A/N: This... wasn't meant as a romantic story, but I just rolled with it.
Also, in this story, much of Richard Tygan's behavior is written with the assumption that he is on the Autistic Spectrum, a headcanon I have. Not to mention that he has severe anxiety.
Hope it's enjoyable.
There was a message coming through the Avenger airwaves. Not unusual, but this one wasn't from any of the Resistance Cells they knew about. Or even from the Informant. This put Central on edge.
"Might be ADVENT…" He muttered.
"But it's a one-way message." Shen said. "Sort of like the Speaker's speeches. And we receive those without risk."
"Alright, let's have a listen." Central said, as the Communications Officer opened the message.
Tygan… Tygan? Doctor Richard Tygan. Please contact…
Was what kept looping. All eyes immediately went to the Scientist, who, until now, just stood back silently. He still didn't say anything as he stepped forward and switched the transmission off.
"That's enough of that." He softly said.
"What was that about?" Shen asked, looking at Tygan.
"I don't know." Tygan said, eyes shifting. "I truly don't."
"Who is it, Tygan?" Central demanded, making Tygan clench his fists.
"I knew him as 'The Counselor'." He eventually said. "A member of ADVENT who… guided me when I first started working for them." He sighed. "Though now that I think about it, it was more like grooming."
"Why would he want to contact you?" Shen asked, letting some of her suspicion seep through.
"If I could hazard a guess; a trap of some kind." Tygan answered. "Something tells me if we answer this it will lead to disaster. It's best to ignore it."
"I think that's the worst we can do." Bradford said.
"Then what do you propose? Answer it?" Tygan asked, not able to hold back some frustration. "Making it so they can track us?"
There was a silence.
"If you'll excuse me. I think we all have better things to do." Tygan eventually said before heading off to his laboratory.
But first he made a slight detour to the quieter parts of the ship. Making his way to one of the corners, he allowed a hiss of frustration to exit, leaning his head against the metal walls.
The noises were coming back. He could already tell. The noises and the doubts… They were coming back. Just as things seemed to go at least somewhat smoothly. Not that they ever truly left. But they were at a manageable level. But now… He could already tell they'd soon come back in full force.
He dug into his pockets and extracted a chip.
His old ADVENT chip… The one he pulled out of his head all those years ago. He clenched his fist around it, holding it against his chest.
It was in his hand.
Not his head.
He was free.
He told himself that over and over again like a mantra.
"Tygan?" Shen's voice shook him out of his stupor as he quickly turned around, not hearing the soft 'tink' of metal against metal. "What are you doing?"
"I was just in taught. Nothing to worry about, Shen." Tygan said. Her eyes narrowed.
"I'm sure it has nothing to do with that radio signal we received." She challenged.
"It has, but I assure you, not in the way you think. I'm certain this signal was meant to cause a disruption and I have no intention of giving them that pleasure." He sighed, holding his head. "Please don't, either." With that, he quickly left before Shen could protest. He did not have the energy. Shen wanted to say something, but her eye caught something on the floor where Tygan was standing just a moment ago. She picked it up.
A chip.
"Is that... ?" She wondered, before realizing she had things to do. Pocketing the chip, she went back to work.
"Bad things happened?" Was the first thing Zhang asked when Tygan entered the research area. He just sighed as Zhang simply nodded.
"ADVENT tried to contact me." Tygan said, heading to his desk.
"It's a trap."
"That's what I said. But Shen…"
"Don't pay attention to her. She'll realize her mistake sooner or later." Zhang said.
"I just hope it's 'sooner' rather than later. My patience is wearing thin."
"I'm afraid patience is all that can really help." Zhang said. Tygan just sighed. "If you want, I can have a word with her."
"No. While I appreciate the gesture, this is my issue." Tygan said. "I'd hate it if this would drag down other people."
"Alright…" Zhang softly said, as Tygan returned to his research. Zhang was actually one of the few people who seemed to be able to keep up with him next to Shen. And unlike with Shen, there was no layer of distrust. Far from it. There was a degree of understanding that he didn't share with other people. That probably explained why he felt so comfortable around the other man. Even when they weren't speaking, just having Zhang sit across him in his laboratory, listening to some pre-war music through his earbuds… It made him feel at ease, which was rare.
So that's how the rest of the day went. Which was needed after that radio call.
It didn't last, as soon the ship was rocked by what appeared to be a missile blast, sending Tygan flying across the floor. Zhang was instantly by his side, helping him up.
"I'm fine, it was just… unexpected." Tygan said. The ship rocked again as the two men held on to the railing. Soon enough, the ship started to descend. "We're under attack? How did they find us? What is… What is going on?" Tygan started to mutter to himself, not completely in a panic, but definitely rattled. The fact they were still descending rapidly did not help.
"Just hang on." Zhang said, hanging onto Tygan as much as he was hanging onto the rail. Soon, though not soon enough, they landed. Roughly. To the point the world went black for Tygan for a moment. When he came to, he was on the floor, being held by Zhang in a protective manner.
Everybody still alive?
Bradford called through the slowly got up, looking at Zhang, who looked away, somewhat awkwardly.
"We're fine over here." He said through the Intercom. After that he turned to Zhang. "Thanks for… protecting me." He carefully said.
"It was nothing." Zhang said softly.
There was a small silence between them, only for the Intercom to break it.
Zhang? Get over here. ADVENT is attacking us and we're in need of some fireworks.
Central called. Tygan nodded.
"You go ahead. I'll be fine." He said as Zhang got up and rushed towards the exit, ready to fight. Tygan took the time he was now on his own to take a deep breath. That was… eventful. And from the looks of it, it wasn't over. Still, it seemed that this one would be handled by Bradford and Shen and, somewhat ironically considering the situation, he could take the time to collect himself.
Only to be put right back on edge when he heard something from the back of his laboratory. He quickly turned and looked.
Nothing.
Tygan took a deep breath.
"It's just an auditory illusion." He told himself. "You've had these before. It's just in your head." With that he tried to concentrate on his work again. "The crash must've set it off…" He shook his head. "I'd better get back to work…" However, as he said that, he heard another noise, this one louder and more near. He turned around only to see something in the rafters.
"Centr-...!" He tried, before whatever was in the shadows dashed forward and everything went black for him.
They managed to get out. With a lot of effort, but in the end, as Bradford put it, the Avenger lived to fly another day. With that, they took off and a collective sigh of relief could be heard.
"That was a close one." Lily said, stretching herself. "Though I do wonder why Tygan decided to keep to himself. He's usually with us."
"Maybe the rough landing, together with the earlier Radio Broadcast, put him too much on edge." Bradford said. "I'm sure he'll be fine."
"I'll go check up on him. There's something I wanted to ask him, anyway." Shen said, heading to the Research Lab. As soon as she did, she didn't find him there. Only Zhang.
"Have you seen Tygan?" Zhang asked her.
"He's not here?" Shen asked, getting sort of worried.
"I figured he was with Central for debriefing…" Zhang said, also letting worry slip through. He immediately went for the quieter part of the Avenger as Shen followed. Tygan was nowhere to be seen.
"Warn Central." Zhang simply said as Shen nodded and rushed off again.
He didn't know how long he was passed out, but knew immediately that he was in danger when he came to.
With that in mind, Tygan groaned as he sat up from… wherever he was laying. A small cell with minimal accommodations. His breath hitched.
ADVENT…
He was captured by ADVENT. This filled him with dread and confusion. What would they want from him? He never figured he was a high priority target to be taken alive. If they could board the Avenger, why not try and take the Commander? Why go for him? Information, most likely… And whatever the means of obtaining this, something told him it was going to be… unpleasant.
"Nothing. Doctor Tygan is nowhere to be found." Zhang said after he had swept the ship. Twice. Now worry was clearly visible, even with his hood concealing most of his face.
"Where could he have gone? We've been in flight ever since…" Shen said, before stopping. "Oh no."
"They must have slipped through at the back while we were defending the front…" Zhang said.
"Or he took this opportunity to get out himself." Shen said, crossing her arms. This appeared to be break something in Zhang.
"Listen, I have been patient with this behavior at Tygan's request, but if you're implying that he's a traitor at this moment…!" He said, advancing on her before Bradford got in between them.
"Both of you take it easy." He said. "Being at each others' throat won't get us anywhere." Both Zhang and Shen looked away. "Tygan being gone is a bad thing either way. So let's try to find out where he is, first. We'll have plenty of time to figure out the 'why' after that."
How long had it been? Several hours at least. Maybe a day… He didn't have a way to measure time besides counting. And he was currently far too anxious for that. He must have paced the little cell dozens of time by now… Head filling with thoughts and questions, none of them pleasant.
A noise as the door to his cell slid open and someone entered. And soon, all his thoughts were numbed by a strange mixture of fear and confusion.
"Greetings Doctor Tygan, it's been a while." The man entering said. Tall, long, sleek black hair and dark sunglasses, even during the night.
"Counselor?" Tygan couldn't help but ask in shock.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?" The man said, smiling. "My, how much you've changed."
"You haven't changed at all." Tygan said, mostly out of surprise. Fifteen years and the other man didn't even look like he had aged a day. The Counselor just smiled.
"What can I say? ADVENT has been kind to me in multiple ways." He answered.
"What does ADVENT want from me?"
"Still as inquisitive as ever." The Counselor continued as if there was nothing wrong. As if they weren't enemies. It put Tygan on edge. "It's easy, actually. Just like with your precious… Commander, we would like to have you return."
"What will happen if I choose not to?"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves now." The counselor said. "You must understand that we're not angry with you." The Counselor said.
"Just disappointed?" Tygan predicted.
"Not even that. I am mostly disappointed with myself." The Counselor continued. "When you made the decision to leave ADVENT you were confused. Lost. And we weren't there to offer solace, driving you to the Resistance."
"I'd appreciate it if you stopped patronizing me." Tygan said, letting some anger seep through. This was all very familiar. Being treated as some sort of child under the guise of 'guidance'. And as before, it was frustrating him. This was just another way to take control away. And he was not going to let it happen again.
"We never intended it to be this way. But then again, I guess by now you're so used to being treated badly that being treated well feels somewhat alien."
"H-how did you…?" Tygan tried. Another smile.
"Just a guess. XCom has a hatred for ADVENT. You are ADVENT. It isn't surprising they treat you poorly."
"Well, I will let you know they're not treating me nearly as bad as you would like them to." Tygan said, trying to recover. He would not give the Counselor the upper hand in this conversation. "There have been… some troubles, but none so dire you can use them to turn me against them."
"Your stammering question just now suggested otherwise." The Counselor said.
"That was…"
"You don't need to lie to me. I'm here to help."
"You're not. You're here to… to turn me against my allies and return to ADVENT." Tygan challenged. "It's not going to work."
"Tygan, please. We just want what's best for you." The Counselor said, looking at him with a worried expression. "You are among the brightest minds we've encountered and not just among humans. And it's being abused by a group of self destructive miscreants who probably don't even realize the treasure they have in you."
"Stop it." Was all Tygan managed at this point as he clenched his fists and closed his eyes. All these attempts to bolster his ego just did the opposite. They made him feel less than dirt. These Aliens. These… Monsters were the ones that wanted to have him be a part of their group while the rest of humanity would always look at him with mistrust and suspicion. Deservedly so.
"Consider this: we will welcome you back into the fold and you will return to your life with us as if nothing ever happened." The Counselor said as he left the cell. "Ask yourself if they would do the same." He whispered as the door closed. This stuck in his head. Because he knew it would be a 'No'. But it didn't want him to return to ADVENT. The opposite. All the guilt and disgust he felt at himself about what he did in the past came rushing back from where he had suppressed them to.
"I am not like that any more. I'm not. I'm… not ADVENT." He started telling himself as he sat down on the bed, holding his head in both hands, before they went to his pocket. He needed to see it. His chip, the symbol of his defiance of ADVENT. He needed to…
Nothing.
He started to panic, searching every pocket he had, to no avail. It was gone.
"No… No." He muttered. A small voice in the back of his head tried to tell him that it must have dropped somewhere. That it was just some metal and plastic. That it didn't matter. It didn't come through as Tygan curled in on himself, closing his eyes and grasping his head, his spiral into absolute guilt and despair complete.
Things were tense on the Skyranger. They weren't a stranger to extractions or retrieving their own but for some reason, the air was even heavier than normal. Zhang, who was usually among the most calm, was restless and tense.
"I'm sure he'll be fine." Jane tried to comfort him, it didn't help.
"People are never kind to those they deem traitors." Zhang said. "I have no reason to believe the Aliens are any different."
"The fact they took him alive means they still think he can be of use." Kelly tried. "And I doubt they'd damage something they can use. They're pragmatic like that." No answer. "Just focus on getting him out of there." This seemed to help somewhat, as the rest of the flight happened in silence.
The complex they were infiltrating didn't look any different from most. But it was guarded by mostly, if not all Vipers, which was somewhat odd, but not something they couldn't handle. However, as soon as they were inside, Zhang went off on his own, despite protests of Jane and Bradford.
What the hell's gotten into you?!
Rang in his ear.
"I'm trying to get Doctor Tygan out of here." He simply replied.
And you decided this was a solo endeavor? You're supposed to be a professional!
"I've done this sort of thing alone, Central. I know what I'm doing." Zhang answered.
If you did, you'd have stuck with the others.
"I don't need your lectures on how to do things, Central." Anger was seeping into his voice.
Seriously, what is the matter with you? I know you're worried about Tygan but we all are.
"Are you sure about that?"
I heard that.
Shen piped in.
"Then you know what I mean." He could hear a collective groan through his earpiece.
Listen. I'm not going to pretend I trust or even like Tygan, but I rather have him somewhere I can keep an eye on him.
Shen said. This was the wrong thing to say.
"I don't have time for this." Zhang said,removing his earpiece and dropping it on the floor before crushing it with his foot. He'd done this sort of thing on how own for over thirty years by now. He didn't need them. That was his taught as he swiftly made his way to the compound. Needing them or not, it seemed like the Vipers had their hands full with their troops up front. Things were quiet.
But he soon heard a voice coming from another room.
"Yes. I understand." He could hear someone say as he placed his back against the wall next to the door. "No. I did not fail. While Doctor Tygan is still refusing to join us, in his current state, he won't be able to help the Rebels either." This was enough for him to drop the hiding and bust in the door. "I'll talk to you later." The man, who was sitting at a desk in an office which felt… out of place. Zhang paid it no mind as he approached the man, who quietly got up from his desk and approached him. "It was about time you and your little band of rebels showed up. I was starting to get worried." He calmly said, Zhang was having none of it as he fiercely pinned the man against a wall.
"Where is he?" He demanded.
"You don't fool around, do you?" The man said, still calm. "But then again, that is what I remember from EXALT." This gave Zhang pause. "Haven't heard that name in a while, have you? Your kind is easy to spot with your primitive attempts at genetic manipulation. Well, was. I wouldn't be surprised if you were the last one left, seeing how thorough the Elders eradicated them." Zhang fell silent for a while, before he took the man's throat and slammed him against the wall again.
"Where. Is. He?" He repeated in a low, threatening tone.
"Doctor Tygan is safe. You really think we would let someone with a mind like his be damaged?" The man answered. "We're not like your precious XCom, we appreciate and accept people regardless of background. All we want in return is cooperation."
"Don't try that bullshit on me." Zhang hissed. "Now I'm going to ask one last time…" This caused the man to sigh, disappointed.
"I really wished it wouldn't have come to this." He said, before his face twisted and he threw his head forward, a sickly green liquid coming from his mouth and hitting Zhang in the face as he backed away with a surprised yelp.
Poison.
He quickly wiped it out of his eyes, the world having turned white.
"Shit…" He whispered, keeping his hand against the wall while he tried to rub out the poison to no avail.
"Zhang?!" He could hear someone say. Kelly… that voice was Kelly. Soon he could feel the soothing spray of a medkit as the world came into view again. "Viper got you good."
"Not a Viper." Zhang said, straightening himself. "If I didn't know better, I'd mistake it for a human."
"You encountered a Thin Man? Those are rare out in the field nowadays." Kelly said.
"He wasn't a soldier." Zhang explained. "More like… an office clerk if I didn't know any better." With that he fell silent. "I gather Central is not pleased with what I did."
"That's… putting it mildly." Kelly said. "That was one hell of a stunt you pulled, going off on your own like some sort of hot-blooded rookie." Zhang looked away. "Listen, I think you've heard it like a dozen times by now, but we get it. You're worried. You and Tygan… you two have a bond." She said. "I can get why you'd go berserk trying to find him. But in the end, you're not helping him. In fact, you're probably making it worse."
"I… Know that." Zhang said, sounding defeated.
"Been a problem before?" No answer as Zhang's hands hovered over the scarred side of his face. "Well… you can make up for it by making sure this mission is a success, alright?" Kelly said.
"I doubt Central will leave it at that."
"Let him gripe." Kelly said, patting his shoulder. "C'mon, let's do this. Tygan's waiting for us somewhere. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you." This caused Zhang to not as he picked up the gun he dropped, nodded and the two of them headed back in the complex.
They soon found the cells, and to Zhang's surprise, the man he had encountered had not appeared.
"Your turn. Only one cell seems to have someone inside it."
"Alright." Kelly said, taking out her hacking device and within minutes, the cell door opened.
Tygan was sitting on a bed, hunched over and holding his head in both hands. He seemed oblivious to the two entering the small cell with him.
"Alright Doc. Let's go." Kelly said, wasting no time. Tygan just looked at her, not making another move. He looked… defeated. "You… need some help?"
"Leave me." Tygan simply answered. This gave both of them pause.
"What?" Kelly said, but Zhang rose a hand.
"I will take care of this. Could you please… stand guard outside?" He asked, Kelly looked at him strangely, but nodded and went outside. "Tygan… " Zhang carefully said. The sheer despair that radiated from the other man was almost palpable. "What did they do to you?"
"They did nothing to me. Just… I'm not returning to the Avenger…" Tygan answered, not looking up.
"Why not?" Zhang asked.
"I can't go back. I'm ADVENT. I will always be ADVENT. It was foolish of me to think otherwise." He closed his eyes and held his head. "To think I could ever wash my hands clean of the things I did…" This caused Zhang to frown sadly. Whatever the Aliens said or did, it brought Tygan to despair. He had to move carefully.
"Tygan, I… I understand how you feel." He carefully started. "I have blood on my hands myself. I know that, even when we try, we can never wash off those stains." Zhang said. "But I also know that out of all the people I met over my prolonged life, no one tried harder than you."
No answer, but Zhang could tell the words weren't registering through Tygan's current emotional state; numbed by guilt. Zhang closed his eyes. He wasn't one for intimacy, but in order to shake Tygan, someone he came to hold very dear, out of this, he had to.
He kneeled in front of the other man, before taking his hands and leaning his forehead against his.
"I can't make these feelings go away. All I can give is my trust in you and hope it's enough." He whispered. "Please…"
A short silence, before Tygan wrapped his arms around Zhang, who returned it.
"I can't make things better…" Tygan started, burying his head in the taller man's shoulders. "But if you're by my side… I feel like I have the power to at least try." He said. "Please stay by my side."
"I will do that. I will stay by your side until I stop breathing. Which might be a while since this body is hard to kill." He said as they let go, causing Tygan to smile slightly. "Ready to get out of here?"
"Ready."
"Let's move out." With that they headed out of the cramped cell. Kelly just looked at Zhang, who nodded silently. Kelly nodded in return.
"Let's go home." She said.
"One moment." Zhang said as he took out a small, somewhat primitive handgun and handed it to Tygan. "Just in case." Tygan just looked at the gun somewhat uneasy. "Keep your finger off the trigger unless you actually need to shoot. Also, never point it at something you don't intend to kill." Zhang explained. Tygan nodded, still looking somewhat uneasy.
"Now let's get out of here. I don't want to spent a minute longer then we have to." Kelly said, as the two men nodded and rushed behind her. "We managed to rout the Vipers around. It shouldn't be an issue to get outside and call the Skyranger."
"Did you happen upon the Thin Man that appears to be their leader?" Zhang asked.
"The Counselor?" Tygan asked.
"Is that his name?"
"That's what I know him as…" Tygan said. "He attempted to… persuade me to return to ADVENT." A silence. "Tell Shen it did not work." He added while looking at Kelly and Zhang could have sworn he heard sputtering coming from Kelly's earpiece. Tygan just held his head.
"Let's just go. We have plenty of time to talks things out without having ADVENT bear down on us." Kelly said. But before they could move again, a noise was heard from the vents. They stopped.
"It's just… an auditory illusion…" Tygan softly said.
"No, we hear it too." Zhang said.
"Yeah… Something's in the vents. And no way a Viper's small enough to get in there." Kelly said. "How about that Counselor?"
"He'd be able. Thin Men are highly mobile." Tygan said, looking up at the ceiling wearily. "I figured he wasn't built for Combat, since they don't need to be like that any more, but…"
"But I was built to be adept in both." Came from a vent, before the Counselor swiftly appeared from a vent in the ceiling, body moving unnaturally and swift. Zhang immediately pushed Tygan behind them, retreating while Kelly rushed forward with her blade.
"Don't!" Zhang called, also rushing forward to stop her. The reason became clear immediately as the Counselor made a spitting motion. However, this time it wasn't a concentrated beam as a large toxic-looking cloud dispersed from him. Zhang and Kelly jumped on one side… but soon realized that the Counselor was at the other. As was Tygan, who pressed himself against a wall, frozen in terror at the Counselor approaching him.
"Shoot!" Zhang shouted, but Tygan couldn't hear him as the Counselor simply got a hold of him and rushed away. "No!" Zhang tried as they waited for the poison to disperse. Once it did, both the Counselor and Tygan were nowhere to be seen.
Tygan didn't know where he quite was either, and being slammed against a wall with enough force to knock the wind out of him and make him slump down didn't help.
"You should be grateful. I'm risking so much by keeping you alive." The Counselor said, an inhuman hiss making it in his voice. "After the failure of our first conversation, the Elders were ready to just destroy your mind and send your husk of a body back to the Resistance as a warning." He said, pointing at Tygan. "But I still have Faith in you. I can still salvage you. You will be MINE once more."
"I'm not… yours!" Tygan said, managing to get up, taking the gun Zhang gave him and aimed it at the Counselor's head.
"Tygan. This isn't you." The Counselor said, smiling. Teeth, always sort of off, now full on Viper fangs.
"But it is. But so was I when I was working for ADVENT." Tygan said, not moving the gun. "There is no 'Old Me'. Nor is there a 'New Me'. There's just 'Me'. With all my accomplishments and mistakes."
"Mistakes that we are willing to forgive. To a point. Please. Richard…"
"Don't call me that!" Tygan said, louder than he would have wanted.
"Alright, Doctor Tygan." The Counselor replied calmly. "Still reserving your first name for close friends, I see. Does that include anyone at this point?"
"It certainly doesn't include anyone at ADVENT. Let alone the likes of you." Tygan hissed. "I'm nothing but a trophy to you. Something to show off. But I will not let myself treat me that way. Not any more. I take resentment over that." This was the wrong thing to say as The Counselor's expression faded into anger.
"Just stop this nonsense and come ho-...!" The Counselor tried, but before he was finished, Tygan had shot him in the head, killing him instantly.
"ADVENT isn't my home. Not any more." He said, closing his eyes.
Only to snap them open again when he saw the body convulse before it burst into a fine, sickly looking mist.
Poison.
"Intriguing…" He managed, before he started coughing heavily, feeling as if his lungs were on fire. Soon, he collapsed, black edges settling on his vision. He was passing out. Perhaps even dying.
"RICHARD!" He could hear someone call. Zhang… He soon was carefully picked up. Zhang's face carried so much emotion. Something he never witnessed.
"I'm… so happy you're the last thing I see before…" He started.
"You're not going to die." Zhang said. No. Ordered. "I've seen people survive worse. You can get through this." Tygan couldn't really answer, his body almost too weak by now. Whatever poison inhabited the Counselor must have been potent… Still, if this was his end, he wanted it to be one with no regrets as he managed to lift a hand to stroke Zhang's scarred face, who looked confused. Still, Tygan couldn't help but smile as everything around him faded to black.
Things were quiet on the flight home. Despite the extraction being successful, Tygan did get poisoned severely by the looks of it. Jane looked at him, cradled in Zhang's arms, completely limp and barely breathing.
"I'm sure he'll be fine…" She tried to comfort Zhang. He just kept quiet, though his grip tightened slightly.
Back at the Avenger, Tygan was immediately sent to the infirmary. There was somewhat of an awkward as the best medic they had… was Tygan.
"There's bad news. Then good news. Then bad news again." Shen said, having R-ver scan Tygan, who was currently still unconscious. Zhang sat next to him, watching him intently.
"Spill it." Central, who was behind Shen, said.
"He's reacting pretty badly to the poison. While he's a healthy person, he's by no means as perfectly fit as most of our soldiers on the field. That said, we did manage to identify the poison as it was used in the first war by the Thin Man XCom encountered back then and I did found some antidote reserves that might help. But…" She looked away. "I can't say for sure since this if far out of my field, but there's a good chance this 'Counselor' has a different genetic structure from the Thin Men we encountered and his poison therefore could also be…"
"Take a breath, Shen." Central said, as he noticed she was panicking. "Does the antidote we have have a chance to work?"
"I…. think?" Shen said, before sighing in frustration. "This isn't my field of expertise."
"It's probably the best chance we have." Central said.
"I'll go and get the reserves…" Shen said, leaving the infirmary. This left Central with Zhang, an unconscious Tygan and an uneasy silence.
"Zhang…"
"Whatever you want to say, I've already heard it." Zhang cut him off. "Many times before. I disobeyed direct orders and went against any sort of logic or sense." He continued softly. "I saw red. All I could think of was getting Doctor Tygan out of there." A sad smirk as his hand hovered Tygan's motionless arm. "And this is the result." His voice broke somewhat as he finished that sentence.
"I'm just glad you seem to realize your mistakes." Central said. "All that's left to do is make sure it doesn't happen again."
"It won't." Zhang said, voice steady once more. "It won't."
The world came into focus again. On one hand this filled him with doubt. Where was he? Was he captured again? At the Avenger? How long had it been? Minutes? Hours? Longer? But on the other hand, everything felt sluggish and heavy so he couldn't really do anything besides attempting to open his eyes slowly. Once he finally managed, the first thing he saw did comfort him a lot. The Avenger infirmary. But more importantly, Zhang on a chair next to him, arms crossed and looking down.
On closer inspection it looked like he had fallen asleep.
"He hasn't moved from that spot for three days." Came from the other side. Bradford…
"I hope nothing important happened during that time." Tygan said, sitting up in the infirmary bed slightly. This proved to be difficult and it seemed that his shifting woke up Zhang.
"Richard…" He said, helping Tygan up.
"I'm fine. At least I think I am." Tygan told him as the two of them held onto each other for a bit longer than normal.
"Tygan?" Shen's voice got them out of their moment. "You woke up. Good. When the Antidote had taken care of the venom but you didn't wake up, we got worried." She said. "But now that you've woken up, I think you'll be just fine after a few days of rest."
"Thanks, Shen." Tygan said, before he couldn't help but think of something. "Could I… make a request?" He started, as suddenly all eyes were on him. "In private?" There was a silence, but soon, both Bradford and Zhang walked out. Zhang stopped in front of Shen, nodding to her respectfully before also leaving.
"I see he seems to be over his anger with you." Tygan softly said.
"I hope so…" Shen said, somewhat insecure. "What… what do you need to talk to me about?" She asked, which caused Tygan to frown.
"I… I would like you to make a full scan of my cranial region." He said.
"Why?" Shen asked.
"You know why." Tygan said. "And you've been wanting to do this yourself, if I may be so assuming." He looked away. "I just… I need to know. I need to know if I'm not a part of ADVENT any more. That I'm truly… free." He closed his eyes. Baring his insecurities like this wasn't something he was used to. Let alone with Shen. She just looked down, before taking something out of her pocket and giving it to him.
His chip.
He immediately grabbed it, holding it close.
"How did you…?" He asked.
"You… you must have dropped it." Shen said, handing it over. "I figured I'd ask about it when I would have the time and then…"
"I see." Tygan said, placing the chip back in his pocket. "I just hope this puts some of your suspicions to rest. For all of us." Shen just looked away. That was answer enough. "I understand." He softly said.
"It's not that all of this that happened hasn't changed the way I look at you." Shen started. "It's just that…"
"It's not enough." Tygan said. "Which is alright. I just want to know… what will be enough?"
"I don't know, to be honest. This isn't something that's exactly clear cut." Shen said, sighing. "Listen, I really do want to trust you. I just can't."
"I understand. I just hope that one day, I will reach that point."
"I hope so too…"
Three more days, and Tygan was finally back at the Research Laboratory. And Zhang was waiting for him there. He couldn't help but smile.
"It's… good to see you better." Zhang said to him, somewhat awkwardly. Neither of them were good at expressing their emotions and after what happened in that cell, this was becoming more apparent. Something, or rather someone, had to break this barrier unless they only showed how they truly feel under the most dire of circumstances.
So he hugged Zhang.
"Richard…?" Zhang asked, a bit perplexed.
"I don't want to wait until the next crisis to show how deeply I care for you." Richard softly said. A small chuckle, as the hug was softly, but surely returned.
"Neither do I." Zhang softly told him. "Neither do I."