Useless Multi-headed Shark
This is my take on the deleted scene from SFN, where Nikola confronts Helen in her office about her actions over the past 113 years.
Spoilers for SFN deleted scenes.
ENJOY
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Helen walked down the hall to her office and found Nikola seated at her desk. "Shouldn't you be in the lab?"
"Henry and I are getting very close to deactivating the Death Nodes as he calls them," Nikola responded as he got up from Helen's chair. "Accurate title," Helen replied and sat down. She didn't have the patience for one of his sidetrack rants today. There was far too much up in the air, things that no one else knew about.
"What's going on, Helen? Come on, you can hide it from the kids, but from me? I know you too well, Mrs. Robinson," Nikola stated with that trademark mischievous smile.
"Go back to work, Nikola!" She was losing patience.
"I will, once you tell me what you're up to."
"I have no idea what you're blathering on about."
"Come on Helen, secret phone calls, shutting down Sanctuaries, Wall Street? Let me in."
"To what? My classified book of the month club?"
Nikola sighed and turned, walking toward the window. "I've been trying to figure it out, and it all seems to come back to New York 1901. The same year that fascist JP Morgan ran me off Long Island…"
Helen shook her head. "You took him for three million dollars and built a radio tower to talk to aliens." "Which worked, thank you very much!" Nikola shot back, and despite herself Helen couldn't contain her amusement at that moment.
"My point is, when you came to me, asking about the controlled use of nitroglycerin, our target was a Peruvian underwater cave. I thought I was helping you capture some useless multi-headed shark." Helen shrugged, "And?"
"You lied to me. According to the holo-map, that cave leads to an arterial passage to Hollow Earth."
"Now how could that be possible? We only discovered Hollow Earth last year."
"The rest of us yes but you've known about it for 113 years, so I want to know if the Helen Magnus who wined and dined me at the Hotel Mira-Florez in 1902 was you, or the other you?"
Xxxxx
Nikola Tesla walked out of his suite in the Hotel Mira-Florez, dressed in his usual style of a black suit with his hair combed to either side, and at this time in history he still wore his trademark moustache. To most of the world he was Nikola Tesla: inventor, genius, perhaps a bit of a mad scientist. What most of the world didn't know was that he was also a vampire.
One of the few people in the world who knew his secret was the woman who was waiting for him downstairs in the hotel lobby. He had received a call that he had a visitor and upon hearing her name, he had been stunned. He hadn't expected to see her anytime soon at all. It had been nearly two years since he had heard from her and he was not expecting that pattern to break.
But there she was, waiting to meet with him out of the blue, and he had to admit he was more than a little anxious and excited. Taking a breath as he entered the elevator, he took a moment to straighten his already meticulous suit jacket and tie, just finishing in time for the chime of the doors opening and took a few steps out into the lobby.
There she was, looking radiant as ever. Her hair was up in a mess of golden curls and the dress she wore was a beautiful crimson red. There was something about her in crimson, something irresistible and at that moment for the first time, Nikola was positive she knew just how perfect it was.
"Helen Magnus." Nikola smiled warmly as he approached his oldest friend. Helen smiled and turned to face him, nodding, her hands laced together in front of her. She was nervous too, he realized. "Nikola…" She moved toward him then and brought a hand to his arm. It would be improper in this setting to embrace him, though she desired very much to do just that. Nikola had mixed feelings on the matter, being at the height of his aversion to the touch of others, yet he always had loved Helen Magnus and she could be as close to him as she wanted to be, and he'd never bat an eye.
"Is everything alright, Helen? I mean of course I am always glad to see you but I have to admit, it's a bit of a surprise." Nikola admitted in his still very much present Serbian accent.
"Yes, fine Nikola. I just… I was passing through on my way elsewhere and I figured why not stop in and visit an old friend?" Helen smiled and Nikola knew she was not being straight with him. He smirked and nodded, "Very well."
"Perhaps you'd join me in the hotel restaurant for dinner?" Helen offered and stepped closer to him. She knew left to his own devices he often didn't eat very well or nearly often enough, just blood feeds to keep his vampire side in check with the animal plasma and medication that helped him control his stress shifting. "Very well," Nikola said again, gaining a glance from Helen for his repetitiveness, not that she was really surprised. He just smiled, and nodded, as he took her arm to walk with her toward the hall that lead to the hotel dining room. It was more a curiosity as to what she was hiding, why she was really here, than anything else. And besides, when was it not pleasant to share a meal with Helen Magnus?
They entered the dining room and were escorted to a table by a young man who offered them menus and went to get them some water. Helen took her menu and began to look over the day's choices which included a certain steak dish that looked like it might be appealing and some other options.
Nikola glanced over his menu with idle curiosity, but his main focus was still on Helen. He set the menu aside after a few moments and just turned his pale blue eyes to her.
"For goodness sake, Nikola, it's not polite to stare. Have you chosen what you'd like to eat?"
"Chicken. Why are you hiding something from me?"
"Nikola, really…" Helen shook her head but smirked a little, he recognized that look as the one she had when she had decided he was thoroughly incorrigible.
He smirked and took a drink from his water. Before he could say anything more, a waiter approached the table to take their drink orders and ask them if they knew what they would like to eat. Helen ordered first and then Nikola ordered the chicken dish he had chosen and some red wine.
As the waited walked away, Nikola turned back to Helen. "So why are you really here?"
Helen smiled coyly, "Can't you just enjoy your dinner in peace Nikola, and let me do the same?"
"You know I can't. It will run in my head all the time until I know." Helen knew that much he was being honest about. He couldn't focus on anything else when he had a question to puzzle over. It was how he made such amazing breakthroughs in his career, but it was also menacing when one was trying to bring up a topic of curiosity without revealing the true reason. He couldn't very well know that she was not the Helen Magnus from his timeline. That she was a little more than a decade into reliving 113 years and using the time to make some dramatic plans for the future of the Sanctuary network to be enacted upon reaching the point she had travelled back from.
"Very well, Nikola, I will tell you. I would like to avail myself of your expertise in physics and technology." She cast him another glance across the table and saw that he looked suitably entertained and intrigued. "Oh? In what area are you looking for information? Perhaps in electricity and the use of alternating current? Polyphase generators? The World's Fair in Chicago was lit by those you know, a few years ago… " Helen nodded, "Yes Nikola I know. Very impressive." He looked a little too pleased, she had appealed to his ego. If she was honest, the exact response she was going for.
Helen shook her head. "Actually I'd like to know about the controlled use of nitroglycerin…" She began without any more stalling.
"For what purpose if I may ask?" Nikola paused and stared at her a moment when she stated her request. The truth was, he was puzzled by this. This was not his area of work or expertise. While of course he knew about the use of the product, he had no personal experience in such and knew it could be very dangerous. What did Helen Magnus want with nitroglycerin?
Helen nodded. "Of course, but I assure you it's for a good cause, Nikola. I have received word of a sighting of a Cerberus shark near an underwater cave off the coast of Peru. It's something that we have been trying to capture for quite some time without success. My father had three failed expeditions to try to capture one of these creatures some years ago."
Nikola nodded, "I have never heard of this Cerberus shark. Why do you want to capture it? What is unique about it? Knowing you I am sure it is an abnormal."
Helen nodded. "Indeed it is. A very rare abnormal at that, actually. It's a rather large shark, nearly as large as a great white shark but it has several heads on one body, and despite its size it is actually quite docile, feeding on smaller fish and has never been known to attack humans. However, it is very timid and lives in deep, dark depths of water where it is very difficult to capture them. I am hoping that we can use the nitroglycerin to wall off its territory, make it come to us."
"Helen, perhaps if it wishes to remain hiding it should be respected in that nature." Nikola was not keen on the capture and captivity of creatures that were meant to be free without good reason. Helen smiled, "Nikola, you know that this is what we do… James and I. The Sanctuary exists with a purpose set by my father years ago. We are not a zoo, we are not a testing laboratory. We are a Sanctuary, a haven, first and foremost. We exist to both protect the vulnerable and study the miraculous. You know I would never let any harm come to the creature and would only act in its best interest."
Nikola nodded. They were briefly interrupted at that moment by their drinks arriving, but once the waiter was back out of earshot, he turned his attention back to Helen.
"Very well then, you've convinced me." Not that it would ever take much 'convincing' for Nikola to be willing to help Helen Magnus. He would practically swim across hellfire for her and he believed that deep down she knew it. "I will see what I can do to help you."
Helen smiled, "Thank you Nikola."
xxxxx
Helen smiled at the memory Nikola had just brought up. She felt rather guilty though despite her amusement at his musings.
It was true, she had lied to him. But she couldn't reveal her true motives just yet, even if he was halfway on to her. Too much was at stake, and if anything went wrong, 113 years of work and planning would be down the drain, and possibly put everyone closest to her in grave danger, Nikola included. And so instead she just gave him a warm smile, and reached up to touch her hand to his face.
"Ah, Nikola. You're the genius. You figure it out." And before he could respond to that, Helen was gathering her work together on her desk and got up to walk back out of her office, leaving a slightly more baffled than before Nikola standing by her desk.
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Nonsense drabble, I know. But it needed to be said! I'm not really sure I am happy with how this came out. I may edit or re-do it later. We'll see. Reviews are lovely as always. =)