As the wildlife of the Savage Land were going about their business, Vlad, Xavier, and Magneto were currently climbing up a cliff.
"Are you sure this is wise, Charles?" Magneto.
"If you know another way to get to my plane, I'm open to suggestions." Xavier replied.
"I should have sent someone else to investigate the energy source." Vlad muttered to himself quietly. "But no, you thought it would be better if you did it yourself. It's just like that time I tried to steal the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage from Pariah Dark."
Magneto's foot ended up causing a rock to almost knock Xavier off.
"Careful, Magneto!" Xavier warned.
"My apologies, Charles." Magneto apologized. "I'm used to surmounting cliffs with far more ease."
"I know the feeling." Vlad said.
"How much further?" Xavier asked.
"Trust me, you'd rather not know." Magneto said.
"There's so much I don't know about this Savage Land." Xavier told him.
They heard the screech of a pterodactyl and saw three of them with men riding them.
"We're under attack!" Xavier cried.
"Skyriders!" Magneto shouted.
One of the Skyriders threw their spear at Magneto, but the mutant managed to move out of the way.
Xavier threw a rock at a pterodactyl, causing it to stop and collide with another, sending them and their riders to the river down below.
"Nicely played, Charles." Magneto praised.
The third one was flying towards them when Vlad grabbed a nearby tree that was growing out of the cliff and kicked the rider down to join his friends.
With no more obstacles, they continued climbing until they reached the top, which was covered in snow.
"We made it." Magneto said in exhaustion.
Xavier smiled in relief to see his jet was still intact. "I knew it had survived."
"Miraculously, as we did." Magneto said.
"Not for long!" Amphibius said as he appeared along with Barbarus, the hypnotic woman they met back at the bridge, and some snowy monster covered in white fur.
"My mutates!" Magneto cried.
"Oh, please do not abandon us again, former master." Amphibius taunted.
Amphibius tried to tackle Magneto, only to be thrown head-first into a rock.
"Foolish Amphibius." His former master scolded. "Don't you know you cannot challenge your creator?"
"No longer!" Barbarus placed Magneto in a headlock.
Xavier was ambushed by the white wolf, whose name was Lupo. Vlad went to rescue his friend, only to be captured by Amphibius.
The three old men were brought before the female of the group.
"Look away, you two!" Magneto warned his allies. "Do not look directly into her eyes!"
"You speak as if he had a choice." The woman said smugly as she tried to invade their minds. "Surrender your will to me, outlanders. Succumb to the power of Vertigo."
Despite their attempts to resist, they found themselves bent to Vertigo's will.
"They will give you no further trouble." Vertigo stated.
"Excellent." Amphibius said as they escorted the prisoners. "Now we take them to the master! It is for him to decide whether they live as his slaves or perish like the dogs they are."
In the Blackbird, the X-Men received a mysterious message.
"Play that message again, Jean." Scott requested. "I want to be sure."
Jean played the message, and the two, along with Wolverine, who was with them, heard Morph's voice.
"I want to come back." Morph said, before his tone changed to one of panic. "No! Get out of here! Hurry! Branston Theatre. I need you now! Wolverine!"
"If that ain't Morph, I'll eat the Blackbird." Wolverine said. "You're coming home, pal."
At the theater, the audience was watching the latest show.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
"Does true evil exist in this sorry world?" The actor playing Jekyll held up a glass of some strange liquid. "When I drink this potion of my own devising, the secret shall at last be mine."
The X-Men pushed their way through the crowd, with Wolverine in the lead.
"It is him." Wolverine said in regards to the actor. "Let's grab him."
"Wait!" Scott whispered. "Let him finish."
Jekyll drank the liquid as his body shook in pain. "No! The pain! The terrible torment! Henry Jekyll cannot endure such utter agony, but it matters not to Edward Hyde!" By the end, Jekyll had grown muscular enough that his clothes were ripped apart.
The audience applauded the scene, thinking that it was a really impressive special effect.
The actor bowed and went backstage.
"Come on, we don't want to lose him." Scott said as they went after him.
As they went backstage, they were being watched by Mr. Sinister, who laughed.
"Nice performance, friend." Scott complimented as they met with the actor in his dressing room.
"Who are you?" He asked
"You can cut the act, Morph." Wolverine said. "We got your invitation."
The actor made a shushing motion with his finger before he answered. "Morph? Never heard of him, stranger. My name's Murphy."
"Morph, what's wrong?" Jean asked him.
The actor finally transformed, revealing that it was indeed Morph.
"Get away from here!" He demanded. "Now! I know he's watching."
Sinister was indeed watching.
"He wants Danny." Morph said. "He has the professor. He..."
Morph cried in pain as Sinister pressed a button on his wrist, causing the shapeshifter to fall to his knees in pain.
"The professor?" Scott exclaimed.
Jean tried to comfort her friend. "Don't worry, Morph. We won't leave you."
Wolverine heard one of the curtains rip as he got ready to fight.
"Come on, batface! Show yourself!" He pulled out his claws.
A purple hand appeared under the curtain and grabbed Logan's ankle.
He was pulled to the other side to be greeted by Gorgeous George, who threw him into the arms of Slab.
"Gotcha, shorty." Slab said.
"Careful with the others." Sinister said. "They're not as tough as this one."
In the Savage Land, the mutates were walking their captives to their base, not knowing they were being watched.
In the bushes was a man with long, blonde hair wearing very little clothing. Next to him was a sabretooth tiger that growled.
"Quiet, Zabu." The man said. "Now is not the time." He then started to follow the group, with Zabu following.
"While the mutates fight against Magneto, perhaps we can use their struggle against them." The man said as he turned to his right to go down a different path. "Come, my brother, there is much we must do. Then, when the moment is right, Ka-Zar will have his revenge."
Ka-Zar then spotted the triceratops. "There, Zabu! The three horns we saw before." He started to approach them. "Come, brother, I will need your strength."
Ka-Zar ran towards the dinosaurs as he yelled at them. "Run, three-horns! Flee for your lives!"
The dinosaurs did that as they started running. Zabu managed to steer their path toward the mutates.
Amphibius heard the sound of stomping. "What is that sound?"
"Like thunder, coming closer!" Barbarus said.
"But I see no clouds." Vertigo pointed out.
"By the master." Barbarus saw the dinosaurs charging at them. No!"
The group managed to get out of the way of the stampede, while Ka-Zar, who was riding one of the triceratops, jumped off and tackled Barbarus.
"Ka-Zar!" Barbarus was surprised to see him here.
Ka-Zar then turned to the freed captives. "This way! Follow me!"
"Who?" Xavier was about to ask Magneto, who had started following Ka-Zar.
"No time to explain, Charles." Magneto said.
"You heard him, run." Vlad said as he and Xavier ran with them.
"Pigs, you let them get away!" Barbarus screamed at his fellow mutates.
"The master will not be pleased." Amphibius said.
The group stopped running as Xavier thanked their savior. "Thank you. You saved our..."
He didn't get to finish as Ka-Zar grabbed him and Magneto with each arm.
"Keep your gratitude!" Ka-Zar said. "Who are you, and why have you brought the devil Magneto back to our land?" He threw Magneto to the ground and put Xavier down. "If he had not created those cursed mutates, our people would not be enslaved, and my wife would not be a prisoner!"
Ka-Zar made a move to attack Magneto, but Vlad and Xavier held him back.
The savage man broke out their grip and continued to fight Magneto.
"That's enough." Xavier got in between them. "Whatever his past crimes, Magneto is not to blame for your current troubles. The mutate called Amphibius told us he was obeying the orders of someone he called master."
"Perhaps he means Sauron." Ka-Zar presumed. "He and your mutates have enslaved the people of this land, taking many to your citadel, including my beloved Shanna."
"Then she must be the one we saw carried off by Sauron." Xavier realized, remembering the woman who was captured by the Pteranodon. "What can we do to help you?"
"I should trust him?" Ka-Zar said, referring to Magneto.
"You don't have much choice." Magneto retorted.
"My friend, sometimes you must make strange alliances if you want to survive." Vlad said wisely.
Ka-Zar saw Vlad's point, but he still didn't like it. "If Magneto betrays me again, you, Xavier, shall suffer my vengeance." He took out his dagger and started to sketch in the dirt. "Tonight we raid the citadel and free my captive people, or perish trying."
Scott confronted Sinister. "What have you done with Xavier?"
"Scott. Jean." Sinister greeted. "How good to see you again." He turned to the Nasty Boys. "Kindly go collect our guests."
"I shall go to great lengths to be of service." Gorgeous George said as he made a beeline towards Scott, who fired his optic blast, but although it made a hole in him, it didn't deter him as he captured Scott in his fist while Hairbag grabbed hold of Jean.
"Two X-Men, gift wrapped." Gorgeous George quipped.
"Very thoughtful, George." Sinister praised. "Now let's..."
Sinister was slashed from behind by Wolverine, who then tackled Ruckus.
The evil mutant's wounds healed as he got up. "Enough!" He blasted Wolverine into a tree.
"Wolverine." Jean said before turning to Scott and using her powers to lift Scott's glasses. "Scott!"
Scott blasted Gorgeous George, which made him release the couple.
"Get down." Scott ordered Jean as he started attacking the Nasty Boys. "I want Sinister!"
Sinister tried to get away, only to end up getting hit by Scott's optic attacks.
"Come on, Sinister." Scott said. "You want Danny? You'll have to go through me to get him."
"Ruckus!" Sinister begged his minion for help.
Ruckus let out a scream that knocked out Scott, Jean, and Morph.
The banshee-like mutant walked up to them. "The trouble with this crowd is you have to shout to make yourself heard."
"Well done, Ruckus." Sinister said. "I'm proud of you."
Ruckus remained humble. "Hey, it's what I live for."
"You escaped me once, X-Men." Sinister said. "You will not be so fortunate again."
A couple of minutes later, Sinister was standing by his plane with a hesitant Morph by his side, as the Nasty Boys were carrying the X-Men.
"Quickly, my children, make our guests comfortable aboard the aircraft, and we'll be on our way." Sinister said.
"Not too comfortable." Hairbag replied.
Wolverine's eyes opened as he was dragged on the ground. "Wouldn't want to be a burden."
He grabbed Hairbag and threw him at Slab.
Sinister tried to blast Wolverine, who jumped out of the way, but the feral mutant was prevented from reaching Sinister by Gorgeous George.
Fearful, Sinister backed up and grabbed Morph. "Stop him!" He threw the former X-Men to the ground. "Ruckus, get Jean Grey to the plane! At least we'll have one extra hostage."
Wolverine clawed through George and tried to attack Sinister, who blocked his attack and sent his own, knocking Wolverine back.
Sinister glared at Wolverine. "Keep your distance, little man."
Wolverine then saw Slab carrying Jean. "Jean!" He tackled him to the ground as they started to fight. "You grabbed the wrong girl, fat boy!"
Wolverine was then hit on the head by a branch that was wielded by Jean.
"No, he didn't." Jean laughed as she turned into Morph. "Warned you I couldn't be trusted."
"Let's go, boys." Sinister gestured for them to get Jean on the plane.
Once Sinister and his group were on the plane with Jean, it took off as the other two X-Men realized what was happening.
"Jean!" Scott fired at the plane, but it did no damage. "No!"
Wolverine came up to Scott's side. "Easy, pal. We'll find her no matter what it takes."
It was night, and the heroes were on a raft approaching Magneto's citadel.
"Your citadel, Magneto, a sickness in the heart of our land." Ka-Zar said bitterly.
"It was not meant to be." Magneto confessed. "When I built it, I had great ambitions for this world."
"We all had great ambitions." Vlad said regretfully.
"Unfortunately, Magneto, the ambitions of powerful men usually bring strife and misery to those they would improve." Xavier said.
The group was knocked into the water when a plesiosaur's head came up, destroying their raft.
It tried to attack Ka-Zar, who dived under the water and came back up, now behind the plesiosaur. He climbed up onto its back. He then made a call that scared it away.
Xavier was grateful for Ka-Zar's save. "Thank you."
Soon, they reached the shore.
"There seems to be a chill wind tonight." Xavier drawled.
Ka-Zar used this as an opportunity to get under Magneto's skin. "The one that has been blowing since the day Magneto first came to the Savage Land."
Magneto narrowed his eyes as he pressed a hidden button, which caused a door to open. "Times change, jungle lord."
"People do not." Ka-Zar bit back as they climbed the stairs.
"This passage will bring us up directly behind the laboratory." Magneto told them.
Zabu growled.
"Zabu is wary of this, Magneto. As am I." Ka-Zar said.
"As well you should be, fool!" Barbarus said when they reached the laboratory.
Inside the room were several skyriders with shields, along with the mutates.
Magneto couldn't believe they knew about his secret passage. "But how?"
"The master long ago discovered your secret passage." Amphibius said.
"Now, where were we?" Barbarus asked, ready to get even with the group.
"Come!" Ka-Zar prompted Zabu. "We will find another way to free my beloved."
Ka-Zar and Zabu then ran to a window and jumped out.
Barbarus went to where they got away. "Quickly, we can still get them!"
"No!" A new voice said. "Let the animals go for now!"
They all turned to see who spoke. It was a small, skinny man who had a huge head.
"We already have what we need." The big-headed man said.
"You are the master?" Xavier asked in disbelief.
"Silence!" The big-headed man screamed. "You are not worthy to speak his name!" He then calmed down. "No, I am merely the keeper of these devices while the master is away. You may call me Brainchild." He turned to the skyriders. "Now, quickly, chain them to the wall. There is work to be done."
The three were placed against a wall, and as their wrists made contact with it, some weird worm-like thing wrapped around it.
"What are you doing?" Xavier wondered why they were needed.
"Brainchild, that's enough." Came the voice of Sinister, who arrived with the Nasty Boys, Morph, and a captive Jean.
"Master!" Brainchild greeted. "At last, you returned to us."
Xavier gazed at the newly revealed mastermind. "Mr. Sinister?"
"I've heard the name." Magneto said. "Frankly, I'm not impressed."
"Professor?" Jean, still handcuffed, ran up to the professor in joy. "Thank heaven you're alive. We've been so worried, so frightened!"
"I'm sorry to have caused you concern, Jean." Xavier apologized.
Sinister stepped in front of Magneto. "As you undoubtedly noticed, Magneto, I've made a few changes since inheriting this rather primitive installation." He gestured to a nearby machine. "A tissue sample from Sauron incorporated into this device enables it to draw energy from any superhumans in the Savage Land, rendering their powers inoperative."
"The mutates seem unaffected." Xavier pointed out.
"They have taken precautions." Sinister explained. "I hadn't realized a side effect would be your renewed ability to walk, professor. I do hope you enjoyed it."
Magneto was curious about why Sinister had brought them here. "What do you want from us, Sinister?"
Sinister was about to answer when he noticed Morph pulling a gun off a rack.
"Boys, Morph's about to do something we might all regret." He said to the Nasty Boys.
Hairbag wrestled the gun out of Morph's hands.
"You still fight my control?" Sinister asked.
"I'm free of it!" Morph cried defiantly.
Slab grabbed Morph and chained him up next to the others.
"Exquisitely poor timing, I'm afraid." Sinister said. "Now you'll have to share your professor's fate."
"Proudly!" Morph sneered. "Better to die an X-Man than to live as your slave!"
"I should have let you die." Sinister said. "All I need now is for you to contact your students, professor, and bring them here."
"You know I won't do it." Xavier replied.
"You speak as if you have a choice." A new voice said.
"You?" Xavier recognized the speaker.
It was Sauron.
Sauron smirked at the professor. "Look at me, Xavier, and obey! Resistance is futile. Obey me. Obey!"
Sauron's eyes glowed purple as he invaded Xavier's mind.
Xavier struggled. "No, never."
"No, professor, don't listen to him!" Jean tried to help, but was held back by Hairbag.
"Stop! You could destroy him!" Morph warned.
"You are a fool, Sinister." Magneto insulted. "The most powerful mutants on Earth shall hunt you down to see Charles Xavier avenged. There is also the one known as Danny Phantom. He won't leave you alive to regret your actions."
"He resists like no other!" Sauron said as he kept trying to subvert Xavier to his will. "But in vain."
"Won't listen." Xavier said weakly. "Can't listen. Too many people who depend on me. Can't allow you to control my mind. Won't allow you to."
Xavier screamed as Jean watched her mentor be broken. "What have you done to him?"
Sinister ignored her as he inspected Xavier. "Charles? Oh, Charles. Wakey, wakey."
"What do you want from me, master?" Xavier asked in an emotionless voice.
Sinister let out a laugh of triumph at how everything was going according to plan.
"What's going on?" Rogue asked as she and the other X-Men met with Gambit in the War Room.
"Cerebro confirms it's the professor's code." Gambit said.
"You found him?" Danny asked.
Xavier appeared on the screen. "Hello, my friends. It is good to see you again."
"Professor?" Beast said.
"You're alive!" Gambit exclaimed.
Xavier paid no attention to their shock. "If you will rendezvous with me at the following coordinates." The coordinates appeared at the bottom of the screen as the message ended.
"Wait." Gambit tried to speak to the professor, but the message was over.
"This is all very odd." Beast commented. "The professor was not at all like himself. Gambit, check the origin of that transmission."
"In a minute." Gambit looked at a monitor to see the Blackbird landing in the hanger. "The Blackbird just come in."
"Cyclops." They said as Scott walked in with Wolverine.
"Guess who we found?" Gambit said.
The two ignored them as Jubilee tried to talk to them. "Hey, wait up!"
Scott and Beast stared at each other.
"We have to talk!" They said in unison.
The Blackbird took off as Scott explained everything to the others. "Morph said something about Sinister having the professor."
"So we're flying into a trap." Wolverine added before growling. "Suits me."
"The professor's unnatural lack of emotion suggest coercion." Beast said.
"If the old man was forced to call us against his will, it mean he need our help bad, trap or no trap." Gambit said.
"If somebody is holding Xavier, I'm gonna enjoy making them let go." Wolverine vowed.
"We're nearing the professor's coordinates." Scott said to the rest of the team.
Beast looked down at the Savage Land. "How could anyone survive down there?"
"I honestly don't know." Scott said as he prepared to land the Blackbird. "Brace yourselves, people; we're going in!"
"Good thing I had nothing planned for today." Danny remarked.