A Chance Across Time

Popularity Has Its Pluses and Minuses

Half an hour had passed since the officer had left my cell shaking her head and mutter something about how she got all the weird cases pulling the night shift.

It shouldn't take this long. He's always come when I needed him in the past. What's taking him so long, I thought as I paced the floor.

There was a commotion in the hallway outside of the door leading out to the main offices and I could hear raised voices. It sounded like two men and a woman demanding to be let through. This didn't sound like anyone I knew. I could feel the sweat on the back of my neck starting to rise and my heart began beating slightly harder. I didn't know why, but everything inside told me I had to get out of there.

I began shaking the bars trying desperately to find a way to free myself, but it was too late. The outside door opened and in walked the previous officer followed by three people, who I could only assume were the same I had just heard shouting demands.

On the lapel of the blazer worn by the woman I could just make out the three letters that set my blood to ice water. TVA or the Time Variance Authority.

We knew about them in my universe. They were the keepers of time. They stepped in when too many changes began happening to the continuum of time. To them time must flow smoothly, with minimal bumps. They weren't good guys or bad guys, in fact they really couldn't care less for either side. But keeping the order of all things was most important to them. And when there was disorder, that's when an agent stepped in to try to set right what had been set askew. Even if that meant erasing the anomaly from the timeline completely.

These were the ones that bedtime stories were made about to warn little kids from causing trouble. Boogeymen under the bed had nothing on these guys.

"Well Madison, it looks like I've got to turn you over to the federal authorities instead of your family," the officer explained as she began to unlock the cell.

I backed as far into the corner of the cell as possible but of course that wouldn't do anything. I had apparently broken the space/time rules and they were here to collect me.

One of the men, a large hulking man grabbed my upper arm and jerked me forward. I was barely able to stay on my feet he pulled me along so hard down the hallway leading out. The officer behind me began to protest explaining that I had been cooperative so far and that kind of force wasn't necessary, but they didn't care or listen. If anything they just moved faster, dragging me outside the precinct to the awaiting car.

Rage was boiling inside me. I could feel it bubbling up from deep in my gut. It felt like my neck was on fire. The more they dragged me away the angrier I got till finally I snapped.

"NO!" I shouted as I jerked my arm back from the grip of the agent. What I didn't expect was that along with my shout of protest I'd also emit some form of shock wave. It wasn't much but the agent holding me did stumble a bit. He looked taken aback as he readjusted his hold on my arm, gripping it even tighter. That's going to bruise for sure.

"Let me go! I'm not going with you! LET ME GO!" I shouted over and over again this time shoving my closed fist into his sternum, a move my aunt had shown me to defend myself against bigger opponents. She said that if you can knock their breath out of them, you can have time to break free and hopefully get away. So with all of my might I landed what I knew was going to be an insignificant blow to such a huge guy.

But it wasn't insignificant, in fact I knocked him on his ass. Unfortunately, his grip on me didn't slip and so he took me down with him tossing me a few feet away into the grass causing me to hit my head.

Dazed I moved too slowly because another agent was on top of me pretty quickly, this one being the female.

"Try that again," she whispered in my ear, "and we'll eliminate you right here and now and figure out the consequences later."

Her warning chilled me to the bone. I was dead either way. If they sent me back, I was done. If I continued to fight them, I was done. The saying damned if I do and damned if I don't came to mind. I had no choices here. So I did exactly what I knew my dad would have told me to do and that was to defend myself.

I kicked my leg out sweeping the female agents feet from beneath her, dropping her to the ground. My hand touched hers and for a moment I could feel something. It was like energy seeping into my skin.

The other two agents were rushing towards me. Panicking, I clapped my hands together sending another shockwave, this one far more powerful in their direction, throwing them to the ground and rupturing the car windows of the surrounding automobiles.

Car alarms were going off left and right as you could hear the splinters of glass hitting the ground.

Behind me I could hear a car and what sounded like a motorcycle approaching.

I could hear the rush of footsteps behind me as I prepared to have to defend myself from two fronts. Instead I heard one of the best sounds ever, "Stand down men in black. I don't know what's going on here but three against one doesn't seem like a very fair fight to me."

The older agent, the one with the slightly crooked nose spoke, "Mr. Stark I would suggest you stay out of this. You don't know who or what you are dealing with."

"How is it everyone seems to know you?"

"Popularity, it has its pluses and minuses I'll give you that. But these guys I don't know," Tony snipped back.

That voice. I'd know it anywhere. I was so afraid if I turned though he would disappear just like he had before so I couldn't bring myself to look.

"Gentlemen, I highly suggest you step aside and allow us to handle this ourselves. Trust me when I say this issue is slightly above your pay grades," the older agent said as he slowly began to advance again towards me.

"Well I highly doubt it is above mine," came the slightly cynical voice of one Nicholas J. Fury from further behind me. "So how about we all just simmer the fuck down and figure out what's going on here."

"I won't cause problems, please," I begged, having found my voice again, hoping to connect with some sense of kindness or compassion they might have had. Everything was so confusing right now. I just needed to get away. To find someplace quiet to think. To get this all straight in my head.

The agent stared at me as if searching my soul, "fine. Time is on our side anyway, we can wait to finish this," he said before slowly turning to go. The other two agents turned as well walking away, "but don't think we won't be watching. And remember, we can always find you. There's no place to hide from us, so remember, we'll be back."

"I've got to get out of here," I mumbled to myself but apparently loud enough for Fury to hear me.

"No little lady, you need to come with us so that we can figure out what the hell is going on here."

I could feel the panic begin to rise again in me. A feeling of the walls closing in, having nowhere to turn to and the air getting heavier and heavier making it harder to breathe.

"I need," I panted, "my stuff. I need," gasping, "to get out of here. Somewhere safe." I stammered before everything went dark.