Happosai: Thank you for reviewing. It's great to see you like it so much! I will try my best to continue this for as long as possible.

Sych: Hey, Thanks for reading this! You're a treasure reading all my X-Men stories! Great to have my first ever reviewer following me through Fanfiction. My dedicated SPOUSE you, lol.

MasterOfPuppets08: Thank you, I'm glad you like it!

Dancing Through Life: Yay. "Powerful" just the adjective I wanted out of this story. This is meant to be a powerful story. So thank you! It's great to hear you like it so much.

Legolasfreak2: Yay, "powerful" again :D Yes, a good insight should help you to understand her and her later life decisions. Thank you for reviewing.

Rogue151: I updated! Well, I've never read the comics, so I don't really know anything. I only know most things off Internet research. And I know what site you mean by the mention of spotlight. I already use that site for my research. It's very good (:

Calandra: It's meant to be shocking! Lol. It's meant to be long enough to severely weaken and corrupt her. Thanks for the review!

Galadeidre: No problem, I figured you'd be interested to see if I updated or not! P but she does have a determined streak in her in the movies. She still has it then from now She's isn't going to give up.. she doesn't want to. But as you saw previously. She's breaking down. And for your question on her abilities, it was all come clear as you read (: Thanks for reviewing!

Chapter 8

The conscious world was beckoning her slowly, as did a softly soothing voice. Like a mother easing her child out of sleep. The comforting calls washed through Raven with such a warm feeling of security that she hadn't felt for years. Her bright eyes opened slowly, staring dazedly at the ceiling for a moment. One thing that quickly struck her as odd was the blast of sunlight across her bedroom ceiling. She hadn't seen true sunlight for so long, it was blinding and yet so beautiful. Also, she could feel the warm confinements of her bed around her, like someone had tucked her in. Ironically, the voice that brought her to conscious was her mother; the person who had tucked her in bed was her mother.

The person watching over her now, was her mother.

Rightly so, for of course, that was as it should be. Any normal child would not be perturbed by the situation. But as Raven and her family had distinguished long ago. She was anything but normal. This was completely surreal. In fact, it almost frightened her to think such a thing was happening. And when she turned those startlingly bright eyes upon her mother's crouched form, she quickly felt as though the last few years didn't exist. The long painful build up to her breakdown tumbled away as easily as a gust upon autumn leaves.

"M-mum?" she whispered softly, trying to sit up, "What ..?"

Her mother shushed her quietly, "Don't talk.. just rest."

"Why are you here?" Raven asked, although she did lay down to her mother's instruction. Her eyes lowered to look at her hands, both had been bandaged, bloodstains marking her slim digits and wrists from last night's brutality with the mirror.

"Because I need to take care of you. You could have killed yourself last night," her mother sighed softly as she watched her daughter's injuries before looking at the bed covers.

However, a bitter resentment came over Raven who quickly took her attention off her hands and instead upon her mother, "But you hate me. Why would you care if I was dead?"

"Raven.." gasped her mother, "Last night was the final straw. Just as much as you couldn't take it anymore.. I couldn't take seeing my own daughter's life being ruined."

"As far as. Dad's.. concerned. I'm not any daughter of yours."

"Oh, ignore him," muttered Gemma, averting her eyes again.

Raven's eyes slowly stared at her, and she now sat up slowly in her bed. A horrific realisation came over her, "He doesn't know you're here, does he?" But before her mother could respond, Raven continued, "You're doing this behind his back, seeing me behind his back!"

The way in which her mother lowered her face to her hands proved Raven right, "He doesn't want me to come near you."

"I know!" cried Raven, throwing back the covers and stalking around her room. Her hands gestured the air angrily, "I know he doesn't, he hates me!"

However, her mother desperately scrambled over to her daughter, hands outstretched as she tried to quieten her down. Her hands never went as far as to touch the blue skin however. "Raven, please.. ssh.. The last thing we need in your father finding out."

Raven lowered her head, gently shaking it as she contemplated over angry thoughts to herself.

"This has gone on long enough.." Gemma whispered, gently taking her daughter by the clothed arms, she held her firm as she looked down at her, "Mutant or not, you are still my daughter, and after all the shock and fear. I've come to realise that I love you no matter how you are labelled." She sighed softly before continuing, "And also, I've come to realise, that your only hope is to get out of here.."

"Get out of here? Out of the house?"

Her mother nodded softly, her hair spilling over her cheeks, "Yes, without your father realising. I will get you out of here, Raven."

But Raven shook her head, staring up at her mother with a new face of horror and fear, "But mum, out there. It's a world waiting to kill me!"

"Raven!" cried her mother, "You need to get out there and find other mutants. Somebody out there can help you. You cannot stay here much longer,or this isgoing to kill you."

"So you'd rather me die on the streets than in my prison?" Raven murmured bitterly, turning from her mother and walking back to her bed where she sat down with folded arms, staring at the floor. She couldn't leave, could she? The world would be a dangerous place for someone like her.

Softly, her mother turned, gently studying her daughter from the short distance, "You have a chance of freedom outside this house. Away from the people who know you, away from your father… away from me.." she made a determined sigh, closing her eyes, "Raven you must.."

Slowly, Raven raised her head, staring directly at her mother with such an intensity she saw her mother recoil slightly at the frightening eyes, "When am I to leave?"

Slowly, her mother walked from the bed, passing slowly over the carpet as she walked towards the door, "Tonight Raven. If you are well enough. Tonight."

The door to her room closed, leaving Raven staring at the marked woodwork where she had clawed at the door like some animal for the past few years. Tonight? Tonight she would be outside breathing in the fresh air? Feeling the natural light bathe on her skin? It felt so surreal. Was she dreaming? Would she really be out there tonight? She turned her head to stare at her opened curtains, watching the glowing sunlight longingly. And who else to submit her freedom from this dark hole; other than the most important person in her life. Her mother. Her father didn't matter anymore, he hated her, and she hated him. He was some ferocious beast controlling this prison system. She could beat him. He prowled and kept them in line. And he frightened her mother. The voices in her head told her so..

And these voices were far from wrong..

Please review!