//------------------------------// // A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Gas Station // Story: The Multiverse in a Nutshell // by Pennington Inkwell //------------------------------// Sunset's breathing was shallow and as quiet as possible, as if she unconsciously worried their pursuers would be able to hear her and discover their hiding place. They had spent nearly another half hour driving up and down the town, running stop signs and taking unpredictable paths left, right, and often in circles. If it weren't for her seat belt, she counted at least four times she would have risked being thrown out the window with the way Penn was driving. They had driven up and down the length of the town twice in the hopes of losing their pursuers, finally screeching to a halt in a back alley, where Penn had immediately cut the engine and manually turned off every light, plunging them into pitch blackness. Occasionally, Penn would check his phone in a flash of unnatural light to check how long they had been sitting. "That's... ten minutes. What do you think?" Sunset let out a long breath and nodded. "I'm pretty sure we lost them." Penn nodded, plugging his key into place and cranking the engine back to life. He sucked in air quickly through his teeth and shook his head. "No choice but to get gas now... I was honestly worried she wouldn't even start. We won't make it back to my house..." "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Sunset asked as the car crawled out of its hiding place and back onto the street. "Better than walking at night when people have already started raiding and robbing each other..." Penn sighed, shaking his head in disgust. "Seriously, it's been HOURS since the world 'ended,' and people are already at each other's throats. Personally, I blame the rise of post-apocalyptic fantasy. Everybody wants to be the real-life Mad Max." "Well, I would guess that the fact the city was attacked by a killer alien had something to do with it... But this is still insane. People should be banding together, not fighting each other!" Penn chuckled darkly to himself. "Welcome to the real world, Sunset. Fear and selfishness are nature, and most folks don't bother trying to be better than that." Sunset's heart sank. Suddenly, she missed home even more. "SHOOT!" Penn reached down and hit the switch to turn off his headlights. Looking up, Sunset felt the bottom fall out in her stomach: Parked at the new gas station was the same huge truck that had chased them all over town. "Okay, there's another gas station if we take Main Street back up to-" "Chgchgchgch-ch-ch..." The car shuddered and spit as the engine switched off. Penn's eyes widened as he tried desperately to get the engine to turn over and catch again, to no avail. In a split-second decision, he turned them to coast into the station, having just enough force behind them to carry them right up to the closest pump. With some excessive force, Penn shifted the car into "park" and slapped his hand against the steering wheel. "You've got an AWFUL sense of humor, you know that?" he shouted at the dashboard. Even inside the car, Sunset felt exposed. It was the total opposite of their hiding place in the alley: open, well-lit, and completely conspicuous and vulnerable. "What are we going to do?" Penn sighed, reaching into his pocket and retrieving his wallet. With a long sigh, he retrieved an unfamiliar bill with a 20 printed in the corners, then snapped it shut again. He searched around for a moment before settling his eyes on the glovebox. He reached over, yanking it open and pulling it out of place. He tossed the rest of his wallet into the mess of wires and fuses hidden behind the glovebox before wordlessly popping it back into place. "I'm going to go buy gas. Lock the doors behind me." "Are you NUTS?" Sunset grabbed violently at his shoulder, yanking him back down into his seat. "At best, those maniacs are in that truck, waiting to mug you before you make it into the store! At WORST, they could kill you the moment they lay eyes on you!" Penn motioned to their surroundings helplessly. "Well, they're GOING to notice us! Confrontation is impossible to avoid, here! That's why I'm only taking this 20! They can rob me blind, I'll go with it willingly and tell them it's all we've got, then when they leave we can buy our gas and go!" Sunset shook her head. "That doesn't mean they won't still beat the crap out of you, especially once they realize YOU'RE the one who's been running them all over town! You can't go in there alone!" "Ooooooh no! You are staying RIGHT here! Where it's-" "Safe?" Sunset rapped her knuckles against the glass window. "Yeah! Totally crowbar-proof!" She jabbed her finger into Penn's chest. "I am NOT going to just sit here while you risk your life for a gallon of gas!" Penn groaned, leaning back in his seat. "Oh yeah? Well, what's YOUR plan?" Sunset thought for a moment. "I go in with the money-" "No." "-and you wait thirty seconds before you come in swinging. They have weapons, but I'm fairly certain I could take out at least one and get one of those weapons into OUR hands." Penn raised an eyebrow. "YOU could take one of them out? 'Miss Toothpicks-For-Arms?'" Sunset narrowed her eyes in frustration, though it quickly melted into a smirk. In a quick motion, she snatched the front of his shirt and yanked him forward. At the same time, she raised her other hand and threw a heavy punch, stopping millimeters from his nose. Penn's eyes were wide with surprise and fear, frozen completely out of fear. "First dan black belt in karate. Don't even start thinking I'm helpless." "Y-yes, ma'am..." Penn stuttered as Sunset released him. "Good. Now, we're going with my plan." Penn pondered the situation for another moment, then sighed in resignation. "Fine." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Sunset entered the front doors of the store, her heart was pounding in her chest. As much as she was trying to look tough for Penn, she'd never actually had to use her training in a fight against real people. Most people tended to concede to her any time she mentioned the words "black belt," but a first-level black belt was like a bachelor's degree of martial arts: still only the beginning for a dedicated student. It meant she had only a firm grasp of all the fundamentals. Guess it's time to put my skills to the test... Inside, the same men from before were standing in front of the counter. "Now, don't make this difficult. Put the money and the cigarettes in the bag, and then sit on the floor until we leave. No alarms, no calling the police." The first one urged, tapping his crowbar expectantly against the counter. "Not that they'd come!" the second one piped up. "They're all out tryin' to stop those metal monsters!" Metal monsters? Does that means there's MORE daleks out there? The cashier seemed surprisingly nonplussed by all of this, sighing and opening the register. "Hey! We're serious!" The young woman gave the robber a tired glare. "Buddy, the world is ending and I'm STILL clocked into my minimum wage job until my manager gets here to relieve me. They don't pay me enough to scream when we're getting robbed." She sighed, carefully thumbing out bills one by one from the cash drawer. "You'll get your money, but don't expect a big performance out of me." Enough was enough, Sunset had wasted enough time, already. Gathering up her courage, she loudly cleared her throat, causing the two robbers to jump and immediately turn on her. "It looks like you fellas might be a while, is there a chance I could sneak in to pay for some gas? I can put the money right in the bag, if that's easier for you?" The cashier shrugged, gesturing to the open bag. "Or how about you just give us EVERYTHING you've got and get on the floor?" The one with the baseball bat waggled it threateningly in her direction. Sunset sucked in air through her teeth and turned her pockets inside out. "Sorry, all I've got's the 20, it was emergency money." The thug with the bat moved closer. "Well, if you need gas, that means you've got a CAR, don'tcha? Toss me the keys." Sunset repeated the act of sucking air through her teeth, shrugging her shoulders. "The keys are in the car-" "Do you think I'm STUPID?" "-being held by my buddy with the shotgun." Behind her, Sunset heard the telltale clicking of a gun being cocked. In a moment, her mind did the math: two had gotten out to harass them in the car before they escaped. That meant there had to have been one more behind the wheel. "A shotgun, huh? I think that could come in VERY handy for protecting our new car." Sunset didn't turn, she simply calculated a few things based on how high the voice sounded. She breathed deeply, then exhaled slowly, taking a moment to find her center. "Hi-YAH!" Calm and collected, Sunset Shimmer spun on her heel, planted her feet, and threw the hardest punch she possibly could into the chest of the man behind her, striking right at the solar plexus. The only noise he made as all the air rushed out of his lungs was a soft wheeze. As he doubled over, Sunset wrapped her arm over his, keeping the gun pointed away from her as she lifted upwards, overextending the man's elbow and forcing him to release the pistol in his hand. Her free hand reached down and snatched it. With a smooth motion, she brought her knee up and into his forehead, knocking him unconscious, then spun back around, turning the gun on the two robbing the store. The one with the crowbar dropped his weapon out of pure shock. The one with the baseball bat's jaw hung open, but still kept a grip on the bat. Identifying the bigger threat, Sunset trained the gun on him. "Now then, you two are going to apologize to this nice clerk, then pick up your friend, go home, and wait patiently in your houses until the emergency broadcast tells you it's safe to go back out. Understand?" All at once, the front door of the station flew open as Penn dashed inside, an x-shaped tire iron gripped in one hand as an improvised weapon raised above his head. "AAAAAA- huh?" His eyes went first to the gun in Sunset's hand, then to the man on the ground behind her, and finally to the other two muggers and the clerk, who gave a casual shrug. "Don't worry, Penn. Things are under control." "I- I guess they ARE!" "Just make sure this guy doesn't get back up without me knowing." Sunset kicked the body behind her with her heel. "Will... do..." Penn seemed more perplexed than anything, but dutifully followed her instructions, guarding the unconscious body so Sunset was free to walk across the room. She advanced on the man with the baseball bat, motioning for him to drop it. With a sour look on his face, he followed her instructions, letting it clatter to the floor. As the two of them took steps towards her, however, Sunset narrowed her eyes, pointing up and firing into the ceiling. "WOAH WOAH, WHAT? We're LEAVING!" "You're forgetting something..." Baseball bat guy stared at her in disbelief. "Y-you're serious?" Sunset nodded. With total exasperation, the man walked back up to the register, snatching the empty bag. "I'm... sorry." The other one lined up behind him, waiting his turn. "Ah'm sorry, too..." For the first time, the clerk smiled, the only affirmation she seemed to be ready to give them. Sunset kept herself out of reach and the gun trained on them as they walked over and picked up their third member, carrying him out the door. A few seconds later, the truck roared to life and sped away. Penn finally lowered his improvised weapon, turning and staring at Sunset, dumbfounded. "That... was probably the coolest thing I've ever seen in my life. And I killed a dalek today." Sunset's cheeks flushed a bit as she lowered the gun, setting it on the ground. "I- I HATE those things..." Sunset couldn't hold back a shudder in her voice. It had taken everything she had not to jump and shout with surprise when she had fired the gun, she had never shot a gun before in her life and the noise and force of it was more than she had expected, even from a small handgun. Penn nodded, scowling and picking up the gun with two fingers before placing it on the counter. "You'll probably get more use out of this than us." The clerk smiled again, picking up the gun and giving it a satisfied cock before spinning it expertly on her finger and tucking it into her belt. "You two needed gas?" "Yes!" Sunset smiled and placed the 20 on the counter, only for the clerk to shake her head. "Tell you what: for whatever little it's worth, whenever you two wanna fill up it's on me." "Really?" "Yeah, no prob. I'll give you free gas for life, if I can. Or at least until my manager shows up." "Thank you! Thank you so much!" Sunset jumped up with glee, reaching around the counter and giving the clerk an awkward hug. Penn's response was much more reserved, a grateful nod and a sincere smile. "We really can't thank you enough." The clerk smiled and tapped a few buttons on the register. "Make sure you get the good stuff, 'kay?" Sunset grinned and nodded enthusiastically, waving goodbye as they both left out the front door again. A few minutes later, they were pulling back up outside Penn's house with a full tank of gas for the morning. Penn let out a long sigh as he put the car in park and removed the key. "Well, as grateful as I am for the free gas, I'd have to call today a bust... Sorry, Sunset." "What are you sorry for? You were already more help than I could have asked for!" Penn shrugged, tossing his keys up and down to himself. "Well, we'll have to try to figure out a plan for tomorrow. The next town over is about a half-hour drive west of here, that would take us into New Mexico. Cities and towns are few and far between, but if your friends landed between them, we could be searching for YEARS checking every cotton field and pumpjack for signs of them!" Sunset nodded in affirmation. Just driving through town, she could tell that off-roading was not an option, and going on foot wouldn't be possible in this heat. "I'll just have to trust that each of them can make it to civilization on their own if they got dropped in the middle of nowhere..." Penn nodded, placing a firm hand on her shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Look, your friends all have superpowers, right? They'll be fine." Sunset reached up and held her geode in the palm of her hand. "If they still work at all..." There was a tense beat of silence. Penn tapped thoughtfully on his chin, staring intensely at the geode, then at Sunset. After several seconds, he let out a long groan of defeat and held out his arm in front of her. "Look. JUST tell me what I'm thinking about RIGHT NOW, okay? No looking at my memories, got it?" Sunset glanced up, surprised. "I thought you said-" "This is a ONE TIME offer, okay? If your powers don't work in this world, then the search for your friends is a lot more urgent. Consider it confirmation they're safe." Sunset smiled, nodding and placing one hand on the geode. After a moment's hesitation, she placed her other hand on Penn's wrist. So, if you HAD tried to smash the portal to Equestria with a sledgehammer, wouldn't the hammer have just gone through the portal? In what way did that bluff make ANY sense? Sunset quickly released her grip on his arm, having gotten all of the confirmation she needed her powers were still working. "Well?" "Look, I was under pressure, okay? I was REALLY expecting to still win the Fall Formal! I worked with what I had, and it wasn't much!" Penn smirked, opening his door and slipping outside. "Come on, Sunset. Let's go put together our plan for tomorrow." Sunset sighed and shook her head, but she couldn't hold back a smile as she stepped out of the other side of the car. She felt much more confident that her friends would be safe now that she could be sure that they still had their powers. Just hang in there, girls... We're on our way! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skye had to admit, she was surprised that ANY businesses were still open. "Guess even the end of the world isn't enough to make some people give up minimum wage..." she muttered to herself as she stepped through the door of the gas station. Still, she didn't have time to consider the moral implications of a system that would compel employees to keep working through the end of the world, she had a mission to do. "Lovely weather we're having..." the attendant muttered sarcastically. "Can I help you?" "Actually, maybe you can?" Skye reached into her pocket, retrieving a piece of paper and unfolding it before placing it on the counter. "I'm looking for a couple friends of mine, we got separated a few days ago." The girl picked up the paper, examining it closely before smiling in recognition. "Oh! Red and her buddy! Yeah, they just came through here about an hour ago! Saved my hide and got me this!" She reached down and held up a handgun. Skye smiled. "That's... really cool! Just the kind of thing they'd do! Do you know where they went?" The attendant shrugged. "Beats me. They just filled their tank and left." Skye repressed a double-take. In the footage from the hardware store they had walked away, so the team had assumed they were stuck on foot. "They were driving? Can you tell me what kind of car they were in?" The attendant shook her head and shrugged. "I dunno. Wouldn't you already know that if you're their friend?" "Well, when we got split up, they were on foot. They must have found a car they could use." "And they sure weren't looking for anybody when they got here..." The attendant muttered, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. Skye could tell it was time to bail. She quickly grabbed the photograph, folding it back up and shoving it in her pocket. "Well, thanks anyway. You've been a HUGE help, just letting me know that I'm on the right path! Thank you!" Before the attendant could ask any more questions, she quickly made her way back out the front door and around the corner. She raised one hand to her ear, activating the communicator. "Hey, Coulson! I've got a lead on the targets, but I'm going to need access to this gas station's security cameras." "Good work, Skye. Fitz, get on that ASAP." "Yes, sir! I'm on my way, Skye." Skye rolled her eyes as she pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Bet I can get in with my phone before you get here, Fitz!" Skye hadn't been working with these SHIELD agents for very long, but she was quickly learning to make a place for herself on the team. Now they were all pushing their limits trying to find out the source of this alien invasion and how to stop it, and she had found their best lead yet. Man, first these two kids take down a killer alien robot, then save somebody in a gas station and give her a gun? For people without superpowers, they're sure acting like they could be superheroes. Can't wait to meet them...