Noelle - Day 311 (Whatever, Call it a Marathon)

Hi guys!
I give up on actually writing blog posts.  I've been staying up late at night thinking because I can't sleep, so I'm exhausted in the morning like everyday.  Seriously, today I woke up and my first words were, "I am a literal pancake" and I think that describes my thoughts on today pretty well.  Plus moving prep, preparing for an art show coming soon, trying to keep up with high-school classes, and all around slowly dying, I just haven't had time to post on here, or even on Steve the Wimpy Dragon. :(

Anyway, here, I guess this is technically a RMS marathon now so...MOAR.

The Survivors (Parts 45 & 46)

Sam stayed behind while the sisters trooped off into right-hand cave.  They had carefully narrowed down everything that they would need, taking a bare minimum and leaving most of it back at the warehouse.  They didn’t know when or if they would need to return to that safe house, so Jess insisted that they keep something there.

Jess dug through a bag while Sam unloaded the weapons and set them on a stone shelf that Jess created.  Suddenly, his fingers brushed against a cold metal spiral.  He glanced at Jess - she was busy - and gripped it.  It was a notebook.

A red cover glared at him from between the sniper gun and a package stun grenades.  The only indication of what it might be was that Jess’s handwriting was scrawled across the cover.  C.L. and Family.  

“Hey Jess,” He said, not taking his eyes off the bag, “What’s this notebook?”

“Notes that aren’t for you.  Hand it over,” Jess muttered and snatched it out of his hands.

“Fine then.”

Blue returned, brushing her fingers through her brightly-colored hair and wearing a rather comfortable looking outfit - a furry parka, slipped on over cargo pants and combat boots, all shades of blue, of course.  “Do we have food supplies?”  She said sleepily.  The jet lag of teleporting half-way across the planet was incredible - and even Jess, who was used staying up all night, was starting to feel it.

“It was enough for Sam and I for a month...if we don’t eat a ton, we should be able to make it last maybe three weeks?”  She said, stashing the notebook in her own backpack.

“Doubtful.  You know how hungry Elise gets,” Blue commented, making the electricity ball that was lighting the room rise to the ceiling and collapsing in the corner, already half-asleep.

Jess smirked.  “I forgot about that.  Still, we’ve got to make it last.  There’s a town about twenty miles north of here, but they’ll get suspicious if I come too often.”

“Katy,” She muttered and fiddled with the sniper gun that Jess had provided her.  “What’s the range on this thing?”

“The name’s Jess.  As far as it can see.  Stark Tech,” Jess said, spinning a pair of custom-handled pistols around her fingers.  Sam was sitting opposite Blue, equally exhausted.

Red strutted in, wearing a similar outfit to her sister.  “And what would a girl like you be doing with Stark Tech?”  She said, pulling her shoulder-length hair up in a pony tail.

“Long story short, he’s a family friend.”

“Who, Stark?”

“Yeah.”

“You have got to tell me your real story some time, Miss Foster Girl.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Whatevs,” Red commented.  “Can I use these knives?”

Sam sighed, sleepy.  “I’m going to bed,” He announced.  “We do have sleeping bags, right?”

“I have three sleeping bags,” Jess said.  “I’ll go without one.”  She vanished into the hole on the left, ignoring the darkness and using her powers to guide herself.  A blue glow chased after her, annoyingly insistent.

“You will not freeze yourself to death!  My helmet produces heat, I can wear it while I sleep,” Sam said once he caught up with her.

Jess smirked.  “I’ll be fine.  You forget who’s only a half-human on the team.  Part-stone, remember?”

“You can’t push yourself like this,” Sam nagged.  “Even stone can get cold.”

“Sam, I’ll be fine.”

“I hate you.”

“Feeling's mutual,” She muttered, although they both knew that the other was lying.

******

Sam woke up the next morning alone.  The room, lit by lightning, was empty.  He rolled over, checking behind his back for anything, then flopped back down to stare at the rough, rock ceiling.  This is nutz, he thought.  What if S.H.I.E.L.D. catches us?  What would they do to me?  He paused, listening.  A girl’s laugh echoed off the walls.  What would they do to Jess?  He wondered.

He meandered into the main area, scratching his head and wondering if Jess had brought coffee. “Morning, sleepy head,” Elise said from one side of a stone table that certainly hadn’t been there yesterday.  Jess was typing on her laptop and muttering something about solar power.  Blue was loading and unloading a gun over and over again, like a nervous assassin.  Now that’s an interesting thought, Sam mused, still only half-awake.

“What time is it?”  He mumbled, plopping down on the floor.

“Time for you to wake up and smell the non-existent coffee, but precisely, 9:34 AM Kazakhstan time,” Jess said, not taking her eyes of the screen.  “What sort of connections do you have underground, Red?”

“None.  Echo and I wiped ourselves off the face of the earth to get away from Taskmaster.  Wanted us for a school or something.”

“Dang...well, I’m sure Fury’s little toy heros will take care of it,” She muttered and continued typing.

“Jess!”  Sam snapped.

“What?”

“Don’t call them that!”

Jess ignored him and closed her computer.  “I think I know what we should do.”

Everybody looked at her, surprised.  “What do you mean?” Red questioned, saying what was on everybody’s mind.

“Well, we’re on the run, right?  We’re going to need weapons, and information, right?  There’s only one person, one organization, that knows S.H.I.E.L.D. better than S.H.I.E.L.D. knows S.H.I.E.L.D."  Jess paused for dramatic effect.  She had their attention and she knew it.

“Hydra?”  Sam said, curious.

“Heck no, Hydra has their head in the ground more than our hero buddies on the east coast.  I’m talking about someone way more powerful, with way more connections.  If somebody has their eyes on S.H.I.E.L.D. and Stark Industries, it’s Charles Lake.”

“Who?”  The sisters chorused, quickly followed by Nova.  Jess wasn’t surprised, but she had half-wished that somebody had recognized that name.  Anybody.

“He’s a multi-billionaire.  We’re talking Tony Stark-rich.  Good luck finding him, because he disappeared when I was like eight or something, but he’s the one who funds all these organizations.  Oscorp, at least, the evil side of Oscorp-”

“-Oscorp has an evil side?”  Red commented.  “I knew that there was something off about that company!”

“-some Hydra off-spurts, AIM, super-soldier scientists, you name it, and Charles Lake is probably behind it.  He’s like, All Things Evil Inc.”

Sam sighed.  “And you want to team up with him?!  I thought we were avoiding evilness.”

Jess had never looked so insulted.  “Team up with him!?  No!  Don’t ever, ever, say that, Sammie.”  Sam looked very insulted as well, but mainly because of this new nickname.  “Anyway, no, I don’t want to team up with him or get a job under him or go anywhere near him.  The guys oozes evil, not to mention that he has almost every scientist in the world under his thumb.  This is the guy who funds Captain America’s super-soldier serum research!”

“Wait, Cap isn’t evil AT ALL,” Sam said.

“No,” Elise said shrewdly, tapping her fingers together supervillain-style, “But that means that this Charles Lake has the super serum and probably has improved it since the 1940s.  Wouldn’t that make him super old Jess?”

“Oh,” Sam said.

“He’s also the person responsible for my powers,” Jess added, tucking her hair behind her left ear and carefully ignoring Red’s question.

“Wo wo wo,” Elise said, jumping up and away from the table.  “How do we know you weren’t brainwashed by him or something!?  You could be programmed, or hired by him, or forced to do stuff...weirder stuff has happened!”

Jess smiled pleasantly.  “Actually, I was programmed.  That doesn’t mean I’m not responsible for my actions.  And I won’t deny that I’ve have been vaguely evil in past.  But no need to freak out!”

“I want a detail of your powers,” Red demanded.

“And why would I give those details to you?”

“Because I want to make sure you’re not dangerous!”

“Jess-” Sam started, but she waved him down.

“I’m not going to say every one of my powers to a total stranger.”

“I’m your best friend!”

“You were, but what makes you think that I haven’t changed in two years?!  I’m not the girl you knew in New Jersey, and neither are you!”

Dead silence.  Blue looked frightened - Red was seething.  “Fine,” she said, collapsing on the floor.  “Keep it to yourself, Katy.”

“It’s Jess!”  The blonde girl shouted and stomped off to her room.

§§§

I don't even have time/energy for a daily, so have a great day and bye!