Duped, part 7
Artie's Office
Warehouse 13
South Dakota
Artie and Leena have spent the last two hours thoroughly going over all of the Warehouse's notes on Lewis Carrol. What they've found is interesting, in the Chinese curse definition of the word.
"Lewis Carroll's Alice," begins Artie. "So sweet, so innocent, so not true. This woman--" he holds up a photograph of an adult Alice Liddell-- "was as mad as a hatter, and Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, was not writing books. He was chronicling this young woman's descent into a sociopathic madness. All of his books--he didn't write these books! These are Warehouse fabrications--brilliant fabrications--to hide the truth about that mirror."
Leena thumbs through a stapled sheaf of papers. "Here's a report from Warehouse field agents. The mirror crossed paths with Alice Liddell."
"I'll bet it crossed paths," says Artie with a bitter laugh. "When?"
"Well, right before the murders."
"That's terrifying."
"Yeah. And there's no mention of where the mirror came from."
"Okay, well, where do any of these things come from?" Not relevant, at this stage.
"But Artie," says Leena, "these agents, they trapped her inside of the mirror."
"Yeah?" Artie wishes he could say he was surprised.
"Somehow her energy, her essence... even they weren't sure how it happened."
"Wouldn't it have been nice, Leena," says Artie dryly, "if these Warehouse field agents had bothered to figure it out before she killed one of them? Lot of loose ends here, okay? So I'm not--hey!" he shouts out to Claudia, who's still sulking just outside the office. "That is why, Claudia, taking inventory is so important!"
Claudia just gives him a dirty look and resumes sulking.
"So what are we saying?" asks Leena. "Are we saying that just Myka's image got melded with the crazy essence of Alice?"
"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying," says Artie firmly. "Looks like Myka, isn't Myka. And if we give voice to that thing, it'll trick us somehow to try to get out, and that is not gonna happen."
"Artie," says Leena gently, "I know you're not as sure about this as you're pretending."
"I'm not pretending," protests Artie.
Leena looks off into the middle distance, contemplating. "You know when you hold a mirror up to a second mirror and you get that sort of reflected infinity thing?"
"Mm-hm." Where is she going with this?
"Well, what happens if that mirror is reflected in something like... the Studio 54 disco ball? Is it possible to get some kind of Artifact interaction? Something completely unexpected?"
Artie sighs and shrugs. "I don't know."
"What if the disco ball goes off," she continues, "and someone is standing in front of Alice's mirror?"
"Oh, I think we know what happened."
Leena frowns. "Do we really?"
Claudia pauses in her restless pacing across the room and meets Leena's eyes. "Could reflections switch places?"
"Could people?" Leena replies.
Artie's only half-listening. An odd thought has occurred to him. "She pulls to the right," he murmurs to no one in particular.
Leena quirks an eyebrow. "Pardon?"
"It's something I noticed a couple months ago. When Myka's mad at me, she pulls to the right..." He steps forward to contemplate the covered mirror.
"She's mad at you now," points out Claudia. "Has been for about a week."
"So is she?" asks Leena.
"Pulling?"
"To the right?"
...that's a very good question. Artie stares at the cloth cover over the mirror for a full thirty seconds before finally pulling it off.
The image of Myka Bering is seated cross-legged on the 'floor,' and her neck is pulling to the right. Not Artie's right, as a mirror image would, but her right. Which means... something. He's not about to jump to any conclusions as to what that 'something' is.
Artie pulls up a chair close to the mirror and nods for Claudia to turn the laser mic back on. "You're really mad at me," he remarks to the Myka in the mirror.
"I feel sorry for you, actually," she replies.
"Oh? Why is that?"
"Because of all the things right in front of your face that you simply refuse to see."
"Like what?"
"Like me."
"Oh. Well." Artie takes a deep breath. "Yeah, well, uh, I need to ask you a question that only the real Myka would know the answer to--"
mirror!Myka lets out a huff of incredulous laughter. "Y'know what, you're wasting time, Artie. Because Pete's in danger."
"Yeah, well, so are you, right? In danger? I mean, if you're really who you say you are."
"...okay. Okay, fine." Her face screws up in frustration. "Here's what you and I both know, but we never talk about it. Alright?"
"Mm-hm?" Artie nods, looking at her expectantly.
"That I don't trust you," says mirror!Myka. "That I need you to tell me the truth, and not treat me like some--some chess piece that you move around on a board that only you can see. That I am valuable. That I matter. And that I deserve to know everything I can about this world that you send me into every day so at least I have a fighting chance." She looks away for a moment, blinking back tears. "You know, in spite of everything... in spite of everything, I like you. I think you're great. I want you to think the same of me."
Artie lets out a long breath. He slides, awkwardly, out of his chair to kneel down next to the mirror, pressing his free hand against the glass. mirror!Myka--Myka--meets the gesture with her own right hand.
She's so close, but all he can feel is cold glass under his hand.
"I screwed up."
[Dialogue from Warehouse 13 episode 1x09, "Duped."]
Warehouse 13
South Dakota
Artie and Leena have spent the last two hours thoroughly going over all of the Warehouse's notes on Lewis Carrol. What they've found is interesting, in the Chinese curse definition of the word.
"Lewis Carroll's Alice," begins Artie. "So sweet, so innocent, so not true. This woman--" he holds up a photograph of an adult Alice Liddell-- "was as mad as a hatter, and Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, was not writing books. He was chronicling this young woman's descent into a sociopathic madness. All of his books--he didn't write these books! These are Warehouse fabrications--brilliant fabrications--to hide the truth about that mirror."
Leena thumbs through a stapled sheaf of papers. "Here's a report from Warehouse field agents. The mirror crossed paths with Alice Liddell."
"I'll bet it crossed paths," says Artie with a bitter laugh. "When?"
"Well, right before the murders."
"That's terrifying."
"Yeah. And there's no mention of where the mirror came from."
"Okay, well, where do any of these things come from?" Not relevant, at this stage.
"But Artie," says Leena, "these agents, they trapped her inside of the mirror."
"Yeah?" Artie wishes he could say he was surprised.
"Somehow her energy, her essence... even they weren't sure how it happened."
"Wouldn't it have been nice, Leena," says Artie dryly, "if these Warehouse field agents had bothered to figure it out before she killed one of them? Lot of loose ends here, okay? So I'm not--hey!" he shouts out to Claudia, who's still sulking just outside the office. "That is why, Claudia, taking inventory is so important!"
Claudia just gives him a dirty look and resumes sulking.
"So what are we saying?" asks Leena. "Are we saying that just Myka's image got melded with the crazy essence of Alice?"
"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying," says Artie firmly. "Looks like Myka, isn't Myka. And if we give voice to that thing, it'll trick us somehow to try to get out, and that is not gonna happen."
"Artie," says Leena gently, "I know you're not as sure about this as you're pretending."
"I'm not pretending," protests Artie.
Leena looks off into the middle distance, contemplating. "You know when you hold a mirror up to a second mirror and you get that sort of reflected infinity thing?"
"Mm-hm." Where is she going with this?
"Well, what happens if that mirror is reflected in something like... the Studio 54 disco ball? Is it possible to get some kind of Artifact interaction? Something completely unexpected?"
Artie sighs and shrugs. "I don't know."
"What if the disco ball goes off," she continues, "and someone is standing in front of Alice's mirror?"
"Oh, I think we know what happened."
Leena frowns. "Do we really?"
Claudia pauses in her restless pacing across the room and meets Leena's eyes. "Could reflections switch places?"
"Could people?" Leena replies.
Artie's only half-listening. An odd thought has occurred to him. "She pulls to the right," he murmurs to no one in particular.
Leena quirks an eyebrow. "Pardon?"
"It's something I noticed a couple months ago. When Myka's mad at me, she pulls to the right..." He steps forward to contemplate the covered mirror.
"She's mad at you now," points out Claudia. "Has been for about a week."
"So is she?" asks Leena.
"Pulling?"
"To the right?"
...that's a very good question. Artie stares at the cloth cover over the mirror for a full thirty seconds before finally pulling it off.
The image of Myka Bering is seated cross-legged on the 'floor,' and her neck is pulling to the right. Not Artie's right, as a mirror image would, but her right. Which means... something. He's not about to jump to any conclusions as to what that 'something' is.
Artie pulls up a chair close to the mirror and nods for Claudia to turn the laser mic back on. "You're really mad at me," he remarks to the Myka in the mirror.
"I feel sorry for you, actually," she replies.
"Oh? Why is that?"
"Because of all the things right in front of your face that you simply refuse to see."
"Like what?"
"Like me."
"Oh. Well." Artie takes a deep breath. "Yeah, well, uh, I need to ask you a question that only the real Myka would know the answer to--"
mirror!Myka lets out a huff of incredulous laughter. "Y'know what, you're wasting time, Artie. Because Pete's in danger."
"Yeah, well, so are you, right? In danger? I mean, if you're really who you say you are."
"...okay. Okay, fine." Her face screws up in frustration. "Here's what you and I both know, but we never talk about it. Alright?"
"Mm-hm?" Artie nods, looking at her expectantly.
"That I don't trust you," says mirror!Myka. "That I need you to tell me the truth, and not treat me like some--some chess piece that you move around on a board that only you can see. That I am valuable. That I matter. And that I deserve to know everything I can about this world that you send me into every day so at least I have a fighting chance." She looks away for a moment, blinking back tears. "You know, in spite of everything... in spite of everything, I like you. I think you're great. I want you to think the same of me."
Artie lets out a long breath. He slides, awkwardly, out of his chair to kneel down next to the mirror, pressing his free hand against the glass. mirror!Myka--Myka--meets the gesture with her own right hand.
She's so close, but all he can feel is cold glass under his hand.
"I screwed up."
[Dialogue from Warehouse 13 episode 1x09, "Duped."]