Chapter 2

It was almost 7AM when Cecilia left, and suddenly Kitty was alone with the mysterious mutant.

"I guess it's just you and me now," she muttered, although she may as well have been talking to the machine monitoring his vitals or the IV drip that was pushing fluids into him. He was still unconscious.

Beep, beep, beep…

She brought her chair closer to the man's bedside and continued to stare creepily at him. She had a million questions and absolutely no answers. Who was he? Why was he here? Was he a friend or a foe? What was that thing on his arm?

At least Hank was down the hall in his lab attempting to answer that last one.

What if this was the start of something huge? She'd been a member of the X-Men long enough to know shit like this didn't happen for no reason. At the Xavier Institute, strangers didn't just drop by unannounced to say hello, certainly not strangers that looked like they could be coming right off the set of a zombie apocalypse movie.

The doors to the medical bay slid open again. Kitty glanced over her shoulder and saw Bobby walking toward her with two cups. She hoped they were full to the brim with steaming hot coffee and that one of them was for her.

"Hey, how is he?" the ice mutant said gently and handed her one of the cups.

"Thanks," she replied and took a small, testing sip. "Still no change."

The drink was dark and bitter, exactly how she preferred it. She gave Bobby a warm, appreciative grin.

"I'm guessing you haven't gotten much more studying done," Bobby pointed out. At least he had the decency to look a little guilty.

Kitty laughed softly.

"Do you think this could qualify as a family emergency? I could maybe get an extension," she joked half-heartedly. "Or maybe I'll just flunk out and stay here, mooch off the Professor forever," she added with a dramatic sigh, dragging her fingers through her long brown hair.

Bobby pulled a second chair over and plopped down next to his teammate and longtime friend.

"We could definitely use a telepath right about now, huh?" he said, giving the unconscious mutant a quick once-over. "Find out what this guy is all about."

"Are they on their way?" Kitty wondered about the two telepaths on the team.

"Yeah, they shouldn't be long now. They were halfway across the Atlantic when we last checked in," Bobby replied. "It was a bust. She wanted nothing to do with us."

"Crap," Kitty shook her head, remembering what it was like to be a new mutant struggling to come to terms with her powers. It was absolutely terrifying, and she didn't have bullheaded politicians and anti-mutant protests to worry about back then. "At least they talked to her though. She knows that she's not alone, and if she ever wants to reach out for help, we'll be there."

"Yeah," Bobby sighed, leaned back in his seat and then just as quickly sat up straight again. "I think I saw him move… Yeah, look, he's waking up," he added.

Kitty was filled with a mixture of excitement and apprehension.

The unnamed mutant blinked a few times and tried to swallow. His movements were slow and sluggish, and then in one swift motion he sat bolt upright in bed. He immediately began pulling at the IV tube in his arm and wrestling with the heavy sheets that covered him up to the waist.

Kitty got to her feet and put a calming hand on his shoulder. She noticed how he flinched at her touch and, feeling bad, pulled her hand away. She decided to try a different approach. "Please, don't try to move, you're going to hurt yourself more… You're safe here, I promise," she told him, trying to keep her voice calm despite the wave of panic rushing through her.

He didn't even glance at her. It was like he wasn't seeing either one of them, hellbent on getting rid of the tubes and wires that were keeping him stuck to the bed.

"What's the time?" he asked urgently.

"Uh, it's… almost nine in the morning," Bobby replied, getting to his feet and moving a little closer to the stranger's bedside. Kitty noticed the way he positioned himself, hands raised slightly, ready to defend the group at a moment's notice if he needed to.

Before anybody was able to say anything else, Kitty heard the heavy metal doors of the medical bay slide open, followed by the familiar hum of an electric wheelchair, and then the reassuring voice of the Professor. Scott Summers and Jean Grey were standing behind him, both looking rather perplexed.

"It's 2023," Charles Xavier said, as if he'd been part of the conversation all along. "February 24th, to be precise."

By the look of distress and confusion on his face, Professor Xavier's answer clearly wasn't the one the wounded mutant was expecting — or wanted — to hear. Professor Xavier on the other hand was expressionless, his steely blue eyes peering into the other man's face.

He knew something.

"Shit, I—I'm way too early…" the mutant spoke again. "I didn't mean to—"

Kitty glanced toward Xavier again and noticed the way he was rubbing his temple. He looked to be in a lot of pain, and last time she checked the professor didn't get random migraines.

"Professor, what's going on?" she asked.

"I'm not quite sure yet," Xavier replied and wheeled himself closer to the bedside of the frantic mutant. "My name is Charles Xavier—"

"I know who you are," the stranger said softly, still not quite making eye contact with any of them. At least he seemed calmer now. "I know all of you," he added, still speaking directly to the Professor.

"I see," Charles said curiously. "I believe we're at a disadvantage in that case. We don't know who you are."

"I'm—" He hesitated just long enough for Kitty to notice. "I'm Indigo. I'm a member of the X-Men in 2049—"

What?

Kitty stared in disbelief.

"I know it sounds completely insane, but I came back to try and save my present — your future," the mutant — Indigo — went on, still speaking only to Xavier. "Where I'm from, there's barely anyone left. The war wiped us all out — mutants, humans, it didn't matter in the end. Professor Xavier, I know you can read my mind. You can see for yourself. I think you might be humanity's last hope."

Charles nodded.

"I've been having difficulty reading your thoughts," he admitted.

Again, what?!

The Professor was the most powerful telepath alive. If he couldn't—

"That could be the timespace dissonance — or whatever... I don't know… My teammate did mention it might mess with my head… people aren't meant to do what I did… but we had to try… You have to listen to me, I'm telling the truth…" Indigo went on, getting more and more agitated with every passing second. "I grew up around all of you. Cyclops. Your real name is Scott Summers! You led the X-Men for years. You're Jean Grey. You're a telepath and you survived the Phoenix Force… You're Bobby Drake — Iceman. You taught me math when I was a kid. And you're… Katherine Pryde."

Their eyes met for just a moment and then he looked away again. Kitty got a strange feeling from the odd way he spoke her name, as if there was something about her that made him uncomfortable.

"Let me get this straight," Bobby snorted. "You really want us to believe you're a time-traveler from the future?"

"Why are you so quick to disbelieve? Is time-travel such an impossible concept when we've already traveled to other planes of existence?" It was Hank, speaking from the open doorway of the medical bay. He had an iPad between his huge, blue fingers and a curious expression on his face.

"Well, no, I guess not," Bobby muttered, looking sheepish.

"I see you're finally awake," Hank turned his attention away from Bobby and instead addressed Indigo with a cheerful smile. "I'm afraid we ran a few tests while you were unconscious — one of them being an analysis of your DNA. I want to apologize for the invasion of privacy, but we had to be careful," Hank continued in the same friendly tone, as if discussing a book he'd enjoyed.

"Then if you know who I am, you know I'm telling the truth," Indigo replied.

"I believe so, yes," Hank nodded.