Chapter 38 - Pink
Soladat stared through the one-way glass where the woman known only as Raina was being questioned. Her eyes narrowed at the woman's behavior. She seemed totally unafraid, given her current predicament. Ever since meeting Mike Peterson, Soladat's squad had been trailing Centipede, picking up clues and signs of what the group was planning. The search eventually brought them to Raina. An enigma, this woman was apparently responsible for creating the serum in the first place. When they finally caught her in Hong Kong, they captured her and brought her in for questioning.
Two agents questioned Raina intently, but she just stared off into space, a bored, unworried look on her face.
"I just don't get you." Said one of the agents, who was seated on the opposite end of the table, hands crossed as he looked at her. "We've been here for three and a half hours, Raina. How much longer do you expect to keep quiet?"
Raina regarded the agent with a raised eyebrow. "I have no time for talk. I'm a woman of work, Agent. Of experience. Discovery. Experimentation."
"Experimentation." The other agent scoffed. "Like how you experimented with Peterson? Akela Amador? What about Chan Ho Yin? In fact, why don't we talk about Mr. Yin, shall we? What exactly did you think you'd achieve? Mr. Yin is still in therapy."
"I wanted to understand him." Raina explained with a smile. "His gifts. He had dreams. I told them he'd come true, and I watched the magic from there."
"But you are... were, a respected scientist. A brilliant mind." The agent seated across from her reasoned. "Now you're just another criminal. Why would you help Centipede."
"I am Centipede." Raina corrected. "I just work to keep the experiments that Maya Hansen and Aldrich Killian brewed from exploding. It wasn't my fault that Mr. Peterson and Mr. Yin weren't perfect enough. Frankly, I'm surprised they survived at all. And Amador? What makes you think I'm responsible? She's just a pawn to the real mastermind here."
"Right. The Clairvoyant." The other agent mocked, making finger quotes at the name. "You've mentioned this guy several times now. How about you quit fantasizing about your new dream boy and actually give us a name, huh? Who the hell is the Clairvoyant?"
Raina shrugged. "Don't know his name. Never met him in person. Can I have a drink? A strong one perhaps? This kind of question bores me."
"I'm afraid not." The seated agent said with a glare.
Raina sighed, feigning disappointment. "Then we're going to be here for quite a while."
From behind the one-way glass, Soladat gave a frustrated sigh. Agent May stood by her good friend, eyes focused on the prisoner as well. "You haven't spoken a word since we picked her up. I figured you'd be happy."
"She surrendered almost without a fight." Soladat countered. "That raises some suspicion."
"Your experience with Loki putting you on edge?" May queried with a playful smirk.
"I'm serious, Mel." Soladat said with a frown. "There's something off about this woman. She knew about Project TAHITI. About Phil. That shouldn't be possible."
"We'll get whatever we can out of her, Soladat." May promised. "We'll bring down the Clairvoyant, whoever he is. No matter what the cost."
"Yeah. Yeah, right." Soladat said with a nod. The two women watched as the agents inside questioned Raina for about two more hours, before exiting.
"Well?" Soladat questioned.
The agent gave a sigh. "Totally unresponsive. This woman is a statue, Agent Wrekk. Hasn't even flinched."
"Are you saying you can't get anything out of her?" Agent May said, a dangerous edge to her voice.
"We're having her transferred to the Cube. They'll probably have an easier time than we will." The agent confessed, sounding disappointed with himself. "We'll figure out who the Clairvoyant is, ma'am. Don't you worry."
"Good." Soladat said with a nod, before turning to Agent May. "Let's get back to the bus. I don't think I can be around her any longer."
"That makes two of us." May agreed.
ooooo
Upon returning to the Bus, Soladat and May found Skye and Ward sparring. After Skye joined the team, Soladat almost immediately reccomended Skye be tutored for hand-to-hand combat training. With three specially trained field operatives on board, one of them being an Avenger, Skye swapped out tutors every few days. Her skills were slowly improving.
Ducking a punch from Ward, Skye, who was wearing a white tanktop, sweat pants, and training gloves, glanced in their direction. She quickly kicked her feet forward, sweeping Ward's legs out form under him and forcing the agent to fall flat on his back with a thud.
"Hey." Skye said, removing her gloves as she smiled at the two women. "You're back."
She reached down, offering Ward a hand. He was glaring at her slightly, but nonetheless took the hand and she helped him up.
Soladat smirked. "Yeah. We're back. Glad to see you're improving."
"I have three of the best teachers." Skye remarked with a smirk. "So what's the dilly on Raina? We got a name for this Clairvoyant guy yet?"
"Unfortunately, no." May said, sounding really disappointed. "She wouldn't talk, so she's being transferred to the Cube for further questioning."
"Well. That's... that sucks." Skye said, equally disappointed. But then she brightened up almost immediately. "But we got a new mission ready. Fury sent it to us himself."
"Seriously?" Soladat said. Nick didn't send missions personally unless it was something serious. "Did he say what it was?"
"He says it's a prisoner transfer." Ward said, speaking for the first time. "He wouldn't tell us exactly who it was he wanted us to transfer, but he said you'd know as soon as we told you the location."
Soladat shrugged. "Okay. So what's the location?"
"Er... I think he said it was called the Playpen?" Skye said, thinking back. "I've never heard of it."
Soladat suddenly froze. "The Playpen?"
May, Ward, and Skye all blinked. Skye nodded slowly. "Yes?"
Soladat gave a groan, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Oh boy."
Ward frowned. "What's the Playpen?"
"I'll explain later. Mel, get us in the air as soon as possible. Once we're up, I want everyone assembled in the debriefing room." Soladat said, turning to march up the stairs and into the meeting area of the bus. "That's an order."
"Yes, ma'am." May said, following Soladat. Ward and Skye were left staring in confusion.
ooooo
Twenty minutes later, the Bus had taken off and was now flying safely along the skyline. Putting the plane on autopilot, May exited the cockpit and found the rest of the team gathered in the debriefing room. Soladat was standing near the wall where the monitor was set up. Fitz, who had Simmons standing next to him as always, tapped a holopad in his hand, and everyone watched as an image came up on the monitor of a small, unassuming building in the middle of a desert. A S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem was plastered on the side.
"This," Soladat said, motioning towards the image, "is the Playpen. It's a maximum security scientific research facility that was constructed two years ago shortly after the Battle of New York to study a... unique super-powered individual. Director Fury has requested that, due to security reasons, the subject be transferred to the Hub for more extensive scientific evaluation. Since the subject and I have an... acquaintanceship with one another, Fury's ordered us to be the ones in charge of the transfer."
"A facility dedicated to the study of one person?" Ward questioned.
"One very powerful person." Soladat corrected. "His powers are the most complex and potentially dangerous out of any we've encountered."
"So he wants us to play cab driver to some guy with superpowers?" Skye said, now wearing a dark hoodie. "Seems simple. This guy dangerous?"
"Only if provoked." Soladat said simply.
"What kind of powers are we dealing about here?" Ward asked. "Environmental? Psychic?"
Soladat glanced at Ward, a sort of spark in her eyes. "Alien."
That caught everyone off guard. Everyone looked at Soladat with mixed expressions, except for May. The Asian woman's eyebrows furrowed in deep thought.
"Alien..." She said, before her eyes lit up in realization. "Wait, do you mean...?"
"Yup." Soladat said, crossing her arms and looking at May with an apologetic smile.
"Oh boy." May muttered.
"Yeah." Soladat sighed.
"Uh, the consultant is lost here." Skye interrupted. "You say alien, but... Fury said you knew it? Is this like with Hikesh? Are we escorting another Prothean refugee or something? Cuz Hikesh wasn't exactly polite company."
"That's probably because you kept badgering him with fangirl drabble."
Soladat turned towards the person who spoke, smiling at Mike Peterson. After the team stopped the man from exploding, he was taken in by S.H.I.E.L.D. for therapeutic treatment, which he passed through in just a few weeks. After which, he was entered in a field training regime to help him better understand his new abilities. His training improved his fighting skills, and his progress convinced Fury to have him transferred to Soladat's team as extra muscle. Everyone except Ward welcomed the new addition, although it took some time for May to get used to his presence, considering he had knocked her out during their first meeting. Soladat found him to be a very adequate sparring partner, since their strength was almost on par, albeit Mike being a little bit stronger than her. If it weren't for him, they probably never would have caught Raina in Hong Kong.
Skye glared at Mike. "I was curious, alright? There was a bloody alien in the same plane as me. Jeez..."
Soladat chuckled. "Moving on. To answer your question Skye, I do know this alien. Probably more than I would like. See, a few months after the Battle of New York, our satellites picked up a UFO, which crashed in the Rocky Mountains. Since no one else was available, Fury sent me in as our first contact crew. Thinking back, he probably could have done better, but the results weren't totally bad. I found the alien and the ship he came in on, and brought them in."
"Wait, I remember reading about that in your biography." Simmons suddenly said. She looked a little worried. "It said that Xegh Hikesh and Bruce Banner were both present, and that Banner transformed. It said that the alien defeated them both on its own."
That got several raised eyebrows. Soladat rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "There were a few bumps in the road that could have been easily avoided. No one got hurt. A small farm got totaled, but everything turned out okay."
"That... doesn't sound very okay." Skye muttered. "Is that even wise? Bringing something aboard that was able to give the Hulk a run for his money?"
Soladat just gave the hacker a smile. "I'll be present. That will be enough to keep him from flipping out."
ooooo
The Playpen was small. Smaller than most S.H.I.E.L.D. installations. On the outside, it resembled a simple bunker, and while there were more labs and tunnel networks beneath, it was still much smaller than other facilities. The entirety of Soladat's team were being led down a corridor towards what the scientists called the Primary Isolations Unit, which was technically the alien's living quarters.
"Frankly, Agent Wrekk, I'm glad that out of all the people Fury could have sent in, it was you." The scientist leading them towards the room said. "The calmest we've seen him is only when your present. Like... imprinting or something."
Soladat smiled. "Nice to see I've left that kind of impression. Have there been any problems since I was last here?"
"Not really." The scientist shrugged. "He's never really shown much hostility unless he was throwing a tantrum. His behavior and overall mentality are comparable to that of a two year-old child. Given his strength and replication capabilities, he can be very dangerous. Fortunately, we found a source of calming substances that keep him relatively docile."
"Wait, replication capabilities?" Simmons said, her curiosity spiking as she marched up to stand alongside the scientist. "Could you please explain?"
"It's one of the powers I mentioned." Soladat explained.
"It's also one of the main reasons we're having him transferred." The scientist continued. "Somehow, the specimen has the ability to temporarily absorb certain genomes from other organisms, melding certain traits to his own biological structure. He used this ability on Xegh Hikesh and the Hulk, temporarily gaining their powers."
"Huh." Skye said, giving a slight grin. "That's trippy."
"Indeed." The scientist nodded. "Unfortunately, we haven't been able to figure out exactly how he's able to do this, so we requested he be moved to the Hub where we could hopefully get better results."
By now, the group had arrived at the door, and the scientist bent down, performing an optical scan before typing in an entry code to unlock the door.
"So, you still haven't explained what this alien looks like." Fitz said, twiddling his thumbs nervously.
"Yeah, are we talking like... E.T.? Close Encounters?" Skye pressed. "Come on, boss lady, you're leaving us in suspense here!"
Soladat smiled in amusement, a look shared with Agent May. Looking at the scientist, Soladat nodded at him. Nodding back, he opened the door, and Soladat was the first to step in. She stopped in the doorway, her entire team crowding around behind her to get a good look at what was inside.
What they saw...
Was not like anything they were expecting.
The room looked like a small living quarters, but without a bed. There was a TV, and a small pillow and blanket resting in front of it that a little kid would curl up in to watch cartoons. In the corner was a small puppy bed with neatly made covers with a space decorations on it. In the center of the room was a small table with two chairs set up on opposite ends. On the table was a small cardboard box, loaded to the brim with what appeared to be tomatoes.
But that wasn't what was drawing everyone's attention. For seated in one of the chairs was a small creature. Its body was small, fluffy, pink, and spherical with large red feet and stubby arms. It had distinctive oval shaped eyes that were white at the top, black in the center and dark blue on the bottom and rosy cheek-blushes near his eyes. Using its stubby arms, it was shoveling loads of tomatoes into its wide mouth, swallowing each load with a greedy gulp. In the middle of its last scoop though, it paused moments before he could shove the pile into his mouth.
It stared at the assembled S.H.I.E.L.D. agents standing at his door, but his eyes were focused on the Archangel.
"Solo?"
Soladat smiled. "Hey, Kirby."
"Solo!" Kirby jumped up from its seat, dropping the tomatoes all over the floor and rushed at Soladat. Everyone but Soladat stepped back a few feet as the little pink creature wrapped his small arms around her legs, nuzzling his cheek against her leg.
She chuckled, patting his head. "Nice to see you, too, little guy."
Kirby's happy little reunion was cut short almost immediately when he sensed another person close to him. Opening his eyes, he blinked at Simmons, who had knelt down and was inspecting him closely.
"Fascinating." She marveled, her hand moving towards him but hesitating as though she were afraid he was toxic. "It looks so unreal, but..."
"Unreal?" Skye said, pushing past the rest of her team so she was kneeling by Kirby with one of the biggest smiles on his face. "This is the most adorable thing I've ever seen!"
Mike stood in the doorway behind Soladat, his eyebrows raised as he stared at the thing. "It's pink."
Ignoring him, Skye gently reached her hand out. "Hey there, little guy. I'm Skye."
Kirby looked at the two women in curiosity. They glowed. Just like Soladat. They were nice. He liked that. Letting go of Soladat, he walked over to Skye, lifting his own stubby appendage and resting it on Skye's palm. Skye's smile grew wider as she gently closed her hand around Kirby's, feeling it in her own. It was soft and fuzzy. And warm.
Kirby smiled. "Poyo."
"Aww." Simmons said, putting a hand up to her grinning mouth. She rested her hand on Kirby's head, running her fingers through his fuzz. Kirby smiled, relaxing into the attention.
Soladat and May watched with amused looks, while Mike continued to stand in the back, a befuddled look on his face. Fitz, smiling a bit, knelt down with the two girls to get a better look at the little alien. Ward, however, stood back, frowning at the little creature in obvious incredulity.
"This is your dangerous alien?" Ward said, looking at Soladat. "Please tell me that this is a joke."
"Ward, if I was joking right now, I'd be rubbing it in your face." Soladat remarked, earning a scowl from Ward. "This is Kirby. Our newest passenger."
"Kirby!" Kirby repeated, smiling up at his favorite human's mentioning of his name.
This almost made Skye squeal. She wrapped her arms around Kirby and nuzzled him. "He's so freaking cute! How can something this small and adorable be so dangerous?"
"Looks can be decieving." Soladat said. She walked into the room, inspecting Kirby's living arrangements to see if he was being treated well. Overall, everything looked okay. But then her eyes fell on the box of tomatoes. That made her look at the scientist.
"What's with the tomatoes?"
The scientist pushed past the rest of Soladat's team to stand next to the Avenger.
"Well, that calming susbtance I mentioned?" The scientist said, motioning towards the tomatoes. "This is it."
"Tomatoes?" Soladat said, blinking. "Seriously?"
The scientist just shrugged helplessly. "Like I said, there's a lot we still don't understand about him. But we tested his dietary functions, and he seems to find every known human food edible. But with tomatoes... he seems to prefer them most. They seem to trigger some kind of euphoric feeling to him. They also greatly increase his vitality and strength above natural levels for a short period of time."
"Huh." Soladat said, inspecting the box.
"Yes." The scientist continued. "Unfortunately, he's also grown so attached to the taste, that he's entered states of distress, so we've had to order a large supply of tomatoes for him. Which is why I have asked Fury to send a supply with you for the trip to the Cube."
"How big is this supply?" May asked. By now, Skye, Fitz, and Simmons were standing again. Skye was cradling Kirby in her arms like a baby.
"The same amount as his daily feeding."
"Which is?" Soladat pressed.
The scientist just nodded towards the opened door. The team turned to see two agents with a hand-pushed forklift that was carrying over twenty crates of tomatoes.
"Oh boy..." Soladat muttered.
"That's..." Skye said, wide-eyed. "That's a lot of tomatoes."
Kirby just smiled and bounced in Skye's arms. "Poyo!"
ooooo
The sun shined along the Mojave Desert, scorching the dunes and roads. The light from the sun reflected, however, off of a single sign set up on the side of the highway. Near it was a small establishment, with the words 'Rosie's Desert Oasis' plastered on the sign.
By a series of picnic tables lined up outside the small building, several motorcycles were parked, the riders, a gruff looking gang, were chatting, drinking, and joking amongst themselves.
They all paused when a sleek silver Volkswagon Beetle drove up along the road and parked at the building. From his position in the driver's seat, Jimmy gave Lorelei a tender smile.
"I just gotta grab something real quick." He explained, his voice monotone. He removed the keys from the ignition, and gave Lorelei a smile. "I'll be right back, my love."
Lorelei gave him a false smile, which vanished as soon as he exited the car and went into the store. Rather than wait in the car, she exited the passenger's seat to stretch her legs. Her green dress flowed in the wind.
The bikers all looked at her, giving a few whistles.
"Would you look at that." One of them said to their leader.
Their leader, a burly looking man, stood up and walked over to Lorelei. "Hey, darling. A gal like you could have any man you want."
Lorelei just stared at him with a cocked eyebrow, studying him. The biker nodded towards the building that Jimmy entered. "Why'd you marry that little dude? He loaded?"
Lorelei just looked in Jimmy's direction impassively. "He is not my husband. I took him from his bride earlier today."
This caused the biker to lift his eyebrows in surprise. Lorelei kept speaking. "I needed him to provide safe passage."
"You in trouble?" The biker asked. "Cuz if you need a place to lay low for a while, this place is as good as any."
Lorelei jumped slightly, giving a surprised 'oh!' when one of the bikers got on his motorcycle, revving up the engine and driving off. Lorelei watched him drive away with obvious intrigue.
"What kind of beast is that?"
The biker grinned. "That's a 1987 Heritage Softail. You can hop on mine if you want to feel her roar."
Lorelei followed the biker curiously, watching him polish his own motorcycle with a cloth. She smiled, running her hand along the smooth metals of the bike. "Hm. How grand. What is your name?"
The biker smiled in slight pride. He pointed to a tag on his jacket that read 'Rooster'. "My men, they call me Rooster."
That caused Lorelei to perk up. "You have men?"
She glaced at the assorted bikers. "You are their leader?"
Rooster chuckled. "Last time I checked, yeah."
Lorelei's grin grew wider, and she reached forward slowly, resting her hand on Rooster's shoulder. Rooster jumped slightly at the contact, an intense warmth running through him. As Lorelei spoke, he felt a feeling of desire towards her, something that wasn't present before.
"You and your men," she said, "now serve me."
Rooster just stared at her dumbly. Jimmy, meanwhile, exited the building, stopping when he saw Lorelei touching another man. He fumed in anger and stomped over to them.
"This guy bothering you?"
Lorelei didn't even face him, she kept her eyes on Rooster, grinning. "No. He's with me now."
"What?" Jimmy said, shocked. He grabbed her arm, and Lorelei stiffened, her smug facade fading, and now replaced by an irritated one. "No, I'm with you! You said we would be together forever!"
Lorelei harshly yanked her arm away, glaring at Jimmy. "I said we'd be together til the end. It is, the end."
Lorelei backhanded Jimmy against his chest, and he yelled as he flew backwards, sailing through the air before bashing his head against his car. There was a loud crack as his neck was broken, and he body rolled over the car and onto the dirt. The bikers all looked at the display in shock. Lorelei was indifferent, a smile on her face.
Rooster looked at Lorelei with wide eyes. "Who are you?"
Lorelei grinned. "I am Lorelei. Now..."
Lorelei turned around, looking at the assorted bikers who were staring back from her to Jimmy's dead body. She grinned.
"Introduce me to all of my men."
And there you all have it. Kirby is finally back. And Lorelei is brewing up trouble. Now, for Kirby's love for tomatoes, according to various sources, those are his favorite food. Understandable, considering in his games, tomatoes healed him up instantly.
iamgoku: Love this chapter and love the story overall, will there be any she-hulk possibly ?
Well, Jennifer Walters has already been featured so... maybe :3
Guest: Amazing story! You did some serious planning for your stories. You have my respect! Btw the Lorelei episode took place 10 days before the winter soldier. You can find a detailed timeline on the marvel cinematic universe wiki. You're welcome.
Thank you. And yes, that was a mistake on my part. Looking back though, it doesn't really matter. The Lorelei ark here was mainly included because 1) It was probably the first real bit in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season One that actually piqued my curiosity, and 2) Kirby needed a means of making his debut in this fic. You'll see what I mean by that later...
So anyway, leave a review and tell me what you think :)