3873/An Expert On Mutants

An Expert On Mutants
Date of Scene:	19 October 2020
Location:	Fred's Diner
Synopsis:	Henry McCoy is approached by Vanessa as she seeks help understanding her mutation.
Cast of Characters:	Vanessa Carlysle, Henry McCoy

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Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
The contact had come via a contact of sorts. Another person in the field of science that Henry McCoy knew, not exceedingly well, but had met a few times. A researcher who had some interesting papers and they'd shared a conversation or two at a conference over them. He had sent Hank an email then:

  Hank,

  I had someone I trust reach out to me asking if I could get someone in touch with you. A woman who has recently realized she is a mutant, and is seeking guidance. Her name is Vanessa, and I can vouch for the friend of hers who contacted me. If you're able and willing to speak to her, she can be reached at this number.

Vanessa had answered the phone, and been more than willing to meet wherever Beast had decided. Which turned out to be a popular diner in Bushwick. And so it is Vanessa is sitting and waiting, having arrived early. A little nervous as she sips on iced tea waiting for the famed scientist and mutant rights activist.

Henry McCoy has posed:
It's always something he looks to do - regardless of his personal battles. Protect and educate the mutants that show up or ask for help. He's certainly not going to stop now, feral or not. He'd reached out to Vanessa, his voice calm and reassuring, just in case. When they decided upon meeting up, he agreed and advised he'd cover the dinner.

Stepping into the diner, he's dressed in a button-down shirt, slacks and a nice pair of wide shoes. Respectable! Sharp eyes draw across the occupants, the man heading over towards where she advised she'd be getting a booth. "Vanessa?" He asks, looking to her as he nears the table.

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa Carlysle is in her mid twenties. A pretty woman with large, expressive eyes, set in a face which also can be quite expressive. She's wearing jeans and a nice sweater, and boots. She rises as Hank comes over to her table. "Yes. Doctor McCoy, thank you so much for coming. Please, please sit with me," she tells him, her face lighting up a bit.

She sits back down herself, and the waitress is coming over before there's a chance to say more. "Can I get you a drink. Maybe an appetizer too?" she asks them. Vanessa looks to Hank and says, "It's on me, least I can do."

Henry McCoy has posed:
Taking the offered seat, he grins. "Henry is fine, if you'd like. And no, I insist - food is on my tab, I tend to pack more away than most people would assume." Five-hundred pounds of muscle and metabolism, after all! A nod to her, then the waitress.

"Iced tea, and some mozzerella sticks?" He suggests, at least for the appetizer. "I'll be ready to order when you get back." A smile then to Vanessa. "So... odd things happening in your world, Vanessa? A recent development, as I am to understand?" He asks, eyes on hers - quite comfortable in his seat.

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa smiles to the waitress and nods her agreement at the choice of appetizer. As the woman moves off and they turn to the topic at hand, Vanessa takes her glass in both hands. A sense of nervousness from her, but only a little.

"Yes. I... I have a bit of a handle on it. But I still don't know quite what to expect. Or... well. I should probably just start at the beginning, shouldn't I?" she asks.

She sets her glass down and says, "I started noticing I knew things that I shouldn't. It was subtle at first, but to keep the story short... I had absorbed the memories, and even the skills of my boyfriend. It happened over several weeks. Found I could do things well that I'd never had any knowledge or skill at. And finally I ended up with all of his memories. My own too. Like two sets in my head," she tells Hank.

"And... I saw another doctor. She said I had the mutant gene," Vanessa says, keeping her voice quiet for just the two of them. "And she noticed some healed fractures in my arm, identical to those of my boyfriend. She suggested I might be able to do more than gain his memories. That I could change my body to look like him. But that I was holding myself back. And, she's right. I've worked out how to look like other people. I've also copied the memories of my best friend after getting her permission. When I got hers, I lost those of my boyfriend. Then got his back and lost hers," she says. "I can control it now. But it's still all... I'm fumbling my way through. Unsure if I'd get stuck looking like the first person I took their appearance, or what. Thankfully that wasn't the case," she says.

Henry McCoy has posed:
The doctor listens intently, not interrupting or questioning as she relays her story. He sips his iced tea when it arrives, still listening to the woman as she explains what is going on. After she's finished, he nods. The tea is set down, Henry considering.

"Is there any method to how you absorb such things? Does the contact have to be skin to skin?" He wonders, quietly. "And the memories, are they removed from the original person - or simpy copied into your mind?" His eyes regard her, a slight smile. "I've had a few aquaintences who have a simliar affect on people. Not quite the shape changing, unless... the person they absorb have different abilities."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa takes a sip of her iced tea. It was hard to get through all of that. But now she has, a lot of that built up anxiety and worry has been released with the words. "I'm not sure if it requires contact with their skin. But it definitely helped. With my best friend, well we experimented. Sitting near her for an hour didn't do it, but touching her for ten and I was remembering the hallway she had her locker in, in ninth grade," Vanessa tells Hank, adding a tiny wry smile at the last part.

She gives a tiny shake of her head then. "They don't lose anything. Don't notice, as far as I can tell. It's just like I get a copy slowly put into my head. Like I'm a copycat of who they are. If I switch I lose the memories. But, if I consciously thought about them while I have them, then I retain that memory of accessing them. If that makes sense? I remember, remembering them."

She looks interested as he mentions others with a similar effect. "Really? So there are others like this too? Or sort of like this?" she asks.

Henry McCoy has posed:
His hand moves in the so-so motion. "A bit more extreme, in taking as opposed to copying." Henry explains, vaguely. "Experimenting is certainly risky - I am glad you didn't run into any lasting issues." A smile. "So... can you change the shape without contact? Is it a separate ability, or linked to those you touch?" He has his thoughts, but he wants to be certain.

"You'll find that for all our people, there are generally going to be some similarity." The man assures. "It does not remove our uniqueness, as there are often variances within each subset of abilities." A nod. "Normally, this is triggered during adolescence, though."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
The answer to the first question is a nod of Vanessa's head, followed by a shake at the ask about if it's linked to those she touches. "I can control it pretty much completely," she says of her appearance. "Change my hair color, height, gender. Look however I like, like whoever I like," she says. "It doesn't seem to be tied into having their memories or skills," she says.

She looks thoughtful. "Is this something that would come from my parents? I never knew them. I grew up with an uncle. I'm not even sure what happened to them," she tells him. "My uncle would never tell me their story, just that he was stuck with raising me," she says, her expression suitably wry at that last part.

Henry McCoy has posed:
There's a grin. "It is genetic - so it often stems from family, though it can skip generations." He comments. "What may have been dormant in your parents, combined it may have been compounded and made dominant in you. The lottery of our genes is quite fascinating." Says the geneticist. "And the powers are separate, interesting. Do you find it easier to change if you hold their memories?"

He munches on one of the mozzerella sticks as they arrive, dipping it in some of the marinara. "It is an avenue to look into, regardless - your parents. If we can get information from your Uncle, or even try tracing it back through your DNA."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa considers that for a moment. "Well, if I hold their memories, it's more... complete?" she suggests. "That is, when I change into... my boyfriend. I know every last part of me is duplicating him. His birthmarks, hairs, everything. If I were to copy, say, the waitress... only what I've seen her would be right. But if I have their memories, even if I haven't seen parts of them, I know it would be right," she explains. "Like I were truly becoming them."

She gets one of the mozzarella sticks, dipping it and nibbling it. "I would be interested what we might find out, about them," she says. "So, does that mean... I mean I realize, you probably get a lot of people like me approaching for help. Does that mean you'll try to help me figure all this out?" she asks.

Henry McCoy has posed:
Henry nods, chuckling. "I would be a poorer man, if I did not help you understand your gifts and your life as it changes." He assures, smiling. When the waitress passes again, he orders a large plate of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and corn. He offers the menu to Vanessa, allowing her to order as she likes.

Once she steps away to place the order, he looks back to the woman sharing the table. "And it does make sense - the completeness of the copy, so to speak. I wonder, if such a copying would work for another mutant, or one with more physical gifts such as mine? Would you inherit those gifts, or just the appearance?"

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa Carlysle just orders some chicken strips and honey mustard to dip them in. Once the waitress is away, she listens and then looks thoughtful. "I don't know. I was copying Oliver's... ah, my boyfriend's healed broken arm without even realizing it, before I ever tried to change my appearance. So I guess it's a pretty deep copy, but..." she says, trailing off. Then shrugging. 'I just don't even understand how genes can cause this to happen, let alone what that would take," she says.

She looks over at Hank thoughtfully. "I mean, I could try, sometime. Yourself or, you know, someone safe. So I don't... shoot lasers out of my eyes and kill someone or something. There probably aren't mutants like that anyway are there, just Kryptonians."

Henry McCoy has posed:
"The human body, or mutant, is a wonderous creation. As much as we learn, it is only a fraction of a percentage of what there is to learn." Henry assures. "New mysteries open up as soon as we solve another - they are puzzles within puzzles." A wry grin, still happy to be solving such things.

"I am not opposed to helping to test these things, however I would not wish you to have necessarily all of my memories. Some are private, some are things I would not wish on anyone." A wry smile. "Does the length of contact determine the depth of the copying of memories?" He wonders. "And no, not many who fire lasers from their eyes."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
The woman gives a slow nod at the question. "Yes. When I renew my connection with my boyfriend, the memories come on gradually. And his skills. And I can even control, to some degree, what order I get them. I'm still experimenting with it. Sometimes I can pull up specific memories before anything else. And other times I don't seem to have much control of what I gain first," she tells him.

She gives a little motion with her hand towards Hank. "This is why it's slow going, too. My best friend, and boyfriend, both trust me with their memories. And, wow, what a great guy he is. I mean, he can't keep anything from me. I'm continually renewing his memories with recent ones when we're together. Though I do have to consciously think about those memories or else have something that dredges them up. Just like anyone else. You might remember where you spent your birthday last year, but it too me saying to make you remember you have that memory. It's the same for me with a memory from someone else."

Henry McCoy has posed:
He considers, nodding to the woman. "Of course, I suppose, too, it depends on the subject. I've had... a lot of practice in keeping my thoughts barricaded up, for various reasons. It's best to keep one's friends and loved ones safe, when dealing with various nefarious people." The man explains.

"It is certainly something we could try, if you wanted. I would wish to make sure your friend or boyfriend were about. I would want them to be able to intercede, should you need to clear your mind of my troubling memories."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa nods at the suggestion. "That is a good idea. I haven't really even tried to just... forget. Maybe I could? So far I've only had that happen when I switched to someone else," she says.

She takes a bite of her chicken. "And just in case you wondered, I haven't copied anyone else. No one against their will. Not counting my boyfriend when it happened without us knowing what was going on. I wouldn't want to... to invade someone like that," she tells Hank.