Vroom Vroom

[dee_lorean81]

[There is a DeLorean, heavily modified, doing laps in an empty, paved part of the Nexus. One might wonder what the driver is doing -- practicing for a race? Working on their turning? Just burning rubber because they're bored?

And then one might get a little closer -- and see that there IS no driver.

. . .perhaps it might be fairer to say that the car is bored.]

Comments

[dee_lorean81]

[Victor and Alice both help him get a grip on the squirmy Chester, which is easier said than done]

[Dee] He'll calm down in a second. I think.

[Alice shrugs] He didn't seem to mind you before. . .though then you weren't trying to hold him, so. . .

[palmerthing]

Right. *He keeps as tight a grip as feels safe, because baby squirming out of his arms would be bad.* Silly kidlet.

So, how have you guys been lately?

[dee_lorean81]

[Chester does settle a bit as Palmer gets a grip on him, though he still kicks from time to time]

[Victor, smiling] Fine -- tired, but fine.

[Alice, laughing softly] Like every parent ever, I think.

[Dee, smirking] Probably.

[palmerthing]

*Palmer still looks a bit nervous about it, but he slowly starts calming down when the boy does.* Yeah, kids are tiring. Hyper. Not that I've been around kids much, but they always seem hyper when I am.

[dee_lorean81]

[Alice, wiggling her fingers above Chester] He can certainly be pretty hyper. Can crawl at a VERY fast clip.

[Victor] Yes, baby-proofing the house has proved to be a struggle.

[Dee] Mmm -- this kid can get anywhere if he puts his mind to it.

[palmerthing]

I've heard that baby-proofing is hard, yeah. They come up with things you'd never expect.

[dee_lorean81]

[Alice] Mmmm. . .this one actually started making it up a CURTAIN at one point. I don't know how the hell he managed it.

[Dee, raising an eyebrow] I've seen your husband scale the side of the house to retrieve a frisbee like it was NOTHING.

[Victor, now a little pink] I couldn't do it at HIS age! I think.

[palmerthing]

Hey, cats do it . . . to be fair they are kinda designed for it.

[dee_lorean81]

[Alice, trying to look stern and not quite succeeding] Excuse me, I gave birth to a human, not a kitten.

[Dee, unable to help herself] Yeah, but you're such a cat person you probably would have been okay with a kitten.

[palmerthing]

Shame that babies can't walk as soon as kittens, it would save you having to carry him everywhere. *A moment of thought.* Or maybe not, considering the trouble they'd get into.

[dee_lorean81]

[Dee, laughing] Oh, he'd be in EVERYTHING.

[Alice, nodding] Yes, he really would. You saw his insistence on trying to eat sand before, and that was WHILE I was holding him. I dread to think what he's going to get up to once he's fully mobile.

[palmerthing]

What the Hell seems edible about sand?

[dee_lorean81]

[Alice, pointing to Chester] Don't ask me, ask him.

[Chester, wiggling a fist] Sa!

[Dee nods sagely] See, there's your answer.

[palmerthing]

Alright, 'sa!' it is. *He nods mock-seriously.*

[dee_lorean81]

[Victor can't help a laugh] I'm sure it all makes perfect sense to him.

[Dee] I wouldn't know. Never was a baby. Not even sure what "baby" is for a car.

[palmerthing]

Still for sale, maybe? But hey, no one can really remember being a baby.

Well, I kind of can. But only if an adult mind can be a baby.

[dee_lorean81]

[Doc, tilting his head] I would argue it would be freshly assembled right off the factory floor. That's the earliest point you could consider the whole package a complete car.

[Dee] Heh, yeah, that's probably right. . .and yeah, I guess your kind really doesn't have babies? Unless they take over babies. Which is -- the kind of thing you don't really want to think about.

[palmerthing]

Yeah, sounds about right.

No, it really isn't. It would also be incredibly pointless, you'd have a very confused baby that never grows up. Or maybe tries to eat everything around it.

[dee_lorean81]

[Doc, intrigued] I see -- so you arrest the aging process totally in your host?

[Dee, thoughtful] Well -- given they're kind of a big collection of sentient viruses, Things CAN'T age, can they?

[Doc] Yes, but the creatures they infect should, unless they specifically stop or repair the process.

[palmerthing]

I’m not a biologist or anything, man, I just know that we don’t age. At least not visibly. But then why would a shapeshifter visibly age?

[dee_lorean81]

[Doc, starting to get into this] That really depends on the type of shapeshifter, doesn't it? Whether they have a default form, the limits of their shapeshifting ability -- hell, you might as well pull in the psychological aspect and consider what age the shapeshifter themselves would prefer to look like, their feelings on the aging process --

[Marty, amused] Doc -- probably should remind you you're technically not a biologist either.

[Doc] I've dabbled a little bit! I'm a student of all sciences!

[Dee, snorting] And you wonder why people back home thought you were a little weird.

[palmerthing]

Well I'm getting new cells every time I eat, without needing the whole workaround of digestion, so I don't think aging is likely to apply any time soon.

[dee_lorean81]

[Doc] All new cells? Every time you eat? I know you're a shapeshifter and thus don't need to look heavier, but that does make me wonder how your actual mass works. . .

[Dee] This conversation has taken a weird turn from "would you like to hold the baby."

[palmerthing]

Some new cells, at any rate. I’m not gonna grow huge any more than you are.

Yeah, it really has. *He sort of awkwardly pats the baby’s head.* You definitely have a cute kid here, though.

[dee_lorean81]

[Doc, glancing down at his stomach -- or, rather, at the flesh covering the furnace he currently has in there instead] That's -- a very good point. But it is still interesting to think about.

[Alice nods] Mmm. . . [she chuckles as Palmer pats Chester] Thank you. He can be a little terror sometimes, but he's very well-loved.

[Dee nods] I'm gonna be the best auntie to him I can be!