outer_divide | video;

[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

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[sore subject. sore subject.]

My goddamn telepath isn't here, so feel free to keep throwing your anger in the wrong direction.

[...and that stops her, because she potentially just came to a realization.]

The Charles you know. He's the one that saw the war, isn't he?

[Because she's known two Charleses here--the naive one from the irrational Erik's world, and the war-torn Charles who damn well made a difference, back home. The one who trusted her. The one she trusted right back.

...That changes things.]

He's here. [Her voice is a little quieter now. Either she's too distracted by this potential revelation to be pissed, or she's come to terms with the fact that this might not be the same man who tried to lead the people around her to their deaths.] Not in the way either of us would like, not anymore, but... He's here.

I can show you.

Where is he?

[the facade is gone, and replaced with a sense of loss. if charles really is here- his charles -then why hasn't he replied? has he forgotten about everything that happened in that other city? is he hiding again?]

I need to see him. Please. [yes, congratulations, shepard. you've gotten some manners out of him.]

Meet me at the ship.

[Fuck this 'on house-arrest at the hospital' shit, this is important.

And that's all she has to say. For now, anyway. Does he meet her? ~~Do we action-tag?~~]

Right.

[everything is all but dropped in his haste to get there. he at least manages a few apologies for how abruptly he leaves the others behind though. but. priorities. and his charles will always be his biggest one.

he doesn't waste any time in getting back to the ship again, practically looming around the entrance as he waits for shepard to arrive. who cares if she was throwing out threats only a short time ago.]

[How she feels about Erik (be it this one or a previous one) is entirely irrelevant right now.

She's showing up in what may or may not be record time, and she may or may not be looking guarded rather than outright hostile. This may or may not be progress of some sort. Check back for news at 10.]

This way. [Shepard walks right past him without bothering with formalities, or even to slow down and make sure he follows. She doesn't read the names as she leads them past a good four or five rows of pods, until the point comes where she turns to face him. The pod to her left (his right) reads, "CHARLES XAVIER". You can vaguely see Charles inside.

She doesn't speak. Not for a minute, anyway. Then:] You missed him by less than a month. [She's really not sure what else there even is to say.]

[the silence is welcome as he follows along after shepard, still half on alert. for all he knows, she's leading him in to a trap of some sort. but the prospect of being able to see his charles again has his guard slipping.

it's been far too long.

when charles' pod comes in to view, shepard is the last of his concerns. instead, he turns to face the pod, hands pressing to the machine as he tries to feel out the locking mechanism. if he can just find out how it's been shut, then maybe he can force it open again.]

You left him in there. [he knows he should feel angry right now, but the sight of charles' face is enough to remind him of that promise. that agreement that violence won't be the first action he takes to. it's for charles' sake that he takes a few extra moments to himself to calm down.]

How do we get him out?

[His accusation strikes a nerve, and she swallows slowly, setting her jaw to keep her opinions to herself. But then he's asking a question, so she has to answer somehow.]

If I knew, he wouldn't be in there. [The reply's tense but not hostile. She did initiate this meeting, it'd be stupid to find a reason to bite his head off now.]

[he nods slightly, gaze never once leaving the panel of glass. it's as though he worried that looking away will give charles enough time to disappear, and after losing him three times already, he doesn't think he can manage a fourth.]

I need him out of there. [to his credit, his voice at least stays calm. but the chunk of vibranium in his pocket tells another story, for once thankful for just how much more effort it takes to manipulate.]

Tell me that there's someone here who knows how.

[She shakes her head just slightly.] No one on this side of the dome. Maybe no one on the inside, either, but that one I can't confirm.

[he should've known to expect it wouldn't be as easy as that. but that doesn't mean he was prepared to hear it. his hands tighten around the edges of the pod, still unable to actually feel a thing. the catch isn't any kind of metal he can touch. he doesn't know how to open the pod. not without risking hurting charles in the process.]

I think you need to leave.

[it's a request as opposed to a threat of any form. he needs some time alone with charles, regardless of his current condition.]

[For a second, she doesn't respond, eyeing him in appraisal. The last Erik was incredibly headstrong. If this one tries to ~~say 'fuck the police'~~ force the pod open, it could very well kill Charles, and that's not something she's going to just stand by and let happen.

But then, who even is she to argue? Certainly not someone who can claim she knew him for more than a couple of months, no matter how firmly he embedded himself in her central motor control during that time.

She has no right.]

Don't do anything you'll regret.

[A generic warning, but anything more specific would come out as an accusation. And with that, she's turning and walking off down the rows of pods.]

[he doesn't offer up any kind of a reply. perhaps later he'll thank her for this. or maybe hate her for it. for once again being offered something he can't have for himself. but that's a consideration to be made later. instead, he just slumps against the side of the pod, eyes shut this time as he tries, vainly, to reach for that spark of a connection between their minds.

he won't be coming out the ship again for a long time.]

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private > action!

action! forever

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