QUICKSILVER X RAVEN QUEEN

The Cold

PROFESSOR X'S POV

This cold had been bothering me for five bloody days. All day I just laid in bed and stared at the ceiling. I stopped sleeping, afraid my dreams may haunt me as they did the other night. The thought of losing Raven got to my head pretty bad.

Hank arrived with my morning coffee. "Feeling better, I hope." He said, placing the coffee tray on the drawer by my bed.

"Ah, yes. Much better now." I stretched out my arms and yawned.

"You think you're ready to get back to being Principal-?"

"NO!" My yell boomed through the halls and fro. Hank had been the nicest person I had ever met, yet I treated him like dirt. "My apologizes, Hank. I just can't stop thinking about that dream."

"Me, neither. Which is why I've been working on something that'll help you get them back."

"You made me a dream catcher?"

"Of course not. Something way more promising." Hank gave me a reassuring smiles and scattered out the room. "I'll be right back with the blueprints."

******

When Hank returned, he had a blue roll in his hand. He bedded it on the nearest table and separated the ends to reveal its insides. I sat at the far beginning of the bed and watched as Hank admired his work.

"Okay. Okay. These blueprints contain the formula for Highly Enhanced Telepathic Programming Alteration. Also known as HETPA. She is systemic with the latest mind mechanism on the planet. In fact, no one-"

I just stared at him with boring eyes and rubbed my face. "Get on with it, Hank."

"My point is: this could machine can not only ensure the safety of your dreams, but also the training of your thoughts."

I slowly lifted my head from the pillow. "Did you say, 'Train your thoughts'?" Hank bobbed his head up and down in positivity.

"How does this thing of yours work?"

"It's simple, just like Cerebro. You connect your brainwaves to the computer through wiring tubes. Then the message received by the computer can be edited, and returned to your mind. Like echolocation."

"So it's a machine with the power to control people's daydreams."

"Precisely!" Hank dramatically acclaimed. I had to admire his enthusiasm for such fine arts such as brain science. Indeed, he was correct. NETPA could change the face of mankind forever. But if it were to get into the wrong hands....

"As jolly good as that sounds, I'll have to deny it." Hank's face went from glad to confused. "It's just too risky to be able to edit things into another's mind. What if something leaves and never comes back. I'm sorry, Hank, but no can do."

The horror in Hank's eyes was enough to make me feel even worse. "But, you can still update Cerebro."

"Yeah. I'll... I'll get right to it." And with that, Hank grabbed his blueprints and left. I could his footsteps as they departed from my room.

I let out a small sigh before drifting off to sleep.