tigerundercover

There wasn't a lot to scavenge in an empty city in the middle of winter, but Raven still wasn't ready to give up on the causeway just yet. Fandom would pull through for her -- somehow. She didn't believe in much anymore, but she had to believe in that just a little bit longer.

Besides, the way her life was going, it would open back up the moment she gave up and left.

She'd managed to clear out a few local exes in the last couple days, enough that she felt confident enough dozing next to her small fire. She kept it lit for light more than warmth, in case the road just decided to fade back into existence in the middle of the overcast night. Plus, it meant she had just enough light to practice making shark-tooth faces at herself in a little shard of mirror.

She'd learned how to make her own fun.

[ooc: For those expected. THE JOURNEY IS NEARLY OVER!]

It took some looking, but the Mighty Dragon finally found her, dark, small, and solitary, her scales making her look more like his namesake than her own. She stood on the edge of a rooftop near the edge of what used to be Koreatown, watching something burning in the distance. A lot of LA was on fire, but she seemed interested in building more than others. She didn't look up when he landed, just kept staring out over the chaos of the city, her expression blank.

"I dropped her off at the Observatory," he said, giving her the same update he'd just given Gorgon. "Set up a movie for her. She seemed to like it." Her expression didn't change. "She won't get into trouble."

She nodded once, still didn't look at him.

"Did you find her family?"

"They're dead." Her voice was low, not quite monotone. "Sarah went fast. Head injury." She lifted one hand, turning it over in the dim light of the approaching dawn, as though she was examining her nails. "I took care of her parents."

This girl was all of 18 years old, the Mighty Dragon reminded himself. The same age as Banzai. They were going to be roommates in college or something. Now she talked about killing her best friend's parents as if it was taking care of the dry cleaning. He reached for something to say, ended up with "I'm sorry," and faintly hated himself for it.

She looked over at him, at least, her gold eyes flashing, her face crumpling from expressionless to devastated and then hardening into something that wasn't quite rage. "Promise me you'll take care of her."

The Mighty Dragon shook his head, confused. The girl had been arguing against taking Banzai out. Even if she'd changed her mind. . . . "Gorgon --"

She snarled, her teeth shifting momentarily into points. If he'd been someone else, he'd probably have taken a step back at the least, if not run off on the spot. "Him too," she said. "You and Gorgon and all you other damn -- heroes." She spat the word, then took a breath. Her features literally softened, and she looked like a blue teenager again, instead of a raging beast. "I mean look out for her. Keep her safe."

The Mighty Dragon nodded slowly. "Of course we will. So will you." She might not like the term just now, but he'd seen her fight, alongside Banzai and Gorgon and on her own. She deserved the name as much as any of them.

She smiled and shook her head. "There's a school outside Baltimore," she said. "Where Banzai and I met. We're practically normal there. If there's anyone who can help -- who can fix this, they're there. I'm going to go get them."

The Mighty Dragon shook his head. "The east coast is as wrecked as we are." She shrugged, stepping up onto the edge of the building. The Mighty Dragon braced himself, readying to catch her if she jumped. "It's three thousand miles away!"

Mystique turned to look back at him over her shoulder and smiled one more time. "Guess I'd better get started, then."

And where there was a blue teenager there was a blueblack bird that cawed at him and leaped into the air. The Mighty Dragon watched as she caught an updraft and floated effortlessly off towards the rising moon.

"I did not know she could do that."

* * *

[not long later, on the edge of San Bernadino]

The raven dropped down to the roof of an empty, burned out strip mall, panting, then shifted bonelessly into a blue scaled girl. She flopped over onto her back, chest heaving, and stared up into the cloudless sky.

"Okay," she gasped, when she'd finally gotten enough breath back to speak. "Not flying -- all the way -- to Baltimore." She erupted into hysterical giggles and flopped onto her side when the effort made her nauseous. "Boy!" She squeaked to no one at all. "Are my arms tired!"

[ooc: NFB, NFI, all that. Stay tuned to this space for further adventures of Mystique in zombpocalyptic America in the coming months!]