In the base that was home to the government-sponsored team of mutants known as X-Factor, Quicksilver was making his latest report.
"I've made a sweep of that sector. No hostile activity that I can..." He was interrupted as his sister appeared on the screen. The Scarlet Witch.
"Quicksilver!" She cried. "It's your sister!"
"I told you never to use X-Factor override frequencies except in an emergency!" Quicksilver scolded.
"It's father!" Scarlet Witch explained. "The hospital called. Father is very agitated. He wants us to come immediately. He must be getting worse!"
"Worse?" Quicksilver questioned, feeling worried for his father. "Last week, they said he was out of danger. I'll pick you up in the Hummingbird."
Using his superspeed, he made his way to the Hummingbird and took off.
The two siblings were by their father's bed.
"Rest now." Wanda told him. "We can speak later, when you have more strength."
"No, Wanda." He said weakly. "For twenty years, I kept a secret. Now you must know so I can be at peace."
"Go on." Wanda encouraged.
"My children, you mean everything to me." He said with love. "And though Marya and I raised you as our own, we are not your natural parents."
Quicksilver took a double take. "What are you saying?"
"I had sworn never to reveal the truth to you, but now I have been released from this vow." Their newly revealed adoptive father said. "This is why I called you. You were newly born when brought to our home by a midwife. Her name was Bova. The most wondrous creature, part human, part animal. She knew how much we wanted children of our own. It was she who sworn us to silence."
The twins felt like their entire world had shattered. They were adopted the whole time. Now the big question is: who are their real parents?
"Who are our real parents?" Wanda asked.
"I do not know more; you must seek the midwife." Their adoptive father said. "Legend has it that she lives beyond the mists of the highest mountain, in a place known as Wundargore. I shall be fine, children. But now, I must rest."
He went to sleep as the twins debated whether he was telling the truth.
"Do you buy all this?" Quicksilver asked.
"Be quiet." Wanda shushed him so he wouldn't wake the old man. "We have to check it out, if only for him."
A man was stalking the grounds of the institute, with no one the wiser that he was here.
Danny walked into the study to find Xavier reading.
"Having trouble sleeping?" Xavier asked his student.
"Rogue's on a mission, and it's hard to sleep without her by my side." Danny said as he sat down in a chair.
Xavier chuckled. "I see."
Danny then saw a man enter the room.
"Magneto." Xavier said with his back to the man, somehow knowing it was him despite not seeing him walk in.
"Very good, Charles." Magneto praised. "I see that old age hasn't dulled your powers." He briefly glanced at Danny. "Nice to see you again, Daniel."
"Nor your flair for the dramatic." Xavier replied. "Should I ask how you got in?"
"It seems your security systems have electromagnetic vulnerabilities." Magneto revealed. "Vulnerable to me anyway."
"Wolverine was on sentry duty." Xavier said. "What have you done to him?"
Xavier pulled out a remote and checked the camera in the security room to see Wolverine tied up in magnetic energy.
Danny couldn't help but laugh, despite the situation.
"Was all this necessary, Magnus?" Xavier sighed in annoyance.
"Maybe not." Magneto admitted. "But I have to speak to you."
"I don't suppose you are here to help us with security." Xavier said sarcastically.
"I am traveling to the Balkans, Charles." Magneto informed him. "It is Magda. I have received news that she may be alive."
"Your wife alive?" Xavier gasped. "After all your searching?"
Danny was surprised that Magneto had a wife. He honestly didn't see the man as the romantic type but rather as a lonely guy with a cat.
"You have enemies, Magnus." Xavier pointed out. "This could be a trap."
"Of course it could be a trap!" Magneto replied, irritated that Xavier thought the idea didn't cross his mind. "You know that would never stop me." He headed out of the room but had one last request for the professor. "I need you and Cerebro to make sure there is no unusual mutant activity in the area."
"Normally I wouldn't." Xavier said of the request. "But I understand why you must do this."
"And Charles, should this be an ambush, no matter what happens to me or those who stand in my way, please do not interfere." Magneto requested before leaving.
"You're going to interfere, aren't you?" Danny asked Xavier in a knowing voice.
Xavier grinned at his student, who knew him well. "Indeed."
Wolverine then burst through the doors, growling with rage.
"Where is he?" He demanded.
"Gone." Xavier said. "He wanted to talk with me. For some reason, he felt you might object."
"You bet I would." Wolverine replied. "How can you listen to him after all he's done?"
"Well, considering the professor puts up with you, I think we can say he has a lot of patience." Danny quipped.
"I understand your suspicions." Xavier said. "Follow him. Notify me immediately if there is trouble."
"Why?" Wolverine asked. "I love trouble."
Walker groaned as he was thrown at his desk, and the wood shattered under his weight.
The ghostly warden looked at his attacker with fear. "Okay, okay! You're free to go! I won't try to lock you up again, I swear it! You're a free man!"
His attacker, a giant ghostly wolf with green fur, smirked at finally getting Walker off his back. The order-obsessed ghost had always thought he should be locked up because he thought that his power to create portals between the Ghost Zone and the human realm might cause chaos in his little world of order.
Now that Walker is out of the way, the ghostly animal can finally get back to business. Extending his claws, he cut a hole in this reality and stepped through it into the real world. Using his scent, he tracked down his old friend, whom he believed could help him.
Danny was lying in bed, trying to get some sleep, when his ghost sense went off. Getting up, he saw that his old friend Wulf had phased into the room.
"Wulf?" Danny said, ecstatic to see his old friend again. "Hey, man, I haven't seen you in a while. How you been?"
Wulf smiled, happy to see Danny, as he started to explain in Esperanto.
Danny remembered that Wulf could only speak that, but he knew a remedy for that problem. "Here, come with me." He walked Wulf over to the lab, where Beast was doing some late-night experimenting.
Danny grabbed a bracelet off the table and placed it on Wulf's wrist.
"I thought I might run into you again, so with Beast's help, we developed something to help with the language barrier." Danny told him.
Beast noticed he wasn't alone as he greeted his friend. "Ah, Danny, what brings you here this late at night..." He stopped as soon as he noticed Wulf. "Hello there; I believe we have not been acquainted yet."
"Beast, this is Wulf." Danny introduced. "Wulf, this is Beast."
"Salutations." Beast shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you." Wulf replied in English.
"So what brings you here, Wulf?" Danny asked, wondering what brought him all the way to the institute. "Is Walker giving you any trouble?"
Wulf shook his head as he smirked. "No, Walker and I had a little chat. He's not going to be bothering me anymore."
Danny had an identical smirk on his face as he took in the meaning of that phrase. "I wish I could've been in the room for that conversation. So why are you here?"
"My friend, I need your help to fight an old enemy of mine." Wulf said.
Quicksilver was carrying his sister in his arms as he ran towards their destination. He stopped and set her down as they saw a technological lab attached to the top of a mountain. A purple orb came out and floated toward them.
As it got closer, the two could see that it was a man in pink armor.
"Who trespasses in Wundargore?" The armored man demanded.
"Pietro and Wanda Maximoff." Pietro answered.
Wanda gave additional details. "We have come in search of a midwife, Bova."
The man looked closer at them. "Can it be the twins?"
"How do you know us?" Wanda asked as she and her brother shared a look.
"I am High Evolutionary." He introduced himself. "But how do I know that you are Wanda and Pietro? You could be spies, sent to steal my secrets to destroy all that I have built."
"We don't care about your secrets." Quicksilver told him. "Just let us talk to Bova, and we'll go."
"First, I must be sure." High Evolutionary said. "There is a way to know the truth. Come with me to my citadel, and I will show you." He used his powers to encase them in pink energy as they flew toward his citadel.
The two saw unbelievable sights in his lab. There were tanks containing anthropomorphic animals.
"Every living thing in Wundargore begins here in my laboratory." High Evolutionary announced to his two guests.
"Impressive." Quicksilver complimented. "But how does it help prove who we are?"
He directed them to a machine. "Place your arms here. The genetic records of the infant Wanda and Pietro are stored in my databanks. This machine will extract a sample of your DNA."
The machine analyzed their DNA, and the screen said that it was a perfect match.
"It's true." High Evolutionary was excited by this news. "You have returned to us. Can you forgive my suspicions?"
"Of course." Quicksivler said. "But now take us to Bova."
High Evolutionary complied. "I shall notify her at once. Come with me."
The twins were then taken to a room, where they met Bova. Bova was an anthropomorphic cow.
"Pietro, Wanda!" Bova greeted the two mutants. "Django said you might come."
"This is the midwife you seek." High Evolutionary confirmed for them.
"Django said you knew our natural parents." Quicksilver said to Bova.
"Only your poor mother." Bova said. "It was a stormy night when I discovered her, half frozen, fleeing in terror from a mutant who had just destroyed an entire village nearby. We brought her here and cared for her until she gave birth. But your mother's fear persisted. She left you two in our care and fled Wundargore, still certain that the mutant would track her down. In her weakened state, she did not survive the bitter winter that followed."
"How horrible." Wanda had tears in her eyes at learning about her mother's death. "We'll never know her."
"The mutant who did this, tell me his name." Quicksilver demanded in anger, wanting to make them pay for what they had done.
Bova refused. "No, it can only bring suffering."
Wanda agreed with her brother about needing to know who did this. "We must know."
Bova finally relented to their demands. "His name is Magneto."
"That murderer." Quicksilver snarled as he was filled with vengeance. "Magneto will pay with his life."
"Bova is right. This can only lead to more bloodshed." High Evolutionary advised.
Quicksilver wasn't interested in his advice. He wanted Magneto to pay for killing his mother. He grabbed High Evolutionary. "I don't care. Where do we find him?"
"Where he is every year at this time." High Evolutionary answered. "At a loved one's mark, at the cemetery just outside the village."
"He's here?" Quicksilver was surprised that they could find him that easily. He and his sister turned to leave to confront him. "We're going."
"Wait." High Evolutionary stopped them. "If we cannot dissuade you, let us help." He signaled for his creations to step forward. "My most powerful creatures will go with you."
Quicksilver picked up Wanda as he ran to the cemetery, as High Revolutionary's creations followed the siblings.
"So much has been accomplished this day." High Evolutionary muttered to himself. "Soon the world will know the peace and joy I can give it."
Magneto entered the cemetery as Wolverine spied on him from a distance. "Surveillance update, Beast." He said to his communicator. "Maybe Magneto wasn't lying after all. Just when you think you know a dirt wad."
Magneto looked at the note he was given. It said Meet at Magda's Marker 10 PM.
He looked at his watch; he was right on time.
"Magnus?" A woman's voice called out.
"Magda?" He saw that the voice had come from a hooded woman. "Is that you? Can it be true?" His voice had a hint of gentleness at the possibility that she was alive. "Can you really be alive?"
"Yes, but please, come no closer." She said. "You have hurt me enough."
"I was such a fool then." Magneto was ashamed of how he acted in the past and how it hurt his wife. "Filled with hate, with no room for love. I have changed."
"I'm just so frightened." She said in a timid voice.
"Don't be, please." Magneto pleaded as he got closer to her. He grabbed her arm, only to notice that her hand had only three digits.
He gasped as the woma pulled her hood back to reveal her face to be that of a goat.
"You are still the fool." She laughed at him.
"Magneto!" Quicksilver cried as he glared at the mutant, with Scarlet Witch beside him holding a rope glowing with energy.
"Who are you?" Magneto demanded. "What do you have to do with this desecration?"
"We are here to get revenge for one who has fallen in your path." Scarlet Witch told him coldly.
"You will need to be more specific." Magneto said as he had a high body count. "There have been many."
"It was our mother." Quicksilver growled as he ran around the magnetic mutant, putting him in a whirlwind that knocked him into a tree.
Wolverine was holding onto a tree so that he didn't get swept in by the wind as he watched what was going down. "Professor was right." Wolverine said over his communicator. "Magneto stepped into a trap set by Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch."
Magneto got up as he held the twins in the air with his magnetic powers. "You try my patience. Tell me why you have lured me here."
He was then knocked aside by a rhino as High Evolutionary's creations surrounded him.
"You ought to see it, Hank." Wolverine reported. "It's the blasted Island of Doctor Moreau. I hate to see piling on, even on Magneto."
Magneto was then wrapped up in the rope that Scarlet Witch had brought.
"He's ours." Quicksilver said with a maniacal grin.
"Finish him quickly." Scarlet Witch said as she gazed at her enemy in disgust. "The world will thank us."
The animal-human hybrids then snuck up on the two and placed handcuffs on them that neutralized their powers.
"What are you doing?" Quicksilver demanded, incensed by this betrayal.
"Well, well, well." Wolverine muttered as he watched this new development. "The worm turns." He pulled out his claws as he realized he was putting himself on the line for Magneto. "Oh, man, I'm probably gonna regret this."
With a roar, he charged at them, knocking one into Magda's gravestone.
"No!" Magneto was angered by the destruction of his wife's grave as he finally broke out of his restraints. He summoned a piece of the cemetery's gate and wrapped it around the creatures.
Wolverine looked up at Magneto as he floated in the air. "For some stupid reason, Xavier was worried about you. Go figure."
The two then started to fight the remaining creatures.
"I told Xavier not to interfere!" Magneto was irritated that Xavier couldn't even follow that simple demand.
"Don't go overboard thanking me, dirtbag." Wolverine said as he threatened Magneto when the man got too close.
Gas then started to swarm the area.
Quicksilver tried to warn Wolverine. "Wolverine, gas."
"Somebody's idea of a joke?" Wolverine coughed
"Not a very funny one." Magneto muttered before the four mutants fell unconscious.
"Wolverine, what is happening?" Xavier's voice came over his communicator. "Wolverine!"
Back at the institute, Xavier was pondering this new development. "Why would Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch attack Magneto?" He wondered.
"Perhaps all of X-Factor is involved." Beast suggested. "Alone, the twins would never stand a chance against Magneto."
"Get the Blackbird." Xavier ordered. "Triangulate on his communicator. We're going after them." He then saw Wulf and Danny walk into the room. "Who is this?" Xavier asked.
"Oh, this is Wulf, a friend of mine." Danny said. "Wulf, this is the professor."
"He came here for help, but it seems that we're already busy." Danny explained as he saw that Xavier had worry written on his face.
"Yes, Wolverine described being attacked by these creatures that are half animal and half human." Xavier told him.
Wulf growled at that piece of information. "Take me there."
Danny, Beast, Wulf, and Xavier were on the Blackbird, heading towards where Wolverine was being held.
"Wulf, what do you know about these things?" Danny asked his friend.
"They are the New Men." Wulf revealed. "Creations of the scientist known as High Evolutionary." He said the man's name with hate. "A madman obsessed with playing God. He used his New Men as soldiers and slaves, and they had no choice but to obey. But one of his creations rebelled and, as a result, was killed, but though his body is destroyed, his spirit still remains."
Danny realized that Wulf was referring to himself. "You were one of the New Men."
Wulf nodded in confirmation. "Yes, and now I have come to free my brethren from him. Will you help me?"
Danny gave his friend a nod. "Of course, friend."
"Let us hope we can stop this High Evolutionary before he does something to Wolverine." Xavier hoped.
The four mutants were trapped in some kind of amber-like material as Magneto regained consciousness.
"Well, it's about time." Wolverine snarked. "Now, maybe you can tell me what this circus is all about."
"I am not sure." Magneto admitted. "Balkan legend has it that a mystical valley, known as Wundargore, flourished amidst these mountains. If this is that valley, then I know who is behind these attacks."
"An excellent memory, Magnus." High Evolutionary praised as he came up to them. "As a young man, you sought but never found my world. Now you shall number among its saviors."
"Explain yourself." Magneto ordered. "Why did you bring us here? Were you responsible for Magda's death?"
"One question at a time." High Evolutionary said. "Although I hold the key to evolution, creation is painstaking work. It has taken me decades to create this small colony of enhanced creatures."
He turned to one of his minions. "Wake them."
The creature sprayed Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver with an aerosol can, waking them up as High Evolutionary continued with his explanation.
"The Scarlet Witch possesses the mastery of probability, which will increase my chances of matching genetic codes a thousand fold." He said. "Together with the speed-enhancing powers of her brother's DNA, I am now able to complete a year's work in seconds. But you, the most powerful mutant on this planet, are the final piece of the grand design of earthly salvation. Samples of your DNA taken while you slept have bonded with that of the twins to make every one of my flawless, ideal creations vital and strong. For it is the blood of the father that gives life to that of his children!"
"What do you mean?" Magneto was confused about that last part.
"Wanda, Pietro, allow me to introduce Magnus, husband of Magda, and your father." High Evolutionary revealed.
"What?" Quicksilver exclaimed. "That madman is our father?"
"You are insane!" Magneto cried out at High Evolutionary.
"Behold!" High Evolutionary proclaimed as he used his telekinesis to lift Wolverine from his prison. "A family reunited in my service, lives dedicated to remaking the world. And now, let there be life."
Wolverine was placed in a glass tube as High Evolutionary went to the controls.
First, the genetic codes." He started typing in commands. "New being, perfect, without sin, to populate a new world. The recreation of life on Earth. Soon, there will be enough of my children to bring enlightenment to a dark, troubled world."
By the end of the experiment, Wolverine had been transformed into a werewolf-like creature.
The Blackbird landed outside of High Evolutionary's lair as the heroes got out to rescue Wolverine.
"Amazing!" Beast said in fascination at seeing the New Men. "These creatures are as Wolverine described them, neither man nor beast!"
The New Men started to gather into an army as they prepared to attack the X-Men.
"Alright, guys, let's do this!" Danny cried as his hands glowed with energy.
Magneto was currently trying to explain his past actions to his newly revealed children. "Your mother was a gentle woman. The world I fought for frightened her. I frightened her. She left without telling me that you two were to be born."
"So it's true." Quicksilver spat in anger. "You destroyed her. I suppose your unhappiness makes everything all right."
"No, Pietro." Magneto answered regretfully. "I'm afraid nothing ever will. Now that I know what this is all about, I shall hold back no longer. We shall not perish at the hands of a psychotic biologist!"
Magneto used his powers to break free before breaking his children out.
"Come on!" He urged them. "We have a score to settle!"
Outside High Evolutionary was watching the battle between these intruders and his creations when he recognized Wulf. He gasped as he thought he had killed that experiment.
"Subdue the savages!" He ordered the New Men. "Bring me the green wolf!"
Magneto used his powers to carry himself and his children to the battlefield, where they engaged with the New Men. The trio was then ambushed by the creatures riding on hovercrafts.
Magneto used his flight to land safely. Wanda landed on one of the hovercrafts and kicked the pilot off before taking control of it and using it to rescue her brother, who landed behind her.
Danny and Wulf were easily able to fight the creatures, while Beast was having trouble until Magneto arrived and helped him.
"It's over, High Evolutionary; let my brethren go!" Wulf demanded, getting Magneto's attention.
"What is that thing?" Magneto asked.
"Long story, but he's on our side." Danny told him.
Wolverine then came out in his werewolf form and started to attack Danny, who kept dodging his attacks.
"Oh shit, Wolverine, what happened to you?" Danny asked his friend, but Wolverine kept growling.
"Weird, it's not even a full moon out tonight." Danny commented.
As Wolverine kept trying to attack Danny, he failed to notice Wulf coming up from behind him and knocking him out.
"You!" High Evolutionary pointed at Wulf. "I thought I had destroyed you!"
Wulf glared at his creator. "I will never rest until you are stopped."
"Come back with me; that's an order." High Evolutionary commanded.
"I don't take orders from you." Wulf stated. "Not in life, and certainly not in death."
Wulf then grabbed High Evolutionary by his leg and started to swing him around before throwing him into a tree. High Evolutionary grabbed Wulf in his telekinetic hold before Danny blasted him, freeing Wulf, who started to punch him repeatedly.
"My New Men, protect your master!" High Evolutionary pleaded. "Destroy this ingrate."
The New Men surrounded Wulf as he got off his creator to address them. "Brothers and sisters, lay down your arms. I am one of you, and I have come to free you from his control. I too was once a slave to him, and though my rebellious nature got me killed, I found more freedom in death than in life serving him. Cast off your chains and join me as we make our own lives."
The New Men shared unsure looks with each other. Could they do this? Betray High Evolutionary.
"Don't listen to him; I made you." High Evolutionary reminded them.
"You made us, but you can't change us." Wulf pointed out. "Join me, and you will never have to serve him again."
This prompted the New Men to start muttering as they considered this decision.
"No! No!" High Evolutionary realized he had lost the loyalty of his creations. "You'll pay for this!"
He managed to run to a hovercraft and fly back to his citadel.
"Look!" Wanda pointed as the Citadel took off into the air like a flying saucer as it left the area.
"There is no place on this planet for him to hide from me." Magneto vowed.
The forest then changed to an icy wasteland.
"What is happening?" Wanda asked.
"What did I drink?" Wolverine rubbed his head as he was back to normal.
"Fascinating!" Beast exclaimed. "A world created, sustained, then lost by a single man."
Wulf gave Danny a grateful look for his help. "Thank you, my friend. Now I will go and forge a new life for my fellow New Man. I will never forget you. May we meet again."
"Goodbye, Wulf, and good luck." Danny shook his hand before Wulf left with the rest of the New Men to find a new home.
Meanwhile, Magneto was speaking with his children.
"Knowing you two, my life can never be the same." Magneto said to them. "Perhaps in time, we could get to know one another better."
"After what you did to our mother?" Quicksilver still felt anger over what Magneto did to her.
"I guess that means no family barbecue." Danny muttered from where he was standing.
"I have no excuses." Magneto said. "Losing Magda is the greatest regret of my life. Not a day goes by that I don't think of my love for her. But as for the two of you, I swear I would have come for you if I had known you were alive."
"We'll never know, will we?" Scarlet Witch glared.
Quicksilver picked her up before speeding off back home.
"How can they ever forgive me for what I did to their mother?" Magneto asked Xavier.
"Give them time." Xavier suggested. "Perhaps their wounds will heal."
"To quote Isaac Watts, time, like an ever-rolling stream, bear all its sons away." Beast quoted. "They fly forgotten as a dream dies at the opening of day."
"I have lost her twice now." Magneto bemoaned. "You don't know. None of you will ever know." He then flew off as the X-Men watched.
"Goodbye, my friend." Xavier said. "I fear that he might never repair his relationship with his children."
"Who knows, professor?" Danny said. "Maybe he'll find out he has another kid."