Chapter 2:
The car alas was left behind and the girls left Las Vegas in the dead of night on a CVO Harley Davidson. They took a pit stop in Denver Colorado, enough time for them to stretch their legs, grab some food and some shut eye before heading out again.
"We'll avoid Nebraska, just in case they traced anything back there," Vivian explained checking the map on her tablet before hopping on her bike "We'll go through Kansas instead, it'll add an hour to the journey but I don't care if it means we don't get caught"
"Take me home, country road~" Alice started to sing from her spot on the back of the bike.
"I can't believe she got away" Tony slammed his hands on the desk, "How could you not catch her?"
"I didn't see you doing anything Stark" Captain America retorted, "You were dancing ... badly"
Tony glared daggers at the patriotic hero "Her friend hacked into my suit!"
"She must be pretty smart to do that" Dr Banner one of the best scientists mocked,
"Shut it Banner."
"Alright Stark your problem will have to wait, we've got a problem."
"BED!" Vivian cheered diving onto a large very comfortable bed,
"You booked us into the Hilton Hotel?" Alice asked admiring the lavish room,
"Hell yeah! I've just driven 2,553 miles! I deserve a comfort!" she sat up on the bed stretching her arms above her head "Beside I didn't pay for it Stark did"
The thieves dined lavishly in the Hilton celebrating a nice easy escape; they hadn't been chased for a long time so the experience was fun. While Alice had already fallen asleep by eleven, Vivian was sat at the desk with her tablet and laptop, making sure what happened in Las Vegas, stayed in Las Vegas.
"Bored let's see what's happening in the universe" she hummed hacking into the NASA computers "Stars, stars, space station, stars, planet, giant asteroid heading towards earth" Vivian stared blankly at the screens processing what she'd just said "Looks like it's entering earth's atmosphere ..." Vivian mumbled calculations to herself staring at the screens almost unblinking behind her glasses.
Knock
Knock
"Room service"
Vivian sneered "We didn't order any!" she half shouted back,
Knock; knock; knock; knock
"Just answer the door" Alice stirred turning her back to the door
"I'm going to seriously going to put their head through the damn door" she huffed rubbing her stinging eyes as she opened the door "What?" looking up at a very familiar face, the door was slammed very loudly again "ALICE!"
"Stop shouting" she retorted ignoring her friend who was thrown across the room as the door was kicked open, "What the hell?"
Vivian staggered to her feet as Tony Stark entered the room followed by the blonde man from Vegas "I have to say I didn't think you'd find us this quick"
"You chose the wrong time to hack NASA"
"If you saw the same thing shouldn't you be worried about where that's going to land? If I've worked it out right I'd say it'll land in Liberty state park in a few hours" Vivian sat down at the desk chair "SO shouldn't you be doing something? Mr Hero? Cause it's a big asteroid"
"She's right we-"
Tony cut off his partner "You're both coming with us"
"WHAT?"
"Fury might find you useful."
"It'll be fine, you said" Alice huffed elbowing Vivian in the ribs,
"I didn't expect this"
The pair had been forcefully removed from the hotel and taken via helicopter to the heli carrier which belonged to an organization called SHIELD both girls had been handcuffed 'just for precautions' according to Stark
"I still don't get why you 'need' us." Vivian was making a mental map of every door, level and vents as they were led through the base.
"So these are the girls that robbed you?" a tall bald man with an eye patch eyed them up, "They don't look like much"
"Yeah that's right we're not, so you can just let us go now"
The man they assumed was Fury stared down at them
"I know you're probably very capable because not only did you hack into NASA you hacked into Tony Stark's Ironman suit."
Vivian looked very smug with the praises
"Yes well it's a hobby."
"I also heard that you have information regarding the asteroid heading towards earth"
"Well not really information just it's landing point Liberty State park. I couldn't tell you an exact time though."
"She's right, I've verified it myself, I think it will land by at least nine pm" Banner explained,
"SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY WE'RE HERE?" Alice shouted loudly
"Yes well, we'd like to add you two to the SHIELD team. The problem is that asteroid you saw isn't what it seems. There is a powerful being called Apocalypse hiding inside it. At one point Apocalypse helped save the earth but I don't think he's here to help."
"Why not just shoot it down?" Alice asked not seeing the problem,
Tony opened his mouth to explain the situation but Vivian took charge "you can't not with something that big, it'll cause all times of problems. It would be easier to wait for it to land and contain it" the shackles around her wrists clattered loudly as they hit the floor "Sorry they started to chafe"
So there we were standing in this super secret base everyone staring at Vivian as her handcuffs fell to the ground,
"Sorry they started to chafe" she said shrugging her shoulders. I sighed and dropped my own having unlocked them with a bobby pin while we were in the helicopter,
"I don't really like bracelets" I said rubbing my sore wrists, "so about your problem what exactly do you need us for? I mean you've got superheros at your beck and call and at least one of them seems to be as smart as Viv" I said nodding to Dr Banner, "so what exactly do you need us for?'
"You have a unique set of skills" Fury said looking at the handcuffs on the ground, "As I understand it you're rather good with a gun" Fury said looking at me in particular
"My Daddy taught me to hunt when I was little" I said with a shrug, "but I'm sure you have more than enough gun toting agents"
"I do but that's not why I'm asking you to be an agent" Fury said "You two have been on our radar for a while now ever since you dissolved your separate organisations"
"So what would be actually be doing? Playing human shield to these idiots? No offence Doctor"
"None taken"
"Cause I'm no one's back up dancer" the sandy haired man shifted somewhat uncomfortably at this,
"You won't be anyone's 'back up dancer'" Fury said with the trace of a smirk on his face
"So what then?" Vivian asked shooting a glare at Stark, "You need a new code monkey and assassin? Cause those are our marketable skills"
"Blunt as ever" I laughed, "But she has a point. We're good at what we do but what we do isn't pretty and I'm sure you have more than enough assassins and code monkeys"
"Well if you'd prefer prison. Because technically you did steal from Tony and you could be facing life in a federal prison"
"Prison! Oh god no! Communal showers! Forced exercise! And not to mention that orange does not go with my skin tone" I exclaimed with a shudder making Vivian laugh
"You are such a girl sometimes" she scoffed
"I'm a debutante! Of course I'm a girl!" I said turning to Fury "Mr Fury we accept your offer"
"Wait we do?" Vivian said turning her head to face me sharply
"Yes we do" I said taking Viv to one side "Just think of all the toys they have here! Big expensive government toys"
"We accept we accept!" Vivian said happily "SHOW ME THE LAB! I wanna make things that can level big buildings" everyone in the room looked from Vivian to me. I knew what they were thinking, doll sized Vivian who didn't look like much of a threat excited about making things that could blow up a large building and me. Petite southern me who had issues with prison because of the colour of the jumpsuits, "Err we don't have to play dress up do we? I really don't do well with fitted clothes" she said looking at the sandy haired man's outfit
"You make a good point. Tight things leave no room to really fight" I agreed nodding my head in agreement with Vivian.
The sandy haired man shifted uncomfortably on the spot,
"I have a question for Mr. patriotic gimp ... are you wearin' underwear? I mean something that tight would require a thong or commando" Vivian said suddenly making me laugh rather loudly "Am just curious"
"What?" the sandy haired man said although it came out more as a squeak than anything
"Well we could always find out" I added suggestively
"With that expression he's goin commando" Vivian said, I gave the sandy haired man the once over and agreed with Vivian's analysis,
"Yeah I think you're right" I said only adding to the sandy haired man's discomfort, by this stage we'd attracted a rather large audience including but not limited to Doctor Banner whom I knew only because of Vivian's slight obsession with his work, most of the agents in the room were also staring at Vivian and I,
"I think it's going to be an 'educational' stay for us" Vivian laughed
"I think you're right. If not I can always make it educational" I said edging closer to the sandy haired man
"Just don't traumatize him too much ... he needs to save the planet" Vivian said looking around her at the kinds of toys this place had to offer
"I make no promises" I said to her crossing my arms over my chest
"Do you think he wears that under his clothes like superman?" Vivian whispered to me
"I don't know I mean I suppose it's tight enough and he could just rip the shirt open and ..." I couldn't end my sentence because the images that floated across my mind were enough to render me speechless
"I would stay away from her ... and put some more clothes on ... eh second thought don't be alone with her EVER if you want to stay sane" Vivian warned him
"Um why? She doesn't seem that bad. She said she was a debutante as well and they're generally nice girls" the sandy haired man said
"NO!" Vivian said and I could see her trying to shake the sandy haired man "No, no, just no! Sweetheart you went red when he explained what a gimp was" she said jerking a thumb at Stark, "what this girl can do ... is a lot worse. I JOKE NOT" she yelled
"I'm not that bad" I said indignantly
"Oh you're back from your fantasy land" Vivian said poking me a little
"Yeah I'm saving it for later" I said swatting Viv's hand away, "That is unless you want to experience the real thing" I said turning my attention back to the sandy haired man
"Run! RUN AND DONT LOOK BACK!" Vivian turned to our audience "are you regretting wanting us here? Cause she only gets worse"
"That I will admit to. I'm also trying to reign in the crazy" I said nodding in agreement with myself
Our audience suddenly seemed to back away slowly from both Vivian and I fearing perhaps what we might do next,
"I'm not as bad" Vivian said "Well as long as I get to make things, explosive things and I get fed chocolate"
"Otherwise y'all should be hiding in those nuclear bunkers" I said to our dwindling audience
"You said y'all" Vivian laughed "Pfft country girl"
"Not even darlin. I grew up on an old plantation house. I had a gator as a pet you don't get gators in the country only near water" I explained
"You had a gator?" Vivian asked with a raised eyebrow, "was it called Louis?"
"Actually it was. But after Louis from Anne Rice's Interview With a Vampire not the gator in that Princess and the Frog movie"
"Well now we've scarred everyone here for life I think we should move on" Vivian said, "Or you could always just let us go I would have preferred to stay in Las Vegas some more so many casinos I hadn't been in or thrown out of"
"I'm afraid we can't do that" Fury said, "But if you like SHIELD will help you set up in the city"
"Help set up do you mean find us a place to live?" Vivian asked, "Cause we have specifics for where we live"
"Yeah so we'll take our leave and go apartment hunting in Manhattan I think" I said, "We'll drop y'all a line when we get set up"
"Captain Rodgers why don't you go along, you can help these ladies with whatever they need" Fury said making the sandy haired man, Rodgers, salute him and follow us out the door. Poor man didn't know what he was getting himself into