Participants:
| Scene Title | Complicated And Intuition |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | A support group gets some newcomers and some old faces as well as interesting questions. |
| Date | July 28, 2010 |
Suresh Center - Multi-purpose Room
If this were an AA type meeting, one might expect that there would have been prayer, people gathered row by row and listening to the horror stories of when they last used, drank, how long it's been since they got on/off the wagon. This is however, one of the many kinds of support groups for those of the evolved variety, held in one of the many rooms in the Suresh Center on Roosevelt Island.
People have already come, settled into the many seats that form a circle, the gathering kept intimate and one of a few that are currently going on and held by employee's and volunteers of the Center. Makes it more comfortable than the large groups. Brennan's there, denim, loafers, light blue button down with sleeves rolled up and his tie hanging loose. Silver speckling his temples, he's known around the Suresh Center as one of the physicians on the second floor, and also as a Negator.
A couple containers of boxed up starbucks kept piping hot, donuts and other pastries, people are welcome to get up and get refreshments as they like, no one has stopped anyone and it's fifteen minutes in, and after an introduction of names - and false names - Brennan's gesturing for everyone to sit.
"Being evolved, these days, in these times, it can be a hardship. For all that everyone on the street seems to be weilding an ability, we are, in actuality, a rare breed. Such a small percentage of the population, at times it can be a bit hard, being a minority in a world in which many are afraid of what we can do, or even we can be afraid of what we can do. Some of you, you may easily or even Happily accept what you have developed. Others, you may loathe it, always standing on one side of the fence, pointing and leering, who knows and suddenly, overnight you've manifest, found out that you are one of them."
"I'm here, the Center is here to help you, provide the support that a common run of the mill support group may not be able to offer. My name is Harve, I'm not Doctor Brennan, not unless you're more comfortable calling me that. If you feel like speaking up, about your ability, what it is, problems you may be having with it, or even questions you may have about it, I encourage you to offer up a name be it real or one you just want us to use, and speak up. We're here to help, and to listen"
It's time to pay your dues to the Company, little Isabella.
It took a lot of cajoling and convincing on Dante's part but reluctantly, eventually, Isa made it out the door (grumpily) to the Suresh Center for one of these 'EA' meetings. Hmph. The small half-Japanese woman looks truly dour, as she slips in fifteen minutes late in her red silk blouse and black knee-length skirt, patent leather pumps on her feet. Her first beeline is to the coffee and refreshments: something to focus on other than the freaks and geeks in the circle. A group she only recentlyand with great revulsionbecame a part of. But once coffee and donut is gathered, she finds an open spot and slumps in bad-temperedly, just in time for Brennan's speech. But she's not volunteering anything, oh no. She's just here to shut everyone else up.
This is part of what Melissa's job is here at the Suresh Center. Meetings just like this. And normally, she arrives early and is all smiles and handshakes. Not so tonight. Tonight she's running late and looks a little tired, so she beelines right to the coffee, grabbing one and gulping down a few hot swallows. Then she looks around, actually getting a look at the others already gathered, before she finds a seat for herself.
She waits for someone to speak up, then she makes herself smile and does so. "I'm Irene, and like Harve, I want you to be comfortable with me. My ability is pain negation. I'm essentially a walking morphine drip." There, she broke the ice. Someone else's turn!
'Benjamin' sits somewhat slumped, his hair mussed and at least a week's worth of stubble on his jaw. When the latecomers arrive, he raises icy blue eyes to them. He can't help but squint, like a well-to-do parishioner squints at the family sneaking out before the sermon is over.
But Benjamin, dressed in clothes that have seen their share of work and smelling vaguely of animals, doesn't volunteer. He simply watches, his arms folded across his chest and his flatcap (still rudely atop his head) pulled down just slightly. This is, of course, the first meeting like this he's ever dared attend, and like many, he isn't keen on his identity being discovered. But perhaps unlike the others, Benjamin has a great deal riding on that anonymity.
Delilah knows Brennan- and 'Irene'- and her current state of being silent and fiddling with her cuticles is something that she never seemed the type to do. Perhaps it is because she is not actually here to share her own issues, per se. Not entirely. Her hands are neurotic in their smoothing of the hem of her skirt over her knees, patting it down again and again, it seems. That there is a mound of belly partially in her way of doing it is secondary. Her eyes follow Brennan as he speaks, then to Melissa, and then hopefully to someone else who might be wanting to go. When it never seems to come, Lilah lets out a small noise through her nose. Alright.
"I'm Delilah-" The redhead lifts her hand in an awkward little wave, her grin somewhat sheepish. "And I'm poisonous-" Likely at least one chair is scooting away already. "-but my ability hasn't worked since I got sick this winter." So there is at least some question as to why she is technically here.
The terrakinetic known as Nadia is in one of the seats, sipping quietly at her coffee. Today, she wears a pair of flood pants and a few tank tops layered on, with a scarf draped over her neck. On her left arm is a bandage, hiding a stitched up wound. She is lounging in her seat, her legs crossed, as she listens to Brennen's introduction. The girl looks nervous, no doubt, her eyes slowly crawling across the faces of the others assembled here.
It took her a while to even work up the nerve to come here. Going to talk in front of a group of people about something she's done her best to not draw attention to all of her life…it's not easy for Nadia. Finally, she works up the nerve to talk, fidgeting. "M-my name is Nadia. I'm an architecture student finishing up my masters, a sculptor, and a terrakinetic. I've been registered since the Linderman Act." She pauses. "I just recently discovered that I can create earthquakes." Her eyes lingering on Brennan, the Moroccan girl leans back in her seat.
"Delilah, Nadia, Irene" Gestures to the three who offered names, gestures once more to the pair of silent ones. "Here today, I'm available to answer your questions. There's no question too stupid, too nosy, too anything. Sometimes, people don't ask the really simple questions because they're simple and think that most folks should know. But even simple quesitons need to be asked and there's no handbook like Evolved for Dummies, or what to expect when your genetics make you shoot lasers out of your eye's"
Brennan offers up a smile. "I'm available, to speak with outside of the support meetings, help you learn to control your ability and in that way, make yourself a safer individual for yourself and for those around you. Like Delilah here. I'ms orry Delilah that you're ability hasn't returned to you since you contracted the H5N10."
He claps his hands, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees and look at the group. "What to you, does it mean, to be evolved. I'm going to point to you, and I want you to say the first word that comes to mind, when I say evolved" Brennan lifts a forefinger, pointing it to Isabella first. "Start"
Delilah's words in particular pull Isa's attention, gears working a bit. Huh. Still, she stares equally at each person who volunteers their identity, lips pressing together in a hard line. Of course, when Brennan points at her for the first exercise, her eyes narrow. Nostrils flaring, she hesitates, before choosing the second word that comes to mind. She's not ready to call a whole group of Evolved 'freaks' at once. What if they jump her? "Intuition," she finally says. Not her power, but her friend's.
Like Harve, I'm also available outside of this meeting. I'm here three days a week at least. And while I can't offer quite the same help he can in helping learn to control your ability, I have other methods," Melissa says with a smile to Brennan. Different methods, same intentions. But she does eye Nadia. Earthquakes, hmmm? She just experienced an earthquake…
Then she looks back to Brennan, considering for a moment, before admitting to the first word that she thinks of. "Special."
He looks at each of the others in turn as they share, but Benjamin doesn't offer much by way of reaction - save for Nadia, whose capacity for destruction has been so newly discovered. Benjamin is silent for a moment once the finger turns on him. "Complicated," he offers, his voice devoid of any regional accent - his best Middle-America news anchor voice. But instead of dramatic, it is deadpan. Droll.
Delilah has something on her mind, evidently, but she will go through the strokes to actually get there if it matters that much to her. And it does. She gives the man in his hat and homely clothes a once over when he answers, peering up after he does to look at Brennan again. "…Future." Technically there is a 'the', but it works.
Nadia blinks quietly, frowning at the exercise. She sucks at these things. When it comes to her turn, she fidgets. Um. Uh. Uhhh. Glancing around, her eyes finally travel down to the ground. "Difficult."
"some interesting words, others to be expected, here's some others that have come up before" Brenna's palms press against each other as he offers them up. "Frightening, Awesome, Horrible, inspiring and boring. It's something to think about. WHy intuition is what you think of first, and yet he" A gesture to Benjamin with the tips of his palms "Said Complicated."
Brennan offers up a smile. "Nine Tenths of learning to use your ability are these two words. It will be complicated and you will need to rely heavily on your intuition, listen to your body and follow it. Know when to reign it in. Having an ability need not be the end all to your life. If you don't like it, learn to control it anyways, so that you can learn not to loose control. Be a better member of society by doing that."
Delilah looked like she might have something. "You seem like you might have a question. Really, any of you, ask. I encourage it. Feel free to offer up an answer as well. Can't hurt"
Isabella narrows her eyes as it seems her word is picked on, so to speak. That's not what she meant at all. Gawd, get your facts straight. But she's listening, begrudgingly. Sipping her coffee, she watches him. Finally, and very reluctantly, she speaks. "How do you…figure out…the intuition?" she asks slowly, a quick dart of eyes around the room as though daring anyone to accuse her of anything.
"Some of it is experimentation. Some of it is just doing what comes naturally. A lot of times abilities feel like just another part of you. Using it is like using a limb. It takes practice, and exercise. Like you may be able to, say, throw a ball, but it takes practice to learn the control to get it to go where you want. But the actual throwing is something you can just let your body do," Melissa says to Isabella, before looking to Delilah.
"Intuition can lead you astray," Benjamin seconds Isabella's concern. "Given all the…propaganda out there. What is right. What is wrong. And all the while, there's an authority that's unforgiving, even though the rules aren't exact. If the ground outside my door is littered with eggshells, I'd rather stay inside."
He straightens in his chair but keeps his chin angled towed his chest. Unfolding his arms, he braces his hands on his knees and leans forward. "When you have the ability to know things - things you're better off not knowing, things no mortal man should know - intuition is not a good guide. If you do something more…physical. Something you can barely control. Intuition can lead to accidents, but…" But he offers no conclusion to the thought, leaving it fragmented and hanging in the air as he shakes his head and frowns beneath the shadow of the hat's brim.
Though she does not go clutching at herself like some flaky little quote-unquote heroine, Dee still makes a note of sitting up straighter and holding onto her chair on either side. "It's not about me. I have good reason to believe my child is going to be one of us- if- would it be a terrible thing to do if I got him tested right out? I mean, it's not like he'll be able to do anything, but what if he's marked his whole life? I know the registration is going to be for everyone now, but still. Is it bad to be torn? What if he ends up blowing up New Jersey?"
Okay, maybe only half a bad idea to have her first. Nobody to ping things off of leads to just dropping it on feet.
Nadia frowns quietly as a discussion begins, leaning back in her chair and falling silent. She doesn't interject for now, fidgeting almost uncomfortably. She worries about talking about her ability, about scaring people off. Then again, this is a support group. Maybe she shouldn't be so nervous. Even so, the young lady with the bandaged arm keeps to herself.
"Trial and error, if yours is an ability that can safely be done with practice. Listening to yourself. Sometimes, intuition will tell you to not use it. It's not easy, not in the least. Intuition for some, might be the key, for others, it's not. Like for this gentleman here, intuition it seems, is not a move in the right direction, he's conflicted about it. He's right, it can lead to accidents. Much like getting behind the car for the first time, with the learners permit in your hands, ink still drying on it" Brennan offers a sympathetic smile to Isabella before addressing Delilah's question.
"More and more parents of those who are evolved and find themselves in your situation, pregnant, are faced with the same question. Do I or do I not? Soon enough, the option will not be there for you, there will be testing necessary at birth in compliance with the forthcoming amendments to the Linderman act." Brennan shifts in his seat, turning a bit to face Delilah. "The thing is, at so young an age, when ninety nine percent of evolved individuals only manifest at puberty or onwards - sometimes not until they're //adults - they won't be born with a big red target or a neon sign on their forehead. He won't be marked his whole life, the only person who will know will be you, him when you tell him when he's older and your physician or whomever else you choose to tell" Brennan shakes his head, lips thinned not in anger or dismay.
"It's natural to be torn. It's not the only thing to be torn about when he's born, if he ends up blowing up new Jersey, do you imagine you'll love him any the less?"
Melissa nods to Brennan. "Yes, this is true. For example, if you're a pyrokinetic, experimenting with your ability can be dangerous, unless you take certain precautions. It can be dangerous, learning to control your ability, but it can also be rewarding. Though I do encourage all of you to use common sense when deciding if, when, where and how to practice using your ability."
Benjamin doesn't add anything more to the conversation. He simply sits, his head hanging, letting the words and platitudes float thick in the air around him with the smell of sheep.
Delilah isn't looking too calmed by Brennan's explanation, though she does find some kind of practical solace in listening to him. "No. I won't. But you bet sure as hell I'd be angry at him." She only adds this after enough of a pause to get the serious part out of the way, before dropping a joke. "I just don't want something to happen to him before he can even understand why- not a power, really- but other people. There are always dangerous people." Maybe she is paranoid to them, but she is truthful in her own mind.
Nadia remains silent for a while longer; then, as she notices the conversation waning slightly, she decides that she might speak up. She leans forward in her seat, sitting up straight as she talks. "Uhm…how would I arrange to learn to control this? I mean…my power isn't new to me. Just this one part…I want to learn to control it, so I can continue to function normally in society, and not be a danger." She glances around quietly, running a hand through her hair.
"I'd be angry at my daughters too if she came home and said "gee dad, I uhh, I destroyed Long Island". God, my wife and I fight and Brooklyn is covered in an inch of snow or a deluge that lasts for a few hours and I get mad about that. It's still going to be a few years until your son has the comprehension of what he potentially posses within his dna. The best you can do is provide for him, positive role models to learn from, teach him right from wrong and give him understanding as he grows in and comes into his ability. If he has one. It'll take Faith in yourself, that you can do that too."
"It'll be hard, harder than raising a non-evolved child. As for other people. Well, no different than if your child I'm sure had autism. Teach him that there can be cruelty in the world, but to hold his head up high, he belongs to an elite group of individuals with extraordinary abilities that not everyone gets to be a part of. But that he's also part of the human race"
Nadia gets his attention next, adjusting his direction which isn't much. "You can contact the center, I can give you my business card. This is what the people here strive to do, to offer. A safe place and means, for which to learn your control. Your ability may require us to venture out, maybe with other terrakinetics, to uninhabited places to practice where there's no danger to others"
Melissa nods at Brennan's explanation. "There are several of us here, Harve and myself included, who do our best to help with that very thing. We want people to be comfortable using their abilities, and to be able to do so safely."
Delilah knots her hands together as Brennan finishes, peering down and massaging her knuckles on top of the curve of her stomach. "Positive role models I think I can handle fine." Well, relatively speaking. She's not going to think it decent if Jensen Raith takes the kid to school in the Remnant's Kamov- but those are pretty much the type of people that Walter will actually have. Oh well. For now, she settles in to listen to the familiar Nadia, and take mental notes on how Brennan tries to advise her.
A slightly relieved look forms on her face, and Nadia nods slowly. "Thank you…I would really appreciate that." She glances about at the faces, rubbing at the back of her neck. "I think…the most important thing for us Evolved to learn is control." She mumbles this last part out, turning her gaze back toward the ground.
"You have a few positive role models Delilah. You're one yourself. I think you'll be a perfect mother, whether the child you're protecting is evolved or not. And control, yes, is one of the most important. The second being knowing when to use your ability and when to not use it. Intuition, common sense, situational awareness. Lets take a break, get some more coffee, abuse the Suresh Center's donut population, Delilah, I know you're eyeing the boston creme's and regroup hmm?"