Finally! A new chapter! Sorry guys, but I haven't been able to get to my laptop to post this chapter quickly. But I hope it's worth the wait!


Two Weeks Later

Jai

I sputtered awake. My mouth was dry, and my lungs struggled to rise and fall. My vision was blurry, but I could make out Leon's distinct swishy bangs looming over me. Whatever he was saying was muffled, and I closed my almond eyes again. There was a pain in my abdomen; it wasn't sharp, but dull and annoying. I attempted to curl into the fetal position to alleviate myself, but my muscles were stiff and sore.

Then I saw it. The flashes, the markings.

The dreams.

Aquamarine lines and circles lit up the void that was my vision. I felt my body spasm, and a warm hand touched my shoulder. My arms and legs thrashed, but I must have been restrained because I couldn't move them from my side. They probably thought I was having a seizure, and maybe I was. I had never before felt this sensation, or seen these symbols. I tried to turn my sight away from the lines, but they surrounded and engulfed me. My breath came short as I began to panic at the sheer vastness of it all.

But this episode was something I was already familiar with. It had happened three, possibly four times while I was unconscious; a small part of my mind was jolted awake enough to register the symbols and be afraid. The first time it happened, I wanted to scream, but none of my muscles worked. By this time, I was adjusted, and just tried to struggle through it.

After about five minutes, the symbols vanished, and my body lay limp as I let out a breath of relief. I felt the same warm hand shake me, but I was too exhausted to open my eyes. I tried to steady my breath to let Leon know that I was fine. My hearing began to come back as I heard Leon pleading my name.

"Jai, please wake up," he whispered.

There was the whoosh of a door opening and heavy footsteps grew louder. "How's she doing?" Grant I immediately recognized his voice. Him and Leon seemed to be the only ones in a close vicinity.

"She had another spasm," Leon reported. "She's fine now."

"Have any idea what is causing it?"

Leon slammed something on a table next to my bed, possibly a clipboard. "It has to be that goddamn alien healing substance I gave her back at headquarters!" He was fuming, his footsteps were short. "I knew I shouldn't have given it to her, but I reaction is unlike anything I've ever seen."

There was a paused. Leon was breathing heavily beside me.

"You used an alien healing agent on Jai?" asked Grant.

"Her abdomen was punctured from the dubris of the explosion," Leon explained. "I gave it to her shortly before you found us. I thought she was going to die."

"Where did you find the substance?"

"Some agents found it in an abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. laboratory."

There was another pause, but this time I heard Grant pacing.

"You should have never given Jai a healing solution that had never been tested," scolded Grant. "Let alone an alien healing solution!"

"You don't think I'm not ashamed enough?" Leon barked. I left his soft hand on my cheek, and I might have smiled if I hadn't been so exhausted. "I've gone over every scenario in my head, allergic reaction, rejection of the fluid, abnormal growths. I want to be sure there are no complications. But her body seems to be accepting the formula, and besides her spasms, she's just fine."

"I don't trust it," Grant pushed. "The physical complications are not the one's I'm afraid of." His heavy steps faded and the conversation ended.

I used all my strength to lift my eyelids and my blurry vision focused on Leon's back. He was bent over a microscope, sitting tiredly on a stool.

"Hey," I mumbled. Leon's head whipped around, and I saw relief in his eyes.

"Jai, you're okay," he breathed as he rushed to my bedside. "How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted," I admitted. My sight began to clear and I noticed each and every tired line of Leon's pale face. He tried to hide the bags under his eyes with his wide smile, but the dark circles gave it away. His hair was stringy, like he hadn't showered in a week, and he was wearing his glasses.

Leon always told me how much he despised wearing his thin black frames, no matter how much I tried to convince him that he looked smarter with them on. I had been friends with Leon all our lives and I had only seen him wear them twice. The first was right after he got them from the optometrist and his mother made him wear them the whole day. The second was during a science summer camp we went on when we were in eighth grade. We had been camping in the woods for a few days, and Leon had run out of contact solution. He insisted that he would be fine without his glasses for the rest of the trip, but soon got massive headaches and was forced to wear his glasses for the rest of the week.

Outside of the laboratory, Leon was an unorganized person. His morning routine was the only form of a regimen in his life, and it was very important to him. He liked to keep himself clean and well-presented, which was far from his current state. Part of his routine was putting in his contacts. If Leon was wearing his glasses now, it only meant two thing. One, that Leon had fallen and broke the contact case he always kept in his pocket. Or two, that Leon hadn't had a chance to perform his morning routine, meaning he hadn't slept in a few days.

"Leon you look awful." The words slid out of my mouth before I could stop them. He shrugged and laughed it off.

"Not as awful as you," he retorted.

"You look like you haven't slept in days."

His eyes flitted around the room. "Try weeks."

"Leon!" My eyes flashed wildly.

"I'm kidding!" he smirked. "But I have had to monitor your situation constantly…"

"Weeks?" I reiterated. "I thought I was only out for a couple days."

"Jai, you were out for two weeks."

I gasped. The memories came flooding back, searing pain in my stomach as I remembered how I got the wound.

"Where am I?"

Leon stroked my arm. "Now don't get worked up."

"Leon Wen, where am I?" I pleaded.

He sighed. "We're on Grant's plane."

Plane? I wondered. "Where are we going?"

Leon looked around the room suspiciously. "To tell you the truth, I'm not sure. Grant flies the plane, and touches down every once in a while and leaves. Whenever I try to ask him where he's going, he gets defensive and tells me to go back and attend to you."

"You've never followed him?"

"I wasn't going to leave you by yourself," he defended. "Besides, I don't think we're the only ones on this plane. I'm pretty sure I've seen another woman."

"You're just trying to make me jealous," I said, dismissing the thought of another woman.

"I'm serious!" he squealed. "She had a nasty scar on the side of her face. It was not something I would forget."

I rolled my eyes. "So you have no idea where we are going?"

"Well, I never said I didn't have my suspicions."

"Pray tell, Sherlock."

Leon scanned the room once more. "Honestly? I think he's in cahoots with S.H.I.E.L.D."

My heart clenched. "That's impossible. You yourself told me he was a Hydra agent."

He nodded. "Key word: was."

I shook my head. "So first there's another woman, and now he's a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent? Next you're going to tell me he shot the first shot of the Revolutionary War."

Leon ran his fingers through his greasy hair. "Trust me, I wish I could shake this suspicion." He leaned against the desk and closed his eyes, his dark circles burrowing into his eye sockets.

"Leon, you need sleep," I encouraged, "and a shower." He shook his head dismissively. "I'll be fine," I pushed. Finally he gave in and shuffled out of the room. I breathed an easy breath and attempted to comprehend what Leon had told me. Grant had seemed so committed to her; they had been dating after all. He had never mentioned having any sisters or young female cousins. Leon had to be hallucinating, he was sleep deprived and dirty.

But I was more concerned about his second accusation, that Grant was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. He seemed very interested in my work a Hydra, but was he too interested? He told me that his specialty was going uncover, was he going undercover right now? Leon never told me the exact cause of the explosion in the lab.

I hit my head on my pillow. This over-analyzation was silly. I nibbled on a biscuit that Leon had left on my bedside and enjoyed the land of the living, a place where my visions and dreams couldn't find me.

And then I saw her.


Who does Jai see? Stay Tuned!

I'm hoping to have this next chapter posted sooner but sorry, no promises.

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