AN: You probably already know this, but Mystique's real name was Raven, and that's how I'm going to be referring to her for at least the first eight chapters; that's what I have written so far. And just to clear up any confusion, I'm aware that Mystique is really one of the oldest mutants in existence, she was in love with Sabretooth, Destiny, etc. Well not here, she isn't, because this isn't a reiteration of her already-existing Origins story; this is my own take on it. Also, I've portrayed her as realistically as I think I can considering she's only fourteen at the start of this, so please don't hate me if she's not totally badass yet. She'll get there in time!

Those who actually read all of this and review will be given as many cookies as they will take. And I'll even review you back. Good deal, eh? Why yes, I am known for my generous nature.

Chapter I

"Raven Darkholme."

Hearing her name, she turned around to see that it was Troy Emerson, quarterback of the football team, who had spoken. "Yeah?" She said it as casually as possible, but she couldn't help the slight tremor in her voice, though she hated herself for it. It was just the sneaking suspicion that whatever had made him say her name couldn't be a good thing, and her fears were soon proven correct.

"Raven freakin' Darkholme. What kind of parents give their kids a name like that, anyway?"

She turned back to her lunch while listening to the other kids at his table snicker. It wasn't like Troy's comments were ever particularly funny, but laughing at his stupid comments seemed to be far less dangerous than not laughing.

"Come on, Raven, answer the question," said Brianna, Troy's older sister. She was a senior, captain of the cheerleading squad, and possibly the most gorgeous high school girl in existence, or at least one would think so by the way the guys worshipped her. It was said that several fashion magazines were actually trying to make a contract with her, although Raven liked to not believe that particular rumor. "And how do you get your hair that dark? I might want to know if it's ever in style."

"That's not somethin' you gotta worry about," Troy replied.

Raven had long stopped responding to them, but she still heard every word. It seemed like no one else in the cafeteria was talking except the people who tormented her day after day, even though in reality everyone else was so loud that they could hardly hear what was going on, and they cared even less. But it still felt like everyone was watching her be laughed at. It seemed like a problem that would get better in class, when talking wasn't allowed and the teacher would be there to observe it if anything went on, but there was always the dreaded group project. That usually went something along the lines of everyone partnering up and leaving Raven placed in some three-person group by the teacher. And whenever the teacher did let the students socialize, Raven could only sit in silence, doing work quietly and praying that no one would notice her.

"Hey Raven, you know Prom's coming up, right?" asked Brianna, in that sweet voice that Raven knew enough to dread. When Raven didn't turn around, Brianna continued, "I know this one guy who you'd just love. He never talks, he wears black all the time, and he's got no more friends than you do. Wanna give him a try?"

Lauren Parker frowned and said, "Isn't Frank gay?"

"Duh, that's why he'd find Raven so attractive."

Raven was thankful for the long black hair covered her face, red with embarrassment, as the others burst out laughing. Anyone could tell just by looking at her that she would never have guys chasing after her like Brianna, but she couldn't help her age. Skipping third grade had caused her to be younger than everyone else, and that combined with the fact that her body seemed to be developing slower than most people anyway, she looked more suited to junior high than ninth grade. The most feminine part about her was her hair, which the others still mocked because of its color combined with her stupid name.

Essentially, this day was like every other day, listening to the others laugh at her expense. But then Troy did something that nobody had planned for, starting with the simple words, "Hey, look at us when we're talkin' to you."

If anything, Raven hunched over the table even more, but Troy wasn't satisfied. "Come on, Raven. I wanna see those yellow eyes."

When she didn't move, he stood up and started to walk over to her. "What's he doing?" Lauren whispered, but Brianna could only shrug.

Troy grabbed Raven by the arm and forced her to face him. She squeezed her eyes shut, determined not to give him the pleasure of laughing at her freakish eyes, mostly green but slightly tinted with yellow. "Come on, Raven, lemme see." As she tried to yank her arm away, he took his other hand and brought it up to her face, where he tried to force her eyelids open.

The other students were beginning to take notice of Raven and she shouted, "Get your hands off me!" She struggled hard enough to free her arm from his grasp, and pushed him away, but he wouldn't budge. Finally Raven slashed her long fingernails across his smug, handsome face, leaving four fresh wounds.

With a sharp gasp of pain, Troy stumbled backwards and covered the side of his face with a hand. Horrified, Raven could only stare, but suddenly she doubled over and grabbed her stomach in pain. Lauren had punched Raven in the stomach. As Raven moaned in pain, the others began to cheer Lauren on, congratulating her for being brave enough to defend Troy against the freak. The infuriated Raven finally snapped and punched Lauren in the face with all the strength she could muster.

Lauren crumpled to the ground without making a noise, and Brianna ran to her friend's side and wrapped her arms around Lauren protectively. "Are you trying to kill them?" demanded Brianna, breaking the shocked silence.

Some of the other kids had run to the teacher's lounge, and when the teachers entered, the cafeteria hushed immediately. One of the teachers who had rushed to Troy's side pulled the boy's hand away from his face to see that it was covered in blood.

"Troy's bleeding! Call 911!" screamed Brianna, and that sent the cafeteria into chaos. Obediently, kids pulled cell phones out of their purses and frantically started dialing while the teachers insisted that the two were going to be okay.

Until this point, Raven had just been standing there nervously, unsure of what to do. But while everyone else was running around and finding more teachers and calling the police, she took the opportunity to slip away into a nearby bathroom. Breathing heavily, she entered a stall, locked the door, and sat on the toilet with her eyes closed and her head in her hands. They don't need to call the police! They'll be fine! I didn't hit them that hard! She opened her eyes and picked up her head when she realized her hands were shaking.

They were also…slightly blue.

Shocked, she frantically rubbed at one hand with the other. Am I sick? Maybe I got some kind of disease from Troy's hands. She smiled briefly, but then refocused on her skin. I can't look any more like a freak than I already do! Come on, just be normal. A second after she thought the words, her skin turned back to normal, although her right hand was red from all the rubbing. She sighed in relief, but her breath caught when the bathroom door slammed open.

"Raven Darkholme?"

Her eyes darted towards the door. Surely whoever was there would check the stalls, so she could either come out or be discovered…and if this was the police, the latter would make her look far more guilty than she wanted to. Breathing in deeply to calm herself, she unlocked the stall door and emerged, facing the principal, Mrs. Yale. Raven couldn't think of anything to say, so she waited until the principal spoke.

"Raven, we're going to have to ask you to go home." Mrs. Yale's eyes searched Raven's face, but Raven couldn't figure out what the older woman was looking for.

"Are they hurt?" As soon as the words left her mouth, Raven realized what a dumb question that was. She had seen Troy's injury, and if Lauren was injured too, asking the principal about it would only make things worse.

"Raven, please just…call your parents and ask them to bring you home. If they are working, we can make…other arrangements."

The expression on Mrs. Yale's face was one that Raven could quickly decipher—fear. The principal was scared of her, and just the thought of that made Raven even more frightened. She felt like a spider around a human with a fear of bugs, where one was just as scared as the other.

"Okay," said Raven. "I'll call them. My phone's in my locker."

"Stay here," Mrs. Yale said quickly, holding up a hand. "I'll get it. What's your locker number?"

When Raven told her, along with the combination, the principal left. In the few seconds that the door was open, Raven glimpsed the sight of Lauren's body being carried away on a stretcher. She's unconscious.

What are they gonna do to me?

The principal returned shortly, and slightly out of breath. She must have run. They really want me out of here. Raven dialed the number of her mom's office. Her dad was at home, but Raven didn't want to deal with him for as long as possible.

"This is Alexis Darkholme speaking."

"Mom?"

There was a pause before her mother asked, "Are you sick? Is that why you called?"

I'm probably expelled for knocking someone out and Mom's worried about my health. "Mom, I—" Raven choked up for a moment, but regained her composure. "Can you pick me up? Mrs. Yale wants you to bring me home."

"Of course, honey. Just please tell me you're not sick. Not after last time." Last time, Raven had nearly died of a mysterious illness that the doctors still could not explain. That was about the same time that Raven's eyes had begun to take on their sickly yellow hue, which everyone assumed was a symptom of her health problems.

"I promise I'm not sick. How far away are you?"

"Just a few minutes. I'm on the interstate. Can you please tell me what's the matter?"

Already? She must have started the driving second a minute after I called her. I wish I was sick. "I want to say it face to face." More importantly, she didn't want to say it in front of Mrs. Yale, who watched her like a hawk. And she was afraid that, in telling her mom what had happened, she wouldn't be able to hold back tears. She certainly wasn't going to let Mrs. Yale see that.

When they had said goodbye and hung up, Raven asked, "Do I wait in here?"

Mrs. Yale glared at Raven, who had obviously said the wrong thing. "Of course not. I will escort you outside. Don't attempt to make contact with the other students." As Mrs. Yale led Raven outside, the girl wondered what the principal had meant by that. What am I going to do just by talking to someone? I wish she'd tell me what happened to Troy and Lauren. I'm so dead.

As she walked into the cafeteria, the eyes of the other kids followed her suspiciously. This time, there were parents, too, holding their kids tightly against their chests and glaring at Raven. She kept her eyes down so the parents couldn't see them. "Is that the freak?" asked Brianna's father. He was just as handsome as Brianna was beautiful, Raven noticed sadly.

"Yeah," said Brianna. "I don't know what's wrong with her. Troy's so sweet and she just attacked him like an animal…." Tears rolled down Brianna's face and Raven grunted in disgust. The principal tightened her grip on Raven's arm in a reminder to stay silent.

Raven had never felt so hated. Kids were one thing, but to have the fear of so many adults was quite another. They were the ones who could sue, the ones who could see to it that she never returned to any kind of school except a military boarding school.

Outside, Alexis Darkholme's car was waiting, and Raven hopped in as soon as she could. All that Mrs. Yale said to Alexis was, "The school superintendent will contact you in the next few days. Until then, Raven can explain what happened. Don't bother bringing her back here."

Raven's eyes widened and she quickly turned back to look at her school. Sure, it sucks, but it's gotta be better than wherever they're gonna send me now.

When her mother drove away, she said, "Raven, honey, please tell me what's going on now. I'm so scared, Raven."

Raven stared at her hands. "You know how Troy and Lauren are always teasing me?"

"Yes, honey. Did they do something worse today?"

"Yeah. Troy was forcing my eyes open 'cause I wouldn't look at him. He grabbed my arms and held them so I couldn't get him to let go of me."

"Well, that's grounds for harassment! I won't have any high school boy grabbing my daughter!"

"Yeah, but then I slapped him. And apparently it scratched him really hard 'cause he was bleeding. And then Lauren punched me in the stomach, so I hit her in the nose. And she fell unconscious. I think I broke it, too. I heard a crack. And they wouldn't tell me what happened. They called 911 and took her away on a stretcher."

Alexis sighed heavily, her shoulders heaving with sadness. "You're a Darkholme, that's for sure."

"What's that supposed to mean?" snapped Raven, before realizing that her mom hadn't yelled at her. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that. I know exactly what you mean." They were talking about her father, of course. Raven liked to think of him as a good man behind the alcohol and the frightful temper, so it angered her when Alexis took jabs at him, but she understood her mother's reasons. "I'm really, really sorry."

"I don't think the lawyers are going to take 'sorry,' Raven. They're gonna take a few crying kids and one who's unconscious and make their decision without knowing the facts. If Lauren had knocked you unconscious, you'd be off scot-free regardless of Troy's injury, because they love victims. Unfortunately, that's not what they'll see when they look at you."

"Mom, I'd do anything to take it back," Raven whispered, close to tears. Physically strong as she was, she was only a hormonal fourteen-year-old going to school with prettier, more popular kids. Troy was seventeen and Lauren, eighteen, yet they were the victims, and they'd had more time than Raven to toughen up. "I shouldn't even be in school with those kids. I'm too young. I always feel like I can't do anything against them and when I finally do, it's the wrong thing."

Alexis' hands tightened on the steering wheel until her knuckles were white. "Don't talk like that. I put you in ninth grade because you're smarter than every one of those kids. There's a saying—do what you can, with what you have, where you are. That's exactly what you did. The older kids were just too weak to handle it."

Raven smiled briefly. "I guess."

"Whatever the school board throws at us, we can take it. I'm just thanking God that you're not sick."

I'm lucky Mom understands. The only problem will be dealing with Dad. Even if she was angry, she could leave all that to him. "What happens now that I can't go back to school?"

"One of the women I work with has a son like you. He's incredibly talented, plays every instrument I've ever heard of like a master. But he got into a little trouble at school too, so she sent him to a special school, made just for people like he and you. People so gifted that other people can't handle it."

As grateful as Raven was for the compliment, something nagged at her. "It's not a boarding school, is it?"

"Well, it's in New York. You'd have to live there."

Raven shook her head quickly. "No way! I want to live here. I'd miss you."

"You might not want to stay here much longer when we get home," Alexis said quietly. "I'm not sure I want you to live with us if you have to live with…." She left the word him unspoken. "You could have a better future."

"I don't care about my future. I'm too young to go to boarding school. What if I had problems there? You wouldn't be there to…." To rescue me. Ugh, that sounds so babyish. Grow up! But still, I don't know anyone my age who could leave their home forever.

"Look, they have to interview you first before they accept you, so why don't we just see what happens? If they say yes, you can still think about it. But we have to apply now, because they stop taking applicants at the end of this week. Look, I'll give you the number too, and if you want to call the school and set up an interview, feel free to do so. It'll save me time." She picked up Raven's phone and programmed the number in.

Raven shrugged. "Even if they say yes, I'm not leaving home. I don't want to call them."

Alexis didn't reply.