Greer had come home with bags of things from the local supply store the following day. If there was one thing she hated, it was taking medication for things she could control with diet and exercise- that included emotional states. She had a good talk with Blake afterwards and they figured since Cronos had remembered Greer drank it and was ok, that it was the reason she was offered it in the first place. The stuff was strong and she was glad she hadn’t chugged it. Her mother was right though, kickboxing had taught Greer control and focus, among other things. If she was going to get control of things, then a good spot to start was with kickboxing.
Of course there was also the simple fact that she needed to work out her frustrations right now. Shopping therapy wasn’t really Greer’s thing, but there was something satisfying about getting new gym equipment and using it right away. Without saying anything to the others, she went straight to the gym and sat down on the bench so she could prep for the workout.
She hadn’t thought much about Luce and Blake not getting help for the issues she’d caught the edges of. After all, a lot of people refuse to get mental and emotional help because of the stigma. It was hard for her to get help since she was trying to adjust to all of this. Greer thought the word luck bugged her before… it felt worse now. She was trying to use her abilities for little things- plus the tests with Sato- to see if she could feel what it was like when her powers were activated. She did learn she could actively start her abilities, though stopping it was much harder. The best Greer had figured out, with Sato’s help, was it mostly activated during fight or flight situations. Which could cause her abilities to start going wild, as demonstrated by the tennis incident.
Greer strapped on the pads as she kept thinking about this morning. She had gone to the government office to see what sort of help she could get. After 5 misdirections about legal, the pills, and insurance help she was finally told there was no help.
“Well, miss…. Normally people get help from family or friends.”
Greer had given her a look. “Ah… I had none of that.”
The woman looked at her nervously. “Well um ma’am normally people with powers find each other or-“
Greer had no patience for this, “The same people that make a point to say NOTHING about their powers? Because people are bigots and fear that which is different? Are we talking about the same people here?”
The woman cleared her throat. “Well ah, you know I had no one in my family either and I got it sorted… my ability is I can tell where loved ones are at all times.”
Greer let out a slow breath. “…and I’m sure you had to practice with that and it made issues… but what about those with.. I dunno fire breath or flying or super strength or luck? Any kind of mentorships? Teacher guidance… support groups?”
The woman shook her head. “I’m sorry ma’am, but no. There really isn’t a need. It all works out fine.”
Greer reminded herself this girl was not a decision maker in the least. “What about therapists that specialize… got a list?”
The girl looked to Greer and was starting to reach for something. “Are… you feeling suicidal ma’am?”
“No I’m n- You know what…. Never mind. Y'all useless. Can you at least make me an appointment for whoever can help me sort this stuff out?”
Greer had gotten that appointment. 4:30 later today, it was just after 11 now. She figured she had two hours to work her morning frustrations out before the meeting, an hour to get cleaned up and then an hour for the meds she was going to borrow from Luce to work with food somewhere in there.
She put in her mouth guard and went to see if she could make a punching bag cry.
******
Greer came back from that meeting that evening furious. Just more of the same. There was no need, she had been told. No one hardly ever asks, he had said. Didn’t she have her own support group, Sato had turned in the paperwork according to the records. Was there something going on with the others he needed to know about? She had several lovely fantasies of all his stupid records being deleted. It was a good thing she took the dose.
She slammed the door open, ignoring the others who were just finishing dinner. “Of COURSE there’s ‘no demand’ because everyone’s too nervous to ADMIT they have a problem! Why would they when all everyone says-“
Luce looked to her. “Greer you missed dinner, where WERE you?”
“Yelling at government egghead idiots! I’m going to the gym and punch stuff!” she shouted as she found the amulet and let herself back in there.
Dewi looked to the others. “…. Wasn’t she in there for a few hours already?”
Blake turns to his brother. "Luce, you should go talk to her...."
"Why me? Did Cronos leave you a message or something?"
"No.... Just you're the older brother figure in our little family here, and she's more likely to listen to you. Plus, you're the best at talking people down from negative emotions...."
Once Luce got in, Greer was suited up and kicking the bag with all she had. "Sure you all are soo smart... figure out the drugs and the laws but don't stop to think about basics like TEACHERS or MENTORS or i dunno SHRINKS." Each time she smacked the thing harder.
Luce wasn't totally sure of what's going on, but he thought he got the gist of her frustrations. "Well, it's not like there are many who could do such jobs. Only power users can understand what it's like and just having powers doesn't mean you're qualified to help others. Not to mention many already have jobs in the communities they reside in.... The amount of people able to take on such a job would be too few, even for the small percentage of people who have powers. Most find their own support, so the government hasn't really thought about the need to have such resources available since it seems like there isn't much of a demand. I might not agree with the thought process, but I can understand it."
"It's so stupid! You know the population may not even be as small as you all think! I mean some powers could go unnoticed, not talked about. The receptionist? She was the first in her family that she knew of, hers was to sense where her loved ones were. Mine’s luck. If you don't know the signs...." She punched it again. "F- it . If I can't find one I’ll... I don't know. I'll make one. Make flyers or something. I dunno!"
She squatted down, thinking. "I was saving up for a place but I could rent a cheap room at the community center or something once a week maybe..." She plopped back down onto the ground. "I dunno... maybe someone smarter than me could take over if it gets big enough..."
"And what exactly are you planning on making? Let your big brothers in on it so we can help."
"I don't know" Now she laid down on the ground. She really was too tired for this right now. "Support group maybe? I can't be a shrink." she looked. "Wait, when did you guys become my big brothers?"
"Are you going to tell me you aren't part of our family now? We've all considered you our younger sibling for a while. Even Blake who doesn't do well around new people has accepted you into the family, so it was kind of official after that."
"O...kay, guess that makes sense. I owe Sato noogies then. Later." She sat up slowly. "But I dunno... mental health is important to helping you control yourself you know. People don't do well when they feel isolated or like their support is small... and who knows how many other people have powers but are staying quiet because no one else they know has them." She slowly started taking off some of the equipment. "I mean, we could like I dunno make a 'nerves over did we use them by accident' power support group, talk about that stuff."
“That’s brilliant. Why has no one ever thought of that before! Sato could probably use his connections to get the word out about it, and maybe even create the room for it, and then people wouldn’t have to worry about being too far away to participate.” Luce popped his head out of the gym to call the others in, smiling wide. “Hey, you guys, Greer has this amazing idea. You have got to hear it!”
Blake is the first to enter. “That’s great. Let’s hear your idea, Ba-” Dewi quickly covers his mouth with his hand and whispers into his ear.
“Don’t finish unless you want to get punched.” A moment later he pulls back his hand with a look of disgust and amusement, before playfully wiping it on his boyfriend’s shirt. “I’ll get you back for that…later.”
Brilliant is not a word Greer was used to hearing, unless it was connected to her fixing someone's busted up hunk of junk. "uhh... starting a support group? Because the government is full of stupid eggheads. They tried to say that there wasn't any demand and when I tried to go into it they got all touchy and were asking if I was trying to hint I was 'having trouble' with you guys... and um... I dunno just go to the community center put up flyers or something. I mean... it's not like anyone else is helping."
"See what I mean guys? Our little sister is so smart! We've all just been making due, but she sees a problem that no one's solving and decides to come up with a solution herself. " Luce is beaming like a proud father more than an older sibling.
"You can't tell me none of you ever thought of this, right? With everything you guys went through?" Greer was genuinely wondering if Luce was laying it on thick. She started taking off the rest of the stuff. "I mean... I even googled some stuff and didn't find anything that didn't look like a scam to me..."
Sato speaks up first. "A hundred years ago, there wasn't even a government for power users. Those with powers could only find support in their families and the few others they were lucky enough to find themselves. We were all raised to just find a small support group in those around us. We... were raised to think this was normal for our kind. You find people who accept you and you support those who need your help."
She just looked at him. "But that's, that's so DUMB! I mean... it's not but sometimes you need more help than that and I mean... it's... what's the word... it’s um... bigoted? I guess? Stuff out there.” She looked down a bit. "Found out too they can't do anything to get my old job back... And the guy can't be forced for some reason and I mean... if I hadn't run into Sato, what would have happened? Ya know? How many people are powered out there that DON'T have a family that knows anything or anyone and it just... doesn't go well."
Greer let out a breath. "There needs to be mentors and support groups and just.... help. My parents weren't trying to screw me over, they thought they were helping get me help of some sort. They heard rights and benefits and they didn't know. No one does."
Sato and Luce looked at each other, having a wordless conversation before Sato steps forwards and places a hand on her shoulder. "That's why people like you are so important. So we can fix the problems and make it so everyone else doesn't have to go through the same thing. You have a perspective that none of us can. So just come to us with any problems you find, and I promise we'll do what we can to make the situation better, not just for you but for those who come after you...." He gives her what he hopes is a reassuring smile. "Remember, you have the government's Golden Boy as your big brother."
She started getting up and smiled bit back. "Yeah, well.... you got a headstrong sis. You should know after all those notations you read through on all the reports. I think I was chasing someone down to help for like 2 years with a little slow down for my old job before I lost it." She started picking everything up. "What do you do for all this stuff anyway? Like... really it's just flyers and a room and we're good, right?" She hadn't even thought about how it'd be safer to keep the information behind a desk, or needing to be careful how people found out so it didn't cause issues right away.
But that was okay, older brothers were supposed to help their little sisters when they forgot things like that.
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