2013-10-16 - The End of Time: Love Hurts

Now, this isn't awkward at all! First, Emil and Hope were on the couch, holding hands with their heads close together as they whispered and spoke and basically grinned like morons. The growth in age difference between the two of them since they last saw each other didn't seem to bother them. Getting Hope to go to her room to sleep was basically impossible, she kept sneaking out as did Emil to just sleep down in the Student Rec Room. They didn't try anything funny though, just talking and to be close to one-another. The emotional draw between the two would whip lash any telepath.

And then Nathaniel showed up. It wasn't a bad thing at all! Just...awkward. Cause Hope actually smile when he arrived, then looked a bit awkward, but wouldn't let go of Emil's hand.

Emil seemed to pick up on it and also wouldn't let go of Hope's hand, but watched Nathaniel with open interest and alertness.

And who escorted Nathaniel in other than Jean Grey?

"Ah...hey Nathaniel. Umm...Nathaniel, this is Emil Spence. Emil, this is Nathaniel Richards." She actually DOES introductions this time. "And...that's Jean Grey, she's co-assistant headmistress here and a teacher."

Emil nods his head respectfully toward Jean and Nathaniel, "A pleasure to meet you both. It's good to see Hope with some friends and people she can trust finally." He smiles toward her.

Hope on the other hand scowls and lightly punches Emil's arm, which only makes him laugh. "Don't make me shove my fist where the sun don't shine mister."

It only draws more laughter from Emil.

Jean would not only sense the love from Emil toward Hope, but also confusion about what is going on around him or how he got here. There is also grief beneath the surface as he knows other than Hope...everyone he ever knew is dead now. There is a strange telepathic energy coming from Emil however, it feels...like Jean should know it, but he doesn't seem to be telepathic himself. A residue perhaps? It would require more research.

Now this is getting almost too creepy for Jean then. The limitations on telepathy, people appearing out of nowhere, from other timelines, and.. Oh well. Emma's likely not dealing with it by virtue of taking a 'constitutional', and so shall Jean. So, while she can't manage to sneak some of Logan's prime booze along, so Jean has managed to indulge in some of her favorite passion fruit chocolates which are secretly loaded with alcohol, and Jean is currently sitting back and rubbing her head.

Nathaniel doesn't seem very happy. Oh, he is courteous enough, but definitely at the chilly side of the equation. Hope's previous boyfriend appearing was, to put it mildly, unexpected. He can try to be gracious about it, but Hope is the first girl for which he had real feelings in his life, and all this is painful for him. Still, he came, because time travel is of great interest to him, and some of the comments Dr. McCoy made last evening make him suspect something weirder than simple (hah! Simple!) time travel is going on.

Now, how to approach the problem without upsetting Hope, that is the question.

"So....are people typically so quiet after introduction here?" Emil is looking between Nathaniel and Jean.

Hope leans toward Emil, "I think you broke something in Nathaniel's head...then again, you broke something in mine, but I'm not thinking about it. And Jean...I'm not sure, I think she has 'issues'." Hope nods sagely.

"Ah...issues." And Emil is thinking: 'Whatever those are, poor Jean.'

Hope gives Jean an innocent look. Like hell she is innocent! She's prodding Jean cause she's being all quiet, when for once...Hope is really happy. She's scared shitless, but insanely, blindly happy too.

Jean Grey glances over at Emil, and then back and over towards Nathaniel, and lets out a sigh and goes to sit, "All right, Hope, what is going on? And is your friend going to be attending classes then?" Or is he going to be someone that Logan is trying to stab and skewer silly then? A lot of the students can fit over into those categories. Then she gives a nod over at Nathaniel, "And you all right?"

"I am well enough, Ms Grey," replies Nathaniel. Then he nods to Emil, "my apologies, I have much to ponder right now." He sighs, then smirks at Hope, "maybe I am just shocked Hope made introductions, she always forgets."

Emil then chuckles, "I'm shocked she talks to anyone but me." But he looks happy that Hope now seems to have friends, he actually feels it inside too. He was so scared for her, and wanted her happy above all else. Jean may realize just how self-sacrificing the young man is, and how dangerous that can be around someone like Hope.

Hope rolls her eyes, "Ya, well, last I checked, don't have a stalker wanting to kill me and promising anyone a..., umm...gift...in exchange for...I'm shutting up now." NUKE. If Jean thought to pick it up.

Emil gives Hope's hand an encouraging squeeze. "I just wish you would have trusted me."

"I did! But I know you would want to tell your...anyway, we went through this already." Hope shakes her head. They talked long into the night. "And no Nathaniel, I don't know how he got here."

Emil confesses, "I only remember the ship, and...hoping Hope got away in time with Na..," a squeeze of his hand, "with he Guardian. I thought I was dead with the Brood closing in." Emil then shrugs, "If you have questions, I can try my best to answer them. I just don't really know the answers however. I just heard a voice, one I never heard before, and then I was here."

Jean Grey glances over at Emil and rubs her face, "So, are you native to this timestream over or not?" He certainly seems human enough, despite the strange clothing he's wearing, and as far as she's seen very few humans have been off planet and encountered the Brood over in such a way that aren't alien hybrids of a sort. "So.. W here exactly are you from, and how do you know Hope?"

"So you don't remember how you got here?" Nathaniel frowns, "someone is manipulating Hope, bringing people from the past, and now from the future, and harassing her friends with cryptic warnings." He goes to find a seat some distance from the happy couple. The young man looks tired today.

"I...can't say where I'm from, other than someplace different." This was at Hope's request not to 'confirm' anything to the people at the Institute. "But there were no cryptic messages or harassing. I was just there, and then suddenly here," Emil attempts to explain.

Emil's dark eyes flicker toward Jean, "I'm not sure where the technology came for the ships, only it belonged to another that bought us together into a Clan. There were two cities, side-by-side and constantly at war. The one I lived in housed by the Clan of Stryfe, and the other housed by what we called the Unclean. Now that I look back at it, we were killing and slaughtering for the meager supplies when we should have been working together. My opinions have changed dramatically though over the last few years," his eyes turning back to Hope. "Now there is nothing left, and we were ill-prepared for space."

Hope shifts to lean against Emil in silent support, just listening. She worries her lower lip over some of the things he says, but she knows far more than he, and keeps her thoughts as blank as possible. But when she reluctantly pulls away, "Alright, I got to go take a piss. But don't ask him anything weird guys!" She hops to her feet and makes herself go to the rest room before she has an accident on the couch.

Emil merely appears amused.

Jean Grey just glances over at Emil, "I'm sorry, but that won't suffice. Hope is still a member of the student body here, and just that much isn't enough to go on. We're going to need something more substantive here, I'm sorry if you're going to want to be let in, so you'll have to forgive us for wanting more than just that." Sipping over at her chocolates then as if she could get more of the alcohol from them. Then quirks a brow as he continues, and rubs at her head then. "Wonderful.. I'm sorry.." Jean takes a breath, "But did those ships look anything like.. This?" She flicks her fingers, and makes up a trio of images then in a psychic illusion. Celestial ships.

Nathaniel is not particularly surprised by Emil's story. Hope is ever reluctant to give details about her past. And definitely someone is playing games with her. He says nothing while the younger redhead leaves, and Jean speaks. But he will be running scans on Emil when he has time to deploy his armor.

He recognizes the celestial ship designs. Surprised Jean has seen any, too.

Emil says honestly, "I provided what Hope permitted me to provide Miss Grey. My loyalty is to my heart, and that heart is Hope. I would never betray her and would do everything in my power to make sure she is kept safe. Her...guardian once told me she was important to the world. But to me, she is simply the most important person in existence." The words are spoken from the heart.

"Not really," Emil seeming confused. "We designed them ourselves from the technology we had, that we were taught of by Stryfe." He seems completely boggled by the image out of thin air, "How...did you do that?" And perhaps some wariness, as if Jean is like Stryfe...and will control others like puppets if she can do strange things like that.

The signature reads are strange. They sense a solid body, but the life signs seem weak and unstable.

Jean Grey takes a heaving breath then. For once thankful that she was wrong. Thankful those few memories of the Phoenix she took with her combined with things she had seen from the Fantastic Four were things that were for once off base. Jean elaborates, "I'm somewhat of a telepath. Those are projected illusions. Those.. Particular things are floating ships that traveled the stars manned by the Celestials and used, from what I've been told, for vast universal experimentation." She takes another breath, "Like Galactus' Worldship." Something she only remembers from the reports of Reed Richards.

"Ms. Grey, was there anything unusual with the other..." Nathaniel hesitates. "Someone called Catseye appeared recently too, is she residing in the school grounds currently?" It would be interesting to compared sensor readings between the mutant from the past and the human from the future. "And, hmm, the Celestials do no use time travel technology, they are already in the past and the future."

"Look, you both just lost me. I learned about the existence of mutants not even an hour before my death, and then I didn't die, and now I'm here. Then again, same of the Brood. So...throw in Celestials, and I'm still lost." Emil moves to stand, moving about a bit as he waits for Hope to return. He heads for the television, the current volume on low as he was just watching cartoons. He reaches out to touch the buttons and...nothing happens, Emil is still. When he moves again, he tries again and the television reacts, changing the channel as he finds commercials that he seems to like, pausing on them as he returns to the couch, suddenly looking nervous.

Nathaniel would have been able to see what happened from where he sits. Emil's finger phased through the television, Jean though would pick up panic and worry that Emil pushes aside to smile when Hope returns.

"Good, everyone is still alive." Hope moves to flop down beside Emil.

Jean Grey watches over,and continues to frown, "You're clinging to her emotionally." That particular bit of how (she would put it, in that state of panic) that Emil is close over to hope is setting off triggers in her brain then over that Jean can't quite place. So, Jean goes over to telepathically send to Nathaniel < What is your particular thoughts on him?> Jean is picking up honest panic, but she's not sure what is causing it, and she's wanting another, neutral opinion then as she telepathically speaks to the other person i the room.

Nathaniel blinks at the telepathic message. First time for him. Well, not exactly, he has 'talked' mind to mind using devices, but not natural telepathy. < I am quite sure he is not correctly anchored in the present time-space. But I do not know why. > He replies. < It is possible to travel time psychically, we might be looking to such a case. If so, he will 'bounce' back to his timeline if... when he loses control of his power. And what I am seeing might be power fluctuations. > His thoughts are transmitted clearly, but there is quite a bit more behind them. He is trying to recall science articles and videos he has seen years ago. He has an excellent memory, but also a huge amount of learning in his head, particularly considering his age. Education systems in the far future must be quite effective.

Emil goes to open his mouth, but then closes it as Hope enters, getting that smile in place. As she flops down beside him, he does reach out to hold her hand again. He never thought to see her again, and all he knew is gone...so he is clinging to her emotionally, but he also thankful to have this time with Hope. "Least you aren't using the street anymore."

"I'm seriously going to hurt you," Hope threatens again.

Emil just grins. "You mentioned about showing me the town though?"

"Oh ya, guess I lost track of time." Hope mmms softly, "Can I catch you later Nathaniel? I...just need a few days, alright?" Hope needs this time to adjust to Emil's presence...and simply put, she's terrified if she lets him go, he will disappear on her.

Still, Emil looks over at Nathaniel thoughtfully, as if noticing something that others likely would have missed.

There's a light frown over from Jean then, directed over at Nathaniel as well then in acknowledgement of what he's said, "Hope, given we don't know much about him or where he's from, i'm going to have to ask you for now if you bring him back to the public areas of the mansion to let a teacher know ahead of time. If he needs help otherwise getting a place to stay, that's fine as well and we can arrange a room over in a hotel somewhere for him and you can see him as much as you want." But until they figure out what exactly his story is, much less 'displaced in time', Jean would rather not have him at the school until they can figure out what's up.

"A few days?" Nathaniel shakes his head, "I do not think you, we have so much time. Remember there is someone..." again, he hesitates. "Someone playing games with you, using time-travel. Consider your response to Emil appearance," so much stronger than previous reactions. "Try to clear your thoughts and consider this: Who and why would someone want you in the current mental state?"

"I'll stay with him," Hope states, her loyalty firmly planted with Emil just like that. "Don't worry about it." And Hope will walk away that fast for the boy.

Emil says, "Hope...," concern in his tone.

Hope shakes her head at, "No. You -aren't- leaving me again," the words are firm, and angry sounding. Pain and loss are Hope's strongest emotions.

"Alright Hope, alright," Emil apparently knowing better than arguing with her.

Hope then takes a deep breath to calm herself down, "I'll contact you soon Nathaniel," not looking at him directly right now, hurt there too and confusion. "Things are just...complicated. And this...this -is- important Nathaniel, to me." She then will nod at Jean, "I'll contact you about where we will be staying," and Hope moves to leave with Emil.

Emil still looks concerned after Hope and steal a look back at the two of you, mouthing: 'I'm sorry'. In many ways though, Hope is the boss between them unless it means her direct safety...then Emil won't budge no matter what.