Author's note: Hi, everyone! So, this story is a companion piece to Take A Chance. It spans from the end of Chapter 60 through to 64. It won't make any sense if you haven't read the other story! I think this will be two or three chapters at most, but here's the first one.

Raven is kinda fun to write for, because she's such a selfish bi-atch. She's so narrow-minded (even though she accuses everyone else of being so) that she can't see what a big, childish hypocrite she is. Writing from such a negative view point is a little exhausting, but at the same time... It's kinda nice not to think as hard as I do when I write from Hank's POV, haha.

As for Raven's feelings for Hank... I think she sees a shiny toy someone else is playing with and wants it for herself. Oh, and a pawn in her game, of course. She's got a lot going on. I hope you enjoy the insight into her crazy mind!

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.

Part One

"Mystique," Erik's voice greeted me shortly over the phone.

"Erik," I replied, in kind.

"Meet me at the mansion as quickly as you can," he instructed. "It's important."

"Why-?"

He hung up before I managed to get the question out.

I sighed and tossed the phone back on its cradle.

Erik could be quite eloquent when he chose to be- I could still remember the way his words awoke me to the truth of my brother Charles' foolishness all those years ago.

He helped open my eyes to the reality of the world, the purity and strength of our race when compared to the pitifulness that was humanity. I would follow him to the death, but sometimes his brusqueness got on my nerves.

I stole a car with ease, leaving behind our crummy hotel room behind and making it to the mansion within twenty minutes.

I sneered as I regarded the building I spent eighteen years living in. The Raven who lived here was young, foolish, and naive. Being here only reminded me of that, and I hated it accordingly.

Erik was waiting for me, fresh from one of his weird chess meetings with Charles.

Their relationship tended to give me headaches if I tried to puzzle it out.

I couldn't help loving my adoptive brother, after so many years together. Even if he'd been a condescending prick who tried to control me for much of that time.

But Erik had no loving background to fall back on in regards to the telepath who so stubbornly opposed our righteous agenda. Their philosophies were so different, by all rights they should hate each other. I didn't understand those two at all.

Erik turned wordlessly and headed inside, leaving me to follow him. It was only once we were inside that he finally answered my silent questions.

"Charles received a call on the radio during our meeting," Erik explained. "It seems the FOH has kidnapped Beast's wife-"

Beast.

Hank McCoy, the shy, insecure boy I once thought myself infatuated with. That coward who hid his true self, who'd wanted me to hide from the world right along with him. He was just like Charles, wanting mutants to be ashamed of ourselves, when we should be proud of what we were.

Beast was married now. I wondered if it was to that girl I'd seen him with several years ago, when I berated him for still hiding?

I remembered that girl. Green eyes and red lips that were too big for her freckled little face, perfectly curled hair, petite stature- she'd looked like a puny, porcelain doll. Too soft and pretty for the real world. Even her self-righteous little speech spoke to how pathetically sheltered she was.

I'd hated her for daring to speak to me like that, like she had any idea of the things I'd been through. In my opinion, if she let herself get kidnapped, it served her right.

"-in the hopes that Beast would create a cure for being a mutant," Erik continued. "The X-Men are planning to go rescue her, once Charles locates her."

Well that was rich. This is what all of Hank's hiding got him.

"What does this have to do with us?" I asked coolly.

"Think, Mystique," Erik chided me. "If anything is going to show the X-Men the truth about humanity, this would be it."

I could see what he was getting at. He saw an opportunity to get Beast, Havok or Banshee to join our Brotherhood and our quest for mutants to take their rightful superior places in society. Surely the loss of one of their own could push at least one of them into it.

"You know what to do," Erik concluded simply.

And I did. We were almost always on the same page, Erik and I.

By this time we were in the hangar under the school, waiting for the X-Men to get there. It took several minutes, by which time I was getting annoyed.

This was not how I planned to spend my Friday night, going off to rescue some little pipsqueak girl. I didn't care if she lived or died. Actually, it would probably be easier for us to persuade the others if her kidnappers killed her. Hmm...

Finally, the X-Men arrived. They looked shocked to see us.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Havok demanded.

I ignored him- Havok was always surly. His attitude was nothing new, and therefore negligible.

My eyes immediately sought out Hank, who was currently in his Beast form. His expression betrayed no surprise at seeing us. He looked rather preoccupied, to be honest.

But he also looked good- really good. I supposed I could be thanked for that in a way, considering how my DNA had changed his. We were connected, no matter how much Hank tried to hide that fact.

"Hello to you too, Havok," Erik said, sounding amused.

Banshee and Havok glared down at Charles. Hank already had his eyes on the walkway into the jet, like he was contemplating just ditching the rest of us.

"Erik and Raven-" Charles began.

I almost corrected him, but decided it was useless. I had a feeling Charles wouldn't let go of "his" Raven unless I stopped talking to him completely.

"-have volunteered to help us rescue Zoey from the Friends of Humanity," he explained. "They heard about our predicament when Banshee radioed and want to assist us."

The X-Men exchanged suspicious looks. I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes while Havok and Banshee expressed their disbelief and Erik and Charles tried to assure them that our motives were pure. Charles was gullible like that.

Beast interrupted the argument by silently walking into the Blackbird, moving impatiently past the rest of us like we were beneath his notice.

Charles broke off his persuasions and looked at his henchmen hopefully.

Like an obedient dog, Havok sighed and followed Beast inside, glaring at us as he went. The rest of us trailed behind him.

It was time to get down to business.

I waited for Havok to finish whining to Hank about Erik and I coming along before I made my move and sat down in the co-pilot's chair.

He stiffened, but didn't protest. That was Hank- always polite, even when he was telling a girl humanity would always think she was ugly. Even though she'd just showered him with compliments about how wonderful he was. But of course he didn't listen.

The memory of that night made me feel slightly antagonistic.

"So," I announced pointedly. "You're married."

"Yes," he replied edgily.

Hank was so easy to rattle. Just my presence seemed to bother him.

"When did that happen?"

"Almost five years ago."

So it was that same girl, little redheaded what's-her-face.

I pretended to pout, unable to resist. "Why wasn't I invited to your wedding?"

"I didn't think you warranted an invitation," he said stiffly.

I could tell I was really starting to irritate him now, though he was trying not to show it. His carefully controlled anger, bubbling just below the surface was actually rather... attractive.

Attractive? Beast? I didn't expect to feel that way about him after all these years, but it was undeniably true. Perhaps if I could remind him of how he used to feel for me, I could convince him to join us. It was definitely an idea.

"Well that hurts," I teased light-heartedly. "I would've loved to see that happy day."

His jaw clenched, obviously taking my joke the wrong way. "Is this really the time to discuss such a thing?"

What? Was he expecting sympathy? Hank must've gotten me confused with someone else.

I felt no pity for his pain, attraction or not. This was his fault for hiding in the first place, for not understanding the ugliness of humanity.

Hank was definitely learning his lesson now, though. Finally he would see how terrible humans were. And his sheltered little wife would probably realize how wrong she was just in time to die.

I had to bite back a smile at the thought. This was going to be easy.

Meanwhile, Beast's hackles raised.

He looked... powerful. Wild and free. Beautiful. How could he not see that in himself? Why did he always insist on trying to be 'normal' and boring?

I had a feeling it was partly his wife's fault. Perhaps she liked his human form better, rather than how he should be. It was an avenue of thought to explore.

"I have to ask- do you still hide from her? Can she stand to have you touch her when you're like this?" I asked sweetly, gesturing towards his huge, blue form.

I won't lie- I asked partly from sheer morbid curiosity. Did that pretty little girl let Beast touch her with his claws? Or did she completely reject her husband's true face, and demand that he hide from her, too?

Probably. Little what's-her-face would never accept Beast's real form. Not the way I would...

For a brief moment I imagined what it would be like, if Beast would only see reason and join the Brotherhood. I would show him just what true acceptance was like, compared to the sham his marriage probably was. We could be great together, if only he left all of his shame and self-hatred behind.

But then Hank surprised me, sending the little scenario I constructed in my head crashing down.

"Not that it's any of your business, but Zoey loves me no matter what I look like," he replied.

Huh. I underestimated the pipsqueak.

"How nice," I muttered insincerely.

For a moment I reconsidered my options. It sounded like trying to get Hank to realize that his wife was all wrong for him was the wrong approach, to my disappointment. No, I needed to try something else...

If she didn't care what he looked like, it was Hank's own selfish vanity that made him hide.

Yes. That was the way to go about this.

"Charles says the the FOH took your pretty little wife hostage to get you to make a cure for being a mutant," I finally said.

"Yes," he agreed. He sounded wary.

"What made them think you could do it?" I pressed.

Hank sighed, like he knew where I was going. I had to hand it to him- despite his willful blindness in regards to humanity, Hank was the most intelligent man I knew.

"They did their research on me and realized I had a serum that suppressed my second mutation after some thugs caught us in an alley and I lost control," he muttered.

Bingo.

"You realize this wouldn't have happened if you didn't insist on hiding all the time," I said. "You say your wife accepts you. Well, if you'd just accepted yourself in the first place, she wouldn't be-"

"Yes, I know that," Hank snapped. His words tumbled out. "I'm well aware that it's my fault my wife is being held hostage by a bunch of psychopathic degenerates who hate all of us just for existing, I had a woman who loved me and friends who didn't care what I looked like, but I selfishly wanted all of society to accept me. I didn't want to put Zoey through the stares and the comments from being married to a monster, and now she could die because of my ego."

He glared at me, like he was daring me to say anything further.

So he already felt guilty about all of this. His anger should be easy to turn against the humans. And then, then he would join us.

"So now you see that hiding was never the answer," I told him. "Humans are always going to fear us, and we need to-"

"Save the proselytizing for a more receptive audience," Hank rudely cut in. "I have no interest listening to an ideology promulgated by a Holocaust survivor who believes in a 'superior race.' The irony would be laughable, were it not so shameful."

I almost lashed out at him for his continued ignorance. He was really going to let his grudge against Erik blind him to reality? Stupid, childish man.

"So you're going to go back to your worthless 'normal' facade when this is over? Give in to your petty desire to fit in?" I demanded.

"No," Hank replied, shaking his head. "I'm going to be myself, because hiding from now on will be too dangerous for my family. But I also realize that wanting an entire society to accept me is just as foolish and preposterous as wanting to destroy it completely and building a new one to suit my own needs."

That was definitely unexpected. He wasn't going to hide anymore- for his wife, he would willingly face the hatred of the humans. How noble of him.

I ignored the implied jab at my pro-mutant agenda. I was sure that if what's-her-face died, Hank would change his tune quick enough. He just wasn't properly motivated yet.

And if he joined us... Well, I definitely wouldn't mind helping him forget about her.