I never would have expected the young Mystique to want to come along when I left Charles's school. I told her it would have been smart to leave, but I had not meant for her to leave with me! Yet, I remembered that she had no family, no one she could trust. If she were to just leave now, where would she go?
She would be an easy target for the thieves in the city, being a young woman, and what if someone should see her true face? More likely than anything else, she would meet her death by a gangster's bullet. I couldn't let that happen, so I allowed her to come with me.
I have been more or less alone for much of my life, and suddenly having a companion can be a difficult transition. Not that I minded having company for once, but it was certainly an adjustment.
Everything had just happened so fast.
Our plan might have even worked if not for Scott...but it is pointless to split hairs. The fact remains that Charles and I will probably never see eye to eye again.
Did we ever? Perhaps in the beginning, but probably never again. I'm sorry, Charles.
Mystique felt that she would be better off with me than in the school, especially now that everyone would know she was involved in the tampering with Cerebro. No one knew that she was my accomplice, of course. I gave everyone who inquired the idea that I had somehow forced her into the whole ordeal, manipulating her, taking advantage of her very useful abilities. There was no reason to allow her reputation sink down to my mischievous level.
Yet she was adamant that she come with me, who was I to argue?
*****^^^^^*****
It had started out innocently enough. We made our way to the city and found an upscale hotel with a vacancy. It was a one-bed room, which was no huge obstacle. I let her have the bed, and slept on the couch.
Sleep did not necessarily come to me easy that night. I was used to being on my own...for many long years. I had known that my employment at Charles's wouldn't last forever; yet, when I left I had not been counting on taking anyone along. Now that I had Mystique here with me, I was responsible for her.
What were we going to do? We couldn't just stay in this hotel forever! We needed a plan.
Once I awoke the next morning, Mystique had made breakfast. She poured me a cup of coffee and sat across the table from me. She had asked what we were going to do, and I told her that we would have to find a base of operations. She agreed.
I still had the gold that Charles and I came upon while in Israel. If I were to help my mutant people, I certainly had the means to afford it. Almost by some ironic cliché, I purchased an island as the base for my "evil" headquarters.
Personally, I thought it had much potential underneath its rugged exterior. Mystique and I changed the island until it suited our needs; we carved out the rock and built the interior until the island's wilderness mingled with my architecture. I knew that it was perfect when Mystique gave me a hundred-watt smile.
That may have been the exact moment when things began to escalate.
*****^^^^^*****
Over the years, we made progress in our fight for mutant power. She was able to infiltrate government agencies and retrieve large amounts of information. Her control over her abilities grew with every transformation she performed.
There were, however, certain limits. While she could create the illusion of clothing from her flesh, she could not rid herself of the clothes that she was wearing already. This often created problems, and she had a simple solution: she would walk naked.
At first, it was awkward for both of us, but over time, we were able to adjust. She looked like no other woman I had ever seen before. Her body was lithe and sleekly muscular, yet not without its feminine curves. In time, it was commonplace to see her walk with her head held high, proud of her indigo skin.
*^*^*^*
However, her pride once cost her dearly. While in the city for more information retrieval, someone saw her out of disguise. They saw her in true form, and panicked.
Security guards swarmed her, and I had to come to the rescue.
Often during her more dangerous assignments, I would act as an unseen guardian.
I was almost too late. She was beaten senseless, and I had to take her back home. I cared for her a great deal, and I had not realized just how much my young protégé...no, how much my friend meant to me...until she was almost taken away.
I was surprised at the emotion. I thought that such feelings had left me when Magda did...
I had stood at the doorway to her room, watching her as she slept. She had not taken on any fatal damage; she'd be back on her feet in a week or so. She rolled over onto her side, the blanket fell to the floor. I couldn't help myself; my eyes took in the lines and shadows of her body. The long legs stretched out behind her; her arm resting on her torso, protecting her stomach. Her other arm curled under her head, used as a second pillow. The scales visible to me on her arm, chest and legs began to flutter. I wasn't familiar with what it could have meant, was she cold?
I entered her room, desperate to be quiet; what would she think if she caught me watching her? She'd think me a sick, voyeuristic hawk; deriving wicked pleasure from spying on a slumbering dove. Quickly, I replaced the blanket over her body and then left the room, retiring to my office.
This is wrong, I know that it is. She was a student of mine, for God's sake! What kind of life had I offered her? One filled with danger and prejudice, as was evidenced by the damage done this very night. I reasoned with myself, thinking that she was safer with me than on the streets, but did she even really need me? With her mutation, she could impersonate anyone. If she so chose, she could have mimicked the richest person in the world, and taken what she needed of their bank accounts.
I had even asked her when she had recovered.
"You would be so much safer if you left me, Mystique, so why do you stay?"
She gave me a confused look, as if the answer should have been obvious. After a long silence, she explained. "Because...being here with you feels right. That's why I left the school with you, because it felt right. It still does."
I had given her a chance at freedom, to escape the dangers that came with being my associate.
She chose to stay. She wanted to stay with me. No one else had given me that much.
The question was answered, and she left me in the office to my own musings as she went on to her bedroom to rest her bruised muscles. She had told me that she loved me with her eyes, her touch and her loyalty. She has not said it with words, but I can read her heart like an open book.
She would be an easy target for the thieves in the city, being a young woman, and what if someone should see her true face? More likely than anything else, she would meet her death by a gangster's bullet. I couldn't let that happen, so I allowed her to come with me.
I have been more or less alone for much of my life, and suddenly having a companion can be a difficult transition. Not that I minded having company for once, but it was certainly an adjustment.
Everything had just happened so fast.
Our plan might have even worked if not for Scott...but it is pointless to split hairs. The fact remains that Charles and I will probably never see eye to eye again.
Did we ever? Perhaps in the beginning, but probably never again. I'm sorry, Charles.
Mystique felt that she would be better off with me than in the school, especially now that everyone would know she was involved in the tampering with Cerebro. No one knew that she was my accomplice, of course. I gave everyone who inquired the idea that I had somehow forced her into the whole ordeal, manipulating her, taking advantage of her very useful abilities. There was no reason to allow her reputation sink down to my mischievous level.
Yet she was adamant that she come with me, who was I to argue?
*****^^^^^*****
It had started out innocently enough. We made our way to the city and found an upscale hotel with a vacancy. It was a one-bed room, which was no huge obstacle. I let her have the bed, and slept on the couch.
Sleep did not necessarily come to me easy that night. I was used to being on my own...for many long years. I had known that my employment at Charles's wouldn't last forever; yet, when I left I had not been counting on taking anyone along. Now that I had Mystique here with me, I was responsible for her.
What were we going to do? We couldn't just stay in this hotel forever! We needed a plan.
Once I awoke the next morning, Mystique had made breakfast. She poured me a cup of coffee and sat across the table from me. She had asked what we were going to do, and I told her that we would have to find a base of operations. She agreed.
I still had the gold that Charles and I came upon while in Israel. If I were to help my mutant people, I certainly had the means to afford it. Almost by some ironic cliché, I purchased an island as the base for my "evil" headquarters.
Personally, I thought it had much potential underneath its rugged exterior. Mystique and I changed the island until it suited our needs; we carved out the rock and built the interior until the island's wilderness mingled with my architecture. I knew that it was perfect when Mystique gave me a hundred-watt smile.
That may have been the exact moment when things began to escalate.
*****^^^^^*****
Over the years, we made progress in our fight for mutant power. She was able to infiltrate government agencies and retrieve large amounts of information. Her control over her abilities grew with every transformation she performed.
There were, however, certain limits. While she could create the illusion of clothing from her flesh, she could not rid herself of the clothes that she was wearing already. This often created problems, and she had a simple solution: she would walk naked.
At first, it was awkward for both of us, but over time, we were able to adjust. She looked like no other woman I had ever seen before. Her body was lithe and sleekly muscular, yet not without its feminine curves. In time, it was commonplace to see her walk with her head held high, proud of her indigo skin.
*^*^*^*
However, her pride once cost her dearly. While in the city for more information retrieval, someone saw her out of disguise. They saw her in true form, and panicked.
Security guards swarmed her, and I had to come to the rescue.
Often during her more dangerous assignments, I would act as an unseen guardian.
I was almost too late. She was beaten senseless, and I had to take her back home. I cared for her a great deal, and I had not realized just how much my young protégé...no, how much my friend meant to me...until she was almost taken away.
I was surprised at the emotion. I thought that such feelings had left me when Magda did...
I had stood at the doorway to her room, watching her as she slept. She had not taken on any fatal damage; she'd be back on her feet in a week or so. She rolled over onto her side, the blanket fell to the floor. I couldn't help myself; my eyes took in the lines and shadows of her body. The long legs stretched out behind her; her arm resting on her torso, protecting her stomach. Her other arm curled under her head, used as a second pillow. The scales visible to me on her arm, chest and legs began to flutter. I wasn't familiar with what it could have meant, was she cold?
I entered her room, desperate to be quiet; what would she think if she caught me watching her? She'd think me a sick, voyeuristic hawk; deriving wicked pleasure from spying on a slumbering dove. Quickly, I replaced the blanket over her body and then left the room, retiring to my office.
This is wrong, I know that it is. She was a student of mine, for God's sake! What kind of life had I offered her? One filled with danger and prejudice, as was evidenced by the damage done this very night. I reasoned with myself, thinking that she was safer with me than on the streets, but did she even really need me? With her mutation, she could impersonate anyone. If she so chose, she could have mimicked the richest person in the world, and taken what she needed of their bank accounts.
I had even asked her when she had recovered.
"You would be so much safer if you left me, Mystique, so why do you stay?"
She gave me a confused look, as if the answer should have been obvious. After a long silence, she explained. "Because...being here with you feels right. That's why I left the school with you, because it felt right. It still does."
I had given her a chance at freedom, to escape the dangers that came with being my associate.
She chose to stay. She wanted to stay with me. No one else had given me that much.
The question was answered, and she left me in the office to my own musings as she went on to her bedroom to rest her bruised muscles. She had told me that she loved me with her eyes, her touch and her loyalty. She has not said it with words, but I can read her heart like an open book.