blinding me with science

[bellyshirt]

Who: Luke (bellyshirt) and Dist (ortion)
Where: Goldenrod City Rocket Base biotics division.
When: July ninth, midafternoon.
Summary: Luke reports for testing.
Rating: PG-13 for possible language, medical content, and descriptions of illness/pain.
Log:

He sits on the gurney, legs hanging over the side, absently swinging them back and forth. He watches, half-interested, as Dist prepares the whatever-it-is that's going to apparently give him superpowers.

"You're sure this is going to work, right?" His tone is dubious. It's not that he doesn't trust Dist, it's just that he's got some sense of self-preservation.

Comments

[ortion]

Dist glances up from the tube he's preparing, and gives Luke a curt nod. "We have already gone through the preliminary testing. This batch is clear of many of the risks that the last contained." Indeed, Luke certainly isn't one of the first test subjects. Many civilians were captured and tested before this, and the results were pretty disgusting.

"There will be symptoms," he continues, focusing his attention back to the tube and the machine it is hooked up to, "but they will be nothing like the ones our previous test subjects experienced. You will not contract the initial sicknesses attached to the radiation."

[bellyshirt]

"Right," Luke answers, watching the long tube more warily. He doesn't know about seventh fonons and hyperresonance, can only guess as to why Psychic was chosen for him--but he's looking forward to the results. "Nothing I can't handle."

Ah, bless overconfidence. He'll be singing a different tune in a week or two.

"What kind of stuff will I be able to do?" This is what concerns him most, clearly.

[ortion]

"Exactly." Dist agrees as he does his final preparations. Sure, Luke doesn't have his original abilities, but these Psychic type ones may come close. If they really are somewhat similar to Seventh Fonon use, Luke shouldn't have too much trouble after some guidance. Unfortunately, Dist wasn't a Seventh Fonist back home so he can't offer that much guidance. Oh well, watching the results will still be interesting.

Finally ready, he turns to Luke and strolls over, motioning for the boy to lie back. "Well let's see here," He brings his free hand to his chin as if he's really spending time gathering up all of the abilities that Luke will get. "Think of your Abra, Luke. Or at least, the one you dealt with. They are one of the best Psychic types out there; they have access to telepathy, telekinesis, and teleportation. Imagine being able to gain one or more of those abilities."

And now he'll sit back and wait for the inevitable request for definitions.

[bellyshirt]

Luke thinks on that Abra with some distaste--nasty little bugger, giving him a world of trouble--but tries to recall what it could do, which was namely...well, vanish. He supposes that being able to move in the blink of an eye would be an advantage, but as predicted, Dist's explanation is flying far overhead.

He lies back at the older man's command, long hair splaying over the gurney. "Tele-what? Isn't that the thing you play those vid-games on?"

No, that'd be television, Luke.

[ortion]

And Dist is going to say just that. After laughing. Sorry Luke, sometimes ignorance is pretty funny. He shakes his head.

"Close, but not quite. That is television; waves that are transmitted to be viewed on a device. Telepathy is the ability to speak to another without actually speaking, telekinesis the ability to move and manipulate objects with ones mind, and teleportation allows you to move from one location to another with blinding speed." After that explanation, he smiles down at Luke. "I'm sure you remember that last one quite vividly."

[bellyshirt]

There's an unhappy moue on Luke's face from the laughter, but he lets it slide when Dist actually starts explaining. As the words flow, his eyes grow larger, then eventually his expression turns into one of excitement. All of those sound appealing, especially the thought of Teleporting to anywhere he needs to be.

"Awesome! Let's get this started, then! I can't wait!"

[ortion]

Again, Dist laughs, but this time at Luke's excitement. It's not a mocking laugh, but an amused one. Experiments are much more enjoyable when the subject is so blindly for it.

A large smile spreads across his face. Actually, it's something of a grin. Dist is just as excited to get this ball rolling as Luke is. "Neither can I, Luke. Neither can I."

And with that, he takes hold of Luke's arm with his free hand, and holds the tube just over the inside of it. "You must stay still, even after I am finished with this part. It will take some time for the mutation to settle in, so I must monitor you to make sure everything goes smoothly." He explains, keeping his own hands steady. He's not really expecting anything to go wrong since he's done this several times by now, but no procedure has a one hundred percent success rate.

[bellyshirt]

"Yeah, yeah, just do it already," Luke complains, finally becoming still as Dist activates the device. His inner arm feels strangely warm as the radiation hits, absorbed into his skin and his blood. He frowns; shouldn't he feel something besides vaguely uncomfortable? More powerful, more focused, maybe?

After the procedure is done he inspects his arm, looking dazed. He traces the line of his vein, not even a strange color, and narrows his eyes at Dist.

"What's going on? Why isn't it working?"

[ortion]

"Didn't I just tell you that the mutation would take time?" Dist snaps as he begins cleaning up the device. He sighs and turns around, rolling his eyes. It's like everything he says to this kid just goes right over his head. "Just stay where you are, be patient, and you will get your powers."