Don't Tell Dad

Romi · Mar 22, 2019

He was not going to tell his father. Angelo had already decided that long before he'd made the appointment. It had taken some wiggling, but the one really good thing about therapists is they tended to be more willing to keep things secret. If the choice was between someone getting therapy in secret, or someone not getting therapy at all, more or less every therapist ever was going to pick the same thing.

He had dressed nicely, making sure to give a good first impression, and then he'd settled in the waiting room to wait. An appointment. At least his hours were easy enough to make, since Angelo had almost the entire day free aside from work.

@Kada

Kada · Mar 23, 2019

The door to Aeron's office was an homage to his old life, and a small joke he liked to play on his patients. Dark, weathered wood framed by perched gargoyles along the top. A heavy iron handle and a knocker, along with a brass plate showing his name and occupation. The building manager had fought with him every step of the way about the door, but he had signed an agreement to pay for a normal door installation if and when he ever left.

He checked his watch, making sure of the time as he finished watering the plants in his windowsill. It was time for his next appointment; an Angelo Genovese. He had briefly wondered if it was the police Sargeant, but no. It seemed to be a different person who simply shared the name.

The office itself was far removed from the dark fantasy aesthetic of his door or even the monochromatic black and gray of his slacks and collared shirt. Brightly lit, plants in the windows, and large, comfortable chairs. He even had a small electric hot plate and kettle to make tea or coffee if needed.

Opening the door, he peeked out to find his newest patient and urge him inside. He didn't like speaking out in the hallway; his voice carried too far and he didn't want to make things awkward. Once inside he spoke for the first time, how voice echoing almost hollowly from inside his helmet.

"Good afternoon, I'm Aeron Douglas. I presume you are my eleven thirty? Mr. Genovese?"

Romi · Mar 23, 2019

Angelo, truth be told, had been expecting someone normal. His mental image of a therapist was most certainly human. It was a strange idea to have, but he had it just the same, because he'd never really been in a situation where that had been shaken.

Until then.

The door was the first obvious sign that something was strange. It was... well, out of place. If Angelo had to guess what was inside, he'd have said an apothecary or something like that, so after double checking the address he'd wondered if maybe it double duty.

But it was the first sight of Aeron Douglas (his brain correcting the name so he knew there could be no mistake) that really through him off.

He was tall. Really tall. Taller than most humans, and then just... just the helmet. Perfectly normal for a tall guy, except he had an old, grim, dark knights helmet on his head.

And the powers.

What the hell even were his powers? He felt like something in his brain had just snapped as he stared up at the man, the look of confusion and incredulity lingering longer than it might otherwise have as the man ushered him into the room.

Oh.

Right. Shit.

He'd been so distracted by what he was looking at and getting that he'd simultaneously forgotten both all his manners and what he was doing right hten. He quickly gave a small nod of his head, trying to regain his composure.

"Oh - uh, sorry, yes. That's me. Angelo Genovese. ...The younger."

Which felt wrong, and he immediately regretted saying it. "Not the Angelo Genovese you might be thinking of, anyway."

He knew just from having skimmed reviews that Mr. Douglas had enough of a reputation on the island that he'd probably heard of the other Angelo.

Kada · Mar 23, 2019

"I am aware that my appearance is a bit much for some people. Even here, on Manta Carlos, most people don't expect a therapist to be wearing an old knight's helm. I assure you I would remove it if I could. But alas," he started with a shrug, gesturing to one of the plush seats on the patient side of his desk for Angelo to take.

He crossed around to his own seat, pausing by the kettle to gesture to it as well and offer Angelo some tea or coffee, whichever he preferred. "Yes I had that thought, that you might be the police Sargeant."

Once everything was settled and the kettle was on, Aeron settled back into his chair and set his hands onto the arm rests. "You may or not may know how all this works, so let me walk you through a few of the typical disclaimers. Barring a situation where you are an immediate danger to yourself or others, nothing you say to me will leave this office. I also won't acknowledge you as one of my clients unless you acknowledge me first. Your privacy, being part of your well being, is my primary concern."

"Other than that," he continued, gesturing broadly to the room and Angelo himself, "this is an opportunity for you to talk about whatever you like. Get a secondary viewpoint, one removed from the expectations and preconceptions of people you know. Do you have any questions before we begin?"

Romi · Mar 23, 2019

He was... He was what, a video game character? He had health points and critical weaknesses and the information Angelo was getting was making his brain hurt. It was almost overwhelming, trying to take in what he looked like, what he knew about the man, and also focusing on what was actually happening.

He took some coffee, and then settled in and listened to the introduction. They were all things Angelo already knew. He wouldn't have been there at all if he hadn't known. Did - what was he, doctor?

That was something to ask.

"What should I call you?" Aeron? Douglas? Mr. Douglas? Doctor? Doctor Douglas?

Kada · Mar 23, 2019

"I am technically not a doctor. But beyond that, call me whatever you feel most comfortable with. Most seem to prefer Mr. Douglas, but I won't begrudge you if you prefer Aeron."

He brought his own cup of coffee to his visor and tilted it back, somehow drinking through the slits in the metal. "I used to go by 'His Dark Eminence, Master of the Fifteen Realms' but that's a bit hard to sign on your cheques." A joke. One to hopefully lighten the mood that seemed to be coming from Angelo. He was overwhelmed by something about Aeron, and it wasn't just his appearance. He could probably sense something about him that most couldn't.

"But I don't want to focus on myself here. This is your session to lead, Angelo."

Romi · Mar 23, 2019

Mr. Douglas it was then, because Aeron felt too... friendly. Personal. Aeron Douglas wasn't his friend. He was a therapist.

Even if the whole thing was driving him ever so slightly insane, because it was all so... so familiar.

"Sorry," Angelo said, well aware he was going into personal territory. "Are you... were you a super-villain?"

He certainly wasn't now, but if he was, that would certainly save a lot of time, wouldn't it?

Kada · Mar 23, 2019

So yes, he was sending something from Aeron. That was fine, he might as well get this bit out of the way. Aeron set his cup down on his desk and steepled his fingers.

"No, at least not in the sense you might be familiar with in comic books. I was a really average college dropout from upstate New York. I tripped into another world because they wanted or needed heroes. But the pressure was immense and I eventually decided that the best course of action for me was to change sides, as it were."

"I was surprisingly effective at it and I spent far too long pulling the world together under my rule. More heroes were summoned, more we're defeated. But I eventually got. Well, bored isn't the right word but it's close enough. So I found my way back home. Well, back to Brooklyn at least. The veil agents picked me up and I decided to go back to school."

A simple enough story. He didn't want to focus too much on himself, but Angelo had asked. "So no. I am not a supervillain anymore. Though I can certainly flip the switch if my neighbor doesn't return my hedge trimmers." He didn't laugh right away, letting the joke sink in as potentially serious before he let himself chuckle.

Romi · Mar 23, 2019

Oh. Not a super villain then. Just a... a dark lord. A villain. His father might have enjoyed sitting down and chatting with him over coffee, but Angelo was actively conspiring to make sure the two never met. The whole villain thing was... well, he was used to it. He'd grown up with his father being who he was, and even if he knew now that his father's intentions were good, he certainly hadn't for the vast majority of his life. The joke didn't get much more than a small smile, recognizing it for what it (probably) was.

"I'm from - ah, Halcyon City, if you've heard of it. An alternate dimension. Superheroes and villains and all that, and for a moment I thought you might be from a similar circumstance."

Was the helmet fused to his face? That was the point where Angelo drew the line, unwilling to actually ask.

It wasn't about him. It was supposed to be about Angelo himself.

"It's... important, I guess. For context. I've only been on Manta Carlos for under a year, and most of my time was spent with... with that. Growing up in a world with literal heroes and villains. I was a... a teenage superhero, I guess would be the term. The adjustment wasn't exactly easy, but I think I'm doing alright."

Kada · Mar 23, 2019

A world of superheroes and villains. What a wild place that must have been. Most likely modern, unlike the world Aeron had been sent to. At least transitioning from a modern world to a modern world wasn't a big of a shock. His own adjustment period the two times he had traveled had been slow.

"I can imagine that it's been a difficult transition in some ways. Worlds like that tend to have fairly concrete ideas of right and wrong. Do this to be a hero, do that to be a villain. Such dichotomies don't really exist cleanly in this world."

His eyes glowed slightly brighter as he took in Angelo's face, his posture, and his tone. Extrapolating what he had been told with what he could infer. "Do you prefer it? Being where the expectations and privileges of being a hero aren't there?"

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