InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Welcome to our filthy minds!"

Fruit Loops are for Krogers (quadpower) wrote in valarlogs,
@ 2012-10-20 16:39:00

Entry tags:

!complete, conner kent (superboy), moira mactaggert, wrex

Who: Conner Kent, Moira, Wrex
What: Blood tests and things!
When: Saturday Afternoon
Where: Urdnot Ranch
Ratings/Warnings: PG-13, warnings for medical stuff.
Status: In Progress

It was rare indeed to get Moira MacTaggert out of her lab these days, and Wrex was always glad she took the time to come down to the Ranch when he could get the opportunity. A lot of the kids were doctor-shy, and it helped when the doctor came to them.

He'd settled her in the School Nurse's office and the last few hours had been busy enough that the two of them hadn't had much time to speak. In the lull before Conner arrived, he'd brought her some really good coffee and a snack. He felt like there were things he still needed to say to her, but had no idea where to start. So he was extremely grateful when Conner arrived at the Ranch to break up the awkward.

Someone had lead Conner to the office, and Wrex waved a hand at him, "Hey, Kid. Glad you could get away. This is Doctor MacTaggert."

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apograph
2012-10-20 11:55 pm UTC (link)

"Hi." The terse reply might have been unfriendly, if Conner weren't so clearly nervous. He spent more time looking at his feet than Moira, and shifted his weight a little once he'd found a place to stand.

"I'm Conner," he added after a few seconds, because a nagging voice at the back of his head was insisting 'manners.' "Conner Kent. Thanks. For, uh, looking at my DNA."

That was a weird thing to say, wasn't it? Oh well. The whole situation was a little weird.

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moiramactaggert
2012-10-21 12:11 am UTC (link)

It had been a peaceful drive. After giving Obi-wan an examination, Moira had closed up for the day to make the journey out to the Ranch. The hardest part had been packing up her scanner, but she'd found a way. All the kids seemed to be in good healthy order, even if Alma hadn't been very chatty. Being grounded would do that to a girl. She thought that would be good for her in the long run - it didn't hurt to treat her like a normal person, even if she had incredible power.

She had made her way to the office after checking up on the kids, and at with Wrex for some coffee. She smiled when Conner came in, "Hello, lad. It's nae problem, it's my expertise."

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quadpower
2012-10-21 12:27 am UTC (link)

"Conner and Alma may have some shared DNA, and we'd like to get to the bottom of that." Wrex explained. Unspoken, but heavily implied by the look that Wrex exchanged with Moira, was the fact that shared DNA meant Conner might have some extraordinary abilities, too.

He didn't want to make too big of a deal out of that, though, beause the kid was nervous enough. He gave Conner a reassuring smile, "Moira's pretty heavily trusted by Alma. You're in good hands. Want me to stay?"

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apograph
2012-10-21 01:06 am UTC (link)

Conner opened his mouth to say something macho, because he was almost seventeen and could totally do this doctor thing on his own. Except. Between the dreams and his recent reality, he didn't want to let someone draw blood.

"Yeah, that's fine," Conner said, trying to play off the request like it was no big deal. He wasn't asking Wrex to stay, he was just saying it was cool if he did. (Right. Really.)

"What do you need me to do?" He asked Moira.

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moiramactaggert
2012-10-21 01:17 am UTC (link)

"I need ye tae sit still while my scanner does it's work." Moira explained, keeping her voice even and calm, "Then I just need a wee bit o'blood! The scanner will tell us if there's anything unusual tae look at, but I need the blood for more indepth study. I can tell ye for sure if yuir related tae Alma with it, as well as if there's anything unusual. An X-gene, or anything else."

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	quadpower 2012-10-21 01:42 am UTC (link)
	"X-genes like the ones you've been finding on some of us that indicate we might have powers, right?" Wrex took a seat nearby with his coffee. He was close enough to be a reassuring presence but far enough away that Conner could feel like he wasn't being babysat. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

apograph
2012-10-21 02:44 am UTC (link)

Still. Conner could do still. He found something to sit on and tried to stay motionless enough for the scanner to do... whatever it did. He'd seen a lot of doctors' offices in his day, but scans were something new.

"In my dreams, I'm a genomorph." Which probably meant as little to them as 'X-gene' did to him. "A genetically engineered lifeform. In my case, created from human and alien DNA."

Conner made a face. The scrunch of the cheeks was vaguely embarrassed, but he didn't apologize for saying something so clearly insane. He dreamed what he dreamed? Couldn't help it.

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	moiramactaggert 2012-10-21 03:10 am UTC (link)
	"Och. I've dealt with genetically engineered beings before," Moira assured him. "In my dreams, anyway. There are a lot o'things that wouldn't phase me at this point." She nodded her head, "Aliens for one." She was quick at drawing the blood, "Living islands. That one was crazy." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

quadpower
2012-10-21 03:24 am UTC (link)

There wasn't much else for Wrex to do but supervise, which he liked to think he had a lot of qualifying experience doing. He supervised Moira scanning Conner and then drawing the blood, while sipping his coffee casually. He liked to think that his own casual air took the tension level in the room down a few pegs.

"I don't think I've heard about the living island, you've been holding out on me, Doc." He glanced at Conner, then back at Moira, "How long before we have any results? I'm not sure Conner can risk coming down here again too quickly."

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	apograph 2012-10-21 03:31 am UTC (link)
	"My mother," Conner explained. "'Close eye' is an understatement." There was a brief pause, just long enough for Conner to debate the merits of asking a question. Curiosity won out. "...there are living islands in your dream? That does kind of make aliens seem normal." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	moiramactaggert 2012-10-21 03:53 am UTC (link)
	"A day, maybe two," Moira promised. "My other research is in a phase where it's just waitin' for results, so I can focus on this pretty quickly." She smiled at the lad, "Aye. And all manner o'alien bein's. Nae all o'them bad. My dream world is rather fantastic." And of course, they were both sitting next to genuine alien bred material. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

quadpower
2012-10-21 04:41 am UTC (link)

That was true, and Wrex was pretty quick to shrug a shoulder about aliens in general, "Lots of Aliens where I come from. Lizard men, Blue squid-headed lady aliens, little mole-like ones, really smart salamander ones, and then of course you've got me. Gigantic angry turtle alien."

He still kind of hoped he never actually turned into a Kroger. He wasn't sure what Kasumi would think about that, "Krogers. So you know. No one HERE is going to mock you."

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apograph
2012-10-21 04:48 am UTC (link)

The smile was quick, but genuine and amused. "In my dreams, I'm half Kryptonian. I thought I might be the only one who had alien dreams."

But apparently not. That was a surprising relief. "I have a weird question. Will you be able to tell if the DNA is a result of whatever the people who engineered Alma and I did, or if it's because of the dreams? Because I'm not the only Kryptonian in the dreams. I don't know if I should warn the other one or not."

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	moiramactaggert 2012-10-21 05:00 am UTC (link)
	Moira looked thoughtful, "Well. I highly doubt they'd use alien DNA in this world. I should be able tae tell if there's any in ye, an' if there's been any modification of yuir dn. Alma had some, sae I think the latter is likely." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	quadpower 2012-10-21 05:04 am UTC (link)
	"Have you ever taken some of mine to test? Since I'm a dream alien too, it might give you something to compare it with." Wrex got up from his chair and started rolling his sleeve up. He didn't mind being a guinea pig in this case. It might help some people. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	apograph 2012-10-22 12:27 am UTC (link)
	Wait. Wrex was volunteering to be tested, too? Surprise colored Conner's face, but he quickly tried to play it off. He was used to being the guinea pig, but elective test-subject-dom was something new. "If it's a thing - something that happens to a lot of people - I'll warn him. The other guy." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

moiramactaggert
2012-10-22 01:02 am UTC (link)

Moira smiled, "I dae sae love drawin' blood!" She actually did, but she played it off like a joke. She pretty much loved her job, and research, but unlike some people liked volunteers. Especially big burly ones like Wrex, "Thanks, lad."

She drew blood from Wrex, "Aye. I understand some people would be worried about comin' forward. Nae everyone is open about their dreams."

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quadpower
2012-10-22 01:31 am UTC (link)

"We don't want to make those people uncomfortable or feel forced, either," Wrex nodded. He took the blood-drawing like a pro, pressing his hand down against the gauze when she was done and returning to his seat.

"I'm trying to figure out a way to get people at the ranch help without them having to come forward with real names or anything. This is new territory for us, but people need a place they can come to on their own, where they'll feel safe."

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apograph
2012-10-24 02:26 am UTC (link)

"Yeah. In my dreams, people are careful about their names. There are a few who put them out there, and then there's me - I didn't have a name, just a project title - but the rest use the codenames and masks as a precaution."

And Conner could understand. If he'd had a home and a life outside of the Team, he'd have wanted to protect it, too.

"I won't tell him that he has to do anything. I'll just say 'hey, I may have these abilities, you should watch out too, just in case.'"

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	moiramactaggert 2012-10-24 02:32 am UTC (link)
	"I understand. Many o'the heroes of my dreams tend tae hide behind masks and code name. Some o'them are quite silly. Spider-man, really?" Moira laughed, "That's fair enough. Ye can give him my name if ye want." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

quadpower
2012-10-24 02:50 am UTC (link)

"You can give him mine, too. So that he knows there's somewhere he can go for help if he needs it," Wrex offered.

Remembering something else he'd meant to bring up, he added, "When we're done here I want to talk to you about that other thing we mentioned last week."

He meant the emancipation paperwork, but that felt like a privacy issue he wasn't sure Conner wanted the doctor to know about.

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apograph
2012-10-24 03:18 am UTC (link)

"My friend, the Martian? Miss Martian. Was he actually a spider? Spider-man, I mean."

Because hey, why else would it be in the name? Conner wasn't dumb, but Alma had clearly gotten the lion's share of the brains in their genetic pool.

"...okay. I can talk about it," the boy nodded to Wrex. He didn't want to be too eager, but there was certainly some added alertness. His own life - without being manipulated by someone else? He was ready.

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	moiramactaggert 2012-10-24 03:56 am UTC (link)
	"He was bit by one or something. Strength, agility, shot web, likes to crack jokes a lot." Though Moira wasn't so clear on if that was a spider-like trait or just how Spidey was. "I dunnae know for sure. I'd love tae get a look at his DNA." She smiled at Conner, "I'll let ye know what I find as soon as I do!" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

quadpower
2012-10-24 04:25 am UTC (link)

"The world I came from was a lot different in that respect. My race, the Krogers, were still disliked, but not because of their special powers. Biotics are a norm there. It was other things, like how quickly we reproduced." Wrex shrugged a shoulder and got up from his chair, "If you're all set, I'll take Conner back to my office."

He glanced at Conner, "Unless there's anything else you needed to discuss with her?"

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	apograph 2012-10-26 03:49 am UTC (link)
	"No, I'm good." Conner said. Then, as an afterthought, he tried to smile at Moira. It was the awkward, face-scrunching smile of a teen boy too used to being surly. "Thanks for checking it out." With that, he got up out of his seat and rolled his sleeves down, in preparation to follow Wrex. (Reply to this) (Parent)