Warehouse 13: The Magician's Number One Rule

        After a couple of hours, Claudia was able to make it to the warehouse on her own. She able to get the girls home and made the car fly. She wanted the car now, she really wanted the car. She climbed out the car, searching for Taylor's bike. But it was missing, "I guess I was faster than the girl with the speed of three cheetahs. What a slow kitty. I just hope that she didn't kill Vladimir." She walked into the warehouse, carrying the artifact with her, behind her back, and found her family waiting for them. Claudia greeted, "Hey guys."
        Artie asked, "How did the mission go?"
        She pulled the cloth from her back, "Alakazam! One Harry Houdini's Disappearing Lady Cloth. Snagged, bagged, and soon to be tagged. We also managed to save two Russian girls. They're home, safe and sound."
        Artie asked, "Where's Taylor?" Claudia became quite for moment. Artie repeated, "Claudia, where is Taylor?"
        She broke contact and waited for a few seconds. "Well, you see….Taylor is-" She was saved by the door opening and Taylor poked her head out from behind the door.
        Taylor gave them her famous devilish smile, "Hey guys," and stood by her partner.
        The techy redhead threw her arms out and introduced her, "She's right here. TA-DA!" She gave them an awkward smile.
        Her partner scratched her head, "Sorry I was a little behind. I was going over my notes that I took when I was interviewing the kidnapper." She showed them a small notepad.
        Pete asked Taylor, "You still use paper in the future?"
        She smirked, "It never hurts to go old school sometimes."
        Artie just looked at them for a moment, making the girls feel uncomfortable, "So the mission went well then?"
        Claudia nodded her head, "Yup." Taylor just nodded her head.
        Artie asked, "Than can you explain this than?" He revealed the remote and pointed it towards the television. He turned on to the news. It was in Russian. There was a clip of three cars boxing something in. They watch as one of the cars lighting up, losing control, and it went off course, hitting the side of a building. The camera went back to show a motorcycle with two woman on it zipping out and passing other cars. The news flashed back to another story of an ambulance taking a gunshot victim that was wielding a strange gun away to the hospital. They were able to connect the two stories by the motorcycle, which were the same. They were talking to a nurse that watched the victim climb out of the third story window and just walked away.  
        Claudia and Taylor made "Crap! We're busted!" faces. But Claudia said, "Frack."
        Artie looked at them, "So, is there anything you two want to tell us?" The girls looked at each other. Then they went off, they were talking over each other, and talking too fast for anyone of the adults was able to understand. Artie yelled, "Stop!" The girls jumped. "Claudia, explain." Taylor shut her lips and took a step back.
        Claudia explained, "We got a lead from a circus and somebody figured it out who we are. They sent people after us and Taylor used her bracelet to get us out, but they actually wanted to kidnap of us which turned out to be me. Taylor was shot twice and….Taylor?"
        Taylor opened her mouth for a moment, "Umm. I woke in the hospital and I tried to climb out the window before someone came in, but I was a little too late. It was all an accident."
        Myka asked, "Are you okay?"
        She brushed it off, "Yeah, I've been in worst shape."
        Artie sighed, "At least you two got the artifact and the girls' home. Taylor what did the kidnapper tell you?"
        Taylor took a deep breathe, "Well he said that a man named Red Reaper was the one that told him to kidnap the girls and that we were coming."
        Myka asked, "Who is Red Reaper?"
        Taylor took another breathe, "A man from the future, I thought someone else followed Dex and I to the past. But I wasn't for sure who. In the future he got his hands on the Grim Reaper's scythe."
        Claudia said, "It makes sense. He calls himself Red Reaper."
        Taylor continued, "The artifact absorbs life and adds it to the wielder's life. Because of his long life, he saw many things that were horrible. He came to the past to change it, but not the right way. I think he has come to the past several to brainwash people that he is here doing justice. I believe that he told his little cult what happens in the future."
        Leena asked, "And what happens in the future?" Taylor just looked at her and never answered her question.
        Artie asked, "Back to the kidnapper, why did he take the girls?"
        "He was taking them to Venice, it's the drop-off. He takes them to Venice and drops them and someone else picks them up," Taylor answered. "I do have a plan though."  
        Myka asked, "What's your plan?"
        "He told me that he was to drop them off during a Victorian masquerade street fair. If we go there, we can find his contact, and then from there we can find Red Reaper," Taylor said. "What do you think?"
        Leena said, "It's more than nothing."
        "It will be really easy; we just put on formal outfits and masks. Than we go and find his contact.  We'll stay close when we're separated and keep an eye on each other," Taylor added.
        Artie thought about it for a moment, "That sounds like an idea. But I do have one question though."
        "Um…..okay, shoot I guess," Taylor said.
        Artie asked, "Why didn't you tell us about the second eye?"
        Everyone noticed that she was confused, "Second eye? What are you talking about? What second eye?"
        Artie said, "There is a second cat's eye. Sekhmets's cat eye."
        Taylor started to question Artie, "Sekhmet's? The Lioness Goddess?  What are you talking about; I don't know anything about Sekhmet. I didn't even know she had an eye too. How did you find out?"
        Artie explained, "We used the All the Seeing Eye, we were hoping to figure out something about the future."
        Everyone could see the rage that was growing inside Taylor. Taylor calmingly said, "If I thought it help us to tell you about the future, I would. But it won't, it will matter worse. What you don't know won't kill you."
        Myka said, "You don't know that. If we know what happens in the future, we can be better prepared." Taylor didn't say anything; she got up and walked towards the door. "Taylor!"
        She stopped, "Knowledge is power, and too much power causes chaos." She opened the door and walked through threshold.
Myka was able to get the last word in, "You can't do this alone," as Taylor walked out the door, she forced the door to slam shut. The group sat in silence for a moment until they heard a loud bang and the building shook.
        Claudia yelled, "Did we get hit with another cannon ball?!"
        "No, that wouldn't happen again," Artie said. He rolled out of his chair. His underlings followed out the warehouse. They looked around for any sign or for signs of Taylor. She was gone. They turned around and that was when they found a sign. There was a small fist size hole that was surrounded by a great dent that covered great deal of the metal warehouse wall.
        Claudia asked, "Artie, what's happening to Taylor?"
        "She losing control," Artie said.
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        It was the middle of the night; it was when Myka heard some footsteps outside of her door. She climbed out of her bed and quietly walked towards the door. She slowly cracked the door open and poked her head out to see Taylor walking down the stairs, "When did she get back?" She followed her. Myka was able to find her sitting on the back porch holding a mug filled with something. She hid behind the doorway and peek through.
        Taylor called out, "You can come out now." Myka made a face and stepped out of her hiding spot. She started to walk over to the young girl.
        Myka said, "We were wondering if you were coming back."
        "Here I am." Myka could sense sadness was coming from her. She sat next to her. In reaction towards her, Taylor curled into a tight ball and brought her drink closer to her face.
        "Can I ask you something?" Taylor didn't answer; she just took a sip of her drink. "Before I swapped places with my evil self, I met yours. I noticed some scars on her torso. I recognized some bullet scars, stabs, slash scars, and the scar that you got when you took Vlad's blade in ordered to save me. You're too young to feel that much pain."
        Taylor added, "I felt a lot more than what you saw."
        "So here is my question, how did you get those scars?"
        Taylor was quiet for a few minutes, she was thinking about what to tell her. "All of the bullet scars were from the first time I died. I was teaching a class---"
        "Teaching a class?"
        "Genius with PhDs in history and legends, I was a professor at a very good university. Anyway, I was teaching a class when two warehouse agents came to me. They wanted me go to Egypt with them to help them with some of the artifacts. So I went and I found this." She brought the eye into the light, "It was around a skeleton's neck. Later we were partying around a fire, drinking some Arabic drinks." She smiled at Myka. "They weren't have bad either." Myka returned her smile. "I was……spending the night with a friend." She didn't make eye-contact with Myka, but she understood what she was saying and that she was embarrassed by it. "We were ambushed by bandits. I put the necklace around my neck in order to save the other artifacts and the people. I started to notice that they weren't there for most of the artifacts, just the one that's around my neck." There she looked at Myka.
       "The artifact activated and I ended in an alley way in a town. Five bandits cornered me and I…..  reacted. That was when I was shot and died."
       She didn't continue with her story. Myka wanted to know more about this girl and she was getting more than she ever expected, "What happen when you woke up?"
       Taylor started to explain, "When the eye wearer dies, the animal takes control until the body is in a safe environment." Then she went off with her story, "So, when I woke up, I was in a house…..I was completely covered in people's blood. I learned that I killed 35 people and some of them weren't even bandits. That was when I died, joined the warehouse, and a developed a fear of blood."
       Myka asked, "You're afraid of blood?"
       "To just a certain degree, I can't really handle other people's blood on me or the smell." Myka felt sad for the girl. "I never really got over it, I felt that I murdered them, but the warehouse would just tell me that it wasn't my fault. I was just under the influence of the eye. And that I shouldn't blame myself. But it was still my body."
       Myka decided to ask, "What happens now when you see blood?"
       "I remember what happened when I was….dead. I hear their screams; I feel my claws shredding their skin. My teeth….. sinking into their skin. It makes me sick to my stomach." Myka could see the seriousness and sadness in Taylor's eyes. Myka wasn't sure if she should ask about the other scars, "I got them when I was on an assignment with my partner."
       Myka asked, "I'm sorry?"
       "My other scars, you were wondering about them." Myka didn't say anything, "It's alright, I looked a lot worse when I got them, but I didn't die."
       "Your partner?"
       "She did." A single tear ran down her cheek. Myka raised her hand to wipe it away, but she stopped herself incase Taylor didn't want her too. But Taylor didn't move as Myka's hand got closer. She was letting her wipe away the pain.
       Myka suggested, "Sometimes talking about it can make the pain go away." Taylor didn't say anything else. Myka was about to get up, when she felt Taylor keeping her down. Myka couldn't help but obey. She allowed Taylor to take control of her arm. Taylor pulled her arm over her head. Myka watched as Taylor nestled into her side. She heard the young girl crying and she could have felt her tears hit her leg. She stroked the girl's hair, Myka thought, So young, so much pain.