Keeping a Promise

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

Brenda came home from the Nexus, telling the girls to take Ace out and throw the ball for him for awhile and then wheeling wearily toward the elevator. The slight cough she'd wakened with that morning was worse, and her head was ringing slightly as though she had a fever, but she pushed away the symptoms as she rode down to the Cave. The formula that she hoped would restore Kat to her proper age was completed, and she'd finished the initial testing. Trials on adult mice had shown no effect, but trials on mice that had been regressed with the formula that Kat had been exposed to had returned to their proper appearance.

She'd done those tests seven days ago, and the mice continued healthy. So all that was left now was for human testing.

Brenda wheeled into the lab and scrubbed her hands, then removed the container of de-aging compound from the locked cupboard and set it in her lap while she also got the antidote. This done, she wheeled toward a containment room and locked herself inside.

One whiff of the compound had her blinking disorientedly at the change in perspective and a little sick to her stomach, but she steeled herself and injected the antidote straight into a vein.

Perspective changed again, and Brenda managed a smile before her eyes slipped shut and she toppled from the wheelchair.

Comments

[dbattyones.livejournal.com]

Leslie had come up to the mansion with some charts regarding the children's health and the lists of innoculations each of them was missing in hand. Pointed to the Cave Leslie went down, then blinked when she saw the Containment Room in use.

Hurrying over she looked in, then gasped and quickly went to try and secure the room to get in and to Brenda.

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

Brenda stirred at the beeping, blinking slightly as she weakly drew her arms and legs closer to her body. Her head was throbbing and ringing, and she wondered vaguely who had turned on the cooling system.

[dbattyones.livejournal.com]

As the room ulocked itself Leslie hurried in and bent down.

"Brenda? Brenda, look at me!" she said quickly, checking her vitals.

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

She blinked and squinted through the fever haze. "Leslie...."

Vitals as strong as could be expected with a fever that high.

[dbattyones.livejournal.com]

Leslie quickly paged Alfred and struggled to get her back in her wheelchair. "What on earth were you thinking, child? You should be in bed!"

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

"You... never said anything... about bed. Just said... to take it easy." She closed her eyes as her head spun. "Sorry."

"Miss Brenda... mercy! What happened?" Alfred hurried forward and helped his wife lift her.

[dbattyones.livejournal.com]

"She's been experimenting on herself, from the looks of it. She's far too sick to do it, too," Leslie said tersely. "We need to put her to bed."

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

"Kat's antidote is in the cupboard." Brenda groaned and gripped the arms of her chair as they got her settled in it. "Dizzy...."

"Are you going to be sick?" Alfred paused, frowning with concern.

"Dunno...."

[dbattyones.livejournal.com]

"Alfred, we'll need an ice pack and towels," she said. "And some of that fever and cold medicine.

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

"Where's Jim?" Brenda stopped to frown and blink at her own words.

"Shall we get her into her bed first?" He supported his employer, looking to Leslie as he spoke. "Or would you rather have her down here in the infirmary?"

[dbattyones.livejournal.com]

"He's probably on his way home," she said gently, then looked at Alfred. "I can get her to her room, but I'm worried about this fever persisting."

[random_xtras]

"Alright then, luv." Failing to notice his verbal slip in his concern for Brenda, he turned and hurried toward the stairs.

Brenda, meanwhile, sneezed repeatedly till she was nearly whimpering. "Not fair."

[dbattyones.livejournal.com]

"What's not fair, dear?" she asked, turning the wheelchair and rubbing her shoulder. "Easy there."

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

"I was doing what you told me." She searched for her handkerchief.

[dbattyones.livejournal.com]

"I think I told you to take it easy, not test antidotes on yourself," she said, almost sternly.

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

"I was feeling like this before I tested the antidote." She started as the elevator door opened, then started coughing.

[dbattyones.livejournal.com]

"Then you should have gone to bed at once. I'm surprised at you," she said, voice full of surprise and a bit of irritance.

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

"You try thinking clearly with a fever this high," whispered Brenda, finally getting the cough under control and then yelping slightly as the elevator started upward.

[dbattyones.livejournal.com]

"Easy," Leslie rubbed her back more, then quickly got her to her room and into her bed.

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

She was shaking as her heart mother tucked the blankets around her. But her mind was still on the successful project in the Cave. "Make sure Kat gets the antidote. She's waited long enough."

[dbattyones.livejournal.com]

"Is it clearly marked?" Leslie asked gently.

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

"Yes. Dosage is __cc." She closed her eyes for a moment, then started to cough, though this time from the urge to be sick rather than from phlegm. "This... feels... like the flu."

Alfred tapped on the door, his arms full of supplies.

[dbattyones.livejournal.com]

Leslie let him in, kissing his cheek and lifting the primary supplies.

"Hurry, love. We need to get her cooled."

She went to Brenda and poured medicine onto a spoon. "Take this, Brenda. It will help."

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

"Gonna throw up." She eyed it.

Alfred wrapped the icepacks carefully, but paused to watch before applying them.

[dbattyones.livejournal.com]

"It'll help that too," she said gently. "Try it."