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06/10/2018
There were things that could ruin even the day of a phenomenal, unexpected triumph and of, hopefully, another, even more momentous one on the horizon. Entering your private quarters to prepare for a crucial briefing and being expected by your most important bodyguard in your own bedroom of all places, was at the top of that shit list.
By a visibly upset bodyguard no less, who seemed to be only waiting for the next best chance to explode, with bared teeth and trembling fists, white-colored fingertips ready on the triggers for his flame wristbands. And Raven somehow strongly doubted that Pyro just was in the mood for one of their usual brutal sparring sessions. At least he'd already gotten changed, his Kevlar-enhanced black latex top just like his main weapons signaling readiness for action with regard to what was maybe his most important quest for Raven's team ever ... But prepared, he was for this final meeting before the big strike clearly only on the outside.
“We got a problem?” Not even bothering to feign interest in one of the boy's regular mood swings, Raven came to stand in front of her closet and morphed a few utensils from her flesh that she actually rarely used for fights, but which would today when she was to appear as a warlord in front of her small army here in Watergate, feed the necessary enthusiasm among her followers. With her actual general notoriously having a different, at least as important job to do tonight, it was her turn to represent as her group's figurehead this time. That demanded a little more dramatics than she was usually fond of.
The gun holster promptly uncomfortably scratched her bare hip, the tip of a long dagger danced across her skin when after a second of consideration, she produced a bulletproof vest on her chest as well. Under normal circumstances, such an appearance would have been out of the question ... But the revolution that the USA would see tonight went beyond anything she had ever attempted in the Brotherhood, even during Erik's lifetime. It was a battle unlike any even she had ever fought despite decades of combat experience. Giving her people the impression of a little exaggerated caution to assure them, they wouldn’t be suddenly off without their leader in the middle of combat, couldn't hurt.
Not to mention, dressing up saved her from endless admonitions from said general, to whom in emergencies, she was ready to assign a lot more responsibility to than to this whining twink behind her.
And Pyro was perfectly aware of that, of course. The admittedly somewhat rushed start of their big endeavor tonight, of all nights, after Raven had delayed the latter for months without ever asking for Pyro's opinion, must have driven that point home once again in no uncertain terms. Only a last bit of defiance, which she hadn't been able to rid the guy of despite all the painful lessons over the years, probably prevented him from simply swallowing the facts and functioning as she expected every one of her people to do. Pyro was a very slow learner; that hadn't changed since he'd joined the Brotherhood as a teenager. “Why didn't you tell me?”
Raven wasn’t in the mood for an argument, actually, she simply didn't have time for one either. But unfortunately, thanks to his fire powers, which almost equaled those of a level 5 mutant, the boy was despite his immature behavior still one of their most important warriors. Today, she couldn’t just send him to the sick bay, to be left in peace, with a well-aimed kick.
“Because I know your temper. Westchester was a piece of cake. I couldn't let your ... past make this any more complicated than it needed to be.”
“You're the one causing complications!” Pyro threw in her face. ”We agreed we wouldn't take those losers in until we were absolutely sure everything was going to work out! If the Field fails ...”
“It will work,” Mystique interrupted him harshly, without the slightest hint of doubt in her voice. She no longer relied on half-hearted research results like in Erik's days when it was about means that were supposed to ensure her victory today – the first of a long, historic series of triumphs in the years to come. The moment for the ultimate attack just had never been right so far.
Until suddenly that red-haired girl had showed up at her doorstep who'd represented the perfect tool to eliminate the last risk regarding Raven's plans. Nowadays, thanks to the necessary technical help to control them, defectors no longer posed a threat but made for quite useful slaves. And thanks to the emotionality of these people, helpful holes in the lines of defense of their arch-enemies came as a freebie together with such low blows of betrayal that they suffered.
Summers and his band of limp dicks had basically taken themselves out of the equation once more. A still somewhat incredulous little smile curled on Raven's lips at the memory of how easy it had been this time to neutralize all of her favorite enemies at once.
If things would be just as easy in New York ... Then she was about to become invincible.
Her smirk seemed to make Pyro even more aggressive. He stomped towards her with clenched fists. Nervous sparks from his flamethrowers danced around his fingertips, more of an annoying habit than a threat. He knew it anyway that in spite of his mighty gift, her physical form, he had nothing to counter against. “That's what you think, and that's what Toad thinks. And while I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, I wouldn't trust the judgment of a drooling amphibian when the freedom of all mutantkind depends on it. What if the machine fails? Did you think about that for one second? Then we put the X-Men on alert, half of Watergate will probably be in ruins in case they track us down, and we can forget about using that weapon for a while, if not forever. Would it kill you to admit for once that you fucked up?”
“I'll let you know if that ever happens," Raven answered dryly. "Can you unclench your butt maybe? No one will be leaving the Xavier mansion for days to come. I made sure of that.” She still didn’t bother to even turn around. The faint orange reflection of Pyro's powers on the smooth silver surface of her closet told her that he had stopped to approach her, of course he had. So far, he'd never had the balls in the end. If against all odds, that would ever change, she would finally have to slit his throat after all. Or give him a promotion, depending on the outcome.
“And even if they did, they'll come here, not to the city. For that, they're far too scared of losing their kids. Emotional blackmail has always worked on these losers when they've become a nuisance. The X-Men aren't our problem this time, Pyro. And in a few hours, we won't have to worry about normal people anymore either. After tonight, the East Coast will be a model city for this planet. Buckle up unless you want to watch the show from the cheap seats.”
Pyro stepped closer to her so suddenly now after all that his penetrating, harsh aftershave hit her nose, and waves of aggression welled up in her even before he put his sweaty hands on her shoulders. Her withering glance, with a raised eyebrow over her shoulder, met fear that was suddenly written in his light brown eyes. Interesting. Did he know that he rather should be afraid of her right now? “We only have fifteen flawless correct test runs! Don't get cocky, Raven. That already had Magneto end up on the losing side.”
Raven's fist hit him so brutally in the stomach that he collapsed with a choked scream, gasping for air. Not the slightest shred of compassion filled her soul. Only more anger at the realization of what weaklings she had to deal with in her own team, too. Disrespectful, spoiled brats. If Pyro, after all these years in which he'd actually proven himself not too badly as a fighter suddenly did no longer have the guts after all, she should probably indeed have taken him to Westchester earlier. Forever, in fact.
“You can either do what you're paid for tonight, or you can get the fuck out of here, that in any way unclear? I don't need you. But know that if it should enter our mind to reveal Brotherhood secrets to anyone, there's no place I won't find you.”
“I have always been loyal to you!” Pyro gritted out, between heavy coughs. With clenched teeth, he struggled to his feet, the fighting spirit already gone again, staring at Raven with a disappointed shake of his head. The lesson had been learned, hopefully. For the next few weeks at least. Now he no longer questioned it. Now he was just trying to understand, and that usually took him a while. Still a result of his upbringing by Xavier. “I sacrificed my damn future for Magneto's dream, you know that. I just want this to work. How can you be so damn sure?”
With that tiresome little dance over, Mystique could finally turn to her preparations again, to the most important one, to be exact. The combination that opened the safe behind one of three pictures in this room, the one showing her with Erik at the time of Inferno. One of their last moments together. She forced herself to avert her gaze before she could become seriously melancholic. There was no room for that tonight. Today, the only thing that mattered was the remote trigger, barely the size of a pencil, which was displayed in a bulletproof glass in the middle of the safe. It felt cool and strange in her hand ... and at the same time as reassuring as the barrel of a good old .38.
It would all end tonight, years of preparation, everything she had been working towards since Erik's painful, silent disappearance. Wherever he was, a stupid sentimental part of her hoped she'd make him proud.
“I've been working on this weapon ever since it was nothing more than a drawing on Magneto's desk. Nobody knows it as well as Toad and I. If you still don't know whom to trust in after all these years, maybe try your luck with your old teachers again. I'm afraid though, right now they have other things to worry about than babying yet another prodigal son.”
Pyro shrugged in a gesture of resignation. His fingertips absently traced the long, black scarred line on his face. His eyes narrowed when his thoughts finally turned to the matter at hand. Fine lines around them and the first signs of gray in his dark blond, shoulder-length hair revealed that the wheel of time had left its mark on the once young, headless members of the Brotherhood as well. “You won't be able to convince everyone as quickly as me. Some of these kids are still pretty green. They're too scared.”
“They'll join the ride if they don't want to keep on being scared of far worse things.”
Unimpressed, Raven took the second item out of the otherwise completely empty safe, a holo-disk on which she or her general backed up the main computer's hard drive every day. A few hit buttons brought up an image from the sick bay, from one of the cooling tanks. The image that would support her speech in a second. When things reached a point at where these primitive bastards of men started to turn mutants into black corpses with the help of viruses, it was high time to rise up. She quickly closed the lid of the display lens again, more touched by this image of a child dying in agony than she would have admitted. No time for sentimentality. After tonight, such crimes would be history.
“They're waiting for us. Get moving, St. John. Oh, and unless you plan to end up a bedside rug, stay the fuck out of my quarters.”
Pyro nodded slowly, letting out an incredibly bitter snort, and left her alone without another word.