xp_logs | Warren and Sue -- Technology Matters

In which Warren and Sue meet at a technology conference and discover this isn't their first meeting.

It was supposed to be a cutting edge technology show, something to do with virtual reality, cell phones...something. Warren wasn't too sure, but since his company had recently started acquiring biotech labs, and delving more into technology, he felt it would be interesting to go himself, instead of sending one of his employees.

He didn't know that breasts were included in said technology, but he wasn't complaining. The organizers had girls in scantily clad lab coats, walking around in garters and heels, talking about the specifications of the various project. It was even more impressive when it was clear the women knew exactly what they were talking about.

He made a mental note to look into their hiring practices. Maybe it was something he could look into. Headshots mandatory with resumes.

With an ever present glass of Scotch in one hand, he made the tour of the minimalist Virtual Reality room, stopping every once in a while to listen to the lady scientist (it was so hard to take them seriously...). There were a few different rooms, with the whole conference space being reserved for this event. Eventually, he wandered into one that had to do with genetic testing, and the controversial '3 parent' embryo techniques were being discussed.

"So the mitochondrial DNA is what gets switched," the presenter was saying. "Less than 1% of the donor's DNA becomes infused with the recipient DNA, ensuring that the child is still genetically the result of two parents."

"How will this deal with the X-gene?" someone called out. There were murmurs of assent, and it was clear that the presenter was ready for that. "By U.K. law, we are unable to actually alter one's DNA for cosmetic purposes." It was clear that people were ready to say something, before the presenter quickly added, "But it's before Parliament for new legislation." He turned his head, disgusted at the line of conversation that was happening and started to walk out before he saw a young girl, clearly frowning. It looked like she was going to say something.

It was always the same, she always came to these events full of hope and then someone had to bring up the whole mutant issue. Just for once Sue would have liked to attend a tech event where people didn't worry about mutants but could focus of the science, and this was a great breakthrough in genetics, or would be if it didn't get twisted. She really should just hold her tongue, but...screw it.

"Why stop there?" she asked in a faux sweet voice. "If we're going to use this technology to eliminate the x-gene then why don't we use it to eliminate every form of genetic variation we don't like? And since you're talking about cosmetic germ line modification, are you suggesting that we start thinking about designer babies?" she asked the now stricken looking presenter. Although," she tapped a nail against her chin in the appearance of deep thought. "Although if you want us to start down the path of germ line modifications of humans, I'm sure you're thought through all the consequences. The possibility of creating new diseases or malfunctioning DNA groupings and the increasing homogeneity of the human species if we eliminate evolution. Not to mention all the societal implications" At this point she was talking to the presenter and the crowd equally. "You might just end up creating the very supermen that we're scared of right now."

The blonde shook her head in disgust as she stood up, "The saddest thing," she told the presenter, "you have an amazing piece of technology here, you could help millions of people across the world. You could cure diseases and improve the quality of life for everyone. But conversations like this show we're just not ready for this kind of technology yet."

The blonde paused by Warren and turned her head back towards the group, "You know, there's a word for what you're talking about. It's called Genocide." The blonde shook her head and started to leave, "I hope this place has a good bar," she muttered under her breath, "I need a drink."

Amused, Warren watched the girl leave, and waited a few moments before following her himself. Her words had obviously aggravated the crowd, and the presenter was announcing a break before coming back and speaking more.

It was a courage like that that astounded him. He'd always envied those who could say exactly what they thought, and do so in an intelligent way. When it came to mutants, he wasn't that confident to speak up. The thought of someone discovering his secret was terrifying.

He decided to keep an eye on the younger girl though, especially when he saw some angry individuals walking her way, grumbling amongst themselves that shitdisturbers like that needed to be taught a lesson. Picking up the pace, Warren walked a bit ahead of them, making sure to brush his shoulders against them, bumping them on purpose. "So sorry gentleman," he called out as he went forward. He could see the men ready to argue but at the sight of his face, they changed their minds. There were bonuses to being one of the most recognizable people in New York.

"There you are," Warren said, a beaming grin on his face as he came up to Sue's side. "I've been looking all over this place for you. Didn't we agree to meet in front of the 3D prosthetic limb session? Or did I get it wrong?" He pulled her in for a hug and whispered in her ear, "Play along. Those men behind me were not thinking pleasant thoughts about you."

Sue span around at Warren's touch, the shock and anger on her face smoothly sliding into a masked smile as she threw her arms around Warren returning the hug as she peered circumspectly over his shoulder at the men following her., "We did? Oh, you know me, I just saw something interesting and had to wander off to see it and completely forgot where we were meeting." She slipped her arm through Warren's and smiled brightly up at him, "you weren't waiting for too long were you?" she asked in concern, "I'm so sorry, I promise, I'll make it up to you later." she assured him.

"See that you do," he responded, seamlessly bringing her into the mass of people leaving some sort of presentation. It was easy then to lose the other men.
Glancing at her from the side of his eye, he couldn't shake the feeling that he knew her from somewhere. "Have I met you before? You look familiar."

"I bet that's what you say to all the damsels in distress you rescue and sweep off their feet," Sue teased with a laugh. "Do you often come to these expositions? It's a small world, you might have seen me at another one of these."

"No," he said thoughtfully. "Somewhere else. This is my first tech conference." He thought for a moment as they strolled together. "By the way, while I'm sure you're aware of who I am, I didn't catch your name."

"I'm not really giving you the best impression of these conferences with my big mouth am I?" Sue asked wryly, "I'm Sue, Susan Storm, and you're right, I don't think anyone can mistake the mysterious Warren Worthington." Sue's eye's flicked down to where their arms were still intertwined, "I'd offer to shake your hand but it kind of looks like we're a little bit beyond that so the blonde leaned up to plant a quick kiss on Warren's cheek, "A kiss for my knight in shining armour." she said with an impish grin.

He had to chuckle at that. "I don't even know what you mean by mysterious. Don't you read the society pages? I'm a frequent headliner. In fact," he added, whispering loudly, "don't be surprised to be front page news tomorrow with that kiss. I'm fairly certain I heard the click of a camera."

This was really starting to bother him though. Her name sounded familiar -- of course, he knew of the Storms, but he felt like there was something else, something he couldn't quite get a handle on.

"Well I think if we've established anything today it's that my mouth has a way of getting me into trouble one way or the other," came the amused reply imitating his whisper, "Besides, I wouldn't say you're quite that bad, I'd say you only make the news every other day." Sue teased.

"I think," he said, a smile tugging on his lips, "you are more incorrigible than I am. How are you not front page news?"

"A combination of never making waves around the press and never doing anything too bad, or at least never getting caught," she laughed, "life as an unknown is so much more fun." Besides, you could hardly be a good thief if your face was plastered all over the newspapers.

He laughed ruefully at that. "Unfortunately, I didn't learn that lesson until it was too late. That being said, who am I to deprive the world of this beautiful face?"

"Well Mr. Worthington I'm flattered, I had no idea you felt that way about me," Sue teased, an impish grin plastered over her face.

He laughed. "I do believe I have met my match," he said, pleased. "Are you sure we haven't met before? Because I'm appalled at that notion.

Sue tilted her head smiling at the compliment, "I think I'd remember meeting you before," she noted, "You aren't exactly an easy person to miss or god forbid forget Mr. Worthington."

His hands went up in air as if in mock defeat. "You got me there, Ms. Storm. Now, let me buy you a drink, and we can continue watching these presentations, if you'd like. I came by myself, but I always appreciate company."

"Well who could turn down an offer like that? A drink and company " Sue asked with a smile, "lead the way."

Luckily the conference centre had a well stocked bar open to all the participants, perhaps a little bit too well stocked, Sue wasn't quite sure what to order. It didn't seem like the right time and place for a beer, or a cocktail. Sue stared at the bottle behind the bar unconsciously twirling a strand of her hair between her fingers as her eyes tracked along the bottle lighting up as they alighted on one, "I think I'll go with the 2013 Yamazaki Sherry Cask," she decided with a nod before she turned to Warren, "you did say anything I wanted."

That was what did it. The pose, the hair twirl, the mischievous glint to her eyes.

He'd seen it all before.

"Absolutely," he said, smiling widely. "Anything for Sue-Sue." Warren loved it when he was right.

Sue slowly lowered her glass of whiskey from her lips inching on her barstool to face Warren putting some distance between them. She hadn't heard that name for years, not since she was a little girl and Johnny had been obsessed with double names. "How do you know that name?" No-one does, even I had forgotten..." the woman glanced around the room her brow furrowing, "This is some kinda prank isn't it, my brother put you up to this"

"I told you," he said smugly. "I remembered you but I have to say,you're much more grown up than the last time I saw you.". Clearly, she was still confused. He picked up his own glass of whiskey before taking a slow drink.

"Hawaii. Maybe 22 years ago. I highly doubt you'd remember that though. If I recall correctly, you had only recently mastered the English language then. I feel I should congratulate you on your progress since."

"Well you know how it is one tries to the best one can, communication is so important." Sue allowed picking up her whiskey and tipping it towards Warren as she let a small smile onto her face. "I honestly can't say that I remember anything from back then. Sounds like a shame, you never wanna forget Hawaii, that's just wrong."

"In all fairness, you can't be expected to remember something from when you were three." He took another sip of his drink and studied the young girl. Life was strange and full of coincidences, he thought

"So what brings you here? Have you joined your father's business?"

"Someone has to help him out and keep the company running," Sue noted with a smile as she took a sip from her glass, "It keeps me busy and out of trouble, well most of the time anyway."

"Your brother doesn't help?"

"My brother...prefers to spend his time having fun." Sue allowed with a faint smile, Johnny was and had always been her weak spot, Sue was perhaps too indulgent with him but he was her younger brother. "I mean I guess that is living the dream."

Warren could understand that. It wasn't often that he had the chance to be as wild and crazy as he'd like but half of him thinks that if he'd had an indulgent parent... well...

"The dream varies from person to person. If I had to guess, the tone of your voice doesn't agree with that sentence. What would be your dream?"

Sue grinned, "Oh I enjoy partying as much as anyone, I may not be as much of an adrenaline junkie as my brother but he is my brother after all," Sue got her adrenaline rush from slightly more illicit activities. "But I'm probably most happy left alone in a lab or workshop all day. What about you, what's your version of the dream?" she asked making air quotes around the word dream.

He waved a hand. "Why, beautiful woman and lovely company of course! A dream that I live on daily basis, if the papers are to be believed.". An exaggerated wink accompanied that statement, letting her believe that it truly was his dream.

At the present, he didn't really have a better answer. Saving mutant kind? Being accepted for who he was? Much too heavy topics for a first meeting, even if there was history.

"A lab? What do you make?" How curious.

"A little bit of this and a little bit of that," Sue replied with a shrug, "I got my degree in robotics and control systems, and I've developed a few security devices, but I'm more of a troubleshooter these days. There is something amazing about coming up with an idea, a new concept then seeing it come together in front of you the product of your own two hands." She grinned wryly at Warren, "at least the times I'm actually allowed in the lab and not the boardroom."

He gave her a surprised look. "With such a sublime education, why wouldn't they allow you a hands on approach? Will you be running the company at some point?"

In a sense, he could understand what was happening -- his own father took over 5 years before allowing Warren any type of management position, and he’d had to work hard to be an executive, albeit it was slightly fast-tracked.

"It's all about the efficient allocation of resources," Sue allowed, "I'm more useful to the company helping other people fix problems with their programs than developing one of my own. So I float around a lot." Sue shrugged, "the board, I'm there as my dad's PA. I think mainly what he wants is for me to realize how much administrative work is involved with running a company."

"But that's when a good assistant is paramount and indispensable," he stated. "If I didn't have Jolene, I would be a much less efficient executive. I've had to pay her exorbitant amounts just to ensure she isn't poached." He finished his drink and smiled at her. "That being said, I respect your father's methods. Mine used a similar one once I graduated from Harvard. It took me quite some time to work my way up”

Sue shrugged, "It's not like I can really complain," she noted with a smile, "I get to mess around with all sort of interesting things, from prosthetics to drug testing all in a single day. The paperwork is just an added burden." The blonde pursed her lips as she looked at Warren, "you went to Harvard? MBA?"

"Harvard is the only acceptable option for Worthington men," he said in a droll voice. "Or so I was told. As the proper heir apparent, I attended Harvard, and yes, received my MBA. I did it as a joint degree though, with law. Which means," he said, "I actually understand some contractual things but I pretend I don't." He smiled widely. "There's something to be said about big, blue eyes." A pause. "And the dimple doesn't hurt either."

"So that was the secret to passing Professor Onusto's class, I knew I was missing something. So you're telling me you just flirt your way through situations when you need to then? I am shocked at you Warren, shocked and appalled," the young woman teased in mock outrage, "How could you do such a thing. Oh by the way, this little bar trip is all on you right?" she asked giving him an exaggerated coquettish look which was only slightly marred by the mischievous grin on her face.

"Excellent use of those eyes, little one. Just raise the eyebrow ever so slightly, and you have achieved perfection and the secret to A's in all classes and life." He lifted his glass and smirked. "I have yet to find a situation where flirting doesn't at least help. And yes, I am paying for the bar tab. A gentleman never lets a lady pay for her drink."

Sue tapped her finger against her glass in thought, "I don't know, if you get called into the president's office for a totally innocent thing let’s say, hypothetically of course, that you say fixed all the prosthetic prototypes in the lab and programmed them to do the can-can to prove it. I'm pretty sure that flirting with the boss wouldn't get you anywhere."

There was nothing cocky Warren could say to that. "If we are speaking in hypotheticals, then I'd have to say that would be most amusing if I wasn't responsible for you.....but yes. I'll give you the point. Flirting with your father can't be good in any way."

"Oh it wasn't my...the hypothetical victims dad, it was at university, you know I don't think I'd ever seen someone's veins actually threaten to explode before they were as big as my fingers and his face went all red...I've heard," she said with a laugh. "Was totally worth it though."

He laughed heartily. "I can only imagine then at this hypothetical and hope the student responsible still received ample credit. It's no easy feat manipulating prosthetics. I can't even program my VCR...those still exist, right?"

Sue could barely restrain a laugh, "Sure I guess, in antique stores or maybe a library," she said shaking her head with a grin, "I'm sure you're far more capable than you make out Mr. Worthington, after all look at where we are, you've got to understand a little more than VCR programming to get what they're talking about." Although she did appreciate the effort.

"Warren," he corrected her. "I can't have Sue-Sue calling me by my father's name." He looked at her and smirked, shaking his head a little bit. "Strange, isn't it? We should exchange numbers. I bet I have pictures to send to you."

Sue opened her mouth and then shut it deliberately. It was just childish and petty to call him War-War or some other nickname, "It's a small world after all," she quoted, "You have photos? Of me?"

"My mother insisted on documenting everything since she couldn't be bothered to actually attend anything.” He gave a wry grin. "I can almost guarantee I have baby pictures of you somewhere."

His drink done, he set it down on the table, and offered up his elbow. "Shall we continue exploring this conference? Now that I have an expert on hand, I'm sure I'll enjoy it more."

And he made a mental note to find baby pictures. He was sure there had to be some. Luz, his nanny-turned-housekeeper would know. He'd ask her.