Chapter 9
"Fatal?" exclaimed Tinya. "What do you mean, fatal? How can it be fatal? We live in the 31st century, for crying out loud. Surely there's some drug or medicine that would work?"
Brainy shook his head. "Oonocytropia is a viral toxin. There is no cure for it. Most beings can fight it off with the help of antibiotics, but Titanians lack the genes necessary to produce the effective antibody."
"Then give her the antibiotics!" said Chuck.
"I cannot. There has been some success against oonocytropia in Titanians with the early administration of powerful antibiotics, but at a stage this late…" Brainy stopped.
There was silence in the room. They all didn't want to believe it. House, especially, could not accept that the most difficult case he had ever solved was going to end with the unpreventable death of the patient.
"There's got to be something we can do", said Cameron.
"I've tried to think, but I've come up empty", said Brainy. "The only thing we can do now is wake Imra from her healing trance so she can say goodbye."
Garth was watching the three Luornus chat animatedly with Imra behind the security of closed curtains when the door opened to admit Brainy, Tinya, Chuck, House, Wilson, Cuddy, Foreman, Cameron, Chase, Thirteen, and Taub. He shot to his feet while Luornu combined herself.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Garth…" began Brainy. He didn't know how to say this. "It's about Imra…"
"Have you figured out what's wrong with her?" Garth inquired.
"Well, yes…"
"Great! So can we treat her here or do we need to go back to the 31st century?"
"Neither. I mean…that is…we need to…" Brainy looked around for help, but Tinya and Chuck just looked at him blankly.
"What he means to say", spoke up House, "is that the 31st century toxin that's making your girlfriend sick also happens to be fatal to her race."
Garth stood stock still as Luornu gasped and split again.
"That can't be true, can it?" exclaimed Orange-hair. "Bouncy, tell us it's not true."
Chuck looked up solemnly. "I'm sorry, Lu."
"No!" cried White-hair.
"It can't be!" wailed Purple-hair.
"Are you absolutely sure there isn't anything that'll work?" Garth pleaded desperately.
"I'm sorry, Garth, but there really isn't", said Brainy. "The antibiotic –"
"What about a blood transfusion?" asked Tinya.
Brainy somehow managed to look exasperated. "I keep telling you, the telophyte –"
"Is it possible to leech the telophyte out of Titanian blood and inject it into a transfusion from someone else?" questioned Foreman intently.
Brainy looked taken aback. "Theoretically, maybe", he replied. "But the equipment and time necessary to experiment with are not available to us."
"Could you get Violet to do it, back in the 31st century?" asked Chuck.
"Definitely not", Brainy said firmly. "That would be one too many time-sensitive passages in too short a period of time."
Silence.
"So, it's over", said White-hair Luornu desolately. "There's nothing we can do."
"Where's Kutner?" House asked suddenly.
All the doctors looked around.
"I don't know", said Chase. "I haven't seen him since…"
"…since we confirmed that it was a toxin", finished Cameron.
"Oh, great, now you're finishing each other's sentences?" House asked sarcastically.
Chase and Cameron didn't get the chance to reply, because just at that moment Kutner himself came rushing in with a sheet of paper in his hand, panting.
"Kutner?" said Thirteen in amazement.
"Saline", he wheezed out.
"Excuse me?" asked Cuddy.
"Saline", Kutner repeated. "The cure is saline."
"I beg your pardon?" asked Brainy in surprise. "Saline? I've never heard of such a thing."
"Don't tell me you guys don't have salt in the 31st century", House deadpanned after a beat.
"Salt?" repeated Chuck.
House rolled his eyes. "Maybe you know it by its other name – sodium chloride?"
"Oh!" exclaimed Brainy. "You mean NaCl."
"Thank goodness", grumbled House. "For a moment I thought you were too far ahead to know salt."
"I only know of it because of my study of famous historical chemical components", said Brainy. "NaCl is no longer manufactured in the 31st century."
"Really?" asked Kutner. "Then what do you use to flavor your food?"
"A wide variety of nutritional yet tasteful condiments", replied Brainy.
"Don't need to know that", House reminded. He turned to Kutner. "What's this about saline being the cure?"
Kutner couldn't resist grinning. "Okay, so once we confirmed that it was a toxin that was causing all the trouble, I went down to the lab to take a closer look at the toxin molecules. And I found out that the basic structure of the toxin was almost the exact opposite of the chemical components of saline. Saline is a negative ion, and this toxin is positive. If we treat Imra with saline, it'll neutralize the toxin."
"Let me see that", demanded Brainy, grabbing the result sheet from Kutner.
"NaCl- with KlOn+…yes, it's an almost complete opposite", Brainy confirmed, running his finger down the paper. "There's a little too much positive charge, but we can easily counter that with ionized H2O."
"So there is a cure", Garth said, feeling relieved.
"Yes", Brainy replied. "And judging from these figures, it's got a good chance of succeeding, too. Imra will be fine after a day or two, and then we can all head back to our time."
"Wonderful!" exclaimed House, pleased. "And do remember to remind yourself that a 21st century doctor solved a case you couldn't", he added gleefully.
"House!" reproved Cuddy.
Brainy grumbled something under his breath.
Wilson said, "Okay. I think I believe you now."
House had Kutner and Taub administer the saline drip while Foreman and Thirteen kept an eye on the monitors. Chase, Cameron, and Wilson went back to their respective departments, and Cuddy went back to her office. After House's employees left Imra's room (with the exception of Foreman, who took the first shift to keep watch on her), the Legionnaires took up residence, waiting and watching hopefully, but it was several hours later before any change occurred.
The machines monitoring Imra began beeping faster, but not urgently. They were instead signaling a good change in her condition, and Foreman rose to check Imra.
Tinya noticed and nudged Garth. "Garth, I think she's waking up."
Garth shot out of his chair and was by Imra's side in an instant. He glanced questioningly at Foreman, who nodded.
"Heart rate's increasing, brain activity is coming up", Foreman affirmed.
Imra's eyelids fluttered as she opened them. Garth smiled.
"Hey", he greeted her, while the others crowded around.
"Hi", Imra said. "What did I miss?" she asked.
"Apparently not much, as you're not surprised to see me here", replied Brainy, cocking an eyebrow.
"Well, things did get a bit hazy toward the end", Imra admitted. "But I think I managed to get the gist of it. Oonocytropia, huh?"
Chuck winced. "Don't say it, please. I never want to be reminded of this again."
"I do", said Brainy. "If I can get my hands on some sodium and chloride in the 31st century, I could patent the cure for oonocytropia. That would be one more invention that will help the universe."
"Typical Brainy", Tinya commented.
"Well, Imra", said Foreman, "I'm happy to tell you the saline is doing its job. You'll be back on your feet in no time."
"Well, that's a good thing", said Imra, pushing herself up a bit. "I'm getting tired of lying down."
Foreman chuckled.
Two days later, the six (er, eight, counting all three Trips) Legionnaires held a conference while waiting for Imra's discharge papers to be approved. They gathered in Imra's room, locked the door, and pulled the drapes shut.
"Okay, so what are we going to do about the doctors?" inquired Tinya. "Are you up to erasing their memory?" she asked Imra.
"Modifying", Imra corrected. "I can't erase five days' worth of memories."
"Are you sure you can do it?" Garth asked. "I mean, you've only just recovered."
"Modifying memories isn't very taxing, but since there are so many of them…" Imra shrugged. "I'll be able to do it, but it'll be much easier if they cooperate – and that'll be the hard part, especially with Dr. House."
Chuck groaned. "Dr. House. How are we ever going to convince him to allow us to modify his memory?"
"We won't have to", Brainy mused. His friends looked at him.
"What?" asked Purple-hair Luornu.
"What do you mean?" queried White-hair.
Brainy smiled. "I have a plan."
There was a soft, polite knock on Cuddy's door. Thinking it must be one of the nurses, she called, "Come in."
A feminine face peeked in.
"Oh, Luornu", said Cuddy, in mild surprise. "I have Imra's discharge papers right here. Just give me a moment, and I'll sign them for you."
Cuddy located the relevant paper almost immediately, then signed her name in the appropriate space and handed it to Luornu.
"Thanks", said Luornu. "But that's not entirely why I came here. We're gathering everyone in Imra's room for a final farewell. Can you come with me?"
"Well, House isn't exactly big on fond farewells, so good luck trying to get him in", said Cuddy. "But I'll come."
"Okay, look", started Chuck, when House, Cuddy, Wilson, Foreman, Thirteen, Taub, Kutner, Chase, and Cameron had all gathered in Imra's room. "This is how the situation is. We're really, really, grateful to you for helping Imra and curing her of a disease which would otherwise have been fatal, and you have our many thanks for it."
"I sense a 'but' somewhere in there", put in House perceptively. He didn't quite know why he had listened to Purple-hair Luornu's suggestion that he come say a final goodbye to his futuristic patient.
"But", continued Chuck, earning a smug, self-satisfied smile from House, "the truth is, we can't leave the 21st century with you knowing our secret."
"What do you mean?" asked Chase.
"We mean that when we first came here, we hoped you'd be able to diagnose Imra without learning too much about us", supplied Garth. "Obviously, that didn't work, and now you know almost everything."
"So?" inquired Taub.
"So before we leave, we need to modify your memories", answered Tinya.
"Wait – you mean we won't get to remember this case?" asked Kutner.
"Not in its true nature", replied Imra. "You'll just remember me as an ordinary patient whom you treated and went her way."
"We have to do this because if we left you with knowledge of our existence, we would be putting the timeline between the 21st and 31st centuries on some pretty shaky ground", said Orange-hair Luornu. "If you know too much about the future, it could have extremely far-reaching effects on the time-space continuum, and might even result in history rewriting itself completely."
"So you see how important it is that you don't remember this encounter", added Purple-hair.
"Actually, I don't", said House. He pointed his cane at the group of teens. "You said it yourself; I solved a case you couldn't. I saved your friend. And the thanks I get is having my memory wiped? I don't think so."
"It has to be this way", said Imra earnestly. "Otherwise we'd end up totally changing the future."
"Like I care."
"You should, actually", flared Tinya. "If the future was changed, Imra might never even have been born, and then you wouldn't have solved your most interesting case."
"What good is that to me if I don't remember it?" asked House infuriatingly.
Electricity crackled from Garth's fist. "All right. Here's the thing, then. As annoying as you are, I don't think you'd want the world to be destroyed. And if we don't modify your memory, that could actually happen."
"I'll do it", spoke up Kutner. Everyone stared at him.
"It happens all the time in comics", he explained. "Sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do, and make sacrifices for the greater good."
"I like that one", said White-hair Luornu, elbowing her sisters. "We're on the same page."
"Well, um, okay…but this can't be done individually", said Imra.
"Why?" asked Kutner, puzzled.
"Well, if I modified your memory, and not everyone else's, sooner or later they're going to try to get you to remember, and they'll probably succeed in triggering a relapse."
"Well, then, you won't be able to do it", declared House, "because I refuse to agree to this."
"This is not working", muttered Tinya, rubbing her finger in circles on her temple.
"Looks like we'll have to use Brainy's idea after all", agreed Chuck.
"What idea?" asked House suspiciously. "And where is that green intellectual, anyway?"
"Right here", Brainy declared, knocking House unconscious with a sedative as he materialized out of nowhere.
"Where did you come from?" demanded Cuddy.
"It's quite easy to reprogram a holo-ring", said Brainy, filling up another syringe. "Am I going to have to do that for anyone else?"
"Not me", said Wilson. "I'd actually quite like to forget this whole thing. It's pretty distracting."
"Then close your eyes", instructed Imra, rolling up her sleeves. "And empty your mind."
The eight doctors did so, and were soon whisked away to oblivion.
Imra lowered her hands from House's head and sighed. "That's the last of it", she said tiredly, stumbling a little. Garth caught her.
"You did great", he told her.
"There's one problem", said Tinya. "When they wake up, aren't they all gonna wonder what they're doing in and empty hospital room?"
"No, because you're going to transport House, Cuddy, and Wilson to their respective offices", said Imra. "I planted memories about their patient leaving in the other doctors, and also the fact that Chase and Cameron helped out on this particular case, so the others are fine where they are."
"Okay", agreed Tinya. "I think Cuddy's office is right above us, isn't it?"
Luornu, now one again, nodded in the affirmative. "Yep."
"All right, then away we go!" Tinya grabbed Cuddy and floated up. Then she came back and took House and Wilson in their turn.
"Is that all?" she asked, when she returned from the third trip.
"Yes", replied Chuck. "We can leave now."
"Great! Then fire up the old time bubble, Brainy, and let's get back to our own time."
Brainy did so, and the six teenagers entered the portal.
When the doctors awoke a few seconds later, none of them remembered the strange case they had just closed. Only House wondered about the cryptic, unusual sentence he had written on his clipboard.
"My patient is an alien."
THE END
A/N: There we go. That's the end. I hope you guys all enjoyed it! I know I did! Since you guys didn't tell me whether your questions were answered or not, I'll assume they were, but I'll put the answers here anyway, for the benefit of everyone.
Garth was wearing a holo-ring throughout the entire story, so no one noticed his prosthetic. Imra didn't wear one to hide her eyes because Brainy didn't want to risk too much futuristic equipment in the 21st century. And if you guys have any other questions, drop me a line!
Many, many thanks to all my reviewers: guardyanangel, The Violet Rose, Devilbunnyxox, leath, and TheEclipse93. Special thanks to Violet, who faithfully reviewed every single chapter. Thanks everyone for making this possible!
Disclaimer: Okay, listen closely, 'cause this is the last time I'm gonna say it: I don't own House or Legion of Superheroes.