FicWad

X-men: Evolution of the Heart
Chapter 20: The Cauldron

AN: I also realized that I forgot to mention something in the previous chapter. I know in the cartoon, Magneto was the one who experimented on Kurt in that episode. But this is AU, and I meant to say that Mr. Sinister was the one who did those experiments in this universe. Sorry, I hope that clears things up later on, but don't expect to see Sinister later in this story because I don't think I'll be able to work him in with what I have in mind.

This chapter is based on the same episode of Evo, however it's a bit different then the actual episode, so please bear with me.

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In the cold, arctic air of the North Pole under the lights of the aurora borealis, a lone metal sphere sped through the sky. Inside, it was occupied by Mystique, whom had been struggling with the all too recent confrontations between her and her estranged children. The words they said about her not being there stung and had left a hole in her heart that was filled with anger. She didn't know the full extent to what they had gone through because of her and she felt it was better if she didn't find out. It was harsh enough knowing what she knew, but now it didn't matter.

In the distance, the destination of the metal orb carrying Mystique came in to view. It was a magnificent sight to behold...It was a floating asteroid that hovered by some unseen force. At the top, there was a huge complex that looked like something straight out of science fiction. As the orb docked and Mystique stepped out she was greeted by a tall dark figure. It was Magneto.

"I heard about what happened with you and your children Raven...I'm sorry it had to be that way," said Magneto in a deep tone.

"It's something I can't change Eric. I failed..." said Mystique who remained stoic.

"On the contrary, I bought you here not because of the mishap with your family. I bought you here because the time had finally come," said Magneto with some excitement in his voice.

"You mean...It's ready?"

"Yes...Indeed it is. I have already gone through the machine and it works better than we ever could have hoped. I want you to be the next one Mystique, for I promised to reward you for your loyalty and now I am making good on that promise. Are you ready?"

Mystique stepped forth before a huge opening with a strange red glow.

"Yes...I am ready," said Mystique with determination as she walked in to the strange room and watched as the heavy door shut behind her.

With his powers of magnetism, Magneto activated the machine and a huge glow of light burst forth from behind the door. A surge of energy went through the shape shifter and the light only got more intense as the spectacle unfolded. After a good five minutes the machine stopped and the door opened with a blast of eerie mist billowing out. Mystique then stepped out. Her appearance had change; she looked a lot stronger and far more menacing. From this Magneto knew his machine had been a success.

"It's done," said Mystique in a dark, ominous tone.

"Then it's time to move in to stage two of our plans...For evolution!"

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The elevator to the lower levels of the institute opened up and Logan made his way towards the room with Cerebro. He had been summoned urgently by the Professor, saying that he had found something big and Logan was eager to know what it was.

"What's the big news Chuck...Cerebro pick up something new?" asked Logan as he approached the large computer.

"Yes, something very strange. It detected the presence of a new mutant, but it's not the powers that's disturbing...It's the identity of who it is."

Then, the computer screen flashed an image of a seemingly normal teenage boy with blond hair and tan skin.

"His name is Alex Masters, but upon further analysis I discovered that he was adopted...And his previous name was Alex Summers."

"Summers?!" said Logan with a slight bit of disbelief, "I thought Scott was the only one to survive that plane crash."

"So did I, but it appears that they both survived and were sent to different hospitals. According to some papers I've uncovered, Alex sustained minor injuries compared to Scott and was adopted believing that his brother was killed. Alex never knew...Scott never knew," said the Professor still not believing how this could just come out of thin air.

"Are you gonna tell Cyke?" asked Logan.

"Yes...He deserves to know. I'll summon him while you prep the X-jet. I think he'll want to see his brother as soon as possible."

"Right," said Logan simply as he made his way to the hanger.

This left Professor Xavier to summon Scott Summers and reveal to him that his long lost brother was alive after over 10 years.

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At the house for the Brotherhood of Mutants, it was unusually quiet. Ever since the incident with Mystique and her kids, she hadn't come back. This left the house in a certain sense of anarchy, for without Mystique there the rest of the Brotherhood had no inclination to do much.

"Man when's Mystique getting back yo? She's been gone for almost two weeks now," moaned Toad as he mindlessly flipped through the channels on TV trying to find something to watch.

"Quit your bellyaching swamp breath, at least she ain't here to bully us around for screwing up," said Lance who was just bored out of his mind.

Lance had been a lot grumpier than usual ever since the incident with Mystique. This was because Kitty had been calling him a lot less for some reason. He didn't know why, she just stopped talking to him. At school he couldn't get close enough to her because Kurt was always near. Because of this Lance was beginning to grow especially distasteful of the blue mutant.

"Hey guys!" yelled Pietro as he sped in to the room unexpectedly and startling everybody.

"Ugh! Don't do that Pietro!" yelled Wanda.

"Sorry, but I think you guys should take a look outside!" said the speed demon with great excitement.

Curiously, the rest of the Brotherhood rushed outside to see what the commotion was about. When they arrived, they were greeted with five metal orbs that looked ready to accept passengers.

"Does this mean what I think it means?" said Lance with an eager grin.

"You bet! Payback time is finally here!" said Pietro as they all eagerly stepped in to the orbs and were whisked off in to the sky.

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"WHAT!? MY LITTLE BROTHER'S ALIVE!" exclaimed Scott not believing what he was hearing.

"Yes Scott, he is alive. Cerebro detected him when his mutant powers manifested," said the Professor trying to calm Scott down.

"I can't believe it...All this time! I should have looked for him...I...I just accepted it! I should have..." Scott was getting eccentric and started to feel a shortness of breath, for this was a lot to take in.

"Calm down Scott. There's nothing you could've done. There's no way you could have known about this. It was out of your hands," said the Professor placing a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down.

He could sense Scott's mind racing like mad upon hearing this news. He had spent years in the dark, believing that he was all alone in the world and that his whole family had been taken away from him. Now, out of nowhere, his brother turns up alive and well. It was almost...Too good to be true.

"Where is he?" asked Scott in a calmer tone.

"He resides in Hawaii. Logan has already prepped the X-jet."

"Then let's go!" said Scott as he made a mad dash for the hanger.

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Jean Grey had been sitting in the living room, reading a book for school when all of the sudden she saw the X-jet take off over the cliff through the window. She put her book down as her curiosity was greatly sparked by this. Slowly, she walked over and opened the window to see where the jet was heading.

'I don't remember the Professor saying anything about a training flight this afternoon,' she thought to herself as she started to walk back to the couch.

Then, suddenly a mysterious shadow passed over her. She looked back out the window to see what it was...But before she could react, everything went black.

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Ororo entered the front door to find the institute empty and utterly quiet, a rare thing indeed.

"Hello? Is anybody home?" she said aloud as she started to look around. "Professor, Logan?"

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the bushes rustle. She didn't think much of it until it happened again and then the window flung open without warning. Curiously, she walked over to the window and looked outside. There was nothing...At least nothing she could see. She began to close the window...When suddenly a shadow passed over her. Before she could look up...It all went black.

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Underground near the hanger where the X-jet had taken off; Kitty, Evan, and Rogue stood disappointed that the Professor had left so abruptly. They heard that he was going on some mission to Hawaii with Scott and Logan and they hoped to come along to get away from the cold for a change.

"Man, why couldn't they wait for us? Did it occur to them that we might enjoy seeing Hawaii too?" said Evan with a sigh.

"I guess not. They sure left abruptly though," commented Kitty.

Just then, Kurt ported in to the room dressed as if he was ready to go to the beach.

"The fuzzy man's ready for some sun! Hey...Vhere did the X-jet go?"

"They left without us," said Rogue bitterly.

"Vhat?! Aw man, and I vas looking forward to spending the veekend in a varmer climate," moaned Kurt.

"I guess they Prof had other plans," said Evan. "I don't understand why he had to leave so quickly."

"Me neither...Oh well. What do you say we have a snowball fight instead? Girls versus guys?" suggested Kitty.

"You're on Kitten! Just let me change in to something varmer!" said Kurt as he ported back to his room.

The rest soon followed, but they still couldn't shake the strange feeling why the Professor chose to leave so soon and without warning. They had known him long enough to believe that he never did something without reason unless he absolutely had to. The four teens decided to ask him about it later, but for now they decided to dispense those thoughts and focus on something else for now.

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Finally, the X-jet began it's final decent towards an open field near the picturesque Hawaiian shoreline. Scott had never been this nervous before. He had gone on for the better part of a decade believing that he had lost his entire family and was all alone in the world. Now he was about to meet someone who was suppose to be dead. What should he say? What should he tell him about all that he had been through since the plane crash? What about him being a mutant?

"Scott...You still with us over there?" said Logan as he let the engines power down.

"Yeah...Just a bit nervous that's all. So where exactly is he?" said Scott to the Professor knowing what a gross understatement that was.

"According to the readings, he should be somewhere along the beach," replied Charles as he was looking at the scanner.

He could sense Scott's eagerness to see his brother again after all these years, but he still couldn't fight this feeling that this whole situation was very...Wrong somehow.

"I'm going," said Scott as he dashed out of the plane.

Logan was about to follow suite when he suddenly he picked up a strange, familiar scent with his nose.

"Chuck...I smell company," said Logan with a grunt.

"Hmm, I would have to agree. According to this there are two mutants nearby instead. One of them just arrived and is getting close."

"Don't worry...I already know who it is," grunted Logan as he made started to prowl through the open fields.

The Professor was about to stop him when suddenly his computer pick up one more phenomenon. There was a sudden burst of magnetic interference all through the electronic interments of the jet. It didn't take long before he realized what it must mean. He tried to contact Scott and Logan, but they had shut him out in the heat of the moment. He had to get to them soon...But he feared that he might already be too late.

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As Scott made his way over the ridge towards the beach, he saw a lone figure standing in the pearly white sands. He was looking out to the sea, as if he was waiting for something. Before he saw him, Scott took in the boy's appearance. He looked slightly younger than he was, had tanned skin, and short blond hair. Then, the boy turned around sensing the presence behind him.

"Alex?!" said Scott in disbelief as he walked down off the ridge and on to the beach.

"Scott...SCOTT!" yelled Alex as he ran over and threw his arms around his long lost brother after a decade of absence.

"Man I can't believe it! It's like you're back from the dead!" said Scott as he took in the moment.

"I could say the same bro!" exclaimed Alex as he gave Scott a punch in the arm. "That was payback ten years overdue!"

"And you still hit like a girl," grinned Scott. "Man I can't believe this! The doctors told me you were dead after the crash."

"Yeah, the same thing happened to me. I didn't believe it, but I guess Magneto was right!" said Alex.

Upon hearing that name, Scott's expression grew more concerned.

"Whoa...How do you know Magneto?"

"It's the weirdest thing...I wake up this morning with this burning feeling in my hands and it's been driving me nuts all day. I try to ignore it but it kept getting worse and they even started glowing," said Alex has he showed Scott his hands and briefly flashed them the same color as Scott's optic blasts.

"So you're a mutant too?" said Scott.

"Yeah, and I didn't know what to do until Magneto showed up. He explained everything to me. He helped me learn about what was happening to me and then he went on to tell me that you were alive. I didn't believe him at first...But when I waited here like he said you showed up...And now you're here!" said Alex with great excitement in his voice.

"I'm glad to be here bro...But what about Magneto? Where is he?" asked Scott who began to feel uneasy about Magneto being involved with his brother.

"Dude, he told me that as soon as you arrived, he wanted to meet you at his lab. He says he can help you and me and everybody else like us," said Alex eagerly as he led Scott off the beach and on to a ridge that had a large metal sphere that looked like it was big enough for two people.

"He wants to meet me?" said Scott suspiciously.

"Yeah! Come on Scott, he says he can help us!"

Scott still hesitated.

"Come on bro...Don't you trust me?" said Alex not really noticing Scott's anxiety towards Magneto.

Scott looked in to the eyes of his long lost brother, but he was still unsure. He didn't want to say no to him, but it appeared that he wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Okay...I trust you," said Scott reluctantly as he stepped in to the orb with his brother and it whisked him away up north.

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Logan was still on the prowl in the trees near the shoreline where the X-jet had landed. The presence he had smelled was still there, but he couldn't quiet find it. Then, he heard a loud roar from behind him and immediately knew who it was.

"Sabertooth...I thought something stunk!" grunted Logan as he unsheathed his claws.

"Long time no see Wolverine! But Magneto says you're going to be too big of a problem to deal with...So he called me," said the cat-like mutant in a deep, menacing tone.

"Magneto!? What the hell are you doing working for him!?" yelled Logan as the two rivals began to exchange claws.

"Getting an opportunity to skin you alive!"

With a roar Sabertooth pounced, but Logan easily threw him off and countered with a kick. Enraged, Sabertooth yanked a fairly bulky tree out of the ground and began to swing feverishly at Wolverine. But with his claws he was able to slice and dice the tree down to the roots. So it continued like it had in the past, and a bitter stalemate ensued.

Meanwhile back at the X-jet, the Professor had given up on trying to see through the magnetic interference on the computer and wheeled himself outside to see if he could get a better psychic reading. However, before he could even begin to scan a large metal orb descended before him. Startled, he tried to wheel himself back, but then the metal orb let out several metallic tentacles and began to drag him in to it.

"Don't resist it Charles, you'll only be hurting yourself," said a dark voice that appeared from behind.

"Magneto! What do you want?" said the Professor as he was dragged in and levitated off the ground towards Magneto.

"I simply wish to fulfill what I have worked so hard to accomplish and I want you to be there...Old friend," said Magneto ominously.

Then, the Professor found himself being forced in to the metal sphere by force of Magneto's powers. He could not fight this, but he still had to warn Scott and Logan. Scott's mental signature was long gone, but Logan's did remain.

'Logan, it's a trap! Magneto's here!' yelled the Professor psychically.

'What?!' replied Logan as he avoided another pounce by Sabertooth.

'You have to lose Logan...Let him believe he has won...You have to...'

After that last part, the Professor's mind went dark. Logan continued to brawl with his arch nemesis while trying to reestablish contact, but to no avail.

"I have to lose..." Logan said to himself.

Then, Sabertooth let out another loud roar and charged towards him. He could have easily dodged it, but instead Wolverine braced himself and let himself get sent flying off of the cliff on to a flat rock near the water. He could have gotten up and fought on, but he stayed down. Sabertooth then walked over to the cliff and sniffed the air.

"I win Wolverine," said Sabertooth with a grin.

Then, two more metal spheres descended from the sky. One picked up Sabertooth, which he willingly entered. The other landed near Logan who was conscious, but looked as if he had been knocked out. As the metal tentacles made their move and lifted him in to the sphere, the Canadian mutant made his move.

"Not today Magneto..."

Unsheathing his claws, Wolverine tore in to the metal orb and ripped to shreds in an act of wild anger. The shiny, steel ball was cut like a hot knife through butter with his adamantium claws. When the pieces became too small toe cut any further Logan just stood and sniffed the air trying to find Scott or the Professor. However, they were already long gone.

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"How much longer do you think it will be?" asked Scott as he and Alex continued to fly towards whatever lab Magneto had told them about.

"I don't know, but it should be pretty soon..." replied Alex.

There were no windows inside the metal orb that was taking them to who knows where. They had no idea what direction they were heading or how fast they were going. Scott began to get worried by all this. It was just happening so fast. He never expected to find his brother and he never expected Magneto to be involved. He had heard the Professor mention Magneto, but he never went in to detail about him. But whenever he came up, he always heard a tone of anxiety in his voice.

"Scott...Are you okay bro?" asked Alex breaking the awkward silence that had come over the cramped metal orb.

"Yeah...Just nervous I guess. This is all happening so fast," replied Scott.

"I hear ya...But do you mind me asking you one thing?"

"Sure, anything Alex."

"What exactly happened to you after that plane crash?"

Scott had hoped this wouldn't come up. Thinking about the plane crash that took everything away from him and made his life a living hell bought back so many unpleasant memories. He looked over at his brother...Who had a look in his eye that was more curious than worried for some reason. Scott took a deep breath; his brother had a right to know at least some of what happened as the images of that fateful day once again overcame his mind.

"I was in a coma for weeks after the crash. I'm sure you remember that...After we jumped...My parachute caught fire. I hit the ground pretty hard after that. When I woke up...They said you, mom, and dad were all dead and everything we had went down with the plane...Everything."

There was a brief silence after those words. They were hard to get out and there were some things he didn't mention, but something just kept him from revealing everything he wanted to tell him.

"So what happened after that?" asked Alex eager to know more.

"I...Really don't want to talk about it. Let's just say...Things didn't get any better until the Professor found me. What about you? How'd you end up living in a tropical paradise?"

"Well, I guess my landing must have been a lot softer because when I got to the hospital I was just unconscious, but not in a coma. They told me you were dead and I...Was the only survivor. It was tough, but my foster parents are really great. They adopted me a couple of weeks after I got out."

"At least one of us got lucky," muttered Scott solemnly, "But I thought I saw some debris hit you after we jumped. How did you avoid getting hit by that?"

Alex paused for a moment, contemplating his answer.

"I...Honestly don't remember. It's...Still kind of a blur."

Alex's voice stammered through those last words. He heard a lot of uncertainty in his brother's voice. Scott guessed it must have been just as hard to deal with as it was for him. Scott was about to ask his brother if he knew more...But then the orb stopped.

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Back at the institute Kurt, Kitty, Rogue, and Evan were in the middle of a snowball melee. Hawaii had been a bust, but that didn't mean that they couldn't improvise.

"INCOMING!" yelled Evan as he heaved an oversized snowball over the mound that he and Kurt were taking cover behind.

It was about to hit Rogue, but Kitty phased her through it.

"Yer goin' down boys!" yelled Rogue from the other side as she readied two more snowballs.

"He no fair! I thought this was a no powers game!" said Evan.

"Relax mien friend. If it's powers they want, it's powers they'll get!" said Kurt with a grin as he grabbed a couple of snowballs and teleported to the girls' side.

"Kurt!" yelled Kitty as he appeared.

"You used your powers!" he said quickly as he began to pelt her with the snowballs.

She phased through one, but soon she was laughing so hard she couldn't concentrate enough to phase through the next one. Kitty tried to fire back, but Kurt just playfully tackled her to the ground.

"Here we go," grinned Rogue as she watched the scene unfold before her.

"Kurt! Stop I'm ticklish!" laughed Kitty as she and Kurt rolled through the fluffy white snow.

"I know," grinned Kurt as he tried to make her surrender the game by force of sheer laughter.

Suddenly, out of the sky the X-jet descended on to the field. Startled, the four teens went to see what was going on. They had hoped that the others had returned from Hawaii, but when the door opened only Logan stepped out.

"Logan...What happened? Where are the other?" asked Rogue.

The Canadian mutant replied, "Suit up team...We've got a mission...A really big one."

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Through a groggy state of mind, Professor Charles Xavier finally regained consciousness to unfamiliar surrounding. He immediately noticed that he was trapped in some strange glass tube, but he was not alone. Beside him there were two other tubes holding Jean and Ororo. They appeared unconscious, but as he was about to try and wake them up Magneto approached him.

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

"Magnus...What is all this?" asked the Professor as he looked around this strange new place.

Magneto slowly approached the Professor's containment tube, with a mixture of excitement and calm in his expression.

"I bought you here to bear witness to the greatest event human evolution. I told you to stay out of my way, but over the past few months you have made it clear that you have no intentions of facilitating this from happening."

"Whatever it is you're planning it won't work," said the Professor defiantly. "I know you Magnus, and what you are about to do will only bring destruction!"

Magneto just calmly shook his head.

"Still the pessimist aren't you old friend, but no matter...For you shall see eye to eye with me soon enough. I know this because I've already found a student of yours who I believe is willing to try."

The Professor then looked in shock as he saw two new people enter the room from the side. One was Alex for sure and the other was Scott.

"Scott...No..." then the Professor was once again consumed by unconsciousness.

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AN: DUN DUN DUN!!! How's it gonna end? I'll do my best to not keep you all hanging in the dark for too long! I won't give any hints, so you'll just have to wait. So what do you think thus far? Send all your thoughts to me at slickboy444@aol.com and post them at fanfiction.net. Thanks to all who have reviewed to date and I hope you all are pleased with the progress of this fic. Until next time, stay tuned and best wishes to you all!

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