Anything That Can Happen, Might Happen
There were five of them down there, and who knew how many more outside. They'd definitely stumbled into a shapeshifter lair of sorts, and they were outnumbered. All the Lincolns in their worlds would be furious, not to mention the Broyleses.
Olivia fought the urge to shift her weight, precariously balanced as she was on the very top of a narrow and dangerously unstable scaffold. She had one hand gripping a rusty metal bar above her head, and the other the top of a wooden support beam that ran diagonally down to the next tread. Liv, lying flat on top of her glared a warning as she felt Olivia's thigh muscles twitch with the barely restrained intention to move.
Her alternate had both of their guns in each hand, which were, in turn, resting on either side of Olivia's head. She momentarily wondered how she had ended up unarmed and underneath the woman who somehow made her irrationally furious.
It didn't help that Liv's right thigh was jammed uncomfortably high between Olivia's legs. She tried to give the woman her own glare of warning to move her leg, but Liv was currently peering down into the shapeshifter meeting below. Olivia swallowed an angry growl, closed her eyes and concentrated on slowing her breathing instead.
A soft puff of breath made her eyes snap open. Liv was smirking down at her, eyebrows disappearing into that red fringe that stayed ridiculously aligned even as their situation rapidly moved from risky to downright treacherous.
Another three shapeshifters had entered the warehouse. They were escorting a man who spoke and behaved as though he led this dangerous ragtag team of glistening non-humans.
Olivia lifted her head and whispered in Liv's ear, "Phone. Right side. Front pocket. Take his picture."
Liv found Olivia's holster with her left hand and tucked a gun securely in place, then she inched her fingers into Olivia's pocket. Her grin made Olivia want to punch her, and she looked like she knew exactly the reaction she was eliciting from her blonde counterpart.
A raised voice from below made them both freeze. Their eyes were glued to each other, and they took alternating shallow breaths, but their hearts, pressed against each other's chests, beat in rapid tandem. The newcomer's calm, sardonic voice cut off the protests of the other, and an accord seem to have been momentarily reached.
Liv breathed a sigh of relief, until she noticed Olivia struggling to contain a sneeze. Olivia screwed her eyes shut, furious with herself. Of all the times-
Then lips, soft, hesitant at first, then more assured, were suddenly on hers. She forgot about sneezing. What the-
The spontaneous opening of her mouth invited a tongue to brush itself against her own. Olivia's untrustworthy senses caught on fire, though ironically she shivered with involuntary anticipation, and felt a corresponding reaction from the other. Olivia tried to pull away, or at least that was the story she'd stick to if need be, but in turning her head, she gave more opportunity for Liv to deepen the kiss.
Olivia felt her own leg rubbing slowly against the other woman's, and froze with shame, until Liv's fingers wriggled inside her pocket. Liv swallowed her gasp before lifting her head. Her eyes, normally dancing with sarcasm and mockery, were dark, confusing Olivia even more.
Unconsciously, she lifted her head up, eyes drifting down to the redhead's mouth. Neither of the two would know who was more surprised when Olivia kissed Liv, but they'd barely found their rhythm before a shout made them hastily pull apart.
Perhaps it had been Olivia's blonde hair catching the light as it spilled over the narrow beam where they balanced, but the shapeshifters had definitely become aware of their presence. One glance - a leer from Liv, and a scowl from Olivia - and they were both swinging down the scaffold. Before they thumped down onto the plank below them, Liv had shot two shapeshifters.
"Aim for their heads," Olivia snapped, as she herself, the lesser shot, somehow downed another.
The three who had escorted the man in were quickly hustling him out. As he turned to give them one last look, Liv took his picture with the phone she'd grabbed from Olivia's pocket. The remaining shifters were shooting at the two women as they ran to the scaffold. Blonde and red hair whipped this way and that as the two hurried down while avoiding bullets at the same time.
One ran directly below Olivia and without a thought, she shot it in the head. The other was already scrambling up the railings faster than any human could. Liv aimed one heavy boot at its head as it reached their level, but it quickly spun away with one hand. Olivia had reached the ground.
Two more figures rushed in through the door, while the squealing of tires hurriedly leaving the premises could be heard through the broken windows. Olivia missed her next shot, but before she could take aim again, a curse from above warned her somewhat to move aside as Liv's gun was jerked from her hand by the shapeshifter who'd managed finally to catch her. The gun clattered to the ground and a round discharged and hit one of the approaching men right in the middle of his chest. Real blood seeped through the wound almost immediately, and he was dead before he slumped to the ground.
"I'm calling that," Liv gleeful laughed. Incredulously, Olivia looked up just in time to see Liv ducking a swipe from the shapeshifter. She was not quick enough, however, to avoid its other hand as it grabbed her shirt and pulled her close. An arm wrapped around her throat, tightening by the second.
Unable to take proper aim due to the close proximity of Liv's and the shifter's heads, Olivia reached for the rail above her, intending to climb back up the scaffold to help. But she herself was pulled back from behind. She fell back against her assailant and the two off them stumbled to the ground. Her elbow connected with his side and a satisfying grunt of pain escaped him. She rolled on to her feet, and they faced each other. Not giving him time to recover, Olivia closed in and delivered a right hook followed by a left uppercut.
Heftier and stronger than her, she barely blocked his returning salvo. Eventually a fist slammed into her side, then another across her left cheek. She staggered back, dazed. The man was menacingly advancing on Olivia when a bellow above them momentarily caught his attention. He looked up just as the body of the shapeshifter fell on him. His neck snapped backwards with the shifter's weight.
Olivia suddenly found herself sitting on the ground, her face burning, and her vision blurred. Liv jumped down next to her, scanning the area for any further threats. Finding no other movement, she crouched next to Olivia with her eyebrows raised in question.
"How hurt are you?" she asked, reaching over to pull aside Olivia's jacket. Eliciting no response from her alternate, she placed a finger under Olivia's chin and leaned in close to-
A gunshot made her lurch to the side with a hand clamped to her ear. She whirled around quickly to see the shapeshifter falling to its knees, silver and blood oozing from a wound between its eyes.
Olivia grinned, and gestured casually with her gun, "I'm calling that."
"Sorry, what? I can't hear you," Liv announced, exaggeratedly loud. Olivia rolled her eyes.
Then mutually, if silently, agreeing to ignore the curious incident that had occurred on the top of the scaffold, they both stood up, and began to process the scene.