Not Myself
by Princess Alexandria
"Well, Terry." Mystique let her eyes go yellow when she turned to face the woman. It seemed to ease Christy's tension. Christy was new enough to need the reassurance that it really was Mystique with her. "We're here."
"We're queer, get used to it." Christy muttered and Mystique had to grin at the common protest rhyme the gay community used.
"I'm definitely used to it already." She grinned at Christy. "If you'd only let me show you, you'd know. I'm very used to it." Her male voice dropped to an indecent tease and it made Christy blush.
"Remember, Rob… or Robbie if you're feeling frisky." Mystique moved closer to give Christy a peck on the lips, in case anyone was watching out their window. "And if you're feeling really frisky, please hold that thought until we get home. I don't want to miss it."
"Hard to believe you ever sleep alone with such amazing pick up lines." Christy smirked at her and shook her head. Christy then stepped out of the car and Mystique went through her mental shift. It was just as important as the physical one. Christy was now Terry in her mind. The different appearance of her temporary partner helped with that.
********
Rob walked beside Terry up the path towards the small house in the city and was a step or two behind her when the door opened and Jacob smiled out at them. That was how he noticed Terry's body tense up for a moment before the woman pushed herself to continue down the path. Did she know him? If so it was very lucky that she'd learned to shift, because otherwise Rob would have risked taking her in her original form.
"Jacob, this is my fiancée Terry." He smiled at the man at the door and then glanced at Terry, who was clenching one fist out of sight but to Jacob would look cool and collected. What was going on with her? Rob didn't like the fact that something obviously was going on. Her first undercover mission shouldn't be any more stressful than the norm. Rob's eyes traveled over her like a proud lover, but he was really looking for any indication that Terry wasn't holding form. It still looked good. "Ter, this is my best friend… unless he says something you don't like, then he's an ex friend." He smirked at Jacob and noticed the man chuckle at Rob's joking about being that whipped.
"Nice to meet you Jake." Christy spoke a bit more slowly and elegantly than normal. It was still her voice, but the tone helped to disguise it some.
"You too, but I prefer Jacob. My mom named me after a great man after all."
"Really?" Christy seemed to ask who with that one word and Rob sighed just a little. Clearly Christy wasn't used to religious folk if she didn't recognize who Jacob was named after. Jacob wouldn't like that too much, but after a lecture about god that will try Terry's patience he should drop it.
"Now you've done it you heathen." Rob whispered as they followed Jacob into the house. "Your soul will need to be saved before anything else is done."
"There's no saving this soul." Terry tried to tease back, but Rob recognized that the woman at least half believed that. He filed that away to be considered later because they were on a mission, but it was yet another hint that his new partner was more than she appeared.
It took nearly twenty minutes for Jacob to drop his monologue while Sarah worked in the kitchen to finish dinner. One good thing was that Jacob was so busy telling Terry about his good Christian upbringing that he didn't insult the woman by suggesting she go help in the kitchen while the men talked.
"This is some woman you got here." Jacob smirked at him while talking about Christy right in front of her. It was the sort of move that Rob hated in his true gender, but Terry gave no indication she minded being talked about like that.
Terry smiled and grabbed his hand while they sat on the couch. "Thanks, now if you could just tell Robbie that Hawaii is a better honeymoon spot than Mexico we're in business. I'll approve you as his new best friend." Her eyes were friendly when they looked at Jacob, like she'd known him for a while and liked him. Rob noticed the tension in the man ease as Jacob seemed to melt away some of his natural suspicious nature. Christy was charming him. Good job.
"Rob, you dog. You shouldn't argue with the little lady about the honeymoon. Give the girl what she wants." Jacob's grin was genuine as he teased Rob. "Lord knows if I wasn't already married I'd take her to Hawaii."
Sarah chose that moment to come in from the kitchen and Rob was amazed that Jacob didn't have the decency to say something endearing to his wife so she wouldn't worry about his flirting. Of course what could you expect from sexist bigots?
Dinner was the normal polite non talk. Sarah attempted to talk to Terry about cooking, which went over like she'd been talking another language. Cooking was clearly not a strength of Terry's. At that point the woman tried to change the subject. "So Terry." Sarah asked while politely dabbing at her lip in case she'd missed with that last tiny mouthful. "When is the wedding?"
Terry glanced at her and Rob tried with his eyes to tell her he hadn't specified a date, so it was alright to answer. Perceptive woman nodded subtly, "Well, I'd like an August wedding. The weather is usually good, so it can be outside. It also isn't hard to get time off during that time of year."
"Time off?" Sarah looked a bit perplexed. "You'll be going back to work?"
"Yeah." Terry sounded a bit stunned that a woman would ask her that. Good thing they weren't pretending she was a woman that would fit in with Sarah more, because Rob doubted Terry could fake it. "I like my job, and the income isn't bad."
"But…" Sarah looked a bit lost in the conversation. "What about when you get pregnant?"
"Oh," Terry blushed a bit and glanced at Rob. "We won't be having kids right away." Terry's eyes held a warning that he better not tease. "I want to get our lives established first. Rushing into children won't give us enough time to learn to live together first."
That started a stream of questions about children, desired names, numbers; it was something that Sarah got a bit excited about. Something she could talk about. At that point Rob smirked when Terry gave him wide eyes and a helpless look. She was out of her element now and fully faking it. Not bad.
After dinner Terry got roped into walking with Sarah into the kitchen. It was either that or call Jacob on his sexist ways, and it looked like Terry considered doing the latter. Sarah entered the kitchen first and Rob noticed the sad look Terry sent back towards Jacob's back before it was covered up again. That one true moment of emotion on her face only served to enhance Rob's concern.
"Pretty woman." Jacob grabbed his beer and led Rob towards the living room. "So, I was talking with Liam about some of your ideas and he wouldn't mind meeting with you." Rob nodded his appreciation for Jacob putting in a good word for him. Liam was the second in charge and it would be very good to get his mannerisms and voice down in case he had to borrow that shape to set these human bigots up. Real or imaginary crimes, he didn't care what these men were locked up for, just that they were locked up. Of course Charlie would prefer real evidence, but time was a consideration. "He's got a thing he has to do so it'll be a week. His job is sending him to Portland for training."
"Well, whenever he wants to talk. I have a lot of ideas."
When they left Terry stared a bit too long at Jacob before leaving, and Rob could tell by the gleam in that man's eyes he thought Terry found him attractive. The look in Terry's eyes told Rob something different. There was regret there. This was not good. What was going on? Was this going to endanger the mission? He was a leader in that Friends of Humanity sect that Christy wanted gone at all cost.
When they got in the car Rob pulled away, but they both kept their forms for the drive until he could be sure they weren't being followed. "You seemed a little tense when you met him."
"He reminds me of someone I used to know." The words were flat, and clearly an invitation to drop the subject. Not good.
"Don't keep secrets now. You are the one that preached about my needing to be able to trust you, and let me tell you the way you looked at him isn't inspiring trust." Rob glanced around and didn't see anyone following yet. He let the form slide into his true one. It was night, so the other drivers shouldn't notice.
Mystique glanced at Christy and watched for a moment while Christy faded back to herself as well. It took longer but she did it. "I used to know a man a lot like him; only he was a good man. The kind of man you trust to watch your back." Christy seemed to be struggling for words the way she normally did when she was trying to talk around what she wasn't supposed to tell Mystique. Great, Mystique thought with more than a bit of sarcasm.
"So he looks like an old friend. Appearances are only skin deep, you should know that better than anyone."
"I know he isn't Jake." Christy's voice got harsher then she turned to stare out the window. Mystique's eyes widened a bit at the bad luck of the similar names on top of looks. "Don't worry; he's going to jail too. I'm not blind. I can see who he's become."
That sounded a lot like she knew THIS man. Mystique glanced at Christy's tense body and then back at the road. Charlie may think Christy needs to keep her secrets, but if they are going to endanger the mission, that woman better spill.
********
Christy couldn't believe this lousy luck. She had seen people in this world from the tribe before. People she hadn't known too well, so it wasn't as hard to deal with. But Jake? Why did this have to be Jake? A tear started down her cheek, but she didn't brush it away, afraid that Mystique would see it then.
Jake was a wonderful man. Funny, tolerant, a bit rough but a good man. This version was a horrible twisted copy of him. Jake wouldn't have ever killed people just because they were different. She remembered him listening to her stories; even the gay male ones that made him cringe, with a bit of tolerance. He had an open mind. He had a good soul. What the hell happened to this Jacob to make him like this?
Christy felt a bit sick and debated about telling Mystique to pull over, but she just swallowed hard and tried to breathe more calmly. Her kids or her tribe… Her head shook just a little at that thought. He wasn't her tribe, not here. Still, some of the stories he'd told about his childhood were painfully familiar. Christy remembered sitting around a campfire hearing them before, minus his blaming mutants for his brother's death. No, that Jake didn't pick a scapegoat in what was clearly an unfortunate accident.
Jacob was the enemy, and she'd do what needed to be done. Christy's mouth became a thin line as she bolstered her resolve. She'd done harder things that imprison a friend, and he wasn't really Jake. If she had to repeat that several times to herself she would.
"What is this about?" Mystique didn't look happy at all. Christy subtly wiped her tears and turned to face her. Should she tell Mystique?
"It's one of those things I can't talk about." She noticed the angry snarl on Mystique's lips. "But I promise it won't affect the mission. I'll do whatever has to be done and I won't hesitate." Mystique dropped it, but Christy suspected it was only temporary. She couldn't blame the woman; this wasn't the time to be keeping secrets. Christy wanted to trust Mystique, she really did, but even without Charles' rather biased opinion, she knew Mystique used whatever information she needed in her goals and friendship might not be enough to keep the blue female from using Christy if she felt the situation called for it.
"Well, next weekend I meet with that Liam guy you mentioned." Mystique's voice was clipped in anger as she reported the success.
"Good." Christy gave a half smile at the progress. It was all she could manage.
********
Open day, what a lousy idea. Annie watched as students put up posters around campus and kept her eye out for Sophie. Sophie and her sisters were part of the planning committee for this parent day. In spite of all their work, their own parents weren't able to make it, but one good thing they had was that their parents would have come if they could have, a big difference from Annie's dad.
She was doomed to a dull day of watching other students excitedly lead their parents around campus. Classes were cancelled for today.
"Sophie!" She waved as she spotted the blonde and moved towards her. Sophie was helping her sisters put up a banner straight but standing back and giving directions.
"Hello Annie." Sophie smiled at her and Annie jogged a little so she wouldn't have to yell.
"Hey." Annie felt a bit awkward. She hadn't come here for any particular reason; she just wanted to find Sophie. She'd found the girl before she could come up with an excuse. "How's it going?"
"Well, in spite of the other students' lack of work, I believe we will be ready before the parent lunch."
"Oh, Good." Annie stood there for a moment. "You need help?"
Before Sophie could answer a loud voice spoke from the main building. She turned to see Quentin on the balcony. "Parent Day will be cancelled! We have the Professor hostage. No humans will be setting foot on our campus!"
"Oh great. He'll ruin everything." Esme stepped up closer to them and gazed up at Quentin with disdain. Annie couldn't believe how calmly the girl took this. Quentin had kidnapped a teacher, the headmaster. It was insane. Esme took a few steps closer to the balcony, while other students stood still not sure what to do. A few teachers stood in a huddle talking, but no one was addressing Quentin just yet. "You obnoxious freak. We've been planning this day for weeks, and we won't let you ruin it." Esme's sisters moved closer to her to support this and Sophie left Annie's side as well.
"We really have him!" His voice rose louder, more frantic. His arm waved and the Professor was pulled out and Annie could recognize him even with the strange helmet fastened to his head. Quentin's friends then grabbed him and pulled him back into the building.
"Quentin, you don't want to do this." Hank spoke as he moved closer.
"Human's kill us, kill us in the thousands, and here we are just going to invite them here to stare at us like we are a freak show?" His voice made Annie's skin crawl. There was something seriously wrong with him.
"These are the students' parents and friends." Henry's voice was loud as he tried to talk to Quentin.
Quentin's voice rose to insane levels and seemed to echo in Annie's brain, making less and less sense. He was insane. She moved forward to grab Sophie and try to pull the girl away from the balcony. She had a bad feeling about this. Sophie wouldn't budge from her sisters' side. "Let's get out of here." Annie spoke loud enough for them all to hear her.
"We won't let this troll ruin our day." Esme glared up at Quentin with the others.
A scream came from the balcony and suddenly there was fire falling, and crazy laughing. Sophie spun around and moved back, accidentally knocking Annie to the ground just in time to be missed by a ball of fire.
Screaming drew her attention as she got back onto her feet. Annie watched Sophie's dress catch fire and say the pained eyes as the flammable goo stuck to her. Sophie's arms flailed quickly, desperately, but the fire stayed, burning her. Annie rushed forward to grab the panicking girl and tried to move her towards the fountain. It was too far and Annie felt fire burning her hands as she got close. "Sophie." Her voice cracked. "ERIK!" Annie screamed when she saw him rushing their way from the basket ball court. Fire was engulfing Sophie. Suddenly Sophie was flying through the air towards the fountain and Annie ran after her. She jumped into the fountain and dunked Sophie repeatedly until the fire was out. She poured her power out of her hands, desperately fighting the failing body she could sense with her powers.
She glanced up to see Sophie's sisters standing nearby in shock, staring at their burnt unrecognizeable sister. Oh god, Sophie didn't look good at all. Her hair was burned, her face red, her arms… It was hard to see how bad the damage was but Annie could sense it and it was the worst she'd encountered. For a healer that did little more than heal a scrap or papercuts, it was scary. Annie felt weak, but she continued to try and heal. Her eyes scanned the area and found teachers running their way. She noticed Jean stopping Quentin. Saw other students hurt, but she wasn't leaving Sophie's side to help them.
"Sophie, please be okay." She muttered before darkness claimed her and she slid into the fountain, leaving both of them to sink.
********
Christy smiled at Shortpack's serious study of the Internet Chess game he was playing while she moved past him to answer the phone. "Hello?"
The Professor's voice was a surprise. "Christy, you said you wanted a call if anything happened." Suddenly her grin faded away and her skin paled. She turned away from the dining room and the other's eating breakfast.
"What is it?" Her voice was emotionless as she struggled to avoid panic.
"There was a riot on campus, and Annie…" Not Annie, Christy's arm holding the phone shook. "was burned. Her arms will heal. It was her quick thinking that saved a girl, a friend of hers, from burning to death. Both are currently unconscious." His voice got softer. "Annie used up her powers too quickly. It may be a while before she wakes up. We hadn't gotten to testing how larger healings affect her."
"I'm coming." Her voice was cold.
"We have this under control, and you do have a mission."
Her eyes narrowed as he basically told her to stay and work when her kids needed her. "I'm coming. Screw the mission. My people come first." She heard him take a deep breath to continue to argue, so she hung up on him. When the phone rang again she picked it up and slammed it down hard, loud, without checking who called. It was him.
"What is it?" Mystique was by her side so quickly.
"I need to go to New York." Christy's eyes started to tear. Her kids needed her and she wasn't there. "I need…" Her voice cracked. God, Annie was hurt. She took a few shaky breaths trying to calm down. "Can you cover for me?"
"You want me to play you?"
"It's easy. She's easy to play. No one asks questions." Christy muttered as she started to try and think what she needed. She knew she was in shock, some part of her did. "The notes are under the bed. I have to go."
A hand grabbed hers as she started down the stairs. Christy tugged against it for a moment before Mystique pulled her closer. "I can't let you drive like this. I'll take you."
Christy gave Mystique an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I just have to put them first. They're my kids."
"What's wrong?" Mystique spoke softly while Shortpack was typing quickly.
"Annie was burned and she's unconscious." Christy took a deep breath. "I don't have a lot of people I care about anymore. I need to make sure she's okay."
"I got a ticket. Leaves in two hours." Shortpack spoke up. Christy had forgotten he was there. "You'll have to hurry."
"Thanks." Christy gave him a grateful look, glad he understood. Family came before strangers. People might die because she took this trip, but she had to take it.
********
Mystique drove Christy's car back disguised as the woman. This was going to put a hamper on things. It also made it clear that Christy wasn't cut out for this work. A spy couldn't drop a mission to rush home when something went wrong. There were many times that Mystique had to trust Irene to take care of it all, because she couldn't be contacted for months.
The reason she didn't argue was that Christy let something slip that promised to be important. She had notes on how to impersonate her. Hardly normal, and it made a few things start to click in Mystique's mind. She wanted Christy out of the way so she could double check her suspicions.
She pulled into the driveway before she noticed the cell phone sitting on the passenger side floor. "Damn." Mystique picked it up and checked it. Christy had messages she wasn't going to be getting soon.