Rise To Power

[Erik Lehnsherr]

They had just recently returned from their rescue mission to free Emma Frost from captivity. As expected, she joined him and the others and the cause they would now fight for. They were building quite a team: Azazel, Riptide, Angel, Emma, and of course, Raven, or Mystique as she had called herself to be. He was quite delighted that she decided to join them. It showed that she truly believed in what they stood for, otherwise she never would have left Charles. Thinking his name brought regret to Magneto as he recalled the recent events: his injury. Paralyzing him. He would never walk again -- not without a miracle. Yet, there was nothing he could do about it now. The wound was caused by a man made weapon. Fired by a homo sapien. He would never fire a weapon at a fellow mutant without proper cause. Sebastian Shaw was the ultimate exception.

Speaking of which, for now, they would have to reside in his house. A rather extravagant one, but more importantly, a well hidden one. Azazel had brought them here, though Erik was well aware that it was temporary. It would only be a matter of time until an associate of Shaw's came to discover his death and decided to take ownership of his estate. But for now, it would have to do. The others seemed to find it adequate, but then again, they had been allied with Shaw. And now, they were allied with him. He would never abuse their powers. Never make them feel inadequate. Shaw misused mutants and that was one of the many reasons he had deserved to die.

Erik's mind was constantly occupied with such thoughts, though he felt a strong relief and satisfaction in having killed Shaw. His life long mission was complete, and now he had found a new calling. As he wandered through the large house, he paused at the doors of the kitchen, where he saw Mystique. He gave a slight smile, feeling that same happiness resurfacing at her decision  to join them. He knew why as well, and it was a reason he would never stop reminding her of. "I trust you find our temporary accommodations to your satisfaction?" He asked, making his presence known by speaking as he further stepped into the kitchen to join her.

-- Tag Mystique --

[j]

Raven sat in the kitchen by the counter, leaning against it slightly. A glass off water sat in front of her, her blue finger simply tracing the edge of the glass, not really focusing on it too much, her mind too lost in thought over the events that had recently transpired. A month ago, she never would have imagined things would have ended up this way. She never woudl have believed someone if they told her that she'd have left Charles, or that he'd have been paralyzed like that; he was always so strong. She lowered her head slightly at the thought, poor Charles, he didnt deserve any of that.



Mystique let out a sigh, bringing the glass up to her lips and taking a small sip. She felt uneasy, but she knew in her heart that this was what she wanted, this is what she believed in. But then why did she feel so guilty? Why did she feel like she had just betrayed her only family. Charles had told her to go with Erik, he knew her heart as well as she did, he had practically given her his blessing. But deep in her heart she still felt like he must be hating her right now for abandoning him. They grew up together and now she wondered when she'd ever see him again.



Her concentration was broken as she heard Erik's voice as he entered the kitchen. It startled her though she tried not to react as if it had. She wasn't used to letting her guard down, and in a new place among new people like this, it surprised her that she hadn't been aware of his presense sooner. She turned to face him with a small smile. She felt comfortable with him, but still a bit nervous as well.



"Of course, its beautiful here"Mystique told him, knowing it was true, but also knowing she wouldn't have been able to come up with any kind of accomodations close to this. She paused a moment, listening to see if anyone else was nearby. "Do you really trust... "She was about to say them, but realized he really didnt have a reason to trust her either so changed her words "everyone here?"

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Erik's smile remained as he approached her. She was questioning whether he trusted people here. Trust. Erik didn't know what trust was until he had met Charles. "I trust that they are all united under the same need to fight for a similar cause." One that fought for their rights. Fought against the war between mutants and homo sapiens. "They are looking for someone to follow. Someone who can appeal to their conscience. Someone to address their desire to do what they can to help mutants." Did he trust them as individuals? Trust was to be earned. He didn't fear them. If they wanted to leave at any point, he would not stop them.

Mystique on the other hand was different. His relationship with her differed from the rest. She was the one that he had really hoped would come, and she had. Because even though he couldn't read minds, he knew she wanted this. Her actions of joining him further solidified that. So he trusted her, more than the others. And wanted her here with him, more than any other mutant. So he would do whatever he could to convince her that she had made the right choice. Whether that be protecting her from everything and everyone, or telling her how beautiful she was on a daily basis. "What is troubling you?" He inquired, his voice showing concern but not dripping with it. He was now standing directly in font of her. He knew something was and needed to know so that he could bring her mind ease.

[j]

"Maybe they have the same cause as us, but loyalty...half of them were fighting against us not too long ago, who's to say they won't just find someone else to follow first chance they get?" She knew she probably looked like a hypocrite to Erik right now. Standing their preaching about loyalty and jumping ship when had she really done all that much different when she left Charles? She agreed with him on a lot of points, that at least they were all here now because they believed the same thing, but she didnt believe they'd have her back. But Erik was different. He was someone she believed. 


Mystique hoped that her newfound trust in Erik, or Magneto, or whatever he would decide to go by now wasn't misplaced. He seemed to really understand her. More than that, he didnt think she should be ashamed of who she was. It wasn't that Charles didnt accept her being a mutant, of course he did. But not like Erik had. Erik took her the way she was, without putting forth effort to hide, to blend in. Charles was always more comfortable with her using her skills to fit in, and to make those around her comfotable. 

"I guess I'm pretty transparent to you" She said with a smile as he questioned what was troubling her knowing something was wrong. "It's Charles...I just feel like he has to hate me right now for leaving. I feel like I turned my back on him when he really needed when practically all my life he's taken care of me.  Am I a horrible person?"

[Erik Lehnsherr]

It was true that their loyalty may have easily shifted. Angel had started with Charles, moved to Shaw, and was now with them. But it left Erik unconcerned. "They may," Erik stated, not about to dismiss the possibility that she presented. But his voice was unfazed by the idea. "Which is why we must stand strong in the cause we fight for. I can see it in their faces. They want to fight for what they believe in: for the rights of mutants." Erik could not read minds but he could read people. "They had a choice. I did not, nor have any intention, of threatening them to stay. They stay with us of their own volition. Should they choose to leave, then they have the liberty to do so." There would be no reason for them to become an enemy . . . unless they got in his way. "I will not stop recruiting," he added. He would continue to seek out mutants to join their fight. It may take longer to find them without the aid of Charles, but Erik was determined.

She then spoke of what was troubling her, and Erik had suspected as much. He wanted to put her troubles to ease, not wanting her to be worried about the decision she made or the emotional aftermath it may have caused Charles. "Charles has no hate in his heart for anyone, least of all for you." He couldn't imagine Charles ever hating Raven. "You, Raven, are far from horrible," he added, taking another step even closer to her. His words were spoken with the utmost sincerity. He was not going to lie or try to manipulate her with false words. Everything he spoke, he believed to be true. Besides, she was not naive or easily fooled and he was not going to have her stay with him because of falsely spoken conviction. "Perhaps it is now time you consider your own happiness." Because she deserved that.

"All your life you have been hiding. Do you now not deserve the chance to be who you truly are, rather than hiding behind a falsity?" A form that was not truly her own. "Charles loves you, anyone can see that. And if you believe that, then you would know he would wish you to be happy." After all, Charles had told her to go with him . . . and his words were not that of a bitter man -- as far as Erik could tell. "So tell me, are you happy here? Or do you have the potential to be happy, by being yourself?" If she wasn't, then Erik would personally escort her back to Charles. So he hoped, and somewhat knew, that her decision to come was not one done in a fleeting moment. It was considered. And it had to be what she wanted . . . didn't it?

[j]

Mystique nodded as she listened to Erik. She was glad to hear him say how he'd never force anyone to stay. Not that she was intending to leave, but it was always reassuring to here the side she had chosen was being reasonable about things. She was a bit surprised when he said he wouldn't stop recruiting. "But how are you going to find them? They've spent their life trying to go undiscovered, without cerebro..."

She let her sentence hang, knowing they both would know how difficult things would be now. Especially if Magneto was trying to get other mutants, she really didnt know where he would find them. Sure if they looked like her it might be easy, but even if they did, they'd probably be in hiding. When he told her she was far from horrible she smiled more sincerely, thinking that he really did believe that and wasn's just saying it to make her feel better.  "Hank will take care of him...he'll watch out for him now" She said knowing he was too caring to leave the professors side. 

Raven nodded as he mentioned that Charles would want her to be happy. She knew that it was true. But she wondered if Charles ever would have considered her happiness would have been to go with someone else. She never would have thought so herself. She had always hoped someday Charles would see her as more than a friend, more than family. He did love her but not the way she wanted, he loved her like a sister, and she had resigned herself to that fact. But was she happy now? That was the question. 

"I think I will be" She told him truthfully. "I don't want to hide...I don't want to be ashamed of who I am, what I can do or what I look like any longer...its exhausting." She paused a moment, before asking him. "But are you okay with having to look at a blue skinned freak every day? " Even more than whether he'd accept her fully she had another question for him, much more important. "Are you happy?"

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Erik could understand her concerns. It was far easier with Charles, but that hardly left Magneto discouraged. "We will use our strengths," Erik stated, ensuring that he spoke collectively so that there was emphasis on the fact that they worked together. That they were now a team. Standing united as mutants. "We have Emma to assist us." A telepath who could easily get into the minds of others. "Otherwise, we will search them through traditional means: looking." Because mutants, were everywhere. He was not about to advertise their whereabouts and offer a home to all mutants. No. They had to be selective about who they brought in. They had to share their perspectives, their goals, their beliefs. She then seemed to find comfort in the thought of Hank taking care of Charles. That much was true. Though Erik had little respect for Hank. He did not embrace his true self, his true form, and for that, Erik believed him to be a coward. He was denying who he really was, using science as an excuse to make him look 'normal'. What as 'normal'? It was a societal standard. But they were the future. This is why they needed to take a stand, and it was why Hank would never be like them; never stand up for mutants' rights. "I am sure he will," Erik agreed, if only to help appease her worries, assuring her that she did not leave Charles on his own. She then spoke of how she didn't want to hide, of how it was exhausting to pretend to be someone she was not. It was enough to cause Erik's lips to curve upward in a smile.

However this expression quickly faded at her later words. Blue skinned freak. His smile turned into a more serious expression as he looked, upset. A mixture of anger and sadness. He was unsure if she had been joking, but regardless, he did not appreciate the remark, especially knowing how she had just recently been revealing her true form rather than pretending to be a blond haired woman. "You disappoint me, Raven." Not Mystique. Because right now, she was sounding more like Raven. He ignored her question she had directed back at him regarding his happiness. For right now, he was too focused on her words. He slightly leaned forward, closer to her, quite close in fact. "Is that how you saw yourself when you were in my bed not too long ago?" He questioned in a low voice. When they had been at Charles' mansion, and she had sneaked into his room, expecting . . . well, expecting something. He had described her as perfection then, but only when she had changed into her actual form. For only then, was she truly beautiful to him. He said these words though, as a reminder to her. He moved his head back and looked at her, that same expression of disappointment on his face. "How can you expect others to accept you when you do not even accept yourself?" He was not attempting to send her away or reject her, but rather, express his disapproval of hearing her refer to herself as a blue skinned freak. Such was the talk of someone who was ashamed of how they looked. Whether it was meant as a teasing jest, he found it severely lacking humor because he knew how difficult this all was for her.

[j]

"Emma...I dont trust her yet either" Mystique told him as he mentioned having her on their side now. Yes, Mystique had gone with him to break her out of the prison cell, but they had fought against her not so long ago. She was with Shaw. It made her uneasy. The idea of her having powers like Charles scared her too. Charles had promised he would never read Raven's mind, and she trusted him to keep that promise. But she was worried Emma might try getting in there, she didn't want to know what she could do. She nodded as Erik agreed that Hank would take care of Charles. It was her only consolation about the situation right now. Sure Charles had the money for any medical expenses he might need, but she knew he needed a friend watching out for him too. Hank was a good friend. 


Mystique frowned as he told her she disappointed him and called him Raven. From anyone else she would have seen it as an interchangable use of her name. But she knew from him he was saying it to make a point to her. "I didnt...I'm sorry. " She said knowing he was disappointed and feeling as if she were a puppy who had just been scolded. "I dont want to just be a novelty that wears off...and I also don't want to just be like your sister" She said knowing that's what happened with Charles, he never shared her feelings, he never could feel anything for her the way she truly looked. She wondered if that was always in the back of his mind when she was in her human form too.


If her blue skin could have blushed as he mentioned her being in his bed it would have. She remembered that moment perfectly, and the kiss they shared. He was the only one to ever call her beautiful in that form. And at the time she believed him, but she wondered if more exposure to it would change his mind. "You know what I was thinking when I was in your bed...and I'm still thinking about it now. She looked at him with a seductive glint in her eye. She wanted more than anything to be desireable to him. "But you never answered me...are you happy"

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Erik could once again, easily understand her distrust for Emma. For a mutant to be able to get inside your head, know your thoughts, and you unable to do the same could be slightly intimidating. It was why Magneto wore the helmet. To protect him from not only Charles, but her as well. And whatever other psychological and mental powers other mutants had. Emma was a bit of a wild card. Having broken her out of her holding cell, she may have felt obligated to join -- despite the fact that Erik would not have forced her. From what he could tell of her so far, she would remain loyal and he would continue to assume that unless she did something to prove otherwise. "You do not have to," he assured her. "She knows what will happen to her if she crosses us. She knows what I can do to her." There was a difference between leaving The Brotherhood, and betraying the Brotherhood. His mind went to his and Charles' interrogation of her. She was more protected in her diamond form, but also more vulnerable should he be able to wrap some metal around her: she was literally breakable. "I will not let her harm you, nor anyone else here." That was a promise he could easily and sincerely make to Mystique. He could not expect everyone to suddenly trust each other, but he required a certain degree of loyalty from them all.

She apologized and Erik immediately felt the disappointment diminish. He never wanted her to think less of herself because of how she looked in her true form. The world had brought her down; had told her she was hideous. And that, was precisely why it needed to be changed. She spoke of how she did not want to just be a temporary novelty, that she didn't want to be like his sister. He could understand where that came from: Charles. Charles failed to see the true beauty in her, hence the reason she was forced to take on a form that made her look like a homo sapien. "You, Mystique, are a novelty that will never fade in beauty nor exceptional skill." He paused for a moment, slightly smiling, his tone strongly sincere for he was genuine in what he told her. He would never lie, especially not about this.

"You are indeed ravishing. And anyone who believes otherwise are precisely what is wrong with this society." Why this society needed to be changed. So no, she was not his sister. Far from it. And he would never look at her in that way. She addressed the night she was in his bed, and it caused his smile to slightly grow. Leaning forward as if to kiss her, he paused before their lips would have otherwise touched. "Perhaps merely thinking about it is inadequate. It leaves something to be desired." With that rather unsubtle insinuation, her next question caused him to stand properly again, no longer close to her that would indicate a suggestive nature. "I am happier than I have ever been," he told her. Because Shaw was dead. Because he had embraced his power. Because he no longer had to hide who he was. Because he had found purpose and direction in his life. He knew what he was meant to do, and with the help of his fellow Brotherhood mutants, they would create a world for mutants.

[j]

Mystique wasn't sure how comfortable she was with the idea of being around others that she didnt trust, and the idea that she didnt have to trust them. She was used to being around Charles, and more recently him, Hank, Erik, she even trusted Darwin and Angel. But Emma, for now at least she had a bad feeling about her. She didnt want her poking around in her mind. Magneto had the helmet to keep her out, but what about her? What did she have? Even her mutant ability wouldn't be much good if her thoughts betrayed her around Emma. She cringed at the thought. But she listened to Erik try to reassure her and tell her that he wouldnt let anyone hurt her. "Promise?" She asked him a bit meekly. She was afraid that maybe she wasn't as valuable to Erik as Emma could be...what if she went after Mystique, but Erik took Emma's side instead?

She was relieved to hear more reassurances from Erik, this time letting her know she was not just a novely to him, and telling her again that he saw her as both beautiful and skillful. Her feelings from him were really growing. He was the only person to every fully accept her, exactly the way she was. She smiled as he told her that anyone who thought she was anything but ravishing was what was wrong with this society. "And you are exactly what is right about society, and the future of it. "

Mystique watched the smile that grew on his lips as she spoke of being in his bed, and watched as he leaned in closer about to kiss her. Her heat began racing and she felt herself catch her breath in anticipation. "Then maybe we should do more than think and talk about it" She told him softly.

As he stood up straighter and told her he was happier than he'd ever been she moved closer to him placing her hand gently on his upper arm as she went beside him. "You deserve to be happy, and have everything you want"