Chapter Twenty-Eight:

With midday passing into evening, Sebastian Malloy strolled through his home, taking care not to step in the last few patches of sunlight streaming through the shuttered windows.

The entire day had been quiet, now that most of their guests had departed and that the twins had things to do in the city today (Rebecca at the university and Sid at some business meeting). It had been the first time Sebastian had been able to get a full day sleep since the odd assortment of mutants and such showed up two days ago. He supposed he should be accustomed to the madness that seemed to stalk his family, but moments of peace were not to be taken for granted.

Sebastian headed toward the kitchen for a bite to eat, walking through the main living area and humming audibly to himself. He did not speak to the individual seated on one of the cushioned sofas. He simply smirked and shook his head as he entered the kitchen.

The refrigerator hissed as he opened it and searched for a snack. His humming faded into whistling as he considered the individual out in the living room with amusement. A silver thermos filled with his beverage of choice was sitting near the back, and Sebastian rooted past the milk and juice to retrieve it. He was still whistling as he nudged the icebox door closed with his hip and then wandered back into the living room.

Sebastian grinned broadly at the waiting guest and sat down on the opposing sofa. He regarded the person pleasantly for a moment, and unscrewed the cap of his thermos as he began to speak.

"Didn't think you would still be here..." Sebastian remarked and took a swig of a thick, red liquid before continuing, "Won't Erik be missing you by now?"

"No way, dude," the figure, which looked and sounded just like St. John Allerdyce, said coyly, "Mags couldn't wait to get me off the island..."

"Mags?" Sebastian repeated with a pained grimace, "Do they really call him that?"

St. John smirked, "Oh, yeah, man. All the cool mutants do."

Sebastian winced again and shook his head, "You don't pull off teenager as well as you used to, Raven."

The figure dressed as Pyro tilted her head slightly with amusement at the vampire's criticism.

"Fools most people," she replied with a shrug, "Unfortunately, my gift cannon emulate every aspect of my chosen form."

Mystique shifted back to her natural feminine guise, maintaining the illusion of clothing out of courtesy. Her blue skin molded around her body until she appeared to be wearing a long white dress.

"No matter what you look like," Sebastian said with a wry grin, "You'll always smell like you to me."

"That's flattering," Mystique replied with a laugh, "Glad to see you haven't lost all of your charm."

Sebastian shrugged indifferently and took another long drink from the thermos. He had known Mystique long enough to handle her peculiar games. The aloofness she held toward most others did not faze him. He had known her before Magneto had given her a name other than Raven.

"Who do you think Sid learned it from?" Sebastian remarked and leaned back to glance at a nearby clock, "His meetings usually run late. I thank Wall Street quite often for these extended reprieves."

"What exactly does he do?" Mystique asked curiously.

"Hell if I know," Sebastian admitted, "Something about computers. Nothing illegal I hope...or I'll have to kick his ass..."

Mystique offered him a genuine laugh and replied, "Now you sound like your brother..."

Sebastian glanced uncomfortably at Mystique and sighed. He spun the thermos in his hands and stared down at the silver casing thoughtfully. Any conversation involving mention of his brother always made him uneasy. Fortunately, the blue shape shifter was one of the few people in the world who knew why, so she courteously changed the topic.

"We are leaving tonight," Mystique said, stealing Sebastian's attention away from his drink, "Erik is quite happy with Pyro's progress and hopes he may stay with you a while longer..."

Sebastian shrugged and then raised an eyebrow, "How long will this while be?"

"Not too long, I imagine," Mystique said with a furtive smile, "I'm sure Erik will contact you when the time to collect our young pyretic has come. For now... I think he's a bit preoccupied..."

Mystique let the statement linger openly between them, always hinting at something more but still playing the game she was so good at. Though she did not expect Sebastian to react with suspicion. The vampire would first need to care about the Brotherhood's motivations in order to have a reason to be suspicious. Since Mystique's coy allusions were not directly about his kin, he had no reason to care.

"Terrific, I just love being at Mags's beck and call," Sebastian replied with mock enthusiasm and got to his feet, "I'm leaving. Please don't be here when I get back."

Mystique nodded and continued to smile, "We won't be... Good bye, Sebastian."

The vampire waved one hand over his shoulder and called back as he walked away.

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Raven."

He slammed out the front door, and in the echoing silence, all that could be heard was Mystique's amused laughter.


And the shape shifter was true to her word.

A few hours later, Mystique and Toad were standing at the edge of a long dock which extended out into the Atlantic Ocean. They had not been waiting long when a modest sized boat pulled up beside them. The ship was constructed of a dark, buoyant metal, which was nearly invisible in the darkness.

Toad leapt across the dock and began to secure the boat with heavy rope as it settled into port. He was not as familiar with this vehicle as he was with most of the others in the Brotherhood's arsenal. Mostly because it did not require much maintenance; it did not even have an engine. It means of propulsion were strictly through the powers of one man.

There was a dull thud as short metallic plank fell heavily onto the wooden dock. Magneto stepped off the ship and paced quickly toward his followers. He adjusted his cape over his forearm and smiled at them from under his protective helmet. No need to give Charles any hints that he had joined his Brothers on the mainland.

He did not exchange greetings with either Mystique or Toad. Magneto had come to the city for one specific reason and had no time for pleasantries.

"So...tell me," Magneto said to both of them, "What have you learned?"

Toad glanced apprehensively at Mystique and hesitated to answer. The blue mutant simply folded her arms over her chest and looked on innocently. Magneto nodded once to Toad reassuringly and waited for him to speak.

"One positive ID," Toad said, digging the paperwork from his pockets and handing it to his leader, "For Pietro Maximoff. There's a picture of him there from some newspaper. Address and some other things too. Plus a few surveillance photos from th'other night..."

"Surveillance?" Magneto said with enough approval to make Toad grin happily, "Excellent work."

"We gonna be interceptin' this one?" Toad asked, ready to continue on at his leader's word, but Magneto shook his head.

"No..." the older mutant said slowly, "No... I think I will handle this matter myself..."

"But, what if he's dangerous?" Toad asked quickly.

Mystique rolled her eyes at the green mutant's unnecessary concern. Toad was loyal to a fault, in her opinion, but Magneto had built that loyalty by making his approval the odd-looking mutant's most powerful reward.

"His gifts pose no threat to me," Magneto reassured Toad, "He uses them too infrequently..."

Toad nodded and Magneto turned toward Mystique. He narrowed his eyes but still maintained a knowing grin.

"And... how was the witch?" he asked.

"Informative," Mystique replied simply. She would not give up her findings as easily as Toad.

"Indeed," Magneto replied and then gestured toward the ship, "Come. We must rendez-vous with the Lady Deathstrike. She is waiting near the Chesapeake and may have something of interest to report as well..."

The Brotherhood followed Magneto into the metallic craft and the plank folded up to seal the doorway. The water bound vessel moved silently out into the Atlantic Ocean and then turned south.