Chapter 11-

So, let's build up some excitement, shall we?

The next few chapters (including this one) will dive back into the action. Not to mention that MAJOR changes will be made and humor will take part. I hope I can make you guys laugh, at least a little. One more note, this chapter will skip ahead another week. Okay, think that's it. Short author's note this time. XD Enjoy.

Ps. This chapter refers back to events that occurred in the episode TRACKS in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in case you're wondering.

Go vote on the poll on my profile please!

Shall we?

Stefan's Mansion

Private Property – Countryside, New York

1 Week Later

"This is the only way that anyone will ever know your name!" Kris said enthusiastically.

"I agree with Kris," Aeron smiled with what some might believe is kindness, "You Darlings are never going to make it in the big league if you don't step up your game."

"Yeah, but an assassination?" Emma said anxiously.

"Assassinations are easy to perform," Dragunov urged, obviously attempting to make her feel better. It didn't work however, as Emma paled.

"It'll definitely get our name around," Naia said thoughtfully.

"Exactly!" Kris agreed happily, "Do this and everyone will fear you!"

Daniel looked at Naia and Naia returned the uncertain look. Daedre glanced around the room and Rebecca raised an eyebrow as she decided on if she should join or not.

"Well…we do want to get our name out there…" Rebecca sighed.

"Alright, then it's settled," Aeron announced.

"Let's go," Vandella ordered, leading the way out of the mansion.

"Remember," Kris called as they left, "No mercy."

~AOS~AOS~AOS~

The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base

Hunter walked sternly down the hall.

"We just got word that the Syndicate might be attempting to assassinate Rand," Hunter said to the Asian woman who walked next to him.

"Daniel Rand? Why?" May inquired.

"Hell if I know," Hunter replied.

"But Coulson's sending the Challengers?" May asked. Hunter nodded. "And he's certain they've recovered?"

"Nah, but I'm sure they can handle it," Hunter shrugged as he entered the training room.

Once inside he and May paused, taking in the picture:

Eleanor was battling Pat, who wasn't using her knives. The two were locked in close combat, swinging punches and throwing kicks. Eleanor continuously ducked under Pat's attacks, but—much to May's approval—she wasn't running away. The burn on her leg was now only represented by a series of scars. Pat's injuries were obviously long gone and the girl was in as good of a mood as ever, shouting things like: "Ai yi yi!" and "Whoop!" as she jumped around Eleanor's attacks. Eleanor fired a beam of light at Pat and the beam cut cleanly through Pat's side. Pat laughed as it healed and continued fighting.

Drew and Spencer were facing off. Drew was attacking from multiple directions by using his extra arms while Spencer blocked each one with a small force field. Much like Eleanor's injuries, Spencer's gunshot wound was faded and only a slight bit red. The two boys continued leaping around the room, slicing at each other and avoiding the other battles that were occurring throughout the room.

The next battle consisted of Piper, Tamashi and Lachlan in a battle of every man for themselves. Piper let out an earsplitting shriek—thankfully the room was sound proof and Coulson wasn't hearing any of this—aimed at Tamashi, who teleported out of the way only to almost run into Lachlan. Lachlan had his Anguish suit on and Piper's screams didn't seem to be affecting him as he walked up to Piper and brought her to the ground with a sweep kick. Tamashi teleported over and brought his foot down on Lachlan's head. Lachlan snapped around and those two began fighting as Piper got up and jumped in.

"OI!" Hunter called through the room.

The heroes slowed to a stop and turned to the Brit.

"We've got another assignment for you," May informed loudly.

Cheers and sounds of relief developed quickly.

"Finally!" Drew shouted.

"Yes!" Lachlan said excitedly.

"It's about time!" Spencer said exasperatingly.

"Yay!" Eleanor cheered simply.

"What's the assignment?" Piper inquired.

"We think the Syndicate might be planning to assassinate Daniel Rand at a party he's hosting in his building tonight," Hunter replied.

"Daniel Rand? As in Daniel Rand, the Iron Fist?" Eleanor said in disbelief.

"The one and only," Hunter agreed.

"He's so hot!" Piper and Eleanor said simultaneously.

The boys of the group stared at them.

"What? We can't be girls for a second?" Piper growled as Eleanor glared daggers.

The boys retreated, subtly stepping away from the girls.

"Right…" Hunter broke the silence after a moment, "Coulson's sending you lot in to keep an eye on Rand."

"Wait, but if the Syndicate's going they're bound to hear that we're there," Lachlan pointed out.

"That's why Coulson has assigned you each a fake ID. This is an undercover mission." May responded. The teams' hearts sank.

"Undercover?" Tamashi inquired.

"As in, staying in character? With fake names?" Drew asked excitedly.

"Yeah," nodded Hunter.

"Aw…Daniel Rand's never gonna know my name…" Eleanor sighed in a disappointed tone.

"Meet in the lab for your new IDs, provided outfits and information on the mission," ordered May.

~AOS~AOS~AOS~

The Lab – The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base

Fitz took a few steps around the room, handing out faux licenses, a cream folder, and identification card to each member.

"I managed to keep you all at basically the same age," Fitz informed as he handed the cards out, "You're all some sort of protégé or entrepreneur. The folder has the information on your alternate egos, it should help with staying in character."

Piper raised an eyebrow as Fitz handed her her information, "Have you been on one of these missions before?"

Fitz smiled, obviously recalling a fond memory, "Oh yeah. We had to go undercover on a train a while back."

"Any advice?" Drew asked.

"Don't break your cover," Fitz replied.

"Shawn Redmond," Lachlan read suddenly.

"What?" Piper raised an eyebrow.

"That's my new name: Shawn Redmond," said Lachlan casually as he read from the manila folder. "I'm a…fashion entrepreneur." He looked up at Fitz with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't look at me," Fitz said defensively, "Simmons created your alternate egos."

"Evangeline Anderson," read Piper, "Multi-millionaire. Not bad."

"What the—?" Drew read with a confused tone, "My name is Brian Bryan!"

Spencer, Lachlan and Tamashi burst out laughing. Piper quickly elbowed Tamashi and Lachlan, who were on either side of her, while Eleanor stepped on Spencer's foot.

"Wait…it says I'm a translator for Ayaka Shimizu…" Drew paused, looking back up, "Who's that?"

"That's me!" Eleanor cheered, reading her folder, "I'm Japanese royalty!"

"Wait," Tamashi interrupted, "How does that make sense?"

"Hehe," Eleanor giggled, "In your face. I'm a freakin' princess."

Tamashi face palmed.

Spencer let out a ridiculous hearty laugh that sounded a bit like a sea lion choking, he earned looks from the rest of his team. Spencer began speaking in a low, obviously fake voice, "Lenny Gonzales. Founder and operator of Gonzales Industries."

Piper cracked a smile while Lachlan gave a look of horror.

"It says I'm David Smith, inheritor of Leonard Smith—my apparent father—'s stock," said Tamashi as he read through the folder.

"Hold up!" Pat shouted, "I'm married to him?!"

"What?!" Tamashi sputtered, his face going red.

"Emily freakin' Smith! Inheritor of Leonard Smith's stock! Married to David Smith!?" Pat shouted.

"I am 16!" Tamashi shouted at Simmons, who was currently standing in the doorway, obviously regretting walking in.

"Well," Simmons smiled, "I figured since your father was so strict you would want to go against his rules and marry her anyways! Then the two of you could plan out your wedding in Central Park where Emily has always wanted to go!"

Tamashi glared while Pat gave a look that read 'you seriously planned this all out?'

"She gets a little carried away," said Coulson as he entered the lab. Simmons quickly gave each Challenger an outfit to wear. By the time they were done each Challenger wore an outfit that matched their character. Eleanor wore a kimono and sported geisha make-up, much to her disagreement. Spencer was dressed in a classy black tuxedo along with Drew, Lachlan and Tamashi. Piper wore a pristine cream dress encrusted with diamonds that clashed against Pat who was dressed up in a silken pink empire dress.

To top it all off, Spencer was equipped with a faux mustache and Tamashi and Pat gained wedding rings. Piper was given a butt load of jewelry and the entire team was given communication devices disguised as a variety of objects: bow ties, regular ties, bracelets, purses ,etc. Overall, the Challengers were ready…as ready as they could be, anyways.

~AOS~AOS~AOS~

Rand Corps Building – New York City

The Rand Inc building was a massive skyscraper. Marble steps led up to the front doors where a series of guards stood, collecting IDs and checking VIP lists. Piper sighed as she exited the limousine. Alright, here it goes, she thought silently. She thought about her character and quickly got into it.

Piper strutted up to the nearest guard, "Evangeline Anderson," she drawled.

The guard checked down his list, "Can I see some ID please?" She held her breath and pulled out her fake ID, handing it to the man.

"You're 23?" the man raised an eyebrow, looking Piper up and down, "You don't look older than 15," the man said skeptically.

Piper briefly froze, but quickly recovered. "Aw, thank you Monsieur," she purred, "You're not so bad yourself."

The man flushed. He cleared his throat and tugged at his collar, "Thank you Madame."

Piper sent a flirty look before passing the gullible security agent. She entered the lobby and soon after that entered the ballroom, where the party took place. Behind her she heard Lachlan attempting—and failing—to get his character right.

"Name please?" said a guard.

"Shawn Redmond," Lachlan said nervously. The man, different than the guard that Piper had faced, gave Lachlan a look of disbelief. Piper motioned for Lachlan to continue, giving him a confident look.

"Oh yes," said Lachlan, quickly regaining his sense of confidence, "Haven't you heard of me?" The man shook his head and Lachlan gave a dramatic gasp. "Oh, Darling, this cannot be! I am the Shawn Redmond! I just released a new line!" shouted Lachlan exasperatingly. The guard rolled his eyes. "I am offended at your mockery of my company!"

The guard began making a move to call for backup. At that moment Spencer made the strategic move to casually step forwards. Lachlan quickly caught the cue.

"There! There's proof!" Lachlan said in a girlish voice, "This man, what's your name Sir?"

"Lenny Gonzales," said Spencer with a deep voice.

"Mr. Gonzales is wearing a piece from my new clothing line—er—Puis-je Utiliser La Salle De Bain!" urged Lachlan.

"Oh, yes," Spencer agreed, "Comfortable ties indeed."

The guard, obviously just not wanting to deal with the two boys allowed them both to pass.

Once Lachlan was cleared he stepped past the guard, "Toodles." He said as he walked away.

Piper turned as the Irish walked over. "Toodles?"

"I'm trying to stay in character," Lachlan replied.

Piper shook her head.

"What the hell did you say back there?" Spencer inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh that? I asked if I could use the bathroom," Lachlan shrugged casually, " I guess French class actually paid off."

"Split up," Piper commanded, "If anyone sees the Syndicate, report in."

Lachlan and Spencer nodded, splitting back off in different directions. Piper watched them go, practically screaming when she rammed into someone. She looked up at the man she had run into with wide eyes, mouth slightly opened in surprise.

She tried to spit out something, a 'sorry' or a 'my bad' but the man simply looked down at her and laughed.

"Mrs. Anderson, yes?" the man inquired.

"Y—you've heard of me?" Piper asked with a raised eyebrow. These names were S.H.I.E.L.D.'s creation, how in the world could this guy know her?

"Why of course, all of the guests heard of your arrival," responded the man. He paused, grinning at her confusion, "Kris Stefans. It's a pleasure." He said, holding out his hand. She took it and shook his hand respectfully.

He smiled at his accepted offer. Kris then seemed to tune into the classical music that was playing in the hall, "Hmm, I do love a good melody. Care to share this dance with me?"

Piper bit her lip. Don't break your cover, repeated Fitz in her head. She reluctantly nodded and then sighed as she was pulled towards the dance floor.

~AOS~AOS~AOS~

"Well someone's getting into character," sighed Drew as he glanced over at the ballroom dance floor. Piper was dancing with a tall man with wavy brunette hair, pale olivey Caucasian skin and a smirk. The worst part? Piper was smiling back. She was just staying in character, he had assured himself of that. Why else would she be dancing with him? Drew glared at the man and his ridiculously perfect hair, freaking flawless skin and his stupid smirk.

Eleanor glanced between Drew and the dancing duo. She coughed awkwardly, "Jealous." She coughed.

"What?" Drew demanded, snapping his gaze down to the thirteen year old.

"What? Nothing," replied Eleanor, beginning to walk away.

"What? Wait! What did you say?!" he demanded, trying to act casual as he chased after her.

The two halted in the midst of the crowd.

"I didn't say anything," Eleanor persuaded, keeping her tone low in order to keep up her cover, "I coughed."

"As if," Drew snapped, "You don't just 'cough'!"

Eleanor laughed, "Yes you do! People cough, Drew, it's not unusual. Besides I—oh my god!"

"What?" Drew demanded.

"Oh my god! Oh my god!" Eleanor squealed.

"Be quiet!" Drew warned, "You're gonna blow your cover." He flashed around a worried glance, but all of the guests seemed pretty dedicated to the extremely loud classical music. "What's the problem, anyways?"

"Oh nothing, just the hottest person in the world!" Eleanor cheered excitedly.

"Black Widow is here?!" Drew asked urgently, looking around in a frantic manor.

"Daniel Rand!" squeaked Eleanor.

"Oh my—you've got to be kidding me!" Drew grumbled, face palming. "And here I was, thinking you were talking about Black Widow."

"Come on, we should go talk to him!" Eleanor urged.

Drew raised an eyebrow, "We? You mean me. You're Japanese, remember?"

"Oh no…" Eleanor said sadly.

"Yea, sorry El," Drew said as he patted Eleanor's shoulder thoughtfully.

The moment was broken as someone roughly bumped into Drew's shoulder. He turned to see a shorter girl with blonde curly hair pulled back in a bun. The girl was walking away from him, not bothering to give an apology. She wore a shorter gown that was darkly colored and clashed against her pale skin. Drew tried to ignore her rude move. She continued pushing through the crowd until she came to a duo that consisted of a tall African-American man in a tux and a slightly taller curly haired brunette girl in a blue dress.

"Come on," said Drew, "Let's go keep an eye on Rand."

~AOS~AOS~AOS~

Lachlan walked up and sat at the bar, next to Spencer, who was already there.

"Hey dude," Lachlan greeted.

"Sup," Spencer replied, looking bored out of his mind.

"Honestly?" said Lachlan, "I'm pretty bored."

"Same," sighed his friend.

"Where is everyone?" Lachlan inquired, turning around and scanning his eyes over the crowd.

Without looking, Spencer recited: "Drew's with Eleanor over by Rand, Piper's dancing with some stranger, I'm right next to you and I'm almost positive Tamashi and Pat are either glaring at each other or holding a contest on 'who can be more sarcastic'."

Lachlan gave an impressed look, "Yeah. That makes sense."

"A contest on who can be more sarcastic? Seriously?" said an unimpressed Pat as she walked up and sat on Spencer's other side.

"What? It's possible," muttered Spencer as Tamashi shoved his way through the crowd and over to the bar.

"Ooh," Pat whistled, "How'd Piper score that guy?"

Spencer shrugged carelessly.

"Don't know," Lachlan responded, "We should keep an eye on him."

~AOS~AOS~AOS~

Kris had to contain his shock at how easy it was to gain this girl's trust. All it had taken was a little flirting, some polite actions and a single offer to dance. And now, here he was, dancing with one of the toughest Challengers. That was the only reason he was dancing with her. According to his Syndicate, Piper had put up a fight. The entire team was a threat, but Kris didn't feel like dancing with any of the male members and the youngest member was half his height, which would make for an awkward dance.

And then there was the knife girl, who he had yet to lay eyes upon. He knew she was somewhere in the vicinity because the Challengers were here. The question was where? Kris casually continued dancing with Piper, sweeping her around in an elegant dance, but he secretively scanned the crowd for anyone who—There.

A girl with blonde hair, shaved off on one side, but brought up in a high bun on her head was sitting at the bar. And—what's this? With her were an Asian boy, a bronze haired boy and an Irish teen. These must be the others, he thought silently, what was it? Anguish, Psyox and…he realized that the Syndicate hadn't actually told him the Asian's name. Kris made a note to ask whenever he got the chance.

"You okay?" Piper asked him cautiously.

"Of course," he replied smoothly, realizing his mistake in getting lost in thought. "And you mademoiselle?"

"Sure," Piper shrugged as she danced, "I have a couple friends here that I wanted to speak to."

Kris nodded but noticed that Piper was carefully avoiding eye contact, her eyes dancing around his. He felt a small panic build up. Did she know? Had someone found out he was involved? Was she just distracting so the authorities could come? He couldn't lose his control. Not now. Not after all he had—get a hold of yourself. He interrupted silently.

He paused as her eyes flashed across his. "Piper." He addressed firmly, she froze, still avoiding eye contact.

"H—how do you know my…?" she trailed, still not moving from shock.

"It doesn't matter," he said calmly but forcefully. "What matters is that by the end of the night Rand will be dead and my Syndicate will be to thank for it."

"Your syndicate?" her eyes widened and she snapped her glance up to his. Mistake.

"Oh yes," he said casually, letting his powers take over. "But you don't need to worry about that. In fact, don't worry about any of it. Forget we ever had this conversation."

Piper paused, keeping his gaze for one last unbreakable second before she blinked a few times and spoke, "I—I really need to go talk to the other guests…"

"Of course," he agreed, smirking mischievously. He bowed, taking her hand and kissing it lightly before he let it go and watched her scamper off towards the bar. Kris turned only to run into someone else. "Oh, pardon me." he apologized with fake guilt.

"Nah, sorry, my fault," replied the tall brown haired teen he had run into. "I saw you dancing with…what was her name? Miss. Anderson, right?" he inquired. So this was Lachlan, or Anguish, the leader of those petty little Avenger-wannabes.

"Yes," Kris replied smoothly, exiting the ballroom floor with Lachlan at his side, "She's quite the dancer."

"Oh yeah, definitely a keeper," Lachlan agreed wisely, even laughing a bit, keeping up his act quite well. If Kris hadn't known better, he wouldn't even have considered this to be an act.

"Apologies, I didn't catch your name," Kris informed as they walked.

"Shawn Redmond," Lachlan replied a bit too quickly.

Kris pretended not to notice, "I see and you're into fashion, corr—"

Kris was cut off by 3 consecutive gunshots firing through the air. Silence filled the hall as the orchestra trailed off. A single female shriek cut through the air and gasps, screams and cries quickly filled up the silence. Kris tried not to show his enjoyment at the chaos it was creating. Lachlan seemed surprised, but prepared at the same time.

"You should go!" Lachlan urged, completely unaware that his enemy was standing in front of him.

"What about you?!" Kris demanded with fake worry.

"I'll be fine! Go! Get to safety!" ordered Lachlan.

Kris nodded quickly, plastering fear on his face until he turned from the 18 year old and let a smirk form as he swiftly cut through the crowd. It was so easy to trick these Challengers. In fact, they weren't much of a challenge at all.

~AOS~AOS~AOS~

Piper's eyes widened at the sound of three gunshots. She had just reached the bar—where Spencer, Tamashi and Pat were and where Drew and Eleanor had recently joined, also where Lachlan had just left—when it happened, and chaos had erupted. She'd grabbed Drew's arm instinctively and clung to it as she was almost swept away by the crowd of scared people.

"Move, Challengers!" Lachlan shouted from somewhere in the rustling crowd of people.

"You heard him!" Spencer yelled, beginning to shove through the people. Eleanor quickly followed, letting him clear a path for her. It didn't take long before Piper caught a look of Dragunov on the balcony of the giant ballroom, reloading his sniper rifle.

Piper did the same with Drew while Pat followed behind Tamashi. Piper quickly split off from the group—who were looking for the rest of the Syndicate—and ran at Rand who was laying on the floor while people swarmed away from the mad party. It amazing Piper how unthoughtful people could be while scared, no one was trying to see if he was okay or checking his injuries. Apparently Rand didn't believe in body guards either because of his whole 'Iron Fist' thing, because none of any sort where anywhere in sight.

Piper dropped to her knees next to the older man. "Mr. Rand?!" she demanded over the commotion. She quickly looked over the damage. One bullet had landed in Rand's side, the other in his right shoulder and the final in his right bicep. Unusual, thought Piper, Dragunov doesn't miss. It just didn't happen. That means he wasn't trying to kill Rand…or he was letting someone else do it…

"Mr. Rand?!" Piper demanded again.

"Oh…hey…" Rand replied in a dazed manor, attempting to sit up but quickly stopping himself. His hand lit up with a golden chi energy. "Evan—" he let out a sharp breath, "Evangeline Anderson, right?"

"Siren," Piper replied.

"Right, right," Rand nodded, screwing his eyes shut. "Huh. That's weird. My chi doesn't seem to be working quite fast enough."

"What?!" Piper shouted, looking him over frantically, "What do you mean?!"

"Well," Rand replied, blinking a few times, and staring up at the ceiling, "I'm sort of bleeding out. Never happened before."

Piper gaped at his casualness.

"Move it Chickadee," a new voice commanded. Piper looked up to see Rebecca standing over her and Rand. "I'm gonna roast him." Piper kept her position, glaring up at Rebecca. She opened her mouth to scream. "Fine. I'll roast you both!" Rebecca said almost gleefully, before Piper could scream. Piper let out a shriek, sending Rebecca back as lava shot out of her hands and sizzled into the floor.

"Wait!" interrupted Daedre as he ran over, directly before Rebecca could launch another attack. "Killing her was not part of our orders!"

"So?!" Rebecca snapped, "I don't give a crap what Incubus says! I do what I want!" Daedre stepped in front of Piper, much to her surprise. "Last chance Smurf! Move outa the way!" Rebecca growled, referring to his blue tone.

Daedre remained positioned, a stern look on his face.

"Fine then, I'll char you both!" she hissed.

No one had time to move before molten lava was sent flying at Daedre's face.

Cliffhangers are back baby! WHOOP! XD

WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN?! AHH! What do you think is gonna happen?! Let me know via review! I love hearing from you guys! Also, check out that poll on my profile and tell me what you guys want to see happen!

:)

See everyone next time!

-AG