CalliopeMused: If everyone could get along the concept of 'X-Men' would have never arisen, lol. But we knew Raven was never going to get out of those lies easily. But I totally understand Scott's anger. He was vulnerable and she exploited him and his temporary disability.

Maid of the Mer: Lol, I knew people were looking forward to the new progress of her powers!

Galadeidre: Perfect? Aw thanks. And I agree, she didn't deserve that backlash. I mean, what did she expect? But at the same time, her emotions at that time have triggered her mutation further. I mean, she did truthfully care for Scott; it was pretty traumatic for her.

Racetrack's Goil: I liked the way it was revealed. I was thinking how Mystique decides how she morphs into and I just thought that it's probably by concentrating and wishing so hard that she looked like that person. And that's what she was going when she was sat in the lab. And your feelings are rather accurate. No more 'innocent' Raven. Mystique has been born.

Chapter 24

Everything was there, from the luxurious locks of startling ivory to the sparkling oceanic blue eyes to the very shape and form of Storm's body. Storm's face stared back in the reflection with the same wide-eyed and shocked look that Raven felt. Feeling suddenly very alarmed, Raven nosily placed the tray down, stepping back from it as though it was the cause of this. But her eyes couldn't tear away from her hands, her new soft beautiful hands.

No! She thought angrily, correcting herself. They are not my hands. These are Storm's hands!

As much as she longed to look as the others did, she knew she could not just walk around the mansion with this new body. How would the real Storm react? Frightened and possibly very angry. The woman had once been treated as a goddess, surely she would be scandalised to learn her exquisite form had been somehow cloned.

Raven desperately tried to back track, thinking how on earth this had just happened. The only conclusion she could come to was that it was something to do with her mutation. Charles had said that they could continue to progress. Raven recalled thinking over what it would be liked to look like someone as beautiful as Storm. Had her desperate wishing caused this to happen? She closed her eyes, now trying to think hard and yearn to look as she did before with the same desperation. But her obvious reluctance made sure that absolutely no change occurred. Her panic began to grow. She couldn't stay like this! She had to look as she did before! And it was this sudden fear that triggered the same crackling sensation in her back.

Raven gasped as she looked down at her body. The soft brown flesh began to break and peel back to reveal the smooth and shiny blue skin on her midriff. The sound of the cracking echoed eerily around the room as the dark skin was replaced from view by the original blueness. Raven gasped quietly, feeling her heart hammering frantically in her chest. She moved back to pick up the tray, looking back at the silver sheen to see her old reflection stare back at her. Sleek red hair and blazing yellow eyes on a blue-scaled face. Checking, Raven lifted her top slightly, peering at different aspects of her body. There was no trace of Storm left. No one white hair or one manicured fingernail.

Quickly, Raven hurried towards the door, pulling it back to slip out onto the corridor. She had no desire to tell the others of her sudden progression in her mutation. This was going to be her secret, and she was going to make sure she had the fun she deserved. Around the end of the corridor walked the real Storm, smiling weakly as she spotted Raven.

"Raven! Oh, we've been looking for you. Are you alright?" Storm looked concerned, resting her hand on Raven's clothed shoulder.

But to Storm's surprise, Raven had a small smile on her face and nodded slowly, "I'm fine. I don't care what Scott says," she shrugged a little, "Everybody makes mistakes."

"Would you like to talk? We can go and sit in the living room."

"No.. I'm going to go to my room. Probably for the best." Raven nodded once with a slight smile before she turned away from her and walk down the corridor towards the staircase. Her smile merged into a devilish smirk.

Storm was left alone in the corridor, looking party glad that Raven was not upset, but worried by the sudden change in her mood.

A few days later, and little had been seen of Raven. With it being the weekend the girl did not have to be present for classes. She was only seen passing to and from the kitchens and bathrooms, and seemed to spend the rest of her time in her room. Naturally, worried, Storm had gone to talk to the Professor about it, and both were currently sat in his office each with a cup of tea.

There was a lazy air that came with Sunday mornings. It naturally brought quietness to the mansion. Serenity also aided by the fact the students were still enjoying a lie-in.

"Scott seems to have calmed down," said Charles conversationally as he sipped his morning tea. "Jean extended her stay to try and help him." His eyes sparkled for a moment, as though he knew something about this that Storm didn't.

"So has, Raven, alarmingly so," Storm sighed quietly as she leant back in the armchair, "I hope she isn't going to turn into a recluse. She doesn't want to fall back into the pattern of staying in her room all the time. Not after what her parents did."

Charles lowered his cup gently into its saucer, "I believe Raven will be fine soon. Those years have turned her into a strong young woman, if a little aloof." He then looked up to Storm, smiling, "Which brings me to a conversation I had with Scott yesterday. It seems with his sight back and his powers controllable he is keen on joining you."

"Joining?"

"That is exactly what I said. It seems he, and the students here see us as fighters for freedom against human hostility. I explained we only fight to protect ourselves. But Scott said some things that really made me think."

"What did he say, Professor?" asked Storm, leaning forward and watching Charles curiously.

"He thinks we need to be a stronger driving force. Not to be there from time to time, but be there, ready to help other mutants when they need us. He is voicing concerns I've had for a long time. Mutants are facing antagonism every day, and occasionally things turn violent. Perhaps we need to change our image for the better. "

Storm slowly sipped from her cup, "And how do we go about this?"

"A team," said Xavier, "We have the beginnings of one. You are a strong fighter Storm; imagine that multiplied with other members by your side. I shall be asking Jean on her thoughts of joining too. But you see Storm, Scott is a very determined young man. His ideas may be a revolution, not only for us, but also for all mutants. But if we were to stand together and fight, I feel obliged to ask you first if you would prefer to lead this team? You are after all, my first student."

His question had made Storm pause in her drinking and she looked curiously to Charles. She smiles slowly, "I believe Scott, as you rightly say, is a determined individual. I believe he would do a good job of leading this team. New blood, and all that. But in the beginning stages, I am willing to help him. A second-in-command, if you will."

Charles smiled gently, "Then it is decided. May the days forward be victorious and legendary for mutants worldwide."

Outside, the grounds were scattered with mixes of fallen dry leaves. Crumpled and weak, their colours ranging from exotic reds to a lush honey brown. The air was bitterly cold, a sure sign that the frost was approaching. Out on the wet leaf-strewn pathway were two figures, walking closely side by side. With his returned vision, Scott was touring the mansion, only now managing to see how grand and beautiful it really was. By his side was Jean, who had swapped her white lab coat for something warmer. Even though the pair were perfectly warm in their thick coats, their arms were close together and brushed against each other as they walked.

"I have only been here once before," said Jean quietly, "And I remember the tour then like it was yesterday. This place is breathtaking. Just the view alone is something."

"If it wasn't for you I would never be able to see all this," Scott turned slowly as he spoke, looking to Jean. Although he was younger, his height matched hers, and even through his red lenses he could see her face.

Jean smiled graciously, her shoulders shrugging slightly, "I was happy to help. Which is also why I shall be staying for a short while. Just to help you settle in the new environment with the special lenses."

"That's great!" said Scott his smile quickly appearing. He seemed to have noticed his obvious enthusiasm and quickly tried to backtrack, "Er, well, you know. It's great, for me.. to have, you know, help.. like that."

But Jean just smiled at him, "Good to know that you want me here."

"I do," said Scott quickly, "especially after everything that has happened."

"You know.. I think you should try and go easy on Raven. Charles told me what happened to her before she got here. Did you ever tell you anything about it?"

Scott shook his head mutely.

"Well, I'm only telling you this so you'll stop being so harsh on the girl. Before she came here she spent four years as a prisoner in her own bedroom. Locked up in there by her parents because of what she looked like. Apparently she managed to escape, and fought off her own father so she could be free." Jean was watching Scott very sternly now, her eyes as frosty as the cold wind around them, "And do you know what she did next?"

A horrified looking Scott numbly shook his head once more.

"She attacked armed policeman as they cornered her. And when the policemen couldn't subdue her, her father took matters into his own hands."

"He tried to hurt her?"

"Worse. Kill her. But she was too quick. Scott, listen to me. She murdered her own father in her defence. Storm found her being attacked by a gang of thugs a day later. This is what I want you to understand. She was desperate to have someone who wouldn't judge her for her appearance. Yes, she used you to her advantage, and yes, she shouldn't have." Jean sighed quietly as she rested a hand on his shoulder, "But she's a mutant, just like you. She's probably had a worse life that most of us so far. So please, don't turn your back on her. As a doctor I can tell she has been badly harmed by the experience with her parents. Psychologically, she doesn't need any more enemies. She's come on a long way since then apparently, and I need you to forgive her."

Scott stood in silence, shaken and stunned by what Jean had just told him. "So she just wanted me to like her?"

With a gentle nod, Jean replied, "That's all she wants from all of us."

From one of the third floor windows a pair of yellow glowing eyes could be seen. Staring directly down to the pair stood out in the bitter misty grounds.

Raven abruptly turned from the bedroom window, giving a vicious snarl, "Didn't take them long. Him and that damn doctor," she spat as she smacked an ornament off her dressing table. The small porcelain figurine flew off the surface and struck the opposite wall with a tinkling smash. But Raven ignored it, striding past to sit at the dressing table, staring into the mirror positioned there. She smirked slowly as she concentrated hard, and within a few seconds, the same crackling sound had filled the room. It split along her shoulders and back before her arms and legs disappeared into an image of Scott. Even his clothes had replaced hers.

There was an unnatural smirk on his face as his stared at the mirror from behind the glasses. Raven laughed quietly, the reflection of Scott doing the same. She glanced down over body at the transformation, hidden eyes studying with interest. She could feel no burning in her eyes, and assumed that whilst she had taken his shape, she had not adopted his powers. She looked back to the reflection, laughing some more as she spoke, finding it incredibility amusing that his voice came out, "I'm Scott, blah, blah, blah. I want to talk to Dr. Grey. Hello Dr. Grey, I can't stop thinking about you, blah, blah, blah. I'm so stupid, I like that bitch, blah, blah, blah."

When Raven's wild impersonations lost its shine, she fell silent, staring at the reflection. Then suddenly, a very wicked thought came across her mind, and as she concentrated, the clothes the Scott body wore vanished with a crackle. A devious smirk burst onto her face as she stared at the new reflection of a naked Scott. This had to be the best mutation ever. But as she looked at the reflection, she frowned. She stood up off the stool, Scott's nude form disappearing under the arrival of blue scales.

"That's no good. I want the real thing.."

Ooh, Raven is certainly getting her wicked side now.