Authors Note: First of all I owe a deep apology to each one of my readers. I never intended for it to be this long before I finally had a chance to update on this story. I deeply appreciate each one of the reviews that was left to me, as well as every person who took the time to read this story. So in closing, I dedicate this story to you guys. This is for you.
Disclaimer: As much as I would love to, I do not own any one of the characters. But if I did, Warren Peace would never leave my room. .;
I'm not crazy I'm just a little unwell
I know right now you can't tell
But stay a while and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me.
Matchbox Twenty - 'Unwell'
Amber eyes blinked a few times in reply towards the statement made towards her "What…" the beauty started, her mind struggling to formulate words. "What did you say?"
"Freokyosis." Medulla repeated.
"What… what is that?" She asked softly confusion flashing in her eyes.
"Freokyosis is a disease created by Doctor Jonathan Fritz." explained the large headed professor. "It was accidental and no one is one hundred percent sure how it happened. You see, his son was a superhero as well. He could lower his body temperature low enough that would enable him to withstand extremely cold temperatures. As time wet on, his son then began to develop the ability to formulate orbs of ice out of thin air."
"What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing but Doctor Fritz didn't see this as a super power, but instead as a disease. Obsessed with the developments in his son, Fritz tried to find a 'cure'. The outcome was he ended up creating a real disease - Freokyosis."
"You still haven't told me what that is." Bailey pointed out.
A sigh passed through Medulla's lips as he stated, "Freokyosis is a disease, injected into the blood stream, that causes the blood vessels and internal organs to slowly freeze."
"What!?" the teenager yelled in protest, snapping her head to each one of the adults in the room. "You're telling me that my body is turning into ice?!"
"Basically…yeah." replied the Commander.
Slumping down into the bed, Bailey shook her head. "Is there a cure?" she asked weakly.
"I'm afraid not." Medulla answered before continuing, "There are three basic stages of this disease. Currently you are in stage one which will last for about one to four weeks. Over this period of time your fingertips will develop a light blue-ish tint. Also your hands will be constantly cold." He paused for a moment before adding, "Oh! Your body temperature might lower about five degrees below normal. Essentially you'll be what most people refer to as… cold blooded."
"Lucky me." Bailey said in a dry voice. It was all too much. First her parents had died, now she had a life threatening disease with no cure. Leaning her head back against the pillow, Bailey swallowed thickly as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. As if God didn't already hate me… she thought bitterly. She felt a hand rest on her shoulder and immediately knew that it was Josie. Raising up once again, the young woman sighed and looked back at the scientist. "How many cases have there been?"
"That's the strange thing about it. There have only been two reported cases; Doctor Fritz and his son. What I can't seem to understand is how you received the disease."
"I don't know." She said while burying her face into her hands. Taking in slow deep breaths which allowed her mind to have a chance to process everything, Bailey shook her head. "How do you know all of this?"
"Because I am a super genius." Medulla said in a very matter-of-fact-tone.
Quickly she threw him a sarcastic glance before closing her eyes once again. "Let me get this straight: My body is slowly turning into a ball of ice that is caused by a disease that was invented by some quack who thought he could cure super powers, and there's nothing I can do about it."
"That's about right." The Commander replied.
"Ugh!" Flopping her head back, Bailey shook her head. "This day just keeps getting better and better." She sighed aloud.
"Bailey…. Do you know when you were injected with the disease?" Jetstream carefully asked.
"Does it look like I know?" she snapped, scratching her wrist again.
Medulla was silent, watching the young woman carefully before finally speaking. "Could I please see your wrist?"
"Why?"
Her answer was an impatient glare.
Sighing Bailey nodded. Stretching out her right wrist, she rolled up the hospital gown to reveal nothing but creamy smooth skin. "See? Nothing wrong there." She grumbled, not seeing a point.
The Professor gave the appendage a good inspection before nodding his head in satisfaction. "Alright, and the other?"
"Why?"
"Please?" Medulla asked once more, annoyance lacing in his voice.
Watching the man for a second, she sighed and nodded. "Fine." Rolling up the second sleeve, bailey hesitated for a moment before outstretching her arm. In the center of bright red wilted scratch marks from her nails was a small purple hole in the main vein that traveled from her arm and into her hand. "Where did that come from?" she whispered to herself while giving her own inspection of the wound.
The puncture wound looked as if it had been caused by a needle at the main vein. The skin tissue had transformed from it's usual creamy peach color to a light purple, yet the normal color of her veins were now a little lighter. There was a constant irritation on the area; like a stinging, itching sensation that only seemed to become more irritated the more her nails raked across the small patch of skin.
"You're sure you don't know what happened?" Josie asked, leaning over the bed to look.
"For the second time, no." Bailey replied in an exasperated tone. "All I know is that it wasn't there before…." She stopped, glancing down at the cotton sheets. "Before my parents died."
"So it happened while they were…" The professor started to ask before catching a stern glance from Jetstream.
From his slumped position over the small table in the corner, Warren watched the scene before him. From what he had gathered so far, the girl's family had been murdered and now she was hosting some rare disease. Well that sucked for her. "What does this have to do with me?" He asked, breaking the silence.
Exchanging worried glances between his wife and the Professor, The Commander cleared his throat. "Well, you have to stay with her."
"What do you mean?" Bailey asked, not liking where this was going.
"Although there is no cure for the disease, there is a treatment that will help slow the process."
"And that is…?"
"A constant direct contact to heat." Medulla stated in the same mater-of-fact tone that Bailey was quickly starting to hate.
Arms folded over her chest in defiance as she stared at Medulla and then at Warren. "So I'll carry a heating pad."
Jetstream shook her head as a hand rested on her shoulder again. "It doesn't work that way."
"Why me?" Warren asked from across the room.
"As it stand you are the only pyro in this school who can control his powers. There's Ms. Fernandez, but I'm afraid her powers are not that strong yet and she could set Bailey on fire. We thought Mr. Sims could do it, but then we realized that his powers only cause him to ignite his whole body into fire. He cannot isolate it like you can."
Brown hair sprawled across the white pillow as she Bailey flopped her head back down. "Great." She growled. "Great. Great. Great. Great. What are the second and third stages?"
"Well according to my research the second stage lasts approximately two weeks. Your finger tips will suffer from second degree frostbite if you stay away from a heat source longer than a few hours. The blood circulating in your body will crystallize into ice, making everything you do painful without any heat to melt it down. Bailey, this is a very painful disease. You'll basically have no body heat without a heat source with leaves openings for hyperthermia and other complications."
"And the third?" she whispered hoarsely.
"The blood in your body will completely freeze along with the rest of your bodily fluids. I don't know how long this stage lasts before you…" He glanced down, feeling a heavy weight on his heart.
Absent mindly she brushed a tear off her cheek while glancing out the window. A large lump had formed in her throat, making it hard for her to talk or swallow. Her cheat heaved a bit while she forced back tears. The realization of her situation hit her like a ton of bricks. She was going to die and the only way of prolonging her death was to become completely dependent on a stranger.
Warren inwardly growled as he glanced around the room. What was it about him that made everyone think he was such a good guy? First Layla and her little scheme to make Stronghold jealous and now this. He didn't want to help. Hell he didn't even want to be there in the first place. Running a hand through his hair in frustration, his body slumped over the table a little more. It was obvious he had no say in the matter. The decision had already been made.
"I'm not staying in a hospital." Bailey softly demanded, her hands clenched into tight balls. "I'm not."
"Okay." Jetstream cooed, her hand grasping onto Bailey's cold one.
"What about my mom?" Warren asked in confusion. "Does she know about this?"
"Principal Powers is in the process of contacting your mother." Medulla stated. It was then a small alarm went off. "Ah. Time for your first treatment." the Professor said in an almost excited voice.
"Treatment?" Bailey asked, looking at the Professor in fear.
"Yes. Come now, Mr. Peace." The teacher said while waving an arm. "She's going to need you."
Reluctantly leaving his position by the table, Warren walked over to the bed. "Now take her hand, but have the main grip over the puncture wound." The professor instructed.
Looking down, the teenager sighed and did as he was told. Their hands locked by the wrist. His eyes widened slightly at the feel of her hand on his arm. It was cold, even to him. Like gripping onto an ice cube that didn't melt. He could feel her trembling within his grasp, making him wonder if it was from the cold or fear.
"All you have to do is heat your hand up just a bit. Bailey will know when to tell you to stop."
He exchanged a worried glance from the Professor to the girl. This wasn't going to be good. With the ability to melt a piece of metal with just a single touch, Warren knew that he'd have to do this very slowly as not to harm her. "Fine." he muttered just before tapping into his powers.
Steam floated through the air as ice and fire mixed. Slowly Bailey could feel the cold subside and warmth take over. It didn't stop with her hand though. With every passing second she could feel her body warm up like a tingling sensation. Her eyes fluttered closed and soon the shaking stopped. Heat spread throughout her body and she felt normal. Not like a dying person who could feel the loss of every outer extremity of her body but alive. "That's good." she said, releasing her grip on him once Bailey felt warm.
Nodding Warren let go, rubbing his hands on his jeans.
"Thank you." She said, looking up at him before back over at the Professor. "How often will he have to do this?"
"For the first stage not often. Perhaps two or three times a day. But as the disease gets worse it will vary to whenever you need it. Bailey," he paused for a moment. "Although you can 'warm up' so to say, it will not stop the process. Unless I can come up with a cure, you will die."
The last three words felt like the final nail being hammered into her coffin. Swallowing, she nodded finding that she couldn't think of anything else to say.
"For now rest." Jetstream said, caressing her forehead gently.
"When can I leave?"
"In a few days." she replied.
Nodding again, Bailey sighed and shifted in the bed. Her eyelids felt heavy and thinking started to be a challenge. She didn't want to know if her sudden fatigue was from her disease or just the emotional stress of it all, and she didn't really care. Closing her eyes, the young woman sighed softly and forced herself into a light sleep.
"We should go." Jetstream said, ushering out everyone from the room. "We'll have her friends sent in later."
Following behind Josie was Warren. Stopping just shy of the door, he glanced over at the girl watching as a few tears trailed down her cheek as she slept. With a heavy sigh he shoved his hands into his pockets before leaving the room like the rest.
A/N: Okay. That's done. Again, I want to thank everyone for their dedication. It means so much to me. Alrighty. That's all for today. Thanks! Oh and before I forget. The pronunciation of the disease is 'freo-ki-osis'. Hope that helps. Next chapter will be up soon.
