video;

[lehnsherr]

[it's automatic now; to make a call out that's meant only for a certain telepaths mind. a yell of tell me you're back. tell me you can hear me. please, before it's gone completely. his mind wiping blank in a way that only a person who spent half their lives around telepaths would know how to do

now, he turns his attention to his network device. it's different to his last one, but similar enough that he has no trouble navigating his way through it. the draw of the ship is too strong for him to leave the area yet. so when the video cuts in, the metal hull, gleaming in the sun, is all too clear]

Glory. If this is your doing, congratulations. You got me.

[his face may look familiar, but there are differences there. his hair is slightly longer, styled differently. he seems more relaxed than his other self. even his voice differs slightly. the undercurrents of german are less pronounced. but it's still clear that he's spent a lot of time speaking another language entirely. (hebrew, to those who can tell).]

We've already discussed this, so if you wouldn't mind, I have work to do.

[he adds a ping here to the few people he cares about; to hope summers, snape, caffrey. even givens gets a message sent through. but they're all bouncing back, and that leaves him...confused. annoyed. angry]

Will someone tell me what's going on here? Is this the city playing tricks again, or...

[there's some muttering under his breath then; hebrew now. if anyone listens closely enough, they may register the word ha-satan amongst it all. yes, he's talking about that satan]

I want answers. Now.


ooc; to you pesky telepaths: you're welcome to pick up on that first message. he knows how to project his thoughts well enough to make it rise above the usual surface thoughts people have. he just can't direct it to one person :|b

Comments

[abetterway]

[Jocelyn is in the hospital when she hears his call, focusing desperately on the tasks at hand. Her hands drop abruptly from her patient's head, and his scream tears right through her before she focuses again, soothing his pain as quickly as she can before rushing off into a more secluded area.

Her hands scrabble for her communicator even as her mind scans the city, as she calls his name, taut with all the grief and rage she's tried so hard to contain, strained with shock and confusion.]

Erik?

[lehnsherr]

[his flinch is automatic the moment she speaks, walls being thrown up immediately. there's only one person who he's ever been happy to share his mind with, and she isn't him.]

Who are you? [no "how do you know my name". after his attack on the tower, there's very few left in the city who don't know who he is.]

Video!

[abetterway]

[Jocelyn winces, withdrawing immediately; she won't stay where she isn't wanted.

Her hands are trembling, now, just slightly, as she looks over the network. There - there -

Her heart sinks because that confirms it, really. This isn't the Erik she met, the Erik she's sure they've lost.

But it's Erik, all the same. So she responds with a video, trying to school her features into something relaxed, something casual. She succeeds, for the most part.]

Erik. I apologise for the intrusion; I - thought you were someone else. [Her voice is strained; she can't help that, not at the moment.]

[excessivehubris]

[Charles is ... well honestly he does not know where he is. He is currently sitting on the floor of the ship, though his mind can barely wrap itself around the idea of a stasis pod or even a ship that could look anything like what he's seen here.

He has been sitting for what may be hours, desperately trying to reconcile what reason he can lay claim too against the images being pressed into his mind via his own eyes as well as the thoughts and murmurer of feelings from others. Nothing is making sense and though he knew he had been making progress back home, the telepath is left wondering if perhaps his mind has finally savaged his reason.

The call, so deliberate and pushed towards is telepathy is startling and worse, loud. Loud enough to have him clapping his hands over his ears, a childish action that he knows does no good, yet which he can not help reverting too.]

Too loud! There is no need to yell, please. I can hear you, whoever you are.

[lehnsherr]

[there isn't a flinch this time. after being replied to once already, he's better prepared. but the wall still comes up, his memories hidden away on the other side and as far out of reach as he can manage.

but while there was a warning the last time, he's slightly more careful when he speaks this time. having seen how much more intrusive thoughts had affected his own charles in the past, he knows he needs to dial it back this time.]

Erik. And just who would you be?

[excessivehubris]

[Erik? Charles physically shook his head where he sat, more confused now than he had been.]

Charles. My name is Charles Xavier.

[It dawned on him a split second later that perhaps giving out his name like that was not a wise idea but the deed was already done. Curling his knees up to his chest, Charles buried his face against the tops of his thighs and tried to think.]

Where ... where am I?

[Maybe the voice give him some sort of logic or rationalization for what was happening here. Something he could get traction on and get his mind turned around into some sort of focused direction, rather than the current overwhelmed cacophony racketing about in his own skull.]

[calmyourmind]

Erik?

[Charles sounds completely bewildered at either Erik's reappearance or his words. Likely both. But it's the telepathic thought that gets him the most.]

I'm here, Erik. Where are you? We thought you were...

[lehnsherr]

[it's easier to attach himself to the connection this time without fighting it. the feeling is too familiar to ignore, if a little off. but after the few mental conversations he had with the other charles in bete noire, it all falls in to place with ease.]

Charles. [a pause. those words sounded a little too much like the end of a bad story. there's an apology sent along the connection as he continues.] ...I'm not who you think I am.

[calmyourmind]

[There's a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. This is another one of the times he is going to run into one of the alternate versions of himself or Erik. But it's not that that bothers him. It's the fact that this means the Erik he knows is still gone.]

I.. I see. I apologise for the confusion. [There's a long pause as he tries to reorganise his thoughts.

You may find that you are not where you think you should be. There are people who may be after you. Do not stay by the ship for too long. They have been quite a bit more aggressive of late and I fear they may come after you if they see you.

[myresponsibility]

[Peter's curious, and maybe trying to figure out what other kind of people get pulled in here, so he clicks on the video feed. His face is still a little roughed up, but he looks less freaked out and more resigned than the first time he pinged the network.]

We all want answers, and the ones you're gonna get I don't think you're gonna like.

[lehnsherr]

[well. it looks like someone's been fighting. he gives a briefly curious look, before just shrugging.]

I was already told my last 'home' was inescapable. Yet here I am.

[myresponsibility]

Where was your last home? [Because holy crap that sounds. Ominous.]

[femshep]

I hope you're goddamn satisfied.

[lehnsherr]

That would largely depend on just what I'm meant to be satisfied about.

[femshep]

Whatever the hell you were trying to prove got eighty people killed, not to mention put god-knows-how-many in a hospital that no longer exists.

[Filtered Video]

[standsentinel]

[He really shouldn't do this. This is the 'getting into a flamewar on the extranet' approach. He really, really shouldn't do this.

But calm and controlled Major Alenko has his limits, and one's just been thoroughly exceeded. He appears on a private video response, face still a mass of bruises, eyes dead cold, and his voice laced with disgust to match it.]

You want answers.

You disappeared after challenging the Authorities and calling down death and destruction on innocent people as a result. People who might well be starving to death this winter because of your inability to either shut up or be smart about where you run your mouth. That do you for answers?

[perma-Filtered Video]

[lehnsherr]

[well, the pieces are falling better in to place the longer people yell at him. he stays silent as he listens, waiting even longer after Kaidan has finished before offering up any kind of a response. his voice is entirely neutral as he speaks, expression not giving a single thing away.]

It may have escaped your notice, but this is the first time I've been here. So perhaps it would be wiser to direct that attitude elsewhere.

Re: [perma-Filtered Video]

[standsentinel]

Oh, I see. 'It wasn't me, it was my moronic twin.' Really?

[Kaidan's laugh is a hoarse and humourless thing.]

But sure, let's pretend I believe that for a second. In that case, I'll just suggest that if you're planning to try and raise an army, you'd better take a crash course in logistics and basic tactical analysis first.

The rest of us will be over here, trying to keep people alive.

[text / encrypted]

[hackreality]

[There's something that bothers her about the transmission for a while until it clicks; she's heard that voice before. It's only a matter of matching the voiceprint to her message records to figure out where she'd heard it before. Oh, this is going to be trouble.

Then again, though she didn't really know the guy, she got the impression he wouldn't be one to go pretend-amnesiac. Something weird's going on here, although damned if she knows what. Maybe something happened to his memory? Is it possible he's from a different point in time, since there's people from different eras here? WHAT IS THIS PLACE EVEN.]

Um, if you have the ability to encrypt your transmissions, I would ASAP if I were you. I dunno if you're the same guy or not, but last time a guy who sounded exactly like you posted on here it was directly challenging the fascist regime that's more or less in control of this area and they kinda took exception to that. ┐(˘_˘；)┌

[perma-audio / encrypted]

[lehnsherr]

[well, it's definitely a relief to have it all laid out clearly for him. but it's too bad that, as much as he may not be that other version, those actions are still ones he was once responsible for taking elsewhere. after spending all those months in prison though, it's a mistake he has no plans on repeating.]

I can assure you that I won't be repeating his mistakes.

[but if the authorities are looking for someone to blame, he knows he can't stay around the others for too long.]

The encryptions will come in time, however. I have nothing to hide just now.

[text / encrypted]

[hackreality]

That's good. Though, it may be true that you have nothing to hide, but there are still some people who might want you dead just because of what the other guy did. Sucks, but sometimes that's how the cookie crumbles.

Perma Audio

[golden_retriever]

Hey. [ Eliot met only one Erik, and he was not aware that alternate versions of a person existed yet. Which meant... ]

I thought they got you.

[lehnsherr]

I believe you're mistaking me with an alternate version of myself.

[Audio]

[relicrebellion]

You would be wise to minimize your use of these channels. I do not believe this city will survive if you bring disaster down on it again.

[perma-Audio]

[lehnsherr]

A disaster I'm not responsible for.

[well, this time round.]