Disclaimer: ALL MARVEL'S!! NOT MINE!! eh, you know the drill.
I just want to take a few moments to ask you all to remember those whom died in this nation's greatest tragedy last week. Truly, we will never get over this. I hope that you and yours are safe. Together, we will get through this horrible nightmare.
As to all my fans whom have asked about this story, I say thank you and that I could not have done this without your inspiration and wonderful praise. Especially to Mistogirl and Shadow. This chapter is dedicated to you. I am sorry it has took so long for me to get on the stick, but my health took a turn for the worst this summer. I am seeing daylight, though. I promise to start cranking these chapters out like hotcakes!!
And now, on with our story.
Chapter 16 of Junior X
Times change
The sharp german winter wind howled as the young girl ran. Through the thick black forest. Wolves could be heard in the distance.
Heard, but not seen. The december night so black, you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. This only served to add to the
child's fear. But the wolves were not her persuers. In fact, she served as prey to another group of predators. As food to feed their
own fears and prejudices.
And they were fastly ganging up upon her.
The child stumbled, the cold mud covering her once colorful peasant dress. The one her mother so diligently sewed with her own lovely
long hands for her. Now covered in tears and her own blood, she screamed as the light from the torches they carried heralded their arrival.
"I've found it!!" Shouted her father. "I found the blue demon who killed my Raven!!"
The child screamed. "NO DADDY !! NOOOOOO!!!!!!"
"Kill the monster!! Slit it's throat!! Bleed it like the animal it is!!" another blood-curtling shout came from the middle of the mob, only to be agreed upon
by the rest.
"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"
And with that scene, Raven Darkholme awoke.
She panicked, her now alabaster forhead streaked with sweat. She immediatley began to take in her surroundings. Not a dark forest, like her nightmare.
Just the cool, soothing white of the inside of the plane. She glanced to her right, to see Forge asleep in the seat next to her. The passenger seated in front
of her, a businessman in his late 50's, looked at her in concern, and motioned a stewardess to check on her.
A tall, slender brunette with crooked nose and air attendant's uniform walked toward her seat. She smiled politely.
"Is everything O.K., Maam?"
Raven just looked at her for a long moment, like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. After her mind separated the dream from reality, she found her
voice. "Yes. Yes, just fine, thank you." Raven smiled wanely and began to shrug off the incident.
The stewardess smiled yet again, and added, "Well, if there is anything I can do, please let me know."
Raven nodded in aknowledgement, and the brunette attended to the other passengers.
Raven sighed, doing her best to hold back the hot tears welling in her eyes. Of all the things she had ever done in her life, this was definitely the hardest.
She felt like a damned soul, with no repentance to her. And she felt her feelings were right. She leaned back into her seat, watching her native american companion
slightly twitch with his own dreams.
"Sleep well, Shaman, and please, dream a little dream for me. I have none left." she whispered to herself as a tear gently slipped down her cheek.
*********************************
"YOU DID WHAT!!!" was all the angry young woman could spit out at her mentor.
Professor Charles Xavier, founder of the X-men, leader of the dream, "Father" to all of them, only looked down at his hands, folded neatly upon his desk.
Across the desk, a very pregnant Kurt Wagner sat, only silence coming from him as he looked on at his wife's reaction to the Professor's and his decision.
"Kitty, if you will just allow Kurt and I to finish explaining..."
"NO!! THERE IS NO EXPLANATION FOR THIS!! HOW DARE YOU!! INVITE THAT...THAT..... MONSTER INTO OUR HOME!! AND YOU KURT!! AFTER ALL
SHE HAS DONE TO US!! TO YOU!! NO!! ARE YOU BOTH OUT OF YOUR MINDS!!???" Kitty's anger was causing her brown eyes to fill with tears.
"Leibling, please, if you will just let me......"
"NO!!!! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR A THING SHE HAS TO SAY!! I DON'T WANT THAT BITCH AROUND YOU!! AROUND OUR CHILDREN!!"
Kitty's rage was firey hot. Kurt only looked at her, a rather sad look upon his handsome face.
Kurt loved Kitty dearly. But he knew as well as anyone that when she felt strongly about something, she was hot tempered as hell. He sighed deeply and leaned
back into the chair he was sitting in earlier. He was torn between his love for Kitty and the fact that his current condition put him in no mood to argue with her. He
placed his head in his hands from exhausted aggravation and took a deep breath.
"Kitty, please listen." Kurt stated calmly. "Forge told the Professor over the phone that what she had to say concerned me in a very big way. Many questions
I have asked all my life may finally be answered. You know that Forge and the Professor would never do anything to harm us, don't you?" Kurt looked up at her
searching her face for an expression of what her answer might be.
Kitty's face finally turned a lighter shade of red. A good sign that her initial anger at this situation had passed, at least, and may be now open to reason. Kitty took
a deep breath and slumped back into the chair beside Kurt, weeping in her hands.
"No. I know. But....." She trailed off, tears of outrage still in her eyes as she looked to her husband. "Kurt, Mystique is a known madwoman. She has never told the
truth before. She's up to something, I know it!!" Her eyes looked so intense. "Why would she now, Kurt? What if she is setting a trap?" Kitty wrapped her arms around
Kurt, and placed her head on his bulging belly. "You and these children are my whole life!! I failed once!! I won't again!!" She mumbled, weeping into Kurt's belly and at the
same time lovingly rubbing it with one free hand.
As Kurt smiled down at his wife, he wrapped her in his arms. His soulmate. The love of his life. He knew all too well that Kitty's love for her family was what fueled her anger.
"And you know that you and these children are mine. That's why I must talk to Mystique. For our sake. For their's" Kurt smiled down at Kitty and then down at his belly.
"I want these children to have a legacy. To know about their family. Like I said, I too will have answers to many mysteries of my life, but this way, my children will
have their heritage lined out. Who I am is also who these children are. "
The Professor smiled. To see these two with their undying love for each other, a love that had withstood many tests and heartaches, it gave him renewed hope in his dream, and
showed him what his dream could acheive. "Kitty," the Professor said lovingly, " You don't have to worry about Mystique's possible manipulations. I am a telepath, remember?"
He chuckled, trying to lightened up the somber mood of the den. " I am your personal lie detector."
Kitty smiled, and then back at Kurt. She walked behind the desk, and gave the Professor a hug. "Oh, God!! I'm so sorry, Professor!! I didn't mean... to blow up like that...but..."
The Professor gratefully returned Kitty's hug, his usual warm smile spreading across his face. "You do not have to explain anything to me, child. You were just trying to protect
your family. I expect nothing less from you."
Kitty looked back to Kurt, returning her arms around him. "O.K., I understand, Fuzzy, but remember one thing.
Kurt laughed. "Oh? And that is?"
"That we go through this together, just like everything else." Kitty smiled
Kurt nodded wholeheartedly in agreement.
*******************
The New York snow stung Raven's skin as she walked off the plane hand -in-hand with Forge.
She was in the disguise of a supermodel type. California tan and platinum blonde. She noticed how many of the young men's jaws dropped as they made their
way to pick up their bags and head for their rental car.
"If they knew my true form, their jaws would drop for an entirely different reason." She whispered to Forge as they loaded their suitcases into the car trunk.
Forge laughed. "Oh? Actually, I prefer the real you." he stated quite seriously as they got into the car.
As they pulled out of the airport, Forge placed one comforting arm around Raven's shoulders. "That's the first time you've spoken to me since we left Dallas.
Is there something else you would like to tell me?"
Raven's eyes turned away to the road ahead of her. Pulling her brown leather jacket tighter around herself, she finally answered Forge's question. "No, I've
told you everything. But it's just that...." she trailed off, looking at the native american man in the eye. "I have nothing left to loose now, Forge. My time on this
miserable planet is now ticking fastly away. GOD!!!" She sobbed, loosing control once again. "Why couldn't things have been different?"
Forge looked sadly back to pay attention to the road in front of him. Truth to tell, he had no answer for her. Sadness rippled throughout his features. Tears began to form
in his own brown eyes. For Raven. For himself. For time lost. For regret at not trying harder to make things work with Raven. And now, with the candle of Raven's life now burning it's
last in the cruel wind of death, he allowed his mind to drift and wondered what could have been. He shook his head. Too late for a new beginning, but he was here for her now.
And he still loved her. Never stopped loving her.
Raven wasn't scared of dying. Far from it. He knew her true fear. With nothing left to loose, she finally realized she wanted to put right what once went wrong. And fate had given her so little time to do so.
Forge had no answer for her. He looked back at Raven, his mind searching for the right thing to say. " I will not lye to you, Raven. I never have. We all choose our own destinies, our own roads. Looking back,
we all wished there were times we had made the other decision. But I've learned that we can't take back what we have done. We can only move on and hope that we can repair some of the damage. In your case, what
you're about to do will put Kurt's mind at ease. and will leave him with the knowledge that his mother truly loved him, even after you're gone."
Raven smiled. She loved Forge once, she still did. But she turned away from him, shut him out like so many other of her loved ones. Yet another mistake in her long resume of fuck-ups.
"Forge?" she asked. "Do you think what I'm about to reveal to Kurt will truly make a difference?"
Forge sighed. "If we were talking about the Kurt of five years ago, I would be pressed to say no. But, with everything that has happened and that he has been through lately, nothing has been more important to him
than family. Estranged as they may be, in your case. The secret you hold will change everything for Kurt and his father, Raven. Some for the better, some for the worst. Only time will tell."
Raven nodded. She had always been so proud of Kurt. He had grown into a beautiful young man. How she loved and worried for her son from a distance all these years. "You know, Forge," She beamed
proudly. "There must have been some good in me once. That's the only way that I can explain how I was blessed with an angel like Kurt."
**********************
Henry McCoy was rarely seen outside his lab. This wasn't unusual for the nobel prize winning scientist. But he practically lived there of late.
Of course, not that Dr. McCoy was one to complain. He had his love for science. For medicine. For twinkies! For cookies!! For...
"Hank? Where is the microwave in this joint?"
Hank snapped his neck around at the beautiful feminine voice. Oh, did he mention his unrequited love for one certain Dr. Cecilia Reyes?
Cecilia didn't even have the faintest clue. She assumed his interest in her was professional only. "Oh, if you only knew, my dreadlocked angel."
Hank thought to himself. "And if I have it my way, you never will." Hank blushed. He could feel his pulse hammer and his palms sweat just hearing the melody that was her voice. "Of course, my dear, next to the
fridge."
Cecilia smacked herself on the head. "DUH!! If it were a snake, it would have bit me. Are you sure you want such a dimwit to help you attend Kurt's
pregnancy?"
Hank frowned. "I would have it no other way!! AND STOP CALLING YOURSELF A DIMWIT!!" Hank half-jokingly, half seriously scolded her.
He was awarded with an angelic smile.
"You say the sweetest things. I swear, if I didn't know any better...." She smiled mischeviously, "I would say you were in love with me."
Hank felt his heart drop in his stomach. The skin under his fur was burning scarlett, he just knew it. How did she know? Did Jean or the Professor
scan his mind and tell her? HE NEVER TOLD ANYONE!!
Hank stammered as he dropped a beaker nervously. As it shattered, he looked back into Cecilia's eyes. "Well, I , ah, that is to say, uh.....What ever gave you
that notion? Who told you?" He sputtered as he proceeded to sweep up the shattered glass.
Cecilia laughed in surprise. "Easy, Hank!! I was just kidding!!" She bent down to help him with the mess.
"Ah, yes, well." Hank said, then finally gained his composure. "I wasn't."
"What?" Cecilia replied.
"Well, maybe I should show you." Hank couldn't believe he was doing this. But the cat was out of the bag now. A strong blue furry cat whom was lovesick
for a certain hispanic beauty. He grabbed her face in both hands and gave her rather lengthy kiss.
After the kiss broke, Cecilia continued to look into Hank's eyes. "If you were afraid I wouldn't return your feelings, you were absolutely wrong, Mr. McCoy.
I feel the same way." She smiled as she returned his kiss.
"Oh, Cece. Iwaited so long. So long to tell you, but I was afraid."
"I understand. And we'll talk about this. Later. Right now, we need to finish the task at hand." She smiled sweetly.
"Oh, yes!! Kurt's most recent tests!!" Hank laughed, a load having been lifted off his shoulders. And she loved him, too!! It was almost more happiness than
he could bear!!
Cecilia quickly switched back to professional mode. "I ran the necessary panels on Kurt's blood. That chico's bloodwork is better than mine."
she couldn't help but allow a schoolgirl giggle escape her lips.
It was shear music to the man who loved her.
Hank happily began to run Kurt's latest EKG through the scanner. He was floating on air. This had to be a dream, He thought to himself as his
eyes examined the graph in front of him.
And that's when Hank McCoy was crashed down off his love-induced high.
Hank could feel the heart that was swollen with excitement just a moment ago burst and sink down into his stomach. His face reflected the dread
his mind was trying to process.
Seeing Hank's look of horror, Cecilia quickly rushed to the screen. "Hank? What is it? Is something wrong with Kurt?"
Hank looked sadly at Cecilia, panic in his voice. "It's Kurt's latest EKG. Oh, God." Hank shook his head.
"Well, what is it?! TELL ME!!" Cecilia shouted.
Hank looked dismally up at the woman, fear creeping into her own beautiful features. "There's an irregularity in the graph. The pregnancy is
putting an undue strain on his heart." Hank looked blankly, fear and worry for his friend racing through his mind.
"No, No." Cecilia said to herself. "That would explain why he's so tired all the time. But I thought it was a normal symptom of the pregnancy!!"
Her eyes began to water.
Hank 's mind switched quickly to doctor mode. "There is one good thing. It doesn't seem to be affecting him in any serious sort of way. We just
have to watch him close, that's all."
"We should tell him!! As soon as possible!" Cecilia panicked.
"NO!" Hank shouted. "There's no need just yet!! Don't you see? He and Kitty have enough to worry about without this! Just knowing would
put even more stress on his already fragile state!"
Cecilia nodded her head. "Yes. You are right. But...."
"Don't worry, Cece. We're two of the best. We have Shiar technology at our disposal. We will get Kurt through this." He took Cecilia in his arms,
rocking her back and forth. One thing about Cecilia, she had the heart and determination for her patients that many doctors overlooked in the search
for money.
"Kurt will get through this." Hank thought to himself.
"He has to. I've come to far to fail."
**********************
Kurt had went over in his mind over and over how he would face Mystique when she arrived. He went over his reaction, what he would say, his
determination not to let anything about the woman get to him.
Yet none of this prepared him for the actual meeting,
As he and Kitty walked into the den, there she sat, he golden eyes glowing eerily in the dimlit room. Seated next to her was Forge and the Professor
on the other side.
Kurt took a deep breath. He did his best to surpress the anger and pain that tore at his heart every time he looked at this woman. His birth mother.
The woman whom threw him away like a sack of unwanted kittens into a waterfall. Left him for dead. Never looked for him. He could now fully understand
Kitty's anger from earlier in the day.
"I will not let her get to me. No matter what she says or what she has done or will do, if I become upset and angry, she has truly won." Kurt thought to himself
as he and Kitty assummed their seats on the queen anne style sofa on the other end of the den. As he sat, the babies shuffled inside of him, and he now focused
on his reason for even polluting his air with Mystique's in the first place.
Kitty had kept silent, and she looked to her husband. "Kurt?" She whispered. "Baby, are you sure you want to do this?"
Kurt looked into his wife's eyes, a determination that had never been there before. "Ja. Nothing could make me change my mind."
Forge looked around him. "I suppose the gang's all here." He said. "I suppose this is my cue to exit." He rose from his chair, then proceeded to
leave the den.
Kurt looked to Raven. His expression toward her softened just a bit. Her blue face, the same blue as his fur, was haggard. She looked so fragile, and
Kurt couldn't help but at that moment to feel some sympathy for her.
Raven looked up at her son, a sorrow in her eyes that was never known of her to have before. "Hello, son." she smiled weakly.
Kurt was taken aback at what she had said. He composed himself and looked her up and down. "Yes, Raven, I suppose there is something you
said you wanted to tell me?"
"Yes." She rasped.
"Then don't waste my time. What is it? What could be so important that you just had to talk to the son you never wanted?" Kurt said sarcastically.
He bit his tongue. He promised himself that she wouldn't get to him like this. He took a deep breath, and continued. "Are you finally going to answer my questions?"
Raven broke into tears, nodding her head. Kurt didn't know what to make of it. He sighed, loosing patience again.
"Look, if you came here to cry and find sympathy from us," Kitty chimed in, "Then you looked in the wrong place!! You didn't shed any tears for anyone's life you
took!! You didn't shed a tear for my husband when you threw him away!!"
"IT'S NOT TRUE!!!" Raven screamed.
"Was?" Kurt asked as the others fell silent.
Raven heaved and sobbed, finally finding the strength to speak. "I said," She blurted out, "That it's not true!"
"What isn't true?" Kurt asked, his full attention affixed on her.
"The whole story about you being thrown into a waterfall!! For God's sake, I thought you were all smart enough to figure
out it wasn't true!! If I had done that, you wouldn't be standing here! You would be dead!!" Raven shouted, tears of anger
and hurt in her golden eyes.
Kurt sat, dumbfounded at the bombshell Raven had just dropped. Kitty was equally stunned. Kurt looked toward the Professor.
"I know what you are wondering, Kurt. Yes, she is telling the truth." The Professor said, not quite able to comprehend what Mystique had
just said himself.
"So, what is the truth, Raven?" Kurt asked calmly. Finally, his life, his family's lives, would be complete.
**********************
I was born in a small farming village outside Stockholme, Sweden, as Raven Anna Darkholme in 1908. We were a poor farming family.
My father would toll the fields all day, my mother was the village seamstress. I was there only child. A child born with porcelain skin,
blue eyes and black hair, from wince my father named me. I was so special to him, and him to me. He was a strong man, my father, but gentle.
Life was good, despite our poverty, until I turned ten.
My health took a turn for the worst. my body ached all the time. I was so weak at times that I could not get out of bed. My mother would cry herself
to sleep over me. My father took me to doctor after doctor, but none could diagnose what was wrong with me.
About a week after my eleventh birthday, I started to feel better. I decided to go into the fields nearby, to pick some flowers for my mother's hair.
How she loved the native wildflowers. She decorated her long, black braids with them, and she would put some into my own hair.
That when my life ended.
Out in the middle of the field, sharp pains wracked through my body. They were so intense. I thought I was going to die. I passed out.
I couldn't believe I was still alive when I awoke.
But I felt strong, my body was free of the pain that had wrecked it for the last couple of months. I felt strong, free. I began to dance in the field.
Until I looked down at my hands.
I screamed. They weren't my snowy ivory hands. But hands covered with blue skin. More blue than a dead man's. I ran to a local pond, I tried to wash the blue
off. As I looked down at my reflection in the water, I screamed. I ran home to my mom and dad.
They screamed. Called me a demon. Asked me what I did with their precious Raven. The villagers ganged together to hunt me. I hid in a local cave.
The snow was cold, and I was scared. I knew I could never go home again.
That's when I discovered my shapeshifting ability. Alone, in that cold, dank cave, I wished I was a bear, so my fur would keep me warm.
And like magic, it happened.
By experimentation, I learned later on how to shapeshift into other people. People I knew, images I had made up.
It was this way that I held a job as a maid for a local wealthy couple.
I saved my money, and fled to Germany, where I met Otto Adler. He was a local blacksmith, tall, brawney, with pale blonde hair and
steely blue eyes. We married, and it was with him that I had my first child. Her name was Irene Adler, or as you later knew as Destiny.
Needless to say, as my husband aged and died, my shapeshifting abilities kept me from aging. Irene knew of her mother's "talent", though
her father never knew. When her abilities of prophecy emerged, I wanted to seek help for her somewhere.
My late husband, however, left me with quite the nestegg, and it was with it that I was able to flee to Canada.
It was also there that Department H recruited me. For the first time in my life, I heard the word mutant. I also met others
like me and Irene.
And, I fell in love once more.
His name was Victor Creed. Dashing, brave, and a mutant like me. We bonded. Our bond produced the unholy spawn known as
Graydon Creed. I didn't want to give him up, but due to Department H's insistance, I did. I now know that was for the best.
It was shortly after I put Graydon up for adoption that Victor and I went our separate ways, romance wise, anyway.
It was also shortly after this breakup that Department H hired yet another recruit. His name was Eric Wagner.
I was paired with Eric on a mission to Germany. It was during this time that I fell in love with him and him with me. We wanted
a better life together. We were both mutants, both members of Department H, and we both knew we wanted a life outside. We went AWOL
from the department, married, and I, Eric and Irene settled near the Bavarian Alps of Germany. You were born a year later. As much
as you were precious to me, you were very special to your father. He so desperately wanted a son. So you can imagine his joy when
you showed up, blue skin and all.
But our happy life was not to be lived for long. Department H came looking for us. They raided our little cottage, and took Eric into
custody. I managed to escape with Irene and you.
Because Irene was well into her middle age, I knew the department would never suspect her of being my daughter. You, how some ever, were
a completely different story. I feared for you and your safety. I knew the department would make me give you up as well.
During our marriage, Eric and I had befriended a local caravan of gypsies. I emplored Margali to take you into her home and raise you, to
offer you the protection I couldn't.
This whole experience changed me. I became brutal, cold, unfeeling. There's no need to go into detail of what happened after that, you know
of me as the deplorable Mystique. What's worse, I allowed my flesh and blood daughter to use her abilities of prophecy to help me with my bruta
lity.
**************************
Kurt looked at his enemy now in an entire different light. The woman he thought was an absolute monster was actually the loving mother he'
had dreamed of having all his life. He stood in shock and disbelief, as well as the Professor and Kitty.
"I don't believe it." Kurt said, dumbfounded. "All this time, after I discovered you were my mother, I despised you. Hated you.
Never in my wildest dreams would I have pictured you to be a self-sacrificing parent. And Destiny?"
"Your half-sister. " Raven stated.
Kurt slumped back in his chair. After a long pause, he looked back to Raven. "Why? Why didn't you come back for me?"
Raven shook her head, looking to him with wholehearted sincerity. "I wanted to, child! But I couldn't!! Department H had just started the
Weapon X project, and I knew that if they discovered you, you would be their next labrat!!"
Kurt was silent as he allowed his mind to process this newest bit of information. "Then, why didn't you tell me? When you found me with the X-men?"
Raven sighed. "I had done so many dispicable, horrible things. I had more enemies than most people have changes of underwear! They would have killed you
to spite me!! That's why I had to make sure you hated me!! So you wouldn't ask so many questions!!"
Kurt shook his head. He looked to the Professor. "Professor, is all she said true?"
The Professor shook his head, he himself in shock at the news. "If I were not a telepath, I too would think otherwise. However, Kurt, she is telling the exact
truth."
Kurt blinked. "No exaggeration, either?"
The Professor shook his head."No, she is being painfully honest."
Raven looked into her son's face, searching it for a reaction. Her eyes transfixed on the carpet in front of her as she spoke.
"Kurt, I didn't come here to ask for forgiveness from you. In truth, I don't expect it. All I do wish for is understanding on your
part. As a parent. Can you at least see reasonably why I had to do what I did?"
Tears welled in Kurt's eyes. He didn't know what to say. It was too soon to judge exactly how he felt about her at this moment.
"Ja. I do. I understand. In time, I can forgive. If...." Kurt gasped, "You do me one favor."
"Anything. You are my son, and as a mother I will do whatever it takes." Raven rasped.
"My father. Is he still alive?"
Raven was silent for a long moment. She then spoke. "Yes."
"Well? Where is he?" Kurt asked anxiously.
Raven looked around the room for a second, and looked back to Kurt. "Your father wouldn't remember you, Kurt. Department H
wiped his memories away. They even gave him another name. He doesn't remember his past."
"And that new name is?" Kurt asked.
Raven looked at the faces surrounding her. The Professor, Kitty, and Kurt. All of them, waiting to hear the name that would
part from Raven's lips.
"Logan." she said
I just want to take a few moments to ask you all to remember those whom died in this nation's greatest tragedy last week. Truly, we will never get over this. I hope that you and yours are safe. Together, we will get through this horrible nightmare.
As to all my fans whom have asked about this story, I say thank you and that I could not have done this without your inspiration and wonderful praise. Especially to Mistogirl and Shadow. This chapter is dedicated to you. I am sorry it has took so long for me to get on the stick, but my health took a turn for the worst this summer. I am seeing daylight, though. I promise to start cranking these chapters out like hotcakes!!
And now, on with our story.
Chapter 16 of Junior X
Times change
The sharp german winter wind howled as the young girl ran. Through the thick black forest. Wolves could be heard in the distance.
Heard, but not seen. The december night so black, you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. This only served to add to the
child's fear. But the wolves were not her persuers. In fact, she served as prey to another group of predators. As food to feed their
own fears and prejudices.
And they were fastly ganging up upon her.
The child stumbled, the cold mud covering her once colorful peasant dress. The one her mother so diligently sewed with her own lovely
long hands for her. Now covered in tears and her own blood, she screamed as the light from the torches they carried heralded their arrival.
"I've found it!!" Shouted her father. "I found the blue demon who killed my Raven!!"
The child screamed. "NO DADDY !! NOOOOOO!!!!!!"
"Kill the monster!! Slit it's throat!! Bleed it like the animal it is!!" another blood-curtling shout came from the middle of the mob, only to be agreed upon
by the rest.
"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"
And with that scene, Raven Darkholme awoke.
She panicked, her now alabaster forhead streaked with sweat. She immediatley began to take in her surroundings. Not a dark forest, like her nightmare.
Just the cool, soothing white of the inside of the plane. She glanced to her right, to see Forge asleep in the seat next to her. The passenger seated in front
of her, a businessman in his late 50's, looked at her in concern, and motioned a stewardess to check on her.
A tall, slender brunette with crooked nose and air attendant's uniform walked toward her seat. She smiled politely.
"Is everything O.K., Maam?"
Raven just looked at her for a long moment, like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. After her mind separated the dream from reality, she found her
voice. "Yes. Yes, just fine, thank you." Raven smiled wanely and began to shrug off the incident.
The stewardess smiled yet again, and added, "Well, if there is anything I can do, please let me know."
Raven nodded in aknowledgement, and the brunette attended to the other passengers.
Raven sighed, doing her best to hold back the hot tears welling in her eyes. Of all the things she had ever done in her life, this was definitely the hardest.
She felt like a damned soul, with no repentance to her. And she felt her feelings were right. She leaned back into her seat, watching her native american companion
slightly twitch with his own dreams.
"Sleep well, Shaman, and please, dream a little dream for me. I have none left." she whispered to herself as a tear gently slipped down her cheek.
*********************************
"YOU DID WHAT!!!" was all the angry young woman could spit out at her mentor.
Professor Charles Xavier, founder of the X-men, leader of the dream, "Father" to all of them, only looked down at his hands, folded neatly upon his desk.
Across the desk, a very pregnant Kurt Wagner sat, only silence coming from him as he looked on at his wife's reaction to the Professor's and his decision.
"Kitty, if you will just allow Kurt and I to finish explaining..."
"NO!! THERE IS NO EXPLANATION FOR THIS!! HOW DARE YOU!! INVITE THAT...THAT..... MONSTER INTO OUR HOME!! AND YOU KURT!! AFTER ALL
SHE HAS DONE TO US!! TO YOU!! NO!! ARE YOU BOTH OUT OF YOUR MINDS!!???" Kitty's anger was causing her brown eyes to fill with tears.
"Leibling, please, if you will just let me......"
"NO!!!! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR A THING SHE HAS TO SAY!! I DON'T WANT THAT BITCH AROUND YOU!! AROUND OUR CHILDREN!!"
Kitty's rage was firey hot. Kurt only looked at her, a rather sad look upon his handsome face.
Kurt loved Kitty dearly. But he knew as well as anyone that when she felt strongly about something, she was hot tempered as hell. He sighed deeply and leaned
back into the chair he was sitting in earlier. He was torn between his love for Kitty and the fact that his current condition put him in no mood to argue with her. He
placed his head in his hands from exhausted aggravation and took a deep breath.
"Kitty, please listen." Kurt stated calmly. "Forge told the Professor over the phone that what she had to say concerned me in a very big way. Many questions
I have asked all my life may finally be answered. You know that Forge and the Professor would never do anything to harm us, don't you?" Kurt looked up at her
searching her face for an expression of what her answer might be.
Kitty's face finally turned a lighter shade of red. A good sign that her initial anger at this situation had passed, at least, and may be now open to reason. Kitty took
a deep breath and slumped back into the chair beside Kurt, weeping in her hands.
"No. I know. But....." She trailed off, tears of outrage still in her eyes as she looked to her husband. "Kurt, Mystique is a known madwoman. She has never told the
truth before. She's up to something, I know it!!" Her eyes looked so intense. "Why would she now, Kurt? What if she is setting a trap?" Kitty wrapped her arms around
Kurt, and placed her head on his bulging belly. "You and these children are my whole life!! I failed once!! I won't again!!" She mumbled, weeping into Kurt's belly and at the
same time lovingly rubbing it with one free hand.
As Kurt smiled down at his wife, he wrapped her in his arms. His soulmate. The love of his life. He knew all too well that Kitty's love for her family was what fueled her anger.
"And you know that you and these children are mine. That's why I must talk to Mystique. For our sake. For their's" Kurt smiled down at Kitty and then down at his belly.
"I want these children to have a legacy. To know about their family. Like I said, I too will have answers to many mysteries of my life, but this way, my children will
have their heritage lined out. Who I am is also who these children are. "
The Professor smiled. To see these two with their undying love for each other, a love that had withstood many tests and heartaches, it gave him renewed hope in his dream, and
showed him what his dream could acheive. "Kitty," the Professor said lovingly, " You don't have to worry about Mystique's possible manipulations. I am a telepath, remember?"
He chuckled, trying to lightened up the somber mood of the den. " I am your personal lie detector."
Kitty smiled, and then back at Kurt. She walked behind the desk, and gave the Professor a hug. "Oh, God!! I'm so sorry, Professor!! I didn't mean... to blow up like that...but..."
The Professor gratefully returned Kitty's hug, his usual warm smile spreading across his face. "You do not have to explain anything to me, child. You were just trying to protect
your family. I expect nothing less from you."
Kitty looked back to Kurt, returning her arms around him. "O.K., I understand, Fuzzy, but remember one thing.
Kurt laughed. "Oh? And that is?"
"That we go through this together, just like everything else." Kitty smiled
Kurt nodded wholeheartedly in agreement.
*******************
The New York snow stung Raven's skin as she walked off the plane hand -in-hand with Forge.
She was in the disguise of a supermodel type. California tan and platinum blonde. She noticed how many of the young men's jaws dropped as they made their
way to pick up their bags and head for their rental car.
"If they knew my true form, their jaws would drop for an entirely different reason." She whispered to Forge as they loaded their suitcases into the car trunk.
Forge laughed. "Oh? Actually, I prefer the real you." he stated quite seriously as they got into the car.
As they pulled out of the airport, Forge placed one comforting arm around Raven's shoulders. "That's the first time you've spoken to me since we left Dallas.
Is there something else you would like to tell me?"
Raven's eyes turned away to the road ahead of her. Pulling her brown leather jacket tighter around herself, she finally answered Forge's question. "No, I've
told you everything. But it's just that...." she trailed off, looking at the native american man in the eye. "I have nothing left to loose now, Forge. My time on this
miserable planet is now ticking fastly away. GOD!!!" She sobbed, loosing control once again. "Why couldn't things have been different?"
Forge looked sadly back to pay attention to the road in front of him. Truth to tell, he had no answer for her. Sadness rippled throughout his features. Tears began to form
in his own brown eyes. For Raven. For himself. For time lost. For regret at not trying harder to make things work with Raven. And now, with the candle of Raven's life now burning it's
last in the cruel wind of death, he allowed his mind to drift and wondered what could have been. He shook his head. Too late for a new beginning, but he was here for her now.
And he still loved her. Never stopped loving her.
Raven wasn't scared of dying. Far from it. He knew her true fear. With nothing left to loose, she finally realized she wanted to put right what once went wrong. And fate had given her so little time to do so.
Forge had no answer for her. He looked back at Raven, his mind searching for the right thing to say. " I will not lye to you, Raven. I never have. We all choose our own destinies, our own roads. Looking back,
we all wished there were times we had made the other decision. But I've learned that we can't take back what we have done. We can only move on and hope that we can repair some of the damage. In your case, what
you're about to do will put Kurt's mind at ease. and will leave him with the knowledge that his mother truly loved him, even after you're gone."
Raven smiled. She loved Forge once, she still did. But she turned away from him, shut him out like so many other of her loved ones. Yet another mistake in her long resume of fuck-ups.
"Forge?" she asked. "Do you think what I'm about to reveal to Kurt will truly make a difference?"
Forge sighed. "If we were talking about the Kurt of five years ago, I would be pressed to say no. But, with everything that has happened and that he has been through lately, nothing has been more important to him
than family. Estranged as they may be, in your case. The secret you hold will change everything for Kurt and his father, Raven. Some for the better, some for the worst. Only time will tell."
Raven nodded. She had always been so proud of Kurt. He had grown into a beautiful young man. How she loved and worried for her son from a distance all these years. "You know, Forge," She beamed
proudly. "There must have been some good in me once. That's the only way that I can explain how I was blessed with an angel like Kurt."
**********************
Henry McCoy was rarely seen outside his lab. This wasn't unusual for the nobel prize winning scientist. But he practically lived there of late.
Of course, not that Dr. McCoy was one to complain. He had his love for science. For medicine. For twinkies! For cookies!! For...
"Hank? Where is the microwave in this joint?"
Hank snapped his neck around at the beautiful feminine voice. Oh, did he mention his unrequited love for one certain Dr. Cecilia Reyes?
Cecilia didn't even have the faintest clue. She assumed his interest in her was professional only. "Oh, if you only knew, my dreadlocked angel."
Hank thought to himself. "And if I have it my way, you never will." Hank blushed. He could feel his pulse hammer and his palms sweat just hearing the melody that was her voice. "Of course, my dear, next to the
fridge."
Cecilia smacked herself on the head. "DUH!! If it were a snake, it would have bit me. Are you sure you want such a dimwit to help you attend Kurt's
pregnancy?"
Hank frowned. "I would have it no other way!! AND STOP CALLING YOURSELF A DIMWIT!!" Hank half-jokingly, half seriously scolded her.
He was awarded with an angelic smile.
"You say the sweetest things. I swear, if I didn't know any better...." She smiled mischeviously, "I would say you were in love with me."
Hank felt his heart drop in his stomach. The skin under his fur was burning scarlett, he just knew it. How did she know? Did Jean or the Professor
scan his mind and tell her? HE NEVER TOLD ANYONE!!
Hank stammered as he dropped a beaker nervously. As it shattered, he looked back into Cecilia's eyes. "Well, I , ah, that is to say, uh.....What ever gave you
that notion? Who told you?" He sputtered as he proceeded to sweep up the shattered glass.
Cecilia laughed in surprise. "Easy, Hank!! I was just kidding!!" She bent down to help him with the mess.
"Ah, yes, well." Hank said, then finally gained his composure. "I wasn't."
"What?" Cecilia replied.
"Well, maybe I should show you." Hank couldn't believe he was doing this. But the cat was out of the bag now. A strong blue furry cat whom was lovesick
for a certain hispanic beauty. He grabbed her face in both hands and gave her rather lengthy kiss.
After the kiss broke, Cecilia continued to look into Hank's eyes. "If you were afraid I wouldn't return your feelings, you were absolutely wrong, Mr. McCoy.
I feel the same way." She smiled as she returned his kiss.
"Oh, Cece. Iwaited so long. So long to tell you, but I was afraid."
"I understand. And we'll talk about this. Later. Right now, we need to finish the task at hand." She smiled sweetly.
"Oh, yes!! Kurt's most recent tests!!" Hank laughed, a load having been lifted off his shoulders. And she loved him, too!! It was almost more happiness than
he could bear!!
Cecilia quickly switched back to professional mode. "I ran the necessary panels on Kurt's blood. That chico's bloodwork is better than mine."
she couldn't help but allow a schoolgirl giggle escape her lips.
It was shear music to the man who loved her.
Hank happily began to run Kurt's latest EKG through the scanner. He was floating on air. This had to be a dream, He thought to himself as his
eyes examined the graph in front of him.
And that's when Hank McCoy was crashed down off his love-induced high.
Hank could feel the heart that was swollen with excitement just a moment ago burst and sink down into his stomach. His face reflected the dread
his mind was trying to process.
Seeing Hank's look of horror, Cecilia quickly rushed to the screen. "Hank? What is it? Is something wrong with Kurt?"
Hank looked sadly at Cecilia, panic in his voice. "It's Kurt's latest EKG. Oh, God." Hank shook his head.
"Well, what is it?! TELL ME!!" Cecilia shouted.
Hank looked dismally up at the woman, fear creeping into her own beautiful features. "There's an irregularity in the graph. The pregnancy is
putting an undue strain on his heart." Hank looked blankly, fear and worry for his friend racing through his mind.
"No, No." Cecilia said to herself. "That would explain why he's so tired all the time. But I thought it was a normal symptom of the pregnancy!!"
Her eyes began to water.
Hank 's mind switched quickly to doctor mode. "There is one good thing. It doesn't seem to be affecting him in any serious sort of way. We just
have to watch him close, that's all."
"We should tell him!! As soon as possible!" Cecilia panicked.
"NO!" Hank shouted. "There's no need just yet!! Don't you see? He and Kitty have enough to worry about without this! Just knowing would
put even more stress on his already fragile state!"
Cecilia nodded her head. "Yes. You are right. But...."
"Don't worry, Cece. We're two of the best. We have Shiar technology at our disposal. We will get Kurt through this." He took Cecilia in his arms,
rocking her back and forth. One thing about Cecilia, she had the heart and determination for her patients that many doctors overlooked in the search
for money.
"Kurt will get through this." Hank thought to himself.
"He has to. I've come to far to fail."
**********************
Kurt had went over in his mind over and over how he would face Mystique when she arrived. He went over his reaction, what he would say, his
determination not to let anything about the woman get to him.
Yet none of this prepared him for the actual meeting,
As he and Kitty walked into the den, there she sat, he golden eyes glowing eerily in the dimlit room. Seated next to her was Forge and the Professor
on the other side.
Kurt took a deep breath. He did his best to surpress the anger and pain that tore at his heart every time he looked at this woman. His birth mother.
The woman whom threw him away like a sack of unwanted kittens into a waterfall. Left him for dead. Never looked for him. He could now fully understand
Kitty's anger from earlier in the day.
"I will not let her get to me. No matter what she says or what she has done or will do, if I become upset and angry, she has truly won." Kurt thought to himself
as he and Kitty assummed their seats on the queen anne style sofa on the other end of the den. As he sat, the babies shuffled inside of him, and he now focused
on his reason for even polluting his air with Mystique's in the first place.
Kitty had kept silent, and she looked to her husband. "Kurt?" She whispered. "Baby, are you sure you want to do this?"
Kurt looked into his wife's eyes, a determination that had never been there before. "Ja. Nothing could make me change my mind."
Forge looked around him. "I suppose the gang's all here." He said. "I suppose this is my cue to exit." He rose from his chair, then proceeded to
leave the den.
Kurt looked to Raven. His expression toward her softened just a bit. Her blue face, the same blue as his fur, was haggard. She looked so fragile, and
Kurt couldn't help but at that moment to feel some sympathy for her.
Raven looked up at her son, a sorrow in her eyes that was never known of her to have before. "Hello, son." she smiled weakly.
Kurt was taken aback at what she had said. He composed himself and looked her up and down. "Yes, Raven, I suppose there is something you
said you wanted to tell me?"
"Yes." She rasped.
"Then don't waste my time. What is it? What could be so important that you just had to talk to the son you never wanted?" Kurt said sarcastically.
He bit his tongue. He promised himself that she wouldn't get to him like this. He took a deep breath, and continued. "Are you finally going to answer my questions?"
Raven broke into tears, nodding her head. Kurt didn't know what to make of it. He sighed, loosing patience again.
"Look, if you came here to cry and find sympathy from us," Kitty chimed in, "Then you looked in the wrong place!! You didn't shed any tears for anyone's life you
took!! You didn't shed a tear for my husband when you threw him away!!"
"IT'S NOT TRUE!!!" Raven screamed.
"Was?" Kurt asked as the others fell silent.
Raven heaved and sobbed, finally finding the strength to speak. "I said," She blurted out, "That it's not true!"
"What isn't true?" Kurt asked, his full attention affixed on her.
"The whole story about you being thrown into a waterfall!! For God's sake, I thought you were all smart enough to figure
out it wasn't true!! If I had done that, you wouldn't be standing here! You would be dead!!" Raven shouted, tears of anger
and hurt in her golden eyes.
Kurt sat, dumbfounded at the bombshell Raven had just dropped. Kitty was equally stunned. Kurt looked toward the Professor.
"I know what you are wondering, Kurt. Yes, she is telling the truth." The Professor said, not quite able to comprehend what Mystique had
just said himself.
"So, what is the truth, Raven?" Kurt asked calmly. Finally, his life, his family's lives, would be complete.
**********************
I was born in a small farming village outside Stockholme, Sweden, as Raven Anna Darkholme in 1908. We were a poor farming family.
My father would toll the fields all day, my mother was the village seamstress. I was there only child. A child born with porcelain skin,
blue eyes and black hair, from wince my father named me. I was so special to him, and him to me. He was a strong man, my father, but gentle.
Life was good, despite our poverty, until I turned ten.
My health took a turn for the worst. my body ached all the time. I was so weak at times that I could not get out of bed. My mother would cry herself
to sleep over me. My father took me to doctor after doctor, but none could diagnose what was wrong with me.
About a week after my eleventh birthday, I started to feel better. I decided to go into the fields nearby, to pick some flowers for my mother's hair.
How she loved the native wildflowers. She decorated her long, black braids with them, and she would put some into my own hair.
That when my life ended.
Out in the middle of the field, sharp pains wracked through my body. They were so intense. I thought I was going to die. I passed out.
I couldn't believe I was still alive when I awoke.
But I felt strong, my body was free of the pain that had wrecked it for the last couple of months. I felt strong, free. I began to dance in the field.
Until I looked down at my hands.
I screamed. They weren't my snowy ivory hands. But hands covered with blue skin. More blue than a dead man's. I ran to a local pond, I tried to wash the blue
off. As I looked down at my reflection in the water, I screamed. I ran home to my mom and dad.
They screamed. Called me a demon. Asked me what I did with their precious Raven. The villagers ganged together to hunt me. I hid in a local cave.
The snow was cold, and I was scared. I knew I could never go home again.
That's when I discovered my shapeshifting ability. Alone, in that cold, dank cave, I wished I was a bear, so my fur would keep me warm.
And like magic, it happened.
By experimentation, I learned later on how to shapeshift into other people. People I knew, images I had made up.
It was this way that I held a job as a maid for a local wealthy couple.
I saved my money, and fled to Germany, where I met Otto Adler. He was a local blacksmith, tall, brawney, with pale blonde hair and
steely blue eyes. We married, and it was with him that I had my first child. Her name was Irene Adler, or as you later knew as Destiny.
Needless to say, as my husband aged and died, my shapeshifting abilities kept me from aging. Irene knew of her mother's "talent", though
her father never knew. When her abilities of prophecy emerged, I wanted to seek help for her somewhere.
My late husband, however, left me with quite the nestegg, and it was with it that I was able to flee to Canada.
It was also there that Department H recruited me. For the first time in my life, I heard the word mutant. I also met others
like me and Irene.
And, I fell in love once more.
His name was Victor Creed. Dashing, brave, and a mutant like me. We bonded. Our bond produced the unholy spawn known as
Graydon Creed. I didn't want to give him up, but due to Department H's insistance, I did. I now know that was for the best.
It was shortly after I put Graydon up for adoption that Victor and I went our separate ways, romance wise, anyway.
It was also shortly after this breakup that Department H hired yet another recruit. His name was Eric Wagner.
I was paired with Eric on a mission to Germany. It was during this time that I fell in love with him and him with me. We wanted
a better life together. We were both mutants, both members of Department H, and we both knew we wanted a life outside. We went AWOL
from the department, married, and I, Eric and Irene settled near the Bavarian Alps of Germany. You were born a year later. As much
as you were precious to me, you were very special to your father. He so desperately wanted a son. So you can imagine his joy when
you showed up, blue skin and all.
But our happy life was not to be lived for long. Department H came looking for us. They raided our little cottage, and took Eric into
custody. I managed to escape with Irene and you.
Because Irene was well into her middle age, I knew the department would never suspect her of being my daughter. You, how some ever, were
a completely different story. I feared for you and your safety. I knew the department would make me give you up as well.
During our marriage, Eric and I had befriended a local caravan of gypsies. I emplored Margali to take you into her home and raise you, to
offer you the protection I couldn't.
This whole experience changed me. I became brutal, cold, unfeeling. There's no need to go into detail of what happened after that, you know
of me as the deplorable Mystique. What's worse, I allowed my flesh and blood daughter to use her abilities of prophecy to help me with my bruta
lity.
**************************
Kurt looked at his enemy now in an entire different light. The woman he thought was an absolute monster was actually the loving mother he'
had dreamed of having all his life. He stood in shock and disbelief, as well as the Professor and Kitty.
"I don't believe it." Kurt said, dumbfounded. "All this time, after I discovered you were my mother, I despised you. Hated you.
Never in my wildest dreams would I have pictured you to be a self-sacrificing parent. And Destiny?"
"Your half-sister. " Raven stated.
Kurt slumped back in his chair. After a long pause, he looked back to Raven. "Why? Why didn't you come back for me?"
Raven shook her head, looking to him with wholehearted sincerity. "I wanted to, child! But I couldn't!! Department H had just started the
Weapon X project, and I knew that if they discovered you, you would be their next labrat!!"
Kurt was silent as he allowed his mind to process this newest bit of information. "Then, why didn't you tell me? When you found me with the X-men?"
Raven sighed. "I had done so many dispicable, horrible things. I had more enemies than most people have changes of underwear! They would have killed you
to spite me!! That's why I had to make sure you hated me!! So you wouldn't ask so many questions!!"
Kurt shook his head. He looked to the Professor. "Professor, is all she said true?"
The Professor shook his head, he himself in shock at the news. "If I were not a telepath, I too would think otherwise. However, Kurt, she is telling the exact
truth."
Kurt blinked. "No exaggeration, either?"
The Professor shook his head."No, she is being painfully honest."
Raven looked into her son's face, searching it for a reaction. Her eyes transfixed on the carpet in front of her as she spoke.
"Kurt, I didn't come here to ask for forgiveness from you. In truth, I don't expect it. All I do wish for is understanding on your
part. As a parent. Can you at least see reasonably why I had to do what I did?"
Tears welled in Kurt's eyes. He didn't know what to say. It was too soon to judge exactly how he felt about her at this moment.
"Ja. I do. I understand. In time, I can forgive. If...." Kurt gasped, "You do me one favor."
"Anything. You are my son, and as a mother I will do whatever it takes." Raven rasped.
"My father. Is he still alive?"
Raven was silent for a long moment. She then spoke. "Yes."
"Well? Where is he?" Kurt asked anxiously.
Raven looked around the room for a second, and looked back to Kurt. "Your father wouldn't remember you, Kurt. Department H
wiped his memories away. They even gave him another name. He doesn't remember his past."
"And that new name is?" Kurt asked.
Raven looked at the faces surrounding her. The Professor, Kitty, and Kurt. All of them, waiting to hear the name that would
part from Raven's lips.
"Logan." she said
