InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Bow wow chicka wow wow!"

Curtis Connors (needs_nivea) wrote in marvel_prep,
@ 2012-07-17 08:44:00

Entry tags:

connors, gwen stacy

Thread: Curt & Gwen
Characters: Curt & Gwen
NPCs: OsCorp employees
Location: OsCorp
Timeline: July 17, 2011
Description: Whirlwind first day!
Rating: PG
COMPLETE

"Yes. Thanks. Hey! Yeah, nice! Oh. Okay. Great. See ya! Cool. Sweet! Later!" Even though there wasn't a time change between Florida and New York City, Curt found himself exhausted. After barely making his flight and dumping a duffel bag he had into a locker at OsCorp, he'd been running nonstop. Granted, there was a certain thrill to it. The new guy - the young upstart. The charming, handsome, fit genius who still had the tan from the beach.

It was exciting, and not just attention Curt was receiving. The smell of New York City, the go-go-go lifestyle, it permeated the very building and while most people seemed friendly, they were in a hurry. Curtis Connors liked hurries. He liked to do a job well done at a speedy, proficient pace. But between little sleep the night before combined with orientation and a sudden swell of greetings, Curtis was beginning to feel the strain.

After a bit of wandering, Curt found a break room. There were probably many but this one had a full cravat of coffee and that was all he cared about at the moment. Opening the cabinets to find a mug, Curt selected one that didn't have any initials on it blew out the dust, if there was any. He inhaled the steam as he poured, feeling slightly revitalized just from the aroma.

(Post a new comment)

completepackage
2012-07-18 04:45 am UTC (link)

Into the break room walked Oscorp intern and fellow genetic genius...Gwendolyn Stacy. Gwen looked about tweleve, or so she'd been told since she'd started working at Oscorp. In fact she was actually 15 years of age and, in her opinion, plenty old enough. In a moment from a movie the girl reached up as she entered the room, pulling out the ponytail holder and shaking her head to let her hair loose. Of course, she wasn't aware that there was a drop dead gorgeous older male in the room when she did so. Gwen was, of course, dating the company owner's son but just because you were on a diet didn't mean you couldn't appreciate the other things on the menu! "I...hello. I didn't mean to interrupt your private moment with your coffee." Ever the friendly one Gwen held out a hand to the guy. "Gwen Stacy."

(Reply to this) (Thread)

needs_nivea
2012-07-18 11:41 am UTC (link)

When the little blond walked in, Curt was more curious - then amused - as she seemed to glide off the movie screen. He'd been around the block more than once, but he hadn't expected someone who looked so young to be working at OsCorp. He snickered and smirked. "The coffee's got nothing on you," he murmured, not wanting to get a sexual harassment claim on his first day at OsCorp proper.

After switching his coffee to his left hand, Curt took the hand and smiled warmly. "Curt Connors, part time genetics. Just moved up from Florida. Nice to meet you, Gwen."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

completepackage
2012-07-19 01:18 am UTC (link)

It wasn't his fault. The girl had modeled and that had been before puberty blessed her. As soon as he mentioned genetics her face lit up like a redneck's house at Christmas. "Are you? I'm going to become the world's leading expert in mutant genetics one day. It's fantastic to meet you." So the girl was confident in her brains. Sue her.

If she'd heard his muttered comment she didn't let on. But inside? Well inside she was glowing at it. Her boyfriend was a jerk and had been ignoring her. She was mostly certain he was on drugs but didn't want to think about that. Yes, it was nice to have someone older and good looking to appreciate her a little. Especially since he was into genetics.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

needs_nivea
2012-07-19 01:28 am UTC (link)

Curt snorted when he took his hand back, eyebrows knitting together for a moment, then relaxing. "I may just be standing in your way there, Gwen. But I don't mind sharing the spotlight. At least I won't in a few years. My concentration was in the study of reptilian amino acids. I hope to continue that research here at OsCorp Prime as we call it back home. One day I'll be able to help the soldiers coming back from wars get a new arm or leg or pinkie finger. You can have the mutant gene, I guess."

Taking a slurp of his coffee, Curt enjoyed the rush of caffeine he imagined hitting his bloodstream. "Pretty sure child labor laws keep you from being full-time here. So you'd be my...what?" He wanted to say 'secretary', but that wouldn't be right either. A smirk sliced the right corner of his mouth. "Guinea pig?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

completepackage
2012-07-19 01:36 am UTC (link)

She let one eyebrow raise as he stated he would be in her way. "You aren't letting me have anything." She stated firmly, "But I respect your goals completely. So you're looking to basically splice the reptilian DNA that leads to limb regeneration with normal human DNA? I think that opens all sorts of doors. I definitely wish you luck with that. But no. I'm not your guinea pig. I'm fifteen so you're right, I'm not a full-time OsCorp employee but I am an unpaid intern. I'm being allowed to do research here, use the facilities, assist with some things, etc. My goal at the moment is to work on creating genome maps of a few different mutant abilities. My goal is to find patterns. While the "x-gene" is said to not truly exist I know if I work hard enough I can figure out how it happens." She may only be 15 but Gwen was educated beyond her years.

"Anyway...I guess technically if you actually work here then I'm at your disposal to conduct research for you. But I do NOT fetch coffee." She specified.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

needs_nivea
2012-07-19 01:51 am UTC (link)

That was what Curt was after - knowledge and (perhaps) the recognition of his own work. This Gwen was one smart young woman and he wouldn't make the same mistake twice, even though it didn't seem like she had an ounce of humor in her. Granted, at her age, Curtis felt he had had something to prove, too. It wasn't easy to be taken seriously in this field, but now Gwen at least had an ally. Someone who had been through the fires and had come out unsinged on the other side. "Speaking of x-gene," he said, taking that segue into a completely different topic, "I still have one more year of school to finish up, so I'm only here part time. Apparently I'm going to be staying for a while at the Xavier School for Higher Learning? It's supposed to be Stark's School of Tomorrow but something happened to it, I hear. I haven't even really been there long enough to do more than get a quick look around. It didn't seem too far from the offices, though."

Another sip of his coffee and he gave Gwen a grin. "And as you can see, I'm perfectly capable of getting my own coffee. But if you ever want to bounce ideas around, I'm always up for that. Sounding boards are important and people like us? We need those since our heads are usually in several places at once."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

completepackage
2012-07-19 02:01 am UTC (link)

"I attend Stark, too. I know that they're boarding right now at Xavier's but I'm hopeful that situation will be fixed between now and the start of school. I'm from the city here so I'm staying at home right now." She clarified. "I am looking at another possibility for schools this week though. Just in case things change too much. While I'd love to be around those of mutant kind for my research purposes, I attended Stark because of the opportunities it gave me and I'm not sure Xavier's has the facilities I'm looking for. We'll see, I suppose." Gwen shrugged.

"Either way, I think I would enjoy bouncing ideas off of you. The only other person I can talk to about this stuff is Peter Parker. You'll meet him soon I'm sure. He's brilliant as well but genetics isn't his goal. People older than us don't take us seriously and are so stuck in their ways that it sometimes is hard to talk to them."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

needs_nivea
2012-07-19 02:09 am UTC (link)

His eyebrows crept up at that. Someone who could possibly need a ride to and from work? There were worse things in the world, that was for sure. But the interest quickly left him as Gwen explained herself. "If it helps, I was told it would be done before the start of the school year. Granted, the main reason I came was to work at OsCorp, but an excellent school wouldn't be bad in the bargain, either." The thought of being around a bunch of mutated freaks didn't actually sit well with Curtis, but he was open-minded enough to not voice such things out loud. For all he knew, they could just be nice people with three nipples.

"I'm not advocating we start a club or anything, but we're the next wave so at least I'll have people who don't go to bed at nine on the weekends." Which brought back one of Gwen's other points. "You know, this is my first time in the city. Think if I bought you dinner you could show me around? As colleagues, of course." Curtis made sure to add the last part since, wow, she looked so young when she shrugged. Like someone had blamed her drawing on the walls and she knew she did it but didn't want to admit it.

"Nowhere crazy. Just bookstores, coffee shops, some decent restaurants. I'm sure I could figure out the subway system on my own, but where's the fun in that?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

completepackage
2012-07-19 02:19 am UTC (link)

"There's a club, at school. But I know what you mean. It can't hurt at all to start networking now." Dinner...was it wrong to go to dinner with him? She wasn't so sure. But he'd said as colleagues and he was new. Of course it would be alright.

"I'm good with that. Just...don't try the subway on your own. It's kind of crazy. All sorts of rules based on the time of day and everything? Get someone to show you." She grinned at him and then pulled out her cellphone. "Put your number in here."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

needs_nivea
2012-07-19 02:26 am UTC (link)

And BAM!. Less than ten minutes and he was already putting his phone number into arguably the cutest girl at OsCorp. As of that moment, she was the cutest girl in all of New York state since he'd seen very few women he would qualify as cute since getting into town. He put his name on listing and made sure to hit save.

A second later his phone was vibrating in his pocket. Now he had hers, too. "I promise to not go on the subway all alone. Scout's honor." He handed the phone back and took another gulp of his coffee. "After I get a refill, think you can spare a few minutes to give me the nickle tour?" He'd been shown around, sure, but he was curious about Gwen's workspace.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

completepackage
2012-07-19 02:32 am UTC (link)

New York was not known for cute so it was indeed possible that Gwen Stacy was the cutest girl in the city. She certainly thought so sometimes. She took the phone back from him and stuck it back in her pocket. "Are you actually a scout?" She asked him rather dubiously. Truthfully, he just didn't seem to ooze boyscout to her.

"So since you're in school, too do you live with your parents?" She asked, deciding friendly conversation was in order.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

needs_nivea
2012-07-19 02:38 am UTC (link)

"Nothing gets by you," he answered, offering a wink. "I made it to Wolf Scout but stopped after that. Just could never master the pocket knife etiquette. Don't worry, I've held enough scalpels to make up for it since I found I had an interest in biology, and then genetics." He was teasing her, mostly, but what he'd said was all true.

Curt snorted and shook his head. "No, they're still down in Florida. I'm eighteen - I have a late birthday - so I'm pretty much my own person up here. I was shuttled off to Xavier's, then came here. Hell, I wouldn't mind putting a cot in my work area and sleep while experiments cured, but I don't think that's allowed, especially when school starts."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

completepackage
2012-07-19 02:45 am UTC (link)

"I don't necessarily do the whole dissection thing." She admitted. "I respect biology but it's not my thing." Gwen shrugged a little but then looked at him curiously when he said that he was just on his own at the moment. "Well that sounds lonely." She noted after a moment, frowning a little. "I make dinner for my dad a lot so if you ever want to come by for a bite then let me know." She offered. Gwen was extremely nice, as was probably apparent from her willingness to just invite him into her home. She felt a need to take care of people though. It was just her nature.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

needs_nivea
2012-07-19 12:13 pm UTC (link)

The honesty of Gwen's statement caught Curt off guard. He hadn't expected to feel something so poignant as homesickness so soon. He cocked his head in question and then smiled again. "Either it says a lot about my character that I'm getting invited to your home-cooked meal, or it says a lot about how big your dad is." He was trying to keep it light, though the offer was a very nice, unexpected surprise. "I will keep that in mind though, thanks." His smile was sincere now, almost a little shy.

Glancing at the clock, Curtis sighed, looking down into his coffee cup. "Guess I should probably head back. Since we're in the same department, how about you show me your workspace so I don't defile it with split open critters?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

completepackage
2012-07-20 02:41 am UTC (link)

"My father is the police captain for the NYPD." She noted with an innocent giggle. "He knows how to use a gun." She nodded though, as he suggested they head back up and that she show him where she worked from. She pulled her hair back up, re-affixing her pony tail and then nodded him to come with her. "This way. It's...basically a little closet thing but it's something right?" She grinned at him, always one for friendliness. "It'll be fun working together, Curt." Gwen assured him.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

needs_nivea
2012-07-20 12:37 pm UTC (link)

Her statement got a laugh from Curt. "I'd bet you know how to use one, too. Don't worry, I'm not the type to step on toes - especially those attached to a shield." He wondered if Gwen was simply making conversation or if that was a thinly-veiled warning as to the forces she was able to set in motion should Curtis ever wrong her.

Not that it mattered presently since it was going to be all work and no play for a while. "Yeah, it's what you make of it that counts," Curt agreed, knowing from the past that everyone had to start out small. "Gwen, I think you just made New York twice as interesting."

(Reply to this) (Parent)