Family By Blood

Summary: Havok discovers something about his younger brother... something that makes him believe Gabriel's capable of redemption. And he chooses a rather unconventional way of forcing it
Warning(s): Spanking; spoilers for a lot of the X-Men arcs involving Havok, Vulcan and Cyclops; some mentions of violence; AU; some inconsistencies with canon; some mentions of potentially triggering material
Verse: Comic

Author's Note: I have researched the story arcs, but this is AU, since there are certain things that would fit better with the story. I apologise to those people who might be annoyed about me changing so much... but I hope you will read and enjoy anyway.

So... these are the main points you need to know:

1) Havok (Alex) has no idea that Gabriel was originally an X-Men.
2) Neither does Scott. He's been allowed to think that Gabriel, while his brother, is a true, dangerous enemy and not someone who saved his life and was assumed dead after the fact.
3) Gabriel has dark influences inside him from Krakoa that were aggravated during the time spent with the land mass in space. While not actual possession, this 'bond' is the main reason for Gabriel's actions to date. Darwin was protected due to being inside Gabriel, but there was no buffer for Gabriel's' mind.

###

Alex wasn't sure he could blame his brother. And no matter that Gabriel had dropped his 'birth' name and now called himself Vulcan... for all that he considered himself Alex's enemy... he was still his brother.

And given what he now knew... Alex brought himself out of his thoughts and stared at Professor Xavier, struck by the bombshell the older man had just dropped on him. "Why doesn't Scott remember any of this?" he asked quietly.

"I made him forget."

"Why?" If Scott had remembered, he wouldn't have rested without proof there was nothing he could do for Gabriel. Hell, if Alex had known then what he did now... he would have helped them. No wonder Gabriel was so angry. That wasn't the only reason for his current path, but even so...

"There was nothing Scott could have done to save Gabriel... but your brother felt so guilty, I knew he wouldn't be able to function unless I made him forget." Xavier's voice was calm... but there was a note of sadness in it.

Alex clenched his fists by his sides. He wasn't as good at keeping a hold of his temper as his older brother was... but he forced himself not to raise his voice. "Is there anything else I need to know before I go after him?"

Xavier frowned. "While Gabriel rescued Scott and the others, he shouldn't have been able to survive as long as he did. There are dark influences inside him. I wouldn't suggest going after him. You could put yourself in danger... you could put the rest of your people in danger."

"The same kind of danger they're in already, whether or not I do anything," Alex returned. "At least this way, there's a chance."

"I can't justify allowing you to put yourself in that kind of danger."

"I'm not asking for your permission." Alex thought about requesting that the professor send a message to Scott, asking him to come and help with their brother. But although he thought his older brother should be a part of the rescue mission... or whatever this was... he didn't want to bring Scott on board, knowing he would feel even more guilt than Alex now did.

Scott had protected Alex so much in the past... now it was time for Alex to do the same for him.

"Besides..." Alex continued. "I know you're more than capable of stopping me, if you thought it really was hopeless. Profssor."

"I think it's a mistake to go there physically." Xavier sighed. "I can see there's no changing your mind... but at least allow me to use Cerebro to send you to him in a telepathic capacity. While you can see and touch him... his abilities won't be able to affect you."

"But my abilities won't be able to affect him." But even as Alex said that, it occurred to him that that could give him an advantage. Gabriel was a good tactician. He was a good fighter... but there was a chance he was more used to winning battles with his abilities. If neither of them could use those, it was possible that might give Alex an edge. But then there was another problem... "Even with Cerebro, can you really track him? Wouldn't it be too far?"

"I wouldn't be able to on my own." As he spoke, Xavier wheeled himself round the side of his desk.

Alex hesitated. "You're really going to help me? You're not just going to wipe my mind? Pretend none of this happened?"

Xavier winced visibly. "I can understand why you would ask that of me... but no. If you think you can save him, then I have to let you try. Just be careful. If I can connect through you to your brother, there's a chance I could purge those influences from him. Provided you can keep him distracted for long enough."

"Distracted, huh? I think I can take care of that." Alex already had an idea in mind. While it was rather unconventional (and didn't fit a normal pattern of attack), he had an idea that it might get Gabriel off balance enough for whatever the Professor wanted to do.

"Yes. But be careful, Alex. While Gabriel cannot use his powers on you... he can still hurt you." As he spoke, Xavier wheeled himself to the door. It opened when he pressed his hand to the scanner and he moved out of the office and into the corridor.

Alex followed without a word. He thought about contacting the rest of his team, but he was reasonably sure he knew what they'd say. After all, Vulcan had attacked them... kept them prisoner... made it clear he didn't consider Scott or Alex his brothers. Alex didn't have to help him, but it was clear that Gabriel wasn't beyond hope.

Even though saving Scott had happened long before, Alex couldn't shake the idea that there was something still inside of Gabriel that could be reached... that could allow him to be redeemed.

Alex was so lost in his own thoughts, he almost didn't realise when they reached the door behind which Cerebro lay. Xavier placed his hand on the scanner next to the door and as it slid open, he wheeled through and Alex followed him.

Cerebro looked far too complicated for Alex to understand, but even though Xavier had deceived both him and Scott, Alex believed the Professor when he said he thought he was doing the right thing.

He was going to need to make sure the Professor returned Scott's memories to him.

"What do I need to do?" Alex asked, as Xavier picked up the helmet and placed it on his head.

"Open your mind to me," Xavier said. "Try not to fight. It'll hurt if you resist."

Alex wasn't sure how to do that, but he nodded and closed his eyes.

It felt like a tickle inside Alex's Alex's mind. His first instinct was to shy away from the touch, but he tried to relax... tried to force himself to allow the contact.

Pain sharpened through Alex's head and he felt a trickle of blood seep out of his nose. He felt his body collapse... but he was still standing there as an invisible force pulled his soul through the atmosphere, worlds and galaxies rushing past him.

The vertigo faded as Alex found himself standing in a bedchamber. He looked down at the bed, noticing his little brother (mentally, if not physically), limbs entwined with his wife's.

Alex wasn't sure where she'd fit in with the new life he planned for them... but if she was that important to his brother, she'd be a part of it.

I will keep her asleep. Xavier's voice sounded inside Alex's mind.

Alex nodded, but couldn't take his eyes off his brother. For all that he knew he should strike while Gabriel was unaware, he was reluctant to do that. If he attacked his brother while Gabriel slept, it would set a bad precedent for the rest of their relationship.

Clearing his throat, Alex crouched down so he was close to Gabriel's ear. "Wake up, brother." He then jumped back.

It wasn't a moment too soon, as Gabriel came awake, fist swiping at where Alex had stood only a moment ago.

Gabriel was reacting and not thinking. Alex could see that, as his brother tried to punch him... only for Alex to duck out of the way.

It must have only taken a second for Gabriel to recognise what was happening. Alex could see as his brother registered his presence... and he saw a brief flash of almost-fear come across Gabriel's face. Almost involuntarily, he saw Gabriel's eyes dart to the sleeping form of his wife.

"She's only sleeping... but she's not going to wake up any time soon," Alex said.

"How did you get in here without any of my guards stopping you?"

Alex smiled. "Because I'm not here physically." He watched as Gabriel put his hands out in front of him... and shook his head at the confusion apparent on his face. "You can't use your abilities against me."

In one swift movement, Gabriel drew a sword from the sheath next to his bed. "Then I'll use my sword!"

Alex ducked a strike aimed at his neck, rolled and came up behind his brother. He jabbed quickly at Gabriel's back, forcing him to stumble forward a space or two.

Recovering quickly, Gabriel spun around and tried a slash at Alex's chest. But whether he was disorientated due to being attacked unexpectedly, or whether Xavier was working on him, Alex could tell that Gabriel wasn't as focused as he could have been. He came round with a punch to Gabriel's face and then delivered a kick that knocked the sword from Gabriel's hand.

Gabriel's fist exploded against Alex's face and he felt his lip split as he staggered back and saw stars. Shaking his head, he felt the sword's blade under his foot... and reached down to scoop it up.

Gabriel stared at Alex and bitter hate permeated every word as he spoke. "You're just like him. Toying with my mind... making me see things that aren't real."

"What are you seeing?" Alex wondered if it was Xavier sending him the images... or if they were coming from inside him.

Was that a haunted look on Gabriel's face? It was gone before Alex could recognise it and then his brother was speaking with a snarl. "I'm going to kill you."

Gabriel was as focused as he'd ever been. Alex could tell he was going to have to catch him off guard. So he dropped the sword. "I'm not here to kill you."

"Then you're planning to surrender?" There was a hard look on Gabriel's face.

"No." Alex took a step closer. "I know the truth. I know you saved Scott... that you were trapped for so long and no one knew it. If Scott had been allowed to remember... he never would have left you there. We would have brought you back."

"I'm long past the time you can placate me with words. Surrender... and I might think about letting you live. Or at least killing you quickly and cleanly."

Alex ignored the second half of Gabriel's comment. "Then it's a good thing I'm not planning to use words." He took another step closer to Gabriel. "I'm going to stop this. I'm going to help you."

"I don't need your help!" Gabriel launched himself at Alex, swinging wildly with his fists.

Alex stepped to the side and delivered a punch to Gabriel's back. When his brother stumbled forward, he caught him and dropped to one knee, pulling Gabriel down and over his knee. Shifting Gabriel forward, he lifted his hand and brought it down in a firm swat in the centre of Gabriel's backside.

Twisting, Gabriel dug his nails in Alex's arm. Alex winced, but pushed away the pain and repeated the swat, then delivered several more. He settled quickly into a rhythm, bringing his hand down in sharp swats and going down to Gabriel's thighs. He noticed Gabriel jerk around, digging his nails further into Alex's arm.

Alex knew that he wasn't going to get through to Gabriel right now... like this. It wasn't enough. He cast his eyes around until he saw the sword. Picking it up, he adjusted his grip on his brother, ignoring Gabriel's struggles... which actually seemed to be growing weaker. Or was that just his imagination?

Levelling the blade against Gabriel's backside, Alex drew it back and let it fly hard.

The sound that escaped Gabriel could only be described as a yelp. It sounded wet... and his brother's obvious tears affected Alex. He forced himself to continue, landing the flat of the blade repeatedly down to his brother's thighs.

Gabriel's struggles didn't stop, but Alex could tell there was a trace of panic in them. His legs jerked as he strained, trying to pull free... no longer trying to fight Alex, but trying to get away from the painful spanking.

And Alex felt something shift. He could feel the heat radiating through Gabriel's pants... but it wasn't anything to do with that. He could hear Gabriel crying, though it wasn't loud... and then he heard him begin to choke.

Dropping the sword, Alex wrapped his arms around his brother. He could feel Gabriel's body shaking. Where Alex's hands touched, it seemed to cause him physical pain. Alex would have let go... but Gabriel was writhing around so much, he thought he might hurt himself if Alex let go.

It seeped out of his skin... a forest-green mist, forming a vaguely humanoid shape in front of them. As more mist separated from Gabriel, he began to scream... as if he was being torn apart.

As the mist coalesced fully, Gabriel went limp in Alex's arms. A quick check revealed his brother was still alive and Alex carefully lowered Gabriel to the floor before he stood, sword in hand once more.

The shape drifted towards the bed and Alex moved in one swift motion, placing himself between the shape and Gabriel's wife.

The shape paused and Alex held the sword in front of him. Professor? He hoped Xavier would still be able to hear him.

I feel a mixture of different energies in the form. Xavier's voice sounded calm enough... even a bit curious.

"How do I destroy it?" The shape moved closer to Alex, rattling him enough to speak out loud. He stabbed with the sword, but although the blade encountered resistance, it didn't seem to affect the shape... and when Alex tried to pull the sword free, the blade stuck there for a second.

"The energy turned malevolent."

Alex almost didn't recognise Gabriel's voice. Compared to the loud, harsh tones his brother had used not that long ago, his voice now was quieter; though no less confident.

Gabriel was standing behind the shape, his hands held out. "I can absorb it again." He met Alex's gaze. "But you have to make sure I can't hurt anyone ever again."

"I'm not going to kill you!"

"You can't let it roam free. It will seek out a host." Gabriel's brow furrowed as he focused intently on the shape.

"Professor!" Alex yelled inside his mind as loud as he shouted physically.

There was the sensation of falling and Alex found himself in the danger room. He looked around wildly, only relaxing when he saw Gabriel not that far from him... and Deathbird lying on the floor, unconscious.

Gabriel blinked once and then whirled on Xavier, coldly furious. "What did you do?! My home's going to be destroyed now...!"

"Hey... calm down." Alex stepped closer to Gabriel, surprised when his brother almost leaned towards him. He cautiously reached out, placing a hand on Gabriel's shoulder and squeezing. He could feel the tension in his brother's form... but with Alex's contact, some of the tension seemed to leave Gabriel.

"You don't need to worry." Xavier's voice was calm. If he thought anything of the contact between Alex and Gabriel, he didn't put voice to it. "I've closed off the room in which the malevolent energy formed. And I've removed all memories of that room from your people, so no one will attempt to open it and therefore allow the energy to escape."

Alex wanted to ask how Xavier had the strength to do that, but he felt Gabriel stumble. Unable to hide his concern, he placed his hand on his brother's other shoulder, looking into Gabriel's eyes. "I think you should get some sleep." He had no idea what the loss of so much energy would do... but he thought exhaustion might be the least of their problems.

Once again, Gabriel seemed to lean into Alex... almost like he wanted the contact, but was afraid of it. Even though his face hadn't really changed, there was something that seemed... younger, somehow. As if a great weight had been lifted off him. "What about my wife?" he asked.

"What do you want to do about her?" Alex asked.

"I'm not the man she fell in love with anymore." Gabriel's voice was barely a whisper. He focused on Xavier over Alex's shoulder. "I don't want to ask you for anything... but can you remove her memories of me and put her someplace safe?"

"You don't have to do that," Alex said.

"No... I do." Gabriel closed his eyes. "I don't know who I am anymore... but I know I'm not what she wants."

Worried that Gabriel was going to fall asleep on his feet, Alex wrapped his arm around his brother's shoulders. "Come on... you can room with me, brother." He began leading Gabriel towards the door.

"Alex?"

Alex stopped, but didn't turn round.

"I'll send a message to Scott. And I'll make sure he knows the truth."

Alex didn't bother making a response. He left the room, guiding Gabriel alongside him.

###

Alex's sleep had been quite restless, as he kept waking up with the worry that Gabriel was going to be gone. By the time morning came, he'd given up on sleep and was mentally drafting out communications with the rest of his team members.

And wondering what he was going to tell Scott.

A slight hiss of pain drew Alex's attention to Gabriel as his brother rolled over on the other bed. He stood up and walked over to his brother's side. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore." The response was blunt, but a slightly hesitant look came over his face. "Scott's going to come here?"

"Yeah." Alex sighed. "That's one conversation I'm not looking forward to."

"Why? Is this a common occurrence?"

"Beating someone with a sword? Not really. Spanking?" Alex shrugged. "When it's necessary."

"Then this isn't going to be a one-time thing."

"No." Alex scanned over Gabriel's body. "You hungry? You lost a lot of energy..."

"Energy that wasn't mine in the first place." Gabriel looked like he might be sick. "I should have been strong enough to beat it. Kill myself before it got to that point."

Alex frowned. "I can't tell you not to think like that, but it's unlikely you would have been allowed to die even if you had tried."

"Yes, well..." Gabriel was cut off by the knock that sounded on the door.

Alex gave Gabriel a reassuring smile and then stood up, walking over so that he could open the door.

Scott stood outside. His shades hid most of his expression... but the way he held himself was tense. Alex wasn't sure if his brother was angry with him or himself... though he suspected it was a combination of both. He stood by to allow Scott to enter the room, pushing the door closed as soon as his brother was clear.

Gabriel stood from the bed slowly, but Scott walked over and wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry I left you there..."

Gabriel closed his eyes and held on tight. "I'm sorry." His voice came out almost a moan.

Scott guided Gabriel back to the bed and sat down, tugging him down to sit as well. "The Professor told me a few of the details... I don't know how much I understand, but I know you saved my life. And that it hurt you as well."

"It changed something inside me." Gabriel sounded tired. "I don't want to believe half of the images inside my head. Every time I close my eyes, I can see all the horrible things I did. I even disowned you as my brother... and that was the mildest thing I did."

"Lucky for you, all of the Summers' brothers have a stubborn streak a mile wide," Alex said. "You're not getting out of this that easy." He felt like a weight had been lifted from him... but he was still certain he had a reckoning to face from his older brother.

"You need to eat something." Scott squeezed Gabriel's shoulder. "Want to grab us all something from the kitchen? Everything's clearly marked."

Gabriel looked from Scott to Alex before finally nodding. He allowed a quick hug from Scott and then moved past Alex.

Reaching out, Alex ruffled Gabriel's hair. "See you in a bit, kid."

"Yeah..." Gabriel walked out of the room.

"We're going to have a lot of work with him." Alex turned to face Scott.

"I know." Scott motioned. "Come here."

"I'm fine over here."

"Alex." The warning note was clear.

Knowing that he should have expected this, Alex sighed and stepped over to Scott's side. He held back a groan as his brother closed his hand around his wrist. He'd known this was coming from the start... but it still caused a pit in his stomach as Scott drew him forward, pushing on his back to encourage him to bend over.

Alex took a deep breath and settled himself over Scott's lap. He felt his brother adjust his position and then heard the unmistakeable sound of Scott removing his belt.

Taking a tight grip on Scott's ankle, Alex tried to brace himself... but he couldn't prepare for the first blazing strike from the belt. He hissed out a gasp, then bit back a cry as the belt landed again just below the first strike.

"You shouldn't have gone after Gabriel alone, Alex. You could have been hurt. You should have called me. We could have gone together and figured out some kind of plan."

The belt landed as an emphasis on every other word. It didn't take long for Alex to feel his backside burning and he groaned, throwing his hand back... only to find it caught and held against his back. "I'm sorry..." he choked out.

"Are you? Because this isn't the first time we've had to deal with this. But I promise you... if there's a next time, I will be doing this more than once."

Alex's legs jerked in response to each hard strike that landed on his backside... vulnerable to his brother's punishment. His bottom felt like an inferno of pain, lit up from the crest to the tops of his thighs.

"You include me in any and all of your decisions that could endanger yourself. Am I clear?"

The next several strikes landed on Alex's thighs. He would have replied, but the tears were streaming down his cheeks... and he began to sob when he felt himself shifted forward and his creases burned by the leather.

"Consider this your last warning, Alex. Don't. Do. This. Again."

The last four strikes were the hardest yet and Alex cried out, before going limp over his brother's lap, sobbing.

Scott rubbed Alex's back and Alex slowly felt himself relaxing. His backside throbbed, but he knew how seriously his brother took his safety... and he did respect Scott and how he felt.

Alex slowly pushed himself up off Scott's lap, allowing his brother to wrap his arms around him in a tight hug. He sniffled, allowing himself to relax into Scott's arms... where he stayed until there was a soft knock on the door.

Slipping away from Scott, Alex headed over to the door and opened it so that Gabriel could walk in, carrying a tray of food. "You sure you brought enough?"

"I'm hungry." Gabriel glanced at Alex's face, but didn't comment that he'd obviously been crying. "I think a lot of my energy went to feeding what was inside me." He stepped into the room, nudging the door closed. "And I thought we should have something special for our first breakfast as true brothers."

"Let's see what you brought." Scott stood up, smiling at Alex before taking the tray from Gabriel and placing it on the table.

Within moments, the brothers were eating... and talking.

The End