forgodssake | ic inbox } ataraxion.

[ He could probably play stupid and press her to define exactly what she means by that, and for a moment, Charles considers it, mouth parted in hesitation and a slight crooked quality to emerging smile, before he speaks anyway; ]

Our help is as varied as the people that come to us, Agent. Are you talking about-- preventative measures?

[ He doesn't necessarily wait for confirmation. ]

We have dangerous powers in the world I come from, and the best method of ensuring no one gets hurt is education. For those onboard for whom education can't help, then-- generally magical solutions are called for. Potions to treat afflictions, voluntary confinement provided until the danger is passed. In the past, I've conducted therapy, of a more usual kind, and of a more telepathic kind.

It's important I add, we aren't an extension of Security, or Medical, even if we are given to work with either sometimes. We mostly handle matters brought to our attention. Our staff are encouraged to pursue their own cases and we try to make sure the rest of the Tranquility knows to come to us if they want to.

I suppose it is preventative, although I'm glad that you mentioned potions, or therapy.

( Options - actual options. Although there was confinement at least here it was voluntary. The world might not have been ready to know about the things that really existed in it but, in defense, was doing something - imprisoning the dangerous, monitoring the unknown, worse than doing nothing?

With people like Hydra around - still around - it didn't feel worse. She didn't want it to be worse )

Everyone will know to come to you, at least. That's why I'm asking questions now - someone recently mentioned it. Are there ever any difficulties? Resistance from people that refuse help or people that don't agree with what you're trying to do?

( People who, like from her home, would kill rather than help or understand. There was always a line that she'd known, a question they never wanted to ask regarding where did it stop? How far did dangerous have to be before imprisonment wasn't enough? Before death was the only answer? Maybe they'd already found it but denied wanting to touch it )

Yes.

[ This, after a moment of thought. ]

But only one case I can think of. In the interests of privacy, I'll refrain from gossip -- but it was a man who didn't have total control over the power he could wield, and he hurt someone. However, that was a conflict of interests rather than pointblank refusal. I believe he sought help elsewhere.

We can only but offer. If it gets to the stage where someone is consistently hurting others, and we're refused at every turn, I'd imagine we defer to Security, or work with them. We have done so, in the past.

At least that doesn't appear to be the frequent need.

( Either people accepted the help or there wasn't quite such high a need for it that there would be many reported cases. Whatever the reason for it it was a good thing. There was help, people willing to do what it took in order to help. And people actually accepting the help )

I guess there'd be more cause for concern if there wasn't someone like you or Professor Snape here - someone experienced.

( Whether that was because there wouldn't be any help, or the methods of it wouldn't have been great she didn't want to admit to. But they didn't have that worry at least )

Mm.

[ Charles would like to think so, anyway. But now the subject of his focus turns properly outward and squarely onto Maria, signified only with the tip of his head and the sharp study behind benign expression. ]

What is SHIELD. I've heard it come up a few times and it seems to be equal parts law enforcement and spy organisation.

( Maria shouldn't be surprised - she actually shouldn't. He's mentioned telepathy, and whether he'd read the information out of her head or not it was something that had been mentioned around the network. For spies they threw the name around a lot, but that would only be worrying if the word was as classified as some of what they did. Given that he's asking- she's guessing, hoping that he hadn't looked into her head for more. That would be dangerous )

It was. In basic terms anyway.

( Maria might have alluded to Fortescue before that they'd been in similar lines of work, and had shown herself capable to gunnery, but she'd never actually talked about SHIELD before. Not in detail - she was more like to bring up her marine training than anything of SHIELD )

SHIELD stands for the Strategic Homeland Intelligence and Enforcement Logistics Division. We looked after problems that other organisations weren't qualified to deal with.

( Powered individuals. Aliens. They weren't really qualified but they had better defenses, and they'd been working on it a lot longer than any other organisation had known about the issues. At least, that was what she was giving him in relevance to this conversation )

With all due respect, it sounds like exactly the sort of necessity I have every intention of rendering obsolete back in my world. And here, the same.

[ He is ruffled, but in an understated sort of fashion. Her tone makes clear what her thoughts make explicit; powered individuals are problems. They are, for him, his students, his friends, and once in a blue moon, his lovers.

She has her marching orders; he has his school.

Had his school.

Speaking of which-- ]

I can't help but notice you termed your objectives in the past tense, though.

With all due respect- ( And there's likely a little less there ) -SHIELD was started because of human threats. Non-powered individuals that would threaten our safety - freedom.

( And she'd appreciate the lack of assumptions on his part. It might be nice for him to be in a world where something like SHIELD is obsolete - where everything is nice enough and able to be understood, but people don't understand. That was why until New York things were a secret - to keep it from becoming out of hand )

Aliens trying to destroy Earth changes the game plan.

( There'd been less incidents before then - before the Chitauri had left things behind that people had swept up. That people had experimented with. It was humans that started most of the problems - people became powered or had the wrong technology from it

But there's a breath- a pause to reign in some of that irritation that had sprung from Charles' judgement. There were some powered individuals that she worked with - others that were allies. It wasn't being powered that was the problem but what you did with the power - or regular human thought )

SHIELD is gone - just before I got here.

( Technically just after - she'd been in the process of planning out how when she'd arrived, but a few jumps later she'd received that outcome )

Now now, you didn't come here asking after human threats, Agent Hill, you'd have gone to Security for that. You took it upon yourself -- out of professional curiousity and obligation, I can only assume -- to ensure we had safeguards in place for people with powers, or people who aren't exactly people as you know them. Problems other organisations aren't qualified to deal with, as you put it.

[ His rebuttal is mild. You don't get to be a PhD student, a professor, and friends with """Magneto"""" by being awfully worked up by disagreement. He can see the assumptions in return unravelling in her mind too -- truly laughable ones -- but doesn't speak to them directly.

That'd be rude.

But he does feel a need to explain; ]

Our game plan changed too, back home. The cat was out of the bag early on, and suddenly, the world knew who we were before they were prepared, and the measures they took to try to understand people like us ranged from shooting first and asking later, all the way to vivisection. You'll forgive me a little defensiveness.

Being someone who understands the worst of humankind, [ he adds, not insincerely. ]

I wasn't asking about your safeguards.

( It might have come up but Charles himself had been the first one to mention it - Remus too in her initial conversation. If she'd wanted to know about any safeguards she'd have gone to Security, human or non-human safeguards. She'd asked about help - things that he did, his experience. How his work helped someone stay in control of themselves - personal control )

Being someone that understands the worst of humankind- ( From his statements she can understand his defensiveness. Shooting first and vivisection? At least she can say those are acts she's never ordered or taken part in. Shots only came when there was no reason, or they were under attack ) -you should know that the worst of it can come from humans themselves. Experiments - not solely on people with abilities but also to create them. People that would then use their subjects to cause more damage than they could.

( Thankfully for someone like Steve he was on their side - stopping the damage, but the Red Skull had wanted that for himself. He might not have gotten it but Hydra had ended up with Barnes. Humans controlling a super soldier - someone more than human. If it was just Barnes it would have been like Steve, but it was other humans giving those orders. Maria let her words hang for a few seconds, trying to get her point back )

We're all from different places - we've all had to do different things. Someone told me that this department helped people that had other needs. I was curious about what you knew - what experience you had with these things to do that.

[ There is a reason they both -- Charles and Remus -- likely went there, and Charles is disinclined to put it all on their respective paranoias when the common denominator is Maria herself. Still, lacking the desire to bang on about what the agent could have meant or did not mean, he listens.

Accepts intention as stated, now. ]

And when asked by someone who will never need my help in the ways we're discussing, I'm inclined to ask who's asking, and why.

[ His tone has loosened, and he offers the beginning of a crooked smile. ]

But I suppose it's better than never asking at all. I didn't mean any offence in hoping your organisation would be redundant, in this world or the next. I just believe in empowering people like me to help themselves, in some respects, rather than becoming a problem.

( She has to nod at his statement, and agree. She can see why he'd jump to his conclusion even if she doesn't like that that would be his only idea about her. She carries around her own dose of suspicion about people, probably larger than what is healthy )

I might not need your help, but other people may. I'd like to know who to be able to send them to, that they could be helped.

( It wasn't just them here, and so far the external threats and the ship had proven more dangerous than anything on board. Minus the sleepwalking incident, but that was something out of control rather than malicious intent. If word was to be believed anyway )

And it would probably a nicer world if my job didn't exist. ( Didn't have to exist, but then it would be a nicer world if a lot of things weren't needed - military responses, spies. If things were safer a lot would be redundant. Science became as messy as biology ) You said you had a school. How long has it been running?

One semester.

[ His smile goes crooked; a little sad. (Very sad, but it's not anyone's business but his own, so it remains suppressed.) ]

We had to shut down due to the draft taking effect. There was a war, in Vietnam.

[ It's not the entire truth, but truth enough without getting terribly person. ]

But I've been told that in the future, I'm able to open it up again, and it runs for decades on. I'd had some prior experience in training up young mutants, before the school came together. It was a small team, but effective. Memorable. A certain spirit of discovery, in those early days.

Here, there's a lot to relearn.

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