2014.05.20 - Decompression Therapy

The Peak mark VII. A SHIELD space station, still under construction that serves as the home for SWORD. A department that Agent Abigail Brand (real name:  is uniquely qualified to run. Her office on the Peak was transparent aluminum floors and walls save for support structures here and there to keep the whole thing together. It gave a great view of the Earth, floating in space as a blue-green gem in the sky.

Brand never looked at the view for the beauty of it. Only to remind her how important this department was, even in these early days. Right now she was looking at one of the files that Ms. Frost had given her, one about Carter Hall. There were... things she didn't like about it. She had her computer open and was cross referencing some details in the file with things that were known about other alien species.

A large mug of coffee was cooling on a coaster, she'd been drinking alot of that lately.

It's also a rather nice place for Dr. McCoy to get away to... either to utilize their labs for potentially dangerous work or for a quiet place to look down upon the world and be alone with your thoughts. Everyone should have a chance to see The Earth from Space one day... it really humbles you and makes you think about how small we really are in relation to that great big vastness that is space that surrounds us.

If Abigail.... err S.W.O.R.D.'s Agent Brand wanted to be left alone to her work... Hank's having none of it. As it's easy enough to bypass the lcks on her office and walk right in. At least for someone like Hank who doesn't mind risking Brand's fury.C

It's also a rather nice place for Dr. McCoy to get away to... either to utilize their labs for potentially dangerous work or for a quiet place to look down upon the world and be alone with your thoughts. Everyone should have a chance to see The Earth from Space one day... it really humbles you and makes you think about how small we really are in relation to that great big vastness that is space that surrounds us.

If Abigail.... err S.W.O.R.D.'s Agent Brand wanted to be left alone to her work... Hank's having none of it. As it's easy enough to bypass the lcks on her office and walk right in. At least for someone like Hank who doesn't mind risking Brand's fury. Besides... challenging her is all part of the fun.

"Working hard or hardly working?" Hank poked his head in. He's sporting the typical S.W.O.R.D. uniform that he usally wears when on the station. But he's also carrying in a couple of large gourmet coffees from planetside as well as a box of Muffins. Blueberry, of course. "You know... people are always fussing over me being a workaholic and trying to get me out of the lab or the office. I think I have finally met my match when it comes to stubborn behavior." Hank crosses the room to sit on the edge of Abigail's desk.

Brand glared a bit at Hank though her green sunglasses hid the expression in her eyes, "Of course, I tell Sydren that no one is to bother me and he lets the one who wants to talk about his feelings in."

She glances at the things Hank had brought with him, gourmet coffee from Earth sounded great. All she'd been drinking up here was Drenx coffee, and she didn't speak their language but she was beginning to think that on Drenxia... coffee was another word for poison.

She sighed and said, "But he's forgiven because of the coffee and the muffins. And off my damn desk please, I don't want you ass prints on it."

Was that a smile that crossed her lips, couldn't be. She reached out for a coffee, "And I'm working my ass off. Between Maria Hill's little pet project and after action reports and these Academy of Tomorrow teachers."

She took her sunglasses off for a minute and rubbed her eyes, "I haven't slept in probably seventy-two hours, easy."

Glasses back on and she said, "And I though I had this whole Academy of Tomorrow thing down when I read Noh-Varr's file, but intel has him back in the Kree region of space. Doctor Carter Hall however, there might be something there."

"Sydren also has a weakness for sweet blueberry muffins." Hank smiled warmly at Brand and then shook the box of muffins. "He's also pretty fond of these as well." Hank winks and hands her one of the coffees from the carrier. "Just as you like it...." Hank glancs down at the desk and then at his uniform. "I am wearing pants as per the S.W.O.R.D. Uniform Requirements... and even if I wasn't I assure you prints are the last thing you need to worry about." Hank noted with a playful and teasing tone. Though the mention that she hasn't been sleeping turns his cheerful smile to one quite a bit more serious. "You realize that I still do have some pull as a Doctor up here... and could push my weight around and make you take some time off. The world isn't currently melting at the edges and Sydren can actually find his butt with both hands. As can the rest of your crew."

Brand took a drink of the coffee Hank brought and said, "Look, Doctor McCoy."

She stopped herself and pulled her sunglasses off. Under her eyes there were bags big enough to carry a rich girls spring break wardrobe. Her eyes were very green, almost unnaturally green, "Henry... Hank. I get it you were a mutant the day you were born. I got picked for this life when I was seventeen. No college, didn't have friends in high school either, despite being the star girl athlete."

She stared at Hank with her green eyes, the glare was now obvious, "And if you try to pull me out of my position on a medical. I'll have a squad of gofers grab you and throw you out an airlock."

As she looked into Hank's eyes she suddenly turned away. She sharply turned away. Like looking into his eyes bothered her. She slammed her glasses back on after that.

"Hank." Though he offers his naming preference in the same breath that she does.

Hank reaches out and takes her glasses from her and holds them in his lap. "You should take those off more often.... not hide those striking eyes." Though he can't help but chuckle a bit when she brings up her past. "I not exactly a stranger to sudden drastic changes to your body. I'm just a bit of a special case. A early blooming late bloomer with an unstable X-Gene."

"And tossing me out an airlock? Really? You'd through out a perfectly good pelt you could tack up on the wall or spread out infront of the fireplace? Here I thought you were more creative than that." Though her sudden yanking back of the glasses and quickly putting them back on startled him a bit. Hank reaching out for her shoulder when she turns away... confused a bit by her reaction. "You know what you need... a good workout. Could I maybe interest you in a small break from your work for kicking my furry blue backside in the gym?"

Brand smirked, "I wear the glasses for a reason... Hank... I was trained as a SHIELD specialist after all. And I'm the best of them, no matter what Barton or Romanoff or Triplett or Ward says. That's why I still do the SHIELD ops."

She looks down and says, "I'd regret having your pelt as a rug, trust me on that one."

She chugs down the rest of her coffee and takes a huge bite out of a blueberry muffin that was brought and then says, "Twenty minutes. Gym Sigma-Three. I'll be there."

"True... I imagine the blue fur everywhere would be a serious pain in the backside. Not to mention explaining it to whoever you brought home why you have a blue-furred mutant on display. Could potentially put a serious damper on a romantic evening." Hank winks and hops off of Brand's desk and tosses her a light salute. "I'll be there with bells on. Wait... no.. I left that costume at home. Oh bother."

Hank exist Brand's office and twenty minutes later is waiting for her in Gym Sigma-Three. Since it's going to be a comabt session... Hank's gone with something less restrictive to his movements. He's sporting what has been come to be known in some circles as his 'X-Speedo'. It's the usual blue one with the yellow belt and the red X-Crest for a buckle.

Agent Brand came out after a few minutes of Hank being ready. She was dressed in a tight green tank top, a green sports bra and a pair of gray exercise pants. The glasses were gone, and the beauty mark under her eye was obvious, as was the tattoos on each shoulder, one said 'GRACE' and the other said 'ANNA.'

She whipped the towel around her neck to the ground and said, "No mutant advantages... no powers. None of that crap.

Her hands were tapped up like a boxers, and her stance was very similar as she got herself ready, "Anytime you're ready... Hank."

Hank crouched and rolled his shoulders a little bit as he listened to the rules. "Small problem there... my abilities run the gamut of the physical. I don't really have the luxury of not using them entirely. Not to mention the prehensile tootsies." Hank wriggled his tes just a bit and smiled at Brand. "Though I do have a lifetime of mastery of them.... so none of them should offer much in the way of unfair advantage."

"But how about we make this interesting? If I win... you take a week off to rest and relax. And you start delegating more to your crew." Hank offers the stakes from his end as he rolls forward into a standing combat stance. Once he hears her stakes Hank leaps into action, springing forward onto his hands and then launching himself with both oversized feet at Brand. He's going to try the direct path first... see how she reacts.

Agent Brand is a Specialist, they are designed for three things: Infiltration, Tactics and Combat, She moves from foot to foot ready for what the Beast as to offer and says, "So No Hold's Barred. Deal. And if I win, you aren't a Doctor as far as SHIELD or SWORD is concerned."

She lunges forward with a perfect set of punches. They're meant to knock McCoy's block off.

Beast has years of training as a member of the X-Men.... though to be entirely fair he's also a little soft from his time behind a desk as Secretary of Mutant Affairs. Not to mention all the other things he does to keep busy. He probably could use a few refresher courses before it ends up biting him on the backside.

So while he does manage to dodge a couple of the punches, and even block another.... she does end up getting in a few good hits. "Nice. I've been needing a good workout. And I think you have too. Hank drops back and then leaps over her, landing on his hands and then kicking out with both feet aimed at her back.

Brand was trained for human targets, not men who were turned into apes. When Hank knocked over she turned onto her back instantly. She looked at Hank again and asked, "No holds barred?" She asked quickly and then her hands were glowing red hot.

Her hands burned the mat and they were coming to Hank's body, no need to burn that beautiful face after all.

Beast backflips back into a crouch and playfully smirks at Brand... "It's only fair in love and war. So let's see what you've got." Hank over-estimates his advantage and his eyes go wide when he notes the burned mat and the source sheathing her hands.

Hank swallowed heavily at this display as she certainly catches him by surprise. "I hope my cologne isn't flammable..." Hank remarks as he backpedals and then drops, bringing his feet up to try to hault her charge or even flip her over him.

"I win." Abigail Brand says to Hank and as her hand stop being a heating agent she tackles the Beast and says, "Don't feel bad, I was trained for meta-humans like Super Man, Spider-Man, the Hulk, the She-Hulk. Hell I even know how to take out Tony Stark's armor. That's my job.

She was breathing very hard at this point, taking down the Beast was an achievement, one she was going to tack on her wall. Except she had no interest in doing that. She stood up and held her hand out to Doctor Hank McCoy and said, "Get up McCoy, don't ever try to medical me out of an op again."

As she helped him up she looked at him, the whole him, from head to toe. Hank could see this because for a change she wasn't in a full body suit with tinted glasses. "And... you need to..."

She held her hand out the right way to suggest the trunks offended her, "Stop wearing those, you're give m-other agents ideas."

Hank winces just a bit as she tackles him... expecting to at least smell burning fur. Though is releaved when she doesn't torch him... especially after the 'tossing him out an airlock thing'. "Plus I'm a bit rusty... it was hardly a fair workout. Guess I really should listen to advise and get a few refrsher courses under my belt."

Hank smiles just a bit at Brand who had pinned him as she stood up and then took her hand, flipping easily back up to his feet from being on his back. "I promise. Though I think you should still take some time for yourself. You did hire me to tell you the things you don't like to or want to hear."

Hank blinks a bit in surprise though when she looks him over and then singles out his trunks. Hank gets a playful little wry grin on his face when she tells him he needs to stop wearing them. "Is that an order....?"

"You want to know the truth McCoy? Or should I call you Bones? There are things I don't tell you. The things you can't tell anyone," Brand asked while still holding him down (yeah Beast could whip her off so easily.)"

She breathed in for a second, her heart beating like a drumline, pheromones practically pouring from Agent Brand.

She took a deep breath and said to Hank, "It's not an order. I told you when I brought you in to all of this, I needed someone to hate me professionally. To tell me when I was entirely wrong."

She then bit her lower lip and said, "But honestly, I am so hot for you right now I could freaking pass out."

There's been some subtle flirting especially on Hank's part ever since he started working for her. Agent Brand challenges him... something refreshing in Hank's life. But there was something more to it and Hank had a hard time putting his finger on it. To be fair, sometimes he could be awful obtuse when it came to anything more than a social relationship with people. Being a utant since birth probably didn't help.

Even though she was breathing hard and her pheremones were teasing his keen senses.... Hank was downright surprised by her admission. And for a moment for the first time in a long time he was speechless. "Oh my....." Hank didn't even manage to complete his familiar catchphrase. "Well.... there goes my cocky plans for the last word regarding my trucks."