A Renewed Hope (JP)

Thomas chuckled half heartedly, "The reason I brought you up here is so we could have a conversation without walls listening in. It might surprise you to learn that not everyone has the same agenda at this facility."

Evie turned to face him, letting the light autumn breeze flutter her long curls a bit. All washed and detangled they actually looked beautiful, almost elegant. When the light hit them the right way, they almost shimmered purple. "What is your agenda?" She asked him, tilting her head to the side with curiosity.

"World domination of course." Thomas said this with a completely straight face. No change to his posture or demeanor. Then, slowly, a smile began to creep across his face. "No, nothing quite so dramatic. Evelyn, what if I told you that I believe you are profoundly special? That your abilities, rather than a burden or curse, were actually the manifestation of your genetic superiority? What would you say to that?" Thomas walked parallel to Evie, he was careful not to invade her space. His body language was deliberate, but subtle. Conveying all the correct non-verbal messages to elicit trust and security.

His suggestion at world domination had come off rather comical to Evie, but she kept such an opinion to herself, walking by him and keeping her distance. While she appreciated his admittance to it not being a real goal, she had a suspicion it wasn't too far from what he truly wanted. "Superior?" She inquired with a slight laugh at the end. "That's silly since almost every person I've met before you wants us all dead or worse. They made me do horrible things down there."

She recalled all the times they'd made her go through experiments, had her harm other mutants in an attempt to understand her power more. They'd even hurt her just to see how she'd defend herself with her power.

"I'm not sure how to feel about that, honestly." She admitted. "Me being superior just seems wrong. I just want to be free and see my father again. You people ripped me away from him." And he hadn't saved her yet.

Thomas nodded his head, "Yes, your treatment was certainly harsh. I'll admit there were abuses carried out against our protocols. The trials you endured were to help our understanding of your fantastic abilities. It's regretful that in order for us to learn the most, you had to endure the worst. That's over now. I assure you. As for my colleagues..." Thomas scoffed, "Most of them are knuckle dragging savages. Our organization is mostly populated by people with an anti-mutant political fervor, but those in my ranks share a different opinion. Unfortunately we can't procure the funding and government support we need for our research without appeasing the demagogues. I don't expect you to forgive what happened to you, but I believe you are intelligent enough to understand there's no point in dwelling on the past. The polio vaccine was developed by the Nazis, using political prisoners as guinea pigs. Everyone laments the Holocaust, but nobody refuses the vaccine. Do you understand what I'm saying Evelyn?"

Evie did understand, but that didn't mean she was going to trust these people either. "I do," She admitted and pulled the jacket tightly around herself. That nice cool breeze was now cold to her malnourished body. "What do you plan for me to do now? Couldn't I just kill you and leave?" She inquired, that urge to escape and run to her father still deep inside her mind. It made her feel pathetic how desperate she still was to return to the man who had not been able to save her. "Why help me get out of there?"

Thomas removed his blazer and wrapped it around Evie's shoulders. He could tell she wasn't adjusting well to the cold. "Yes, you could kill me. Quite easily as I observed downstairs. But as you said, I haven't given you any reason to harm me. If you did leave, where would you go?"

"I'd find my father," She replied as if that were the most obvious thing in the world. "I miss him..."

"Would you even know where to start looking?" Thomas asked, his voice almost empathetic.

No, she wouldn't know and she only offered a weak shrug in response to the question, looking away from Thomas. "I just know he works for you people." She said in a soft voice, surprised he could even hear her speaking them. There was an ache at the bottom of her heart just thinking about it. She missed feeling loved.

"I'm not leaving, though," She changed the subject back to before. "Not yet, anyway. So, what is it you want from me?"

Thomas smiled, "You're every bit as smart as I thought you were. Very good." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wanted poster of Lydia, then handed it to her, "I want you to find your father Evie." Thomas used her nickname this time.