Post-XM Last Stand

[no_more_hiding]

Hank was tired and wanted to do nothing but fall down to sleep for days but with the call he had received right before the battle at Alcatraz, he knew sleep would be along time in coming. Two connecting flights and three hours of driving in a cramped rental car and here he was at the office of one Daniel Guthrie, sheriff of Lakeside county. A county barely large enough to need a sheriff and yet holding in his cells one very important prisoner. If the sheriff was right. The sheriff was thanking him for his prompt arrival and outlining how he had found the prisoner and how long it had taken him to reach Hank when he saw her. She was laying down and looking so lost to the world, he couldn't help saying, "Oh my stars and garters."

His voice was touched with such sadness, Sheriff Guthrie didn't even have to confirm his guess had been right. Raven Darkholme was in fact his prisoner though why she was looking human and still herself (with pink skin and blond hair) was beyond the sheriff. "I'll release her into your custody. Ms. Jane Doe here," Sheriff Guthrie said with emphasize on the name, "has been very cooperative."

"Sheriff, if I may inquire, why are you doing this?"

"Well sir, my son was a mutant and 'cause of you, he was proud of himself."

"'Was'? I'm sorry."

"He was lynched and murder two years ago when he went away to college. And that's the other reason I'm doing this," the Sheriff replies with a nod toward "Jane". "After what I saw in the news, I ain't too sure she'd get a fair trial, if she even made it to trail and that ain't right. I can't just let her go but I can give her to you."

"Passing on the problem?" Hank replied with a hint of a levity he did not feel.

"True hallmark of a great government. I'll leave you two to catch up. Knock on the door when yer ready to sign her out."

Comments

[andproud]

"Better than hiding," she replies, wondering how many eyes are on them at this moment as she tries to keep their conversation soft so as not to draw the wrong kind of attention.

"What, like some kind of antidote?" she asks. "Worthington Labs was marketing it as an inoculation. I just don't know what they were injecting mutants with to suppress the gene."

[no_more_hiding]

"Perhaps counter agent would be a better description," Hank says with a sigh and hint of guilt. He doesn't know for sure the treatment was based on his old formula but the chance is there. "Worthington Labs created the serum using the blood of a mutant who could turn off other mutants powers."

This is all said quite tonelessly and matter of fact, clear signs Hank is having trouble with the idea.

[andproud]

"Well, you're just as brilliant as I remember," Raven answers, idly glancing out across the diner, her eyes narrowing slightly. "You'll figure it out."

Her voice is similarly faint, though, as if she hasn't quite convinced herself of the idea just yet.

[no_more_hiding]

He swallows, his mouth suddenly dry. He could let it go but he can't.

"I haven't studied the formula extensively yet and I do have a sample just for that, but preliminary tests suggest the same method I used in '62 was perhaps emulated. I don't know for sure, but it is very likely my formula is the basis for this treatment." Anger and guilt war within his voice and heart.

Taking a deep breath, he continues, "The formula with your old blood is likely to cause a cascade, attacking the new formula. Enhancing your cells as it did mine all those years ago and thus, curing you. We won't know until we test it though so I don't wish you give you false hope. Still I will never give up until you are cured of this travesty."

[andproud]

"Hank - "

Her voice is soft, but rises in insistence as she reaches out to him, her fingers combing through blue fur on his arm as she wraps them around his wrist. Her grasp barely even comes close to encircling, and she can feel the anger as it ripples through him, tension rising in his body.

"There is a chance that this might not work." She's slowly beginning to prepare herself for this possibility. "But whatever those people made, you had nothing to do with it."

The waitress returns with their food in a bag, and her hand slips away as she curls in on herself again, clearing her throat quietly.

[no_more_hiding]

"Here you go folks," the waitress says with a sly smile for interrupting what she thinks was a romantic moment. "That'll be $16.87."

Hank pays and is certain to get a mailing address for the photo. "One more thing before we go. Is there a clothing boutique that might be open this late? My friend here lost he luggage and my old clothes do not do her justice.

The waitress nods and heads for the phone. "Bethal's just down the road is likely about to close up but I'll call her and ask her to stay open a little longer."

"Thank you," Hank says warmly and holds the door for Raven.

"You folks have a safe drive now."

[andproud]

Diner food can occasionally be lousy, but what's in the bag smells heavenly as they duck out through the front door, the bell overhead jingling to announce their exit, and make their way back to the car. She takes a seat in front and rummages inside to pull out a fry at a time, eating slowly.

"Think you can stand waiting outside a fitting room?" she replies, putting her feet up on the dashboard.

[no_more_hiding]

"My dear Lady, I would wait outside of Tartarus for you."

Inside he is kicking himself as a) she is in a vulnerable state and b) she is still Mystique and not the Raven he knew. Well you are not the Hank she knew a small voice (which might just sound like Raven) replies.