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Post by Jane Foster on Jun 19, 2012 21:25:47 GMT -5
Location: Wales, specifically the Brecon Beacons -- later Hydra Island
Date: 6 months post-Avengers
Time of Day: 8 p.m.* * *Looking out the window from the temporary facility, Jane’s thought process was already in overdrive. It was such a clear night, the forecast had obviously been wrong, and if she hurried with them TEM, she could still do some charting and spend some time with her telescope. The insistent hum of the machine in front of her brought her back to reality; there were thousands of dollars in grant money here, she’d best pay attention. Even if that telescope was calling her name.
The transmission electron microscope in front of her was a beast. A massive column, it had cost a small fortune to rent from a nearby lab – bringing the one from her own lab was cost-prohibitive, and there was no point gathering up samples without any way to study them while she was on site. She placed a sliver of material, paper thin, onto the copper gridded plate in front of her, working without gloves. All the tests they’d run said the metal was safe: non-radioactive, stable, and nonabsorbent. And yet, it still wasn’t matching any known element.
Which was why they were here, in Wales, so far from home. She didn’t want to count her chickens before they hatched, but she could be on the verge of something enourmous here. Not quite as big as her previous theories, granted – but discovering a new element was an undisputable badge of honour. And on top of it all, this metal gave off an electromagnetic signature – faint, but useful. Especially in her line of work.
Absently, her hand went to her pocket, searching fruitlessly for the bulk of her phone. Not finding it, she called over her shoulder without looking away from the microscope.
“Darcy! What time is it?” She resisted asking the day as well. It was Thursday. Probably. * * *
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Darcy Lewis
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Post by Darcy Lewis on Jun 24, 2012 21:49:22 GMT -5
As usual, Darcy was off in her own little world. She was lounging in one of those fold-up chairs that people like to use for tailgating, or laying out by the side of the pool, staring at the beautiful mountains and rocking out to her personal playlist - on the very same iPod that had just over six months ago been confiscated by SHIELD. Since then, they'd seen fit to return it, along with all of Jane's research (since the girls were now working in tandem with SHIELD's own research team).
"Huh?" Darcy asked, pulling her iPod's earbuds out of her ears as she looked at Jane as she mulled over the mystery metal. She was very much aloof.
"Oh... It's, uhh..." Darcy replied, checking her wristwatch. "Umm... I've got... Uh..." she muttered, puzzling over the watch's face. "It says 3 o'clock - guess I forgot to move it ahead when we got to the airport..." she said lamely with a shrug of her shoulders. "But, I think that means it's like 8 o'clock here..." Darcy estimated. "Wales is what? 5 hours ahead of New York?"
"Anyway... Any luck with that weird metal-stuff?" the non-science-y lab assistant inquired. "Do you think it's really alien"
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Post by Jane Foster on Jun 30, 2012 17:16:47 GMT -5
* * *”I don’t think you can say alien, Darcy. Isn’t that un-PC?”
Also, it was probably wrong. From what Thor had explained to her about Asgard and the like, it didn’t sound like any of the extra-terrestrial theories she’d ever read.
“As for the metal… I’m 88% sure it’s not a metal that’s already known.” She was already turning dials, her fingers functioning with the highest precision; she knew how sensitive some of the controls could be. “And if it’s new, the press…” She trailed off for a moment, concentrating on the instrument in front of her. “The press response could come in handy.”
But that wasn’t truly what interested her. The metal gave off a faint but measureable electromagnetic signature. Apparently all on its own, but it could also have been stored solar energy; she hadn’t spent enough time in the lab to know for certain. Either way, the implications of using it as a tool to build certain things were dizzying. Things outside her own usefulness, even: computer chips, medical advancements… it might even make identification scans possible without the use of radio frequencies.
Setting the mounting plate inside the sample drawer, she carefully clicked it into place, freezing before going any further.
“Wait, did you say 8? Already?!”
She cut the electricity; the TEM would be fine there until tomorrow. The sun had set hours ago, but she hadn’t really thought about it – nights came ridiculously early to Wales at this time of year, so she’d just pulled on another sweater and kept working. But tonight was supposed to be incredibly clear, and with her scope she should be able to view stellar distances up to 65 thousand light years away, if she was lucky. Sure, she was here for the metal, but this was an uncharted section of sky to her; there was virtually nothing that could keep her from taking a look.
Pulling on a coat that was laughably heavy by New Mexico standards, as well as a scarf and gloves, she dashed out to the clearing where her microscope was waiting. * * *
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Darcy Lewis
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"Hey, look! It's MyahMyah!"
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Post by Darcy Lewis on Jul 4, 2012 2:49:58 GMT -5
“And if it’s new, the press…” She trailed off for a moment, concentrating on the instrument in front of her. “The press response could come in handy.”
Darcy smirked. She thought it was cute seeing modest little Jane pop out of her shell a bit - her friend was insanely brilliant, after all... Why not brag a bit to the press? She deserved some freakin' recognition!
"Yeah, yeah... Nobel Prize, or whatever it's called..." She replied while Jane started to put away her science-stuff. "You totally deserve it - and, like, a ka-billion dollars, too... A ka-billion dollars that you'll split with your trusty assistant... Right?"
“Wait, did you say 8? Already?!” And with that, Jane grabbed her coat and stuff and dashed outside.
"What? Where's the fire?" Darcy muttered as she too grabbed a coat, hat, scarf and mittens - and a big thermos of hot cocoa - and hunkered after her scientist friend.
"What's the rush? Got a hot date?" Darcy asked Jane when she'd caught her up at the telescope. She offered the thermos of cocoa out to Jane, just in case she'd like any.
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Post by Thor Odinson on Jul 7, 2012 22:10:26 GMT -5
"What's the rush? Got a hot date?" Darcy asked Jane when she'd caught her up at the telescope.
"Nay," Thor rumbled as he joined them at the telescope as well. He was 'incogneto' at the moment, which meant jeans and combat boots and a black 'Eluveitie' concert t-shirt, giving no signs of noticing the chill. "Not after our last evening out. We were simply going to watch Star Wars 2." A pause, as he watched Jane adjust the telescope. "I am hopeful that young Anakin will have learned discipline."
He glanced at Darcy, then looked back at Jane. "What do you seek?"
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Post by Jane Foster on Jul 8, 2012 17:15:56 GMT -5
* * *”Nobel Prize… Darcy, don’t be ridiculous.”
There was a smile in her voice. That was like telling a dog not to bark. She doubled back into the mobile lab for a moment, tucking a spectroscope under her arm. It was compact, but hefty, an EMF probe that would read electromagnetic frequencies in the patch of sky she charted. She clicked it into place at the bottom of the large telescope, fingers clumsy in her gloves; she’d fine-tune it when she could sight what she was looking for.
"Nay, not after our last evening out."
The sound of Thor’s voice distracted her from her purpose, and she looked up to see him in a tshirt, of all things. Her eyes didn’t waver from appreciating his form as she took the offered thermos from Darcy, giving the cap a spin, though she blinked at the absence of coffee smell.
“Is this cocoa There’s no caffeine in that.”
She tsked, catching Darcy’s eyes as she handed the thermos back, giving her the “can you believe him?” look. When Thor was around, it was an unspoken communication they shared often. She shook her head, smartly not commenting on his lack of coat. Besides, it would only obscure her view of his biceps.
Turning her head back to her work, she promptly forgot about his arms as she peered through the viewfinder, pulling off one glove to brave the cold, bare fingers nimble against the dials.
“I’m looking for a pulsar,” she murmured between adjustments. “It’s a star, and it rotates, a lot like the Earth does actually. It emits the same type of radiation that the metal we’re looking at does, only on a much larger scale. But it’s directional, sort of like a lighthouse, and I’ll only be able to measure it when it’s facing us.”
Truthfully, she’d forgotten about their plan for Star Wars. Years ago, she’d gone as Padme to a costume party as an undergrad, because Darcy said it’d be funnier than her Ruth Bader Ginsberg costume. Glancing away from the viewfinder, she looked back at Thor, a slow, unconscious smile spreading over her face at the sight of him; the man was odd, but he was sex on a stick, and even her scientific mind could appreciate that fact. She was a different kind of giddy about the pulsar, though, and she did want to see if she could find it.
“Movie after? I promise it won’t take long.” * * *
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Darcy Lewis
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Post by Darcy Lewis on Jul 18, 2012 11:43:21 GMT -5
"Not after our last evening out. We were simply going to watch Star Wars 2." A pause, as he watched Jane adjust the telescope. "I am hopeful that young Anakin will have learned discipline."
Darcy smirked and shook her head. "Have fun with that..." she said. Darcy didn't really care for the first two prequel movies, but... regardless, it was nice to see Thor again. She aimed her eyes towards Jane and waited to see what her reaction to his sudden appearance would be.
“Is this cocoa? There’s no caffeine in that.”
Darcy shrugged. "Yeah, but... It's goooooood."
Jane had handed the thermos back to Jane, and she was a little disappointed that she seemed to be more interested in her work than in the hunky 'god' that had just joined them. If anything could take Jane's attention away from her Science, Darcy was sure it would be Thor.
He glanced at Darcy, then looked back at Jane. "What do you seek?"
“I’m looking for a pulsar,” she murmured between adjustments. “It’s a star, and it rotates, a lot like the Earth does actually. It emits the same type of radiation that the metal we’re looking at does, only on a much larger scale. But it’s directional, sort of like a lighthouse, and I’ll only be able to measure it when it’s facing us.”
“Movie after? I promise it won’t take long.”
"So... Thor," Darcy said after Jane was back to work seeking out that pulsar. "You have any single friends? Or a brother that isn't Evil?" They were, after all, out in the middle of nowhere... in Wales... and, if Thor and Jane were going to go out to a movie, Darcy didn't A) want to be a third wheel, and B) didn't really want to stay behind, here at the campsite. Booooor-ing!
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