3A/N: It took me a few days, but I finally finished this first chapter. If anybody's wondering what role the Crystal Gems are going to have in this story, let's just say it'll be huge! Anyway, watching Jurassic World yesterday and Age of Ultron the week before may or may not have provided some inspiration for how this crossover will turn out; we'll just have to wait and see for the time being.
I digress. I just can't wait to get to work on this thing. Hopefully, it'll have been worth the wait.
September 7, 1972
Teufort, New Mexico
It seemed that even when it was 82 degrees out, nothing could stop the denizens from doing whatever they pleased even if it was illegal. Violet Sanger was no different from the other New Mexicans in that regard; sure, she had a little bit more money and bore an uncanny resemblance to one of the greatest Hollywood actresses of all time, but nevertheless the fifty-two-year-old woman regarded herself as just your average American.
In fact, she and her young son Archie were currently at a post-Labor Day sale, looking for some antiques to decorate the house. It wasn't every day that they went out to find new furniture and/or decorations for the house but at the same time, it was nice to get out and actually do something that could subjectively be considered fun. So far, they hadn't had any luck finding anything that stood out to her; even if they had, it still wouldn't change the fact that Archie found this whole thing extremely boring and desperately wanted out of there.
"Not yet, son," Violet chided him. "I just need one thing. One thing. If you can be patient until we leave, then I might get you that Spider-Man comic you've been asking me about."
"Fine," ten-year-old Archie huffed. "But I will not be happy."
As the mother continued her search for what she hoped would be the perfect artifact, Archie couldn't resist feeling listless about the whole thing. Just as he was about to give in to what he felt would be a new form of torture, however, he suddenly caught sight of a shiny powder-blue stone near him.
"Hey, Mom!" he shouted while tugging on her sleeve. "Look what I found!"
Violet gazed down at her son to scold him before seeing the pebble-sized rock for herself.
"That's strange," she muttered. "I don't remember seeing this around here."
"Me neither," said Archie. "What do you think it is?"
"Well, if I had to guess, it's probably a rock that time forgot about."
"Really? Can I give it to Olivia please?"
"You mean that girl you've had a crush on for three months now? Sure, I guess. Let's just finish this first."
It had taken approximately three and a half hours just for Violet to drive up to Mann Co. HQ and frankly, it seemed worth it. Apparently, not a lot of people came to this place and if they did, they were either employees or at least closely associated with Gray Mann, who owned both this and Gray Gravel. She considered herself lucky for even being able to find it at all.
"Well, Archie," she said. "This is it. You sure you want to go through with this?"
Archie enthusiastically nodded his head.
"Alright," she began. "First of all, I'm going to ask. Do you still have that rock with you?"
"Yeah, Mom," answered the boy while producing the light blue pebble from his pocket. "Right here."
"Good, good. Let's head inside."
"Okay, but what if her dad doesn't like me?"
"You're one of the most handsome boys at your school, Archie, and you seem very clever and resourceful. I don't see what he wouldn't like about you. Now get moving."
When they'd made their way inside the building, they found themselves stopped by a burly, intimidating man wearing a steel-blue bandana that covered his gray head, blue goggles and a blue sleeveless shirt with overalls.
"Er, can I help you?" Violet asked this man.
"Yes, you can," he replied. "For starters, do you have any idea where some mercenaries might be?"
"Mercenaries...? No, my son and I just wanted to hand Olivia a gift. You know, just for her?"
"Show me."
"Right." She prompted Archie to hand over the stone. "I believe this is enough?"
Classic Heavy looked over this curiously odd rock carefully. "Where did you get this?"
"It was from that store Archie and I were shopping at. Why?"
"Last I checked, we don't have pretty blue stones like this around here. Come to think of it, I don't think this is even native to America!"
"W-What are you implying?"
"Wherever this came from, it might help Mann Co. get back to the way it was before. Hell, I think it could bring the entire world down to its knees!"
Just as he'd said this, the rock began to float up away from his palm. It then emitted a light blue aura, which in turn produced a halo of light that formed into a humanoid shape. When this was all done, all three humans were awestruck by this mysterious stranger.
As it turned out, this strange woman was a Gem. She had sky blue skin with facial scars that apparently came from a lightning strike, slate blue eyes, a mole above her upper lip, several brass neck rings, electric blue hair which was 80% shaved off (and exposed the stone she'd come from at the back of her head), and an outfit that came in a muted blue palette (save, of course, for her gladiator sandals).
"Alright, who are you and what am I doing here?" were the first words to come out of her mouth.
"I'm so glad you asked!" answered Violet with zeal. "I'm Violet Sanger and this is my son Burgundy." She gestured to Archie. "Of course, I just call him Archie after his father, God bless him."
"What about him?" the azureous Gem asked again, pointing at Classic Heavy.
This time, it was him who'd reciprocated. "Oh, I used to work for BLU back in the 1930s before I was laid off. My name's Amos Sterling, by the way."
"Amos Sterling... that's probably too badass for your own good," Violet commented. "At least it sounds more authentic than 'Saxton Hale.'"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Classic Heavy asked like she'd just offended him.
"Hey, guys!" Archie shouted at the adults. "Can't it wait until after she tells us who she is?"
"Thank you, Archie," the Gem said. "I am Kaolinite, one of the best bounty hunters in Mineralis."
"What's...?" Violet was going to ask before switching gears. "Anyway, dear little Archie was going to hand you over to his lady friend as a gift. That's the entire reason we came to her father's business in the first place."
"Really? Is that all?"
"Pretty much so... unless you want something from us too."
Kaolinite thought for a minute before finally saying, "There is one thing..."
