Leopold Fitz had been the head of Hydra for less than a week when he was captured by the Resistance.
He sat on a cot in a small cell with white walls, berating himself for his failures. He'd failed Hydra, the noble organization humanity depended on to protect itself from inhumans. He'd failed his father. Worst of all, he'd failed the woman he loved. He deserved to die.
Many of the subversives who'd captured him agreed. But that woman from the other world who seemed so oddly familiar, Jemma Simmons, wouldn't let them kill him.
Why did she want him alive?
There was only one possible answer. She intended to torture him. Maybe she thought she could get him to reveal Ophelia's location.
He heard footsteps approaching the cell. The door opened and Jemma Simmons walked in. He resolved to stay strong. No matter what she did to him, he would never betray Ophelia.
"If you're going to try to convince me that I don't know who I am, save your breath," he said. "Your friends Radcliffe and Skye already tried that."
She looked at him sadly. "I know. I realize you're not the Fitz I fell in love with, but I'm going to tell you about him. Maybe you'll find that you two aren't as different as you thought. My Fitz was a child prodigy who became a genius scientist, capable of accomplishing things that no one thought possible. Does that sound like anyone you know?"
He said nothing.
"He was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland, the only child of Alistair and Bonnie. Alistair was a cruel man who walked out on Fitz and his mother when Fitz was ten years old."
"My father would never abandon me! Everything I am I owe to him."
She sighed. "Well, that explains a lot. Growing up with an abusive parent-"
"My father wasn't abusive! He only did what was necessary to discipline me. To teach me respect." He lowered his eyes. "Everyone needs the strap across their back now and again."
"Oh Fitz. I'm so sorry."
"Don't be sorry!" He snapped. He didn't need anyone's sympathy. "My father helped me achieve greatness."
"My Fitz was raised by his mother after his father left. His mother helped him become a loving, compassionate human being."
He laughed. "Your Fitz sounds weak."
"Not at all. A weak person couldn't have survived the traumas my Fitz endured."
He waited several seconds for her to elaborate. She didn't. Eventually his curiosity won out. "What traumas?"
"Nearly being murdered by a man he considered a friend. Suffering brain damage as a result of hypoxia. Losing the woman he loved for six months because an ancient monolith transported her to another planet...a desolate planet with no sun and barely enough food to live on."
He recalled Radcliffe's words. "He crossed the universe to rescue you."
"Yes. And when Hydra captured us to find out how we got back, he volunteered to return to that planet, risking his life yet again, so that Hydra would stop torturing me."
"So your Fitz loves you as much as I love Ophelia."
Tears ran down her cheeks. "Yes. He did."
"Did something happen to him? Is he dead?"
"He's not dead! He was taken from me." As she wiped away her tears, her voice hardened. "But I won't give up until I get him back."
She walked out of the cell, leaving Leopold wondering why a part of him desperately wanted to comfort a woman he barely knew.
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She returned a few hours later, holding what appeared to be a sandwich wrapped in white paper. "You must be hungry."
He was, but he wouldn't let her know that.
"It's prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella with a hint of pesto aioli. I hope you like it." She placed the sandwich on the cot and left.
Leopold stared at it. Surely it was a sign of weakness to accept food from his captor. On the other hand, if he wanted to stay alive long enough to figure out a way to escape, he needed to eat.
He unwrapped the sandwich. It smelled amazing. When he took a bite, his taste buds screamed in pleasure. This was quite possibly the best sandwich he had ever-
Strange images floated into his mind.
Simmons, her hair down, wearing a shirt with a rose on it, smiling at him. So beautiful. She's handing him a sandwich. This sandwich.
He's in a tunnel with Ward. They're hiding from someone. He offers Ward half the sandwich and Ward throws the whole thing away. He's furious, and it's not just because he's starving. It's because that sandwich was a gift from Simmons...
What was going on with him? Had she drugged the sandwich? Was he hallucinating? Why did the images feel so real... almost as if they were...memories….
Impossible!
Except...he couldn't shake the feeling that Simmons was familiar, and he couldn't explain why her tears had affected him so much…
He heard his father's voice in his head, warning him about succumbing to womanly sentiment.
But he was also hearing Simmons's voice. Telling him to be careful. Saying they'd wasted enough time. Saying she loved him.
He closed his eyes. The mozzarella melted in his mouth and a flood of images washed over him.
She was standing at the edge of a ramp, ready to jump off a plane. He was screaming her name.
They were holding each other in a box at the bottom of the ocean. She was crying in his arms.
He was reaching for her hand on a desert planet as the wind howled in his ears.
He was kissing her in a lab. Their lab.
They were in a hotel room and he was kissing her everywhere, touching her everywhere, and she was making these delightful noises, and he had never felt so close to anyone…
Oh God.
It was all coming back to him, accompanied by an overwhelming wave of nausea.
He wasn't Leopold Fitz, head of Hydra. He was Fitz, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. One half of FitzSimmons. Everything else was a lie.
"Jemma!" He didn't know if she could hear him, but maybe she was watching him on a surveillance camera. "Jemma! Come back! Please come back! I remember!"
Moments later, he heard footsteps again and Jemma opened the door. He saw hope in her eyes, but there was something else as well. Doubt, perhaps. Maybe she was worried that he was trying to trick her. "What do you remember?"
"I remember that we met at S.H.I.E.L.D. academy when we were sixteen." His body shook with nervous energy. "You thought I hated you, but the truth was that I was too scared to talk to you. Once I worked up the courage to have a conversation with you, I discovered that you were the most fascinating person I'd ever met. It took me almost ten years to realize that I loved you, but I didn't tell you until Ward dumped us in the ocean."
"Yes." Tears welled up in her eyes. "Do you remember who Ophelia really is?"
He felt another wave of nausea as more of his stolen memories resurfaced. "She used to be called Aida. She's an android Radcliffe and I built together. We thought we were so bloody clever; we thought our creation was going to change the world. That worked out well, didn't it? You should have let the Resistance kill me. I deserve it." He buried his face in his hands.
She sat next to him on the cot and touched his shoulder. "You don't deserve to die, Fitz!"
He pulled away from her touch. "Why not? I've tortured inhumans! I tortured Daisy! Agnes and Mace are dead because of me!"
"No, because of Aida! She altered your mind and manipulated you at every turn so that you would serve her needs. She's to blame for everything that's happened here! You can still make things right, Fitz. You can help us defeat Aida and get home."
"And then what? How can the team...how can you forgive me after everything I did as the Doctor?"
"We all forgave Daisy for what she did under Hive's influence, because we knew she wasn't in control of her own actions. This isn't any different. Eventually the team will forgive you...I already have."
"I killed people, Jemma. You saw me murder Agnes! How can you ever look past that?"
"I believe that, given the right circumstances, anyone is capable of committing terrible deeds. Aida engineered the perfect conditions for you to be a remorseless killer, but I know that's not who you really are. I know the real you, and I love you! I refuse to let that awful android tear us apart!"
"I love you too." He wrapped his arms around her. "I'm so sorry I forgot that."
Both of them were crying as she kissed his cheek. "I'll make sure you don't forget again. Let's go save our friends."
Hand in hand they started to walk out of the cell, but Fitz stopped suddenly. "Wait."
"What's wrong?"
"Just let me grab my sandwich."
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