A/N - PracticallyAnAvenger - again. seriously, I find myself rereading those reviews just to cheer myself up. Please, continue. X over A - I don't know what to tell you, man. Think about who's in charge and then consider how this is gonna go.
Chapter 63- Wanda's Ascension
News was finally starting to leak out of Genosha just before the state funeral that Wanda and Lorna had planned for Erik. All of the official things had been taken care of, and for all intents and purposes, legally speaking, Wanda was now officially in charge of Genosha. The ceremonial part would come later as a means to ease the people of Genosha into their new era with Wanda at the head.
But none of that was the real focus just then. Most if not all of Genosha had turned out to pay their respects to Erik. His most radical and devout followers had tried to step in, offering to carry the casket, but Lorna had decided that wouldn't be the best message to the people of Genosha. Instead, she alone handled the task by levitating his coffin to the open-air auditorium where everyone would be allowed to pass by to send him off by before the ceremony started.
Crowds filled the seating and lined the streets, many of them weeping, though no one was going to speculate if they were tears of sorrow or joy, since Magneto had been ridiculously heavy-handed in keeping Genosha exactly as he wanted it and refusing to let those that weren't coming to live there even visit. Much of Genosha was sorely missing family who had long ago only said goodbye as a means to keep their mutant members safe. Not everyone had hateful family, after all.
The royal family was in their finest, looking perfect right down the line - even Alex had gotten a fresh haircut to Lorna's liking and was spending every spare second that he wasn't snuggling one of their kids holding on to her and showering her with situationally appropriate affection in the form of little kisses when she'd lean toward him or reassuring squeezes while their daughter held onto her.
Wanda looked every bit the monarch where she stood with Vision and the twins - steady, even, and collected - though the family knew how anxious she was about taking the public stage when it had looked for so long as if Erik would simply hand things over to Billy when he had felt he'd had enough of being a statesman. She was entirely unprepared in many ways but still far more prepared than Billy could hope to be at such a young age.
Before the prayers started, Wanda made a point to reach out and take a hold of both Tommy and Billy's hands with Vision a step behind them as they made a unified front for the crowd and the press.
Steve and Tony had made the trek to Genosha - the first non-mutants allowed publicly in years - to pay their respects and, more importantly, support Wanda when she needed the backup. Near them was also representation from the X-Men in the form of Bobby, Kitty, Angel, and Storm with her family. Mia was doing her level best not to look too wide-eyed at the magnificent sparkling city around her - or the vast number of physically mutated individuals that set the tone for not one person staring at her in the crowd.
No one from Scott's family had attended or even honestly entertained the idea of doing so. Information had managed to leak out to Erik's most rabid supporters about how the old king had died, and already, they were calling for blood. They knew that Billy had been in attendance but had taken the stance that the boy had been forced into helping them, so both Scott and James were on the top of their list. Already, there were rumblings from a few that both Scott and James should be tried and publicly executed in Genosha for their crimes. Not that Nate or Rachel had been seen as entirely innocent either. By virtue of their being there, they had people looking for them for the crime of tampering with Billy's mind. They seemed determined to overlook the fact that Billy and James had been dating for a long while. The conspiracy theories flying were elaborate and not at all flattering to anyone in the Summers clan.
But the ceremony itself was lovely, and not at all the over-the-top affair that Magneto's followers had wanted to see. It was tasteful, respectful, and outlined Erik's greatest accomplishments, glossing over his most maniacal moments to focus on the man that his daughters and grandchildren knew best, finally exposing him to the world as the family man that he was. It was a side of him that few people knew about - and those that did were almost exclusively his family.
There wasn't much of a lull between the end of the funeral and the start of Wanda's coronation. The royal family had changed clothes, of course, as a means to illustrate the difference in mood. For Erik, they were mostly in black, but for Wanda, everything from their color schemes to their mood was lighter as she went through the understated ceremony that was performed mostly by Lorna, though Billy and Tommy both had their roles, along with Alex's kids. It was a little thing that Lorna had suggested - that all of them attest in front of a crowd that they supported Wanda in her rule as a means to stop any trouble before it started.
As soon as the ceremony was over, the group headed into the palace for a quiet celebration that was well attended by the royal family, the X-Men, and the Avengers that were more than happy to try and tread the line between respectfully acknowledging Erik and outright celebrating Wanda.
But it was also a once-in-a-lifetime chance for Tommy to show Mia around his home. He'd wanted desperately to take her there, and yet, he hadn't done it sooner, having known that bringing her there when his grandfather was still in power would have been a massive breach of trust with her mother. For as deeply head-over-heels as Tommy was for Mia … he didn't want to screw anything up. And he hadn't wanted Mia to be subject to his grandfather's insanity, either.
He couldn't quite focus on the what ifs or much of anything else over dinner - which was far less formal than the dinner the Summers family had in welcome to Genosha. Not when all he wanted to do was to take Mia to his favorite place in Genosha and show her what he loved best about his home. It was the first time he was nervous about showing someone around. So he didn't know what to expect when he got her up to the top of one of the mountains near the hydroelectric dam just before sunset and then immediately couldn't stop bouncing on the balls of his feet as he waited for her to react.
Mia smiled as she looked around, taking in the view - and waiting slightly longer to say anything than she would normally purely because she knew Tommy was about to come out of his socks waiting for her opinion. But then, with her bright yellow eyes sparkling, she spun to face him and threw her arms around him in a hug. "It's beautiful here," she told him. "I feel like you can see everything all at once."
Tommy grinned brilliantly. "That's what I like about it. Anytime things get too dramatic, I end up coming up here to remind myself, hey, I live on an amazing island that would be a prime vacation spot if it wasn't a one-way ticket for anyone I'd brought." He kissed her and then grinned again. "Plus, can you imagine if it snowed here?"
Mia laughed. "I take you sledding one time and you're addicted."
"That's because it was amazing."
Mia laughed again and kissed him for good measure, which really just precipitated a longer non-discussion on the privacy of the mountaintop.
Not every tour of Genosha was hitting the highlights, so to speak - since almost as soon as the funeral was over, while Wanda brought Steve and Tony under her protection, Bobby lead his fellow X-Men to Erik's prisons - which were, the X-Men quickly noted, bigger than they'd expect to see relative to the size of the populace. And considering how often Bobby had been there, he had a pretty good handle on who was there for disagreeing with Erik's policies and who was there for actual crimes.
Kitty had already been there a few times to make sure Bobby was alright, but for Warren and Ororo, the extent to which Erik had been imprisoning his people was physical evidence of how far he'd fallen from his missive, a fact that Bobby emphasized as they walked further in. "I mean, Magneto added a wing or three the last few years, but they didn't exactly get cozier. C'mon, I'll show you where the original wings were. There's still some people there for, like, long-term stuff. Most of it's deserved, but Remy's been back there since forever…"
Ororo paused, looking down the aisles and hallways as if evidence of her old companion would materialize out of thin air. The prison itself was made of metal, but a lot of it was old and dark and not at all pleasant. "Why didn't we come here immediately?" she asked. "And what did he do?"
Bobby shrugged with both hands outturned. "Okay, so, the stuff he stole was definitely just to irk Magneto? But then it just kind of…"
Ororo's shoulders dropped. "He was making bombs again, wasn't he?"
"Well, he sort of got in the most trouble for the attempted prison break. My idea, his know-how - just kinda got caught."
"His bombs," Ororo said, though she started striding down the hall all the same. "He's been here this whole time?"
"At first, he was kind of in and out like I was? Mostly causing trouble because Magneto said we couldn't leave? But then the last, oh, five years? Ish? Once Magneto started getting super controlling again and paranoid, our little prison break scheme got Remy a life sentence, and I only got out because Kitty had my alibi."
"If he's dead, I'm going to arrange to have Magneto raised from the grave so I can kill him myself for locking both of you up at all."
Bobby shrugged with both hands in his pockets. "Kinda what we do, isn't it? Do the right thing, try to help people speaking truth to power, get locked up for it and then do it all over again?"
"It seems as if the pattern is changing," Ororo said, and though she was being as positive as she could, she was still furious - as evidenced by the gathering clouds far above the prison. "Lead the way. If we can't find a key, I'll have to let him out myself."
As they traveled through the prison, they saw a few familiar faces - and all of them looked entirely downtrodden and weary for the time they'd spent there. And Bobby was on friendly terms with even those the other X-Men didn't know. Storm's eyes were flashing with every casual story Bobby dropped, like, "And she organized a protest to get human family here - didn't work, obviously" and "He was the mastermind behind this great push for holiday visits. Most creative signs I ever saw made out of bioluminescence…"
"Get all of them out," Ororo said, her voice shaking ever so slightly since, this was the first time she'd been around a prison at all since the whole team had been caught up with Graydon Creed. "No one spends one more minute in this hellhole."
Kitty and Bobby shared a look and Kitty started working to set as many of them free as possible - all while Ororo kept a steady, determined stride deeper into the prison. She had a goal - and she wasn't going to stop until it was met. When they got to Remy's cell, naturally, the keys were nowhere to be seen, and before Bobby could even start to look for they key, Ororo started picking the lock. She couldn't even see Remy, but Bobby swore up and down that the corner cell in near-black shadows was where Remy had been locked up that whole time.
"Whatsa matter?" Remy drawled out from inside sounding weak and weary. "You forget how to use a key? What kinda slow fool they get to bother ol' Remy now dat can't even work a key?"
"Don't have a key, but I brought Storm," Bobby called back, grinning. "That work for you?"
There was a beat of silence before Remy spoke again. "You best not be makin' up stories again, Rober'."
"Would I lie to you?"
"Yes, you sho' would."
"Okay, would I lie to you on this, the day of Magneto's funeral?" Bobby asked, grinning somehow even wider because he knew the news hadn't hit the prisons.
"Who finally kill de ol' battle axe?" Remy asked with a bright chuckle. "I know he ain' gon' die from old age and comfort."
"Would you believe a combo of Scott and James Howlett?"
"No," Remy said, sounding perfectly scandalized. "Dat boy ain't old enough to go causin' trouble wit' ol' fearless." He let out a scoffing sound. "And besides. Dat is not de kinda ting that Slim do."
"Remember how mad he used to get when anyone threatened the kids?" Bobby leaned back. "Magneto wanted to kill James."
"Stormy if you truly there," Remy called out. "You closest. Hit him for me - just for old times, would you? I cain't reach him yet."
"Hey, I didn't do anything!" Bobby laughed.
"Just spinnin' tales, is all," Remy accused.
"'Ro, tell him I'm not lying," Bobby said.
"I'm not telling either of you anything while I'm concentrating on this ridiculous lock," Ororo said. "Both of you can be quiet for a few moments."
"Stormy," Remy said, the smile apparent in his voice. "You de prettiest 'ting ol' Remy seen since comin' to dis here mess of an island."
"You can't see me yet," Ororo said, shaking her head.
"Don' matter none when I'm right."
"He is," Bobby put in, just to get a huff out of Ororo.
"You're both terrible," Ororo said half of a beat before the last tumbler fell into place and she gave the door a pull. Remy was inside, shackled and chained tightly enough that he had no hope of getting his hands to meet. He was filthy, scrawny, and obviously uncared for entirely if the long, matted hair and full tangled beard were any measure of how utterly abandoned he'd been - outside of basic care to keep him alive.
"Remy right still," he said, then twisted his hands as much as he was able to show his palms up. "Don't suppose you got it in you to handle mebbe one or two more lil' ol' locks?"
Ororo nearly dropped her picks as she stared at the state of him for a long moment, then rushed across the cell, swearing to herself under her breath in every language that she knew as she tried to keep her touch on the tumblers light, even if she wanted to jam the picks through the stupid cylinder.
While Ororo worked, Bobby stepped through the door too, and winced when he saw the state of affairs. After all, he'd have been in the same situation if Kitty hadn't somehow convinced Magneto that he'd been (badly) flirting with her instead of plotting with Remy. "Told you I'd get you out. You know. Eventually. You look terrible, by the way."
"Better'n dead," Remy replied a moment before Storm got one of the shackles open. He reached over to try and help only to get his hand slapped away.
"If you were capable of getting out of it before now you would have. I came all the way here and through this blasted prison to get you out… I am not going to spend one second more here that I don't have to," Ororo said, sounding entirely short at his attempt to help. Which was about when Bobby realized that Ororo simply hadn't been around any prisons.
"Hey," Bobby said quietly, taking in their surroundings more carefully. "I'm sure Remy can unlock himself if you want to make sure Kitty has things under control. He really just needed a free hand and a pick."
"I'm almost done now," Ororo said, though it took her a few extra seconds before she did, in fact finish picking the lock. As soon as the shackle fell open, she threw her arms around Remy in a tight hug. "You are coming home."
Remy smiled and pulled her in tighter in response, though his strength simply wasn't anywhere near where it should have been. "Miss you too, Stormy."
Once the hug broke, Bobby slipped in to help Ororo get Remy on his feet, directing the way out. He wasn't exactly comfortable down there either, but it had to be pure torture for Ororo to be in the dark, underground prison and to be reminded of all that had happened. And really, Kitty and Warren were handling freeing the prisoners just fine, so Bobby didn't mind going straight to the fastest path to sunlight anyway.
As soon as they were out in the open air, Bobby let Ororo and Remy find a spot to sit and then thumbed over his shoulder. "So, I'm gonna grab some food and stuff," he said, more as something to do than anything else before he left.
"If I had known you were being treated like this," Ororo said, shaking her head as she let the sentiment fall. She didn't know what she would have done, but she knew she wouldn't have ignored it.
"Not a way you coulda known wit'out bein' right dere wit' us," Remy assured her with all the warmth he always held for her.
"I still feel as if we should have done something," Ororo said as she reached out to get his hair out of his face. "You need a trim. And likely a decontamination."
"What, you mean ol' Remy don't look dashin'? You must be seein' tings."
"Perhaps after you've had a sandwich. And a shave." She smiled to herself. "I'll buy you a gym, too."
Remy chuckled. "Cain't say no to dat," he teased. "Prolly should look more like my usual self 'fore I see how much yo' lil Mia growed up."
"You'll need to do it quickly, then," Ororo told him. "She's here, with me." She gestured toward the center of the island. "Or, with her sweetheart, more like."
"Oh?" Remy leaned forward, suddenly more engaged. "And who dat be?"
"Tommy Maximoff," Ororo replied evenly.
"Ah," Remy said, nodding sagely. "Well, you know what dey say 'bout funerals happenin' in pairs."
"I thought it was in threes," Ororo said. "Which, I believe if anything were to happen to Tommy, she would hunt down who did it. So … three."
Remy shrugged easily. "Ah, but she gotta catch Remy first."
"She could catch you as easily as Kurt always could."
"Now den, Stormy, you jes get me outta dat prison to hurt me so?" Remy teased.
"I've missed you more than you know," Ororo told him. "If I don't pick on you now, how will you know how much I love you?" She squeezed his arm. "Come on, you do need to get cleaned up. You can tell me how you found yourself in such dire straits - and I can tell you how we came to visit Genosha."
She pulled him along, not taking no for an answer as they headed off toward where the family was staying. "Mia won't be back until much later," Ororo told him. "So we have time to catch up."
"Good, 'cause you been sorely missed too," Remy said, still smiling at her. "'Course, 'twere probably a good ting you missed out on the ol' man's jails. Cain't imagine you'd've taken dem any better'n Bobby, and he jus' bout lost his mind de first time he t'rown in."
"I imagine that if I'd been caught by him or his servants, I'd have likely fried them with lightning before it had gotten that far," Ororo replied. "But you're right. I would not have done well to go back into a cell of any kind. I had wondered how Bobby managed to handle it enough to joke about it - even with his sense of humor."
"Practice," Remy said simply. "De first time he come out…" He shrugged lightly but was frowning as deeply as she'd ever seen him do. "Me an' Miss Kitty do what we can to keep him out, y'know?"
"You didn't seem to do too well on that front yourself," Ororo pointed out.
"Man tried to say ol' Remy cain't go to Mardi Gras, Stormy," Remy said as if that was the height of insult.
"Remy Etinne LeBeau, please do not tell me you found yourself in chains over Mardi Gras," Ororo said with a sly smile, since she knew that wasn't the case - but she wouldn't rush him into the story without teasing either."
"Okay, den, I won't tell you dat," he teased right back.
"Then it was likely a girl."
"Both de princesses, yeah," Remy said, his grin turning more troublemaking.
"Ah. That would do it," she said, nodding to herself. "And likely why Magneto's penalty for dating the royal family escalated."
"Don't need to worry 'bout Mia on that count," Remy pointed out. "Dat is if Iceman's tales are true."
"His story is true," Ororo said. "But according to Tommy, there were quite a few hopeful young people that ended up dead because of Erik's overprotective streak."
Remy sighed. "Sounds right," he admitted.
Ororo took a few moments, inspired by a little time with Logan, to give Remy an abbreviated version of events. "Erik made a few threats in the wrong direction and ended up expiring quite suddenly as a result. Wanda's coronation was earlier. Both the funeral and her ceremony were lovely."
Remy laughed outright. "You mean to tell me he was tellin' de truth?"
"Hard to believe, but yes, yes he was."
"Dat puts lil James wit Billy, den…" Remy laughed. "Alrighty den."
"I thought you'd appreciate that," Ororo said with a sly smile.
Remy grinned even wider. "Not many prospects in a cell. Gonna have to make up for lost time, me."
"I'm sure you will be overrun with options as soon as you're back to your charming self."
Remy nodded, drawing himself up. "Sandwich and haircut and you gon' see 'em line de streets."
"I'm sure they'll be just waiting their turn to catch your eye." She leaned toward him to give him another hug. "And not just on the island."
"You did say we goin' home," Remy pointed out, wrapping her up warmly.
"I did. And I believe a cup of chicory coffee will be waiting for you there."
"Knew you love ol' Remy," he teased, wrapping her back up - and the two of them settled into an easy back and forth as they caught up on everything that had happened.
Things had been overly busy in Genosha - for most everyone in the Maximoff family. Wanda was swamped in details as she stepped into her new role as leader and in the wake of Magneto's funeral, she was doing everything she could to keep her head above water.
Tommy was not so discreetly spending every second he could with Mia -and a lot of time he technically shouldn't. But no one was going to touch that when he was so happy.
And while Vision was spending his time close to Wanda as always - watching for security threats and analyzing everything and everyone - Billy found himself with more spare time alone than he'd anticipated.
He'd been able to push back a lot of what had happened by staying busy. He didn't have to think about how his grandfather had died if he was helping his parents. Or keeping Tommy out of trouble. Or watching Remy try to be both the snuggliest uncle to Mia and the most intimidating uncle to Tommy. Or any of those things.
But the thing was… when he was by himself, he started to think about the little things that were sticking in his memory. Like the fire smell that lingered in the air around Rachel when she was so close to losing it. Or the way blood that hadn't dried yet felt sticky on his hands. Or the sound that his grandfather had made when he was stabbed. Or the unnatural way Scott's eyes had sunken in. Or… or any of it.
And he knew - he knew -that Tommy had been teasing and upset and worried and all the things that Tommy always was when he said that there would have been less drama if he'd come along, but what if Billy had actually thought that far ahead? What if he'd gotten Tommy there to end the fight fast and help him get everyone out and to help?
His grandfather would have been furious, of course, and would have kept coming after Scott and James and probably Rachel and Nate too, if Billy was honest. But they could have done something different, right?
Billy sighed and ran his hands through his hair again. Even his mom had seemed resigned to the fact that her own father was putting himself on the path of his own destruction, but Billy was sure he could have done something. He knew his mom had told him about her old mistakes and made him swear not to change people when he changed reality, so he couldn't have changed Erik but… but still…
"Don't. Please."
Billy looked up, surprised, to see that the older version of, well, himself was standing there. And for some reason, the first thing Billy thought to say was, "I thought you weren't coming to Genosha. Weren't you sticking with James and Scott?"
"They're doing fine with Logan and K," the older Billy replied. "I came here, not just for them, but for you, too."
Billy shrugged and looked down again. "I'll be okay. It's just a lot, you know?"
He nodded, looking exactly as Billy'd seen himself do, which was a little odd, but that was to be expected. "I do know. And I know what happens if things don't work out right - which, I hate to say it, but this … this was the best case scenario for most everyone involved."
"Really?" Billy gave his older self a dry look. "The version of this where James hates himself, his dad is barely keeping himself going, my grandfather is dead, and everyone thinks I got telepathically forced into helping them do it - that's the best version?"
The older Billy waved one hand. "The people saying that stuff won't hold anyone's attention for long - and yes, this is still the best outcome." When his younger self didn't look convinced at all, Billy sighed, though he knew it was coming anyhow. "I can tell you what happens in the other scenarios. It's more or less the same with minor differences here and there, but I'd rather not show you unless I have to. It's ugly."
"There's got to be one where I thought to bring Tommy and James didn't have to kill my grandfather," he said softly.
"There is," the older Billy agreed. "And James didn't kill Magneto. But Magneto did kill James. And Scott."
Billy narrowed his eyes. "What? But that's not-"
"The dampener was on before anyone showed up. Tommy couldn't speed in there any faster than anyone else, but the distraction was enough that Magneto pulled the knife out of James before he could hit him back." He shrugged. "So the Summers kids got to watch and Scott got to hear him die, just like he heard James' parents die."
Billy kept shaking his head. "No, there's got to be… there's got to be a way we figured something out without anyone dying in that room."
"Sure, but James still died when Magneto decided he was too much of a liability, and so did Kate Summers for marrying a mutant - which … Magneto made illegal. There's another one where James lives a little longer, but in his attempt to get back to you, he gets picked up by Hydra. You're still going to want to watch out for that anyhow. He doesn't have the experience to resist all the horrible things Viper would do if she can get a hold of him."
Billy bit his lip but nodded. "It just… feels like … I mean, he was my grandfather. I should be, I don't know - shouldn't I hate James or something? Or … I feel like I can't figure out what to do."
"If you weren't there to see it yourself - to know that it went down the way it did and to have seen the hatred Magneto had for James, yes, you would hate James for what happened. But you saw what happened. Magneto had been escalating and he fully intended to kill James sooner or later. Just like he killed all the others. You know it wasn't a malicious thing on James' part, but if you do decide to break it off, be sure you really think it over, and that it's really what you want to do."
Billy frowned and shook his head. "No… that's just it. I don't want to do that, but I feel like I should, you know?"
"That's your grandfather talking," the older Billy said gently. "He was grooming you for most of your life to follow in his footsteps. And it's still up to you on how you go forward."
Billy let out a long sigh. "Any chance you could give me a hint? I'm still trying to get my feet on solid ground here."
"What kind of a hint do you want?" The older Billy smiled. "Because … if it's relationship advice …"
"Just… tell me if me and James can work even with all this crap, because I don't want to make things worse if we're headed for a crash and burn," Billy said earnestly.
"Is that what you want? To stay with him?"
"I think so?" Billy closed one eye.
"It's not a trick question. Really. I just don't want to influence you one way or the other before you have your mind made up."
"Then… yeah. Yeah, I think so. I'm… I'm about ninety-percent sure on that one, yeah."
"Then yes, it can absolutely work out." He broke into a teasing smile. "Of course, there's one version of events where you split now and he more or less becomes just like Tony Stark. Don't hope for that one. That leaves a wake of broken hearts with vendettas."
Billy couldn't help but laugh. "Oh. Wow. That's strangely specific." He smiled and leaned back. "But I'll take it. Thanks."
"You're welcome," the older Billy smiled softly. "And honestly, you don't have to decide right now. You can take some time first. Talk to a professional - either one that doesn't know who you are, or one that's not intimidated by the crown. It would do you some good whether you stay with James or not." He shrugged. "In fact … if you don't want to talk to any of the ones that the Summers kids know, or the ones that Jan might suggest, I have a great suggestion for you." With a flourish, the older Billy produced a business card out of thin air and handed it to his younger self - with the information on how to make an appointment to talk to a psychologist by the name of Rebecca Kaplan.