Marvel: 2012-02-26 - Revelations

Jeanne has a chance for overtime for the first time. She was given a few more projects to work on to test her knowledge of what she has learned so far. It is only about three hours worth of work for her, nothing major. Well, not that Jeanne exactly gets paid for overtime, she's on salary.

Stark is actually coming up from his own lab in rough looking blue jeans and a black wife beater. He looks a bit dirty from grease and other engineering fluids. He passes security and enters into the lab Jeanne is working in. [Marvel Chat] Logan shrugs and can make the school, bars, NYC in general... Feel free to offer limits and I can probably work from there once I know what's off the list ;)

Jeanne is sitting there, dressed in a white lab coat over her clothes, fiddling with what looks to be a small robot that she constructed. Her fingers are blazing about the keybaord as she works on its program. A little assignment she got from Dr. Meglan, mostly to test her skills as well as potentially doing a line of sophisticated toys. Jeanne for her part didn't mind and played along, while proving her MIT pedigree and reputation by actually managing to have this prototype ready fairly soon. Without ever looking up from the screen, she comments, "I didn't know those came in black," as Tony steps into the lab in his very casual and somewhat greasy look. Typing another input, the tiny robot on her desk turns to face Tony and does a little bow, "please to meet you, Mr. Stark," it intones. Jeanne then looks aside at Tony, "pretty neat, huh? Dr. Meglan wanted me to show him I can handle robotics."

"They do if you pay to have them that way," Stark says with a grin. "So, how are things going sweetcakes? Heard you got an extra credit project." Stark walks over to lean back against a table, arms crossing over his built chest. The suits hinted at how built Stark was, and the current clothes do reveal that he must work out hard...not body builder, but closer. "Enjoying work so far?"

"Right, I forgot the cool thing about being filthy rich is being able to do whatever you want, no offense Mr. Stark, being filthy rich is a good thing. It allows for opportunities," Jeanne states in a voice devoid of any emotion. A few quick keystrokes, and the robot intones the reply for Jeanne, "there are brilliant minds at work in Stark Enterprises, and the lab resources are phenomenal, of course that makes Jeanne a very happy girl." With the robot back to silence, Jeanne turns to look at Tony completely, pointing out, "I see you keep in good shape, smart choice, you truly are brilliant. Most whiz kids I was at MIT with didn't concentrate as much on developing their physical conditioning."

"I better stay in good shape, otherwise Captain America would kick my ass when we spar," Stark says with an easy grin. "And I forget how many people have tried to kill me. It's good to have a pair of strong legs to run with," he says with humor in his tone. "Though I'm glad you are enjoying it here and will find it benefital. I hope Stark Enterprises will also find it very benefital." Stark hrms slightly, "Though, I have to admit, I'm curious about your upbringing. You don't seem to have much of a sense of humor, and I still haven't put a finger on what sort of morals and values you might have. Then again, I'm not the only one curious about it. It appears you met one of my old friends, Pete Wisdom." Stark smirks a bit. "You seem to draw the attention of the dangerous ones."

"You get to spar with Captain America?" Jeanne asks in a very serious tone of voice, and if Tony pays close attention to her, he'll notice it's maybe the first time he ever truly had her undivided attention. While she still seems to show no emotional signs on her pristine visage, her eyes are simply digging deep into him after he mentioned sparring with Captain America. One would think she would assume he is jesting, but instead she just quips, "I would very much like to meet him, if that was possible." She tilts her head to the side slightly at the mention of Pete Wisdom, "I met him while I was working out at the gym, did he have any part in my getting a job offer from you? If so I must thank him. But, if you don't mind, why is he dangerous? Other than the fact he sucks on a cancer stick more often than not."

"Well, why not? I got to get some bonsues for being an honorary member than just working my ass off as their tech guy." Stark smirks a bit. "I suppose you would, but what sort of michief would you get into by doing that?" He then pulls out a memory stick from his pocket and says, "Let's borrow one of these computers. I got something to show you." Stark moves over to a computer and puts in the memory stick and starts accessing a video file. When it loads up, he steps aside to show you one very quick and athletic Finesse as she moves and fights. It is from Iron Man's perspective.

"Mischief? What kind of mischief would I get to by meeting one of the most well respected Avengers?" Jeanne asks dumbfondedly, "he is a World War II hero as well, isn't he? That war fascinates me, so much was wrong in the world, I read quite a bit about it." Jeanne does sound very interested when Tony suggests he has something to show her, and she swivels her chair over for a better look. Jeanne may well have been a robot as she leans forward on the desk and stares at the screen with a blank expression, which Tony may well assume is a very controlled response, because she must certainly be surprised about the video surfacing here of all places. "This is an interesting video, a vigilante I assume? She has good technique, but this camera is supremely mobile...I cannot imagine it is attached to any building in the vicinity, how did you get that footage?" She certainly keeps playing it cool as she leans back in her seat, "is that what you wanted to show me? A new survelliance equipment?" Naturally, if she wasn't there, she doesn't know the vantage is from Iron Man, and so she doesn't slip up.

"Uh-huh." Now Stark moves to change the program, he rewinds it and activates another program, one filed with only one facial recognition. The program activates when the video starts and centers on Finesse's face. A circle appears over her face in red, flashes, and turns gold with a name tag appearing by her head: Jeanne Foucault. "Perhaps it is cheating, but the Iron Man suit is equipped with a facial recognition program. So, how crazy are you /really/, Miss Foucault?" Stark then smirks a little bit as if excited to see how you handle this little 'showing you up' piece.

The moment Jeanne recognizes a facial recognition program is running on the video Tony is playing for her she breathes heavily and sighs, she doesn't need to see the result before knowing what it will find, Stark has an impressive database and possibly access to stuff he shouldn't be having access to. "Okay, okay, you can stop the video, you got me...that is me, I admit." Finally there's a show of some emotional response, a slight inflection to suggest nervousness, she must be worried she could wind up being fired. "Look, I don't mean...wait," she just picked up on the reference to the Iron Man suit, her thinking process really is quite fast, very computer like in a way, as she immediately sharpens her gaze and eases down, "you weren't given this video by Iron Man, were?" It's obvious from her surprise, that she's not used to people discovering her secret, in fact, it may well be the first time ever, and she's still not sure how to react to that. The fact Tony made a quip that suggests to her he may well be Iron Man, is making it a bit more bearable. "I don't know how crazy I really am, but I guess crazy enough to not want to let a bunch of misogynistic bastards get away with forced prostitution..."

"Did you forget, I /own/ Iron Man? And when a facial recognition program comes up with a Stark Enterprises employee, especially one that is underage? What do you think Iron Man should have done?" Stark cancels the program and removes the memory stick. He slips it back into his pocket and steps toward you. "I've been sitting on this since I learned, and I kept thinking, what do I do? You aren't a mutant, I can't just hand this off to someone else. Avengers has an age requirement of eighteen plus, so not like I can just hand you over to them to keep an eye on you Jeanne. So what really are my options when you are doing things that could get you killed?" Is he honestly asking you what your opinion is on those options?

Of course, the Iron Man suit is a creation of Stark Enterprises, how foolish of Jeanne to think that Tony was in fact Iron Man, perhaps she wanted that to be true as to get out of trouble. "Makes perfect sense, I apologize, Tony, I really don't want to give any bad PR to Stark Enterprises. I thought I made sure there were no cameras on scene, I took out the power...didn't realize I don't have the specs for Iron Man, so should have assumed he could do facial recognition." Jeanne for a moment looks her age, a teen who feels she made a mistake and expects to be punished for it. Jeanne does look surprised again when Tony is actually asking for her opinion, a bit confused perhaps, she is not used to adult giving her much in the way of options. "I wasn't going to get killed, I had it under control..." Jeanne sounds quite sure of herself too, rather than boastful, "but as far as what you can do with me? I don't suppose not telling anyone about this incident is an option? I'll tone down my outing as Finesse...that's how I call myself in costume, by the way, I figured every hero has a codename. I wanted one too."

You know, Stark has no idea why his mind was derailed a moment when you actually called him 'Tony', but it was! Geez, if you were older, he would be giving Sawyer a panic attack right now. But Stark shakes his head to get his mind back on the task at time, and if Jeanne had a sense of humor seeing a shell-shocked Stark for even but a moment would likely have been comedical. "Yes, I'm sure the board members would just /love/ to have me in the Iron Man suit," and Stark laughs! The board members would have heart attacks if they learned the truth. Stark then looks more serious, "Finesse fits you I think. Well, 'Finesse', I can't leave you running off all alone. I'm serious. You could have been overwhelmed, and what if they started shooting and not caring for the lives of their comrades while you were fighting them off? Criminals aren't always known for their sanity you know or for their compassion for their fellows. And I'd be very peeved if I lost a great mind like yours, not to forget to mention your cute little self." Gawd, what is Tony getting himself into? Pepper is going to kill him! He sighs dramatically.

Jeanne notes Tony's uncharacteristic moment of fuzziness, and looks at him as if he was a very fascinating television show. "Yes, that is not a quality often sought in CEOs." Hey, she smiles for that one! She looks pleased with Tony's approval of her codename, even just the fact he doesn't think she's being childishly reckless or tries to deter her from her actions as Finesse, "thank you Tony, I thought it fit best myself, as a polymath, I certainly do have Finesse out there. You should have seen the guy whose nose I broke while he was telling me what he was going to do to me. It's like he never learned the most basic rule of fighting." Daft in all things relationships she may seem, but it turns out not to be the case, as Jeanne ignores the bit about her endangering herself, and goes outright to unflinchingly ask, "so, my being underaged aside, you do kinda fancy me, don't you?" The only problem is with her lack of inflections, how does one tell if she is teasing, or being serious.

And Stark can't help but smile back when Jeanne smiles. What a lovely expression! She should do it more often, but that isn't the point of the conversation sadly. Especially when Jeanne comes right out and says that! Even Tony has the grace to look embarassed and raises a hand to rub the back of his neck. He isn't sure if Jeanne is being serious or teasing, but likely serious knowing her! "Ah, now that is something even a playboy like myself doesn't dare comment on! Especially when I'm doing my best to behave for my girlfriend and not make Pepper murder me for creating a PR nightmare," and Stark grins impishly at that!

But he is then quick to distract you, and Tony lauches into his idea, "I'd like to introduce an idea of a mentorship program to the Avengers. A sort of academy for underage heroes that want to learn the ropes and how to stay alive, to gain experience through training and lectures of others. One that is meant to honor the mandates that the Avengers have, I guess an....Avengers Academy. Just youth with legal guardians would need legal docs to permit it, but you would be an 'in' as you are legally responsible for yourself."

Just as with everything else, Jeanne is unbearably logical, as she comforts Tony with yet another not very tactful statement, "it's okay, Tony, I am young, skilled, in peak condition, all of my training has given me a body that should likely hold high attraction to a high percentage of males, assuming what I studied on reasons for chemical reaction of attraction in the brain holds. I do hold a surprisingly high number of qualities that tend to appeal to males." It's amazing, the subject should be a taboo, as evident by Tony himself not daring to comment, and Jeanne treats it like a Natural History channel narrator.

"Mentorship to the Avengers?" Thankfully, Tony found the magic phrase to switch the focus on conversation, "do you think that's even possible? Why should they agree? I'm a nobody to them." Jeanne's fingers rap over the desk a few times, as if she's running some calculations in her head, and then she just asserts, "I accept. How do I help you get the Avengers to agree to this idea?"

Stark rolls his eyes. Ironically, Jeanne's mind draws him the post, and her lack of personality drives him crazy and he wants to fix it! But he isn't about to share that information! He's not that stupid with women. "You don't. I'll just ask Iron Man to ask them. And I'm going to reach out and ask Pete if he will also participate in the mentorship program." Wait, maybe Jeanne will find out why he is dangerous after all! "He has a hell of a lot of experience, and could offer a lot to the program if he will agree. I just need you to be more careful. The program would be an educational one, and likely can't officially sponsor underage heroism right now. So anything you did would have to be 'off the record' or at least without official approval."

"I have acted without permission from anyone but my own conscience and drive to see misogynists and deadbeats pay thus far, I hae no problem doing things of this nature without official approval," Jeanne muses, also she figures she'll first need to study how things will work within such an organization, for what it's worth, the classes there should be ones worth attending for a change. A big change from the lectures that wasted her time while she did the real studying on her own at the MIT library.

Stark chuckles at that, "Then we have an agreement. I'll handle the details, or rather make Iron Man and Pepper deal with them." That is /such/ a Stark thing to say right then and there. "Iron Man agreed to mentor there as well for what he could. I hope you will quickly appreciate the brillance that went into that suit of armor." What about the operator? Stark doesn't mention him. "Don't let him give you too much grief though," Stark warns with an easy grin.

If anything, Jeanne's short time working with Tony Stark works in his favor to make her believe at least for the time being that he isn't Iron Man after all, as he keeps to his mannerism perfectly and really did seem to find it amusing that she thought he was Iron Man. But she is a sharp girl with a keen eye, so it will be interesting to see how long he can keep her unsuspecting. "I never let anyone give me grief, Tony, so it shouldn't be a problem. I don't hurt easy." Could that be a reason for her being the way she is? Was she hurt deeply as a young girl and decided to do away with emotions? That would be a psychologists' theory, but Jeanne already knows psychology doesn't always translate to the real world.

Stark has had years, and years of practice. Still, when dealing with a fellow brillant individual, it is going to make things difficult. After all, Jeanne has expectations of Stark that many other people do /not/. "I like it when you call me Tony," and Stark smiles warmly. But he then reaches out to muss up your hair, "We all get hurt sometimes Jeanne, sometimes so much it feels like we are going to die. But if you close yourself off to everything you could experience, you will miss out on many wonderful things. Personally, I think it takes way more courage to open one's heart, than it does to close it."

"I'm glad that you like it, I figured now that we work together, and you've been so nice to me, you would probably tolerate it if I did. I was hoping you wouldn't take it as disrespect, and I am glad my assumption was right." She freezes as Tony reaches to muss her hair, perhaps not having expected the gesture, and looks up into his eyes when he speaks. "I will consider your words," is all that Jeanne says to it, before starting to swivel towards the computer again, "I really need to finish this little project so I can impress Dr. Meglan tomorrow morning...can we continue this conversation another time?"

Stark pulls his hand away. Soft hair. In some ways, Finesse is still a kid, it is little things that remind Stark of that. "Not a problem," and he smiles warmly. "I look forward to speaking to you again soon." Stark starts to walk away, but he pauses before exiting the lab and turns to look at you. "By the way, Iron Man said hello and that he was impressed with how you handled yourself when you could have easily been overwhelmed." With that, Stark leaves the lab and you in peace to head up to his penthouse to shower.