7571/A Hole in the Head

A Hole in the Head
Date of Scene:	27 August 2021
Location:	Charles' Office / Classroom
Synopsis:	Clarice and Cynthia visit the Professor - who discovers something a little more alarming than anticipated in Cynthia's head.
Cast of Characters:	Charles Xavier, Clarice Ferguson, Raven Darkholme

---

Charles Xavier has posed:
Its the end of the day of school at Xavier's in the beginning of its first school week for the fall semester. Its tumultuous summer, to say the very least. But with a number of fresh faced students on campus, Charles is keeping the place moving and feeling as upbeat as he can make it. With the help of faculty like Ororo, its all the more easy too.

The school bells ring and the students in Charles' last class of the afternoon stand up and make their departure from his office / classroom. The afternoon sun is shining through the windows on to the room and illuminating it instead of any artificial lights. Charles, in his wheelchair, is beside his desk, his hands together in front of his chin and a smile for the students as they put gtheir things together to leave his classroom. Charles offers a few parting words to them as they go too.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice is waiting outside the office with her sister beside her - and in many ways the pair are a matched set, with the same pointed ears, and electrically green eyes. Instead of Clarice's magenta hues, though, Cynthia has deep, African skin tones with patches of purple showing, and purple mixed into her black hair. As the last student steps out, Clarice catches the door, peeking in and ensuring that the room is empty.
    "Professor Xavier?" she speaks in a polite tone. "Is now a good time, sir, or should we give you a few moments to yourself?"
    The hand not holding the door is tucked into her sister's hand - giving it a reassuring squeeze. The message Clarice had sent the Professor had been relatively brief. She'd recently discovered that she has a sister - and her sister's friend, a rather inexperienced telepath, had remarked that there's a 'hole' or 'void' of some kind in Cynthia's mind. And none of them have any idea what that actually //means//.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
This Charles Xavier was a person that Clarice respected and truested a great deal, so Cynthia is only scared instead of completely terrified. The only person who has ever been in her mind is Pete, that she knows of anyway. When he had told her about the hole in her mind, it been a vague mention after one of his nightmares and her calming him down. Untrained as he was, he had never been able to find it again, despite trying a few times.

Coming now to the school that Clarice had told her about, the sixteen year old is wearing the only nice outfit she has. A white button front blouse, a pair of tan slacks, and a pair of lace up dress shoes that may be a touch too big. She has been fidgeting, chewing at her bottom lip and looking much like she'd rather be anywhere else in the world... just like any teen would look if they were sent to the principals office really. She held tightly to Clarice's hand, watching as the students past by, then her free hand brushed through her purple hair with black highlights.

It was time.

Charles Xavier has posed:
Charles affords one more smile to the last of his students who exit the room and then he turns in his chair to look toward the exit. "Miss Fergusson. Please, do come in." He states as he starts to turn his chair to face them. He didn't seem remotely surprised they were there, but that is likely due to the message Clarice sent before arriving, right?

The Professor wheels his chair over toward his podium that he controls the large wall mounted television display for teaching with and he cycles it back to the start of his lesson with the push of a button.

When he looks up to them both he offers Clarice's sister a smile. "Hello." He tells her. "I'm Charles Xavier. The founder of this school and someone who hopes to help others as much as he can." He says with a calm voice and a quick smile for Cynthia.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice draws Cynthia gently into the room, then after walking over towards Charles, she wraps one arm around her sister, giving her a squeeze. "I've told her a bit about you, sir - and about the school. She knows to keep the school's focus to herself, though," she reassures him. "This is my sister, Cynthia. Thia, Professor Charles Xavier."
    After making the introduction, she looks towards Cynthia to add, "You're allowed to change your mind if you're not sure about this. The Professor would never do anything you weren't onboard with. Okay?"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Guided into the room, Charles it not exactly what Cynthia was expecting. For some reason her mind was set on him being a tall, nerdy, middle-aged man... with hair, perhaps it was the 'professor' part that triggered that idea of the man. Despite this adjustment between imagination and reality, as she is presented to the man, she extends her hand to shake. No reason to be rude, even if she was slightly freaked out inside over all this.

"Nice to meet you Professor," she says, mostly meaning it. "I wish it was for other reasons though, and yes. I know to keep it all hush-hush about the school, don't worry about that."

For a single moment she looks to Clarice, there was the out, she could just say no now and leave, but the fact that she hesitates means she really doesn't want to. She might be afraid, but she wanted answers.

"It's alright Clare," she offers, letting out a slow breath. "I...I might be... nervous, b..but I think I need to stay."

Charles Xavier has posed:
Charles looks between the two of them and offers a little series of faint nods to what they say before he extends his hand to shake Cynthia's. He affords her another soft smile before he motions for them toward the leather chairs just a step or so from where they are, there's some nice seats in here for the students to relax in for his classes!

"Well, Clarice here is a valued member of our community, so I was quite delighted to find out she had a sibling." Charles says to them both, his hands coming together in front of him as he sits at the front of the class.

A breaht is taken in then by the Professor and he waits a moment before continuing. "So then, how might I help?" He asks, whether or not Clarice already explained some of it in the text/message she sent him, its best to get a renewed jump at it here and now in person.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Good," Clarice answers her sister, before she takes a seat in one of the offered chairs. "You know," she remarks, a teasing edge entering her voice. "We could always have him just tell me what he learns. You know, do you don't need to worry about it..." Because Cynthia took that idea so readily when Clarice suggested it not too long ago.
    Looking back to the Professor she adds, "I'll let Thia explain it for you."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Cynthia is quite happy to sit, because the tension in her body from worrying is less when sitting. She looks between the Professor and her sister, but her green eyes settle back on the man. One hand gets rested on the arm of the chair, the other keeps a hold of her sister's hand.

"Well," she starts, unsure how to explain. "There's a hole in my head.... I mean, that's what my friend Pete told me. He's telepathic, but not trained, and has troubles communicating with people cause he's pretty much scared of his own shadow." Okay, that might be too much information, get to the point.

"Anyway, he touches my mind a lot, to talk and so I can sometimes talk for him, though we are trying to get him to talk more on his own," she rambles, but honestly she doesn't want to leave anything out. "So he had nightmares, and sometimes they are really bad so... I kinda started letting him share the nightmares to help take the fear away, because if I'm not freaked out, then there's nothing wrong, right? It was working, but one time he was really, really just... so over the top and when he calmed down, he said there was a hole in my head."

Charles Xavier has posed:
Charles rests casually in his chair before the two young women, he looks from one to the other as they speak and he seems entirely at ease with this kind of discussion. The ambience of the school is relaxing too, and the sounds of some of the students out in the hall may further put Cynthia at ease as well.

"Well then." Charles says. "I will happily have a look for this 'hole' as you say. But, I only do it at your request. I can likely locate it quickly, but what I find may take a moment to fully process. Our minds are... complicated, and the memories within them can be like ... trying to put soda back in to a can after pouring it in to a basin of water." He shows a brief smile again. "Though I may not be articulating that quite well, its been a long first week of classes here."

Charles takes a breath then and nods once to Clarice before he looks to Cynthia again. "Please do relax though, lean back in your chair and just think of a recent happy moment. Simply focus on that and meditate upon it..."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice nods to the Professor, then offers her sister an encouraging smile. "Plenty of happy memories recently, I'd hope," she remarks, giving Cynthia's hand a brief squeeze.
    Even though she knows full well the request wasn't made for her - she can't help but let her mind wander to the memory of Pete tuning and playing that guitar, with Cynthia jumping onto a piano to accompany him, while the store went silent to listen to them play.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
The surroundings, the sounds, even the Professor's voice were all quite relaxing for Cynthia, which helped ease her mind into a state of thinking that it couldn't be all that bad. What she was really afraid of wasn't the building or the Professor, or even him touching her mind. What she feared was what might be the cause of that hole.

Sitting back in the chair she offers Clarice a smile, "Yeah, so many happy memories in such a short time, I'll have a hard time picking just one."

Resting her head back against the chair, it almost felt like a plush leather hug. She closed her eyes and almost immediately the first thought that popped into her head was seeing Clarice for the first time... ever. Standing in a large field of new grass, Pete right there beside her, and looking across toward the tent-building that was the orphanage to see Clarice standing there with Mystique. The joy that it wasn't some kind of hoax, that Clarice was alive and right there, just a few yards away. It really was the happiest of moments.

Charles Xavier has posed:
There's a moment of silence before Charles speaks again, his voice continued in a soft tone. "The reason I ask you to focus on something happy is that your mind is like a spotlight and the memory that you're focusing on is the ship in the cloudy whether. Focusing upon that memory is making your mind a lighthouse in the dark to help guide the memory to shore." He pauses for a brief moment before he goes on. "It additionally allows me to search through the rest of the ships out at sea within your mind, so to speak..."

He stops speaking them, and after only roughly 30 more seconds, Charles sits back in his own chair and speaks up again. "Okay, I believe I've seen what the person was referring to." he says. He waits for them both to regard him again before he draws a breath.

""It would seem this collection of missing memories spans back to the... Brainiacevent with Genosha. The good news is you're completely and entirely fine, and there's nothing to worry about. Additionally, you've found your sister who cares a great deal for you and your safety is of paramount importance with her, and amongst us here at the school." He sighs softly.

"It seems a Magistrate from Genosha, of some telepathic talent, decided to influence your thoughts and mind. He did it in haste, and what he left behind seems as though it was designed to call upon your, Cynthia, for a moment where they might wish to put your mutation to use for their own desires." Charles raises a hand softly.

"That being said. We can put an end to this now, and ensure that their efforts are for not."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice goes from studying her sister's face, to studying Charles instead, and at the mention of a Magistrate her grip on Cynthia's hand tightens, though whether that was meant to be reassuring or somehow possessive and protective, she'd be hard pressed to say herself.
    Hell if she was going to let some Magistrate hurt her sister.
    "See?" Clarice murmurs to Cynthia quietly. "The Professor's got our backs. Yeah?" She forces herself to smile at Cynthia reassuringly - rather than allowing herself to study Charles' features minutely for some sign of his inner thoughts. He wouldn't keep anything from them. Right? If he said things were fine, it's because he believed them to be fine.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Unlike with Pete, Cynthia couldn't feel the Professor tinkering in her brain, and with her eyes closed she has been focusing on that happy moment and not seen the changes on the man's face. She listened when he spoke, and what he said made sense... it was something she would tell Pete, it might be helpful to him.

At the mention of Magistrates however, her head snaps up, eyes pop open and anger rushes through her like a wave striking the shore. It was lightning fast, angry and then it eased back into merely irritated. She trusted Clarice, and by extension, Charles.

"So... you can undo what he did?" She asks, even though he just said he could. "Can you find out who it was? A name? A face? Anything?"

Charles Xavier has posed:
The Professor's hand goes back down to join his other, his fingers interlacing together again as he watches both of them react to what he'd just revealed. Its Cynthia, and her question of who, that draws his attention back fully. "I know who it was already." He telsl her. "That being said, I want to deal with the missing memories and smooth those elements of your mind out some before we ... dive... in to all of that. I know what the planned 'trigger' was to be, and I can assure you that is going to be dealt with as well."

Charles looks back to Clarice then. "This Magistrate has to be spoken with, they have to be aware ... that -we- are aware of what they've attempted to do. Its best if they know that its been ... denied, and their wishes for Cynthia are no more." He draws in a quick breath and glances toward his desk before back to Clarice. "I'm going to do a bit of looking in to this Magistrate. Once I've garnered some current information on them, I'll see about passing it on to you. Though I would prefer to speak to them myself...." He says that last line with a softer tone.

His eyes go back to Cynthia then. "As for your situation, if Clarice can be so kind as to bring you here for the following week, at around the same time. We can put a half an hour of work in to smoothing out that 'hole', as you say. It will be just as we did now, meditation to restore your mind and work away what this rogue Magistrate decided to do."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice can read between the lines, and she keeps her features carefully schooled into a calm, attentive masks - most signs of her anger she feels at the thought of her sister's mind being tampered with carefully kept under wraps. Hints of that tension shows in her shoulders, though, and the way her jaw clenches for a few moments. "I understand, Professor," she agrees. "We have to discover their motivations, and see to what degree they may have been... controlled, themselves."
    If they were willing collaborator with the former government, though...
    "I'll make sure we're both here every day," she promises. "Is there anything in particular you think it best we avoid in the meantime...?" she asks - unsure what sort of 'trigger' could possibly have been put into place.
    She looks aside at Cynthia, her hand griping fiercely to her sister's before she remarks, "I guess we really owe Pete, huh? Maybe we go buy him that camera after all..."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Cynthia had not expected calm from her sister, but looking over at her she could see the tension in her smile and shoulders. It was there, the same anger she felt, perhaps even more so. Cynthia wanted to scream a few choice things about how dare him, and why was it his call, but she kept it locked in. If Clarice wasn't being angry outwardly about it, there was a good reason and she was sure Clarice would explain later.

"Thank you Professor," she offers, although there is a tightness to her own jaw, like she's fighting to keep it from wagging too much. "Pete must have just got lucky."

Charles Xavier has posed:
Charles turns in his chair and begins to head toward his desk. As he goes he speaks back to them both. "Yes, the 'trigger'." He says to Clarice. "I will send you the specifics on it so that you can have that peace of mind, though the likelihood of Cynthia stumbling across it on her own seem remote at best. Which begs the idea that these individuals would likely coax her in to seeing it when they wished her too. But---" Once behind his desk he places his hands on his laptop to lift the lid and wake it up with a swipe across the spacebar. He looks back to them both.

"We'll dissolve the effects it has on her mind first and foremost. In fact, I already started that process when I discovered it." He flashes a quick smile toward them.

"Now then..." He looks to Clarice. "Is this all information you want kept between the three of us? Or should I include Raven on these matters too?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    A few slow, deep breaths has the worst of the anger under control - for the moment. At least long enough to get through the rest of the conversation. "I- well, that's really up to Cynthia, I think," Clarice remarks, looking towards her sister once more. "Though - there aren't many things I keep from Raven," she informs her sister softly. "It's still your call."
    Looking back towards the Professor she adds, "We all feel a little protective of Cynthia - as you can imagine. Whether she likes it or not."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
The teenager tilts her head slightly, an expression of confusion on her face for a few moments. She doesn't know Mystique's real name. Yes, she's heard Raven talked about, but it wasn't until that moment that the light seems to come on in her head.

"Raven is Mystique!" she chirps, then her cheeks go dark, dark brown. "Sorry... I didn't realize that is all. I... it's fine to keep her in the loop on all this, I trust her. She's the one that found me and told me Clare was alive, so sure... you can tell her, contact her, which ever it is."

She glances to Clarice again, the blush slowly fading from her cheeks. "Yeah, it's like an entire army of people watching out for me, really cool and really scary at the same time."

Charles Xavier has posed:
Charles folds his hands together on top of his desk and looks to the two of them, he waits for them both to respond before he nods softly once. "Very well then, I'll include Raven on all of these findings. In truth because this is associated with Genosha, I feel it best to do that."

He draws in a breath then and reaches for a pair of reading glasses in a leather pouch on his desk's surface. "Please do stop by again tomorrow around this time and we'll continue the cleansing of these memories within you." He looks to Cynthia to say that, then sweeps his stare over to Clarice. "Feel free to take your sister about the grounds as well, give her a tour of the place and thusly help her feel comfortable in this place being a refuge for when she needs it." He shows another quick smile to them both. "We'll have this figured out in short order, I promise."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice nods, climbing to her feet. "Sure. Maybe we'll go see if Lorna's around," she suggests to Cynthia. Nothing quite like dropping in on Her Royal Majesty unannounced.
    "Oh, umm- I want to find someone to help Cynthia's friend Pete get a better grip on his powers. I was thinking of approaching Betsy Braddock - unless there's someone else you'd recommend?"
    She pulls Cynthia in towards her - waiting for the Professor's reply, before she and Cynthia head for the door.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Cynthia gets to her feet as Clarice does and again offers a quiet, "Thank you, Professor."

Anything regarding Pete would be touch and go, the teenager trusted so few people, but Clarice was determined... would be interesting to see how that played out.

With the final thanks offered, Cynthia moves for the door with her sister, but says quietly to Clarice with a hint of a chuckle, "You know Pete's not going to like anyone you find, right? He's sooo picky."

Charles Xavier has posed:
Charles had given another smile before looking to his laptop screen. But the question about a recommended telepath to see about their friend has him glancing back. "Ah... you might stop by our library and check in with Miss Coy Manh." He tells Clarice. "She's a very capable telepath who I think could provide you with what you're looking for there." He states before offering another soft smile and a nod. "See you tomorrow then." The Professor adds before he digs in to this Magistrate's current situation...