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]

At my last count, there were thirty people from the ship - and one who crashed his own - though there are many more in the pods. There are native inhabitants in the nearest city, as well, but I don't have a clear count. [Her expression darkens; out of sight, her hands tense, fingers curling tight around her wheels.] And we've lost people, recently.

[She takes a breath, relaxes her fingers.] We've landed in the midst of a fairly brutal conflict, and we seem to be aggravating it.

[lehnsherr]

Another conflict.

[as long as it doesn't involve dealing with beings like satan again, it can be managed. he's fought enough wars in his life already that he's more than prepared to get through another one.]

Who's involved and what are they after?

[abetterway]

[That draws a wry, bleak smile.] Isn't there always?

There's another city, surrounded by a great dome. It's policed by the Outer Authorities, who didn't take kindly to our disruption.

Those in the outside world are simply trying to rebuild; there was, I believe, some catastrophic struggle in recent history. The Authorities don't want them to get very far.

[lehnsherr]

[this all sounds far too familiar. but instead of focusing on that, he needs to get the details.]

And I take it we have no idea why the Authorities don't want those out here to rebuild?

[abetterway]

[She shakes her head.] We know very little about them at all.

[Another smile, slight and rueful.] The masks they wear block telepathy. [Which is probably for the best now, really. She's still not entirely sure what she'll do, when she sees one next.

Shepard's gun is still strapped to her thigh. Sometimes, she could almost swear she feels the weight of it.]

[lehnsherr]

[now this is definitely more his area of expertise. he has his own way of blocking telepathy, and he knows that various different governments have been attempting the same. for a brief moment there's a thought of that supposed cure that crosses his mind, but it's gone moments later.]

Listen in.

[because this time he's not going to get caught off-guard. but this isn't a conversation to have on a public channel. not until he's worked out how to apply those old locks to this network.]

[abetterway]

[She can't help but smile at the invitation, just slightly.

And her mind reaches across the distance to brush his, as gently as she can. She's trying not to let her emotions bleed through, but the raw ache of the past few days lends a ragged edge to her thoughts, and there's just a glimpse of loss-hope-fear.]

I'm listening.

[lehnsherr]

[those walls are still there; an effort he knows would be wasted if she pushed hard enough, but a warning regardless. there are certain memories he doesn't plan on sharing again.]

Has anyone attempted to capture one of the Authorities yet? [considering he's already spoken to three versions of the same telepath, without those helmets it should be easy enough to gain information from them.]

[abetterway]

[She respects those boundaries, makes no attempts to push or bend them.]

Not that I'm aware of. We do have someone from the dome - a refugee of sorts - but he's not in very good health.

[lehnsherr]

Then perhaps it's time to move on to more...invasive measures.

[if they can manage to get ahold of one of the authorities, then it shouldn't be a problem at all. and if they've already gotten someone from inside-]

Have you spoken to this 'refugee'?

[abetterway]

...Perhaps, yes.

[Lenity vies with fury, pacifism with pragmatism.]

I haven't personally, no; he escaped shortly after I arrived. You may want to ask Charles.

[lehnsherr]

Then it may be time to rectify that.

[there's a hint of longing buried beneath his attempts at indifference as he adds-]

Which Charles? [two versions of the telepath- three, if his hunch is right -and none of them his.]

[abetterway]

...Which -

[She pulls back a bit, casting her mind wide - and yes, she can sense him, another Charles. She doesn't touch his mind, after the confirmation; she can introduce herself properly later.]

I had thought there were only two of us.

[lehnsherr]

I'm on my way to get him.

[because whatever the version, he can't abandon him when he needs help.]

Are there any safe places to take him?

[abetterway]

[A rush of warmth and fondness, immediately pulled back again.]

We're staying outside the city.

[If he accepts it, she'll show him a secluded route from the ship.]

[lehnsherr]

[there's a pause as he weighs up his options. from the conversations they've already had, he knows that charles will need a kind of help that he's entirely incapable of providing. but at the same time, he doesn't want to leave the other man behind to go off elsewhere.]

I'll bring him to you if he agrees.

[abetterway]

[A physical nod, a faint feeling of acquiescence.]

If he doesn't, there's a building in the Old City called the Flop, set aside for people from the ship.

[Hesitance, leaden with guilt and sharp with worry.]

I don't know how safe traversing the city would be for you, however.

[lehnsherr]

Regardless of where he chooses to stay, it's likely he's going to need either yours or the other Charles' assistance.

[the rest though, well, he's already used to being singled out as a criminal. but still, he'd rather know than not.]

Myself in particular?

[abetterway]

We'd be happy to give it.

[She wouldn't normally speak for Charles, but she doubts he'd mind very much, in this instance.

Then, again, she hesitates.]

Erik - the other Erik - caught the attention of the Authorities.

[lehnsherr]

So I've heard.

[though from the sounds of things, jocelyn was closer to his alternate self than the other person who replied. hopefully that means she has the answers he really wants.]

What happened?

[abetterway]

[She takes a moment to make her thoughts clear and strong - not clouded with grief, brittle with helplessness.]

He attempted to rally people against them, over the network. At the time we didn't know for certain if they were watching it or not.

I believe he intended to face them alone, regardless; to bring them down on his own head. He didn't expect a response like this.

He -

[She cuts herself off, then. A moment later and the voice is back, desperately steady.]

His mind is gone.

[lehnsherr]

[there's no response at first. though eventually he manages to send across a trace of...something close to empathy. he's lost people before. both charles' were taken away from him. he's come back from the dead himself. while he may not like it, loss has become a common occurrence around him, so he isn't surprised to know it's the same for his alternate self.]

The ship is full of people. He may be in there somewhere.

[abetterway]

[There's a sense of appreciation in return, weary but sincere.]

The ship simply happens to take him back while the Authorities are hunting for him? That would be quite a coincidence.

[And yet there's an ache of hope in her chest, now.]

...But it is a possibility.

[lehnsherr]

[he'd point out the fact that no one stayed dead in bete noire if he had any sign that the same stood true here. or if he was at least capable of saying it carefully.]

With three different versions of yourself here, it's doubtlessly just a matter of time before another alternate of myself arrives.

[because xaviers seem to have a habit of attracting lehnsherrs, no matter the universe.]

[abetterway]

[She smiles at that despite herself.]

It would only be fair.