"Nikola Tesla!" Helen's voice bellowed.
"Already," Nikola muttered wincing as he stopped in his tracks and reluctantly turned to face the fuming woman striding purposely towards him, "how wonderful! You're back, how was your flight Helen? Did you get the abnormal you were looking for?"
"Don't change the subject!" she snapped glaring at him as she finally reached him, "you know perfectly well what this is about and why I am yelling at you!"
"No," he lied.
"You set fire to my lab!" Helen shouted.
"Oh that," he said waving if off, "who told you about that?"
"Big Guy," she informed him bluntly, "you really thought you could keep something like this from me?"
"Well it wasn't a big fire or anything," he shrugged it off, "no one got hurt, what's the big deal?"
"They very easily could have and do you know how much some of that machinery cost?" Helen demanded, "I have to pay to replace the things that you destroy, I'm not leeching off anyone like you are."
"I'm not leeching off you, I'm helping," he protested, "I do a lot of stuff around here."
"You only help out so that I will let you stay," she pointed out angrily, "and you only want to stay because you want to use the technology I have to try regain your vampiric powers."
"Regaining my powers is important to me," he told her firmly.
"The sun doesn't revolve around you!" she yelled, "you don't care what you do to jeopardize my Sanctuary, my people, my patients as long as you get what you want. You're a selfish, arrogant bastard Nikola!"
"That is entirely unfair," he complained.
"And after you promised not to do anything like this while I was gone!" she yelled before forcing a sign and continuing in a mellower tone, "what is the point in yelling at you? You don't listen, you don't even care."
"Of course I car-" he began but she turned and started walking away, "where are you going?"
"To clean up your mess!" she called back.
"I'm sorry," he apologized.
"No you're not," she pointed out sadly turning back to him.
"I swear I thought it work this time," he explained, "I am so close to getting my powers back, I just couldn't wait."
"Nikola..." she said quietly and seemed to really think before continuing, "maybe its better if you just left. Go back to wherever the hell you were before and work on getting your powers there, since obviously that's all you care about."
"That is not true," he protested, "don't you think you're overreacting, slightly? It was one fire and I was trying to replace the things I ruined anyway so you wouldn't even know- wait that came out wrong!"
"Just once," Helen sighed, "just for one time Nikola, I wish that you would, that you could care about something other than yourself. Just once."
"Helen-"
"I have to go see to the new arrival," she interrupted and continued away, "we'll talk later."
"I really am sorry," he muttered when she was gone, "really."
Nikola sighed heavily before angrily slamming his fist against the wall and silently cursing the treacherous Sasquatch, now he looked like even more of a jerk as he had honestly been trying to replace the equipment before she got back. Sighing again he leaned back against the wall, now not only had he lost his vampirism, he'd lost Helen's trust. Again. He was slightly offended by her accusations that he was selfish, he didn't think he was that bad. He was distracted from his thoughts for a moment by a dark blur that sped across the wall to then vanish, he blinked a few times and raised a questioning eyebrow but nothing else happened.
"I need a drink," he announced shaking his head and walking away.
"So how's our new arrival?" Helen asked trying to put Nikola out of her mind as she strode into the room where Henry and Will were exchanging confused glances.
"Well... You see... Doc... It kinda... errr..." Henry babbled nervously.
"It's dead," Will told her.
"Dead?" she repeated raising a confused eyebrow.
"I swear it wasn't out fault!" Henry protested desperately, "we did everything right, gave it food and water like you said but it didn't even touch them. It was acting kinda weird and we were just going to get you when the thing dropped dead, like right in front of us before we could do anything."
"That's... slightly unusual," Helen muttered feeling puzzled, "it seemed find during transport."
"We did try and save it but it was no use," Henry continued still looking anxious, "you're not mad are you?"
"I'm not mad Henry," she informed him with a reassuring smile, "its just unusual, hyphodons don't usually get sick and this one was far too young to die of old age. Did you notice anything odd about the hyphodon? Any injuries or marks on its body or something that I failed to notice?"
"No," Will answered before seeming to think of something, "its radiation level was quite high, safe but high."
"Interesting," she mumbled trying to think of a logical explanation.
"Interesting? Hope you guys are having more fun than me," Kate complained entering the room, "had to clean up that damn things puke."
"What puke?" Will asked, "the hyphodon didn't puke."
"Yes it did," Kate said firmly.
"It did not," Will affirmed.
"I think we would have noticed something like that," Henry pointed out.
"It did," Kate protested, "take it from someone who just had to clean all of the green goop from the van."
"There wasn't any green goop in the van," Will retorted.
"Yes there was!" Kate argued forcefully.
"Both of you stop this," Helen intervened, "Will and Henry are right, the hyphodon never vomited but that doesn't mean this green stuff Kate cleaned up wasn't from something else we brought back, it very well could have come from an artifact. Its not uncommon for small abnormals or even animals to make themselves at home in these things, remain unnoticed for the journey and slip out upon arrival back here and most likely the journey made it nauseous so when it came out it threw up. Mystery solved."
"Look what I found!" Big Guy announced as he joined them with an abnormal in his hands.
It wasn't something Helen recognized, it was about the size of a nubbin and had a greenish hue to its skin not unlike many reptiles but with very large eyes. It had miniscule feet peeking out from under its body and long arms that were wrapped protectively around itself, it tilted its head innocently to once side as it studied her intently, a few teeth showing as it smiled but she couldn't quite shake the feeling that something was not right with it.
"And there solves the case of the mysterious green goop," Henry announced brightly, "isn't that thing adorable?"
"What is it?" Will questioned.
"I have no idea," Helen whispered curiously, "no idea at all."