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Part VIII
Helen paced back and forth from one end of the cell to the other, ranting as she moved, her face flushed with seething with righteous anger.
"How could you, Nikola?" her voice echoed and reverberated off the harsh metal walls that surrounded them while near the door, Bigfoot stood with his arms folded across his chest, his visage poorly masking the absolute rage he held barely at bay. She was of half a mind to allow him to have a go at Nikola and wipe the smug look he sported just then off of his face.
"I've already explained myself, Helen. And you should be grateful that I took this extra step. In a few hours, your young protege should begin to see some improvement-"
"Grateful?" Helen nearly shouted. "You combined a powerful sedative with alcohol, Will was almost in a coma thanks to you and he could have died if I hadn't come to his room. As it is, I've had to give him stimulants just to raise his blood-pressure to acceptable levels. Let's not also forget that you decided to experiment on him without his consent. And you think I should be grateful?"
Nikola merely shrugged. She was too angry to be reasoned with. "I did what needed to be done- what you would be too afraid to try."
"I would never try such a cowardly, foolhardy and reckless act. You've gone too far this time!"
"So what are you going to do leave me locked in here forever?"
"If that's what it takes." Helen turned on her heel and made for the door. Tesla stood from his bench as she and Bigfoot began to exit. Before they could slam the door on him she could hear him shouting.
"You can't do this, Helen! This is false imprisonment!" The cell door shut tightly and he could hear it being bolted.
He was still yelling and throwing a fit as she left the confinement area then turned to Bigfoot.
"Keep an eye on him please, I'm going to go check on Will." He nodded with a grunt and she hurried back over to the infirmary. Kate and Henry had been instructed to alert her if Will woke up while she handled things with Nikola, but since she hadn't heard from them, she had to assume that he was still out. When she rounded the corner to the infimary and entered she found Henry and Kate still sitting quietly by Will's bed. He was pale, but otherwise still seemed to be holding his own.
"He hasn't moved since you left." Kate apprised her as Helen checked his vitals and adjusted his IV. Thankfully everything appeared to be normal except for the fact that he had a slight fever.
"What are you going to do with Tesla?" Henry asked when she had finished.
"Frankly, I'm not quite sure yet. We've got more important things to focus on" Just as she said it, Will shifted in his bed.
He was still too pale for her liking, but the small groan she heard issuing from his lips at least brought a small sense of relief to know that he was coming around.
Will in the mean time was becoming uncomfortably aware that he wasn't in his bed, the sheets felt too fresh and stiff and he was certainly not laying on his own pillow. His head still hurt and pounded like a hammer on an anvil and he just wished that someone would turn down the lights.
The force of that last thought hit him and he snapped his eyes open, finding himself surrounded by a whiteness even more blinding than the darkness that had started to become accustomed to. He gave an audible gasp and shot up to a sitting position, the sudden change causing his head to mimic a small nuclear explosion and he had to grip his head tightly from the pain. He screwed his eyes shut again, The white was gone, but the light still hurt his eyes.
"Will?" Magnus asked as she bent down closer to him and put an arm around his shoulder.
"What's happening to me?" He asked, still holding his head for fear that it might actually fall off. "Where are we?"
"It's alright. You're in the infirmary."
"I think...I'm seeing something." He told her and opened his eyes again to make sure he hadn't just been imagining things. The whiteness returned, painfully searing into his already miserable head.
"Are you certain?" He nodded, confused, frightened and elated all at the same time.
"What are you seeing exactly?" Magnus probed.
"White....just a lot of white." He was still blind as a bat, but experiencing something other than the black that he had been surrounded by before left him wondering if this was any sort of improvement at all. "How is this happening?"
"Tesla" Answered Kate for Magnus who was engaged with finding a penlight from her pocket.
"Tesla? What did he do?"
"He drugged you last night." Magnus replied this time. "He wanted to sedate you in order to inject you with the nano-cytes."
"He did what?!" Will suddenly grew angered. "Where is he?"
"Don't worry, Will. He's locked up and he won't be coming anywhere near you."
"He's the one that should be worried about me getting to him." Will grumbled only to be rewarded with a fresh stab of head pain.
"Lie back." Magnus instructed. She reached for her penlight and shone it into his eyes. He winced at the bright light and then he braced himself as she did the same to his other eye. She then pulled out an opthalmascope and did a more thorough exam.
"Amazing." She whispered to herself and Will could hear the excitement in her voice.
"What is it?" He asked
"The scar tissue and cataracts on your eyes appears to be receding. I can almost make out the hazel of your irises."
"Really. Then these things might actually be working." Will began, hopefully. "I might get my sight back."
"I'm cautiously optimistic for that and I'm surprised to see so much improvement after such a short period of time. It's really quite remarkable. How are you feeling?"
"Well, aside from the worst migraine ever. Okay, I guess. I feel a little weird."
"Weird? How so?"
"A little cold. Sort of dizzy. I don't know...it's hard to explain. Feels like I'm coming down with something."
"Yes, well you have a bit of a fever. I'm going to run some more blood tests. It could just be aftereffects of the sedative you were given."
Will nodded and rested his head further back into the pillow while Magnus busied herself with taking blood samples
"Henry, would you come with me a moment?" Helen asked of Henry when she was finished and he got up from the stool he was sitting on, following her into the medical lab, out of earshot of Will.
"Can I get you anything?" Kate asked once they were gone, trying to make herself useful. "Extra pillow or a blanket, maybe?"
"Just some water would be nice." It seemed really dry in there to him and his tongue felt funny, almost like it was swollen. Kate got up to fill a pitcher of water and he scratched at an annoying itch that had crept up on his neck. Then he felt another itch on his chest and scratched at that one as well. Before Kate could get back to him, the itching had spread and it felt like his skin was trying to crawl out of his clothing.
Back in the office, Helen loaded the blood samples for analysis and then turned to Henry who stood watching by her side.
"I know from the experiments that you conducted on the mice that these machines are capable of uncontrolled reproduction, I need to know that if these things should become out of hand that we can shut them down if need be."
"Are you asking if they have some kind of 'off' switch?"
"Essentially, yes."
"Well, they were programmed to shut down when there was nothing left for them to repair and then they could just be absorbed back into the system, but as it is, they can't be controlled remotely, they have to be programmed before they enter the body."
"I need you to work on a way to shut them down should the need arise. I'm concerned at how fast they already seem to reproducing. If only the original nano-cytes are reproducing then their progress should have been much slower."
"Sure. I'll start right away." Henry took off after that and Helen turned her focus back on the blood work. It was only moments later that Kate came running, a flush to her face and an urgency that grabbed Helen's immediate concern.
"Come quick, something's wrong!" Without asking any questions, Helen hurried after kate back to Will. He sat in his bed, miserably scratching all over his arms, chest and neck.
"What's wrong?" She asked
"I itch everywhere." Helen lifted up his shirt to see what might have been causing it and swore once she saw the raised, red splotches standing out against his pale skin. She looked up into Will's face and he looked even whiter than he had before she left him and the tell-tale signs of swelling made it clear that he was suffering from some sort of anaphylaxis and it's suddenness was cause for alarm.
Besides that itching, Will was starting to feel lightheaded as he felt his windpipe constrict. "It's getting hard...to breathe." He wheezed out. He had a sinking suspicion that he knew what was wrong with him too. "Allergic...reaction?"
"Try not to speak, Will. Kate- go to that top drawer over there and grab me an epi-pen and hurry."
Kate ran to the drawer and flung it open, unsure of what she was looking for until she found a long pen-like injector and ran back to Magnus with it. Helen grabbed it from her and pulled the top off, swiftly injecting it into his thigh. She then reached for the near-by oxygen mask and slipped it over his face. "Breathe deep, Will. Try to relax."
Will could only nod as he tried to suck in as much of the oxygen as he could into his lungs. As the drug took effect, he could feel his heart begin to pound harder and his muscles grow tense. A fine sheet of sweat appeared on his forehead, but he soon found that breathing was becoming easier.
"I'm going to start you on some dyphenhydramine, that should control the histamine your body is producing."
Will understood and nodded, but Kate looked anxious, unsure of what was happening. Helen began to explain it to her "Will's had a severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis, the nano-cytes are a foreign substance and his body's immune system has reacted to it by releasing histamine, but now it's producing too much, causing the reaction you see here. I've given him some epinephrine, it dilates the blood vessels and air passages, so he can breathe easier."
"Will he be alright?" Kate asked.
"He should be fine for now. I'll be giving him antihistamines and keeping a close watch on him."
Magnus patted Will on the knee and gave him a weak half-smile. "Feeling any better?"
"A little" He squeaked out
"Good. I'll get your medication now" She noted how he still tried to scratch at all of his hives and added. "And maybe some Caladryl lotion as well."
She walked off, leaving Kate alone with Will. He tried to relax as much as he could, but the surge of energy the adrenaline Magnus had given him made it next to impossible. His hands shook and he couldn't keep his legs still. He was thankful when Magnus returned with the medication and administered it to his IV catheter, hoping that its drowsy effects would take some of the edge off. He was equally as grateful for the Caladryl cream she helped apply to the hives.
"I should go and relieve the Big-guy and send him up here, He's better nurse than me anyway." Kate admitted and Helen nodded without argument. While Kate was a formidable fighter, she could tell that the younger woman was a bit squeamish around medical matters and she could use Bigfoot's expertise.
After Kate left, Will began to relax somewhat. The anti-histamines were beginning to have an effect and he could feel his heart-rate begin to slow down to a more manageable level. Magnus noticed the the slight shiver that passed over him and brought over another blanket.
As she was unfolding it and draping it over him, it flapped in front of his face without touching him. It was a surprise to both of him when he stopped her with a "Wait!"
"What is it? Something wrong?"
"No...I saw movement...I think....do that again." He wasn't sure if he had been imagining the flutter of a shadow that had passed in front of him. It had been faint, like when a television screen had been turned up to it's brightest level and only vague outlines could be made out.
Helen stepped in a little closer and used her hand to slowly move it back in forth before his eyes. A smile spread across Will's face, lighting it up in a way that she hadn't seen in far too long.
"I saw that. It was just a faint shadow, but I definitely saw that."
Helen couldn't contain her smile either as his pure joy was contagious. As if he couldn't quite believe that he was seeing anything he raised his hand and waved it in front of his own face several times, his smile growing until a lump grew in his throat and a single tear formed in his eye, dropping silently onto his cheek.
OOOOOO
Kate found the Big-guy, growling at the closed door, his face full of irritation and barely restrained malice.
"Hey...How's the babysitting going?"
"Ugh...see for yourself." Kate looking to the window and couldn't help but grin at seeing Tesla fuming inside, acting like a petulent child that had been sent to his room for misbehaving.
"You know you can't keep me in here forever." Tesla called through the partition.
"Oh Yeah, well just watch us." Kate called back to him. He gave her a look of disgust and turned his back storming off to the cot and huffing as he sat down.
She turned her attention back to her large friend. "Magnus is going to need you back in the infirmary. I'll take over from here."
He nodded with relief. "Good riddance." and marched off.
Kate took a seat and pulled her Ipod out of her pocket, hoping to use the music to drown out the whining going on from inside the cell.
She hadn't even turned it on before she heard Tesla call out again from inside the cell. "You know, you still have to feed me. I'm getting pretty hungry in here."
With a sigh she stood up and walked over to the door, slamming her fist against it. "Hey, this is not the Hilton here, there's no room service and you'll get fed when when the rest of us do. Just keep your panties on."
"You have to at least provide me with some water. Wine would be preferable, but water would be acceptable as I'm already quite parched."
Kate threw her head back in exasperation. The man was impossible. She went to the window and glared at him, he pulled his best puppy-dog look and she just shook her head. If it would keep him quiet for a little while, she might as well get him a glass of water. "Fine. I'll get you some water. Just hold on."
Leaving the cell behind she thought that with him locked up tighter than Fort Knox that he would be alright by himself for a few minutes. Where could he possibly go anyway?
OOOOO
Nikola grinned to himself as he watched Kate stomp off after his request for water. With her safely out of the picture for a few minutes, he could focus. He hadn't tried to do much with his newly acquired abilities, what with them being more of a hindrance than a help, but he could almost feel the heavy-metal pull of the door through his veins.
He walked right over to the cell door and touched it. He felt it pull against his skin as he skimmed his hand down to the lock. Being a mechanical genius also had it's benefits and he grinned to himself. This was going to be easier than he hoped. Using his finger he felt the tumblers inside the locking mechanism moving to his will. He had to try several to get them to move into just the right position, but after a fashion, he heard the welcome sounds of clicking that told him that the lock was opening and it was only moments later that he had it open.
Time was of the essence now that the door swung wide open and he would have to run if he was to avoid recapture. Glancing around the door, he saw that Kate was still nowhere in sight and he might just be able to pull this one off. Without wasting anymore time, he made good of his escape.
OOOOO
Helen shook her head in dismay as she read the results of Will's latest blood test results. While his vision appeared to be improving far faster than she could have imagined, she was worried by the number of nano-cytes coursing through his system and her fears were only confirmed by the high white blood cell count she was reading now.
His immune system was kicking into overdrive. That much had been evident by the allergic reaction he suffered, but more worrisome now was how closely his blood work resembled that of someone with a systemic infection. His white blood cells were multiplying almost as fast as the nano-cytes in order to attack the foreign invaders and as the microscopic machines were immune to any kind of antibiotics, she was left without any treatment.
For his part, Will couldn't care less that his temperature was rising, nor that he had a screaming headache. He was actually seeing things now. Not clearly, not even by a long shot; mostly shadows and the occasional outline of a form, but it was seeing and that was all that mattered to him. He could deal with a little pain and fever if things continued to improve as much as they already had. He knew Magnus was concerned and was itching for a way to stop or at least slow down the process, but he was so close to being back to normal that it would be too heartbreaking for her to put a stop to it yet.
For now, he was fine, he told himself. Sure he was tired and the way the had lost his lunch a few minutes ago had been quite unpleasant, but he could deal with it. He'd had worse before, recalling the day his appendix ruptured when he was in college. That had been bad, worse than this even, so he could handle it.
Helen walked back over to her patient, thermometer in one hand and blood pressure cuff in the other. "How are you doing, Will?" She asked.
Magnus appeared before him. He still couldn't make out her face, but her outline was a welcome sight. He smiled despite himself and despite the throbbing tap dances going on in his temples.
"I'm alright....really." He tried to convince her.
She stuck the thermometer in his ear and waited for the beep. 102.4. Not too high yet, but considering that it was only 101 just a short time ago, she was concerned that her measures to keep it down weren't ever going to be successful. Blood pressure was next and that also was too high for her liking.
"I'm worried, Will."
"I'm okay, Magnus. Things are getting clearer now. I can almost see your face."
She knew, by the flush of his cheeks, the red hives that still marked his skin and the crease of his eyebrows as he lay exhausted against his pillow that things were far from okay.
"It's not so bad- ahhh!" Will's hands flew to his eyes suddenly and he sat up, pressing them hard against his eyes.
"Will?!" She grabbed his arm with alarm. "What wrong?"
He held out a hand to ward her off.
"It's okay...I'm okay...just...hurts some that's all." He told her through gritted teeth. He hadn't been prepared for the sudden flare up of lancing pain through his eyes and forehead. Catching his breath, he tried to breathe through it, hoping it would go away quickly.
Helen was convinced now that things were spiraling out of her control and she didn't like it one bit. "That's it, Will. We need to find a way to stop this-"
"No!" He nearly shouted, even though it brought with it a new stab of pain, taking Helen of guard by his vehemence. After a beat and a calming breath he added: "Why don't we just let them run their course. Tesla seemed pretty convinced that they would shut themselves down once they finished the healing process."
"That may be the case, but I'm not willing to risk your health on Nikola's assumptions. Your vision might be clearing up, but the effect the nano-cytes are having on your immune system is getting worse. If we don't find a way to stop them soon...."
"Please..." He practically begged.
"No, Will." She put her foot down. "I've already asked Henry to find a way of shutting them down now."
Will's shoulders slumped. "I know how much you want this to work. I do too. However, your temperature is rising and that pain you're experiencing might only get worse. We're sailing into uncharted waters here and it frightens me to think that I have no course of treatment for you should things deteriorate any further."
"Just give it a little more time, Please." He pleaded with her again. "I'm sure Henry will have figured out a way to shut them down should things get worse, but I'm so close now. I don't want to stop it."
"Even if it kills you, Will?" She asked pointedly, the edge in her voice making it clear to him that she did not approve of letting things deteriorate any further than they already had. Giving her a defeated sigh as his only response, Helen gave his shoulder a squeeze of reassurance.
How could he tell her that putting his life at risk would all be worth it if he could just see again. He was willing to take that chance, but she clearly was not.
"Magnus!" Both Helen and Will turned to the sound of Kate's voice reverberating through the infirmary from the intercom.
"What is it, Kate?" Helen called back, sensing the strain in tension in the younger woman's voice and instantly growing concerned..
"We got a problem. Tesla's gone."
TBC.....
( Part IX )
Helen paced back and forth from one end of the cell to the other, ranting as she moved, her face flushed with seething with righteous anger.
"How could you, Nikola?" her voice echoed and reverberated off the harsh metal walls that surrounded them while near the door, Bigfoot stood with his arms folded across his chest, his visage poorly masking the absolute rage he held barely at bay. She was of half a mind to allow him to have a go at Nikola and wipe the smug look he sported just then off of his face.
"I've already explained myself, Helen. And you should be grateful that I took this extra step. In a few hours, your young protege should begin to see some improvement-"
"Grateful?" Helen nearly shouted. "You combined a powerful sedative with alcohol, Will was almost in a coma thanks to you and he could have died if I hadn't come to his room. As it is, I've had to give him stimulants just to raise his blood-pressure to acceptable levels. Let's not also forget that you decided to experiment on him without his consent. And you think I should be grateful?"
Nikola merely shrugged. She was too angry to be reasoned with. "I did what needed to be done- what you would be too afraid to try."
"I would never try such a cowardly, foolhardy and reckless act. You've gone too far this time!"
"So what are you going to do leave me locked in here forever?"
"If that's what it takes." Helen turned on her heel and made for the door. Tesla stood from his bench as she and Bigfoot began to exit. Before they could slam the door on him she could hear him shouting.
"You can't do this, Helen! This is false imprisonment!" The cell door shut tightly and he could hear it being bolted.
He was still yelling and throwing a fit as she left the confinement area then turned to Bigfoot.
"Keep an eye on him please, I'm going to go check on Will." He nodded with a grunt and she hurried back over to the infirmary. Kate and Henry had been instructed to alert her if Will woke up while she handled things with Nikola, but since she hadn't heard from them, she had to assume that he was still out. When she rounded the corner to the infimary and entered she found Henry and Kate still sitting quietly by Will's bed. He was pale, but otherwise still seemed to be holding his own.
"He hasn't moved since you left." Kate apprised her as Helen checked his vitals and adjusted his IV. Thankfully everything appeared to be normal except for the fact that he had a slight fever.
"What are you going to do with Tesla?" Henry asked when she had finished.
"Frankly, I'm not quite sure yet. We've got more important things to focus on" Just as she said it, Will shifted in his bed.
He was still too pale for her liking, but the small groan she heard issuing from his lips at least brought a small sense of relief to know that he was coming around.
Will in the mean time was becoming uncomfortably aware that he wasn't in his bed, the sheets felt too fresh and stiff and he was certainly not laying on his own pillow. His head still hurt and pounded like a hammer on an anvil and he just wished that someone would turn down the lights.
The force of that last thought hit him and he snapped his eyes open, finding himself surrounded by a whiteness even more blinding than the darkness that had started to become accustomed to. He gave an audible gasp and shot up to a sitting position, the sudden change causing his head to mimic a small nuclear explosion and he had to grip his head tightly from the pain. He screwed his eyes shut again, The white was gone, but the light still hurt his eyes.
"Will?" Magnus asked as she bent down closer to him and put an arm around his shoulder.
"What's happening to me?" He asked, still holding his head for fear that it might actually fall off. "Where are we?"
"It's alright. You're in the infirmary."
"I think...I'm seeing something." He told her and opened his eyes again to make sure he hadn't just been imagining things. The whiteness returned, painfully searing into his already miserable head.
"Are you certain?" He nodded, confused, frightened and elated all at the same time.
"What are you seeing exactly?" Magnus probed.
"White....just a lot of white." He was still blind as a bat, but experiencing something other than the black that he had been surrounded by before left him wondering if this was any sort of improvement at all. "How is this happening?"
"Tesla" Answered Kate for Magnus who was engaged with finding a penlight from her pocket.
"Tesla? What did he do?"
"He drugged you last night." Magnus replied this time. "He wanted to sedate you in order to inject you with the nano-cytes."
"He did what?!" Will suddenly grew angered. "Where is he?"
"Don't worry, Will. He's locked up and he won't be coming anywhere near you."
"He's the one that should be worried about me getting to him." Will grumbled only to be rewarded with a fresh stab of head pain.
"Lie back." Magnus instructed. She reached for her penlight and shone it into his eyes. He winced at the bright light and then he braced himself as she did the same to his other eye. She then pulled out an opthalmascope and did a more thorough exam.
"Amazing." She whispered to herself and Will could hear the excitement in her voice.
"What is it?" He asked
"The scar tissue and cataracts on your eyes appears to be receding. I can almost make out the hazel of your irises."
"Really. Then these things might actually be working." Will began, hopefully. "I might get my sight back."
"I'm cautiously optimistic for that and I'm surprised to see so much improvement after such a short period of time. It's really quite remarkable. How are you feeling?"
"Well, aside from the worst migraine ever. Okay, I guess. I feel a little weird."
"Weird? How so?"
"A little cold. Sort of dizzy. I don't know...it's hard to explain. Feels like I'm coming down with something."
"Yes, well you have a bit of a fever. I'm going to run some more blood tests. It could just be aftereffects of the sedative you were given."
Will nodded and rested his head further back into the pillow while Magnus busied herself with taking blood samples
"Henry, would you come with me a moment?" Helen asked of Henry when she was finished and he got up from the stool he was sitting on, following her into the medical lab, out of earshot of Will.
"Can I get you anything?" Kate asked once they were gone, trying to make herself useful. "Extra pillow or a blanket, maybe?"
"Just some water would be nice." It seemed really dry in there to him and his tongue felt funny, almost like it was swollen. Kate got up to fill a pitcher of water and he scratched at an annoying itch that had crept up on his neck. Then he felt another itch on his chest and scratched at that one as well. Before Kate could get back to him, the itching had spread and it felt like his skin was trying to crawl out of his clothing.
Back in the office, Helen loaded the blood samples for analysis and then turned to Henry who stood watching by her side.
"I know from the experiments that you conducted on the mice that these machines are capable of uncontrolled reproduction, I need to know that if these things should become out of hand that we can shut them down if need be."
"Are you asking if they have some kind of 'off' switch?"
"Essentially, yes."
"Well, they were programmed to shut down when there was nothing left for them to repair and then they could just be absorbed back into the system, but as it is, they can't be controlled remotely, they have to be programmed before they enter the body."
"I need you to work on a way to shut them down should the need arise. I'm concerned at how fast they already seem to reproducing. If only the original nano-cytes are reproducing then their progress should have been much slower."
"Sure. I'll start right away." Henry took off after that and Helen turned her focus back on the blood work. It was only moments later that Kate came running, a flush to her face and an urgency that grabbed Helen's immediate concern.
"Come quick, something's wrong!" Without asking any questions, Helen hurried after kate back to Will. He sat in his bed, miserably scratching all over his arms, chest and neck.
"What's wrong?" She asked
"I itch everywhere." Helen lifted up his shirt to see what might have been causing it and swore once she saw the raised, red splotches standing out against his pale skin. She looked up into Will's face and he looked even whiter than he had before she left him and the tell-tale signs of swelling made it clear that he was suffering from some sort of anaphylaxis and it's suddenness was cause for alarm.
Besides that itching, Will was starting to feel lightheaded as he felt his windpipe constrict. "It's getting hard...to breathe." He wheezed out. He had a sinking suspicion that he knew what was wrong with him too. "Allergic...reaction?"
"Try not to speak, Will. Kate- go to that top drawer over there and grab me an epi-pen and hurry."
Kate ran to the drawer and flung it open, unsure of what she was looking for until she found a long pen-like injector and ran back to Magnus with it. Helen grabbed it from her and pulled the top off, swiftly injecting it into his thigh. She then reached for the near-by oxygen mask and slipped it over his face. "Breathe deep, Will. Try to relax."
Will could only nod as he tried to suck in as much of the oxygen as he could into his lungs. As the drug took effect, he could feel his heart begin to pound harder and his muscles grow tense. A fine sheet of sweat appeared on his forehead, but he soon found that breathing was becoming easier.
"I'm going to start you on some dyphenhydramine, that should control the histamine your body is producing."
Will understood and nodded, but Kate looked anxious, unsure of what was happening. Helen began to explain it to her "Will's had a severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis, the nano-cytes are a foreign substance and his body's immune system has reacted to it by releasing histamine, but now it's producing too much, causing the reaction you see here. I've given him some epinephrine, it dilates the blood vessels and air passages, so he can breathe easier."
"Will he be alright?" Kate asked.
"He should be fine for now. I'll be giving him antihistamines and keeping a close watch on him."
Magnus patted Will on the knee and gave him a weak half-smile. "Feeling any better?"
"A little" He squeaked out
"Good. I'll get your medication now" She noted how he still tried to scratch at all of his hives and added. "And maybe some Caladryl lotion as well."
She walked off, leaving Kate alone with Will. He tried to relax as much as he could, but the surge of energy the adrenaline Magnus had given him made it next to impossible. His hands shook and he couldn't keep his legs still. He was thankful when Magnus returned with the medication and administered it to his IV catheter, hoping that its drowsy effects would take some of the edge off. He was equally as grateful for the Caladryl cream she helped apply to the hives.
"I should go and relieve the Big-guy and send him up here, He's better nurse than me anyway." Kate admitted and Helen nodded without argument. While Kate was a formidable fighter, she could tell that the younger woman was a bit squeamish around medical matters and she could use Bigfoot's expertise.
After Kate left, Will began to relax somewhat. The anti-histamines were beginning to have an effect and he could feel his heart-rate begin to slow down to a more manageable level. Magnus noticed the the slight shiver that passed over him and brought over another blanket.
As she was unfolding it and draping it over him, it flapped in front of his face without touching him. It was a surprise to both of him when he stopped her with a "Wait!"
"What is it? Something wrong?"
"No...I saw movement...I think....do that again." He wasn't sure if he had been imagining the flutter of a shadow that had passed in front of him. It had been faint, like when a television screen had been turned up to it's brightest level and only vague outlines could be made out.
Helen stepped in a little closer and used her hand to slowly move it back in forth before his eyes. A smile spread across Will's face, lighting it up in a way that she hadn't seen in far too long.
"I saw that. It was just a faint shadow, but I definitely saw that."
Helen couldn't contain her smile either as his pure joy was contagious. As if he couldn't quite believe that he was seeing anything he raised his hand and waved it in front of his own face several times, his smile growing until a lump grew in his throat and a single tear formed in his eye, dropping silently onto his cheek.
OOOOOO
Kate found the Big-guy, growling at the closed door, his face full of irritation and barely restrained malice.
"Hey...How's the babysitting going?"
"Ugh...see for yourself." Kate looking to the window and couldn't help but grin at seeing Tesla fuming inside, acting like a petulent child that had been sent to his room for misbehaving.
"You know you can't keep me in here forever." Tesla called through the partition.
"Oh Yeah, well just watch us." Kate called back to him. He gave her a look of disgust and turned his back storming off to the cot and huffing as he sat down.
She turned her attention back to her large friend. "Magnus is going to need you back in the infirmary. I'll take over from here."
He nodded with relief. "Good riddance." and marched off.
Kate took a seat and pulled her Ipod out of her pocket, hoping to use the music to drown out the whining going on from inside the cell.
She hadn't even turned it on before she heard Tesla call out again from inside the cell. "You know, you still have to feed me. I'm getting pretty hungry in here."
With a sigh she stood up and walked over to the door, slamming her fist against it. "Hey, this is not the Hilton here, there's no room service and you'll get fed when when the rest of us do. Just keep your panties on."
"You have to at least provide me with some water. Wine would be preferable, but water would be acceptable as I'm already quite parched."
Kate threw her head back in exasperation. The man was impossible. She went to the window and glared at him, he pulled his best puppy-dog look and she just shook her head. If it would keep him quiet for a little while, she might as well get him a glass of water. "Fine. I'll get you some water. Just hold on."
Leaving the cell behind she thought that with him locked up tighter than Fort Knox that he would be alright by himself for a few minutes. Where could he possibly go anyway?
OOOOO
Nikola grinned to himself as he watched Kate stomp off after his request for water. With her safely out of the picture for a few minutes, he could focus. He hadn't tried to do much with his newly acquired abilities, what with them being more of a hindrance than a help, but he could almost feel the heavy-metal pull of the door through his veins.
He walked right over to the cell door and touched it. He felt it pull against his skin as he skimmed his hand down to the lock. Being a mechanical genius also had it's benefits and he grinned to himself. This was going to be easier than he hoped. Using his finger he felt the tumblers inside the locking mechanism moving to his will. He had to try several to get them to move into just the right position, but after a fashion, he heard the welcome sounds of clicking that told him that the lock was opening and it was only moments later that he had it open.
Time was of the essence now that the door swung wide open and he would have to run if he was to avoid recapture. Glancing around the door, he saw that Kate was still nowhere in sight and he might just be able to pull this one off. Without wasting anymore time, he made good of his escape.
OOOOO
Helen shook her head in dismay as she read the results of Will's latest blood test results. While his vision appeared to be improving far faster than she could have imagined, she was worried by the number of nano-cytes coursing through his system and her fears were only confirmed by the high white blood cell count she was reading now.
His immune system was kicking into overdrive. That much had been evident by the allergic reaction he suffered, but more worrisome now was how closely his blood work resembled that of someone with a systemic infection. His white blood cells were multiplying almost as fast as the nano-cytes in order to attack the foreign invaders and as the microscopic machines were immune to any kind of antibiotics, she was left without any treatment.
For his part, Will couldn't care less that his temperature was rising, nor that he had a screaming headache. He was actually seeing things now. Not clearly, not even by a long shot; mostly shadows and the occasional outline of a form, but it was seeing and that was all that mattered to him. He could deal with a little pain and fever if things continued to improve as much as they already had. He knew Magnus was concerned and was itching for a way to stop or at least slow down the process, but he was so close to being back to normal that it would be too heartbreaking for her to put a stop to it yet.
For now, he was fine, he told himself. Sure he was tired and the way the had lost his lunch a few minutes ago had been quite unpleasant, but he could deal with it. He'd had worse before, recalling the day his appendix ruptured when he was in college. That had been bad, worse than this even, so he could handle it.
Helen walked back over to her patient, thermometer in one hand and blood pressure cuff in the other. "How are you doing, Will?" She asked.
Magnus appeared before him. He still couldn't make out her face, but her outline was a welcome sight. He smiled despite himself and despite the throbbing tap dances going on in his temples.
"I'm alright....really." He tried to convince her.
She stuck the thermometer in his ear and waited for the beep. 102.4. Not too high yet, but considering that it was only 101 just a short time ago, she was concerned that her measures to keep it down weren't ever going to be successful. Blood pressure was next and that also was too high for her liking.
"I'm worried, Will."
"I'm okay, Magnus. Things are getting clearer now. I can almost see your face."
She knew, by the flush of his cheeks, the red hives that still marked his skin and the crease of his eyebrows as he lay exhausted against his pillow that things were far from okay.
"It's not so bad- ahhh!" Will's hands flew to his eyes suddenly and he sat up, pressing them hard against his eyes.
"Will?!" She grabbed his arm with alarm. "What wrong?"
He held out a hand to ward her off.
"It's okay...I'm okay...just...hurts some that's all." He told her through gritted teeth. He hadn't been prepared for the sudden flare up of lancing pain through his eyes and forehead. Catching his breath, he tried to breathe through it, hoping it would go away quickly.
Helen was convinced now that things were spiraling out of her control and she didn't like it one bit. "That's it, Will. We need to find a way to stop this-"
"No!" He nearly shouted, even though it brought with it a new stab of pain, taking Helen of guard by his vehemence. After a beat and a calming breath he added: "Why don't we just let them run their course. Tesla seemed pretty convinced that they would shut themselves down once they finished the healing process."
"That may be the case, but I'm not willing to risk your health on Nikola's assumptions. Your vision might be clearing up, but the effect the nano-cytes are having on your immune system is getting worse. If we don't find a way to stop them soon...."
"Please..." He practically begged.
"No, Will." She put her foot down. "I've already asked Henry to find a way of shutting them down now."
Will's shoulders slumped. "I know how much you want this to work. I do too. However, your temperature is rising and that pain you're experiencing might only get worse. We're sailing into uncharted waters here and it frightens me to think that I have no course of treatment for you should things deteriorate any further."
"Just give it a little more time, Please." He pleaded with her again. "I'm sure Henry will have figured out a way to shut them down should things get worse, but I'm so close now. I don't want to stop it."
"Even if it kills you, Will?" She asked pointedly, the edge in her voice making it clear to him that she did not approve of letting things deteriorate any further than they already had. Giving her a defeated sigh as his only response, Helen gave his shoulder a squeeze of reassurance.
How could he tell her that putting his life at risk would all be worth it if he could just see again. He was willing to take that chance, but she clearly was not.
"Magnus!" Both Helen and Will turned to the sound of Kate's voice reverberating through the infirmary from the intercom.
"What is it, Kate?" Helen called back, sensing the strain in tension in the younger woman's voice and instantly growing concerned..
"We got a problem. Tesla's gone."
TBC.....
( Part IX )
