Elpis

PHASE 1

Organization: Elpis


First Seen:	April 2005

Elpis is a humanitarian organization dedicated to providing assistance to mutants in the developing world.

After discovering in the wake of his father's death that Saul had named him his sole heir, Nathan was determined to do something good with the money, something that would repair the damage his family had done and achieve ends in direct opposition to what his father and his uncle Gideon had believed.

Consulting with Charles Xavier and Moira, Nathan decided to found a new NGO which would specifically address mutant issues in the developing world. Angelo Espinosa, who had been working with Nathan in his earlier, less formal humanitarian efforts, was the first person Nathan hired. He also hired Domino, the other members of the Pack, and his surviving friends from Mistra. All of them, with their long experience in the more unsettled parts of the world, would be invaluable field staff for the new organization.

The majority of the initial Elpis staff set up an office in Tel Aviv, with the support of the Israeli government thanks to David Rabin's former employers in the Mossad. Nathan organized a much smaller office in Westchester, for its proximity to the United Nations. Cain Marko offered a swap, moving into the mansion and allowed Nathan and Moira to take over the boathouse, both as a new home for their family and to have more office space for Elpis.

Charles convinced Joel Rollins, a long-time NGO worker, to take over the Elpis board and direct the new organization. Nathan took up the role of lobbyist and head researcher. He also hired Rahne Sinclair and Bobby Drake to work in the Westchester office. Medusa Amaquelin, though not an employee, began to volunteer with Elpis in the lead-up to the events in Prague. Another volunteer was Sooraya Qadir, who after her rescue by Nathan and the other members of his investigative team in Afghanistan, decided that she wanted to help people in the same way she had been helped. Yvette Petrovic later decided to help in a similar manner, the two girls sharing a keen interest in the welfare of mutants on the global level.

Elpis made something of a splash on the NGO scene, with its enormous resources and well-connected board of directors. Its activities thus far have ranged from the small-scale to the high-profile and politically-charged. Recognized officially by the UN and many world governments, Elpis is currently expanding its staff and the scope of its activities even further. Though it is still a small NGO by any standards, its public profile is increasing, especially after the events in Prague.

This would prove to be a mixed blessing, as Elpis was targeted by the Preservers in their initial bombing campaign. The Tel Aviv office was destroyed; fourteen staff members were killed and many more injured. Nathan and the rest of the staff fought to get their young organization back on its feet and managed to survive the initial crisis through hard work and sheer willpower.

The summer of 2007 would be no less eventful, as a couple of supposedly-simple investigative trips went wrong. One, to Tanzania to check on the progress of a mediation program there, did however result in a new friend - T'Challa, the tribal king of Wakanda, who used his influence with his government to gain Wakandan assistance with Elpis's project. Another to Dagestan, to investigate a DDR program for Chechnya child soldiers, ended badly due to the appearance of Ilyas Saidullayev and the intervention of Magneto, but inspired Nathan to launch a major new project addressing the issue of mutant child soldiers. Despite, or perhaps because of the emotionally charged nature of the project for him and the other ex-Mistra operatives, more and more of Elpis's resources were poured into it. It became increasingly clear that it would be a defining project for the organization.

The staff was also expanded, with John Allerdyce, Monet St. Croix, Jane Doe, and Kevin Ford hired on at the Westchester office.