[Charles is back, and while he doesn't look any different - he doesn't look older, he's got the same hair cut and navy blue sweaters - there's still something different. He seems... happier, more enthusiastic than he's been in a long time before Erik graduated.]

Well, I'm glad to see the ship hasn't burned down in my absence. [And if he sounds mildly surprised about that, can you really blame him?

Anyway, moving on.]

I'm very happy to report that things are moving along quite smoothly at home. Erik says hello, [Or some variation on that to some of you, let's be serious graduation didn't suddenly turn him into a super fluffy fun guy who particularly cares about 90% of you.] Although he remains fairly adamant that he's absolutely not coming back in this lifetime, if at all possible.

[Which kind of begs the question of what the hell is he doing back here, but that's for him to know and you guys to find out at some point maybe.

And with all that said and done, he sobers a little, although he's still looking pretty upbeat and generally pleased.]

I've spend two years on this ship, and in that time, I've had too many people tell me some variation of "you can't change your future", or that I was wasting my time putting my faith in someone who's too incompetent to ever do anything right, and I understand where all of that stemmed from. It's incredibly easy to lose hope here, especially in regards to both those things, and if anyone tries to tell you you're weak for doing so, they're wrong.

But it does work, and you can change your future. This place has done everything it could to drag me and the people I love under, but we've still managed to overcome it, and you can, too.

[And he means that, seriously. He's got the proof to back it up now, too.]

For any new arrivals, I'm Doctor- or I suppose it's really Professor Charles Xavier, now. I'm a warden, I'm a telepath, [Mutant and proud, right?] and I'm one of the wardens in charge of the garden, if anyone's interested in lending a hand. I'm also available as a counselor for anyone - warden or inmate - who feels they need someone to talk to.

( Spam for Jonah )

[Spam for Erik]

( oh, adhere to me for we are bound by symmetry )

[Public]

[Charles looks a little frazzled - his hair's a little messier than usual, and he looks drained - but smiles, clearly at least a little enthusiastic.]

Well, this has certainly been an eye opening experience thus far. [He raises a hand, and a couple metal things carefully lift off the desk and start rotating in the air at about eye level with him. So you can probably guess whose powers he ended up with.

Eventually, the novelty's going to wear off, but for the time being, being able to experiment with something new is pretty cool.]

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone else who's found their powers swapped with anyone else's. [Zane, Alex, Jean, etc. :|] And if anyone needs help, I have had some experience with helping people learn to control their abilities, and I'd be happy to try to lend a hand with this.

[Private to Marsh]

[And this point, the metal objects have all clunked back down on the desk because THANKS, ZANE, but Charles still looks pretty calm and unflustered by the day's events thus far.]

I hope I'm not being a bother, but I'm Charles Xavier - Zane's warden. I know we haven't met, but Zane's told me you might be able to tell who's switched abilities with him, and I was wondering if you'd mind giving us a hand.

[Charles is sitting at a desk in his room, dressed in one of his usual dark blue sweater/lighter blue colored shirts combos, and over all looks very put together, even though he's sort of been chewing over making this post and how he wants to say all of this for a while before actually turning on the video feed.]

My counterpart during the breach worked for the secret facility in Bargewell, trying to rehabilitate mutants and aliens who could learn to cope with and control their abilities and pass for human among a normal population. [Which isn't a secret to some, but will be news to others.] He honestly wanted to help them, and thought the facility was a safer place to adjust, away from people who might think to cause them harm for being different.

Because- [And it's silly, to have to hesitate before saying this, because he's certainly not hiding what he is or what he's capable of.] He was a mutant, too. And he lived his whole life terrified of who he was and what he was capable of, and what might happen if anyone ever found out about what he could do. He spent his whole life being afraid because he thought there was something wrong with him for not being "normal".

[He pauses, considering what to say next, because he can't help but think of Raven, and how he basically made her feel the same way because she was different, because she couldn't be herself without exposing what she really was, and it just wasn't safe to be parading around yelling "mutant and proud!" from the rooftops.

But he could have been more supportive. He could have told her she was always beautiful, no matter what color her skin was, and he's still not entirely sure he's ever going to have a chance to make up for that. Or ever see her again.]

I know I've had it easier than a lot of people with supernatural abilities. I've always had to hide what I'm capable of, but it's not like I have something physical to hide that marks me as different from everyone else, and so I've never felt like there was anything wrong with me, or been told that there might be or was.

But I have known people who have heard that said, and, worse, actually believe that's true after being told it for so long. And it isn't. There is nothing wrong with us for being different. We shouldn't have to be afraid, or ashamed, and we shouldn't have to hide. [Erik's words taste almost bitter in his mouth, and he has to take a breath before he continues.]

Obviously, we do, and me saying this here isn't going to change that, for those of us who come from worlds where that's the norm for people like us. But we aren't there now, and there's no reason to hide or be afraid, because there are people here who understand what you're going through now and what you've already been through before coming here. You're not alone.

We're no better or worse than people without abilities just because we can do things they can't. We're all just people. We're flawed, and we make poor decisions, but that has nothing to do with being able to read minds, or change our appearance, or use magic. It's time for us to accept what we are, and that's people, not monsters or supermen.

( Notes for Alex, Jean and Doyle )

[Private to the Admiral]

I'm still waiting on an answer. [He'll send daily messages until he gets a response. :|]

[Spam for the Deck]

[It wasn't really unusual for Charles to feel some level of isolation from other people, humans and mutants alike, especially recently - had Cuba really already been nearly seven months ago? - and it had really only gotten worse since he'd arrived on the Barge.

And honestly, he didn't really mind. The isolation came more from a place of what people expected from him than because he was different or whatever else. He was supposed to be the mature one, the person with all the answers, who couldn't be vulnerable because everyone else needed a rock to lean on when their worlds were spiraling out of control. And he was happy to be that person for whoever needed it.

But it made days like today difficult, because he wanted someone to talk to about all of this, and while months ago he would have approached Erik without hesitation, he felt like he couldn't be honest with him anymore, even besides the fact that a large part of what was weighing on Charles had to do with him.

So he'd decided he couldn't take just sitting around in his room anymore and headed up to the deck. Months ago, he might have gone for a run, but that obviously wasn't an option anymore, and so he just stopped a few feet away from the deck railing, watching their progress through space. After a few minutes, he slowly started relaxing his telepathic control, not enough to be noticeable by most people, probably. Just enough to make sure no one could sneak up on him and take some of the tension off. Keeping himself fully pulled back was almost like keeping a muscle tensed indefinitely, and he needed the reprieve, however slight it actually was.]

[Warden Filtered + The Admiral]

[Charles honestly feels like he should have addressed this months ago. But Erik got paired and he was maybe hoping Parker would get what the problem was, here, and give him the benefit of the doubt and just give him stuff back, but that obviously didn't happen and, yeah. He's waited too long, and now he feels guilty he didn't do it earlier.

He hasn't talked a lot with people about who Erik is to him - because really he doesn't talk much about himself at all and the whole best friend/arch nemesis thing is still new and decidedly unpleasant for various reasons - and he isn't really planning on going into detail now but. This couldn't wait.]

I understand that this isn't the sort of thing wardens have much control over unless they're actually assigned to an inmate, but I'd still like to petition the Admiral to give Erik Lensherr his powers back, at their full ability, as soon as possible.

[And he is very well aware why in light of his most recent post that might get some raised eyebrows, but.] I know most of you are aware by now that we're mutants. Humans, in our world, have started to evolve to develop unique gifts. We're not entirely sure how or why - it's my field of research, and there's been some discussion that it's the result of entering the atomic age - but the fact is, we were born with these abilities. We've learned to control them and use them responsibility, and we've had to hide what we really are from most people in fear of how people would react to knowing people like us exist. When other humans do become aware of what we're capable of, they've often responded with fear, or taunting, or with plans to turn us into little more than a sideshow, or creatures to be experimented on. We've spent a lifetime trying to hide who we are and learning control to protect ourselves and others, and control or abuse of power really isn't an issue at this point in our lives.

Erik has a much darker view of mankind than I do, and it comes from a lifetime of witnessing the darkest parts of humanity. Coming here, and being told that he's a prisoner, and being denied a fundamental part of his being, repeatedly, despite already having control and showing that he isn't an inmate to be concerned about is just making things worse, and I'm concerned that without getting his abilities restored, we're all running a larger risk of damaging his ability to make any progress at all here, which is something I can't watch happen. [He might have accidentally paralyzed him and kind of gone off the deep end a little, but Erik is still his best friend/hetero life partner. :c] This isn't just some parlor trick or a luxury he can learn to live without. It's a part of him, as much as much as any other sense or facet of a personality is.

Anyone who has an ability or biological make up that differs from the human "norm" understands how violating it feels to have it stripped while in a port. But at least we have the guarantee that in a few days, we'll be back to normal. Erik - and other inmates like him - don't have that luxury, and after everything we've been through I, personally, can't endorse. Not after this long. Not when he's done nothing to prove he can't be trusted with it, and not after what we've all been subjected to already. Being stripped of your abilities is [And he kind of hesitates before using the word, because he is still decidedly Not Okay with his paralysis and talking about it with other people. He ends up spitting it out almost like he's aware of how potentially ironic his choice in words were, almost self depreciatingly funny.] crippling, and I can't imagine being in the position of the inmates on board who've been denied full access to things that help define them.

[And yes, maybe it's a little selfish that he's only asking for Erik and not for everyone but. It's Erik. And it's easier to start small and he's still kind of a selfish person.]

I'm obviously telling the wardens as a whole, but I'm addressing this to you as well, Admiral. Assuming you're listening. If you actually care about the well being of those under your care, you'll take this under serious consideration. We don't know how long it will take for him to get reassigned, and I'm not letting him wait for another six months just because he doesn't have a specific warden working with him.

[Added Later: Private to Tony]

Now that we've all had some time to cool off, would you mind telling me exactly what was going on with you and Erik? [He feels like he's got a decent enough read on you to know that's not really 100% normal day to day behavior and just what the hell was that, bro.]

[Added Later: Private to Steve]

I am so terribly sorry for what was said, earlier.

Although I still don't understand or particularly appreciate - [Understatement of the year and it's evident by his tone of voice that he's still angry about it.] - the Admiral deciding those of us who aren't human to not know hot to act like responsible adults in port, I did appreciate the support from both those who understood from experience and those who simply empathized.

With a few exceptions. [Pink. :V]

I understand it's can be a difficult thing for someone who doesn't abilities of their own to first accept that other people are capable of doing things like reading minds or manipulating matter without physically touching it, and thus it's difficult to imagine what it must be like to not be able to do that, but it truly is like waking up one morning and discovering you've gone deaf. Or blind. And being told it's happened because you're different and this is a way of "fitting in" is demeaning. Just because our genetic coding or biology is slightly different doesn't mean we should be made to change, or to be treated differently.

I've seen this way of thinking come from a place of fear, because "different" often means "unknown", and generally, people are taught - knowingly or not - to fear things they don't understand. But I can promise you, reacting with fear, suspicion and hostility without first coming to understand others will only give those who are different, and who fear persecution because of it evidence that they are right in striking back just as viciously.

Fear and uncertainty, leaping to conclusions and persecuting those different from you is not the solution to anything, and in a place such as this, based around the idea of redemption and second chances, I'd like to hope people understand this, or come to, if they do not already.

[Private to Merlin]

How have you been holding up? I'd meant to check in with you while we were in port.

[Private to Arthur, after Merlin poofs]

Merlin's vanished. I thought you should be the first to know.

[So, it's taken a little bit of effort to actually pull himself together enough to make this post without appearing like he's about to start actually panicking. Waking up with a hangover in a hotel room you've never seen before is bad enough, but upon realizing he can't even sense the minds of others around him, let alone reach out to contact them in any way is almost like realizing he can't feel his legs for the first time again.

His first thought, really, is to contact Erik, but that's not an option he wants to pursue. Maybe. At least not when he's feeling this powerless (literally) and vulnerable. So instead, after pulling it together enough to sound somewhat presentable, he posts to the Barge in general.]

Is it standard for abilities to be reduced when the Admiral drops us off in port?

[Private to Erik AFTER MUCH HESITATION AND INTERNAL DEBATE and a bit later than the first part of the message]

Are you alright?

[Spam for Iroh]

( Here there is spam. )