A/N: Yes, yes, I know. It has been a long time since I last posted. Life completely got in the way. I'll try not to make y'all wait so long next time, promise. Oh, and I can't remember who left me a comment about Storm's name (sorry), but I checked it out. Ororo is her name...Aurora is the name of Northstar's sister. Alright, once again, I do not own the X-men, I just play with them and there is no intent on making any money, otherwise I would have posted sooner because I am poor. bows Thank you.

"Bring him here." Mystique's voice can be heard from a corner of a brightly lit room. Chamber is led off the elevator and through the door.

::So you gonna bloody off me now?:: He projects.

"Quite the opposite, dear boy," says Magneto, entering the room from the other side, moving opposite the indigo-skinned woman. "We need you very much alive. You are no good to us dead."

::Somehow, that's not as comforting as it should be.::

"My brother?" Alex Summers starts. "That's impossible."

Rogue shakes her head. "It's true. Scott is an X-Man named Cyclops. That's what John was talking about…looking into the eye of a Cyclops. It was a dig at you and Scott." Alex nods.

"That shit," Alex says, slumping into a crouch on the floor, head in hands.

"He looked for you," Rogue says, placing a gloved palm on the man's shoulder. "When he was old enough. Xavier, too. They were told you simply had immunity, and not the x-gene. Scott still felt bad about the accident."

"The plane crash? It wasn't his fault." Alex answers.

Rogue shakes her head sadly. "No, when he fell, he hit you with an optic blast." Alex looks up at the girl.

"They're a lot like yours, but they come from his eyes. That's why you couldn't hurt me. It's some sort of genetic thing named after you two, actually."

"Really?" Alex asks, overwhelmed at the information.

Rogue smiles reassuringly. "Look..." She stops, trying to decide whether or not to trust the man in front of her. "They're coming to get me. The X-Men. Scott's leading the team. What do you know about what's going on?"

Alex looks at the girl, confused. "I'm not sure completely. I know Erik said something about needing a mutant, I guess Chamber, to run the machine."

In a swell of anger, Rogue pulls the man up by the collar. "What machine? Is that what's in the basement? What does it do?"

Alex shrugs helplessly. "I don't know. He talked about how he was going to make the world safer for mutants. He took the plans from the government. Do you see? Our world is going to get better."

Rogue slumps, releasing Alex once again. "Not really. Whatever it does, it'll kill a lot of people."

"But mutants will be safe," Alex says, grabbing her shoulders, trying to get her to understand.

Rogue grows very serious. "And everyone else will die."

Alex blinks, dumbstruck. "Lehnsherr never said that."

"He's tried something like this before. Remember Liberty Island? That was him. I almost died that night." She indicates her skunk stripe. "Got a nifty little souvenir in the proc..."

Rogue stops, a panicked expression forming on her face. "Oh God, Alex." She grabs his face between her gloved palms. "Alex, tell me, is there anyone else, anyone other than Jono and I, being held here?"

Her heart bottoms out as he nods his head, eyes filled with understanding.

Storm eases the jet down in a small clearing a little way from Magneto's mansion. Cyclops turns to look at the mammoth form manning the control panel behind. "Beast, what are you picking up on the sweep?"

"I have triangulated the exact location of the dwelling, but I cannot access the schematics." Hank responds.

"Sounds like front door time," Logan says, rubbing his hands together. He can already feel his claws itching for a fight, the wolverine barely under the surface. He knows he's close; he can nearly smell Rogue.

"No, it is too big of a risk. If Chamber gets hurt, he could take out the entire mansion," Storm says.

"Nightcrawler, you're going to have to teleport us in," Cyclops says, turning to the indigo, demon-like man behind him.

"Nein," Kurt Wagner objects."I can't. I could teleport into a wall. I cannot see where I am going."

"There is no other safe way to enter," the Beast says.

"It's impossible. It can't be done like that. I've only teleported blind once, and that was only a few feet. You want me to do it at an angle, underground. Impossible. I'll kill myself, and whoever I have with me."

"Wait," Kitty Pryde says, standing. The attention of the entire team rests on the girl. "Once you teleport once, you'll know where you're going, right?"

"Well, ja, assuming I don't splice myself into a wall, I could teleport back and forth." Kurt answers. Bobby Drake smiles, understanding Kitty's plan.

Kitty looks sternly at the elder X-Men. "Get us as close to the house as you can. Nightcrawler and I will get in first."

"But... a wall…" Kurt starts.

"A wall is no match for our Shadowcat," Storm says proudly.

"Do you know how we know about you?" Erik Lehnsherr asks the faceless mutant in front of him.

::Nope. Why don't ye tell me, yeah?::

"You visited the United States once before, didn't you?" Mystique asks. Jonothan Starsmore turns his attention to her once more. " Right after your mutation manifested?"

::So what? I went to see Dr. McCoy and Dr. Richards. They couldn't help me.::

"They're still working on that, did you know?" Mystique asks.

Jono shook his head. He believed both men had forgotten about it the moment he had left. They were busy men, after all.

"You passed through customs, and got a file in Col. William Stryker's office. That is where we found you." Magneto says calmly.

"That's where we got the plans for this little thing here," Mystique says, indicating the massive machine in the center of the equally massive room.

::What's it do?:: Jono asks.

"What it does now isn't nearly as important as what it was supposed to do," Magneto says, advancing on the boy.

::Right. So what was it supposed to do?::

"It was designed to destroy the x-gene. To leach your mutation forcibly from your body." Magneto says menacingly, coming nose to nose with the young Englishman. "Quite unpleasant, I assure you."

::So if that's what the bloody thing did, what the hell does it do now?:: Jono questions.

"It works backwards, of course," Pyro says exasperatedly. The room is quiet while the members of the Brotherhood look to their youngest member.

Toad that breaks the silence.

"John, lad?"

"What?"

"Don't help."

As Kitty looks at the team, she feels incredibly small.

"You'll be fine, Katzchen." Kurt smiles. She holds out her small, pale hand, with its five tapered fingers. Kurt envelopes her hand in his own dark, three-pronged grip.

"Ready?" she asks with a small smile

Kurt nods. The last thing Kitty sees before she is teleported is Bobby's worried face. The next thing she knows, she is slipping through thick adamantium. She lands lightly on her feet as Kurt tumbles onto the floor in a heap.

"I'm going to be sick," he moans.

"That can happen sometimes," Kitty says, rubbing large circles on the German's back. "Think you can get us back?"

"Ja," Kurt says, standing once more. Even through midnight blue skin, he looks quite green. "We should get back."

She nods and takes his hand. In a moment, she is looking into the expectant faces of her teammates once more.

::So you want me to provide the power for this machine?:: Chamber says, accent growing thick with smugness. ::Somehow, I don't see that happening.::

"We could always unwrap you," Toad says, tongue snapping out like a whip from across the room, tugging slightly at a strip of leather until an orange, iridescent glow peeks its way out. Toad's tongue returns to him once more in the blink of an eye.

::That's bloody good, mate. Unwrap me and I'll be the only one walking out of here today. Saves a lot of time, really, yeah?" A cocky look crosses the remnants of the Englishman's face.

"We modified the machine, to protect our own intests." Mystique explains.

::Good to know. What does it do now?::

"Now it will simply copy the mutation from one person and pass it on to another mutant without harming the other person," Magneto says. "Or so we hope. It's all quite experimental."

Jono's eyes follow the blue skinned woman over to a small metal devise on the wall and pressing a button. "Havok."

Kitty reaches out and grabs Logan's hand, while Dr. Hank McCoy's large blue paw swallows her smaller hand whole. The rest of the team watches Logan's eyes grow wide as the three of them sink below the earth. Hank grins.

"It takes a bit to get used to, ja?" Kurt grins toothily. Logan nods before being encased in the ground.

"Ready to go?" Kurt asks, offering both of his hands. Scott takes one hand while Ororo steps closer, allowing Kurt to drape his arm across her waist while his tail wraps around her leg. She knows from their Danger Room training that it's easier for him to teleport more than one person if they are closer to him. She scrunches her eyes shut, just like every other time.

Peter Rasputin and Bobby Drake watch all three of their teachers disappear in a bamf of smoke and imploding air. In an instant, Kurt reappears just long enough to grab the back of Remy LeBeau's duster and yank. Iceman and Colossus see Remy lose his balance, falling backward, disappearing into the brimstone stench long before he even comes close to hitting the ground.

Bobby looks up at Peter. "Think they forgot us?"

Peter regards his teammate. "Maybe."

Both boys do not see the top half of Kitty emerge from the ground below their feet. Kitty grabs both of their hands and phases all three into the ground below.

Bobby looks down with a grin. "'Bout time, Pryde."

"Shut up, Drake."

With the team reassembled at a four-way cross-section of hallway, Storm hands out communicators.

"They fit in your ear," she tells the newest members, and watches as each fits them in their ear in turn. "They are small and plastic. Hopefully Magneto will not be able to use them against us."

"Good. Hank, Remy, Peter, pick one direction." Cyclops says indicating the hallways.

Hank looks at Scott and grins. He then nudges the lanky Cajun next to him. "Remy, walk to each hall and tell me how you feel."

"Remy doin' what?" he asks, confused.

Scott returns the smile of the furry doctor. "Just do it," he says reassuringly.

Remy walks to the first hallway, and clenches his hands into tight fists. "Anger," he answers, almost bearing his teeth.

"Sound like that tunnel's playing my song," Logan growls. "Come on," he growls, grabbing Kitty's sleeve. Bobby follows.

"It's angry? Oh great," Kitty's voice echoes as the trio proceeds down the hall.

Remy walks to the next passageway. "Everything is calm here."

"We'll go that way and see where it leads," Storm says looking from Kurt to Scott. "There may be another way out." Cyclops nods in agreement. Kurt and Ororo disappear around a corner.

Remy walks to the third corridor and begins to tremble. "I'm confused. Scared. Angry." He pauses. "Smug, even. Weird, neh?"

"Sounds like that is where the Brotherhood is gathered," the Beast observes. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes," Scott says. "I can feel Rogue down the fourth tunnel. There's only one other person with her, I think. I'll get her and meet you." Scott turns and disappears down the fourth path.

"Dr. McCoy, what was that all about?" Colossus asks.

"Yeah, Remy don't know what he doin'," the Cajun adds.

Hank smiles. "Your Miss Rogue was able to tell us more about your particular physiological blessings of which you yourself may not even be aware."

Remy looks dumbfounded.

Hank sighs, moving down the hall. "You're an empath, kid," he whispers to Remy. "I'll explain it to you later." Both Remy and Peter follow the feline man down the passageway toward the lab.

"Alex, who is it?" Rogue asks, hands still resting on his face, insuring his attention is firmly hers. The man shrugs under her hands.

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

"A boy."

"What can he do?" Rogue prompts, growing nervous.

"I don't know," Alex says, growing frustrated at not having the answers.

"Think. Did they call him anything? A name, a code name, anything? Did Magneto say anything about seeing him before? Please, think," Rogue pleads.

The buzz from the intercom by the door grabs Alex's attention. He looks at Rogue, who nods. He walks purposefully to the wall.

"Yes, Mystique?" Alex's voice is clear and strong. Ah guess the ability to slip in and out of leader mode is genetic,Rogue thinks.

The Logan in her head snickers. Told you he was born a dick.

"Havok, bring my daughter..." Mystique pauses for emphasis, knowing Marie can hear every word. She looks over her shoulder to watch the look of dread in Jono's eyes. "...to the basement. Bind her hands."

"Right away." Havok replies with such focus and readiness to comply with the order that Marie fears that she has placed her hope in the wrong hands.

"Oh, and Havok?"

"Yes?" Alex answers.

"Watch her skin."

"Of course," Alex answers, releasing the button and expelling the sigh held in his chest.

He turns to look at Rogue. "The X-Men are coming to get you?"

"Yes."

"Scott is coming to get you?"

"Yes," she answers again.

"Then you're going to need to get a look at what you're up against. I think it might be best to bring you, like she wants." Alex says, unsure.

"So you're tyin' me up and draggin' me to the basement, then, aren't ya, sugah?" Rogue questions, grabbing her coat and sliding her arms in the sleeves with a flurry of green fabric.

"Yes I am," Alex says grabbing hold of a pair of gloves resting in the chair next to him and sliding them on his hands. "The question is, are you going to make this difficult for me?"

"That all depends," the young girl says, taking a step backward into a more defensive stance. "Do I have an ally?"

Alex stops and grows quiet. "If you're telling the truth, you have nothing to worry about."

"If Scott comes…" Rogue starts, breathing labored.

"…then I will do everything in my power to fight with you. If he doesn't, then I will make sure you make it out of this alive…so I can strangle you with my bare hands."

Rogue locks eyes with the man before deliberately turning her back, wrists touching behind her back.

Both mutants stand for what seems like an eternity before Rogue looks over her left shoulder at the man.

"We have a deal, Mr. Summers."

Alex nods as he grabs a length of rope off a side table.

In the silence, only their heavy boots mark their presence. Scott can feel his heart beating in his chest. Last time, he couldn't do anything to save his teammate. This time he can. With a deep breath and a malice-laden grin, he steps out of the shadows.

Rogue sees Scott's form moments before he steps into the light.

"Scott!" She sighed aloud in relief. Alex looks down at the girl, eyes wide. She then sees Scott's hand on his visor. Her eyes dart to Alex, and her mind instantly snaps to the picture this creates—her bound and led by an unknown man towards God knows what.

"Scott, no!" Rogue calls. It is too late. Scott's red optic blast strikes Alex square in the chest, a perfect shot.

Rogue spins on her heels and drops to her knees at Alex's side. "Alex. Alex, wake up." Scott hears her say. He grabs Marie's arm to help her up and is surprised when she struggles against him. She looks up at him with wide eyes.

"Scott, help him. It's Alex. It's your brother."