A/N: I struggled with this chapter a little so I apologise for taking a couple of days to you so much for everyone who has read this story and left feedback/followed/favourited, you guys make me want to update quickly and work hard on each chapter. A warning for slight mentions of physical abuse and blood in this chapter. I hope you all enjoy.

Chapter 3

Fitz took one look at the man before him, stumbling back into his seat when it hit him. Captain America. Captain America, there in front of him. "B-but you died, HYDRA killed Captain America." He could hear a buzzing in his ears, knowing he was starting to panic now. They had heroes on their side, he wouldn't be able to fight his way out of here with the wall of man before him. She'd trapped him in the base, he'd trusted her wholeheartedly without any of the facts. She'd left him a fool, blinded by her beauty and that nagging feeling at the back of his mind.

Jemma frowned as she looked between Daisy, Mace and Fitz. "HYDRA killed Steve Rogers but a symbol like Captain America, it can't be killed so easily. Daisy here is a sleeper agent inside HYDRA, recently awoken. We need all hands on deck if we're going to find Coulson, May and Mack." Fitz looked over to Jemma as she spoke, trusting her a lot less, even with the explanation. SHIELD were hiding a weapon this whole time, ready to deploy an illegal hero on the world, how could Fitz trust that? He felt sick just thinking about going back to his daily life, interacting with HYDRA officials when he knew all of this existed. He knew the answer to his question the second he'd thought it, he just wished he had a better option, a choice instead of being plunged headfirst into a world he wanted no part in.

"What is it Fitz? You look pale." The girl, Daisy, moved closer to him, her hands held up in a gesture of peace. "You have to remember he doesn't know you. To him you're a ghost, just like I am to Coulson. I know this was important to you but the guy's terrified." She sent a pointed look Jemma's way, the director aiming an eye roll in her direction. Daisy wasn't afraid of her like everyone else, it was slightly refreshing to see but did little to ease the sickness he felt. "I trust Jemma and so should you. If you know anything, I suggest offering up the information." Fitz gave a solemn nod, not completely at ease at the young Agents words. "Okay, I should be getting back to the belly of the beast. I think I have a track on Coulson. A couple hours and I can find him." She offered up a salute to Jemma, both girls sharing a familiar smile, an inside joke between the two he couldn't quite decipher.

"You said Mack right? My head of security is Mack. He had the day off for his daughters ballet recital." It wasn't much of a stretch to think she was tracking down people close to him, he'd met May once during a visit to the Triskelion but Coulson was a foreign name to him. "Alphonso Mackenzie? I'm guessing he's the guy you're looking for. You want to take out anyone who would notice I'm missing." He made sure to get the venom into the words, showing her he wouldn't take this lying down, not completely. The initial shock of it all was wearing off, thanks to the reveal of enhanced beings, and now he was seething with rage, able to contain it just enough to not smash her office up. He could feel the pain burning behind his eyes, bringing his hands up to massage his forehead, hoping to relieve some of the pain building there. He could feel a memory flash through his mind, none of it making sense to him.

He was ten, sitting in his bedroom as his father shouted at his mother, saying things he didn't fully understand. Some things he knew, like how he was a useless waste of space, but he couldn't understand why he was saying such awful things to his mother. It made him tense, his knuckles white from forming fists for too long. His blood was boiling and sitting still was doing nothing to make him feel better. He needed to let his anger out so he stood and paced. When that didn't work, he stormed over to his desk, sliding everything off, smashing the glass that held his pens. The adrenaline pumped through his veins as his eyes landed on his mirror. Next thing he knew, his hand was bleeding, shards of glass littering his floor. His mothers arms were soon wrapped around him, the handprint on her cheek not going unnoticed. "See what you're doing here? Get out now." The tears were falling before he could stop himself, pain finally setting in. "Hey, Leo shh it's okay. I'm here now." Her lips pressed to his forehead, her hands soothing as they always were but his fathers words stuck with him. Words that stung much more than the glass embedded into his hand.

Fitz looked down at his knuckles the moment he was focused on the present again. He ran a thumb over where the scar should have been, the skin smooth beneath the pad of his thumb. The memories had to come from somewhere but there was no evidence to suggest it was real. Perhaps just a bad dream he'd buried deep. He felt something drop onto his hand, opening his eyes to see the blood that must have been running from his nose. "Fitz can you hear me? What is it? What happened?"

"I don't know. It was weird. It was a memory, only it's impossible." He took the handkerchief she offered her, holding it to his nose in hopes to stop the bleeding. "My dad was screaming at my mum, telling her I was useless, that I didn't deserve to be a Leopold. But that's not possible, he was always so supportive. Without him I wouldn't be where I am today." He searched the room, his eyes landing on Jemma as if it were a natural instinct to find her. Something was very wrong. When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he jolted up, his left hand moving to the place where the hand was a moment before. "Was this you? Did you plant these fake memories?"

Jemma was visibly shocked and Mace just looked confused. Surely it had to be the plan, plant fake memories so he would trust SHIELD. "We don't have the capabilities to do that. Mace, have you experienced anything similar with memories surfacing?"

"Nothing to report Director." Hearing the words, Fitz couldn't take it anymore. They were lying to him, working together to make him believe things that weren't true. He felt like he was suffocating, air knocked from his lungs. The feeling bought another memory flooding back, a memory of a box, surrounded by water, waking up in a hospital bed with Jemma at his side. If he needed confirmation that these memories were made by SHIELD, this was it.

"Stay away from me." As he spoke, he pushed Mace back, running out of the office and down the hallway. He moved as quickly as he could, bumping into a man, a beer bottle smashing between them.

"Hey watch where you're going mate." An rough English accent greeted him, a pair of hands resting on his shoulders. "Are you alright? You're looking a little pale there. Come on, I'll get you a drink." Before he could protest, Fitz felt himself being guided into a kitchen area, a bottle soon in his hands. "I see your hiding from our fearless leader and Captain square jaw. You've got bigger balls than me mate. I'm just hiding from my wife and the sketchy engineer. We're set for a mission, I'm thinking if I get hammered enough, I get to stay here. Hunter by the way. Like you, I'm a fan of the last name thing."

Fitz was still trying to get his head around what had happened back in the office, struggling to keep up with the man sat across from him. "I uh, I actually prefer Leopold." He took a large gulp of his beer, eyes trained carefully on the hand holding the bottle. He could vaguely hear Hunter babbling about the agents on the base but he wasn't focused on the words being formed. Instead, his concentration remained focused on his hand. The glass had gone through his skin, he could remember how it felt, almost remember the sensation of it. How was that possible? He took another large gulp of the beer, the bottle falling from his hands when he saw it.

"Bloody hell mate, are you sure you're okay? That's two bottles smashed now." In any other situation, Fitz would be laughing, smiling at a push but not right now. Not when he was looking at a scar. An impossible scar that hadn't been there seconds before. It was faded, old, and exactly where he'd remembered it being. He felt himself falling backwards, his head hitting the floor, everything around him going black.