Author's Note: This chapter might make a few people uncomfortable but it's necessary. I'm also writing this story under the assumption that the readers are familiar with certain characters (i.e.-Raven a.k.a. Mystique and Irene).
Disclaimer: Alright, I could just not put a disclaimer here. If the actual owners of the X-Men decided to sue me for all I have they would get a computer and a few bucks I've made from my part-time job. Wahoo! I have nothing to lose!
Interesting X-Men fact: Wolverine once had sex with Mystique (who was in disguise) but later claimed to know that it had been her due to his heightened sense of smell. (www.uncannyxmen.com)
The Damned, Part 1
Chapter 2: Raven Steps Up
St. Mary, Mississippi 1986:
Marie-Amber Johnson sat mutely on the living room couch. The television was on, picking up nothing but worthless sitcom drivel covered in a layer of fuzz.
"Goddamn it!"
Marie looked to her right, at the torn recliner and the man sitting in it.
"What the hell are you looking at gurl?" he asked her gruffly.
The girl did not answer her stepfather; instead she turned her gaze back to the television. Marie did not want to be home. Had the seven year old girl been a poet she would have said the inside of the house reflected the people living in it; worn out, useless. The small three-room house lacked any beauty. The wallpaper had long since faded, most of it falling off the ugly gray walls, stuffing was pouring out of the couch, almost as if it would like to leave the house too, the television had finally stopped allowing it's owners to view anything in color, and the house was an absolute mess. No one seemed to care whether it was clean or not.
"Come eat your dinner," came the voice of her mother.
Marie followed her father into the kitchen.
"Go git yo brothers."
She nodded to her mother and went outside in search of her two step-brothers. She looked left and right seeing nothing but tall grass.
"What ya want?"
Marie jumped at the voice of her eldest brother, Billy.
"Ah asked what ya wanted."
She turned around, noticing her other brother, Daniel. She motioned towards the house.
Billy rolled his eyes, "Girl ya gotta learn ta talk."
Both boys went into the house. Marie wanted to linger outside but knew what her step-father would do to her if she kept him waiting.
* * *
"You call this shit dinner!"
"Hey ah don't see ya making any kinda effort ta cook!" Marie's mother was yelling.
Marie sat in her chair eating her dinner in silence. Looking up she saw Billy eyeing her, she shuddered. She felt him run his foot up her leg. She pulled away as though she had touched fire. Quickly finishing her meal she hurried off to her bedroom, knowing that her parents wouldn't notice.
She collapsed on her mattress. Her parents had never bought any of their children beds, citing financial problems; instead each had a single mattress sitting in the middle of their cold, hard, floors.
Marie looked around her room in misery. She had heard once that normal children were given every opportunity conceivable to survive. Marie wondered if this meant warm clothing, good food…a bed. Her home reminded her of a prison with no way to escape. Even if she did, so what? They were miles from the nearest house and that one was abandoned.
Marie turned so that she was lying on her stomach. She wished she at least had a window. Sometimes she felt suffocated from the lack of natural light in her room.
"Marie," a soft voice whispered.
She turned to look at her door. Standing there, framed by the hall lighting, was Billy. Immediately she placed a hand under her pillow, grasping a small knife.
Her teenaged brother walked closer. "Marie ah know yer awake."
She clasped the knife tighter.
"Billy where the hell are ya!"
"Shit," Billy muttered before leaving the room to see what his father wanted.
* * *
"Marie, hurry up."
Her mother half-dragged her into a grocery store.
"Alright, spam, where's the spam?" her mother muttered.
Marie followed in silence, observing the people around her, all hicks.
"Watch where you're goin," her mother barked at her. "Ya coulda knocked over that stand of oranges. We don't have the money for that."
Marie looked directly in front of her and sure enough there was a small stand of oranges, "On sale for $1.20 a pound!"
Once her mother finished finding the food she needed she found herself in the checkout line.
"Hey, could ya'll unload your food any slower?" Marie's mother asked.
The woman in front of her turned around. Instantly Marie could tell that the woman wasn't from St. Mary. The blonde woman was dressed carefully in a sharp business suit, the kind Marie had only seen on television, pantyhose, and black heels.
"Could you get any class?" the businesswoman asked, pointedly looking her antagonist up and down.
Marie looked at her mother. Dressed in torn up jeans, showing her panties, a half-shirt, and rollers in her hair, she was far from the best-dressed woman in the store.
"Look Miss Lawyer, ah aint got time to kill with a nobody like you so hurry up."
By then the blonde was finished unloading the groceries and was waiting for the checker to ring them up, "First of all I'm not a lawyer. Second of all, who are you to call me a nobody?" The blonde handed the checker money, picked up the bags of groceries and left, leaving Marie to smile at her mother's anger
* * *
"Oh, you should have seen this woman Irene!" Raven Darkholme exclaimed over dinner. "She was so rude!" she stopped to eat some of her dinner, "And her child, you should have seen her, bones visible through the skin, I don't think she's eaten in days. Her mother didn't even try to hide the scars on her skin. And they weren't just the scars children get from falling down," she rushed on before Irene could talk, "they were scars from being beaten."
Irene took a bite of her lasagna before commenting, "So the girl, she's being abused."
"Yes."
"Well honey you are a social worker."
Raven's fork stopped halfway to her mouth, "Are you suggesting I get involved?"
"Yes I am. If the girl is being abused than she would probably be better off in a foster home than in her own home."
Raven smiled, "I'll start investigating tomorrow morning."
* * *
"Woman git that!"
"Stop yer yelling!" Chelsea Johnson yelled at her husband as she passed by him on her way to the door. Throwing it open in irritation she said, "What?" Narrowing her eyes she snarled, "Oh, it's you."
"Glad your inferior intelligence hasn't kept you from minor recognition skills," Raven replied gracefully.
"What ya want?"
"Well on behalf of the state I would like to inspect your home."
Confusion graced the features of the southern woman, "On behalf a the state?"
"Yes," Raven smiled, "I'm a social worker."
Chelsea rolled her eyes, "Like ah told that ol' man who came round here befoh, we aint got time for the state." With that she slammed the door.
Raven rolled her eyes before knocking on the door again.
The door flew open, "Look lady ah said we aint got time ta…"
"I don't think you understand Mrs. Johnson, if you don't let me in the state will issue a warrant that says you have no choice but to let me inspect your home." Raven smiled smugly. She could see Chelsea weigh her options in her head. Take your time, I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself.
"Fine, but ya'll better hurry yourself."
"Good. My name is Hillary Farmer in case you wanted to know." Raven stepped passed the woman in order to enter the house.
"Who're ya?"
She looked toward the couch, "I'm a social worker, here to inspect your house." Giving the man a look full of disgust she returned to her task.
She noticed that there was no real separation between the living room and kitchen. Instead it looked as though all of it was one room. The second thing she noticed was the lack of sanitary living, she doubted the house had been cleaned in years. Walking over to the stove she made note of a lighter resting nearby. Lighter in reach of children and placed irresponsibly on stove.
Moving on she found herself in front of the refrigerator. Opening it she found exactly what she had expected to, almost nothing. She made note of a gallon of expired milk and molded bread. "Mrs. Johnson, what happened to the groceries you bought yesterday?"
The woman, who was waiting patiently on the couch, replied, "In the cupboards."
Raven looked toward the only cupboards in the house. The wood was chipped, hinges about to fall off; Raven opened the cupboards; and apparently empty. "Nothing here."
"We musta eaten all of it foh dinner last night."
Finished with the kitchen, Raven found herself walking into the hallway. She decided to enter the first door on her left. What she found sickened her; pile after pile of magazines highlighting nude women. Scattered across the room were toys Raven recognized, G.I. Joes, painted red. She guessed it was supposed to be blood. As she scanned the room she realized there wasn't a bed, just a mattress and a few sheets. Deciding she had seen all she needed to, she walked out of the bedroom.
She entered the next room expecting to find something along the lines of prono flicks lining the floor. No, this room was different. There was literally nothing but the mattress, a pillow, and a single sheet. Hmm, not even a window. Raven wondered if this was even a child's room, after all there were no toys, no evidence that a child occupied the room. I'll ask about that later.
Upon entering the next room she was hit by an oppressive stench. Unable to pinpoint the smell she plugged her nose. This room was no better than the others. Again, there was a mattress and one sheet. Where is the smell coming from? Bravely, Raven decided to try and sniff out the smell. She threw open the closet door and gagged; piled in the closet were dead rodents.
* * *
"That's it!" Marie, standing in front of the front door, heard the shout come from inside her house, "This house is not fit to live in!" Marie faintly recognized the voice but could not place it.
"Nonsense," her father protested, "this house is fine."
"I want to talk to your child, or children."
"They aint here," Chelsea replied. "They out in the field somewhere."
Marie saw the door in front of her fly open, standing before her was the woman she had seen in the supermarket the day before.
"Ah, here is one of your children now," the blonde woman said. Turning to Marie she knelt down and said, "Hey, my name is Hillary Farmer. What's your name sweetie?"
When Marie didn't say anything her father shouted, "The girl's a damned mute."
Hillary ignored the man, "Can you show me where your siblings are?"
Marie nodded and when her parents didn't get up to stop her she lead the strange new woman to the back of the house. Sitting against the wall were two boys. One, a brunette looked as though he could be around 14, the other, a blonde, looked 16.
"Billy," whined the younger one, "ah don't wanna play hide and seek, ya always cheat."
"So what Daniel? Ya wanna just sit here?" Both were oblivious to the sight of Marie and Raven.
"Excuse me," Raven said, startling the boys, "are you this girl's brother's."
Both nodded.
"Are you her only siblings?"
Again they nodded.
"Alright, my name is Hillary Farmer, I'm a social worker," Marie looked up at her in surprise, "I'm here to ask you a few questions."
"Go ahead, shoot." The older one said.
"How do you like living out here?"
"It's alright," the younger boy said.
"Do your parents treat you alright?"
"What do you mean?" Billy asked.
"I mean do they feed you, beat you…."
Billy frowned, "I don't wanna talk to ya anymore. Come on Daniel lets go someplace without nosy social workers."
After the boys stormed off Raven sighed, why must children be so difficult?
"Ah'll tahk ta ya," the voice was soft, tentative.
Raven looked down in surprise. "I thought you were mute."
The girl shrugged, "Ah don't tahk ta mah family. But if ya want ta know what mah family is really lahk I'd be happy ta help."
"So your parents do they hurt you?"
Marie looked away, "Yes."
"Do they hurt you by beating you?"
Marie nodded then rolled up a sleeve of her long sleeved shirt.
Raven gasped at the dark, uneven scars etched deep into her skin. "Do, do they hurt you in other ways?"
Marie nodded.
* * *
After an hour of talking with the child, Raven knew she had no choice but to put her in an orphanage.
"Marie, you know I have to put you in an orphanage don't you?"
Marie nodded. "Ah just have one question."
"What's that?"
"What're mutants?"
Raven looked surprised, needless to say, it was not the question she was expecting, "Why do you ask?"
"Ah heard about them on the news," Marie explained, "but ah didn't want ta ask my parents about them."
"Marie, mutants are just people who are…different." The child looked at her in confusion. "You see these people have special gifts, or powers."
"Do ya know one?"
Raven took a deep breath and showed the girl. She reverted to her natural shade of blue, the dark red hair accenting her yellow eyes perfectly.
"Your real pretty lahk that," Marie said softly.
The social worker smiled then turned back to her blonde counterpart, "Glad you think so, most people would have run screaming."
Marie shrugged, "Aftah living with mah family ah aint scared of much."
* * *
"Oh Irene!" Raven bounced happily into the bedroom that they shared in their apartment.
Irene had been sitting on the bed, reading a book. Looking up from the book she smiled, "I'm guessing you had a great day."
"Yup," Raven bounced cheerfully onto the bed, "I went and investigated the Johnson's house and guess what?" Not leaving her lover time to answer she rushed on, "I was right, the girl was being abused, so were her two brothers. The girl has scars from those bastards that call themselves her parents. The scars are all over her body. I got the state in on the case this afternoon; they took the children from the parents and placed them in an orphanage just outside St. Mary. The state officials said this was the best work they'd seen from any of their social workers and that this was the fastest work the state of Mississippi has ever done. I mean, they've never had someone go in to investigate and rescue the children in the same day. I've been in the business long enough to know they weren't kidding, usually it takes weeks."
Irene laughed, "Raven, take a breath or two and slow down." Pulling Raven closer she asked, "And what is to become of the children?"
"Well they all are required to go through therapy whether or not they get adopted but guess what?" Again she left no time for guessing, "They all got adopted this afternoon!"
"Really!" Irene exclaimed.
"Yeah, the eldest boy was adopted by some corporate tycoon in Seattle. The younger one was adopted by a Christian family from Minnesota."
"And the girl?"
"Raven, do ya'll got any peanut buttah?"
Irene looked at the girl at the door then at Raven.
Raven cringed under the watchful eyes of her longtime girlfriend. "Yeah sweetheart, I'll make you whatever you want in a second."
The girl smiled happily and retreated back into the kitchen.
"Raven," Irene hissed, "tell me you're just taking care of her until the real foster parents show up."
"Actually I adopted her," Raven gathered all of her courage, "and there is nothing you can say to make me send her back. I want that child to grow up with me, even if that means losing you."
Irene smiled at the passion in Raven's voice, "Alright, she can stay. But is she aware that we aren't planning on staying in St. Mary for much longer."
"I told her," Raven said, regaining the happiness she had been feeling all day.
As Raven walked to the door to fulfill her promise to Marie to prepare food Irene spoke, "Does she know what line of business you're really into?"
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
End Chapter two. I know some of what I wrote should not be part of Rogue's memories (I.E. the scenes with Irene and Raven) but I'll explain that later.
Thanks to my first reviewers, Tammy, Rogue151, and LiLRoguE. Your reviews have made my whole month! I hope my story lives up to your expectations.
Next Chapter: Rogue starts a life anew with her new foster parents. How will she react when she finds out what line of business they're really into? Plus I introduce a few familiar faces.