The Romantic Art of Bitchcraft

Marvel's Apocalypse

  

***This one takes place after Apocalypse, so spoilers there. It also connects to the MCU, so if you're a fan of that you'll probably enjoy this chapter (or hate it, one of the two). Anyways, I hope y'all enjoy this!***

   Cordelia smiled, finally feeling at peace.
   She sat at the head of the dinner table, looking out at the small sea of her girls, of both new and long-term residence. At the end, she could see Coco and Mallory, laughing and bonding better than Cordelia could have hoped. Closer to her, Queenie sat across from Zoe and Madison, the former doing her absolute best to ignore the small squeals coming from her co-councilwoman as Madison not-so-subtly moved her hands around underneath the table. It was highly inappropriate, though Cordelia was willing to let it slide, just this once; the wildcard blonde could consider it a personal thank-you for her sacrifices made on behalf of the Coven.
   Best of all, sitting on the direct right of Cordelia was the light of her life, Misty Day.
   At first, Cordelia had been left baffled by the seemingly sudden reappearance of the sweet Stevie Nicks fan. The Supreme had given up all hope that she would ever see her beloved Misty ever again. Nan hadn't explained anything to her that day she dropped the witch off, only vaguely informing her that she wasn't supposed to know; only say thank you.
   But then Mallory had approached her, perhaps a week or two later, saying that a trip to Hell was in order to save Madison. Given Madison's record, Cordelia had been inclined to refuse the young student her wish, but after a few days of back-and-forth on the subject, Mallory had found a spell that could restore memories. She had begged Cordelia to allow her to perform it, claiming that there was a whole other timeline the Supreme needed to remember.
   Cordelia had been hesitant, but in the end she had given in.
   And now, she remembered.
   She remembered everything.
   She remembered losing Queenie to the Hotel Cortez, only to have her and Madison brought back by the so-called "Boy Wonder," the one those pesky warlocks had claimed to be the Alpha, who had only turned out to be the Antichrist. She remembered him trying to gain her trust by bringing back Misty, and then later going and killing all her girls in such a horrific manner.
   Oh, god, how she remembered that dark, dark moment; the emptiness she'd found trying to bring back Queenie, and even Zoe, who had so grown over the years, blossoming into such a powerful, capable witch that Cordelia had often marveled at how she had ever been that shy girl first brought home to Robichaux's all those years ago. She remembered that numb nothingness, the loss of their souls. Oh god, she remembered.
   And now she also remembered Madison, how selfless the witch had become, how much of an asset and-- quite shockingly-- how essential she had been in defeating Michael and saving the Coven.
   She remembered Madison Montgomery's ultimate sacrifice.
   And so Cordelia had been left with no other alternative than to allow Mallory to bring back the girl. Her  girl, as the former movie star had so proved in the other timeline.
   At first, Zoe had not been thrilled at the aspect of having her old roommate back, especially when it was decided that the two would board together once more.
   That apprehension had soon dissipated, however, and Cordelia was quite sure that the abrupt change in manner was a result of Madison having been shown a certain spell by the young Mallory.
   Whatever the case, all was well now.
   Cordelia hadn't realized it until her memories had been restored, but she had been feeling stressed about something, some unseen dark force. After the restoration, however, the Supreme now knew her stress had been left over from the first timeline. Now that she knew the problem had been resolved, however, she felt peace. Such peace.
   Which, naturally, was when everything went wrong.
   It started with Coco, who started coughing violently. The poor girl stood up, taking a shaky step towards her Supreme.
   "Cordelia!" she yelped, falling against Mallory, who stood at her side trying to help her stand. "I don't... I don't know, I don't know, I just feel so..."
   The girl sank to her knees, dissolving to dust in Mallory's arms.
   "No, no, no, no, no!" Mallory whimpered, her hands shaking so badly that whatever dust she'd managed to catch slipped through her fingers. "Coco come back! Come back to me!"
   The other girls at the table were whispering amongst themselves, trying to figure out if anyone knew what the hell was going on.
   No one did.
   "Cordelia, what happened?" Mallory cried. "Where is she?"
   Cordelia could only shake her head; she had no idea what had happened to the girl. It had instantly reminded her of how she had lost Misty, except the failed Descensum had taken the witch instantaneously. Coco had gone much more slowly, flaking apart into dust slowly enough that the other witches had watched it travel from limb to limb. She'd never seen anything like it.
   Suddenly screams erupted from the middle of the table. Several of the girls were receiving the same fate as Coco, and those who remained had leapt to their feet, running around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to outrun whatever curse had been put upon them. It was hard to tell exactly how many girls they'd lost, but at a glance it looked to be about half.
   "Ow!" Zoe yelped, clutching her stomach. "I... I think--"
   "No!" Madison screamed, socking her in the arm before pulling her to her chest. "Don't even think like that, don't you dare!"
   "I'm sorry," Zoe whimpered, her legs already dissolving. "Madison, I'm so sorry. I love y--"
   Madison didn't so much scream as howl in pain as the witch she loved was torn away from her yet again.
   "No!" the blonde sobbed, clutching desperately at the falling ashes. "NO!"
   Cordelia looked wildly around at the choas, trying desperately to remember if anyone had ever mentioned anything like this anywhere.
   She jumped slightly as a hand found hers.
   "Delia?"
   Her heart dropped.
   "Misty!" she sobbed, seeing the witch's shoulder start chipping away.
   "It's gonna be fine," Misty smiled. "I have faith in you."
   Cordelia found herself grasping at Misty's ashes for a second time, screams and sobs wracking her body.
   "What is happening?" she sobbed. "What the hell is happening!"
   A shadow fell over Cordelia, and she looked up into the face of Papa Legba, and he did not look happy.
   "It twould seem," he hissed, "dat someone 'as found de Infinity Stones."
   Cordelia swallowed hard.
   "Th-the Infinity Stones?"
   Papa Legba sighed.
   "Get up, Miss Supreme," he instructed. "And gadder what ees left of ya witches."
   He turned to leave, sweeping down the halls of Miss Robichaux's.
   He glanced back at Cordelia.
   "There ees much work ta be done now, if you wish ta save da multiverse, and ya girls."