2014.03.20 - Through the Right Channels

A couple of meals and a really good sleep has helped Booster's condition significantly. In the infirmary area of Stark Tower, he is still stuck in a bed, but he no longer looks as if he is going to keel over at any moment. He does have a black eye, but his hair is combed and the stubble on his chin gives him a rakish look. This is all fine, since looking good is important to Booster Gold. Even his torn costume seems... less torn, somehow, and certainly cleaner and shinier than it was when he staggered out of the Time Sphere.
It may seem odd that Booster is wearing his powersuit while recuperating, but there are cables hooked into one of his bracers to help regulate his energy issues. Skeets is hovering nearby as well, keeping an eye on things, since Carol Danvers sat up watching just in case Booster started to time-jump again.
Keith walks into the infirmary, putting his phone back into his band jacket. He'd gotten in contact with Jocelyn and now it was just a matter of waiting for her. He had gone out to make sure Patrick knew he was going to be at the Tower, to look over Booster and take turns with Carol. He brings a chair next to the infirmary bed and sits down, reaching down to unhinge Brynn's bracers off his arms and put them next to him. He was trying to get used to wearing them most of the time- but his fur needed to breathe.
He looks at his friend, hooked up as he was to regulate his energy. He gives Skeets a little wave, just in case Michael was asleep.
Jocelyn had gotten a message to arrive late last night. Why so late? Well, she'd gotten tied up dealing with other bad guy problems which involved her phone battery getting zapped! Having gotten her phone battery swapped out, she was able to see that she was needed. She'd been about to fly off when Vorpal called her, and she assured him she was on the way.
Once she arrives at the Tower, she's let in and led to the infirmary, though Channel could probably have found it on her own given her energy sight and the signature that Booster tended to give off. Walking in, she takes a look around.
"Hi Vorpal. Sorry I didn't get your message until just now. Phone got zapped". She then looks over at Booster and frowns a little as she examines his energy signatures in more detail. "Booster. Long time, no see," the woman comments. Though they had met before out of costume, at least in Channel's case. "I see Darkseid left you with a little bit of a present". To say the least. "I think I can get rid of it. Should stabalize you and keep your chronoal energy from going haywire".
When Keith arrives, Skeets says, "Hello, sir!" with friendly enthusiasm. He floats down and a little panel opens in his golden carapace, and a hinged arm extends and gives Booster a poke on the shoulder.
"Wha--" Booster starts a little, groggily says, "<Ugh, Skeets, I was having a great dream and you ruined it.>," in Interlac, and then notices his visitors. "Hi," he says, in English. "Keith. And Jocelyn, nice to see you again." He hugs one arm over his ribcage with a wince and sits up. "Can you do that safely? I mean, safely for you. It feels like it's been -fighting- with me, even though I know that sounds weird. Like an infection I can't shake off."
"Well, let the expert work, Boo. She's an old pro at manipulating energy." Keith says, standing up. "I'm so glad you could make it. I wouldn't impose on you if it weren't a serious problem... but we can't have Booster jumping again, not in the state he's in."
"Don't worry about it," Jocelyn says to Vorpal. "He knows who I am, but not all the Avengers do," Jocelyn adds to Booster. "Most just know me as Channel. Keith is the exception". There's a frown at the injury that Booster apparently has. "Though I think we'll be spending some fixing up your physical injuries as well. Looks like you're a bit banged up," the mutant observes.
Then she's moving on to Booster's question. "Booster. I'm an Omega level mutant with energy manipulation along with physical and mental healing capabilities. I've also handled Omega Energy before," Jocelyn tells the man. "I'll be safe. Promise. But only with your consent," the teen tells him.
"The plan is to transmute the Omega Energy into life energy, which I'll use to augment your healing process. I'll also siphon off some of your excess chronoal energy so you don't time jump due to there suddenly being an overabundance of them in relation to the amount of Omega Energy in your system. Once that's done, I'll finish up any healing that needs to happen on the physical side".
"She's one of the first people I met when I got to this era," Booster explains to Vorpal. "She took me to see cows. It was amazing." He says this with the utmost sincerity. His attention turns back to Jocelyn and he says, "Also, sorry about that. The name thing, I mean." Laying back again, he says, "That was probably the roughest fight I've ever been in. The goons on Apokolips were bad enough, but Darkseid was hitting me so hard I could feel it through my force field. Anyway, I trust you. You know what you're doing."
"Cows aren't nearly as impressive as a cheshire cat," Keith says with a smirk. "Get through this alright and I might show you real tigers, too."
Jocelyn smiles. "Don't sweat it," Jocelyn says. "Now, this will probably feel a little odd, but it should work".
With that, Jocelyn focuses her attention on Booster, reaching out with her energy manipulation skills. She examines the energy first. "Just going to transmute it into something harmless instead and bolster your healing manually," Jocelyn states after a moment. Booster, depending how sensitive he is to the energy, will possibly feel some of the changes. First, the Omega Energy is transmuted into simple solar energy. The excess chronoal energy is also transmuted into solar energy, so Jocelyn can keep Booster at his 'normal' levels for that and prevent him from time jumping. She's transmuting the energies at approximately the same rate, so that they remain in balance the whole time.
Once the Omega Energy and excess chronoal energy is all converted into solar energy, Jocelyn drains that mix into herself and filters it off.
At that point, Jocelyn reaches out with her healing capability and bolsters Booster's life energy, and he should feel whatever wounds he has sustained fix themselves up, along with other minor illnesses he might be suffering.
Booster shuts his eyes, takes a deep breath which causes him to wince, and then he exhales and tries to calm himself, letting Jocelyn do her work. There is a hint of glow through his eyelids, a flicker now and then as the Omega Energy squirms within him. As it is transmuted, Booster does seem far more relaxed.
The visible effects of the healing energy occur when his black eye starts to fade, going through the various colors of the bruise rainbow until it is gone. The more surprising effect might be how his torn suit is repairing itself, the small rents and tears sealing up like healing wounds.
The Cheshire watches in fascination-- and also from a distance, worried that his chaos energy might interfere.
It'll take a little bit of time, but eventually Jocelyn will finish up the healing and clearing out of nasty bad Omega Energy. "Okay," Jocelyn says, stepping back. "That should be everything. How do you feel?" Jocelyn had a fair bit of experience in handling medical situations, far more than she had when she first met Booster back when he first showed up. "Keith, I don't know this place well. Is there somewhere we can get some water? I know I'm thirsty, and I wouldn't be shocked if Booster is too".
Booster takes in another deep breath, and the pain in his ribs is gone. That is a good sign. He sits up, and his multitude of aches and pains seem to have vanished. The hazy look in his eyes is gone as well. Giving a thumbs-up, he says, "I feel awesome. Thank you!" He touches some of the larger rips in his suit. These tears are severe enough that they bare skin, but at least that skin is no longer contused or scored. "Skeets..."
The little robot offers a little roll of some kind of tape, holding it in the pincer end of his extensible arm. Booster takes this, and while it is not actually cellophane tape, it vaguely looks like it. He starts to close up the rips in the suit's fabric with bits of tape, as if he were suturing it.
"Well... that's what I call having the most useful power, ever." Keith looks at Jocelyn with gratitude and a smile. He walks up to her and gives her a hug, exhaling slowly "Thank you!"
"Don't worry about it," Jocelyn says, returning the hug Keith gives her. "Glad to help. Just happens that my particular power mix was good here," the woman says. "Booster, if you start feeling any further symptoms of it, let me know and I'll take a look, but I feel pretty good about that energy being cleared up. Good to have you back". She gives the man an easy smile. "I know my friend Doug will be glad to hear you've made it back in one piece".
"I do feel different," Booster admits, tossing the tape to Skeets, who catches it out of the air. As he gets out of the bed, Booster adds, "I owe you, Joce. And I hope Doug is doing well, I haven't talked to him in a while." He is starting to look more like his usual, shiny self, albeit a slightly scruffy variant of this. "I know there are uh... kitchens? A commissary? I don't know how it works, here, though." The downside to having the Legion of Super-Heroes Headquarters to lurk in means that Booster has never had to learn how to deal with 21st century food procurement.
"You two can go and grab a bite. I've got... something to deal with." The Cheshire says.
Telling Billy that Eddie was now an orphan. That was going to be a barrel of fun. The cat walks over to Booster and gives him a Look. And then practially out of nowhere, he gives him a hug. "... I'm glad at leas you are alive." He says quietly, giving him a tight hug, letting the mask drop for a few seconds before it's back up and he takes a step back. "Yeah. So... you need to eat."
"Well, I'm not fool enough to go stumbling around here blind. Booster, we can go grab something at a restaurant. You like the pizza in this century? Because I could go for some". Jocelyn figures they could both use the food.
A nod is given to Keith. "Okay. Shoot me a text if you want to join us," Jocelyn tells the cat. "Won't even complain about fur in the pizza". She winks at him, obviously joking, if for no other reason than to help release the stress from the energy work. It wasn't easy, even if to an outside observer it looked it. There's just no physical thing she does to manipulate energy. It just kind of happens.
"Tony Stark will be back," Booster tells Keith, as if he were stating a fact. "He told me that he would be, and I have no reason to disbelieve him." He rubs his chin then, and the golden stubble there, as he recalls the things Keith was telling him when he was stumbling around in a daze. "I did not know Sif well but I am certain she's a good woman. And Thor is a good friend. I don't know if gods can really die." He rests his hand on Keith's shoulder as he says, "You need to have hope, dude. I have a lot of faith in heroes." He smiles, then he nods to Jocelyn as he turns his head to her. "I'm -getting to know- pizza. It's actually pretty good, so I'm game for that."
A small smile appears on Keith's face. "You're sounding like Eddie Thorson, Booster."
Right. Orphan Eddie. Damnit. This was going to blow. "I don't know if any of that is true or not, Michael. Just... try very hard not to die, okay?" I'll missed you most of all, Scarecrow.
"I'll talk to you later tonight. I have bad news to deliver and it's going to be tough." He gives Jocelyn another hug and slips something in her pocket. "It's on me." He whispers in her ear as he teleports away.
Wait, what? Thor and Sif? Dead? Jocelyn blinks at that, and then the cat is slipping money in her pocket and disappearing on her before she can really say anything.
"Thor and Sif?" That's the unmistakeable sound of someone who literally just found out two of her friends just died. She takes a breath and steadies herself. Tony Stark was dead and not dead so many times. Booster was supposed to be dead. Thor and Sif? Jocelyn suspected they weren't gone. She simply refused to believe it right now. "Right. They're probably...". Not fine. "They're probably somewhere. Somehow". The woman shakes her head. "Yeah. We should go get that pizza".
Booster puts his hand on Jocelyn's shoulder now, trying to steady her. "I'm sorry, I found out about it just hours ago, myself. Darkseid has a lot to answer for. But they're not humans, I think it might work... differently for them." Of course, he could just be in denial. "And if not we'll figure out how to fix it." Denial, or just rock-hard confidence.
"I'm feeling better and better about shooting him with his own Omega Energy every minute," Jocelyn quips. She's reasonably confident herself, but then again, you never know. "Let's go". And Jocelyn will lead Booster to a pizza place. Though she'll slip civilian clothes on over the costume once they're somewhere else. Because this wasn't exactly her headquarters.
Category:Log