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OOC: To help this fit better into the timeline I'm changing the titles and technically mocing it into Chapter 22, even though I wont be posting the Chapter 22 heading until later today.

TJ had hit a wall with the 'Love Goo' he'd gotten off the locker and asked Mr. Heep to lok it over.  He'd turned his focus to the rose that Sammy had dropped off for him to look at.  At first blush there was nothing special about it, but after a very close examination he found traces of some chemicals that warranted further investigation.  It turns out the rose was near or exposed to a very complex substance that is derived from bee DNA.  It looks like it might be some kind of treatment for something because it seems to have structures that resemble mood stabilizers, but the chemical signature doesn't match anything in the pharmacutical database.

"I made a detailed analysis of that stuff you asked me to look at."  Mr. Heep says, TJ still looking in the microscope.  "Really very sophisticated.  You say you got it off a locker here at school?"

TJ gets an email from Donnie over the weekend:

From: AbraxRoxYerSox

Timmah! It's Donnie. Just wondering: were the components of the love goo Syl found of natural origin or were they complex chemicals? Just wondering, because unguents can be magically charged with 'attraction'. If it was made of naturally occuring things like rose hips, musk. cacao pods etc, ity may be a magical alchemic creation.

Lemme know!

-Donnie


OOC: It says SO edited it, because I changed the title.

OCC: Sorry It's taken so long.

T.J nods as he looks up from the microscope. He seems about so say something then pauses. I can trust Mr Heep, Vandross isn't going to be here but I should still be careful. He breathes out and says. "Yeah it kinda caused some people to start making out. Why, what is it made of?”

He pauses and adds. “Hey, can you take a look at this. It’s similar to bee DNA and looks like it would be used to treat something but I’ve never seen anything like it.” He passes the microscope across.

Mr. Heep moves his glasses to his forehead and looks into the microscope.  "Well, the stuff from the locker is a very complex salt with what looks to be some kind of pheremone hooked onto it.  Synthetic pheromones are impressive enough, but this one is designed to be fast acting and looks to be very potent."  Mr. Heep adjusts the microscope some  and stands up, looking at TJ.  "This sort of looks like Prozac, at least how it's put together.  The actual components are all wrong though."

OOC: Since we moved this thread in time you can assume that you have the bees from the attack yesterday and can analyze them as well.

T.J wrinkles his face in puzzlement. "All wrong. All wrong in what way?" T.J also puts a hand into his pocket and pulls out the bees he had recovered the day before. "Also I've got some of those bees from yesterday, they are... interesting to say the least." He puts a few on the table. Mr Heep has already seen  bees like these but will he mention it?

"The molecule looks like Prozac, but it's not the same chemical make up."  Mr. Heep goes to his desk and brings out a dish with a few bees similar to the ones TJ has and a file folder.  "Here."  He hands them to TJ.  "Ms. Jameson, Sammy, brought these in the other day.  They apparently attacked a gym teacher and one of the students.  Carried her friend up to the roof even.  Very much like what happened yesterday."

The file folder contains the results of his autopsy on a few of the bees and the chemical analysis of the venom.  The bees are obviously genetically engineered and the venom is like a pharmacutical grade anasthetic.

"How bizarre." He looks at the folder and analysis. "So these bees sting their prey so they can't fight back and them to a high place to drop them." He winces. "Can you find out what chemicals are different, Mr Heep?" He picks up on of the bees and looks at it. "You'd need a lot of money or skill to make something like these. Unless there's a website for it." He says dryly.

"Well, if you knew what you were doing I guess it would be cheap.  The DNA is simple enough, in theory you could clone them.  The question most puzzling to me is how would you control them."

"Well with all the people with weird powers popping up it wouldn't surprise me if someone managed to be able to control insects. And if they knew how to clone artificial bees that had the same basic blueprint they probably could." T.J remembers Donnie's email.

"With that pheromone is it a scientific one or does hit look more like some kind of natural creation?"

"Not my speciality, but it looks like someone made it up."

T.J looks at the pollen sample and mutters to himself. "I think I'll do some tests to see what exactly makes this pollen, it's annoying me." He takes the pollen sample off the microscope. "Can you help me with this Mr Heep?"

"I might have better luck at my house."  he says, "I have some stuff there that we don't have here, might give us a better idea of what we're dealing with."