Part II

Disclaimer: see previous chapter, and none of the characters are mine, anyhow.

It was slightly over a week later, and Grant was back to feeling...well, how he normally felt, save that his formerly hidden rage towards Coulson and the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. was gone. It was probably a good and healthy thing, but Grant had to admit (if just to himself) that he felt lost without it – he had been more Hydra than S.H.I.E.L.D. at best of times, and Hydra wasn't big on positive emotions in the long run. Plus, there was the fact that back in Hydra one of his names was the Kinslayer, and with that sort of name you just do not do warm and fuzzy, you know?

In any case, Grant honestly was not going to be killing any more of Coulson's agents any time soon (and not just Daisy, whom he could not kill for some reason), but both he and his sister still owed Tommy some vengeance, and this was why they were here – to haze their last remaining family member, and to generally see if they couldn't mock Coulson just for what he had done (and he deserved to, on a certain level). As, however, they were making their way towards their destination – they were interrupted by "Will!"

...By Jemma Simmons, actually.

...Jemma Simmons, actually, was not having a good time either. Sure, Grant Ward was gone, (though Leo wasn't exactly forthcoming with the details), but so was Will, and for Jemma this outweighed any good emanations that Grant's death might've caused, plus the fact that everyone seemed to be almost too relieved with Grant's demise left a rather sour taste in Jemma's mouth too. Sure, he had been a murderous asshole and all, but the happy mood that took over after his demise – it was just bad taste, almost on a literal level, and Jemma did pride herself on having good taste instead, and was that... "Will?!" Jemma yelled, as she ran into her 'new friend'. "You're alive! And you are so warm! And so hard!" (Jemma Simmons might have been young, but she was still a woman.) "I missed you!"

"Okay," the big man spoke, not unkindly, but with a mix of bemusement and amusement. "Jemma Simmons, it's nice to see you," he gently pried her off him. "You're very nice to the touch, got the best eyebrows and nose I have seen on a woman, and as for hardness...well, it's been a while since I got hugged by a woman that I wasn't related to. That said, I'm still me, not Will – Will is actually living in Australia these days."

Jemma blinked and looked Grant in the eye. "Why Australia?" she asked, still confused (rather than afraid, as Grant was expecting her to be). "What's in Australia?"

"Sun, sea, heat, rain, a mixture of climates, humans, exotic animals and plants, and a possible female of his species," Grant explained patiently. "Jemma, you won't believe me, but Will is the Hydra's monster – so to speak. In reality, he is a sort of an InHuman that is closer to the aliens per se, than to ordinary humans. That said, hanging around the original Will had made him more human, and having your company around, well, he really liked it."

"Then why is he in Australia?" Jemma frowned. "I mean a human/InHuman relationship may be strange, but not too impossible-"

"This sort of InHumans is barren, in layperson terms," Grant continued to explain, patiently, "so your relationship would've been childless, unless you got a surrogate donor involved somehow, and that would've been messy even with the resources of the old S.H.I.E.L.D. And secondly, Jemma? You are mortal, while Will and his kind are not. They're like ghosts, really – they cannot die of natural causes, because they're already dead."

"Interesting," Jemma did look thoughtful at these words. "Take me to him."

"Excuse me?" Grant stared.

"You heard me – I want closure," Jemma said slowly, exaggeratingly so. "I need to talk to him-"

"Why us?"

"Grant, back in the Arctic, at List's base, when I failed to kill you with the splinter bomb," Jemma said quietly, looking upwards at him, but straight in the eye, "why didn't you kill me?"

"You were looking at me like a scared little cat – that's why," Grant did not hesitate in replying either, "and furthermore, even before the Bus, I got tired of killing. I know it sounds trite, coming from a murderer and an assassin, but I mean it. I kill only when I have to, not otherwise."

"Yeah, most normal people still find this fricking crazy," Jemma nodded solemnly, "but fortunately, I'm an S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, I deal with crazy on a daily basis, and I'm not the one to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially if it's a tiger instead. Why didn't you kill Will?"

"He pled for mercy and I offered him a chance. He took it, he holds to it, end of the line. If he doesn't, I'll burn him out of existence, out of reality – literally," Grant grinned a humorless smile, "but if he does, I won't. Plus, he is immortal, I am not. Coulson's an amateur when it comes to killing, he got too fancy, but it almost worked."

"What did he do?" Jemma asked, quietly.

Instead of replying, Grant rolled up his shirt. "A week ago it was worse," he said simply. "Fortunately, I haven even more tricks in my sleeve than you know, plus Coulson got too fancy and symbolic with him killing me, so I made it."

"This isn't right," Jemma said quietly, as she traced the pattern of his new scars. "We're supposed to be better than you, not worse. Grant, I do not know how I will prove it to you that S.H.I.E.L.D. is better than you are...in the right way, but please – I need to see Will. I need to have closure."

"You probably need some equipment, or at least a spare set of clothing," Grant mused thoughtfully, "'cause not even we can get you from here to Australia within just 24 hours, plus you'll spend some time talking to your new friend, plus there're time zones involved..."

"I hate them," Jemma said with a smile, (she was a scientist and British, this was her idea of humor, generally speaking). "You're right. I will get my stuff and meet you here. Please don't' ditch me."

"Jemma, why us? Surely, S.H.I.E.L.D. can spare some time going to Australia, I promise that we won't interfere with you – much – afterwards," Grant did not back down.

"Because you need it," Jemma spoke, all serious now. "I know that you're not a monster but a man, and you need this in your life. You need someone like me. The rest of us – they've grown too afraid of you, and this isn't right, not on both sides."

"We're still going," Grant shook his head. "Tommy needs some guidance from his siblings."

"Put this on," Jemma gave him a comm.-link. "This way I know that you won't leave me."

"Deal."

/

Normally, one would expect Jemma to have interference, as she went to pack her things and to write a note to Leo and the rest of the team, but they were too busy being distracted, and Jemma had to admit – Grant knew how to be a distraction even without hurting or killing anyone. Jemma was quite some distance away from the site of the confrontation, it was actually on the outside of the HQ building, (the latest one), but thanks to the comm.-link, she could hear it all.

"Ouch!" Grant began the interaction, causing Coulson to fall silent (a no small feat, actually, in itself). "But I suppose that we deserve it, don't we, sister?"

"Totally," his other remaining family member, also known as Raina and the 'girl in the flower dress' agreed with him. "Still, the emancipation was worth it, second best day in our lives!"

"Totally," Grant echoed back, "and Tommy, are you honestly surprised to see us? Even if we both were actually dead, we would bust out of Hell just to see you on this very special day!" He paused, growing thoughtful. "Of course, if we had to bust out of Hell, we'd bring with us quite a few other people, starting with John, you know? Phil, in my brief period hanging between this life and the afterlife, John did visit me, telling me that he's counting the days before you join him there, he already is buying Vaseline by the pound and made agreements with a bunch of German cinematograph specialists to star you in his porno, 'Garrett and Coulson make a porno'. I think that the two of you did something when you were Leo's age?"

Coulson said nothing, but the silence still spoke volumes, until it was filled by Raina.

"But enough about John," she said brightly, and you could just hear similar intonations in her voice and Grant's. "Tommy, let's talk about us. The good director and the rest of those fine people are probably wondering, how the Hell that Grant had mentioned we are related. The answer is simple. Grant, like Christian, was legitimate. Me and Tommy? Are bastards. Only Tommy was the right color and a boy, so he was adopted by the Wards, while I was flat-out rejected, since I am neither. Grandma Dot adopted me instead, and Grant acknowledged me as well, and became my brother. Tommy here, on the other hand, followed the rest of the family's lead, and as a result Grant stopped playing with him forever more. Tommy never forgave him for that and just went after him – he has the family determination, to be sure. Pity that the same goes for his political sense – just like the rest of us, Tommy knows which way the wind blows and where the blood in the water is, unless Grant and I are involved: then he always bets on the wrong horse. Anyhow, this brings me to our point, to the reason why we are here: Tommy, you made a commitment, and now you are going to honor it. If you do not, if you backslide and leave them hanging, then remember – we are waiting in the shadows, waiting for you, and once you slip up and ditch them, we will come and we will flay you. Alive." Tom made a noise – just a generic noise. "For don't forget, little Thomas – we're not your friends, we're not your family anymore: you made your choice, and you'll live with it, for frankly, the day when the rest of the Ward family died? Best day in our lives ever! Have a nice day."

"...Sorry about that, but Raina hasn't performed before an audience for ages, so she got carried away," Grant rumbled. "Otherwise, what she said. And Tommy? As you can see, thanks to the actions of Phil over here, I am black, black as Raina was – I am her brother, not yours. Live with that for the rest of your life, would you?"

Jemma frowned, for the first time, as she reached the car that Grant and Raina used to reach the current HQ: WTH did Grant mean by that? Then she remembered his warmth beneath his touch and wondered, if he was not some sort of an InHuman himself, not unlike Raina. Interesting...

TBC