Sorry about the late posting of the previous chapter, I ended up going out and not coming home for two days due to weather but hey ho! Hopefully will be able to update more regularly as my exams are OVER! WHOOP! (ahem) yes well... enjoy!

Sitting in the departure lounge awaiting their flight, Elizabeth's phone buzzed. Pulling it from the confines of her coat pocket she answered, "Hi Liz..." A deep frown set across her features, "Are you sure?... I'm at Heathrow, I've been called into the Warehouse... I know what I said Liz... I'll sort it. The grab is mine. If they don't like it then they are just going to have to grin and bear it... Right, I'll see you soon. Love you, bye." Hanging up, she gave a frustrated sigh.
Myka returned to the bench they occupied with two coffees and a tea, while Helena was busy paying for their purchases, "Are you alright?"
Taking her coffee, Elizabeth shook her head, "No, I need to change my flight."
Sitting down, Myka's eyes widened, "But, you can't, Mrs Frederic has ordered that you be brought in."
She shrugged, "It is simply tough. There is an object in New York that it is of the upmost importance."
"What is it?"
The older woman replied vaguely, "A compass."
Helena wandered across, "Is everything alright?"
"I need to get to New York ASAP."
Myka chipped in, "Elizabeth needs to collect a compass."
"Is it an artefact?"
She nodded, "I believe so."
Running a hand through her curls Myka sighed, "I'll ask Artie, but he isn't going to like it."

"Yes, Myka, what is it?"
The Agent on the small screen of his Farnsworth looked at him sheepishly, "Artie, Elizabeth says we need to make a detour."
"Impossible! Mrs Frederic said..."
Elizabeth's voice came from the background, "Myka, allow me." The agent nodded, and the Farnsworth turned towards the older woman, "Am to understand you are Arthur Nielson?"
Pulling his chair closer to the desk he replied, "Yes, are you Elizabeth Loewe?"
"The one and only." Fixing him in a glare, which remained piercing even through the low quality picture of the communication device, she said authoritatively, "Now Arthur, I will come to the Warehouse, however I have the need to visit New York before hand."
He paused, "New York? That is where our ping is located."
Elizabeth's frown deepened, "Fill me in."
He paused, "I don't know..."
"Arthur! I am still technically a warehouse agent. Now, Fill. Me. In."
Shocked by the sternness of her tone, he stammered, "A store clerk disappeared on the night shift. The CCTV cameras went dead; all that was found was a pile of ash behind the counter."
The colour drained from Elizabeth's face and she barely managed to stutter, "A..ash?"
"Yes. There were no signs of a struggle, just a pile of ash."
A low, harsh curse escaped her lips, "Bastard."
Artie was taken aback, "Excuse me?"
"Not you Arthur, my apologies. But this artefact has been eluding me since the English civil war. We'll get it Artie, then we'll get back to the Warehouse."

The Museum of Natural History- New York City

Cold grey eyes watched from the shadows, as the night guard made his rounds. As the young man passed, his gaze shifted to the camera in the corner, knowing he was out of its line of sight, he waited until the small red light on the lens blinked out. The low lights went down, along with the rest of the building's power. Moving like a ghost, he could hear the night guard give an irritated growl. Like a panther he crossed the room to the glass display case which held his prize. The backup generator would not kick in- he had made sure of that. Without need for subtlety he smashed the glass, grabbing the compass inside.
Heavy footfalls came up the corridor, and the night guard's torch shone in his face. The man barked, "Put the compass down! I am armed."
A cruel smile twisted across his lips, "Oh how quaint."
"I'm warning you! Put it down now, I will shoot!"
The thief began to walk towards the guard, "Go ahead." He made to reach for his back pocket. The guard- thinking he was reaching for a weapon of his own- fired twice; hitting the man in the dead centre of his chest. Stumbling only slightly, the man looked down to the red blooming across his chest and laughed, before continuing his approach. The guard continued to fire until his weapon was empty. "What the hell are you?"
"I'm complicated."Lunging forward he grabbed the guard by the throat, "Time to fix the mess you made."
The guard felt as if he was suddenly on fire. Throwing back his head he released a roar of pain.
"Let him go!" Three sets of footfalls interrupted him. Dropping the guard, he looked back to see the three agents come around the corner. The guard's torch shattered on the floor, plunging them into darkness. Pulling an uzi he aimed it to where he could hear the women. As he began to fire he heard one yell, "NO!"
There was the sickening repeated sound of metal meeting flesh, and one fell. Another called the name, "Elizabeth!" Before dropping to her knees. Grinning in the darkness, he turned tail and ran into the shadows.

As the lights came up, Myka looked around the corridor, the thief was gone, along with the compass. Looking down she gave a short cry. Elizabeth lay on the floor, five bullet holes in her torso and neck. Helena had pulled the woman onto her lap. "Elizabeth... You... why?"
The older woman coughed, "Better you than me. The guard, is he?"
Myka knelt beside the man, the man looked to be in his late nineties at least, " He's alive. But I don't think this is the night guard... he's... too old."
It was then Elizabeth started to move. Both agents, stared aghast, as the skin around her wounds began to ripple like water. The bullets were pushed out, and fell with soft plinks against the stone floor. On her hands and knees, she gave a shuddering breath, "It is the night guard. He has been affected by the same artefact which caused the death of the store clerk and Beatrice."
Groaning, she got to her feet, and noticed the agents had not reacted to her words, "Helena, Myka; are you alright?"
It was HG who managed to find her voice, "You just... Your wounds, they're gone."
Looking down, Elizabeth saw the only evidence of the bullet holes were slight tears in the material of her shirt, "Oh, that."
"Yes that." The inventor's eyes searched for any sign of injury, "Care to tell us, what exactly that was?"
Running a hand through her hair, she replied with only one word, "Fountian."
Helena nodded, "I see. Thank you. Again I find you saving me."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "You would think after a hundred years you would stop getting yourself into these positions Helena. Do you not remember Lord Gregory?"
The inventor chuckled, "Ah yes, as I recall you threw him through the dining room window at Richmond and he landed in the fountain."
Elizabeth's smile fell, "The compass. Is it still in the case."
While Myka tended to the guard, Helena rushed to the case, "It's gone."
"Höllenfeuer!" Elizabeth began to pace, "Verdammt!"
Helena immediately began to have a sinking feeling, the last time Elizabeth cursed in German was when she had failed to stop an artefact from killing a fellow agent. "Elizabeth? What is the compass' significance? Is that what is turning people to ash?"
She shook her head, "No. Look at the case."
Casting her eyes down, Helena read the plaque through the broken glass of the case, The Compass of Ponce De Leon, used on his first journey to find the fountain of youth in 1518...
The rest was a brief history of the expedition, but Helena was more concerned about the owner, "Why do you need the compass?"
Lowering her head, Elizabeth sighed, "As long as that compass is not locked within the Warehouse the fountain can never be safe. Ponce De Leon was given that compass by a man who had seen the fountain- it was this tale which inspired him to take the journey. What he did not know was that the compass had come into contact with the water of the fountain, and thereafter, its needle only ever pointed in the direction of the fountain of youth." She gave a humourless chuckle, "He never actually used that compass, he carried it as a good luck charm- but he thought it broken. Rather ironic considering that had he followed it he would have found what he sought."
"But I thought you said you destroyed the fountain."
Her friend shook her head, "It is complicated. We need to get this man to a hospital, and get back to the Warehouse."