10076/The Panacea Project: So, How Was Your First Day on the Job

The Panacea Project: So, How Was Your First Day on the Job
Date of Scene:	17 November 2019
Location:	Ship's Operations - Legion Cruiser
Synopsis:	All the hard work comes after a mission...
Cast of Characters:	Invisible Kid, Slipstream, Zero-G, Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Mon-El
Tinyplot:	The Panacea Project

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Invisible Kid has posed:
    Finding Invisible Kid is… not something he encourages, at least not in the field.
    On the Cruiser, if he's not in his quarters, he's probably in the lab.  Which is, in fact, exactly where he is, mainly because there's always some work that needs to be done.
    Well, okay, and because he doesn't regard lab work as work.  It's fun.  Just never mind those scorch marks on the ceiling—you know, the ceiling made of a material that's not supposed to be scorchable.
    Don't ask.
    What he's doing right now is not immediately obvious, other than chemistry is involved.  There are the obligatory flasks, tubing, and bubbling things.

Slipstream has posed:
    Heading into the lab is Drake, hot off his successful mission with Alex over on planet Aeon.  He is still riding high from his first intergalactic space adventure.  "Hey, Lyle," he calls in as the doors swish open, then close behind him.  He's in his human clothes today, jeans and a t-shirt.
    "You got anything for an ice burn?  I took a icy sky dragon blast across my arm and it's still a bit numb and not so happy.  But it definitely makes beating my No Fappy November easier since that's my go-to hand."

Zero-G has posed:
    Of the places on the Cruiser, the lab is the most intimidating for Alex.  He is painfully aware that there are categorically smarter people here than him.  He knows the ins and outs of science, but on a distinctly lower level.  AP Biology versus literal rocket science.
    He has a semi-important request so toughs it out.  "Lyle?"  He approaches tentatively.  The boy has seen better days.  His injuries have already begun to heal themselves, but where they haven't yet are tightly wrapped bandages.  He hasn't been home since the mission and didn't have access to the wonderful healing power of family (no really, it's pretty miraculous).  "Hey, Drake," he says upon noticing the other.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    First, hands away from the lab table.  No (more) accidents, please.  He swivels around on his lab chair, and turns a friendly face to the new Legionnaires.  "Drake, Alex, hi.  I hear you had your first mission."  Hear, hell.  He's already been all over the logs and reports and knows almost as much about what went down as if he'd been there himself.  It will, however, be informative to hear their take on the event.
    It doesn't take long to locate the anti-frostbite lotion, which he passes to Drake.  "Came up with this after a liquid helium spill—which accident we still speak highly of… sorry, couldn't resist that."
    Alex's injuries get a more serious look.  "That looks pretty unpleasant.  Are you sure you should be out of Medical?"

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    Brainy has been in Metropolis, making good on the Legion's promise to protect the city.  "I don't know what those barbarians at STAR Labs think they're doing, calling themselves a research laboratory.  They might as well be writing on clay tablets and inventing the wheel.  I present them with a comprehensive algorithm to predict where and when crimes are going to occur based on advanced quantum mechanics and they don't have a computer that can run it.  I could run that app off of my Omnicom—"
    He looks around, and then says, "A successful mission I see.  No fatalities.  Good good.  Now everybody get out."

Slipstream has posed:
    Reaching out to take the lotion, Drake gives him a grin.  "Thanks, Lyle.  That does sound rather painful."  He tilts his head over to Alex as well as he enters, a look of concern upon his face.  "You sure you're okay?" he asks him as he gives him a wide grin.  "You were pretty freaking amazing last night.  I was lucky enough to be just a little bit faster than the dragon."
    As he peels out of his shirt, Drake's body is covered in scars along his chest and back.  He even has an Overwatch logo tattoo on his shoulder in beautiful black and gold colors.  As he looks down at the ice burn along his arm, he starts to apply the lotion, then rubs it in with his hand.
    Tilting his head at Brainy as he comes in and starts to kick people out, he raises his brows upwards.  "Like, right now?"

Cosmic Boy has posed:
    Rokk Krinn was walking down the hallway, seemingly better after his run in with that whole Priest of Rao/Superman Dead/brain injury thing.  Memories were strange things, easily jarred from reality when time travel, and weird energy mixing with his magnetic powers.  After all, absorbing a lot of that temporal energy had booted him into the team's future, allowing him to pop out some time ago, after the team had arrived… and he then thought he was some Priest of Krypton!

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    "It never works," Brainy chimes in, "But one day, one day, mathematically speaking, it HAS to work," he says.  "I probably wouldn't know what to do if it did—someone drank the champagne I had chilling for it back in the thirty-first century."

Zero-G has posed:
    "I should be fine.  I'm going to head back to Earth after this and will be good as new."  Alex waves a dismissive hand.  "I don't know about amazing.  The scientist, Dr. Stellaris, her experiment on the endangered species was unsuccessful.  And go figure, she didn't even produce the formula herself."  He does smile at Drake, though.  "Thanks.  How'd you rate your first time on an alien planet?"
    He looks at Brainiac and Lyle in turn, sheepish.  "I'll leave if you want, but she asked me to see if the two of you could tweak the sample.  I kinda already said you'd do it."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "That's just Brainy's way of saying hi.  You'll learn when he really means it."  Lyle grins.  "The hard way, most likely."
    At mention of Dr. Stellaris, Lyle's look hardens.  "I wouldn't call her a scientist, injecting a large, dangerous, and endangered animal with an entirely unknown formula.  I'd've stopped her if I were there.  Under the circumstances, you both did quite well—although I want to check your equipment, Alex.  Your transuit should have automatically deployed when you exited the ship.  It would have protected you better."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    "Speaking of bodily ejecting someone from a spacecraft, the butcher doctor who took care of you after whatever happened—"  Brainy pauses.  "Ah, wait, they don't have dermal regeneration therapy for another fifty years because of the religious foolishness about stem cells."
    Then looks up, and says, "I happen to agree with Lyle on this one.  A scientist without ethics is a butcher."
    He looks up.  "Rokk!  You're awake."

Slipstream has posed:
    "I thought the whole situation was a bit weird, but I figured if we were summoned to protect her and the crew, then everyone was good to go.  I don't know much about that science stuff to speak up on it," Drake admits as he continues to rub the cream into his arm, frowning at the sting.
    "But I had fun regardless.  My first experience on another planet and I didn't get devoured by the dragon.  It was a real rush.  I can't wait for the next mission."  He lifts his hand up to Rokk, grinning.  "Ey bro."

Cosmic Boy has posed:
    Rokk Krinn while walking past the labs, hears voices, so decides to peek his head into what was going on.  Stretching his shirt a bit, and frowning at the snugness, Cos notes that there was a full room.  Must be missing the priest robes.  "Hail hail, gang's all here…" he says with a smile, as he comes around the corner.  "What's going on?"  Cos looks at Brainy and Lyle, then at the others, Alex and Drake last.  "Hi, I'm Cos aka Cosmic Boy aka Rokk Krinn.  Nice to meet you."

Zero-G has posed:
    "She's desperate and hopeful.  I can understand that," Alex produces a vial of the stuff she used from his pocket.  It's a glowing pale yellow liquid.  "She wanted to see what the two of you could do with this.  Well, specifically you, Brainy, but I figure this sort of thing is in your field of expertise, too, Lyle."
    "If you could mesh the Legion gear with my Kymellian-tech suit, that'd be great," he replies to Lyle, before giving Rokk a small wave.  "Hi.  My name is Alex Power aka Zero-G."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    "Actually within the narrow… extremely narrow… hyperspecialized field of biochemistry…" Brainy says, "Lyle is my better.  He will naturally hear me say that and assume I'm saying he's smarter than I am.  And then he'll make a joke about how every artificial intelligence I create turns evil or that I create clones that explode or something else he thinks brings me down to the level of mere mortals…."
    Brainy sets up the lab equipment, as he talks.  "Kymellian?" he says, raising his eyebrows.  "I thought they were extinct."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle grins and waves at Rokk.  "Hey there, Cos.  Yeah, it's getting to feel almost normal around here… well, as close to normal as we can get."
    He hops off his lab stool and collects the sample from Alex.  "Desperation and hopefulness don't make for good science.  Or good decisions.  She still had no business injecting this into an animal without some idea what was going to happen.  I'll definitely be interested to see what this stuff really is, and what its effects might be."
    He turns and gives Brainy a raised eyebrow for the unexpected compliment.  "I never claimed I was smarter than you."  Pause.  Grin.  "Just cleverer.  Although if Alex has an alien tech, you better check his gear, Brainy."  He can admit when he's second to someone, too….

Slipstream has posed:
    "I got Adidas on.  They're pretty extinct too," Drake says in regards to his sneakers that are looking a bit worn.  Being a speedster is hell on the shoes and he needs to invest in some better ones.  "Hey Rokk.  I'm Drake Winters, aka SlipStream.  Uh… born and raised on Earth current year.  I'm not from the future."  He glances to the two big brains go back and forth, squinting his eyes some.

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    "He's not really that much cleverer than I am," Brainy says.  "Just a better spy."  Then Brainy sighs.  And he brings up a template of XS's costume. "Jenni's uniform is geared to resist the stresses she puts on it, I assume a uniform made to similar specs will be useful for you."
    He continues to work, and says, "As a rule, except during downtime, Legionnaires wear uniforms, which are held to an organizational standard. Some Legionnaires wear theirs even then."  Guilty. 
    "Speaking of, has Lyle given you your flight rings yet?"

Zero-G has posed:
    "She wanted to ensure that they could adapt to changes on the planet, to prevent them from going extinct," Alex tells Lyle.  "I just, I didn't know that she got the stuff from her random brother until it was too late.  In hindsight, it wasn't wise for us to let her continue the experiment.  They didn't have the resources for success."
    Alex looks at Brainiac, with wide eyes.  "No.  I mean, they live on an artificial world, but they are still very much alive.  W-why?  Do they… do they become extinct in the future?"

Cosmic Boy has posed:
    Moving inside the lab, Rokk smiles and nods.  "Nice to meet you Alex.  Drake.  Welcome, welcome!"  Nodding at Drake, he says, "Fair enough.  Good to meet you, whether from the future or now."
    Looking over at Brainy, Cos says, "They should be, although there may be a rare one here and there in this time.  Extinctions would probably take a generation or two."  Where did that come from?  Rokk's love of history?
    "Hey Lyle.  Yeah, it is isn't it?  If anything around here could be called normal."  Looking around, Cos adds, "Glad to see the Cruiser is still intact at least."  He ignores the inter-sciency barbs with a smile.  Same old Lyle and Brainy.  As Brainy mentions uniforms, Rokk pulls at his collar again.  At least this time he adjusted his costume to add a little black to go with the purple.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "I didn't, that's Lar's job as leader," Lyle says.  "I haven't had a chance to make sure they're properly tuned to their powers, though."  He measures out half the glowing yellow goo into a storage container, and passes the rest over to Brainy… and already starts dividing up his part of the sample into smaller units for various analyses.
    "Not to worry, Alex.  While I would like to encourage you to trust the scientists," he says, placing a hand on his chest and then tilting his head towards Brainy, "it's not always easy to tell when you shouldn't."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    Brainy puts his fingers on his chin. "Artificial planetoid.  That would explain it, they must've moved it."
    "There are plenty of races people think went extinct, but really aren't, like the uplifted gorillas from Earth.  They quietly left the planet during the twenty-second century and terraformed a planet of their own.  It's a very beautiful world, full of flora and fauna that've been extinct on Earth for centuries.  The elephant herds are particularly breathtaking."
    "…And I still don't know how they managed to cloak an entire planet for nine hundred years, those damn clever apes."
    He holds the sample up and tips it side to side, studying it.

Slipstream has posed:
    It's obvious Drake is the fish out of water in this conversation.  He's still very much a normie who only came into this superhero life.  After sliding his shirt back on once he has enough lotion spread upon his skin, he bobs his head here and there as he listens, even if most of it is going over his head.  He's quiet for now, just soaking it in.

Mon-El has posed:
    Any deep analysis of the mysterious formulation would reveal that the moderately viscous liquid seems to serve to keep some kind of nanoparticle in suspension.  Further, it's highly ionic, and there's a series of rapid impulses traveling throughout the mixture—some kind of electrical signal.  Just what kind of particles these are, and what kind of signal it is would require a much closer look at them….

Zero-G has posed:
    Alex looks relieved.  The Kymellians are his family, knowing that they aren't dead or prophesied to die out is a huge relief.  "Costume off," he mutters, and with a golden flash, he's back in jeans and a white tee.  His damaged costume is neatly folded in his hands.  "I'll leave this here, so you can make the necessary adjustments."  He smiles at Brainiac.  "Thank you."
    "I'm going to head home, so I can heal up."  Hopefully, his siblings are still awake.  "Lemme know what you find out on our mystery formula."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle waves to Alex, and is about to hop back up on his lab stool when his first sample pings.  "Oh… huh.  Drake—are you sure this Stellaris didn't mention anything else about what she thought this was going to do?"  He's got his trusty Omnicom in hand, looking up her brother and seeing what biotech company he's running.  "Brainy, come take a look at this reading—I'd almost swear the way those currents are moving, it's like a brain but in solution.  As for why you'd want to inject that into a dragon… well, I have a few ideas and I don't really like any of them."  Lab rat mode: fully activated.

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    "Well I mean a brain is mostly lipids and water, there's no REASON that couldn't be suspended in a liquid solution, it'd just be more of a gel and take up a larger area…."  He leans over, and studies Lyle's readouts, before he raises his eyebrows.
    "So, Zero-G's quite fetching, Drake.  Have you asked him out on a date yet?" he asks, as he glances up to Cos.  "And how are you feeling, Rokk?  You were… utterly delusional when we found you in Metropolis.  I was worried we were going to have to go find one of the X-Men's telepaths to put you right.  They're notoriously secretive, it would've been a HUGE trouble."

Cosmic Boy has posed:
    Looking first at Alex as he heads out, Cos waves, and steps back, next looking at Drake.  "Don't worry… they always do this."  Cos thumbs in the direction of Brainy and Lyle as they continue on with their scientific conversation, as always.  Crossing his arms, he looks "over their shoulders" and hhmmms as though lost in thought.  "It's a signal.  I recognize those electrical signals there."  He releases his arms to point.  "Is that an ionic charge?  Particles… or is it a wave formation?  Highly charged."

Slipstream has posed:
    "She told me and Alex it would help the Icy Sky Dragons adapt to their surroundings better.  Survive the changing climates," Drake says as he heads over to them to give a curious look.  "Annnd… no I did not ask Alex out on a date.  I'm twenty years old, he's seventeen and still in high school.  I also kinda still like girls last I checked," he says with a laugh, cheeks flushed.

Mon-El has posed:
    Lyle's search on the Omnicom would reveal that Azeilia Stellaris has like seventeen siblings, but only one of them must be the one she's talking about because he's the only one who owns a biotech firm.  Astrix Stellaris, CEO of Astrix Innovations.  Their main market is cybernetic implants for health and… recreational reasons, and their tagline is something to do with unlocking the maximum potential of the miracle of life itself.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Being a proper scientist, Lyle comments, "Well, it's a first guess, at least.  I don't want to commit to the idea without further evidence, but it's an interesting thought worth following.  What I don't see on initial inspection is anything in here that would help an ice dragon live in a warmer climate.  Either she lied to you, Drake, or she got lied to by her brother."
    He nods to Cos.  "Highly ionized… well, it'd have to be to maintain currents like that.  This is going to take a lot more analysis.  And, I want to do some deep research on this—"  He reads off the screen.  "—Astrix Stellaris and his firm.  I don't remember them from our time, so I'm guessing they folded or got bought out or something by then."  He makes a grumpy noise.  "Recreational cybernetics.  I am not optimistic."

Cosmic Boy has posed:
    "I am fine… Brainy.  Thanks."  That was obviously not a true answer, but would work well enough.  "Still dealing with some stuff, but I should be okay here on out.  Sorry if I caused any problems.  No need to get the X-types involved, at least not yet.  Wish Imra was around… she could probably help."  Rokk smiles, and goes back to the science at hand.
    "Right Lyle.  You and Brainy are right, as always.  Astrix Stellaris?  I don't know that name either, Lyle.  Hmmm.  I could look into it if you need a second set of eyes.  Could be any of those 21st century firms in that field."  Cos nods, and frowns.  "Interesting problem you guys are working on here."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    "I continue to marvel how some people do things that are manifestly ridiculous.  Especially given the risks inherent in cyberization—" Brainy says.  "Cyber-addiction is a real thing," Brainy advises Drake.  "Some people get obsessed with replacing more and more of them with machine parts.  It's a disorder that won't be recognized on Earth until the next century."

Slipstream has posed:
    "I'm totally not addicted to technology," Drake says, who is the obvious addict to technology as he is a world famous video gamer in the FPS category.  "But, I don't think I'd want to chop parts of my body off and replace them.  I may love playing Overwatch, but I don't want to become it.  I sorta like being au naturale," he drawls out.  "So, is this Astrix guy on Earth?  The lady was like purple skinned and alien.  I don't think this is an Earth place."

Mon-El has posed:
    As Brainy is talking, Lar comes by the lab as well.  "I saw that your first mission went well," he says with a smile to Drake, then comes over to what Lyle and Querl are looking at.  "What's this?" he asks, examining the formulation.  "Nanoparticles, huh.  I'm guessing this has something to do with what you were saying about cybernetics?"
    It might to occur to either Lyle or Querl that given the liquid matrix being used as a medium for signal transmission, someone might be able to get a read on those signals by connecting it to the cruiser's systems.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "And if they were trying to take cybernetic control of an ice dragon," Lyle muses slowly, rolling the idea around in his head.  "I said I wasn't optimistic.  Is that theoretically possible, controlling a creature that size with… well, with a distributed brain in liquid form in its blood stream?  I have a really bad feeling you're going to say 'yes'."
    He finally hops back up onto his lab stool.  "I'm looking up their information, Drake, but yeah, not Earth most likely.  The tech is still beyond Earth, at least for commercial use.  I wouldn't entirely rule out one of the bleeding-edge research centers might have a handle on an early form of this, though."
    He waves to Lar as he enters.  "The company behind this stuff has a line in both medical and recreational cybernetics, yeah, chief."

Cosmic Boy has posed:
    As Lar enters the room, Cos smiles and nods to the man as well.  "Lar," he says, and goes back to the screen, standing just behind Lyle and Brainy, watching as they work, and tossing in his thoughts now and then.  "No worries Drake, we don't think you are completely addicted."  Which means, they know he is addicted.
    "An Ice Dragon… really.  Here?  In the 21st century?  On… right."  Tech not from Earth, Lyle's words reinforce what Cos was thinking.  "Well then, we have a puzzle to solve.  Nice work guys.  Glad I'm back to see you all work through this puzzle!"

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    "Mmmm, well, bloodstreams don't really work that way," Brainy says.  "It'd be a little bit like trying to feed someone through their—nevermind."  He waves a hand, discarding that notion.
    "On the other hand, it's an optimal solution to deliver nanoparticles which would then hijack the subject's nervous system, so if they respond to the stimulus of an existing bioelectric field…."
    Brainy thinks about something, and then he takes a small prod off of the table, adjusts the field to represent the bio-electric field generated by the nervous system of a living thing, and sticks it into the vial.

Slipstream has posed:
    Giving a confident nod of his head to Rokk, Drake puffs up a bit.  When Lar comes in, he lifts a hand.  "Heeey best friend of mine.  Yeah, it went pretty smooth, you know… with scientists shooting goop into dragons and then they attack space cruisers afterwards."  He props himself back against a wall, putting a foot behind him for balance.  "So, you think this guy wants to take remote control of those dragons?  Sounds like a bad day waiting to happen.  Weaponizing dragons?"

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "Something like that, Drake."  Lyle pauses a moment and regards the new Legionnaire.  "If Wildfire shows up, we're going to need to give you a new nickname.  Can't have two Drakes running around.  Anyway, that's one working theory.  Whether it was intended to attack the ship, or whether that was an unintended side effect or just a dragon annoyed at being poked, I don't know."
    He rests his chin in his hand, thinking.  "You know, we probably should head back there and see if we can find the affected dragon.  That'd put an end to wild but otherwise intelligent speculation and replace it with some facts."

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar smiles to Cos as well.  "Rokk, good to see you back to yourself," he says with a nod.  "Hope you're feeling better."  Then back to the situation at hand as he listens to Lyle and Brainiac.  While he isn't an expert, he did grow up on a planet that was rather advanced in the field of medical technology.
    "Hm, good point Brainiac."  He watches as Brainy sticks a probe into the sample and creates an artificial bioelectric field.  The particles do seem to react to this, and start to line themselves up in a more ordered fashion parallel to the angle he's holding the probe at.
    He looks toward Drake, nodding.  "Hard to say exactly, without knowing what these things are supposed to be doing… Huh.  Think we could intercept whatever transmissions might be going through there?  Might be able to get a clue as to what these people might be up to."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    "And there you have it," Brainy says.  "This could be used to repair nerve damage.  Or it could be used to hijack and reprogram someone's nervous system… essentially letting you remote-control the subject if you had a sophisticated enough program… which is not unfeasible.  I could do it without any difficulty."  He withdraws the probe, and ejects the protective sheath on it into the incinerator.
    "Either way, someone just slamming it into a living thing is ill-advised."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "And putting it into something as dangerous as an ice dragon is not only irresponsible, it's lunacy," Lyle concurs.  "Next question: why?  Is Astrix trying to get rid of his sister?  Or does she know more than she's letting on and helping him test this stuff?  Or are they both just different flavors of fool?"  Anyone knowing Lyle will be sure that his list of questions goes well beyond three, but no one has the time or desire to hear all of them, he's pretty sure.

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar frowns.  He doesn't like the sound of that.  "Without knowing more about this formulation, that's a question we can't answer."
    "Can we get a closer look at these things?" he asks.  "What's the highest magnification we can get?  And what about jacking into their network?  Maybe we can figure out what they're saying to each other in all that yellow uh, goo."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    Brainy conjures up his holographic console, and obliges with a magnification of what's going on in the solution.  "How high do you need?" he asks.  He really is his own portable laboratory, between his holographic computer-brain interface and his toolbelt.
    "Hacking into their network is doable, it'll just take a little more time."

Slipstream has posed:
    "I guess you guys can call me Dynamite, since Brainy here says the 'records' show that it will be my code name for some reason," Drake says with a grin over towards the group of smarties.  All of this talk is so over his head, but he is managing to hang with it for the most part.  "So, what if we discover something we don't like?  Is it our job to bust them?  Or do we have space police?"

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    "Well in our era we would be supporting a United Planets Science Police millions of members strong," Brainy says, before he adds, "But here, it's just us, so we'd shut them down and turn evidence over to the appropriate planetary authority."  He huffs out a breath.  "We're not like the Green Lantern Corps.  We don't override the authority of legitimate governments with our existence.  We work according to their laws whenever reasonably possible."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle nods in agreement to Brainy's statement.  "Pretty much.  Much as I hate to say it, we're really a vigilante group.  So we have to step more carefully than we would back in the 31st century.  That's really all we can do, is do a complete investigation and hand our results over to the actual authorities."
    That brings another pause, and think.  "Lar, d'you think trying to negotiate with some of the major interplanetary governments for policing authority is worth the time and trouble?  Or too many governments and too much time?"

Mon-El has posed:
    "Not sure, just enough to get an idea of the structure of those particles," Lar replies as Brainy brings up the magnification.  He nods at the mention that hacking would take some time.  "I figured as much."  But nothing honestly, is there anything Brainiac can't hack?
    At Lyle's question, he shrugs.  "I don't know, maybe it's worth looking into."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    "Couldn't you just use your super-vision to look at them?" Brainy asks Lar, his eyebrows raising.  "…I told you, if you forget all your super-powers, write them on the back of your hand, Lar.  It works for Jo."

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar chuckles.  "You might all be subject to my supervision for now, but I don't know if these things are.  They're kinda new to the party."  What?  "But in all seriousness, I can see microscale things, but nanoscale is pretty steep."

Slipstream has posed:
    "What if you look through a microscope with your super vision?  Will it amplify it?"  Drake has a big brain moment which may not be really big brained.

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    "…Maybe if you squint," Brainy says, as he continues studying the particles.

Cosmic Boy has posed:
    "Hmmm."  Cosmic Boy looks at the information, and concentrates.  Using his magnetic field and vision, Rokk says, "Um.  There is a signal… a frequency in your solution somewhere between the particles.  The air as well.  I can't tell, but I can say it is not on this ship… not sure what direction, without using our sensors to track it."

Mon-El has posed:
    If Brainy zooms down to the nanoscale level, he'd find that these 'particles' seem to resemble links in a chain or pieces of a three-dimensional puzzle, as if they were meant to interlock with each other.  Lar studies the images pensively, then looks to Cos.  "Wait, so they're not just communicating with each other?  There's something else, somewhere else?"

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    "Mmmm, right.  Are you sure you're not picking up the wi-fi off of the space station the next parsec over?  No?" Brainy murmurs.  "I'm reluctant to hook this into the ship's sensors… but perhaps I can clone the signal and track it that way," he says.  "Give me a little while to come up with something."
    "And yes, that does corroborate the remote control theory, doesn't it?"

Cosmic Boy has posed:
    "No.  Brainy, I get it.  Let's use the ship's sensors to look at this link outside the ship.  It will be quicker than you coming up with an ad hoc way that may work.  Or create a new villain for us to fight."  Nodding to Mon El, Cosmic Boy says, "It seems like it Mon.  I think there is something else sending signals."  Cos puts his hands on his hips, and the realizes what he was doing.  "Oh.  Wait.  Sorry Mon.  You are in charge.  Old habits," Cos says that last with a sheepish grin, and then, moving his right hand from his hips to rubbing the back of his head.  "My bad.  What do you think we should do?"

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "Mostly confirmed, yeah," Lyle agrees.  "And I think I need to get some intelligence on the Stellarises, and Astrix Innovations."  He taps his Omnicom; several searches are already wandering around the various interplanetary networks accessible from here.  Probably including a couple he really has no business being on… well, it's a spy thing, he does that.  "Still too many variables in the 'why' category."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    Brainy murmurs, "All right, then," he says, before he takes out a plastic flimsy and a marker, and writers 'TRACK SIGNAL USING SHIP'S SENSORS' in Interlac… then he grabs a fridge magnet out of a drawer… and sticks it to Cos's chest.  "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get some tea."
    The magnet is Sun Boy making a -3o winky kiss-face.

Mon-El has posed:
    "How long would it take you to jack into their network?" Lar asks Brainiac.  He nods toward Rokk.  "If we can get a glimpse of what's in those signals, we might be able to shed some more light on this situation.  Has anyone tried contacting Dr. Stellaris again?  Perhaps we could try asking her for more information about her brother Astrix.  Even if she won't tell us anything, might at least be a clue to what kind of relationship she has with him."
    Lyle's searches on the Stellaris situation would reveal that while Astrix Innovations was a very successful and prestigious firm on Aeon, Azeilia's efforts with the Wildlife Society had gone mostly unnoticed and uncelebrated by the populace at large.  It seems she and her crew are among the few who actually care about wildlife conservation….

Cosmic Boy has posed:
    Cos looks down at the magnet and smiles.  "Yep.  Good to be back."  Grabbing the Sun Boy shaped magnet, he puts it in his pocket, and then watches as Brainy heads to get some tea.  "Well, Lar," switching to his real name, not his code name, "looks like this may take some time."  Stepping back, he smiles at Lyle, and shrugs.  "Lots of variables.  When isn't there?"

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "Wouldn't be the Legion if there weren't, Rokk," Lyle agrees with a grin.  "The only other recommendations I have are that we need to go back to Aeon.  If we can find the affected dragon, we can get some actual data on what this goop does, rather than very good theories.  And we can talk to Azeilia.  And I will be a bit surprised if the signals from the liquid aren't going in that direction anyway.  Multiple birds, one stone."

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar nods to Lyle's recommendation.  "I agree, we should return there, see if we can track down the affected creature and learn how exactly these things are interacting with its systems.  In the meantime, I'll see if I can intercept some of the signals running around in there.  If they're using that liquid as a transmission medium, should be simple enough to stick a probe in there and see what we can pick up on."