Now You're Too Weak, Raven

"Should I tell the truth?"

Ron looked her up and down, then folded his arms.

"Of course. Tell me the truth."

"Beautiful. Uniquely beautiful."

He praised her softly.

There had never been a shortage of people with unusual tastes who liked succubi and female devils.

Though he did not particularly favor them, it was not something he could not accept.

He was not lying. Mystique's appearance truly was one of a kind on Earth.

"Ron, no one has ever said that about me."

Raven involuntarily called his name. Her eyes shone, and her voice became three parts gentler, filled with moved affection.

No one had ever said that to her before. Whenever she appeared in this form, all she received were cries and curses calling her a monster or a devil.

"A bunch of people who don't know how to appreciate beauty. There's no need to mind them."

Ron smiled, gently touched her face, and kissed her.

Life was short. He ought to try more things.

He could just treat it as a dish with a special flavor. He was not going to eat only one dish for his entire life.

"Raven, I succeeded.

I successfully developed the Serum."

That night, Hank excitedly carried the Serum to Raven's room and knocked on her door.

Back at the CIA base, he had told Raven about his idea of developing a Serum to change his large feet and Raven's unusual appearance.

After a long period of research, he had finally succeeded.

"Raven, you don't seem especially happy?"

She opened the door. Still immersed in their kiss from earlier that day, Raven felt a sweet calmness in her heart. Coming back to herself, she smiled.

"No, I'm very happy. Thank you, Hank."

Of course she was especially happy that the Serum capable of restoring her to a normal appearance had been developed.

"It was nothing, just something I did along the way.

We're friends, aren't we?"

Hank scratched his head, then grew excited again.

"With the Serum, we can both return to normal and no longer endure everyone's strange looks."

And since he had helped Raven solve the appearance that had made her insecure and sensitive since childhood, she would surely be grateful to him and feel even more affection for him.

Then perhaps I can pull Raven's heart back from Ron.

He looked at the person he liked and thought to himself.

Hank did not know what had happened during the day, but he had already noticed subtle signs that Raven seemed somewhat close to Ron.

So after working day and night to develop the Serum, he had immediately hurried to find Raven.

"Everyone's strange looks?"

But Raven smiled at his words and thought of Ron.

Not everyone. At least she knew one person who did not care in the slightest about her unusual appearance.

"Raven, use the Serum quickly."

Hank impatiently handed Raven a tube of pale green Serum, while preparing to inject himself with the other one.

"Wait, Hank. Will there be any uncomfortable reactions when this Serum is injected?"

Raven stopped him and asked.

"There usually will be. The Serum works similarly to antibiotics, attacking the cells that caused our appearances to mutate and restoring us to normal."

After thinking for a moment, Hank recalled that the process would be slightly painful.

"If that's the case, could you... please return to your room? It would be a little inconvenient for me."

She asked awkwardly.

Raven did not want Hank to see her crying out in pain.

"O-okay."

A bucket of cold water was immediately poured over Hank's excitement.

With a soft thud, the door closed.

Standing outside the door with the Serum in hand, he comforted himself. Raven had not yet felt the Serum's effects, which was why she had not become grateful to him.

By the next day, once she had regained a normal appearance, perhaps she would joyfully and gratefully embrace him and give him a surprise.

"Raven, I hope someone with your extraordinary potential can give me a surprise."

Inside the room, Ron stood by the window, swirling a glass filled with crimson wine. He gazed at the bright full moon in the sky, a faint smile on his lips.

He had just seen Hank leave Mystique's room with the remaining Serum.

He let out a meaningful sigh.

"Tonight's full moon is truly bright. It instinctively brings to mind monsters and werewolves transforming beneath the full moon and letting out howls."

"Ah... my body, no!..."

At the same time, cries of pain and terror came from Hank and Mystique's respective rooms in the castle, but the heavy wooden doors muffled them, and no one heard.

Hank was a genius, but the Serum he had developed to solve his and Raven's problems had failed.

Not only could the Serum not attack and eliminate the cells causing their appearances to mutate, it instead stimulated them, making the mutations even stronger.

After using the Serum, blue fur grew all over Hank's body, his muscles swelled, and he transformed into something like a blue-furred gorilla, becoming a true Beast.

In the original course of events, Mystique rejected Hank's Serum and chose to supposedly accept her true self, narrowly escaping disaster.

"That isn't what I wanted to see."

He gently shook his head.

Whether it was to change the fate of Mystique, who played an important role in the X-Men universe, or for his curiosity and future plans,

Mystique possessed enormous potential. The future mutant-hunting Sentry had been developed based on her genes.

He was very curious whether Mystique could use the Serum's effects to turn her deeply hidden potential into an ability and become support for him in establishing a New Era for mutants.

"Now you're too weak.

You want to be able to help me too, don't you, Raven?"

Ron took a sip of wine and murmured softly.