Dr. Ishanvi Kapoor ran a slender finger along the label on the manila folder's tab, the cramped, blocky letters spelling out the name in an effort to fit it on the available space.
Caldwell-Campbell, Laird A.
She had read the file already assembled from the Guardian Legion's reports, studiously attended to by Leichtanz, one of the newer heroes in the Legion. Ishanvi had been offered, and still has a standing invitation, to join the Legion, but she always felt her own empathic abilities were not all that effective in fighting world-beaters, even if she was a generations-later descendant of Saraswati, Hindi Goddess of Knowledge. However, they did make her an exceptional psychologist, and when the next offer came, as Student Counselor for the Steranko Institute, she had found what she felt was her calling. These students needed help, mostly adjusting to life on campus, and even with coping with their own Neohuman abilities.
Still, sometimes cases come through that surprise even her. A thin smile crossed her face; in her line of work, especially at the Institute, she could never claim to have 'seen everything.' And she adored kids; she wondered once more if Hanesh, her own son, now 4, would be of the Blood and one day attend this school.
"Dr. Kapoor?"
The voice was reserved, with more than a little trepidation coloring the emotions around it as Ishanvi looked up.
Laird Caldwell-Campbell looked at her under a mop of reddish hair. He was slender, taller than the doctor herself, and radiating fear like a small sun. And anger, but that bubbled under the surface of his questioning look.
"Yes," Ishanvi said, standing up and moving to a pair of comfortable chairs set aside for talking to students, She always felt the desk was a barrier to getting to know the young Neos, mental as well as physical. "Are you Laird?" she asked, giving him a smile of welcome, projecting calm.
Her powers did work, soothing Laird for the moment. "Yes'm," he said, but his own feelings were not erased. Fear, anger, confusion; they sat like layers underneath. "I'm not late, am I?" This was again touched by fear.
"Not at all," Dr. Kapoor replied, leading him to the chairs. "Shall I get you something to drink?"
"No, thank you," Laird answered. When he sat down, it was ramrod-straight, hands folded in front of him, ever-so-proper.
Raising an eyebrow, Ishanvi sat opposite him. "Laird," she said, bringing his wandering attention to her. "I know you're nervous, but I am not here to hurt you."
"I know," he replied, dipping his head a little, so the hair fell in front of his eyes. "It's habit, ma'am," he explained.
"How so?"
"How I was taught," Laird said. "Sit up straight, Laird. Don't speak unless spoken to, Laird. Don't act up, Laird." The next came out with a bit of venom in it. "You're a Caldwell-Campbell, Laird. You must act like one at all times." Ishanvi said nothing; she didn't have to. There was an edge to this fourteen year old that neat shouted that he was waiting to talk.
"But I'm not," he finally said.
"Not what?"
"A Caldwell-Campbell of Rhode Island. They came over on the Mayflower, you know." Laird smirked, just a little. "They let everyone know it, really. Only what they want people to know. Other stuff, they keep secret."
"How so, Laird?" Ishanvi kept a constant reading on the young Neohuman. He was hurt, confused, almost ready to explode, which was definitely normal for his age, and for at least part of his own background. But, by asking questions and not volunteering what her Legion report said, it let Laird speak at his own pace.
"That I was adopted," he said. "They never let on. They're not my real parents." He pursed his lips. "Well, not physically. They still raised me. Sort of."
"Sort of?"
"They wanted…want, raised me…I couldn't act up. I always had to be quiet. Sit quietly, eat quietly, even when they sent me away to school all the time." A low chuckle escaped his lips. "Only the best for a Caldwell-Campbell, you know. But…I mean, I didn't want the world. I just wanted to play with the other kids. But if I got my clothes dirty, it was a tragedy to my mom…"
"So, you were feeling…pushed down?" Repression issues, Dr. Kapoor noted. Leichtanz' report noted that.
"A little." With Ishanvi's powers to calm him, and knowing his folks were not around, Laird sank into his seat, not being so stiff. "I…after all that happened. No, wait. Even before that, I wondered if they liked…loved me, or loved the idea of me."
"The idea of you, Laird?"
"Well, yeah. Like, how…" The young man waved a hand. "It's like they liked having a kid who acted all proper that they could show off at the country club, more than actually…you know, having a kid and dealing with one."
"That sounds a little harsh." Dr. Kapoor didn't frown; she had heard of other young people in similar situations, Neohuman or not.
"Probably. I'm probably being too hard on them," he said. "Just…they never told me. And I know I can't blame them for half of it because they didn't know. But, you know the old shows? Bedtime stories? Can you get me a drink of water? Kiss it and make it better? They never even thought of that. They never showed…" Here, hurt poured off the child. "They could have told me I was adopted, at least. Though where I come from's just as much of a surprise to them."
Ishanvi nodded. "Did you want to talk about it?"
"I need to," Laird said, with an undercurrent of desperation. "I mean, I barely believe it, and it's not a really reliable source, but…" Here, he looked up, meeting the doctor's eyes. "It sounds unbelieveable."
"Around here," Ishanvi sighed, "unbelieveable has a large margin."
"I bet," Laird said with another chuckle. "An entire school for Neohuman kids, right under the nose of the world. No one in my parent's circle ever knew what Steranko was about, only that it was real exclusive." Another wicked smile. "That's like catnip, where I come from. Oodles of Old Money, and little to do but watch it collect dust, so they all try and one-up each other on status."
"And the Institute-"
"S'like the Holy Grail," Laird replied. "Not something you can buy your way into, and they seem to pick kids at random to go. Very exclusive." Another grin. "I've seen a bit of the campus. It's awesome."
"Because…"
"Well, it's gorgeous, and it is pretty state-of-the art, especially for what really goes on, here. It's academically sound; I've looked over the course listings and what I'm required to take. Even without the power-based stuff, it's all legit."
The doctor smiled. "And?"
"And my parents now wish they never found out what this place really was. Especially since they can't talk about it. Total Scandal."
"You're enjoying that."
"A little, yes." There was no malice behind what Laird had said that the Doctor could sense, but there was that edge of humor and mirth, along with a little anxiety, as if he was not used to the feelings.
Dr. Kapoor smiled. "Well, we are here to help others. Like you. Have you met any of the students yet?"
"Not yet. I'm moving into my dorm room after this." Unfolding his hands, Laird tapped the arm of his chair in rhythm. "I…" He only when on when Dr. Kapoor tilted her head, and indicated for him wordlessly to continue. "I want them to like me, for who I am. Except…"
Ishanvi said nothing, but projected calm once more.
"I'm not sure what I am now. Or who."
"You're fourteen," Dr. Kapoor said. "That's a common feeling."
"Yeah, but most kids my age don't feel like they're not human. I'm not," Laird said. "Human. Or, well, all human."
"This involves your powers?"
"Yeah. Let me explain," Laird added. He took a breath, before continuing.
"See, Dr. Kapoor, I few weeks back, I was kidnapped. Scared the crap out of me, too. I figured they knew who I was, what family I belonged to, so they wanted to ransom me off for money. I mean, we have plenty of it and all. But these guys? It wasn't a bunch of people in black ski masks calling from payphones. They had, like, swords and bows and armor, like they were from Lord of the Rings. They didn't want the money. They wanted /me./"
"And they told you why?"
"Yeah," Laird said. "They'd been looking for me for my whole life. And all I knew about my life was I was going to enter high school in the fall." He paused. "Another boarding school, of course. Only the best, and so on. But…well, they told me where I came from. It sounds messed up, but it makes a little sense. See, I used to have these dreams, you know?"
"What kind of dreams?"
"Blood, noise, and flying, but it felt natural. Like…it wasn't freaky at all, at least until I woke up."
"And you think it might be connected to what you are?"
Laird's face split into a grin. "So you have heard about this."
"I have a report from the Legion about you."
"I met them. They rescued me when…well, it all went wild." Laird shifted nervously in his seat. "I kinda lost it, and that was when my powers manifested…" He held up a hand. "But we're not there yet. See, these D&D guys? They're called the Order of the Sacred Hunt. They hunt monsters. Like, trolls and sea serpents and Bigfoots and…well, they're from across dimensions. They travel to other worlds, different Earths, to find stuff to hunt down, just for trophies."
"And they were looking for you?"
"Yeah," Laird licked his lips. "I'm half-human. I'm not even from Earth. Or, this one at least. This dimension." His finger-tapping increased.
"Laird," Dr. Kapoor said. "If you want to talk about this another time-"
"No," he answered. "I need to talk about it. See, it turns out, if they were telling me the truth, that I wasn't born here. My parents were a human woman, Minnia, in another dimension, and…" Laird gulped. "Someone they were hunting on that other world. They called him Tyl-Sarog, the Dragon of Song." Another dead-silent pause. "They said I'm half dragon. But, this Tyl-Sarog, my father, could turn into a human, and he and Minnia fell in love, and they had me, and then the Order started to hunt him down. And, they managed to send me here somehow, but they…killed them. My mother and father both. They showed me this scaly hide…and said…"
Without a word, Ishanvi reached out to him, with both a hand and her power, and he accepted both, holding her hand in his as he struggled to regain control. Even the way he held her hand was awkward, as if he wasn't sure how.
"They said a half-dragon's blood was potent. Not they they would become a true dragon, but they were often given strong abilities. I mean, I always had an ear for music, and my parents made me take the violin which…well, I am good at it, but I don't really gel with it. But I can play by ear, and both my parents were never into music so much. They had killed the people who…created me, and had sought me…or just my blood, out, for fourteen years until they found this Earth. My mom and dad…Caldwell-Campbell, they adopted me from an agency, the agency had no names for my actual parents, and no one knew I wasn't from around here."
Laird released the hand, and kept going. "They never called my parents, who were trying to call out the cope because I didn't come home. And the Guardian Legion, their computers caught the dimensional rift they tore open to come to this Earth, and came to investigate. And…well, they tried to take my half-dragon blood, and it hurt." He flinched, remembering the excruciating pain. "And they I started freaking out. My powers came online. I can…well, do a sonic-yell thing, and I can sculpt it, when I sing."
"Sculpt what?" Dr. Kapoor asked.
"The music," Laird said. "When I make any noise, I can…feel it. The noise, and I can make it into shapes. I was trashing the place by yelling by the time the Legion showed up, and they calmed me down. I had made these…claws." He held up his hands, and about four feet above, claws seeming made out of blue light appeared. "And I can move them around, like remote hands. And wings…" He held a trembling smile. "I can fly with them. It's awesome. I can make other things, too. But the other stuff…" He relaxed, some. "I'm a half-dragon. I don't even know…"
"It will be all right," Dr. Kapoor said. "We're all here to help you. With your powers, and who you are."
"Don't know who that is yet," Laird said. "My parents, the ones who raised me, they kept me so quiet…"
"We'll help you find out who Laird Caldwell-Campbell is, too." Dr. Kapoor gave him a serene smile. "That, I can promise you."
"Thank you."