Disclaimer: X-Men is a trademark of Marvel Comics. I do not claim to own any of the characters or settings used below. However, the original characters Jerry, Andrew and Sheila Tyson, and Matthew Tyson a.k.a. "Geist" belong to me.

Chapter 10: Burns Healed

The small click of metal caught Matthew's attention. It meant John was awake, which in turn meant one of two things: the professor was gone, that Pyro had killed him, and that he wasn't coming back this time. The other possibility was that the professor had done what he said he would do and that John was back to the way he should be. The seven others besides Matthew turned their heads in the direction of the small yet ominous sound in the empty and silent hallway.

"John?" called Bobby, hoping to not get a reply.

There was another click of metal, putting everyone on edge. With the hallway being so crowded John could take them all out with a single shot. It would be like shooting fish in a barrel. Matthew heard footsteps coming from the infirmary, and as John turned the corner he could almost taste the tension in the air. He looked different, Matthew noticed. Instead of his usual scowl for being here when he didn't want to be, there was a look of indifference. He looked at Bobby, who smiled.

"Hey guys, what's up?"

"John? Are you…ok?"

"Why wouldn't I be? You're being weird, Rogue."

Rogue laughed. "That's John, alright."

"Where's the professor?" asked Matthew.

"I'm right here," the professor said from the hallway behind John.

The tension in the hallway seemed to physically lighten as everyone silently agreed that the situation was alright. John eyed them all, confused, trying to figure out what he had done to make them all so on-edge. Xavier walked over behind John and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"John, I think it's time we get you back upstairs. That cold you had is all better."

John nodded and the two of them got into the elevator, while everyone else stared at them until the doors closed.

"Wow, I can't believe it worked," said Matthew.

"I can't believe the professor would do something like that," added Kitty.

"It isn't the first time he did something like this to protect everyone else. Remember Jean?"

"Bobby has a point," said Rogue. "Y'all think this could backfire?"

Dani shook her head. "This is different. Jean had her powers repressed; all the professor did was a selective memory wipe."

"Memory modifications are usually pretty safe," said Alex with a nod.

"I'll keep an eye on him," said Remy.

"Maybe I should ask the professor?" asked Jerry.

"That sounds like a good idea," replied Matthew.

Professor, is John safe to be around? Jerry asked.

The response might as well have been audible because they all heard it in their heads. Absolutely, he is no different now than the day before he left.

So what all does he know?

He remembers nothing of his time with Magneto. He knows all about Alcatraz, but as far as he knows he helped us defeat Magneto and escaped with the rest of us. Hank is going to have a talk with the president and convince him to take John off of the "most wanted" list.

Kitty looked at Rogue. "Well that's good news."

"He might still be unstable though," said Bobby. "You remember how he used to be?"

"Still he is nothing compared to how he was after Magneto twisted his mind."

"Yeah, he's our friend again. We're no longer 'holding him back' like he said we were," said Kitty.

It seems that you all are quite excited about having your friend back, but I would appreciate you all coming back up to the surface floors of the mansion. You shouldn't be down on the sub levels without a teacher.

Matthew laughed. "Maybe we should listen to him. I'm hungry anyways. Who wants dinner?"

They all agreed and squeezed into the elevator to go back up to the public face of the facility.

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Several hours later Matthew and Kitty were sitting on the couch in the dark, watching TV. Bobby and Rogue were sitting beside them, not really paying any attention. It had been such a long day the four of them were dozing in and out, the girls resting their heads on the boys' shoulders. As Matthew's eyes closed, there was a dream waiting for him. There was the high pitched whine of machinery in the background, the wind-like sound of blowtorches and the low rumble of footsteps landing in unison. The dark figure walked along a catwalk high above everything, observing the controlled chaos. "Sinister," the figure said, "how is the progress coming?"

The figure turned to a man sitting at a control panel. Matthew could see this man quite clearly. He had snow white skin but jet black hair, and a red diamond tattooed onto his forehead. The man, known as Sinister, replied, "Things are going better than planned, my master. We are days ahead of schedule."

"And what of the boy?"

Sinister laughed. "The American? I dispatched Sunfire to take care of him. His entire house was destroyed and the local authorities found no trace of him. The media is writing it off as an accident."

"Good, good, that is better than I expected. Things are moving smoothly, I see. You may continue, Sinister."

The dark figure turned around and walked away, his laughter drowned out by the sound of machinery as he walked away into the darkness.

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Matthew awoke in his room some time later, not quite sure how he got there. Bobby was there as well, but he was alone in his bed and asleep. He looked around, confused, trying to figure out what he had just seen. It was definitely more coherent than his last dream. There had been someone named Sinister, and that same dark figure, whose laughter was the same. The project they had been working on was making some serious progress, seeing as in his last dream, Matthew saw only the beginnings of what he assumed were the figure's minions. The time span was strange though, because he was sure the boy that Sinister and the figure were talking about was him. It was strange that the situation they were discussing was identical to what happened to him three years ago. Could these dreams be a glimpse into the past? He would have to ask the professor in the morning. He lay back down and stared at the ceiling but found his eyes unable to close. He turned over and faced the window, watching the stars disappear one by one as the sky began to lighten.

At some point he fell asleep, because the next thing Matthew knew he felt the heat of the morning sun on his face and heard Bobby moving around in the room. He put on his sunglasses and opened his eyes. Bobby was standing in front of the closet, staring at his clothes.

"They won't just jump on you, you know," said Matthew with a laugh.

"Shut up man. What happened to you last night? I mean we were all sleepy, but you knocked out cold on the couch for a while. Kitty had to phase through you to get out from under you. I carried your heavy ass back up here and you're just now waking up? Damn, man."

Matthew yawned. "What time is it?"

"It's just after eleven."

"Wow I did sleep for a while. Wait, why aren't you dressed?"

"I felt like sleeping in today too. Only difference is I went to bed later than you."

Matthew laughed. "Whatever you say, Bobby. I'm going to go talk to the professor about these dreams I keep having."

"You mean Sinister?"

Matthew whipped around from getting dressed. "How do you know that name?"

"Easy there Matt, it's just something you kept uttering in your sleep as I was carrying you up to your bed."

Matthew seemed to calm a bit and continued getting dressed. He slid on a pair of clean jeans, a short sleeve white polo and his sandals then walked through the door of the room. The dorm hallway was crowded with students; he had to constantly dodge the younger ones who really didn't know any better. He tried his best not to phase through people, but he had to once or twice when people just weren't watching where they were going and he had no other choice. He walked downstairs and into the professor's office. Xavier was sitting behind his desk, his fingers folded, his head down and eyes closed, as if concentrating intensely one something. Without even looking up he said, "Hello Matthew."

"I guess what I've heard about you isn't wrong, is it professor?"

Xavier just smiled. He looked Matthew right in the eyes and Matthew felt strange; like he had something on his mind but just couldn't place it. "What can I help you with today?"

"I was hoping you could read my mind. I have had dreams troubling me lately and I've been losing sleep over them."

Xavier nodded and waved Matthew over to a chair. Matthew sat down and Xavier sat behind him placing his hands on either side of Matthew's head. Matthew sat there for a moment while Xavier rooted through his memories and dreams. There was a twinge of pain as Xavier dragged the Sinister dream to the surface of his mind and Matthew saw it again in his eyes. Xavier lowered his hands after a few minutes and walked around back around his desk.

"Well?" asked Matthew.

"The dreams could be actual events, but they are events already past, as far as I can tell you do not have any future sight ability, unlike your friend Jerry."

"If they are real, then who is this Sinister?"

"His name is Nathaniel Essex. He is a brilliant geneticist, a very powerful mutant, and my old college classmate."

A look of surprise came across Matthew's face. Why would someone I've never met want me dead, Matthew wondered to himself.

"I couldn't tell you. But I will find out who that figure is. It should help give us some insight into what Mr. Sinister has planned."

"Thank you professor."

Matthew got up and left as the professor walked out of his office as well and took the lift downstairs. Matthew went and got himself some lunch, eating quietly as the other students passed through the kitchen. Just as he was almost finished, Matthew heard a click of metal as John walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Matt."

"Morning, John. What are you up to today?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I'm just glad I'm feeling better."

Matthew stared at his plate. "You and me both, John."

"So what are you doing today?"

"Waiting on the professor to figure my head out. I've been having these weird dreams lately; he said he would help me."

John looked at Matthew inquisitively. "Don't you think it's weird that he's in our heads all the time? He's so strong that we don't even realize it. He knows everything that goes on around here."

"Well that's good, don't you think? Nothing goes unnoticed, nothing can surprise us."

"No, nothing can surprise him. The rest of us are on a need to know basis."

"You shouldn't say things like that John; he gave us a home. We would be on the street without him."

John looked over Matthew's shoulder at something he couldn't see. "Yeah I guess…but I still think it's a little strange. I wouldn't mind a little privacy though. The idea that my thoughts aren't private scares me a little bit."

Matthew shrugged, got up, and put his dishes in the dishwasher. Matthew, could you please report to my office?

"See you later John, the professor wants to talk to me."

"Later, Matthew."

Matthew walked back down the now almost empty hallway—the students must be outside playing in the sunshine—towards the professor's office. As he walked through the door the professor was waiting for him.

"Have a seat Matthew."

Matthew sat down and asked, "What did you find out?"

"Essex is in Egypt, at Giza to be more precise. There is someone else with him, though cerebro couldn't detect exactly who. Under normal circumstances I would have blamed Erik, but he is here and a human now. So this dark figure in your dream is just a mystery to me as it is to you. We may just have to wait until Sinister's plans reveal themselves."

"That isn't exactly what I wanted to hear professor."

"I know it isn't, Matt. But we can't know everything. Just go about life like normal, events will reveal themselves eventually and we will be prepared."

"If you say so," Matthew replied, rolling his eyes as he got up and walked away. As he left the office, he almost ran into Kitty. Without a word said Matthew kissed her, and they held hands as they walked outside and into the sunshine.

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update with a shorter chapter than normal, the servers on the site have been screwy. Lucky for me I found a way around it. I'm gonna get started on the next chapter ASAP. The main plot of the story is just around the corner. Don't forget to review.