fell down from the branches of the tree, tumbling down onto their backs and landing into a puddle of mud.

Gateway just simply stuck his tongue out at the two of them, going off to collect the others and separate everybody. Anna-Marie ended up getting stuck with Logan on the northern side of the Savage Land, Ororo was with the professor, Bobby and Warren were with Cecilia, and Hank was with Forge. Ororo and the professor ended up crashing into a stream. Bobby and Warren had landed in the middle of the jungles. Hank and Forge had crashed into some bushes.

"Crap!" Jean groaned as Scott helped her to her feet.

"Crap is right. We-We have to find the others. We have to find a way to get into communication with Tony or Rhodey . . . or even Nick Fury, or Alpha Flight," Scott panted.

"C'mon, we should get moving," Jean said to him.

"Agreed," Scott said. They trudged along through the jungles of the Savage Land, passing a stegosaurus nest filled with babies, which were being guarded by a mother stegosaurus. The mother stegosaurus looked at them, as though she were somehow surprised that they were there.

Jean cast the dinosaur a glance. "Yeah, we can't believe we're here, either," she said.

X-Corporation Tower – Tony's Office

"Old man . . . Logan . . . Slim? Anyone on comms?" Tony asked.

Ever since he saw the live news coverage of the X-men being taken by two teleporters, Tony found that he was trying to get in contact with his X-men for the past twenty minutes or so. The fact that their comms were seemingly offline concerned him greatly.

"Goddammit, c'mon you guys, this isn't funny right now! Forge, you dipshit pick up! Hank – Furball, answer to your Goddamn comm link already," Tony yelled into the line.

Pepper walked into the office, a look of worry and concern permeated on her face. "Tony, I saw the news footage. Have you had any luck contacting the X-men?" she asked.

"No, Pepper, if I did I'd be in communications with them right now," Tony exclaimed; the frustration evident in his tone as he shook his head. "I don't know where they are . . . and if their comms are down, that means that their tracking systems are offline! And, the professor is the only one who can use Cerebro. So unless you know any other psychics anywhere –!"

"Tony, Tony, slow down! Relax," Pepper hollered. "Okay? Because you being a nervous wreck right now isn't going to do the X-men any good! Besides, any situation that they happen to be in, they can take care of their selves. Okay? Worst case scenario, we call the members of Alpha Flight or even Nick Fury at SHIELD to track them."

Tony let out a sigh. "Yeah, yeah, Pepper, you're right, you're right. It's just . . . I'm the one responsible partially for those kids! God forbid I have to deal with Bobby's mother and father chewing my head off for their son being missing."

Pepper felt the shock and surprise sinking in. The fact that Tony was so worried over the X-men and their safety was something that surprised her. It seemed as though for once, Tony was not thinking about himself or his bottom line. He was actually concerned and scared for the X-men's well-being and he actually cared.

"Tony, did I just hear you essentially say that you care about them?" asked Pepper in astonishment.

Tony ran a hand through his hair. "Look, Pepper . . . I just . . . I might not show it all the time, but those kids; I do care about them; not just about their future as assets to this company. They – They're part of a legacy. My legacy," he said. "I just – if something happens to them, or to the professor, it's on me. It's on my shoulders. Professor Xavier, he's not just a mentor to me; he's the father I never had."

"Tony, if anything does happen to them, it's not on you," Pepper tried to say.

"But I was part of the reason why they became the X-men. I designed their uniforms, their holowatches, everything that is a trademark to the X-men, was designed by me!" Tony said. "I put them in this position."

"But, they did it because they wanted to. It was all their choice, Tony," Pepper said, stepping forward to take his hands into hers. "Listen, you cannot just blame yourself. We will find a way to get them all home safe. Alright?"

Tony sighed. "Okay." He watched as Pepper sauntered out of his office, leaving him with his thoughts.

The Savage Land – One Hour Later

"ARRGH! I fucking hate mosquitoes!"

"Well Ah hate the sounds of you bitchin' 'bout it, Logan, so we're both even."

For the past hour or so, Logan "Wolverine" Howlett and Anna-Marie "Rogue" D'Ancanto found themselves pushing their way through the tall grasses and bushes of the Savage Land, panting for breath and so desperate for water they were drinking out of the streams.

However, despite needing to rely on one another for survival, Logan still didn't trust Anna-Marie in the slightest. Ever since she had knocked his girlfriend comatose, Logan had been highly reluctant to even let Anna-Marie breathe on him.

"Quiet, Rogue!" snapped Logan as he cut his way through bushes using his claws. "We gotta find the others. This place is so huge, I don't even know if I can get into telepathic communication with Jeannie. We're in deep shit!"

"Ya think Ah don't know that, Wolverine?" Anna-Marie groaned as she followed him. "Besides, Ah I know ya hate meh. Ya can say it!"

"Fine then, kid! I'll say it. I don't hate ya, but, that doesn't mean that I trust ya."

"Well, we're stuck in this together. So ya better set your bitterness for meh aside, sugah!" spat Anna-Marie with a glare on her face as they pushed their way through.

The two continued on in silence, the tension thick between the two of them. Rogue let out an exasperated sigh.

"Well, if it's any comfort to ya, Logan, Ah don't wanna be here anymore than ya do," Anna-Marie said to him.

"No, it ain't any comfort fer me, kid," Logan said to her.

"Quit calling meh "kid" Logan!" Rogue groaned.

"Well, that's what yer actin' like right now! Yer not an adult, Anna-Marie, yer a child," Logan hollered at her as he cut his way through another bush.

"What do Ah have ta do ta get your respect?"

"Ya have to earn it."

"Oh please! You're up Scott and Jean's asses. Everyone knows they're your favorites," shouted Anna-Marie in bitterness.

"That's not –!" Logan started to growl. But then he stopped there. He had a soft spot in his heart for Scott and Jean, but, he did not treat them any differently than the others. "That cannot be further from the truth, kid! Scooter and Jeannie, they may have a special spot in my heart, but, I am just as tough on them as I am with the others. I do not treat them any differently," he decided to say.

"Like how you treat meh differently than the others?" Rogue asked cynically.

"Well, I'm sorry. I just find it hard to trust people who use to work fer the enemy who attacked my girlfriend!" said Logan.

"How many times do Ah have ta apologize for that? Ah regret havin' done that. Okay? Ah was the one that had ta have her in my head screamin' at meh! Ain't that enough punishment towards meh for mah actions, which Ah have already owned up ta havin' done?" Rogue asked as she trudged along.

The Wolverine growled quietly. He knew that Anna-Marie was genuinely sorry for what she had done to Carol, but, Logan couldn't bring himself to forgive her. He just couldn't believe that Rogue was a changed person. They both just continued to walk along in silence, hoping to find traces of the professor or even Scott and Jean. The Savage Land was so vast and enormous, that it could take them both weeks to find everybody.

As Anna-Marie and Logan walked along, Logan sniffed the air for any signs of any of the other X-men or any kind of danger that was nearby. Letting out a heavy puff, Logan suddenly found that he was wishing for a cold beer or a cigar. However, that was the moment they could hear a growl.

"Logan, Ah am hopin' that that was ya!" Rogue whispered.

"No, it wasn't me, kid," Logan said. Suddenly, they both turned around to see raptors standing behind them. "Watch yerself!" he warned her, however, that was when the raptors went in for the kill. Luckily, thanks to Rogue's enhanced strength, she managed to shove the vicious dinosaurs away from them with just a punch.

"C'mon, let's go!" she called out, and they took off through the jungles. Logan shared a look with her.

"Thanks fer that," he said to her.

Rogue nodded as they continued to run, hoping to lose the raptors which they knew would be on their tails if they stuck around.

Two Hours Later

"Okay, okay, I can officially say it. I hate nature! I hate nature!" Bobby said as he, Warren and Cecilia swam through a river, passing triceratopses drinking from the stream. However, despite the racket Bobby was making, the triceratopses didn't even seem to mind as one of them went to graze in the grasses peacefully.

"Shut up, Bobby!" yelled Warren in frustration as they continued to swim along the riverbed. "In case you hadn't noticed, a trip to the Savage Land is not really my idea of the ideal vacation either! But, we came here without a choice."

"The both of you quiet," Cecilia said.

"Sorry, Dr. Reyes," groaned Bobby as they finally found land. Their uniforms were soaked with river water as they trudged through the jungles.

"Well, we're going to have to find some way to get some food and some shelter. Soon enough, it'll be nightfall. And we do not want any surprises as we're sleeping. I just hope that the others are having better luck," Warren said.

"Agreed," said Cecilia.

Three Hours Later

"Professor, can you reach out to Jean telepathically?" Ororo asked as she pushed the professor's wheelchair along through the jungles.

"As far as I can tell, Ororo, she is too far away and out of reach for me to call out to her. The Savage Land is so vast," Xavier said. "We'll need to continue on foot and look for the others. We've got very few options right now."

Ororo breathed out a sigh. "I just hope that the others are alright," she said.

"Believe me, Ororo. I know my X-men. I know what it is that they are capable of," Xavier said, having faith that the rest of his students were alright.

Four Hours Later

Before they knew it, nightfall was upon them, but, for Scott Summers and Jean Grey, they found that constantly needing to lean on and support each other meant needing full trust in one another.

They were both roughed up, their uniforms torn from walking through trees, branches and bushes. Their hair was soaking wet from needing to swim along a river. They needed to live off of wild berries, considering that there were no dinosaurs around that they could hunt off of. Additionally, the two were emotionally and physically exhausted, having just fought off a T-rex that had cornered them.

"SCOTT!" Jean had screamed out as the T-rex smacked Scott into the stream with its tail. She'd ran over to him, keeping a telekinetic shield around her as she leaned a hand onto his arm. "Scott? Are you okay?!"

"I . . . yes, I'm fine, Jean," Scott had told her, taking her hand before firing a wide optic blast at the T-rex.

"God, Slim, you scared me. Don't do that ever again! You hear me? Never again!"

"I will keep that in mind, Red."

But now, the two teenagers were lying in the grasses on the grounds of the Savage Land, catching their breath after such an exhausting seven hours of constantly looking over their shoulders. Luckily, the only dinosaurs sleeping near them currently were brontosauruses, curled up beside each other and protecting their newborn babies.

Jean knew that she had to contact the professor to let him know where they were, but, they didn't even know where he was, or who was with him at that moment. For Jean, her mind was spent. She was exhausted after having needed to spend so many hours pushing her way through this strange place. All she knew was that she needed to sleep before she made an attempt at contacting anybody.

"Wow . . . I just . . . I cannot believe this," she whispered as she leaned her head on Scott's chest. Staring up at the night sky, she was taken with how peaceful it was. The stars were so clear . . . so bright. Never once did Jean see the night sky looking the way that it did.

"Yeah, Jean, me neither. Who would have guessed that this would happen?" asked Scott as he hugged her close to him.

"I just – I just hope that the others are okay," Jean whispered.

"They'll be alright Jean. Logan and Carol trained us for situations like this where we need to rely on each other for survival. If we can get through that kind of training, we can get through this," Scott breathed to her.

"I hope you're right, Slim." Jean turned her focus to the night sky, the stars twinkling down. "Though, I've got to say, besides being chased down by a T-rex, and swimming through an alligator-infested stream . . . this place is actually quite beautiful, at night that is. We don't get to see anything like this in New York."

"Yeah, I can concur with that," Scott declared in agreement, stroking her soaking wet hair. "Though I am not sure if this is a place I'd like to visit again."

The two friends shared a laugh, grinning at one another with their faces inches away from each other.

Jean snuggled further into his arms, sighing as she felt an odd sense of peace coming over her. However, she let out a deep yawn of exhaustion as her eyes began to softly flutter.

"Get some sleep. I'll keep look-out. We'll both take shifts, alright?" Scott offered her. "I'll wake you in a couple hours."

"Yeah, yeah, I agree." Jean yawned again, and Scott laid her down into the grass gently, where Jean proceeded to fall asleep in an instant, out like a light. Scott knew that there was no waking her up.

"Sweet dreams, Red," he whispered in her ear as he sat on the ground to keep watch of their surroundings.

Up next: Savage Land, Savage Hearts Part 3