Prologue

While walking from school, Wanda Maxamov felt the sudden need to rush. Something was very, very wrong but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She walked up to the door of the small magic shop she worked at and was instantly bombarded by customers demanding to know where the store owner was.

"Please calm down. I'm sure there's a good reason for this. Let me go upstairs and find Agatha and we'll get this straightened out" Wanda assured the disgruntled neo-pagan.

Wanda quickly walked up a set of stairs in the very back of the store which led to a small apartment. Wanda lived in with the apartment with Agatha who had kindly taken her in given her a job and a chance.

Why is the door open?

"Agatha?" Wanda yelled becoming increasingly alarmed.

Pushing the door the rest of the way open, Wanda was greeted by the horrific site of her beloved savior and mentor lying dead on the floor. Lights began to flash and objects around the room began to shudder and float in mid-air as though affected by an invisible force. Collapsing to her knees beside Agatha, Wanda observed that her neck had been broken cleanly.

He found me.

At this revelation, Wanda lost control of a power she had been battling with since she could remember and all hell truly broke loose.

Chapter 2: Running Again

"…kid. Yo, kid…wake up" came a gruff, male voice.

Wanda jolted awake as a rough hand shook her shoulder none to gently. Shaking off the hand, Wanda noticed that the controls in the cab of the truck she was hitch-hiking in were going crazy. Quickly clamping down on her ever volatile power, Wanda carefully exited the vehicle.

"Where the hell are we? You said you were going to take us as far as Laughlin City" asked Wanda with a glare.

"This is Laughlin City" explained the disgruntled trucker as if it was obvious.

"Great" Wanda muttered to herself following the man into the settlement's largest structure.

The building turned out to be a tavern of some sort with one, very obvious difference. The back of the tavern was being used as a fight club of sorts complete with a large cage. As she got closer she noticed a sweaty, feral looking man getting the crap beaten out of him by a guy who looked like a reject from the "Hell's Angels".

Why isn't he fighting back?

Before she even finished the thought, the man suddenly stood up blocking the man's approaching fist with his own. As their knuckles collided, Wanda swore she could here a sound like something striking metal.

What the…?

She heard the sound again as the man head-butted the biker bar reject knocking him out cold. Money exchanged hands as the victor calmly put his shirt back on and pulled out a cigar.

Chapter 3: Two Lost Souls

Logan was just sitting down to collect his winnings from the fight cage and to have a beer when he noticed a gothic looking teenager a couple stools down. Before he could contemplate this, a news report came on the TV commenting on "The Mutant Problem". He noticed that this seemed to catch her attention as well and his suspicion was confirmed when her eyes left the TV to meet his before quickly looking away. Young mutant runaways were hardly anything new but Logan couldn't help but wonder what the hell was she doing all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?

Wanda was sitting at the bar trying her hardest to be invisible when the biker guy from the fighting cage walked up to his opponent and started making a big stink about getting his ass kicked earlier. He commented about how a "normal" man couldn't have taken a beating like that without a mark to show.

Is he be a mutant?

Her question was quickly answered. As the gruff man turned back to nurse his beer, the biker pulled out a switch blade and charged at the man with murder in his eyes.

"LOOK OUT" yelled Wanda before she could stop herself.

Quick as lightning, the feral had his disgruntled opponent pinned against a support beam and the room reacted with shock and anger as metal claws emerged from the man's knuckles. As she watched, the owner came up behind the mutant and held a deer gun to his head making it clear that mutants weren't welcome here. As Wanda's anger and anxiety increased, the room began to shudder and everything electrical began shorting out. Everything that wasn't fastened down, and some things that were, began to lift into the air as if the place was haunted.

"Leave…him…alone" warned Wanda now purposely channeling her ominous hex powers giving her a paranormal appearance. Witnesses would remember how her eyes turned black as pitch and a strange, scarlet colored energy gathered around her as all hell broke loose. Guns and weapons pointed at her and the clawed man simply disintegrated and energy bolts came from her hands, hitting the owner and the biker as punishment for their stupidity.

"Holy shit" Logan couldn't help but mutter in amazment

That's a lot of power for a kid

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Logan decided it was time to get the hell out of dodge and fast. The thought of taking on a runaway didn't thrill him but he couldn't just leave her here after she had helped him out. He was solitary; not heartless. Shoving his way through the angry mob, Logan grabbed Wanda by the arm breaking her concentration and causing everything she was affecting to come crashing back down with a loud bang. Snapping out of her trance, Wanda's eyes met the ferals' and with a nod they faught their way out of the small settlement and out to Logan's truck.

Chapter 4: Fate Intervenes

Sitting in the passenger seat of the her mutant companion's truck, Wanda wondered if she should voice a couple questions that were nagging at her or keep her mouth shut. Just because he was giving her a ride didn't mean he was nice. He was probably just returning the favor for her helping him fight off that angry mob. As the awkward silence became suffocating, she couldn't resist finally asking:

"Does it hurt when they come out?"

"Huh?" asked the feral snapping out of his thoughts at the sudden question.

"The claws. Does it hurt when they come out?" repeated Wanda.

"Every time. So..what were you doing at Laughlin City? Not really a place for a kid, mutant or not" asked Logan.

"Let's just say I have issues with my father and stop calling me kid. My name is Wanda."

"Logan"

Logan noticed Wanda was shivering violently and turned on the heater.

"Put yer hands on the heater"

As he reached over to guide her hands, she jerked away as if she was afraid he was going to attack her.

"Look..I ain't gonna hurt ya. Ya look cold that's all" Logan explained hoping her powers wouldn't act up in here.

Calming herself, Wanda explained "Its nothing personal. I just don't like being touched". Then as an afterthought "You know.. you should wear your seatbelt"

"If you think I'm about to take advice on car safety from a teenager you got a another thing com…"

"LOOK OUT"!

Logan's attention snapped violently back to the road just in time to avoid a collision with a downed tree.

"What the hell?" muttered Logan to himself as he and Wanda exited the truck to examine the scene.

"Hey Wanda. Yer powerful as hell. Ya think ya can move this damn tree out of the road?" asked Logan

"Easily" boasted Wanda almost insulted

But as she began to focus her power on the tree, she noticed Logan looked suddenly alarmed and was sniffing around.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I smell somethin'. Smells like an animal but at the same time it don't" explained the feral releasing all six claws at once.

Oh shit. Not here. Not now.

Before Wanda could warn him, a creature burst out of the forest to Logan's right and charged straight at him. When he threw his opponent off, Logan noticed he looked like a mix between a WWF wrestler and a very big lion. Already off balance from the other feral's initial attack, Logan wasn't prepared when the man lifted a large log and clobbered him with it. Logan was sent flying through the air and hit his truck's windshield and came to rest unconscious on the hood.

"Let's go Wanda" the creature growled obviously irritated at being sent to get her.

"Sabertooth. If you think for a second I'd ever go back there after what he did…"

"I ain't asking. I have orders to bring ya back willing or not" interrupted the pissed off feral.

"How bout not" said Wanda gathering her power. Healing or not…she was going to knock this ass hole into the next century.

With a scream of rage, Wanda released a hex bolt that threw Sabertooth backwards a good thirty feet into a tree..or five.

Seriously pissed now, Sabertooth prepared to put this brat in her place when the wind suddenly picked up and snow flurries quickly brought visibility to almost zero.

Looking beyond her opponent, Wanda saw two figures in black leather suits standing on the snow bank. One was an African woman with unnaturally white hair. She seamed to be controlling the blizzard. The second was a man with a strange visor on his face. As she watched, the man brought his hand to the visor releasing a bright red beam of energy which hit Sabertooth dead on forcing him to retreat into the forest.

Chapter 5

When he was sure Sabertooth was no longer a threat, Cyclops walked towards the truck. The man on the hood obviously needed medical attention and the teenage girl looked like she would freak out any second.

Not that I can blame her.

"Hey, its okay. Nobody is going to hurt you. I'm Cyclops and this is Storm" said Cyclops motioning to his companion.

"We live in a place with many other mutants..where we can be safe and learn to use our abilities" added Storm.

Wanda was hesitant to trust but going with the two older mutants seemed like the best option.

"What about Logan?" she asked indicating the unconscious man.

"I'll get him. Storm, help our new friend gather her things and let's get back to the jet" ordered Cyclops.

Cyclops went to lift Logan and was in for a surprise.

"What's wrong Scott?" asked Storm

Grunt "This guy weighs a ton. Why is he so darn heavy?" asked Cyclops in frustration and embarrassment.

Cyclops FINALLY managed to drag Logan's metal laced body back to the jet and, after updating the Professor, they were on their way back to Upstate New York.

Chapter 6

Immediately upon arrival at the Mansion, Logan was taken to the infirmary and Cyclops and Storm escorted Wanda up to meet the school's founder Professor Charles Xavier.

The Professor was busy reviewing the latest news concerning "The Mutant Problem" when he sensed Scott and Ororo approaching with the teenage girl they had rescued in Alberta, Canada.

Wanda couldn't help but be nervous as she was led into a large office. A beautiful oak desk stood infront of a large picture window and behind the desk was an older man in an electric wheelchair.

"Welcome young lady. My name is Professor Charles Xavier. First and foremost, let me assure you that you are safe here and that I will do everything in my power to discover why you were attacked" said Xavier in a kind voice.

Might as well get this over with. They're going to find out sooner or later.

"I'm Wanda Maxamov and I know exactly why I was attacked. Deep breaths Wanda. Figures he wouldn't tell you about us. He probably thought you would try to interfere."

"He?..you know Magneto?" interrupted Scott shocked.

"You call him Magneto. I call him..Father" said Wanda fearing their reactions.

"All this time I never knew about…wait a moment…you said 'us'" asked the Professor as that fact occurred to him.

"Yes, I have a twin brother named Pietro but I haven't seen him since father took me to…" Wanda trailed off and her powers once again tried to break free.

"Please Wanda. Calm yourself" soothed Xavier as he noticed items in the room acting strangely.

"Where is it that your father took you?" he asked

"I've always been..volatile. When I get worked up, everything just goes nuts. Father didn't like that he couldn't control me so one night he said we were going somewhere. I was nervous because he said Pietro wasn't coming. Up to that point, we had never really been apart for long periods. Anyway..we drove for a long time and ended up at a dreary place. It was a psych hosptital. He just left me there with some orderlies and left without a word or even a look" explained Wanda tearfully.

"How did you get out?" asked Ororo

"About eight months ago I guess I got fed up with the hospital so I started faking my meds. When my mind was clear enough, I used my powers to break out. I lived with this older woman for a few months. Agatha was a Wiccan and owned a small magic shop. She took me in and we lived in a small apartment over the store. She gave me a job and started training me in the craft. She said it would help me focus my powers and it was really starting to work. Then one day I was walking in after school when all these customers started complaining that Agatha wasn't working. When I went upstairs to see if she was sick or something, I found the door open. I..she.. she was lying on..the ground…her neck was broken..I knew he had found me. After I finally got myself and my powers under control,..I knew I had to get out so I just packed whatever I could carry and I've been hitching rides around ever since" finished Wanda remembering that horrible day.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that Wanda. I had no idea Eric was capable of something like this" said Xavier shocked

"Yes you did. Your psychic. You just don't want to admit to your self that Eric is gone. Only Magneto remains now" spoke Wanda slightly scolding.

"Your correct. I didn't want to see it but I can no longer deny it" admitted Xavier sadly.

Eric is really gone

"Please don't let him get me" begged Wanda sounding much younger than her 16 years.

"I promise you that you will be safe here to decide how you wish to use your powers. You have more power than you could possibly imagine. Perhaps more than anyone should be asked to handle but I can help you if you'll let me" pledged Xavier knowing Wanda was hanging on to control and sanity by a thin, fraying thread.