SHIELD [Book 1 of Alex & Allie Save The World]

Chapter 6 Hot Pursuit

Dr. Shaw exits to fetch two morgue attendants and Alex to a dooming realization.

"Holy shit Bruce! We can't have Allie declared dead! FUCK!" Bruce's eyes widen and he smacks a hand over his mouth before rubbing his temples in frustration.

"Dammit! You're right. Oh, we broke the first rule of vigilantism, don't make permanent decisions on temporary emotions," Bruce groans and continues rubbing his temples.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck! Okay we make the "dead" one go away too," Alex suggests, putting finger quotes around the word 'dead.' "Remove the evidence of our tampering and claim she disappeared while we were on our way to the morgue."

"Aldridge I think we have to get the doctor in on this," Bruce utters tersely.

"In on what?"

"Fuck," Alex swears and turns to grin at Dr. Shaw innocently. "Oh the funeral," Alex lies and Shaw crosses her arms.

"Bullshit." Bruce and Alex's eyes widen at the sudden aggressiveness and Alex splutters.

"Oh wow." In all their time knowing the woman she's never seen her swear or look the slightest bit angry.

"I've been Allison's doctor for fifteen years if anyone can be trusted with whatever you're hiding, it's me."

"Fair enough," Alex agrees. "But I think showing you would be easier."

The trio head back into Allie's room and while Bruce goes to the closet Alex goes for the bed. Bruce gingerly lifts the second double from the closet and Dr. Jesikah Shaw gasps.

"Allie isn't dead she escaped out the window and abandoned two brain-dead copies here," Alex deadpans.

"The metahuman theory," Shaw breathes out, concluding what Alex does not want to admit.

"We panicked and faked her death but she's alive and out there," Bruce remarks and gestures to the window, refocusing both Alexandra Aldridge and Jesikah Shaw.

"I was thinking we hide the bodies and say she disappeared," Alex pitches and Shaw guffaws.

"Or we could say the assistant of the famous Alexandra Aldridge, Allison Gray's hospital monitors were hacked, which is so very easy these days, and she was wrongfully declared dead."

"That sounds good," Bruce and Alex concede.

"Could be an act of business espionage," Shaw adds.

"Better," Alex accepts shakily. "Dr. Shaw you're good."

"I better be. I've been a doctor for one of the most accident-prone and genetically unlucky girls in the world," she reasons and smirks. "Now, you two should start the search and take the second copy while I straighten out the mess you made."

"Yes, ma'am." Bruce and Alex hesitate, the issue of sneaking the second body out still standing. Shaw stares expectantly and Bruce heaves a sigh.

"I'll dump her out the window and we can sneak around and get her out of sight of the cameras," he relents.

"Fucking finally."

III

They end up shoving Allie 3.0 in the back of Bruce's car with his jacket thrown over her. In the front, they pour over a map of Gotham and try not to be creeped out by the body in the back.

"We break it up into gridded sectors and scour each one. We have to keep this quiet and find her before someone notices Allison Gray limping through the streets."

"We can't be Batman and Scarlet Sentinel for this can we?"

"Right you are B, if another photo of the Gotham heroes singling out Allison Gray goes on the internet it won't be considered coincidence."

"Okay, let's get this done."

"That's the spirit!"

III

Bruce Wayne and Alexandra Aldridge search Gotham for hours until deciding to resort to Batman and Scarlet Sentinel's more militant style of pursuit. Even still their search only leads to minuscule traces of Allison Gray.

Finally, a familiar pink bunny slipper turns up in Gotham Central Park on a bench beside an old woman.

III

"Ma'am, have you seen the owner of this slipper?" Scarlet Sentinel inquires and points to the plush shoe next to her.

"Well this is officially the weirdest night I've had in this damn city and mind you, vigilantes, I once saw Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy on a date in this park," she laughs and hands the slipper over to Sentinel. "The little blonde girl who abandoned this bunny rambunctiously headed off towards the south end of the park."

"Could you describe her?" Batman questions gruffly.

"Wearing a hospital gown, a red robe, curly but disastrous blonde hair, in a leg cast and an ankle boot, and when she scrambled away shouting 'fucking scatter' she appeared to be floating on air," the woman describes and the heroes share a glance. That sounds exactly like Allie.

"Thank you!" Batman and Scarlet Sentinel kick into gear, heading towards the Batmobile. The hummer was left on the island for repairs afters its bumpy Metropolis adventure.

"Oh wait!" They stop and reluctantly turn around to be addressed by the old woman.

"Why are Batman and Scarlet Sentinel hunting an escaped mental patient?"

"When are Batman and Scarlet Sentinel not hunting escaped mental patients?" Alex retorts and the lady laughs.

"Got me there, good luck to you both!"

III

Somehow a drugged and hobbling girl is evading two professional vigilante detectives. Leave it to Allison Gray to do such a thing.

III

"I just don't get it, we've examined all of Gotham," Alex groans. "All we found was what could be a lock of her hair, what could be her bunny slipper, and what could be the tie to her robe."

"I think we can definitively say the slipper is hers. The old lady in the park accurately described Allie," Bruce concludes.

"Yeah she did say, Allie, called you her soon to be boyfriend and yelled 'fucking scatter' and if that ain't our girl no one is," Alex agrees and Bruce cracks a smile at the prospect of 'our girl' and being Allie's 'soon-to-be-boyfriend.' "Stop grinning she's still missing."

"Right," he grunts and fixes his expression to a frown. "What's the plan if more people see and recognize her?"

"Allison isn't that popular, I hope... And even so we can convince most they didn't see her and the rest will be conspiracy theorists."

Quiet falls over Batman and Scarlet Sentinel as they sit upon a rooftop of a small apartment building.

A phone rings shattering the silence. Bruce mumbles something incoherent before fishing his cell out of his utility belt.

"Who the fuck is calling? And also why do you leave your phone on while in the suit?" Alex questions.

"I have it set so it will only go off if it's Alfred. Do you not do that for Allie?" he responds and holds the phone up to his ear. Alex turns away so he doesn't see an appreciative realization in their eye. That is a good idea so Allie can reach her in case of an emergency. "Alfred, what's the situation?" Bruce furrows his eyebrows in confusion before putting the butler on speaker.

"What?" Alex mouths and Bruce shrugs before mouthing an answer back.

"He asked."

"Master Wayne, Miss Aldridge, can you both hear me?"

"Yeah, Alfred," Alex confirms.

"I appear to have found Miss Gray."