Wow, I got some great reviews. You all know how to make a girl feel proud of her work! Reviews are great to read, a nice reward for all this hard work of writing! I love writing it, but reviews make it that bit much better! Galadeidre asked me a question about the timing of this story. It's going to move on a little after this chapter.

Chapter 29

Through the darkness, orbs of glowing yellow appeared and moved silently closer towards the water's edge. The gloomy dark ripples of sea continued out into the shadows and disappeared into impenetrable blackness. Magneto slowly joined Mystique's side, looking out across the water as she did. He slowly looked her way, a light smile raising the corners of his lips, "It's across the water," he informed her quietly, "the others will meet us there."

"But how do we get across? We can hardly just go and ask for a boat."

"Exactly. So we won't ask for anything." He slowly looked round at the sea edge, watching a few lone boats bob up and down gloomily in the darkness, "We'll take that one," he pointed out a long white boat that looked to be in recent use."

"We can't just go in there. They won't let us take their boat!"

"My dear.. leave that part to me." Magneto raised a gloved hand and spread his fingers wide. The water began to ripple a little faster as the boat began to be pulled towards the banking as if it was on an invisible rope. Mystique stepped back upon the stony shore with a look of surprise as the boat came closer. It stopped a short distance away and Mystique slowly waded forth through the water towards it. She tentatively looked back at Magneto, who gave a single nod of encouragement before he extend both of his hands and used the surrounding metal to levitate him across the water to land in the boat.

Mystique climbed in besides him, looking around. She moved quietly down the side of the boat, reaching the door to the cabin where through the stained window there was indeed a faint murky light switched on. Her hands slowly clasped around the door handle, looking back at Magneto again. A slow smile crept across her face as she whispered, "The element of surprise.." She quickly wrenched down the door handle, a sudden gesture of Magneto and the lock snapped off and Mystique threw the door open.

A surprised yell sounded and a grubby looking man stood up quickly, well as quickly as he could, considering the weighty beer gut around his middle. He was clutching a car of bitter and staring at the entry. His beady eyes beneath grey bushy eyebrows fixated on Mystique's body, a mix of awe and confusion on his face. "Who the hell are you?"

Magneto quickly turned, pointing a finger in the man's direction. He was dragged forward in the magnetic presence, clearly having metal items on him. Mystique stepped back slowly in a surprised expression coming upon her face as the man was pulled closer, a horrible gurgling sound from his throat. She saw the reason, a thick silver chain around his neck had been twisted tightly and his thick dirty hands were scrabbling at the metal necklace as it cut into his neck. She could hear his gags as he tried to breath.

Mystique watched with shock at the expression on Magneto's face, one twisted with a hostile cruelty and hatred as the human weakly writhed before him. She moved back all the more, clenching her fists, "Erik, stop it!"

But Magneto wrenched his hand behind him and the man went flying out of the door without any touch from Magneto. He flew in the same direction, screaming in a raspy voice as he smacked into the water with a loud splash. Magneto slowly looked round, settling the harsh glare on Mystique's surprised face.

"Start the boat," he instructed sternly.

Mystique slowly looked round at the floating body in the water before she quickly turned to the front of the cockpit. She turned to the ignition and the engine of the boat rumbled serenely. She found that against her wishes, her hands were shaking as they tried to steer the wheel of the boat. But she daren't deter from her task. Magneto was stood behind her, watching her closely. She tightened her hands on the wheel, trying to force away the sudden blankness of shock that was blinding her mentally. She needed to concentrate. That man was nothing. He was a human. And he would have gladly done the same if the tables were turned. That's what Raven kept telling herself as she steered the boat towards a rocky island out to see. He was only a human. Only a human..

She had a feeling that violence was going to have to be something she got used to. Because wars were never clean..

Brutal walls of reddened rock scoped up the cave's sides and threw the majority of the tunnel into darkness. She followed Magneto inside, who appeared to have an idea of where he was going. She followed the sounds of his footsteps and the soft swish of his cloak as he walked. At the end of the tunnel opened into a large cavernous area, this too coated by the rough dark rock. However, it looked inhabited. A metal floor extended from the dirt of the tunnel and stretched across a large river of water than trickle off into the darkness, and judging by the sounds, down a waterfall. With the amount of metal mixed in with the rock walls, it was clear Magneto had been preparing this place for some time.

Just as they stepped onto the long metal bridge, Magneto turned to look at Mystique, giving a slight smile at her awe-filled expression.

"What is this place?"

"Our new home," Magneto spun round, leading her across the bridge and towards where another tunnel opening could be seen in the cave wall, "It is time to meet the others."

There was a sense of foreboding as Mystique followed Magneto into the next cavern. Time to meet the others? She wondered what these new mutants would be like. Would they too have features that caused them to be an outcast even amongst mutants?

"So, this is the new girl?" Mystique heard a voice speak. She saw a short man crouched on the floor at the back of the cave, leaning idly against a thick metal desk. He had green tinted skin, or maybe it was just the light? Mystique couldn't tell. He wore earthy colours as clothing too. His hair, dark and slick fell about his forehead and two large eyes watched her intensely. He suddenly stood up and with an alarming agility, sprung from the floor and leapt at the cave wall besides Mystique. Much to her surprise, he stuck there. Mystique stepped back a little in alarm as he spread a toothy grin at her, "Well, don't mind me sayin' this sweetheart but you're a pretty lil' thing aren't ya?" His voice was enhanced an English accent and made the man before her all the more extraordinary, "My birth name's Mortimer or Mort, but Toad's stuck now."

"I'm Mystique," she answered quietly, "Just Mystique."

"Hey, Sabretooth come and check out the new team member," he made a gruff chuckle, "I don't mind being a member with her, ya know what I mean?"

Mystique's lower jaw dropped slightly at the comment, but her attention was taken as a large hulking man stepped out of the shadows from near where Toad had been sitting. He came to slow halt besides the shorter man and looking Mystique up and down with a scrutinizing glare. Filthy rags adorned him and clung tightly to his muscular form. Limp straw-coloured hair hung at his shoulders to rest on additional furs which fell about him like a cloak. His eyes, solid black, narrowed slowly as he sniffed and a twisted smile crept crookedly across his lips to reveal sharp canines, "Yes," he said simply.

Magneto however didn't look all that impressed by the impolite approach to his new team member. He did not say anything however, he merely cast the two males a stern expression. Before he took Mystique by the elbow and led her away from the smirking pair, "I'll show you to your new sleeping quarters, my dear."

Portions of the cave had been dug out and made into rooms with large metal doors fixed to the front. The new bedroom of Mystique's was nothing fancy, but there was something admittedly unique about sleeping in a room lined with dusty red rock walls and listening to the sea as it crashed against the outside cliffs. The moonlight shone in through a barred window, casting ivory stripes across the bed she lay in. The room gave the impression of a prison environment, but Mystique didn't feel at all intimidated. In fact, she felt more free in this room than she had been in her room at the mansion. The only difference was, at the mansion, she locked her door at night. Here, she didn't feel so threatened.

However, Mystique lay in a peaceful sleep upon the cover of an iron bedstead. But without any particular reason, her eyes fluttered upon and the darkness was penetrated by a pair of glowing yellow orbs in the blackness. Curious to what had awoken her, Mystique turned her head to glance across the room and noticed that the large metal door was ajar. Whilst she hadn't locked it, she had by no means had been careless enough to leave it open. She felt a prickling sensation against her neck that made her feel she was being watched extremely closely.

She slowly sat up, pulling her legs free of the covers, when suddenly she head a squelch and something thick, warm and wet wrapped around her wrist. She gave a gasp, her eyes following from her wrist to look upwards, and sat above her bed was Toad, his unusually long tongue stretched out and trapping her wrist. He tugged it sharply, causing her to fall back onto the bed with a surprised 'oh!'. As his tongue curled back into his mouth, Toad jumped down off the wall and landed in a crouch on her pillows.

"Thought we'd come and say hello," he murmured with a yellow-toothed smile. He idly nodded his head in gesture to Sabretooth who was stood in the shadows of the open door. A content noise sounded from him as he lewdly smirked her way, pushing her door shut with a click.

Mystique pushed back slowly as recovered from the throw. She slowly made her way to the bottom of the bed, "I was asleep."

"I know you were, princess. And ya looked so pretty, didn't she look pretty, Sabes?"

Sabretooth gave a slow sort of chuckle.

"After such a short introduction earlier I thought it might be nicer to get to know each other a lot better."

Sabretooth laughed and nodded in agreement.

Mystique slowly settled against the wall, with a distance between both males now, "Talk, then."

"Ooh, Sabes, she sounding a bit bossy. Maybe she's forgetting she's the newbie here?"

"I'm here to help Magneto, as you are. Now, talk."

"Aw, pretty little Mystique, we ain't here to talk. See, we heard stories about your dealings with that Cyclops. Yeah, we were trying to get him recruited the day Storm showed up. See, Magneto was having some plans even then. But no, he went off with.. what is it they're callin' themselves now, X-Men? But onto the point, having you for him is a much better addition. Why don't ya give us a try too? You can pick who ya look like. Sabes is a fan of Storm, I ain't too picky myself."

"What?" said Mystique as she stared at the leering face of Toad, "I'm not going to do anything with either of you."

"Aw, come on. Ya walk around naked and ya don't expect two guys to not want a piece of it?" Toad grinned as he let his tongue slip forth and it reach across the bed. Mystique recoiled against the cold iron at the bottom of the bed, she gave a flinch as the warm tongue rested against her thigh and slowly ran up towards her stomach and breasts.

Mystique cried out as she leapt off the bed, spurring a laugh from Toad at her reaction. She quickly hurried towards the door, but she was grabbed by the shoulders with two great clawed hands. Sabretooth smirked down at her, his large feline claws pricking her skin slowly, "Storm," he said simply as he pressed harder against the flesh.

"No!" and she ducked from under his grip, feeling his claws drag through her skin. During Sabretooth's sudden confusion she launched a strong kick into his gut, causing him to double over with a displeased snarl. Her fist made contact with his face and her knee with his groin, the attacks sending him stumbling back and falling into the wall. A loud squelch sounded as Toad's thick warm tongue grabbed her by the ankle. Mystique quickly looked round at him, before a slow smirk crept across her lips, returned by a look of puzzlement on Toad's face. Mystique suddenly back flipped, dragging Toad off the bed with a strangle yell as he went sailing through the air and collided into the wall behind Mystique.

Mystique straightened slowly after she landed, stepping away from Toad's limp tongue as it lay on the floor, recoiling into his mouth weakly, "I'm glad we got to know each other better," she said down at the pair with a wry smile creeping on her lips. She slowly walked out of the room with a playful sway of her hips and disappeared down the corridor.

The lights were low in the office area of Magneto's den. He was sat at his metal desk in the room where Mystique first met Toad and Sabretooth. He had his beloved chess set placed out in front of him and he slowly moved a black bishop diagonally across the board to take the other colour's last remaining pawn. Mystique stepped in slowly, spending a moment to glance at the bridge that led off across the water and to the entrance of the den.

"Chess is a remarkable game," he said aloud as he picked up the white pawn he had just taken, before playing the opposite team towards him. He kept his eyes on the board, "Many different strategies that can be played out in the real world. Do I hold back and save my best pieces, do I rage on ahead to eradicate the opposition, or do I just play for time as I allow myself to wander aimlessly." He looked up as he moved a white knight, giving a slow smile to Mystique. "It is not even 4am, my dear, why are you awake?"

"I was having a talk with Toad and Sabretooth," said Mystique with a teasing smile playing her lips.

"Ah yes," said Magneto quietly as he picked up the black queen and studied it a moment between his fingers, "I thought you might. I sincerely hope they got the message."

Mystique's smile broadened, "Loud and clear."

"Good. You've made your mark, my dear. You are an exceptionally gifted mutant, beyond Toad, Sabretooth and at times, even myself. You should command respect. Toad is nothing but a cocky layabout and Sabretooth a common thug. Naturally they have their uses within the Brotherhood, and I do admire their determination against humans. But you are the one who will help this team forward, with your excellent powers we have access to anything, anywhere and anyone."

"Do you think we'll have to fight the X-Men in the future."

Magneto chuckled quietly, picking up the black king off the chess table and dropping it down onto the desk, "Mystique.. I know we will."

Big chapter! Next we move on in time a little. Mystique has made sure she doesn't get anymore trouble of those two. So expect a different situation next chapter when they interact! Mystique isn't a little girl anymore! Go Mystique!

You may also have noticed that she is no longer being referred to as Raven. Of course, she is Raven no longer. Mystique is born.