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Post by skybright on May 4, 2010 22:17:30 GMT -5
Caddy nodded wearily. "I understand. Until then . . . well, I can't make any promises. But staying quiet and getting back on his heart meds should do a lot to stabilize him, anyway."
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Post by Jordanna on May 5, 2010 22:55:16 GMT -5
"I'll tell Thatcher to keep from stressing him out," Vance said. "And speaking of which--I'm sure you're eager to talk to him about his brother and the effects of Doctor G's toxin."
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Post by skybright on May 5, 2010 22:58:09 GMT -5
"Eager?" Caddy's expression twisted behind his mask. "I wish I'd never heard of the stuff -- me or anyone else. But you know what they say about wishes and horses and all that, so yeah -- I guess I'm eager."
He gestured wearily toward the door. "Lead the way, I guess."
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Post by Jordanna on May 9, 2010 23:20:40 GMT -5
Vance nodded, and led Caddy back to the next room.
"The Doc's given Voegel some sedation," Vance announced to the room in general. "He's not doing great, so we've gotta be careful how hard we push him."
He turned to Thatcher. "If you don't mind talking to the Doc, he's ready to hear more about G's poison now."
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Post by skybright on May 9, 2010 23:40:25 GMT -5
Thatcher studied Caddy for a moment. "You're the doctor who was treating their casualty, then?"
Caddy nodded grimly. "Yeah." He perched on the edge of an empty chair and leaned forward intently. "My partner's a biochemist, so we ended up doing a lot of breakdowns on the stuff on the fly, but half of what we know about longterm effects is still guesswork. I need anything you can tell me."
Thatcher's expression hardened. "What I know about it isn't guesswork -- it's field observation." He said blackly. "I can tell you that having their metabolic rates cranked up like that plays havoc with the victim's entire body. They waste away from being on the poison -- and come apart from withdrawals if G. witholds it."
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Post by Jordanna on May 10, 2010 20:07:15 GMT -5
Vance ground his right fist into his left palm. "There's nothing I'd like better than to use his own stuff on him."
"I'm guessing it doesn't work like that," Nate pointed out, rather obviously.
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Post by skybright on May 10, 2010 22:50:59 GMT -5
"You're guessing right." Thatcher replied blackly. "He's immune to his own poison -- it doesn't even burn him, like it does other people."
Caddy nodded. "That points to it being a natural mutation, not something he chemically induced or enhanced."
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Post by Jordanna on May 11, 2010 22:15:53 GMT -5
"I'll settle for having a defense against it," Vance muttered. He looked at Caddy. "Or better yet, an antidote--because if it's mutantly possible, we intend to get Thatcher's brother and the others away from G."
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Post by skybright on May 11, 2010 22:31:24 GMT -5
Caddy's eyes widened, but he nodded firmly. "I've already got Hu - uh, my partner working on it. The stuff doesn't seem that complex, but it breaks down in ways you wouldn't expect. Figuring out how to pick apart what's harmful and what's not is going to take some doing, but we're hoping we might be able to synthesize a partial substitute -- something like methadone for heroin users."
He turned his attention back to Thatcher. "I can't make any promises. Even if we manage a synthesis, it's only going to be a partial solution . . ."
"You don't have to try and console me, Doctor." Thatcher interrupted flatly. "I know exactly what happens to people when they go off that stuff." His jaw tightened and he glanced away. "I know what became of the man my brother replaced. Matt . . . managed to tell me a little. Before he broke completely, and stopped recognizing me."
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Post by Jordanna on May 12, 2010 21:22:15 GMT -5
Vance grimaced. "We're gonna make them pay for that--along with everything else."
"What about something to slow down a mutant who's on the stuff?" Proteus asked thoughtfully. "Without something like that, it'll be tough to fight them without hurting 'em."
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Post by skybright on May 12, 2010 22:13:54 GMT -5
Caddy made a doubtful noise and rubbed the back of his neck. "We can work on it, but . . . it's risky. Putting a downer into a metabolic system that's been strung out on that stuff is a good way to accidentally stop someone's heart."
"You're going to have to incapacitate them in some way to get them to stop fighting." Thatcher pointed out grimly. "Just hurting them isn't enough."
Caddy's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Tell me this -- for the ones who've built up an addiction to it, how long does the unconsciousness last after a new dose of G's toxin?"
"You're suggesting shooting them up with more of the stuff?" Daws asked incredulously.
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Post by Jordanna on May 14, 2010 21:06:45 GMT -5
Proteus grimaced. "I don't like that, Doc."
"I'd like to know a little more of your logic, myself," Vance admitted concernedly.
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Post by skybright on May 14, 2010 22:07:26 GMT -5
Caddy sighed wearily and spread his hands. "If we had unlimited time to work on this problem, I know between the two of us we could synthesize something we'd be sure didn't interact badly with G's toxin -- but we don't. Anything we come up with is going to be almost entirely untested, and the risk of it backfiring is serious.
"The one thing we're certain their systems can withstand is the same thing that's already in them -- and we know from Timothy's case that there's a period of unconsciousness after the toxin's introduced. If you want them incapacitated, that may be the only way to do it without running the risk of killing them."
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Post by Jordanna on May 15, 2010 21:20:40 GMT -5
Nate scowled. "Perfect. So all we'll need to do is catch Doctor G and milk him for a coupla pints of venom... Yeah, that'll go really well."
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Post by skybright on May 15, 2010 23:19:58 GMT -5
Caddy shook his head. "I said synthesizing a substitute without any harmful effects was going to take time. Synthesizing a decent facsimile of the nasty stuff he puts out on his own is a lot easier."
He scowled blackly. "Especially since, from the look of the stuff you guys brought me from Voegel's place, it looks like Doctor G.'s been working on doing exactly that."
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Post by Jordanna on May 16, 2010 21:55:51 GMT -5
Vance snarled and clenched his fists. "You mean he's trying to work it out so he can put more mutants under his control without even having to get his hands on them? I hadn't even thought of that..."
"Here's something else I haven't heard anybody mention," Nate remarked. "Doc--what would G's stuff do to a non-mutant?"
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Post by skybright on May 17, 2010 21:51:28 GMT -5
Caddy grimaced. "It's hard to say. If they were in good enough physical shape, they'd probably survive it -- it might even ramp up their regular senses the way it does a mutant victim's abilities. But a large enough dose of this stuff is quite capable of killing people -- probably even mutants, and certainly regular humans."
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Post by Jordanna on May 18, 2010 22:23:01 GMT -5
"We're never gonna let him have the chance to try that," Vance muttered. "Our pal the Enforcer has enough on his hands already, worrying about Nephthys and that boyfriend of hers. I don't want him along when we make our move this time."
He glanced at Thatcher. "I don't know what ideas you've been having, but I'd say you're not exactly qualified for the kind of action we get into, either."
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Post by skybright on May 18, 2010 22:26:45 GMT -5
Thatcher's expression hardened. "If you want my help," He replied flatly, "Then you're taking me along for whatever happens. Risks or not, I want my shot at Doctor G."
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Post by Jordanna on May 18, 2010 22:37:54 GMT -5
Proteus scowled. "The Grenadier is right--you don't have the abilities we do to protect yourself, and trying to shield you would only cost our people extra effort and distraction. And as far as getting past any security, there's nothing you can do that I can't in your place, with the right information."
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