nextgenerationmarvel | A Less Tremulous Forward Direction ((Open to all at Xavier's))

Rachel Grey-Ramsey, still freshly minted headmaster at ~~Hogwarts~~ Xavier's, had finalized the plans for the massive amounts of construction that was to happen around the school this summer. With the summer session in full-swing, she hoped the construction would not be too disruptive to the classes in session for those students still on campus.

Though she would gather all staff, students, X-Men and other residents of age that needed to know what was going on. It was mandatory for all to attend. Changes were going to happen whether any of them liked them or not. She mentally adjusted her perfectly-tailored suit and stood in front of the assembled mutants.

"As you all are aware, Xavier's is now a publicly-known school for mutants. As such we will be under more scrutiny to make educational standards on top of the larger student body we will be having in the fall. This brings many changes for us to adapt to. Dormitories separate from the mansion will be built for the students with resident advisers rooming in those buildings as well. There will be separate housing as well for the staff, X-Men, and other members of our family residing on campus. We have been a family, and I will make sure that remains the same. The interior of the mansion from attic to basement will be remodeled. Most classes will be held inside the mansion. There will be a cafeteria for students as well as adults to eat in. The subbasements will not be changed.

However, these changes come at some cost to how things were run before. As family we could be more informal and turn our eyes from certain behaviors. With government agencies watching us closely, this will no longer be the case. Among the changes, we will have a zero tolerance policy for drug use and underage drinking. Also, no training session is to be run without a teacher present to shut it down if things go wrong. Any X-Men affiliates who are on campus in a non-teaching capacity will be advised to stay away from the students.

If there are any further concerns or questions, please feel free to ask. My door is always open to anyone here who needs help."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Fine. I'm not being intentionally insulting." Brooke lacked tact, it was true, but she'd never really felt the need to be tactful. Not when saying what was on her mind usually got her what she wanted anyway. "Consulting works." Pause. "But what about the community at large? We're not a secret anymore. There are going to be kids who need our help - who want it and who want to come here. I want to help with that."

Rachel blinked. Then she blinked again. She licked her lips for a moment to try to figure out the right words.

"Well..." Having her help and be actually empathic might be good for Brooke. It was a step in the right direction. Rachel already knew Brooke's foibles so she could approach this with the right amount of care. "That's a little unexpected, but I don't see why not within reason. After," she stressed, "we see how well you can work with those we have on campus that need help."

"..." Brooke raised a gentle eyebrow. "Whatever do you mean, those we have on campus?" She then raised her chin ever so slightly. "Rather, who do you mean?"

Rachel shook her head. "Nuh-uh. No information until you agree to it. You want to help, you have to be willing to help anyone. No matter your previous opinions."

She tilted her head, "You willing to help or not?"

"Fine," Brooke said. "Okay. I'm willing to help. Now tell me who I have to help to prove myself to you."

"Pete Eastman," Rachel replied. She and Dani had been trying to work with him, but right now, she needed to see if Brooke even knew who he was.

"Oh, Pete! Right. Good old Pete. He's a great guy, Pete. Can't ever remember having verbally taken him down or anything." Or having ever spoken to him at all, but that was so very besides the point here.

"Because you have always been complimentary about a boy who turns into six-foot tall bipedal turtles, right?" Rachel couldn't help but smile a little. Brooke's bluster was a little amusing.

"Turtleskin terrifies me, okay? There's a reason why none of my many sunglasses are tortoiseshell!" Brooke breathed in deeply. "I'm not going to be waxing his shell every night, am I?"

"That would entirely depend on which turtle is in residence, but I doubt that will be required. No, what you're going to do is try to get the scared boy under all those powers to be less scared of mutants. Without using your powers. Lots of what we can help with is listening and empathy." Rachel pushed off the desk to stand up more fully.

"Seems up your alley, doesn't it?"

"So, you want me to sit there, listen to his problems, and help him figure out how to better himself and his life?" She needed to be clear on this, here. "You want me to counsel him?" Was Rachel really about to set Brooke free to give advice to people?

"If you can actually get Pete to talk to you without a turtle interruption, congratulations, you're doing better than all the adults here. He's got other problems as well, but you'll need to figure those out as you talk to him." As problematic as Pete was, he was the least likely to do anything violent to Brooke in any of his forms. Even the crabby one in red.

"It's less about telling him what to do, Brooke, and more connecting with him. You're going to help his legal guardian at the very least."

"Of course he'll talk to me," Brooke said confidently. "After all, someone's finally giving him the time of day." She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and added, "What's his story, Rachel? I'm going to need to know some of this going in, so I'm not blind. I'll be able to better engage with him that way."

Rachel was not going to point out some of his classmates already have given him the time of day.

"I've given you the details you need. When you're out and trying to help kids who want to come here, that's about as much information as you'll get. Sometimes less. You know his name, his mutation, and that he needs help. Oh, and Dani will be keep a close eye on your progress with him."

If Brooke scared Pete, it might give Dani an opening to work with.

"Dani probably likes me even less than you do, considering my parentage." In other words, things were going to get a little bit more difficult for everyone's ~~least~~ favourite empath. "Fine. Does Pete like pizza? Because there's this gourmet place that deli...huh." Would they still deliver, now? Brooke realized that she desperately needed a teleporter as a minion. "Maybe I can ask Kayla to whip up a nice pizza for Pete. To get them to open up.:"

"Not probably," Rachel noted. Despite what Brooke thought, Rachel was one of the few people on her side at Xavier's. Dani and most of the original New Mutants around the campus were not pleased to have Brooke around.

"I don't know if Pete himself likes pizza. I heard Porthos would like to live on it. Not sure about the other three. But that's as much information you'll get second hand. You'll need to figure the rest out on your own." And Rachel needed to talk to Dani sooner rather than later.

"I figured as much," Brooke said with a tight smile. She stood up and brushed down the skirt of her dress. "Everyone likes pizza," she concluded. "Even those crazy vegan people." She shifted her handbag from one arm to the other, then, and nodded her head. "Talk to Ms. Moonstar first, before I approach Turtle Teen. I don't want any issues, or anyone other than my mother throwing illusions at me."

"I will talk to Dani," Rachel assured. She would invite Dani to her office once Brooke had left.

"Anything else?"

Well, Brooke wanted to ask if there was any way that she could get Sharona on campus as her maid again, but she knew that the chances of that happening were very, very low indeed.

"No, not at the moment, Rachel. But I do appreciate your time and co-operation."

A Less Tremulous Forward Direction ((Open to all at Xavier's))

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