8

Flipping Right

CLARKE

"No." Abby shook her head, flipping through the pages of Raven's scribbles. "These numbers can't be right. It's not possible. They can't be right."

"That's exactly what I thought you would say." Raven replied, her wide, brown eyes glinting with excitement. "So I went ahead and ran them again. They're right."

"No." Abby repeated. "It's not possible. They can't be right. It's not HUMANLY possible." She handed the messy stack of papers back to Raven. "Run them again."

"I knew you'd say that too." Raven laughed, unable to contain her excitement even in the direct face of Abby's skepticism and general, downright negativity. "So," She continued. "After I ran them again, I ran them AGAIN. I'm telling you ,Abby... The numbers are right."

"It's not possible." Abby just said again, snatching the papers back from Raven and flopping them onto the desk. She didn't even bother to sit down as she hunched herself over them, determinedly searching the scribbles for some critical error.

"Check my math..." Raven challenged her. "Check my chemistry. They're right, Abby. The numbers are fucking right." She paused and let out a quick "Sorry," catching her tongue a moment too late. In her excitement she had momentarily forgotten that Abby wasn't just a friend, but also a mother and a doctor and kind-of a chancellor, and someone she probably shouldn't cuss in front of. "I mean... The numbers are FLIPPING right." She corrected.

"OK..." Clarke cut in, impatiently, rubbing at her burning eyes. "Did you two drag my ass out of bed in the FLIPPING," she paused, drawing out the word in imitation of Raven. "middle of the FLIPPING night just so that I could listen to you bicker about numbers? Are you going to fill me in? Or can I go back to bed? What the hell is so impossible?"

Raven and Abby both ignored Clarke's sassy whines. Clarke seriously considered ditching them as they started at it again. But she was already up and she knew that if she went back to her warm bed she would probably just lie there unable to sleep, wondering about the many 'impossibles' that had plagued her thoughts ever since she had let the icy river numb the rational part of her brain. So she just plunked down in a chair and tried her best to decipher their arguments.

"These mineral concentrations can't be right." Abby stated. "The iron is incredibly high. The zinc and selenium levels are even higher. And the manganese is..."

"Off the charts." Raven finished for her. "I know. I'm guessing its the high concentration of manganese in the plasma that's responsible for the blood's overall black coloration!"

"These levels can't be right." Abby repeated yet again, completely ignoring Raven's nerdy enthusiasm. "She should be suffering from multiple cases of mineral toxicity. With this concentration of manganese, she should have developed chronic manganism years ago. These mineral levels should be lethal."

"Yes, they should be." Raven agreed. "And they WOULD be. Except for one little detail... Her blood is saturated with DPTA."

"Humans can't produce diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid." Abby countered. "DPTA has to be synthetically manufactured in a lab and intraveneously administered. And, by her fear of needles, I'm guessing Luna isn't receiving regular, weekly treatments of it."

"NORMAL humans can't produce DPTA." Raven corrected her. "But Luna's body is producing it. Don't you see... It's fuc... I mean... FLIPPING... brilliant. Iron, zinc, selenium, manganese... These minerals all function as powerful antioxidants. Such high concentrations of these minerals in Luna's blood has caused a decrease in her rate of aging, an increase in her rate of healing and recovery, increased energy levels and stamina, increased mental acuity, improved immunity... I'm guessing Luna has never been sick a day in her life. And it explains why Nightbloods are such exceptional warriors and prime candidates for leadership." Raven was talking so fast, Clarke's sleepy mind was struggling to follow. But Raven had her attention now, because all of those qualities she had just listed Clarke had witnessed in Lexa and so far Raven's crazy talk was making sense.

Raven paused to take a deep breath before continuing. "But... Like you said, levels this high also have negative effects on the body. In you or me, they would cause mineral poisoning. But somehow, Luna's body is manufacturing DPTA. Which not only buffers the effects of the minerals... It's also conveniently battling the effects of outside sources of radiation. It's like her body is constantly undergoing natural chelation treatments!"

Abby didn't respond. Once again, she buried her nose in Raven's papers, doggedly searching them for some miscalculation or omittance of an overlooked variable.

Clarke turned her tired eyes to Raven's bright, lively ones. "What are you saying, Raven?" She asked. "Can Luna survive a level 10 or 11 of those see-whatevers?"

"According to my calculations," Raven answered with a grin. "She can survive not only 10 or 11 sieverts. Her blood can metabolize up to 15 sieverts of radiation an hour!"

"So..." Clarke replied, feeling Raven's excitement catch in her own blood like a communicable disease. "Are you saying that Luna could survive the nuclear meltdown?"

"I'm saying..." Raven started, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. "That Luna could walk herself right smack-dab into the fucking..." She paused, glancing at Abby. But Abby, still hovering over Raven's papers, didn't appear to be listening. "The flipping..." Raven continued. "core of a power plant mid-catastrophic-meltdown, make herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, read the entirety of Tolstoy's War and Peace and lie down for a goddamn leisurely nap in nothing but her undies."

"And her skin wouldn't melt off?" Clarke asked, feeling her own cheeks pull into a tentative smile.

"She wouldn't so much as get a sunburn." Raven answered.

Clarke and Raven were still grinning at each other stupidly when Abby finally got up from the paper-strewn desk. "They're right." She said in a small, bewildered voice. "The numbers are right. They're FUCKING right."

...

"Murphy?!" Raven asked with a confused frown. "Out of all of Arkadia, you're picking MURPHY to go with you?"

"Well..." Clarke argued. "Since my first choice just wants to stay here and be a total nerd..."

"This blood is fascinating!" Raven argued, only further proving Clarke right. "I just wish I had another whole liter of it to test. This morning I was examining the leucocytes... The white blood cells," she paused to explain, misinterpreting Clarke's blank expression for confusion rather than disinterest. "Well..." She rambled on. "Luna's equivalent of white blood cells, that is... Because even after separating them out from the black plasma via centrifuge, really they're still more like gray blood cells..."

"Does this train of thought have a caboose?" Clarke interrupted, rolling her eyes.

Raven just laughed and plowed on. "I'm getting to it. Just wait... It's really exciting... I was examining the leucocytes and I found traces of pyrolusite in the cytosol! Pyrolusite!" She repeated, excitedly. "It's an ore of manganese." She explained as Clarke continued to stare.

Clarke just shook her head at her. She was such a nerd. And Clarke loved her for it. "Right... That IS exciting." She said sarcastically. "Anyway... Since you're busy being crazy science geek, I have to go with an alternate."

"Yeah... But MURPHY?" Raven asked again. "He can't be your second draft pick. What about Jasper? Or Monty? Or Harper?"

"Jasper is still busy recovering from the wound where Monty shot him and Monty, when he's not busy being a love-sick puppy with Harper, is still busy recovering from the wound where Jasper stabbed him." Clarke laughed.

"I guess that's true." Raven conceded. "And you can't take Octavia because she's currently avoiding all of us. And you can't take Bell because you are currently avoiding him..."

"What?" Clarke replied, completely taken aback. She had not told anyone about the skinny-dipping incident. "I'm not avoiding Bellamy." She argued. "I've just been... He's been..." Clarke stuttered, searching for an excuse as Raven patiently waited with pursed lips and a cocked eyebrow. "OK... Maybe I'm avoiding him." Clarke admitted. "God, Raven..." She sighed. "You don't miss anything, do you?"

"You both turn bright red anytime you happen to step into the same room." Raven laughed. "It's pretty damn obvious something happened between you. I'm guessing one of you accidentally saw the other naked?"

"Yeah... Something like that." Clarke mumbled quickly. "Plus... Even if I wasn't avoiding him, I can't take Bellamy. I just want to get in and get out quietly. And, let's be real, if I take Bell, he'll probably end up shooting someone and we'll end up in another fucking war." She laughed.

"Anyway..." Clarke continued. "Murphy wasn't my first choice, but when I think about it, he might actually be the best option. I mean... Out of all of us, he is the most familiar with the Polaris room, seeing as he was held captive and tortured there. Plus, we're sorta..." She paused, searching for the right words. She considered calling him a 'friend' but wasn't sure the title fit quite right. And she knew she had to choose her next words carefully considering the history between Raven and Murphy. After all, he was the one responsible for the huge brace of plastic and steel wrapped awkwardly around Raven's knee. But, like all of them, Murphy had changed a lot over the last six months. Clarke knew he wasn't the same dick he had been when they crash landed. Even if he was still a smart-ass. Some things never change, no matter what shit you go through.

"I trust him." She finished. And the words felt right.

"If you say so." Raven shrugged. "Honestly, I'm surprised the selfish, uncooperative ass even agreed to go with you."

"I haven't asked him yet." Clarke replied.

Raven just laughed. "It's a good thing you're damn good at wrangling people into things, Clarke Griffin."