"Wait here, please."

"Sure." 

She'd be lying if she didn't admit to herself that she was nervous. The Native might have come across as calm and collected from the outside, but this was her first ever job interview. She wasn't impervious to pre-employment jitters. 

"Woah, Boss... this looks like-" One of her sisters started up, while off to one side marveling at the room. 

"...I know. Don't bring it up." She stood smack in the middle of the room, arms crossed and static where she'd been left. She was getting all sorts of flashbacks from the last time she had been in the Danger Room at the school, and how well that had gone. 

L had filled her in on a few times before she'd contacted the origination about employment. The little death-proof Blonde hadn't been shy about it after they had completed their unintended job together. She'd been surprised that the place that marketed itself as charitable and upstanding- they had lavish parties with celebrities and all that, after all- was also looking to rule the block from behind the scenes. 

Don't get her wrong, she didn't disagree or anything. She just hadn't expected it. 

L had gone so far as to try and get her to agree to wear a suit to the interview, which the Native had firmly refused. She didn't belong in suits. Suits were for people who had images to protect, and she was fine with her image being what it was. She'd chosen her usual worn boots, clean black jeans with just a little stretch, one of her nicer shirts that she'd reluctantly bought for presentations in classes, and a warm, black sued jacket with a knit liner to keep the cold at bay. A purple and white geometric patterned wool scarf that one of her Aunties had made her was wrapped around her neck.

She shifted on her feet, adjusted canvas quiver on her back where her bow and arrows were held. Elke flipped one her her braids back behind her shoulder and locked eyes with the other clone for a moment. 

"You both better behave."

Supervising CLASS sessions was always a lot more fun than talking to people in offices. In the past few days Sveta had been sharing the interview process with Jude, both of them screening new applicants and comparing notes. It was good cooperation, since their powers represented two extremes, one boosting abilities and one canceling them. Sveta wanted people on her security force who could deal with both.

Today's applicant was somewhat young, but as long as she was legally an adult that was not really a problem. Jude told her the powers were useful, although the attitude could probably use some honing. Sveta wanted to see her in action, and she took time out of her schedule to run the CLASS tryout this time.

"I appreciate you showing up early" she noted as she walked in. She was wearing clothes she usually used for CLASS training; not quite her usual vigilante outfit, but not yoga pants either. She was told the applicant was already waiting for her, and she pulled her hair into a ponytail as she walked up. She noted two other people in the room. Clones. "Nice to meet you. Svetlana Sergeyeva, acting CEO. I'm going to be running your tryout simulation today. The secretary made you sign the NDA, right?"

She didn't have to wait long.

A blonde woman came in and from what she was wearing Elke could hazard a guess that she was going to be participating in some capacity. She dropped her arms from her cross to hanging loosely at her sides. "Of course."

The woman introduced herself, as the CEO of all things, and Elke's discomfort jumped from minimal to moderate. Oh @#$%. She was interviewing with the BOSS boss?

"Nice to meet you. I'm Elke Crawford, as you probably already knew." @#%&, was that stupid? That felt stupid.

She shrugged it off before it could show on her face.

Her two clones weren't doing as well as her though and we're trying very hard not to whisper too loudly.

"What's a ceo?"

"I dunno...is that like a BIG or a TLC?"

"Ooh, probably. Wonder what she sings."

One of Elke's eye's twitched.

"Yes Ma'am. Already signed." She pointed a thumb back toward the clones after a moment. "You can ignore them for the most part, they're just here to be tools or props."

Elke Crawford. She looked a bit awkward as she looked Sveta over. No wonder. It was one thing to interview for a job with a CEO, and another to actually be with them in a simulation tryout. But Sveta missed being more active in the field. Plus, this girl's powers were interesting.

>>"Yes Ma'am. Already signed."

"Good." if the tryout did not go as planned, they needed a small measure of keeping her powers a secret. It was more a legal and psychological tool than anything, but Haven liked to cross its T's.

The clones whispered to each other. Sveta shot them a curious glance.

>>"You can ignore them for the most part, they're just here to be tools or props."

"Clones, right? That's part of your power? Jude mentioned it" she nodded "Are you actively commanding them?"

The Native was surprised to hear Jude's name fall out of the woman's mouth. She hadn't seen him in quite a while.

One of her clones immediately started blushing and the other slugged her in the arm for it.

"Yep. Duplicates." She waved at hand back at them to get them to shut up. Both clones went ramrod straight and immediately silenced.

"They come out kinda stupid, but I've got 'em trained well enough."

She straightened a little while her clones shared a look. "I don't have any control of them outside of physical and verbal commands. We share an empathetic link, but no other."

The copies seemed to have a mind of their own. Or maybe they were representing parts of the girl's mind. Hard to tell, but it was interesting.

>>"Yep. Duplicates. They come out kinda stupid, but I've got 'em trained well enough. I don't have any control of them outside of physical and verbal commands. We share an empathetic link, but no other."

"So, they are permanent?... Can you make more?" Sveta wanted to get a bit more information before starting the tryouts. She called up the control panel to CLASS, putting in some notes to make the simulation work better. "One thing you will need to know is that my powers boost your powers. We'll see how that works out."

"They live for approximately 24 hours, after which they just melt."

"It's pretty gross!" One twin helpfully piped up, while the other just went quiet and seemed to struggle with the reminder of her own limited mortality.

Elke ignored them with practiced ease. "I can make a maximum of 3 dupes. A total of 4 of us."

"Never tried to make more!"

One clone elbowed the other, hard. "Nu-uh! Boss tried, remember? It gave her a wicked headache and nothing happen-"

Elke sighed through her nose, half turned and glared at them, and the two of them went absolutely rigid with fear and silent immediately.

She turned back to the woman, Sveta, after a moment of angry squinting. "...Power enhancing?"

She didn't know what to do with that information. How exactly would her specific power be enhanced?

"To be honest, don't really use my power a lot in everyday situations. It's easier for me to run solo. I generally tend to break them out for very specific tasks."

The clones were whispering, loudly again, about what 'enhancements', they would get from the woman's power.

"... Think we'll get buff?"

"... We're already buff."

>>"They live for approximately 24 hours, after which they just melt."

>>"It's pretty gross!"

It was beginning to get distracting, talking to three copies of the same girl, even if one of them was smarter than the other two. Sveta wondered how she dealt with her own clones on a daily basis. She tried to imagine what it would be like to have more Svetas around. She did not like the thought. Even if it was limited to four specimens.

>>"...Power enhancing?... To be honest, don't really use my power a lot in everyday situations. It's easier for me to run solo. I generally tend to break them out for very specific tasks."

"A lot of the enhancing depends on the type of contact" Sveta explained, holding up her gloved hands and ignoring the tittering clones "Skin to skin gives more boost than through clothes. We'll get to that in a moment. So... have you done any type of security work before? Do you have combat training?"

The Native eyed the gloved hands as they lifted. Not the first instance of someone with the need for them, wouldn't be the last time either. She filed it away for later.

"I've never done security specifically, but I have... side projects that I run frequently that deal with various aspects of what I assume this job will entail. I'm got good surveillance skills, I can follow directions given, and I am adept at multiple forms of combat."

She straightened a little and made direct eye contact.

"My dad is a prominent X-man. He trained me in almost everything I know, and I learned some stuff on the side on my own. I can hold my own against most people."

She hooked a thumb over her shoulder at the bow slung around her shoulders, "I am not classically trained with guns, but I have used them occasionally. I am more confidant with my bow or my slingshot. I am capable at non-lethal and lethal takedowns, if necessary."

"Ask L, she knows!"

One clone strayed too close and received an elbow back into her gut. She coughed and staggered away, and the both of them shut up for good.

Having useful powers was one thing; having experience with security was another. Granted, the latter was easier to make up for, and Jude had already promised to give proper training to the people they selected. But Sveta wanted to know where they were starting from, especially with someome this young.

>>"I've never done security specifically, but I have... side projects that I run frequently that deal with various aspects of what I assume this job will entail. I'm got good surveillance skills, I can follow directions given, and I am adept at multiple forms of combat."

"Good start." Sveta nodded. She could work with that, for now.

>>"My dad is a prominent X-man. He trained me in almost everything I know, and I learned some stuff on the side on my own. I can hold my own against most people."

"An X-man?" Sveta arched an eyebrow. Jesus Christ on a bicycle, the X-men were having teenage children now?

>>"I am not classically trained with guns, but I have used them occasionally. I am more confidant with my bow or my slingshot. I am capable at non-lethal and lethal takedowns, if necessary."

>>"Ask L, she knows!"

L. Of course. That woman got into a whole lot of shady stuff. Part of why Sveta liked her.

"Alright, then. We'll do a training simulation, and we'll see how you do"