Marie was ushered up the steps leading into the Capitol Building, two S.H.I.E.L.D. bodyguards dressed in black fatigues clearing a path for her through the throngs of protestors both for and against the proposed Mutant Registration Bill. As she was about to enter the building, she felt a hand slide intimately across her backside and she whirled around to face the offender, finding herself glaring into the handsome face of Tony Stark.

With a flick of his head, the guards immediately obeyed the instruction of S.H.I.E.L.D’s deputy director and stepped back to afford the two some privacy.

“Oh. My. God. You just get hotter each time I see you.” Tony’s eyes trailed along the length of her, appreciative and lit with mischief. Marie turned her face before his lips could make contact with hers, his mouth landing openmouthed on her cheek.

“Good morning, Mr. Stark.” Her voice was icily polite, matching the cool expression on her face as she wiped her cheek with the back of her hand in an exaggerated slow motion.

Unruffled, his face dimpled, flashing perfect teeth in a cheeky grin. “Now, now my enchanting Anina, I think we can stay on a first name basis. I think that night in Paris demands it.”

Marie considered him for a moment. His pursuit of her over the years had long ago become a familiar bantering routine between the two of them; he remained relentless and she continued to be unyielding. She lidded her eyes and leaned into him, resting her hands gently on his chest as her lips brushed against his ear.

Je me rappelle tout au sujet de cette nuit à Paris, Antoine,” she whispered huskily, leaning into him, and curling her fingers around the lapel of his custom made Armani jacket.

Anthony Stark, aka Iron Man, CEO of Stark Industries and senior member of the Avengers, swallowed hard, visibly affected by her words. He closed his eyes and muttered under his breath, “C-SPAN’s going R-rated if you keep this up, little Miss Anna. When are you going to let me finish what I started?” Gone was the teasing tone in his voice. He wanted her.

Marie put her arm through his and stepped back, smiling brightly for the cameras flashing in front of them, their owners jumping at the chance to catch the two celebrities together for their respective newspapers. Tony followed suit, smiling as brightly as her, standing behind her to hide his unmistakable arousal. Placing his hands on her waist, he took advantage of the opportunity to illustrate what she was responsible for by pressing against her, a moan rumbling low in his throat.

With a last brilliant smile directed to the throng of photographers in front of them, Marie stabbed a stiletto heel into his toe and ignored his barely concealed yelp of pain, telling him, “I’m spoken for Stark,” before spinning around to make her way into the gigantic building. She shared a knowing smirk with the female S.H.I.E.L.D. guard who fell back in stride alongside of her, the male counterpart wincing in sympathy for the man she left behind. They escorted her to the assigned seat opposite to where the attending X-Men were already situated before turning to stand at the nearby wall, eyes scanning the quickly filling room.

Scott stared at her, his eyes taking in the navy blue pencil skirt and fitted waist jacket she was wearing, the white of her blouse bright against the exposed golden skin of her collarbone and neck. Her hair was pulled back loosely into a braid that fell over her shoulder in an uncharacteristically soft style, the white streak snaking through the thick rope. Her face was free of makeup, making her appear even younger than usual, and his heart squeezed painfully in his chest at the sight of her, just a few feet away from him.

Feeling the weight of his stare, Marie turned to him and he nodded to her briskly in acknowledgment before looking stiffly away. Ororo and Hank smiled in her direction affectionately and she returned their smiles before trying to get Scott’s attention, but he kept his face in profile, back straight and jaw clenched. With a sad sigh, her eyes pulled away from him.

Professor Xavier was sitting with Dr. Richard Reed and his wife Susan at the delegation table, going over their notes, seemingly engrossed in their conversation until she felt his soft pull at her mind.

~ How are you, Anna? ~

She kept her eyes forward, exhibiting interest in the senator’s aides that were distributing various documents on the long table that stretched across the front of committee room. Just a little nervous Professor. It’s upsetting enough to know that the Bill has already passed the House of Representatives. It’s a bit too real.

~ We are still far away from this Bill becoming Law. I am very glad you’re here, my dear. Your public opposition to the Bill will be invaluable. ~

It’s the very least that I am willing to do. Good luck Charles,
she told him earnestly.

Several federal agents came into the room and began to clear out people that were milling about the aisles, ignoring the looks and exclamations of outrage sent their way when they removed those who did not have a seat, out into the hallway. Security around the federal building was already at its highest possible deployment, and all protocols were being strictly adhered to. No standing room allowed.

Marie looked behind her, easily distinguishing which people in attendance that were for the proposed Bill and which weren’t. The scents of hatred and fear coming off the “for” factions were mostly to the left of her; the concerned but resolute expressions on the faces of the “against” on her right. She glanced at her watch, and frowned, noting that the hearing was already over fifteen minutes late.

“Nerve wracking, isn’t it?”

Marie turned to the woman who was sitting beside her. She smiled politely and replied in the affirmative. The woman was dressed in a black trouser suit, her medium length blonde hair parted on the side and falling along her face in an efficient bob. Her scent was familiar, prompting Anna to ask, “Have we met before?”

That seemed to startle the woman. With a quick smile, the woman told her, “I think the whole world knows who you are, Ms D’Ancanto.” She held out her hand and introduced herself.

“I’m Melanie. Melanie Doonan.”

Marie shook her hand, noting that the woman’s eyes widened slightly at the skin to skin contact. “Pleased to meet you, Melanie Doonan. And please, call me Anna.”

“Will do.” The woman scanned the room before returning her blue eyes to her. “So tell me Anna, which side do you support?”

Marie shifted in her seat, taking full stock of the woman. Her question was innocuous enough, but she could sense that the woman already knew what her answer would be. The public didn’t know Anina was a mutant, so it was surprising that this stranger was so willing to ask her opinion on the contentious issue. Yes, her scent was definitely familiar. No alarms were going off, but there was something there.

“I support the acceptance of humanity in all its forms, Melanie. It’s not so much the taking of a side, but the outright rejection of there being sides at all, that I support.”

The woman nodded her head at Marie’s words, face grave. “I hope they fucking throw this bill into the nearest shitter too.”

Shocked, Marie couldn’t help but laugh and Melanie joined her, making several people turn in their direction in the otherwise somber room. The feeling became stronger than déjà vu – something more– and Marie knitted her brows together, feeling like there was something just outside her consciousness that could allow her to recognize this woman. That’s when she noticed the faint bruising on Melanie’s jaw line, heavily covered with makeup, and the cut just above her cheekbone that her hair tried to conceal. Disturbed by the marks of violence on the woman’s face, Marie opened her mouth to ask more of her, but the Senate Chamber doors swung open to reveal Senator Robert Kelly.

The committee’s chairperson made his way to the chair set in front of the seated attendees of the hearing, his fellow Senators filing in behind him. They all sat down and began shuffling through papers, adjusting the microphones set in front of them and listening to the whispered comments of their assistants before settling in.

The noise in the room rose in anticipation and Melanie smiled, making a show of becoming serious as she shifted in her seat to face the committee. Marie determined that there would be time enough to get to know Melanie during what would be a decidedly very long day. Everyone anticipated these hearings would carry over through most of the week and Marie felt disappointment resettle over her. She knew where she would much rather be, her thoughts of a certain double handed, triple clawed feral turning decidedly carnal.

Multiple cameras erected throughout the room turned on, the checkerboard of screens in the temporarily constructed control room out in the hallway showing the images of the individuals gathered to provide testimony. In opposition, Professor Charles Xavier of the X-Men; Dr. Richard Reeds and his wife Susan Reed of the Fantastic Four; and Anthony Stark of the Avengers acting as representative of S.H.I.E.L.D., and in support, Graydon Creed; flanked by his Humanity Now church leaders, and not surprisingly by his side; Norman Osborne of H.A.M.M.E.R, the new federally sanctioned agency.

But the majority of the screens contained close up shots of the famous Anina, her lovely face captured in varying angles.

Logan was standing beside Kurt in the common room of the Westchester senior academy in New York. Marie’s face flashed across the screen of the large television set against the wood paneling of the north wall, and his heart clenched at the sight of her. He growled when several of the students sitting around the room whistled.

“Pay attention and shut yer yaps, unless you wanna spend some time in the Danger Room with me for some extra trainin’.”

His eyes scanned the group of about twenty teenagers, resting on the few that were particularly vocal in their appreciation of the woman whose image was still broadcasted on the screen. They avoided his eyes and settled down, their fear palpable and with a satisfied grunt, he leaned back against the wall, ignoring Kurt grinning beside him. The hearing was under way.

“The Legislative Standing Committee has now come to order. Bill Number H.R. 37883, also referred to as the Mutant Registration initiative, has been in consideration for some time now, and after substantial revisions in the House of Representatives, is now in the position of being presented to House of the Senate for consideration. These preliminary hearings are for this Committee to determine if it should reach the Senate Floor for ratification.”

Senator Kelly’s words boomed across the capacity filled room. Flipping through pages set before him in a tired fashion, he removed the glasses that were resting on the bridge of his nose and looked directly at Charles Xavier.

“Several members of the public and various government agencies are present to provide evidence and on behalf of the committee, I thank you all for your time in being here today. What say you, Mr. Xavier?”

The room became completely silent as Charles stood up to address the committee. Logan pushed off from where he was leaning against the wall, and stood with his legs spread apart, arms folded across his chest as he stared intently at the screen.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I have adopted this fine country as my own over thirty years ago, and I am grateful for all the opportunities these United States have afforded me. During this time I have witnessed many things. Times of challenge, and times of triumph. I could remind the honorable members of this Committee that this was a country that once determined worth by skin color. I could also remind the Committee that this was a country that once refused to recognize mothers, sisters and daughters as equal beings to men. But reminders of our past are unnecessary because, you see, I do not intend to ask that we learn from our mistakes.” He lifted his head higher.

“I demand it.”

Professor Xavier turned to the crowd seated behind him, taking the time to cast his eyes over the room before returning his attention to the Senators seated before him.

“Mutant Registration.” He spat the two words out, startling most of the attendees with the vehemence in which he did. “Are they to be branded cattle? Should they line up, men, women and children and cast aside their dignity to assuage the irrational fears of a loud few? Are they different? Yes, quite glaringly so in some cases actually.” Here he looked to Dr. McCoy, who nodded somberly in acknowledgment.

“But we are - all of us – the same in our shared humanity!” Professor Xavier fairly bellowed the last sentence, smashing his fist onto the table in front of him. The sounds of raucous applause exploded around him and Senator Kelly had to bang his gavel several times, uselessly at first, before the crowd finally settled down.

Hundreds of miles northeast, the common room in the Westchester Academy exploded with high pitched cheers, and hundreds of miles southwest, the staff room in Willowbend Academy resounded with exclamations of solidarity. Bobby pulled Kitty back up against his chest, rubbing her belly, their facial expressions solemn.

Logan allowed the students their burst of emotion before putting his hand out to silence them. Marie’s image came back on the screen, clear green eyes shining with conviction and his hands itched, missing her. It had been only three days since he last saw her, but it was seventy-one hours too long already.

There was a commotion off to the side of her and Logan could make out a couple of protestors suddenly tearing off jackets exposing white t-shirts with the words “MUTANT MENACE” emblazoned across them. They were screaming words, unintelligible through the newsfeed, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. bodyguards who were assigned to Marie stepped in to clear them from the room. Logan’s hair on the back of his neck rose. Marie was in a hostile environment and for the umpteenth time since leaving her to return to New York, wished that he had accompanied her, instead of being stuck babysitting. Just being apart from her felt fucking wrong.

Things settled down once again and Senator Kelly took the time to angrily point out that any more outbursts would be severely reprimanded. As Professor Xavier continued his testimony, Marie could see someone stand up from their seat from the side of her. Turning to look, Marie determined it was a woman, wearing a black pair of sunglasses, her head covered in a blue scarf, her long, lithe body sheathed in a black, form-fitting dress. The manner in which she walked tugged at her, and so did her scent. Marie narrowed her eyes, frustrated that she couldn’t place it, just like she couldn’t place Melanie’s.

She turned her attention to Melanie who suddenly became very anxious, her body tense, almost afraid when the woman continued to make her way to where they were seated. Charles Xavier stopped talking and looked sharply in Marie’s direction.

~ What is it, Anna? Who is that woman? ~

I think I know her Professor, I think…


The woman stopped directly in front of her. She pulled off the scarf that hid her hair, along with the sunglasses. Long black hair swirled about her shoulders and she looked lovingly at Marie.

“Momma’s here, precious girl.”

Marie’s face whitened, now recognizing the woman’s scent.

She heard Scott yell her name in warning when Melanie suddenly took hold of her hand, her eyes pleading for understanding when she said in a voice full of remorse, “I’m so sorry, Anna Marie. Forgive me.”

Marie’s head snapped back, a rush of images pouring into her mind, fitting perfectly into empty spaces that she hadn’t known were there, connecting to emotions that cemented them back into her psyche. Images of a teenage Melanie flickered among them, interspersed between images of Momma and Auntie Irene. Only Auntie Irene was also dressed in a flowing blue cape over a blue bodysuit, her face featureless under a golden mask and Momma transformed into a beautiful blue skinned woman, with flashing yellow eyes and red hair falling away from a skull pendant set in high on her forehead.

Mystique.

Marie remembered.

Melanie, guilty and heartbroken at the expression on Marie’s face, kept the connection between them open as she returned all of the memories she had stolen fifteen years earlier back into Marie in one tremendous push, gripping her hand forcefully.

“Welcome back to the Brotherhood, daughter,” Marie heard Mystique say before the multi-armed mutant named Spiral appeared out of nowhere and transported all four women away amongst the yells of shocked spectators around them.

Marie’s screams reverberated in Charles Xavier's mind and he looked to his stunned X-Men, stricken.
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