A/N: Hey guys! Are you loving the new season as much as I am? I had to write something after the events in the premiere, and decided it would be interesting to do part from Jemma's perspective and part from May's. I like their friendship and felt like they had good scenes in the episodes, so a story with both perspectives is fitting. Hope you like it!
It was like wearing those impairment goggles students put on to understand the effects of alcohol, which noticeably impair eyesight. But unlike those exercises, this didn't go away. This haziness around her field of vision remained no matter how hard she strained her eyes to see clearly. And her hearing… she didn't understand exactly how that worked. Or rather, didn't. She could hear Kasius, and nothing else. Not the sound of water running, or a door opening. Not even her own breathing.
It was a terrifyingly alien experience.
And Jemma had just about had enough of those.
She stayed as still as she could as she changed into the outfit of the servants, and then had her face half painted gold. She knew that if she expressed her fear or disorientation, she would be in danger. But it was one of the harder things she'd ever done, keeping a straight face while inwardly panicking for those first few hours. And when she finally did hear something (Kasius speaking to her), she didn't know if she felt more scared or relieved.
"It will take some adjustment, but you are learning efficiently." He said, looking straight at her. "In time your hearing will expand. Once you've learned to only follow my voice, others won't need to be blocked out."
She opened her mouth to ask how it was possible, but after uttering the first word stopped herself. She couldn't hear herself speak. What was the point?
Kasius smiled at her quickly. "See? You're learning."
And she did. Her movements adjusted to her reduced-clarity vision, so that she could walk confidently despite the blurriness. And after what had to be a few days, she heard Kasius's voice: when he wasn't speaking only to her. She heard him address all the servants, and give an order to the woman that had brought her here. She had to smile in relief that he hadn't lied to her. Her hearing would return.
She was kept under careful observation at first, until her duties became a habit. She was thrilled to hear her voice when she answered a question from Kasius, and the voice of the woman. Most noises were still drowned out, but it was so much better than hearing nothing.
She was told to make an announcement one day; as the man she'd replaced had done. It was the first time she was allowed near humans again, and she decided to try to look for her team.
She had to look straight ahead, because the edges of her vision were blurred still. She also had to keep her features composed. She was very aware of the woman watching her, and knew this was a test. If she acted incorrectly in any way, she doubted she would be allowed to live.
So she gave the announcement that Kasius had decided to reward the poor humans with more food, and then turned to walk back to her station, not taking any longer than necessary. But she did scan the crowd of people as much as she could in that short time. She thought she saw May's face, but afterward she wasn't sure. She just hoped someone recognized her, and was coming up with a plan to get her out.
May stood in the back of the room, arms crossed as she leaned against the wall in a short break. Every time she came in this room now she saw Simmons' face, as the girl had looked when being taken away. She'd been brave, not showing the fear she must have felt, and May had felt pride even as she worried.
It wasn't fair. She'd saved someone's life, and because of that good deed, had been taken somewhere no one apparently came back from.
Anytime May saw the Kree woman that had taken Simmons she searched for a sign of her, but it wasn't very often that the woman made an appearance, and it was only a servant in white with her when she did. She cast them a quick glance and then stood from the wall to go back to work, calling it a lost cause for the day. The woman had brought a different servant this time to announce increased rations, a girl this time. No sign of her.
But when the girl spoke May turned around. She knew that voice. And she looked at the girl more closely, seeing through the controlled expression and concealing makeup.
"Simmons." She whispered.
She started to walk forward, but the Kree woman was already leading Simmons away. May watched her until she disappeared from sight and then walked quickly to Coulson, back in their workroom.
"Phil, I saw her." She whispered urgently.
He took a second to understand, and then the tools in his hands were laid on the table as he fully looked at her. "Where?"
"She's one of the servants."
"Wait, you saw Simmons?" Daisy rushed forward. Tess looked over at them.
"She's alive." May said. That fear that had been gnawing at her ever since Simmons had been taken was settling down: she was alive. May felt so much relief just from seeing the girl. "She was only here for a minute, but she's okay for now."
"That's the most you'll see her." Tess said. "We never interact with the servants."
"But now we know where she is, right?" Daisy asked. "We can figure out a way to get her back -."
"No." Tess said. "We don't know where they stay, and I don't think there's a way to get out of servitude. I'm sorry. At least you know she's alive." She walked away, going back to work. May watched her for a second. She barely knew Tess, but she could tell the girl was clinging to the system she knew, to keep herself safe. In her experience, there was very little hope.
May's experience was completely different. Finding out where Simmons was being kept would be difficult, but nowhere near impossible. And even if it did seem impossible, May would still do it. She had to get her teammate back.
She wondered what Simmons was being forced to do. If that controlled expression was her own, or if something had been done to her. The only thing she knew was that they had to get her back, before something bad happened. There was a chance Simmons was safer from danger wherever she was being held (she probably didn't have to worry about a renewal), but she was also constantly under guard. One mistake and that 'safety' would be gone, switched to inescapable danger. They needed to act as soon as possible.
"So what's the plan?" she asked.
She looked at Daisy and Coulson's faces and saw the determination in their expressions.
"I might have an idea." Daisy said. "If we can get access to that tablet Yo-Yo stole, maybe we can see where she's being kept, make an actual plan."
"We've got to start somewhere." Coulson said. "I'll go get it." He looked at May. It seemed like he wanted to say something but didn't know what. May nodded at him in understanding, and watched as he walked out of the room.
"We should tell Mack and Yo-Yo the good news." Daisy said.
"You go ahead."
Daisy went to find them with a new bounce in her step, and May felt that she had a new energy herself, with this new hope. She felt like smiling.
It was the first time May had felt tempted to smile in days.
