1101/So That's What the Kids Are Doing These Days

So That's What the Kids Are Doing These Days
Date of Scene:	11 April 2020
Location:	Fantastic Four Inc. - Four Freedoms Plaza
Synopsis:	Since when did dates require blood tests? Well, because science! And FF security.
Cast of Characters:	Valeria Richards, Daniel Hastings

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Valeria Richards has posed:
This time, Valeria met Daniel down in the lobby. After Reed and Sue laid down the law about the whole teleporting in the tower issue, it seemed prudent. Plus, she figured she might as well show him the procedure to get up to the family apartments and introduce him to the people at the front desk. After that it's a short ride up the elevator.

"So, this is probably going to sound weird," she says as they step inside. "But, uh. It would make it easier to visit in the future. Dad's got all sorts of security systems and stuff set up. But if you want to give a sample, I could add you to the database?"

Daniel Hastings has posed:
Daniel had relented. He had to admit to himself that he was getting a little complacent with the use of his powers. At least on Kirit, it was a matter of suvival. Here on Earth, he had no excuse other than convenience and most people were rather uncomfortable with the idea of a fellow who could ignore doors. So he smiled for the receptionist and the security guards. Showed his ID (no not THAT one) and let them take his picture (He was already in a dozen government databases and tabloids no less). Then up the elevator they went. He was impressed at its speed though so that wasn't so bad.

Give.. a sample. The words filled him with dread as he stepped out into the Richards' private floors. Daniel'd already been probed and sampled like some sort of alien experiment by SHIELD. Now his girlfriend.. okay that took a moment to sink in as a new thought.. wanted to lab rat him as well. "Why.. exactly.. does he need a blood sample again?" His hand comes up and rubs his forearm and nook of his elbow out of reflex. Needles. Nobody likes them. "I mean.. I get that you have infiltration attempts and the like but.. is it really /that/ bad?" There's a hint of pleading in his tone.

Valeria Richards has posed:
"You don't have to," Valeria says quickly. "I mean. If it bothers you, you definitely don't have to. It's more a peace of mind thing anyhow." She pauses, turning a sheepish smile on him. "And if I'm being one //hundred// percent honest there's a greater than even chance someone in this house will probably run a variety of tests on it, because, well, it's what we do. On the up side though, you'll know for sure if you're carrying any genetic markers for...pretty much anything, so there's that."

And then her own words sink in and she turns a bright shade of red, clapping a hand over her face. "That came out wrong. No one is testing you for some kind of crazy genetic- You know what, maybe it's better if we just pretend I never said any of that."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
Blink. Blinkblink. Daniel was just about to say something when Val goes beet red and covers her mouth. His finger was raised. Then he lowers it. "So..." And now he comes over to her and takes the hand covering her mouth to remove it gently. "I didn't think you were. It's.. part of my worry is that.. what you find.. might somehow.. well.. get out." He gestures vaguely with his free hand. "I trust you, Valeria. I do. It's the rest of the world I have a problem with. And.. if you had a problem with me carrying the so called mutant marker.. I think you'd have said something by now."

Daniel smiles and brings his free hand up to tuck a strand of errant hair behind her ear, caressing her cheek as he does so. "In for a penny.." He let's her run the rest of the idiom through her head. "So let's do this thing. Before I change my mind, hmm? Besides, there's plenty of shapeshifters out there and if people target you.. I want your parents to have as fool proof a way to tell its me as opposed to someone else as possible. If that means an MRI, I'm okay with that. Let's just avoid a lobotomy." He grins.

Valeria Richards has posed:
"Oh gosh, no," Valeria says quickly, reaching up to cup her hand over his. "Really, not at all. Franklin's a mutant. And I'm not just saying that because he's my big brother. I mean that on a genetic level. Believe me, if there's a test that can be run on a person, we've both had //all// of them run on us," she says, rueful.

Keeping hold of his hand, she uses it to draw him with her toward the labs. "Me especially. There were some complications when I was born. Even Dad couldn't figure them out, which is how I ended up with Doom as a godfather. He helped. And Mom and Dad definitely ran every test they could after I was born to make sure I was okay."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
So that was new. Not surprising. But new. The idea that both of the Richards' kids had been effectively lab ratted as children by overprotective science minded parents. Daniel just sort of nodded along as he was tugged in the appropriate direction. "I imagine that's more than a little strange. Having your dad's arch nemesis for a god father, that is." Call it a rhetorical observation. But then they were in the proverbial lab and he gnawed on his lower lip. "So.. before.. we do this. Can we have a serious moment?" And he does look serious.

Daniel gestures for her to find a seat while he paces a bit with nervous energy. "What.. I am about to tell you is classified. I'm going to leave out any particular details that I can for your own safety and.. oh who am I kidding. If Fury found out, I'd likely be out of a job." So he takes a deep breath and looks for a seat for himself.

Valeria Richards has posed:
"Odd, maybe, but it has its advantages," Valeria shrugs. "I'd much rather have him for a godfather than an enemy. He picked my name, you know." Anything else she might say about Doom is forgotten though when he gets serious. Releasing his hand, she moves to take a seat at one of the stools by a lab station, clasping her hands in front of herself to watch him.

"You...don't have to tell me," she says cautiously. "Really. Don't feel like you need to, or like there's any pressure. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble with SHIELD. You don't need to worry too much about my safety though. I'm relatively well-protected here," she gestures around them.

Daniel Hastings has posed:
Daniel sits. "Yes but.. here's the rub. Doom is going to be doing his homework on me. If there are any HYDRA infiltrators or even one loose lip in SHIELD? He'll find it. That means he has my personnel file. How high up the food chain he can get I don't know. Plus.. he's a wizard.. and that means unconventional methods too. So.. that means you need to know." He brings his hands up to his face to massage it a moment. "I'm an Agent. Yes. I had a mishap. Yes. I was sent to Andromeda. Yes. Fled Kirit and had an accident with temporal flavoring. Yes. But.. what I haven't told you was the nature of that accident. Now.. I can't give you details. What I should ask you now is.. have you any idea what an infinity stone is?"

Valeria Richards has posed:
Valeria quirks a brow at the question, head tilting curiously. "I can't say I've ever heard the phrase," she says slowly. "Some sort of...space multiplier? Storage device?" she guesses. "Also, side note, I'm sure Uncle Victor would appreciate your respect for his research team," she adds, a glimmer of amusement crossing her features.

Daniel Hastings has posed:
"I don't know if I'd call it respect so much as a healthy and well founded paranoia." Daniel offers wryly. "Alright.. well.. forget the term. In fact, please do. Simply recognize that there are.. focal points.. shall we say.. for the metaphysical properties that comprise the universe. Things like consciousness and perception and time and space and the like." He's wringing his hands as he considers how to phrase it all. "I happened to touch one of them. Space, obviously."

Looking back to her, Daniel adds quickly, "When I say focal points.. I mean.. defining.. all encompassing.. as if the stuff of that 'point' of creation.. were all bound up in it despite being a part of it. Yes, it defies all natural laws.. but we did just talk about magic the other day. This is magic and physics and all of it together. And I got a taste of it. Poured into me quite by accident and I don't know how I survived it." He looks to her in earnest. "Think about what that means and why it is that no one can know about this."

Valeria Richards has posed:
"Ah, I see." Oddy enough, when Daniel explains it, Valeria //does// seem to know what he's talking about that. "We've come across some...constants in equations for that sort of thing. Nothing we've been able to pin down, of course, but you can see the ripples they've sent through...well, everything."

She's quiet for a moment, mulling that over, before she speaks again. "So you're saying there are //physical objects// for each of these things. Those are certainly things that are best kept out of anyone's hands, really."

And then an arch of her brow. "Why on earth would you //touch// it?"

Daniel Hastings has posed:
"I think I've said the word accident about a dozen times now." Daniel replies, almost bemused. "It was starting to radiate out of the norm.." He laughs. Norm. That's funny. "and we were trying to stow it when a clamp went loose and.. I lept for it out of reflex. I mean.. this is a thing that.. well anyway.. it wasn't intentional as such. I did catch it, though." Hurray for quick reflexes?

"When you begin your scans.. I just wanted to give you fair warning. No one has bombarded me with any sort of energies or tried to take a reading or anything in the high energy realm and when.. that was tried before.. it didn't go well. Of course, I'm not the genuine article. I just.. resonate its frequency?" He's guessing at that last part though now his curiosity is piqued.

Valeria Richards has posed:
"I'm not going to bombard you with anything," Valeria promises with a small, reassuring smile, standing up and reaching over to give his hand a squeeze. "Really. I'm not even going to do a blood //draw//. Just a finger prick, and that's all."

Her smile flashes into a broad grin for just a moment. "I've been needling you for //days// now and you've only complained once or twice," she teases, winking. "And besides, 'accident' covers a very broad range of occurences, you know. Technically it was an accident that turned my family into what they are now. That doesn't mean they didn't purposefully go out into space."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
"Yes.. well.. today a pin prick.. tomorrow you'll be bombarding me with nadions." Daniel makes the prediction. Maybe it won't be tomorrow.. but /some/ day. "Just.. keep this under your hat if you could. Please. I suppose I'm telling you because.. well.. if your Godfather does learn all of this he could become very interested in me. In ways that I wouldn't really consent to." Hence, his paranoia. He does smile at the reassuring squeeze. "Alright. So where's this finger pricker thing then." No, he's not a doctor of medicine. Yet.

Valeria Richards has posed:
"So little faith," Valeria chides with a laugh, reaching past him with her free hand to pull a tiny device out of the drawer. In truth, it looks like a small, portable blood sugar tester. It probably started its life as something very similar before being recruited to serve the needs of the Fantastic Four and Company.

"Trust me, //our// information is definitely protected from Doom. Probably better than SHIELD's, frankly. We just know him better," she shrugs, turning his hand palm up as she lines up the device and pushes it against his finger. "Now just a little prick in three, two..."

Before she gets to one, she leans up on her toes to brush a kiss against his cheek, hitting the trigger at roughly the same time. Distraction!

Daniel Hastings has posed:
DISTRACTION! Daniel's face goes beet red as his free hand comes up to touch his face where she kissed him. It takes him a solid three seconds to realize his finger had been pricked but he still doesn't look down at it. No.. he's still looking at her. His hand does come down from his cheek at least. His palm slides down across his chest to rest on his knee before he finally swallows. Grins. Then slips off of the stool he was sitting on, falling through the floor, appearing from the ceiling then landing on the floor akimbo.

"I'm alright!" Daniel exclaims with one arm up in the air. He takes a moment to gather his wits before gripping a counter and pulling himself to his feet. "I just.. lost where I was a second there." Ahem. "Next time... warn a bloke, hmm?" He closes his eyes and laughs quietly.. mostly at himself.

Valeria Richards has posed:
"Not warning you was the point," Valeria laughs, shaking her head as she tucks the little device back into the drawer. It can hold the drop of blood collected for later evaluation. She also takes a moment to pull a band-aid out of the drawer, coming back to him as she unwraps it and gives his wobbly knees a glance.

"Though I hae to admit, that was a little more distraction than I expected it to be," she grins, reaching over to brush him off a bit. "There, all done. Not quite as terrifyingly mad science as you were afraid it was going to be, was it?"

Daniel Hastings has posed:
Daniel is still laughing at himself as she puts the device away. By the time she comes over to help his dignity out, he's sobered and looking at her fondly. "I suppose it was at that. Still." He reaches out and takes her hands in his. "It was for me, too." His words were spoken softly as he looks into her eyes. "You had me all worked up over nothing it seems. Not.." He doesn't finish the statement. Instead, he shakes his head.

"I have to admit that was a first. I lost my point of reference, found myself slipping.. and.." She knows the rest certainly. "I don't suppose I could try that again." Daniel swallows. "Without falling through the floor."

Valeria Richards has posed:
"Oh, I think you've lost enough blood for the day," Valeria says, blinking innocently up at him. "Considering you practically fainted this time. I wouldn't want you to get anemic." Taking his hand, she wraps the band-aid over his pricked finger, then lifts it to her lips to press a kiss there instead.

"There. I think we've stanched the flow. What do you say to a quick snack and then we can decide what we want to do next?"

Daniel Hastings has posed:
"That sounds good." Daniel replies with a smile that's almost amused. He's a gentleman first for all his desire to something more.. impressing.. to the moment. "After all, the nurses at the Red Cross always said you should get a glass of orange juice and a fig newton after giving blood." He turns, sweeping his free hand for her to lead.