The Companion Picture - REVIEW THIS STORY

Written by Dandelion
Last updated: 12/03/2009 06:26:08 PM

Chapter 7

Kurt prided himself on being the forgiving sort. Seeing Mystique standing before him, alive and in seemingly peak condition, he felt bitterness and anger welling up within him. He wondered to himself what this meant for him. He came from her and she embodied so many things that he despised. Lies, treachery, deceit. Mystique prided herself on being the detached sort.

Yet, looking at this man before her, she couldn't hold back the wave of joy. Kurt was beautiful, and he was hers. He was strong and kind and good. He was smart, brave and tough. He was all the things that made a good man, and he had come from her. Rogue was brave and strong and good, but she was not from Mystique. Mystique had sometimes felt that Rogue would have been good no matter what happened. She had certainly tried to make her one of the 'bad guys', but Rogue had gone to good.

Kurt was hers, if anyone should have been inherently bad by blood it should have been Kurt. He wasn't though, he was good. What's more, he was noble.

And he was angry. Mystique could see that just by looking at him. His muscles were tense. There was a fierce looking frown on his face. Whether it was pure hatred or merely disapproval she was unable to tell at that moment.

"So tell me, Kurt. Are you just going to sit there and glower at me or are you actually going to say something?" Mystique watched her son from across the room.

His frown deepened. "I am not quite certain where to begin. It is difficult enough to come to grips with that fact that you are my mother. Then there is the whole thing about you not telling me all this time. Then finding out that I was cast over a cliff like so much garbage by your hands. You tell me, Mystique. Would you know what to say?" Kurt's voice was bitter.

"Perhaps, perhaps not." Mystique thought briefly to the times she had come so close to telling him the truth. She often wondered if it would not have been better to have the truth come out before rather than the way it did. "I know this isn't going to be resolved in one day. Why don't you simply begin at the beginning?"

"WHY?!" Kurt's voice rose about three decibels. "What was the point? Why did you tell me who you were? Why did you NOT tell me who you were? Why even bother? You obviously cared nothing for me from the beginning, why take the trouble to play your twisted little game of cat and mouse? Surely, you had better things to do?" Kurt watched as Mystique seemed to cover up a cringe. He wanted so much to hate her. The problem was that he had a difficult time with that emotion. Hatred blinded a person, and Mystique was one person he did not want to be blinded around. Figuratively or not.

"I suppose I should just go ahead and be honest." She murmured.

"Why break with tradition?" Kurt spat out.

"Kurt, whether you believe it or not, I do care. I have cared. You are my son, and nothing can change that."

Kurt hardened himself. "Margali Szardos, raised me. I am her son more than I am yours." Kurt's voice was sharp.

"I gave birth to you, Kurt. Whether you care or not, I have a bond with you. An unbreakable bond."

"That unbreakable bond really came in handy when you tossed me over a cliff, didn't it?"

Mystique sat down with a sigh. "I have played that day back over in my mind so many times. Kurt you have no idea. I wonder what would have happened if I had stood my ground, and tried to protect you. You tell me, would I have been able to stand against a mob of frightened, angry people?"

"Probably not." He conceded.

"And if they had got their hands on you would your fate have been any kinder? They were screaming about cutting your heart out, burning your eyes, tearing your tail off. You were just a baby!" Mystique turned away. The events of that night replaying back in her mind. "The fate I threw you to was much kinder than the one they had planned for you, there was even a chance of survival. Slim, though it was. Yes Kurt, I threw you over a cliff. But it was the only alternative. I couldn't escape and I couldn't protect you. Perhaps what I did was terrible. But I think it would have been more terrible to leave you to the mob."

Kurt sat watching Mystique's back. <Maybe she has a point. I've been up against mobs myself, they were willing to tear me apart. I suppose I can see her point of view. She what else could she have done? No. NO! She threw me over a cliff! How can I forgive her for that?>

"Am I supposed to forgive you for granting me what you thought was a swift death?" He asked her, his lips curling in an involuntary sneer.

"You aren't supposed to do anything, Kurt."

Mystique knew better than to ask anything of her son. Why play with fire? She respected his abilities and she respected his righteous anger.

There would be nothing to gain trying to manipulate so strong an emotional reaction. "You asked me why I did what I did, I told you. What you choose to do or feel about it is entirely up to you."

Kurt turned away at this point. There was nothing he understood about the woman who claimed to be his mother. Her motives were alien to him. Her past was a series of bitter trials. He wondered if he would be able to get past this. "What about the cat and mouse game you played with me for as long as I've been with the X-Men?"

Mystique turned to face him. "I am a manipulative person, Kurt. Surely you had noticed that."

Kurt looked at the ceiling. "Hm. I don't know, I may have missed that." His sarcasm spoke volumes.

"You were an adversary so I used everything at my disposal to knock you off balance. I live a life that is based on self-preservation. So if I used a secret to make you unsure of yourself and that helped me or my team, you had better believe I would use it."

Despite himself, he had to admire her savvy. It was a problem he had dealt with a long time. He had always, deep, down inside, admired Mystique as a leader and an adversary, whether or not he approved of her methods. A part of the little voice inside him wondered why she had never come for him. She had come for Rogue. She had been prepared to kill anyone who got in her way in order to get Rogue back. Why hadn't she done the same for him? He shook his head and quelled the boy inside of him.

"Okay, okay. That's about as much of the past as I can take. Let's talk about now. Perhaps you'd like to explain why and how you came to be working for X-Factor again?"

Mystique sat down again. "It's either this or jail. You figure it out."

"And would we have ever heard from you that you were alive and well?"

"I don't know, Kurt. I suppose I would have gotten around to it, but it's one of those things you would much rather not do. It's awkward."

A sharp humorless laugh escaped Kurt.

"Awkward? I don't think I've ever heard a more ridiculous excuse. With the lives that Rogue and I live? With the life that you live?"

Mystique shrugged. "I'm not a model mom, Kurt. You know that. I'm not even a model person. Part of me wondered if you would have cared one way or the other."

Kurt turned back to face her. "I may not like what you have done with your life, Mystique. I certainly don't like what you did with mine. You are my mother, though. No amount of denial is going to change that. So, yes, I would have been interested in knowing you were alive and here in DC."

She smiled faintly, admiring the goodness in him again. "You're so good and noble and generous. Maybe you should ask Rogue how she manages to retain some manner of affection for me. After all I've done. After all I will do."

Kurt folded his arms. "I imagine that Rogue's loyalty has something to do with the fact that she had many years with you growing up. It's the same with Margali and myself. She has done things I find despicable, yet I still feel affection for her. She loved me and raised me when no one else was there."

"Yes." Mystique looked at the floor. "And you have no reason to feel any kind of affection for me. I'm not surprised. But, Kurt, remember this. I am your mother and I am not going to go away. You can discount me, you can ignore me, you can hate me. Or we can reach some kind of agreement."

Kurt looked at her again. "I do not ignore my problems, hoping they'll go away. I've lived my whole life as an orphan. Perhaps that's the reason I don't cast you out of my life. All my life I've wanted to know who my real family is. You're the only link I have to that now."

Mystique felt a wave of joy envelope her. Despite her desire to remain aloof, she had worried that Kurt would go the same way as her other blood progeny. Once again, he proved to her how extraordinary he was. Once again, she felt pride in knowing that he came from her.

"Let me make this perfectly clear, though, Mystique." Kurt's voice was firm. "This is on my terms. I don't want you suddenly thinking you have some right to interfere with my life or impose yourself on me. This is my life. I've lived it without you, and I'll decide whether I want you to be a part of it or not."

"I understand." She bowed her head slightly.

"I don't want you to understand, I just want you to respect my wishes."

"Hello, Katzchen." Kurt phoned Muir Isle later that day.

"Kurt, how are you?" Kitty's voice was all concern.

"Fine, considering." He sighed deeply. "Had quite a chat with Mystique."

"Are you sure it was the right thing to do," Kitty asked. "Confronting her and all?"

"Yes, I'm quite sure." He sighed. "It wasn't particularly easy, but it was definitely the right thing to do."

"Well, that's good." Kitty's voice was slightly unsure. "I suppose if Rogue can live with it, she can help you out."

"I'll probably need it. This is something I never thought I'd have to deal with. How are things back there?"

"Unusually peaceful." Kitty responded. "I guess all the crises are waiting for you to get back. So, you know, take your time."

Kurt laughed. "You just want that time to get snuggly with a certain Englishman, ja?"

"Oh, Kurt, you know me so well." Kitty cooed. "Really, though, it's relatively quiet. Rahne seems to have finally laid her demons to rest and has been spending a lot of time with Peter to help him do the same thing."

"And what about you, Katzchen? Have you spent any time with him?"

There was a long silence. "I've looked in on him, but he doesn't know it. I don't know. Maybe I've got my own demons to put to rest before I talk to him again."

Kurt wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "Be strong, liebchen, I'll be back soon. And when I come back we'll have a good long talk about all of our demons, hmm?"

Kitty sounded relieved. "I know I can count on you, fuzzy elf. How's Rogue?"

"Better than she's been in a while. I spoke to her not long ago, she seems to be doing something about her power."

"Really?"

"Ja. Forge has got a plan in mind, and they're working on it. He sounds very hopeful."

"Super. That's just the coolest." Kitty's happiness seemed to sing out from her voice. "I do have to go, though. I don't want to take too much advantage of Forge's hospitality." "Come home soon, Kurt."

"Of course, liebling. Of course."