Chapter 3

Raven sat up, and rubbed her eyes. Still, the warmth from her dream enveloped her. That was one of her nicer memories. Azazel, her mind murmured with a satisfied purr. She wrapped her arms around herself and bit down on her lip, trying not to let the tears that had risen fall.

She missed Azazel. His warm weight beside her when she slept had become something of a privilege. He was so often away on missions, and so was she. Erik had not been happy when he had found out about their relationship happening behind his back. He feared that it would make both of them weaker. In truth, it only strengthened them.

Erik tried everything in his power to keep them apart; sending them on missions when the other was away, so as to prolong the time they spent together. But they communicated through calls and emails, and every now and then, when Azazel knew of Mystique's location, he would teleport over and sleep with her when she needed him most.

He was a gentle soul, something that his brutish build and cold expression didn't exactly emanate. His hands were capable of breaking flesh and bone, but the calloused palms were so gentle with her when they were together. His chest and arms continued to be a source of comfort for Mystique.

Before the last stand, before she had been turned into Raven, she hadn't seen Azazel for quite some time. As far as she knew, he had been away on a lengthy mission. In the events that followed, she had found herself just too busy to think about him. That didn't take away that he did occupy some small space of her mind almost all of the time.

Like now, as she hurried back to the warmth of her car after washing her face in the small toilet-block, she couldn't think of anybody but him. She started up her car and pulled out of the bay. The heat from the heater filled the space quickly, and as she started to eat the muffin she'd bought the day before she was once again left with her thoughts of Azazel.

Time crawled by slowly as she drove, and like the day before she stopped only every few hours to go to the bathroom or to buy food. She was once again left alone with the music over the radio and her thoughts. Every hour the kilometre count to Westchester county became smaller and smaller. Raven knew that the inevitable meeting wasn't going to be pretty. The X-men despised her.

A small pang of worry bloomed in her stomach and grew as she drove on. When she pulled up in the driveway of Charles' mansion half-an-hour later, that small bloom had turned into gut-wrenching nerves that coiled in her stomach like snakes. She parked the car and closed the door. For the first time the sight of the mansion looming over her didn't ease her nerves. Instead; it only fuelled them.

Her shoes crunched on the gravel walkway that lead up to the front door. The nerves in her stomach intensified. Self-consciously, she rubbed a hand over her arm, yearning to feel the familiar relief of her scales beneath her fingertips. They weren't there. She almost wished Azazel was here with her now to help her.

She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. The knock resonated through the still evening air, and Raven hopped awkwardly from foot to foot as she waited. A minute later, the door opened, revealing Ororo Munroe, better known as Storm. "Hello? May I help you?" She inquired. Raven frowned for a second, until it sank in that Storm didn't recognise her.

"Where is Charles?" Raven demanded, the words slipping out of her mouth before she even realised she'd said them. Storm stared back, and a touch of indignation flickered across her face at Raven's harsh tone. The realisation then hit her, and new understanding dawned and replaced the short look of disbelief. "Mystique?" The woman inquired gently.

Raven froze to the spot. So Ororo did recognise her. She flitted her eyes from Storm's face to look away, suddenly uncomfortable. "Yeah," She replied, sounding crestfallen. "Well, no. It's Raven now. Raven Darkholme." She elaborated quickly, her words tripping over each other.

She was shocked when Storm's face showed nothing but a raw type of understanding that ran deeper than any emotion she had ever felt. Storm frowned. "Come in, Raven. Come in." She said absentmindedly, stepping to the side to allow Raven access. Raven stepped inside the royally decorated foyer, and cold nostalgia seeped into her bones.

Storm led her through the foyer to an adjoining room that looked out over the inner gardens of the mansion, where children walked around and played together, using their mutations and being completely oblivious to the world around them. Raven stood in the middle, taking a seat when Storm offered it to her.

Seconds later, the door opened and a stoic Wolverine stepped inside. His dark eyes flitted from Raven to Ororo's face. He frowned. With one simple sniff he recognised her. His lips lifted in a minute snarl. A scowl appeared on his face and deepened. "Why is she here?" he asked simply, addressing Ororo as if Raven wasn't in the room at all.

Storm sighed. "That's a good question, Logan. Raven?" She asked, turning towards the younger woman. Raven straightened her back. "Where is Charles?" She asked again, averting the question with one of her own. Storm and Logan shared a moment of locked gazes. "Raven, Charles is…" Storm trailed off, unsure of how to continue.

Raven's eyes narrowed, and she frowned. "Where is he?" She asked again, looking at Logan now. Logan returned her questioning gaze with a scowl. He pushed himself off of the wall and opened his mouth. Storm cut him off with a pointed look. "Raven, Charles is dead." Storm said suddenly, and Raven's head snapped around.

"What..." She whispered, and her eyes filled with tears. Disbelief was clearly written across her face. Her emotions ran rampant, unable to discern whether what Storm was telling her was actually true. But as fervently as she searched for any sign of a bluff, she couldn't find it. Storm was telling the truth.

The tears that had been pooling in her eyes dripped onto her cheeks. She shook her head, slowly, uncertainly and unwillingly. She didn't want to believe that Charles was dead. But as she looked away from Storm and Logan her eyes caught something that stood out in the gardens. It was a tombstone, with the name 'Charles Xavier' chiselled into the smooth marble.

Raven pressed a hand to her mouth and bit back the gasp. She looked at Logan, but he stared back defiantly, almost silently condemning her. Almost as if she had killed him. "How?" She questioned, her voice characteristically hard.

Logan's eyes cooled and became harder. "Jean Grey. Phoenix." He explained. Raven narrowed her eyes. "The CIA is tracking her whereabouts now. They want a lead on Magneto, but he's elusive. They can't find him." Storm explained further. Raven turned to look at her, and nodded. Storm looked suddenly weary. "Why are you here, Raven?" She asked.

Raven wiped away the last of her tears. "I don't expect you to trust me," She started, before Logan interrupted her with a crude snort. Raven shot him a glare. "I came here to see whether Charles would take me in again. I doubt it to happen now. But I do want to see Hank, one last time." She said.

Storm leaned back, and nodded. She seemed sure of her standings. Raven knew of them too. In fact, she had been expectant of it. She wouldn't live in the X-mansion again. She wouldn't see her old team-mates anymore. The damage she had caused to each of them while under the influence of Magneto was too much for any of them to forgive. Even though she wanted their forgiveness above nothing else, it wouldn't be given, and she was alright with that.

Storm sent a helpful smile. A small knock on the door snapped them all out of it. Logan crossed the distance between his place against the wall to the door and pulled it open. A small girl with large and tear-filled eyes stared back at them. She clutched a broken arm. Storm immediately rose and made her way over. She spoke quietly with the little girl, before calling Logan over and instructing him to take the small child to the infirmary wing.

Logan and the small girl left, leaving Storm and Raven alone. Storm looked back over the gardens. She looked back to Raven. "Logan will get Hank for you. I need to return to my work. I trust you to stay in this room until Hank arrives. He shouldn't be too long." She said. Raven nodded and her eyes followed the older woman until she left the room. The door closed with a soft click, and the Raven was alone again.

The minutes passed slowly, and Raven's eyes traced over every object in the room multiple times before beginning to tap her foot in boredom. Back when she was still a mutant, she would pass time by trying new disguises; new skins to shift in to. Raven was almost always doing something, that suddenly having nothing to do ate into her. She was terribly bored.

She decided to seek out Hank herself. She didn't care much of the reciprocations, because she wouldn't come back here again. Rising silently, knowing that there weren't any security cameras, because she would have seen them, she made her way over to the door Storm had vanished out of. She opened it and peered into the empty hallway.

She crept out into the empty hallway and closed the door behind her. It swung shut with a soft click. She moved silently through the carpeted wooden hallways, happy to see that her old skills were still with her; no matter whether she was in her blue skin or human. She almost got seen by some kids that were wandering around, but they were quick to pass.

Finally, she could see the door to Hank's lab up ahead. She paused in front of it when she got there, with her hand poised above the wood; ready to knock. A sudden hand on her upper arm caused a small gasp of surprise to escape from her lips. "I thought they told you to wait." The voice was low and baritone, and lilted with an accent.

Hello everyone! I'm back, and this time with chapter 3! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, as well as the story so far. Don't hesitate to share some of your thoughts on the story with me through a review or PM, because authors live on them!

Feedback is highly encouraged and cherished :)

Oh, and please don't kill me because of the cliffhanger ;)