Chapter XI

Now that Raven knew the layout of the mansion, had it engrained in her memory after her less-than-a-year stay at the school, she recognized that escape would hardly be difficult. Unlocked doors even at night were common; after all, any intruders would be incapacitated within seconds if they posed a serious threat, and Xavier would probably sense it anyway. I can only hope he doesn't notice me leaving. But it's not like he's got a psychic fence around this hellhole.

Maybe it wasn't quite a hellhole, but Raven figured that if she kept repeating that to herself enough times, she might believe it. Really, she didn't think she belonged there at all, and the mutants were even stranger than her family. Returning to the world of boring, prejudiced humans would mean back to semi-normalcy, where she was hated, and where she was used to dealing with it. It would mean no more silly rules, spying telepaths, or bizarre professors. And now that I can control my powers, I'll never be caught accidently. Just as long as I don't fall asleep around anyone else, things will only get better from here on out.

The hardest part was figuring out where exactly to go. All she knew was where she didn't want to be—Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters—but the rest of the world was fair game.

Training at the mansion had strengthened her body to the point where superhuman speed and stamina aided her trek away from the school that night. Before long, she saw it becoming more and more clear that New York did not rest even when the rest of the world did. In what would have been the dead of night there were still taxis to be found, and people scattered along the streets, nothing like back home.

The first thing she wanted to do was to steal someone's ID. And, preferably, their cash too. Still in the form of Troy, she perused an alley, somewhere, she wasn't sure where. How does one plan to rob someone? Am I just gonna run into someone stupid enough to walk an alley in New York at night? I could always rob some gas station, steal the money in the cash register, but don't those places have cameras? Masquerading as a human is nice, but.… The thought of actually robbing a place with all these flashing lights and roaring cars around her was too foreign.

With a sigh, she muttered, "That would take all the fun out of shifting anyway," in hopes that she would convince herself that it certainly wasn't fear holding her back, or a cowardly desire to rob people in the shadows, where they might not be found at for awhile.

At any rate, it was too late to go back to the school, and she didn't want to spend all night searching and then being exhausted and poor in the morning. She did have a couple hundred dollars in her purse that her mother had sent her off with just in case, but it wasn't enough to last her any reasonable amount of time. The Darkholme family didn't have much to spare. Slipping into the form of a nondescript young woman, she started to retrace her steps. There had to be enough homeless people that she would fit right in and find a place to rest among them, she had even glimpsed a shelter—

"Where'd she come from?" shouted a rough male voice.

"Yeah, who'd be stupid enough to come out here alone at night?"

One of the men stepped out of the shadows in front of her just as a hand clamped over her mouth.

Her blood froze as a mixture of terror and rage gripped her heart with an iron fist, squeezing mercilessly. A tremble started in her toes and raced up her spine.

"She's shakin'!" mocked the one who stood in front of her. "Poor thing. Maybe she needs a little—"

Interrupting him, Raven jabbed the guy holding her mouth with her elbow, the strongest point on her body from what she had learned at the mansion. He groaned at the impact, and the other guy reached for a gun. But in a blur of speed, she jumped and kicked him in the face, sending him reeling into a wall.

The one that she had hit in the stomach was beginning to recover, so she grabbed him by the neck and smashed his head against the wall; it was the first thing that came to her racing mind. While he was stunned, she ran over to the one who had tried to reach for a gun and seized his neck as well, but this time she didn't let go. Though he struggled, his strength was nowhere near hers, after months of training and building her already-superior abilities.

As he gasped for air, he choked out, "What are you?"

She didn't want to give him her real name. Besides, Raven would never have had the guts to even be out here. Instead, she whispered, "Mystique."

When he was weak enough so that his struggling was barely noticeable, she took his gun and shot him. By the time she had stood up and was ready to take on the other man, he had obviously fled.

Well, I won't be taking his money. But the dead man was fair game. Raiding his pockets, she found more weed than she'd ever thought could be stuffed into the billfold, and although she briefly considered selling it, that was one game she wasn't ready to get into just yet. Too bad I have no clue where to sell this kind of thing. At least he's got some cash on him, even though he's got to be worth twice as much in drugs. She stuffed her pockets with a couple of fifties, his ID, and didn't bother taking the gun. I don't need that, and I can't afford to get caught with it.

When she was on the main streets again, she thought about buying a hotel, but it was already way into the early morning hours. Besides, a room would use up most, if not all, of her cash. And, seeing the amount of other people who obviously shared the same problem, she would hardly be alone. I don't even need to get any of that rough newspaper, she thought, ducking away from the people to transform her clothes into heavy blankets.

She didn't expect, however, for the dreams to be so terrible.

Someone grabbed her by the arm, forcing her to follow as though she was a little girl holding Alexis' hand, immediately she tried to shift, but nothing happened. Everything moved so quickly that it was blurry; she had to run to keep up with the man, who was yanking her down a hallway, they kept walking until her feet hurt, and right when she was about to drop, she noticed that her body was blue and scaly, whoever this man was, he had to know she was a mutant. Then the hallway ended, why there was a shovel leaning against the wooden wall she didn't know yet, her heart thumped with fear for the first time in ages, after all, usually she was able to shift out of any situation, the returning feeling was not welcome. There was a hole at the end, there the man stopped following her and shoved her down, with a thump she hit the ground and the walls were no longer wooden but dirt that was just as hard.

Slamming her fists into it in futile protest, she yelled a curse up at the man, who didn't seem to hear, he only took the tool and shoveled up dirt, throwing it into the hole, and this time he was the one who shifted, his face morphing into that of Richard's, and he spat down at her. "I'm sick of letting you out and having to put you right back in. This time, you stay inside."

She clawed at the dirt, more fell on her, and Raven cried out, a barely recognizable sound, far too weak to be coming from her mouth.

Raven awoke to the sound of her own scream, and cut off at once. In case anyone heard, she quickly morphed into the form of Troy, stood up, and walked away as if she hadn't even heard it. Another advantage with shifting, she realized, was the fact that she would never have to bathe. The sweat that covered her after the nightmare vanished when she transformed.

The previous night's rush had made her feel so alive, so frightening; then she had awakened huddling against the side of a building. Sure, I wouldn't have had the courage to really attack anyone just a couple months ago. But I've got a long way to go.

Soon she realized that the transformation hadn't really been necessary—the constant chatter, yelling, and honking could cover up nearly any noise, even a scream. And from the looks of the shoppers and businesspeople, all determined to reach their destination as quickly as possible, they wouldn't have bothered to stop and investigate anyway.

So…where to now?

Her growling stomach directed her to the nearest McDonald's. I can't afford to be picky. Besides, the noise out here is gonna drive me crazy if I'm outside much longer. And I was practically raised on fast food.

However, when she entered, there was immediately a problem. Every seat was taken, and the lines nearly stretched to the door. This was something she'd never had to deal with back at home, in a nameless town with a tiny population, but it's not like I have anywhere better to be. At least I'm not desperate to get out of here like most of these people. The hardest part will be finding a place to sit. The thought of eating outside in the harsh wind made her shiver. An idea suddenly occurring to her, she ducked into the bathroom and, when a stall was finally free, entered and shifted into the most beautiful form she could think of.

Curly blond hair, tan skin, a slender but curvy frame, somewhat based off Brianna but not completely just in case anybody here somehow knew her.

When she emerged, all that was left to do was wait in line. What seemed like hours later, she got her food, an Egg McMuffin, and looked around for a seat. Still no empty spots, but the twenty-something guy in the corner wasn't with anyone, and she had a feeling he wouldn't mind letting her share his booth.

She approached the table and asked, "Is it okay if I sit here? Normally I wouldn't ask, but it's just so crowded…."

For a moment he just stared at her, as if not believing his luck. "Sure," he finally said, and made room for her.

Sitting down next to him, she flashed him the brightest smile she could muster. "Thanks so much, I really didn't want to eat outside."

"I—I can understand that," he said, his mouth full of a breakfast burrito.

She resisted the urge to point that out and said, "So what do you do around here?"

"Westchester Community College. I'm going for my associate in arts. Parents aren't thrilled, but whatever. They don't understand art at all."

He can't have much spare cash, then, but that doesn't mean he's completely useless. Feigning interest, she said, "Wow, that's really cool. I love art. What kind do you do?"

"I'm really interested in photomanips. I have to do one for class, but I haven't started yet. Basically I need to take photos first, but it's hard finding the perfect model."

"Perfect, huh?" Resting her head on her left hand, she gazed at him with sparkling green eyes and said, "I've never met any girl who was perfect."

As if unable to look away, he stared into her eyes and said, "You're damn close. Do you even wear makeup?"

She laughed and returned to her meal. "Makeup's silly, and it feels gross if you wear it all day. Most people don't believe that I don't wear any, but I'd be happy to prove it."

"Are you some kind of actress going around in disguise?"

Grinning, she said, "Of course not. I'm Raven. And your name?"

"Raven? What an odd name. Not that there's anything wrong with it, of course. Different is good. I mean—never mind. I-I'm Damian."

At that moment a baby started wailing, and Raven turned her head to see where it was coming from. When she looked back, she saw that the boy hadn't taken his eyes off her, as if he didn't hear the noise around them. It took all the effort she could muster to keep herself from shuddering—something seemed inherently wrong about it, about the way his eyes rested unabashedly on her chest and the way they drank her in, even though she knew full well that she had asked for it by morphing into such a form. Damn you for being so stupid. If people think you're an adult, that's how they're going to treat you, and you'd better remember that.

"How old are you, anyway? Do you go to college?"

"Twenty-one. And no, I don't think college is really for me. I do wish I could find a job someplace, though."

Face slightly red, he leaned in closely as if sharing a secret and asked, "W-would you like t-t-to model for me?"

"How nice of you to ask. I'd love to, just as long as I get some kind of payment. Money has been hard to come by lately."

Stunned, his jaw dropped. "Are you kidding? Sure! As soon as you can start, I'm ready!"

"Perfect, just tell me when to show up and where, and I'll be there."

"Well I-I don't have any classes today. My studio's at my house. I can drive you there after we finish. Might as well start right away, right?"