(Untitled)

[howmanylives]

Abraham Lincoln was believed to have said that it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. Lately, though, it feels my years have been filled with nothing but death... Both physical and metaphorical. Two years ago today, I threw myself off a cliff and hoped to drown... A year ago today I was surrounded by my friends and

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[broken_brushes]

I afforded Jamie a quiet hello as I passed him in the doorway, and then continued into the cool dimness of the Hub. Ianto was at the bar, and I paused for some polite chit chat as he made me something cold and fruity. A matter of days I had left before I could get the cast off my arm, and the waiting was the worst. With Ned so suddenly gone, I felt all the more useless and was eager to get back to actually doing something productive with my time.

Drink in hand, I turned to lean back against the bar and survey the handful of patrons seated at the tables. "I'm beginning to think you spend all your time in here," I called to Charles, and smiled as I took a slow sip from my glass.

[thebettermen]

Admittedly, Charles isn't quite used to being surprised like that; his powers had made it next to impossible, though he generally tried not to cheat when doing something as amiable as playing a game. While a part of him understands that Jamie meant nothing by his little prank, however, the underlying message was nevertheless clear to him, the tapping of the temple a warning, in its way.

'I see every possibility. Even the ones I don't like.' Was he talking about Erik?

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Charles is still busy tidying the table, picking up the captured chess pieces from both sides and placing them on the board, when his attention is, thankfully, drawn elsewhere. He looks up at Shari, offering her a smile that pointedly meets his eyes, and lets out a quiet, almost bashful laugh.

"It would be easy to get that impression," he admits, teeth pressing to his bottom lip. After a moment's hesitation, he shakes his head. "But no, my friend who just left... It was his birthday. I thought it might be nice to get a drink, to

[broken_brushes]

"Likely story," I teased, and meandered over to his table to peer down at the chess board. I could barely remember how to play, but it didn't surprise me at all to discover that it was something Charles did. Being on the island had to be driving him crazy with that big brain of his.

"So what else do you do?" I asked as I plucked a piece from the board and looked it over. "When you're not hanging out in bars and playing chess, that is."

[thebettermen]

"Research, believe it or not," says Charles, standing up to offer her his chair. He can only imagine what Raven might say, to know that he could be stuck in a tropical paradise and yet still have his nose shoved in a book more often than not, but academic pursuits will always take precedence, particularly since his research might go on to help others, here, who've lost their abilities. He's as focused as ever on finding a way home, of course, but that is admittedly a bit out of his area of expertise. Even so, there's a folder of notes in the bag underneath the table.

"Do you play?"

[missingthekeep]

He stops just long enough to wish Jamie a good day, but Sean doesn't linger, heading up to the bar like he's a man on a mission. It doesn't feel like a particularly healthy course of action, treating a nice early evening drink like it's a job, but he meant what he told Meredith about cutting back on the drinking and spending less time at the Hub and he is very pointedly sticking to that, no matter how much it sometimes pains him.

"Ye look lost," he says dryly once he's got his drink in hand and finds himself gravitating to the one point of interest in the entire bloody place, tucked away in one of the corners. Anything to bring down the urge to just grab himself a stool at the bar indefinitely.

[thebettermen]

"That wasn't my intention," replies Charles, matching the stranger's tone with one equally as dry, and flashing him a brief smile. He's about to let the comment come to just that, already starting to gather up the captured pieces and place them on the board, that when he chances a second glance upwards, and realizes the man looks strangely familiar. Under any other circumstances, Charles might have simply skimmed his mind, but instead he finds himself in need of asking aloud.

"I'm sorry," he says, leaning forward in his chair a little, "but have we met?"

[missingthekeep]

"Nae that I know of?" Sean answers slowly, searching for some scrap of recognition and coming up empty aside for a vague recollection of someone who looked like him some time back. But that was on the island, so it means little to nothing at the end of the day. "'Less I'm mistaken, o' course. Has been known t'happen at times."

[thebettermen]

"Curious," he murmurs, and still unable to shake the feeling that he's seen this man before, Charles sticks out a hand to introduce himself. "Charles Xavier."

[whoneedsadream]

Ordinarily, the Hub was not one of Anatoly's usual haunts but he had been hungering for a bit of a change and so instead of veering over to the compound, he turned into the Hub instead. He had heard good things about the place and after all, Lex and Cassie would both be proud that he was widening his horizons.

There were surely a few regulars about that he knew and would have been happy to greet but none registered in his brain. He had caught sight of the chess board and was drawn towards it as bees were to honey and there was simply nothing that could alter his course. He glanced down, noting the pattern of the board along with the captured pieces then finally took a look at the man across from the board.

"Were you black or white?"

[thebettermen]

"Hm--? White," says Charles after a noticeable pause, snapping out of his distraction only when he realizes he's being spoken to. Though he's never seen the man before (save, perhaps, in passing, but with a population so small, most everyone becomes familiar within a matter of weeks) he thinks that no reason not to be polite, and so Charles offers a smile.

"I won. Do you play?"

[whoneedsadream]

"I play a little," Anatoly answered modestly. It was the understatement of the year perhaps, but he saw no point in bragging and throwing his grandmaster status around. He preferred to let his actions speak for him on the board. It made more of an impact this way, he believed.

"I do not suppose you would be willing to play another game," Anatoly added hopefully.

[thebettermen]

No longer quite so distracted with Jamie's word -- or, rather, gesture -- of friendly warning, Charles realizes only belatedly that the stranger is Russian. While always one to give others the benefit of the doubt, Charles can't help the instinctive wariness that threatens to steal the smile from his face. The political climate at home had been less than favourable towards the Soviets for rather obvious reasons, and given the nature of his arrival upon this island, in the middle of a missile attack launched by the Russian (and U.S.) military, he feels at once both justified and guilty for the reaction, however mild.

"Of course," he says, gesturing for the stranger to pull out a chair. He won't do unto others the same snap judgments would do unto him. "Sit down, please."

[onlyforthedream]

I come up short as I'm entering the Hub, looking to grab a cold drink before hitting the showers at the compound. I recognize the man passing me, though we're not really acquainted. Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man- leader of the mutant group called X-Factor, or it's latest iteration, at least. I've seen him around, during the ball games and at practice, but we haven't spoken much. It occurs to me there's something I've neglected to tell him.

"Madrox." I raise a hand to catch his attention.

[howmanylives]

It's not often I had dealings with the Avengers back home. Individual members, certainly -- Pietro immediately springs to mind -- but when it comes to the Avengers as a unit, my team and theirs rarely crossed paths. What can I say? Mutants are an insular bunch, both for our survival and to our detriment. While I'm not on unfriendly terms with Steve Rogers, both at home and here, on the Island -- quite the contrary -- I can't say that we're particularly close, either, and to be stopped by him now comes as something of a surprise.

"--Captain," said Jamie, coming to an abrupt stop when he heard his name called. "Can I help you with something?"

[onlyforthedream]

I walk a few feet further into the room so I'm not standing in the doorway.

"There's actually something I've been meaning to say to you," I tell him.

"I don't know how long ago it was for you, but I admired the stand you took during the conflict surround the Super Hero Registration Act."

[howmanylives]

I am not often praised for my leadership abilities, largely because I'm not sure I have any. I lack the personality trait that naturally commands respect... That ephemeral quality that makes people sit up and take notice. I am not a Captain America or a Professor X... With or without hair. What I possess is a willingness to do the right thing and the bravery to make some unpopular decisions.

My stance -- and X-Factor's stance -- on the SHRA qualified me for both. The mutants had officially declared themselves Switzerland in the conflict. On the heels of M-Day, I guess it's hard to blame them, but the Civil War was too big and encompassing an issue to simply opt out of, regardless of the timing. I held a press conference. Made the paper. Earned the temporary respect of my teammates and the not so temporary ire of the government. And even knowing what it would cost me personally later on, I would do it again in a heartbeat.Jamie blinked, very obviously taken aback by the statement. For a moment, he simply stood there, looking at Cap

[tearsthrulife]

"I didn't get ye anything," Rahne said in lieu of a greeting, easily falling into step beside Jamie. She'd been meaning to come find him anyway, but catching sight of him on her way out of the Compound just across the path, she figured this was better, easier. Even being here, where it could be so easy to lose track of days, she was aware of the significance of this one, and while gifts might have been difficult to come by, that didn't mean she was going to let it pass unnoticed. She remembered too well what had happened a couple of years ago, after all. "So how's it feel, being a year older?"

[howmanylives]

I could say something trite, like that her just sticking around this place is the best gift she could give me, but my sentimental streak is best left exhibited by dupes... Preferably living ones. My disinclination towards sounding like a greeting card aside, however, it is true. I'm lucky to still have anyone here after so long.

There was nowhere to go but home -- or what passed for it, around these parts -- but Jamie was hardly about to turn down the company, least of all today, and so he continued walking, keeping at a pace at an easy pace. Considering the question for a moment, he then answered rather matter-of-factly: "Not as interesting as suddenly being several years younger."

[tearsthrulife]

"Ah, so that got ye, too?" Rahne asked, an eyebrow arching. While she'd been mercifully unaffected by that - there were worse things than suddenly changing ages, but that didn't mean she had any desire to experience it firsthand - she had seen plenty of it. It was the kind of thing that was hard to miss. At least everyone seemed to have moved on, no real damage done. "On the bright side, at least ye weren't a girl."

[howmanylives]

"I don't know that I would've minded that, actually," said Jamie, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Permanently, yes, I imagine I would have a few issues, but the novelty of the experience would be worth it, provided I was guaranteed to turn back when the clock struck midnight, so to speak. Then again, to not be in a body recognizably my own would probably be cause for a nervous breakdown, so maybe you're right -- better off that I wasn't a girl."