This is the next chapter for the ‘Brother In Need’ series. All characters except for Burst is property of Marvel Comics and not used with their permission. Burst is my chracter and can be used only with my permission.

Burst and Alex sat side-by-side as Lorna, Fixx, and Jamie were trying to decide who should be on the new X-Factor team. It had been over a month since Havok had revealed himself to his teammates that he was alive. He decided to recreate the team. So far they got Burst, Havok, Polaris, Fixx, and Multiple Man. They had some interesting adventures together, but they had been mostly just readjusting to this world. Burst had kept to herself most of the times, she refused to have herself and her powers get checked again by Hank or any other scientist. It was somewhat redundant since Burst’s invisiblity to electonics made her virtually impossible for others to see her with electronics. Jamie felt strong feelings for the young mutant. For some reason, she could tell the main Jamie from his dupes. Alex and Lorna kept a comfortable distance from each other as well. Neither one knew what to do about themselves. And Polaris tends to feel somewhat suspicious of Burst due to her aloofness. X-Factor decided to get some more teammates for their small team.

"I don't know about Rhane." Alex muttered, "She's been busy on Muir Island."

"Besides," Jamie added, "We got three women and two guys. We’re outnumbered."

Burst, Lorna, and Fixx glared at the man.

"Ummm..." Alex said as he tried to change the subject, "what did Guido say?"

Jamie replied, "Well, he is appreciative of your offer, but he wanted to be in space for a while longer."

"Forge?"

"If you are leading the team, he dosen't want to be on it."

"I thought he would've forgiven me by now."

Burst said, "I wish we could have Shard on the team but she couldn't see us."

"We have to find a way to negate that electonic invisiblity." Lorna said.

"I don't know what happened." Burst inisisted. Suddenly she felt a presense. "Oh! What was that?"

"You okay?" Alex asked.

"I'm... fine. I just sense someone nearby."

Fixx focused and several psionic fairies fly out and scatter. "I sense a powerful Psi closeby."

"Who?"

"I don't know. He just cloked himself.."

"Burst?"

"Same thing. He must be one powerful psi."

"Everyone scatter." Alex ordered as he stood up, "Keep your minds blocked if you can. Multiple Man, you and Burst try to locate them. Fixx, you come with me and Polaris."

Everyone separated. Jamie duplicated to ten people and Burst said, "All of you better stay close to me. That psi is powerful if he could block off me."

"Relax, if one of my dupes gets attacked I'll be safe."

"I hope so." she muttered. She focused again. The psi's mental abilities were staggaring.

*****

Fixx, Havok, and Polaris were searching the area. "Anything?" he asked Fixx.

"Nothing." she replied. Her ‘fairies’ were scanning the area. But the psi had managed to evade them with every turn. He or she could obviously sense them. Fixx focused harder. Then, she felt a severe blast. "AAAAHHHH!!!" she screamed as she colapsed.

"Fixx!" Lorna yelled as Havok caught the telepath.

"She’s okay. Just uncounsious."

Polaris pulled up a magnetic force field around the trio. She tapped on her communicator and said, "Mulitple Man, Fixx just got attacked."

The staticy voice replied, "Burst just got blasted too. And AAARRRGGGHHH!"

"Jamie! Jamie! Burst!" Lorna scowled as she tapped on her comminucator. "Damn it!"

Havok’s hands glowed as he looked around. In his mind, he tried to figure out who would attack the team. Most of the world still thought of him dead. None of his enimies, besides a few scared FoH members, knew about his ‘return’ from the grave. The Professor couldn’t have done it. Or maybe Jean or even Madelynn Pyror.

Then, another powerful psi came to his mind. Someone who knew about his return. Someone who could block out two psi’s scans. Havok stared out as Lorna clutched her head in pain.

"Who?!" she screamed as she struggled to maintain counsciousness. She collapsed as Havok felt his mind ripped apart. He collapsed.

*****

Burst woke up with Jamie at her side. "Jamie?" she asked as she shook him.

"My head." he groaned. "What happened?"

"We got attacked." she said. "By a psi."

"Who?"

Burst remained silent. She stood up and tried to scan the area. She teleported a few times but kept on returning in the exact same spot. "I think I know. But, I gotta go."

"Wait! What about Alex, Lorna, and Fixx?"

"Lorna and Fixx are fine." Burst said as she vanished in a bright light.

"What about Alex?" Jamie asked to thin air. "Shit."

*****

Alex’s head ached as he woke up. A bright light shined in his eyes and a voice asked, "Okay, you got explaining to do."

He recognized the voice and said, "Cable."

"Yes. So what did you do?" he asked as he shut off the light. Alex looked around to see an apartment. It was one of Cable’s safehouses. How he managed to get him there was a good question. He was sitting in a chair, but he wasn’t tied up.

"Oh, I died, came back, scared the living shit out of Val, Dad and several others..."

"I mean to Scott."

"Him?"

"Yes him. What did you do to him?"

"Nothing." Alex replied. He tried to use his power against his nephew to feel nothing.

"I blocked off your power temporarily."

"Okay, so you attacked the team, captured me and are now interogating me. I thought you softened. I was wrong."

"I don’t ‘soften’. I just act like that sometimes to keep my enemies off gaurd. The only reason I didn’t attack head on was that this is a family thing. A private family matter." Nathan said as he grabbed Alex’s arm and his eye glowed brightly. "Now tell me. Or I will tell the others about Christopher Alexander."

"Who?"

"Don’t lie to me, Havok. I can tell if you lie or not. I’m a telepath. Remember?" Cable said as he got closer. He’s much bigger and heavier than Alex and he got his powers.

"I remember. I remember." Alex said as he scowled at his nephew.

"I want to get that girl here too." he added, "That Katherine. But she’s a teleporter. I left her a message."

"She wants to be called ‘Burst’."

"Burst, Katherine, what’s in a name?"

"Ah Shakespeare." A female voice said as the two men looked behind them to see a girl standing there. She had light brown hair and pinkish eyes. Cable immediately saw the resemblence to Scott and Alex. "You are well rounded, like your counterparts." she said as she walked up to them.

Cable clutched to his psimatar with one hand while holding Alex with his other hand. "So, you awoke."

"I recognized that psi signature. Only you could evade us with ease. Well you and the Professor. And he couldn’t manuver in that wheelchair. Besides, I saw the Pacrat landing tracks."

"And you figured out it was me." Cable said as the younger telepath stared at him. "Now, explain the newest student of Generation X. Or I will take it from your ‘brother’s’ head."

"If we tell you the truth, will you leave us alone and not tell another soul?" Burst asked.

"Maybe."

"And not confront Scott?"

"Never. He wasn’t in the right place. He’s needed."

"Where?" Alex asked, "The X-Men? They got plenty of members and several good leaders. And even if they do need him, he’s in no condition. He tried to _kill_ himself."

"What?" Nathan asked stunned.

"It’s true." Burst said as she lowered her sheilds, "Scott did try to kill himself. He would’ve died if I hadn’t healed him in time."

"That’s impossible! Slymm would never kill himself."

"Scan my mind." Alex dared, "Go ahead. See for yourself. You’re a telepath."

Nathan scanned the two with no resistence. He saw the sight of his father lying in the snow with a knife wound in his stomach. "No." The despair that Scott felt as he laid in bed with his hands tied to the posts to make sure that he wouldn’t try anything else.

He let go. His eyes closed as he muttered, "So, you ‘killed’ him to save his life."

"That’s one way to say it." Burst said as she put a supporting hand on her ‘nephew’s’ arm.

"Why?"

"I don’t know." Alex said, "I tried to convince him otherwise but it’s better than suicide. After all, there’s a better chance for him to come back after transformation than suicide."

Cable growled as he reached out mentally and Alex felt his powers flowing within him. He groaned and kneeled down.

"You okay?" Burst asked glaring at Cable.

"I’m fine." Alex muttered as he got up. "Just feeling some pains."

"Maybe you should get Hank to check on you." Nathan suggested as he tried to figure out a way of explaining to Alex’s teammates why he captured him and his sister in the first place. **I could always blame it on Stryfe.** he thought.

"Oh yeah, and how will he examine me with no equipment?" Alex muttered sarcastically.

"Anyway." Burst said as she looked at Cable, "Nathan, I know you missed him and all, but don’t confront him at the academy. Or even call him or anything like that. We don’t want his cover to be blown."

"I see." Nathan said, "If he was discovered it might pull X-Men and the other X-teams further apart than it already has."

"I’m glad you understand." Alex said, "Because, we need you to remain calm about this."

"Calm, about the fact that my _father_ is now a teenager? Oh well. I’ll keep quiet about this... for now. But if anything happens and Scott is needed. I will tell Sean and Emma everything."

"Great."

"Excellent."

*****

Polaris, Jamie, and Fixx were searching frantically for their lost teammates. "I don’t beleive this!" Polaris exclaimed, "Why would Katherine- I mean Burst, keep quiet about what happened with Alex?"

"Uh oh." Jamie muttered as he looked at a set of tracks. Another Jamie added, "These footprints are big."

Lorna’s eyes widen and she said, "Great, it can’t be Jean or Xavier."

"Cable?" Jamie suggested. His dupe asked, "Or maybe Stryfe? If he’s still alive."

"Why would either of them try to capture Alex and Burst?" Fixx asked.

"I don’t know."

That when a bright lavendar flash of light and a trio appeared. "Alex?!" Polaris exclaimed as Alex walked to her.

"Yeah, I’m fine."

Jamie duplicated to ten and surrounded Cable. "Okay, why did you attack us?" they asked in unison.

Nathan crossed his arms and replied, "I thought that Alex and Burst had something to do with Scott’s disappearence. Maybe killed him or made him disappear."

"Why would you suspect Alex?" Fixx asked.

"Three words; Scott, Havok, airplane."

Alex flung his arms over his head and exclaimed, "I only did that once."

"And what about that time in Genosha?"

"I was brainwashed."

"Anyway." Cable said, "I found out that Alex and Burst didn’t harm Scott. I apologize."

"Ooh." The main Jamie said in a bad Arnold Schwartenegger imitation, "De big bad Cable appologizin get you are not so tou- urk." Cable focused and the main Jamie was levitatied off of the ground.

"Stop that." he droped him with a thud and several more Jamies poped up.

Burst asked, "You okay, Jamie?"

"*Cough!* I’m fine." Jamie said as he absorbed his dupes.

"Good." Burst said as she grabbed Cable’s hand. "I have to take him home." She and Cable vanished.

Alex stretched and said, "If you excuse me, I have to go and get a shower."

He walked off. Polaris glared at him with suspicion. "At least they’re okay." Fixx said, "And Havok had nothing to do with Scott’s disapearence."

"I don’t know." Polaris muttered, "Sometimes, I don’t know about those people. They’re hiding something."

"What?" Jamie asked.

"I don’t know." She said as she went inside. She picked up the phone, looked up the number for X-Force, and called the number.

"Hello?" a tired voice answered on the other end.

"Hello, can I speak with Domino?"

"This is she. Who is it?"

"It’s me. Polaris. Cable just ambushed us, kidnaped Alex, lured Burst to him, and just returned them."

"What?!" Domino exclaimed, "Cable attacked X-Factor? Why?"

"He thought that Alex had something to with Scott’s disappearence. Did he tell you anything?"

There was a pause then the other voice replied, "I think so. Last night, he called drunk and said that he founded Scott. I think. He started to mumble in Askanii. I just told him to go back to bed and drink lots of coffee."

"So, he didn’t tell you if he was going to attack?"

"No, he didn’t."

Polaris glanced at Alex and wonder what was on his mind.

The end (for now)