Disclaimer : I own none of the X-Men nor their surroundings, however Dell Tucker is mine, along with Ilehana Xavier, should she make a brief appearance!
A/N : The date at the start of a chapter refers to the timeline in respect to the Prologue.
Chapter Two : Mutant
Six Years Previous, Somewhere in New York State
"Precious?"
She'd been up and around for no more than a week, after four long weeks in bed, familiarising herself again with what she had been told was her home. Their house was in the middle of nowhere, a gorgeous mansion built at the end of the nineteenth century, Victorian by her English heritage, with acres of land, a huge stables, tennis courts, a massive, south facing conservatory, swimming pool, games and media rooms - the list was endless! She loved every bit of it. Her horse - Galaxy - was a big, black gelding with pretty white spots on his left flank, and seemed overjoyed to have his mistress back again. She might not remember who she was, but he did, and her riding came to her like she'd been born to do it. Right now, she was enjoying the sunset through her West-facing bedroom window, music pounding out of a very expensive-looking stereo.
"Precious?"
She flicked the mute button on the remote and called to her father to come in. He was dressed in a very strange outfit - black high-necked top, black trousers, and a black cape with a startlingly red lining. She frowned a little, before smiling.
"Is it Halloween already, Dad? I thought it was May!"
He looked more hurt than angry, and she dropped her eyes, sensing that she'd really offended him in some way. "I'm sorry, Dad, you just look……… odd, that's all."
"There's something you have to know about us, Precious." He brushed his cape out from under him before perching on the edge of her bed.
"What's that?" She put the remote on the sill and turned to face him.
"I don't know how to tell you this, Angel, but we're not like normal people. We're……… mutants." He looked straight at her as he said it, the look in his eyes proud, almost a challenge, daring her to deny it.
"Mu……… Mutants? You're joking, right? You're not a mutant, look at you……… mutants are like, well, like marked in some way, they're not normal like you and………" She was silenced as he reached out a hand, plucking an empty drinks can off the desk on the other side of the room. It sailed through the air and tucked neatly into his grasp. Danielle swallowed, going as white as a sheet as he did the same with her metal make-up case, changed the CD in her stereo whilst still sat on the bed…….. then she ran for her en-suite, the bile rising in her throat………
FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER
"Feel better?" There was an acidity to his tone that she hadn't expected when she re-emerged from the bathroom, forehead shining with sweat.
"A……… a bit." She replied shakily. She sat in her big, leather arm chair, too scared to walk past him or to sit next to him. "So what is it that you……… do, exactly?"
"They call me Magneto - the Master of Magnetism." He answered proudly, chin raised toward her as he looked down his nose. "I can do anything with metal at the flick of a hand."
"Anything?" He detected an awe beneath her fear.
"Anything." Came the arrogant reply.
"And I'm……… I'm a mutant too? What can I do?"
"I don't know yet. I think perhaps it might be the development of your mutant power that has given you this amnesia."
She considered this, intrigued in spite of herself. Danielle didn't think that she'd ever really considered mutants before, certainly never expected that she herself might be one. Maybe she could control metal like her father, or move things with her mind, or……… or……… all sorts of wild ideas leapt into her head, making her smile. She barely heard him talking of tests and lessons, of course she wouldn't be going to school, he'd educate her himself with the help of a few close mutant friends. And some day she'd help him run his empire, where mutants need not live in fear of human attack………
"Danielle, meet Mystique."
She was looking in a mirror, surely, not meeting another mutant. She could see her own chestnut hair neatly braided, a single silver stud in each ear, grey eyes……… Danielle leapt back with a yell, startled, as the eyes became a cruel, burning yellow, the flesh turned a bright blue, the hair pillar-box red………. The amphibious looking Mystique laughed coldly.
"No prior warning Eric? Cruel………"
"You're a shape-shifter?" Danielle peered at her fathers friend, eyes glowing with ideas. "Imagine what you could do………"
"Our friend Mystique here is going to help us learn more about your mutant power." Magneto smiled. "I'll leave the two of you to get better acquainted."
"We'll be the best of friends." Mystique draped a blue arm about Danielle's shoulders and gave her boss a smile that was more of a leer. She smiled down on Danielle. "First things first, you like milkshakes?"
TWO WEEKS LATER
"Great, so I don't control metal, I'm not a shape-shifter, I'm not telepathic……… I don't create anything………" Danielle growled after two weeks of rigorous training and testing. She'd been poked and prodded in places she didn't even know she had. She was tired, sore, still couldn't remember anything and was very, very grumpy.
"I don't understand it." Mystique gave the monitor a sound slap. "The machine is recording mutant power off the scale. Whatever you do, it's very powerful."
"Whatever I do………" She echoed grouchily, tearing off the pads attaching her to the monitor and threw them aside. "I'm going out. I've had enough of this place." And she flounced from the room in a manner that Magneto himself would have been proud of.
In truth, Danielle thought she'd never get bored of her home. In addition to all the cool rooms with loads of things to do in, there was a room full of computers, where Danielle spent hours surfing the net, a couple of labs, the house was full of nooks and crannies just waiting to be explored. But she hadn't been outside the house, and her teenage side - the side that didn't care if she was human or mutant - was calling to her. She wanted to shop, and she'd been so wrapped up in her work with Mystique that she hadn't had the opportunity to make use of her own car and driver yet……… She headed for the only place she knew would satisfy her desire. New York, New York………
