Chapter Text
The trouble with being so far underground was that weather was more or less non-existent. Helen's fake sun in the cavern's "sky" helped somewhat, but even she could never deny that the lack of proper Surface weather was disturbing at times. She would, however, deny that Nikola's mutterings and complaining had ever made her really think about it.
The truth was that she was surprised he hadn't disappeared to the Surface himself yet, especially given what had happened with the electromagnetic ants not long ago. It couldn't be because he liked it down here and surely she wasn't the entire reason he had stayed. After all, he had already proven that he wasn't above taking time off to wander down below.
So why not above as well?
It was puzzling to Helen and she found herself imagining what she would do if she did take Nikola to the Surface sometime. Running a hand over the Praxian technology built into her office, she pondered the idea of returning to the Surface. Not for long; she couldn't risk being seen if she could at all help it. But perhaps enough time for him to metaphorically smell the fresh air.
"Magnus?"
Helen blinked herself out of her reverie as the hologram of Declan MacRae popped up from the projector on her desk. Reaching for it, she activated the return hologram. "Declan? Is something wrong?" He rarely contacted her without warning like this unless there was something worth looking into. At this point, Declan had become her right hand, her eyes on the Surface outside of SCIU, and she would have no one else on the job.
"We've been getting reports coming out of the Old City area," he explained, touching a couple of things on his tablet. Helen noticed weather satellite imagery and bird watcher reports sliding onto her computer's screen. "Over the last few hours, a nasty thunderstorm has popped up, almost out of nowhere. Satellite imagery shows that it's far more intense than a storm at this time of the year should be. Frequent cloud-to-ground strikes, heavy rain. Even hail."
A frown touched Helen's face, knitting her brows as she scanned the information Declan had provided. "And bird watchers have spotted a hawk-like creature flying through it." Her frown deepened. "Why are bird watchers out in a storm?"
"No idea," Declan admitted with a shrug. "But the descriptions match one Buteo jamaicensis fulmens."
Helen's expression flipped to one of mild surprise and concern. "That species shouldn't even be here. Its preferred territory is on the Great Plains."
"There's more. Its most rare food source is around, too."
Helen's eyes slipped closed for a half second. "Damn," she swore softly. "We'd better get a team out to capture that hawk. Alert our colleague in Dallas that we'll have a relocation procedure in short order."
"Done."
"And have Gavin stand by just in case we need to keep SCIU off the trail."
"Of course. Let's hope this works."
It better. She wasn't in the mood to lose another rare Abnormal. Though as she sat there thinking about whom to take with her, she couldn't help but think vaguely of Nikola. He had always loved storms and lightning had once been such an integral part of him. She could offer to take him up to the Surface with her for this and at least his magnetism might be of some use to her. It would give them a chance to see something of the Surface together. She missed real adventures with him sometimes.
Even if they did occasionally involve SCIU or electromagnetic ants.
Pushing herself out of her chair, she stood and headed through the underwater section of the Sanctuary and across to the residential wing, where she pushed open the door to her room. He could easily have been in the lab he had appropriated for his own use, but she had a feeling he would be here right now. For some reason, he really seemed to like her bedroom now that she had given him permission to be in there any time he wanted.
The door opening to reveal her favorite vampire was all the answer she needed. Even if the sight did come with his favorite smirk.
"Why, Helen. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
She resisted the urge to tell him to cut the crap, mostly because she did like it, obnoxious as it sometimes was. At least this meant that he was in a good mood.
"I've just gotten word that there's a rare species of red-tailed hawk flying around on the Surface," she explained, keeping her expression as normal as possible. She couldn't afford for him to call her bluff today, not if she wanted to keep the real reason she was asking him to come with her a secret. "It needs to be relocated to the Dallas area so it doesn't destroy the local population of firefly."
His eyebrows rose, clearly willing to call part of her bluff. "And you need me?" he asked in a tone of mock surprise. "What about the children?"
"Will's on a date with Abby and I think Henry's more concerned with how settled Erika is," Helen pointed out evenly, despite the fact that both of these were complete lies. "Her pregnancy is coming close to term by now."
Nikola's nose wrinkled and his lip curled in what was obviously mock distaste. Obvious to her at least. "Right. We're about to have Heinrich Junior enter the underground. Well, I guess we'll all have to invest in earplugs."
"That won't be necessary." Mainly because the rooms were soundproof and he knew it. "I could use your magnetism."
"You'll always have it," he replied without missing a beat.
She rolled her eyes in return, pushing further into the room so she could go about getting into more suitable clothes. Three-inch heels would not do for this sort of mission.
"The firefly is this hawk species' favorite meal and is also just as rare," she continued, as though nothing had interrupted her. "Not only does the firefly's bioluminescence catch the hawk's attention, but the bird feeds off of the heat it produces during its mating ritual."
"I guess it's really putting a new meaning to the phrase heated attraction."
Helen lifted her head briefly to glare at the ceiling. She'd walked right into that one.
"They use the heat to incubate their eggs, so showing off how much heat they produce is a sign of sexual prowess, as well as the idea that they'll be a good caretaker for the eggs."
"If you're going to start asking me to flash a light every time I end up in your bed, I'm saying no to this little venture."
"Can you focus for five minutes?" she asked with a frustration that was mostly insincere.
"Absolutely," he replied as she turned around, clothes in hand, and began to change. The way his eyes roamed over her for a second told her just what he was focusing on.
"Both of these Abnormals are rare and I would rather not lose the firefly because the hawk is well out of its normal territory. I'll need your help, Nikola."
"Helen Magnus," he spoke, his voice teasingly incredulous. "Are you asking me on a date?"
For once, she gave his flirtations actual consideration. "Would it change your mind if I said yes?"
"Considering I was planning on joining you anyway... no."
He grinned, a look that was far less guarded than anything he would ever be caught dead showing in public and she couldn't help the smile that crossed her own face. Only Nikola could get that from her these days. Only her love.
"Well, then, you'd better get ready, Nikki," she told him with the same tone of voice she had once used to tell James to suck it up. She knew just how much he hated that nickname. "We're going to the Surface."
The look of entirely genuine distaste on his face this time was absolutely worth whatever retaliation he might come up with later and the laugh she gave as she darted into the bathroom to finish getting ready was almost akin to a cackle of mirth. If their trip was to hold more such exchanges, she thought she might enjoy it even more than she previously imagined. She always did love a good adventure with him after all and this had the added bonus of a chance to surprise him with something he loved. That opportunity didn't come about very often.