DNA strands in my hair [quite open]

[notlewis]

Luis had acquired a new thing in a jar.

Well, really, two new things in a jar, two long organic objects a little less than two feet long that looked like large segmented legs, the type you'd find on an insect. One of them sat on the back end of his desk, frozen in stasis in a chemical designed for doing just that. The other he kept in a different jar and he was currently in the middle of testing some of the tissue he'd scraped off of it. It was placed in an airtight contaminant observation box while he performed various experiments on it.

It was susceptible to various types of damage but also had remarkable regenerative capabilities, growing back quickly when he burned or sliced it away. The real interesting part came when he applied an electrical current to it. The slice of flesh looked like it was sizzling and then suddenly burst into action, growing into a pulsating mass several times its original size and quivering until it exploded, coating the inside of the box with a nasty greenish-purplish-yellow fluid that began to ooze and drip.

Luis stared at it for a few good seconds, then pulled off his glasses, ripped off his gloves and began packing up his supplies, shaking his head with a heavy sigh. He looked exhausted and desperately in need of a distraction.

It was time for a drink. Or to at least find something, or someone, that could get him out of this lab for the rest of the night.

Comments

[notlewis]

"It's not my fault I sleep better sitting upright with my face smashed on a table," Luis mock-whined, all too pleased to let her mess with his hair. Generally he was pleased to let Trudy do whatever she wanted, since he was well aware she could kill him six times over with minimal effort if she felt like it. Though not to say he was scared of her-- she was smoking hot and a lot of fun, after all.

"I guess it is a miracle I've survived this long," he went on, with an odd smile. "Well, sort of."

[fieldpromoted]

Trudy snorted. "That's not sleep, that's unconsciousness. It happens when you've been awake for God knows how long staring at God knows what through a microscope until you feel like your brain's about to leak out your ears."

She steered him down a different corridor to the nearest transport tube. "I've crashed out in the pilot's chair for my helicopter quite a few times, so I know what I'm talking about. Real sleep is going to do you worlds of good."

[notlewis]

Luis looked mildly alarmed at that. "You're not actually flying when that happens, right? Because I may pass out at work a lot but at least I am not working in a moving vehicle, bonita." Nevermind that instead he worked in a contagion lab and often with deadly pathogens.

He couldn't argue that he needed to go to bed, though. It sometimes occurred to him that he might think more clearly if he were more well-rested.

Naaah.

"You will come get me if I go into a coma, right?"

[fieldpromoted]

"Of course," she said with exaggerated patience. "As soon as I'm done making the smartasses run laps until their legs fall off." She was looking forward to this basic training thing. A lot.

"And that's what autopilot is for," she said with a grin. It wasn't precisely true, but messing with him was part of the fun.

[notlewis]

He looked, naturally, horrified.

"Remind me to be very grateful I have no interest in piloting whatsoever," he announced. "Working in a laboratory may not look terribly thrilling, but when spilling A into B at any point could kill everyone, it's a lot more exciting than it seems."

So many mutant pathogens, so little time.

"Even if it is driving me into an early grave." Aaagain.

[fieldpromoted]

Trudy cracked up laughing at the look on his face. "I'm kidding," she said, ruffling his hair again. "I've never fallen asleep while actually flying. Waiting for people at a drop zone, sure. In the air? That's just dangerous."

She shook her head at him. "Chemicals and mutant death viruses are best handled on at least ten hours of sleep. It's scientifically proven." Was it? Hell if she knew.

[notlewis]

Luis chuckled nervously at her joke. A little too close for comfort there, Trudy. "Fortunately, I am always careful to fall asleep at the table while I'm working on something non-deadly."

They passed by one of the windows outside and Luis caught a glimpse of his reflection. "Oh, god, why didn't you tell me I looked like a homeless person? I need a paper bag, quick."

[fieldpromoted]

She grinned harder at that, nudging him with her elbow. "Come on then, hobo, let's get you indoors so the crew isn't traumatized. Keep going like this and you'll earn that mad scientist shit you keep tossing around."