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(no subject)

Who: Charles Xavier + You
Broadcast: Video
Action: SS Heron
When: Right now!

[ The video starts with Charles sitting on his wheelchair, his hands neatly folded on his lap. He rubs faint circles on his legs for a few seconds, the only real sign of tension. ]

Hello. My names is Charles Xavier. I am a geneticist graduated from Oxford. I -- [ ran ] -- run a school in Westchester for the Gifted. Mutants. People with abilities. My focus is the training and control of abilities we do not always fully understand, abilities that are gifts but can often run amok.

[ He pauses, catching his second wind before continuing on, poised. ]

I am also a telepath with a full set of abilities in aiding the mind and extremely . . . proficient. I do not read minds without permission, because honestly, I really don't care.

[ Charles pauses again, wondering if he should say more and dismisses it. People can ask him if they need details - which they will. ]

If anyone would like to make use of my abilities and skills, they are certainly most welcome to. Confidentiality, of course, is key and you need not make anything public if you do not wish to. If you have any questions for me, the floor is open for you.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ The best lessons are the hardest, and it's good that we don't forget.

She's growing and changing and reshaping, and that's fine. She's glad of it, proud of it. Now, though, she tilts her head and glances over at him, fighting the urge to laugh a little awkwardly. She's not ashamed, exactly, but she does feel a little sheepish.

I get carried away sometimes. With my friends, here? I don't know. Maybe I should tell them the truth. ]

[ It's your decision. Charles can't do much else, though the urge to meddle is always strong. He's never stopped wanting to protect, to shield at the expense of himself. ]

[ I think I could handle telling them, as long as it wasn't... Someone beyond being special.

Someone like Gilgamesh, brilliant and bright and beautiful, or Dorian, or Nico or John. Those people she would likely never speak to for fear of breaking her heart beyond repair.

I've talked to you, haven't I? ]

[ I had to do a little encouragement of my own, he points out. But he can understand the feeling. For Erik, it had been Charles who had forgotten. He knew how painful it had been. On both sides.

I'm sure you'll find your way. ]

[ It's a little bit different when the person in question is a telepath, you know. She nudges him gently, her expression softening into something fond and gentle, her smile sweet. This is something she had missed, and some of the loneliness that had plagued her for so long fades away ever so slightly.

It's going to be an adventure. ]

[ Most things are, for a telepath, he replies, a faint tease. He's getting better at it, reconciling himself in little ways. He's far from at peace with it and there is a kernel of bitterness that will never be fully dislodged. But peace has come. It was bound to, at some point.

And you'll have many more to come. ]

[ You've always been a rather special thing. The tease is enough to make her brighten, and her eyes dance over his face, taking him in, as she resists the urge to just... Lay herself over him, both to comfort herself and as, in a way, to protect him. It's not easy being a telepath and all she wants to do is take care of him - all of the people she loves.

I just hope there's no more blood magic or soul-splitting. I've had enough of that. ]

[ I think this place is not engineered towards magic, he muses, overcast clouds in his perception. Though they definitely have safeguards against magic, being in space tends to make him dismiss the possibility of magic involved. The usual suspects for such work weren't anywhere to be seen and they could never resist taunting their prisoners. ]

[ Unfortunately. It's a bit of a difference from the Drabwurld where the only place technology worked was a tiny stretch of land called the Station. She shakes her head, considering for a moment before she leans back. At least I can still use mine, and I can still become a lioness if I wanted to. ]

[ Your magic, correct? Charles has no magic himself other than what was given to him. "Given" is a strong word there as well. It was their thanks for surviving a slaughter, a slaughter where Charles had to defend his team's worth against others. ]

[ The kind that I was born with, yes. I learned a lot more in the Drabwurld but I think Atroma has blocked it somehow, or taken it away. I know for a fact that my shard is gone, so that means I've lost my connection with home, but I'd like to think I'll get it back whenever we go home. Whenever that would be. Still, Hermione has hope and she's not too upset by the idea of trying to work it out. ]

[ They've done something similar to my abilities, he admitted. Though he's not sure if it's due to the ships, the vacuum of space or the implant. His range doesn't seem to be affected on the moon at least.

I'm sure they keep our valuables somewhere. ]

[ Considering a person needs to die in order to lose their shard... I hope they've just borrowed it. Not that she would be entirely upset with the loss of her shard forever, since she planned to stay in the Drabwurld anyway, but all the same... It was hers, not theirs. It was her choice what to do with it. ]

[ How do the shards work?

Charles' shards had been different. Pieces of his memories and skills he could remove at will. Even his paralysis could be dictated by the shards. Only towards the end, he decided to leave it there. There were worse things in the world than being trapped in a chair. ]

[ They were part of a huge gem, a giant green thing that had the power to literally wipe out all the worlds and restart them, to give them a new slate. That's what people were fighting for. The Unseelie wanted things to remain the same, but all our worlds would end up rotting away and dying. The Seelie wanted to use the gem to restart the worlds, in a way, to make them begin again and give them a fresh start.

Our shards, one for each person that was brought to fight, were in our chests and they were our connections to our home - our worlds. It's the shards that gave us power, and that's why we were brought; shardholders were incredibly dangerous once we learned how to use the power our shards gave us. Histories showed that shardholders could literally go into each other's minds and fight on that sort of battlefield, reshaping memories and destroying thoughts, manipulating people and exterminating them like that. I never learned how to use mine that far, but I don't think I'd have ever been able to do it.

Like I said, our shards were our connection to home, the thread that kept us tied to our worlds. Once we lost it - which happens when you die - there was no way for us to ever go home. ]

[ I doubt they would have lost something like that. It made sense for the Atroma to hold onto it. Charles didn't have many objects like that, other than his sun necklace which he left at the mansion. The Echoes kept different holds on people and once they were finished with their task, they were allowed to leave. That much held true.

The Atroma didn't have that guarantee, but he suspects it's the same there. ]

[ They took my sword, rapier and daggers, too, so I hope they've got those in a safe place. Some people have found things that belonged to them laying around on Stations, though, so... She hopes she doesn't wake up one day to find her shard laying around in a random place; she'd likely lose her mind.

At least they're only here for television. She can't complain too much about that.

I don't really need them, of course, but they were mine. It's not right. ]

[ No, it's not, he agrees. Though again, his natural curiosity takes over. Why take them? There's little they could do here. Was it protection for the Fleet in case incidents occured? They could simply cull all their abilities but have chosen not to.

His mind whirls on, jumping from one possibility to the next. ]

[ Hermione wonders, absently, if what she feels in her mind is Charles or herself, but she's soon shaking her head and tucking it away before she breathes out and leans back, blinking and focussing on her own thoughts and feelings.

Maybe they just didn't want to run the risk of us all fighting with each other. The people they've brought here seem nice enough so far, but you never know who might show up and turn things upside down. ]

[ It's possible, though still odd to Charles considering the different kind of abilities everyone possessed. He shakes his head.

I should break the connection, he said. It's been too long and he can tell that it's tiring her out. Tiring him out as well. He's out of practice. ]

[ Oh! Of course. Hermione shifts, moving back a little even as her hand stays close to his. She doesn't feel as tired as she's sure she is, but that might be because she's still caught up in Charles.

Are you alright, though? ]

[ He weakens the connection slowly. His eyes are a bit watery and he blinks furiously, stretching out his fingers. The body was catching up to him. ]

I'm fine. It's just . . . it's been a while.

[ Hermione just nods, her hand hesitating for a moment, twitching for a moment, before she leans back for a moment. It's not her place to reach out and touch him, not really. ]

Practice makes perfect, doesn't it?

[ He lets his fingers curl around the arm rests. ]

Yes. It does. We can do it again sometime, if you like.

I would like that.

[ She leans back, breathing out. ]

But you need to rest right now. It's going to take a little while for you to get used to - that again, and I don't mind helping. As long as you want me to.