Awake and Fading

[Typhoid]

((Takes place after A Heart To Heart))

University was in full swing again, and Ty resumed her normal pattern of staying at the Mansion on weekends, and the university during the week. Her job at Spades was still going, and between rehearsals for the play she was in, plus schoolwork, she was going at full speed most of the time.

The problem began in class Monday morning, as she began to realize that other people in the room were staring at her during the lecture. The instructor stopped, asked her if she had a problem, scowling. At first she thought that perhaps she'd been daydreaming aloud or something mundane, until she looked down at herself, the transparent green glow of her body in it's alternate form blindingly apparent. She grew embarrassed, which made it worse, and instead of trying to revert back, she got up and passed through a row of students (who were surprised to say the least) and the nearest wall that separated the room off from the hallway, just to get out fast. It took her fifteen minutes to get back to her normal form.

One fluke was annoying, but two was...alarming. She made up her mind to talk to the Professor after the week was out, but by Wednesday, she knew she couldn't stay at the University. Her form grew increasingly harder to maintain, making classes impossible to attend for any more then a few hours during the day. The rest of the time she slept, the concentration and energy it took to maintain her solid form taking it's toll. It enabled her to get through rehearsals and work, but by Thursday night, she couldn't stay any longer, and took a cab back to Westchester.

It was midnight when she arrived, in jeans and a black shirt, the coat that Nimrod had given her wrapped around her. She rarely wore it anymore when she didn't need to for the sake of warmth; her powers had settled, somewhat, to a level she could control. Now the coat was, yet again, holding her together.

[The Man]

::The Professor was keeping long hours now that Ororo had returned, as he had to work in the medical laboratory, as well as teach his classes and tend to other duties at the Institute. He found himself awake long past midnight, in his office tending to grading he had been unable to complete due to the day. There was a thought disturbance, one of anxiety...Typhoid. Setting aside his book and his coffee mug, he wheeled from his office to the foyer.::

[Typhoid]

Paying off the cab, she hefted the one bag she'd brought with her over her shoulder, made sure the coat was zipped up, and went through the gates, coming in and closing the front door behind her as quietly as she could. It was the middle of the night, and this was still a school.

[The Man]

::The light was on in the hallway, providing the only illumination when she entered. The Professor spoke,:: "What happened?"

[Typhoid]

She didn't jump, having seen him there in the light as she walked in, and heard his heartbeat as she walked up to the door, but it still surprised her that he cut to the chase so quickly. "I should have called ahead," she said, evading the question for the moment.

[The Man]

"You would have woken the others," ::The Professor told her, which was a tacit way of informing her that she need not have called ahead. He asked again,:: "What happened?"

[Typhoid]

She took a breath, set down her bag for the moment. "I can't hold this form very long. I keep going transparent without trying. It's too dangerous for me to try to stay at uni," she said, giving the short version.

[The Man]

::The Professor absorbed that calmly, and asked,:: "How long has this been affecting you?"

[Typhoid]

She had to think about that. "It happened with Pietro a three and a half weeks ago," she said, after a minute. "Then began again Monday."

[The Man]

::This was the difficulty with older students, and ones in the newer batch; they did not seek the Professor out as readily as the younger ones and his first students. Three and a half weeks was far too long for an indication sign. He acknowledged that with a nod,:: Has anything happened to you recently? And would you care for some cocoa? You must be tired."

[Typhoid]

"Thanks, but...shouldn't this wait until morning?" She pulled her coat more tightly about her. "You've got to be as tired as I am."

[The Man]

"I will be awake either way," ::The Professor assured her. One night without sleep would hardly be his demise.:: "Come."

[Typhoid]

It wasn't in her to argue; he was a grown man and could monitor his own sleep. "Hot cocoa it is, then," she said, nodding. Her form flickered briefly, faded in and out, and then stabilized, the coat providing it's own protections for her.

[The Man]

::The Professor wheeled towards the kitchen with Typhoid in tow. They would continue this over cocoa, which was a familiar pattern at the Institute.::

[Typhoid]

"I feel like a TV that has bad reception," she said when they reached the kitchen, almost sounding annoyed with herself.