A/N: Hi, eveyone! Good news and bad news. The good news is my chapters that I am writing are getting longer. The bad news is that I am at a writer's block and between school, theatre, family, and friends, I haven't had much time to sit down and write for more than ten minutes a day. I would like to thank all of the people who reviewed. It really helps me get through writer's blocks. It also shows me that people actually read this fanfic. :) Anyways, go ahead and read Chapter 12, and I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: So... I was told to write one of these. I do not own X-men: Evo. I am not that awesome.
12.
Two months. Two months passed without any big incident. December brought with it a chilling cold and gave Bayville a soft blanket of snow.
Within the two months, Ravyn liked to think that she had officially been welcomed into the X-men. She was with them as they silently stared at the TV screen in shock on Thanksgiving Day, as the president of the United States declared that a bill had been passed that required every mutant to register themselves to the town hall. In addition, the mutants had to agree to have tests done to them in order to "understand their mutilation" better. She remembered seeing Logan storm off; knocking over a vase on his way out, as Kitty bravely fought back tears.
She was with them as they slowly rebuilt the danger room. She was able to share a comfortable stony silence with Rogue, who dealt with her emotions in a similar manner to Ravyn. Her arm muscles noticeably grew during the month and a half they spent cleaning and rebuilding the danger room.
She was with them when they fought off every anti-mutant protest on the lawn of the Xavier Institute. For a long time, she tried to build up a wall, like Kurt and the Professor had to the profanities that were shouted to them by the mobs. She finally gave up and resorted to beating the stuffing out of the red punching bag until her knuckles bled and healed up again. One time, Jean had to use her powers to forcibly remove her from the punching bag. She would often see Scott in the gym, joining her in their prospective vents for their frustrations. Sweat usually dripped unattractively down his face to frm a small puddle beneath him.
It was hard and horribly slow work for Logan, but he was able to get the assassin to understand her powers and how to safely use them. Many days were ended with Logan screaming at a frustrated Ravyn, who would bite her tongue 'til it bled. As soon as the Danger Room was rebuilt, he demanded that every X-man would test it out. Ravyn reluctantly agreed, knowing that she didn't really have a choice. The session was much easier than her first, since she knew how to use her abilities and the machines weren't going haywire on the professor.
In those two months, Ravyn felt safe and happy and, because of that, many things changed. She didn't spend her time perpetually noticing things about her teammates or the mansion. She stopped trying to prove things to them and test her powers in unorthodox ways. A bigger change she made was actually trying to have conversations with the x-men. She let her guard down with most of them, especially Evan. She had successfully taught him how to shoot a gun after many angry words and breakdowns. Her eyes began to hold some light in them when she smiled and laughed with Kitty and Jean as well as when she held a mutually-enjoyed silence with Rogue.
She learned to trust people again, leaving behind almost everything her training as an assassin had taught her. The only thing she held onto with a tight grasp was her gun, which she still kept, hidden underneath her clothing. Kurt often noticed her standing alone, a thoughtful smile gracing her face, as she traced its outline through her shirt. He also noticed that her hand would twitch towards it every time she felt angry or nervous.
"You miss it, don't you?" He had once asked her as they both sat on the steps of the mansion, silently sipping Jean's homemade hot chocolate. They rarely went outside the mansion grounds to get groceries anymore. Ravyn looked at him sideways, looking up from a magazine Kitty had loaned her. Kurt could tell that she wasn't interested in its girlish contents.
"Killing people? No." Her eyes immediately lost their light and her smile left her face.
Kurt stopped himself from speaking. He found himself staring at the pre-X-man Ravyn. Her face was completely unreadable.
He was thankful when she broke her gaze at him and pretended to read the magazine. They were silent for a few moments, before Ravyn broke the silence.
"I do miss the adrenaline. All the excitement and danger… was… I guess I'm not a peace loving girl." Just as suddenly as she became the bloodthirsty assassin, she changed back into Ravyn, the mutant. Smiling gently at him, she stretched out her hand to help him up, before re-entering the mansion.
There were still many things that Ravyn refused to tell anyone, even the Professor. No one knew anything about her past. As soon as she was asked to share stories about her family, she bit her lip and mumbled that she had no interesting stories about them. Everyone did know, however, that Rogue knew more about Ravyn's family than anyone else, having grasped some of her memories when she had touched her. More than once, the professor found them talking in low tones that would fade away every time someone passed them by.
The professor had thought that he could completely change Ravyn from the assassin she was to a girl who could expertly control her emotions and powers if he had five months to help her. He never had enough time.
"Could all X-men meet in the hall." The professor's voice rang through the intercoms in the mansion at five in the morning.
Ravyn, her eyes still blinking away the last remnants of sleep, met her companions sprinting away from the hall. Ravyn grabbed Evan's collar as he ran past her.
"What's going on?"
"You were late. Cerebro found a new mutant."
Ravyn ran alongside Evan. In his hands was his prized possession: his skateboard. "Where are we going?"
Up ahead her, Scott pushed open large doors. Evan pointed up. "The X-jet."
The sheer magnificence of the X-jet made Ravyn stop running to stare. The sleek, black jet was bigger than she had remembered when she was rescued by it after first meeting Kurt. The wings were slightly worn and bent back, a trait given to planes that could go at amazingly fast speeds. Quickly recovering, she followed the X-men onto the plane.
Logan took the front of the jet and strapped himself into the pilot's seat. Scott took his place in the seat at Logan's right. The rest found their seats at the back. Ravyn sat herself down beside Jean as Kurt teleported to the center of the jet. In his hands was a sandwich. He gave Logan a thumb up and sat beside Evan, who spoke to him in low angry tones.
"Where were you?" Jean asked as the X-jet started moving. Ravyn grasped her seatbelt nervously.
"I was late. What are we doing?"
"We are tracking down a new mutant. His name is Jimmy and he is ten years old. His ability has something to do with the mind. I have been trying to get in touch with him telepathically... but, no luck. He has brown eyes and blonde hair. He is small and is running around his town causing trouble and… and that's it."
Ravyn sat silently in her seat, excitement and the fear of flying making her motionless. Nevertheless, her mind was working at a breakneck speed. "Why is a ten-year-old running around his town alone? Where are his parents?"
Jean shrugged. "We can find them later. We just need to stop the confused child from hurting anyone."
Ravyn nodded, but she couldn't shake the bad feeling that she felt all over her body and mind. She couldn't help but think that they were headed for a trap.
It was only when the X-jet landed that Ravyn began to breathe normally again. She looked outside the window to find the sun completely visible above the mountains, casting a shimmering light on the recently fallen snow.
Logan left his place in the pilot's seat and faced the rest of the passengers. He tossed everyone an earpiece. Ravyn deftly placed it in her ear, remembering all of the missions where she was forced to do the same thing.
"Everyone stay in touch. And don't try to pull anything like what happened last time," he said, his eyes darting from Kurt to Ravyn.
Without saying another word, the passengers exited the x-jet, which had landed in a small clearing in the woods next to a main road. In the distance was a sign that read "Welcome to Canton". No one but Logan knew which state they were in.
Jean and Scott immediately ran off in different directions, signaling the start of the chase. Rogue stayed back with Ravyn while they watched Kurt teleport away from the clearing and Kitty phase through piles of snow, leaving no footprints in her wake. Evan trudged through the snow, looking for a place that would be safe enough to use his skateboard. Logan sniffed the air, before expertly jumping a fence and heading towards the sprawling town. Everyone was inconspicuously dressed in street clothes.
Rogue looked at Ravyn. "Will you be okay on your own?"
Ravyn nodded, knowing that Rogue didn't want to be stuck with anybody. Rogue left her, blending in with the nature as she darted in between a space of closely grown trees.
Instead of picking a direction to follow and hope for the best, Ravyn leaned gainst the X-jet. Why is there a boy running around town at five in the morning, causing trouble at the age of ten? Ravyn exhaled and watched the thick cloud of smoke emitted from her mouth disappear. It was cold; too cold for some child to be outside for longer than thirty minutes without beginning to freeze. He must have some source of warmth, and, since his mutant ability had to do with something mental and not fire, he had to have someone or something keeping warm. Also, a ten year old boy, no matter how angry, doesn't just randomly wake up and attack the innocent by using something as scary as a mutant ability. Why is he doing this? How is he doing this? Where is he now?
She didn't know how long she stood in the snow, pondering the unknown facts about the mission. She zoned out from the rest of the world. She heard the voices of her teammates through her earpiece, but she was so concentrated on her thoughts. She only heard their tone of voice; not what they were saying.
Ravyn placed her hands on her head to clear it, but couldn't. Someone must be helping the boy, but why? Why would any parent allow his child outdoors at 5am to cause trouble?
She heard the faint crunch of snow and slid into the shadows underneath the x-jet. The footsteps in the snow got closer. Ravyn spoke into her mouthpiece. "I have a visual on the kid. Meet me at the x-jet."
There was a long pause before she heard Logan's voice. "Wait for us." It sounded as if he was running.
"I can't." Ravyn said. By this time, the little boy was staring unblinkingly at her as he also stood still, also underneath the x-jet. The assassin's fingers twitched towards her gun.
The boy looked as if he hadn't slept in days. His steps were slightly wobbly and he had unnatural circles under his eyes. "Were you hiding from me?" he squeaked in a high-pitched voice, which reminded her how young he was.
"Look, kid." Ravyn said, before noticing that she sounded like Logan. "I need you to listen to me. You have an ability… like a superpower, and-"
She stopped when a man dressed in black came into view behind the small boy. "Do it, Jimmy." He reached out his hand to place on the small boy's shoulders.
"Jimmy," Ravyn's voice was calm and her facial expression was urgent. Her eyes were a dull brown. "Come here."
"These are the monsters I've been telling you about." The man placed his large hand heavily on Jimmy's shoulders.
"Get your hands off him!" Ravyn whipped out her gun, but hesitated to shoot the man's unshielded heart. The hesitation was enough time for the man to squeeze the boy's shoulder, signaling him to speak.
"The girl will put down her gun."
Ravyn felt an unseen force pull her entire arm to the ground. She tried to fight it, but couldn't. Against her will, her fingers opened up, releasing her gun from her grasp. The man in black picked it up. The only feature Ravyn caught of him was his short, white, beard. Ravyn stared in fascinated horror. She heard the boy start crying, murmuring the words "I'm sorry" over and over again.
Ravyn felt the force lift off her hand. Quickly picking herself off the ground, she hurled herself at the man in black.
"The girl will not hurt us."
Ravyn felt a rush of air hit her square in the chest as she felt her body being lifted off the ground by an unknown force. Her fingers were mere inches away from the man's collar when she was thrown back against the x-jet. Her wrists, waist, and neck felt as though they were magnetized to the x-jet. Ravyn struggled and writhed against her invisible restraints.
The man in black took his place beside the little boy. Tears flowed unchecked down the smaller boy's face, his tired eyes wide open with shock and confusion at the power he had on the girl.
"Good job, Jimmy." The man pulled out a large silver gun out from under his black trenchcoat. It was larger than Ravyn's gun, which lay abandoned at the man's feet. Instead of shooting a bullet, the tip of a dart, wet all over with some dark blue slime, peeked out of the gun. At the butt of the gun, a see-through bottle of a slimy blue liquid sloshed around.
Finding that struggling was useless, Ravyn stopped moving and locked eyes with the boy. "Jimmy, please listen to me. Whatever he told you is wrong. What he wants you to do is wrong. You don't have to do this!" she pleaded with the boy.
The man lowered the gun and laughed. "Go on, Jimmy. Who do you trust? Me or this mutant bitch?"
For a short moment, the boy's eyes showed the innocence he was robbed of. He wiped the tears from his eyes. "I want my mommy back."
The man lightly tapped the boy's cheek, but didn't answer. Turning back to Ravyn, he raised the gun, aiming at her exposed skin at her neck. He pulled the trigger.
Ravyn say the thin dart zip towards her and felt it break the skin at her neck. She felt a cold sensation spread from the puncture wound to her whole body. She closed her eyes and braced herself to start healing. She wouldn't let herself die. Not to this.