It's tragic, yes. LET'S FIX IT.

[mitochondriaaya]

Aya stormed through the door and screamed in rage, kicking her school bag ahead of her because it was safe to kick. Seriously, her backpack wouldn't explode.

"Calm down!" Maya sighed, closing the door behind her sister. "We fixed it. And if you kick that bag anymore you'll have to shopping for a new one. You hate shopping."

"DON'T BE REASONABLE AT ME!"

"OKAY FINE!" Maya grumped and booted her sister's bag back at her. "So what do we do?"

"...COOKIES."

Maya nodded, toeing her shoes off before tackling her sister. "Like you could make cookies in this state!"

"COULD TOO!"

It was a sibling thing okay?

Comments

[mitochondriaaya]

"Hmm, might be time to get some correctionals kids to play with electric fences..." Maya noted. "Sorry, I mean Justice Track kids." Sure. Right.

"And that at least makes me feel better to hear. Didn't think you were stupid, Braig, just thought you might have a reason to be there. Your classes take you everywhere. Swelling. Awesome. Get comfortable Braig, we're going to have to wait on those blood tests." But he could have a wipe down with a local numbing agent at least?

[sliceitwithwind]

"Can I get comfortable on a chair with padding instead of this one?" he asked, blinking a couple of times, "Wait, no, nevermind. I might fall asleep. Right then. Someone distract me with science."

It was the best way to keep his lover calm, and he knew it.

[mitochondriaaya]

"Sorry, no," the girls spoke in tandem again. They were sorry though? "You can get a pillow though."

"We asked Dilan to help us make an oxygenated substrate to substitute for blood that gets mixed up by idiots when dealing with three species?" Aya offered.

"That and a kid read us fourth dimensional poetry on the way to class today? We weren't sure if he was courting or cursing us?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"No, no. Hard is good." Braig said with a shake of his head, "Fourth dimensional poetry, huh?"

"How does that work?" Dilan asked, confused.

[mitochondriaaya]

"If the answer was easy we'd both have handled it sooner," Aya laughed.

"And very recursively, apparently. He wanted us to be certain we'd let you know. Do you have a rival, Braig?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Huh." he thought about it, then shrugged, "Can't think of anyone who'd be a threat to my grants. If there is a rival out there he obviously isn't very good."

[mitochondriaaya]

"We'll keep an eye on him," Maya decided. After all this was a campus of insane people really, and such led to strange reasons to think a person a rival!

"How's the leg? Numbing working properly?" Aya asked easily, eyes still fixed on the wound.

[sliceitwithwind]

"Don't worry about it, Aya...Maya?" sometimes he thought he never would learn. It was frustrating, especially when Dilan piped up with, "That's Maya. Aya is doing your leg."

"Maya. Yeah. Don't worry about it. If he shows up, sure, but don't go looking for him."

[mitochondriaaya]

"We could start wearing hair ribbons or something in the house," Aya offered wryly. "It's too useful away from here to be mistaken for each other, but we don't mean to bug you Braig," they liked him honestly, that meant they'd do what they could.

"Negative on grampositive mutagens, so flush it with out neutralizer," Maya noted.

"On it. Deep breath Braig, you don't to breathe this." Luckily most mutagens were gram negative instead, which made a broad spectrum flush a lot easier!

"And no worries Braig, we've seen him a time or too, but not as much as the theology students." As far as followers went anyway.

[sliceitwithwind]

"No, I'm going to learn." he said, grumpily, "Someday. Somehow. Not sure how, but I am." Braig nodded and not only held his breath but pinched his nose shut. It was always better to be safe than sorry.

[mitochondriaaya]

"Yeah, but most people get notes and study guides..." Maya chuckled, stepping closer to Dilan to avoid fumes as Aya tipped a bittle over Braig's wound. Luckily for everyone it hissed and bubbled and spat just like it should which meant that whatever gym nut had, well, it wasn't too creative.

And it was best Braig's leg was already numb yes.

Aya tapped Braig's cheek once the reaction was done, letting him know it was safe to breathe before she set to properly cleaning and stitching.

"Well, good to know our first aid kits are effective," Maya noted, jotting a note to replace that mixture so they'd have it for next time.

[sliceitwithwind]

"Trust me, it's better than good." Braig said after gasping for air, "It's great. I do not want uncontrolled mutations, thank you." He'd have said 'any mutation', except that he knew it would have hurt Dilan's feelings.

[mitochondriaaya]

"Tell us if you feel giddy or light headed," Aya chuckled. "Euphoria could be a side effect, but only showed up in one out of three hundred test subjects..."

"She's teasing," Maya noted.

[sliceitwithwind]

"Let's be honest; the fact that I am not going to end up looking like a bullfrog crossed with a thresher is enough to make me euphoric." Braig said without hesitation.

[mitochondriaaya]

"On top that fact," Aya glanced up at him, a direct, clear look trying to convey that she was partially serious at least. "Dork. Cute dork, but a dork none the less."

"And some bullfrogs are quite adorable," Maya noted cheerfully, cleaning some of the test tubes while others were still percolating. "threshers, well, haven't been around much farm equipment. We don't know...farmers."

"Drake!"

"...we don't know any normal farmers."

[sliceitwithwind]

"Oh..." Dilan said, wandering off for a moment. When he returned it was with a laptop open to an image search of thresers. "These are what he's talking about. How is Drake not normal?"

Braig just sighed and shrugged, "Got it. No, as far as I can tell it's just the expected amount. I'll let you know, though."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Hmmm," the girls mused in chorus as they peered at that picture. Then "I don't think you could spontaneously mutate that much metal." Just to be reassuring?

"Drake is...Drake. He likes to grow things but he's bad at farming, so, not exactly the best example thereof."

[sliceitwithwind]

"Around here who can tell?" he asked dryly. Dilan said, "I could help." although what he was offering to help with was...anyone's guess.

[mitochondriaaya]

"Doctors," the girls answer cheerfully. "That and the metalloid test sample isn't turning blue over there."

"You are helping Dilan, with many things at the moment, I don't think you need another on your plate!" Aya admitted cheerfully.

[sliceitwithwind]

"Making plants hardier isn't hard, though." Dilan said, with his sweetest smile, "I made strawberries that can be grown in sub-arctic temperatures my freshman year."

"...Yeah, actually, lets let Dilan do more with harder to accidentally kill food plants." Braig said.

[mitochondriaaya]

"Annnnd you lost us," Maya chuckled. "Wasn't what we were talking about babe but that's okay. We were talking about Braig sprouting metals, you were chasing the helping Drake angle, right?"

"I don't know if I want you to meet Drake..." Aya admitted thoughtfully. "It sounds like a good idea on the outside? But inside, well, Drake is crazy as hell. He's a contact point for the company but not part of the company. He's not..." she wasn't sure how to put it really.

"...trustworthy to that degree," Maya supplied.

[sliceitwithwind]

"You could give him plants?" Dilan offered, blinking. He was used to the idea that there were people he shouldn't meet, and accepted that as just part of life. "Yes, I was thinking about plants."

"One of these days I'm going to want a list of people you think he shouldn't meet." Braig said, hopping down and giving the bigger man a tight hug, "It'd make my life easier."

[mitochondriaaya]

"He...shouldn't ever have reason to meet Drake I think?" Aya admitted. "Unless you'd like help planning your future. We'll bring you with us in to the company in a heartbeat at this point."

"Yeah, you're keepers," Maya added. "Negative results on the B and Liphoic tests as well. Whoever was juicing the jock wasn't very good."

[sliceitwithwind]

"I'm glad that they weren't good." Dilan said absently, "It means that I don't need to find them and twist their head off." which was, really, an option around KHAOS. It wasn't one he took often, but sometimes you had to do it.

"Well...maybe. Gotta say that right now it's looking like the best possible option, but I'm not going to negotiate anything without Nevada in the room. You understand."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Well, barring near criminal negligence," Maya noted, tapping a different tube. "This is cross reactive by the tests. He didn't have limiters on the infection. That's..." incredibly stupid. Luckily there were more potential earth spanning apocalypses diverted in this school than most ever learned about. Part of the reason it was allowed to exist probably. Bottle necking the insanity led to natural die off.

"Hmm, he'll be here in about three weeks," Aya noted. "We may have asked him about keeping you. His response was a lot like yours, naturally."