Chronicles of the Red Witch

Book 1: Family Ties

Disclaimers: Marvel owns the X-Men and all affiliated characters. Joss Wheedon owns Willow, Buffy, and all affiliated characters. I own nothing but the plot.

This story takes place during the end of Season 2 of Buffy, and a few weeks after X2. While I’ll be following movie continuity for the most part, aspects of the comics will appear in this story.

Prologue

It was a beautiful day in New York City. The city so nice they named it twice, today New Yorkers were blessed with clear skies and 70 degrees, perfect weather for the outdoor bistro Charles Xavier had chosen for this meeting. He sat at his table, patiently waiting for his old friend to show us as he sipped his earl grey tea. Sensing a presence behind him, he looked up and smiled.

“Hello Eric.”

“Hello, Charles.” A voice said from behind him and, moments later, a tall, distinguished looking man, his grey hair mostly hidden under his fedora, stepped passed him and sat across from his old friend. “Thank you for meeting with me. And thank you for not alerting the authorities.”

“No need to cause a scene, Eric.” Charles replied amicably. “Besides, I found your message to be quite intriguing. You say that you have discovered a mutant that you would like me to train. I am most curious as to why you would have me do this, instead of training her yourself.”

Magneto chuckled, then took a file out from under his coat and passed it to Charles. “Yes, it is a bit- ironic, is it not? However, this is a…delicate case.”

Charles nodded absently as he opened the file. He glanced briefly at the picture of the young red-head, an obviously candid photo taken without her knowledge. She looked to be no older than sixteen and was dressed in plain, unassuming clothes, her shoulder length hair left free. She had a shy, unassuming face, free of the worries of the real world.

“Her mutant power should be very familiar to you,” Eric continued, “manipulation of magnetic fields.”

“Much like yourself.” Xavier noted.

“Exactly like myself.” Magneto replied. “You see, she is my niece…..”

Ethan Rayne hated the cold.

He also hated the outdoors, excessive physical exertion, large bodies of water, and Canada in general. So why he had felt compelled to hike out to this god forsaken lake was beyond him at the moment.

“At least there aren’t any bloody insects…” he grumbled to himself as he slowly walked around the edge of the recently expanded lake. He hadn’t heard many details about it- only that the damn had failed and the valley had been flooded. No particular reason why he should be drawn here.

“I am a servant of the Lords of Chaos. I am a wizard of unparalleled power. I bring chaos and destruction to everywhere I go and everyone I meet.” He shouted out loud. “So can someone please tell me why I am in this GOD-FORSAKEN PLACE IN THE BLOODY DEAD OF WINTER!”

For a moment there was only silence, and Ethan let out a dejected sigh. The sigh caught in his throat, however, as a rumbling sound grew throughout the valley. Ethan glanced around frantically, searching for the cause, desperately worrying that another flood was forthcoming-

Then he saw the disturbance in the water.

It started slowly at first, a small bubbling and churning in the water that rapidly expanded, sloshing water over the shore. Warily Ethan started to back up-

And then the water exploded. Or rather, a figure exploded from the water. Her black leather jumpsuit was soaked, her red hair damp, and yet she was wreathed in flame-

In the shape of a bird.

“My god…”

“I am fire and life incarnate! From this day forth, I AM PHOENIX!”

Suddenly the fire dimmed, and the woman’s eyes rolled back in her head as she crashed back into the water. With only a moments hesitation, Ethan trudged into the freezing water and pulled the woman back out onto the shore.

“Well, well. The gods must be smiling down on me.” Ethan said, a smile spreading over his face as he looked down upon the unconscious woman below him. “You and me, my dear, are going to have such a good time…

Dear Diary,

Yesterday, I was a perfectly normal teenager. If being a perfectly normal teenager includes staking vampires and reading up on the Black Arts. I guess that’s what happens when your best friend is the Vampire Slayer. But last night had nothing to do with Slayers or vampires- at least, not directly.

You see, we were at the Bronze, just hanging out and having a good time when they attacked. A gang of vampires, big and nasty and intent on making the Harvest look like recess. Of course, they didn’t realize Buffy was there- though they soon found out, in spades. Me, Xander and Cordelia started herding people towards the exits. Several of the vamps saw this, though, and quickly rushed to catch their fleeing dinner. Several were caught and slaughtered before my eyes- their blood is still on my clothes.

And that’s when all hell broke loose.

Actually, to be accurate, that’s when the whole building started to break loose. At MY command. Banisters, tables, silverware- anything metals suddenly swarmed around the place, entrapping vamps and, in some cases, separating their heads from their necks. When the dust settled, everyone was staring at me, even Buffy, like I was some kind of fr-”

A spark from her fingers and a flash on the screen later, and her laptop was dead, courteously for a random EMP blast from her over-agitated self. Willow Rosenberg stared at the computer in shock for a moment before sitting back in her chair and letting out an exasperated sigh.

“Well, that’s just great.”

Xavier Academy

“You wanted to see me, Professor?”

“Yes, Scott. Come in.”

Scott Summers, also known as the X-Man Cyclops, walked into the opulent office of Professor Charles Xavier, the headmaster of the Xavier Academy and sat down behind the large desk that Xavier sat behind in his automatic wheelchair. He settled in his chair and looked wearily to his mentor. Charles looked back concerned.

“Scott, I know the past few months haven’t been particularly kind to you, especially with Jeans death,” he started. “That in particular has hit many here hard. But right now I need you for a very important assignment.” He slid a file across the desk, which Scott dutifully picked up. “Her name is Willow Rosenberg. She was brought to my attention by an old friend- Magneto.”

“Magneto?” Scott looked up at the Professor. “Why would Magneto tell you about any mutant?”

“Because this one apparently would abhor his ideology. But at the same time, she needs to learn how to control her powers.”

“But why this one?”

“Read the file, Scott. She’s a level four mutant with a control over magnetic fields.” He looked at Scott, seeming to pierce the red sunglasses he was forced to wear. “She’s his niece.”

“His niece?” he exclaimed. “And she doesn’t want to follow in his footsteps?”

“By all accounts, she’s a wallflower. Very shy and unassuming; a rather meek personality. Which puts her in even greater danger, if her powers were to manifest in a public place.”

“She’d probably be too scared to defend herself.” Scott said thoughtfully. “You want me to recruit her?”

“I’d like you to try, Scott. Though ultimately the decision belongs to her and her parents. Though according to Eric’s surveillance, they aren’t around often. I want you to take Storm and Logan-”

“I don’t need Logan.” Scott argued. “He’s a loose cannon, and I doubt with him being there I’d be able to convince this girl to let us help her.”

“By all accounts, Sunnydale is a very dangerous place. Having Logan there will ensure your security. Plus, he needs something to take his mind off of- things- as well. I also want you to take some students, to give her a feel of how we do things here.”

“You really ant to recruit this girl, don’t you?”

“Her powers are both incredible, and incredibly dangerous. And if we don’t manage to get her here, it is only a matter of time before Eric decides to take her by force.”

Scott rubbed his face and sighed. “Fine. I’ll take Kitty, Bobby, Pete, Rogue and Jubilee. They’ve become something of the Fantastic Five around here recently, and they’re all competent enough to fight if they have to defend themselves.” He rose from his chair. “I’ll let them all know, and we’ll leave first thing tomorrow.”

“Very well. Good luck, Scott.” Xavier added. “Good luck.”

Scott smiled wanly. “Magneto’s niece or not, it’s a milk run Professor. What could possibly go wrong?

The Mansion

Angelus stalked through the halls of the deserted mansion, cursing and breaking various things in his path as Spike looked on from his wheelchair. For the fifteenth time he silently thanked whatever god would listen to him for Drub eng out looking for dinner, for the uproar his grandsire was in now would have put her in a right state.

“Problems, Peaches?” Spike asked in a bored tone. “Things not go according to plan?”

“I had her right where I wanted her!” Angelus raged. “Right there in that damned club, dozens of innocent bystanders- I sent in overwhelming numbers!”

“Yes, yes, and the Slayer killed them all. We’ve been singing this tune since before you lost your soul and regained your sanity.”

“That’s just it, Sit-and-Spin! She didn’t kill them all! Some freakjob mutant did!

Spike leaned forward in his chair. “Well, that’s a new development. Any idea who?”

“Not yet.” Angelus growled. “But I intend to find out. And when I do- the freak, it’s family, it’s freakin’ ancestors- they’re all dead. In ways even you couldn’t imagine.”

“Oh good.” Spike replied, a lazy grin on his face. “I always liked a show with dinner….”

TBC

And so begins the Chronicles of the Red Witch. Just so you know, this will be a saga in four parts, spanning the second, forth and fifth years of Buffy, and the Civil War storyline of Marvel (including some, NOT all, aspects of the House of M deal). Do not expect frequent updates on this story, as I do have three others I’m working on right now. But this story has been eating away at me since X2 first came out, and spending my entire vacation read comics has fully fueled my creative fires. Finally, expect to see me integrate Comic continuity with Movie continuity where it is acceptable.

Till next time, true believers!

Naitch03