CHAPTER 2

Angels And Demons

'Get out you fat bitch GET OUT!'

The maid practically sprinted out the door and down the stairs, narrowly avoiding the footstool that Raven had hurled at her.

'Probably the first real exercise that overfed witch ever had,' she thought testily to herself. Looking around Raven surveyed the damage she had caused; two priceless portraits had been ripped to shreds, their remains decorating the floor, the footstool had been shattered due to the force of Raven's throw at the maid and parts could be seen at the other end of the room, one leg lay on what was left of the couch it had been used with. Strangely enough the small bed near the middle of the room was the only thing undamaged and it was there that Raven slowly sank into wincing at the thing that was causing her tantrum.

A large lump protruded from her belly hiding her feet from view, Raven was nine months pregnant and she was wondering whether or not she should gut the man responsible. Eric had been ecstatic when they discovered she was with child, even more so when they were told it would be a boy, Eric had actually danced with joy when the news that he had an heir to his title, Raven on the other hand was less than pleased. It wasn't that she didn't love the life growing within her Raven thought morosely it was just that her track record with babies left a lot to be desired. Her daughter had been abandoned, given to a close friend for two reasons. One to make preparations for the birth of her powers and two to hide her from her mothers past, to keep her taint away from her as long as possible. And her first son Graydon, well considering who his parents were she couldn't blame him for what he became, but she did not look forward to meeting him again, only one of them would survive that.

 No it wasn't from lack of love she decided still gazing at the lump, when she had decided to keep this child, raise him with the love and compassion of a real family it had seemed like a good idea, a way to make up for past mistakes, besides she had already had two children and one of them wasn't so bad, she now regretted that decision almost as much as she regretted getting pregnant in the first place. When she wasn't devouring anything that looked remotely like food the baby seemed to take a perverse delight in pummelling the shit out of whatever parts of her insides it could reach, lashing out with hands, feet and apparently its head as well, Eric just smiled and joked that his son would grow up to be real fighter, and the maids laughed and congratulated her for growing such healthy child whenever they weren't dodging furniture, Raven just wanted the little bastard out so she could die in peace.

Raven awoke with a start and groaned she'd been dozing again, that always agitated the 'little darling', getting on to her feet proved to be one of the biggest challenges she had ever faced but eventually she was able to rise and begin a shambling walk to try and calm her developing son down, wincing as he randomly attacked her guts. Suddenly she gave a sharp cry of pain and dropped to her knees, it had just hit her with all its limbs, repeatedly. Raven could take no more, she got to her feet raised her hands to the sky and with a look that would of stopped a rabid lion dead she shrieked 'Dear God please remove this beast from inside me!!!'

Her water broke. Raven stared at the puddle for about a minute wondering whether or not the good lord was finally answering her prayers, then she clicked on to what was happening. 'Eric come quick, bring the midwives its happening' She called at the top of her lungs. Eric rushed in and had just enough time to hug his wife before he was quite efficiently bundled out of the room by about five midwives, personally Raven would of preferred that he stayed but these were old-fashioned people who still hadn't discovered the wonders of new medicines, like painkillers let alone letting a man witness a birth, and besides the contractions had started and she could barley breath let alone talk.

'That's it push and breath, you're almost there' Raven hardly heard the midwifes ongoing advice the baby was coming and it was killing her.

'That's it just a little further now'

'I can see the head'

'The child's blue,' one called and despite the pain Raven heard the last and a knot of dread appeared where her child had so recently lay.

'Oh God don't let him have my skin, not now please,' apparently her pleas fell on deaf ears this time as there were several screams and the unmistakable sounds of fervent prayers. 'Give me my son!' Raven demanded to the closest midwife 'Give him to me now!'

'Uh… are you sure you conceived this child with your husband my lady?' the midwife hazarded

'Yes I have slept with my husband and no other Lords truth, now give him to me.' Raven said unable to keep the tremor out of her voice.

  'Well do not worry my lady we've sent for a priest soon you will know if this is a gift from God or Satan.' The midwife said handing her a small bundle Raven looked down and gasped. A tiny form gazed up at her; like the midwives had said the boy was blue but it wasn't skin he was covered in fine indigo blue fur Raven reached down and stroked his face with a finger, it was like touching a cloud. A small hand reached out of the blanket and gripped onto her finger, he had only two fingers and a thumb all longer and thicker than a normal person but he gripped with a power that threatened to stop the blood going to her apendage. The rest of the blanket had fallen off and Raven could see all of her son's unusualness, his feet had only two toes and was bridged sharply so that his heel left the ground by inches, that too was extended turning it into a toe/claw hybrid, but what really explained to Raven why the midwifes had screamed and prayed was the spade tip tail that was currently moving back and forth, her son looked like a demon. In fact the only truly human part of him was the beautiful grey green eyes that looked with innocent curiosity at the world he had been brought into. Raven wrapped up her son and placed him in a small crib that had been brought up during labour

'Leave,' she told the obviously frightened women 'Find my husband and tell him what happened, go now!' she ordered. The midwives made quick curtsies and hurriedly left the room. She waited about a minute then quickly went to work. Grabbing the stained blankets she quickly tied one end to each side of the crib and snapped the legs off to lighten it. Placing the crib gently on the large window, which had been broken in an earlier tantrum she transformed into a massive eagle and shot out of the castle grabbing onto the blanket with her talons as she did, silently flying away from the only place that had ever welcomed her and the only man that had ever loved her.

'Incredible, absolutely incredible,' the man muttered to himself, powerfully built in his early forties the man stood tall and proud gazing down at the infant pausing only to glance at the charts behind him. 'Mystique this is undoubtedly the greatest breakthrough in genetic evolution' he said looking at the charts. 'An actual second generation mutant, congratulations are in order.' The blue skinned mutant slowly rose from the steel couch she'd been lying on and stared, startled at the man's words.

'But I thought a S.G.M could only be born by two mutant parents?' Mystique said confusedly 'Eric never displayed any power'

'Then his X-gene is dormant, he is of no use to the cause.' At this Mystique rolled her eyes and sat back down. 'Do I bore you Mystique?' the man asked 'I would remind you that I am making a better life for all mutants, a life that would come faster if you would just let me…'

'No Erik!' Mystique said angrily 'I came here to protect my child not subject him to your twisted experiments.'

 'Hardly twisted Mystique' Erik retorted ' All my experiments have met with resounding success.'

'Oh yes Erik your success was so great you had to give your son to a foster family and lock your daughter in an asylum because you couldn't control her powers.' Mystique purred at him 'Have you heard about her dreams yet, she despises you more than Graydon does me. And lets not forget about you,' she said scornfully 'the great Magneto, you really should of kept the brown hair Erik you look like an old man,' she said, laughing sarcastically at the white hair that framed his face. Erik's features contorted with rage and he thrust one hand towards Mystique, immediately the steel couch flipped over and slammed Mystique into a wall before she could react.

'I will not take this Raven!' Magneto roared lifting himself off the ground. 'You seem to forget that without me you and your infant would of starved to death by now!' Mystique pulled herself up woozily from the floor and looked at her now crying son.

'He's hungry.'

'Then take him and feed him.' Magneto said exasperated. Mystique picked the baby up and pulled out a bottle, she had lost her ability to breast feed through stress. Magneto watched as the child drained the first bottle only to be given a second, then a third, yes he decided the experiment would take place whether Mystique wanted it to or not.

The baby whimpered as strong hands lifted him from the rebuilt crib that he slept in.

'Don't worry little one,' a man's voice sounded 'everything's alright.' The child gurgled happily and looked around for something to eat, finding nothing he instead grabbed on to the man's long white hair and pulled, eliciting several winces from the man as they travelled. Eventually they came to a large room littered with strange devices, the man placed the baby onto a padded table with what looked like a giant ray gun poised over it, the baby responded to this development by promptly attempting to stuff both hands and a foot into his mouth. The man chuckled and pressed a few buttons on a large keyboard causing a green light to fire from the giant gun and cover the baby. The child stopped what it was doing and stared at the green light, reaching up it tried to grab it.

Stage 1 initiated a computerised voice sounded and the light intensified. The baby screamed, something was wrong the light hurt and though it could form neither thought to understand nor words to protest it could feel something changing as if one part of himself was burying the other. Stage 1 complete, initiating stage 2, the voice sounded again and the baby screamed louder. Suddenly he was lifted away and the pain lessoned.

'Monster what have you done to him!' Mama's voice shrieked through the room like a banshees wail and he felt himself being carried away. The baby cried loudly, tears leaking from now glowing yellow eyes as Mystique ran into the forest, he was tired, hungry and hurt, for a normal child this would be bad enough but for this child it was an unending agony that could only be vented by repeated screams. Mystique prayed for a miracle as she ran, unsurprisingly it didn't come because she could now hear the deep throated howls of Magneto's genetically enhanced hounds, smell their rank breath as they closed in, Mystique bowed her head and ran for her and her child's life. The change in scenery came so suddenly that Raven almost dropped in amazement; the forest simply disappeared at a shear cliff face with on rickety wooden bridge stretching across it. Looking back she could see the slowly advancing hounds, and silhouetted in the darkness the floating form of Magneto. Turning Mystique sprinted across the bridge; she got halfway when a second pack burst out from the clearing ahead, one streaked ahead onto the bridge and lunged at her. Mystique struggled with the beast and slipped screaming as the baby lurched from her grasp and plunged into the river below.

Mystique stared downwards, she didn't notice that the hound had been torn apart by some unseen force, she didn't hear the telltale sound of the Earth's magnetic field being twisted, she didn't even see the now cringing hounds withdraw from their master as she stared at the watery grave of her son. But she did fell the coldness emanating from him, that uncaring, unfeeling coldness that only he possessed, and it was to that twisted sense she responded.

'Why?' she demanded bitterly 'Why?'

The man said nothing he simply turned and flew silently away leaving the woman once known as Raven Darkholme to contemplate the loss of the last good thing to happen to her.

(This chapter is a variation of Internutter's chapter2 from 'A Singular Day' I changed bits of it so it would fit my needs for this fic but if you want the genuine version you'll have to read her fiction.)