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love-of-fandoms · 4 years

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The Non-Companion (The Master + OC) Chapter 8

Chapter 8 of The Non-Companion (Master List)

Pairing: The Master + OC

Word Count: 2757 words

The Doctor didn’t take too long to get to the TARDIS, for which Jo was thankful. It was unsettling to be in O’s hut. What was once charming now made her almost want to throw up. She came running through the door, and Jo grinned, standing and walking to greet her.

“What’s up, Doc?” the Doctor rolled her eyes with a fond smile at Jo’s line. They couldn’t go a week without Jo saying it.

“Doctor, why is this house so important?” Ada asked, and the Doctor grinned.

“Because it's not a house. It's a machine that travels in space and time. This is my way back, to finding my friends and saving humanity-” she cut herself off, seeing the looks Ada and Noor were giving her. She looked to Jo for support, who nodded.

“She’s telling the truth,” she said, and Ada and Noor looked to her. “We’re not crazy!” she paused, sharing a look with the Doctor. “Well, okay, we are, but not because of this!” she amended, and the Doctor nodded.

“Give us 5 minutes, and you’ll see!” she promised, before turning to look at the map they had seen earlier, which the Master hadn’t bothered to take down. “ I know what this is. A temporal map, showing every significant person in the development of computers through history,” she began, before turning to Ada. “starting with you!” Jo grinned. There was something about watching the Doctor sort through a problem that always made her feel empowered. “This is the plan, see?” she looked to the two women, who continued to stare at her with blank faces.

“No,” they said together, and the Doctor grimaced. Jo giggled.

“Did you expect them to?” she asked, and the Doctor shrugged. “That isn’t a dig at your intelligence, by the way, you just haven’t dealt with any of this stuff before,” Jo said to the two women, not wanting them to think she saw them as stupid or anything.

“What is a computer?” Ada asked, and Jo shot the Doctor a glare.

“Forget you heard that word! Otherwise I've just disrupted the whole of history!” the Doctor exclaimed, and Jo coughed into her hand.

“Again,” the Doctor shot her a glare, though there was no fire behind it.

“Okay, ahh, my brain’s fizzing, good. The Kasaavin posted an agent on every person on that map. Because that's what spies do. What Barton does. They gather all the data,” the Doctor began to pace, trying to put all the puzzle pieces together in that big brain of hers. “But where does the DNA fit?” she looked to Jo, but all she could do was shrug. She was at a loss. “Kasaavin, technology, DNA. How are they all connected?” she continued to pace for a moment, before coming to an abrupt stop. She turned to Jo with a look of horror on her face. “Human DNA!” she gasped. “That’s what they’ve been testing!” with that she ran to the TARDIS controls, and began to frantically flip levers and push buttons. The Master’s TARDIS was much quieter than hers, instead of the loud wheezing that accompanied Sexy, the Master’s TARDIS sounded more like a continuous hum.

“I bet they started with Barton,” Jo said, coming to the Doctor’s side to help manage the controls. Noor turned to Ada, a look of bewilderment on her face.

“How much of that did you understand?” she asked, and Jo laughed as she looked over her shoulder at them.

“If you understood around 5%, you’re doing great!” she encouraged, and Noor and Ada exchanged another look of uncertainty.

“Where to first?” Jo asked, and the Doctor grinned.

“We have a TARDIS with a working chameleon circuit,” she said excitedly. “We’re breaking into Barton’s office!” with that, she yanked down hard on a lever, and the TARDIS was sent flying through the vortex. They could all see the flashing, swirling lights out the window, and Noor and Ada both ran to the window, looking out to try and see what was happening.

“What is this?” Ada asked, and Jo approached them, looking out the window as well.

“The Time Vortex,” she told them. “Right now, we’re traveling 76 years into the future to stop the Kasaavin from taking the universe,” Ada and Noor both looked at her in shock, though at this point they seemed to at least believe her.

The Doctor landed the TARDIS near a flight hangar, and all four of them exited, looking around.

“So?” Jo asked, turning to the Doctor, and she pointed ahead of them, where they could see someone’s tailcoat flapping behind them as they entered a building. “Is it him?” the Doctor nodded in confirmation, before beginning to walk to the warehouse.

“Let’s go!” she exclaimed, grabbing Ada and Noor’s hands and striding forward to confront the Master. Jo followed along, straining her ears to hear what was being said in the warehouse when they were close enough.

“-live through the 20th century?” that was the Master. “The places I've escaped from. Still just in time to watch you all pay!” he sounded like there was a grin on his face, and the Doctor stopped just before the entrance to the hangar.

“What’s that machine?” Ryan asked, and Jo glanced at the Doctor.

“The fam’s here?” she whispered, and the Doctor nodded.

“Quite independent, that lot,” she muttered back, and Jo’s lips quirked up in a smirk.

“Conversion and transmission. We're transmitting Kasaavin energy around the world all at once, into every device, hitting every human being and erasing their DNA. Simultaneously,” the Master exclaimed, and all of a sudden they heard Ryan shout.

“Yaz!” Jo peeked her head out just enough to see what was going on, and she had to muffle a gasp behind her hand when she saw a white light escaping from a tablet and crawling up Yaz’s arm.

“I can’t let go of it!” she shouted, her body shaking.

“First her,” the Master said, pointing to Yaz. “Then you,” to Graham. “Then you,” and finally to Ryan. It would have been quite terrifying, if the Silver Lady, which sat just behind Yaz, seemed to short circuit, powering down. The Master growled, approaching the statue. “Don’t do this!” he shouted pleadingly, but it laid dormant, smoke coming out the bottom of it.

“Sorry, I think that might’ve been me,” the Doctor said, striding out of their hiding plot and into plain sight. Noor and Ada followed just behind her, and Jo ran to Yaz, throwing the tablet she had been holding to the ground and examining her arm. She took out her sonic and quickly scanned Yaz’s arm, not seeing anything out of the ordinary.

“Are you alright?” she muttered, and Yaz nodded.

“And I’ll admit, it was close,” the Doctor grinned, and the Master snarled, shoulders sagging in defeat.

“No,” he muttered.

“Two can play at embedding things in history,” the Doctor said, and the Master’s glare twitched from her to Jo and back again. “I knew the Silver Lady was important, that you'd built it for a reason. But I couldn't work out why. So I traced its movements through history. When I saw Barton now owned it, we stopped off in his office. Middle of last year. Using your Tardis,” that just rubbed salt in the wound.

“Kick a man while he’s down,” Jo muttered, the Master turning slightly to direct all his fury at her. “Harsh,” she mostly ignored the Master, trying very hard not to look him in the eye. She had held herself well in the gallery, but it was still difficult not to see O in him. Kasaavin began to flood out of the machine, and suddenly Jo didn’t have to worry about trying not to look at the Master anymore, because she screeched in pure agony, collapsing to her knees. Yaz crouched down beside her, gripping her shoulder and rubbing comfortingly, though it did little to help.

“I built in a failsafe to that machine. Planted a virus, if it ever detected the massing of a Kasaavin army in its systems. Total shutdown,” the Doctor explained, glancing worriedly at Jo. “Though I never figured out why that happens,” she grimaced, imagining the pain Jo must be in. The Master chuckled at the sight of the Kasaavin.

“You’re gonna have to explain your actions to them, Doctor,” he said darkly, but the Doctor just smirked, tilting her head to the side.

“Am I?” she countered as Jo began to stand with Yaz’s help. The tingles were all over her body, but she fought through it so she could keep an eye on things. The Doctor addressed the Kasaavin then. “ Listen you lot. I’ve rigged the Silver Lady to exile you back to your own dimension. This planet is off limits. And that deal he did with you?” she brought out her sonic screwdriver, and held it up, pressing the button, and a recording rang through the warehouse. It was the Master’s voice.

“Barton and those creatures do the dirty work and once they are done I get rid of them having destroy your precious human race in the process. Win, win, win.” The Master’s face fell at the sound of that.

“Ohh,” he muttered, beginning to back away from the Kasaavin, who had turned to him. The Doctor smirked.

“That’s your name,” she said. “Don’t wear it out,” the Kasaavin began to mass together, closing in on the Master, and the Doctor continued. “That's the trouble with modern technology. Never know when you're being spied upon,” the Master growled, beginning to stalk towards the Doctor.

“No!” he shouted, reaching out towards her, but Jo grit her teeth and pulled her knife from her boot. In less than a second it had flown across the room and lodged in the Master’s hand. He pulled back from the Doctor with a shout of pain, and looked at her with wide, crazed eyes. In fact, everyone in the warehouse looked at her with wide eyes, shocked that she had done that, and shocked that she had been able to do that through her pain. In a blaze of light, the Kasaavin descended on the Master, surrounding him as he screamed, before blinking out of existence.

The remaining people in the warehouse stared at each other for a moment, and Jo’s shoulders sagged in relief at the loss of the excruciating pain. Her eyes zeroed in on a body, facedown in front of the Silver Lady’s case.

“Who’s that?” she asked cautiously, pointing at her, and Ryan grimaced.

“Barton’s mum,” he answered, and Jo’s eyes widened.

“He killed his own mother?” Ryan nodded. “That’s sick,” again, the fam nodded. They then all turned to the Doctor, who tilted her head.

“What?!” she asked, and Yaz crossed her arms over her chest.

“You’ve got a lot of explaining to do,” she said, and Graham nodded.

“Like what?” the Doctor asked, and Graham pointed at Ada and Noor, who still stood slightly behind her.

“Like who are they?” he asked. “Are we being replaced?!” Jo giggled at that.

“No! This is Ada, this is Noor. 1834. 1943. Helped me out,” the Doctor said with a shrug. The women both raised their hands in an awkward wave, smiling ‘hello’ at the fam. “I’m dropping ‘em back in a second,”

“How did you manage to save our lives on the plane?” Ryan asked, and the Doctor and Jo looked at each other for a moment, both of their eyes wide.

“Shit,” Jo muttered, racing to the TARDIS, and the Doctor nodded, racing after her.

“Be right back!” she called over her shoulder to the fam, grabbing Ada and Noor’s hands on the way.

Jo positioned the camera with a slight smile, pressing record and hopping on frame with the Doctor.

“Welcome aboard!” the Doctor greeted, and Jo gave a dramatic wave.

“You must have a lot of question!” Jo added, and the Doctor nodded, pausing for a moment before smiling.

“First of all, you're not gonna die. Second of all, don't talk to the screens, obviously I'm a recording and can't hear you. Third, don't panic. Especially you Graham,” she pointed at the camera, and Jo smirked slightly. After another moment’s pause, the Doctor spoke again. “Yes you were,” she said, and Jo giggled.

“She just said don’t talk back to the screens!” she exclaimed, rolling her eyes playfully. Jo tapped her wrist, signalling to the Doctor and she nodded.

“Right! Haven't got long. The bomb in the cockpit knocked out the signals from the computer to the engines. But the computers on this aircraft aren't in the cockpit, they're under the cabin floor. Ryan, the app should've opened. Use it to communicate with the engines via the aircraft wiring,” Jo piped up at this point

“By the way, you have shut the cockpit door, haven't you?” she asked with raised eyebrows. “That’s very important, their designed to withstand basically anything,”

“Now, pay attention and do this fast, worried you might lose me if there's a power surge,” the Doctor began. “Don’t tap the buttons too many times, that’ll cause you to dive,”

“Focus on levelling out,” Jo added. “Then the plane’s pre programmed flight plan should kick in,”

“We’ll see you guys soon!” the Doctor said.

“You got this!” Jo gave them a thumbs up before turning off the camera. She turned to the Doctor.

“What’re the odds they actually see the whole video?” she asked, and the Doctor shrugged.

“5%? Maybe?” she answered, and Jo giggled, rolling her eyes.

“Of course,”

After they had finished putting everything in place to save the fam, it was time to drop Noor and Ada off. The Doctor went outside with Noor, while Jo stayed inside the TARDIS with Ada.

“This one is so much different,” Ada said, looking around the Doctor’s TARDIS, and Jo nodded.

“Yeah, she’s got a mind of her own,”

“She?” Ada looked over at Jo in surprise, but she just shrugged.

“Well, yeah,” she muttered. “People call ships ‘she’, right? Countries, weapons, anything really,” she said, and Ada nodded.

“I see,” “No you don’t,” Jo giggled, and Ada gave her a small smile.

“No, I don’t,” she admitted, before bursting out in a fit of giggles as well.

“Glad to see you two having a good time!” the Doctor exclaimed, walking into the TARDIS, and Jo nodded, standing and going to the opposite side of the controls from the Doctor.

“To 1834!” Jo exclaimed, pressing a couple buttons on her side while the Doctor did her part. Ada watched the work in tandem, a look of awe on her face.

They materialized in Charles Babbage’s parlor, and all three of them stepped out. Ada turned to the Doctor, a sad look on her face.

“Doctor, does this have to be the end?” she asked. “All the things I've learned with you and Jo; the advances, the machines. I would dearly love to see more,” she pled, and the Doctor and Jo exchanged a sad look as well.

“I’m afraid I have to do something about that,” the Doctor muttered stepping towards Ada. The girl took a step back, confused.

“What do you mean?” she asked, and the Doctor sighed, stepping closer and bringing a hand to Ada’s temple.

“I’m ever so sorry, Ada,” she murmured, and Ada seemed to realize what was happening, as tears began to fill in her eyes.

“Doctor, what are you doing?” she asked.

“Wiping the things you shouldn’t have knowledge of,” the Doctor told her, sighing heavily. “Including me and Jo,” A tear streaked down Ada’s face.

“But I want that knowledge!” she argued, looking between the Doctor and Jo. “Don’t take it away!” she pled. “Jo! You’re just going to let her?” Jo nodded sadly.

“It’s for the best,” she said, placing a comforting hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Goodbye, Ada,” and then her eyes rolled back into her head, and she passed out. The Doctor caught her in her arms, and carried her over to the lounge.

“Oh Ada, you don't need a preview. You figure it out before anyone. The first to see the potential in things like that. To work out what could be. What they can really do. Computers start with you,” the Doctor said softly, stroking a strand of hair out of Ada’s face, and Jo approached, stroking Ada’s cheek.

“Sweet dreams, Ada Lovelace,” she murmured, the Doctor repeating the sentiment, before they both returned to the TARDIS, disappearing into the night.

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winchesterbrotherstan · 5 years

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Agents of Shield- The Asset

Pairing: Leo Fitz x Violet Ward (OC)

Summary: An old man is kidnapped, Skye struggles with her training, Grant, Skye, and Coulson go in head-first, Violet is worried about everything

Warnings: cursing, fighting, an explosion, uh maybe some blood?

Word Count: 8786

“Is she coming?” I held the punching bag steady for Grant, trying to put equal weight on both my legs.

“She’s supposed to be. Hey, ease up on your leg if you need to.” He pointed, stopping his punches, noticing how I shifted from one leg to the other.

“It’s fine.” I shook my head.

“No, it is not. Listen to him.” Fitz scolded from the lab.

“Shut up, Leo.”

“I’m sorry, love, but the boys are right. Don’t put too much stress on it, or you’ll be back to square one with fingers through your stitches.” Jemma gave me a kind smile, hinting to a few nights ago when our bus had been attacked.

“Haha.” Grant taunted, sticking his tongue out.

I took a jab at him, only for him to step to the side and catch me in a headlock. He laughed as I shook loose, eyes squinted.

“That was uncalled for.” I stuck my nose up in the air, turning my head to the side and ignoring him.

He cleared his throat and I looked to see Skye coming down the steps. Grant put his serious face on and went back to punching the bag.

“You know you’re late.” He eyed her.

“I’m tired from this morning’s workout. I thought I was joining S.H.I.E.L.D., not 24 hour fitness.” She sighed, giving him her hands so he could check over her wrappings.

“It’s called relative strength training. Starting with the basics. And next time, you do fifteen push-ups for every minute you’re late.” He readjusted one.

“Fine, Mr. Fun Machine. Better than pull ups. I don’t ever wanna do another pull up again.” She stated.

“You find yourself hanging off the edge of a building twenty stories up, you’re gonna wanna do at least one.” He gave her a face before turning to instruct her.

I turned to watch Fitz-Simmons in the lab, working on some sort of laser or whatever it was. Fitz caught me staring and winked at me with a goofy smile before going back to his work.

“I’m sure Fitz-Simmon’s supervising officer didn’t make them do this muscle stuff.” She hit the bag with both hands.

“You said you wanted to be a field agent, like Coulson.” Grant shrugged. “But, if you’d like to switch disciplines…” He nodded toward Fitz-Simmons, still hard at work in the lab, then looked at me.

Is she being serious?

I gave her a once-over and smiled at Grant.

Let me take care of it.

“Vi, what did your SO make you do when you were in training for psych?” Grant looked at me with eyebrows raised and a smile on his face.

“Psychoanalytics, fill-ins for the DSM-5, brain parts, ethics… I can keep going. Hey Simmons. What did your SO give you guys for morning drills?” I called out to her from my spot against the wall.

“Oh! Atomistic attribute drills. Yeah, we’d name the mechanical, chemical, thermal-” She spouted.

Skye rolled her eyes at me and threw a lazy punch.

“The electrical properties of materials.” Fitz finished.

“Okay, okay, they made your point.”

“There will come a moment where you have to commit to this or bail.” Grant moved around the bag to hold it for her. “Every field agent has a defining moment. Ask Coulson. When you have to make the hard call to either dedicate yourself to this or to curl up in a ball and run.”

“How can you run if you’re curled up in a ball?” Skye gestured before going back to throwing punches.

“It’s my job as your SO to make sure you don’t die before then. Come on.” He fixed her hands and patted the bag again.

“So what was yours, Agent Ward?” She asked him.

“Ten minutes.” He dodged the question.

“Your defining moment?”

He ignored her.

“Come on, tell me. I wanna know. I could get Coulson to give you some of that truth serum. You could spill your little heart to me all over again.” She smiled.

“You mean my level one overshare that miraculously got you to cooperate? I hate to tell you this, rookie, but we don’t have a truth serum.”

“Changing course, briefing in three. Shield 6-1-6 with new orders, set for Colorado air field north.” May came over the comms.

“Ah, looks like we’re on the move.” Fitz pulled his lab coat off and hung it in the corner before coming to my side and taking my hand, leading the way up the stairs.

We settled on the couches in the main room, sprawled out as Coulson came through the hallway. Fitz pulled me into his side and I swung my leg over his, comfortable in his grip.

“A few minutes ago, a S.H.I.E.L.D. transport was attacked while carrying a priority red protected asset off route 76 near Sterling.”

“Priority red?” Jemma asked, and Grant let out a low whistle as he sat on the armchair next to Fitz and I.

“The asset was Canadian physicist Dr. Franklin Hall, known for his work-”

“Oh no! Not Frank!” Jemma gasped.

Fitz leaned forward, a sad expression on his face, “Dr. Hall? He was our chemical kinetics advisor our second year.”

“Yeah, he’s so enthusiastic about science, we just adored him!” Jemma sighed. “We can rescue him, can’t we?”

“He’s one of ours. We’re gonna try.” Coulson nodded.

“And the attackers?” Grant asked.

“Invisible.” Coulson walked off.

“Wait. Invisible? Cool!” Skye laughed, and Grant shot her a look. “But terrible.” She cleared her throat.

***

“Dr. Hall was an asset?” Skye questioned as we walked down the road, squinting in the dark.

“One of a few select scientists S.H.I.E.L.D. has been protecting, people our enemies would love to get their hands on. We keep them hidden, we keep them on the move.” Coulson explained.

“Which is why Fitz and I were so lucky to have him.” Jemma spoke from the other end of the line, next to Fitz.

May, in the middle, stayed silent as usual. Grant and I exchanged a few looks, but he was soon focused on observing the street we were walking along for any potential threats.

“We don’t have him anymore.” Coulson grunted out.

“And what does priority red mean?” Skye asked again.

“It means security should have been…” he trailed off as we saw an SUV flipped over onto the side of the road. “Heavy.”

A fox scurried out from the bushes and to the road. Fitz jumped and Grant’s hand flew to his gun. I looked over to see the fox with blood stains on its white snout. I looked up to Grant again. His grimace matched mine.

Well, that’s just wonderful.

***

“It was pretty damn scary, and I don’t spook easily, boss.” Agent Mack was the only one left alive, and even he was pretty banged up.

May had gone with him to ask questions while Fitz-Simmons did their usual rounds of inspection with Skye tagging along. Grant was surveying lord knows what and I stood off to May’s side, picking up cues from Agent Mack that he didn’t even realize he was giving off.

“Nothing in the air from above?” May asked.

“Nothing over our shoulder.” He shook his head, “But what’s scary is they knew our route. They were waiting for us.”

“Are you saying they were working with somebody inside S.H.I.E.L.D.?” I took a step closer to the van he was sitting in.

“Sorry to say.” He shrugged. “It had to be.”

“Fitz, what am I seeing here?” Jemma shouted, causing the turning of heads.

“Well, I’m not wearing the full-spectrum goggles I designed, so no clue.” He chuckled, walking over to her with his tablet in his hands.

Coulson gave me a nod of his head and I followed them, rolling my eyes with a smile at Fitz’s nerd speak.

“Let me have a look. Come on.” He held his hand out for the goggles.

“Whoa, whoa, wait! Wait, no! Don’t move.” She ordered, holding her hands out to stop him.

Skye stopped immediately, but Fitz, as always, was clumsy and almost took another step forward. I grabbed him by the back of the shirt and pulled him backward.

“Wait a second.” Jemma whispered, kneeling to throw a fistful of dirt and gravel into the air.

It swirled, like a mini tornado.

“What the hell?” Skye took a step back.

“I think the electro-static field scanner activated some… thing.” She smiled.

A rock flew loose from the air pattern, flinging itself at us. I felt a hand on my head and I was forced to go down faster than I could duck myself. Fitz let out a yelp and Grant shoved me half behind him, staring at the thing with squinted eyes.

“Okay, can we deactivate it?” Coulson asked. “Now?”

She hit a few buttons on her tablet, and the swirl only seemed to gain an angry conscious, throwing more things at us. I ducked behind my brother, pulling Skye down with me. Fitz let out a second yelp before barking something about density at Jemma.

“I tried, Fitz!” She shouted, handing him the control.

I pushed out from behind my brother and tugged Fitz away from the swirl as he fumbled with the remote. I felt a thunk against my head and winced.

“Fitz!” May raised her voice.

He hit another two buttons before the remote shorted out and the swirling pieces dropped to the floor. Jemma bent down to pick up a twisted looking piece of metal and glass with a pair of tweezers, dropping it in Coulson’s outstretched hand.

“That did all this.”

“What is that?” Skye asked.

Coulson stared at it, rolling it in his hand. “Something big.”

***

We stood in a ring around the lab table, with the exception of Grant, who had told me what he was off to do, but I hadn’t listened. Fitz had the object in some sort of a microscope, with lit up goggles on his head.

“Either someone cracked our comm system, or Dr. Hall’s movements leaked from inside S.H.I.E.L.D..” Coulson was quiet.

“You really think we have a mole?” May asked him.

Jemma and I stood at the side of the table, watching as Fitz worked.

“I think you should go through the communication logs, rule it out.” He said with his hands crossed neatly. “We’ll work the tractor tread that we found on the scene.”

“I can do that.” Skye popped up. “Instead of pull-ups. I can upload an image of the tread pattern, check to see if there’s any sort of-”

“Already done.” Grant popped back in.

Right, he had gone to do that.

“Matched it to a 2010 model. Found a list of purchases within a 500-mile radius, narrowed it down to those with priors, financial troubles, or propensity for risk-taking.” He set it up to show on the computer.

“Three suspects.” He pointed as the pictures appeared.

“Who may have sold their construction equipment to the kidnappers.” Coulson’s arms were now crossed. “We’ll ask.”

Grant nodded and pulled the images off the screen. He turned to look at me over his shoulder, and I followed him out of the lab.

“You feeling any better? How’s your leg?” He looked down, slowing his step.

“It’s fine. You don’t have to slow down for me.” I scoffed, secretly grateful that he hadn’t forced me to trot up the stairs.

“I know. There’s a lot of things I don’t have to do.” He sat down at the bar. “So. Give me a runthrough. Why would someone kidnap a physicist?”

I hoisted myself to sit on the counter and grinned. “Maybe their kid needed tutoring?”

Grant rolled his eyes and pushed at my knee with his foot, essentially kicking me. “I don’t remember you being this joke-y before.”

I laughed. “I use humor to mask my emotions now. Ya know, like an adult.”

“Okay, okay. But for real. Why would someone kidnap a S.H.I.E.L.D. protected physicist? What good does a physicist even do?”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Physics is actually pretty cool, you people just don’t think it is. Physics covers a lot. My best guess within reason? Some evil rich person has a half-hacked plan to take over the world but needs a professional to help him seal the deal.” I shrugged.

Grant sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I hate the fact that that sounds like a valid, logical, reason.”

I laughed. “Well, we do work for S.H.I.E.L.D..”

“Yeah, okay. But I’ll bet you fifty dollars it’s some weird organization and not someone rich.” Grant snorted.

“You sure you wanna bet on that?” I grinned again.

***

“I just wanna know who paid you.” Coulson asked calmly as Grant and I crept around Lola, crouched.

The man paused, then yanked a gun out. “Paid me enough not to answer questions like that.” He aimed at Coulson.

Grant gave me a glance over my shoulder before moving, pulling the gun from the man’s hand and him along with it. I ran to grab the horse by the reigns, trying to calm it. The man landed on his back with a grunt, hands up as Grant pointed the gun at his head.

“Feels like the old west.” He turned to me with a faint smile as Coulson stepped closer to speak to the man again.

“They gave me money for my equipment, that’s all. I never saw a face. I never heard a name.” He had his hands up, eyes darting between Coulson and Grant.

“And how did you receive this money? They write you a check?”

The man sighed and pointed to the side pouch on the horse’s saddle. Grant looked at me and jerked his head in that direction. I patted the horse’s neck before moving over to open the bag, which was filled with gold bars.

“Paid you in gold?” Coulson picked a bar up.

I looked at Grant. “Now it really feels like the old west.”

***

“It looks like this because it’s a doré bar. It means it was made in a mine rather than a refinery. It’s only about 92% pure, the cowboy got cheated a bit.” Jemma explained.

“Can you determine a mine based off the impurities?” Coulson asked.

“Oh, yeah, we’ve done that already.” Fitz went to the computer. “It’s from the dacey mine in Tanzania, which is owned by-”

“Quinn Worldwide.” I came to his side as I cut him off, glancing at Coulson.

“I’m sure you’ve studied the CEO in your chemical engineering classes or saw him on the cover of Forbes. Ian Quinn.” Coulson sighed and walked out of the lab, up to the steps.

“He’s a sociopath.” I scoffed.

“I mean…” Jemma tried to put her positive twist on it, but to no avail.

“Who is?” Grant came into the lab, looking at me with furrowed eyebrows.

“Ian Quinn.” I said as Fitz pulled up a picture and turned his monitor so Grant could see. “Spoiled, bratty, millionaire evil genius.” I quirked an eyebrow.

Grant sighed deeply and pulled out his wallet, handing me two twenties and a ten. I pocketed them with a smile, giving him a half-hug as a thanks before going upstairs with Coulson.

***

“Darlin’, come downstairs. I’ve got a feeling you might wanna hear this.” Fitz came over the comms in our room and I rolled over in the bed, dropping my book onto my nightstand as I hit the button to answer.

“Are you sure I’m gonna wanna hear about it? I’m reading.”

“Well…” He paused and I could hear him clear his throat. “It’s a scientific breakthrough, darlin’.”

He knew he had me then. Any breakthrough was amazing, whether it was scientific or psychological or whatever else. I pulled one a pair of fuzzy socks and all but bolted down the stairs to the lab.

“Jeez, what’s the rush?” Skye asked, coming down the steps after me.

“Scientific breakthrough, come on.” I grabbed her hand and tugged.

“What is it, you guys?” I popped up to sit on the counter in front of the holotable, resting my chin on Fitz’s shoulder.

“Gravitonium.” He put his hands on his hips.

“What?” Skye asked, unimpressed.

“Holy shit.” I mumbled, wrapping my arms around one of his and leaning forward.

“It’s an extremely rare high-atomic numbered element.” He explained.

“It powers the device.” Jemma continued. “It’s so extremely rare that most people didn’t believe it existed, much less the theory that an isolated positive charge-”

“Yeah, would turn the flow from isotropic-” Fitz continued.

“Guys.” Skye interrupted them. “High school dropout here.”

Fitz looked at me, his hand frozen and his face confused. He didn’t know how to put many things into simple terms. I patted his back and tried to give him a guideline.

“How does the device work again?”

“Well, gravitonium distorts gravity fields within itself, causing an undulating, amorphous shape.” Jemma tried to explain, as Fitz was still stuck.

“Which causes these, um…” He pointed, trying to find an easy word. “Wiggly bits here! But when an electric current is applied,” he motioned with his fingers and I felt a goofy smile grow on my face. “The gravitonium solidifies. And those gravity fields erupt,” he continued to mime it and I held back my laughs. “Randomly changing the rules of gravity around it.”

Skye looked at me and I felt myself turn pink, trying again not to burst out laughing. Fitz gave my leg a squeeze before running over to the other side of the lab, now completely invested in his explanation.

“Well, so now you can imagine what would happen to a big rig at 100 kilometers per hour.” He rushed to sit at his computer, and then froze up a bit. “Or, well, you could just remember, ‘cause we saw it already, didn’t we?”

I walked over as he picked at his lips and then bit his nails as Jemma began to speak. I gently pulled his hand away from his mouth, linking his fingers through mine. He smiled at me softly and pulled our hands back to his mouth to kiss my knuckles.

“Come here.” He tugged me up to sit on his thighs with my side to his chest as he brought his arms around my middle and started to type.

I looked over to Skye, who winked at me.

“Guess which genius published every theory about gravitonium and possible applications years ago?” Jemma asked.

“Dr. Franklin Hall.” Skye answered.

“Correct.” Fitz-Simmons nodded.

“And Dr. Hall attended the University of Cambridge at the same time as Ian Quinn.” I looked at the files Fitz had pulled up on the computer.

“Violet, I think you might be off on this. Quinn’s a notoriously good guy.” Skye shook her head. “His charity endowment’s something like eight billion dollars.”

“Yeah, with money made from leeching the Earth of its resources. Looks like he’s dug up another.” Jemma scoffed.

“He’s textbook, Skye. Tries to give himself a good public image when in reality, dude’s only watching his own back.” I called without turning back to her.

“That’s my girl.” Fitz mumbled under his breath, still focused on the screen as one hand pulled mine up and he kissed it again.

***

“The man’s a prisoner, and it’s up to us to get him out!” Coulson was growing more frustrated by the minute.

“We’ve checked the specs. There’s no way into Quinn’s compound without a large S.H.I.E.L.D. strike force, or a man inside. He’s got neodymium laser fencing surrounding the property.” Grant scoffed.

“They’ll never allow a strike force into Malta.” I shook my head. “Plus, this weekend, Quinn Worldwide’s got its annual shareholders gathering. We’d risk global outrage. But…” I trailed off, looking to Grant.

Not if we go it by ourselves.

He sighed, but nobody else seemed to understand the nonverbality. Coulson picked up the slack for them.

“If we go in alone, S.H.I.E.L.D. can disavow us, claim ignorance.”

“Without a man inside, it’s impossible, unless you’re immune to pulse laser emissions.” May leaned against the table.

Fitz sighed from next to me and Jemma held her hands against her neck, her nervous tic. Fitz stood straight, and I already knew what was coming, but the amusement it would provide outweighed my desire to stop him in his tracks.

“If we had a monkey, we could get in.”

“Ah, Fitz!” Jemma seemed annoyed.

“If we had a small monkey, he could slip through the sensors and disable the fence’s power source with his adorable little hands.” Fitz put his hands up.

I bit back a smile as Grant looked at me with a face. I grabbed Fitz’s arm and pulled him tight against my side, smiling up at him.

“Now’s not the time, angel face.” I whispered.

“I could go in.” Skye had walked in at some point, and was now leaning nonchalantly against the wall, phone in hand.

“Drop me in the hills outside of Valletta. I’ll spend a few weeks establishing a cover, gathering intel-”

“We don’t have the time, Grant.” I cut him off, shaking my head.

“And to restate, any agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. caught on Maltese soil can be shot to death with bullets- legally.” Jemma gestured.

“Not me.” Skye spoke again. “I could go in.” She now took a step forward.

“Skye, this is serious.” Grant brushed her off.

“No.” I stopped him. “She’s right. She’s not an agent.” I looked to Coulson, who seemed to agree.

“This isn’t something the Rising Tide can hack, Skye.” Grant said with a layer of disgust in his tone.

“Did you hear the deadly lasers part?” Fitz looked from her to me, hands on his head. “Without a brave monkey-” I clapped a hand over his mouth and looked to Skye, a signal for her to explain.

“You said you could go in with a man inside.” She shrugged.

“And you wanna be that man?” May’s eyebrows were raised.

“Fitz-Simmons loved the guy, and he needs help. They could be torturing him. Or worse, making him do strength-training.” She glared at Grant.

“She’s a hacker, she can easily apply that to playing a role.” I rolled my eyes at him, sensing his upcoming protests.

“But she doesn’t have the background or clearance or experience with any of this.” He turned away from me and walked toward her, growing increasingly agitated.

“I know.” She put her phone up. “But I’ve got an invitation. Well, technically, it’s an evite.” She looked to me with a smile.

I didn’t bother to hold back my grin. She was something, that was for sure. I trusted she could do it, and if anything went wrong, Grant and I would figure out a way to pull her out if necessary. Grant looked at me with a sigh.

This is a bad idea.

I shrugged.

It’s the only one we have.

And although I wouldn’t admit it, I much preferred this to him going undercover.

***

“Grant!” I caught him coming out of Coulson’s office, fuming.

He turned to me. “It’s a bad idea. Actually, no” he began to gesture wildly, “it’s not just a bad idea, it’s the worst idea! She’s gonna get herself killed! She doesn’t know what she’s doing! And then what? We’re back at square one with one of our people down?”

“Hey.” I grabbed him by the wrist and pulled his arm down. “First of all, breathe. It’s gonna be fine. And secondly, we have a few days. You’re her SO.”

“Again. First on paper, but you’re on there too.”

I ignored him. “Keep training her. Get her ready physically, I’ll worry about getting her mind in the right state. We’ve tag-teamed before, let’s just do it again.” I looked up, eyebrows raised in the way Jemma always said was my ‘mom face’.

“Yeah, we’ve tag-teamed against a group of rebels shooting at us. Are you sure we can tag-team her?” He crossed his arms across his chest.

I threw my head back with an exaggerated groan and rolled my eyes. “Grant. We’ve tag-teamed Christian before. I think we can handle a hacker.”

I knew mentioning our older brother would be a risk, and I watched as his face changed and he became a few shades lighter. But it worked, because he was soon nodding and meeting my eyes.

“Let’s do it. I’ll head downstairs to do muscle memories. Come with, sit and watch. Let your little psych brain work some stuff out.” He held his hand out for mine and I stared for a second.

I couldn’t remember the last time Grant had held my hand. I knew that we always did when we were younger, because our family spent all our time out of the house and on trips, and Grant was the only one who had seemed to care that I didn’t get split up.

“Hey.” He whispered, leaning down to meet my eyes. “You’re okay.” He nodded, flexing his fingers.

I snapped out of it with a nod, slipping my hand into his and letting him lead the way down to the garage.

***

“Now, again, slowly, what’s first?” Grant held the unloaded gun level with Skye’s chest as they went over the maneuver once more.

She gripped his wrist and pushed it up, twirling under his arm and pressing herself into his chest, the gun still in his hand but under her control.

“And then?” Grant followed up.

She paused and I shifted on the metal steps, trying to find some sense of comfort. This had been going on for an hour, and I was surprised that Grant hadn’t snapped by now. My neck ached, my hips were burning, and my leg was throbbing. This was the last day we had to train her. Mentally, she was ready. But that was worth nothing if she couldn’t evade getting shot.

“Then things are moving too quickly. I’m a proper Southern girl-”

I watched Grant throw his head back with an eye roll that looked like it hurt as she pulled on an accent.

“You’ll make me untidy.”

“Twist the thumb, palm the barrel.” He moved his hands over hers to repeat the motions, a bit harshly.

“Ow.” She winced, taking her hand back and shaking it.

“You’re gonna die and leave us hanging out to dry, you know that?” He tucked the gun into the waistband of his jeans. “You’re going in with no self-defense skills-”

“I have a few tricks up my sleeve.” She cut him off, crossing her arms.

“That isn’t enough. You need muscle memory, fundamentals, the tools to turn yourself-”

“Into a whole bag of tools?” She cut him off.

“Okay Skye, how did you learn computer science if you didn’t fully commit to it?” I asked, trying to find a better approach on teaching her.

“C.S. comes naturally to me. I’m sorry I’m not naturally whatever he is.” She pointed at Grant with a grunt.

He looked at me, neck snapping like it was broken.

What the fucking hell?

I returned the look, trying to ease his tension.

It’s okay. Calm down, and explain it. Don’t lose your head.

The air tensed, and I watched Grant’s fist curl. One mention of our childhood was enough to last a few months. Twice in one week was a major overload.

“You think this came naturally?” He stood straighter, shoulders squared as he took a predatory step toward her. “I had a brother who beat the crap out of me- and Violet. For nothing, for eating a piece of his birthday cake. I had to learn to protect us. The way I am trying to protect you. That was my moment. You asked.” He was towering over her now, and I could feel what he was feeling.

Anger, contempt, sadness, fear, every other negative emotion that you could possibly name. I watched as Skye slouched a little, looking from him to me and then at the floor.

“Sorry.” She looked up again. “Didn’t mean to push. But… I did manage to take this.” She pulled the gun up with a smile.

Grant took it back, his emotions gone and the heartless soldier back at play. “Getting the gun is one thing. Pulling the trigger- that is another.” He put the gun back to her chest. “Now, again, slowly, what’s first?”

***

“Skye will walk in the front door.” Coulson paced, trying to keep awake.

It was six in the morning, and none of us had gotten nearly enough sleep. I was leaning back against Fitz, who had his arm around me as he breathed deeply. May and Jemma seemed wide-awake, and Grant was taking a mental nap in the corner, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

“The only external access point to Quinn’s underground facility is from a beach cove. A two-man extraction team could slip in there, but it’s not easy. Fitz-Simmons.” He handed it over to them and Fitz begrudgingly kissed my cheek before leaving my side and joining Jemma at the screen.

“The perimeter is surrounded by a twenty foot high neodymium laser grid. Touch it, and you’re toast.” He looked at me as he spoke, as if he were also struggling to stay awake.

“Dead toast. The only way to disable the grid is to crack the system and trigger a reboot. This would give the team three seconds to cross. Of course, Quinn’s too smart to allow any wireless access on his property.” Coulson walked through it.

“That’s where I come in.” Skye nodded.

“Yes.” Jemma opened the black case on the table.

I couldn’t see with everyone standing around it, but Fitz grabbed my hand and pulled me in front of him, squeezing my shoulders after I padded over.

“Working compact- holds up under X-ray.”

“Desert rose. To match your complexion.” Fitz pointed at the small mirror. “But oh, what’s this?” He picked it up, slinging his arms over my shoulders so I wouldn’t have to switch spots again. “A readout, okay? Turns green if you’re in close enough proximity to a computer to gain wireless access.”

“When it does, you just drop this nearby and walk out. We’ll do the rest. Easy as pie.” Jemma smiled as Fitz closed the mirror.

“Or it will be. If you stick to the plan.” Grant spoke for the first time since we had gathered in the conference room to review the plan.

“Got it. Plan, green, drop, walk… pie.” Skye smiled.

Fitz handed her the mirror and she took it with a small thank you, flipping it around in her hands as Jemma explained something to her. Fitz turned me around and pulled me to lean against him, arms over my shoulders as I let my head fall into its spot against his neck.

“Alright team. Suit up.”

***

“Wife’s name is Nadrah.” May filled in the gap for Skye, swiping around on the holotable.

“Sir, are you sure you don’t want me to go in? Grant and I work really well together, and that way you don’t have to go out into the field.” I tried to reason with Coulson, who was gathering his gear.

“I’m sure, Violet. You stay here, keep Fitz-Simmons calm. You know they panic in intense situations. And don’t worry. I’ll keep your brother safe.” He patted my shoulder with a smile before brushing past me.

I sighed and looked up to the ceiling. Fitz walked in, handing me a bowl of popcorn and a water bottle. He gave me puppy eyes and I followed him to the holotable, where May was still directing Skye.

“How’s she doing?” Fitz whispered before shoving popcorn into his mouth.

“She’s good.” Both Jemma and May whispered back.

“I could get used to this, people. It’s like Siri if it worked.” Skye spoke. “Skipper to Bravo. I’ve got eyes on Top Dog. The Eagle is landing on it.”

We all looked at each other, and May let a small smile twitch past her lips despite her eye roll. I giggled and hopped up to sit on the table.

“What are you doing?” Jemma asked.

“Uh, sorry, I-I dunno. I see Quinn, I’m gonna go talk to him.”

Jemma smiled hopefully and May remained stoic. Fitz offered me popcorn. I only opened my mouth, letting him throw the pieces in and laughing when he missed horribly.

We heard Skye laugh over her comm. “Yeah, right? Ian Quinn. I’m your last-minute party crasher. Skye.”

“Oh. Wow.” We could hear Quinn too, albeit faintly. “Great to meet you. Um, this is Skye, a member of the Rising Tide. They’re a group of hackers. They’ve gotten some pretty big secrets out to the public.”

“I prefer hacktivist. I’m glad you’ve heard of our site.”

“I read it. We think very much alike. More freedom of information, less government infringing on everyone’s rights. I’m a fan.”

I rolled my eyes and grabbed at Fitz’s tie, pulling him to stand between my legs so I could lean against him.

“That explains the invite. This is a tough party to get into.”

“Not as hard to get into as the encrypted back channel you contacted us through to request the invite.” His tone was annoying, and he was trying to flirt with her.

“That’s sort of where I live.” I heard Skye force a laugh.

“You’ve got to show me how you did that- I mean, if you sign on.”

She paused. “Sign what, now?”

“I’ve been known to turn a few black hats into white hats, not just for vulnerability analysis, but for very creative thinking.”

Skye hesitated and I rolled my eyes again, thumping my head against Fitz’s shoulder. He only rubbed my back.

“A-are you offering me a job?”

“Well I didn’t invite you here for your pretty face. I didn’t know you had a pretty face.”

I looked over my shoulder at May, who only shook her head and mirrored my eye roll. Fitz caught my look and tutted at me, pulling me back against him and kissing the top of my head.

“Yes, I wanna hire you, before someone else snatches you up.”

“That seemed to go well.” May noted.

“Yeah. It did.” She breathed out, and her tone seemed different, but I was tired beyond belief.

Grant and I had spent the entire night awake, sparring to try and blow off steam. The mention of our older brother twice in three nights had shaken us both to our cores, and then we were awake and angry. We had gone until three in the morning, at which point I realized the time and sent him to bed because he had to be alert to be the extraction tomorrow. I had spent another two hours on the punching bag. At that point, Fitz came downstairs with pajamas and sleepy eyes, looking for me. We hopped in the shower together because he was scared I’d pass out and drown if I were by myself, and I fell asleep afterward, with only half an hour left until we had to be up to start our day all over again.

The comm stuck in my ear crackled to life, and I was relieved to hear Grant on the other end.

“Hey Vi. We’re here. Keep you updated.”

“Sounds good, bubs.” I mumbled back.

I could hear Coulson over the comms, saying something about Grant’s personality setting Dr. Hall on edge. I scoffed a laugh and turned my head into Fitz’s shoulder.

“It’s locked, but there’s no lock.” I heard Skye.

Fitz grabbed another handful of popcorn. “Eh, check for a keypad.”

“Nothing. What, you can hack a keypad?”

“No, not over the phone.” He mumbled, bringing the bowl of popcorn over my shoulder and placing it in my lap.

“Is there a reception desk?” May asked.

“Okay, yeah. Well now what do I do?”

“What are you trying to do?” Quinn’s voice came over her comm and we froze.

“Just… looking for a pen,” she laughed nervously. “Here we go. Gotta write down all those good ideas, you know what I mean? Of course you know what I mean, you probably have like ten pens for all your ideas…”

“What are you really doing?” His tone escalated.

Skye took a long pause. We stared at each other and I pressed the comm in my ear.

“Grant? She might’ve just been made.”

“Noted.” He grunted back and then was gone as quickly as he had come.

“Alright. I’m busted. I was trying to get a glimpse behind your office doors, see how things really operate.”

“I invite you here as a guest, you treat me like another corrupt institution, looking for trade secrets to leak online. Security-”

“No, no, no, wait. It’s just… with all these la-di-da people, you have to be so guarded, so … careful. What you say. What secrets you reveal. And … I was hoping that you and I… could be honest with one another. If you know what I mean.”

There was another long pause, and then there was a creaking of doors and Skye was back to normal. Fitz had climbed onto the table to sit behind me, forcing me to swing my legs to the other edge of the table. The popcorn was still in my lap, and I was grateful, because that way the warmth of his arms never left my sides.

“My office had less space, more wheels. Wow. A view of the ocean and the pool.”

“Not a bad place to do business.” Quinn flirted back.

“Got the dispatch leaking Hall’s location. User’s an alias.”

“Oh, can you trace the DHCP server-”

May cut Fitz off. “Trace is running, but it’ll take time. How’s our girl?” She asked, referring to Skye.

“I thought she was done for, but she just sweet-talked her way into Quinn’s office.” Jemma exclaimed.

“Grant. She’s good. She’s in.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure, idiot.” I scoffed.

The line clicked off without a response.

“How’d she manage that?” May asked.

I sputtered, shaking my head. Fitz squirmed behind me, using his hands as he spoke.

“She probably just used her, um, uhh…” He stumbled as Jemma and May shot him glares.

I turned to see his hands cupping his chest.

“Uh, her uh… boobs.” He spat out.

I rolled my eyes and got off the table, leaving the bowl in his lap and standing at his side.

“Ugh! That’s the only explana-” Jemma was cut off by static.

I looked down to see Skye’s comm gone. “Shit, the signal’s dead.”

“Fitz, what did you do?” Jemma hit his arm.

“What- I didn’t do anything! She must’ve- oh lord.” He sighed.

May looked at me. “She’s double crossing us.”

I shook my head. “No, no, no, no, no. Stop. We’re not gonna jump to conclusions here, alright? She’s probably just got an idea.” I defended her.

“She’s supposed to stick to the plan!” I forgot my comm was on.

“She’s just offline. We lost audio and vitals.”

“Abort is not an option. But if she’s compromising-”

“She’s still your only way in to get to Dr. Hall. And you’re the only way out. Sit tight.” I rolled my eyes and clicked the comm off.

“Violet. Just think about it. Why else would she turn off her comm?” Fitz asked me, eyes kind.

“She’s got a plan. Just trust me. She’s gotta have a plan.” I clicked my comm back on. “Grant, just keep moving. This doesn’t change anything. I’ll keep you updated.”

He scoffed on the other end. “Since when are you so soft?”

“Can you put aside the bitch-fit for when you come back? Right now you have to focus on getting in and out, okay?” I rolled my eyes.

“Fine. Keep me updated.”

“I told you I would.” I rolled my eyes again, clicking my line off.

I looked around to see Fitz-Simmons and May blinking at me, eyes wide.

“What?”

“I just, uh…” Fitz trailed off, scratching the back of his neck.

“We haven’t ever really seen you like that is all, love.” Jemma offered a sweet smile.

“Your brother’s back and you’re acting different. It’s sort of amusing.” May shrugged, the most truthful.

“Hey, Vi?” Grant’s voice was calm and quiet.

“What’s wrong?” I perked up.

“We’re gonna have to take on this next patrol. Skye better hurry it the hell up or we’re dead. Just thought you should know.” He whispered.

I sighed. “Be careful.”

“Always.” It was followed by a grunt, and then the sounds of an unfair fight.

I sighed and watched as May eyed the holotable nervously. Skye was still offline. A few grunts later, Grant sighed.

“Guys, clocks ticking. Where’s Skye?” Coulson came on.

The holotable clicked, and her compact connected.

“We’re in!” May shouted.

“She’s done it!” Jemma squealed.

“Leo, you’re up.” I took the bowl from him.

“Oh, Mother of all things. Move, move! Move!” He all but shoved May aside, tie flying as he ran.

His fingers danced over the holotable, and his eyes darted around as he licked his lips. He was scared to screw it up.

“Vi, tell Fitz to hurry. They’re onto us.” Grant growled.

“Fitz is going as fast as he can!” I shouted back.

“Fitz!” Coulson called.

“Saying his name repeatedly does not increase productivity!” Jemma yelled, getting them to back off.

“Okay, go!” Fitz jumped.

“Or maybe it does.” Jemma tilted her head.

“Grant! Move, now!” I watched the three second timer on the screen.

“System rebooting in two, one, now!” Fitz counted it off.

There was a grunt and then silence.

“Grant?” The rise and fall of my chest became frantic.

I really hoped my brother hadn’t gotten cut in half by a twenty foot laser fence.

“We’re in.”

I sighed, letting out a breath. May had gone back to her computer, following the trace of the dispatch that had leaked Hall’s location. Fitz pulled me into a hug. I hooked my arms around his middle and buried my face into his shoulder, ignoring the itching of his cardigan against my nose.

“Oh no.” May was louder than usual. “Coulson. The leak came from-”

“Dr. Hall. Yeah, I’m getting that.”

There was a yelp and a grunt, and then Coulson’s comm cut out.

“Grant?”

“I’m here.”

“Coulson’s out. We don’t know what happened. Keep moving, get Skye. We’ll keep you updated. Be careful.”

“Always.”

***

“Guys, we need to talk.” Coulson’s voice came over the comms.

“Lost you for a minute.” May sighed. “We’re aware of the problem, sir. Hall wanted Quinn to kidnap him?” She asked as we walked into the lab, where Fitz-Simmons were scrambling about.

“Yeah, why would he do that?” Fitz was disgruntled.

“What is wrong with him?” Jemma was distraught.

“Quinn built a gravity generator. Like the one we found but bigger. Hall knew Quinn would need him to control its raw power, but Hall just wanted to unleash it.”

“The one we found was only two point five centimeters in diameter. It stopped a semi.” Jemma shrugged.

“How big are we talking?” I asked.

“Twelve feet. It’ll definitely take down the entire compound.”

My heart clenched in my chest once more. Skye and Coulson were on there. And more importantly to me, Grant was on there. I had just gotten him back after eleven years. I couldn’t lose him to an element on the periodic table.

“It’ll sink the place!” Jemma was agitated.

“No, it’ll do more than that.” Fitz shook his head, working at something, tucking a screwdriver behind his ear.

“Work a solution. I’ll disconnect the power before things get … crazy.”

He was gone again.

“Vi.”

“What is it?” I asked, relief at hearing my brother’s voice.

“I don’t know where I’m going. I need you to pull up a map and talk me through this. Please.”

I only nodded. “Just a second.” I hit a few buttons on the holotable, bringing up the blueprint of Quinn’s mansion.

I took my comm out and tossed it to Fitz, who set the connection to the same as Coulson’s. Now we could all hear him, and he could hear all of us.

“Alright. This place is massive. Where am I heading?”

“Southwest corner.” May guided him. “Ward. Tell me you’ve got things covered on the ground. I can’t do a damn thing from out here.”

I caught a small gasp and perked up. It had come from Grant. I pulled up his vitals on the tablet next to me and saw that his heart rate went up. Something had happened that made him nervous.

“I’m working on it.” He replied.

We sat in silence, watching as the dot on the map that was Grant moved faster. Coulson’s comm clicked back on, and we could hear a loud whirring and a rumbling.

“... future generations ruined in his wake!” Hall’s voice was agitated.

“Like agents Fitz and Simmons, your former students? I’ve got them in my ear right now, telling me you’re not a bad guy. We could’ve worked with you on this.”

There was a crashing noise, and Fitz tensed in his seat.

“S.H.I.E.L.D.? S.H.I.E.L.D. is just as guilty of the same thing! Experimentation without a thought of consequence! Your search for an unlimited power source brought an alien invasion!”

“Fair point.” Coulson only sighed.

There was another crashing noise, and Coulson’s comm finally gave out. May cursed loudly, and Jemma put her hands back to her neck.

“She’s not here!” Grant screamed.

We paused.

“Grant, the pool.”

“What?”

“There’s a pool by the window. She must’ve jumped. She’s probably out in the front!”

“Are you sure?”

“Grant! We tag-teamed! Stop doubting me and listen!” I groaned, balling my hands in frustration.

He muttered a reply that I ignored. His dot was beelining down the steps and out into the main lot. He must’ve been sprinting. He reached the spot and took a deep breath. I braced myself, knowing what was coming. There were grunts and shouts, and the cracking of bones. Grant winced, but was quick to regain another breath and keep fighting.

When he finished, I could hear his breathing, along with Skye’s, which was even more frantic.

“You hurt? Follow my orders. I’ll get us out of here.” He was gone again.

Coulson’s line came back on, staticky. “Nothing. Fitz-Simmons? I tried to cut the power. It’s still going.”

Fitz-Simmons blurted out too many words at the same time, and the only thing I understood was ‘catalyst’.

“Something to create a chemical reaction in the core.” Jemma explained.

“It’s not too late to do the right thing! Help me find a catalyst-”

“I am doing the right thing. A completely selfless act. I know that history never celebrates what didn’t happen. They’ll call this a-a tragedy. They won’t understand the good I did here.”

“Vi?” Grant came on. “We’ve almost got Coulson.”

“Can you get him out?”

“Not yet. We need another minute or two.”

“You don’t have that long.” Fitz jumped in, looking at me with concern.

“Killing innocent people?”

“Saving millions. We have to live with the choices we make, but sometimes we have to die with them too.”

“I understand. You made a hard call… and now I have to make mine.” Coulson clicked his comm off, but we still heard the gunshots through Grant’s.

“Alright, we’re in.”

***

Fitz-Simmons hadn’t taken the news well. Coulson had been the one to explain what happened. He shot the glass, and Dr. Hall got sucked into the gravitonium. He was gone. They were devastated, frustrated, and overall upset. Jemma had made a tea and fallen asleep on the couch, where Grant wordlessly draped a blanket over her and shot me a look when I smiled at him.

Fitz was in the bathroom, showering. He had left the door cracked open, and I got the feeling it was to reassure me that he was okay. The water shut off, and he got dressed rather quickly, coming out of the bathroom in boxers and nothing else. His hair had obviously been towel-dried, and he hadn’t bothered to fix it. He gave me a soft smile as he sat next to me.

“Hi angel face.” I whispered, leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek.

“I love you.” He mumbled, wrapping me in his arms and dropping his head against my shoulder.

He was exhausted, and I couldn’t blame him. I ran my fingers through his damp hair and wrapped my arm around his shoulders, tracing shapes onto his bare skin.

“I love you too. Why don’t you try to sleep, Leo?” I asked once he pulled back, wiping at his eyes.

“Stay with me?” He gave me puppy eyes and jutted out his bottom lip. I couldn’t tell whether it was intentional or not.

I smiled and leaned forward, grabbing him by the cheeks and pulling him to me so I could kiss his pouty lips. “Always.”

He slid down under the covers and let me get settled against the headboard. I sat with my legs crossed. He rolled over and dropped his head into my lap, laying on his side and pulling the blankets up to his chin. I threaded my hand in his hair, tugging gently at the curls to untangle them. He sighed, content. My hand started to work by itself, long after his hair was close to dry and he was breathing steadily, asleep.

Skye had gone downstairs to work on her punches, and Grant had gone straight for the shower. I sat in the bed, fingers still mindlessly combing through Fitz’s hair. I hadn’t been the one to lose a mentor, and I hadn’t been the one with a gun up to my face, but I was still tired, and now emotionally drained. There was a knock on my door.

“Come in.” I mumbled, eyes focused on a spot on the wall.

“Hey, ducky. How ya doing?”

I shrugged, watching as he sat on the edge of the bed.

“I’ve had better days.”

He nodded. “I’m gonna go check on Skye. Wanna come?”

I nodded, working Fitz’s head off my lap and onto a pillow. I took Grant’s hand the moment he outstretched it. We walked in silence, and it was peaceful. We didn’t have to verbalize what we wanted to say to each other, we just knew what the other was thinking. It was all I’m sorry’s and I love you to death, please don’t forget that’s and I’m glad you’re alive’s. He went down the stairs first, sitting down and letting me lean onto him.

“Where’d you guys grow up?” Skye asked through a grunt.

“Massachusetts, mostly.” I answered.

“A house?” She asked again.

“You didn’t?” Grant cocked his head.

She stopped the bag, holding it steady as she panted. “One house.” She grabbed a water bottle and walked to our side. “The Brody’s. I was nine. Sent me back to St. Agnes after a month. Said I wasn’t a good fit.”

“Foster parents.” Grant deduced. “Your first?”

She scoffed. “My third. I had heard it before, but… this one was different.”

“‘Cause you wanted them to like you.” I spoke in a hushed tone.

She looked up and nodded. “Bad.”

Grant sighed and she looked back down, sniffling. I looked down to my brother. He gave my knee a squeeze.

“I called her mom once… tried it out.” She shrugged and sighed. “Guess it wasn’t a good fit.”

She shook herself off and returned to the bag. “Hoping for something and losing it? Hurts more than never hoping for anything.”

Grant and I exchanged looks.

She needs reassurance that we won’t leave her. She’s got trust issues.

Grant nodded and we got up wordlessly, each putting weight against the bag so she could have a more solid stance.

“We won’t turn our backs.” He spoke first.

“Doesn’t matter.” She took another punch. “I made my choice. I want this.” Another three punches. “Bad.”

“Well, good. Because you fit in. We like you. You’re a buffer, and a smart one.” I smiled, letting Grant put his full weight against the bag so I could take the pressure off my leg.

She looked at me with a grin. “And I know there’s a truth serum.”

Grant and I only looked at each other once again, each laughing.

“Whatever you say, rookie.”

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