Chapter 111: The Girl in Red

Chapter 111: The Girl in Red

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23rd February 2006, New York City

(Wanda Maximoff POV)

Wanda was ready. Her teacher had given her a mission to prove herself, to get a measure of her capacity. She had trained for months in the mansion. And while she had just made a breakthrough a few hours ago, this was the perfect opportunity to experiment with her newfound control over her powers.

Wanda was already feeling powerful, in control, like nothing could stop her. Her mission was simple, she was to defeat the Juggernaut and use the weird artifact Jasmine gave her to remove his connection to the elder god Cyttorak. Apparently, her teacher had been collecting all the artifacts left by the elder gods to gain a foothold on Earth after being banished and those were some of the few that she hadn't retrieved yet.

It was a very important mission and Wanda was proud that her teacher had trusted her with it. She was also a bit nervous; she hadn't tried anything beyond her telekinesis and she wasn't sure that it would be enough for her to succeed her mission. Her teacher had assured her that she trusted Wanda to complete the mission but will remain hidden and will intervene if she's in serious danger. The teenager was somewhat reassured by this, but she was still nervous nonetheless.

But mission aside, Wanda was glad that she was outside for the first time. The teenage witch was in the Vault for years and even when Jasmine had gotten her out, she was still confined to the mansion until she learnt to control her powers. The mansion was amazing; there was magic everywhere, she could still get outside in the giant garden, she had everything she could ever want inside. Don't get her wrong; she was appreciative of it, she really was.

But there was something in the freedom of going wherever you want. And since her new mother figure had deigned her control to be enough to go outside, Wanda was going to go visit everything she had missed in the last few years. She was going to a restaurant, eat fast food, go to the park, hang out with people her age. Wanda doesn't remember the last time that she was that exciting. And Jasmine was being supportive as well. She was really starting to genuinely love that woman; her image and that of her birth mother kept overlapping and she almost called her 'mom' earlier today.

Now back to the mission, Jasmine had made her a portal in front of mansion. The gate was smashed in. Probably the Juggernaut's fault. From what she remembers from the Vault, the guy had to be sedated all the time and in a prison that stopped any type of movement. Apparently, once he starts moving, there was nothing that could stop him. Something that her mentor told her was somewhat true except that he could be stopped using very advanced magic or in her case, very strong telekinesis.

Wanda slowly walked towards the mansion. It was a testament of luxury, and it reminded her of Sayre manor, except without the magic or the protections. Wanda was sure that the Juggernaut couldn't even step one foot into Sayre Manor, unlike this joke of an academy. Wanda looked around to find destroyed drones and weapons littering the ground. Pathetic; even she would have been able to get past this and she was a teenaged girl with a few months of training who spent years being locked up in a mental asylum slash prison.

Wanda followed the trail of destroyed equipment and traps towards the mansion where she could see the conflict between the so called X-men and the Juggernaut. The teenaged witch was surprised to find Mystique and her group, the brotherhood which also includes her brother.

She hadn't expected speaking with him during this mission. She didn't think that she was ready. After all, while he did abandon her and she could forgive him for that, he was also a kid like her so she couldn't be too harsh about it. Not to mention, there was nothing he could do about it. Defying Magneto, even Pietro was his son, was met with harsh punishment. Adding on the fact that she probably terrified the living hell out of him during her little reality manipulation stunt where she imprisoned him in his own mind to fit that absurd little fantasy of hers which led him to get him memories erased by a telepath working for Magneto.

The situation was extremely complicated, and that was saying it mildly. For now, she'll just avoid speaking with him until she dealt with her feelings first. Wanda watched as the idiot in glasses revealed their location by literally sending a beam of energy towards the Juggernaut. Which did nothing, by the way. This asserted her original opinion; the X-men were idiots.

Wanda watched as her brother and a weird blue devil boy get them out of there before, they end up as little smears in the ground. The redhead though impressed her, being able to use her telekinesis to slow down the so called unstoppable Juggernaut.

She didn't have time to even think before her opponent was in front of her, arm raised. Was he faster now? He was definitely stronger; her shield would have stopped his last punch.

His oncoming punch contained all of his momentum and Wanda instinctively knew that she couldn't match is easily. She chose to propel herself sideways to dodge instead. She man got past her but righted himself in an impressive show of agility. So, he was even more controlled now. Previously, he had just continued forward.

Wanda tried to send in another blast at him but it splashed through his armor. The man grinned, "Doesn't work anymore, girly. Nice try though. This is a lot more fun than just killing Charles. I guess I can kill him after we're done!"

Juggernaut sent a haymaker at her, who blocked it using her telekinesis. Without a run up, his strength was somewhat manageable. Wanda countered with a blast to his face, aiming for his eyes. His head was knocked back and the Wanda propelled herself into the air and sent in a powerful telekinetic blast back. He was only sent a few feet back. What the hell is that guy. Wanda looked around her to find the rest of the X-men and the Brotherhood just gaping at her. What the hell, were they just watching or something. She was getting destroyed here.

She looked at the most powerful member, "Red, I need some help here"

Grey broke from her stupor and moved to assist her. Wanda hated to admit that they worked well together. Each oncoming punch was being blocked or redirected by one of them and countered with a blast to his face.

The champion of Cyttorak must have been getting very angry because he yelled out, "ENOUGH!"

He clapped his hand, creating a shockwave, sending them both flying back. The Juggernaut jumped in the air, preparing for a finishing strike. How she wishes that she had learnt proper reality manipulation before today. She was sure she could have beat him if she did. Wanda was sure that she was going to die. She closed her eyes, preparing for the worst.

But then nothing happened. She opened her eyes to find the Juggernaut frozen in the air, as if time itself stopped.

"Looks like you needed help, kiddo."

Wanda almost cried out in joy at the voice. It was Jasmine. She had come to help like she promised she would. Wanda ran towards her and gave her a hug. The fight was a lot harder than she thought it would be. She was so scared.

Her mother figure ran her hand through her hair, "Shhhh, you did well, Wanda. I'm proud of you. Now let me take care of this, yeah?"

Wanda nodded slowly and Jasmine just walked towards the frozen Juggernaut and tapped his chest a few times. Slowly, the armor and helmet started to peal of the man, and focused into his chest, creating a glowing gem that radiated power. Wanda noticed that the Juggernaut started to shrink as well. His muscles started to get smaller. In the end, the man was still very muscular but he looked less like a steroid monster, he looked more human.

When she was done, Jasmine chucked the gem through a portal, probably sending it somewhere safe where it wouldn't be used again.

"Who are you, girly?" the savage looking man with metal claws growled.

Wanda heard her teacher mutter, "troublesome" and the teenaged witch had to agree, the situation indeed looked troublesome.