#type:p

[we-will-dethrone]

A Shadow || Alex & Matt

Matthew Murdock. Alex let her gaze cast over the screen of her phone where she had a web article open - a celebrity gossip site. One that she would, at any other time, refuse to even have open, let alone in public. But unfortunately they were the most frequently updated source she had nowadays. She just had to filter through the updates on outfits and shopping habits, both of socialites as well as the menagerie of the latest superheroes in the city, then usually she could find something worthy to take note of. A recent problem. Connections. A meeting place. A hotel. 

Brown eyes glanced up to the sign of the hotel before her, even that almost as tall as the rooms of her shabby apartment, lit grandly and illuminated with spotlights. Obviously, this man enjoyed the finer things in life. She hadn’t known much about the character before her research that day, though he had been on her radar since his identity was revealed a few months prior. It hadn’t taken much research for Alex to find out that it had been no other than Natasha Romanoff that had been responsible for confirming his identity along with the other deluge of secrets she had let out of the bag the day SHIELD fell. Whether or not this was explicitly against his wishes, she couldn’t be sure. But if there was a chance a potential ally was present, the ex-agent decided it was worth following up on. Since the being that had been causing the ground to collapse and children to topple from top-floor windows had made itself known in LA, the small population she was interested in finding out more about had grown all but stagnant. Presumably in attempts to get to the root of what was happening. Both good and bad for her. Good for her to return unnoticed under the noise of death and confusion without being noticed. Bad for her in the way of research. Murdock, however, had been a tabloid favorite ever since, stories of his night-time ventures across the city consistently being published. 

Hence why she was now outside of a shady hotel at one in the morning. She had been there for two hours now - leant against the cement wall of the building away from the glow of the street lamp, the cold from the flat surface slowly seeping into her bones. She didn’t mind. She knew that the success of any mission she was on was more important than her own comfort. Whether officially given or of her own agenda. If anything, it was the judgemental glances from the passing guests in suits and gowns as she stood, arms crossed, that bothered her, and she had moved to stand a little less obviously from the entrance. Just when she had begun to peer at the time in her pocket a little more often, a familiar face passed her on its way out of the door. It took her less than a second-long glance to confirm it. Auburn hair. Distinct profile. This was who she had been waiting for.

Alex waited for a few moments before taking off after him, slipping her phone into her pocket. She walked slower than usual, but enough to keep him in view, keeping her eyes on the backs of his feet when the rare transitions of dark between the flush of neon light that pervaded the streets of Los Angeles made it impossible to see the back of his head. 

[we-will-dethrone]

Unexpected Guests || Tony & Alex

Coffee shops were more Alex’s thing as opposed to actual restaurants. Coffee shops meant wifi, small nooks you could hide yourself in and; usually; the possibility of a few undisturbed hours without a member of staff bothering you to spend more money.  It was not that she was extremely short on cash - more that she was unsure when she may suddenly need some. Whether to pick up and move, or invest in some resources. However, there were only a certain number of days in a row in which you could live off of various forms of breakfast, apparently, so she found herself wandering a street she had not gone down before, glancing up at various neon signs. The moment she caught sight of one that looked like something other than a pizzeria or a kebab place and had actual sit-down tables, she entered.

The place looked quiet enough. A few people peppered here and there. Business types, mostly. Even through the window she could see them absorbed in conversation with other men in black suits, office-style hand gestures in full swing, ties slightly loosened. Hopefully, she would not get a second glance. At least for once she was wearing something a little smarter than a hoodie and combat boots. In a coffee shop that could be passed off as a fashion statement, usually surrounded by students wearing similar outfits, but somewhere like this would likely gain a few side glances. She had spent the day lingering around state offices until she could garner any information on the recent assassinations. Or more specifically, if anything was being done about them. The LA Gazette article on the Mayor seeking aid from superheroes had been published the evening before, and Alex’s immediate thought was that somebody in office had prior links with them. Unless the Mayor himself was stupid - or scared, which was often the cause of stupidity - enough to run to masked vigilantes the moment he sensed danger. Sad if it was the case, but not entirely surprising.

As soon as she entered, the sound of nearby traffic was replaced by the clinking of cutlery from the kitchen and the humming of an industrial oven that hung heavily in the air. Expected from a restaurant, but no less irritating. It was always a comfort of hers to pick up on any nearby snippets of conversation if she could. Difficult to do past the screeching of a coffee steamer. She was unsure whether she wanted anything more than a sandwich, now that she thought about it. If they served them. That was not entirely different from her usual diet of toast, really, but it was unlikely she would find anywhere quieter at 6pm in LA. Or any time in LA, for that matter. 

She had only had the chance to cast a scanning look over one half of the room before a waiter with a grin that didn’t quite meet his eyes approached, pointing her towards a table on the other side. Thankfully, the quieter side. 

"There’s a table there available for you, ma’am. Expecting anyone else?"

Alex barely glanced up at him, shaking her head as she looked over to the single table beside the window she had been given, already beginning to head over there. People really were a lot nicer to her the more feminine she dressed, it seemed. It was pathetic, really, but proved useful when she needed something. 

"Really? Well - in that case, please take a seat."

"I plan to." 

The words had barely passed her lips, just approaching the table when she spotted the man sat at the one beside hers. Her chest tightened. He appeared to be on his phone, giving her a good chance to take the few seconds to double check. Designer suit. Top-of-the-range phone, undoubtedly of his own design - if he was who she thought he was. But what were the chances that she’d bump into Tony Stark somewhere like this? Before she had time to even think over the possibility of having been followed, or the chances she had to slip back outside without being noticed, he had looked up. That was all the confirmation she needed. That facial hair could not be mistaken.

It was unlikely she would be eating in peace. If at all.

[we-will-dethrone]

Sorry Ms Marvel || Solo

Since every news outlet seemed intent on spouting endless nonsense on SHIELD being a terrorist organisation, Alex generally avoided the media outside of skim-reads of the headlines and whatever came up in her research. Which was just as difficult in Los Angeles as it was in New York, she soon discovered. Superhero news was just as dense as celebrity culture, and now that the organisation was inevitably tied to the topic there was no escaping it by default. But somehow, she had known that her contacts in various tabloids would come in useful.

It wouldn't exactly be her first experience as an Anonymous source.

Clinical eyes flickered over the candid photograph on her laptop screen. Ms Marvel. Pictured tall and stoic amongst a crowd of the public and in the glaring flashes of tabloid cameras and police vans, slightly dishevelled after preventing a jailbreak. The same woman she had shared a coffee with just a week ago. Carol Danvers.

It hadn't been easy, waiting, but Alex knew things had to be just right. Not too soon after their meeting to cause suspicion. Besides, she needed enough time to be certain of some things. Whilst she was absolutely certain of the barely-masked heroes' identity, she wanted to make sure there was nothing else she could do with this information whilst it sat comfortably in her palm. Being with SHIELD, she knew the importance of identity whether one was intentionally trying to hide it or not. And in an ideal world, Carol's would have been used to get some kind of direct damage on the group of superheroes' she knew now were living together somewhere in the state. Blackmail, maybe. 

Then again, the more she thought about it, maybe shaking them up a bit would be more effective. There was no effort on her part in dropping a bombshell and simply watching the damage it caused.

She lifted the phone to her ear after dialling the number. It was still fairly early in the day, the daylight casting a white beam through the small gap in her blinds the only light in the room aside from her laptop screen. Idly she wondered what she would do with the rest of her day following this - she was out of bread, so maybe grocery shopping - when the call was answered. 

"Los Angeles Gazette?" 

Her tone was fairly detached as she spoke from the untraceable line, casting a look back to the image before her.

"I have some information on Ms Marvel that you may find interesting."