Andromeda Past P.O.V*
I woke up on a cot in the corner of a small room, sunlight streaming through the open window on the wall. I could hear birds chirping merrily outside, ready to start the day. I unwrapped the covers from my body, and rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
Everything from the past few days rushed into my mind. I groaned remembering everything I had done.
I got up slowly, pleased that my head was no longer spinning. The door stood ajar and I could see Raven sitting on the couch in the other room, absorbed in a file sitting in her lap. She was in her natural blue form, turning the pages slowly.
"Ray?" I said as I walked up to her.
She gave me a small smile. "No one has called me that in a long time."
"Yeah, well I haven't seen you in a while." I responded, dropping on the couch next to her.
"How long was I out?" I asked her.
"3 days." She said not looking up.
"3 days?" I exclaimed. "Ugh, why didn't you wake me up?" I threw my head against the back of the couch.
Charles must be worried about me, at least I hope he is.
She rolled her eyes. "You passed out. Which means that you really needed it."
She has a point.
I opened my eyes and looked down at the file she was reading. Pictures of our old teammates and foes littered the pages. Descriptions of their powers spelled out next to them.
"Did you get that from Trask?" I asked softly.
She sighed, and nodded.
I focused more on the writing in the file, which graphically described the dissection of the mutant bodies.
They didn't deserve that. Not even Emma, even though she did try to melt my brain that one time. I'm sure she was a really nice person, deep, deep, down...
Raven finally spoke, interrupting my train of thought.
"For a long time I didn't know what was happening. At first everyone was with Erik and me, then one by one they stopped showing up. That's when Trask came out of the woodwork and started having meetings with important people. At first they thought he was crazy, but he used details from the missile crisis to support his arguements. Erik sent me to infiltrate meetings, and that's when we realized what he was doing, and how much he knew." She said quietly.
"He killed so many. Emma, and Angel were the first. Banshee was with Charles for a while, he was keeping an eye on him for me, but then he stopped calling. I was worried so I went to his house, and I found his family. They weren't even mutants, and Trask had them executed. He had a little sister Josie, she was going to be 4. But I had no idea he had you Andy. He never spoke of that reasearch." Raven continued, anger filling her voice.
"He has lots of secrets and I was one of them." I sighed.
She turned to me, her eyes meeting mine. "Andy, what really happened? How did you survive?"
I took a deep breath and tried to find the words.
"I remember how it felt, energy was all around me flowing into me and it felt so good.Then it started to hurt, my cells couldn't absorb any more and it felt like my body was ripping itself apart. I just remember wanting it to end. Everything suddenly got bright, too bright to keep my eyes open and then suddenly I was just in this field." I answered slowly.
It was so long ago, but it seemed like only yesterday.
"A field?" Raven questioned raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, and Adrian was there." I finished.
"Wait, Adrian? The guy that you were in love with before Charles? The guy that your father killed?"
I nodded.
"Wow, that's a little awkward." She muttered.
"Yeah." I bit my lip.
She folded the file closed, and placed it on the ratty coffee table in front of her.
"Raven why did you leave Charles?" I asked her quietly. "Why would you leave him like that, especially after he thought I was dead?"
She took in a breath. "Erik is right, that's why I left. Charles was old enough to take care of himself. And you have no room to judge me Andromeda."
"I'm not judging you Raven, I'm just saying Charles was hurt and he was in pain and you just left him." I sighed.
"Yes he was in pain, because you killed yourself in front of us!" Raven said raising her voice. "Which is why he's not taking you being alive well. Do you have any idea what happened to him when you left? Shawn used to tell me the horrible things that Charles did to get through. He became an alcoholic, a drug abuser just because of one event in his life. One day changed everything for him, changed him beyond everything. He's mad because you didn't tell him what was happening, you just went out that day and at the end of it he went home without you."
"And without you too." I snarked. "This is not just my fault Raven, and you know it. You know how Charles felt about you too!"
"Oh please, Charles tried to hide everything from me. He tried to shield me from reality. It was time for me to go, to think for myself. Erik was there and he understood me more than anyone ever had. Erik doesn't hide things from me, he respects me and tells me the truth." She huffed.
I laughed loudly. "He respects you? Raven he tried to kill you 3 days ago! How is that respect?"
"He isn't in his right mind at the moment, but
He is right about humanity not accepting us. Trask is the example and the proof. He will lead humanity into a new era of mutant persecution." She shouted rising from the couch rapidly.
I let out a huffy breath and sat forward, leaning towards her.
Not Raven too. Everyone has just changed so much and then there's me, stuck in the past.
"Erik is wrong. There are people that will accept us for what we are. Yes along the way there will be people that do not understand. Humanity will always fear what it doesn't understand. We must show them that we are not so different." I pleaded with her. "If you continue this suicide mission to take out Trask you will end up like everyone in this file." I said, putting one hand on the file between us for emphasis.
She can't go down this path.
"Trask proves the entire argument! He deserves to die, and I'm going to be the reason why he dies. The people in that file where our friends Andromeda and look at them now! I won't be like them, I will save everyone else. Look at the the horrible things he has done to mutants! Don't you want him to burn for what he's done?" Fire blazer behind her eyes, and I felt everything she was feeling.
Pain, guilt, hurt, and something buried beneath it all. Could that be love?
"Trask is an abomination of a man. You cannot call him a human being Raven, he doesn't deserve that title! I want him to feel the pain that I have felt the last 11 years, but it won't help anything." I said. "It will only make it worse."
"It won't help anything? Of course it will! Trask industries will fall and humanity will cower in fear away from us." She commanded.
Chills sped through my body. It wasn't Erik that she sounded like, it was my father.
"Trask industries will not fall, a new man will take his place. We need to ruin his reputation, not give humanity an excuse to fund his company. Raven you need to understand, this path that you are going down it's dark. Erik has brainwashed you Raven, you need to see that." I said standing up.
She laughed manically. "He has made me finally see the light. You and Charles tried to hide me, but no longer will I be in the dark." A wicked smile glinted on her face.
I took a step back from her.
"This isn't you Raven."
"I'm beginning to feel like me for the first time ever. But if you aren't going to help me then you might as well leave." She said motioning to the door.
"I'm not going to leave you like this, Ray." I stood my ground.
"Leave now, while I still allow you to." She threatened, her hands falling onto her hips.
"Raven don't make me stop you." I said flatly.
She laughed again. "The Raven you knew is gone Andy. I'm not the little girl I was before, but I can see now that you haven't changed. You are still the weak, mopey girl you were before."
I gritted my teeth, and held onto the last shred of humanity I had left.
"Oh sorry, struck a nerve did I? Charles will never love you because you are too weak. You won't kill and you won't even fight for your own kind. Charles should have chosen Moira, at least she had a backbone." She taunted.
A white hot poker of anger surged through me, and in that moment the monster within won.
I lunged across the table my fist slamming into her face. She took a stumbling step backward and I jumped forward pinning her to the wall. My eyes were glowing as bright as the sun. I could see the reflection of myself in Raven's wide eyes.
The flat of my arm was pressed against her neck, crushing her windpipe. She gasped for breath.
"You won't kill me, Andy." She choked out, blood coating her teeth. "And do you know why? Because you're too-"
The end of her insult was cut off by me flipping her into the coffee table. It broke beneath her, a jagged piece of wood stuck into her bad leg.
She groaned in pain.
"Awww, poor little Raven. Still not strong enough to beat me. Too bad, I would have actually liked a challenge." I snarled.
I crouched down next to her, my lips brushing her ear.
"Let's be honest Raven, you have always cowered behind your powers. Afraid of what everyone thinks, and now you think you are so grown up because of yet another guy you're screwing. Did he tell you that you were the most beautiful girl in the world? See I will always know that Charles loves me, but you are so sad. You will never know if the guy loves you or if he likes what you can do."
She opened her mouth to speak, but I pressed my hand to her lips.
"Shhh. The adult is talking. Erik doesn't love you he loves what you can do. You ran away with him because he was new and exciting and now you actually love him, which is sad, because Erik doesn't feel love. And before you say how do I know, I know. I've read his mind more times than I'd like to admit. And I know that if you didn't have your powers anymore, he wouldn't look twice at you." I taunted.
Her eyes widened in realization at what I was going to do. She started to squirm away from me, but I controlled her mind enough to keep her in place.
I drew on her strength, pulling her powers out of her, fulfilling a life long wish of being able to morph into whoever I wished.
She screamed in pain and fought against my mental grip, but I clung on, not wanting the rush of energy to stop.
I could feel her soul pushing back against me, her power fading fast, and I let go. Letting her retain what she wanted more than anything, her abilities.
I could feel everything, hear her thoughts, and it hurt me that she felt like nothing without her gift. Erik did this to her, and he's going to pay.
"But, I'm going to give you another chance to make the right decision. I'm going to let you keep your powers, but I'll tell you this Raven, if you ever threaten me again. Ill show you what real pain is." I threatened, brushing a stray hair away from her face.
I removed my hand from her head, and stood up.
I took a few uneasy steps towards the door, the rush of energy fading fast.
"Andromeda," I heard her cough out. She took in a sharp breath.
I turned my head to look at her.
Blood was dripping out of her mouth., coating her bottom lip. I'll never forget this." She seethed
"I know Ray, Ray. Neither will I." I said giving her a smirk.
"The name is Mystique." She spat at my back.
I opened the door slowly, but stopped.
"It's sad that you pushed away the people that loved you for you Ray. Because Charles and I we loved you for who you were not what you could do" I said sadly.
She didnt respond to me, but I didn't expect her to.
I took the final step out the door and kept walking, not lookingback.
Okay so I lost my boyfriend and now my best friend. Is there anyone else that still likes me?
