Doppelgänger? (Charlotte and Charles)

Charlotte was scared.

She had run away from home and decided to go to that school that she had found out about - apparently some men had been to speak to her brother about a special school for people with powers because HE had special powers. He hadn't gone to the school, because he said he needed to stay here and take care of her.

Now he was gone, and Charlotte was on her own. She needed to take care of herself from now on.

If her parents found her though, before she got to the school, she would be punished so badly that she would rather die. Her mother was very cruel and she seemed to hate Charlotte more than she had ever hated Hannibal. Of course she knew why.

Hannibal could hide his power, until the special men had came, but Charlotte's was obvious and her parents persecuted her for it.

Casting her gaze down at the little business card that the men had given her brother, Charlotte gulped softly and walked through the over grown garden her dolly shoes crunching on the gravel as she approached the dilapidated building. The broken sign on the floor told her that she was in the right place.

Very scared now, Charlotte hid her eyes behind her brown hair, they were coloured brown too like her parents had always asked her to keep them. Summoning her courage, Charlotte knocked on the great big door and waited for the professor to come to answer her cry for help.

Charles was, for lack of a better word, tired.

He was tired of all the voices that came with his power, he was tired of constantly being in pain from the bullet lodged in his spine and he was most definitely tired of losing the things he cared about in this life. Raven had been one of his only reasons for living and Erik had been his best friend. And Erik had polluted her mind and pitted her against him, taking away both the loving little sister he had had throughout his life and his best friend.

Sighing a little bit at the knock on the door, he noticed that Hank was asleep in a computer chair so it was up to him to speak to whoever it was. Groaning a little bit, he opened the door with a deep sigh even as he did so,

"Look if it's about the garden getting done..." he began before blinking and looking down at the young girl who look like she was absolutely terrified, "And who are you?"

Even though he hated the fact that he had failed at being 'the professor', the father figure, and even though the draft had stolen away so many of his students, he knew what he had to do. He sighed a little bit but added a small smile,

"Come on inside, it's cold out there." he told her quietly, getting flashbacks to another young girl who had entered his life without warning like this, "Would you like something to eat at all?"

Charlotte could have died on the spot.

The Professor looked like she was bothering him and he looked like he was in the middle of something! Could she have picked a worse time to intrude into his life? Feeling completely awful at the fact that she had intruded, and that he obviously was no longer looking for students at his lovely school, Charlotte's gaze went even further to the ground and she stared at her shoes.

When he asked her who she was, Charlotte felt sick, her stomach was doing flips and she hoped that the Professor would not turn her away. She had come so far and she would have to go back to her parents and...and whatever awaited her there. Holding out the card that she had taken from her brothers room, Charlotte found herself completely unable to speak.

The little smile made her feel better and she shyly gave him a small smile back as she stepped inside the house, her thin cardigan wasn't at all big enough to have shielded her from the cold in the bus ride and long walk from her home to the school.

"Thank you." she mumbled quietly as she looked around the entrance hall - it reminded her of home and a small shiver ran through her "No thank you."

Hugging her arms around her chest, Charlotte turned and nervously looked up into the Professors eyes, not sure what to do next and hoping that he would tell her where he wanted her to go. Probably out of the house again, he wouldn't want her in his house.

Charles was going to feel like a CAD by the end of this conversation he just knew it.

But the fact was that she had just handed him a card back from when this place was actually a school for mutants as opposed to a crumbling manor house in the rolling countryside. He knew what she was even without the use of his powers. She was a mutant, she was likely alone in the world and she was scared and confused not only about what she could do but how she would ever be able to control it. Well... Charles didn't exactly feel like getting at all invested right about now.

Of course he was still a gentleman though so he would at least see to some of her needs before he sent her back out on her own.

Leading her into the kitchen, he began to prepare a pot of tea for the two of them. Smiling faintly, he gestured to a stool she could hop on up to,

"Sit, I'll make us some tea even if you aren't hungry." he explained, thankful that the kitchen was cosy-looking, "So... What's your name?"

He waved the card a little bit,

"I'm Charles Xavier... I might not be 'The Professor' anymore but I'm still Charles Xavier..." he told her quietly, "You've come because you're a mutant... am I right?"

Charlotte followed the Professor silently, padding on the floor with her worn dolly shoes. She had learnt to walk so quietly from being at home, where she was often having to sneak around to go to school, to get something to eat of an evening and things like that. It sort of came to her naturally when she was nervous, as a defence mechanism.

Looking around the kitchen with her wide eyes, Charlotte nodded her head and obediently sat on the stool the Professor had gestured to.

It was a comfortable seat and it was high up so that she was on almost the same level as the professor, it made her happier inside because he was less scary now that they were on the same eye level as each other. It made Charlotte feel taller, more equal.

"My name is Charlotte, Charlotte Matthews." she stated in a tiny voice, her eyes locked onto the Professor as he went about making the tea.

Nodding her head Charlotte felt a soft sense of disappointment creeping over her. This didn't sound like it would go well - for one she didn't see any one else here, so perhaps the school had closed? She was going to have to go home and...and then...letting her gaze drop back to her lap Charlotte's large fringe obscured her eyes.

"Uh-huh." she admitted with a small whisper.

Yep he was going to feel like an absolute CAD by the time this conversation was done and that wasn't a lie and it wasn't an exaggeration. She was already the cutest little thing he had ever come across and she had been here less than five minutes and said less then ten words. Hell, less than five words in a row to be honest. She was a cute one this one, that much went without saying. Shaking his head a little bit, he looked around the kitchen and tried not to think about how similar it was to the one back from when he was a child.

Humming as he poured them both cups of tea, he smiled a little,

"And how old are you Charlotte?" he asked her casually, "You seem like you should be the age that means you should be in school."

He turned to her with a deep breath. He was going to have to do this quickly because she was already getting rather cute. And the cuter she got the harder this was going to be,

"Our students and teachers... the older ones... got drafted into the army." he explained to her, his voice breaking a little bit, "The children I had helped grow up... not one of them has come back from that awful war. Nor the teachers. I... can't run a school by myself. And I think I might have lost something very important inside of myself that means I can't run it."

He paused before placing a gentle hand on her shoulder,

"Show me your power, if you can, and we can see about maybe helping you a little though alright?"

Charlotte took the cup of tea and held it in her hand gingerly, it was still rather hot but it warmed her cold skin which made her sigh softly. Her fingers had been really numb and now they were warming right back up again, which she appreciated. Keeping the cup in her hand to warm herself more, Charlotte returned her gaze to the Professor as he made his cup of tea.

When he asked her how old she was, Charlotte bit her lip softly before answering; "I'm eight. I go to school, but it's half term." she told him, not wanting to be rude and not answer his question she hoped not to get in trouble either - Charlotte didn't want the professor to think she would skip school at all!

The fact that all the teachers, and students were drafted into the army made Charlotte blink softly. The Professor seemed upset that all of his friends had gone to war and she could not blame him, she would be upset if the same thing happened to her. Right now though, she didn't feel sad for him, she felt overwhelmingly scared about what would happen to her.

Unable to stop herself Charlotte felt tears welling up in her eyes and spilling down her soft cheeks, her eyes were obscured by her fringe again as she directed her gaze to the floor in a vain attempt to hide how upset she was. She was too late, now she had to survive on her own...or return home and...face the consequence for running away.

"O-okay. I understand." she whispered through her tears "It's okay Professor I-I don't want to bother you any-more."

Hopping down off the stool, Charlotte placed the cup back on the table and quietly made her way back towards the front door.

Oh god.

There it was! She was eight years old - Not evening out of primary school! - and she had discovered she was a mutant. Not only that but just from deductive reasoning he could guess that it was something that hadn't been easy to hide. Especially not considering she was eight and likely wouldn't want to try and hide it or was unable to do so.

He doubted people would have responded well to her mutation, regardless of what it actually was at the end of the day.

He smiled weakly,

"Well good to know education is still important in the minds of the young." he told her, "Hopefully you enjoy the learning."

And there it was! The thing that made him feel like a CAD because, if he was honest with himself, he was a CAD at this point. The little eight year old girl had come from however far away to try and learn how to control her power and she had come over because she thought, she believed, that he could help her with it.

Knowing that he was likely going to regret this in some ways but would regret not doing it in other ways, he walked after her,

"Charlotte..." he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, "Charlotte this isn't a school anymore... and I might not be who I once was but..."

He knelt down to her level so that he could look her in the eyes, wincing painfully as he did so,

"But I can teach you." he told her, "It's not a school anymore but if you want... it can be your home while I help you..."

Charlotte felt completely awful, rejected by even someone who was supposed to be like her, and she didn't know where to go. That was before the Professor placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her from leaving, there was a surge of hope that rose inside of her, maybe he had changed his mind and she could stay here with him?

Turning around so that she could see him while he spoke to her, Charlotte couldn't help but feel that sadness for the Professor again, the fact the school had closed must have really upset him because he was so much changed in his mind from who he once was.

Her tears dried on her cheeks when she heard what he was saying, it sounded like he really might be changing his mind! She wouldn't have to go home and face her parents. She could be done with them and she never had to see them again. She could learn more about her power and maybe even help get the school back up and running.

Unable to stop her lips from twitching into a hesitant smile, before growing to a full grin Charlotte wrapped her arms around the Professors shoulders and buried her face into his neck as she gave him a full blown hug;

"Do you mean it Professor? I can really stay here with you?" she asked, making sure that her ears hadn't been playing tricks on her.

Breaking away from the hug Charlotte could almost jump up and down on the spot she was so happy with what had just happened. Hugging her arms around herself she twirled around on the spot, she was so relieved that she didn't have to go home.

"Oh thank you." Charlotte sighed, relieved, and her eyes sparkled with happiness.

Sometimes Charles was a nice guy and this seemed like one of those times to him right now. He smiled wider as she seemed to cotton on to the fact that he was changing his mind in some way. He wasn't the same as he was - he was broken. He wasn't the professor anymore but he could be what she needed him to be that much he was certain about. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself for the task ahead.

To help her he would need his own powers back and that was going to be a very painful process and there was nothing else for it. He needed to have his powers in order to help her develop her powers and, if needs be, suppress them a little bit so that she could learn them a bit at a time.

Of course the hug was unexpected and all of a sudden the image of a little blue girl, his Raven, hugging him in the kitchen came to his mind. He flinched for a second before returning the hug a little bit,

"I mean it Charlotte." he agreed, "You can stay here with me, and Hank, and we shall show you how to use your powers. And, of course, we'll keep your regular school work up."

He smiled a little bit down at her,

"Now... I believe you were going to show me your power?"

He winked slyly,

"I need to see one of the ways that you're special after all."

Charlotte smiled brightly and she felt like she couldn't be any happier at this moment in time, she had gotten what she had hoped she would get when she came here. A place to live and someone to help her with her powers, someone who understood her and who could help her understand them a little better than she did right now.

Looking around Charlotte frowned softly;

"Who's Hank professor?" she asked, her brows furrowed in confusion "Is he special like us?"

Of course she was very nervous about showing her powers, because of what her parents had called her, and what her parents had done to her. Biting her lip she thought she could stave off having to show the Professor but he was allowing her into his home and she couldn't be rude to him! She had to show him.

"Okay Professor." Charlotte murmured shyly "Don't get mad okay?" she asked with a small voice.

Doing what best she could, Charlotte changed her hair colour, and her eye colour to show how she could alter her appearance before turning into a small kitten and mewling up at Charles. She could change into different humans and different animals - just not very many right now. Then, Charlotte turned back into her true birth form which was human, with milk pale skin, white long hair and vivid red eyes.

"I can change into...into animals and I can change my hair and stuff..." she explained with an embarrassed glance to her feet, she had a long scar down one side of her face - that was the only one visible at the moment.

Charles had to admit that looking at her, seeing her joy and excitement, seemed like it was almost enough to ignite that which had been lost in himself. But perhaps it would take a bit more time around her before that conclusion could be reached. He smiled a little bit despite himself. Charlotte Matthews was a lovely young lady and he would make sure that she was safe with her powers as well come hell or high water.

He grinned a little bit,

"You ever hear the story of Beauty and the Beast?" he asked with a small smirk, "He's the Beast... the prince who turns into a strong animal."

He smiled a little bit,

"I promise I won't get mad." he told her with a smile, "Your powers are a part of you and I couldn't be mad at you for them."

Of course then she went and transformed.

His breath caught in his throat and he was unable to stop himself choking out a name,

"Raven..."

He pulled Charlotte into a hug when she returned to what he assumed was her base form. Hugging her rather tightly to him, he broke away from it with a rather embarrassed look,

"I'm sorry Charlotte... you just remind me so much of my little sister Raven." he smiled weakly, "She could change her appearance too. Though not to animals I don't think..."