Thunderbolts: Rising from the Darkness
By Freddyfrmelmst
Disclaimer: I don't own Agents of the SHIELD, The MCU or Marvel Comics
Many Thanks to MarvelMatt for betaing and helping me work out this story.
Ward grunted as he dropped to his knees, his scream of pain and rage echoing across the barren plain.
He'd done it.
She was dead.
The twisted, evil, Inhuman version of Skye, who was known only as Quake was finally dead. Using his own hands, he had snapped her neck.
And Ward was the last man standing.
Lowering himself from his perch above the battle, the slow, rhythmic clap of The Grandmaster was the only sound heard in the barren landscape, before an amused chuckle escaped the ancient blue alien's lips.
"Well done, my Hyperion", a smirk adorned his features as he took in his creation, one of the strongest forces in his universe.
"So … what now?" Grant asked the question, unable to contain the weariness and exhaustion that plagued.
The Grandmaster gave him a once over, a playful expression of consideration lighting up his face.
"Now? Now I put you back where I found you Grant Ward. You are free from any from obligation that you owe to me. You have served your purpose well and as a special reward for winning", he exaggerated the two words as amusement danced in his eyes, "You can keep the powers I have bestowed upon you"
"And … and my team?" He asked the question as he couldn't stop himself from looking over the empty field towards where their bodies lay. They had all been through a lot over the last few days"
They had all been through hell.
"They too shall be restored to life and returned to where I found them, both safe and sound. They however, will not retain their powers, after all", the amusement in his eyes morphed into pure mirth, "they lost"
"You're a son of a bitch", was his clever response, snarling at the figure he knew, that could strip him of his abilities before wiping him out completely. Instead, he took on a mock expression of seriousness, tapping his chin with one of his long, blue fingers.
"True Grant Ward … but I am a son of a bitch that keeps his word"
And with a single wave of his hand Grant Ward found himself back inside of Vault D, in the depths of the SHIELD base 'Playground'.
And in front of him was Leo Fitz, who couldn't quite believe his eyes, telling him that Ward was right in front of him.
"Ward", Fitz's voice was a whisper, carried across the emptiness of the vault.
"Fitz", was all that was said in response, as he fell down against his bunk, slouching against the wall, half-seated, the exhaustion from his last few days catching up with him.
"Why are you here?"
"I had to see you before Coulson sends you away. I … I need to know why", Fitz told him fighting to keep himself from stuttering.
"Why what Fitz?"
"Why did you bother to try save Jemma and me?" Fitz told him as he held up the small transmitter that Ward had stuck inside of the medical pod with them.
"Fitz, just, try and understand something okay? Am I a good man? Not by a long shot, I haven't been one for a very long time … and that's if I ever was one to begin with. But there are some lines I just don't cross. I do not kill innocents", Ward told him, matter of factly.
"Really?" Fitz's tone was laced heavily with sarcasm, "Then what was Agent Ko … Ko … Koenig?" He stuttered the last few words, and his cheeks heated up as a response.
Ward's reply was just to give a soft chuckle.
"You are seriously asking that? You really don't know? Identical triplets as agents? You really bought that? They are an LMD series that Fury liked to use. Why do you think I destroyed him? He could track us with those lanyards he gave us, he even marked us all so he could track us even without them"
Fitz's eyes widened at that little revelation.
"You were innocent in all of this Fitz, just like Ace was, and just like Jemma was. I never would have allowed any of you to be hurt if I could prevent it. Why do you think I dropped you out of The Bus after I gave you that? Garrett wanted you dead, as in a bullet in your brain dead"
"Then why… Why didn't you just … let … him … d … d … die?" Fitz asked tears unashamedly running down his face, he swiped angrily at them, determined not to cry in front of their prisoner.
"Fitz would you let your father just die in front of you? Would you let Coulson or May 'just die' in front of you?"
When the engineer didn't answer, he took the opportunity to press onwards.
"Garrett saved me from Hell, from myself even. He taught me, trained me, he was the first person in this world who made me think I was worth something. Tell me … how could I just let him die?"
Ward leant back further on his bunk, looking as relaxed as possible, while the engineer was anything but.
Fitz was aghast at Ward's words.
Had they ever really known the Specialist at all?
Was everything a lie?
Or had that just not bothered to look too deeply into it?
Before Fitz could say anything, or ask anything else, Coulson and May appeared, leading a squad of armed security agents down into the Vault.
Grant sat up and smiled, doing his best to look as amused as possible.
"Well boss man, I guess this is it, the big goodbye"
"On your feet Ward" May growled out at him.
Ward stood up as the energy field was turned off, offering them his hands.
"It's time", Coulson told him, locking eyes, trying to project the steel in his voice that Fury had been known for.
He just rolled his eyes in response. After all he had been through lately, there wasn't a damn thing Coulson or any one at SHIELD could do to him.
After they had finished cuffing him and shackling his feet, Ward was lead up to the garage, making a note of where everything was in SHIELD's new base.
If Coulson didn't want to blindfold him, then that was just fine, he'd use the advantage he'd been given.
Looking along the corridors, it seemed to him that everyone on the base had turned out to get a glimpse of him being sent off.
He smirked, noticing the unnerved look that crossed May's face as he did so.
They were all going to be so disappointed.
As they reached the armoured transport that his brother had sent for him, Ward stopped, causing one of the soldiers to uselessly tap him with the butt of his weapon, as he turned back to look at the assembled ranks of the new SHIELD, he saw Skye watching him from where she was attempting to blend in next to Simmons, stood with some of the other scientists.
Ward turned back towards the transport and, smiling now, he moved several more steps, bringing him directly under the open roof, which would usually be used to let their aircraft in or out.
Today it was his source.
It was blisteringly hot outside, so they'd opened the roof to let some sunlight in, and let the cool air out.
Their mistake.
The first rays of sunlight were like taking an espresso in the morning, jolting him into a new state of alertness.
He'd felt Hyperion's powers bubbling under his skin, The Grandmaster having apparently kept his word.
All he needed was a way to regain his power.
The sunlight made contact with his skin, sending a trail of fire coursing through his veins as his cells metabolised the raw power, drinking in its radiation and giving him the power boost he needed.
He flexed his wrists.
He snapped the cuffs open like they were made of paper. He span around to grab the two rifles pointed at his back and bent the barrels so they were pointing towards the sky, rendering them completely unusable.
The remaining four guards leapt at him to try and contain him, but jumping upwards and pushing out, he used his strength to send them flying backwards, before just hovering in the air.
"I guess I'll be leaving you here", he smirked as he took them in, frozen, with one hand on their ICERs, as they gaped openly at his floating form.
"Be seeing you", Ward smiled as made an 'OK' symbol with his hand before saluting them.
Coulson stiffened, and Ward knew he had gotten the message.
Seeing no reason to linger, he flew straight up and out of the hangar's roof.
/
The entire team was in complete shock.
Not only was Grant Ward now free from custody, he was also apparently a gifted individual, and from the looks of things, he could've left Vault D anytime he wanted to.
Despite that, only one thought was running through Coulson's mind.
"How the hell had they never known Ward was gifted?"
/
Two hours, and several states, later, Grant Ward landed at the foot of a mountain in Colorado.
A mountain that was once a hidden base for a Hydra sect that no longer existed and only two living men knew about it.
Ward smiled as one of the base's many hidden doors opened, and out stepped one of the few men Ward could say for certain that he trusted with his life.
"Grant bloody Ward! You want to explain to me how in the hell you managed to get super powers!? And botch my perfectly planned and yet, now unneeded breakout plan for you!?"
His oldest living friend was stuck somewhere between disbelief, anger and complete amusement.
"Norbert, you wouldn't believe me if I told you … so how about burgers and a beer and I will lay it all out for you"
Norbert nodded and waved for him to enter the base.
/
Coulson had gathered his team, and they were huddled together in the main briefing room. Spread out before them was every word that SHIELD had ever written about Grant Douglas Ward.
Huffing in exasperation, Skye threw her folder back down on the table.
"Guys, we've been at this for hours! There is nothing written in anything, that hasn't been completely redacted, that gives us even a hint about how Ward could've gained his powers. For all we know, aliens could've shot him here as a baby", Skye wined.
Coulson would've chuckled had the situation not been so serious. As it was, he was afraid.
Very afraid.
"Hey AC", he looked up from his brooding to see Skye and a few of the other looking at him, "what was up with that 'be seeing you' stuff with Ward?"
Coulson took a quick breath, "It's from the sixties. There was a British TV show called 'The Prisoner', it's about a spy captured by an unknown organization that want the information in his head and they swear to get to it by hook or by crook. In the show all the people trying to break The Prisoner salute with that gesture and say 'be seeing you'"
"So do you think that Ward has information that we need or want, and that he was taunting us, or that like in the show, not everything is as it appears?"
The others looked at May as she finished speaking, causing her to raise one of her eyebrows.
"What?" At their continued looks, she shook her head, "I do enjoy a good television show every so often", was all she commented as she continued to read her file.