Dr. Maeve Whitehall took a sip of her coffee as she read over the new file she picked up before the next session. Leah Jordan. Geokinesis and Enhanced Strength. Relationship wise she was a part of a polycule with April Flynn and Sabine Bassard, two other students with files on her desk. Tough. Headstrong. Refused authority, though it was hardly surprising why. She-Hulk had made a note for her given their recent involvement. ‘Handle with care’. Maeve chuckled inwardly. She trusted that woman’s opinion. Maeve closed the file and stood up. Preparation was key before sessions but a good therapist was one who was quick to roll with the punches and adjust as needed. She had a feeling Leah would not be pulling punches. __________________________________________________ As Leah walked into the office she would see a serene waterfall falling into a fountain with koi fish swimming in it and flowers sparingly floating along the top, moving slightly with the ripples. There was a long couch that could comfortably seat 5 people in a light orange color. On the light wooden table in front of the couch there was a stone statuette of what appeared to be a man holding a child in his arms. There was a book on the table with the title “Therapy Is Awkward”. The walls were a light cream color and the carpet was white. There were multiple windows showing a hot, sunny day outside with a sandy beach and waves gently rolling in. Maeve sat in an orange armchair close to the table but directly across from the couch.[color=968dd5] “Hello Leah. My name is Dr. Maeve Whitehall but you can call me Maeve or Dr. Whitehall, whichever you prefer. Please, take a seat where you feel most comfortable. I can adjust the seating arrangements as needed.”[/color] There were no words to describe the sheer level of cosmic intervention required to somehow [i]convince[/i] Leah to walk in here. So no words would be said. When she stepped through the door, there was something awfully unsettling about how mellow this space looked. It wasn’t the sort of environment she had any place in, too serene and sterile. Even in an environment that wasn’t dangerous, there was usually sand or rocks or something natural keeping her company; Something that wasn’t [i]this.[/i] With a resting bitch face, she sat down on the couch staring at the woman. [color=ff9a4f]”You have sixty seconds to stop me from leaving. Start talking.”[/color] Maeve smiled. Just as she imagined. [color=968dd5]”Well normally I would begin by outlining what we would be doing here and talking about confidentiality and my role in that, but if I have only sixty seconds I better get right into it. First, let me know if this environment is too much or not enough for you. I admit I only had your file to go off of and adjusted what I could but I can always change it up if you feel more relaxed elsewhere. Hell, we don’t even have to be in this room if you want. We can go outside if that’s preferable. Second, I recognize I am an unknown figure and you feel some obligation to fight me and I do not blame you. You are not here under force or duress, even if you feel otherwise. I only want to talk and help, if you’ll let me.”[/color] Maeve pulled out her phone. [color=968dd5]”Just under sixty seconds. How’d I do?”[/color] [color=ff9a4f]”Funny, that’s not what Coulson said,”[/color] Leah wasn’t smiling. [color=ff9a4f]”So yeah, I’m [i]not[/i] here willingly. And I don’t plan on doing this regularly. So why [i]should I?”[/i][/color] [color=968dd5]”Well Coulson isn’t here and over here I am in charge. Or rather, you are. But since we are on that topic let me say that what is said in here, stays in here. Yes, Coulson might have suggested going and have stated it’s mandatory, but I am under no obligation to tell him anything you tell me. There are some stipulations though that, if they come up, I may have to break confidentiality. Such as if you want to seriously hurt yourself or someone else, if there is any child or vulnerable adult abuse, or if you give me permission. But outside of those parameters it’s just me and you in here.” “So to answer your question on ‘why should you’, because very few people get a space to be themselves in whatever capacity they choose. You can sit there and lie to me and I would have no way of verifying because I can’t ask. I have a file on you with basic information but there’s a blank slate. You can also not stick around and leave at any point and I won’t stop you. All I ask is that you meet me in the middle. And really, not even in the middle, I can meet you closer to where your at.” “So what is it going to be right now Leah? In here, out there? What would make you more comfortable, even just a little bit?”[/color] It wasn’t hard to clock the fact that Leah didn’t trust this woman. And at the mention of hurting [i]someone else,[/i] and a kid being [i]abused,[/i] a metaphorical fire was started in her. That feeling of anxiousness and lack of trust bumped up a few notches. Why hasn’t she walked out already? She was telling herself that it was that people would push their luck if she walked out and played hardball about this. Coulson would keep pretending he was part of any of this, She-Hulk would never let Leah live it down. Fuck. She stared the woman down, her face unreadable like stone [color=ff9a4f]”Fine. It’s no one’s business, I’m staying here.”[/color] [color=968dd5]”I’m happy you are staying. I noticed when I brought up the rules for confidentiality that there was some tension, particularly surrounding child abuse or wanting to hurt someone else. Do you mind if I ask why that impacted you?”[/color] Maeve could read emotions very well and it didn’t take her powers to know Leah was feeling a lot. Maeve could appreciate a client who had their emotions on point. It made her job easier, even if they didn’t want to talk. Leah might have leaned backwards, but then the couch she was sitting on would be shredded and that would take [i]forever[/i] to wash out. So she didn’t. What could she say to this woman that [i]wouldn’t[/i] open up absolute chaos? [color=ff9a4f]”Back before I found this school, I tried to kill my dad. Wasn’t until a month or two ago that I found out he survived,”[/color] Leah said. [color=ff9a4f]”And that’s [i]not[/i] a good thing.”[/color] [color=968dd5]”Your dad is not the most upstanding of people, I take it? Would it be as bad as you hinted if he found you here?”[/color] Maeve clocked in to the emotions again. Happy Leah had opened up, even a crack. [color=968dd5]”Oh and don’t worry about the furniture. Break it if you want, if it helps.”[/color] This was not, necessarily, a challenge, though it would be interesting to see how it was responded with. [color=ff9a4f]”He’s known I’m here for a while now. Probably a month, probably three years,”[/color] Leah explained. [color=ff9a4f]”So no, he’s not. Once he’s done with whatever Avengers are in the way, then he’s coming after me. And when that happens, I’m making sure he doesn’t walk away [i]twice.”[/i][/color] [color=968dd5]”What was your upbringing like? I can hazard a guess if your next interaction with him ends with his death. I can’t imagine he made it easy for you growing up. Also you said you found the school. Were you searching for something like it or did you stumble into it?”[/color] Leah sighed and launched into an explanation. [color=ff9a4f]”My dad’s a supervillain, the kind who only hurts people for money. You could pay him to go and kill every last superhero in America and he’d just send you a bill after he buries them all two days later. He wouldn’t think twice. He wanted [i]me[/i] to be his legacy, someone who’d do what he did long after he was gone. After I [i]thought[/i] I killed him for good, I jumped on a rock and flew far, far away and the school just [i]happened[/i] to be the first place where I could be sure I wouldn’t starve.”[/color] [color=968dd5]”It’s lucky the school was there then and willing to let you in. It sounds like a lot was put on you from an early age. That can’t have been an easy thing to shoulder. As tough as it is to do in this moment, let’s forget dad for a second. If there was no threat of him coming and finding you, what would you want to do? What do you want for yourself?[/color] [color=ff9a4f]”To just go back to the way it was before I found out I didn’t kill him. I was completely fine before then.”[/color] [color=968dd5]”What was that like. Paint me a picture. What is the world like for Leah without her father in the picture?”[/color] [color=ff9a4f]”No one walking into things they have no right to disturb, people hunting me down for reasons that [i]aren’t[/i] unusual, if at all,”[/color] she said. [color=ff9a4f]”Working up to some contest that has no real meaning for anything, just the way things were a year ago, or a year and a half ago, or two years. [i]That[/i] was the world, because I thought I actually pulled it off.”[/color] And of course, she hadn’t. He’d crawled out of the not-so-shallow grave like a ghoul under the moon, and let her believe that she’d succeeded in killing a man who’s name was feared by more people than she’d ever been able to count. [color=968dd5]”I know your father is dangerous Leah. I don’t need your words to tell me when I can sense the raw emotion emanating within you. A fear like that can consume a person. However, I also do not get a sense it is fully consuming you. If your father does come looking for you, do you have protections in place? People to help? A support system to manage things in the meantime? You do attend a school training the next generation of heroes and there are connections to those who are currently out there doing just that.”[/color] Leah shook her head. [color=ff9a4f]”When he shows up, getting in the way is just going to get someone [i]killed.[/i] I wouldn’t count on any of those heroes to last a minute in a fight with him. When I see him at the front door, one of two things is gonna happen: Everyone gets out of the way of us, or people start to die because they tried to stand between us. It’s not their responsibility, it’s mine.”[/color] [color=968dd5]”Do you think it is the responsibility of the person who’s home is burning to put it out themselves? Do you think it is the responsibility of the victim of a robbery to search for their robber and get their belongings back? I know those are poor comparisons compared to facing a man who could seriously harm people, but there are fire fighters, police officers, heroes that take up that call to help others. Do we fault them for wanting to put themselves in danger to ensure another is unharmed? And do we fault them if they do not live up to that promise? Something to consider. Because despite the fear I sense, I also get love. There’s people in your life you care for and who care for you. Lean on them when you need it. Even the toughest hero needs to be able to take a breath now and then.”[/color]] [color=ff9a4f]”It’s not about [i]them.[/i] It’s about [i]him.[/i] We’re talking about a guy who could be confronted by all the Avengers at [i]once[/i] and not break a sweat. I- I can remember being ten years old and him showing me entire [i]books[/i] worth of strategies for how to win a fight against just one of them,”[/color] she said. [color=ff9a4f]”He’s not a fire or a robbery, he’s a fucking invasion, an atomic bomb falling right on your head. You don’t send cops or firefighters after him, you get out of the way and let someone who [i]knows[/i] how he does things sort it out.”[/color] [color=968dd5]”Then what is keeping you here Leah? If he knows where you are and no amount of help from others will stop him and if you know it’s on your shoulders, what is the point of staying? Your friends will surely not let you face it alone. The school, for what its worth, will not let it slide that you are a target. The Avengers and anyone else will try to stop him too. If the best thing to stop an atomic bomb is to get as many people away as you can, what are you doing to get that started?”[/color] [color=ff9a4f]”I know how he fights, and he doesn’t just run up and jump you. He’s a predator, he trips you up and lets you make mistakes before he shows his face at all. If you see him, it’s too late. But I know the warnings, I used to sneak into his lab a lot back when I lived with him, I’ve watched him fight other people. When it gets worse, I’ll [i]know.[/i] And then I’m gonna leave.”[/color] She hadn’t told anyone that part. Not April, not Sabine, not Vicky. They didn’t need to worry about it, they would just be in more danger if they did. [color=ff9a4f]”Dealing with him, no matter what it is, it’s like you’re playing chess. You don’t just go from A to B, you get in each other’s heads and make sure you constantly update your plan. Every little thing changes how it goes.”[/color] [color=968dd5]”Does anyone know about your plan? Your emotional state shifted when you mentioned leaving. And how many times do you think you’ll need to run before he stops, if he stops at all? Isn’t that exhausting?”[/color] [color=ff9a4f]”No. They don’t have to, I’ll be back. I’m running off one more time, and when I come back, it’s done. I’m going to make sure he’s dead [i]for good[/i] this time.”[/color] [color=968dd5]”Leah, I encourage you to tell someone about all of this. I acknowledge your father is powerful, dangerous, deadly, but by that logic you are in danger too. And you do not need to face it alone. At least think about it.” “I think that’s a good place to stop unless you have other questions or concerns. I am happy to answer anything else you might have. And I would very much like to continue working with you, if you want. Otherwise my door is always open. I would also like to send you home with some resources. Read them, shred them, doesn’t matter. Would that be okay?”[/color] Leah sighed. [color=ff9a4f]”What are they?”[/color] [color=968dd5]”One is a workbook about using mindfulness to help mitigate intense emotions. It’s fairly easy. And then I have a weekly support group that I think you may like that involves opening up and advocating for oneself. Boundaries, relationship dynamics. It’s also anonymous so you can go and not share your name or anything else. It has some other teens. You don’t even have to go weekly, it’s more of a ‘come when you want’ type deal.” “So, is this a ‘see you next time’ or ‘have a nice day’ end to things?[/color] [color=ff9a4f]”No, it’s not. I’m not coming back. The only reason I told you what I did is because I don’t want someone to get on my ass about leaving too soon. I don’t need this. But, sure, give me the things.”[/color] She stood up. Maeve stood up as well and walked over to the desk, picking up a folder with the papers she had said. She returned and handed them off to Leah. [color=968dd5]”Then I hope you have a nice rest of your day Leah. I included my card in here if you need anything in the future. As I said, my door is open.”[/color] Once the folder was taken, Maeve would return to her desk, waiting for Leah to leave before she wrote up a note about the session. [color=ff9a4f]”Yeah.”[/color] Leah unceremoniously opened the door and walked out. And she was already regretting telling anybody [i]anything[/i] about this. It sucked more than having to actually face him.