The base isn't quite so empty

Sylvie was tired. Admittedly she was tired of a lot of things - constantly being on the run, trying to find a suitably quiet or apocalyptic place to make a home base, losing her clothes - but she was also just exhausted. It felt like she'd been running around for ages.

She let out a long, weary breath, and for the first time in a while looked around the base she'd made her temporary home. She didn't know enough to say if this place would last, but as far as places she had the co-ordinates for, it was serving semi-decently. It was certainly preferrable to know she could warp back here whenever things went amiss, than her previous random darting around.

For the time being, anyway.

She hadn't wandered too far. The more she explored the place, the higher the chances that she'd end up triggering some variance that the TVA would actually detect and follow. Still, for the time being, she had some kind of gathering room. The space was fairly large, joining onto half a dozen other rooms with dusty old shelves and desks and storage-spaces; there was a decently sized table in the middle, another table on the far side, and a handful of chairs.

Irritatingly, though unsurprisingly, no one had left any spare outfits lying around. Sylvie sat down on the edge of the table, grimacing.

She wasn't sure what she'd learned, beyond 'Avoid weird immortal people,' and wasn't sure what progress she'd made. If her goal was to strike back at the TVA - and that hadn't changed, even if she had a couple more reasons now - then she needed more than she had. Though at this point she'd probably jump at the first halfway-decent plan.

After a bit of pacing and thought, Sylvie eventually gave in to her tiredness. She went to the far side of the room, with the smaller desk, placed the TemPads atop it, and curled up underneath the desk. Relative seclusion definitely made her more comfortable, even if the coarse feel of the carpet against her bare side was something she wasn't yet used to.

When she woke up, she'd made a renewed effort. For now, she closed her eyes, wriggled to try and get comfortable, bare breasts shifting behind her arms, and did her best to sleep and not linger on more depressing thoughts.

Somehow, she managed to sleep.

And when she woke, it was to the sound of voices. Sylvie froze, heat immediately rushing to her cheeks. She peeled her ears, trying to make out what was being said - she stayed firmly beneath the desk, staring at the wall and concealed by the base of the desk from all other angles. For now, at least, her rather exposed state was invisible.

"All I'm saying, May, is that this went out of use in the 90s," one voice said. "SHIELD can't have gotten up to much then, could it? I don't see why this is a priority."

"You'd be surprised," 'May' said. "Coulson wants it checked out. There have been nasty surprises left behind before."

"Fine," the other, a woman, said.

There was the sound of a door opening. Sylvie bit her lip, slowly rolling onto her front as the strangers entered the room she was in. Great timing. This was why she hadn't been as confident in this place as some others.

Her panties remained her only garment. She stayed beneath the desk, well aware that there were now two women probably not that far away, exploring whatever facility this was. This was the last thing she needed.

Flushed, Sylvie moved as silently as she could, not doing any more than rolling onto her front to better leap into action. She didn't want to move much more if she could help it - she certainly didn't want to announce herself.

Her breasts shifted, just reaching the carpeted floor, arms crossed under her face. She pressed her legs together, swallowing an embarrased whimper.

Footsteps grew louder. She tried not to react to how close they sounded. So long as-

"Hey, look at this!"

"What've you found, Daisy?"

Mentally, Sylvie swore as she heard something scrape along the desk above her. Her TemPads - they were the one thing she didn't immediately have in reach. She needed to get those.

Still, she had named, for what that was worth. Her heart pounded in her chest, suddenly very conscious of how close she was to discovery - the two strangers gathered by the desk atop her, inches away from her nearly naked body.

"Must've been something SHIELD was working on in the 90s," May said. "Looks the part, anyway."

"What does it do?" Daisy said. There was a pause, then a muted tap as she quickly put it down on the more distant table. "Er, SHIELD wouldn't have anything dangerous just lying around, would it?"

"I'd like to say no," May said. She sighed. "Best to be careful. I'll mark it down, and see if you can find any mention of them around."

May walked to the side of the desk, a foot coming into view; Sylvie stared at it, wide-eyed, silently hoping the stranger wouldn't look down.

Then she paused. Wait, she could use that to her advantage. Quickly, Sylvie reached out, grabbing May's ankle and sending an enchantment flooding into the stranger's mind. She needed to distract both of the newcomers to get her TemPad back, and admittedly one particular form of distraction was on her mind just then.

She needed the TemPad, and she had no chance of reaching it while those two were watching her. The last thing she needed was for them to get in the way, especially in her current state.

Sylvie snatched her hand back as soon as she was done, curling up under the desk and listening. There was a rustle, a scrape of a boot against the carpeted floor, and the sound of more movement.

"So what are we..." Daisy began. "May? Hey, May!"

If she wanted to distract the both of them, getting one to strip the other was probably the most efficient way of going about it. A jacket fell on top of the desk, the top peering over the side; Sylvie resisted the urge to grab it and yank it down, not wanting to reveal her presence just yet. Still, she shuffled, tugging it a little lower so that it would be easier to grab.

"Quiet Daisy, this is important," May said.

"What's important about you taking off my- hey!" Daisy yelped.

Sylvie bit her lip. She awkwardly moved forwards, knees dragging along the carpet, peering around the side of the desk; she saw a shirt hit the floor, heard a squeal, and then saw a bra join it.

"I thought we agreed this wouldn't happen again!" Daisy said.

There was the sound of a zip, and then a noise Sylvie couldn't quite place; then May was flung into the wall. Sylvie recognised her from her brief glimpse into her mind: the stern face, military cut to her hair, and enough in the way of proficiency that it wouldn't be easy for her to have been knocked down. Instead she was on the floor, having thudded into the door, and catching her breath.

Tentatively, Sylvie peered out around the desk further, doing her best to keep close to it, chest pressing uncomfortably against the cool furniture. A woman she could identify as Daisy was standing in the middle of the room, eyes wide, pants around her ankles, face flustered, and bare save for thin black panties that didn't quite suit the serious, official vibe of SHIELD.

Quickly, Daisy drew her arms back in, no longer gesturing at May and instead crossed qucikly over her breasts. She crouched, to try and pull up her pants, clearly bewildered.

"What was that all about?" Daisy said indignantly, still fumbling one-handed with her pants.

"I told you," May said, winded, standing up.

Daisy let her pants drop again, lifting a hand and vaguely brandishing it at May. Sylvie dimly recalled seeing something about powers in May's memory.

Quickly, Sylvie pulled her head back, leaving the two to distract one another. She could still feel May in the back of her mind, the lingering enchantment doing its work; while that was ongoing, she pulled Daisy's jacket down off the desk. Concealed beneath it, she pulled it on, covering her arms, and muttering a curse to herself as she tugged the zip clean off. Enhanced strength didn't go well with Midgardian clothes.

There was a crash behind her. Holding the jacket closed over her bare breasts, for the time being, Sylvie crawled out the other way around the desk. Daisy's clothes - well, some of them, were still on the floor. She just had to grab them, then dart to the far table, pick up both TemPads (she could see them, from here) and then she'd be off.

Flushed, Sylvie crawled around the desk, peering out again; May was cautiously keeping her distance, eyes fixed on Daisy, who was still almost exposed. For now, the primary thought in May's mind was getting the other woman naked, and rather understandably Daisy's attention was entirely on her partner. Sylvie slowly edged out of cover, moving as quickly and quietly as she could cover the carpet-

There was a flash of orange. A temporal gateway opened on the far side of the room, and two TVA agents walked through.

"What the-" Daisy said, turning.

May immediately took the opening and lunged, pushing down Daisy's panties - Daisy, meanwhile, spotted Sylvie out of the corner of her eye as she turned, doing a double take at the now half-naked blonde, before yelping as she felt May's hands.

Quickly, Sylvie shot forwards, scooping both TemPads off the table and diving away from the TVA agents. Her hand briefly brushed past Daisy, figuring the woman could serve as an effective distraction again. It was only fair, May had stripped her, now she'd strip May.

Blindly, Sylvie fumbled with a TemPad, slotting one into a pocket of her newly acquired jacket and hastily opening escape co-ordinates on the other. She did her best to kick Daisy's discarded clothes forward with a bare foot, drawing nearer to the portal.

"Wait, what did I- Daisy!" May began, as Daisy moved towards her. Blushing, legs bare save for her panties, Sylvie emphatically did not look back at either those two or at the TVA as she stumbled to another time, hoping this one would be a little bit better.

She could stop, gather her bearings, and resume-

There was a blast to her feet as she made it to the portal. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a bra-clad May, and Daisy with just enough awareness to shoot a pulse of kinetic energy at the floor, making Sylvie trip past and leave her stolen clothes behind. With just the jacket and panties, Sylvie fell, sprawling, forwards into another time.