Bits and Pieces

Bits and Pieces Chapter Twenty Five

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“Get out of
my face, Essex.”

“Please,
Raven, how many times do I have to ask you to call me Nathaniel?” Essex
did not move but he seemed to
take root before Mystique, his smile fixed and eyes blazing with
curiosity and purpose. “Who’s your
friend?”

Mystique
narrowed her eyes, her lips a thin line of annoyance.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She did not respond to him, simply turning
her back on him and walking down the hall the way she came.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>

“Now,
Raven, you know that’s not polite. You have manners—I’ve seen you use
them. It’s also quite rude to ignore a
question when it is posed to you directly.
Who’s your friend?”

She could
hear him moving closer, his steps making his voice fluctuate so slightly most
ears would not have detected the change.
She walked steadily, thinking how like a predator Essex
fancied himself, a hunter intent on prey.
_I am not his feast, _ she thought angrily.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> _I belong to no man.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I answer to no one.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> _style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She paused outside the door to the
lab, her hand on the doorknob, and turned golden eyes to Essex.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Why are you so interested in my life, Essex?
I would think I’m too old for you.” She
swept her gaze over him and smiled slightly.
“Good day, Essex.”

He did not
frown but his demeanor grew distinctly chilled.
“Your attempt at coquetry has failed, Raven.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> It is no secret you have a keen interest in
that fellow at the Institute… I highly
doubt your visits and do-gooding on his behalf is
part of some elaborate plot to win his confidence, force him to divulge the
paltry information he has about the Institute, then
throw him away like trash. class=GramE>Unless you are going to astound me and make my millennium.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He allowed himself a small smile then, a
slight inclination of the head denoting superiority, cleverness.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He was not amused when Mystique smiled
sweetly and shrugged, turning her back on him again and entering the lab.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>

“Tarot, you’re
done here,” Mystique said in a tone that brooked no argument.

Tarot actually
opened her mouth to respond but pressed her lips together tightly at the sight
of Essex behind the blue skinned woman.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Fine.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Everything here is alright where it is.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> It should not be touched…”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She smoothed her hands over her stomach,
aware of Essex’s eyes on her the entire time, of his
disappointment and disdain at her inability to perform one simple task.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I’ll be in my room.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Studying.”

“Magneto is
making you go to school after all?” Mystique asked with arched brows.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Whatever for?”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She moved quickly to one of the brushed metal
lab tables, checking over an array of vials and serums set out in a specific
order. Magneto was due his treatment
soon; until Incubus could be found, they had to rely on the chemicals.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>

Tarot’s
eyes did not leave Essex’s feet.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She wanted to look at him squarely, dare him to
call her on her failure, but her courage, for once, failed her.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “He says it will enable me to become a class=GramE>more well rounded person,” she muttered.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I need to see people my age,” she added in a
slightly lower tone, the words dripping with disgust.

Essex
leaned against the doorframe, his expression inscrutable.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Whatever for?” he mimicked Mystique’s bored
tone. “It’s not as if you’re exactly
friend material, is it? You lack certain… social graces, don’t you?”

Tarot
looked up then, her eyes blazing. “It’s
a curious trait of the British,” she said with venom in her voice, “that they
can ask you a question and make you insult yourself with the answer.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She moved stiffly past him, close enough that
their clothes brushed. She did not look at
him again, her footsteps fading as she hurried down the hall to the stairs.

“I
sometimes think I like her,” Mystique murmured, preparing a hypodermic syringe
with a thick fluid that bore a distinct resemblance to school glue.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>

“Magneto
chooses his allies poorly,” Essex sighed.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I am not forgiving of treason,” he said in a
lower tone, his voice dropping to almost sinister levels.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “You may think this is some task, some simple
employ, this living here and working for Magneto, but this is war,
Mystique. You have lost your edge, so
the saying goes. I know of your past, I
know what you used to be. But now,” he
made tsking sounds as he pushed away from the
doorframe and walked slowly towards her, his hands folded behind his back and
his face set in lines of smug certainty, “now, you are weak.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> You are nothing but a toy for Magneto to use
as he chooses. You are toothless, class=GramE>Raven. He lets you
get by with seeing your librarian, with helping those…girls…”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He paused, rocking back on his heels as his
teeth flashed in a sudden grin. “You can’t
have it all, Raven. Are you Brotherhood
or are you one of Xavier’s bootlicks?”

Mystique
picked up the tray bearing the needle and tilted her chin consideringly
as she swept a cool gaze over the older man.
“Why don’t you tell me what you are, class=GramE>Essex?style='mso-spacerun:yes'> You’re no man.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> You lack all that makes a man, don’t
you? The parts are there, the semblance
of humanity, but inside…” She shook her head slightly.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Inside, you are no man.”

Essex
felt the rage boil inside him as she moved past.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I could break your neck before you even knew
I was there,” he hissed as she reached the door.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “You do not play with me, Raven.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She did not turn but she paused.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He had her, he thought to himself.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Especially when I can tell
you where that infant is.”