Chapter 11: Sins of the Mother
-Xavier Institute, 9:30pm at night-
In the Institute on a Wednesday night, everyone was trying to get ready for bed, each of the students having finals the next morning. In Rogue and Kitty's room, the auburn haired Mississippi native was talking to one of her friends on the phone.
"Yea it was great, thanks for lending it to me." She said, looking at the book her friend leant to her. "Ah really liked the way it ended, when he turned into a werewolf and no one even knew it?"
Kitty, meanwhile, started crawling into bed as her roommate hung up her phone and set it and the book on her nightstand, before crawling into bed, both turning their lights out.
A few hours passed before Rogue started tossing and turning in her sleep, mumbling under her breath as disturbing images flashed through her head, the nightmare ending in the scene of a baby who was wrapped in a cloth was dropped into a raging river.
Rogue screamed as she jolted awake, a cold sweat covering her body as she breathed heavily, the images still fresh in her mind. Kitty, who was asleep, was startled awake the moment Rogue screamed. After she got over her shock, she went over to her roommate's side to calm her down.
Right at that moment, Gavin burst into the room, followed by Jean, Scott, Kurt and Evan. The pseudo vampire immediately ran over to his Southern comrade.
"Rogue, what's wrong, what happened?" He asked her with worry evident in his voice as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
"Ah, Ah don't know. Ah was dreaming, some, some kind of awful nightmare!" She cried as she tried to organize her thoughts.
"Yeah, her shrieking, like, really freaked me out. I almost fazed through the bed!" Kitty nodded.
"You're telling me. I could hear her from my room, and my coffin is soundproof!" Gavin added, letting go of Rogue.
"Are the finals really getting to you that badly?" Scott questioned.
"No, Ah've had this dream before. When I came to the Institute. There was a woman I think, castle, and wolves, oh that poor baby!" She cried as she tried her best to explain the dream.
"Wait, a baby? What did they look like?" Gavin questioned, perking up at the mention of a baby. The boy had always had a soft spot for infants.
"Ah'm not sure, Ah didn't see his face… But Ah had a feeling like, like Ah knew him somehow." The girl said before she turned her gaze to Kurt.
"Huh? How do you even know it was me?" The blue elf asked.
"The baby, it had your blue fur, and the same hands as you! The woman who was running with him, she was being chased by a man who was floating, and then the man made a pack of wolves attack her and she dropped him into a river, the poor little thing didn't know what was going on, he just kept crying." Rouge stated.
Gavin, meanwhile, couldn't stop himself from clenching his fists. 'Who would do that to a woman and her child? What kind of monster would try and break up a family that horribly?!' He thought angrily as he grit his fangs in anger.
"Well how about we all just get some sleep? We can figure this all out tomorrow morning." Jean suggested.
"That won't be necessary, Jean." The telepathic voices of the Professor suddenly said in their minds. "This is an important matter. Rogue, Kurt, come to my office. The rest of you get some rest, as I recall, you do have finals in the morning."
"Man there's just no keeping anything from him, is there?" Evan groaned as they all left.
Gavin shuddered. "Yeah, it's so creepy…" he said under his breath as he went back to his room. Sighing, the boy took out his hearing aids and opened the lid to his coffin. Like all coffin's it was lined with cushioning, but this was custom made of the very same used for mattress toppers for people with back problems. It was also velvet red and had an extra layer for soundproofing. Lastly, he had a black blanket inside and a black pillow that was perfectly suited for maximum comfort, this was his perfect bed.
As the boy crawled into the box, he got under his blanket and grabbed the stuffed bat he always slept with ever since he was little. After this he slowly closed the lid, the air circulation features that were built in allowing him to breath without problem. With all this done, the boy went back to sleep.
(The next day)
-Principal Darkhölme's office-
Xavier was now in the office of Principal Darkhölme, and currently, he was trying to get information on what she knew about the dream Rogue had, since it was her that was in it. Or rather, Mystique.
"Why are you here, Xavier?" The woman asked irritably.
"There are a few things I need to know." The man replied. "Namely regarding an incident you had regarding an infant, and that involved Magneto."
"I don't know what you're talking about." The woman snapped as she walked over to the book shelf across the room.
"Rogue absorbed your memories, so I know what happened. But I have to wonder, what were you doing in that dreary castle? Was it really worth the loss of your son?" The man questioned.
Mystique froze as she was grabbing a book. Charles took the opportunity to look through the shapeshifter's mind and find what he's looking for.
Though as soon as he finished, Mystique noticed and turned around, an infuriated look plastered on her face. "Get out! Get out now!" She yelled at him while pointing at the door.
Charles calmly turned his chair around and began moving toward the door, though he decided to leave some parting words. "If it's any consolation, your son turned into a very fine young lad." He stated before leaving.
As soon as he left, another person entered right behind him, it was Devin. "Miss Darkhölme, you asked for me?" He asked as he closed the door.
"Yes, Full Metal, come in." She said as he stepped inside and took a seat. "Now, I called you in here for this: I have a task I'd like you to complete for me."
The boy's skin rippled as his clothes morphed into a black body suit similar to Scott's with silver going down the sides and his shoes became boots much like those of Wolverine's, and he had shoulder and silver chest plating like Quicksilver, gauntlets like Lance, and lastly a silver vest similar to Blob's.
"Alright. What do you need?" He asked with a raised eyebrow while folding his arms and crossing his legs.
(Later)
-Xavier Institute-
Devin was now outside the gates of the Institute and was carrying a yellow envelope, as he slipped the folder into the inside pocket of his jacket he became liquid metal and slowly inched under the gate and into one of its air vents and entered the mansion through them and then dropped in front of Kurt's room, then slipped the folder under the door before disappearing into the vents again.
This action did not go unnoticed by the Professor, who had sensed the boy's presence the second he entered the building.
"Is that Devin?" Xavier wondered as he turned in his chair. But before he could do anything, the boy's presence disappeared. Which made Xavier then turn back to the screen in front of him. "Wolverine, report."
"Well, from the looks of things Charles, it seems to be some sort of… DNA lab." Logan said over his communicator. "And whoever was in here just pulled out recently, real recently."
Logan then took notice of a bomb that was present. "I'll call you back, Charles. I gotta run!" He exclaimed before leaping out a window right as the lab exploded.
(Elsewhere)
"I'm telling ya, from what I was able to hear from that Shirakumo guy while he was in her office, she's gonna meet with the blue freak at sundown." Pietro said to someone on the phone.
"Did you catch where they'll be?" The voice on the other end asked.
"No, I didn't, but I think I can-" Pietro was saying before a thin metal spike stuck itself into the phone and destroyed it, cutting the call short. Dropping the phone, the silver speedster looked to see Devin standing there, the spike shrinking back and turning back into his finger.
"You won't be doing anything, Pietro." The boy stated coldly.
"Why are you even doing this? We're on the same team, remember?" The silver themed kid asked.
Devin scoffed at his words. "Please. All this group has done is slow me down." He snapped, he then looked into the distance at the construction site where Mystique currently was. "Besides, I still have to repay my debt to that little blue fuzz ball. This is just one way I plan to do it. I mean, why should the son have to pay for the sins of the mother?"
"Are you serious?!" Pietro asked angrily.
Devin simply transformed his left arm into a hammer and his right into a scythe before facing the other boy. "Dead serious." He said before he lept into the air and brought his hammer arm down on top of him.
(Meanwhile)
-Xavier Institute-
Kurt was hanging from the chandelier in his room as he looked at a photo of him and his adopted parents with a solemn expression.
That's when he noticed that there was a yellow folder on the floor in front of his door that wasn't there before, dropping down to the floor, he walked over and picked it up, opening it and pulling out a note that was inside.
"If you vant to know va truth, come to va new construction site across town at sundown, come alone." He read aloud.
The blue teleporter looked at the sun, which was already setting. He looked down in thought for a few moments before deciding to go. He wanted answers and he refused to pass up this chance.
"Vhy not?" He asked himself as he jumped in the air and teleported away.
Outside in the hallway, Jean was walking down the hall when she was met by Scott. "Hey Jean, have you seen Kurt? the Professor's looking for him." The young man asked the redhead.
"No, actually I was just about to ask Gavin something before I checked Kurt's room." Jean told him.
"Why?" Scott questioned as they went to Gavin's room.
"The professor said something about Kurt getting a visit from Full Metal earlier." Jean explained as they entered the pseudo vampire's room, noting the faint sound of snoring coming from the boy's coffin.
"Full Metal? You mean Devin, Gavin's brother?" Scott asked.
"The very same." The red haired telepath replied. She then started lightly knocking on the lid of Gavin's coffin, and noted that it had an odd inscription on its lid under the silver cross. It read 'The bird of Hermès is my name, eating my own wings to keep me tame.' And above the cross read 'When hope is gone, undo this lock, and send me forth, on a moonlit walk.'
"... He's watched way too much Hellsing." Jean deadpanned, recalling some of the more famous quotes from it. As she stopped knocking, the sound of shuffling was heard from inside, making them both back up.
Then the lid of the coffin opened as Gavin sat up and yawned, a brown bat shaped night mask over his eyes. "Who's there?" He asked groggily, his hair a disheveled mess, and his attire being a set of black satin PJs with red trims.
"It's us Gavin, we need to ask you something." Jean said in a normal inside tone, causing the boy to wince in pain due to his enhanced hearing.
"Okay okay, you don't have to yell." He told her as he took off the night mask.
Jean and Scott were about to ask what he meant when they remembered how sensitive his hearing was, which made the two decide to lower their voices.
"Did you know about your brother visiting the Institute?" She whispered to avoid hurting his ears.
"No… What was he here for?" The boy asked.
"He went to Kurt's room, you didn't see him?" Scott asked, keeping his voice low enough to not hurt Gavin's ears.
"When did he get here?" The sleepy pseudo vampire asked.
"Just after school ended." Jean told him.
Gavin shook his head. "No, I was getting ready to take my nap and feeding Brownie at the time. Speaking of…" The boy then grabbed both his night mask and his stuffed bat. "If that's all I'm gonna go ahead and get back to my nap now. G'night." He said as he pulled the mask on and then closed the lid of his coffin.
"Remind me again why we even bothered asking him?" Scott questioned in an annoyed tone.
"Because it was worth a shot." Jean replied with a sigh.
Next was Kurt's room, and as they searched around, Jean found the folder that Devin had delivered on Kurt's desk and the note crumpled up in the trash.
"Oh no…" Jean gasped as Scott read the note while looking over her shoulder.
"Come on, let's get the others." Scott told her.
(Meanwhile)
-Across Town, construction site-
Kurt had just arrived at the construction site as instructed by the letter.
"Alright, I know you're here somevhere. Come on out." The truth seeking boy called out.
That's when a figure in brown robes came stepping out of the shadows. "Hello, Kurt." The figure said in a female voice.
"Who are you?" He questioned further, only to gasp when the hooded woman revealed her face.
"I think you already know, my son." Mystique said in a solemn tone..
"No… No, this can't be right!" The blue skinned boy exclaimed as he backed up slightly before he paused. "Vait, if you're my mother, then, what happened to me? Vhy did you leave me?"
It was at that moment that Devin appeared. "Hate to spoil the reunion Mystique, but the rest of the Brotherhood are headed this way. If you want to continue talking, then I suggest you move to another location, now."
Kurt was surprised by Devin's appearance, and when he said that the rest of the Brotherhood was heading in their direction, an idea came to his mind. When it did, he grabbed Mystique's shoulder, much to her surprise.
"Hang on!" He told her before he teleported them elsewhere.
At that moment, both the Brotherhood and the X-men arrived on the scene. Devin looked over his shoulder and sneered at the four other mutant boys. "Too little, too late imbeciles. They're long gone now." He jabbed at them pointedly with a smirk.
"Oh yeah? Where'd they go, then?" Toad demanded.
"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you." Devin retorted. He then looked back at the X-men. "And tell Kurt that after this is over, he can consider us even." He told Scott.
"Grrr! Ya do realize that Magneto's gonna have your head for this, right?" Pietro snarled as he clenched his fists.
"I'm not scared of him." Devin shot back cooly.
"Get him!" Toad yelled as all four of the boys lunged at the walking T-1000 reference.
Devin turned his right hand into a sword and his left hand into a scythe as the X-Men prepared to assist him against the Brotherhood.
-Elsewhere, Bayville High, Principal's office-
Kurt and Mystique appeared in the Principal's office of Bayville High after escaping the Brotherhood.
"Ve should be undisturbed here. Now, vhy did you leave me?" Kurt asked after the two got settled in.
"It wasn't entirely my decision, Kurt. Magneto, the leader of Brotherhood, forbade me from going anywhere near you, and if I even so much as tried, he would've killed you." Mystique told him, changing her appearance and clothing to her usual outfit.
"Vhat about vhat happened in the castle? Vhat did this Magneto do to me?" He questioned further.
"Genetic enhancements, your father, Azazel was a mutant whose powers were the ability to teleport, he was also of a sub group of mutants that looked, well…" She gestured to the boy's appearance. "Like Devils."
"Vell, that certainly explains my appearance." Kurt mused to himself before turning his attention back to Mystique. "Anything else I should be made aware of?" He asked.
"Only this: Your original appearance was supposed to be more like mine, with your only trait from your father being your ears and tail. But due to Magneto's meddling he not only changed your appearance, but also caused your X gene to cause your teleportation ability to appear early." Mystique explained.
Kurt nodded, he recalled when he first teleported when he was five. It certainly made sense now. "Vell, I'm at least glad that ve've met." The boy said as he turned to leave. "Thank you for telling me the truth… Mother." He said with a smile.
Mystique gave him a motherly smile that she never got to use before. "It's been a pleasure… Son." She replied, her smile never wavering. They maintained eye contact for a moment before Kurt teleported back to the construction site.
Mystique then proceeded to make her way home, feeling like she just rid herself of a massive load of stress.
(Elsewhere)
With the X-men, Devin now had Pietro pinned to the ground in a choke hold and his right arm (which was now a drill) dangling right in front of his face.
"Do you yield, Quicksilver? Or am I going to have to give you the world's most painful root canal?" The Japanese boy questioned as he proceeded to make his drill hand spin and inch closer to Pietro's face.
"Okay, okay! You win, just keep that thing away from me!" The silver themed lad screamed in fear.
"Wise decision." The metal user said as he got up, allowing Pietro and the rest of the Brotherhood to hightail it out of there.
As soon as they left, Kurt reappeared, though Mystique was nowhere to be seen.
"Kurt…?" Rouge asked in concern as she walked up to the boy.
"Don't vorry, nothing bad happened. Ve just talked." The blue boy replied.
"Then where's Mystique?"Jean asked.
"She's… Around, I think." The boy shrugged vaguely.
Everyone wasn't sure what he meant, but just decided to drop it, content with just having their furry friend back.
"Oi, Wagner!" Devin called to him.
"Yeah?" He responded.
"Consider us even." The metal mutant told him, causing the blue teleporter to blink before nodding.
"Right. Thanks for making this possible." He said with a grateful smile, getting a nod in return.
The two parties then went their separate ways.
(Elsewhere)
-Train Station, just outside of Bayville-
Chelsea was now getting off the last stop on her journey to her destination. As she looked around she saw a sign that said: 'Bayville: 5 mil N'. This caused her to smile, which was something she hadn't done in a long time.
"I can't believe it, I can't fucking believe it, I'm just a hop, skip, and a jump away from kissing the tentacles of those bastards at you-know-where and finally finding a place to call home!" The woman said to herself while grinning ear to ear. "Look out Xavier Institute, cuz you got a new mutant coming to town, and her name…" She then turned the corner and sprouted red wings as soon as she was out of sight of onlookers. "Is Chelsea Marks!" The blonde grinned as she went full dragon and flew off into the distance, her final destination just within arm's reach.
Or in her case, claw's reach.