Jemma Simmons is a terrible liar (needanewplan) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-08-20 11:23:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !partner thread, hank mccoy (beast), jemma simmons |
Who: Hank McCoy and Jemma Simmons
What: Recruitment
When: Recently (pre-Diablo Plot)
Where: Department of the Navy to tea shop
Warnings: Low
Status: Partner Thread | Complete
Today was one of the days where Jemma wasn’t in the lab as much. There were meetings to go to, paperwork to do. If there was one thing she missed about being just a regular scientist instead of running an entire division? It was the time in the lab. She would never change her position for anything, she took great pride in the work she did. Just sometimes she missed the simplicity of sticking to working in the lab and not having to worry about everything else.
Oh well.
Having kept tabs on local scientists, Jemma’s interest had been piqued by a Hank McCoy. They had interacted briefly on the network (which really was important given the work they did) and she was impressed by the articles he’d done. And it certainly wouldn’t hurt to get some fresh blood in the lab. So here she was at the Department of the Navy in Seal Beach being pointed to the labs where Dr.McCoy was.
Knocking on the door, the biochemist entered the lab.
“Dr. McCoy?”
Stars and garters! Hank certainly wasn’t expecting visitors, when he heard his name. In fact, he’d been in the zone (the same ‘zone’ he often fell into while at work or play - for him, work and play tended to be identical on many occasions), zipping back and forth between a hot plate, a microscope, and a computer with a ridiculously large touch screen. Currently covered with Excel spreadsheets, with about a million tabs opened on each. Just another day, really.
“Oh, hello!” he greeted sheepishly, striding forward, embarrassed for having been startled. Large baby blue eyes blinked behind his goggles, which he removed. In addition to the gloves he’d been wearing - but having them on wasn’t conducive to shaking hands. “Yes, Dr. McCoy. Hank McCoy. How may I help you?”
He hadn’t missed an appointment, had he? No. It would have dinged on his iPad calendar, with a reminder popping up at least fifteen minutes in advance.
Jemma well recognized both the ‘zone’, as well as the number of different things going on at any one time. She probably should have called ahead which for someone who liked being prepared for everything, was rather odd she hadn’t. Natasha must be rubbing off on her. Oh well, she was here now.
“Sorry for dropping in unannounced. My name’s Dr. Jemma Simmons. I was actually wondering if I could speak to you about a potential opportunity if you’d like to take it.”
Really, she was much better in the lab. Vaguely she recalled when Coulson had recruited her and Fitz following their graduation from SHIELD Academy. She should have brought cupcakes. Well, too late now.
“Ah, yes, Dr. Simmons! Nice to see you!” Hank remembered speaking with her on the network, and reading much of her own research. It was always nice to speak with other scientists with an expertise in biochemistry, a passion and love of his. Hence why he was here today. “And...oh, an opportunity?” he repeated, raising both eyebrows. Well, that sounded intriguing.
Quickly, he moved to sweep various stacks of papers and folders (a box of test tubes here, a notebook there) away from what looked to be an actual desk. Not that he sat in it very often, but it was still useful sometimes. “I’d love to sit and chat though unfortunately the lab isn’t the best place for this - however, I have a lunch break coming up if you’d like to step out?” He always took his lunch breaks elsewhere, even on the property - outside, on a bench, if he happened to bring his lunch with him. Simply because fresh air was good.
“Likewise.” She had enjoyed their conversation on the network, though with the whole bedrest thing, she’d soon gotten caught up in catch up work and everything else. Still, when there were those who could appreciate and understand the passion for biochemistry? It was always a good day and left a mark. “Indeed, an opportunity.”
So far, so good. Some people were quite content with where they worked so it wasn’t like Jemma would take personal offence to if Hank wished to stay where he was, but he was brilliant and also a Dreamer and his work was fascinating which made him ideal for the Agency if he so wished.
“Stepping out would be perfect.” This though was one of the benefits of not always being in the lab and having other things she needed to do, it meant that she was more likely to get outside and away for a bit such as lunch without needing Cosima to prod her into doing so.
Then that is what they would do! Hank had to admit that he was simultaneously intrigued by what sort of opportunity he was about to hear, and also thrilled to be getting out of the rather monochromatic building that was the Department of the Navy’s Seal Beach location - what could he say, he was easy to please. Not very complex.
Swapping his lab coat for a cardigan (so fashionable - Katherine would have snickered, no doubt) he made sure he had everything so he could get back into the building once lunch was over. “What are you in the mood for?” he asked Jemma. “There are a few options around this area - a nice cafe up the block for coffee, tea, and sandwiches. Or there’s a pizza place as well, and in addition to that...tacos.”
Depended how messy or heavy they wanted lunch to be. If you asked him, he could always go for coffee to fuel him for the afternoon. But it was ladies choice!
The cardigan may not be particularly fashionable, but it reminded Jemma of Fitz in some small way, and there would always be a part of her that missed her best friend from the dreams. Not that she would want him to suffer the dreams and what would come with them.
“I am quite the sucker for a good cafe.” Probably the Brit in her. Not that she minded being stereotypically British when it came to tea. If the tea was good, she was happy. Admittedly she had brought her own electric kettle to the Agency and had everything she needed for a proper cuppa, but that was neither here nor there right now.
“Excellent!” Hank nodded, and off they went. “It’s more of a tea lounge, I suppose - they sell tea with a side business of making sandwiches and sweet things,” he said. Smoothies too, a lot of selection to be found. He had been a few times and already knew what he wanted, what was good.
He pulled the door open for Jemma and then went in after her. The shelves and shelves of tea canisters were a nice sight to be greeted with upon arrival; he was definitely going to sample one of those teas, the Earl Grey de la Creme - black tea, vanilla, cornflower petals. It would give him the caffeine jolt he craved.
“I find I need something in the afternoon to power through. Of course, I usually end up staying late anyway, but,” he shrugged happily. “All in a day’s work!”
Tea lounge also sounded good. More similar to England than the cafes they had in the States. At least the ones she would go to. After all, there was always the need for a good sandwich or salad, or just something to eat while working on something and not being in the office.
“Sounds perfect.”
Following Hank, she stepped into the shop and nodded in approval of the selections. That would be the next question, did she want something new or would she go with proper English Breakfast tea.
“I understand that perfectly. I actually keep a kettle and everything in my office for that very reason.”
Now that sounded like a good idea. Hank kept a coffee pot (with more enhanced bells and whistles than you could shake a stick at, because of course he couldn’t not enhance most of his electronics) in his lab - both the work lab and personal lab - but having a kettle around might be a healthier option. At least when he didn’t need to be ingesting turbocharged road tar that masqueraded as coffee.
“Very smart, doctor,” he chuckled, retrieving his half sandwich and soup lunch, plus the delicious tea with steam still wafting, an motioning toward a secluded table by the window. “Well, shall we? I’m quite eager to hear what’s on your mind.”
A joint research project, maybe? That would be fun. He’d been working on many, especially one that had to do with the OC dreaming phenomenon - wasn’t the easiest thing to study, but coming up with some loose commonalities and conclusions would hopefully benefit others.
“Well, I do have my moments.” Which was probably an understatement. Though Jemma was also fairly certain that a few people would prefer she get rid of the kettle in her office so that she would actually leave the lab more often. Oh well, it wasn’t something that was going to change any time soon. So she picked up her own order of tea, half sandwich and salad and followed Hank to the secluded table.
“We shall.” Sitting down, Jemma waited until Hank was settled before going into what she had come to see him about. “I work for a government type organization in which we deal with and help during Orange County specific incidents. I actually run the science division there and was wondering if you would be interesting in working with us there. Good pay and benefits. We also have an area for items that may cross over which could otherwise be dangerous.” A lot of which had a tendency to show up from her world, what with AIDA’s head, splinter bombs, the monolith and the like.
“Oh! Well. Stars and garters,” was Hank’s initial reaction, admittedly, somewhat surprised. He hadn’t been anticipating a job offer - and he’d never even heard of this government-type organization which specialized in dealing with the Orange County uniqueness, those incidents, of which there were many.
It also sounded right up his alley, and he felt his heart beat a little faster at the prospect. This was an opportunity he would have to be a fool to pass up; he just needed to hear a little more about it, to get more facts. “I am very interested, Dr. Simmons, and pleased you sought me out,” he blushed - because Hank was nothing if not humble about his work, even if he’d accomplished more than a scientist his age usually would have. But he was not your average scientist. Working with others, other brilliant minds, it was exactly what he wanted.
“Speaking of items, ah. I’ve received plans and designs for the Blackbird jet, which features in my own dreams. It’s a jet I built and piloted but it has some rather advanced features useful to the X-Men, or perhaps other ‘superhero’ types. Is this...your place of employment someplace I may work on it, for the betterment of those who dream of course? I fully intend to have a jet be of use in times of crisis.” He was asking because while he knew that Katherine using compulsion to keep the project under wraps was necessary, he felt a little guilty and wouldn’t want to overuse such a skill. Just the way he was wired, the good-hearted nerd.
The Agency did have to be somewhat secretive given the people they worked with. The sort of people that the regular government would want to experiment on and study if they had the opportunity. Jemma was used to it because of SHIELD even if they hadn’t always been underground.
Though facts were not a problem at all for Jemma. She always liked to be prepared. And she well understood the feeling of accomplishing so much at a young age. She didn’t think much about it, it was simply part of her life experiences even if it did lead to awkward moments sometimes. Oh when I was sixteen I went to prom. How fascinating, I was creating a stimulant while preparing for finals at Cambridge at that age. Such was life though.
“That is definitely something that can be worked on there. Much of our equipment comes from the dreams and is far more advanced than you’d find elsewhere that we use in order to help.”
If they weren’t helping people, Jemma wouldn’t have been interested. Okay so the main selling point had been work with Director Carter and run her own lab. But if they weren’t helping people it wouldn’t have meant as much.
Helping people was important for Hank as well - he missed that aspect of his dreams, he missed his teammates. Things had changed so much since that initial mission in Cuba (and a part of him even here mourned the loss of Alex Summers, the one who’d given him the moniker of Beast) and where he last left off, he and Raven were teaching new recruits at the school. Seemed they could never be kept down for too long - that was a key element of being on the X-Men.
“Ah, wonderful,” he said excitedly, sipping on his tea. “I’ve been gathering data regarding the dreaming phenomenon as well. I don’t expect to have solid answers - “ Perhaps ever, but that was alright, “...but I enjoy digging into such an intense study. Would it be possible to come by and get a tour of your facility?”
“I know that feeling.” Because she did. Even though they weren’t really studying the how of the phenomenon, Jemma was definitely one who still did side projects to at least try and get some answers. Even if so far all results had come back as inconclusive. Though she supposed that would probably always be the case.
“And it would certainly be possible. I will gladly give you a tour of our labs and the facility.” As there was more than the labs. There were many different parts of the Agency and even though Science tended to keep to itself, they did also work with the others. Jemma often found herself doubling in Medical depending on the situation because of her expertise in xenobiology and familiarity with having to do emergency medical treatment in the field because of her dreams. Such was the life of a SHIELD agent, no matter their primary focus.
“I can’t wait to see everything,” and truly, Hank sounded like it was his birthday and Christmas combined. What a great day this was turning out to be! He was quite looking forward to telling Katherine about what had transpired. “Is tomorrow too soon, or...?”
Chomping at the bit for science. That was Dr. McCoy to a perfect T.
Laughing some, Jemma shook her head.
“Tomorrow is perfectly fine.” She could figure out her schedule once that was set. There wasn’t anything major going on at least, so it was easier to move things around as needed. And as she well understood how exciting it could be to start something new and new technology? Of course she would oblige.
Perfect, perfect. Hank breathed a sigh of relief, because a part of him had been worried that he’d come off as too enthusiastic or some such but luckily that didn’t seem to be the case. “Excellent, just let me know where I need to go and what time and i’ll arrange for it,” he nodded.
And in between bites of his lunch, he managed to ask, “What else can you tell me about the laboratory?”
Nodding, Jemma pulled out a notebook and wrote down the address for Hank, as well as a time before handing it over to him. Well it was a front desk and they’d call her to come get him, but that did tend to be the way of it.
“Well, we have the main laboratory, as well as three smaller ones, some technology from the dreams from a Doctor MacTaggart before she left,” From what Kitty had told her, the woman had been in her dreams, though given Jemma’d had two sets of dreams and knew Kitty had a number of different sets, she wasn’t sure if the name would mean anything to Hank. “We also have some alien technology that we’re able to work with. Even without dream related technology, our equipment is state of the art.” The type most labs didn’t have access to.
“MacTaggert?” Hank nearly had a stroke at the mention of the name, but certainly not in a bad way - he was just surprised, was all. “As in, Moira MacTaggert? Because if so, then yes, I know her. How peculiar though - “
He frowned, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. This must be one of those instances where it was a different life, a different version. He very much wanted to see his other self, the one others from the same universe knew of. “In my dreamworld, she was a CIA agent as opposed to a scientist. That is fascinating, I’m even more intrigued to see what a version of her may have developed.”
And it seemed that Hank seemed to know who she was talking about.
“The same one.” And ah, that explained it. The fact that the version of Moira MacTaggart he knew had been in the CIA as opposed to a scientist. “Ah. I admit I’ve had two sets of dreams though remained a scientist in both.” And then a Deathlok. But that was beside the point. “However, I’m sure you will be quite impressed with the equipment from her.”
“No doubt,” Hank chuckled. “She is very talented in any ‘verse.” The plot thickened even more so! But it just meant he was anticipating this opportunity even more so - already he began planning a transition from the Navy to this new facility; of course he had to see how it went when he took a tour, but he was made for science. All of this, it just seemed meant to be.