Holiday Gifts

Sylvie looked around cautiously, keeping back as best she could. It was either night, or she was somewhere with a darker sky. It was hard to tell if she was inside or outside; she couldlook up and see the sky, but she was surrounded by grey stone walls, and the floor was all artifically placed stone. Maybe some kind of courtyard?

Covering with her arms, Sylvie took a careful stepforwards, tip-toeing on the stone, keeping an ear out.

It was always hard to tell if she wanted to hear someone, or wanted to stay alone; as much as she wanted the privacy, one option would make getting clothes significantly easier. One of these days she'd love to just drop into a laundry full of unused outfits.

She heard the soft thud of a footstep. Eyes widening, Sylvie moved back, pressing herself against the wall. She bit her lip to keep from gasping at the cold stone.

Then someone walked into the courtyard; she was tall, red-haired, wearing a... somewhat dubious looking purple costume. She turned, to see a blushing Sylvie.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" she said, glowering.

Sylvie paused, still hiding behind her arms; she was getting decent at operating the TemPad with one hand.

"Who are you?" Sylvie said.

"I am Medusa, Queen of the Inhumans," the redhead said. "You didn't answer me."

"I'm..." Sylvie began. She eyed the redhead. "Really not that **** for an outfit, thanks."

Turning up her nose, she tapped a button, and dove through another portal, leaving the strange place behind.

She ended up in a rather less grand setting - she was definitely indoors, and the air smelled unfortunately of Midgard. She was getting really sick of this place. The room was small, four walls, a ceiling, warm enough, and while she was alone there wasn't much room for anyone else in there.

Well, hopefully there'd be better clothes here. Sylvie glanced around for a moment - there was a towel, though the idea of traipsing around all of time and space in nothing but a towel wasn't all that much better than doing so naked, all things considered. She couldn't be wasting one hand holding onto it, when she also needed to operate the TemPad.

She was just musing over the pros and cons, taking advantage of a rare quiet moment to think, when the room's one door opened.

On instinct, Sylvie grabbed at the towel, tugging it off a rail and hastily holding it in front of herself. It dropped almost as low as her knees, still displaying her bare shoulders. The woman in the doorway, with dark hair and wearing casual jeans and a black shirt, faltered.

"Um," she said. She called out behind her: "Is there meant to be a naked woman in your bathroom?"

"What? Think I misheard!" someone called back.

"Oh my god, is this a present?!" the stranger said excitedly.

Flushing, Sylvie reached out and grabbed the stranger's hand, in the same motion tugging her into the relative privacy of the room, and enchanting, slipping into the woman's mind. Kate Bishop, self-proclaimed world's best archer, currently at a party. Great.

Well, clothes were clothes.

"Oh, wow, hi," Kate said. "What is this? Do people have christmas strippers, is that a thing?"

"What's christmas?" Sylvie said, vaguely confused.

"You know! Celebration, gifts, great food, and- oh my god! What am I doing?"

Rather impressively, she'd discarded the button-up shirt she'd been wearing over her top, undone her jeans, and had her other shirt pulled up over her face before she realized that she was undressing. When her shirt was at last off, it revealed a newly-red face.

"Um. I don't normally do this, I swear," Kate said.

Sylvie raised an eyebrow, patiently taking Kate's shirt once it was offered. She waited until she had Kate's bra before starting to dress.

"Huh, what are you... Hey!" Kate said. "Is this a new thing? Like, be good at christmas, get presents, be bad and rather than get coal, someone sneaks into your home and steals your clothes? Like, apparently aliens are real so you tell me Santa is, I believe you, and- hey!"

Kate stepped out of her jeans, and almost politely handed the last of her underwear over to Sylvie. Jacket-like shirt, normal shirt, bra, panties, and jeans. Not the worst haul.

"You talk a lot," Sylvie remarked.

"Yeah, I've been told that," Kate said, conversationally. A second later she remembered she was naked, squeaked, and crossed an arm over her breasts and held a hand between her legs. Idly, Sylvie mused on whether to be nice and give her the towel.

Probably better not. The more people the TVA was looking after, the more they'd be distracted. Sylvie felt a pang recalling that.

Well, that was a problem for later - and a problem she could finally start working on now that she was dressed.

"I liked the last blonde who broke into my place more," Kate grouched. Then she yelped. "Hey! Don't open the door!"

Sylvie squeezed past the dark-haired woman, taking advantage of what little time she had to look at wherever it was she'd landed.

There were brightly-colored lights strung up, and glittering strands of... stuff over the backs of sofa and shelves, with annoying music playing constantly in the background. Kate wasn't alone here - Sylvie had glimpsed that much in Kate's mind, though she wasn't that worried about humans.

"Kate? You called, something about... Er. Hello?" someone Kate's memories identified as Clint walked into the hallway. He came to a stop.

Behind Sylvie, a blushing Kate waved nervously, doing her best to use the blonde for cover.

"I don't recall inviting you," Clint said.

"You'd be amazed how often I've heard that," Sylvie said.

She lunged forwards; Clint side-stepped, the clatter drawing attention. Laura Barton appeared at the top of the stairs. (Kate squealed somewhere behind them, and sprinted past them all in a flesh-coloured blur).

"Wait, was that meant to be mind control?" Clint said. He grimaced. "Why is it always mind control?"

Sylvie tried to grab Laura's hand, but the instant of contact wasn't enough to send any command; Clint threw a small, plastic man at her, red costume and white beard hitting her square on her forehead. Annoyed, Sylvie batted it aside.

Well, there were memories in Laura's head that she'd glimpsed. A surprisingly amount, actually: secret locations, coordinates, places secluded enough that there probably wouldn't be much variance. Sylvie pulled back, standing up straight, and glad to finally be able to do so without feeling embarrassed.

"Clint?" Laura said.

"Get downstairs, get the kids outside," he said, before turning back to Sylvie. "Who are you working for?"

Well, she probably had all she was going to get from this place. People got touchy over trespassing it seemed. Well, that and stripping their friends.

And then another yellow doorway appeared in midair. Clint did his best to keep his eyes both on Sylvie, and on the portal, one either side of him. Two silhouettes appeared, clad in the familiar TVA uniforms.

"They with you?" Clint said.

"Definitely not," Sylvie said.

She fumbled with her own TemPad as soon as Clint was distracted - it did seem like she'd outstayed her welcome if they'd shown up. The TVA agents lifted up their batons as soon as they saw witnesses, one poised to put down the reset charge only for Clint to kick it away before it could be set.

Okay, good, they were all distracted, now-

A naked Kate Bishop streaked past her, screaming, now still lacking clothes but with the addition of a quiver over her back, another in her hands, and two bows; one set she threw to Clint. Meanwhile, her barrelling past knocked the TemPad out of Sylvie's hands.

"Cold, cold, cold," Kate gasped. "Wait, who are these? Are all your christmasses like this?"

"Usually not," Clint said.

"You take the portal guys, I take the blonde?" Kate said.

"Sounds like a plan," Clint said. He paused. "Why is she wearing your clothes?"

"Honestly, no idea," Kate said.

Clint shrugged. As he ran at the TVA agents, carefully dodging their batons, a blushing Kate turned back to Sylvie, apparently rethinking the life choices that had led to her favoring a weapon that needed both hands to use. She fired - the arrow bounced off Sylvie's back, her natural durability making it little more than mildly annoying, as Sylvie crouched to try and pick up her TemPad.

"Oh, no fair!" Kate said.

For once, the damage the arrow did to her clothes was little more than cosmetic. Honestly, she barely noticed it, though she did notice the naked Kate jumping on her. It wasn't clear if she was trying to restrain Sylvie, or at least pull the outer shirt off; Sylvie flailed a moment, hand grabbing something distinctly soft and making Kate squeak, before pushing Kate off.

For a second, Sylvie considered letting that be it - then she noticed a second TemPad discarded on the floor, fallen from Clint's brawl with the TVA duo. Quickly, Sylvie scrambled back to her feet, darting closer.

"Hey! Hey!" Kate shouted.

Sylvie quickly scooped up the spare TemPad, mind racing with the possibilities of having a second, then quickly opened a portal before either Clint or Kate could catch up. She'd had just enough time to dial up coordinates glimpsed in Laura's mind.

And, at last, she was dressed. It would stay that way this time, she was sure.