Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

Author's Note: This story takes place between 'The End' and 'GeNext': an alternate universe published early 2000s. Events in 'The End' resulted in the deaths of most X-Men, and 'GeNext' shows the survivors struggling and the next generation trying to shed the burdens of the past. However, there's a time gap of about 10 years between tales and many unanswered questions. This fic attempts to solve those riddles.

Raven Legacy: Coming of Age
Chapter One

Summer break meant cook-outs, beach days, and lazy afternoons in the sun. This year, Raven's family had decided to rent a house in the Hamptons. Her sister was coming to visit from New Orleans, and the Frost-Summers family would be downstairs. This would be the high-light of her summer.

Possibly her life.

At twelve years old, Raven hadn't yet learned to be graceful in her growing body, but she wasn't ashamed, either. She would pop into her green bikini and eat potato chips by the pool. When she reached the bottom of the bag, she'd tilt her head back with her mouth wide open and dump the crumbs all over her face. And if some man bothered her about it (usually her twin brother, Oli), she wouldn't hesitate to put him in his place with sass or a sucker punch.

Only Mystique, Raven's grandmother and guardian, seemed aware of the girl's suddenly visible breasts. Her thigh gap was shrinking. Soon, the boys would notice, too. Raven was interested in all things male except for men themselves. She collected bugs and built race cars, played video games and got into fights. She was, in short, the image of her darling, deceased mother.

Rogue was never far from their thoughts. Mystique saw pieces of her daughter in her grandchildren every day, and it amplified her love for them. Her heart was so full that it ached.

Raven had collected old posters and pictures of her late mother and built a mini-shrine. Mystique didn't mind the girl saying the odd prayer for her late mother – she was Catholic like her late father, and apparently Catholics did this – but recently Raven had expressed an interest in becoming a superhero, too. This was too much. That lifestyle had claimed the lives of both her parents, and cowardly or not, Mystique would not let her grandchildren follow that path.

She hoped Scott would show Raven the flaws in her dream. If anyone regretted their superhero days, it was him.

The three of them – Mystique, Raven, and Oli – were applying sunscreen to each other's faces and backs when the mini-van arrived.

"They're here! They're here!" Raven shrieked and ran outside.

One by one, the mini-van emptied. First, Meg: the oldest and most charming child. She gave Raven a giant hug, and both of them yakked at once. Scott appeared and stretched, then opened the side door for the other children to exit. His wife, Emma, was already in her bathing suit, looking flawless as always. Plastic surgery helped, but she could sleep with the decisions she'd made, unlike her husband. Their middle child, Alexander, appeared next. He looked at the vacation house with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. When Raven tackled him, he burst into laughter. Alexander enthusiastically hugged Oli, who shrugged him off. He had not weathered the loss of his parents as well as Raven, and tended to be as pensive as she was animated. He did, however, offer Meg an awkward side-hug. Finally, a pair of six-year-old twin girls emerged like crickets in a frying pan. They couldn't be still.

"Well, I guess we'd better hit the water," Scott said.

The little tribe ran off to the beach on the other side of the house, kicking up white sand in their trail.

…:::…

New Orleans

Securing the outside perimeters was easier than Nate expected. He led a team of four, including himself, which he relied on for everything. Team leader was a dusty role for him: something he'd never been comfortable with, even when he was active. He'd left murder and espionage behind for medical school, but when an old friend needed his special skills, Nate always obliged.

New Orleans was the stomping grounds for the Unified Guild: a new name for an ancient underground organization. Honor LeBeau and René Boudreaux were co-rulers and two of his oldest, dearest friends. Nate recalled them as he knew them - young and hungry, wielding power beyond their control. But he also knew they had infinite resources at their disposal. Their request provoked a protective urgency, and he accepted without question.

Knowing Honor, he should have known a girl was involved…

He also should've known that Honor would flatter him and play to his kindness. "Team leader" was an exaggerated title; "communications operator" was more accurate. His telepathy provided a cheap and easy way to relay thoughts safely and quickly. He felt like a puppet, dancing to her tune, but he couldn't deduce her grand scheme.

Too late for regrets now.

The Hellfire Club, another underground organization, was hosting an international party in the French Quarter. The X-Men didn't seem interested. As far as they were concerned, their spy was in place. To them, Tess was a tool; no more precious than a pair of binoculars, and no more important than a tape recorder. But, according to Honor, she wanted out of the espionage game. She had a plan, a time line, and Tess wouldn't have lightly committed to something. If she meant to walk away, she meant it.

Instead, she vanished… According to Honor.

Nate suspected his true role was to help Honor and René protect their turf. He also suspected that Tess was playing Honor for a fool. Again. Apparently, they were all puppets.

"Interior's secure," René's voice sounded in Nate's head. "Got de camera's disabled, no back-up alarm."

"Any sign of Tess or Shaw?"

"Negative."

Nate directed his thoughts through Uri's channel. "How's the roof?"

"Clear," answered Uri: the last piece of their team. Agile, strong, and as fiercely loyal as any of them, Uri contributed more muscle than brains. "I've got a possible exit for Renegade through a chimney, but I'll never enter via that route. If 'On has to use the roof, she'll have to exit a window and scale the wall. Same problem for me. Sorry guys, looks like I'm comin' through the front door if I'm comin'. "

"Cannonball it, mon," said René, "Make a Uri-shaped hole t'rough de ceiling!"

Everyone laughed like a symphony of bells and bass that reverberated through Nate's head in colors as well as sounds.

"You got that?" He asked Honor.

She answered him affirmatively and mentally prepared herself before speaking to her infiltration team. Unlike Nate, she understood that the sound and tone of words carried more weight than the actual words. If things inside soured, she needed her team to remember Honor's intent and act on that – and not what Nate would be ordering them to do.

Subconsciously, her hands checked to make sure that her hair pins were still in place, the front of her corset was still clasped, her stockings didn't have any runs, and her breasts and ass were (barely) covered. Presentation was important, too. Honor knew she wasn't a modern beauty: she was too tall, too ample and too muscular. Her skin was too white and marred with too many scars. But she had a narrow waist and beautiful red-gold hair. Her eyes were crimson and ebony, which some people found exotic, but she wore a lacy eye mask to conceal them tonight. Luckily, all women look beautiful in silk and lace undergarments, so Honor wasn't self-conscious. She had the sexiest trait of all – confidence.

"Ladies, you look fabulous!" Honor told her infiltration team. "Enjoy yourselves, rob those old geysers blind, and pick up as much as you can. Who, when, where, why, and how – that's what we're after."

The limousine came to a stop and Vaughn opened the door.

The group simultaneously backed away from the newcomer. Vaughn was tall and handsome but repulsive nonetheless. He was a procurer: the very worst the Guild had to offer. Not only had he failed to deliver four working girls, as promised, but one of the three he brought was his poor little girlfriend, Isobel. However, he had succeeded in finding a limousine and fake documents, which was essential.

"We're late," Honor snapped.

He grinned. "Dis a party or a trial?"

"A client wants results, not jokes."

She took his arm and led her group to the front entrance. A large man wearing sunglasses took a badge from Vaughn and admitted the women inside.

The hotel was no doubt the height of modern fashion, but failed to appeal to Honor's more traditional tastes. Glass walls and tiny, metallic furniture invoked a completely different feeling than iron-wrought railings and alley-like rooms. These were not her people, either. Arrogance rolled off them in waves and filled their colonial suits until the brass buttons threatened to pop. With cool, cynical eyes, they examined the girls. Those who were intrigued signaled and fondled the product without ever meeting their eyes.

Honor was immensely relieved that no one made a scene – especially Isobel.

Nate quietly slipped back in her mind. "Hotel-Victor-Nancy-Tango-Echo-Rodger."

"The tale-tell sign of a Summers… Can't follow his own rules. Or did you forget how to spell 'hunter'?"

"Keep it up and I'll make you dance."

Since they were both looking through Honor's eyes, she slowly surveyed the lobby. Between her precognitive skills and his telepathic abilities, they were able to map out every spiked drink, dark corner and locked room… Except one. A heavy, navy blue door sat just left to the bar: inconspicuous and unguarded, but hidden all the same.

"Someone's hiding something," she thought.

"Honor, I don't like this. Let me send in Renegade-"

A man signaled her and introduced himself as Robert. He wasn't good-looking or clever or charming, and she had a difficult time pretending to enjoy his company. In the end, she managed by enjoying her own company, and he believed himself the cause of her delight. He had her kiss another working girl, Delilah, who'd been hired through a different venue. Kissing straight girls was almost unbearable, but Robert enjoyed himself so much that he invited a friend over.

Nate's voice returned: "Renegade's attempt to infiltrate failed. At this point, we have to assume Tessa's turned. I'm getting the girls out."

"Not yet! I know there's something here!"

She threw an arm around each man's neck and they carried her out like a prize. She laughed recklessly, drunk from the lust and adoration. Upstairs, they knew they'd find a room, and once the door shut, she was able to lay them out quickly and silently. She adjusted her outfit and removed her heels before slipping into the shadowy hallway.

In the distance, a glass shattered and a man cried out in pain. Isobel shouted and bouncers descended on her like ants at a picnic.

A distraction caused by Nate? Or coincidence?

He was the best at controlling a situation; that's why he was always in charge.

Honor imagined Vaughn would swoop in and rescue his beloved, much like Honor was doing for Tess. But that was a silly fantasy.

Honor crept to the navy blue door, pulled a pick from her hair, and attempted to open the lock. The pick snapped in half.

"This is your only chance to retreat," Nate warned. "Tessa's laid a trap especially for you, and you're walking into it blind."

Desperate, Honor grabbed the knob and charged it. It shattered like a pipe bomb and she kicked open the door.

His telepathy slithered further into her mind, gathering the strings that controlled her voluntary functions. He was going to force her to leave against her will!

"Sorry, Summers, but he who leads from behind takes it from behind."

She crossed the threshold and immediately their link was severed. Cautiously, she proceeded. Nothing could have prepared her for what she found. Infinite darkness pierced by blinding light, flickering at first and finally stable. Her eyes adjusted to a tiny, empty room with concrete walls. The light came from the wall directly before her. At first, the light was pure, but slowly began to take form in blood and black. Honor was cloaked in red glow and shadows from her eyes to her clothing and skin. The room was engulfing her, pulling her into the light beyond the wall.

"Ahem."

Honor turned and saw the silhouette of a young boy.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"What is it?"

"I call it 'The Wall'," he said and snapped his fingers. "And it's how the New Hellfire Club deals with spies."

As the first man menacingly entered, she slammed the door on him and left him stunned. The door bounced back open. A swift kick to his chest sent him fumbling into his companion, and Honor leapt on them like a drowning zebra climbing over a pair of leaping crocodiles in order to cross a river. She successfully escaped their merciless jaws. A wiser woman would've ran long and hard and been thankful, but Honor scooped up the boy and held him like a shield.

Outside of the room, her precognitive skills returned.

The boy was Kade Kilgore, the new Black King, who seized his title from a mentally unstable Sebastian Shaw. Tess stayed behind when she should have fled, and Kade sacrificed her to his newly discovered Wall.

Nate realized her mind was back on the grid and telepathically said: "Get out of there, 'On! Get out now! I'm not fuckin' around!"

"She's in there! I have to go back!"

To Kade, she shouted, "Tell me how to get her back!"

"Who?!"

"We'll find a way!" Nate roared, "But you have to get out! Now!"

"Sage!"

"Shaw's sidekick? Why the hell would anyone want her?"

Kilgore barely understood how the Wall worked, but he knew it was a weapon and that was reason enough to feed it. In exchange for sacrifices, the Wall spared Kilgore and returned the unwanted parts of its victims: their intellect. Tess's body was somewhere beyond while her mind was enslaved to the Hellfire Club. Her regenerative, telepathic, and cyberpathic mutations were now the exclusive property of Kade Kilgore: a murderous little psychopath bent on world domination.

"Give her back or I'll rip off your head!"

"He doesn't know, 'On. He's in the business of killing people, not saving them…"

The party-goers looked on, suspended either by Nate's telepathy or their own apathy. Since Kade couldn't overpower Honor alone, they were at an impasse.

"Release me!" Kade shouted, struggling.

The Wall had heard their exchange and began to reach beyond its limits. Kilgore's guards panicked and scrambled off, but Honor held her ground with her human shield. She didn't know if they would be killed or if they'd ever escape, but she knew that Tess was trapped inside – so that's where she was going. As the Wall engulfed Honor and Kade, they were burned and blinded by light. They emerged into a world of ultra-ray liquid. Sounds were seen and all time existed at once.

"Hope you're pleased," Kade said. "We'll be here forever."

Honor looked around, but there were no physical landmarks. Instead, she saw her team mates working on a rescue plan. She saw her girls emptying pockets. She saw Kade's spoken words and her own thoughts of Tess.

Suddenly, her girl appeared – petite, slender, and pale with tear-track scars and midnight hair. This wasn't the swirling, flickering images of thought, but a solid and moving thing. Tess was wearing her old X-Men uniform, which covered everything except one shoulder and arm.

"I knew you'd come," Tess said, "But I had hoped you wouldn't."

"How about a little love for the lifesaver?" Honor offered her cheek, but didn't expect a kiss and didn't get one. "Alright, later then. How do we get out of here?"

"You're the psychic. I thought you'd know."

"Tessa Jane, we've done it again!" Honor laughed heartily. She felt her ribs being squeezed, and was surprised to find Tess had embraced her.

"I thought you were another mirage! But the Wall's never called me by that name. It was my secret, the one thing I wouldn't let it have… 'On, I've been so alone! Shaw's dead. This place… is eating me alive. I promise you, if we escape, I'll – I'll-"

"Marry me and have my babies?"

"No more lies," said Tess. "No more secrets. If I get another chance, I want to spend it with you. You've always had my heart. You're the only one who makes me feel like I've got a heart. I've been trapped long enough for the Wall to strip away almost everything, but I wouldn't let it take my love for you. I realize now that nothing means more-"

Honor silenced her with a kiss.

Nate had warned Honor that the whole scenario was a trap, carefully crafted by Tess or someone with her knowledge. Honor hadn't forgotten. If the Wall needed her submission before it could assimilate her, Tess was the perfect bait. But her gut said this wasn't a deception. Her instincts had always proved more reliable than her mind.

With opened hearts, their bodies fell away and their souls melted into one corporeal being.

'Finally! You are mine!'

"I'm sorry, 'On!" cried Tess, "I can't stop it!"

"Maybe you can't, but we can."

Wearing her lover's skin and tasting her mouth, Honor conjured her ability to transform matter into energy. Her father had been limited to transforming inorganic matter, but Honor didn't face such restrictions. She accelerated the degeneration process of her shared body with Tess, turning them into an unstable bomb.

"The Wall is a tear between dimensions," said Honor, "I don't know if it's sentient or not, but it isn't infinite. If we hit the tear with enough force, it'll destabilize. This dimension may be destroyed, but our home world will be safe."

'No living creature would self-destruct so needlessly. It contradicts the instinct to survive.'

"That's the solution," Tess said. She gave Honor her strength. "Whatever happens, I'm with you."

"I'm not afraid."

Their flesh became feverish and then sizzled. The heat inside burned with consuming intensity, and pushing forward was like walking into a thousand suns. Finally, the body imploded and the insides turned out.

Honor felt like she was flying among the stars.

She felt. Which meant she lived.

The Wall had ejected her!

As her flesh became her flesh again, and her thoughts became invisible secrets, and sounds became merely sounds, she realized her friends were with her. René leaned in the closest, his dreadlocks forming a curtain around them. When he saw her eyes open, a smile appeared like a half-moon in the night sky. Uri took up most of her peripheral vision, but he couldn't help it. Standing six and a half feet tall, weighing in at 350 pounds of pure muscle, and wearing green skin, Uri tended to dominate room. Bringing up the rear was Nate Summers, their fearless cyborg leader, with his distinctive auburn hair crowned in white tuff, which waved like a flag as he rushed the Honor's side.

She felt a woman's hand on hers.

Tess was with her.

…:::…

The Hamptons

"Bekka! Beeeeeekkkkkkaaaaa! Be-Be-Bekka!" Raven walked down the hallway, calling and looking under closed doors as if searching for a cat.

Finally, a half-asleep Emma appeared angrily at her bedroom door.

"What the hell are you doing?! Calling your own name up and down the house at…" She checked her phone, "seven o'clock in the morning?!"

"It's not my name anymore," Raven reminded her. "I changed it to 'Raven' after Mystique adopted me, so Oli and I could have the same name without giving up my dad's name, too."

"Right. Again, what are you doing?"

Raven didn't think Ms. Frost looked so beautiful in the morning.

"Looking for Bekka. Her daddy dropped her off last night while we were all sleeping, but now she's not in her bed."

"Who?"

"Bekka! My sister's sister!"

Emma rubbed her temples and used her telepathy to read Raven's thoughts. She was looking for Honor's little half-sister, who'd grown a little wild since her mother passed away. Biologically orphaned, the girl had been adopted by her mother's husband, although he absolutely spoiled her. The Raven-LeBeau twins considered her family, and since they'd suffered so much loss, everyone supported this idea. Besides, she also happened to be Bishop's biological child, and they never knew when or where he'd return. Keeping her close to the X-Men was wise for all.

"You mean Hero?" Emma said.

"Her name's not 'Hero' anymore! It's Bekka! She said if I didn't want that name, she was gonna take it."

"And of course her father let her," Emma muttered to herself. To Raven, she said: "Honey, she's either got her hearing aids off or she's hiding. Either way, you won't find her like this."

"Can you tell me where she is?"

"Only if you promise to be quiet."

Raven readily promised.

Emma did a quick telepathic sweep of the house. "She's sleeping under your bed."

Raven skipped back to her room and hopped on her bed. When she leaned over the side and looked underneath, Bekka stared back. A year younger than Raven, Bekka was an exotic beauty. Even Raven, image oblivious, envied Bekka's mocha skin, golden hair, and violet eyes.

"Hey there, weirdo! Whaddaya doin'?"

Bekka sighed and signaled for Raven to join her. Gathered together on the dusty floor, Bekka began her explanation very seriously. She'd always been a very serious person.

"You have to promise not to tell…"

The girls linked pinkies.

"I'm hiding from Megan."

"Why?"

"Because she's a telepath, and I know something she doesn't want me to know. If she finds out, she'll mind wipe me."

"Silly," Raven shook her head, "She isn't powerful enough to mind wipe anyone. And anyways, her mom wouldn't let her. What doesn't she want you to know?"

"Promise not to tell?"

Raven nodded and leaned in close enough to smell Bekka's breath.

"I saw her kissing Oli."

To Be Continued…