X-Men Evolution: Rogue Evolution

Nightmare 8.4

"How are you feeling, Anna? Not too hot or too cold?"

Anna stared at the smooth wood-paneled ceiling of the library. She could feel the heat of the fireplace licking the souls of her feet, and the reassuring weight of the blanket pressing down on the length of her body. The couch was like a little nest made of cushions and on the coffee table to her right was a sweating bottle of water she hadn't cracked into just yet.

"I'm okay. Tired. Honestly, I could just about fall asleep here."

"Understandable, but it would be helpful if you tried to keep conscious." Anna heard the whining electric whistle from Xavier's wheelchair as he moved around the couch and popped open the door to the hallway. "Excellent. I'm glad you were able to come."

Anna couldn't see much from her tucked-in position on the couch, but she could just hear the carpeted floor flatten beneath treading feet. A moment later Jean's blazing red hair illuminated by the fire came into view as she sat on the coffee table. "Hello, Anna. How are you?"

Anna blinked, "Confused." She craned her head in the direction she thought Xavier was. "Hey, I thought you said this was just going to be you and me."

"Jean will be acting as our intermediary." Xavier came into view at Jean's flank. "She will be watching over us both and step in if things were to get out of control in any way."

"Do you... anticipate that happening?"

"No," Xavier dawned a pair of gloves he had kept in the pocket of his slacks. "I've done this a number of times and never had an incident. Still, it doesn't hurt to be prepared." He looked at Jean and she began to shed her oversized turquoise earrings. "It's important that you remember, Anna, that everything we are about to do only exists in your mind. What you see and feel isn't real, and should you want to end prematurely, you need only ask."

Anna swallowed, "alright."

Xavier nodded at Jean and then rolled his chair till he was positioned facing the armrest of the couch where Anna's head lay. "Jean, are you ready?"

Jean crossed her legs on the coffee table, took her time on a long inhale, then exhaled slowly through her mouth. "Ready, professor."

"Anna, I'm going to rest my fingers on your temples. When I do, I'd like you to close your eyes and bring that dream to mind."

Anna did as ordered, and when she opened her eyes next she was surrounded by an inky blackness laid heavy with fog. When she looked up she was the sky above a canvas of glistening stars. "My god." When she spoke, a cloud of hot air escaped her lips and she recognized the icy tingle of winter air goose-pimple her skin. She took a step forward and heard something crunch beneath her boot. When she glanced down, she found she was standing on a long wide bridge covered in snow glazed over with ice. Long ruts in the form of tire tracks and been pressed down into the older dirty compacted snow.

Anna felt her hand wrap around her throat. "Oh my god, I'm here. This is the place."

"Remember," declared Xavier's almighty voice around her. "None of this is real. This is just a construct in your mind. What you see and feel here is just in your imagination."

She walked to the edge of the bridge and leaned over the side. A dark gushing river was spilling over great jagged rocks just beneath.

"Anna, pull the woman from your dream to the forefront of your mind."

Without having to even think about it, Anna was the woman running across the bridge again. The difference was this time, she could feel how heavy and wet the jacket was she was wearing. She spotted the strange patches on the upper arms that looked to belong to some sort of military outfit. A long black skirt was fighting against her legs and ankles as she ran and her red hair felt matted against her head. Then, there was of course her baby pressed against her chest. She could feel his little hands pressing against her skin and the heat radiating from his head under her coat.