My legs dangled beneath me, hidden by the leaves that swathed the tree that I perched in. No one could see me, and I couldn't see much else besides the sky and the green leaves that surrounded me, but that was perfectly acceptable for me. I'd taken to tailing Wanda whenever she went out these past few weeks, but took extra precautions so she would never see me. If she found out about me following her I'd be better off dead. Still, I couldn't leave her alone, not with Magneto knowing she had her memories back, and was back on track to being his number one adversary. Unlike Professor X, Wanda wanted Magneto dead and would stop at nothing to see this happen. She was powerful enough to do it too, and I knew that's what scared Magneto the most. Because of this, I knew he wouldn't fight fair, and so I always made sure to have Wanda's back, whether she knew it or not, in case he decided to blind side her.
Because of my self-appointed status as her invisible entourage, I had been dragged all over town and even to several different towns to various locations over the past few weeks. I had no idea what she was doing inside these buildings, nor did I ever care to find out. I didn't use my hearing to determine what was said, I focused only on her vital signs to make sure that she was ok. Now I welcomed the fact that she was meeting someone in the park because I got to stretch out in a giant oak and soak in the daylight. It felt good, and honestly it was way better than going to school. I was doing my best not to eaves drop, and had succeeded all day, until I heard a very familiar pitch that had my blood running cold. My eyes snapped open and I allowed myself to take in some of what was being said.
"…no idea the dangers of what you're trying to do," scolded that deep velvet purr. It was Mystique. Why would Wanda be talking to her? She'd been gone again, none of us bothered to ask why or where, we just accepted the fact that she disappeared frequently and welcomed the reprieve that lent us. Why would Wanda openly seek her out?
"I know more than you think I do. And either way, it doesn't matter, you don't have a choice. Just tell me what you know," Wanda hissed heatedly at the older woman.
"Wanda, as much as ah hate ta say it, Mystique's right on this one. Maybe ya should try a different approach, come at him from a different angle." I knew that drawl anywhere. Rogue! But that only furthered my confusion. None of those three women were on good terms with one another, why would they all meet together? And why in the park? It just didn't make sense to me. Wanda was up to something, and something big if she got Mystique and Rogue to collaborate on it cooperatively.
"I don't have time for that!" Wanda was saying to Rogue. "He's had too much time as it is. For all I know, he could be heading here right now, and you are the only thing standing in my way of launching my own attack! All I need to know is what I'm up against. Tell me what he was working on." I could tell her attention switched to Mystique, who had taken several steps back.
"How dare you t-" Mystique started to say, but was cut off my Wanda again.
"Shut it! Did you hear that? Listen…." I opened up my hearing and let in all the other sounds around me. People, dogs, the wind, all of that felt like a normal day at the park to me. But then I heard it too. I didn't wait to see what I knew was coming, I already knew Gambit had great aim, and I knew his target. I didn't care what object he had charged, I only cared that it was headed straight towards the Scarlet Witch. Without thinking I jumped from where I was and tackled Wanda to the ground. "Toad!" she screamed but I didn't listen, just pulled her into me, keeping her between the ground and I as I shielded her with my body. Just seconds later there was a terrific explosion that vibrated deep into my bones, letting me know how close she had just come to being blown to pieces. When the smoke subsided I looked up, though still stayed hunkered over Wanda, trying to listen or get a glimpse of any other hints of the Cajun. There, at the very edge of my hearing but getting rapidly closer, this crackling hiss of something charged by Gambit's kinetic energy was coming towards us again. This time though, Wanda was ready. She shoved me off and stood, using her right arm in an arc type movement to turn the paper airplane back around and head it straight back at the metal platform that was now taking up most of the sky.
"Ya'll better get to the park, 'n fast! Magneto's here waging war on us, in broad daylight!" Rouge was shouting into some kind of device, and I was startled to see one of her gloves had already been pulled off. I didn't have long to gape though, because a wall of fire was headed out way, courtesy of Pyro. "Get down!" Rogue yelled at me, and I obliged without hesitation. Wanda stayed standing merely three feet in front of us, both of her hands glowing blue as she pulled them simultaneously in an upward motion, wrists first, then flicked her fingertips up and pushed a wall of blue hex magic out to swallow the flame. I glanced up and noticed that Mystique had already disappeared, but Rogue was now standing with her back to Wanda and I with me in the middle, facing off against Remy.
"Hullo, Cherie," he crooned at her, twirling his staff around him in a playful manner and giving her a cocky grin.
"I ain't your 'Cherie' today Remy," she spat back at him. Guess they were still in some kinda dispute. Either way, I wasn't gonna get in the middle of it. I jumped out to make the third point of a triangle between Rogue and Wanda, keeping an eye out for the two Acolytes I had yet to see. I didn't have to wait long, as Colossus came lumbering out from behind a group of trees, not far away. His metal face glowed red for a moment as Pyro launched another fire attack, then blue as Wanda quenched it and threw one of her own back at him, which pushed him off of the metal platform and onto the ground. I had no idea what I was supposed to do again the giant metal man, but I held my ground as he advanced. He ripped a tree out of the ground twirled it once before throwing it at me. When it reached a distance of 12 feet and 9 inches away, I launched my tongue at it while jumping into the air and pulled it up a little higher so that it flew over all three of us before landing on the ground again. I didn't have enough time to react to the metal bench that was now being thrown or way, but I was able to jump into the side of it so it caught me in the chest instead of hitting Wanda.
"Toad!" I heard her call as I was thrown backwards by the force of it. I distinctly felt several ribs whine in protest to the metal bars colliding with them, but chose to ignore it just then. Wanda still needed me. Remy and Rogue were locked in hand to hand combat as she attempted to knock him out with her touch, and he seemed to be just playing with her, though pushing her backwards one step at a time and definitely gaining ground. From somewhere behind me there was an enormous roar, letting us know where Sabertooth was. I pulled myself up and went back to standing beside Wanda, now close enough to her and Rogue that we were almost touching. Just as a giant wave of metal shards filled the sky above us, Wanda made an elaborated waving movement, as if pulling a blanket over us, and the shards shattered against a wall of blue hex magic that formed a dome over our triad. Wanda couldn't take on Magneto and his whole team with just Rogue and I as backup. We were going to lose, and I would lose Wanda. A fear ignited within me that burned deep into my heart. I would not lose her. I couldn't.
As the blue shield lifted, a few playing cards that glowed orange were tossed our way before any of us could do anything about it. Seconds before they hit, they were shot out of the sky with red beams of light from somewhere behind us. I whipped around to witness the X-men emerging from a large jet that had touched down, and Scott at its front ready to shoot down any more would-be bombs headed our way. Usually the sight of them meant trouble, but just then I had never been happier to see the geek squad running towards us. Thank God Rogue had been attacked as well, and that she was now a part of their pack. They always defended their own, and right then that meant Wanda and I were on their team too, teamed up against the common enemy of Magneto and his boy band. I didn't see Wolverine among them, which explained the absence of Sabertooth and the hearty roar we had heard earlier.
They all filed out to form an outer circle around us, which pushed most of the attacks back aside from Remy, who was still locked in with Rogue. From there on out, it was utter chaos. I could barely tell what I was doing, let alone everyone else. Flashes of light were fired from either side. All I kept track of was Wanda, and anything headed her way. I was able to slime most of the intended objects, and what was too big for me to slime, I lifted farther into the air like I had the tree so that it would glide smoothly over us. I could feel the others around me, but never got a chance to see any of them. Eventually I got knocked in the shoulder by a loose piece of something, I wasn't even sure what it was, and thrown from our circle for a few seconds. It was there that I observed why the X-men always bested us Brotherhood whenever we went up against each other. They moved as one, always looking out for each other's backs and never losing contact with one another. They really were a team, were as the Brotherhood was just a group of mutants. Tabby pulled out five explosives, handing them off to Nightcrawler as he disappeared, then sprouting seven more which Jean manipulated up and onto Magneto's platform. Ice Man created an ice slide down from the platform for everyone who was up there which included Amara, Spike, Kitty and Sunspot, which got them all to the ground and into the force field that Jean put around us seconds before a giant explosion pushed the enormous slab of metal straight down from the sky and crashing into the ground.
The smoke and dust completely covered us all, but I was able to find my way back to Wanda using my other senses, so attuned I was to her. There was a dead silence for a long time, and I couldn't tell if the people around me were a threat or the ones on our side. Everyone held their breath as the smoke began to clear, and a figure was seen coming towards us, his cape billowing out behind him. Before we could react, Wanda snarled something at him as she threw strong hex magics directly at him. He surrounded himself in a metal cocoon until they passed, and continued forward towards her. When he got closer I could see that there was something in his hand…it looked like metal circle that was broken by about two inches at one part. With one gesture, he sent the thing flying at us. It was among us before any of us could do anything about it, but it wasn't directed at any of us. Instead, it went to Gambit and settled at the base of his neck, clasping into place so that the small break was at the front, directly below his Adam's apple. He offered up a crooked grin as it settled into place, and gave Rogue a wink. Just like that he launched into action, but not with his usual powers. Hexes were being thrown at each of the people closest to him, and they went down with just one hit. He was using the blue fire of Wanda's magic! Unlike the rest of us, who were astounded by Remy's new ability, Wanda jumped into action, combating his bastardized hexes with her own curses. They seemed to match each other; Remy was faster, but Wanda was better. It was her own power, after all, and she had more experience wielding it. I tried to move forward to help her, but metal bonds clasped themselves around me and all the rest who were left standing, save for Wanda and Gambit who continued to fight fire with fire. So this was what Magneto wanted: His daughter's unfathomable power with chaos magic, in someone he controlled and could dictate their every move. That must have been what had happened when she went to face him. He didn't kill her because, I guess for some reason, he still needed her. And now he was testing his new toy out, pitting the swift and sly Gambit against Wanda to see how it faired.
Eventually Wanda ran out of patience, dancing with Remy as she was, and I knew she would. She wasn't one for flair or panache, just results. She crouched down for a second, then raised up her body and threw her hands far above her, creating a whirling pillar of blue hex magic before taking a step forward and throwing her hands at Gambit, which forced the magic to slam into him like a wave of witchcraft. Remy didn't stand a chance against her raw magic, fueled by rage and betrayal. He was pounded into the ground and pushed hard enough to make a large dent there with him at its center. When the blue faded, he made a move to stand but Wanda raised her right hand and threw a giant ball of hex magic at him, then another with her left, and more still, one with each step she took towards him until she stood over him in a pit deep enough that could be his grave. And perhaps that's exactly what she had in mind, judging by the look in her eyes. She raised both of her hands, which were glowing a vibrant blue, when Rogue interrupted her.
"Wanda, don't!" Rogue struggled against the metal bonds holding her to the ground, but to no avail. Wanda looked over at her, as if trying to remember where she was. "Please, don't kill him. He's not the one you want! He's just Magneto's experiment. Please, don't kill him."
"Yes…you're right," Wanda said softly, and turned away from the unconscious Cajun after wrapping him in a tight blue sphere to make sure he didn't wake up and get away. Wanda turned her sights on the master of metal, who had been watching the whole ordeal a safe distance away, hovering just high enough to see what was happening. As soon as she turned around, Magneto started to retreat. "Oh no you don't, not this time," she snarled. As she neared me I noticed she was breathing heavily and her heart beat had sky rocketed. Sweat beaded her face, but still she locked her eyes directly on Magneto and drew up her arms once more, summoning a giant wave of hex power and throwing it with all of her might at her father. He tried to escape by flying higher and wrapping himself in metal, but it did no good. Wanda's last act of witchcraft caught his cocoon and threw it straight into the ground, creating another crater that now housed Magneto. I could tell she wanted more than anything to go to it and finish all of this, but that last act had taken everything she had left. As Magneto lost consciousness maybe 100 feet away, the metal wrapped around me melted off and I was able to stand. Wanda took another shaky step towards him, but crumbled and fell. I jumped forward and caught her before she hit the ground, but just barely. The few others that were still conscious also rose, but didn't move; they didn't know what to do now. Scott was out, and so was Jean which left them basically leaderless.
I stood up straight with Wanda in my arms and looked around. Only Rogue, Tabby and Spike were left standing, looking around at the unconscious others. Rogue stood over the still glowing sphere in the ground that was Remy, then she turned to look at the rest of us.
"Now what?" asked Tabby. That was a very good question.