4176/ZZGU: Toxoplasmosis

ZZGU: Toxoplasmosis
Date of Scene:	19 November 2020
Location:	R and D Labs: Triskelion
Synopsis:	SHIELD offers Supergirl access to Dr. Jemma Simmons. She begins work on a cure to the mind manipulating mucus from ZZGU.
Cast of Characters:	Kara Danvers, Jemma Simmons

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Kara Danvers has posed:
The doors to the lab open and in steps Supergirl, her blonde hair and red cape swishing behind her with the motion. Hands on hips and chin held high. An agent is right behind her looking nervous, "Ah Miss Supergirl you're meant to wait for me to swipe my card first." He hurriedly swipes his card so as not to set off an alarm. Agent Harris clears his throat, "Agent Simmons. Uhm. Supergirl is here to see you."

Two DEO agents enter the room behind them and place a sealed container on a table top then just as quickly march their way back out of the room. Agent Harris peers at the container, then rushes after the two DEO agents, "Wait you need clearance!"

Supergirl tucks her hands behind her back and smiles to Jemma, "I've heard a lot about you Ms. Simmons. Namely, that you're the very best biologist in SHIELD. Normally we'd handle this at the DEO but given what happened -- the directors of our two organisations felt it best to share resources." She steps forward to Jemma and offers her hand, "I'm Supergirl."

Jemma Simmons has posed:
And when Supergirl actually enters....the supposedly very best biologist in SHIELD has her back to the laboratory door. From all appearances, it would seem that Jemma is working on some sort of biological suspension in a lighter-than-air noble gas. The work seems rather delicate, as the brunette leans forward, adding just a touch of a substance as Harris announces himself...and seemingly Supergirl. "Really, Agent Harris. Supergirl? You really need to come up with..."

And then Jemma turns around. And look, the Maiden of Might is actually standing right there. In front of Jemma. In her lab.

Right. Time to backpedal and save face. "...well, hello there!" A quick glance to Harris, but he is already running out the door after the two DEO agents, which certainly catches Jemma's eye. And the sealed container just unceremoniously placed on a tabletop. Well, this is certainly interesting.

There is a Kryptonian, in Jemma's lab, that somehow knows who Jemma is. The dawning of this information flashes in Jemma's expression for a moment...but only a moment. Then, those famed British sensibilities kick in as Jemma accepts the offered hand. "Dr. Jemma Simmons. But, then again, you knew that. Oh, please, just call me Jemma...or Simmons....or whatever you prefer, really!" The other hand gestures in the air while the handshake is just a touch too long for comfort, at least for Jemma. She realizes she is more than a little floored and pulls her hand away with an apologetic grin. "Oh, sorry. I, err...it is just that it isn't every day that we receive visitors." Much less visitors that can toss buildings. And wait...did she just say that the directors of the DEO and SHIELD are sharing? And Jemma's name came up? Oh...this is big.

A bit more composure overtakes Simmons. "So, then...what can I do for you?"

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara's smile only grows moment by moment as the handshake lingers on. Her hand is firm, quite firm. The 'girl of steel' moniker is perhaps more than just a play on her more famous cousin. There's nothing she can do to immediately help Jemma through this moment of revelation but wait it out.

With the hand removed she tucks it back behind her and says, "Two time doctorate in biochemistry right?" A serious nod and she then turns on her heels to look at the container. "Within this container is an oozing sludge expelled from a creature that is attempted to breach in to our world and conquer us all. The goop is extremely dangerous. The mildest of exposure seems to create some kind of mind alteration that causes a person to either go insane, fight to infect others, or in its most extreme presentations - have them work to open a dimensional portal between our Earths so that it can cross over and invade."

She looks back to Jemma and her face is a mask of serious. "A DEO research facility .. was destroyed because of this stuff. That is why the DEO and SHIELD have decided to work together. A lot of people have lost their lives already and there are still people out there who are infected. Before we could get any real answers, the scientists and guards at the facility became infected and turned on each other."

She places a hand on Jemma's shoulder. "Dr. Simmons, Jemma, I need your help to stop this, to find a cure or an inoculation, some way to shield people from this mind control. If we don't, our world may be the next victim of the creature known as Zhed'Zhud'Ger'Uth." ...Just a regular Wednesday at the office.

Jemma Simmons has posed:
"Well...yes." Not that Supergirl needed the confirmation, but the fact that she knew means that she definitely has been talking with people above Jemma's pay grade. Because, really, who would know that outside of SHIELD anyways? The admission helps for Jemma to regain her professionalism.

Then, a glance to the container. And, as Kara describes the contents within and its effect, Jemma responds with a single word.

"Again?"

There isn't even a major surprise in that comment. It...seems that Jemma does have at least some experience with extra-terrestrial or inter-dimensional slime. "Does it hate light? Is the mind control based on a set of harmonics that seems to affect only those that can hear it? Does exposure to light cause it damage?" The rapid fire questions just escape without too much fanfare. And...as the apology given for the response? "I....had some experience with a similar situation. A shadow entity attempted to enter this world and it took a team effort to prevent it from happening. In conjunction with Superman and I believe the Justice League and the Titans. SHIELD's part was an attack from the rear, using a high-powered blue laser fired into a multi-faceted prism suspended by a series of drones."

Still...the little explanation doesn't bring either of them any closer to any real answers. "I see...this is going to be a rather tricky situation. A psychotropic substance is never pleasant to deal with...and, from the sounds of it, there really isn't any solid information on how exactly it affects the neuro pathways to know exactly how it is affecting people. Quite a perplexing situation."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara pauses as Jemma asks 'Again?'. She peers at Jemma and then listens to her explanation of the thing that attacked her cousin. She shudders. She remembers that thing. The sound it made. She feared for her cousin, but he begged her to stay away from it. In the end, it turned out alright- though he was forced out of his retirement because of it.

"Ah. Yes. That thing." Unpleasant memories seem to be part in parcel with her life. "This one is very different," she says and then motions to a stool as if to ask permission, then seats herself.

"Firstly, it requires technology to pass between worlds. Either from their side or our side. A group of people fled their world to ours and were, unfortunately, infected. They then built a new device on our world to bring it here. That was the first incident," she says sharing freely of her experiences.

"The second time was with Agent Johnson of SHIELD. We were tracking one of our missing DEO agents from the research facility. He built a whole new portal device. When he activated it, I flew across to try and stop him but accidentally passed through the event horizon and found myself on another Earth.. one that was ravaged by the creature," she says and then pauses and lets out a breath.

"I saw it. It saw me. It is as big as a small city, a gigantic slug like creature covered in tentacles and beaks and eyes within those beaks. It immediately attacked me. I was lucky to get out of there," she says and nibbles on her bottom lip.

"Think of it. A whole other Earth just like ours. Conquered. What must have they done to fight back. We need answers. There are two known attacks by this creature - the slime in that container and a psychic attack. I have asked Mr. Stark to help with the latter. I want to take a team through to their world and find answers, but I can't do that if the moment we cross over everybody becomes a crazed agent of the creature."

With a small almost helpless shrug she says, "So far I've not seen any weaknesses. Not light, not even my heat vision. I cut it, but it didn't seem to care." She takes in a breath and puffs out her cheeks, "Well. The infected prisoners are being transferred from the DEO to the Triskelion too. Perhaps you can scan their minds and find answers. All I know is the ooze didn't affect me the same way as it affected humans. I felt very disoriented and struggled to speak in English, but it passed."

Jemma Simmons has posed:
There really doesn't seem to be that much surprise at the thought of different Earths...different dimensions. Honestly, there probably should have been at least mild surprise, but, to Jemma, it seems like all of it is quite plausible. Perhaps there is more to Simmons than what the casual personnel report would say. She listens with intent, sliding out a tablet from a labcoat pocket to take notes. Alien technology. Infection passes on at least some inate knowledge to construct a portal to propagate its arrival. Slug-like creature. Psychic attacks. And....while it affected Kara, it didn't overtake her. That...could prove key.

"I see. It certainly sounds rather dire. From what you have described, it is most likely an airbourne pathogen. No contact actually seems to be necessary in order to cause infection. And, with the manner in which you described the symptoms of the infection, you would be right to assume it impacts brain function. Perhaps introduced via the circulatory system?" The thought trails off as Jemma adopts a distant look, her mind racing off, looking for correlation. "It....it has to be some sort of transference."

Nothing like a problem to solve to get Jemma going. "Right. We will certainly concentrate on this immediately. I have some ideas of what we want to look for that may assist. Those poor souls will certainly be tended to. As well, they should provide key information that may be useful for identifying the cause of the delirium. And...once the cause is determined, it should be rather straightforward to determine a methodology to prevent it."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara knows that look, the look of the smartest person in the room getting absorbed in to solving the problem. She has worn that look herself plenty of times. She sees her smart friends wear it often too. Especially some of the Titans. She slips off of the stool and folds her arms across her chest.

"That is what I had hoped you would say. There are the seven refugees from the other planet, five DEO agents, and twelve ..ahem.. survivalist militia from Oregon who were somehow growing more of the creature to harvest its goo to infect others. That's the entire set of infected people so far. I think the first group is arriving later this afternoon."

She pauses a moment and stares at the container, "This isn't strictly part of the initial requirement. But.. if there were some way to distribute it world wide." She nibbles on her lip again and says with her own distant thought, "May be we could save that other world and whoever is left alive there."

Jemma Simmons has posed:
Jemma picks up exactly what Kara is laying down. "An airbourne preventative. Quite possibly even a retrovirus designed to target and eliminate the alien component being introduced. Yes...yes...that could be possible. Though, for proper dispersal, it would have to be released high in the atmosphere...and be able to replicate itself, which lends more towards the retrovirus theory than any sort of reactionary measure." Still....the concept was sound. And...as the thought churns, Jemma glances back to her workstation...to the gaseous suspension she was concocting....

And the thought strikes home. Jemma....just figured out the delivery method.

Now...it is just a matter of determining what to deliver.

"I will begin work on this immediately. Is...there a way I can reach you, when I have a breakthrough?" Note she said 'when', not 'if'. Jemma is awfully sure of herself.

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara smiles as she seems to get on the same wavelength as Jemma. She nods her head to her and says, "Amazing. Your director is lucky to have people like you working for him Jemma." She lowers her arms showing off the symbol upon her chest, her hands returning to her hips as her expression lightens. She can sense that this can only lead to good things.

"You can reach me through the DEO. I expect it'll be easier for SHIELD to connect to me there than through the Titans or the Justice League," she says realising just how many convoluted ways there are to contact her. May be she should create her own way of being contacted. One just for her and her friends and trusted allies.

"Thank you Jemma. I look forward to hearing from you again." She begins to leave the labs and then pauses and turns back around, "Also. If you find yourself in trouble - just call out my name." She then lifts up off of the floor, hovering there a moment. Another confident smile, this one with a look of appreciation. As a lab tech opens the doors, she becomes a blue and red blue - flying out of the labs at super speed.