Job Interview (for Scott Summers and Emma Frost)

[a_sloane]

It was an odd thing to reflect on: the last time he had applied for any kind of position had been decades ago. Not counting all the counterfeits, of course, but all serious positions had been offered to him since then, and of course his profession had, in essence, remained the same.

(In the field, he had posed as a teacher, in Columbia. It had been an interesting and rewarding assignment, though for reasons that had nothing to do with teaching and everything with the first Rambaldi manuscript he aquired on the occasion.)

Maybe this was an assignment, too. He still had that hole in his memory, though so far he had known better than to go against his own instructions. Remember Julia. He did. He did far too well not to listen. But based on what he knew, he had no other reasons to apply for a teaching position at Xavier's than intellectual curiosity and the need of a challenge. Sloane could not abide stagnation. Besides, if the past in whichever form did catch up with him, it could be more than useful to be among people who had various interesting and lethal superpowers at their disposal. Granted, he'd have to win their loyalty first, but then again, that, too, was part of the challenge.

Finding an acceptable restaurant in the Westchester County wasn't difficult. His own inclination was to look for an Italian one, so he went for French in order not to be predictable. It reminded him of Zurich, and Judy. Well. One could hope that this particular dinner would have simarly rewarding results. At the very least, he would meet two of the more intriguing people he had corresponded with; one of them with clear mentor issues, and the other well versed in sarcasm and the guilt of survival.

Weren't all new beginnings filled with nostalgia?

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[a-sloane.livejournal.com]

There is no satisfaction that his gamble has worked, that there are no more enquiries about his past; the sense of having failed Nadia is too profound right now. Graves without headstones, Emma says, and he thinks of his other daughter, his first daughter, Emily's child, dying after a few breaths, that child Emily had asked him never to talk about. With an effort, he focuses again. He doesn't have the resources of APO at his disposal anymore, or Marshall, so his information on Emma Frost and Scott Summers is limited to the officially available facts, but these do include several losses she could think of. It's something to consider later. Right now, it's time to get to the purpose of this little enterprise.

Sloane steeples his fingers.

"As far as conventional subjects are concerned, I'd suggest languages - Spanish, French and Italian, and Latin, though I am aware its practical use is limited. Still."

And in Latin, recalling her answer to his question about reading thoughts in other languages, he thinks:

"It offers a constructive and elegant exercise of the mind."

Which in itself is a little challenge and a test, as to whether not she continues to scan him. Out loud, he goes on:

"But I am aware your young students are in need of more than a scholarly education. These days more than ever, considering their lessened number and the the heightened public hysteria about, shall we say, people with gifts. Now I have no doubt that your current staff already includes experts on martial arts. But do they include strategists, Emma? I won't waste your time by being coy. The majority of my life was being spent coming up with scenarios to infiltrate and destroy anything from goverments to terrorist groups. That's what I was trained for. And you know much better than I do that mutants are being regarded as enemies by either, and sometimes at the same time. I know how both sides think, Emma, and I could prepare your students on how to deal with both."

The waiter, having withdrawn as soon as dead daughters were mentioned, returns and asks whether they want to order. Sloane tells him to leave the menu and wine lists here and give them some more time to consider. Then he leans back in his chair, intent gaze now going from Emma to Scott.

"As for my own interest in you... as I said, I don't want to be coy, so I'll skip general fascination with change and mystery. To teach is to learn, as much as it is anything else. I could learn from you and your students. I want to."

And then he looks at Emma again and thinks: Not least because I have reason to believe I am fundamentally changed on a genetic level, very recently.

And he gives her an image that comes from the period shortly after his memories begin again, after he decided to put what was claimed in the letter he left to himself to the test: he can't die anymore. It is not an immediate process - if he cut his skin now in front of them with a knife, it would take some time to heal - but it is there, and works, no matter how severe the wound. Immortality. Though he can't remember anymore how and when he achieved it.