Will and Kate looked down into the Shoe from the catwalk. Bigfoot was just finishing arranging furniture to Prisca's specifications in her cell which had been altered to allow her to come and go but also locked down if she opened the door between her cell and Nikola's adjacent secure cell. Henry was making trip after trip back and forth from her car with boxes of her belongings. He looked exhausted, but Prisca kept smiling at him and he kept working.
"Pathetic." Kate stated with disgust thick in her voice, watching this display.
Will looked at her, taking in her defensive posture and the masked hurt on her face. "It's okay to be jealous. He used to hang out with you all the time and now he's focused on Prisca." He said.
Kate scoffed.
"Look, I know it can hurt when a close friend starts a relationship." Will said. "You can be happy for them and jealous at the same time. There's a legitimate sense of loss and that's okay." The tone of his voice suggested he wasn't just talking about Henry and Kate.
Kate looked at him and her eyes narrowed. "You too, huh? Magnus ditched you for Magneto?"
Will shrugged then turned to Kate with a rueful smile. "Yeah, sort of like that. Only I think Prisca's really on the level. Tesla, I just don't know."
"He seems to, you know, really…love her." Kate said grudgingly.
"Henry said that too." Will chuckled. He frowned and shook his head. "Tesla's a good actor. A great liar. He's selfish. Most of the time, even I can't tell what's really going on with him."
Kate considered that.
Will continued. "I think this whole lockdown thing is good. It puts everyone at less risk. And…you know what?...if he keeps his end of the bargain and lasts six months in the Shoe I might be convinced he's good enough for Magnus. That's a lot of commitment from any guy, let alone Tesla." Will raised his eyebrows.
Kate laughed. "I doubt he'll last six days. He barely handled the three days he was in the Shoe before."
"I know he's doing this for himself too, but if keeping Magnus out of danger and helping Prisca weren't part of the equation I think he'd just keep taking his meds. You know he's claustrophobic? Helen told me." Will said. They kept looking down at the busy scene below them until Will finally said. "We should probably help them out."
"You should." Kate corrected him. "I have a doctor's note. Until these stitches come out and I heal up, I'm an invalid." She grinned.
"Excuses, excuses, excuses." Will teased. "Come on, I'll help you down the stairs, Miss Invalid, you can still unpack boxes. It'll give you a chance to make friends with Prisca, too. I don't have that advantage with Tesla."
Kate laughed at the concept of befriending Nikola Tesla and allowed Will to steady her slow progress down the catwalk stairs. She admitted. "Yeah, she doesn't seem so bad. Except sometimes she's so like Tesla it's super creepy."
"She's most definitely nicer than Tesla." Will pointed out.
"Well, she's not a genius so that's a start." Kate said with a smirk.
"That's the spirit." Will grinned. He helped her with the last few steps and jogged to Henry to take one side of the box he was struggling to carry.
"Thanks, dude." Henry panted.
"What's in here?!" Will said, already straining with his end of the box.
"Books." Henry said, rolling his eyes. "Just the essentials, I said, we'll go back for the rest with the Big Guy later. Guess these are the essential books."
Will laughed breathlessly.
"How did you guys get this into the car?" Will panted.
"I have…uh, you know, pretty significantly above average strength when I focus." Henry said. "I'm just a little too tired to focus right now."
"Gotcha." Will said. They maneuvered the box into Prisca's cell.
"Where do you want it, Pris?" Henry said in a strained voice.
"Here." She pointed to a corner with a bookshelf. "Just leave it, I'll unpack it. Thank you, Henry." She smiled brilliantly.
Will and Henry dropped the box with a thud by the bookshelf. "Oh, you know, no problem." Henry said still catching his breath.
"Thank you, Doctor Zimmerman." Prisca added, including him in the warmth of her charming smile. Kate came through the door and started looking around.
"Pleasure." Will said. He clapped a Henry's shoulder and the two men left the cell. "Anything other essentials coming in?" He asked from the side of his mouth.
Henry glanced back at Prisca and replied in a low voice. "Tons." He rolled his eyes to the ceiling and grinned.
"Let's get to it." Will said. "We've still got Tesla's cell to set up after the Big Guy finishes putting in the furniture."
Left alone with Prisca, Kate put on a friendly face. "Hey, can I help unpack things for you?"
Prisca was surprised by Kate's demeanor, but kept a mild expression. She examined Kate with narrowed eyes. "Yes." She said. "You're injured though, right?"
Kate's smile got tighter but she said. "I can help with light stuff."
"I need to unpack my clothes from these suitcases and put them away. The suitcases have metal parts so…" Prisca indicated three large rolling cases. "I didn't really care to have the men do that." She colored slightly. "I was going to try to get to it later."
"Say no more." Kate held up a hand. "I'd be skeeved out if that crowd was handling my undies, too."
Prisca gave Kate a wide grin. "You are very direct." She said in an approving tone.
Kate shrugged and opened the first suitcase to reveal panties and socks. "So do you care how I do this? I'll bet Tesla alphabetizes his."
"He's so organized." Prisca said affectionately. "No, I don't mind. I just need the cases unloaded. I can always move things later if I can't find them. Maybe I'll alphabetize them." She said pointedly.
"You are one creepy pair, you know that?" Kate said, stacking folded underwear into a drawer.
"You're pretty creepy yourself. There's just not two of you." Prisca said with a shrug. Kate blinked.
"Huh." She said.
"Nikola and I aren't that alike, you know." Prisca continued. "We have some obvious shared traits but…you know…I'm quite ordinary compared to him."
"Ordinary. Draining energy is normal?" Kate asked incredulously.
"Compared to Nikola." Prisca repeated. "I'm nothing special. Not clever, nor skilled, nor educated…"
Kate silently considered this.
Prisca started shelving books. "I mean, I may have abnormal abilities but they're not really useful for anything. Everyone else has useful abilities. Even Henry. He says it's difficult for him, but he's so strong, and self-controlled, and smart. You're smart too, I'll bet." Prisca spoke this last statement with a cool tone.
Kate shrugged. She hadn't considered that this beautiful, interesting girl might envy her. "I'm not stupid." Kate allowed.
"How long have you known Henry?" Prisca said casually.
"Oh no, we are not devolving into girl talk." Kate groaned. "Especially not girl talk about Henry. Ugh."
"So you and he…?"
"No!" Kate said in exasperation.
"You and…Doctor Zimmerman?" Prisca asked incredulously.
"Me and nobody for the moment." Kate said firmly.
"What's wrong with Henry? Why 'ugh'?" Prisca scowled now.
"Look, do you have…or did you have brothers?" Kate asked.
"No, I was an only child."
"Well, I have a younger brother, Thad, and I feel the same way about Henry as I do about Thad." Kate said.
Prisca narrowed her eyes in consideration then gave a nod. "Now I understand why you're so protective and possessive about him."
"Let's just talk about something else." Kate begged. "Hair, makeup, clothes, The Jonas Brothers…?"
Prisca laughed. "They're kind of cute, aren't they?" She said.
"Of course you think so. You're, like, seventeen." Kate said. Realization dawned. "Oh, yuck! You're seventeen! Henry's thirty!"
"Actually, I'm about four hundred and fifty years old." Prisca corrected archly. "I've been a wife and mother…and grandmother…and I'm afraid you're going to have to get used to the idea of me with Henry because I mean to have him."
Kate groaned in disgust. "I promise to internalize all future objections if you promise never to say that again."
Prisca smirked. "Good."
"You are so Tesla right now."
"Thank you." Prisca said smugly.
"Oh yeah, I definitely meant that as a compliment." Kate rolled her eyes. "Now where do you want your socks?"
"Bottom drawer." Prisca said instantly. She cocked her head. "Is it odd that I always put them in the drawer nearest to my feet?"
Kate shrugged. "Seems logical to me. Gotta have a system." The two young women shared a tentative smile.
Will and Henry entered the cell carrying a box each. Prisca showed them where to put the boxes and then shamelessly flattered their male egos till they almost swaggered out to door to make another trip. Kate watched, impressed.
"You'll have to show me how to do that. They act like they're killing dragons for you and normally they call me to kill spiders." Kate said.
Prisca's lips curved and her eyes gleamed. "Men like to be needed." She said, sphinxlike.
"Huh." Kate said. She made a mental note to try it out sometime. She glanced out of the clear partition wall and rolled her eyes. "Oh barf, here come the lovebirds."
Nikola Tesla, looking neat as a pin and very pleased with himself, glided into the Shoe followed by Helen Magnus, who was a little rosy and mussed-looking.