-Locke-

That attack took everything out of me. All the current I had absorbed from the building's power grid was gone.

In return Wanda was turned to ash, the floor of the yard was a blackened soot and the chain fence around it, had a massive hole with still glowing red edge.

"I'm never trying that again..."

A groan escaped me, my body shaking with weakness as I bent with exhaustion.

My breath came out harshly. It felt like I'd run a marathon.

After taking a few seconds to rest, I turned to the group huddled at the corner, staring my way in fear despite the fact I'd saved them.

"Are you guys ok-"

My question was cut off by a loud crash. Following the sound, I tensed up in preparation.

The ruins of the hallway Umbris had destroyed and trapped Vision under, had shifted.

"Get away. Now!"

I told the group in urgency, scrambling for my pockets for a sharp piece of metal I had carried with me.

If I had to fight Vision, I was probably going to die. Let's just hope Wanda's bewitching hex was undone when she died.

Under the guidance of an old man, the villagers run out of the yard through the hole I had created, escaping towards the building.

"That's one less thing to worry about..."

I breathed out, eyes focused on my front.

Under a sharp gaze, the debris shifted once more, rocks and concrete falling off of something with a rumble.

The dust cloud produced washed away to reveal Vision, floating above the rabble.

We made eye contact and I immediately stepped back in terror.

The mindstone on his forehead had been scarlet in color before. Well, now the red was so deep it was almost black.

And oozing malevolence.

The Android threw a gaze at the retreating Villagers and without a second of wasting, I slapped my palms together and summoned the Umbris, sending it on a direct path to intercept the now red laser beam that escaped his forehead.

The Umbris devoured the energy before it could reach the intended targets, providing cover until they were past the truck, disappearing inside the building.

With no time for relief, I set the Umbris onto Vision as a diversion to make my own escape.

Only- the Android was missing from his previous position. Shit. I had lost track of him.

Head jerking side to side, I spun in place. Looks like the Hex put on him by Wanda was still active. Which made no sense.

From what little I knew of magic, a mage's death was supposed to undo the effects of any active spells they had previously cast.

Yet here we are, with Vision trying to kill me.

Could this be an exception because I was dealing with chaos magic? Maybe. The alternative was that Wanda wasn't dead despite turning her to ash myself...

All I knew at that moment, was that my escape was far from being successful.

If Wanda left a binding compulsion on Vision to kill me, I was fucked. Nothing in my arsenal was going to work on the Android.

A cold breeze blew across the yard, intensifying the tense atmosphere.

I called the Umbris to me, setting it's target on a path around myself, shielding my body inside the swirling mass of darkness.

It wouldn't work on Vision's phasing form, but it would stop anything else, specifically, the laser beams. It also ensured I would sense his approach from all sides.

Unexpectedly, the Android appeared from the ground below my feet. And before I could do respond, his fingers had wrapped around my throat in a tight grip- cutting off my air supply.

In a panic, I broke my palms apart, unintentionally banishing the Umbris, while trying to tug off Vision's hold with my hands.

It didn't work. My vision started swimming, the Android easily lifting me off my feet.

I clapped my palms, summoning the Umbris again. Only for it to fail spectacularly. Vision simply selectively phased his entire body except the fingers.

My hands fought to find purchase on his forearm, weakening by the second. Wide eyes met his own glowing red ones. The lifeless gaze I had come to expect was different now.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Vision seemed to be...enjoying inflicting pain.

'I'm...gonna die...' The thought passed through my mind for the millionth time.

I could feel the toll of death grip my soul, metal fingers tightening around my neck.

'It's g- getting...blurrier and blurr-'

Suddenly, the terrible pressure was gone, and I fell to the ground, sucking the air back into my lungs in huge gulps.

A force lifted the Android and threw it back so hard, it was buried into a wall.

I turned around, heart racing at how close to death that time was.

That's when I saw my savior. A man in a red and black costume with a flowing cape was floating down my way.

An iconic helmet covered his head. And behind him was a familiar black colored jet hovering above the yard.

Magneto.

And the X-Men.

I didn't care what a villain was doing with the X-Men. At that moment, I simply held my face in my hands and started laughing. Or maybe it was crying.

I was too relieved to care.

-0-

"Relax my boy, you are safe now."

Magneto offered words of consolation at the young man on the ground.

'Charles didn't mention anything about a mutant with Wanda.'

Magneto thought with a frown.

After many years of being a key figure in the mutant community, he had developed a sense for telling Mutants apart from normal people. And this young man was definitely a mutant. He had a familiar aura about him.

Above him, with a steady hum, was the X jet.

"Stay level, Beast. And keep your eyes in the air. We don't know what to expect."

Cyclops called out, unstrapping from his seat.

"Got it."

Beast responded, stopping the craft's descent at just a few feet above the buildings.

The hangar doors opened to reveal the outside and the scene below them of a devasted yard. The signs of battle were unmistakable.

"I don't see Wanda. Can you scan the compound Jean?"

Cyclops asked her, the rest of the team gathering around him at the exit.

Jean closed her eyes for a second or so before giving a head shake.

"I sense 12 people, 11 of them hiding inside the building. The other one is the man below us. None of them are Wanda."

"What about him?"

Gambit questioned, pointing with his handheld staff at Vision, who was imprinted on the wall, held there with magnetism.

"He seems suspicious, no?"

"That's Vision, an Avenger. Intel says he's been compromised. Magneto seems to have it handled but it pays to be cautious nonetheless."

Cyclops instructed in a firm tone.

"X-men, let's head down."

He continued, giving Storm a signal.

Using her wind control, the latter slowly controlled their descent onto the yard, leaving Colussus and Kitty on the jet with Beast.

The second they touched down, Cyclops begun to issue orders, directing Gambit, Rogue and Storm to secure the Yard, while he, Wolverine, and Jean, approached Magneto and Locke.

"Something smells off."

Wolverine grunted from Cyclop's left, sniffing the air.

"I can feel it too."

Jean echoed, rubbing her temples.

"A subtle pressure."

Cyclops tapped his googles, activating the combat mode.

"Be on your guard."

Hearing their approach, Locke struggled to his feet, looking at them with a mix of relief and anxiety.

"Are you the cavalry?"

He asked, his voice strained from the recent struggle.

Cyclops nodded firmly.

"Yes, we're here to help. Where's Wanda? And who are you supposed to be?"

Locke hesitated, glancing nervously at Magneto before answering,

"My name is Locke Mastiff. As for Wanda, that's a bit complicated. She's...gone."

He tried to evade the truth about her fate, unwilling to admit he had killed the Scarlet Witch.

Locke remembered she was supposed to be Magneto's daughter in the comics.

He hadn't expected this world would have the X-Men yet here they were. So the chances of Wanda and Magneto being related were pretty high. If the latter learnt he had turned his daughter to ash, regardless of the fact it was in self defense, well...death would quickly follow.

To that effect, he began walking away from Magneto. There was still the escaping thing to do.

"Thank you for the save, Sir."

He even saluted him in passing. Respectful to a fault, that was his M.O. Especially when dealing with someone who could pull the iron from his blood.

However fate had other plans.

Jean, with her telepathic abilities, narrowed her eyes at Locke and then widened them in surprise.

"He's telling the truth. He actually managed to kill her..."

The air grew frigid cold.

Locke crossed his eyes and cussed Jean's entire family line. From the ancestors to 10 of her descendant's generations.

Snikt! Wolverine brandished his claws.

"Probably shouldn't have said that out loud, Jeanie,"

He muttered, casting a wary glance at Magneto, whose gaze had turned intense and focused on Locke.

Jean looked in between Magneto and Locke before realization dawned on her.

'Oh shit. I Fucked up.'

"Tell me boy, you killed... my daughter?"

The master of Magnetism asked, voice low but filled with menace.

Locke was shaking where he stood.

'I can't catch a break, can I? Okay, don't freak out, I can still resolve this peacefully.'

He turned around slowly, hands raised and lips parted to speak. Only for nothing to come out.

"You did, didn't you? Your silence says it all."

Magneto whispered the accusation.

Locke felt like crying. There was nothing he could say to that because, he actually did kill her!

Sensing the rising hostility, Locke instinctively began to back away.

"You wouldn't kill someone who you saved, would you?"

he stammered, fear creeping into his voice.

In response, Magneto started to levitate into the air, every piece of metal in the compound responding to his magnetic command.

"I have killed for less."

Locke could only watch in horror, as the chain fence groaned and unraveled into twisted pieces that floated up.

The truck outside the yard broke into individual parts, and long metal railings snaked out of the debris, all rotating ominously around Magneto.

The eyes under the helmet were cold and full of vengeance. They triggered Locke's fight or flight instincts.

But he knew this was unlike any other foe he'd faced.

Magneto wouldn't waste time. Magneto wouldn't let him run.

The only option Locke had was to fight. Though he very much hoped the X-Men could calm Magneto down before things escalated to that point. Or at least protect him if it came down to it.

Luckily for him,

Cyclops stepped forward, trying to diffuse the tension.

"Magneto, calm down. We need to assess the situation first."

he urged, positioning himself between Locke and the irate Magneto.

Jean and Wolverine stood with him, ready to intervene if necessary. As for Storm and the others, they too had noticed the rising tensions and arrived.

Thus Locke found himself surrounded in a protective semi-circle. And the line up had crazy powerful mutants.

'Surely Magneto won't try anything with such a force right?' Locke hoped.

As if to trample upon his hope, Magneto snorted with an air of arrogance.

"You think you can stand in the way of my vengeance? How naive."

-0-

On the wall where Vision was pressed against, the Mind stone on his forehead pulsed ominously.

Unbeknownst to Locke, Wanda had tethered her soul into The Mindstone.

And the X-Men's arrival had just given her enough time to properly settle into her new body.