ELEANOR WOKE UP with a start.

Gasping, she rushed to the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bathtub. She couldn't remember what just happened that jolted her awake. She placed her hands over her face, rubbing it tiredly. "Jesus," she mumbled.

Erik was right. This was going out of hand. She needed answers to this.

The brunette went over to the sink and was about to open the faucet when she noticed the translucent golden glow of her right hand. Immediately, she looked down to herself, utterly mystified by the event. Her feet were not touching the floor and it was as if she was gliding. Her eyebrows furrowed even further. "What the fuck?" she voiced out. It was then when Eleanor turned her gaze to the mirror that she gasped loudly.

Because in that moment, she was staring right at her soul.

Holy fucking shit. Why is my soul out of my body?

Alarmed by this, she glided back to the bedroom and caught sight of her sleeping physical body. She looked peaceful as if nothing was happening. Her husband's arm was wrapped around her waist and he was pulling her close to him. Eleanor's hand flew to her mouth as she stared at herself -- specifically her physical body. "What the hell is going on?"

She then cupped her cheeks and touched her arms. She felt solid, but she was still out of her body. "This is insane..." she breathed. "like really fucking insane." She flew back to the bathroom, staring once again at the mirror. She really looked pellucid. Was this what they call an out-of-body experience? "Am I dead? Did I just die in my sleep?"

"Welcome to the astral plane, Eleanor." greeted someone behind her, causing her to jump in shock. She turned around to see a tall, lean man standing at the doorway, his arms crossed and his lips curled into a malicious smirk. "That's your astral body and no, you're not yet dead... but you soon will be."

And with that, he hurled a violet energy orb towards her which she dodged. As she stood right up and conjure two vermilion spheres herself, all she can think in her head was: what the fuck is going on? What kind of otherworldly shit is this?

"Who the hell are you?" growled Eleanor, raising her hands higher.

"No one you should know." Her rival then launched himself towards her and she immediately blasted him away, sending his astral body to the bedroom. Levitating over to where he was, Eleanor's gaze fell momentarily to her husband. He was still sleeping peacefully. She wondered if he could feel what was going on.

Distracted by this, she wasn't able to catch her enemy fling himself towards her, slamming her against the wall. He then wrapped his hands around her neck and proceeded to strangle her, no doubt aiming to end her life. However, Eleanor was quick to deliver a punch to his kidney, causing him double over.

Eleanor used the opportunity to knee his face, but he was swift to dodge and catch her leg. He threw her to the chair at her right, making it move and create a sound. She groaned, feeling her back ache from the impact.

"Okay, okay, are you -- are you some kind of evil spirit? What have I done wrong to you?" panted she, standing up. "Did I, uh, accidentally attack you or something? Because I don't -- "

She was then cut off when he ran towards her, swiping his leg across the floor, knocking her down. Fuming, the brunette abruptly rolled on the floor and stood up. "Okay, you're really starting to piss me off." snarled the woman as she casted two psionic spheres directly at the charging man, but he only swerved his body and avoided it.

In retaliation, he sent another blast to her direction, yet she threw her hands forward, conjuring a shield. She then used her telekinesis to divert his punches and kicks before delivering some as well. Valerie had been teaching her how to engage in combat and Eleanor couldn't be more thankful for having a friend like her.

As the two moved around the bedroom, trying to one-up each other, furnitures also moved, causing some noise. She ducked as she threw a punch and grabbed his arm, twisting it as she stepped on his foot. Without missing another beat, she elbowed his jaw and stepped away from him, reverting back to a fighting stance.

Eleanor had no idea why this certain soul or spirit was attacking her, but she wasn't just going to let him overpower her. After being kicked in the abdomen and stumbling backwards, her enemy began to gloat.

"Pity the husband will wake up to a dead wife." he remarked.

Hearing those words sent a power surge through her veins and her eyes glowed a scarlet red light. At that point, her hair flowed behind her and mists of wild psionic energy swirled around her body. "Well, guess what, you fucking son of a bitch, I'll end you first!" Eleanor then curled her fingers and a several tendrils of vermilion psionic energy bursted out of her palm.

It wrapped itself around him and she tightened her hold, squeezing him. Using her telekinesis, she forced him to his knees. She landed softly on the floor, walking forward towards him. "Move and I will turn you to ash. Don't even test me."

Suddenly, they noticed Erik shift in his sleep, inserting his arm under his head. When he didn't wake up, Eleanor turned her gaze back to her current enemy, murderous. "Why are you after me, you fucking bastard?"

"To give my lady a body to possess. She needs a host and you're the perfect one for it." He cocked his head to the side, scowling.

"Who's this lady you're pertaining to?" When he didn't respond, she choked him with the rope around his neck. "Answer me!"

"Eleanor?" They heard Erik's voice reverbrate across from the bed. He looked around, but it was as if he couldn't see her. "Fuck..." he then breathed out, switching on their nightstand lamp to shed light on the whole room. That's when she noticed their scattered furniture everywhere. "El, wake up. Wake up." Erik shook her shoulder, now strongly.

In her peripheral vision, she immediately spotted her enemy had escaped and in defense, she released a burst of power that slowly reduced him to dust.

As his soul withered, he viciously looked up at her. "You don't know who you truly are, Eleanor... but you will soon."

The brunette furrowed her eyebrows, breathing hard. Her hands trembled slightly from the adrenaline still running free in her veins. Someone had just tried to kill her in her... astral form. Though unsuccessful, she felt that there would be more coming for her. She crossed her eyebrows and rubbed her face in frustration.

What is really going on?

"Eleanor! Wake up!"

She was instantly removed from her train of thoughts by Erik's anxious tone. She swallowed. The woman had no clue how to return to her actual body, but she had to try. Moving close, she shut her eyes and focused on wishing to come back. As if granted, she felt a strong tug inside her body and suddenly, she was one again.

Gasping, she bolted upright instantly then coughed several times. Beads of sweat pour over her forehead and she saw Erik beside her, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Eleanor? What happened? Is it your dreams again?"

Eleanor shut her eyes, feeling her heart beat wildly against her chest. "No." she rasped, glancing at him with a glint of fear in her eyes. "Someone just tried to kill me."

━━━━━━━━

"SO, YOUR SOUL went out of your body and you battled this guy who was trying to kill you because their leader needed a host, correct?"

A few hours had already passed ever since Eleanor was attacked and they both didn't return to sleep right after it in fear someone else might come after her again. The brunette rolled her metal bearings against her palm, pacing back and forth in front of their bed. She sighed, now comforted by the feeling of the smooth spheres. "Yes, Erik. I know it's quite unbelievable, but yes, I projected myself out while I was asleep. The guy called my soul an astral body and we were in the astral plane."

"Are you sure you weren't just dreaming?"

Eleanor squinted her eyes and shook her head. "No, I wasn't."

"Can you show me? Can you do it again?"

"I don't know how." the wife reasoned. "It just happened by accident... while I was asleep."

"If you were able to do it once, then you can do it again. Just try." Erik supported. "Focus."

She nodded, closing her eyes. Eleanor willed to push her soul outside of her physical body. She furrowed her eyebrows, gritting her teeth. Nothing happened. She slowly breathed in and out, waiting for it to happen. "I can't. I can't do it."

"Try again."

Eleanor attempted once more and curled her fist, but still nothing. After trying again for the third time, she surrendered. She rubbed her face in frustration and threw her hands up. "I can't! I don't know why it isn't working!" exasperated the woman. "But, I'm very sure it wasn't a dream. Me and that guy were the reason why all of our things are scattered on the floor." She exhaled. "Look, I need you to believe me, please. I'm not going crazy."

"I never said you were going crazy. I believe you, Eleanor. You can breach anyone's mind and age slow now, so I believe you." he explained. "I'm just trying to understand why your abilities are evolving and why that guy was after you."

"I don't even understand what is going on with me." noted Eleanor, sitting down at the edge of their bed. "I don't even know why I'm experiencing this."

Never did she thought in her entire life that she would encounter this. Their life was already peaceful. Why was fate trying to interrupt that?

At that, she felt his presence beside her, his hands moving to cup her face. "Eleanor, look at me," he mumbled. "We're going to solve it together, okay? Just like we always do."

The wife leant close to her husband's touch, internally thanking the heavens for him. Abruptly, their door bursted open and in came Alexander wearing a very familiar metal helmet.

"Mom, look what I found in the basement!" announced her son, flaunting Erik's helmet.

Eleanor's eyes widened. It had been a very long time since she had last seen it for she and Erik hid it somewhere deep in the basement, hoping to never see it again. They found it quite symbolic actually. Erik finally buried his past -- all his pain, rage, and thirst for revenge. "Where did you get that, Alex?"

"I found it at the basement. Looks cool, right?"

"Give it to me now!"

Alexander immediately removed the helmet from his head and handed it to her. "I'm sorry, mom. I... I just saw it and I thought it looked good"

"This..." Eleanor licked her lips, staring once again at the helmet that made her husband be known as Magneto. "This is something you should not touch. I promise, we'll tell you the story behind this, Alex... one day, but not now, okay?" She raised her hand to his cheek and let her thumb graze his skin. "Now, go outside for a while and build something awesome."

Alexander nodded. "Are we going to the mansion today? I want to visit Ana and uh, I kind of promised Sophia we would see each other today."

Eleanor sighed. Their plans of visiting their daughter was halted due to the attempt on her life. She badly wanted to visit her daughter and check up on her, but they had to know first who was after her. "We'll go visit later this afternoon, but I'm not sure, okay? Your dad and I have to do something first."

"Okay." answered Alexander, silently leaving the bedroom. Eleanor then tossed Erik's helmet in their bed as she stood up. She levitated the steel bearings above her palm as she let her mind wander.

"How do I look?"

Eleanor turned her attention back to Erik, instantly frowning once she saw him wearing the helmet. "Awful, bloody fucking awful." commented the woman. "Take it off now."

Erik gingerly took off the helmet, setting it aside. He was eyeing it carefully and she could feel the gears inside his head rotating as he continued staring at it. Heaving a sigh, she tossed the bearings to the side and snatched the helmet laying atop their bed. "I don't want to see you wearing this again, Erik." She admonished. "We buried your past. You moved on."

"We'll never know when I'll need it again."

"You won't ever need this again, Erik. Ever."

"Nothing is truly set in stone, El. You know that." He retorted. "Eleanor, if... I returned to my old ways, will you still stay with me?"

"Yes, of course. I will." she said within a heartbeat. "But, you know I will stand against you. I will never tolerate you no matter how much I love you."

"Eleanor -- "

"Erik, we talked about this..." She then paused, raising her eyebrow when she sensed a familiar presence in their island. Eleanor blinked twice and tilted her head to the side. "Jean?"

"Jean?" Erik repeated, squinting his eyes. He tugged the sleeves of his black sweater down, curious about the name she mentioned.

"Jean Grey, one of my students before. She's here in the island." informed Eleanor as she walked out of their house, wincing when she felt a harsh barrier inside Jean's head. It wasn't the same with the mental barriers in Anastasia's head. Eleanor reached out to all of them earlier, but was met with Valerie's strong mental barriers. She wondered why her friend projected such potent barricades to everyone's mind in the school, but she deemed that maybe it was for some kind of training or lesson.

Eleanor narrowed her eyes upon seeing Jean's figure at the distance. She and Erik exchanged a glance before lifting themselves off the ground to meet her. "Answer the question." demanded one of the residents of the island, Ariki.

"Leave her." ordered Erik as they both landed in front of them. "Why are you here?"

Jean swallowed, her lips trembling. Eleanor sensed her distress and fear from where she was. She watched as the redhead curl her hands into fists. "I... I need your help."

Concerned, Eleanor stepped forward and embraced her, rubbing her back. It had been quite some time since she last saw Jean as well and seeing the affliction in her eyes broke her heart. She raised this girl herself and treated her as if she was her own daughter. The brunette brushed her hair back after catching a glimpse of a blood stain on her shirt.

"Let's get inside."