PROFESSOR X.

Well, this was a surprise. Last Emma knew, Charles Xavier was quite dead. Killed by his darling Jean Grey. She didn’t care that it was some cosmic force. Jean had still killed him, still betrayed her and tried to kill her, along with the rest of the X-men. Emma should have known better than to trust fellow psychics who tried to befriend her. Astrid should have been her warning, but no, she just had to let Jean in. If it hadn’t been for that diamond form that she developed on the spot- she’d probably be dead. Which was why she’d run off to join Erik on his quaint little island.

Emma couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Charles so young- but it had definitely been when she went to the X-men. When she wanted to reform. When she left Hellfire Club. But no matter how hard she tried to be good- it seemed no one would trust her. She didn’t really blame them, she’d been a thorn in their side for quite a long time, after all.

She leaned against the lamppost beside her, a smirk on her face. “Well, don’t you look good for a man who’s been a corpse for nineteen years, Charles.” she mused. She could already tell this wasn’t your average back from the dead thing. Some sort of time travel was involved.

“Yes well, I suppose non-voluntary time displacement tends to have that effect.” Something that also managed to make him uncomfortable, mostly because he wasn’t a fan of time travel..certainly not when it could alter things that were currently in place and certainly not when it involved the people he cared for...or his school. 

Perhaps it came with the territory or indeed knowing her face which was surprising considering the length of time.”It is..nice to see you Emma.” And considering everything there was perhaps some sentiment to that but then again one did look for familiar faces in unfamiliar terrain.

This was no different. 

      “Your school is still standing. Full of students, as always.” Including her own children, but she wouldn’t mention that. She wasn’t even sure this Charles knew about them, and if he didn’t.. Well, it wouldn’t be easy getting out of explaining the mess that her family life was. 

      “What year was it last? The 70′s? 80′s?” She rested her hands on her hips, watching the man in the chair closely. Erik was quite fond of this mutant, and thanks to that and the fact they often ended up in fights against one another.. Well, Raven tended to know quite a bit of information. It helped a lot when sneaking into the school.

      “Other’s from the past? No. Not that I know of,” At least, from the past. She couldn’t recall seeing any faces lately that had been from long before. Only Charles. “I can bring you to your school, the city and everything changed quite a lot. Even you would get lost in it.”

“As it always should.” A smile came at that, bias or not it was simply nice to know his vision continued even after he no longer did; it was how he’d always wanted it to be, students thriving together for as long as possible because god knows he’d never had a place like that, nor had Raven or plenty of other mutants. 

A small sigh passed, “The 80's, so I assume it has been some time then...-i’m happy to know you’re still around.” He cared for her, in many ways she was the only family he’d had...the only family that hadn’t ever truly left him in one way or another and he always had a hope that she would live on far past him. 

“You would have found out soon enough.” she replied, quietly. There was… so much to unpack here, but she didn’t think any of it should be told. Jean tried to return his smile, but she could barely do it. He really was from the past. Which meant she had to be careful, else she could change nineteen years worth of history- unless he wiped his own mind when he got home. That was always a possibility.

How old was his version of her? Seventeen? Still scaring everyone with her nightmares? Definitely hadn’t married Scott yet. She kept all of that to herself, trying to figure out just what exactly she could tell him without completely screwing up the timeline. “I did.” To him, it would seem that way. She grew up, had a couple kids, was married for a while, but right now, she felt like that little lost girl whose best friend had died. That little lost girl he took in so long ago.

She couldn’t tell him the X-men were disbanded by Fury- that was her fault, and would require telling him how he died. She couldn’t tell him much about her and Scott- that also required… telling him how he died. “I… took over the school after you…” at least he’d know it was in good hands, right? She couldn’t tell him about the finnacial troubles that ended in an anonomyous donor buying the school and then giving it to her, she probaly couldn’t even tell him much about her friendship with Tony Stark. “Sorry, that’s… already too much. I- do you- want me to take you back to the school?” Should she? Should she take him to S.H.I.E.L.D? No. The school was better. Charles was one of them, and she didn’t trust S.H.I.E.L.D with a time displaced version of her mentor. This was something the X-men had to deal with alone.

“Perhaps.” And he was certain he’d come to discover far more than he desired to even in his best attempt to avoid it...the inevitability of it all was almost chilling. For now though he’d follow by his own rules, the ones that kept this future the way it was and didn’t risk anything interrupting the timeline. 

Maybe that was just it, she’d grown but in the same way a father looked at their child they never truly grew up or at least not in some ways. The professor still recalled the young girl she’d been when he’d first taken her in, it made it easier knowing she was still around in this future; he always knew he’d die some day. 

A small nod was offered, “Good, I knew one day i’d be gone and it would fall into the hands of someone else. I’m certainly glad that happens to be you my dear.” There was no one better suited to continue in his footsteps, no one that wouldn’t change the school in ways he did not agree with apart from her. It was comforting. “Yes. I believe that would be the smart option and while you walk with me you can tell me about this future.” Or at least the parts he could know. 

      At first, Raven couldn’t help but to stare. This was not the man who died nearly nineteen years ago, yet at the same time, it was. He was younger, and if Raven mind was actually working she would have been able to think of the date to pinpoint when the last time she saw his face so young. So young with a head full of hair.. 

      “Charles?” She asked, stepping around the chair to have a look at his eyes for herself. If they hadn’t been in public she would have freely shapeshifted back to being blue skin, but seeing as that was not the case.. Raven merely flashed her eyes to yellow before just mimicking the colour of Charles. He was clever enough to put two and two together.

      Did Erik do something to bring this man back to life? Rip him from the past to have his old friend back? Last she checked, he was not doing anything dealing with time travel.. and Irene didn’t foretell anything about this! 

      “You’re alive.”

“Raven.” It came with a tone of relief, perhaps she was older now but it was nice to see someone he cared for...someone familiar. It was why a smile came and fell from his lips. He wished he had answers, ones that pinpointed the reason he had been brought here; even accidentally meant someone had to have had a hand in it and it would be that same individual that could send him back. 

He let her words sit with him for a moment, he’d already discovered the fact he was dead in this future but there was something about the repetition of it that meant it was finally beginning to resonate with him even if he did not outwardly wish to say so. 

Some things really shouldn’t have been possible. Especially this. Telepaths tended to have their own special signature. Wanda had one, and Loki had one very different from Wanda’s. This one, was one Jean hadn’t felt around her in years. Nineteen to be exact. She’d counted. At first, she thought she was hallucinating as she walked back home from Avenger’s Tower- she always thought about Charles around Christmas, so it was plausible- yet-

Here he was.

She stood there, staring at the back of his wheelchair. This couldn’t be real. This was his ghost coming to haunt her- maybe Loki was playing a trick on her- or maybe Erik had found another shapeshifter and wanted to mess with her- revenge for killing Charles. His best friend. Her mentor. Father figure. Maybe Erik wanted her to suffer, but he should know that no one hated Jean Grey more than she hated herself. For everything she’d done. That the Phoenix had done in control of her. She’d killed him. But there was no signature that felt like Loki around- and no dead spot to idicate Erik’s helmet. This was really happening.

“Charles?” that was the only word she could get out in response to him- she had barely heard what he’d said, too caught up in her own thoughts. “I- how are you- you can’t be here, you- you died. I-” I killed you. I watched you die as the Phoenix Force killed you. But she didn’t say that. If he was from the past, like it seemed he was, she could not, under any circumstances tell him how he had died, immediately walling herself off, strengthening her defenses to him. If she was correct- his version of her was still very young. “I-” she looked away from him, furiously wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Did he even recognize her? “It’s… Jean.”

The face...the voice, it may all have been different and changed within how long it had been for her at least but there was certainly not a day that passed in which he would not recognise the powerful mind of this one mutant. One who had reminded him so much of himself as a young child that he almost refused not to help her or to raise her when her own family could do no such thing. 

He loved her in the same way that a father would their daughter, that would never change. 

Her tone however made for quite the concern, the tidbit of shock or disbelief that gave the perception as if something were wrong or had happened and then she hit him with the one fact he feared would have been the case. “You and I both know I probably shouldn’t be aware of that fact either..-” a small smile was offered only because he could see the effect: could tell there was more to it than she was willing to admit but he wouldn’t push, some things were better kept to oneself after all.  “You grew up.” A statement of some warmth because he’d only ever been able to imagine who she would become but to be sat before it, it was something he could say made him selfishly glad to be there. 

At least for now. 

It was clear at best that this had been an accident, there was no real intention for him to be here otherwise he suspected he wouldn’t have turned up randomly. A sigh passed, rubbing his temple as he adjusted himself within his chair to find a more comfortable position..only raising his head at the sound of footsteps. 

“Forgive me but I do believe you may be able to help me?” He spoke with some warmth, not quite turning his head enough to gather who had walked up behind him. “This is New York that much I do know...”