A/N: This story's end approaches nearer and nearer.

BARRY

Barry and Strange stood alone in the middle of the area where Kamar Taj and the three Sanctums were connected. Barry held his wrist as he felt a growing power inside him, a foreign one…yet at the same time it felt so familiar. It was different from the speed force. It was the Dark Dimension, all the powers of Dormammu, all the powers of the Dark Dimension…it was his.

"How do you feel?" Strange asked.

"Different…" Barry whispered. "Stronger, more powerful but…I can barely control it. I feel like…"

"Like you can destroy absolutely everything without limit?" Strange asked.

Barry nodded. "Perhaps, I could…"

"You can and so much more…." Strange said. "You could end concepts and totality themselves. All your physical attributes: strength, speed, endurance, and more…they're stronger than ever. You could warp and reshape the fabric of reality itself. There's also telekinetics and that's not even touching the surface of what you can do.

"Barry, listen to me, you have to control this…somehow. If you're not careful, you could destroy everything and everyone around you. You need to hold yourself back, the more you use your powers without control, the more dangerous it is. Hold back…just until you can control it and master it."

"And if I can't?" Barry asked but Strange had no answer.

Barry tightened the ropes as an unconscious Hank was tied to a wooden pillar, he got off his knees as the rest of the team came close to him.

"Matt, you hearing anything out there?" Barry asked.

"No runners," Matt responded. "But I'm picking up some more normal heartbeats…three of them. One of them has an accelerated heart rate, relative to yours."

"A speedster?" Barry asked incredulously. "One that isn't a runner?"

"Seems like it," Matt said. "The heartbeat's too relative to you for it to be a runner."

"Great, so we got three bogeys out there," Logan muttered. "Now what?"

"We'll split up," Barry ordered as he noticed Hank slowly coming to consciousness. "Matt, you, Logan, and Natasha get out there. The rest of us will stay here and hold the fort down, if whatever's out there is a diversion, Wanda and I need to be here."

"You sure that's the only reason you're staying behind?" Matt whispered to Barry.

"…I can't control it, the longer I use my powers, the more I risk losing control," Barry whispered back before he raised his voice. "Report back if you see anyone, try not to engage instantly."

Matt, Logan, and Natasha all exchanged a nod.

"Be careful out there, you three."

It was the last thing Barry said before the trio walked out the barn doors, closing them behind themselves. Barry turned as he, Steve, Wanda, who carried Lily, and Sam remained inside the barn with Hank. The man groaned as he took a deep breath, his skin red where Barry had decked him, his veins were briefly visible, even looking blue for a second before it ceased. It was as if Hank was trying to hold himself back on some sort of urge. Barry refused to buy it, whether it was because he didn't want to or if he couldn't afford to, not at the moment. Wanda, Sam, and Steve stood behind Barry who kneeled in front of Hank.

"You don't have to do this," Hank said. "The people I'm with, those people out there…we only want to help you. Look, I've seen a lot of things good and bad to tell the difference. You guys…you're good people. You won't hurt us."

Barry scoffed. "Just because you think we're good people doesn't mean we're not going to hurt you if we have to. Listen to me, now and closely…" Barry held his hand in front of Hank as he began vibrating it at a phasing rate. "If the three of them aren't back here within the hour, if anything happens to them or these people, or that baby…anything at all…I'll shove my hand through the base of your skull and rip it out. You understand?"

Hank breathed heavily as he looked down at Barry's phasing hand before looking back up at Barry himself. "Look, nothing's gonna happen to anyone here. My friends out there, they won't fight yours. They'll come here willingly here with those three. Take my word for it. If they come here unharmed and unphased, which they will, you can trust us."

Barry glared at Hank before he stood up and turned to Wanda, facing his friend as she carried his child. A brief thought crossed Barry's mind: Lily. Having the chance to grow up in a normal life for her. Lily going to school, making friends, bringing her boyfriend home for the first time. Barry being able to walk her down the aisle, watching as she lived her life happily. It was all he wanted for her. A chance to live a normal life in a normal world, to be free of The Flash, of every curse and bit of pain had ever experienced or brought. Maybe these people could've been the first step to that, the first step to ensuring Lily could live the life that Barry himself never had the chance for. The life and the world he had spent his entire life dreaming of, chasing, trying to find so desperately. He had no hope for it…but Lily, she could've had the chance. Barry went closer to Wanda as he caressed Lily's cheek, seeing the four month old baby rest in Wanda's arms. His thoughts were cut off as he heard Hank speak.

"That baby…" Hank said. "Is she yours?"

Barry didn't respond, he didn't need to. His silence alone was all the answer Hank needed, there was nothing Barry could've said to avoid Hank knowing.

"Think about her…" Hank pleaded. "You want a normal life for her, a life outside of all this. I can see that…we can give you that. Let us help you, that's all we want."

Before Barry could even open his mouth to respond, the doors to the barn opened as Matt, Natasha, and Logan walked in. In front of them, there were three people that came through. A woman with white hair and tan skin, dressed in a black denim jacket and black distress jeans. A man with a similar hair color but caucasian skin, a silver leather jacket, dark blue jeans, and running goggles hanging from his neck. Next to the two was a woman with red hair, she looked close to Barry's age wearing a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans. The three new people had their hands raised as they slowly entered in while Matt and Logan closed the doors behind them. Barry stood in front of the three, a good ten feet away from them.

"These three are with me…" Hank explained as Barry glanced at him. "I told you, they'd come willingly. The one on your left is Storm, the other guy is Peter…he's fast, kinda like you. The other woman, she's Jean. Jean Grey."

"We only want to help you," Storm tried to say.

"Who are you people?" Steve asked, half-curiously, half-demandingly

"We're enhanced," Jean explained as the three of them lowered their hands while Barry, Matt, Logan, Natasha, and the rest of the Avengers stood in front of them. "We call ourselves mutants. Like Storm said, we only want to help you."

"We've been watching you ever since we detected you in our proximity," Hank explained. "We thought you could help us."

"Help you?" Sam frowned in confusion.

"You've been watching us?" Matt demanded. "And what do you mean since we entered in your proximity?"

"We have technology that scans and observes the Xavier Mansion and everything in a twenty mile radius of it," Hank replied. "We're only a five minute walk away from it."

"Look," Peter said. "We're not here to fight. So, just untie our guy and you guys can come with us. Easy. What do you say?"

Barry paused, his hands at his hips as he looked at the four of them. "If the four of you are lying…the only place you'll be going to is hell."

Barry went over to Hank as he untied him while Hank stood up and went over to his three friends, he looked at Barry and gave him an encouraging nod. Barry and the Avengers stood close and a bit of a distance away from the four.

"So…" Peter shrugged. "We doing this?"

"We'll be right behind you…" Barry responded coolly.

It was a signal, a signal that Barry and the rest of his group needed a word. A word alone. Thankfully, the four of them seemed to understand as they opened the barn doors and briefly walked out of hearing range. Barry turned back to the rest of his team.

"We're really doing this?" Sam asked. "You're okay with this…"

"I said I'd do whatever it takes to get all of you through this," Barry said firmly. "I made that promise to Laura before I had to…"

Barry trailed as everyone went silent for a brief second.

"It's dangerous," Matt sighed. "It's a risk."

"But if they're right, if they're true about this…we could finally start," Logan said. "The new world we promised ourselves…the one we've been looking for all this time."

"If this goes south, we need to be ready…" Natasha said warningly.

Barry spoke up. "If it goes south, I'll get all of you out of there in a heartbeat. We survived Dormammu, we survived the runners, we can survive anything that comes our way. All of us. No matter how hopeless, no matter the odds, we…always come out on top. If we're right about this, we could stop. We could finally stop, all of us."

Everyone nodded in agreement as the group dispersed, following Hank and the other three. Barry, Wanda, and Lily were left alone in the barn as the group waited for them outside.

"Wanda, I…" Barry began as he sighed. "Thank you. Really. For everything. For looking after Lily."

Wanda shook her head. "You don't need to thank me."

"Yes, I do." Barry replied.

"No," Wanda said in a kind yet firm tone. "I…I was the reason you lost your hand."

Barry looked down at the metal prosthetic on his left arm, the one that replaced his left hand and left wrist. He then looked up back at Wanda as she carried a sleeping Lily in her arms.

"Wanda, that wasn't your fault. It wasn't you." Barry argued.

"I know," Wanda nodded. "But still, even after all that, you trusted in me, believed in me, gave me a chance. You lost Jaina, you lost the love of your life, and you still gave all of us a chance. You held us together, got us through this and…you've done everything for us."

"Because you're all my family now," Barry said. "You all are my family now…and that includes you. Especially you."

Wanda gave him a slight smile as with one hand, she ran her fingers through Barry's long, silky, dark brown hair. She moved a few strands of it away to get a better look at his face.

"If this does work out and we do get a place…" Wanda began as she smiled. "You should probably get a haircut…and a shower."

Barry smirked briefly before his face fell into the normal mask of seriousness he had for the past few months. He looked into Wanda's eyes, gazing at them. Four months and this was the first time anyone had brought up Jaina in front of Barry. He had thought about her every single day, every day he always thought to himself how he could've prevented her death, how things could've changed. How maybe in some other timeline or possibility, Lily could've had the chance to live with her mother and father. Jaina was gone and the void she left behind had been powerfully painful…yet here Wanda was, slowly filling it up and covering it. Barry moved his right hand to Wanda's ear as he curled some of her hair behind it, he flashed her a small and bright smile before letting it fall once more. It might not have been much…but in the moment, it felt like everything.

Wanda smiled at him. "You should smile more often…it looks good on you."

Wanda carried Lily as she headed for the barn door, Barry turned and gave a brief look to the barn before he turned back and followed Wanda out.

The two groups walked together, Barry's group trailing behind a few feet from Hank, Jean, Peter, and Storm. Everyone had wary looks as they followed the four. No one expected this to go their way, rarely anything ever had. They were simply waiting, waiting for things to go wrong, for things to take a turn and turn against them. Barry knew it. They were all expecting it, to some degree, it merely felt like it was a matter of time. Barry kept walking, his shoulders pulling back with every step he took as the group neared a mansion. Barry's eyebrows furrowed as he saw it, estimating it to be about three hundred feet away from them. Suddenly, ten feet away behind the group, a blue energy field glowed translucently as Barry and the others turned and noticed it, seeing the field to be in a dome shape around the mansion's area, with the manion itself to be in the center.

"Electromagnetic energy field," Hank stated. "Keeps the runners out. Them and…well, anything really."

Barry turned around as he eyed them with a half-trusting look.

"This place is safe," Hank assured with a nod. "You'll all be safe here."

April 2016

Now

"…and that's our story," Barry explained as he and Charles sat across from each other, eyeing one another. "You said you wanted to know…well, now you do. This is how we found our way to you…and we know you found us."

Charles nodded as he gave Barry a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry you and your friends had to endure all of that pain…that you had to endure that pain. Listen, Barry, I believe our teams can help each other. We have plenty of mutants, all teenagers and children here. We've tried to train them with their abilities…to keep them safe from runners and the outside world…whatever of it is left at least. Let us help you, stay with us, live with us, together, we can build the new world you've promised to find. The new world is in our hands, Barry, it starts here…with us. Think of your daughter: Lily. Think about what's best for her…about what Jaina would want for her."

Barry looked down for a moment before he stood up and looked down at Charles. "Alright then, Xavier…let's make it work then."

Charles smiled lightly. "Please…" He held his hand out to Barry. "My friends call me Charles."

Within a couple seconds, Barry's hand clasped Charles' as they shook hands.

A few minutes later, Charles led Barry to one of the bedrooms within the mansion as Barry stood in it, Charles behind him. The room was practically the size of an average living room, excluding however big the bathroom within it was. The mansion was likely the size of the white house with several rooms and bedrooms, each of them being large themselves.

"We've paired you with Wanda," Charles said. "Considering her relationship with your daughter, I hope that's alright with you."

"That's perfect," Barry nodded as he looked around the room, waiting for Wanda to arrive.

"Right well…" Charles sighed as Barry looked at him. "There's a party outside after sunset. Do come. But please, do get a shower…and a haircut…and a shave." Charles half-chuckled. "I hope to see you and your friends there."

Charles turned his wheelchair around, ready to leave.

"Charles," Barry called out as the professor turned back and faced Barry curiously. "You were watching us for days, you knew us, studied us…why did you want to help us?"

"Because all of you needed help…" Charles said. "And because of you."

"Me?" Barry eyed him near-incredulously. "What do you mean?"

Charles sighed as his arms rested on his wheelchair armrests, his hands coming together as he looked at Barry. "Because I took one look at you and despite all your complexity, all your perfection and imperfection, I saw a part of myself in you. The same part that inspired me to start doing what I do, to start the Xavier school."

"And what's that?" Barry questioned.

"Hope," Charles responded as Barry eyed in half-confusion, half-realization. "I saw a young man with a hope and all the will in the world to make that hope a reality. A hope for himself, for the ones he loves, and for all the ones around him."

Barry blinked as he looked at Charles.

"You're not the only one who's been trying to build a new world, Barry," Charles said. "We want the same thing."

Charles then turned his wheelchair as he left the room, greeting Wanda as he left. Wanda came in, carrying Lily as Barry closed the door behind and turned to her.

"How're the others?" Barry asked.

"Steve's in the room next door," Wanda replied. "Natasha and Matt are next to him, Sam and Logan are in the room on our left."

"They kept us together," Barry noted. "Probably some gesture of goodwill or trust…how're you doing?"

Wanda sighs. "Just…trying to process all of it. It feels so surreal, we've been out there for months and finally…here we are."

"The hard part of it all isn't finding the place," Barry said as he nodded his head. "It's adapting, getting used to it. We can't focus too hard and not let ourselves enjoy the peace…we can't enjoy it too much and let ourselves be too…"

"Weakened by it?" Wanda asked as Barry nodded, she looked down at Lily as she swayed her in her arms.

"So, uh…" Barry began as Wanda looked up at him. "There's a shower in there. I'll look after Lily; you can go first."

"Oh…" Wanda realized. "Right."

Barry stepped out of the shower as he stood in the bathroom, a towel wrapped around him as he looked to the mirror, which had been fogged by steam. He placed his right hand on it as he wiped some of the fog, seeing his face in the mirror. It felt like looking into that of a stranger's. His hair had grown longer and became silkier, his lower face had grown with facial hair. Barry took a razor and a can of shaving foam that had been near as he looked to the mirror, focusing on his face.

"Since when were you good at haircuts?" Barry asked as he sat on the edge of the bed in his, Wanda, and Lily's room.

Wanda sat behind him as she cut another few inches of hair with the hair-cutting scissor she had found. "My brother, Pietro, I used to practice and do it for him when I was little. I did it for my parents a couple times too but mostly him. He loved whenever I cut his hair."

"Right," Barry whispered softly. "I'm sorry…about what happened to him."

Barry could practically hear Wanda shake her head as she spoke. "It wasn't you; it was Ultron. And he's gone. We're all still here, as much as I miss my brother, that's what matters."

Barry and Wanda had finally managed to get showers and new clothes of their own, it had felt refreshing to live in somewhat of a normal place or home. The shaving was what Barry could've done for himself, he had still needed a haircut, which Wanda had generously offered thankfully. A couple minutes later, Wanda had finished. Barry looked in the bathroom mirror as the smile that came after forced its way onto his face. He had looked a lot more like his old self, his brown hair was only slightly longer and still had a silky nature, but it was better. More human…more like him. He turned to Wanda, who had been smiling at the sight of him.

"Looks like I was right," Wanda smiled as she looked down, Lily napping beside her.

"About what?" Barry asked, his smile shallow but present as he and Wanda gazed at one another.

"Smiling," Wanda said as Barry nodded. "It looks good on you…you should do it more often."

"Funny," Barry replied. "I was gonna say the same thing to you right now."

They smiled at each other…and it felt amazing. It felt being free, free from all the pain, anger, and worry that Barry had the last few months. He finally knew what it was like to have his old smile on his face once more, to feel joy, to feel a level of happiness and relief. For the first time in the longest time, Barry had looked forward to the near future, he had higher hopes for it. His and Wanda's smile meant the world to him in the moment, as if all his loved ones, even his parents, were standing by him, looking down at him. Lily cooed as Barry carried her, gently picking her off the bed as he held her in his arms, slowly swaying her as he and Wanda stood close, looking down at the four-month-old child.

"You finally have a chance for her," Wanda whispered. "To raise her, give her a normal life, give her something more than all this."

"We have a chance," Barry said as he turned to Wanda, who looked back at him. "We."

Wanda lightly smiled, a small smile, yet a meaningful one. "We."

There was then a silence between the two as they continued gazing into one another's eyes.

"We should go," Barry suddenly said, breaking the silence. "Regroup with the others, meet up with Charles at the party."

"Right then," Wanda tilted her head in the direction of the door. "Let's get going."

She left for the others as Barry remained behind, needing a brief moment with Lily. He looked down at his daughter, seeing the infant's small, innocent eyes look back up at him. Barry gave her the softest smile he could as he swayed her.

"I love you…" He whispered. "I love you too…I love you more…I loved you first."

A/N: So, now, we've caught up to and past the interview with Barry/Charles that the story kicked off with. The next chapter will conclude this story and due to the fact that I have to spend the entirety of September prepping for a serious exam, that chapter (along with the sequel to this story) might not come too soon. I'll work on it whenever I have free time and I do plan on finishing this entire series (which I'm estimating to be about four-five books long, including this one).

As I said, next chapter will conclude this and I hope y'all enjoyed this one.