Chapter 4
Megan, Mark, Shan, along with three old friends — Megan's father Ian, Will, and Aaron — set out for the house that had belonged to Megan's family for many years. The building, though old, was well-maintained and recently renovated, with green vines crawling up one of its stone walls. It sat next to a vast forest, and nearby, a sprawling moorland stretched toward the horizon, dominated by the silhouette of medieval castle ruins.
As soon as they crossed the threshold, Megan was warmly greeted by her mother, followed shortly by a neighbor she had known since childhood. Both women were eager to meet Megan's companions from the United States, especially the dark-haired young man. Megan's mother also quickly recognized an old friend, Aaron, and invited him in with a hearty welcome. Will, however, chose to stay outside, seeking solitude in the neglected garden overgrown with weeds and unpruned trees, long forgotten by any gardener's careful hands. He watched from a distance, his eyes fixed on the glowing windows of the house, observing the shadows of the people moving inside.
Soon, everyone gathered around a table laden with an array of dishes that Megan remembered fondly from her childhood. The atmosphere was light, and Megan visibly relaxed, comforted by the familiar sights and sounds of home. The company distracted her, allowing her a brief reprieve from the nightmares of the past few days. Mark, too, smiled and engaged in polite conversation with Megan's parents, but beneath the surface, his thoughts were elsewhere. He couldn't shake the burden of his growing powers and the consequences of what had happened to his enemy. He believed he had torn the golden-haired elf to pieces, burning his body in the overwhelming display of his superhuman abilities. What he didn't know was that the elf had managed to escape. His mind, however, remained haunted by the belief that he had obliterated the creature.
Shan, observing him closely, knew that Mark's guilt was festering and that, sooner or later, it could lead to something catastrophic. She needed to speak with Aaron, to convince him that Mark should return to America, where someone could help him deal with his growing inner turmoil. As for herself, she had made the decision to stay with Megan, vowing to protect her from the dangers that undoubtedly awaited in the near future.
Aaron, sensing the weight of the moment, asked Ian to step into another room. The two men spoke in low, urgent tones, their conversation charged with emotion. Megan strained to catch snippets of their words, convinced that they were discussing her. She would soon find out that her suspicions were correct.
"Megan..." Ian said, stepping back into the room. The gazes of everyone present turned towards him.
"I never thought this day would come," he began, his voice steady yet heavy with regret. "I never thought I'd have to talk to you about this. I've spent years running from my past, trying to give you a normal, happy life. But now it's clear how wrong I was to pretend that none of it mattered. You almost died, and you didn't even know why. I'm sorry, Megan. This is all my fault."
His wife's eyes narrowed suspiciously. She knew what he was about to reveal.
"Things are moving too quickly," Ian continued, "and I can't delay this any longer. Megan, you need to learn the truth about yourself. You need to know who you really are."
Megan's mother stood from her chair, moving toward Ian with concern etched on her face.
"Ian, don't do this... you're putting her in danger."
"Glenda," Ian replied, his voice firm. "Megan was attacked in the States. She and her friend. If it weren't for Aaron, they both might have been killed. If what Will says is true, we don't have much time. We have to act now to try to correct our mistake."
Glenda turned to look at her daughter, her expression softening.
"Yes, Mom," Megan interjected, her voice steady despite the weight of the revelation. "Someone tried to kill me. If it hadn't been for Aaron and... Mark." She glanced at the young man beside her, and he smiled warmly at her.
"I wouldn't be here."
Glenda sighed, her resistance wavering. "Alright, Ian. But Megan, remember that we love you. You can count on all of us for help."
With that, she stepped aside, allowing her husband to continue.
"Megan, we didn't want to tell you this before, but now you need to know... Glenda is not your real mother."
The girl froze. Not a single word left her lips, but her eyes betrayed the storm of shock and disbelief surging through her. Mark reached out, gently touching her hand, trying to calm her.
"Biologically, she is her real mother. She gave birth to her," Aaron interjected, breaking the silence.
"Could you not interrupt me?" Ian shot him an angry look.
"I just wanted to correct you, because you weren't being precise," Aaron replied.
"Megan, Glenda isn't your true mother... and yet, she is. It's… complicated, and I can't explain it to you easily."
Megan felt her mind spiraling further into confusion. For days, strange things had been happening around her, and now this? It was too much.
"I have no idea what you're trying to tell me!" she snapped, her voice cracking under the pressure. "I don't understand!"
Her hands began to tremble slightly. The strange events, the secrets, the constant feeling of being in danger — it was all becoming too much for her to handle.
Ian took a deep breath, searching for the right words.
"Your body... physically... it developed inside Glenda. She carried you, she gave birth to you. But your soul..." He paused, as if the weight of the words made him difficult to speak. "Your soul comes from somewhere else... not from Glenda."
The silence that followed was deafening. Megan felt as if the world around her was unraveling, and the ground beneath her was crumbling. Ian was clearly struggling with the truth, but he knew there was no turning back.
"Your soul comes from me... and from a woman from another world," he finally whispered, avoiding the eyes of both his wife and daughter.
The crushing silence that followed his words felt like time itself had stopped.
Jessica sat alone in a dark room deep within the underground of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. The door to the room was massive, reinforced with thick metal plating. A small window, further secured by iron bars, was the only view to the outside. Above her head, a device hung ominously — a psychic inhibitor, blocking the abilities of mutants with mental powers, like Jessica. Once again, Preview had become a prisoner in her own school. Her guardians feared that her nocturnal rampage in the art studio was either the start of a resurgence in her reality-warping powers or a sign that her mental state had deteriorated to the point where she was now a danger to herself and others. Her hands were tightly wrapped in bandages. The cuts she had inflicted upon herself when smashing the window still throbbed with pain. Jessica turned her head away from the light streaming through the door, trying to ignore the discomfort and the constant hum in her mind caused by the psychic inhibitor.
Hope Abbot approached the cell, her voice hesitant.
"Jessica?"
When there was no response, she tried again, a little louder. "Jessica?"
"I heard you the first time," Jessie replied sharply, her voice laced with irritation.
"How are you feeling?"
"Fantastic. Aside from the fact that this damned thing hanging above my head makes me want to puke all the time, I'm just wonderful."
"Jessie… Frost didn't allow any of us to visit you. I only managed to get in here because of Doctor McCoy. I don't know if I'll be able to come back again. The whole school knows what happened in the art room. Everyone's in shock, no one wants to talk about it. What happened to you? Why did you do it?"
"I had a vision. It was about Megan and the people connected to her. Something big is coming, something that's going to overwhelm us all. And Megan is going to be at the center of it. I've never experienced anything like it before. I had to record the vision, and the images... they were the only things that filled my mind that night. Has Frost warned Megan yet?"
Hope hesitated, then sighed. "Frost… she doesn't believe what you saw. She thinks that maybe your… your mind isn't stable… that you…"
"That I've lost it? Gone completely insane? Is that what you're trying to say?" Jessica's voice grew colder, her frustration evident.
"No, Jessie. That's not what I mean. But the drawings… your blood smeared all over the walls… You have to admit, it's not exactly normal."
"So, you think I'm crazy too?" Jessica stood up from her chair, fists clenched tightly. A few drops of blood from her wounded hands fell to the floor.
"I never said that… I just don't understand—"
"Get out, Hope." Jessica's voice was firm, final. "If you believe Frost, that's your choice. Even if you're afraid of me like the rest of the school, I'm not going to cry about it. But you should be thinking about Megan because if my vision is right, something terrible is coming for her."
"Jessie, I want to help you… I really do…"
"Then go back to the dorms. I'm not in the mood for company. Not even yours."
Hope, stung by Jessica's words and angry at herself for not knowing how to help, left the underground of the institute.
"I don't understand any of this! Could you speak more clearly?" Megan was getting increasingly upset. With each passing moment, she felt she knew less and less about her parents — and about herself. Mark and Shan silently waited for Ian to continue his story.
"I'll explain everything, Megan, just give me a moment to gather my thoughts," said the mustached man.
"Our family comes from a very old lineage that has lived on these lands for thousands of years. Our ancestors always existed on the border between civilization and nature, balancing between the known and the unknown. These two worlds constantly intertwined in their daily lives. I won't go into the details now, as we don't have time for that, but you need to know that we have always preserved traditions and knowledge long forgotten by the rest of the world. All of this was passed down to me by my mother — your grandmother, Megan."
Megan fell into deep thought. She remembered visiting her grandmother's house as a little girl, standing on the edge of a vast forest that always filled her with fear. She distinctly recalled how every night she'd stare anxiously into the darkness outside the window, afraid that something might emerge from the depths of the forest and approach her bed. She also remembered her grandmother lighting a candle in the window, its warm glow chasing away her nightmares, which would fade with the first rays of the morning sun. Could her grandmother have possessed ancient, secret knowledge from thousands of years ago? Megan found it hard to believe, but looking at her own wings and everything she had seen at Xavier's School, the idea no longer seemed so far-fetched. Shaking off her thoughts, she focused again on listening to her father.
"I was young and foolish, and I didn't heed my mother's warnings. Everything she treated with deadly seriousness was, to me, just a source of fun. That's when I met Aaron and Will. Together, we thought we could conquer the whole world. My mother taught me everything about herbs and how they could affect the human mind. She also spoke of the possibility of entering another world — a world that was both close and yet far from our own. I didn't take her words literally. I thought that combining the hallucinogenic properties of her herbs with the particular atmosphere of a summer night in the surrounding woods would lead us to the greatest trip of all time. We got high on the stuff from her stash and then ventured into the woods, searching for a fairy ring that was supposed to lead us straight to the gates of the Land of Eternal Twilight. The herbs didn't disappoint us! We wandered through a beautiful forest, with trees in colors you'd never see on Earth, and a sky that changed hues with our moods. Eventually, we reached a clearing, where we were greeted by women with colorful wings, sprinkling us with dust that sparkled like stars. That journey, which at the time seemed like nothing more than a figment of our imagination, felt as though it lasted for ages.
When we began to feel the passage of time and the onset of fatigue, we were sure that our trip was coming to an end, and that soon, the gray reality of the rural countryside would welcome us back. But we were wrong. The Land of Eternal Twilight was as real as this house, as real as all of us. And it wasn't the safe, beautiful place we had initially thought. We were found by the beings that inhabited that world — the Tylwyth Teg, or Fair Folk. They turned out to be much more than just legends to scare children. I remember how beautiful those who surrounded us were. They all had long, fair hair and blue eyes that shimmered like stars. They seemed flawless, without any imperfections, and one glance at them was enough to fall in love, whether you were looking at a man or a woman. They were intrigued by us, likely because we were something new in their land — perhaps for the first time in centuries. After days of wandering through colorful meadows where unicorns roamed and hours of making love to their most beautiful women under the shade of giant mushrooms, we reached the capital of Annwn, the court of their magnificent queen. Mab, a tall woman with long emerald-colored hair, welcomed us with a feast that lasted seven days and nights. Never before, and never since, had we had so much fun, drinking liters of wine that left no hangovers. At that moment, I thought my mother's herbs had killed me and sent me straight to heaven. But as it turned out later, beneath the colorful facade lay a dark secret..."
Jessica sat in the cold, metallic chair of her cell, dark and cramped. The oppressive claustrophobia only deepened her sense of helplessness, and the throbbing pain in her head from the psionic dampener was nearly unbearable. The constant noise in her mind echoed endlessly, making her nauseous. Every minute that passed, she felt her consciousness scatter further, as though she were becoming nothing more than a shadow of herself. Suddenly, the speaker in her cell emitted a strange noise, breaking the heavy silence. Jessica flinched, her tired eyes drifting toward the small device in the corner. Moments later, a familiar voice broke through the static and the noise in her head.
"How are you holding up, Jessica?" asked Sarah, her sister.
"How do you think?" the black-haired girl shot back, her voice filled with bitterness. If she had any energy left, she would have lashed out, but now, all she felt was emptiness.
"You look awful," Sarah stated bluntly.
"How can you even see me?" Jessica asked, though her tone was indifferent.
"I managed to take control of the camera. I had it feed its signal to my computer terminal in the dorm. I've also got control of the speaker. I figured out every electrical connection in our school."
"Then shut off that damned psionic dampener. I can't take another minute of this noise in my head." Jessica's eyes flashed with anger, but the spark quickly faded. Even that outburst felt hollow, drained of any real power.
"I'm sorry, Jessie. I can't. Frost and the others would notice immediately. The system in your little room has top priority."
Hearing that, Jessica dropped her head. The weight of the situation pressed down on her even more. There was no hope.
"Any word on what Frost has decided about me?" she asked out of pure curiosity.
"Cyclops and Frost are wondering if your reality-warping powers are coming back. They don't really believe what you scrawled in the lab. Especially since Shan called from Wales and confirmed nothing happened."
"Sarah… Megan has been attacked twice! What more has to happen for them to believe me and let me out of this cage? Are they really that blind?" Her voice trembled with anger, but beneath the fury was pure despair. She felt completely misunderstood.
"Jessie… they're wondering if you created those killers yourself. Like you did with your 'handsome guy,' who tried to kill all of us."
Jessica felt a wave of cold fury rise inside her.
"What?! Are they really that stupid?" She clenched her fists, resisting the urge to punch the walls of her cell. It felt like the whole world was against her.
"I don't know… but you can't say it's impossible," Sarah hesitated, her voice growing more uncertain.
"I can't believe you're afraid of me too… that you don't trust me," Jessica spat, her voice now filled with raw anger. "You'd better disconnect now before they track you and you get into trouble. I don't want any more visits. They don't lead to anything. Just leave me alone."
There was a moment of silence on the other end.
"Fine. I just wanted to talk," Sarah said quietly before disconnecting from the cell's system. Silence returned. Jessica was alone again, left with the unrelenting pain and noise in her head that never seemed to end.
Megan's father continued his extraordinary tale, the weight of his past heavy in his voice.
"Earthly hours and days felt like months and years in Annwn. Each of us quickly found our place in that strange society. Will indulged in carnal pleasures, Aaron began studying magic under a sorcerer claiming to be the legendary Merlin, and I… well, I found love in the arms of Queen Mab, even though Glenda and I were already engaged. The vast garden surrounding the palace became the setting for our secret trysts. Every scent, every color, every sound enchanted our minds, casting a spell that clouded our judgment, making it impossible to see the truth behind that world. The people of Faerie spent their days in endless revelry — sex, music, dancing — never thinking about the future. They had no worries, not even for food, which was always abundant in their garden of never-ending delights. But there was a darker side. Their society was stagnant, unable to change, to grow, to improve itself or the world around them. For centuries, nothing new had happened in their realm, and each day was the same as the last. Their existence was a hollow, smiling façade, just as artificial as the magic they cast to maintain their beauty. Our arrival was something extraordinary for them. They admired us for being imperfect, yet still capable of learning, of changing. Some tried to mimic us, while others watched us with suspicion. The day I found out Mab was pregnant, it all started to fall apart like a house of cards. We had become victims of a plot that forced us to flee paradise. Mab had told us at the beginning of our stay that we could have anything we desired, but we were never to set foot in the dark forest behind the Garden of Delights. I didn't understand the prohibition, but who was I to question the rules of that strange world? Unfortunately, some nymph lured Will into the forest with her bare backside, and the fool followed her in. Mab found out and banished us from her court. Will never returned. We thought he had been killed. It wasn't until we were back on Earth that we learned he had escaped, though his time in that dark forest had changed him forever. He wasn't the same man — something darker had taken hold of him. I was devastated. Behind those golden gates, my unborn daughter remained! I didn't want to leave her, didn't want her to grow up in that place and become as artificial as the others in the Garden of Delights. Aaron helped me by using the magic he had learned from Merlin. He cast a spell on my child's soul — on your soul, Megan — turning it into a glowing orb of warmth and light, something I could touch, something I could hold close. Mab was furious and cursed me for taking her child. The entire realm turned against us. The once beautiful meadows were now filled with towering thorn bushes, and the gentle hills where unicorns once roamed became jagged cliffs that tore at our feet. A massive blizzard cut off our escape route back to Earth, but we didn't give up. I kept walking, following Aaron's guidance, even though I couldn't see anything and my limbs froze with every step. I trudged through that frozen wasteland, thinking only of bringing you to safety, Megan. Somehow, we made it out of Faerie — whether by luck or because Mab allowed it, I'll never know.
The next day, I went to Glenda, spent the night with her, and soon your soul had a physical body in which it could settle. After that, I decided to cut all ties with my old life — with Aaron, even with my own mother. Megan, I wanted you to have a happy life, never knowing about your past. But it seems that past has finally caught up with you."
Pixie remained silent, unable to believe a single word from her father. Everything he said sounded like nothing more than a fantasy story. Ever since she was a child, she had known her father had a gift for telling tall tales, but now she realized he had been drawing from his own bizarre experiences all along.
"I... I still don't understand," she stammered. "I... I'm sorry, but I need to step out for a moment." Megan rose from the couch, squeezing past her mother and Mark, and hurried to the door. Mark started to follow her, but Ian held him back.
"Let her be," he said quietly. "She needs time to process this on her own."
Jessica remained confined in the underground cell while Scott, Emma, Dr. McCoy, and other members of the Institute debated fiercely about her behavior. They tried to make sense of her strange visions, captured on the walls of the art studio, and their connection to the two attacks on Megan. Opinions were divided, and anxiety grew among them. Everyone feared Jessica's uncontrollable powers, which could alter reality, and they were considering how quickly they could neutralize her if it became necessary.
Laura Kinney overheard part of the conversation and made a decision. From a distance, she spotted Match, Wolfcub, and Hope Abbot standing on the other side of the building. For a moment, she thought of approaching Hope, but abruptly changed her mind and headed in a completely different direction. Using the skills she had honed as a mercenary, she snuck into the underground cell through the ventilation system. She gently knocked on the door to get Jessica's attention.
"Jessica?" Laura called softly.
"I've had enough visitors. Leave me alone," Jessie replied, her voice weary.
"It's me, Laura."
"I recognized your voice. But... I really don't want to talk right now. Sorry, I'd say the same thing to anyone."
"You need to get out of here. I need you. We have to find the woman who attacked Megan. Your visions might help us."
"No one's going to let me out."
"We don't need their permission. Step away from the door," Laura said, her tone firm.
"Are you joking? They'll catch you on the cameras. We won't even make it a few steps."
"Don't worry. The cameras are showing something else. We'll take the ventilation tunnel to the other side of the building."
"The cameras? Wait... Sarah?" Jessie asked, quickly realizing who was behind the security failure.
"Yes."
"But why?"
"Because she believes in you. Just like I do," Laura replied simply, extending two claws from her right hand. In one swift motion, she sliced through the electronic lock securing the cell. As Jessica stepped out into the corridor, she swayed and leaned against the wall.
"My head's spinning," she muttered.
"Sit down for a minute. You'll feel better soon."
"Yeah, it's already passing... It's that damn psychic dampening device," Jessie said, sitting on the floor.
"In that case, we need to move. Your sister can't keep the cameras down forever," Laura pointed toward the entrance to the ventilation tunnel she had used to reach the secured part of the Institute. As the two girls crawled through the cramped passage, Laura spoke up again.
"Tell me exactly what you saw in your vision. So far, all I've seen is the portrait of Megan you painted and a lot of faces. I heard your story from Frost and Scott, but I want to hear it from you."
Jessica sighed deeply.
"It's not that simple. The images just flooded in like a wave, overwhelming my thoughts. Nothing had a clear order, and it all seemed senseless. The only thing I'm certain of is that Megan is in serious trouble... And after what we've just done, we probably are too."
"It doesn't matter. Just tell me everything you remember. We've got time until we're out of this vent."
Jessica hesitated before starting. "Alright, but don't expect it to make any sense."
Megan wandered through the vast moorlands surrounding her hometown, lost in thought about the story her father had told. The words lingered in her mind, heavy and unsettling. She knew her father wasn't lying — he had no reason to deceive her. But even the certainty of truth couldn't ease the growing fear. How was it possible that in one evening, she had learned more about the world than from all the legends and tales she'd read since childhood? And now, against all logic, she was at the center of this strange, almost fairy-tale nightmare. A cold wind blew from the forest, brushing against her face, sending her pink hair swirling around her. Despite the chill, Megan didn't care that she might catch a cold. Her thoughts were consumed by something far greater: the otherworldly truth about her birth. This was more than genetic mutations and superhuman abilities — it was a reality steeped in ancient forces, ones she could barely comprehend.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Will, walking in the shadows of the nearby forest. A shiver ran down her spine. He seemed strange, darker somehow — exactly as her father had described him, altered by the forbidden place from his past. From the moment she met him, she hadn't trusted him, but now, after hearing about Annwn, her suspicion had deepened into something more — an uneasy, gnawing fear. When Will's eyes met hers, Megan's heart skipped a beat. Something inside her stirred, an instinctive urge to flee. Without a second thought, she turned and made her way back home, quickening her pace. She didn't dare look back. As she walked, one thing became clear — Will wasn't who he pretended to be. There was something in his gaze, in the way he carried himself, that unsettled her, a quiet menace she couldn't shake. Her intuition warned her that in the future, she would need to be careful — anything he said or offered could be tainted by a darkness.
Megan's parents, Aaron, Shan, and Mark remained in the guest room, trying to process everything. Ian sat down beside Shan, visibly exhausted after the emotional conversation with his daughter and the flood of memories that came with it.
"Do you believe what I've told you?" Ian asked Shan quietly.
Shan took a deep breath, thinking for a moment. "I'll admit, it's an extraordinary story. But I've been with the X-Men for years now. I've seen things even more improbable than what you're telling me. I believe you, and I hope you can help Megan. If the X-Men can assist in any way..."
"No," Aaron cut in sharply, his voice cold and firm. "American heroes can't help here. Only the three of us have any experience with that realm. Only we can protect Megan."
Shan clenched her jaw, her gaze hardening.
"I refuse to sit idly by while my student is in danger," she said resolutely, straightening her posture. She glared at Aaron, his unshaven face and worn coat making him appear even more detached from the others in the room. Megan's parents exchanged uneasy glances. Aaron narrowed his eyes, clearly not fond of being challenged.
"Fine. If you want to risk your life, that's your choice," he said, his voice barely concealing the threat beneath. "But don't get in my way. And never, ever try to attack me with your psychic powers again. If you do, I'll show you things in my mind that will make you afraid to look in the mirror for the rest of your life."
"I don't need my powers to defend myself from someone like you," Shan shot back, her fists clenched tightly, her distaste for Aaron clear. Sensing the tension, Glenda spoke softly to Mark, who had been sitting quietly the entire time.
"Mark, you've been so quiet since Megan stepped outside. Is something bothering you?" she asked gently.
Mark hesitated before replying. "I want to go back home, to our school. With Megan. I just want her to be safe."
Glenda gave him a warm smile, placing her hand on his shoulder.
"It's wonderful that you care so much for her," she said kindly, her voice full of warmth. For a brief moment, the tension in the room lifted, but Aaron shattered it with his next words.
"Don't count on going back anytime soon. Megan can't return to America," He said, his tone as cold as ever.
At that moment, Pixie returned. She glanced around the room and then sat down beside Mark.
"Why not?" Megan asked, fixing her father with an intense stare. "You told me how I was born, but you didn't say a word about what's threatening me. Who tried to kill me, and why?"
Ian sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair.
"Megan… I was going to tell you everything, but you ran out before I could finish."
"Well, I'm here now. So finish it," she demanded, her voice a mixture of anger and unease.
Ian glanced at her, then at the others, finally nodding toward Aaron.
"Aaron, could you explain?" he asked.
"Of course," Aaron replied, leaning back slightly. "It's a shame Will's not here. He's got a way of explaining things with conviction..."
"I heard enough from him yesterday," Megan interrupted, her eyes flashing with irritation. Aaron smirked briefly, but his expression quickly turned serious.
"In the land of the Tylwyth Teg, great changes are happening. A once-unified realm is now on the brink of war. There are factions that want to reshape the world of the Eternal Twilight and others who will do anything to keep things as they are. This conflict could spill over, engulfing not just Annwn, but Earth as well. The dark Tylwyth Teg want change, but they know defeating Queen Mab's court, your true mother, will be no easy task. So, they've started looking at our world. They've already sent changelings — children swapped with human families, living unaware of their true heritage, waiting for a signal from Faerie. When it comes, their minds will shift, forcing them to follow their leaders' commands. The two persons you encountered might have been such changelings. He locked eyes with Megan, his voice growing even more grave.
"You are the key figure in this war. As a hybrid, you are the bridge that can link both worlds."
"I'm not going to take sides!" Megan shouted, her frustration rising.
"You won't have a choice," Aaron replied coldly. "You'll become a pawn for one side or the other. Unless..."
"Unless we follow Will's suggestion," Ian finished for him.
"What does that mean?" Megan asked, already dreading the answer.
"We go to Faerie and convince Queen Mab to lift the spell binding your soul. That way, you'll sever all ties to that dangerous world. Will swore on everything holy that this is the only way to end the war in Faerie and give you a chance at survival and a normal life."
Megan's wariness of the dark-haired man deepened. She trusted him even less now than she had minutes ago.
"And you believe him, Dad?"
"I knew him when I was younger than you are now. He once saved my life."
"And did you still trust him after he came back from the forbidden forest?" Megan asked, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. Ian hesitated, and Aaron's face showed the same uncertainty about the plan they had originally considered.
"If you don't trust me, you can stay here, or go back to America," Will's voice suddenly cut through the room as he entered. "And then watch as Megan's blood opens the gates to our world for the dark Faerie. Her sacrifice is necessary to merge the two realms. You don't understand because you haven't seen the truth of that land. You haven't experienced it like I did in the forbidden forest."
Silence fell over the room. No one had a counterargument. Megan still didn't trust Will, and her friends from school were equally skeptical. Fear tightened her chest, and even her parents' and Mark's presence no longer brought comfort.
"The real problem," Will continued, "is that I can't open any of my portals to Annwn. It's as if someone sealed them off after I crossed back. I can't take you anywhere."
"What about your Pooka?" Ian asked Aaron.
"He can't help. He travels the same paths Will does."
"And what if you tried the way you three originally got into Annwn?" Mark asked suddenly.
"We don't even know how we got there," Ian answered with frustration. "After all these years, I'm convinced the realm invited us in, opening its gates. There's no way we could replicate that."
"And besides," Ian added, with a humorless laugh, "the three of us were high at the time. Do you really think I'd let my daughter inhale the same stuff I did back then?"
"There's only one solution," Glenda interjected.
"Your mother. You have to return to her and use her knowledge. There's no other option. I know you blame her for everything, but you must do this for Megan."
Ian turned away, his hand absentmindedly brushing over his mustache as he stared at the wall. He looked around at his old friends, his wife, his daughter, and her friends, realizing that there was only one decision he could make in this situation.
"Alright," he said finally. "We'll go to her. We can't waste any more time while the dark clouds are gathering over Megan. The only question left is, who will protect her on the journey? I will, for sure. No one else can speak to Queen Mab."
"I'm coming too," Aaron declared. "My magic will be essential. Don't let the sugar-coated appearance of Faerie lull you into a false sense of security."
"My knowledge of the realm will also help," Will added. "I can see through that so-called sugar-coating."
"Of course, I'm coming too," Mark said firmly. "I'm not leaving Megan behind."
Shan hesitated before speaking, looking at Mark. "I should send you back to school, but I know you'd find a way to follow us anyway. And if everything is decided, I can't leave my students behind either."
"I'll be waiting for your return," Glenda said, smiling warmly. "And I'll welcome you all back, just as I did today."
Jessica and Laura approached the school's fence. Thanks to Sarah's help, their escape went unnoticed by the institute's monitoring system. A few students glanced their way, but none paid them much attention. Laura led Jessica to the jeep she had received from Wolverine.
"Get in. We're heading to the city," instructed Laura.
Jessica hesitated. "I still don't know if we're doing the right thing. Maybe we should go back and explain everything? Nothing happened, after all. Frost and the others should figure out that I had nothing to do with those strange, hostile people showing up. Maybe, if I can look at my drawings in peace, I'll piece the vision together and make sense of it."
"Jessica," Laura said. "They're afraid of you. They see you as a threat and are already talking about how to neutralize you if you lose control. I saw them going through files on Wanda Maximoff, Proteus, and other reality-warpers. Frost is going to have McCoy run hundreds of tests on you, which could take days, maybe weeks. And your vision could come true – something bad might happen to Megan."
Jessica took a deep breath, feeling a knot of anxiety tighten in her stomach. "You're right. Let's go," she finally conceded. She climbed into the jeep and buckled her seatbelt, but the heavy sense that she was betraying her teammates weighed on her. She wanted to go back to the dorm, talk to Hope, feel her warmth, just like she had when her powers spiraled out of control the last time. But this time, Hope had been distant, cold even, brushing her off when Jessica needed her most. She couldn't blame her – who wouldn't fear someone capable of tearing reality apart? Jessica glanced at the bloodstained bandages on her hands.
"I think I need to change my bandages," she murmured, more to herself than to Laura.
"Check behind the seat, there should be a first aid kit," Laura replied, eyes fixed on the road. As the jeep disappeared around the corner, Logan emerged from behind the wall. He adjusted his hat, a small smile playing on his lips.
"Good luck, Laura," he thought, heading toward his parked motorcycle.
Meanwhile, Sarah could finally relax. The strain of controlling monitoring devices scattered across the school had worn her out. She lay down on her bed, trying to close her eyes and unwind, but the constant stream of images in her mind wouldn't let her rest. She was beginning to understand how her powers worked – each new contact with a device flooded her mind with information about its technology, mechanics, and design. A smile crept onto her face; learning new things brought her joy, yet she couldn't help but wonder if her powers were truly so different from her sister's. Were they really as separate as she had always thought?
At the same time, Scott, Emma, and Dr. McCoy were engaged in a heated discussion about Jessica. The conversation was quickly escalating into an argument.
"We have to isolate her, Hank. I can't risk the safety of the school. If something like what happened in New Mexico occurs here, thousands of lives will be in danger. I can't allow her unstable mind to jeopardize the city's security," Cyclops laid out his reasoning, his tone firm.
"Scott, how can you be so sure her powers are actually resurfacing? Or that she's lost control of them? Maybe she's telling the truth. Maybe her vision is connected to something that's about to happen to Pixie. Shouldn't you be sending a team of X-Men to Wales to rescue your student instead of figuring out how to neutralize another student's abilities? You can't jump to conclusions until I've completed my tests," Dr. McCoy argued, trying to sway Cyclops from his drastic course of action.
"Fine, Hank. You'll finish your tests, but only after we've moved her to a secure location. I've already contacted Reed Richards. He's working on some kind of pocket dimension generator where we can safely monitor her condition," Scott countered.
"A pocket dimension? Scott, do you even hear yourself? You're treating her like some crazed supervillain! She's just a normal, young girl!" Beast's frustration boiled over.
"She's far from normal," Emma Frost interjected coldly. "A normal person doesn't destroy a classroom with her scribbles, carve stigmata into her hands, and smear her blood on the walls."
"Oh, and you're one to talk. Care to remember what you were doing at her age?" Hank snapped back. Before the argument could escalate further, one of the Stepford Cuckoos entered the room. Emma immediately turned her attention to the young telepath, cutting off her exchange with McCoy.
"Miss Frost, I've been performing psionic scans every fifteen minutes, as you instructed. Just now, I noticed Jessica's psychic signature has disappeared from the school. She must have escaped her cell."
"How is that even possible?" Emma demanded, her voice sharp with disbelief.
At that moment, Scott's gaze shifted to the monitor at the end of the room. The screen displayed an empty cell, with the door scarred by two deep claw marks.
"X-23 was there. She's the one who broke her out," Cyclops said, his expression hardening.
"Celeste! Check if Laura Kinney is still on school grounds!" Frost ordered.
"She's not," Celeste replied after a brief telepathic trance.
"Vale and Kinney. What a pair. They deserve each other," Emma muttered in frustration.
"Call Wolverine," she commanded.
"Wolverine isn't on school grounds either," Celeste answered calmly.
"Jessica, try using your abilities. Focus on that woman. Summon a fragment of the vision, just the part that involved her. You remember what she looked like. You can do this," Laura urged, glancing at her friend sitting beside her.
Jessica lowered her head, biting her lip. Her thoughts were scattered, filled with doubt and uncertainty.
"I don't even know if she's still in New York. I don't even know where to start," she sighed.
Laura, determined not to give up, pressed on.
"Think about her, about what you saw at the carnival, about what you felt when you touched the body in the morgue. It has to mean something."
Jessica nodded slowly, closing her eyes, trying to focus on her visions, though she knew how fleeting they were. Only fragments remained in her memory, like pieces of a dream slipping away before she could grasp them fully. She tried to summon those images, the places, the emotions, but everything seemed blurred, fading on the edges of her consciousness. And then... suddenly, she screamed.
Laura slammed on the brakes, pulling the car to the side of the road. Alarmed, she looked at her friend.
"Your hands..." she whispered, noticing fresh blood seeping through Jessica's bandages.
Jessica stared at her hands, at the bleeding wounds that hadn't been there moments before.
"I don't know how it happened, but... my wounds reopened when I saw her. She was injured, shot... someone tortured her... pierced her hands with a sword," she said, her voice trembling, unable to tear her gaze away from her own blood.
Laura turned to face Jessica, her expression hardening. She saw her friend in pain, but knew she needed to push her forward.
"What else did you see? Where was she?" Laura asked firmly.
Jessica squinted, trying to piece together the images in her mind.
"I think I know which part of the city she was being held in... It's the old dock district. Those warehouses I saw in the vision... if she's still in the city, it's only there," she replied, struggling to control the growing pain.
Laura hesitated, concern in her voice. "Jessica, maybe you should go back. Someone needs to look at those wounds. You can't keep going like this."
Despite barely being able to move her fingers, Jessica shook her head, her determination unwavering.
"No. We're close now. Let's go there and face it together," she said, trying to hide the agony now nearly paralyzing her hands. But she knew there was no turning back. Something deep inside urged her forward, no matter the cost.
Laura sighed, glanced at the road, and steered the car back onto the path, ready to face whatever awaited them in the old dock district.
