The Maiden, Mother, and Crone of Wundagore Mountain

by Bumblingbbee

Summary:

After becoming a family again, Erik, Wanda, and Peter hope life will be normal (or as normal as their lives can be)

But the High Evolutionary has other plans.

Chapter 1: Awoken memories

Wanda Maximoff sat in her bedroom at Charles Xavier’s school for gifted youngsters (who even said “youngsters” anymore?), clutching her head. Ever since she’d gotten all of her memories back, she’d been having splitting headaches and visions of a red and silver robotic man and a normal man, standing before her and Pietro, speaking in Serbian: 

“Када је Цхтхон поражен, његова магија је дирнула девојку. Биће моћнија од било кога с ким смо сарађивали,” said the normal looking man. When Chthon was defeated, his magic touched the girl. She'll be more powerful than anyone we've worked with.  

“Да, да хоће. И бићемо тамо кад она дође у своје моћи.” The red and silver robot said. Yes, yes she will. And we'll be there when she comes into her powers.

Wanda shook her head free of the memory. She’d been having dreams of the men repeatedly. The normal man was named Boris Mihajlović. From what Wanda could tell, he was a biologist, and he greatly disagreed with whatever they were doing. (Wanda was pretty sure he was kidnapped.) 

The other man, the robot, was still a mystery. He spoke in a British accent, but that was all Wanda knew about him. Well, that and the fact that he haunted her dreams. 

Wanda walked downstairs, hoping to make herself a cup of tea or more likely a bottle of wine. Unfortunately, her father was down in the kitchen, too. 

“Can’t sleep?” He asked. 

“Nope.” Wanda and Erik’s relationship was complicated. Over the past few months, they’d certainly gotten closer, with Wanda even calling him Dad, but Wanda still felt angry with him for abandoning her (though she knew it wasn’t his fault) and he saw his dead wife and firstborn in her. It wasn’t fair, Wanda knew, because he really was trying. He’d even gotten her a beautiful designer dress for her birthday. 

With her plans of wine out the window, Wanda made herself a cup of camomile tea. She sat across from her father and sipped silently. 

“What’s been bothering you?” Erik asked. 

“Headaches. And memories.” Wanda had only told Pietro of her memories, and while he felt they were just nightmares, he’d been a good listener. Erik looked at her inquisitively. “It’s nothing, really.” 

“Well, if it’s been keeping you up at night it’s not nothing. What are you remembering?” Erik asked. 

Wanda hesitated, but she decided to tell Erik. He was just trying to help, and she did want him to be a part of her life, the good and the bad. 

When she finished, Erik remained quiet for a while, then said, “You know, when Charles was in college, he knew someone named Herbert Edgar Wyndham. Apparently he was obsessed with evolution, even experimented on his dog.

“Anyway, he went to Sokovia a few years ago, working for Franc Zupančič, experimenting on mutants. He became known as the High Evolutionary.” 

“Why didn’t anyone stop him?” Wanda asked. 

“Well, I was in the Pentagon, otherwise I would have. Charles was having his own issues, and Mystique was trying to get revenge on Trask. As for other mutants, Wyndham kidnapped a mutant named Boris Mihajlović. He’s got the ability to get rid of other people’s powers for about an hour apiece.” So Wanda was right, Mihajlović had been kidnapped.

“Do you know who Chthon is?” 

“No, got know idea. Agatha might know, she always was well versed in the various magical types.”

“I’ll call her tomorrow,” Wanda said. 

——————————————————————————————— 

 

Boris Mihajlović stood in his lab, watching as the High Evolutionary commanded the rest of the scientists who worked for him. Boris has been given a special assignment: find the baby girl who had absorbed Chthon’s magic. 

Boris hadn’t been trying very hard. First off, he had no idea what the girl’s name was (her mother had said her name was Magda Eisenhardt, but he couldn’t find anyone with that name who matched the woman who’d come to their citadel), and, most importantly, he wanted to keep her safe from the High Evolutionary. He had no idea what he wanted to do with her, but whatever it was would be bad. So Boris faked his searches. 

He wasn’t sure how much longer it could last. 

—————————————————————————————— 

 

Peter’s life was going great. He’d met his father, gotten his sister back, and became an official X-men. 

Although Wanda and Erik’s relationship was complicated, his and Erik’s wasn’t. Peter didn’t pay attention to anything for long enough to hold a grudge, so he forgave Erik for not being there during his childhood immediately. Plus, Wanda pointed out, Erik hadn’t had a son before. He’d had a daughter, who died, and Wanda reminded him of her, but he’d never had a son.  

So yeah, Peter’s life was great. 

Until he was contacted by someone named Herbert Edgar Wyndham.

Chapter 2: Meet Chthon

Agatha had gotten a call from Wanda earlier that morning, asking if she knew of someone named Chthon. Agatha didn’t, but she knew someone who might. 

So Agatha stepped into the witches road to meet with Natalya Maximoff. Natalya has been a witch, and she’d fought against all types during her heyday. 

“Hello, dear,” Natalya said. “What brings you around these parts?” 

“Did you know someone named Chthon?” Agatha asked. 

Natalya tensed. “Why?” 

“Wanda asked about him. Who is he?” Agatha asked. Natalya typically wasn’t an easy person to spook. 

“A god, a demon really. When I was pregnant with Wanda and Pietro, I went to a citadel to give birth. While there, I saw Chthon for the very first time. I’d heard about him, of course, but seeing him was something else.

“When I gave birth, it coincided with the moment Chthon was defeated. When he was, his soul was mended with Wanda’s.” 

“What does that mean?” Agatha asked. 

“I don’t know. Wanda is a powerful person, as you know. She’s both a mutant and a witch. Her mutation is telekinesis and telepathy, and she can control chaos magic. But I think Chthon might have given her the ultimate power: reality warping.” 

“So, basically, she’s powerful as shit,” Agatha said. “We knew that. But recently she’s been having dreams about the High Evolutionary and Chthon.” 

Natalya thought. Agatha added, rather unhelpfully, “she’s been talking to Erik about her dreams.”  

Natalya made an annoyed noise. She’d died to keep Erik from their children, and though she knew he was a completely different man now, she still struggled with him having a relationship with Wanda and Pietro. 

“She only told him last night,” Agatha said. “And he told her to call me.” Though Agatha had never particularly liked Lehnsherr, she still felt like she should defend him. He was trying, after all. 

Natalya ignored that. “I suppose Wanda could be having dreams about the High Evolutionary just because you restored her memory.” 

“Probably. Is Chthon still alive?” 

“I don’t think so. He’s probably somewhere on the witches road.” 

—————————————————————————————— 

Charles Xavier knew something was bothering Erik and his kids. He hadn’t tried to get into Wanda’s head since he’d tried to find her on Cerebro, Peter’s mind moved too fast for him to read, and so Charles read Erik’s mind. From what he could tell, Wanda was having migraines and memory troubles. Charles probably could help her, but she still had up mental blocks. 

“I’ve asked her if she wants your help, told her you’d probably be able to get to the bottom of this. She just doesn’t want people in her head,” Erik said one night. He was very concerned for Wanda, and it’d been keeping him up that night. 

“I’d wish she’d let me help her. I understand she doesn’t want me in her head, but it’s better than her current situation. She’s been blowing things up in her sleep. Jean, especially, has been affected.” 

“I had her call Agatha Harkness. She’d probably be able to help.” 

Charles knew that Agatha, back in the old days, had encountered all sorts of terrifying types, and perhaps this Chthon would be one. He hoped Wanda would get better, soon.  

For all their sakes. 

—————————————————————————————— 

Boris hadn’t meant for the High Evolutionary to find Pietro Maximoff. It’d been an accident, when he’d been pretending to work, and discovered Pietro. He’d been born at the citadel on March 21, 1955, the same day that Chthon was defeated. The same day the girl was born. 

The High Evolutionary, of course, wanted him in the lab. He wasn’t as powerful as his sister, but his mutation was still fascinating, and he’d like to cut his brain open, see how his mutation worked. 

So they called him, under the guise of professors of Biology. Pietro hadn’t been fooled, but even after he hung up, the High Evolutionary smiled. 

“What are you so happy for? He is not coming.” Boris said. 

“No, something much better is happening. I know where the girl is, now.”

Chapter 3: Invasion of the robot

Summary:

TW: there’s a description of dead bodies in this chapter. It isn’t really graphic, but I still figured I should warn people.

“Django! Django, where are you?” Marya cried. Their uncle came racing into the room. “What’s happening?” 

“Bombs are falling everywhere,” Django said, clutching Marya’s face. “They hit the other apartments, we need to leave-” 

But just as he said that, there was a sudden, loud noise. A hole opened up in the floor, taking Django and Marya. Wanda screamed and tried to grab them, but Pietro took her and ran under the bed. A second shell hit, and so they waited, waited for days, waited for the bomb to kill them so they could be with their family. 

Peter shook off the memory. Since Agatha had resorted his memory, he’d been kept up with the image of his aunt and uncle dying. All he could hear was their screams as they fell through the hole. Their bodies had been found a few days later. Django’s head had been split open, covering his face in blood, and Marya’s neck was bent at a weird angle. Peter remembered the first thing that hit him was the smell, the god awful smell of rotting bodies. 

Not wanting to think about this, Peter left his room and ran a few laps outside. When he stopped, he was met by Alex Summers. 

Alex and Peter had been spending more and more time together. Peter was loathe to admit it, but he had a bit of a crush on Alex. He had no idea why Alex spent so much time with him, but he was glad he did. 

“Twinkie?” Alex offered Peter. He took one solemnly. “What’s up?” 

“Ah, it’s nothing,” said Peter. He hadn’t even told Wanda about what was bothering him, so he figured he shouldn’t tell Alex. 

“Hmm,” Alex said. “You know you can be very loud at night.” 

“What?” Said Peter, panicked. 

“Yeah. I don’t think anyone else can hear you, but I’m next door to you. Sometimes you make a lot of noise. I even almost got the professor once.” 

Peter looked away. He didn’t think the professor would be much help, since Peter’s mind moved too fast for him. (Last time he tried, he ended up with a horrible migraine.) Peter felt rather embarrassed he’d been heard. 

“What do I say?” He asked. 

Alex paused, then said, “You mainly just say names. Django and Marya, I think.” 

Peter flinched. He knew he had to get this under control, less his sister or father find out.  

“What’s going on?” Alex said suddenly. Peter looked in the same direction. Kids near the front gate were fainting, and then getting back up, looking confused. 

“We better get the professor,” Alex said. Peter nodded and sped them to his office. 

—————————————————————————————— 

Erik was sitting in the library with his daughter, playing chess. Wanda had much more patience than Peter, so she became his chess buddy (at least, when Charles was too busy.) 

The board hadn’t been touched by either of them the whole game, with Erik moving the metal in the pieces, and Wanda moving her’s telekinetically. They kept the small talk at a minimum. 

“So, when did you first come here- come to America, I mean?” Wanda asked. 

“After my daughter, Anya, died. I was trying to find Natalya and she had always wanted to come here.” 

Erik had remembered when he finally found Natalya. He’d ran into Django Maximoff, Natalya’s brother, at a Sokovian market. 

“Have you heard from Natalya?” Erik asked him. It’d been nearly a year since she’d disappeared, and she had to have gone to Django at some point. 

“Natalya?” Django said, confused. “Erik, she died months ago.” 

Erik gasped and took a step back. Unable to deal with it all at once, he said, “After she left I found a positive pregnancy test. Do you…” his voice trailed off, worried about the fate of his child. 

“She was pregnant?” Django said. “Oh, my… I had no idea. She came to us a week after leaving you, and she died a few days after. I can’t believe…” 

Erik sat down, holding his head in his hands. He’d lost another child before ever knowing them. 

Looking back on it, Erik realized Django was lying. Natalya was dead, but she’d died two months before, not several. She’d carried their kids to term, and had given birth to them, and they were living with Django and Marya. Erik knew Natalya had forced Django to lie, but it didn’t stop him from being pissed off at his former brother in law. 

“Hello? Earth to Dad?” Wanda said. Erik started. 

“Sorry, got wrapped up in memories. What were you saying?” 

“I was telling you about when my powers developed.” 

“Oh. What happened then?” 

“Well, I accidentally blew up a vase, which scared me. My uncle Django came running in and told me everything was going to be ok. He helped me control my powers.” 

Though Erik would have liked to be there when his kids gained their powers, he was glad Django and Marya had accepted and helped them. Peter had told him that Marya had helped him learn how to stop without hurting himself or anyone else. 

“Did you hear that?” Wanda said. Erik listened, and faintly heard yelling. Wanda and him exchanged a look, then they both got up and raced out of the library.  

When they reached the landing, Erik saw Charles sitting just in front of the stairway, asleep in his chair. Erik didn’t have time to question it, though, because a second later both he and Wanda collapsed. A minute later, he blinked open his eyes and saw two men standing in the doorway. One was a silver and red robotic man, the other was a normal man who looked rather guilty. Erik helped Wanda up. 

“Who the hell are you?” Charles asked. The robot man smiled. 

“I am the high evolutionary,” he said. “And I’ve come here for Wanda Maximoff.” 

Erik put a protective arm around Wanda, which she clutched tightly. “Those are the men from my memories.” 

The High Evolutionary douche came closer to her, while the other man stood back, looking at them with a mixture of pain and pity. 

“Dad, don’t let them take me. Dad, why aren’t you using your powers?” Wanda cried. 

“I- I can’t, they’re gone,” Erik said. Sure enough, he couldn’t move the man made of metal. 

“All thanks to my colleague, here,” said the robot, nodding at the man. “Don’t worry, you’ll get them back in an hour or so.”  He tried to push Erik out of the way, but Erik stood firm. “Boris!” 

The other man, Boris, walked up to him and mouthed, I’m so sorry. Then he found the metal in Erik’s watch and sent him flying. 

Erik got up and ran towards them, but the robot had Wanda in his grasp. “Thanks, son,” he said. “Now do your worst.” 

Erik was knocked unconscious again, and didn’t wake up for at least an hour. 

—————————————————————————————— 

The High Evolutionary has gotten the girl, which is who he wanted in the first place, but now he wanted her brother and the man who was protecting her- her father, maybe? Unfortunately they were only prepared for her right now. 

Oh, well. He could always go back. 

Notes:

So I just found out about Silverhavok (Pietro Maximoff/Alex Summers) and I love it, so they’re going to be a part of this story. Probably not a big part- I might write a story about them later. Also, they’re the same age in this

Chapter 4: Boris, stop saying Sorry

Peter made his way into the foyer. Raven and Hank sat on the stairs, rubbing their heads. Erik’s eyes were red, and he was pacing around. 

“What the hell just happened?” Peter asked. Raven groaned. Erik grabbed Peter by the shoulder and took him away from everyone else’s earshot. 

“Peter,” Erik began, clearly nervous. “These two men came, and one of them knocked us all out, using his mutation. None of us could have done anything-” 

“Why? What happened?” Peter said, starting to feel nervous. 

“They took Wanda,” Erik said softly, clutching Peter’s shoulders. 

“What?” Peter cried. “They took her?” Erik nodded, his face full of pain. Peter felt horrified.  

Peter vaguely heard Raven and Charles talking about the people who took his sister, but Peter didn’t pay attention. His sister was gone, taken by two unknown men. Suddenly nothing else mattered. 

Erik, perhaps sensing how much his son wanted to run and find his sister, how much he wanted to find the men who took her, moved his hands to Peter’s face. 

“Peter, I know how angry you are- I’m angry too- but we can’t just go without a plan,” Erik said. Truthfully, that’s what Erik had done when trying to get revenge against Shaw, but now both his kids were in danger. He’d get his revenge, of course, but he’d die before Wanda or Peter got hurt. 

Erik and Peter turned around, with Erik’s arm tightly wrapped around his son. 

“Charles, do you know who either of those men were?” Erik asked. 

Charles thought for a moment. “The robot man is Herbert Edgar Wyndham. I knew him when we were in college. He was obsessed with evolution, especially when it came to mutants.” A tense air settled over everyone. “As for the other one… I’ve heard about him. He is able to get rid of mutant powers for a bit, knocking mutants out.” Well, no wonder Wyndham used him. 

“We’ll find her,” Raven said to Erik and Peter. They followed Charles to Cerebro, Peter basically having to be dragged. Charles fit the helmet on his head and Cerebro lit up with mutants all over the world. It never ceased to amaze Erik. 

Charles zeroed in on Wanda. She was stuffed in the back of a car. Feeling Charles, she cried out suddenly. Wyndham turned around. Wanda held her head. 

“It’s that telepath, I bet,” He said. “Boris, stop him.” 

The other man stopped the car and turned around. “I’m sorry,” he said softly, before placing his hand on Wanda’s head. She gasped and suddenly they disappeared. Charles took the helmet off, rubbing his temple. 

“What the hell?” Raven said. 

“Remember when I said he could get rid of people’s powers? Apparently he can do that through a telepathic link.” 

“So we don’t know where they are,” Hank said. “Did you get anything?” 

“No,” Charles said, looking up at Erik and Peter sadly. “I’m so sorry.” 

—————————————————————————————— 

Wanda held her head, blinking the pain of having two people in her head away. Charles had promised to not go into her head again, but she tried to understand. After all, she had just been kidnapped. 

Wanda tried to break free of the duct tape tying her hands together, but she couldn’t feel her powers. One of the men smiled at her. 

“Can’t do your magic?” He said. Wanda flinched at his voice. “That’s thanks to Boris here. He’s got the ability to get rid of mutant powers for hours at a time, isn’t it marvelous?” 

The other man looked at her too. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked so guilty. Wanda recognized him from her memories. 

“You got rid of the problem, right?” The robot asked. Boris nodded. 

Knowing it was probably lame, Wanda said, “You know, my dad and brother are coming to get me and when they get here they’re gonna kick your ass.” 

“I look forward to it,” Robot said. “I don’t need you for long… although I’d like to continue my study…” 

Wanda swallowed her panic. She had no idea what Robot meant when he said “study” but it couldn’t have been good. She remembered her father telling her about some man Charles had known in college that had experimented on his dog, and that this was possibly the same guy. 

“We’re almost here,” Boris said. “Should I pull straight into the hanger?” 

“Yeah, might as well. I figure this one will put up a fight.” Wanda shivered. 

They pulled into a hanger that had two massive planes in it. The men both got out and walked to the left side of the car. They pulled Wanda out by her ankles. 

“C’mon, Jâvëstej ,” said the robot, using the Sokovian word for darling. Wanda remembered her uncle calling her that and was filled with rage, if she had her powers still she’d have blasted them 50 feet. 

The men took her to a jail cell. Locking the door, the robot said, 

“I’ll let you rest before our experiments begin. Boris will stand guard and make sure you don’t… blow anything up.” 

After the robot left, Boris sank down to the ground. He looked broken, but Wanda felt no sympathy. 

“I’m sorry, kid,” he said quietly. “I can’t stop him.” 

—————————————————————————————— 

Natalya knows of nightmares and horrors. She’s dealt with many in her long career as a witch. But her husband has become one of the worst she’s seen. 

So she goes to Sokovia, pregnant. Her first pregnancy had been so hard, but this time is ten times as difficult. The night she gives birth, she calls her brother from the citadel and tells him where she is. Django and Marya arrive just before the twins are born. Natalya lives long enough to name them, her sweet Wanda and Pietro, and tell her brother to protect them, always. 

“I will, Lya,” he says, cradling his baby sister’s face. When she dies, he cries, letting his tears fall on her. They take her body back to their birthplace and bury her. 

Django has done his best to protect the twins. He’d deflected every question about their parents, especially their father, and had raised them as his own. When he died Natalya could feel it, could feel her children's pain. 

Django had done his best. But it wasn’t enough. 

Chapter 5: What’d Chthon do?

Wanda hadn’t slept all night, and neither had Boris. She’d spent the night pacing around, trying in vain to use her powers. Boris had pulled out a book, Горскıй вıенацъ, The Mountain Wreath . He hadn’t moved from his place all night. Even though he clearly hated the High Evolutionary, he was a loyal soldier. 

When morning came (or, at least, Wanda presumed it was morning, her cell had no windows) the High Evolutionary came, smiling brightly. He opened her cell and handcuffed her. 

“Can’t take any chances,” He said. “You’re too valuable.” 

They led her to a lab. There was a chair in the middle, with leather strips to force someone down, and two tables, one filled with medical equipment, and the other with random objects. They sat her on the chair and tied her head, arms, and legs down. The High Evolutionary placed something on the side of her head. He pressed a button on one of the tables, and a horrid pain went through Wanda’s mind. She could feel it in every nerve in her body. 

“Good, it works,” He said. “Boris, I need you to stand on the other side of the door. If I need you to come in, I’ll holler.” Boris nodded and left. 

Turning to Wanda, the High Evolutionary said, “This is what we’re going to do. I’m going to throw some things at you-” He gestured at the random stuff on one of the tables- “and you’ll do whatever to them. Just a simple test of your powers. Oh, and if you try anything…” He hit the button again. 

So they began his tests. Wanda threw things across the room with ease. At the end, the High Evolutionary seemed upset. 

“I know there’s more to her… she’s got Chthon’s soul in her and you’re telling me she just hits things with some red sparks? Bullshit.” He looked at her, and his eyes got wide. “Ooh… yes, yes that’s good.” 

He took her, still strapped in the chair, to another room, Boris following them. When she and the High Evolutionary got inside, she saw what looked like a MRI machine, but more… dangerous. 

“Like it?” The High Evolutionary said. “We took one of those brain scan things and modified it. You see, we used Boris’ power to figure out how to locate and define a mutant’s powers. Like how that professor uses that helmet thing to find people.” 

He forced her into the machine. As she went in, she saw a blinding light. 

“Sorry about that, dear. Has a few issues,” The High Evolutionary said. “Hey, Boris, come in here, make sure she doesn’t blow anything up.” 

Wanda heard footsteps coming closer to the MRI machine and felt herself fall unconscious, then wake up again. After a few seconds, someone came into the room. 

“Look at this, Boris,” The High Evolutionary said happily. “See, here? She can rewrite reality. How useful is that?” 

“Very,” Said Boris quietly. “Is this what Chthon did to her?” 

“I think so, yes. As you can see, she got telepathy and telekinesis from her mutant father and chaos magic from her mother. But this is something else. Imagine, she can completely change anything by thinking about it.” 

“What does this mean for us?” Boris asked. 

The High Evolutionary didn’t answer for a while. He pulled Wanda out of the machine and smiled at her. “It means we have the key to the true next stage of evolution.”   

 

Notes:

This is a super short chapter but an important one

Chapter 6: Mother

Erik had let Peter come with him on his search for Wanda, albeit reluctantly. The whole time, Peter felt a tug on his watch, because Erik was holding on to whatever metal his son was wearing. 

They’d asked around for a red ford, the car the kidnappers had been driving. Some had seen them go upstate, others downtown. By sunset, they’d gotten nowhere. Peter was getting more and more frustrated. 

“We’ll find her,” Erik said for the umpteenth time. Peter groaned loudly. “We will. I’ll…” He trailed off. Peter knew Erik wanted to believe they’d find Wanda, but it was seeming more and more impossible. Even if they did get to her, that one mutant would depower them, and they’d get captured as well. 

Wanda, Peter thought. Wanda had always been the only person who could read his mind, since it moved too fast for other telepaths. He was clinging on to a hope that she could hear him. Please, just let me know where you are. 

For a second, no one answered. Then he heard a voice that wasn’t his sister’s. 

Pietro, are you there? 

Yes. Who are you? 

Natalya Maximoff. Your mother. 

Wanda had told him about meeting their mother on the witches road. She’d said that Natalya claimed it wasn’t his time to meet her. 

Mother… how do I know this is you? 

I suppose you do have a reason to distrust me… and I’m sorry, my dear boy, but I only need you as a vessel at this moment. 

Wh- 

Peter couldn’t finish his thought, though, because he felt a searing pain, and blacked out. When he came to, he was standing outside of his body. His body was standing up, surrounded by a red glow in the shape of a woman. Mother.  

Erik started, staring at his dead wife. 

“N-Natalya?” He said. 

“Erik,” she answered coldly. “I don’t have much time here. I need to tell you about a demon, Chthon.” 

“Why?” 

“Because he’s why those bastards took my daughter.” Erik moved closer. “When Agatha first told me of him, I didn’t remember him. But I have since realized I dealt with him, once. He was on a rampage. Me and other witches caught him and brought him to a citadel where they did studies on evolution. At the time, a young man worked there… I don’t remember his name, but he was a Brit. Anyway, I remember them talking about a lab in upstate New York. Granted, this was 25 years ago, but still. 

“When I was giving birth to the twins, I heard yells throughout the citadel. When my brother and sister in law arrived, they told me there was blood running down the steps. When the twins were born…” Natalya paused, her eyes wet. “Something engulfed Wanda. I thought it burnt her up, but then the light went away and she seemed fine. But I have been asking around the witches road. I thought that Chthon would be there, as he is a magical being. And I found a part of him.” 

“A part?” Erik asked. 

Natalya swallowed, a tear running down her face. “He… his soul is fractured. Split in two. One part resides in the witches road, and the other… the other melded with Wanda’s soul.” 

Erik took a step back. “W-what does that mean?” 

“I don’t know,” Natalya said shakily. “But that’s why those people wanted her. She’s more powerful than any other mutant or witch.” She looked around, panicked. “I have to go- Erik- find Wanda!” She disappeared. 

Peter reentered his body, gasping. 

“What just happened?”  

———————————————————— 

Natalya blinked, shaking off the last of her son’s aura. Projecting into the living was a very difficult task, but she felt it necessary.  

Though she needed time to readjust, she didn’t have it. She was being attacked by something. It was large and dark. It was screaming in a language she didn’t understand. 

“Who are you?” She yelled as she fought him. Each blast seemed to only energize him. 

“Chthon!” He yelled. Natalya paused. 

“Chthon?” She cried, ducking one of his arms. “The demon?” 

“Chthon!” He yelled again. Natalya sighed. 

“Ok, Chthon, it’s obvious I can’t defeat you. What do you want?” 

Chthon didn’t answer, just continued to attack Natalya. 

Natalya knew she couldn’t keep him back much longer. He wasn’t at full power- this must have been another part of his soul- but he was still a thousand times more deadly than her. She could only hope he’d get what he wanted and leave her alone. 

They fought, and Natalya felt herself getting weaker. Her blasts weren’t doing anything to Chthon. With one blow, he knocked her to the ground. 

“Please,” she whispered. “What do you want with me?” 

Chthon cocked his head sideways, and for a minute, Natalya could have sworn she saw pity in his eyes. Then he snuffed the life out of her. 

 

Chapter 7: My boy

Wanda gasped, clutching her chest. She knew something had happened, something awful, but she had no idea what. Boris looked up from his post dreary.

“Bad dream?” He said softly.

“Fuck you,” Wanda said back. He was kind to her, but she had had enough of him.

“Sorry,” Boris said.

“Stop saying sorry, I swear to god! Why are you even here?”

“I have to be,” Boris said simply. Wanda knew that he’d taken many a berating by the High Evolutionary without blinking, so a teenager in a glass cage would be nothing. If I had my powers, she thought. They were silent, then Boris said, “He saved my son.”

Wanda moved closer to the door. A part of her pitied him, but a bigger part thought, I can use this as bribery. “Go on.”

“My son, Andrej, he was a mutant. He could control electricity. One day, he started a fire. Big one. The villagers attacked him. They didn’t know he was a mutant, they just thought he was a vagrant who burnt their homes and businesses. The High Evolutionary came in and saved Andrej.” Boris smiled sadly. “When he brought him home, I asked if there was anything I could do to thank him. And he explained that he was doing a long term study on mutants, and he thought I might be the key to understanding their powers, since I can get rid of them for a time. So me and Andrej went to his base in Serbia.”

“What happened to your son?” Wanda asked, flinching at the pity in her voice.

For the first time, anger flashed briefly on Boris’ face. “He killed him. The high evolutionary killed my boy, because he no longer played his games.”

“Then why are you still here?”

He paused for a moment, then laughed. “Because I have to be.”
___________________________________

Agatha hadn’t been on the witches road for long when she found Natalya. One’s body dies once, but the soul can die over and over and still come back. That’s what Natalya had done, after giving birth to Wanda and Pietro. So Agatha completely expected her to jump up, to say “Surprise, I’m back,” to continue to fight for her kids.

It didn’t happen.

Agatha waited, and waited, but she knew Natalya was gone. Witches always had an aura around them- Natalya’s was red, like her daughter’s- but hers was gone. Snuffed out like a candle.

She had no idea who could have done this. Natalya was always one of the most powerful witches she’d ever known, and she hadn’t let even death stop her.

Picking herself off the ground, Agatha opened a portal back to the normal world. Natalya may be gone, but her kids sure as hell weren’t.
--------------------------------------------------------

Peter knew, right away, that something was wrong. He wasn’t a telepath, like his sister, but they’d always had a connection. He could feel panic and pain coming off of her in waves. He clutched his head, which sent Erik over in a hurry.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” He said, pushing his father off. “It’s Wanda who’s in trouble. I think she’s trying to contact me.”
---------------------------------------------------------

“Good job,” The high evolutionary said, softly taking his hand off of Wanda. “They’ll be here in no time.”

Chapter 8: The key

Boris had been the key to mutant evolution. With his ability to find and rid of mutant powers, the High Evolutionary had used Boris’ DNA to locate and isolate the mutant gene. Together they’d traveled Europe, kidnapping people no one missed and experimenting on them. The High Evolutionary had even gotten rid of one mutant’s powers permanently. The boy had died, but the High Evolutionary felt confident he would one day be able to transfer mutantions to other people- creating his own personal army. 

Wanda Maximoff would be a powerful ally, of course. Unfortunately, she’d be damn near impossible to control, especially with the demon raging inside her. He’d hoped to transfer her powers to Lila Schmidt, a mutant who could control people’s minds, but when she entered Wanda’s mind, she screamed in pain and began to bleed from her ears. After being taken to the medic bay, she died. 

So the High Evolutionary decided the best course of action would be to break Wanda down to a shell of her former self, so she’d want for nothing and would just serve him, like he’d done to Boris years before. 

The process was slow, slower than with Boris. She wore a shock collar at all times, with any disobedience meaning the High Evolutionary would press the button. She was moved to a basement cell, three times smaller than her old one, and she was only fed once a day. They continued their experiments, but she seemed no closer to unlocking her full powers. 

What the high evolutionary truly wanted was her brother- Pietro. He was a pretty powerful mutant- not as powerful as Wanda, of course, but still. 

Plus, he had a feeling he’d put up less of a fight than his sister. 

So when he finally arrived, the high evolutionary couldn’t have been more excited. 

—————————————————————————————— 

 

Peter messed with a coin between his fingers as his father drove them down a long, winding country road. After Peter had had that “episode” he felt he knew where Wanda was. So they’d traveled all day. 

Erik had given Peter the coin to play with, since he was clearly nervous. 

“Left or right?” Erik asked. Peter closed his eyes and thought. 

“Left.” 

So they turned left, and sure enough, they came across a large, dark building. In front they read Wyndham Labs . 

They made their way around the whole building, making sure no one was around. Carefully, they pushed open the front door. A woman sat at the front desk, but her eyes were glazed over. It looked familiar… in fact…

Before Peter could finish his thought, both he and Erik fainted. 

——————————————————————————————— 

It’d been a week since Wanda disappeared and Erik and Peter went looking for her, and morale was down. Erik hadn’t been very popular, and Wand kept mostly to herself, but Peter was loved by all. So when a third day passed and Charles still didn’t get a call from Erik, he decided to call a meeting. 

Hank, Raven, and Agatha Harkness stood in his office, discussing the Maximoff- Lehnsherrs. 

“Natalya, the twins’ mother, is gone,” Agatha said.

“I thought she was dead already,” Hank said. 

“Only physically. Her soul was still alive in the witches road. Now, however… her soul’s gone, forever.” 

“How?” Charles asked. 

“Chthon, I think,” Agatha answered. “He’s a demon, a thousand times more powerful than us witches. He probably destroyed her soul beyond repair.” 

“So what do we do?” Raven asked. Agatha turned to her, annoyance in her eyes. 

“ I’m going to try to find Wanda using the witches road, and I’m going to banish parts of Chthon’s soul. You can do whatever the hell you want, just don’t bother me.” 

 

 

Chapter 9: Chthon’s progress

Chthon had attached himself to the girl accidentally. He hated that a mortal shared even a fraction of his power. 

And that girl! She didn’t even understand the bulk of her powers. He could not think of anyone less worthy of his powers.  

The woman, her mother (he believed she was her mother, anyway) was out of the way. He’d gotten rid of her with ease; he could tell she’d once been a good fighter, but in the years since her death she’d gotten rusty. The girl and her mentor, the older witch, would be a much bigger problem. 

Chthon slowly walked forward. He’d been stuck in the witches road for years, but the woman’s soul helped power him up. He managed to open a portal, albeit a weak one, and got out. In the mortal realm he was weaker; he’d definitely need another power absorption if he wanted to complete his plan. 

The girl was much too powerful for him in his weakened state, so he tried to find her mentor. Much to his frustration, she was out on the witches road, which he’d so desperately tried to escape. With a loud sigh, he crawled back in. 

He could sense the older witch. She was trying to find him . Chthon could see her aura coming closer, and he smiled. 

——————————————————————————————

 

Erik awoke in a glass cage. He searched for metal but couldn’t find any. Peter wasn’t anywhere in sight, adding to his panic. Now he’d lost two of his children. 

Erik banged on the glass. A young woman, the one who’d been frozen at the front desk, came close to the glass. 

“Please stop,” she said. Her eyes were still glassy. “The High Evolutionary requires absolute quiet when studying the subject.” 

“The subject?” Erik asked, fearing he knew the answer. 

“Yes, the subject, Miss Wanda Maximoff. Now, he needs silence.” She turned in left. 

“Hey, hey! That’s my daughter, you son of a bitch!” He hit the glass, but she didn’t come back. 

Erik paced around the cell, scarcely breathing. His son was gone, his daughter was having god knows what done to her. Desperately, he called out to Charles. 

Erik, what is happening? 

We found Wanda, but he’s got me and I can’t find Peter and Wanda’s still somewhere inside and- 

Slow down. Listen, I’ve got a fix on you. I’m sending Hank and Raven to your location. We’ll get you guys. 

Make sure they get Wanda and Peter first. We can worry about me later. 

He got no response from Charles. 

——————————————————————————————— 

Boris knew that the telepath and the girl’s father were talking telepathically, but he didn’t care. His job was to stop any communication between the two, but what the high evolutionary didn’t know didn’t hurt him. Besides, Boris was kind of rooting for them. 

He wasn’t paying attention, and he didn’t hear the High Evolutionary yell. He did notice when Wanda broke free of her chains and began to float, taking the lab equipment with her; he noticed when things began exploding, and he noticed when the high evolutionary fell to the ground. 

Wanda looked him in the eye. 

“My family’s here.” She said. 

“Yes. Your brother’s in cell A-1, floor 6, your father’s in a glass cell in the basement.” 

Wanda seemed slightly surprised. She looked over at the high evolutionary and said, “do whatever you want with him.” 

Boris grinned. 

———————————————————————————————

Agatha was getting closer to Chthon. His presence was almost suffocating. She didn’t care. Natalya needed to be avenged. 

Finally, she found him. 

Or, rather, he found her. 

 

Notes:

Sorry this came like a month after the last chapter I’ve been so busy with school

Notes:

I don’t know much about the High evolutionary, so I just read his Wikipedia page

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 2 of The Maximoff-Lehnsherr clan