Chapter 20: Raven Darkhölme

In the large living room.

A group of people is staring at the small figure curling in the couch like a frightened kitten.

She is a little girl with blue skin with scales on some part of the body and shoulder length red hair.

It's been years since her mutation, because of her appearance is scary to others she feared going to school.

Even her parents is afraid of her mutation so they abused her physically and mentally, they even tried to kill her at one point.

After enduring years of abuse, she eventually ran away today from home and met a member of the Masque Group after shapeshifting into someone to steal food in one of the building owned by the group.

If not for a member in charge of that building is a bronze class member with mental detection, Andy and the others can only wait for her one year later to show up in Xavier's Mansion.

Finding mutant is hard because even all the bronze class member of the Masque Group has 'mental detection', the range is also limited because they dont have the full mutant ability of Professor X to amplified the power detection range of 'mental detection'.

Even the silver class like Angie and the other also has limited range of detection, only Agnes Cully and Andy has a wide range of detection capabilities to search for mutants.

The members of the group is also not using it actively, because they will experience headache and will make them insane listening sounds from the surrounding, just like how Charles Xavier is not using it all the time.

So now, all the group members with 'mental detection' is always on passive state, no normal human can bear a constant of information transferred through their mind.

This is one of the reason why the group only found Raven an awakened mutant so far, there also a major reason because only in 1950's to 1960's will there be some mutant started awakening.

Just like in the movie of [X-Men: First Class], Charles Xavier only found dozen of mutant in america with the help of Cerebro.

Only after 1970's is the explosion of human awakening their mutant x genes and Professor Charles invited them into his mutant academy, unfortunately they were forced to participate in Vietnam War and some of the mutants were also hunted by Project WideAwake as experimental material.

Agnes Cully is now busy working on creating an improved version of Cerebro with symbiote as the core to search for mutants.

This improved version of Cerebro is like a radar capable of automatically searching for every awakened mutants, because the core is a symbiote, it will not have a problem like Professor X experiencing excurciating pain on the brain and deal with too much information it received.

The problem now is the needed energy to maintain it 24/7, second the 'reactive evolution' ability of Darwin is also need for the symbiote to exist permanently without a host, then lastly the technology capabilities to create the Cerebro because the technlogy now limited by times.

Agnes Cully is too stretched from creating the improved Cerebro, its not her field expertised, even Howard Stark is focused on weapon technology.

If it was in 1960's, Agnes Cully can make Cerebro on her own, just like how Dr. Hank McCoy created Cerebro with just limited resources from CIA.

Only Dr. Arnim Zola is the one who can help them in this Era.

Other than searching for mutant Darwin, the group is also focusing on searching for mutant Caliban, a mutant with a power to detect any mutant through their X-Genes.

Caliban is also a mutant with 'longevity' ability, so it's possible that he is the same age with Magneto and Professor X.

Andy believed that they will find him eventually, his charecteristic is easy to find, he is an albino human.

His ability 'X-Gene Detection' is very much needed for the improvement version of the Cerebro.

With Professor X 'mental detection' plus 'x-gene detection' of Caliban, the improved version of Cerebro can possibly detect unawakened mutant or human with x-gene.

The group also cultivated Bolivar Trask, the creator of Sentinel, he is only 20 this year.

In the X-Men Universe, many of the humans failed or couldn't awaken their x-gene, the only way for some of them to become mutant is through expirement.

The best example of a mutant who cannot awaken his/her x-gene is the love interest of Deadpool, Vanessa Carlsyle.

In the comics, she is known as Copycat with the same ability as Mystique and the same blue skin.

Finding human with x-gene is beneficial to the group, and awakening their abilities can also let the symbiotes obtained their abilites and stored in 'symbiote database'.

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"Hello, little Raven." Andy greeted Raven with a smile.

Raven didn't answer to his greeting but just look at him timidly.

it seemed she is still afraid of humans because of what she experienced in the hands of her parents.

"Awww, poor little child, come here and i will hug you."

Colleen O'Brien look at her with pity, and her motherly instinct kick in so she stands up and come closer to her.

"Hiik..." Raven shrieked and curled herself into balls, affaid of her coming closer.

"Hmmm... Colleen, get back for a moment." Andy said, seeing Raven like this, her trauma of abused still fresh on her mind.

He has no option so he can only use mind power to soothe her emotions.

"Little Raven... Don't be afraid Raven of us, we are the same as you."

Little Raven raised her head timidly to look at them, wondering what he meant by saying they are the same as her.

"Look at this elder sister... Colleen show her your symbiote." Andy nod to Colleen to demonstrate the symbiote.

"Oh, okay." seeing Raven looking at her, Collen has no choice but to stand up and show it.

Black liquid suddenly gushed out from her every pores, writhing and squirming to wrapped her whole body.

Colleen suddenly become a 2 meters muscular female monster with face full of fangs.

"Like this dear?" the monster tilted her head and with long tongue lashing out, she tried to said cutely.

"Ahhhhhhhhh..." Raven widen her eyes and screamed.

"What are you doing? not that one!"

Andy reprimanded Colleen, feeling funny inside, even the surrounding female guard tried to look somewhere to hold back their smile.

He quickly stand up to hug the frightened little child.

"I thought this is what you mean, to show her something unusual."

Colleen also takes back her monster form, bowing her head feeling wronged.

He just stared at her speechlessly, while also using mind power to calm down Raven.

"It's okay Raven, don't be affraid... did you see that, we are just like you." Andy said while patting her head and back to assure her.

Raven look up with teary eyes and said. "Really?"

"Of course, did you see me being afraid to hug you?" Andy smiled gently to her.

Raven is startled after realising she was holding him tightly, she hurried buried her head in his arms, feeling embarassed and thought. 'So warm'.

After a while, Raven completely calm down and refused to leave his arms, Its been years since someone hugged and cared for her.

Andy can only helplessly carried her to sit on the couch and hold her on his lap.

"Are you really not afraid of my appearance?" Raven expectantly asked again.

"Yes, that's right, you are cute like this." Andy said gently while looking each other in the eye.

"Hehe, rea~lly?"

Raven smile and giggle after confirming he is really not repulsive to her.

"Really..."

Well, if he is not well informed in previous life about her and already used to seeing lot of cosplay, he will really not like her, even disgusting.

Raven or Mystique is the dream girl of every Men of Culture, with her ability to shapeshift to anyone, your night life will not become boring.

She is really a Harem in One, marrying her is like marrying all the sexy women in the world.

"Hehehe." Raven smiled and hold him tightly.

"Even if you want to have your human appearance again, we can help you in the future" Andy said seriously to her.

"Can you really do that?" Raven hopefully asked.

"Of course, that's true... just trust me." Andy promised her.

"Then it's promise." Raven extend her little pinky to him.

"It's a promise." Andy also hook his pink with her.

There is no need for the qoute of her in the movie like "mutant and proud." for accepting there appearance.

Colleen look at them blankly, especially Andy, he looks like a creepy uncle deceiving a little girl.

"Ok dear, it's time to give her something." Colleen reminded.

"Oh right, i almost forgot." Andy patted his head.

"That's right, Raven, this is one of the condition to help you get back your human appearance, you need to be one of us, it will also be useful and protect you in the future."

Andy showed his palms containing a wriggling black ball of liquid symbiote.

Raven look at this black liquid fearfully, remembering the tall monster earlier, then look at him.

Andy smile and nodded in encouragement.

She took a deep breath and reach out her little hand to the symbiote.

The symbiote jump on her palm and drilled onto her palm before disappearing.