The Laboratory

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Curie moves over to one of the filing cabinets. He searches through a few drawers before he finds what he's looking for. While he does so, Tesla examines the gray sculpture-like machine. She feels drawn to it, like a magnet. She's so intrigued by what it could do; she wants to know everything about it.

"Here we are." Curie pulls out a VHS tape, on the side it is labeled in what Tesla can now recognize as her father's handwriting. It says:

Day One

Dr. Curie reveals an old box tv from under a cabinet on the black countertop. He gets to work setting it up and Tesla slowly moves in front of the tv as he places the VHS in the player. The screen goes fuzzy for a moment, and then someone's face appears. The date on the bottom prints: July 10th, 1952.

"Today's the big day," a young man begins with a sigh. His thick head of blond hair is a mess, sticking up in all directions. He gives the camera a charming smile as he talks to it; his brown eyes are lit with excitement. The boy pats his head, trying to mat down his hair nervously.

"Officially eighteen. Oof. Can't believe it myself," he continues, the German accent is very prominent. He throws a look over his shoulder. "Dad's takin' me and Nick later this afternoon. It's his eighteenth birthday, too. I'm sure you know how that goes—"

The video pauses on screen as Tesla stares, trying to absorb every second of it. She blinks slowly, afraid she'll miss something she didn't see before, even if it's a still frame. Curie glances at Tesla, he too can't stop staring at the screen. "When our families had a son that turned eighteen, they'd be given access to the laboratory. They'd learn everything they needed to know in the next few weeks..."

Tesla gulps as Curie starts the film again. She leans in, staring at the brown eyes that are just like her own. "So, I'll finally get to start working on the things my grandfather did. And everyone before that. My ancestors. Thomas Edison." The boy shakes his head. "I'm getting ahead of myself. Anyway, for those of you that may not know. Today's the day I can start my training as a Traveler. Nick will be my Watcher, you know, until we have sons of our own." The boy smiles at someone off-camera. "Dad's excited, says I've got to be the next Savior everyone's been talking about. Nah, I haven't got it in me...not that Sorcerer stuff everybody's all whacked up about." The boy shakes his head again, running a hand through his blond hair. "Either way, if my son is the Savior, that'd be cool, yeah?"

"Only," someone cuts in, budging into the seat on the couch next to the boy. "We haven't really got a clue what the Savior has to do, or what's so important about all of this." This boy is the spitting image of an eighteen year-old Dr. Curie.

Tesla watches as the old man looks away from the screen for a moment. She sees the longing in his face, and the sorrow in his eyes, but she can feel the pity hanging around him. Nicolas Curie smiles at his friend. "That's why we're doing this, Al."

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚃𝚛𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚛  {Bruce Banner}Where stories live. Discover now