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Presented here for your enjoyment and infotainment is the Mystique Chronology, a document which details the appearances and activities of Raven Darkholme, also known as Mystique. This list consists of actual appearances, flashback scenes, and references to her activities.

Issues placed solely by educated conjecture are listed as such. Issues in which she does not appear, but mention something of significance to her, are in italics.

Links have been added for easier reference to relevant issues. Once finished with a particular link, simply click on the 'back' button of your browser to return to the entry you were previously reading.

X-Treme X-Men 1: In flashback, Sage describes how a youthful Irene Adler (Destiny) hired detective Raven Darkholme to help her interpret the meanings of her precognitive diaries. The two of them joined forces in an attempt to shape future events, which proved difficult and eventually hardened them into the terrorists they became later.
The time period of this flashback is not stated, but there are horse-drawn carriages in the background, suggesting that Mystique and Destiny are older than had been believed.

Wolverine v.3 #62: In 1921 Mexico, Wolverine ends up in front of a firing squad with Mystique, a stranger. She says she's to be killed because of the colour of her skin, and that the locals think she's a witch. As the soldiers are about to fire, Wolverine breaks free and defeats them all. She offers to buy him a drink, as she suspects he's like her (a mutant), and they introduce each other.

Wolverine v.3 #63: In 1921 Kansas City, Mystique tells Wolverine about the gang of petty thieves she's assembled and rules over, all mutants and/or freaks. She says she could use him, and tries to persuade him to join their "family". As she seduces him and they kiss, she tells him she needs his help for some kind of great plan she's trying to pull off.

Wolverine v.3 #64:

X-Men: True Friends 3: Upon journeying back to 1936 during a trip to the past, Kitty Pryde meets Mystique (impersonating a man called "Mr. Raven") and Destiny in their younger days. Destiny explains to the past version of Wolverine that Kitty must not kill Hitler nor other prominent Nazis, but frets that they should not interfere with her efforts, while a laconic Mystique says "we all of us have learned to kill, Logan. But more importantly, we have learned not to kill. And to know the difference."

X-Men Forever 4: Having jumped back into the past, a teenage Juggernaut encounters Mystique at the Alamogordo nuclear facility. She was there to spy on Destiny, who worked at the secret genetics lab as an "archivist", but never fully explained why she was doing the work she did. Mystique listens to the conversation between Irene and two scientists, and becomes convinced that Destiny was there for her (Raven's) benefit. She becomes angry and makes an anti-human slur when Juggernaut suggests that she should have pressed Destiny about her activities, but is satisfied now that she knows about it.

Sabretooth LS 3: Flashback showing Mystique's first meeting with Victor Creed (Sabretooth) in East Berlin, during the Cold War. He bursts into a laboratory, finding 'Leni Zauber' already there and having completed her mission to assassinate the scientist (with poison, to which she claims spending a year building up immunity) they were assigned to kill. They are chased through the city by Kommandos, but manage to escape despite being shot at and barely surviving. They hide out in a safe house for a time, clearly pursuing a sexual relationship, but eventually she takes her leave by faking her death --- using the body of the real Leni Zauber as a ruse. The story does not mention whether Mystique killed Leni, or if the woman died naturally. Why she would need to kill Leni (if she did) is a bit nonsensical; she mentions wanting to avoid the witness relocation program, but realistically a shape-shifter would have no need of such a thing!

X-Men Forever 2: A flashback depicting 'Leni Zauber' holding the infant Graydon Creed, frustrated by his constant crying. The narration states "Soon, she will give him up for adoption", which was also mentioned in the Sabretooth LS #3, but contradicts the story that she abandoned him during his late childhood (as implied by the Sabretooth LS #4, and explicitly stated in X-Men Unlimited 4).

Sabretooth LS 4: Sabretooth's telepath Birdy delves into Graydon Creed's memories, and finds one of him as a child, spying on his mother and discovering that she is a mutant shapeshifter. Mystique is not impressed, with either the act or the boy in general, and disdainfully scolds him.

Uncanny X-Men 428: This issue is supposedly the definitive story of Nightcrawler's conception and birth, although its date of "twenty years ago" is extremely suspect and is erroneous. Mystique is living as Raven Wagner, the wife of a German baron. She spends her days living in luxury and amusing herself by playing tricks on the locals and sleeping around with the men, though she seems somewhat unhappy because her husband is infertile. Eventually, she is introduced to a suave man named Azazel, who seduces her. She finds herself pregnant and in love with him, but he is not interested in being with her; he then shows his true form as a red Nightcrawler-lookalike that can teleport. Baron Wagner suspects the unborn child is not his, so she murders him and buries the body. When baby Nightcrawler is born, the doctor and maid see her true form, so she is forced to flee with her baby from the mob, and in her anger, tosses Nightcrawler over a waterfall (he --- or with Azazel's assistance --- teleports to safety) before seeking out a new life.

X-Men Unlimited 4: A flashback depicting Mystique with baby Nightcrawler, hunted by the mob. It shows her morphing into a local and throwing her son off a cliff into the water below. There is also another, less accurate flashback version of the events, as told to Nightcrawler by Graydon Creed. It should be noted, though, that the veracity of both versions may be called into question given the other completely erroneous flashbacks in this notoriously inconsistent issue --- especially since Kurt's adoptive mother had previously told him two conflicting versions of his origin. Frankly, all tales of Nightcrawler's birth should be regarded with some suspicion until better clarified --- and it seems now that the version seen in Uncanny X-Men 428 is now the 'true' story we're supposed to believe.

X-Men Unlimited 40: Having abandoned baby Nightcrawler an unspecified time earlier, Mystique (in the form of a ragged human woman) encounters Sabretooth in the forests of Germany. She is starving and exhausted, and he allows her to eat in exchange for sex. She doesn't have much choice, and eventually travels with him in a boat headed for Canada. She hates him, and is unhappy, but plays dumb and naive to manipulate him. After revealing her true form to him, she manipulates him into murdering everyone else on board. The two of them then take control of a group of mutants (her first 'Brotherhood'?) and she tells Sabretooth she's pregnant, which delights him. She then injects him with a sedative and has him arrested while the team looks on.
This issue is problematic, for obvious reasons: according to its writer, it depicts the conception of Graydon Creed, which apparently nobody at Marvel knew had already been told. However, it's also clearly set soon after Mystique fled from the baron's castle after giving birth to Nightcrawler. Graydon should be older than Nightcrawler. The only way I can reconcile this is that the meeting with Sabretooth was pure coincidence after fleeing the castle, and that she lied to him when she later claimed to be pregnant. He never saw her true form when she slept with him in East Germany, and perhaps he did not detect that her scent was identical to that of 'Leni Zauber'.

X-Men Forever 3: Sent back in time by Prosh, Mystique awakens in the midst of an attack by HYDRA agents.

X-Men Forever 4: She manages to fight off the HYDRA men, and escapes into the back of a speeding truck.

X-Men Forever 3: During yet another time-jump, Mystique frantically attempts to wash herself of blood after apparently killing an unknown someone who "gave me no choice...". Distressed by the incident, she curls up in Destiny's arms for comfort until sent back into another time-jump.

X-Force -1: In this flashback issue, young James Proudstar visits Destiny's fortune-telling tent at a carnival. She sees his brother's future death and is shaken by it, and Mystique steps out of the shadows to comfort her, saying "we have bigger things ahead of us."

Sabretooth and Mystique LS 1: In a flashback to the past, Victor Creed --- a CIA agent --- and Amichai Benvenisti, an agent of the Mossad (Mystique in disguise), are meeting Destiny at a rendezvous in Jerusalem. 'Amichai' is horrified to see her strung up from the rafters, but as he goes to free her, they activate a booby trap. Sabretooth later awakens to find himself chained up by a HYDRA goon named Catalyst.
[It is not clear when exactly the flashbacks in this Limited Series take place]

Sabretooth and Mystique LS 2: Continuing the flashback, Destiny wakes up Mystique inside their cell, and Raven is overjoyed to see her safe. Destiny tells her that Catalyst is extremely dangerous, connected to both the Israeli mafia and HYDRA. He shows up, returning Sabretooth to the cell, and is surprised to find a shapeshifter rather than Amichai, but is nonetheless pleased. He beats up Mystique when she tries to defend Destiny, and uses his mutant power to alter her chemical reactions, telling her how he'll torture her. Destiny tries to get him to leave Mystique alone, offering to go with him and telling him "mine will be the last face you see before your death!" Mystique then uses the opportunity to break herself and Sabretooth out of the cell.
[It is not clear when exactly the flashbacks in this Limited Series take place]

Sabretooth and Mystique LS 3: Sabretooth bursts into Catalyst's torture cell as he interrogates Destiny. She seizes the opportunity of the distraction by kicking her tormentor into a tub of water, which electrocutes him. Though the others are sorry he didn't suffer more, Amichai worriedly frees and comforts Destiny, who predicts bad things for the future.
[It is not clear when exactly the flashbacks in this Limited Series take place]

X-Factor 139: Numerous flashbacks (exactly when each takes place is not clear, so this entry's placement is pure guesswork --- it had to be put somewhere) depict Mystique in disguise, working as a politician(?) in the Soviet Union, working at the Daily Bugle in the same office as Peter Parker, infiltrating HYDRA, and impersonating a repair/deliveryman in the same building as Captain America. Speaking in the present, 'Mallory Brickman' tells daughter Gloria, "sometimes it seems like each of those people was someone else. Someone hiding from the world and from the pain of the life I've created. But they were all me."

X-Men Unlimited v.1 #4: Flashback (which contradicts past continuity; see UXM 178 and X-Men 93, among other issues) depicting Mystique first meeting a young Rogue after the girl's powers have manifested. This is a retcon, and generally regarded as erroneous. Or, perhaps now it is the true version --- there have been so many retcons that it's difficult to say.

X-Men 200: Visiting her childhood bedroom, Rogue has a brief flashback/memory of playing happily with a laughing Mystique. Notably, they appear to be playing carelessly despite plenty of bare skin, which suggests it's from before Rogue's powers manifested --- and that this is the current 'true' version of her origin. You can see how frustrating this is.
Note: in a current-day scene of this issue, we can see markings on the doorway of Rogue's old room, which note her height at different ages. It indicates that she lived with Mystique and Destiny from age 7, which is new information and re-asserts the original version of her history. Thanks to UniAniGi for pointing this out!

X-Treme X-Men annual 2001: Rogue has a dream-flashback to a scene of her childhood with Mystique and Destiny, while the Shadow King tells her that he was responsible for driving Mystique toward terrorism and hate ("I shaped her"). He also says that he manipulated Destiny all her life.

Classic X-Men 44: Rogue is playing with a boy named Freddy, but resists him when he tries to kiss her. Mystique sees the whole thing, and reminds her after Freddy's gone that she can't touch boys because of the nature of her powers. Rogue is distraught, denying this, and refuses to help with the mission Mystique mentions, and runs off. Destiny overhears the conversation and urges caution, though Raven brushes her off, saying she must be a protective mother to Rogue. Destiny's warning goes on deaf ears, as Mystique insists she isn't jealous, but then snaps "let her have the boy, then! And when she's broken, she'll need me all the more!" Rogue meets with Freddy, and kisses him on a dare, absorbing his memories, and finally runs home. Despite her misery, she is cheerfully excited when she encounters Mystique and Destiny, evading questions and eagerly volunteering for the aforementioned mission.

Rogue 10: In a series of events that take place prior to the formation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Mystique lovingly scolds Rogue for her new hairstyle, and then talks with Destiny about an upcoming trip to Japan. Rogue's present-day narration states that Mystique hired herself out as a mercenary before forming the Brotherhood, and she brings Rogue and a woman named Blindspot on a gig to steal the formula of adamantium for Sunfire's evil uncle. The mission fails, and although Mystique is annoyed that Rogue torched the area with Sunfire's powers, she's pleased by her daughter's increasing skills at controlling her absorption powers, and they celebrate. Blindspot takes a photo of this, which comes back to haunt Rogue and Sunfire many years later (the photo is also seen in Rogue #7).

Rogue 11: A brief flashback of Blindspot removing the memories of the fouled mission from Mystique and Rogue, and then Destiny chases her out of the house.

X-Men Forever 3: Sent back in time by Prosh, Mystique overhears the recently-elected Senator Kelly speaking with FBI agent Fred Duncan about mutants.

Marvel Fanfare 60: Mystique tries to prepare Rogue for an upcoming mission with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, although her daughter does not seem to be taking things very seriously. Mystique then appears with Pyro in a fairly out-of-character scene (see the Pyro chronology), and attempts to deal with Rogue's general flakiness as they go undercover to rescue a captured mutant boy. Mystique tries to get Rogue to calm down when she absorbs several people and her behaviour becomes more erratic, with little success. Finally Rogue locks her mother out of the cell and it's only through the efforts of the boy that she's able to settle down. Mystique expresses silent frustration that Rogue will not listen to her and indicates her inexperience at raising a daughter---which is simply wrong, as the two would have been living together for at least several years by this point.

Ms. Marvel 16: Mystique's first published appearance. As Ms. Marvel flies over the New York harbour, she sees a tanker and gets one of her seventh-sense feelings of unease, though largely ignores it. However, Raven Darkholme is aboard, watching her with binoculars. Raven is startled to see her, worried that the heroine knows about her, and so resolves "when I return to Washington, I'll have to take care of her. Permanently!"

Ms. Marvel 17: Aboard the Helicarrier, two SHIELD agents are ogling a video of Ms Marvel, when they're suddenly accosted and reprimanded for their actions by Nick Fury. Despite the angry display, after he leaves they note that he doesn't look very healthy, and indeed, he's not feeling well. He's actually Mystique, and she admits to her companion Ballard that "the strain of maintaining Fury's form is proving far greater than I'd anticipated". Borrowing his form while the real Fury is off on business is very useful to achieve their goal --- Mystique plans to use a weapon in the Helicarrier's armoury to kill Ms. Marvel. She's able to fool the sensors and gain access, and shows Ballard what she's been seeking: an experimental suit of armour and weapons system called "Centurion". It's very advanced, with a gun capable of firing through any form of matter, and when Ballard picks it up, he accidentally fires it, blasting through several walls. Mystique is furious, and tells him he may have jeopardized the mission, deciding to get off the ship as quickly as possible before any more problems crop up. They then run into Fury's girlfriend, which presents a problem because Raven is "gaunt as a rail" under the heavy parka she's forced to wear as Fury --- due to stretching her mass to impersonate his height --- so she morphs into another SHIELD agent. She decides she can't risk using Fury's form again, and so borrows that of the Contessa in order to get off the Helicarrier. At the end of the issue, Ballard-as-Centurion goes gunning for Ms. Marvel.

A note about Ballard: he has an unusual relationship with Mystique. He's clearly a subordinate, and she reprimands him when he steps out of line, but she also calls him "my friend" and he addresses her as Raven. In contrast, it was many years before Mystique ever called Pyro "my friend", and he has never referred to her by her real name.
Also, there's a big deal made about the strain she feels at maintaining Fury's form, because it's larger and has more mass than her own body. This of course was soon changed, and Mystique impersonated Fury without problems not long after this issue (see Avengers annual 10 and UXM 158). Finally, Mystique mentions to Ballard something about "your culture", implying she's not a part of it. True, we know that her nationality of origin is not North American, but given that she reports to a strange alien-looking man in the next issue, it seems that she may have originally been intended to be an alien or something similar.

Ms. Marvel 18: Ms. Marvel is attacked by Centurion, who has been sent to kill her by Raven Darkholme. He mentions that the technological armour (with a built-in computer) he's wearing makes him the Avengers' equal, though he uses it in a very foolhardy manner and is eventually out-smarted and defeated. The Avengers are surprised to learn that the man in the armour is Ballard, for he is known to them and had apparently been harassing both Ms. Marvel and Carol Danvers for quite some time. She wonders who sent him. Meanwhile, Raven watches the televised battle from her Pentagon office, and receives a call from a mysterious man she calls "Lord". He orders her to cease attacking Ms. Marvel, saying she (Raven) is too valuable an operative to lose, but after he hangs up she makes her feelings and will known: "Lord, you are a fool. So long as Ms. Marvel lives, the 'plan' is in jeopardy." She then morphs into her true form (the first published appearance of it) and declares her intention to break free from Lord's control, as well as threatening Ms. Marvel and Carol Danvers. She contacts Lord through a strange holographic communicator, and he looks a bit like Nightcrawler, complete with pointed ears.

Ms. Marvel 22: Carol Danvers is at a party with her boyfriend Mike Barnett and some others, and Raven Darkholme is one of the guests. Looking over her shoulder at Carol, she silently threatens her life, and indicates that she has plans to deal with Barnett.

Marvel Super-Heroes v.2 #11: Ms. Marvel and Iron Man examine the murder scene of Carol Danvers' psychiatrist/boyfriend, Mike Barnett, using technology which allows them to see heat traces of other people. They witness 'Carol' visiting Barnett, kissing and then beating him to death. 'Carol' then morphs into Mystique and goes through his files for information on Danvers. Ms. Marvel is angry and decides to find his murderer, following all the clues she can, which lead her to a weapons deal involving an arms dealer and the Hellfire Club. She hooks up with the dealer as Carol Danvers, following him to Hong Kong. Meanwhile, at a Brotherhood hideout there, Destiny has a vision that Danvers is en route, but warns an angry Mystique not to pursue her vendetta. Mystique reminds her of an earlier prediction that Danvers will harm Rogue, and saying that she loves her daughter, vows to prevent it from coming true. She sends off Pyro and Avalanche to kill Danvers, and they attack her but are defeated. Ms. Marvel realizes they are connected to Mystique and furiously steps up her investigation, but her leads are eliminated when the Hellfire Club has the arms dealer killed.

Marvel Super Heroes v.2 #11: There is a note mentioning that weeks have passed since the events described in the previous entry. Mystique mentions that Ms. Marvel cost her two operatives (Pyro and Avalanche, who obviously later returned), and is furious with all the damage the woman has inflicted upon her activities. Destiny warns that her obsessive hatred of Danvers leads to a dark future, but Mystique recalls the prediction that Ms. Marvel will one day harm Rogue, saying she will not allow that. Rogue overhears the conversation. Soon after this may be when the first Rogue/Ms. Marvel fight (mentioned in UXM 182) takes place, off-panel. Also, an off-panel battle between the Hellfire Club and the Brotherhood (as mentioned by Sebastian Shaw UXM annual 7 and by Rogue in UXM 209) likely came soon after this fight with Ms. Marvel.

Uncanny X-Men 140: As Blob escapes from prison, he mentions being taught a trick by a "lady lawyer", who uses his escape as an entrance exam to see if he was worthy of joining her new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

X-Men Forever 3: Mystique is briefly sent back in time to a moment when the Brotherhood was preparing for the assassination attempt on Senator Kelly. The art is erroneous in this scene, as most of the team is dressed in their Freedom Force-era costumes.

Uncanny X-Men 141: Raven Darkholme (the assistant secretary of defence at DARPA) walks through the Pentagon, arriving at the Brotherhood's secret headquarters, and meets up with the rest of the group (excluding Rogue) as Mystique. She deals with new member Blob's insubordination and the squabbles of the others, demonstrating her authority, and prepares her team for their mission to assassinate Senator Robert Kelly. The Brotherhood makes a dramatic entrance into the middle of Senate hearings on the mutant question, and Mystique introduces her team to the astonished public and X-Men. As the latter group stands in opposition, she orders the Brotherhood to kill them.

Uncanny X-Men 142: As Mystique reiterates her desire to kill Kelly, in order to teach humanity to fear mutants, the X-Men and the Brotherhood clash. While the men of the team battle the X-Men, Mystique uses a psi-damper to fool Charles Xavier and Moira MacTaggert into believing she's a policewoman, and is able to knock them out with gas. She thinks about killing Xavier, but decides he's of more use as a hostage. As the battle rages, she joins in by impersonating Nightcrawler and fighting him, which infuriates him to no end and he eventually defeats her. He is shocked to see that her true appearance is so similar to his own and that she knows his real name, and when he asks her about it, she replies "ask your mother, Margali Szardos. Who would know better than --- she?" Intrigued, he wants to know more, but she is able to elude him and escapes. She sees as the rest of the Brotherhood is arrested --- including Destiny, to her dismay --- but vows she will soon get them out of prison and that they will have revenge on the X-Men for fouling their plans.

Marvel Super Heroes v.2 #11: In an inaccurate scene (obviously written long after the fact), Destiny tells Mystique that Carol Danvers is back in San Francisco, and Mystique vows that Danvers will die. Rogue attacks her at her home, and the two battle, culminating in Rogue permanently absorbing her powers and memory. In a crazed fury, Rogue tosses Danvers off the Golden Gate Bridge, and is desperately trying to deal with the presence in her head when Mystique finds her and unhappily regrets her past obsessive actions.
Why is this scene inaccurate--? Destiny was in prison at the time with the rest of the Brotherhood. Rogue absorbed Carol the day before the BoEM's attempted escape. Unless a great deal of unseen time elapses between Mystique and Destiny's conversation and Rogue's battle, there is an error here.

Avengers Annual 10: Moments after Iron Man is alerted to an attack on Captain America (perpetrated by Rogue, who absorbed him), Mystique arrives at his office in the shape of Janet Van Dyne. She manages to put an inhibitor device on him, rendering him immobile, and tells Rogue to go ahead with the rest of their plan. Rogue attacks Avengers mansion, defeating several and absorbing Thor in the process, and then she and Mystique head to Ryker's Island in a small craft in order to achieve the goal of their plan: breaking the rest of the Brotherhood out of prison. After Iron Man is dropped onto the generator keeping them in stasis fields, the Brotherhood makes their way out and battles the remaining Avengers who arrive to stop them. However, Destiny tells Mystique that Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) poses a threat to their escape, so Raven goes in search of her, taking the form of Nick Fury. She tries to shoot her, but is thwarted in the attempt, runs off, and is soon seen in the escape jet, calling for Rogue to leave with her. She reasons that the battle is lost and that if the two of them stay, they'll be captured along with the others and then be unable to break them out at a later date. Left behind, the rest of the Brotherhood do indeed lose the fight, and are re-captured.

Uncanny X-Men 158: Wolverine, Storm, and Carol Danvers go to the Pentagon in order to erase its files on the X-Men. While there, they run into Rogue and Raven Darkholme (not surprisingly, as it is the Brotherhood's headquarters), and Raven secretly follows Danvers while Rogue battles the X-Men. Raven is eager to settle old scores and to kill Carol, and shoots her while in the form of Nick Fury, though Carol fools her and they tussle. Danvers wins, and though she swears to kill Mystique for all that's been done to her, she simply has her arrested. Mystique vows revenge, and Carol reflects on her mercy, realizing that Mystique will always try to come after her (though ironically this was the last time the two had any association). Notably, an editorial box tells the reader that the backstory between them will be covered in "future issues of Marvel Fanfare", though of course it was published considerably later in Marvel Super Heroes 11.

Rom 31: The Brotherhood is being transferred from Ryker's Island to a smaller prison in Virginia, in order to minimize the danger they pose to a large populace. After an interlude with Rom the Spaceknight, the transport arrives at Windust Prison, met by the warden and the psychologist Dr. Kellogg. Naturally, these two are Mystique and Rogue in disguise, and they free their comrades. After yelling at Avalanche for his misadventures in Hulk 263 (which resulted in his arms being shattered), Mystique sends the others out to secure their transport. They run into Rom, and after Avalanche's erratic powers take out himself, Pyro, and Blob, Mystique criticizes their poor showing and angrily orders Rogue to fly the women away. The three of them eventually set down at an old mansion, where to their horror they encounter Hybrid, a half-human/half-Dire Wraith monster.

Rom 32: As Hybrid attempts to kill Rogue, Mystique leaps at him, trying to force him to let the girl go. Upon touching him, she sees visions of his past, and he tosses her away, much to Rogue's anger. However, Mystique decides he is a mutant and thus a potential ally, so they join together in order to kill Rom, though Destiny's precognition is blocked by Hybrid's alien ancestry, and she's somewhat uneasy. When he kills some convicts, the women are disgusted and begin to realize he plans to subjugate all humans; Mystique declares that she bows to no one, but Rom arrives and they are forced to put aside their conflicts in order to stop him. Mystique pretends to be injured and tells Rom that Rogue and Destiny are dead, and though he sees through it, Rogue successfully ambushes and kisses him (somehow absorbing a sense of "decency" through his armour). As Hybrid and Rom battle, Rogue insists that the Sisterhood must rescue him, and Destiny suddenly receives a vision of Hybrid's plans for all mutant women---being used as breeders. Rogue, against Mystique's worried wishes, temporarily stops Hybrid, and with Mystique's sudden assistance and some more help from Rogue, Rom is able to defeat him. Rom expresses surprise that the three, "devoted to evil", would help him, but Mystique tells him it was only because their lives were in danger, and that humankind remains their enemy.

X-Men Forever 2: Mystique is sent back in time by Prosh, and inhabits her past self's body, finding herself in her Raven Darkholme/DARPA persona. She's able to put some secret government files onto a disk and goes off to read it, encountering resistance from her fellow time-travelers at Prosh's orders. He doesn't want her to read the contents of the disk, but she's able to elude her pursuers, and returns home to Destiny and Rogue. She speaks with Destiny, who is aware that she is actually her future self, and Irene tells her cryptic things about her immediate future before they have an emotional and loving reunion. It's difficult for them to be together, knowing as they both do that Destiny will die sometime soon, but Mystique has to read the contents of the disk. She sees brief snippets of information about Charles Xavier's involvement with the government, past research on mutants, and other secretive documents, but is quickly pulled away to another time by Prosh.
[These events take place after the story in Rom (Destiny has been freed from prison), and are described as taking place four days after the events in UXM 158.]

Dazzler 22: Mystique, Destiny, and Rogue (while the men are still in prison) discuss a recently-failed attack on the Angel, in which Mystique had sent "anti-personnel hawks" stolen from the Pentagon. By attacking the Angel (who was present at the Brotherhood's battle with the X-Men in UXM 141-142), they hope to get revenge on the X-Men. Rogue is eager to fight, particularly against Wolverine, but Destiny urges caution and planning. They follow Angel and Dazzler as the pair travels to Xavier's, and then confront them, Mystique telling him "we owe you and your teammates plenty for the shambles you made of our plans back then". He says he'll never help, and asks them to leave Dazzler out of the battle, but when she joins in, Rogue attacks her too. Mystique morphs into Candy Southern to fool him and beats him up a bit. She then orders Rogue to absorb him so they can get the information they need in order to battle the X-Men, but Rogue balks, refusing to do so on the grounds that she might grow wings. She offers to kill him, but "the Sisterhood" decides to simply take him with them to get the information later. However, Dazzler returns and blinds them, freeing Warren, and the duo makes their escape.

Dazzler 23: The Sisterhood confers about Dazzler and Angel, and Mystique decrees that the latter is to be left alone for the time being. She orders Rogue to ignore Dazzler because the woman is beneath their notice, and though Rogue acquiesces, Destiny realizes the girl is troubled.

Dazzler 28: Mystique and Destiny watch Rogue training in anticipation of an attack on Dazzler. Rogue is furious about her defeat in issue #22, vowing to "smash her once and for all!" Strangely, though Destiny warns her about her hatred, neither parent tries to stop Rogue despite Mystique's decision in issue #23. Rogue goes after Dazzler and the two fight for a while, until Rogue is almost accidentally killed and requires Alison's help to be rescued. Given that Dazzler plans here to turn Rogue in, it's not clear how or when exactly she escaped.

X-Treme X-Men 1: In a flashback panel, Sage (of the X-Men) describes how Destiny persuaded Mystique that Rogue's only hope for controlling her powers was under the tutelage of Charles Xavier. Mystique angrily argues with Irene.

Uncanny X-Men 170: Mystique has a terrible nightmare, in which she is being chased by hounds. She trips, and is easily captured by Jean Grey and Mastermind, who cut her throat. Waking with a start, she recognizes the people in her dream, and realizes someone was manipulating her mind, though she doesn't know who. She comes no closer to discovering who is responsible while talking with Destiny, as something is blocking Irene's precognition. Suddenly, however, Destiny sees a timeline in which Rogue is in terrible danger, and the two women worriedly run to her room---only to find her gone. Rogue has left without word (on her way to the X-Men, as we see in UXM 171), though Destiny cannot see where she has gone, as something again blocks her. If this was indeed the work of Mastermind (as some have speculated), it's unclear what exactly he was trying to accomplish by taking Rogue from Mystique/the Brotherhood, nor is it known why he was tormenting her mother.

Uncanny X-Men 177: Mystique trains alone in Arcade's Murderworld, fighting X-Men robots in a carnival setting (in an interesting narration, she mentions how much she loved the circus as a child). She ingeniously defeats them all by 'killing' them --- including Rogue --- but can't bring herself to kill the Nightcrawler robot. Arcade is impressed by her performance, and agrees to train the Brotherhood (with one robot set to kill), though Mystique is annoyed that she could kill Rogue but not Nightcrawler. Destiny warns her that her plans against the X-Men are a mistake, especially because she isn't able to harm Nightcrawler, but Mystique furiously quiets her, insisting she wants to get Rogue back. She believes that Xavier is manipulating her daughter's mind, and refuses to believe Rogue would deliberately abandon her. Later, Pyro, Avalanche, and the Blob are sent out to attack the X-Men.

Uncanny X-Men 178: As the Brotherhood battles the X-Men, intentionally drawing them away from the mansion, Mystique uses a jamming device to prevent Charles Xavier from detecting her. He does, at the last moment, and so she doesn't kill him with her first shot, but Rogue stops her when she goes to finish the job. Mystique tells her to get ready to leave, declaring proudly "did you think I was going to let Xavier steal my daughter and get away with it?" but Rogue insists she came of her own volition and refuses to let her kill him. In desperation, Rogue tells her how much her powers are ruining her life, and points out that Mystique probably cannot help her, saying that Xavier's the only one who can give her a chance at being normal. Her mother is not pleased, asking whose side she'll choose if there are ever more conflicts between the X-Men and the Brotherhood, but Rogue reminds her that at least she'll have a choice. Mystique apparently accepts her decision, leaving her alone and ultimately blackmailing the X-Men into letting her captured Brotherhood go in exchange for Xavier's life, to which they acquiesce.
Of interest to continuity fans is that Rogue tells her "when Ah was a kid --- 'fore Ah developed mah power --- Ah remember you holdin' me, protectin' me from the badness an' the nightmares", which pretty much negates the information given in the much later X-Men Unlimited 4. This story clearly states that Mystique adopted Rogue before the girl's powers emerged.

Uncanny X-Men 183: Raven Darkholme and Valerie Cooper travel to Forge's penthouse. En route, Raven is silently smug about her plans as leader of the Brotherhood, and vows to defeat and possibly kill both Forge and Val in order to further her group's terrorist agenda.

Uncanny X-Men 184: Raven and Val arrive at Forge's penthouse, and Val is shocked to see the technological wonders inside. Raven has apparently been to the building before, and describes her own reaction to seeing its holograms for the first time, and the two exchange some friendly chatter. They greet their host, and he shows them around his home, mentioning he's the government's new weapons inventor ever since Tony Stark quit. The trio discuss the threat posed by the Dire Wraiths, an alien species that possesses and kills humans, and Forge hands over his best copy of Rom's Neutralizer. It is designed to neutralize the powers of any super-being (it temporarily worked on Pyro in Rom 31), though it is untested and Forge warns that he doesn't know exactly what its effects will be, so he doesn't want it released until more work is done. He also runs his scanner on the people in the room, announcing one of them is a mutant, which shocks Raven and she fears she'll be exposed as Mystique. She decides she must kill both Forge and Val, but is somewhat relieved when he reveals that it is he who is the mutant. Infuriated, she thinks to herself how close the call was and vows to ensure that the scanner never detects her mutancy, and plans to get revenge on Forge for his joke. Forge is surprised by her reaction and wonders if she has something to hide.

Uncanny X-Men 185: Mystique (as Raven Darkholme) is furious to learn that Henry Peter Gyrich and Val Cooper plan to use Forge's untested Neutralizer on Rogue, whom they believe to be guilty of murder. Raven realizes she's been outvoted, though vows to protest. Later, she returns to the Brotherhood's secret headquarters to find Destiny, and the two of them discuss the crisis and their options. Mystique feels it might not be so bad for Rogue to lose her powers, as she'll be able to have a normal life and return home to her family, though she asks Destiny what the best option is, and Irene points out that the decision should be Rogue's. Destiny's powers are blocked again and she can't give advice, but Mystique calls up Forge to let him know about the government's plans, realizing he'll be angry and try to stop them. She also, as we see in Marvel Fanfare 40, speaks to Storm about the matter.

Marvel Fanfare 40: Storm goes to a meeting in Atlanta, held at a punk/fetish club and which has been arranged by Mystique. Raven assures her that she won't be harmed because of a "truce" between them; she has something important to talk about. In typical Mystique style, she deliberately baits Storm by assuming Ororo's appearance as well as that of Kitty Pryde, getting the desired reaction out of her, as well as flirting with a young man at the club. She asks about the whereabouts of Rogue, and is incensed to hear that the girl has run away due to frustration over her inability to control her powers. She informs Storm that Rogue has been falsely accused of murdering a SHIELD agent (mentioned in UXM 185, the events taking place in UXM 182), and mentions working to clear her (using her DARPA connections as Raven Darkholme, presumably), but also tells Storm about the government's plans to use Forge's Neutralizer on Rogue. She gives Ororo a list of Rogue's favourite places, and reveals the girl's birthplace --- much to the surprise of Storm, as the X-Men didn't know it --- telling her that she fears for Rogue's safety, and cares too much about her to allow her to be hurt in that manner. She wants Rogue back, but knows she's unable to provide the help for her that Xavier supposedly can. "Consider this a gift. From a mother for her child." She leaves, and travels through the crowd, meeting up with Destiny at another table. In the narration, Raven describes her in very loving terms, "elegant as always, as beautiful today as the day we met", and the two of them converse. Destiny asks if she warned Storm about the precognitive vision that anyone who goes to help Rogue "will suffer the fate meant for her", and of course, Raven had not. It's too good a chance to hurt the X-Men for her to pass up, and although Irene rebukes her, they speak gently and lovingly to each other; without a doubt, this is the issue that most clearly establishes their long-term lesbian relationship. Destiny makes cryptic remarks about the X-Men's future, and the two of them end their evening with a waltz.
Note: this story takes place partway through UXM 185. Chronologically, the next scene is the one with Rogue and Storm and Gyrich's attack with the Neutralizer.

Marvel Super-Heroes v.2 #2: Rogue is out exercising when she encounters a strange man who emerges from a mysterious van. Named Ken, they hit it off and seem to like each other very much --- she is thrilled to learn that she can touch him --- but eventually they separate and he returns to the van. Inside is Mystique, who yells at him for letting himself get injured, and she reveals that he is a robot she had built in order to get Rogue away from the X-Men. He calls her "mother", and she orders him to bring Rogue to her the next day. Again, he meets up with Rogue while Mystique watches via surveillance; she comments that Rogue looks so happy with him and wonders if she's doing the right thing. Later, Ken tells Mystique he's fallen in love with Rogue and won't allow her to be hurt, and they get into an argument, so Mystique decides to have him re-programmed. Rogue arrives and intervenes, furious at her mother for her actions, and when Mystique tells her she loves her and just wants her to come home, Rogue terms it "obsession". Ken is severely damaged and Rogue is upset, so Mystique touches her in order to make her daughter understand why she did it. In the end, Mystique apologizes for Ken and asks her to come home, but Rogue refuses, saying as she leaves that she forgives her but must be free to do her own thing.
[It is not completely clear where exactly this story fits into continuity, although a good guess places it during the continuity gap between the events of UXM 192, a period which spanned several unseen months (including much of Madelyne Pryor's pregnancy).]

Uncanny X-Men 199: Val Cooper arrives home to find Mystique inside, impersonating her form. Mystique has an offer for her: having the Brotherhood work for the government and becoming "Freedom Force". She points out that anti-mutant sentiment is increasing, and they want to avoid being killed or imprisoned. Val agrees, offering a pardon based on their performance, but gives her a test before accepting --- to capture Magneto. Later, Magneto is present at a Holocaust memorial, along with Kitty Pryde and Lee Forrester, although 'Lee' turns out to be Mystique in disguise. The rest of Freedom Force (the Brotherhood, plus Spiral) shows up and battles Magneto and then the intervening X-Men, though FF is defeated. It is only because Magneto surrenders, dismayed by the fear he inspired in the crowd, that Mystique is able to put handcuffs on him.

Avengers West Coast 84: A brief flashback scene in which Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter) is introduced to the rest of Freedom Force.

X-Factor Annual 6: Flashback of Mystique (as Raven Darkholme) and Destiny taking a cruise together. Destiny is trying to get Mystique to relax and smile, though Raven is in a foul mood and not at all happy. Irene cheerfully forces Raven to dance with the ship's captain, and Raven, stymied by her actions and apparent optimism, asks why she maintains such a positive outlook on life. Destiny replies that she takes comfort in how she knows that the "tapestry" of time is structured, and describes what will happen after she is dead, much to Mystique's discomfort. Irene vows that she will make Raven laugh "if it's the last thing I do", and as we see in the flashforward, she's correct :)
[It is not clear where exactly this fits into continuity. It's been placed here because Mystique and Destiny aren't present in UXM 206 --- which would otherwise go here in a Freedom Force chronology --- and there needs to be a place to fit this particular story. This is just a convenient guess, really. Perhaps they took some time off, and that's why they're absent when the rest of the team goes after the X-Men.]

X-Factor 8: Mystique announces Freedom Force's new mission: to arrest Rusty Collins. They suspect he's affiliated with X-Factor, the supposed mutant hunters, and Blob is eager to cause trouble for them because of their apparent anti-mutant sentiments. Mystique gives an expository speech about how and why they became FF, and reminds her team that they must perform their job well if they wish to keep their government deal. She insists they play by the rules, as per her promise to Val Cooper in UXM 199, and they travel to Central Park for a confrontation with X-Factor/Rusty. The two teams battle while Rusty meets up with a young mutant named Skids, and the kids escape. Eventually they encounter FF again, intent upon arresting them.

X-Factor 9: Rusty and Skids run away from Freedom Force, with X-Factor and FF in pursuit. Eventually FF reaches them, and as they are making the arrest, the team is attacked by a mutant-hating mob. Mystique refuses to allow Blob to retaliate, and insists that the crowd cease their assault --- citing their government authority --- but has to be rescued by Destiny, who foresees that Raven will be severely injured by a projectile. Mystique is still adamant that the team remain passive or lose their deal, and so they are forced to endure the abuse until X-Factor sees what's going on and reluctantly forces the crowd to stop. During the incident, Rusty and Skids were able to run off and head for the Morlock tunnels; Destiny sees where they have gone and warns Mystique that she sees "death" there, but the team has no choice but to follow if they wish to keep their jobs. FF finds the kids in the tunnels (Blob beats up Rusty against Mystique's orders) and battles X-Factor in the latter group's 'evil mutants' X-Terminators disguises, until Destiny urgently persuades Raven that Freedom Force will die if they remain, and she finally orders a retreat. Blob had recognized X-Factor as the original X-Men, and though Mystique tries to explain this to Val Cooper, she's ignored, and so decides to do things her way. She vows to tell reporter Trish Tilby that Warren Worthington "is an evil mutant", and is interested to see what kind of trouble that will stir up.

X-Factor 10: Freedom Force appears in one panel, watching Trish Tilby on the news as she announces that Warren Worthington (a known mutant) is the financial backer for X-Factor, the supposed mutant-hunters. Blob mentions that Mystique did indeed leak the information to Tilby, and she gloats that government computers provided the necessary evidence. She wonders when the media will make the connection between X-Factor and the X-Terminators.

Avengers Annual 15: FF arrives during an Avengers get-together, sent by the government to arrest the heroes. They hand out warrants and follow procedure, but Hercules and Iron Man attack them anyway, and start a fight between the groups. The battle goes on for some time, during which Mystique does not play much of a role, but she does manage to take out Captain America and assist in the capture of Wasp. She has to berate Spider-Woman into helping out, as the latter is having a crisis of conscience and has decided her teammates are "evil". After defeating the Avengers, FF delivers them to the Vault to face their government accusers. Back at their headquarters, Mystique yells at Spider-Woman for nearly costing them a victory --- important to a team dependent on the government's goodwill --- and tells her she may encounter problems if she doesn't shape up. Spider-Woman is frustrated, and eventually goes back to the Vault to free the Avengers, officially going AWOL from FF.

West Coast Avengers Annual 1: Mystique plans to again lead Freedom Force against the Avengers in order to re-capture them, though Quicksilver successfully petitions H.P. Gyrich to allow his team of LMDs to chase after them, much to her annoyance. Gyrich dismisses her and FF, reminding her that they're still proving their obedience to the government, and sends them away.

Captain America 334: Mystique is present in one scene, shown sitting with Destiny in a government cafeteria while some of the men of Freedom Force taunt the new Captain America (John Walker) and Bucky (later Battlestar).

Uncanny X-Men 223: Freedom Force is not impressed by Val Cooper's addition of two new members to the team, Crimson Commando and Stonewall. Mystique in particular criticizes their selection, recalling the government's inclusion of Spider-Woman to the group's ranks, which Val admits was her fault. Though Mystique tries to establish her authority with the two veterans, Commando's confident arrogance irks the others, and Pyro puts him in his place. The meeting is then interrupted by the arrival of Super Sabre, the third member of the heroes' trio, and later by Destiny's terrified scream. The entire team comes running to her aid, Mystique at the forefront, and though she tries to comfort her, Destiny is inconsolable because she's seen that the X-Men (including Rogue) are going to die.

Uncanny X-Men 224: Mystique (disguised in another form) surprises Rogue during a workout, and tells her of Destiny's prophecy. Rogue listens to the warning, but refuses the offer to take her away to safety, so Mystique walks away, upset that she won't leave the X-Men but is willing to abandon her mother. Later, Rogue tells the other X-Men about the warning, and briefly mentions growing up with Mystique and Destiny.

Uncanny X-Men 225: Freedom Force shows up as the X-Men attempt to enter Forge's Aerie in Dallas. Mystique announces that they are there to arrest them, obliquely mentioning her warning to Rogue in the previous issue. In other words, despite her strong words to the X-Men, it's clear that FF was indeed there to save their lives, which is even more firmly established by her frustrated words to Destiny as the two teams battle. Eventually, FF defeats the X-Women, but Mystique is taken captive by the other side, and the X-Men retreat inside the Aerie. Destiny becomes very upset, explaining as the Adversary begins to warp reality in the city, that it will be the end of the X-Men "and quite possibly, the world!"

Uncanny X-Men 226: The X-Men have taken refuge inside the building, and they tie up Mystique as she tries to warn them about Destiny's prophecy. They're not interested, and threaten her a bit, but as the Adversary's magic begins to warp time and space, she and Wolverine agree to a truce between their teams in order to help the civilians trapped in the middle of the chaos. Freedom Force and the X-Men certainly do so, by rescuing people and helping to battle barbarians and monsters, as well as dealing with the press. Mystique works side-by-side with Wolverine in the decision-making and missions, and makes her team pull its own weight. She brings FF into the Aerie, where they battle more creatures brought by the time waves, and they deal with the Adversary in disguise as he tries to stir up trouble. When Wolverine decides that the X-Men must go up to Forge's penthouse, she declares her team will go too, and protests when he disagrees, though he points out that somebody needs to stay behind to protect the civilians, and she is forced to acquiesce. She is distraught to see Rogue leave, knowing Destiny's prediction, but has no choice but to let her go. Meanwhile, as Storm and Forge return from the Adversary's dimension, he renews his attack and brings down part of the building onto Freedom Force. Blob carries a protesting Mystique outside, just as it seemingly collapses.

Uncanny X-Men 227: As Freedom Force and Manoli Wetherell grieve for the (presumed-dead) X-Men, Pyro discovers they're still alive. However, those on the outside are forced to sit and watch the X-Men battle the Adversary's forces, unable to help as the heroes sacrifice their lives to imprison the demon. Mystique in particular is affected, as Rogue is among their number, and although their lives are later given back to them by Roma, she does not know this. Furious, she shouts at Forge, who cast the spell, "murderer!"

New Mutants 65: Magik, angry over Colossus' 'death' in Dallas, vows to kill Forge. She and the other New Mutants (along to prevent her from killing) go to Dallas. She sees him, and attacks him with her sword, but Freedom Force is there to stop her, and engages the kids in battle in order to protect him. Despite a lengthy fight, Magik manages to grab Forge and is about to kill him when Cannonball stops her; as she drops him, 'he' reverts to Mystique, who had adopted his form in order to protect him. Destiny then shows the New Mutants a vision of the upcoming Inferno as a warning of things to come, which puzzles them, as they believe FF to be "bad guys". Illyana then spots the real Forge, and chases after him while her friends follow, leaving FF to watch and realize there's nothing left for them to do. Destiny is still distressed by her vision of Inferno, however.

X-Factor 30: Still in Dallas, Mystique and the rest of FF await Cyclops and Marvel Girl's arrival after Destiny predicts they will appear. The team then stands around and looks threatening as the pair demands to know the whereabouts of Cyclops' missing son.

X-Factor 31: Mystique does not have much of a role in this issue other than to stand around with Destiny and watch as Cyclops and Marvel Girl battle the rest of FF.

X-Factor 33: FF shows up after X-Factor defeats the Alliance of Evil. Mystique tells the heroes that they should sign the Mutant Registration Act forms or FF will have to arrest them. Beast agrees, and several others agree to sign using their public hero aliases (keeping their private identities secret), but Rusty Collins refuses to sign at all, and burns the form. FF's reaction to this is not shown.

Captain America 346: In order to trap some mutant terrorists, Freedom Force is assigned to hold a mock trial of 'Quicksilver' --- actually Mystique in disguise. They do so until the group shows up and crashes a meteorite into the building, demolishing it while the team (and civilians) are still inside. Mystique does not have much of a role in this issue other than the impersonation, but she shows concern for and helps Destiny as FF struggles out of the rubble.

Captain America 347: As the Commission discusses John Walker's attack on the Resistants (see Captain America 346 for details), Val Cooper says "fortunately, operative Mystique was able to salvage the situation!" This suggests that behind the scenes she was able to carry out the original plan by following the surviving Resistants and/or helping one to escape and then following him/her --- possibly leading to the arrest of the terrorist group.

Marvel Comics Presents 41: Senator Robert Kelly is about to be executed by a drug lord's firing squad when the boss himself shows up, ordering that Kelly and his colleagues be released to him. He's actually Mystique in disguise, and after bantering with Senator Kelly, sends orders to the rest of FF, en route in order to free the prisoners. They battle the drug boss' superteam while Mystique deals with the rest of his men through a combination of trickery and heavy artillery, and eventually all make it safely to the team helicopter. The boss threatens Mystique as they leave, which annoys her, and she tells him she doesn't like drug dealers and threatens him back. An interesting appearance for her, as she displays a sense of humour as well as sniping at Kelly --- reasonably so, given the history between them.

X-Factor 40: Mystique, Pyro, and Blob arrive to talk to X-Factor after Nanny's orphans have been rescued. After commending X-Factor for the rescue, Mystique tells them that due to their good work, Rusty Collins will be released on his own recognizance, and she gives Marvel Girl custody of her niece and nephew. Blob tells them that the government is returning the other children to their parents, though this was obviously a set-up for a future plotline involving Freedom Force (see the entries for New Mutants 78-87).

New Mutants 78: FF is sent to arrest Rusty Collins again, because it's believed that he was responsible for a fire in New York (it was actually the work of Mirage, who was influenced by Hela). FF pursues the New Mutants as they try to take Mirage to safety. During the course of the battle, Mystique attempts to fool the kids by impersonating Cyclops, but Wolfsbane sees through the ruse and takes her out. Disoriented, Mystique is not able to stop Blob before he gives away several government secrets, including something about the mutant children kidnapped by Nanny---he says the government has them in custody, which Skids interprets to mean that FF is personally holding them. Mystique is furious with him, and is obliged to keep the kids from revealing this information. Some members of FF stay behind to keep watch on Rusty and Skids, stuck under her forcefield, while the rest pursue the other kids and inadvertently release Mirage from her stasis. Doctor Strange then transports most of the New Mutants to Asgard.

New Mutants 80: Rusty and Skids are still holding out on Liberty Island, protected by her forcefield. FF orders them out, but they refuse, vowing to go to the media about the kidnapped children. While Pyro refutes the assumption that FF has the kids, Mystique replies that they can't allow that kind of scandal to be associated with FF, and has the team helicopter shoot at the field, destroying the ground around them and enabling Blob to carry away the kids, still protected under the forcefield.

New Mutants 82: Hours later, Mystique tells Skids to lower her forcefield, which the girl finally does when she collapses from exhaustion. Rusty attacks Freedom Force with his fire, but Pyro capably takes control of it and the boy surrenders.

Uncanny X-Men 254: Destiny has a prescient dream, one that foretells her own death. The next morning, Mystique expresses concern for the rough night Irene experienced, but doesn't know the dream's warning, and so banters happily and affectionately with her. However, that good mood vanishes when Val Cooper orders FF in to battle the Reavers, a team of cyborgs who are attacking some X-affiliated people on Muir Island. Still furious at Forge for the 'death' of Rogue, she refuses to help him or his ilk, but is eventually worn down by Val and is forced to acquiesce. Destiny tells her to be kinder to Forge, "considering how intimately your futures are intertwined" (obvious foreshadowing for the romance plot in X-Factor 115-136), though Mystique scoffs at the idea. One interesting aspect of this issue is Destiny's musings on Mystique and their relationship during her dream.

Uncanny X-Men 255: Freedom Force arrives just as the Reavers soundly defeat every X-person on Muir Island. Blob and Avalanche jump down from the team jet while the others remain in the plane, waiting for it to land. Destiny is quietly agitated, though refuses to elaborate about her distress, despite Mystique's pleas for an explanation. Meanwhile, Lady Deathstrike jumps onto the plane, killing the pilots and sending it crashing to the ground. Forge carries Mystique out of the wreckage despite her furious protests to let her go back for Destiny, and Stonewall retrieves Irene. Still, Raven is not very grateful for the rescue, and angrily orders Forge around after everyone's safe, telling him to look after Destiny, away from the fight. As the battle rages, Destiny urges Forge to go to the fight, insisting he protect Mystique, and that he should love her. He disputes this, but she reminds him of her ability to see the future. As he leaves, the Shadow King-possessed Legion appears. Meanwhile, things quickly go downhill as Avalanche is gutted by Deathstrike and Blob is taken out of the fight; Donald Pierce captures Mystique and then she suddenly receives an image of Destiny's death (broadcast by Legion), and she screams in shock and horror. Sensing her distress, Stonewall tackles Pierce to get her free from him. Pierce kills him as Pyro and Mystique look on, and the two of them are chased and say a surprisingly tender goodbye until Forge unexpectedly arrives and kills the Reaver about to shoot them. This puts the enemy on the run, and they escape, leaving FF to deal with their losses. Grief-stricken, Mystique cradles Destiny's body, and vows revenge for the two lives Forge has cost her.

X-Men Forever 2: Mystique's future self has been returned by Prosh to the immediate aftermath of Destiny's death on Muir Island, which is difficult for her. The surviving members of FF watch over her grief with concern and sorrow, and she spends some time alone with Destiny's body. Later, as the others prepare to leave for home, she goes off by herself to contemplate events and avoid informing her unsuspecting teammates that she is actually from the future, and encounters Legion. She is quietly wary of him, but reacts angrily when he shows her disturbing visions from his mind (given to him by Destiny), and threatens to kill him. But she doesn't, even when he mentions that the choice is hers and he has to die before he can wreak havoc in the future. He tells her to remember what he's told her.

Avengers 312: Pyro, Blob, and Avalanche attack the Avengers at their park in a story taking place soon after UXM 255. Avalanche mentions "Mystique is off grieving Destiny".

X-Factor Annual 6: In a story both humorous and sad, Mystique (as Raven Darkholme) is re-taking a cruise that she went on some time ago with Destiny (see the entry for this flashback). She opens a letter from Irene, complete with a note, a ring, and a photograph taken during their first trip, leading into the flashback sequence. Back in the present, Raven scatters Destiny's ashes at the precisely-predicted moment, only to have them blown back in her face. Presumably recalling Destiny's prophecy that her last act would be to make Raven laugh, she laughs and sings as Irene finally gets what she'd wanted so long ago.

Incredible Hulk 369: Mystique, freshly returned from mourning Destiny, yells at her team for their mischievous behaviour while she was gone (Pyro, Blob, and Avalanche had attacked the Avengers at their park in Avengers 312; apparently Commando had left, and neither Spiral nor Super Sabre appear in this issue). Mystique has managed to pull the team back together after its apparent disintegration, and after chewing most of them out individually, she sends Commando, Pyro, and Blob to bring in the Hulk, while she investigates another sighting. An old lady claims to have seen him, and though she refuses to allow the police into her apartment, she lets in Mystique (in the guise of a male FBI agent). Mystique is saddened by the nervous old woman, who reminds her of Destiny, and thinks "it's all I can do not to burst into tears", but she's able to continue the investigation. The woman claims there is a monster in her closet, although it is empty when Mystique checks; she comforts the old woman and leaves, more depressed than ever (unfortunately, there really was something in the closet and it later grabs the old woman). Meanwhile, the other members of the team find the real Hulk, and he beats them all soundly.

New Mutants 87: Rusty and Skids are in custody again, after they were arrested by Freedom Force in NM 86. A terrorist group called the Mutant Liberation Front has been active, demanding the release of the two (much to Skids' surprise), and Mystique wants answers from them. She asks Skids who the MLF are, and why they want them, but Skids professes ignorance. Mystique lectures her, suggesting that the MLF wants them for certain government secrets they possess, and subtly threatens her in order to get co-operation. Skids claims FF would kill them for the information, to which Mystique does not reply. Later, the MLF attacks the prison facility, and liberates Rusty and Skids.

New Mutants 88: Crimson Commando, Pyro, and Blob are questioning a captive Cable about the MLF, Rusty and Skids, and a stolen radioactive element, but he brushes them off, proclaiming his innocence. Mystique then interrupts the interrogation, telling the others that X-Factor's Ship has arrived back in New York. X-Factor contacts FF to tell them they want Rusty and Skids back "or we go to the law...and the press", which Freedom Force discusses at their meeting, aware that they don't have the kids anymore. They are talking about their options when a soldier announces that Cable is escaping. Cable attacks several members of FF before finally stealing a helicopter, so Mystique --- realizing he knows too much sensitive information --- sends Commando and the others after him.

Marvel Comics Presents 82: The White Queen is still angry at Firestar for leaving the Hellions and is determined to get revenge, and so sends anonymous information about her to Freedom Force, ensuring that the government team will have to go after her. Mystique is puzzled that someone would send this information to her, and --- mentioning that Destiny predicted it would arrive --- tries to decide what to do. Realizing that Firestar is very powerful and could make a good ally for the team, she resolves to go to her home in the guise of a friend, and try to persuade her to join them. When Angelica refuses (having just promised her father to stay out of the super-powered scene), Mystique places her under arrest and has Spiral and Avalanche burst in to back her up.

Marvel Comics Presents 83: Firestar flies her father to safety, only to have FF pursue her. Avalanche complains that he could have taken her out easily if not for Mystique's insistence that the girl be treated carefully. She still maintains that Firestar be left unharmed, and sends them off to find her; while doing so, Spiral battles her and severely injures her father in the process. The pair still manages to escape, and when Avalanche again grumbles about going easy on her, Mystique decides they have to be more forceful next time. Meanwhile, the same gang which attacked Firestar in the previous issue decides Mystique would be valuable to their organ-harvesting operations, and opt to use Firestar's desperate search for donor organs for her father as incentive to get her to capture their quarry.

Marvel Comics Presents 84: After simulated combat versus a fake Freedom Force, Firestar is sent by the Arms of Salvation operatives to retrieve Mystique for "DNA research" in exchange for a lung for her father. Meanwhile, Mystique sends FF to search for Firestar, while she morphs into the girl's form in order to prompt her father for information. Firestar sees this and furiously attacks her, but is stopped by the arrival of Blob and Pyro.

Marvel Comics Presents 85: Mystique orders Firestar to give up, and though she shouts at Blob for attacking the girl, he doesn't listen. Pyro and Blob fight her and lose, despite Mystique's warnings to take her seriously. Mystique then morphs into Angelica's father and pleads with her to stop fighting and listen to FF; Firestar sees through her deception and captures her for the Arms of Salvation.

Marvel Comics Presents 86: Firestar delivers the unconscious Mystique to the AoS. They assure her that no one will be harmed, and that Mystique will be released after having some tissue samples taken, though other AoS members talking in private make it clear that these promises won't be kept. The rest of FF declares their intention to rescue their leader as well as to get revenge on Firestar for beating them, and they invade the AoS headquarters. At the same time, one of the AoS ringleaders (Cross) attacks Firestar for refusing to join their operation, and then she realizes what's really going on. She releases Mystique and the other captive victims just as Cross bursts in and confronts her.

Marvel Comics Presents 87: As the furious Cross attacks Firestar, Mystique is obliged --- because of her position as leader of a federal group --- to get the civilians to safety, much to her chagrin. After doing so, she shows up again in the form of Fitch (another AoS operative, whose fate is unknown), and speaks to Firestar after Cross has been defeated. They both know that Spiral will kill Angelica if given the chance, and Mystique admits she doesn't want that to happen. She concocts a plan to fake Firestar's death so that she and her father will be safe, and quietly reflects that she hoped the girl would join FF, because of Destiny's prophecy about her joining a team that will "make a difference to the entire world. I thought you meant she'd be on this team. I guess I hoped we'd play that important role. No --- I know we will." She mentions in her journal that Bart Jones is being cared for at the government's expense, that the rest of FF believes Firestar to be dead, and she wishes her well.

Avengers: Deathtrap: the Vault: Freedom Force is called in to help deal with a mass breakout by all the prisoners in the Vault. Though Mystique chastises Blob for expressing sympathy for the escaping criminals, she thinks to herself that her team's loyalties will be tested by this assignment. En route, the Avengers also feel FF can't be trusted, and vow to keep an eye on them. Meanwhile, FF meets up with the warden (who has secretly set a bomb to destroy the entire prison) and then they go underground to approach the prisoners by stealth. Things go as planned until they are attacked by Hydro-Man, who nearly drowns them until they surrender. A group of prisoners attack them and force FF to set a trap for the Avengers, to which Mystique reluctantly agrees. She and the others attempt to trick the heroes into an ambush, though it is foiled by the timely arrival of some other Avengers. Though the two hero groups conflict over methods, they eventually team up together to fight the prisoners until the bomb crisis becomes serious, and then FF and most of the Avengers are used as hostages to prove the heroes' good faith while Iron Man and others work to defuse it. Once ended, there is a free-for-all battle between both sides, with the heroes ultimately winning thanks to the efforts of several Avengers and Crimson Commando. Though leading FF, Mystique does not have much of a real role in this story, though she's at least made out to be somewhat ambiguous in her motives and actions.

Uncanny X-Men 265: After discussing the recent death of Destiny, the Shadow King-possessed Jacob Reisz orders his new thrall, Val Cooper, to kill Mystique.

Uncanny X-Men 266: Mystique is sitting alone at Freedom Force's home, grieving for Destiny. She holds an old photograph of the two of them, morphing into youthful and elderly versions of her lover, when the Shadow King-possessed Val Cooper arrives to kill her. Mystique reveals that Destiny warned her of this event, but willingly awaits her fate. The gun fires.

X-Factor 70: Val Cooper and Nick Fury explain the events of UXM 266, saying that Val was beginning to fight the Shadow King's control when she went to kill Mystique, and shot herself (merely wounded) rather than shoot Raven. Mystique describes how she then contacted Fury and arranged to impersonate Val, having herself hypnotized in order to fool the Shadow King --- thus revealing that the 'Val' over the next few issues is actually Mystique in disguise.

Uncanny X-Men 269: Rogue emerges from the Siege Perilous, only to arrive in her apartment. The television is on, and she sees a news report announcing Mystique's death, much to her distress. Val Cooper is talking to reporters, announcing her intention to investigate the murder as well as introducing the FBI agent who will be in charge, Jacob Reisz. He has been possessed by the Shadow King, but does not know that Val is actually Mystique in disguise.

X-Factor 60: X-Factor and some associates land their craft at a government facility (the one from which Cable escaped FF's custody in New Mutants 88), meeting with Val Cooper and other officials to discuss the situation in Genosha. She tells them the U.S. government has broken diplomatic ties with the country but is trying to unofficially resolve the crisis (the Genoshans have some of the New Mutants prisoner and want some escaped mutates returned to them). X-Factor is determined to retrieve the kids and so Val gives them more information, telling them that the U.S. government wants the kids freed. They then leave, but Val pessimistically tells an associate she doesn't think the information will be enough.

X-Factor 69: Val Cooper calls in X-Factor to deal with an anti-mutant mob protesting in Washington (their anger egged on by the Shadow King's manipulations). She tells them that the president and Charles Xavier wish to see them, and they meet up with Xavier and the Shadow King-possessed Jacob Reisz. Seemingly unaware that Reisz houses the King, the group makes plans to invade Muir Island, which is the King's stronghold and is guarded by some possessed X-Men. Reisz pulls Val away from the others and praises her for leading them to him; he wants to crush Xavier and his students in a dramatic way rather than simply eliminating them quickly. Calling him "master", Val appears to be in his thrall, but still questions him.
X-Factor lands on Muir and attempts to find the Shadow King's human host, but he suddenly reveals himself aboard the ship. Xavier begs Val for help as the King triumphantly attacks him, gloating that she has been under his control for months. 'Val' then morphs into Mystique, and blows Reisz's head off, killing the King's host and temporarily disrupting his control over the others. However, in the brief moment of opportunity, X-Factor hesitates and the King possesses Legion, causing an explosion on Muir Island.

Uncanny X-Men 280: Mystique appears briefly with Colonel Alexander Vazhin aboard a SHIELD helicopter, watching the battle between the Shadow King-possessed Legion and Xavier. They are pessimistic about Xavier's chances, so Vazhin reluctantly orders preparations for a nuclear strike.

X-Factor 70: As the X-people deal with the aftermath of the Shadow King's activities, Mystique approaches Rogue on Muir Island (for their first meeting since UXM 226). Val Cooper and Nick Fury are with her and explain the events of UXM 266 (see the other entry for X-Factor 70). Rogue is not pleased, angry that Mystique had allowed her to think she was dead all this time, though her mother points out that the X-Men didn't tell anyone about their survival after Dallas. As Mystique says, "so instead of being angry about not being dead...can't we just be happy about being alive?", the two have a tearful hug.

Wolverine 51: While blowing off steam at a bar, Wolverine runs into a blonde woman, and they flirt, dance, and eventually go back to her motel room. Though Mystique attempts to play around with him by morphing into women from his past and evading his questions, he eventually gets her to admit that she's shaken up about something --- so frightened of a particular woman that she doesn't even want to speak her name. However, eventually Logan does say Spiral's name aloud, and true to form, the time-dancer appears, brandishing her swords.

Wolverine 52: Mystique and Wolverine listen to Spiral's ravings, certain she is completely insane. In actuality, Spiral is aware of a crisis created by Mojo in the time-space continuum, one which will ultimately destroy the universe. After battling a plasma wraith at the motel, the three go to the Citadel at the End of Time, where they encounter another wraith who gives them more trouble, although it is distracted long enough by Mystique's impersonation of Mojo for the others to destroy it. Spiral tells them time is almost at an end, and that the three of them must work to stop Mojo in order to save the universe.

Wolverine 53: Mystique, Spiral, and Wolverine encounter Mojo and realize he's destroying the universe by preventing the destruction of it (thereby preventing its creation in the Big Bang. Very convoluted). Gateway is able to let them know what they must do, and so Wolverine sends his companions to procure a necessary cruise missile from the android Elsie-Dee. They are successful, and it presumably destroys the future in order to re-create the past, though all of their memories of this future fade and they are left wondering what has just happened.

Uncanny X-Men 289: Mystique --- temporarily staying at the X-Men mansion --- causes trouble by impersonating Archangel's previous incarnation (as Angel) in front of him. In a fury, he attacks her until she morphs back to her true form and some of the other X-Men come running. Bishop, Storm, and Archangel yell at her despite her somewhat transparent excuses of trying to help Warren, though Forge angrily defends her actions, leading to a shouting match between the X-Men. Xavier telepathically reprimands her, mentioning she's only visiting as a favour to Wolverine (after the adventure in his book), and though Bishop continues to snipe at her, she manages to get out of the situation relatively unscathed.
It is unclear as to what Lobdell intended with this portrayal of Mystique; given her following appearance, he may have been setting up her brief 'insanity' plotline, or he may have simply been showing her as sneaky and manipulative. Unfortunately, it's not made clear.

Uncanny X-Men 290: Quite possibly Mystique's most bizarre issue. She goes outside to talk to Bishop, and though he's terse, he tries to be patient with her. He tells her "according to your file, you have not been the same since the death of a woman under your command. I believe the name was...Destiny?" She retaliates by morphing into the form of one of the men who died under his command, persisting in pushing him until he is ready to attack her, though he's stopped by Forge, who tells him she's losing her sanity. Forge insinuates she's going insane because of assuming so many identities, and Mystique certainly indicates he's correct by seemingly hallucinating and acting slightly wild. Forge directs her back inside, and later tells Storm that he's taking Raven home with him to look after her, citing Destiny's prediction in UXM 255. He says that Mystique needs him, and leaves the mansion, unaware that Storm was about to accept his earlier proposal of marriage.

X-Men Unlimited 4: A flashback of Mystique digging through Forge's files for information about the Friends of Humanity, taking place during her stay at his home.

Uncanny X-Men 301: Mystique is still staying with Forge at his penthouse, forming what appears to be a close friendship, and possibly more. She indicates she's been extremely stressed since Destiny's death and appreciates his support, though when he tries to get her to talk about her early life, she changes the subject and runs off. While exercising together, she tentatively agrees to see Dr. Leonard Samson, though their conversation is interrupted by the attack of Fitzroy. Forge sends Mystique off to call for help, which she does, but she quickly returns. When she arrives, she impersonates Bishop and taunts Fitzroy, though he quickly slashes her through the torso with his claws, grievously wounding her. The penthouse explodes at the end of the issue, courtesy of Fitzroy's armour.

Uncanny X-Men 302: Mystique does not have much of a role in this issue other than to be carried out of the rubble of Forge's Aerie, barely alive after Fitzroy's attack. Notably, however, Bishop speculates that her shapeshifting powers give her some degree of healing factor, an idea that was later used again. Forge indicates some concern and affection for Raven, which is probably setting up future plotlines.

Sabretooth LS 1: Mystique doesn't appear, but Sabretooth is given a photograph of her by the Tribune (later revealed to be their son Graydon Creed), and ordered to kill her.

Sabretooth LS 2: The mysterious Tribune (Graydon Creed) has ordered Sabretooth to kill Mystique, ensuring his obedience with the threat of death after implanting a bomb in his chest. Sabretooth goes off to find her in France. Meanwhile, she's in Paris, making dinner plans with someone, and spending some time by herself. Interestingly, she dismisses the idea of losing her identity from constant shapeshifting (a reference to the recent Lobdell issues). Sabretooth then bursts into her hotel room, and she douses him with alcohol and then sets him afire in order to make her escape. Furious, he chases her into the subway system, recalling her scent from a time past, but she temporarily startles him by morphing into his mother and sending him into flashbacks from his traumatic past. He's even angrier and more anxious to catch her, and chases her up the Eiffel Tower, where they run into her dinner date --- Wolverine.

Sabretooth LS 3: Wolverine and Sabretooth have a showdown over Mystique, but are interrupted when she morphs into Leni Zauber, revealing that she and Victor knew each other during the Cold War. He's surprised and annoyed, because he knows that Leni's dead, but she attempts to convince him that she really is Leni. Birdy (his employee) arrives and the foursome have dinner at the Tower, while Mystique tells the story of their meeting in East Berlin (see the flashback entry). He doesn't believe her, insisting that she couldn't have been there due to her currently being too young, but she explains that her morphing powers "continually revitalize my body cells and DNA memory", giving her a permanently youthful appearance and body. Despite her story, he still doesn't believe her, and is about to kill her when she mentions their son, who he (and Wolverine) had not been aware of. She tells him that she gave her son up after he was born (there is an inconsistent reference here; she says "right after he was born", but in the next issue he clearly was with her well into his childhood --- see the entry for the flashback scene in Sabretooth 4. And this also conflicts with information given in X-Men Unlimited 4), and that it was surely their son who implanted the bomb in Sabretooth and sent him to kill her, for revenge. Sabretooth and Birdy depart in search of the Tribune, leaving Mystique and Wolverine back at the Eiffel Tower. He sees a photo of her son, recognizes him, and suggests that he could have used some love from his mother, before leaving in disgust.

X-Men Unlimited 4: Mystique assassinates an American general --- Armond Gaudier --- in his office, for providing weapons to the Friends of Humanity. Before she kills him, he tells her that her identity as deputy director of DARPA (see early issues) has been compromised. Beginning a somewhat iffy characterization that has unfortunately pervaded ever since, she says she doesn't care about the mutant cause (which is somewhat at odds with her irritation over him providing the weapons, and other comments she makes later), and is just angry because Graydon Creed recently tried to kill her --- making him guilty by association.
Later, Nightcrawler (using an image inducer) and Rogue attend the general's funeral, keeping an eye on things, and are shocked to find that the presiding priest is actually Mystique in disguise, who activates a bomb in the coffin. She announces the general's dirty dealings, and detonates the bomb, though Rogue tosses it away in time. Mystique tries to implicate Graydon Creed in the crimes, which he's anxious to deny, and she escapes the angry crowd with the help of the two X-Men. Raven tells Nightcrawler that she staged the entire event to send a message to Creed --- she's still particularly angry at his attempts to kill her --- and makes a cryptic remark about the situation being "a family matter". He's puzzled, and she gives him a few clues about their similar appearances and "home" before escaping. Rogue and Nightcrawler leave too, and Rogue says two interesting things: that she doesn't understand her mother, and that she spent ten years living with her (which conflicts with the retcon first put forth in this issue --- the idea that Rogue first encountered Raven after her powers manifested --- see the write-up for the flashback, near the beginning of this document).

During questioning by Forge, Creed denies any wrong-doing or connection with Gaudier, though Forge doesn't believe him. He threatens Creed, and Creed threatens back with genocide for all mutants if he gets into political power, particularly for X-Factor.
Forge tells Rogue and Nightcrawler that he feels some responsibility for Mystique's actions, because she'd gotten information from his files when she was staying with him, but he still feels that trying to help her was a good idea, and admits that she "has a heart...she has a soul." He asks the two to bring her back for trial for Gaudier's murder before a harsher group can get their hands on her. He sends them off to Caldecott County, where Rogue grew up with Mystique and Destiny --- with Creed and his men secretly following them. Kurt asks Rogue to tell him about Mystique, and she reveals the infamous retcon story about meeting her after absorbing Cody Robbins. Rogue says that she'd always thought her mother cared about her, but remarks that eventually she was brought into the Brotherhood, which was 'proof' that Mystique wasn't as caring as she'd believed. Rogue sounds bitter as she talks about the home she grew up in with "me, my mother --- me, Mystique and Destiny". Nightcrawler explores the grounds, noticing an old swing set, and wonders if it was built by a loving mother, or simply as a trick to lull Rogue into a false sense of security. He then meets up with Creed, who tells him that Mystique is their mother, describing the research he's done. He tells a slightly erroneous version of the baby-Kurt-abandonment story, giving Nightcrawler the first taste of his history and parentage. Kurt doesn't believe him, but Creed attacks him, furious over being related to a "smear on the face of humanity".

Meanwhile, Rogue reflects on her history with her mother, trying to relate the woman who'd taken her in when everybody else treated her badly with the person who killed Gaudier. She remembers the encounter with Cody --- again, a different version than what we've seen before --- and then encounters a grown-up 'Cody'. He's actually Mystique, and Rogue furiously attacks her for the insult. Raven tells her that she could never deliberately hurt her daughter, and Rogue agrees, though she wonders why Raven seems to love her more than she loves anybody else. Mystique says it's because the two of them are so much alike, remarking that neither of them can really be touched because of their powers and who they are --- which she appears to be fine with, reasoning that if she can't be touched, she can't be hurt. She says that she'd hoped to "know myself" by getting to know young Rogue, and says "how could you not know that my feelings for you were the only genuine feelings I'd had in my entire life except for Irene?"
When Creed shows up, Mystique points a gun at him and mentions leaving him for dead after his twelfth birthday, after it was clear he wasn't a mutant and thus of any use to her (again, this contradicts one of the stories given in the Sabretooth Limited Series). She also laughingly tells him the real story of when she abandoned baby Kurt, and is horrified to find that it was Nightcrawler all along, using an image inducer. She says she'd wanted him to believe his mother was a better person than she truly was, and the real Creed is furious. He wanted them all to be hurt and angry at each other, and has him men attack them. They hide, but Nightcrawler is injured, and he's left hanging from a cliff with Mystique while Rogue fights and defeats the goons. She realizes that she can't save both Mystique and Kurt (which is silly, but...), so Raven lets go and falls over the waterfall---apparently to her death---so that her daughter doesn't have to make the choice between them, and Kurt can be rescued. Together they wonder why she did that, and fly off together (without bothering to search for Mystique), pondering these new revelations about their family connections.

Frankly, this is one of the most reviled Mystique issues ever. Even its writer, Scott Lobdell, admits that it's bad. There are numerous retcons and just plain silly errors --- for one thing, the waterfall on the Mississippi --- and it's generally best not to give this too much thought in terms of story.

X-Factor 108: Forge has Rogue and Nightcrawler watch a holographic image of Mystique falling over the waterfall, for he believes that she survived, at which they scoff. According to the narration, Rogue now wonders if Mystique ever truly loved her, and she angrily walks out on Forge when he suggests that she knows Mystique is alive and is trying to protect her, or that she only wants to believe in her death because it's easier. Val Cooper shows up and reveals that she too believes Mystique may be alive, noting her ingenuity and mentioning she used to consider her a friend until realizing Raven was "using" her. Forge says he feels responsible for her because of all the information she stole while staying with him, and because he fell for her seeming insanity act (which he now believes she faked). Nick Fury arrives and shows definitive proof that she's alive and working with Avalanche; Havok and Strong Guy then confront Avalanche and ask him about her, though he refuses to answer, and escapes. X-Factor later discusses the information Mystique has been accessing, mostly on the comatose Legion; Val explains how he killed Destiny, and that Mystique is probably looking for revenge. In Israel, Mystique vows to kill Legion "for what he took from me", reflecting that her actions will reveal she's alive but determined to do so anyway. At the hospital, she's about to inject him with poison when X-Factor confronts her; she speaks to them of her anger over what he did to Destiny, saying nothing matters to her anymore. Though they try to persuade her not to harm him, she is ruthlessly about to kill him when he suddenly awakens and stops her.

X-Factor 109: Furious, Mystique attempts again to kill Legion, and, saying "she said you were coming", he stops her again. After leading X-Factor on a chase inside and outside the hospital (and eluding them), she pauses to meet up with Avalanche, who has come to Israel to help her. They both reveal their bitterness over the fates of many of their Freedom Force comrades, and snipe at Val when she arrives and speaks to them in a rather patronizing manner. Avalanche then attacks X-Factor, and Mystique gets away in the ensuing scuffle, Wolfsbane following her. Meanwhile, Legion --- who had 'talked' with Destiny in his head earlier --- leaves his hospital room. Mystique and Wolfsbane clash, and Raven describes her anger over losing the person she loves, and is apparently about to kill Rahne. When Forge arrives, Mystique blames him for Destiny's death, mentioning the events of UXM 255, and tells him that he can now pay with his life for his mistake of leaving her. Legion arrives and takes her into his mind, giving her a message from Destiny, "she made me promise to tell you that she loves you". He then releases her and sends X-Factor to Madripoor, and leaves whilst announcing that he's going to make things 'better' --- the beginning of LegionQuest, and leading into the Age of Apocalypse.

X-Factor 110: Mystique, in the guise of an ordinary human woman, is on a plane to Paris, thinking about her plans. She vows to intensify her hunt for Legion, declaring she hates him more than ever and doesn't believe that he truly had a message from Destiny, although the idea of such a thing still has her rattled. She then informs a flight attendant that she has important arrangements to make before the plane lands.

[The Age of Apocalypse creates a bit of a gap shortly after this, suddenly taking us to a new story when we return to the repaired reality]

X-Men Prime: X-Factor has been tracking Mystique for ten days, and she's finally led them to the Belle Fourche Dam, where she's planted a bomb in order to destroy a Sentinel plant. Val Cooper is close behind her as she makes her escape, but a creature emerges from the shadows and attacks Mystique, leaving her badly injured. The members of X-Factor don't seem terribly upset about this. However, as Forge hurries over, he finds 'Val' on the ground, begging for help, though he's not fooled and he kicks her. The real Val comes out of the shadows, and, noting that Mystique's powers are already closing her wounds, makes a cryptic remark about some "planning" that involves her. She also makes reference to a conspiracy plot which we later see in X-Factor circa #122 onwards. At that moment, Havok --- unable to control his powers --- erupts, destroying the dam.

X-Factor 112: X-Factor brings Mystique with them to Japan while they search for Havok, who has gone missing. She proves to be useful, helping to defeat the foes they encounter, as well as gathering information to aid in the search. She tells Forge that she wants to be set free as soon as the mission's over, insisting that she doesn't belong with X-Factor, but he informs her that she'll be sent to jail if she doesn't stay with the group. She then makes an escape attempt, but he catches her easily, saying that she now has a tracker implanted in her so they can follow her whereabouts. Soon after, the team catches up to Havok, but things go badly very quickly when they encounter Fatale.

X-Factor 113: The rest of X-Factor is unimpressed by the inclusion of Mystique on the team, feeling her to be both untrustworthy and possessing too much of a criminal background. Forge insists he can handle her, and while her methods and attitudes do seem to be a bit extreme for this type of team, she functions well within it and is an able member, though she doesn't do much in this issue.

X-Factor 114: Forge implants a device in Mystique which discourages her from shapeshifting into any member of the X-Men or X-Factor for more than 30 seconds --- and causes intense pain if she exceeds the limit. Val Cooper is amused by her predicament, saying she will pay for past crimes, and tells Wildchild that it was difficult to get government approval for Raven to join the team. Mystique taunts them all and insists that she's leagues above any of them, though they do their best to ignore her, and she is told that being on the team is the only thing keeping her out of prison. Later, she hacks into the base's security system in order to spy on Forge, and Val threatens her with severe consequences if she doesn't obey the rules. Furious, Mystique grabs and threatens her in return, and Wildchild runs to Val's defence. Raven is pleased; she likes Val's nastier attitude, and thinks she's found a weakness in her new nemesis, Wildchild. Eventually she follows a moody Forge around and is curious to know what's wrong with him, clearly displaying some interest and attraction to him, though he brushes her off.

X-Factor 115: Impersonating Forge, Mystique discovers that she truly cannot shapeshift for more than 30 seconds --- which makes information-gathering in his form difficult. She vows to overcome any limitations, though finds Wildchild spying on her, and he threatens to tell the others about her activities. They fight, and she offers to keep quiet about his "secret" if he won't tell on her. He doesn't answer, but she goes in search of Forge anyway, who has been immersed in his holographic programs and speaking to his long-dead mentor Naze. With a hint of concern, she asks him about what he saw, and he grumpily shows her a holographic re-creation of his infamous actions in the Vietnam war. He talks about his future, and mentions that he was told it would include her --- and then switches to a hologram of Destiny, which repeats what she'd told him in UXM 255. Mystique is furious, shouting at him to turn it off, and he obeys, but she is disconsolate, saying "Irene is dead, Forge. Dead and buried. She was my life. She deserves better than this". He apologizes, saying all he wanted to do was make some sense of his life, to which Raven suggests that Destiny meant nothing more ominous than a relationship between Mystique and Forge. He refuses to believe it, much like Mystique herself did in UXM 254.

X-Factor 116: Val Cooper tries to keep Mystique under control, with only some success. Raven bickers with Val and Forge about her captivity, taunting them both about anything she can pick on (including the newly re-created hologram, Shard), though they attempt to ignore her. Meanwhile, Aurora, furious that Wildchild left her back in Canada without telling her he was leaving, comes after him and attacks. Northstar and Puck arrive to stop her, though X-Factor wants the conflict handled their way and there is some tension between the groups. As the conflict increases, Aurora tries to kill Wildchild in a rage, and Mystique decides to step in. She morphs into his previous, handsome form and attempts to trick Aurora into believing she's the real Kyle. It works, until Wildchild gets angry and attacks her for confusing Jeanne-Marie, which only upsets and enrages Aurora even more until she exhausts her own powers and collapses. Northstar takes her home, and as Wildchild unhappily goes off to brood, Mystique pokes fun at him until she's told to stop.

X-Factor 117: Most of X-Factor battles a Sentinel, not realizing it is a test run by Forge and Val Cooper in order to determine the team's ability to work together. Mystique appalls the others by shooting at the Sentinel before Wildchild is out of the way, which endangers his life, but she is unmoved. Eventually the robot is destroyed by Havok, and when Val reveals it was all a test, Raven is infuriated, morphing into Sabretooth and threatening her, for which Val mocks her about her past with him. Later, Mystique confronts Forge and demands to know what's bothering him, and he confesses that the Adversary (see UXM 225-227 entries) has been reborn, and once again seeks to destroy creation.

X-Factor 119: X-Factor prepares defensive measures at their base for the upcoming confrontation with the Adversary. Forge has exhausted himself, and Mystique shows some concern for his well-being, and when he expresses surprise at her caring side, she reacts by gently teasing him. The rest of the team doesn't seem too worried about the big fight, even when Roma tells them of its seriousness, and they busy themselves with all sorts of hijinks and personal problems whilst the Adversary gets ready to attack.

X-Factor 120: X-Factor continues to prepare for the upcoming battle with the Adversary, but he secretly takes over Mystique and co-opts her shapeshifting powers and seductive behaviour to be a distraction for Forge. The Adversary then makes her powers go out of control and has her beg Forge to kill her, but Forge recognizes it as a trick and refuses. The creature then exits her body and attacks X-Factor, and they battle him until the Adversary kills Mystique, Polaris, Wildchild, and Shard, leaving Forge saddened and furious.

X-Factor 121: Forge has a dream in which the other members of X-Factor were present and severely wounded at the Vietnam battle in which he'd used his spirit spell. He wakes up, only to realize that they're actually all gone because of the Adversary's attack, and goes to battle the creature alone. The Adversary presents him with their bodies and taunts him, but Forge attacks and forces him to return their lives to them. They come back to life again.

X-Factor 122: Val Cooper calls X-Factor from a government jet, speaking to Forge and telling him that they have information on the person who tried to kill Mystique at the Belle Fourche Dam (see the entry for X-Men Prime). Unfortunately, 'Forge' is actually Mystique --- stretching the limits of her inhibitor implant --- and when alone, she declares her intention to go after the man herself. Later, while training, Polaris and Wildchild find Val and her crew beaten and tied up, Mystique having stolen their craft to go after her attacker. She is shocked by the carnage left by her quarry at the dam, becoming particularly wary after discovering that he has killed all the workers. She's hoping to kill him as payback for his brutal attack on her, which she says nearly killed her. However, she's grabbed from behind by Sabretooth, who holds her and quietly threatens her, though she breaks free from him and they scuffle. She tells him she knows that he wasn't the one who previously attacked her at the dam, and he says she's not the person he's been hired to kill, but when she taunts him by impersonating their son Graydon Creed, he gets angry enough to slash her. When X-Factor arrives, he tells them that he's working for the government too, but he attacks them all and goes for the kill. He was sent by the government to kill everyone involved with the facility, and has decided that X-Factor now has to die for seeing too much.

X-Factor 123: Mystique appears in a few panels, badly injured by Sabretooth's assault. X-Factor attempts to deal with him and a killer Hound --- the creature that had previously attacked Raven at the dam --- as it goes after her to finish the job it hadn't completed earlier. Polaris eventually takes him out after a prolonged battle. Later, Graydon Creed and a crony discuss sending the Hound to kill Mystique, and while "Mr. Harper" acknowledges responsibility for the attempted murder, he also suggests that she be kept alive in order to keep Graydon in check.

X-Factor 125: X-Factor battles the team's training Sentinel, which mysteriously powered itself up and went on the attack (unbeknownst to them, it is being powered by Onslaught). Forge decides they need the assistance of Sabretooth, and asks Mystique to retrieve him from his cell, to which she grudgingly obeys, grumbling that she won't bring him back alive. Frightened and angry at him, she threatens him with her gun, but he taunts her and says that X-Factor is the best place for the both of them to stay for the time being, reminding her "you got your agenda just like I got mine." She threatens him again, morphing claws onto her hand and insinuating she'd sooner tear him up than shoot him, but he brushes her off and reminisces about better days between them. He tells her that he knows she's interested in Forge, though she denies it. He expresses some affection or desire for her, which she again denies, and then they encounter Fatale, who suddenly arrives via a teleportational portal, saying that the Dark Beast wants "to take you two out of the fight early". They fall through the portal, and go off on an adventure of their own as the rest of the X-Factor battles the Sentinel, Havok's Brotherhood, and Post. They're unable to stop Onslaught's Sentinels from launching, though they manage to capture Havok and Random, the double agent.
Meanwhile, Mystique and Sabretooth fall through Fatale's portal into a deep cavern, managing to grab on to the edge, though both are hostile and show no regard for the safety of the other. Although Raven uses her powers in some rather new and inventive ways, she might not have made it without the assistance of the Dark Beast, who wants to make them an offer. He is working for Onslaught, and tries to recruit them, and has Fatale bring Forge to his lair. The Beast turns off Sabretooth's restraining collar and Mystique's neural implant, and then tells them to kill Forge. They discuss their options, remarking that they wouldn't have to work for the government anymore if they accept the offer, but quickly decide to attack the Dark Beast instead. Mystique gets Forge to safety as Sabretooth battles the Beast, and she lightly tells him that she didn't kill him because he's still useful to her, and when he makes a remark about her feeling more for him than that, she gently brushes him off and they escape. However, Beast defeated Sabretooth, and comes to kill the pair, though Raven morphs into a fierce-looking creature to confront him. She impresses both Beast and Forge with her increased shapeshifting abilities, but is quickly defeated by a quick slash of the Beast's claws. Sabretooth recovers and attacks him again, intending to kill him, but the Beast teleports away and warns them that soon Onslaught will rule the world and the real Hank McCoy will be dead.

X-Factor 126: Forge assigns Mystique to work with Wildchild whilst X-Factor desperately tries to find the real Beast before he is killed by the Dark Beast. They bicker and torment each other endlessly about their personal lives, generally acting cruel to each other, but he rescues her when she nearly falls into pit. She then uses her powers to create wings, and flies them to their destination. They meet up with Sabretooth and Forge as the two of them confront Fatale over the fate of Beast. Sabretooth determines that the man pretending to be Beast is actually the Dark Beast in disguise, and they rescue the more kindly version, but Polaris is badly wounded by 'evil' Havok after trusting him and setting him free.

[It's impossible to place the story in this Limited Series with complete accuracy. This is just a logical guess, based on the time-frames of the various X-Factor plots, though it definitely takes place after Onslaught.]
Sabretooth and Mystique LS 1: Mystique and Sabretooth, on the run from X-Factor in order to complete some personal business, infiltrate the SHIELD Helicarrier and ambush an agent. She takes his shape and uses it to gain access to a SHIELD morgue; there they find the body they're searching for, and open it in order to find a capsule containing information they need. Destiny had once told Raven where the information would be found. They're then ambushed by AIM, but go on the offensive --- Sabretooth does his usual routine, and Mystique morphs into the giant form of the Gargoyle from the Defenders --- and make their escape once they've killed and injured a few of their opponents. Mystique flies out of the Helicarrier, struggling to carry Sabretooth, but crashes when she's shot. She then uses the opportunity to attack the AIM agents when they get too close, in the form of a huge Yeti.
Having escaped from the agents, she tells Sabretooth that the capsule will provide a way for him to get revenge on HYDRA (for what they did to him in the past --- see the flashback entries for this Limited Series), and he's interested enough to join her. At the same time, a high-up at AIM named Cypher discusses the troubles the organization is having with its new foes, describing how Mystique and Sabretooth had faked their deaths in order to get away from X-Factor, and declaring her intent to retrieve the capsule from them. She is tracking the pair through Sabretooth's restraining collar, and sends more assassins after them. Meanwhile, Raven and Victor are examining the information in the capsule, seeking to destroy the life's work of a HYDRA scientist named Catalyst, the man who tortured them and Destiny years before (see the flashback entries). The capsule provides a map to his fortress, and they intend to destroy his notes as a poor substitute for getting revenge directly on him for his crimes. Mystique is very agitated when she thinks about what he did to Destiny, and gets angry at Sabretooth when he teases her about it, but before they can get started on their plans, the assassins burst in and attack.

Sabretooth and Mystique LS 2: The duo fight back, holding their own against the assassins. Mystique adopts the form of the Thing, hoping her opponents won't realize she doesn't gain extra strength when she morphs into someone large, and then tries to escape in the form of the Angel, but is shot. She blows up her safehouse with some of the goons inside, and Sabretooth dispatches several, so they earn a temporary reprieve and can start on their mission. However, she's realized that AIM is tracking them through his collar, and is forced to take it off him, which leaves her in grave danger, as it's the only thing that prevents him from doing harm to her. It also means that X-Factor can track them and will realize that they're alive. She brings it along as a threat to him, saying that it'll kill anyone who tampers with it, and he's furious to be threatened. He tells her that he'll kill her if she tries to force him to put it back on or go back to X-Factor, or might slaughter her anyway for kicks, which leaves them at an angry stalemate as they approach the HYDRA base. Their plane crashes when it's shot down, and they're forced to go on foot over the island, arriving in the middle of a war between AIM and HYDRA. AIM managed to arrive before them because they'd made their own recording of the capsule's map before they attacked Mystique and Sabretooth, though Cypher is enraged that the pair is not dead, and intends to finish the job. The two get involved in the battle, Sabretooth fighting outside with HYDRA agents while Mystique makes her way inside the compound, encountering two genetically-engineered creatures which attack and incapacitate her. They carry her off to give to their "master", whilst Sabretooth is involved in a difficult situation with several agents and a horde of piranhas.

Sabretooth and Mystique LS 3: Sabretooth eventually pulls himself out of the water, leaving the fish and dead agents behind, and goes into the building in search of Mystique. She awakens in the presence of Catalyst, the old enemy who had been thought dead, killed by Destiny as he'd tortured her. His mutant powers have regenerated his body, and he's back at work, seeking power and to rule HYDRA, though he admits his project is not yet complete. He taunts her with 'condolences' of Destiny's death, saying he'd hoped to kill her himself, but describes his need for maintaining secrecy all these years. He also talks to Raven about creating a child from their genetic material, and offers her a place in HYDRA, but when she disgustedly turns him down, he simply uses his powers to affect her body, forcing her to morph uncontrollably. His genetically-engineered creatures take her away. Meanwhile, AIM renews their assault, and Sabretooth catches a whiff of Catalyst's scent and is determined to get revenge, going in search of him. When he finds him, he recklessly attacks all the HYDRA agents in sight, heading for Catalyst, and Mystique is freed from her imprisonment by a stray blast. Catalyst and one of his creatures (Dismember) make their escape, leaving the other monster and a bunch of HYDRA agents to fight the two mutants. They lock the doors, and as AIM wins control of the compound, Cypher floods the room with poisonous gas.

Sabretooth and Mystique LS 4: As the gas spreads, the duo uses Catalyst's remaining creature to burn their way out of the room, and then kill him after they escape. They start killing every AIM agent in their path, searching for Cypher and Catalyst, the two of whom are having a confrontation of their own as she attempts to steal his data and he tries to stop her. When he sees Mystique and Sabretooth coming after him, he makes a strategic escape, abandoning his work. Mystique follows him, morphing some wings to fly, leaving an angry Sabretooth to destroy the program. He struggles with Cypher as she is able to contact the NORAD defence system, and in only minutes will be able to launch nuclear missiles at Russia, with the intent of destabilizing the world so AIM can make a fortune. But she is desperate to escape Sabretooth's rage, and tells him that he can let her go and destroy the machines in order to prevent World War III; he grudgingly agrees, and succeeds while she runs off. Meanwhile, Mystique chases Catalyst as he tries to escape the island with his creature Dismember. He sends Dismember to keep her away from him, and she morphs into another monster just as large as he, eventually managing to trick and defeat him. She then searches for Catalyst, and he's horrified to see Destiny standing before him --- years earlier, Irene had told him that her face would be the last he'd see before he died, and 'she' repeats that prediction again. Shocked and rattled by the apparition, he falls to his death in the piranha-filled moat. Finally fulfilling her long-ago promise to make him pay for what he did to Irene all those years before, Raven reverts back to her true form, and goes in search of Sabretooth. He hits her when they meet up again, furious that he was denied the chance to get revenge on Catalyst. She tells him to put his collar back on, and that they're going back to X-Factor, to which he laughs. Though she tries to reason with him, mentioning the increasing anti-mutant hysteria, and admits that it serves both their interests to remain with the team, he doesn't care. He breaks the box containing the collar, and she tells him that earlier she'd added a gas to kill him if he tampered with it --- and will let him die if he doesn't obey. Under threat of death, and very unhappy about the situation, he puts the collar back on, angrily telling her that someday he'll have payback for her trickery.

X-Factor 127: Young Trevor Chase is pursued by Friends of Humanity thugs as he goes to a secret meeting with Raven Darkholme. He's a reality-warping mutant, but she'd convinced him that no one would find out about his powers, and as the thugs beat him, he wonders why she has not come to save him. They hint to him that she ordered the beating. Later, Mystique hears that he's in the hospital, and manages to escape government custody to go find him; she visits his bedside and swears vengeance for him. Later, she impersonates somebody in the police department in order to steal the files on his case. She goes to FoH headquarters and terrorizes the men who beat up Trevor, morphing into a monster and chasing them, and demanding information on who ordered the attack. Later, Forge finds her sitting sorrowfully next to Trevor, and takes her back to X-Factor, although she privately vows she'll kill Graydon Creed for ordering the beating.

X-Factor 128: X-Factor joins a hunt already in progress, in which the quarry is a group of mutant suspects. They run into difficulties with the local posse involved in the chase, and Mystique reacts to their anti-mutant bigotry by scaring them. Meanwhile, Graydon Creed announces Senator Ralph Brickman as his presidential running mate, and then encounters Mr. Harper again. Creed complains that Harper hasn't killed Mystique yet and that she's a threat to him, but Harper tells him to forget her and to do what he (and his mysterious organization) orders. Intimidated, Creed agrees. Back with X-Factor, the team bickers incessantly --- its members completely distrustful of each other --- and none of them approve of hunting down other mutants. However, with some amount of teamwork, they manage to capture the fugitive group, only to find that it's Jamie Madrox --- who they'd all believed dead of the Legacy Virus.

Uncanny X-Men 339: In an issue in which a reporter uncovers the truth that Sabretooth is Graydon Creed's father (and is afterwards killed for this information by Bastion), Mystique is shown sitting at X-Factor headquarters, watching Creed on television. She muses to herself that it's necessary to kill him in order to "ensure the United States doesn't become a giant graveyard for mutants", though she quickly puts her gun away when Forge arrives. She then notices Iceman planted amongst Creed's staff, and seems to indicate that this changes her plans.

X-Factor 129: X-Factor is furious that they were utilized to hunt down former comrade Jamie Madrox, and they refuse to co-operate in turning him over to the government. Val eventually goes along with their plan to keep him safe, and Mystique volunteers to impersonate him while they get the real Jamie to safety. She acts the part very well when they take 'Jamie' away, and then she pulls a fast one on the government agents and manages to escape through trickery. She then heads to an abandoned church where she meets up with Pyro (in their first on-panel appearance together since Avengers: Deathtrap: the Vault), who's still quite ill with Legacy but somewhat improved from his recent escapade in UXM 338 (see the Pyro chronology). They banter a bit and discuss a sinister-sounding "plan". Later, Forge receives word that Mystique has escaped, and they track her signal to the church, but she and Pyro are long gone. The rest of the team sees Creed campaign posters, realize that she's planning to go after him, and vow to stop her.

X-Factor 130: Mystique and Pyro are in Atlanta, discussing their plans. She morphs into Val, declaring they will easily get through security by using her identity. Meanwhile, the real Val gives Graydon Creed an ultimatum: accept X-Factor's protection, or cancel his upcoming speech; he very reluctantly agrees, as he is absolutely terrified of Sabretooth.

X-Men Forever 1: Mystique's future self has been returned to inhabit her body in the past. She is shown aiming a weapon at Graydon Creed an hour before his assassination.

X-Men Forever 2: It is revealed that Mystique had always been planning to kill Creed, though the actual deed was committed by her future self inhabiting her body in X-Factor 130's present. She had tricked Pyro into believing that they were going to save Creed's life, and now sets up a weapon on a timer to shoot Creed at a pivotal moment during his speech, lest he be elected and kill all mutants. She also sets a message on a timer to play after the assassination (see the following entry for X-Factor 130), to make herself look less guilty. As she sets the timer, she partially morphs into the form of Leni Zauber, and tearfully apologizes to Graydon for what she's about to do, although she is then pulled away further into the past, allowing the current Mystique to take over and carry on (see below).

X-Factor 130: Later, at the Creed rally, Mystique (still in the form of Val Cooper) ambushes Val. Mystique tells her that she's hacked into Forge's programs and hence is now able to bypass her inhibitor implant --- allowing her to morph into anybody she pleases. When Creed arrives, Mystique is able to slip away during the hubbub, getting very close to Creed himself, and then he recognizes her in the crowd. She calls out a warning to him and raises a 'weapon', but X-Factor subdues her and takes her into custody. She admits to them that she failed, "but whatever happens from this point is on...is your fault". Creed threatens her, vowing to kill her, though she points out that he's already tried and failed (Sabretooth LS, X-Men Unlimited 4, X-Factor 122), and is taken away by Val. Mystique asks Val if X-Factor really thinks she is so foolish as to publicly murder Creed, giving his cause a martyr, but Val simply quiets her. Back at the rally, X-Factor discovers Pyro amongst the crowd and takes him into custody, but Creed is killed anyway, incinerated by a "plasma burst". Val is furious, punching Mystique and accusing her of already knowing about the plot against Creed, while Raven calmly points out that the anti-mutant cause got its martyr, for the assassination is immediately blamed on mutants. Forge explains that Pyro was arrested before Creed was killed, and tells Val that Mystique's weapon was actually a protective forcefield gun, so nobody knows who the actual killer is. At that moment, a warning appears on a screen, reading "Creed was the first. There will be others. You, Mystique...are next!"

X-Factor 132: Forge, Polaris, and Mystique arrive at a government building, and several agents try to take Raven into custody, citing her unwillingness to follow orders. Forge refuses, saying that they have come merely to "deliver X-Factor's new working terms." The government people are surprised and angry, particularly so when Forge tells them that the team is quitting. He is unhappy about recent events --- the placement of Sabretooth on the team, the Hound program, occasional interrogations, spying, the arrest of Xavier, and mutants being blamed for the death of Graydon Creed --- and that X-Factor is expected to clean up the messes. He offers their terms of separation, which the government man refuses, but Forge is firm and states that they are leaving and keeping Sabretooth and Mystique with them in order to watch them. He points out that both have plenty of dirt on the government. The government man insists that Mystique must be placed in custody, and gives permission to his men to shoot the mutants, but Polaris stops them, and the three just walk away. However, as they leave, Val follows and demands to know why she hadn't heard about this earlier, and Forge tells her harshly that theirs is a mutant affair and doesn't concern her. They leave her behind, and Forge and Mystique (as Raven Darkholme) head off to the home of Trevor Chase, aware that this is the best time to be looking after personal business. They are surprised to learn that Trevor has been kidnapped --- Raven comforts his parents, telling them she'll take care of the matter, and then the phone rings. The people who took Trevor tell her they want her dead, and that everyone who knows her will suffer for it, and to leave the house immediately or they will kill the kid. She insists that he be returned, and then goes outside and gets shot at. Forge rescues her and says he'll help with her problems, and they make their escape in a car whilst the enemy continues to shoot at them. Forge says he wants to help because of "the first glimpse of any real emotion in you. You genuinely cared for those people." Unfortunately, their car drives off a bridge and seemingly explodes, just as the X-Factor compound apparently explodes with the other team members inside.

X-Factor 133: Since the 'deaths' of X-Factor, government man Bowser wants to go into their facility and steal their technology, despite warnings from Val of the danger posed by Forge's booby-traps. He persuades her to go inside, and they take a team in, only to have every grunt in the group killed by various traps. This convinces Bowser that it's too dangerous, so he orders the building sealed off and left alone. Inside, the members of X-Factor gather and discuss the ruse they just pulled to fool everyone; it was actually they posing as the agents who were killed. Now that everyone really does believe that they're dead and the base has been left alone, they're free to pursue their personal agendas before voluntarily returning to the government in the near future. Finding Trevor Chase is their first goal, so they set off to locate him and his kidnappers.

X-Factor 134: With the team believed dead, Bowser attempts to hack into their files, only to find an insidious virus on the disk --- which allows X-Factor complete access to all government files. Meanwhile, the team escapes and goes searching for Trevor, although they bicker and fight when Wildchild taunts Mystique for caring about the boy. They go to Bowser's home, and Mystique impersonates his wife in order to gain access to him, demanding to know where Trevor is. He's shocked to find X-Factor alive, and refuses to talk, but she hears the boy, and finds him elsewhere in the house. Trevor tells her that she has to escape, as "they" are coming after her. 'They' turn out to be a couple of Hound-like monsters, which grab Bowser and drag him away, saying Mystique is next. She comforts Trevor, and he says he knows that her true identity is Mystique, muttering evilly to himself that "you're next".

X-Factor 135: Mystique narrates the beginning of this issue, musing about the Chase family: "this is the life I've always wanted but could never give myself. A family. A home. A normal life. But it was never to be. I am far from normal." She and Trevor's parents are delighted that he has returned, but she knows that the couple can never learn her true identity for some reason not mentioned. They're grateful to Raven for all her hard work, and Trevor's mother mentions her own mother, saying "she always said that you would be the best friend our family could ever have." This is the first clue that Trevor's grandmother was Destiny, and the second comes when he asks Mystique to tell him about "my grandmother and you", to which she replies that his grandmother was very special, but it's too painful to talk about her. Raven is glad to show her true form to him, and they talk in a friendly manner, though she's strangely sad about something. She implies that Destiny had wanted him to stay out of the mutant scene. Trevor secretly blames X-Factor for keeping Mystique away from him, and mutters ominously about how they'd be better off if the team was gone. He uses his reality-warping powers to manipulate his government-conspiracy video game after she leaves to rejoin the team.
In the meantime, X-Factor goes to intercept Jamie Madrox when they hear that he's planning to 'kidnap' Strong Guy in order to get him out of the hospital. They follow him, and Mystique and Forge share an intimate moment while she worries about her teammates and the dangers which may befall them. Eventually the team succeeds in stopping Jamie and rescuing Guido, which infuriates Trevor, who had tried to use his powers to thwart their mission in some manner. Later, Mystique drops by his home for another visit, giving him a hug and apologizing for not being able to tell him X-Factor's secrets, and he ominously mumbles about how he can get whatever he wants.

X-Factor 136: Sabretooth manages to tear off his restraining collar just as Val is informed by a government man that he was placed on X-Factor to kill them if they got out of control. The man tells her to save them if she can, and she rushes off to their rescue. Meanwhile, unaware of the danger, X-Factor busies themselves with their usual shenanigans around the house --- having honed her powers enough to exactly duplicate Aurora in every way (including her scent), Mystique torments and bickers with Wildchild, and then she and Forge end up kissing. Sabretooth gets out of his cell and attacks Wildchild, severely injuring him. He then wounds Polaris and destroys Shard's holo-matrix, which causes her to disappear. Upstairs, Mystique and Forge are still talking about having a relationship, when Sabretooth comes after them too, and slashes them both. He tells them that they've been set up by the government, that it doesn't trust them any more than it does him, and that now it's time for them to die. He mentions to Mystique that she's been offered a similar deal to the one he's got, but attacks her again anyway. When Val arrives some time later, she finds a dying team, and a threatening message written in their blood. Mystique blames Val for bringing this upon them.

X-Factor 137: As Operation: Zero Tolerance begins, X-Factor is brought into an emergency room for treatment. Val blames herself for allowing Sabretooth to be placed on the team, but her ex-husband Edmond Atkinson disagrees, and risks his career to help her and protect the team from the government --- which surely wants them dead. But Mystique also blames Val for her role in the attack, telling her she's just as cold as Raven herself, and a liar to boot. She accuses her of not caring about X-Factor or mutantkind, which Val denies, but as government forces close in on the hospital and Val orders Atkinson's soldiers to leave, Mystique becomes infuriated and assaults her. Atkinson stops Mystique and wants to kill her, but Val orders him to back off. Raven still insists that she will kill Val for "every indignity you have forced upon me", and that for Val's own safety it would be a good idea if she (Mystique) is dead by the time the situation is over, but Val ignores her and carries on with her plan to save X-Factor. However, while she and Atkinson are setting things up, Mystique escapes, presumably to go after Sabretooth for revenge.
Havok arrives, at Val's request, and spirits the remaining members of the team away to safety before the government forces can get to them, so Val wins. But at the same time, Sabretooth is on the loose and goes after Trevor Chase's family, killing the parents. Before he can kill Trevor, another Hound named Stone intervenes, rescuing the boy and telling Sabretooth that his mission was only to kidnap him. Stone takes Trevor away, saying that Sabretooth must join the Hounds or be hunted by them.

X-Factor 138: Whilst Sabretooth is on the loose and getting into all sorts of trouble, some federal agents discover a bound woman in the trunk of a car. It's Mallory Brickman, the wife of Senator Ralph Brickman (Graydon Creed's former running mate), and she claims to have been kidnapped and held captive by Sabretooth. Her husband swears that the villain will be found and apprehended, and as she goes into the washroom to freshen up, she morphs into Mystique and declares her intent to have revenge on Sabretooth.

X-Factor 139: The issue opens with 'Mallory Brickman' telling FBI agent Vargas about her 'kidnapping' at the hands of Sabretooth, while her daughter Gloria looks on suspiciously. After Mallory feigns distress, Ralph Brickman orders Vargas to back off, and she leaves for the bathroom, Gloria following. Gloria, realizing Mallory is not who she pretends to be, asks "who are you really?", and Mystique gives a cryptic answer about her past (see the entry for this issue's flashback). Later, Mallory has her X-Factor tracking/inhibitor implant removed by a perplexed doctor. The following day, the Brickmans attend a party, and while Gloria continues to talk to Vargas, Ralph introduces Mallory to Val Cooper, who has joined the investigation into the 'kidnapping'. Val thinks Mallory seems familiar, and discusses with the couple her mission to track down Sabretooth and Mystique, much to Mallory's annoyance. Frustrated with all the prying and irritating people around her, she deals with Vargas by implying he's a pedophile (he's sent to the Arctic), apparently cutting the brakes on the doctor's car (he crashes), and quietly threatening Gloria. After this, she's confident that things will go more smoothly for her.

X-Factor 143: Still posing as Mallory Brickman, Mystique receives a mysterious phone call from unknown individuals, claiming to know who she is and threatening to blow her cover if she doesn't meet with them. It is the XUE from the future (Fixx, Archer, and Greystone), returned to the past to fix some wrongs and prevent their terrible future. They say to each other that "he" told them Mystique would show up, and as they wait they are accosted by a policeman, who is of course Mystique in disguise. She is not pleased that they realized it was she and that they're threatening her, less so when they speak cryptically and won't tell her who sent them (other than saying it was her friend, to which she replies "I don't have any friends. At least none living"). Angry, she finally calms down and listens to them when they mention a quote from her "friend" (apparently Forge), referencing a prophecy by Destiny. They tell her they want Havok. He is busy confronting the Dark Beast and trying to free the Beast's captive victims when Mystique and the XUE show up and vow to take him down.

X-Factor 144: Shard and Havok battle Mystique and the XUE while the Dark Beast looks on. Mystique attempts to fool Havok by impersonating Cyclops, but he sees through her and takes her out. Havok's Brotherhood comrade Ever stops the battle, much to everyone's surprise, and he tells his friend that they can't free the Dark Beast's victims --- they are infected with a human-specific strain of the Legacy Virus and cannot be allowed to spread it. The XUE explains that in an alternate timeline, Havok released them and millions of humans died (leading to a similar Days of Future Past apocalyptic future). Ever volunteers to keep watch over the infected humans, while Mystique goes back to Senator Brickman and the others return to X-Factor.

Uncanny X-Men 359: Mallory Brickman, watching Dr. Agee's procedure for the removal of mutant powers, is shocked to see that the mutant in question is Rogue. Mystique then appears in the guise of a nurse and attacks Agee with a machine gun. Rogue protects him and chases after her, and is startled to learn that it is her angry mother (not recognizing her, apparently). Later they return to Mystique's apartment and discuss her activities, Mystique revealing that she spent months infiltrating and attempting to shut down Agee's operations, and is furious that the "misguided fool" who wants her powers removed is Rogue. Both are rather hostile towards each other as they debate the issue; Rogue is desperate for the cure while Mystique is angry that she would betray her kind, believing that powers-removal is a step towards genocide. Rogue absorbs her in order to determine if Mystique's telling the truth, and later shows up at the Agee Institute in the guise of Mallory Brickman, Mystique's voice talking in her head. The two argue with each another, and Mystique is clearly influencing her behaviour as she beats up some soldiers and breaks things. Eventually Mystique herself appears with another gun and they argue some more, until Rogue absorbs Agee in order to find out if his machine really does work. Her mother urges her to destroy it, and though Rogue tells her to be quiet, she dismantles it anyway, feeling it could be used to 'cure' mutants against their wills.

X-51 1: Special Agent Jack Kubrick, on a mission to gather information about X-51 (Machine Man), finds Mystique and the "Brotherhood of Mutants" (consisting of Blob, Toad, Post, and the Mimic) pointing a gun at his head. They're looking for something at a government junkyard, while the military chases them. After the government proves that it doesn't mind attacking them even when they've got a hostage, Mystique decides to shoot him. Kubrick insists he can help her find what she's looking for, and she says she won't kill him if he brings it to her. After some verbal sparring --- she claims "I'd be equally mercenary if I were a normal human" --- she threatens him some more and he goes off to find the object of the Brotherhood's quest. After reflecting on how they originally captured him, he finds their prize --- the head of Machine Man. Mystique reveals her intent to shoot him anyway, and when he protests that she said she wouldn't kill him, she cheerfully assigns Post to do it. He blows Kubrick's head off, but when Toad goes to retrieve Machine Man's head, Kubrick's body places the robot's head on his own neck and turns into Machine Man, much to the shock of the Brotherhood.

X-51 2: Mystique is surprised to see X-51 alive, but reiterates their mission: to retrieve his head. Toad attacks the robot before she can stop him, and Machine Man repulses him easily, knocking over the rest of the Brotherhood in the process. They're somewhat chagrined by his strength and worried about what he has planned for them, but Mystique orders a unified assault, and he succumbs. He then quickly repairs the damage and they attack again, but this time he's more able to defend himself against them. He discovers that he's been infected with Sentinel programming, which leaves him with a virulent hatred of and the imperative to destroy all mutants, so he attacks the BoM. Blob is overconfident as all his teammates are literally blown away and eventually left seriously injured --- Mystique is hit on the head --- but even he is defeated and left helpless.
Mystique reflects to herself on why she's here with the Brotherhood; she was hired by the Hellfire Club to retrieve the head, and realized that she might have difficulties by herself, so she simply hired the Brotherhood to do a job for her. Meanwhile, H.P. Gyrich and Sebastian Shaw have been watching the entire battle from their helicopter, but eventually land to investigate the situation. Mystique impersonates a soldier and manages to take Shaw hostage. She has figured out what's been going on, and is very angry at him --- she knows that he controls the manufacturing of Sentinels --- and figures that he'd never intended to pay her at all for the job, which annoys her even more. "For me, it's all about the money --- I'm just out to make a buck." She also accuses him of using her and the BoM as guinea pigs to test the capabilities of X-51 as a new Sentinel. She shoots him, but Machine Man intervenes and stops the bullets before realizing that Shaw is also a mutant, and attacks him. Mystique escapes in the ensuing melee, as do several other members of the Brotherhood.

X-Men 93: In a flashback sequence, Mystique describes how she spent three months in Europe, living it up while pretending to be a model named Ronnie Lake.
[It's not completely clear where this story fits into continuity; see the note for the second entry of X-Men 93. However, it is known that she meets up with Rogue and Shadowcat one week after the end of her European travels.]

X-Men 93: Some generic ninjas attack Mystique, so she morphs into Sabretooth and beats them quite handily. However, she is injured during the battle, and has to go seek help for her current troubles, which she finds in Rogue and Shadowcat, who are off partying after leaving the X-Men during the Shattering storyline. In the meantime, 'Mastermind' and 'Mesmero' --- actually Skrulls impersonating them --- discuss how "the Master" wants Mystique eliminated, as she was apparently "observing" them and has ties to the X-Men. Mastermind dismisses the risk she poses to them, and mentions sending the Japanese military after her.
Mystique takes Shadowcat and Rogue to a fancy house, "my sanctum, the closest thing I have to home. Where I keep all that I most cherish". It belongs to one of her oldest identities, a wealthy recluse (though Rogue didn't know about either the identity or the house). Kitty looks at an old happy-looking photo of Mystique, Destiny, and Rogue, and it's noteworthy because Raven is touching Rogue's bare skin (which reinforces the original Claremont story which stated they adopted her before her powers emerged, rather than the later Lobdell version which had Mystique meeting the girl after her powers had manifested --- see the various entries for these). Mystique hints that she'd met Kitty some time before their ostensible first meeting in UXM 141-142 (see X-Men: True Friends 3), and goes on to tell Rogue about her personal life over the past few months. She had decided to cast off her old responsibilities and do something different --- namely, creating a new identity of a popular model named Ronnie Lake, and doing everything that goes along with that life (partying, photo shoots, etc.). "For the first time since Destiny was killed, I felt truly alive". But recently, while off in that identity, she was attacked by ninjas and has been running ever since. Rogue agrees to help find out who's chasing her. As they talk, Mystique mentions how she met Destiny: "She was a damsel in distress...and I, her consulting detective. Afterwards, we became...partners". Rogue and Mystique talk about her death, and Rogue is saddened that Irene didn't foresee her own end, at which Raven scoffs (see the entries for UXM 254-255).
Rogue goes to another of Mystique's residences in order to check out the evidence. The place has been severely damaged, which suggests to her that it is the work of the (Japanese) government, and not the mob. And when she examines the telescope that's pointed in a specific direction --- at "Mastermind's" operations --- an alarm goes off, and ninjas burst in. She puts them on the run, but Sunfire arrives and tells her "if you would ally yourself with a wanton murderess...then you will share her fate!"

Some notes about this issue: Rogue thinks to herself that it was because of her uncontrollable powers that Mystique "sent me to Xavier...she'd tried and failed. Now it was his turn". Of course, Rogue actually ran away to go to Xavier, and Mystique hatched an elaborate plan to get her back (as seen in the events of UXM 177-178 --- in that story, Raven accused Xavier of stealing her daughter).
This issue unfortunately presents a few continuity problems: it's revealed that Mystique has just spent three months off by herself, posing as a popular model and partying --- which begs the question of where we are to place the X-51 story. I think it's one of those things that just has to be glossed over, because there's no satisfactory answer.

X-Men 94: Sunfire attacks Rogue, whom he believes to be Mystique (although in the previous issue he thought Rogue was allied with her, not that she was actually Mystique), and accuses her of murdering several Japanese agents. Once convinced she is Rogue, he explains that Mystique is guilty of murder, and describes his evidence, which Rogue refutes. She's able to prove that Mystique is innocent by pointing to some Ronnie Lake magazines which state that Raven was in Switzerland for the entire month in question. The pair then attacks 'Mesmero' and 'Mastermind', who blow up their base rather than confess, and Sunfire and Rogue figure it was they who framed Mystique for the murders.
Meanwhile, Shadowcat, staying with Raven in order to guard her, examines a shrine to Destiny, complete with her oracle mask on a stand and a nice portrait of the female members of the Brotherhood. Kitty muses about Rogue's mysterious past as she rifles through more photographs (which include pictures of a family ski trip and a happy photo taken at Christmas), and decides to look for embarrassing photos of Rogue. She then finds a note on the back of one portrait, apparently written by Destiny, telling her to "reach in", so she does and pulls a journal out of the frame.
Finally, to wrap up the story, Mystique, Rogue, and Kitty walk in the park and discuss the adventure with Sunfire. Raven thanks her daughter for the help, saying some kind and loving words to her, and reminiscing about the past before disappearing into the crowd, Mystique-style. After she's gone, Kitty worriedly brings up the journal, which apparently she'd never mentioned to Raven, and it eventually goes on to play a role in 'the Twelve' storyline by revealing the twelve mutants who will be kidnapped by Apocalypse and used to power his plans.
Like last issue, Rogue and Mystique share some genuinely warm and loving moments, to which Davis goes to great lengths in order to emphasize in both the past and present.

Uncanny X-Men 379: Mystique infiltrates a government spy agency, seeking information on who has been compromising many of her secret identities. She borrows the form of a prominent man in the department, and is going through files on a computer when the High Evolutionary's mutancy-negating energy field goes into effect. Like every other mutant on Earth, she painfully loses her powers, and uncontrollably morphs back to her blue form, and then slowly begins to lose all anomalous physical traits --- including her blue skin. Several guns are pointed at her as she is forced to surrender, stuck as an ordinary-looking human woman with normal red hair and hazel-coloured eyes.

X-Men 99: Rogue impersonates a lawyer in order to visit Mystique in prison, only to find her mother desperate to get out. Rogue tells her that all her real lawyers abandoned her when they discovered her many aliases and true identity, and says that without their powers, the pair will have to work within the justice system. Raven is panicked, frustrated by the loss of her powers and having to remain at one single "face", and demands that Rogue spring her out.

Uncanny X-Men 380: The X-Men have decided to attack the satellite responsible for removing their powers, so Rogue has to call Mystique in prison and tell her that she'll be away for a while. She uses the alias of "Irene Adler" (Destiny's name), which only makes Raven even more furious, and she shouts at her for "using the name of a woman we both loved" while at the same time choosing the X-Men over her real family. Raven angrily tells her that this is the last time she'll have to hear such sentiments from her daughter, and then hangs up. However, the X-Men do manage to achieve their goal, and all the mutants' powers return, so Mystique immediately escapes from jail, vowing revenge on everyone who had taken advantage of her "recent vulnerabilities".

[The six-month gap of unseen comics time begins here].

Gambit 21: Gambit's associate Jacob Gavin Jr. infiltrates the Commission on Superhuman Activities, using his shapeshifting powers to impersonate Charles Xavier. While doing so, he encounters Mystique (herself impersonating an attache named Millicent Hardwick), who corners him and keeps him prisoner until Gambit comes looking for him. She is curious about what he's looking for in Washington, and wants answers, mentioning just how valuable information is to someone like her. Gambit is reticent, and the two play a game of one-upmanship and double-cross with each other until she points out that they both have compromising information about the other and that they have reached a stalemate. She warns him that he may be going too deep and that his perspectives are too narrow for what he seeks, although she doesn't elaborate when he asks about what she means. They allow each other to leave the building, she mildly annoyed to be denied the information she wants from him, and he allowing small hints of what his true purpose was.
[This issue has big continuity problems which make it difficult to place. It takes place after the Gambit 2000 annual, in which Shadowcat appeared. Though it was mentioned in the annual that Shadowcat had been missing for a while --- with the obvious implication that this referred to her disappearance after X-Men 100 --- it's been convincingly suggested that Gambit 21 should take place during the X-books' "six-month gap" of unseen time which existed between UXM 380 and X-Men 100. Basically, this is a half-hearted attempt to explain some poor planning at Marvel, and thus Gambit 21 has been placed near the end of the six-month gap.]

X-Men Forever 1: Along with several others, Mystique is contacted by Prosh for a mission of great importance. He impersonates Destiny and visits her at her identity of "Holt Adler", an assistant to Senator Robert Kelly during his presidential campaign. Explaining why he has contacted her --- she represents "the mystery and fear humans have of mutants" --- Prosh warns the assembled group that humanity will eventually be destroyed by the universe's cosmic beings for being too powerful, and he wants to send them into the past to help prevent this. Despite Mystique's protests, he sends their minds back to the day Graydon Creed was assassinated (see the entry for X-Factor 130).
[It's not completely clear where this story fits into continuity, although it is sometime after UXM 380 and before X-Men 106.]

X-Men Forever 5: After returning the time-travellers from a jump into the future, Prosh tells them that they have failed in their mission. Mystique realizes that Prosh himself is the threat that he'd warned them about, having been programmed by the Celestials to attack humanity, and he sets about attacking the team. They fight him off, though Toad discovers that the true driving force behind the events has been the Stranger, who claims to have been manipulating everyone for his own gains.
A milestone is reached in the story recap on the inside cover; while not technically part of the story, it clearly states for the first time in plain English that Mystique and Destiny were lovers.
[It's not completely clear where this story fits into continuity, although it is sometime after UXM 380 and before X-Men 106.]

X-Men Forever 6: The time-travellers attempt to fight the powerful Stranger, though they quickly realize that the severely-wounded Toad is the key to defeating him (due to Toad's extensive knowledge of the Stranger's technology). Mystique grudgingly accepts that she'll have to help save Toad if she wants to escape the situation, so she goes with him to Prosh's medical bay and oversees his care. However, the conduit which provides the cellular regeneration for his body comes loose, and she is forced to repair it even though she could be harmed by the energies; she reluctantly fixes it and is doused by the energy. The result of this is that Toad's mutant potential is expressed, and Mystique's body is changed by the energy into a naked, scaly default form (identical to her look in the X-Men movie). The entire group escapes after Toad re-programs Prosh, and the Stranger is sent into exile with Prosh, thwarting his cosmic scheme and leaving the travellers' job done. They have learned about themselves and the future of humanity, and decide to use this knowledge instead of fighting each other. All go their separate ways.
[It's not completely clear where this story fits into continuity, although it is sometime after UXM 380 and before X-Men 106.]

X-Men Forever 6: In a scene which is noted as taking place four weeks after the adventure with Prosh, Mystique has gone somewhat insane. Still naked and scaly, she huddles in a corner and worriedly rambles about the things Prosh had shown her; aloud, she asks Destiny about what to do next, and then notices a newspaper article about the anticipated presidential victory of Senator Robert Kelly.
[It's not completely clear where this story fits into continuity, although it is sometime after UXM 380 and before X-Men 106.]

X-Men 104: 'Val Cooper' meets with Senator Robert Kelly at one of his fund-raisers (he recently declared his intention to run for president). They discuss his anti-mutant agenda; he feels that control of mutants is essential to ensure the safety of humanity, "already a second-class species on our own planet". After she leaves, she morphs back into Mystique (albeit clothed and non-scaly), and clutches one of Destiny's diaries. She mentions that Irene had foretold this, and that she should have killed Kelly on her first attempt (referring to the Brotherhood's activities in UXM 141-142, of course). Raven declares that Kelly must be stopped, because "the future depends on it".

X-Men 105: Mystique watches an interview with Senator Kelly as she infiltrates Moira MacTaggert's home. He feels he has a good chance of winning the presidential race, and declares that he'll announce his position on the mutant issue at the eve of the election, which concerns her. She knows how problematic it could be if the public likes what he has to say, and reiterates her intention to kill him if it is necessary to preserve the future. She makes a comparison with the conversation in X-Men: True Friends #3, recalling the debate over killing Hitler in order to prevent World War II; apparently Destiny and Wolverine had opposed her decision and Logan stopped her, for which she bears a grudge (none of this was actually in the True Friends mini-series, and in fact, Mystique had seemed to oppose the killing). As she notices that Cable appears to be working as Kelly's aide --- which causes her to wonder what he's up to --- Wolfsbane interrupts her work. Mystique is forced to finish up quickly, and continues flipping through Destiny's diaries, which appear to be in the possession of Moira MacTaggert (hence her impersonation of Moira herself). While doing so, she makes a cryptic remark about possibly having to kill Kelly "or those who were once my closest friends".

X-Men 106: Val Cooper and Sharon Carter warn Senator Kelly that he's being targetted by Mystique, although he's fairly nonchalant about it. Meanwhile, Mystique oversees the training of several members of her new Brotherhood of Mutants, and is somewhat pleased with what she sees. She verbally defends Blob from upstart newcomer Sabre II, and dismisses Toad when he asks about his place on the team. He then uses his newfound venom/pheromone abilities to attempt to mind-control her, but her shapeshifting powers keep her immune from his toxins, and she is mostly unaffected. However, his sheer audacity impresses her, and she offers him a place on the team.

Uncanny X-Men 388: Mystique repeats her intention to kill Senator Kelly, whilst carrying out several other plans at the same time. She and her new Brotherhood infect a shipload of people with a human-specific strain of the Legacy Virus, apparently with the goal to eradicate humanity, and makes comments about "culling the human herd". She then goes to Muir Island in the guise of Moira MacTaggert, and encourages the X-Men to investigate her activities; when Rogue and two others arrive, they're caught in an explosion on the island. Meanwhile, the rest of the Brotherhood attacks Senator Kelly.

Bishop 16: The plot to kill Senator Kelly has been foiled by Pyro in Cable 87 (see the Pyro chronology), but half the Brotherhood is still loose on Muir Island. After rescuing Wolfsbane from Sabretooth, Bishop encounters Mystique, who is impersonating Senator Kelly and talking about the superiority of mutants over humans. She escapes when Wolverine intervenes, and manages to shoot Wolfsbane with the Neutralizer gun (see the entries for UXM 184-185), discussing the weapon's use with Rogue. She apparently stole the gun from Forge during her stay with him (see the entries for UXM 290-302), and plans to use it to keep other mutants in line once they rule the world after the death of all humans from her modified Legacy Virus. Mystique taunts Rogue with the prospect of removing her powers, but then angrily rebukes her for wanting this, kicking her. Raven gloats at the prospect of mutants never having to fear humans again, but Rogue knocks away the Neutralizer and talks to her about getting help for her apparent insanity. However, after letting her guard down, Mystique stabs her daughter in the abdomen and threatens everyone with her possession of the "destabilizing agent" which will allow her to spread the Legacy strain; then Rogue stabs her with her new claws.

X-Men 108: The X-Men hurry home to save the life of Moira (wounded in the explosion at Muir), and they also bring along the injured Mystique. She's left unconscious and strapped down in a back room of the jet, and Wolverine decides to kill her for the attempt on Rogue's life and the release of the human-specific Legacy Virus, figuring that the woman he once knew and respected is "dead". He's interrupted by Wolfsbane, who's furious at everything Mystique has taken from her, and she quietly vows that she'll be the one to kill Raven, after making her suffer. Senator Kelly dies at the hands of a human at the end of the issue, and Moira also dies from her injuries.

Uncanny X-Men 389: Now that Moira is dead, various members of the X-Men are very angry at Mystique for her recent activities. Raven is still badly injured in a prison hospital, and Gambit plans to kill her as revenge, though he is prevented from doing so by Storm. Meanwhile, Rogue and Wolverine are shocked to discover that they are seeing these events unfold in one of Destiny's diaries, containing drawings and almost word-for-word dialogue from the hospital room; Destiny had predicted all of this when she was a teenager. Her other diaries foretell a dire future for mutants, which Mystique has struggled to prevent, but she knows that everything else Irene foretold has already come true, so she believes that Destiny's other predictions will also come to pass. Raven explains in a very oblique manner that this is why she attempted to destroy humanity with Legacy (although it's mentioned elsewhere in the issue that a cure for the virus is being developed, thanks to a discovery by Moira prior to her death); she believes that mutants can only survive if humans are already gone. And she has given the diaries in her possession to Charles Xavier, so he can figure out what all the predictions mean. The X-Men are distrustful of her words, but Gambit backs off and seemingly ponders what she says.

Uncanny X-Men 401: Members of the X-Corps, a fascist-themed team started by Banshee, go to retrieve Mystique from custody, only to discover that she's not there (she may have escaped by impersonating a Madrox duplicate at this time.)

Uncanny X-Men 402: Banshee sends in "the Bastard Squad" to stop a fight between Abyss and Fever Pitch. The group consists of Avalanche, Blob, and newcomer Surge, who is actually Mystique in disguise. 'Surge' is wearing a pack which generates electricity and gives the impression he has electrical powers, and is under the command of Avalanche.

Uncanny X-Men 403: 'Surge' appears with part of the X-Corps team on a mission, and later quietly drinking in a bar with the noisier Avalanche and Blob. 'He' appears unaffected by the mind-control perpetrated on the others, and then quietly sneaks off to the headquarters of an anti-mutant group, electrocuting all of them.

Uncanny X-Men 404: The leader of the anti-mutant group appears on television and claims to have executed Surge. Unknown to all, he is actually Mystique, who has killed the real man and taken his place. Meanwhile, Chamber finds himself trapped in the mind of Lady Mastermind, the telepathic 'slave' used by Banshee's X-Corps to control villainous team members like Blob and Avalanche. It turns out that she is actually in control of herself (and the other villains secretly have free will), and is in cahoots with Mystique, who is quietly manipulating things behind the scenes. Mystique tells Lady Mastermind "assassination...terrorism...the grand reveal...these are a few of my favourite things", and she has a secret scheme which has only just been actively put into motion. She has had Blob and Avalanche and some others attack (and in one case, kill) X-Men and other X-Corps members so the plans can go undisturbed...

Uncanny X-Men 405: As trouble mounts and Mystique's schemes go into motion (chiefly, destroying Paris to "show the world that this is the face of mutant pride! Burn away the old monuments to make way for the new world!", as stated by Fever Pitch), she gets close to Banshee by impersonating Jamie Madrox. When Banshee attempts to use Lady Mastermind in a last-ditch effort to control the rampaging villains, Mystique appears behind him and triumphantly slits his throat.

Uncanny X-Men 406: As some of the X-Men and X-Corps attempt to stop the villains from destroying Paris, Mystique schemes with Lady Mastermind at X-Corps headquarters. She reveals that it was she who created and became Surge, and she was the one who killed and impersonated Eisen. She plans to start a mutant revolution and indicates that she intends to be "running things", and has been manipulating Banshee and the X-Corps all this time (with the assistance of Lady Mastermind) to this end. She leaves Banshee to die, and monitors the situation from a control room. When there is a security breach, she goes to investigate --- only to encounter an angry Abyss, who sucks her into his interdimensional void to stop her rampage. She is not heard from afterward, and her whereabouts are unknown.

Uncanny X-Men 431: Abyss attempts to suck some villains into his void, but accidentally releases Mystique instead.
[This issue was published after Mystique's own series began. Obviously, it should take place before it, since she is already out of Abyss' void in her solo book, but it's possible that overall X-Men continuity might get a bit mucked up here because of publishing dates]

Uncanny X-Men 432: Mystique, the X-Men, Abyss, and others are invited by Azazel to a special feast, at which he announces that he is Nightcrawler's father and that he is Satan. Mystique seems very bemused by the entire situation, and tells Nightcrawler again that she is his biological mother.
[This issue was published after Mystique's own series began. Obviously, it should take place before it, since she is already out of Abyss' void in her solo book, but it's possible that overall X-Men continuity might get a bit mucked up here because of publishing dates]

Uncanny X-Men 433: Mystique doesn't do much aside from watching and listening as Azazel tells Nightcrawler and his other sons that he is actually a mutant from Biblical times, who inspired the myth/appearance of Satan. Other mutants, who inspired stories of angels, banished him to some kind of limbo/hellish dimension, and he has since been trying to get back to "his" Earth. He fathered children with different women on Earth in hope that their teleportation abilities would enable him to escape.
[This issue was published after Mystique's own series began. Obviously, it should take place before it, since she is already out of Abyss' void in her solo book, but it's possible that overall X-Men continuity might get a bit mucked up here because of publishing dates]

Uncanny X-Men 434: Mystique follows around Azazel and makes snarky comments as he attempts to get back to Earth. Eventually he is defeated, and she, the X-Men, and their friends escape back to Earth.
[This issue was published after Mystique's own series began. Obviously, it should take place before it, since she is already out of Abyss' void in her solo book, but it's possible that overall X-Men continuity might get a bit mucked up here because of publishing dates]

Mystique 1: After one of Charles Xavier's espionage agents (Prudence) is killed in the field by a mutant called Steinbeck, Xavier tells Forge that he wants to recruit Mystique to complete the unfinished mission. Though Forge is understandably skeptical, given her track record, Xavier believes that he needs undercover spies to occasionally carry out secret missions for his cause, and that she is the only one who can do it. Meanwhile, Mystique is busy with her own business, infiltrating a scientist's home to steal a device which can track shapeshifters. She has a run-in with a young Austrian agent, and once they discover that the device is not there, she helps the young agent to escape when the US army demands her surrender. The soldiers surround her, and tell her that they are authorized to execute her on the spot.

Mystique 2: Mystique engages the soldiers with trickery and creative use of her powers, though is injured in the melee and ultimately taken into custody. She is held captive by a government agent named Johnny Kitano, who is authorized to execute her for her crimes. The two of them argue back and forth about the wrongs of her past as well as mutant oppression, and although he is a mutant, he is disgusted by her terrorist history, and prepares to execute her with his powers. Just then, she's rescued by Charles Xavier in disguise as Magneto, and he tells her that they have things to discuss.

Mystique 3: Mystique is in disbelief that Xavier invaded a mobile fortress to save her, saying he’s a spineless peacenik who would never charge a fortress and free a death row inmate. She continues to insist that she wasn’t involved in terrorist activities overseas, and challenges him to read her mind. Xavier tells her that her powers prevent him from doing that, and he wouldn’t want to if he could. Mystique thinks he wants her to join the X-Men, and refuses, but Charles tells her she couldn’t be one of his X-Men if she lived to be a thousand years old. Forge comes in, and Mystique attacks him. Forge knocks her out with gas from his hand, and Xavier and Forge both agree that as far as interventions go, that one went rather well.
When Mystique wakes up, Forge tells her she’s in a New York safehouse the Professor maintains for mutants in trouble. Forge offers her a deal: they found the device Homeland Security used to find her, and Forge has created a device that will keep her cloaked. If she cooperates, they’ll keep her hidden. Don’t, and she’s on her own. Charles expressly forbids Mystique from ever taking a life again, and Mystique demands action. Meanwhile, in Cuba, the army is hunting a young girl who’s a mutant with the ability to control machines. The army captures her, and the general injects her with a drug. Charles gives Mystique her first mission. Russian Sentinels, which were mothballed after the Cold War, have been sold on the black market by Steinbeck. He'd auctioned them to the highest bidder --- Cuba. Fidel Castro wasn’t sure what to do about the mutant population, so bought them as a deterrent. Charles wants Mystique to destroy them, and make it look like a human did it. A field handler will meet her in Cuba. Mystique arrives in Cuba, but has problems at the airport when Forge incorrectly made her proof of reservation with a form the hotel stopped using months before. Mystique shifts form and gets away from security. Her field handler, Shortpack --- a man who's about 6 inches tall --- helps her. His driver betrays him though, pulling a gun on Mystique after he recognizes her and says there’s a large bounty on her head.

Mystique 4: Mystique realizes the driver is hesitant to shoot Shortpack, so asks him to grow larger so she can use him as a shield. He tells her that he’s always this size, so she punches the driver with him. A police officer tries to arrest Mystique, but she takes him out easily and takes his shape, commandeering a passing car and leaving the airport. Back at a cabin, Shortpack tells Mystique that he began shrinking when he hit puberty, and that his name refers to what collectors call the rarest and most valueable action figures in a series. He explains the mission again; she’s to find and take the form of the general doing the abductions. He gives Mystique a tranq gun, though she protests that she wants a real gun. She takes the form of a beautiful Cuban woman and stores the gun in a pouch behind her stomach. Unfortunately, the targetted general pushes Mystique aside, ignoring her beauty. His men beat up a group demonstrating for the kidnapped mutants, led by Lazaro, the brother of the mutant girl captured in the previous issue. Mystique takes the form of a huge man and beats up the general before returning to the female form to help him up and come to his rescue. He takes her back to his room, where Mystique overpowers him and gets the information on where the Sentinels are being kept. She passes through security with a positive retinal and voice print to find the two Sentinels. Mystique is then interrupted by the storming in of the demonstrators she’d helped earlier.

Mystique 5: Lazaro’s group hold guns on Mystique-as-the-general, threatening to kill him if he doesn’t tell them where their loved ones are. Mystique points a gun at the captain next to her, threatening to kill him if they don’t drop their guns, and telling Lazaro she was talking to the soldiers, not him. The soldiers drop their guns, so Mystique shoots them with tranqs, putting them down and revealing herself to Lazaro. As Mystique predicted, the tranqs fail, and one of the men wakes up to launch the Sentinels. More soldiers arrive shooting, and Mystique leads the others to find the remote CPU to destroy the Sentinels. On the way, they find most of the mutant kids in a cell. Many are missing though, and the children tell them that they were taken away, but even after they left, they could hear them screaming. The soldiers start to close in, so Mystique shifts into a huge monstrous form with four arms and two faces, one on either side of her head, saying she's taken on an army before, back in Panama. She charges out and shoots most of the soldiers before losing her form, exhausted from the strain. She takes one of the soldiers' sidearms as the survivor screams that she’s a demon. She agrees, and wishes him a good stay in her 'hometown' before killing him. Mystique finally finds that the CPU is Evangelina, Lazaro’s little sister. She tells Mystique they did something to her head, and she can’t stop controlling the Sentinels. The only way that Mystique can stop her is with a gun.

Mystique 6: Evangelina begs Mystique to kill her, saying if she doesn’t every mutant in Havana will die. Mystique refuses, saying she can’t do it. Mystique finally points the gun at her, only to have Lazaro show up and shoot Evangelina for her. He tries to kill himself, but Mystique knocks him out. The rest of Lazaro’s group arrive to find Evangelina dead and Lazaro unconscious, and tell Mystique the Sentinels are on their way back. Mystique and the group shoot their way out before the Sentinels return and destroy the facility and themselves. Mystique encourages the group to keep fighting for mutant equality, but to dig in for a long battle.
Back at the hotel Mystique wonders if she could have shot the little girl, and says that was why Charles picked her, because she’d be willing to get some innocent blood on her hands if push came to shove. She decides to get drunk, and refuses Shortpack's protestations. At a bar she’s approached by a man named Shepard, who addresses her by the name 'Raven', and knows Oscar Wilde is her favorite author. He says he wants to offer her a job, but she tells him that she’s under an exclusive contract. He tells her that’s what he wants, a double agent. Tell him her missions now, and then he’ll give her a counter-mission to complete for him. Mystique refuses, and he gives her a necklace she can use to contact him. It’s a sapphire, which he says is her birthstone. Mystique asks how he knows when she was born, but he’s gone. Shepard returns to a cloaked figure, calling one another “Beloved”, saying he’s sure Raven will bite in time. She doesn’t have a clue who she’s really working for, the cloaked figure gloats, saying vengeance is close at hand. Back at the safehouse in New York, Mystique is greeted by Xavier, and she tells him to get out of her head. Xavier touches her, revealing he’s really there and saying he’s come to shake her hand. He offers to release her from his service. Mystique protests that if he does that, Homeland Security will hunt her down and execute her. He tells her he’d pull some strings to have her sentence commuted to life. Mystique replies that the choice between working for him or life in a 6 by 8 concrete cell isn’t much of a choice, but Xavier tells her it’s one he felt she’d earned. Mystique agrees to continue working for him, while holding the necklace Shepard gave her.

Mystique 7: North Korea: In the palace of Kim Jong Il, three servants have been singled out as possible spies, a female shapeshifter who recently stole some very valuable documents. The group all protest their innocence, until a child among them asks if it could be the general. He pulls a gun to kill him, demanding he show his true form. The bronze statue behind him comes to life, and holds a sword on him. Despite saving them, the child screams for the guards, who come rushing in. Mystique fights her way out with the help of Shortpack.
The Professor meets Mystique back in New York, telling her that the Koreans were after “Bigpox”, a disease designed to kill anyone who’s received the smallpox vaccination. It would kill millions of humans and mutants if released. In South Africa, someone else is after the disease. A woman calling herself The Host has the ability to house and control viruses, and is out to "save their brethren". Forge gives Mystique a watch to protect her against infections, a lipstick that will launch tracking devices, and a bobby pin that’ll discharge a powerful electrical jolt. At the South African airport, Mystique is found by Shepard again, who asks her to bring him a sample of the mutant smallpox. Mystique demands to know how he knows about her mission, but he vanishes again. Shepard returns to his base, telling his beloved that he’s not sure Raven will accept the mission. She’s asking questions about him. The cloaked figure says to tell her he works for the Quiet Man, and that she’ll know his real name soon enough.

Mystique 8: Shepard and the Quiet Man watch Mystique’s plane as it enters South African airspace. They reveal there’s a tracking device in her necklace, and they know she knows it, but she’s unwilling to throw it away because she doesn’t want to throw them away yet. She wants them as an option, but needs to decide how far she’s willing to go. Mystique’s target this time is Dr. Harrison Taylor, who created the virus. Mystique blows off the briefing, telling Shortpack the doctor doesn’t stand a chance. She’ll impersonate his live-in nurse, with whom he’s in a relationship. Noting she speaks eleven languages, Mystique finds the nurse. Impersonating the doctor, she stays silent while the nurse talks to her --- and when asked why he’s not saying anything, Mystique says she was waiting for her to say ten syllables, so she has enough information to mimic the voice. She's now gotten all she needs, and knocks the woman out. Mystique goes in, but finds the Host already bent over the unconscious doctor, with boils all over him. The Host protests she didn’t want to kill him, only visit his beautiful new children. Mystique reveals herself and the two fight, until the Host coughs. Mystique collapses, demanding to know what she did to her. The Host declares herself a freedom fighter, fighting for those who are hunted, oppressed, and outcast. She leaves as Mystique tags her with the tracking lipstick. Shortpack telepathically contacts Mystique, saying she forgot her biometric watch and should be careful around infections --- just as she collapses.

Mystique 9: Shortpack is trying to get an extraction team for Mystique when she shows up at the hotel. She’s scaly all over, and half formed in the nurse’s shape. She tells him her body has a tough time maintaining a form when she’s fighting off infection. Shortpack protests as Mystique heals up before his eyes and finally assumes Wolverine’s form. Shortpack reluctantly tells her the Host is heading for the airport. Mystique steals a motorcycle and takes off, catching up and forcing the Host to crash. The pair fight, and the Host tells Mystique she intends to share this new virus with the world. Mystique keeps her talking in the middle of the road, until a car hits her. Mystique returns to the hotel to find the Host waiting for her. The woman demands the virus, holding Shortpack out of a window, and threatens to drop him if Mystique doesn’t hand it over.

Mystique 10: With the Host holding Shortpack, Mystique holds out the vial, and the Host shoots it, releasing the virus in Mystique’s hand. Shortpack begins to panic, telling her she released a plague. Mystique starts showing symptoms, and collapses after a second. The Host watches as Mystique’s disease progresses, then kisses her to try to acquire the virus. The Host suddenly stops, declaring Mystique was never inoculated against smallpox. Mystique opens her eyes and headbutts her, getting to her feet. She and the Host fight briefly, until Mystique zaps her with the hairpin. Shortpack tells Mystique that they need to quarantine the area, and Mystique reassures him that she’d created that test tube, and it was empty. Shortpack begins to clean up the mess, telling Mystique he’s called in cleaners. She heads to the airport to take the virus back to New York, but stops on the bridge to meet Shepard. She tells him she’ll give him the virus, but wants to know what he’ll do with it. When he refuses to tell her, she tells him to roll over and die. Shepard tells her that was the real test. They didn’t want the virus, they wanted to know they could trust her.
Back in New York, Forge meets Mystique at the safehouse. He compliments her recent behavior, and asks her out to coffee.

Mystique 11: Mystique took Forge up on his offer, and they’re at a tiny café having coffee. As they’re leaving, a news broadcast comes on TV stating that a 12 year old boy was kidnapped at gunpoint by his estranged father. As soon as it's revealed that the boy's a mutant, Mystique decides to help. She goes to shake down the father's work buddies for information, with Forge tagging along. They quickly discover he’s staying at the house of some rich people a friend of his gets paid to check on every couple of weeks. Mystique takes the form of the work buddy and knocks on the door. The kid answers it, but orders 'him' to go away. When that doesn’t work, he orders his father to get rid of him. The father comes out, gun in hand, to do it, so Mystique shifts back to her normal form. A sound beating returns the father’s mind to him, and he tells Mystique that his son has the ability to control the minds of men. Spencer then comes in with Forge, saying he’s his friend now, and orders Forge to get rid of Mystique. He attacks.

Mystique 12: Forge attacks Mystique. She orders Spencer to release him, but Spencer refuses, saying all women are weak. Spencer’s father tells Mystique that Spencer forced him to kidnap him from his mother's place because he can’t control her --- he can’t control women. Spencer takes control of his father again as Mystique and Forge fight. Forge electrocutes her with his artificial hand, and Mystique begins changing forms to try to stop him. First into the Professor, then Storm. When that doesn’t work, Mystique tells him to just finish her off, that when he comes to he’ll feel lousy, but he shouldn’t. It’s not his fault, and she loved him. She tells him he’s the only man who ever thought she could be something better, and even if he was wrong she appreciated the sentiment. That snaps Forge out of things, and he lets her go. She decides she has no choice but to kill the boy, but Forge steps in with one of his gadgets to freeze him instead. Forge comes out a little while later and tells Mystique they’re bringing an all-female unit to pick him up, and Spencer will be enrolled at Xavier's school.
Back at the safehouse, neither can sleep. Forge asks Raven if she meant anything she’d said earlier, and she asks him if he was really that gullible, of course she doesn’t love him. He replies he knows that part was a lie, he wanted to know about the rest, about him believing she could be something better, and her appreciating it. Mystique calls that his most annoying quality, and declares she’s proud of who she is and content with herself. Forge calls her on it by flashing his old shaving mirror. She shrinks away from the sight of her own face, and Forge tells her he’s noticed her weaknesses over the years too, including that she won’t look at her true reflection. He asks if she’s so happy with herself, why can’t she look herself in the eye?

Mystique 13: Mystique is in Rio de Janeiro, looking for the hand of a mutant which is reputed to turn lead into gold. She finds the apparent thief, and shoots her with a tranq gun. The tranq doesn’t affect her, and she gets away from Mystique, vanishing in an alley. Shepard is waiting for her there, but Mystique refuses to talk to him. When he asks why she’s still wearing the necklace if she doesn’t want to work for them, Mystique tears it off, gives it back, and keeps chasing the woman. Back at their headquarters, the Quiet Man is upset by this development, demanding to know how they’ll ever find Mystique without the tracking device. Shepard calls Shortpack, who tells him he has an agent lost in the sewers under the Samodrome. Shortpack returns to Mystique, leading her to the thief. She takes the appearance of a sewage worker, and knocks the thief down. The thief tells her that he’s a woman "trapped in a man's body", and didn’t know what the hand did, only that some dealer would pay for the rest of his surgery for it. Mystique takes the hand and turns a lead pipe into gold, giving it to him to pay for his surgeries and telling him to get out of there. Shepard arrives, telling Mystique he understands: she can’t kill someone if she sees some of herself in them. She demands to know what he wants, and he tells her the final countermission is to kill Charles Xavier, and to call him when she’s ready to do the right thing.
Later, on a train, Mystique goes to visit Shortpack, and tells him she won’t be working for the Professor forever. He quips back that’s what he said when he started, but Mystique answers that a wise woman once told her that her destiny had already been written. Scriptwriters come and go, but couldn’t change how the movie ended. Shortpack comments that the view is beautiful, and Mystique stares into her own reflection, and answers that it is.

Mystique 14: A kid being hunted through the woods in Austria runs into a building, grabbing a woman, but she can’t understand what he’s saying. Armed men come in after him, and he hides in a closet. They find him and knock him unconscious, dragging him away. He leaves the words “Derma Free” written on the floor.
Back in New York, Mystique is enjoying a carnival on Coney Island when Charles Xavier interrupts her. Despite running Genosha, he tells her, he remembers their deal and has a job for her. Mystique goes back to her safehouse to talk to Charles and Forge more privately. Forge comments she’s acting touchy, to which she replies she’s had a lot on her mind lately --- while thinking of Shepard’s demand for her to kill Xavier. Charles tells her that DermaFree is a leader in dermatological research and development, and recently created a cure for psoriasis. Mystique replies that the world could use a few less ugly people, but then Charles tells her that they are testing these cures on mutants, and many have already died. Charles wants to send her to discover if these rumors are true. If so, free any mutants and provide the media with proof of what’s going on there.
DermaFree is being run by Helena Carlson, a former Miss Austria and swimsuit model. Mystique is to meet her in the guise of a German investor, Helmut Stein. During the meeting, 'Stein' comes right out and asks about their testing methods, and Carlson admits they test on mutants. Back in her office, Mystique shoots Carlson with one of her non-lethal guns, and assumes her form. While going to look for the details, one of the security guards sees through the disguise when she uses the name on his nametag; Carlson always called him by a pet name because they were lovers. Mystique finds the details on the computer, that the testing lab is in Vienna. While she’s digging up information, security discovers that it was her. They were expecting Mystique, and begin to search for her specifically. She tries to get out, but before she can leave the room, two enormous men walk in and block the door.

Mystique 15: Mystique fights the two huge men whilst Shortpack gets to the rendez-vous. She falls thirty stories, landing hard, but gets back on her feet to see the two huge men right after her. She takes them out with a well placed kick while they’re falling, and gets in the elevator. She gets to the roof, meeting Shortpack. He distracts the guards with his telepathy, while Mystique leaps off the roof, her arms becoming gliders' wings. She says she wants to talk to Xavier, now. In a safehouse outside Stockholm, she confronts Xavier. She’s obviously upset, but won’t say why, just demands over and over to know if he knew. When he tells her he doesn’t know what she means, she takes that as an answer that he didn’t know, and she storms off cursing. Xavier tells Shortpack he really doesn’t know what’s going on, and asks him to talk to Mystique.
On the train, Mystique tells Shortpack that DermaFree is using embryonic stem cells to create their cures, but what’s really upsetting her is that they’re using eggs fused with her own cells. The embryos they are destroying to create their cures are clones of her. Back at DermaFree, Carlson assumes Darkholme knows everything, and tells her people to prepare the Vienna lab --- Raven’s coming. In Austria, Mystique visits a bakery which she says she used to visit all the time when she was a little girl. Shepard meets her there, and she tells him she doesn’t have an answer yet. Shepard says that’s not why he’s there, he wants to know if she’s all right and tries to convince her not to go against DermaFree. Raven refuses, saying she has to try. When she approaches the DermaFree labs, she’s immediately captured and put in shackles designed just for her. However, Shortpack was hiding inside her body, and he bursts out, taking down the guards and freeing her. They split up; Mystique tells Shortpack she’s going for the mutants, but instead goes to the cloning lab. Shortpack finds the mutants and calls for Mystique to come help him, but she ignores him, and he’s grabbed from behind by a guard.

Mystique 16: Shortpack gets away by biting the hand of the guard holding him. The captive mutants are all hooked up to a device that keeps their minds occupied while their bodies are comatose. Shortpack’s psychic screams wakes one of the girls, who is a telepath as well. Mystique charges in at the last moment, but Shortpack and the girl have already freed the mutants. Mystique and Shortpack argue, Shortpack saying he knew she ran off to destroy her genetic material. She tells him she hadn’t finished; she left to come help him.
Back in Stockholm, Carlson receives the report that the genetics lab was untouched, but says Mystique will be back for her offspring, so it’s time to be proactive. While driving, Mystique and Shortpack are attacked by the two huge men again, who drop in from an airplane. Mystique takes on an enormous, spiked, armored version of herself to fight them. She tries to appeal to them on the basis that they’re mutants, taking on a form similar to Nightcrawler's, but that doesn’t work either. She finally shifts the non-lethal gun through her forehead to shoot them while they’re trying to crush her.
In Prague, a boy named Luc is talking to a woman, telling her he is looking for work, and has a special gift. He turns into a metal spiked being, and a man named Viktor attacks him, knocking him out. Back at the safehouse, Shortpack nervously asks the Professor to keep looking, saying it’s been two hours since they heard from Mystique. The Professor answers that she could be too preoccupied to reply, but Shortpack tells him that he thinks Viktor got her.

Mystique 17: Three hours previously, Mystique had a meeting with Charles and Shortpack. Charles assured her he knew nothing about DermaFree using her clones, and promises to find out how they got her DNA. Mystique replies that she just wants to go after the jerk who's hunting mutants. Shortpack warns her he’s a powerful hypnotist, to which Mystique says she wasn’t born last night, or last century for that matter, and doesn’t need to be coddled. In the present, Shortpack goes after Mystique, saying he’s responsible for Prudence’s death and won’t lose another agent.
In a dark room, Luc wakes up, not remembering who he is. There are two other women there, who tell him they don’t know who they are either. The third says nothing, sitting in the corner staring away. Outside, Viktor and a large man negotiate over the price, with the large man saying he wants a servant. Carlson arrives in Austria, but refuses to help Viktor, saying he’s a loose end and if Mystique doesn’t kill him, they will. She orders the rescued mutants found, taken to a remote place, and executed. Back at the cell, the large man chooses the quiet one in the corner, and Viktor grabs her. As he’s wrestling with the others, the large man stabs Viktor in the back with a big knife, transforming back into Mystique’s form. Viktor calls her a backstabber, but Mystique replies that he’s the hypocrite selling his own kind. He tells her that he’s not a mutant, he’s a god, and she challenges him to prove it, attacking again. She takes down Viktor as Shortpack arrives and demands to know if she was hypnotized. She replies no, she just got tired of listening to him so telepathically tuned him out, and Shortpack punches her, calling her selfish and thoughtless. In response, Mystique leads him to Viktor’s corpse, with her knife still buried in his gut. Elsewhere, the rescued mutants are getting restless and begin bickering, until the police charge in and point guns at them.

Mystique 18: Mystique and Shortpack arrive back at the hotel to find the room destroyed and the kids missing. Mystique and Shortpack rush to DermaFree labs to try to find the kids, but they’re being taken to the countryside to be executed. Mystique sees Carlson getting into her car, and against orders takes a detour, attacking the car and pulling her knife on Carlson, who tells her the guinea pigs are already dead. Carlson refuses to tell her, and Mystique comments “so pretty”, and starts using the knife on her.
Outside, Luc and Tanya, two mutants that Mystique rescued from Viktor, act as a diversion, attacking the guards and holding them off while Mystique infiltrates. She refuses to quit at the news the guinea pigs are dead, insisting on going in to destroy her clones. Shortpack calls her a monster as Luc and Tanya are knocked out. Back at a safehouse, Shortpack berates Mystique for losing the kids again and failing at the mission. Mystique tries to salvage what she can, but Shortpack is still angry --- until the supposedly-dead kids show up. They tell Shortpack they overwhelmed their guards and left them in the forest. The kids go to the press and reveal DermaFree for what it is, and despite attempts to cover it up, there’s still enough evidence for a probe. Shortpack tells Charles he wants to be reassigned --- he can’t work with Mystique anymore. Mystique also goes back for her clones, but she hesitates, and in the end can’t destroy them. Later, Carlson meets with the real Herr Stein about investing in DermaFree. She takes off her sunglasses to show a horrible gash going down one half of her face, putting out one of her eyes.

Mystique 19: At her safehouse in New York, Mystique is taking a shower when she hears someone outside. She comes out and finds Shepard holding her first edition Picture of Dorian Grey. He tells Mystique he needs her help: there’s a HYDRA director who has something important to him. Mystique turns him down, saying she’s drying her hair and can’t help him. In Genosha, Shortpack talks to Xavier, telling him Mystique can’t be trusted, and he can’t work with her anymore. He threatens to leave Xavier’s service if he’s not reassigned.
Meanwhile, Mystique agrees to help Shepard with the hit on HYDRA by meeting him there. The two start to make their way in, but are quickly discovered because they’re wearing masks and carrying non-issue weapons in the mess hall. They fight their way through to the director’s chambers, where Shepard is quickly captured. Mystique comes to his rescue, grabbing the box with the item in it and rushing out with him. Once they're gone, the director says he’s through playing the villain for Shepard, and has done him quite enough favors. Back at Mystique's safehouse, Shepard gives her the box, and she opens it to reveal an old fountain pen. Shepard tells her it was Oscar Wilde’s, and he used it to write Lady Windermere’s Fan. Mystique slaps him, tells him never to try to manipulate her emotions like that again, then kisses him, and sleeps with him. She agrees to kill Xavier, if she gets to meet the Quiet Man. Shepard takes her through the portal.

Mystique 20: Xavier receives a recording from Shortpack, saying that Prudence was a friend to him, and watching Steinbeck muder her in front of him had killed part of him. Now, he is going to one of Steinbeck’s vacation homes to kill him. He resigns as field handler, and hopes Charles can forgive him. Quiet Man offers Mystique a replica of Forge’s interference device for her agreement to kill Xavier. She asks what’s in it for him, to which he replies “Satisfaction”. Mystique replies that Xavier’s been nothing but a problem for her; he opposed her plans to help mutantkind, turned her children against her, and murdered Irene. She agrees to do it and starts to leave, but Quiet Man groans and swoons, stopping her.
Weeks later, Mystique is in Tokyo with Forge working as her handler when Charles interrupts them mid-mission, ordering them to pull out and liberate the mutant detector another day. Back on Genosha, Mystique compliments Xavier, who tells Mystique he’s on his last nerve with her, and will happily have Forge turn off the signal scrambler and leave her to Homeland Security. Charles tells her that he has lost Shortpack, and hasn’t heard from him in three weeks. Mystique goes to Monte Carlo to try to find him. She runs into Shepard there, who demands to know why she didn’t try to kill Charles in Genosha. Mystique tells him the timing was wrong, and Shepard threatens that if she takes off the necklace or tries to fool them, the deal's off. Mystique leaves him at the table and keeps looking for Shortpack’s friend, finding Fantomex sitting at one of the roulette tables. She goes up to him, but he recognizes her immediately despite her disguise, and refers to a night in Madagascar they spent together. Mystique takes him outside and starts to fight with him, but Forge intervenes, demanding to know what she’s thinking and if she remembers why they’re there. They verbally spar some more, until Fantomex tells them that he took Shortpack to his destination, but then refused to assist in him becoming a killer. Mystique punches both Forge and Fantomex, throws down her earpiece and runs. Forge contacts Xavier, who orders him to shut down the scrambler and cut her loose.
Elsewhere, Shortpack is in a small plastic box crying for help when Shepard walks over. Shortpack asks him to get him out, but Shepard asks why he’d do that. Then the Quiet Man comes over, pushing back his cowl to reveal himself as Steinbeck.

Mystique 21: Homeland Security is quick to pick up Mystique’s location, and starts moving to get her as soon as the scrambler is shut down. Mystique goes to meet Shepard, and demands he power up his scrambler so she can kill Xavier. She warns him that Shortpack is after Steinbeck, but asks him not to hurt Shortpack, just catch and release. Shepard assures her he’ll try not to kill him if he sees him, and leaves again. Fantomex re-appears, telling Mystique that was an enlightening conversation. While Forge is still looking for Shortpack, Shortpack asks Steinbeck why he hasn’t killed him yet, admitting he’d come to assassinate him. Steinbeck replies that there’s more Shortpack needs to see and know before he dies, but that he’ll die soon enough. They show him a partial video of Mystique telling Shepard that Shortpack is out to kill him --- omitting the part of her asking them not to hurt him, and of Forge working with her --- telling him no one cares that he’s gone. Elsewhere, Mystique starts working with Fantomex, telling him she intends to kill Xavier. Fantomex says he doesn’t like that plan, but agrees to go along with it, if Mystique will steal something for him. She goes through with it, stealing one of Spider-Man’s old costumes on his behalf. She takes it back to Fantomex, but then stabs him, telling him this is too important to take his word that he’ll keep quiet. She kicks him into the sea as Homeland Security appears behind her.

Mystique 22: Back at the lair, Steinbeck continues to torment Shortpack with the video of Mystique killing Fantomex, telling him that she’s a cold-blooded killer Xavier saddled him with. Johnny Kitano leads the assult on Raven (as Shortpack watches over the video feed), attacking via helicopters with rockets. Mystique jumps on one of the helicopters, grabbing on and forcing it down by pulling out the wiring and fuel lines. She dives into the ocean, creating a mermaid's tail to evade them. She continues to evade Homeland Security, until Shepard shows up and rescues her. Steinbeck continues his psychological torture on Shortpack back at the lair, telling him that Mystique will kill Xavier, and he will die thinking Shortpack betrayed him.
Back in Europe, Mystique confronts Shepard, wanting to know why the scrambler wasn’t turned on. He pulls a gun on her, and Mystique tries to calm him down. He slaps her with it, telling her he never had a soft spot for her. She disgusted him and he’d kill her. Mystique tells him she won’t kill Xavier until the scrambler is turned on. Shepard replies if she doesn’t kill Xavier tonight, they’ll feed Shortpack to a bunch of dogs just hungry enough to snack on him during the evening, and shows her a video of Shortpack in the box. Mystique goes to Genosha, approaching Charles in the form of Prudence as he sleeps. He wakes up as she bends over him, staring up in shock.

Mystique 23: Mystique moves to stab Xavier, but she’s knocked off the Professor by Forge, who shoots her. Despite not being badly injured, Charles says she drugged him and collapses. Forge carries him away as Mystique escapes. Mystique calls for Shepard to pull her out as she runs from most of the X-Men in pursuit. Steinbeck orders Shepard to go get Mystique, because the X-Men can’t find her, so they have to pull her out. Shepard says he can’t, as she’s travelling at supersonic speeds, and then she’s just gone.
Mystique returns to her safehouse in New York, but Wolverine and Rogue are waiting for her. Wolverine tells her he knew she’d come, saying that "Old fogies like us’re good an sentimental about our junk". Mystique tries to talk to Rogue, who won’t even let her speak to her, saying that the last time they saw one another, Mystique stabbed her. Rogue tells her that as far as she’s concerned, Mystique isn’t her mother anymore. She’s not even a person, she’s a monster, and Rogue has no pity for monsters. Mystique asks what they’re going to do now --- go to the police, to Xavier? Wolverine asks her not to fight, and promises to make it fast. Mystique asks to say just one thing first, and tells Rogue that she only ever wanted what was best for her. Rogue loses her temper, covering Wolverine's mouth with her bare hand and popping his claws out. She attacks Mystique, and they scuffle. Logan comes in, grabbing Rogue and telling her she doesn’t want Mystique’s death on her conscience. Rogue slashes his face with the new claws, and when she turns to apologize, Mystique jumps onto a nearby windowsill. As her body deflates, she tells Rogue to hold onto Logan, because she’ll need his strength. She lights a match, and the spark destroys the apartment they were in, knocking Mystique out of the building. Her body, thin as paper, floats to the ground. Logan carries Rogue out, loaning her his healing factor so she can recover from the explosion. As she apologizes, Rogue wonders if Mystique survived the blast. At the lair, Shepard declares that Mystique has shown up at a hospital in Brooklyn, and since she’s of no use to them alive anymore, he’ll take care of her. He grabs a gun and walks out.

Mystique 24: Shortpack appeals to Steinbeck, telling him that if he’d talk to him, that they can fix him. Steinbeck collapses, saying he’s hungry, and looking pointedly at Shortpack. Shepard arrives at the hospital to see Fantomex sitting on the bed, and asks Mystique why she’d disguise herself as a dead man. Fantomex asks how he likes his new necklace, holding up the tracking device. Mystique comes up behind Shepard and knocks him out. When he comes to, Fantomex holds him and tells Mystique he found out Shepard's real name is Francis Leighton, and he’s Prudence’s brother, to which Mystique bemusedly replies that they are sick. They force Shepard to open the portal and he goes through just as Steinbeck is about to cook Shortpack. Shepard tells him that they have to turn on the scrambler, but Steinbeck replies confusedly that he knows it’s just an empty case, so 'Shepard' reveals himself as Mystique. Steinbeck drops Shortpack, breaking his leg. Shortpack begs Prudence to let him take her to Xavier, but she replies it’s his fault and Shortpack's that she got stuck in this body. Mystique and Shortpack both try to talk her down, with Shortpack telling Prudence that he loved her. She replies that love hurts and tries to fry him with her fire breath, but Mystique pulls her head back at the last moment. Mystique stabs her, and energy starts pouring from Prudence’s face and the stab wound.
Back at the hospital, Fantomex explains to Shepard that Mystique can speak at certain frequencies that only certain animals and certain mutants can hear. After taking care of his wound, he tells Shepard that he appears strong enough to travel, and that he’s going to take him to Xavier. Shepard blasts Fantomex back with a black substance from his eyes, blows through his restraints, and leaves. Mystique and Shortpack try to get through the tunnels to escape, when Prudence comes up behind them, saying they aren’t going anywhere --- just before she explodes.
Days later, back in Baltimore, Forge finds an intruder in his apartment and puts a gun to his head. Mystique tries to talk her way out, but then reveals herself. Forge asks if she came for the interface transmitter, and Mystique admits she had. Forge throws it down, destroying it, and tells Mystique she’s on her own. She tries to cozy up to him, but he ignores her advances and tells her to get out. She does, and he wishes her luck, but then looks at the broken casing on the floor, and realizes it’s hollow. Outside, Raven pulls the real one out of her shirt with a smile, and starts moving through the crowd, vanishing into it.

X-Men 171: A young mutant girl named Foxx arrives at the Xavier Institute, chased by hunters, and immediately flirts openly with Gambit. She's rude to her fellow students, but attempts to seduce her squad leader Gambit, even approaching him in the shower. He rejects her advances.

X-Men 172: Gambit dreams and fantasizes about Foxx, even as he continues to reject her aggressive advances. Eventually, she reveals herself to be Mystique, and claims that she's trying to get him to sleep with her so he can blow off steam and thus repair his troubled relationship with Rogue. When he refuses, she morphs into Rogue and tempts him as he struggles to resist.

X-Men 173: Mystique talks on her cellphone with a mysterious man, and asks him to boost some kind of mind shielding he gave her earlier, though he declines. Meanwhile, Gambit nervously tells Rogue that he told Foxx to leave his class. When Rogue goes to speak to 'Foxx', 'Foxx' says that the only thing she feels bad about is making Rogue "so miserable", which puzzles her. It's then that the other X-Men confront 'Foxx' for not being who she claims to be, and she reveals her true identity to all of them. The others learn that Gambit knew who she was, and are angry at him --- so Gambit and Mystique start fighting, and Rogue angrily stops them, furious at them both. Mystique then says she wants to join the X-Men, so they lock her in a cell and debate whether they should offer her membership. Rogue is particularly contemptuous of her mother, and confronts her privately, demanding to know if she slept with Gambit.

X-Men 174: When Mystique won't give a straight answer about sleeping with Gambit, and instead says bad things about him, Rogue angrily absorbs her. Rogue then confronts Gambit and says she couldn't get the truth from Mystique's mind, so she yells at Gambit and wants to know from him, and he sullenly responds, though she doesn't seem to believe him. The X-Men gather to vote on offering membership, and Rogue can't believe anyone would agree to it, but some of the X-Men seem to be fine with Mystique joining. Mystique gives a little speech, saying that she's over eighty years old and her powers emerged when she was twelve, and talks about how hard life was for her back then, and that's why she did bad things. Colossus escorts her back to her cell, she flirts with him, and then one of Gambit's students appears, angry that Foxx wasn't real. He's obsessively in love with Foxx, and threatens and attacks Mystique, so she fights back until Nightcrawler shows up and breaks up the scuffle. Nightcrawler pleads with his mother to "disappear" for a while as a favour for him, regardless of the X-Men's decision, and she leaves. She meets up with the mysterious man from the previous issue, saying she doubted they would have accepted her (though they actually did), and the two banter back and forth about her sleeping with Gambit --- she refuses to answer, though she gloats that she's seriously harmed Rogue's relationship with him. It turns out the man's name is Augustus, and Mystique wants to tell Rogue about him later, for some unknown reason.

Wolverine 35: In a flashback, Mystique and Wolverine are lovers in the House of M reality, and she pleads with him to stop his substance abuse. He complains about how a lack of enemies makes him feel dead, even as she argues that he doesn't need enemies and that the war with the humans is over.

Wolverine 33: In a flashback, Mystique tells her commander at SHIELD about events in Mexico two weeks earlier. She and Wolverine (both SHIELD agents and lovers) had rescued an official at the House of Magnus from human guerillas, and then attended a function which was attacked by human terrorists, who managed to kill some officials and steal a Sentinel.

Wolverine 35: Continuing the flashback, we see that Mystique followed Wolverine after he left his hospital bed following the terrorist attack. He was hunting down Nick Fury, the apparent perpetrator of the attack (and an old foe of his from his training days at SHIELD), only to get into a fracas with the terrorists and meeting up with a hologram of Nick Fury himself. As we later learn in the issue's 'present day' scenes, 'Nick Fury' is actually Mystique, a boogeyman re-created by her to give Wolverine back his sense of purpose and to make him happy.

House of M 2: In the altered reality created by the Scarlet Witch, Mystique is a member of SHIELD, which serves as bodyguards for the royal Magneto. She's also Wolverine's lover, though he (also a member of SHIELD) suddenly realizes that reality is wrong and nearly attacks her out of surprise.

House of M 3: Mystique tries to find out what's wrong with the confused and moody Wolverine, and is shocked to see him leap off the SHIELD Helicarrier. He attempts to find out what has gone wrong with reality, and the rest of his SHIELD unit is sent to retrieve him --- using violence when necessary. Mystique is angry that he won't surrender, but he escapes her.

Wolverine 33: Shortly after Wolverine jumps off the Helicarrier, Mystique is questioned about it and events in Mexico two weeks earlier. She's angered that her commander (Sebastian Shaw), suggests Wolverine had a role in the terrorist attack --- as Shaw shows her an old photograph of him with the supposedly-dead leader of the attack, Nick Fury.

Wolverine 34: Mystique and Shaw continue to discuss Wolverine's recent behaviour and his past, including extensive background on his history with Nick Fury. She continues to defend her lover, even as she hears somewhat damning evidence against him.

Wolverine 35: Shaw has Mystique jailed for her activities in Mexico, and then discusses information about Nick Fury with another officer, leading him to an epiphany. He goes to her cell to discuss matters with her again, and then makes an accusation to which she confesses: she was the 'Nick Fury' of the Mexico attack, perpetrated to help Wolverine cope with his inner demons and lack of an enemy to fight against. She gave him back an old antagonist because she loves him and wants to stop his substance abuse.

New X-Men 16: Mystique appears briefly, giving mission orders to SHIELD's Hellions team. She says she needs her own team to hunt down Wolverine.

House of M 5: As more of the heroes are having their memories restored by Layla Miller, Mystique's SHIELD unit bursts in to retrieve Wolverine. Layla then restores their memories too, proving traumatic for them. Distressed as she realizes what's happened, Mystique slaps Wolverine's face and hurts her hand.

House of M 6: Mystique participates in the heroes' attack on Magneto and the royal family in Genosha.

X-Men 179: Continuing the storyline seen in X-Men 174, Mystique has a brief scene with the mysterious man named Augustus (also called 'Pulse'). The two of them are stealing a painting from a wealthy home, and she tells him that she wants him to marry Rogue so her daughter can be happy.

X-Men 181: Mystique shows up at the X-Men's home with Augustus/Pulse, declaring that she wants to join the X-Men (remember that in X-Men 174, she was voted onto the team, but temporarily left because Nightcrawler asked her to). Saying that Pulse is her protege, she introduces him to the X-Men, and announces that he's the perfect man for Rogue. Rogue and Gambit react angrily, and Gambit asks Cyclops to throw her out, but he says that she was voted in a while ago, so she's allowed to stick around. Mystique smugly torments Gambit whilst Pulse seems slightly embarrassed.

X-Men 182: Mystique and Gambit spar together in a boxing ring, and she explains why Pulse can make Rogue happy --- he can disable mutants' powers, which means he can touch her. Gambit's still annoyed, though Mystique suggests that Rogue has stayed with him solely not to hurt him, and asks if he loves her enough to let her have happiness. Meanwhile, Pulse tells Rogue that he doesn't expect anything to happen between them, but merely agreed to meet her because he owes Mystique. He says he hopes they can be friends, and then Rogue notices he can touch her (though the art messes up and shows him touching her covered arm, not her bare skin).

X-Men 184: As the X-Men prepare to invade Apocalypse's lair, Mystique offers the services of Pulse to disable Apocalypse's powers. Pulse confesses he's a bit of a coward, though apparently the two of them go on the mission anyway (their presence/participation isn't shown until the next issue).

X-Men 185: Mystique saves Rogue from Gambit's attack --- he has become Apocalypse's Horseman of Death --- and then the X-Men et al retreat. Mystique doesn't appear in the rest of the issue, but Apocalypse is up to his usual mischief.

X-Men 186: When the X-Men invade Apocalypse's lair again, Mystique helps Rogue take down Gambit/Death, telling her daughter that "he's rotten all the way through". Later, Pulse helps to depower and defeat Apocalypse, and Sunfire (a former Horseman) takes Gambit away to places unknown.

X-Men 187: Rogue and Pulse seem to be getting closer, and then Mystique walks in (saying "I'm an X-Man. I've got as much right to be here as anyone else") and annoys them. She cheerfully asks if Pulse has asked Rogue to marry him yet, and Rogue complains about her mother coming on too strongly. When Gambit and Sunfire show up to kidnap Polaris, Gambit seems eager to kill Rogue, and Pulse has to help her. However, this leaves her very distressed, and when Pulse later makes romantic overtures to her, she rebuffs him. Mystique criticizes her protege's clumsy attempt, and he irritably tells her off.

X-Men 189: When Val Cooper demands answers about events that happened in the previous issue, she speaks to a bemused 'Charles Xavier' --- who is actually Mystique. After Val has left, Mystique speaks irritably to Cannonball, asking him if she's really going to be an X-Man. He tells her that Rogue wanted her mother to be on her team, which surprises her, and she asks if she's considered a friend or an enemy. He teasingly says he doesn't know, much to her annoyance.

X-Men 190: As Northstar and Aurora attack the mansion because of the manipulations of some villains called "The Children of the Vault", Mystique helps out by impersonating Aurora and confusing her notoriously fractured mind. Aurora eventually lashes out and hits her, but is stopped by Iceman --- who was blown up in the initial attack, and is slowly coalescing via his powers. He is weakened and having difficulty breathing, so Mystique gives him mouth to mouth resuscitation, remarking that it's too bad no one is present to see her good deed.

X-Men 191: Mystique appears briefly in a meeting with some of the other X-Men, discussing new information learned about The Children, and cheerfully suggests that they give Sabretooth (who has sought sanctuary at the mansion) to them.

X-Men 192: As the X-Men prepare to fight The Children, Mystique and Cable discuss history. He says that in the future, her name is synonymous with "traitor". When she asks "a traitor to who?", he brushes her off, saying it's just a folk legend. Later, Mystique thanks Rogue for trusting her and putting her on the team, but Rogue is dismissive, pointing out some of the terrible crimes her mother has committed, and says she doesn't trust her. Rogue says that she brought Mystique onto her team to keep an eye on her, and curtly criticizes her for calling her by the familiar "Anna" whilst on a mission. The X-Men then board The Children's ship to attack, and it's notable that Mystique isn't seen as her teammates fight.

X-Men 193: The Children attempt to destroy the X-Men's mansion, but are stymied by the efforts of Cable and Mystique (she helps by impersonating him and letting him sneak away). During the all-out battle, she assists by fooling The Children's leader and shooting him with thermite bullets, killing him and crippling the ship. Iceman helps her get safely to the ground, and she flirts with him a bit. After the battle, Rogue tells Cyclops that her team will be operating away from the X-Men's home from now on...and meanwhile, the surviving Children regroup.

X-Men annual 1 (2007): Rogue, Mystique, and Cable go aboard the SHIELD Helicarrier in order to de-program Northstar and Aurora with borrowed tech. Mystique calls her daughter "Anna", only to be chided again --- Rogue is deeply angry at her mother, who tries to explain she's joined the X-Men to be close to her and make up for the wrongs done to her. Rogue is still not appeased, so Raven unhappily speculates that maybe they'll never be close again, and if so, she'll just leave the X-Men. Rogue is merely snide in response. When the Acolytes hijack the Helicarrier, they attack and nearly kill Rogue, although Mystique fiercely fights them off to protect her. She's losing the battle, and the day is finally saved by Northstar and Aurora. When Rogue thanks Northstar for rescuing her, he tells her it was Mystique who held the Acolytes at bay and deserves the credit, which Rogue finds difficult to accept.
There is no volume number given on this annual, but I think it should be v.3. Regardless, I've listed the publishing year because there's no other way to clearly delineate which issue is meant.

X-Men 194: Cable tells Cyclops that Rogue's group is being allowed to take The Children's former ship as a base due to Mystique's contacts in the federal government, and some called-in favours. At the same time, the X-Men are tracking a mysterious man known as Pan, who had once assisted Rogue with her uncontrollable powers but now has more sinister plans. Mystique assists in the investigation at one of his bases, though finds time to semi-flirt with Iceman. Rogue soon discovers the base is a trap, and is teleported away by Pan's forces as the others look on helplessly.

X-Men 195: Mystique is anxious and concerned as the X-Men work on finding Rogue, but seems to suffer when they manage to teleport near Rogue's location. Mystique apparently gets electrocuted, and then disappears when Karima teleports in.

X-Men 196: As Rogue is insulted and experimented on by Pan and his doctors, Mystique watches from the shadows. She then replaces one of his cronies, and rescues some of the other X-Men by killing the doctors about to dissect them. After Pan infects Rogue with a deadly virus meant to enhance his powers, Mystique and the others confront him, and trick him into neutralizing the virus in his own system that gives him his powers. Sickened, Rogue wants to kill him, but collapses, and Mystique and Cable inform the others that Rogue is dying.

X-Men 197: The X-Men go to Cable's paradise community of Providence to treat Rogue's illness, and Mystique anxiously watches over her. Iceman can't understand why she seems to care so much when she's tried to kill her daughter in the past, and Mystique tells him that her behaviour is complex. She implies that Destiny's death has made her crazy at times, influencing some of her past actions (presumably, such as stabbing Rogue and nearly blowing her up), but says that she loves Rogue. She also flirts slightly with Iceman, despite her overall depressed mood. Meanwhile, Lady Mastermind inadvertently frees the creature hiding in her psyche, which hops from host to host until it finds one it likes --- which is Mystique. It takes control of her and speaks to the others, saying that it is a mummudrai (a psychic being known to the Shi'ar), and warns of another danger that has been pursuing it --- something called the Hecatomb.

X-Men 198: As the Hecatomb starts killing people on Providence, the Mummudrai possessing Mystique talks to Cable about the danger they're in. It eventually persuades Cable to let it possess him instead, so they can more effectively communicate about the threat. As soon as Mystique is free, she and Iceman hurry off to slow down Hecatomb before it kills more people. They are unsuccessful, so the X-Men focus on evacuating the crowds to their huge ship --- only to be stymied by Sabretooth, who double-crosses them and leaves them vulnerable on the ground.

Cable & Deadpool 40: Cable talks to the Mummudrai and it gives him back his powers, causing him to have to make choices he doesn't want in order to save the people of Providence. Meanwhile, the X-Men battle the Hecatomb.

X-Men 199: Mystique leads the new charge against Hecatomb, and kisses Iceman for good luck when he must prevent the fusion core in their ship from exploding. However, she is shocked and horrified when Rogue gets off her sickbed and attacks Hecatomb directly, and runs to care for her when Rogue absorbs it and collapses, despite the danger --- now Rogue kills everyone with a single touch. Traumatized over absorbing all the minds within Hecatomb, Rogue calls out to her mother for help, until composing herself and becoming hostile to Mystique again.

Cable & Deadpool 41: After Rogue has absorbed Hecatomb, Mystique and the rest of the X-Men fret over her health, and hurry off to get help for her as Cable deals with the destruction on Providence.

X-Men 200: Rogue has decided the X-Men will stay at Mystique's house in Caldecott County, and breaks in, getting chided for it by her mother. Still very unstable and a bit confused, Rogue lectures her about second-guessing her (somewhat erratic) decisions. Mystique and Iceman go to her room to use a secure comm system in order to talk with the X-Men back at the mansion, and after doing so, she seduces him. Meanwhile, the Marauders are up to no good: assassinating certain people, attacking Cable on Providence, and possessing Karima, but the other X-Men are unaware of them. Rogue goes to her old bedroom, where she has an apparent flashback to her happy childhood with Mystique, and talks with Cannonball about how tormented and stressed she is by absorbing all those minds. He promises that the X-Men will help, and they do try, despite Emma Frost's concerns about how difficult it will be; Mystique shouts at Emma to help Rogue before she becomes psychotic. Shortly afterwards, Mystique breathlessly warns the others that intruders are on the grounds, but they can't see or sense them; Lady Mastermind cheerfully admits it's because of her, and the X-Men can suddenly see that the Marauders surround them. The Marauders attack, and when Rogue comes down to fight, Mystique pushes Scalphunter out of the way before he can shoot her --- saying "You don't shoot my daughter...nobody else can do that for me", she shoots Rogue in the chest. Mystique then gives orders to the Marauders to kill all the X-Men.

X-Men 201: Mystique and the Marauders take down the remaining X-Men, although Cannonball and Iceman manage to get away. Mystique reveals that she exposed Iceman to a neural inhibitor during sex, which is why he's having so much trouble with his powers. The Marauders carry Rogue outside, as she was apparently their main target (for undisclosed reasons), and then Mystique has Arclight destroy her old home, supposedly killing all the X-Men inside. Meanwhile, another team of Marauders attack the main X-mansion.

X-Men 202: The Marauders at the X-mansion are looking for Shadowcat's copies of Destiny's Diaries, though the only ones they can find are blank. When she hears this, Mystique is not impressed, and declares that they have to find the authentic ones. However, it seems that the reason they kidnapped Rogue is because she has a copy of the Diaries in her head.

X-Men 203: Mystique and the Marauders follow Iceman and Cannonball as they search for the hidden Diaries in an old building. She shoots Iceman, but the Diaries are destroyed by a perhaps-not-so-loyal Gambit. And when Iceman manages to run off, she insists on being the one to kill him. With a gun to his head, he tells her that she's just "rabid", and she replies "You know nothing about me. Nothing about who I am or why I've done what I've done." She fires into the air and says that next time she sees him, she'll kill him, and warns him to "stay away from what's to come, and you just might live", adding that he's the only X-Man who will get a warning. He and Cannonball are then able to escape.

X-Men 204: Mystique yells at Sinister for not being able to find Rogue's consciousness amongst all the minds she absorbed from the Hecatomb. Though he wants only the information about the Diaries and thinks it might not be worth keeping Rogue alive, she clearly does not agree. He reminds Mystique that she has read the Diaries and the info would also be in her mind --- but she retorts that she wears a psi-shield for a reason, saying that they agreed to work together, not trust each other. Later, as Gambit talks to an unconscious Rogue, Mystique appears and taunts him a bit, though says she cares about Rogue's life and happiness. And she makes a cryptic remark about the coming events and violence.

New X-Men #44: Mystique appears in a crowd scene with Sinister and the Marauders, but doesn't do much.

X-Men #205: Mystique pretty much just stands around and looks menacing when the X-Men confront Sinister and the Marauders. She doesn't even seem to take part in the big fight.

Uncanny X-Men #493: As Sinister's forces prepare to leave their damaged base, Mystique notes that he doesn't seem upset about the losses they took. He replies that he's pleased the X-Men mistakenly thought the Marauders had the mutant baby, meaning that Cable (who does have it) is isolated and in trouble.

New X-Men #46: In a flashback, Mystique is shown standing by Rogue's bedside at Muir Island, worrying, and notes that so many pivotal events in her life have occurred there. Sinister comes by to tell her that Rogue is going to die and that Gambit will soon be returning with the baby, so she forcibly presses his face against Rogue's, draining and killing him.

X-Factor v.3 #27: Gambit has retrieved the baby, and hands her to a triumphant Sinister, who takes the child inside. In private, 'Sinister' reveals himself to be Mystique, who has killed the real Sinister. Holding the baby and noting that she's always been good with children, she says to Gambit "It's time for the next step".

New X-Men #46: Gambit is shocked to see that Mystique has killed Sinister, and asks her what they're going to do now. As they hear the sounds of a battle with the X-Men outside, Mystique goes out and tells Scalphunter to delay the X-Men as long as possible, claiming that Sinister needs time to work with the baby. Returning inside to Gambit, he says that he's stuck with the Marauders all this time not out of trust in her, but believing in her love for Rogue, and asks if she knows what she's doing. She tells him that Destiny foresaw this event, saying "everything I've done, it's been to bring us to this moment", and declares the baby will save Rogue's life. She then presses the baby's face to Rogue's. Gambit panics and pulls the baby away, insisting that Rogue would never want to sacrifice a child's life for her own, but Mystique claims he's too late. However, the baby is (surprisingly) still alive, and Rogue doesn't wake up, which distresses Mystique greatly. She collapses to her knees in tears, saying Destiny predicted that Rogue would be saved, and that maybe Rogue would then love her again. Charles Xavier appears and takes the baby, leaving Mystique to her grief and Gambit to watch over the still-unconscious Rogue.

X-Men #207: As Mystique cries, Rogue slowly awakens. Delighted, Mystique says Destiny predicted all of this, and she worked to move everyone into the right places so this could happen. But when she mentions the terrible price paid, and Rogue wants to know what she's talking about, Mystique tells her about using the baby. Rogue is predictably enraged, slapping her across the face and saying that people are always getting hurt because of them. Pulling off her glove, she says "This has to be the last time, mother", and backs Raven into a corner as she pleads with her daughter not to touch her. Rogue says that Mystique didn't leave her with a choice, and remarks that she supposes she loves her and will never forgive herself, but she'll always remember her. She then touches a tearful Mystique's face, knocking her out but not killing her. Rogue notes that the baby must have wiped away her death touch and all the minds she'd absorbed over the years --- except now she's got Mystique in her head, even though she never wants to see her mother again. She declares she's going somewhere quiet to think, and asks Gambit not to follow.

Wolverine v.3 #62: Wolverine has declared his intention to hunt and kill Mystique for her treachery towards the X-Men, and begins to follow her. She goes to Afghanistan disguised as him, and frames him for murder by killing an innocent woman whilst in his form. Naturally, the locals are hostile to him when the real Wolverine shows up, hindering his attempts to find her. Later, he discovers her impersonating an old man in a mosque, which she blows up after escaping. To her glee, the locals grab him and declare their intent to kill him for 'his' actions earlier.

Wolverine v.3 #63: The Afghani men shoot Wolverine quite severely, leaving him to die, which only makes him madder when he gets up again. Several days later he tracks Mystique to Baghdad, where he finds her in a bar, in the shape of an ordinary nun. The two of them drink together and talk about the past and his intention to kill her; he promises to make it quick, for old times' sake. She tells him she can keep running forever and he'll never get her, and then leaves after getting him involved in a barfight to slow him down. Later, in the guise of a local prostitute, she seduces and murders Senator Ralph Brickman, the man she'd pretended to be married to some years earlier. She then adopts his form and goes off with the US army, pretending to be him. Wolverine eventually finds the real senator's body, and decides to call in a favour from an old jihadi he knows.

Wolverine v.3 #64:

X-Men: Manifest Destiny #1: Iceman is hanging out with his old girlfriend Opal Tanaka, but is having uncontrollable chills. Beast suggests it may be the result of the toxin Mystique dosed him with a few months earlier, and he and 'Opal' take an X-Jet to the X-Men's headquarters for tests. A hole is blown in the jet's exterior during flight, and 'Opal' reveals herself to be Mystique. She then shoots him when he's in ice form and kicks him out the jet's hole. The jet crashes, and we don't see what happens to her, but Iceman barely manages to survive.

Note: the story in X-Men Unlimited 48 has not yet been incorporated into the chronology, as I can't figure out where to place it.

Special thanks to Omar Sayyed, who provided a rough framework for some of the entry ordering as well as suckering me into doing this project in the first place :) Thanks to UniAniGi for pointing out a tidbit from X-Men #200. Many thanks to Aynesa for covering the issues of Mystique's solo series I put off for so long ;) And a thousand thank-yous to Tilman Stieve for his invaluable corrections and suggestions! Much obliged, guys!

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