Erik I

Erik Lehnsherr was so bone-tired, his body was physically hurting. He was also so incredibly wired, he might never sleep again. They'd had a quiet, light supper and then sent Peter up to bed immediately. Erik had looked in on him an hour ago, and he had been so fast asleep, he hadn't even noticed him. Lorna had still been awake, reading. Erik had given her another 30 minutes, but he wouldn't even fault her, if she was still going. It was 11 pm on a Friday, and they'd all had quite the day.

Erik grabbed his thermos full of hot peppermint tea and left the kitchen through the backdoor, down the porch steps and past all the buildings and into the woods. After about two miles, he reached the clearing, where he found Ida sitting next to the fireplace they normally used for s'mores. She had a fire going and an actual cauldron hanging in the contraption above it. Eyes closed, she kept mumbling, as she continuously threw herbs from several bowls into her brew.

Quietly, Erik placed the thermos next to her on the ground, then set down on the log opposite her.

Without missing a beat, she opened her eyes, looked at him questioningly and smiled.

"It's getting cold. I brought some tea."

She raised an eyebrow.

"I know, you don't really get cold, but…", he trailed off. I'm worried. I'm nervous. I'm terrified.

Ida nodded at him and even though she was still mumbling in her native tongue and never missed a beat, he could understand her perfectly.

I understand.

"They are asleep. The kids."

The kids… what a strange thing to say… Kids. Peter was what? 18? Whatever.

Good.

"Please tell me you aren't going to sit here all night."

Ida pointed upwards.

"Right. Of course. You need the moon. Fine."

He got up and reached for the thermos she couldn't use anyway while chanting, and took a sip.

"All night then.", he tried to find a more comfortable position.

Ida shook her head.

"What?"

She pointed at her temple.

I need to concentrate.

"I'm making it harder for you."

Nod.

Great. So the kids were asleep, he hadn't been able to reach any of his old contacts on the phone, Ida was doing some magic and he… was useless. Wanda had been gone for about 12 hours. He should be out there looking for her, damn it. Instead, he was just sitting half a country away and fucking useless.

Well, he could at least try not to be an active hindrance, he sighed, got up again and pressed a kiss to Ida's hair.

"Be careful and safe, please. I love you."

She smiled again.

Love you, too.

So Erik gloomily, uselessly made his way back to the house, grabbed himself a plate of Donauwelle and settled into one of the three rocking chairs on the back of the porch.

They'd have to get more, he decided. Everyone deserved their own rocking chair.

"Hello, old friend."

Charles was sitting right next to him, in Ida's chair. Or at least he was in Erik's head and projected himself into the chair.

"Charles. What an unexpected surprise."

"Is it?"

"Not really, no.", Erik admitted and took a bite. He could never admit to Lorna that he ate the thing with his hands.

"Did Peter make it to you safely?"

"Yes, he is upstairs. Asleep. Thank you for sending him here."

"He was quite determined."

"He had a tough day.", Erik hurried to defend his son. Why? Charles hadn't even said anything mean or untrue.

"I sent someone to his house and to the police, to see that we could find out. There isn't much. And so far, no sign of his sister. His mother seems to have fallen and broken her neck."

My Mom died today. I think my sister accidentally killed her.

Erik closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Magda was gone. He had… not forgotten that she was out there, that was the wrong term. Not ignored that possibility, either. Just… sometimes pretending had been easier. Pretending Magda hadn't existed. Or Anya.

"Can she be brought here? Her children are her only family, after all. The property has a family cemetery that we are still allowed to use. She should be here."

"I… I will look into that, my friend."

"She was my wife.", the words left his mouth, before he could stop himself, "Magda. She was my wife."

Charles didn't speak and Erik didn't look at him. They just sat there for what felt like minutes.

"Did you know about Peter and Wanda when we met?", there was a distinct note of betrayal in Charles' voice.

"No. I just found out today."

"Not that you could have done much from inside your cell.", Erik knew it was meant as a comfort, but it really, really wasn't.

"Maybe I wouldn't have been in that cell."

"Maybe."

Another long pause.

"You know, you are always welcome here, Erik. You and your children. I am a little ashamed to admit it, but I don't think anyone has even touched your room."

Erik ignored Charles' words and the implications behind it. He couldn't. He just couldn't. Not now.

"We'll probably go after Wanda tomorrow. If something happens, goes wrong, I need you to know that I have another daughter. Lorna. She is 12, almost 13. She lives here with me and her mother."

This time Erik did look at Charles' shocked expression, before he caught himself and managed one of those fake, patronizing smiles Erik really despised. He hated it, when Charles felt the need to fake anything for him.

"You are full of surprises tonight, my friend."

"I had her memorize your number and address ages ago. Just in case."

"Then I am honored by your trust. It's funny, no? We haven't seen each other in 18 months? And before that… well. But you'd still trust me with your daughter's safety."

"And you still sent Peter here, because you knew I would never turn him away.", Erik shrugged, not really sure why Charles felt the need to voice something that had always been obvious to him.

"I must say, despite anything else, this is quite fascinating. Your powers, and then Peter's?"

"Neither you nor Hank are running tests on any of my kids.", Erik ground out, "Not happening."

"I understand, my friend, but you are one of the most powerful mutants we know of and Peter, he is fascinating. Especially how his powers relate to yours. And Wanda! I don't even know where to start with Wanda, I mean, changing reality. That's..."

He stopped, when he finally registered Erik's stony expression.

"No tests.", he raised both arms in defeat, "And I won't tell Hank, either."

Behind them the backdoor Erik hadn't firmly closed, was pressed open and Fenrir appeared, his massive, lean body soundlessly pushing through the door, he lay down in front of it, effectively blocking the entrance.

Charles had the same reaction everyone had to first seeing Fenrir: "What the fuck?!"

"I think he heard you talking about experimenting on the kids.", Erik informed him smugly and took another bite of cake, trying to get his panic and anger back in check.

"Is he… looking at me?"

"You are just in my head. Fenrir's probably following my gaze."

He wasn't, though. His bright green eyes were definitely glued to Charles, there was no question about it. Charles didn't look convinced, either.

"You named your… dog Fenrir? Why not Cerberus?"

"That's our guard goose."

"Naturally."

Another long pause.

Awkward.

"How do you think you'll find Wanda?"

"I have a plan."

His "plan" was his somewhat eccentric partner bathing in moonlight and chanting into a cauldron, but that wasn't any of Charles' business.

"You are in Oregon. Wanda was taken in DC. How are you getting to wherever they are keeping her? I doubt Peter can carry you that far."

"Don't know yet.", Erik admitted grudgingly, " But we'll find a way."

"Then let me help. Hank is quite fond of Peter. I can send him on the jet. Alex, too. He's around."

Erik wanted to say no. Desperately so. He also wanted for his family to be safe.

"You'd have Hank fly us to break into some government facility?"

"I'd be right there with you, if I could."

Ouch. That stung.

"I didn't mean it like that.", Charles told him softly.

"I know what you meant." And he did.

Charles awkwardly cleared his throat.

"When would you like me to tell Hank to be there?"

"Sunrise is at 6:17 so… around 7.30 am."

"You know when sunrise is?"

"I looked it up in the paper this afternoon."

"Oh. Naturally. What are you going to do with Lorna?"

"Take her to her best friend's house. Her parents might be a bit confused by the sudden visit, but she'll be safe there."

"You'll just… knock at their door at 7 in the morning? On a Saturday?", Charles sounded incredulous and Erik couldn't help, but laugh.

"They are farmers, Charles. They don't sleep in. Ever. Last month they went for a family visit for a week and I milked their cows and fed their animals. So I am sure they won't mind having Lorna around for a bit."

"You live a charmed life."

"Shut up."

"I meant it."

Charles looked off to the side. Someone was talking to him, Erik realized.

"I am sorry, my friend, I need to go. Hank and Alex will be there in the morning."

And just like that, Erik and his cake were alone with a giant, staring dog.

Erik could operate on little sleep just fine. He'd done it for most of his life, after all. Then there was this decade of boredom and sleep he didn't like to talk (or think) about. But his system for little sleep was still working: Just don't sit down. Don't slow down. Once you let yourself be tired, you won't wake up again.

So when Erik's alarm clock aggressively informed him that it was 5 am, he got up and dressed immediately. Then he made himself decidedly too much coffee and started on breakfast. Too much food made you tired, yes, but he also couldn't let the kids start the day off on a hungry stomach. And he suspected Peter normally ate much more than he had done the day before. Right? Was that how his mutation worked? He'd have to ask.

Armed with an egg-apron, Erik went on the hunt for food. Well, he decided to raid the coop for eggs. The chicken were already up, so he let them out. The geese were predictably still asleep, so he let them be. They were more aggressive if you woke them up early. If that was even possible.

Armed with fresh eggs, an iron-cast pan and a skillet, Erik (and his coffee) managed a couple of pancakes, before he went up the stairs and did his damned best to get past Fenrir, who had apparently spent the night at the top of the stairs. Just in case. Normally, he slept in Lorna's room, so seeing him out there protecting both kids, made Erik happier than he could even put into words.

"Thanks, man."

Fenrir yawned silently.

"Same, my friend."

Peter's door was first, and the moment Erik knocked on it, Peter opened it. Okay, unexpected.

"Good morning, Peter."

"Morning, Erik."

Ah well.

"Is it time?", Lorna opened her door and peaked out. Both were already dressed.

"Why are you both already awake? That's not normal. At least not for Lorna."

"I didn't sleep.", Lorna told him and yawned loudly, "Just couldn't get my brain to shut up."

Relatable. He had maybe gotten 40 minutes.

"I'll sleep at Gertie's."

"Sure you will. They'll find something to do for you, and you know it."

"They also do afternoon naps."

"And you?", he turned towards Peter.

"I heard you talk to Fenrir, got up and dressed."

"Dude. You have THE coolest power.", Lorna sighed dreamily, "I can switch off my bedside lamp."

"Your power is switching off light? I didn't ask before, sorry."

"No, you nitwit. There is metal on the pull string. I inherited Dad's powers."

"I went from being the coolest to a nitwit in two seconds."

"No. Your powers are cool. Not you.", and with that, Lorna walked past him and into the bathroom.

"That was brutal, man."

"You'll get used to it.", Erik patted his back in comfort, "Because she'll only get worse from here."

"I heard that!", came his daughter's voice from behind the bathroom wall.

"Good! Now, Peter, there is breakfast downstairs. And you can use our bathroom, if you don't want to wait for Lorna."

"Cool! I already know where everything is.", and just like that, Erik was alone again. With Fenrir, the omnipresent dog, of course.

But by the time he had made it down the stairs again, Peter was already at the breakfast table and eating himself through several pancakes.

"Do you drink coffee?", Erik asked him, quickly turned the stove back on and started on the last of the batter.

"Sometimes, but it makes me sleepy."

Well, that was a tidbit to file away for later.

"Charles is sending the jet to get us to wherever they are keeping Wanda, if we can find her, of course."

"Charles? Oh yes, the professor. What happened to him anyway? Last time he wasn't in a wheelchair or anything, and now he is? I asked, but he didn't wanna tell me."

Erik felt the sudden urge to run away and hide. He didn't want to lie to his son… but he also didn't want to tell him he had paralyzed his only friend, because he couldn't control his powers and had been young and angry and…

"Pancakes! Nice. When will they be ready?", Lorna marched into the kitchen, ensuring the biggest birthday present ever for herself.

Erik casually handed her a stack of three and returned to the stove. The heap on the table had apparently completely vanished into Peter's stomach.

"Can I have coffee?", Lorna asked casually.

"No."

"I didn't sleep any!"

And you probably won't, either, if I give you coffee."

"Mom let's me drink black tea. It has caffeine."

"Yes, WE let you do that. Occasionally." Nice try, though."

"Pleeeeeeeease."

"No."

"Really, really, pretty please?"

"Still no."

"Eh, had to try."

"Don't be sad, it's not that great anyway. Like… everyone tells you, it's a taste you get used to and they put cream and sugar in and stuff, but… I don't want to drink something I need to get used to. Why would I? Either it's good or it sucks. Period.", Peter tried to comfort her.

"I'm allowed chocolate with coffee in it, sometimes. And I love it."

"That's mostly sugar and cream, though."

Erik sighed. Was this kind of breakfast his future? Would these kinds of talks be his new normal? Oh, he hoped so. He hoped so with everything he had. He looked at the grandfather clock next to the door. It was almost 6 am. Maybe they should have started breakfast sooner? Lorna had just started eating, and he didn't want to interrupt them, but they also didn't have all that much time…

Lorna seemed to have the same thought, so she grabbed her plate and stood up and walked towards the foyer to call up the stairs.

"I can eat while we walk. Fenrir! Come on, buddy! It's time to move!"

It would never cease to amaze Erik how that dog could move his massive body silently down the stairs, but sure enough, there he was.

"Erik… Is that dog… normal?", Peter asked, now standing next to him, as he put the breakfast stuff away.

"Doubtful."

"Where'd you get him?"

"I didn't. Ida did."

"Hello? He can hear you. Don't be rude.", Lorna chided them sternly and started aggressively scratching behind Fenrir's head, "And he is awesome."

"Of course he is, Darling, no one questions that.", Erik assured her.

"He is also creepy.", Peter mumbled so quietly, Lorna couldn't hear him over her load coos of "Who's a good boy? Who is the best dog?"

"Don't let Ida hear you. She loves that dog more than me."

"You also said she now loved me more than you. Are you sure she even likes you, man?"

"Ouch."

Ten minutes later, their loudly chatting group of four reached the still chanting Ida, who (to Erik's relief) didn't look worse for wear. He should really stop applying human rules to her. He was wrong more often than not, anyway.

As Fenrir stayed back in the wooded area, the three mutants formed a circle with Ida and sat down, just like Erik had instructed. Ida pulled a knife to gently prick her finger and let one drop of blood fall into the cauldron, then handed it over to Lorna, who didn't even bat an eye and did the same. Both Erik and Peter followed. And as the sun hit the horizon and turned the sky over the mountains bright red, Ida stopped chanting, grabbed the hot cauldron with bare hands and threw its contents up into the air. The bright green mixture just froze for a whole second, before it started moving, stretching… it started to conglomerate into more and more discernible shapes.

"Is that a map?", Lorna finally broke the silence.

"Are we allowed to talk now?", Peter.

"Is that a sign? What does it say?"

Mountains. Water. A dam. Erik couldn't make out the sign, but Ida apparently did.

"It says Alkali Lake Industrial Complex. And that map…"

"That's Alberta, Canada.", Peter told them.

"How do you…?", Lorna's mouth dropped open.

"I have basically been everywhere. And I am good with maps. I know where Alkali Lake is."

"Very well.", Erik got up, "Then that's where we are going. Lorna and Fenrir, back with me. We'll take the truck over to the Miller's. Peter.…"

"Can help me carry the stuff back.", Lorna interrupted him, "How far is the drive to Alkali Lake? I might need breakfast on the way."

Erik walked over and pulled her up and into his arms.

"Breakfast is on the table. I'll be back in half an hour. 40 minutes, tops. We don't need to drive. Charles is sending the jet.", he explained, as he hugged her close and felt her resting her cheek on his shoulder. Maybe she was more tired than he had initially hoped.

"He is? You told him?", her tone was hard to read, but that, too, was par for the course with her.

"I did, yes. He… checked in on Peter last night. I wanted him to know, in case something happened."

"That is your decision to make. But if you regret it later and we'll have to move, I'll be pissed."

"We're not moving."

"How come no one has recognized you yet?", Peter asked, chewing on a cookie he seemed to have conjured up from the depth of his jacket.

"I put a spell on him.", Ida explained and slipped out of Erik's arms to almost aggressively pat Peter's chest. "Is there more?"

"Sure." and another cookie appeared.

"Keep them coming. I am famished. Please.", she added, grinning sheepishly.

"There is still breakfast back at the house.", Erik threw up his hands in defeat, "And you are all eating cookies."

"I'm not eating a cookie.", Lorna shrugged.

"Thank you for being reasonable."

"Yeah, Peter… why am I not getting a cookie?"

"Oh, um Himmels Willen!"

"Oh, unexpected German. We have done it now, kids!"

Erik just gave up and started walking back towards the house, the cauldron and knife floating behind him.

"Children, your father is in a huff.", he heard Ida say, but at least they followed.

Erik had expected the Millers might be a bit surprised, when he'd dropped off Lorna, Fenrir, left-over Donauwelle and a crate full of pears as an apology, but they didn't even bat an eye. Mrs Miller, Gertie's grandmother, gave him a knowing look and asked if they wanted a little time to themselves and Erik was so perplexed by the implication, he just forgot to answer. Which made her chortle and wander off, telling Fenrir to come with her, if he wanted kitchen scraps. Lorna hugged her father one last time, and he pressed a soft kiss to her beautiful head, "We'll be back."

"You better. I don't want to grow up in a school full of weirdos."

"Every school is full of weirdos. And that's no way to talk about your fellow mutants."

"I was talking about going to a boarding school and not being able to come home to you guys, Dad. Because, yes, every school is full of weirdos.", Lorna rolled her eyes and let go.

"I apologize."

"Love you.", she gave him another quick hug and ran into the house.

"I love you, too.", he quietly told the empty air. Please, please, please don't let that be the last time. Please don't let me abandon her in this world full of danger and pain. Please, please, please.

When he and his truck made it back to the farm 15 minutes later, there was already a jet parked next to the lake, carefully avoiding any of the bushes. And the poultry. Apparently the geese had been set free, too. And next to it?

"Oh, look, it's Magneto."

"Havoc.", Erik nodded in greeting, ignoring the young man's snide tone, "Thank you for your help."

Havoc blinked in surprise.

"Yeah, sure. I hear we are saving some poor kid?"

So Charles really hadn't told anyone. Part of him wanted to yell it from the rooftops, tell each and every person in the world: These are my children. This is my family. If you touch them, I'll burn your world to ashes.

But the tiny voice of reason in the back of his head was very adamant that secrecy was still their best defense.

"They are holding her in some secret base up in Canada. There might be more mutants. We don't know."

"Then we'll free them all.", Havoc shrugged.

"Where are the others?", Erik changed the subject.

"Inside. Ehm… Hank needed to use the bathroom."

"If I find him in there stealing hair out of brushes, I am burying him under that jet of yours."

"He's not. Don't worry. I think he's too scared of Ida. She had the same idea and told him she'd 'turn him inside out'. He looked scared.", Peter appeared right next to them. It's been little more than 12 hours since he had arrived, and Erik really hoped he'd get used to his son's speed soon. This constant jump scare couldn't be good for anyone's health.

Havoc looked suitably impressed.

"You must be Peter!", he offered his right hand, "Hank told me all about you on the way over."

"Hank doesn't know anything about me that he could tell you."

"Well, he said you were really fast… I'm Alex."

"Cool."

The porch door opened, saving the three men from that particular awkward situation and revealing both Hank and Ida, who had donned sweatpants, a t-shirt and a messy bun.

"Do we need masks or something? I've never done this before… what's the protocol? Oh hi, I'm Ida."

"Alex."

"Erik.", Hank nodded at him, his gaze as calculating as ever. There was a reason he was Charles' favorite student. Come on, man, he told himself. You can be social. You can be polite.
"Hank, thank you for coming."

Another surprised man.

Was he really that much of an asshole?

Possibly.

"Don't you need to lock up?", Alex asked in surprise, as Ida clapped into her hands and made a move to enter the jet.

"Out here? If someone makes it this far just to break into our home, they earned it."

"That's… an interesting take.", Alex stared at her.

"It's a farm in rural Oregon.", Ida yawned, "Shall we?"

Hank passed her to claim the pilot seat and close the ramp behind them, as they all found seats and when Hank asked for directions, Peter promptly provided him with precise coordinates. He had to admit, those were some really cool powers. Lorna was right.

"You alright?", Erik quietly asked directly into Ida's ear. He was… worried. She was kind and caring and funny, but her flippant and dismissive behavior since Peter had alerted their attack geese… it was off. Come to think about it, she'd been off for a couple of days.

"Yeah. Sure."

He raised his eyebrow at her.

"Okay. Maybe not. But it's nothing to worry about right now, and I don't want to discuss it here."

Discuss it? That didn't sound good. His first, terrified thought? She was kicking him out. Just when he thought he had a chance at happiness, a family, a home. She'd kick him out. He knew it. He was too much. Too broken. Too angry. Too many scars. Too many nightmares.

Suddenly he felt Ida's hand on his cheek, slightly cool, but comforting. Reluctantly, he met her gaze.

"I love you.", she told him firmly, "Don't you dare doubt it."

"I don't.", the words sounded wooden and foreign, even to him.

"Liar."

On the bench opposite them, Peter loudly cleared his throat, as the jet finally set off towards Wanda. Hopefully.

"Look, guys, if I had known this was… like… a thing, I wouldn't have said anything about her not liking you this morning."

Erik groaned. Great. So much for a quiet moment.

"You said what?", Ida looked honestly scandalized.

"It was a joke, okay? First, he told me you probably liked me more than him. Then he said you liked the dog more than him, too. What was I supposed to think?!"

"You told him what?", aaaaand her attention was back on Erik.

"It was a joke.", he echoed Peter's words, but he sounded a little helpless, even to himself.

"She loves the dog more than you? Man, that's brutal.", Alex chimed in from next to Peter.

"I don't love a dog more than… what is happening here?"

"Erik thinks he's unlovable.", Peter looked concerned and said man was ready to jump into a hole in the ground. How had this even happened?

"I mean, that's pretty harsh. I'm the first to point out that I'm not his biggest fan, but even I have to admit that he has his moments.", Alex shrugged.

Someone make this stop.

"Hey Beast, do you remember when he threw Banshee off a satellite dish?"

"Vividly."

"See? That was funny. Don't worry, Erik, I'm sure your lady friend sees the humor in it."

"You threw someone off a satellite dish?!", Ida sounded incredulous, and Erik felt like he had turned into a ball of sweat.

"He could fly?", he offered weakly, "And I could have lifted him by the metal on his clothes?"

"Then why didn't you when he fell out the window?"

"Because it wasn't that high. And it was funny. Now shut up, Alex."

"Man, I miss Sean.", a wistful smile crossed Alex' face, "Good times."

Good times, indeed. He'd been a different man back then. Still, the many deaths of the past decade haunted him, and Sean Cassidy was on top of that list. Thinking about what had happened to him, Angel, Azazel, Riptide… while he was on his way to save his daughter from possibly the same thing, was another gut punch he didn't need.

"What's the plan anyway?", Hank suddenly asked from the front, "We're almost there."

Damn, he had forgotten how fast that jet was. Or how fast its predecessor had been, at least.

"I rip their facility to shreds, and we walk in and get everybody out."

"Now that's the Magneto I know and love."

"Shut up, Havoc."

"Does anybody have a better idea?", Ida asked.

"I could at least scout the area first. And if you get me in, I can search the thing in under a minute. Probably.", Peter offered.

"You are not going in there by yourself.", Erik hurried to squash that idea.

Peter stared at him, "Dude, you guys are super slow. It's unnecessary. The time it takes you to get off this thing, they could see you coming and shoot my sister."

That stung.

"Maybe Peter can scout outside. That shouldn't take too long. Erik can breach the door, and we can go in together.", Ida offered.

"They might have protections against you, though." Peter grumbled.

"It would be more realistic for them to be weary of you, not me."

"So what's your gift?", Alex turned towards Ida, "So we know what we are working with."

"I'm a healer.", Ida shrugged, and Erik snorted louder than he had planned.

"What? I am! I can do some minor energy manipulation, but nothing big. Looks more impressive than it is."

"You threatened to turn me inside out."

"That's a healer thing."

"No healer I've ever met."

"Have you met many healers?"

"Touché."

"You are all weird. Just so you know.", Peter looked annoyed, "We need a plan and you are… slow. Too slow."

"I'm sorry, Peter. We are all… worried about what we might find.", Ida sighed, "All I wanted to say was: I can look after myself, but offense isn't my strong suit."

"Maybe you should stay with the jet.", Hank wondered aloud and the silence after that comment was deafening, "Okay. Maybe not."

"Peter's idea isn't bad.", Erik relented, "He can scout the outside, we move quick. Dismantle the doors. Peter can run inside and take a look, okay? But nothing stupid. We came here to save your sister, not lose you."

"Aye aye."

Both Hank and Alex were staring at him.

"What?"

"Nothing.", Alex kept looking between him and Peter with narrowed eyes and Erik didn't bloody like it, "How long have you guys known each other again?"

"We met almost two years ago.", Erik spat at him.

"But… then nothing until yesterday.", Hank offered.

"And?"

Meaningful looks between Hank and Alex.

"Stop it, both of you.", Erik was prepared to throw hands. No one was supposed to know, damn it! How had he lost the plot so quickly… and so completely.

"You are really bad at this.", Peter informed him.

"At what?"

"Being a terrorist."

Alex laughed a little too loudly, and patted Peter's arm, "You're alright, Magnitten. We're going to have so much fun."

"We're here.", Hank shook his head, but Erik knew this discussion wasn't over. Stupid, the two boys were not. Men. They were men now, he reminded himself.

They defended quickly and quietly behind some trees and before the door was even fully open, Peter was already outside.

Erik was still unbuckling his seat belt, when Alex spoke up: "So, he's your son then?"

"Can we not?"

"It's a pretty simple question.", Hank walked over, "And we aren't stupid."

"I've never seen you this worried about someone. I mean, you threw Sean off a satellite dish, so he would learn and you are worried about a speedster being alone out there?", Alex added, "And you told him your girl liked him more than you. Not many reasons for that."

"Can we concentrate?"

"Erik…", Ida sighed, "Just give up. I could look for a spell to change their memory later, if it makes you that uncomfortable."

"I'm not uncomfortable. I just want to concentrate."

"Change our memory?!"

"Oh, don't worry, Alex. You'd never know.", and she reassuringly patted his arm as the jet locked behind them.

Alex didn't look reassured.

And just like that, Peter was back.

"It's all underground. There is an entrance over there…", he pointed towards the trees, "I didn't want to try my luck with the door. Looks like steel, though."

"Very well, let's move.", Erik sighed and hurriedly took Ida's hand as they moved through the trees. What if Peter was right? What if they'd hurt Wanda rather than let her go?

No. No one knew about their connection. And him and his sweatpants didn't exactly scream "Magneto". They probably would need time to even figure out who he was or why he had come.

"Hey, what does Magnitten mean?", Peter appeared next to him.

"Like Magneto, but small. Like a kitten. Magnitten.", Erik could hear Alex' laughter behind him.

"I'm not a… you told them?"

"Why? Are you already ashamed of being my son?"

"Erik!", Ida hissed angrily.

Cool it, Erik. Stop showing everyone your insecurities.

"Man, Erik, life's been rough, eh?"

"Shut up, Alex."

"How did you two ever live in the same house?", Ida sighed, as they reached the tree line. Now they only had a couple of yards of open terrain left. So sprinting was possibly their best option.

"Alex basically worshiped Erik and then he took off, so Alex is being salty about it.", Hank spoke up for the first time.

"I did not…"

"Will everybody just SHUT UP?!"

"Sorry, Peter. There is a lot of history between all of us.", Erik sighed, "And go!"

They all sprinted across the field, with Erik grabbing the steel door as he moved and yanking it into the trees. Peter vanished without another word and when the four of them finally reached the doorway, they looked into a long, dark corridor.

"Oh, that's one for me.", Ida mumbled something underneath her breath and bright, green light shot from her hands, covering the floor in strands and illuminating the space.

"There are cells I can't open. The doors are electrified somehow. And there were guards up ahead."

"What happened to them?"

"Ducktape."

They hurried past the incapacitated guards and towards the doors. Erik didn't even bother, he just ripped them all out and Peter took off, searching for Wanda.

The first cell held: a kid. No older than six. Chained to a wall.

"Fucking hell!", Alex cursed loudly and Erik wholeheartedly agreed. Fucking humans.

He undid the chains.

"I'll take care of her.", Hank piped up, "If the others can walk, send them here. I'll patch them up and take them back to the jet."

"I'll stay with Hank. Healing is what I'm good at.", Ida looked at the scared little girl, "You go on."

And so Erik and Alex made their way through the cells. Most were chained, some wore straight jackets. Eight kids. All of them somewhere between 6 and 16, he'd guess. Erik's blood was ready to boil. But they hadn't found Wanda and Peter hadn't been back in five minutes. He didn't want to leave anyone behind, but…

The last cell, empty. Another corridor. More duct taped guards. They hurried around the corner and found Peter lying on the floor, apparently unconscious and twitching lightly.

Had he been shot? Who'd get the drop on Peter?! Be okay, please be okay, please, please, please…

"Erik, the floor! Look!"

Soft sparks ran across the patch of metal grating Peter had fallen on. Alex simply blasted the power box at the other end of the corridor off the wall. And the door next to it with it. Ah well, if it worked.

The twitching stopped.

"Peter! Hey, Peter! Can you hear me?", Erik carefully pulled his son up into his lap, "Peter!"

"Ouch."

"Can you open your eyes for me?"

"Go get Wanda, I'll be fine. Just need a second."

"Peter, just look at me, please."

"Dad.", the word cut through him like a knife, "Please go."

"I'll take him back to the others.", Alex simply lifted Peter into his arms, "Ida can look at him. Go get her."

And with a last look at his still mumbling son, Erik ran into the next room.

Wanda was restrained on a slab. She was barely covered by anything but electrodes sticking all over her body. Machines were beeping next to her and… she was awake.

He pulled the electrodes and restraints off her, before he even reached her in person. Desperately he reached for her hand, needing to reassure himself that she was there. Alive.

"Wanda? Can you hear me? Are you okay?"

Her eyes tried to focus on him, but it was clear she was having trouble, her gaze hazy and shaky.

"I know you.", she finally breathed, almost inaudibly.

"You might have…"

"You killed me.", her voice wasn't accusatory, just matter of fact and Erik felt like she had drenched him in cold water.

"Wanda, you are not dead. We came for you. You are okay now, Liebes. Peter is here. He came for you.", he tried to reassure her, "We came for you. I'm going to carry you out of here, okay? I don't think you can walk, so I am going to lift you up. Do you understand?"

"Kay.", Wanda mumbled and buried her face in his t-shirt when he lifted her up. At least she wasn't scared of him. That was a start.

"I think I killed my Mom."

"We'll get you out of here and then we can talk and…", God, he should have brought a blanket. Something. Anything.

"Everyone is dead."

"No, Liebes, you are okay. Peter is fine. I've got you. They can't hurt you anymore. You are safe now."

"Thanks, Dad."

Erik wondered distantly if he was crying. He couldn't tell. He also didn't care.

Alex appeared in front of him.

"Peter is fine. Hank has gone to get the jet closer. No need for surprise now and walking is… hey, you okay? Is she hurt?"

"Just a little out of it."

"Then I'll check the other rooms. Just make for the jet. I don't think this place is much bigger than this."

Erik and Wanda had almost made it to the first cell, when Peter appeared next to them.

"You got her! Is she okay? Hey, Wanda?", he tried to look at her, but Wanda had completely burrowed into Erik's shirt and he didn't want to move her around unnecessarily.

"Almost there. Ida can check on her in a second.", Erik really wanted to get moving. He strongly suspected Wanda had been sedated. And he would need to have a serious talk with Peter about Wanda's powers because… he honestly hadn't asked before. He should have, but it had seemed trivial without her being safe. But Charles' words were still fresh in his mind:

I don't even know where to start with Wanda, I mean, changing reality…

Whatever it was, they could deal with it later.

"I'll help Alex!" Woosh.

Out the door and onto the jet they went, where Hank was strapping kids into seat belts and trying to improvise extras to fit everyone and Ida was handing out water and snacks. Carefully he tried to place Wanda on an empty piece of floor, but she wouldn't let go, so he just sat down and held her in his lap. Ida scooted over and carefully placed a hand on her head. When Lorna had broken her leg and Ida had healed her, her eyes turned golden. This time they stayed green. Nothing to heal, he guessed.

"How is she?", he asked, his voice raspy.

"Physically? She's a bit malnourished, but other than that she seems fine. I can't really do anything about the drugs, though. They'll have to wear off by themselves."

He nodded. That was basically what he had expected. Their best case scenario.

"Malnourished? She was only with them for 24 hours."

"Yeah. The others were fed properly. Apparently they wanted their subjects healthy. Wherever Wanda was before this, they didn't have the same requirements. Can you put her down?"

"No, she's really holding tight."

"Then sit over here by the wall. We'll make due", Hank appeared next to him and almost lifted Erik and Wanda up to seat them. Damn, Erik had forgotten how strong the kid was.

"Look who we found.", Alex appeared, half dragging a tired looking…

"Raven!"

Hank almost fell over his own feed on his way to help her.

Ah yes. Young love. Or something.

Alex plonked Mystique down next to Erik and Ida.

"Peter is running after another mutant, who took off. Said he knew the guy, but seemed pretty out of it. Rest of the base is empty.", Alex explained, "We dragged the guards out and left them there. And blasted and smashed every computer and stuff we could find. Brought this, though." He held up a bag full of folders, "The rest do their research is ashes."

A mutant Peter knew?

"Hello Mystique, how has life been treating you?"

"It's been a blast.", Mystique sighed, "I was tracking a story about missing foster kids and, well, thanks for the rescue. What date is it?"

"August 31th, 1974.", Ida offered, "Are you hurt? May I touch you to check?"

"I'm fine. Just been here for two months and it wasn't the best of times."

"Logan made a run for it.", Peter appeared, "Couldn't really stop him. He's too strong for duct tape and he didn't seem to recognise me. Or anyone. He was just yelling a lot, waving his claws around and stuff. And like… I didn't want to hurt him."

Would you look at that? Apparently he was a survivor after all. Erik felt a little guilty for having impaled the man and sent him into the potomac. A little.

"Logan was here?", Hank looked honestly perplexed, "Charles has been looking for him for months."

"Maybe they blocked him somehow?", Alex offered.

"We'll tell him later.", Hank shook his head, "Erik, we'll drop you guys off first, okay?"

"Yes, thank you.", Ida nodded, as Erik was a bit distracted by having both Wanda and Peter next to him, who was looking like a scared little kid.

"Ida says she's fine, just sedated.", he tried to reassure the boy.

Peter nodded, but he still looked pale and shaky. Maybe he wasn't over the electrocution yet.

Hank closed the door and everyone settled in for a flight.

"You aren't going back with us?", Mystique asked, her eyes darting back and forth between Erik, Ida and the kids.

"No, we are going home."

"You have a home?"

"Drop it."

"It's just… the last time I saw you…"

"You shot me."

"You shot me first."

"How about we don't talk about shooting each other in front of a bunch of scared kids.", Alex interrupted them pointedly and told a terrified looking 12 year old "Don't worry. They won't hurt you. They are just assholes."

"Alex!"

They managed the relatively short flight without another incident or snarky comments and as they walked off the jet in Oregon, Wanda still clinging to him in sleep, Alex shook his hand, smiled and said "Good luck."

Luck, yes, they would need it.