"Copier…"

Summary: Paracelsus is leaving a little gift for Arthur and the gang…

Disclaimer: No copywrite infringement intended.

Part XXX…

[Note-Yep, has been a while but pandemic, travels, mucho other story balls in air, etc]

Alternative Warehouseverse…

The interdimensional pocket universe where Claudia, Nicholas Sutton, and a rather hung-over Myka, accompanied by artifact-controlled Amanda were attempting to find and reconstruct Paracelsus' quantum transit system from any parts left behind there.

"Sorry...Ohhh…Guys. How's it goin'?" Myka apologetically, wincing as she came to a sitting position on the bench they'd lain her a short time ago after she'd announced in the middle of her "invisible" romp, she didn't feel so very good and collapsed… "I guess the cloak got to me faster than I expected. Maybe my meds earlier…?"

"I'd say so…" Claudia noted, peering over a shelf though a set of rather thick bifocal glasses… Nicholas, standing by her, cautiously looking as well but eagerly rushing to Myka's defense…

Amanda quietly viewing a panel on the wall nearest them, instructed by Claudia to alert them to any hint of pursuit…

"I think you handled the cloak very well, Agent Bering. I'm just sorry you don't feel well. I wish I could go and get you that aspirin…" eyeing Claudia who frowned.

"Do the Prince Charming, five-hundred-year-old, overeager teen later, Nick. We can't risk being detected by J Edgar Lattimer's clueless boys and girls, or even he and his minions. If we could only reach Mrs. Fredricks. Myka? Myka…" impatient tone.

"Yeah, yeah…I'm here. What? You want me to search the shelf here? And what's with the librarian specs?" she rose.

"First, don't touch that." Claudia, insistent as Myka reached for an object on the shelf. "It's a holographic marker resembling the artifact actually in place and if you move it, the actual one in the Warehouse will alarm and give us away. You need these…" she tapped her bifocals. "…Or at least the polarized part…To identify the real ones from the holograms."

Myka blinking…Pulling hand back.

"These are exact copies of the warehouse shelves. It's a map of the full Warehouse in holographic, pocket universe form to allow full visualization." Claudia explained. "Only the stuff my copy and Paracelsus were swiping to study or hold for back-up are real. Artie showed me the same thing, in reduced size once, it's used by Guardians and Caretakers on rare occasions to visualize the place after everything's been scanned. But it's usually meant to just be large enough to enter and view things close-up. My copy and/or Paray expanded it to hideout size."

"Oh…" Myka, just a bit wondering.

She seems to know a lot about this…Maybe too much. Oooh, head…

"Myka?" Claudia eyed her pained expression. "Sorry. We'll try for some aspirin soon." As Myka winced at the voice. "You said Mrs. Fredericks, alternate version, was willing to listen to you? Do you think she'd help?"

"I don't think she can. Pete arrested her and…Claudia…Leena's the Caretaker now…Or about to become Caretaker."

"What?" stare.

"Wait…" Myka grimaced, then blinked. "Does that mean…?"

"If there's a transfer, yeah…But I'm sure Petey's only trying to see the Big Picture here and will generously see his Mrs. F stays alive, in comatose state." Claudia noted.

"But Leena? Alive…?" she eyed Myka.

Ah, Myka relaxed a bit…Now that's our…Wait…If this is Claudia II back from my world? Now, come on…Watch the paranoia. Especially if it's an aftereffect…

"And seemed a little mean, by Leena standards. Jealous of us both I think…Our counterparts, anyway. And kinda ambitious…" she noted, nodding a bit wearily… "Course, it was Pete who ordered her to take the Warehouse…But…She's not the Leena we loved." Sigh. "And who married Artie." She concluded, somewhat shrewd look.

"What?" Claudia stared. "Leena married Artie? What are you…?" narrow look, then sigh, shaking head at Myka's careful look. "Oh, I get it. Myka? When would I have had time to jump back and why? And no blue light, right?"

"Sorry. It's just…And you know so much about this place." Sheepish look.

"I tole you. And Amanda tole me the rest while you were busy throwing up after trying to take your clothes off before you passed out on us."

"It's the truth, Agent Bering." Nick nodded. "Amanda showed us where the glasses were and tole us this was the Warehouse map bubble, just expanded."

"Ok…Look…" Myka put up a hand. "I am sorry, Claud."

"I'd've done the same and will if you start acting like you know things you shouldn't." shrug. "And we can't really be sure there'd be any blue light special warning. So, no problemo."

"Actually…" Nick, slight apologetic wince. "No offense but I thought we should check you out after the cloak affected you so quickly."

"I'm that big an airhead here?" Myka stared.

"No, not at all…" Nick, hastily…Claudia smiling a bit. "It's just your counterpart was always getting into trouble with artifacts."

"You mean…Here I'm Pete. Our Pete anyway. Except that I also make bad choices of who to follow and kill people when things get tough for me." Myka, rather woebegone.

"And I'm a monster…Mykes…We'd best just accept we have dark sides and they've taken form here." Claudia sighed. "And that yours is dark and kinda dumb." Grin to her frown. "Kidding. But this thing about Caretaker Leena…" she shook head. "Did she really seem…?"

"A little…She seems to admire Peter a lot but I got the definite impression this Leena doesn't mind the idea of acquiring power." Sigh.

"Hmmn…Given dear ole Pete is power mad himself…" Claudia noted. "He'd hardly hand the place over to someone who might have her own ideas about its use."

"Her link's weak…She not being the intended Caretaker…"

"Meaning he probably intends it to remain so…Chose her because it would be. While he got ready…"

"He wouldn't." Myka, startled. "Not even this Pete. Besides, he couldn't become Caretaker…"

"But he could control the Caretaker if he picked a weakly linked one. Maybe someone he could use an artifact on while she was taking over…" Claudia noted.

"Crap…" Myka and she eyed Amanda then each other. "Claudia? Is there by any chance…?"

"Another ribbon and collar? On it…" Claudia, moving quickly to the wall to the left of the shelf they stood by, opposite to where Amanda was still quietly and diligently observing her panel screen…Another panel lit up at her touch. "Ok…seek DeSade collar."

The panel displayed a map.

"Shelf 10a, row 2, slot 4. Display full size."

The shelf before them disappeared and another took its place…She peered, reading.

"Yep…Two…His Marquisship liked to enslave twins or sisters whenever possible it seems. And both are blank holograms." She eyed Myka. "Doesn't mean Field Marshall von Lattimer necessarily took the other but… Confirm location of the designated artifacts, please." She told the panel. "Give it a moment." She noted to the others.

"He must've found out about the de Sade ribbon and collar from his Claudia's using it. He knows about Amanda, Claud. Knew it all the time and he just left her under…The other one's…Control just to keep track of what she was doing." Myka looking about nervously, as if expecting Peter and a dozen agents to come in through the portal. Nick a bit anxious as well. "He's been playing us all, even dark Claudia, just to get the transit device. I bet he even let Paracelsus escape, set Claudia and my other up… God. Did he even…" she gulped. "Let his own fiancée die?"

"Lets not get ahead of ourselves, Mykes. But this Pete's clearly smarter and whatever his plans, a lot more callously ruthless than the average Peter Lattimer. I get it, his concerns, but I don't like it." Claudia frowned. "Still, maybe it was after Paracelsus escaped that he learned about the transit system. And maybe he just learned about the deSade, if he's the one who took the other, from the Warehouse files…I'd bet this Pete can actually use a computer." Claudia sighed, turning.

"Amanda? Does Peter, by any chance, have a ribbon and collar, like the pretty one you've got on? Something he got from the Warehouse after Claudia…I mean…" hastily. "After I…Put the collar on you?"

"I don't know, Claudia." She noted.

"Well…Easy enough to find out…" Claudia turned to the screen. "But I think we're ok for the moment, guys. He's either not gonna step in and louse up the incredibly brilliant Plan Lattimer, or, like I said, he figured out the ribbon another way, or he has something else to keep Leena under his thumb. God knows…Maybe she's in love with him. Seems to be the case for a number of us…" slight grin to a sheepish Myka.

"He's not power mad, Claud…" Myka, sighing. "He just really believes in what he's doing, that the Warehouse should be in other hands than the Regents. I can see why, given what's happened here."

"Maybe. But he's clearly willing to do whatever it takes to make the world safe and the Warehouse secure, by his own definition of both. And I mean whatever…" Claudia noted.

"I guess…" Myka, forlornly. "I just hope I'm not right and all of this was part of his plan…" glance to Nick who gave reassuring look.

"From what I know of Agent Lattimer, he's not an evil man, Ms. Bering…" he offered. "But he is very dedicated."

"Road to Hell, good and dedicated intentions…And there it is." Claudia eyeing screen. "There were two ribbons and both were removed but both remain in Warehouse space, so neither my doppleganger or Paracelsus bothered to bring the other along to our world. Great. Nice to see Adolf Lattimer don't take chances. I just hope Leena's content being either Pete's doll or an unterfuhrer in the Lattimer Party. Sorry…" to Myka's sad look. "Maybe he is just obsessed with Security, capital S, and means really well. Just that I think he finds using a lot of people an acceptable way to achieve the mission." Shrug. "Ok…Lets see if we can check my idea regards Mr. Hooke. Display Robert Hooke from database?" she told the screen. "It's kinda slow for things like this compared to my office supercomputer, hang on."

"We'd better try to get the Pantograph together…" Myka suggested. "Get outta here before Peter takes control…Oh…" shaking head. "Is this my fault?" she eyed Claudia. "I mean…"

"You're not doing it…And Alternate Myka didn't have to betray him. Though I'd say his concerns about this Warehouse ran pretty deep even before I…Alternate me…Decided to betray him too. Though it was probably me who pushed him over the control freak edge. So, if you want to blame anyone…" sigh.

"Only after Artie died, Claudia. They all said you were a good agent and friend until then. Despite your past…"

"As teen whore, pimped by my own brother…Lovely." She turned to Nicholas peering carefully on the current shelf. "Tell me you're not a bastard, Nick. Sorry…" as he turned to her, sheepish look.

"I'm a little depressed and disgusted with all the universes and all my selves just right now." She noted, a few tears running.

"Claudia…" Myka patted her. "You can't blame yourself either."

Claudia cocking head. "No? Well, the fact is…" wiping tears. "Bad as I feel about the betrayals? I'm feeling as bad that she was the one who was willing to do all this, for Artie. Horrible as that may sound as you think about it, she was the one willing to do whatever it took."

"Artie's alive…Our Artie…Thanks to you."

"Yeah…" nod. "But she was willing to do anything to get him back and to keep him with her. Why wasn't I?" she eyed Myka. "It's alright…I just…" weeping.

"Oh…Claudia…" Myka stared. "I didn't realize…" reaching to touch her arm…

Claudia offering wistful smile.. "Thanks…Yeah." Shrug. "I got it that bad. Enough to contemplate Big Badery." Nod. "But I'm the good Claudia and I can't let him, you, or the damned universe(s) down. Shit." Sigh, woebegone smile. "She'll always have that over me…She was ready to let it all go, just for him. Oh…Here…" she eyed the screen on the wall. "Nick…There's not much question now…Have a look at your uncle Robert Paracelsus Hooke." She stepped from the panel for him to see the image displayed.

"It's him…" Nick sighed, touching screen. Paracelsus in 17th century dress, just a touch of thinning grey hair and thinner than the man they'd known.

"Sadly, there was no photography in the 1500s and he didn't go in for fine portraiture." Claudia frowned. "We might have made the connection sooner. Still, should've thought to check."

"We thought he was safely bronzed…" Myka pointed out. "And here they thought he was dead."

"But only my good uncle was…" Nick sighed.

"Not entirely, Nicholas…" Paracelsus' voice as he appeared before them. Beside him…Claudia.

A Claudia at least twenty years older, in rather conservative suit, hair bunned.

"Ladies…We had quite a time finding you." She noted, with slight smile.