A Frying Pan to the Face

Chapter One: A.K.A. Timeskip to the Beginning of the Show

I open my eyes and sit up on the couch. Another day, another death. The Count of Monte Cristo is a pain to read, but it has such a good story, Not to mention the many adaptations, especially the musical I just quoted. Hey, where's Katan? I told her not to leave me in the middle of the night. Well, that's what I get for crashing at her place after that fight with Centaur last night. If she didn't leave a note I swear...

My eyes scan the living room for a note. I spy it on the TV screen. Seriously, she thinks I love TV that much it's the only way I'd notice it? Can't say I blame her. I throw off the blanket and head over to the note. I pull it off the screen to read it better.

Laurel, meet me at the Starbucks near Fifth Avenue. We have the new outfits. Tina and George will be there too. Not sure why Tina didn't just text you. It's not like you're ever separated from your phone. - Rose, 11:50 a.m.

I roll my eyes at Miss Stabby-Stab's comment. Katan, you're not much better than me. Then again, she was probably still half-asleep, and she gets sassier when she's tired. I wonder how her new outfit looks. It's a mystery with her. She might wear an all-pink dance outfit for all I know. I don't think Mist's will change much, since she just sticks to a grey jumpsuit. Although I have to wonder about George and his Locate identity. Did he change the scheme to white with red accents like he thought about or is he keeping with the sandy yellow and red? 

I pull out my phone to check the time and other stuff. Tina didn't message me, and it's 12:15 in the afternoon. Oh boy, I better get in civilian attire. I snap my fingers. That's better. My Firefly shirt, leggings, and socks. Now if they just made shoes. I grab my purse off the coffee table and shove my earbuds in it. I need my lucky hat now. Aw crap, it's at my place. The one item of clothing I always need, and I can't magic it to me or enchant as a part of my magic wardrobe. Oh wait, my sucky portal magic only applies to me and other living beings or anything in other worlds. Yay! 

I oustretch my hand. Let's see... if I just focus on the idea of the hat... made of denim... little flap on the end big enough to block some sun but not big enough to be considered a baseball cap... strip of denim is above the flap with two purple buttons vertically lined up on one side of the strip... I feel it land in my hand. Ooh, say that ten times fast. I smile and put it on my head. Then I twist it to the side a bit. Thankfully my hair is already good. 

I head for the door. Okay, so the subway should be a couple blocks east, and from there I can get in time for them to not spend five hours waiting on me. Wait, isn't Fifth Avenue where Avengers Mansion is? It's already been eight months since I got here, and The Avengers broke up about two months before I got here, from the research I did online. It probably won't be much longer until Red Skull and M.O.D.O.K. blow the place up. Oi. That won't be fun to watch if I'm there. I hope Iron Man still moves the other's stuff to storage. Especially since Hawkeye has comics in there. It's a shame when any literature is destroyed, on purpose or not. I hope it isn't today. I'd rather not watch a national landmark blow up as I drink my Mint Hot Chocolate. I better get my ass in gear before that. Wait, a sec... what's that noise?

I look behind and around me. There! A droid of some sort. It's spherical. I wonder who it belongs to. Maybe a Centaur or A.I.M. drone? I've ticked off both organizations on multiple occasions, Centaur more so than A.I- OH FUCK IT'S HEADING TOWARDS ME!!! I squeal and shoot it with a blast from my hand out of reflex. Good thing the neighborhood is empty by now. I take a few deep breaths. In and out. In and out. In and out...

Okay, that probably wasn't too big a deal. I think it had something glowing appear above it before it met its Nether-y doom. I shrug and continue walking. It's probably not important. I hope Katan brought some of her katanas with her today. And Mist her nanotec- Well, she always has that with her, but maybe she already has some of her neuro-control gear or whatever she calls it already on? And George can just teleport his clothing on and off instantaneously. And his shotguns. I can't believe he still won't call them Tracer Guns. Also can't believe that Avengers Assemble is probably taking place in the same timeframe as when I left for this world. Same year as it would be if I had stayed at home. Not the same month, seeing as Ahemis's curse skewed the timeline so that day one in this world was my birthday. I mean, season one aired in, what, 2013, and it's 2018-ish now. Maybe my presence, plus all the other crazy stuff in other worlds, skewed the timeline? Still don't know how that works. Or why I'm here. You'd think I would have gotten some "subtle hints" before now. Oh well, I'm sure it will come eventually. Maybe. Hopefully. Well, probably not, but at least life is go... wait a second. If I finish that thought, doesn't that automatically make something go wrong within the next 30 seconds? Nope, not gonna happen. I'm at least getting my mint coco first. Oh look, I appear to have walked into a more busy part of the city. I scan around for the nearest subway station. There it is. What I wouldn't give to be able to teleport again.