to stop him before he does it. "Okay, okay! Nathan, I need you to lead the people to the shore. There are a couple of boats there. Just get them out of this island." She swallowed. "Can-can you call for some reinforcements?"

"I will try now if I can, mom."

"Please do. We need them -- "

"Jack!" cried one of the female mutants, panic-stricken. "Jack, my son! He-he went back to our house! I-I-I have to go get him!" She tried to rush back to the area, but she was pulled back by the others. "No, let go of me!"

Eleanor approached her, placing her hand on her shoulder. "No, Kelly. You stay here. I will go back for him. I'll bring your son back to you, okay? Just-just stay here."

Kelly nodded, sobbing. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she pleaded. "Bring him back to me, Eleanor. Please."

The brunette gave the woman a pat on her shoulder as a sign of assurance. "I will."

Eleanor then wasted no more time to go back in the open field and her heart broke when she saw the ruined community in front of her. Their entire island home was completely destroyed. Shaking her head, she gathered herself together and used her telepathy to search for the boy.

Eleanor focused on looking for the young boy. Sensing his whereabouts, the mother ran towards a burning house. She conjured a shield to protect herself from the raging fire, walking over to a bedroom. There, she saw Kelly's young son, Jack, helplessly crying as he attempted to use his power to control plants to save himself. "Help! Auntie El! Please, help me!"

Five steps forward and Eleanor scooped up the child, bringing him inside of her shield. "It's going to be okay, Jack. I'm here, I'm here. Auntie El is here." She carried the kid in her arms as they exited the burning house. "Why did you go back here?"

"I left my father's gift to me."

Eleanor sighed, rubbing the child's back. Suddenly, an excruciating painful psychic wave shot through her head and she screamed, crashing to the ground. It came from Jean and paralyzed her entirely. The boy in her arms bawled as he held his head. It took a lot of Eleanor's strength to block the assault and she gasped once she had done so, projecting the same barrier to Jack's mind. "Auntie El... my head hurts." whimpered he.

Eleanor hissed and struggled to lift her body up from the ground. The little boy beside her wobbled as he stood up and tried to help her. Looking up, she saw Anastasia and Erik attempting to bring down Jean. With a loud cry, her husband directed all the metal shards he formed towards her former student. But with a flick of her wrist, Jean averted their directions.

And one of them was going to hit Jack.

"No!" Eleanor abruptly stood up and embraced the young boy in her arms, using her telekinesis to divert the incoming shard. She was about to build a psionic barricade around them when she felt something pierce her back twice.

Then, time stopped.

And blood was spilled.

Eleanor gasped, feeling the sharp sting of pain course through all her veins. Blood started to bubble up in her throat and pour out at the side of her lips. She stared at the horrified young boy in front of her and gripped his shoulder, breathing hard. With a strained voice, she pushed herself to say, "Close your eyes, Jack. Please. Don't... open them for... four minutes. Count it."

Fear-stricken, the boy closed his eyes and mumbled softly. It was then that Eleanor finally landed on her side. Her vision blurred and soon, she felt a pool of her thick, warm blood soak her clothes and skin.

Eleanor had been scared of many things before, but hearing the beat of her heart slow down terrified her greatly. It was likr a signal that she was losing her life. As the woman laid on the grass, she stared at the clouds in the sky, her eyes fluttering close again and she came to the realization that she was not ready to die.

"Eleanor!"

"Mom!"

The mother heard her husband and daughter cry out her name, their footsteps rushing across the field. "Eleanor! Stay with me! Stay with me! Dammit! Ana, close your mother's wounds!"

Eleanor felt her strength fading and she fought against the pain. She tried to use her power to save herself, but the light was calling her and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Knowing this, the mother parted her lips and looking straight into the eyes of the man she loved, she started to speak, "I love..."

However, she failed to finish her words for in exactly four minutes, Eleanor succumbed to her wounds.

And the last thing she heard was an agonizing scream coming from none other than her beloved husband.

━━━━━━━━

THE GLITTERING STARS were the first she noticed when her emerald eyes opened.

The vast, seemingly empty sky stretched out for infinity. She noticed that it had a smattering of low level flat clouds that were spread-out to the horizon. It looked peaceful.

But then, in came the white luminiscent figures hovering around.

Eleanor sat upright, bewildered, at the sight. Her eyebrows furrowed and she panicked, looking around at where she was. Her slim fingers dug deep the moist soil and she smelt an earthly, sweet scent. She was in some kind of dark forest with thousands of white floating figures around.

The brunette stood up and looked down, seeing the familiar golden translucent glow of her body. Her astral form. She was in her astral form. Shutting her eyes once, she remembered that she had recently... passed away. But, if she did, why was she in her astral form? Wasn't she supposed to be like those figures drifting in the air?

"What the fuck is this place?"

"You're not supposed to be in here."

Eleanor jumped at the sound of the voice behind her and screamed, stumbling a couple of steps backwards. The other person let out a shriek too in return and their screeches filled the whole forest.

"Who the fuck are you?" The brunette demanded, pointing her finger at her. The first thing she noticed about the woman was her pointed headpiece that seemed to look like a crown. She also had curly, auburn hair that matched her scarlet red dress and cape. If Eleanor was going to be honest, the woman in front of her looked like a sorceress. "And where am I? What is this place?"

"You're not the one supposed to be in here."

"You're not answering my question! Who the hell are you?"

She watched the woman swallow before answering, "I'm Wanda Maximoff and you are in the Realm In-Between or well... Purgatory."

Eleanor tilted her head to the side, confused. "Wait, Maximoff? You're Peter's sister?"

Wanda pursed her lips. "Yes, but in my universe, his name is Pietro. Pietro Maximoff." She explained.

Eleanor's eyebrows furrowed even further if possible. Universe? What universe? And who's Pietro Maximoff? Another thought then occurred in her mind as she stared once again at the woman. "Are you..." She paused. "Are you Erik's daughter?"

"It depends, but most of the time, I am." Wanda retorted, shrugging.

Eleanor blinked. So, Erik had another child with another woman? Again? Oh, she just hoped he did before they got married or she would whack his head if ever she... well, return from wherever she was. She then glanced around, quite unbelieving that Purgatory would look like a forest. "So, we're in, uh... Purgatory?"

"Yes." She briefly replied before conjuring two spheres above her palms. Eleanor slightly frowned as she noticed that her red orbs looked similar to hers. "This is really bad, like really bad. This was not how it was supposed to go."

"What are you talking about, Wanda?"

"Look, Eleanor Lehnsherr, you're not supposed to be in here." Wanda paused in her tracks as if she was about to reveal a very devastating truth. "You're not supposed to be dead. Erik is."