18670/Hello Darkness My Young Son

Hello Darkness My Young Son
Date of Scene:	25 July 2024
Location:	Jaxon Blain's Quarters
Synopsis:	Jaxon learns the truth of his creation and that he shares DNA with Mystique. Mom mode activated.
Cast of Characters:	Jaxon Blain, Raven Darkholme

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Jaxon Blain has posed:
It's right before dinner time. Jaxon finally decided it was time to take a break from the constant drills he puts himself through - finally. He's only been at it since he rolled out of bed before dawn with only a quick break for lunch in between. It's good the boy wants to be at his best. It's probably bad that he spends so much time trying to be. It's good that he's really been improving. It's probably bad that he never sets anything on the 'go easy on me' setting.

When he comes into view, he's wearing only a pair of loose fit black joggers and a pair of black tennis shoes. He ditched the sweaty t-shirt hours ago - it might even still be laying in the practice room.

His tongues sticking out the left side of his mouth in the stereotypical 'lick the wound' gesture. His lip's split, just enough that tiny tendrils of shadows are starting to obscure his left eye just a little. That's not the only hit he took today - he's wearing other badges in the form of random bruises on his arms and torso - probably legs too if they were visible. Nothing is life threatening, but just enough to make things sore.

It's supposed to hurt, that's the way a person learns.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
The location of key members of the Brotherhood on the asteroid are a constant thing the twins keep track of and report to Mystique about. The fact that Jaxon has the safeties turned off in the danger room are another. There were others who turned off the safety protocols, including herself, but usually only as a way to work out her rage.

Standing outside Jaxon's room, she was leaned against the wall while listening to various reports from the twins, including the fact that Jaxon had left the danger room and was heading 'home'. Some might call them voyeurs, with all the watching they do, truth was it was the only interaction they had. They didn't feel comfortable or safe enough to leave their protective server room, so they experienced the world through the thousands of cameras around the asteroid, and on Earth.

"Evening, Jaxon," she offered once he was in range, yellow eyes turning from the nothing she was looking at, toward him. "Have a good work out?"

Jaxon Blain has posed:
"Not too bad," Jaxon replies easily enough. He's better at 'easily enough' than he was when he was first brought to the Asteroid. He doesn't avoid people as much as he did in the beginning, he doesn't have that 'constantly looking over his shoulder' vibe that he did in the beginning. He's getting there.

It's just the constant drills run and rerun and run again until he finally gets the win that are still the biggest problem. When he was living in Bushwick, he spent his time playing video games and repeating the same stage over and over to score better, to do better, to be better. Do Better. Two words he heard so much growing up that it's an ingrained part of his personality - no matter how well he does, he can always do better.

"Did I do something wrong?" Another thing that still needs work, the constant concern over doing the wrong thing, saying the wrong thing - not being good enough.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique's brow lifts slightly as he asks, her head canting slightly. "Have you even once done something wrong while living here?" She asks plainly, a smile touching her lips. "No, you did nothing wrong, and have done nothing wrong. I merely need to speak to you privately on a matter that..."

The pause is unlike her, but he can see in her eyes she is looking for the right words. "I should have spoken to you about this sooner, but I failed to have the balls to do so."

She gestures with her hand toward his door, which he can plainly see does not open for her. He has to trigger the locks with his presence for the doors to open. Yes, she could have just had the twins open the door, but she doesn't do that save for emergencies. "After you?" she then asks.

Jaxon Blain has posed:
"Okay." Not so easily said. That single word is hugely loaded with all the insecurities and, perhaps a little fear, that he's feeling. If he didn't do something wrong, is something else wrong? Why would she not have the balls to tell him something? Jaxon steps up to the door and it opens.

When he steps inside, away from the light he had to walk through to get to this point, he actually breathes an audible sigh of relief. He casts one brief, longing look in the direction of the bathroom and the hot shower the room promises.

But his attention returns quickly to Mystique - the odd glow of his eyes beneath the shadows drifting through them more pronounced here - in the darkness where he belongs.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Stepping into the room, Mystique waits for the doors to slide close do her eyes can adjust to the darkness. She can see quite well in the dark, but the short adjustment time leaves her exposed for that brief moment, and she hates that time. Thankfully Jaxon isn't a threat, so this time it's a matter of taking a few breaths.

"Go take your shower," she instructs, as she glances around the room. "This can wait for you to be clean."

Jaxon Blain has posed:
With Jaxon it's reversed but with the added pain in the ass that his eyes never fully adjust to even the normal lighting in a room. For a moment he's torn. Something big must be brewing for Mystique to be waiting outside his quarters to talk to him about something she hasn't had the balls to until now. What could it be?! On the other hand, if it's something bad he might as well be comfortable when he hears it.

"Okay." Once again that word is loaded. He can certainly relay a lot of information with just one word. It's really not okay, in fact he's about to crawl out of his skin with anxiety.

All of the worst 'what ifs' are jockeying in his head for first place. Why? Because he feels safe on the Asteroid, for the first time in a long time he feels safe. For the first time in a long time he's actually had a hint at what true happiness could feel like.

In Jaxon's world, nothing good lasts. Even the ice cream gets taken away before it's finished.

He doesn't take long in the shower, no where near as long as he would have liked. He's in there just long enough to get clean, but not nearly long enough to let the heat of the shower wash away his aches. When Jaxon returns, he's dressed pretty much the same as before - but this time the pants are less athletic and more casual combat and he's wearing a black button down shirt that's left unbuttoned. He's also lost the shoes.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Most people would wander around a room while waiting for someone, they might even touch the knick-knacks, or open drawers, all Mystique does is find a place to sit. She believes very strongly in privacy, the right to have one place in the world (or space) that solely belongs to the owner.

When Jaxon returns she offers him a smile as she says as casually as one might say hello, "Always nice to get the grime of a trip to the protocol off danger room off your body." A hint of a scold without actually doing do, it was all she would say on the matter.

"Do you remember when you were injured so badly that you ended up in the medbay for a week or so?" she then asks, switching the topic to the reason for her visit.

Jaxon Blain has posed:
The sad thing? He probably wouldn't have thought twice about someone going through his belongings. What's been his never truly was. His time free of Stryker in Bushwick was no where near long enough to undo a lifetime of harm done."Yeah..." There it is again, a one word loaded with so much. Jaxon looks down at his bare feet, his unbraided damp hair falling slightly over his eyes. It's so painfully obvious that he's ashamed of that whole ordeal.

He should have been better.

"I'm really sorry about that. I've been trying to do better and I think I'm getting there." By running the same drills over and over and over again until he gets them right. Because he has to do better - he can't fail again.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Standing up immediately, Mystique steps over to Jaxon and lays her hand on his shoulder, while the other hand moved to lift Jaxon's head up so she can look him in the eyes.

"No, stop that," she soothes. "You did /nothing/ wrong. You were serving our people, representing the best of us, and you got hurt. That is /not/ a failure, Jaxon."

Once she has his attention back on her face, she removes her hands from him and takes a small step back. She is aware that touch and proximity make him uncomfortable, but she had to have his attention quickly.

"You are over working yourself for some unachievable goal of perfection. I've seen it, the twins have seen it, I think a lot of people have seen it, but that's not why I'm here today. We'll save that talk for another time."

She pauses again for a deep breath, "The reason I mentioned that time was because to help heal you, we had to do a lot of research and that included testing your DNA," she finally continues. "Hathaway found a DNA match for you, meaning a relative."

Jaxon Blain has posed:
It takes him a moment, even when his chin is lifted, to finally look Mystique in the eyes. She's his superior right? Direct eye contact isn't respectful, right? Jaxon finally does relent though. Even if he's not entirely sure he believes what she's saying. Not so much that he doesn't believe /her/ - it's more that he doesn't believe in himself. Unfortunately the constant drills will probably continue until he does.

This is such a stark contrast the he man that stood up in front of the camera and put himself out there - essentially /challenging/ the man who 'raised' him.

That was a glimpse of the Jaxon he can be given the time. This is the shell he was forced to be for so many years.

But Mystique's last words, they have his full and undivided attention. "You found my parents?" This time his tone of voice is difficult to read. He may have only been six when he was taken away - but he remembers. He knew his mother loved him. But he remembers - he remembers the drug induced stupors, the times he ate ramen straight from the pack because he didn't know how to work the stove. He remembers the neglect. Those memories are at war with the memories of a mother's hug, the way she read to him when she was sober, the games they played and the way she ran her fingers through his hair until he fell asleep.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
The topic now broached, Mystique knew she had to choose her words very carefully.

"I did not find the woman who gave birth to you," she says softly. "Not yet. I am still looking for her and her husband."

"I don't think being delicate and sugaring my words will do you any good, so I'm just going to be as gently blunt as I can." She finally states, after watching him in silence for a moment. "The woman who gave birth to you is not your mother, she was a surrogate. This doesn't remove her love for you of course, it merely means that your DNA lead Dr. Hathaway and I on a different search."

Jaxon Blain has posed:
"Oh." Because what can a person say to all of that? Give him a minute, he might find more words. He seems at a loss for them, but he doesn't seem to need a moment to sit down or anything. In fact, he stands just a little straighter. He sucks in a breath, runs his hand back through his damp hair. Jaxon's life has been 'sheltered' - just not in a good way. But it's also been enlightening in other ways. He has an inside track to the way Stryker thinks. And he's not dumb, far from it. It doesn't take a lot of momentum for him to make that leap.

"It was Stryker." It's not a question and the words hold a little venom. His tone changes how ever when he repeats, "It was Stryker..."

It doesn't take a lot of momentum for Mystique to see where Jaxon went with that change in tone. Poor kid leaped too far and right into 'fucking Stryker is my /father/' territory.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Watching the information sink in, Mystique gives him a moment to collect himself and then he jumps down the rabbit hole head first.

"Whoa, no... not Stryker," she says quickly, raising one hand. "He is not your father, nor was he involved in your creation."

How do you tell someone it's worse than that? Bluntly.

"The person who created your embrio," she takes a moment. "We call him Sinister, but his real name is Nathaniel Essex." She continues from there before he can react so she can get the information out there.

"He took the genetic matter from a number of mutants, including myself, to create you and several others out there. Then paid women to be surrogates to carry and raise the children. I... found some of his old files on the project."

Jaxon Blain has posed:
Now Jaxon's face shows no emotion, nothing. Except the eyes. They say the window to a man's soul is his eyes - it's especially true when the storms of the soul are reflected in the shadows in one's eyes. There's a storm brewing inside him right now. It's a storm of disbelief and rage, a storm of betrayal and lies - and also one of dawning understanding.

It makes perfect sense in a way. At least in the mess of a mind he was left with after Stryker.

"So, Stryker didn't just turn me into a monster, I was one from the moment I was born." Not a question, just a statement that's delivered in a soft - yet certain - voice.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Seconds tick by and Jaxon's brow furrows. "Your DNA?" A beat. "How?"

She couldn't have been a willing party to it all, right?

Raven Darkholme has posed:
"You are not a monster," Mystique nearly growls, then has to rein herself in. "You are a beautiful and amazing mutant. Stryker is the monster, Sinister is the monster, not you."

She takes a moment to remove the anger from her face and her tone, including a nice deep breath. "Sinister has a way of getting what he wants, and in this case he managed to get his hands on my base DNA," she shrugs, trying to appear as if that part didn't matter when in fact it did. It was exceedingly rare for someone to get her base DNA considering she could change it.

"I don't know when or how, but I do know that there is enough of my DNA in you that... I am your mother."

Jaxon Blain has posed:
People often also say that a person's smile can light up a room. Jaxon's nearly can. Of all the reactions to that news he could have had, his is to smile. The clouds of shadow in his eyes give way a little more to the brilliant blue behind them. It's not just relief that has him smiling either, there's genuine affection in that smile.

"Guess if I had to be a freak experiment, it could have been worse, yeah?"

His brow furrows for just a minute before he adds, "But this doesn't mean you're gonna treat me any different right? Like not let me go out there when it's dangerous? Not let me do my part?" Because he's seen how protective she is of mutants that /don't/ share her DNA.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
His smile not only warms the old mutant's heart, but it brings a smile to Mystique's lips that almost matches his. She had been overly concerned about his reaction to the news, which is where the lack of balls had come from. His life had been pure hell, she didn't want to add to it, but knew he had to be told.

His question however makes her laugh softly, and she winks at him. "I /might/ have to stick my nose in a little," she jests, then laughs a touch more. "But no, I will not tell you where you can and can't go, I will only worry more and ask that you be more careful... but that is true of any mutant. We all have to do our part, and my other children are doing theirs in their own way, even if I don't agree with their methods."

Jaxon Blain has posed:
"As long as you're not a total helicopter mom," Jaxon quips in return. It's an actual /normal/ attempt at a joke just like one any young man might attempt with his mother. Normal - it's something he hasn't even seemed to be in a very long time.

The Asteroid has become a safe haven, the people on it sharing a similar cause. He's felt safe here - for the most part. But until now, Jaxon has been just waiting for the shoe to drop. It hasn't felt like home.

Until now.

"I don't think I can start calling you mom or anything though," he admits. At least not yet - even if she'd ever allow it. What does it all mean for his future? No one can answer that question - but for the first time in a long time, he actually has a tiny spark of hope for that future.

"I should go eat something." Y'know, before mom starts harping that he's too skinny or something?

Raven Darkholme has posed:
"Helicopter mom," Mystique snorts with a laugh. "I would if I could, but I can't so I won't."

Her shoulders seem to relax a little, the tension seeping out of her body now that the news is shared. "You can call me what ever you wish, Jaxon," she then adds with another smile. "None of my children don't call me mom, or mother, and one even refuses to accept that I gave birth to him. So whatever makes you comfortable, I will respond to, unless it's bitch... then we'll have words." Another wink, another jest. She's been called far worse than bitch.

"You /should/ go eat something," she states with a nod, because he might get too skinny. "Something with a lot of protein for all the work outs and training you've been doing. I should get back to my office and see if my contact has finished sifting through the towers of paperwork that haven't been moved to computer yet."