A Witch’s Journey (2007)

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I would like to thank my beta, Akisu, for his help in this chapter.

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9th March 2012, New York City

(Jasmine Sayre POV)

I was starting to feel guilty at her words. Did Wanda really keep searching for me across the globe. Selene should have told her that I was alive and not in this universe. Rose didn't seem to notice my feelings and continued her tale, "But until I could figure out what happened, I decided to continue following them. One of them was your daughter, which meant that she was my niece, my family, and I had to make sure that she was alright. So far, both of them were very capable, and were able to travel without being noticed or being attacked. But unfortunately, they ran into trouble that they couldn't deal with. They ran into someone who was actively hunting them down. They ran into a sorcerer called Karl Mordo."

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12th June 2007, New York City

(Wanda Maximoff POV)

It's been a few days since Wanda Maximoff graduated from High school. A year had passed since her mother's disappearance, and even now, the young witch still feels Jasmine's absence deeply. She's eighteen years old now, officially an adult in the eyes of the law, and she wished that Jasmine was here to watch her graduate, to congratulate her. But unfortunately, things weren't to be.

Jasmine Sayre had disappeared immediately after the whole Asteroid M mess. What was Magneto thinking, she had no idea, but inviting unwilling teenagers with superpowers is a sure-fire way to get yourself killed, especially the daughter that you left to be imprisoned and drugged away in a mental asylum.

Of course, it ended with Wanda being victorious, killing both her birth father, Magneto, and the bald bastard who tried to protect him and opposed him at the same time. It was so weird. The man almost lobotomized Jean and tried to influence every mutant he could find but was very lax when it came to the mutant terrorist who killed thousands of people. And the man was such a hypocrite. Still, she ended up killing the bastard for the shit he kept trying to pull and left with the other mutants, back down to Earth.

Unfortunately, no one was happy with their leader being dead. Pietro didn't care, but the other members of the Brotherhood were furious at her for preventing them from getting a power boost. The X-Men didn't like her for killing their precious little professor. She was pretty much a persona non grata from both mutant factions. Add in the fact that her mother was missing, Wanda found herself alone once more.

Yes, Selene was there, and she helped her continue her magical education, but the woman knew very little about reality magic, herself specializing in soul magic, so she couldn't help her a lot. She did give her access to her mother's books on the subject, but it still wasn't the same.

Truth be told, the only reason she didn't go mad during the past year was Jean. The redhead was her pillar. She comforted her whenever she was depressed about her mother's disappearance and didn't condemn her actions in Asteroid M.

Jean even supported her when the X-Men threatened to kick her out of the mansion, she left her old friends to stay with her. To make things less awkward, they transferred to another high school for their senior years.

Pietro decided to go away the moment he had the chance to. He always wanted to travel, and it wasn't in his nature to stay still. They still talked all the time and Pietro did come visit her every month or so, but they will never be what they were before. Their previous closeness was tainted by betrayal and death.

As for the X-Men, they weren't a thing anymore. Xavier's school was still open with Storm as the Headmistress. They taught youths from all over the country on how to control their powers. But the mutant hero team, the X-Men was done for. Without Xavier, their dream fell through, and the mansion became only a school to prevent mutants from causing too much damage.

Even the Brotherhood were invited to join, no questions asked. It was a safe haven for young mutants who would leave the moment they graduate to go to college or get a job. The super-secret missions were gone, and mundanity took its place.

There were a few, like Scott Summers, who still hungered for the adventure of helping people. Last she heard; the boy had struck a deal with a spy agency called SHIELD to act as one of their agents instead of going to college. It was a shame; he had good grades and spy agencies always had skeletons in their closets.

Back to her situation, Wanda was packing. Selene had refused to let her go without having graduated high school at the very least. Don't get her wrong, Wanda was starting to get along with Selene. The woman wasn't quite Jasmine and could barely be called motherly. She was cold, distant, apathetic to the world around her. She never quite understood how she and Jasmine got together. They were so different. Perhaps opposites really do attract.

As for now, it's been a year and Wanda was finally allowed to look for her mother. Selene was troubled by Jasmine's disappearance but knew for a fact that she was alive and well, only far away, 'In another realm beyond our reach' as she said.

She didn't quite understand Selene's ultimate faith that Jasmine will return on her own, without any help from them. But Wanda wasn't ready to sit and wait for her mother to come back. She was going to find her, even if it took her years.

"Are you sure about this, Wanda?" a voice asked her.

Wanda looked up to see a familiar redhead. After over a year together, they were closer than ever. It was hard to think of her life without Jean being in it.

The young witch admired her friend's face for a second, losing herself momentarily in her green eyes before answering, "Yes. It's time. She's my mom and I'm going to look for her."

Jean looked hesitant for a second, "Are you sure that we can find her?"

Wanda shrugged, "I have to try. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't. And what's the worst thing that could happen? We'll just travel for a while. We could even call it a gap year if we chose to apply for college later."

Jean snorted, "Fine. I just wanted to make sure before we go."

Wanda returned to her packing and finished a few minutes later, "So, where did Strange tell you we should go?"

Jean looked exasperated, "Dr. Strange said that he tried to find her, but found nothing. He told us to go to the sanctum in Nepal, Kamar-Taj, to speak to the Sorcerer Supreme."

Wanda didn't look impressed, "So, we're going to Nepal?"

The redhead looked defeated, "Yes, we're going to Nepal."

The young witch grinned at her, and the redhead sighed in exasperation and opened a portal, "Please just go through the portal."

Wanda walked through and found herself in a reception room. It had an eastern influence, and Wanda could feel the strength of the wards protecting the place. Immediately, an old Asian man walked towards them, "Welcome to Kamar-Taj. May I enquire the reason for your visit?"

Jean answered, "Yes, we wish to meet with the Sorcerer Supreme, please."

"And what will this meeting be in reference to? The Sorcerer Supreme is very busy."

"Doctor Strange sent us here. We want her help in finding someone."

The man nodded, "Please wait here."

The two teenagers sat down in the reception, waiting for a few minutes until the man returned, but he wasn't alone this time. A woman entered behind him. She was Caucasian and bald but there was something in her eyes, something familiar that she has seen in Selene and Jasmine's eyes. It was a wealth of experience, of pain, of wisdom. This woman was old, far older than she looked.

Wanda couldn't her herself, "How old are you?"

The woman snorted, "My dear, it's very rude to ask a woman that. I am the Sorcerer Supreme, they call me the Ancient One. Master Kenta here tells me that you seek an audience with me."

Jean got up and bowed, "Ancient One, Doctor Strange told us that you could help us."

"That depends, what do you seek help with?"

Wanda was the one who spoke up this time, "We're looking for my mother, Jasmine Sayre, but you may know her as the Morrigan. She's been missing for a year."

Wanda didn't miss Master Kenta's face paling and flinching at the mention of her mother's name. Well, even here the woman had a reputation. Not that she couldn't understand it; she could be terrifying sometimes.

The Ancient One though didn't react to her request. She expected it, Wanda realized. The bald woman answered, "I cannot help you with that. It is simply beyond me. I will admit that she and I have been acquainted for a number of centuries and her absence is troubling, especially with the current state of affairs."

Jean looked confused, "State of affairs?"

"Yes, a cosmic anomaly occurred a few days before she disappeared. I am unsure if it was the cause of her disappearance, but it is very likely especially because Morrigan was investigating the matter at the time."

Finally, a lead, "What happened?"

"Someone almost destroyed our reality. It had impacts everywhere, most of which was the fact that the timeline was destabilized meaning that to right itself and not unravel our reality, it has locked itself. Time manipulation of any kind, even simply seeing the future, is now impossible. The walls around our universe have thickened to stop the spread of the anomaly, like how a body deals with an infection. The Morrigan was investigating the phenomenon, especially considering that we still don't know the full effects of the anomaly."

Jean looked confused, "You mean there are still some problems now?"

The Sorcerer Supreme shrugged, "Yes, it altered the dimensional wall around our reality, which messed with an experiment created by a brilliant scientist called Reed Richards. The machine malfunctioned and released foreign cosmic radiation from an unknown dimension, hitting him and his teammates, Susan Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm. You know them today as the Fantastic Four."

Jean gasped, "The Hero team? The anomaly gave them their powers?"

"In an indirect way, yes. The future that the Morrigan and myself foresaw is in disarray. The Fantastic Four shouldn't have existed in the future. Reed Richards was supposed to be a brilliant scientist that helped humanity take a huge leap forward. This cosmic event was very dangerous because the universe is always in balance, for every good that appears, evil must be created to balance things out. For now, Richard's powers could distract him from his work he would have made. We simply do not know."

Wanda understood this; Jasmine had always been very insistent on making her understand the nature of balance and to do her best to foresee the consequences of her actions, "But do you have any idea of where she was?"

The Ancient One looked regretful, "I'm sorry, but I don't. What I can tell you, is that the Morrigan tends to appear in places where cosmic anomalies lie. It could be small things like someone trying to summon a minor demon, or a large thing like the destruction of our reality. Her absence was noticed not just by you, but by everyone who could sense it. Earth has lost its protector, and outside forces are taking advantage of it. If you wish, I could give you an artifact that detects such disturbances. At best, you could find a source to what happened to your mother, at worst, you'll simply be doing your mother's job and protect our world. Ultimately, your choice is yours. You both have great power, and a far greater potential. Only time will tell what you do with it."

Maybe this wouldn't be the worst idea. She could help protect her world in her mother's stead until she returns. And she could find out exactly what happened to her if she's lucky. She met Jean's gaze, and she could see the determination in her eyes, the promise of a new purpose as a defender of humanity.

They looked back to the Sorcerer Supreme and answered her at once, "We're in."