After eight hours and nearing 45 minutes later, Mystique finally returned to the base. All had noted her absence, and her return as well. She strode over the threshold, cool and removed. Inwardly, she wondered if she was pressing her luck with the ploy, but she did feel better- more confident, more herself.
The base was a house purchased several years ago, nearly fifteen miles away from the town below- just far away enough to remain private. Eric had bought the grand house under one of his identities. Mystique had not been the only chameleon in the Brotherhood. There were bases scattered in many different cities, or if not a base, then certainly the means of acquiring an immediate safe house.
"Jesus, where the hell were you?" Mystique turned to find Pyro jogging up to her from a hallway.
She had been hurt by Eric's indifference, and now she felt strangely touched by Pyro's obvious concern. "I was shopping, I can't wear your pajamas forever," she said in an attempt to relieve his worry.
The young man nodded in understanding, but was still visibly annoyed. "Yeah, well thanks for calling! I know it's stupid, but I went looking for you after Eric-"
"It's fine," she snapped. She didn't want to talk about Eric. The vindictiveness returned- she wanted him to see how beautiful and strong she still was, she wanted him to come to her and beg forgiveness for how he had behaved.
He never would, but Mystique wanted to dream. Still, she was consoled by the appreciative look on Pyro's face. Now that his concern was relieved, he took her in with his eyes. She stood straighter and arched her back towards him, smiling and giving a toss to her hair. "See something you like?"
He jolted, "Huh? I'm sorry, it's just, you're…"
Her eyes flashed. "What? Human?I'm still-"
"No, I was going to say beautiful!" Pyro said, reaching out to her. "Seriously, Mystique, I…look, it doesn't really bother me that you were, ah, 'cured' the other day, ok? We don't know anything right now, for all we know there could be a cure for the cure, you know what I mean?"
"An antidote? Has Eric said anything about it?"
"Not really, but when we were talking earlier he was saying that we should raid the clinic labs, get samples of the cure, play with it a little until we can find out what we're really dealing with." Pyro finished.
Mystique's shoulders slumped. "Oh. He didn't say anything else?"
"He's been pretty quiet lately, haven't you noticed?"
Mystique glared at him, "Yes, I noticed. Surely you noticed that he hasn't said a word to me since the prison trailer!"
Pyro's expression softened. "I, yeah, I noticed, and I'm not the only one that has. Callisto, Cain, Jamie- we're not blind,"
Mystique sighed. "…John, I don't want to talk about this anymore. Would you please help me bring in my bags?"
He smiled, "You were serious about what you've been doing all this time, you were shopping?"
Mystique shrugged, "Of course, I had to get an entire wardrobe."
Pyro laughed, "Women! Human or mutant, no one can keep you out of the mall,"
For what felt like the first time in months, Mystique laughed too.
Time passed somehow, slowly yet surely, from days to weeks- three months as a human, and not a word from Eric. Even when she had made overt efforts of forcing him to speak, Eric always found a way to avoid her. He had left the base several times; often his trips away lasted several days. Sometimes he would take Pyro or Cain along with him, the perfect warriors to carry out the destruction of the clinics offering the cure.
Whenever the small group returned, it was always Pyro who would inform her that no information had turned up in the labs that were destroyed. Callisto took a perverse glee in flaunting the obvious: Mystique had been replaced. Eric still ignored her.
Mystique felt ready to collapse from the grief he was causing her in his apathy.
She had stepped out of herself and attempted to become adjusted to her new human condition. Mystique had allowed herself one day to mourn, to be useless and weak- that day had ended long before, and still Eric refused to meet her eyes! The clothes she had worn reflected her spirit as it had always been: dark, sensual, alluring…
The other men in the house, Cain, Jamie and even Pyro were not so disinterested as Eric. She enjoyed their appreciative glances and the subtle innuendos tossed back and forth in conversation. Her confidence returned once she found that even as a human, at least Mystique had been able to retain her desirability- but it wasn't enough.
What Mystique yearned for more than anything was the return of her powers, and the return of Eric. She feared Eric's generosity would soon run out- she was a burden to him and everyone at the base knew it. Only Callisto had been bold enough to say so- and in doing so, she had forced the desperate confrontation with Eric.
It had been three months trapped as a human, and though Mystique did not show the rage and sorrow that trembled just beneath her cool surface, the strain of keeping her emotions hidden was beginning to eat her alive.
Eric had returned with information on where the cure could be located, and finally, destroyed. The moment he'd stepped over the threshold, his voice had echoed off of every wall in the base, demanding for everyone to assemble in the living room of the house immediately.
No arguments were given.
Mystique had been with Pyro, it was very late at night. He had taken to the habit of sitting on the bed with her, where they would talk. Sometimes the conversation would be light, though there were times when Mystique would reach out to him, when her longing for comfort would become too great, when she would confess her fury.
Pyro understood that Eric's behavior towards her pained Mystique perhaps as greatly as the robbing of her powers- but what could he do? If Mystique wished to speak with Eric, then it was up to her to do so. He only hoped that it would be sooner rather than later.
Upon hearing Eric's voice, Pyro leapt off the bed and gave no thought to grabbing Mystique's arm and hauling her down the hallway with him. They met up with the others while Eric was preparing to speak. Mystique and Pyro settled in with Cain and Jamie, while Callisto positioned herself closer to Eric.
Mystique glared at them both.
As had become the usual, Eric took no notice of her.
"The cure, the boy, is being kept in San Francisco, on Alcatraz Island. More clinics have been opened and several hundred of us have already taken it. My warnings have gone largely unheeded, the traitors and fools, they-"
"Need to be exterminated before they exterminate us!" Callisto finished for him, cutting in and rising from her chair. "Eric, how can you go on and on about this war when you've been keeping one of them under your roof?"
The room shocked into silence. Callisto continued, "You're a hypocrite, and everyone can see it! You hate the humans? You don't trust them? Then let me do it, let me rid the world of one more useless, pathetic homo sapien right now!" she demanded, turning to face Mystique.
Callisto was no doubt the fastest out of all of them, but in her pleading demand to Eric, she had not reacted fast enough. Mystique pounced Callisto as a mad cat, using her natural agility and strength to her full advantage. Pyro and Jamie had stood up and backed away, giving the women room to fight. Cain watched in fascination, while Eric seemed only mildly amused.
"What should we do?" Pyro asked Jamie beside him. He didn't want to jump into the middle of a fight, but there was no way he could use his flame without seriously hurting Mystique. She was his friend, but when it came to Callisto, John didn't mind if he singed her a bit.
Beside him, Jamie shrugged and smiled. "What should we do? I say sit back and watch. Someone's shirt is bound to get ripped off any minute now,"
Cain laughed from behind them, "You young guys can hardly think of anything else, eh? I don't care whose clothes get torn, so long as we're let out of the house and into some real action."
Cain was referring to the subject of Eric's meeting- the trip to California that, if things went as planned, would end the nightmare of a cure for mutation. Eric watched as Mystique erupted in rage, clawing bloody streaks across Callisto's cheeks and tearing out locks of her hair. Suddenly, as he watched the fight, Eric felt enflamed for Mystique, a horrible mix of rage and lust.
Cold steel eyes locked on to Jamie. "Separate them. Now."
Jamie shrugged and split himself into four- two for each of the enraged women. He was surprised to find Callisto the bloodier of the two, while Mystique only had a shallow scratch on her right cheek.Jamie forced them apart and stood back, awaiting instructions from Eric.
Mystique and Callisto were both breathing hard from the fight, though Callisto was obviously worse for the wear. "I'll kill you, bitch!" she hissed.
A look came over Mystique's eyes, the green orbs glowed with wild madness while her lips curled into a grin. "Oh, I'm already dead, Calli. Eric killed me,"
Eric moved forward then, pulling Mystique from the arms of Jamie's clones and hauling her away, away, away, to finally have it out- face to face.