video;

[the_caped_crusader]

[ a familiar face to some, bespoke and sitting in an immaculate and impressive office overlooking the city of de chima. he looks incredible, of course, but anybody familiar with him-- really familiar with him-- will notice the dark lines under his eyes. ]

Good afternoon, everyone. Some of you may know me already, but for those of you who are new, my name is Bruce Wayne, CEO of Wayne Enterprises in De Chima. Usually, I only ever use this thing as a way to announce some significant work that you should be expecting to see in the following months, and this is no different from any of those. If you'll bear with me, I'll only take a few minutes of your time.

In my home city of Gotham, we have a rather... antiquated opinion on mental health in our community. In particular, the most egregious of this idea is Arkham Asylum, once known as Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane. I won't bore you with specifics, but from the name alone, you can conceive an idea about how a practice like this operates, Gothic and looming on the outskirts of my city. I've always taken a particular... interest in the area of mental health, and we all understand that mental illness is not specific to any one city, but exists as a constant all around the world, and one that we need to stay vigilant in recognizing and nurturing.

For the past year, my company has also been expanding into Maurtia Falls, through careful planning with its mayor Peter Baelish when he was here. In that past year, we've seen a significant decrease in crime and poverty as we bring new jobs and healthcare to the city without any of the controversies accompanied by gentrified displacement. My company will continue to work hard to sustain that effort in all of the imPort cities, especially to fill the economic void left by Mr. Stark, but I digress. During my visits there, I was inspired by The Maurtia Falls Psychiatric Hospital for Abnormal Conditions founded by Frederick Chilton years ago. In particular, his focus on community engagement caught my notice. As Dr. Chilton is no longer here, I'm inspired to continue his work and bring something like it to De Chima in the form of The Wayne Behavioral Health Clinic. My vision for this is a state of the art mental health clinic that is open to both imPorts and the native community, in the hopes that all of us can understand each other in a greater, more empathetic capacity. As we establish ourselves, I also hope to be able to work with other imPort run health facilities, like Dr. Chilton's aforementioned clinic, and The O'Malley Research Hospital and Clinic in De Chima run by the very talented Iris West.

Additionally, it's important to note that while this is a place of healing, we will also be outfitting it safely with power dampeners manufactured through The Justice League, so that metahumans-- imPorts-- with both mental health issues and superpowers will have little to fear from a session with our psychiatrists that may cause them sudden distress, or any subsequent and unintentional use of abilities. I like to work fast, so if we're able to stay on track with our estimated timeline, you can all expect this to be available to any of you who require it within the next few months. If you have questions or concerns regarding anything I've had to say thus far, please don't hesitate to respond to me here. That is, after all, what this is here for.

Comments

voice;

[batricide]

[ oh come on. damian reads this and feels that sharp, stabbing feeling of rage that usually precedes a stupid decision or a fight. ]

Great. And what are you going to do when you don't screen thoroughly enough and some lunatic starts messing with all these vulnerable people? Or when someone checks themselves in specifically to break the system?

[the_caped_crusader]

Power dampeners aren't a system, Damian. They're complicated devices, and even if they managed to disable one, the others around the facility would more than suffice to keep their abilities in check until they could be subdued.

[hatestrashcans]

I'm not a freaking metahuman. I'm human. Full stop.

And yeah, I have a question: Are you going to make any of this research available or are you just going to expect us to trust you and your hiring process? How are you going to account for the fact that imPorts not only have substantially different life experiences but also in a lot of cases different cultural backgrounds or even biology?

Also as a member of the fucked up imPort contingent, I'm not sharing my vulnerabilities in a place where my morphing doesn't work. I don't see how removal of agency and powerlessness is supposed to make us feel more at ease.

[batricide]

It's like your new at this. [ scoffing. ] That's how it works on paper. That's never how it works in practice.

[helpdesk_hero]

[Well now you've definitely gotten some attention here, Mr. Wayne. Very thoughtful attention.]

I find myself compelled to ask a series of questions here, Mr. Wayne. First and foremost being the means by which you're seeking to dampen powers. Are we talking localized regions within the facility via means of anchored devices, or more individualized suppression devices worn about the individual's person.

Secondly, when you discuss the concept of mental health issues you specifically speak to the employment of psychiatrists. Will these individuals be encouraged to address problems with traditional psychotherapy as well, or are you seeking to serve the needs of the community through focus on administration of medication alone? In the long term there is much to be said for the value of talk therapy in opposition or addition to medication, but there have always been those parts of the psychiatrist community that have put a heavy weight upon medicating problems and not addressing the stressors that come along with conditions.

Thirdly, using the term Metahuman is exclusive toward those to whom the term does not properly apply, such as myself, who was born a mutant. The terms by which one self-identifies is important in the healing process. While I do applaud your correction to the term imPort, I advise caution in the Future if you wish to avoid potential issues with future patients and interested parties.

Finally, are you hiring?

[the_caped_crusader]

This is a mental health clinic, not a general hospital, but you can expect that inpatient care will be supervised by trained psychiatrists, and provided by psychiatric nurses and group therapists.

If your abilities are a necessity for your survival, that will be determined and accounted for during your initial consult, but if you use them counterproductively or as maladaptive coping, then the clinic exists to help you use them in a more broadly effective way.

[the_caped_crusader]

That's life, Damian. Despite all of our planning and vigilance, sometimes things happen that are outside of our control. Not even I can foresee everything, but it's still our job to remain vigilant and adjust to meet those challenges head on.

[hatestrashcans]

Yeah, but are they trained in the weirdness of imPorts? Or just normal people? Because there are situations some of us have dealt with that are way outside the realm of normal experience.

No, they're not necessary. Not that it matters, since I'm not going to step foot in the place, but taking away my ability to defend myself wouldn't make me more inclined to trust you guys.

[batricide]

You're going to need safety protocols for when things go wrong. I want you to actually have them. If you're going to to this stupid thing then at least don't do the same garbage that Arkham did.

[the_caped_crusader]

Both. Primarily, anchored devices will be installed throughout the facility, but for imPorts who require their abilities to live, individual devices will be networked so that they don't interfere with any necessary biologic processes.

As to your second concern, medication is typically used in an assistive role to traditional counseling, especially in regards to opiate addiction and generalized anxiety, and we'll be using a medication-assisted treatment program. Research shows that medication and therapy can successfully treat many disorders, but we're not here to use them as some lazy fix-all.

You'll have to excuse me, then. Metahuman is often a term used to describe those with superhuman abilities on my world, but I'll keep it in mind to be more careful with my choice of language in the future. And while we will be hiring, as you might expect, the hiring process will be a little more discerning than it is with many of my other businesses. Let's speak a little later on about it, if you'd like.

[the_caped_crusader]

Do you want to advise me on your recommendations?

[batricide]

Depends. You planning on locking me up in there?

[the_caped_crusader]

They will be. In addition, we're hoping to staff imPorts with experience in the field of mental health, but regardless, as with all programs like this, it's ultimately your choice. The clinic's doors will always be open to you, but when you walk through them, trust will be a crucial factor to whatever success you're looking to achieve. Still, the idea that you may need to defend yourself physically with your abilities is non-negotiable.

[the_caped_crusader]

Like I said, it's not Arkham. It's a clinic, not a prison.

[helpdesk_hero]

Interesting approach on the devices. And allows for more flexibility. Even with abilities that are harmful, they can often be in some manners an extension of the self, and full loss of them as opposed to a portion of dampening can serve as something akin to the maiming of an individual. Very thoughtful approach indeed.

AS for the discussion of medication and therapy, I am well aware of the research. In my world medication can and has been used as a crutch by portions of the mental health fields which only serves to cause more damage than it does good.

I would hope that your hiring process is more than just a 'little' more discerning, Mister Wayne. I might even be a bit more of complicated candidate than others which may come across your desk. After all, I do not believe there are many people you will encounter who can claim degrees in Psychology, Psychiatry, Neurology, as well as a more generalized MD by the age of twenty, along with decades of experience in all of those fields. Among others, of course. This world has taken more than a few of my knowledge bases away, but it seems that much of what I was left with might serve these ends of yours.

It would please me if you keep my name in mind when the process of hiring starts. And I'd be more than content to jump through whatever hoops you wished to set in proving the qualifications I claim.

[batricide]

Depends on whether you enter voluntarily or not.

[hatestrashcans]

So you're not open for involuntary commits?

I'm not sure what 'the idea that I may need to defend myself physically with my abilities is non-negotiable' is supposed to mean.

The only reason I even care is because the minute you're not normal, everybody wants to ship you off to a shrink and while I'm good at telling people to fuck off, not everybody is. So if somebody's pressured into it and then it makes things worse, that's not great.

[the_caped_crusader]

Not interested, no. This is a voluntary clinic. You come when you want, you leave when you want. I'd be something of a hypocrite if I operated this business any differently.

[hatestrashcans]

You're a businessman. Doesn't hypocrisy go with the territory?

Where'd you get the money, anyway?

[the_caped_crusader]

I'm not interested in holding people involuntarily, especially considering the way this world works.

[the_caped_crusader]

You might be surprised. [ he smirks softly, regarding the comment about his degrees. especially considering bruce is one of those people he's talking about. ]

But I wouldn't have considered anyone who didn't expect to jump through hoops to prove that they could provide the sort of care necessary for this clinic, so greatly to your benefit, I certainly will keep your name in mind, David. We'll talk very soon.

[the_caped_crusader]

Heh. [ he scoffs lightly. ] You've got me there.

There was another version of me here five years ago who started the company. After I was brought in, I only continued expanding on his work using my experience from back home running my family's company.

[batricide]

[ .............................................................

............................................................. sounds fake but

but

he's kind of sick of getting into the same fight with this not!version of his dad. so. ]

You're going to need to equip your guard staff with tools to render patients depowered and unconscious should it come to that, and you're going to need to be thorough with who you hire to ensure that those people won't abuse that power.

[helpdesk_hero]

[He'd be quite amused to know that, Bruce. And to borrow any knowledge you bad briefly. But frankly, he tries not to. And now, he's smiling, because the expectation of hoop jumping is all the more important. This place seems too trusting at times.]

Good. Because there's a lot in my world that would have been a lot better off if sufficient mental health care for people with powers was available.

[Though not much could have been done for the event that rendered him human. That's neither here nor there.]

Good luck, Mister Wayne.

[hatestrashcans]

So did your other self leave you the money or the company? How did you get control of it?