A/N: Alright. This took me forever to get finished, but here it is. I think I might be able to get chapters out on a more regular basis, but I'm not going to promise anything. Hope you all enjoy. Please tell me what you think. It actually does help encourage me to write more. Enjoy!

To say Magneto was fuming would have been an understatement. The anger he felt was far beyond any term to measure it. If he wanted to, he could easily take control of everything with a sliver of metal and send it right into Sabertooth's body without feeling an once of regret for the lose. Instead he kept the anger in check, content with Sabertooth's reaction of the lack of emotion shown by his leader.

"…when I went to go get her she was gone," Sabertooth finished the recount of what happened at the compound. "Maybe she got herself out and found a place to hide for a little bit? You know Mystique, she's never been one to follow plans unless they were made by herself."

Sabertooth had a point. Mystique had the potential of being a great right hand, but she was unpredictable at times, choosing to do things her way and only doing whatever she thought was in her best interest -whether it was a part of Magneto's plan or not. Especially if she didn't feel that he wasn't doing it for her.

"The only way we'll know for sure would be to find her. And, as much as I trust your tracking abilities, we're going to need someone with a further reach. A telepath should do the job nicely."

"I don't think Xavier's going to be of help. Or that Jean Grey girl."

"There are more telepaths in the world than just Charles and Grey. And I know the perfect one."

"Who?"

"Ever heard of the White Queen?"

"Not among the mutants I've come across."

"I thought as much. She rarely goes by that name. Perhaps you've heard of a mutant named Emma Frost?"

She didn't go to dinner. The Professor had come back to see why, and she gave him the normal excuse. She wasn't hungry. He didn't press the matter, even though she knew that it didn't require telepathic abilities to know the real reason why she didn't come. He just asked her to follow him, so she did.

Walking down the mansion's halls with the Professor somehow felt familiar. Almost as if she had done it before, but couldn't quite remember when or why.

He lead her past a few of the students rooms. Some of which had the doors open, showing the occupants inside. They never bothered to leave their spots, but they cautiously watched her as she walked by, quickly turning their heads away when she made eye contact with them. They walked past Kurt's and Evan's room, where Kurt was leaning against the door frame. He offered Raven a shy, yet friendly smile that she tried to return. At least he's willing to be cordial.

The Professor stopped a few inches from a room at the end of the hallway and invited Raven to enter with a quick hand gesture. "I hope this one will be to your liking," he said as she entered the room and looked around. It was bland, only having the bare essentials for an occupant, but spacious. It even came with a balcony that overlooked the swimming pool. "I figured you could pick up some of your things once you're settled comfortably here."

"Thanks." She plopped down on the bed, ready for the day to be over.

"I know it's not going to be easy for you. But I think with time, you'll get along just fine here." She watched him as he wheeled down the hallway.

"I should have just left her there to rot," Scott said as he paced the kitchen floor. He and the rest of the team from the research facility were all gathered in the kitchen. "That's what she would have done if it were one of us."

"You did the right thing, Scott. Stop worrying about it," Jean replied. "What's done is done."

"How can you say that when we've got one of our worst enemies upstairs!"

"Calm down, will ya?" Logan said as he grabbed a cup of coffee. "The Professor is willing to take a chance with her, we should at least try to be civil."

"And when did you have this sudden change of heart?"

"I don't know, it was 'sudden'. Look, coming from one with experience with this whole mind crap, we should at least give her the benefit of the doubt."

"That's easier said the done," Ororo pointed out.

"What's everyone talking about?" Kurt asked after he teleported into the room.

"Who do ya think?" Rogue replied sarcastically.

"Oh." Kurt grabbed a plate out of the cabinet and started placing leftover food from that night's dinner onto the plate as nonchalantly as possible.

"Jeez, Kurt. Didn't you have enough at dinner time? You took three helpings."

"It's not for me," he placed the food in the microwave. "I figured Mystique was hungry since she didn't come down, so I'm taking a plate to her."

"I can't believe you!" Rogue snapped.

Ororo put a hand on Rogue's shoulder and tried to guide her back to her seat. "Rogue, calm down."

"No, I won't! How can you be nice to her, Kurt! All she's done is cause trouble for us, and here you are serving her food!"

"What do you expect from me? She's my mother! And unlike some people I know, I actually want to have a relationship with her! Besides, no one complained when we let you join the team!"

"That's completely different and you know it!"

"Is it? Because the way I saw it, the only reason you treated us the way you did was because someone else was telling you how to treat us! Maybe not in a direct way, but your actions weren't completely in your control!" With that, Kurt grabbed the plate out of the microwave and teleported out of the room before Rogue had a chance to retort.

Kurt appeared right outside of Raven's room. He knocked gentle on the door with his free hand and waited for a reply. A stern, 'go away' was all that he got. He knocked again, hoping that being persistent would get the response he wanted.

"I said 'go away'!"

"Oh, come on. Please let me in? I figured you might be hungry, so I brought you something to eat."

On the other side of the door, Raven contemplated letting him in. She was lying down on the bed, staring out the glass door that led to the balcony. She wiped a stray tear off of her cheek, and decided that it would be better if no one saw her until her face stopped showing the obvious signs that she was crying. "Just leave it…" her voice cracked, and she quickly cleared her throat to cover for it. "Just leave it at the door."

"Are you sure? It's meatloaf. And it's definitely better when it's hot."

"I'm sure."

"Alright then, you leave me no other choice." Kurt had a rule about teleporting into a private room without the occupant's permission, but in this case he made an exception. Startled, Raven moved into a sitting position to see who had just come in. Kurt sat down next to her and offered her the plate. "I know it isn't five star quality, but it's pretty decent. Especially compared to Kitty's cooking."

"Thank you." She took the plate and stared at it.

"Silly me. I forgot a fork. I'll be right back." He teleported out of the room, and within three seconds was back in the same spot, fork in hand. He gave it to her, and watched her poke the meatloaf with it.

"What's the red stuff on it?" She finally asked.

"Ketchup."

"You put ketchup on meatloaf?"

"Yeah, you don't?"

"No. That's just gross."

"Just pick around the part with it and you'll be fine."

She nodded her head in agreement and started eating.

"Are you okay?"

She chuckled. "I don't know. Everything's changed so suddenly that it's hard to catch up."

"You'll do it eventually." She nodded again and he reached over and wrapped his arms around her. Maybe he was getting too close too soon, but he didn't care. It felt just felt right. He was surprised to find that she had placed the food on the bed, and returned the hug.