The next day, Faye had gone to school early, she really needed to get to Risty before Rogue came to school. She waited at least forty minutes before she spotted Mystique's energy coming around the corner; quietly, she hit the janitor's closet and waited. The hallway was nearly empty as Risty made her way to her locker. Suddenly, as she passed by a door, someone's hands closed in around her mouth and squeezed. She tried screaming, but that person kept dragging her into the opened door.
Faye pushed Risty into a wall and carefully closed the door.
"Who are you?" asked Risty, confused.
"I'd be quiet if I were you," said Faye, looking at the door. She was looking for any curious student that saw her drag Risty into the closet.
"Look here, you don't want to push me around."
"No," said Faye, turning brusquely, with a knife in hand. "Ya don't wanna push _me_ around. I know who ya are, darlin', ya better off droppin' the disguise."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't platy dumb with me, Mystique. Drop the disguise or I'm gonna start knifin'. You pick."
Risty looked at the girl curiously. She recognized her from the day before.
"I could tell Rogue and Scott what you're doing, you know?" she said.
"Yeah? And I could go directly to Xavier and tell him about ya. Or would ya rather have me talk to your son, Kurt? Maybe I could talk to the Brotherhood or, better yet, Magneto might wanna have that little piece of info. Ya have way too many enemies to be makin' demands. I suggest ya cooperate."
Without moving a muscle, Risty morphed into Mystique. She looked down at the woman in front of her. There was more to her, she could feel it; she saw everything she had planned go to pieces.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"That's not important."
"I'd like to know whom I'm dealing with."
"No, you'd like to know how to find me so you can kill me later."
"Perceptive. Why aren't you working for me?"
"You wouldn't be the first person who tried to kill me, after a while you start picking up vibes. Please sit," she said motioning to a box.
"No, thanks. I want to get this over with. What do you want?"
"Ok, I wanna know why Magneto is in town. What does he want? Who is with him?"
"You know I don't have that kind of information."
"But you know where to get it. You have forty-eight hours to give me something, otherwise Xavier will know. Then, pretty soon Kurt will know, then finally Rogue, and that's when your plans go down the drain."
"What do you know about what I have planned?"
"Not much, and it really doesn't matter to me. I'm only here as a request of a friend. I complete my mission and then I'm off on my merry way. You may never see me again."
"I'll need some time to think."
"This isn't a deal! Forty-eight hours! And that's all you've got. Don't waste it," Faye said, putting the knife on her pocket. She turned towards the door, changed her body and left through the bottom of the door.
Mystique looked at her and shook her head. It was going to be a long week.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Night had fallen, Faye was already sitting at the usual place looking out on the horizon.
*Mystique's forty-eight hours are going,* she thought. *Not even she can figure out what made Magneto come so fast. Unbe-fucking-livable.*
She sensed someone approaching her. Her muscles tensed up a little, and then a smile ran across her lips.
"You know, I had a feeling it was you who were helping me all this time," she said without looking.
"I knew you were going to figure out who I was once you saw me," said Jeff.
He approached her carefully and sat down next to her.
"I suppose I owe you an explanation," she started.
"Not to me. I don't really care much about what you have to do or whatever, but I do think someone will. He'll be here in a second. Meanwhile, I ought to tell you what I blew my cover for."
"Hmmm... You'd think that as the Oracle of the Realms, I would be able to know that already. There's so much I don't know sometimes I even doubt that I was supposed to be an oracle. You'd probably make a much better oracle than I would."
"Funny how life turns out, huh? Anyway, I have a messge for you. Some girl wanted me to tell you that Magneto is planning an attack on the Institute, no one knows when, so be prepared."
"So, she came through with it, after all. Anything else?"
"Nope. I wouldn't risk myself with that much information, you know that. This isn't gonna be good for me, but I'm just a messenger," he said leaning back and looking at the starry sky. "Our visitor is here."
Faye leaned back as well and smiled. It was the first time that things seemed calm, she liked that. Logan groaned as he pulled himself onto the ledge. He sat next to Faye and sighed.
"I guess this is it. I'm gonna tell you guys everything."
"Only if you really wanna," said Logan.
"It doesn't matter if I want to or not. It only matters that I'm finally going to be able to sleep peacefully. I carry too much baggage, it's not healthy."
"All right, then. You should let us carry some of it for you now," said Jeff.
"Ok, here goes nothing. A while ago, I don't really remember when, I was going through the South after a little accident I had down in Mexico."
"I remember hearing about that," Logan said. "It was that accident with the tour bus, right?"
"Yeah, twenty-eight tourists ended up 'missing' and two others are now locked up in an asylum."
"Daniel?" asked Jeff.
"Bingo," she answered. "Anyway, I wanted to get away for a while, trying to forget the whole thing, so I ended up in Mississippi. This was all after I found you and helped you in Canada. I kept a low profile for a while and tried leading a normal life, but Sabertooth found me and tried to make my life hell, like usual."
Logan growled and Faye chuckled.
"I didn't wanna stick with him this time, but he couldn't understand that. I tried running away from him, however, that only made him chase me. I was going down a street when someone pulled me into a store. It startled me, but it kept me hidden from Sabertooth, so I didn't care much. He gave up after a while, I don't know why, he could've easily found me with his powers.
"Anyhow, the lady who helped me turned out to be a mutant seer by the name of Destiny. She lived alone and missed her daughter very much, so I stayed with her. After a while, I found out that her daughter was actually Rogue. I kept asking her about her life, but she would just change the subject; she acted as if she was scared of something or someone, that's the impression I got, at least."
"She could be, or maybe she was too involved or something," said Jeff, carefully.
"I don't know, she could be. Okay, so, one day," she continued, "she woke me up, desperately. She had one of her visions again. I had sensed a shift in energy earlier, you know that usually happens when someone different is close by. I think that's about the time she had a vision."
*Oh, you couldn't be more wrong,* thought Jeff.
"After she had calmed down, she told me all about it. Sometime in the future, she knew it was the immediate future but not how far into it, Rogue was going to be in trouble. I asked her what kind of trounbe but she wasn't sure. She knew that Rogue might have been in trouble and she was very apprehensive. I asked her to calm down, but she was frantic, so I helped her write a letter to Rogue and said I was going to deliver it. She asked me to keep a watch on Rogue and make sure she was all right.
"That's when I left Mississippi and headed North. Tom helped me find you and the others, but it was Rat, well...you, who helped me the most. Now Magneto's here and he's ready to attack."
"And, whacha gonna do?" asked Logan.
"The only thing I can do: attack back. I gotta make sure Rogue's fine. That's what I promised Irene I would do."
"Ye're really gonna go 'gainst Magneto?"
"Yeah, there's nothing else I can do. I know he's very powerful , and, with a metal skeleton and a computer chip in my head and in my arm keeping that lunatic Daniel in check, I'm not the best weapon against him, but I have to do it, or at least try it."
"You mean die trying, right?" said Jeff.
"I agree," said Logan.
"Well, whatever it takes. If I have to die making sure that Rogue's ok, then so be it. Magneto might be after Scott too, you know."
"How do ya know?" asked Logan.
"A little bird told me," she said, winking to Jeff, who smiled.
"Listen, darlin', I'll be here. Ya won't have to worry, ok?"
"I hate to break it to you, but you've got a metal skeleton too," said Jeff.
"Well, Chuck will be there."
"I'm afraid Magneto isn't going to be alone," informed Tom.
"What do you mean?" asked Jeff, nervously.
"I just listened to a telephone call Xavier received. There was a break-in on the facility Juggernaut was being kept, he's escaped. The found twisted pieces of metal and bent metal bars everywhere."
"Damn," said Faye. "I gotta go."
"Where?" both Logan and Jeff asked.
"To get prepared. Don't let Xavier go anywhere. He'll be needed here."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"We've got another note?" asked Lance.
"Yeah, it came in this morning, but Fred didn't brink in the mail up until now," said Tabitha.
"Hey, it wasn't my fault. We never get any mail, I'm just not used to checking it," contested Fred.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, what does it say this time, yo?" asked Todd.
"I'll read it," said Pietro, snatching the paper from Tabitha's hand and dodging a couple of her firecrackers. "You guys are way too slow. It says: The time is here. You will wait for me outside Xavier's Institute for the Gifted tomorrow, I will give you full instructions and the rest of the money there.' That's it."
"All right! We'll finally get a chance to beat those X-dorks!" said Todd, jumping up and down.
"I don't believe it, any of it. It's a trap, it has to be," protested Tabitha. "I'm not going."
"Oh, really? Maybe you're soft because we're gonna be attacking the Institute and you used to be an X-men there," provoked Lance.
"How about I show you who's soft right now?" challenged Tabitha, ready to blast him into next Tuesday.
"Forget it!" said Pietro. "We don't need your help. We'll do this ourselves, and you're not getting any share to the money."
"Whatever, I don't want it anyway," said Tabitha, leaving the room.
"Don't you guys think she has a point?" asked Fred.
"Well, it is kind of strange, but who cares, right? I say we go for it, what have we got to lose?" asked Todd.
"Besides our lives?" said Lance.
"I wish you guys wouldn't joke about stuff like that," said Fred.
"You weaklings, we can do this," said Pietro. "Now, shut up and let's get ready. We've got a lot to do tomorrow."
Faye pushed Risty into a wall and carefully closed the door.
"Who are you?" asked Risty, confused.
"I'd be quiet if I were you," said Faye, looking at the door. She was looking for any curious student that saw her drag Risty into the closet.
"Look here, you don't want to push me around."
"No," said Faye, turning brusquely, with a knife in hand. "Ya don't wanna push _me_ around. I know who ya are, darlin', ya better off droppin' the disguise."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't platy dumb with me, Mystique. Drop the disguise or I'm gonna start knifin'. You pick."
Risty looked at the girl curiously. She recognized her from the day before.
"I could tell Rogue and Scott what you're doing, you know?" she said.
"Yeah? And I could go directly to Xavier and tell him about ya. Or would ya rather have me talk to your son, Kurt? Maybe I could talk to the Brotherhood or, better yet, Magneto might wanna have that little piece of info. Ya have way too many enemies to be makin' demands. I suggest ya cooperate."
Without moving a muscle, Risty morphed into Mystique. She looked down at the woman in front of her. There was more to her, she could feel it; she saw everything she had planned go to pieces.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"That's not important."
"I'd like to know whom I'm dealing with."
"No, you'd like to know how to find me so you can kill me later."
"Perceptive. Why aren't you working for me?"
"You wouldn't be the first person who tried to kill me, after a while you start picking up vibes. Please sit," she said motioning to a box.
"No, thanks. I want to get this over with. What do you want?"
"Ok, I wanna know why Magneto is in town. What does he want? Who is with him?"
"You know I don't have that kind of information."
"But you know where to get it. You have forty-eight hours to give me something, otherwise Xavier will know. Then, pretty soon Kurt will know, then finally Rogue, and that's when your plans go down the drain."
"What do you know about what I have planned?"
"Not much, and it really doesn't matter to me. I'm only here as a request of a friend. I complete my mission and then I'm off on my merry way. You may never see me again."
"I'll need some time to think."
"This isn't a deal! Forty-eight hours! And that's all you've got. Don't waste it," Faye said, putting the knife on her pocket. She turned towards the door, changed her body and left through the bottom of the door.
Mystique looked at her and shook her head. It was going to be a long week.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Night had fallen, Faye was already sitting at the usual place looking out on the horizon.
*Mystique's forty-eight hours are going,* she thought. *Not even she can figure out what made Magneto come so fast. Unbe-fucking-livable.*
She sensed someone approaching her. Her muscles tensed up a little, and then a smile ran across her lips.
"You know, I had a feeling it was you who were helping me all this time," she said without looking.
"I knew you were going to figure out who I was once you saw me," said Jeff.
He approached her carefully and sat down next to her.
"I suppose I owe you an explanation," she started.
"Not to me. I don't really care much about what you have to do or whatever, but I do think someone will. He'll be here in a second. Meanwhile, I ought to tell you what I blew my cover for."
"Hmmm... You'd think that as the Oracle of the Realms, I would be able to know that already. There's so much I don't know sometimes I even doubt that I was supposed to be an oracle. You'd probably make a much better oracle than I would."
"Funny how life turns out, huh? Anyway, I have a messge for you. Some girl wanted me to tell you that Magneto is planning an attack on the Institute, no one knows when, so be prepared."
"So, she came through with it, after all. Anything else?"
"Nope. I wouldn't risk myself with that much information, you know that. This isn't gonna be good for me, but I'm just a messenger," he said leaning back and looking at the starry sky. "Our visitor is here."
Faye leaned back as well and smiled. It was the first time that things seemed calm, she liked that. Logan groaned as he pulled himself onto the ledge. He sat next to Faye and sighed.
"I guess this is it. I'm gonna tell you guys everything."
"Only if you really wanna," said Logan.
"It doesn't matter if I want to or not. It only matters that I'm finally going to be able to sleep peacefully. I carry too much baggage, it's not healthy."
"All right, then. You should let us carry some of it for you now," said Jeff.
"Ok, here goes nothing. A while ago, I don't really remember when, I was going through the South after a little accident I had down in Mexico."
"I remember hearing about that," Logan said. "It was that accident with the tour bus, right?"
"Yeah, twenty-eight tourists ended up 'missing' and two others are now locked up in an asylum."
"Daniel?" asked Jeff.
"Bingo," she answered. "Anyway, I wanted to get away for a while, trying to forget the whole thing, so I ended up in Mississippi. This was all after I found you and helped you in Canada. I kept a low profile for a while and tried leading a normal life, but Sabertooth found me and tried to make my life hell, like usual."
Logan growled and Faye chuckled.
"I didn't wanna stick with him this time, but he couldn't understand that. I tried running away from him, however, that only made him chase me. I was going down a street when someone pulled me into a store. It startled me, but it kept me hidden from Sabertooth, so I didn't care much. He gave up after a while, I don't know why, he could've easily found me with his powers.
"Anyhow, the lady who helped me turned out to be a mutant seer by the name of Destiny. She lived alone and missed her daughter very much, so I stayed with her. After a while, I found out that her daughter was actually Rogue. I kept asking her about her life, but she would just change the subject; she acted as if she was scared of something or someone, that's the impression I got, at least."
"She could be, or maybe she was too involved or something," said Jeff, carefully.
"I don't know, she could be. Okay, so, one day," she continued, "she woke me up, desperately. She had one of her visions again. I had sensed a shift in energy earlier, you know that usually happens when someone different is close by. I think that's about the time she had a vision."
*Oh, you couldn't be more wrong,* thought Jeff.
"After she had calmed down, she told me all about it. Sometime in the future, she knew it was the immediate future but not how far into it, Rogue was going to be in trouble. I asked her what kind of trounbe but she wasn't sure. She knew that Rogue might have been in trouble and she was very apprehensive. I asked her to calm down, but she was frantic, so I helped her write a letter to Rogue and said I was going to deliver it. She asked me to keep a watch on Rogue and make sure she was all right.
"That's when I left Mississippi and headed North. Tom helped me find you and the others, but it was Rat, well...you, who helped me the most. Now Magneto's here and he's ready to attack."
"And, whacha gonna do?" asked Logan.
"The only thing I can do: attack back. I gotta make sure Rogue's fine. That's what I promised Irene I would do."
"Ye're really gonna go 'gainst Magneto?"
"Yeah, there's nothing else I can do. I know he's very powerful , and, with a metal skeleton and a computer chip in my head and in my arm keeping that lunatic Daniel in check, I'm not the best weapon against him, but I have to do it, or at least try it."
"You mean die trying, right?" said Jeff.
"I agree," said Logan.
"Well, whatever it takes. If I have to die making sure that Rogue's ok, then so be it. Magneto might be after Scott too, you know."
"How do ya know?" asked Logan.
"A little bird told me," she said, winking to Jeff, who smiled.
"Listen, darlin', I'll be here. Ya won't have to worry, ok?"
"I hate to break it to you, but you've got a metal skeleton too," said Jeff.
"Well, Chuck will be there."
"I'm afraid Magneto isn't going to be alone," informed Tom.
"What do you mean?" asked Jeff, nervously.
"I just listened to a telephone call Xavier received. There was a break-in on the facility Juggernaut was being kept, he's escaped. The found twisted pieces of metal and bent metal bars everywhere."
"Damn," said Faye. "I gotta go."
"Where?" both Logan and Jeff asked.
"To get prepared. Don't let Xavier go anywhere. He'll be needed here."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"We've got another note?" asked Lance.
"Yeah, it came in this morning, but Fred didn't brink in the mail up until now," said Tabitha.
"Hey, it wasn't my fault. We never get any mail, I'm just not used to checking it," contested Fred.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, what does it say this time, yo?" asked Todd.
"I'll read it," said Pietro, snatching the paper from Tabitha's hand and dodging a couple of her firecrackers. "You guys are way too slow. It says: The time is here. You will wait for me outside Xavier's Institute for the Gifted tomorrow, I will give you full instructions and the rest of the money there.' That's it."
"All right! We'll finally get a chance to beat those X-dorks!" said Todd, jumping up and down.
"I don't believe it, any of it. It's a trap, it has to be," protested Tabitha. "I'm not going."
"Oh, really? Maybe you're soft because we're gonna be attacking the Institute and you used to be an X-men there," provoked Lance.
"How about I show you who's soft right now?" challenged Tabitha, ready to blast him into next Tuesday.
"Forget it!" said Pietro. "We don't need your help. We'll do this ourselves, and you're not getting any share to the money."
"Whatever, I don't want it anyway," said Tabitha, leaving the room.
"Don't you guys think she has a point?" asked Fred.
"Well, it is kind of strange, but who cares, right? I say we go for it, what have we got to lose?" asked Todd.
"Besides our lives?" said Lance.
"I wish you guys wouldn't joke about stuff like that," said Fred.
"You weaklings, we can do this," said Pietro. "Now, shut up and let's get ready. We've got a lot to do tomorrow."