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Chapter Forty-Three:
Wanda sat in Lance's jeep as he followed Jean and Scott in the large X-Van, which was stuffed to capacity with her father's latest purchase. Wanda sat in the back seat, along with Kurt and Toad, as they made their way back to the institute.
Usually, she had her brother sit between her and Toad, but her father had needed his help. When they were in the store, she had asked Kurt to take the ride back to the institute with them. One look between her and Toad and Kurt had been kind enough to agree. It was a little cramped in the back seat with the three of them. Either way, it was nice having a substitute buffer between her and her would-be slimy suitor, even if his fuzzy hand kept brushing up against hers by accident.
"Sorry," he said again as he pulled it back.
"It's okay," she said again, blushing slightly. "You don't have to apologize. It's not a big deal," she said with a smile.
"What's not a big deal? He's not bothering you, right?"
"No, Toad. I'm fine," she said annoyed. Rolling her eyes, she hiked her elbow up against the window and rested her chin upon her hand. Closing her eyes, a moment, she let the wind blow through her hair as she attempted to relax, and enjoy the ride along the highway.
"Yo, you guys ever seen a salesman so happy?" Toad asked.
"Nope," Freddy replied with a chuckle from the front seat.
"The guy looked like he was about to faint when Summers said we needed twelve of them," Lance chuckled.
"I still don't get why she wants new mattress," Wanda commented, opening her eyes. "What about the ones we used the other night?" she asked. Lance just shrugged. "Kurt, I thought you said the institute had a bunch of extras," she said, turning to look at him again.
"We do, but I think the new ones are supposed to stay in the dome," he said.
"It cost a fortune," she added.
"Apparently, your father has the money to spare," Kurt said.
"Well, that's news to me," she said bitterly.
"I thought he just brought a bunch of stuff? Kitty said your place looks really nice now," Kurt said.
"The new couch is comfy and the t.v.'s works good. I don't gotta be an antenna no more," Toad said.
"The knife set's great," Freddy said.
"I'm just happy about the transmission for my ride," Lance added.
"No- no it's- it's not that- I guess," she muttered.
"Well, what is it, then?" Freddy said.
"I don't- I don't know-" she said quickly, sinking into her seat, wishing she hadn't spoken at all.
"Wanda, you're not jealous are you?" Toad asked.
"What? No," she exclaimed.
"Well, I am," Kurt said. Wanda turned to look directly at him. "Ever since Magneto moved in, I've barely seen my sister. She's spending all of her time with him," he said.
"It's weird, right?" Wanda asked, leaning closer to him.
"It's really weird," Kurt agreed. Wanda sighed in relief.
"I thought it was just me," she said.
"Kitty says I'm being paranoid and that I shouldn't let it bother me," he said.
"Pietro said the same thing to me," Wanda said.
"But it does bother me. I can't help it," Kurt said.
"Me too- I don't know why- but-" Wanda said.
"I just miss her," he said.
"I- yeah, maybe- maybe that's it," she said, her eyes widening.
"I've been trying to spend more time with her, but every time I think I'm going to- Magneto shows up, and then she's gone for the entire day. She wasn't even at dinner last night. She and Magneto went somewhere," he said.
"Really?" she asked.
"Where'd they go?" Toad asked.
"I don't know," he said.
"I- yeah, I think that's it," she said. "Why did it take me so long to realize?"
"Realize what, babycakes?" Wanda let out a sigh, as usual, ignoring Toad's pet names for her.
"My dad was gone for months, right?" she asked, looking at Kurt.
"Yeah," he said, nodding at her, as his hand slipped off his lap and brushed up against hers again.
"I- I thought he was dead. I- I mourned him," she said, placing her hands over his.
"I know how you feel. I mourned Mystique too," he said as he fully took her hand into his. His fuzzy hand felt warm and comforting against her. "Even though she's done bad things, she's still my mother. Most people can't understand that," he said.
"I know," she exclaimed. "I feel the same way. Everyone's always saying what a bad guy my dad is. But they're still our parents, right?" Wanda said.
"Yeah, we still love them," Kurt said with a sigh. They held each other's gaze for a moment. Before both of them blushed deeply and pulled their hands away from the others'. "It's- it's a miracle they're both alive," Kurt said sheepishly.
"Yeah, I know," she muttered. "After we recused him, I thought I'd finally going to get some quality father-daughter time- but now-" Wanda's voice trailed off.
"If that's how you feel you should tell him," Kurt suggested.
"I- yeah, I think I need to," she agreed. "You should talk to Rogue too," she said.
"She already knows," Kurt sighed. Wanda gave him a sad smile, not sure what to say. She felt the urge to take his hand again, comfort him the way he had comforted her. But she shook her head at herself.
'He has a girlfriend. Stop it,' she told herself, as she felt her face blush again. She needed to cold off. "Lance, could we make a quick detour?" she asked.
"As long as you're fulling up my tank," Lance said.
"I have my dad's credit card. You can get whatever you want from the gas station," Wanda said.
"Fine by me," Lance said before he pulled over into the passing lane.
"Can we get snacks?" Freddy asked.
"Oh, how about a burger gut bomb?" Kurt suggested.
"Yo, fast food. That's what I'm talking about," Toad said. Wanda looked at Kurt again and saw his cheeks still had a slight blush to them. He quickly looked away from her, as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"I don't see why not," Wanda answered as Lance drove parallel to the X-Van. She saw Scott roll down his window.
"Yes," Toad exclaimed as he and Freddy high-fived.
"Alvers', what's up?" Scott asked.
"We need to make a stop. We'll meet you back at the institute," he said.
"Hey, you guys are supposed to help us unload these," Scott said.
"We got them out of the store. You got an army of kids there. You'll figure it out," Lance said.
"Alvers," Scott muttered angrily.
"It's fine, we'll handle it," Jean interjected. "Kurt?" she asked.
"I'm taking the ride with them," he said.
"Okay, just make it back by six," Jean said.
"Got it," Kurt exclaimed.
"Later, Summers," Lance grinned before his jeep sped up, leaving the X-Van behind.
Charles Xavier closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. He had his hands folded in front of his face as he attempted to calm himself. All around him, he heard the X-Men and brotherhood alike running around. Orders were being issued, mostly by Rogue, as items were carried to and forth into the institute's newest expansion- which he had not been consulted about, nor given his blessing to.
'I'm certain they had an adequate reason,' he thought. 'Attempt not to be angry. You've just made peace with them both,' he reminded himself.
"Rogue, I got the clipboards," Kitty called out.
"At the front of the classroom, there's a stack of syllabuses and a pile of pens. Kitty, ya mind attaching one of each to the clipboards?" she asked.
"On it," she called out.
"I can help with that," Amanda said as she ran to join Kitty.
"Thanks, y'all," she called out.
"Rogue," he heard Magneto's voice say. "The generator's set up," he said.
"I'm finished with the floor's wiring. Just need to test out the lights," she said.
Charles opened his eyes once more and took in the sight before him.
"Can someone please explain why there is a large metal dome on my lawn?" he asked dryly. He watched Rogue and Magneto share a glance.
"You didn't tell him?" Rogue asked.
"I thought you were. While Pietro and I retrieved the supplies from the Arrowrose base," Magneto said with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, I did not say I was gonna do that," she said, shaking her head. He watched them stare at each other for a long moment. "You're up, sugar," she grinned, as she patted his chest twice. Magneto let out an amused huff as she took off towards the entrance to the dome.
Finally, his friend turned to look at him with an apologetic expression. He walked towards him before he paused.
"Blueprints," Magneto called out. She turned back around and with a wave of the hand she pulled up-
'A hologram?' he asked himself.
"Thank you, dear," his friend called out, as his hand turned into a fist and he pulled the hologram towards them.
"Yup," she said before she entered the metal dome.
"Charles, I must apologize. We were eager to get the structure up and running today. So, Rogue would still have time to give the first lecture before dinner," he explained.
"Why, precisely, does giving a lecture require a new structure at all?" Charles asked before his eye reviewed the blueprints, which matched the size and scope of the metal dome now present behind his mansion. It seemed the inside was laid out similarly to a movie theater with lighting along the floor instead of the ceiling. There were three levels to it, each with room for three selections for the students to sit. However, he didn't note any seats in the blueprints or see any chairs being transported into the dome. He wondered where the students were going to sit.
"Charles?" Magnus asked, calling for his attention. He quickly looked up at his friend. "You've seen my holograms projections before, yes?" he asked.
"Of course," he nodded in response.
"I achieve this by manipulating visible light. Typically, I only do so on a minimum scale. The blueprints you see before you are about the scope of what I'm capable of," he said.
"Why is that?" Charles asked.
"Even small holograms require a large degree of memorization to achieve the effect," he said.
"What does that have to do with the structure-" he asked.
"However," Magnus cut him off, seeming rather energized, "when you take my potential for affecting visible light and you match it with Rogue's perfect recall, the possibilities of what she can accomplish with this particular aspect of my powers becomes- Well- honestly, I'm not entirely sure but I'm keen to see this lecture she has planned," he explained.
"I see," he said, noting his enthusiasm.
"Charles, I really must apologize. Once Rogue explained it to me, I got a bit excited, and I thought she would have informed you. And thinking about that for even a moment, I realize she most certainly would have assumed it my duty to do so," he said before ranking a hand through his hair. "I apologize," he said again for sighing.
"It's- it's alright, Magnus," he said dismissively. "I would've said yes," he said. "Next time, please remember to consult me," he said.
"Of course, old friend," he said.
Wanda sat in the back seat of Lance's jeep, a soda in one hand and half a burger in the other, as they drove down the city block - however, there seemed to be a lot of traffic and it was slowly going down the street. Which suited her just fine, as it gave her time to eat in peace.
"How have I never had these before?" Wanda asked with her mouth half full before making an appreciative noise.
"I weep for you, Wanda," Kurt said. She laughed before she coughed and swallowed. She quickly took a sip of her soda. "You have not lived until you tasted the burger gut bomb," Kurt exclaimed.
"I think you're right," she said, unable to keep herself from smiling.
"I get these all the time. I can't go a week without having one. The addiction is real," he said. Wanda giggled at Kurt's antics.
'I didn't know he was this funny,' she thought.
"I'll take you to get burgers whenever you want, Sweetums," Toad piped up. "I'll buy you a whole mountain of burgers," he said.
"No thanks, Toad," she said, revolted before the jeep stopped short. She quickly kept herself from dropping the burger.
"Hey, don't make a mess back there," Lance yelled, before beeping his horn.
"If anything happens, I'll clean it up," she offered.
"Yeah, okay," Lance said as he used his horn again.
"Yo, it's just traffic," Toad said.
'Is it?' she asked as she noticed people were got out of their cars in a panic. 'What-'
"And it's gonna make us late," Lance said.
"Hmm- guys," Freddy said. "I think we got a bigger problem," he said, pointing up.
"What are you?" Lance asked. She glanced up, her eyes widening at the sight of a large orange circular portal about a hundred feet above their heads.
"Wanda, is that you?" Toad asked.
"I can't even fly yet," she said, dropping the rest of the food into the bag by her feet. "There's no way I could make something like that," she said.
"Well, something is," Lance said.
"Hey," a voice called out. Wanda glanced up to see a trucker had gotten out of his truck and was pointing at their jeep. "They're the muties who were on the news," he screamed. She felt a lump in her throat as some people looked towards the jeep.
"Is that the brotherhood?" she heard a woman ask.
"Yes, I think it's them," another man answered. A few people walked towards them.
"We gotta get out of here before this gets ugly," Toad said.
"Love to, but we're boxed in," Lance said.
"Wait-" Wanda said as she stood up. Peering up, her eyes widening as she saw a small blue figure descend from the portal as it closed. "Someone's coming out of it," she said, alarmed.
"I'm on it," Kurt said before a puff of smoke replaced him. She coughed as the smell of brimstone filling her lungs.
"Them muties are behind this," the trucker yelled.
"Hey, we didn't do nothing," Freddy said.
"Yeah, I don't think they care," Toad said.
"We gotta go," Freddy said.
"Not without Kurt," Wanda declared as she called upon her magic, red energy swirls around her fists.
"It's another one of their tricks. Get 'em," another voice called out.
"I'm warning you, stay back," she yelled as she let loose a warning shot in front of the small band of humans heading towards them.
"Kelly's right, they're a menace," a voice called out. Part of the mob, backed away in fear, but others quickened their pace.
As she heard Kurt's return, she glanced down for a second and became vaguely aware he had brought back a young unconscious blue-skinned girl. But was far too preoccupied with the small mob of people still heading towards them.
"Okay, go, go, go," Wanda yelled. She fought to maintain her balance as Lance veered out of the road and onto the sidewalk. She sent a few more blasts of magic towards the ground which seemed to keep most of the humans from immediately following them.
Wanda gripped the railing of the jeep as Lance made a sharp right, turning the corner.
"Get out of the way," Lance yelled as he used his horn. Wanda turned towards the front of the van at the sounds of screaming pedestrians. She felt her heart skip a beat as she heard sirens in the background.
"I can't go to jail," Toad squealed.
"That's not happening," Lance said as he turned another corner the wheels left the ground for a brief moment as Lance jumped the curb and landed back onto the street.
"I can teleport us away from here if I know where I'm going. How far are we from the institute?" Kurt asked.
"Too far," Lance replied as he ran a red light- the sound of honking cars filled her ears, as the sirens got louder.
"Our place is closer," Toad said. Her eyes widened as she watched as a police car turned onto the same street as them.
"We're running out of time," she said.
"How close?" he asked.
"About a mile and a half," Lance said.
"I can make that," Kurt said. "Wanda," he said, pulling at her arm. She looked down at him. "I need you to take her," he said.
"Okay," she said as she sat down, trying to ignore the sirens. "Okay," she said again as the young girl was shifted onto her lap. She was a child, really. Maybe twelve or thirteen years old.
"Everyone, hold on," he said as he gripped the side of the car. She coughed again, the jeep emerging from a large puff of smoke, as she found they were on the lawn in front of their house.
Wanda closed her eyes for a moment, attempting to gain control over her breathing, as she held the young mutant close to her chest.
"Is everyone okay?" Freddy asked after a moment.
"I think so," Toad said.
"Yeah," Lance said.
"Is she okay?" Kurt asked. Wanda opened her eyes.
"I don't know," she said, inspecting the young girl in her arms.
Looking at her, she couldn't help but noticed the girl's similarities to Kurt. From the blue fur that covered her body, her long pointed ears, to the three fingers she had on each of her hands. Her short, shoulder-length hair was mostly blue, except for her bangs which were white. She was wearing a red hoodie, which wasn't zippered, a white tank-top under that, a red miniskirt with a brown belt, and knee-high black boots. The black choker, with a ruby pendant around her neck, reminded her of something she would wear herself. Her gaze lingered over her left eye, where she saw a scar in the shape of the letter M.
"She has a pulse," Kurt said.
"That's good," she muttered. "Hey," she breathed as she gently shook her shoulder. The young girl, in question, coughed, as she regained consciousness. Her eyes shot open and pure yellow pupils stared up at her. A large gasp escaped her lips as she sat up on her lap. "Are you okay?" Wanda asked.
"I- I-" the girl stammered as she looked around. "Rachel," she yelled out, panicked as she stood up. She quickly grabbed onto the back railing of the jeep and did a backflip onto the ground. "Luna," she called out. "Jacob-Owen," she called out.
"Hey, little girl, are you okay?" Kurt asked again as they all got out of the jeep.
"I'm fine, but gotta find my cousins," she said.
"Maybe we can help you look for them. What happened to you?" Kurt asked.
"I- I don't know- I- I- fell through some kind of gateway. Tempo was trying to protect us from Exodus- then she," she said, pausing as tears ran down her face. "Where am I?" she asked.
"Bayville, New York," Lance answered.
"Near- near Brooklyn?" she asked, suddenly visibly afraid.
"Ah- yeah," Toad said.
"There's a subway if you need to go to the city," Wanda said.
"Subway?" she repeated, confused. "I thought those were all destroyed by the sentinels," she muttered mostly to herself. Wanda shared a glance with Kurt and Lance. "Rachel," she called out.
"Hey, kid. The sentinels destroyed a couple of Apocalypse's satellites but that's it," Lance said.
"Yeah, we had to do most of the work defeating him ourselves," Freddy added. She stopped her frantic search and walked directly up to Lance.
"Apocalypse's was defeated?" she asked.
"Yeah," Lance answered with a raised eyebrow.
"That's- that's incredible," she said, her face lighting up. "Who was it? Rogue or Magneto?" she asked.
"Hm- Apocalypse captured Magneto," Kurt explained.
"What?" the girl exclaimed. "No, no, no, no," she cried, tears coming to her eyes. "Is he okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, yeah, we rescued him. He's fine," Wanda said, confused by the young girl's concern for her father. The girl let out a sigh of relief.
"So, it was Rogue?" she asked, wiping the tears from her face.
"Yeah," Kurt confirmed.
"Hey, it was a team effort," Freddy interjected.
"Well, we all played our part," Lance said.
"Really?" she asked, her face lit up again. "When?" she asked.
"A few weeks ago," Toad answered.
"Weeks?" she asked, puzzled. "Okay- okay- the gateway, must of- When Tempo tried to slow it down- maybe it pushed us forward in time?" she asked herself, before shaking her head. "Okay- not a big deal- Why cares if I lost a few weeks or a few months- That's okay- if North America is out of- Maybe it won't be that hard to get home," she muttered mostly to herself. "I just- I have to find my cousins first," she said, turning back to look at them all.
"I'm Kurt, by the way. We can help you look for your family," Kurt suggested again.
"Friends call me, T.J. Thanks," she smiled with a nod. "Rachel, Jacob-Owen, Luna," she called out again as she walked away from the house and towards the street. Freddy, Toad, and Lance shrugged at each other before they followed her, calling out the names as well.
Wanda walked up to Kurt, both of them sharing a glance.
"She- she looks a lot like you," she pointed out, her tone hushed.
"Trust me, I noticed," he whispered. "So does Mr. McCoy. It doesn't mean anything."
"Maybe, you should take off your image inducer," she suggested.
"I don't know-" he said.
"Or ask her if she knows Mystique?" she asked.
"Okay, if you think it will help," he said, as they walked closer to the others. "Hmm, T.J," he called out. The other girl turned to look at them. "Do- do you know a woman named Mystique? She is my mother," he said. Wanda watched as the other girl froze, her blue skin somehow turning lighter like she was getting paler.
"Wait- Kurt- you said- right? Is your name's Kurt Wagner?" she asked alarmed.
"Yeah," he said, cautiously. "You've heard of me? I've not heard of you," he said.
"I-I- but- you're not blue," T.J. exclaimed, confused.
"Oh- my image inducer. Here, I'll turn it off," he said as his hand brushed over his watch and his true appearance manifested. The young mutant backed away several feet, putting some distance between herself and the rest of the group.
"Hey, kid, you okay?" Lance asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost," he said.
"I have-" T.J. muttered under her breath. "Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no," she chanted quietly to herself as she crouched on the ground. She rested her hands on her knees as she continued to chant.
"Hm- should we keep looking?" Freddy asked.
"We saw the portal- Yo, only she came out of it," Toad said.
"T.J. you think you've been sent forward in time, right?" Kurt asked.
"We've seen time-loops before. Maybe magic can make time portals too?" Wanda said as she noticed T.J's eyes on her, studying her.
"Magic," T.J. repeated softly. "Are you- are you Wanda Maximoff?" she asked.
"Yeah," she said with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, my god. What am I gonna do?" T.J. screamed as she stood up.
"Hey, try taking a deep breath," Wanda said as she took a step closer to her. "We'll figure this out. We'll help you look for your cousins, and then maybe we can find your parents," she suggested. T.J. let out a soft nervous laugh under her breath.
"Yeah, yeah-" she said as she laughed. "You already helped me find my parents," she laughed as she crouched down again, hiding her face in her hands.
"We did?" Wanda asked as she shared another glance with Kurt.
She watched her take a series of deep breaths. She stood up, wiping tears away from her eyes as she kept looking between the two of them, her and Kurt.
"My name is Talia Josephine Wagner. I'm your daughter and," she said, her voice breaking down, more tears forming in her eyes. "I have no idea what to do," she cried before she threw herself into Wanda's arms. "Mom," T.J. cried against her. Wanda's eyes widened, the realization set in. She quickly wrapped her arms around the young girl, hugging her tightly, not knowing what else to do either.
"This is a joke, right?" Toad asked, his voice more high-pitched than usual.
She looked to Kurt- who stared at her as if he was a deer caught in the headlights. Neither of them knew what to say.
"Right?" Toad cried.
"I don't think so, buddy," Freddy said.
Wanda just hugged the girl, her daughter, as she cried against her.
Hey all! Sorry, it's been so long. Job hunting is stressful! But thankfully, I got a new job and I start on Monday. So, now that that's off my plate, I can write again!
Okay- review response time:
Always Twight 7: Hi! I'm glad I have a name to address you by now. I like having a confirmation I'm talking to the same person. The first few times you reviewed, I thought, I think this is the same person, over and over, but I wasn't sure. Thank you! I pictured just the shoulders, but I know whatever you draw is going to be awesome. I'm so excited to see it! Thankfully, I found a new job! I'm glad you're enjoying the different POV's! And yes, Charles really needed to chill because I could not keep that conflict as the main focus of the fic. Time to move on and forward with the plot :) Thank you so much. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the new chapter!
Tfranco9: Hi! Thank you so much! I read Unexpected Offers and yeah I was surprised I liked it so much. Thanks for the recommendation! No one really writes Sabortooth getting in touch with 1800's gentlemen very often and it was a very interesting read. I binged it all in one sitting. Legacy was such a great run! I miss that time in the comics when Rogue wasn't relegated to a side character in someone else story. Where she was allowed to shine with the full capabilities of her powers. She hasn't been written the same since, in my opinion. More is here and coming, but will be slower than I like since I'm not working from home anymore. I have to start commuting again :( Anyway, I hope to hear from you again, I would love to hear your thoughts on the current chapter!
AbraxasDane: Hi! Thank you! I had no idea about the audiobook-like feature on the app. Thanks for the heads up. I checked it out- and OMG all the typos in my earlier chapters, as read by a Sir-like voice, hit me hard. I didn't have the guts to keep listening to my newer stuff but I'm sure it's just as bad. That's what I get for not having a beta. AHHH! Anyway, I think it's super cool and I'm so glad you're liking my story. Thank you so much for the compliments! I also like Rogue with a more handsome guy (I lowkey hate Gambit). I hope you like this latest update and I hope to hear your thoughts on it!
Thank you all so much!
