(no subject)

[exothermia]

Who: Erik, Charles, and those aboard the Heron
Broadcast: No
Action: The Heron
When: Now

[Erik feels groggy when he wakes. How long had he slept for? Time didn’t hold the same structure that it used to for him, not when he was off alone, but he was certain he had slept before midnight… Shifting in the bed, he automatically casts his arm over the person sleeping next to him, a habit that usually leaves him bereft when it comes up empty. He cracks open his eyes, something nagging at the back of his mind even before he sees--

Charles. He jerks his hand back, confusion taking over. Charles shouldn’t be here, not in Poland. He’d left the mansion weeks ago. A rapid glance around the room (metal walls, a locker, that odd-looking hovering chair they’d spent so long building--) only serves to disorient him further. Where was he? Erik sits up, pressing a hand to his eyes as he tries to think. He had been in Poland. Somewhere remote, an abandoned house in the woods somewhere (not his house, he had already gone there and left again) on his road east, and… information rises out his whirling thoughts. A ship. This was that spaceship. He could feel it now, extending out through his senses. But that had been years ago. This wasn’t right. Something was terribly wrong.

He pulls his hand away from his face and stares at it, jaw tight. On his pointer finger was a slightly irregular silver ring. On his ring finger was his wedding band.

He remembers that his heart is broken. He remembers why he went back to Poland to begin with, why this is the wrong place. He remembers.

Something shakes apart inside him, and the Heron does the same.]

[Days ago, the two mutants on the Heron fell asleep and didn’t wake up. A few days later, their appearance started to change, Erik’s hair growing scruffier and the odd few silver threads starting to creep in, while Charles’s simply disappeared altogether. Anyone paying attention would notice they had grown noticeably older in just a few days. Now, it seems like they’re waking up. And Erik’s return to consciousness stands to shake everyone else to attention whether they like it or not.

It starts as a vibration, humming through the metal surfaces of the ship. It increases rapidly, getting noisier and more violent, until everything is rattling. Loose metal items begin to lift off from wherever they lie, floating jerkily into the air. Those closer to the walls around the edges of the ship will find less of a disturbance, though the floor still does its best to mimic an earthquake.

And then, just as abruptly, it stops. Most of it. Those vibrations are still shivering through everything, screws and spoons spinning drunkenly on the floor. Strange... should anyone investigate that closed bedroom, the culprit is easy to find.]

Comments

[axiomed]

[ Pain.

It rips through his shields (and his shields feel so fragile, so weak) that Charles starts, jerking himself upward, breathing heavily. Everything seemed out of focus, too alien to comprehend before he realizes where he was. Where everything was. Unconsciously, he wondered if this is how Logan felt.

Then he notices the shaking. And -- ]

Erik.

[exothermia]

[By now Erik has his head clutched in both hands, trying to get himself under control. He hasn't slipped like this in a long time. The disorientation, the confusing jumble of memories, let his power slip the reigns like an unbroken horse. But it isn't unbroken, and it will listen to him. The shaking and rattling begins to taper off dramatically, and he grinds out a reply.]

I know. I'm-- getting it.

[axiomed]

[ Charles runs a hand down his face - no hair. His body had changed as well. He'd laugh about it if the situation that it had left them in wasn't so . . . complicated.

He slips off his bed to sit on his chair. He didn't want to linger. He felt he had to move - assure himself of this reality. ]

I'm here.

[exothermia]

[He takes a deep breath, two, and then everything settles. For the most part. Some lingering shivers run up and down the metal lines of Charles's chair. The other man's movement prompts Erik to look up finally, now that he's mastered himself again.]

Yes. But-- here? Again?

wtf guys

[reconstitution]

[ It's been a weird few days, and both Charles and Erik being indisposed makes things more complicated. There's really only one reason he can think of that it would happen. The thought is solidified when everything starts vibrating. Bucky almost dismisses it as a tremor in his hand until the entire ship starts rattling. The spoon to his coffee mug shakes off the table, and he stands quickly, moving into action.

Check on the crew, first. See if the disturbance is anywhere else. Some of the cleaner bots are hovering pathetically a foot or so above the ground, which feels unstable under his foot. It's a very brief thought that they're being attacked again. Bucky is tearing down the hall when the tremors stop. Things stop floating, but still twitch, like they're not sure what to do.

He needs to check and make sure everything's okay with Charles and Erik the two that haven't been accounted for. They could still be out for the count, but He raps on the door with a knuckle before pushing to door open. ]

don't rock the boat

[axiomed]

[ Charles is immediately wheeling towards the door and stops when he sees Winter stepping through. He smiles, but it's tight and fraying at the edges. ]

Winter.

[ It takes him a second to realize why he was here and he continues smoothly. ]

I take it all is well with the ship?

[reconstitution]

[ The immediate threat of danger is gone, though he still remains wary. He's startled briefly.

Bald. Charles is bald. That must have been some stressful glitch.. |8 ]

Still in one piece. Are you-- [ bald. ] okay?

[axiomed]

I'm afraid I'm coping with some large doses of information. Ten years worth.

[ He touches the back of his neck, vaguely self-conscious. His appearance had not been his concern, not after everything that had happened in Cairo, but Charles realizes now that he'll have to field a lot of awkward questions. ]

I'm all right. Really.

[exothermia]

[Erik glances up when he door opens, as Charles sails straight to it. It takes him only a second to place Winter, even though it's been years since he saw him last. He gets to his feet, only slightly off kilter.]

It's under control.

[reconstitution]

You're sure?

[ He has to make sure, because if it's not, they could be in some serious shit. Bucky looks at Erik, brow furrowed. What's up, old guy? ]

Do you need anything? You were asleep for over two days.

[exothermia]

[Age has started to tell on him, though not as much as might be expected. He's a little more haggard, a bit thinner. The light beard is new. So is the gold band on one finger. Erik takes a deep breath, and the last vibrations stop.]

I'm sure.

Is that all it was? [Putting a time to the vast gulf of years between states was surreal.] I haven't seen you in ten years.

[pain_train]

[As soon as she's gotten a confused keysmash of a text from Winter, Wrath's over at the Heron. She's been incredibly worried about both Charles and Erik, though not quite as freaked out as she was about Beverly because at least they were still physically around.

She heads straight in to check on them, whoever she can get to first. Though this isn't going to be her normal sort of enthusiastic greeting. She's still conditioned enough about how things were back home that she approaches with caution. You never know how people have changed--or been changed, after all.]

[exothermia]

[By now Erik's gotten off the bed, and Charles into his chair. He's been waiting for people to start arriving, tension coiling inside him like a spring. When Wrath enters, his eyes flick to her distinctive hair first, and he keeps a strong lid on his power.

He does what feels natural; he steps back out of the way so she can go to Charles.]

[pain_train]

[Charles is Wrath's first priority, but she hasn't forgotten Erik. He's important too. Not just because he's important to Charles, but because he's the rare person who doesn't bullshit her, and has treated her like he has high expectations. So she wants to make sure he's okay, for certain values of okay.

Some things are never okay. All you can do is find a new equilibrium.]

Hey, Erik. You look like shit.

[exothermia]

[It puts him off balance for a moment, and he just stares at her. Eventually he sighs, scratching at his beard.]

Hello, Wrath.

[axiomed]

[ The door is still open when Charles spots Wrath in the corridor. It takes him a few minutes for the memories to catch up with him before he smiles wryly. He seems no worse for wear, no physical scarring.

But his baldness stands out. ]

[pain_train]

[Wrath stops in the doorway. Her instinct is to fling herself at Charles for the reassurance of his reality, but the strange sight he makes now brings her up short. It makes something itch in the back of her brain.

Is this still Charles? The smile looks right. Doesn't it?

Unconsciously she traces a line over her right ear with one finger before saying flatly:] What did they do to you?

[And suddenly, beneath it all, she is a n g r y.]

[axiomed]

It's not -- It was one man. He's gone now. I'm all right.

[ He swallows quietly in the face of her anger. It seeps into his consciousness. ]

[aigue]

[It is really not fun having paws and claws instead of hands when that shaking starts. Renart is in her room doing a cursory check of the messenger bag she initially arrived with (stowed safely in an air vent) when the shaking starts and while she's got more stability with four legs there isn't much for her to grip when the ship is metal.

So she squawks in an entirely undignified manner and falls over, then proceeds to skitter out into the hall angrily.]

What in the world was that??

[exothermia]

[Soon enough, Erik has exited the room, as he knows he must do eventually. He's still taken aback for a moment to see a fox skittering around and shouting. It takes an additional few seconds for his memory to catch up with him.]

It-- that was me.

[aigue]

[He now has some entertaining memories of a fox looking thoroughly undignified. The only thing worse would probably be her getting drenched with water and looking like a drowned rat.

She is not happy. Sometimes spaceships suck.]

Why? What happened?

[exothermia]

[He rubs a hand over his face, trying to cast his mind back to when he last spoke with Renart. They had talked about fridges...? He mentioned his powers, he's certain.]

I was startled. My powers can fluctuate when I'm ... out of sorts.

[axiomed]

[ Charles is there, closing the door before he spots Renart. ]

Ah - just a little turbulence.

[aigue]

[Charles. Charles.

Renart is just going to stop and stare.]

You're very bald.

[axiomed]

Yes. I am.

We can blame the Atroma for that.