I don't think that I have ever seen anything as welcoming or beautiful as Mystique looked the first time I saw her after I escaped.
Once I emerged into the sunshine and fresh air, I found that I wasn't in some secret government compound. Rather, they had created a specialized prison in a mountain range, cutting right into the rock. The air was crisp with the approaching winter, and the sun seemed much brighter than I remembered. Of course, there is always a certain shock when reintroduced into nature after months of deprivation. I breathed deep, cherishing the feel of the cold air in my lungs. As I looked to the horizon, I could see a town at the base of the mountain range. Even though it was miles away, I could feel the metal there.
After so much time away from my precious alloys and alkalis, I had grown hungry for them.
I turned my attention to some movement I saw out of the corner of my eye. There she was, just as I had remembered. Her reflective scales had caught the sun's flare and she seemed almost illuminated; glowing like some unknown goddess. I watched her as she came to me, enjoying the confident sway of her hips. She approached me cautiously, never breaking eye contact. Her last few steps were slowed, as she looked me up and down. I was still wearing my prison uniform; I had not had any time to change. Her hand reached up to my face, and she stroked my cheek tenderly.
Oh yes, my bruises, how could I have forgotten? They were still painful, and I couldn't help but flinch under her fingers. This small recoil upset her, and she pulled back her hand. Oh, how I had missed her! The feel of her body next to mine in the night, her encouragement, her very presence! I pulled her into an embrace that she fully returned.
She pulled back and pointed over her shoulder, to a limousine. I don't care how she came upon it- probably stolen- but I was grateful. She led me inside, and pulled me into a long, deep kiss.
It was good to be free.
For a while, we just held each other, enjoying the return of the other's form. It was too early for coupling, but the comfort of her presence was just as welcome. She curled in my lap in the back of the car, wrapping her arms around my neck; I had cradled her weight and rested my chin on her crown.
The simple physical contact had so much comfort and meaning behind it...it was as if the entire world and all of the problems we had to face just fell away. She had missed me as much as I had missed her. We both thought that the other was dead, how she came to find the truth I will never know.
I don't mean to sound conceited when I say that I knew that it was worse for her than for me, being alone. I know that it was worse for her because she had been forced to face the world alone. Before her body began to mutate, she was every bit the normal girl. She had had a family, friends; they rejected her after it became obvious of what she was, of course (typical human stupidity). After she made it to Charles's school, she had me; I was there for her whenever she needed comfort.
I, on the other hand, have been alone for most of my life...but that did not mean that I enjoyed being in isolation, everybody needs somebody sometimes, I suppose.
In our reunion, she had begun to cry, the emotions became overwhelming. The fear, the anger, the mourning, the longing...in a rush, she told me of what she had done while I was incarcerated. She had become Senator Kelly, and he had reversed 'his' opinion on mutant registration. Mystique was brave, I had never really thought of it before, but to do a thing like that was very brave.
She faced the mob alone, wearing the face of a betraying leader.
She also told me of the information she had come across in William Stryker's offices; he had built a Cerebro chamber of his own. Ah, the plan was quickly falling into place. He had kidnapped Charles and Scott and was planning to use them in his plan. Surely, he would use Charles to rid the world of mutants...it would almost be foolish if he didn't.
But where had he taken Charles, where had he built the chamber? Good questions, but we didn't have any answers.
Of course, we knew who did. The same people who had separated us, the students that Charles always took so much pride in teaching: the X-men. Reluctantly, I used my powers to start the limo, and it drove down the long stretch of road before us.
Once I emerged into the sunshine and fresh air, I found that I wasn't in some secret government compound. Rather, they had created a specialized prison in a mountain range, cutting right into the rock. The air was crisp with the approaching winter, and the sun seemed much brighter than I remembered. Of course, there is always a certain shock when reintroduced into nature after months of deprivation. I breathed deep, cherishing the feel of the cold air in my lungs. As I looked to the horizon, I could see a town at the base of the mountain range. Even though it was miles away, I could feel the metal there.
After so much time away from my precious alloys and alkalis, I had grown hungry for them.
I turned my attention to some movement I saw out of the corner of my eye. There she was, just as I had remembered. Her reflective scales had caught the sun's flare and she seemed almost illuminated; glowing like some unknown goddess. I watched her as she came to me, enjoying the confident sway of her hips. She approached me cautiously, never breaking eye contact. Her last few steps were slowed, as she looked me up and down. I was still wearing my prison uniform; I had not had any time to change. Her hand reached up to my face, and she stroked my cheek tenderly.
Oh yes, my bruises, how could I have forgotten? They were still painful, and I couldn't help but flinch under her fingers. This small recoil upset her, and she pulled back her hand. Oh, how I had missed her! The feel of her body next to mine in the night, her encouragement, her very presence! I pulled her into an embrace that she fully returned.
She pulled back and pointed over her shoulder, to a limousine. I don't care how she came upon it- probably stolen- but I was grateful. She led me inside, and pulled me into a long, deep kiss.
It was good to be free.
For a while, we just held each other, enjoying the return of the other's form. It was too early for coupling, but the comfort of her presence was just as welcome. She curled in my lap in the back of the car, wrapping her arms around my neck; I had cradled her weight and rested my chin on her crown.
The simple physical contact had so much comfort and meaning behind it...it was as if the entire world and all of the problems we had to face just fell away. She had missed me as much as I had missed her. We both thought that the other was dead, how she came to find the truth I will never know.
I don't mean to sound conceited when I say that I knew that it was worse for her than for me, being alone. I know that it was worse for her because she had been forced to face the world alone. Before her body began to mutate, she was every bit the normal girl. She had had a family, friends; they rejected her after it became obvious of what she was, of course (typical human stupidity). After she made it to Charles's school, she had me; I was there for her whenever she needed comfort.
I, on the other hand, have been alone for most of my life...but that did not mean that I enjoyed being in isolation, everybody needs somebody sometimes, I suppose.
In our reunion, she had begun to cry, the emotions became overwhelming. The fear, the anger, the mourning, the longing...in a rush, she told me of what she had done while I was incarcerated. She had become Senator Kelly, and he had reversed 'his' opinion on mutant registration. Mystique was brave, I had never really thought of it before, but to do a thing like that was very brave.
She faced the mob alone, wearing the face of a betraying leader.
She also told me of the information she had come across in William Stryker's offices; he had built a Cerebro chamber of his own. Ah, the plan was quickly falling into place. He had kidnapped Charles and Scott and was planning to use them in his plan. Surely, he would use Charles to rid the world of mutants...it would almost be foolish if he didn't.
But where had he taken Charles, where had he built the chamber? Good questions, but we didn't have any answers.
Of course, we knew who did. The same people who had separated us, the students that Charles always took so much pride in teaching: the X-men. Reluctantly, I used my powers to start the limo, and it drove down the long stretch of road before us.