Plight of the genius (M, Sanctuary) part 2/?

[TheCakeIsAlive]

For those who aren't familiar with Sanctuary... it takes place in a parallel universe where "abnormals" (by non-Sanctuary people often referred to as monsters) live, hidden amongst the humans. The Sanctuary tries to provide a save haven for these creatures.

A short character description (a few very minor spoilers for those who haven't gotten to the explainy bit in the series yet, I'm sorry)

Helen Magnus is the head of the Santuary network, which is spread throughout the world.

Will is the person through whose perspective a lot of the series is told. He used to be a profiler for the FBI before he was recruited by Magnus.

The "big guy" is Bigfoot, who works and lives at the Sanctuary.

Henry is the technical guy and also a HAP (which is sort of werewolf, but he is a bit sensitive about being called that).

And last but not least... Nikola Tesla. In this version, apart from a genius, he is a vampire, has been Helen's friend for over a 100 years, and a bit of an arrogant prick, but we still love him.

I do not own any of the characters, otherwise there would have been much more nice-ness in the series and it would have continued for more seasons.

Throughout the story I will switch between Will's POV and a third person narrator, which I hope will make sense. I've tried to stay as true to the characters as I can, and really hope I succeeded a bit. Feedback is always welcome! Hope you enjoy reading and have a cookie if you made it through all this waffle!

Plight of the genius

Will's POV

I was on my way to clear a red-list shopping... list with Magnus. I expected to see a number of odd things on my way. Odd was simply another day at the Sanctuary.

What I did not expect, was a vampire steadily going through the contents of our wine cellar. I grabbed my walkie talkie. “Magnus, you have a guest, in the library.”

Only then he noticed I was there. “Oh hello Will.”

“Hello, Tesla.”

His voice was oddly... congested and he didn't quite look his annoying self, but I wasn't exactly going to sit down with him to find out why.

As I walked on, he sneezed. It sounded painful. “Ehhh... tssk”

“Magnus! Could you quickly go through this list, make sure it's everything we need?” She glanced over it and nodded. “That looks fine, Will. So, about my guest: did he mention anything about why he's here?” I shook my head. “Nope.”

“What do you want?”

He leaned back, affecting indignation. “Helen, why do you always think the worst of me? Can't an old friend pay a social visit?” He flashed her his trademark toothy grin.

She grimaced quickly. “An old friend? Yes. You? Never.”

Helen sat down. “Nikola, you look terrible.” Peeved, he took another gulp of wine before responding. “I know. Thank you for pointing it out so... insensitively. But, as a matter of fact, I do need your help...”

“Oh my, this is just too precious.” Helen laughed, a merry tear appearing in the corner of her eye. “A vampire, with hay fever?” She put on a mock-advertisement voice. “Leave the garlic and forget about the stake. This bunch of flowers will take care of all your vampire problems!”

He growled, flexing his long fingers. “It's. Not. Fuhh... funny.”

She wiped the tear away. “Oh but it is, Nikola. You are always talking about the superiority of your race and now you've contracted something so utterly... human.”

Impatiently, he waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “Yes, yes, you've had your fun. Now, can you cure me?”

He finished his third glass of Cabernet as she pondered it. After a little while, she made up her mind. “I can try.”

He jumped up. “Thank you, Helen. Now, shall we?” Holding up his arm, he gave her his most charming grin, only for the effect being spoiled by his face twisting into an itchy, quivering mess. “Ahh... ahh... haaaaAATCHOOO!”

“Bless you.” She got up and took his arm. “Oh, cheer up. If you're good I'll let you bother Henry in a bit.”

“Boss? Can he please stay somewhere else?”

His lab had been mostly 're-organised' over the past hour, he had been called 'primitive', 'werewolf' and 'incompetent' at least 5 times and he was just about fed up with his guest.

Magnus' voice came crackling over the intercom. “If he gets too annoying, give him some lillies.”

Tesla looked shocked. “Helen, you wouldn't!”

He sneezed violently, the mere mention of them aggravating his condition.

“You know Henry, your boss is a cruel, cruel woman.”

Henry simply shrugged and tried to get on with his work, deciding ignoring Tesla was preferable for the moment.

“Are you sure this will work?” He looked doubtful.

“It should suppress your symptoms for some time. I've tried to correct for your unique physiology as much as possible, but it's still a bit of a guess.”

“That's a 'no' then.” He sulked. Magnus ignored him and jabbed the needle into his arm. “It'll take a while to take effect.”

“Ow!” He rubbed his arm. “And how will I know?”

She smiled. “Go outside, smell the flowers...”

He grimaced. “Cruel, I say!” and walked out.

TBC

[42686]

oh my gosh I'm so happy right now! i never thought that i'd see a sanctuary fic on here! I LOVE IT! i love how Magnus keeps teasing him can't wait for more :3

[hails]

oh my gosh I'm so happy right now! i never thought that i'd see a sanctuary fic on here! I LOVE IT! i love how Magnus keeps teasing him can't wait for more :3

I knew when i read this fic that you'd have seen it before me! You love Sanctuary just a teeny bit more than me

This is so awsome, please please continue soon!

[MonaLisaSmile]

Yeah, what they said.

[TheCakeIsAlive]

I'm really very happy you like it so much. I know it's not a big fandom, but really, Tesla was asking for it! He always gets himself in trouble trying to resurrect the ancient race of the Sanguine Vampiris...

Bit stuck with inspiration after the bit I'm going to post now, but I do plan on finishing this eventually!

Plight of the genius - part 2

Will's POV

I saw Tesla stalk out of the lab. “Wine cellar?”

“Almost certainly.” She sighed.

“So, what was up with our vampiric guest?” Magnus couldn't suppress a slight chuckle. “Hay fever.”

I started laughing before I could check myself. “Seriously?”

She nodded.

“I'm sure he was thrilled about the development.”

She gave me a stern look. “Will, it could potentially be serious. Think this... he is a vampire, his immune system should not be affected by histamines. It is possible of course, but I suspect it didn't come out of nowhere. I'm doing some extra tests on his blood. Could you keep him busy for a while? Preferably away from my wine cellar?”

I sighed. “Sure. Oh, the big guy asked me to tell you Declan's here. Something about Sumatra?”

She nodded and smiled that irresistible smile of hers. “Thank you Will.”

As expected, I found Tesla in the wine cellar, picking out the best vintages. Rather less expected was the persistent sniffling. That mystery got solved as I saw the rather marvellous bouquet placed in the centre of the room. Without a doubt big guy's work. As soon as he noticed me and turned around, he pointed at the flowers and put on a pouty face. “Can you believe it? Who puts flowers in a wine cellah.... ahhh... cellar?” He quickly turned away from me, “Haaaeeetchoooo! Ehh... ehhh... heeaaaAATCHOOO!”

“Someone who doesn't want you to empty it. So grab a bottle and come with me.”

“Hmph.”

“Any success, Will?”

“None, he's as closed as a clam about what he's been up to. Did you get anything?”

Magnus turned around and guided me to a screen. “Actually, yes. Have a look at this.

If you look at it at normal resolution, you don't see anything. But, if you zoom in even further...”

“... parasites.”

“Exactly. Parasites on a molecular level. Nothing we've ever encountered before. I can't think of a single abnormal that could cause this. I need to know what he's been up to.”

“Ehhh... haaaaaahhETCHOO!” He sniffed. “God, this is ridiculous. So... undignified. Shouldn't it work already?”

Helen was taking his pulse. “Give it a few more hours. If it hasn't let up by tomorrow, we'll try something else. Your pulse is normal, for a vampire. Also, I will need to know what you've been up to for the last weeks.”

He grimaced. “If you found something, you could just let me know, you know, instead of the third-degree. Junior tried earlier.”

She sighed. “I've found parasites in your blood. Nothing we've ever seen before. It may be unconnected, but I need to know for sure.”

He got The look. The “I've been up to something you won't approve of but I'm Nikola Tesla so I'll get away with it anyway”-look.

Helen stared at him. “Nikola?”

He rolled his eyes. “Oh well then. In my quest to revive my ancient race, I may have been doing some experiments.”

“Experiments?” A raised eyebrow greeted him.

“Oh Helen, honestly. Because I didn't have access to the source blood, I had to make do with a serum distilled from my own blood. The problem was that I could only make very small amounts, so I had to find a way to produce more serum naturally. Then, a stroke of genius! I based the process on the Black Death.” A smug smile.

“You... used parasites to multiply and distribute the serum.”

“Exactly! Isn't it a brilliant idea?” The toothy smile again. On most people it would have a disarming effect, but after a century, Helen was immune.

“Depends on how well you like mutated critters in your bloodstream. I will need your research.”

Tesla looked shocked. “No.”

“Don't be childish, Nikola. You came here for my help, now accept it.”

No response.

“Ehh... ehh... hehhhaaaaTCHOOO!” A pointed look. “Oh well then. Fine. Take my life's work away, I'll just stay here to drown my sorrows. Even though my vampire physiology prevents me from feeling the alcohol's effect...”

Helen left him to his dramatics.

TBC

[42686]

oh i can't explain how much i love sneezy!tesla

i really cant wait to find out what happens next

[tarotgal]

Just finished Sanctuary a few minutes ago and had to do my required search for sneezefics. Nice to see at least part of one! Your dramatic!Tesla is fantastic, and everyone's reactions to him & what's going on are so in character. Helen's dialogue is particularly perfect.

Love the use of flowers in the wine cellar to try to keep Nikola from drinking all the wine!