It was a pleasant evening, the night sky a light with thousands of sparkling stars against the ebon night sky. Scott Summers was on top of the world.
Or at least, in Paris, the most romantic city in the world. He could see the Eiffel Tower from here, but that wasn't where his attention was focused. It was on the gorgeous red-headed woman across from him, in a brilliant, sparkling green strapless dress that molded against her figure. And he could finally see her, his sunglasses gone. He could see her ivory-white skin, her crimson-red hair, and her brilliant green eyes in crystal clarity.
Her attention shifted to the menu between them, and Scott reluctantly turned his from gazing at her to his own, deciding on what to eat. He didn't want to appear too eager, after all. Romantic. Girls like romantic. Not just any girl, he reminded himself. Jean Grey.
Suddenly a tiny blast of optic red energy lanced from his eyeballs, slicing through the menu as he blinked, watching in confusion. That wasn't supposed to happen. How did...?
His question was interrupted as another optic blast shot into their table, leaving a nice, smoking hole. Belatedly Scott closed his eyes, checking the pockets of his expensive suit for his ruby quart sunglasses.
"Scott? Is something wrong?" asked Jean, leaning forward in curiosity.
"I... I don't know," he replied. "I just..."
Suddenly a blast of optic energy ripped outward, and Scott was unable to keep his eyes clsoed. The bright, brilliant blast of energy rocketed out of his head before he could cover his eyes, and was headed right towards...
"JEAN!!"
A millisecond, and it was over. The brilliant red energy shot straight through Jean's body, slicing clean through her delicate bone, muscle, and skin and right out her back, even as Scott covered his eyes with his hands, desperate to contain the raw red energy that was seeping forth around his fingers. Besides, he admitted privately to himself, the back of his eyelids was a much more pleasant sight to see Jean's emerald green dress stained with blood.
"Jean?! Oh god I'm coming, hold on..." he shouted, even as the room filled with screams and various curses. He ignored them all, as he blindly reached forward with one hand, his other clamped firmly over his eyes, seeking Jean. He couldn't find her. He needed to hurry, she could be badly hurt. She could be dying for all he knew. He needed to find her. "Help! Somebody help me! I can't see!!"
"Big bro!" came a voice. "It's okay I got her!"
"Alex? What're you doing here?" asked Scott, raising his head and making his way forward, towards his little brothers voice. This proved to be a mistake, as he suddenly tripped over an overturned chair and fell forward. Instinctively his hands came down to brace his fall, even as he realized his error, and sought to correct it, but it was far too late. Again ruby-red energy poured from his forced open eyes, slicing through the unsuspecting body of his blonde-haired brother...
"Noooo!!"
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The door broke down easily, and Wolverine rushed in, placing a hand on Scott's shoulder to keep him down, he was tossing and turning.
"Easy Cyke, wake up... its just a nightmare..." he said, even as Scott continued to thrash wildly. "Wake up! Just wake up," he added, giving Scott a less than gentle tap to rouse him. It did no good. He continued to cry out, shouting Jean and his brother's name and a number of other things, but none of it made any sense. Whatever it was, it didn't sound pleasant.
Charles? Something's seriously wrong with Scott, he projected to the Professor mentally.
That's when the others started screaming.
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Kitty smiled, dipping gracefully through the air, swooping and laughing with happiness, free as the birds who flapped their wings alongside her, envious of her ability to fly without need of wings. Angel would be jealous, she thought with a giggle, as she somersaulted through the air and swooped down along the cloud cover. Diving through the thick white clouds she lifted back up again, her brown ponytail flowing back behind her, brushing against the back of her pink sweater. She couldn't even feel the cold at being so high up, just the cool wind against her face as she closed her eyes and flew upwards.
Suddenly the wind beneath her body suddenly was above her body, and her stomach lurched as she started to plummet. She screamed, as she dove down into the clouds and emerged on the other side, the landscape below her rushing up to meet her as the high speed stole the breath from her lungs.
Dimly, she noticed she slowed as the ground hurried up to meet her, slowing gradually, barely, slowly, until she just barely smacked down onto the ground. Apart from feeling a great deal of pain otherwise uninjured. No broken bones, no shattered limbs, and most importantly, she hadn't had her entire body liquefied by the impact.
"Oh thank god," she whispered, bending down to kiss the ground thanks for sparing her life. Except when she did, it tasted like something else... not hard and dry... but soft and wet... like... Kitty drew her head back, and almost wretched in horror.
Worms!
Worms forming a pair of lips, which grinned up at her.
"Hey pretty-kitty..." they said, with a voice she knew all too well. Kitty screamed, backing up fearfully, as the ground beneath her shifted, reshaping, into the likeness of Lance Alvers, in his battle gear. His body was made of dirt and grass, but it was unmistakably his features. Though he looked much more malevolent than the Lance Alvers Kitty knew.
"I told you couldn't run... and now I get to rock your world!" he said, laughing wickedly as he stretched out his hands, fingers spread, and stomped the ground, making it shake all around Kitty. Deep crevices split into the earth, and Kitty fell right into one, screaming all the way down...
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"Kitty... Kitty... wake up... Kitty..." said Hank, shaking her shoulder as she tossed and turned in her sleep, moaning in pain. But despite all his efforts, Hank could not waken her.
Hank. Gather the students affected and bring them down to the medical bay. We can more closely observe them there.
Understood.
Hank gently picked up Kitty, who looked pathetically fragile in his great blue arms, and carried her with him respectfully to the medical center. Along the way, he took Scott from Logan, who moved on to respond to the next dreamer.
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Jean walked the halls of Bayville High. It was dark, the lights were out, and only a minimum of light poured in from the windows.
"Hello?" she whispered softly. Her voice echoed down the empty hallways, along the cold metal of the lockers. "Is anyone here?"
An eerie music filled the hallway as she moved on, searching for signs of life. For anyone. It was so terribly dark here, and lonely. She shivered, rubbing her arms in a futile attempt to retain body warmth. Warmth that seemed to be leeched out of her body by the cold emptiness of Bayville High.
Suddenly one of the door opened, and Jean froze, watching fearfully. It had opened out towards her, so she could not yet see who lay behind it. For some reason however, a sudden chill ran down her spine.
"He... hello?" she whispered quietly.
A laughter answered her, a jolly, out-of-place laughter, as the person in question came into view. A dark, wicked looking clown, laughing evilly, its features distorted beyond what any normal human being could achieve. Its evil features painted garish reds and whites as it laughed more, moving in towards Jean, its arms outstretched.
The red-head gave a shriek, turning to run, as fast as she could down the dark hallway of the school. The clown followed, no faster than a walking pace, yet whenever Jean glanced over her shoulder she could still see it behind her, no further away than before. She added on speed. Suddenly another dark clown, this one much taller, laughing evilly, appeared in her path, and she ducked down a T-intersection to avoid it, now with both clowns following her... and they were gaining on her rapidly.
Finally she hit a dead end, watching in horror. She stretched out her hand, trying to push them back with her telekinesis, but her efforts failed, and the clowns found only amusement in this. They kept laughing evilly as they advanced on Jean, and she was utterly helpless.
The corridor suddenly burst into open flames, engulfing the clowns, but stopping just short of Jean Grey, as the clowns melted away into nothingness in the inferno. A dark figure stepped into view, hidden partially by the flames as Jean watched in horror. What new evil had replaced the old?
The figure stepped into view, the flames lighting the dark figures face, though they did not touch her, as if afraid to do so. Her, yes -her-, face framed by a mane of red hair that Jean recognized all too well, having seen it often enough in her own mirror.
It was Jean herself.
She wore a tight fitting uniform similar to Jean's own, but no red X's adorned the shoulders, no green stripe graced the middle of front and back. Instead the symbol of a golden bird adorned the darker Jean's chest, and a equally golden sash was wrapped around her slender waist, billowing in an unseen wind.
"Who... who are you?" whispered Jean fearfully, backing up against the wall she'd been corned against.
"I am Jean Grey," replied her darker counterpart. "I am that which gives you your power. I am what makes you beyond any human or mutant on this pitiful planet.
Jean started to protest, but the words impacted her so deeply, she could think of no reply to her counterpart. "Now..." she beckoned, and Jean felt herself rise up into the air, floating slowly towards her darker self. "Come and be one with me... embrace the power that is rightfully yours."
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Jean was quieter than most of the other patients lined out in the ward, but she still tossed and turned fitfully. Beside her, Scott and Kitty had been sedated to keep them under control, and their former screams and thrashings had been reduced to simple moans of discomfort. Still, it was but a temporary solution at best.
The night went on, and the dreams got worse. And more patients joined those in the infirmary.
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Author's Notes:
Horrifying, isn't it? Poor Scott, Kitty and Jean. Next chapter: Kurt, Ororo and Rogue's nightmares. Much, much more horror to come, as I have particularily evil plans in store for those three.
Kinomi: Oh you'll see soon enough, Kinomi-chan.
Todd fan: Glad you like, and I know, it must be a pain not being able to see the new episodes where you live. I feel your pain.
Rogue14: Believe you me, it is about to get better.