Transfer of Power

Posted on Fri Jul 12th, 2024 @ 9:08 by Claire Cavendish & Phoebe Hunter & Liana Zhao

Chapter: Besieged
Location: Head Teacher's Office, Avalon Institute
Timeline: 15:00 hours, Friday, January 29th, 1993
2276 words - 4.6 OF Standard Post Measure

The last weeks were weighing heavily on Claire's shoulders, and when yesterday the government announced the establishment of the Genetic Oversight Unit she knew that it was going to get a lot worse before it got any better. The vision of Phoebe was still fresh in her memory, and there were a dozen things she tried to do in order to prevent that particular future from coming into play. Then again, from what she knew from how Phoebe's abilities worked such a strong vision that overwhelmed usually indicated that, no matter what choices were made, the foreseen events were nigh inevitable. Which is why she had called two specific people to her office that afternoon.

It might have been a week since her extreme vision but it did not mean that Phoebe felt but better about it all. She sat silently in the office looking at the cup of tea in front of her that was made perfectly like she liked. "Thank you for the tea." She finally picked it up and took a cup of it. It had been a long week and she was thankful it was Friday even if it was her duty weekend which meant she would not be able to run through anything with Matt. None of what had happened was something you could say on the phone.

Usually, it took examination of the smaller details to gauge just where Liana's personal stress levels sat, particularly when her professional load demanded a degree of focus and separation from her own concerns. Outwardly, the counsellor appeared as well-put-together as always, dressed in classic lines with hair that very rarely sat out of place. The expression in her eyes was an indication of her crowded thought process, however, the dart of analytical processing that sought to work through an internal list efficiently and effectively without getting too weighed down by extraneous distractions. The mug of coffee in her hand, despite it being well-past breakfast, was another clue, albeit a reflection of a somewhat recent attempt to curb caffeine-dependence by only partaking in tea after 9am. There was also something about the speed at which Liana moved, not without usual grace, but as if perpetually late, which would have been unlikely for a woman for whom punctuality seemed entirely ingrained.

"Sorry," became the first word out of her mouth as she glanced towards the grandfather clock and took the other seat opposite the desk. "Did I miss much?"

"Nothing. I have just arrived and gotten tea myself." Phoebe held up the tea mug. She looked pale but she plastered a fake smile on her face. She knew some of why the meeting had been called but she did not know why the woman had asked to come.

Claire offered Liana a drink before settling down behind the desk again. "We'll be facing our steepest challenge yet in this registration law, and I'm afraid it might devolve into something that will easily spiral out of control." She gave Phoebe a knowing look. "So, to safeguard the future of this institute, and hopefully by extension the students and staff, I need to ask you something."

Even from a logistical point of view, Liana had to agree. If you swept aside the emotional and moral implications, trying to manage a large group of young mutants, some of whom had complex guardianship arrangements, in such a way as to preserve self-determination and not lose the school's accreditation was practically impossible. There were already plenty of vocal seniors declaring their refusal to comply, and she knew Claire had been fielding just as many phone calls as she had from worried parents unsure of how to best support their children. Quite aside from the obvious confrontation with enforcement authorities, the potential for internal unrest and disagreement amongst the student body had already thrown the guidance counsellor into overdrive. Worried eyes studied Claire from beneath a furrowed brow as Liana cocked her head to the side and observed, "I know that tone."

Claire gave a bit of a weary smile, Liana knew her too well to be able to hide any ulterior motives she might have. She pushed a document towards Liana, "This is a notarised document that states that in case that I'm incapacitated or otherwise indisposed you'll get administrative control of the Institute for as long as I remain absent." She'd trusted Liana to relinquish control back to her once she was able to return to Avalon, but her lawyers had insisted on the clause. She didn't like how cynical people got from practising law. She then turned to Phoebe and pushed a 3.5 inch floppy disk towards her, "insert this into the main console in the Situation Room and all the files and access for the Quantum Knights will be relinquished to your credentials."

"I knew I did not have everything," Phoebe said with a sad smile as she took the disk and tucked it away in her pocket. She had foreseen this moment several different ways but she did not expect to feel so sad. She watched Claire waiting to see if she would tell the woman more about her visions and what she had drawn that was leading to these steps.

Without the benefit of prophesy, Liana sat squarely in the centre of the present moment and continued to frown. "I hope this also includes every contingency for avoiding the necessity." It didn't take clairvoyance to predict her friend's willingness to embrace martyrdom if Claire felt like it would somehow alleviate the stress elsewhere.

"It would seem that on our current trajectory I might not be presented with a choice." Claire looked back at Phoebe before pushing the hastily drawn sketches she had made towards Liana. "I have spoken with lawyers in the community and the enforcement of the Mutant Registration Act seems inevitable. Which has pushed me to make the decision to very publicly denounce and refuse it." She looked at the drawings back to Phoebe, "Which we believe will result in a response from the newly established Genetic Oversight Unit."

"And... MI-13 are powerless to help when this happens." Phoebe had spoken to friends and everything they could do to stop it had been tied up in red tape and threats. It was dangerous for anyone there, they were surviving purely on an ancient law and all agents were already known. "But they have sent me some assistance but I have no idea what I am meant to do with a sword yet. Nothing is coming to me and I have tried."

Having had no experience, at least directly, with Phoebe's powers, Liana was left to stare at the sketches with a mixture of confusion and concern. Refusal to comply was a given amongst certain pockets of the mutant population, it had only been a matter of time before the Institute was forced to take an official stance. With Claire's decision came a domino effect, one that wouldn't easily be mitigated by handing over to an already-registered, albeit voluntarily, entity. Liana lifted her gaze to focus on her friend.

"Do we know yet how many of the staff intend to refuse?"

"There's some people that through interactions with the government are already on the shortlist, so to speak. Them plus a couple who feel it's in their best interest to comply basically gives us around a 50/50 split among the entire staff and student body. Though I will say when it comes to the students, they will be at the mercy of their legal guardians." Which gave Claire a moment of pause. There were a couple of students with the institute who's legal guardianship had been successfully transferred to the organisation. "So there's a decision to be made for me in how to handle that, exactly. Or you, if that scenario ends up unfolding."

"What about students returning home?" Liana was aware there had been requests for temporary withdrawals, mostly from those families still in support of their children and who were rightly concerned that the school was an easy target given it had done the hard work in centralising a population of mutants already. The counselor understood the desire and was hard-pressed to come up with a good reason to dissuade it. Certainly if they wanted to protect their child's status, the sooner they were no longer affiliated with the school, the better. Liana already knew Claire's stance on allowing any access to the school's files.

"I am known to them via my previous job but I do not believe that we comply. People should have a choice when the government reacts like how they are." She said firmly. She did not need to raise her voice when she said it but the anger over it was brewing just under the surface. Everyone had a choice in how they revealed themselves or did not. No one had the right to make that for anyone. "Though I do suspect if they have not been called home already they most likely won't be," Phoebe said quietly. It was already over the news and a few had been removed from the school.

"Given the short notice otherwise I agree with Phoebe, those whose parents were going to withdraw them have done so already. The others have either explicitly or implicitly indicated that they'd stand by the stance Avalon takes in the matter." Claire took in a deep long breath, then leaned forward. Had it been any other people across the desk from her she'd have kept her composure but the weight of it was slowly starting to become too much for her to bare. "They're scared." Her gaze dropped to the sketches pushed across the desk, "they have every right to be. I'm scared too." She looked up, sharing a glance between the two women across from her. "I honestly don't know if it's the right thing to do. But I know any other decision would be unjust."

The press of index fingers to her brow was a silent tell that slipped through Liana's carefully manicured control. Tension headaches were not as uncommon as she would have liked, an off-shoot of all the training she'd had in regards to her powers that sought to internalise the struggle in order to utilise it. The counselor sat for a moment, staring at the wood grain of the desktop as her professional judgement collided with personal preference and left her striving to find a way to marry the two. Slowly, her expression cleared, not exactly free of concern but resolute, at least, as she arrived at a suggestion that offered momentum forward.

"What they need is to be reminded that they are not alone in this. As much as they have us fighting to secure them sanctuary, more importantly, they have each other. For some of them, Avalon is the only home they know." Liana's eyes glanced briefly towards Phoebe's sketches and she drew in a deep breath. "If our official stance is to honour autonomy, then they need to know that. They also need to be given an opportunity to have their voices heard. Some will want to comply, others may be in situations where they have no choice." Taking a moment to consider the cases she'd already been dealing with, Liana added, "Oliver, for example. He's been through enough, and can hardly deny his status when it's been plastered across the world news. I suspect a good many of them will want to follow your example, though," she pointed out to Claire. "And if we don't act now to unite them, we're going to end up with enough internal resentment that we won't need outside intervention to rip us to shreds. You need to talk to them. Be frank with them. Include them in this. If we don't, they're just going to find their own way to get involved and the last thing we need is for battle lines to be drawn in our own halls."

Phoebe stayed quiet. She was not a senior teacher, she was there and the leader of the Knights and the one who could see enough coming that they had a slight head start. It just was not enough in her opinion, something felt wrong about this whole situation that they were missing, outside factors that were unknown but she had no idea how to explain it. The UK government never moved at this speed.

"Perhaps it's good if we were to think on a statement towards the student body, I can deliver it on Sunday in front of the assembly." It would allow the last few people wishing to depart to do so and the message would be loud and clear to those deciding to stay. "It would be good to get your input on that." Claire had always valued Liana's insights when it came to communicating coherently. "Since there are some faculty members that already indicated their intention to register, we can have them accompany those students wishing to follow suit. I'll also discuss it in Ethics class, normalise either choice and, indeed as you say, emphasise autonomy and respectful discourse in the matter." still it was a school and sometimes battle lines were drawn on the height one would pull up their uniform socks. "We have our work cut out for us, ladies."

"All we can do is lead by example," Liana smiled tiredly at her friend and then across at Phoebe. "Failing that, knowing where the wine is kept would be my next piece of advice." An unusual suggestion from a mental health professional though, under the circumstances, Liana felt a degree of pragmatism was probably in order.