[The video opens up on what appears to be some sort of lab. Or at least, it's a room full of computers, anyway, most of which seem to be displaying the result of some kind of blood scan. Helen is standing loosely in the middle of the room, facing down a young man who seem to be flat out pissed; his is the first voice to break the silence, and it sounds like the video has come in in the middle of an argument.]
He has a psychiatric disorder!
[Helen spreads her hands as if to say 'what do you want me to do', and while it's clear enough she's also angry, she's not yet at the point of all out rage either.]
We didn't understand the mind back then, Will! We only knew he was a threat.
[Whoever the 'he' they're talking about is, her response doesn't seem to garner her any favor from Will, who comes shooting right back with a very pointed:]
To the public, or to your work?
[That, presumably is meant to mean "the work of the Sanctuary". Or at least, that seems to be how Helen reads it at any rate.]
How dare you? [She snaps, which is impressive, given that it's still recognizable as a question.] You've no idea what--
[Her voice trails off into a violent fit of coughing there - one that Steve might well recognize from when the alternate Tesla had been around. By the time she's finished there's distinct traces of blood on the surgical gloves she's been wearing. Will, standing behind her at this point, isn't able to see them, but her coughing fit does, at least, seem to have pulled him back from the edge of anger.]
Hey... [he begins, taking a step closer to Helen as if to offer a hand of comfort. Helen seems to want none of it, prompting a questioning "Magnus?" from him before she turns and storms out of the room.]
Magnus, wait a sec! [He calls after her, to no apparent avail.] Magnus...
[As she storms around the corner and out of sight, Tesla steps round the corner.]
You know better than to follow an angry woman out of the room. [A pause as he steps all the way into the room.] Just let her go. She's not exactly herself right now.
[Faced with Tesla, all the anger that had previously faded seems to come rushing back into Will's expression; he snatches the file that Tesla had been holding out of his hands with a look that very much says that he'd rather be doing anything else just at the moment. That done, he stalks off to the other end of the room, Tesla following; since he still doesn't say anything, Tesla takes the opportunity to instead, as Will opens the file.]
It's spread.
[Whatever "it" is, Will does finally speak up at that, looking over the file as he does so.]
Lymph nodes... kidneys?
[It sounds, mostly, like he's talking to himself, but Tesla chimes in, helpfully pointing out something else in the file.]
Upper spine.
[Will sighs, offering a minute, but somber nod, and then:]
She needs to see this.
[Presumably, he's talking about Helen, and it's a fair consideration since she is the one who happens to be ill.]
No, [Tesla interjects] I don't think you understand. With this much damage...
[He doesn't get to finish the thought, as Will cuts back in.]
We'll find a treatment.
[It sounds, mostly, like he's trying to convince himself that they can. Tesla, for his part, doesn't seem to buy it even for a bit.]
And if we don't, she dies, Adam dies, we don't get into the city and all of it's secrets are lost.
Then that's what happens. Will snaps, frustration boiling over, as he finally glances over to Tesla.] We deal with it.
[There's a brief pause, as Tesla looks up towards the ceiling and then back down at Will before commenting quietly:]
I don't think so.
[The video cuts out there. When it comes back in again, it's somewhere much more recognizable. If only because it happens to be Helen's office, and thus, Helen's cabin. Helen herself is standing behind her desk, facing down a tall, bald man; Will and another young man are hovering in the background.]
Show him the map, Helen.
[The bald man is the one speaking, and his voice is quiet, and yet no less forceful for it.]
And put all that power in his hands? Helen counters, clearly neither impressed nor cowed - whoever the 'he' in question is, the bald man doesn't miss a beat before answering in return.]
I'll handle Hyde, one deranged killer to another.
[If Helen has at all mentioned the finer details of her past that might well make the bald man's identity clear: John Druitt, better known to history as Jack the Ripper. Either way, Helen is very clearly still not enamored of the idea, and the tone of her voice says as much.]
It's too risky.
We're back to square one. [Sighs Will, from the background, and with that one comment he makes it pretty clear that the four of them have been trying to figure out the solution to the problem at hand for some time.]
Really? [offers the other young man, who happens to be leaning against a chair.] We were so close.
[Druitt sighs, at that, and turns away from Helen's desk as if in resignation; Helen herself picks up the thread of the conversation, voice full of steely determination.]
We'll find a way, but Adam Worth is not getting that map, not on my watch!
[It's at that point that Tesla steps in, with several sheets of yellowed paper in his hand, picking up the thread of conversation as neatly as if he'd be queued.]
Oh, about that...
[Helen blinks at his appearance, standing a little straighter, but despite the oddity of his arrival, asks only:]
Where have you been?
[Which implies that the meeting going on is some sort of all staff meeting, and that Tesla is late, a fact that he doesn't address. He does, however, answer her question, as he crosses over to her desk.]
In the library, boning up on the Sanctuary charter.
[This doesn't seem to impress the rest of the assembling crowd, although it's Will who breaks the silence with a exasperated 'helpful,' prompting Tesla to turn his way.]
Wait for it, sonny. [That said, he turns back to Helen.] Apparently, if the Sanctuary head becomes physically or psychologically compromised, the second in command takes over.
[As if she knows what he's playing at, Helen's head tilts, fixing Tesla with a 'are you really going there' sort of look as she crosses her arms.]
Dude, [the other young man comments softly] that is beyond cold.
Nikola... [Helen warns, shaking her head gently as if to say 'don't do this.' But Tesla is utterly unmoved. Cold or not, he seems to have made up his mind and he absolutely means to stick to it. He even goes so far as to offer the slightest of nods in her direction, as if to say that he really is going through with it.
Druitt, standing behind them and unable to see either the expressions they've traded or the whole point of Tesla's declarations those far, takes the moment of silence to speak up, sounding largely annoyed.]
Where are you going with this?
[Fortunately enough, Tesla is willing to answer the question, although he doesn't turn away from Helen. That or the next thing he has to say just conveniently happens to answer Druitt's question. It's a little hard to tell.]
Officially, it's not your watch anymore, and the question of whether or not we show Adam Worth the map is no longer your decision. [Helen shakes her head in disbelief at that, but Tesla continues on, undaunted, as he turns to face Will.] Over to you, William. What's it going to be?
[The camera remains on long enough to catch the various reactions to that - Will's shock, Druitt's disbelief, and Helen looking rather like the rug has been pulled out from under her feet and a little bit betrayed besides - and then it cuts out.]
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He has a psychiatric disorder!
[Helen spreads her hands as if to say 'what do you want me to do', and while it's clear enough she's also angry, she's not yet at the point of all out rage either.]
We didn't understand the mind back then, Will! We only knew he was a threat.
[Whoever the 'he' they're talking about is, her response doesn't seem to garner her any favor from Will, who comes shooting right back with a very pointed:]
To the public, or to your work?
[That, presumably is meant to mean "the work of the Sanctuary". Or at least, that seems to be how Helen reads it at any rate.]
How dare you? [She snaps, which is impressive, given that it's still recognizable as a question.] You've no idea what--
[Her voice trails off into a violent fit of coughing there - one that Steve might well recognize from when the alternate Tesla had been around. By the time she's finished there's distinct traces of blood on the surgical gloves she's been wearing. Will, standing behind her at this point, isn't able to see them, but her coughing fit does, at least, seem to have pulled him back from the edge of anger.]
Hey... [he begins, taking a step closer to Helen as if to offer a hand of comfort. Helen seems to want none of it, prompting a questioning "Magnus?" from him before she turns and storms out of the room.]
Magnus, wait a sec! [He calls after her, to no apparent avail.] Magnus...
[As she storms around the corner and out of sight, Tesla steps round the corner.]
You know better than to follow an angry woman out of the room. [A pause as he steps all the way into the room.] Just let her go. She's not exactly herself right now.
[Faced with Tesla, all the anger that had previously faded seems to come rushing back into Will's expression; he snatches the file that Tesla had been holding out of his hands with a look that very much says that he'd rather be doing anything else just at the moment. That done, he stalks off to the other end of the room, Tesla following; since he still doesn't say anything, Tesla takes the opportunity to instead, as Will opens the file.]
It's spread.
[Whatever "it" is, Will does finally speak up at that, looking over the file as he does so.]
Lymph nodes... kidneys?
[It sounds, mostly, like he's talking to himself, but Tesla chimes in, helpfully pointing out something else in the file.]
Upper spine.
[Will sighs, offering a minute, but somber nod, and then:]
She needs to see this.
[Presumably, he's talking about Helen, and it's a fair consideration since she is the one who happens to be ill.]
No, [Tesla interjects] I don't think you understand. With this much damage...
[He doesn't get to finish the thought, as Will cuts back in.]
We'll find a treatment.
[It sounds, mostly, like he's trying to convince himself that they can. Tesla, for his part, doesn't seem to buy it even for a bit.]
And if we don't, she dies, Adam dies, we don't get into the city and all of it's secrets are lost.
Then that's what happens. Will snaps, frustration boiling over, as he finally glances over to Tesla.] We deal with it.
[There's a brief pause, as Tesla looks up towards the ceiling and then back down at Will before commenting quietly:]
I don't think so.
[The video cuts out there. When it comes back in again, it's somewhere much more recognizable. If only because it happens to be Helen's office, and thus, Helen's cabin. Helen herself is standing behind her desk, facing down a tall, bald man; Will and another young man are hovering in the background.]
Show him the map, Helen.
[The bald man is the one speaking, and his voice is quiet, and yet no less forceful for it.]
And put all that power in his hands? Helen counters, clearly neither impressed nor cowed - whoever the 'he' in question is, the bald man doesn't miss a beat before answering in return.]
I'll handle Hyde, one deranged killer to another.
[If Helen has at all mentioned the finer details of her past that might well make the bald man's identity clear: John Druitt, better known to history as Jack the Ripper. Either way, Helen is very clearly still not enamored of the idea, and the tone of her voice says as much.]
It's too risky.
We're back to square one. [Sighs Will, from the background, and with that one comment he makes it pretty clear that the four of them have been trying to figure out the solution to the problem at hand for some time.]
Really? [offers the other young man, who happens to be leaning against a chair.] We were so close.
[Druitt sighs, at that, and turns away from Helen's desk as if in resignation; Helen herself picks up the thread of the conversation, voice full of steely determination.]
We'll find a way, but Adam Worth is not getting that map, not on my watch!
[It's at that point that Tesla steps in, with several sheets of yellowed paper in his hand, picking up the thread of conversation as neatly as if he'd be queued.]
Oh, about that...
[Helen blinks at his appearance, standing a little straighter, but despite the oddity of his arrival, asks only:]
Where have you been?
[Which implies that the meeting going on is some sort of all staff meeting, and that Tesla is late, a fact that he doesn't address. He does, however, answer her question, as he crosses over to her desk.]
In the library, boning up on the Sanctuary charter.
[This doesn't seem to impress the rest of the assembling crowd, although it's Will who breaks the silence with a exasperated 'helpful,' prompting Tesla to turn his way.]
Wait for it, sonny. [That said, he turns back to Helen.] Apparently, if the Sanctuary head becomes physically or psychologically compromised, the second in command takes over.
[As if she knows what he's playing at, Helen's head tilts, fixing Tesla with a 'are you really going there' sort of look as she crosses her arms.]
Dude, [the other young man comments softly] that is beyond cold.
Nikola... [Helen warns, shaking her head gently as if to say 'don't do this.' But Tesla is utterly unmoved. Cold or not, he seems to have made up his mind and he absolutely means to stick to it. He even goes so far as to offer the slightest of nods in her direction, as if to say that he really is going through with it.
Druitt, standing behind them and unable to see either the expressions they've traded or the whole point of Tesla's declarations those far, takes the moment of silence to speak up, sounding largely annoyed.]
Where are you going with this?
[Fortunately enough, Tesla is willing to answer the question, although he doesn't turn away from Helen. That or the next thing he has to say just conveniently happens to answer Druitt's question. It's a little hard to tell.]
Officially, it's not your watch anymore, and the question of whether or not we show Adam Worth the map is no longer your decision. [Helen shakes her head in disbelief at that, but Tesla continues on, undaunted, as he turns to face Will.] Over to you, William. What's it going to be?
[The camera remains on long enough to catch the various reactions to that - Will's shock, Druitt's disbelief, and Helen looking rather like the rug has been pulled out from under her feet and a little bit betrayed besides - and then it cuts out.]