The Blood Phoenix 2: An X-Men: Days of Future Past Fanfiction

Chapter Seven: 'Raven!'

Erik, Charles, Logan and I entered the summit building to see Raven... Mystique... taking down several guards and dignitaries. As we entered, a man shot Raven with a taser gun and she fell down onto the table, shaking uncontrollably. Using my powers, I removed the tasers from her body and threw them onto the man. He fell to the ground.

'Raven!' Charles and I shouted at the same time. We ran to her and Charles knelt comfortingly next to her, stroking her hair. 'Raven?' he said gently.

'Charles?' she asked softly.

'We've come for you, Erik, Adelaide and I... together.'

'I never thought... I'd... I'd see you again,' she said softly.

'It's okay, Raven. We're here now.' She looked up at me and I smiled at her, touching her slicked back, red hair. 'We're going to keep you safe. We're going to keep you out of their hands.' Just then we heard the cocking of a gun and we all looked up. Raven was the first to speak.

'Erik?'

'Dad... what are you doing?'

'Securing our future. Forgive me, Mystique. As long as you're out there, we'll never be safe.'

'Erik?' Charles said.

'Use your powers, Charles. Stop him,' Raven said.

'He can't,' I spoke. Just then, Raven ran for the window and Erik fired the bullet. I jumped in front of her and took the bullet in my shoulder. He managed to fire another just as Hank took him down. The bullet curved out the window and telepathically, I heard pain. Raven had been hit. Erik managed to levitate out of the window and saw Raven limping away. I tried to stop him, but he was using his power to manipulate the bullet to drag her.

'No! Erik!' she yelled, panicking. I tried to fight Erik's power and telekinetically lowered myself down. 'Erik!'

'I'm sorry,' he said, his voice breaking.

'Erik...' Her pleading was interrupted by Hank's opportune arrival as he jumped down onto Erik and stopped him. I tried to look for Raven, but she was gone. Telekinetically floating up to the window, I came back into the room just as Logan and Charles were standing about.

'Professor?' I heard him say.

'What happened to you?' Charles asked.

'I just saw someone who's going to bring me a lot of pain someday. Where's Raven?'

'Gone,' I announced.

'What?'

'We have to get out of here!' Charles yelled.

Erik and I were in a hotel room, looking through the Sentinel program blueprints as I stitched up an injury that he had in his hair. Stroking his hair, I finished the last few stitches. Looking over to the television, he was watching Raven, or the mutant Mystique. Her blue face was staring us right in the eye. Then it changed to a scientist collecting Mystique's blood in the street.

'They have her DNA, Erik.'

'I know.'

'We have to get our hands on her before they do. And before they get more of her DNA.'

'I know.' I leaned over the chair, putting the scissors down, breathing in the smell of his hair. It still smelled vaguely like blood, given he had had a nasty cut in his hair.

'Then let's find her. I've got a vague idea of where she is.'

'Good. Let's get her.'

We went into the train station. I had no idea what train we were going to catch, all I knew was that we were trying to catch Mystique. The problem was... she could transform into anyone. As we went through the train station, we came up against an old man. As I walked by, I saw the golden glint in her eye. But it was too late. The old man grabbed Erik and shoved him into a telephone box. I was behind him and all three of us were in the small box. The old man transformed into Raven's human form.

'If I see so much as a screw move,' Raven snapped threateningly, 'I will jam this into your throat. You too.' She glared at me.

'Excuse me, Raven, but I took a bullet for you. I've got the bandage to prove it.'

'I thank you for your sacrifice. It wasn't needed.'

'I had to. You're my friend.'

'How did you find us?' Erik spoke, looking into her eyes.

'You taught me well.'

'It's been a long time since we were this close. I missed you.'

'You tried to kill me,' she snapped.

'So the rest of us could live.'

'What do you mean?'

'We got a message from the future.'

'Don't lie to me,' she snapped again.

'He's not, Raven.'

'That's not my name.'

'She's right,' Erik replied, grinding out the answer. 'I never have and I never will. Humans use your blood, your genes, Adelaide's genes to create a weapon that wipes us all out. I was only doing what I thought necessary to secure our future.'

'So what's to stop me from killing you right now and secure my future?'

'You kill him, and I'll...' I threatened, but he put his arm out to me, shaking his head almost imperceptibly. I nodded and backed off of my threat.

'Nothing. It doesn't matter anymore. They have your DNA. Your blood was on the street.'

'Whose fault was that?'

'Mine. I've seen their plans. So has Adelaide. They're creating a weapon and now they have what they need to take it further. We have to strike now, while we still hold the upper hand.'

'I've seen too many friends die, Erik. I don't want a war. I only want the man who murdered them.'

'This is war. What happened to you? Did you lose your way while I was gone? Are you still Charles' Raven? Or are you Mystique?'

'Raven... please. Help us win the future. Don't listen. Don't try to kill Trask. I want revenge too for the thousands of mutants who have been murdered, but... this isn't the way.'

'It is,' Erik ground out another answer.

'Not it's not. Not this killing. We can strike, but not like this.' Raven ignored me and turned her attention to Erik again.

'Trask is the enemy.'

'Killing one man isn't enough.'

'It never was for you, or your daughter. Goodbye, Erik, Adelaide.' She stepped out of the phone box and was gone. We tried to look in vain, but she was not there. She had completely blended into the crowd. Gone.

So Erik and I went sneaking into Trask Industries. To take control of the Sentinels. If we couldn't kill Trask, or if Raven was unable to, we would win this war ourselves.