Chapter 1
It is very early in the morning in a back alley in New York City. The sun is struggling to break over the horizon and the air is less stale than usual. Morning dew creeps down the side of a large black dumpster as sounds of light traffic twist in the air from the nearby avenue. Small clumps of paper garbage dance in the light breeze swirling in the alley. An abnormally large man lying next to the dumpster is waking and rubbing his head due to a massive headache.
"What the hell am I doing here?"
He rises to his feet and surveys the area around him. Nothing is familiar. Not even his name.
"Who am I?"
He looks at the strange garments wrapping his body. Metal bands wrap his hands and arms, heavy boots on his feet, and strange body armor hugs his torso. He has no idea who he is or why he's where he is, but he wants answers. A woman is passing the entry to the alleyway on her morning run.
"Hey lady!"
She speeds up.
"LADY!"
She stops and turns to him with fear in her eyes. "What do you want?" she asks.
"Where am I and what day is it?"
"Are you kidding me?"
"Do I look like I'm kidding?" he says with a scowl.
"Uh…well…you're in New York and it's Saturday the 14th."
"The 14th of what?"
"April."
"What year?"
"Really?"
"YES!"
"2006. Are you ok?"
"I will be."
He walks out of the alley into the street to find what appears to be a war zone. Cars are battered and burned, some of them turned over and piled on the sidewalk. A couple of nearby buildings have holes and cracks in them as if a tank had hit them. A bloody telephone pole lays in the middle of the sidewalk as a couple of detectives are swabbing the blood and putting the q-tips in small plastic bags.
"This looks like a fourth person was hit, Captain! I found another different color of hair up here near the top of the pole. Whoever or whatever did this must have been psycho."
"Detective, you know we do not use that term in our line of work."
The man from the alley can hardly believe what he sees. He stands and wonders if he had anything to do with this crime scene. Maybe that is why he can't remember anything. A beautiful blonde woman in a long tan trench coat approaches him from across the street.
"Cain! Oh my god! We've been worried about you. Hurry up let's go before they see you."
"Before who sees me?"
"Quit acting stupid, Cain. Get your helmet so we can go!"
"What helmet? Who are you and where are we going?"
"Who am I? Oh man, you must have been hit harder than I thought."
"Lady, I'm not going anywhere with you until I get some answers."
"It's me…Raven."
"Who?"
"Mystique. You know. Mystique?"
"I have no idea who you are, but if you don't let go of my hand…"
"Trust me, Cain, I want to take care of you, but we have to hurry."
Cain follows her down the sidewalk and gets into a large black sedan with her and the car drives away. He is admiring the beauty of Raven. She is long and slender, tan skin, well built; the kind of woman that men dream of. She looks over to him and smiles.
"Everything's going to be ok."
Mystique lets her camouflage down and reverts back to her normal, blue-skinned self. Cain draws back from her with his mouth gaped open. He cannot believe what he's just seen.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?"
He pulls on the car door handle to find it locked. In his panic, he pushes on the door, forcing it off the hinges and leaps from the car. She tells the driver to stop the car and begins to chase him down the street after she changes back into the blonde.
"Wait Cain! Come back! Don't be afraid! Waaaaiiitt!"
Cain jumps a fence in another alley and disappears around a corner.