Mikey held onto Raph, as he continued to thrash violently in his grip; white, sticky foam bubbling from his brother's mouth.
"Donnie!" Mikey screamed at the top of his lungs, as the pounding of feet on stone entered Raph's bedroom.
Donnie knelt down quickly at Raph's side.
"He's having a seizure." Donnie said, his voice shaking with panic, as he attempted to help Mikey hold Raph's violently shaking body still until finally Raph stopped seizing.
"Donnie?" Mikey asked in a frightened voice that trembled. Raph lay on the ground completely motionless, save for Raph's desperate gasping for air.
Donnie shook his head back and forth. "I don't know." He said helplessly, as he quickly checked Raph's vitals. "He's going into respiratory distress." Donnie said with fear, as he looked at Mikey, whose eyes were wide with terror. "Mikey, I need you to listen carefully. I need you to run to my lab and grab the Bag Valve Mask." Donnie said in a calm even tone.
Mikey felt his body begin to tremble, as his heart beat too fast and hard in his chest, and the blood rushed so fiercely through his ears, that he was unable to even hear, let alone understand his brother's words.
"Mikey!" Donnie shouted, which seemed to snap Mikey out of his horror induced trance.
"Bag Valve Mask." He repeated numbly, and nodded his head up and down. "It's in the top drawer of the large metal cabinet. It's the thing you put over the face with a bag to pump air into the lungs, like you see on those medical TV shows." Donnie told him in a gentler tone.
Mikey felt himself stand, but his entire body had gone numb. He knew he had gone to Donnie's lab, mumbled a few words to Master Splinter, who sat vigil at Leo's bedside, found the thing that Donnie had asked him to bring back to him, and brought it back to Donnie, who remained seated at Raph's side; but it was all a blur. There were too many emotions that rolled tumultuously through his mind, as tears flowed unabated, wetting his mask and streaking, hot, salty trails down his icy cold cheeks.
Donnie looked at Mikey gratefully. "He's unconscious." Donnie told him grimly."Now listen, Mikey. I need you to breathe for him. Every breath you take, you pump this balloon, do you understand? In and out, breathe normally, calmly, do you think you can do that for me?" Donnie asked him, as Mikey nodded up and down, wiping the tears from his eyes and cheeks with the back of his hand.
Donnie placed the mouth piece over Raphael's mouth and nostrils. "In and out, Mikey. Nice and Easy." Donnie prompted evenly, as Mikey focused all of his attention on taking the plastic balloon-like bag in his hand, and squeezing it every time he took a shaky, uneven breath.
"Mikey, calm down, you're squeezing too fast, if you keep pumping air into Raph's lungs like that, you could over inflate his lungs, which could lead to pressure damage, or you could cause gastric distension by pumping air into his stomach, which will make it harder for you to pump the oxygen into his lungs. Or you could cause Raph to vomit, and in his present condition, that could be bad. He could choke on his own vomit and die." Donnie pointed out grimly and succinctly, as Mikey found his eyes widening with absolute horror.
"You do it." Mikey said, shaking his head violently from side to side with absolute terror. The thought of injuring or even accidentally killing his brother filled him with an icy terror, that all but consumed him.
"I can't Mikey." Donnie answered patiently, but with a hint of frustration in his voice that showed how frayed Donnie's nerves were. "I need to go set up the other ventilator and clean out the lines." He said with an impatient huff, but said more gently. "You can do this Mikey, okay?" Donnie said, as he placed a hand on Mikey's shoulder and squeezed, before standing and running from Raph's bedroom.
Mikey looked back at Raph's motionless body, as his brother's mouth opened and closed as he gasped for breath. Mikey began concentrating, as he struggled to calm his own frantic breathing. 'Breathe in, breath out.' He thought to himself, as he watched the shaky rise and fall of Raph's chest.
A light hand touched his shoulder making him jump, frightening him out of his repetitive trance. He looked at Donnie wide eyed, as his eyes shot back to his hands that had paused in their rhythm of squeeze and release.
"Come on Mikey, we need to move Raph to the infirmary." Donnie said, as he grabbed Raph under his armpits, hauling him upright, as Mikey scrambled to pick up Raph's legs, and help Donnie haul their unconscious brother from his room, down the hall and stairs, and into the infirmary.
They gently placed Raph on a cot, as Donnie worked quickly to open Raph's mouth and gently slide the ventilation tube smoothly down his throat.
Mikey watched all of this, as Master Splinter rose from the chair that had been placed beside Leo's cot. His father's eyes were full of fear filled worry, his fur damp from freshly fallen tears of grief and shock that another son lay possibly so close to death as well.
Mikey stole a quick glance at Leo's still form, the heart monitor and ventilators the only sound in the tension filled room. Mikey turned his attention back to Donnie, who was closely examining Raph's face and neck.
"Donnie?" He asked in a quavering voice, that cracked slightly.
"He has hives along this mouth and throat." Donnie said, indicating the dark bumps that had suddenly formed across his brother's face and neck.
"What does that mean, Donnie?" Mikey asked, as Master Splinter took one of Raph's limp hands in a shaky, but firm grip.
Donnie dragged tired hands across his face as he shook his head in frustration. "I don't know." He said, as he seemed to shake himself, as he rushed over to a table, and quickly picking up a syringe and a thick rubber tourniquet. Donnie quickly rushed back to Raph's side, quickly tying the rubber tourniquet around Raph's bicep and closing Raph's hand to create a fist. Mikey held Raph's hand closed as Donnie searched for a vein, inserting the needle and pulling the plunger, drawing his brother's blood into the plastic tube.
Donnie pulled off the tourniquet and looked at the blood he had collected, as Mikey held a cotton ball to the crook of Raph's arm. "I'm going to check Raph's blood for toxins and abnormalities." He said as he quickly placed the blood into a vial, and then put the vial into a strange machine, closing the lid and pressing a button. Donnie moved swiftly across the room, sliding out his computer chair and falling heavily into the seat, before pulling himself forward. His fingers flew across the keyboard, his eyes scanning the screen, a frown of worried concentration pulling at his tired features several minutes later.
"What is it, my son?" Master Splinter's quavering, exhausted voice asked, as deeper frown lines carved themselves into Donnie's face.
"Raph's blood is full of some sort of toxin, but... I don't know what it is." He said as he launched himself out of his computer chair, his worried gaze flying back to Raph's unconscious form.
Donnie placed the back of his hand on Raph's forehead, and then placed it on Raph's cheek before moving back to Raph's forehead. "He's beginning to get a high fever. His body is reacting to whatever toxin has invaded it."
"So what do we do?" Mikey asked in a small voice, as he pulled the cotton ball away from Raph's arm.
"I need to figure out how Raph got the toxin into his bloodstream in the first place, then maybe I can narrow down what it could be." Donatello said, as he pulled out a pen light and shined them in both of Raph's eyes, and then checking his pulse. Donnie then reached under his brother's chin, and rubbed the sides of his neck.
"His heartbeat is rapid, and his lymph nodes are swollen." Donnie mumbled almost to himself, as he frantically searched Raph's face, which had become very pale and beaded in sweat. "Mikey, what was Raph doing before he went to bed?" Donnie asked anxiously, as Mikey looked at Raph, before transferring his frightened gaze back to Donnie.
"I... I..." Mikey stammered as he shook his head, unable to think clearly through the terror that was choking him.
"Mikey, I need you to take a deep breath, calm down and think." Donatello said in a firm voice, edged with fear and exhaustion.
"We were talking at the table, and Raph looked a little pale, but he said he wasn't feeling good cause of Leo... and... and then he went to bed, we both did." Mikey said in a rush of words that tripped and stumbled over one another.
"Did he eat or drink anything?" Donnie prompted insistently, a quaver of panic and terror threading through his questions.
"Not that I saw." Mikey said, as he shook his head, his mind scrambling to remember Raph's movements that had become a cluttered blur that was hopelessly jumbled in his head. He felt tears of frustration prick his eyes as he sniffed, and dragged the back of his cold hand across his wet, tear filled eyes.
Mikey saw Donnie's shoulder slump in dejected disappointment. "There has to be something." Donnie whispered, as his hand lightly brushed across Raph's fevered, sweat soaked brow.
"He got you a drink." Mikey blurted out suddenly into the depressing silence that had drifted over his grief-stricken family. "He... he left and got you a drink, and then he came back." Mikey said to his brother, as if this would help him somehow.
Donnie only shook his head, his shoulders slumping further, as he scrubbed weary fingers across his eyes before freezing, his head shooting up and his hand dropping away from his eyes as his gaze flew to Leo's broken form lying on the cot a few feet from Raph. Donnie rushed to Leo's side, placing a hand on his brother's brow, his frown became one of abject worry, as he glanced at the heart monitor, which indicated that Leo's heart rate and blood pressure were still stable, but lower than normal.
"Donatello?" Master Splinter asked, his voice thick with worry.
"Leo's getting a little warm, and I noticed that there were some marks around Leo's face, but I didn't pay much attention to them, because his other injuries were so extensive that they didn't seem important at the time, but..." Donnie paused in thought for a moment before continuing. "I think he had suffered from hives, and his temperature is starting to rise as well."
Mikey and Master Splinter waited in the tense silence, as Donnie's face fell into worried lines, his mind obviously searching for some answer. Donnie's eyes suddenly widened. "The drive!" He exclaimed as he ran over to his duffel bag. He reached a hand in then paused as he looked at the canteen that had fallen out of the bag.
"Mikey," Donnie began slowly.
Mikey approached his older brother. "What?" He asked, as he knelt down and went to pick up the canteen.
"Don't touch that." Donnie hissed as he slapped Mikey's hand out of the way.
Mikey looked at his brother in shock as he quickly stood up, and Donnie carefully picked the canteen up by the strap, as well as some sort of black box.
"Did you touch this?" Donnie asked, his voice harsh and apprehensive.
Mikey shook his head back and forth. "No." He said as he remembered something. "But Raph did. I saw him pick it up."
"Did he drink from it?" Donnie asked, his voice insistent and curt.
"No. He just looked at it for a moment, then put it back down, why?" Mikey asked, his own voice shaking with nervous worry. His stomach rolled around in his gut in sick apprehension.
"Leo doesn't have hives anymore, but... I think the water in this was poisoned." Donnie announced, his words edged with bitter worry and anger.
"P-Poisoned?" Mikey asked in a faint voice, his world going fuzzy and black around the edges, his brother's voice becoming distant before everything snapped back into focus and clarity.
Donnie's hand gave his shoulder a brief squeeze. "Just breathe, Mikey." He said as he rushed to the computer, the spot on his shoulder where Donnie's hand had rested felt icy and cold.
Donnie threw himself into his computer chair, rolling himself forward, he connected a cable to the black box and began furiously typing, his fingers flying across the keyboard as the canteen lay beside him, the tangible evidence of the Shredder's malicious evil.
"I don't think that the poison is deadly, but..." Donnie mumbled almost to himself. "I need to find out what they put in Leo's water." Donnie's strained features were cast into an eerie light by the flickering computer screen. "I think some of the poison may be present on the outside of the canteen. When Raph picked it up, it's possible that it was either transferred to his fingers, and he ingested it somehow, or it leached through his skin. I am hoping that the hard drive that I took from the lab contains the data on what possible..." Donnie's voice trailed off, his skin turning a sickly grey shade.
"Test number one." The clinical voice they recognized as the Doctor, came through from the speakers.
"Oh, God." Donnie said in a horrified whisper. "There are... every torture they put Leo through... they filmed them." Donnie choked out, his voice wavering with emotion as tears beaded along his eyes.
Mikey swallowed, and made his way around the computer so that he could see what his brother was watching on his computer screen. Whatever Donnie had been watching, he quickly closed it so that Mikey wasn't able to see.
"You don't want to see, Mikey." Donnie said quietly. "And neither do I. At least, not now." He said as his fingers began moving across the keyboard again. "We can't worry about that right now, we need to find out what Leo and Raph have been poisoned with." He said, taking a deep breath. "There are blueprints and documents here," he said with a frown. "They are for the bio-mechanics of the cyborgs we found in the morgue." Donnie said thoughtfully. "Wait!" He exclaimed. "There is a note here. It says; subject is being given a steady dose of Datura."
"Will... will they be okay?" Mikey asked, his voice quavering as he blinked back the tears that threatened to fall.
"That isn't the drug that made them both sick." Donnie said with a small shake of his head, his voice containing a hint of frustration and bleak realization. "It's a mild hallucinogenic. They were probably dosing Leo with it so that our 'deaths' seemed more real." Donnie said with a disgusted shake of his head. "Of course, I'm not saying that Raph didn't get some of that in his system as well, but whatever toxin is in his system right now, is making them both very sick." Donnie flicked a quick glance at Raph and Leo's still figures, each hooked up to machines that were keeping them alive, and letting their family know that they were still at least fighting to stay with them.
"There are just so many..." Donnie stopped talking, and if possible, paled even further. "Hedera Helix." Donnie whispered.
"Donatello." Master Splinter asked into the silence that suddenly filled the room.
"It... it's just common Ivy. The leaves and berries are poisonous. They cause stomach pains, fever, delirium, hallucinations, fatigue, paralysis, muscle spasms, labored breathing, convulsions, vomiting, and possible coma." Donnie said dully.
"So, they'll be fine." Mikey said with relief, realizing that death hadn't been on Donnie's list of complications if the drug had been ingested. "So how do we cure them?" Mikey asked, as he swallowed down the lump of dread that formed in his throat, as his brother remained silent. "Donnie?" He prodded his brother again. "They're going to be fine, right?"
Donnie took a deep breath. "There is no antidote. Treatment includes supportive and symptomatic care." His brother finally answered softly, but amended hastily. "The only thing we can do is just... keep them stable and comfortable."
Mikey nodded with relief, as Donnie slid from his seat and walked over to Raph's motionless form, the heart monitor's beep a steady reassuring sound that filled the room.
Donnie picked up a thermometer that was placed on a side table, inserting it into his brother's mouth and frowning heavily with worry. "His fever's getting too high." Donnie mumbled under his breath. "If it continues to climb, he might get brain damage." He said as he moved over to check Leo's temperature, the frown he wore continuing to etch itself deeper into his brother's tired, strained features.
"Is there anything you can do, Donnie?" Mikey asked in a small, desperate voice.
"I may be able to administer some active charcoal. That may help." Donnie mumbled, as he rushed over to a table and began frantically searching through vials, bottles and other containers searching for what Mikey assumed to be charcoal.
"Charcoal?" Mikey asked in horror, as Donnie poured black powder into a beaker, and mixing it with water until it became a liquidy, black sludge.
"It won't hurt them, Mikey." Donnie said reassuringly.
....
Thanks to Darkunderworld and Amonraphoenix for helping me. And sorry this one took so long to write. Things were hecticly busy for a while, but sit back and enjoy this long overdue chapter.
Mikey held onto Raph, as he continued to thrash violently in his grip; white, sticky foam bubbling from his brother's mouth.
"Donnie!" Mikey screamed at the top of his lungs, as the pounding of feet on stone entered Raph's bedroom.
Donnie knelt down quickly at Raph's side.
"He's having a seizure." Donnie said, his voice shaking with panic, as he attempted to help Mikey hold Raph's violently shaking body still until finally Raph stopped seizing.
"Donnie?" Mikey asked in a frightened voice that trembled. Raph lay on the ground completely motionless, save for Raph's desperate gasping for air.
Donnie shook his head back and forth. "I don't know." He said helplessly, as he quickly checked Raph's vitals. "He's going into respiratory distress." Donnie said with fear, as he looked at Mikey, whose eyes were wide with terror. "Mikey, I need you to listen carefully. I need you to run to my lab and grab the Bag Valve Mask." Donnie said in a calm even tone.
Mikey felt his body begin to tremble, as his heart beat too fast and hard in his chest, and the blood rushed so fiercely through his ears, that he was unable to even hear, let alone understand his brother's words.
"Mikey!" Donnie shouted, which seemed to snap Mikey out of his horror induced trance.
"Bag Valve Mask." He repeated numbly, and nodded his head up and down. "It's in the top drawer of the large metal cabinet. It's the thing you put over the face with a bag to pump air into the lungs, like you see on those medical TV shows." Donnie told him in a gentler tone.
Mikey felt himself stand, but his entire body had gone numb. He knew he had gone to Donnie's lab, mumbled a few words to Master Splinter, who sat vigil at Leo's bedside, found the thing that Donnie had asked him to bring back to him, and brought it back to Donnie, who remained seated at Raph's side; but it was all a blur. There were too many emotions that rolled tumultuously through his mind, as tears flowed unabated, wetting his mask and streaking, hot, salty trails down his icy cold cheeks.
Donnie looked at Mikey gratefully. "He's unconscious." Donnie told him grimly."Now listen, Mikey. I need you to breathe for him. Every breath you take, you pump this balloon, do you understand? In and out, breathe normally, calmly, do you think you can do that for me?" Donnie asked him, as Mikey nodded up and down, wiping the tears from his eyes and cheeks with the back of his hand.
Donnie placed the mouth piece over Raphael's mouth and nostrils. "In and out, Mikey. Nice and Easy." Donnie prompted evenly, as Mikey focused all of his attention on taking the plastic balloon-like bag in his hand, and squeezing it every time he took a shaky, uneven breath.
"Mikey, calm down, you're squeezing too fast, if you keep pumping air into Raph's lungs like that, you could over inflate his lungs, which could lead to pressure damage, or you could cause gastric distension by pumping air into his stomach, which will make it harder for you to pump the oxygen into his lungs. Or you could cause Raph to vomit, and in his present condition, that could be bad. He could choke on his own vomit and die." Donnie pointed out grimly and succinctly, as Mikey found his eyes widening with absolute horror.
"You do it." Mikey said, shaking his head violently from side to side with absolute terror. The thought of injuring or even accidentally killing his brother filled him with an icy terror, that all but consumed him.
"I can't Mikey." Donnie answered patiently, but with a hint of frustration in his voice that showed how frayed Donnie's nerves were. "I need to go set up the other ventilator and clean out the lines." He said with an impatient huff, but said more gently. "You can do this Mikey, okay?" Donnie said, as he placed a hand on Mikey's shoulder and squeezed, before standing and running from Raph's bedroom.
Mikey looked back at Raph's motionless body, as his brother's mouth opened and closed as he gasped for breath. Mikey began concentrating, as he struggled to calm his own frantic breathing. 'Breathe in, breath out.' He thought to himself, as he watched the shaky rise and fall of Raph's chest.
A light hand touched his shoulder making him jump, frightening him out of his repetitive trance. He looked at Donnie wide eyed, as his eyes shot back to his hands that had paused in their rhythm of squeeze and release.
"Come on Mikey, we need to move Raph to the infirmary." Donnie said, as he grabbed Raph under his armpits, hauling him upright, as Mikey scrambled to pick up Raph's legs, and help Donnie haul their unconscious brother from his room, down the hall and stairs, and into the infirmary.
They gently placed Raph on a cot, as Donnie worked quickly to open Raph's mouth and gently slide the ventilation tube smoothly down his throat.
Mikey watched all of this, as Master Splinter rose from the chair that had been placed beside Leo's cot. His father's eyes were full of fear filled worry, his fur damp from freshly fallen tears of grief and shock that another son lay possibly so close to death as well.
Mikey stole a quick glance at Leo's still form, the heart monitor and ventilators the only sound in the tension filled room. Mikey turned his attention back to Donnie, who was closely examining Raph's face and neck.
"Donnie?" He asked in a quavering voice, that cracked slightly.
"He has hives along this mouth and throat." Donnie said, indicating the dark bumps that had suddenly formed across his brother's face and neck.
"What does that mean, Donnie?" Mikey asked, as Master Splinter took one of Raph's limp hands in a shaky, but firm grip.
Donnie dragged tired hands across his face as he shook his head in frustration. "I don't know." He said, as he seemed to shake himself, as he rushed over to a table, and quickly picking up a syringe and a thick rubber tourniquet. Donnie quickly rushed back to Raph's side, quickly tying the rubber tourniquet around Raph's bicep and closing Raph's hand to create a fist. Mikey held Raph's hand closed as Donnie searched for a vein, inserting the needle and pulling the plunger, drawing his brother's blood into the plastic tube.
Donnie pulled off the tourniquet and looked at the blood he had collected, as Mikey held a cotton ball to the crook of Raph's arm. "I'm going to check Raph's blood for toxins and abnormalities." He said as he quickly placed the blood into a vial, and then put the vial into a strange machine, closing the lid and pressing a button. Donnie moved swiftly across the room, sliding out his computer chair and falling heavily into the seat, before pulling himself forward. His fingers flew across the keyboard, his eyes scanning the screen, a frown of worried concentration pulling at his tired features several minutes later.
"What is it, my son?" Master Splinter's quavering, exhausted voice asked, as deeper frown lines carved themselves into Donnie's face.
"Raph's blood is full of some sort of toxin, but... I don't know what it is." He said as he launched himself out of his computer chair, his worried gaze flying back to Raph's unconscious form.
Donnie placed the back of his hand on Raph's forehead, and then placed it on Raph's cheek before moving back to Raph's forehead. "He's beginning to get a high fever. His body is reacting to whatever toxin has invaded it."
"So what do we do?" Mikey asked in a small voice, as he pulled the cotton ball away from Raph's arm.
"I need to figure out how Raph got the toxin into his bloodstream in the first place, then maybe I can narrow down what it could be." Donatello said, as he pulled out a pen light and shined them in both of Raph's eyes, and then checking his pulse. Donnie then reached under his brother's chin, and rubbed the sides of his neck.
"His heartbeat is rapid, and his lymph nodes are swollen." Donnie mumbled almost to himself, as he frantically searched Raph's face, which had become very pale and beaded in sweat. "Mikey, what was Raph doing before he went to bed?" Donnie asked anxiously, as Mikey looked at Raph, before transferring his frightened gaze back to Donnie.
"I... I..." Mikey stammered as he shook his head, unable to think clearly through the terror that was choking him.
"Mikey, I need you to take a deep breath, calm down and think." Donatello said in a firm voice, edged with fear and exhaustion.
"We were talking at the table, and Raph looked a little pale, but he said he wasn't feeling good cause of Leo... and... and then he went to bed, we both did." Mikey said in a rush of words that tripped and stumbled over one another.
"Did he eat or drink anything?" Donnie prompted insistently, a quaver of panic and terror threading through his questions.
"Not that I saw." Mikey said, as he shook his head, his mind scrambling to remember Raph's movements that had become a cluttered blur that was hopelessly jumbled in his head. He felt tears of frustration prick his eyes as he sniffed, and dragged the back of his cold hand across his wet, tear filled eyes.
Mikey saw Donnie's shoulder slump in dejected disappointment. "There has to be something." Donnie whispered, as his hand lightly brushed across Raph's fevered, sweat soaked brow.
"He got you a drink." Mikey blurted out suddenly into the depressing silence that had drifted over his grief-stricken family. "He... he left and got you a drink, and then he came back." Mikey said to his brother, as if this would help him somehow.
Donnie only shook his head, his shoulders slumping further, as he scrubbed weary fingers across his eyes before freezing, his head shooting up and his hand dropping away from his eyes as his gaze flew to Leo's broken form lying on the cot a few feet from Raph. Donnie rushed to Leo's side, placing a hand on his brother's brow, his frown became one of abject worry, as he glanced at the heart monitor, which indicated that Leo's heart rate and blood pressure were still stable, but lower than normal.
"Donatello?" Master Splinter asked, his voice thick with worry.
"Leo's getting a little warm, and I noticed that there were some marks around Leo's face, but I didn't pay much attention to them, because his other injuries were so extensive that they didn't seem important at the time, but..." Donnie paused in thought for a moment before continuing. "I think he had suffered from hives, and his temperature is starting to rise as well."
Mikey and Master Splinter waited in the tense silence, as Donnie's face fell into worried lines, his mind obviously searching for some answer. Donnie's eyes suddenly widened. "The drive!" He exclaimed as he ran over to his duffel bag. He reached a hand in then paused as he looked at the canteen that had fallen out of the bag.
"Mikey," Donnie began slowly.
Mikey approached his older brother. "What?" He asked, as he knelt down and went to pick up the canteen.
"Don't touch that." Donnie hissed as he slapped Mikey's hand out of the way.
Mikey looked at his brother in shock as he quickly stood up, and Donnie carefully picked the canteen up by the strap, as well as some sort of black box.
"Did you touch this?" Donnie asked, his voice harsh and apprehensive.
Mikey shook his head back and forth. "No." He said as he remembered something. "But Raph did. I saw him pick it up."
"Did he drink from it?" Donnie asked, his voice insistent and curt.
"No. He just looked at it for a moment, then put it back down, why?" Mikey asked, his own voice shaking with nervous worry. His stomach rolled around in his gut in sick apprehension.
"Leo doesn't have hives anymore, but... I think the water in this was poisoned." Donnie announced, his words edged with bitter worry and anger.
"P-Poisoned?" Mikey asked in a faint voice, his world going fuzzy and black around the edges, his brother's voice becoming distant before everything snapped back into focus and clarity.
Donnie's hand gave his shoulder a brief squeeze. "Just breathe, Mikey." He said as he rushed to the computer, the spot on his shoulder where Donnie's hand had rested felt icy and cold.
Donnie threw himself into his computer chair, rolling himself forward, he connected a cable to the black box and began furiously typing, his fingers flying across the keyboard as the canteen lay beside him, the tangible evidence of the Shredder's malicious evil.
"I don't think that the poison is deadly, but..." Donnie mumbled almost to himself. "I need to find out what they put in Leo's water." Donnie's strained features were cast into an eerie light by the flickering computer screen. "I think some of the poison may be present on the outside of the canteen. When Raph picked it up, it's possible that it was either transferred to his fingers, and he ingested it somehow, or it leached through his skin. I am hoping that the hard drive that I took from the lab contains the data on what possible..." Donnie's voice trailed off, his skin turning a sickly grey shade.
"Test number one." The clinical voice they recognized as the Doctor, came through from the speakers.
"Oh, God." Donnie said in a horrified whisper. "There are... every torture they put Leo through... they filmed them." Donnie choked out, his voice wavering with emotion as tears beaded along his eyes.
Mikey swallowed, and made his way around the computer so that he could see what his brother was watching on his computer screen. Whatever Donnie had been watching, he quickly closed it so that Mikey wasn't able to see.
"You don't want to see, Mikey." Donnie said quietly. "And neither do I. At least, not now." He said as his fingers began moving across the keyboard again. "We can't worry about that right now, we need to find out what Leo and Raph have been poisoned with." He said, taking a deep breath. "There are blueprints and documents here," he said with a frown. "They are for the bio-mechanics of the cyborgs we found in the morgue." Donnie said thoughtfully. "Wait!" He exclaimed. "There is a note here. It says; subject is being given a steady dose of Datura."
"Will... will they be okay?" Mikey asked, his voice quavering as he blinked back the tears that threatened to fall.
"That isn't the drug that made them both sick." Donnie said with a small shake of his head, his voice containing a hint of frustration and bleak realization. "It's a mild hallucinogenic. They were probably dosing Leo with it so that our 'deaths' seemed more real." Donnie said with a disgusted shake of his head. "Of course, I'm not saying that Raph didn't get some of that in his system as well, but whatever toxin is in his system right now, is making them both very sick." Donnie flicked a quick glance at Raph and Leo's still figures, each hooked up to machines that were keeping them alive, and letting their family know that they were still at least fighting to stay with them.
"There are just so many..." Donnie stopped talking, and if possible, paled even further. "Hedera Helix." Donnie whispered.
"Donatello." Master Splinter asked into the silence that suddenly filled the room.
"It... it's just common Ivy. The leaves and berries are poisonous. They cause stomach pains, fever, delirium, hallucinations, fatigue, paralysis, muscle spasms, labored breathing, convulsions, vomiting, and possible coma." Donnie said dully.
"So, they'll be fine." Mikey said with relief, realizing that death hadn't been on Donnie's list of complications if the drug had been ingested. "So how do we cure them?" Mikey asked, as he swallowed down the lump of dread that formed in his throat, as his brother remained silent. "Donnie?" He prodded his brother again. "They're going to be fine, right?"
Donnie took a deep breath. "There is no antidote. Treatment includes supportive and symptomatic care." His brother finally answered softly, but amended hastily. "The only thing we can do is just... keep them stable and comfortable."
Mikey nodded with relief, as Donnie slid from his seat and walked over to Raph's motionless form, the heart monitor's beep a steady reassuring sound that filled the room.
Donnie picked up a thermometer that was placed on a side table, inserting it into his brother's mouth and frowning heavily with worry. "His fever's getting too high." Donnie mumbled under his breath. "If it continues to climb, he might get brain damage." He said as he moved over to check Leo's temperature, the frown he wore continuing to etch itself deeper into his brother's tired, strained features.
"Is there anything you can do, Donnie?" Mikey asked in a small, desperate voice.
"I may be able to administer some active charcoal. That may help." Donnie mumbled, as he rushed over to a table and began frantically searching through vials, bottles and other containers searching for what Mikey assumed to be charcoal.
"Charcoal?" Mikey asked in horror, as Donnie poured black powder into a beaker, and mixing it with water until it became a liquidy, black sludge.
"It won't hurt them, Mikey." Donnie said reassuringly.
...
Raph struggled in his tight, cool prison. His eyes flashed open, as he looked around him in confusion.
"What the...?" He asked, as he looked at the white stuff that surrounded him. It had a familiar texture and smell. He struggled a bit more, before he realized that he was packed in a giant ball of rice. He looked at the ball of rice in stunned silence, before trying to wriggle free, and finding that he was unable to move no matter how much he struggled to get even an arm free.
"Mikey!" He called out, wondering if somehow Mikey had decided to pull a prank to end all pranks.
A mumbled sound came from his left. He craned his head, and managed to move just enough that he was able to see what looked to be a giant makizushi roll with Mikey's head popping out from the center.
"Busy Raph, can't you see I'm eating." Mikey said, as he reached over with his mouth, and took a big bite of something, possibly cucumber.
"Mikey! What's going on?" Raph asked, as he began to panic.
"We're sushi!" Mikey said with a chuckle. "Leo is wrapped up on a piece of shrimp and rice, Donnie is stuck in one of those California roll things, and you are in a giant ball of rice." Mikey mumbled through a mouthful of food.
"Mikey, are you insane! Can you get out?" Raph yelled, as he struggled against the rice that was stuck to him like a second skin. It was oddly cool, uncomfortable and suffocating, making him shiver slightly.
"Why would I want to get out?" Mikey asked, as if he had just suggested something completely outrageous.
Raph opened his mouth to reply, but Mikey spoke before he was able to say a word. "Leo eat faster, he's going to eat you!" Mikey laughed, as Raph saw a giant pair of chopsticks brush by him and head past Mikey.
Leo's voice laughed. "I'm first, Mikey! Hey Donnie, stop looking at the food and just eat it! I bet you are next!"
Raph managed to crane his head around enough, so that he was able to see the Shredder holding the pair of chopsticks in his hand. Leo, strapped to a piece of shrimp styled nigirizushi, was suddenly lifted into the air by the Shredder's chopsticks.
Raph looked at Leo in horror as he struggled. "Leo!" He called out desperately to his brother, who lay strapped to the piece of shrimp, completely unresponsive. "Leo!" He screamed again, as the Shredder opened his gaping maw and shoved Leo in, which was followed by a sickening crunch, as the Shredder chewed noisily. Raph felt his world turn blessedly black.
....
Donnie removed the ice packs from around Raph's body, as they tried to keep Raph still, his body thrashing uncontrollably. "His temperature is too high." Donnie said, as he looked at Mikey's pale features. They had administered the charcoal to Raph first, because he seemed worse off than Leo. Raph was probably having an allergic reaction to the ivy; whereas Leo didn't appear to have suffered much other than hives, and possibly a stomachache and hallucinations due to the poison.
Mikey had nearly fainted when Donnie had poured the thick, tar-like substance down both his brothers' throats through a feeding tube. But Donnie had reassured Mikey that the charcoal wouldn't cause his brothers any harm, and that it was the only thing he could do for them.
After a few moments, Raph's body stopped thrashing, and their brother stilled. Donnie took a relieved step back, and looked over at Mikey, who's eyes were as wide as saucers with large, black bags beneath them.
Mikey reached a shaky hand over and clutched Raph's hand in his own. Donnie looked at Master Splinter, who gave him a relieved nod, thankful that Raph had finally stilled.
Master Splinter sat at Leo's bedside, softly talking to Leo, while holding his two un-bandaged fingers in a furry grip.
Donny walked around Raph's cot and approached Mikey, pulling him into a tight hug. "I know, Mikey." He said softly. "But all we can do now is just... wait." He told his brother in a soft reassuring voice that was full of hope, as Mikey let the few tears he had been holding back roll down his cheeks.
Donnie needed to hope; they all did. They needed to hope that Raph would get better, and that Leo would pull through, because if he dared to let himself think for even a moment that one, or both his brothers may not pull through... The thought was unthinkable.
There was the loud, sudden beep of an alarm. Donnie's eyes widened, as they shot to Leo's monitor. He pulled away from Mikey as he ran to the monitor, watching in horror as his brother's blood pressure and temperature plummeted, his heart rate speeding up.
"No!" Donnie half exclaimed, half moaned; his heart dropping into his stomach in dread.