Power Swap: The Things I Know

[Ginny Campbell]

((totaly backdating this to like....the third or so day after the powers went wonky))

The past couple of days had not been the best of Ginny Campbell's life. She had always thought of herself as a pretty normal girl, albeit one with three dads, two of whom were married to one another. And were meta. But she didn't suffer from anxiety or depression or her dad's OCD or any other numerous mental illnesses.

Lately, however, she was beginning to think she was going insane.

Wasn't young adulthood when these kinds of things usually manifested? She thought she'd read that once, and the thought was distressing. She didn't want to be insane and so she had avoided scheduling any appointments with therapists, though the thought had crossed her mind.

That was why she'd come up to Pilot Ridge. Usually she came to visit her dads and Niko, but this time she also wanted to talk to her dads' friend, therapist Doctor Neville. She knew he couldn't say that hearing voices in her head was normal but perhaps he would be able to help her cope.

She could only hope.

She tramped into the cabin, dragging luggage behind her, following the sounds of the television into the living room.

"Hey, Chase." She greeted her stepdad. Their relationship was still a tiny bit awkward from earlier in the year, when she'd accused him of abusing her dad. She knew the truth now, but she hadn't yet found a good way to apologize. She had too much on her mind at the moment to even consider that, however.

"Uh, is dad home?"

[Chase Campbell]

Hammel was still in a state of chaos. Half the student body, not to mention the staff, had had their powers swapped, or altogether removed. It had been challenge to calm the kids down. Classes had been cancelled, particularly training, while the staff tried to figure out what the hell was going on.

Chase had spent much of that time trying to track down the students with limited control over their newfound powers, and helping them cope. He’d been particularly worried about those students who had notoriously poor control, and where their powers might have ended up. And from what he was hearing, it wasn’t just limited to Hammel. It seemed most of Pilot Ridge had been affected.

Needless to say, with his and James’ own powers intact, he was grateful for at least that much. Nikki’s power seemed fine too. And barring a few incidents of ‘experimentation’ among students with more interesting tactile powers, things seemed to be getting back to normal. Eventually, they would sort this out. For now, it was just trying to control the burn.

Which was why the trainer was so grateful for the weekend. No students running amok. No fires (literal or not) to put out. It was just peaceful. He was sprawled in the living room, Milo on his lap, watching a rerun of Criminal Minds while he waited out commercials on the sports channel. He wasn’t really expecting company, so he’d been content to get dressed this morning in jeans James seemed to love him in, and an old t-shirt he’d pulled the sleeves off of ages ago. It was usually used for yard work or running, but for now it just served as something comfortable and cool.

Mirage was curled on the floor in the kitchen, but she raised her head and let out a small woof at the key in the lock. Chase glanced up, grinning when he realized it was Ginny. “Hey, Gin,” he greeted right back. Sitting up properly, he lifted Milo from his lap and set him on the floor.

“Uh… no. He went out for a bit. Groceries, or something. He should be back soon, though.” He stood up and headed into the hall. “Do you need help with your stuff, or a drink?”

[Ginny Campbell]

Chase was devoid of any helpful information, apparently, barring that her father wasn't there now but would be later. She wished he had a definite time frame for James' return, or perhaps a magical Sean Neville hidden somewhere.

On the plus side, the cacophony of other voices was mercifully silent in the presence of the pet and her step-dad and she was thankful for the reprieve. It was so comforting, in fact, that she wished she could pretend that the last few days had been a dream, or even a hallucination, but she had texts on her phone from friends asking if she was okay because she'd skipped classes, which was very unlike her.

"Oh. Yeah, I guess you can help me." She dropped her luggage heavily, bending down to scratch Milo behind the ears, not looking up as she added, "So I thought I would surprise you and dad by dropping by. Hope that's okay."

And I hope you're having Doctor Neville over. She thought before attempting to casually inquire, "So uhh I guess the two of you are probably, I don't know, getting together with anyone for dinner? Coworkers? Friends?"

[Chase Campbell]

There were no magical Sean Nevilles hiding anywhere in the house, at least to Chase’s knowledge. Nor was he aware that being so un-precise with his answer was such a bad thing. Had he known, he would have chalked it up to Ginny still not fully trusting him.

The trainer had good control over his mental shields, a point proven during his sessions with Sean. It was a habit to keep them locked, because it was just a defensive move. He’d been even more defensive for the past year. No one was going to get into his head. It was why he was so good with budding psychic students. Young telepaths appreciated the sudden lull of noise in their minds.

Of course, he’d never had any clue he’d have to help Ginny with something like that.

Chase headed over to grab her luggage and carried it into her room, which had once again been reclaimed by his step-daughter. “No, it’s not a problem. You know we love having you here. Nikki’ll be happy to see you too. Looks like Milo already is.”

He was just coming back from the bedroom when he head Ginny’s comment about Sean. He arched an eyebrow slightly. “Uh… no, no plans with anyone that I know of.” He leaned against the kitchen counter to look at Ginny. “Is there a reason you were hoping to see Sean?” That was confusing him. He could only guess something had happened at school.

[Dr. James Campbell]

James was a little surprised when he pulled up to the house and saw Ginny's car parked there. Usually, she only came around on weekends or holidays, but he was always happy to see her. He grabbed two of the grocery bags from the trunk of the car and headed inside. "Hey, can I get some help with the bags? There are only a few more," he called out as he went through the sliding glass door that led from the porch to the kitchen.

And there was Chase, leaning against the counter and wearing the particular pair of jeans he liked the most. James ran his gaze down his husband's frame and back up, then smirked almost imperceptably. After almost six years together, he was still constantly impressed by how good the blond man looked. He dropped the bags off on the counter and gave his husband a quick peck instead of what he wanted to do. After all, Ginny was there. She didn't need to know about how often he thought about pulling Chase upstairs for a quickie.

He grinned over at his daughter, happy to see her too. "What brings you out here, Gin? Are your classes done for today?"

[Ginny Campbell]

Ginny really was going mad. She was sure she hadn't spoken aloud anything about Doctor Neville....had she?

She stared at her step-father with wide eyes, clapping a hand over her mouth in horror. "Did I say that out loud?" If she couldn't even tell when she was talking and when she was merely thinking a thing then she had more serious problems with delusion than she had initially thought.

Omigod I'm going insane. I can't separate reality and thoughts, I'm insane I'm insane

In the distance she heard her father shouting at them for help with groceries, but she was frozen to the spot, horrified by the fact that she was going insane. And she didn't want to tell Chase this. She simply wanted to speak to Doctor Neville alone, and have him tell her that she wasn't really hearing voices. That was just silly.

Wasn't it?

James' entrance did not help matters any. Images of Chase in compromising situations with her father popped into her mind with horrible suddenness, and she doubled over, clawing at her eyes.

"Agh. EW."

While she occasionally had friends or acquaintances, particularly slash fangirls (her cousin Natalia among them, but also Jem and Max), discuss her fathers, she did NOT want to think about this. Why was she thinking about this? Why was she so sure that her father wanted to grope Chase right there in the living room.

"I don't feel good." She muttered, squeezing her eyes shut.

This needs to stop. Please stop. What's wrong with me?

[Chase Campbell]

Chase was getting confused. Ginny was never like this. She was a confident young woman, and he’d never seen her this rattled. The only thing that could come close was the phone call he’d made to her when James was in the hospital. “Of course you did,” he answered, obviously a little confused. It was hard to tell the difference between thoughts and speech when you weren’t looking at someone.

And then he heard it. And he knew she wasn’t speaking. Not that clearly with her hand clasped around her mouth.

Powers were a mess at Hammel. And apparently a few had been hit outside the school. What if Ginny had been affected too? It was very possible.

James’ voice distracted him from that train of thought, though. He glanced up at his husband and slid off the counter. He would have asked Gin to sit tight for a moment and help James, but her little outburst made him pause.

He recognized the behaviour. She was affected with some sort of mental power, and he was tempted to say telepathy. “Gin?” More thoughts, and they were thoughts he didn’t want to hear. His heart went out to her. “Gin, shh. It’s okay.” Gently, he put his hands on her shoulders and looked up at James. “Jamie? Can the groceries wait a second?”

[Dr. James Campbell]

James wasn't expecting that reaction.

The recruiter's face fell when his daughter doubled over, and he was by her side in an instant. "Ginny, what's wrong? Tell me what's wrong." He put his hand on her back and crouched nest to her, hoping that whatever was going on, he could fix it.

In the past year, he hadn't been able to fix anything himself. He couldn't do anything if Ginny was sick, either, and little flashes of the too-frequent hospital visits flashed through his head rapidly, along with an overwhelming feeling of panic and worry. James was freaking out, and it was enough that his power missed that his daughter had manifested. He could "see" when people were meta, but he had to be looking for it.

From where he was standing, he couldn't see that Ginny's mouth wasn't moving. "We'll stop it; it's okay, Gin. We'll figure out what's wrong." Even if it meant he was going to have to brave the hospital again. (And that thought made him bite the inside of his lip. Even after spending so much time at Maddock in the past year, he was still terrified of hospitals.)

It was actually probably a good thing that he didn't realize that Ginny could hear his unprotected thoughts. With all that fear and panic, adding guilt would only make it worse.

[Ginny Campbell]

Images of the hospital flashed through Ginny's mind, and the faces Chase and Niko around hospital beds, the sounds of beeping machine, the calm voices of practiced RNs. She was too panicked to realize that these were her father's memories; instead her worries about insanity and asylums bubbled to the fore, causing her to jerk away from James' touch.

"I...I...I....I'm going insane." The simple act of speaking the words aloud caused her to burst into tears. How could she finish her education and be an independent woman if she were schizophrenic? That was the only mental disorder she knew of that involved hearing voices, and she was pretty sure that it meant you went off and hacked other people's limbs off because the voices told you to. "I'm hearing voices, I'm insane."

She dropped her hands from her face, eyes glancing up at her father and step-father, though her head remained bowed, as she begged. "Don't let them lock me up."

James' memories of the hospital replayed in her mind, enhanced by images of scalpels and electric shock therapy. They didn't do that anymore....did they? Her other step-father, Peter, had once told her that most of the panhandlers had mental disorders but they weren't allowed to lock them up; what if she became like that, ragged and homeless and surviving on the kindness of others? Would that be better or worse than being locked in a hospital? There was more possibility of her family coming to visit if she were in a hospital, she supposed, but the reputation of asylums in popular culture was one of such horror and degradation that even the fear of being a homeless person wasn't enough to make her okay with the idea, and so she repeated, "Please don't let them lock me up."

[Chase Campbell]

James reaction was to be expected. After all, Chase did the same thing whenever Nikki suffered a migraine from his powers, or hurt himself. He cared about Ginny too, but he had more an inkling of what was going on.

And he could only imagine what James’ panic attack would be doing to a budding telepath. He knew what he had to do. He also knew it went against just about everything he’d been doing recently. The trainer only had a few moments to make his decision.

“Jamie,” he said softly, pressing his hands on his husband’s shoulders. “I need you to go upstairs.” The look he got in return killed him. He knew it would be the same look he’d give anyone trying to tear him away from Nikki if the boy was in distress. Ginny was James’ daughter. But in this situation, Chase was better equipped to handle it. “Please, Jamie.” He closed his eyes, focusing. “Go upstairs.” The idea was planted, and he felt a pang of guilt when his husband finally moved away.

He’d explain everything when everyone was calm. And now he had to tackle Ginny.

“Gin? Gin, it’s okay.” He bit his lip, hating himself for what he was about to do. But he needed her calmer. He reached out to brush her mind, like he’d done so many times for her father, and attempted to calm her that way. “No one’s going to lock you up. I promise.” He looked her steadily in the eye. “Just listen to me, okay? Can you do that?”

[Dr. James Campbell]

James didn't know what to say when Chase asked told him to go upstairs. It was a ridiculous suggestion. Couldn't he see that Ginny was sick? The recruiter shot a withering glare over his shoulder at his husband, then turned back to his daughter. "You're not....no one is going to lock you up. It's okay."

Of course, his mind was racing. Ginny was nineteen, which was exactly the right age for schizophrenic episodes to start, if she was schizophrenic. Which...well, OCD was a mental illness, this kind of thing was genetic.... His voice cracked as he repeated, "It's okay."

And then he had the sudden urge to go upstairs. James knew exactly what it was. He knew what it felt like, even if it had been well over a year since he'd felt his husband steering his mind. He put up a bit of a fight, but it was useless; he found himself stomping up the stairs anyway.

James sat on the bed, waiting for Chase to let him come back down. His husband hadn't said it, but the idea was rooted in his brain. Go upstairs, and stay there.

[Ginny Campbell]

Her father's reassurances were paltry considering the blind panic she felt, the panic she could hear somehow, and the images of the hospital planted firmly in her mind. It felt so real, she couldn't believe that they wouldn't somehow become true.

"It isn't okay!" She sniffed, but then her father did something unexpected: He left.

Granted, Chase had asked him to, but since when did James Campbell listen to orders without putting up a fight? He was stubborn, and she was his daughter, and.....and Chase had mind control.

She turned a glare upon her step-father, opening her mouth to yell at him for making her father leave, but then he was asking her to calm down, asking her to listen, and she felt compelled to do so even as a corner in the back of her mind was insisting that calming down and listening was the last thing she ought to do.

"O...okay." She agreed, breath hitching, heart beginning to slow despite the fear still buzzing behind the calm that had inexplicably descended upon her.

"You...you're sure they won't lock me up?" This time the plea was less hysterical and more pitiful, but the yearning for reassurance was still there.

[Chase Campbell]

The look James gave him made Chase want to bite his tongue, and immensely regret what he was going to have to do. He didn’t like having to pull his husband away from his daughter, but it wasn’t helping Ginny’s state of mind. James was freaking out, which was causing Ginny to freak out more. He’d seen this with new telepaths. It was scary enough to have voices in your head.

Just like it was scary to learn that you could control minds.

The glare he got from Ginny made him feel even worse, and calming her was more of a reflex. If she was calmer, he could deal with her better. He smiled and gently pulled her into a hug. “No, Gin. I promise, you won’t be locked up.” He held onto her for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain this. “Look, honey. A lot of the students at Hammel have had their powers switched. I didn’t think it extended past the school, but... looks like it did.”

The trainer rubbed her arms, trying to keep her calm without having a grip on her mind. “I can help you, Gin. I do this all the time for my students. But you’re going to have to trust me, and do what I ask you to.” He just hoped James could forgive him for separating them.

[Ginny Campbell]

The thread of panic running through the back of her mind gradually turned to confusion as she listened to Chase's explanation. How could powers be switched? She had never heard of such a thing before, and she was sure that her father would have told her if it had come up.

Then again, he might not have. He hadn't even told her the truth about his injury.

"Uh-huh." She nodded shakily, covering her face with her hands once more. "How....I don't have powers to be switched." She pointed out, wondering if that would make a difference. Obviously Chase didn't think it would.

"So what...what.....what power do you think....?" She began, but almost as soon as she began to ask that question the answer dawned on her. She had grown up around Meta humans, after all, and was familiar with the more common types of manifestations, and even some of the more unusual ones.

"Telepathy." She answered for herself. "God. How....how am I supposed to control this?" That was certainly better than going insane, however, but it also meant.....

"Oh...OH." Her eyes went wide as the implications sank in. EW. DAD YOU ARE GROSS." She wasn't having random, bizarre thoughts about her dads, which was nice, but she wasn't sure if she preferred knowing what her dad's first thought upon coming home had been.

[Chase Campbell]

That was exactly what the staff at Hammel were trying to figure out. As best as anyone could figure, it was a power gone awry, but so far the recruitment offices had turned up nothing to do with a new manifestation anywhere. All the staff could do at this point was damage control, and help the kids cope.

“I know, Gin,” He rubbed her shoulders in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. “We didn’t think it extended past Hammel. I guess... if it affected you, then someone who normally has powers lost them.” At least the meta kids had an advantage. They all knew how to cope with having a power, regardless of what it was. It was easier to adapt to a new one than be in Ginny’s shoes.

He would have answered, but his step-daughter was smart. She came to the same conclusion he’d already found. This wouldn’t be easy. Not by a long shot. New telepaths were notoriously difficult to train, but he’d try. He’d do anything to help Ginny cope. “I can help you,” he assured.

He would have started to give her techniques to help with her mental shielding, but then she had a little outburst. The trainer just looked at her, confused. “... Gin?” It didn’t really occur to him that this was one of those things he didn’t want to know Ginny knew about. “Are you okay?”