Chapter 4 – Kurt of the Secret Chamber
Author's Note – Dragoncat – thanks for the review. And about using the pencils in that previous chapter, I wanted to show that there are ways in which the world has not exactly been made for mutants, which relates to this chapter. Now on with the next chapter. Enjoy!
Kurt got up off of the floor, and he saw the other boy doing the same. Kurt dusted himself down, and then reached down and retrieved his watch from the carpet. The blue woman, this Mystique, was staring at the other boy in a manner which was very unfriendly indeed. "I will deal with you later, Toad," she told him, in a manner which made it clear that, regardless of what she actually intended to do; he certainly would not like it. Kurt gave the other boy an awkward look. So he was called Toad, was he? That had to be his code-name, surely no parents could be that thoughtless as to give their child a name like that at birth. Then again, there were some pretty strange people in the world, so anything was possible. And talking about strange people, now Mystique had turned her attention back to him, and was looking him up and down in a careful and considered manner. She did not seem to be exactly hostile, but did not seem to be particularly friendly towards him either. At last she seemed to make up her mind, "Come with me to my office downstairs, Kurt," she said, leaving the room a moment later. She turned around and glared at Kurt, her yellow eyes momentarily flashing, "That is not a request," she added.
Kurt followed her, since it was clear that not obeying her would be a very bad idea. As he did so, he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, the boy Toad following them, and being joined by maybe half a dozen other boys. Kurt wondered who they were, but quickly turned his attention back to Mystique. There was something attractive, yet dangerous, about the way in which she moved. It seemed reminiscent of a predator, a snake or maybe a cat, patient, yet potentially deadly. So this is my biological mother, is it? Kurt thought to himself. Annoying her too much would probably be a very bad idea, but Kurt still did not think that he should mindlessly obey her every word, and he certainly did not trust her. Mystique placed a key in the lock of a large white door, turned the key, entered the room, and beckoned Kurt to follow her. Kurt did so, feeling more than a little nervous, as if he was entering the lair of some great predator. Mystique closed the door behind them, just as Kurt caught a glimpse of several boys watching them. Then Kurt turned his attention to the room that he was in. It seemed to be some kind of study, with a desk and a chair at one end. Mystique walked around the desk and sat down on the chair, indicating for Kurt to take the chair in front of the desk. Kurt did so, wondering if it would be a good idea to teleport out of this place, but quickly rejecting that as a very bad idea indeed. Mystique clearly wanted to talk to him, and if he was honest with himself, he was more than a little curious about her. Mystique was staring at him. It was the first time that Kurt had seen anyone else with yellow eyes.
"Um, about that fight with Toad," he began, fidgeting uncomfortably in Mystique's cold yellow glare, "I can explain. You see, he had entered my room without my permission, and was taking one of my books. I was trying to get it back. That was when you entered the room…" his voice trailed off as Mystique continued staring at him.
"…I see…" she said, her voice quiet, but nevertheless with an edge to it, "and you were defending your possessions from someone who was committing a property crime against your belongings, is that correct?"
Kurt swallowed. He had not thought of it in that way, indeed, he had not thought about it much at all. He had just felt irritated that someone was taking his belongings without asking permission first. If Toad had asked, then he supposed he would not have minded lending him the book. But Kurt suspected that Toad had not really wanted the book anyway, that he probably could not even read German, and had simply wanted to annoy Kurt. Still, Kurt shrugged under Mystique's penetrating gaze. "I guess so," he said quietly.
Mystique got up out of her chair, and paced towards the large window. She stared out of it for a long moment. "Property is, as they say, a vital aspect of the law," she said thoughtfully, "and you are prepared to fight to defend your own property, a potentially valuable personality trait," she turned around, and glared at Kurt once more, "tell me, Kurt, are you also prepared to fight to defend mutant rights?"
Kurt swallowed again, "I'm really not much of a fighter," he admitted, "but I can defend myself when I have to. Most of the time, I prefer to rely on cunning and guile, rather than using physical violence."
"And yet I saw you fighting earlier," Mystique pointed out.
Kurt shrugged, "I was taken by surprise," he admitted, "I just felt angry that someone else was going through my stuff, and I wanted to get it back. I guess I should have handled the situation differently."
"Sometimes we need to fight, to defend ourselves from those who would take from our kind without mercy. I need to know, are you prepared to fight for mutant rights?"
Kurt swallowed once more under her piercing gaze. "I will fight to defend those that can't defend themselves, if there is no other way," he replied, "but usually, there are much better ways of attaining what we want, rather than coming to blows over our disagreements."
"Indeed, you are right," Mystique replied, "sometimes it is better to have a reserve of force that you can use to intimidate your enemy, so that you can achieve your aims by simply having the threat of that force, without ever having to actually use that threat, the threat itself being enough to intimidate certain weak people from continuing on with their tyrannical endeavours."
"That's not quite what I meant," Kurt admitted. "And yes, I did have a safe trip to America, thank you for asking," he added sarcastically.
Mystique stared at him for another long moment, "Indeed. Very well, I am glad that that was the case, as there is something that I wish to show you," she said.
Kurt gave her a sceptical look as she rolled up the carpet by her desk, revealing a small wooden trap door, which she opened. "You're taking me down to your wine cellar?" Kurt asked.
Mystique gave him a crooked smile, "Not quite," she said, descending down, and indicating for Kurt to follow, "There is a secret chamber down here, containing things that might be of interest to you."
"Cool, just like in Harry Potter, a Chamber of Secrets," Kurt said, feeling immensely satisfied when Mystique glared at him for saying that. The mischievous, rebellious side of Kurt just wanted to annoy Mystique, after all that she had put him through recently, and he felt a sense of smug satisfaction that he seemed to be doing just that.
They descended down two dozen or more stone steps, and then reached a wooden door. Mystique opened that door, and they descended further down, perhaps a hundred steps or more. Kurt was beginning to feel nervous, since he was accompanying this strange woman down to the unknown; to who knew what might await them at the bottom of the stairs. Of course, he could always teleport away if things did get really serious, but that could cause all sorts of problems later, if he and Mystique continued to both live in the Brotherhood Boarding House. Finally, they reached the bottom of the staircase. There was someone, dressed entirely in a black robe, in front of a wooden door. The stranger nodded once to Mystique, opened the door, and allowed her and Kurt to enter the room beyond.
There were a lot of people there, in a surprisingly well-lit underground hall. They were all staring at something that was on prominent display at the front of the hall, which was not really surprising, since this was a giant humanoid robot, about the height of a house. It almost reminded Kurt of something out of a Japanese cartoon, with red glowing eyes, and its body gleamed silver in the pale light. Well, Kurt thought, this is certainly an original way for a mother to try to reconnect with her son after sixteen years or so, sharing a giant robot with him, although he was sure that such methods would never become popular family activities. Then he noticed a person in bright purple robes, at the foot of the giant robot. This person opened his arms, wide, and spoke in a booming voice, "Fellow mutants," he began, "the time of our oppression is coming near to an end. A new era is in sight, one where mutants can at last take their rightful place within society, where our kind will no longer be subject to tyranny and oppression at the hands of those who fail to appreciate our unique abilities. But there will, indeed there must be, those opposed to us taking our rightful place upon the world at large. This opposition is generally cowardly and foolish, but even the cowardly and foolish, when in sufficient numbers, can cause our kind no end of subjugation and domination, when acting in a united manner. So we do what must be done. There will be those who will stand in our way, and they will be crushed under the foot of this, our most recent weapon in the fight against the tyranny that keeps our kind locked in subjugation. For those that stand in our way will, indeed must, be crushed under our feet, until we can take our rightful place as rulers of the new world which is to come."
There was jubilant applause from the figures all around, and it seemed obvious to Kurt that they must all be mutants. Many of them had not had particularly pleasant mutations, by the look of them, indeed many looked sickly and misshapen. And this person was offering them a future, was offering them hope, perhaps all that they had left after everything else had been taken away from them, so it was perhaps not really surprising that they seemed to be so fixated upon the every word of this talented speaker. The figure at the front spoke eloquently, articulating his speech carefully, so that every word seemed to sound like a promise of a better life. Indeed, for a moment, even Kurt had been almost taken in by his pleasant demeanour. Oh, I know your kind, Kurt thought to himself, staring at him with narrowed eyes. You talk well, there's no doubt about that. You promise the world, and you are so convincing that many otherwise intelligent people can't seem to help but be convinced that you will deliver on all of your promises. But I've studied history, people back home have seen what your kind are really like behind the fancy words and the wonderful promises. A great talker can convince thousands of people to kill and die for the cause, but there will always be those who are not swept along with the crowd and their adulation, always those that are able to keep their mind and their scepticism about them. I can't be the only one here like that, can I? But as Kurt looked around, it seemed that he was indeed the only one in that underground room who seemed able to keep his own thoughts, who was not merely going along with what the man in the fancy robes was saying. This is more than just fancy words, speaking to mutants' wants and fears, he realised. That man in the robes must have some kind of hypnotic ability, some form of mind control as part of his mutant talent, but it only seems to work if those present already more or less agree with what he is saying. I guess that is why I seem to be practically immune. Still, this robot of theirs is going to cause all sorts of trouble, and I seem to be the only one right now who can do anything to stop this. And I have no idea what to do. Wonderful, just wonderful!
"When exactly is this new world order to come to pass?" Kurt's musings were interrupted by the question, spoken clearly and loudly from a misshapen figure at the back of the hall. "We have waited a long, long time to take our rightful place as the rulers of this new world order, but our patience is not infinite. We wish to know when it will be that we can finally take our rightful place as rulers of the new world that is to come."
There were general murmurings of agreement all around Kurt, who was doing his best not to let his own agitation and nervousness show. Wait, he told himself, wait and listen and learn. The more you know about their plans, the better. Best not to do anything until you are sure that you know what they actually intend to do.
"My fellow mutants," the man in the fancy robes at the head of the hall spoke in a loud, yet annoyingly understanding tone of voice, "your frustrations are understandable. For too long, we have had to wait, biding our time in a world that was not made for our kind. I beg you, my dear friends and comrades, show just a little more patience, so that we can complete our plans, test our tools, and be sure that we can, at last, take our rightful place as rulers of the world."
"But when will this be?" the same voice asked again, "in weeks, or months or years. We all, in this hall, doubtlessly want to see our kind finally take our rightful place as rulers of the new world, but our patience, as you so rightly claim, is limited. We wish to know when this new world will come into being. We do not want to be told that it will come soon, so demonstrate patience; we wish to know when, exactly, this new world is to become our new reality."
There were murmurs of agreement once more within the hall. The man at the front of the hall held up his hands, and silence slowly descended upon the crowd. "My fellow mutants, friends and companions," he began, his voice reassuring, "you ask a good question, and you are right that we have waited, already, far too long to take our rightful place as rulers of this new world. So I will do what few others are prepared to do, which is answer your questions. This machine does need to go through final testing, that it cannot do without, but it should be fully operational by December, and by Christmas and New Year, ready to perform its duty in our righteous cause. The advantage of this date is twofold. Firstly, it is soon enough that your patience will not be unduly stretched from this moment, and secondly, this is a time when irresponsible people are involved in revelry, drinking alcohol and having parties with fireworks and other frivolous activities. Yet, for our purpose, this revelry is of value, since the testimony of the drunk and the partying is less likely to be believed than that of the sober and thoughtful. So, this means that those who have kept us in subjugation are unlikely to be believed, even by the authorities that have ensured our subjugation for so long. So that is a perfect time to strike, when they are least aware, when their defences are down, and their thoughts are elsewhere. So, by this time in the New Year, we will have taken our rightful place as the rulers of this new world which is to come."
Kurt watched as mutants all around him cheered at his speech. They're not thinking, he realised, they're just being manipulated by a talented speaker, who is telling them exactly what they want to hear. He turned back to Mystique, who took her eyes off of the speaker to look back down at Kurt. "I would like to go now," said Kurt, "I still have a lot to do to prepare for school on Monday."
Mystique gave him a slightly disappointed look, but seemed to relent, and led the way out of the underground room, back up the stairs and into her office once more. She indicated for Kurt to sit down in the chair opposite her desk, and Kurt did so, watching her carefully the whole time.
"Well, what did you think of that?" she asked.
Kurt looked around himself nervously, unsure what it would be safest to say. He shrugged, "Four or five years ago, I would have loved having a giant robot to be able to do what I wanted, when I wanted, but then I grew up, and found that you can't always get your own way in the world, and that's actually okay sometimes. But the man in the funny robes was a talented speaker, I can't deny that."
"I see," said Mystique, after a long pause. "Well, I guess I could not expect you to be convinced straight away, no doubt you have been indoctrinated by your adoptive parents to believe that mutants deserve to be inferior citizens in a world that has never been prepared to accept us," she added.
Kurt got up, and stared at her defiantly. "You know nothing about me, Mystique," he said, as he glared at her, "and I doubt you know anything about my real parents back in Germany. You have never been a parent to me, and that was actually okay when you left me alone. But don't insult my real parents, because they have treated me better, over the years, than I suspect that you ever would know how to do."
Mystique watched him, then smiled, "Ah, there's the fire that is the mark of our kind, a true mutant, and of my blood, just as I should have expected from you."
Kurt continued to glare at her. "I will be leaving you now," he said, "As I said before, I have things that I need to get done. Goodbye, Mystique." With that, he stormed out of the door, only to be met by about half a dozen teenage boys, who had clearly been listening in at the door. Toad was there, but Kurt did not recognise the others. Kurt sighed mentally as he saw the way in which they were looking at him. Bullies, he thought, looking for a new plaything to bully, someone weak who cannot stand up for himself. They want to test me, to see if I will fit that description. Well, you'll soon see that I am no weakling, and I will not be your plaything. I'm tired of being ordered around by other people.
"We was listening in at the door," said Toad.
"I figured," Kurt replied.
"Ignore the Mummy's boy," said a taller boy with silvery-white hair, "we don't want Mummy's boys in our gang."
"Mummy's boy, huh? It's the first time I've seen her for over sixteen years, and I don't think she's going to win any parent of the year awards in the near future," replied Kurt.
The boys looked at each other for a moment, then one with untidy brown hair turned his attention back to Kurt, "What were you doing in there, anyway?" he asked, "You were talking, then you went quiet, then you were talking again."
Kurt sighed, "She took me down to the basement where I saw a giant robot and a lot of fanatics that want to imprison those who are not mutants and make mutants the new rulers of mankind," he said sarcastically.
The other boys looked at each other. The one with the silvery-white hair turned his attention back to him, "Fine, don't tell us if you don't want to. I'll give you a chance. Tomorrow, we'll give you an initiation ceremony, to see if you can join our gang," he held up his hand, "at the mall, a five-fingered discount, succeed without being caught, and you're in."
Kurt merely looked at him derisively. He had never heard the expression 'five-fingered discount' before, but he could make a pretty good guess at its meaning. He held up his own fingers, "As you can see, I don't exactly have five fingers. Neither do I want to join your gang, or any other for that matter. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to my room." Without another word, Kurt left them, as he made his way back up the stairs.