Publicity

A new movie and the circus started again, traveling the country from talk show to con to meet-and-greet, it was as exhausting as it was exhilarating. Elizabeth almost fell asleep at the back of the coach hired for the sole use of the Marvel cast.

Well, the Marvel women; apparently this was a girls-only event, she'd had a few of those. People liked talking to superheroines and the actresses that portrayed them.

She didn't know where the boys were though she assumed that they were out on their own part of the circuit.

The coach rumbled on.

It was a few minutes before Elizabeth stirred, seeing buildings and an actual city begin to replace endless plains through the window. She got up, walking closer to the front of the coach.

Plenty of the actresses were talking to each other. Evangeline Lilly (aka the Wasp) had set herself next to Gwyneth Paltrow (aka Pepper), Karen Gillan, with her red hair regrown and making her look so very different to her character of Nebula, chilled next to her on-screen sister Zoe... It was a nice collection of A-Listers.

"Scarlett, do you know where our next stop is?" Elizabeth said.

The on-screen Black Widow looked up, and shrugged.

"All blur into one," Scarlett said. "Hey! Anyone know what our next stop is?"

"Itinerary said N-Con," Brie said back, kneeling up to look over the back of her chair. "Probably just a typical nerd thing."

"Guess we'll find out soon enough, whatever it is," Scarlett said.

Elizabeth went back to her seat. She probably shouldn't have expected more of an answer.

It was a quarter of an hour more before a scuffle toward the front of the coach drew her out of her sleepy reverie. Elizabeth sat up, to see half a dozen of the actresses crowded around the window.

"Hey, Lizzie!" Scarlett called. "I... think we've found the convention."

"Shit," Brie said. "It can't be, can it?"

"It'd better not be!" Karen said, Elizabeth surprised to hear a high-pitched, nervous tone in her voice. "I'm gonna have words with my agent if it is."

"Sure, Marvel'll care," Gwyneth said. She was the only one who hadn't gotten up. "Especially now the Mouse has them. They can do what they want, just get used to it."

"I didn't sign up for this!" Tessa Thompson piped up.

Frowning, Elizabeth neared, wondering what had stirred up such a commotion. She peered over Cobie Smulders' shoulder to see banners strung up between lampposts, around the hotel they were heading for and presumably their destination. She swallowed.

"Guys," Elizabeth said. "Tell me Nudist-Con is not what I think it is."

Their collective fears were confirmed just a few minutes later when the coach pulled into park near the hotel and convention hall. Elizabeth was trying not to stare at the abundance of flesh on display through the windows.

"Alright ladies, here's the stop!" the driver called back. "Whole area's part of the convention, so leave your clothes here."

"What?!" Elizabeth squealed. She wasn't the only one.

"Con rules," he said. "They don't want you to make the attendees feel uncomfortable. Quickly now! You're going to want to find your rooms before you start. I'll pick you up when it's done, few days isn't it?"