She was being dragged along the hard, skin-shredding gravel by something embedding in her leg. Thrashing side to side, Raven tried to reach out, and grab something that would stop her journey across the driveway, her nails cracked and bleeding. She had to focus. She had to dull the pain. The agony in her leg would be nothing compared to what awaited her at the end of the driveway...whatever that was. She couldn't quite remember or see what she was headed towards. Suddenly, she came to an abrupt foot, and felt a small object slide out her leg, the sensation making her already-hoarse voice cry out once again.
"I'm so sorry, Raven." Forcing herself to look, Raven's eyes slid up the boots, then the legs, torso, and of her tormenter, finally meeting his eyes. Erik. Holding a gun. Pointed at her.
"Erik, there has to be another way," Tears were streaming down her face; she felt like she had been here before, at his feet, begging for her life.
The master of magnetism cocked his head to the side, and spoke with a voice not his own, "Did you know that the polarity of the Earth's magnetic field reverses every 440,00 years?"
"W-What?" Stuttered Raven. The safety slid off the gun.
"The field protects us from the deadly solar wind."
Raven felt a pressure build on her chest, "Erik, plea-"
BANG.
Darkness. No Erik, no gun, no weird voice. No, the weird voice was actually there, but it belonged to it's real owner. Lorna. Who happened to be perched on Raven chest, still chattering in her face, which really wasn't helping Raven calm her breathing and generally stop freaking out.
"Jesus Christ, Lorna." With a quick shove, the raving student fell off the side of the bed, and Raven was left to wipe her cold sweat away, "What were the hell you chanting at me?"
"Stuff for my test next Monday." Raven watched as Lorna pulled herself onto a chair, staring intently at a book on the desk.
"It's Friday, I have work tomorrow."
"Technically speaking, it's Saturday now."
"Go to bed, dick."
The sun filtered dimly through the basement flat's small windows, bathing the dust motes swirling about the sitting room in a gentle glow. Sitting on the sofa, Lorna Dane desperately scribbled onto a sheet of paper, pausing only to take a gulp of the now-cold tea that sat on the coffee table in front of her. As a loud trill sounded from the alarm clock in front of her, the front door opened and a tired-looking Raven staggered in.
"Whoopee!" Crowed Lorna triumphantly, "I did it!"
"Did what?" Mutter Raven as she shrugged off her coat, hanging it on the coat stand.
"A timed essay on the theory of paleomagnetic rays!" The fist pumping ceased, and was replaced by a jaunty little dance of victory around the sofa.
"Well, congratulations, but calm down, you're gonna break something." The dancing briefly stopped as Raven plonked down on the sofa, her roommate regarding her with a air of mischief. "What?"
"We should go out!" Raven shuddered; she despised nightclubs. Noticing this, Lorna backtracked surprisingly fast, "Wait, not like that, we should just go shopping or something. Something fun!"
"Why not another time? I'm kinda tired from work," And your interruption last night doesn't help, added Raven in her mind.
There was a whoomph as Lorna vaulted onto the sofa from behind Raven, grinning up at her friend with manic eyes. "It could be like a celebration! Cos I finished my essay, and you got your first pay check from the cafe," She gave a wink, and laid her head on Raven's shoulder, noticing the Indian was giving no reaction, "Please, I really need to get a new dressing gown, cos' you burnt my last one,"
Raven's facade cracked a bit, and she smiled slightly, "It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't burnt the pizza."
Lorna gave her a playful shove, "You shouldn't have put me to bed so early then,"
"You shouldn't've been so drunk then,"
"You shouldn't be such a killjoy!"
"Hey," Raven started, feeling quite offended, "I'm no killjoy."
Lorna leaped up onto the coffee table, grinning wildly, "Prove it," Extending a hand down to the still-seated Raven, the manic student gave an indecent eyebrow wiggle, "If you think you're hard enough."
Dammit, thought Raven as she took Lorna's hand. She could never resist a challenge.
With a jolt, Lorna pulled her out of her seat, and pushed her friend towards the door. "Get your coat! We can still catch the 1:45 if you move your arse fast enough," Her frizzy perm disappeared into their bedroom, searching for their bags.
"How long have you been planning this?" Queried Raven as she wiggled into her bomber jacket.
Hurrying out of the bedroom, Lorna replied with an airy giggle, and handed Raven her bag, "Not as long as you think. Now, out with you!"
The two girls stumbled out of the house, and up into the cold autumn air of London. It was ridiculously busy, even on their little, friendly street, and Lorna acted as Moses as she parted the crowds of people on the pavement and tugged her friend to the bus stop. People gave the girls odd looks as Lorna shoved through, but instead of shrinking from their stares as Raven did, she painted a determined look upon her face and increased the intensity of speed and pushes. At the pace Lorna was rushing at, Raven was thankful that her arm wasn't pulled out of her socket. She could've done without the stares, though. The bus stop came into sight after a few more twists's and turns, just as the bus pulled up. Skidding to a stop, Raven barrelled straight into Lorna's back, pushing her over, the two of them falling onto the dirty paving slabs in a pile. An angry shout was issued from the bus driver, and in no time at all, Lorna was practically dragging Raven off the ground, and into the bus.
Flashing passes at the irate driver, the girls stumbled, giggling towards the back of the bus where they took residence for the remainder of the trip. Forsaking her former talkative mood, Lorna rustled through her bag, searching for something, and Raven leaned against the cool window of the bus, staring contemplatively out on the grey sight of London speeding past her.
Things over the past few weeks had just rushed by; Lorna had hustled her into the small cafe over the road for a job as soon as they had dealt with the burning pizza, and the gentle mannered Italian's that than it had practically hired her on the spot, much to her chagrin. Her shifts weren't too bad though; she worked for the evening shifts in the week, then one morning shift on Saturday, and everything else was free. If she was honest with herself, Raven had never really had a job before - not one that was so regular, anyway. The monotonous pattern of her sleeping all day had stopped, and instead she had come to look forward to her allotted hours of carrying food and being polite to people. It was odd, but it made her feel like she was finally doing something with herself - sure, the mutant Brotherhood had been important too, but being a member of functioning society had it's perks too.
Then there was Lorna. Raven's eyes rolled from the window to regard her friend, who was still rifling through her bag, a collection of spare change growing in her lap. Without the frizzy haired student, Raven suspected that she wouldn't have kept out of the gutter for more than a few weeks. A strange shiver went through her body; it had been years since she had someone that she trusted like she did Lorna; there was no ulterior motive with her, she was just along for the ride, and that was nice. Relaxing back in her chair, Raven let loose a sigh. Yeah, it was nice.
They sat in silence fore half an hour or so as the bus navigated the busy roads of suburbia, until there was a lurch as the bus made its stop on Oxford Street. The two girls made their exit, giving the bus driver a wave which he responded to with a gruff middle finger.
"Charming, eh?" Lorna smiled, and linked her arm in Raven's, "Come on, you owe me a new dressing gown."
The security guard's hand on her elbow would have normally irritated Raven, but as she and Lorna were pushed out of Primark, and into the chilly air of the street, they were consumed by giggles, turning around as the heavy metal shutters came down on the shop. Between the two of them, they had enough bags with the combined weight to sink the Titanic. Clothes, crockery, paintings - anything that the two had decided that would make their apartment more homelike.
Arms too laden with goodies to link arm arms, Lorna nudged Raven's shoulder and gave her a grin, "Shopping isn't that bad, right?"
Raven regarded their purchases with a twinkle in her eye, "I thought you only needed a dressing gown,"
"I thought you didn't like spending money!"
"I guess we're both liars then,"
Falling into a familiar step, the girls trotted off down the street towards the bus station, sashaying in between the hectic masses of people getting home. However, the crowds all seemed to be taking the same direction that the girls were taking. Raven didn't know too much about the habits of Londoners, but she was pretty sure that the entirety population of London didn't reside in Chiswick. Slowing down, she caught Lorna's eye, but the other girl gave her a confused shrug. "Hell if I know," Lorna gave a little half jump to try and peer over the heads of the growing crowd, noting that they had almost reached Piccadilly Circus, "Maybe there's a telly thing on?"
Continuing their walk, raven felt an anxious dread grow in the pit of her stomach. She had caught mutterings from the crowd's conversations - just snippets, but words like 'damned mutants' and 'protest' being repeated over and over again were enough to put her on edge. It's not Erik, she kept telling herself, it can't be him. He's not the only mutant fanatic on Earth. Lorna sensed her friends anxiety and gave her another nudge, plus a reassuring smile, but even Lorna's joviality couldn't settle the unrest that Raven felt.
Eventually, the two of them reached Piccadilly Circus, with it's towering lights and billboards. When normally so full of hustle bustle, the space seemed deathly quiet, much too quiet for a busy Saturday night. The only sound in the air was that of the muted murmurs of the surrounding crowds, whose had come to a stop, effectively blocking the roommates from continuing towards the bus.
"I guess we're gonna miss the 7:05," Muttered Lorna, shifting her bags around, "At least we haven't got anyth-"
A low hum issued from the centre of the junction. Raven went onto her tiptoes, to try and locate the source of the odd sound, but the throng of the crowd was simply too thick too peer through. Without so much of a glance at Lorna, Raven went powering through the crowd, spoils of shopping and all, to try and see what was going on. If it was a mutant protest, she had to be sure. She had to be sure it wasn't Erik.
Soon enough, after many disgruntled noises from protesting onlookers she pushed out of the way, she reached the front of the crowds, all the time becoming more and more conscious of the humming increasing in volume. kneeling on the road of the junction shocked Raven to the core, and she felt her knees buckle slightly. There were hundreds of people in red KKK-style hoods, each of them holding a candle. It looked like one of the old parody drawings she'd doodled when she was still running around with Erik, to try and shock the pro-human supporters. It had just been a joke between her and Erik, she hadn't shown anyone else...it couldn't be. It had to be a coincidence. It just had to be.
"Woah, what the hell?" Raven heard from her shoulder; Lorna had followed her path through the crowd, huffing and puffing underneath the weight of all her bags, "Some chick back there was saying it's a pro-mutant demonstration," Lorna regarded her friend with a detached look, "Are you into all that stuff?"
Shaking herself, raven turned to her friend and gave a shaky smile, "What - no, of course not. I'm not a mutant,"
Lorna's brow creased as she looked away, "I didn't say you were," She said quietly under her breath.
Raven was about to retort, when the loud humming suddenly cut out. The entire gathering of people went silent, as the demonstrators dropped their hoods, revealing mutants with obvious physical mutations. A woman with horns, a teenager with black eyes and jagged teeth, and a man without a mouth made up just some of the participants. A woman in the centre of the road dropped her candle and shucked off her robe, taking a powerful stance amongst her still companions. She had long dark hair, and was dressed in a purple PVC pantsuit. Hundreds of breaths were held - waiting for her to open her mouth, but she did no such thing. Instead, she raised both hands to the sky as if she was praising God, and a loud voice reverberated about Raven's head. Telepath.
"We are the Fallen.
We are the Misrepresented.
We are Mutantkind.
We search for our brothers and sisters, to bring them to the light.
We will not be silenced."
The familiar trundle of an Army truck sounded in the distance; raven's head whipped round, her attention diverted from the compelling woman in purple. The woman also looked slightly startled, dropping her hands slightly, looking as if she was lost. A moment later, she regained her composure, and raised them again.
"We search for one of our lost sisters.
Now is the time to usher in the new age.
The age of the Homo Superior.
This is not a war; this is an extermination."
The woman dropped her hands and bowed her head, as if she was praying again. Suddenly, there was a bright white light flashing in front of everyone, blinding raven with it's intensity. instinctively, she dropped her shopping and reached for Lorna's hand. There was a cacophony of screams, and Raven thought she could hear the harsh bark of a soldier telling her to step back from the road. Her eyes blazed white, and as her sight slowly returned she was aware of the rush of people screaming about her, and Lorna crouching protectively over their bags, growling at anyone stumbling around them
"-at's right, move on, nothing to see here, move on your merry way," Tapping her on the shoulder, Raven was met with furious eyes that softened as soon as Lorna saw the shaky state her friend was in, "Thank God, you snapped out of it. Pick up your bags, we gotta get out of here,"
Without thinking, Raven reached down to help Lorna with the begs, and the two of them were running down the street, looking no different to the other mania-enthused pedestrians. It was then that something strange stuck Raven; where the hell were the protesters? "Some chick threw her hands up in the air and nobody could see anything," Explained Lorna, sensing her friends confusion, "When people started being able to see again, they had just disappeared. Teleportation is my best guess,"
They hurried along the pavement, the flow of the crowd keeping them on their feet. The unease that Raven had felt when she heard about the protesters was back, and worst than ever. They said they were looking for someone - a lost sister, and that was definitely one of her demonstration ideas. It was too coincidental, too close for comfort - Erik was looking for her. She just hoped that the walls that Charles had helped her put up were enough to keep his telepath friend out.
"Do'ya reckon that display was for the person they're looking for?" Lorna enquired, as the two of them power walked through the thinning crowds.
"I don't know," Murmured Raven, keeping her eyes on the ground. Lorna kept talking, despite her friend's reluctance to participate, trying to draw a response out of her.
"I'm all for the mutant movement, sure; but," Lorna pulled Raven out of the way of a hysterical man hurtling straight for them, temporarily losing her train of thought.
"But?"
"You know, scare tactics aren't the only way to go about it. You get me?"
Raven desperately wanted to say something; to yell, to educate, to tell the student what she had seen, the cruelty she had experienced at the hands of humanity, and how scare tactics were the only thing their kind had left, but she bit down her anger, and played the part of the indifferent onlooker. "I guess."
Sometimes she wondered how much of herself was Raven, and how much of herself was Erik.