"That name means nothing to me. Nothing at all."

My voice was cold.

"Don't worry baby," she consoled me, "You will know him soon enough. I'm to take you to him once we are done here."

Something inside me burst, and my leg shot out from under me and gave her an uppercut to the jaw. Raven fell back with an uumph!

"The hell!" she groaned, and I could hear her massaging her face lightly as she sat up.

"You gave me away. You gave us all away. I get that you loved us, really, I do. But don't presume for a microsecond that I'm going to sit here and listen to you speak to me as if you are my mother. You are so blinded by what people have told you that you cannot see how wrong this is. You don't get to speak as if you love me while you kill my sister in the same breath."

"Now, Ms. Pryde. No need to be dramatic. Sabertooth?"

From behind Magneto there came a faint growl.

"Wha'?"

"Why don't you keep an eye on your niece for a while? I think she's had quite enough with her mother. Mystique, Toad, why don't you go down to the lower levels. Our guests are here, and it would be remiss of me not to send a welcoming party to them."

Magneto placed his arm under Raven's back and guided her to the doorway. Pausing a moment, he looked her dead in the eye.

"Can I trust you, Raven?"

"Always."

There was a slight smacking sound, and I realized that he had kissed her on the forehead.

I guess the rumors are true then..wait..what did he just say?

The hell?

"What do you mean, niece?"

"Uncle, stepfather, it don't matter what you call me, kit. Your dad and I are brothers."

"Carmen doesn't have any relatives." I said smartly. It was true. And even with the emancipation, he still named me his sole heir. Carmen may have gotten into some shady dealings once or twice, but he came from money older than Moses. I would never need to work a day in my life if I chose not to, and neither would any of my grandchildren.

"Ain't talking about that idiot of a human Raven stuck you with. Talking about your daddy. Him and I, we were brothers. Thick as thieves till he grew a conscience. I'm one of the reasons you are the way that you are. They tried this with another person once, an old pal of mine and his. Didn't work. He's batshit crazy now. So they did it again. Only this time they made you from the inside out. Didn't leave anything to chance."

"You sound batshit crazy." I spat, wiggling around and trying to work my way out of the handcuffs that I was still in.

"I ought to. After some of the things that I've seen and done, who could be any kind of sane? Your dad and I didn't get along when we were younger. I did a lot of bad things that he would never have forgiven me for."

"Look," I said somewhat hesitantly, "What are you doing working for Magneto anyhow?"

"I'm a merc, kit. He's the highest bidder. Once you become like me, there is no turning back."

"So your loyalties lie with whoever pays you the most?"

"Well, yeah."

"I'll double what he pays you."

"Kid-"

"My guess is you don't want to be here anymore than I do. You know who my dad is, you know who did this to me. That makes you valuable to me. So I'll pay you for what I want, but that means that you join the X-Men."

"I got a rap sheet longer than your are tall, which ain't really saying much to be honest. So even if I think about your offer, kit, there's no way I could go legit. The paps would be on me in seconds, the feds not far behind them."

"Give me a cell phone and I'll make it all go away. Help me, please."

Okay, let's pause here for a second and discuss what is going through my head right now. I am currently handcuffed with my back against a wall. Every in of my body is cramping. That is mostly due in part to the man currently sitting next to me. He smells of alcohol and tobacco, and I know that he is most definitely not sober. His rambling and carrying on is also evidence of his drunkenness, although with his healing factor the stuff should be making its way out of his system fairly quickly.

Whoever his brother, my father, is is very clearly important to him. It also happens to be very important to me.

I don't trust him. But I trust that he knows he would be a fool not to take this deal. I trust that money is a good motivator. And I also trust that despite whatever he has done in his past, his desire to have a future will keep him from hurting me and the people that I love.

I was running out of time. Rogue was starting to scream, and I heard several thumps coming up the stairs that sounded anything but good. I rolled up onto my knees as I smelled cigars that could only belong to one person.

"You've only got a few minutes to decide," I hissed at the man next to me, "But know this Victor Creed, if any of my people die tonight, I will hunt you down and mount your head on a stake. I promise you that."

"Kitty!" Logan screamed at me. "Let her go, you bastard!"

"Now why would I do that," the smooth accent greeted my ears, "When she is of such value to me. There are people out there willing to pay a pretty price for someone with her abilities."

"So what if she can walk through walls," I grimaced as I recognized Jean's voice, "It may be a rare mutation, but it's not like she's mastered it. Anything she can do, a teleporter can do."

I felt proud of myself for resisting the urge to punch her. As it was, I spit on the floor near her feet. Unforuneately for me, I heard it splatter on Magneto's boots.

"Now, now, there's not need for that. Sabertooth, please show our guest to her feet. After you dispose of her in the proper location," I noticed that he wasn't answering Jean's implied question, "I'll need you to take care of the rest of the bodies that I will leave here for you."

"Magneto," he growled, "You shouldn't have messed with my family."

His hand wrapped around my arm and he yanked me to my feet. In the next moment, he reached his other hand around and used his claws to slice through the handcuffs that were holding me. My face lit up with a feral grin, and Sabertooth let out a roar.

Game on.