Chapter 2: Team Meeting
Aurora didn't know what to expect when Maleficent opened the double doors in front of her. She had imagined a group of intimidating gang members accompanied by a crow of course, or something along those lines. They would be waiting in silence for their leader to return, and they would probably be smoking cigarettes or drinking. However, what the blonde saw expelled the stereotype, and made her wonder what exactly she had walked into.
The room was surprisingly well lit, no cigarette smoke thickening the air, and far more furnished than Aurora could have imagined. There was a large table at the center of the room, and as they walked further in Aurora noticed two people sitting at the far end. Maleficent seemed to stand up taller as the two brunettes turned to her curiously. The man sitting on the table, rather than in a chair, was a tall brunette who looked to be in his late 20s. The brunette's sharp features turned to Aurora, but he didn't say anything as he stood up slowly to lean against the table. This action caught the other man's attention, and he looked over his laptop at the blonde raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"Diaval, I take it you ensured we weren't followed?" The brunette in question merely nodded before crossing his arms. The gesture silently demanded an explanation for the blonde's presence, but Maleficent ignored it for the time being. She turned her attention to the other brunette with a frown. He had already returned to furiously typing away on the laptop in front of him. As if anticipating her question, Wade smiled and nodded proudly.
"Were you able to find anything out about what our friend discovered before his… untimely death?"
The dark-skinned man, Aurora noticed, looked to be about her age. He was short and round, and his cheeks were covered in freckles. The short brunette took one last look at the screen in front of him before closing it quickly. He smiled and looked at Maleficent before nodding again.
"He was onto something alright, but he didn't get to follow up with the guy from Norway, we'll probably have to do that ourselves."
Maleficent just nodded before considering all of the possibilities for their next move. If the connection from Norway could get them the information they needed then everything would be set. The brunette wondered who would go talk to him, but she didn't get very far before Diaval cleared his throat. Maleficent shot him a look of annoyance, but he only nodded and confirmed that he would be the one going. The brunette was about to thank him when she noticed Aurora shift next to her. She had begun to fidget in her discomfort and it was painfully obvious that she didn't like not knowing what was going on. Just when Maleficent thought that she was going to have to speak up, a voice sounded from across the room making the already anxious blonde jump in surprise.
"So are you going to introduce us to blondie, or what?"
Aurora turned toward the voice but all she saw was a pair of legs hanging off the side of a couch. The blonde didn't have time to question the strictly green and black attire before the woman stood up and shot Maleficent an expectant look before turning back to her. The older brunette took her time walking over to them as Maleficent merely sighed in defeat.
"This is Aurora. She had a run in with Arendelle."
It was obvious by the green and black clad woman's expression that this wasn't enough detail, but she didn't say anything as she looked Aurora up and down curiously. The brunette was an inch or two shorter than Aurora was, but it didn't make her any less intimidating to the younger woman. Her jumpsuit covered up most of it, but from what Aurora could tell there was something off about the older woman's looks. The brunette's skin had an unnatural tint, in fact it was almost green. She must have been caught staring because a laugh escaped the woman, and she put a hand on her hip
"What did Elsa want with blondie here?"
Aurora frowned slightly annoyed by this woman's continual use of the nickname, but it only lasted so long. Aurora blushed as she met the woman's gaze, and noticed her teasing smirk. Clearly she enjoyed making the blonde feel uncomfortable. Maleficent noticed it too and shot the brunette a warning look.
"Shouldn't you be with Kim? Or anywhere else?" The woman in question just laughed her smile growing wider as she did so. Everyone knew what Maleficent had really meant by the question, well maybe everyone but Aurora who was still a little intimidated. However, the brunette took this 'get lost' as a reason to push a little further. She shook her head as she raised her hand in a shrugging motion.
"Nah, she's resting. We got tired of fighting." At the word fighting, one of the brunette's gloved hands lit up casting a green glow around her. Aurora jumped and let out an almost imperceptible gasp. The woman looked positively evil, and the heat coming off of her hand made Aurora sweat. Unfortunately for her, Maleficent had been standing right behind the younger woman, and in her attempt to separate herself from the glowing brunette, Aurora had elbowed the taller woman. She ignored the blonde for the moment as she glared at the grinning woman across from her.
"Why don't you go join her then, Shego?" It wasn't a question so much as it was an order, and luckily for the blonde the older woman obeyed. Shego sighed lowering her hand, effectively putting out the flame, as she just shrugged her shoulders and turned to leave. "Suit yourself boss, but we'll be back."
The brunette disappeared out of the double doors leaving an agitated Maleficent and a clueless Aurora behind. The group was silent for a minute before Wade, oblivious to the tension in the room, spoke up suddenly. "Our Norway guy is requesting a meeting for…this Friday, so two days from now! Diaval do you still want to go?" Although everyone was fearing Maleficent's reaction to this sudden outburst, the brunette was more than happy to have a distraction from what just happened. She didn't miss a beat as she turned to Wade and walked over to him leaving Aurora's side. The blonde didn't notice that Maleficent had moved until she heard her speak from across the room. She was still thinking about the mysterious and apparently…magical brunette. Well Aurora didn't know if it was magic, but her powers were something else; the opposite of the Ice Queen's, but easily as terrifying. She wondered what the extent of the brunette's powers were.
"Actually, let's send Shego if it will get her out of my hair. Diaval I'd like you to stay here." The man in front of the laptop just nodded, as did Diaval, before he began to type a response. Wade paused briefly looking to the Maleficent curiously. "Should I send Kim along too? To keep her in line?"
Maleficent couldn't help but smile at this. "Please do."
After Diaval and Wade left to do who knows what, Aurora hoped that now she would get an explanation about what the hell was going on. After pretending to think about work for a few minutes, Maleficent finally turned to Aurora with an apologetic look.
"I apologize, Shego can be…a bit of a handful, especially if you're not used to her." The blonde didn't really know how to respond so she just nodded. Maleficent sensed this and decided that she owed the younger woman a real explanation. She gestured for Aurora to take a seat, which she did, and then she followed suit with a rather loud sigh.
"I think that I need to let you in on something."
The blonde just nodded dumbly before Maleficent continued. She looked away for a moment trying to figure out what the most important information was, but instead of coming up with any sort of strategy the brunette said the first thing that came to mind.
"I'm sorry this must be difficult, but it really is just to keep you safe." The blonde looked a little confused by this but she didn't protest as Maleficent continued causing her to sit up straighter. The older woman seemed to struggle as she thought about how to say whatever was on her mind. The last thing she wanted to do was frighten Aurora, but honestly she needed to get her point across and make sure that they acted in everyone's best interest.
"Aurora, I know that I haven't told you much about her, but Elsa-her entire team is dangerous. If you were to go home right now I have no doubt that she would find you, but here, you're safe. We can protect you." The blonde seemed to consider this but she didn't think that she could make any arguments. She did however, look to the brunette hopefully, but when Maleficent shook her head in response she fell silent.
"W-what about the police? Can't the-"Aurora stopped when Maleficent only frowned sighing heavily before she stood up.
"I'm afraid there are too many that have been paid off to ensure your safety." At this answer the younger woman's expression turned utterly hopeless. It seemed that the gravity of her situation was beginning to dawn on her. Aurora's gaze fell as her head dropped in an attempt to hide her disappointment. She probably wasn't fooling anyone, but at this point she didn't care. She couldn't fathom the idea of not being able to return to her friends, family—hell even her father had been able to at least offer her protection. She would exchange his overbearing, even demeaning at times, protection for this current feeling of insecurity and vulnerability that plagued her now. This woman, who was essentially a stranger, was asking her to entrust her life to her and her team that she hadn't even really talked to. Everyone that she had relied on to keep her safe throughout the years, according to Maleficent, couldn't do it now-only she could. The situation was just overwhelming, and the blonde didn't know how to deal with it-she didn't want to.
Aurora didn't realize that she had started crying until the brunette held a tissue out to her. "Here." The blonde looked to Maleficent, the mysterious woman, the gang leader, her rescuer gratefully. She took the offered tissue but the moment that the brunette sat down Aurora pulled her into a hug. Maleficent froze unsure of how to react, but she finally just returned the embrace carefully wrapping her arms around the younger woman. As they sat in silence, Maleficent wondered how she was going to manage to stay true to her word. If she was going to keep the blonde safe from Arendelle, there were a few things she needed to do first.
Elsa Arendelle hurried into the apartment locking the door behind her before she sped down the hallway. She was half-expecting to find her sister in tears, or suffering from a panic attack based off of what Kristoff had told her. However, when she walked into the living room, all she saw was the younger woman sitting in front of the television. This in itself was confusing because Anna didn't watch T.V., but once Elsa saw the discarded pile of study materials she understood. The redhead was still recovering from her finals. Anna barely even noticed her sister walk up behind her.
"Hi Elsa." Anna reached for the remote to shut off the T.V. as she turned her attention to the blonde. Elsa smiled as she sat on the table next to the redhead's stack of notes and textbooks. It was just high enough to rest her arm on it as she looked to the younger woman curiously. As expected, Anna looked exhausted but now that all of the tests were over the redhead typically didn't worry about how she did-she didn't see a point. It was for this reason that Elsa knew that something else was bothering her sister, and she didn't bother with small talk as she noticed the look the redhead shot her.
"Is something bothering you, Anna?" Just as she had expected, the younger woman looked away with a frown causing Elsa to do the same. Anna grabbed one of her hands with the other, and squeezed it before she managed to look back to her sister nervously. Well now the blonde definitely knew that something was wrong, and there was no way that she would let it go. Anna had a feeling that she knew what Elsa's response would be, so she decided that her best option was to buy some time. She did her best to shoot the blonde a confused look before she finally responded.
"What makes you think that something is bothering me?"
The look Elsa gave her told Anna that she realized what she was doing, but the blonde bit nonetheless. She knew that the younger woman didn't have a chance. Elsa's response came as a surprise, and Anna honestly didn't know what to say. She was torn between going to yell at her friend, or just giving in and testing her luck.
"Kristoff told me that something was up. He was worried about you." The younger woman bit her lip frustration evident in her expression, but Elsa didn't say anything. She looked to Anna expectantly, the blonde could tell that she was debating on whether or not to tell the truth, and she could only hope that the redhead would make this easy. Anna sighed looking away from the older woman once again as she decided to just come out with it. She knew what the worst outcome would be, another fight, more yelling, but she just-she had to try.
"I just, I wanted to be able to celebrate Christmas this year, but I know that never really happens and I-I don't know…" Anna trailed off her voice growing softer as she looked to the blonde with a look that was a mix of dejection and hopefulness. When all Elsa did was sigh in response Anna knew that she wasn't going to win this battle without a fight-maybe not even then. The blonde stood up walking away from the younger woman as she shook her head.
"Anna, we've talked about this." The redhead jumped up from the couch and followed her sister. She barely had time to respond before Elsa began to fire off her list of reasons why they couldn't do what Anna was asking. The younger woman had heard them all before-countless times, and she wasn't going to accept this as an answer. "The last thing we need, Anna, is another distraction right now." The younger woman didn't even bother asking what Elsa meant, not only would she not tell her, but she would belittle her and say that she didn't understand or some cop out like that. Anna cut the blonde off ignoring her rant as she did the only thing that she could think of to get her sister's attention. When calling after her didn't work, Anna stomped her foot and practically screamed.
"Elsa, stop! Quit trying to make excuses and just listen to me!" The blonde turned around to face her sister with an exasperated look. Elsa sighed and it was one of those sighs that were always followed by something cliché like: 'You don't know what you're talking about' or 'I know you think that you know…' It was infuriating to be on the receiving end of such condescension, and Anna was sick of it.
"NO. Don't you give me that, don't you look at me like I'm a clueless child!" The older woman's eye's widened as she watched her sister storm towards her with a defiant look, face flushed in anger.
"I understand that you lead a dangerous life, but I can take care of myself. I don't need all of your security measures." The redhead was referring to the countless restrictions, Elsa called them precautions, that were placed on her. They made it almost impossible for her to have any semblance of a normal life. She couldn't be alone outside of their house, she always had to have Sven or someone else from her sister's team following her around which was the reason why she didn't really have any friends. Who wanted to be friends with a girl who still needed a babysitter? Elsa was aware of this, and even if Anna didn't want to believe it there was nothing that either of them could do. If the younger woman wanted to stay in school, which she did, and if she wanted to be able to escape this life and start anew, which she did, then she had to go along with the rules her sister had set for her. These rules would keep her as safe as possible until she finished school, and got a job as a vet somewhere across the country-far away from this war that her sister insisted on fighting.
Given that Anna was only in the middle of her first year of school, and she was already beginning to push against the blonde's rules, it didn't look very promising. Both sisters knew this, but only Elsa seemed to understand, or at least care about what was at stake. She wasn't going to let Anna win, she wouldn't give her the opportunity to risk their lives.
"If this is what you think then clearly you don't understand, Anna."
Elsa had been prepared for another yelling match, for her sister to scream at her until her voice was hoarse. The alternative however, was worse, much worse than what the blonde had feared. Anna was so close to her that it was impossible to miss the younger woman's reaction to her harsh words. Anna's eyes widened and her mouth fell open in shock. Elsa watched as the redhead's lower lip began to tremble, and tears formed in her eyes. Anna bit her lip and looked down at the ground refusing to let her sister see her cry. Although it was already obvious to the blonde, Anna didn't want Elsa to see how much her words had hurt her.
"You think I'm useless, and that I'm too young to get it, but I'm not-"The redhead trailed off as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Anna noticed the older woman reach out for her as she spoke up, but she cut her off as she backed away.
"Anna-"
"I-I'm going to finish school, a-and I'm going to get a job of my own because I can't live like this anymore!"
Without another word the younger woman stormed past Elsa. The blonde didn't try to stop her as she heard the door open, and then slam moments later. Elsa sighed as she turned only to confirm her suspicion that Anna was gone before she pulled her phone out of her pocket. She dialed a familiar number, and gathered her things as she waited for an answer.
"Hey, I was just about to call you. What's up?" Elsa sighed again before she responded. "I'm going to need you to find out where Anna went, and keep her company." Kristoff didn't ask and the older woman wasn't surprised by this. After all he had been the one who sent her to talk to Anna, and given the nature of their 'talks', he figured that there was a 50/50 chance of something like this happening. Elsa could picture him nodding as his voice went in and out as he spoke.
"Yeah, sure I'll take care of it, but you need to get back here so Olaf and Sven can tell you what they found out about Aurora."
The blonde raised an eyebrow at this, but she didn't get a chance to question it before Kristoff continued. What he said next caused an unsettling feeling to wash over Elsa. She couldn't explain the feeling, but she didn't have to, to know she didn't like it.
"The girl is Stefan Rose's daughter."
"Aren't we leaving a little early? We're not meeting with him until Friday morning." The older woman just shrugged as she opened the door leading to the hallway. She figured that they were leaving earlier than necessary, but given the circumstances the sooner they left the better. The pair wasn't scheduled to leave until tomorrow morning, but they were currently on their way to meet with the team and figure out the logistics. This was the most important part of preparing for a trip. In order to ensure everyone's safety during trips like these, all members needed to know where people were going, how they were getting there, and who they were with. It could get tedious at times, but when a problem did arise no one regretted taking the time to go over everything.
Shego stepped into the elevator and pressed the button before she turned to the redhead next to her. "Just gives us more time for sight-seeing, or are you above that?" Kim laughed shaking her head as she exited the elevator. She shot the older woman behind her a skeptical look before she finally answered.
"From what Ron's told me about Norway, I already had my doubts, but we'll be in Eidsfoss of all places." Shego didn't get a chance to ask what Kim meant before she opened the double doors in front of her revealing the rest of their team.
"You guys all set?" Wade looked over to the pair curiously, and he couldn't help but notice how neither of them were carrying bags. Kim shook her head slowly in confusion as Shego just deadpanned. Of all the people on their team, the brunette had the least amount of patience for Wade. Despite the fact that he was arguably the most important member of their group, Shego just couldn't stand all of his tech-talk. For this reason, the younger man was criticized often, and had earned a nickname that he was less than happy about.
"We don't leave until tomorrow morning, bright and early!" The brunette made a point of adding the last part because she wasn't particularly happy about waking up at 5 in the morning. She wasn't a morning person which was why everyone was glad of the fact that they weren't the ones going with her. Kim just groaned at this comment, but she didn't complain along with her as she sat down across from Wade.
"So we leave here at 5, drive to Shego's place and leave from there?" Wade was nodding along with her, but when she trailed off he added.
"Don't forget about the two who are supposed to accompany you- uh"
"Marks and Holland…"
"Right, those two." Diaval continued to flip through the giant list of people on their payroll, most of which they could call on for tasks such as this one, but he set it down as he corrected.
"Make that Gary and Holland." Wade nodded as did the pair in question. Shego sat down in the chair next to Kim with a huff. The name didn't matter to her nearly as much as their reliability did, so long as they were of assistance in the event of an attack or some other kind of emergency. As they began to go over the rest of the game plan, Shego tried to pay attention, but the fact that Kim committed everything to memory, and that it bugged the redhead so much when she didn't pay attention, ensured that her motivation wasn't very high. However, the brunette made sure to get the gist of it, when she saw Maleficent's eyes on her.
They were to leave at 5, in the company of the two mentioned before, and then they will drive to Shego's about a half hour away. The two will reside here while Kim and Shego take the brunette's personal jet to Oslo, Norway. In Oslo they will meet a man named Jørn who will provide them with the address of yet another person-the important person they are going to meet. After mention of the guy they were supposed to talk to, Shego tuned Wade out and let the redhead remember the rest. She figured that this man was going to tell them something important about Arendelle, and even though she didn't know what it was she wasn't worried. If Shego knew how to do anything, besides stealing and fighting, she knew how to make people talk.
A/N: I was so tempted to make them go to Arendel, but that would get really...too confusing. Next we'll see the aftermath of the sisters' fight, and Aurora will become more acquainted with the team.
