A/N
Just a little heads up for this story. It's kind of an UTD crossover but it's following the book's plot. Maybe you've heard, but the book is very different from the show (there's none of this mini-Dome or monarch stuff in the book). And while I know that most people probably watch the show, I know the book's ending but not the show's ending. If you're worried about this spoiling the show's ending, I wouldn't worry about it. The show is playing out to be very different, but at the same time, I can't confirm that, so I understand if you don't want to read this. If you haven't seen or read UTD at all, then enjoy this brand new story! Just a note for the show watchers: the only thing I've taken from the show is what Barbie and Julia look like and the aftermath of the nuke.
I don't normally say this, but just so y'all are sure, I don't own any of these characters. They're all from SHIELD or UTD. Enjoy!
Skye was programming something on her laptop, Ward was working out and Fitzsimmons was testing a prototype for a new gun when Coulson got on the PA system and called them together. It had been a few dry days so they were all excited for some action.
"What up, AC?" Skye asked, going into their normal meeting room with the high tech computer system.
"It's more like 'what down'" Coulson said, looking quite pleased at his apparent joke. No one else got it, though. "You'll understand in a minute. Where's May?"
"Sorry I couldn't just drop my microscope and run over. I was busy flying a plane," May said, slinking into the room. Fitzsimmons frowned at her hit.
"Okay, now that you're all here," Coulson began. He tapped the table sensor and a bunch of pictures of maps and what looked like a city appeared on the large screen. "Chester's Mill. Small blink-and-you-miss town that's now a blink-and-you-die town."
"That got drastic fast," Skye commented.
"What's that over it?" Fitz asked, pointing to an image.
"A Dome," Coulson said. "A week ago a huge Dome suddenly dropped down over the whole town. No way in and no way out."
"Wow," Simmons breathed.
"It's basically indestructible. Planes and trucks have crashed into it and have been destroyed in an instant."
"Maybe it's because they're too big. Maybe something smaller with a lot of power could do it. A bullet, maybe. You see, the trajectory along with the force and size could cause a bigger impact," Fitz suggested.
"That's been tried already," Coulson said, reading from the screen. "I don't think you guys understand how strong this thing is. They've tried nuking it. They've tried pouring the most corrosive material on it."
"HY-908?" Simmons asked with big eyes.
Coulson looked at her. "Sure."
"So what's our job then, if nothing is working?" Ward asked.
"Well, it's now become our specialty," Coulson said. "Aliens."
"You think the Dome was placed by aliens?"
"I don't think anything," Coulson said. "But the people inside the Dome and the military officials who I've corresponded with think so because they have no other ideas."
"Are we talking alien-alien like Kree or alien-human like Thor?" Skye asked.
"Thor is a God, not an alien," May corrected.
Skye shrugged. "He lives in outer space so my logic isn't too off."
"We're gonna go out there and investigate so get your things ready. May, set a course for Chester's Mill."
May tapped things on a little handheld device. "Done."
"Don't land too close to it, okay?"
"Do I look like a moron?" May rolled her eyes and strut out of the room.
"Snap," Skye laughed. She wandered out of the room behind Ward and Fitzsimmons.
"Woah, what is this, the Desolation Of Smaug?" Skye gasped as they got off the plane. The Dome was about half a kilometre away but the outside all around for miles, as far as the eye could see, was dead land. Bleak, broken, brown and dry land.
"It's the aftermath of the nuke," Coulson said. "Knocked out everything around, but the Dome stayed in tact."
"So it's like a force field?" Simmons asked, eyeing the Dome. It was see-through but had a purple-ish tinge at some points.
"Kind of, yes. But we don't know why or how or who or anything," Coulson said. He put on his dark sunglasses and pointed to a black van just over a barren hill. "That should be Colonel Cox, who's been working with people in the Dome. He's in the military and works as a correspondent between the military and the people of America."
"So I guess blaming America is out of the question?" Skye asked.
"You never know," Ward said gruffly.
"Hello," Cox said. He shook hands with Coulson and May, but nodded at the others. "I'm glad you guys are here. We're absolutely lost."
Coulson chuckled. "This isn't like anything we've ever seen but I've got a great team and I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of it."
"Great, great," Cox said. He led them closer toward the Dome.
"Tell us what you know," May asked.
"Well, the Dome just appeared about a week ago. It's caused a lot of trouble. It's a small town inside and no one of notable importance is in there, but they're going insane. One man in there is Captain Dale Barbra. He served in the military and is a friend. But a town official named Jim Rennie is running the show. He's basically a dictator now and has thrown Barbie in jail, framing him for murders. Barbie was my main contact through journalist Julia Shumway, but now I just have to deal with just Julia."
"You sound bitter about that," Coulson said with a smirk.
"Julia is...a tough lady who doesn't take any crap from anyone. But I guess I can't blame her considering she's been stuck in that bubble with a bunch of crazies," Cox stated.
"Poor people," Simmons said. "It looks so normal in there."
"From out here, maybe. But it's a whole different story in there. You may be able to talk to Julia, and she'll tell you first hand," Cox told them.
They walked in silence for a bit. Skye was busy on her phone reading blogs and conspiracy websites to see what people thought about the mysterious Dome.
"You're gonna have to put that away," Cox said to her.
"What? Why?"
"The Dome is messing with technology in a major way. Chester's Mill's police chief, Duke, was respected by many and when he walked close to the Dome, his pacemaker blew up, killing him," Cox said gravely. "So naturally, without Duke, the crime rates are very abnormal."
"The death toll is high?" Ward asked.
"Yeah. Some are Dome accidents, and some are repercussions from the Dome being in place, but there are murders going on, and that's unusual for Chester's Mill, according to Julia."
"So we can't use any electronics?" Simmons asked.
"You can, but not within a meter or so, for your own safety," Cox told them.
"We can work with a meter," Fitz nodded.
By now they were right at the Dome. It was only a few steps away. They set down all their electronics and gadgets in a pile safely away from the Dome.
They could see right through it to the bright and leafy forest and cute little roofs, so unlike the dismal side they stood on.
"Can we touch it?" Skye asked, holding her hand by it.
"Sure."
They all touched it. They couldn't see what they were touching but they could feel it. It was like a pane of glass but a bit more softer.
"This is so weird," Skye said.
Ward started hitting it, gently then getting harder.
"Watch yourself. You'll bruise your hand and achieve nothing," Cox said. Ward stopped hitting.
"Simmons, get some stuff out so we can figure out what this is," Fitz instructed.
"I want a sample of the Dome to analyze," Simmons said wistfully.
Skye shrugged and pulled out a small pocket knife from her boot. "Surely a piece will scratch off..." She went to work, trying to scrape off a bit of the dome.
Cox just stared at them as they were all doing something. He knew that nothing they were doing would work.
"You'll never be able to scratch off a piece. But you know what?" He held up his hands. "Go at it. I'll let you figure things out on your own. You're trained for it probably. I'm going to see if I can get ahold of Julia Shumway." He pulled a cellphone out of his pocket and wandered off.
Skye flipped the knife closed and stuffed it back in her boot. "Yeah, he's right. Nothing's doing."
"For you maybe," Fitz said. He was furiously tapping a screen on a little device and wore a look of concentration. "There are magnetic interferences coming from the Dome, but they're wavering."
"And even from here I can see that this isn't made of normal material," Simmons said, squinting. She was wearing those ridiculous large green plastic glasses. They had been adjusted since she last wore them and now she was able to see basic atom formations.
"Good job, guys," Coulson said, impressed at their findings.
"What material is it then?" May asked.
Simmons paused. "I don't know. I can assure you what it's not though. It's not from earth and unless Asgard's got some new elements, it's not from there."
"So it's from another realm? One of the nine?"
"Possibly. I'm not too familiar from elements from Svartalfheim, but to be honest, I don't think it's even from there." Simmons took off the glasses. "This is weird."
"Well if you think it's weird than it's definitely weird," Coulson sighed.
"Hey, look at this!" Ward called. He had wandered away from them so they walked over to where he was.
"What'd you find?" Skye asked.
"A creek," Ward answered. "Inside there's a little creek and it looks like the Dome cut right through it. We'd be standing in the water flow but it's gone thanks to the nuke."
"So?" Coulson asked.
"The Dome is acting like a wall no different than, like, a pool wall. But feel the Dome down there by the water."
They all bent down and placed their hands on the Dome where the water was hitting on the other side.
"Wow," Simmons said in awe. "The Dome is slightly permeable." All their hands were slightly damp.
"So water passes through...Is that useful information?" May asked, looking at the scientists for answers.
Fitzsimmons glanced at each other then looked away as if deep in thought.
Fitz eventually just shook his head.
Simmons sighed. "Not that I can think of. It's a great fact because I would have never guessed that a material like this is permeable, but it doesn't really help us figure out a way to get rid of it."
Skye snapped her fingers. "Oh! What if we managed to get so much water in the Dome that it totally fills up and then pops?"
Simmons shrugged. "A decent basic idea for someone with your education, but that is highly impractical. For one, we'd need a tonne of water. Look how big this Dome is. We'd need about a lake's worth. And two, there is a whole town in there and we can't just drown them out."
Skye didn't take offence to Simmons' theory. She just shrugged. When Ward gave a small smug smile at the ridiculousness of her idea and how easily Simmons had dismissed it, Skye just poked his arm and demanded, "Let's hear some ideas from you then, Mr. Wow I Found Water," and that earned a chuckle all around.
"There you are," Cox said, coming up to them. He put his phone back in his pocket. "I contacted Julia Shumway. She's got some info that I think you guys would do well to hear. If you'll follow me for a bit, I'll take you to see her."
Cox led them around the Dome. They passed where they were before and they picked up their electronics. The walk was fifteen minutes long but they didn't make it even a tenth of the way around.
Eventually they made it to where they could see people inside the Dome. There were only a few, but the interesting thing was that they were at the bottom of a huge hill. The Dome had cut right through the hill like a knife to warm butter. The other side of the hill, like the other half of the creek, simply wasn't there.
"Can we talk through the Dome?" Coulson asked as they all set down their electronics at a safe distance.
"Yup," Cox said. He pointed. "That lady with red hair is Julia Shumway."
Just as he said that, Julia saw them coming over and she walked closer to the Dome. With her were young three teenagers, but they didn't come closer.
"Colonel Cox," Julia greeted him. She was polite but was by no means happy to see him. She looked tired.
"Julia. This is Coulson and his team from SHIELD. They're looking into the Dome."
"Have you got any answers?" Julia asked, skipping formalities, almost too desperately.
"None yet," Coulson said calmly. "But we'll do our best to figure it out."
"They know about, you know, extra terrestrial things," Cox said as if he didn't believe it existed even after all that's happened.
Julia's eyes flashed and narrowed. "You do?"
"Almost personally," Coulson said with a smile.
"You can tell them about the newest development," Cox said. "I have to go, I've been called into office, but I'll be back later. Call me if things change," he said to Julia. He shook hands with Coulson before walking off to his black van parked a while off, near the Bus.
"I'm not one to believe in aliens," Julia began, talking quick and with purpose. "I'm a journalist and I believe in cold, hard facts. But I've seen them myself and I'm out of better, more logical options. I just want out."
Coulson nodded. "I understand. Tell us everything."
Julia leaned against the Dome as if she was so exhausted that she couldn't stand on her own.
"As I'm sure you've been told, the Dome appeared out of nowhere. It's killed many and trapped us in here, which would be okay if we had access to the outside world. You know, food and propane and stuff. And if Big Jim Rennie wasn't taking control. It's a mess in here. Rennie is making foolish teenagers cops and blackmailing his co-workers. There's a group of us who are totally against Rennie and are convinced he's a murderer on top of a huge, manipulative liar. He's also a drug producer. He stole a bunch of propane from people and is using it to make a whole bunch of drugs. But accuse him of it and you'll get shot. At the moment, hopefully, we're trying to get two falsely convicted people out of jail and bring them up here, where they'd be safe. Barbie is framed for murder. He's a good guy, but because he has military experience and important connections outside of the Dome, Rennie felt threatened. The other guy, Rusty, is our best doctor at the moment. His wife was a cop, but he's convicted of blackmail and threats to a town official. We need Rusty because he and these teens behind me had discovered something weird up here with him. We think it's connected to the Dome."
"What is it?" Simmons asked.
Julia almost chuckled. "Great question. I wish I could tell you." She turned to where the three teenagers who were sitting on the grass, deep in conversation. "Joe, come here for a minute."
The middle kid, a tall lanky boy, stood up. His two friends, a boy with longer black hair and a silly smile and a girl who dressed like Skye, followed.
"This is Joe. He's a brilliant kid and it was these guys who first found the thing. Joe, these guys are from, uh, what are you guys from again?"
"SHIELD," Coulson answered.
"Right. Joe, tell them about the box," Julia prompted.
Joe scratched his head. "We think it's a generator. We found this black box in an old farm up the hill. It was emitting a flashing purple light. The thing is, when you get close to it, we all had the same vision. These faceless figures covered in what looks like leather. They're not from this world, I'm sure of that."
Coulson looked to Simmons and Fitz. "Does this sound like anything you know of?"
Simmons shook her head. "No. And that description of the people isn't anything in the nine realms for sure."
Julia and the teenagers looked crushed.
"Is there any way you can bring the box here?" Fitz asked.
The young girl shook her head. "It's immovable, which is weird because it's not big at all."
"Do you have pictures or something?" Fitz asked. "We need something to work with."
"Ben, you took some, right?" Joe asked his friend.
Ben sighed. "Yes, but on Dr. Everett's phone."
"That's Rusty," Julia told Coulson and the team. "I don't know when or if they'll get here..."
"My phone has some power left. We can go up and take some pics now?" the young girl suggested.
Joe and Ben looked unsure. "I don't know...what if we have seizures again?"
"Seizures?" Simmons looked up, the doctor in her on alert.
"Yeah, Ben and Norrie and I have had these weird seizures at the same time when we got near the box the first time. We're not the only kids who's had seizures since the Dome came down," Joe said.
"Fascinating," Simmons said. She stepped back a meter and picked up her gadget. "Is it just kids with seizures?"
The teens looked to Julia, who shrugged. "I don't know for sure but I think so."
"Interesting," Simmons said. "Kids are more prone to random seizures, but not at the same time like you three. We did notice that the Dome had weird electromagnetic waves. I've never heard of that giving seizures, but I don't think these are normal seizures."
"Come on," Norrie said, waving her cell phone. "We'll be fine."
Joe nodded and he, Ben and Norrie hiked off up the hill.
"You do realize that if you get out, you will all need to be tested," Simmons informed Julia.
"I'll just be glad to get out," Julia said. "Chester's Mill has never experienced something like this and it's tearing us apart. My house and paper office was burned down. Everyone's gone mad."
"How many of you know about the box?" Ward asked.
"Not many," Julia said. She did a quick mental count. "Thirty or so. But all trusted people."
"And Jim Rennie doesn't know about it?" Ward asked. "Dangerous tools in the hands of dangerous people leads to catastrophic events."
"No, he has no idea. We found it because the kids took a Geiger Counter up and saw the spike."
"What's that?" Skye asked, looking to Fitz.
"It detects radiation," he said as if it was the most obvious thing.
"So we had Colonel Cox call Rennie and warn him about the huge spike in radiation because we knew he'd be scared and not check it out," Julia said, smirking a bit. She was obviously proud about how they'd managed to fool Big Jim Rennie so easily.
Just as she said that, a pickup truck drove up the hill.
"It's Jackie!" Julia gasped to herself. The truck pulled to a stop and the doors opened. A larger woman with a grim face opened the passenger door. She exited followed by two scruffy men, a middle aged foreign-looking man, and an older man who actually looked invigorated, like he just got back from an amusement park.
"Barbie!" Julia smiled and ran off towards one of the scruffy people. It was the one with dirty blonde hair and a prickly facial hair. He hurried towards her when he saw her running. He picked her up and hugged her and swung her around.
"That's so cute," Simmons smiled as they all watched from outside the Dome.
"Cute? More like hot! Look at him! He is fine!" Skye said with an eyebrow waggle.
"Skye, be professional," Ward said with a jaw clench and a look of disapproval.
"Okay, so Jackie must be the lady, and Barbie is the guy she's hugging. So Dr. Rusty Everett must be the other scruffy guy, the other guy or the older man," May said.
After Julia hugged the other four people in a way that wasn't nearly as close or personal as her hug with Barbie, she brought them over to the Dome's edge where the team stood. She explained it all to them as they walked.
"Hi, I'm Coulson. This is May, Fitz, Simmons, Skye and Ward," Coulson said when they got to them.
"Hey. I'm Dale Barbra, but you can call me Barbie. You're with SHIELD, Julia said? I've never heard of them and I was in the army."
"We're kind of a top secret group and we do a lot of paranormal and highly scientific work."
"Cool. Well, hopefully you can get us out of this fishbowl," Barbie said. "I'd shake your hand if I could. Oh, this is Jackie, a former cop, Romeo, who ran a department store here before Rennie shut it down, Ernie, the former manager of a grocery store, and Rusty, a physician and step in doctor. Rusty and I were in jail just now."
"We heard. That's unfortunate," Coulson said. "But it's great that you're free now. We want to know about the box you found."
Rusty raised his hand. "That's my department. What do you want to know?"
"We heard you have pictures," May said.
"Joe, Ben and Norrie went up to take more," Julia said to her friends.
"My granddaughter went back to that thing?" Ernie frowned. "I'm going to get them." He walked off.
Rusty nodded and pulled out his phone. "I can't get to close to the Dome but I think you'll be able to see the pictures okay..."
He held up his phone and the team peered as close as they could to see.
"It looks like a normal black box," Skye commented.
"Exactly," Rusty said. "But it's not normal."
"What's that symbol on it?" May asked, spotting a single rune. It looked like an Asian letter of some sort.
"Ward, you know a bunch of languages, do you know that?" Skye asked.
Ward shook his head. "Nope."
Coulson glanced at his team. He saw only looks of confusion on their faces and sighed. "Well, I hate to break it to you, but I don't think we know what's up. Is there anything else we need to know about the Dome or the box or anything?"
No one on the inside said anything.
"Then here's what I can say. We'll let you guys go back to your things and we'll go try and see if we can figure anything else. Maybe talk to a few people on our side. We'll be back tomorrow, okay?" Coulson said.
They all nodded.
"Thanks," Julia said with a sad nod.
"Good luck," Barbie said and put his arm around Julia.
"Stay safe, okay?" Coulson said.
"Bye," Skye waved to the Dome people as they grabbed their electronics and walked away.
When they were a good distance away, Simmons turned to Coulson.
"Sir, I'm going to be honest, I have no ideas. Nothing makes sense and since I can't get technology too close, it's hard to make a fair observation."
"And that story about the figures in leather was too weird," Fitz said.
"I've been trying to find something online about it, but I can't find anything," Skye added, waving her phone.
Simmons continued. "I'm Biochem, but that is more in regards to earthly features and main races in other realms. I don't know everything that's out there because like I said, I'm Biochem."
Coulson held up his hands so they'd stop talking. "Okay so, for the first time, we have no leads or ideas."
"But this is serious. Innocent people are dying in there," Skye said.
"I know. When we get back on the Bus, we'll call some SHIELD professors and see what they think," Coulson said.
"Maybe it's just some act of terrorism?" Ward suggested. "And the whole alien thing is just people overreacting because they're in shock?"
Simmons shook her head and her ponytail swung. "No. That Dome is not made of earthly substances. I'm positive."
Ward nodded. "I know and I trust you, but I don't think we should cross off anything just yet."
"It's a fair point, Ward," Coulson said. "We'll talk it over."
The next day, they were still as confused as before. They were up all night trying to figure it out. Coulson had called a few of Fitzsimmons' old professors and even they couldn't understand it. Skye was sure that she had searched the entire internet but hadn't come across anything useful.
Ward's best idea was to put a net of explosives over the Dome, but May pointed out that if the strongest nuke America had couldn't beat it then some little bombs won't either.
Fitz had tried to calculate a certain point on the Dome where a direct hit would result in its abolishment, but he concluded that there wasn't one.
Simmons had tried to do make a serum that would break down the Dome, but without a sample or something to work with, it wasn't possible.
It was 3 am when they finally gave up for the night and agreed to try again in the morning.
So there they were the next day, tired as ever even though they slept in until noon, hoping to actually make some progress.
As they sipped coffee made by a drowsy Fitz, they tried to think up more ideas.
"I hardly slept because I kept doing chemistry in my head, but I kept coming up with nothing," Simmons said sadly, staring dismally into her bowl of Cheerios.
"Hey, guys, what's going on out there?" Skye asked, pulling back the small curtains and peering out the oval plane window.
"What do you mean?" Ward frowned and they all hurried to a window to see for themselves.
Outside, parked closer to the Dome, were several buses and news vans and military vehicles and a multitude of people.
But that wasn't even what caught Skye's attention. "Look at the Dome!"
The Dome wasn't see-through any more. It was misty, but it wasn't white like fog. It was darker, as if it was smoke or impossibly low storm clouds.
There were police officers ushering people back onto the buses, but it didn't look like it was being rushed.
"That doesn't look good. We should check that out," Coulson said. "Grab your things."
They exited the Bus and hurried toward the Dome and all the commotion.
"There's Colonel Cox," May said to Coulson, pointing. Cox was standing with some other men, but he was speaking into a walkie-talkie.
"Colonel Cox!" Coulson said, waking over to him. "What's going on?"
Cox looked stressed out. "Too much," he replied dryly. "Is your plane sound proof or something?"
Coulson smiled. "Actually, yes. Top of the line."
"Hmf. Well, it's been a hectic morning. It's Visitor's Day. Or, well, it was. What we tried to do was allow close friends and family of people inside the Dome to come visit. It was also going to be a chance for the people to see the Dome up close and also put pressure on Jim Rennie to step down from his high place of power. Anyways, we didn't even get a chance to do much because somewhere in there, a huge explosion went off. It was all the propane that Rennie had stolen for his drug production, probably. We don't know why it went off, but the damage is significant. A huge fire rolled across the whole town. There are survivors, but they were lucky. I don't think there are many more."
"Who survived?" Simmons asked, looking devastated.
"Coincidentally, the good guys. It's the people you met yesterday," Cox said. He paused and looked at the Dome with a look of pity. "I don't know how long they'll live, though. Some are ready dead, I think, like Ben. The air is toxic in there. They're all sick. We're using huge fans to blow a bit of clean air in, but it's not enough."
"The fans are able to blow air through the Dome?" Simmons asked.
"They're very strong fans, and it's only letting in a bit of air, but yes."
"It's like the water. This is a very weird Dome," Simmons mused.
Cox breathed a laugh. "Don't need to tell me twice." He checked his phone then looked up at Coulson. "So. What have you figured out?"
Coulson's face stiffened. "I hate to say this, but almost nothing. I'm sorry but this Dome is literally nothing we've seen before and no one knows what it is."
Cox looked surprised but not angry. "Well, I can't say I expected much. This Dome is a mystery to everyone and if it's baffling even your minds then I guess it's for a reason."
May nodded. "Unless you have any other ideas or leads, I'd say our work here is unfortunately about done."
Cox shook his head. "I'm almost giving up too. It's only a matter of time before the last survivors die, and I hate to say this but once they do, it'll almost be better because we won't have to worry about them or the urgency of getting them free, and we can figure out how to remove the Dome."
"It's so sad how it's come to that," Skye said.
Cox nodded grimly.
"Is it alright if we talk to the people inside before we go?" Coulson asked. "We said we'd return."
"Yeah, I guess, but I have to warn you. They're very weak and all cough like chain smokers. They could die right in front of you," Cox told them. He pointed west. "Walk that way for a bit and you'll find them right by two huge fans."
"Thanks," Coulson said and they marched off.
The Dome people were in the same place where they had talked the day before, but they were not in the same state. There were more of them now and they were all sitting slumped down against the Dome and coughing. They looked both hot and cold.
The truck that they had seen before was nearby with two other vehicles, but it was the arrangement of unmoving bodies near then was rather alarming.
"The SHIELD people are back," Joe said in a raspy voice, spotting them coming. Everyone turned.
"Hi," Skye said, trying to smile but finding it hard to. These people were so close and in such desperate need of help but they couldn't do anything.
"I take it you heard what happened?" Julia asked. She shakily stood up.
"The explosion and the fire? Yeah." Coulson bowed his head. Skye noticed that even Ward, who always seemed invincible to feelings, looked sadly at the people separated by the barrier.
"We're dying here, man," Barbie said. "Please tell us you have a solution?"
May shook her head. "No. Sorry. We can't figure anything out. This Dome is impossible."
Julia looked like she was going to cry and Barbie quickly hugged her to him.
To the side, one lady in the arms of Rusty, his wife most likely, actually did cry.
"We called everyone who we thought could help and we tried to calculate things. I'm sorry," Coulson said honestly.
"Without more information on the black box or the Dome itself, we can't do anything. You may think you're stuck in there but our trouble is that we're stuck out here," Fitz said.
Barbie stared at him. "You think it's an inner thing? We have to deal with it from in here?"
"You have the box," Fitz said. "And you probably know most about it."
"We told you everything. The things we think that are controlling it are small extraterrestrial children that look like they're covered in leather," Joe said. "It's like...an ant farm, you know?"
"And you think they're children because...?" Ward asked.
"They seem small."
Julia looked at Barbie. "There is one thing we haven't tried. We haven't tried to communicated with them. Maybe we can convince them to let us go." She punctuated that sentence with a cough.
"Julia, I don't think that'll work," Barbie said.
"We have to try!" She said stubbornly. She glanced at the SHIELD team for support or input.
"I'd advise you to go for it, but you could die up there just from the poor air quality," Simmons said.
Joe tilted his head. "Well, I have an idea." Everyone looked at him. "Provided you're not up there for half an hour, you can suck the air out of the car tires."
Julia clapped her hands together. "Yes! That's brilliant!"
"I'll drive you up there," a dirty man who was probably younger than he looked said. He sat a few feet away, but was listening.
"Sam, are you sure?" Julia asked.
Sam nodded. "I can do it."
"I'm coming," Barbie said. He looked at Julia. "I'm not letting you go alone."
"There's probably clean air in the cars anyways, so Sam can just stay in there," Joe said.
Coulson didn't want to walk away from them just as they were planning this, so they stayed and listened as the Dome people formulated a working plan. Everyone on the inside who wasn't so sick and able to talk got involved.
There was a little girl who was pale and dirty and looked on death's door, but Skye squatted down on her side of the Dome and talked to her, trying to make her laugh.
When Julia and Barbie and Sam were ready and had hugged everyone goodbye because there was a chance that they may not come back, they left. They had to take deep breaths of air right by the Dome before they dashed to the car doors that were pulled open by two people. Sam floored it and the call took off up the hill.
"We'll wait for them, right, sir?" Simmons asked Coulson.
He nodded. "Sure." But he stared up the hill and it was clear that he doubted they'll return. Simmons wasn't sure either but she liked to keep to the positive side.
The team talked with the Dome people while they waited. It was interesting to learn about life in the Dome and the drama that occurred despite being a small town. It was also very sad to hear about the deaths that occurred as recent as in the last five hours.
"Are you guys the last survivors?" Ward asked.
"No, Colonel Cox told us that little Ollie Dimsmore is somehow alive, but he's in bad shape," Rusty said. "But other than that, yes. A town of over two thousand has been lowered to less than thirty and rapidly dwindling." He glanced down at the little girl that Skye was talking to. Skye had got the girl talking and smiling, but she still looked sickly and weak.
"You fought your best and did everything you can," May told them all gently.
"We know. But thank you for saying so," Rusty's wife said with a small smile. It was probably the best smile she could produce.
Just as Norrie stared having an extreme coughing fit, something miraculous happened. The Dome started sliding upwards. The people leaning against it felt it and were extreme overjoyed to realize that as it went up, they could slide under. They were free. The SHIELD team hurried to pull everyone under to freedom just in case the Dome dropped back down again.
But that wasn't a problem because the Dome just kept going up higher and once it was about two stories high, it slowly disappeared.
"We're...free!" Joe said, hugging his mother and in a moment of excitement, kissed Norrie full on the mouth.
"Did Barbie and Julia and Sam do this?" Skye asked, for some reason looking to Ward for an answer.
"We can only assume so," Ward said. He glanced up the hill. "But I don't see them."
"You don't think they...?" Rusty's wife asked slowly.
"Do you want me to go up there and see?" May asked, glancing at Coulson.
"No need," someone said. "Look!"
Up the hill and walking down with a spring in their step, was Julia and Barbie. When they saw their gang outside of the borders, they grinned and ran down the rest of the way.
"Sam's dead," Julia said, bowing her head in respect. "But...we did it!"
There were hugs and handshakes and kisses all around. Even the SHIELD team was pulled into it.
"So? Tell us what happened!" Rusty said.
Julia took a deep breath of the clean breathable air then told her story. "I was lucky. When I touched the box and saw the leatherheads, it was only one. I think that if there had been more than one, I wouldn't have been able to convince it to let us go."
"So you made contact with it?" Skye asked, both surprised and impressed.
"Yeah. I begged them to let us go. They said we weren't real. I think they thought we were a like toys. So I had to convince them that we're real and have feelings and are dying."
"How'd you do that?" Simmons asked, fascinated.
"I shared a memory from my childhood. One where I was bullied by these girls in my class. It was one of my first real glances at how harsh humans can be and how we're not perfect. Anyways, the leatherhead seemed to understand after that and then I lost connection. I woke up back in this world and Barbie helped me breathe air from a tire. And then right before our eyes, the box started lifting off the ground. It went higher and higher, and as it did, the air got cleaner because it was being let in from where the Dome used to be. We didn't even look to see what happened to the box because our main concern was getting out."
"Well, you're out now," Coulson said.
"And I'm glad," Rusty said, "but some of us need serious medical attention."
Simmons nodded. "I can treat you all. And I'd love to run some tests..."
"But the Bus is pretty far," Ward said. "Can you make it?"
"Maybe we can help," a voice said behind them. They turned to see Cox and a few military people hurrying towards them. One military man held a first aid kit and Simmons took it from him.
"I can run and drive the Bus over?" Ward suggested. "It'll only take me ten minutes if I hurry."
May handed him the keys. "Fast."
Three hours later, Simmons was done all her tests, with the help of Fitz. After Ward had driven the Bus over, surprising the Dome people who actually expected a bus not a plane, Simmons had access to all her medical equipment and medicine. She and Fitz got right to work, taking blood samples and doing other tests that Skye didn't even try to understand. She just helped out as she could, but her main job was contacting family or friends of the Dome people so they'd have a place to go. And as silly as it sounded, Ward did a great job occupying everyone's brain with an array of board games, especially the three children and two teenagers. So when three hours had passed, and Simmons was done, they were all free to go.
"Where are you headed?" Skye asked.
"We have family a few cities over. That's where we're headed," Rusty said, picking up the youngest of his two daughters. Most of them said the same thing. Only a couple of people, like Barbie and Julia, who didn't have important family to stay with, said they were going to go far away and start a new life.
"Maybe somewhere near a beach?" Julia asked Barbie, who laughed and kissed her forehead.
"Bye," Joe said to the SHIELD team before they left. "Thanks for your help."
"No problem," Coulson said. "You're a bright kid; maybe one day, we'll see you as a SHIELD agent."
Joe grinned. "That'd be cool!"
And within the hour, they had all exited the Bus. For a moment, Coulson and the Team just stared out the bus windows at the leftovers of Chester's Mill. A search and rescue team were going through the charred rubble, but only kept pulling out dead bodies.
"This was so weird," Skye said. "Like, I'm pretty sure it's all a dream and I'll have to be up for training with Ward in an hour."
"I can't believe a whole town got wiped out by something we don't even know," Fitz said.
"There's the upside: there's still so much to learn," Coulson reminded them.
Simmons grabbed her sample kit and hugged it to her chest. "Can I go out and take samples?"
Coulson shrugged. "Might as well, while we're here."
"Better us than anyone else," May said. "Otherwise, one day in the future, we may have to try to rescue more people from under the Dome."
A/N
I understand that if you have no UTD knowledge or only have seen the show then you may have some questions (I tried to explain everything I could but nonetheless!) so if you do have any questions, feel free to PM me and I'll explain anything and everything! :) Don't hesitate to ask!
I've been really into UTD lately as it's a summer show and all my other shows are over for the time being. I thought it'd be really interesting to see a crossover, so I wrote this. I know that plot-wise, I didn't really come up with anything new, but all I wanted was for the characters to interact and still keep it pretty canon for both series.
I was surprised to have come up with a new fic idea so soon after my first SHIELD story 'What Must Be Done', so here's hoping I come up with more good ideas soon! Bye!