Author's Note: Any constructive comments are welcome. I've looked over this for any mistakes but I am bound to have missed something. Looking but not seeing is something I'm a pro at! If anyone would be willing to do a read through for me I would be really grateful. Naturally, the wonderful universe I'm playing around in is the creation of Marvel and the lucky people who work with them.
Hopefully Happy Reading!
Melinda entered the common area of the bus. There was a woman sitting on the coffee table with her nose planted in a book. A knife was in Melinda's hand before she was consciously aware her actions. She hit the silent alarm button on the hilt.
"Weaponry isn't needed, Agent May," the woman said without looking up from the thick volume.
Melinda would be more impressed by that trick if she hadn't used it a time or two herself.
"Who are you?" she asked.
Agent May's voice betrayed nothing but she was pissed that an unauthorised person had made it onto her bus.
The stranger looked up. Her vivid blue eyes were framed by long, dark eyelashes. She had olive toned skin and perfectly shaped lips. She was beautiful.
"Well, it would seem my reputation no longer precedes me," she said dryly. "I'm almost disappointed!"
The woman's voice had no discernible accent. An impressive skill, but not uncommon in the intelligence community. She tossed the book onto the sofa, one of FitzSimmons' Melinda noted, and stood up. It was then that Melinda noticed the discrete S.H.I.E.L.D. pin on the lapel of her dark grey suit.
"So!" she said, clapping her hands. "Where's Agent Coulson hiding? I'd go looking but I didn't think your team would take too kindly."
"Good call," Phil stated from behind May.
The woman shot him a dazzling smile. "If it isn't the man himself! I have to say you're looking very lively for a dead man. What's your secret?"
"Five a day and pilates," Coulson replied deadpan.
"I take it you know each other?" May said without turning.
"Unfortunately, we go way back. Though the hair is new," Phil drawled because he knew it would annoy their unexpected guest. "Black hair with a streak of white? Interesting choice. Agent May meet Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine."
May arched one perfectly shaped brow. It sort of spoke volumes to Phil. Melinda could say a lot without ever opening her mouth. Melinda May didn't trust their new house guest. She was a wise woman.
"It that your real name?" May couldn't resist the question.
Agent Fontaine answered with an elegant shrug. "I mostly go by Val or Agent Fontaine these days. Nor so much of a mouth full."
"Why are you here?" Coulson asked.
"Fury sent me to help."
Coulson stepped forward to stand beside Agent May. "The last time Fury sent you to help I ended up with a bullet in the thigh."
Agent Fontaine smirked. "Assignment related misunderstanding, I assure you."
Coulson's eye twitched. "Of course."
May slid her knife back up her sleeve. "How did you get on the plane unnoticed? Even if the director authorised you we should have been alerted."
"If I have to tell you, you'll never learn," Fontaine said.
Phil let out a tiny sigh. "Let's introduce you to the others before Ward storms in and shoots you," he said. Phil was tempted to let him.
May and Ward were too professional to betray much of their reaction at Agent Fontaine's sudden appearance on the bus. As far as they were concerned, once you entered the briefing room the fun and games stopped and the mission started. Skye and FitzSimmons, not so much. Phil observed the scene quietly. He'd be lying if he said the situation wasn't mildly entertaining.
Melinda was irritated. Phil made a mental note to steer clear of her for a while. It took a lot to really get under her skin. Once you did, watch out. Ward wasn't quite sure what to make of Agent Fontaine. Was this joker the legendary aide of Nick Fury? Skye kept muttering about Cruella de Vil. Phil hoped she let that one slip. FitzSimmons just wanted to know how she by passed their security measures.
Agent Fontaine was maintaining her favourite cover, while taking measure of the team. Phil liked to call it being an asshole.
"I really like the new digs, very vintage," Fontaine said.
Phil shrugged. "I'm fond of the classics."
"Clearly," she drawled. "I was so sure they'd retired these planes. A decade ago."
Phil opened his mouth for a scathing retort. Fitz spoke before him.
"Did you hack the door?" Fitz asked.
"Airlock in interrogation?"
Fitz scoffed at Simmons' suggestion. "Not without breaking into the security system. No easy thing."
"It wouldn't be breaking in if she has clearance! Which, apparently, she has."
"There would still be a trail," Fitz muttered as he tapped on his tablet."Teleportation?"
"Still haven't worked out the kinks."
"One day," FitzSimmons sighed together.
Ward rolled his eyes. "Please tell them," he said.
Agent Fontaine grinned. "Why?"
Agent May, however, was done with this nonsense. She coughed. FitzSimmons quietened immediately.
"The point of you being here?" May asked Fontaine.
Fontaine went serious for the first time. The change was startling. Now Phil was concerned. Usually, Val would draw out the asshole act for a bit longer.
Fontaine reached up to her ear and pulled off one of her stud earrings.
"If you analyse the material that is made of you will find it has incredible explosive properties."
Everyone was surprised by her announcement.
Simmons frowned and picked up the earring. "The density is extraordinary. What is it?"
"A completely new material. So new, it hadn't been officially named when I stole it. S.H.I.E.L.D. has dubbed it MX153," Fontaine said."About a year ago I was sent out. Fury had heard rumours of this new material. Everyone in the know was nervous, MI6, CSIS, even Hydra."
"Hydra?" Coulson asked. "I would've thought they'd be eager to get their hands on this stuff."
"Normally, they would be. Unless...,"Fontaine began.
"They felt threatened," Coulson finished. "Someone they're not too friendly with discovered this."
Fontaine nodded. "Correct. This material in the hands of a competitor would tip the power balance so far out of Hydra's favour, it would take a miracle for them to ever get any of it back. It took me months to find out if MX153 was real or Hydra's version of the boogie man. Finally I tracked down the creator."
"Who?" Ward asked.
"Someone working for Hammer industries, believe it or not."
Skye let out a snort. "Sorry."
Fontaine grinned. "Don't be. I was as surprised as you are."
Agent Fontaine took a flash drive from her pocket and threw it to Coulson.
"On there is all the information I have on the creator, Doctor Hannah Pierce. Along with a few other tid bits I think you'll find interesting. The theory is MX153 was discovered while Hammer industries was looking for something to rival the Ironman suit."
"So long ago?" Coulson asked.
"It was a one in a million accident. Doctor Pierce is undeniably a smart woman but she's not in the league of Stark or your FitzSimmons here. She had a happy accident. She was able to recognise the value of what she'd stumbled onto. Translating theory into something they could use proved more difficult and it took time. She didn't have the experience. How she finally did it? We don't yet know."
Phil had the greatest respect for women. He worked with so many brilliant and terrifying ones that it would be hard not to. The fact was, Justin Hammer hired women for their looks not their smarts. Pepper had often said the man was a pig.
"That small piece of MX153," Fontaine went on, "has the explosive capability to take out this entire plane."
Fitz took the earring from Simmons. "Why haven't they used it? Hammer industries stock plummets more everyday. What government, or terrorist group for that matter, wouldn't pay through the nose for this? Especially now that Stark no longer deals in weapons."
"They never got the chance," Ward said.
"Correct," said Fontaine. "A.I.M. managed to get hold of Doctor Pierce. It would seem she consulted with the wrong people. Hydra's fears were warranted."
Ward frowned. "So why haven't they used it?"
"Pierce never created much more than a sample of the material for security reasons," said Agent Fontaine. "The formula was in her head, not on a computer."
"A.I.M. is not above torture," May stated. "In fact, they're quite talented. Doctor Pierce is a scientist. It wouldn't take much to get the information they wanted."
Coulson thought about it for a moment. "They never got the chance to question the doctor, did they?"
"No they didn't," Fontaine said agreeably. "Some goons were rented. They weren't too careful or intelligent. They rammed her car when she was trying to get away. She hit a tree and is now in a coma. Which, I have to admit, is convenient for us. If she wakes up, A.I.M will get her to talk. If she doesn't, they'll find another way to get the information. We all know it's possible."
Agent Coulson ignored Fontaine's comment. He gestured for Fitz to hand him the earring. "In that case, ladies and gentlemen, we'll have a significant amount of trouble on our hands. Let's go see if we can stop it before it starts."
Update: The improbably name "Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine" is a character of the Marvel universe. I kid you not. Jim Steranko created her and she first appeared in "Strange Tales" in the 1960's.