Chapter 6 - 1X09 part II
When I wake up at 7 AM the next day, it's with a jolt. I had a premonitory dream of a man in a yellow suit trapped in a force field. My body is trembling all over from the intensity of the vision. I dress in a rush, barely even looking in the mirror to check my appearance, and head to STAR labs. Despite the early hour and it being Saturday, I'm confident that there will be at least one person there already. I'm really hoping it's Dr. Wells, but when I get there, I only find Cisco working in a basement lab.
"Cisco," I call to him.
"Hey, Mika, what brings you here?"
"I had a dream last night. Is Wells around?"
"No, he's not here yet. I heard you tried the serum he and Caitlyn worked on. How'd it go?"
"It worked, miraculously. Had some side effects - nausea, alteration in the perception of color, endorphin rush, sleepiness. But yeah, it worked."
"So if it worked, what was the dream about?" he asks.
"Well, it only lasted about two hours. The dream I had was of a man in a yellow suit, vibrating. And he was stuck in, well, that," I say, gesturing to the metal contraption Cisco is building.
"Sweet, so it worked!"
"I guess so."
"So why did you want to see Wells about it?"
"I'm not sure." I rub a hand over my face. "That was the only part of the dream I can remember, but I'm sure there was more than that. And I was scared. When I woke up, I was trembling." I shake my head, trying to sense any more information now that I'm in the room where my dream took place, but I'm not getting anything.
"When is this trap going to be sprung?" I ask.
"The plan is tonight. We will have the tachyonic device, two detectives, and four SWAT team members."
"And Barry?" I ask, laying a hand on one of the metal arms of the trap.
"We're going to ask him to sit this one out. We think he'd be more a liability than an asset considering his connection with this man." I nod, absorbing this information.
"Then I'd like to be here."
"Absolutely not," we hear Wells call, turning at the sound of his voice as he enters the room. I cross my arms, glaring at him.
"I'm just gonna go...powder my nose," Cisco says, scrambling for an excuse to leave.
When Wells and I are alone, I ask, "Why not?"
"I already told you - it's too dangerous." His tone is calm, authoritative, clearly unaccustomed to being challenged.
"If you're going up against a metahuman, you should have at least one meta on your side, don't you think?" I argue. Wells crosses his arms, looking the pinnacle of cool confidence.
"I don't mean any disrespect, Ms. Mika, but your abilities and those of a speedster aren't exactly an equal match."
"Sure they are," I bluster. "He can move very fast, but I can predict those moves." I see him consider this. "I want to be there," I insist. "For Barry, for you and Cisco and Caitlyn." He's silent, so I search for more arguments. "I can be your Weathervane." With a small smile, he dips his head.
"Very well. I'll let the others know you'll be joining us. You don't have travel plans tonight?" I shrug.
"I don't mind postponing them. I'm just going to Keystone."
"Well, I'm sure Cisco could use an extra set of hands on the trap."
"I'd be happy to help, though I'm not sure how much help I'll really be - I don't have much experience with tools or engineering."
"He can give you a short introduction. I'll let him know that we've worked out our differences and it's safe to come back in." I laugh at that. While I wait for Cisco to come back, I look at the drawings for this machine.
"I hear you'll be joining our stakeout tonight," he says cheerfully.
"Yep - I wouldn't miss it! What can I do to help with this in the meantime?" He gives me a spare wrench and shows me how to fit the different pieces of the arms together.
"I'm glad you're here. Caitlyn has been a little out of sorts this past week, and I didn't want to ask her to come in too early today."
"She lost someone she loved recently, right?"
"Sort of. Her fiance was believed dead when the particle accelerator exploded...now we're not so sure. But she's been mourning him for a year now."
"I see. I'm sure this time of year is hard for you all." He nods, pushing a lock of his hair back behind his ear.
"Wells especially. He doesn't have much family, and since the explosion, he hasn't had many friends either." I nod solemnly.
"People can be so fickle." There's a comfortable pause as he and I focus on our work.
"He seems to really enjoy having you around," Cisco says, surprising me.
"Who, Wells? Really?" I ask. "How can you tell?"
"Well, for starters, he's a lot more jokey when you're around." That makes me laugh.
"I don't believe you," I say suspiciously.
"Check me," he exclaims, standing with his arms at his sides in an open gesture. I tap into my power for a quick check and get no indication he's lying.
"Huh. Alright, well, I'm glad I can contribute to the team in some way, at the least."
"What do you mean by that?" he asks. I shrug, not in the mood to voice my feelings of inadequacy.
"I'm not around much, is all," I answer. "And I'm not a fighter or a scientist."
"You're a wonderful addition to the team, Mika," Cisco says, stopping work to look me in the eye.
"Thank you, that means a lot." Together, and with Caitlyn's help when she arrives, we finish the trap, and Cisco inspects the overall product.
"Alright, we should all get upstairs. I'm going to activate the tachyonic device to advertise that it's here," Cisco said. My pulse starts racing, but I'm not hearing any specific warning along with the fear reaction. In the cortex, Dr. Wells, Detective West, and the SWAT members wait. We join them in staring at the screen, waiting for something to appear in the trap. It seems to stretch for hours, but it's only minutes.
In a blink, the forcefield has activated, capturing the figure I saw in my dream.
"Let's go see what we caught," Wells announces. The police move out.
"Be careful," I tell him, the words coming out unbidden. He nods once, solemn.
As I watch on the screen, the picture fades in and out with the flickering lights. I have to keep blinking to get my eyes to focus on anything. The man in the yellow suit vibrates ominously in the ball of sparking electrical forcefield. My vision begins to fade just as the team enters the room.
"Cisco, tell them to get out of there," I say, my voice coming out quiet and small as my knees give out.
By the time I wake up in the medical room, there's another patient next to me - Dr. Wells! I sit up with a start, rushing over to his cot where Caitlyn is patching him up while Cisco talks about the containment field.
"Dr. Wells! What happened?" I ask.
"The speedster was able to escape and he captured me. For some reason, whoever he is doesn't seem to like me very much," he says it with a wry smile, but I can see how much pain he is in. I reach out a hand to rest on his arm, realizing only too late that he's only in a tank top, and I'm touching bare skin. He smiles at me, but I worry I invaded his space, so I pull my hand away, fighting a blush.
"So, that man got away?"
"With the prototype," Cisco laments.
"Well, shit. I'm sorry, I should have known, should have seen it coming." So much for being the weathervane.
"You did though - right before you passed out, you said they needed to evacuate."
"I did?"
"Yes," Caitlyn says, looking up from her treatment. "You had another seizure, Mika."
"I don't know why - I wasn't overtaxing myself."
"It was probably the lighting in the room. The power draw from the containment field made the lights flicker; remember I said that can cause seizures?"
"Oh. Shoot." I shake my head at my forgetfulness. I should have closed my eyes or looked away when the lights began to flicker, but I was too curious. "Is Barry okay?" The three exchange a glance.
"Physically, he will be fine," Caitlyn answers. "Emotionally...he'll need some time. I imagine this will be his main focus until we catch the guy." They all nod in agreement. I look at Wells again, taking in the extent of his injuries - the bruising, the cuts. I wish I could have better prevented this. Eventually, Caitlyn finishes her work, and she and Cisco head out, dejected.
"Do you need any help? Any company?" I ask. He waves away the questions.
"I'll be fine. Thank you for your concern. Are you alright?" I roll my shoulders and stretch.
"Yes, I think so. I think my pride is just bruised. I feel so silly for collapsing at such a pivotal moment. I'm sorry I couldn't do more tonight." His hand reaches out to mine, which is resting on the side of his bed.
"Nothing that happened tonight is your fault." I shake my head. I know he means well.
"I should have seen farther ahead, in more detail. If we had known this plan would fail, we could have been better prepared, you wouldn't have been hurt," I say, looking into his shockingly blue eyes.
"I'll recover. Please, don't worry about me. You should head out and enjoy the holiday." I nod solemnly, not really wanting to go but lacking an excuse to stay.
"Alright. Please, text or call me if you need anything at all. I'm not far."
"I will." I head for the door, wishing with all my heart he would call me back, beg me to stay, and we could spend the holiday cuddled together near a fireplace.
"Mika," he says. I turn around, my heart thudding.
"Yes?"
"I almost forgot. In the lab, on the third shelf near the door, there's a modified version of that last serum. I had time last night to make adjustments based on the side effects you mentioned. It still needs an injection for the delivery though, so I modified an epi-pen. I figured that might be easier than a full-on needle in a vein." I follow his directions and find the bottle of serum and the pen. After I failed tonight to fully use my gift, I'm not willing to give it up again. But I might feel differently when surrounded by relatives, so I grab it and pack it carefully in my purse.
"Thank you, Dr. Wells." I come back to his bed to squeeze his hand, but that doesn't properly capture the depths of my gratitude, so I lean over, my hand resting gently on his shoulder, and I plant a soft kiss on an uninjured section of his cheek. I pull back slightly and say quietly, "I hope you have a very Merry Christmas."
"Same to you, Mika." I don't need my gift to tell me that the quickening of his breath and dilated pupils indicate he's aroused. After seeing that proof of his attraction, it's a thousand times harder to leave, but he hasn't asked me to stay, so I force my feet out the door.