Pete Lattimer: Wonder Woman
Setting: HG has come back from Wisconsin a few months after Myka and Pete left her and rejoined the group as a warehouse agent.
My first Warehouse story.
Pete made his way down warehouse aisle Kokomo 25-Z with a clipboard in one hand and an over-stuffed sandwich in the other. It was not of solid construction. The contents were loosely organized and with each step ingredients were being abandoned from between the slices to the concrete floor with soft splat noises.
The clipboard contained a checklist. There were a bunch of items belonging to the Beach Boys in that aisle that were not "getting along" –to quote Artie. He read it again. A glob of mayonnaise landed on the corner of the clipboard. Sighing, he wiped it off with his sleeve and re-focused. It said to enter the aisle from the wrong side. Now he had to walk the length of the aisle to get to the artifacts. Oh well, at least I have a sandwich.
About eight minutes later he was still walking as he popped the last bite of food into his mouth. He thrust hands skyward in a victory stance. It was a very large sandwich and he was proud of consuming it. He hopped up and down a few times before his arms came down too hastily and knocked an artifact off the shelf.
"Crap." He exclaimed bending to pick it up. Nearing the item his eyes lit up with boyish excitement. It was a lasso. "Oh yeah!" he blurted picking it up. It was coiled and secured with a zip tie. "Foiled!" He wanted to play with the lasso very badly.
Without an immediate method to cut the tie he turned the item over examining it. Given the nature of the items in this building it was worth doing some initial investigation before playing. He would never have bothered to investigate had it uncoiled instantly. The only thing of note was the initials carved into the handle, WMM. His brow furrowed in that Pete-like way as he attempted to recall anyone famous with those initials. I wish Myka was here.
Mere moments later, a woman strode into the aisle, not Myka. "Pete. I've finally located you." Helena's smooth voice carried that fetching accent. Everyone at the Warehouse secretly loved it for their own reasons.
Pete looked over and saw ink-black hair blowing lightly as she made her way towards him. "Hey, what's up?"
"Artie said I would find you here after I left the ovoid quarantine. I just dropped off an artifact two aisles up."
"What was it?" Pete inquired never failing to marvel and the sheer number and diversity of the artifacts they encountered.
"Someone named Michael Jordan's athletic shoes." She replied offhandedly.
Eyes widening Pete declared, "There's a pair of Air Jordan's in here?"
Helena blinked at him oblivious to the implication, "Yes, its two matching athletic shoes equaling a pair but there was nothing particularly atmospheric about them, they were just shoes."
It was Pete's turn to blink at Helena for the same reason. He shook his head to clear the confusion, "No, okay, clearly you don't know who Michael Jordan is. Do you even know what basketball is?"
"Is that the game where the orange ball lands in the netting?"
He thought about correcting her but decided it wasn't worth it. "Yep, more or less."
Happy with that answer and moving on Helena said, "You know Pete I was able to locate you because of the Hansel and Gretel path of sandwich bits leading from the office to your current position."
"Oh, yeah? Well it was a really good sandwich." He paused and hopefully added, "Trailer will probably take care of that."
"Indeed." Helena said eyeing the man with amusement. She looked at the item in his hand and smiled. "A lasso?"
Forgetting he'd been holding it Pete became excited all over again. "Right! Yeah I found this lasso and I really want to twirl it but it's tied."
"Do you know how to use a lasso?"
He wanted to say yes but it would have been a lie. "No, but how hard can it be?"
It was moments like these which Helena relished. No longer the single-minded, malignant super-villain of the past, she was reformed and now chose consideration and gallantry over anything nefarious. Still, she couldn't resist the opportunity to flaunt her skills. It was wickedly indulgent but then again, was that so bad?
She reached into her back pocket and proudly produced a small pocket-knife. Pete smiled handing over the artifact allowing her to cut the zip tie and let it unfurl. As it did she noticed the initials on the handle. "WMM."
"Yeah anyone you can think of?" Pete asked.
Helena searched her brain but couldn't think of any person of note with those initials. But there were two M's in it. Myka's name began with M. Not that it had anything to do with the lasso but any excuse to think about the curly-haired agent with big, lovely eyes and perfect smile, she took. Her face affected a far off look. Pete recognized it and allowed the woman her private moment before finally deciding to interrupt, "So, no famous Victorian or someone from your time with those initials?" he pressed.
Helena blinked a few times and quickly recovered, "None come to mind darling."
"None of the men or women you bedded?"
"Peter Lattimer." Helena began coyly, her Victorian sense of privacy coming to the surface, "When did I admit to bedding women?"
Pete sighed, "Oh come on Helena," he stated with exasperation, "you said it all suggestively that day in the warehouse office when we were all there. You're gay, I mean mostly, except for that whole weird Nate thing."
The writer smiled, now recalling the day and how she'd said it "all suggestively" because she was testing Myka's reaction. "I always knew you were perceptive. Though I don't see what being gay has to do with it. I'm fairly gay all the time."
Pete sighed and hung his head. "Okay, this one I know because Myka corrected me on it once. Not gay as in happy, gay as in lady-on-lady-sexy-times."
Helena's eyes grew wide but not because of what Pete said. "So gay means homosexual in this age?" She was fascinated by the way in which the English language, particularly when wielded by American tongues, evolved over time. "I will be careful to amend my speech in the future based on this etymological change."
"Enough talking, start twirling." Pete ordered.
Helena was more than happy to comply. She took several steps back to make sure she was not near Pete. Expertly, she began to move her wrist and arm in such a way that the rope began to move in a fast, circular, undulating motion. Within a few more seconds the loop at the end began to open in a close to perfect circle. Unfortunately the inventor couldn't sustain it and it collapsed.
"Aw! That was awesome! Was it hard?" Pete yelled any ability to wield a lasso was impressive to him.
At the moment of collapse something switched in Helena. She wasn't hurt nor did she realize it had even happened…yet. Fully expecting the next words out of her mouth to be confident and self-congratulatory instead she found herself confessing, "I don't fancy this item at all and I'm not very proficient. I felt rather silly doing it."
Pete walked up to her intent on eventually taking the lasso to test out himself. "Well well, what happened to your confident Warehouse 12 Agent swagger HG? I thought you could do no wrong?"
"Yes, well I suppose sometimes one feels like being honest." Helena stated but again, it wasn't a statement she would normally make, though not untrue.
"You do? I thought your whole vibe was lies and deception."
"I'm a writer. That makes me a natural artificer."
"Don't know that word. But, did you just admit to being a liar?"
"I lied many times about many things in the past. I lied to you a few moments ago when I claimed to have always known you were perceptive. To be honest, I didn't realize it until after encountering you a few times. Initially, I thought you were a dolt."
The man scoffed, "Well that's not very nice." He took the lasso from her grasp.
Releasing her grip, "No it isn't and I have no idea why I would have been so abrasively honest with you just now."
More interested in the lasso than continuing the current conversation Pete jogged back a bit before turning and attempting the same gyration movements. He did about half as well as Helena had which, in his book, was pretty freaking good because Helena was an enigma of mental and physical competency. Just as it had in Helena, something switched in Pete. But he was too giddy to notice having gotten to finally play with the lasso . "That was great!" he yelled.
Helena chuckled at him and had to admit, it was fun to play with.
Walking toward the inventor and re-coiling the weapon he picked up the conversation where the woman had left it, "If it makes you feel any better HG you kiss like a lesbian."
Surprise flashed across strong English features. "I thought I kissed like a grandmother!"
"Yes, like an old grandma lesbian." Pete confirmed, "It was so obvious from the beginning you wanted Myka not me." As soon as he said it, he slapped his hand over his mouth a panic flashing in his eyes, "Why did I say that?"
Pete knew Helena was in love with Myka and that Myka was in love with Helena. Hell, the whole warehouse knew it but they had all agreed to let the two of them work it out on their own. It was proving to be a highly annoying decision because Helena and Myka had been dancing around the idea for so long it was beginning to wear on everyone. The temptation to butt in was becoming greater by the day.
Surprise, splashed across Helena's face. Pete scrambled, I just, since you like girls anyway, if given the choice, you would pick Myka. That's what he said in his head. Out loud he said, "You have a gigantic crush on Myka and everyone knows but her."
The inventor was unexpectedly taken back to the feelings which so often overcame her when tightly bound into Victorian corsets, she felt faint. "Ev-ev-everyone?" she stammered.
Compassionately, Pete dropped the lasso and placed his hands on her shoulders to steady the woman. "Easy HG, I'm sorry. I have no idea why I told you that."
Rubbing her temples with an alabaster hand the woman sighed, "Of course we know why. It's the lasso, it's an artifact. It's always an artifact." In that moment, Helena chose to focus on rectifying the behavior of the misbehaving artifact rather than the uncomfortable revelation everyone knew she'd long ago lost her heart to Myka Bering. At least Myka still doesn't know. She would definitely talk to Pete more about this later.
"You're right!" Pete agreed. He looked around the aisle they were in for a few moments before spotting a glove station. Another helpful Claudia idea, along with computer access terminals scattered throughout the warehouse she had also added purple glove stations. Actually, she didn't add them. Claudia managed to take one of Da Vinci's airplane models and rig it to run remotely like a drone. She used it to place glove stations all over the warehouse from the comfort of the office viewing deck.
Snapping them on he tossed a second pair to HG who donned them as well. HG re-coiled it once more. She noticed the initials again. "I wonder who WMM is and exactly what this lasso does?"
"Yeah I didn't see a label for it on the shelf."
HG double checked. She found it broken off and laying on the shelf, unattached and not powered on. She picked it up and showed it to Agent Lattimer, "That's the thing about computers. Without power they're useless hunks of material. I miss the labels we used in Warehouse 12."
"Stone tablets?" Pete quipped. Helena gave him a look.
"Let's do some simple deduction shall we?" Helena began, "We both found ourselves revealing things to each other that we would not normally be inclined to, yes?"
"That's putting it mildly." Pete replied adding, "Sorry again, about calling you out on your crush."
Helena's eyebrow rose, she had something. "Did you intend to tell me that?" she queried.
"Of course not!"
"But you did."
"It just came out!"
"And it was the truth, no matter how uncomfortable?"
"Yes!" Pete agreed in both sentiment and in realizing HG was potentially figuring it out.
"So it compelled us to be honest." Helena started unconsciously pacing as her brilliant mind engaged the riddle.
"Yeah but only when asked a question. I mean, I didn't volunteer anything until you asked me how you kissed."
"And you asked me if I was admitting to being a liar." Helena stated confidently and as an aside, "I'm not admitting any such thing by the way."
"So the trigger is a question and then you-OH MY GOD!" Pete unexpectedly yelled causing Helena to take a step back and Pete to start expertly doing the MC Hammer dance. "What's up? Hammer time! Who's the man? I'm the man!" He hyped as he danced.
Having no point of reference for MC Hammer or any other regrettable late 80s early 90s pop, Helena just thought he looked like a sanitarium patient. She waited a few more beats for him to stop celebrating and tell her what he'd determined.
"Wonder Woman!" Pete said with so much enthusiasm and youthful vigor it was infectious even if Helena didn't know who she was.
"And who is that?"
Not missing an opportunity to gloat in a rare instance where Pete Lattimer was able call upon his personal knowledge to identify a historical artifact, he took his time answering the writer's question. "You see HG, there is a whole world of literature out there you are totally unaware of." He walked towards her continuing, "they're called comic books."
"I know Pete you've shown them to me before, on many occasions. Can we expedite this explanation?"
"Wonder Woman is an Amazon princess and her main weapon is the golden lasso or the lasso of truth!"
HG thought about the information. The lasso part clearly made sense but there was something missing, "The Amazons were a Greek fiction. She couldn't have been a real woman."
"I doubt it. She had an invisible air plane. I think people would remember a woman with an invisible air plane." His mind leapt, "Unless they never SAW IT because it was invisible!"
"My point darling is that the initials on this lasso are not W-W, they're W-M-M."
"William Marston! He created Wonder Woman!"
"So his lasso makes people who touch it compelled to tell the truth?" HG made a displeased face, "That seems a bit on-the-nose, even for an artifact."
"I can't believe the Lasso of Truth is REAL!" Pete spoke reverently. His mind leapt again and he declared, "Listen, this lasso is powerful. If it's even half as powerful as the one in the comic this isn't something we should have been playing around with. Not to commit the cardinal sin of mixing comic universes here but as a famous Marvel character would say, 'with great power comes great responsibility' This lasso needs to be neutralized and put back on the shelf."
"You'll get no protest from me." Helena agreed.
He turned and started to head towards the closest goo-ing station would be. Helena took up behind him until he froze in his tracks causing the woman to halt abruptly lest she slam into him from behind.
"Wait a second."
"What is it?" HG asked her senses heightening.
"I had a thought."
"Was it painful for you?" Helena jabbed.
"Hey! Enough comments about my intelligence. You don't have the excuse of the lasso this time."
The inventor put her hands up in capitulation to his request. "Alright, that's fair. Just tell me why you stopped."
Pete took on a Cheshire grin, "I had a thought. I want to try something with this lasso."
"If you're thinking about using it to get Steve to admit you are his type-"
Pete interrupted, "No, no, not that. Though maybe later. I have another idea." He paused and looked at Helena curiously before asking, "Are you done for the day here?"
"Yes, other than this silly business with the lasso I should have already been at the B&B by now."
"Good, I'll come with you."
"And bring the lasso? Bring an artifact out of the Warehouse?" Helena cautioned.
"I promise I will be responsible with it."
"The very fact you haven't put it back on the shelf already proves that statement to be a useless fabrication."
"Helena," Pete began taking the inventor aback since he NEVER used her first name, "I have an idea and if I can pull it off, I promise it will make every person at the Warehouse happier than they are now."
"That's a bold goal Agent Lattimer."
"Yeah well keep an artifact bag on you in case I blow it." She laughed at the joke but also made sure she had one.
On their way out, Pete found a small, inconspicuous grocery bag to place the lasso in. Once inside the B&B, Helena turned to Pete expectantly. He shrugged, "There's some stuff I gotta do before I put my plan into action. Plus I'm STARVING so I gotta eat something. I'll let you know when I'm ready to bust this thing out."
The entire situation felt untenable to the writer. She didn't have the slightest clue what Pete was planning but decided if he of all people didn't have a bad feeling she wouldn't either…yet. She resolved to bide her time tidying her room.
As she folded a few clean garments her mind went back to Pete's earlier comment. Everyone knew she loved Myka. It was mortifying to ponder the truth of his statement but there it was, forced out of him by a lasso of all things. Nobody knew she knew, she hoped. That thought assisted a bit in lowering her embarrassment.
It wasn't the fact that people knew of her love for Myka that specifically discomfited her. It was more that everyone knew she loved Myka unrequited which provided her sense of embarrassment. HG Wells wanted no one's pity.
What if Myka found out? If it was possible for one's shame to increase exponentially hers certainly would if the gorgeous agent ever became aware of HG's amorous inclinations. She was certain Myka did not love her. She was fairly certain Myka didn't love women at all though not 100% positive. There were moments between them which seemed to a hopeful Helena like an indication of interest on Myka's part. Additionally, there were stories Myka recalled from her past where she and certain female acquaintances seemed quite close.
Maybe it was Helena's insecurity making her second guess Myka so much. The inventor had made terrible choices. They were born out of untold pain. Yet loss, the loss of a child no matter how agonizing did not justify, could never justify going to the lengths she had gone to end everything. Ending the world, ending existence for every single person who dared to live on after Christina was wrong. For so many years Helena lived in a dark place. So long alone, so quiet and still like death with only the unending torture of consciousness to both keep you company and slowly dismantle your sanity. It was a wonder she was in any way lucid and competent today.
It wasn't a wonder actually, it was a woman, Myka. The woman's unwavering faith in her was like a strong, gilded cord between them refusing to break even when Helena tried everything in her power to cut it. The inventor, in her pained cruelty deceived and toyed with the beautiful agent when they first met. She pushed her away and pulled her back in unpredictable intervals and pretended to ignore the wounded look in Myka's beautiful green eyes every time she did it.
Helena's pain had been so great it blinded her to the love burgeoning in her heart for the agent. It was fully blown now, bloomed and at its peak. She loved the curly haired agent so much there were moments HG looked into those eyes and saw the perfect, expansive green pastures of southern England. Myka's eyes looked like home.
In the kitchen, Pete made another large sandwich and quickly consumed it along with some chips right out of the bag. The desert, his favorite part, was cookies. He piled a large handful on a plate and sat at the dining table to eat them. He only managed to get one down before Myka and Claudia came bounding into the room back from their day-off shopping spree.
"Pete, Pete, Pete!" Claudia yelled as she quickly swiped a cookie.
"Hey!" Pete yelled around an entire chewed up cookie in his mouth. He swallowed hastily and added watching the younger woman enjoy it, "I only have six left!"
"Six cookies," Myka began leaning in from the opposite side and snagging another cookie, "You mean you only have six on your plate. There are bags of them in the kitchen and you know it."
"I'll eat your stash of twizzlers and I don't even like them!" Pete countered using his body as a human shield against further cookie theft.
"Okay, fine. One is all I wanted anyway." Myka declared.
Claudia agreed. Her eyes lit up as a thought came to her and she asked, "Is HG here?"
"Yeah she's upstairs I think." Pete answered.
"I'm going to show her what I bought today!" The woman stated. She smiled and continued, "HG is totally confused by modern style. It's hilarious to watch her try to pretend she likes my clothes." With that the woman bounded up the stairs eager to prey upon both Helena's confusion of contemporary style and the inherently British desire to always say something pleasing when one asks you for an appraisal.
Myka walked over to the opposite side of the table and slid into the seat dropping her bag of purchases down on the floor next to her. She didn't say anything else. It was clear she was tired from the trip and content to just take a minute off her feet.
Pete regarded her quietly for a few moments before stating casually, "So Mykes, get anything interesting today?"
Myka's face scrunched up with confusion, "What do you care? You never care what I buy."
"Did you buy me something?"
"No."
"That's why I never care."
"Uh huh." Myka stated in agreement. She was taking her time with her cookie, small bites, slow chewing. Eventually she asked him, "Did you work with HG today?"
"Sort of. Artie had us on different stuff in different parts of the warehouse but you might say our paths crossed."
"How's she doing?" Myka asked, "You know, since she hasn't been back very long?"
"Right. Yeah I mean, she seemed fine. She spent most of the day in the ovoid quarantine. I didn't see her until the end of the day."
Myka let his statement be the last between them for long moments. Her mind easily slipped into a well-worn worry she nursed about how happy Helena had been with Nate and Adelaide. Myka's last words to her had been to fight for happiness. Even though happiness at that time meant dating the Brawny paper towel guy and his daughter and not the loving but possibly inadequate arms of Myka Bering. That was okay she'd decided because Helena's happiness what all that mattered. So she didn't just let the woman she loved go in Wisconsin. She let her go and told her to commit to loving another.
"Do you think she misses him?" Myka asked. She didn't have to say who. They both knew and Pete figured out long before that Myka did not like hearing his name spoken, by anyone.
He sighed giving himself some time before he answered. These two, they are stupid for each other and they have no idea. "If she misses anyone," he began, "Its Adelaide."
Realizing her question might be too obvious Myka tried to fix it, forgetting her partner knew more about her from feelings than words, "I'm asking because I hope she doesn't miss him. Or HER!" she quickly added. "I just don't want her to hurt. She's already done more of that than most people."
It was at that moment Pete realized his plan to use the Lasso of Truth to get Myka to admit her feelings for Helena to Helena was wholly unnecessary. The woman in front of him was confessing right now. He could have saved everyone time and just used a tape recorder. Then again, my way is going to be so much more fun.
"Mykes, if Helena really missed either of them that much why would she stay here?" he reasoned.
It was a valid question and one Myka's personal insecurities made her incapable of seeing without him. "That's true. She probably just got bored being a medical examiner in BFE."
Pete corrected her, "We are in BFE. Wisconsin is BFE-adjacent."
"You're trying to make me feel better." Myka pointed out as she cracked a small smile.
"Yeah and you're trying to have a pity party for some reason. Myka, why don't you just stop pretending and TELL HG you like her?"
Myka's eyes grew wide as saucers and her lips pursed as she processed what her partner had just said to her. She knew he knew her feelings for Helena but it had been an unspoken rule between them until this moment not to be spoken about. She wasn't ready. "Pete, I don't want to talk about this."
"Myka, Myka, Myka come on! It's not a secret! The only person who doesn't know is HG!"
Despite her anger at the forbidden subject she found herself sighing with relief as Pete confirmed Helena's obliviousness. "Oh thank GOD." She exhaled, her body slumping against the back of the chair.
"You're a complete weirdo, you know that?" Pete declared.
"Why?"
"Because you've spent every day since we saw HG in Wisconsin pining for her," Myka moved to interrupt him and he stopped her with a hand gesture, "Yes, it HAS been every day and yes you are PINING!" he re-stated, " And yet, you are supremely relieved when you find out HG knows nothing about it. Isn't it killing you to keep it from her?"
Rich brown curls were momentarily pulled back from her face before falling again when Myka ran a worried hand through her hair. "Pete, I don't want to talk about this."
Her partner shoved the last of six cookies into his mouth as he nodded. "I know."
"I mean HG and I, it's complicated." Myka started.
Pete continued to chew as he slowly rose from his chair. He did it so slowly Myka paid it no mind as she continued to prattle on with excuses why she and HG were an impossibility.
"I know she dates women sometimes, she all but declared it awhile back but that has nothing to do with whether or not she would be interested in me."
"Mmmhmmm" Pete answered still moving slowly enough to be outside her radar. He had the cookie plate in hand leveraging it as evidence of his need to get up and walk past her to the kitchen. The lasso was in his other grasp still within the bag as he moved closer.
"She's not gonna go from some burly lumberjack dude like Nate to me some awkward, gangly nerdburger."
"Myka you're a secret service agent, that hardly makes you a gangly nerdburger. Well, you're still a nerd but—well actually, you're gangly too but on the bright side, surprisingly graceful despite the extra long limbage."
At this point Pete was in striking distance and Myka looked at him curiously, "My point exactly," She declared then questioned, "Why are you so close to me?"
It was now or never. He had to strike. The plastic bag fell gently to the floor in stark contrast to the struggle of wills waged by Lattimer and Bering as he fought with her to stay seated and tie her up with the lasso. "PETE! What are you doing!?" Myka yelled in vain, muscles straining against the stronger agent.
Actually, it wasn't totally in vain. Upstairs, when HG heard Myka scream she shot up like a jack-in-the-box and flew out of her bedroom, down the stairs and into the dining area. She knew kempo and would willingly employ it on whoever she encountered making the woman she loved scream like that without thinking twice or ever regretting it.
What she found when she entered the dining area was Pete finishing an expert knot while Myka struggled against the Lasso of Truth which bound her to the chair. "HG!" Myka yelled when she saw the woman. "Make Pete untie me please? He's either gone crazy or is just being normal but either way I don't want to be tied up right now!"
Instead of helping, HG smiled a small smile and folded her arms across her chest expectantly. From behind Myka, Pete placed a hand on each of her shoulders and squeezed them reassuringly. "This is the plan?" HG asked amused.
"Plan? What PLAN?!" Myka yelled. Her curls bounced wildly around her and she struggled to free herself. The action quickened Helena's pulse.
"Yep, brilliant in its simplicity if I do say so myself," Pete said with a satisfied smirk. He slapped Myka heartily on the back as he walked past HG and up the stairs. Climbing them he called, "She's all yours Helena!"
Helena was aghast. Pete's plan was brilliantly simple. It was also risky and could potentially end in utter folly. Then again, Myka was quite literally bound by the truth at this moment. Remembering her initial inclination to trust the man who functioned by his feelings first, she resolved to take the chance.
"HELENA! UNTIE ME!" Myka yelled breaking through the inventor's thoughts.
Again the raven-haired woman smiled sauntering toward the object of her desire and undying affection. "It would appear Ms. Bering you are in no position to make demands."
Both the statement and the way the woman said it caused every objection in Myka's brain to evaporate. She watched as the writer came ever closer, her pulse quickening with each step. "Why am I tied up? Where did this rope come from?" she asked, the secret service agent in her still pushing for answers even as her brain was being flooded by the visual of Helena moving gracefully toward her like a lioness toward prey.
HG pulled the closest chair up right next to Myka and sat on its edge, their knees touched, it was subtle and delicious. Helena's mind being infinitely faster than most had played forward many outcomes to the current situation. At the moment she was stuck on the outcome where Myka remained tied up but for an entirely different, more pleasurable reason. She didn't notice her entire body flush at the thought, but Myka did.
Even in a state of being inexplicably tied up the brunette worried about the inventor. "Helena, you look flush, are you alright?" If she were free she would have reached for the other woman's face to check her temperature.
The question was enough to shake HG out of her reverie and refocus her on the task at hand. "I'm fine." She declared quickly, "You on the other hand are in quite a predicament."
Myka sighed and nodded. It was an odd circumstance being tied up with no explanation save for some apparent level of collusion between her partner and the woman she secretly loved. Yet she found herself oddly okay with it, or at least willing to temporarily endure it if it meant being this close to HG Wells. They hadn't been this close since Helena returned. "Yes, I seem to be a bit tied up at the moment." Myka quipped, she hoped it was an idiom in existence in Helena's day.
It was and the inventor laughed accordingly. It was the kind of laugh which fell over Myka like a summer rain, warm, refreshing and promising. "Since you are being such a good sport about this I won't keep you in it for long. I just wanted to ask you something first."
"Okay," Myka began with hesitation, "Not sure why I have to be tied up in order for you to ask me a question but go ahead."
Helena's expression turned serious and her eyes became misty as she asked with caution, "When we said goodbye that night. How did you feel?" She didn't have to be more specific than that. Myka knew which night, how could she not? Even still the writer's entire body tensed in expectation of the answer and her heart was thumping so hard and fast she wondered if it would fail completely if Myka did not return her love.
Myka's big green eyes widened and her pupils noticeably dilated as emotion flooded her. She didn't want to talk about that night, ever, to anyone, least of all Helena. The entire drive back from Wisconsin had been silent. Myka was devastated walking away from the woman she loved and leaving her in the arms of another. But now, the question percolated in her brain and her heart felt overwhelmingly compelled to answer.
Her voice trembled as she answered, "I felt like you finally managed to drive that trident into the earth a final time. I felt utterly destroyed. I felt that way because I love you Helena. I'm in love you with and I have been since I first saw you. No matter what happens between us my feelings have only gotten stronger." Myka's eyes registered panic when she realized she'd just effortlessly confessed the single deepest secret of her soul. The reality of it was so terrifying all she could do was freeze in place until Helena gave her some indication of how she felt about the answer.
Destruction. Another etymological quandary. Helena thought. Destruction is a decidedly negative word in connotation. Yet Helena, at that moment, felt destroyed but in a way that was purifying and invigorating. Gone was any trace or seedling of her previous anger and hate. Gone was the desire to commit malevolence of any kind. There was no more sense of being betrayed by life, or God, or the random chaos of an unfolding universe.
That which was destroyed in Helena at that moment was all the darkness, all the bitterness and every torturous moment of bronzed confinement. It all dissolved in the presence of Myka Bering and her deep and abiding love for a woman who didn't deserve her.
With Myka still tied Helena dropped down to one knee in front of her and placed her hands lovingly atop the brown-haired agent's knees, they felt warm against her palms. With an unstoppable quiver Helena gave a declaration in return, "Myka, you pulled me back from the abyss. I was destined for darkness. After a hundred years of wretched solitude I was let out only to choose the umbra once more. You saved me from it. You were the light which broke through my shadows. When I realized that I ran. I wanted to avoid hurting you and hurting myself for I am so fearful of your rejection that I'd rather pine for your love unnoticed for the rest of my days than risk your rejection."
Tears, big fat heavy ones rolled like marbles downhill past Myka's cheeks and chin to drip down her shirt. "Oh Helena please tell me you mean it." She uttered with a wavering voice. "Please love me the way I love you, forever and completely." What the hell was she saying? She was word-vomiting her love all over the place, it was a little ridiculous.
Helena stood with a smile wider than the mouth of the Mississippi. She pulled a pair of purple gloves from her back pocket in preparation to untie the rope. "I love you more than you can possibly imagine my beautiful darling. You are the most enchanting, exquisite and alluring woman I have ever encountered and I plan to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I mean it." As she finished she began untying the knot at the back of the chair to free Myka.
Helena's sumptuous worlds seeped into her like hot oil on aching muscles. She felt flooded with joy, love and increasingly, passion. Through this haze of endless wonder, her secret service brain suddenly registered the fact that Helena put on purple gloves before untying her.
"THIS IS AN ARTIFACT?!" She yelled incredulous despite her overall elation.
Helena winced from behind the chair as the final part of the knot released the lasso falling to the floor. "It wasn't my idea?" she said it like a question hoping it would assist in assuaging the woman's sudden and deserved anger.
Myka stood slowly, deliberately and threateningly. She moved towards Helena who started to back up. Their little dance continued until Helena felt the knob from the glass French doors digging into her back and signaling the end of her retreat. Myka was practically on top of her, which despite her outrage wasn't at all unpleasant. The curly-haired agent just kept pressing into her until her face was at most an inch from the writer's. Myka's ragged breath on her lips caused them to swell with anticipation. She attempted a defense of the rouse once more, "Myka I—"
"Shhhhhh" Myka spoke the gush of the sound spilling over Helena's lips driving her mad. "What does the lasso do?" Agent Bering asked in a honeyed voice knowing full well she was in complete control of the inventor she was pressed against.
"It uh," HG struggled to concentrate, "It um…darling you're making it difficult to um, concentrate." She breathed with effort.
"You tied me up against my will." Myka reminded her. "What does it do?" she asked again.
"It compels you to tell the truth." HG spoke it was a blurted sentence but given the circumstances, acceptable.
Breaking the spell of the moment Myka without warning yelled, "PETE!" so loud it felt as if the building shook.
Though he clearly heard his name, Pete was at a crucial juncture in an intense video game with Claudia and had no intention of stopping.
"Uh, dude, I think Myka is calling you."
"I know I heard the window rattle." Pete replied as he rapidly hit buttons on his controller.
"Aren't you going to go down there?" Claudia asked also frantically hitting buttons but looking way calmer about it because she was young and better at the game than him.
"Right now? I've got you on the ropes!"
"Puh-lease. I'm toying with you for sport." Claudia countered.
"We'll see about that." Pete stated with a renewed vigor for the challenge.
Downstairs Helena was still trapped between a Myka and a hard place. With every breath her chest pressed hard into Myka's just long enough to cause them both to feel aflame. Myka's lips were so close to HG's Helena thought it was possible she might go mad again. A lifetime in bronze was nothing compared to a even moment of the aching closeness of Myka's full lips.
Unable to bear another second without touching them Helena closed her eyes and lunged forward fully expecting to capture her prize and revel in their impossible softness. Instead she made contact with nothing, it surprised her and she opened her eyes. Myka had pulled back just enough to keep her pinned but have her lips out of reach. It was scrumptiously cruel. She wouldn't admit it and without the lasso she didn't have to but Helena secretly LOVED being toyed with.
"Myka please, I'll die without your lips on mine." She uttered weakly.
The desperation in her love's voice jolted Myka into action and instantly her lips were against Helena's so infinitely supple and yet strongly insistent. Helena brought her hands up and ran them down Myka's sides settling on her hips eliciting a moan from the woman. Gangly but graceful arms shot out grabbing Helena at the wrists and slamming them forcefully up and against the glass doors behind her. She wanted the inventor to harbor no delusions about how the brown haired agent felt. Myka owned her.
"I'm yours." Helena declared in a voice so breathy it made Myka's knees weaken.
"Yes. You. Are." She punctuated every word by pressing her hips against Helena's.
"Oh my God I've got you, I've got you! You're dead! You're so-"
"Ha! ALIVE!" Claudia yelled jubilantly as she managed to outsmart Agent Lattimer and defeat him in the video game.
"Dammit! I thought I had you!" Pete yelled.
"You didn't have a thing rookie! I'm like the Matrix, too fast."
"I'll beat you one of these days." Pete declared.
"Hey didn't Myka yell for you a few minutes ago?"
Suddenly remembering the predicament he'd left his partner in and the angry scream of his name he shared a look with Claudia and said, "I may have goofed."
"What did you do?" Claudia asked.
"I may have tied Myka up with a truth telling artifact to help her and HG admit their feelings for each other."
"That's brilliant. I can't believe I didn't think of it!" Claudia declared.
Though Pete appreciated his friend's complicity in his scheming choices at the moment he was primarily concerned with making sure he didn't screw up and they weren't actually down their killing each other. "But the yelling, from earlier, didn't sound good." He reminded his young friend.
"Oh, you're right." Claudia stated they silently agreed to haul ass downstairs and see if anyone had been kempo'd to death.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs yielded no evidence of an outcome either way. Now closer to the situation they suddenly became hesitant. They walked more slowly wanting to draw out the finality of what they might see. If it was any iteration of rejection Claudia and Pete feared they didn't have the stomach for it.
"It's too quiet." Pete whispered.
"Yeah but is that a good sign or a bad sign?"
"Good point. If they physically fought it would be over by now. Maybe they are both unconscious."
It was at that moment the pair reached a vantage point allowing them to see what was truly going on in the dining area. It was an epic amount of face-suckage and heavy petting the intensity of which caused Claudia and Pete to rear back and simultaneously utter, "Whoa!"
The sound of their house mates/co-workers exclaiming surprise in unison served to tear Myka and Helena apart leaving them both breathless, gulping for air and looking in Pete and Claudia's direction with heavy-lidded eyes.
Claudia's follow up reaction was one of unbridled joy as she threw her arms up and yelled, "Yayayayayayay!" She ran towards them both and enveloped them in a strong hug. "I can't believe you guys are FINALLY together! You've only been gooey, sticky, silly in love forever!"
The younger woman's exuberance at their new found affection made both women laugh and hug Claudia back. Seeing all of the joy and zero irritation Pete decided to wade into the moment. "Well, well, well let's not forgot who brought you two to this fine moment, yours truly, Special Agent Pete Lattimer, artifact wrangler and love-maker!-wait, that last thing didn't sound right."
"No it did not." Claudia agreed, "But who cares this isn't about you!" she declared as she hugged the two women again.
"Hey it's sort of about me."
"It's really not." Claudia stated to which Myka and Helena had to agree. Before anyone could do anything else Claudia ran to the bottom of the stairs and announced in a voice so loud Helena's dead grandparents heard it, "EVERYBODY COME DOWNSTAIRS NOW! FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENT!"
Myka blushed and buried her reddened face adorably into Helena's shoulder. "Oh lord."
Helena held the woman against her with a comforting hand as she spoke, "I think we just have to, how do you say it? Roll with it, darling."
Myka smiled into the woman's shoulder before tipping her head up and whispering in her ear, "Promise to call me darling every day for the rest of our lives in that perfect accent and I can handle anything."
"I promise."
No more could be said on the matter as many pounding feet could be heard descending the steps. Everyone, Artie, Leena & Steve rushed down in various states of bedroom attire wondering what the emergency announcement was all about.
Artie spoke up, "Claudia! What is it? I was asleep already!"
"Sorry Grampa, its nine o'clock. I didn't realize you'd already become a pumpkin." He grumbled a response. Leena blinked at her expectantly and Steve waited for his best friend to spill the beans.
"Ladies and Gentlemen we interrupt your regularly scheduled broadcast for a VERY special announcement!" she hurried over to Helena and Myka who were still clutching each other but no one had noticed because they thought the announcement had something to do with Claudia. "HG Wells & Myka Bering are officially an ITEM!"
The news instantly gratified the whole group. Everyone cheered. Artie threw his hands in the air and started doing a very happy but very regrettable dance. Leena hurried over to the women and hugged them, Steve and Pete joined Artie in his dance. Claudia, for no real reason started doing the robot.
"This calls for a celebration!" Leena declared disappearing into the kitchen to retrieve celebratory items.
"This was long overdue." Out of nowhere came the voice of Mrs. Fredrick who was already in the room and next to the dancing trio. Everyone in the B&B except Mrs. Fredrick collectively reared back and yelled in surprise because, like always, no detected her presence until she was practically on top of them.
"Holy Crap you really scared me that time!" Steve declared, of them all he was still the greenest when it came to Mrs. Fredrick's sudden appearances.
"I came as soon as I heard." Mrs. Fredrick declared to which the entire group privately wondered what the hell that even meant since they just heard only moments before.
Leena came back out of the kitchen with lots of cookies, milk, Gatorade for Pete, and a few other noshables all layed out on a tray. The odd thing was there were eight glasses, enough for Mrs. Fredrick too though Leena wouldn't have heard her from the kitchen. But then again, "odd" was a relative term when it came to the Warehouse.
Everyone attacked the tray of food and drink. Myka and Helena refused to let go of each other's hand the whole time. "As I was saying," Mrs. Fredrick began, "This was long overdue." She offered a rare smile at Myka and Helena. The two women basked in it knowing it was a rare occurrence. "I lost the pool because you two were taking my entire lifetime to get the frak together."
"The warehouse has a pool? Where? I love a good swim." Helena asked not familiar with the slang.
It was adorable and Myka relished in correcting her not because it mattered but because she got to lean in close to her raven-haired love and smell her sweet scent as she spoke, "Pool means a bet. They were betting." She stated still goofy on love. Then it hit her. "Wait. Mrs. Fredrick, did you just say the Regents were betting on whether Helena and I would get together?" she asked not successfully hiding annoyance.
Mrs. Fredrick leveled a gaze at Myka which informed her that if the Regents wanted to place bets on she and Helena's romantic life or any other aspect of their lives they really had absolutely no say in the matter. "Not IF you would get together. We were betting on WHEN."
The sound of confidence in the older woman's voice filled both women with a sense of abiding security. If Mrs. Fredrick, in all of her secret wisdom knew enough to know it was only a matter of time before the two of them got together it meant they were even more perfect for each other than either realized. Then again she did lose the pool.
"How could you of all people lose?" Claudia asked.
"My money was on Wisconsin. Then Helena screwed the whole thing up and let Myka drive away."
"Yeah well, HG can be a dolt sometimes." Pete declared finally getting the inventor back for the comment from earlier. Helena leveled an approving gaze and smile at the man no matter what the comment or circumstance, Helena always appreciated wit.
"It's true. I goofed and let her go. But I swear I would rather lay down and die before it happens again."
Claudia and Leena swooned leaning into each other for support. Pete might have had a single tear creep into the corner of his eye but he blinked it away before most people saw (Steve and Artie saw but they were in the same boat).
Myka managed to ignore every person in the room as she leaned into HG Wells and tenderly kissed her to let her know she felt the same.
Everyone enjoyed the evening refreshments and the company of their cobbled-together family. They talked, laughed and acclimated to the welcome presence of Myka and Helena finally together. In the distraction of events no one noticed the lasso still laying discarded, where it fell from around Myka.
Steve noticed and not realizing it was an artifact leaned down and picked it up. "Hey guys, what's with the rope?" he asked.
"Oh, hey man, let me get that." Pete stated grabbing one of HG's purple gloves she'd removed and tossed on the table. He didn't put it on but he reached for the lasso with it. Steve handed it over still not sure what was going on, clearly it was artifact-y but really did just seem like a rope. Pete wrapped the loose glove around it managing to protect his hand. Steve still had a grip on it as Pete asked him, "You okay?"
"Yeah," Steve began shaking his head to try and clear it. He hadn't quite let go of the artifact yet as he stated honestly, "It's just that you are looking like my kind of sexy tonight Pete." In the next moment he released his hold on the lasso and clamped his hand over his mouth. He was beet red. "Oh my God I can't believe I said that!"
"I KNEW IT!" Pete declared victoriously dancing a small jig as HG produced a neutralizing bag from her back pocket. Pete shoved it in and it spit sparks on its way down. "I'm Steve's type! I'm Steve's type!"
"Who knew Steve was attracted to idiots?" Claudia countered in an attempt to get Pete to shut up and stop embarrassing her best friend.
Steve was getting redder by the minute until Myka put a consoling arm around him. "It's the Lasso of Truth. It makes you tell the truth when someone asks a question."
"Oh, why doesn't that make me feel better?" he asked sheepishly.
"Because Lattimer is an ass." Helena said in her British accent that somehow made the insult feel not as bad to Pete. He shrugged his shoulders in tacit agreement.
Claudia sidled up to Myka and Helena to state impishly, "Hey, this is the first time I've ever attended a make-out party after a make-out party."
Helena didn't totally get the joke but she was fairly certain that, coming from Claudia, it had been a clever one. Myka laughed and turned with bedroom eyes to her new love. "Why don't we let everyone else enjoy themselves down here?" she leaned in once more to Helena's ear something she was quickly making a habit of and Helena was quickly adoring, "I need you to take me to bed."
It was only her stiff, English upper-lip allowing Helena to remain upright and conscious after Myka's declaration. She was going to do every single thing Myka asked her to do from now on, particularly the requests made in the confines of the bedroom.
The rest of the party enjoyed themselves immensely content in the knowledge true love had won out over all of the other craziness in their lives. It also helped they all placed bets on whether Pete could eat an entire bag of cookies in under a minute. In case you're wondering, he can and Mrs. Fredrick won the pool this time.
The End
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