12410/Gamma Testing for Dummies

Gamma Testing for Dummies
Date of Scene:	03 November 2020
Location:	Outskirts of New York
Synopsis:	Bruce and Shannon catch up after some events.
Cast of Characters:	Hulk, Nightingale

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Hulk has posed:
Bruce has been fairly off grid for a while now. It's been a bit hard to reach him for the better part of a few months. The virtual classroom stuff being on hold means most contact between Shannon and Bruce is scheduled meetings.

One of which is today.

The given address is a rented warehouse on the outskirts of New York. Apparently, Bruce is doing testing of some new gamma radiation filtering attempt, and wouldn't mind Shannon's company... and observation.

By the time Shannon is at the warehouse, Bruce is strapped down by his legs to a chair in front of a machine, surrounded by visible green energy as the machine does... /something/ to him. He's gritting his teeth, but his tensed hands remain gripped to the chair arms.

There's no pained screaming at least... so there's that?

Nightingale has posed:
     Knowing what she did of Dr. Banner's situation, Shannon could understand why he might want the company for such a test as this. So when she got the call, she made her excuses and slipped away from the school for a brief trip into the city. It would do her good to get out of her own head for a little while, anyhow.

     She's kept her garb for this meeting simple and no-frills--just a pair of blue jeans, her soft black boots, and a cream-colored turtleneck. In deference to being in a lab, she's pulled her hair back, and pinned it up in a bun. As always, she has her little brown leather bag with her, hoping and praying she wouldn't need the contents.

     The humming of the machine, the sickly green glow, and the rather pained look on Dr. Banner's face gives her pause--but she's had her run-ins with him off the rails, and is not keen to step in unless it becomes well and truly dire. Instead, she keeps to a safe distance, doing her best to make sense of the machine and its readouts.

Hulk has posed:
Then, something... unknown happens. Dangerous, maybe?

The transformation almost seems to start, then... it stops, reverting. This happens about two times as the energy around Bruce spikes. The wave washes out over the warehouse, but stops halfway to Shannons position.

A few moments more of this, and Bruce suddenly brings up a hand and slams his fist down into the chair, just around where his wrist was, and the machine behind the chair shuts down.

Bruce is breathing hard as he slumps into the chair. "I can feel it does the job... but my cells are too robust at this point. I'm a literal gamma generator."

Nightingale has posed:
     When it looked as if the waves of gamma energy have abated, Shannon does make her way over to the chair in the center of the room--albeit with a bit of caution, holding back slightly. There was a lot she had to learn about his transformations, and not all of it was best learned at close range.

     "I've seen some unusual things," she begins, a bit hesitantly. "And I know very little about gamma radiation. Mostly that most of the time, it's very harmful to organics." Tilting her head to one side, she offers a smile. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Hulk has posed:
"I'm a unique case. Suffice to say my... past made me able to survive a gamma bomb. Now, My body generates gamma radiation. It's one of many, many reasons that people like to try to capture me. It's one of my greatest fears; one day, someone may figure out how to turn me into a bomb. In small amounts, it can be useful... but as with anything, an overdose can lead to... issues. It's unstable at best, but I was one of the first to focus it well enough." Bruce begins to undo the straps on the chair. "You can come in now. I need to do some adjustments before I try again."

Nightingale has posed:
     Nodding, Shannon closes the distance, near enough now to begin assisting with unfastening the straps on the chair. "Here, at least I can do this much," she says, her voice calm, if with a touch of sadness to it.

     "I have to admit to being a little curious. Is the form of the radiation you're generating any different from that found, say, coming from a neutron star? Are there even different types of the radiation at all?" While she might not be a PhD, at least there was something to be said for curiosity, right?

Hulk has posed:
"Honestly, I don't know. I've never had cause to compare... but I wouldn't be surprised if what I create is similiar but different. My method of generation is organic rather than through metallic chemistry." Bruce clucks his tongue slightly, "something to look into, next time I get hijacked into space and don't by some miracle turn into The Other Guy."

As the straps are taken off, he stretches his legs, then looks to Shannon, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize that the filtering process with burn off excess in an uncontrolled wave."

Nightingale has posed:
     Now that does have Shannon lofting one finely arched brow, unfastening the last strap on Dr. Banner's chair and pushing herself to her feet. "That was an uncontrolled burst?" she asks, surprised. "Usually you'd think of something like that coming from a neutron star and have a really, /really/ long range. That burst didn't even make it to the other side of the room."

     Glancing to the equipment, then back to Dr. Banner, she paces to where the burst ended. "It stopped right around here. So, is it something about the filtering process, or the radiation itself?"

Hulk has posed:
"The idea is extracting the energy into the machine, then seeing how long it takes to regenerate so I have a baseline to potentially leech the energy without taking risks with the energy building up in a transformation. The transformation itself is a complex interaction of chemistry and the catalyst from the original accident. It's tied directly into my survival instinct through processes I've yet to map out." Bruce leans forward on the chair. "This was my first time of the actual machine. My hope is to use this to make it safer to conduct gamma radiation testing long term for those around me. Both in the form of that burst, and The Other Guy objecting to me removing his power source."

Nightingale has posed:
     "I take it he's objected in prior tests, then?" the winged teen inquires, something of a wry half-smile tugging one corner of her lips upwards. Her arms are crossed over her chest as she thinks for a moment, her wings relaxed and partially open behind her. "I'm no expert, but emotions can trigger some pretty interesting chemical reactions in the body. Raw survival can be pretty emotional. And let's face it--emotions can be a pretty complicated thing."

Hulk has posed:
"I've had a very colorful life even before the bomb, Shannon." Bruce notes, softly. "The Other Guy is just the latest in a long line of screwups on my part, and I simply cannot figure out how for the life of me how to undo it." He brings up a hand to his hair, ruffling it in an obvious anxious gesture. "One of the best minds on the planet, and I'm my own greatest liability. Can't really keep long term relationships without everyone having to be necessity walk on eggshells around me, and if they manage to trigger him, I have absolutely no idea where I will wake up next."

He looks up to Shannon, "Pretty complicated is an understatement for my condition. I'd add on 'stuff of nightmares' on top of that."

Nightingale has posed:
     "From your point of view, I can imagine it is a nightmare," Shannon says, her voice soft and her tone, even. "Never mind how the transformation must hurt physically, but then the worries you've already expressed on top of that. And to top that all off, the times I've seen The Other Guy come out, have all involved a matter of survival. So there's that, too, and we know that's emotional as it is. It's a pretty volatile mix--all of it very emotional."

     Nodding towards the equipment, she smiles a little bit. "Maybe just something to consider in your research. I don't know... I'm just some kid who has a mutation or three, and not really much of an expert on anything. Maybe with a few years, and a whole lot of study, sure. But I've got a long way to go."

Hulk has posed:
"Fresh eyes can help at times." Bruce assures her, "I've been working on this for so long, someone new to the problem might offer ideas I haven't considered yet." Bruce stands then. "Then again, you don't know what I've been doing... so that idea can go either way." Bruce starts to move forwards a group of consoles and screens, starting to type into them after he unruffles his lab coat.

Then... he stops. Stares at the screen in front of him... "The transformation doesn't hurt, actually. I just... go away. It's like fading into a dream of black, then suddenly, some time later, fading back into reality. There's no real sense of 'time'. I'm just..." He lifts up a hand, and flicks the hand, sort-of mimicing an explosion, "not there. In the time he's in control, I may as well not exist."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon nods, smiling, her wings ruffling as she allows herself a small bit of pride. "Thanks." Peering curiously at the consoles, she just listens to Dr. Banner as he describes how the transformation feels from his point of view. "That's got to be pretty disconcerting," she murmurs, her brows furrowing in thought.

     "Though, you know, you sometimes hear about people in survival situations sometimes describing blacking out the events like that. And when The Other Guy puts in an appearance, it's usually when you've been threatened or perceive yourself to be under attack." For a moment, it seems as if the winged teen is searching for the right words. "Maybe he's part of a survival mechanism, somehow? I don't know."

Hulk has posed:
"He's definitely tied to my survival instinct. I can confirm that without a doubt." Bruce firmly answers. Then again, he's taken on some /extremely/ powerful opponents as the Hulk in the decade or so since he first transformed. "I never know how long it's been since the initial transformation after I wake up." Then, he glances to Shannon, "so far, I've gotten lucky. I've been out for days, sometimes weeks. So, the odds are against it that I may never wake up."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon nods, and smiles. "Well... the last time I saw the transformation itself, it was on that little trip we all took with that telepathic, teleporting space dog. You were drugged up pretty good, and well..." For once, Shannon actually winces, smiling a bit sheepishly. "Mr. Stark tried to strike you to get you to wake up. I was trying to stop him but well... you can pretty well guess what happened. At point-blank range like that, let's just say it definitely got my adrenaline running."

     Another thought seems to occur to her, and she furrows her brows lightly. "I know you mentioned blacking out during a transformation. But after you return, does anything remain in your memory from the time as The Other Guy, or is your main source of information outside accounts of events? Because if you had any memories, maybe keeping a journal of those for reference could help figure things out, too."

Hulk has posed:
"All I remember is a prick from a needle while shopping, then nothing. I didn't have time to think about whether it was a hostile thing or not. I honestly thought it was just some insect bite at first." Bruce mutters, "Memory is fuzzy and incomplete at the best of times." He moves to grab a chair, places it in front of the console, then sits down. "Where was I when he came out?"

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon scratches the back of her head and lifts her shoulders, ruffling her wings in an avian-style shrug. "i'm not quite sure exactly where it was. Those of us who were there had been teleported there by a giant outer-space telepathic dog named Lockjaw. It was an alien bar, if you can believe that, in the hind end of nowhere. You were out like a light, Thor was telling Megan and I to hide behind a bar, and Mr. Stark was trying to wake you up like I mentioned before. Of course, he was also stuck in one of his suits when he was doing it, so yeeeeeah, add the weight of one of those gauntlets behind the smack to the face he was giving you and let's just say it got interesting /real/ fast."

     Shaking her head, she chuckles a bit. "Really, did Thor think I was going to hide behind a bar, when he also put out a call to tend the wounded? Which, in this case, he thought was you."