There you have it. That was pretty much the exact story I told to Professor Xavier, now told to you. My mind was lost for a minute having nothing else to tell, until I just realized.

"I'm sorry, have I been talking this whole time?"

Oh no, I have! The nice old professor had his eyes closed and was sleeping—I think. Wait, no. His eyes opened then with no evidence of ever having nodded off.

"Of course. Thank you for that. I enjoyed listening very much."

"How long was I talking!?"

He checked a clock above my head. "Looks like about an hour or two. Why?"

"I completely forgot I was even telling this story to somebody. Jesus! I'm sorry. I got way carried away!"

"Don't fret about it. That'll happen. While you recounted your past experiences, I had been honing in on them from over here for a better visual-aid. I hope you don't mind, but that does tend to make people forget about the fact that they're talking to me."

That was totally trippy. The story had concluded right where I just was, right now. I was literally on the jet like ten minutes ago since I started talking. I was about to start telling him about how some bald guy asked me to tell a story when reality rushed back into my senses. He looked at me seriously then.

"I'm glad you shared this with me, Blake. You're probably wondering why I cared so much about all of this."

"Yeah, actually, I am."

"It's because I knew Raven personally. The day you were shot and she fled, she ran North of your home town. I know this because I found her sneaking into my house one night trying to steal food. I had known then that she was homeless or lost, for obvious reasons..." He was talking about her default blue form. "I told her then that she didn't have to steal anything because I would let her keep it, and as a matter of fact she could stay here and live with me if she wanted. She declined at the time and ran off, but a day later came back and agreed. I tried asking her what happened to where she got here, and all she seemed to have remembered was she was rejected in school by everyone and her mother tried to kill her. I'm a mind reader, and that's about all I could find in her head. There's about a year of her memory that's repressed, and I can't find it in the recesses of her mind. What I think happened was she repressed the memory of you being shot, and everything before that as well so she would have no recollection of a horrible moment in her life."

It slowly started to sink in. While Raven was basically stable and present in the Professor's own home, I had been traversing the whole country to find her and hadn't thought about looking around the area she originally fled from. How could I have been so stupid! God Damn it, I probably could have found her if I had, like, searched houses in the nearby towns instead of just driving everywhere like an asshole! Shit!

"For years I fostered her in my home, until moving out to start on a little project. You said you saw an old man with her, right?"

"Correct."

"His name is Magneto. We were good friends growing up, but he slowly changed over time to where I couldn't be with him anymore. He is a mutant, like Raven and I, but far more powerful than most average mutants. He can control and manipulate metal."

I was absolutely enchanted to find out what Raven was doing with this guy.

"He believes that all mankind should be enslaved by mutants, since they have the power to and have been rejected by common society for too long. You're already aware of mutant outrage, are you not?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"It is a self-catalysing effect. Mutant outrage creates aggression which causes more mutant outrage. My life's work has been about bringing both sides to peace before total chaos breaks out. That's why I opened this school, you see? To educate mutant children properly to control their powers and use them responsibly."

"So what about Raven and this Magneto fellow?"

"Ahh, I was just getting to that. Magneto, obviously, needs followers to carry out his plans of wiping what he calls 'homo-sapiens' off the face of the planet. Raven, Magneto, and I all worked on founding this school for mutant children. The only problem is Magneto had begun convincing her that the society of humans didn't want mutants around, including her. He wanted her to join him in his task of eradicating all of humanity."

"Why would she want to do that? I was there for her! And so were other kids later—"

"Because she forgot, remember? She doesn't remember you or any of that anymore. As far as she's concerned, everyone hated her. Magneto took advantage of this and turned her against humans, which she gladly took on in vengeance against the ones who made her an outcast. Now, what you saw today was an essential clue as to how we can find them."

"How so?" I inquired. Up until this point I still didn't know what she or the X-Men were doing there brawling.

"Again, Magneto is trying to build an army to destroy the human race. What him and Raven were up there for was to try and find the particular files of some specific and powerful mutants. They are currently being held prisoners for past aggressions, but he needs the files to be able to find where they were locked up. I know all this, because Ms. Pryde brought this back for me after she snatched it from Raven's hands." He placed the files on the table for me to examine. They were basically criminal files for different mutants and their powers. One of them was for some fellow named Juggernaut, who from what I can tell just breaks things. "I'm feeling, maybe, if we try to use this as bait, we can lure them into a trap and you can maybe speak with Raven and hopefully recapture those lost memories so she can join our side."

Oh, yes! This was so beautiful to hear. It's been so long since I've heard a definite plan of action. "But, wait. How did you guys know they were going to be in that building, anyway?"

"Because once upon a time, the X-Men were forced to work alongside her and Magneto to stop one William Stryker from assimilating all mutants. One of our friends who can teleport overheard them planning this one night, and he told us later when they turned on us by reverting the machine to destroy all humans."

"Wait. Was that when—?"

"Yes, Blake. You obviously felt it too."

About a month ago, while searching for Raven, I got this blistering headache which got so painful I felt like I was going to die. It ended after a few minutes, though, and I think the president addressed the nation after that or something. I guess I wasn't the only one. I considered all that the professor told me then.

"So how are we going to lure them in?"

"Simple…"

That night, the Professor had let me stay in one of the rooms of his mansion-school for the night. I hadn't had that refreshing of a time in forever. I showered the years of grime off me, shaved, ate a decent meal, and slept in an actual bed for once. Since wasting the first lot of my money on motels, I decided to just save it and sleep in my car from then on. I did, and this bed was just heaven, now. Still, though. My thoughts plagued me. What would I have to do to jog her memory? Would my face on-sight do it? What if she does remember, but after so long of working for Magneto doesn't care anymore? Oh God, I would die, then.

The next day I found out that the Professor had arranged to send a message over to Magneto and let him know (and yes, this is blunt) that if he wanted the papers on the dangerous mutant convicts that he would have to come over and fight for them. By that I mean come back over to the same office building he originally tried to get them from. Somehow he gained approval for this by the president. Must have been a pretty long conference call. Either that, or since the building was so trashed that it wasn't worth trying to fix anymore.

While staying in Xavier's School for Gifted Children, I started to get to know everyone. Storm could control weather and liked shocking people with bolts of lightning. Cyclops could shoot lasers out of his eyes. Pardon me, let me rephrase that. He shot lasers out of his eyes. Yeah. He couldn't even control them. They just fired infinitely for all of time. That's why he wears the shades. They keep the lasers back until he opens the shutters on them at will to fire. With that in mind, how was he even born without melting his mom?

The girl, Kitty Pryde, could walk through walls. Rogue siphoned people's powers by touching them, and Iceman—just take one guess what he does. Colossus could turn into metal. I found all of this fucking awesome when they showed me. Why would humans hate these people? If I went to school with kids like this, I would want to make immediate friends with them, so they can beat the shit out of dumb asses for me.

The only sort of confusing guy was Wolverine. I think his power is that he rapidly regenerates his flesh. From what I could make out, he was part of an experiment where an indestructible metal called Adamantium was grafted over his skeleton. He was also given metal claws that shoot out of his knuckles, I think. Basically, he wasn't one to fuck with.

Really none of these people were good to fuck with. They all had ways to basically kill your ass in a second if they wanted. I didn't. I know that much.

Strangely enough, the professor asked me to fight with the X-Men this time. Against mutants? Was he crazy?

"I just need you to be able to hold yourself up as long as it takes to find Raven and talk to her."

"Well, I guess I can try. You have any weapons lying around this school?"

"No, not really. I can give you some money if you need to pick something up."

I wasn't one to decline a nice offer. After all, I saw something from that black market guy who sold me the cyanide. I found him at his apartment again one day, and he started out kind of cold with me.

"Oh, hey bud. Weren't you the guy I sold the cyanide, too?"

"Uh, yeah actually."

"Well, you's still alive, so I can tell you didn't use 'em."

"Yeah, I changed my mind at the last second."

"Mmmm… so, you're comin' for ya money back?" He gave me a cold stare.

"Oh, no! That's not it. That money's yours. I just wanted something else."

A wave of relief flushed past his face. "Oh, thank God. I thought I gotta beat yer ass for a second."

"Actually, it's funny you bring up beating, 'cause there's something else I want."

"Huh?"

"Got any brass knuckles?..."

Hell, I liked punching people, so what better way to do that in a legitimate battle than with those? I added my own touches to it, though. I felt like making my punches more personal and had it embossed with "B.E.C.," my initials. That way each punch would crack someone's blood vessels under my own label.

Back in the school, I noticed something wrong with Cyclops, for some reason. He seemed distant to talk with me, or anyone for that matter. Storm later told me:

"He lost his girl to the flooding of a lake." I'm sorry I asked at the time. That would definitely make me moody and pissy.

The day came for when we would have to fight to win Raven over and not lose the packets at the same time. I was given them to hang onto, for some reason.

Either way, we all landed shortly outside the office building again, and went up to it. The area was cleared out for citizen's safety. Magneto already had an army who occupied the building. We would have to fight our way up. I had this strange feeling that he knew our true intentions for some reason. Maybe not, though.

Cyclops started off the fighting when he blasted his laser through the revolving door at some other mutants working for Magneto. We basically all stormed in and started fighting.

The worst fight I ever had was with Josh. The best fight I ever had was right now. Boy, those assholes had no idea what was coming to them when a weak little human left his initials in their face.

"You know, for a guy without any mutant gene's, you sure are a good fighter," said Wolverine. Wow. That guy never says anything nice. To be perfectly honest, though, I actually took a lot more damage from that fight than I would have liked. This way and that there were mutants fighting other mutants, and I had to butt in on a lot of them to just—Blam! Really knock 'em out, you know?

But wait. I had a goal in mind. Raven was probably at the top waiting with Magneto for some reason. If he was up there, this might be difficult. I trekked up the floors, again, dodging this guy and that, and getting stabbed and burned quite a few times by other assholes. Eventually, there she was. Back on the floor with the gaping hole. I was so ecstatic to see her again, up close like this. The only problem was—

"What are you doing way up here, you tiny homosapien?" That voice! It was just so cocky, but spry at the same time for an old man. He almost sounded happy to see me. I looked right into Raven's face hoping she would recognize me immediately. She stood there staring, though.

"Raven. I haven't seen you in so long. Where have you been?"

"Who are you? What are you talking about?" Damn it. I guess I would have to try harder than that.

"Raven, don't you remember? It's me, Blake. Blake Carlson?" I started walking towards her, but holy shit! She kicked me right in the chest and I flew back against the wall. Damn, what a kick! Where did she learn that from?

"My name is Mystique! Don't even think about calling me that, human."

"That isn't your fucking name! It's Raven Darkholme! I know this because we were friends once in high school!"

She threw a punch at me now, but this time I was ready. I deflected it with my palm, and she swung a round-house kick at my head. I clutched that under my arm, and she leaped over my head and kicked me in the back of the neck. She was fuckin' strong.

"My name is Mystique now. My family tried to kill me when I was in highschool, so I ran away. I don't know anyone named Blake Carlson!"

"Yes you do! I don't want to fight you, I just want to talk. What year did you leave high school?"

She was standing over me now, and I was lying back. All those years fighting other guys in bar rings only showed up a couple as tough as her. They also showed me how to fight back to someone like this. I rolled backward as she approached me and stood up again. She smiled slyly seeing my efforts to stay up.

"Sophomore year."

"Wrong! It was the very end of junior year. You're just repressing that whole year we were together for some reason!"

She grabbed me by the shoulders, head-butted me, and tossed me backward and I tumbled through some rubble. Despite the fact that I loved her and was trying to help her, this was starting to get really annoying. I took my brass knuckles off and gave her a threatening look.

"I'm gonna talk to you even if I have to beat your ass to do it, girl."

She leaped towards me doing a backflip for some reason, and I tackled her into the ground and started slapping her silly.

"Snap out of it, dude! Don't you remember the first time we met?" I pinned her down by her wrists. "You came up to me with the guys and asked to sit with us, but like assholes they told you to leave. I found you like three days later and sat with you then, and we talked!"

"He seems to be very fond of you, Mystique. Shall I just kill him for you?" Butt in Magneto.

"No, let me." She flipped me around on my back and started strangling me with one hand. I continued to choke out:

"I'm not lying, Raven! Remember Stacy, and how she told you to fuck off? I told her to go shove her dad's cock up her ass and you laughed your fucking face off!"

She exhaled a small laugh just now, actually. "Oh, did I now?" Continually choking me. The world was starting to fade out again. She had my hands pinned down with her feet of all things, while sitting on my chest. I grabbed her by her neck with my ankles behind her back and threw her off of me. Before she could recover, I got kind of crazy and socked her in the nose. She stood there clutching her face, and you have no idea how much it sucks to have to do that to the one you love. I acted quickly, though, and pulled her left foot out from under her so she twirled and fell backward, and I grabbed her in a full nelson and pushed her against the ground.

"You hated her because she was always bullying you the worst of anyone. Remember all those assholes who would constantly throw their shit at us just for being friends?"

"Get off me, you shit head!"

"I felt bad about it, though, and always kept getting into fights for you!"

"You did not. You were never in my life at all."

"Yeah, I did. I did because I liked you and felt sorry that you were so lonely. You're shitty mom wanted you to be lonely all the time too, because she was just scared about everyone looking at her funny."

She finally stopped struggling with me upon hearing this. Yes! I got her.

"She always brought up the excuse that she was trying to protect you by saying her husband left her for another woman, and that she didn't want you to go through the same trauma of being rejected by a boy who saw you for who you really were."

She was breathing sort of heavy now. "How do you know about that!"

"Mystique, please. Can't you just let me kill him now. Obviously Charles tapped into your memories and told him to act—"

"No I'm not! Shut the fuck up! Raven!"

She was intent on listening now. Still, though, she threw me off but didn't come at me again. Her face was aggressive and threatening, but scared.

"That's why she forced you to hide yourself in that disguise you invented for yourself with the black hair, and—"

"Okay, really. Who are you, and how did you figure so many things out about me?"

"I was your fucking boyfriend! You told me everything. You wanted to show me your true form once, and we did it at like two in the morning, and it was raining, and I was kind of quiet for too long, and you thought I was repulsed by you."

Her eyes grew red as I went on.

"It took me a week to convince you that I actually liked you the way you truly looked. The way you truly look now, I might add."

Tears started forming in her eyes. Her whole body shook, and she clearly wasn't into fighting anymore. I walked toward her slowly.

"We sat at the top of the cliff along the lake, and it was your favorite spot to go to be alone when you were you couldn't keep up with life. I got scared and thought you had killed yourself once, but you were just sitting there being lonely is all. Then we sat there, and you told me that I was the only reason you hadn't actually committed suicide in the beginning of the year! Then you asked me if I would ever kill myself with you if the circumstances were ever right, and I told you yes!"

She now had this huge look of familiarity and almost couldn't hold herself up anymore.

"I loved you Raven, and you loved me. We should have been together always if it wasn't for your mom who went berserk and tried shooting you! But she shot me instead and you got away!"

Finally she cracked. "Blake!?"

"Yes! It's me! I've come back for you!"

She gave in and fell forward. I caught her in my arms, though.

"Oh my god, Blake! How are you still alive! I thought you d-died!"

"I don't know, but I came back for you, Raven! I've been looking for you ever since you disappeared!"

She was holding my face into hers now and crying. Crying for all the years she had forgotten and all the pain she had dealt with in thinking I was truly dead. Her tears overflooded and crushed the dams of her repressed, traumatic memories about the loss of the only friend and true love she ever had. Not trying to show off or anything, but it's just the truth.

"Come home with me, Raven. Let's go back and we'll live with my parents for a while. Our parents. Parents who don't shoot their kids."

She looked over at Magneto now, tears still on her face. "Eric—?"

"You can't be serious!"

"Please Eric. I love him."

"You love—the homosapien? Really, Mystique. This is ridiculous. Only one boy you used to know likes you and you want to throw all this effort away?"

She looked at him now, out of words to say. Tears ran down her face as she looked into Magneto's eyes, and he thought for a second.

"I think you're just in a mood and need to think things over." He waved his hand and rebar shot out from under the demolished floor of this building. It wrapped itself around Raven's arms, legs, and torso and yanked her into the air.

"No! Stop! What are you doing!?"

"Goodbye, Mr. Darkholme. And thanks for these," he waved the mutant convict papers in front of me. I guess that's what he was doing while wandering around during our trip down memory lane. Shit. Why did I even bring those in the first place? Honor?

"Eric, no. Put me down!"

But it was too late. Magneto hovered out the building with her and had taken her away from me again.