Twilight Velvet was waiting for the two of them as they returned. She stood up as straight as they approached, raising one eyebrow as she looked them up and down.
"Looks like it was a bit rough," she stated. "Was it a success?"
With a low growl, Aria unrolled her jacket and held up the wooden heart.
"It was a wolf made of wood," Aria stated.
"So," Twilight Velvet said, eyes narrowing as she smirked, "you could call it... a timber wolf?"
Aria let out a groan, rolling her eyes.
"I'm sure that's what they're called in Equestria." Because it was obvious, stupid, and very much something the ponies would name such a thing. "Anyway, we were able to deal with it, and found this." She held up the heart. "Pretty sure it's the focus. Like the battery for it or something."
Velvet gave a nod, then turned to Pharynx.
"And you ran into SCOWL?"
"After," Pharynx answered. "Agents Grubber and Shadow."
"Did they discover anything?"
"We were nowhere near the remaining brush when we met. Aria had hidden the object in her jacket well before then, and neither she nor I answered any of their questions."
Twilight Velvet gave a nod.
"Good." She took a breath. "Pharynx, go ahead and get started on the report. I'm going to escort Aria down to the lab so she can turn in the focus for study, and get a check up."
With a nod, Pharynx stepped away and walked off, leaving the two women where they were.
"I can get there on my own," Aria declared, glaring at the senior agent.
"I'm sure you can," Velvet assured, "but there is still a matter we need to discuss." She motioned down the hall toward the lab area.
"You mean SCOWL?" Aria asked. When she got a nod, she rolled her eyes, letting out an annoyed grunt. "What kind of stupid name is that, anyways?"
"Not as stupid as SMILE, I bet," Velvet replied with a smile.
A snort of surprise escaped from Aria at that. Admittedly, she had been thinking that herself as well since the first time she heard it. What kind of secret organization would name itself an acronym based on a facial expression? Especially one that was supposed to be positive? A qualifier she did not think she would add before today. Still, she had no plan of saying it out loud, and definitely was not expecting to hear it from someone else who worked here.
Aria's eyes narrowed as she studied the other woman. Was this a trick? An act? Was she trying to act friendly to make Aria like her? Make her think that they had something in common? Might even be friendly toward each other? It was a ploy that Aria had seen Adagio use before. Although if that was the case, why? What could Agent Twilight Velvet get out of pretending to get along with Aria? Aria was already working for them. Although so far, that had been more of a pain in the ass then it was worth so far. Still, she had agreed, and was not going to quit any time soon. At the same time, why would Velvet be so friendly to her if not for some ulterior motive? Considering all the trouble the sirens caused, she should actually openly dislike Aria. More so since Velvet's daughter was friends with the girls the three of them tried to drive apart and destroy, even if it did end up backfiring on them.
It was all making Aria's head hurt.
Or was that exhaustion and dehydration?
Whatever. No matter the cause of it, the best way to get rid of it was to jut get things over and done with. Drop off the heart, get checked out, find out what she can about SCOWL, then she can go home, have something to drink, and take a nap. Or maybe go out, have a couple drinks, and find a girl to spend the night with.
Aria walked after Agent Velvet, following her to the lab.
"So, who are they?" she asked.
"That's another reason we're heading to the lab," Velvet said. "Moondancer has tried looking into them, and has a pretty good theory about them." A small smile tugged at her mouth as she gave a shake of her head. "I swear, sometimes the only way to get that girl to talk about something is to get her lecturing." The smile grew smaller. "She really needs to get out more. Make some friends her own age. Or any friends at all, for that matter."
The moment they arrived, Moondancer was in front of them, eyes wide with excitement. Her arms were across her chest, one hand gripping the elbow of her lab coat, while the other tapped nervously against the same.
"You have a magical object for me to study?" she asked, in the same tone of an addict looking for their next fix.
Aria held up the timber wolf heart. Moondancer gave a squeal at the sight, and snatched it up, holding it against her chest.
"Hold on," Agent Velvet called out. "Before you disappear to study that, Aria needs to have her injuries checked, especially her leg, and you need to fill her in on SCOWL."
Moondancer's eyes went wide as she slowly inhaled. Rushing to a desk, she opened a drawer and put the heart in it.
"Kerfuffle can perform the exam," she declared. "I have to get the presentation ready."
"Presentation," Aria muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes. What had she just gotten into?
"Agent Blaze," Kerfuffle called out from beside the examination table. "Take your pants and lay down, and I'll take care of you." Her hands came up to her mouth as she let out a small gasp. A pink tinge spread across her face. "I-I-I mean your legs. Your injuries. I'll take care of your injuries."
Aria raised an eyebrow, looking curiously at the blushing girl. She had caught the innuendo in Kerfuffle's statement, and had considered teasing her about it. Like asking about getting dinner first, or at least a drink. Given Kerfuffle's reaction, though, she had caught it herself and was rather embarrassed. Could the little lab rat have an interest in Aria?
Maybe this could work to her advantage.
The blood soaked pocket stuck to Aria's skin as she took her pants off, pulling away slowly. The tugging as it peeled off sent a fresh flare of pain through the leg, and re-opened the wound. Aria settled on the table, and the blood was cleaned from the leg, letting Kerfuffle see the wounds and figure out how severe they were.
Meanwhile, Moondancer pulled out transparent drawing board, wheeling it so that everyone could see. She then pulled out a small tablet and tapped at it. As she did, the glass screen lit up white, before shifting to black. The letters S-C-O-W-L showed up in the center, in big, red block letters. Moondancer ran her hand down her front, straightened up, and took a deep breath.
"SCOWL," she announced. "A rival agency to our own." The letters shifted to line up vertically along the edge of the screen. "The name of which stands for: the Study and Containment of Other World Lifeforms." As Moondancer said the word, it spelled out on the screen, filling out the acronym. The writing vanished as a picture of a building appeared. "From what I can gather, the agency was created by The Department of Defense, after a mysterious ship crashed in Hoswell, New Marexico, back in nineteen forty-one." The picture changed to a crash site, a long deep furrow in the ground.
"Wait," Aria called out, leaning forward. "Are you saying that it actually was a UFO?"
"Yes, and no," Moondancer replied. The picture shifted to wreckage, and she pointed at it. "By the literal definition of the acronym, yes, an unidentified flying object did in fact crash. One that was filled with technology not familiar with people of that time. However, the connotation of it being a ship from another world is not one that I can confirm or deny. It is a possibility, but it also could have been an experimental vessel for extra-dimensional or trans-temporal exploration."
"You mean a time machine?"
"Among other possibilities, yes."
As Aria leaned back and considered the possibilities, Moondancer continued.
"Regardless of origin, an unknown craft did crash, and contained technology previously unknown by humans at the time." She changed the picture, showing a series of images from ancient giant computers, to laptops, and then to tablets. "Some of it has likely been adapted for use and to advance our own technology and capabilities, while others have either been kept in containment, or confined to their own purposes." Moondancer let out a sigh, adjusting her glasses. "Unfortunately, that means we don't know what sort of technology they use, or how it compares to our own."
The screen turned back to black, a white question mark in the middle.
"And, sadly, that's all I know about them so far."
"Well that's entertaining," Aria said, "but fuck all when it comes to useful."
"Secret agencies don't exactly set up official websites explaining their purpose, location, members, and having an FAQ page," Moondancer retorted. "I can run the names and descriptions of the agents you met, and see if anything shows up."
"Which, I'm afraid, will do no good," Twilight Velvet replied. "At least in regards to Tempest Shadow. We tried that when we first ran into her, and nothing came up."
"Excuse me for interrupting," Kerfuffle spoke up, "but I'm done cleaning the leg and wound. It's not too bad, but should be sutured shut. With a normal person, I would recommend stitches, but considering your accelerated healing capabilities, I think we should go with staples instead."
"Staples," Aria repeated, taking the information in. The idea of humans using staples to hold their skin together was not surprising. Humans did all sorts of crazy things. It was easy to imagine some construction worker taking a staple gun, using it on a cut on his arm, and going on with work. Still, this was the first time she was hearing it as an actual medical procedure. She had seen stitches with thread, those butterfly bandages, and even glues, but not staples.
"Don't worry," Velvet assured. "It may itch a little, but once the anesthesia wears off, you hardly notice them." She took a step toward the door. "That said, however, I think you will understand if I don't wish to stay and watch. I know it's not going to hurt, but seeing it..." She gave a shake of her head. "So I'll leave you to it."
With Agent Velvet gone and Moondancer's presentation done, that just left Aria to focus on her leg. Iodine was used to disinfect the area around her wound, and a local anesthetic was injected. Once it was properly numb, Kerfuffle went and grabbed the surgical stapler.
It did not look like how Aria had imagined. Admittedly, she had not known about it to give it much thought, but it had still been enough to develop a basic impression. One where someone basically took a staple gun used for carpentry and put it to a person's skin. That was not the case, however. For starters, it came in a paper and plastic wrapper, like most other doctor instruments came in. Probably to keep it sterile? Then there was the stapler itself. It was much smaller than a staple gun, barely more than two handles to squeeze together and the head for the staples to come out of. It was also covered in a bright white enamel coating.
It also turned out that since none of them were used to it, it became a two person job. Moondancer had to hold the wound closed and flesh in place while Kerfuffle applied the staples. Aria watched as they were placed. Each time there was a click of the stapler, her mind told her that there was also a small burst of pain, but she never actually felt it. No pain at all. Not even the pressure of the metal pressing through her skin.
"There we go," Kerfuffle announced. "All finished up." She set the stapler aside. "Once the anesthesia wears off, your body should have gotten used to them enough that you won't notice them." With a smile, she gave the leg a pat. "Still, it would be best not to overexert it. So no dancing and no running if you can help it."
Aria leaned closer, looked Kerfuffle in the eye, and raised an eyebrow.
"So, can I still fuck?"
Kerfuffle let out a squeak and looked away, blushing.