okay. second part. much shorter but, i just wanted to post it. i have a nasty habit of not updating. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! how do you like Hortense? i know. really weird name but, first one i could think of. want to see any particular characters? send me a message or reivew
"This is why I never wear heels to work!" Hortense shouted over the clamor of the falling debris. Her interns ran up the stairs beside her, going two steps at a time. They were trying to get as much distance as they could. Her muscles burned as she tried to keep moving. She hated physical excretion. She had never been good at sports or track or anything really. Nope, she was an intellectual. But, right now she was long past caring. Right now, she was dodging cracked pieces of building.
Hortense's breathing was ragged as she coughed on the dusty air. She held onto the banister pulling herself along as she felt her legs shake and tremble like jelly, threatening to give out. Don't you dare! She mentally chided. Her sides stung as she struggled to push herself forward. Oh god! She couldn't run much faster. Beside her, Jessica and Newbie struggled to keep up with her. Just keep moving.
"Just keep moving. just keep moving."
As she muttered her Finding Nemo mantra, Jessica tripped and fell to the landing, her chest heaving as she struggled to breathe. Her nice professional ponytail had gotten loose and it was covered in dust and plaster.
"C'mon, Jessica! Just a few more flights!" Hortense said through gritted teeth as the loud crumbling grew louder from under her. She helped the lithe doctor up, slinging one of her arms over her shoulder. God! She was light. Newbie grabbed her other arm and they attempted to carry her up the rest of the way. Jessica's pulse was racing, 190 if Hortense had to make a guess. She needed to recirculate oxygen or she was gonna exceed her maximum heart rate and- not now, Hortense! Stop doctoring!
Grasping the banister, she watched as the previous flight was swallowed up in torrent of smashed concrete and metal. It was like a rocky river, foaming and burbling, moving at a dangerously fast speed , swallowing more of the stairs. Her heart thundered in her chest, beating against her ribs. Were there people still down there? It didn't matter now. They'd be dead by now, she thought morbidly.
The stairs experienced a violent tremor, almost hurtling Hortense off the banister. Oh crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! The breath caught in her chest as she stopped her fall. she held on, half suspended over the edge. Below her, the cement and torn stairs continue to swirl and writhe. Hortense's muscles tensed as she struggled to keep herself stationary. She was precariously teetering, half bent over the banister. She gripped the banister, her palms stinging at her tight grip. Hortense closed her eyes tightly. She couldn't fall into that swirling pit of metal and cement. no. no. no. she could hold on much later. she didn't have that kind of upper body strenght. her hair fell forward and she silently pleaded not to fall. her feet softly touched the ground and she expelled the breath she had been holding. Staggering back on to her jelly legs, she fell to the floor, terrified and shaken. And kind of pissed too. Worst. Workday. Ever.
"Doctor- Dr. Grimani! There's a- door! Emergency exit!" Newbie said. Her head snapped toward him. And she saw it. Exit. Glowing in bold red letters. The red metal door that was in pretty much every building in the world but,you never actually ever used. They could get out. With new found strength she pushed herself up and outside.
It was dark and just as noisy and chaotic. Helicopters were taking off everywhere. Hortense sputtered as her hair was whipped across her face.
"Gahhh! Stupid helicopters!" she hissed, prying her brown locks out of her mouth and from her face. from here, it was obvious how extensive the damage was. The trouble was it, it wasn't just the building that was cracking; It was the very ground beneath their feet. Wing C was totally leveled by now and the once sturdy structure of wing A was wiggling and threatening to give out. It was an odd thing to see a building shake like a plate of jello.
And everyone was running around, shouting about orders and protocols she probably should have known but never cared to learn. The basic idea was run. Run away. She didn't want to run anymore. Hortense wanted to collapse on the ground and just breathe. And sleep. Sleep sounded nice. But, when had it ever mattered what she wanted? Everyone was jostling and pushing her, so much that she could barely move. Jessica and the newbie stood beside her, looking as lost and confused as beaten starved newborn puppies. And to be perfectly honest, Hortense really had no idea what to do. She wasn't meant to be in the field. Her field was the lab that was now leveled and buried beneath rubble. Screw this. She wasn't gonna die here and neither were her interns.
She ran toward the rows of military grade jeeps S.H.E.I.L.D kept. She could only hope her doctors were behind her and she prayed that the others had gotten out okay.
The keys were in the dashboard which was an incredible bunch of luck. The engine came to life and she drove off. As she drove into the black desert night, Hortense watched in the rear view mirror as the S.H.E.I.L.D base was slowly pulled into the ground. Every once in a while, a tremor would run through the ground, shaking the jeep, twice causing her to swerve off the road. After a few bad roly poly jeep jokes, Hortense had just shut up and focused on the road. Her interns were silent, too stunned to do anything but sleep. Lucky bastards.
What the hell just happened? She had just in her lab wit her doctors and Davis and- it was gone. The base, all her samples, equipment, profiles, paperwork, and...her doctors. Her little workers that she cared for. Sure, she was a bit of a bitch sometimes but- but- they were gone. Sure there was a small chance they had survived but, what if- Her eyes flipped back onto the road before her, two interns safely in the backseat and the little yellow lines leading her away.
THE*AVENGERS*THE*AVENGERS*THE*AVENGERS*THE*AVENGERS*THE*AVENGERS*
It was daylight when Hortense finally stopped driving. Her foot had been almost glued to the gas pedal and her hands clutched the wheel as if she was hanging on for dear life. Which in away, she was. The long black highway led her away from the devastated home base. The wrecked home base that was now subterranean and a disaster site. But, that was over and she could stop driving. She pulled into a lonely desolate gas station that miraculously appeared on the horizon, just as the sun crept up over the distant rock formations. The car came to a stop in front of a dusty gas pump. That was the thing about the desert. Everything. Was. so. Goddamn. Dusty.
No more driving. She never wanted to move again. Between the running and the stairs and the panic, her whole body was mess of raw nerves and sore muscles and strained ligaments and...and... With a sigh, she dropped her head onto the steering wheel, breathing deeply. It was over. The knot in her belly slowly began to loosen. She chuckled. This was the first time she had driven in about ten years since she had moved from the city to S.H.E.I.L.D. Oh god, that was hilarious! She chuckled, slouching in the seat, all her muscles turned to jelly. She was exhausted and hungry and had gotten more exercise in one night than in a whole week. There was a reason people made elevators.
In the rear view mirror, Hortense saw Newbie and Jessica the intern sleeping, their heads leaning together. They were kind of adorable, in a sweet and slightly inappropriate way. They looked like exhausted tired children, both of them so young and bright eyed. Well not now, because they were sleeping and their eyes were closed. At least some people had gotten some sleep. Hortense rubbed her eyes and stretched her sore muscles. God, she really needed some coffee. Bad. Like now. Hortense looked back into the mirror and noticed a black van parked behind her, with a familiar suited figure leaning against. Well now...
"What's up, man?" Hortense caroled, stepping out of the car, happy to see she wasn't the only survivor of the earthquake thing. She wasn't usually this cheery but that's what sleep deprivation did to some people.
"Well, I recently watched HQ be reduced to rubble but, on the plus side I met Him," Coulson said a happy grin spreading on his face. He took off his dark shades and tucked them into his coat pocket.
"Ste- Captain America? Did you fanboy all over him?" Hortense said slyly. Coulson's smile dropped.
"No! I didn't- why would-" He sputtered.
"Never mind. How was it meeting your childhood hero, then?" Hortense asked, too tired to be bothersome. Coulson began to glow again, radiating all his glee and joy.
"it was- it was perfect. He was Captain America! Exactly like everyone had described and more. I don't have any doubts-"
"Great, fanboy. What are the chances that the gas station is open?"
THE*AVENGERS*THE*AVENGERS*THE*AVENGERS*THE*AVENGERS*THE*AVENGERS*
"Powdered or chocolate?" Hortense asked debating the age old question of which donuts to get.
"Hmm?" He asked, peering at his phone no doubt trying to get signal from inside the gas station.
"Chocolate or powdered donuts?"
"Both," Coulson said automatically, eyes on his phone. Hortense grinned.
"See, I knew there was a reason I was friends with you," Hortense said, grabbing two packages of donuts. "You didn't totally lose all human quirks when you joined S.H.E.I.L.D." it was true. Coulson was the only one who she didn't constantly make fun of. She only teased him a little bit.
"Oh, and here I thought you just enjoyed my company," he said absentmindedly, fiddling with his phone.
"Oh, poor naïve Coulson. You have so much to learn," Hortense teased, pulling three liter of Poland springs from the refrigerator. "So to the floating sky boat thing then?"
"yes- I mean, what?" Coulson asked puzzled. Hortense dropped all her snacks on the counter. The clerk, a teenage boy with tons of freckles and shaggy red hair, lazily scanned the items.
"you know! Floating fortress thing?" she said. Coulson remained confused and well...more confused. "The helicarrier, ninny! What other floating sky boat thing is there?"
"You could have just said Helicarrier," Coulson commented as the tired clerk scanned her pringles and donuts. "You know, sometimes I am surprised you work for S.H.E.I.L.D. You're just very...unorthodox." unprofessional. He wanted to say unprofessional. Hortense just knew it.
"Shut up. I drove all night long." Hortense said, lifelessly. She was too tired. " And I'll have a coffee too, kid."
"That'll be $32.45," The clerk drawled, placing a steaming cup of caffeinated goodness in front of her.
"Okay-huh what?" Hortense said,feeling the empty pockets of her lab coat. She didn't have any money. Because her money was still in her wallet in her desk. At head quarters. which collapsed. Crap. Shit. Fuck. Damn it. She stared at her pringles, her donuts and the coffee and almost felt like crying. Almost. No. there was no goddamn way she was leaving without her coffee. Or her pringles. But what could she do? steal it? no breakfast for Hortense then. This was what happens when you work for super secret govermnet agency- ah ha! Idea.
She stared at Coulson, trying to telepathically share her plan. he looked from her to the clerk to the food to her. Her eyes were wide open and she was trying to communicate her idea to him. C'mon, Coulson. Don't be a ninny. C'mon, man. She fake coughed and after about half a minute the secret agent got it. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew his shiny official badge. The teenage clerk leaned over the counter to look at it, his oily face scrunched up.
"We need to confiscate these items for national security reasons. I am sorry to be of any convience but, this is for your safety, young man," Coulson authoritatively stated, smoothly tucking his badge back into his jacket and sliding his dark official glasses on. He had the super-secret-agent thing down to a tee. Hortense grinned as she carried her food and her coffee.
"Oh! And we'll also be requiring two more cups of your coffee. For you know- security...reasons and governmental …...things," she added with a sly smile.
"Don't push it, Grimani."
"Don't make me go all kung fu on your ass," Grimani threatened, staring the kid down. He gaped at her before she moved towards him. He flinched and went about making her two more cups of coffee. Hortense grinned and drank some of the coffee. God, that was better. Now she was back to her old snarky self.
THE*AVENGERS*THE*AVENGERS*THE*AVENGERS*THE*AVENGERS*THE*AVENGERS*
"Lazy bums," she said, opening the passenger side door. Her interns were still slumbering in the jeep. And here she was, sleepless and exhausted, muscles soar and they were snoring. Kids today. Taking the plastic wrapped powdered donuts, she chucked it at them.
"Gah!"
"I'm up! I'm up! No more!"
they both woke up violently, banging their heads on the top of the low ceiling. They groaned.
"what happened?" Jessica asked blinking at the sunlight.
"What didn't happen? Look, just- you or Newbie has to drive. I am gonna get some sleep in the back of that jeep, drink coffee and eat my pringles."
"After you fill up the tank," Coulson added, peering at the dashboard.
"After I fill up the tank," Hortense said,chugging down some more coffee. "yo! Cashier, hook me up!" she called to the clerk, who was stumbling out the door to fill up the tank. Meanwhile Jessica and Newbie were opening the donuts and munching in them; they moved with slow sluggish movements.
"So Coulson, brief me. What went down last night? And if you ask for my clearance, I'm gonna kill you."
"The tesseract. It created a portal, through which a hostile being came through."
"Isn't Fury supposed to not make that happen?"
"It was unexpected. Nobody saw it coming. No one even knew what the tesseract was-"
"Exactly! So why were we digging around messing with something that we obviously don't know and probably never could control? What kind of hostile was it? Martian men this time?"
"How about a god?"
"Like Thor? You gotta be kidding me!"
"It was Loki. Thor's brother actually."
"Well, that's just frigging fantastic, man. How was New Mexico by the way?"
"fine. Saw a fire breathing robot. Oh and funny thing happened on the way to Thor's hammer-" Coulson's cell went off with a loud bothersome beep. "Fury" he mouthed. Hortense rolled his eyes. the cyclops. greeeaaattt.
"Hello, director. Yes- we're safe. A small gas station outside of- yes, we're there. Helicopter? That's be great. Grimani is one of her moods." her head snapped up at the mention of her name. "yeah. I know. See you soon then."
"So? What's Fury got to say?"
"He's expecting us in an hour."
"I hate him."
THE*AVENGERS*THE*AVENGERS*THE*AVENGERS*THE*AVENGERS*THE*AVENGERS*
there was a casualty list. As soon as Hortense had stepped off the helicopter and onto the floating flying boat thing some personell officer had shoved the folder full of names into her hands. She was kind of ticked. All she wanted to do was nap and sleep but, that was impossible with the chaotic bustle of everyone on the Helicarrier. Also there was the fact that her entire lab had been swallowed up. Crap. They would have to be rebuild all those files. There was no way around it. Sighing at her quickly disappearing chance of slumber, she opened the folder, glancing at the names. Leaning against the gray walls, out of everyone's way, she sat down to read. All around her, military persons did military things, strapping down planes and weapons and the like.
"Um...Doctor? Shouldn't we go to the lab?" Jessica asked nervously, standing in front of Hortense.
"Yeah, we probably should," she said, not even looking up.
"Well. We've got a whole bunch of stuff to do, you know, with all the lost information. So shouldn't we get to working?" with a sigh, Hortense closed the folder and craned her neck up to look at Jessica.
"Go bring me all of the Avenger posse's medical files. If you can't find them, remake them. I am talking medical history, genes, psychological profiles, allergies and stuff. Okay?"
"Okay," Jessica said, moving to leave.
"Oh! And take Newbie with you. I don't want to train a new doc right now." Jessica ran off and Hortense relaxed by the side of the building. After scouring the sheets, she began to notice a trend. Most of the dead were unfamiliar to her but, every once in awhile she come across a name. Or two. Or three. Her doctors. They were all dead. Sam. Caitlin. Jared. Even Davis, the radiologist she had first worked with. He had been her friend. But, they were all gone. Their cold bodies were probably already in some morgue on the ground, waiting for burial or cremation. She quickly flipped through the pages, counting up all of the familiar names. Yep, 29 dead doctors. And all she had to work with now was Jessica. And the newbie. A shadow fell across her paper and she looked up to find Fury standing over her, his one good eye glaring at her as she sat cross legged like a kindergartener.
"We have problems."
great.
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