Chapter Text
The kids break out into a brief huddle, Stiles flailing wildly with his hands while he talks animatedly and supposedly quietly enough not to be overheard. Peter leaves in the direction of the bathroom, while several other adults appear to be playing idly on their phones.
Finally, the kids break apart and Stiles resumes his position at the front of the room. "Okay, if we could all..." Peter slinks back into the room, just as the Sheriff raises his hand. "Dad, Daddio, Daddest, if you could just hold that question for one..."
"I just wanted to know if this is where you introduce the villain of the week, so you can ask for our help with them?" the Sheriff interrupted, his expression and tone carefully neutral. Stiles eyes him warily.
"I mean, that's... I think that's a vastly oversimpl...."
"BINGO!" David Whittemore jumps out of his chair. The other adults groan. Melissa turns to face David, unimpressed. "You know the rules. Prove it."
David smiles sharply. "Delighted to. Somebody is naked." He tips his chin at Derek. "Stiles has a powerpoint. Stiles flails like those wiggly guys at a car lot - free spot. A teenager's love life just became public and it's complicated." He flicks his hand in Stiles' direction. "AND The Sheriff makes a reasonable statement that come true in an improbable way."
"Objection!" Peter interrupts, quick on David's heels. "That last one hasn't been proven yet."
"Yet." David says, clearly savoring the word and his victory. "Technicality. We all know what happens next."
The kids just stare, Stiles looking utterly defeated. "But... half of those are about me."
The Sheriff shrugs. "Don't look at me, kid. I was expecting 'Jackson is afraid of feelings so he says something dickish.' Thanks for giving me 'Scotty believes in a thing called love," though." He grins appreciatively at Scott, who looks like he's not quite sure if that's a compliment but he wants to be happy about it. "Oooh, and that gets me 'Scott is a literal puppy.' Nice. Anyone for blackout, double the stakes?"
"SLIDES!" Stiles practically yells. "Our next guest needs no introduction! ALSO NOT A DANGER! Please allow me to introduce Dr. Harleen Quinzel, the founder and foremost organizer of the Association for Supernatural Kids Not Organizing Trouble and it's parent association "Normal Adults Who Need Oversight and Protection from Evil." He stares at his script for a minute. "Acronyms to be further refined in post-production. Maybe."
Melissa raises an unimpressed eyebrow. "That's Harley Quinn. You're introducing Harley Quinn as an authority we should listen to. The same Harley Quinn who lost her sanity after spending too long in an abusive relationship with a psychopath and became a super villain in her own right. The Harley Quinn who lost her license to practice psychiatry. That Harley Quinn."
"Haaaa.... Melissa, Mel, can I call you Mom? Mommers, Mom, Ma, I ... you could not be more wrong about what is going on here. That is. You could be more wrong, you're not wrong exactly, you're just missing some critical information! If we could save further questions UntilTheEndOfThePresentationThatWouldBeGreat."
Stiles waves at the nearby hallway, as Harley walks into the room. She's dressed in a high-end business suit, all sharp creases and classic lines, and her hair is tamed into a complicated braid.
"Hi. Parents. And otha loved ones. And... Peter. Hi." She waves awkwardly. "I'm gonna just jump right inta the proposal for alla this, then we can figya out how we can keep ya guys safe while yer - very naturally, a course - tryin'a keep y'own kids safe. An' also, like, figya out how we can support the local community in not, like, dyin' from supernatural shenaniganery an', ya know, obscure but malevolent eldritch abominationing an' stuff."
"I can stop you right there, actually." Mel stands up, reaching for her purse.
Scott and Stiles both jump forward, tripping over each other and their own words. "NO, Mom, Ms. McCall, please, it's a good idea, you've gotta give it a chance it's important, we can't..."
Mel raises a hand, waiting for silence to speak. "I didn't say it was a bad idea. But you're talking and worrying about something that already exists." She points to each adult in turn, starting with herself. "Nurse. Lawyer. Sheriff. Hunter. Left Hand. Politician. Socialite. Not much we can't handle between us, but we've all been working on networking so we have additional resources if we need them. What would really help us is if you know people we can work with who are doing similar types of work in other locations, so we can coordinate our efforts and resources over a wider area."
"I just think it might be more effective if we took the powerpoint that WE put together, to help with starting to identify how we all might be able to work together most effectively on this."