Alright, last night was scary. Why don't we just enjoy some team bonding and Stony fluff to try to take our minds off it?
Friday, February 10th, 2012
Tony and Carol retrieved the food without incident and returned to the penthouse just a few minutes later. The first thing that Tony noted was that Bruce and Pepper were gone, and he was told that Bruce had checked Pepper's injury like he asked, and it really had been worse than the EMTs initial assessment. The glass had indeed left a burn on her cheek and the gauze that had been placed over the injury only served to irritate it. Bruce took her upstairs to the med bay to treat it properly. Luckily, he said it looked to be only a first-degree burn, so it was unlikely to leave any scarring. Although her face remained stoic, Tony could practically feel the waves of guilt rolling off Carol, so he quickly redirected her attention back to the food, which she appeared grateful for.
Everyone set about getting their orders and as they did so, someone suggested that they take their food out to the lounge so they could watch a movie while they ate. Tony pointed out that there was a television in the kitchen and it was much bigger than the one in the lounge, but everyone else pointed out that the couches in the lounge were far more comfortable than the chairs at the dining table. Thus, he was overruled. Tony relented, but only on the condition that the puppy be kept far away from their food. Clint and Lara seemed disappointed by this, but nonetheless Clint corralled Lucky behind the empty bar. That way, they could keep an eye on him.
Once that was taken care of, everyone went about taking their food and migrating out into the lounge. Well, everyone except one person. Tony quickly took notice that Natasha was hanging back with her eyes fixated on him. Taking the bait, Tony waited until the last person moved out into the lounge before approaching her.
"Alright," he said. "What's got you looking all scowl-faced there, Miss Killer Instinct." Natasha rolled her eyes at the nickname, but otherwise remained solemn.
"How well do you know Captain Danvers?" Tony raised an eyebrow to the question but didn't even bother to think about arguing over its legitimacy.
"Honestly, not at all," he admitted. "The only time I met her before now was when she saved my drunk ass from freezing to death. Why? What's wrong?"
"Did she tell you anything about her past?" Natasha asked. "How she got her powers?" Tony bit his lip.
"She didn't tell me anything about her powers other than that she could blast stuff and fly," he explained. "But she did tell me a few things about her past."
"Like what?"
"Mostly, she talked about her struggles with alcoholism." Natasha's expression softened.
"Ah," she said. "I see."
"It was something she felt she needed to tell me," Tony said. "And honestly, I think it was something I needed to hear."
"You needed to know you were not alone." Tony shook his head.
"I needed to know that there was hope," he said. "That I could get better; be better." Slowly, Natasha nodded in understanding.
"I get that," she said. "I really do."
"But…" Natasha sighed.
"But I do find a lot about that woman concerning." Tony furrowed his brow. "Oh, don't act so surprised. You had to know this was coming." He couldn't really argue with that.
"Yeah, I did," he admitted. "I'm also not surprised at all that you're the one voicing this to me. Suspicious is your middle name."
"Cautious is my middle name," Natasha corrected. "It'd have to be, otherwise I'd be constantly nursing stab wounds."
"You're too fast to be stabbed." Natasha raised an eyebrow to that remark but didn't comment on it further. "So, you think she's someone we need to be wary of?"
Tony's stomach clenched a bit. Although, yes, he didn't know Carol all that well, the idea that he let someone untrustworthy get close to him again was a troubling one. If Natasha thought she was a threat, then they probably were. Out of all of them, Nat was the best judge of character and Tony could easily take her word as truth on such matters. As such, before she even stated her final opinion, Tony was already mentally berating himself for making the same stupid mistake again.
However, Natasha's response surprised him. She let out a burst of air through her mouth as her face slowly became conflicted. Honestly, he wasn't quite sure what to make of it.
"I don't think she's necessarily a threat," Natasha admitted. "At least, not purposefully out of any sort of malice, but there's still a lot of things I didn't like the sound of when she told us her story."
"Like what?" Tony inquired.
"I don't know how to explain it," Natasha said. "But something about her just seemed so unsure as she was speaking. She tried to hide it under a tone of confidence, but it was still an apparent façade."
"So, you think she was lying?" Natasha shook her head.
"No," she said. "Again, I don't think that she has malevolent intentions."
"Then what's the problem?" Natasha looked down, truly looking like she didn't want to say what she was about to say about another person.
"I don't think she knows what the truth is," she said. "Like she legitimately can't remember."
"How can you be so sure?" Tony asked.
"Like I said, there was something in her voice," Natasha explained. "But also, some of the things she said didn't quite add up. Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. didn't start up until Thor came through town, yet she's saying she was there all the way back in the '90s." Tony furrowed his brow. Having read through the files before the whole Loki situation, he knew that this was in fact the case. So, he had to admit that was odd.
"Okay," he said. "Maybe it was a different S.H.I.E.L.D. thing that shared the same name?"
"I find that unlikely," Natasha said. "Then there were so many things in her story that just seemed too convenient or even blatantly contradicted themselves. She said took a motorcycle to New Mexico but didn't explain how she acquired it. Fury seemed to know where she was going before she even did – to which I'll say Fury is good, but he's not that good. Not to mention she went through this whole story which had barely anything to do with how she got her powers before she actually told us about how she got her powers – and it happened years before the original story even took place. She could have just started with how she got her powers and left everything else out."
"Alright, that does sound weird," Tony said. "But to give her the benefit of the doubt, I had my heart shredded to pieces by a bomb in Afghanistan, Steve became a medical guinea pig to save the country, Bruce had an 'oopsie' while playing with nuclear radiation, Thor is a God who has a fucked-up family, and you and Clint…" Realization dawned on Tony's face then. "Actually, I don't know how you and Clint became the super bad asses you are today."
"And frankly I'm not going to tell you," Natasha said.
"Why? You don't think I can handle it?" Natasha shook her head.
"I don't think I can." A pang of sympathy ran through Tony's chest. He would comment on it, but as he said before, Natasha was just too fast. "I get your point, though. We all have weird stories. I'm just concerned that her weird story might be an indicator of something more serious…"
Tony could see her point, too. Difficulty or an outright inability to remember key events could be a sign of some serious mental issues. However, once again, none of them knew Carol and Tony wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. Call him stupid for wanting that – he certainly thought so – but he did. There was something he needed to know, though.
"Why are you telling me all of this?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be taking these concerns to Hill or Fury? They're the ones who know her."
"I will," Natasha assured. "Don't doubt that. I just wanted you to know so you could act with caution around her."
"I always act with caution," Tony said. "Caution is also my middle name." Natasha raised an eyebrow.
"Really?" she questioned. "Are you sure it's not 'Arrogant' or 'Narcissistic' or 'Pain-in-the-Ass?'" Tony's face fell flat.
"You couldn't have even tried to throw a 'Handsome' in there?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Natasha said. "I almost forgot 'Vain.'"
"You're hilarious." Natasha shrugged.
"I have to be to keep up around here," she said with a laugh, but her face grew more serious as she put a hand on his shoulder. "But seriously, just be careful, okay?"
"I am and I will," Tony assured. "Don't worry." Natasha smiled and patted his shoulder.
"Good," she said before walking past him to join the others in the lounge.
Tony stood there a moment, taking in everything that he just learned. Although he did feel legitimately concerned about Carol's mental state, Natasha did say that she didn't think Carol had bad intentions and he was willing to trust that at least. Resolving to that, Tony gathered up his food and went out to the lounge as well.
The movie they ended up watching was Top Gun. Everyone wanted Rhodey to pick because he was their guest, but he ended up deferring his choice to Carol. The only movie that she knew the name of that wasn't a Christmas movie was Top Gun, so that's what she picked. No one objected or even really minded, which was good. Rhodey even made the effort to pull Carol into their conversations, which she clearly appreciated.
About fifteen minutes into the movie, Bruce and Pepper returned. The burn on Pepper's face ended up being a minor second-degree burn, but thankfully it didn't appear to Bruce like the cut needed stitches. Instead, Pepper could get away with a bit of burn ointment and some pain killers. However, she had to leave the burn uncovered so it could heal properly, which left her feeling a little self-conscious. Everyone was quick to assure her that it wasn't that bad – which it wasn't, all things considered – which came to her relief.
Once they had gotten their food and returned to the lounge, Bruce sat down on the floor next to Lara, while Rhodey slid off the couch and onto the floor so Pepper could have a place to sit. Tony did a quick introduction between Pepper and Carol from where he sat in Steve's lap. He did his best to explain who Carol was and how they knew her in as few sentences as possible so as not to disturb those watching the movie (Steve.) Thankfully, it didn't take much to get Pepper to understand and once they were officially introduced, she greeted Carol with kindness.
The movie went by rather quickly and most were barely paying attention due to having seen it before. They kept their chatter low, though, aware of the fact that Steve had almost certainly not seen the film before. As far as Tony could tell, he enjoyed it. However, he did notice that Steve's arms tightened around his waist when they got to Goose's death scene. Realizing his boyfriend was probably thinking of his fallen brother in everything but blood, Tony leaned back and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"You good?" Steve nodded, rubbing his hand up and down Tony's side.
"I'm good."
By the time, the movie was over, everyone had finished eating and no one was up to starting another one. Pepper – quite understandably – wanted to go home and get some sleep while Lara figured she should probably get back to her apartment "before the real weirdos started coming out." Also, by that point, it was probably safe for Carol to leave. However, she was advised to leave the city via normal transportation means like the bus and at least wait until she reached the suburbs to try flying. Carol understood and thanked them all for having her before leaving.
After they left, everyone else went their separate ways for the night. Natasha and Clint headed to their rooms, Bruce set out to get a little bit more work done in his office before he went to bed, and Steve and Tony showed Rhodey to his room. Since Tony's appointment was in the morning, they all decided it would be best to call it a night early. So, while Rhodey went to bed, Tony decided to take a shower so that way he wouldn't have to worry about it in the rush to get ready the next day.
Tony tried to relax as the warm water washed over him. Steve had suggested that they take a bath, as it would serve to relax Tony more and hopefully help him get to sleep, but Tony knew that wasn't a good idea. If he submerged the Arc Reactor or even just got it a little too wet, the metal would either expand or contract painfully, depending on the temperature. It was something he tried to fix with each new version of the reactor, but thus far hadn't succeeded in accomplishing. That meant no more baths or swimming for fun. He also had to be careful when washing his chest. It was a pain, but one he could live with, especially when his boyfriend was still more than willing to join him in the shower.
Even though they were showering together, they didn't engage in any foreplay or sexual activity. That would only serve to wind them up when really what they needed was to relax and wind down. Also, Steve was concerned about disturbing their guest. Tony tried to point out that Rhodey's room was on the other side of the apartment and the walls were thick enough to where he couldn't hear, but Steve's reddening cheeks convinced Tony to relent. He might be getting frustrated with the public hang-ups but wanting a private moment to stay between them was something he could easily understand.
While he was disappointed that their shared shower wasn't going to take a more intimate turn, Tony did relish in each touch Steve laid upon him. Just feeling his deft fingers work to lather the shampoo and conditioner into his hair took Tony to realms of ecstasy that he didn't know existed. If Steve could do that just by washing his hair, Tony couldn't imagine what he when he handed his entire body over to him. It didn't stop him from trying, though.
Once he deemed Tony's hair clean enough, Steve moved on to his body. He was careful to be gentle with or entirely avoid the sensitive areas Tony warned him about (such as the Arc Reactor) and for that, he was grateful. However, if Steve running his fingers through his hair sent him into ecstasy, then there were no words to describe what him running his hands over his body with a washcloth did. Well, outside of making his already dirty mind run rampant. When Steve finished with one last quick sweep over his body, Tony couldn't help but respond by tackling him into a heated kiss that caused Steve to tumble backwards into the glass. Then, he repaid him in kind by washing down his body as well, the entire time hoping that it gave Steve as much pleasure as he had experienced himself.
After getting out of the shower, they both toweled off and got dressed, stealing as many kisses as they could along the way. Tony found that the pajamas Steve had picked out for him were still somewhat warm and carried the soft, clean scent of Bounce dryer sheets, indicating that they were freshly laundered. Tony brought the oversized t-shirt up to his nose and took a deep inhale before pulling the garment over his head.
The smell reminded him of the way that his clothes and sheets smelled when he was living at MIT and that (surprisingly) was the only time in his life that he could remember frequently sleeping through the night. (You know when he wasn't partying.) As such, he had the cleaning staff wash his pajamas and his blue blanket in the same cheap detergents and other laundry products he could remember stealing off Rhodey back then, hoping it would aid in his quest to stave off nightmares. Thus far he had mixed results, but he still wasn't willing to give up the ghost on that yet, especially when it smelled so good.
In addition to picking out his pajamas for him, Steve had also done the courtesy of bringing Tony his father's robe. Like the rest of his pajamas, it too was freshly laundered and still slightly warm. Tony took his sweet time putting it on. He wasn't sure why he took the robe after his father died. There wasn't any special sentimentality attached to it and he had been so angry at the time that he had gotten rid of most of Howard's personal items out of spite, but he kept the robe. More than that, he wore it around and even occasionally slept in it. Tony wasn't sure what that said about him. Sigmund Freud would probably have a field day with it (as well as his other "Howard issues") but honestly, he didn't want to look deeper into it. He was already due in for a lot of that in the morning anyway.
Once dressed, Tony turned around just in time to catch one last glimpse of Steve's perfectly sculpted abs before he pulled his shirt down over his torso. Unable to resist the tease, Tony surged forward and caught Steve's lips in a heated, passionate kiss that quickly turned into a make out session up against the bathroom door. Both pulled away feeling completely breathless, and Tony rested his forehead on Steve's shoulder.
"Alright," he said. "You're really not doing a good job of convincing me that you don't have magical god-like seduction powers." Steve laughed.
"I could say the same thing to you." Tony shook his head.
"For me it's just years of practice," he said. "You just have a natural talent for it."
"Or maybe you're just so needy you're easy to satisfy." Tony shrugged.
"Can't argue with that," he said wrapping his arms around Steve's shoulders. "Especially right now."
"Yeah," Steve agreed. "Now more than ever." He pressed a kiss to Tony's temple. "Is there anything you need from me right now?"
Tony sighed. His mind went alight with all the possible naughty things he could ask for, but as much as he wanted it, he didn't need it right now. Instead, he buried his face further into the crook of Steve's neck.
"Carry me to bed?" He felt Steve place another kiss on his head.
"As you wish."
Tony pulled back and allowed Steve to lift him into his arms bridal style. Making sure he had his arms securely around Steve's neck, Tony allowed himself to relax and rest his head on Steve's shoulder as he carried him out of the bathroom and over to their bed. It was a relatively short walk seeing as their bed was only about six feet from the bathroom, but Tony enjoyed it, nonetheless.
Steve managed to pull the covers back one-handed and lower Tony into the bed. Making sure to spread the blue blanket – which had somehow become Tony's favorite over the last few weeks – over him first, he pulled the covers back over him, tucking him in and pressing a quick, chaste kiss to his lips. Both smiled.
"Is there anything else I can do for you, dear?" Tony shook his head.
"Just be sure to join me fast, stranger," he said. "It'll be mighty cold and lonely without you."
"I will in just one second," Steve assured. "Just let me throw our clothes in the wash and turn off all the lights, first."
It took less than two minutes for Steve to take care of everything before climbing in on the other side of the bed. Within an instant, Tony was curling up against his side and pressing yet another kiss to his cheek.
"What took you so long?" he joked.
"Just making sure everything is taken care of so my fella can get some restful sleep." Tony broke out in a huge grin.
"I'm your fella?" Steve smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around Tony.
"My best one." He pressed a kiss to Tony's temple.
"Please tell me this gets me special rights and privileges," Tony said. "Like VIP access to the White House or something."
"You already have that," Steve pointed out.
"No, I don't," Tony said. "I still have to get frisked beforehand just like everyone else."
"Well no, you don't get exclusive access to the White House." Tony mock pouted. "But you do get exclusive access to things that no one else does." The pout turned into a smirk.
"Like what?" Steve leaned in close, his lips coming just centimeters away from Tony's own.
"Well, you're not going to find out tonight because you need to get some sleep." Tony pulled back and let out a groan.
"Has anyone ever told you you're a jerk?"
"Yes," Steve said. "Mostly when I'm right."
"I hate it when you're right," Tony said.
"Well, hopefully this will make up for it." Steve closed the distance between them and gave Tony a slow, sweet kiss. Pulling back, they were both smiling and rested their foreheads against each other.
"You're amazing," Tony whispered.
"So are you," Steve said, placing a hand on Tony's cheek, stroking his thumb across it. "There's something I need to tell you about, though." Tony tried extremely hard to keep the sinking feeling from settling in his stomach.
"Oh-no," he tried to say playfully. "I'm in trouble."
"It's nothing bad," Steve assured. "At least, not in the immediate sense."
"That doesn't make me feel better," Tony remarked. "Just say what it is."
"I talked to Rhodey today and he told me the story about the sex tape." Tony frowned.
"Which one?"
"The one that outed you." At that point, Tony couldn't fight off the sinking feeling any longer.
"Oh," he said. "That one."
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Steve assured. "I just wanted you to know I know."
"Okay," Tony said slowly.
"Are you okay with that?" He shrugged.
"I mean it saves me the conversation," he said. "And I hate that conversation."
"I get that," Steve said.
"You weren't upset by it, were you?" Tony asked.
"Why would I be?" Steve said. "I mean, I'm sorry that happened to you and I want nothing more than do punch out the guy who did that to you…"
"His name is Tiberius Stone," Tony cut him off. "He's living in the Bahamas and it's absolutely worth the four-hour flight to knock his teeth out, trust me."
"I know all that," Steve said. "And unfortunately, I think I'll just leave him be and trust the US government to arrest him should he ever come stateside." Tony frowned.
"Oh, come on," he said. "You're not willing to start an international incident for me?"
"Any day of the week," Steve assured. "I just think in this case it's best to just leave it be unless we're provoked. Save us all the heartache."
"Oh please," Tony said. "I have no heartache left for Tiberius Stone."
"But you would have plenty of it for me if I was locked away in a Bahaman prison."
"Alright, that's true," Tony admitted. "But that story didn't bring up bad memories for you? Do you want to talk about it?" Steve smiled as he shook his head.
"No actually," he said. "I'm good."
"You sure?" Steve wrapped his arms tightly around Tony's body.
"I'm sure," he said. "As long as you're safe, okay, and in my arms, I'll always be good." Tony felt a deep twinge in his heart that was like nothing he ever felt before.
"Hey, Steve?"
"Yeah?"
I love you.
"Sweet dreams." Steve smiled.
"You too," he said, pressing one last kiss to Tony's cheek. "See you in the morning."
"In the morning," he reciprocated.
Holy fuck!
Since she thought it was an emergency and the Avengers needed her there ASAP, Carol had left her burner phone at Maria's house, along with her flight suit and her wrist display. She had her pager on her, but it wasn't compatible for modern texting. She also didn't think to call Maria until she was a block away from the Tower, so it wasn't like she could turn back and ask to use the phone. Luckily, she did somehow manage to find thirty bucks in the back pocket of her jeans, so it wasn't like she was completely stranded. She just had to hope that bus fare was cheap and that she could find a payphone.
Carol walked into three different sketchy-looking convenience stores before she found one that still had a working payphone. Asking the clerk to break a ten for her – half of it in quarters – she headed over to the phone and punched in Maria's number. It only took three rings for her to pick up.
"Rambeau residence," Maria's voice greeted.
"Hey Maria, it's Carol."
"Finally!" her friend exclaimed. "I've been waiting for you to call for half the day!"
"Sorry about that," Carol said. "I had to wait for things to die down a bit before I left."
"So, what happened?" Maria asked. "They said on the news that a Stark prototype went haywire and ended up crashing into Avengers Tower, but I know better than to believe that. That exhaust trail just looked way too familiar." Carol sighed, expecting nothing less from her best friend.
"It was a false alarm," Carol said. "Stark paged me accidentally and I was too hasty in my response."
"So, you went through the building?" Maria asked.
"Yup," Carol confirmed, popping the "p." "No one was seriously hurt." She then winced as she remembered Pepper. "Well, one woman sustained a cut on her cheek and a flash burn, but outside of that, everyone was fine."
"Are you okay?" Maria asked.
"Yeah," Carol said. "I'm just pissed at myself for being so quick to jump the gun."
"Why were you in such a rush anyway?" Maria asked. "I mean, you shot out of here like a bat out of hell."
That was true. As soon as she got the message (and some pants on,) Carol was in the air. The location trace on the pager had sent her to Avengers Tower and when she realized that her heart almost stopped. Over the past two weeks, when Carol wasn't spending time with her niece and her best friend, she had been doing research into the so-called "Battle of New York." Fury had given her the short version, but she had wanted to find out the true extent of it all.
Carol was shocked by what she found. She could see clear parallels between the attack on New York and a series of attacks that had been happening throughout the galaxy for years. Entire planets had their populations decimated, and the attackers – a group known as the Black Order – would leave those who remained behind to deal with the devastation. Carol hadn't faced them up close, but she had seen the aftermath firsthand and read the reports made by the Nova Corps. The only difference she could see between New York and the planets that had been attacked was that they had the Avengers protecting them, and even then it was a miracle that they weren't all killed before Tony took that nuke up to space. What had come close to happening… It could have been so much worse.
The worst part was it wasn't over. Carol could feel it in her bones. Loki was only a precursor. The rest of the Black Order was bound to come back, and this time there would be no mercy. That was why she rushed to Avengers Tower. That's what she thought was happening. However, it turned out to be a false alarm, and while she should probably be angry about that, Carol was just relieved it wasn't time for round two. They were all safe.
For now.
Not wanting to worry her best friend, Carol didn't share her concerns with her. Though she did try to keep as close to the truth as possible.
"I was just worried that what happened a few months ago was happening again," she explained. "If it was, I wanted to be here for it."
"Carol," Maria said, steadfastly sympathetic. "You know it's not your fault Fury didn't call you. That's all on him."
"I know," Carol said. "But I would have liked the opportunity to help. I'd still like to help if I can."
"Of course, you do, because that's who you are." Carol couldn't help but smile at her friend's kind words. Unfortunately, though, she didn't have time for too much of a self-empowerment seminar. The phone beeped, indicating that she was about to run out of call time. She urgently fed another quarter into the machine, temporarily resetting the clock.
"Hate to say this, but I'm kind of on limited time here," she said. "Can you get on your computer and look up where the closest bus station is to Avengers Tower?"
"Bus station?" Maria questioned. "Why don't you fly?"
"I was told I attract to much attention," Carol explained. "I just need a way out of the city. Then, I'll fly the rest of the way back."
"Alright then," Maria said. "Just hold on a minute while I pull up Google."
"Okay."
The line then went quiet, save for the sounds of Maria putting the phone down and typing away on her keyboard. Glancing around the store as she waited, Carol realized that she wasn't the only patron anymore. Two men had entered – both dressed in white robes – and were talking to the clerk. The conversation was very heated.
"For the last time, no!" The clerk practically shouted. "You can't leave your God damn pamphlets here!"
"But sir," the shorter of the two men said. "It is imperative that your customers be informed of the perils that await them. They deserve to have the opportunity to save their souls – as do you."
"Please, I have no soul." Carol could have sworn she saw a flash of fire and fury as the clerk made that statement.
"I must disagree," the taller man said. "Soul is one of the six creative forces behind the universe. It fuels all life. Since you are alive, you must have a soul." The clerk stood there with his mouth open as he tried to find the words to say.
"…I thought you Jesus freaks were supposed to freak out at that kind of shit." Ironically, those ended up being the right words, as he got the exact reaction, he wanted out of the two men with his previous statement with this one.
"Blasphemy!" the shorter man exclaimed.
"We do not believe in such false profits, sir." The taller man's tone held deep conviction as well as sharp notes of lividity.
"Neither do I," the clerk said. "So why don't you go peddle your bullshit somewhere else?"
"How dare you disrespect our beliefs!" the shorter man shouted. "When the Kree bring their war upon this world…"
Carol didn't hear the rest of his rant. Hear heart stopped and her blood ran cold the second she heard him say "Kree." All she could think was, how does he know about them?
The sound of the payphone beeping jarred Carol out of her thoughts. She fed another quarter into the machine while keeping an eye on the scene playing out in front of her. The two robed men tried to leave their pamphlets on the counter, but the clerk wasn't having it. He tossed the pamphlets back into the men's faces, shouting at them to leave the store and to take their propaganda with them. The men complied with the former, but not the latter. They made a hasty exit, not even attempting to pick up the pamphlets strewn all over the floor. With an aggravated sigh, the clerk went ahead and did it himself.
"Okay, the easiest way to get out of the city from Avengers Tower would be to use the subway via Grand Central Station." Maria's voice coming over the line startled Carol back to attention. "Will you be able to get there from where you are now?"
"Uh, yeah," Carol quickly said. "Listen, I can't stay on the line any longer."
"Oh, okay," Maria said, completely understanding. "I'll see you in a bit then, right?"
"Yeah. See you in a bit."
Carol promptly hung up the phone and spun on her heel. Spotting one of the pamphlets lying discarded on the floor just a few feet away, she scooped it up before rushing out of the store. The clerk shouted something at her as she left, but she didn't pay him any mind. Instead, the focused on the neatly printed address on the pamphlet's front cover.
The People's Unity Church of the Supreme Understanding
Outreach Center Locations
927 W. 50th St, Hell's Kitchen, New York City, New York
Heading in the direction she thought she needed to go, Carol found herself hoping for a coincidence. However, deep down she knew that there was no way that could possibly be. "Kree" wasn't in any way a common part of the Terran lexicon, and if Carol had it her way, it never would be.
Alright, I get the feeling this is a case where politically, I'm damned if I do say something and damned if I don't - especially since everything I have to say comes from a place of deep-seated anger - so all I'm actually going to say is try and stay safe if you're living in the D.C. area. Same for anywhere else in the US. As the inauguration draws closer, I doubt this will be the last incident we have.
Remember kids, we live in troubled times. Stay safe!
Originally uploaded to FFN on 1/7/21.
