Revamped!
[I'm in a very good mood. Not only is this story off to a good start, but reading the feedback from Emily and Britney's stories just made me so happy. To find out that there have been people who have been with the stories for so long and haven't left just gives me so much hope and gratitude. This third chapter is dedicated to you].
Chapter 3: Let's Start
Greyhound Bus Terminal - New Orleans, Louisiana - 8:00 AM
Angela has been sitting on the bus for thirteen hours straight. She has been on the edge of her seat for the entirety of the bus ride. Her heart has been racing for about six hours, she fell asleep for about three hours, and she stared out the window for the rest of the ride. Her eyes have been on her hands that rest on her large baby bump the whole time she was awake, stroking her hand up and down to distract her heavy eyes from closing again due to fatigue since she had to keep her focus on her bump to keep it safe. She couldn't risk sleeping during a time like this with eyes looking everywhere for her, despite her eyes being incredibly heavy.
When the bus finally arrived at the destination, she removes her hood and shakes her head to wake herself up and fix her newly chopped hair before making her way off the bus. That's when she realized she was in New Orleans. She originally jumped on the first bus she saw leaving Tampa with no idea of its final destination. She's content that it ended up being in a different state.
She walks through the bus terminal slowly, keeping her eyes open to make sure nobody suspicious is watching or looking for her. The televisions surrounding her on the walls don't mention anything about the museum robbery so that calms her nerves a little. Either it was a local news report or they're still on the hunt but just not informing the media. Perks of being in a new state. She buys an overpriced water bottle, ironic since it was the cheapest beverage on the menu. As she takes a sip, she looks at the bottom of the escalator and thinks she sees a familiar face. Angela shakes it off, thinking she's being paranoid as she continues going the other way. There's no way in hell she would recognize someone here. She doesn't even know people here. She passes several other travellers and can't help but think that these people have a destination and a plan in mind whereas she has no next step. She sighs, deciding whether to take a seat and rest or just continue walking across the terminal. She chooses the latter and takes another sip of her water before continuing her way.
Angela suddenly pauses as she feels something knot up in her gut. Without looking, she hears hushed ordered whispers telling everyone else in the bus terminal they're being escorted to the exit. Nobody's escorting her because they're here for her. She drops her water bottle on the ground and she watches it spill as her hand hovers over her baby bump. Her eyes widen in surprise as she grits her teeth, trying her hardest to keep her screams in. Angela remains calm although she doesn't know what to do at this moment. She's winging it.
"Need help?" A voice behind her asks.
Angela suddenly freezes at the familiarity of that voice. She turns around and is faced with the man she thought she recognized at the bottom of the escalator, realizing that she did know him.
"I got a bad feeling in my stomach that it'd be you," Angela replies sharply. She's honestly happy to see him.
Xavier, in his SHIELD uniform, smiles at her. She glares at him through her sunglasses but then breaks into the smallest smile. Out of all the people she knows, she could never stay mad at her twin brother. She did want to be mad at him for wearing his SHIELD uniform when she's currently hiding from every other authority party out there.
"C'mon, sis," Xavier says loud enough for the people around him to hear, "time to take you to the hospital. We have to deliver my niece or nephew into the world."
Time to make a scene nobody will question. A woman going into labour? Perfect.
Xavier picks her up and begins rushing through the terminal, apologizing to the people he or Angela accidentally hit with her flailing feet. He runs down the stairs heading towards the exit. Angela screams in pain, gripping her stomach at the sight of policemen. Xavier immediately turns around and runs the other way to find another exit.
"Hurry!" Angela exclaims, tugging on Xavier's collar.
Xavier looks around and ends up back in the middle of the bus terminal. He spins around quickly and sees the entire terminal surrounded by various types of police. Angela tries not to panic at the idea that she's been cornered this whole time.
"Your timing is perfect!" Angela exclaims sarcastically.
"You could say so yourself," Xavier replies.
As people are slowly being evacuated out of the bus terminal, Xavier looks around, pleading softly for a miracle to happen - it comes. Merida pops out from one of the concessions stands with two guns in her hands. She stands on the counter and begins shooting at all the surrounding forces with icers. James flies around from above, doing the same with his bioelectricity blasts. The external forces begin firing back but Merida is too quick as James is too small for them to get a proper aim on.
"Cover us!" Xavier yells at them.
"Protect the baby!" Angela adds in a piercing scream almost strains her voice.
Xavier carries Angela out, running away from oncoming attacks. James flies all around them, defending them at all costs from every angle. The three of them approach a police van and Xavier gets him and his twin inside. Even before the doors are closed, Daniel, who sits in the driver's seat, slams on the gas. Angela lies on her side with her body craned over her baby bump to protect it as Xavier sits beside her, closing the door. James grows back to his normal size in the passenger's seat as a thump is heard on the roof. James holds up his fists and blasts the back window broken for Merida to slide through. She takes a seat on Angela's other side, squeezing herself in the backseat that was already occupied by the Rogers twins.
"That was fun!" James exclaims, his body pumping with fresh adrenaline.
Angela sits up with Xavier's help and faces her friends, trying to think of something to say but has nothing. James turns around and smiles brightly at her.
"Cute haircut," James compliments, touching the ends of her hair that dangle just above her shoulders.
Angela looks at him, her baby bump, and back at him. Her expression of confusion wonders why he hasn't asked about the baby bump that she didn't tell anyone about. Everyone had questions but nobody knew what to ask first - the robbery, the pregnancy, or how the hell she ended up in New Orleans. James's eyes look down at the bump and only his eyebrows go up in surprise.
"That better be mine," he says.
Angela puts a hand on his cheek and smiles wildly. "It isn't."
As James's expression drops, Merida laughs. Angela makes her two hands into fists and punches her baby bump which causes everyone to jump a little. To their surprise, it begins deflating. Angela reaches into her hoodie and pulls out a deflated beach ball, revealing the fraud of her pregnancy just to help her hide from the police (along with the haircut). Angela rips open the beach ball and shows the billion-dollar ring from the robbery the television was talking about. It sparkles in several colours because of the multitude of jewels in every colour and a band of pure silver and gold.
"Even I don't have the balls to punch a baby bump," Merida states. "I applaud you, Angela."
"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" A confused James asks anyone who is willing to answer him.
"Did you steal that ring from the museum?" Daniel asks her. "We doubted the news to be true at first but now we're starting to think differently."
Angela sighs. "The ring is over a billion dollars so no ordinary security guard could be in charge of it, even with its series of complex biometric alarms surrounding it. My SO gave me this mission and warned me about a thief who has been on the radar for stealing the world's most valuable items so I was secretly assigned to watch it. I was undercover for a month as a museum curator … even had to study art history for a week to look like I knew my stuff. I spent my nights there. Eventually, the thief showed up and maneuvered her way through the security system successfully. We both fought each other and when the alarms went off, she made a run for it before claiming the piece of jewelry. I knew she would have returned eventually and since she could get through the alarms, I stole the ring to protect it. Stupid move, I know, but I had no choice."
"Then everyone just assumed that you were the thief," Xavier finishes. Angela nods. "Well, we have the ring so there's no more this thief could do."
Angela shakes her head as she holds up the ring to Xavier's face. "This ring is only the beginning."
[Sorry, guys, but none of them are having babies at this point. They have missions to complete first].
