Disclaimer: don't own anything except some characters and plot
Dreams and Nightmares
'Swoosh'
Rogue quickly ducked and rolled forward as the staff swung through the air above her head.
As soon as she stood up she had to block a series of blows. It had been decided that since her powers were more on the defensive side she would train with some of the more experienced fighters to improve her combat skills. Remy was currently teaching her how to fight with a bo staff.
"Bon, chere," Remy complimented her as she blocked and countered in quick succession. She had never fought with a weapon before so it was taking a while for her to get used to the weight of the staff in her hands, but Remy acted like it was just an extension of his limbs.
'oomph'
The air left her lungs as Remy swept her feet out from under her and she came to a hard landing on her back.
"Desole, chere," Remy offered her a hand up.
Rogue grinned and grasped his hand and with a sharp yank pulled him down with her. The two giggled as he braced his arms on either side of her so as to not crush her with his weight.
Remy's red on black gaze trailed down to her lips and Rogue suddenly realized how close they were, their breaths intermingling.
"Remy's not afraid," he leaned down to close the gap between them, but Rogue shoved him away.
"Well Ah am," and she swiftly exited the Danger room, leaving behind a very confused and disappointed Cajun.
xxx
"No peaking," Elizabeth giggled as she walked blindly with Jason's hands covering her eyes. She rarely saw the fun, playful side of her boyfriend, but every once in a while it came out and she enjoyed every moment of it.
"Just don't lead me into a wall or anything," she reached out in front of her hoping not to run into anything.
"Don't you trust me," he mocked hurt.
"Always," Elizabeth deadpanned and though she couldn't see it Jason gave her a loving smile. What had he done to deserve a woman like her?
"Open your eyes," he whispered in her ear.
The bright sun blinded her for a moment, but as soon as her vision cleared she saw the black Harley parked in the front driveway.
Her eyes lit up as she turned to him, "Can we go for a ride?"
He just handed her a helmet and grinned as she squealed and made a beeline for the bike.
"Hold on," Jason revved the engine and they peeled out of the driveway, Elizabeth's laughter echoing in his ears as she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. She loved the wind in her hair and the way the scenery all blurred together.
He'd had to sell his old one when they left on their last mission, but he couldn't resist getting a new one.
xxx
John and Charissa were in the cafeteria grabbing some lunch.
"Um…" John nervously rubbed the back of his neck as he grabbed two pudding cups and put one on his tray and one on Charissa's. "I was wondering if you were free tomorrow night and, uh, you know, would like to grab something to eat. Like dinner, you know, just the two of us maybe."
At her silence he rambled on, "That is if you'd be interested, if you wanted to do something like that."
"Sorry, what was that?" she tapped her temple, "Betsy was just filling me in on something."
John opened his mouth struggling for words. He couldn't believe she hadn't heard a word of what he just said.
"Hey guys," Rachel waved them over.
"Nevermind," John sighed as they joined their friends at a table.
xxx
"Geez, it's like a ghost town here," Bobby nervously swallowed. This was his first recruitment mission, but he couldn't let Kitty see that he was nervous. "Whooo," he made goofy ghost like motions.
"Stop it, Bobby," Kitty lightly slapped his chest, but it still had more force behind it than it used to, before they became X-Men.
"Ok, ok," schooling his features into a more serious expression he composed himself and after taking a deep breath, knocked on the front door.
"Hello," an older gentleman with a braided ponytail answered the door.
"Hi, uh Mr. Moonstar," Bobby continued more confidently, "We're from Xavier's. I believe you called about your daughter?"
"Yes, yes. Come on in," he opened the door wider and gestured the two X-Men inside. They shared a grin, so far so good.
xxx
Tessa sipped her tea as she looked over the pamphlets her doctor had given her. They were about a new, experimental procedure.
"What's this?" Tessa almost dropped her tea, startled as Zhane snatched the papers out of her hands. Who knew how long he had been reading over her shoulder. There had been a time when no one would have been able to sneak up on her. She would have been able to feel the presence of another mind long before they had the chance, but her powers still hadn't returned.
Zhane's brow furrowed as he read through the papers and came across the words 'highly experimental' 'has led to total paralysis and in some cases brain damage', "You're not actually considering this are you?"
She snatched the papers back, "It's just an option right now."
He leaned on the counter opposite her, "But it's dangerous!"
"Look, I don't want to argue about this," she rubbed her forehead. Therapy had been very trying today, there had been very little progress and it was becoming hard to stay positive and hold out hope that she would regain the use of her legs. She was also trying to clear her mind for her meeting with the new student, Danielle Moonstar, who was having a difficult time with her powers.
"Alright," he held up his hands in surrender, noticing the dark circles under her eyes. He turned around and grabbed a carton out of the freezer and two spoons, holding it out to her as a peace offering, "Ice cream?"
Tessa shot her best friend a grateful look as she accepted the proffered spoon.
xxx
Wolverine tried to lift his arms but they were strapped down, and he struggled to get out of his bonds. He let out an animalistic roar that soon turned into a gurgle as he was lowered into the water. Then came pain as the needles pierced his skin and hot liquid metal covered his bones.
Dani cowered as her father towered over her, "You freak!"
He gripped her arms tight, bruising her as he shook her, "You are no daughter of mine!" he released her and shoved her to the ground.
She pushed herself up and ran away, "That's all you're good for, running."
When she stopped, she found herself at the Institute with Tessa standing in front of her.
"We don't need you anymore. Just run along now, it's what you're good at." Her legs moved of her own accord.
"No! Stop!" Her legs burned, she didn't want to run anymore, but it was like her legs had a mind of their own and they wouldn't listen to her.
"What?" Kitty gasped as she found herself phased and the world kept spinning on without her, just like when the Professor was tricked by Stryker into using Cerebo to wipe out all mutants. She reached out to her roommates, but soon found herself outside of the school, slowly slipping away.
"Hey guys, wait up!" Rachel jogged through the halls to catch up with her friends, however they weren't slowing down and didn't seem to hear her.
"Hey, watch it!" she growled as several students bumped into her as if she wasn't there.
Catching her balance she caught her reflection in the window or rather lack there off.
"Ok, breathe Rachel. Just concentrate on becoming visible." She tried to calm herself, but the longer she stayed invisible the more she panicked. It wasn't just that no one could see her, no one seemed to be able to hear her either. She was slowly fading away.
Ororo jolted up in bed as she heard a rumbling as the room began to shake.
"Oh Goddess no!" she shouted as she noticed that the walls were closing in around her. Reaching her hands out, she tried to stop their movement but it did no good as they kept getting closer and closer.
Lightning crackled around her and thunder boomed as she began to hyperventilate.
He was freefalling, his stomach in his throat. Jace flailed his arms trying to grasp onto anything, but there was nothing for him to hold on to, he was all alone.
It was incredibly hot; there was a fire at his back. Then suddenly it was gone, as with a loud splash he crashed into the freezing water. Jace tried to fight his way to the surface but the current was too strong and he was so disoriented that he no longer knew which way was up. His lungs burned, starved of the oxygen they needed to keep him alive.
Jean gasped as her friends, the X-Men disintegrated around her.
"What's happening?" As she turned around she glimpsed herself in the mirror and saw her black eyes. It was her! It was the Phoenix! She was killing them!
"No! Leave me alone!" she sobbed, yet couldn't get her own powers under control.
The men grabbed Elizabeth, dragging her along the corridor as she cried out, trying and failing to pull out of their harsh grip.
They tossed her on the cold metal table and strapped her down, "No! No! No!" she kicked out.
"Lovely day isn't it," the doctor snapped on his gloves as he picked up a scalpel and she could see the wicked gleam in his eyes.
Rogue found herself in a crowded hallway; it was a sea of people. She looked down at herself, what was she wearing? In a tank top and shorts, she was baring way too much skin. However as she tried to back away she found her escape cut short as a group of people barreled into her.
"Ah!" skin on skin, memories and life force flowed into her. Trying to pull away, she just brushed up against another person.
"Get away from meh!" she grabbed her head and sank to her knees as she began to lose herself in the voices as more and more entered her mind.
Jason blocked the punch aimed for his head and countered with a kick, sending his opponent flying. Looking up he saw Sabertooth stalking towards Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth!" he tried to warn her, but he was too far away, she couldn't hear him. He pushed another member of the Brotherhood aside as he sprinted towards her.
He called out to her again and she turned just in time for Sabertooth to slash open her throat. She gasped and grasped her throat, choking on her own blood.
"Nooooo!" he shot an energy ball at Sabertooth and increased his speed, catching his girlfriend as she collapsed. "Stay with me!"
He was too late as the light dimmed in her eyes and he held her close, rocking back and forth as tears coursed down his face.
Warren felt warm blood trickling down his back and pristine white feathers stained red littered the floor.
"Wha…" he reached back and his hand came back soaked in blood and his head swam. Oh God he felt like he was going to throw up there had just been empty air where his wing should have been. It had been torn clean off.
When he was younger, he used to saw off the sprouting wings so as to hide his mutation from his father, scared of what he was becoming. Now that he had accepted his wings as part of who he was he couldn't live without them. He loved to fly, he couldn't be grounded forever!
Bobby flew back as the building in front of him exploded and then was consumed in flames. He shakily got to his feet and took a few tentative steps towards the burning building. His team had been in there! They had trusted him to lead them, and he led them to their death. He sank to his knees, devastated.
He coughed up a hairball, and Dylan noticed that he was in cat form. He tried to change back, yet he couldn't. He couldn't be stuck as a cat! He didn't want to have to use a litter box… and eat cat food. He shuddered and tried harder, but no change.
"Remy, look at me," Remy looked into her green eyes. Then, his eyebrows drew together in confusion, was she glowing? It was a fuschia color, just like the color his cards took on when he charged them with kinetic energy. He wasn't touching her though.
"No!" this couldn't be happening! He had gotten rid of it. He rushed towards her, but he couldn't pull the charge back in.
Tessa wheeled forward as the soldiers poured into the school and gunshots rang through the air.
Zhane came up behind her and began to push her chair. She grabbed on tight to the armrests as they careened around a corner.
They found their path blocked and soldiers hot on their tail.
"Just leave me! I'm slowing you down."
He looked down at her incredulously, "I'll never leave you."
Tears gathered in her eyes, she would never forgive herself if something happened to him because of her.
"Tessa! Tessa!"
She narrowed her eyes and looked around. She could have sworn that was Betsy. Yet there was no sign of the purple haired telepath and last she knew the soldiers had gotten her.
The scene around her suddenly vanished as her bedroom came into focus and Betsy was staring down at her.
"Something's wrong," she explained.
Tessa got up and maneuvered herself into her wheelchair as Betsy patiently waited, knowing that Tessa liked to assert her independence.
"Were you able to contact anyone else?" they exited her room.
Betsy shook her head, "No, I think it was easier for me to connect with you as a fellow telepath." Guess she was still sensitive to other telepaths even with her powers basically non-existent.
"What do you think is causing this?"
"We need to wake the new girl, Danielle Moonstar," Tessa hadn't realized the extent of her powers.
They found Danielle tossing and turning in the throes of a nightmare as well as her roommates, assuming they were suffering the effects of her powers as well.
Betsy gently shook the girl awake. She bolted up in bed with a start and the other occupants began to calm down.
She looked around, finally realizing what was happening, "I'm sorry." There were tears in her eyes as she hugged her knees to her chest.
"It's ok, Danielle. We'll help you get control," Tessa reassured and the young girl smiled in relief, glad they weren't afraid of her and kicking her out.
BOOM!
Tessa wheeled into the hall, but as Ororo and Logan raced passed her she sighed and stopped. She wouldn't be much help anyway.
Logan kicked down the door which splintered into pieces from the force.
"Everyone alright," John just nodded in shock over the nightmare, explosion, and subsequent door breaking. He was still trying to process everything.
When Remy had woken up to find that he had charged the covers and didn't have the energy to pull it back in, he didn't know what to do so he just flung the comforter at the wall and ducked for cover.
He stared at his socks for a while and once he realized that know they weren't turning a fushcia cover he dared to look up and caught Ororo's scowl.
He looked at the damage he had done, "Remy will fix dat, Stormy. But Wolvie's got the door."
xxx
It had been a long night and they were all exhausted, but the older X-Men had insisted on going on with their scheduled morning Danger Room session. They were currently having sparring matches, no powers, Blue Team vs. Yellow Team. The Danger Room was randomly pairing them up and the rest would watch the fight and critique.
"Gambit vs. Pyro," the words echoed ominously throughout the steel room as the two combatants stepped up to the mats.
Wolverine frowned and took a step forward. The two had been at odds since coming back to the Institute and he would rather not have any bloodshed. However Firefly stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Let them fight it out," he wasn't convinced that was the best idea, "trust me."
He glanced at Storm and noticed that she seemed fine with the match up. Well they knew the boys better than he did, so he let it go for now.
Gambit watched his opponent, waiting for him to make the first move. He wasn't left waiting too long as Pyro charged in.
The younger man's anger fueled him as he shot out with a flurry of punches and kicks, holding nothing back.
Caught off guard one slipped passed Gambit's defenses and whacked him across the jaw. He reached up a hand and it came away red, his lip was split, "Oh tat's how it is, huh?" and he launched himself at Pyro.
The two traded blows as the spectators nervously glanced at each other wondering if they should step in and put a stop to it, but Tessa just shook her head.
Gambit was slowing down as Pyro got in more hits and was yelling incoherently, "How could you?! You liar! Traitor!"
Finally Gambit managed to grab Pyro in a chokehold, "Ya done?" he wanted Pyro to get it all out, he wanted his friend back.
John nodded and tapped the mat so Remy loosened his hold.
"I'm good," he wheezed
"Alright, uh, that was the last match so hit the showers," Wolverine awkwardly dismissed them after that. And everyone watched the former combatants head to the locker room together.
"Boys," Kitty shook her head, she would never understand how they could beat each other up one minute and then be fine the next.
Remy wrapped his arm around John's shoulders, "And ya still haven't taken the girl out."
"Shut up," John pushed him away, but there was a small smile on his face.