InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "good morning starshine"

the doctor is IN. (mudar) wrote in x_emplary,
@ 2008-02-07 21:38:00

Sometimes I find myself a little uncomfortable [Jean]
Hank knocked on the door of the med labs. His hair was especially ruffled today and his shirt needed ironing in addition to being untucked from his slacks. About 40 minutes earlier he'd fallen asleep at his desk. Thankfully he lacked the imprint of computer keys on his face.

"Uh, Jean..?"

Hank cleared his throat and entered the room. It closed behind him with a lock, which flooded Hank with memories of the school's security detail and floor plans. The logistics then brought up a working directory of known contact information for everyone on the team. Hank wondered somedays if maybe he was a security risk. That would be left to stress about for another day.

"...you here?"

Hank shoved his hands into the front pockets of his slacks. He whistled to fill the momentary silence.

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	levistrauss 2008-02-08 05:30 am UTC (link)
	There was a rustling from the storage room, followed in quick succession by a muffled crash and an "Ouch". The door was closed, so one couldn't see inside to see what all the fuss and kerfuffle was about. "Yeah.." Jean called out. "I'm in here. But it's gonna take a minute. I'm knee-deep in bedpans. Clean ones.. but they're blocking the door." (Reply to this) (Thread)

	mudar 2008-02-10 11:36 pm UTC (link)
	"Do you.. need some help?" Hank made a small wincing expression as a delayed reaction to the crash. He walked toward the closet and leaned against the wall. His head made a slight thump! with his shoulder as he did do. He watched the door sheepishly. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

levistrauss
2008-02-11 01:22 am UTC (link)

"No no!" She called through the door, picking up bedpans and stacking them in the corner as quickly as she could. Someone had moved the box of bandages that she'd had holding them up on the shelf so they'd had nothing to break their fall on the way down.

They weren't meant to be in the corner on the ground, but she didn't have time to put them back on the shelf, not when she had a guest in her labs, so for the meantime they would be put there. Afterwhich she'd have to re-sterilise them and put them back where they belonged.

"I'm fine. The door is almost clear."

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mudar
2008-02-11 06:52 am UTC (link)

"Oh. Good."

He paused.

"So, given your medical knowledge of mutation most secondary mutations happen in early adulthood. I mean, you'd agree with that assessment, wouldn't you? Not to mention the fact that they're usually related to the original mutation. I mean, it seems very unlikely that a person would develop a secondary, completely unrelated mutation much later in life.. say.. mid-thirties, especially when there aren't any of the usual corresponding factors that usually trigger the onset of a mutation... stress, life threatening situations, hormonal triggers..."

At this point Hank was reduced to nervous babbling as Jean continued to clean up the closet from within.

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levistrauss
2008-02-11 06:59 am UTC (link)

Jean stared at the door a little, through which the babbling voice of her friend was echoing. "Hank.. Slow down and wait til I can see you before you start confusing me." She said as she placed the final bedpan on the stack in the corner and unlocked the door.

Her red hair was pulled back into a bun that was held together with two carefully placed hair-pins. Her blue skin was flushed a little darker than usual, but she had a smile on her lips anyway. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and planted a quick "hello" kiss on his cheek.

"What were you saying about secondary mutations? Do you think you have one?"

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mudar
2008-02-11 07:05 am UTC (link)

Hank's shoulders slumped. He couldn't help but smile when Jean kissed his cheek, and even though it was completely innocent and between friends, well.. she was cute and he may have had a small crush on her as a teenager that never entirely went away.

So Hank felt incredibly sheepish when he said, "I think I have mudar. Like gaydar only like with mutants. I don't even know if that's possible or how you would test that."

It felt a little ridiculous to say but mudar had been the best word he could come up with for it.

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	levistrauss 2008-02-11 07:17 am UTC (link)
	"Mudar?" Jean smirked a little, pointing to one of the examination beds she had already set up in the lab. She wanted him to sit down and relax. "You think you can detect mutants?" While he did that, she moved over to the side of the labs, collecting a needle and vials from various drawers. "What makes you think you can do that?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mudar 2008-02-11 07:24 am UTC (link)
	"Well. On a completely non-scientific level sometimes I see someone and I think.. huh, I think they're a mutant. Like, I just get this feeling that I know." Hank frowned. "It sounds idiotic." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

levistrauss
2008-02-11 07:35 am UTC (link)

"No it doesn't." Jean said. "Mutation is new, scientifically speaking, we don't know that much about it, and even when you consider the 'trends' we've noticed with the way it behaves, there are always exceptions. Look at me!" She pointed at her blue skin and yellow eyes with a free hand.

"I was born this way, which goes against the trends, and my secondary mutation manifested when I was seven. Who's to say that your secondary mutation can't manifest now. And I'm sure we can figure out a way to test to see if your 'mudar' really exists."

She placed the needle, the vials, the piece of rubber tubing and the sterile swabs on a small tray next to the bed. "Sit down. I'll give Moira a blood sample first, she'll be able to tell me if you've had any changes on a genetic level."

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mudar
2008-02-11 07:41 am UTC (link)

Despite becoming an emerging expert in the field of genetics and mutation, he a bit relieved to be getting a second opinion from McTaggart. He sat down obediently and began to roll up the sleeve of his rumpled shirt.

However, it was kind of creepy to think he might still be changing on a genetic level. He liked to think of his genes as neat and tidy. Changes made him feel skittish.

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levistrauss
2008-02-11 07:51 am UTC (link)

"Just relax." Jean said as she pulled on a pair of rubber gloves. She opened the sterile swab and rubbed it over the vein in his arm. "If you do have a secondary mutation, it sounds like it's hardly going to be very intrusive or hard to adjust to."

She grabbed the rubber tubing and tied it around his arm, trying to be as gentle as possible.

"Do you think a blind test would work? Blindfold you and place some people in the same room as you, and you have to pick whether they're mutants or not? Because I could arrange that if you'd like."

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mudar
2008-02-11 08:41 pm UTC (link)

"I don't know. That would depend on if the mutation required on visual stimulus. I'm not actually sure how it works or what sense triggers the effect."

This was going to require study.

"We could try the blindfold to start, I suppose."

It was a good idea, and one could see Hank's expression chew over the idea-- creating a varriety of different experiements in his mind to test her theory.

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levistrauss
2008-02-12 03:04 am UTC (link)

Jean gently pressed the skin to find the vein, and once she had it she quickly grabbed the needle and slipped it through the skin, and slowly bright red blood began to pool into the small tube.

"I could organise something for you if you'd like? To test it out. I imagine if you tried to organise it yourself you may ruin the scientific integrity of the experiment."

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	mudar 2008-02-14 10:25 pm UTC (link)
	"You're right," he agreed. Though his face looked visibly disappointed at being left out of initial planning stages. It was the kind of puzzle he loved solving. He waited for the sample to finish and the needle to be removed. He stood and gave her a small, thankful smile. "Let me know what you come up with?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

levistrauss
2008-02-16 12:56 am UTC (link)

"Of course I will!" She said sincerely, taking her attention off the blood drawing process to glance up at her friend. "I'll set up a few things and should have them ready by the weekend, if that's OK with you?"

The first vial was almost full, and since it was all they needed at present, she held a cotton swab against the crook of his arm and as gently as possible she removed the needle. She then quickly stoppered the little vial and placed it in a holding rack.

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