Summary:Hank examines Isis to try and get to the bottom of what AIM might be doing. Thank goodness Catseye is there. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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After his FOUR days without sleep Hank returned to his lab, the thud on impact with his bed, yeah, not quite a tectonic event. -Close-, but not quite. His powers aren't geared to such. Regardless, he slept for like fourteen hours, ate, got cleaned up and then spent another day or so getting caught up on his various other tasks and duties. It is now close to the weekend, and early evening, and he is happily getting the lab setup before he calls Isis on her phone.
"Huh, voicemail…" A shrug, and then he leaves a message. He'll bide a bit in the meantime, fiddling with this or that, a few minutes later he'll try Isis again.
Cat is likely one of the folks who came to check on the epic sleeper Hank during the recent down time! And heck, she often hangs out in the lab, is a good place to do things…and her FurryFriend Hank is very good company and always ALWAYS happy to see her. That's kind of nice too. He's /almost/ cat!
Catseye is in smooth skin form, not her favorite but has hands, and is better for cleaning up the chaos after Hank's med-bender. She is currently organizing papers that had gotten shoved off to one side. "DoctorHank speaks Latin? Should Catseye sort notes by language? Or… no… looks like DoctorHank was switching back-and-forth. Also…" She moves the papers to show a dried out lump. "Former sandwich or science experiment?" Definitely former sandwich, and her tail curling gives away that she is teasing him.
Isis had been at the Institute today. A follow up with her counsellor. Something she doesn't particularly like but does it cause it makes Nick happy. And making Nick happy is something she likes to do.
"Hello… hello. Ooooh Flappy Bird! No, no… go up go up… don't go that way!"
That's what Hanks greeted with on the other end. "Isis, I think you need to speak to who's on the other end?" That's one of the School counsellors.
"What? Oh, right? Hello. This is Isis."
"Mmm? Oh! Sandwich." Hank admits, and yes, he's doing that one fang visible grin of his which is ludicrously cute on him — you know, the one he's unaware of doing? Yes, that one! He definitely is aware of being teased. "Scamp." Nope, not upset at all, not even a little bit. "Oh, Cat…actually, I'm going to be having a guest. Miss Marik, do you know Isis? Very nice girl, raised in very NOT nice environs, and shy about being in a lab due to those environs featuring bad men doing experiments." A gentle smile, though his blue eyes are HARD with the memory of anger, the memory of the abuse young Isis suffered.
And then he shakes off the lurking anger, with some effort. "In any case, would you mind staying and helping with the examination? I suspect having you here will be very soothing for her."
And then the second call, the fascinating conversation starter, before Isis answers when prodded. "Ah, Miss Marik, Doctor McCoy here, would you have time to drop by my lab as we'd discussed the other night?" He is not being forceful at all, quite the opposite in fact.
Catseye says, "Not met Isis but do not mind staying. Understand about bad men." Her tail lashes once, then curls around her ankle out of the way. She takes a moment to dispose of the former sandwich. Alas poor pastrami… "If Catseye being here makes Isis feel better, then Catseye glad to help."
"I can drop by, sure." Isis answers "Where's your lab, Doctor McCoy?"
"Isis, give me your phone, I'll take you there…" beat "Just give.me.your.phone …" beat "Doctor McCoy, this is Sarah, I'll bring her down in just a moment. Come along, Isis and try not to climb things on our way, ok?"
It's a few moments before the Sarah and Isis appear at Hanks door. "Here we are, safe and sound and only a few minor detours on the way." beat "Go on in, Isis…"
The woman who enters is slim, with cats ears on her on head. Her features are distinctly human, though, even if they have a feline caste to them.
"Hello Doctor McCoy." The woman answers, she's young - about 19.
Sarah rolls her eyes at Hank with a smile and departs. She doesn't envy the scientist this.
Isis looks around the lab for the moment, the unease rolling of her in empathic broadcast. "You didn't say there'd be others here … " she looks at Catseye. "… I uh… I'm Isis."
"Thank you, Cat." Hank stretches a hand over to scritch his dear friend behind an ear, in thanks, tactile is the best expression sometimes. "In truth I think your common ground is layered enough that you'd both be good one for each other."
Into the phone, he answers. "In the Basement, Isis…in the X-Men's base, I've added you to the security…" And then Sarah takes over the call."Ah, Thank you, Sarah, that would be lovely." A grin. "But I'm still going to be torture you in class, sorry." No, no he is not.
When Sarah and Isis arrive, he smiles warmly to Sarah's rolled eyes, and more warmly still to Isis. "Hello, Isis…and yes, I though you might like to meet my friend, Catseye." He introduces the young lady. "She's an assistant of mine, is it okay if she stays?"
Catseye smiles at Isis, her lavender furred tail lifting up and curling towards Isis in friendly curiosity. "In public supposed to use smoothskin name, Sharon Smith. Is silly, and Hanklab not public, yes?" And her eyes are definitely cat-slitted, and a shade of lavender slightly darker than her really fluffy hair or nearly as fluffy kitty tail. Her nails seem thicker than normal, though not true claws despite being filed to points. She's about Isis's age, though tall, about six feet before she put on the black doc martins with the purple glitter laces. "Assistant fancy name for nagger-in-chief." She pokes Hank with her tail, moving past to add the papers in her hand to one of the stacks she's been sorting out. "SOMEONE forgets little things like sleep, eat. Catseye much more sensible." Yup, definitely teasing poor Hank! "Can leave if Isis prefers, completely up to Isis."
Isis eyes are a startling blue / grey colour with slitted iris, her height about middling height.
"Uh hello. Sharon, Catseye… " The empathic broadcast is still there, still uneasy and it's felt by everyone in the room. She's a powerful empath.
"Isis, control your broadasts …" Sarah murmurs just as she's leaving. "And no worries, Doc. I'll excel after this!" She winks as is gone.
"Oh right. Sorry sorry. Catseye can stay. What … what do you need to be do?" She really, really hates labs and doctors surgeries.
"Nick and me. We found someone in the Disaster Zone. A feline … more like Nick than you…" she nods to Catseye, not realising what 'smoothskin' means "… they were being chased by those big werewolfs … the ones who use the voicebox we gave you."
"Nagger-in-Chief?" Hank's lip quivers with his amusement. "I'll make you some business cards, Catseye." He does have the good graces to look a bit chagrined. "It is true." He nods sadly. "I probably do need a minder, I get too…focused, when I work on things." Of course, he also usually gets results, so there's that!
Hank will simply focus a bit on his shielding, which might be interesting for Isis as her empathic abilities are projective and receptive. He stops leaking!
A snort at Sarah. "I expect nothing else, see you in class."
Once she's gone, he looks to Isis. "Well, first, I would like to show you the lab, okay? We'll be over here in the medical section, ask about anything you like. I will never not answer, though I may not be able to provide much in the way of details, and if I need to research an answer, it might be later." Hank looks intrigued about the other feline. "Really? Perhaps later we can see about who that other feline is."
Catseye looks interested. "More like half form? Catseye has three forms, this is smoothskin, also have half-form and furform. Furform is best, but no hands." She sighs at the injustice of that. "Half form has hands, but Catseye is cleaning, and somethings in lab taste -awful- in fur." Her tail fluffs a bit, then settles again. "FurryHank is good doctor. If Isis says stop, will stop, ok? Isis might have to come back later then, but Isis can say No. And FurryHank will listen."
The unsettled emotions stop as well and Isis looks at Hank as she stops feeling him strongly. It's one reason she likes Nick, he can do that too. Calming, relaxing. It helps!
"Were-wolf. That's what Nick is. Felicia too. She says there are more in the Zone. We're going to get them. Nicks asked me to talk to Miss Potts about getting help with food and stuff." She sounds pleased with that.
"You have three forms?" That's to Catseye. "Like eating icecream. It goes everywhere."
The young woman looks around the lab, nodding slowly to Hank. "Only time they let me in the labs was to … work on me. I don't like it…" To work on her. According to her file, she's been modified. Her telepathic abilities were activated by the project.
What else had been done to her? And what else were they going to do? She's already hinted at some of that, but not much.
"Did you grow up here?" That's to Catseye.
As Cat offers reassurance, Hank smiles and nods. "Absolutely. If you are not comfortable with anything, say so, and it will stop. No questions, no hesitation, I promise." He certainly seems earnest, in tone and body language, there's nothing shifty about his scent either! He smiles. "Helping others is an excellent thing to do. I stop by to help out from time to time myself, alas, there are many demands on my time." He needs to clone himself a few times! Hrm…thought…well, backburner for now!
Well aware of the traumatic origins of her powers, Hank is going to be exquisitely careful, slow, and informative. "I won't be working on you, not liek that. Have no fear, Isis."
Catseye shakes her head no. "Catseye born, birthmother dump in alley, still bloody, in plastic bag. Catseye shifted furform, stray cats raise Catseye. Sixteen years maybe. Then MotherMotherFrost finds Catseye, goes inside Catseye's head, show how to shift back to smoothskin, teaches language, talk, read, write, teaches math, and clothes and act human. Catseye have two years at old school, then bad men grab Catseye and friends… Catseye get away, but… go feral. By time get back to old school, is gone. So… stayed furform until FurryHank finds me in woods. Two, almost three years. Catseye study here now, learn to act human, maybe get job someday." Catseye is unbothered by her past, remarkably calm about it. Past is past. She lives in the Now for the most part.
"Nick says I can trust you…" Isis answers slowly, letting Hank show her around. Of course, if Nick says - it must be right in her mind, right?
Catseye's story gets a look from Isis "MotherMotherFrost." That, at least, seems something she comment on. "They found me about three years ago, put me in a safe house till they were sure I could come here. I left when I turned eighteen. Didn't want to stay."
The other students had not found Isis to be easy around.
"Learned to read and write, just. Started living in M-Town with the Morlocks but Nick gave me a job and I kind of stay at the office." There's no comment on Feral. She went there recently. It was needed but still … not a nice place to be in this city.
"Let's do this, Doctor McCoy. It might help work out what AIM is doing with the reverbium."
"I really wish I could have spared you some of that, Catseye. All I can do is be here for you now and in the future." Hank clearly feels very paternal towards Cat, protective too, very much so.
"Mister Gleason is a good man, Isis." And really, that's all he has to say about that, what more need he say? As to Isis not being easy to be around, well, that's okay, people are who they are…Hank is not one to judge.
He smiles at her apparent eagerness to get things going, and nods. "Have a seat here, please." He pats the exam table, and will go through a thorough but non-invasive physical exam. He makes no sudden moves and is excruciatinly gentle.
Catseye listens attentively to Isis's story, and nods. "Catseye not talk right, because… not think human, yes? Think cat. So job hard when not look human, sound human. MotherMotherFrost says not worry, always will take care of Catseye. But not a kitten! Need to learn to do as well as human as Catseye can as cat." As Hank starts his exam, Catseye keeps talking to distract Isis. "Furform is size of lion, but not real lion… Fluffy, curly mane to start. Can purr, but not roar. Claws shred steel and can climb up side of building. Oh, and is lavender. But people still see, think 'purple lion'. Feels more natural than smoothskin, smoothskin feels… ugly. Unbalanced. And nose so far from ground! Hard to smell things properly." Well, she's lived all but 2 to 3 years of her life in cat form, so it no doubt feels more natural to her.
Isis eyes the exam table with distaste. There's few good memories that go with that picture. Not that anyone in the Institute treated her badly, they'd needed to restrain her the first few times.
Still she hoists herself up and sits on it, legs dangling over the edge, swinging a little.
Physically, she's feline in most aspects. Her muscles developed for leaping and running like a cat. Her eyesight is like a felines - with 200 degree peripheral vision and the ability to see in low light. Hearing can hear lower and higher than humans and canines.
It's her voicebox that's been modified. It wasn't obvious in the initial physicals that she was given - it's so subtle. Hank will notice it because he's looking for it. What is it though, that's different.
"My claws come from my nails…" Isis demonstrates to Catseye as the woman talks. Claws extend, just a like a felines. "They scratch and tear too. Good for attacking things. Do you like hunting?"
"When they had me, they made me walk Dreams."
Quite thankful for Cat's distracting Isis, Hank works with great care, taking his verious readings, studying and building a rough 3-D model of Isis that slowly starts to fill in the details. Fly away windows holding his findings and thoughts on things, pretty interesting really. Got to love holgraphy! When the claws are extended, Hank will study the muscles and structure of them. "Fascinating."
Big Blue looks thoughful, and then he grins. "Well, Isis, Cat and I are likely going to go to Africa in a month or two." He looks to Cat. "Perhaps you could come along?" He wants to be sure that both girls are okay with the idea.
He smiles. "Okay, Isis…I have done what I can here, now we need to take some deeper scans. They will be loud, but they will not hurt." And he's prepared! He offers ear plugs, two sets in fac, one for Catseye and one for Isis. "These are designed for your hearing acuity, but I will need to take an MRI." He trundles the device over. "So…please, Lay back and stay very still, this should not take long, but it is Loud."
Catseye perks at the mention of hunting. "Yes, Catseye hunts in furform, no claws in smoothskin just strong nails. Hunt rabbit, squirrel mostly. Wild boar when can find. Boar -always- in season. Is Dangerous Pest. And tastes better than domestic pork." She takes a breath and lets it out. "But not with guns. Never guns." Mentioning guns is the first and only time that Isis has felt any distress from Catseye. "Walk dreams, so Isis is psychic-cat. Catseye's powers just… physical, but psychic not bother Catseye. Too used to MotherMotherFrost helping in head." She smiles at Hank, "Would be glad to have Isis come." She looks over at Isis, "Not hunt anything endangered. Maybe zebra, maybe wildebeest." She then accepts the earplugs, "MRI… should take Isis phone, yes? And anything else metal?" She'll accept that and anything else metal Isis has, and move behind the painted line on the floor that indicates a safe distance.
"Why do say MotherMotherFrost? Is that like Jack Frost?" Isis asks. "I really liked that movie, did you see it?" Catseye is doing a good job at keeping her distracted, though when Hank asks her to lay back, there's a sharp spike of anxiety.
"Uh. Alright…." After putting the earplugs in, the slim mutant lays back, swallowing a couple of time. "Africa? I don't know. Nick will need me…"
It's tempting though. Sort of.
"And yes, Physic. I'm Emp.. Emp… Empathic." She gets the word right "And I can walk in dreams. Sometimes its fun often its scary. People have bad dreams. Isis has bad dreams too. People hunt me in them."
That's actually literal. People are hunting her in her dreams.
Handing her phone over, she looks at Catseye "Don't mess up my Flappy Bird score. I messed up Nicks, he wasn't happy." Because she'd taken his phone to play it. Maybe that's why he put it on her phone.
The scan comes up pretty much normal, but there's striations on her voice box that shouldn't be there. It's hard to tell why they would be there, but it's a bit like her voice box has deliberately been marked.
"Definitely welcome to join us." Hank murmurs. Even with the ear plugs an MRI is pretty loud, fortunately Hank is quite good at them and is working with some very advanced equipment indeed, the process only takea a few minutes to complete. "Fascinating." The fuzzed genius turns off the imaging equipment and then offers Isis a gentlemanly hand up.
Now comes the tricky part - tissue samples!
"Now, Isis, we'll work on the dream hunter another time, for now let us focus on finding what was done to you, and why, that will likely point the way." He smiles very gently, his voice soothing — almost a croon. "Now…I need to take some blood, and some tissue samples. They will only sting, at worst. May I proceed?"
Catseye struggles to explain, and uses the time the MRI is running to organize her words. Onee it is done, she removes the earplugs. "Catseye has trouble with names. Smoothskin names random noise, is easier to tie meaning to name-sounds." She indicates Dr Mcoy, "Hank means, a cluster of yarn. Is not how Catseye thinks. In head is not WORD, is collection of traits that adds up to person there. So… FuzzyHank is closer to how Catseye thinks than Hank McCoy. MotherMotherFrost is Emma Frost. Legally, Guardian. But is only Mother Catseye has. More than birthmother. So is MotherMotherFrost."
As the machine makes its raquet, Isis's claws extend from her hands and dig into the table. She can't help herself, it has such bad associations for her. "It's good to have a mother." She agrees, listening the explanation of how Catseye identifies people.
Then it's over and Hank is helping her up. Isis doesn't think about the fact that her claws are out and they scratch at him - he's probably thankful for his fur at the moment. It likely save him from anything to bad.
"Did you find anything?" she asks, legs swinging again over the edge of the bed. "You you you can take the samples … " It's not that they hurt when he takes them. There's just some very bad memories.
Actually, Hank didn't know the logic bdhind Catseye's naming schemes, but it makes sense the way she speaks of it. "Must be how cats think, mm?" Now Hank briefly ponders making a device to communcate with feelings - a Tele-CAT-ic scanner or something. He'll jot that down for later! "I rather liked SillyDoctorHank, Catseye." He quips as he works.
"Definitely good to have a mother." Hank says softly, and then up she comes, and yes, he's scratched, but doesn't make a single complaint about it, or any other signs given that he's been injured. He'll heal!
"Well, there's some unusual scarring on you larynx, I posit it must tie into the device, the 'voice box' Nicholas and you were kind enough to provide, but I haven't had time to do more than a cursory study of it." He talks as he withdraws several vials of blood, smoothly and painlesslly, the other tissue samples sting a bit, the ones from the throat in particular edge over into brief pain, but he does his considerable best to make it short, and sweetish. He KNOWS she hates this stuff. Who wouldn't?
Catseye sits next to Isis and begins to purr, she purrs from the voice box the way a true cat does, rather than by trilling her tongue. It's just instinctive, an attempt to soothe distress. "No language until 16… at all. Some symbols, but… think in scents and images, in memories clipped and blended together, language is still new to Catseye." She offers Isis a hand to squeeze.
"I never had a voice box." Isis answers, squeezing Catseyes hand, her claws retracted once she realised they were out. "They were doing things to me though. I heard them. Getting me ready for 'my turn'." She swallows, trying to smile as Catseye trills.
"In the cells we were in, they took others like me and changed them. I could smell them sometimes - they got sick." Whatever was being done, had made some of Isis' 'friends' very ill indeed.
"We were kept … close to animal states of mind. We … were taught to speak but they liked us wild."
The blood and tissues are taken, even though Isis flinches. She really doesn't like it. "How are you going to test those?"
Hank takes a moment to rub his cheek along the side of purring Catseye's, the best possible thank you he can offer, hes not a cat - not even slightly, but he knows many of their body language cues. Words are hard for her sometimes, a head rub? That's part of her native tongue and won't be interpreted wrongly. Heck, Isis might take comfort from the doc showing such an empathy for the Tao of Cats!
Even as he works, he pays absolute attention to the words coming forth, the details from both Cat and Isis, the man's mind is a sponge, really! Data absorbed and absorbed!
Once he's done, he smiles. "There. All set." Hank looks to Isis. "First I will take the samples and preserve some, in case I need to do more than one run of tests. Then I plan to do as detailed a molecular analysis as I can, a full tox screen and every blood panel I can think of. THEN I'm going to see how that ties into what I already know about genetics, and Reverbium." A shrug, his grin soft and genuine as he offers a cherry lollipop, one of the good ones! "Thank you, Isis. You were very patient and a very good patient."
Catseye bumps her head back against Hank, and her purr rumbles down deeper a note, then back up again. She listens to the description of what Isis went through and her tail lashes, her purr rumbling. She looks at Isis, not eye contact, but Catseye rarely does eye contact unless she's being aggressive. "IsisCat survived. Safe now. Ever need Catseye help, just ask."
"That's how you see me? Cat?" It's fair. Most of Isis' companions see her that way. Even if she isn't as much of a cat as Catseye is. Rubbing her ears against Catseye cheek, she's quiet as she listens to Hank.
"Do you need anything else, Doctor McCoy? That sounds like it will take a day or two get the results?" At least Hank didn't clawed to pieces. Not like the original doctors from the Institute had.
"Uh… what happens now?"
Oh, Hank's bleeding a bit, but he's tough and he'll bind it up later. No point in causing Isis any distress!
"I won't prevaricate, Isis, I might need you to come back for more examinations and tests. Are you comfortable? My minder will be here too, I promise." This with a wry smile Cat-wards, thoujgh not /directly/ at her. See? He pays attention!
Catseye rubs her cheek against Isis, purring. When Isis asks about the name, Catseye comments, "SurvivorPsychicCatIsis. But mention psychic in front of people who might not know is rude. Survivor, but mention past in front of people who might not know is rude. IsisCat smells right, but mention smell is also rude. Humans are weird. IsisCat still true, but gives nothing away." She wrinkles her nose at Hank, silently laughing at him as he teases her.
Isis nods slowly at Catseye. "People don't like psychics much. Most students didn't like me." That has a lot to do with the fact that Isis didn't, and still doesn't, understand 'personal space'. Finding a cat-women curled on their beds in the sun she could find, didn't help!
"I'll come back, Doctor McCoy." The woman answers quietly. Her legs still swinging to and fro over the edge of the bench. Think Alice In Wonderland!
"It would be good if Catseye is here and maybe Nick won't be working…" beat "… if that's alright if he comes with me."
"Maybe we'll work out what AIM were trying to do. And why my friends got sick in the facility."
"That would be fine, Isis, Nick is a friend, and always welcome in my lab, or anywhere I call home." Hank smiles. "And so is SurvivorPsychicCatIsis, and LavenderLaughingCatseye." He teases, he really is a LOT different than those AIM jerkweeds!
"I'll let you know if we need to do more tests, Isis, and yes…hopefully I'll find some clues that willl tell use what AIM is aiming AT, and definitely what was causing the sickness." He has some ideas, and they're not very good, Jemma will likely want to see some of this.
Catseye pokes Hank with her tail. "FuzzyHank thinks is a wit. Is half right." Yup, she's teasing him back, they're friends! They get to do that! And Catseye regards personal space as yet another stupid human rule that she has to follow. "Catseye is glad to be here, glad to help. Would like to meet CatIsis's friendNick."