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[infiniteforms]

[The room is open and bright, all old, dark wood and sunlight spilling in through the large windows. It's a nice enough room, walls lined with bookcases and with a large fireplace on one side. In the centre of the room is a table and two chairs, and on the table a chessboard. The pieces aren't black and white but made of wood, one side the colour

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[waterfell]

[She feels the uncomfortable something and it makes her wary and suspicious of the girl in the room at once. It's so similar to other times curious mentalists have wanted a look at the mind of the genius Mercury.]

What are you trying to pull?

[That same suspicion, mistrust and - better hidden but still too strongly present not to be noticeable - fear are topmost in her mind, which proves to be flawlessly brilliant but choked by the remnants of tampering and mental control. A mutant, it might seem at first thought, capable of extensive control over water and minor mental feats of her own.

Her appearance only enhances the guess of mutant genes: The blue hair is natural, the short-skirted uniform odd to the sensibilities of Charlotte's era.]

[infiniteforms]

[Charlotte is unfazed by the suspicion in the other woman's mind, though the fear leads her to pull back slightly. She is always picking up things. For all that some people believe her mutation is something she can switch on and off when she wants to, that is far from the case. It is actually far harder to keep things out than to let them in. Her lips quirk in a small, sympathetic half-smile.]

You walked into it. I was hardly trying anything.

[Her mind reminds Charlotte of Erik's. Too much pain, too many raw edges. The idea of other mutants, if they were mutants, hurting others of their kind is unfortunate but not entirely unexpected. She has met Shaw after all. The man's mind, what she felt when he died, had been wretched enough that if she hadn't already agreed with Erik's plans for him she would have then. She's not sure what to make of Ami. Her first instinct is to call her a mutant, with that hair and the control she possesses over water, but it's not quite right. She feels different than the other mutants Charlotte has met. It

[1/3]

[waterfell]

[Though Mercury remains guarded, it's the likely truth. She doesn't know this woman and shouldn't be a target. It doesn't make the ice sword disappear, but the grip is defensive rather than aggressive; and at any rate, it isn't hard for Charlotte's power to confirm Mercury doesn't intend to use it - for now.]

[2/3]

[waterfell]

[She relaxes only slightly more at that enthusiastic approval of her abilities. She has the odd feeling of being a specimen of some sort, intriguing and strange; but it's a small trade-off for the thrill of that notice.]

I'm Mercury. Call me by that. [She carefully avoids admitting to the other name for now, though a mentalist... will probably not believe any denials, either.]

[thatoldthatkind]

[ The Doctor does take note of the room, and it reminds him of a room he's seen before in another dream... but, well, things are bound to repeat! It's just the nature of these things. He walks into the room and leans down beside the chess table, looking over it carefully. He slightly nudges one of the darker stained chess pieces. ]

Chess! It's always chess lately. [ He makes a wide gesture. ] And you lot haven't even seen the live chess they play in the fifty-first century. Blimey, now, there is a chess game! Not the best sort of it, you could say. Not unless you're into the whole shocking bit. Most people, I find, don't actually like to be shocked. And I don't mean the "Oh, you're an alien!" kind of shock. I mean actual shocks. With the electricity and the zap and the pow!

[ The Doctor stands up and fixes his dark green coat. Then whirls around to face the woman in the window. ]

Right, yes, hello! I'm the Doctor. And I sort of... just walked into your dreams. Hope you don't mind. It happens from time to time.

[infiniteforms]

[Charlotte can't help but smile. She can't quite get a sense of the man's mind, and that in itself is thrilling. It's not like Emma in her diamond form, where her telepathy slid off the other woman's walls like raindrops on glass. It's all together different, like there is so much there that she can't quite grasp on to any one thing. It's chaotic and confusing and exhilarating. She loves things that aren't quite right, and this man - not a man, or not just one anyway - is so much more than that.]

I find chess to be interesting enough without the threat of electrocution. [Her smile turns more amused as he continues speaking.] The fifty-first century sounds fascinating though. Is that when you're from? [She pauses, clearly considers the implications of this.] Time travel. That must be fantastic. And you're an alien too? Oh, that really is brilliant.

[She really is quite amused by the Doctor. She steps closer to him, raising an eyebrow. Oh, Eleven. You've really walked into this.]Man of my dreams, hmm? You seem quite confident of that

[thatoldthatkind]

[ He raises a finger at her, waving it slightly. He can feel that poking around... which is strange, people aren't supposed to have psychic abilities just yet. Of course, dreams and the breaking of boundaries. Anything is really possible. Though, whatever he was about to say drops on the tip of his tongue and walks straight over to her, hands going wild. ]

No, no! Man in your dreams! Not of your dreams! Don't you people listen? Of course not, you'd rather poke around. Don't go poking around in there, you won't like what you see. I don't even like what I see and it's my own head! [ The Doctor makes a wild gesture and puts his hands on his hips, shifting nervously. ]

Charlotte Xavier? Really? [ He suddenly twirls around, coat swishing about him and moving straight to the walls of the library to start investigating things. He knows a Charles Xavier. Just not a Charlotte. This is new. ]Charley is a nice name. Why not Lottie? Lottie's a bit more girly, isn't it? Or is it---ooooh, no. That's the 22nd Century that's more of a boy's name.

[infiniteforms]

[Charlotte is hardly dissuaded. She's been pushing boundaries and breaking rules all her life. The word No isn't so much a deterrent to her as a dare. Being told he can't or shouldn't do something only serves as an impetus toward doing the very thing she was warned away from. This, of course, isn't an absolute truth. There are times when she sees the merit in a warning. This simply isn't one of those times. The Doctor is terribly fascinating to her, and she wants to know more. Besides, he's rather adorable when he's flustered and flailing. With a small, very amused smile, she grabs hold of his hands and stills them.]

Who's to say they aren't the same, Doctor? Maybe the man of my dreams is one who can be in my dreams. And if you know so much about people, you should know that telling me not to poke is as good as an invitation. Curiosity and all. Such a human thing. [She pauses, then her eyes practically light up.] What's a Time Lord? Oh! And a TARDIS! Do tell me. It's all terribly fascinating. And you! You're so very, very clever and

[bishonenbunny]

[He freezes for a moment, mind suddenly flashing back to the fight with Jake--though, then, he wasn't aware of the fact that he was a mind-reader until Kotetsu came along. Granted, at first he lied about how to defeat him (sometimes that idiot could be cunning), but now that it was over and done with, any more prodding around in his head is rather unwelcome.

But, he reasons, this woman doesn't seem as insane as Jake was. For one thing, she's not trying to blow up an entire city to humiliate the Heroes. For another, there's nothing that suggests "mad NEXT supremacist", either, though frankly, the mind-reading thing feels disturbing.

So he simply crosses his arms and answers her question as best as he can.]

I don't really know, myself.

[infiniteforms]

[Charlotte can sense that he's uneasy, though she doesn't push to find out what. She has a fair idea, and pushing would really only make it worse. She really can be very considerate for a naturally inquisitive telepath. She's very curious about him, since he really shouldn't be here, but at the moment she's more interested in putting him at ease than finding out how he got here of all places.

To that end, she smiles as politely as possible, doing her best to come off friendly and non-threatening. It really does seem to be the best course of action. Her posture is open, not defensive or threatening, and she tries her best to project a sense of ease. Though some people consider her too direct, she does know how to temper herself when she needs to.]

Well, that's unexpected, but I can hardly blame you if you don't even know how you got here. [Her smile becomes warmer as she turns fully, putting out her cigarette and holding out a hand.] Charlotte Xavier. It's lovely to meet you.

[bishonenbunny]

[He puts on a polite smile in reply, though his posture and demeanor is still guarded, still on the alert, even as he shakes her hand with his own.]

Barnaby Brooks Junior. It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Miss Xavier.

[auncyenhalig]

Again? Everyone's always asking me that. [ Aerith taps taps her finger on her chin, looking around. Something about the setting seems familiar, but...what? Besides the part where she feels a little outclassed tromping around in her brown boots. (But how could she change when they're so comfortable and practical?) ] Maybe you let me in.

[infiniteforms]

Well, I'm very sorry if I'm boring you with the repetition. It was far from intentional, I assure you. [Charlotte smiles, finding it oddly refreshing that someone is so at ease in a situation like this. Or, at least, not treating it as too terribly odd. The girl is pretty, and she quite likes her dress. She certainly likes the boots, since they look quite a bit more comfortable than her heels. She tilts her head slightly, considering the point.] Perhaps I did. Not intentionally, I assure you, but it is certainly a possibility.

[auncyenhalig]

[ She laughs. ] I don't think it's something most people can help. Something unexpected happens, we always want to know "why?" Anyway, it's much nicer to think I'm an unexpected guest than that I've just barged in. I'm not trying to intrude! [ Of course...she's the kind who might just accidentally do that while she's here, out of curiosity. ]

My name is Aerith Gainsborough.

[curepotion]

[ his eyes glide over the room, detached, as he stands in the doorway. his hand is on the doorframe, palm resting there as he takes in the time of the room, the timeline of the room. what all happens in this room? it flashes backwards in time, it flashes forwards in time as much as it stands at a still state, still as water. he's been in a room like this before, with someone else, playing chess, hadn't he? no--

too many timelines to keep in his head. and there was something else at the back of his mind, like a tickle. his eyes are cast down from her quickly onto the patterns on the floor, eyes narrowing as he tried to push the foreign feeling back. the pressure was intruding on his focus. it's something that he'd never felt before. unable to, however, the nineteen-year-old drew his attention back to her as she spoke. ]

Lucid, communal dreaming, I think.