A sudden explosion of energy fills the air, creating a deafening roar of power. He sits at the center of it, his clothing in tatters, crouched in a fetal position.

"Where...?"

Slowly, he stands, looking around. Yet, he finds nothing.

"Something's not right..." he mutters. "This isn't right. Where am I?"

"It's quite simply, really, Mr. Summers."

"Who?"

He spins around, to see a group standing before him. Some of them seem familiar, yet he can't place them.

"I believe I speak for us all," the leader stated, some sort of man-beast.

"McCoy...?"

"Welcome home, Alex."

"Warren...?" Betsy asked. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Never better, why?" Warren replied.

"Well, for starters, you look, umm..." Bobby began.

"Normal?" Warren asked. His friend sighed and nodded. "It's okay, I know. Somehow, it seems that this final transformation means my mutant abilities can be hidden. And without the use of an image inducer or face paint. I can't really explain how my new wings worked. But where my old ones were only a tool for destruction, these ones can be used for good. It's just... amazing. For the first time in years, I feel great. Really great."

"Well... that's... good..." Bobby muttered. "I suppose... yeah, I can't see a downside."

"That's because there isn't one," Warren replied. "Also, I'm ready to join the team."

"You are?" Betsy asked.

"I can actually do some good with this team, maybe even see if I can somehow try and help Sabretooth, succeed where the Professor failed."

"Warren...?" she stated. "Are you-"

"Betts, I'm fine," he said, taking her hands in his own. "Trust me."

"Ahem, I'll just be going, now," Bobby stated, walking out of the room.

She looked into his eyes, seeing a sense of compassion there that she never noticed before. It was... strange, to say the least. They seemed to glow. And, when she looked in them, she felt complete.

"All right, Warren," she said. "I trust you."

Bobby walked along the outside of the estate, enjoying the view of the sunrise. It had been a long night. And now, the day was just beginning. He was glad he got some sleep on the plane ride from New York. He thought briefly that he should be here. Not as a guest, but as an X-Man. He thought that he should be here, to help out the team.

C'mon, Drake, he thought to himself. What're you, high? It's not like you're the glue that's held the team together. Out of everyone on the original team, I've probably spent the least amount of time as an X-Man. Besides, I've got a life back in New York. It's not much of one, but it's something. I can't just abandon that. It wouldn't be right. I've gotta stick with this to the end. Warren seems fine enough, anyway, and Bishop seems to know what he's doing. Plus, Rogue's here, and if she supports Bish, then I trust her judgment. Kind of funny, when you think about it. Back in the old days, we never thought the team would ever expand beyond us five. But, then we got involved with Alex and-

"LORNA?!"

Lorna Dane, formerly known as Polaris, came rocketing down from the sky, crashing into the pavement on the balcony a few feet from Bobby.

He quickly rushed over to her, checking her pulse.

"Lorna, are you all right?" he asked. He detected a pulse, and she'd suffered no injuries. Luckily, she had a magnetic shield up when she struck.

"B-Bobby?" she asked, opening her eyes. "I-I'm fine... Thanks. What are you doing here? I thought you were living in New York."

"I am," Bobby replied. "I'm just visiting. But, I thought you would be in New York. What are you doing in Colorado?"

"I did," she replied. "But, the other day, the jewel on Alex's old costume began glowing. He's connected to it, somehow. Ever since he... disappeared, the gem's been dull. Now though, it's begun to glow once more. That can only mean that he's alive!"

"Okay..." Bobby said. "That still doesn't explain why you're in Colorado instead of talking to Scott."

"I-I'm not sure if I'm right yet," Lorna continued. "I didn't want to get Scott's hopes up. Alex's death struck him harder than he let on.* I started off by calling Forge. He told me I should come here. But, once I arrived, I was attacked."

(* See M2K's X-Men Unlimited #1-Dino)

"By who?"

"Fatale..." she replied. "It was Fatale. I was diving for her, and she opened a portal in front of me. That's how I came to be here."

"Not exactly the best way to make a visit," Bobby stated. "But, you got your point across. Come on, let's get you inside, and we'll talk about this."

"Are you sure this will work?" Alex Summers asked.

"Precisely," McCoy replied. "Trust me, my friend. Soon, the X-Men will be no more. After we eliminate this faction, we go after the other team in New York."

"And Scott's with them, you say?" he asked.

"To the best of my knowledge," McCoy replied.

"Good."

Bishop allowed the hot water to slide down his body as he stood in the shower. It felt good, it felt relaxing.

However, it was only a brief distraction from his responsibilities. And he couldn't outrun the fact that his sister had betrayed him.

No, that wasn't his sister. At least according to Witness, it wasn't. But, how could he be sure he was really speaking with Witness?*

(* Last issue-Dino)

"Sometimes I think I'm going mad..." he muttered under his breath, as he opened the shower door.

He toweled himself off, and looked at his face in the mirror. The M tattooed over his right eye was plainly visible. For years, he wore it like a badge of honor. Now though, he wondered if he still should. He was doubting himself, that much was apparent.

"Shut up..." he muttered. "You've fought all your life to gain this honor--the right to lead the X-Men. Why are you going to ruin it now? Just because you were betrayed? Deal with it. You can't control the circumstances, you just have to use them to your advantage."

He looked down at his hands, weapons of destruction.

"But, my powers..." he stated. "I wonder... what kind of effect did Cortez's power have on them? And what of the rest of the team? Now that Forge has left, they'll turn to me for guidance and leadership. And at times like this, I wonder if I have any more to give... Is this what you were talking about Witness? Is this what you had planned for me?"

"Lorna?!" Pietro exclaimed, upon seeing his former teammate from X-Factor.

"What happened?" Crystal asked.

"I was attacked by Fatale," Lorna replied. "For some reason, she teleported me here."

"Fatale?" Pietro asked. "She's part of the Brotherhood, isn't she?"

"If she is, the rest of them weren't there," Lorna said.

"You got lucky, then," Bobby noted. "The new Brotherhood aren't pushovers. I've dealt with them twice so far."*

(* First in M2K's X-Men #3, and again in Iceman #2-Dino)

"I'll contact the rest of the team," Crystal said.

"There's something else we need to talk about, too," Lorna said. "But, that can wait until everyone's together.

30 Minutes Later...

"So, you came here because you think Alex is alive?" Warren asked.

Lorna nodded.

"His costume was connected to him, and the cosmic energies he absorbed," she stated. "When he died, the gem on the mask was dull. But, now it started glowing. It can't simply be coincidence."

"You're right," Betsy noted. "Bishop, what about using Cerebro?"

"I'm one step ahead of you, Psylocke," Bishop replied. "There are a few alpha-level mutants in the vicinity of Aspen. Havok could possibly be one of them. Then again, so could the Brotherhood."

"Either way, we still find someone we're looking for," Clarice said. "I say we go. See what we can find."

"We'll split up," Bishop began. "Iceman and Polaris, Archangel and Psylocke, Crystal and Quicksilver, Blink and Rogue, and Sabretooth and myself. We can cover more ground that way."

"Creed?" Pietro asked. "Are you sure that's wise to take him out?"

"An image inducer will conceal his shackles," Bishop replied. "In the event of escape, I'm most capable of dealing with him."

"How d'ya figure?" Rogue asked.

"I've taken him down before," Bishop replied. "In XSE terms, Creed is a lightweight."

"Pity this isn't the XSE..." Betsy muttered as she pushed past Bishop. "Let's get moving."

St. John Allerdyce ran through the snow-covered fields, coughing furiously. His insulated costume kept the cold out, but the Legacy Virus was finally taking its toll on his body.

To top it all off, he had a bone stuck in his back, courtesy of his former teammate, Marrow. That was before she dragged him away from the Brotherhood's hideout, and threw him out on his ass.

Now, he had only one chance--contacting X-Men Omega, and finding a cure for the Legacy Virus.

"Anything yet, Creed?" Bishop asked.

"Nope," Sabretooth replied. "No recognizable scent. An' I see ya decided t' pick th' most crowded area."

"Because in the most-crowded area, your heightened senses can help us locate him better than our eyes can," Bishop stated. He took out a cell-phone, and placed it by his ear.

"Iceman, any luck?"

"We're still searching, Bish," Bobby replied. "So far, nothing. We'll get back to you if we find something. Bobby out."

He closed the cell-phone and placed it in his pocket.

"So, doesn't look like he's gonna be that easy to find, huh?"

"We'll find him," Lorna stated. "We have to..."

Yeah, we have to, Bobby thought to himself. You couldn't have picked a worse person to pair me with, Bish. There's some unresolved issues between me and Lorna. And now that Alex is supposedly back, it's kinda hard to resolve things. Just by looking at her, I can tell she's a wreck. I'm afraid of what might happen if we can't find Alex .

"You all right, Bobby?" Lorna asked.

"Never better," Bobby replied. "I'm just wondering how we can find Alex in a crowd li--"

Bobby was cut off as he accidentally bumped into someone.

"Hey, watch it!"

"My fault," Bobby replied.

"Oh my god..." Lorna mumbled.

Standing before them was a tall man with short, blonde hair.

"Alex?"

NEXT ISSUE: Havok is back, but what's his connection with Dark Beast and the Brotherhood?!

"Questions? Comments? Flames? Send them to X-Pressions!"