intheheart (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
intheheart) wrote2012-02-28 02:49 pm
intheheart) wrote2012-02-28 02:49 pm
To The Moon and Back
Title: To the Moon and Back
Rating: PG.
Summary: Ivy's plans draw towards their successful conclusions.
Date: 2011
AU: Mad Scientist
Notes: Hands... who remembers the AU where Ivy took over the world?
Gina took a careful look around to ensure she hadn't been followed, then ducked surreptitiously into the abandoned building that currently served Ivy as a lair, and waited a few minutes by the door to bash anyone bursting in with an "A-hah!" Ordinarily she didn't take this many precautions, but there had been a recent spate of officious superheroes kidnapping her to de-brainwash her, never mind that she wasn't brainwashed and never had been. Ivy had had to knock down quite a few buildings to rescue her from the last one. It was getting more than old.
Of course, Ivy had also taken the opportunity to build the animatronic T-Rex/AT-ST hybrid she'd apparently always wanted, so it wasn't a total loss.
No one came bursting in, and after five minutes, she decided they weren't going to. "Ivy?" she called, unwinding the scarf from around her neck and draping it over the incongruous coat rack that stood alone in an otherwise empty and dusty room. "I'm here, let me in!"
A hatch popped open in the far wall, so suddenly it startled her. A blinding white light emitted from behind it, so bright she couldn't see the person who barked "Password!" as more than a vaguely human shadow.
Gina sighed, and folded her arms. Did they have to go through this every time Ivy got new henchmen? "Let me in," she said, quite deliberately, "or I'll put a stiletto heel through your foot."
There was a hurried and whispered conference, then the voice said, much more meekly, "Sorry, miss. I'm not allowed to let you in without the password. Doctor's orders. You might be a reporter or..." it shuddered. "A superhero."
"I'm the mastermind's girl," Gina said, "and you'll let me in if you know what's good for you."
Another whispered conference followed that one. "Okay," the voice said. "Then what's the doctor like in his tea?"
"She," Gina said, "drinks coffee. And also, that's a really stupid test, because everyone around here knows she's female."
The false door hissed open, and the minion, a young, dark-skinned man with a sheepish smile, said, "They don't know she drinks coffee, miss. Come in please?"
Gina entered the elevator and rode down in prim silence, until the henchman said, "Sorry about the password thing, miss."
"It's all right," she said. "Just let me in next time."
"Yes, miss," he said.
"I wasn't kidding about the stiletto heel."
"No, miss."
The elevator dinged as it reached the lowest floor, and Gina could have sworn she saw the henchman heave a sigh of relief.
The doors slid open on a lair that would put many another mad scientist to shame. Sterile steel and chrome lined the walls; a steel mesh balcony that looked rickety but wasn't lined the walls, while similarly nonrickety walkways extended out over the lair proper. Ivy, as per specs, had several open tanks of noxious-looking liquid beneath the walkways-- Gina knew for a fact that it was just the mud they used at spas for facials and mudbaths, with some orange food coloring thrown in for the look of the thing-- and a death trap in the corner that had been half-constructed for as long as Gina had known her. Ivy set great store in looking the part.
Henchmen bustled over the rest of the lair, maintaining the animatronic T-Rex walker, feeding Ivy's pets (a variety of strays, plus three owls, an extremely lazy alligator, and the most spoiled Siberian tiger on earth), tuning up Ivy's laser, cannibalizing several other machines for parts-- there was a new one since Gina had last been here, a big green tractor whose purpose she could not even begin to imagine. The vibrations of machinery echoed off the walls and rumbled up her legs; the tang of metal slicked the back of her throat.
Home, Gina thought, and stepped out onto the platform, her heels clicking across the steel.
Henchmen spotted her as she descended the stairs, elbowing each other and whispering. One or two who'd been there a while snapped to attention. Gina hid her amusement and nodded to them in her best queenly manner, then asked, "Where is Ivy?"
"The doctor is working on the telescope," one of them said, lifting his visor. He had muddy hazel eyes in a square face, and he gestured toward the far left. "She's in a good mood. Laser worked earlier."
"Oh, lovely!" Gina exclaimed, and looked up at the laser arching over their heads. "She's been working on that for ages."
"It may be ready for deployment in as soon as six months," the henchman said, and patted the laser, much like a farmer pats the rump of a prize cow.
Which meant Ivy would move the timeline up, which meant that Gina wouldn't see her for the next year or so. Better get what time she could right now. "Thank you," she said, and smiled at the henchman, then moved to the white-coated figure bent over the eyepiece of the giant telescope that dominated the far side of the lair.
Ivy's hair fell over her shoulders, ribbons of loosely braided pigtails, flyaway tendrils leaving crimson threads against the white coat. Beneath it, her legs were bare, her feet in short green heels. She was probably wearing the green dress, then, the one that made her skin look like cream and her legs look a thousand miles long. Gina smiled, and touched her lover lightly on the small of her back. "Hey."
Ivy jumped up, her lab coat falling open over-- yes, the green dress. "Hi!" she exclaimed, and pushed a pigtail out of her face. "When did you get in?"
"Just now," Gina said, and bent to kiss Ivy's upturned mouth. "Your henchmen let me in. Do you not show them my picture anymore in orientation?"
"Yes," Ivy said, "but we had a problem with a master of disguise the other day. Whoever's on the door was probably just being cautious."
Gina blinked. "She dressed up like me?"
"He," Ivy said, "and no, he dressed up like Aaron. Nearly got all the way in, too. We'll have to move soon." She sighed, looked around at the lab. "Good thing this is portable."
"I don't understand how," Gina said, "but all right, I'll take your word for it. What on earth is that tractor for?"
"Parts," Ivy said. "Turns out one of the things the laser needed was an extra engine. One of the henches picked that up at a farm auction." She grinned. "Heroes didn't even stop him. What's a supervillain going to do with a tractor?"
"What, indeed," Gina murmured. "Do we have a date tonight?"
"Yes!" Ivy turned back to the telescope, set her eye against the viewer and made a few adjustments to the knobs, talking all the while. "I've got a present for you first, though. Do you remember what I said to you, when we first started going out?"
Gina laughed. "Yes, very well. You said you'd give me the moon. You know, at the tie I didn't think you meant it literally."
"Right," Ivy said. She fiddled with a few of the knobs, then stood back. "Well, I can't quite give you the moon yet, but I was testing the laser, seeing how far it could get, and... well, look."
Gina looked at her for a moment, then bent down and looked through the eyepiece.
Ivy had focused the telescope on two spots of red, heaven alone knew where or what they were. They spun gently in the sky, pinkish red wisps pulling away from them... it almost, if she squinted, looked like a heart, and she said so.
"Yes," Ivy said, and at her tone of voice, Gina pulled back and looked at her eyes. She was smiling, softly, her whole face suffused with tenderness. "They're the Aurigae Nebulae. They sort of looked like hearts to me, too. Two hearts, making one heart."
"Why, Ivy," Gina said, straightening up. "I think that's the sweetest thing you've ever said."
Ivy stepped forward, wrapped both arms around Gina's waist, and kissed her, soft and gentle. "Someday I'll give you the moon," she said.
"I have no doubt of it," Gina said, and kissed her nose. "Let's start with the world, though."
Ivy grinned like a fiend. "I'm working on it," she said. "The laser's working for real now, and we've almost fixed the aiming system. I could take over the world as early as next January."
Gina's eyebrows went up. "Well, then. I'll start getting my queen of the world wardrobe together."
"You do that," Ivy said, and bent her back over her arm in a deep kiss, hard and hot and pulsing.
It took Gina a moment, after Ivy released her, to realize that the roaring was not in her ears, but was in fact the henchmen clapping and whistling.
"Shut up, you," Ivy shouted amiably at them, then, unbraiding one pigtail, she turned back to Gina. "So, where did you want to go for dinner?"
"The moon," Gina said, still a bit dazed. Ivy laughed.
Rating: PG.
Summary: Ivy's plans draw towards their successful conclusions.
Date: 2011
AU: Mad Scientist
Notes: Hands... who remembers the AU where Ivy took over the world?
Gina took a careful look around to ensure she hadn't been followed, then ducked surreptitiously into the abandoned building that currently served Ivy as a lair, and waited a few minutes by the door to bash anyone bursting in with an "A-hah!" Ordinarily she didn't take this many precautions, but there had been a recent spate of officious superheroes kidnapping her to de-brainwash her, never mind that she wasn't brainwashed and never had been. Ivy had had to knock down quite a few buildings to rescue her from the last one. It was getting more than old.
Of course, Ivy had also taken the opportunity to build the animatronic T-Rex/AT-ST hybrid she'd apparently always wanted, so it wasn't a total loss.
No one came bursting in, and after five minutes, she decided they weren't going to. "Ivy?" she called, unwinding the scarf from around her neck and draping it over the incongruous coat rack that stood alone in an otherwise empty and dusty room. "I'm here, let me in!"
A hatch popped open in the far wall, so suddenly it startled her. A blinding white light emitted from behind it, so bright she couldn't see the person who barked "Password!" as more than a vaguely human shadow.
Gina sighed, and folded her arms. Did they have to go through this every time Ivy got new henchmen? "Let me in," she said, quite deliberately, "or I'll put a stiletto heel through your foot."
There was a hurried and whispered conference, then the voice said, much more meekly, "Sorry, miss. I'm not allowed to let you in without the password. Doctor's orders. You might be a reporter or..." it shuddered. "A superhero."
"I'm the mastermind's girl," Gina said, "and you'll let me in if you know what's good for you."
Another whispered conference followed that one. "Okay," the voice said. "Then what's the doctor like in his tea?"
"She," Gina said, "drinks coffee. And also, that's a really stupid test, because everyone around here knows she's female."
The false door hissed open, and the minion, a young, dark-skinned man with a sheepish smile, said, "They don't know she drinks coffee, miss. Come in please?"
Gina entered the elevator and rode down in prim silence, until the henchman said, "Sorry about the password thing, miss."
"It's all right," she said. "Just let me in next time."
"Yes, miss," he said.
"I wasn't kidding about the stiletto heel."
"No, miss."
The elevator dinged as it reached the lowest floor, and Gina could have sworn she saw the henchman heave a sigh of relief.
The doors slid open on a lair that would put many another mad scientist to shame. Sterile steel and chrome lined the walls; a steel mesh balcony that looked rickety but wasn't lined the walls, while similarly nonrickety walkways extended out over the lair proper. Ivy, as per specs, had several open tanks of noxious-looking liquid beneath the walkways-- Gina knew for a fact that it was just the mud they used at spas for facials and mudbaths, with some orange food coloring thrown in for the look of the thing-- and a death trap in the corner that had been half-constructed for as long as Gina had known her. Ivy set great store in looking the part.
Henchmen bustled over the rest of the lair, maintaining the animatronic T-Rex walker, feeding Ivy's pets (a variety of strays, plus three owls, an extremely lazy alligator, and the most spoiled Siberian tiger on earth), tuning up Ivy's laser, cannibalizing several other machines for parts-- there was a new one since Gina had last been here, a big green tractor whose purpose she could not even begin to imagine. The vibrations of machinery echoed off the walls and rumbled up her legs; the tang of metal slicked the back of her throat.
Home, Gina thought, and stepped out onto the platform, her heels clicking across the steel.
Henchmen spotted her as she descended the stairs, elbowing each other and whispering. One or two who'd been there a while snapped to attention. Gina hid her amusement and nodded to them in her best queenly manner, then asked, "Where is Ivy?"
"The doctor is working on the telescope," one of them said, lifting his visor. He had muddy hazel eyes in a square face, and he gestured toward the far left. "She's in a good mood. Laser worked earlier."
"Oh, lovely!" Gina exclaimed, and looked up at the laser arching over their heads. "She's been working on that for ages."
"It may be ready for deployment in as soon as six months," the henchman said, and patted the laser, much like a farmer pats the rump of a prize cow.
Which meant Ivy would move the timeline up, which meant that Gina wouldn't see her for the next year or so. Better get what time she could right now. "Thank you," she said, and smiled at the henchman, then moved to the white-coated figure bent over the eyepiece of the giant telescope that dominated the far side of the lair.
Ivy's hair fell over her shoulders, ribbons of loosely braided pigtails, flyaway tendrils leaving crimson threads against the white coat. Beneath it, her legs were bare, her feet in short green heels. She was probably wearing the green dress, then, the one that made her skin look like cream and her legs look a thousand miles long. Gina smiled, and touched her lover lightly on the small of her back. "Hey."
Ivy jumped up, her lab coat falling open over-- yes, the green dress. "Hi!" she exclaimed, and pushed a pigtail out of her face. "When did you get in?"
"Just now," Gina said, and bent to kiss Ivy's upturned mouth. "Your henchmen let me in. Do you not show them my picture anymore in orientation?"
"Yes," Ivy said, "but we had a problem with a master of disguise the other day. Whoever's on the door was probably just being cautious."
Gina blinked. "She dressed up like me?"
"He," Ivy said, "and no, he dressed up like Aaron. Nearly got all the way in, too. We'll have to move soon." She sighed, looked around at the lab. "Good thing this is portable."
"I don't understand how," Gina said, "but all right, I'll take your word for it. What on earth is that tractor for?"
"Parts," Ivy said. "Turns out one of the things the laser needed was an extra engine. One of the henches picked that up at a farm auction." She grinned. "Heroes didn't even stop him. What's a supervillain going to do with a tractor?"
"What, indeed," Gina murmured. "Do we have a date tonight?"
"Yes!" Ivy turned back to the telescope, set her eye against the viewer and made a few adjustments to the knobs, talking all the while. "I've got a present for you first, though. Do you remember what I said to you, when we first started going out?"
Gina laughed. "Yes, very well. You said you'd give me the moon. You know, at the tie I didn't think you meant it literally."
"Right," Ivy said. She fiddled with a few of the knobs, then stood back. "Well, I can't quite give you the moon yet, but I was testing the laser, seeing how far it could get, and... well, look."
Gina looked at her for a moment, then bent down and looked through the eyepiece.
Ivy had focused the telescope on two spots of red, heaven alone knew where or what they were. They spun gently in the sky, pinkish red wisps pulling away from them... it almost, if she squinted, looked like a heart, and she said so.
"Yes," Ivy said, and at her tone of voice, Gina pulled back and looked at her eyes. She was smiling, softly, her whole face suffused with tenderness. "They're the Aurigae Nebulae. They sort of looked like hearts to me, too. Two hearts, making one heart."
"Why, Ivy," Gina said, straightening up. "I think that's the sweetest thing you've ever said."
Ivy stepped forward, wrapped both arms around Gina's waist, and kissed her, soft and gentle. "Someday I'll give you the moon," she said.
"I have no doubt of it," Gina said, and kissed her nose. "Let's start with the world, though."
Ivy grinned like a fiend. "I'm working on it," she said. "The laser's working for real now, and we've almost fixed the aiming system. I could take over the world as early as next January."
Gina's eyebrows went up. "Well, then. I'll start getting my queen of the world wardrobe together."
"You do that," Ivy said, and bent her back over her arm in a deep kiss, hard and hot and pulsing.
It took Gina a moment, after Ivy released her, to realize that the roaring was not in her ears, but was in fact the henchmen clapping and whistling.
"Shut up, you," Ivy shouted amiably at them, then, unbraiding one pigtail, she turned back to Gina. "So, where did you want to go for dinner?"
"The moon," Gina said, still a bit dazed. Ivy laughed.