Toby and Simon | Backdated to 3/20/15

[om_changeling]

After meeting her new roommate, Toby heads down to the infirmary and meets Simon. Her mutation isn't exactly something he's ever encountered before.



Toby studied the map the headmasters had given her, glanced back up at the hallway, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. Right. Time to see the doctor, or her assistant, or whoever, and make sure being shot hadn't done any actual damage. Not that she thought it had, considering it had already healed up good as new, but they'd insisted and she supposed it wouldn't do any harm.

Still, it seemed like a waste of time.

Reminding herself that she really didn't have anything else to do anyway, she opened the door labeled Infirmary and stepped inside. "Anyone here?" she called out.

Simon ducked his head out of the supply closet and noted the young girl he didn't recognize. She wasn't in immediate need, so he just straightened and locked the door carefully behind him before turning back to you. "I'm Simon Tam. How can I help you?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "But they said to come down and have my arm checked out." She tugged up the sleeve of her t-shirt to reveal what appeared to be a long-healed scar just below her shoulder and made a face. "Seems kind of pointless, but I didn't want to argue."

A wry smile tugged at Simon's lips. "You must be new."

"Because I'm not arguing, or because I'm not sure why anyone needs to look at a scar?" Toby smiled a little. "But yeah. Got here today - sorry, I probably should've said that first. I'm Toby Daye."

"Because the headmasters are asking me to look at a healed wound," Simon answered instead, then motioned her toward a futuristic exam table. "It's a pleasure to meet you Toby."

"You too." She eyed him curiously as she hopped up onto the exam table. "You seem kind of young for a doctor," she observed.

"Ordinarily," Simon agreed. "And in all honesty, I have a couple of years to go. I'm just Dr. MacTaggart's assistant. Did they tell you about my power?"

"A little?" Toby hedged, because while she'd been interested, she'd more or less hit information overload by the time they got to Simon's abilities. "You're like a human diagnostic machine, right?"

"A simplistic summation, yes," Simon smiled. "When I touch you, I will be privy to your body's injuries, past and present, any enhancements in your physiology, and the structure of your DNA."

"Sounds interesting." Toby grinned a little. "Hope you don't hit overload. I tend to be kind of...accident prone."

"Believe me when I say that I've handled worse than you," Simon offered wryly. "Are you comfortable?"

"Well, a lot more comfortable than I'd have been if you'd said I had to change into one of those paper robes or something," Toby observed, arching an eyebrow. "I'm guessing if it was going to hurt someone would've mentioned it."

"It doesn't hurt," Simon promised. "And all I have to do is touch your skin, so anywhere you prefer. Most people ask me to touch their hand or arm."

"Well, I hate to be most people, but hand or arm works." She held hers out obligingly, then grinned. "Anyone ever suggest anywhere interesting?"

The med student smiled wryly and took her hand in his, palm up, his eyes shifting focus and dilating slightly. "That's between me and my boyfriend."

A bark of laughter escaped before Toby could control it, and she rubbed at her face with her free hand. "Okay, I deserved that one. Anyone other than your boyfriend? Or should I be quiet while you're looking at my insides?"

"The latter," Simon offered with a half-smile, then closed his eyes, immersing himself in the (albeit numerous) old injuries she had sustained. It had been a rough and tumble life, and she showed signs of malnutrition, but he was quickly becoming familiar with that being a constant with some mutants. It was a shame, but it was true.

It was also evident that she had manifested some form of healing factor.

The real abnormality that attracted his attention was her circulatory system. For some reason, the plasma and platelets seemed to move with more purpose, almost mutable. He didn't know what to make of it, since he'd never experienced anything like it, but for the most part, she was a healthy young girl.

Drawing his hand back, he waved a hand. "And that's it."

"Am I going to live?" Toby joked, arching her eyebrows. Somehow, she'd expected more of a reaction than that.

"You're going to be fine," Simon smiled. "The scar tissue is permanent, but otherwise, you healed fine. I did notice that you have had other serious injuries before, however. You healed up fine? At least one of them was clearly life-threatening."

Toby winced. "Yeah, that one wasn't fun - I had to get some of those butterfly bandages. But I pretty much always heal up fast. Well, as long as I'm bleeding, anyway. Broken bones still take forever."

"Some form of enhanced metabolism relating to your platelets. It seems to be a relatively common trait with mutants," Simon agreed. "At least, in other ways. Your blood is certainly intriguing."

"Not half as much as everyone else's is," Toby replied cryptically, grinning a little. "But it's good to know mine has an enhanced metabolism. I won't have to worry about putting it on a diet."

Simon raised an eyebrow at the cryptic statement, but didn't follow it up. "In fact, you are going to need to eat more. The cafeteria serves extra-large portions especially for situations like yours, and you are undoubtably under weight and malnourished. You need the calories."

"So much for my modeling aspirations," Toby deadpanned, though she didn't manage to hold the expression long before her lips quirked upwards. "Okay, seriously - I'm not about to turn down free food, especially after the last couple of days. Especially if it comes with coffee."

"There's plenty of coffee. I can even point the direction, if you like," Simon smiled wryly.

Toby slipped down off the table and pulled her map back out of her pocket. "If you can do that, I'll even bring a cup back for you. Assuming your boyfriend won't read into it."

"Jean-Paul would laugh at the thought," Simon assured her, pulling out a pen to circle the cafeteria on the map. "Coffee would be appreciated, thank you."

"Not a problem." Toby visually traced the route from the infirmary to the cafeteria, nodded, then paused and looked back up at Simon. "When I get back, can I ask you a few questions? About how my mutation works?"

"You can ask," Simon quirked his lips. "But my power doesn't allow me to see your mutation - it just, shows me changes in your physiology, which can sometimes lead to clues on your mutation."

Toby considered that for a moment. "So, if I were actively using my mutation and it changed my physiology, you might be able to tell me how and why?"

"If I was touching you at the time, yes," he agreed, stepping back and tapping something into a touchscreen on the wall nearby.

Toby nodded slowly. "I'll see if I can find someone to bring back with me and the coffee."

He glanced up, eyebrows raising. "Someone?"

"I'd need their blood." She raised her eyebrows and eyed him curiously. "They didn't tell you anything about me, I take it?"

"Considering I did not know you were coming?" Simon practically twitched in annoyance. "And I'm afraid I cannot agree to you using someone's blood to...do whatever it is you do."

"Hey, there's a difference between not having an appointment and not knowing there's a new student," she pointed out. "But whatever, no problem. Next time Tybalt bleeds and I turn into a cat, I'll make sure to try and figure out why on my own."

Simon reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "So you shapeshift when someone bleeds?"

"Not...exactly?" Toby sighed. "Honestly, I'm not altogether sure exactly what I do. But if I drink someone's blood - and no, I'm not a vampire - I know what they were thinking when they cut themself. The one time I got some of Tybalt's, I turned into a cat, which is what he does." She paused. "I didn't shadowwalk, but then again, I didn't really try. I was busy trying to figure out why I had four feet and fur."

"I am not going to even ask why you ended up drinking someone's blood," Simon answered, deadpan. Then he looked thoughtful. He could have given her some of his...but when they touched, it would cause negative feedback between them, and wouldn't yield much more than a bad headache for both of them. The solution would be to give her a sample of someone else's, but he would have to have permission from them. He sighed.

"Yeah. Tell me about it," Toby replied, interpreting the sigh as a commentary on her powers being amongst the strangest ever. "Anyway, don't sweat it. It's not like I'm in any particular hurry; I was just curious as to how it actually worked."

Simon thought about it for a moment, then tapped his fingers on the table. "If I can secure a volunteer blood sample, will you return?"

"Sure. Like I said, I'd rather know how it works than not, even if it is seriously strange." Toby paused and gave Simon a hopeful look. "Can you secure one from someone other than Tybalt? The whole cat thing? Really not my first choice."

He raised a brow. "Do you have a preference? Physical mutation, mental, elemental?"

Seeing as he was actually offering the choice, Toby considered the question seriously. "Mental would probably be confusing, considering I pick up the memories already." She grinned crookedly. "I'd love to say elemental, but I'd sort of hate to blow anything up while I'm trying to figure out how it works, and I really don't know if it comes with an instant instruction manual or not. So maybe something not too potentially destructive?"

That narrowed things down considerably. It also presented a few problems. "You draw memories from the blood?"

Toby nodded. "About five minutes worth, give or take, to judge by the few times I've done it. Usually whatever the person was thinking just before they cut themselves." She made a face. "I can't say as I've gone out of my way to try it all that often."

"So you don't receive anything that the person had experienced in their past?" Simon asked curiously.

"Not so far. Mostly just a lot of 'Oww, I cut myself'. It's not particularly interesting."

Simon nodded. "Then I'll do my best to find someone suitable."

Toby smiled. "Sounds good, thanks." She cocked her head, smile quirking a little to one side. "Still want the coffee?"

"I will pass," Simon nodded in thanks. "But enjoy."

"Oh, trust me. I'm definitely going to enjoy it." With one last wave, Toby headed out of the infirmary.