xp_logs | Kurt and Forge, Sunday after the mission

In the locker room after debriefing, they have a talk about the day's events and come to terms.

Debriefing after missions was always fun when your team leader was trying to deal with their own injuries from the mission itself, Forge decided. Even though they'd not managed to strike a permanent blow against the Brotherhood - either by bringing Mystique or Nimrod into custody or by rendering them... less able to engage in future acts of terrorism, Forge still felt this one got chalked up in the "win" column.

Even still, he frowned as he walked through the sub-basement halls. When "success" meant enabling an anti-mutant protest simply because it was the lesser of two evils, it didn't leave a good taste in his mouth. Walking into the prep area for the Danger Room, he caught sight of another of his teammates and gave a quick wave of acknowledgment.

"Morning, Kurt," he said as he headed for his locker. "Scott's been briefed on everything. Man, that guy is fun when he's on painkillers. You came through okay, right? Didn't notice you needing Jean or Amelia's attention after tangling with your mo-- with Mystique."

"She did not touch me", Kurt assured him. "She was more concerned with her plan, first, then escaping second - and Scott was her means to the second."

"Almost like she expected you to go right along, and panicked when you didn't," Forge surmised with a grin. "I'll admit, when I saw you on the plane after Scott had said 'Brotherhood', I had my doubts. I owe you an apology, then."

"You were not so wrong", Kurt confessed. "She almost deceived me - it was only when what I saw did not match what she told me..."

Forge thought for a moment, then laughed. "She expected to play you. She thought it'd be easy, that she could play the 'I'm good deep down, really' card and get you helping her attempted redemption. Because you've got to admit, you're kind of a sucker for that stuff. That took some guts, man. Sometimes it's harder to question when you're geared for unconditional trust."

Smirking, he tapped his own chest in counterpoint. "Unless you're me, of course, who believes in two forms of paranoia: total and insufficient."

Kurt snorted. "She told me a lot of truth, too. The boy existed, and the Friends of Humanity were guarding him... it was only the reason she wanted him that was not true. I suppose lies work better that way."

"How can you tell if Mystique is lying? See if her lips are moving." Forge chuckled at his own statement. "There's a reason I added the notation to the database: Shoot first and don't ask questions."

"She is cleverer than that", Kurt said quietly. "She does not lie when it suits her better to tell the truth, I think. As it has with me, until now."

Forge thought about that for a moment, pulling on his uniform undershirt and absently brushing a hand over the border between flesh and metal on his left shoulder. "Why is she important to you?" he asked curiously. "I mean, Margali Szardos was your mother for all intents and purposes for your entire life - Raven Darkholme's just the bitch that birthed you, if you'll pardon the language. Why's it that important for you to have that bond?"

"Margali Szardos was my mother", he agreed, "as Ivan was my father - but they are both dead. And Mystique seemed to care to protect me, at first."

"You lost what you cared about, and she seemed like a willing replacement," Forge replied wryly. "Yeah, I get that. Probably better than anyone else, I get that. She pulled the same thing on me, you know. Back when--" His throat tightened up trying to recall the things he'd done while an unwilling guest of the Brotherhood, and not just creating the Neutralizer.

"I know she's your mother, and whatever that means to you..." Forge intoned, making eye contact with his teammate, "If the opportunity arises, rules of engagement or not - I will take her down. No quarter, no offer of redemption, no second chance."

"She betrayed me, with what she did today", Kurt returned, not looking away. "I trusted her to mean well for me, if no one else, and she would have made a kidnapper of me. I have no tie to her now."

Forge nodded, hanging up his uniform and taking his regular clothes out of his locker. The simple act of changing garments was almost symbolic, after a mission. The uniform wasn't what made him an X-Man, he believed. It was his choices and decisions that he made regardless of uniform or 'duty' - it was who he chose to be, the reason he eschewed the codenames his teammates sported. But on a mission, he knew, he had to put everything else aside and focus solely on the orders and the goals. Afterwards, then he could reflect and question.

"That's good to hear," he said as he changed into a loud Hawaiian shirt and baggy shorts. "And I know I've been a bit harsh on the matter in the past, but - I believe you. And I trust you. Should go without saying, but... sometimes it needs to be, you know?"

He shut his locker and walked over to the blue-skinned teleporter, nodding and extending a hand in camaraderie. "It's good to know you're back with us."

Kurt took the hand readily, shaking it in friendship. "Thank you, Forge. I know I have given you little reason to trust me since I first met with her."

"Meh. Ancient history," Forge chirped with a dismissive wave. "C'mon, debriefing's done, I'll spot you a beer at Harry's."