Chapter 9 : You want the truth?
"You want the truth?" Ron asked, his arms crossed as he looked her up and down, his blue eyes glinting with a Homelander smirk in the Xavier estate's dingy gym. The air stank of sweat and steel, the weight bench still creaking from Raven's earlier struggle with a heavy barbell, her frustration lingering like a bad vibe.
"Yes, of course, the truth," Raven said, her voice shaky but firm. Her blonde hair and green eyes—her human mask—started to melt away. Her skin shifted to a deep, scaly blue, her hair flared into fiery red, and her eyes burned a fierce gold, the iconic Mystique form from the X-Men films. She stood there, raw and exposed, her heart pounding, expecting the usual screams of freak or monster.
"Beautiful," Ron said softly, a genuine note of admiration in his voice, "a beauty that is entirely unique." Her blue skin caught the dim light, her curves sharp and wild, like a femme fatale from a gritty comic.
There have always been people with a fetish for succubi and she-demons. While he wasn't specifically into that, he was far from opposed. He wasn't lying; her appearance was unlike anything else on Earth, a dangerous knockout that could stop a room cold.
"Ron, no one has ever said that to me before," Raven breathed, her golden eyes lighting up as she said his name, her voice softening with a touch of emotion and gratitude. When she had shown her true form before, she was only met with screams of "monster!" or "demon!" and curses, kids pelting her with rocks that left scars deeper than skin. Ron's words hit like a slug of bourbon, warm and heady, melting years of shame.
"They're just people who don't have an eye for beauty," Ron said with a slick smile, gently caressing her scaly blue face before leaning in to kiss her. His lips were hot, deliberate, sparking a fire in her chest, her hands gripping his leather jacket, a low growl rumbling in her throat.
Life is short. You should try everything. He saw it as a unique dish to sample; it wasn't like he was going to eat only one dish for the rest of his life. The kiss deepened, her body pressing closer, raw mutant instinct kicking in, her pulse racing with desire and defiance.
…
Later that evening, Hank excitedly knocked on Raven's door, a vial of serum in his hand.
"Raven, I did it! I successfully developed the serum!" His glasses were fogged with nerdy enthusiasm, his voice high with pride, practically bouncing on his heels.
Back at the CIA base, he had told her about his idea: to create a serum that would change his big feet and her strange appearance. After months of hard work, he had finally succeeded.
"We can finally shake off the stares, live like regular folks," he said, his eyes bright with hope, his hands fidgeting with the vial.
"Raven, you don't seem very happy?" Hank asked, his grin faltering as he caught the far-off look in her golden eyes, her red hair catching the moonlight spilling through her window.
Raven, still lost in the electric haze of her kiss with Ron, snapped back to reality and smiled, a small, conflicted curve of her lips.
"No, I'm very happy. Thank you, Hank," she said softly, her voice tinged with hesitation. Of course, she was happy about a serum that could make her look normal—a life without whispers of freak or cruel stares. But Ron's voice, calling her beauty unique, burned brighter, making her question if hiding was even worth it. His kiss had ignited a spark of pride in her mutant skin, a defiance she hadn't felt before.
"It was nothing, really," Hank said, scratching his head, his excitement returning, though a bit strained.
"I was just helping out. We're friends, aren't we? With this serum, we can both go back to being normal and not have to deal with everyone's stares." He had helped Raven solve the problem of her appearance that had made her feel insecure and ashamed since she was a child. He was sure she would be grateful and develop stronger feelings for him.
Maybe this is my chance to win Raven's heart back from Ron, he thought to himself, his heart pounding with a desperate hope. Hank didn't know about what had happened that day, but he had noticed how close Raven was getting to Ron—those soft smiles, the way she leaned into him. So he had worked overtime on the serum and rushed to her as soon as he could, determined to be the one she'd turn to.
"Everyone's stares?" Raven repeated, a small smile playing on her lips as she thought of Ron. Not everyone. At least one person didn't care about her monstrous appearance in the slightest, saw her blue skin and golden eyes as a damn work of art.
"Raven, hurry and take the serum," Hank urged, eagerly handing her a vial of light green liquid. He was about to inject himself with the other vial, his hands shaking with anticipation.
"Wait, Hank, will there be any uncomfortable side effects when I take this?" Raven asked, stopping him, her voice cautious, her golden eyes narrowing slightly.
"There might be some," Hank explained, thinking back to the research, his scientific mind racing. "The serum works like an antibiotic. It attacks the cells that cause our mutation and allows us to return to our normal form." The process would be slightly painful, he admitted, his voice dropping as he recalled the lab data.
"In that case, could you… please go back to your room? I'd rather be alone," she requested, her golden eyes flickering with unease. She didn't want Hank to see her in pain, not after Ron's kiss had made her feel so alive.
"O-Okay," a wave of disappointment washed over the excited Hank. The door clicked shut. Standing outside, he comforted himself. She just hasn't felt the effects of the serum yet, so she's not grateful.
He was sure that when she woke up in the morning, back to her normal self, she would be so overjoyed and grateful that she would run up and hug him, maybe even see him as more than a friend.
…
Inside his room, Ron stood by the window, swirling a glass of deep red wine, the full moon casting silver light over the Xavier estate's misty hills. He had just seen Hank leave Raven's room with the remaining vial, his Homelander smirk sharpening.
"I hope a woman with your potential can give me a surprise," he said with a knowing sigh, his blue eyes glinting with ambition.
"The full moon is so bright tonight. It makes you instinctively think of a werewolf transforming and howling in the moonlight."
"Ah… my body! No…!" At that same moment, screams of pain and fear echoed from Hank and Raven's rooms, though the thick wooden doors muffled them.
Hank was a genius, but his serum had failed. It didn't destroy the cells that caused their mutations; instead, it stimulated them, making the mutations even stronger. After taking the serum, Hank's body was covered in blue fur, his muscles bulged, and he became a true "beast." In the original timeline, Raven had avoided this fate by rejecting Hank's serum and choosing to "accept her true self."
"That's not what I wanted to see," Ron said, shaking his head slightly, his smirk fading to curiosity. He was curious about what would happen to Raven's fate, a character with such an important role in the X-Men universe. He was also curious about whether the serum would unleash Raven's full potential, turning her into a powerful ally for the new age of mutants he was building.
"You're too weak now. You want to be able to help me, right, Raven?" Ron said softly, taking a sip of his wine, his mind buzzing with plans for his Template System.
…
Knock, knock, knock!
"Raven, I'm so sorry, I messed everything up. Are you okay? Please open the door, let me see you!" The next morning, Hank frantically knocked on Raven's door in the castle. "I can't believe the serum did this. I tested it so many times." His voice was filled with remorse and guilt.
He looked like a monster, his body covered in blue fur, his glasses barely clinging to his beastly face. When Hank had used the serum last night, his big feet did shrink back to normal at first, but only for a few seconds. The mutation then intensified, turning him into the creature he was now and knocking him unconscious. When he woke up and saw his new form, his first thought was to find Raven, worried that the same thing had happened to her.
Alex, woken up by the knocking echoing through the old castle, rubbed his head and came out of his room. He was shocked when he saw Hank, and his sleepiness instantly vanished.
"Hank, is that you? What the hell, man? Are you auditioning for a blue-furred Bigfoot movie?" Alex asked, recognizing him by the shreds of his clothes.
"Alex, shut your mouth and get lost!" Hank snapped, uncharacteristically lashing out like a wild animal. He then turned back to the door, still worried. "Raven…"
"Go away! Hank, just go! I don't blame you, just… please leave me alone!" a hoarse, pained cry came from inside the room. She knew she had chosen to inject the serum herself, so she couldn't blame Hank. But she didn't want to see anyone right now, not with her new form still sinking in.
Hank stopped knocking, his mouth agape as he tried to find words to comfort her. But it was too late; the others had already heard the commotion and were on their way.
"What's going on? Hank, what happened to you?" Professor X, Magneto, and the others arrived, staring in disbelief at the unrecognizable Hank. Charles, who saw Raven like a sister, went pale, his voice tight with worry.
As Hank nervously looked at Ron, who had just appeared from around the corner, he painfully explained everything. "I developed a serum. I thought it would get rid of our mutations, but I messed up. It just stimulated the cells…" His voice cracked, guilt weighing heavy.
"You mean, Raven, too?" Professor X asked, his heart sinking. Magneto and Moira looked at each other, their hearts sinking, fearing what the serum had done to Raven, who was already so different from a normal person.
"The serum failed, just as I expected," Ron said to himself as he walked away, disappearing behind the group, his smirk returning. He was relieved that his arrival hadn't created a butterfly effect that would change the outcome of the serum. "I should go check on my little temptress. She must need comfort right now." And maybe a new trick up her sleeve, he thought, his mind buzzing with possibilities.
Whoosh!
Using his power, he teleported past the worried group and into Raven's room. The room was in chaos. Chairs and tables were scattered on the floor, and the bedspread was torn to shreds, as if someone had been struggling in agony.
A figure was curled up in a corner, pressed against the wall, sobbing with her head in her hands. She heard the sound and looked up, and when she saw Ron, she let out a whimper, grabbing at the torn blanket and trying to hide under the bed. The serum had pushed her mutation further: her blue skin was now flawless, like polished sapphire, two small blue horns gleamed on her forehead, and a sleek, Nightcrawler-like tail coiled tightly.
"No, Ron, don't look at me!" she cried, her voice raw with fear.
"It's alright, Raven," Ron said softly, squatting down and gently holding her, his hands steady but firm, his eyes roaming her new form with a predator's gaze. It seemed her mutation, which was already more significant than Hank's, didn't change as drastically. The only noticeable differences, aside from the color of her skin, were the two small blue horns growing on her forehead and a tail similar to the Nightcrawler's, flicking nervously.
"Ron, do I look even more like a monster now? More like a demon that deserves to be burned at the stake?" Raven cried, tears streaming down her face. Her hopes had been shattered. Things had only gotten worse, leaving her completely devastated. She couldn't help but wonder if Ron would still want her now that she looked like this, horns and all.
"Raven, in my eyes, you are more complete, more beautiful," Ron said, his serious but gentle tone calming her heart.
She was even more beautiful now, her face looking like it had been slightly altered, sharper, more refined. The bumpy scales on her skin were gone, leaving it completely smooth, like a she-demon from a dark fantasy, polished to perfection. She was probably so shocked by the horns and tail that she hadn't looked in a mirror. Compared to the incomplete demon-like Raven from before, she now looked like a more beautiful, polished she-demon, a dangerous beauty that could stop hearts.
"What? Complete? More beautiful?" Raven looked up at him, stunned, her golden eyes wide. Could he really accept her like this, horns, tail, and all?
"The 1960s were just not open-minded enough when it came to fetishes," he said with a sly sigh, his unique charm dripping through.
"Are your powers still intact, Raven?" he asked, his voice sharp with curiosity.
"Yes… they are," Raven said hesitantly, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. The man she liked not only accepted her new appearance but seemed to like it even more, his gaze hungry in a way that made her pulse race. Her mood had lifted, and she focused on what was happening in her body. "And… I think I have another power now."
"Like what?" Ron leaned closer, his interest piqued, his smirk widening.
"Like this." With tears still on her face, Raven's eyes locked with his. A mysterious blue light flashed in her golden eyes. Ron's eyes went blank, as if he was in a trance, a state of mind-controlled sleepwalking. She was about to use her new power to ask him for a comforting kiss, to feel that electric heat again.
But only a second later, his Adaptive Evolution ability kicked in. His advanced mind broke free of the bizarre control, and his eyes cleared up. He frowned, his voice low and sharp.
"What just happened to me?"
"I'm sorry, Ron. I… I was just kidding," Raven said nervously, her tail flicking anxiously.
"It's fine. So you've awakened a power to control people?" Ron's frown softened, and he comforted her with a calm voice, his hand brushing her arm, sending a shiver through her. With his Adaptive Evolution, he had a high resistance to mind control. He was more interested in the new power Raven could now offer him, his mind racing with possibilities for his Template System.
The serum must have activated another type of potential within her, he thought. In the comics, there were two groups of mutants in ancient times: the demon-type and the angel-type. The angels and demons in the Bible were derived from these two groups. Raven's appearance obviously put her in the demon category—horns, tail, the whole package. Perhaps she had tapped into the latent abilities of a demon-type mutant. In the comics, the Nightcrawler was a demon-type mutant. In addition to being able to shape-shift like Raven, he could also manipulate minds and had other abilities.
Mind control was good, but it didn't seem to have anything to do with the Sentinel's abilities. Ron was a little disappointed, his ambition briefly tempered.
"Anything else?" he asked.