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Post by skybright on Nov 4, 2006 21:57:55 GMT -5
Daws rolled her eyes and straightened somewhat haltingly. "Okay, let's get on with this."
Caddy led the way to the upstairs consulting room, with the others close on his heels. "Okay, everyone, make yourselves comfy." He reached out and a wheeled stool coasted across the room. "Daws, go ahead an' sit there and I'll get the eye charts set up."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 4, 2006 22:41:22 GMT -5
Vance dropped himself on a waiting chair and folded his arms. "Well, this oughta be exciting."
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Post by skybright on Nov 4, 2006 22:53:10 GMT -5
Caddy pulled a face at Vance. "Hey, Major, science can't all be crackling lightning and stolen brains, y'know."
Daws cleared her throat faintly. "D'you guys mind keeping the banter down just a little? Some of us are hearing the entire sonic spectrum just at present, and it's sort of overwhelming."
"Right. Sorry." Caddy turned quickly and wheeled out what looked like a slide projector from a storage closet. "All right, Daws, you know the drill." He said briskly as he switched the projector on and focused it on the far wall. "Standard chart for mutation-enhanced eyesight. Read the lowest line of text you can make out."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 4, 2006 23:01:23 GMT -5
Vance squinted at the chart, creasing the scar lines along the side of his face. "That's some test. I don't think I could read the second line from here if I had two good eyes."
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Post by skybright on Nov 4, 2006 23:30:17 GMT -5
Daws grinned faintly. "Usually I can read about halfway down on this one." She said. "But if you've got one with finer print, you best break it out, Caddy -- that bottom line might as well be written in neon."
"Hunh. All right then." Caddy switched out the chart for another. "How about now?"
"Better." Daws regarded the chart for a moment, then rattled off a series of letters. "That's the second-to-last row, right?"
Caddy nodded, looking faintly surprised. "Perfect."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 4, 2006 23:34:19 GMT -5
Vance raised his eyebrow at Caddy. "Congratulations, boy genius. Looks like you've really hit on something here."
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Post by skybright on Nov 4, 2006 23:40:10 GMT -5
Caddy nodded. "You said it, Major." He grinned as he switched off the projector. "Let's move on to the hearing test, then."
"Sure, why not?" Daws grinned and shot Vance a teasing look. "We could just have Vance hum a few bars and see if I can tell when he's off-key."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 4, 2006 23:52:24 GMT -5
"We've already talked about my singing talents," Vance retorted. "This could get painful enough for you as it is."
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Post by skybright on Nov 5, 2006 0:00:10 GMT -5
"Not to mention for all the rest of us." Hubert remarked dryly. He opened one of the supply cupboards and hauled out a piece of equipment bearing several dials, meters, and a set of headphones. "I suggest we use the more traditional apparatus instead."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 5, 2006 0:09:44 GMT -5
"Well, go to it." Vance yawned and leaned his head back. "I had enough of that fun with my old Army physicals."
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Post by skybright on Nov 5, 2006 19:52:36 GMT -5
Caddy plugged the equipment in and handed across the pair of headphones to Daws. "Let's start with volume and then test frequency. Lemme set it lower than you usually can pick up."
The doctor adjusted a few knobs and then tapped a button on the top of the console. Daws immediately grimaced and yanked the headphones off with a dismayed noise.
Caddy looked apologetic. "Too loud, huh?"
"No kidding, genius." Daws replied tersely, rubbing at her left ear. "Turn this sucker down as far as you can, willya?"
Caddy did so, waited for Daws to replace the headphones, and then hesitantly tapped the button again. This time -- to both his and Daws' relief -- she merely gave him a thumbs-up signal.
"Okay." Caddy said, looking relieved, "Now we'll run down the frequencies. Gimme the high-sign when it gets hard to hear the tones."
He bent over the console, fiddling with some of the dials and keeping one eye on the equipment and one on Daws. Finally, Daws waved her hand to catch his attention.
"That's as low as you can hear? Okay." Caddy drifted a notepad and pen across the room, scribbled a hastly notation, and then bent back over the console. "Now let's see how high you can go."
He repeated the process, then leaned back with a faint whistle of surprise. Daws pulled the earphones off, looking relieved. "Well, Caddy, what's the verdict?"
Caddy grinned. "Looks like your hearing and eyesight both are working at about ten times their usual level."
Hubert nodded. "That's consistent with how much of an increase we've generally seen in Caddy's telekinesis."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 5, 2006 20:49:04 GMT -5
Vance had looked almost as if he was drowsing throughout the process, but now he sat up with an admiring nod. "Okay, I'm impressed. Now the question is how to put your little miracle to a good use."
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Post by skybright on Nov 6, 2006 20:29:56 GMT -5
Caddy shrugged good-naturedly as he packed up the testing equipment. "Hey, battling the bad guys is a little out of my line, Major. I just cook up the chemical miscellany for use in combat."
"We've got quite a few different people who could benefit from having their powers ramped up in a fight." Daws put in. "People who won't kill themselves giving too much energy out."
"In addition to weaponizing the dampening solution, I had thought it might prove helpful for Doctor Van Linden." Hubert said. "From what Caddy has told me, it might help ease the possible difficulties if you have any more casualties with her nearby."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 6, 2006 23:03:58 GMT -5
"That's an idea," Vance murmured. "Then again, we never know when Doc Van Linden might be able to tell us something useful from her visions."
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Post by skybright on Nov 7, 2006 18:22:45 GMT -5
"And there's no way of telling whether she'd even accept it." Daws pointed out. "Miriam's pretty fierce about being as useful as she can be."
The detective stood, rubbing at her eyes. "I think this stuff is finally starting to wear off." She said, "And none too soon. It's not something I'd like to use on a regular basis."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 7, 2006 21:07:35 GMT -5
"Sounds like an interesting experience." Vance smiled grimly. "I still wouldn't mind finding out what I could do with that stuff--but not today," he added before anyone could protest.
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Post by skybright on Nov 7, 2006 22:11:18 GMT -5
Daws made a faintly miffed noise. "Fine. I'm not your mother. You want to kill yourself, it's your business."
"Now, now." Caddy broke in, "Let's not have any family fights in my consulting room, if it's all the same to you two. I don't wanna replace any of this equipment."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 7, 2006 23:06:12 GMT -5
"Yeah, well." Vance hooked his thumbs into his belt and looked at Daws. "I guess we're done here for today. You want a ride home, or have you got some shopping to do in town?"
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Post by skybright on Nov 7, 2006 23:20:08 GMT -5
Daws raised an eyebrow. "Nah, I did my shopping already today. I'll take a ride, if y'don't mind."
"You left your coat and the hat downstairs." Hubert reminded her. "Let me run and get them." He dashed out of the consulting room.
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 7, 2006 23:53:46 GMT -5
Vance smiled crookedly at Caddy. "Looks like Hubert has adapted pretty well."
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