May 18th, 1943
Auschwitz
Rain poured down on the large iron gates, the wind howled louder than a freight train. The people being marched looked frail and were huddled in two separate directions. Most looked as if they had given up on the world with sunken-in cheeks and hollow eyes.
One boy of the name Erik Lehnsherr, only twelve years old, held his mother's hand so tight that both their knuckles were white. He began to believe at this moment that humankind was cruel. Keeping his head down to keep any suspicion from him and his family he continued.
A man in a guard's uniform grabbed Erik's shirt, "How old are you, boy", the boy in question looked frantically to his mother.
"He's sixteen", Mrs. Lensherr said, she tried to step in front of her only son. Erik looked to his mother in confusion, but his mother gave him a certain look. He knew this look, like the one he would receive if he stayed out too late or stole candy from the local shop, so he stood up a little taller to at least try to pass as fourteen.
The guard gazed over mother and son and only nodded. The guard motioned over to the others who were separating people into separate directions. Erik grabbed his mother's hand so tight that it seemed as if there was glue there.
Edie Lehnsherr was a strong woman, she remained calm when the discrimination became worse. And tried to act like she didn't mind the yellow stars and curfews even though she did.
One of the men screamed something in German then faster than Erik could react his mother and father were pulled in another direction than him.
"MAMA," Erick screamed as he began to push through the guards to try to get back to his parents. More yelling in German by the guards, next thing Erik knew he was being torn through the gates away from his Vati and Mama. Tears falling down his face he tried to reach at least one more time to touch them.
Soon enough the metal began to slightly bend to his will, but the rain and mud made it impossible to see anything. Screaming and yelling, the feeling of emptiness poured out of him. Erik let out all the pain, anguish, feeling of loss, as he just wanted to get his parents back.
The moment was stopped by a guard slamming the bottom of a gun on the boy's head knocking the child out.
Unknown to him there was another man similar to him standing off to the side in wonder. A small, scrawny boy had just manipulated the metal gates bending them in absurd ways. There was a pile of guards, knocked out from the force of the metal that Erik had wielded to his command.
The man said to one of the guards, "Once you're done with the boy leave him to my care".
June 9th, 1943
Somewhere
Erik did not know what month it was or where he was exactly. All he did know was he was being kept in a tiny space that looked to be made out of wood. It was normally pitch black except when the guards would open a tiny door to give him food. Calling the food a meal was a disservice to any meal he had ever eaten.
For all he knew he was alone, his parents were nowhere near him. Erik remembered what happened when his neighbors were taken away, they died but he remained hopeful. The chances were slim, but he wondered why he had been shuffled away in this tiny wood prison of darkness. Where was everyone else? Were they all in tiny wood prisons like him?
Today was different, he had been given breakfast with eggs and toast. Erik hadn't had a real mean since...he couldn't remember. He looked around his tiny cell taking of which he had lived in for some time.
A slab of wood with a cloth thrown over sat in one corner, on the other laid a bucket where he was expected to go to the bathroom. Next to the wooden slab was a book, but the book was in German, Erik didn't speak german, so it was just used to gaze through.
Throughout some time, he heard footsteps outside of his tiny wooden cell. Which was strange because he had already been given food earlier today. Even more strange was that he heard a set of keys being taken out. Pushing himself back Erick huddled against the wall with his legs scrunched up.
Bright light engulfed his cell. Erik squinted enough to see a guard opening the door to a man in the bright light standing there with his hand out. The man stepped forward to reveal someone who must have been in his mid-forties. He had a mustache with a pair of glasses.
"Erik, nice to finally meet you in person", the older man continued, "Sebastian Shaw", he held his hand out to the young boy.
"Well, I am just being the nicest person here, but if you like a force that is what you will receive", After his statement to the young boy. Two large guards grabbed Erik and began to carry him out of his cell.
Kicking and trying to get out of their grasp he hit one of the guards in the nose. The guard's nose began to bleed and in one swift instant, Erik was punched in the stomach. As the young boy fell to the ground he felt extremely dizzy.
"Just pick the boy up already", The man named Sebastian said. One of the guards after this statement picked up the boy and threw him over his shoulder. Erik upside down looked to see outside of his wooden cell.
Erik did not realize that while he was taking in his surroundings and trying to figure out where he was the man called Sebastian Shaw was still talking.
"Well if you're just going to ignore me then I guess you will never know", it was at this point where Erik noticed the man's thick German accent. How he had not noticed it sooner he did not know. Soon enough blood had run into Erik's head and just shut his eyes to try to block out the pain.
An amount of time passed, when Erik opened his eyes he was in what looked like to be an office. He looked around trying to adjust his eyes he found what seemed to be just an average office, but next door in a glass room, he saw what looked to be weapons.
Shaw took out a coin and put it on his desk, Erik looked at it and what he saw was the Nazi symbol which he had seen so much of in the last few years. It represented hatred for his people who just worshipped a different religion.
"Move the coin", Shaw said. Erik just stood there he didn't know what the man was telling him to do. Shaw continued, "Move the coin with your mind", after the man's last statement Erik looked at him cryptically.
"I don't know how too I swear", Erik said back. He had no clue what this man was talking about he wanted him to move the coin with his mind. That is simply not possible.
Sebastian Shaw got up and walked around the room, then sitting back in his chair. He began to say, "Well I was hoping it would not come to this", the older man rang a bell.
The door was opened by a guard and then Erik was in show standing there was his Mama, but she didn't look like his Mama her cheeks were hollowed in and she looked almost lifeless. However, Erik ran to her just to have his arms around her once more. He thought she was dead, but here she was standing right in front of him.
Soon enough as the hug began he was ripped away from his Mama by the two guards. They looked almost pleased to have caused the young boy pain. Shaw opened a drawer in his desk pulling out a gun. Erik stepped back in fear once the gun was pointed at him.
"Move the coin if not I will shoot your mother", Shaw said to him. Erik couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, all of his thoughts were directed toward moving the coin. Shaw now aimed the gun at his mother.
His Mama gave him the same look that she had the moment they had arrived at the camp, he must remain strong and do as he was told. Once she had told him, when life was becoming unbearable a few months before they were transported to the camp, "Survive, my son, just survive", but Erik couldn't survive without her.
He pulled his hands out and began to try to manipulate the metal in front of him, but nothing budged not a single bit. Looking back Erik turned his mother, "Mama", he said.
"Erik Darling", his mother gave him the best smile she could. Erik turned back around and once again tried to move the coin. He tried again and again, but the coin would not move.
"Do it", with one last word from Shaw he held the gun closer to Erik's mother.
"Survive darling", His Mama said, as she gave a longing, but scared look to her only son.
Still, no matter how hard Erik tried to manipulate the coin it would not move. Staring at it all he wanted was for the metal to move, yet it remained on the desk.
"Survive, survive for me", his mother said in an almost pleading voice. Then without warning, a gunshot sounded from Sebastian Shaw's gun. Erik was afraid to look behind himself. Though he mustered some courage, took one look at his mother's lifeless body and anger rapidly replaced fear.
This man had killed his mother in cold blood, he had let her rot. Then shot her, when it was convenient for him. Next thing Erik knew his anger filled him with power. One look at the bell in front of Shaw and it began to collapse within itself.
"There, see now you're getting it", Shaw said.
The happiness that Sebastian Shaw had felt for a small moment was then eclipsed by Erik's scream of rage. All the metal in the room began to shake and clutter around violently. The helmets on the guards began to crush their skulls. The anger felt by the small boy by his mother's death frightened, yet also excited Shaw.
Though the rage that had filled the young boy now turned to sadness, as he had digested that his mother was dead.
Sebastian shaw filled with excitement for his new victim said, "It seems pain is the trigger to your powers", Then with that, he opened the doors to what seemed to be a torture room next to his office.
October 9th, 1947
Kraków, Poland
Sixteen-year-old Erik Lehnsherr now free of Sebastian Shaw's control for almost three years was searching for meaning. He had long pondered on how to control his powers without anger, but there never seemed to be much success.
Instead, he found work in a factory near a major city. Erik intended to remain in the public, but also completely alone. He was the last one alive from the Lehnsherr family, he had to remain strong.
Erik sat in the town bar listening to the music trying to drown his sorrows away by ignoring his problems.
"Kid you look a little too young to be drowning your sorrows with liquor", the bartender said to him.
"I'm twenty, I'm not a kid", Erik said in the manliest voice he could muster, but it very much sounded fake.
"Yeah and I am Winston Churchill, kid your cut off", the bartender took Erik's glass away.
Erik put his head on the counter between him and the bartender. He tried not to think about how gross it must be. He had survived much worse, the numbers on his arm were there to prove it. Trying to distract himself he decided to listen to the music playing.
Looking at the stage he saw a beautiful girl on the stage. She had long curly hair that resembled the color of caramel chocolate. The kind that his mother used to give him when he was a child. She had tan skin the type that was not normal around these parts of Poland.
Lost in his current thoughts he didn't even realize that the bartender was behind him again. The man behind the bar leaned over to Erik. "That's my sister-in-law no funny business, she's just a kid", The bartender said.
"I-I-I-I mean she is a really good singer", Erik muttered back.
The man-made an aggravated humph and walked away to help another drunk in their endeavor. Erik tried to not look at the beautiful girl on stage. She couldn't be more than sixteen. He removed his eyes from her and just stared right ahead.
Looking at all the postcards on the wall there must have been one from every country in Europe. He found some of the places he had visited on the wall too.
"What are you looking at", someone next to Erik said. He looked to his side and jumped a little. The woman-no the girl next to him was the singer he was recently staring at for an extended period.
He choked a bit on his tongue and just sat there like a sputtering idiot. All he had the strength to do was give a large smile.
"Well if you're not going to make conversation I'll just go somewhere else then", The beautiful girl said to him.
After probably too long of a pause, "Sorry, my name Erik Lenhsherr", he said and held his hand out to her to shake it.
"Magda Maximoff", she said and shook his hand. She continued, "So why are you here", giving him a slightly annoyed look.
"I work at the metal factory", he said as if that explained everything in the world.
"No, but why are you here", Magda said, as she gave him a look for answers.
"To hear some good music?", Erik said in an almost questioning voice.
"Well clearly you here to drown your problems, so why don't I inquire what those problems are", she said.
"Well do you want to hear that story", he said to her moving closer to where he could smell her perfume.
"You tell me your story I'll tell you mine", she said. Then continuing she turned to the bartender, "Django two shots of vodka", her supposed brother-in-law gave her an exasperated look.
"Marya would kill me if she found out I let you drink in the pub", Django said.
Going behind the bar, Magda said, "She'll live", taking the matter in her own hands she poured two tiny shots of vodka for the two of them. Continuing she turned to him, "Now where were we again".
"Where would we even start", Erik said. He took the shot that Magda had handed it and drank it in one gulp.
"Hmm, we can play twenty questions, it's an American game, I learned it from a friend", Magda said.
"Who asks the first question", Erik asked.
"I guess I'll start where did you grow up", Magda asked him.
"Well I grew up in Mühringen, Germany, but they do not favor Jewish people over there", He said.
Magda gave him a somber look and pulled out her arm, she had the number 73653 on her wrist. "I'm Romani you know", She said.
Erik looked at her with new eyes. She understood his pain. She truly understands what he had been through when so many others in Poland did not. Erik pulled up his sleeves on his shirt to reveal the number 214782.
Magda touched the numbers on his arm and just for a moment, Erik did not feel so alone anymore. He realized that he could survive just like his parents wanted, but he wouldn't have to survive alone.
November 6th, 1959
A metal factory in Kraków, Poland
Twelve years had passed since Erik Lehnsherr and Magda Maximoff now Lehnsherr had met. They married in the year 1952. Their daughter Anya Lehnsherr was born in 1953 and Erik continued to work in the metal-wielding plant.
Burying himself in his family and distracting himself from his past. It seemed as though fate had brought him and Magda together. He was doing what his mother asked of him all those years ago. He was surviving, but not alone.
The day was like most days, the rain poured on and on. He was excited to go home tonight because they were having a formal meal for Shabbat.
Now a twenty-eight-year-old Erik was working his daily shift hammering metal.
Suddenly he was pulled out of his thoughts by one of the large metal canisters falling, it was heading straight down. It would have crushed his neighbors and friend. Erik Manipulated the metal to stop. It hung in the air for almost a minute.
All of his neighbors and co-workers stared at the man they had worked with for more than a decade. None of that mattered anymore. He was different, Erik ran. He left and went back to his small home on the edge of the woods.
The tiny cottage housed him, Magda, and Anya. Erik ran inside and found Magda sitting there reading a book. She looked up to see him coming into the house in a hurry.
"Erik darling, what are you doing home this early you shouldn't be home for another hour", Magda said as she stared at him in confusion.
"Magda we need to leave they know", Erik said.
"Know what Erik, your not making much sense", She said, as she turned to him.
"Magda I'll show you just come with me, wheres Anya?", Erik said leading her out of the house.
"Anya's in her room, Erik seriously you're being confusing right now", Magda said to her husband.
"Good, she'll be safer if she's not near me", He said. Magda looked at her husband concerned.
"Let me show you something", He grabbed a piece of metal from the ground and began to manipulate it to turn into a flower. Magda looked on with wonder and shock.
"It's beautiful Erik, but I still don't understand why we have to leave", Magda looked at him with wonder in her eyes.
Erik explained to her what had happened at the factory. She didn't see why people would react badly. It's not like Erik had used his powers to harm anyone. He had used them to save people.
Darkness had filled the sky, as it had become night. The two hadn't realized how long they had been discussing Erik and his mutation. Off in the distance there seemed to be yelling. It almost sounded like screaming.
Magda took off sprinting back to the house, Erik following her. Both having frightened looks on their faces. Arriving at the house it was up in flames. A mob of people surrounded the home.
"WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE DOING", Magda screamed looking at her house.
"Mrs. Lehnsherr you married a monster and now he must burn", a neighbor she had long considered a friend said.
"What are you talking about I'm right here", Erik said with so much distaste in his throat. At that moment he realized...Anya. His precious girl was in the home.
It seemed as though Magda had remembered that Anya was in the home at that moment as well. She began to have tears fall out of her eyes, "Please you don't understand my daughters in there she is innocent, she is only a child", Magda attempted to get through to the house, but was knocked out. She fell to the ground laying there almost lifeless.
Erik Lehnsherr filled with so much rage once again, summoned all the metal he could. He broke through the house looking for his daughter.
"ANYA", Erik screamed searching for his daughter. But, when he found her. She was crumpled on the ground. Dead. He began to sob, but it was interrupted by the beam above coming crashing down. The fire erupted all around him.
Erik grabbed his daughter's lifeless body and escaped through a window. All of the townspeople looked on in absolute fear as the metal-bender looked on at all of them.
Filled with so much rage and desperation Erik took control of all of the weapons from the people who had killed his daughter.
Not even thinking he sent all of the metal weapons flying or shooting at the civilians. Falling to the ground, with so much grief.
Seeing his wife crumpled on the ground looking like a corpse. Erik ran over to her side. Immideitly checking for a pulse. He let out a sigh of relief once he found one. Magda began to wake up.
Pushing herself up the first thing she came into contact with was not her husband's face, but instead the bodies. Horrified Magda Lehnsherr scrambled away from her husband.
"What-did-you-do", Magda said as she began to cry.
"They killed Anya, so I avenged her", Erik said as he tried to get closer to her but she went further away from him.
"You know better than them", She said, as she began to try to run away he grabbed her arm. "GET AWAY FROM ME", Magda pushed his arm away and sprinted into the woods leaving her husband.
Little known to Erik Lehnsherr his wife that had now left him was pregnant.
February 28th, 1961
New York City
Erik Lehnsherr now age thirty had made it his mission to find Sebastion Shaw the man who had killed his mother. Throwing himself into the search, to forget his wife and the death of his daughter less than two years ago.
Normally Erik didn't stay in the same place for long, though he had stayed in his New York City apartment for three months. He was working on a lead he had obtained from a banker in Switzerland.
The man walked down the road back to his apartment in Queens. It was the size of a shoebox, but Erik had lived in worse. Arriving at his door, Erik found a letter.
Picking up the letter carefully, he saw the handwriting and became paralyzed. The handwriting, he would never forget, it was Magda's. The name on the letter was addressed to him-Erik Lehnsherr, from Magda Maximoff.
Shaking as he opened the letter he felt tears begin to fall from his face. The manipulator of metal was broken by a simple letter from his wife.
The letter read:
Dear Erik Lehnsherr,
I hope this letter finds you in good health. I am well aware that I left you under very negative circumstances. These past few months I have had to wrap up many loose ends in my life. You seem to be the very last. I would like to forget you, but I cannot. I do not know if I still love you, but I did love you. Because of that in good conscious, I must tell you that, when I left you I was pregnant. I had twins. There names are Pietro Django Maximoff and Wanda Marya Maximoff-not Lehnsherr. Normally I would never have told you this. However, I'm dying. Brain cancer. It started with nose bleeds and eventually, I became so frail as to where I am today. I do not have much time left on this earth. I must tell you, so I do not die on a guilty conscience.
Sincerely,
Magda Maximoff-Lehnsherr
Erik only noticed the tears falling from his eyes when they got on the paper. Smudging the ink. Breaking down Erik sobbed while laying on the floor. He had a son and daughter, but the love of his life was dying.
He had to find her, he had to say his goodbyes, he had to find out where his children were. Erik picked himself up and began to try to think about where she could be.
Over the next month, Erik Lehnsherr almost forgot about Sebastian Shaw all he thought about was finding Magda. Eventually, about two weeks after he received the letter from his wife he found the hospital. Booking a bus with almost the rest of his money he went to find her.
She was in a hospital in D.C in hospice. She was near death, but he needed to see her before she left for good.
Eventually, at the hospital Erik went into the front desk, "Do you know what room Magda Lehnsh-I'm sorry Magda Maximoff is in", He must have looked crazy based on his distraught state.
"She's in room 307", the woman at the front desk pointed to the end of the hall. Erik didn't remember the next moments, but he sprinted down the hall.
He eventually got to a room labels 307. The door was open and inside the room, he saw Magda. She looks frail, her eyes were closed as if she was sleeping.
Then Erik saw her, Marya Maximoff the wife of Django who Erik had met all those years ago. She was sitting in a hospital chair with tears falling down her face.
"Erik what are you doing here", Marya said. She must have noticed him moments before. Erik was speechless. Marya and Magda always looked eerily similar.
"I needed to see her one last time", He said.
"Okay, I understand, but she's extremely delirious right now", Marya said.
Erik moved to get a closer look at his wife. She was lying asleep in the hospital bed. Erik kneeled on the ground he wrapped his hands around Magda's. She began to move around.
"Erik", Magda said she opened her eyes to look at him. Erik at that moment had tears falling down his cheeks.
"Magda, I'm here...I'm here with you", Erik said. He held onto her hand tightly.
"Erik you need to protect her", Magda said. He looked at his wife in confusion, who did she want him to protect. She continued, "Anya...protect her when I'm gone", at that moment Erik sunk to the floor. She didn't remember. He wouldn't remind her. Keep her last moments peaceful.
Over the next few hours, Erik just sat next to Magda to keep her comfortable. Once Marya came back in she offered her arm to Erik. They began to walk to the front of the hospital.
"She wrote me a letter", Erik said. She looked like she had already known this information.
"I know", Marya said.
"Is it true", Erik said while looking her straight in the eyes. He needed to know if what Magda said was true.
"Yes, Peter and Wanda, they well, they're a few months old they don't understand", Marya said.
"Can I meet them", Erik said.
"Come with me", Marya said. They caught a cab to a house that looked homely. Erik didn't know when they moved to the states, or even when Magda moved to the states. He felt like he was missing so much.
He struggled to get out of the car. Was he ready to meet his children? His wife was dying. Everyone he loved kept dying and he just kept surviving.
"Here Erik this is where they sleep", Marya said, She brought him into a small nursery.
He first noticed two cribs. In one was his son, he was beautiful he had peculiar silver hair. In the other was what he understood was his daughter. Her small amount of hair was the same color as Magda's chocolate caramel. Erik got a foreboding feeling that as long as his children were near him they would be harmed.
"Are you going to take them away", Marya said.
"I-I can't", Erik said, yet this answer was not expected and she looked shocked. He continued, "They would be in danger around me, I already love him, but I don't want to fuck them up", finishing his statement Erik left his sleeping son in his nursery.
His children would never be safe unless Erik eliminated Sebastian Shaw. They would never be able to grow up in peace with a father like him.
April 6th, 1962
A yacht club, Somewhere
Erik Lehnsherr didn't care for his life, his children were cared for it didn't matter.
Tracking down Shaw to yacht club somewhere on the East coast. Sebastian Shaw had found a way to protect himself. Filled with rage and grief Erik kept pushing. He had to kill Shaw there was no other answer.
Trying and trying he could not control the submarine. His power was not strong enough. He was not strong enough. Soon enough Erik was underwater. He could not give up, Erik had to kill Shaw.
His thoughts were stopped abruptly by someone grabbing him. Erik began to flail around to try to loosen the grip.
"STOP, you'll kill yourself", he heard a voice say, but the voice was in his head. Erik was shocked he turned around to see a handsome young man with dark hair holding on to him.
Erik lost his slim control of the submarine, now completely focused on the man who infiltrated his mind. The man pulled Erik to the doc to get out of the water.
"I thought I was the only one", Erik said to the younger man, as they both got out of the cold seawater.
"You'll never be alone again, Charles Xavier", The man names Charles stuck his hand out to Erik.
He took it carefully and shook it with force. "Erik Lehnsherr", He said.