AN: This is a one shot I did back in November during NaNoWriMo. It's really a fluff scene that doesn't belong anywhere, but did a great job helping get my word count up. Hope you enjoy it :)
Mallory laughed at Nosedive as he held up a pen covered with a tuft of blue feathers.
"That thing's ridiculous!"
"I know," he laughed as well. "But that kid thought I'd really like it for whatever reason." He tucked it into his back pocket
They had just finished up an autograph session at the county fair and had the rest of the afternoon to themselves. Rather than head straight home, they had agreed to wander around the fair and experience a distinctly Earthling event.
"Try your luck! Shoot the target, win a prize!" An overweight carnie leaned out from his booth and waved a metal rod in Nosedive and Mallory's general direction. "Come on, you two! I bet you ducks can't shoot out the star."
Nosedive stopped and looked at the game, a curious eyebrow raised. "Give me a stick and puck and I could hit anything back there."
"Yes, but! Can you do it with one of my fine bebe guns?" He held up a bebe gun, appraisingly waving one hand around it.
"Tch'yeah," Nosedive scoffed while Mallory crossed her arms and tried not to smile. Did this guy even know who he was talking to? They were probably the best shots on the team when it came to both puck and bullet.
"If you're too chicken," the carnie prodded them again, hoping to call the famous athletes over to his booth and gain some of the clientele their presence would surely entice.
"Alright," Mallory nodded slowly. "I'll bite. If Nosedive goes first."
"Three dollars a try. Shoot out the star and get your pick of prizes. I'm sure the lady would love one of these teddy bears," he motioned to the rainbow of over sized, stuffed bears half as big as Mallory hanging overhead and lining the walls of the booth.
Nosedive pulled six dollars out of his wallet and slapped them on the blue counter before picking up one of the pre-loaded guns. He carelessly aimed, expecting the gun to react like a normal one. His first two shots went wide, missing entirely before he adjusted. While he did hit the star, he didn't manage to shoot it out entirely.
"Ooh, tough luck," the carny soothed. "You've got another try. Let me re-load for you."
"No," Mallory stepped up. "This one's mine." She smiled sweetly and took the gun from Nosedive. She looked it over before completely dismantling it in a matter of seconds.
"Hey!" The man complained, staring at the pieces of his bebe gun spread across the counter. "You can't do that! It's not safe and I can't let anyone else use the gun after that."
"I'm surprised you'd let anyone use it the way it is." She held the barrel up to the sky, staring through it. "This thing's a mess. You probably haven't cleaned it in over a year!" She blew through the barrel and tapped it on the counter, knocking out a fine, black powder. "Hey, Dive, do you have that feathery pen still?"
"Yeah," he frowned and pulled it from his back pocket, handing it over.
"It's a bit short, but it'll do." Mallory stuck the tufted pen into the barrel and spun it around. The once vibrant, blue feathers were covered in black gunk. She did the same for the other end, somewhat irritated that she couldn't thoroughly reach the middle of the barrel. Coming up with another solution, she shoved it into the barrel as far as she could before looking at the carnie and demanding the metal rod he held in his hand. When he reluctantly relinquished it, she shoved it through the barrel, cleaning as much of it as possible without proper equipment. The entire bebe gun was reassembled ever bit as quickly as she had disassembled it.
"Now," Mallory held her hand out, "We can reload."
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I can't let you shoot that gun now. I've got to have it looked over for safety. If you put something together wrong, you could be very badly injured and I can't be held responsible for that.
"Dude!" Nosedive laughed loudly. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"
"He's about to find out." Mallory gave the human a smile Nosedive had learned to fear. "I'll have those bebe's now, if you don't mind." Her voice was overly pleasant, doing little to hide the danger lurking beneath.
Sensing it was in his best interest to hand over the bebes, he did so. Mallory quickly loaded the gun, raised it, and fired off five quick shots. The red star fell from the paper in a mess of shreds.
"Sight's off," she frowned. "Guess that's a problem for later."
The man was practically fuming at her. His lips pressed tightly together and one hand clenched as his eyes grew dark.
"You cheated."
"Oh, I don't think so," she leaned forward. "I think I'll have the pink one over there." The bear she wanted was lazily pointed out.
"No," he refused. "You tampered with the rifle. If you'd like to pay and use one of the other guns, you can. But this gun," he picked it up and held it to the side, "Is out of order." It was placed under the counter, out of reach.
"I suggest you give the lady her prize," Nosedive warned.
"Are you threatening me?" He raised a hand, waving for somebody's attention.
"No, he's not," Mallory's voice hardened. "He's giving you good advice."
"And who are you, to say if my equipment's faulty or not!" He practically shouted at her, voice rising in anger.
"Mallory McMallard, weapons specialist and top fight commando for Anaska Special Forces."
"Weapons specialist?" All the fight left him as he heard her qualifications. "Fine, fine." The carnie handed her the pink bear she'd pointed out. "Get out of here. I don't want to ever see either one of you back here."
"You don't have to worry about that," Nosedive promised. He didn't like being cheated, even if he could afford the three dollars.
Mallory took the bear and turned around, holding it out and studying it in the sunlight.
"You actually wanted that thing?" Nosedive asked, surprised she'd want anything like that. The gun would have been a more fitting prize for her than a stuffed bear.
"Not really." She lowered the bear and shifted her attention to her teammate. "I just wanted to see if he rigged the game or not and how riled up I could get him."
The first little girl walking past, Mallory stopped and handed the bear off to.