X-Men Evolution: Rogue Evolution

Discovery 1.7

Anna didn't watch as Erik Lehnsherr, the leader of The Brotherhood of Mutants, walked past their seats and out the front door of Annie's Dinner. She did, however, hear the gradual shuffling of feet as every soul other than her mother and herself traipsed out the entrance. She heard the revving of car engines and other motors outside and listened to them till they slowly disappeared.

"Come now, hon, it's time we got going." She felt her Mom next to her rise out of her seat, but Anna did nothing to follow her. "Anna, honey-"

"I can't," Anna replied. All she could do was stare at the place where the mysterious man had sat. The man, with only a few words, could make both his mothers submit like they were lap dogs.

"Anna, we don't have time-"

"Then leave me here!" Anna said a little more loudly than she intended. She felt like a frog had crawled into her throat and her vision had begun to blur from the tears crowding the corners of her eyes.

She felt a hand graze her shoulder and she jerked back reflexively. "Don't touch me! I don't even know who you are! Who the hell is Mystique? Who are you? Who have you been this whole time?"

"Anna we can talk in the car." Her mother's voice was strained like tightly wound leather.

"No! I'm tired of being thrown around like some sort of prisoner! I'm not going another inch until you tell me what the hell is going on!"

"Anna!" Her mother grabbed her arm and jerked it - then stopped. She stared at Anna's hands. Anna followed her mother's gaze back towards her own hands and spotted three boney spears puncturing the back of her gloves. Her mother looked back at the kitchen staff behind her and thrusted Anna's hand back under the table. Her Mom looked back at her. "Keep your hands at your sides and follow me." She said through clenched teeth. She then jerked Anna to her feet and she held her tightly at her side till they were through the door and outside. They didn't walk for the car though, instead, her mother led her around back, out of view of the road, and pushed her against a wall. "When did you talk to him!" She snapped.

"To who!"

"To the man you got those claws from, Anna! He's dangerous, he could have killed you!"

"Of course, he could have! Seems like everyone wants to kill me! How do I know you don't want to kill me?

"I am your mother!"

"Are you?"

Raven looked down at her, blinking her wide brown eyes. "Yes." She stepped back and let her arms fall to her sides. "Yes, honey, of course, I am your mother."

Anna looked into her Mom's face, still breathing heavily. "Are you, or are you this 'Mystique' the guy kept calling you?"

"I'm both. I've been working as an agent of Magne-, of Mister Lehnsherr for a number of years now. It's how I met Irene, it's how we fell in love, and it's how we ended up adopting you as a baby. It's all thanks to Mister Lehnsherr and the Brotherhood."

"If that's true -" Anna sucked in a breath. "Then why did you keep all this from me? Up until a few days ago, you worked at an aeronautics company. Now I find out that you're working for some sort of... mutant... underground military force?"

"The Brotherhood is more than that, sweetheart. As you'll soon see, it's a safe place for people like us."

"What if -" Anna bit her lip. "What if I don't want to go?"

"Anna don't be silly." Her mother made to walk towards her, paused, and looked back down at the long spikes jutting out of Anna's hands. "What did that man tell you exactly?"