Mystique and I had become lovers.
It was not something we had planned. It was certainly the last thing I expected to happen on that day. The day that I usually reserve for contemplative silence and nostalgia; the day when I simply go back in my mind and remember what life was like before the entire world turned to Hell.
I had not left my chamber at all that day, and I suppose she became concerned. Lovely woman, so beautiful.
She had only wanted to know what was wrong, she wanted to help.
But how could I tell her all the details of my past?
Surely, it would have been better to tell her nothing at all. I know that she has suspicions, and she probably knows how I had been a victim, along with my parents. There are other things, however, that are best left unsaid and not thought about.
Even after years of camaraderie, neither of us had made any advances of the romantic kind...despite the obvious tensions building in that category.
We share a great bond. It is more than our mutual quest for mutant power, more than our now realized feelings for each other. It was something else; I have never felt this before, and I suspect that she has not either.
After her years with me, she has undergone an inward transformation; from the shy, self-loathing girl I met at Charles's school to the powerful, proud woman she is today. I know that I had a large influence in her raised confidence. One might even go so far to say that I actually made Mystique what she is today.
They'd be wrong.
No, Mystique was always strong willed and as deceptive as she was beautiful, all I did was give her a little push towards her self-acceptance. She is truly remarkable; I've never had a companion so loyal or precious to me. Magda, my wife of so long ago, was wonderful...but that marriage was nothing like what Mystique and I share. I've seen Mystique at her worst, and she's seen me way beyond rock bottom.
We've seen each other suffer horrendously, and come back from it stronger.
Yes, we are strong as individuals and probably even stronger when we're together. However, we are still just two people, fighting a war against the Earth's majority. Granted, we are two people with super powers and advanced knowledge, but we couldn't be everywhere at once!
This is why I suggested to her that we go recruiting, at least just for that project of mine. That Senator Kelly had a big mouth, one that was going to get him into a great deal of trouble if he was not careful.
I had built a machine, one that could transform a normal human into one of our own. The World Conference seemed like the perfect time and place to use it. Perhaps if they knew what it was to be a mutant they would not force oppression on us.
The machine needed energy, my bio-magnetic energy, and far too much of it, I nearly died just when I was just giving it a test run. I could not die; if this idea were to fail, I had to be there afterwards to come up with another, and another and another if need be. If this idea were to succeed, I had to be there to help rebuild the world in a mutant-friendly society.
We needed the girl.
We had infiltrated Charles's computer files and learned of the girl who could absorb any other person's life force through touch. I did not want to harm her, she had done nothing to insult me; I did not want to kill this child. However, no war can be won without any casualties. If she was to be the only blood spilled, one girl in all the world, then so be it. One sacrifice for the good of all mutant kind.
There was a small problem, though.
How could I reach her? I could not leave the island or New York to go kidnapping, so we found someone to do it for us.
He was a savage mutant. Standing over seven feet tall and nearing three hundred pounds, he was perfect for what we had in mind. He was what Americans would call a "thug for hire." He was paid handsomely for whatever assignment I issued him, and he obeyed without protest.
There were, however, little things that I did not appreciate from him.
Sabretooth, as he called himself, took what I felt to be an inappropriate interest in Mystique. Almost immediately, I was forced to keep my possessiveness and jealousy at bay under a cool exterior of indifference.
Upon their first meeting, his dark, predatory eyes roved over her as if she was prey worthy of his pursuit. I was at my desk, and Mystique standing by my side. He was preoccupied with her now commonplace nude form. He stared directly at her, and she had become uncomfortable, excusing herself quickly. I may be a mutant, but I am still a man, and no man would have appreciated that outright display of disrespect!
I said nothing, of course. He knew too much already, if he backed out now because I dismissed him out of jealousy, Charles could learn of our plan.
That could not happen, it was too soon.
He was an unsavory character, and I did not like him living on the island with us, but there was no other choice. He had to stay with us until we were able to locate the girl, and then he was to go out and fetch her. His visible interest in Mystique never waned, even after it became clear to him that she only shared my bed, and no one else's.
Rather, it seemed to only fuel his fire for her.
The simple fact that he did not care whether she was free or not left me very unsettled. Sabretooth was a mutant who had lived his life governed by his basic instincts: Want, take, have. If he wanted Mystique badly enough, I feared that he would take her.
He almost did once.
She had gone into the cavern where we kept the machine, as I had asked her to meet me there. Sabretooth had followed her inside. I consider it some divine intervention that I arrived in the cave when I did. Mystique was slowly walking up to the edge of the platform, towards the machine, and I saw Sabretooth advancing behind her. He was ready to pounce.
"Sabretooth," I called out sharply. He spun around to face me, as did Mystique. She looked shocked to find him in here with her, she had been completely oblivious to his following presence. "We have a lock on the girl, she's in Canada. Find her." I commanded.
He looked as if he was ready to break my neck. On one hand I hoped that he tried, I would take some pleasure in his destruction; but on the other hand, he was useful and I had need of his tracking skills. He was disappointed and irritated at my interruption of his intended attack on Mystique, but he said nothing.
Neither did Mystique. She walked past me as Sabretooth left the chamber, hanging her head.
I bid Sabretooth happy hunting as he left our island, searching for the girl, relieved that it was just Mystique and I again.
After he left, I concentrated most of my energies on the mutating machine. I even recruited the aptly named Toad as my aide. His powers were very useful, as was his bright mind. He and I further developed my original idea; observing that the Statue of Liberty would be a good place to activate it. I must admit that I liked Toad much more than Sabretooth; he seemed to have no more interest in Mystique than that of a fellow soldier.
She and I had little time for dalliance; in fact, we spent very little time together as the machine's activation drew near. She brought me Senator Kelly, and helped me to recover after I tested the machine on him. Our last days together went by too fast.
We moved on to the final phase of our plan.
She was to keep Charles's hall monitors (some of my own former students, what a small world!) busy while I activated the system. I was alarmed when I could not reach her on the com-link, I knew Mystique could take care of herself, but what if...no, I had a duty to perform here, this was too important to let my personal feelings get in the way!
By some stroke of good fortune for them; Cyclops, Scott Summers, made a clear hit on me. He blasted me in the shoulder while I was attempting to stop Wolverine. I was weakened already, and to take a hit like that, I'm amazed that it didn't kill me.
I had survived, even though Mystique had not.
It was not something we had planned. It was certainly the last thing I expected to happen on that day. The day that I usually reserve for contemplative silence and nostalgia; the day when I simply go back in my mind and remember what life was like before the entire world turned to Hell.
I had not left my chamber at all that day, and I suppose she became concerned. Lovely woman, so beautiful.
She had only wanted to know what was wrong, she wanted to help.
But how could I tell her all the details of my past?
Surely, it would have been better to tell her nothing at all. I know that she has suspicions, and she probably knows how I had been a victim, along with my parents. There are other things, however, that are best left unsaid and not thought about.
Even after years of camaraderie, neither of us had made any advances of the romantic kind...despite the obvious tensions building in that category.
We share a great bond. It is more than our mutual quest for mutant power, more than our now realized feelings for each other. It was something else; I have never felt this before, and I suspect that she has not either.
After her years with me, she has undergone an inward transformation; from the shy, self-loathing girl I met at Charles's school to the powerful, proud woman she is today. I know that I had a large influence in her raised confidence. One might even go so far to say that I actually made Mystique what she is today.
They'd be wrong.
No, Mystique was always strong willed and as deceptive as she was beautiful, all I did was give her a little push towards her self-acceptance. She is truly remarkable; I've never had a companion so loyal or precious to me. Magda, my wife of so long ago, was wonderful...but that marriage was nothing like what Mystique and I share. I've seen Mystique at her worst, and she's seen me way beyond rock bottom.
We've seen each other suffer horrendously, and come back from it stronger.
Yes, we are strong as individuals and probably even stronger when we're together. However, we are still just two people, fighting a war against the Earth's majority. Granted, we are two people with super powers and advanced knowledge, but we couldn't be everywhere at once!
This is why I suggested to her that we go recruiting, at least just for that project of mine. That Senator Kelly had a big mouth, one that was going to get him into a great deal of trouble if he was not careful.
I had built a machine, one that could transform a normal human into one of our own. The World Conference seemed like the perfect time and place to use it. Perhaps if they knew what it was to be a mutant they would not force oppression on us.
The machine needed energy, my bio-magnetic energy, and far too much of it, I nearly died just when I was just giving it a test run. I could not die; if this idea were to fail, I had to be there afterwards to come up with another, and another and another if need be. If this idea were to succeed, I had to be there to help rebuild the world in a mutant-friendly society.
We needed the girl.
We had infiltrated Charles's computer files and learned of the girl who could absorb any other person's life force through touch. I did not want to harm her, she had done nothing to insult me; I did not want to kill this child. However, no war can be won without any casualties. If she was to be the only blood spilled, one girl in all the world, then so be it. One sacrifice for the good of all mutant kind.
There was a small problem, though.
How could I reach her? I could not leave the island or New York to go kidnapping, so we found someone to do it for us.
He was a savage mutant. Standing over seven feet tall and nearing three hundred pounds, he was perfect for what we had in mind. He was what Americans would call a "thug for hire." He was paid handsomely for whatever assignment I issued him, and he obeyed without protest.
There were, however, little things that I did not appreciate from him.
Sabretooth, as he called himself, took what I felt to be an inappropriate interest in Mystique. Almost immediately, I was forced to keep my possessiveness and jealousy at bay under a cool exterior of indifference.
Upon their first meeting, his dark, predatory eyes roved over her as if she was prey worthy of his pursuit. I was at my desk, and Mystique standing by my side. He was preoccupied with her now commonplace nude form. He stared directly at her, and she had become uncomfortable, excusing herself quickly. I may be a mutant, but I am still a man, and no man would have appreciated that outright display of disrespect!
I said nothing, of course. He knew too much already, if he backed out now because I dismissed him out of jealousy, Charles could learn of our plan.
That could not happen, it was too soon.
He was an unsavory character, and I did not like him living on the island with us, but there was no other choice. He had to stay with us until we were able to locate the girl, and then he was to go out and fetch her. His visible interest in Mystique never waned, even after it became clear to him that she only shared my bed, and no one else's.
Rather, it seemed to only fuel his fire for her.
The simple fact that he did not care whether she was free or not left me very unsettled. Sabretooth was a mutant who had lived his life governed by his basic instincts: Want, take, have. If he wanted Mystique badly enough, I feared that he would take her.
He almost did once.
She had gone into the cavern where we kept the machine, as I had asked her to meet me there. Sabretooth had followed her inside. I consider it some divine intervention that I arrived in the cave when I did. Mystique was slowly walking up to the edge of the platform, towards the machine, and I saw Sabretooth advancing behind her. He was ready to pounce.
"Sabretooth," I called out sharply. He spun around to face me, as did Mystique. She looked shocked to find him in here with her, she had been completely oblivious to his following presence. "We have a lock on the girl, she's in Canada. Find her." I commanded.
He looked as if he was ready to break my neck. On one hand I hoped that he tried, I would take some pleasure in his destruction; but on the other hand, he was useful and I had need of his tracking skills. He was disappointed and irritated at my interruption of his intended attack on Mystique, but he said nothing.
Neither did Mystique. She walked past me as Sabretooth left the chamber, hanging her head.
I bid Sabretooth happy hunting as he left our island, searching for the girl, relieved that it was just Mystique and I again.
After he left, I concentrated most of my energies on the mutating machine. I even recruited the aptly named Toad as my aide. His powers were very useful, as was his bright mind. He and I further developed my original idea; observing that the Statue of Liberty would be a good place to activate it. I must admit that I liked Toad much more than Sabretooth; he seemed to have no more interest in Mystique than that of a fellow soldier.
She and I had little time for dalliance; in fact, we spent very little time together as the machine's activation drew near. She brought me Senator Kelly, and helped me to recover after I tested the machine on him. Our last days together went by too fast.
We moved on to the final phase of our plan.
She was to keep Charles's hall monitors (some of my own former students, what a small world!) busy while I activated the system. I was alarmed when I could not reach her on the com-link, I knew Mystique could take care of herself, but what if...no, I had a duty to perform here, this was too important to let my personal feelings get in the way!
By some stroke of good fortune for them; Cyclops, Scott Summers, made a clear hit on me. He blasted me in the shoulder while I was attempting to stop Wolverine. I was weakened already, and to take a hit like that, I'm amazed that it didn't kill me.
I had survived, even though Mystique had not.