Inter-Agency Cooperation - August 8
Title: Inter-Agency Cooperation
Author: LadyWinterlight (songs_of_winter)
Fandoms: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Avengers/MCU
Rating: PG
Word Count: 815
Notes: In 2003, Sunnydale fell into a "sinkhole." That's exactly the sort of thing that catches SHIELD's attention. A few months later, a pair of Agents catch up with the Sunnydale crew. Still the same AU I've been playing with, but not current time.
I still do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Avengers or anything to do with the MCU.
Cleveland - 2003
Agent Phil Coulson smothered his expression of surprise when a bright-eyed, brown-haired teenage girl answered the door at the house he’d been directed to. According to their files, Mr. Rupert Giles was a single, middle-aged Englishman with no family in the US.
“Yes, can I help you?” the girl asked in a strong Californian accent despite being in Cleveland.
“Does Mr. Rupert Giles live here?” Coulson asked tentatively. He heard a soft snort from May, who stood at the bottom of the porch steps; hopefully the girl hadn’t heard her too.
“Yeah, sure,” the girl said. She opened the door more fully and stepped back to allow them entrance. Coulson noted that she didn’t verbally invite them in, but accepted the unspoken cue regardless.
“Buffy, tell Giles someone’s here to see him!” the girl yelled up the stairs as she led them past and into a comfortable living room.
“Buffy?” May asked in a low voice.
“Yes, it’s actually her name,” the girl answered with a sigh of long-suffering. “Pretty sure Giles is in his office, and Buffy’s is closer so she’ll let him know.”
“If you mean Buffy Summers, we might like to have a word with her too if she has time,” Coulson spoke up as the girl waved them towards seats.
“She probably can,” the girl answered. She stood in the room’s doorway and yelled again, “Buffy, you too!”
A moment later, a petite blonde entered the room followed by an older man. “Sheesh, Dawn, there’s no need for all the yelling. These our guests?” Two cool gazes assessed the agents in their living room.
“Yup,” the girl, Dawn, answered cheerfully. Both their visitors sat on comfortable chairs, clearly illuminated by the sunlight streaming in the windows, so Buffy wasn’t overly worried.
“Yes, thank you, Dawn. I think we’d best handle it from here,” Giles said, ushering her from the room and closing the door. Dawn pouted, but didn’t argue.
Coulson stood as Giles approached and offered his hand. “Agent Phil Coulson. This is Agent Melinda May.” Giles took his hand for a brief shake, then extended the same to May.
“I thought Agenty-people came with badges at the ready?” Buffy commented idly. She also exchanged handshakes with the two agents, carefully keeping her strength in check. “I’m Buffy Summers, but if you asked for me too I’d guess you already knew that.”
“We did,” Coulson acknowledged as they all took seats again. “We’re part of an ongoing investigation into what happened to Sunnydale, California. I understand you’re both survivors of the fallout.”
“We are, and we’re aware that’s all a matter of record,” Giles responded. “We have already been through an official inquiry on the matter. I’m afraid if you want to ask further questions, I must insist on seeing your official identification.”
Coulson had to admit that they were in the right. Fury may have wanted SHIELD’s involvement kept quiet, but faced with two savvy individuals - and he could tell Buffy was savvy, despite her valley girl speech and attitude - Coulson was fairly sure he wouldn’t get anything from them without some amount of give and take.
Pulling his ID out of his jacket pocket, he presented it to Giles. “As I said, I’m Agent Coulson. I work for the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.”
Buffy raised an eyebrow, even as she glanced over at the ID badge Giles was examining. “Sounds like someone really, really wanted your initials to spell SHIELD.”
“Our founders were inspired by Captain America,” Coulson said proudly. Buffy tried not to laugh at the way his eyes lit up; after knowing Andrew for so long she could spot a fanboy a mile away. “Besides, that’s at the core of what we do. Protect. Shield.”
Buffy and Giles exchanged a glance. After a moment, Buffy gave a slight nod. “In essence, that is what we do as well. Though please keep in mind, from one protection organization to another, publicly we don’t exist.”
Coulson was a little surprised at the unexpected admission, but shrugged it off after a moment. “We exist on paper, but SHIELD’s specialty is covert ops. Most people wouldn’t want to know what we deal with.”
Buffy snorted. “The world isn’t prepared to know what we deal with,” she said flippantly. “I’m not too sure you are, either, no matter what you've experienced before.”
Coulson raised an eyebrow. “You could try me and find out.”
May caught Buffy’s eye and rolled her own eyes in a sympathetic gesture. She rather liked the younger woman, and had the sense Buffy had been through much more than just her hometown falling into a previously-unknown sinkhole. Buffy winked in response.
“Well, Agent Coulson, what if I told you that the world is much older than you know?” she asked, her tone light but her expression uncharacteristically serious.
“I would say… please, tell me more.”