Won't you Take me Home Tonight? (tag: Harry)

[Sophia Strange]

Oscorp boasted a proud internship program, with very select few young men or women being added to its many company divisions each summer, and even fewer asked to stay full time. Of the thousands that applied to their New York City or Divisional offices such as Oscorp: New Orleans, only a mere 100 were accepted worldwide. They were given multiple interviews, tests to screen their intelligence, and extensive study in their school records. For a fresh-out of high schooler, it was nearly impossible.

Still, Sophia Strange liked to defy the impossible. Somehow, someway, she had beaten back the 100 applicants and had become the second intern selected for the bio-chemistry department (the first one being this Indian kid who couldn’t even speak to girls, it was kind of adorable).

That was a few weeks ago, Sophia was settling in just fine….

“I was just a skinny lad,
Never knew no good from bad,
But I knew life before I left my nursery.”

Sophia belted out the lyrics, no music to accompany the words except the whirl of machines and the typing of the computer. She bobbed in her seat as she typed out the formula sequence, weaving her body left to right like a vertical snake. If that wasn’t enough, she made facial features to match the rather promiscuous song.

“Left alone with big, fat fanny,
She was such a naughty nanny,
Hey big woman! You made a bad boy out of me.”

Leaning back in her chair as she hit the enter key, the formula running through the sequence. And as it beeped and whirled and calculated, she did an air guitar with guitar-solo sounds coming out of her mouth, until finally continuing the song:

“I’ve been singing with my band,
Across the wire, across the land,
I’ve seen every blue-eyed floozy on the way, hey,
But their beauty and their style,
Went kind of smooth after a while,
Take me to them dirty ladies every time!”

Sometime between all of this singing, gesturing, air-guitaring, the door behind her slid open in that air-compressing ‘hisss’ sound. But of course, between the singing and the computer calculating and all the other machines she noticed none of this:

“Ooooh won’t you take me home tonight?
Ahhhh down beside that red firelight?
Ohhhh, and you give it all you got!...”

Sophia took the printed sheet from the printer with her completed results, twirling round in her swivel chair for maximum effect, holding out her arms as if she was praising the lord:

“Fat-bottomed girls you make the rockin’ world go-…..”

The girl slowly trailed off as she took in the suited young man in front of her. Her hands slowly going back down to clutch the data sheet in both hands as her face slowly twisted from blank shock to faint horror.

And so it was completely silent, save for the whirl of machines. If only for a few moments:

“Oh….. oh god.” Sophia said with horror laced in every syllabi. Oh please, for the love of all that was holy, please say he didn’t hear or see all of that! That was just…. Ugh it was so embarrassing.

Taking in the young man in front of her, he looked like a ‘suit’ (in Oscorp talk, that was a business/lawyer person who stalked around the upper floors as the scientists slaved away below them). He looked young though, maybe he was interning at the business section? Or maybe he was one of those tip-top, high class Harvard boys that was about to drag her ass to her boss and have her fired.

Hopefully if she said informed him how sorry she was/mortified it wouldn’t go down to that:

“I am so sorry…. I just…. I’m probably going to crawl into a hole later and die.” Sophia blurted out, oh well that…. Well it was the truth so…. Sydney was going to laugh at her so hard over this. Damn, she had tried so hard to get this job! Went to the five interviews, screening tests, all of that good stuff. She resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands and smudge her makeup all over the data sheet, instead choosing to look anywhere but the guy’s face. He had nice shoes, shiny kind….

Well who knows, maybe the guy was a Queen fan.

“Sooo um….” She cleared her throat after a moment of silence, “How can I help you?” Again, not looking at his face. Nice tie, that right there was a very nice tie.

(ooc: Song and lyrics here by Queen)

[Harry Osborn]

. B A N G! . B A N G! . B A N G! . B A N G! .
. bang bang shot him with a bang bang . love him down down shot my baby with a bang .

Harry was free, free of the cozy straight jacket and free to resume running his father's company. That included both well known projects… And those that were… A little more secret. He wasn't going to make the mistake of being overthrown again, so he was starting off his new reign with a more hand's on approach. He was cleaning house to be honest. Removing those who didn't seem to believe he was fit to run the place, those who showed more loyalty to his mutinous board, those that just seemed out of place. Of course, Oscorp was huge, so a lot of it was done based on files and how long they'd been there. If his father had hired them, or overseen it, or if it had been Donald. Things of that sort. Of course then there was publicity as well… Those hounds that had already gone from pitying his mistrial to already barking about whether he was old enough to manage the company.

He'd hand selected his new board. Which was the first step, not that the media knew that. And he'd left New York to go take a look at Oscorp's other buildings. He'd stopped by the one in LA. Washington. Sent someone to Chicago and Dallas. He was in New Orleans. The city so far had seemed quaint. The weather was irksome and he wasn't sure about the food. He loved foreign food, and knew eventually he would try it. Yes. Quaint was what he came up with for the city.

This location wasn't the most important for Oscorp, far from it, seeing as compared to his other cities, it was a low business place. But there was much to be found supposedly in the state that they could play with and experiment on. It was smaller then the other locations however, and he figured he could cover the suspicious faces rather quickly. His tablet already had a list of those he'd flipped through the files of and found something off. And of course he'd check out the interns, to make sure they weren't there for more malicious reasons. It was easy to catch most in one of their orientations but he'd missed a couple. He'd tracked them down in the last couple days, sent one home and cleared the rest.

Last on the list was Strange, Sohpia. Then he could check out the higher ups and peel himself out of the suit and head home.

It wasn't difficult to track her down, and as he approached the lab she was working in, he paused, and cocked his head. Someone was singing. Loudly. Harry blinked and furrowed his brows behind his aviators. Alright…. he thought to himself before he flashed his card against the scanner. The doors slid open and he found his intern. It had to be her, since she was alone and looked the right age. Perhaps not acting like his normal interns however. She was currently air guitaring, and singing the appropriate sounds. For a few moments Harry could only watch, jaw slightly slack.

He was used to a far more… Mature group. Straight backed students who intended to raise in the ranks and impress him. Hard eyed adults that looked down at him, but remained professional enough that he didn't fire them on the spot. He could deal with the doubt and the judging expressions. He couldn't fire all of them. But as long as they posed no real threat to him, he left them be to do their jobs.

This one he was a little unsure of. She continued, picking lyrics back up (Queen, he placed somewhere at the back of his mind), and he snapped his mouth shut. Eventually she did catch sight of him and he cleared his throat a little, both in awkwardness and his late attempt at corralling the behaviour. He should have spoke up, but waited, maybe for an explanation of a sort. Something. Anything? It was almost hilarious he thought distantly, he was looking for an explanation on her behaviour. As if he wasn't only a handful of years older then her. If that. He wasn't sure how to approach the situation. And that threw him off. He'd been so used to facing off against adults, chin raised and bitter. Angry and stubborn and cool. He was a little in shock.

She apologized, and did look fairly mortified with herself. She certainly didn't look like she was there for any reason other then to learn. She was odd, but that was a pretty good opening to his interview. He opened his mouth to reply, only to shut it and arch a brow. How could she help him? Did she not realize who he was? He was all over the papers. Well and he was Osborn. He was the Os in Oscorp. He pulled the aviators off and hooked them in the collar of his jacket and glanced at his tablet, clearing his throat again. "Are you Sophia…" he paused, lips curling in amusement. "Strange?" Well if there was a fitting name.

"I'm here to discuss where you'd like to eventually go with this internship." he said. Most of the people he'd interviewed as suspicious characters knew his face, knew why he was really there. Even the interns. He'd had a few flirt with him (not that he blamed them. He wasn't as good looking as some of the celebrities out there but he had money. Lots and lots of money.), but this one seemed clueless. Well that was a point in her favour. Harry was good at reading lies and she seemed honestly, oblivious. Meant he was already doubting someone else had here here for there reasons.

WORDS: nine. five. nine..
TAGGED:lanni & sophia
SONG:bang bang/will.i.am.
CREDIT:you're lookin' at her.

[Sophia Strange]

Sophia knew she wasn’t the most mentally mature out there. Dark Dimensional folk weren’t considered adults until they reached their twenty-fifth year (where the incidentally, stop growing for another thousand years). Even so, she didn’t think Oscorp would care as much for her maturity as they would care about her brain. Just look at her fellow intern! He couldn’t even talk to half of the population in the building without severe anxiety! Every young adult, half-alien or human, didn’t turn into a sociable, mature adult just out of eighteen.

Still, she was embarrassed that someone had walked in on her singing Queen. She was embarrassed that anyone had caught her singing at all, really. As the awkward silence prevailed, she could just feel her cheeks heating up. She would never live this down…. Ever.

When he finally cleared his throat for a second time, Sophia finally got the nerve to look up at the guy’s face and…. Damn son. She was reminded of those attractive college boys who crowded into the bars along Bourbon Street during Spring Break. The kind that didn’t get completely sloshed, who eyed other pretty college girls as they knocked back Hurricane after Hurricane: like lions watching a group of antelope get young and stupid. These were the dangerous ones, the ones sober and good-looking enough to get what they wanted. Sophia had the distinct feeling that this young man wasn’t used to being told ‘no’.

Well this wasn’t Bourbon Street, this was Oscorp. If this guy fancied himself a business shark, well good on him. His job was to do whatever he could to make Oscorp money, she was here to provide the science. Somehow, they coexisted.

She watched as he looked down at his tablet, a smirk appearing on his face as he read off her last name:

"Are you Sophia…Strange?"

Sophia raised an eyebrow, “That’s me,” she said in an almost tilting voice, reaching behind her to place the data-sheet behind her back near the computer. “And I know, my last name is absolutely fantastic, and fits me oh-so-well.” This guy was hardly the first person to make that little smirk. Oh, hehehehe, its funny cause you are so weird!. Thanks man, thanks. Really appreciate the reminder that I am a freak.

Not salty about it at all, though. She did wonder every once in a while why she had to take her father’s last name when the guy wanted nothing to do with her. Probably because in the Dark Dimension you had no last names. Ah well, Strange it was.

"I'm here to discuss where you'd like to eventually go with this internship."

She turned back around, looking slightly surprised at the pre-emptive interview…. If that was what this was. The ‘where do you see yourself in five-eight-ten years’ usually happened before you were hired, she had certainly been asked the question multiple times, the answer was usually the same ‘I have no clue’. Of course, she had tried to illustrate it with explanation: college to consider, job opportunities, fancy stuff like that. In all honesty: time for a Princess of the Dark Dimension wasn’t a sure thing. She could hardly explain to the interviewer that she might not be on earth in ten years. Mama might win the Civil War and drag her ass back to the mother ship. We just don’t know.

Just another reason why the Strange girl was so Strange.

“Okay then.” Sophia said hesitantly, getting up slightly from her stool to reach over and pull out another stool across from her. Sitting back, she picked up her nearby cup of lukewarm tea to take a large drink. “Why don’t you have a seat and we can talk about my least favorite topic then: the future.” Like anyone really wanted to discuss their future when they were eighteen.

[Harry Osborn]

. B A N G! . B A N G! . B A N G! . B A N G! .
. bang bang shot him with a bang bang . love him down down shot my baby with a bang .

Harry had the gull to even look sheepish when the girl somewhat snapped about his amusement over her name. The smile flitted away and he even reached up to scratch the back of his neck, grimacing just a little. "I'm sorry. Just. Uh, with our introduction…" he trailed off gesturing between them with a more friendly smile. Whoops. Looked like he was on her bad side already. That was fine, she didn't need to like him, just had to do her job and be a good employee. "I'm sorry. Always been told I had a poor taste in humour." Wasn't a lie. He'd been the one to kick the chair leg out from under a kid leaning back on two legs. Acted innocent, everyone believed him but he'd always laughed the hardest. Over time that had developed into something perhaps… Darker.

Back to business.

Harry nodded however when she offered him a stool and seemed to agree to his terms. He took his seat and looked over the tablet at her with a more open smile. His I'm your nice little bossman smile. Good good. without recognizing him, he was just a young lad in a high end, expensive suit. Hell, his watch probably cost more then she'd make over her entire summer internship. He knew how people treated those fancy rich snobs. He half expected her to show him zero respect and tell him to get lost. He didn't want to pull rank just yet, he revelled in the feeling of being unknown for a moment. Sure, he was a little tiffed she didn't know her own boss by sight… But it was kind of useful with his current goals.

"So, a few basic sort of questions. Since I know we all lie a little to impress on our interviews." he started with a slow, charming, sly grin. Every kid asked questions about success and getting higher in companies. Even when it was a shit job at Walmart, asking questions and seeming legitimately interested got you hired. Basica job interview strategy. You just had to be very eloquent and smart to do the same for Oscorp. "So um… You're eighteen. When you've got high school all wrapped up, do you intend to apply again and turn this internship into a real career? Go to college for a high education and keep that job? Or are you just here for the fancy name on your resume?" he asked her, friendly and open. He wanted truthful answers. Honest answers. She seemed genuine for now, showed her emotions from what he saw, so he did hope he could read her as easily as the other students.

He scratched his neck again, just above where a patch of gauze covered some recurring green scales. It was a itch under his skin but he shrugged it off for the time being. He didn't have time to let the goblin out to play right now. He had a business to run. When he got back to his spider-hunting however… He had to finish with this girl, who seemed innocent enough. Tie up some ends and head home. Then again, there was the whole option that she was playing him. He sounded paranoid, but he hadn't watched his back last time. And he'd ended up in the bug house. Maybe you belonged there… A quiet voice slid through his thoughts, like a fat, slow snake. He shook his head just a little, and covered it by making it look like he was just pushing the bangs from his face. After what you did to Gwen. You're a murdere-

"I have pretty basic information here, just the basics. Where had you branched out from, who are you working with. What are you working with. " he asked, partially, genuinely curious. Yeah, he wanted to know more about her but also wanted to know what was happening down south. He'd given the all clear again for testing and mutating with animal DNA. The stuff worked. Spider-Man, himself to a degree, Dr. Connors. It needed some tweaking and more careful handling, but it worked.

WORDS: seven.zero.zero.
TAGGED:lanni & sophia
SONG:bang bang/will.i.am.
CREDIT:you're lookin' at her.

[Sophia Strange]

"I'm sorry. Just. Uh, with our introduction……. I'm sorry. Always been told I had a poor taste in humour."

Aw, look at that friendly smile and the way it lit up those baby blues of his. She was sure girls were cooing over him the moment he was born. That sheepish look he tried out before hand worked like the charm it was, she almost felt guilty about snapping at him…. Almost.

Lets just say that she knew how to play the innocent baby face game and this guy wasn’t as pro as he thought he was. But that didn’t meant that she was going to torture man-boy here. Best she be civil so they could get to the brunt of the issue: why was he in her lab and what did he want from her.

“Hey now, you have every right to laugh at me,” Her face morphed into a grimace, “I acted like an idiot, I’m just really salty about getting caught.” It was true: she was fine singing loudly to Queen as long as she was the only one in the room. Cute guy walks in behind her, well that was just not fair in her book.

She sipped her tea as she looked him over, letting him sit down in the stool and smile pleasantly at her. Whoever this guy was, he was rich. Fancy watch, fancy shoes, fancy tie: he looked like he never wanted for anything. Which wasn’t exactly fair of her, to judge that is. Vesper didn’t work, Sophia technically didn’t have to work. Her upkeep was paid for by the royal treasury of the Dark Dimension. How they converted the currency to the money here, Sophia wasn’t exactly sure. Vesper wasn’t exactly forthcoming about it, so it was probably illegal on some degree. And magic was most certainly involved.

Vesper didn’t think she should work ‘like some common-born trash’. She thought it dishonorable and below her station. That she should be learning how to cast hexes and fight with a spear, rather than go to college or work at Oscorp. This kid might be rich, but Sophia was sure he worked in some way to get there. So: no judgement on her part.

"So, a few basic sort of questions. Since I know we all lie a little to impress on our interviews."

Sophia shrugged a little at that, “You are assuming I have the ability to lie, or even lie well.” She eyed the way he slyly grinned at her, “Thankfully, as a biochem intern I’m not presented with a reason to lie as much as say…. The lawyer interns.” She’d seen some of them around, lurking in their business suits like young vultures ready to take flight and sue the pants off of all the savannah animals.

But anyway, she really had no reason to lie on the interviews. Mostly because she didn’t actually think she would get this job. Sure that more intelligent college kids would slid right in.

"So um… You're eighteen. When you've got high school all wrapped up, do you intend to apply again and turn this internship into a real career? Go to college for a high education and keep that job? Or are you just here for the fancy name on your resume?"

Sophia grimaced a little over her coffee cup rim, setting it down as she thought about it: where did she intend to go after all was said and done? Did she really just want to go to college if she had a nice job here? Internships didn’t last forever though, and she was sure that most interns had a one-up on her being right out of college so….

“Well…. Considering the fact that most all positions in Oscorp besides ‘intern’ require a Bachelor’s Degree or higher. I guess what I’d like to do is go to college….” She fidgeted slightly on her stool, “Then I guess after that…. It’s just too early to tell what I want to do. I feel like I could answer that question after I complete my internship here.” This felt more like one of those exit interviews people got at the end of their career. Just, easily one of the most awkward experiences of her life.

Her eyes caught the movement up to where he was scratching at something on his neck covered in gauze. “You alright? You probably shouldn’t be itching that.” She had no clue what ‘that’ was, but most of the time things covered in bandages shouldn’t be scratched at.

"I have pretty basic information here, just the basics. Where had you branched out from, who are you working with. What are you working with. "

“Well, I come from St. Mary’s High School in Treme.” She doubted he knew what she was talking about, unless he was from New Orleans. Treme was a neighborhood off from the French Quarter, and barely much older. But it was one of those run-down neighborhoods that most tourists shied away from. “I’m working with Dr. Eileen Morris.” A stern-mouthed woman without a sense of humor or charm. She spent her time throwing the majority of her work at her interns and locking herself away in her office doing goodness-knows what.

“As for what we are working on, well.” Sophia’s eyes brightened at the chance to talk about science. “Dr. Morris found that there are distinct reactions when combining catfish hemoglobin with human blood. Apparently, it works to guard against certain blood diseases and disorders by binding human redblood cells and essentially warding off diseases that might cause harm…. Well, you don’t want to hear about all this.” Sophia suddenly said, looking a bit sheepish, “Dr. Morris could probably explain it better anyway, and you’re not here to listen to me ramble on about science…”

[Harry Osborn]

. B A N G! . B A N G! . B A N G! . B A N G! .
. bang bang shot him with a bang bang . love him down down shot my baby with a bang .

Harry shifted a little, forcing his smile to something more open, warmer. Or what he hoped was warmer. He felt like when he smiled these days it was the smile of a hyena. Feral and cruel. He wasn't trying to scare this girl (yet?). He wanted to be welcoming. Trustworthy. Enough to get her to spill something if there was anything to spill. Be it about herself or those above her at this location. "You could have been doing far worse then singing." he pointed out, giving a low, quiet little chuckle.

He could feel the girl's eyes on him as he skimmed his fingers against the clear tablet in his hands. It had a screen facing him, but to her it would look like a slate of glass. One of Oscorp's creations. A portable prototype of what could be found in the offices of the more higher ups. So far, it did the job, and kept him connected with his desk back at his own office. He let her look him over, he was used to the feeling. Whether it was appraising him or squaring up against him, honestly, he didn't care. He was here on business.

And was still amused she didn't recognize her boss of bosses.

Harry let his smile widen, and let some of that warmth wither away into something angrier. Lawyers. "I don't care for lawyers. Intern or fully fledged." he said, voice revealing nothing. "Takes a certain type of person to defend someone guilty." he added, smirking. Sure, he hated them for the business aspect. His own had done a pretty shit job getting him out of Ravencroft, pushing the blame off him and protecting him from his board. No. He didn't like lawyers. And he'd dealt with his own…

"Ms. Strange. You'd be surprised how far you can get in this business just by knowing someone." he said, mostly in regards to her comment of what it required to get a job at Oscorp. She wasn't wrong, the first thing anyone looked at was the education. With a place like Oscorp, they had to. But you could end up like Max easily, smart, dangerously so, but with your ideas snatched away by someone higher. "Besides, if you got this far you're obviously smart enough to get into whatever school you have in mind. My question, is whether you intend to hold on to your position here. If you want to continue here. And if not, why you came here to begin with." he continued, not even pausing to consider her comment that what he was saying normally came at the end of an internship. She wasn't wrong. But he wasn't hiring. He was investigating.

"It's fine." he growled to her comment in regards to the gauze, hand freezing. He cleared his throat a second later "It's fine." he repeated, softer, warmer. "Allergic reaction. Rash." he lied, smooth as silk.

Morris. Now that raised some flags. Of course, he could have gotten that information himself but, it was nice to get it verbally. "She's a clever woman." Harry replied, "For all her lack of social skills. When I met her I got the vibe that she didn't want to be here." he chuckled. Oh. She didn't. The second she saw him, she'd gone pale as a ghost. She wasn't much of an actor and he barely had to lift a finger to know she was not with him. He was already planning her untimely accident. It would be a dire shame when she headed for home and ran into trouble on the road. Breaks would go out… No doubt she'd lose control of the vehicle. And it would just be a horrible wreck really. He wanted to show her his other half, but he changed his mind. He didn't want to risk a sighting. With him on both sets of Goblin attacks in that case, it would throw the light back on him. He didn't want that taking out one mole.

But that wasn't Ms. Strange.

However, he did have to make sure Dr. Morris hadn't recruited Sophia. He doubted it, seeing as dear Eileen seemed scared. Probably lost her huff when the board showed up dead. Good. However, what they were working on caught his attention immediately. His eyes shot up from his tablet to her face, icy, unreadable but focused. Diseases passed along in blood. Warding them off. That was very much within his interest. Goosebumps prickled the back of his neck as he sat a little straighter, like a dog hearing his name. "Warding off? Only as a pre-emptive strike? Or are you working on a way to use it as something to help fix existing damage?" he asked, breezing right by her sheepish comment. He gave a wide, charming smile, silently urging her to continue. Of course he could ask Morris. But he didn't want to dig further into what they'd already said, which wasn't much.

That and he doubted she'd be rational enough to explain her work. Too busy watching her back. Harry shifted, powering down his tablet, before he set it aside, leaning forward, resting his arms against his leg, folded with one foot resting on his knee. He looked the image of innocent, curiosity. Something he played well. He could play a lot of things well, came with being a fame baby. "I'm very curious about your work."

WORDS: nine. two. six..
TAGGED:lanni & sophia
SONG:bang bang/will.i.am.
CREDIT:you're lookin' at her.

[Sophia Strange]

"I don't care for lawyers. Intern or fully fledged…. Takes a certain type of person to defend someone guilty."

Lord but this boy smiled like a shark. Sophia smiled back hesitantly, feeling like a guppy in front of a Great White. It was all she could do not to giggle hesitantly.

"Ms. Strange. You'd be surprised how far you can get in this business just by knowing someone."

Sophia grinned slightly at that, “High friends in high places? Afraid I’m too much of a nobody to know anyone around here.” A nobody around here at least, just strange Sophia with her quirks and her crazy auntie and her obsession with science. Rarely did a human give her a second look. The only beings that really paid any attention to her were her Uncle’s minions, and she’d honestly rather they ignored her at times.

But she certainly didn’t walk in here knowing the right names to throw down. Her father was once a neurosurgeon before he dedicated himself to the mystical arts of wearing a cape that looked like it belonged on a vampire from one of those old-fashioned black-and-white movies. Even then, she highly doubted he knew all the right names at Oscorp. And her mother well….. she was an alien from another planet. Sometimes you were just born lucky enough to have the right connections, sometimes you were the princess of the dark dimension.

"Besides, if you got this far you're obviously smart enough to get into whatever school you have in mind. My question, is whether you intend to hold on to your position here. If you want to continue here. And if not, why you came here to begin with."

Whoa, wow okay then. She crossed her arms, feeling like she was under some kind of crazy military investigation or something equally as intense. “Like I said, I’d be able to tell if I wanted to pursue a career at Oscorp at the end of the summer. However, if based on just the brief period of me being here? I’d like to continue holding a position here…. If they’d let me of course.” Though after this intensive, random interview she might be having second thoughts. Certainly it seemed rather shadey to be interviewing your brand new interns after just a week. Was she going to have to go through this each week? And if she had to, why wasn’t she told about it?

Of course, she’d only heard idly about Oscorp’s issues up in New York City. Giant lizard men and a CEO that went batshit and framed Osborn’s kid for it. New Orleans was a different sort of world, everyone went with the flow and news from the outside world was just in the background of everyone’s minds.

"It's fine!............ fine. Allergic reaction. Rash."

When he suddenly growled like an annoyed cat, Sophia raised her eyebrows at him, but ultimately said nothing. When he cleared his throat and repeated it softly, the eyebrows stayed up. Yah, sounded like it…. Allergic reaction and such.

“Vitamin E cream.” She stated almost bluntly, shrugging her shoulders, “The ingredients help with any kind of skin damage, rash included.” Or anything else that might be underneath that gauze. If it was itching that meant there was dead skin cells that needed clearing away and restored. “You could also try Benadryl Gel, but that usually just stops it from itching. If it is severe enough to need gauze, you’ve got dead skin cells.”

Which is gross, super gross. Remember boys: no one wants to kiss you on your neck if there is dead skin there!

"She's a clever woman…… For all her lack of social skills. When I met her I got the vibe that she didn't want to be here."

“She’s a bit uptight yah.” Sophia affirmed with a small smile, “But she is freaking brilliant. Most of the latest HIV and AIDS treatment has come from her. I’m glad I’m going to get the chance to learn from her before she retires next year.” Dr. Morris wasn’t a people person, but really who was these days? The older woman was particularly tired of the bureaucratic bullshit that had been apparently going on last year with Osborn’s death. She was ready to leave. Hence why most of her remaining work was given to the interns. Sophia supposed she couldn’t blame her.

"Warding off? Only as a pre-emptive strike? Or are you working on a way to use it as something to help fix existing damage?"

Sophia gave a small smile at his interest, she couldn’t help it. This was the kind of stuff she loved talking about. “Most medicine doesn’t work like that, this would be more like slowly building up blood cells to help them fight off whatever disease is effecting them. Then, after building up the immunity during treatment, the human body will be able to naturally deflect the disease on its own.” She waved a hand, “Of course, this largely depends on the stage of the disease. The sooner caught, the sooner treatment starts: the better. Just like anything in medicine.”

"I'm very curious about your work."

For the first time since he’d scooted his cute patootie through that door, Sophia wondered why he was really here. Not just the impromptu interview thing, but the pointed questions about who she was working for or where the heck she came from. All of this seemed….. fishy (if you would excuse the pun).

But still, she couldn’t see the harm in him knowing about her work:

“Well, fish oil has for years been used for healthy blood and heart. They have all these lovely omega-3 fatty acids that help with cholesterol, blood pressure, healthy blood flow, all that good stuff.” It also apparently made you poop more, but that wasn’t the point really. She gestured slightly, “Dr. Morris found that Catfish from Louisiana and Mississippi had higher omega-3 than most fish used for fish oil supplements. So she started experimenting on their skin, and then their blood.”

Sophia smiled, eyes twinkling “She found that catfish of that genius had a certain type of omega-3 in their blood system that actually protects them from genetic blood disorders and diseases. It literally self-heals their blood cells after they have been damaged…..”

Only she would get excited about fish blood, honestly.