Pre-Syncope
The lights flickered momentarily as Newton scanned the room. It was empty except for a square glass casing lying on a small wooden desk.
"You." Newton motioned. "Open it."
The man stepped forward hesitantly but obliged. He opened the glass box to find two metal rings with serrated edges.
"Touch them." Newton ordered.
The man tentatively placed his finger on one of the ring's surfaces and watched in surprise as it moved, spurred on by his touch. He pulled back. Noting the unchanged look on Newton's face, he tried once more, reaching out with both hands.
In a flash the bands clasped tightly to the man's wrists, the sharp metal digging further and further into his skin.
His cries became louder and more frantic. The pain was unbearable.
Newton made no move to save him.
Soon enough the desk was covered in sterling blood, the rings' hold on the man unrelenting. His screams had finally died out.
Newton pursed his lips. Another body to add to the tally.
This was going to be a problem.
When Peter finally reached Walter's lab at Harvard he found that it was unlocked. Someone was already there? They didn't have any cases at the moment to worry about…
He predictably found Olivia engrossed in her files and typing fervently at the keyboard.
"You know, there is such a thing as taking your duty to 'serve and protect' a little too close to heart." Peter joked, coming up behind her.
Olivia turned with a start. "Peter! I didn't hear you come in…"
"Of course not. If your face was any closer to that computer screen I am sure you would have found a way to go through it."
He looked at her expectantly, but she offered him nothing. For the moment.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, countering his unasked question and unsubtle concern.
"Walter wanted me to grab The Dark Side of the Moon. Apparently he can't sleep without listening to Brain Damage on repeat, even though he didn't even remember the song existed till last week."
"Brain Damage?" Olivia quirked an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Guess Walter doesn't have a sense for irony either." Peter chuckled but quickly caught the disturbed look on Olivia's face. "Something bothering you, Olivia?"
Olivia grimaced, willing away the hollow feeling she had in her gut. "Newton. No matter what resources we use or what evidence we dig up, it is impossible to find him. It's as if he's disappeared and will only make himself visible to us whenever he sees fit to."
"And you hate feeling like he has all the control."
Olivia gave a relenting smile. "Never been good at that."
"But why are you here? Couldn't you do this research at home? I'm sure the fumes from whatever chemical compounds Walter has stored here aren't helping."
"…Rachel and Ella are at home. I love having them around but it isn't exactly conducive to getting any work done." She shrugged.
"Hey." Peter placed his hand on Olivia's shoulder and felt some of her tenseness lighten. "Leave the heroic stuff for another time. You only get so much time with your sister and niece. I know how much they mean to you, how much they enjoy your company. Take the rest of the day off and relax." He gave her a crooked smile. "All of these dead-ends will still be here in the morning."
Olivia sighed. "I have no idea how you do it, but that argument was surprisingly convincing, Peter."
"I'm full of surprises, sweetheart." He grinned cheekily.
She shook her head slightly, grabbing her coat and heading towards the door. "I still don't like it when you call me that."
"I can never win with you, Olivia."
"Aunt Liv, no fair, you're cheating!" Ella whined.
Olivia gave a mock-gasp. "Are you calling me a cheater, lil munchkin?"
"Yes!" Ella replied resolutely. "And not a very good one. I sunk your battleship!"
"Then I guess it's time for the winner to get her prize…a tickle attack!" Olivia launched a full volley of fingers at her niece, who erupted into a fit of giggles.
"Liv, phone for you!" Rachel called from the kitchen. Olivia gave Ella a quick hug before taking the call.
"Dunham."
"Olivia, have you spoken to Peter?" Astrid asked hurriedly on the other end of the phone.
"Just a few hours ago at the lab, why?"
"He never came home. Walter called me raving some nonsense about Pink Floyd, so I came here to calm him down. I've been trying Peter's cell for the past hour…nothing."
Olivia felt the emptiness return to the pit of her stomach. "Call Broyles. I'll be right over."
Olivia paced the halls of the Bishop residence impatiently.
"Any ransom demands or contact at all from potential suspects?" Astrid asked Walter, who sat dejectedly on the stairs.
"He said he would only be gone for a few minutes…" Walter managed weakly.
"His car is still at the Harvard parking lot. He never left."
Walter looked up at Olivia pleadingly. "You will find him, won't you? You must!"
Agent Broyles finally came through the door. "Agent Dunham, Dr. Bishop, Agent Farnsworth, I think we may have a lead."
"Who is it? Who took him?" Walter demanded, standing up.
Broyles gave Olivia an almost apologetic look. "We believe it may be Newton."
Peter awoke with a start, noticing his new surroundings. He was strapped down to a metal chair, an IV drip in his left arm. His head was pounding. In front of him was a small desk with a glass case sitting on top of it.
"How nice of you to finally join me, Peter. I was worried that the dose I gave you was too strong. It seems that you Bishops do not share the same high tolerance for drugs."
"Newton." Peter mumbled. "What do you want from me? I don't know anything about Walter or his work. You already took what you needed from him."
"It is unbelievable how the Secretary insists that you are important; you merely seem pathetic to me." Newton observed.
Peter's head drooped. He struggled to stay conscious and aware, fighting the drug-induced haze.
"I have already lost too many men, including one of my own. I was told that we would never be harmed by the weaponry, but I have seen that it can even kill those from my side. And there is no way to control it."
"What?"
Newton leaned down, his mouth closer to Peter's ear.
"I need you to open the glass box, Peter. I need you to touch the rings."
Without hesitation, Peter's hands moved of their own accord, as if they longed to feel the serrated metal of the bands.
He had no choice.
"Olivia Dunham, this is Gloria Hadden. She told us that her husband Gerrard has been acting strange lately. She suspected he was having an affair and followed him last night only to find that his dealings were far more nefarious. And she found this in his glove compartment."
Broyles held up a small grey box – a shape changing device.
"We believe that her husband was a shape-shifter, one of Newton's soldiers."
Newton. Of course. The moment she turned her mind from the matter, he resurfaced. Olivia felt the guilt grip her. And now Peter had been abducted. She willed her mind not to dwell on the possibilities, on what Newton might be doing to him.
"Is my husband really dead?" Gloria sobbed quietly.
Olivia stood firm. "Mrs. Hadden I am sorry for your loss and I know that this is difficult, but the information you are giving us might help in our investigation. Those men took my friend and I need to find him, so please…please, we would really appreciate your cooperation."
Walter watched the scene in front of him with a sense of detachment. "Why would they take my son when it is me that they want?"
"Maybe this time it isn't you they're after." Broyles noted grimly.
"But what could they possibly want from Peter? They want to make a door to the Other Side and he doesn't know how to do that." Astrid reasoned.
Walter shifted on his feet, shrinking back slightly.
"Mrs. Hadden, where did you say you followed your husband to?"
"The South Boston Power Plant. I watched him park our van and follow these other strange men into the back entrance. I didn't dare follow them."
"Mercury." Walter bolted upright. "You previously mentioned that the shape-shifters require mercury to sustain life, correct?" Olivia nodded. "Almost thirty percent of human-generated mercury comes from coal-fired power plants."
"It's a good place to start." Astrid agreed.
"We better move." Olivia was already on her way out the door. "If it really is Newton…Peter doesn't have a lot of time."
Peter felt the jagged edges dig deeper into his wrists, but his throat was too dry to allow him the luxury of a scream.
"Stop it, Peter." Newton calmly commanded.
Peter gripped the edge of the desk with his hands, his knuckles whitening as he clutched harder with every millimeter the serrations burrowed into his skin.
Newton's directions became more forceful. Peter swore he could hear a hint of panic through the blur of pain. "Only you can stop them. Don't think, just act! Use your impulses, the instinct is there. It can save your life!"
Peter was becoming lightheaded. Blood seeped from his cuts and he began to feel faint. He needed something to hold on to, he needed to stay afloat. He thought of eating pancakes for Sunday dinner with Walter. He thought of Astrid offering a helping hand when he fed Gene in the lab. He thought of Broyles' firm and unwavering protectiveness on the field. He remembered Olivia's rare carefree smile…
"Peter!"
He cried out, clenching his hands into fists before he heard an earth-shattering crack.
"Good boy." Newton smirked, admiring Peter's handiwork. The rings had both been broken cleanly in two, lying worn and inactive. "I will no longer have to worry about these falling into the wrong hands. Specifically yours."
Peter felt his consciousness fading in and out. He wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.
"It is a pity that I am not allowed to kill you, I would have delighted in it." Newton watched Peter writhing in agony. "Tell Olivia that I am not done with either of you. Not yet."
And everything went black.
"Peter!" Olivia called out. He had to be here. He had to be alright.
She found him crumpled on the floor in a heap, blood flowing generously from his arms. "Peter, oh my god!"
"…Newton." He managed to sputter.
"Save your strength. C'mon Peter, you're going to be fine." Olivia pulled out her cellphone. "I found him. I need an ambulance to get down here immediately!"
Olivia gathered Peter in her arms, taking her jacket off and using it as best as she could to tend to his wounds. She had to stop the bleeding. She could not be too late.
She would never be able to forgive herself.
Peter watched through the window of his hospital room, blinking back the glare from the sun. His was finally awake but a part of him still felt like he was drowning.
"We've really got to stop meeting like this." Peter joked as Olivia walked into his room.
"The doctors say you should be fine. No major damage. They're going to keep you overnight to make sure the drugs are out of your system, though." Olivia explained.
"And Newton?" Peter ventured, already knowing the answer. Olivia silently shook her head. "Hey, we'll get him, alright?"
She nodded, unconvinced. "Yeah."
"You saved me." He grunted, willing the lingering pain away. "Thank you."
"That's two you owe me now." Olivia tried to lighten the mood, offering a smile.
"Yeah." Peter grimly recalled the events of the quarantine. "I've really got to get my act together, don't I?"
"I'll send Walter in if you're up to it. He was really worried about you." Olivia touched his shoulder. "Take it easy, alright?"
"Olivia." He stopped before she turned to leave. "I'm sorry that I can't remember. I'm sorry that we aren't any closer to catching that bastard."
"It doesn't matter, Peter." She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "It's alright, as long as you're safe."
In a hidden corridor of the hospital lobby, two unassuming men observed.
September turned to December. "That was far too close. They are not meant to know the whole truth, not yet. Their actions may be altered if they do."
"No, it must not be revealed yet." December agreed. "But unfortunately they will know much sooner than anticipated."
September turned to December, curious.
"It is out of our hands."
This is my first Fringe fic ever! Written for the Girl Saves Boy Ficathon over at Livejournal.