3294/Get the Lead Out

Get the Lead Out
Date of Scene:	03 December 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Mon-El, Invisible Kid

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Mon-El has posed:
    A lot of strange things have been going on lately. Presidential assassinations, or at least attempted assassinations, political debates and protest and riots over issues Lar knows nothing about, and apparently, lead poisoning. However, he's still just confused as hell.

    Without any memory of his prior exposure to lead and even Brainiac's serum, he has returned to the cruiser in a desperate search for answers to what in the universe is going on...

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle would like the answer to that, too.  Besides the practical matter that the legion needs Mon-El at full speed and not hampered by major memory loss, he just plain hates seeing his friend like that.  He takes some solace in the fact that the anti-lead serum is holding up so far; he can reproduce it if necessary, but fortunately it hasn't been necessary.
    He looks up from his notes as he floats in, with his little black kitten floating in behind him.  "Hey, Lar... how you feeling?" he asks, pulling up to a stop; the kitten perches on his shoulder.  "Anything coming back to you yet?"

Mon-El has posed:
    As soon as Lyle approaches, Lar grabs him by the front of his shirt and shakes him. Hopefully not -too- hard. Or at least hopefully not hard enough to knock him out or make him need a chiropractor tomorrow. Though, given how strong he is and the recent lack of control, that might not be as likely as it normally would've been.

    "Lyle! You mentioned something about lead toxicity and a serum earlier. But why didn't you tell me I'd been poisoned?! What exactly is going on here?! Who's trying to kill me? Or was it an accident?" Right, -now- he believes him.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "Hgk!"  The kitten abandons Lyle's shoulder... *sigh*.  Cats, such loyalty.  Even though he can't match Mon-El's strength, Lyle automatically reaches to try to pull his friend's hands away.  "No one's trying to poison you, Lar," he explains in as calm and reasonable a voice as he can manage under the circumstances.  "All Daxamites are susceptible to lead poisoning.  The serum that keeps that under control for you is still working the way it should.  You're not in any danger -- even planetside, where there's still measurable amounts of lead compounds in the atmosphere."

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar seems to settle down somewhat once Lyle explains what he can, finally letting go of him though he is definitely still far from being calm. "W-wait, so it's -everywhere-? Why didn't you tell me -that-? What else are you hiding?!"

    He backs into the wall, suddenly buckling with fatigue and pain. "Unghhh...a-about...th-that serum...y-you s-said..." No way to know exactly how long overdue he was for the next dose.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "Oh, grife!"  Lyle runs for the cabinet -- of course they keep it on hand, you can't predict emergencies.  Or at least they keep the components so that it can be rapidly concocted and used fresh.  "Lie down, I just need a sec to get this ready.  Why didn't you *say* you felt funny?  Well, don't worry, I'll bet you won't wait to tell me if it happens again."
    Over a lab table, Lyle's all business; it certainly looks like he knows what he's doing.  The concentration takes a toll on his conversational skills, though.  When he explains, "I promise you, I'm not hiding anything from you.  I just don't know what *you* don't know right now, so I don't know what I do and don't need to tell you," it comes out in chunks, between measuring things, mixing things, making sure everything's exact and correct.

Mon-El has posed:
    Well Lar is already lying down now--on the floor, that is. "I-I..it was sporadic..I felt pain and exhaustion off and on...I l-looked for you, but you weren't here until now." While Lyle had shown him the Legion ring earlier, it seems he didn't remember what it was for or what it did. Mainly, that it was a communicator.

    He sighs. "Ugh...j-just assume I don't know anything..."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Unlike Triplicate Girl, there's only one Lyle, so he has to wait until the serum is at a state where it actually needs to be left the heck alone for a minute.  Then he comes over to get Lar off the floor and into a bed, taking the collapsed Daxamite's hand in his and essentially remotely operating his flight ring for him.  "When you're recovered, I'll give you the new recruit's explanation of how the ring works," he says, getting Lar quickly settled and dashing back to his lab table.
    The kitten, seeing a horizontal biped, flits down from her perch and sits on the side table, canting her head at Lar.  "Mew?"
    "Oh, and that's Shadow," Lyle says over his shoulder.  "She's harmless.  Probably just wants to curl up on your stomach.  You may have noticed I rigged her collar with flight ring technology."

Mon-El has posed:
    "Oh...nngh...s-so that's what that thing does." Lar winces, he has already started to break out in a cold sweat. He glances over at yet another hairy mammal that looks sort of familiar. Well there do appear to be a lot of those around here so he doesn't really give Shadow a second thought. "...pretty handy, wh-who came up with--" He doesn't get to finish the thought though, intead passing out onto the berth as his vitals begin to crash. Not much time left!

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "Ready!" Lyle loads up an injector; Lar appears far enough along that his invulnerability should be compromised and it can be injected directly into the bloodstream.  He slides up Lar's sleeve and there's a quiet *pfsst!* as the jet injector (hopefully) punches a dose straight in.
    Lyle keeps an eye on Lar's vitals and preps an oral does just in case...

Mon-El has posed:
    Fortunately, the poisoning had been advanced enough to let the injector work, and the equipment immediately registers that the serum has been administered and is already flowing through Lar's veins. Good thing it's fast acting, as he had been on the brink of shutting down completely (as we all know, every cure in sci-fi works instantly). But now, with his friend's organs stablizing, Lyle can finally relax.

    Mon-El eventually wakes back up, looking relieved. "Phew...let's--let's not do that again, yeah?" he remarks, sitting up.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle puts a little pressure on Lar's shoulder to get him to lie back down.  "Whoa there, you're going to need a little more rest first.  I'd like you to stay in overnight so we can track your vitals and make sure no damage was done.  This is the second time in less than a year you've had a bout of acute lead poisoning.  I know, you don't remember the first one, but you did.  I'll get you the logs, that was kind of a mess.  Perhaps not coincidentally, you were having memory issues then, too.  I wonder if there's a connection..."

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar pushes Lyle's hand away. "I'm fine now. What's in that serum?" he asks, getting up and peering over at the lab bench where Lyle had been working just now.

    He frowns. "So this has happened before? Yeah, I'd like to see the logs--maybe it'll get us at least some clue of what exactly is happening, here."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "What's in it?  Partly a blocker to keep lead from being absorbed into your system, partly a biopolymer that creates an inert organoplastic sheath around any lead in your system so it can be safely eliminated with other wastes.  Brainy came up with it," Lyle says.  "I can duplicate it, but I haven't been able to improve it.  I doubt I can, but that won't stop me from trying."
    He frowns slightly.  "Please, Lar, lie back down.  Your vitals haven't completely stabilized yet.  You had three days bed rest last time; even granting you had been more beaten up last time, you really do need to give yourself a chance to recover.  You can use the down time to go over the logs of of the last several months and get caught up on our situation."

Mon-El has posed:
    "Do we have enough reagents to keep making it for a while?" Perhaps reasonably enough, Lar is somewhat panicked over this, since it's as if he'd only just found out he already had lead poisoning.

    But, he eventually sighs in resignation and sits back down on the bed. "Fine...I'll go over the logs. I guess I can look through our inventory then, too and find the answer to my own questions. I--I'm sorry Lyle, I'm sure this hasn't been easy for you."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "Nothing to worry about.  The synthesis is a little complicated, but the reagents can be prepared ahead of time and held pending the final steps.  That's why I was able to whip this batch up so quickly," Lyle says, starting to clear up the work area.  "There's still more in storage, and some time tonight I'll replace what I used.  Making the reagents is dull, so it'll be my last task before turning in."
    He can't help but grin, even chuckle, at that last.  "This is the Legion.  If I wanted 'easy', I wouldn't be here."

Mon-El has posed:
    "I...guess so." Lar laughs, too. "Not that I would know, anyway." He still looks a bit tense, but it's at least an improvement from earlier.

    He picks up a tablet and starts searching through the Legion's records. "I'll let you know if any of this seems familiar."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "And I'll make sure your quarters are ready for re-occupation," Lyle says.  "Maybe something in there will trigger your memories.  Unfortunately, neither Brainy nor I has an injection for *that*."

Mon-El has posed:
    "Brainy?" Lar smirks a little bit. "Is that a nickname of some kind? Please tell me it's a nickname."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle grins.  "Yes and no.  It's short for 'Brainiac 5'."  He waits a moment to see if that rings any bells.  "Certainly the smartest man on the team, possibly the smartest in the galaxy.  You, uh, won't tell him I said that.  I have a reputation to maintain."
    Grin.

Mon-El has posed:
    "So technically yes." Lar chuckles. "Brainiac, sure. Makes sense for the smartest man in the galaxy, I guess."
    "Right, I'll try not to tell him, but that might not happen if I don't remember what he looks like."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle grins even more broadly.  "Can't miss him. Blond, usually elbow deep in some machine or hunched over a lab table."  From his tone, it sounds like there's a fair bit more he could add... but won't.
    Other than, "Also, he's green."

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar nods. "Right. Got it, if I see someone green and blond, then I will be sure not to tell him that he's the smartest man man in the galaxy."

    "Anyway, I'll see what I can figure out from whatever's on this system and stop bothering you. I figure you've had enough of me for one day." He turns back to the tablet he'd holding and starts researching.