Chapter 9: Reaching Out.

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-Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters-

(General P.O.V)

Professor Charles Xavier sat in his study, deep in thought.

The recent events had sent shockwaves through the world, and the mutant community was no exception.

The news of the Avengers' defeat and Wanda Maximoff's emergence as a powerful and dangerous entity had reached them quickly.

As he pondered the situation, Cyclops entered the room after briefly knocking.

"Professor, you have a visitor,"

He announced.

"Who is it, Scott?"

Xavier asked, looking up from his desk.

"It's Nick Fury. He says it's urgent."

Cyclops answered in a tone laced with distrust.

"Send him in."

Xavier instructed.

Moments later, Fury walked into the room, his expression serious.

"Charles."

Fury greeted, extending his hand.

"Nick," Xavier responded, shaking his hand.

"I assume this visit has something to do with Wanda Maximoff."

Fury nodded, taking a seat across from Xavier.

"You're right. We need your help, Charles. Wanda is a threat we can't handle on our own."

"So it's true. The Avengers lost," Xavier sighed, his expression growing somber.

"Her power has grown exponentially. What exactly do you need from us?"

"I need the X-Men to stop her. "

Fury stated plainly.

"She's too powerful for SHIELD to handle with conventional means. Your team has the experience and abilities necessary to confront her."

Xavier leaned back in his chair, considering the request.

"This won't be easy. Miss Maximoff is not only powerful and dangerous, but also deeply troubled- if she could kill her teammates in cold blood. But that is not the biggest reason why I hesitate."

Xavier fixed Fury with a steady gaze.

"Tell me, Nick, why should I use my people to help the World Council and SHIELD? I've kept mutants out of sight, yet they're still being oppressed and executed. Has SHIELD ever done anything to help those mutants?"

"I get where you're coming from," Fury admitted.

"It's not fair. But the world has never been fair."

"What a crudely true response," Xavier replied.

"You're not making it easy for you to convince me with such a jaded outlook."

"Would you prefer if I lied?"

Fury shot back.

"The world is skewed on the side of the majority. My job is to ensure it's still there in the morning."

"Even at the expense of a few?" Charles questioned.

Fury had no immediate response.

Mutants were a touchy subject. The fear for mutant abilities was the main driving factor for their discrimination.

Not everyone was a murderous maniac with too much power, but the world treated them as such.

"Look, we can sit here and argue like politicians, but that would be a waste of time."

Fury deflected.

"Wanda is a threat to everyone, Charles. If she continues unchecked, the consequences could be catastrophic for the whole world. Mutants and regular people included."

It took a little convincing but finally,

Xavier nodded slowly.

"Very well. I'll assemble the Team. We'll do what we can. But I can't promise you any more than that, Fury. My X-Men's safety comes first."

"Thank you, Charles."

Fury said while getting up,

"I'm counting on you, X-Men. As soon as we have her coordinates, I'll let you know."

-X-Men Briefing Room-

As Fury left the mansion, Xavier activated the intercom.

"X-Men, report to the briefing room immediately."

Within minutes, the core members of the team gathered: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, Wolverine, and Beast.

"What's going on, Professor? And does it have anything to do with Fury?" Cyclops asked.

"We have a mission."

Xavier began in a serious tone.

"Wanda Maximoff has become a threat that we cannot ignore. Nick Fury has requested our assistance in stopping her."

"Stopping her? You mean killing her?" Wolverine asked bluntly.

"Not necessarily."

Xavier replied.

"Our primary goal is to contain her and prevent further harm. But be prepared for anything."

"Do we have any leads on her location?" Storm inquired.

"Fury's team has narrowed it down to somewhere in Europe. I'll use Cerebro to try and pinpoint where exactly."

Xavier explained.

Jean Grey's eyes narrowed in thought.

"This won't be a regular mission. If she managed to defeat the Avengers, we might be facing an enemy on the level of Apocalypse."

"Then we'll handle her like we handled him."

Storm concluded.

-Cerebro Chamber-

After the briefing, Xavier sat in the dimly lit chamber of Cerebro, his fingers delicately adjusting the helmet that connected his mind to the immense network of mutant consciousness.

Beside him, Jean and Scott exchanged worried glances.

The room hummed with the low, rhythmic pulse of Cerebro's machinery.

The walls of the chamber flashed blue, then shifted to a white color that covered the entire room, turning it into a white void.

Hundreds, then thousands of red silhouettes that resembled people, started appearing in the air before them, interconnected by a network of lines.

These were the minds of every mutant on the globe. None could hide from the most powerful Telepath in the world.

"Professor."

Jean began hesitantly, surveying the numerous minds being shown by Cerebro.

"Wanda is not a mutant. How are you going to find her?"

Charles closed his eyes, a furrow of concentration deepening on his brow. "She may not possess the X-gene, but power like hers leaves a psychic imprint. The fact she's not a mutant should make it easier to locate her."

His mind expanded, and with it, tendrils of his telepathic ability extended throughout the State before encompassing the entire Nation. He was doing a thorough sweep.

Scott, standing next to him, shifted his legs uncomfortably. He had concerns that he couldn't share during the briefing.

"Professor, why are we helping Fury?What if this turns out to be a setup? And even if it's not, I'm not sure we can arrest the Scarlet Witch. Not without casualties on our side."

"The alternative is to let her do what she wants."

Jean interjected.

"She could be planning something bad, Scott. It makes sense why Fury would come to the Professor. We're likely the only ones that stand a chance."

"But we don't know anything."

Scott argued.

"We don't know why she attacked her teammates. Can we trust information given to us by a government spy?"

"No. And yet, we have no choice." Charles cut in before the argument could continue.

"The act of destroying the Avengers may not be an isolated incident. She could turn her sights on us next."

"But..."

Scott began, only for Xavier to interrupt him.

"I understand your concerns, Scott. However, my mind is already made up. Wanda Maximoff is too powerful and too dangerous to be left unchecked. The sooner we find her, the sooner we can hear her side of the story and try for a peaceful resolution. A fight may not be necessary. Does that ease your mind?"

"Only a little," Scott replied bluntly.

"It will have to do."

Charles told him, expanding his range beyond North America.

"Fury's information points to Europe, but that's still a vast area to cover."

He muttered, perusing the minds of all mutants he came across and any other interesting psychic phenomena.

Scott adjusted his shades, the lens reflecting the pale light of Cerebro,

"With thousands of mutants around the globe now, many hiding their abilities, it's like finding a needle in a haystack. But if anyone can do it, it's you, Professor."

Charles nodded, a flicker of determination in his eyes.

He kept extending his telepathy, sifting through the myriad of thoughts and energies that emanated from every corner of the globe.

Minutes turned into hours. And before long, it was night.

The Professor decided to take a break after the fruitless search. He was yet to find her.

The next morning he was back in Cerebro, running through every mind that caught his attention.

He was pushing his limits, extending his search with an unyielding resolve. Each attempt left him more exhausted than the last, but he refused to relent.

With every telepathic scan, he was getting close. He could feel it.

He wasn't just searching for mutants now.

He was perusing the surface thoughts of anyone that strongly thought about the Avengers, specifically their deaths.

But that didn't help narrow it down, as almost every person in the world was thinking about that.

People were worried about the future without their protectors, while also being terrified of the Scarlet Witch.

On the fourth day, as fatigue weighed heavily on his shoulders, a sudden surge of energy cut through the noise like a lightning bolt.

Charles' eyes flew open.

"There!"

he exclaimed, his voice strained yet triumphant.

Jean and Cyclops leaned in, their faces etched with anticipation.

"You found her? Where?!" Jean asked.

"Sweden."

Charles whispered, his mind diving into the beacon of energy.

He found himself standing on the precipice of Wanda's consciousness, a scarlet wasteland stretching out before him.

The air inside her mind was a swirling maelstrom of power and emotion.

Charles felt as if he was in the middle of a brewing storm. Her sheer potential was on the same level as the Phoenix force he sealed away in Jean's mind.

And it terrified him.

Luckily for him, Wanda didn't seem to notice his presence, which was just hanging before her mental shields.

Her mind seemed occupied with something. A ritual of some kind.

But the second Charles attempted to probe deeper into her thoughts, Wanda sensed him.

Her eyes, fiery with a mix of rage and sorrow, met his in the psychic plane. Yet the look in them seemed far away.

She didn't speak.

"Wanda, I-"

Before Xavier could finish his sentence, she swatted him out of her mind like a fly.

Back in the physical world,

The psychic backlash was overwhelming, and Charles recoiled physically, the shock knocking him out of the Cerebro interface.

Jean and Cyclops rushed to his aide as he regained consciousness, his breaths ragged.

"Professor, are you alright?" Cyclops asked, concern lacing his voice.

Charles nodded slowly, his face pale,

"I've found her. Wanda. She's somewhere in "northern Sweden."

Relief and trepidation washed over Jean and Cyclops.

"Time to act then."

Cyclops said, his voice steely with resolve.

"There's more."

Charles added, his voice trembling slightly.

"In the brief moment before she attacked, I glimpsed her memories. I saw her family... I saw Eric."

"Magneto?" Jean gasped, her eyes widening.

Charles nodded gravely.

"Yes. It appears Wanda is his daughter. Eric had a family in Sokovia before the bombings that took them from him."

The revelation hung heavy in the air, the implications profound and far-reaching.

Jean and Cyclops exchanged stunned looks, the enormity of the situation sinking in.

"We need to inform the others," Cyclops said finally.

"This changes everything."

Charles agreed with a nod, his voice hardening.

"Indeed, it does. We need to reach Wanda before it's too late."

They left the Cerebro chamber, the shadows of the past and the uncertainties of the future looming large.

The revelation of Wanda's true parentage added a new layer of complexity to their mission.

How would Magneto react to knowing his daughter still lived? And what would he do if he figured out they were going after her?

The path ahead was fraught with danger. And Charles agonized over the consequences of his coming decision.

Should he tell Magneto, or leave him out of the loop? Knowing Eric, he would fight the whole world for his daughter.

But perhaps the thing that nagged him the most... There was another smaller surge of power he had felt besides Wanda's.

And while weaker, this power felt strange. Like a mix of two different sources of energy. And one of those sources felt distinctly like a mutant.

Wanda was not alone. She had a mutant with her.