" I want you by my side; we're brothers, you and I. "

[oxidantshappen]

Characters: excessivehubris, regeneracy, oxidantshappen | Closed.
Location: Erik's mysteriously empty apartment, again.
Planet: Coruscant.
When: Backdated to last night after Claire's post & this thread between Charles & Drusilla.
What: Charles gets a headful of Dru invading his mind, Erik shows up to the rescue; Claire tags along and witnesses some..... angst.
Rating: PG/PG-13.

Comments

[excessivehubris]

After the initial shock, the initial screaming, Charles tumbles away from his physical form and into his mind, which is now a war zone as well as ... so damn fascinating. Were it anyone but Erik who approached him, his concentration could have been knocked off, giving Dru another clear shot at his memories, his emotions, his secrets.

But Erik has been beside him when he's been in Cerebro and though this is nothing like that in terms of safety and comfort, Erik is a familiar and trusted presence.

Charles falls back, eyes open, fixed and staring, the way Erik has seen him when working Cerebro, when Charles' physical body and his mind are nearly two separate creatures. He can not respond, too locked into the battlefield in his own psyche, she is good, she is so damn good never has he had to fight for himself like this before, it would be almost exhilarating, were it not so dangerous. His teeth are tightly clenched, slightly bared and he breaths through them as if he is running a mile sprint.

[regeneracy]

Of course, Claire is taken by surprise when she hears the screams. She's even more surprised by Erik's reaction, and stares after him as he takes off, stunned. When she realizes that he's said Charles' name, she rushes along after him, and grabs hold of the doorframe to keep her from getting too far into the room.

Whatever had happened, she can't help with, and she reluctantly moves out of the doorway to approach the two men.

"What happened?" She sounds more frantic than Erik, since she has no clue why Charles is like this or what's going on. "What's wrong with him?" She peers over Erik's shoulder at the other man, and she can tell that something has happened, but there's not many physical signs as to what that could be.

[oxidantshappen]

Adrenaline runs through him faster than he can imagine, and Claire's words pass by ignored. Erik cups his face, all wide eyed and bared teeth, facing the man directly because it doesn't take a telepath to realize that Charles is lost in his mind. He's seen it once before, back when they first tested Cerebro, but this lacks all of the exhilaration that Charles carried then.

He straightens up, fixated on Charles, whispering his name, louder each time as if it'll make a difference when he's so clearly out of it. Erik turns back to Claire and issues an order, harsh as it gets in tone: "Find me his datapad. He had to be talking to someone for this to happen."

"Charles, please, you're stronger than this," Erik says persistently, frustration leading to anger because it's all he knows without Charles there to guide him. He rakes his hands through the man's hair, intent on separating the telepath's iron grip on his head, the tension strong enough to break his fingers if Erik wasn't careful. "Get them out of your head."

[excessivehubris]

When he finally does come back to himself, he's going to be a mite bashful about the fact that Claire is there and his shirt is haphazardly buttoned at best, untucked and he's disheveled. Right now, however, he's completely unaware, beyond some nebulous recognition that someone else is moving in the room.

He's working on taking his mind back but damn is the dark haired woman on the datapad -Dru- powerful. Older and stronger than anything he's ever tested himself against, Emma is a mere infant compared to this and Emma was no slouch.

Distantly, he's aware of Erik's hands in his hair and he wishes he could reach out and reassure the other man but his entire focus is inward, towards his psyche. Even the feeling of disquiet he should have in response to the fact that Claire is now getting an up close and personal view of his powers, more than he wanted to expose her too but he can't spare a thought to it.

Erik trusts her, he trusts Erik. It will have to be enough.