An Old Flame - Inheritance Gambit

Kaylee Simmons work does include sometimes liasing with the Institute and providing expert medical support. While the Institute has no shortage of doctors and experts in genetics, medical genius cannot be simply cloned and biochemistry is a very relevant field to their interests.

It helps that their medical facilities are top noch. If she didn’t work for SHIELD, she might be envious. Well, she might be anyway.

The door to the room she’s using creaks open and Dora Grey sticks her head in. “Doctor Simmons? I know you’re wrapping up here but I was wondering if you could do us a favor. I have one more patient for you. She’s recently back from a trip to Indonesia and we were hoping you could do her draws and make sure he hasn’t picked up any exotic bugs?”

The Institute is still a marvel to Kaylee even though she’s been ‘awakened’ several months now. Liaising with the organisation, the Corporate really, is a bit of thrill for her. Access to their Frameworks and the mutants is sort of a biochemist’s dream.

As Dora enters, Kaylee smiles gently “Miss or Agent Simmons, if you must. But Kaylee, is preferred, Dora.” The Scientist, who now has purple hair, is adament that they use her first name – something about being peeved when she awoke and they told her she wasn’t Jemma.

“But I’d be happy to, you know that. Is there a reason you thought you had to ask?” Perhaps the mutant in question has problems, or something. But Kaylee certainly doesn’t mind.

“Show her in, if you like, Dora.”

“Come on in, Emily.” Dora pushes the door open a bit further to reveal a blonde with a shoulder length haircut and a blue and black ensemble that compliments her quite well.

“You must be Kaylee Simmons. Dora’s been telling me a bit about you.” She says, flashing the LMD a winsome smile.

“I’ll leave you two to it. I have to get to my next class before they start powers practice without me.”

‘Emily’ for so her name is, steps inside and hip checks the door shut behind her.

“The Institute wants me to undergo a full ‘decontamination’ after my visit abroad. Can’t have any strange new diseases causing trouble for the youngsters here.” She seems to roll her eyes a bit at the overcaution but is at least not arguing.

“You’re with SHIELD, are you not? Oh, where would you like me?”

As Emily appears, Kaylee stares for a moment before raising her hand to her hair and trying to smooth it. The woman … is beautiful and well groomed, and whilst the Scientist doesn’t think of her appearance often, there’s something about her that screams Class and Deportmant.

“Hello. Emily, was it?” She finally says and nods to Dora as the redhead leaves “That sounds like a good idea. I wouldn’t want to see any of them again, today.” there’s a fond smile to soften the comment.

“And yes, you can call me Kaylee, please.” The eyerolling gets a glance “It’s better to be safe than sorry. We really don’t know enough about mutant pysiology. And it’s not just that it’s so new either – it’s so varied.”

Emily. The Institute. Something tickles Kaylee mind, and her Quantum Brain turns that over as she speaks “I am, yes. With SHIELD. If you’ll sit over here, I’ll get the blood draws done. Do you mind me asking what your powers are?”

“Kaylee, then.” Emily smiles again and nods when the biochem confirms her name.

“Telpathy and physical transformation.” The blonde woman says as she sits down and rolls up her sleeve a bit to give Kaylee easier access to what she’s going to need.

“And you’re right of course. I just wish it didn’t have to be this every single time I came back from some place exotic. And pretty much every place outside the major cities is exotic these days. Exotic and filthy. One of the many things we take for granted in civilization is the ability to soap yourself clean under a warm shower.”

She sighs. “I digress though. Normally I’m seen by one of the Institute staff. May I ask how long you’ve been helping us? It’s nice that SHIELD cares enough to send someone around but I didn’t realize we had that kind of relationship.”

Telepaths aren’t so uncommon “Physical Transformation? I work with a young man who can turn his skin to metal. Is that what you mean? Or is it more like shapeshifting?” Curious Scientist is curious after all.

Kaylee works quickly and easily, setting Emily’s arm just so and tightening the torniquet to aid the blood draws. There aren’t needles like she was used to anymore, this new technique was mastered years ago. It won’t take long to draw the samples. “Make a fist of me …” the biochem murmurs and when Emily does, she releases the torniquet “And relax. That’s great, thank you …”

“I’m still getting used to the changes …” she murmurs to Emilys comments. That’s a slip she doesn’t make often. But she’s very much in Jemma’s mindset at the moment. Of course, if Emily tries to ‘read’ her, she’ll get … nothing.

“Helping here? Oh. A few months now. It was one of the tasks I was given when I … ” she catches herself “… transferred. SHIELD and The Institute have a good relationship. We do a number of things together. It’s important.” She pauses “I think you know an … aquaintance of mine. Jericho Trent.”

“Diamond. I turn into diamond. Very tough. Very handy when someone’s upset.” Emily grins slyly as she makes the fist Kaylee requests. The blood draw, at least, doesn’t require specialized tools. In this form her skin is as soft as it looks.

“Getting used to them hmmm?” It’s at that point that the telepath does try to read Kaylee and frowns ever so slightly. “Well, aren’t you a mystery.” From the sound of it that’s not a bad thing.

And then she grins almost sharply. “Oh? You know Jericho? May I ask how?” From the quick ‘once over’ glance, she’s trying to decide if Kaylee knows Jericho in a very particular way.

“You … do?” Kaylee is kind of pleased she hasn’t had any problems with the blood draws then. “Fascinating. I’m amazed at what can be achieved. So you really are a ‘girls best friend’?” A poor joke but then again Kaylee is british and she’s a nerd.

“I am? Oh … you tried to read me?” That gets a slightly wistful smile from the LMD who doesn’t offer much more on that. It took her a moment, again, to remember that she really was a robot and not … flesh and blood. Jemma or Kaylee? It doesn’t matter.

“As I said, he’s an acquaintance.” The once over has Kaylee feeling slightly uncomfortable. Jeans and T-Shirt are very casual and she’s sure she doesn’t match up to the blonde beauty here. “We work together, through SHIELD. He helped with my uh …. transfer here. Might I ask how you know him?” Does she really want to know? “And what were you doing in Indonesia?”

“I was looking for mutants. Mostly you find them in the cities but we get rumors every once in a while. There might be Arks still out there too. We’re just not sure. Anyway they turn up in remote places sometimes. Or run away from… less welcoming environments.” Emily answers teh second question first, regarding Kaylee through half lidded eyes.

“I did, yes. And I can’t. Which is highly unusual. I’ve met mutants that are resistant to telepathy but never one outright immune to it.” Of course Kaylee doesn’t have a conventional mind. It’s like Emily is trying to read a laptop. Ironically it’s more Jericho’s wheelhouse.

As for a girls best friend, she just smirks. “More a guys best friend generally. But yes, Jericho. He and I were…” There’s a short pause as if Emily is trying to decide how to phrase it.

“We were an item, for a while. I still speak to him every now and again, though I’ve not seen him in a few months. Not that I do much. I live in New York these days for the most part. What kind of work do you do together? Official work or is it more his… side hobby? That’s how I met him.”

It takes a moment for Kaylee to get all the samples that she needs and when she finishes, she offers a faint smile to the blonde. “All done. Let me start the tests and we’ll see what comes up. Do you mind if I examine you? Make sure there’s nothing obvious?”

“Ah. That must keep you busy.” She’s aware of the other womans scrutiny and it’s making her uncomfortable. Not that Emily can tell that, except for the physical tells. “Did you find any this trip?” Keeping up conversation, though she is geniuinely interested.

Emilys smirked comment about being a guys best friend has Kaylee blushing.

A lot.

“You can’t read me because of the way my mind works. Or so I’m told.” It’s a dodge, but Emily might know of the Agent Recovery Program and put two and two together. Kaylee really, really, hates to admit she’s a LMD.

It’s Emily’s answer to her first question that gets a slightly startled glance “Oh. Well that explains a few things. Side hobby? You mean playing piano in bars?” The Scientist kids, giving Emily a smile to show that she is. “Both actually. We met through SHIELD and he’s helped with some of our missions. I try to help him with the other. Did you know his sister was missing?” If she hasn’t been in touch for a months, she … might not. “Do you know her?”

“Because of the way your mind works, hrm? Aren’t we the mysterious one.” That’s said somewhat teasingly. “It’s alright Kaylee. I know a girl needs her secrets. But don’t think I’m not curious.”

And don’t think she won’t dig.

“I did find a few mutants. Brought them back, dropped them off at the Institute hub in LA. They’ll get along fine I’m sure.” The Institute is rather wide spread after all. She could have dropped them off in Australia too, which she likely stopped at on the way though.

“Ah, no, Jericho’s other hobby. The rescue act he pulls often.” The news that Gabrielle is missing brings Emily up short though. “That’s… that’s not good. What happened to her? How is Jericho taking it?” There’s concern there but she seems particularly intent on that last part. How Jericho is taking it.

he teasing and prompting gets a vague, slightly self conscious, smile from the biochem. “I’m sure they will. The Institute is well versed in helping people settle in.” She says instead. She might have an inkling that Emily might indeed dig “And yes, because of the way my brain works.” Brain, not mind. But Telepaths rarely get the distinction.

“I know that. I was trying to make a joke …” comes the slightly deflated reply, the english accent terrible obvious at the moment. “You’d have to ask Jericho, but she was investigating something, in Europe I think. Missing, completely off the grid until recently.” The question, the intensity behind it has Kaylee looking at the blonde “Not … well. I … ” she shakes her head and goes back to the tests she’d been running. “He’s very, very worried about his sister.”

Emily might not be able to read Kaylees mind, but she’ll know … well, if she knows Jericho, she might know Kaylee’s hesistation.

“Has he torn anything apart yet? Tried to kill someone?” Maybe not that. Jericho is fully capable of such, he was a soldier after all, but he does try to avoid it. Still, it’s a tool in his kit and one he doesn’t remove. Just one he only picks up with great reluctance.

“Has he gone… berserk yet?” Emily does indeed know Jericho and the way she speaks of it might bring to mind for Kaylee the way he just beat a man with his rifle after kneecapping him. While said man was fleeing in terror.

Kaylee remembers. It had worried her and she’d tried her best to calm him when she saw it. “Does he do that often?” She asks instead of answering the question. “And … I’m not sure you’d call it berserk, exactly but he was very … intense when he found someone who had been holding her.”

“It’s also made him very focussed. He made this wearable for me …” she touches the band at her neck “And I don’t think he slept while he did it.”

“Intense…” Emily sighs and shifts forward in her seat so that she leans her elbows on her legs. “That’s a good word for it. Jericho is a very intense man. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered another mind like his unless it was his Sisters. He… feels things. Strongly. Deeply. Emotion so overwhelming I didn’t know at first how he could keep it all in check.”

She looks up and offers the biochem a smile. “It’s one of the things that drew me to him… and ultimately one of the things that drew me away from him.”

“He … does?” That seems to surprise Kaylee who looks over as the tests finish. “He doesn’t show it. At least not until the other night. Then I thought he might beat the man to death. But I put that down to the fact it was his sister and he is worried about her.”

There’s a shrug “I think I might snap if it was my parents that had been taken.” Interesting, that the biochem says Parents and not another loved one.

She’s quiet as she considers Emily’s last words, watching the woman carefully “I … can understand why it drew you to him. It’s intriguing, right? So much emotion and so much control…” chewing on her bottom lip as she thinks a little more, Kaylee pauses “But might I ask why it drew you away?”

She can think of a couple of reasons.

“Uh, sorry for the personal question. If you’d rather not answer, I understand…” she’s … blushing.

“He does.” Emily nods, finally rocking to her feet. She doesn’t move, just stands to stretch a little while kaylee runs her tests.

“It’s better than that when you cen sense it. Feel it. Participate in it. It’s a rush like no other and…” She pauses, chuckling. “Well, it’s a rush under certain circumstances and certianly compelling under others. But…”

Here she frowns and shrugs one shoulder. “Jericho’s a lot less casual than most people his age I think //because// of how intense his emotions are and… that wasn’t something I was looking for. Or am looking for.” She doesn’t go into details, but it seems pretty clear that it got serious or was going to get serious and she broke it off. The fact that she still talks to him suggests that it wasn’t terribly hurtful to either or both, but… still.

Maybe it’s not hurtful to either of them, but Kaylee’s seen Jericho’s response to just Emily’s name. So she wonders. The blondes response though just has Kaylee blushing harder. People now are a lot more casual than they were in Jemma’s time, so she blushes.

“Uh. Yes. Right.” she stammers out, coughing a little but still managing to keep her train of thought. “I … see. I guess that makes sense.” beat “Will you be seeing him when you’re here?” She’s not sure if that’s good idea or not, but it’s not her place to even consider it.

“The tests are done. You’ve not bought back any nasty passengers. I’ll let Dora know before I go.”

Now Emily bites her lip, uncertain and clearly considering how such a thing might go. “I… I’m not sure, Kaylee. I had planned to maybe send him a text, get coffee if he happened to be free but I’m headed back home to New York. I was just passing through and checking in for my medical. There hadn’t been time for it in LA. But with Gabrielle missing…”

Clearly Gabrielle and Emily had been friends. That or she cares enough about the hacker to care that his family is missing, in which to be fair she isn’t alone. There’s a few Institute mutants actively helping Jericho run down leads and many more than that who would help form a rescue team if they knew where to target.

Still, this seems like it might be a bit personal.

“I… I don’t know.” Emily isn’t sure how good an idea it is either and the uncertainty shows for just a moment, perhaps the first time since she’s entered the room that she hasn’t seemed confident and composed.

“You were close with Gabrielle?” Kaylee asks quietly. She hadn’t even known the woman existed until the day Jericho called her over and showed her the ID tag. “Or you still have feelings for him? It doesn’t matter. Forget I asked that.”

“Call him, Emily. See what he says. I … ” Kaylee shakes her head and looks away “… think he could do with familiar faces around him.” It’s like she might be familiar with the feeling. Not that she says. “He plays piano at Sals a few nights a week, but I think you know that. You could meet him there.” beat “I sometimes catch up with him, like that.”

“Gabrielle was close to her brother. Is close to her brother. It would have been impossible to be //with// him like that and not be her friend.” Emily says with a faint smile, one which grows wider when she stumbles on a more personal question and then quickly backtracks.

“Not like that, Kaylee. But I still like him. I didn’t leave him because he treated me badly and he could have made the breakup a lot worse for me, but he didn’t. I’ll… I’ll think about it.”

She takes a breath and lets it out. “Thanks for the tip. So, since we’re asking personal questions, are you and he…?”

She’d said they were just work acquaintances yes, but now she’s sasking directly.

The smile just makes the blush worse and Kaylee looks away to compose herself.

“I’ve not met her, but he cares for deeply. It’s hard not to get caught up in that.” Though Kaylee would have helped regardless. She considers Jericho a friend. One of the few that she’s made here.

And there’s the question. “As I said we’re acquaintances. We work together.” She tries to be casual “I consider him a friend though… ” If there’s anything more to how she feels, Emily will find it hard to tell between not being able to read the biochem and her typical british demeanour.

What Kaylee //doesn’t// say is that Jericho thinks she’s a machine and in many ways, treats her that way. Not badly or poorly, but the reminders are there – and one doesn’t form lasting attachments with machines. Do they?

“I see. Interesting.” Why its interesting Emily doesnt say. “Well, I hope you get a chance to meet Gabrielle. Shes every bit her brothers equal and quite a special person in her own right.”

The blonde psychic glances to the door and then down to her wearable and sighs. “I need to make a couple of calls. It was nice meeting you, Kaylee. Hopefully we will meet again.”