One of these Things doesn't Belong - OTA

[a_soul_awake]

Honestly, Hope had no idea what Tony was thinking when he volunteered her to work with this group. There was nothing to engineer or build for them. Any army doctor could have told them how to set up a medical unit on their base. She was over qualified for this and bored with it. When she got back to California, she was going to make Tony pay

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[cantseethis]

It was astounding just how much this base had needed intelligent mindset with how things were run. They may as well have given the controls to a chimp on speed and said 'Good luck Ole boy'. But this was why they hired people to fix all of that. People like Dr. Chandler, and people like Atticus.

But much like their lack of organization, they also lacked supplies. One had to start somewhere, didn't they? If he was going to properly educate these mutants they were going to need a lot more than raw material, a room full of desks, and their open minds. Books would be nice for a change. And having finally gotten the approval to order whatever he had needed Atticus had taken to the commissary with a list to torture the base's pocketbook. Unfortunately for them books were expensive. Fortunately for the members? Atticus picked exceptional expensive books

[a_soul_awake]

"Good lord!" Hope jumped a bit. She had gotten lost in her sketching, as she frequently did, and honestly hadn't expected anyone to approach her.

She looked up to see who had addressed her. Atticus, she remembered he was a pleasant, intelligent man though his love of philosophy was something she didn't understand at all.

"I'm sorry," she said, trying to collect herself. "I was a bit lost in my own thoughts."

[cantseethis]

He stiffened lightly when she jumped, wondering if he should have approached that better. Atticus wasn't aware she scared so easily but he put that knowledge away for a later date.

"No, I apologize. I didn't mean to startle you." Though it is hard for him not to chuckle. He doesn't, but his smile has grown a great deal. "So it wasn't boredom then?"

[a_soul_awake]

She waved a hand. It wasn't his fault she could get lost in her own mind and he certainly wasn't the first to startle her. She didn't mind.

"Well, it was prompted by boredom. There's not much for me to do right now until the administration agrees to my plan." She looked down at what she was working on. "And I may have a second to submit after this."

[cantseethis]

"Oh?" His gaze shifted to the paper she'd been writing on. But he wasn't rude enough to try and look it over, so his eyes returned to hers. Atticus gave a small nod. "Unfortunately the administration does so like to take their time with matters. I'm sure it's all for good reason, and you'll get it approved soon enough."

Though when she mentioned she'd have to submit a second, his interest peaked again. Well alright. Now he had to be nosy. "May I ask what for?"

[a_soul_awake]

"It's an efficiency flow design. How to make the medical building work more efficiently in an emergency. Though that's the least of its problems." She turned the sketch towards him since he seemed interested.

He probably couldn't understand what all the little notes and arrows meant, but it was pretty obviously a sketch of a building.

[cantseethis]

When she turned the sketch towards him, Atticus stood up straight and moved closed so he could look it over. Pardon an extra moment so he can pull out his glasses to do so. "So I see."

He could understand some of the notes and arrows but he wouldn't sit there all day to try and figure it out. When he was done with his scan he returned eye contact, giving her a nod. "Very impressive. It seems to be an improvement to what they had deemed appropriate before. Hopefully a second submission won't be necessary."

[a_soul_awake]

"I think everything will come down to price." She turned the sketch back towards her, giving it a quick second look and then setting her mind to calculating the cost.

"My previous work with the military tells me that unless it's weapons there is no such thing as an unlimited budget." She was only slightly bitter that all of Tony's missiles and guns had gotten so much funding and her medical research had limited amounts.

omg i thought i responded to this five years ago, sorry D:<

[cantseethis]

"Of course." He agreed, inhaling sharply so he could better control the roll of his eyes that threatened to come. Money was such a nasty bastard.

Atticus curled his lips inward as he thought on her comment, folding his arms and leaning against the counter. "One would think so, but in truth it's whatever will bring in the most revenue, or highest on priority list. The priority, unfortunately, not always being what it should." He had little experience with the military before this. But an exclusive amount of experience with people, and how they thought.

it's okay. things happen. <3

[a_soul_awake]

She could tell he agreed with her on the money issue. It was nice to have someone on her side.

"The priority is weapons to win war." She had too much experience with Tony's weapons and that huge budget of his. No one could convince her otherwise. Weapons always came first in the military.

♥♥♥

[cantseethis]

Ah, yes. The artificial war raging within everyone's minds. The unstoppable war that would decide the fate of everyone's issue, man or mutant. Though there was no doubt that a war was fully possible, no one was idiotic enough to push things into the ballpark. Yet.

"The one that hasn't started yet?" Atti asked gently.

[a_soul_awake]

"Any war," she said with a slight shrug. The war that was coming would need vastly different weapons. "But the one that's coming, that will not end well for anyone no matter the weapons."

A long time ago she had a vastly different view, more optimistic and peaceful. After years with Tony, she saw things differently. War was inevitable. It would be ugly and bloody and the clean up even worse. There was nothing that could be done.

[cantseethis]

"Indeed it won't." He said with a heavy nod and an exhale. Atticus strongly hoped someone or something would step in to give a compromise, but there was too much fear, hate, and misunderstanding for that. It was a false hope, but not a vain one. All anyone needed was to be educated.

The professor liked to keep a positive attitude. He believed you got whatever you gave to the universe, positivity attracted positive actions. Anything was possible. "I hope the menial medical facility hasn't been boring you too bad. Not that it's bad no one has been injured, but I know I would lose my mind sitting in a lab all day."

[a_soul_awake]

"It is a little less challenging than I'm used to." It was incredibly boring. Insanely boring. There was no challenge to it, no thrill. It was way below her skill level. She was too polite to say it.

She was going to do her job and once it was done, leave. This wasn't her place. "Why are you here?" she asked, realizing she didn't know his purpose on this.

[cantseethis]

At least she was polite about it. Too few people were impolite, even when their intellect far expanded the boundaries of everyone else's maturity level. It made one wonder.

"Oh, to do what I do best. At least I hope it's what I do best." He said with a smirk. "I educate those who weren't able to get the proper education they deserved with everyone else. And to speak for the MRE when they need. Loose ideas and sentences need someone with a...more gentle tongue to put what needs to be said together properly. I'm sure you're quite familiar with that."

[a_soul_awake]

Even after all these years of friendship and working for Tony Stark Hope had managed to hang on to her manners. She was nothing if not polite.

She chuckled a little, rather amused by his wording. She could see why they would pick him to speak for the MRE. "I am familiar with the concept, yes. Are you kept busy then? I don't know what the educational demographic is here."