another update!

i realise this is quite a short one, but I just wanted the senator kelly scene. It might be a while again before I upload, mainly because I'm back at square one of not having a spare update set up as I'm writing the next chapter, no biggy.

This song is mainly because a friend introduced me to anime, mainly black butler, which I have been watching non-stop for a while and I'm just addicted to this song.

Thanks to Tiger Mutant for yet another lovely review! :)

disclaimer: I only own ocs

with that done, on with the chapter...

When I'm bored to death at home,

When he won't pick up the phone,

When I'm stuck in second place,

Those regrets I can't erase,

Only I can change the end,

Of the movie in my head,

There's no time for misery,

I won't feel sorry for me,

I'm Alive, I'm Alive, oh yeah,

Between the good and bad is where you'll find me,

Reaching for heaven,

I will fight, and I'll sleep when I die,

I'll live my life, ohhh!

Becca ~ I'm Alive

I watched as Mystique dragged in the unconscious Senator Kelly, the way she simply dumped him in the metal chair, his well-groomed body slumping in the seat. I glared at the cowardly man, the one who made Toad's gag-worthy tongue seem more truthful than the words that spilled off the Senator's in his mini speeches against mutants.

I almost wondered why Magneto was wasting his time and energy to change the cockroach, after all, to me he would make a sorry excuse for a mutant even if the change was successful.

"Aqua, be a dear and wake him up."

Mystique's echoed voice spoke from the doors of the machine, giving me a sly smirk I couldn't see as my back faced her. She could see my body tense as I stared at Kelly, it being a while since I was in close proximity with a human, but then it was my first high ranking human.

I had been standing by Toad (much to my disgust as I hated the twerp), who crouched on a small boulder by the bare tree, it's branches dead as the roots protruded out of the rock.

I didn't need to be told twice, marching forward as my hand clenched into a fist. Seeing as the rocks had been placed on the centre of the water, I simply stepped onto the murky substance and kept walking purposely. The water kept me steady, a few murmurs of protest at my weight but I was the only one who could hear it, the sounds of nature being the only sounds the others could hear.

I suppose Mystique was expecting me to dowse him with water, but that wouldn't be enough for the satisfaction I wanted. I stepped in front of his slowly wakening form, taking the chance, I swiftly pulled my clenched hand back and connected it with his jaw, sending a jolt of impact against my knuckles.

The Senator immediately cried out because of the quick pain, breathing heavily as he snapped his head around his surroundings. He was scared, good. His eyes rested on me, perplexed at being hit by someone so young, but then, he guessed I was with the mutant who had taken Henry.

My knuckles clicked as I slackened my hand, the bone aching from the impact with Kelly's surprisingly stiff jaw. I ignored the pain, the satisfaction was worth it.

He calmed himself down slowly after I walked over to Sabretooth behind Kelly, thinking I would get a better view from there and because I didn't want to be by Toad for another second. We waited patiently as Kelly regained what composure he was trying to find, everyone silent as they relished in the chance to capture the man who had spoken about mutants like they were vermin.

A bird warbling caught my attention, this bird balancing on the higher branches of the dead tree, the beautiful white feathers memorising me as I had only been subjected to grey colours for a year. Kelly also looked over, but this was because Toad had snapped his head towards the bird. In one swift second, the bird was trapped in Toad's flicking tongue, disappearing into his mouth as he bit into the damned beauty, the crunch of its bones making me wince.

"I hate it when you do that." I stated in disgust, Toad simply shrugging his shoulders. Kelly also found it horrific, making a typical euch! sound as he shifted his body straight again, refusing to look in the direction of Toad.

"Toad has a wicked tongue, Senator. Just like you." Magneto's voice appeared behind me, but I didn't look, I knew he would walk straight past me and Sabretooth as he greeted the Senator.

"Apologies for Aqua's behaviour, when it comes to homosapiens such as yourself...she can be a little hostile."

He wasn't remotely apologetic, it made light conversation but also a silent warning to me to refrain from performing such brash actions in the future. I casted my eyes to the floor as Magneto strode past, his presence creating an authority that I knew better than to disobey.

A smirk spread across my face as Mystique stood beside Magneto who faced Kelly, an arm draped around his shoulder, if only he knew the extent of what she would do for him.

"Who are you people? Where's Henry?" The Senator asked, his fear easily detectable.

"Mr Guyrich has been dead for some time, Senator." Magneto enlightened, a tight smirk spreading across his wrinkled face. "But I've had Mystique here keep you company, she takes so many shapes." He quipped, gently placing his old hand atop Mystique's on his shoulder.

"Whatever you do to me, you'll make me right. Every word I've spoken will be confirmed." Kelly debated, thinking he had Magneto by stating this. I chuckled to myself, Sabretooth flaring his nostrils as a grunt escaped, to which I was quiet again, but I couldn't hide the smirk that was on my face.

The idea that Senator Kelly being right was laughable, true, torture, death or forced dehydration might make humanity think mutants dangerous...but what Magneto was planning for the Senator and all the people at the UN summit would confirm they had a right to be scared of them, but that would make them scared of themselves which was just perfect.

Mystique and Magneto shared a knowing gaze, Mystique walking around Kelly in a seductive but creepy manner, walking towards me and Sabretooth with the smirk still on her face. She winked at me as she took her place beside me, both of us listening to Magneto's words like they were the Ten Commandments.

"Are you a God-fearing man, Senator? It's such a strange phrase. I've always thought of God as a teacher. As a bringer of light, wisdom and understanding." Magneto continued, shaking his head accordingly as he found the phrase preposterous. I for one stopped believing a bearded man in the sky was meant to be worshipped, he did not guide people, he did not punish the bad, he did not create miracles.

It had been more than once that Magneto told me I was a god among insects, but I never truly believed it, being a god meant responsibility, meant having to listen to the insects' prayers...why would I want to?

I wondered whether he still believed his beliefs, I knew nothing of his past, he blatantly refused to say anything on the subject and I was too fearful to ask. However, I had seen the numbers marked on his skin in black ink, and spending the time in the old library reading books...I knew what they meant.

Sometimes, Elijah crossed my mind, wondering if Magneto had known him, because Magneto always spoke of Charles Xavier who had known Elijah since he knew Magneto. These wonders went unanswered, and I let them sit at the back of my mind, they were useless childish questions that distracted me from the task ahead.

"You see, I think what you really are afraid of is me. Me and my kind. The brotherhood of mutants." He spoke lowly, eyes gazing over to Mystique, Sabretooth and me before returning back to Senator Kelly. By the look in his eyes and the little nod of his head, he was about to begin the test. I couldn't wait any longer, wanting to see the machine in all its glory, see if it was possible to speed up the mutation process.

Magneto was ready, turning around to walk slowly towards the machine, hands clasped together behind his back. Senator Kelly whimpered once as his chair moved with Magneto, his wrists and feet clasped down so he could only wriggle pathetically.

"It's not so surprising, really. Mankind has always feared what it doesn't understand. With fear comes capture and experiments, some of the barbaric procedures my fellow mutants have been put through through no fault of their own, truly sickens me." He continued as he looked up at the machine. I gulped, knowing he was meaning me, and it made painful memories of my Dad flash in front of my eyes.

A hand gripped my shoulder comfortingly, this being Mystique's as my eyes snapped to her. She didn't wear a smile, it was a blank expression on her blue face, but the slightest nod of her head was sign language that it was okay, I nodded my head slowly in a reply as my eyes casted back onto Kelly.

"Well, don't fear God, Senator, and certainly don't fear me...Not any more." Magneto said gruffly, opening the doors of the machine with a flick of his hand, the white lights turning on as he stepped inside. I wanted to see the fearful look on Kelly's face, to see the fear that once gripped me when ever I found myself by a lake, but that fear was no-more, I didn't fear anything anymore with the help of the brotherhood.

"What do you intend to do with me?" Kelly asked with an edge to his tone, clearly wondering what the hell the machine was. Magneto placed his hands on the two cylinder poles, a few clicks as his they were held in place as he gripped the metallic handles. He started to levitate as of he was in an elevator, his eyes cast down on Kelly as he said his final words to the human Kelly.

"Let's just say God works too slowly." He said as he was still levitating upwards. I caught my breath as more urgent clicks began to echo around the rock structures, the machine coming to life as Magneto's face strained.

Isaac knows, Isaac knows, Isaac knows!

My eyes snapped to the lake-like water, seeing how it waved and twisted in a lively fast-moving pace. I had never heard it speak without a part of my body submerged, and I could tell it was difficult for the particles to scream the repeated sentence at me. The name winded my gut, especially when it was spoken through the whispering voice of water.

"What's it doing?" Mystique asked in a hasty whisper, clearly not wanting to disturb Magneto but couldn't ignore the distracted look on my face. I wouldn't answer, not yet, I was still trying to decipher what else the liquid was trying to warn me.

He will not warn Xavier, he's letting the events happen...he knows the outcome!

The more I listened the more confusing and difficult it was to understand. Squinting my eyes in an attempt to think what it could possibly mean, I thought about what it meant by outcome. Did it mean the test on Kelly? Did it mean the UN summit? Or did it mean the war that was bound to begin between mutants and humans?

"Aqua, what's going on?" Mystique hissed, irritated by my silence. I raised hand to shush the water into silence, and with much persuasion it became calm again, my hand dropping to my side suddenly as I turned to Mystique with a grim expression.

"Isaac knows about the machine, the test now, the UN summit...or that's what it's hinting at. But he won't tell Xavier, I don't know why, something about he's letting the events happen whatever that means." I said quickly, stuttering as I tried to make it sound like I knew what I was saying, because I really didn't.

Mystique briefly seemed uneasy by this, however she quickly regained her composure and gripped my shoulder tighter, creating a little discomfort.

"If he won't tell the X-men...then we have nothing to worry about." She stated in an attempt to calm me, but that wasn't why I was tense, it was because he knew I had abandoned him to join the brotherhood. I had only been guessing before, maybe he thought I had run away into the human world, not with the people who had aided his escape from the labs, who wanted him to join the brotherhood too. It was betrayal. And the only comfort I had had was that he didn't know, but now it was confirmed he did, and that meant he likely despised me even more.

I'm not Sam anymore, I'm no longer associated with that family, my family is the brotherhood as Aqua...

I forced inside my head, blocking the guilt, but the emotions surrounding the thoughts about Isaac fought against the wave attack. I shook my head, deciding to focus on the test for now and let the newly discovered gossip distract me later.

While me and Mystique had been talking in hushed voices, Magneto and the machine had been continually getting to the peak point in which the mutation rapid growth could be released, the machine spinning n a chaotic frenzy as Magneto looked in pain as the wrongly was drained from him.

Dazzling swirls of pure white seeped from the top of the machine, slowly enclosing Magneto into the white ball, forcing me to cover my eyes with a hand as the light ached my eyes. With one quiet explosion, the white light broke away from the ball and showered the whole area in the white substance, the strands passing over everything within its released radius.

Kelly groaned as the whiteness engulfed him, even though it didn't effect is mutants who watched the mesmerising glow. Within a few moments of the explosion, the glow retracted back into the tip of the machine. I slowly lowered my hand, able to see that Magneto was hunched over the machine, taking in heavy gaps as he was brought back down to the floor of the open room again.

I felt a freezing chill slither through my body, a crystallised fog escaping my lips to confirm it was the dropped temperature and not me. Kelly sat motionless, speechless as the test was yet to be proved successful.

An overpowering urge made me rush down the walkway towards Magneto, who was still hunched over the machine in an exhausted manner. I stood by his side, wondering whether I should help remove his hands off the machine, help him stand up straight or even help him at all.

"Sir?" I asked in heavy breaths, worried that he was too weakened. After a while he straightened his back with a moan, turning to me with a small smile.

"How many times must I tell you? Trivial things such as higher ranking contexts do not need to be used to address me or any other member of the brotherhood, we are equal Aqua, however not quite everyone has the same...intellectual capabilities as others." He sighed, eyes casting to Toad and Sabretooth as he mentioned intellectual capabilities. I smiled back, glad that he at least hinted at regarding me higher than Toad. He groaned as he stood up, retracting his hands from the machine gingerly as they shook slightly.

I stayed by his side just in case he suddenly collapsed, he looked that worn. Instead, he stepped forward and inspected Kelly, not seeing any radical changes but he wasn't expecting them. With a chuckle, he motioned Sabretooth forward.

"Sabretooth, take our guest to his accommodation." He ordered, Sabretooth growling ruffle before stomping forward. He easily ripped off the metal clamps that were holding the Senator down, pulling the stunned Kelly over his shoulder as he stumbled back down the corridor towards Kelly's accommodation.

"Well that was anti-climatic." Toad butted in from his crouched spot on the rock. I was tempted to counter with don't say words you don't know the meaning of as he seemed to struggle to say the words with his tongue flicking out like a snake. However, I closed my mouth as Magneto turned to him, penetrating eyes that almost dared for Toad to speak again.

"There is nothing anti-climatic in the process of mutation, if anything it is marvelling, even if it concerns insects such as Senator Kelly." Magneto countered, shushing Toad into a glorious silence. He muttered something along the lines of I'll go fix up the helicopter before flicking his tongue to stick against the rock face, using it as rope to swing towards and stick to the rock structure. He then simply jumped down in a lazy manner and stormed past Mystique down the corridor. Fair to say I was happy to see the back of the twerp.

"There is more than one reason why he is named Toad." Magneto tsked with a shake of his head, bringing a grin to my face. I could tell that he was still drained, by the way he lacked his usual stood straight stance and because he was silently wondering why he had Toad amongst his brotherhood, the reason being one I couldn't find.

"Tell him Aqua."

Mystique's voice sounded a lot closer than it should, jolting me to look straight ahead to where she was standing in front of me. I hated it she she did stuff like that, suddenly appearing out of nowhere just to test whether I screamed or not, I wondered whether it was a lesson or torture. I stuttered on my own words as I thought about Isaac, and I could recognise that. Magneto and Mystique were both bored with my uneasy stuttering.

"My brother, Isaac, I think he knows about the UN summit."

I finally managed to make a full sentence, nearly choking on brother as I hadn't used the term to describe Isaac in a long time. Magneto wasn't as tense as I thought he would be, seeing as I had blatantly told him there would be an issue with the plan.

"What gave you this notion?" Magneto asked with a gravelly voice, rubbing his chin as he contemplated the drastic action that might have to be taken if the test wasn't successful.

"It told me." I said, motioning a hand to the water beside me. "But for some reason he won't tell Xavier, something about letting the events happen, as if he doesn't want to interfere." I added, the more information I gave the better picture Magneto could paint on the situation. It did prove useful, it meant his plan was still anonymous, but he was sure it wouldn't take Charles long to figure out what he was up to.

"Good...if he won't interfere then we have time to see whether the test is successful. However, keep me posted on how much he knows, it might prove useful to persuade him we are the better option to find his true potential." He demanded, walking away with Mystique by his side.

I questioned what he meant by that, why would he join the brotherhood that made his sister betray him? Anyway, I was sure Xavier had deluded him in believing humanity could find peace with mutants, more lies he had woven.

"What makes you so sure he'll join?" I called after the two fast-paced mutants, my curiosity being my downfall one of these days. Magneto turned around with a snarky smile as he saw my pathetic stance by the machine, alone.

"Because of you my dear. Charles may have given him a home and an education, but he cannot give the family and love you can." He stated, my eyebrows creasing slightly. He didn't enlighten me further, walking down the corridor and back into the main part of the island, Mystique talking with him further when I was out of earshot.

"She's not ready." She insisted, irritated that I had jumped at the sound of her voice. Magneto simply chuckled as a response, however Mystique could not perceive what was so amusing.

"Do not underestimate her Mystique, she's come a long way from the snivelling child you brought before me." He reminded her, but she still didn't know what he saw in me, all she saw was the same lonely girl but with an attitude problem.

"She jumps at every little sound." She mumbled, not wanting all her hard work in training me gone to waste because I was unable to defend myself against the X-men. He was still determined to show faith in me until I finally proved him right, and he hadn't been wrong abut me yet.

"Are you surprised? How long did it take you Mystique to find the beautiful hard outer-shell that you are?"

He defended me, even if I didn't know it.

Mystique sighed, I had grown on her in a strange sense, even with all the hassle I caused her. She had to admit I tried my hardest with the confusing tactics and constant on-guard tests, but it would count for nothing if I didn't stop letting my emotions distract me.

"I don't know what else I can teach her." She spoke truthfully, thinking she had done all she could to train me physically.

"I trust you will find many more ways to train her, in time she will surprise you, that I am sure of." He finished, briefly stopping to kiss her hand in farewell before walking out of sight down another corridor. Mystique shook her head, maybe she would never understand what he saw in me.

"Might as well waste my time on her some more." She sighed, swiftly walking back down the corridor again in search of me in an attempt to train me one last time as the new age drew closer.

The day she surprises me will be the day I turn human...

Mystique scoffed internally, knowing the day would never come.

Im sorry XD, I love little hints. Not much else to say except that I have uploaded The Mischievous Green-Eyed Brat of you want to check it out. Next chapter will be longer, I promise.

~ Gothgirlstrikesagain