Runaways: Book II

IV

Darkness, uniform and solid, enfolded me. Then a trickle of silver light dripped down to layer the black in a feeble glow.
I tilted my head upwards and saw an incomplete moon, half-faded as if someone had taken a bite out of it like a juicy red apple.
This was the first dream without the exploding house I'd had since I left.
I was barefoot, stepping in something that felt like a mixture between grass and velvet, with my foot sinking into the softness with every step.
A hand touched the back of my shoulder, sending calm energy into my body.
I turned and Peter was there. His face was the only thing visible among the dark.
He pressed his palm against my cheek, smiled with the deep dimples that carved his face and said my name,
"___..."

My eyes abruptly opened to the sensation of Hank shaking me awake.
His claws were protruding and his skin was faintly tinted blue, a sign his dose of mutation suppressant was struggling hard to combat his strong wind of emotions.
He had a panicked energy, but relaxed a little when he realized I was no longer sleeping. He breathlessly sat on the floor beside the bed.
I was sweating, and I looked down at my trembling hands. I glanced back up towards the wall in front of me, which was now non-existent and smoking from whatever my hands had done during the tremor. It was ten times stronger than any tremor I had had before.
Hank closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his claws retracting back into his fingers as he released air out through his mouth.
"There was this big flash of light," he began.
"I saw it and came rushing in, and there were these...these glowing energy streams throughout the room. Next thing I know an energy surge flew from your fingertips and to the wall in front of you."
I put my hand to my sweaty forehead,
"Are...are you okay, Hank?"
He nodded his head,
"I'm okay. I just need to take another dose for the blue to totally fade away."
I was silent for a moment before questioning,
"Did I say anything?"
"Nothing that made any sense."
"Like what?"
"You kept shouting for someone named Peter."
My eyes went wide with trepidation and I repeated shaking my head,
"No...no this can't happen."
My feet involuntarily darted out of the room and into the hall. Hank hurriedly took off running after me, calling out,
"Slow down! What are you doing?"
I walked down the elaborate staircase and turned, dashing into the lab. I quickly grabbed the needle full of mutation suppressant and stabbed it into my forearm.
Hank stopped in the doorway, watching as the liquid flowed into my vein. I drew out the empty needle and set it on the metal table.
I felt the serum travel up my arm and into my chest and fill my brain with a comforting numbness. I couldn't sense any living thing's emotions.
Not even my own.
To explain it in human terms, experiencing my powers is like always bearing this constant, relentless weight on your shoulders, but now...
Now, the weight had evaporated into nothing.

                                            *

The mid-afternoon sun shone in through the tall glass windows. I stood over one of the wooden library tables and flipped through a massive phone book, scanning the pages for Dorchester Medical Research Center.
I was startled by the sudden voice of Professor Xavier.
"What'd you bloody do to my wall?" he asked in his British accent.
Normally, I would have been able to sense his energy coming toward me, but now I could only rely on my normal senses.
He stood in the doorway, with his eyes bloodshot and an empty bottle of liquor in his left hand.
"I'm sorry, Professor. My powers got out of hand last night. They're under control now."
"Good. The last thing we need is another mutant for some godforsaken human to piss on."
The Professor (more so the shell of him) turned and carried on his way.  Even without my powers I could sense the sadness and pain of his energy.
I returned back to my search and eventually found the information to contact the center Bo was being held at. It was a couple hours outside of Washington D.C, and Peter too for that matter.
I knew that Bo had told me to bring Peter, too. But I had no doubt in my mind the the moment I saw him I would never leave. So I began to devise a plan to break Bo out on my own.
It's just the way things had to be from then on.