001. [Video]

[doctor_mccoy]

[ Audio kicks in before the feed does, only for a few seconds and with it comes the dull buzz of distant voices and lazy not-quite-bustle of a restaurant, a diner perhaps, which becomes clearer with the slanted view of a waitresses elbow as she passes, and the florescent lights above.  The NV is propped up (properly).   The man is disheveled, exhausted, but god knows he's probably been awake since he arrived late last night, but then who could sleep after that? ]

"You're kiddin' me right now...." 

[At least the coffee he has clutched between his hands is probably helping, or just fueling his already exasperated bewilderment of the entire situation.  Thankfully no one knows him enough to recognize that the sardonic expression on his face is just the little sputtering fuse on it's way to the dynamite.]

"Sorry I ducked out of the welcoming parade, aloha's and floral leis aren't exactly my thing."  [That's dripping sarcasm boys and girls, because by aloha's he means "monsters" and by parade he means what the hell just happened? ]

"I'm guessing my road to enlightenment is paved with questions, so if anyone can spare a minute to fill me in on what exactly is going on here that wasn't covered in the vacation brochure, I'd be obliged."

[Don't expect him to show much appreciation, but he'd really like to fill in the blanks.   Oh and feel free to join him in the diner, but expect to pay, seems he left his wallet in the 23rd century.]

Comments

[doctor_mccoy]

No relation, m' sure. [That little bit of drawl he has gets thicker, of course the crease in his brow has been deepening as well]

That seems to be the standard answer around here. Alright.

[Even if he's a stubborn asshole, he's not going to try to swim up stream during a dry season.]

So what do ya recommend?

[southernreaper]

[Kevin shrugs. He can hear the drawl.]

Well, if'n ya a medical doctor, there's a clinic fer Newcomers that always needs help. Then there's a few hospitals that ya c'n work at. General and Skye are alrigh' I guess.

[He clears his throat.]

But the SERO hospital's got the best equipment an' the best labs.

[He's saying that because he has to. He sincerely hopes McCoy figures that out.]

[doctor_mccoy]

[He can tell, he wasn't born yesterday after all, but at least he keeps himself from casting a suspicious look around, choosing to take a few more bites of his breakfast instead.]

I'll take a look into that, thanks for the help, kid.

[And the food, but that pretty much went unsaid. He had a bit to mull over.]

[southernreaper]

[Kevin hopes he understood that. Being affiliated sometimes, is a pain in the ass.

But he eats his food, with his gloved hands.]

Any other questions?

[doctor_mccoy]

Any thing I should be avoiding? Besides whatever the hell the creepy crawlies after dark happen to be.

[And perhaps whatever SERO was, he hadn't gotten in depth into their 'pamphlet' yet]

Poor McCoy....

[southernreaper]

[Kevin frowns.]

Well, there's all sorts here. People that got powers, people that ain't. Most Newcomers get powers if'n they didn't have 'em at home.

[Which he did, so...]

Ain't all o' the Newcomers nice, though if'n ya need a place t'stay, after ya month runs out, I c'n show ya a couple places.

[Southern hospitality after all.]

Other'n that, AGI's 'bout the worst comp'ny there is. An' SERO's the best, since ya probably lookin' fer scientific advancement. Cain't no one beat 'em. Don't gotta affiliate, but sure does make thin's easier.

[He kinda has to say it, and it's pretty obvious. There are ears here, he just doesn't know who yet. But he's trying. The kid's fifteen for God's sake.]

[doctor_mccoy]

Looks like they hit the bottom of the barrel when it came to passing them out with me.

[As far as he knows, he doesn't feel any different anyway, but he's pretty sure he can take care of himself, so this place could keep it's x-ray vision or super strength... he can walk around buildings just fine.]

I'll worry about that when they're looking to kick me out. Damn primitives could probably use a decent doctor anyway, I don't imagine finding work will be hard.

[It was just like being an intern again. Find work, find a place to live and just ignore the outside world.]

[southernreaper]

Primitives?

[Okay, he's used to Shi'ar technology and the brilliant minds of the X-Men. So... primitives? Really?]

Ain't so primitive in some places.

Depends on what ya lookin' fer.

[He sat back when the Miss Susan brought them more coffee.]

Thank ya, ma'am.

[doctor_mccoy]

21st century? Kid you're just a step past using leeches and drilling holes in crazy people's heads to let the demons out.

[He even made hand gestures to emphasis his statement. McCoy may be old fashion in some senses, but he was at the head of medical discovery.]

Truthfully, I don't even know what i'm looking for. Feels like a roller coaster to me.

[southernreaper]

[Kevin luckily didn't spit his coffee across the table. Instead he manages to swallow before he starts laughing.]

Ain't like that here, Dr. McCoy. Like I said, got all sorts. Genetic manipulation, healin' with a touch, pain help withou' a touch, healin' without surgery, all sorts o' thin's. Ain't as good as back home, but then, when is anythin'.

[doctor_mccoy]

[His brow went up even while the corner of his mouth went down.]

Healing with a touch? Well there goes all those years of medical school.

[southernreaper]

[Kevin shrugs.]

From what I 'member, jus' 'cause they c'n, don't mean they know what they's doin'. Meanin' anatomy an' all that still come in handy.

[Hey, that's what the problem with Josh was...]

[doctor_mccoy]

Fantastic, means I can fix what they screwed up.

[Don't get him on the topic of work, he's even more irritable then.]

... so what's your trick, kid?

[southernreaper]

[Kevin looks up from his meal. Green eyes flashed behind long bangs, and he loses the easy going southern gentleman attitude that he's had until now.]

Some people heal with a touch.

[He clenches a gloved hand into a fist. The glove creaks softly.]

Some o' us don't.

[doctor_mccoy]

[Alright, easy there Mr.Hyde. McCoy just looks at him, polishing off the bacon on his plate so at least the chewing keeps him quiet enough to think about how to answer that. He can put two and two together easily enough.]

I'd be worried... but you seem like good people, kid.

[southernreaper]

[He can't help it. Because... people always treat him different after they find out. Especially when they realize it's his entire body and he can't control it. It'll take him a minute to relax. He'll just take a moment to sip his coffee.]

Ain't always. But m'Daddy taught me not to let anythin' stop me from tryin' t'be a gentleman, an' a friend.

[doctor_mccoy]

Sounds like our folks took a page from the same book.

[Not that McCoy was doing a very good job at showing the colors of his proper upbringing, maybe if the world wasn't so damn irritating he'd have a better time at it. The 'please' and 'thank you' lessons had gone right over his head.]

So, clearly you didn't get the pick of the litter on powers. Is it fixable?

[everything was fixable.]

[southernreaper]

[Kevin stares at him. Just... stares.]

Ain't... C'n I learn t'control it? Maybe, eventually. Ain't nothin' wrong. Jus' a genetic quirk o' my DNA.

[Because being able to kill with a touch is just a genetic quirk, of course.]

[doctor_mccoy]

[Curious, he just stares back with an arched brow. Wait a cotton-pickin' minute...DNA?]

You're saying you had this quirk before you even got here?

[southernreaper]

[Kevin nods.]

Yes sir. Back in my world, mutants - folks that got powers 'cause o' their DNA - were common. Had it... [He stops for a moment.] Almost two years now, includin' how long I been here. Got it when I was fourteen.

[Sooo... he's 15.]

[doctor_mccoy]

Mutants? Not a very pretty word for it. [it wasn't as if he hadn't seen his fair share of mutations, either due to interspecies reproduction or reactions to different sort of radiations. But nothing that gave people strange powers.]

...Is it a select gene mutation at birth or an outside factor?

[now he was curious.]

[southernreaper]

[He's 15. He doesn't know all these things... But he'll try.]

I c'n tell ya what I know? On my world, some humans're born with a specific gene sequence, called the 'X-Gene'. There's very, very few that're born with it active. C'n think o' two that I know o'; ain't neither one here. Fer others, like me, it activates, usually durin' puberty, durin' times o' great emotional stress.

There's a few others from m'world in the Port. They might know more.

[doctor_mccoy]

[McCoy studies him for a moment, thoughtful, but it's really interesting from a scientific stand point. Not that he should be worrying about that right now with so much on his plate.]

Theoretically if it manifests at puberty, and is dormant until then, it could be switched off.

[Kid, you may have just become a side project. But it wasn't as if he had a lab to work with at the moment.]

[southernreaper]

[Kevin actually chokes on his eggs right then. He jerks his head up and looks at the man utterly horrified. His hands dropped into his lap and he leaned back against the booth, the color draining from his face.

Did he like his powers? No. Did he want control? Yes. Did he want them taken away? Hell no.]

That... that ain't...

[Nope. Still horrified. He'll try to figure out how to say it.]

No. Takin' a mutant's powers is akin t'rapin' their minds. It's like sayin' the color o' their skin ain't right or... the color o' their hair ain't right. It's... No. Powers cain't be switched off. It destroys who someone is.

[doctor_mccoy]

[He hardly moves past a quirked brow, and if he's worried about having offended him it doesn't show. Teenagers tended to over react anyway. Besides, Kevin had just admitted to having some wacky power that could hurt people, or worse, if McCoy read between the lines properly.]

I'm not here to judge you, kid, i'm just saying it should be possible.