2733/So You Catch On Fire

So You Catch On Fire
Date of Scene:	01 August 2020
Location:	Reed's Labs - Four Freedom Plaza
Synopsis:	Angelica investigates her powers and Reed provides a new wardrobe.
Cast of Characters:	Angelica Jones, Reed Richards

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Angelica Jones has posed:
The holomail from Charles Winters, STAR labs, sits waiting still. There's not a lot of brain-in-a-jar scientists out there, but this one's been flashing as a medium priority for a little while now and really, the man has a lot on his mind. So when he takes the time to reach out, there's usually a pretty good reason.

Unfortunately with Reed having his usual distractibility, he may or may not have actually taken the time to read it. The contents? Mostly a writeup of a microwave emitting human that he's found some data on, by the expedient of her coming to his offices and melting a section of the wall. He's sending her by, with the assumption that if you need his limited equipment's data you should 'upgrade your systems, but I doubt that'll be the case. Send me what you find though. Fascinating.'

Downstairs, the lobby pings up. The computer has scanned an arrival, her facial recognition being one Angelica Jones, a random person with no history. Parents, mother deceased, father a nuclear engineer for power plants. Recently to the area. Nothing else of value.

And yet, she's been sent here, and is sitting waiting politely in the lobby. She doesn't have any weapons, nor a celphone. Interesting, that last one.

Reed Richards has posed:
The receptionist in the Lobby is a chipper, smiling young woman with a 1960s fashion sense and hairstyle. She busies herself at the computer until something prompts her to direct her beaming smile at Angelica. When she speaks, her voice sounds oddly inhuman.

"Doctor Richards will see you now, Ms. Jones!"

The odd quality of her voice is explained when passing her on the way to the elevators. Behind the desk, she is revealed to be a mechanical torso attached to a metallic pivot. A robot of some sort, even if her face and upper body are so human as to seem indistinguishable from the real thing.

The elevator ride up is a quick one, and rather than have someone show Angelica the way the floor itself seems to light up when she steps on it. Each tile illuminates warmly, blinking to guide her down a corridor and towards a door. The door bares a red light and an illuminated sign that reads 'Deep in Thought - Do Not Disturb'. But as she arrives, the light clicks off and the door opens.

Inside, Doctor Richards is not immediately visible. It's a large, cavernous space full of expensive and hi-tech equipment. What appear to be long, blue tubes run in a spider's web around the room. Except they soon begin to retract and appear to be tipped with hands. A man in a white coat and a warm smile steps out from behind a large console just as those 'tubes' retract into his sleeves to become normal-sized arms.

"Ms. Jones, I presume?"

Angelica Jones has posed:
The redhead, her hair in a ponytail for safety reasons, stands in the doorway, her face a pretty little thing lost in a world too large for her life. She edges a smile onto her face, making it light up with a generous nature and warmth. If she's a skrull or a spy, she's a GOOD one.

"I'm...you already know?" She pauses then steps in, the door closing behind her. "No of course you already know. I think I might be in the wrong place, I was told to come here but they sent me all the way to the top, and I'm not important enough for any of that."

Hands clasping nervously, Angelica seems smaller than her height. She barely even has entered the room, clearly expecting to be dismissed. But when she speaks next it highlights a few things. "I don't think I broke anything on the way up though. I was trying to keep it all inside. Especially here, everything looks important and expensive." Her eyes widen a touch at that last bit, as if she's realizing how much damage she could do. And it terrifies her.

Reed Richards has posed:
"Nonsense, everyone is important," Reed answers with a wave of his hand, moving over towards a workbench that seems covered in half-assembled equipment, "You especially. Do you want coffee? I think I have the formula just right ... but then, I've been saying that for the last thirty years."

On the desk is a small machine with several blinking lights. Reed fetches a mug from the table and slots it into the receptacle, at which point it beeps and begins to hum. Several lights flash within and then it begins to spit out a stream of dark fluid before beginning to spark and smoke suddenly. Reed tugs the mug out from the receptacle, overturning it to watch what looks like a wet, round disc of rubber slop from it, bounce a few times, then roll under the desk.

"Hmm. Hasn't done that before."

The mug is put back down, and another device is picked up, something almost like a flashlight but with a screen attached. He holds it up before him, running it through the air around Angelica a few feet out.

"Ahhh. Interesting."

Angelica Jones has posed:
"Your arms," Angelica says as Dr Richards starts to make coffee, but then she suddenly goes quiet. Her face goes white, and the quiet of Angelica's voice is not matched by the look on her face, as things go quirky to say the least. She shifts, having about to have commented further on the tubes, the tubes that seem to be a part of him. But then she starts making things mess up again, and stops.

She only moves her feet, those shuffling on the floor in distress as Dr Richards scans the room, then her, and she opens her mouth. Then closes it, and suddenly, "Dr Winters told me not to bias your data by telling you what he'd found, that you wouldn't want to be pushed in any direction by previous data. But he did find things!" She says it quickly, clearly worried, and the readings spike.

The table starts to smolder, actually, and Angelica spots it. She moves, trying to pat out the burgeoning flames, and whimpers. "Stop it. Stop it!"

Reed Richards has posed:
"That's kind of him," Reed muses idly, still reviewing the readings that the device in his hand is giving him, "I'm sensing some energy fluctuations from you. Doctor Winters let me know what you're capable of but kept mum on how you achieve it. I suspect he's not quite sure himself and would like me to confirm."

He reaches out with one arm, which casually stretches and stretches until it is several feet long. It disappears around a corner and returns with a small metallic square which he affixes to the belt of the blue jumpsuit he wears.

"This is a neutron inhibitor," he explains, tapping it as the air shimmers around him for a moment, "Simply put, it will absorb the ionizing radiation coming from you and reattach the electrons. It makes the radiation less deadly. Very handy."

Angelica Jones has posed:
Looking up from the small fire she's managing to put out, with her hands no less, Angelica sucks on her slightly burned fingertips and nods. "It's probably a good idea, sir," she says, glancing at the table. Then back to him. "It's not just random though. I can feel something in the air, like even right now. And when I start making things go futzy it gets louder. Except that's not the right word either."

She looks around, then says, "Is there anywhere I can stand that I won't cause any damage though? This place is buzzing, it's actually almost deafening, and I'm ..."

She pauses, looking up and to one side, then tries to say, "Full? I'm getting something and there's a lot in me and I need to let it out, and I don't want to ruin your room, but it feels like spilling over." Her fingers are literally shaking, something in the room is affecting her physical form.

Reed's readings would show, everything in the room is running on slightly lower power. Even the light levels are slightly down. She's absorbing...everything?

Reed Richards has posed:
Reed considers for a moment before he moves over to a computer console built into the wall. He taps a few keys, humming to himself. Around them, some of the walls reorient themselves. As if the lab itself has many configurations that can be activated with the push of a button. A shelf folds away to reveal a small pod with a thick door and a small glass window.

"We used this to test Johnny's thermal output," he explains, moving towards the pod and opening the door with a mechanical hiss, "It's shielded enough that it should contain the extent of your abilities, whatever they might be. It's a little claustrophobic, though."

He turns back to Angelica: "Would you care to step inside? We can see just what you can do when you give it your all. That'll help me determine the mechanism by which you're achieving it."

Angelica Jones has posed:
Angelica nods. "Yessir," she says, reacting like a child to a schoolteacher. She walks forward, saying, "Johnny?" as she does, not being fully caught up on superhero's names. Or not as much as she really should be, some of them ARE public record after all.

She steps inside. And as the door of the pod closes behind her, she settles to wait patiently. "I'm not going to let go til you say to sir. I mean, I blew up a light bulb in the last area."

Reed Richards has posed:
"Johnny's my brother-in-law," Reed explains, closing the hatch to the pod after which his voice is heard through a speaker built into the chamber, "Otherwise known as the Human Torch. He used to make a lot of movies; you might've seen them. I haven't. But if he asks, I said they were masterworks."

A few more buttons are tapped on the console, and then the lock on the chamber clicks shut. Sealed within, the silence is eerie. The bustle of the lab is completely shut off, leaving no sound except the hiss of the speaker whenever Reed talks to her.

"That should be enough. Go ahead and let loose."

Angelica Jones has posed:
"One of them was pretty good," Angelica says. More out of politeness than an actual belief; she isn't an action movie fan herself. And she needs to get things out of her, so she's talking a bit when she feels like she should be yelling.

Of course that's about to be moot.

"Full power? whatever that means.." She trails off to nearly whispering at the end, and then closes her eyes. And when she opens them, they're glowing.

Her hair explodes into flame. The temperature in the pod...skyrockets. Microwaves slam into the pod, and the entire interior fills with flame to the point where it's difficult to see Angelica inside. Her clothes turn to ash in a microsecond, and the pod is pushed. Pushed, and pushed hard. She's putting out enough power to melt the entire building, and it doesn't look as if she's actually slowing. The temp is rising inside, not slowing down. It's actually rebounding, the pod is causing the effect to be intensified.

"I'm ...still alive," her voice is picked up by sensors. "Odd, it feels fine. I can even see out."

She says, as she's approaching the temperature to vaporize solid steel.

Then it slows, and she goes out. Suddenly, like a match being dunked in water.

and she's naked.

Reed Richards has posed:
"It's specifically designed to resist heat," Reed explains through the speaker, "The shields absorb and redirect it via sub-dimensional radiators. It's a similar technology to what I used on my spaceplane, though obviously more fortified."

He monitors the readings throughout, copying various data over into his analytics software while nodding his head. Whatever is happening, it seems it was much in line with his predictions. He only occasionally glances up at the window, and that's towards the end when the fires go out.

"Oh!" he starts, coughing loudly, "Hang on a moment, let me just - "

An arm disappears, snaking its way across the room before returning with a lab coat which he holds out towards the door as it opens, averting his eyes.

"At least that problem is easily fixed."

Angelica Jones has posed:
When the door opens and Angelica emerges from the pod, she is blushing. No real surprise but she's quick to take the lab coat, having no real wish to give a full frontal to Dr Richards. Or Anyone Else for that matter! The real surprise is how ...normal she looks.

After a level of output that would put a large bomb to shame, she puts on the lab coat and her hair is still in place. Her face isn't burnt, and the fingers she burned earler on the table are still exactly the same. She is, however, emitting nothing. She's not any danger, she's used it up.

"I feel a lot better," she says eventually, after she's turned around two-three times and checked to see that her bum's covered. "I can still feel things in the air, but not coming from me. That was a bit of a rush."

"Sir," she adds after a moment's hesitation. Manners, apparently.

Reed Richards has posed:
"Yes, it appears you function something like a self-charging battery. You build up a charge, and if you don't emit it at regular intervals it begins to 'vent' itself, so to speak. The solution would be regular emissions, perhaps smaller and more controlled ones on a more frequent basis. Otherwise, we can arrange for more use of the shielded chamber - but I don't imagine you want to have to come all the way here every time."

Once she's safely covered up again, he turns back around to face her. One hand strokes his chin thoughtfully, the arm stretching in a rubbery way as he does so. He doesn't even seem to notice.

"I may have a solution for the ... clothing dilemma, but that may take some thought. For now, I'll give you this."

His arm departs around the corner, returning with a folded blue jumpsuit with a '4' on the breast.

"It's my wife's size, but you can adjust the fit through the computer built into the wrist. It's made from unstable molecules, which should allow you to burn without damaging it."

Angelica Jones has posed:
The girl's hands reach out to the clothing that's offered as she processes what she's being told. "I can..." She starts to talk, then pauses. Then she looks around, and grins. "Microwaves, right?" She says, as she folds the outfit over her left arm.

She reaches for the coffee, then picks up a cup. Closes her eyes and smiles, and the black liquid (drinkable or otherwise) begins to steam. Then to bubble, and she opens her eyes. Frowns. "Little bit of practice and that'll work for, you know. QUIET discharges. I mean, who'd notice a cup of hot tea?"

She sips the coffee, then winces. "Not that hot though. And maybe a teeny bit strong.."

Then she puts it down and looks at the proferred outfit. "This is really cute! Can I try it?"

Reed Richards has posed:
Reed nods his head, letting her take the jumpsuit and stepping towards the door.

"By all means, it's yours. I don't think Sue would mind. She'd probably just be pleased to know I clothed you and made sure that this particular wardrobe hiccup didn't happen again."

He glances at the console once more: "You're right. Microwaves. But all I can suggest is practice. It seems like an eminently manageable condition; you just need to stay on top of it. I'll step out if you'd like to get changed?"

Angelica Jones has posed:
The slightest tease; a married man, and Angelica's about to change clothes into his wife's outfit. She shakes her head, then bares her shoulder in the beginning of preparing to get dressed, and dressed properly. "This means I'm Fantastic Four property," she says dreamily.

But then she's alone, the consummate gentleman that Reed is would be gone, and she'd glance to make sure. And five minutes later she's fiddling with the dials, the outfit a bit tight in a few places, but zipped up and protecting not only her dignity, but the equipment around. "It's okay sir Reed sir! I'm decent!" She really is, that's likely the closest thing to flirting she's done.

But it's also a very decent man, and she knows not to try anything. "Your wife must be lovely," she adds. Apparently an unrelated note. Ack, that's too tight. Okay, bodyslide settings. Like on Skyrim. Good.

Reed Richards has posed:
Reed doesn't return until he's called for, having stood outside in the hallway taking a moment to actually check the numerous messages that come through on his phone at all hours. He's clicking through them with a bemused expression when Angelica calls, and he slips it away into his pocket before stepping inside again.

"She's the best there is," he answers with a warm smile, "I've never met anyone better, and likely never will."

A nod is given to the computer on the arm: "The suit will adjust itself based on the settings there. It's fairly user-friendly, I'm sure you can figure it out. You can feel free to keep that as long as you need it. We'll try to come up with some alternative solutions for you since I'm sure you don't want to wear all that blue all the time."

Angelica Jones has posed:
Angelica looks at herself, in Fantastic Four blue, and winces. "I am a bit of an autumn, aren't I?" she jokes as she reaches to touch her long hair, the scrunchie which was holding it in a ponytail GONE and likely dust all over the inside of a nearby pod. "Well, oranges and reds always made me look good. I meanifIcanchoosecolours!" she speeds up at the end, eyes widening, as she realizes she's being picky and choosy about what is likely going to be a million dollar outfit that someone's making for her out of the kindness of their heart!

"I can wear this, really sir! You're already way over the amount you should have to put up with for my account! I mean seriously, I've just met you and I burnt your coffee and your table and I might have ruined your elevator for all I know..."

AND, BREATHE!

"And I can never pay for this."

Reed Richards has posed:
"I make enough money," Reed answers with a wave of his hand, "Consider it a gift. All I ask is that you learn to get control over these powers and, once you have? Try to help people. I like to think there's some larger influence out there that gives us these things, and that's why."

Satisfied, he leads the way to the door and opens it for her.

"I'll let you get about your business. But our door is always open if you have any questions. I'll pass my finding along to Doctor Winters."
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