Chapter 323: Familial Recollections

16th May 2013, Godric's Hollow

(Wanda Maximoff POV)

This didn't bode well at all. Rose was a decent enough mind mage. Defensive mind magics had never really been her strong suit, but it was enough to protect her from most attackers. She did excel in offensive mind magic and putting suggestions in other people's heads.

Still, this was proof that something was very wrong. Jasmine was away, Selene had disappeared, and Rose was brainwashed somehow. They needed answers, as quickly as possible. Honestly, Wanda was tempted to just leave the drunk Rose to her own devices and keep looking for Jasmine. But one look at the vulnerable desperate woman in front of her, pitifully swaying and sobbing at her misery just broke her heart.

With a resolute expression on her face, Wanda stayed still and kept trying to cheer up the depressed and grieving witch. Jasmine was still off world, and they could get their answers from her after she returned. But for now, they really needed to take care of their friend, brainwashed or not. After all, they were family, and if there was something that Wanda treasured, it was family.

16th May 2013, Sayre Manor

(Jasmine Sayre POV)

The trip back to Midgard was done using the Bifrost. Odin's blast which banished the Realm of the Shadows had destabilized the realms in general and stopped the Convergence. This meant that travel between the realms became that much harder and more energy demanding. Honestly, the Bifrost was just easier to do.

Speaking of Odin, he still hadn't woken up yet, and I honestly didn't know if he would ever wake up from his coma. The King was already very drained by his actions, and that's before he was stabbed with the fucking Necrosword of all things. It's hard to conceptualize what the All-Father had accomplished. He banished an entire realm, a dimension, removed it from the universe, to forever roam in the void. My spell simplified the visualization of the World Tree for Odin to attack his target. But the attack itself had enough power to wipe out half a galaxy.

Rune King Thor once told me that his father had done something similar to the realm of Heaven because they killed his daughter or something similar. Although, he didn't do it alone; his wife, an Avatar of the Phoenix force, whose daughter the angels had just slaughtered, had helped power the attack as well. Odin's feat was very impressive, and it was why he did his best to conserve his energy outside a few initial underpowered strikes using the Space Stone to inspire his soldiers.

As for Odin's children, Hela had decided to return with me, and be under my supervision. It was saddening that I couldn't see her as anything more than an abandoned child that craved her father's acceptance and got nothing in return. I could understand Odin's point of view considering how many times Hela had been a key element of the Shadows' script of Ragnarök. Still, I needed to nurture the girl, teach her what it means to be a Goddess of Death, and not do anything except conjure discount Necroswords like some amateur.

Loki, on the other hand, was still unconscious, but I decided to take him with me anyway. It was natural to be this way when he starts ascending fully to being an Avatar of a cosmic entity. The God of Stories' powers were probably going to be very impressive, something that I knew deep down. But it would be an uphill battle. For every scrap of power, Loki would have to fight his madness, to resist the chaos of stories and dreams, and the Jotun had a very complicated relationship with madness, because of both the Shadows and the Mad Titan.

It's a shame that Thor would have to stay behind in Asgard and not finish his tutelage under me. But to be honest, I was running out of things to teach him regarding his powers, and I don't think that the God of Thunder was responsible enough to learn more esoteric abilities. Still, I lost Odin as a player but gained Asgard as an ally. I lost the Celestials but gained an infinity stone. At least I was free from their ultimatum where they would have forced me to kill Wanda. Honestly, I gained enough to say that the small confrontation, which would probably be against Thanos, his children, and his armies was getting more favorable, but I lost my main allies in the conflict against Entropy. I will need to find someone to fill the gaps. Loki now has the potential to replace Odin in the roster, but there has to be someone to replace the Celestials. I had a candidate in mind, and while they'll be weaker than the Celestials, they were passionate enough to fight harder for the sake of life.

As for my two pupils, I knew that dealing with them is going to be very difficult for me to handle. An abandoned goddess and a mad prince. It honestly sounds like the beginning of a joke. As we arrived at the manor, I put Loki in his bedroom, letting him sleep off his exhaustion. As for Hela, I simply let her in one of the empty rooms in the manor and told her to take it easy for the next couple of days.

I had restored her connection to Asgard, and it was taking some time for it to stabilize. Additionally, she was imprisoned for the last few thousand years. She needed to relax for a bit before I start training her.

As for now, I needed to ask Jean and Wanda to see if the conflict slipped out into Midgard. I sent out a telepathic message telling them to come to see me at their earliest convenience, and I was surprised to see them frantically leave a portal seconds later.

Wanda had immediately run towards me and enveloped me in a hug, while muttering, "I was so worried about you…"

I looked at her confusingly, "Why? I have contacted you barely a few days ago."

Jean elbowed her in the side and Wanda just muttered, "I just did. So, how did things go with Asgard?"

I shrugged, "Most of it went as planned, but there were a few surprises along the way. The Shadows are gone, but Entropy ambushed us later."

Jean gasped, "Are you alright?"

I nodded, "Yes, I was able to fight him off, but Odin is extremely injured, and Asgard suffered many losses. He was even able to steal the Reality Stone from under our noses."

"And were there any new additions or apprentices?" Wanda asked cheekily.

I looked at her surprised, "Why would you ask that?"

Jean burst into laughter, "You have to admit that whenever you leave, you always return with a new pupil or so. You know, remember Loki, Thor, Wanda, even me. You tend to collect us, I guess."

Huh, I never noticed that. I guess I really do collect pupils who show the most potential, "I suppose you might be correct. Thor had to return home as the Crown Prince with his father being unable to currently rule, his sister Hela is now under my purview after the Shadows released her, and Loki has ascended as an Avatar of Dream, which means that I will need to teach him how to control his powers."

The two girls burst into laughter for a couple of minutes, before Wanda sniffed and spoke up, "I'm not even surprised anymore. See what I mean now?"

Trying to change the subject, I asked them, "What about your task? Did you have any complications?"

The two girls looked towards one another, and Jean spoke up, "Only one ship was able to go through, but it was very low and decimated a few buildings before we could stop it. We did it, of course, but there were a few casualties. The politicians are using it to push down on the 'mutant issue'."

I raised an eyebrow at the redhead and simply shrugged. The two lovers looked at me with disbelief at my unconcerned behavior, "You don't care?" Wanda asked, her voice raised.

"It's not that I don't care. I am sure you did your best to deal with the issue. Death is always regrettable, but it was far better than it could have been without your presence. As for the politicians, I expected it, really?"

The redhead looked confused, "You expected it?"

"Yes, the politicians and the truly wealthy do not wish to disturb their place in the hierarchy of things. They are afraid of the potential threat that the mutants could present to the natural order. They need to bind the mutants, to either eradicate them or subjugate them, and they waited for the first large scale show of mutant powers as evidence of their fears. Truthfully, they are correct but not in the way they think."

My daughter looked confused, "How?"

"The mutant race is growing. With every generation, the percentage of mutants will grow, until humans will be in the minority, and perhaps even disappear. Almost half the planet has the potential to have a mutant offspring. This plan of mine has been a long time coming, and there's no stopping it without committing genocide."

"Plan?" the two girls asked at once.

I gave them a warm smile, "Yes, a way to reintegrate the magical world after the Statute of Secrecy. I knew that mutants were rising in strength, they derived from the mage population, and so, I added a small feature to the mist, the reality magic that protects the magical world. I made sure that slowly everyone would have a spark of magic, the same way muggleborn do, but not powerful enough for them to develop powers. True muggleborn who do not have any mage as an ancestor gain their magic by being conceived in a place with a magical presence. The mist turned the entire world into a slightly magical place. The moment humans are introduced to someone with the slightest magical heritage, they became a potential carrier of the mutant gene. Slowly, over the last few centuries, the number of carriers grew until over half the population are carriers now. It's why the mist doesn't fully work to hide mutants. Everyone is technically a squib, a potential mutant, ready to exist."

Jean was gaping, "The rise of mutants in the last century. They said that it was because of nuclear radiation. But it was you…"

I nodded, "Yes. With an entire population with powers, mages would no longer have to hide, and the Earth would have been united for the first time in recent history. All I needed was to prevent zealots prone to genocide, and slowly society would integrate itself to accept mutants. Because why would they condemn mutants if their own children had a high chance of becoming one themselves? It was my plan to stop the magical divide, to stop the witch hunts."

Wanda looked at me with awe, "All this time, you've been planning all of this."

I gave her a sad look, "It was a foolish dream; I see that now. Conflict, greed, violence, are human nature. And I can do many things, but I cannot change human nature."

"So, you're going to give up?" Jean exclaimed.

I shook my head, "No, I will not. What's done is done. I decided that I will no longer interfere with human matters anymore. I loved the magical world too much, sacrificed too much, I realize that now and I'm tired of it. My goal is to stop Entropy, the rest of humanity will need to learn to exist without my guidance."

The redhead looked outraged, "What about us? Wanda, Rose, and me? Are you going to leave us too?"

"The three of you were supposed to be the visible representation of my ideal for humanity. You were supposed to help guide the reintegration of the mutants and mages. You, Jean, would have led the mutant race. Rose would have led the mages, and Wanda would have been the mediator, the combination. You still could do it without me, but I will no longer be involved."

Wanda looked back at me with her eyes shining, "Were we nothing but pawns, all this time?"

I shook my head, "Wanda you are my daughter, Jean might as well be one as well, and I love you both. I will help you in your endeavors, but I believe it's time that the human race should learn to grow up, and take off the training wheels. I leave the world in your hands."

Jean gave me a sad look, "What happened to you, Jasmine?"

I raised an eyebrow and she continued, "Wasn't Rose your sister as well? We went to talk to her. We know that something happened. You're not your usual self. Are you going to do the same for us? Get us to forget you as well?"

I restrained myself from palming my face. This was going to be a long conversation, and probably not a pleasant one.

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