Cold Steel was laying it on thick. Referencing the attack from that paramilitary rodeo clown and his men. Sam knew that enough of his material was taken that it might be possible for another mystic to reverse engineer his work. Maybe. The possibility of that was infuriating.

Sam closed her eyes and calmed the combination of fury and worry she had. Why couldn’t they just see that her work was something that could save so many. Her only interest was in helping people. She could feel the heat from the key cut off as ice formed around it.

Maya tried to throw Sam’s words back at her but Sam was having none of that. She knew she had the moral high ground.

”I have control. That’s how I know the spell is at its limit.” Sam knew the limits of his spells from careful study and precise construction. ”And it is no danger to anyone, save myself, if it goes wild. Unlike Cold Steel here.”

Maya again pressed for Sam to reverse the spell on Iris. She was goading Sam, taunting her with how she was nothing special and others had tried but were more effective.

”Look. I could undo the spell, and maybe the Veil could. I have never seen another mystic work power like I do. So while it might could be done it might be dangerous to the child to experiment.” Sam took a breath moving her head to indicate she wasn’t finished and was changing direction with her speech, ”I do not want any harm to come to the child. I do not want to get rid of mutants. I have nothing against mutants. It is your mutations that are the issue and I have proven I can, with cooperating, cure the afflicted… Yes, you don’t see it that way. Fine. All I ask is for a head start before you call the police and I will ‘fix’ Iris. If I am as sloppy as you say you will have no issue recapturing me and putting me behind bars.”

Sam felt this was a fair deal. They got what they wanted, the child re-broken. Sam got what she wanted, a chance to slip away. He doubted they would go for it, or they would lie. It was her best shot though. It was a good deal, one Sam felt if they failed to take it, it proved they cared not for the child but their about their grandstanding.

There was a reassuring nod when Maya looked to him. It was one of the few things he understood about magic is that with enough effort spells could be broken down or learned. His time fighting the demon with Rex showed him it was possible.

The icemancer was half tempted to call Rex before they agreed that it was enough for the moment. Sam didn’t care what Travis or whoever this person said. They couldn’t be trusted and they were backed into a corner with ice closing in all around them. If it wasn’t for them being in the school he would have been more aggressive.

He was, however so he wasn’t. Meaning Travis could talk his way out or at least attempt to.

>>>”And it is no danger to anyone, save myself, if it goes wild. Unlike Cold Steel here.”

”You have no idea.” the ice encasing the walls started to grow fine points as they started to extend outward towards the mystic formally known as Travis. ”Cooperating? She’s a child! She doesn’t understand what you did!” the room got colder still. He didn’t like this and from the sound of things the spell was going to fade away anyways. So what was the point of letting him go? Shouldn’t they just capture him? Put him in a mirror until they could be sure Iris was back to normal.

Sam almost missed the tail, he get when playing with her. Or when she gender shifted him. ”Maya... I’ll let you make the call. To me it sounds like he’s backed into a corner knows it. My understanding of it, he needs to put some magic into her to keep her from getting her powers back.” it was a very loose understanding. One that Sam didn’t want to gamble on. He’d seen what happened when magic ran wild. He wasn’t willing to let that happen to Iris. Which was why the icemancer was willing to listen to what Travis had to say.

>>”Look. I could undo the spell, and maybe the Veil could. I have never seen another mystic work power like I do. So while it might could be done it might be dangerous to the child to experiment.”

Maya sneered. Travis raising the issue of experimenting on children was just... rich. But he was not wrong. The Veil would have to start from scratch.

>>”I do not want any harm to come to the child. I do not want to get rid of mutants. I have nothing against mutants. It is your mutations that are the issue and I have proven I can, with cooperating, cure the afflicted… Yes, you don’t see it that way."

"Give me a f*** break" Maya growled. "I am a lesbian as well as a mutant, you think you invented 'hate the sin, love the sinner'? I am done with this."

>>"Fine. All I ask is for a head start before you call the police and I will ‘fix’ Iris. If I am as sloppy as you say you will have no issue recapturing me and putting me behind bars.”

>>”Maya... I’ll let you make the call. To me it sounds like he’s backed into a corner knows it. My understanding of it, he needs to put some magic into her to keep her from getting her powers back.”

Maya glared. Every fiber of her being rebelled against giving Travis what she wanted. Sam was right, Irish might get her powers back without new magic... but was she willing to risk it? "F*ck." She frowned. She was a parent first.

"Fine. You fix Iris, and you get five minutes. After that, I will hunt you down."

Sam had clearly struck a nerve. Mirror had made the leap from discussing mutations and mystics to LGBT issues. ”Please. Don’t compare me to homophobes. They hate the sin and the sinner.” Sam did not want to deny anyone of intrinsic human experience. Sam was saving them from an aberration that led them astray. Harmed them and their relations with others.

It was like a classic game of bad cop - pissed off but willing to be reasonable cop. Cold Steel was uninterested in helping the child it seemed. The man-child simply wanted to be scary and confirm every negative opinion Sam had about mutations. Ice creeped ever closer toward Sam from the walls it encased. However, he was reasonable enough to let Mirror make the decision.

”It isn’t so simple.” Sam said to Cold Steel. ”Normally enchantments need to be recharged, that power coming from an outside source. When you tie it back into the person itself with a small trickle of power being all that is necessary to sustain a simple block on a gene. One histone, made unmovable. The trickle of power all humans possess for casual magic is enough to sustain it. Indefinitely.” It was a lie. With enough truth baked in to have even a fellow somation mystic considering it plausible.

Maya finally saw reason. She relented and would give Sam five minutes. That wasn’t a lot but Sam could make it work. While they may have been corrupted by mutations, the X-men were still known as honorable enough people. Sam decided to trust as it was her best bet at getting out of the situation.

”Five minutes is plenty. It is a deal.” Sam agreed. ”Now. Let me up, give me the key—the one I didn’t use on myself—and bring in the child. You both can stay to observe. I will let you spin whatever narrative you want. I don’t want to spook the child.” Sam only wanted to help the child and scaring her needlessly was not something she was interested in doing.

>>> "Give me a f*** break"

She said it so he wouldn’t have to. He would have done a bit more yelling and possibly more hitting. Again, Maya was the best of them which was why it was so important that Sam would be there to do anything before she might do something her or Becca would regret.

>>>"F*ck."

Indeed. ”F*ck.” Sam let out a sigh of relief that could also be described as a disappointed grunt. It was one of the last things he wanted to happen but it was for Iris, Maya and Becca. Travis wouldn’t get far even with a five minute head start. In that time he could call Carrick to watch the skies or Liz to track him down with the mansion dogs. He couldn’t change his scent right?

”You sure about this?” he asked Maya one last time before unfreezing the door behind him. The window and the rest of the room still remained coated in ice. He wasn’t going to give Travis the chance to run. ”You go and get Iris then. I’ll wait here with...” he looked to the half shifted form of Maya’s wife and whatever form Travis was going to next. He wasn’t going to let Travis get into Maya’s head anymore.

Sam stared hard at Travis, his thermal vision focused on a single movement. The ground and walls coated in ice started to form points ready to shoot outward.

”I don’t have to tell you I’m fine with making it as painful as possible if you cross us again right? You’re making me want to welcome my old life back. I spent years trying to move past it and you and people like you keep pushing me towards it attacking my loved ones.” there was a pause next. ”I have a family now. I'd do anything to keep them safe and happy.”

There was something that Sam had been wondering. He’d get the answers eventually but there was something bugging him with all of this. His lack of understanding with magic was again making this situation more difficult. Magic always cost something. They had all seen first hand when the cost couldn’t be paid. The mansion being destroyed was a direct result of it.

”If you didn’t sneak in here... what would have happened to Iris? You came back for a reason and I doubt your the type to marvel at your own work.” his gaze didn’t break. He tired to study the face before him from across the room. Either way Sam had a feeling he wasn’t going to like the answer.

The deal struck, there was the obligatory “are you sure”s followed by the planning. It made sense, Sam knew they wouldn’t trust her. He had acted in bad faith and they were people cursed by a corrupting power. Nothing in that situation bred cooperation. Sam didn’t hold it against them.

Ice retreated from the door for Mirror to leave and retrieve Iris. Sam took advantage of Mirror retrieving the child to push herself up into a sideways sitting position. One arm propping her up as her legs were stacked beside her. A more comfortable position than just laying on the floor, but not one that Sam could easily spring to action from.

”Yes, yes. Big bad talk from the powerful mutant.” Sam said with a click of the tongue. ”First you endanger all those people at the park then you threaten people who have agreed to cooperate. Power really does corrupt and to the core.”

Cold Steel then asked a good question. A question that Sam was happy to hear asked, and happy to answer. ”Iris was the first person I’ve used the spell on. While the magical theory is sound—the culmination of thousands of hours of work—it was still the first application and more importantly the first application on a child. Someone who is still growing and changing. While mutations are a clear and present danger to society and the human who wields it, the cure cannot be worse than the disease. I had to ensure that no other effects were taking hold. I’m not a monster, had the spell been harming the child I would have removed it immediately and left.” Sam raised a finger to forestall any protest to what she had said, ”If what I did had harmed the child you would round up every adapted. It is the same effect.”

”No, I’m just tired of losing those I care about. They were only in danger because you caused me to seize. After firing randomly you left after you dropped me. Did you know I was ready to take my own life before I did lose control. Something people don’t realize about my clones.” Sam said not worried that he was revealing too much of his abilities. ”They think for me when I can’t.” that was all he was going to say about that. He had a telepath all up in his head before. He lived mind games. There was little Travis could say to mess with the icemancer.

A clone pulled itself free from the wall behind Travis and mimicked the icemancers posture. Arms folded, waiting for a signal to attack should they try to escape. ”So you had no idea what it would do to the child if she was the first one.” so he was willing to endanger her. Not surprising. Sam could only trust Travis as he could throw him.

Okay, maybe Travis was getting to him the way he talked about Iris. He was talking about her as if she was nothing more than a lab rat. It reminded him of his handler and the doctors that studied him. Beat him, experimented on him. He thought he repressed enough of it, found ways to cope but this conversation was turning him into the angry child he was decades ago.

”We said it before, it’s not a disease. It’s something she will learn to control. Something she will use to help others around her. The way I’m trying to do now. I’m sick of having these ****ing conversations. If you can’t see the good we have done and still can do I’m not going to try and explain it. While you said I’m dangerous and my power corrupted, I’m a product of my environment. People like you kidnapped me and decided I wasn’t human. I was a tool, something that can be sharpened and directed, and here I am. She on the other hand. She will grow up in a safe one. One where people like you will never get close to her again. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep that from happening even sell what’s left of my soul.” Sam said letting out a loud sigh disappointed he was still talking. He needed to find out more of what Travis knows.

It was true, they’d use the adapted they had on staff. In fact he was pretty sure Mama T would be right out in the hallway in case Iris did lose control when her powers got turned back on. It also made Sam under the impression that Travis knew more about the staff and security here in the mansion. How long had he been studying this place? Sure it was an open door policy for strays but they would have noticed random people coming and going right? He was going to have to have a talk with security again. Maybe Becca and Rex could help with more anti-magic or magic detecting wards.

>>”Five minutes is plenty. It is a deal. Now. Let me up, give me the key—the one I didn’t use on myself—and bring in the child. You both can stay to observe. I will let you spin whatever narrative you want. I don’t want to spook the child.”

"F*** you, Travis." Maya spat, getting up and heading to the door. Whatever his justifications were, she was done with all of it. Done with him pretending he cared about Iris at all.

>>”You sure about this?... You go and get Iris then. I’ll wait here with...”

Maya left the room. She knew Sam was not going to kill Travis in the meantime - mostly because Sam had a code, and if anyone was going to kill Travis, he would leave the decision up to her. Iris was still chasing a snowman around in the hallway. Maya picked her up, holding her close. "Come on baby, let's get your powers back."

She returned to the room. Iris was not much shaken by all the ice and the clone; she had seen them before, the whole thing belonged to Uncle Sam. The strange woman, however, gave her a start, and she clung to Maya. "It's okay, Iris. Mimi and Uncle Sam are right here." she murmured. She knew Sam probably laid down the law with Travis while she was out getting Iris. She knelt, still holding Iris, next to Travis. "I don't have to tell you what will happen if you try anything other than unlocking her powers." She gave him a glare. "Do it."

Sam raised an eyebrow at Cold Steel. Clearly the man was more of a meat head than a thinker but that statement had really taken the cake.

”I knew what it would do so I was comfortable testing. I came out of an abundance of caution. I did my due diligence, but biology is messy. Really you should be thanking me for having crossed all the T’s and dotted all the I’s. Spell has had no side effects.” Sam said it without any real emotion. There was no sense trying to beat sense into a wall.

Calling mutations a disease had struck a nerve with Cold Steel as the man launched into a long diatribe showing a failure to understand Sam’s position. ”You want brownie points for being good in spite of some asshole being mean to you? Fine. Good job, get yourself a cookie…What does one call an abnormal state that affects the structure or function of an organism? A disease. Not all diseases are like alcoholism where the afflicted are viewed with a moral failing. Mutations are like cystic fibrosis, Down’s, hemophilia, Huntington’s, or Klinefelters. Something went wrong with your genetics and you do the best you can.” Sam gestured to herself, ”I would never exploit you or Iris. I only seek to cure disease. People like me would never kidnap and weaponize. People like me would never make a team of barely more than children to fly off and get PTSD fighting other diseased barely more than children.”

Mirror returned with Iris. The kid was cautious of Sam, who she viewed as some strange woman. Sam clasped her hands in front of her, maintaining a non-threatening look. No sense spooking the kid. Iris was moved over by Sam who knelt down closer to eye level with the child. Mirror made a threat and Sam nodded, running her fingers along the shaft of the key.

”Don’t worry, Iris. This won’t hurt at all.” Sam said as she slowly brought the key closer to Iris. When it made contact it magically continued for another inch before it stopped where Sam then turned the key 90 degrees then back.

At that moment there was a small flash of light as Iris’ power was restored.

Sam drew back the key and stood up. She held the key by the notches and held it out toward Mirror. ”This key will only ever work on her. Melt it down if you want it destroyed.” Sam took a step toward the door, ”Now if you will excuse me. Five minutes aren’t getting any longer.”

>>”Don’t worry, Iris. This won’t hurt at all.”

Maya watched like a hawk as Travis inserted the key. It felt wrong, allowing someone to do that - especially wrong, allowing Travis to touch her again. Iris made a whining noise... then, there was a flash of light. Suddenly, little horns were poking out from the red curls, and a little tail popped out from under Iris' dress. Her skin turn a rosy pink. Iris giggled, swishing her tail, letting out a delighter sqeak. She looked like a little imp. Maya smiled softly, then grinned as her own appearance change along with the kid's. Horns, tail. Her grin grew devilish. "Good girl."

>>”This key will only ever work on her. Melt it down if you want it destroyed. Now if you will excuse me. Five minutes aren’t getting any longer.”

Maya took the key and pocketed it, picking up Iris again and walking to the door.

"He's all yours, Sam." she noted shortly. She glanced back from the door, swishing her tail. "What? I lied. Hate the sin, not the sinner. Bye, Travis. The Veil will take good care of you."

The power restored, Iris grew horns and a tail. It was almost like a sign. Sam had done evil and made the child into a personified devil. It was a case of losing the battle but winning the war. Sam knew more about locking powers now. The original designs may have been lost but they could be redone, reworked, and perfected. Perhaps integrated with metation magic to expand from just a key in a single individual to something larger. It would take further testing.

One day though. One day Sam would be able to help all of them.

Maya took Iris and made for the door. Sam followed a few steps behind. When Maya stopped, Sam’s stomach dropped. The horns and tail on Maya were like a second sign. That Maya was another devil. One who couldn’t keep her word.

Cold Steel was given a green light,

Sam’s eyes went wide and she turned from Maya to Cold Steel, ”I knew mutants couldn’t be trusted.” Sam hissed before bee lining to dive through the window. She could recover from injuries from the fall. Getting out of custody would be harder.

Sam said all he needed to say to Travis, his retort wasn’t worth responding to. The man or whatever he really was did experiment on Iris; in fact he was up until this moment. That was all Sam needed to know. It didn’t matter to the icemancer how long he had been researching up until this point. Travis still wasn’t sure how it worked. The air temperature dropped another few degrees as more ice caked on the wall behind his clone ready to be called to action.

They eventually returned; under his armor the X-man's stomach was in knots. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen, he was planning for the worst. Years of training and his recent experience with Mystics screamed for him to keep Iris and Maya away. They all wanted this resolved and Travis had the most to gain if he helped.

>>>"Do it."

Another knot. His fingers twitched and he unfolded his arms. The clone mirrored across the room. Both were waiting.

>>>”Don’t worry, Iris. This won’t hurt at all.”

It was only seconds, but it felt like minutes passed. Rage filled him when he heard Travis utter Iris’s name. Sam wanted to break his jaw for starters, then there was a light. One that caused his focus to shift to Iris. His thermal sense still active dulled in response to prevent a headache.

>>>This key will only ever work on her. Melt it down if you want it destroyed.” ”Now if you will excuse me. Five minutes aren’t getting any longer.”

Sam didn’t move neither did the ice clone. It was as if they were both holding their breath in anticipation. To see if Travis lied. To see if he had to be the one to break the agreement. One he never verbally agreed to.

The horns were first. Normally that would have been a bad sign but these were Iris’s powers after all. The tail was next and then the pink skin. Normal, that was what this was. The grin on her face seemed more alive to the icemancer, he finally breathed.

>>> "He's all yours, Sam." "What? I lied. Hate the sin, not the sinner. Bye, Travis. The Veil will take good care of you."

The ice in front of the door vanished again allowing for an easy exit meant for Maya and the little imp. There was a genuine smile directed at the pair as they exited. ”So brave kid. Told you your tail would be back. ” he said encouragingly before stepping in front of the door.

>>>”I knew mutants couldn’t be trusted.”

The window was the safest route for Travis at this point, also the fastest way out of the building. It was what Sam wanted so when the mystic turned and started to run, he weakened the ice coating just enough to make it a harder surface before breaking through the glass. The impact outside the window was next. Was it a tree outside of Maya and Becca’s room or was it open? It had been a minute since Sam had last been here.

”Maya, lock down the school. Tell the teachers to tell the kids it’s a drill. Send a team after me, trackers. Not you. He’s not leaving till I say he does.” the clone jumped from the window after Travis. Sam’s approach to the window was a little slower as he could still feel Travis with his thermal sense but it was fading. Distance. He’d fix that. Shorten it. Till he had his hands on Travis.

The air outside plummeted in temperature, cold was an understatement. It was frigid. Frost and ice erupted outward from Maya’s window covering the mansion walls to prevent reentry for the mystic and prevent any onlookers. Sam didn’t want an audience for this.

Travis was about to experience Rime’s Rage.

There was ice on the window but it didn’t stop Sam. She burst through the ice and glass and sailed through the air for a moment before she went headfirst into the branches of a tree. It robbed her of her momentum and she had to climb and fall down out of the tree. The last fall to the ground, almost having her land on her ass.

Sam turned to look back and there was Cold Steel, maybe one of the clones? Yeah, probably a clone, standing there. The tree had been enough of a delay to allow the clone to hit the ground first. Sam could feel the air temperature was dropping.

Press. Sam needed to get in better sight of the press. Every delivery service Sam could think of had been called at once. Knowing it was a media spectacle, a tip was made to local news. Sam just needed to get in front of a camera before Cold Steel decided to be the mutant Sam knew he was.

Stumbling the first step, Sam started running. Not strictly away from the building or away from Cold Steel, but toward the mass of cars and delivery people at the front of the mansion.

”Way to prove me right, X-men.” Sam called as she ran.

The tree slowed the fall for Travis and gave his clone a little trouble as it bounced off a large limb or two before falling to the ground. Clones don’t feel. They are just tools to be willed and controlled, an extension of the icemancer, who was feeling more than enough for several clones.

Memories flashed before him as he erupted from the window. He was in a small room wondering where his parents were, scared and alone. ”TRAVIS!” instead of following the mystic down he went up, lifted into the air by a construct of ice that rose up next to the mansion. Snow fall was next. The lone eye fixed onto the one who broke into his home not once but twice now. How many more times? It didn’t matter. Never again.

He was ten, chained to a bed his arm sore from being poked and prodded. They needed blood samples. He was a child though and didn’t understand why they needed his blood. He was alone. The ice clone rushed after Travis. Clones didn’t feel. They don’t tire.

The platform under Sam’s feet shifted downward heavy snow started to fall. His hands were raised now, pointing in the direction Travis was running. The blue beam connected with the ground and a mound of ice started to form, sharp spires protruding out waiting to snare the man that was experimenting on his loved ones. It was meant to slow Travis. Redirect him to the exit. The main one.

The clone continued to run it shouted after the person it was chasing, “Travis!”

It was the first night in the mansion. The first night he felt safe. The first restful sleep he every had.

Ice rose up under his feet as he slid downwards accelerating with a slide towards his target oblivious to the few students that were running back to the mansion. Some slowed mouth open as they saw one of their teachers chasing someone. Sam was also oblivious to the cars that were gathered. The only thing he was focused on was making Travis pay.

Ice. Everywhere. Any way Sam tried to go, there was cold and ice. Spires of ice erupting and funneling Sam. Ice clone chasing and shouting. Sam knew she was stuck, that there was no escaping. However, Cold Steel was making a spectacle. Maybe, just maybe Sam could get the unhinged mutant to give the X-Men another black eye. Show the world that people like him cannot be trusted with powers..

Students were there, their attention drawn to the spectacle as they ran back toward the mansion. Most importantly, the news crew that had arrived had caught sight of the event and as Sam got the mass of vehicles in sight.

If she was going down, she would make it look bad on the 5 o’clock news. Sam screamed and tripped. Then she scrambled to her feet and after a glance to see a local news team working to get a camera up, she turned to face Cold Steel.