Dreamers Die Young - Chapter 4
[~ indicates telepathic communications]
Back at home, Riley avoided Tria's questions about how she arrived home so early and was she dating and if so, why she didn't know and headed up the stairs to her room. She made a mouth out of her hand and imitated Tria, bobbing and shaking the hand like Tria would shake her head. It made her grin and remembering Cail's look when she had told him that she had actually tried to do homework ended up in her rolling on the ground, tears of mirth streaming down her face. She composed herself and set to work writing a paper for her creative writing class. It was about the only class she wasn't failing and the only one she actually liked. She found that using her dreams was a good way to earn full credit on the essays. Of course, she changed a few details, like actually being able to hear the conversations and added a few things. Overall, it worked out to her favor.
Sooner than expected, Tria called her down for dinner. As usual, there was silence at the table, only punctuated by the clatter of their forks colliding with their plates. Riley excused herself halfway through, saying she was tired and wanted to head to bed early. It was actually an experiment she wanted to try. If she went to bed and slept a little before she went to meet Cail at the park, maybe she would dream. It was the only way she had ever dreamed before so she figured she'd try the system.
She lay down on her bed and stared at the ceiling for a little while, listening to the radio until she fell asleep.
She was walking along the corridors of the mansion she had dreamed about all the other times. The halls were deserted and she wandered around, looking for something or someone. Interestingly, the hole that she had seen formed was still in the wall. Stepping through it, she came across a group of five people. The man in the wheelchair and the guy with sunglasses, along with the woman who had been with the guy in the wheelchair when the choppers had been blown away were there, along with two others Riley hadn't seen before, a guy and a girl. The guy had his arm around the girl and all five of them were watching the horizon.
Riley walked up to the man in the wheelchair and tapped his shoulder, expecting nothing to happen, like the other times. Instead, he turned to face her and said, "Glad you could make it. Go stand over there next to Bobby and stay quiet." Riley nodded and turned towards the boy who had waved at her, the one with the girl and stood there, watching the horizon like everyone else.
A speck appeared, approaching fastly. She glanced at the others to see if they were as disturbed as she was, but all of them were calm and not a one was looking at her. She turned back to the speck, which had now become a slightly defined aircraft of sorts. As she watched, it transformed into a jet of some kind and landed a small ways away from the assembled group. Two people strode down the landing ramp towards the group. Riley tensed involuntarily and forced her muscles to relax. This was a dream. She couldn't get hurt.
The two walked calmly towards them and Riley could see them then. One was all blue, with seemingly red hair who seemed not to be clothed. The other had on a helmet of some sort and a billowing red cloak. Riley arched an eyebrow and turned to the man in the wheelchair. He seemed composed as did the two next to him. Bobby and his girl, on the other hand, were a little tenser. The helmeted man approached the wheel chaired man and nodded.
"Charles. You think this small force can stand up to Mystique and myself?" Still composed, the newly named Charles returned the nod.
"Yes, actually, Erik. I believe they will be sufficient enough to convince you to return to you lair and think over your plans. They have some flaws you have not thought over." The man named Erik raised his eyebrows slightly and frowned.
"I think not, but we shall see." He motioned to Mystique and she nodded and walked stiffly back to the jet. He followed.
"We'll be back, Charles. In force."
Riley woke up and shook her head clear of the remnants of the dream and glanced at her clock. "Shit," she muttered. "Cail's gunna kill me." She rolled off her bed and crept out of the house, taking her bike instead of walking; she was late.
Cail was pacing in front of the fountain when Riley rode up. She apologized profusely and he accepted it, giving her his standard greeting when they met here, a hug. She returned it and they sat down.
"Why're you so late?" he asked, wrapping his arms around his knees. Riley watched a chipmunk for a while before answering.
"I wanted to test something."
"Test what?"
"My theory." Cail sighed.
"Your theory on what?" he asked slowly.
"On my dreams." Cail smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand.
"Riley, I thought you didn't want to dream those again."
"Didn't. Key word there. I just wanted to test this little hunch I had about my dreams. I was right," Riley said, picking at a leaf.
"You were right about what? Honestly, Riley. You're dropping hints and never a real clue here." He sighed. "Remember that I'm a guy and the first thing to remember about a guy is."
"That guys are oblivious," Riley finished for him, grinning.
"Right. Now, will you please tell me what you have been trying to tell me?" Riley laughed and nodded.
"Sure. Okay, see you know how I've been having the dreams and whatnot. Well, I thought, since the only time I've been able to have them was before I met you here, then that might be the only time I can have them. So, I decided to test that. That's all there is to it." Cail nodded.
"Riley, what did you see this time?"
"A bunch of people met two others that came out of a jet. They talked and one said something about coming back in force."
"Wait. I though you said last time that you couldn't hear the people."
"Guess it changed. I can't predict dreams. No one can."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~Logan.~
"God, Xavier. Can't you just talk like normal people?" Logan growled, upset at having been disturbed from his sleep.
~We have a new mutant, previously undetected because she didn't use her powers. Meet me at Cerebro.~
Logan grumbled a bit but obeyed, yawning all down the corridors. He blinked a couple times as he came to the metal door that housed Cerebro and knocked, not knowing what else to do. The door only opened to Charles's retina scan. It swooshed open, Xavier having opened it from the inside. He beckoned Logan in and he walked in, gazing around. He had been in the room before, but it never ceased to awe him at its scope. Xavier wheeled to the end of the tier and placed Cerebro on his head.
"There," he said, pointing to the new bright red dot in lower New York. "That's her."
"So tell me why you didn't notice her before," Logan yawned, studying the dot.
"Because she never voluntarily used her powers before. Just this night, she performed an 'experiment' to see when she dreamed, which is when I noticed her. Logan, I want you to take Rogue or Bobby and extend to her an invitation to join the school. I believe she might be a valuable asset."
"A'ight. But why Rogue or Bobby? Why not Scott or Storm? They're more experienced."
"Exactly. We don't want to frighten the poor child before she has a chance to decide. Rogue and Bobby will be able to help her because they are closer to her age. Don't underestimate them. And, I thought it might be good to give you some time with them to learn how they react to things." Xavier smiled and wheeled out, followed closely by Logan.
Logan ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up on end. "When do we leave and what do we take to get there? Scott's a bitch about his car and my bike won't fit three."
"I trust you to figure that one out Logan. You leave in the morning. Now, go get some sleep."
[~ indicates telepathic communications]
Back at home, Riley avoided Tria's questions about how she arrived home so early and was she dating and if so, why she didn't know and headed up the stairs to her room. She made a mouth out of her hand and imitated Tria, bobbing and shaking the hand like Tria would shake her head. It made her grin and remembering Cail's look when she had told him that she had actually tried to do homework ended up in her rolling on the ground, tears of mirth streaming down her face. She composed herself and set to work writing a paper for her creative writing class. It was about the only class she wasn't failing and the only one she actually liked. She found that using her dreams was a good way to earn full credit on the essays. Of course, she changed a few details, like actually being able to hear the conversations and added a few things. Overall, it worked out to her favor.
Sooner than expected, Tria called her down for dinner. As usual, there was silence at the table, only punctuated by the clatter of their forks colliding with their plates. Riley excused herself halfway through, saying she was tired and wanted to head to bed early. It was actually an experiment she wanted to try. If she went to bed and slept a little before she went to meet Cail at the park, maybe she would dream. It was the only way she had ever dreamed before so she figured she'd try the system.
She lay down on her bed and stared at the ceiling for a little while, listening to the radio until she fell asleep.
She was walking along the corridors of the mansion she had dreamed about all the other times. The halls were deserted and she wandered around, looking for something or someone. Interestingly, the hole that she had seen formed was still in the wall. Stepping through it, she came across a group of five people. The man in the wheelchair and the guy with sunglasses, along with the woman who had been with the guy in the wheelchair when the choppers had been blown away were there, along with two others Riley hadn't seen before, a guy and a girl. The guy had his arm around the girl and all five of them were watching the horizon.
Riley walked up to the man in the wheelchair and tapped his shoulder, expecting nothing to happen, like the other times. Instead, he turned to face her and said, "Glad you could make it. Go stand over there next to Bobby and stay quiet." Riley nodded and turned towards the boy who had waved at her, the one with the girl and stood there, watching the horizon like everyone else.
A speck appeared, approaching fastly. She glanced at the others to see if they were as disturbed as she was, but all of them were calm and not a one was looking at her. She turned back to the speck, which had now become a slightly defined aircraft of sorts. As she watched, it transformed into a jet of some kind and landed a small ways away from the assembled group. Two people strode down the landing ramp towards the group. Riley tensed involuntarily and forced her muscles to relax. This was a dream. She couldn't get hurt.
The two walked calmly towards them and Riley could see them then. One was all blue, with seemingly red hair who seemed not to be clothed. The other had on a helmet of some sort and a billowing red cloak. Riley arched an eyebrow and turned to the man in the wheelchair. He seemed composed as did the two next to him. Bobby and his girl, on the other hand, were a little tenser. The helmeted man approached the wheel chaired man and nodded.
"Charles. You think this small force can stand up to Mystique and myself?" Still composed, the newly named Charles returned the nod.
"Yes, actually, Erik. I believe they will be sufficient enough to convince you to return to you lair and think over your plans. They have some flaws you have not thought over." The man named Erik raised his eyebrows slightly and frowned.
"I think not, but we shall see." He motioned to Mystique and she nodded and walked stiffly back to the jet. He followed.
"We'll be back, Charles. In force."
Riley woke up and shook her head clear of the remnants of the dream and glanced at her clock. "Shit," she muttered. "Cail's gunna kill me." She rolled off her bed and crept out of the house, taking her bike instead of walking; she was late.
Cail was pacing in front of the fountain when Riley rode up. She apologized profusely and he accepted it, giving her his standard greeting when they met here, a hug. She returned it and they sat down.
"Why're you so late?" he asked, wrapping his arms around his knees. Riley watched a chipmunk for a while before answering.
"I wanted to test something."
"Test what?"
"My theory." Cail sighed.
"Your theory on what?" he asked slowly.
"On my dreams." Cail smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand.
"Riley, I thought you didn't want to dream those again."
"Didn't. Key word there. I just wanted to test this little hunch I had about my dreams. I was right," Riley said, picking at a leaf.
"You were right about what? Honestly, Riley. You're dropping hints and never a real clue here." He sighed. "Remember that I'm a guy and the first thing to remember about a guy is."
"That guys are oblivious," Riley finished for him, grinning.
"Right. Now, will you please tell me what you have been trying to tell me?" Riley laughed and nodded.
"Sure. Okay, see you know how I've been having the dreams and whatnot. Well, I thought, since the only time I've been able to have them was before I met you here, then that might be the only time I can have them. So, I decided to test that. That's all there is to it." Cail nodded.
"Riley, what did you see this time?"
"A bunch of people met two others that came out of a jet. They talked and one said something about coming back in force."
"Wait. I though you said last time that you couldn't hear the people."
"Guess it changed. I can't predict dreams. No one can."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~Logan.~
"God, Xavier. Can't you just talk like normal people?" Logan growled, upset at having been disturbed from his sleep.
~We have a new mutant, previously undetected because she didn't use her powers. Meet me at Cerebro.~
Logan grumbled a bit but obeyed, yawning all down the corridors. He blinked a couple times as he came to the metal door that housed Cerebro and knocked, not knowing what else to do. The door only opened to Charles's retina scan. It swooshed open, Xavier having opened it from the inside. He beckoned Logan in and he walked in, gazing around. He had been in the room before, but it never ceased to awe him at its scope. Xavier wheeled to the end of the tier and placed Cerebro on his head.
"There," he said, pointing to the new bright red dot in lower New York. "That's her."
"So tell me why you didn't notice her before," Logan yawned, studying the dot.
"Because she never voluntarily used her powers before. Just this night, she performed an 'experiment' to see when she dreamed, which is when I noticed her. Logan, I want you to take Rogue or Bobby and extend to her an invitation to join the school. I believe she might be a valuable asset."
"A'ight. But why Rogue or Bobby? Why not Scott or Storm? They're more experienced."
"Exactly. We don't want to frighten the poor child before she has a chance to decide. Rogue and Bobby will be able to help her because they are closer to her age. Don't underestimate them. And, I thought it might be good to give you some time with them to learn how they react to things." Xavier smiled and wheeled out, followed closely by Logan.
Logan ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up on end. "When do we leave and what do we take to get there? Scott's a bitch about his car and my bike won't fit three."
"I trust you to figure that one out Logan. You leave in the morning. Now, go get some sleep."