THE APPRENTICE III

20

They travelled along the halls of the building as the alarms never ceased to stop. All the information they were given still wouldn't sit right with her.

"I brought you here hoping you could stop the Scarlet Witch. Can you?" He asked her and they stopped by a pillar.

"I-I don't know. I'm not that developed yet, and she's dark, she's not the same." She confessed and squeezed her knuckles. "I can fight a little, just to buy time for Stephen to get the book,"

"But you were friends?,"

"We had more of a professional relationship, but closer than most." She thought out loud and turned to him. "I won't be able to convince her; I've tried. How bout you read her mind? I'll pull her defenses down."

He gave a quick nod as they continued to walk the halls. Hazel conjured up her book to rack up any of the spells she had. An idea popped into her head.

"Shit! Maybe I can get my book! It has more spells, right?!" She gasped at the thought and looked at him with pleading eyes. "I need to portal back to the Sanctum. I need magic."

Xavier went silent for a second and his lips pulled down. There was defeat in her eyes. Suddenly, her cuffs unlinked themselves with her wrists and she smiled. She created a portal to the Sanctum and cocked her head.

"I just need to find it. I need my book— where would they keep it?" She thought out loud as she approached the statue that remained on the floor.

A clattering noise sounded and she kicked the piece of her nose away. She frowned at the cracked and fragmented statue.

"If it's any consolation, I was against the idea." Xavier said from behind her. She whipped her head to him questioningly. "Yes, you and I had quite a bond, back then. We always got along. The students at Xavier loved you."

He showed her images of the two of them having meals together, playing chess, laughing with each other. There were images of her spending time in some sort of school she couldn't recognize. Her heart warmed up a little.

"Do you ever wonder why we do The Motion of Wolfe?" He asked, and put his hand on his head, then on his chest. She only tilted her head. "It stands for the head and the heart— for you never lost sight of either of them. You were smart, a force to be reckoned with, but used your heart,"

"I was almost dark, because of it." She rebutted with a head shake. "And I'm scared I might turn out like Wanda. What do I do? What are my weaknesses, my blind spots? Tell me what you see."

She knelt to him to make closer contact. Xavier gave her a small smile and shook his head a little bit; she resembled everything he thought their Hazel could turn out to be.

"You have moments of arrogance. That, and you  can become your own worst enemy. You sometimes push your emotions away, and can underestimate the value of kindness and softness." He named a few and she nodded along. "But take heed, this is what I have seen: whether it's you or Strange, you two seem to flourish with the help of one another. Strange without Wolfe is self-centered, arrogant. Wolfe without Strange is precarious, unstable, self-sabotaging. You need one another, it's what makes your relationship so beautiful."

There was a pang of sadness that overwhelmed her as they entered her room in the Sanctum. It was different in all the ways that mattered, it had unfamiliar markings and papers, sheets, books.

"I don't know if that's still true, not with the girl in the picture." She confessed as she lifted a piece of the marble floors to discover the book there. She chirped in delight and lifted it up. "Yes! I always make copies, sometimes even two! Come on!"

She skipped down to look for the staff as he trailed behind her. She frowned upon not seeing it  and created a portal for the two.

"Oh, shit. Sorry, Hazel." She sucked a breath in through teeth when she accidentally crushed a piece of the statue's head by kicking it. The nose broke of and a crack formed on its face.

They entered the portal and she jogged through the halls.

"Can you read her mind? Is she, like, sane?" She strode through the hallways and opened up the book. It was about as thick as a novel and she flipped through the pages with awe.

She stopped in her tracks when she realized Xavier stopped walking.

"Go back to Strange." He commanded with a haunted look. "She- this won't work. She's under the spell and is too far down. Go back to Strange, now. You're in danger,"

"What about you?" She hurried to him and knelt down. He gave a small smile.

"I'll be alright." He nodded. He placed a hand on her cheek and stroked it. "It was nice to meet you again, Hazel,"

"And you." She gave a stiff nod of determination and melted a little. "Thank you."

There were explosions and different noises coming from the west. She scanned her eyes around the place in hopes of finding Stephen, entering the room where they were held, but the carbon boxes were empty. She clicked her tongue.

Hazel flipped through the pages to see if there were any spells that she could use. Suddenly, she jumped at the feeling of her body being restrained. She relaxed a bit at the sight of the cloak wrapping itself around her.

"Hey, buddy!" She stroked it a little as they darted through the air. Wanda's eyes followed the two and the cloak moved faster, taking her to some kind of vault that was hidden underground.

"Where were you?!" Stephen was irritated as the cloak latched itself back onto him. She ignored his question and ran further back. "Where are you going?!,"

"Wanda's coming." She explained and briefly turned to them. She flipped to the completed page of her sigil and placed a finger on America and Strange's forehead. "This might hurt."

They let out hisses when the sigil imbedded itself into their foreheads, then later disappeared. They rubbed their skin and she did the same to Palmer.

"It's meant to lend you my energy. You'll access my spells and gain protection from the spirit realm." She explained to them as they ran further down. "Wanda's here!"

They sprinted down the tunnels as she limped to them, destroying every door and barrier that kept her from the band. Christine pressed a button and a gate went down.

"Other Wanda, if you're in there, hold your breath!" Stephen pressed his hands together and waved of water came crashing down on the woman. They ran further down and Hazel stopped.

"Go without me!" She urged as she opened the book and flipped through the pages.

"What?! What are you talking about, come on- Woah!" Stephen was cut off by a gust of wind that blew them away from her.

She could sense the presence of the Scarlet Witch but exhaled shakily to gather her composure. She picked the first spell that she could find: the undead army.