Meanwhile, in New Mexico...

[agent_cupid]

"Are you sure we're in the right spot, Boss?"

Clint eyed the starry sky over their head with a skeptical look as he maneuvered the SHIELD-issued SUV down the abandoned stretch of desert highway. The skies overhead were clear and bright and utterly empty except for a quarter-full moon and thousands of stars. It was a beautiful night - something they didn't see many of when on base in New York City, so it was nice, despite the fact that it was the middle of the night and they were in the middle of the nowhere.

Oh yeah, and they were chasing aliens. Because that was a completely normal thing to do these days.

"How did this become our lives? Seriously? Are we actually out here looking for little green men?"

Comments

[phil_coulson]

"Do I look unsure?" Coulson let a little mild curiosity into his tone, kept his features entirely blank as he shot Barton a sideways glance. He hadn't been trying to weasel out of Stark security duty with this, not really, but the company and the scenery were an improvement.

He checked his watch, then the sky. He wasn't impatient. Dr. Foster's calculations were correct, as near as any SHIELD physicist could tell, and she'd been helpful in elaborating on the more obscure notes in her research. It would be here, and now. He wouldn't be out here with one of their best assets if he thought she was wrong.

"We're actually out here looking for the back end of a black hole." He almost added don't right after he said the words, but that would only be encouragement. "We should be seeing a subtle aurora any minute."