B&H: Meeting with Haven
Jul. 6th, 2010 01:08 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsAs promised, Crystal goes to District X to speak with Haven, making a shocking discovery about the changes of the Untouchables and the woman behind them.
Crystal walked through the streets of District X. She'd chosen to make an appointment with the woman known as Haven rather than drop by unexpectedly. Although Crystal knew of Haven, and perhaps Haven knew of her, they'd never been formally introduced. Crystal hadn't wanted to just walk into the holistic clinic and appear to let accusations fly. Better to ask for a meeting and then explain the reasons for her visit when they were face-to-face.
The clinic wasn't hard to find; Crystal had passed by the building multiple times, and its existence was not a secret to the inhabitants of these special city blocks. It looked nonthreatening enough, but Crystal knew better than to judge a book by its cover. She could be walking into danger, and could have asked others from the mansion to accompany her, but she also didn't want to give the impression of launching an attack. Crystal was here as herself, a teacher at Xavier's who also assisted in the infirmary, and who happened to be a princess as well as an X-Man trainee.
Once inside the clinic, Crystal would find a regular receptionist's desk; the lack of receptionist was probably the most distinct part of it though. "Welcome", came Haven's silky voice as she exited another room, looking at the receptionist's desk for a moment. "They really should get someone more permanently." Her attention went at Crystal as she looked away from the desk. "Miss Amaquelin, I suppose?" Even as she kept on smiling at her, Haven's eyes carefully examined the other woman, taking account on ever detail. "Would you like to move to a more private room?" The question came with a soft hand movement, pointing the door she had just came from. "My studio-- far from being overly luxurious, should prove sufficient to talk."
Crystal smiled back at Haven and nodded, also taking in the other woman's appearance, voice, and demeanor without being obvious about it. "Yes, of course, thank you." The opening of a poem came to mind: "Will you walk into my parlor?" said the Spider to the Fly. Crystal supposed she shouldn't have any reason not to trust Haven; even if it did turn out that she was responsible for the surprising condition of the Untouchables, chances were that she had simply been granting the wish of a young girl with a mutation that caused her sorrow. Still, Crystal had been tricked before, and wasn't quite ready to be openly trusting of this stranger, to assume that everything would go well.
Haven nodded, and lead the woman to her studio. As she had said, it was pretty simple, and yet it managed to look cozy. The woman sat quietly behind her desk, legs crossed, elbows over the desk, and her chin resting on a fist. Some of the warmth had gone from her eyes, and she looked definitely more professional now. "I am intrigued, Miss Amaquelin", started, carefully selecting her words. "How can I be of assistance to you today?"
Sitting in another chair, Crystal decided to give a direct and open answer. "I am hoping that you will be able to help me discover the reason behind why four of my acquaintances no longer possess any of their mutations," she explained. "Last week, they attended the Street Fair here, and the next day they discovered that their powers appeared to have vanished. It has been a week, and their status remains unchanged." Although another statement came to mind, Crystal decided to hold off mentioning that Yvette mentioned Haven by name and that Cammie had blamed her.
Surprise showed on her eyes for a second, but no more. "Yvette and her friends, I assume?" Because she remembered the girl very well. "The green haired lady believed I was trying to take advantage of them." Which she found quite amusing at that moment. "They are no longer mutant, and it's not a condition they will ever recover from; they are in no danger of harm, disease or complication. They are simply..." Haven straightened on her seat, a small smile of self sufficiency showing. "Human."
Crystal's eyes widened at Haven's words. Apparently her additional statement hadn't been needed after all; while Haven hadn't quite said that she had done something or what had been done, she also hadn't attempted to deny knowledge of what had happened. "You did not take advantage of them, then?" Crystal asked carefully. "You fulfilled your promise to Yvette and are the one responsible for the fact that they have ceased being mutants?" There, it was out, and she could only hope that Haven would not wish to do the same thing to Crystal.
A nod. "I would never take advantage of a girl with such pure intentions. Nor her friends. What was done, was done with the desire to ease their lives only." She examined Crystal for a moment, wondering how she could be related to the four that she had met last week. "Is there a problem? Is this sudden change on their conditions causing any issue to them." Special emphasis on the Untouchables well being.
"They were not each asked individually as to whether or not they wished to lose their abilities, and the loss of an active power is also different than not being a mutant at all," Crystal replied. It was hard to tell what the true thoughts of the four were. Clearly Yvette was ecstatic, Kevin hadn't spoken his mind on the journals but perhaps once he knew the change was meant to be permanent he would have a positive take on the situation, Cammie was Cammie and seemed the most upset out of the group, and Jared seemed to be adjusting well. But could Crystal say that their new status was truly causing trouble in their lives? If it was true that the change was permanent, their lives would now take entirely different courses. Better, worse, or just different... that was not Crystal's call to make, and she didn't believe it should be Haven's.
"Their lives have changed," Crystal continued. "Should your offer not have been extended as a choice on the part of each one to become human, to be given time to understand what that would mean? Will you be the one to choose who needs to ease their lives" here she purposely echoed Haven's own words "rather than allowing others to have a choice in the matter?"
Haven did not hide the fact she was enjoying the conversation. "Arguably, you are right to point that each of them deserved to make that call on their own, and I have to wonder if you would have chosen otherwise if given the chance." She didn't elaborate though. "There is no simple way of explaining something like that. All the time of the world won't be enough to make someone really understand what would mean having his or her mutation removed. And so, the action was out of a moment in which I considered my judgement on the matter was the right one." Haven's speech had a growing edge, but she remained calm and harmless looking the whole time.
"What is done is done, Miss Amaquelin. If I have done wrong, I will accept the punishment. But I haven't. If I were to, say, take your mutation away", and here a small smile crossed her lips for a second. "That would be completely uncalled for, wouldn't it? There is a line between wishing for the greater good, and taking advantage of what has been given to us." Her voice seemed to lose some of it's luster. "Is this everything, Miss Amaquelin?"
Whatever the intention of Haven's words had been, her speech caused Crystal to be overcome with unease and begin to feel quite ill. Mixed in were feelings of shock and rage, and not only at the thought that perhaps Haven had just threatened her. This woman is playing God. If what Haven had said was true, she could simply eradicate x-genes at will. If her abilities caused any detrimental effects upon herself, they weren't visible to the naked eye, and the woman appeared to be in good health, also not showing any trace of the physical mutations of either Cammie or Yvette.
"Yes, I believe that you have answered my questions." Crystal forced the words to come out as polite and neutral as possible. She stood, slowly nodding at the dark-haired woman across the table. "Thank you for time, and your honesty."
Haven was playing judge, jury, and executioner of any mutation she viewed as causing a discomfort to the mutant in possession of the ability. Crystal felt sick; despite Haven's declaration that to do so would be wrong, what was to stop this woman from continuing to eradicate the mutations of people who did not have what she believed to be harmful powers, including Crystal's own? When she saw someone she believed was suffering due to his or her mutation, would she offer the use of her abilities? What gave her the right to choose which powers should stay and which should go, who should remain a mutant and who should become a baseline human?
Crystal left the room, thoughts flooding her mind as she fought back feelings of nausea. The ramifications of Haven's powers were alarming. Even if from this point on Haven only used her abilities when asked, what would happen if news of this spread out of District X? What Haven could do went way beyond being able to cause a temporary loss of power. There were both mutants and humans who would be more than happy to discover a way to rid the world of mutants; surely the Purifiers would jump for joy at a way to truly 'cleanse' mutations from the body.
Once outside, Crystal moved to the side of the building, her lunch threatening to come back up. At the moment, she wasn't quite sure what she had expected to discover today, but she knew it wasn't this. Haven showed absolutely no remorse for what she had done. The way she acted, she certainly didn't intend for this to be the last time she chose to 'help' what she viewed to be a mutant in need. And if she'd promised Yvette that she could take away the powers of the Untouchables, surely this wasn't the first time she had taken it upon herself to do so.
Crystal stopped trying to keep the contents of her stomach where they were. Moments later, footsteps approached, and soon the two figures that had stood there had vanished from sight.
Crystal walked through the streets of District X. She'd chosen to make an appointment with the woman known as Haven rather than drop by unexpectedly. Although Crystal knew of Haven, and perhaps Haven knew of her, they'd never been formally introduced. Crystal hadn't wanted to just walk into the holistic clinic and appear to let accusations fly. Better to ask for a meeting and then explain the reasons for her visit when they were face-to-face.
The clinic wasn't hard to find; Crystal had passed by the building multiple times, and its existence was not a secret to the inhabitants of these special city blocks. It looked nonthreatening enough, but Crystal knew better than to judge a book by its cover. She could be walking into danger, and could have asked others from the mansion to accompany her, but she also didn't want to give the impression of launching an attack. Crystal was here as herself, a teacher at Xavier's who also assisted in the infirmary, and who happened to be a princess as well as an X-Man trainee.
Once inside the clinic, Crystal would find a regular receptionist's desk; the lack of receptionist was probably the most distinct part of it though. "Welcome", came Haven's silky voice as she exited another room, looking at the receptionist's desk for a moment. "They really should get someone more permanently." Her attention went at Crystal as she looked away from the desk. "Miss Amaquelin, I suppose?" Even as she kept on smiling at her, Haven's eyes carefully examined the other woman, taking account on ever detail. "Would you like to move to a more private room?" The question came with a soft hand movement, pointing the door she had just came from. "My studio-- far from being overly luxurious, should prove sufficient to talk."
Crystal smiled back at Haven and nodded, also taking in the other woman's appearance, voice, and demeanor without being obvious about it. "Yes, of course, thank you." The opening of a poem came to mind: "Will you walk into my parlor?" said the Spider to the Fly. Crystal supposed she shouldn't have any reason not to trust Haven; even if it did turn out that she was responsible for the surprising condition of the Untouchables, chances were that she had simply been granting the wish of a young girl with a mutation that caused her sorrow. Still, Crystal had been tricked before, and wasn't quite ready to be openly trusting of this stranger, to assume that everything would go well.
Haven nodded, and lead the woman to her studio. As she had said, it was pretty simple, and yet it managed to look cozy. The woman sat quietly behind her desk, legs crossed, elbows over the desk, and her chin resting on a fist. Some of the warmth had gone from her eyes, and she looked definitely more professional now. "I am intrigued, Miss Amaquelin", started, carefully selecting her words. "How can I be of assistance to you today?"
Sitting in another chair, Crystal decided to give a direct and open answer. "I am hoping that you will be able to help me discover the reason behind why four of my acquaintances no longer possess any of their mutations," she explained. "Last week, they attended the Street Fair here, and the next day they discovered that their powers appeared to have vanished. It has been a week, and their status remains unchanged." Although another statement came to mind, Crystal decided to hold off mentioning that Yvette mentioned Haven by name and that Cammie had blamed her.
Surprise showed on her eyes for a second, but no more. "Yvette and her friends, I assume?" Because she remembered the girl very well. "The green haired lady believed I was trying to take advantage of them." Which she found quite amusing at that moment. "They are no longer mutant, and it's not a condition they will ever recover from; they are in no danger of harm, disease or complication. They are simply..." Haven straightened on her seat, a small smile of self sufficiency showing. "Human."
Crystal's eyes widened at Haven's words. Apparently her additional statement hadn't been needed after all; while Haven hadn't quite said that she had done something or what had been done, she also hadn't attempted to deny knowledge of what had happened. "You did not take advantage of them, then?" Crystal asked carefully. "You fulfilled your promise to Yvette and are the one responsible for the fact that they have ceased being mutants?" There, it was out, and she could only hope that Haven would not wish to do the same thing to Crystal.
A nod. "I would never take advantage of a girl with such pure intentions. Nor her friends. What was done, was done with the desire to ease their lives only." She examined Crystal for a moment, wondering how she could be related to the four that she had met last week. "Is there a problem? Is this sudden change on their conditions causing any issue to them." Special emphasis on the Untouchables well being.
"They were not each asked individually as to whether or not they wished to lose their abilities, and the loss of an active power is also different than not being a mutant at all," Crystal replied. It was hard to tell what the true thoughts of the four were. Clearly Yvette was ecstatic, Kevin hadn't spoken his mind on the journals but perhaps once he knew the change was meant to be permanent he would have a positive take on the situation, Cammie was Cammie and seemed the most upset out of the group, and Jared seemed to be adjusting well. But could Crystal say that their new status was truly causing trouble in their lives? If it was true that the change was permanent, their lives would now take entirely different courses. Better, worse, or just different... that was not Crystal's call to make, and she didn't believe it should be Haven's.
"Their lives have changed," Crystal continued. "Should your offer not have been extended as a choice on the part of each one to become human, to be given time to understand what that would mean? Will you be the one to choose who needs to ease their lives" here she purposely echoed Haven's own words "rather than allowing others to have a choice in the matter?"
Haven did not hide the fact she was enjoying the conversation. "Arguably, you are right to point that each of them deserved to make that call on their own, and I have to wonder if you would have chosen otherwise if given the chance." She didn't elaborate though. "There is no simple way of explaining something like that. All the time of the world won't be enough to make someone really understand what would mean having his or her mutation removed. And so, the action was out of a moment in which I considered my judgement on the matter was the right one." Haven's speech had a growing edge, but she remained calm and harmless looking the whole time.
"What is done is done, Miss Amaquelin. If I have done wrong, I will accept the punishment. But I haven't. If I were to, say, take your mutation away", and here a small smile crossed her lips for a second. "That would be completely uncalled for, wouldn't it? There is a line between wishing for the greater good, and taking advantage of what has been given to us." Her voice seemed to lose some of it's luster. "Is this everything, Miss Amaquelin?"
Whatever the intention of Haven's words had been, her speech caused Crystal to be overcome with unease and begin to feel quite ill. Mixed in were feelings of shock and rage, and not only at the thought that perhaps Haven had just threatened her. This woman is playing God. If what Haven had said was true, she could simply eradicate x-genes at will. If her abilities caused any detrimental effects upon herself, they weren't visible to the naked eye, and the woman appeared to be in good health, also not showing any trace of the physical mutations of either Cammie or Yvette.
"Yes, I believe that you have answered my questions." Crystal forced the words to come out as polite and neutral as possible. She stood, slowly nodding at the dark-haired woman across the table. "Thank you for time, and your honesty."
Haven was playing judge, jury, and executioner of any mutation she viewed as causing a discomfort to the mutant in possession of the ability. Crystal felt sick; despite Haven's declaration that to do so would be wrong, what was to stop this woman from continuing to eradicate the mutations of people who did not have what she believed to be harmful powers, including Crystal's own? When she saw someone she believed was suffering due to his or her mutation, would she offer the use of her abilities? What gave her the right to choose which powers should stay and which should go, who should remain a mutant and who should become a baseline human?
Crystal left the room, thoughts flooding her mind as she fought back feelings of nausea. The ramifications of Haven's powers were alarming. Even if from this point on Haven only used her abilities when asked, what would happen if news of this spread out of District X? What Haven could do went way beyond being able to cause a temporary loss of power. There were both mutants and humans who would be more than happy to discover a way to rid the world of mutants; surely the Purifiers would jump for joy at a way to truly 'cleanse' mutations from the body.
Once outside, Crystal moved to the side of the building, her lunch threatening to come back up. At the moment, she wasn't quite sure what she had expected to discover today, but she knew it wasn't this. Haven showed absolutely no remorse for what she had done. The way she acted, she certainly didn't intend for this to be the last time she chose to 'help' what she viewed to be a mutant in need. And if she'd promised Yvette that she could take away the powers of the Untouchables, surely this wasn't the first time she had taken it upon herself to do so.
Crystal stopped trying to keep the contents of her stomach where they were. Moments later, footsteps approached, and soon the two figures that had stood there had vanished from sight.
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