femslash february / 2.6.18 / avalance / “i want to believe” (x-files au)
Ava took a deep breath as the elevator dinged, signally that she had finally landed in the basement. She slowly walked out and turned left at the file cabinets, stopping before knocking on the door: four short raps.
“Sorry,” came a voice from inside. “Nobody down here,” it continued as Ava opened the door, “but the F.B.I.’s most unwanted.” She poked her head in to see a smaller woman focusing intently at something on her desk. Around the room she saw posters, pictures of UFOs, everything she had expected from the office of Spooky Lance.
When the woman looked up, Ava decided it was time to introduce herself. “Agent Lance,” she said, holding out her hand to shake, “I’m Ava Sharpe, and I’ve been assigned to work with you.”
Agent Lance smiled, as she took Ava’s hand. “Isn’t it nice to be so highly regarded? So who did you tick off to get stuck with this detail, Sharpe?”
“Actually,” said Ava, “I’m looking forward to working with you.” She was shocked when she said the words, but even more so finding she meant it. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Oh really?” said Lance incredulously. “I was under the impression that you were sent to spy on me.”
Ava kept a stiff upper lip. “If you have any doubt about my qualifications or credentials—“
“You’re a medical doctor. You teach at the academy, you did your undergraduate degree in physics. ‘Einstein’s Twin Paradox: A New Interpretation,’ Ava Sharpe’s senior thesis.” Lance smirked. “Now that’s a credential, rewriting Einstein.”
Ava wasn’t sure if she was meant to be impressed or concerned, so she responded with a cool “Did you bother to read it?”
“I did,” she said, much to Ava’s surprise. “I liked it. In most of my work, the laws of physics rarely seem to apply.” Ava rolled her eyes as Agent Lance moved to turn off the lights. “Maybe I can get your medical opinion on this, though,” said the smaller woman, turning on a slide projector.
Ava looked at the photo in front of her. A young girl, lying motionless in the grass, pale and covered by leaves. “Oregon female,” said Lance, “She’s twenty-one. No explainable cause of death. Autopsy shows nothing, Zip. There are however these two distinct marks,” Lance continued, switching the slide, “on her lower back. Dr. Sharpe, can you ID these marks?”
Ava stepped closer to the projection, arms crossed. “Needle punctures, maybe,” she decided, “an animal bite, electrocution.”
“How’s your chemistry?” asked Lance, switching the slide again. “This is the substance found in the surrounding tissue.”
Ava looked on, wide eyed. “It’s organic,” she began, quickly coming up short. “I don’t know, is it some kind of synthetic protein?”
“Beats me!” said Lance, “I’ve never seen it before either. But here it is again in South Dakota,” she said, switching the slide, “and again in Texas.”
“Do you have a theory?” asked Ava, turning to look at her new partner.
“I have plenty of theories,” said Lance, “but maybe what you can explain to me is why it’s bureau policy to label these cases as ‘unexplained phenomena’ and ignore them.” Lance, for the first time since they met, made direct eye contact. “Do you believe in the existence of extraterrestrials?”
“Logically,” Ava said, sure of her opinion, “I would have to say no.”
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