Nobody in the room believed Mario's claim except Mario himself, especially Raven, who was still rubbing her aching thigh from where she'd face-planted into an involuntary split.
The blood collection proceeded at a steady pace. Within moments, the syringe had filled completely with Xavier's blood.
Xavier gently withdrew the needle from his arm. His face was still pale, though not from blood loss. That first jab Mario had given him had hurt like a bitch, and his arm still throbbed from the trauma.
"It's done."
Mario took the syringe, gave it a light shake to check the volume, and his face lit up with satisfaction. He tucked the sample into his inventory and immediately pulled out a fresh blood-drawing kit, extending it toward Xavier.
"Alright. Next one."
The sudden disappearance and reappearance of medical equipment in Mario's hands made Xavier flinch.
And you're still claiming you're not a mutant?
"How much are you planning to take? If you're trying to study mutation genes, that should be more than sufficient for any analysis."
In his mind, Mario was clearly another researcher interested in studying people with special genetic markers. He had been down this road before, it was part of why he'd chosen genetics as his field in the first place.
Mario raised an eyebrow at the question. "The way you're asking makes it sound like I can't afford to take more."
He grinned wickedly. "One word: everything."
Xavier's face went white. He scooted backward on the hardwood floor, putting distance between himself and the madman.
"I'm joking," Mario said, though his smile suggested otherwise. "Just trying to lighten the mood. Relax."
He tossed the blood-drawing kit to Xavier, who caught it reflexively. Then he pointed at Raven, who was still glaring daggers at him.
"Draw a tube from her."
Seeing Xavier about to protest, he cut him off immediately. "Either you do it, or I do it."
"Three..."
Xavier was brilliant, protective, and wanted to shield Raven. But Mario wasn't giving him room to negotiate.
"Two..."
Mario pulled out another blood-drawing kit from his inventory and started walking toward Raven with deliberate steps.
"I'll do it!"
Xavier raised his hand quickly, wincing at the soreness in his arm from the earlier blood draw.
Raven's golden tracked Mario's every movement. If she thought she could take him, she would've launched herself at his throat without hesitation. But she'd learned her lesson, fighting him was like a child trying to tackle a professional heavyweight boxer.
Moira stood frozen in the living room doorway, completely out of her depth. She wanted to intervene, but logic told her she couldn't help either side. This was England, not America. She didn't even have a sidearm.
Xavier must have said something to Raven telepathically, because her expression softened slightly. She no longer looked ready to murder everyone in the room, just deeply unhappy.
Mario walked over and looked directly into Raven's eyes. The pure golden irises were striking, almost hypnotic in their beauty.
"Your eyes are really beautiful, you know that? Can you tell me your name?"
Time to build some rapport. If I need her cooperation for future research, now's the time to earn it.
Raven's genetics were what he valued most. Mystique could alter her cellular and tissue structure at will, transforming into anyone, matching iris patterns, fingerprints, skin texture, voice, even biological sex. Her clothing could mimic any fabric, even accessories. Because of this ability, she rarely wore clothes.
The Sentinel robots that would eventually hunt mutants, and their ability to adapt and copy enemy powers, that came directly from reverse-engineering her genetics.
When Raven heard Mario's words, her expression froze. She wasn't yet the radical activist she would become in the future. Right now, she was just a young woman who wanted to be normal. She believed her true form was ugly, hideously, irredeemably ugly.
She never showed her real appearance to others. As she'd grown older, she'd even stopped revealing it to Xavier.
But looking at Mario's apparently sincere expression, she found herself answering almost involuntarily. "Raven. Raven Darkhölme."
Mario nodded. From his inventory, he produced a golden apple.
He extended his hand toward her with a smile. "Drawing blood can affect your health, even in small amounts. This apple will restore your body quickly."
Xavier, who'd been preparing to sterilize Raven's arm, stopped mid-motion and stared at Mario in complete confusion.
Raven was equally stunned, her brain struggling to process the gesture.
A slight sting in her arm snapped her out of her daze. At some point during her confusion, she'd accepted the golden apple from Mario's hand. Xavier had already found the vein and inserted the needle.
As Mario examined the furnishings of Xavier's home, Raven couldn't help but ask, "What do you want from us?"
"I want to study the unique properties of mutants, and see if I can find a way to make the transformation controllable. Let people who want special abilities freely convert into mutants, and allow those who don't want to be mutants to return to being ordinary humans. That's the goal, anyway."
Xavier couldn't help himself. "I could help you with that research."
Mario raised his finger and shook it back and forth. "Professor Xavier, your abilities create too much of an unfair advantage over others."
He walked over to Moira and gestured toward her. "Do you enjoy having people peek into the secrets hidden deep in your heart? The things you'd never willingly tell another soul?"
Seeing that the syringe had finished filling with Raven's blood, Mario's expression turned playful, almost mischievous.
"Ms. Raven, would you mind holding that syringe for a moment?"
As Raven took the tube filled with her blood, a staff materialized in Mario's hand.
[Master Necromancer Wand:
Increases necromancy spell damage by 60%]
"Tell me, Professor," Mario said. "Have you ever wanted to, shall we say, get intimate with this lovely blonde agent?"
[Mind Control:
Tier: Advanced
Element: Necromancy
Mana Cost: 40
Effect: Takes control of the target's mind for 30 seconds, causing it switch sides and fight for the caster instead. Will not work on creatures that are too strong-willed.]
An invisible force slammed into Xavier's consciousness. For one terrible moment, he lost complete control of his body.
"Of course I do," he heard himself say. "Who would turn down a beautiful woman? She's gorgeous, isn't she?"
Because the spell was relatively low-level and he possessed considerable psychic strength, he managed to break free almost immediately. But those few seconds felt like an eternity.
"What did you do? My consciousness was perfectly clear, but I couldn't control myself at all."
"I did exactly what you do to others all the time, Professor Xavier." Mario's smile now looked demonic in Xavier's eyes. "Any shameful secrets you'd like to confess while we're at it?"
The truth hit Xavier: he had no defense against Mario's mental manipulation.
It had lasted only a moment, but that moment proved everything. He was helpless.
"Stop trying. You can't block it. Besides, you don't have any secrets left anyway."
Xavier sat on the sofa looking utterly destroyed. His powers were... average at best compared to what they'd eventually become.
He'd always been the one using telepathy to explore other people's secrets. Today, someone had stripped him bare in front of three witnesses, dragging out everything he'd kept buried.
He couldn't even look at Raven. He couldn't forget the things he'd just said under Mario's control:
"Too familiar... hard to make a move."
Those kinds of thoughts.
But Raven didn't seem disturbed at all. If anything, her eyes were shining. She'd always had feelings for Xavier, after all, they'd lived together for over a decade. How could there not be feelings?
But she'd always been deeply insecure, convinced that nobody would like her true form. Maybe even be repulsed by it.
Now... things seemed different than she'd imagined.
Mario stood and made a show of checking his watch.
10:00 PM.
He nodded slightly. "It's getting late. I should be going."
He glanced at Raven. "Ms. Raven, would you be interested in leaving with me? You'd be free to walk around in your true form whenever you wanted. If my research progresses, I could even eliminate your powers and let you live as a normal human, if that's what you choose. And you'd be free to visit your family whenever you want. Of course, there would be a small price."
The price was obvious: participating in research. Well, being researched technically counted as participation.
Raven looked at Mario. She turned to Xavier, silently asking for his opinion.
Seeing her hopeful expression, Xavier felt his heart tighten painfully. He looked up at Mario. "Could I come too?"
The prospect of freely returning to normal human status appealed to him as well.
"Sorry. I already have several employees with psychic abilities. Yours is pretty common, honestly."
Vision with the Mind Stone, Scarlet Witch with chaos magic, even Kaecilius can delve into memories. Even Supergiant could crush the current Professor X in mental combat.
An undeveloped Professor X was basically nobody. Though that helmet of his could be worth researching, remodel it, and maybe everyone could wear a headband that blocks psychic attacks.
Xavier looked like he'd been punched in the stomach. In all his years, he'd never found other mutants, just him and Raven. Suddenly there were multiple people with "special abilities," and he could hardly process it.
"This can't be..."
"Nothing is impossible. Raven seems to listen to you, so let me ask: would you rather let her have a better future? One that's at least better than staying here?"
The room fell silent.
Mario watched Xavier struggle with the decision. This was a choice Xavier had to make himself. Several minutes later, he lifted his head and looked at Raven beside him. Forcing a smile, he said, "I respect your choice. Even though I can't see what's in his mind, I don't think he would deceive us."
With Mario's power, even if he wanted to take Raven by force, I'd have no way to stop him anyway.
Raven had made up her mind. She squeezed Xavier's hand. "I want to try. I want to see if I can become normal again."
"Stay safe," Xavier whispered.
Raven stood and walked over to Mario. He smiled warmly. "You've made the wisest choice. Oh, and for the record, you are a normal person. You just happen to have some special abilities."
I saw a minotaur learning magic at Kamar-Taj. If the Ancient One hadn't kept such close watch, I would've dragged that creature home for my collection.
Mario turned and walked out of the house. Raven followed close behind. Standing in the doorway, Xavier watched her departing silhouette.
But once she disappeared from sight, his expression turned serious.
"Moira, let's go too. We have work to do."
---
Mario walked with Raven down the darkened streets, occasionally scanning their surroundings. He turned and headed toward an even more secluded section of forest.
They walked deeper and deeper until the last bit of streetlight behind them disappeared into darkness. Raven, following him through the trees, finally couldn't contain her nervousness. "Where are we going?"
"Home."
As he spoke, Mario pulled out a waystone and placed it on the ground. Raven startled at the sudden appearance of the tall obelisk, nearly crying out in shock. But then she watched as he placed his hand on the stone. Strange runes she couldn't read began glowing.
Staring at the glowing monument, she whispered, "What is this?"
Mario didn't answer immediately. Instead, he beckoned her closer, grabbed her wrist, and said simply, "This is the door home."
The world shifted.
Brilliant sunlight made Raven squint against the sudden brightness. She shaded her eyes, waiting for her vision to adjust. When she finally opened her eyes fully, her jaw dropped and wouldn't close.
Everything around her looked like something that should only exist in fantasy.
A massive mothership was in the sky. Small spacecraft occasionally zipped past overhead. Robots moved along the streets in orderly patterns.
"Where... is this?"
"Welcome to the Endstar." Mario's grin was proud. "From today on, you're one of us."
He started walking, gesturing for her to follow. "Come on, I'll show you around. First stop, dropping off biological samples with Dr. Banner. Then we'll get you set up with custom equipment at headquarters. Consider it part of your new employee benefits package."
Throughout the entire tour, Raven looked shell-shocked.