Log: [Haller, Xavier] A Quiet Return

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Charles welcomes back an unexpected visitor.



Charles sighed as he went over the papers that had been building up on his desk. Recovery meant long periods of inactivity, which meant sometimes the work piled up. And with the influx of recent students, there was a lot to sort through.

The knock at the door was a welcome distraction. He resisted the urge to reach out and see who it was as he looked up, instead simply calling, "It's open."

The door opened quietly to admit the visitor. A man entered -- a little thinner, a little dirtier, but otherwise unchanged from when last they'd seen one another. Unhurried, the newcomer waited until he'd stepped fully into the room before he spoke.

"Hello, Charles," said David Haller. Behind him, the door shut of its own accord.

It was only years of practice that allowed Charles to keep the shock out of his expression, choosing something more neutral. He looked over the man quickly, taking in his appearance. The first thing he noticed was the two blue eyes. "David," he said after a moment, his voice carefully controlled. That would be best until he had a better handle on the situation. "Welcome back."

"It's good to be back. Rachel is here, too." His son's cool blue eyes flicked over him in a slower but equally purposeful assessment. He met Charles' gaze and paused, a faint crease appearing between his eyebrows. An eyebrow tilted.

"You've been injured. I feel the scars. The Phoenix?"

Charles nodded slowly, still watching Haller. Something seemed...off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what. "I suffered a stroke from the encounter. And yourself? You've been missing for quite a while." Assumed dead was heavily implied.

"Safe on the astral plane. Rachel took us there. We only reemerged yesterday -- David wasn't adapted to survive there, at least not in the same way she did. She managed to pull us out before I could dissipate." Haller paused, regarding his father and mentor. Charles had always been an early riser; he'd come here with every expectation of finding the man already in his office. But the man looked old, smaller than he remembered. How much, he wondered, was the natural consequence of the man's recovery, and how much his own change in perspective?

"I'm sorry you were hurt," he said at last, "and that David wasn't here to help you afterwards. Jim would have wanted to be here for you. Even so, I'm glad you survived. He would have wanted that, too."

Another nod as Charles noted the use of Jim's and David's names in third person. "I'm glad Rachel was able to protect you." Her return would be another situation to sort out. He made a note of that in the back of his mind as well. "You're not Jim or David." That much was obvious. "What should I call you, then?"

That earned a pause. "I've given some thought to that," Haller replied, "but I don't have any answer better than the one I gave Rachel. I remember everything that's ever happened in David's system, and I have no distinct personal identity. I'm not an alter -- but I'm not your son, either. I'm just what keeps him functioning in the absence of others." He gave the professor a slight shrug. "It may be best to think of me as negative space. I'm what's left when everything else is gone."

Ah. The older man gave a small nod. "And the others?" He questioned after a moment. "Are they still there somewhere?" It wouldn't surprise him if they had all just retreated in the recesses of Haller's mind, unable to handle everything that had happened. But if they had ceased to exist altogether...that would be a bigger problem.

"Rachel chooses to think so. I'm not so sure." Haller folded his arms and studied the floor thoughtfully. "It didn't happen immediately. On the astral plane . . . there was no one moment I can point to. All I can say is that little by little Jim and the others fell silent. It could be a period of extreme dissociation, like when you walled off David's telekinesis, but there's equal evidence of some kind of restructuring."

Haller's eyes fell on the cup of lukewarm tea on Charles' desk. He gestured, and the mug gently raised itself into the air with a steadiness rarely achieved by Jack. Soft, liquid noises began to issue from the cup, like boiling water -- a tightly controlled utilization of micro-telekinesis. An instant later the mug replaced itself in front of Charles, now steaming hot.

"It may be a little scalded," Haller confessed, "but a demonstration was more effective, and I didn't want to risk a fire."

Charles nodded at Haller's explanation. It wasn't ideal - not by far - but for now they could only focus on one thing at a time. And right now the thing that needed focus was the man standing in front of him. The rest could wait for the moment.

He watched the demonstration with a calm expression and a sharp eye. "Your telekinesis is still intact," he noted after a moment with a nod, touching a hand to the cup to feel the heat. His control over it seemed better, even. "Impressively so. And the telepathy?"

"Gone." Haller gestured to Charles. "With people Jim knew well I'm finding there's . . . intuition. When I saw you I recognized you as the Charles Xavier he knew, and I knew you had been injured, but that's all. I can't scan, project or receive. It may have been walled off or destroyed during the fight with the other Phoenix. Possibly even subsumed by the telekinesis, now that Jim is gone. Either way, with the mansion's history of possession and David's history of instability I thought I should come to you as soon as possible for assessment." The faint frown reappeared: something that walked the line between pragmatic assessment and what might almost have been genuine concern. "If that's still within your power, anyway."

Charles nodded slowly. "That would be best, yes. I can certainly perform a surface scan-" Which would be more than enough to tell him what he needed to know at the moment, "but anything more in depth is currently out my range."

"I understand." Without any prompting Haller settled, cross-legged, on the floor in front of Charles.

It was an old habit, formed years ago when Charles had first taught the younger man meditation techniques and, later, given him telepathic instruction. While it was only a minor physical ritual meant to prepare the mind, the familiarity of it was something in which David had grown to take comfort. As he disengaged what elements of his mental defenses he could, Haller noted that for David, too, there had perhaps been a subconscious message. Even seated, David was tall. This was the only position which placed him physically below his father.

Charles reached out, gently pressing his fingers to Haller's temples.

The first thing he noticed was the darkness. What had once been a small spot of black in the middle of Haller's mindscape had now consumed everything. There was no sign of the sprawling city that had once existed, no sign of anything or anyone else. It was just a black hole. One wrong move and Charles felt as if he would tumble down into it.

Something took hold of his arm.

"Not too far, Charles."

Haller's grasp pulled him from the persistent undertow like a lifeguard pulling a victim to the surface. His son's astral body was flat and faded like a bad photograph, identifiable and yet oddly without depth or detail. The only definition came from the scars that ran down his face to disappear below the collar of his shirt: wounds left by the Dark Phoenix that persisted even now.

"Don't delve," he cautioned, his face utterly expressionless. "Just see what you came to see."

Charles gave a small nod, taking a step back. Despite the blackness, there was nothing particularly...wrong with Haller's mind. It was clearly empty, his astral self altered, but there was no malice that Charles could find, no threat. Nobody here but Haller.

He was safe.

Charles took a deep breath as he broke the connection, returning to his body. Even the slight excursion had left him with a headache.

"All clear?" asked Haller from his feet. Despite his previous assurances there was a slight lilt to his voice that indicated the question was more than perfunctory.

"All clear," Charles said with a tired nod. It was hard, seeing Haller in such a state now, after everything they had gone through. "You seem to be the only one here." As far as threats go, that was good. It was something.

"I thought as much." The sentiment was not without a hint of regret. Haller looked up to meet the professor's eyes.

"I know how much you've lost," he said. "I'm sorry David was a part of it."

"Yes, well..." Charles sighed, eyes falling to his tea mug. Cold now, no doubt. "Would you like to join me for a cup of tea? We can figure out where to go from here. We still have all of your belongings."

"Still?" He shouldn't have been surprised. With Charles it could have been hope, sentimentality, or -- in some private corner the professor would never acknowledge, least of all to David -- buried grief. The older man would never tell him.

With a short shake of the head Haller got to his feet. "If you don't mind, could we discuss this tomorrow?" he asked. "I haven't slept since we came back -- I need to eat, rest and make sure Rachel's situated. Did Scott make it?"

Charles nodded slowly. "Of course. There are plenty of empty rooms for you and Rachel. Scott I suspect will be in his office at this time." The man did like to throw himself into his work, after all.

"Thanks. I'll let him know we're back. For the sake of his blood pressure it should probably be done in person." Haller turned to leave, then paused.

"Your son did love you, Charles," he said quietly. "Down in Cerebro, facing down the black Phoenix with Emma and Rachel -- that wasn't for the world. It was for you, and everything you gave him." He turned slightly, giving Charles the profile that was so similar to his own. "I won't forget that. As long as you need me, I'll be here."

A small, sad smile pulled at Charles' lips. "Thank you." Whether the expression of gratitude was for Haller's words or his declaration to be there was up for interpretation. "Before you go venturing any further into the mansion you should be warned - there are a few faces you'll recognize. Residents of this universe who resemble those who died in our own."

His son nodded solemnly. "I know. Xorn left us with some intrinsic knowledge of how things work. We'll be careful."

"I'm sure you will be." Especially in this state, Charles couldn't imagine Haller losing his composure with any of the universe's residents. He seemed far too apathetic for that.

Another nod. "Is that all, sir?"

"Yes." Charles sighed faintly. "I wish you all the luck with Scott."

Haller gave him a reflexive smile. The expression didn't quite reach his eyes, but it was an effort nonetheless. "I'll see you tomorrow, professor."

Charles returned the smile, sensing the effort it was taking for Haller to give him one in return. "I'll be here." He watched the man leave, hands wrapping around his now cooling tea mug.

"Welcome home," he murmured before taking a sip.