xp_logs | Hope and Warren: A Meeting

Hope and Warren talk about an offer he made her a long time ago.

"Mr. Worthington?" Hope poked her head around the open door of the office, seeing if the man she was looking for, was inside.

Warren lifted his head from the papers he was reviewing. "Hope," he said pleasantly, putting aside the work. "How nice to see you. If you're looking for Sue though, she's not here -- I think she's out shopping with Jessica or Julian or someone with a J name."

"I was actually hoping to speak with you if you have a moment, Mr. Worthington." Hope replied as she stepped into the office. "About an offer you made a long time ago."

If it was anyone else, he could have safely assumed that she was referring to something sexual but he was fairly certain he hadn't hit on her.

Fairly certain.

"Oh?," Warren responded after a pause. "You have me at a disadvantage, my dear. I confess -- I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about."

"It was a while back. We spoke at one of your charity events. You mentioned X-Factor Investigations might be a good place for me, so to speak." Hope explained with a smile. She had not expected him to remember it immediately.

Okay, so that jostled his memory slightly. He squinted slightly as he tried to find that conversation, but it was lost. Shaking his head, he returned her smile. "While I vaguely remember what you're talking about, I do recall being impressed with you and thinking I should steal you away for something, so I'm glad you're at my doorstop. I ..am sorry though that things didn't quite turn out the way you wanted."

"Oh, you mean with the whole supposedly corporate espionage? I was fully acquitted and I am still in my role at Keller Industries. But aiding you in the investigation... It made me want to try if this could be a place for me... a way to repay what Xavier's has done for me all those years." Hope explained, pulling over a chair and taking a seat when it was obvious Warren was not going to offer her one.

Warren watched as Hope sat down, realizing a bit too late that he wasn't being a very good host. He'd take her out for dinner later and make up for it. "Well, we are happy to have you on board, but if you don't mind my asking -- what skills do you think you can bring to the table? And I mean, you experienced it firsthand...what we do isn't particularly glamorous."

"Research skills, I think, would be the best way to summarize it. Among things, I have been taught to make a complete background file about a person and how to start drawing some conclusions from that. I have done something similar with organizations as well. I am not a hacker, but I know where to find and how to put together information." No need to mention her other skills Doug, Wade, Marie-Ange and Jubilee had been teaching her.

"Research is all fine and dandy," Warren said, "but you need to be aware that at the end of the day, what we do is dangerous. People hide things for a reason, and our job is to find that reason. We don't solely service the mutant community either -- we have walk-ins, and those are done on a "if you want to take it, go for it" basis." He shrugged. "Adrienne runs a tighter ship, but I'm the cool boss for a reason. I assume we're all adults until I'm told otherwise. Anyways, I'm sure you heard of what happened back in December. A lot of us got our asses handed to us. Badly. It's not a common thing but it happens."

Hope smiled wryly. "All the X-teams carry their risks, Mr. Worthington. I have lived in the mansion since I was fifteen and I know the risks. I have survived a demon attack and being kidnapped and brainwashed... among other things."

"And I think I can offer one thing, which might be extremely valuable to you..." With those words Hope closed her eyes, let the flower bloom in her mind and shifted out of her body. 'This might come in handy for surveillance...'

Well that was unexpected. Without a word, Warren slowly stepped closer to the apparition in front of him. He tilted his head and reached up to rub his chin while he processed what he was seeing.

"You and Sue would make an interesting team," he said finally. "What kind of commitment can I expect out of you? We take turns taking the on-call phone, and we try to have this place staffed regularly." Pointing up, he continued. "There's a loft upstairs that we use as a place to crash if we're working an overnight, or just need to sleep after being out on a job. I'm happy to take you on as a trial basis, see if you like it."

She took a moment to slip back in her body first. "With what happened to Mr. Keller, I am currently overseeing most of his charity responsibilities..." Hope pondered a moment. "How about we start with two days a week? Which days those are can be flexible."

Thinking about it, he tried to picture what the schedule already looked like. "Sue's on this weekend. How about you work with her and then we touch base on Monday again to go over how it went? Does that sound fair?"

"Saturday and Sunday should work just fine. I don't have any events those days..." She hesitated a moment before asking. "If things go to our mutual satisfaction, would it be possible I could learn to do some field work?"

"Anything's possible," he responded. "What type of field work are you trying to get experience in?"

"With my abilities, I'd say surveillance or something like that seems the most logical place to start, but I am open to suggestions." Hope replied after a moment of consideration.

Warren smiled and extended a hand. "Like I said before, you're welcome to try this out, and see if it's a good fit for you, but otherwise, well,...welcome to the team. I'll let Sue know to expect you."

"Excellent. Thank you for giving me this chance, Mr. Worthington." Hope took his hand with a smile.