Open Lab Log

[angermanaging]

Characters: Bruce Banner, a bunch of teenage boys that agreed to help, and anyone that would potentially stop in.
Date: BACKDATED to a variety of dates over the past two weeks. We're playing fast and loose with the timeline here.
Location: Stark Industries in Fire sector.
Situation: Bruce got several volunteers to help set up the proposal for the hydroponic garden, and presumably they'd all run into each other at some point. Presumably, also, some people that know him would like to stop in and make sure he hasn't actually moved into his lab, with the amount of time he spends there. (He hasn't.) Feel free to make your own thread starts and tag around to anyone!!
Warnings/Rating: None.

Comments

(catchall for Bruce)

[angermanaging]

[Bruce can be found there almost every day, working quietly and diligently. He does take trips out for various reasons-- getting samples, eating, learning the city layout, meditation, jogging, sleep. But this is his priority, and it shows in how dedicated he is.

Stop in any time. You don't have to clear your throat to get his attention, I promise; he'll notice when someone shows up. Or just jump into a conversation in the middle of work.]

Re: (catchall for Bruce)

[the_other_eight]

[Pepper is used to this sort of behavior. She's been Tony's personal assistant for I've ten years after all. She's taken to doing roughly the same thing she does with him with Bruce (minus the girlfriend duties and sexual innuendo. Sorry Bruce, this girl is entirely Tony Stark's God help her). She checks up on Bruce once every few days with a sandwich, a blanket and razor, and an energy drink in this place.

She stands just to the side of the doorway with a bag of amenities in hand, watching for a few moments before making her way over to Bruce's work station.]

Not getting too caught up in your work I hope.

[angermanaging]

[Bruce likes to think he's easier to manage than Tony, at least. At the moment he's fiddling with something composed of small metal pieces and filters strewn across his lab bench. His glasses are on, but when he looks up and sees her he slides them off, a silent indication that he doesn't mind the interruption.

He gives her a slight smile.] I'm not used to having anyone notice if I hole myself up. But I don't think I'm too bad.

... Is that for me? [He's a little surprised, though he probably shouldn't be.]

[the_other_eight]

Yup.

[She sets the bag of food down next to him and slides into an empty seat. Of course she plans to visit for a little and offer Bruce a bit of human interaction that isn't science and research based.]

I notice things.

[It's a very humble observation for a woman like Pepper Potts. In truth Pepper notices practically everything. She makes a point of doing her best to do so.]

[angermanaging]

[But that kind of interaction is easiest for him, Pepper...

He does genuinely like her already, though, even if he's still not totally clear what her actual job is. As far as Bruce can tell, she does everything, and she does it with frightening efficiency. So he knows that she's being humble when she says that.]

You didn't have to, [he says, all sincerity. It's not a courtesy protest. But he tugs the bag over and looks inside, contents rustling, and then looks up again with a wry smile.] Thanks. Though I'm a little scared about what this implies about Tony's habits while he's working on something, if this is what you default to.

[Because he has no trouble guessing where she'd picked up this habit. And it's only taken a month, but Bruce has finally started using his first name on his own. Go him.]

[imaginate]

[It takes a few minutes for him to dash over after the network post. Stupid, he tells himself. You're stupid. You're not supposed to talk about things like that in public. But it's out now and well, he did his best to cover.

So he's covering again, cheerfully, as he waves to Bruce.]

Morning, Doc!

[angermanaging]

[He gets a calm,] Hi, Kyle. Come on in.

[And he gets right to business, no commentary on his abilities, just analysis.] So what is it that you do, exactly? You said it's something like genetic alteration?

[imaginate]

[Completely without preamble. One of the things Kyle likes best.]

Yep. I can modify it for higher yield, faster growth, and if you want to try soil, I can adjust nitrogen content and things like that, but that's more time consuming.

[He doesn't quite say how, but he has a feeling he will have to at least be open with Bruce about exactly how much he knows about botany and genetics, and well, he's not looking forward to that.]

[angermanaging]

[Bruce can more than understand wanting to be reticent with giving out information, about anything, really, but especially about your knowledge base. He nods, frowning in thought.]

What about nutrient contents in water? And faster growth would obviously be another area of interest.

I'm just... wondering how the genetic modifications come out. I'd like to take a look at the resulting DNA sequence and compare it.

(catchall for Bruce)

[fotia]

[Hi Leo's just walking in like he don't give a shit. Swagger.]

Whoa, this place is awesome, do you really know the guy who owns this?!

[angermanaging]

Supposedly. [It's hard not to smile a little as he looks up and puts his work down, battered reading glasses on his nose. Leo's enthusiasm is just faintly funny to him.]

He's pretty famous back home. I guess we become friends in the future, and he just... [A small shrug.] Picked it up with me here?

[fotia]

[:o!!] Really? Like, local city famous or worldwide famous?

[tendnottoweep]

[ Natasha might just be dropping in to check their security and refresh herself on the layout of the building, but she does stop by to say hello to Bruce while she's here. They haven't actually met in person, and it seems like a good place for it, on his own ground where he's relatively comfortable. She pauses in the doorway, rapping her knuckles lightly on the doorframe to alert him to her presence. ]

Mind if I come in, Dr. Banner?

YES I was so excited about this tag!

[angermanaging]

[He looks up immediately, and is faintly surprised.] --Yeah, sure.

[He shifts on his stool to face her and slides the glasses off of his face, a sure sign that he's giving her his attention and not his work. Bruce doesn't ever feel threatened, exactly, because how could he, but he admits he's intrigued and slightly wary of Natasha. He doesn't understand the relationship they have in the future, and she works for everything he detests, but. There's something about how readily she returns his subtle extra layers of conversation that makes her interesting to talk to, and if they're on a team together then he should probably get more comfortable with her.

Not that Bruce says any of this. She just gets a politely interested look.] How are you doing? It's been a while.

:D I AM SO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT.

[tendnottoweep]

[ Natasha smiles and steps inside, moving toward him until she reaches the edge of his workbench, where she pauses, studying the contents for a moment before turning her attention back to Bruce. ] I've been... laying low. Waiting on something I've been working on, which is more of my job than you'd think. I see you've been keeping busy.

/late...

[trainwrecked]

[Bucky wasn't sure whether to go. He's been doing a lot of work over the last weeks in Wood sector, but he's really not either a science guy or a gardening guy.]

[But yesterday's sparring match with Natasha didn't go too badly, that is, his bruises aren't too horrible, and there is some picking and carrying in any garden, hydroponic or otherwise, right?]

Hey. Things off to a good start, here?

I am even more late XD

[angermanaging]

--Hey. Yeah. We're not doing too badly.

[He looks up and slides his glasses off, eyes flicking over his bruises but not commenting on them just yet.] We got enough volunteers to start things off. How are you?

[It's said with maybe a little more interest than normal, but Bruce won't pry.]

All aboard the late train!

[trainwrecked]

Yeah? Good, and the offer for more help is still open. Should this place get big enough and so on.

[After a moment, he catches the look, and actually grins. Even if that almost opens up his split lip.]

I'm good, thanks. Got a new person to train hand-to-hand with who's way better than I am. And doesn't exactly go easy on me. I'm pretty fine with that, this place makes me think I should... shape up.

I AM THE LATEST

[xenocide]

[ Ender said he would stop in, and he makes good on his word. It has been something he's been looking forward to -- the first face to face meeting with Bruce. He's carrying a book with him when he arrives, approaching with a small smile of greeting. ]

Ho, Bruce.

[ He extends the book. ]

I've been trying to do research. I think this one might be about gardening. It could also be about burying the dead. It's hard to tell, but a lot of the images are similar to planting. I hope you've had better luck than me.

I'M PRETTY LATE TOO

[angermanaging]

Actually, I have. Someone else who volunteered to help out in the lab brought in a bunch of books they'd collected. Some of them are even in English.

[Bruce has glanced up from where he's bent over a lab bench, and nods toward the neighboring table. There's about a dozen or so volumes neatly stacked on it, a couple laid out and open.

He gives Ender a slight smile in return, honestly glad to see him as he takes the book from him and immediately starts rifling through its pages.] How're you doing? [It's a genuine question.]

we will just late at each other and backtag happily <33

[xenocide]

Oh. That person should be commended for a job well done. Maybe even promoted...to whatever promotion you get in maintaining a hydroponic garden. Maybe they can choose to tend to the plant of their choice?

[ Ender shrugs after the question. ]

I've been finding myself getting bored a lot lately. I guess I'm used to having a lot to do, sometimes even more than a lot. This project will take care of that, I hope. How about you?

wow I am the latest here but I've been meaning to tag this forever

[wallcrawler]

[Yeah, Pete's on his way in, and he comes bearing gifts! Well, not so much gifts as things he already owned and thought might be useful to Dr. Banner's work, especially the garden.

Either way, he comes bearing literature and his messenger bag is practically full to bursting with it.]

Morning Dr. Banner! I'd have gotten here sooner, but I was gathering up all these.

[Aaaand out they come, in stacks. Okay, so it wasn't a mountain of literature, only a dozen books or so, and most of them weren't terribly thick. But they were all quickly sorted on an empty table.]

I figured if you were putting together a garden like this, you could use some info on the local flora. Not all of these are in English, but I figure between the ones that are and convincing a few kedan to translate if necessary, it should be pretty useful.

[So he's a teenager who just happened to have a small library of books on the local plant life, so what]

it's okay we'll just be slow together??

[angermanaging]

[Bruce is getting used to being interrupted by now, so he's not surprised when Peter comes in-- he carefully sets down what he was working on before looking up, and then is surprised at all the books.]

Oh-- wow. This is great. Where did you find all of these? [He's visibly impressed as he reaches out to clear table space for him to dump them on. They have to be heavy.]

I was thinking we could use something exactly like this, but I wasn't sure where to start. Thanks, Peter.

Hurray for mutually assured deceleration!

[wallcrawler]

It's nothing, really! I always wanted to give someone hand-me-downs.

[All the levity up in here. But he really had gleaned most of what he needed to know from them already, and if he had to he could probably swing by and brush up on anything he forgot.]

I found them all over the place, really. The more specialized ones are from the Wood Sector, but I found a few of the translated ones in Metal.

I...kind of got bored. And there's a wider variety of plant life here than animal, so I figured I could brush up.

[ON ALL OF IT.]

I doubt it covers everything you'd need, but hopefully it'll help with getting started. Rationing's back, so I doubt either of us can rely on any more helpful tips from the locals at finding more stuff like this.

LOL yes

[angermanaging]

I didn't even realize you could find translated books. [He shakes his head, leaning back against the table and using the edge to prop himself up.] You probably know more than I do about the native plant life. I've been doing what I can to learn on my own, but...

This will be much easier. Looks like taking you on was a good idea. [Bruce gives a slight smile.]