Summary:Hank, Martin, Catseye and Klavdiya meet up in Mutant Town at the Tolliver Clinic where Hank is serving his residency, Diya and Cat help out in non-medical capacities - Diya mostly with supplies and funds 'appropriated' from criminals, and where Martin assists as a healer. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Despite the debacle with the Hellkitty Kibble, aka 'Blitznip', and the weird effect it had on his fur, Hank didn't miss a day at the Clinic. He takes his residency hours very seriously indeed. So…he shows up in his full neon pink glory, to do his rounds. For those with supersenses there is a very faint, almost unnoticeable hint of strawberries and sulphur that still clings to Hank's fur, other than that, he looks and acts normally.
He does not pay any heed to the snickers from Margaret the Triage nurse, or the amused looks from other staff and some of the patients. I mean…seriously…HOT NEON PINK! The fur is so pink that cotton candy would have inadequacy issues, and run home crying.
A smile over to Martin. "I really want to thank you, Doctor Almer, you've been a true godsend here. Thank you very much for helping out."
Also smelling faintly of strawberries and sulfur, if thankfully less because he's not covered in fur, Martin actually hasn't teased Hank about the pink since he took photos of it the day it happened. The red-head is wearing scrubs, for he's here to help as a physician. They are dark blue today, but don't quite match. "It's good to have a place where the goal is really to help people." He gives plainly, sitting to have a bit of a break from helping. There's a water bottle in hand, nearly empty, for he's always good about staying fueled. Martin doesn't look too tired yet because today's issues have been modest ones. So far anyway. "You know, we could have dealt with your color problem. Or are you considering keeping it." Okay, maybe a little teasing.
Catseye is not medically certified, however she is trained in first aid and is skilled with technology of all levels. She is by the clinic at least once a week, to check and see what might be needed or repair equipment. A day or three after one of her visits, there is frequently an anonymous donation of whatever they are shortest on.
Today Catseye has been repairing one of the autoclaves. She looks up at the aide who has been hovering nearby. "Run calibration test, yes. But will work now." She starts gathering up her tools, tail twitching with annoyance at the sulfur smell.
The clinic in Mutant Town has gotten used to anonymous donations that just 'mysteriously show up'; they've been getting them for months, ever since they were opened. Generators, medical supplies, even outright blocks of cash have shown up. Inevitably, these seem to come in most often days after treating one of those believed to be a member of the Pride, or perhaps one of their allies.
A change in scent, and look, gets attention, especially around Mutant Town. And especially around the Pride. Which is why it should come as no surprise that a certain semi-oppressive aura of 'predator' starts seeping into the clinic from outside. Someone has arrived, it seems, even if she hasn't come through the door yet.
Luckily the scent is faint, barely a trace, but even Hank's brains and chemistry acumen is not sufficient to remove all trace. Which SORELY vexes him. The worst part being he's not even sure /why/ he can't. The compound was synthetic, sure, but it wasn't anything /that/ exotic. Oh well. "I've been here closing in on three years." Which Martin would know is significant, Hank will be able to open his own practice at three years if he's so minded, his residency requirements met. "Every day is an adventure, and every person we get to help a boon." Yup. He actually talks and feels like that. The doof.
"Well done, Catseye, thank you." He's especially glad not to be teased (much) by her or Martin for the Pink. Though, considering how upset Cat was when /he/ slipped up and referred to Cat as being pink, she's definitely due some recompense.
He looks up as he feels that predator aura, only instead of dread, it draws a smile from the man, no teeth showing of course. Yes. He actually rather likes the Hunter.
Martin is lucky in that the smell will go away for him. He can't even smell it now. With no magic, there's nothing on him to cling to. The red-head goes quiet as the feeling of the place changes. That makes him kick in his aura of calm and no threat. Sure anyone with mental shields won't be affected, but he isn't even aware that he does it. "Yeah, but you don't have to be uncomfortable while doing it." The doctor reminds. It might even make the smell fade more quickly since the plan is to shave Hank and regrow everything. "Is that the woman we saw the first night I was here?" Asked before finishing off the water he has. Rises to his feet to throw it away properly.
Catseye regard Hank with amusement, "Experiment gone wrong, DoctorFuzzyHank? Catseye can recommend a good conditioning hair color." Her tail tip twitches with amusement. "Might need an extra large order." Catseye's lavender hair is natural, but she has done an ombre for pride parades. "Even better, color smells like mint." Sorry, minor smells to other people bug the poor kitty nose.
Indeed, a minute or so later the door to the clinic opens, and the shabbily dressed threadbare veteran woman walks in, nodding respectfully to Mary at the intake desk. In truth, there's nothing overtly threatening in her posture; she doesn't make any angry sounds or epithets, she doesn't charge in. But that menace precedes her like a wave.
Hunter pauses at counter and turns her head back towards the door, taking a knee. She gives a soft 'blrrrt' sound that is far too accurate for a human to make. The milling clowder of cats outside stop, lifting their heads momentarily to regard her, and then finally disperse … all except one, who comes strolling in bold as you please, weaves around feet and chair legs and table and such, and drops a mouse at pink-Hank's feet. On her way out, the cat twines around Catseye's ankles, stropping against her, and then out she goes.
Hunter rolls her eyes slightly and stands, walking further into the clinic without any seeming respect for 'only patients back here, please.' "What?" she asks, pointing at Hank.
"I'm not." Uncomfortable. "That said, yes, the menacing aura is Hunter, the guardian of Mutant Town." A firm nod. "She's a good friend." All of which Diya no doubt hears on her way into the clinic. He looks to Cat as she starts listing dyeing options, and can't help but sigh faintly. "Actually, Martin and I have evolved a plan, I'm going to fully depilate with a cream, and then he's going to help me regrow the fur, but later. My pride is secondary to the needs of The Pride and our fellow mutants here." A broad smile to Cat, still showing no teeth and he doesn't quite make eye contact with the girl even though she knows it isn't a challenge when Hank does it. Polite is polite, however, and Hank generally tries to be.
"I'd consider that, Cat…if I wasn't unsure of what would happen. Better to be safe."
Hank looks at the dead mouse, and is touched, that's kitty love right there! He knows enough to accept the gift in the spirit intended, and will make sure to have a treat for the calico next time he's around.
Hank greets the Hunter, and then answers both queries. "I was helping a friend, Domino. Working on alternative food for the Hellkitty, it exploded in my face, altered my fur color, created a huge brouhaha at RESCUE, and I sneezed so badly I knocked myself out and crushed a work table."
Martin snorts with laughter for Catseye's teasing. "You bet it was. On a dramatic scale. He had the whole complex shut down for most of the day. We had to go through quarantine for a long while too. Scrubbed us down and everything." If the doctor had any shame that might have been embarrassing, but to him it was merely annoying.
When Hunter enters, he inclines his head in greeting, also not making any sudden moves. "Hey." Offered simply to the other. Lets Hank tell the tale and doesn't even add to it. Not yet at any rate.
Catseye makes a little chirping sound when the cat strolls through and rubs against her ankles. Feline isn't really a language per se, but it was the form of communication she grew up with. Her tail coils with amusement. "If Hank thinks shaving is safer… in grown hair." She gives him a pointed look, sweeping from head to toe. She looks over at Martin, "DoctorFuzzyHank is good friend of Catseye's. Glad to meet DoctorMartin officially."
When Diya enters, Catseye perks up and gives another of those feline-greeting chirps. She takes a few deep breaths, managing to refrain (barely) from the urge to cheek-rub and sniff. Last time she saw Diya was a fight, and Catseye had been out of it at the end due to blood loss, so seeing her friend well is very reassuring.
Hunter nods to Martin when she sees him, and visibly tries to be as 'small' as possible; it doesn't help a lot, but she's not projecting the aura any further than she has no choice but to do so. She is what she is.
At Hank's tale, Hunter tilts her head slightly, considering him. "Hellcat needs pack. Hunt." This is a basic Truth to Hunter, and she wonders that Hank doesn't get it. Oh, right; scientist. Bah! "Smell." she complains simply. He cannot change it. but she acknowledges the truth.
Seeing and feeling Catseye's response, Hunter walks around to her side and leans against her, shoulder to shoulder. "Heard. Well." Yep. Minimalist Diya. But she heard that Catseye was OK, and clearly she was glad. "Uniforms bad." Maybe not for the likes of Emma Frost and her daughters, but for Hunter definitely. Illegal alien. AWOL soldier. Mysterious figure of multiple outstanding cases, with dozens of John, Jane and Unknown Doe warrants out for her by city, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Uniforms bad indeed.
Hank's ears, were he a cat, would SO be flattened as Martin takes such glee in expounding on the debacle. "It was a right mess, I was chided by Veronica too." A sigh. "A well deserved chiding, I'm afraid. But truly - I haven't any idea why the stuff exploded in the first place, there were no components that should have been violent, even the Nepetlactone is not a catalyst." The active ingredient in catnip. Oh, dear, that could have been bad!
"Ah, Catseye - aka Sharon Frost, meet Doctor Martin Almer, a colleague and friend I work with at RESCUE, and here too. Cat - Doctor Martin Almer." There, introductions formally made! He looks between Cat and Hunter. "The attack on the Academy?" He asks.
Hank frowns. "I hadn't considered that sort of thing, but I wanted to make the kibble so that the Hellkitty could live without eating souls." Kind of a useful thing, that! He sighs then at the true observation. "It does. It is MUCH better than it was, though. I was /redolent/ of the stuff, it was not good. Strawberry-sulphur is /not/ a good scent."
"Often so." Uniforms bad.
"It's good to meet you too." Martin smiles at Catseye. Even gives a little wave for Hank's introductions. "Hank's not too bad." Totally teasing there. He likes Hank a lot. "Any friend of his is a friend of mine if they want to be." Sadly he doesn't understand cats all that well, for the man doesn't keep pets. That wouldn't be kind considering how rarely he's home. Even owns a nice brownstone and is barely there. Still, willing to learn!
While Hunter does make him uncomfortable the red-head grasps that this is not something she controls well, so doesn't stress over it. She's not here to hurt him. Not unless he does something stupid anyway. Sitting himself back down, he makes himself kind of small too. Nothing to worry about!
"You are completely ignoring that the stuff comes from another dimension I think." Martin gives to Hank, smiling. "Who knows how it'd react to anything and everything here."
Catseye looks amused, "Got out of talking to uniforms by bleeding alot. MotherMotherFrost made me rest for two days." If she rested for that long with her healing factor, she must have been hurt pretty badly. At the mention of another Dimension, Catseye wrinkles her nose. "Don't like dealing with other-dimension creatures. Math gets messy, makes no sense."
Diya listens to the stories, and just shakes her head. Crazy silly people.
Diya sniffs at Catseye and nods. "Glad." That's it. What? You wanted more words? You clearly have not known Hunter much! "Leads?" she inquires of Catseye. They have enemies afoot. Enemies that need some killing. Hunting, and killing.
"You might have a point. The molecular structures I was working with did have their origins in another plane of existence. I suppose even though the molecule I crafted was strictly made with terrestrial compounds the structure itself /was/ rather exotic, and could have been exotic enough to…" A glance to Catseye. "…go messy math." Hank ponders, and then sighs. "Magic, for lack of a better word, is illogical." To a scientist. Even one with the potential to work magic. Not that he knows that.
A frown at the news that Cat was down for /two days/. "You must have been pretty badly banged up." And that is not something Hank likes to hear. "I understand the attack featured crimson spherical portals, and Nova Hounds, and Cyberhounds, mercs and cyborg warriors - the Cyberian must have been interested. I wonder what the goal of such an overt and doomed to failure assault was." He muses.
Of course the fact that Hank knew so much about the enemy, might be a lead right there! He does look to Cat, curious if she and Emma and Priscilla and their various contacts had found anything yet.
Bleeding a lot? Catseye seems fine, well, talking strangely, but seems fine just the same. Still, Martin looks a little worried, "Are you alright. miss? My ability is healing. I could finish off any injuries you have. Ease the pain?" There's no intention to push the issue. She doesn't want? That's a okay. Martin has a good moral foundation. Which means he doesn't like the hunting idea, but keeps his opinion to himself.
As for magic.. The red-head knows almost nothing of magic and would admit that freely, "Maybe you simply don't know the rules of magic yet. Sure would seem illogical that way." A shrug and a smile before he admits, "I sure don't know jack about it."
Catseye shakes her head, "No leads… MotherFrost might have some, but not Catseye." She smiles reassuringly at Martin, "Catseye is fine now. Have healing factor, but is second-tier. Keeps from bleeding out, stabilizes, but needs sleep and food to finish job. Not like others where wounds close and are gone by end of fight." Catseye grimaces. "Know enough about Magic to know don't know enough. Different systems of magic have different rules." Her tail lashes, "Is like 2 plus 2 equals 3 for some mages, 6 for others. Makes no sense to Catseye."
Diya deflates just slightly at hearing that Catseye has no clues nor leads. She is Hunter; she needs to hunt those who attacked. Her only comment? She rests a hand firmly on Catseye's shoulder. "Glad." she murmurs, very glad Catseye is well. Discussions of science and magic? No thanks!
"She hsa a powerful healing factor, Martin. Stronger than mine even as he senses are, though Hunter's senses put ours to shame." Hank sighs about the no leads, and nods sagely about the mass lack of magical knowledge in the room. "I only know what I've read in muggle books, and RPGs." Games, not the Rocket Propelled Grenades! "It probably is something akin to that since the molecule I designed was patterned after one from an inherently magical reality, with likely different physical laws. Ah well, I may have to consult with an expert, I know a few."
A non tooth baring smile to Diya. "We all are, Cat is a very tough girl. That doesn't mean that getting hurt doesn't hurt, of course."
Martin nods, "I'm really glad you are okay." And he means that too! Seems lots of mutants heal faster, himself included. "I work for RESCUE now, and Hank has my number. Give a call if I can help." Who needs sleep? Martin is pretty sure he doesn't like magic, and he sure hopes to not have to deal with it again. It's weird! Weird enough he only eye rolls at Hank for the muggle comment. "Yes, Harry." The pink Harry apparently.
Catseye shrugs. "Powerful, maybeso. Better than some, not as good as others, yes? But ok now. Is what matters." She looks worriedly at Hank, "More worried about DoctorFuzzyHank. Side effects other than color and smell?" Ok, mentioning the sulfur smell is slightly rude, but it bugs her more than the color change does.
Diya eyes Hank curiously and a bit displeasedly; she does hate it when she has no idea what others are talking about. And she has no idea. Rocket Propelled Grenades? What do they have to do with magical knowledge? Most importantly, she says nothing; she has been told in the past that her own nature is magical, and she knows that apparently she can 'smell' magic. But she never knows what any of it means, and she knows squat. So … she says nothing.
Totally unusual, right? Shocking to be sure!
"Hellcat safe?" Diya questions. The rest of this foolishness seems unimportant to her. The stench is awful. But she can leave eventually. But she has not seen Domino since the rescue.
"That's *Henry*." Hank corrects with a smirk and eyes of yellow alight. "I will forward you his contact details, though you can always call RESCUE directly and they can reach out or forward." He scritches at Cat's ear, and shakes his head. "Not since the incident, no. Apparently Neena and I *shared* some of the symptoms, though separated by a considerable proximity. Neither of us ever met during the chaos that ensued." A nod to the Hunter. "So far she seems to be. And I /did/ produce some, for lack of a better term, 'kibble-goo'. I'll if it works as intended. If so, then I'll simply have to encase the reaction in a force field or something to contain the smoke, and perhaps do the brewing offsite in a secured location where nobody can get hurt." A nod. "While in hazmat suiting to keep myself isolated too."
Martin can only give, "Neena is fine. As far as things go. I can't do anything about magic, but physically she's well." He decides not to mention her being trussed up at the time. "I doubt hazmat will help, but good luck there." The doctor smiles for everyone, not showing teeth. "I'm afraid that I do need to get going. Things are quiet enough I think I can get some sleep for once." More amused than worried. "It was good meeting you both, and seeing you again." A nod to Hunter. If there's nothing else, the red-head will go off to find his belongings.
Catseye purrs from the throat, the way a true cat does. "Should head home too. MotherMotherFrost worries." She looks at Hank, "If need help, call, yes? If not Catseye, someone. Not be stupid-brave and try to do it all by self." She gives him her best scolding look, which is rather cute actually. Hard to be intimidating when you're lavender.
Hunter nods to Martin, and then Catseye. To the lavender feline, she murmurs, "Safe." It's a gently-worded 'order', more a firm suggestion from a friend. She meets Hank's gaze as well, and then having finished she walks towards the door. Her last act, though, is to turn back and glance at Hank meaningfully. Naturally, she makes this meaning much harder to determine, because she does it wordlessly. She's like that.
But he probably ought best not forget the gift he was left.
As Martin and Catseye are both going to depart, and Hunter too, Hank grips one of Martin's shoulders. "See you back at RESCUE, get some sleep. I took the liberty of sending a box of my special needs energy bars to your quarters there." Because a healer that needs to rest and consume mass quantities (non-conical headed or not) NEEDS such things. By box Hank meant a box of 5 packs, a full dozen, so…that will hold him a few days.
Cat gets a firm hug, and a cheek rub, a barely audible. "Sorry for the stink."
And Diya's look is caught, a moment of him looking puzzled, and then Hank sort of '!s' as he recalls the mouse. A hanky is used to pick up and pocket the dead mouse, he'll deal with it later.
From there he finishes out his shift, sending Cat and Martin and Diya all their contact information - in Diya's case it is explicitly the number to reach Lexi Haze.
When finally the shift is done, Hank finishes cleaning up, and then heads home.