Chapter Twelve
Claudia was fuming at Artie. He'd sent her on a wild goose chase in search of an artefact he claimed was in their inventory, only to announce on her return that it wasn't that important anyway. That would have been reason enough to make her grumble about his eccentricities and aging mind, but when she'd returned to catch his last order to Pete, the young woman immediately felt duped and betrayed.
"I can't believe you," she seethed, catching the director off guard and then watching as he tried to school his expression into something resembling innocence. "You sent me on some bogus artefact hunt so I wouldn't know that you were planning on setting up HG!" She accused angrily and turned on her heel, heading towards her desk where her Farnsworth lay.
As soon as Artie realised what she was going to do, he scrambled out of his chair and snatched the open device from her hand. They tussled over it for a minute before he shouted, "Enough!" and forced his protégé back a step.
Claudia glared at the man who had been like a father to her for the past couple of years and pointed at the Farnsworth. "Call Pete back and tell him to save HG," she demanded.
"Claudia, we need her to demonstrate the level of power this artefact has and I have a hunch that that wo... Miss. Wells will be of great use in discovering this artefact's origins, and thereby giving us a chance of figuring out how to break its power."
"And you couldn't possibly have shared that with me?" Her tone was still hard, demonstrating how little his words had placated her.
"Claudia, we don't have time to argue about this! I'm in charge here; I call the shots and I accept any fallout that might come from making difficult choices." He gestured wildly with his hands, frustration surfacing at having to explain himself.
Miss. Donovan's eyes softened slightly as she realised what he was saying but she was still furious. "You were trying to protect me," she concluded.
"Yes!" He exclaimed and collapsed back into his chair, letting out a deflating breath of relief, mistakenly thinking that he was being let off the hook.
"What about HG?" She asked, startling the old man. "Doesn't she deserve to be protected?"
"That woman...!" Artie began angrily.
"Is scary," Claudia interrupted. "And isn't exactly my favourite person either after she broke Myka's heart, but she's not a monster Artie! We're in the business of helping people, not deliberately throwing them to the Darleks! Or manipulating each other so we can do it in secret," she added in a quieter, hurt tone.
Artie allowed his indignation to fade away and finally placed the communication device on a table within reach of the IT whizz as a symbol of surrender. "Claudia, I'm sorry I lied to you."
"And manipulated me," she added.
"And manipulated you," he conceded.
"And wasted my time searching for bogus artefacts," she pushed, beginning to grin at the idea of his saying the word 'bogus'.
"And for sending you on a wild goose chase," he grumbled.
Claudia frowned with disappointment and tried again, "And for disrespecting the awesomeness of the Donovan."
"Yes, yes, fine! All of the above," he snapped, his arms flailing around again, affording the young techie some small sense of satisfaction. "If I'm right, then HG's presence will be pivotal to discovering a weakness in the artefact's ability to retain captives. Her attempts to meddle with time may have affected its evasion tactics."
"You mean that her time-machine crippled it, creating a way to escape? Will you be throwing her a party when she returns?" Claudia teased as she tried to wrap her mind around his theory.
"I will do no such thing! The last thing she needs is encouragement to continue tampering with the natural order of things." Artie swivelled on his chair, returning to clear his keyboard of a mass of papers.
"How do you know?" Claudia asked as she watched the older agent fuss and grouch.
"What?"
"About HG's time-machine and the artefact?"
He swivelled again slowly until they were face to face and regarded her over his glasses with an air of all knowing superiority. "HG Wells' time-machine, although never logged as an artefact, is a powerful and clever," he added reluctantly, "Piece of machinery. Mixed with another powerful object, it is very likely that it would affect the regular functionality of the second object. We have no way of knowing how the artefact has been affected or by what, but without further evidence, it stands to reason that the time-machine is involved and that its creator has a lingering link to breaking those causes and effects."
"So, you're guessing," Claudia concluded, enjoying the exasperated eye roll that followed her comment.
"Yes," he admitted. "But I am right," he assured the young agent.
Helena stood for a protracted moment staring at Myka as if she'd never met the woman before. Her brain simply refused to process the information she was being given.
She saw her daughter's body lying in a casket, felt the numbness in her limbs and mind become a flowing river of lava as rage took control and demanded that she seek retribution for her senseless loss. She heard the screams of her victims become those of her child as she struggled with a figure much larger than her own, in a body that was not trained to defend itself.
When Myka's image swam back into the forefront of her vision, she felt an overwhelming hunger for answers. Without thinking, she reached out and grabbed the agent's upper arms, her hold no longer loving or gentle.
"When? Where?" She demanded, her intensity bringing back unpleasant memories for the brunette. "How do you know it was Christina?"
Myka ignored the pain in her arms, knowing that HG wasn't completely cognizant of her actions. "Helena. You showed me your locket," she reminded the inventor.
HG felt her body drain of energy, remembering that Myka had a photographic memory. Her hands lost their grip and fell to her sides. "Take me to her," she said simply.
Myka didn't offer any further explanations or cautions; she knew at this point that the Brit wouldn't take any of it in. She felt her hopes fade and swallowed back the bitter tears that threatened to fall. She wanted the inventor; the woman she loved, to be happy, and she felt that having Christina back was the one thing that could do that. Disappointment should not have been a concern of hers any more, particularly with this individual, but she felt its sting nevertheless. Some time ago, without realising it, she had given her heart to Helena and her own happiness lay in the circle of the writer's arms.
The modern Warehouse agent led the raven-haired Victorian back to the apartment block she'd been introduced to on her first 'waking' day in Limbo. She'd taken Christina there to get a better idea of how the young girl was surviving in this place. Up until the arrival of her fellow agent, Myka had kept the girl engaged and active. She wasn't sure how the young Victorian had managed in her absence or if the girl would even remember who she was.
Myka followed Helena into the elevator and pushed a button for the top floor. She stood in rigid silence until she felt a tentative hand slip into her own. Startled by the touch, inquisitive eyes rose to meet hope-filled orbs.
Helena felt a lump in her throat and forced her way passed it as she faced her ex-lover. "I know that my actions have never been fair to you darling." She moved to face the agent fully. "Without you Myka, I would have never made it this far." She reached out to hold the American's hands tenderly in her own. "I know that I haven't earned your affection or forgiveness, though I sense that you've given them anyway. There are not many promises I can make given the uncertainty of our current situation. However, I would like you to know that you are one of my dearest friends and I always want you to be a part of my life."
Myka felt the weight of what she interpreted as a fond farewell to any hope of romance between them. Whether Helena meant it that way or not, the oft unlucky-in-love agent chose to take it that way. With a parting nod, Myka closed the distance between them and took the Victorian's lips in a tender goodbye kiss.
Her timing was perfect and as she pulled back with a whispered 'Goodbye Helena', the doors of the elevator opened, revealing a scene that would make the inventor forget all about the kiss... For now.
Helena stepped off the elevator with tremulous anticipation. Across the room, a vision of perfection greeted her. Her feet became rooted to the spot, her gaze drinking in the sight of her beautiful child sitting serenely on the floor, talking to the homemade humanoid toy she held in her hand. The adult sitting close by, keeping an eye on the girl, took one look at HG and smoothly retreated to a group of chairs further away.
"She's been waiting for you Helena," Myka said softly. "Go to her."
The inventor took half a step forward and then stopped to turn back to Myka. "Thank you," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears as she stared in awe at the agent.
"I hope she's what you've been looking for, Helena. I can't explain how she got here or guarantee that she's the real thing," she cautioned at the last minute. "But I knew that no matter the risk, you would take it for the chance to have her back."
Helena nodded, her voice lost beyond the lump of emotion in her throat. She mouthed another 'thank you' and began to move towards the object of her affection, a thousand thoughts filtering through her mind. Myka knew her well; nothing short of death would prevent her from attempting this reconnection. But the words she'd uttered just a few hours before still rang true; she couldn't keep moving through the pain of disappointment every time she was faced with the idea of having her little girl back only to have her snatched away again at the last minute. At this point, death would be preferable to the agony of losing Christina again.
Myka watched with a heavy yet hopeful heart as the gorgeous ex-agent trod cautiously along the length of the room and eventually caught Christina's interest. Agent Bering's breath caught in her chest the moment mother and daughter noted and recognised one another. She watched as Helena appeared to lose control of her legs and fell to her knees; gasped with joy as Christina's expression lit up, and wrapped both arms around herself when the young Victorian jumped up and ran to Helena, yelling 'Mummy' with abject delight.
She had seen Christina's casket herself and had heard Pete declare that the girl's desiccated body did indeed lie within it, but witnessing this reunion, she began to hope and believe that miracles were possible.
Helena received the eight-year-old's solid presence in her arms with all the joy that a mother could. She felt Christina's arms circle her shoulders and breathed in her daughter's familiar scent. So what if it was a mere trick of the mind? This was heaven and she finally felt whole again.
It was with that thought that she felt the change. The scene around her began to blur and she self-consciously tightened her arms around the girl in her arms. Feeling panicked, she looked around frantically for Myka and spotted the agent's fading figure approaching with concerned rapidity. There was no time to wonder what was happening before all of her surroundings blurred into nonsensical shapes and colours. She held onto the blessed solidness in her arms, automatically shushing the tremors and whimpers that came from the child. She felt her maternal instincts surface without effort but had enough presence of mind left to wonder at her ex-lover's fate.
Myka watched helplessly as HG Wells and her daughter disappeared before her very eyes. She had known somehow that reuniting Helena and Christina would show them the way to escape their prison, but she had assumed that said escape would include the rest of them too.
As it was, the moment the Wells duo were completely gone, the world around them began to shift and she felt her control begin to wane.
Looking around her, Myka whispered a heart-felt 'sorry' into the ether and prayed that Helena would know what to do to help them from here on out.