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For the better part of the last decade, you've enjoyed a cushy job, researching and performing experiments that might not be world-known, but it's important enough to you. Talent and charisma has gotten you this far, how much farther will it get you?
Memos are frequent enough at Alchemax and their contents can be anything from warnings about not entering certain labs due to the potentially dangerous nature of their contents to announcing what the cafeteria is serving for lunch on any given day.
Today, you actually have a few more messages than you might normally, seeing as it's a Monday. But half of them are merely informative, general announcements that apply to the facility as a whole. There's the common lunch menu for the week, and another from your direct supervisor reminding you to finish and turn in the report from your last project.
Good thing you did that already.
As you go through your messages, oldest to newest, the one at the very bottom, the time showing that you'd received it just an hour or so before you arrived at work, is marked with a little red exclamation point. Brow furrowing, you click it, the symbol blaring the importance of its contents and the fact that the sender sought a swift reply.
As you scan through the scant few lines, your heart leaps into your throat. It's an invitation. An invitation to a team that you never thought you'd see. There are very few details, almost none outside of the line explaining that this project is top secret and under the authority of Dr. Olivia Octavius herself, but your curiosity is already burning.
It could be dangerous, sure. But aren't all the best things laced with a little bit of danger?
Never have you felt more excited on a Tuesday morning. Of course, this isn't just any average Tuesday. Today is the first day you'll meet the new team you'll be working with. The day you'll finally get to start working with the woman you've admired since the very first day you started at Alchemax.
As you approach the front desk, you linger for a moment, uncertain. You know that you won't be working in the same lab you've been in for the last two years, but you're not sure whether that means you're meant to figure out where to go on your own or not. The receptionist, Agatha, waves you over with a kind smile, holding up a manila envelope.
"Good morning, sweetie. I've got something with your name on it right here", she declares with her faint southern accent. She's probably someone's mother, but you'd hesitate to say she's someone's grandmother. There's a sort of agelessness in her face that makes her actual age a bit difficult to pin down.
Taking the large envelope from her with a quick thanks, you peek inside to find a packet of papers.
"It's your NDA", Agatha explains, gesturing to the thick sheaf. "If you could just read through that and sign, I can issue you your new keycard."
Indicating your understanding with a smile and a nod, you leaf through the packet, noting that everything seems pretty typical of a standard NDA. There are few bits of fine print that seem mildly questionable, but you shrug off your own worries and sign on the indicated lines. You've already had to sign a number of these in the past, so it's not a new thing for you.
Passing the papers back to Agatha, she has you pass over your old keycard as well. After double checking that you've signed in all the right places, she reaches into a drawer and pulls out a pale green keycard.
"Alright, honey. This will get you to the areas you need to go. But just wait here for a minute, okay? Someone will be up to get you shortly."
As much as you want to, and as good as it might be for your career, not to mention that it would afford you the opportunity to work with Alchemax's head scientist personally, you decide in the end to turn down the invitation. You're already fulfilled and content with the projects you're generally assigned, and you would rather avoid the sort of work that you've heard takes place in the more secretive parts of Alchemax.
Over the next few months, you work diligently, doing your best to complete your work well while playing it relatively safe.
Unfortunately, you never counted on your boss nearly destroying the city, and you're laid off when Alchemax is shut down thanks to whole collider incident and the facility's financial backer being jailed.
Unemployed, you can't seem to find a respectable job in your field anywhere after potential employers spot your decade at Alchemax on your resume. Destitute and alone, you spend the rest of your days working fast food, making about half of what you made at the lab, even after being promoted to manager.
Well, that sucks.
END
Leaning forward, elbows resting on Agatha's desk, you lower your voice in a conspiratorial manner. "Do you have any idea what this whole project is about? I mean, of course I've heard a few little rumours here and there, but just about the fact that it's something huge and dangerous."
Agatha looks mildly uncomfortable, her eyes darting towards the door to the building proper and back to you. "Even if you've signed the NDA, I'm not supposed to discuss anything about certain projects. It's the rules."
You give the older woman a cajoling look, tilting your head in a manner that you imagine is rather dashing. "Come on, you must know something you can tell me."
"Not as much as I can tell you", comes a voice from beside you, jerking your attention to the now occupied doorway. Dr. Olivia Octavius fills the space with her height, her expression appearing somehow both annoyed and amused. You imagine the amusement probably stems from the way you'd nearly jumped a foot in the air at the sound of her voice.
Guilt washes over Agatha's face, but the doctor isn't looking at her.
"A curious one, aren't you?" She remarks, brow lifting as she drags her eyes down your body and back to your face without even pretending that she isn't cataloguing every single thing about your appearance.
Straightening up with a sheepish expression, you open your mouth to apologize or something, but she holds up a hand, effectively silencing you.
"Don't even try it, I heard what you were doing." For a split second you're afraid that your insatiable curiosity has screwed you out of the best job you've ever had, but the doctor doesn't seem properly perturbed. You let out a breath of relief that you didn't realize you'd been holding when she smiles. "It's a damn good thing for you that I value curiosity. It's the foundation of all science, after all."
Shoulders sagging as your heart still pounds, leftover fear induced adrenaline causing your pulse to continue racing, you promise that it won't happen again.
There's a glimmer of….something..in the doctor's eyes, but it's gone as swiftly as it appeared when she gives a succinct nod.
"See that it doesn't." And with that, she sets off down the hall, a wave of her hand gesturing for you to follow. Mouthing an apology to Agatha, you take off in a light jog to catch up with Dr. Octavius before you can lose her in the maze of hallways.
Confirming that you're beside her, keeping up, with a sideways glance, the doctor launches into an explanation of a typical day working with her team.
Dr. Octavius talks like she walks, quickly and without stopping. You wonder silently when she breathes.
As you take two steps for her every one, you listen. It sounds like you'll have an even shorter lunch break than before, and you'll have to follow certain regulations concerning security, such as being patted down and having your bag checked at the end of the day before you're allowed to leave. A little odd maybe, but not completely out of the question for a project as top secret as this one, you suppose.
As you wait to be fetched, fidgeting with the keycard in your hands, you think back to the very first time you'd met the woman you will now be working with in a much closer capacity. Eyes unfocusing as you lose yourself in a minor daydream, the image of a tall, lanky woman obscures all else before your inner eye.
You can remember very clearly the strength of her handshake as she welcomed you to the Alchemax family, apparently it was the norm for the head scientist to greet new hires at some point in their first week.
It was here anyway.
Dr. Octavius liked to know the faces of the people she would be working with, she'd said. And you couldn't stop grinning, eyes alight with glee and you completely incapable of resisting the woman's wild charm.
Even now, remembering that day, you feel the faint shudder of butterflies in your stomach. Since then you haven't had more than a handful of encounters with her, but you treasure each one. There's a beauty in the energy Olivia Octavius exudes in exuberant waves, the crook of her smile and the lines around her eyes that proclaim a history of squinting down microscopes and grinning with eager excitement over each new discovery.
Lost in thought as you are, it takes a moment for you to register someone saying your name.
It isn't Agatha.
Jerking from your reverie, you find Dr. Octavius herself standing just outside of the doorway into the building proper, a vaguely amused hint of a smile on her face. Realizing that she's the one who was calling your name as you were daydreaming, about her no less, makes you flush. Oof, that's embarrassing.
Practically jumping to your feet, you offer a quick apology.
"Don't worry about it", the doctor reassures, that same amused look on her face, "Just try not to let your mind wander while we work, hm?" Nodding your assent, your face is still warm. (You hope it isn't as pink as it feels.) "Come on then, I'll show you where the team works."
Without further ado, she turns and starts off down the hall at a brisk pace, leaving you resorting to a little jog to catch up before she completely leaves you behind.
Dr. Octavius talks like she walks, quickly and without stopping. You wonder silently when she breathes.
As you take two steps for her every one, you listen to her breakdown of a normal day on her team. It sounds like you'll have an even shorter lunch break than before, and you'll have to follow certain regulations concerning security, such as being patted down and having your bag checked at the end of the day before you're allowed to leave. A little odd maybe, but not completely out of the question for a project as top secret as this one, you suppose.
Now more than ever, you're grateful for your memorization talents; the doctor doesn't seem like someone who's fond of repeating herself. You remain silent, drinking in the information she's unloading on you and committing it all to memory.
Hopefully you can impress her and integrate with the team as if you'd been there all along.
As you approach a bank of elevators, you note that Dr. Octavius walks very pointedly to the farthest one. It only takes a second to find the difference from the other two. To the right, almost invisible unless one is looking for it, there's a small slit in the wall.
Just as you think that it appears to be the right size for a keycard, the doctor interrupts your thoughts.
"Go ahead and scan your new card. I want to make sure it works."
You do as you're told and the elevator responds almost instantaneously, the doors opening with a merry ding. The doctor gives a satisfied, "Good", and steps into the elevator, gesturing impatiently for you to follow.
Inside, you see no buttons, just long, plain stretches of sheet metal to either side of the doors and mirrors on either wall. It doesn't seem to matter though, as the doors close several seconds later and the elevator begins to descend.
Not willing to squander this rare opportunity, you take the chance to really get a look at the doctor. Only when you meet her eyes in the mirror do you realize you've been busted. Casually flicking your eyes downwards, you pretend as if nothing had happened, but you can feel her gaze and your face burns for the second time in as many minutes.
What the hell has gotten into you? You wouldn't normally be like this, so easily embarrassed.
Then again, this is Olivia Octavius, and you've never even attempted to deny, on the inside at least, that you've been nursing a pretty hefty crush since day one. You blame the fact that you also admire the woman, but you can't help but find the irregularity of her smile enchanting. Again you're looking at her without realizing. Thankfully she doesn't catch you this time, though the faint smirk on her face makes you feel like she knows you're looking anyway.
You ache to break the silence, if only to distract yourself from the pounding of your heart. But you're also not sure that your voice wouldn't crack if you tried to speak right now.
Ask about the project
Wait for the elevator to finish descending
It isn't easy, but you listen carefully, and when you find half a second in which the doctor is supposedly drawing a breath, you jump in with a question of your own.
"What is it that makes this project such a big secret?" Thinking back to the NDA you'd signed, you're sure you saw one or two things in there that were decidedly more binding than the usual draft of the same type of agreement.
The doctor doesn't falter in her steps, but she doesn't answer right away either, her eyes flickering to the side. When she does answer, her voice is far more hushed than previously.
"You'll see", she says simply, and you're sure you've never heard the woman speak so shortly.
Resigning yourself to a wait, you follow her until you reach a bank of elevators. As you approach, you note that Dr. Octavius walks very pointedly to the farthest one. It only takes a second to find the difference from the other two. To the right, almost invisible unless one is looking for it, there's a small slit in the wall.
Just as you think that it appears just the right size for a keycard, the doctor interrupts your thoughts.
"Go ahead and scan your new card. I want to make sure it works."
You do as you're told and the elevator responds almost instantaneously, the doors opening with a merry ding. The doctor gives a satisfied, "Good", and steps into the elevator, gesturing impatiently for you to follow.
Inside, you see no buttons, just long, plain stretches of sheet metal to either side of the doors and mirrors on either wall. It doesn't seem to matter though, as the doors close several seconds later and the elevator begins to descend.
Not willing to squander this rare opportunity, you take the chance to really get a look at the doctor. Only when you meet her eyes in the mirror do you realize you've been busted. Casually flicking your eyes downwards, you pretend as if nothing had happened, but you can feel her gaze and your face burns for the second time in as many minutes.
What the hell has gotten into you? You wouldn't normally be like this, so easily embarrassed.
Then again, this is Olivia Octavius, and you've never even attempted to deny, on the inside at least, that you've been nursing a pretty hefty crush since day one. You blame the fact that you also admire the woman, but you can't help but find the irregularity of her smile enchanting. Again you're looking at her without realizing. Thankfully she doesn't catch you this time, though the faint smirk on her face makes you feel like she knows you're looking anyway.
You ache to break the silence, if only to distract yourself from the pounding of your heart. But you're also not sure that your voice wouldn't crack if you tried to speak right now.
Ask about the project
Wait for the elevator to finish descending
After being caught staring, you're eager to divert the attention away from your indiscretion, so you open your mouth and ask, "So can you tell me anything at all about what I'm getting into?" You can't possibly be expected to just confidently jump in without the vaguest idea of what you're going to be working on, right?
The doctor can't smother the smile that spreads on her face and it's striking. You can't help but have the thought that seeing that smile every day might be the best part of this new assignment.
No. Bad. No crushing on the boss. It wasn't an issue when you weren't working directly with her, but now? Now it could certainly cause some awkward situations. Not to mention be a distraction at times when you can't afford to be distracted.
You find yourself surreptitiously checking for a ring on her finger in her reflection. Fuck. No ring. A part of you is elated, but a larger part of you is cursing the fact that the doctor is at least unmarried, as that might have provided you some way of deterring your rebellious mind from fantasizing about scenarios where your hopeless crush might be entertained.
God, you can't even remember the last time you got laid.
Shit, no. Don't go there. But the errant thought did its job, and now it's hard not to imagine a late night in the lab. Maybe it's just the two of you, everyone else has gone home. You'd sidle up to her desk and..
She's saying your name again, curiosity and concern writ on her features. Blinking quickly, and probably going red again if the heat in your face is any indication, you apologize. You didn't even hear if she'd answered your question, but it's too late to ask again as the elevator doors are open.
The doctor has a gentle hand making light contact with your lower back to guide you to go left down the hallway the elevator opens into, and it's all you can do to contain yourself.
Taking quick steps to escape her touch, you throw a smile back at her that you pray isn't as uneasy as you feel. The doctor gives you a strange look, but she doesn't comment.
"Down this way", she says, pointing down the long hall. "The second corridor on the right leads to a door that you'll be able to open with your new keycard. That's where we work."
Reaching said door without further incident is a feat, but you manage not to absolutely lose your mind.
Your back still tingles where her hand had rested.
Walking through the doors, following the doctor's lead, you find yourself in a massive room. It's probably twice the size of your high school gym at least. One side holds an enormous machine. It's remniscent of the hadron collider and your heart jumps into your throat for a whole new reason.
The doctor practically bounces as she strides towards the machine, and you spot a diminutive woman at the base, tapping away at a keyboard in front of a huge bank of monitors.
Waving you over, the doctor wraps a long arm around the other woman's small shoulders and squeezes lightly.
"This is Dr. Marcie Chalmers", she introduces the woman without further ado once you're close enough. It's then that you notice how heavily pregnant the woman is. It's a wonder she can even walk.
"Twins", Marcie explains in a weary tone. You puff out a breath.
"She's going on maternity leave as of next week, so she'll be showing you the ropes so you can take over her shifts while she's gone", Dr. Octavius explains.
After being caught staring once, the last thing you want is to draw more attention to yourself, so you remain silent for the rest of the ride and remind yourself to keep your eyes fixed on the non-reflective wall beside the door. Temptation is an awful thing though, and you can't help but to steal a glance at the doctor's reflection.
Dr. Octavius can't smother the grin that spreads on her face as she meets your eye at the perfect moment, catching you staring once more, and it's striking. You can't fight the thought that seeing that smile every day might be the best part of this new assignment even as you half turn towards the door just to completely remove temptation altogether.
No. Bad. No crushing on the boss. It wasn't an issue when you weren't working directly with her, but now? Now it could certainly cause some awkward situations. Not to mention serve as a distraction at times when you can't afford to be distracted.
You find yourself trying to remember if you'd seen a ring on her finger in her reflection. It's not for sure, but you're fairly certain you saw bare hands. No ring. A part of you is elated, but a larger part of you is cursing the fact that the doctor is seemingly unmarried, as that might have provided you some way of deterring your rebellious mind from fantasizing about scenarios where your hopeless crush might be entertained.
God, you can't even remember the last time you got laid.
Shit, no. Don't go there. But the errant thought did its job, and now it's hard not to imagine a late night in the lab. Maybe it's just the two of you, everyone else has gone home. You'd sidle up to her desk and..
She's saying your name again, curiosity and concern writ on her features. Blinking quickly, and probably going red again if the heat in your face is any indication, you apologize. You didn't even hear how many times she'd said your name before you took notice and you don't want to ask for fear of the answer.
The doctor has a gentle hand making light contact with your lower back to guide you to go left down the hallway the elevator opens into, and it's all you can do to contain yourself.
Taking quick steps to escape her touch, you throw a smile back at her that you pray isn't as uneasy as you feel. The doctor gives you a strange look, but she doesn't comment.
"Down this way", she says, pointing down the long hall. "The second corridor on the right leads to a door that you'll be able to open with your new keycard. That's where we work."
Reaching said door without further incident is a feat, but you manage not to absolutely lose your mind.
Your back still tingles where her hand had rested.
Walking through the doors, following the doctor's lead, you find yourself in a massive room. It's probably twice the size of your high school gym at least. One side holds an enormous machine. It's reminiscent of the hadron collider and your heart jumps into your throat for a whole new reason.
The doctor practically bounces as she strides towards the machine, and you spot a diminutive woman at the base, tapping away at a keyboard in front of a huge bank of monitors.
Waving you over, the doctor wraps a long arm around the other woman's small shoulders and squeezes lightly.
"This is Marcie", she introduces the woman without further ado once you're close enough. It's then that you notice how heavily pregnant that Marcie is. It's a wonder she can even walk.
"Twins", Marcie explains in a weary tone. You puff out a breath.
"She's going on maternity leave as of next week, so she'll be showing you the ropes so you can take over her shifts while she's gone", Dr. Octavius explains.
"Sounds good to me."
"So I'm going to be working alone down here?"
"Sounds good to me."
Smiling as brightly as you can and shoving the humiliation that was threatening to choke you to the back of your mind, you hold out a hand and shake Marcie's while introducing yourself.
Casting a look around the other half of the room, you note that it's fully occupied by rows of monitors neatly lined up on tables with large stations set up at the end of each aisle. It looks as if one or two people could manage a singular row on their own, but right now you see no one.
"The job isn't necessarily easy", Marcie starts, heaving herself up out of her chair with some effort, "but it's pretty simple once you get the hang of it."
Dr. Octavius has turned to the station that Marcie had been sat at, no longer paying any attention to the two of you.
"Follow me and I can get you started", the pregnant woman gestures for you to walk with her.
"Wait, where's the rest of the team?" You can't imagine that this is a job that one person can do alone, much less a heavily pregnant woman. Marcie and Dr. Octavius exchange a look that you can't figure out before Marcie heaves herself up out of her chair.
"Most of them are, at this point, working in the main project area. But what we do down here is still important enough that we need to keep it up for at least a few more weeks."
The answer strikes you as odd, as does the look that the two women had shared.
"Why only a few more weeks?"
"So I'm going to be working alone down here?"
"So I'm going to be working alone down here?" Not that you hate working alone. You've always enjoyed working on your own, but there's something about being underground and in a room with many dark corners that the few lights that are on just don't quite reach that has you slightly on edge.
Marcie nods, waving a dismissive hand. "It's no big deal, really. And Dr. Octavius usually stops in a few times per shift. She likes being involved in every aspect of her projects, and this one is her baby. You can be sure that there's not a single thing that goes on anywhere near it that she isn't fully aware of."
When you look past Marcie's shoulder to where Dr. Octavius sits at the woman's abandoned station, you notice the tilt of her head and it isn't far-fetched to assume that she's listening to your conversation despite the way her fingers dance across the keyboard.
Marcie shifts where she stands, one hand on her rounded belly as she notes where you're looking with a grin. "Better watch yourself. The doctor's a heartbreaker", she stage-whispers with a wink. Heat floods your face.
It only intensifies as the doctor raises her voice to respond without looking away from her screen.
"I heard that!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"She can break anything she likes."
Walking alongside Marcie as she leads you down one of the rows, you keep your pace purposefully easy so as not to rush the woman. An awful mental image pervades, Marcie being forced to walk too fast and going into sudden labour right here.
A little shiver travels down the back of your neck to the base of your spine and you physically shake your head to rid yourself of it. No thank you.
Marcie huffs, stopping for a second and bracing herself with a hand on the table beside her. "Sorry", she apologizes, taking a deep breath, "I'm three weeks from popping and boy, do I know it. I've even been sleeping on the pull out couch at home because I can hardly make it upstairs to my bed."
After another deep breath, and your reassurance that she should take her time because you're happy to go at her pace, the two of you continue until you reach the end of the row.
"Alright, I'll show you the procedure at this station, and then you can try it yourself at the next." After getting your agreement, she taps the keyboard to bring the station to life.
"Essentially", she starts to explain, "you're just taking information from each one of the secondary stations, the ones at either end of each row, and sending it to the primary station." She gestures toward the set of monitors she'd been sitting at, where Dr. Octavius still busies herself. "Once it's up there, you'll scan through it yourself in order to look for specific data, anomalies and the like. But don't worry, I've made up a whole guide for you, so even that part shouldn't be difficult."
As she speaks, she taps a series of keys that you watch intently. It really isn't all that different from basic data collection, and you wonder why Dr. Octavius would have brought you onto her project only to have you do something that most anyone could do.
"I think I've got it."
"I don't get why she couldn't have someone else do this."
Witnessing the way Marcie struggles to walk steadily, you hold out your elbow a bit. "You can hang onto me, if that'd help", you offer evenly. For all you know, she could be someone who'd take an offer of help poorly, but you'd feel bad if you didn't try.
To your pleasant surprise, she immediately slips her hand into the crook of your elbow with a grateful smile. "Thanks", she sighs, "I'm as big as a damned house and it's honestly a pain in the ass."
Down the aisle she leads you, though you make sure to take it relatively slow. Even with the support you offer, it's obvious that she needs to take it easy. At the end of the row she releases your arm to seat herself at the station situated there.
"Alright, I'll show you the procedure at here, and then you can try it yourself at the next one." After getting your agreement, she taps the keyboard to bring the station to life.
"Essentially", she starts to explain, "you're just taking information from each one of the secondary stations, the ones at either end of each row, and sending it to the primary station." She gestures toward the set of monitors she'd been sitting at, where Dr. Octavius still busies herself. "Once it's up there, you'll scan through it yourself in order to look for specific data, anomalies and the like. But don't worry, I've made up a whole guide for you, so even that part shouldn't be difficult."
As she speaks, she taps a series of keys that you watch intently. It really isn't all that different from basic data collection, and you wonder why Dr. Octavius would have brought you onto her project only to have you do something that most anyone could do.
"I think I've got it."
"I don't get why she couldn't have someone else do this."
"Why only a few more weeks?"
Without tearing her eyes from the monitors where she sits, Dr. Octavius is the one that answers. "In a few weeks I will no longer need the theoretical data that this area is built to provide, because the trials of the large scale collider will begin. At that point, everyone on the team will be working in the primary lab."
Okay, that makes sense. But trials? Is that safe? It must be, if the doctor is intent on carrying them out.
"Will I be working in the primary lab then too?"
"Is running trials going to be safe?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about", you respond so evenly that you're actually quite proud of yourself. Between your own lusty crush and Marcie's comment on Dr. Octavius's heartbreaker status, it would have been incredibly easy for you to give yourself away, but you didn't.
Just for that, you're going to reward yourself with some gin later. Maybe it'll even help erasing the memories of the several times you've embarrassed yourself today.
Marcie rolls her eyes with a scoff. "Sure. You're not that hard to read, princess." For a second you're confused. Princess? What on god's green earth would ever prompt the woman to saddle you with that kind of nickname? It's not as if you're wearing some sort of frilly dress beneath your lab coat.
Even the coat is stained, now that you think about it.
"She can break anything she likes", you mutter without thinking. Clapping a hand over your own mouth the moment the words drip off your traitorous tongue, you go pale.
What the hell sort of impression is that for your first day?
Marcie, for her part, responds with a loud laugh, her eyes lighting up with utter glee over your slip. It doesn't seem as if the doctor heard you this time, because she hasn't reacted, but she did hear what Marcie was just saying, so the paranoia that she definitely just heard you despite your muttering is alive and well.
"Shit, forget I said that", you whisper hastily, leaning closer to Marcie. "I don't know what I- It was a joke, alright? Just a joke."
The panic in your face must be pretty damned amusing, because Marcie hasn't stopped grinning. The terror that you're about to lose your job, or at least be called up and reprimanded by HR, must be as easy to read on your face as anything else because Marcie is gesturing with her palms out half a second later.
"Calm your tits, christ. You act like you've never talked filth with a coworker before. You're fine. Do you know how many of the women here want to get in her pants? God, even the straight ones." The fact does soothe you a bit, but you can still feel the heat burning in your face and you definitely still hope that the doctor hadn't heard you.
It's vaguely reassuring that Marcie doesn't feel the need to make a big deal out of it, but you can't ease the panic entirely.
"Just forget I said anything, please."
"Even the straight ones?"
"Has she ever actually gone out with an employee?"
"I think I've got it."
Marcie offers you a bright smile in response to your confidence, waving a hand to the station at the end of the next row. She doesn't stand, rolling her chair to come up beside you at the station she'd indicated.
"Go on then", she reassures, "I won't let you muck anything up." Her teasing tone makes you snort, putting you at some sort of ease as you tap the keyboard.
It takes you a little bit longer than it had taken Marcie, but you manage to get through the easy process without breaking anything. The last time you'd been trained to do a specific task, the man who'd been teaching you was short-tempered and impatient and very much not into giving you more than half a second to remember how you were supposed to do something.
In contrast, Marcie is a veritable saint, not saying a word as you think yourself through the process and work it out with only a single question at some point in the middle that the pregnant woman herself admitted was tricky. But there it is. Your very first time and not a single mistake.
"Good job." Dr. Octavius compliments from directly behind you, making you jump and instinctively jab your elbow backwards. But instead of hurting the doctor, you're the one that comes away with a sore joint.
What the hell is she wearing, armor? Rubbing your elbow, you sheepishly apologize, but the doctor is laughing and Marcie is snorting at the two of you and you're not sure whether you're embarrassed over the way you'd jumped or relieved that you hadn't caused any damage.
Bending and unbending your elbow, you look at the doctor with a twisted up expression.
"Have you got abs of steel or what?"
"Remind me never to try and fight you."
"Sorry about that."
"I don't get why she couldn't have someone else do this", you say, complaining a bit, sure, but also with honest curiosity. It's not a hard job. And while you understand why Marcie can't continue, it's a little surprising that a whole new person would be brought in to do the job rather than someone already on the team.
"Everyone else is already settled in the primary area, and Olivia doesn't want to uproot them when they're doing well where they are. The team is a fine-tuned machine, and removing even one part can be detrimental to the whole project."
Understandable. And you suppose that this does give you the opportunity to work on something you normally wouldn't be able to. Even if you have to start at the bottom like this.
"Will I be working in the primary lab then too?"
Dr. Octavius makes a noise to the affirmative, but says little more. Marcie takes it upon herself to elaborate. "When this area is no longer needed, you'll help to guide the team that will break it down and then be transferred to an empty slot in the primary lab. What you're expected to do there may vary, but I'm sure it'll be fully explained to you at that point."
Again the doctor makes a positive noise, her eyes glued to a monitor.
Allowing your gaze to linger again, you almost laugh at yourself over the way that even the shining light of a computer screen highlighting Dr. Octavius's face can draw you in.
Fuck, this is going to be trouble.
Ignoring the sly look creeping to life on Marcie's face, you turn to face the rest of the lab, surveying the multiple rows of computers. Marcie shifts where she stands, one hand on her rounded belly as she notes where you're looking with a grin. "Better watch yourself. The doctor's a heartbreaker", she stage-whispers with a wink. Heat floods your face.
It only intensifies as the doctor raises her voice to respond without looking away from her screen.
"I heard that!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"She can break anything she likes."
"Princess?" You question the assigned nickname with a raised brow, utterly confused as to what would make Marcie think that was a suitable handle.
The pregnant woman shrugs, not looking uncertain in the least. "It suits you", she insists, "you seem like you'd probably be the princess type." It's not necessarily dirty, the way she says it, but there's a certain gleam in her eye that sends your thoughts shooting off in that direction.
It's unavoidable, to some degree, but you decide to attempt it anyway.
The last thing you want is for that nickname to stick. Unless maybe the doctor were to use it and..-
Good god, woman. Keep it in your damn pants.
"So about the job that I'm here to do…?" Asking the question is as much to change the subject as it is to get back to what you should really be doing right now. Not to mention, you assume that Marcie's explanation will involve walking away from where the doctor is currently sitting, and you dearly want to flee this space for the time being.
Casting a look around the other half of the room, you note that it's fully occupied by rows of monitors neatly lined up on tables with large stations set up at the end of each aisle. It looks as if one or two people could manage a singular row on their own, but right now you see no one.
"The job isn't necessarily easy", Marcie starts, "but it's pretty simple once you get the hang of it."
Dr. Octavius gives no further indication that she's paying any attention to the two of you.
"Follow me and I can get you started", the pregnant woman gestures for you to walk with her.
"Just forget I said anything, please." Marcie appears to actually judge you for a hard few seconds, but the expression melts away quickly enough.
"I'm serious", she says in a far less teasing tone. "It's really not a big deal. Half of the team flirts with one another on a regular basis. It's not that unusual." And sure, you can believe that. Casual flirtation in the workplace is a pretty common occurance at most places, but there's a big difference here, because you definitely meant what you slipped up and said.
It's not some funny comment or filthy joke. Hell, if the good doctor tried to seduce you some night, you doubted it would take very much to get you bent over any surface you can reach. It's embarrassing as hell, but there's just something about Dr. Olivia Octavius that screams power and you are very much into it.
"Even the straight ones?" Repeating Marcie's assertion back in a blend of shock and awe, and receiving a troublesome grin in response, you can't help but look again to the doctor, hard at work at the station.
You would say it's unbelievable, but how would you know? Surely Marcie has a better idea of what's going on around here than you do, and if she says it's true…
Well, Dr. Octavius was admirable already, but now? The woman has some sort of supernatural power, you're convinced, and you're hard pressed to keep from outright staring at her. But then, as if she could physically feel the force of your gaze on her, she flicked her eyes from the monitor to meet yours, tossing you a wink and a smile that you're pretty sure was meant to be encouragement, but the current subject of discussion colours the expression in your eyes.
"Has she ever actually gone out with an employee?" As you ask the question in a hushed voice, Marcie's grin blows itself wide on her face. Your own is pink merely from the act of asking, but the insatiable, heated curiosity boiling somewhere in your gut demands it.
A part of you hopes to receive an answer to the negative, if only to put down the fantasies currently floating about freely in your mind. But the other, far more lascivious part, half crows in victory as Marcie offers you a coy smile.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
Well yes, that's why you asked. But Marcie's non-answer seems to be answer enough. Chancing another look towards the doctor, you shake your head lightly. Don't be stupid.