Shift

Kite Sterling sat alone in his office several hours after closing hours. A few hours earlier he had received news that there wasn't much more that could be done for his daughter. The virus had wracked such a physical toll on her young body that it was rejecting most medications, and organ transplants were out of the question.

He was incredibly shaken. His mother had passed away when he was eighteen. His wife had died after contracting a mysterious virus that had also afflicted his daughter, who he was now in serious danger of losing. And to make matters even worse, his adopted sister, the one person he could truly confide in, had been acting increasingly erratic.

After their mother's death, Stella withdrew into herself even more, shutting out the world to focus on her creations. And she was brilliant, he had to admit. Tony Stark had even offered her an apprenticeship. But her personality seemed to have undergone a dramatic shift. She became paranoid, refusing to show Kite most of her work except for the ones she sold to Stark Industries. When she wasn't studying, she was building something. He couldn't recall the last time he had seen her just hanging out with friends. It was as if she was becoming obsessed with whatever she was making.

When Jessica had died and Amelia got sick, her behavior got even worse. She hardly ever came home anymore, preferring the solitude of her lab to the family mansion. She started drinking and spending time in shady places. Sometimes he didn't see her for months at a time. When he did, it was usually at the hospital when she came to visit Amelia.

*He had seen her earlier that afternoon, when the doctor gave him the news. She had listened silently, not saying a single word for a long time. Her jaw was clenched and her eyes seemed to flash as she paced back and forth. Then she suddenly stopped.

"It's not too late, Kite. I can save her." Kite had stared at her in disbelief.

"What are you talking about? Doctor Cox just said there wasn't anything more we could do."

"Maybe you can't. But I can. I've been working on something special for her. It's almost complete. We won't ever lose anyone ever again. Before Kite could ask her what that was supposed to mean, she quickly left, leaving Kite confused and extremely worried.*

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Kite looked up, startled. The receptionist had left a few hours earlier, and the night-time janitor wouldn't arrive for another thirty minutes. He opened the door. A blue-furred man in a suit stood in front of him, along with a tall man with a red visor.

"I'm Hank McCoy and this is Scott Summers. We're from the Xavier Institute. We're here to talk to you about your sister. May we come in?"

Somehow, that really didn't surprise him.

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Sophie went to bed early that night with a killer migraine. She had managed to avoid most of Eva's questions, and the teachers seemed to be too busy with something to ask her about her little adventure. Maybe if she laid low long enough they would forget about it.

Still, she couldn't forget what her sister had said. "All will be revealed in time." What was that supposed to mean? Why did she leave so quickly when the X-men were about to show up? And how did she even know that they would anyway? Maybe she really was a stalker.

She tossed and turned for what seemed like ages. The pounding in her head grew worse, and then the visions began.

The woods were deep and dark. Branches and thorns snagged and scratched at her. Her lungs felt like they were about to give out, and she knew there was no escape.

She stumbled over a rock and landed on her knees. She looked up to see three shadowy figures towering over her.

"Please don't hurt me!" She begged, shrinking back.

"Of course not, child. The Master would be very displeased if we were to do that. However... " He reached out and placed a gloved hand on her head.

She was frozen in fear, unable to move or run away. The other two strangers began chanting something that she couldn't quite understand. Her head started to spin, and there was a blinding light. Then she began to fall, down, down, down down...

"Take her to the city. She must not remember us until the time is right. Go." A deep, dark voice commanded, the last thing she heard as she fell into a dark abyss.