Under the watchful eyes of Beast and Cyclops, the erstwhile enemies of the X-men, Avalanche and Pyro, were taken to Mystique's room in the basement of the mansion. Avalanche entered first and made room for Pyro, despite his amazement at her appearance. Mystique had really changed since he last saw her. She looked thin and tired, unhealthy. Her red hair was limp and her eyes had lost much of their former fire. She sat uncomfortably in a chair, but looked at him with her usual regal confidence as he walked in. "Hey, there, Misty. I said I'd come." He paused.

She nodded to him. "Dominic." She turned to Pyro. "St. John." Pyro waved at her. "Misty."

Beast and Cyclops entered after them. Cyclops took a position by the door, and Beast sat in a chair further away. "Dr. McCoy. Scott." She folded her hands. "Permit me to introduce you. You already know Rogue, of course." She wriggled a little in her seat.

"Good to see you again." "Heya." Rogue smiled at them and waved from her seat on the bed with Gambit. "Hi, boys."

"My son, Nightcrawler." Mystique pointed to the furry blue mutant standing guard by her chair. The two men greeted him, and he frowned, tensing and staring at them.

"My daughter's young man, Gambit, also known as Jeremy Etienne LeBeau."

Gambit raised an eyebrow. "Remy. Jus' Remy." He shook hands with the two men, his other hand tucked into his pocket casually. "Don' need to be so formal."

"And Wolverine you also already know." The short man was on the other side of Mystique. He did not offer to shake hands.

Pyro looked at Wolverine. "And you are?"

He took Mystique's hand as she frowned and crossed her ankles. Nightcrawler tensed and hissed a little. Wolverine stroked her hand with his thumb. "Family."

"What kind?"

"Close." He looked at Nightcrawler, who backed up a step, scowling.

Mystique rolled her eyes. "Enough, gentlemen. So. How was the book tour?"

"Same old thing. Horrid. Long. Lots of crazy women throwing themselves at me. Much like a Beatles concert, only with worse music." Pyro nabbed a stool and sat on it. "What'd you think of the story?"

"Pretty good. The ending was a little rushed, though."

"Yeah. I wanted to add another chapter, but my agent said to just save it for a sequel, so I did." He looked around the room. "Where is it?"

"I lent it to someone." Speculative glances were exchanged throughout the room and Wolverine laughed, though Scott did not look around and Mystique held her gaze on Pyro calmly. "I will have it back soon."

Avalanche laughed. "You're kidding me. Who'd you lend it to, Xavier?"

Mystique looked at him and shifted her weight to her right side, grimacing. "No one important, Dominic. How was the family?"

"Much as usual, I'm afraid."

"Was she twenty this time?" Mystique leaned forward, and he sighed.

"They got an eighteen year old girl for me, innocent as can be. Sheltered, traditional Catholic upbringing, and everything. I've tried to explain, but they just don't get it. I tried to let her down gently. They really built me up to her." He paused. "Dad's mostly all right with it, but Mom thinks if she just gets one that's nice enough, I'll reform and give her the grandkids she's expecting."

Pyro snorted and started laughing, getting everyone's attention. Avalanche gave him an angry stare as he coughed, sputtered, and wiped his mouth. "Sorry. Couldn't help it." He snickered a little as Avalanche turned back to Mystique. "Sorry," he repeated. "Go on, Av."

"I thought you'd gotten over this back at your place." He continued his conversation with Mystique. "Not much else to tell. I got back, hooked up with Py, and we came to see you." He moved to stand behind Pyro. "What's been happening with you?"

Mystique shifted her weight to her left side awkwardly. "All sorts of things have been happening. I have been spending time with my children. I am recovering from my illnesses. I have discovered that some people are very important to me." She looked up at Wolverine and reached for Nightcrawler's hand, which he gave reluctantly. "If you are not busy, I have a proposition for you two."

The men exchanged glances, then Pyro said, "Nothing else due to the publisher for a while. What's up?"

"Pardon me." Beast walked over to Mystique's chair and knelt at her side. "Are you experiencing extreme distress?"

She frowned. "I can handle it." He stared into her eyes, and she fidgeted a little. "I am uncomfortable, yes."

"Then let us return you to your supine state, shall we? If you could release her hands…" Nightcrawler and Wolverine let her go, and Beast got her on her feet. "Just a few feet to the bed, Mystique, and then you may recline in comfort."

"I would have been fine," she muttered rebelliously.

"Take a step." She slowly made her way, with his help, to her bed. Rogue and Gambit got up, and she eased herself back. "There. A few pillows, and you will be much better able to converse at your leisure."

She looked at him suspiciously. "Thank you, Dr. McCoy." She relaxed into the cushions as her guards took up their positions again. "Rogue, tell them your news."

"Mama, I don't know. I haven't told the rest of them yet, and it doesn't feel right to tell Dom and John when Kitty and the rest of the X-men haven't heard." Rogue blushed a little in the chair she'd claimed when Mystique moved.

"Very well. I shall inform them." Mystique raised her head proudly.

"Mama!" She glared daggers at Mystique. "Fine. Have it your way. I got knocked up," she blurted out.

Avalanche jerked back a little, startled by her vehemence. "Congratulations on it, then."

Pyro nodded in agreement with Avalanche, then gestured to Gambit. "He the dad, or someone else?"

"No one else, homme. Jus' Gambit." Gambit looked a little smug, particularly at Scott's shocked reaction to Rogue's bald confession.

Mystique continued. "Both she and Jeremy … er, Remy … will, therefore, be unable to continue as team members for a time. That gave me the idea, but I could not see before how to make it work. Now I know. If you two join with my son and daughter, myself, Wolverine, and Gambit, we could form our own independent team, affiliated with the X-men. We would have time for you who are able-bodied to train and get used to working together, as well as to set up our own facilities. We would even be able to take on a few missions soon, assuming you can stand each other and assuming you and Charles agree to my proposal."

The room was silent, and then everyone started talking at once. Nightcrawler talked urgently with Mystique, Hank and Scott shouted with Remy and Rogue, and Pyro and Avalanche held their own debate. Wolverine stood to the side, arms crossed, keeping his own counsel.