Chapter 29

The next morning Wanda's brow furrows as the annoying beep beep of the alarm clock penetrates her consciousness. She raises a hand which glows blue and the alarm makes a noise like it is being strangled as Wanda sends it to wherever alarm clocks go when they depart this life.

"You'll be buying a new one of those Hex-girl," a familiar gruff voice says.

Wanda cracks an eye open and peers toward the light flooding in through the door and can see the vague outline of Logan standing there.

Is Wanda surprised to see him?

The answer is no because he is almost always there because Tabby tends to refuse to get up in the mornings and considering Tabby was home late from her date with Sam last night Wanda guesses Logan was making doubly sure.

"Up and at them Time Bomb!" he shouts.

"Screw you," Tabby mutters into her pillow.

Amara, Wanda's other room-mate, mutters something in her native Latin that Wanda doesn't catch.

"You have 5 minutes and then I'm dumping ya into the shower and running it ice cold," Logan threatens before moving on to the next person he has to wake up.

Wanda groans and rolls onto her back, throwing an arm over her eyes as she does so. She hates these early morning DR sessions. Whoever thought it a good idea to run kids through simulations in a room full of lethal death traps needs shot...except she is pretty sure it was all Logan's idea and shooting him doesn't do any permanent damage.

With a deep breath Wanda decides to get up and at least get into the shower before all the hot water is used up...or Bobby ices it...again. He seriously needs to come up with something original. It is like his whole brain is only wired to pull ice-related pranks.

Wanda throws her covers back, swivels her hips round and plants her bare feet on the ground. She stands herself up, stretches her arms out above her head and heads for the shower. She peels her nightshirt off, steps in and runs the water.

Wanda closes her eyes and enjoys the feel of the hot water. It'll help wake her up.

Wanda then frowns as the sensation of water hitting her skin stops. "Oh come on," she complains at what she thinks is the plumbing on the blink.

Wanda opens her eyes which widen further at seeing the water from the shower head flowing up and collecting on the ceiling. "O-Ok," Wanda says, her voice shaking with uncertainty. "That's new," she remarks because, even for all the strange effects her powers can have, this has never happened before.

The way the water looked and moved with the light refracting through it was sort of pretty...like rainbows. Yes she likes rainbows.

As she watches, the water starts to change and become properly rainbow coloured as the varying colours mix and flow around each other. "Uh..." she says, completely clueless as to what to do.

'Was this her magical powers?' she asks herself. Nothing had happened on that front...except the floating thing. The fact that last night the curtains caught fire while she was stirring her drink with her finger was complete coincidence. It had to be...Amara or Roberto's doing even if they denied it.

Wanda stares at the water a bit longer wondering how she stops this and gets it down.

As she thinks it the whole lot falls down atop of her soaking her through and she cries out in shock.

"Wanda!" Amara's voice yells through the door. "You alright?" she asks.

"Uh...yes!"

"Why were you yelling?"

"Um...err...the water just went cold suddenly!" Wanda thinks up.

"Already!" Amara exclaims in surprise.

"One of those days I guess! I'll just be a minute!"

Luckily by now the multicoloured water has flowed away down the drain. Wanda doesn't want anyone to see that because that would mean she can't control her new powers which only leads in her mind to having to leave.

No. She has control. Her mutant powers were difficult at first as well and she mastered them...mostly. She doesn't want to leave.

'I'm in control. I'm in control,' she repeats over and over in her head.

Determination renewed Wanda exits the shower and gets ready for the day ahead.

Breakfast is the usual chaos. Tabby is talking Wanda's ear off about her date with Sam. Wanda is going to go with Tabby thinks it went well and Sam seems to have a large goofy grin on his face so it probably did.

Wanda pours herself a glass of milk.

"Hey. Who has tha milk?" Rogue shouts across the table.

Rogue. That girl always puts Wanda into a sour mood. "I do," she says and hands it over.

Rogue's face takes on an identical expression of unhappiness to Wanda's as she takes the carton.

Rogue pours herself a glass and brings it to her lips. She takes a gulp...and then proceeds to spit it out everywhere.

"EW! Rogue!" Kitty complains as bits of spit out milk hit her.

Rogue coughs and splutters. "Oh mah God! That's awful! It's so sour tastin!"

Wanda who is drinking her own milk down can't see what Rogue is on about. Taste's fine to her.

"What did ya do?" Rogue demands to know and Wanda finds herself under the intense angry glare of Rogue's green eyes.

"Nothing," Wanda replies.

"Lies! Ya did something!"

Wanda stands up. "Read my lips. I. Did. Nothing. Is that simple enough for you or do I need to dumb it down further to match your IQ!"

Rogue visibly seethes as she stands up and the two girls lean over the table glaring at each other. "Apologise!" Rogue demands.

Wanda laughs mockingly. "No!"

"Ya apologise or ah am warnin' ya!" Rogue threatens.

"Bring it on!" Wanda dares her.

Suddenly a hand comes down in between the two girls' faces. "Ok. That's enough!" Clark's stern tones demand an end to this. Since he rarely raises his voice it gets everyone's attention.

Rogue and Wanda look at him.

"But Clark..." Rogue starts to protest.

"Rogue. Do you have proof Wanda did anything?"

"It was fahne until she touched it!"

"That wasn't what I asked," Clark says.

"You're takin' her side!" Rogue exclaims in disbelief, pointing at Wanda.

"I'm not taking anyone's side. I asked a question. Do you have proof?"

"Well no..." Rogue has to reluctantly admit.

Clark turns to Wanda. "Wanda did you do anything to the milk?" he asks her.

"Are you accusing me?" Wanda asks incredulously.

"No. I'm asking a question," Clark voice remains calm but firm. His eyes bore into Wanda.

"As much as I may have liked to," Wanda says waspishly, "no. I didn't." And as far as Wanda is aware she didn't do anything.

Rogue snorts derisively. "As if ah'm goin ta believe that."

"I don't care what you believe. In fact I don't care what you think at all!" Wanda replies to that.

"This has got to stop," Clark says, tried of the constant bickering or cold silences between Rogue and Wanda. "Look I don't know what it is between you two...mostly because you won't tell me and I have been really, really patient but my patience has limits. Honestly of all the people around here you two should get along," he mutters absently.

"What do you mean by THAT?" Rogue and Wanda yell at him, demanding to know.

"That you have more in common than you care to admit."

"We do not!" the two girls yell at him and then glare at each other. For a few seconds everyone wonders if they will end up brawling again before they stomp out of the kitchen using opposite doors.

Clark runs his hand through his hair in frustration and lets out a long painful sigh.

"Boy are you in the doghouse," Ray remarks with an amused expression.

"Thanks for clarifying that Ray," Clark says sarcastically. He already knew that from Rogue's expression alone.

A hand comes to rest on Clark's broad shoulder. "It was a nice try honey," his mother tries to make him feel better. She too was tired of the tension between Rogue and Wanda and could see Clark tried at least to point out they have a lot in common.

"This can't go on," Clark determines.

"Vhat vill you do?" Kurt asks him.

"I don't know but we've got to find a solution. This has dragged on way too long."

"What's this we bit?" Bobby asks, bits of cereal being spit out of his full mouth as he speaks.

"Robert!" Martha snaps at him. "Swallow first. Speak second," she reprimands his bad manners.

"Sorry," he apologises...his mouth still full. Martha looks to the heavens for strength.

"Well you have good luck with that," Roberto tells Clark, showing how he is not getting involved.

Clark once more runs his hand through his hair in frustration. Honestly he loves Rogue and he said he would be patient for the answer but it's been a month since he returned and he isn't any closer to getting one. No. This cannot get on and Clark decides one way or another he'll get to the truth.

Wanda cannot believe what Clark said about her and Rogue having something in common.

PLEASE!

The only thing they have in common is their mutual dislike of each other which is something Wanda is perfectly happy about.

She stomps her way down to the changing rooms in the lower levels. Smashing the Danger Room apart will be a good release of her anger.

Wanda gets dressed into her Scarlet Witch gear. Her scarlet red top and pants. Black boots and fingerless gloves and long red coat. When she first started with the New Mutants they complained bitterly about how she got a costume and they had to wear the standard new recruit uniforms. Wanda wasn't wearing one of those in a million years. The only compromise she ever made was a belt buckle with a X on it.

Soon enough the rest of the New Mutants show up...with Logan physically dragging a couple of them into the Danger Room still looking half-asleep.

"Listen up!" he speaks loudly to get their attention. "I'm going to be nice and lenient on ya this morning."

The New Mutants all loudly scoff at that.

"All ya have to do it get from once side of the room to the other," Logan tells them before looking up to the control room. "Fire it up Jinx!" he shouts at Domino who is manning it.

"Sure skip. You want fries with that?" Domino quips back over the loudspeaker which makes the New Mutants laugh.

Logan growls. One of these days he swears, cousin or not, he will gut her. He stomps out of the room which soon activates. The holograms fire up to make a much larger room pitted with weapons of all sorts.

"Hey!" Tabby protests. "I thought all you said we had to was get across the room!" she shouts.

Logan's voice comes over the loudspeaker. "I never said which room though did I," he says and you can hear the smirk in his voice.

"Jerk," Tabby mutters.

"Easy Tabby," Sam says. He had over the last few months essentially become the leader of the group. He had a gift for it as it turned out.

Sam turns to the task at hand. Logan never makes these things easy. He thinks through the first move. "Alright. Iceman, Sunspot, Multiple, you will draw their fire," he decides. Bobby and Sunspot can move the fastest and dodge being hit and Jamie can just make expendable dupes. "Boom Boom, Magma, Scarlet Witch, Berzerker, you, along with meh, will take down the weapons."

There were too many to just try and storm across the room. They would have to thin out the defences first before trying to make it to the other side. That's what Sam thinks anyway.

"Ooh Sammy. It's such a turn on when you take charge," Tabby enthuses with a saucy wink.

Sam blushes at that.

"Today people!" Logan complains at them to get started.

"It's called planning a strategy!" Tabby shouts at him, defending her Sammy, as every good girlfriend should.

"She has you there," Domino says to Logan as she sits there, her feet up on the controls.

Logan shoves her feet off which earns him a small glare.

"Ok. Lets do it," Sam orders.

Bobby turns into his ice form while Roberto activates his powers and he turns completely black, licked by fire around the edges...just like his namesake, Sunspot. Jamie stamps his foot and creates several dupes. More than he meant to. He still can't quite control how many copies of himself he makes.

The dupes go first to draw the initial fire. They'll go down but that's acceptable and expected.

With the initial fire drawn Sunspot flies into action as Iceman slides into action. The turret weapons start to divide their fire at the multiple targets.

"Right. Our turn. Hit them hard," Sam orders. "Cannonball!" he yells as he takes off through the air smashing into turrets high up on the wall as Tabby conjures up her time bombs and rolls them across the floor. When they explode they can take out anything hidden under the floor.

Amara transforms into her fire form as her body completely changes into a dark magma-like orange with flames licking around her edges. She raises her hands and releases a stream of fire as she starts to melt the various turrets.

Ray rubs his hands together as a charge builds up between them before he launches an electrical attack causing the turret he strikes to overload and explode.

Wanda summons up her hex bolts. Just nice and simple she has decided today. She hits a turret which malfunctions and like Ray she causes it to short and overload. Nice and simple but oh so satisfying after her shouting match with Rogue...and maybe she is just imagining Rogue's face on everything she hits this morning. Wanda's hand glow with the radiant blue/black energy only what she doesn't notice are the flecks of scarlet red within.

Up in the control room Domino quirks an eyebrow as the system readings fluctuate a bit. Wasn't beyond normal parameters but it was odd. "You know they're not bad now," she remarks to Logan about the performance the New Mutants put in.

Logan will admit they've improved, especially since Hayseed stepped up and took on a leadership role. His instruction makes it work. Last time he was forced to miss it, it all fell apart into a disaster which shows there are still problems. If Sam got, say injured, there's no-one ready to step up and assume the leadership role.

Domino frowns as the readings fluctuate again. She taps the gauges with her finger. Something isn't right here. Call it a funny feeling she is having.

Wanda fires another hex bolt...only for it to shift and morph in colour and shape. "Uh oh," she says with a sudden bad feeling.

The bolt hits a weapon turret. It doesn't explode. Instead the whole thing begins to morph as if made of liquid. A tentacle like appendage suddenly whips out and smashes the ice-slide Bobby is using. The tentacle then grabs him and wraps itself around his body, squeezing.

"Can't breath!" Bobby chokes out. "But please don't help me, he adds sarcastically.

"Wanda! Get it!" Sam orders.

Wanda hesitates before unleashing another hex bolt. Instead of freeing Bobby it makes things worse. More tentacles appear and the turret rips itself out of the floor rising up on 6 legs while still holding Bobby in a 7th.

"Can't you just freeze it?" Tabby shouts at Bobby.

"Well gee I never thought of that!" Bobby shouts back sarcastically. "I'm trying! It's not working!"

"Magma. Try and melt the floor. Maybe we can trap it," Sam suggests.

Magma bends down and places her hand on the floor sending a wave of fire along the floor towards the squid turret. The fire reaches the tentacles...and then it bounces off right back at her in the air, smacking her in the chest sending her tumbling back. Her fire form fades away and her hand goes to her chest. "Ow," she says in complete shock. Her uniform is damaged and that...hurt?

Fire never hurts her. She's fireproof. This is impossible.

"Shut it down!" Logan orders Domino after seeing Magma get hurt because that should be impossible. The DR room can't cause an injury like that.

"It won't shut down," Domino reports in a frantic tone as she tries every control she can think of.

"Cut the power," Logan decides is the only answer.

Domino hits the switch. Nothing. It won't respond. "I'll have to do it at the main junction box," she tells Logan as she leaves the control room in a sprint.

Down in the Danger Room the squid turret is picking off the New Mutants. Roberto now finds himself in it's inescapable grip while a plethora of Jamies lie around dazed. Sam, with Tabby's help, is trying to pull himself out of the hole in the wall he was flung into.

The turret blasts Ray, knocking him down, making his uniform smoke.

All the while Wanda stands there unsure what to do in case she makes it worse. Suddenly there is a primal roar from above and she looks up as Wolverine comes diving from the control room, claws popped and ready.

He lands on top of the turret and drives his claws in...and it shrieks, like it is in pain, like it is alive.

Logan moves swiftly and cuts through the tentacles holding Bobby and Roberto causing more shrieks. Logan then begins to stab and slash like a man possessed until the squid turret collapses to the ground.

There is a flash and the holograms start to dissolve. Domino must have cut the power. A short time later she enters the room to find the New Mutants picking themselves up and Logan standing atop of the now unmoving squid turret.

Domino clambers up to him. "What the hell was that?" she demands to know.

"I don't know and that's not the weirdest thing."

"It isn't?"

"Everything today was holograms so if you cut the power why is this thing still here?"

Domino looks down at what she is standing upon. "That's not possible," she says in total confusion and trust her she knows better than most what is impossible and what isn't. You can't make a hard-light construct real.

"Is it?" Logan asks and Domino watches his gaze shift. She follows it until it lands on Wanda who has a far off stare.

"Lets get them to the infirmary first and sort this out later," Domino decides, not ignoring Logan's hunch but it can wait.

Logan grunts an agreement and both of them climb down and help get the students to the infirmary.

For the rest of the day Wanda avoids everyone as best she can. When asked about what happened in the Danger Room she had given this mumbling, rambling reply which was completely out of character for her but she was too freaked out to think straight. Her mind was trapped permanently on what happened.

Luckily no-one had been seriously hurt by the incident but Wanda was still freaked by what happened.

'Was that her? Did she really do that?'

Wanda thought she was just about getting a handle on her powers. She had really improved and was secretly quite proud of herself and then all this happens and now she feels like...like that scared little girl who just lost her mother and whose powers were out of control and whose father threw her away.

In her seat in the corner in an empty room Wanda draws her knees up to her chest. Tears threaten to fall from her eyes.

What...what if everyone here thinks she is dangerous just like her father thought?

What if they throw her away?

She scrunches her eyes closed and fights off the tears. Tears are weak. Wanda is not weak. Never weak. Weak is why she got thrown away. She's never being thrown away again. She's not leaving here. She wants to stay. She's strong. She'll get control.

"I control my powers. They do not control me," she says to herself. Then she repeats that again and again and over and over until by sheer force of will she'll make it true.

For the next 24 hours plus Wanda makes that happen. It's helpful that they're still trying to fix the Danger Room so no training sessions. Apparently it's programming was really messed up. Wanda thinks she saw that Forge guy about somewhere helping fix it. Wanda hadn't really made any effort to be friendly. No surprise there.

It's late into the afternoon and Wanda is simply walking around the grounds, her mind still plagued with doubts and worries. The others will probably be back from school soon she reckons.

Wanda lets out an audible sigh at her problems.

"Hello Wanda."

Wanda stiffens instantly. She knows that voice. She turns to find a figure whose face is hidden by a hooded cloak. "Agatha?"

The figure pulls the hood down to reveal an elderly woman with mist-grey hair up in a bun. Agatha Harkness smiles lightly. "How are you Wanda?"

"Fine," she snaps a little too quickly at the woman who first helped her control her powers.

"You do look well," Agatha observes. "This place has been good for you," she assesses.

"Why are you here?" Wanda asks.

Agatha smiles pleasantly. "Any witch worth her salt has visions. I know what is happening to you. I'm curious. Have your visions started yet?"

Wanda looks confused. "My what?"

Agatha tries to elaborate. "No odd dreams that seem real of far away places or events that haven't happened yet?"

"Not that I recall."

"Well it's still early. Your powers have only just awakened," Agatha says as if it does not matter for the moment.

"Wait a minute. Witch?" Wanda asks going back to that. "You...you never told me that," she says with a slight scowl at being lied to.

"If I had just said it would you have believed me?"Agatha asks Wanda.

"No," Wanda admits and then adds, "I don't like witches."

"I can understand that after your experience but not all of us are like the one who possessed you or the other 2. I most certainly never liked them even when they were alive."

"Huh?"

"I have been around...awhile."

"How long awhile?" Wanda asks with a curious look at the elderly woman.

"Oh 5 centuries give or take a decade. You stop counting when you get to my age," Agatha says with an amused twinkle in her eyes as if her impossibly long life is funny somehow.

Wanda's eyes widen a little in amazement before she reigns her emotions in. "Why are you here?" Wanda repeats her question.

"To help you on your journey."

Wanda scoffs at that. "And I'm just going to take help from someone who is a friend of Mystique? You are joking," she pours scorn on any suggestion of help from any ally of the blue shape-shifter who lied and used her.

"I didn't do it for Mystique. I did it to help you," Agatha says, trying to sound as sincere as possible.

"Look I appreciate what you did but I don't have any sort of journey to go on. I'm staying right here," Wanda says with utter determination.

"Which will only lead to disaster because no-one here can fully understand what you are you going through," Agatha argues.

Wanda's face darkens. "Do not lecture me," she says in a dangerous tone. She doesn't like people telling her what to do.

"I am not trying to do that Wanda," Agatha attempts to assuage the teen's anger.

"Aren't you?" Wanda asks sceptically.

"No. I'm trying to make you understand..."

"What? That I should leave my friends, my home? My father tries that line on other people. I've seen his little websites. Maybe you should hire yourself out to him as a salesperson. I'm sure you'll be good at it," Wanda says snidely.

"Wanda..."

"No! I appreciate you helped me. I really do but you helped Mystique. That makes you allied with my father and I won't be tainted by him. I'm better than him. Someone important to me told me that and I will not let him down."

This was not going as Agatha envisioned at all. "Wanda I have no interest in your father's agenda."

"Well kudos to you for having a single working braincell," Wanda mutters her belief that anyone with even a single working braincell would stay the hell away from her father.

"I want to help."

"And I want you to leave. Now!" Wanda demands, no longer wishing to have this discussion.

"Wanda," Agatha tries to argue with her.

"No. Can you understand that word? It means no. I'm not leaving. I'm not going on any sort of journey especially with someone who for all I know works for my father. You don't think I don't know he's just waiting for me to leave here so he can sic his little telepath on me. I'm staying right here with my friends," she declares.

"Oh the stubbornness of youth," Agatha laments.

"Alright. That's enough!" Wanda snaps. "If you claim you know what I'm going through then you would know I'm not in the mood for this. Our discussion is over. Leave...or I'll make you," she threatens.

"Wanda..." Agatha starts again only to be hit by a blue/black hex bolt sending the elderly woman tumbling to the ground.

"You really don't listen do you," Wanda growls, her eyes blazing with fury. All she wants is to be left alone to deal with her new powers as she feels she should but Agatha just refused to listen.

Agatha pushes herself to her feet. She can't allow it to end this way. She can't allow what she saw in her vision come to pass. "Wanda please listen," she pleads.

Wanda's response is another hex-bolt which this time Agatha is ready for and deflects it away with her magic. It hits a nearby tree.

"Last chance," Wanda warns.

"Wanda..." Agatha starts to say only to be interrupted by a strange inhuman sound.

Both Wanda and Agatha turn to look at the tree the hex-bolt hit to see it has developed a mouth and eyes and is right now ripping itself out of the ground as it begins to walk toward them.

"Oh boy," Wanda murmurs. What has she done now?

Author's Note: I decided that this chapter would be Wanda-centric. It's all unravelling rather quickly for Wanda isn't it. Being as powerful as she is I thought that would mean that it would be a swift descent into chaos. Also thought this might be a good place to have Agatha show up again since she did initially help Wanda. Only question is what was she getting out of it and why is she back now. Also I know someone will correct me about Agatha's actual age but I chose 500 just so she would have been alive at the same time as Isobel and company and able to have actually knew them. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; Wanda makes a choice about her future and Clark's patience finally snaps with Rogue and Wanda.