xp_logs | Xavier and Jennifer Walters

x-shehulk.livejournal.com posting in

After an invite from the Professor himself, Walters comes calling to the Mansion to find the Institute offering her a job.

"...holy shit on a stick, Brucie, I think I just found the place. Yeah, I'll call you next week. Love you, cuz." Jennifer dropped her cell onto the passenger seat as her little car puttered up to the front of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngesters and she winced when she applied a little too much pressure on the breaks and the poor thing jerked to a stop. Too busy staring at the grand old house that sprawled out next to her and right now, she couldn't afford to feel overwhelmed. You start feeling overwhelmed and someone, somewhere, was going to get one over on you.

She found a good spot to park and unfolded herself from Buggy, making sure to smooth down her skirt, check to make sure the scuffs she'd blacked out with a marker before she'd left still looked good and shut the door behind her. Despite her attempt to not stare like a tourist, she couldn't help but crane her head this way or that to absorb the grounds. The information she'd found on the place didn't do it justice.

Finding the doorbell, Jennifer gave it a quick press and stepped back, settling her emotions down as she waited.

Rather unusually, it was Charles himself who opened the door, having both sensed Jennifer's arrival and been given warning of it via the school's security system - they were being extra careful these days. He smiled at the very tall, very green young woman. "Ms. Walters, thank you for coming. I'm Charles Xavier." He held out his hand for her to shake.

"Professor Xavier, it's a honor," she replied, grasping his hand for a firm if brief shake. "Thank you for the invitation. I have to admit, I'm curious as to why you've given me that invite but I'm happy to be here." A grin appeared for a moment. "If only because I plan on asking if Warren left any really, really embarrassing pictures from his youth hanging around for blackmail purposes."

Charles laughed at that, some of the lines of age and care smoothing from his face. "Well then, do come in. I keep photographs of the graduating classes in my office - hopefully those will be embarrassing enough for you?" He backed up the chair to let Jennifer in, gesturing that she should.

Stepping in, Jennifer swung the door closed behind her. "It depends on how bad his high school hair really was," she laughed and then looked around as they headed in the direction of what she assumed was his office. "Yes, I think I'm going to need to blackmail Warren if only to punish him for never bringing me by. Your foyer's prettier than my entire apartment complex."

"Thank you, Ms. Walters. This mansion has been in the Xavier family for many years and sometimes I forget how impressive it can be to newcomers." Charles led the way through the foyer and down a hall. "Of course, my ancestors would never have dreamed of turning the family estate into a school, especially not one for mutants."

"How many of our ancestors would have had that dream? Or even known what to do with a mutant besides attempting to stone them to death." Jennifer tugged down her suit jacket and gave Charles a look. "Not that they don't try to do that now but they're just not wearing Puritan outfits. Or at least most of them aren't, anyway. I'm all for having kids, both mutant and not, get used to each other but boy, do I get how nice it is not having to worry about no one understanding if you accidentally smash the cafeteria table because you were running late and weren't paying attention."

"Yes, unfortunately the world is not as advanced as we wish it would be." Charles's expression turned somber, remembering just how much damage that lack of advancement had done to his school and his students over the years. "Ah, here we are. After you, Ms. Walters." He indicated the door of his office.

She moved in ahead of him and went to take a seat. Jennifer paused and looked at some of the pieces of furniture through narrowed eyes. They all looked pretty and nice and not sturdy enough for her. The last thing she wanted was to sit down on a chair older than her and break it.

There were, however, sturdier pieces scattered around and Jennifer gratefully picked one. "Again, I appreciate the invitation to speak to you, Professor. I'm looking forward to hearing the reason behind the request."

The chair Jennifer picked was one of the specially designed ones Charles had made when Hank had become a student, although it had undergone reinforcement and refurbishment over the years. "Have you heard the name Hector Baez in the legal fraternity?"

"He's a bit of a ..." Jennifer immediately decided that at saying 'ball-buster' was probably not a good idea. "Name, yes. We met, what, once I've looked at some of his cases for research purposes and his law firm's a respected one. Probably will become more so in the next ten years if they play their cards right and keep winning the cases. I ... also know he works with you in some capacity with your Institute."

"He's the in-house lawyer for the Institute and its projects," Charles affirmed. "Or rather, he was. He recently told me he's decided to retire." A slight smile quirked his mouth. "He recommended you as his replacement."

Jennifer stared at him for a moment as her thoughts immediately ran screaming in a million different directions. She managed not to simply say "Huh?" and stare at Charles like he was a crazy man. Thankfully, she was able to quickly for something more coherent. "Why?" Jennifer asked, leaning back in her seat. "As I said, I believe we might have met one time and I know my reputation hasn't gotten off the ground as quickly as others."

She didn't ask why they weren't looking at Warren - it was probably already touchy enough that she was working with the former alumni.

"Hector has his ear to the ground more than most and he said you had the potential. Even more, you have the fire and the attitude you'll need to fight some of our battles." Charles steepled his hands, resting his elbows on the arms of his chair. "You may have seen the news about Genosha?"

"Yes. I try to keep up with news nationally and internationally, so I watched quite a bit on Genosha during and after it had happened." And now it was time for full disclosure. "Also, Warren recently came to me and ..." Okay, it was harder than she thought to say "I know about your super secret spy missions" without sounding stupid or accusing. "Because of our recent venture together, he decided to fill me in on, ah, the extracurricular activities at the school?"

Jennifer's shoulders drooped as she sighed. "I'm sorry, that sounded far better when I was just saying it to myself."

"We call the team the X-Men," Charles offered. "It sounds just as silly, yes, but they do serve a purpose. I presume Warren told you about what the team does and why it exists?"

"He gave it his best shot - which was good, don't get me wrong. But I'm still trying to wrap my head around one of my oldest friends saving the world on a regular basis." She studied him for a moment, this quiet, unassuming looking man, and tried to see how it all fit. "Was Hector Baez aware of the X-Men while he was working as your legal counsel for the Institute?"

"He was, and we had many discussions on the topic - it wasn't something he entirely approved of, being a former police officer." Charles shrugged a little. "He did concede that mutants were at a disadvantage in terms of the law, however. He helped where he was comfortable and held his peace where he was not."

She couldn't help but laugh a little at that. "I'm sorry, it's just my dad was a cop, too, so I can see where he'd be coming from. Look, I don't - I can't - have a full opinion on the operations here, not with what little information I currently have. It's not fair to either of us. I can't say I'm not intrigued. I have an obvious mutation, Professor, so I know what the ugly side of humanity's like. I was lucky enough to have a caring and understanding family who put up with, well, let's call them my growing pains. Not everyone has that and that's why I like your school and your Institute."

Jennifer let herself flop back against the chair and it didn't even so much as creak in warning. "I also can't lie and say this whole superhero thing doesn't make me a little gleeful. The justice system isn't necessarily blind when it comes to mutants but it sure as hell doesn't know what to do with us most of the time. But from a legal stand point, it makes my brain hurt trying to wrap my head around all the ins and outs."

"Is it something you would like to explore further?" Charles asked. "The status of mutants in the justice system, the X-Men, the Institute. Because there is a job for you, if you want it. And even if you decide you don't want to join the team, you'd still be extremely useful."

"This has got to be the weirdest meeting I've ever had," Jennifer murmured, glancing out the windows for a long moment before turning decisively back to Charles. "I'd like a three month trial period - generally it's the employer putting that into place but, let's be honest, I'm a weird color but there are things weirder than me out there. If things get too much, I'd like to be able to cut ties without burning any bridges. And you might not have the time today but I want to know everything. The history, the people, as much information as you can throw at me. And especially anything you didn't tell Hector. I can understand why he'd not want to know but I can't operate like that."

She took a deep breath. "If all that works for you, we can talk about more mundane items like salary, what I'll being doing and making sure that I don't neglect the firm with Warren." Irony, that, considering he was coming back to the firm full time from taking a break from these X-Men!

Charles smiled, the care lifting a little from his face. "I believe we can come to an agreement, Ms. Walters. Let me get you some tea and we can go over the details."