Marble Meringue

[Dr. Neil Marshal-Timlin]

Although Neil had been expecting that the doctor might not catch his intentions immediately, he hardly expected the response he actually got. What kind of doctor was rude? Neil made a mental note to avoid getting seriously injured while on duty. Putting up with this doctor for a few days would be intolerable. Wait, did the Helicarrier even have babysitting? He couldn’t tell if the doctor was joking or not, and it was almost plausible. Neil was hardly on board frequently enough to know, and he didn’t have children. Well, in the strict definition, anyway. Did they take dogs? It would be a good way to keep the corgis busy.

But babysitting wasn’t the point here. He could investigate that claim after getting what he came here for. Instead of acting offended at the comment, Neil just gave the doctor a thoughtful look in return. He was probably in research, not patient care. That would explain the attitude, and why he wasn’t too busy to come over. Good; that would make this significantly easier. Neil had been married to a researcher for years; he knew what they responded to. “Well, I was hoping he could be cross-referenced with the DNA database, but I’m sure the babysitting staff can come up with something better. My apologies for troubling you.”

As he turned to leave, Neil realized that Tysk had wandered out of view. This just kept getting better. The lab wasn’t too large; it was unlikely the boy could hide for more than a few seconds. If he decided to start…licking things, though, that could become problematic. The best-case scenario would probably involve the boy vomiting. “Tysk?” he called out, hoping for an immediate response.

[Tysk]

The Doctor waited, seemingly patiently, while Neil processed his bitten rebuttal and Tysk started to open cupboards. At the mention of DNA, the doctor seemed to brighten up and then scowled lightly. Was he... did he really just-. While the doctor looked at Neil, Neil called out for Tysk, who knocked over a, thankfully, empty glass tube as he crawled out of a cupboard he'd gotten himself into. He peered over the bench and then stood up, looking at Neil. Yes? What did he want? Perhaps they would go for another walk?

"No." The doctor finally spoke up. "Besides Banner, I'm the most qualified on board to run that kind of diagnostic." Without another word, he turned and walked over to a line of drawers with needles and things in it. Call him a sadist, but he found something enjoyable about taking blood. Tysk looked between the two men. Was he not wanted then? Could he go back to exploring the cupboards?

[Dr. Neil Marshal-Timlin]

It had worked. Neil watched the doctor as he brightened momentarily, pleased that his bait had worked so well. The doctor informed him of his skills, and Neil smiled to himself. Good; this was going almost as smoothly as he'd hoped. Soon, he'd have the information he needed, and he could pawn the boy off on...whoever was supposed to be watching him. Hopefully they were currently on board. “Ah. Well then, I'm glad I came here first,” Neil replied, a little more smugly than was necessary. Why yes, he had just used some uppity researcher's ego against him. He would have to tell Wes about this later; he would enjoy the story. He might even know who this doctor actually was. Granted, they probably worked on different projects, considering this one was a medical doctor, but it was very possible that his reputation preceded him.

As the doctor began collecting materials, Neil turned his attention back to Tysk. It would probably be best to keep the boy distracted. It would be harder for him to get into trouble that way. Besides, if he was afraid of needles, it would keep him from seeing what the doctor was doing. Now, how to go about actually keeping Tysk's interest. Hmm. Well, he did have one idea. He had no clue if it would work, but...maybe. Neil held out a hand towards the boy, hoping that he'd come over. It would fit in with the rest of the strange behavior he'd seen so far.

[Tysk]

The doctor nodded but didn't look up from his preps. There was very minimal things needed to get the actual blood, but a few things required to look into the DNA. While he was busy collecting the required equipment, Tysk had been staring at Neil and trying to push away the scent of cleanliness. He'd definitely need to go and roll in something filthy later. When Neil held out his hand though and that was interesting enough that he came out from behind the bench and walked up to Neil. What did he want now? There was no leash.

Tysk sniffed at Neil's hand. No food on it. He looked back up at Neil and frowned slightly. Maybe he was going to give him a scratch? Tysk stepped closer to Neil and dropped his head before pushing it into Neil's shoulder. If this wasn't what Neil was planning on doing, then Tysk was going to go back to exploring the clean room. The doctor by now had gotten all of the equipment set up and as soon as they had been laid out neatly, the doctor picked up the needle, strap and alcohol swab and turned back to Neil. "I take it this is for the boy?"[/color]

[Dr. Neil Marshal-Timlin]

Holding out his hand had worked better than expected, and Tysk came right over, pushing himself up against Neil. It was almost catlike. He pat the boy on the head awkwardly, making sure that he stayed close while the doctor gathered the supplies he needed. Once again, it stuck him how bizarre this situation was. Getting bloodwork done on some unknown, mentally retarded teenage boy, in order to find out who his parents were, and why they had left him alone on the Helicarrier. Hopefully, this would all be over soon. As far as he was aware, DNA samples of all personnel were on file. Genetic identification was used for some of the higher-security areas. Mostly ones that Neil didn't have access to.

“Of course it is. I bloody well know who my parents are,” Neil replied dryly. The lack of common sense here was disturbing. Still, it wouldn't do to insult the nice doctor that he was depending on right now. “Oh, and hopefully I'm wrong, but I have a feeling that the boy won't react well to having his blood drawn. I'll try to keep him somewhat still, but you might want to be careful.” He had the sinking suspicion that this situation was about to spin out of control. Carefully, trying to avoid rousing the boy's suspicion, Neil placed a hand on his shoulder. It would be a good starting point to grab him, if necessary.

[Tysk]

Oh yeah, head scritches. Neil was doing it almost right, and Tysk tried to help him, but in the end, he just gave up. Some people. Neil seemed to want Tysk to stay close though, he could sense that, and so he just sat down next to him and played with hemming on the bottom of the pants. These clothes were loose enough that he felt comfortable, but tight enough that they actually stayed on. Perfect, really, for a dog-boy that hated clothes. Tysk looked up when Neil sounded angry. It wasn't his tone, but the way he used his words that alerted Tysk and he looked from Neil to the doctor. What had been said? A head tilt and a look of confusion were called for.

"Well, you never know." Dr. Kalb shrugged off the annoyance in Neil, completely unphased by his icy reply. Kalb kept his eyes on Neil until he'd put a hand on the boy's shoulder. Well, he'd be sure to do this quickly then. Anxious people were annoying, but people who "didn't react well", well, they were almost impossible. It reminded Kalb of getting blood from horses, or dogs. Yeah, better be quick.

When no-one else seemed angry when Neil or the other doctor started talking to each other, Tysk went back to playing with the hems until Neil put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at Neil, and then at the other man as he knelt down and took one of his hands. The doctor put a strap around Tysk's bicep and tightened it. No, he didn't like that. Tysk looked up Neil, confused, and then back at the doctor, who was now making a grabbing motion with his hand. Tysk copied the movement without thought and the doctor pressed into Tysk's skin. Oh no. This was a vet, wasn't it?

Tysk looked up at Neil as if he'd betrayed him. Why did Neil bring him to a vet? He'd said they were going for a walk! A quick prick of pain made Tysk pull back his arm, but the needle was in, and the blood was being drawn. This was evil. Vets were evil. Tysk growled at the vet but made no move to actually attack him yet. The leash came off his arm and the doctor pulled the needle out and put a cotton ball on the spot. Tysk pulled his arm back in and licked at it.

Dr. Kalb already knew what Neil wanted with the blood. He'd mentioned DNA and then knowing who his parents were. Giving away so much information and he wasn't even asking for it. "How soon do you want it back? If you stick around I can have it done in about ten minutes."[/b] Kalb didn't wait for an answer as he got to work.

[Dr. Neil Marshal-Timlin]

Neil kept his hand on Tysk as the doctor prepared, simply making sure the boy stayed in one place. As long as he was petting him, however, Tysk seemed fine with staying still. That was an improvement. Having to chase the boy all over the lab hardly struck him as a productive use of time.

Much to Neil's surprise, Tysk did not try to fight the blood draw. He did, however, give Neil a look of betrayal. He opened his mouth, about to apologize, before remembering that the boy probably wouldn't understand it. Besides, the pain would be over soon. A growl from Tysk did make Neil react, however, and he tightened his grip. That was somewhat unexpected. Did the boy really think that would work? A second later the needle was out, however, and Neil didn't have to worry about restraining Tysk. He let go, allowing the boy to...lick the injury. Oh dear. Of course he wouldn't have been content to just hold the cotton ball in place.

“Ten minutes is fine. That would hardly be enough time to walk to Babysitting,” he replied, watching as the doctor moved off to some machine. He had been expecting the process to take considerably longer, actually. This was far more reasonable. At least Tysk didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave now; he was simply licking the wound. Neil reached back over to the boy's head, and began scratching it gently. It seemed to have gone over well before; maybe it would keep him in one place. The action still felt vaguely uncomfortable, though. Like something he shouldn't be seen doing in public. Still, the boy's guilty look had made Neil feel the need to apologize somehow, and he didn't happen to be carrying any scrambled eggs or pancakes on his person.

[Tysk]

Kalb looked back at Neil when he accepted the time frame and tacked on... was that a joke? The corner of Kalb's eye twitched for a moment as he tried to decipher it before he gave up and turned back to his work. "It doesn't take long if there's only one." It didn't hurt that he had family who did this for a living too, and they had taught him about their jobs. Large families of scientists were pretty amazing. "So, why do you want a cross-reference?" Naturally, there could only be few possibilities for the answer, but Kalb wanted to hear it from Neil.

While he talking with Neil, Tysk had become certain that he wasn't going to bleed out and sat comfortably, waiting for something exciting to happen again. Maybe Neil would take him for a walk. A proper walk this time. What Neil did was fairly strange, he started petting Tysk. Not that Tysk was at all opposed to it. He enjoyed it. He enjoyed it so much that it didn't take long for him to shift back into his natural dog form. This was, at least, he could reach behind the ears more easily.

[Dr. Neil Marshal-Timlin]

The doctor's question was somewhat surprising. Neil figured that he would have come up with the reason on his own. Although, now that he thought about it, he hadn't mentioned how he found the boy, had he? That would change things, somewhat. Might as well give a reply without scathing sarcasm, then.

“There aren't exactly many teenagers on board, are there?” He asked in response. He thought it should be fairly obvious. “He obviously isn't one of the Tanks or Young Avengers. He barely knows English, and he was eating scrambled eggs with his hands. I just want to know what idiot thought that bringing their special needs child on board a military vessel was a good idea. And return him, naturally. He was just wandering around the observation deck.”

Neil scratched the boy's head absently, watching the doctor go about his work. At least Tysk had sat down; the worry that he'd run off had diminished somewhat. “He seems to act more like a dog than a human,” Neil added thoughtfully, just in case the doctor was still interested. “You should have seen what happened when I told him we were going for a wa—a w-a-l-k”, he corrected quickly, spelling the word out instead of saying it again. “Oh, and the growling. He was staring at fish through to observation windows, too. Almost have to feel bad for whomever his parents are.”

Tysk seemed to shift slightly under Neil's hand, and he glanced back down to the boy. What was he—? Oh. That did explain a few things. Neil found himself staring at a massive German shepherd. He withdrew his hand quickly. “Ah. Well. Doctor? I'm not sure your results will be useful.” It had to be Fury's pet. He'd never seen another dog that large. Did Fury know his dog could turn into a human?

[Tysk]

No, not many teenagers. There was that nice piece of tail in the Tank program, and her weird friend. Kalb had never actually met them, but he'd seen them in passing and heard stories and theories. He'd specifically been told to stay away from them since he'd come on board. Kalb didn't think to answer the question though as it seemed rhetoric. Neil continued without his input anyway. "Sounds like a five year old." Kalb mused as he continued with the blood.

Tysk, meanwhile, was more than completely content here he was now. He didn't understand any of the words passing between the two men, but none of them were directed at him anyway. His ear twitched when he heard the start of a word that was familiar, but never finished. Neil's hand slowly moved into place on a spot right behind his ear that started his leg twitching.

Unfortunately, Neil's hand quickly disappeared and Tysk tilted his head as he looked up at Neil. What was wrong? Had he done something wrong? No. He hadn't even bitten him or anything. Tysk shuffled his paws and whined at Neil. 

"Look, you asked for-" Kalb's non-patience was running thin and he pushed away from the desk and turned to tell Neil what he thought, but his words caught in his throat when his eyes traveled down. Kalb looked back up at Neil, his eyes almost alight with peaked interest. He abandoned the blood to kneel in front of the dog and held either side of its head in his hands. Tysk went from looking at Neil to looking at Kalb and tried to lick his face. Maybe he would pet him then.

"Oh Neil, what have you brought me?" A boy that was a dog. Or a dog that was a boy. Even Tysk didn't know which he truly was, but it didn't matter. Kalb looked  back up at Neil. "Well, I don't know if the results will be useless, it's still the boy, isn't it? Unless he slipped away and replaced himself with the dog."

[Dr. Neil Marshal-Timlin]

Although Neil thought his surprise at the new situation had shown through his voice, apparently the doctor didn't pick up on it. He seemed to be irritated at being bothered over nothing, until he finally turned around. His sentence was cut short, and Neil smiled faintly. Of course he wasn't wasting the doctor's time. No, this had simply changed the need for a blood sample into something completely different. Tysk, naturally, saw nothing wrong with the current situation, and was trying to lick the doctor's face. Probably a good thing that he hadn't tried licking him while human, now that Neil thought about it.

Neil didn't answer the doctor's question as he examined Tysk. It was probably rhetorical, even if he was surprised that the doctor knew his name. Even if it wasn't, Neil didn't have any bloody clue what had just happened. The boy who had been acting rather like a dog just turned into one. Not something that happened every day, even working for SHIELD. Tentative now, Neil reached down a hand to scratch in between the dog's shoulder blades. Felt like a dog. Looked and acted like a dog. Happened to be able to turn into a boy on demand. Well, at least Neil didn't feel quite so awkward for petting the boy. Petting dogs was absolutely fine.

“Oh, it's definitely the boy; my hand was on him when he changed. I'm sure the results will be interesting from a scientific standpoint, but I doubt that his parents work for SHIELD. Fury brought the dog on board a few weeks ago; never really gave a clear reason as to why.” It...it wasn't Fury's child, was it? Who was the mother? Loki? Neil gave a quiet chuckle at the thought, but then shook his head. “We should probably get the Director in here. If he knows, this is obviously something he wants to keep quiet. If he doesn't, perhaps we'll get to see what his surprised face looks like.”

He'd never actually seen Fury's surprised face. From what he understood, no one ever had, and yet everyone seemed to know that it would be a thing of beauty. Unfortunately, it was far more likely that the Director already knew exactly what his pet was. They would just have to wait and see.

[Tysk]

"Wer ist ein guter Junge." Kalb petted the dogs head and continued talking to him in German. Something that seemed to make the dog happy enough while he was trying to lick at his face. When Neil reached down, Kalb stopped petting and talking to the dog and stood up again. "Well good, that'll make things easier." Easier than looking for a boy that could switch out with a dog. "Stranger things have happened."[/b] He shrugged and turned back to the pending results.

Jesen was not thinking the same thing as Neil. At least, not about Fury being the dogs father. What if Fury did know about the boy/dog? Even better, what if he didn't? Jesen turned to frown slightly at Neil. Why was he laughing? The suggestion was an amusing one from the perspective of someone who found no amusement. "And if he doesn't believe us..." Jesen pointed to two different cameras that crossed the area they were standing in.

Turning to the computer, Jesen clicked through several things, nodding in a few places and turning his lips down in thought at others. Small, forced habits. Finally, he ran across what he actually wanted and paused. Deadpan. "Why is there a bird on the SHIELD database?"

While the humans talked, Tysk was happy to have his back scratched by Neil until he finally got bored of it. He sniffed at the floor a little before getting ultimately bored and flopping onto the floor, tongue lolling out and feet sticking in the air. He whined lightly and nipped at the hem of Neil's pants playfully.

[Dr. Neil Marshal-Timlin]

Neil kept petting Tysk as the doctor worked, keeping a curious eye on both of them. This was a fascinating problem. A boy that happened to also be Fury’s dog. This certainly explained how the animal managed to keep escaping and ending up in strange places. Opposable thumbs. Did he have a security clearance? Finally, the doctor seemed to have a result, and Neil glanced over as he asked a strange question. Did he mean Hawkeye? Or perhaps Mockingbird? “Possibly because he happens to be a member of the Avengers?” Neil asked in response, trying to ignore the dog chewing on his trousers. Didn’t the doctor have something that could function as a dog toy? A lab rat, maybe?

Curiosity roused, Neil strolled over to the doctor and his computer. He glanced at the screen, frowning as he noticed that it wasn’t Hawkeye, after all. Crow. Why did that name sound familiar? Wasn’t that the mutant that managed to get Seeker put out of commission? More importantly, wasn’t it someone that Fury was trying to keep track of? By the boy’s age, Neil would assume that they were siblings, but odder relationships weren’t out of the question. One of them could have slowed aging, couldn’t they? It was fairly common among both ferals and shapeshifters. “I’ll ring the Director. Can you tell the relationship? Mother or sibling?” Neil wasn’t an expert on genetics by any means; he had a feeling that it wouldn’t be possible. That aspect might have to wait.