15 Minute Ficlet: Afterlife
Written for the 15minutefliclet challenge, with the word of the week
Author: Lyra
Title: Afterlife
Rating: PG
Fandom: X-Men 3: The Last Stand
Spoilers: X3
Synopsis: What do you do when the only people who can help you are the ones who hate you?
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. If I did I wouldn't have put in some STUPID SCENES in the movie.
Author's Note: This will almost certainly end up in the Mystique post-X3 fic I'm working on, and will probably explain a lot of the reasoning behind this little bit, but hopefully it makes a little sense on its own.
Afterlife
A dark haired woman with alabaster skin walked up to the main gate of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and patiently waited in front of the intercom. “May I help you?” a polite voice asked from the small box.
The woman pushed her large sunglasses further up her face and spoke, “Yes, I need to speak with the headmistress.”
There was a short pause and then the iron gates swung open silently. “A student at the main entrance will show you to her office.” Raven smiled in thanks at the camera mounted on the vine covered wall and headed up to the school.
***
Raven watched a young Asian woman toy with her silver hoop earrings at the door. As she approached, the young woman straightened up and gestured towards the door. “I’m Jubilee,” she explained with the unique mix of courtesy and insolence of the youthful, “The headmistress’ office is this way, upstairs.”
The hallways bustled with activity as Raven followed her guide. “The school seems as busy as ever,” Raven remarked as she watched another young woman dart through a wall.
“Yes, we’re all determined to live up to Dr. Xavier’s dream,” Jubilee answered simply as she stopped beside a potted plant and opened the door. “Please wait in here. Headmistress Monroe will be with you shortly.” Raven nodded her thanks to the young woman, who immediately shot down the stairs, yelling to a handsome boy passing the stairwell.
Raven stepped into the small office and stood nervously flipping through the folders she’d brought with her. Now that she was here, she wondered if what she was about to do was wise. After all, these people owed her nothing, in fact, most of them wanted her dead, and here she was, walking into their stronghold completely unarmed.
“Miss Darkholme?” a rough masculine voice asked as a familiar figure strolled through the door. “The headmistress asked me to-YOU!” Whatever the message had been died in the man’s throat, and Raven found herself staring down the length of three wickedly sharp knife-like claws at Wolverine.
“Hello, Wolverine,” she said, forcing her voice to calm, “I see you remember me.”
“What the hell are you doing here?” Wolverine demanded in a growl. “I knew I smelled something funny in this hallway.”
“Are you going to kill me, Wolverine?” she asked, taking particular care not to flinch from the adamantine claws.
“Why not? It’d be justice for what you and Magneto did to Xavier.”
Raven smiled sadly at the man in front of her. “Haven’t Magneto and I paid the ultimate price for our actions? Killing me wouldn’t be justice. I’m already dead.”