When the plane finally landed in LA, Saphira was relieved to finally be here. Her day had been full of stuff that has kept her busy, and she was looking forward to being able to just put her feet up and going to bed. She knew that she wanted to buy a new car while she worked on her new assignment here, but she would likely have to wait for the day after. She knew she was here for undercover work, but she did not have the full details just yet. She walked through the extremely busy airport and grabbed her luggage before she made her way through the building as she looked around for Fury.
She did not find him until she walked out of the front, and found Nick waiting for her at the pickup, drop off space. She smiled when she saw him and dragged her luggage towards the black Mercedes he was standing by. It was really good to finally be here, and she was looking forward to just relaxing. Sure, she would likely look over the new materials that Fury has with him, but she was not going to sit down and start studying them.
"Afternoon, Saphira." Nick reached out to grab one of Saphira's bags, and she noticed he had a chauffeur with him as the man got out of the car and opened the trunk for them. "I heard you were able to complete your assignment successfully in Orlando. I know it wasn't the type of job you are used to, but you did a good job."
Saphira smiled at the man as she gave her bag to the driver as the man lifts her bags into the trunk. "Yeah…I wanted a nice, long, chase…but that certainly did not happen." Fury opened the door for her with a smile, and she grinned back at him. "Thank you very much, Fury." She was quick to take a seat in the backseat. "Though despite how easy it was, I am so looking forward to just relaxing for the rest of the day."
The man just smiled at her as he fully understood. "Yeah, I do apologize for the long day. But it was important, and it had to be dealt with." He closed the door for her before walking to the other side where the chauffeur was waiting with the door open and the man slid into the car before the door was closed. "But you are here now."
Saphira arched her back as she stretched her arms out in front with a light yawn. The chauffeur got into the driver seat and drove away from the parking space to make his way into the city itself. "Yep, I am. And you want me to go undercover. I am curious as to how you want me to go undercover. And I would like to know why I have to go undercover. It seems like I am not going to be spying on anyone."
"No, you are not." Fury grabbed out a red folder and a suitcase. "I am sure Clint told you, but he discovered these artefacts when he and his family travelled to Alaska on his vacation." Fury opened the suitcase, and Saphira saw various instruments that used to be used by sailors many years ago. None of them really stood out to her. "It was not the actual artefacts that have got us interested. It is the documents and glasses that were found with them." He gave Saphira the folder and she opened it to see old paper inside. She carefully pulled them out to find a map of the Arctic circle, news article about Captain Witwicky and notes with the symbols she has been trying to translate. Fury opened a small glasses case and Saphira looked at it to see the pair of glasses. She frowned as there appeared to be something on the glass themselves. "There is something on these glasses. We are not sure what it is, but your new place of residence has the items that you will need to study them closely."
Saphira looked at the pages carefully before she slid them back into the folder and closed it, looking at Fury curiously. "This is all good and all…but…how is this undercover exactly? I am still a little confused. Since I am going to be studying all of this instead of spending time looking for someone…" Fury just grinned at her in amusement and Saphira placed her hand on her hip. "Why are you smiling? Are you seriously finding this funny?" She shook her head in amusement at him. "Just tell me what the damn assignment is!"
"Alright, alright, hold your horses." She rolled her eyes at him as she knew he was just playing with her. "Your assignment will be to act like a teenager searching for answers about Archibald Witwicky. You are to simply create a blog with some information, and asking questions regarding possible answers for the symbols and those glasses. Since you aren't close to even understanding what the symbols mean or say, it is safe to assume you need extra help."
"Oh…I see…" Saphira was definitely not expecting that at all. "Seems like an easy enough assignment. Should I expect to go to school as well?" Fury shook his head and she was relieved. "Thank goodness for that. I remember when you had me go to school in 2002 for undercover, and that made me want to kill the target so quickly so I could get out of it."
"School isn't that bad, Saphira. It has improved a lot more since your time."
"That might be true…but…" Saphira let out a deep sigh as she thought back to it. "It was so hard to act like a child who is still learning their grammar and math. I know getting high grades was not hard for me, but still…it was by far the most frustrating thing I had to do. So I thank you for not making me do it again." She smiled at him as the man seemed to be grinning from amusement. "At least all I got to do is seem like a teenager writing out a blog for people to see and hopefully get answers. I am not sure if we will, but it is something." She glanced out the window curiously before looking back at Fury. "I also need to get a new car."
"Yeah, I know. But I doubt you want to do that today, do you?" She shook her head affirmatively. "I think we can do that tomorrow. If you don't mind, I'm going to stick around tonight, get you your new car and head off to New York. I have other things that I need to do."
"So I guess I have a nice house to sleep in, right?"
"Yes, you do." Fury grabbed out a black folder and pulled out some pictures of the house. It was a very nice, large, two-storey house with a large yard and plenty of space for a car. "This place in South Gate. I think you'll enjoy it. It has a tone of space, and you can do some gardening. I know you enjoy some gardening."
Saphira looked through the different pictures of the house she would be living in. It had three bedrooms, including the master bedroom on the top floor with its own ensuite and plenty of storage space, a large kitchen, a second bathroom for the guest rooms, a large living and office space and laundry room. It was definitely a nice house with a nice yard and a nice garden to maintain. She smiled as it was a very nice place. It even had a fountain in the yard.
"This is really nice." Saphira looked at him with a smile. "So is it purchased or rented? I am quite happy to snap it up now with my own cash. It looks super nice, and I would love to use it as a place to stay if we ever need to come back to LA."
Fury chuckled softly at her curiosity. "I had thought you would want it, so it is purchased. That way if you damage it, you don't need to deal with a landlord hanging over your head. But you still have to pay for it, obviously." She giggled again, mostly because she was amused by his wording. "I know you'll take care of it. Just need a car for this new house, and you will be all set."
"I suppose that means there's no food in the house." Saphira hummed for a moment as she felt her stomach growling. "Maybe we should stop on the way and pick up a pizza. I can go and do some grocery shopping tomorrow, so that won't be a big deal."
"Sounds like a good idea to me. The house is all fully furnished, so you don't need to worry about that." That was good, that was the second thought that Saphira had in her mind as she was worried that the house would be empty upon arrival. "That just means stocking the fridge and your wardrobe will be left to you. Though I know you have enough clothes for now so it should be okay."
Saphira definitely had enough clothes with her. It wouldn't be hard to go and buy new clothes either. She did have plenty of money saved up in her bank account so it wouldn't be difficult. But since she would be undercover, she would need to buy clothes of different sizes. Especially if she has to disguise herself as a teenager. Though she would only have to make herself look younger than she already did. Currently, her appearance made her look like she was in her mid twenties. She only had to change that to make herself look about fifteen, and that would be enough.
Their driver made his way through the city to South Gate before stopping by a pizza store so that Saphira and Fury could get a pizza. Though they ended up with buying two large pizzas, a garlic bread and a bottle of coke to share between themselves. Saphira did learn that the driver was someone who worked with Shield, so it was fine to openly discuss things to each other, but Saphira still felt it necessary to not be too open about everything. Especially since not everyone knows about her mutations.
When they finally arrived at the house, Fury gave her the keys to the house. It was a really nice house when they finally arrived. It was rather big for one person like her, but there was plenty of room for when Fury, Natasha or Clint needed to be in LA for any kind of reason. Plus having a large house would make it seem like she had parents, so if anyone were to see her at the house, they won't be suspicious.
Now that they were in the living room, they were currently watching some baseball on TV while they eat the pizza and garlic bread. Saphira had not yet gone up to check her new room, which will be the master bedroom, but she was in no hurry. She was quite happy to spend a bit of time relaxing with Fury before she would get herself ready for bed and set up the blog post. She had considered waiting until the next day, but decided against it.
"I have to admit, it is interesting that there is a person who lived and somehow began to write those strange symbols," Fury said as he sipped some of the coke from his glass while they wait for the ads to finish. "It is a shame the guy is long dead, because he would be important to talk to."
"It would be good." Saphira bit into her pizza slice as she pondered on it. "Hmm…I wonder what the article says about him. It seems there was more than one news article in that folder, so maybe there will be some information about where he found the symbols. Though…if it does happen to be something in the Arctic…" She pondered on the very idea of it. "Hmm…might be something Shield needs to explore."
Fury did not seem too thrilled about it, but to find answers, he would certainly want to look into it. "I guess that is true. I am not exactly thrilled about the idea of freezing my butt off, but if the answer happens to be at the North Pole, then hopefully the ice has ensured that whatever it is has remained in stasis long enough for us to find it."
Saphira could not help but agree. "Not the most ideal place, but hopefully there is something that can answer our questions." She looked at the folder and case with the contents in them before she stood up from the couch. "I think I am going to go check out the master bedroom." She grabbed her bags first as she would come back for the folder and case in a moment. "By the way, is the internet set up here? I forgot to ask in case I have to do it."
"The internet is ready to go. The modem in on the desk in the master bedroom." Saphira was happy to hear that as she walked towards the stairs. Fury stood up and grabbed the folder and case before he followed her. "I could take one of those bags for you."
"Thanks, Fury, but I am fine." She began walking up the stairs and Fury followed behind her. "You know that I am more than capable of handling these bags." The man chuckled a little as they reach the second floor. "Anyway, thanks for bringing the small stuff up here, I will probably take a good look at the documents once I get it all out for photos."
"You are most welcome, Saphira. You have been a very good asset to Shield and I know this will be very much like a vacation for you since there is not going to be any kind of action. But it is important since the symbols could point towards some kind of alien evidence." This was not new for Fury to say this. After he told her what happened when he met Carol Denvers many years ago and the events that took place, Saphira did believe that aliens existed. Though she never really doubted that, there just wasn't proof to see. "I also would say that you don't need to be too focused on it. You've been working on those symbols for years, and we are no closer to solving them."
"I know. And I plan on taking my time." Saphira peered into the room as they pass by them until she spotted the master bedroom. She smiled as she saw the queen bed already made up and ready for use. There was a desk with the modem on it, and a computer ready for her to use. Dark grey curtains were open across the windows and the room itself had white paint on all the walls. It was a nice room, and the wooden floorboards were well polished. "This is really such a nice house, Fury. Thanks for getting this for me. Hopefully, I will be able to get you some answers."
"I hope so too." She placed her suitcases down before turning to Fury to take the folder and case from him. Fury smiled at her politely. "You really look tired. If you happen to sleep in tomorrow, I might just have to wake you up since my flight is in the afternoon, so I don't want to miss it for the sake of waiting for you to get a new car."
"Pfft, you'll be fine, Fury. But I will keep that in mind." She glanced down the hallway at the other two rooms. "I guess you'll just pick a room to sleep in, right?" He nodded affirmatively. "Alright. I'll probably be up for a little bit longer. I am tired, but there's still the blog to start up."
"Don't stress yourself too much, Saphira." Fury turned and walked away from her to head downstairs. "I'll just tidy up and get my bag up to one of the rooms. I will see you in the morning."
Saphira nodded as she closed the door and walked over to the desk to turn the computer on. She placed the folder and case on the desk and began unpacking her clothes while she allowed the computer to boot up. Once it was ready, Saphira went onto the internet to locate a good, popular blog website to post her blog post. It took a while, but she eventually found a good site. The first thing she needed was a picture of herself. So Saphira walked over to the mirror to watch as she used her abilities to make herself look much younger than she is now, and a bit shorter as well.
She smiled at herself as she admired what she saw. She still kept her black hair and green eyes, so that was unchanged. With that, she took a photo of herself and took a photo of the news articles and glasses. She didn't bother with the map or the ship instruments that she has, as they weren't the main thing she wanted people to see. She than uploaded the pictures to the computer to upload to her first blog post. She did have to think of a name though.
I guess I could use the username of MystiqueLife120…that's a unique name, I guess.
Happy with the username, she went ahead and completed the profile with the first post and asking if there was someone who might know about Archibald Witwicky. She knew there likely would not be any kind of answer for a while. But it was now up on the blog site, and Saphira was happy that was finally done. Though just as she finished, she did wondered if there was anything else in the room.
And there wasn't. So she showed and went to bed. She was very happy to go to sleep as she was very tired after such a long day. But she felt very fulfilled, and she knew that tomorrow she would be getting a new car and she was looking forward to it. She wasn't going to get an expensive car, as she was very happy with a used car. Especially since she liked classic vehicles more than the newer models.
When the next morning finally arrived, Saphira did not wake up until it was after nine thirty, mostly because Fury had taken it into his own hands to wake her up. She wasn't entirely happy, but he did warn her that he was going to do it. With that, they left the house to get some breakfast at a nearby café while Saphira thought about where she would get a new car. She had looked up some places on the computer before leaving, and she found one close to home.
"What kind of car do you think you will get today?" Fury asked her curiously as he cut into the fried egg on his plate. "I am sure you will find a nice old classic as one of the used dealerships. But if they don't have one, will you be fine with an old wagon or something?"
"Of course, I will. I don't mind the newer cars that are being made today, but nothings beats the old classics." Saphira smiled at him as she swallowed a piece of toast she had been chewing. "But I will be checking the quality of the cars. Used cars do come with issues. I don't need to be worried about working an something that needs a lot of repairs while waiting to see if we get answers about the symbols."
"I know. But I am sure it will be fine." Fury put the piece of egg into his mouth to eat. "I guess you will be checking your blog messages when you get home too. Though I doubt you will get a message for at least a week."
"I know, and I will keep updating the blog so people see it and it won't get lost." Saphira finished off her meal as she and Fury were almost finished with their meals. She grabbed her glass to drink the last of the juice. "I intend to take a closer look at those glasses as well. I think that there is something on them that we can't see properly, but there is definitely something on them."
"Do you have the right instruments?"
"Yep, I always have them handy, Fury." Saphira could tell that the man was a tad surprised, but it was totally fine. "I am well prepared, Fury. You should know that I don't go anywhere without being prepared." The man just chuckled a little with an affirmative nod of understanding. "Besides, the tool needed needs to look at such small details like what is on the glasses, so I am not sure if you would find that tool."
"Alright, well, I guess you beat me to it." Fury finished off his breakfast and drank the last of his juice just as the waiter came over to clear the table and give them their cheque. Both he and Saphira grab out cash to pay for the meals and leave enough for a tip before they get up and leave the café. "So where are we going to go to get this new car of yours?"
"Bolivia's Finest Quality Used Cars…" The man raised an eyebrow at the name of the dealer they were heading to. Saphira smiled at him and shrugged as they approach the car. The chauffeur was waiting for them. The man had his breakfast already before driving them around the city again. "Yeah, that's the name of the place we are heading to. Plus, it was the one closest to the house, so I figured it wouldn't be a problem."
"I guess I understand, I guess it always makes me laugh when they have to put in finest quality cars in their logo." The man chuckled a little as they both get into the car and got comfortable while the chauffeur closed the doors and got into the driver seat to drive away from the café to the dealership. "Did you inform our driver…"
"I did. You need not worry." Saphira glanced out the window as she thought she saw an old camaro parked on the side of the road. She turned her head to try and see it before she sighed. "Damn! I thought I saw a nice, old camaro just now. And I missed it."
"I didn't see it either." Fury could see the disappointment on her face and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I don't think there is much of a reason to be upset. You never know, Bolivia's might have a similar car to what you saw. An old Dodge or mustang, maybe."
"Now those would be cars I would love to drive." Saphira smiled immediately at the very idea of owning those muscle cars. "But I can't buy two today, that would be kind of silly. Though I may end up with both eventually, depending on how long I am in this city."
"You do already have a few, old Cadillacs stored in your New York mansion, so I would not be surprised." She rolled her eyes in amusement at the man's teasing. "And I am not even going to forget that old, 1982, Porsche 911. You can't seem to get enough of those old cars. Though, I must admit…" She glanced at Fury with a knowing smirk. "That Porsche is a rather nice car, so I can see why you wanted to buy it."
"It is also for nostalgia. Still, I was born in nineteen, fifteen, and I have seen how cars have evolved over time since than. There have been so many changes and advancements out there that it isn't funny. I can't get something from too far back, but I like what I am able to get now." Saphira glanced out the window again as the driver drove through the city and she looked back at Fury. "Where is Phil, by the way? I expected to see him here with you."
"He has other business to attend to at this time, Saphira. He did want to be here, but work got in the way. Besides, I think just having me here is more than enough." She wasn't going to argue with that. "Phil will be the one who will drop in to check on you from time to time. I am afraid I won't be able to do that very much…maybe once every few months or something. But you know who to call if something happens."
"I most certainly do."
Saphira did not know how she truly felt about this whole undercover business, but it would give her time to relax. Mostly because over the last year she has been going on missions very regularly, so this was going to be a very nice, relaxing mission that she has been appointed with. So she was going to enjoy it as much as possible. The first step was to buy a new car, and take her time finding out more about Archibald Witwicky and the symbols he had written out. And maybe figure out what was on the glasses that may finally help to translate what the symbols mean after all these years.
