2013.06.01 - Awesome, You're Not Dead

About twenty-four hours has passed since Booster Gold brought Superman to the Infirmary of the Legion Headquarters. The Last Son of Krypton was sick and weakening. The man from the 25th century, in calling ahead to the base, reported that Superman had been exposed to some sort of kryptonite gas. Kent Shakespeare was immediately alerted and came in to attempt to stabilize the Man of Steel. Even having spent hours working on his patient, Kent is still now struggling to come up with a prognosis.

As this moment begins we find Superman laying on the primary diagnostic bed with a holographic display above him projecting an analysis of his internal systems and condition. Kent is leaning against the bed, focused on the analysis. "And you said that Grodd did somewhat started this?" he asks Kal-El oblivious of anyone else who might be in the room with him.

Though the reports have been that the gas in question was Kryptonite, evidence that will be garnered will show that there are a few coincidences that give the illusion that this was a Kryptonite attack. A few days ago, Grodd had tricked Superman into getting an intoxicating agent on his skin. The virus has turned his skin yellow from his hands, all the way up his arms, and onto his neck. Aside from the yellow coloring, the effect of the virus is to take Superman's powers away from him and turn him 'human.' Though he was pretty beat up at the beginning, he's now the opposite--pretty upbeat. He nods to Kent, "Yeah, it came in a missile. It was lead lined, couldn't see into it. I grabbed it and poof...a yellow mist came over me. I didn't think much of it until my hands started yellowing. Aside from feeling weaker and more tired, I don't think there's anything wrong with me. But it's like the more that I use my powers, the less I can use them...if that makes sense."

"Mr. Shakespeare, is--oh, hey." Booster Gold is flying into the infirmary, having spotted Kent first, but then he gestures at Superman and says in English, "Awesome, you're not dead!" He lands and sets his coffee down, out of the way, walking a little closer, although he stops several meters away. Holding up a hand, he says, "...is this supposed to be a sterile environment? I was just outside. I was just wondering about..." Booster gives a vague gesture at the infirmary in general, and then points towards Superman.

The fact that /SUPERMAN/ was brought in injured...

Yeah. That surprised Imra Ardeen a.k.a. Saturn Girl. And even more, it worried her. Thus, as soon as she got a chance, she slipped in to see The Man of Tomorrow. only as she does, she realizes that she isn't the only one.

Heck, as she hears the bit from Booster about 'sterile environment' she even rolls her eyes slightly. But she doesn't speak up just yet. not even to say 'Hi'.

"Booster, I've told you before you can just call me Kent, 'Mr. Shakespeare' is my dad," Kent says to the golden reservist as he enters the room. "And you don't need to worry about anything like that," he says to answer the question about sterility. "Hi Imra," he says to Saturn Girl as she walks in also. "Superman's been explaining what I think is the root cause of all this, that somehow Grodd has interfered with his powers," he further explains before returning his attention to the display and his patient. "I assume you have at least some knowledge about your natural physiology, Superman, so can you explain to me what these are? They look viral but for all I know its a normal part of how your body works."

Superman smiles a million watts at Imra, "Hey. Heard I was sick and came to pay a visit? It's good to see you Imra. How are ya?" He nods at Kent's words. "It's the darndest thing. I've never run into this before."

"Sorry, Kent." Booster pushes his goggles up and back, so that his whole cowl hangs down behind his neck. He has no secret identity to protect, so there is no need to go around 'masked'. Although he does look concerned, he lights up a bit when he gives Imra a smile as well. "Hi!" Turning to look at Superman again, he says, "Well, you look better... kind of. I mean, last night I thought you were going to die, or something."

<< I did. >> is said to everyone in the room telepathically as Imra responds to Superman with a slightly worried smile, before she in turn nods slightly at the other two.

<< Kent. Booster. >>

Then though, at the things that Kent shows Superman, she frowns. A frown that gets bigger as she listens to Booster, while she just sort of listens. Not just to what people say, but she also 'listens' for any stray or strong surface thoughts, reactions, or feelings. She's not trying to pry, but well...

Kent nods and his expression becomes more stern at the answer from the Metropolis Marvel. "Actually, Booster, it was just a form of tear gas," Kent explains and then adds, "However, seeing Superman succumb to it could have lead you to think it. While I did help stabilize him last night when you brought him in he'd've recovered from it on his own... just a bit more slowly." He frowns at the display above the bed and mutters something about it looking vaguely familiar. He then speaks to the room, "Computer, run a comparison of the viral agent in the patient and compare it to those listed in the medical database." He adds to the command by saying, "Ultimate priority," thus making the process take precedence over others, potentially causing lag in other system responses while the analysis is performed.

Superman smiles over at Imra, "Cheer up, I'm. You too Booster. I'll be fine. I figure it's something that my body will fight on its own and get rid of. Like the flu." He turns to Kent, "Right? Like the flu?"

"Wow. Okay, I mean... it's good that it wasn't kryptonite," says Booster, his eyebrows arching upwards. "Because some random dudes running around with it would be bad news. But... I mean, if that was just run of the mill tear gas..." Imra would undoubtedly pick up Booster's reaction to that news; seeing Superman get dropped out of the sky by something that he would probably never notice under normal conditions? A little unnerving. "I'm sure you'll be okay, Superman. I've just been concerned that bad guys will find out you're sick, and will try to finish you off. That kind of thing."

"Oh, I will." is said to Superman as Imra tries to put her best face forward. All though Kent going with 'Ultimate Priority' actually cheers her up a little more.

On the other hand, Booster gets an eye roll.

"If worse comes to worse, there's the entire Legion to fill in for him right now. And considering who's here, if we need to fake him being all right, we can do things that will make people think that /a/ Superman is out and about in perfect health."

"The flu? No, not exactly. This looks much more severe than that. It looks like it is rewriting your genetics," Kent Shakespeare says. Then there are the comments about faking a Superman and he says, "Well, if it actually ends up turning him into a normal human then sooner or later the truth will have to come out."

The computer, having acknowledged the previous command chirps indicating it has finished the analysis and then says "There are no cases of pathogens causing symptoms like these in the database." which leads Kent to cursing loudly, "Grife! Of course not. There were no kryptonians alive in the future. Broaden the analysis to any viruses that have similar structure or even vaguely similar symptoms in any species." The computer acknowledges this command and continues on the same priority as before.

"Re-writing my DNA?" Superman no longer thinks things are very funny. His face droops as it falters. As Kent works through the database, Superman looks at the others with a bit of worry, but does his best to remain upbeat. "Things will be okay." Is he telling them or himself?

Booster frowns a little at Imra, saying, "I can't help having, like... -feelings- about stuff." Kent's information has him dropping from English into Interlac, however, because it is much easier for him to communicate in the latter. "...like, a nanoparticle-driven epigenetic attack?" And lest anyone give him a funny look for that, with pre-emptive defensiveness he adds, "We tackled some of that in our practical lab classes in high school. But it was pretty basic, I didn't focus on it when I went to college. It was the kind of major you'd take if you were going to go into law enforcement and that wasn't my goal."

And here is where Booster gets a sidelong glance from Saturn Girl. That is before she shakes her head.

Yeah, she's surprised by what Kent revealed about what's happening to Superman, but...

"And this is happening slowly?" is said towards the medic that's been working on Superman. "How the heck would that work without killing him? I mean unless every cell was being altered at the same time in the exact same slow manner, wouldn't he have his body fighting with itself as it tries to reject the 'alien' bits with the new DNA?"

Yeah. She might not be an expert like Kent, or have a full idea what Booster is referring too, but The Telepath from Titan isn't exactly dumb either.

Kent starts to answer Imra when the computer chirps again and says "Analysis Complete: one partial match found in system. Displaying on back screen."

Kent immediately turns to look at the display and says, "Sprock me," and staring at the display in disbelief.

On the screen a virus is displayed. It describes a single known case of exposure in 2989. The patient -- Kent Shakespeare. The cure -- Brainiac 5 allowed it to run its course. Further details are offered but anyone who has read Kent's files in the records in the base know the story about how exposure to a mysterious virus threatened his life and then gave him his powers.

Superman raises an eyebrow and looks to Kent. "What does it mean?" he asks soberly. He leans back in his bed, eyes fixed on the screen, wondering how bad this will end up being.

"If I remember correctly, and don't quote me on this because it was a few years ago," Booster says to Imra, "You -can- condition the DNA of a living being and..." he pauses as he tries to figure out how to explain this, especially since this is far from his area of expertise. "Kind of flip the switches in the code. And activate dormant code, or make active code dormant. So for example, if Superman's DNA contains code that says "this guy has no powers", whatever's attacking him can uh. Essentially reprogram the cells, and since it's stuff that's in there anyway, it won't be seen as foreign." He holds up one finger, and says, "Pardon me a moment." Booster then goes to fetch the coffee he sat down upon entering the room, because he needs it to soothe his brain.

That example isn't one that Imra knows of, meaning that as far as she knows, it didn't happen in any of the time lines like hers, or if it did it wasn't something that was well known among her Legion.

And yet, as Booster takes off to find coffee, the Telepath from Titan silently waits for the answer to whatever the answer is to Superman's question.

Luckily the database being consulted came with Kent and was intended to be used by him and his fellow staff at the pediatrics base they were going to establish on Quarantine.

Kent, having intimate familiarity with the case file in question, doesn't even bother reading it fully. He says, "What that means is that there is some similarity in what you have been exposed to this week is genetically similar to what I was exposed to five years ago... in my timeline that is," to Superman. Imra will notice that Kent's focus has been shaken, that he is questioning the validity of the information. "Booster, get back here," he calls out as he grabs a hypospray and uses it to extract a blood sample from his arm and then takes another and draws a similar sample from Superman. Both samples go into a divided sample container which Kent closes and shakes to evenly spread the samples across the surface of the dish.

Superman watches Kent work and his eyes dart back and forth between Shakespeare, Imra, and Booster. "Well, if you've dealt with it before, maybe you're the best person to find out how to fix it, right?"

"I'm here, I'm here..." Booster calls out. Although he got close to the doorway, he never left the room; he walks back, holding his to-go cup of coffee. "Sorry, I should have brought one of those big boxes, in case everyone wanted coffee." He gestures vaguely, with his cup. "So if it's something you've experienced before, Kent, that means you can ... make an antidote, or formulate some kind of counter-active agent or something, right?"

"If a Brainiac 5 helped with this last time, you may want to send him your data as well, at least for independent verification." is said, despite the fact that Imra...

Hell, Imra is not sure how she feels right now. Or how she should feel. After all, this is Superman...

"And I'm sure Kent can Booster. Odds are between our tech, and what we have on file, we should be able to do something." is even said as she watches Kent work.

Kent shakes his head. "Not necessarily. Remember, I was the patient," he says to both Superman's and Booster's excited response to the information. "I want you to look at the samples with the microscopic enhancement of your goggles, Booster, tell me if you see the similarity the computer is detecting," he says. Imra can sense that Kent is having doubts here and he is hoping this examination will allow for a confirmation which will support the seed of an idea that is forming in his mind. Yes, definitely a seed. He then says, "I think we're going to need Garth or Ayla in here, Imra, can you call on the closer to come assist?"

Superman tries to follow along with what Kent is looking at, but as he tries to invoke his vision powers, he finds he cannot. Rather than up the worry for the others, he simply lets it be.

"Uh, okay, but remember I only have basic high school science under my belt," Booster cautions, as he sets his coffee down and puts his cowl back on. Never mind that basic high school science for his era is pretty sophisticated for the current era, although probably not nearly as much as that of the 31st century. He reseats his goggles, and leans in to get a good look at the samples. After a long, quiet moment, he says, "...this does look familiar. Ugh, the final exam in that class... the good news is I have some sequencing software in these goggles, because they were military issue." He straightens up, then, and looks thoughtful. "Basically from what I could see and the kind of readouts I'm getting there's a lot of correlation going on between the samples. Some other stuff too but ... Kent, I'm just going to send the data dump to your terminal because I'm really the last person that should be reviewing this." He gestures vaguely, Kent's way, as the information streams to the computer.

There isn't even a nod from Imra. Just a quick thought. But a thought that more than likely gives Garth a run down on what's going on in here. At best anyways.

At worst, it's a thought that amounts to << Hey Garth, get in here. Kent needs you to help save Superman's life! >>

Yeah, that thought is a telepathic message, sent towards Garth. But considering that it's Saturn Girl thinking that, it probably should be expected.

<< Eh? >>

Fortunately, at least, Garth was on base, and it's a few moments before the door slides open, and the Winathian comes dashing in. "Hey! What's going on? Imra said something about saving Superman's life?

When Booster's data shows up Kent looks it over and nods. "Yes, that's... interesting," he says then shakes his head, "No, we'll deal with ramifications and study later." He picks up the hypospray with his blood in it and presses a button on it. He approaches Superman with it and says, "I'm going to inject my white blood cells into you," to the man laying on the medical bed even as Garth walks in. Then, to Lightning Lad, he says, "We're going to need a low level, extended jolt to shock Superman's immune system into gear. I figured you or your sister could help." Then, he asks Superman, "I need your consent. I am fairly confident that this will make a difference and even if it doesn't that there is only an extremely slim chance of it causing any further complications."

Superman nods a few times, while giving Kent a look that tells him the Man of Steel is ready. "Yes. Do it."

"Oh yeah," Booster says, as if this had given his memory a jog and made perfect sense to him. "Sure, if the nanoparticulate delivery system is viral, and Kent suffered something similar, that might actually work as a vaccine type thing." He starts to take a sip of his coffee, then pauses and says, "Uh, although I also recall... if that stuff really is reconditioning Superman's DNA, it might not go back to the way it was even if you stop the process. Just remembering an incident with the frouse one girl in class didn't re-sequence properly." Imra might get a vague impression of that memory; it's kind of awful.

3...

2...

1...

Yeah. Imra picks up that stray though of Booster. And she winces. And makes a face. And well...

Let's just say what she picks up could easily be considered awful.

Which means that it's probably a good thing that the others in here can't pick up the thought. Especially considering the work that's going on.

"Sorry, Clarkie," Garth comments, as he sets himself up as Kent instructed. Staring at Booster, the Winathian adds, "You know DNA repairs itself, right? I think Kent only has to stimulate the repair and... oh whatever!"

Getting ready, as soon as Kent instructs him, he'll give Supes a charge, all right.

Kent groans inwardly as Booster 'helps out', the thought clearly picked up by Imra. "Let's not speculate that way Booster," he says as he injects the white blood cell sample into Superman's shoulder and steps back. "Garth, we're going to need a ten second charge... but make sure it doesn't pass through his brain or his heart."

Superman knows full well that with his diminished invulnerability, this is going to hurt badly. Nevertheless, he gives Garth a chuckle, "You'll have a new line for the ladies," he says. The Man of Steel braces himself, hoping that this works. His yellow hands grab the sides of the blankets in an iron grip.

"A-doy, Garth," Booster rolls his eyes at the Legionnaire. "I -did- make it through second grade, you know. The problem is if the agent that's attacking Superman altered enough of the code it might have already over-ridden the usual error checking and it won't be able to self-correct anymore." He takes a leisurely sip of his coffee. "I mean that's like, worst case scenario. And if it comes to that, hopefully you guys have or can get his original genome."

And as she tries to wash that mental image from her brain, Imra slowly takes up monitoring things telepathically as Kent gives instructions, Booster talks 'shop', and Garth gets ready to 'charge'.

"We don't know that yet. So don't you -tell- people that till it's actually happened," Garth says, the lightning scar of his flashing, a warning sign of annoyance. "It's -not- gonna happen, if I have to fry it out of him..."

And then Kent gives his instruction, and Garth -charges- Clark up. With a zzzzkkkt there and a zzaaakkkkttt there.

Kent says "Alright..." just as Garth stops the electricity on his own and then he looks up at the holographic projection above the bed. The signs are subtle and people inexperienced in reading them may or may not notice them. "That looks good," he says to the room and then, to Superman, he says, "It's not going to be instantaneous but I think that this will reverse the condition, although it may take a few days as it did to get here."

Superman wriggles as the electricity courses through him. Just as soon as it starts, it stops though, and the spitcurl on his forehead still bounces as he finds himself terribly glad that's over with. "Well, here's hoping. And here's hoping I don't need another one of those. Thanks Garth. I think." He gives his old-young friend a reassuring smile.

"I'm just trying to help," Booster tells Garth, looking slightly hurt. Then, conversationally he adds, "Granted, we only covered Terran genetics in that class. I didn't take the Off-world genetics class because it wasn't required for the university I was going to." He then takes several steps back, mostly to stay out of the way of Garth, just in case the young man isn't done zapping things, yet. He has that look in his eye.