Broken Promises [Book Two | REMASTERED]

Chapter 1: 2023

        "What might work?" Kitty asks.

        The Professor meets her eyes first while everyone looks to him for an answer. After a moment, he begins, "The Sentinel program was originally conceived by Dr. Bolivar Trask. In the early '70s, he was one of the world's leading weapons designers. But, covertly, he had begun experimenting on mutants, using their gifts to fuel his own research. There were only two mutants that discovered what he was doing."

        "One of which was a mutant with the ability to gain the powers of any other mutant," Magneto adds. "The other with the ability to transform herself into anyone."

        "Mystique," another mutant in the room offers. "The shapeshifter."

        "I knew her as Raven," the Professor says. "We met when we were children; we grew up together." He smiles sadly to himself, then recalls, "She was like a sister to me. I tried to help her, but only succeeded in driving her away." Sadness overtakes his features. "She hunted Trask across the world. And at the Paris Peace Accords in 1973, after the Vietnam War, she found Trask. . ." He pauses and glances away from everyone else, his eyes not meeting theirs. "And killed him. It was the first time she killed."

        "It wasn't her last," Logan murmured. "So, who was the first mutant?"

        The room falls silent again as they wait for an answer. Magneto looks to the Professor, as well. The Professor takes a deep breath and breathes one name.

        "Christiana." He says it with reverence, a name he hasn't spoken out loud in years.

        "Who?"

        "Kat," the Professor says. "My wife."

        Logan looks taken aback. "You had a wife?"

        "Oh, I had more than that," the Professor answers gravely. "Together, we had a family."

        All eyes are glued to him now; the Professor sighs. "We were together for over ten years. We had a son together." For a moment, he seems to struggle to find the right words, his eyes growing sadder. Finally, he continues, "His name was Brian. For the first years of his life, he grew at a progressed rate, and in a matter of years, he grew to be of age before his aging seemed to stop. His mutations allowed him to see the future in visions, but above all, he was incredibly intelligent. There wasn't anything he couldn't learn, and he wanted to know it all."

        He smiles to himself, though it doesn't last long as he finds his next words. "Then the Vietnam War came, and because he was legally of age, he was drafted. And though his mutations were easy to hide, he could not hide his physical mutation so well. He had cat ears and tail, like his mother. When they discovered what he was, they put him away with the rest of the mutants for Trask to experiment on. They sent a telegram, claiming he was missing in action. Kat didn't believe it, so she started looking into what happened.

        "There were many mutants taken from the war like that. Finally, in 1973, Kat left on her own to save him before it was too late. But when she found him, she released all of them. Whether it was a mistake or her intention, but I'm sure it was only with her heart that she made her final decision. The alarms were set off, and they were all captured before anyone could escape."

        The Professor pauses for a moment, his words settling in the room like a heavy blanket that weighed on them all. "In Kat's DNA, they found the secret to her mutation. A powerful mutant gene, one that allowed them to unlock her power to take in another mutant's power. It was the most significant discovery they could have made at the time; it's why the Sentinels can use our powers against us. But it wasn't enough.