A/N: Read the note at the end.
Peter had been running around the grounds of the mansion to blow off steam before bed. He did that every night or else he'd be plagued with insomnia. He had always been a night person in general but after the events in Egypt…it formed into an actual problem.
He wasn't one to actually confront his issues...but this was one he just couldn't escape. Every night his mind replayed the events that unfolded that day.
It was the first time he feared for his life.
The air was thick. The combined heat of the sun and surrounding fires smothered him. Every detail was as vivid as the day it occurred. Peter remembered the force of the ancient mutant's hand. The way he snarled. His conceit. His disdain. The mutant valued Peter's life no more than he did the dirt he stood upon.
Peter heard his bones crack.
It was the worst sound he had ever heard. Without a shadow of doubt…it would all end that day.
The dream always ended the same way…with his death. The only people who knew about it were Charles and Jean, but there wasn't much he could do about that…they knew everything. Jean often helped when it got too unbearable. She had been plagued with nightmares her whole life and knew the fear of sleep all too well.
Peter started to make his way back to the mansion, figuring he'd done enough running for the night. The world blurred past him until he finally made it inside. He zoomed up the stairs and turned the corner only to find someone hunched over on the ground. Their face was covered by a mane of thick dark hair, but he soon realized who it was.
He stopped in front of her and returned to normal speed. "Carolyn?"
She looked up with a dazed expression. Peter noticed a thick stream of blood running from her nose. He immediately kneeled beside her.
"Carolyn…what happened?" He said, gently pulling hair away from her face. Incoherent mumbling was her only response.
"Alright uh…" he said, running a hand through his hair, "let's get you to the professor and figure this out. Can you walk?"
She nodded slowly before taking Peter's hand and allowing him to pull her to her feet. She blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes before turning to Peter. "What happened?" she asked.
"Hey how should I know dude…I just found you hunched over on the floor all dramatic-like. I figured something had to be up. Do you not remember anything?" he asked.
"I do I just…I don't understand." She said, furrowing her brow.
"Charles will know what to do," He said as he led her down the hall, "Let's go find him okay?" As they walked down the moonlit hall…Peter noticed something. At first glance, he didn't register anything unusual, but after a while he realized something was different about her. He stopped walking and just stared unsure of what he was looking at.
"What? Why are you staring at me like that?" she said with a sideways glance.
"Well," he started to suppress a laugh, "You've got quite the bride of Frankenstein look goin on there." He said, nodding at her head.
"What?" her hands flew to her head and felt around, "What are you talking about?" She asked, her voice filled with panic.
Before he could explain, Charles, Hank, and Jubilee appeared at the end of the hall.
"CAROLYN!" Jubilee screeched as she ran towards her, "THERE YOU ARE!" Jubilee wrapped her arms around Carolyn and squeezed her in a tight embrace. She stood stiff as a board unsure of how to react before quickly returning the hug.
"Miss Curtis are you alright?" Charles said as he made his way towards them, "Jubilee said you disappeared. In front of her, might I add?"
Carolyn turned to Charles, "Professor…I'm not sure what happened. I remember it but…I can't explain it."
"May I take a look?" He said, tapping the side of his temple. Carolyn nodded. It was a long while before he spoke again. Finally, the concentration left his eyes and he looked up to Carolyn.
"I think we should talk." He said, still clearly mulling over what he saw, "Jubilee why don't you head back to your room? It's late and I believe you have an algebra test in the morning…do you not?" He gave her a knowing look.
Jubilee sighed, "Yes professor." She gave one last glance to Carolyn before returning to her room.
Charles turned to Peter, "You might as well go to bed too. Miss Curtis and I need to have a chat." Peter stared at Carolyn for a moment before finally nodding his head.
"Alright," he then pointed to Carolyn, "But you're tellin' me everything tomorrow. Got it?"
Carolyn nodded, "I will."
"See you tomorrow then." Peter declared. He quickly disappeared, leaving behind a small gust of wind.
"This way then." Charles said as he turned his wheelchair around.
Charles and the other man, who she learned was named Hank, led her to an elevator. It took them downstairs and after navigating the dark halls they arrived at the professor's office. Hank flipped on the light and Charles wheeled to his desk.
He motioned to one of the arm chairs, "have a seat."
Carolyn slowly sat down and pulled her knees to her chest. Worry plagued her mind as she stared at the dark wooden floors. Her eyes began to trace the patterns on the adjacent carpet.
"Carolyn, from what you told me about your mutation when you arrived," the professor straightened some papers on his desk as he spoke, "is it right for me to assume traveling to the future was not previously in your repertoire of talents."
Carolyn's head shot up and her eyes went wide, "Is that what happened?"
The professor nodded, "It seems to be the only logical explanation. For the moment I'm not too concerned about what you're doing..." he reached forward and handed her a tissue while tapping at his own nose, indicating the blood that still dripped from her nostrils, "I'm more concerned about what it's doing to you."
Carolyn wiped up what she could, while holding her head back, before stuffing the tissue up inside her nose and leaving it there. She probably looked ridiculous, but at the moment, she didn't care.
"Hank is here because when you traveled forward in time, he picked up energy readings that we've only seen in a handful of instances."
Hank nodded while moving closer to them, "The energy signatures themselves are unique…I've never seen anything like them. In fact they differ from the ones I was able to pick up from the Harvard incident." Carolyn bit her lip anxiously at the mention of Harvard.
"But…what does any of that mean? I don't understand." She said, running her hand through her hair, still wondering what Peter was talking about earlier in the hall.
"Honestly? I have no idea. The only thing I do know is that the energy is large and unique." Hank said.
"I'm truly sorry but we have no answers. But what I do know is that we need to get a handle on these outbursts as soon as possible." The professor noted her worried expression, "For all we know it could be nothing. We haven't even examed you physically, which we'll do after this, but with the bloody nose and the hair..."
"What about my hair? Why does everyone keep saying there something wrong with my hair?" she said frantically.
Charles then rummaged through his drawers for a moment before pulling out a small handheld mirror. He reached over his desk and placed it in her hand. Carolyn quickly raised the mirror to her face and gave it a sideways glance, fingering at her hair and squinting.
She was horrified.
Her beautiful black curly hair now held streaks of pure white throughout. Carolyn wasn't one to be vain but she loved her hair. More than anything about herself.
And now it was ruined.
A deep frown grew on her face as she stared into the mirror for what seemed like forever, only growing more dissatisfied as time went on.
The professor finally broke the silence, "Well, if it makes you feel any better, at least you didn't lose it..."
A/N: Alright guys here's the thing...this was supposed to be uploaded with two other chapters...but my computer didn't save them. I'm using google docs now but I'm literally so angry...girl you don't even know. So please, for the love of all things good and holy, be patient. I'm trying to recreate them without them sounding sloppy. Pray 4 my ass. I nearly physically fought my god damn laptop. So this one is SUPER short but trust me so much is to come. I'm just really putting a lot of work into it because I noticed some mistakes in the first two chapters and I was angry at myself. So it's gonna take a little bit for the next couple chapters to cook because I want them to be perfect. But just know...this story is gonna be LONG. I have like 15 pages that are just pure charts and planning so I don't forget anything because a lot is about to go down in the future chapters. Not gonna get into specifics obviously but just be prepared. If you think this is gonna be a carefree fun story you are MISTAKEN!
ALSO shout out to everyone who reviewed! I appreciate any and all feedback good or bad. I'm really just writing fic to improve my writing so I am sooo beyond grateful for those reviews!