The War That Was Not

Serena felt something between Gambit and herself. It wasn't as strong as what existed between Peter and her, but it was there...she could not deny that. His eyes seemed to look into her very soul. When she saw him take off his hat and place into her hands she opened her mouth to argue, but before she could he pulled her towards him and kissed her. Serena had kissed a few guys, but she had never been kissed the way Gambit kissed her. She closed her eyes and she did kiss him back. When he pulled back she looked back into his eyes once more before he suddenly got up from behind the car and went to go draw away the guards. Serena felt some fear grip her heart as she watched him, but suddenly there was an opportunity for her to get to the Tower. She held tight to his hat and she made a run for it. The Tower didn't let just anyone in. There was an incredible amount of security and the facial recognition examined her and unlocked the doors. She heard the doors close behind her and re-lock and she knew that she was safe.

She wanted to go back out to help Gambit, but he had risked his life to ensure her safety and she knew she couldn't undo that. She made her way up to the living quarters and stepped off the elevator. She saw her mother and father in the kitchen. Her mother looked up and a strange look came over her face.

"Serena? I thought you were in the lab..."

Serena shook her head. "No, I was taken..."

A horrified look came over Isabella and she dropped the tea cup that she had been holding and rushed down to the lab. She looked at 'Serena'. "Who are you?"

Before anyone could react Mystique grabbed hold of Peter and pressed a knife that she had gotten from somewhere up against his throat. Peter’s eyes went large in fear as Serena and Isabella looked that them. Steve, Kate and Tony came running over to them and Mystique, still in Serena’s form stood up with her captive.

Natalya and Logan were down in the infirmary but Pharaoh wasn’t and he stepped up with everyone else. Mystique held an angry expression. She hadn’t completed her mission and had been discovered. “Well, it would be a shame if I had to cut Peter’s throat now, wouldn’t it?” She said slyly. “Oh hi Serena, you need to teach him how to kiss,” she said and grinned darkly at them. Peter tried to remain still as she pressed the blade up against his neck. He kept his hands up and to the sides. To get their goat a little she licked the side of Peter’s face.

“I...I thought she was you Serena, honest!” Peter said quickly. “We’re getting out of here, Peter and I,” She said. “The rest of you move out of my way!” She said almost wickedly. It was then that she changed into her natural form. “Is she...really turning blue right now?” Peter asked them still afraid that she was going to cut his throat.

“Mystique, Magneto’s right hand,” Tony said in answer to Isabella’s question.

Serena, the real Serena, quickly followed her mother and father down to the lab where she found Peter with someone who looked exactly like her. To her horror, this fake her pressed a knife to Peter's throat and held him captive. She was beginning to fear that she might see him killed right in front of her. He was still in his Spider-Man uniform, but his mask was off. She clenched her fists and glared at her as she began to shape-shift back into her blue form.

"Let Peter go!"

“Every moment you do not do as I say you are killing him,” Mystique said as the point of her knife pieced into Peter’s flesh and drops of blood dripped down his throat. Peter winced and his eyes locked on to Serena’s. Sad, fearful eyes. Tony held his hand out toward her. “Ok, ok, we’re moving back...just don’t hurt him,” Tony said just as Pharoah collapsed. Mystique chuckled at the man’s fall and her lips formed into a wide smile. Finally Logan and Natalya ran up when they saw everyone together. Logan’s face contorted into a scowl as soon as he saw her.

“Mystique! I had a feeling if Magneto was involved you’d not be far behind him!” Logan growled. Mystique’s smile grew at the sight of Logan. “Hello there Logan, I was hoping I’d get a chance to...play with you a bit but I don’t think that’s going to happen today. Kate bent over to examine Pharaoh, uncertain of what happened to him just now. “Let the boy go and I’ll let you live,” Logan said and cracked his knuckles. It was then that she began to twitch and her confident gaze suddenly changed. Her smile drew down into a concerned frown and her eyes blinked several times. For a moment, a brief moment Peter felt the knife draw away from his neck to the utter shock of everyone else in the room.

“I...can’t hold her for long...she’s...too...strong,” Mystique said though the words came out awkwardly and her lips didn’t move right.

Serena felt a few angry tears come to her eyes as she saw the drops of blood trickle down Peter's throat. Isabella put an arm around her daughter's shoulders and took a few steps back with her. Kate had been standing near Pharaoh and she saw his body suddenly collapse. She knelt down beside him to check to see if he was alright but she realized that something strange was happening. As she stood back up and looked over at Mystique she saw her expression suddenly change. Her hand with the knife moved back away from Peter's throat but by the expression on Mystique's face she knew that it wasn't her that was doing that. She quickly realized that Pharaoh had taken over her body.

"Pharaoh's taken over her body! Quick, get Peter!"

Steve and Tony sprang forward to grab Peter and they were able to pull him back to the safety of the group. Serena was rather disheveled from her ordeal, but she didn't care about that. Peter was safe now and that was all that mattered.

In an instant Logan. Steve and Natalya sprang forward and pinned Mystique down onto the floor and disarmed her. Tony removed a pair of shackles from a drawer and began shackling together her wrists and her ankles. Even when she was shackled Logan punched her right in the face for what she had done. Pharaoh eventually began to move again and he sat up. He held his head as he looked around the room at everyone. “So I guess that worked,” he said surprised and then his expression changed to disgust. He shivered. “That woman is...a horrible creature,” he said and winced as if he wanted to throw up.

Peter ran into Serena’s arms and even with everyone watching he began kissing her over and over. “I thought I was a goner,” he said shakily and it was clear he wasn’t about to let Serena go anytime soon. Mystique eventually woke up and her eyes shot daggers at them all.

“I say we see if she can fly like a bird,” Logan said as if he were discussing the weather but no one else took up that line. “I doubt she’ll tell us anything useful but we still have an edge. Magneto doesn;t know that we have exposed her. I say we continue on as we said we would but we need to let Nick know whats happening,” Tony said as he looked at Serena. “You look a mess Serena, are you certain you’re alright? What happened? What did they do?” He asked partly not wanting to know the answer. It was clear though that both he and Isabella wanted to put their own arms around her but they’d likely have to fight Peter to get to her right then. For some odd reason that made Tony smile at them and at Isabella.

Kate quickly knelt down to help Pharaoh steady himself as he woke up. Although he was a newer member of the team he had been willing to put himself in danger to help out someone in need. That was what the Avengers team was all about. She didn't know very much about him, but she knew that he had a good heart.

Serena wrapped her arms around Peter and buried her head against his neck. Feeling his arms around her gave her a sense of comfort and security. She looked over at her parents when her father asked her what had happened to her. She began to tell them exactly what had happened, starting with Mystique tranquilizing her and taking her form. She told them about waking up in a bunker in Germany with other mutants and meeting the Baron who wanted her to join his army of mutants in the upcoming war against mutant registration. She told them about meeting Gambit and how he and this other boy named Truman saved her and got her out of the bunker. Her eyes teared up a little when she told them that Truman died and then she went on to explain what had happened to herself and Gambit after that.

"I don't know if he's dead or alive or was captured, but he saved my life."

Logan listened to Serena’s story with great interest. He knew and liked Gambit who, like him didn’t always do things the way that Scott or the Professor wanted them to. “I’ll believe he’s dead when I see his corpse,” Logan said confidently. “They’ll not find him easy meat,” he added.

“There is something else, Natalya found a tranq dart that is widely used by the SSB and they may have sent an SSB agent to get Peter. So either the SSB is involved with Magneto or possibly ‘they’ are the ones orchestrating this entire endeavor.

“Well, Baron Von Strucker should be dead,” Steve said. “I still hold to that. Those other 2 you described, the lady in blue and the swordsman are undoubtedly his children Andrea and Andreas. The Baron was a Hydra commander but there is something you said Serena that makes me think it isn’t him at all. Tony nodded at that now that he thought about it for a moment. “That blue cylinder you described. What do you think it would have done to you? Possibly...take over your mind so you’d do what they wanted?” he asked and then both Steve and Kate nodded. They all said in unison, “Loki.”

Serena was somewhat relieved to hear Logan say that he firmly believed that Gambit was alive. She wanted to be able to return his hat to him and see that he was alright. She listened to Steve who confirmed her suspicions that this man should be long dead. Kate looked over at Tony who went back to the blue cylinder. She had been interested by that part of Serena's story as well and she was already fairly certain she knew who Baron Von Strucker really was...Loki.

Natalya seemed more than a little surprised at the conclusion they had come to. "Loki? Loki as in the Norse God Loki?"