Hi everyone! So this story was prompted by the lovely the-whumpy-fangirl on tumblr as part of the Whump Exchange 2018! I had only planned to do a one-shot but, well, the plot bunny just ran off and when I finally caught up to him it was already too late... I'm already working on the second part so it should be up within the next few days.
This is my first time writing for this fandom and I've only watched the first season, so any mistake regarding the characters, storyline or anything else is totally mine. This is unbeta'd work so if you find anything I've missed in my reviewing of this chapter feel free to throw me a rock with a message on it (I gotta warn you though, my Blocking level is crazy high on Skyrim)
Enjoy!
The room is dark, humid and cold. Flashes of light partly illuminate the room's occupant's face as the shattered light bulb hanging from the ceiling sporadically sparks to life. Blood pearls on the scattered shards of glass littering the floor under it, adding a metallic touch to the foul stench of the room. Smells of fear and pain interlace with the horrors witnessed by the frosted mold on the walls.
A groan, then a rustling sound, signals the sole occupant's return to consciousness. The blinking red light finds its target as the wall-mounted camera slowly turns towards the now sprawled man.
On the receiving end of the camera's signal, Agent Phil Coulson and his team stare at the monitor, unable to tear their gaze from their friend and colleague as he struggles to his hands and knees. Suddenly the screen whites out and a loud and high-pitched noise echoes around the room, causing them to flinch, gasp and wince at the shock of the sudden occurrence, but also in sympathy for their suffering friend. The young man on the screen can now be seen with his forehead to the ground, hands clasped over his ears to try and muffle the deafening noise.
His mouth keeps opening and closing as his shouts of "Stop! Please... STOP!" can barely be heard over the din.
As suddenly as it all began, the racket stops, and the lights, which can now be seen to come from built-in niches in the ceiling, dim down to a bearable level.
Both the young man in the room and his spectators sigh in relief, short-lived as it is, as the brief reprieve is terminated by the opening of the room's iron door, opposite of the camera.
A tall, handsome, dark-haired man walks in, taking a few measured steps before stopping, the door closing behind him.
The man lets out puff of air, a small cloud showing briefly as his breath condenses in the cold air of the room.
"Seriously, Leo - I can call you Leo, right? We're friends after all, aren't we?" the man pauses, smirking, before continuing.
"It would be so much easier on the both of us if you would simply cooperate."
Tilting his head to the side, he studies the captive man for a moment, then says.
"I know you're smart enough that you don't need me to repeat everything I already explained on the way here but... let's say this is for the sake of our spectators, shall we?" his gaze lands on the camera as it focuses on him.
"This is quite simple" he explains. "I know you S.H.I.E.L.D. agents have recently found yourselves the happy owners of multiple fragments of the Eye of Avalon. Four out of the six, if my Intel is correct." Pausing for effect, he adds with another smirk. "Here are our terms, they are quite simple but I'll spell them out slowly so nobody gets confused, alright?"
" You deliver the four pieces of the artefact and we shall send our friend here on his merry way back to you. This way, Hydra can take this troublesome artefact out of your hands and you don't need to worry about it's dangerous effects ever again. Simple, isn't it?"
"Why are you doing this Ward... I thought... after the Overkill mission..."
"You thought what, that we were best friends or something?" the former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent jeers.
"Grant Douglas Ward... I never thought you would use such underhanded methods to achieve your goal... here I was, thinking you were a good man, but you're still only a liar and a traitor, aren't you? We'll never give you this weapon, you hear me, NEVER!" Leo Fitz spits out, glaring up at his former colleague and friend from his kneeling position.
"SHUT UP!" Ward lashes out, striking the engineer across the face, sending him crashing to the ground with a grunt. Rubbing his hand to get rid of the sting from the hit, Grant sighs at his captive.
"Look at what you made me do now... I didn't want you to get hurt Fitz... If only you would cooperate..." Shaking his head sadly, the Hydra agent takes a couple more steps across the room.
Holding his face, the smaller man shakily pushes himself back to his knees, a slight trickle of blood trailing down his chin.
Getting closer, Ward grabs Fitz by the front of his dark jacket, roughly pulling him closer.
"News flash, genius. I've been Hydra from the beginning, you were fooled like the rest of them." he grins, teeth flashing briefly.
"Now, let's see which side of the lens needs the most motivation before someone finally starts doing what they were asked to do!" His tone rising as he finishes his sentences, the HYDRA agent tightens his hold on Fitz's clothes before violently lifting him up. Turning on his heels, he slams the younger man into the wall across from the camera head first, stunning him.
Shifting his grip so that he holds the scientist to the wall by the throat, fingers cradling the younger man's jaw, Ward adds "Maybe I'll need to change my method..." Turning Leo's head from one side to the other and inspecting his face, the Hydra agent looks at the sluggishly bleeding gash on his face before continuing.
"Yeah... he's not much of a bleeder, so I guess we'll have to try something else!" he finishes cheerfully, squeezing his hand tightly, eliciting a slightly strangled gasp from his prisoner before suddenly letting go.
Having not expected this, Fitz's legs are not fast enough to support him, and he ends up sitting on the floor, back against the wall, knees bent. Still stunned, he barely has time to raise his arms to protect his head as the door next to him is opened, swinging his way. A pained grunt escapes him as the door heavily slams into him, and as it shuts behind Ward, his crumpled form is revealed, slumped to the side.
Miles away, standing in the communication section of the Bus, Coulson's lips are thin, clenched fists crossed over his chest the only outward sign of his inner turmoil. Jemma gasps at the sight of her friend's state and turns into Skye's embrace as the other woman grabs her into a fierce hug.
Composing herself, Agent May straightens her shoulders and takes a deep breath before turning towards Coulson.
"Phil... We need to take this to Fury. We-"
"NO!" Jemma interrupts, extricating herself from her friend's hold, eyes shining with unshed tears. "What we need to do is figure out how to find Fitz!"
"Maybe we can, I don't know, track the camera's signal. I - gosh I need Fitz for that." She lets out another gasp, hand rising to her mouth, before forming a fist as she continues pacing. "I need to, WE have to TRY! We can't just give up on him!"
"Simmons." At May's soft but stern uttering of her name, the biochemist startles to a stop, sucking in a hitched breath.
"We WILL find him. But we also need to warn Director Fury about a possible mole, since Hydra knows we found parts of the Evil Eye of Avalon. Also, we will tell the Director about Fitz's abduction and this way more agents can focus on finding his location. Understood?"
Tilting her head to the side, May calmly waits for the distraught woman to shakily nod her understanding before turning back to Coulson.
"We can NOT let Hydra get their hands on this artefact, Coulson. Its power is unbelievable."
Turning towards the other team members, she continues.
"If you remember from the briefing we had last week when we found the shards, the Evil Eye of Avalon enables its user to manipulate matter at the molecular level. It can also disintegrate it, create or destroy force fields and a couple of other destructive uses (A/N: see note at the end of this chapter). We simply cannot allow it to fall into enemy hands again."
Nodding in understanding, they exchange grim looks. Coulson nods his thanks to May, before taking charge once more.
"Alright everyone, let's get to work. I'll contact the Director and inform him of the situation. Skye, make sure the pieces of the artefact are still safely under lock and key. Once that's done, see in the security feed who else but this team has been able to access the information regarding the retrieval of the Eye of Avalon. May, make sure the Bus is ready to go as soon as we get Fitz's location."
Turning towards the last member of his team, he smiles at her, gaze softening, before continuing. "Jemma, you've been working alongside Fitz for a long time. I know you've managed to pick up some things along the way and I know for sure that you can find your way around computers. I need you to see if you can track the signal that is being sent to us."
His orders dispatched, he looks at the still-shaken but now determined faces of his teammates, before turning on his heels to head for the secured connection to S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ from his office. As he passes the doorway, he throws one last remark over his shoulder.
"We WILL find our missing friend. Ward will NOT be getting away with this!"
In an unknown location. Former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Grant Ward just walked into a large room filled with cases of equipment, weapons, food packets and multiple other items. A single man is sitting there, conducting an inventory, and he turns at Ward's entrance.
"Sir, if I may." He pauses, waiting until Ward's attention is on him. "I think we should notify Hydra HQ of our situation. "
"Of course." Ward scoffs. "But I want to bring them the whole weapon first. Imagine the promotions we will both get once we deliver the prized Evil Eye of Avalon to Hydra! This will finally prove my loyalty to them. I still can't believe they think me responsible for Garret's death! He was clearly in over his head once he started being influenced by the GH.325 drug!"
"Our little Leo might finally accept to make the detector for the Eye of Avalon's missing pieces. I'll just need to show him what his friends will go through if I get my hands on them..." He finishes ominously, grinning at his associate. The blond man smiles back, nodding once, before enquiring. "Shall we get our guest ready for phase 2, then?"
"Exactly what I was thinking, Marvin. Come with me."
Grabbing a chair, he waits until his accomplice grabs an already prepared case before heading back out of the room.
Sarcastically knocking on the door, he opens it, his steps faltering as he notices the absence of his captive from the room. Walking further in, his fellow Hydra agent on his heels, he drops the chair then slowly turns back towards the door, before stopping. Cocking his head to the side, his mouth forms a slightly surprised "Oh" at the extended leg peeking out from behind the still open door.
"Well, would you look at that, someone's playing hide and seek!" Reaching out to close the door, he swings it closed, hoping to surprise his hiding prisoner. At the lack of reaction from the sprawled man, his mouth turns down in disappointment.
Crouching down, Ward studies the unconscious Fitz, noticing the slightly bleeding and bruised hand. Reaching out, he grabs him by the left shoulder and shakes the man, trying to rouse him.
Stiffening at the touch, mouth twisting in a grimace from the pain, Fitz lets out a grunt before blinking open his eyes. Focusing on the man still crouched in front of him, his brow drops in a slight glare.
Eyebrows rising slightly, Ward lets a small smile show on his face at the now awake engineer's reaction.
"Oooh, did you finally grow some backbone while I was gone? Nice to see you're actually able to show your temper."
"Shut up, Ward." Fitz lets out another pained groan at the pressure on his injured shoulder as his former teammate tightens his hold before letting go and standing back up.
Gesturing to his still silent companion standing behind him, Ward starts towards the middle of the room where he deposited the chair.
"Let's get him sitting here so we can begin, alright?"
Having heard voices coming out of the monitor to her right, Jemma Simmons stops her currently failing attempts at tracking the signal being sent to them to look at the two men that just entered the room.
As the tall blond man deposits the case he was holding to grab at her now-awake partner, the young woman gets up and hurriedly makes her way to Coulson's office. He meets her halfway there, having successfully appraised S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters of the situation. At the sight of her wide and scared eyes, he messages May and Skye to join with them as they make their way back towards the communication hub of the plane.
They meet in the room just as Ward starts talking again, his associate having opened the case. Fitz is now sitting on the chair that was brought in and is clearly nervous of the case's content, but as the lid is facing them, they are unable to know what is hidden inside.
With a snap of Ward's fingers, Simmons and Fitz's attention are brought back to the dark-haired man.
"So, what is your answer, Fitz? I'm sure a genius like you can figure something out, don't you agree?"
Eloquently, Fitz answers "What?"
One hand on his hip and the other pinching his nose, Ward sighs, as if dealing with a petulant child. "Are you playing dumb with me? Or did that door hit you harder than it seems? Or maybe you need some motivation?" he adds, his grin becoming even more sinister.
Frowning, eyes darting to the case and back to his captors, Leo takes in a shuddering breath before answering. "I - I told you I-" his voice catches and he gives a slight cough to clear it "- I have no idea, I have never studied the thing. I didn't even know it existed until a week ago."
Scoffing, his other hand also dropping to his hips, Ward turns to his partner. "Alright, more motivation it is, then." With a wave of his hand, he adds "Go ahead, partner. Phase 2 it is."
A smile appears on the previously still face of the blond man. He then crouches down in front of the case, rummaging into it. Standing up, holding the stick-like tool in one hand, he gleefully taps it into his other hand before turning back towards Fitz. Turning it over in his hands, he presses the power button at one end with his thumb. Leo flinches as electricity arcs between the probes at the other end, gulping.
"Let me ask this again. What do you need to build the detector? We have all the tools you might need but you need to tell us the materials required." the man's gravelly voice echoes in the small room.
"I - I don't know" Fitz squeaks, eyes keeping track of the now inert end of the cattle prod. "I just told you, I haven't studied the pieces we found. I don't know what kind of energy it gives off. I- I would need to study it." He stammers, breaths quickening as Ward's associate gets closer to him. "Oh God, please - please don't."
A smirk is his only answer. His eyes widen then shut in fearful expectation as the prod makes contact with his side. He flinches at the touch, gasping, before going still. Trembling, his eyes slowly open again at the lack of- well, anything actually. He stares in wonder at the inert tool still touching him, before lifting his gaze into the amused eyes of his tormentor.
"Heh." The smirk on his face blooms into a wolfish grin as his thumb activates the tool again.
"GAH!" Unable to stop himself, Leo yelps in pain as the electricity courses through his body for one, two, - he loses count way too quickly, he thinks, as his back arches slightly against the chair. Pain flares in his damaged left hand as it grasps the seat on which he rests, but he is unable to let go. His muscles are not responding to him, taunt as they are with the external signal sent to them by the prod.
Moments later the slight buzzing sound that managed to travel through the monitor's speaker is silenced, and Jemma, her hands covering her mouth and tears freely flowing down her cheeks, lets a sob escape her. It's echoed who knows how many miles away as Fitz sags in his seat, breathing hard. The tip of the weapon retreats as tears of pain streak down his face. His utterly relieved breath is cut short as he feels the already operating prod being jabbed in his thigh and he stiffens again, squeaking in pain once more.
Watching silently for a few moments as the young man twitches with the electricity coursing through him, Ward then orders, his face expressionless "Alright, that's enough. Let him breathe a bit."
Powered down again, the tip of the prod returns to Fitz's tormentor's second hand, tapping a beat only he hears.
"I'm disappointed in you, Fitz. Honestly, in all the time I've spent working with you I could have sworn you would have jumped at the chance to develop new tech." Shaking his head Ward adds "I guess your priorities have changed. I thought you cared more about your precious coworkers than that."
Panting and still trembling from the ordeal, Leo looks up, confused gaze landing on his former teammate.
"What's the matter? I told you, didn't I? If you can't give me what I want and they won't hand the fragments over, I'll just have to get my hands on your precious little Simmons. I'm sure she can be persuaded to find a way to trace the weapon's pieces. She was always the most resourceful of your little duo, after all."
"Simmons? Is that the pretty brunette you've shown me pictures of?" Marvin asks Ward, who nods in answer. A sinister smile blooms on his face and he muses, stroking the cattle prod in his hands "I'd love to hear how she sounds. Wonder what it would take to make her scream."
The anger that was coiling in Fitz's belly unleashes like a striking cobra at the blond man's words. He pushes himself up on still shaky legs, yelling.
"You sick son of a b-" And propels himself off the chair towards the source of his rage, his clenched fist flying to his target's face. Just the thought of his dear friend in danger brings him to a frenzy. He won't let them, he can't!
With a slap on the wrist from the cattle prod, his attack is diverted. Unsteady on his feet, he can't recover in time before a swiftly driven fist buries itself in his abdomen, knocking the wind out of him. Bending over, Fitz can only gape as he fruitlessly tries to take a breath in, arms automatically cradling his now tender midsection. He feels a hand on his head, but his hair is cut too short for any grip to be effective. A curse sounds above him, and the hand drops to his chin, pushing his head up and smearing the blood still on his face.
"I'll teach you not to insult my mother, you little -" Marvin drops his hand from Fitz's face, then shifts his weight as he lifts a leg up. His right foot lands on Leo's arms and he pushes, hard, hips bucking into the movement. The powerful energy of the kick propels the young engineer backwards and sends him crashing into the chair. The impact sends him sprawling and the chair topples, the noise echoing in the room. Silence then falls, punctuated by the angry pants coming from Marvin, who was stopped in his pursuit to inflict more pain on Fitz by Ward's arm across his chest.
As he lays there, stunned and pain flaring all over his body, Leo's chest shudders back into action and he takes a breath in with a gasp. It escapes him again in a coughing fit that ends in a groan.
"Alright Marvin, I think he got the message. Grab the case and go cool down in the supplies room. I can't have you killing our hostage now, or it will all have been for nothing." At his accomplice's murderous glare towards the prone engineer, Ward pushes him back, hard.
"I said ENOUGH. Get out of here. I won't allow you to ruin this for me."
Seeming to snap out of his blood thirst, Marvin grunts in answer, before grabbing the case from the floor and exiting the room, door slamming into the wall from the force of his angered push. It slams closed, and with one last look at Fitz, Ward follows his associate out, the door clicking shut almost quietly in the wake of the blond man's stormed exit.
"Oh God" sounds in two places simultaneously.
Strained and pained it drifts within the concrete walls as Fitz lays there, wishing for the waves of pain to finally bring him under so that he can, finally, stop feeling all of his body's screaming signals. Right foot twitching in the after effects of the current that ran through him just moments ago, it ignites the pain in his right hip and shoulder blade from where he impacted with the chair. His whine of agony trails off as the dimmed lights in the ceiling turn off, plunging him back into the sporadically interrupted darkness. His body goes limp as his vision goes dark.
Anguished and still wet from tears that have yet to stop flowing, the words also echo in the dead silence of the room filled with monitors and computers on the Bus. Skye tightens her hold on her distressed friend as May and Coulson both lay a comforting hand on Jemma's shoulders.
As soon as it opens to try and reassure the young woman, Phil Coulson's mouth shuts as none other than Director Fury appears on the big screen across from them, his face stern as usual. Seeing him, they all straighten, Simmons furtively trying to wipe her tears away.
"I had to cash in on a favour someone owed me" he begins, "but we managed to track Ward's last location. Apparently the system he uses to transmit the images you are receiving is low-tech enough to not show on usual surveillance channels. But it's also so crudely made that the interference it makes is easy to notice when you know what you're look for."
"We haven't managed to pinpoint his exact location but it gives us an estimated area to search for Agent Fitz." he trails off as he looks up at something off-screen. In an unusual show of emotion, annoyance flares on his face and he snaps.
"Stark, put that down, NOW!" a zap followed by a startled yelp sounds and Fury exasperatedly rolls his eye. Looking back down at them, he adds "I sent you what we have so far. Make your way there and we'll keep working on it in the meantime."
As he walks out of frame, they can clearly hear him muttering about geniuses that should CLEARLY know better.
His image blinks out of existence, rapidly replaced with a map picturing Canada's Labrador, coordinates flashing and a red dot blinking on the North-Eastern's coast, near the Torngat Mountains National Park.
Approaching the map, Agent May studies it a bit, before pointing at an island slightly North of the pointer.
"There is an abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. hangar and tarmac on Whale Island, right here. There should still be usable equipment in place for us to send a striking force once Fitz is located."
Coulson nods at her, and she heads off towards the cockpit. Minutes later, the aircraft's engines are spooled up and the plane taxies towards open ground. A slight vibration shakes the frame as the Vertical Take-Off systems are put online, and minutes later they are in the air, heading towards Canada.
Source for the Evil Eye of Avalon description: .