Mystique had infiltrated countless facilities, impersonated world leaders, and manipulated men and women alike with ease, but nothing could have prepared her for how utterly idiotic the men in Senator Kelly's office were.
She had barely walked through the entrance, heels clicking against the marble floor, when the first intern nearly tripped over his own feet trying to greet her.
"Ms. Frost! We—we weren't expecting you so early!" The poor fool's face was already turning red as he scrambled to straighten his tie.
Mystique—currently in her perfect, icy-blonde Emma Frost disguise—tilted her head slightly, offering the man a slow, deliberate smile. "Oh? I do hope I haven't caught you off guard."
The intern immediately started sweating bullets. "N-not at all! Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? A chair?"
Mystique raised a delicate brow. "A chair?"
The intern turned even redder. "I mean—yes—well, I assume you'd like to sit, but you're already standing, so maybe you don't need—"
Mystique let out a slow, dramatic sigh and touched his arm lightly. "Water, darling. That would be perfect."
The man nearly sprinted away to fetch it. Mystique barely resisted rolling her eyes. Had it always been this easy? All these years of combat training, infiltration techniques, complex identity theft, and all she had to do was bat her eyelashes and wear a tight dress?
She took two steps forward, and suddenly another man was in her path, smiling nervously. "M-Miss Frost! It's a pleasure to have you here. If there's anything you need—"
Mystique let out a deep, internal sigh. This was getting ridiculous.
A third man bumped into a wall while trying to get a better look at her.
A fourth spilled coffee on himself just because she gave him a slight nod.
By the time she reached Senator Kelly's inner office, she had charmed her way past every level of security without lifting a finger. It had never been easier.
And yet, the thought unsettled her. Had she really been working this hard for nothing all these years?
When she entered the office, Senator Robert Kelly was already waiting, seated behind his desk, radiating an aura of pure, unearned arrogance.
"Miss Frost," he said smoothly, standing up and extending a hand. "You're even more stunning in person."
Mystique, shighed internally: I hate this already.
Outwardly, she gracefully took his hand, squeezing just lightly enough to make it seem deliberate. "The pleasure is all mine, Senator."
Kelly gestured toward the chair opposite him. "Please, sit. Can I get you a drink?"
Mystique forced a dazzling smile. "A gentleman would never let a lady refuse a drink."
Kelly beamed and personally poured her a glass of wine.
The next twenty minutes were nothing short of an endurance test.
Kelly spent the entire conversation trying way too hard to impress her. Every time he spoke, he leaned in a little too close. Every time she laughed politely, his chest puffed up just a little more.
Mystique had once been tortured in a CIA black site, and yet this conversation was somehow worse.
"…you know, Miss Frost," Kelly said, swirling his drink with what he probably thought was sophistication. "A woman like you deserves a man in charge. Someone who knows how to tame a strong woman."
Mystique nearly choked on her wine.
This is it.
This is why I'm gay.
For weeks, she had been denying it, pushing back the growing thoughts about Rogue, the way she felt different when Rogue smiled at her, the way she felt calm, warm—safe— in a way she never had with any man.
But this?
This absolute disaster of a man sitting in front of her?
This was the final confirmation.
Kelly leaned in. "Have you ever considered—"
Mystique shut him up instantly with a pressure point strike, knocking him out cold before he could permanently destroy her faith in humanity.
She sighed in relief and stretched slightly, rolling her shoulders before standing.
Then, for dramatic flair, she shapeshifted into Kelly himself.
She looked down at his unconscious form and smirked.
"Well, Robert," she muttered. "Looks like I'm the Senator now."
She strode out of the office confidently, her disguise flawless, and immediately came face to face with Intern Simp #1.
"Sir!" the intern said, scrambling to look important. "Are you feeling alright?"
Mystique—now as Kelly—adjusted her suit and gave a charismatic, confident nod. "Better than ever."
The intern blinked. "Wow… you seem… different."
Mystique smirked. "Oh, I've just had a… revelation."
She walked past him and out the door, documents in hand, leaving the entire staff deeply confused as to why Senator Kelly suddenly seemed so much more attractive and competent.
Two guards whispered to each other as she passed.
"Is it just me, or does Kelly seem… different?"
"Yeah, like… suddenly way more confident."
"Maybe he finally got some game?"
"Nah, he definitely smoked pot that undeserving senese of accomplishment is very familiar I know it well."
Mystique almost broke character laughing.
As she walked into the streets of Washington, still disguised as Kelly, she took a deep breath.
She had the government's secrets. She had played every single one of those men like a damn violin.
And most importantly, she had finally figured out her life.
She was never, ever going back to men.
Her future?
It belonged to Rogue.
She smirked, disappearing into the night.
"Time to go home."
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