Chapter Text
The first time HG tried to end the world...
As soon as MacPherson had freed her and she'd escaped the agent following her, she cashed in some of her investments. She rented a small house with a large workshop, and she spent a month reading about the latest material manufacturing and the latest technologies. All from the comfort of her home; no longer did she need a library with a laptop at her fingertips. The next month she spent buying materials, having them delivered while she reintroduced herself to Agent Bering, having identified her as the weakness in the latest team. Pete had already kissed her, but he had animosity. Agent Bering was the brains of the outfit, and HG had to say she was intrigued by her. A modern woman, a modern Warehouse agent. She was so self-composed, so confident. When she spoke, men listened, and not just because she was attractive.
And she was attractive, HG had to admit. Part of it was her confidence. Part of it was the vest. Part of it was the hair, unrestrained and wild. But HG didn't have time to find her attractive, while Myka pointed a Tesla at her face, hand to her throat, her small agent - surely too young, surely just a child - watching in horror. HG could sense weakness there, could sense that the small one would be reluctant to injure HG, whereas Agent Bering was set on seeing her as a capable opponent. One that she was willing to use physical force to restrain. It was going to be hard to win her over, but HG had a smile that could win over a heart of stone, and she used her proximity to double down, pressing against her unnecessarily before shooting off to save Myka's day by distracting the coach.
She tried to build a kinship with Myka, pointing out the difference in standards by which men and women were judged, having observed the Warehouse team long enough to know that Myka was spoken over, treated differently, judged as less logical than her male colleague - a man not noted for logic. Her impassioned plea, the use of her daughter's death hadn't been a falsehood, but it did serve a purpose. And then saving Myka's day again, hoisting her into the sky, away from danger, literally sweeping Myka off her feet. HG could admit it was flashy and over the top, but it was also an excuse to pull the taller agent against her, to use physical proximity and the threat of danger to build trust. That HG also enjoyed it was barely the point. That HG had a strange urge to brush those unruly curls out of Myka's face wasn't an unusual thing. HG followed Myka, trying not to admire the view.
And later, working with her, HG had fostered that trust further, winning what she thought might be Myka's approval as well as a small smile from her. Myka had handled their antagonist well, and amino acids were child's play to HG. She apprehended the villain while Myka tended to the child - Myka seemed genuinely concerned for her protege, and HG took note of that, took note of how soft Myka's mouth looked, how Myka's gaze drifted down to her own for a moment. She used her proximity as a weapon, seducing her as she seduced her lovers back in the back. A simple word, and simple smile, a simple touch, and Myka was flustered and blushing like a teenager, and HG knew she had her way in. She left a gift as a reminder, as a promise, as a threat.
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The first time HG tried to end the world, she snuck into a funeral, used her ways with words on the woman she knew could be seduced by a book, bugged Agent Bering and followed her to Russia. She was caught because she followed Myka instead of Pete, but Myka was the one to ask for help, before HG could even offer it. HG offered information for free, but only into Myka's hands, leaving Pete in the dark for a long moment while she and Myka shared a moment, a secret between them. She'd been building, back at her house, and she had some sufficient protections in place, but she let Artie Nelson rescue her to save his ego, to soften him up. She'd been very busy in her shed, had built a great deal and things that would have been impossible in her time. When HG was reinstated as an agent, the look on Myka's face let her know she'd been successful. She'd had to abandon her workshop, but she'd built most of what she needed, only a few unimportant projects that she worked on at the B&B, Claudia's intense interest quantifying. Myka would look over and smile, turning back to her book, and HG smiled to herself, knowing she'd fooled the agent. Artie, however, had remained a problem. No matter. He'd be dealt with soon enough.
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The first time HG tried to end the world, she let the Warehouse grid destroy her old Time Machine without even a backward glance. It was outdated and hadn't seen a lick of maintenance in well over a century. Myka's mind wasn't present, but HG tended to her physical needs in a way she knew she didn't for Pete. With Pete she checked the headgear, give his vitals a cursory check. With Myka she hovered, fingers soft against her pulse, watching her face for signs of distress. She could feel the child watching her - a little bit of a fan of hers, it turned out - and made herself pull away, caught out by the knowing expression on Claudia's face. She shared more than she meant to, her dark past, her desire for vengeance - but she knew Claudia's past was also tainted, that she'd held agents hostage, that she felt angry and abandoned and alone - and for a moment the child looked scared of her, and HG paused, wondering what she had become. A monster that scared children? A murderer, a madwoman - but Claudia knew what it was like to be driven mad by grief, to be labelled mad by society for being small and weak and female enough to be restrained as such. For Claudia it had been an asylum, because she hadn't had the bronze. HG could see what Myka saw in her - between her technical skills and mistrust of humanity, HG almost wondered if she could use Claudia as an ally, but the look on her face when HG revealed what she had done to the men who had killed her daughter reminded her that she was the only person she could trust, the only person who could go through with this.
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The first time HG tried to end the world, she joked with the team, trying to fit in. She teased Pete about his girlfriend, knowing she'd triggered the events that would kill 3 young students. The small girl had thrown HG, but she'd managed it. There must be sacrifices for the greater good. No more children needed to die. No more mothers needed to suffer. She shared a tent with Myka, who slept poorly in the desert's cool night, and several times HG had to reject an offer to keep both of them warm. She played the good guy right up until the moment she didn't need to. She was thrown by the memory cave, by visiting her safest place, her Christina. She held her in her arms, and it had felt so real. She'd had second thoughts, but the realisation that she'd never hold her baby again strengthened her resolve. Myka's hand on her shoulder had HG back on her feet, ready to end this.
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The first time HG tried to end the world, she left too many clues. She called to gloat, and that was her downfall. They managed to track her from the call, and part of HG was glad. Someone should know how smart she was. Someone should be there to witness the end of the world. Someone should be there to witness her anguish, her rage. She struck the ground, and Artie shot her. No surprise there. But Myka tried a different tactic, a weak tactic that shouldn't have worked. She used the connection HG had forged with Myka to manipulate her, and HG almost laughed at how easy it was going to be to face her down.
But then Myka forced the pistol into her hand, aimed it between her eyes, and it should have been easy. Myka was angry, but anger looked good on her. It should have been so easy to pull the trigger; Myka was right. If she succeeded with the trident, Myka would die anyway. And HG had killed so many people, what was one more?
But not this one. Anything else Myka would have done, HG could have dealt with. But Myka, brave, trusting Myka, was looking at HG as though she knew her, and HG knew she'd revealed too much about herself. She'd been too real, she'd shown Myka who she was, who she used to be. The person she'd been before grief had been bronzed into her. And Myka had liked that person. Myka had trusted that person. Even with HG standing in front of her with the trident in one hand, gun in the other, Myka was still looking at her the way women used to look at her brother, as though she was something to admire. Myka was looking at her as though there was some part of HG that was worth something. Like HG was worth redemption. Like HG was someone worth caring about. That big, beautiful brain behind those big, beautiful eyes. She couldn't do it. She threw the gun and the trident down, Myka grabbing both, looking over at Artie with concern before putting both in his reach and starting a speaker phone call for him, returning to a sobbing HG, sinking to her knees to wrap her arms around a woman who would have ended the world.
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The first time HG tried to end the world, she was stopped by her own sentimental weakness. Luckily all her tinkering had allowed her to build another Time Machine, a watch on her wrist. The regents took her away, and she took a deep breath and turned the hands.