Owner Pose
Conner Kent It is a quiet weekend at the Roost. Conner arrived early in the morning and then remembered there had been an important social event in Gotham last night, so Tim and the Gothamites probably were pretty busy all night.

Well, sooner or later someone would wake up or drop by. And he has mission logs to catch up. The whole Ryker business with nanobots. And then some work for school pending. He has a tablet and a laptop and the empty recroom is as good or better than his room upstairs. Why, at some point this last week they even replaced the pool table.
Hope Summers Hope enters the rec room looking concerned. She currently has her red hair loose around her shoulders and wearing her usual green and gold body suit. Hope immediately notices Conner working on his laptop. However, before saying anything, she begins to pace the room.

"Hey, do you have a minute to talk?" Hope asks without looking in the direction of Conner. Then she stops pacing and turns to face him. "I have something important to talk to you about."
Conner Kent Conner hears Hope steps before she enters the room, and that makes him pause in his work. The redhead is back and no one told him, typical. Then again Hope rarely announces her comings and goings, one has to get used to them. Conner finds getting used to that pretty difficult.

Of course his blue eyes are on the girl the second she comes in, and he offers a warded smile. "Hope, good to see you... uh," he gestures to the couch in front of him, closing his laptop. "Sure, is this business? Maybe we should try to find Tim."
Hope Summers "It is business, but I wanted to talk to you first," Hope says, returning the guarded smile. "I wanted to get your input first before talking to anyone else on the team. You see, it's all currently on a strict need to know basis, but I think I can trust you. I should be able to trust you."

Hope then sits down and puts her head in her hands, staring at the floor for a moment. Then she looks back up at Conner, taking a moment to search his face with her green eyes.

"Okay, so here goes. This is about mutant affairs, but I think we're being stretched a little too thin. I haven't told anyone that I would speak to anyone from Outsiders for sure. Though I mentioned to Warpath that I could reach out to the team."
Conner Kent Conner nods, "well, we have many mutants in the team, and mutant problems often end up being also human problems, Hope. And half-alien problems. You can trust me, you can trust us." He smiles again, "and I trust you, so let me know how can I help you and I will."

He has no idea who is Warpath. He is going to assume it is a mutant with a rather belligerent name. Well. He is called Superboy. Conner he can't complain about the codenames of anyone else.
Hope Summers "No, I know," she replies softly. "I know that there are other mutants in the team. However, we are used to sorting our problems out for ourselves. It's not often we can trust others, and that is what it was like back in my universe."

She pauses again for a moment before continuing.

"There's a reason why I have been missing for some time. I have been undercover. Except... I did not precisely tell anyone.. before I left. You see, I caught wind of some unusual activity on the streets. Rumours of some of the other mutants... mutants not associated with the X-Men... they had been showing signs of an increase in their powers. However, it's only been temporary. The boost doesn't last long. Just long enough to get draw attention to them. Draw the attention of those who hate and fear mutants. It seems that the mutants are taking some sort of drug. That's about as much as I have been able to find out so far.

But that's not all. Warpath managed to get in contact with me whilst I was out in the field. And I found out that mutants are being targeted by a group known as SMILE. Just recently... there was a carnival, and mutants were being fed to pigs. All behind the scenes, of course. However, some of us found out and put a stop to it. It was too late for some. So I helped Warpath to investigate the area. Collect samples and take photographs, that sort of thing. I'm not sure if anyone has managed to process everything yet."
Conner Kent The mention of power-enhancing drugs doesn't surprise Conner. Some drugs enhance some powers; this is just a logical escalation. Dissembling drug trafficking organization seems the right job for the Outsiders that are very strong in the detective, investigation side of crime-fighting.

The rest is not as 'normal'. Hate groups that fed mutants to pigs! Oh yeah, that sounds Gotham-level of horror crime. "You sure you got all those guys?" He asks. Not to ask 'were they from Gotham?' because the matter is not for jokes. "Hey, are you alright?" He has to ask, in a softer voice.
Hope Summers "All of the people at the carnival?" Hope asks. "I don't know. I wasn't there. But I think they got them all. However, it's not everyone that belongs to SMILE," Hope pauses for a moment.

"No, there are members of SMILE still out there. Planning their next move."
Conner Kent "Great, another group of murderers to watch," grumbles Conner, leaning forward. "Alright... Tim is going to want a report, so he can start the investigation. Are they also involved in the mutant drugs distribution?" He asks, glancing at his laptop. He can also do some research, despite how little coverage of anti-mutant crimes reach mainstream news.
Hope Summers Hope tilts her head to the side, "It's possible... rather unlikely... but possible.

So, you think Tim would be willing to get involved with all of this? That he would be willing to let me use Outsiders' resources and take teams out with me when investigating? Usually, Beast would deal with a lot of our technology and science stuff. However, he has gone on sabbatical, and we don't know when he will be back. Or at least, that's what they told me. Who knows what's really going on."
Conner Kent Conner nods, "yeah, I have no doubt. If you have science questions, Tim can help you... well, at least the computer-related questions and general science. Harper is an engineer, she can help with technical issues. But if it is really over the top super-science, we can call Nadia."

Conner smiles a bit. "Or Batman. Well, that would be for emergencies, but the guy is around and probably has already forgotten you shoot him. Or at least forgiven." Because Batman looks the forgiving type, yes?
Hope Summers Hope slowly nods her head, "Good, good. That will probably help us out a lot. I will need to talk to the others, though. Make sure people will be comfortable on our side of things. A lot of mutants fear none mutants."

She then turns to Conner, facing him, "I know we were looking to rekindle our relationship again. I just don't think it's a good time."
Conner Kent "Fear us?... but we are mostly harmless," protests Conner. Then he offers Hope a half-smile. "There is always going to be another issue, Hope. Gabby was almost killed because Alchemax returned with a plan to kill her, did you know?"

He leans back, "we need to learn to... live with this kind of thing. Live, not just survive. Or we will end up like, like... Batman. Sticking to the shadows, scaring people, and growling to the new generation. Even Tim finds time for relationships." Well, sometimes. Almost never.

"Tell me more about the mutant drug, though," ha asks, "I guess it is not just a 'free' and cheap power boost, right? Is it very addictive? Does it have secondary effects?"
Hope Summers Hope lets out a deep sigh, "I hadn't heard about Gabby. I'm guessing she is okay now, though.

Or like Cable. I mean... he raised me and everything... or at least my Cable did. But that was because I was part of the mission. I don't think he ever had a relationship. I... I will think about it.

I don't know much apart from what I've already told you about the drug.

Anyway, I had better go. I need to go follow up with a lead. It would be better if I saw him alone. Too many people will just spook him. I will be alright by myself. He is normally rather timid."

Hope gets up and leaves the rec room, "I'll see you later."