"Lacking in Marbles" | Checkpoint #2 | Team Angel
Title: Lacking in Marbles
Team: Angel (crossover with BtVS/AtS)
Wordcount: 900
Rating: PG
Type: gen
Chapter: 1/?
Prompt: checkpoint #2
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Anya demanded, staring at the phone. “Pink marbles?”
“The people running this Race are lacking a few marbles of their own, if you ask me,” the ex-vampire replied.
“Why? Are they marble collectors?”
Angel decided to let that one go. The landscape whooshed by as they made their way north, past all the Civil War markers and little signs marking streams and rivers. He needed to get Cordelia back, and he needed her soon. The Senior Partners were still after him, and… “Hey!” he shouted at a driver who nearly took his back fender off. “Watch where…” he trailed off, staring in the rearview mirror. “How the hell did she find me?” he whispered, not intending Anya to hear.
“Is someone following us?” the former vengeance demon demanded, swiveling around. “Who’s that?” she asked, seeing the young girl driving a battered old Honda.
Angel’s teeth clenched. “We need to pull over.”
“We can’t pull over! We need to win this race, Angel! That’s not gonna happen if we keep pulling over!”
Ignoring her cries of indignation, Angel pulled off the highway and parked by the side of the road. The Honda followed. As soon as both cars were stopped, the girl got out, deliberately slowly, as if to prove that she was in complete control of the situation. She sauntered over to Angel and rested one hand on the door.
“Don’t touch my car,” he snapped.
She pulled back. “Sorry, sweetie.” A quick glance at Anya made her smile. “You do like them blonde, don’tchya?” she asked. Anya self-consciously touched her hair, knowing that after several days on the road her roots were probably starting to show.
“What do you want, Eve?”
“I just need a teensie favor, Angel. The Partners are still after me, and with Lindsey gone there’s no one I can turn to.”
“That’s your problem, Eve, not mine,” Angel informed her stonily.
“But the Partners are after you, too. Can’t we team up. Ya know: Team Angel!” The girl grinned cheesily and waved an imaginary flag.
Angel sighed. “Fine. Get in.”
“Hey!” Anya protested. “That’s not fair! You can’t cut someone else in!”
“She isn’t in it for the money, Anya. And you aren’t either.”
“Sixteen million dollars is a lot, though! I want my whole share!”
Angel grabbed the race phone and handed it to Eve. “Solve this, and you can come,” he told her.
The girl shrugged. “Easy. Knoxville, Tennessee.”
Anya spluttered. “How did you…?”
“I’ve been around a lot,” Eve informed her, hopping in the back seat. “Knoxville’s famous for its pink marbles, and the sports team is the Volunteers.”
“That’s a stupid name for a sports team,” Anya huffed, crossing her arms and falling into indignant silence. Angel pulled back onto the highway, abandoning the old Honda to its fate. After about ten minutes of strained quiet between the two women, he decided lunch was in order. He proposed stopping briefly to pick up McDonalds or something, and pulled into a rest stop. Anya didn’t even snap at him for stopping, which made him think she was really angry.
Eve clambered out of the back seat. “I need to stretch my legs,” she explained. Angel shrugged, and headed into the McDonalds. The line was exceptionally long, and by the time he finally made it back to the car, Anya and Eve were having a full-blown argument. Angel was about to step in and mediate, when he saw the helicopter.
It was black, and sleek, and very familiar. He’d owned a helicopter exactly like that, once, when he was a vampire and CEO of Wolfram & Hart. Two men, dressed all in black, with ski masks over their faces, jumped out. They dashed to the car before Angel could get there. One grabbed Eve and hauled her back to the copter while the other dealt Anya a sharp blow to the head, rendering her unconscious.
“You led them here!” Angel screamed at Eve, rushing to Anya’s defense.
Struggling against her captor, Eve managed to shout back, “I didn’t mean to! Help me!”
The man who had knocked out Anya turned his attention to Angel. Quickly, the ex-vampire dropped the food in the front seat and lunged at the man. But he wasn’t as strong as he usually was - he wasn’t used to being human yet. If only I was still a vampire, he thought desperately. I could kick this guy’s ass. I’d probably be on fire, but I could kick his ass. He saw a baton rushing towards his face, then everything went dark.
------
It was nearing sunset when Anya awoke. “Crap!” she exclaimed, her first thought being of all the time they had lost. Then she looked around for Angel. Who was gone. “Stupid little idiot,” she muttered, searching for the car keys. “Stupid Eve. Who the hell does she think she is, making my life more difficult?” The keys turned up on the pavement near the car, and she was pleased to note that the food was still in good condition, though cold.
“On to Knoxville!” she told herself, settling into the driver’s seat and biting into a somewhat frigid French fry. The thought occurred to her to rescue Angel, but what she was racing for was far more important than some silly vampire who was a little too obsessed with his hair.
Team: Angel (crossover with BtVS/AtS)
Wordcount: 900
Rating: PG
Type: gen
Chapter: 1/?
Prompt: checkpoint #2
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Anya demanded, staring at the phone. “Pink marbles?”
“The people running this Race are lacking a few marbles of their own, if you ask me,” the ex-vampire replied.
“Why? Are they marble collectors?”
Angel decided to let that one go. The landscape whooshed by as they made their way north, past all the Civil War markers and little signs marking streams and rivers. He needed to get Cordelia back, and he needed her soon. The Senior Partners were still after him, and… “Hey!” he shouted at a driver who nearly took his back fender off. “Watch where…” he trailed off, staring in the rearview mirror. “How the hell did she find me?” he whispered, not intending Anya to hear.
“Is someone following us?” the former vengeance demon demanded, swiveling around. “Who’s that?” she asked, seeing the young girl driving a battered old Honda.
Angel’s teeth clenched. “We need to pull over.”
“We can’t pull over! We need to win this race, Angel! That’s not gonna happen if we keep pulling over!”
Ignoring her cries of indignation, Angel pulled off the highway and parked by the side of the road. The Honda followed. As soon as both cars were stopped, the girl got out, deliberately slowly, as if to prove that she was in complete control of the situation. She sauntered over to Angel and rested one hand on the door.
“Don’t touch my car,” he snapped.
She pulled back. “Sorry, sweetie.” A quick glance at Anya made her smile. “You do like them blonde, don’tchya?” she asked. Anya self-consciously touched her hair, knowing that after several days on the road her roots were probably starting to show.
“What do you want, Eve?”
“I just need a teensie favor, Angel. The Partners are still after me, and with Lindsey gone there’s no one I can turn to.”
“That’s your problem, Eve, not mine,” Angel informed her stonily.
“But the Partners are after you, too. Can’t we team up. Ya know: Team Angel!” The girl grinned cheesily and waved an imaginary flag.
Angel sighed. “Fine. Get in.”
“Hey!” Anya protested. “That’s not fair! You can’t cut someone else in!”
“She isn’t in it for the money, Anya. And you aren’t either.”
“Sixteen million dollars is a lot, though! I want my whole share!”
Angel grabbed the race phone and handed it to Eve. “Solve this, and you can come,” he told her.
The girl shrugged. “Easy. Knoxville, Tennessee.”
Anya spluttered. “How did you…?”
“I’ve been around a lot,” Eve informed her, hopping in the back seat. “Knoxville’s famous for its pink marbles, and the sports team is the Volunteers.”
“That’s a stupid name for a sports team,” Anya huffed, crossing her arms and falling into indignant silence. Angel pulled back onto the highway, abandoning the old Honda to its fate. After about ten minutes of strained quiet between the two women, he decided lunch was in order. He proposed stopping briefly to pick up McDonalds or something, and pulled into a rest stop. Anya didn’t even snap at him for stopping, which made him think she was really angry.
Eve clambered out of the back seat. “I need to stretch my legs,” she explained. Angel shrugged, and headed into the McDonalds. The line was exceptionally long, and by the time he finally made it back to the car, Anya and Eve were having a full-blown argument. Angel was about to step in and mediate, when he saw the helicopter.
It was black, and sleek, and very familiar. He’d owned a helicopter exactly like that, once, when he was a vampire and CEO of Wolfram & Hart. Two men, dressed all in black, with ski masks over their faces, jumped out. They dashed to the car before Angel could get there. One grabbed Eve and hauled her back to the copter while the other dealt Anya a sharp blow to the head, rendering her unconscious.
“You led them here!” Angel screamed at Eve, rushing to Anya’s defense.
Struggling against her captor, Eve managed to shout back, “I didn’t mean to! Help me!”
The man who had knocked out Anya turned his attention to Angel. Quickly, the ex-vampire dropped the food in the front seat and lunged at the man. But he wasn’t as strong as he usually was - he wasn’t used to being human yet. If only I was still a vampire, he thought desperately. I could kick this guy’s ass. I’d probably be on fire, but I could kick his ass. He saw a baton rushing towards his face, then everything went dark.
------
It was nearing sunset when Anya awoke. “Crap!” she exclaimed, her first thought being of all the time they had lost. Then she looked around for Angel. Who was gone. “Stupid little idiot,” she muttered, searching for the car keys. “Stupid Eve. Who the hell does she think she is, making my life more difficult?” The keys turned up on the pavement near the car, and she was pleased to note that the food was still in good condition, though cold.
“On to Knoxville!” she told herself, settling into the driver’s seat and biting into a somewhat frigid French fry. The thought occurred to her to rescue Angel, but what she was racing for was far more important than some silly vampire who was a little too obsessed with his hair.