Marvel/HP: A Third Path to the Future

Mystique woke up on Tuesday very slowly, after all she had a very late night. However her senses immediately switched to full combat mode as she sensed someone else in the room with her.

"Don't bother getting up on my account," said a very cold, commanding voice from one corner or her bedroom and Mystique froze. Even if she had tried to move the pressure suddenly pushing down on her, the iron in her own blood pressing her down would have kept her in place. She couldn't even turn to look at the man in the corner. A very thin but needle sharp metal pole suddenly appeared in the air above her wide, startled eyes, and then lowered slowly so that the tip pressed ever so gently against her jugular.

"I thought you loyal Mystique, I thought you saw the way of the world and what must be done to ensure mutantkind's place at the top. Was I wrong? What other reason could you have for opening up dialogue with this Harry Potter without my permission? What other reason could you have for trying to connect emotionally with one of Xavier's followers?"

The pressure on her upper body let up just enough for her to talk and she did so with alacrity, having already thought up what to say. Never let it be said that Mystique was anything but quick in a corner, be it physical or mental. "I thought to use my familial connection with Rogue and Kurt to try and suborn them to our side," she said, keeping her voice level, honest but worried, which was what her interlocutor would expect to see, the better to make him believe the 'honest' part.

"And Harry Potter isn't a follower of Xavier. He wants to go his own way soon, but he's realistic enough to know that eventually he may need to ally himself with someone else. He doesn't believe in Xavier's dream overmuch, he's just with them because he's being paid to train the kids." Not quite true but close enough to pass muster. "They met through the Fantastic Four, who I hope to learn more about via my discussions with him, since neither I nor any of our other spies can get into the Baxter building."

The figure paused thoughtfully. Some of those points were obviously lies, but some of them were truthful. The Fantastic Four were a concern going forward, as there was no way to really predict which way they would jump when the war between Homo Superior and Homo Sapien came. "And were you successful?"

The shapeshifter knew not to lie at this moment, besides lying to the figure in the corner was almost always impossible. His ability to read another person's expressions was almost telepathic in its scope. She could prevaricate, she could mislead, but outright lying was beyond what she could do with him. "Yes and no, they're not willing to fight me personally at this point, but they still believe in Xavier's dream. Their young yet," she hastened to add, "I think a few more years of dealing with the bigotry present in the world and seeing the news about riots and hate groups rising against mutant kind will turn them sour to the idea of peaceful coexistence."

The figure frowned a moment then slowly nodded. While Pietro's report to him hadn't been very detailed and mostly filled with curses at all and sundry for how he had been treated (and my god was the boy a disappointment, no brains and little combat ability if he could be taken out that quickly) it had told him something about this Potter's magical powers. And while he was certain there was more than Mystique was telling him about this meeting, and in fact there might've been some kind of emotional connection on her part as well as the two teens, she was still too valuable asset to discard willingly.

"Very well Mystique," said still frowning and making certain that his displeasure was felt by pressing down on her further with his power. The iron in her blood congealed and the woman nearly screamed aloud in pain as he said coldly, "But remember, cross me and I will bury you."

Mystique tried to nod, but the power holding her in place didn't let her. A second later it was gone, as was the metal pole that had been hovering over her throat throughout. She groaned in pain twitching occasionally as her body recovered.

When she was able to move, she looked over and was not surprised at all to see no one else in her room. She frowned heavily, thinking about how much her boss had changed over the years. When they first met he had been the young but passionate in his stance, ruthless but compassionate and very, very determined to make certain that nothing like the Holocaust could ever happen to mutantkind. He fully understood that war between Homo Superior and Homo Sapien was inevitable but he hadn't been this grim, controlling force back then. He'd respected other people's ideas and beliefs, and was willing to back them to the hell so long as what they did furthered the goal of mutant superiority.

About five years ago however that started to change, and he had begun to become secretive, scheming and standoffish. She wondered why that was, what had changed him so much. She still believed in him and the cause of course, as she knew that his power could be the difference between victory and defeat when war came, but it certainly didn't make for a very comfortable association between them.

She sighed and glanced over at the time, then frowned heavily as she noticed that the clock had been utterly destroyed. "So that's where he got the metal from, I thought I had removed all the metal from the room, but live and learn I guess," she said sarcastically, touching her jugular gingerly then shrugged and looked outside. The sun was up, but barely. She looked back at her bed debating with herself whether or not to go back to sleep, then shuddered and shook her head. No, she reflected that wasn't going to happen anytime soon, not unless she wanted to deal with the nightmares that little session would certainly have given her subconscious.

OOOOOOOO

The next two days passed uneventfully at the mansion except for Harry pranking the x-kids as usual, something they actually enjoyed as it took their minds off the Kurt and Rogue's issues and distracted them from Jean's continued isolation.

At school Pietro tried to make trouble at school but unfortunately for him both Lance and Mystique sat on him heavily whenever he tried, and when they couldn't had told Fred and Todd not to help him if he got into any trouble with the X-men. Neither was unwilling to use their powers for personal gain, but since at the moment that gain would come at a price of a beating at Harry's hands Lance wasn't enthused by the idea. Not to mention the fact he had a date to look forward to that weekend, and didn't want anything to happen that could sour Kitty to the idea. Mystique on the other hand was simply very, very angry that the speedster had called their boss and then disrupted what should have been a family matter.

On Wednesday Mystique was leaning back in her chair in her office at Bayville High contemplating the upcoming meeting that weekend with her two disenchanted children. She had no idea what that conversation go, but had some very firm ideas of where it would not be go. She would not be answering any questions about Kurt's father for example, and she hoped to steer the entire conversation away from their conflicting viewpoints of the world. Time enough to get them on her side later when the two of them were out and about and were forced to face the hatred and bigotry of Homo Sapiens.

Her thoughts were thankfully interrupted by her cell phone ringing and she frowned at it. While Wednesday was the normal time for her and Irene to check in with one another it was very rare that Irene would be the one to call. She lifted it to her ear and said "yes?"

"I'm sorry," said the voice of her friend in low, almost remorseful tones. "I would have warned you before the meeting about what would've happened, but that would have changed the outcome, and it would not have been nearly as good for you or your children. This way it is more real, and they know without a doubt you care for them."

Mystique sighed leaning back, a small smile on her face. Regardless of anything else Irene was her friend, and she could no more blame Irene for not warning her about every little thing (or even medium sized thing) than she could blame her own hand. "I figured it was something like that. No worries Irene. But how are you doing my friend? I haven't seen you in person for a few months now." That last was said sadly, as her work as principal of the high school and as the leader of the Brotherhood kept her from taking trips to where she had helped Irene hide. She missed her friend/lover immensely, especially at night.

"I am well for now," said her friend, much calmer are as her friend hadn't reacted as a part of her had feared. It had been a low key fear, but Raven was her best friend, and the one lover she ever had that did not try to suborn or use her for her/his own gain.

Mystique's eyes narrowed, warned by the wording and something in her friends tone, leaning forward almost letting her body shift back to her normal form. "For now, does that mean you won't be fine in the near future?"

"I will need to move in two weeks time," said Irene calmly, a calm she for once was not feeling. "Someone is hunting me, for what purpose I cannot say. That future is clouded with pain, all I get is the impression of a pale face, and a name from the past."

Now Mystique's mind had fully engaged and she was already forming ideas and plans as to where she could take Irene in the time allowed and how to cover their tracks, maybe even leave a nasty little surprise behind. She and Irene had talked several times about how they had hidden her talent for seeing the future from their current leader. He was under the impression that she could only see a few months into the future which while useful was not exactly a game changer. She had thought several times at the beginning that it was a mistake, but in the last few years that thought had disappeared. The way he was now she would not trust her best friend, her only friend in fact and her lover on top of that, to his control.

Now that would prove to have been an excellent decision, as it would make it easier for them to disappear. "What name from the past?"

"Essex," she Irene said her voice grim, and Raven blanched, remembering a time during WW2 when the two of them saw what that mad doctor had left behind from his experiments. "I know not how, but his face has not changed at all over time, and he is searching for me."

Mystique nodded thoughtfully. "Two weeks, I can have something prepared easily enough in that time. I'll meet you this Monday."

Irene said softly, "If you do you'll need to abandon your current guise entirely as we will be on the run for quite some time. And you will miss a pivotal point in the development of the brotherhood and the X-Men."

Mystique paused, thinking that through. "Something to do with our esteemed leader?"

"Yes ,"Irene answered easily. "Luckily he is in Japan at the moment, and thus cannot monitor this call. But he will attempt something, and many things will change, and the teenagers of both groups will be changed by it. Some for the better, some for the worse and many will seek independence. If you are there you can mitigate some of it, control some of it, and gain an ally rather than a mere student or follower."

"But if I don't help you escape Essex, whatever he is, finds you." Mystique said softly. "No choice there Irene."

"Are you sure of this?" asked Irene equally softly, her voice loving, tender. "If you try to save me you will lose the ability to be where you can affect what is coming. Xavier and our current backer are the focal points, if you move away from them you lose the chance to influence those who will shape the future of mutantkind one way or the other and not regain it for years."

"You're more important than the future Irene," Mystique replied quickly, smiling easily. Choose between her best friend and lover or the uncertain ability to shape the next generation of mutants, no, that was no real choice to her. "I'll see you Tuesday."

Irene let out a sigh of relief, and it was only then that mystique realized that her friend had been deeply concerned about what would've happened to her if Mystique had not wanted to go with her. "Thank you my friend."

Mystique merely nodded and reiterated that she would see her friend Tuesday and then hung up the phone and began immediately to work on plans for the next few days, and where the tow of them would go and how. She was still planning to meet her children that weekend, but anything long term would have to be cancelled.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Thursday morning Jean came out of her meditative trance once again and stretched languidly, moving out of the lotus position she was sitting in. It had taken her four days of almost nonstop work, but at last her mind was fully organized. First her belsham-trees as a defense, then behind it a high tower with hard concrete walls encircling the rest of her mind, with a diamond shaped magnifying glass on the roof, signifying where she could send out or take in telepathic signals.

She had decided weeks ago to organize her mind like a tower, the outer design of which she taken from the Tolkien books. She had always thought that the betrayal of Saruman had been one of the two most important turning points of the saga, no matter that it had happened almost completely off screen as it were. Thus her tower was built to resemble Orthanc in design, though the colors she used on the exterior were orange, red and white rather than matte black like the original.

Her emotions too were organized, and she felt she would be able to keep a rein on her temper from now on, thought that would be tougher than it ever had been before, since anger, like lust and love, were fiery, powerful emotions, and thus called out to the portion of the Phoenix in her. Still she was ready to face the world outside again, and she moved around her room humming happily as she prepared for the day.

She walked into the dining room area and was immediately greeted by ecstatic exclamations of surprise and happiness from all and sundry. She smiled happily back, returning a hug from Kitty and a strong hand clasp from Ororo. Her friendship with the older African woman was one of the best things that had happened lately, and the two had come even closer in the past few days.

Ororo, Harry, Logan and Charles were the only ones she had seen in the past few days since none of the others could protect their mind from her power if she let out stray telepathic feelers. Harry of course she couldn't get a read on at all, and Storm's connection to the weather somehow gave her a partial immunity that allowed a telepath to connect to her only superficially. Logan had immense mental defenses despite not being a telepath though he couldn't control his emotions as well, and of course Charles could protect his own mind easily enough though he only visited the once. Storm and Harry however visited often, a few times every day for Ororo and once a day for Harry.

Scott looked as if he wanted a hug to and she frowned a little and swiftly moved Kitty between the two of them. An aspect of occlumency that she had already seen before this whole incident was that you had more insight into yourself and those around you after you organized and sifted through your memories, and she had found she didn't actually like how Scott looked at her at times. It was an odd mix between friendship possessiveness and a crush, and it confused and worried her.

"So you are well Jean?" asked Charles.

Jean looked at him and her eyes turned a little colder but that was all, a great step up from nearly ripping his head off telekinetically like she almost did when he stopped by on Sunday. "I'm fine Sir," she replied, her voice markedly more reserved than it had been when greeting her friends. "My mind is fully organized, and my emotions are as controlled as a normal person's can be."

The others realized there was something new about Jean, something that hadn't been there before. She moved differently than she had before, which Rogue, the most blunt speaking of the group, would have called a mix between a little girl, a robot and a spoiled princess. It wasn't the same mature, quietly confident yet self-effacing way Ororo used to move, but what it had been eluded them. Whatever it was it was gone now, leaving behind someone who moved like a confident woman, not a little girl, someone who didn't mind calling attention to herself, who was certain in herself to handle anything that came her way.

Logan looked at her, and for just a moment Jean caught a bit of the same look in his eyes that she had seen so often in her memories of Scott, which caused her to shiver a little and to almost glare at the older man. He's ancient and he's so fucking hairy, ewww! She swiftly turned her eyes to Harry, who was standing next to Ororo, a crooked smile on his face and his emerald eyes shining in welcome. She met that gaze grinning widely and nodded her head in thanks. Harry understood and nodded back and then they all sat down and dug into breakfast.

Charles took in all the little changes in Jean with a bit of concern and more than a little sadness, knowing he had his work cut out for him to regain her trust since he could now see how much the mental blocks he had placed in her mind had changed her. Jean had always been quiet, almost shy despite her powers, very self-effacing and standoffish. There was a bit of an edge to her now, a fire in her, her emotions plain to see in a way that was startling considering how she was before. If this was the way she always should have been, then my blocks really did more harm than good. I must find a way to apologize for that and bury the hatchet further with Harry.

Her friends weren't the only ones who noticed a difference in Jean. The moment she walked into Bayville high everyone who saw here was struck by the difference. She moved differently, her face was more open, her eyes snapping with energy, gone was the cool reserve that had so marked her out among her peers, replaced by confidence and an unspoken challenge to her step.

Duncan had actually been thinking of dumping Jean for the past week or so, ever since she had treated him and his friends like a bunch of little kids. She might be hot, but she didn't put out so that really didn't matter, and frankly he was at a loss as to why they had gotten together in the first place except for her being one of the hottest girls on the cheerleading squad and him being the quarterback of the football team. They had nothing else in common not classes, not interests, nothing. Now though, seeing her like this, well it made him reconsider and he went out of his way that day and Friday to cozy up to her, with little results alas, as he wasn't the only one wondering why the hell they were together.

Of course there were those that didn't take to well to the change, and Jean's new, challenging attitude and new take no prisoners' attitude. When the other cheerleaders became even more jealous than they had been and tried to take verbal shots at her she shot back with both barrels. When she spotted Pietro using his powers to cause a wind that blew girls skirts up, she telepathically threatened to use him like a bouncy ball, and proceeded to do so the moment she could with no witnesses.

Not that the kids at school were the only ones to feel the fury of her new attitude.

OOOOOOOOO

The mission parameter this time was a hostage situation. The objective was to get as many of the hostages out as possible without leaving any of their own behind. The place was regular 20 story apartment building, with no structural improvements of any kind.

Scott's initial plan was sound, he used Kurt and Kitty to scout around, figuring out where all the 'terrorists' were the Kitty gave them all a few shield and notice-me not runes. These runes were made to act like a simple protégo shield, blocking incoming attacks for a few seconds. They could be overcome through brute force or enough impacts, but they were still better than nothing. After that she assumed a lookout position, showing the watchers that Scott had taken to heart the little discussion he had about Kitty with Harry.

Things went well after they entered the building. They entered from the 18th floor in an area that wasn't under surveillance either by the terrorists or the apartments spotty security. They then moved down into the bowels of the building, using the notice-me not runes to cover their advance.

It was when they got to the fifteenth floor that things started to go wrong. Spyke tripped a trap that exploded in his face, nearly taking him out, but he was saved by his bone armor. With that the notice-me-not wards went down and their opponents were warned they were under attack. Worse the bomb had taken out the stairs to the next level down. Scott used Kurt and Jean to get the others over the new pit but by then the terrorists had moved troops toward the disturbance and they ran into actual opposition soon.

They learned to their cost that Harry had put in a more than usual portion of the magic using troops. Jean used her powers effectively from the get go, causing an explosion that took out three of the terrorists but Scott ordered her to fall back and protect the others. She scowled but obeyed, falling back in the advancing group. Next Rogue tripped another trap that brought the ceiling down on top of their position. Rogue and Jean worked together to keep it off them, but Kurt was isolated in a apartment and gunned down by the defenders there, who roared out and attacked the X-men before they realized Kurt was down.

Rogue charged forward, ignoring the gunfire thanks to her armor and Juggernaut given durability, slaughtering the terrorists in close range with Spyke's support while Jean dug out Scott easily hefting several large pieces of rubble with her power. Jean leaned in smiling sweetly and said "Scott, if you don't start using me for offense and keep treating me like I'm a fragile doll that needs to be protected I'm going to burn your legs off okay?"

Scott gulped, more terrified because the threat had been delivered so blandly and with a smile on her face than with any kind of histrionics. "Um, uh, Marvel Girl, take point, um use your powers to scout us a route?" he said ending on a question, looking at him worriedly.

Jean smiled happily and turned away, concentrating. "There are forty more terrorists, with fifteen still between us taking up defensive positions. Five more are moving to reinforce five more around the hostages on the ninth floor in some kind of atrium. The other fifteen are below the ninth floor some of them spread out, with a group of eight on the second floor in defensive positions."

Scott frowned, castigating himself for forgetting that an telepath could use his/her power to find people like that, but before he could say anything Jean gestures in front of her and a wave of telekinetic power raced out, picking up and tossing debris away. This triggered to more traps on this floor, blowing a hole in the floor and giving them a way down. Jean smiled grimly and Rogue jumped down quickly, looking around before signaling the coast was clear. "Let's go."

With Jean contributing on offense the team was not able to power through the defenses, although Scott lost a bit of control as she seemed to override his orders if she thought she saw an alternative, the only problem was most of the time she was correct, something that made Scott wince whenever it happened. In the end they were able to get all of the hostages out, and even stopped on their way back to the roof to pick up Kurt's 'corpse'. They were battered, bloody and exhausted but it was the first time they had succeeded in beating one of Harry's scenarios for the first time ever, and it was because of Jean and her new personality.

That night Jean successfully flew for the first time, and she and Ororo went for a flight around the mansion and away over the nearby mountains laughing and playing tag, thrilled beyond words at her ability to fly. They left behind a happy Harry, ecstatic over the team's success, thought this of course did not stop him from pointing out where there was room for improvement, and a worried Scott, who now saw his secret (or not so secret) love interest challenging his position, as well as a worried Charles, who was watching the evolving changes to the group dynamic, and was wondering how much of it would become the new norm, and how much of it would turn out to be teenage angst.

As the two women disappeared into the night, a final telepathic message hit all of them. Oh and I'm not Marvel Girl anymore. I'm changing my codename. From now on I am Phoenix. This did not alleviate Scott's or Charles' concerns, though it did make Harry grin, happy that the redhead was continuing to break out of her shell.

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