Summary:Remasculation of the Beast and dread portents about a plasmoid mutant and terror attacks! Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
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Some few days after the initial and partially successful conversion, Hetty McCoy is in her lab, prepping for the /reversion/. She's dressed in much like last time - a simple pair of stretch shorts, only this time she's also wearing a top, well, because of two rather sizable arguments in favor of modesty! *ahem*
They've been collating data for that whole time, blood panels every six hours, cat scans and MRIs, and time in the Danger Room working out what her new body's capabilities are.
She even had time to go out and NEARLY go shopping! But yeah, that kind of failed, though Tigra and Spider-Girl got to have a few laughs, so it wasn't all bad.
Regardless, it is getting down to the wire, and Hetty is a little anxious as she fires up the the EMJ, seeking a secure satellite uplink to Jemma's lab, and hopefully her presence to assist.
"You were right, Cat…the capacitors did need replacing." She observes as the newly reconfigured rig fires up.
Catseye hums or purrs, it can be hard to tell the difference. "Thought so. Readings were off." She pokes Hetty with her tail as she passes by, double-checking the readings. "Should listen to Catseye. Looks good now, yes?"
Jemma's waiting for the hook u—- link up, patched into the system. It's a matter of moments for the connection to be negotiated and for the EMJ to appear. This time, she appears in jeans and a t-shirt, looking tired and drawn but smiling none the less. "This is the Emergency Medical Jemma, please state the nature of the medical emergency." She says in that very British way of hers.
"Hello Hetty, Catseye. How are things?"
"I /did/ say you were right, Cat." Hetty says with a prim chin tilt, and then she makes a grab for that poking tail that comes close, but yeah, doesn't connect. Tails are sensitive! Wouldn't want to cause her friend any pain. A quick check of the readouts. "Everything nominal, we're actually running five percent better than spec."
When the systems hook up, err…LINK up, Hetty grins. "Jemma Simmons, you are quite possibly one of my favorite people on this planet, or off." She says in her cultured, and fairly deep voice. "Brains AND a Trekkie? Great combo." A few moments to check the readouts, then tap tap tap of the hard-light hologram with a pair of forceps. "Excellent, did you feel that?" Hank grins. "Oh, Cat…how's the scent emitters." Yes, she really did add scent! Why not? There's a super senses equipped girl in the room!
Clearing her throat, she nods to Jemma. "Everything seems to be going well, I can already feel the early stages of the reversion - it is a bit - uncomfortable. In the original pre-Reverbium formulation changing back was simple, I am not sure this will be the same here…so it might be needful to use restraints."
Catseye hmmm, "Scent emitters online, but subtleties not quite right. Can tell Jemma had tea recently, but not what -kind-." Yes, her senses are that sharp. "Jeans, t-shirt 100 percent cotton, yes?" She moves to the emitter controls to fine tune things a bit.
"Ow. Yes!" Jemma laughs and smiles a bit at the woman scientist. Cats can also probably get the faints scent of lavendar from the body wash and shampoo that Jemma uses. "And yes, I did, Catseye and the T-Shirt is." It's all kind of impressive really.
"While I have you, Hetty, I've found some information I'd like to run past you but let's get to your reversion first, shall we? I've checked your workings and tested it my simulations and I concur with your findings. However, as we've discovered, chaos seems to rule nature."
At least she doesn't say life will always find a way.
"Probably Earl Grey or Darjeeling?" She looks to Jemma for confirmation of the specific one. "Plain, or -maybe- a bit of lemon, if I recall correctly." Moving to the exam table, she stops a moment, hand griping the side of it, and bending the metal a smidge. She makes not a sound, but Cats can smell some significant pain-scent, much worse than the original change induced.
"Well, that was not pleasant." Hetty says a little breathlessly as she climbs up. "Cat, would you fasten the restraints please? Jemma, I'll let you take over the medical. I have prepared a sedative that /should/ knock me out if it becomes necessary."
Hetty smiles, and nods. "Yes, chaos is the great leve—-" A grunt, and then she lays down on the table. "…the great leveler."
Catseye's tail bristles. "Hetty hurting!" She is not pleased by this development at all. She does the restraints as she is asked to, but her tail is lashing. She looks worriedly at Jemma, "Last time did not hurt Hetty like this." Her eyes are wide, and she strokes Hetty's hair, purring at her, trying to soothe the doctor's distress.
"A blend actually that Agent May left me when she was in here last. Darjeeling at least." Jemma answers. "Are you alright, Hetty?" The SHIELD scientist moves to the table, gathering the womans vital statistics. "No, it didn't Catseye however, we're messing with the base DNA, I'm not surprised there is some pain as her, his, body tries to make sense of the changes. If I'm not mistaken, many mutants experience some form of physical distress when their mutation takes effect. But let me see what I can do here…"
A sedative is probably not a bad idea and Jemma decides to keep Hetty distracted as she adminsters it. "Tell me though, have either of you heard of or met a mutant who can shift into a smoke like state and perhaps emit a high heat?"
The sedative is administered, not a lot of it - Jemma wants Hetty 'awake' so they can judge the effects of the serum.
"I'm alright, Cat." Hetty says, and is patently not. It is subtle, but there's definitely muscle growth starting, and her nails are slowly elongating. She actually bites her lip enough to draw blood, but then she closes her eyes as the restraints lock into place. The alloy is the same stuff they use for the armor on the Blackbird, and the straps are made of a carbon fiber-polymer weave that is VERY strong, it is rated for twice his old strength!
She is having trouble controlling her breathing, and then she nods. "Pain…is normal, yes. EspecespacESPECIALLY considering the dramatic changes…/gender/, big difference."
She is taut as a harp string, muscles visibly bulging now, and her back arches as her chest broadens and flattens, arms and legs thickening even as the skin looks almost ill with blue-black blotches forming.
She sags as the sedative is administered, the pain relive visible until HIS features also broaden. "Smoke? No…m—m-Mist, yes…and several…" The voice is getting close to Hank's, his SCENT is /close/ to Hank's. "…several…with heat."
Catseye nods dubiously. "Catseye was still suffering from birth-trauma when shifted for first time. Was probably less than hour old. So additional pain would not have meant much to Catseye."
Catseye shakes her head, "Not know any such, but know many fewer people than DoctorHank." She tries to purr soothingly at Hank, stroking his hair.
"Focus on my voice, Hank." Jemma says gently, glancing at Cat and nodding encouragingly. The womans doing well and Jemma knows this is distressing - Cats will pick up some of the scientists distress but it's well controlled. "It's nearly there. At least we know one thing, your serum has a lasting effect. I somewhat expected that the changes might revert in the time that's elsapsed."
"Catseye would you please get Hank something to drink, there's an electrolyte preparation over there. I sent trough the details a couple of days ago and it will help him. With the changes his body is going through, the extra salts are going to be needed."
"I've come across something related to those terror attacks. The power plant and the bridge, if you've been following the news. From the analysis of the debris, I've found some DNA that definitely contains the X-Gene but it's strange, like it's been tampered with. Even stranger, though, is the DNA seems to be in a plasma that was used to create all the damage. Do you … think … that …"
Jemma lets that sit for a moment as she takes more of Hanks vitals and checks them.
It STILL pisses Hank off that Cat's birth mother tossed her into the trash like she was garbage, like she was filth. Hank's vitals spike, the adrenals going off the charts — which is alarming in a man who's got such a powerful body to fuel with it. His head arches back, the restraints holding as he strains…barely. His body sprouts fur, the stuff growing in clumps, and nails and fangs full sized once more, his body vastly muscular as it was before.
It is Cat's petting and Jemma's voice that let him regain some semblance of control, the alloy mounts of the restraints twisted, but holding. He takes the drink, gulps it, craving it.
"Serum…very potent." He admits, ah! THERE'S the old Hank's voice.
"Smoke…and super heated plasma…two, very different mutations usually." Hank is shuddering, but his vitals are slowly returning to their previous levels, or close. "If the subject were subjected to genetic alterations, however…or perhaps with some sort of energy field, or perhaps armored suit to alter or contain the energies, it /might/ be feasible. Energy can have mass, can have particulates, so it /could/ leave DNA residue behind from a mutant with an energy state."
Catseye fetches the drink for Hank, holding it for him so he can drink and watching with concern. She keeps an eye on the vitals, frowning at them being so close but not -quite- normal.
If Jemma is worried about the adrenals and the straining restraints it doesn't show - but she is, right? She has to be. "Nearly there. Just hold on a little longer, Hank."
"Well, I say smoke, I'm working off an artifact from a video, so I'm making an assumption. Sorry, a little distracted as I monitor this." She considers Hanks words though and glances at Catseye.
It will be ok, really.
"I'm conjecturing that the nature of the mutation is what's causing the explosions, yes and leaving the DNA behind. Maybe what that artifact is, is a plasma form. It's a hell of a power though. You've not heard of someone with that power though? Maybe we are looking at some form of tech… but that X-Gene can't be mistaken."
Hank drinks the electrolyte solution - it is clearly what his body craves - and smiles, his own eyes again, his own face, his own scent that Cat knows. "Thank you. May I have some more please?" Even his voice is his own, his vitals one by one slipping back to within normal parameters. Unsurprisingly they're normal for him after a very heavy duty workout, but still almost perfectly within spec.
Honestly? Having Jemma stay calm is better salve than any amount of visible worry at the moment. And between her calm, and Cat's purring petting, he manages to keep from flipping out from pain.
It WILL be okay. Really.
"Depending on the chemical composition of the cloud…for example…argon or helium, when excited can create a laser, a more exotic gas, with the right conditions and exciters COULD form plasma, -living- plasma." His fur is sticky with sweat, matted, sadly…the smell is not so great. "I take it you don't have a sample of the gas?" He asks Jemma.
Catseye keeps petting Hank, and giving him sips of electrolyte solution. "There… DoctorHank smells normal now… sweaty, stinky normal." Her tone is gently teasing her friend.
Jemma shakes her head and gestures to Catseye "Perhaps you could get a sponge and wash Hanks forehead? I'm sure he'll find that comforting." Her voice is gentle and some find the accent reassuring as well. "How are you feeling, Hank? Your vitals are starting to return to normal and … well you're looking better, the ordeal that you just experienced, not withstanding."
"Maybe what I'm seeing is carrying a plasma weapon in that form. But no, I don't have a sample of anything bar the bodies we've recovered and the debris. I'm happy to share that with you, of course. I was wondering though … is it possible to trace a mutant?"
Hank … might not want to reveal that information to someone from SHIELD. Trust is a tenuous thing and mutants are … touchy. Rightly so, too.
A snort of laughter, eyes tired but merry all the same. "Yes, stinky old sweaty DoctorHank." He leans up a bit, looking at the restraint mounts, and shakes his head. "Fun fact - system wide rapid bone growth? Not as fun as originally thought." His gaze is lucid, he sm—STINKS normal. "Oh, the forehead, that sounds pretty good, actually. Though I should probably just soak in a tub for a while after this."
He nods to Jemma. "I hurt, more of a dull ache, but that -was- a lot more violent a change than the original induced. Granted, the original only lasted an hour, and this lasted over three days, so that's interesting."
Hank does go very still at the mutant question, and then he nods slowly. "Some telepaths can detect mutants, yes." Specifically mutant-unique engram patterns in the brain, a unique 'signature'…but he does not actually share that info, he trusts Jemma, but…yeah. "I take it you're wondering if there might be a way to track this living plasmoid?"
Catseye gets a sponge damp and gently cleans Hank's forehead. She then removes the restraints, hating that they had to be used in the first place. "If energy signal of plasma discharge is unique, might be able to track that. Would only work when person was 'firing' and range would be limited. Some mutants can track people by scent, but would need fresh spoor to follow."
"You should soak, yes. But not immediately, you're going to lie or sit there while we monitor you. That was an immense change, Hank and as you've just noted, it was violent. Though I'm not surprised for two reasons. Your first change did not include Reverbium and we're still unclear of the effects it might have on people."
Jemma sighs though and offers Hank a hand to sit up if he wants. "As to bone growth, I rather imagine it's not pleasant. I remember the growing pains I experienced as a child."
"If we had a signal to trace, that would be true Catseye but this is … it's so strange. It's almost instantaneous and we've nothing to record. Scent though, that might work. It should be on the samples I have. Would you like to examine them? Maybe Hank could bring you with him, the next time he visits. I'll arrange to have you let you through."
As to the tracking. "I … don't want you to give away information you don't want to, Hank. But … if there's something might be done, is it possible for you to ask around?"
Hank does remove the top he was wearing, it is just…yeah, not shaped right anymore. Not comfy.
He sighs then as Cat wipes his brow, and in a very feline gesture - despite not being feline - strokes Cat's cheek with his own in thanks. "I'll be good, Doctor Simmons." He promises, he accepts the hand, and sits, one leg dangling, and arms sort of limp. "It was not pleasant, I'll have to document it thoroughly…" Because SCIENCE!
"Oh, excellent ideas, Jemma. Yes, I'd like see the samples, the recordings, and Cat if you can, I'd love for you come as well."
And then he nods. "I'll look into it, see what I can find out, Jemma. It is not a matter of 'want', it is matter of my given word." And that's important! "So…thank you, Jemma, thank you Cat."