By Tim Stevens
Jamie Madrox is an adult male of average physical appearance. He is a self-identified mutant who has worked as a costume adventurer under the name
Multiple Man. Currently, the client acts as the head of a detective agency and, while still being involved with organizations like the mutant rights group the
X-Men, does not participate in traditional costumed heroics—punching super villains, etc—as much as he once did.
The client arrived at the office and demanded to speak to the writer. Staff described him as distraught and angry, unable or unwilling to meet eye gaze for any period of time, and in a state of perpetual agitation. Eventually, the client was able to de-escalate to a level where the writer felt comfortable with seeing him.
Initially,
Madrox claimed that he wished to discuss a recent trip forward in time and how seeing a possible future made him feel. He briefly discussed a physical relationship with a "
Layla Miller" and how strange it seemed to him, given how old she was when he first met her. In his disclosure of these events, however, he seemed listless, almost bored with retelling them. The writer mentioned this observation to the client and he confessed that while, yes, he did wish to discuss his trip to the future, he was continuing to perseverate on a prior relationship and the fate of his first child.
While Madrox remained cagey about specifics, he admitted to being involved with a woman he called "Theresa" who ended up pregnant with the client's child and, as she went into labor, the two of them decided to be married. The client felt both elated and entirely comfortable. Unfortunately, moments after the child's birth, the client's son "ceased to be," as he put it.
Theresa almost immediately blamed the client and broke the relationship off. She was inconsolable and threatened Madrox with bodily harm if he was to encounter her again.
While Madrox spoke of her being unfair, it was clear from his tone and his demeanor that he, at least in part, agreed with her belief that he was to blame.
Drifting somewhere between being emotionally devastated and in shock, the client reached out to a man named John, who he referred to as his "brother." However, Madrox admits, he had really already made the decision to end his life and only wanted John to tell those he loved that he was sorry for the choice. John was unable to talk him out of it, but Layla, the woman he mentioned earlier, succeeded in doing so.
The writer got the impression that the client was not being entirely open about everything that had happened to him and expressed these feelings to him. Madrox admitted this to be the case but explained he was not yet ready to fully disclose. The writer assured the client that the office was a safe place and that he should feel comfortable discussing anything when he was ready. The writer also explained to Madrox that until that time, however, he could not be entirely effective in therapy. The client accepted this, but
remained unwilling to disclose further. Still, the writer was able to contract with the client that he would return for a next session and that he would not attempt suicide before the next session.
Jamie Madrox will work with Doctors Peter David and Valentine De Landro on July 15. Details of the session can be found in file X-FACTOR #46.
Tim Stevens is a Mental Health Supervisor currently pursuing his Psy D who has experience working with individuals with suicidal ideation.
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