"So much of what is best in us is bound up in our love of family, that it remains the measure of our stability because it measures our sense of loyalty." -Haniel Long
My eyes stayed straight, walking alongside John and Tesla in a hurried panic. Dressed in a pair of faded out jeans and tight black shirt, I knew that I wasn't going anywhere. I wouldn't be able to penetrate the gateway because of my blood, the blood of my father as well as the serum the scientists shot into me. I would be helpful here, I didn't know how but I would be. I had to be. I hissed at the ache that was forming in my forehead but I ignored it. We had been up all morning, testing that bloody shield with great results, our best work so far even with the little time we had to work on it. There was not enough caffiene in me so hence the beginnings of a headache. I looked at Tesla, his face determined as he held onto the bracelet. I already knew that Tesla and John were thinking that either one of them was going to go instead of Helen. That wasn't going to happen, she was far too stubborn. That's what I liked about her most...It was familiar to me, I guess. "I've been testing this vampire shield all morning." Tesla stated, as we walked in. My eyes instantly went to Will who was looking at Tesla with sarcastic eyes.
"You really aren't going at naming things, are ya?" Will stated, the sarcasm drenching his voice. I surpressed a giggle, watching the conversation eagerly.
"Too bad our resident genius could only make one." John stated, pulling on his other glove. Ooo, verbal poke.
"Really, the poltrie supplies of lafinde you keep on hand-" Tesla commented, his large hands handling the bracelet gingerly.
"I'll be careful with it, I promise." Helen reassured with a smile, placing her hand up front in order to grab it away from Tesla. The look on Tesla's face, however, stated otherwise.
"Uh, so you're going?" Tesla asked, his face scrunched up in agitation. Everyone could see where this was going. Helen might be sick but she wasn't going to back down from this. She had to go for her father, as well as herself.
"As supposed to?" she asked, her eyes showing the agitation that was coming up.
"You or him?" Will stated, gesturing to both men. "Or Riley... no offense." I could see that he didn't want to say that, but it was true. The three of us would have to stay behind, whether we liked it or not.
" None taken. I already know I'm not going." I stated, looking at the two men. "I'm fine, staying here." Will frowned for a second but it quickly disappeared.
"I did aid in procuring the keystone." John stated, his voice showing that he wanted to go as well. I smiled, knowing what they were trying to do.
"Found the gateway." Tesla said in an stressed voice, waving his hands up in the air to add to the drama. I shook my head, knowing that they weren't getting anywhere.
"Hand it over!" Helen urged, shaking her hand to emphasis what she wanted.
"Very well, but really..I have to say when I imagined the splendor of the entre hall, an architectural site thousands of years old, a vartiable marvel of of art and design and to think that the first witnesses to this spectacle will be Huey, Doey and Screwy. Really, Helen, my heart sinks that you choose them over me." he lectured. I looked at Helen and John, seeing that both of them were used to this. He was such a drama queen, you would think he was a girl with the way he was talking.
"Don't be bitter." Helen stated with a smile on her face, grabbing the shield out of his hand as he calmed down. She slipped it on, smiling at Tesla who was beginning to pout.
"I do it so well." Tesla stated, looking devastated by the turn of events. I nodded in agreement.
"That you do." I muttered, feeling Tesla's eyes on me. I smirked watching as Helen gazed at John. They were about to leave...adrenaline ran through me as I realized I wouldn't be seeing them up close and personal, especially Will.
"Sooner the better." she murmured, gaining a nod from John.
"Ready when you are." he stated, walking towards them with both hands up and waiting. I smiled, an idea forming in my mind. Before I could psych myself out, I made my move. Running up to Will, I grabbed him by the shoulders to pull him down. Kissing him as hard as I could, my heart jumped at my bravery. I had to show him I would miss him while he was gone. I stepped away, smiling as Will stood there shocked.
"Don't get hurt, okay?" I blurted out, the smile on his face making me giddy. "Helen." She nodded, smiling at the interaction between Will and I. I watched as Will walked closer to Helen, his head down and waiting.
"Oh man, I hate this." he muttered, John quickly teleporting them out. The way he teleported was much more diffeently from the teleporter who took me to Old City. Very strange...yet still fascinating to watch up close and personal. Henry looked at me, his eyes wide in fear. He hated traveling this way as well. I already knew that.
"I have to pee." he sighed, knowing that he would have to hold it. I smiled, jumping slightly as John reappeared.
"Best zip up." he basically purred, Henry quickly zipped up before being teleported to wherever they were. I sighed, my heart jumping erratically as the realization hit me hard. This was going to kill me, not being there with them. I was left here with Mr. Magneto, Jack the Ripper (oh, yes I had been informed of that by Henry during out little chats), and Jekyll and Hyde. This sucked!
"You are such a drama queen, Nikola!" I giggled, watching as Tesla pouted. He glared at me, clearly upset.
"No, I'm not." he growled. I walked out, clearly pleased that I got him annoyed. "Riley, no I'm not!" he yelled after me. Ha, payback was a bitch.
xXx
I watched silently alongside John as Nikola inserted an IV into Worth, the man whimpering slightly as he withdrew from his arm. Dressed in a black shirt and matching pants, the man looked just how I remembered him from my childhood. "Tuck me in?" he stated with a smile on his face.
"No." Nikola blurted out, not fazed by this. He was so calm, more so than John. His whole body was tense behind me, sending me unwanted goosebumps. "Although i could add some sulfuric acid into this cocktail, make your blood boil in the inside."
"I'll have to decline, ol' boy. Kira already offered to burn me alive." he muttered his eyes narrowing as he glanced over at me.
"The offer still stands, I know I'll enjoy it." I smiled, my left hand grabbing my lighter from my pocket, flicking it on and off to prove my point.
"Haven't lost your sense of humour." He muttered, shifting in his bed before looking at Tesla. "She is going to die down there, you know that. There will be events that she is unprepared for." I could see where he was going, trying to place doubt in their minds-my mind. If we felt she was unprepared, if her life was in danger, we would let him go. I couldn't let him free, even if I had to fight those two men. He was planning something, I could see it in his eyes.
"Don't listen to him, Nikola. He's lying." I growled, sensing the fight that was about to occur. He glanced over at me, before returning his attention to Worth.
"Finish up. I'm sick of the sound of his voice." John growled, I placed my hand on his, grasping it to comfort him. He smiled at me, the tension in his face reflected in his effort. He let go of my hand, looking out the door in effort to control himself.
"The great Helen Magnus...well I tried to warn her." Worth begun to talk before being cut off by John.
"STOP-" John suddenly yelled, causing me to jump. Everyone had their eyes on him, fear reflected in our eyes. "talking."
"She never loved you, you know that?" he continued, pushing himself upward so he could glare at the man before him. "Oh, come on. You've seen the way she's looked at me with pity in her eyes. Why should she feel any different about you?"
"John, don't-" I muttered, trying to get him to stay by me, but was shrugged off. My eyes went to Tesla who was watching the interaction with worried eyes. A part of me knew this was going to happen, placing three strong, genius, slightly mad men in a room...something was bound to happen. He continued walking up to the bed, his body tense with anger.
"The only reason she tolerates ya is because she can use you, like a mad dog on a leash and you will keep lapping at her heels like the dog you-" I jumped as John's hand latched onto his throat, restricting his air passages.
'John, stop. We need him." I urged, looking at Nikola for some help. That glint in his eyes showed that port of him wanted for the man to suffer. I watched as he grabbed onto John's free arm, tightening his grip.
"John, really. He's not worth it, pardon the pun." Nikola stated, shooting a glare at Worth before continuing. "If you kill him, he can't help her." Pushing him away, John backed towards the door quickly rushing out of the cell with large steps. Nikola sighed, gesturing me to get out as well. Nodding, I ran out without even looking at Worth. This was going downhill quickly. How would I be able to survive in this mansion with these men if they couldn't get along? Someone was going to die, I could just feel it.
xXx
"No tracking signal." Nikola muttered. My heart jumped as all the possibilites ran through my mind. Something must have happened to them, and we weren't even there. Standing in Henry's lab, surrounded by these two men, I couldn't help but miss the trio. It didn't feel right, being in Henry's lab without him. This was his little piece of heaven, one that I was used to invading but for good reasons. Now, it just felt wrong.
"It died just a few minutes ago." I muttered, my eyes scanning the data before us. Something bad had to happen for those signals to die like that. Henry had made them himself.
"Some sort of network error?" John asked, worry lacing his deep voice. I had no doubt in my mind that if something had happened, John would instantly be over there. We had to figure this out those before we sent the calvery.
"I don't think so. I rebooted the entire system." Nikola muttered, his fingers twirling the pencil as he thought. John stood to his full height, looking down at us.
"Then she needs help." John stated. "Come along, Riley." I stood up from my seat but stopped as Nikola grabbed John by the arm to stop him.
"Not so fast, there could be a number of reasons why the signal died." Nikola blurted out. I could see John looked down at the place where Nikola was holding him. Wow, it was taking alot from John not to do any bodily damage to Nikola. My eyes watched the interaction between them, waiting to see if I would have to break something up. I had realized early on that I would have to be the peacemaker between them.
"Such as?" John growled. I crossed my arms, waiting to see where he was going with this.
"I don't know...a malfunction in the vampire shield, just give me a few minutes. I'll like to check something." Nikola urged, beginning to type away on the screen, John hovering over him. Sitting back into my seat, I leaned into my seat. A dull ache was forming at my temple, the ache spreading slowly but surely. "Riley, are you okay?"
"Yeah." I groaned, wanting the pain to go away. I didn't need this, not now. "Headache, but worse."
"Maybe, you should rest. We can handle this." John muttered. I shot a glare at him.
"No way in hell." I growled. There was no way I was going to go sleep when the rest of the team might need us. I would die first. John sighed, realizing I wouldn't move from my seat. Looking down at the computer, a smirk appeared on his face.
"What defensive system you have stolen?" he asked, getting a crossed look from Nikola.
"Weather...better geothermal data." he stated with a fake smile on his face. I giggled softly, earning a look from Tesla.
"Look here. A seismic 3.4 was registered right at the-" John muttered, his head close to Tesla's as they both stared at the screen.
"Same coordinates as the gateway." Tesla muttered.
"And roughly the same time the tracking signal died." I followed up, worry flushing over me. "John, go." Something did happen to them while they were down beneath the earth. i fought the urge to jump as John teleported out of the lab, going to the gateway entrance to see what was going on. I placed my head on the cold, steel table; allowing the cold to chill my forehead. What are we going to do? Possiblities were running through my head as Nikola begun typing rapidly on the computer, his anxiety evident as he sat there completely silent. I looked up when John reappeared, snow decorating his pale body.
"They made it inside but the gateway is sealed again." John huffed, his body shaking from the cold. Damn, there goes one way into the labyrinth.
"What are we going to do?" I asked them both. Nikola huffed out of anger, looking around before put his attention on me. There was something in his eyes that frightened me. He couldn't be thinking what I was thinking.
"There is only one thing we can do, Riley." Nikola murmured. Anger rushed through me as I realized what he wanted to do.
"No, you can't be serious. We don't need Worth." I growled. "He will use us to get to the city and then kill us." I got up from my seat, both men watching me. "We have to find another way."
'There is no other way, Riley." John murmured, a dejected look appearing on his pale face. I watched as the two men walked out, their footsteps causing my heart to drop in despair. This could only lead to madness, but how far are we willing to go to save the ones we love? I sighed, running out the lab room so I could catch up to them.
I would do anything to save the ones I love, even work with a madman.
I will not loose the only family I had left, not now...not ever.