God dammit Gambit, you motherfucker!" Wanda hissed at him as she used a free hand to jerk a wall of blue hex magic to act as a visual shield between us and him.

"Hey, dat was one time, 'n she wasn't even yours," Gambit replied in a teasing tone accompanied by a chuckle. "Quite da show, though. I'll admit." Wanda was seething by now, but there was something else in her eyes. She was thinking the same thing I was: wasn't this place supposed to be uncharted? Off the map and definitely hidden from Magneto, and thus his henchmen? I had thought she'd be safe here, and yet here was Magneto's calling card.

"You better be here lookin' for Rogue," I said testily. "Magneto can't touch her." Wanda and I slipped on the last articles of clothing, all of which were still sopping wet, then she lowered her shield. She didn't give the Cajun even a second to draw a breath before she threw him up against the nearest tree with a hex, using another one to get a tree branch to wrap around him.

"I'm sensin' some hostility here," Gambit remarked dryly. "I didn't tink dat you'd be happy ta see me, but I don't need ya attackin' me. If I had come here for dat, I woulda done it while you were…preoccupied."" Wanda snarled at him and made the tree clench him tighter.

"Why couldn't you just leave me alone?" she hissed at him.

"In all fairness, we have left you alone for de most part," he reasoned with her.

"They why're you here?" I asked him. "How did you even know where we were?"

"I'd be more 'n happy ta answer all of your questions, but not 'til you put me down."

"I could rip the answers out of you," Wanda threatened darkly. I put my hand on her shoulder. For a moment it felt like she was going to shake me off, but then she signed and dropped her hands. This action released Gambit who fell from the tree to the ground in a crouch, then straightened. "Why are you here?" she demanded of him. He crossed his arms as he watched her and answered her slowly.

"Magneto wanted to make sure you were keepin' good on your end of da deal. He wanted ta make sure you weren't still huntin' him."

"I'm with the x-men, aren't I? How did you find me?" she asked harshly.

"We've been keepin' tabs on you, ta make sure you don't go double crossin' anyone. When you disappeared off of da radar, I got sent lookin' for ya, and I'm ta serve as a reminder ta watch your place." Wanda glowered at him as blue fire rippled around her hands in anger.

"My 'place' is wherever I decide to be," she growled, and he only shrugged. "So now that you've come and met with me, what is it exactly that you're going to tell Magneto?" she asked in a dangerous voice. Gambit smirked at her.

"'S far as I'm concerned, you're no longer a threat to us. It seems you've been tamed by….usual means, but tamed nonetheless." He turned his red-tinted eyes on me and bobbed his head in a type of saluting gesture. "I congratulate you on your success with de Witch; none of us thought you could do it. You did Magneto a great service." Suddenly Wanda's usually blue hex-fire blazed a brilliant crimson. She used her right hand to slash the air from her right to left, throwing Gambit violently into a tree so that he was promptly knocked unconscious and slid down the trunk to lay in a heap at the bottom. For a split second I wondered if she'd killed him, but I was able to pick up his heartbeat and shrugged it off. I could see Wanda's shoulder shaking out of pure hatred and anger, so I didn't dare say one word. It only took a few moments before it built up so much that she snapped. Her power lashed out, blowing a crater the size of a small town in the ground around her, flattening every tree and charring ever blade of grass to a deep black. I was thrown several feet from her, but miraculously unharmed.

"Who the HELL does he think he is!" she screamed. I had to wait for my vision to clear, and when it did I saw Wanda on her knees at the center of all the burned destruction. Gingerly I got up, testing to see if anything was hurt, but as I had originally assumed I was fine. Once I was over this discovery I went to her and crouched down next to her. She had her eyes squeezed shut, but it didn't stop the crystal tears she was fighting so hard against from trickling down her face.

"Wanda," I said softly and moved to pull her into my arms. She fought me and pulled away to stand instead, angrily wiping her cheeks as she did so.

"No," she said in a dark voice. "Not this time. I won't back down this time. He's been manipulating me my entire life. I'm done. I'm done with him, I'm done with his games, and it's going to end. Now." She finally turned to face me. There was no fear there now, no resignation, no hesitation. Only pure determination and untainted loathing. "It's always felt like I was on the losing side of this war. He thinks that I'm staying down, but I'm not giving up any more." She let a wicked sneer cross her face and she looked up at the night sky. "Let him see how 'tame' I've become."

I wasn't going to let the man that called himself my father get away with his shit any longer. Too long people had feared him too much to stand up to him. I had my doubts, sure. He was a stronger mutant than I was, and he had more people to back him up, but I wouldn't let my fears control me anymore. No matter what happened, this ended tonight. I tried to make Todd stay in that forest, stay safe with the x-men, but no matter what I said he insisted on coming with me. I told him that from then on out, it wasn't going to be pretty. He must have seen it in my eyes. I knew he was scared, but still he wouldn't listen to any attempt to get him to stay. Honestly, I was glad to have him with me. At least I would have one person by my side when I faced Magneto.

When Gambit finally was brought around, I didn't waste any time on pleasantries. I used my hexes to pull information from his mind and into mine, a trick I had been working on for a while. The result put Gambit back out, and probably would have some lasting effects, but I was passed caring about him or anyone else. I was on the track I had always wanted to follow, and nothing would stand in my way.

With Magneto's location in my mind, as well as the transportation that Gambit had used to get to this barren stretch of land, Todd and I were speeding back towards Magneto's lair in a metal orb in no time. I knew it would be a long way there, so we both settled down to wait. I felt Todd's hand reach out and take mine, which made me realize how focused I felt. Everything was numb for me. I didn't feel fear, panic or even anger. I knew exactly what I was doing, and with that came a clarity of mind that I had never felt before.

"Wanda," Todd said quietly. I met his golden eyes as he searched mine. He was worried, but not for himself. That thawed me the slightest bit. I squeezed his hand and offered him a smile.

"It'll be alright," I told him.

"Look, I'm not doubtin' you. I know that you really can do whatever you put your mind to. But…goin' after Magneto like this is like cornering a rabid bear. Most people don't have that very high on their to-do list," he remarked.

"I know," I told him somberly and looked away. "That's why I'm doing this. Not because I'm sure I'll win, but because it's what needs to be done." I felt his hand brush my cheek, which once more brought my attention to him. I put my cheek into his open palm, and he brushed my face with his thumb.

"It's jus'….I don't know what I would do, if I ever lost you. I don't think I could handle that," he confessed to me.

"Hopefully, you won't have to," I remarked. I put my hand over his and kissed the inside of his palm before crossing the distance between us and pushing my lips to his. That feeling that only he gave me fluttered inside my chest. Usually I would push it back down, but this was one of the few times I let it flourish. He felt the change in me, I know because of the way he shifted. He pulled me to him, and I let him. Eventually I pulled away from him, but didn't make eye contact. I knew what I would see there, and I didn't want to address it. Neither of us wanted to admit how much this felt like a goodbye. I let myself lean against him, laying my head on his chest as he tucked his chin over me and wrapped his arms around me. I let one of my hands find his and laced our fingers together.

"Wanda?" he said after a long stretch of foreboding silence.

"Hm?" I answered him.

"Can you promise me somethin'?" he asked. Had it come from anyone else, my answer would have been no. I didn't trust people with open-ended promises. They might ask for something I wasn't willing to give. But for Todd….he was the one that had held faith for me from the beginning, and never had even a moment of doubt. He had held on through all the terrible treatment I had given him and persisted through my never-ending hexes and insults. He had been the one to come to my recue not once, but several times now. He had been the one to open my eyes and heart to a world I had been previously blind to. He had even switched teams with me, to take sides with the x-men. I owed him everything. Even more than that…I trusted him.

"Of course," I replied. "What is it?"

"I need you ta promise me that no matter what happens, you'll do everything in your power ta walk outta this." Out of everything he could have asked me for, I wasn't expecting that.

"I'll do my best to ensure we both get out of this," I told him. He nodded his acceptance and remained quiet for the rest of the ride. What felt like both the longest and shortest period of my life ended with a gentle thump as the metal orb made its landing. From the memories I ripped out of Gambit, I knew that we would be in a solid metal vessel that hovered far above the ground, hiding in the clouds. The orb slowly opened form the top, and we stepped out into a dimly lit room.

"Wanda," came a voice that had haunted innumerable nightmares of mine. It made my blood run cold and stirred up the old anger that had become a giant part of who I was. My eyes narrowed and I turned around.

"Father." I spat the sarcastic term out like the poison it was to me. I clenched my fists as every single nerve in my body started buzzing. I was as ready as I'd ever be for him, and for once the odds were slightly in my favor; Gambit was left behind with the x-men. That left him one Acolyte short.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. There was something in his voice, but I couldn't place it.

"What should have been done a long time ago," I growled. Slowly I eased my power out to form a glowing blue aura around me,, and it was from that light that I realized what was in Magneto's voice, and now eyes: Fear. He was afraid of me. That idea empowered me more than anything else could have. I felt a sneer pull its way across my lips and Iraised my hands. Fire shot out from somewhere behind me, but I didn't have to worry about that because it was quickly quenched. Todd must have heard Pyro coming and done something to intercept him. I didn't dwell on it long, instead I cut off my attention to everything else but the man in front of me. This was my fight, my war to finish, and my only concern.

Without warning a metal sheet wrapped itself around me, trying to smother me in a cold metallic cocoon. I took a deep inhale then pushed my hands out to either side of me, shooting the sheet in two opposite directions which allowed me to continue to walk towards Magneto.

"Wanda, think about what you're doing," he tried, but I detected the waiver in his tone.

"Oh, I have," I assured him. "I've thought about this every single day since you abandoned me in that institution. I've waited a long time for this." Before I could mount any of my own attacks against him, something bellowed behind me. I turned just in time to see a giant metal Piotr charging me, and Todd was already busy trying to tease Sabertooth into focusing on him and not me. "I do not want to play your games!" I shouted. I used one hand to flick blue hex-lights at Colossus. Within seconds his metal skin retracted and he came crashing down a few feet from me, barely breathing as I stole his powers and his breath. I could have killed him, but as Rogue had told me earlier my war wasn't with any one person besides Magneto. More metal was thrown at me from my prey, but I tossed it aside easily with another hex.

"Wanda!" I heard Todd shout. I didn't even look this time, just flicked my hex-lights at Sabertooth which sent him flying into the wall hard enough that he crumpled and made no move to get up again. Whatever Todd had done to Pyro when he first attack had lasted, since it seemed he could no longer manipulate fire. I would have taken him out too, but Magneto had engaged me once again, leaving Todd to take care of John. He picked me up by pulling on the metal in my clothes, but I countered it with a hex that sent him flying end over end. I landed on my feet just as he crashed into the back wall.

"That was for toying with my mind," I hissed. I sent another hex that was now colored purple, I guess because it was tinted with the red of the rage I felt boiling under the calm surface that had been with me since entering the metal orb. This hex wrapped around him as I attempted to pull the very air out of his lungs and make him choke on it. He fought, writhing this way and that, but my hold was strong. "This is for stealing my childhood," I spat. I used my free hand to make an upward movement. This resulted in him moving up and gaining another level of hex magic around him, which inflicted twice as much pain as the previous one. "This is for tainting me, forcing me to become the person I was." With both hands I pushed down which threw him to the ground and held him there. With a tugging motion I brought him to lay before my feet, and I looked down at him feeling utter hate fill me. "You could have done things differently," I told him. My voice shook with loathing. He was shaking as well, but it was from the pain I was filling him with, making him experience with every fiber of his being. "You could have been a father, instead of a monster. You had no reason to leave me the way you did. But in a way, I'm glad you did. I never would have become the person I am today, without your help. It was my hatred for you, my need for revenge against you, that has fueled my every action."

"Wanda, don't," he choked out. "I-I'm sorry." For some reason his apology made me even more livid.

"It's too late for that!" I yelled, but he didn't care. He had only said it to distract me, and it had worked. He moved faster than I thought he could and struck me across the face. I staggered back three steps before falling from the force of the blow, and the surprise of it had ended the hexes I had used to keep him in place. Now he rose and surrounded himself in his own metal shell as I threw hex after hex at him. They all washed off the outside of this new metal like water, and I briefly wondered what he had made it out of. I didn't have too much time to think, because next thing I knew I was being attacked with my own hexes. No! I thought. Utter panic filled me. He must have made a new collar in the time I'd been with the x-men. Each tendril of magic he threw at me drained me of my own power, and thus my life-force. I felt myself growing weaker with each passing minute, but there was nothing I could do about it. He was stronger, faster and now had my own magic to use against me. I could barely summon up defense hexes fast enough before he threw the next one. It didn't take long for me to falter just once, and he leapt on the opportunity.

I left my guard down for once second too long between defense hexes, and was blown through a wall with my own magic. My head spun and blood pounded in my ears, but still I forced myself to stand. I was too slow, as he came down at me with yet another attack, laying me flat out and gasping for breath. While I grew weaker with every second, he grew stronger. I made one more attempt to stand, but Magneto lashed out with his hand across my face, which threw me against the wall and left my back to him.

"I was right to have done all I did," he told me coldly. "In the beginning, you were too wild, a menace to not only yourself but everything around you. And while you have grown to control this in the more recent years, you have lost your strength. The great mutant ability that was given to you was wasted on a weak mind. Now I will remedy this for the last time. Once I have all of your power, no one will be able to stop my conquest, not even Charles. It's over Wanda, for you and all else who stand in my way." I wiped blood from the side of my mouth and turned to look up and over my shoulder at him, just in time to watch him make his last strike. I closed my eyes, waiting for the final blow, but what I heard was not what I expected.

"Wanda, no!" Todd's agonized scream filled my ears, forcing my eyes to open. He had propelled himself across the room and was headed straight for Magneto. The master of metal turned and intercepted him by pulling a sheet of metal from the ceiling and slamming it into Todd, forcing him to the ground with a sickening crack. I waited for Todd to move, to get up, but he never did.

"Todd?" I asked weakly. He had to respond to me. He always did. No matter what happened to him, he would always answer if I called him. Still, he didn't move. "Todd!" I called again, louder. He lay perfectly still. Magneto turned back to me with triumph in his eyes.

"Of all the allies, you bring along the most useless of them all," he scorned. I couldn't tear my eyes from the limp body that lay behind my father, and I willed him to move with everything I had in me. It didn't work. A coldness swept through my body, the kind that I had only felt once before in the danger room, when he had been trapped by the machine with no one to help him. It wasn't fury, and it wasn't the coldness of the calm that I had felt before; this was sheer terror at losing him. He didn't deserve this. He didn't belong here, fighting beside me against my enemy. He should have lived a long and happy life. He had been the one source of happiness, the one source of good in my life, the one thing I had ever felt anything for. I had loved him. The coldness spread through my body, then flowed out of my to turn everything around me a bright, blinding sapphire. New energy burst through me, filling my veins with a new cause and new fire. I stood up to look Magneto in the eye, and I saw there a panic that would have been worth it, had it not been for Todd's sacrifice. He had given me everything he could, and now he gave me the strength I needed for this last act.

I spent no time in explaining myself, or anything, to the man before me. He didn't deserve it. Instead I allowed my power to grow and illuminate not only the room, but the entire floating metal craft. Magneto was frozen in his place and his powers stolen as I manipulated the chaos magic to take hold in every portion of his safe haven. When I opened my eyes again, I could see that I was glowing a bright blue not only on the outside, but from the inside as well. I gave Magneto one final look before bringing my hands together and pushing in an outward motion. This caused everything that I had filled with my magic to begin to decay, piece by piece. It looked as if a wind was blowing everything away as if it were made of dust. The man I had once called father let out a strangled cry before dissipating himself into nothingness. I let most of the metal craft dissolve as well before surrounding both myself and Todd's crumpled form with more magic. I made sure that the unconscious and now leaderless Acolytes would end up somewhere safe, then returned my attention to the magic I worked around Todd and I. This protected us long enough for me to get us to solid ground. Once there, I let everything fade and I knelt beside Todd, turning him over so I could look into his face. His eyes were closed, and he wasn't breathing.

"Todd," I called in a soft voice that broke. "Todd!" I felt a lump in my throat and clenched my jaw tightly. Part of me wanted to cave in and wither away, but another stronger part forbade me from doing so. Not until I did everything I could. It wasn't fair, that he had to give his life in order for me to discover the extent of my power. It wasn't fair, for me to have all this chaos based magic, and not be able to do one single act of good with it. I couldn't have all this energy and only destroy things. Then Todd's voice rang in my ears. "Well, what bigger form of chaos is there, than a storm? It causes destruction and at the same time brings life." A storm was chaos based. My magic, my power, was based on chaos witchcraft. It had already proven what kind of destruction it could wreak. Logically, it should be able to bring life as well. If I could take out Magneto, I could bring back the one source of good this world had to offer. I wasn't sure how much I had left, I felt as weak as I ever had, but I pushed that out of my mind and knelt over him. I struggled, but then was able to bring the blinding glow to my hands once more. I didn't give it any restrictions, I didn't limit it in any way. I allowed my power to pour out of me and into him with full force, using only my will to bring his life back to shape it. I felt it drain my power, then tap into my life energy. Still, I did nothing to stop it. I let every last remnant of it trickle out of me and into him. Black ebbed at the edge of my vision, slowly working in to take over everything, but I refused to give in until I had given him all I had. Only when I was sure there was nothing more that I could do did I allow my arms to drop and my body to collapse to the ground beside him.

I was walking through the mist, looking for something, but I wasn't entirely sure what it was. There was a light up ahead, but the rest of the world around me was dark. I was looking for someone…I couldn't remember who. He was important though, I knew that much. I continued walking, scanning the darkened fog all around me, but I was totally alone. Then I felt a stab to my heart and cried out in pain. It had barely passed before another one hit, then another. The mist around me became thicker and thicker, blotting out the light I had been headed to.

With a giant gasp I inhaled air to my stale lungs and sat up. I was still on the beach where I had landed with Todd, but more than that I didn't know. Before I could regain any more sense of place or memory, something was smothering me.

"Why the fuck did you do that?" he asked as he pressed his lips to mine. Frenzied hands ran over my hair, down my neck, across my shoulders and around my back, as if he were checking that I was all in one piece. He pulled his lips from mine just long enough to look over my body one more time. "Why did you do that?" he demanded again. "You're so stupid Wanda, you're so stupid, you coulda killed yourself! What did you think you were doing?" I coughed again as I brought more air into my lungs and closed my eyes against the splitting headache I had.

"What happened?" I asked in a raspy croak.

"You gave us all quite a scare," said a smooth voice from behind me. Storm stood there, along with most of the other x-men. I couldn't see very well, on the account of Todd still clinging to me and keeping me from moving too much. He put both his hands on either side of my face which forced me to look at him.

"You don't ever do that again, you hear me? Not ever. Or I'll kill you myself, bring you back ta life 'n kill you again. Then I'll put you in a plastic box where you can't ever get into any more trouble." Slowly, memories were coming back to me. I remembered facing Magneto…and…

"Todd," I said in agony as I remember seeing his lifeless body being smashed to the floor. I felt my eyes well up and, even though my body protested greatly, I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him tight. "I thought you were dead," I whispered as I shut my eyes tight against the tears that still streamed through.

"He was," came the voice of the professor and I was reminded that we weren't alone. "You both were." He seemed perplexed by this idea, so I pulled myself together to face him.

"What do you mean?" I asked. His eyes found mine and bore into them before he answered.

"You and Todd were both deceased, as far as we know. First Todd, then as you poured your life into him, you. It was your selfless act that brought him back." That didn't make sense.

"Then how am I alive?" I asked, puzzled. The professor looked up at Storm.

"Aurora gave direct lightning bolts to your heart, which jump started it enough to bring you back to us," he explained. I looked at Storm with wide eyes. I wanted to thank her, but I had no idea how to. Luckily, I was interrupted again by Todd.

"Wanda, what the fuck did you do that for?" he asked me. "I told you, I made you promise, that above all else, you would do your best to live. Killing yourself isn't how that works! Why would you do that?" he still seemed to be in a panic, and was holding my hand so tightly that I thought it would shatter. I turned to look at him, and saw in his eyes everything I had known already, but refused to accept. I put a hand to his face and offered him a small smile.

"Because, Todd, I love you." That stopped everything he was about to say, and the words got stuck in his throat. "I couldn't let you die, I wouldn't allow it. You're worth more than that." We watched each other for a long time before he was able to process what he said.

"So you brought me back from the dead?" he asked incredulously.

"I guess that's what happens, when you love a Witch," I remarked dryly. He grinned wildly at me and kissed me again. I would have been content with just that, but Wolverine had other ideas.

"Enough of that, you'll have time for it later," he said gruffly which broke us apart. I turned to look at him questioningly. He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at me. "You coming home with us, or not?" Almost every single one of the x-men, save for the professor, looked at him in surprise.

"Logan, Magneto's gone. So are his plans to take out, well, everyone. Wanda doesn't have ta hide with us anymore," Tabby told him.

"That's not what I asked," he said. He never took his eyes from me. "I asked if she was coming home." I thought it through for a long time. It was clear in my short time there that some of them didn't want me. But that was also the strongest feeling of family I had ever had. I felt taken care of, for the first time in my life. And I couldn't forget the kindness shown to me by not only Logan, Beast and the professor but Tabitha, Rogue, Amara and Jubilee. Then I locked eyes with Jean. I stared at her long and hard, letting her know I knew what she had tried to do to me. For a moment she looked stubborn, but then her gaze softened and she looked away in shame. My gaze wandered again until it for Professor Xavier.

"You know that you have a place among us, Wanda, should you choose it," he told me kindly. There was something in his face, like he knew a playful secret that I didn't. The last face I looked at was Todd's. He squeezed my hand and smiled at me.

"You already know what I'm gonna say," he said quietly. And I did. I knew that no matter what happened he would be there for me. "My home is anywhere you are." I knew I couldn't go back to the Brotherhood, that would be going right back to where I started, only with Mystique. But I also knew that somewhere along the way, I had changed. I didn't want to be on my own anymore. I wanted to be a force of good in the world. Gingerly I tried to stand, but my legs gave out. Todd was still too weak to grab me, but Kitty was there to catch me before I fell. I looked up at her, and she looked at me. For a second I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but then she gave me a shaky smile and helped me stand. That decided it for me. I looked back at Logan and gave him a smile.

"I want to go home," I told him. A part of his mouth lifted in a sort of half smile, and he nodded his approval. Without saying another word he turned and headed back to the x-jet.