Third Strike: Beginning

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After a long search, Kurt finds his quarry... but someone else finds them.



It had taken him the best part of a week, following up every dubious sighting of Magneto, or any of the known Brotherhood, on the assumption that they couldn't all be false. After a lot of dead ends, the trail had led Kurt to Mexico City, and he was almost sure this was the right place.

It wasn't a bad guess, at the very least; there were very few places better to hide than one of the most populous cities in the world. Kurt found himself in the San Rafael neighborhood of the Azcapotzalco borough, where the wide streets and stately buildings still bore a strong Colonial influence. Cafes and restaurants lined the streets, and signs on ever corner pointed the way to the local church, whose chapel and monastery were well-known among appreciators of Spanish
architecture.

He wasn't there to see the sights, and it didn't seem exactly a likely place to look... but Kurt found himself drifting towards the church anyway. Perhaps a prayer might buy him a little extra help in his search.

Being an afternoon, and a weekday at that, the chapel was nearly deserted. A few people wandered about the grounds, all apparently deep in thought and certainly not desirous of interaction from their fellow visitors. Which is why it was odd when, as Kurt approached the San
Jose altarpiece, a woman moved up beside him and spoke. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked, looking up at the somber yet somehow still joyous picture.

Kurt turned his head to look at her, surprised but somehow not overly so. He had his suspicions, remembering the first time he'd gone looking for Mystique. "One of the finer pieces of art I have seen", he agreed.

"I've seen grander," the woman replied thoughtfully, not seeming to notice Kurt's glance. "But sometimes grandeur isn't everything. Sometimes smaller is better."

"Oh, certainly the size is not important. It is the quality of the artist's work that matters most." He was still studying her face, looking for any hint... which would only be there if she wanted it to be, of course.

This time she did turn to look at him, and as she did, her hazel eyes seemed to reflect yellow for just a second. "You are a true critic, it seems," she said, with a small smile. "Do you seek out art often on your travels?"

"Not art, exactly, though I will not turn down a chance that presents itself." He shrugged slightly. "I wished to visit the church."

"Why?"

"For guidance in seeking out something quite different. Someone."

The woman smirked and turned away, wandering towards an altar on another of the chapel's walls. "An interesting strategy. And what if this someone didn't want to be found? What would you do then?"

"I would keep looking until I did find them", he answered simply, following to stand beside her. "But I think, somehow, my search may soon be at an end."

"How fortunate." The woman reflected on the altar for a moment, seeming to study it intensely. Her posture was alert, however, and she didn't seem to miss anything, especially whenever a figure would pass by the door of the chapel on their way to another part of the churchyard. It was only after the way had been quiet and clear for some minutes that she looked to Kurt again. "I think you may be right."

Kurt nodded, taking that as the confirmation he'd wanted. "I did not think you would come, Mother."

"It is not very easy for me to get away unnoticed, Kurt. As you probably know. If I didn't come, it could just have well been because I was unable to leave without drawing suspicion."

"Or it might not", was the calm response. "We have things to talk about, you and I. But not here."

"I suppose I've seen enough art for today," the woman agreed. "Pretty though it may be. Where would you like to go?"

He glanced towards the church door, then shrugged. "Perhaps we could just walk?"

"If you like."

Slowly the two made their way out of the chapel and back towards the street, walking in silence as they passed under the large, bending trees that shaded the path to the church.

Kurt bided his time, waiting until he could neither hear or see any sign of anyone among the trees before he spoke. "I could have been on the plane, you know", he said mildly.

"Yes, I know." No apology was forthcoming. "I am glad you weren't."

"Why?" he asked directly. "Because you would not have taken part in it or because you would have? They were our trainees."

"Your team put them on that plane," Mystique replied logically, though there was a tone of regret to her voice. "Your team made the decision to send children into danger. They accepted the risks."

"It was supposed", Kurt snapped back, "to be a simple collection of a manifested child. As you very well know, there should have been no danger."

"Is there anything about your life that is not dangerous? Can you really assume safety when you put on that costume?"

"We can at least assume more safety at some times than at others." He looked her straight in the face. "And you did not answer my question."

"We both follow orders, Kurt. If you had been on that plane... it would have been difficult to keep you there. You might have been able to get away."

"I can go nowhere when I do not know where I am", Kurt countered. "Stryker used that and your people would have too." They were drawing close to the street, and he glanced through the entrance. "You know what I should do now."

"Why did you come here?" she asked, ignoring his last statement. "What did you come all this way for?"

"I wanted to hear it from you", he answered quietly. "Was it truly only following orders? And would you have done the same to me if I had not got away?" She hadn't hesitated to hurt his friends, after all.

"Kurt, you know I don't want to hurt you. I didn't even hurt that redheaded girl, no matter how annoying she might've been. I do what I'm told, but I'm not a monster - even if I am painted that way." She shrugged, her expression unreadable.

"Then leave him", Kurt said flatly. "Or one day, one of us will have no choice but to hurt the other. I should take you to the nearest American police station, if I were to do what is right."

"They couldn't keep me," she said matter-of-factly.

"They would have kept Magneto, if it was not for you." He looked at her. "If you truly thought what happened to the children was wrong, you could have done something about it. But instead, you hurt Kyle after they had got away."

"By twisting his arm? I am sure he's had worse injuries training in your gym. I was the one attacked and left unconscious on the ground."

"You were the one whose people kidnapped and tortured them!" His eyes flashed, in sudden pure rage. "Do not make yourself out to be innocent in this, Mother. You could have helped them, if you had chosen to."

Mystique looked almost taken aback by this sudden show of emotion, stepping out into the street before replying. "But instead I chose to save myself. Perhaps not as noble a cause as some would pursue, Kurt, but one that has served me well so far in my life."

"I had started to trust you", Kurt said bitterly, following her to the edge of the pavement. "At least as far as I was concerned, alone among my team, I thought there were some things... no more."

"I never told you to trust me." The words were simply said, but full of emotion. The woman faced him, her body language open, though her face was not her own. "In the past I have done what I could for you, but I have never made promises, and I won't start to now. What do you
want me to say? That I think you're right? I'm not going to lie to you either, Kurt."

"Then there is only one thing I can do. I am sorry, Mother." His voice was resigned, but his lunge for her arm, carrying him off the pavement and into the road, was no less determined for that.

It was poorly timed, in the grand scheme of things; it brought him and Mystique both into the full view of oncoming traffic. It would have been harmless enough, on a different day. The drivers would have seen the two figures in the road and avoided them, perhaps with a shaken
fist or a few curses. But jaywalking, such as it was, was common enough in Mexico City.

There was one driver, however, whose intentions were not so benign. With Kurt standing beside Mystique, holding onto her arm, the individual who had been trailing Mystique all day saw their moment, and seized it. It was too perfect an opportunity to pass up.

The car, small and old and nondescript, sped up dramatically, headed right for them. The sudden increase in speed happened less than twenty meters away, giving neither of them time to react.

If it hadn't been so well-timed, Kurt could have teleported them away. But he needed at least a second to choose a safe destination and focus on it, and he wasn't given even that time. The car slammed into the pair at full speed, Kurt taking the brunt of the collision as he moved without thinking to stand between it and Mystique.