Manipulating Evolution Chapter 11: Sanctuary, a x-men: evolution fanfic

Thanks to:

Steph14Wales – Thanks as always, and for the dedications!

Wingding9 – Yeah, evil Jean rules! There are hints of Scogue, but I've no plans for them to get a love thing on. But who knows…

DemonRogue13 – Kitty and Lance going was a numbers thing – but they will be back!

Risty – I was a bit worried that Lance would seem overbearing, so I'm glad he wasn't! I was actually debating some Rogan (too many music vids!), but it would mess up later events.

Zeroeye – There's more of Jeans evil to come! I'm also pro Lancitty and they will be back!

Rogue14 – I thought she'd join up if it'd give her another crack at killing Jean!

Crazyspaceystracey – Dunno about a series, but I'm thinking about a sequel. Thanks!

LadyEvils – Yeah, Rogues with the X-Men now and Lance and Kitty will be back soon!

Lyranfan – Newbies will be along soon! I thought Lance asking Xavier to read his mind was in character for his overprotective ways in this fic (and parts of the series). And I agree – Storms history could have provided some fun Evo moments.

Oceanbang – Magneto and Jean are in this chapter! And the new recruits will be along soon – I have evil plans for them, hahahaha!

XX-Goth-Gal – She did grow up as a pickpocket in Egypt, but in the comics she lost her powers for a while and did the whole black-leather-biker-chick thing. Rogue's gonna have an encounter with Jean in this very chapter…

Enfant-terrible – Thanks! This would have been up sooner if it wasn't so damn long!

UniversalAnimeGirl – I owe you a HUGE thank you for the link to the transcripts site! You've made my life so much easier (and there's actually a pic of Evil Jean on the site too!) The ah/I thing was a mistake (oops – hangs head in shame), but I'm gonna revise the chapter and sort it out. Lance and Kitty will be back and all questions concerning Asteroid M will be addressed in this chapter!

X00001 – Thanks! Rogue's here, and Kitty and Lance will be back.

Furygrrl – Magneto's gonna be an influence on Jean all right – and I'm beginning to think that the sequel is a certainty…

Disclaimer: Magneto ran interference on my computer and now the disclaimer has vanished in a rain of static. Yay Buckethead!

This chapter is really long. Better make yourself a coffee. And my apologies for butchering Kurt's accent!

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"Charles is hoping to allow Rogue back to school on Monday," Ororo told Logan as they walked down the corridor towards the Cerebro room. "He says that he's keeping her off to let her get over learning about Jean, but…"

"You think it's in case she goes after Mystique?" Logan grinned. "I know what a kid's thinking when they've been wronged. She'll want to settle that score personally. I know I would."

"Maybe she'll have calmed down after the weekend."

"Doubt it 'Ro."

"At least she's settling in alright. She seems to be getting on with the other students, particularly Scott. And it's nice not to be the only female in the mansion for a change."

"She's doing well in training too. She's focused. Probably determined to be a good enough fighter to beat Mystique or Jean one-on-one."

Arriving at the Cerebro room, Logan went inside and saw Charles already using the machine. "So, the new Cerebro's online,"

The Professor didn't even turn around. "Yes. And it's pinpointed the emergence of a new mutant, only partially developed."

"So what's the emergency?"
"His name is Alex Masters, once known as Alex Summers. Scott's brother."

"Brother? I thought Scott was the only one who survived that plane crash."

"Yes, so did I. And so does Scott. Have him meet us in the hangar. We're flying to Hawaii."

Logan was leaving when the Professor added, "Oh, and Logan – let's be prepared for trouble. I doubt we're the only ones with an interest in this young man."

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The sound of the X-Jets engine brought Evan and Rogue to the hangar on the run. They arrived just in time to see the jet fly away.

"Hey, what's the sitch?" yelled Evan. "I thought we were Hawaii-bound!"

Bamf!

"Here I am, ready to give my all to the cause. Hula hula!" Kurt did a little dance before noticing the hangar was suspiciously empty. "Oh man!"

"We got totally ditched!" Rogue pouted for a moment, then sighed. "Can't blame Scott. Ah mean, if ah was gonna meet a brother ah didn't know ah had, ah wouldn't want a crowd either. No way."

Kurt looked thoughtful for a moment, then looked up at the other two. "Hey, I'm thinking. Hawaii. Not the only beaches in the vorld, right?"

Evan and Rogue looked blank.

"Hello! Road trip anyone?"

"Al-right!" Evan grinned. "We'll leave a note for Auntie O and just take off!"

"Ja! Hey Rogue, vot do you – hey, where'd she go?"

Kurt and Evan hurried out of the hangar and saw Rogue heading for her room.

Bamf!

"Kurt! Stop popping in front of people, it's annoying."

"Don't you vant to go to ze beach?"
"Ah'll just get in the way. You guys go without me."

Evan walked up behind her. "But we want you to come."

"Is this because you were with ze Brotherhood?"

"Kinda." Rogue lowered her head slightly so her hair covered more of her face, a habit she'd developed to cover her nervousness. "Ah mean, this time last week, we were fighting against each other. A coupla training sessions together doesn't change that."

"But you're a part of ze family now!"

"Yeah girl," added Evan. "And while the Professor's away – "

"Ze kids can play!"

Rogue allowed herself a smile. "Ah guess it might be fun…"

"So let's meet in the garage in fifteen," said Evan. "I'll leave Auntie O a note. Time to party!"

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"Change of plans. They're on the move."

"Not for long."

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"Oh man, feel that ocean breeze." Rogue stretched out in the backseat of the car. "Ah've been going into meltdown all covered up like this. Ah hate it!"

"Yeah?" Kurt kept one hand on the wheel while he turned off his image inducer. "You should try being all blue and furry. It's murder!"

In the passenger seat, Evans eyes widened. "Kurt! The road!"

The winding road they were travelling down had cliffs above them, a sandy beach below. A rock from above was bouncing down the cliff, directly into their path. Kurt yanked the wheel hard to the right and the car left the road, slid down the fortunately slight slope and came to a shuddering halt on the sand. The boulder crashed onto the road where their car had been moments previously. As they looked towards it, they saw a figure leap from the spot from which the boulder had fallen and smacked heavily into the sand in front of them.

Blob.

"Come here often?"

On the road, Principal Darkholmes car pulled up – they hadn't even noticed it following them – and Quicksilver and Toad got out.

"Ah'm not going back to the Brotherhood!" Rogue got out of the car and glared at the boys.

"Who said this was about you?" asked Blob. "Traitor!"

"Time to prove yourself Evan." Pietro ran at super speed around Spyke, who barely had time to react before he was buried up to his neck in sand. Quicksilver stood at the top of the mound, laughing at Spykes attempts to free himself. "I got you beat and you know it Evan. I always speed to the top!"

"You're staying behind!" Blob ran at Nightcrawler with a roar. Kurt teleported away before he could be squashed. Unfortunately, he arrived behind a pile of rocks that Blob promptly crashed into, burying the elf beneath them.

Rogue leapt away from Toads slime attack, dodging and weaving until her back was to Darkholmes car. Believing he had her trapped, Toad shot his tongue out to grab her wrist, realising too late that he's missed and his tongue was now in the car. She slammed the door on it and he crashed into the side of the vehicle.

"Can't say ah much want your slimy thoughts in mah head Toad, but ah'm taking you out!"

"Relax Rogue." Pietro put a restraining hand on her shoulder. "It's over."

"Yeah and here comes your reward," said Blob, looking upwards at the three metal spheres heading their way.

Quicksilver smirked. "Looks like you're gonna be on our team after all."

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High above the earth, the mutant known as Magneto was showing his one-time friend and long-time adversary Charles Xavier around the structure he had called 'Asteroid M'. Charles was starting to be very concerned. The grand scale of the project had obviously taken years to prepare. Magneto had been working on his sanctuary all that time and Xavier had never even guessed.

"The gathering is complete. Just Wolverine and Sabretooth to go." Magneto went back into the main area of the asteroid, using his magnetic powers to pull Xavier's wheelchair behind him. "A storm is coming for mutantkind and our resolve must be iron-clad. Side with me, not against me!"

The Professor frowned. "Your invitation begs the question; what happens to those who won't come willingly?"

"If necessary, sometimes salvation must be force-fed."

Magneto indicated to the tubes against one wall of the room. Within the confines of two of them were Storm and Rogue. Xavier wheeled himself over, put his hand on the tube that held Storm and lowered his head. When he spoke, his voice was filled with barely suppressed anger.

"Magnus, you haven't saved them. You've abducted them!"

Quicksilver sped into the room, followed by Blob. They stood behind Magneto, smirking at the Professors outrage. Charles was stunned when he saw Jean Grey enter the room behind them. His first thought was that she looked terrible. Her skin was greyish, her eyes dull, her hair lank. Her whole posture as she joined the Brotherhood was one of exhaustion and defeat. She only managed a small tired smile when she saw Rogue unconscious within a tube.

"A certain amount of persuasion may still be needed, I'll admit," said Magneto. "But for every unbeliever, there is a new recruit."

A door slid open and two boys walked into the room. The first Charles recognised only from the picture on Cerebro had shown him – but his attention was taken up by the second boy, the first student of the Xavier Institute.

Scott. No.

"Scott, I – I don't understand…"

"Professor, wait." Scott walked over to the Professor. "We're just here to listen, that's all."

"What about them?" Xavier gestured to the two captive X-Men in the tubes. "Are they here to listen as well?"

Scott gasped as he noticed Storm and Rogues unconscious forms and turned angrily to Magneto. "Hey, what is this?"

"Simply a precaution Scott," replied Magneto calmly. "Not everyone has the maturity to accept the need for change as you do. Not yet."

"Let them out! Now!"

Scott put his hand to his shades, ready to release an optic blast. Blob placed himself in front of Magneto, ready to attack if Scott made a move.

Magneto brushed Fred aside. "I will. We just need to proceed cautiously. Trust me. They are perfectly safe."

{ARE they safe Scott? Are any of us safe? I know this man well. His motives cannot be trusted. He's bitter.}

Seeing Scott looking at Xavier, Magneto realised what was happening. With a thought, he pushed the Professors wheelchair backwards into an unoccupied tube. He had time for one barely coherent telepathic message –

{Logan! Lose the battle. Magneto is -}

- Before the tube closed around him and he slipped into unconsciousness.

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"Auntie O! Auntie O, where are you!" Evan looked around the ruined mansion, wondering what had caused the destruction and hoping Storm was unhurt.

There was a blur of blue and white as Mystique leapt into the midst of the group. "She's out. Can I take a message?"

Kurt and Evan stared at her in shock, but Toad, who they had brought back with them, began to snigger. "Hey, if you're still here, that mean's you're a loser too!"

Mystique grabbed the boy by the front of his uniform and lifted him off his feet. "Don't EVER call me that!"

"Then vot are you here for?" asked Kurt.

Dropping Toad, she turned to face the elf with an expression he couldn't quite fathom. "Simple truth – nobody discards me, especially not Magneto, after all I've done for him…all I've lost…" She trailed off for a moment then pulled herself together, never taking her gaze off Kurt. "So I'm paying him a visit. We can go together, or I can go alone."

"Oh, you won't be alone."

The group turned to see Wolverine enter the mansion, his clothes torn and bloody. He glared at them, daring them to comment. "If Magneto's got our friends, then we're going after him."

Mystique nodded. "Good. But I know the man, so I'm calling the shots."

"Humph." Logan got into her face, which would have been more intimidating had she not been a good half a foot taller than him. "Then get your own ride. X-Men, let's go."

He stalked out of the room, followed by Kurt and Evan. Mystique stared after them for a moment, Toad crouched beside her, until she reached a decision.

"Oh all right, fine. But I expect to be consulted."

Logan gave no indication that he'd even heard her, but Kurt glanced over his shoulder at the woman, troubled. He couldn't get the expression on her face when she'd looked at him out of his mind.

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Scott glared at the huge machine Magneto was showing them. A genetic enhancer? A device that would allow him to stop wearing the visor, the symbol of his uncontrollable mutation?

He couldn't take it all in.

"I want them released." He indicated to his three imprisoned teammates.

"They will be," replied Magneto. "But only after you've gone through the transformation. I want them to see what I'm offering. And it is an offer Scott. I won't force you to go through it."

"And we're just supposed to trust this thing works? You go through it then!"

"I already have. I'm fully advanced. But why don't I provide you with a real, first-hand demonstration."

Magneto turned to face the Brotherhood.

"Jean?"

Scott had noticed Jean was on the asteroid, but he'd been too distracted to dwell on the fact. Now, for the first time, he realised how ill she looked. She was conscious and walking, but it was obvious that she was using every last ounce of her energy to keep her powers under control – and she was almost out of strength.

Slowly, she walked into the enhancer and Magneto used his powers to close the door. The machine emitted a high-pitched whine and the assembled mutants gasped as a red glow was seen around the door.

Magneto addressed them all. "In a few moments she will emerge – reborn."

To Scott, it took an age for the machine to finish what it was doing. He may not like Jean, but nor did he want to see her hurt by that thing.

When the door opened and the girl stepped out, Scott was stunned by the transformation. Gone was the unhealthy pallor and the tired posture. She floated, hair floating around her face, eyes aglow, a disbelieving look on her face.

"The voices. They're gone!" She grinned at Magneto in sheer delight. "I'm in control!"

Magneto turned his attention to the brothers. "Boys, it's time to reach your full potential."

"What do you think Scott?" Alex rubbed his knuckles and Scott knew that his brother was once more suffering the ache that had plagued his joints for months. "I want to, but not without you."

Scott thought about it for a moment. The visor enabled him to see, controlled his powers…

But they leech the colour from the world; mean I can never see without them, I'm a danger to everyone around me without them…

He nodded at Alex and the two boys stepped into the enhancer.

"And now for an appreciative audience." Using his powers, Magneto activated some of the controls of the tubes, allowing the X-Men to regain consciousness but leaving them imprisoned.

Rogue was the first to take stock of the situation and began hammering her fists against the glass. "Scott! No, don't!"

Professor X sent the boy an urgent telepathic message. {Scott, I know what Magneto is doing. That thing will alter your mind; get out of there please!}

For a second Scott hesitated, then turned. Magneto closed the door before the boy had taken two steps towards the exit.

"Too late Charles. He's mine now."

Jean grinned as she noticed the shocked looks on the X-Men's faces. She saw Rogue in one of the tubes – it figured that the Goth would join them after learning of the truth. Still, it was an easy fix. Jeans mind had never felt so clear, free of all doubts of the morality of her actions. And her powers had never been so strong…

She walked in front of the tubes, relishing the way Rogues eyes narrowed in hatred. "Hi darling. Miss me?"

"Ah'm gonna get you for what you did to me, you bitch."

"Tough talk for a girl in a tube."

The exchange was broken off by the sound of the enhancer opening. Everyone looked toward the two figures emerging – Scott and Alex, transformed.

"Come," Magneto said to them. "The world awaits you."

Alex flexed his hands, a look of happy incredulity on his face. "Pain's gone!"

Magneto rested a hand on his shoulder. "And you shall be called Havok." He turned his attention to Cyclops. "Go on Scott, show us the colour of your eyes."
Cyclops removed his eyes and blinked tentatively, unable to believe his eyes were uncovered, he could see, yet there was no path of destruction.

"Another benefit of your enhancements," said Magneto. "Your minds. They're purged of useless emotion. You should have a clearer perspective of our roles on Earth…"

His speech was interrupted by and alarm going off, accompanied by flashing warning lights. Jean narrowed her eyes as she telepathically scanned the area around the asteroid. "Aircraft."

"Really. Let's see who it is."

Magneto released a wave of magnetic energy into the atmosphere surrounding Asteroid M. Nothing. He frowned and tried again. And again. Finally he realised.

"No metal!"

He glared at Charles, who shrugged modestly, with the slightest suggestion of a smile. Furious, he turned to Scott and Alex.

"Boys, defend us!"

In the Velocity, Wolverine stared at the visual he got on the figures emerging from the asteroid. "Scott?"

He couldn't quite believe it when Cyclops and the boy beside him – his brother, had to be – used their powers to blast the aircraft. The damage was instant and so massive that Logan could barely wrestle the craft towards the asteroids landing strip. Realising what was going to happen, Scott and Alex ran back into Asteroid M, to no avail. The Velocity smashed through the entrance and slid to a halt against the wall, the resulting tremor loosening the structure and burying the brothers under a pile of rubble.

The hatch opened and Mystique poked her head out. "Knock knock."

"Mystique!" Magnetos eyes were wide with disbelief and anger. "You never could take 'no' for an answer!"

With a cry of rage, Mystique leapt at him.

Wolverine noted the situation and jumped on top of the tubes holding the three X-Men captive. He used his claws to sever the wires connected to the tubes and they opened, freeing the trio.

"Where's the X-Jet?" Logan yelled at Xavier.

"Observation deck. That way."

"Gather there – "

Logan's words were cut short as Sabretooth slammed into him, knocking him to the floor.

Professor Xavier looked at the others. "Storm, prepare the X-Jet. Rogue, go help the others. I'll try to contact Scott and Alex."

Nightcrawler experienced a moment of déjà vu as an enraged Blob lumbered towards him. Kurt held his position as long as he dared. "A body in motion –"

Bamf!

" – Stays in motion!" Kurt watched as the other boy crashed into a wall, causing more masonry to fall.

Magneto used his powers to throw all the metal knocked loose in the various skirmishes at Mystique. She was able to dodge most of them and just as it looked like she would be struck, Toad caught the object with his tongue. He threw it at Sabretooth but missed, instead hitting an electrical box and creating a large explosion, which further rocked the asteroid.

No one noticed Jean approaching Mystique.

"Come back for more, eh Evan?" Quicksilver ran in circles around Spyke, grinning at his adversary.

"Hey, been here, done this. New game!" Evan threw down a wall of spikes, causing Pietro to put on the brakes.

"Whoa, tyre hazard!"

The two boys glared at each other for a few seconds, then Evan smirked. Pietro turned too late as Rogue put an ungloved hand on his face and knocked him out. She looked around and noticed Jean Grey watching Magneto and Mystique do battle. This was too good an opportunity to pass up…

Magneto had run out of things to hurl at Mystique and was about to tear more directly out of the walls when the woman stopped advancing, a dazed expression on her face. Magneto could see Jean behind the shapeshifter, her hands to her temples, her eyes wide.

The telepath tore into the other woman's mind. Previously Mystique had been one of the few people who's thoughts she was unable to read, but with her enhancements it was a simple task. She could scarcely believe what she found in the metamorphs memories.

{A house in Caldicott County, Mississippi. A room with photographs of Rogue adorning the walls, not that they were of much use to the woman living there, who had the dark glasses and the white cane that denoted blindness.

"What is this vision of yours Destiny?"

Through Mystiques eyes, Jean saw Irene fiddle with her cane. "I foresee two different paths the future may take. It centres on a girl, Jean Grey. In one future, she joins Xavier's group, becomes a valuable addition to their side, aids in their defeat of your team time and time again."

"And the other possibility?"

"We get to her first. Tomorrow, she will tell her parents of her abilities. Their initial reaction will make her feel misunderstood and she will run away from home. Her bus doesn't come and she returns to find her parents frantic about her absence. Xavier visits her the following morning."

"Unless I approach her as she awaits her bus."

"Exactly. She will aid our cause, but this future is shadowed, in doubt. She will be an asset to us in many ways, but she may also create problems. I can't be sure."

"It's nothing I can't handle Irene. Where is it that I'll find this Jean Grey?"}

Jeans thoughts raced with the implications. Never had she considered that Mystique might have manipulated her as easily as she had the others, might have deceived her about her future - but her life was supposed to have been different.

And my parents would have taken me back, maybe they weren't…

Her train of thought was abruptly cut off. Rogue had crept behind Jean and put a hand on her face. In spite of the enhancements, just a brief touch knocked her out.

Mystiques eyes refocused. Jean had held her mind for just a few seconds, but it had been all the time Magneto needed to hurl a large chunk of metal at the woman. It hit Mystique and knocked her backwards, straight into the enhancer.

Magnetos expression was a combination of fury and panic. "No! My enhancer!" He flew into the machine after her; just scant seconds before the door closed on them both.

Another explosion shook the asteroid. Rogue stumbled for a moment, then used Quicksilver's powers to speed over to where the Professor was trying to contact Scott, he and his brother still buried.

{Scott, are you alright?}

Rogue used Jeans telekinesis to lift rubble off the heap covering the boys. She wasn't sure enough of the vague telepathic powers she had taken to sense Scott or Alex's thoughts, but it looked as if Xavier was getting no response. She concentrated on the task at hand, trying to quell the fear growing inside her. Since Jean had lost her control over the minds of the Brotherhood members, Rogue could remember all the times that Scott had reached out to her, tried to gain her trust and friendship. All the feelings that Jean had tried to suppress were slowly returning.

There was another explosion as sparks from smaller blasts reached the control panel for the containment tubes. Blob, recovered from his headlong crash into the wall, almost lost his footing as the ground shook. "Hey, this rock's cracking up!"

Todd hopped past him. "Now let's make like a toad and hop to it!"

"Toad?" Blob hadn't noticed his teammate arrive in the Velocity. "Hey, whose side are you on?"

"The side that lives. C'mon!"

Storm was using her powers to try to force he way through the rubble blocking the path to the observation deck and the X-Jet. Hearing a yell behind her, she moved aside just in time. Blob ran at the blockage, clearing it instantly. He and Toad headed for the jet, not looking back. Evan raced after them, an unconscious Pietro slung over his shoulder. Kurt paused in front of Storm.

"Scott and his brother are still buried and Wolverine's got his hands full."
"Go!" Storm watched Kurt run after the others before creating a whirlwind and going back for those left behind. Seeing Logan cornered, she caught Sabretooth in the tornado and swept him through a wall.

Feeling Jeans powers beginning to desert her, Rogue desperately struggled to move more of the pile burying Scott and Alex. To her relief, there was a burst of energy from beneath the rubble, scattering it. The brothers stood up and glanced around the ruins of Asteroid M.

Scott turned to the Professor, red eyes glowing. "You and the others, you're ruining everything. This was our chance to unite!"

"Unite?" Rogue could barely believe the change in the uptight but good-hearted team leader. "You can't be serious. Look what Magneto did to you!"

"He's helped me. I'm evolved. No more training, no more hurdles – my powers are at my mercy!"

"Yeah, and you used that control to blast your friends. How united is that?" Rogue looked straight into Scott's eyes, reflecting on how strange it was to see him without his shades or visor. "When ah first got to Bayville, you reached out to me. Ah was lonely and confused and scared, but you got me to trust you. You really believed there might be a way for humans and mutants to live together. The Scott Summers ah know would never try to hurt anyone, let alone his friends. That's not united!"

"You don't understand," snarled Alex. "We are the future!"

Rogue never took her eyes from Scott's. "Is that right Scott? Ah mean, are you the future? The Scott ah knew had a dream about the future. But you? If you're the future, ah don't want any part of it." She turned her back on the pair and left, the effect spoiled somewhat when she misjudged how much of Quicksilver's power she still had and sped away.

Professor Xavier frowned at the brothers. "You're right, mutants shouldn't be divided. But we didn't draw the line. Magneto did. And it's still there – you just crossed over it."

As the Professor left, Scott sighed and hung his head. "Oh man. What was I thinking?"

The Professor was the last person to the X-Jet. Rogue listened to him and Logan talking about the brothers, looking despondently across the asteroid. She was the first to see the two figures running to the craft. "It's them!"

A shudder ran through the asteroid and the already weakened landing strip crumbled. Logan had to take off and Rogue was forced to cling to the side of the entrance to stay on board. She saw the ground beneath Scott and Alex tilt, the pair slid down the asphalt and then they were airborne, plummeting toward the icy asteroid below.

The brothers linked hands and unleashed their powers on their landing spot, slowing their fall and melting the ice so that they landed in a pool of water, shaken but unhurt. The X-Jet landed near them, ready for them to board.

Above them, Asteroid M went ominously quiet. Two metal spheres shot out of the structure. A moment later, the entire asteroid was engulfed in flames. There was a final, massive explosion and suddenly the asteroid was falling toward the group of mutants.

Scott and Alex focused their powers on the flaming structure. For a moment, it seemed that they would fail – then the asteroid broke up, the chunks of rock missing them, not large enough to do major damage to the jet or the ice asteroid. The destruction of the enhancer released a wave of the same energy that had evolved the brothers. Caught in its wake, Scott and Alex fell to their knees, their enhancements negated. Scott closed his eyes and covered them hurriedly before he could hurt anyone.

"Scott?"

"Rogue? Is everyone OK?"

"See for yourself."

The rest of the X-Men climbed out of the jet and gathered around Scott, Alex and Rogue. Fred and Todd got out after them but didn't join the group, instead resting against a block of ice near the jet.

"So what's gonna happen to us?" asked Todd.

Fred shrugged. "Dunno. Everyone's left the Brotherhood. Just you, me and Pietro, I guess."

"Some one say my name?" Pietro climbed out of the craft. "Did we win?"

Blob snorted. "Do we ever?"

"Oh." Pietro glared over at the X-Men. Anything get out before the place blew? A metal sphere?"

Toad shot Pietro a suspicious look. "Yeah, two of them."

"Then Magneto's still out there. And so is Mystique."

"Uh, Pietro," said Fred hesitantly. "What about Jean?"

"Hey, Magneto wouldn't enhance her powers then leave her there." Quicksilver looked uncharacteristically serious. "Jean's gonna be back too. Believe it."