"I want you to bring me something, Mystique." Magneto said as he finished wrapping an unconscious Ranma up in a sheet of tin.
"Why me?" Mystique replied. "Surely a little larceny isn't too difficult for the 'Mighty Mutant Master of Magnetism'?"
Magneto's reply was to tighten his fist, as well as the tin sheet around Ranma. Mystique inhaled and her eyes widened before she grit her teeth in compliance. "Alright, Magneto. You've made your point. What's the damn job?"
"Language, Mystique." Magneto smirked in a way that reminded Nodoka too much of that middle Tendo girl, Nabiki, when she thought she had some dirt on someone. Mystique hated that expression. "You should know better than to swear in front of such an impressionable youth, Principal Darkholme."
"What. Is. The. Job. Magneto?" Mystique wished she knew her son's 'Soul of Ice' technique as she tried to regain control of her emotions.
Satisfied with Mystique's compliance, Magneto answered, pulling a wooden wedge. "This is part of a puzzle. There are four other pieces of this puzzle out there, all shaped like this, and one shaped like an inverse pentagram. Find them for me.
"What does this 'puzzle' solve?"
"That," Magneto responded, "is none of your concern."
Mystique frowned. Whatever these pieces form must be really important. "Any idea where these 'other' pieces are, Magneto?"
"I know where one piece is:" Magneto's smirk turned vicious and Mystique instantly knew where the other shoe would drop. "It's in Xavier's mansion."
Right on her head! "You want me to break into the X-Men's home?" Mystique protested.
"Break, sneak, it makes no difference to me, so long as you obtain the companion piece to this," Magneto rotated the wedge so Mystique could get a good look at it. "and any additional information the X-Men might have concerning the puzzle. I don't want to put any undue pressure on you, Mystique, so I'll give you two days to obtain the other pieces."
"Two days!?!" Mystique squawked.
"Yes. I think that's an appropriate amount of time. And during that time, Your... son shall be in my care." Turning to examine Ranma, Magneto commented, "He's a handsome boy. I wonder if Kurt would have turned out like him had I left him as he was?" As he examined Ranma's teeth, he then added, "Ah, well. He turned out better than Graydon at any rate. Wretched boy!"
Finished with his examination of Ranma, Magneto turned back to Mystique, who was now shivering with rage. "You're still here? You'd better get moving if you're to bring me the other five pieces of the puzzle. The clock is ticking, you know."
"Magneto." Mystique said as she tried to compose herself.
"Yes?"
"If you harm one hair on his head, I will kill you. With a dull spork."
"Forty-Seven hours, Fifty-Eight minutes." Was Magneto's reply. As Mystique turned to go, Magneto got in one last dig. "Oh, and Mystique?"
Mystique stopped. "Yes." After it became clear that Magneto wouldn't continue until she turned around, she complied. "Yes?"
"It is good to have you working under me again."
And with that, he was gone.
Bastard! Nodoka thought as she reached her home. A few minutes later, she was packing her bags. "What am I going to do? Even if I do as Magneto says, he'll never let Ranma go. And every minute Ranma's there is a minute more for Magneto to decide to restart his genetic experiments - With Ranma as a guinea pig. Bastard!
Maybe if I knew where Magneto went, I could go after Ranma. For a moment, hope soared in Nodoka's heart, only to crash and burn a moment later as she looked up at the ceiling. Knowing my luck, Magneto's rebuilt Asteroid M. Even if I did find out where Ranma is, I probably couldn't reach him.
Ask Xavier for help? Nodoka thought, then shook her head so hard it hurt. What the hell am I thinking? No way am I going to give Xavier the chance to steal Ranma from me the way he's done Kurt and Rogue. Then her anger softened. But I can't leave him with Magneto!
Nodoka's eyes came to rest on a picture on her dresser drawer. In the picture was herself holding baby Ranma in her arms, with Genma's strong arms wrapped around her. All three were happy in that picture. A far cry from the strained relationship between the three now.
Nodoka's hands opened a drawer and pulled out a scrapbook. She looked at pictures of little Ranma making mud pies, pictures of baby Ranma trying to imitate Genma's Kata (this prompted Genma to start trying to teach Ranma the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu - before Ranma could walk), and finally a picture of Ranma being taken away on the infamous training trip, before flipping to the back of the book. Pulling away the dust jacket, she pulled out a picture of a little baby with blue eyes. On the back of the picture was the name, 'Tenma'.
Genma never got a chance to know you, Tenma. Nodoka had found herself with child shortly after Genma had left on his final training trip with Happosai. Unfortunately, Tenma was born six weeks prematurely and was very sickly. In order for Tenma to get the best medical care, Mystique had to perform a few 'jobs' overseas to attain the money needed. She ran into her old one-night-stand, Sabertooth, who arranged a meeting between her and Magneto (although Mystique carefully hid all connections to 'Nodoka Saotome'). Magneto offered to take care of Tenma's medical needs if Mystique would do 'a little job' for him. By that time, Mystique was desperate, so she did the job, although it left a bad taste in her mouth, and went to Magneto's castle only to discover that Magneto had taken a... personal interest in little Tenma.
"You Monster! What did you do to him?"
"I discovered the cause of your son's suffering, Mystique. The boy's mutant gene was trying to become dominant, so I helped it along." Then Magneto smirked. "Frankly, I think he looks better like this."
Mystique had tried to escape with Tenma, only to lose the boy over a rope bridge when Magneto set dogs loose on her. She didn't get to see him for over 14 years, and by that time, he was a student of Xavier's.
Nodoka took an ink pen and made a line thru the name 'Tenma', and wrote, the name, 'Kurt' under it. Taking that picture, and the one with Ranma, herself, and Genma in her other hand, she sat down on the bed, looking at both pictures as tears began to slide down her cheeks.
What do I do? What do I do?
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(Posted Fri, 27 Jun 2003 06:04)
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