Author's note: Ha-ha-ha, oh, man, are you guys gonna hate me after this chapter!
Like many of my ideas, it came to me in a dream.
I was unsure at first, but I thought that it might be worth a try.
Everything else that Charles and I had tried hadn't had much of an effect, what did I have left to lose by simply testing it?
Nothing!
I had no idea where Mystique had disappeared to; all that I did know was that she stole one of Scott's cars. He had exploded into my room the morning after the debacle in the gardens, demanding her whereabouts.
Apparently, once he found his precious vehicle missing, he checked the security cameras. He even dragged me along with him to check the tape to verify his point. There she was; still clothed in her sopping wet nightgown, crying hysterically. We watched as she kicked in the driver's side window and climbed into the car. A few seconds later, the engine came to life and she sped out of the garage. I'm sure she hotwired it, though I wasn't able to see it on the film.
He wasn't aware how painful it was for me to see her so distraught. I wanted to go to her, hold her, do everything I could to soothe her; but she was far out of reach by the time I found out what became of her that morning.
I was certain she was safe, but I yearned to see her again. Despite my longing for her, I didn't want to go through the trouble of finding her, only to show up empty handed.
The next time I saw her, it would be with an antidote. I owed her that much.
The long awaited inspiration came to me in the night.
It started out both strange and comforting.
*^*^*^*
I slipped into the dream, unaware of that world's circumstances. I found myself dressed casually and sitting on a picnic blanket in a large park. The blanket was located on the edge of a green, grassy field. The beautiful blue sky was scattered with fluffy white clouds, the sun shined down buttery warm light on us. Bright, colorful flowers were peppered throughout the terrain.
It was Central Park, but it seemed too peaceful and perfect to be real.
Pyro sat beside me, his sharp features relaxed...he was happy. He smiled at me, using his power to mold flame into shapes. A square, a triangle, a circle. At first, I was nervous.
What was he doing?!
Exposing himself out in the middle of the city like this? He'd be killed, even I couldn't protect him! I was panicked for a moment or two, but as I looked about the park, I found that we weren't alone.
Central Park was filled with mutants!
Using their powers openly or just enjoying the day in their interesting, non-human forms. I saw my old students the X-men, that chap Kurt from the jet, I saw Charles...I saw Jean.
I looked back to my young companion.
"What's the matter, Eric?" Pyro asked.
His flame became a question mark hovering over his palm.
"I...what happened? Why is everything different?" I asked.
He shot me a look that perfectly matched my own confusion. "What do you mean? Things should be this way, right Mystique?" I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned around.
Mystique.
My Mystique, back in her one true body. Her midnight skin shimmered in the sun; her teeth were startlingly white against her indigo lips as she smiled down at me. "Of course." Ah, her voice. I hadn't heard it in months, it echoed on the air in several tones at once. So beautiful, like spoken music.
"Pyro, I have an idea. Why don't you go play catch with some of your X-men friends while I talk to Eric?" The boy raised his eyebrows and smiled.
"Hey, if you want to be alone, all you have to do is ask." The flame in his hand molded into a heart, and he ran off.
Mystique sat down across from me on the blanket. "Mystique, love, I don't understand." She seemed as if she were about to say something, but she looked past me and her face turned to horror.
I spun around and saw the other mutants in the park, knocked out! All of the X-men, Kurt, Charles, even Pyro was slumped on the ground. Agents in trim suits stood amid the unconscious bodies, they looked triumphant.
As one, they all turned their eyes towards Mystique and I. "Mystique, stay behind me, I'll stop them." I said as I stood up. She sat back on her elbows, "Eric, they've already done enough damage to me."
The agents advanced on us from across the field. "I know you're trying hard, you're close. Very close, but even Einstein needed a little push every once in a while." She pointed towards the agents, and I saw the answer written in the sky.
*^*^*^*^*
I shot upright in bed; I was sweating and breathing hard. That was by far the most bizarre dream I have ever had!
Despite my doubts, however, I wrote down the symbols I had seen in the dreamland sky. It was a long, complicated chemical formula. Could this work?
The idea seemed so far fetched that I questioned my sanity several times throughout the week. So did Charles.
"Honestly, Eric, do you really think this will work? You dreamed it up, this formula could be the ingredients for tea cakes!" he had said.
"We do not have anything left to lose, Charles. Except with the worst case scenario, in which the fumes will cause rapid hair loss...but I don't think you have to worry about that."
He smirked at my semi-mean spirited joke, "Indeed. But at least the hair I used to have never made it to gray."
"I like my hair, thank you very much. Some women are attracted to that."
"Oh, just like some men prefer their women blue?"
"Exactly."
It was difficult. The chemicals that the formula called for were rare and could be lethal if not handled properly; but I am a scientist, and this experiment meant everything to me.
Alone, each one of the chemicals were dangerously unstable, but with the perfect amount of each one, they were harmless and more importantly, effective.
I checked the formula several times to make sure that I was going about the task correctly. The way it turned out, the antidote was a liquid.
I watched on the magnified screen as the bright green dots that represented the serum in Mystique's blood dissolved once they encountered the antidote.
"Charles, Charles, look! It's working, it's actually working!" Yes, the serum was quickly being eradicated from her system.
"My god, Eric, you've done it! You have stopped the FoH in its tracks! This is wonderful, Eric, you're brilliant."
Charles wheeled his chair over to my lab stool and shook my hand. "Congratulations! Would you like to do the honors?"
He handed me a cell phone. "What is this?" I asked.
"All of the vehicles, whether they're owned by an older student or a faculty member, are equipped with com-links. Scott's is no different. Call her Eric, cure her, and then get out of my house. You've been a bad influence on the students."
I smiled and rolled my eyes. "I've only spoken to a few of the students, and all I do is encourage them, Charles. If that encouragement should lead them out of your school, then who am I to stop them?"
"Encouraging them? More like recruiting." He stated flatly.
"Well, you do have a remarkably well trained unit and an entire school at your disposal. All I have is Mystique and Pyro."
"I thought that stealing two of my students would be enough."
He left the lab with that witty remark. I smiled at the comment and glanced at a clock on the wall. It was very late, almost two o'clock in the morning...I guess Charles and I had been working harder than we thought!
Yes, it was late, but wasn't this announcement more important than beauty sleep?
Mystique, soon you will be back to normal and return home to our island with Pyro and I. I care for you so much. Perhaps a trip around the world is in order. I'll take you to France, Spain, China, Australia, wherever you want to go. We deserve the vacation after all this, and besides, we could teach Pyro a thing or two along the way.
I punched in the code for Scott's com-link.
*^*^*^*^*^
The phone woke me up.
I was lying on my stomach on the bed, but I wasn't in my own room. I looked around and saw Jake sleeping next to me. His chest rose and fell normally...he was okay.
At least he didn't have a concussion!
His TV was still on, I must've fell asleep and left it on.
"Beep- beep, beep-beep."
Oh, yeah, the phone. Kind of hard to get your head on straight at two in the morning.
'My purse...where'd I leave it? Oh, yeah, it's on the couch.'
I got up off the bed and went into the living room. It was that com-link I took out of Scott's car.
"Hello?" I asked through a yawn.
"Mystique." Oh, God, it was Eric! That will certainly wake you up, no matter what time it was!
"Eric...I..." I was getting upset just from hearing his voice; this was the first time we had spoken since that night at the school.
"I developed an antidote for you, Mystique. Please, come back to the school, I can cure you, and we can all go home."
I heard every word he said, but it was so unbelievable. He created a cure, just for me. So that I could be the mutant me again, so that I could be happy. He wanted me back, he didn't sound angry with me for hitting him, he just wanted me to come home.
And here I was in another man's bedroom. I kissed Jake; I took the invitation.
"Hey, who's on the phone?"
I spun around, Jake stood in the doorway to the bedroom. With him laid a whole world of possibility, no one knew that I was a mutant, if I stayed with him, I could lead a normal, happy life. His pants were slung low on his hips, baring his muscles. His hair was falling into his eyes, and he grinned at me.
I disconnected with Eric.
Like many of my ideas, it came to me in a dream.
I was unsure at first, but I thought that it might be worth a try.
Everything else that Charles and I had tried hadn't had much of an effect, what did I have left to lose by simply testing it?
Nothing!
I had no idea where Mystique had disappeared to; all that I did know was that she stole one of Scott's cars. He had exploded into my room the morning after the debacle in the gardens, demanding her whereabouts.
Apparently, once he found his precious vehicle missing, he checked the security cameras. He even dragged me along with him to check the tape to verify his point. There she was; still clothed in her sopping wet nightgown, crying hysterically. We watched as she kicked in the driver's side window and climbed into the car. A few seconds later, the engine came to life and she sped out of the garage. I'm sure she hotwired it, though I wasn't able to see it on the film.
He wasn't aware how painful it was for me to see her so distraught. I wanted to go to her, hold her, do everything I could to soothe her; but she was far out of reach by the time I found out what became of her that morning.
I was certain she was safe, but I yearned to see her again. Despite my longing for her, I didn't want to go through the trouble of finding her, only to show up empty handed.
The next time I saw her, it would be with an antidote. I owed her that much.
The long awaited inspiration came to me in the night.
It started out both strange and comforting.
*^*^*^*
I slipped into the dream, unaware of that world's circumstances. I found myself dressed casually and sitting on a picnic blanket in a large park. The blanket was located on the edge of a green, grassy field. The beautiful blue sky was scattered with fluffy white clouds, the sun shined down buttery warm light on us. Bright, colorful flowers were peppered throughout the terrain.
It was Central Park, but it seemed too peaceful and perfect to be real.
Pyro sat beside me, his sharp features relaxed...he was happy. He smiled at me, using his power to mold flame into shapes. A square, a triangle, a circle. At first, I was nervous.
What was he doing?!
Exposing himself out in the middle of the city like this? He'd be killed, even I couldn't protect him! I was panicked for a moment or two, but as I looked about the park, I found that we weren't alone.
Central Park was filled with mutants!
Using their powers openly or just enjoying the day in their interesting, non-human forms. I saw my old students the X-men, that chap Kurt from the jet, I saw Charles...I saw Jean.
I looked back to my young companion.
"What's the matter, Eric?" Pyro asked.
His flame became a question mark hovering over his palm.
"I...what happened? Why is everything different?" I asked.
He shot me a look that perfectly matched my own confusion. "What do you mean? Things should be this way, right Mystique?" I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned around.
Mystique.
My Mystique, back in her one true body. Her midnight skin shimmered in the sun; her teeth were startlingly white against her indigo lips as she smiled down at me. "Of course." Ah, her voice. I hadn't heard it in months, it echoed on the air in several tones at once. So beautiful, like spoken music.
"Pyro, I have an idea. Why don't you go play catch with some of your X-men friends while I talk to Eric?" The boy raised his eyebrows and smiled.
"Hey, if you want to be alone, all you have to do is ask." The flame in his hand molded into a heart, and he ran off.
Mystique sat down across from me on the blanket. "Mystique, love, I don't understand." She seemed as if she were about to say something, but she looked past me and her face turned to horror.
I spun around and saw the other mutants in the park, knocked out! All of the X-men, Kurt, Charles, even Pyro was slumped on the ground. Agents in trim suits stood amid the unconscious bodies, they looked triumphant.
As one, they all turned their eyes towards Mystique and I. "Mystique, stay behind me, I'll stop them." I said as I stood up. She sat back on her elbows, "Eric, they've already done enough damage to me."
The agents advanced on us from across the field. "I know you're trying hard, you're close. Very close, but even Einstein needed a little push every once in a while." She pointed towards the agents, and I saw the answer written in the sky.
*^*^*^*^*
I shot upright in bed; I was sweating and breathing hard. That was by far the most bizarre dream I have ever had!
Despite my doubts, however, I wrote down the symbols I had seen in the dreamland sky. It was a long, complicated chemical formula. Could this work?
The idea seemed so far fetched that I questioned my sanity several times throughout the week. So did Charles.
"Honestly, Eric, do you really think this will work? You dreamed it up, this formula could be the ingredients for tea cakes!" he had said.
"We do not have anything left to lose, Charles. Except with the worst case scenario, in which the fumes will cause rapid hair loss...but I don't think you have to worry about that."
He smirked at my semi-mean spirited joke, "Indeed. But at least the hair I used to have never made it to gray."
"I like my hair, thank you very much. Some women are attracted to that."
"Oh, just like some men prefer their women blue?"
"Exactly."
It was difficult. The chemicals that the formula called for were rare and could be lethal if not handled properly; but I am a scientist, and this experiment meant everything to me.
Alone, each one of the chemicals were dangerously unstable, but with the perfect amount of each one, they were harmless and more importantly, effective.
I checked the formula several times to make sure that I was going about the task correctly. The way it turned out, the antidote was a liquid.
I watched on the magnified screen as the bright green dots that represented the serum in Mystique's blood dissolved once they encountered the antidote.
"Charles, Charles, look! It's working, it's actually working!" Yes, the serum was quickly being eradicated from her system.
"My god, Eric, you've done it! You have stopped the FoH in its tracks! This is wonderful, Eric, you're brilliant."
Charles wheeled his chair over to my lab stool and shook my hand. "Congratulations! Would you like to do the honors?"
He handed me a cell phone. "What is this?" I asked.
"All of the vehicles, whether they're owned by an older student or a faculty member, are equipped with com-links. Scott's is no different. Call her Eric, cure her, and then get out of my house. You've been a bad influence on the students."
I smiled and rolled my eyes. "I've only spoken to a few of the students, and all I do is encourage them, Charles. If that encouragement should lead them out of your school, then who am I to stop them?"
"Encouraging them? More like recruiting." He stated flatly.
"Well, you do have a remarkably well trained unit and an entire school at your disposal. All I have is Mystique and Pyro."
"I thought that stealing two of my students would be enough."
He left the lab with that witty remark. I smiled at the comment and glanced at a clock on the wall. It was very late, almost two o'clock in the morning...I guess Charles and I had been working harder than we thought!
Yes, it was late, but wasn't this announcement more important than beauty sleep?
Mystique, soon you will be back to normal and return home to our island with Pyro and I. I care for you so much. Perhaps a trip around the world is in order. I'll take you to France, Spain, China, Australia, wherever you want to go. We deserve the vacation after all this, and besides, we could teach Pyro a thing or two along the way.
I punched in the code for Scott's com-link.
*^*^*^*^*^
The phone woke me up.
I was lying on my stomach on the bed, but I wasn't in my own room. I looked around and saw Jake sleeping next to me. His chest rose and fell normally...he was okay.
At least he didn't have a concussion!
His TV was still on, I must've fell asleep and left it on.
"Beep- beep, beep-beep."
Oh, yeah, the phone. Kind of hard to get your head on straight at two in the morning.
'My purse...where'd I leave it? Oh, yeah, it's on the couch.'
I got up off the bed and went into the living room. It was that com-link I took out of Scott's car.
"Hello?" I asked through a yawn.
"Mystique." Oh, God, it was Eric! That will certainly wake you up, no matter what time it was!
"Eric...I..." I was getting upset just from hearing his voice; this was the first time we had spoken since that night at the school.
"I developed an antidote for you, Mystique. Please, come back to the school, I can cure you, and we can all go home."
I heard every word he said, but it was so unbelievable. He created a cure, just for me. So that I could be the mutant me again, so that I could be happy. He wanted me back, he didn't sound angry with me for hitting him, he just wanted me to come home.
And here I was in another man's bedroom. I kissed Jake; I took the invitation.
"Hey, who's on the phone?"
I spun around, Jake stood in the doorway to the bedroom. With him laid a whole world of possibility, no one knew that I was a mutant, if I stayed with him, I could lead a normal, happy life. His pants were slung low on his hips, baring his muscles. His hair was falling into his eyes, and he grinned at me.
I disconnected with Eric.