X-Men MUCK -
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Moira
Despite her
average height and build, Moira MacTaggart can seem a very impressive woman,
even at first glance. Perhaps reputation
precedes her, but her self-confident bearing and nurturing manner have a tendency
to exceed a simple 5-foot-7-inch frame.
Dressed
casually in khaki slacks and a plain white button down blouse, her clothing
reflects less the need to impress and more the need for comfort. She wears the style of shoes specifically
designed for a great deal of standing, a white lab coat hanging from her
shoulders to mid-thigh, starched white but slightly mussed from over use.
Inside the pockets are one or two pencils, a piece of candy and a small hand
technical device of her own design.
Her dark brown
hair has a slight reddish tint, cut neatly to frame her oval face in a
shoulder-length bob. Fair complexioned,
her warm brown eyes watch her surroundings with alert attention and honest
care.
<<XS>> Lab/Medbay -
LvB2
Walls are sterile white and surfaces gleam in polished
stainless steel, the large room a vision of cool science tinged with the faint
medical smell of antiseptic and filled with the soft whirring of autoclaves,
refrigeration units, and various medical scanners and devices. Four hospital beds are present near the entrance, curtains rigged to allow for privacy, but pulled
back when not in use. In shielded alcoves off the back wall are the resident
doctor's pride and joy: A full-body X-Ray machine, as well as an MRI unit and
other heavy-duty imagery equipment.
Between the alcoves, through a thick glass window, a small operating
theatre can be glimpsed. In the lab section, an electron microscope and a pair
of gene-sequencers take place of pride, glassware and smaller equipment kept securely
locked away in the cabinets underneath and above the work surfaces.
[Exits : [H]allway ]
[Players : Jean ]
"I'm a bitch, I'm a lover, I'm a child, I'm a mother...!"
The singing is off-key and under her breath, but Jean seems quite
content to carol along with Meredith Brooks as she putters about her lab
section, stirring this, pushing a button on that, occasionally patting the
pockets of her lab coat for a pen, pencil, random small bit of technology, or a
cookie. Yes, a cookie. Don't ask.
It appears the doctor is in, and is having a good day, with no broken
ankles to set, split personality'd arch enemies
showing up, mysterious kidnappings, or, in fact, anything but some DNA to analyze
and a few bottles of reagent to make up for the start of chemistry classes
again. Life is good, and as the redhead
decants an analysis from one of the machines to her palm pilot and settles
comfortably in a seat behind her desk, she seems to intend to enjoy it with the
volume up.
Hearing the amp'd up music as she
approached the door, Moira remembered why she lived on an island. A shake of her head, she smiles at the sound
and has to admit that company is always preferred, despite their musical
tastes. And, considering the amount of
data being transmitted to Muir on a regular basis these days, it seems company
is more than welcome. As if nothing were out of the ordinary in this cozy
little lab, the silver toned doors make that 'swish' sound so common to the
high-tech work, leaving Moira framed in their parting, looking briefly up with
a smile as she catches sight of the busy young doctor at work. Not one for big entrances, she's content to
wait out the musical interlude, resting the clipboard in her hand at her hip.
Jean
Beautiful in a slight and academic way, Jean is hardly one
to go too far out of her way for her looks. The straight, shoulder length fall
of her auburn hair is tied back out of her face in a messy sort of bun,
sections too fine and wispy to be considered sidelocks
falling loose to soften the line of her jaw.
Green eyes are sharply intelligent beneath sculpted eyebrows, observing
the world with a scientist's cool gaze softened and humanized by deep rooted
convictions and passions that lend mobility and expression to a regally cast
face with its aquiline nose and a mouth often slightly pursed in concentration
or thought. She stands five feet, eleven
inches and no spare change, muscles lean and a whipcord strength belying her
slim frame with its almost anime-long legs.
Straight leg jeans in dark denim blue are broken in to a
comfortable fit, casually showing off the good doctor's considerable amount of
leg, while a black button-down shirt is worn open over a black tank top, either
tucked in or left loose to suit her fancy. Combined with an old-fashioned
choker, the simple clothes still give a general impression of dressed-down
class. Jean's also wearing black leather boots with a two inch platform heel,
but don't let that fool you into thinking she can't run in them.
Jean leans back in her ergonomic and futuristic-looking desk
chair, one foot narrowly missing a stack of CD-RWs as
she takes advantage of the fact that there's no-one around to chew her out for
unladylike behavior as she skims over reams of data, before feeding it into her
desktop computer and beyond that the computing power of the School net to do
the number crunching of making sense of an entire genome for her. Analysis is where the touch of a human brain
is needed. Sighing with relaxation and rolling her shoulders, she picks up the
mental ripple of a familiar mind approaching, and by the time Moira's cued the
doors open, Jean's whipping her feet off her desk, sitting up, and promptly
swatting at the volume controls, attempting to act her age. "Um. Hi Moira... good flight over?"
Moira crosses the room smoothly to a monitor, starting up a
high-clearance connection promptly to the Muir database, as if she hadn't just
crossed the
Jubilee is, as usual, far too absorbed in her own matters to
keep track of her surroundings, much less notice that she'd nearly been on the
heels of someone down the corridor outside the lab. The doors barely have time
to slide shut before they wheeze open again with a huff, in Jubes'
imagination. Dressed in shimmery spandex shorts
underneath a rainbow-swirled leotard, hair pulled into tiny spikes of pigtails,
and tape wrapped wrists, it's easy to figure out where'd she
come from. Just don't ask if she'd had any supervision cause she'd just roll
her eyes and mutter something about 'this not happenin'
if I had...' "'allo?
Medical -types on duty?" she singsongs as she enters, holding her lightly
curled right hand in her left.
Jubilee
Jubilee stands just at 5'5", slender and fine-boned,
but with a gymnast's athletic build. Glossy black hair is cut short into a
blunt bob, usually left to gather into unruly tufts. Wide-set, almond-shaped
eyes are a brilliant shade of blue, unusual given her Asiatic features.
Creamy-golden skin is smooth over nose and cheeks, creasing slightly around
full, usually smirking, lips.
A glossy plastic choker flashes burgundy between the raised
collars of her mottled yellow-green pleather jacket
hanging loosely from shoulders to knees, bouncing gently as she moves. A
cropped black tank peeks out from underneath, lace edging its shallow v-neck.
Her stomach is flat, toned muscles slipping smoothly under the skin as she
moves, her silver navel ring winking in the light. Black, low-rise jeans hug
hips and upper thighs before flaring from the knees to fall in a boot-cut over
thick-soled black Doc Martins.
"Make yourself at home,"
Jean intones with a sort of absent amusement, watching Moira cheerfully take
over part of her lab without preamble.
Of course, it's only been 'her' lab for about 4 years now. "Coffee? Although I'm afraid it's my own lousy
brew." Padding over to the coffee
maker hidden behind a sliding panel with the rest of a little kitchenette, she
pours herself a cup, crinkles her nose at a few escaped grounds floating on the
top, and then drinks it anyways.
"And what's so important is that I've got something very strange
showing up with some DNA I'm analyzing, and I want a second opinion, among
other things. And then there's some biochem goodies you
might want to take a look at... Jubilee?" Possibly not the answer she meant to give
Moira, but Dr. Grey is already crossing the floor to go see what the girl's gotten
up to now. "Sprained again? Take a seat, kiddo."
Coffee's the only thing keeping Moira from jet lag. "Och,
lass! If I have anymore they'll
have tae plant me in
Jubilee visibly facepalms at
Jean's voice, her eyes rolling skyward in mental pleas. But wait? Company? ooo...
maybe she's dodged the dream analysis after all. With a light shrug and shake
of her head, she holds up her hand for Jean to examine. "Jammed, I
think..." she pronounces, indicating her middle finger which was already
turning colors. Turning a winking glance toward the older degreed-type, she
protests Jean's reaction. "I haven't had -that- many accidents."
Absenting herself briefly from Jubilee's side in order to
get an ice pack or two from the freezer, "Well, you can rest assured I'd
protest your deportation." Jean winks in Moira's direction with regards to
Brazilian adventures. "And the mugs
are in the cabinet over the coffee machine." And then, pulling up a stool so that she can
sit in front of Jubilee, it's down to business for the younger of the two
auburn haired doctors in the place. Taking the girl's hand, she gently flexes
the indicated finger, watching Jubilee for signs of reaction as she inquires
"So what's the comfortable range of motion? And you really ought to get a spotter. Collar Drake or something." is her
prescription as she hands over the ice pack.
"Ten minutes off, ten minutes on, rest it, and if you can't keep it
still, I'll tape it for you."
There's a snort for that last bit of ingenuous commentary, and Jean
smirks and allows with a hand on her hip that "Yeah, you haven't had that
many compared to -Logan-."
Moira resists all urges to fetch ice packs and tape,
swallowing that reflexive reaction to take over. After all, despite her age and technical seniority...
this is Jean's show. Her work, her lab
and ... Moira can help but be a little proud of the young woman for that. With folded arms she listens to the
prognostics and keeps her eye on the whole exchange.
"Hmph... spotters don' help
much in tumb- OW! Jean! What the snaps
're ya tryin' ta do? Break it?" Jubilee cries, jumping and trying to
flinch the hand away. Reluctantly, she accepts the ice
pack, eyeing the woman with suspicion. "Sorry I can't be as much fun as -
<< Want to take the next one that comes in, if your
fingers get too itchy? >> inquires Jean silently of Moira with a grin
over her shoulder, noting the elder doctor's healerly
reflexes being restrained as she finishes working on Jubilee, wrapping the ice
pack in a towel for the girl and then crinkling her nose at her, hands in her
lab coat pockets. "Hey, I -like-
having an empty medical bay, kiddo. And
I think my bedside manner's just fine, since you're an irrepressible brat. What's your opinion, Dr. MacTaggart?"
Moira lifts an eyebrow at the inquiry, looking at the girl
with smirk, "Well, since yuir askin' me," she starts casually, “I think ye need tae
be worrin' less aboot
Jean's bedside manner an'moore on how ye keep comin' in tae see her." She refrains from the
obligatory 'Not to mention your attitude, young lady'. "If ye find it so unpleasant, perhaps ye
should think aboot stayin'
out of trouble?" <<And don't
worry about me, Jean dear. It's an
absolute pleasure to watch you work.>>
Jubilee blinks and looks a bit
taken aback at the unexpected defense of Jean. Though why should she be
surprised...? Adults always stick together. "I haven't been here of'en enough to warrant -this- abuse," she protests,
crossing her free arm over her chest defensively. ('cause we aren't counting
all the times prev-player got sent here ;)
"'sides, I know how lonely Jeannie-kins gets down here..." she purrs, leaning in to examine
said doctor's handiwork.
Hey, before Moira was 'Dr. MacTaggart' as a sign of respect,
she was 'Aunt Moira' to Jean. Sticking
together is perfectly natural. "Oh,
chill, Jubilee. We only tease the ones
we love, after all." Jean quips
unrepentantly, glancing around for her coffee mug and calling it over to her
hand, allowing that "I'm -so- going as a Jedi for Halloween." before
puttering back to her desk and calling up her schedule. "Hmm... I've got to go play the Noted
Activist Dr. Grey for Rianna Hassen
in a minute or two... The Professor's been thinking it wouldn't hurt to have
another Noted Activist on-side, even loosely.
Moira?
I'll show you the genome that was bugging me later, if that's OK with you? And Jubilee, you and I have a date with some
tea and a talk about those nightmares..."
Moira nods at Dr. Grey reads off her itinerary, "No
problem, Jean, I'll mos' likely be puttering aboot'n here, if ye dinnae
mind." And even goes to turn about
to set up another station and call up that cryogenics research she had been
working on at Muir. The mention of
nightmares does catch her attention though, information to be filed away to ask
about later. Being a telepath and a
doctor is a rather interesting combination of professions and Moira does have a
couple of queries to pass by Jean in quieter moments...
The door opens, and behind it is... Staren!
Wearing his hat today. "Hi, Dr. Grey, hi Jubilee,
Hi, um..."
Staren
This young Caucasian man of average build stands at a height
of five feet eight inches and looks about 18 years old. Atop his head sits
short, brown hair that looks as if it is almost never combed, sometimes with a chinese army -style hat sitting atop it (it's red rather
than green, though -- the same shade as his shirt) with a little yellow star on
the front. A pair of bright, blue eyes look out at the
world from his freckle-less, clean shaven face. His torso is covered by a red
short-sleeve shirt with a pocket, it looks a size too
big for him. On the front is a drawing of an anime boy and girl in chinese clothes standing back-to-back, they have the same
hairstyle and are wearing the same clothes, though the boy's hair is black and
the girl's, red. His lower torso is covered by a blue pair of cargo khaki
shorts. Around the waist of his pants is a belt with a few pouches on it. On
his feet are a pair of white socks and a white pair of sneakers with a gold on
medium green design on each ankle consisting of four parallel lines forming a
shape that looks something like this: [><]. On his left wrist is a black
calculator-watch.
Jubilee would groan and sigh and stamp her foot, were she
but a few years younger. But she does roll her eyes and huff, "Aw... I tol' ya it was nothin'. I haven't had one in two nights..." Let's
ignore the fact that that is because she hasn't been sleeping at night. Thank
God it's the summer and she can sleep in. Jubilee slides off the table and cuddles
her ice-packed hand to herself. "Well, um... It was nice ta meecha..." (yeah, right) she fumbles in address to Dr. Moira. See? She's
a nice gel, really!
"-Nothing- that left you sleeping on my couch at 2 AM? Suuuure, Jubilee."
Jean intones with a classic 'I don't believe a word of that, but I'll
let you tell the truth in time' tone and a lift of her left eyebrow. "But help yourself, Moira. You know the school 'net as well as I do, if
not better. Staren,
this is Dr. Moira MacTaggart, an old colleague of Professor Xavier's. She doesn't bite... usually." And then, with a wink, away goes the Jean to
go get freshened up and properly formal to entertain an opera singer.
Staren ahs. "Pleased
to meetcha, Dr. MacTaggart."
Yes, Dr. Moira MacTaggart. The one from your
textbooks. Those studious enough
in their biology or genetics classes might recognize the Nobel Prize winner by
name alone; those who were not... well, her name is on one of the front covers
of your textbooks that you might have napped on. As Jean leaves and tosses off a wave and a
smile, "I'll find ye later, Dr. Grey." Hrm. Dr. Grey. Another little smile of pride as she's now
left with the two students, "Och, anna none o' ye are carrying degrees around, so Moira is
more than fine..."
Hah! Studious? Not unless she's
been pulled aside and given force-feedings... I mean, private tutoring. Jubilee
nods a greeting to Staren, leaning over to adjust her
icepack, catching the emerging drip on a finger, holding it ready to flick
somewhere. Now who was deserving...
Staren just hasn't taken biology
these past few years, more interested in physics and chemistry himself.
"Okay, Moira." He looks to Jubilee, "What happenned?"
Moira keeps an eye on the two as she uncrosses her arms and
goes back to the clipboard at hand. Hrmmm. DNA sequences in tidy little columns, a
couple faxed x-rays, a copy of a recent Journal article on metacarpals... and a
school schedule. Moira turns idly back
to the monitor she's cued up to Muir's database, tapping a bit on the keys as
she sorts through a couple immediate messages... go on, now, don't feel you're
being studied or anything...
Jubilee shrugs and slides around the examining table,
creeping up behind the good Doctor (is that trademarked or anything? ;). "Doin' tumbles and I came down on my hand wrong. Jammed a
finger... So, Doc... Are you here for a while? Not takin'
over any classes, are ya?" Oh, God, please no...
It'd be just Jubi's luck to have her.
Staren looks at the screens.
"So, um... what're you looking at?" He knows what pictures of
chromosomes and genes look like, if she's looking at them like that...
When you're told to be careful with the scalpels when
cutting card in art class, you should probably listen. Being young students as the are, hardly focused on what they're told, accidents are
bound to happen, and after one of the fire manipulators in her class offered to
cauterize the wound, Rahne was sent off to the Medical area, gashed finger
oozing into a bundle of tissues wrapped around it. Rahne stands in the Hallway,
knocking on the MedBay door with her good hand
"'Lo?" she calls lingering in the Hall and waiting to be called in by
whoever is present.
Moira's eyes scan over a variety of paperwork on her
clipboard, rather surprised by the sudden huddle over printouts of letters and
numbers that apparently make sense to someone.
Her eyes lift to the screen in front of her to check the time, then flip through the documents on the clipboard until she
finds that school schedule again. Yes,
now, Rahne's schedule would put her right about... As the questions come in,
Moira handles them with professional skill.
"Well, I havenae been asked yet, so
there's nae a need t' worry aboot
that," she answers Jubilee; sometimes you don't need to be a telepath to
sense the way a question is phrased. To Staren she says friendly-like, "Och,
just a few things I brought with me from Muir, gene sequences and the
like..." Flipping a couple pages,
she shows them to the lad, "An-" She stops in the middle of what was
likely to be a mini-lecture (genomes are fun!) to turn to the door. "Come in, dearie?," she calls to whomever is out there...
Jubilee relaxes, a small smile playing about her lips, and
she twists to peek at what has caught Staren's
attention, unfortunately moving ehr finger a bit too
much. "Ooo.." she
moans, moving back into a workable position and pushing away from the desk.
"I think I'm gonna head back upstairs," she
says to no one in particular. "Pop some tylenol
or somethin' 'fore this gets hyper." She moves
toward the door, activating it so that it slides open. "Oh!" she
exclaims, dancing out of Rahne's way at the last minute. "Later!"
Rahne blinks as a hurried Jubilee dashes past her, Rahne
clutching her injury protectively with a slightly indignant look. Perhaps
already expecting to be scolded for her carelessness, the teenager shuffles her
way into the lab head lowered ranting away in a soft tone. "It's nae m'fault
y'see, Louise dinnae' stop talkin' about this boyfriend o' her's,
an' when I--" Hold on, that voice was familiar? Dumping the whole,
neglectful youth act, she quickly looks up, spotting Moira in an instant.
"Blimey! Mum what are y'doin' here?" The
redhead blurts, looking quite shocked. Of course despite her initial reaction,
the girl's quite obviously overjoyed to see her, dashing forward quickly, a
grin surfacing.
Rahne
Not the tallest of girls, the young teen is still somewhat
awkward, but she stands with confidence, which seems to make up for her lack of
height. While her complexion is slightly paled, she's by no means unhealthy,
and there's a glow in her cheeks. Short locks of reddish-auburn are kept from
her eyes, either in a simple pony-tail or a couple of clips, she's not one to
fuss over looks. While she's not exactly the most -stunning- of beauties out
there, perhaps her most striking feature is her eyes, a deep oceanic-blue
green, with a definite spark of warmth behind them.
Clothing for Rahne is simple, an ivy
green top, with slightly baggy black jacket over that, if the weather calls for
it. While a pair of rather worn jeans, and some comfy looking trainers complete
the casual set.
Carrying nothing. (Currency: 501 pobbles)
Staren blinks. .oO( So
she's her mom, too? )
Jenna has business of a kind down in the medbay. A set of samples taken by
Dr. Welch, about which she is curious.
She just hopes the results were good...
Swallowing, somewhat nervous, but not really scared, she heads down the
hallway for the medical bay.
Moira perks up a bit herself as she catches sight of the
injured girl. "Rahne!," she
says warmly... fading just a bit as she catches sight of the wad of bloodied
tissues. Oh, dear. A couple steps and she meets her ward with a
lovingly one-armed hug, the other too busy setting her work down and reaching
out towards her wrapped up hand. "Och,
dearie! Ye didnae
have tae get injured on my account," she says, gently taking the girl's
hand and lifting it above her shoulder. "Ye puir gel! Whit happen'd tae
ye!"
Staren doesn't say anything. I
hope you’re not worrying about pose order...
Rahne beams rather broadly as she clings to Moira in a tight hug, as best she can with an injured hand, being careful not to cover her in the bloody mess that the cut has created. Displaying her cut, Rahne's freckled nose wrinkles a touch, the lass looking rather sorry for herself, after all, who doesn't love a mother's sympathy? She winces a touch as her hand's given a look over. "I told ye, Louise kept distractin' me, in art class. We were cuttin' wit' scalpels an'all." She grins sheepishly; from her brief description the case of injury should be obvious enough. "So ...when'd ye'get here?" she asks quietly, as though wondering why she hasn't come to see her yet.
Jenna taps lightly on the door, hearing voices from within,
and recognizing one of them, but not wanting to interrupt.
Staren walks to the door and opens
it. "Heya Jenna."
Jenna
Such pretty green eyes, but with such a haunted look! The poor girl looks like she's woken from a
nightmare only to find that the nightmare is real, and her nice, safe simple
life was the dream, just a passing fantasy told to her by her subconscious to
keep her from waking up screaming in terror.
Her long, straight red hair falls back over her shoulders, catching the
light in a very pretty way. AS a rule,
she'll wear a white cotton blouse with ruffled cuffs and a pair of tight bell-bottomed
bluejeans, along with a pair of fairly new
sneakers. And for some reason, pink
socks.
Moira starts up unwrap the bundle
with practiced care, tsktsking as she inspects the
wound. Placing only a couple of tissues
this time, she looks about for some hydrogen peroxide and cotton swabs to
really see how deep this gash is. She's
even about to ask Staren if he could be a dear and
grab her that bottle over there, but it looks like someone else has come to
visit. Och! How does Jean do it? "Here, now," she says, letting
Rahne apply pressure on her own.
"Just hold it here..." A small wink to the girl and her head tips up to greet the latest
visitor. "Hullo
there, anythin' I canna
help ye with?"
Rahne looks a little worried, eyes kept on her wound as her
foster mother tends to it, the teenager wincing
lightly as the various tissues are replaced and removed, clutching her wrist to
help hold her hand steady. As there's yet another caller at the door, Rahne
nods and mutters a quick "Aye." to Moira as she dashes off, the girl’s
blue-green gaze following her to see Jenna standing at the door, looking a
little nervous is it? "'Lo Jenna. Hope th' scalpel dinnae
get ye'too." she calls from her place obviously
in a hideously cheerful mood despite her injury. Though she's unable to wave as
she holds pressure down on her wound, she simply offers a smile to the familiar
student.
Jenna is a little surprised to see so many people here, and
one she doesn't recognize. Wait, no, she
does. Saw her in one of the medical
science magazines in the libary... "Hello, Staren. Is that Dr. Moira MacTaggart? Are there any experts on mutancy who don’t
work in the medbay here?" She gives Rahne a smile, "Nah, I'm just
here to see if Dr. Welch had any information for me from that blood
sample."
Staren looks at Moira, curious.
"You're an expert on mutancy?"
That woman changed *everything* in here! It seems like not a band aid is sitting in
the same place since Moira's last visit to the school, but she does manage to
find what she was looking for with only a small snort of frustration. Tipping the mouth of the bottle onto a handy
cotton ball with a little shake, she gets down to business. "This'll sting," she says, but
that's about it before the wound is quickly cleaned up to find out the size of
the cut, less of a coddling statement than a warning. After all, Rahne's a big girl now and... wow. "Aye,
that'd be me," she responds over Rahne's injury with a warm smile. "I'm sorry tae say tha'
Dr. Welsh isnae in right now. Should I tell 'im
ye were here?" Staren
gets a wink. "Tha's
whit they keep tellin' me..."
Staren ohs.
"Do you know... how it is that some people get the gene for mutancy? I
mean... my parents were both normal humans, and then myself... I'm a mutant.
Where did it come from? It seems as if there are far too many mutants for it to
be random chance..."
Rahne stifles a quiet laugh as she watches Moira shuffle all
over the room, hurriedly tearing things apart to find what she's looking for
"Och watch it Mum, Dr Grey's gonna
have a fit when she sees y've gone an move all 'er stuff abou'." She's
merely trying jokingly to stir Moira up, though she pays for it as the string
of the disinfectant quickly burns into the cut, the redhead wincing, and
muttering something about the treatment hurting more than the actual cut
itself. Remembering Jenna's words earlier, she leans to the side, past her
Mother's form to look toward Jenna once more "Blood test? Does it mean somethin's wrong?" she asks, brows furrowing slowly,
Rahne forgetting the pain of her wound for a moment
Jenna nods to Dr. MacTaggart, "Yes please, I'd
appreciate that. I'm very interested in
what she learned from my blood." She hmmms, glancing to Staren as she seats herself on a comfy wheeled chair,
"It's not one gene, as I understand it, but a combination. A human can appear perfectly normal with just
part of it, but if they have a child with someone who has enough to complete
it, weird stuff happens. Then again, I
think there's more than one kind, so you might end up with several complete
x-factor sequences." She smiles at
Rahne, "Not that I know of. But I
want to know for sure."
Staren asks, "and why doesn't this thing happen in animals? Is it
happening more often now? I mean heck, maybe mutants have been around all the
time, I mean look at mythology... perhaps it appears more often now because
people are healthy-- perhaps one must be generally healthy to develop mutant
powers... I dunno, are they as common in third-world
countries?"
Moira takes care of things quickly; the wound not being
terribly deep and just a real bleeder, it's nothing that a little ointment and
a sturdy band aid won't fix. She nods to
Jenna's response, rather pleased that the girl can explain the x-gene off the
top of her head. Looks like Xavier's
teaching them something after all... "Mutations have been around f'r quite some time, lad.
Thanks to modern medicine, we're now able to explain things a bit better
than witch hunts and local folklore..."
She sighs, "Sounds like ye have a lot of questions, though. Might wan' tae pay a wee more attention in
class, hrm?"
To Jenna, she replies simply, "I'll speak tae her... as soon as I
meet her, that is." Looking back
down at her ward, she smiles, "See?
I jus' get here and look whit happens!"
Staren says, "Well... Biology
class back in 9th grade didn't really cover mutants... I'm not a regular
attendant of this school, I came here after I
graduated High School because I looked in a mirror and saw someone else. I've
got my power under control now... But I haven't been able to attend any normal
classes because it's summer-- There don't seem to _be_ any." ^.^ "So, I wasn't in a class here to learn about
mutancy... Although I am curious. My life is a quest
for knowledge and understanding... Except when something else
distracts me." ^.^
Jenna smirks a little at Star's comment about distractions. He’s pretty easy to confuzzle, that's for sure. Sweet guy, though. Or girl. "Dr. MacTaggart, at do you think would be the result of someone with a number of complete copies? Know of anyone who might have that?"
Moira looks a bit puzzled, "Complete copies? Of what, dear?"
Jenna smiles, "Of x-factor gene sequences."
Moira nods, "Och,
yes. Well, it'd depend entirely
on the genetics involved. Which ones are
more dominant, which ones simply cancel out each other, which other genetic
properties are present..." She shakes her head, close to launching into
a rather long diatribe on the particulars of all this. "The same way someone can have dark skin
and light hair, it all depends on the genetic make-up of their parents and the
dominant genes they come from," she replies in a bit more layman's
terms. "It the body's functions can
still understand the coding they've been given, mutants can have more than one unique ability to call their own."
Jenna nods a little, wondering about that. "What about me? Would my gifts count as one effect, or a
number of them?"
Staren hmms.
"You know... That makes me wonder, really... Because I've noticed
something odd..."
Moira smiles, "Well, I dinnae have your charts with me..." Sure, Moira makes it her duty to look over each and every medical record of Xavier's students as soon as they are tested, but she doesn't keep them cataloged in her head. Hrm... maybe she can write up a program that might for a handheld device... "Ye're gonna have tae t' tell me whit gifts ye're talkin' aboot..." She's listening to Staren too, giving him a look as well as he ponders...
Jenna pulls an acorn from her pocket. "I affect plants. I can make them grow, I can rot them away, I
can use the energy taken from them to fuel my own body when I'm hurt and make myself
stronger, I can channel it into other plants to
animate them."
Staren looks at the acorn. .oO( She
carries seeds around, huh. Like Kurama... Hmm. ) Then he looks to Moire.
"I'm a shapeshifter."
Moira gives an offhanded shrug. Maybe charts won't be necessary after
all. "Well, tha'
sounds like a form of symbiosis with yuir surrounding
flora, 'less yuir able tae affect plants out o' yuir line o' sight...
Tha' probably means ye have some sequence within
yuir genetic structure tha'
allows ye t' bond with th' vegetation
around ye, and thus affect it in a variety of ways." She smiles,
"Jus' because ye have a length of string, doesnae
mean ye can only use it for tying shoes.
Some mutants are able to achieve a great many resourceful effects from
their abilities, just as anyone can get a great use out of learning any
skill." To Staren, she adds, "Ye are? An' whit have ye been thinkin'?"
Jenna nods a little, she was
thinking it was all one unified effect that tapped into the life-forces of the
plants around her. She holds up a hand
and looks at her fingers, letting little flickers of green energy dance over
them. "Yeah, you're probably
right. doesn't
make much difference, either way."
She grins.
Staren says, "Well... I've
always had good reflexes, but on a few occasions lately... When someone tried
to hit me... I got this... It's hard to describe, I just _knew_ they were gonna try to hit me and how, and dodged... I think... It's
only happened a few times, I don't get in fights much. But still..."
Moira thinks that over, "Has this feelin'
only turned up recently? Might be time f'r another checkup." She explains, "Sometimes particular abilities
lie dormant in the body until it's able t' handle
them, biologically speakin'. Perhaps ye've
developed intae somethin' a
little more complex than shapeshifting, perhaps it
was simple intuition."
Staren raises an eyebrow, curious.
"A checkup? Do you have some way to scan for
abilities? Or just a controlled scientific experiment?"
Jenna holds the acorn in her hand and it cracks open, roots
and branches flowing around her hand as she watches it. "Like secondary mutations?"
Staren watches Jenna. "Does
doing that make you tired at all? The energy for it's
growth has to be coming from _somewhere_..."
Jenna shakes her head, "I don't know where it comes
from. But I can't turn it off."
Moira has to admit, it does her heart good to see this. She's seen enough in her day of mutants
fearing themselves at what they can do, living like prisoners of their own
bodies. Watching the girl idly play with
the acorn in her hand... it's refreshing, welcome. She's been away from the school too long, too
entrenched in her work to see what wonders Xavier is performing without need
for a microscope or gene sequencer. She
nods to Jenna, letting the two talk before collecting
up her clipboard, shifting the papers until a copy of a muscle scan of a pair
of legs sits as top sheet. Speaking of
Xavier... "Well, should ye get another 'feeling' like ye're
describin', let us known down in th' medlab an' we c'n check ye out.
Nothing too painful," she promises with a motherly smile. "Now... if ye'll
all excuse me, 'sboot time I spoke wit' yuir headmaster. I'm
sure he knows I'm already on m'way..." She looks about the room as if it were microphoned... or being listened into by a powerful
telepath. "A pleasure to meet th' both of ye. I dinnae believe I
got th' pleasure of yuir names, though..."
Staren says, "I'm Staren!" He then turns to Jenna. "As
for the feeling, easy enough. Punch me."
Staren turns his back to Jenna.
"Not _too_ hard now, just hard enough to hurt." he adds.
Jenna's acorn has twined all around her hand, almost forming
itself into a gauntlet, "Jenna Thompson.
Very pleased to meet you. I've
read about your work a bit." She
grins at Staren, "Aw, I'm sure you'd be able to
mend it with a morph even if I did hurt you." At that, her body flares up green and she
takes a swing at him with her wood-clad fist, aiming for his shoulder so as to
not hurt too badly, even if she does connect.
Staren blinks and ducks under the
punch, reaching up to grab her fist.
Moira watches politely through youthful enthusiasm. "Well, Staren,
I doubt that was th' best for a controlled scientific
study, considerin' ye told her tae punch ye in the
first place," she admits, though making clear note of how quickly the girl
was able to use the acorn to create a gauntlet for herself and what Staren's first instinctual response was doubtless of this
display's variables...
Staren grabs the fist. in both hands. "I am aware of that, but it was the best
I could do for a quick test with what I had to work with at the moment."
He looks at the gauntlet. "Hey, nice gauntlet. I
wonder how effective it is on something that _doesn't_ move out of the
way?"
Jenna grins as Star takes the gauntlet, and pulls her hand
out of it, opening the wood up so she can do so. "Probably about as
effective as brass knuckles."
She grins at Moira, "Does that mean I should hit him without warning
sometime?"
Staren says, "Oh, I had that
sense again..."
Moira thinks that over a bit, "It's a wee more
complicated than tha', Jenna." Well, in any case, interesting enough for a
second look, variables or no. "Tell
ye whit,' Moira starts, "schedule an appointment with me an' I'll see whit
I can find out, hrm?" Another hug, Moira makes plans with her
foster daughter for lunch, knowing full well she has a lot of catching up to
do. They grow up so fast... "I'm
glad I got tae meet ye both, Staren, Jenna," she
says honestly, "but I got a great deal o' work tae get tae, so I'll if
neither of ye need me in the medbay, I'm gonna go pay tha'
visit." Heading for the door, she
adds, "An' I'm make sure tae let Dr. Welsh know ye were here tae see him.
Staren turns and waves, "Bye,
Moira!"
Jenna smiles at Moira and waves,
"See you around, Dr. MacTaggart.
And DR. Megan Welch is still a girl, right?"
Staren shifts to girl form and
shrugs, palms up. "Ya never know..." ^.^
The doors part with a swift *swish* for Moira as she nears
them, lift a hand in signal behind her as she departs, "Well, I'll
certainly have tae find out..."
Jenna smirks at Star, "Depending on his much detail she
checks in, we might have a woman after my own heart there." She winks.