DT1 - Lair of the Beast

[Archaea]

Archaea looks nervous as she knocks on the door to Dr. McCoy's lab.

[Hank McCoy]

Before long, the looming shape of the good doctor is silhouetted in the door's frosted window, just before he opens.

"Ah, hello there. Something I can help with?"

[Archaea]

"Oh, uhm, yeah." she says. Dr. McCoy's frame was still intimidating, even if the man himself was usually as calm and friendly as a saint. "I have some questions. About my mutation and stuff..."

[Hank McCoy]

"Well then, by all means," he says, stepping back into the office and leaving the door open.

"Make yourself comfortable."

[Archaea]

"It's really mostly just one. And it's kinda more about somebody else." she says as she comes in and finds a place to sit down. "One of the other students, Samantha McManus, do you know her?"

[Hank McCoy]

"Ah yes. Came to us from Muir Island. We've quite extensive files on her."

[Archaea]

"Well, uhm, I talked to her the other night and... well, she said she might be able to shift away anything my power could do to her..." she says, just kind of leaving that statement hanging in the air and hoping Beast is going to draw the right conclusion.

[Hank McCoy]

"That's certainly an interesting question. She was one of the odder patients at the island. Stumped the doctors there for awhile until they brought in a telepath to examine her."

[Archaea]

"She mentioned turning into things based on what she saw in peoples' minds." she nods. "I'm just worried that I could somehow overwrite what she does..."

[Hank McCoy]

"As near as we can tell, her whole body is psychoreactive. Organic to be sure, but more akin to stem cells than more conventional tissue. Biologically her body shouldn't work. Stem cells need to mature into other forms after all, and once they've matured there's no going back. Or there shouldn't be, ordinarily. The mental control she learned managed to stabilize them to the point that we could take samples, but the samples degraded at an alarming rate after they were taken."

[Archaea]

"So her biological make-up doesn't really matter to her? It's all in her mind and that overrides everything?" she asks, sounding carefully optimistic. It's an unusual feeling for her.

[Hank McCoy]

"Partly right. Her biological makeup makes logical sense at least on a cursory examination. Everything's in the right places. Bones are bones, organs are organs, nerves and arteries connect them and so forth."

"It's simply that we've found that configuration is somewhat... elective, for her."

[Archaea]

"Well, you're the expert. Do you think she could will away the things my power does to people?"

[Hank McCoy]

"It's quite possible. The alternative is that if the cells stopped responding to her thoughts, they would slough off. Seems to have been the case in the past, when she's suffered injury."

[Archaea]

"And the worst case scenario?"

[Hank McCoy]

"As I've just said. Damage that can't be readily repaired is jettisoned. We've seen her up her caloric intake in those cases."

[Archaea]

"And what if what she has to 'jettison' is too much?"

[Hank McCoy]

"I can't say as we exactly tested her to that extent. Truth told, we haven't really probed her limits."

[Archaea]

"But you think it'd be safe to try?"

[Hank McCoy]

"I think it would be possible to test without reaching such a threshold."

[Archaea]

"Okay. Thank you, Dr. McCoy."

[Hank McCoy]

"Happy to help in any way I can, really."

[Archaea]

"I really appreciate it. I'll go and tell Sam, see if she still feels up for it." she says as she gets up.

[Hank McCoy]

"Take care then, eh?"