Dr Archeville Posted February 5, 2011 Posted February 5, 2011 Clever girl! "Fortunately," he replied, grinning broadly, "the infection had not progressed very far, and a cocktail of antivirals was able to remove the infection. The inspired part, if I do say so myself," he bowed slightly, "was the use of an anticancer drug ArcheTech had been doing clinical trials with. The drug was derived from Arnica montana, more commonly known as wolf's bane, a plant has been used as an antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, fungicide, and vasodilator for centuries. He made a full recovery in under a day -- though how much of that was due to our treatment and how much was due to his own pre-existing metahuman condition -- and we were able to track the one who had infected him and stop his mad plan to overrun the city with werewolves." I wonder... would she be interested in my Scientific Study of Magic project? I am sure she would -- why would she not?! -- but there is only one way to find out! His tone shifted slightly, from boasting back to relaxed inquisitiveness. "So, ah, it sounds like you have given the subject some thought. 'Magic' and the 'supernatural,' that is. Have you done many studies of it?"
Raveled Posted February 5, 2011 Author Posted February 5, 2011 "Mmm. Not really." Jessica's gaze drifted along the walls as she traced lines of data flow, though she kept talking to Archeville. "I mean, my boyfriend's really into magic, so maybe I should be more interested in it? But the whole theoretical side of things just kinda bores me. I like to look at science and theory and think about how to apply them right now, not ten or twenty years down the road." She gave a twitch of her shoulders that might've been a tiny shrug. "I've always been more interested in the practical application of things rather and the theoretical implications. I suppose that makes me a bad scientist, but whatever. Einstein figured out relativity, but I'll figure out how to make that push around starships."
Dr Archeville Posted February 6, 2011 Posted February 6, 2011 Ah, not so clever after all. Shame, that. "As long as you keep using your discoveries for the betterment of humanity, I would be willing to overlook some neglect of the theoretical work. Just do not take any shortcuts, those always turn out badly!" he cautioned. Wait - her boyfriend? So she and Mara are not... Well, I hope Mara finds someone special! Everybody needs somebody to love! "Who is your boyfriend? Do you think he might be interested in helping advance scientific understanding of so-called 'magic'? Do you think anyone at The Lab would be interested? Supercape or Dragonfly seem well-suited for the task. Of course," he finished making some notes on her medical file, "I do remember the measures we took to make sure The Lab is not sen as a subsidiary or branch of ArcheTech, that you all are your own organization, so any collaboration would need to be done carefully, but for a project of this scope..."
Raveled Posted February 7, 2011 Author Posted February 7, 2011 "My boyfriend's Blake Salazar," she answered. "He used to be Kid Cthulhu, back when he was at Claremont, but whatever gave him that power got... taken away somehow. Burned away, maybe, I'm not really sure on the whole situation. He doesn't really want to talk about what happened. I gather it was pretty painful for him." She gave a small shrug. "If he wants to talk about it, I'll be here. Until then, I'm fine with things. "I can't really say how much the other Lab folks would be interested in researching magic," she admitted. "I'm not that good at reading people, and the only one I know really well is Dragonfly. I think she's more interested in mutilating physics in her own manner." The young genius blinked and sat up straighter, a smile spreading across her face. "Hey, I know! If I can talk to machines, I should be able to talk to their cellphones! I could ask them right now!"
Dr Archeville Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 Archeville's face lit up at the name, "ah, Kid Cthulhu! He came in here, some days before the attack -- he had let me study him and his magic!" Archeville knew Blake had lost his pseudonatural powers: he kept tabs on all Metahuman activity, and when some armored maniac burned down part of the Supers Museum while beating on a teenage superhero, and said teenager turned out to be one of his patients, that nabbed his attention. I should give him a call and see how he is! "Call? You should be able to, yes, though not from this shielded room." He snapped his fingers, "ah, I know exactly the place to try!" Oh, this would be a perfect way to do some further tests! Moments later, they were on the roof of the ArcheTech building, near the Helipad. Freezing winter winds buffeted the two, but Archeville (kept warm by his fantastic coat) gave her a thumbs-up. On the elevator ride up, he had told her that making a phone call on the roof would normally be difficult due to the winds, but since her radio communication processes were tied directly to her brain, particularly the speech areas, she should be able to call without speaking aloud, effectively a sort of 'cell phone telepathy.'
Raveled Posted February 7, 2011 Author Posted February 7, 2011 Jessica huddled into her winter coat. She hadn't expected to be up on the top of a freaking skyscraper, so she hadn't dressed for the harsh wind that seemed to cut through her layer of fleece and straight to her bone. She licked her lip to see if there was still any sensation there and regretted it instantly, since the wetness just made the cold and the wind worse. Still, she wasn't about to complain in front of Archeville; he was out here in just his lab coat, after all. The young woman walked around until she stood in the lee of the helipad, where at least the wind was blocked somewhat. She closed her eyes and leaned against the large structure, careful not to let bare skin touch cold metal, as she stretched out with her new abilities. It was odd, experiencing the world as a flow of information and digital signals. At some places the signals crossed and converged, creating nodes that pulsed with data, each sending out streamers that connected with other nodes in a vast, intricate network; Archetech itself was a vast glowing monolith, a stupefyingly complex pyramid of data and access codes and security protocols. Jessica narrowed her awareness of and focused on the cellphone towers blanketing the city with their reception, then tried to link into the nearest one to call her coworkers. It was hard, very hard -- it felt like she was reaching for something just beyond her reach, something she could only barely brush with her fingertips. Her breathing increased as she pushed herself and her nascent abilities past the comfortable threshold, feeling a sharp spike of pain flash through her head. She ignored it, fought past it, and reached out for the cell tower again. There was a sudden wetness on her lip, a sudden copper taste in her mouth. She opened her eyes and touched her upper lip, bringing her fingers away wet with... blood? She spat out the liquid in her mouth, rich and red on the tarmac. Her brain suddenly seemed to seize, like itself had been frozen by the wind, as she felt more blood run down her lip. "Oh," she said finally, weakly. "That's not good."
Dr Archeville Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 Uh-oh! In a flash Archeville was at her side, "Jessica!" He checked her pupillary response and pulse rate, and offered one arm for her to steady herself on. "Are you alright? How do you feel? What happened?" Is her normal range not that great, and she just tried pushing herself to reach further out?
Raveled Posted February 15, 2011 Author Posted February 15, 2011 Jessica grabbed Archeville's arm and leaned against the older man, more for the warmth than the physical support. "I'm fine," she said. "I think I just pushed myself a bit too far." The fact of the matter was, though, that she wasn't fine; her vision was odd, light sources pulsing weirdly and making a halo around things. A sudden gust of wind made her shudder and she clenched her jaw shut, trying not to let her teeth chatter. "I think we shu-shu-should go inside. It's getting cold out hu-here."
Dr Archeville Posted February 28, 2011 Posted February 28, 2011 "Yes, yes, of course! Here, let me steady you..." Poor girl! Seconds later, they were at a small receiving room on the top floor, set up to assess medical emergencies flown in via helicopter. Jessica was on a gurney, with numerous monitors hooked to her, and Archeville was at her side, tending to her with he utmost in professional care. "BP and pulse dropping, but still high... pupillary response improved, but still atypical... epistaxis ceasing... brain scans had shown greatly increased activity in Broca's area and the auditory and visual cortexes, butt hat is decreasing, too. Looks like you are well on your way back to... well, back to the same condition you were in when you walked in."
Raveled Posted March 21, 2011 Author Posted March 21, 2011 Jessica sat on the edge of the gurney, rubbing hard at her temples with the tips of her fingers. The chatter of the medical machines situated around her was increasingly distracting, like a pack of eager puppies yapping away mindlessly. Besides, it all reminded her of the night she got her powers, and she didn't want to relive those memories if she could avoid it. So, as soon as her vision cleared, she stood up, keeping one hand on the gurney until her legs felt firmer. She took a deep breath, ignored the throbbing at the base of her skull, and gave Doktor Archeville a small smile. "I think that's enough for today," she said. "Thank you for the check-up, and the peace of mind. I'll talk to the rest of the folks at the lab -- through normal channels -- about your offer of exploring the paranormal. And if you want my help on that project you mentioned earlier, just let me know."
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