Transcription

[[As Trudy continues her "confession", she keeps her arms wrapped around herself defensively, yet her expression is grim and determined. Nick listens passively, while Ki folds her arms and narrows her eyes in suspicion.]]
Trudy: Nick, I knew from the beginning there was something special about you. I couldn't place my finger on it, but I instinctively knew I had to keep you on my hook, no matter what.

[[We enter a series of flashbacks as Trudy recounts events from their shared past.]]
Trudy: [Narrating] It wasn't until my future self began feeding me information that I really began to realize your potential. You were instrumental to her plans... and mine. You were the linchpin.
[[We see Trudy as she appeared when she received her first "mysterious phone call", wearing a an off-the-shoulder evening gown and dangling earrings. She holds a corded phone handset to her ear as her eyes boggle in surprise. Meanwhile, in the background, the spectral form of Empress Trudy, her future self, holds a wireless phone, grinning diabolically as she gives her past self explicit orders.]]

Trudy: [Narrating] But something happened during those early years, something unexpected. I thought I was immune. I thought my jaded heart could manipulate you like everyone else.
[[We flash back to one of Nick and Trudy's earliest meetings. Trudy hands Nick a "nice card" with her phone number, "just in case" he needed it "for any old reason". She lets slip a sly smile as she walks away, leaving Nick to peruse the card.]]

Trudy: [Narrating] But I was wrong. I saw how much you cared... for your friends, for Ki, for even me. I... fell in love, for the first time. And I didn't realize that until far too late to change course.
[[We flash forward to the climax of "Surreptitious Machinations", where a defeated, desperate, and furious Trudy points a gun into Nick's face. Her dress is ripped and torn, her hair a mess, and her skin is covered in small lacerations. Meanwhile, Nick stands up to her defiantly, unwavering in his resolve, while a stunned Ki cowers behind him, unsure what to do. Behind them, U.G.A. and C.R.U.D.E. agents battle hand-to-hand. While Trudy's expression seethes with anger, her hand holding the gun shakes, betraying her uncertainty.]]