Zelda checked her watch, 1:13am. She was a little tired, but her adrenaline was running pretty high. She had come straight to Xavier's Sister School for Gifted Youngsters right after she got off a 14-hour shift. This was the third time she had carefully snuck into the Xavier's Sister School for Gifted Youngsters to meet with Doc Prof. She rubbed her eyes gently as she began packing the blood samples into her iced coolers. Doc Prof helped by putting a "Biohazard" sticker on the coolers.

Zelda was super excited to dig more into this research - how can we use the X-Gene to help cure diseases? Stop chronic illnesses? Help individuals heal or at least survive in the initial impacts of gunshots, stabbings, or getting run over? Help humans and mutants alike overcome hard, deadly diseases. Maybe there would be a way. There was so much potential.  Not to mention at her excitement for using an experimental CRISP gene editing software. How could she make the X-Gene and immunology work together to help people, medically? It would a miracle if she could find a way to utilize both. She totally didn't have a god-complex or anything. 

Zelda had a series of meetings she had to attend the previous day, so she had her hair braided and off on her right shoulder. She wore a more formal and less comfortable medical outfit. Needless to say, her feet were killing her but she forgot her sneakers. Suffering was a must at this point. Not to mention, it was pretty darn hard to sneak around in heels. At least she looked good as hell, though. 

Her research was still in its infancy. Of course, on that same note, this research could be used for a lot of bad, dangerous stuff. Some bad people in the world would probably try to manipulate this research into trying to bio engineer diseases to either kill, harm or severely maim. It could be used to locate healing type individuals. It could be used by both mutants and humans to well, kill people. Zelda was well aware of the dangers her research posted, especially regarding interactions between certain corporations and government agencies. She in college still during the mutant registration act and remembered how quickly her friends would go missing. Her deceased best friend had a visible mutation - he had antler like bones that grew out of his head. He was quickly taken and subsequently killed in one of the camps. So, Zelda had talked with her direct supervisor, someone she knew was an avid mutant rights supporter (and a mutant himself) about her desired research. He agreed and had the CEO agree to the funding based on a general overview but that the research had to be tightly controlled and even the CEO couldn't know the full knowledge. Lucky for her, the CEO agreed.

So here she was, gathering medical research on various mutations. She had created a fake database with fake names, fake backstories, and fake locations in the event someone tried to ever locate the participants. Someone would already have their DNA, so at least they wouldn't be able to easily locate them. She had installed an auto-wipe on all of her research files, too - after 10 unsuccessful passwords attempts, all research files would be purged. Zelda knew how important it was to cover her tracks. She also tried her best to avoid having the participants come into the hospital for testing, but usually, it had to happen. She always made sure to inform them of very strict dress requirements - ball cap, look at the ground, something to cover the lower portion of their face, preferred sunglasses, and all black clothing covering all their skin. She would meet them outside and guide them to her research station. 

She had heard through the internet fringes about SUPER, a shady government branch involved in less than ethical research, and tracking of mutants. She knew it was a pretty conspiracy but she knew in her gut it was a real organization that was not looking out for the best interests for mutants or even really humans in the end. She had no proof, but she felt like it was a real threat - not only to mutants in general but to her research and her volunteers. 

Doc Prof grabbed her arm as she was putting some of the coolers into her larger bag that supposedly kept things, well, cooler. "You know you have to be very careful with this type of data, right? DNA and such." He had a serious, concerned look. Zelda nodded, "I know. I'm taking every precaution I can. I'm hopeful that unless they have a bio sample of you, no one would ever be able to locate you or any of the other volunteers. It is a risk, though. If you're not comfortable, I can destroy your samples..." He shook his head, patted her on the shoulder and told her goodnight.

Zelda put her black hoodie on, pulling it over her face as she, as quietly as possible considering her heels, began retracing her steps to the back where her Toyota Highlander Hybrid awaited her. 

(OOC Stephanie Graves) 

School was back in session, which meant Nate was returning another task to keep his plate balanced. He still remembered the Nate who was characterized by his aversion to responsibilities. As a thief, Nate’s “priority” was to prepare for a job, taking all variables into account. Once he laid the groundwork, it was all about execution. With a score under his belt, Nate would usually relax and lay low, enjoying the spoils of his hard work. It was a cycle of thrill-seeking and pleasure-seeking behavior on a loop, and for a long time, that was good enough.

Of course, Nate was now an older, more legitimate member of society. He had responsibilities to Haven, to the Mansion, and to his daughter. Slowly, without realizing when he flipped the switch, Nate became a workaholic, jumping from one responsibility to another. It was worth noting that he enjoyed those duties: Haven’s work was meaningful, he loved teaching art at the Mansion, and Norah was the best part of his new life.

His new schedule simply did not have the time for windows of leisure or pleasure-seeking like his old life allowed. Nate occasionally snuck away for a short trip to the bar, and he was finally starting to appreciate the single life again, but those moments were rare. It was more likely one could find Nate putting in extra time on one of the three aforementioned aspects of his life.

Nate could not recall how he managed to stay at the Mansion so late. Classes were a given. Then there was a meeting with the rest of the teaching staff, followed by a one-on-one tutoring session with one of his more promising art students. He wrapped the lesson up and returned to his desk, checking emails from both his jobs, ordering supplies, and looking through some news articles centered around the New York art scene he was still breaking into slowly but surely.

At some point Nate checked the clock in the bottom-right corner of his screen. He had occupied himself with work and the internet until it was almost one in the morning. He cursed under his breath as he locked his office, conscious of the students’ right to leave their rooms at night.

The hall was dimly lit and abandoned. Well, with the exception of Nate, of course. And…

Whoever was stepping out of DocProf’s office.

The infirmary was around the corner from the office, so Nate peeked his head around to get a peek. Black hoodie, face obscured, slinking around the middle of the night. All the hallmarks of a thief in the last place Nate expected to run into a thief.

The light in the hallway was just strong enough to allow Nate the ability to shift into his shadowform. As his skin gave way to semi-opaque darkness, Nate melding into the ground, following along behind the figure of a woman.

Doing his best to stay flush with her shadow, Nate’s echoey, sing-song voice spoke. ”Someone clearly doesn’t know when office hours are.”[/slategray] The reverberating quality of his voice and his proximity to the intruder would make it hard to initially place where it was coming from. He had questions, but how often did he, of all people, get to screw with a thief?

Zelda was doing her best to be as quiet as possible as she sneaked through the hallway. Her heels, however, still made their natural noises. She cursed under her breath, realizing how dumb it was for her to not have a pair of sneakers in her car. She has a black hoodie and all sorts of other things, but not a pair of sneakers? Dumb.

>> ”Someone clearly doesn’t know when office hours are.”

Zelda let out a small scream, her right hand covering her mouth quickly. Her body jolted upwards a little and her hairs stood on end. Holy Moly, what was that? It sounded loud enough to be right behind her She looked around her surroundings carefully, then slowly whispered, “Who’s there?” It wasn’t until then that she realized she had heard the clanking of glass in her coolers. Oh no. Her mother had warned her not to do any crazy research, crazy stuff or it would come back to bite her. And look at the situation she was in now. 

Kneeling down on the ground, she opened the large cooler bagand took the actual coolers out. Most of the vials were fine, but it looked like a few slipped out of the ice and hit each other. She examined each vial carefully. No cracks, nothing shattered. She gave a sigh a relief, before packing them back into the cooler. Then she placed them back in her larger bag and put it on her shoulder.

“What was that noise? Why are you still here?” Doc Prof must have heard her little scream, his head sticking out of the infirmary – “You need to go and don’t be loud. Crazy girl, wearing heels to a recon mission.” He shook his head at her and shut the door again, clearly frustrated with Zelda's little scared performance.

She grumbled, “Well, yeah, easy for the guy to say.” Isn’t this what all the ladies do in the spy movies? She sighed. Spy movies wasn’t real life and someone was watching her. She didn’t know why, who, or how she even saw her to begin with.

She slowly began walking towards the exit again. She made a couple turns here and there. She checked her time and wrinkled her nose. This sneaking business took way too long. Not to mention, she was actually a little sleepy.

She had a mission to complete and she would complete it no matter what. Even if she could feel someone watching her. Her skin was tingly all over, her fight or flight clearly wanted to go into the flight part of her instincts. Maybe if she just started running it wouldn’t create too much noise? 

Nate’s senses in his shadowform were dulled. He sensed pressure rather than touch, sounds were muffled, sight was dimmed, and smell and taste were non-existent. Fortunately, he had the benefit of being able to keep himself quite literally under the intruder’s feet to get a better understanding of what he was dealing with. Naturally, he noticed the high heels first; even with his muted hearing, the clacking was the only sound filling the hall. Right away, he knew he was not dealing with a professional thief. Aesthetics mattered in other aspects of life, but burglary was all about practicality. Every female art thief and cat burglar he ever met would not be caught dead wearing heels on a job.

There were simple pleasures to having a mutation that turned one into a horror movie plot device. Whoever he was dealing with, she startled easy. It was not her fault—movies trained everyone to innately fear and distrust a disembodied voice. She screamed and whatever she was carrying made several sharp clinks.

Nate slipped onto the wall behind the woman and watched as she knelt to check on what he was pretty sure were glass vials. Vials from the infirmary, which served an almost exclusively mutated clientele. Whatever she was carrying, Nate had a bad feeling in his stomach, or would have if he had a stomach in shadowform.

He almost emerged from the wall, but before he could, Nate was surprised by the appearance of DocProf talking to the intruder. That was a twist. Nate spent some time with the resident healer and he always seemed like a sweet, well-intentioned old man. Could Nate have misread him so poorly? Nate still needed to know more, because if DocProf was not on the up-and-up, valuable medical information could end up in the wrong hands.

Nate returned to the woman’s shadow as she resumed walking. Did he notice her pace picking up? She did have a bit of a fright, did she not? Maybe she still felt eyes on her, not knowing where they were. He considered tripping her, but for all he knew, the vials contained something too valuable to destroy.

So instead, Nate would prey on the woman’s sense that something was not quite right. He would extend a shadowy arm across the floor to crawl up the wall, just in the corner of her vision, making sure to pull away before she could look to see if something was there or if her eyes were playing tricks on her.

”This feels hypocritical, but are those your bottles? You seem… skittish. Paranoid. Certainly not innocent.”

Zelda didn’t like this instinctual feeling she had going on. Like someone’s eyes were on her, watching her every move. She could feel her heart beat begin to race, her skin feeling a little clammy. It was time to get out of here, as soon as possible. Zelda knew she had a relatively long time before the ice melted but the sooner she got it placed in her little secured fridge at the hospital, the better.
She did notice she was getting even more careless – she was moving faster. She could see the large back exit now, but it was down a large hallway. Why did this place have so many hallways? And why did she keep seeing things in the corner of her eyes, like shadows? Maybe this was just the beginning of a really bad dream?

>> ”This feels hypocritical, but are those your bottles? You seem… skittish. Paranoid. Certainly not innocent.”

Zelda stopped, she was only about halfway to the exit. She took a deep breath, calming her body. “Yeah, well, if a voice started talking to you when you can’t see them wouldn’t you be a little skittish and paranoid? Sudden onset schizophrenia isn’t pretty common. And yes, they were donated to me by a very important person.” She shot back towards… Wherever, actually. What did he mean hypocritical? She had no idea where the voice came from and really didn’t care at this point. She was annoyed, frightened, and startled but was ready to get this over with. She thought about finding a bathroom and just destroying the samples and coming back another time, but she was so close to the exit that she paused.

The intruder was affected by Nate’s lingering presence, taking quicker steps through the halls of the Mansion. She knew enough about the layout of the school’s hallways to move herself toward the exit. Maybe she had been there before? The Mansion was not so private it refused visitors, though they usually came during the daytime hours with advanced notice to the staff. Something still struck Nate as suspicious about the whole endeavor.

At the sound of his voice, the woman stopped in her tracks. He had to halt himself before he accidentally continued on past her, exposing himself. She took her turn to speak, surprising Nate with some attitude. It was impressive; in a horror movie, it was also a great way to get one’s self killed, but luckily for her, Nate was not actually some monster lurking in the shadows. He was just an ex-criminal and a teacher… lurking in the shadows.

According to the woman, her vials were “donated” to her by an important person. Was she talking about DocProf, or was someone in the background, pulling strings? Then again, she did sound indignant when he implied she was doing something wrong. More questions were being raised and the woman with the answers was no longer walking toward the exit. Nate was starting to believe he obtained as much information as he could about the situation as a disembodied voice. It was time to talk face-to-face.

Then again, Nate did not need the woman running. He slipped in front of her, still flat like any other shadow on the ground. His body slowly took shape, emerging from the ground like he was breaking through the surface of water. As his body formed, the area where his foot would be emerged as an amorphous mass of shadow, forming and constricting around the woman’s ankle. His leg was malleable enough to spare some mass to keep her tied down just in case. After all, she was watching a man made of shadows form in front of her eyes.

As he met and surpassed her eye-level, Nate folded his arms. ”And what kind of ‘donation’ does someone sneak into a Mansion for at one in the morning?”

Zelda waited for a reaction, knowing it wouldn't take long for it/him/her whatever to say something again. She was trying to channel all her anxiety about the situation into anger. Maybe she could deck whoever it was? She could presume it was a mutant, and most likely was, so it could be... Well, anything. Maybe they can change the location of their voice? Maybe they were a lizard with normal sounding voice? A fly? She sighed, deciding to wait. 

She felt something on her ankle and her eyes went wide. She watched, agape, as the man began to form in front of her. She let out a small scream before calming down. If he was going to hurt her, he would have already. It's not like she had any defenses at this point. It was strange, watching the shadow man slowly appear as his body regained a silhouette shape. There had to be some type of molecular changes in his body to enable such a change - it would be great if she could get a sample of his blood, too. Too bad she was out of clean needles and she felt confident that DocProf had already went to bed. Maybe.

It made Zelda have goosebumps as she watched him. She eyed him down, arching one eyebrow. Shadows? It looked like he could merge into the shadows and out, but he was keeping part of his foot/leg thing wrapped around her. Interesting mutation. 

>> ”And what kind of ‘donation’ does someone sneak into a Mansion for at one in the morning?”

Zelda took a deep breath, swallowing her fear. It was a good thing she had always been exposed to mutants, even when she was a kid. Otherwise, she would probably be a lot more terrified. She would admit that it wasn't the most innocent looking situation but it was still dumb. She pulled her hoodie off of her and put it into other bag, which was more or less her purse. Her doctor's badge from the hospital was hanging from the pocket on her right breast. She folded her arms and arched her brow, "You call wearing heels sneaking? For a shadow man, I'd expect a little better guess," she retorted. She really was just trying to buy herself some time to make up an excuse or debating if she should be honest - he might work here? She couldn't really tell. He looked like, well, a shadow. Definitely wasn't a student. It might be safe for him to know her secret but she didn't know that yet. 

Nate had to give the woman credit; she may have let out a justified scream as he initially formed and shadow-shackled her leg, but she bounced back quickly. She regained her composure and soon, she was calmly surveying his appearance. As a man comprised of shadows, Nate understood himself to be quite the sight at first. The lighting in the halls was dim, so his form was not at its darkest and not entirely opaque. If the intruder looked at him very closely, she might even notice she could faintly make out whatever was behind him.

At the request for more information, the woman responded by pulling her hoodie over her head. As far as strategies went, stripping was unorthodox, but undeniably effective if she was hoping to catch Nate off guard. Without the hoodie, he quickly pieced together the obvious based on the outfit and the badge: he was dealing with a doctor.

A sassy doctor at that! If Nate was going to be dealing with someone past midnight, he was almost glad she was at least going to keep things interesting. ”I don’t know; I’ve known some pretty s****y thieves in my day,” he replied. It was a joke based on fact: he never knew a burglar who would wear heels, but there were plenty of amateurs Nate knew he would be their own undoing.

Nate eased his posture with the news of the woman’s profession, but he was not about to let her off the hook. Doctors had every right to be as shady or dangerous as criminals—particularly for mutants, whose genetics were a defining trait. ”Okay, you’re a doctor. Admittedly impressive. But why would a doctor come to take medical samples from a school for mutants in the middle of the night without giving the goddamn staff a heads up?” Even she had to understand how shifty her activities sounded.

Celeste held firm, her sassy posture not budging. She could get why this guy was nervous, but he could have at least just asked her about it. That would be a lot more preferred than becoming a shadow, stalking her, scaring her out of her wits mind, and then finally appearing - in shadow form. That is what made her so uncooperative and angry, at least that is what she was telling herself. Really, Zelda was terrified that somehow the government or some shady organization would get involved and find her research & locate the individuals. It would be hard for them to do so with all of her safety precautions, but anything can happen. All they need is a mutant with good hacking skills and there really isn't much she could do. But she could save so many lives with her research.

>> ”I don’t know; I’ve known some pretty s****y thieves in my day."

She nodded her agreement, "That doesn't surprise me. Does it take one to know one? You kind of have a built in advantage though, don't you? Being a shadow and everything. Why don't you show your actual self?" She dared him. She really needed to make a decision: lie or confess.

Zelda could see his shadowy posture relax a little, which in turn made her relax some. The tensions between the two adults simmered a little, which was a good thing. She rubbed her temples, frustrated that she had to even deal with this guy. But ultimately, was he someone she could trust with her secret? And not to mention, DocProf since he would have to be explained as well?

>> ”Okay, you’re a doctor. Admittedly impressive. But why would a doctor come to take medical samples from a school for mutants in the middle of the night without giving the goddamn staff a heads up?”

She let out a sheepish grin, enjoying the praise. She was very proud of being a doctor. "Top of my class, fellowships, and nearly scored perfect on my boards. Not to brag or anything." She sighed, "I did give a staff member a heads up - I have been here a few times before. There's no other reason than DocProf to know I'm coming." She paused, biting her lip for a moment. She was going to trust this guy. He was worried about the samples being used for a more nefarious purpose. That made her relax tremendously. That means he wouldn't tattle to SUPER, if he even knew what that was. Even she wasn't all that sure. 

"I'll tell you why, but we need to go somewhere quiet where no one else can hear us. I don't want to risk anyone's safety and plausible deniability is a tremendously safe argument. While probably not, it could also be dangerous for you to know. I'm a little paranoid about it," she shrugged, "but you never know." 

The doctor was clever, as one would expect, given her profession. She did not miss a beat at Nate’s implied familiarity with the criminal element. He was fine with her connecting the dots because the Mansion, Haven, and the police all knew about his past. Why would he care if a doctor he did not know was not aware of his past crimes? He almost corrected her, pointing out that, back then, he could only control his shadow, not turn into a shadow, but it seemed like an unnecessary detail. ”I have a colorful past, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m the one who works here, and therefore, the one making demands.” She also did not need to know that, to shift into his shadowform, he had to leave almost all his clothes back near his office. Shifting back to a human form meant trying to intimidate her in his boxer-briefs.

According to the Doctor, whose name was evidently Zelda if Nate was reading her badge correctly, DocProf was aware of her visit, which Nate already knew. He did take a moment to grumble, ”You’d think he’d consider giving the rest of us a warning…” What was anyone else supposed to think when a hoodie-clad figure was walking the halls alone at night?

Zelda was finally prepared to give Nate a better understanding of why she was at the Mansion, but sharing that information came with caveats. Something about what she was doing had her nervous—and by her own admission, paranoid. Nate had no clue what the woman’s deal was, but she certainly knew how to create hype for something. His curiosity was outweighing his caution.

”Okay, okay, fine.” Nate released Zelda’s ankle, but before his foot was even done reforming, he was taking her by the wrist with a shadowy hand. He led the doctor to the nearest classroom’s door—the English class, if he remembered the building’s layout correctly. He opened the door, reaching around the frame carefully, looking for the pressure of the light switch panel. Some light was spilling in from the hallway, but if he extended too far and put part of himself in the total darkness, his body would unshift, which would be less than ideal.

With the room lit, they both stepped in and Nate closed the door behind them. Moving further into the classroom, he leaned against one of the students’ desks. ”Alright, we’re alone and Rebecca’s not the type to bug her own classroom. I can’t wait to hear this.”

Zelda clearly had a look of frustration. She really needed to deal with this guy, ASAP. He didn't know she wasn't a mutant and he didn't know really anything about her. The only thing she did know was that he clearly would defend the privacy and medical information of the students and faculty of the Mansion, which made him relatively okay in her eyes. Except for the whole trapping her.

>> ”I have a colorful past, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m the one who works here, and therefore, the one making demands.”

She shrugged, "I'm the one with the information you're wanting. Not to my fault if you're too lousy to make a deal." 

>> ”You’d think he’d consider giving the rest of us a warning…”

She only barely heard his mumble, but she heard something about 'giving' and 'warning.' "Look, DocProf is looking out for you guys. He cares and would never endanger the school, the students, or the faculty here." It came out sincere. She knew that was the truth, so she nodded a confirmation to him with a smile. That was actually the first smile she even gave him. She stared right into his shallow eye areas. She thought it was his eyes, at least. If there was only some way she could get this over with faster than later.

DocProf was an amazing guy. He had given his blood, DNA samples, all sorts of things to help Zelda further medicine. He even brought in his expertise. Once she convinced him to help her with her research, she nearly shouted in joy. He was a respected healer and doctor.

>> "Okay, okay, fine."

She nodded, "Thanks." She followed the shadow man dutifully. He had her wrist, so there was no point in trying to escape now. She sighed, scratching the back of her head with her free arm. She couldn't help it but her face quickly turned more inquisitive as he carefully leaned around the entrance of the classroom. Huh. Shadows. Light and shadows. Ohhh. Like a light bulb, Zelda had a plan. It wasn't an escape plan because she couldn't see in the dark, but it would see if her hypothesis about the shadow man was true. But first, she needed to get the door closed and make sure she's close enough to the light switch.

She followed him only slightly into the room and waited until he closed the door. She turned back and made sure it was locked.

She looked like she was going for one of the upper far right seats, but stopped quickly near the light switch. She watched the shadow man lean against the students desks. She had no idea who Rebecca was, so she didn't waste anytime with responding to his comment. "I can't wait to see this, actually," She replied, before quickly reaching over and flipping the light switch off. She needed to leave it off for a few moments, so she moved back against the wall the best she could. She probably needed to reassure him so he wouldn't completely freak out, "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I'll still tell you everything." But she wasn't quite ready to turn the light back on yet. 

Nate watched expectantly as Zelda entered the room, moving toward one of the chairs to take a seat of her own. He was doing his best to be patient, but his complacence turned out to be his mistake, as Zelda stepped back toward the light switch near the door. It took a moment for her thought process to click in his head, and Nate was on his feet, trying to cross the distance between them before—

Click!

Nate stumbled through a step as the change of his body hit him suddenly. It was a momentary sensation of shock throughout his body as it regained feeling and function. The effect was disorienting because it was unexpected; he inhaled sharply as breathing returned to him and his body felt cold as blood remembered to circulate. He was just lucky he was not bending his form when the lights were cut, or he would be unconscious on the floor of Becca’s classroom in his underwear. Not an easy one to explain away in the morning, surely.

Somehow regathering himself through the sheer power of annoyance, Nate stepped toward where he knew the light switch was. He reached for the switch only to find Zelda’s hand still resting on it. Her presence did not slow him down as he grabbed her hand and used it to flip the power back on.

The lights flickered back to life, revealing a half-naked Nate standing face-to-face with Zelda. He was almost looming over her, given their height difference, and his expression was unamused. ”I sincerely hope your explanation includes a brief tangent justifying your need to be a pain in the ass.”

She smirked as the silhouette ran over to her. Too bad it was too late. 

The next thing she knew she felt something on her hand and she willingly let it flip the light back on. It took a moment for her vision to readjust to the light - it was so dark and the sudden light hurt her eyes a little. 

She scanned the shadow man, top to finish. Wow, he was really attractive - those muscles, eyes, the general sculpture of his face. And those boxer briefs. In different circumstances, she would love to have a drink with him. Once she got a feel of him, she looked him directly into the eyes, a slight smirk on her face. Now that he was an actual person, she actually felt a little guilty. When he was just a shadow, she didn't really make the human connection to him.

Now that he was right in front of her face, their eyes locked, it made her feel a bit strange and slightly intimidated. Zelda wasn't one to buckle under pressure though and made no show of being afraid. Of course, on the inside, she was anxiety ridden.

>> ”I sincerely hope your explanation includes a brief tangent justifying your need to be a pain in the ass."

She nodded, "Of course. I asked for you to show your true form, and now you did. Please, sit." She waved to the closest seat to her before she began her tangent. "I'm a Doctor at New York- Presbyterian/Lower Manhattan Hospital, as you can tell from my badge. I'm Dr. Gray or Dr. Zelda, whichever you prefer. I'm also a research associate with the hospital." Presuming he sat, she moved and placed her hands on the desk, looking into his face. If not, she continued to look him into the eyes.

"My research is very sensitive- I'm trying to find a way to use the X-Gene in immunology to help prevent or cure diseases or stop fatal gunshot/stab wounds. For example, with Doc Prof, if I examine his blood on the genetic level, it shows what exactly makes his X-Gene tick. If I can replicate that, I and pharmaceutical companies can form treatments for illnesses and such." She hated the pharmaceutical industry though, and it was probably evident by her voice when she said the word. "Anyways, it's not using mutant DNA to find a cure for the X-Gene - in fact, there is no way it could be used to do that. It's strictly to find out if it's possible to use the X-Gene in humans, potentially modify and insert into harmless viruses OR genetically engineer a persons immune system cells to replicate the powers. We may be able to do all of that, but we also have to find out how to mass produce the sample. Which is a whole other issue," She took a deep breath, waving off the last part of her statement.

She arched a brow, "As you can tell, this research could fall into dark hands. That's why I sneak around at 1 am in the morning. That's why I'm making you show yourself. It's why I'm a 'pain in the ass.' This research can potentially save millions of lives but if it falls into the wrong hands, like SUPER, it could cause some serious issues." She stepped back and leaned against the desk behind her. She hadn't realized she mentioned SUPER until after the fact. He probably didn't know much about the group anyways. Not to mention, plenty more to tell him to get his focus off that part. She really didn't want to go into what is technically a conspiracy theory that she just felt was real. "I have several fail safes in place in the event that someone unauthorized tries to access my research - from my supervisors, to the CEO of my company, to any other person who attempts it in. It's also on a closed network, so no hacking can happen. Every person who I get samples from are volunteers and I make extraordinary efforts to ensure their anonymity. I keep no personal information on the individuals. I create a fake name, a fake backstory, fake birthdays, etc. I memorize the real person and the fake person so I don't mix them up. If anyone somehow got into my records, they'll find a bunch of dead ends." They would have the samples, of course, and the genetic imprint. However, this would be useless for anyone unless they already had a copy of their DNA/blood. She wasn't about to mention that to him though. 

"So, umm.. Any questions?" 

Now that Nate was unshifted, he could look Zelda right in the eyes, more clearly expressing his frustration toward her little light experiment. Her response, of course, was to smirk. Well, look him up and down, then smirk. He wanted to be more annoyed with her, but she was rolling with the punches so easily, it was hard not to be impressed. She may have received some leeway because she was attractive, now that Nate was getting a better look at her as well. She justified her actions, more or less explained that she asked nicely once. Nate rolled his eyes, but he ended up returning the smirk. She commanded him to take a seat, and while he grumbled, ”I’m pretty sure I’m the teacher here,” he obliged her nonetheless.

Nate focused on Zelda’s explanation, because there was a lot of it to focus on. She was a doctor and a research associate at a local hospital working to apply the X-Gene to the medical field. DocProf was the one giving her samples of his own blood for the sake of research. She almost winced when bringing up pharmaceutical companies, but he understood they were a necessary evil in her plan.

Zelda was aware of the value her research could have for beneficial and malicious applications alike. Any time something good was created, man would seek to find a way to use it for evil. She mentioned SUPER, which caused Nate to quirk an eyebrow. It was included so fluidly in her explanation, but it made no sense. In context, Nate had to assume she believed there was some kind of organization who could misuse her research. While he was unaware of a group called SUPER, he had to acknowledge that, with the advent of the rift, new people and groups were starting to assimilate to their world. It was something to tuck away and possibly bring to the Inner Echelon of Haven.

The monologue of an answer ended, and Zelda was so unsure of how to close it, she actually asked for questions. Nate chuckled at the professionalism on display. ”A few, but excellent seminar, doctor,” he teased, getting back to his feet. ”So… you’re human.” He surmised as much from the way she talked about the X-gene as something separate from herself. ”And you’re using mutants for research—but only on a voluntary basis, in an ethical way, and for the greater good?”

He looked Zelda over, reading her expression to look for possible telltale signs of lies. He had already set aside any awkwardness about standing before her, having a serious conversation in his underwear. ”Is that the long and short of it?”

Zelda's confidence rose as the man sat as he was told and listened, realizing she now had some authority over him. It wasn't like she was getting tied to a damn shadowy hand thing or foot thing now. They were equals. With her slightly above him, at least since he was in his boxer briefs - which Zelda did not mind at all. It was pretty exciting to see a half naked guy in a classroom. Right like in all those movies. Anyways, her mind needed to focus.

>> "A few, but excellent seminar, doctor,”

She chuckled, her posture relaxing even more now that she was no longer in lecture mode. She couldn't help but like the guy now that she could actually see his facial expressions and his posture. She actually felt like they could get along pretty well.

>> ”So… you’re human.”

She nodded a confirmation, "Correct - no X-Gene in me. Strictly normal. However, I am an avid mutant rights supporter. And, of course, believe we should all just get along." She knew that wasn't possible, not with the type of organizations and people that existed in their world, but it was the only view she could have. Whether it ever happened, was another story. The Holocaust was only 80 years ago and there are still Nazi's. It's simply in human and mutant nature. No matter how much medicine or fixes anyone tries, you can't fix nature. She noted his curious expression at her mention of SUPER. She might explain the details she'd dug up once she knew him better but for now, she was going to keep that to herself. After all, she didn't want him to think she was entirely paranoid. Technically, she had no proof such an organization existed. 

>> ”And you’re using mutants for research—but only on a voluntary basis, in an ethical way, and for the greater good?”

She nodded another confirmation, "That's right - I would never force anyone or keep their samples without their consent and explicit knowledge regarding the situation. Usually, they come to the hospital but I have a strict dress code I require from them before I let them enter." She paused, her face softening, "You'd be surprised at how many people want to use their abilities to help people but are stopped because of the rest of the jackasses." She cleared her throat, "So, yeah, it's only for the greater good - these type of things can help cure and save humans and mutants alike. But like I said, I'm very careful to make sure no one knows the identities of the volunteers. Doc Prof is a 15 year old boy from Maine who's father drives him down every other month for samples, and his parents work at a local grocery store there." She even had even had fake photos made with celebrities faces all mixed together to help back the story up. "There's also an alert system on my phone that will send a signal to a colleague of mine who will automatically send out a warning to all participants to make sure they're aware if anything is breached." 

She took another breath. 

>> ”Is that the long and short of it?”

She nodded, and her face grew very serious. She looked him directly in the eyes, needing to know if he could be trusted. "I need you to promise me you will not tell anyone about this. I can tell you want to protect this school and that you're upset over a doctor carrying vials out. Its clear you know how dangerous it could be. And if you have too, please let me know so I can keep these people safe. They're risking so much."

She looked him over one more time, "Nice boxer briefs, by the way." She gave him a wink. "If you want, you can come with me to the hospital to drop these samples off. I can show you some more there. You might want to get some clothes first, though."