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Bobby put his Harley in the garage then wandered around the back to come in from there since it was a bit shorter than heading around to the front again. Striding down the hallway with a duffel tossed over a shoulder, he pauses to look into the gym.
Josh has been around the Institute for awhile, though he spends only about half his time around here. Still, 'the healer' and 'golden' has probably gotten around, and at the moment Josh is shiny. He really does look like a statue of shiny gold, with even his hair looking like spun golden thread. Only his skin…moves, naturally. At the moment, Josh is not exercising, but he is talking to some younger students, nodding to them and pointing out the different parts of a first aid kit. "So the goal is just to — stabalize — anyone that's hurt until you can get me. Don't worry if you can't save them, though. Don't be afraid, don't panic. Get me anyways." With that he nods, sending the kids off, and looks around, lifting up the kit and closing it. He notices Bobby and flashes a golden smile.
Bobby listens to the mini lecture then moves out of the doorway to let the kids go. "Hey." he says, moving into the gym and extending a hand. "You must be new here. I'm Bobby. You probably heard about me but if not, I'm going to be yelling at some people for not spreading tales of my coolness."
Josh's hand doesn't feel like the metal it looks like; his grip is firm and calm. He shakes his head and smiles, "No, I haven't heard of most people; but I am only really here part-time. I keep an apartment in Mutant Town and volunteer half my time at the community center. I'm Josh." Pause, "Also, Elixir. You know: I'm the cure for what ailes you." He adds after a moment, "On a personal mission to make sure everyone knows at least first-aid."
"I'm the Iceman. On a personal mission to make sure everyone's drinks are cold." Bobby responds with a grin. "So you live in the city. I was thinking if I want to do that or just live here again. If I start teaching here again, the commute would be annoying." A small shrug. "But no need to rush into a decision after I just got back."
"I have a room here too; I just can't abandon my patients. Some of them can't go to a hospital, their mutation is obvious or biology…non-standard." explains Josh with a shake of his head, but he does add with a grin, "Cold, huh? Well I can tell you I prefer my drinks cold, so we shall be friends. I'm assuming the ability is a little more expansive then just that."
"Just a little bit." Bobby agrees. "My animal shaped ice cubes get all the raves with the kids. So you're a real healer then? I'd have thought something like transmutation of elements. Like lead into gold. That would be a fun power to have."
"I'm a biokineticist; I control biology." Josh shakes his head, and he smiles, "It's way better then alchemy or transmutation. I can't explain the gold — it goes away if I can go a whole day without healing anyone. If I heal someone, I turn gold; if I hurt someone, I turn black. Its kind of weird. But yeah. Usually what I do is heal people. Broken bones, flesh wounds. Recently dead. If its organic, I can control it." He wrinkles his nose, "It kinda makes my surgical residency pointless training."
"Probably lets you know what needs to be done though." Bobby points out. "Unless your power does it all for you." Pointing at a phantom person, he smacks them in the head with his palm like at a southern religious ceremony. "Be healed!" Hallelujah.
Josh pauses, then laughs and shakes his head, "Well yeah, I have to know what to do to cause the healing to happen. I touch, and read their biology, then pour energy into them— and that energy manipulates their biology. If I didn't have a thorough understanding of anatomy, I wouldn't be able to do it. I'm nearly certain I couldn't heal an alien— though hurting doesn't especially take knowledge." He adds, "Resurrection is almost the only power to heal that doesn't take knowledge on my part. Because, well, being dead? No neurons firing in my brain."
Okay, that makes Bobby pause and really look at Josh. "Seriously? If someone's dead, you can bring them back to life?" Though after a moment, he adds "Well, I suppose if that CPR thing they just invented a few years back works, no reason a mutant power can't do the same thing. They must not be really, truly dead yet."
"Oh, I was talking about *resurrecting myself*. If *I* die, my power will still bring me back. Got shot in the head once." Josh nods his head, though, rubbing his forehead, "But yeah, I can bring someone else back too— as long as the body is more or less preserved. Your body is full of bacteria that are still alive, and when you die they start eating you— as does others. As long as the body doesn't decay for more then a few hours or so… actually?" He suddenly blinks, "If you froze someone who died I could bring them back even longer, I bet." He nibbles his lower lip thoughtfully, "But dead doesn't really mean anything more then… your heart is no longer beating. It takes days for allt he cells to completely die, though the brain breaks down neural connections quicker due to a lack of oxygen."
Bobby considers that for a moment then nods. "I could do that. Like one of those cavemen frozen in ice." Then he grins and snickers. "Don't tell Steve I called him that. But sure, if someone gets killed when I'm around, I'll put em on ice for you. There's got to be more to death than just decay and cells dying though. What about the soul?"
Josh shakes his head slowly, "If you want to believe in a soul, feel free; I won't try to talk you out of it. I've seen no evidence of one: and I don't believe in god or souls or any other mythology." He lifts his hand and the golden skin seems to blur— a golden light shining off of his hand, "I healed Steve Rogers once when he was killed— he was shot in the neck and was dead by the time I got to him— he's still the same person he was before he died. There's nothing about any of us that isn't a product of biology and experience, as far as I'm concerned."
"Then how do you explain telepaths leaving their bodies?" BObby asks. He's not arguing; he just sounds curious. "Supposedly, their body can get killed but their spirit lives on in whatever place it is they go to when they leave their bodies."
"I'd explain it as their consciousness being able to maintain coherency outside of the confines of the neurons and synapses; that ability comes from the biology, but because of their mutation they are no longer limited to the biology." Josh says after a moment's consideration, "I can't exactly explain the mechanics of how all mutations work: I don't believe they're magic, so they're based on physics, biology and science— I know because I can detect and manipulate x-genes— but based on a level of science that is beyond our current body of understanding."
"Okay." Bobby says with a shrug. He has no horse in this race, really. "Whatever works for you. But stick around here long enough and you'll run into enough stuff you can't explain just by science. Unless science can explain other dimensions, demons, and magic. Not that mutations are magic." he agrees. "But other stuff? Yup."
"I didn't say everything is explainable by science; I don't have a problem believing in magic and other dimensions— though other dimensions has some basis in science." Josh shrugs a moment, "Just that everything you or me can do is based on science. And since I can bring someone back from the dead and they're still… themselves… then I infer that there is either no such thing as a soul." He hesitates, "That or souls stick around in bodies until the body decays to a certain point."
Bobby considers that a moment then nods. "That sounds reasonable. Who knows, maybe it's even right. I sure don't know. Don't really care either. I'm not a scientist or a priest. But if I ever die, I'll try to stick around till you get to me." Still, it's an interesting topic and one he obviously keeps thinking about. "You should ask the Prof or Jean to read a dead body for you. See if the mind is still there. Or look around that place they go when they leave their body and see if anyone's wandering around."
"Hmm." Josh considers that for a long moment, "Its worth asking; I would expect for at least awhile they should be able to read something off a dead man, I can touch them and know that the brain doesn't die immediately. But— well I have no real idea how telepathy works. If it reads the electrical impulses in the brain… or something else we don't understand. We don't— even I don't— fully know how the mind works." He flashes a grin, "But yes try not to die, or abandon your body if you do."
"I haven't yet. I should be able to keep on with that." Bobby assures Josh. "So anytime you need someone put on ice, just let me know. Though it doesn't have to be that extreme. It's not an all or nothing with me so a slight chill is just as good as ice statue."
Josh nods his head slowly, "Well, if I'm there— unless a lot of people get hurt, there's limits to how many I can heal before I go into a coma— I won't be really needing you to chill someone. But yeah, totally freezing them isn't needed. Get it down to 30 degrees or so and it'll inhabit decay enough to buy a couple days. Then come find me. I'll either be here or around the community center."
"I don't really do temperatures." Bobby notes though he sounds thoughtful. "But that's just below freezing so frozen solid. I can do that without any real problem. Just have to be careful not to overdo it or they shatter. Not that I've shattered anyone. Just some vegetables. And maybe a pumpkin. Or ten."
"Even if its just above freezing, it'll inhibit bacterial growth." Josh pauses, then he has to laugh softly, "That sounds like fun. Shattering pumpkins, I mean, not people." He shakes his head, "But yes, avoid shattering. I'm not entirely sure I could heal *that* much damage and bring someone back at once."
"It is." Bobby agrees, grinning broadly. "Make some jack o lanterns, freeze them, them drop them off high places. Just be careful no one's nearby cause the shrapnel is dangerous." Falling silent, he studies Josh a moment. "If your power isn't healing people but making their bodies do stuff, can you puppet them? Send impulses to their legs and make them walk? That kind of thing. And can you do it to animals as well as people? What about plants?"
Chuckling at the picture of the exploding pumpkins, that last question brings Josh up short, "I… can do things like put people to sleep. I suppose I could in theory send impules, but I'd have to touch them to do it. So far at a range I can only do very minor effects— I could make someone's legs seize, cause someone to stop breathing briefly. Slow blood flow, so they don't bleed out. Tweak some minor hormone and adrenaline levels: slow someone down, speed someone up." He then nods his head, "Animals and plants are organic. Its less efficient: I am not as familiar with animals or plant physiology, but in theory? I was practicing healing a life without touching it the other day to work on my range."
Bobby nods. "Then we can see if you can heal a shattered vegetable then." he points out. "A carrot is pretty simple, I'd guess. You don't need to know much about them to put them back to gether. We can start with one just broken in half before we move to shattered."
"Sure." Josh nods his head slowly, "A root vegetable is pretty simple as far as an organic structure is concerned— its all about the same thing, unlike say, a pumpkin, with seeds and differentiated structures. I've never tried to heal a carrot…" The idea has him laughing, "…but I am happy to explore."
"I used to train kids control their powers and get the most out of them." Bobby explains. "So we can come up with ways for you to get better using yours and use it for different things if you want. For instance… And I don't expect you to be able to do this right now or even know how without reading up on it but… Maybe you could get someone to tell the truth even if he didn't want to. Make questioning someone really easy."
Josh considers for a long moment, "I'm sure I could lower inhabitions; mess with the judgement portion of the brain, throw it out of wack. I don't think I could *force* someone to tell the truth, though I'm sure I could tell if they're lying. But between those two things it might be possible to get approximately that. I… think that might make me go black, though. I.. try to avoid going black. Its unpleasant and quite hard to get out of, unlike the gold that just fades away in a day or so."
"Interesting. Well, it was just a thought. Spur of the moment." Hefting his duffel, Bobby says "I should go see about a room. I'd bet my old one is taken so I'll have to find an empty. Then see if the Prof is around. I should probably have let him know I'd be showing up today."
"I'll go black if I have to, I just prefer to avoid it; which makes training on certain things… hard." Josh explains, but he nods then and flashes a smile, "Well, welcome back. I'm sure everyone's drinks will be pleased to have you."
"And their underwear." Bobby gives Josh a grin then turns for the door. "Talk to you later."