[CONTINUATIONS]

[mind_over_metal]

[what it says on the tin]

Comments

[finalities]

Not that Camp needs the help.

[mind_over_metal]

*chuckles*

Certainly not. Here, please take a seat.

[finalities]

[sits. Just a little nervous]

Any ideas how to go about this?

[mind_over_metal]

Plenty of ideas, but quite honestly, as you've already been able to conclude, I haven't had much practical experience dealing with telepaths other than myself.

*lifts his hands in what is probably a familiar gesture of being about to reach to touch another person's head*

We need to start somewhere, though. Let' have a look, shall we?

[finalities]

Be careful.

[takes a deep breath and tries to clear her mind to give him easier access.]

[mind_over_metal]

*gently touches his fingers to her temples, closes his eyes and goes inside, skimming over the surface*

[finalities]

[He crosses through the surface area of worry. And into the place where all her protective feelings and worries are. Her love for her family; her concern for their safety; her love for Scott; her worry for the mutant kids in Camp...

And, overall, her desire to protect them.

Do you go deeper?]

[mind_over_metal]

*that's all very lovely but of little surprise, and he's not in here for feelings. instead, he begins tracing memory pathways, searching out anything connected to her powers.*

[finalities]

[That is yielding more success. Going backwards, from her power's sudden growth to the unusually long period of her powers lying dormant and weak...

Then, much deeper in, in a part of the mind where even Jean barely remembers is her childhood - The first time she met Charles and Erik as a child (how unusually strong her powers were even then) to the first time her powers manifested as a child while her friend Annie lay dying. It's here that Charles will encounter the various mental blocks that's been placed in her mind. Many are gone now, releasing some of her power, but they are still clearly holding something in place.]

[mind_over_metal]

*pauses there to examine the blocks more carefully*

[finalities]

[They should ping as familiar, too familiar, in fact. And they're holding back bits and pieces of her raw power... and another presence. A very, very, powerful force, in fact.

Suddenly, there is a screech from behind(?) Charles. It sounds like a Phoenix]

[mind_over_metal]

*flinches both mentally and physically but doesn't retreat, not yet, flinging his mental awareness in the direction of the sound to try to decipher its source*

[finalities]

[It seems to be coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. Though it doesn't take long before something manifests. A force is leaking through the blocks, taking shape.]

Hello, Charles.

[mind_over_metal]

*the feeling -- so familiar and yet not -- it's eerie and a bit disorienting*

Hello, Phoenix.

[finalities]

Came to sight see?

[mind_over_metal]

I came to meet you.

[finalities]

[smiling] I will kill you.

[mind_over_metal]

*a moment's pause but he quickly collects himself, continuing to try to get as good of a sense as he can of this... entity*

That's certainly not outside of the realm of possibility. But I would like to ask: for whom would you be killing?

[finalities]

[It's ethereal. It doesn't feel like anything human at all. It's everything and nothing... and more importantly, it's powerful]

For myself.

[mind_over_metal]

And who are you to Jean?

[finalities]

A host. I am she. And she is me. My powers are hers and hers mine.

[mind_over_metal]

She fears you.

[finalities]

[intense pressure, pushing back against him]

Because 'you' locked me away.

[mind_over_metal]

*slowly pulling back, acknowledging the push but not ready to leave yet*

I'm quite sure that there were reasons for doing so.

[finalities]

[A killing intent is slowly mixed in with the pressure, creeping in on his presence]

'You' fear me.