Hi, everyone! So here I am again with another update! Sorry this wasn't posted earlier today, but I had a lot to do this week including FINALLY receiving and setting up a great new game called LEGO: Dimensions. If you haven't played it, just look it up and you'll understand why I'm loving this game so far. Anyway, by the time you read this, S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 3 will have started and from what I understand, it seems to have finally satisfied most critics. I presume someone will find something small to complain about, but what are you going to do? I will say the acting from Fitz and Simmons during the premiere and the following episode deserves an Emmy Award. I again also have to apologize for the long breaks, but I still have to work, but hopefully I can continue doing this story and have the chapter done by next year and MAYBE do the Spec-Ops Team 3. Anyways, here is the next chapter featuring some more twists and turns, and a revelation which is the only way I could end this chapter. Plus, see if you can spot any other old-school Marvel characters here. Hope you all enjoy. As always, I own NOTHING but my OC's. This is for FAN-Purposes only so PLEASE don't sue! Other than that, enjoy!
The Playground,
Earlier…
Something strange was going on around here, and Jason didn't like it. Not one bit.
It wasn't just the fact that he was working for S.H.I.E.L.D. who now had access to someone who possessed superpowers, nor was it the fact that earlier today they had two Asgardians who nearly wrecked the damn place, but he noticed some inconsistencies with two of the agents. Bobbi and Mack.
Jason assumed that if something were going down, it would have to be between Bobbi and Hunter, but seeing as how he couldn't be found, that only added onto his paranoia.
So now here he was while most of the team was occupied elsewhere, looking at some of the damage left behind from the fight which wasn't much, but it was sufficient.
As Jason took another step, he heard something odd as his foot made contact with the ground. Confused, he took his foot up and stepped back down again. It felt hollow. Like there wasn't actually a floor down there. Testing out a theory, Jason stepped back and pressed his foot down, resulting in a normal stepping sound that was clearly different from the one he just took. Kneeling down, he took out a small knife from his belt and began wedging the block up until he was able to pull it up. Inside, he found to his surprise a small metal box with some kind on antenna on it. Additionally, the block he was holding was hallow because the interior had nothing in it. It was nothing more than a box to conceal the device.
"Yo, Jason!" Mack declared, entering the room, "Team's almost back! You need anything?"
"We need to contact them now!" Jason declared, showing Mack the device.
Mack's eyes widened when he say it and he looked at the fellow S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent.
"How did you find that?" He asked, concerned.
"I noticed the steps were a bit different when I put one foot down on this block when compared to the others." Jason explained, pointing at the hole.
"Thanks, Jason." Mack replied.
Jason turned around only to be met with a punch in the face before he became unconscious.
With no one watching, Mack began to drag Jason's body away and then took out a small communicator device.
"It's me." Mack said, "Yeah. He almost made us. So do you want me to…"
He paused, listening to the voice on the other side before responding.
"All right." He said, "I understand. I'll bring him in as well. Don't worry. He'll still be in one piece. All right. Bye."
With that, he hung up and began making preparations to move Jason's unconscious body.
…
North Carolina,
Now…
Jeremy Jeradson was a man who liked things this way. A former IT employee, it was his dream to one day run a company that made technological advancements. Nothing as flashy as Stark's company, but rather one that could utilize technology in creative ways. To him, wires and cables could be used as weapons and not just to strangle people or hack into their computers. No, to him, technology could do things like cause a meltdown at a power plant remotely, detonate a stinger missle before it even launched. The possibilities were endless, and he worked day and night to train his brain in finding out the way that sort of technology could benefit wars.
As he wrote down his calculation on the board, he heard a knocking at his apartment door. Looking behind him confused, he got up from his computer and answered. To his surprise, there was Zelda and Max along with two other people he hadn't seen in a while. Both were blonde women, but one had darker blonde hair which was tied into a neat bun, while the other just had hair that looked like it hadn't been brushed in weeks.
"Hi, Jeremy." Zelda smiled, "How's life been treating you? Still trying that whole 'I'll build Skynet one day,' routine I see."
"Zelda." Jeremy smiled.
Although their last meeting had ended…badly, Zelda was the only person who ever treated Jeremy like a human being. Long ago, he had worked with these people, and most of his life people had often just called him 'Jeradson,' but Zelda called him by his first name first and foremost. A nice woman living in a dark time. Even after their team's disbandment following the…incident that Zelda had gotten them into, Jeremy still had a respect for Zelda.
"The one and only." Zelda grinned, "But I'm not here to catch up unfortunately."
"I would actually be disappointed if that were the case." Jeremy chuckled.
"Yeah." Zelda nodded, "Look, I've got the band back together again as you can see, but we need you to complete the group."
"You've shown me kindness despite everything that happened." Jeremy replied, "What kind of a person would I be not to come back and return the favor?"
"Glad to hear it." Zelda said, "Except we're doing this a little different this time. This time we're going to get revenge on a certain bastard who's stuck his nose where it shouldn't be."
….
Meanwhile,
The Playground…
Jessica exhaled deeply as she fell on top of Desmond before rolling onto her own side of the bed they were currently sharing. The two breathed heavily as Jessica ran a hand through her hair looking amazed.
"Wow…" She breathed.
"Yeah." Desmond smiled softly.
The two had been growing closer now since Katie's powers developed and now with Skye's powers having been revealed, the two felt that they would need each other for support through these tough times. Desmond felt he also needed this because somewhere out there, his younger cousin was running around doing god-knows-what. They eventually learned that Tyler had somehow managed to get himself out of the HYDRA base along with that Maya girl who went missing from the Convention, and apparently took Roger James Smith with him as well. God only knows what the two were doing now. True, Roger was a monster, but Tyler's warped sense of righteousness made him even more deadly and if he could manipulate Maya into working for him, it meant that it would probably be wise to start writing up some contingency plans in the possible event that he might return to wreak havoc on S.H.I.E.L.D. and anyone else he felt had wronged him.
"What's on your mind?" Desmond asked her.
Jessica shrugged.
"Everything." She admitted, "It's just with all the craziness that's happened with Katie, now Skye…I mean, how do we even deal with it?"
"We try to support our friends like we always have." Desmond assured, "They're still the same people. We have to remember that."
"I know." Jessica nodded, "But it's kind of hard to think of it that way when there's so much more going on now."
"Which is why we shouldn't lose focus." Desmond reminded her as he got up to get redressed.
"Yeah." Jess nodded, putting her own garments back on.
"By the way," Desmond asked, "Did you see Jason today, by any chance?"
Jessica looked at him confused.
"No. Why?" She asked.
"He seemed to be making progress with us, and then he just upped and vanished for some reason."
Jessica shrugged.
"Well, I don't know. I mean there were some tensions between us and him after all. Plus he shot your Aunt, remember?"
"Yeah." Desmond agreed, "Of course I haven't forgotten that. But he was under a mind-control remember. That's different from being able to actually pull the trigger voluntarily. I'm still pissed that it happened, but I think it'd be important also to worry more about who made him do it, and why."
Jessica thought about it and realized he was right.
"Don't know what to tell you then, Desmond." She answered, "But who knows with Jason?"
"Well, if you see him, let me know." Desmond told her.
"Look," Jessica replied, finishing getting redressed, "If this is about Tyler joining HYDRA…"
"It's not." Desmond assured, "I already helped save you, and I want to help doing good without mindless death is all. That's part of why I'm staying with all of you."
"Okay." Jessica sighed, "Well, see you same time?"
"As always." Desmond replied.
….
Meanwhile…
Katie looked over at Skye who was twiddling her thumbs and keeping quiet. During their most recent encounter with two Asgardians, Skye revealed that she had in fact been changed by the mists as well. However, her powers had turned out to be controlling earthquakes. Needless to say, there was a lot of distrust around the base, mainly towards Skye and Fitz (who had swapped her blood during the testing to make her seem human,) and Katie felt really sorry for her fellow agent.
They were both freaks now, with weird powers and unsure if they belonged anywhere on this team.
Right now, they were waiting for May to return with Andrew. Apparently, Andrew had felt that perhaps it would be best to have them both interviewed together, seeing as how Katie had made some greater strides in controlling her powers. Skye had no idea what she was in for with Andrew's past, and Katie figured it would probably be the closest thing to a fun surprise if Skye learned it during her first meeting for herself.
"So…" Skye asked, breaking the awkward silence, "You're not going to tell me anything about what this guy's like?"
"Sorry." Katie replied, "I don't want to spoil it."
Katie felt a small tremor, and looked over at Skye who looked down before the tremor stopped.
"I'm sorry." Skye said, getting up, "This is…this is just stupid, I mean…how are you doing it, Katie?"
In her past few meetings with Garner, Katie had discovered a way to control her powers by keeping focus on something. While this focus helped her control her powers better, it didn't help at night so Katie had to close the doors to her room which was now covered up to prevent her light from shining outwards through the glass walls and door. But while Katie felt more at peace with controlling this bizzare new gift she had been given, she still felt guilt for what she had inadvertently done in the chamber to her friends. On her worst nights, she would imagine trying to save them only for her hands to shoot out rays of light which heated up to burn the two alive. She would then wake up to find one of these new freakish powers dissipating after almost wrecking her room. But Katie was worried about what these abilities might mean for her in the long term. Katie was still afraid of becoming like her mother. She was worried one day someone close to her would die again and she would become just as insane as her mother was. She imagined Skye felt the same way about her true father.
"I just need something, Katie…" Skye begged, "Just…something that helps me through this…"
"Okay." Katie said, "Calm down. It's…something I talked to this guy about. The way my emotions tie into my powers, he said sometimes I have to focus on this thing that means a lot to me, and when I do…it's like my powers go away."
"So what's the thing that means the most to you, if you don't mind me asking?" Skye questioned.
Katie gave a soft smile.
"It's something I often fantasized about as a kid." Katie admitted, "On rough nights at the orphanage I grew up in, I imagined my parents coming to get me and then raising me to adulthood. I'd always come up with different reasons why they left; they were soldiers who got captured and recently got released, they were scientists who went through this experiment and only recently recovered safely. But there was one thing constant in these daydreams; they loved me for who I was and nothing else."
She looked over at Skye who was staring at her funny. Katie shook her head.
"It's stupid, I know." She admitted.
"No, it's not." Skye assured, "I did the same thing when I was younger. I always imagined my dad was a secret agent. But I guess it's not as I expected."
Skye and Katie shared a brief laugh.
But deep down, they knew it would never be enough.
…
Meanwhile,
Muskingham County, Ohio…
This was one of the new moment in his life that Arthur hated the most. Leaving Katie behind alone without him. By this point, Katie wasn't just his best friend, she was his responsibility especially now that she had these weird powers. Arthur practically valued Katie as a daughter he never had and learned just as much from her as he had taught her. But when Phil told him that Katie's Mom and Cal had been sighted nearby, they imminently went to this secure S.H.I.E.L.D. Prison to check out the damage and see what these two lunatics were up to.
Arthur saw Katie's mom as a threat not just to the world, but to Katie as well. Her mother was clearly insane and it wasn't just because she had a pet snake and ran around with psychopaths. Arthur had decided to read up more on Katie's mother ever since they learned of Katie's powers and didn't like what he had found. From the end of the 80's to the early 90's, Katie's Mom had been killing people for some reason though it was unclear why as authorities never caught her before she disappeared off the face of the planet following an unclear escape from some purist radicalists. Most of them seemed like crackpots and con-artists but Arthur couldn't help but shake the feeling that there was something deeper to her madness. But regardless, she was a murderer who abandoned two children that no longer earned the right to call Katie her daughter. She had to be locked away as far away from Katie as possible. Katie was only beginning to control her powers and Arthur was aware from her frequent missed visits to his office to hang out that she was worried about hurting him. She was unstable and Arthur could tell that Katie's mother would exploit that fear to try and bring her daughter around.
As Coulson and Bobbi talked to the authorities about checking out the damage done to the prison Katie's Mom and Skye's Dad broke into, Arthur watched the footage on a pad-like device that Bobbi had given to them. He was watching Katie's Mom motioning for some people to come out before she pointed at the camera and then flipped the camera off. Arthur knew she was trying to get under his skin and it was kind of working in some respect. This was a woman who wanted him to know what she was doing so she could gloat about it to him when they finally met again face-to-face. But why?
"All right." Coulson called to him, "Mr. Williams, we're going into the basement."
Arthur sighed and handed the device back to Bobbi. They then went into the facility and continued to go down until they came to a cell which had the power cut save for a red flashing light. Some sparks erupted, indicating that this place had seen better days. From the briefing Coulson had given Arthur, this place was apparently a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. Prison for criminals with abilities who didn't belong on the surface. Thus, they got thrown here in this deep hole and had the key thrown away.
Well, that's how it had been until today anyway.
"I don't like what they've done with the place." Arthur told them, as they kept their guns ready.
"How many prisoners were housed here?" Bobbi asked.
"Two." Phil answered.
"Really?" Arthur questioned, with a raised eyebrow.
"John Bruno." Phil elaborated, "Military assassin. He became an obsession, discovering creative ways to kill."
"Charming." Bobbi replied with clear sarcasm in her voice.
"Not so scary, however as bachelor number two." Phil continued, "He's…"
As they passed a corner, Bobbi suddenly found herself ambushed by a prisoner who slammed her against the wall.
"You shouldn't have come down here." The prisoner growled.
Phil and Arthur got ready to make a move, but before they could, Bobbi pushed him off and then the two began punching and blocking each other's moves. Eventually, Bobbi managed to get a good punch to the guy's stomach and then lifted him up before bringing him down and twisting his arm, and then finishing with a blow to the head. After securing him, Bobbi approached the two as if nothing had happened.
"Well, damn." Phil said, "Now where's bachelor number two?"
As the three continued their investigation, Phil resumed his conversation.
"David A Angar." Phil explained, "Vocal chords were exposed to experimental energy blasts. No tumors, but left him with a voice that triggers the central nervous system. Induces imminent catatonia with the slightest whisper."
Phil stopped to look to his right.
"Here's his room." Phil pointed out.
Arthur and Bobbi looked at the open cell confused.
"Any idea what that means?" Bobbi asked.
Written on the wall were two sentences inked in what appeared to be blood.
On the top were the words 'Fight On,' and bellow it were the words 'We'll be on the house tonight.' Both in very different handwriting, but even without the writing the two S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents didn't need to be told who the messages came from.
"Other than Skye's Father and Katie's Mother being completely crazy?" Phil asked, "No."
"Couldn't have put it better myself." Arthur admitted.
As they made their notes and left, Bobbi pulled Arthur back to talk to him.
"Can I talk to you seriously for a minute?" She asked.
"Okay." Arthur said, a bit confused.
"I know you're concerned about Katie's Mom. It goes without saying that she's a real nutcase."
"Yeah." Arthur nodded.
"But do you really think Katie needs this kind of protection? I'm not asking if we shouldn't catch her. I'm asking if you think what you're doing is enough."
Arthur sighed and shook his head.
"I don't honestly believe I'll ever know the answer to that question, to tell you the truth." He admitted, "I don't know what Katie's capable of, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't walk to hell and back to help her."
He looked at Bobbi curiously.
"Why do you ask?" He questioned.
"No reason." Bobbi replied.
After getting back to their plane, the three began to review their notes as well as traffic cameras to find a match on the van the lunatics had taken.
"At least we know who we're looking for." Bobbi pointed out.
Coulson nodded with a sigh. Arthur was silent trying to figure out the meaning of what Katie's Mom message was. It obviously was a giveaway to where she was, but home? Arthur hadn't been home in years and since his Mother's supposed death, he had already sold the house figuring he'd never go back. He regretted it, yes, but he didn't see how that would work. He also considered The Playground, but dismissed it seeing as how Katie's Mom didn't know the location and even if she did, there was no way she could take on all those agents even with the added help.
"Sometimes, ignorance is bliss." Phil pointed out, listing off the names of Cal's recruits. Arthur kept silent as he looked at a tablet indicating the faces from the prison footage that had been with Katie's Mom. The names included Karla Soffen, Julia Covington, Maxwell Markham, and Jeremy Jeradson, all petty thieves, but all had surprisingly come up in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Archives, having committed a crime that had been mostly redacted with the only key source being the date. 1993. The same year that Katie's Mom had disappeared. Arthur knew something was going down and he intended to get to the bottom of it. He still couldn't get that riddle out of his head. All these answers seemed to be in front of him and yet at the same time they felt so far away as well.
"Sir," Bobbi pointed out, after Coulson had reviewed Cal's group, "These people are on the index, but they're not gifted."
"They were considered highly dangerous." Phil admitted, "A larger part is more just of a watch list."
Coulson then reviewed the name Karla Faye Gideon. Apparently this was some kind of woman who grafted metal into her nails. Because of course Cal and Zelda would pick up other lunatics as Arthur nodded.
"Are you sure that Skye's father is the ringleader?" Bobbi questioned.
"Without a doubt." Phil assured.
"Then why does Katie's Mom have her own team?" Bobbi asked.
"If I knew that answer, Zelda DuBois would be buried in that prison far away in a padded cell for the rest of her life." Arthur admitted.
"Fight on…" Phil repeated, "Could be a call to arms? Maybe he wants to wage war on us. But where?"
They thought as Arthur decided to think outside in silence. He thought long and hard about the clue Katie's Mom had left behind, all the while the image of Zelda flipping him off played over as if to mock him. He remembered a few years ago when he would go in on his own without help from others. That was when he was a jerk and was such a stickler from the rules. Hell, even Jess had apparently said that about him when she first heard about the incident in the bar with…
Arthur stopped and his eyes widened. The bar. It all made sense.
'We'll be on the house tonight.'
Arthur ran back into the plane and looked at Coulson and Bobbi Seriously.
"I know where Katie's Mom is." He stated.
"Good." Coulson replied, "Because we know where Skye's Dad is."
….
Meanwhile,
The House on Midnight,
Wisconsin…
Zelda thanked the waiter who brought her and her friends their orders. Zelda had to admit this wasn't such a bad place and Arthur Williams was a real idiot to have kicked everyone out of this fine establishment. She would probably have to show a tiny bit of pity on Raina and try to remember to send a 'Thank You,' card when she could. Without Raina, Zelda wouldn't have known all the things Arthur did which only helped to strengthen her case about why he was not fit to look after her daughter.
As Zelda looked at the others, she could see her old crew was either impatient or wanting to know what she had called them back together for.
"I thought you said that we would be killing people, Zelda." Julia pointed out.
"Oh, we will be." Zelda assured, keeping her phone close to her, "Very soon."
"Oh, for god's sake, just tell us what you brought us back together for!" Maxwell demanded.
"Okay," Zelda assured, "If you probably haven't figured it out by now, this isn't a heist."
Everyone looked at her confused.
"I told you all it would be one last team-up, but it's not to steal any money. Now, I'm all about revenge."
"So that kid of yours…" Jeremy began.
"No…" Zelda assured, "She's safe, but…she's with this guy, Arthur Williams. S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent. He's taken my baby girl and convinced her I'm not her family. Even after she got everything I worked so hard to get her…"
Zelda could feel her blood boiling as she held her drink tightly.
"It's not fair." Zelda declared through gritted teeth, "And not only did he turn my own daughter against me, but he took away the one chance I had of getting revenge on the bastard who set me on this path in the first place." She took a deep breath before she continued, "That's why by the end of tonight, we are going to make Arthur Williams pay. Make him realize he's not Katie's protector even if he believes it to be the case."
With that, her phone rang and she saw it was from Cal. She looked over at Jeremy.
"You ready?" She asked.
Jeremy nodded, with his laptop placed on his lap and his fingers already typing away. Zelda handed everyone a pair of earmuffs which they all put over their ears. Once finished, Zelda nodded and spoke into her phone.
"We're ready." She answered.
With that, Jeremy entered a final key and the power to the bar went out. Before anyone could say anything else, a loud wailing sound was heard over the speaker of Zelda phone. Everyone in the bar suddenly dropped the ground lifelessly save for Zelda and her friends. Once the wail was done, Zelda and the others removed their earmuffs and smiled. It was time to make Arthur Williams pay.
…
Meanwhile…
Arthur and Coulson were explaining the situation to May over the phone. Arthur should've remembered the night at the bar when the then-higher-ups at S.H.I.E.L.D. tried to get him to do something other than training and had him set up on a date with Blair to go to that bar where Arthur had thrown almost everyone else out of for the tiniest of reasons. Coincidently, the location of the bar was also the place where Phil grew up in.
"Skye's Dad is trying to lure me home and Katie's Mom more than likely has a score to settle with Arthur." Phil concluded.
There was a pause before May spoke again.
"You both need backup." She told them.
"Out of the question." Arthur explained.
"Arthur." Phil began.
"May!" Arthur demanded, "I beg you! Katie's not doing as well as you think. I am getting down on my knees. Do NOT under any circumstances send her over!"
With that, the line went dead. Arthur swore and hit his hand against one of the walls.
Phil and Bobbi put their hands on his shoulder as Arthur took deep breaths.
"This is what she wants." Arthur stated, "She wants Katie there."
"May knows to keep her safe." Phil assured.
Arthur sighed. He had to trust that Katie wouldn't do something imminently irrational.
….
Meanwhile,
The Bus…
Katie had to admit the session was going better with Skye joining her and Andrew today. For the most part save for a nervous twitch or two, Skye had kept herself in-check without any disasters happening. Plus, the focus seemed to be more on Skye than Katie which was fine since that meant that she had less pressure going on.
She was barely even paying attention when she realized that Andrew had called her name.
"Kattie?" He asked.
"Hm?" Katie replied, "What?"
"I was asking you if you had anything you would like to share with us today?" Andrew asked again.
Katie shook her head.
"Come on, Katie." Andrew replied, "Skye's been making some progress. You've grown natural and you haven't been changing colors again for a while now. Care to share anything?"
Katie was about to respond when she felt The Bus lurch a bit.
"Uh…" Katie asked, "What's happening?"
"This isn't me." Skye pointed out, "I'm not doing this."
Garner just went to the front as Katie suddenly realized what was happening. They were leaving The Playground. Katie took deep breaths trying to keep herself calm with that memory, but there was still a bit of her that was scared. Katie was keeping it in control for now, but she didn't know how much longer she could take before she lost it.
Eventually Skye got up, leaving Katie alone. Katie was torn between staying here, and going to help. She wanted to help, but she knew that if she went out, she would probably end up hurting others in the process. Arthur had taught her long ago to put herself before others, but now she was in a position where if she tried to help, she risked melting or crushing people with weird constructs.
Katie closed her mind and made a silent debate in her mind. After thinking about it, she got up and left the room. She then entered the briefing room where she found Andrew, May, and Skye all standing around the central board. She walked up to them with nervousness and curiosity.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"Well." Skye answered, "Coulson's being led into a trap by my Dad."
"Where's Arthur?" Katie asked.
"In the same position except we think he's going to get ambushed by your Mom." Skye replied.
Katie suddenly felt that she should have just stayed behind now.
…
Later,
The House on Midnight,
Wisconsin…
Arthur entered the bar, trying to keep focused. Though it was hard to when there were all these unconscious bodies lying around him. The only exception was Zelda DuBois, sitting at a lone table and eating a steak casually as she hummed and softly sang a song to herself.
"Hey, Katie, you're so fine. You're so fine you blow my mind. Hey Katie. Hey Katie."
She looked up and saw Arthur, her lips beginning to turn into a smile.
"Well, look who showed up. Come in! Sit down here."
Arthur frowned and did so.
"Don't bother asking people to leave this time." She replied, "I already made sure they won't be causing too much trouble."
"Let me guess. Angar." Arthur surmised.
Zelda nodded.
"Very good." She replied, taking another bite out of her steak, "I'm sorry that they aren't taking any dinner orders now, but can I get you something to drink?"
"Explain to me why I shouldn't give you a double shot right now?" Arthur asked her.
"Well," Zelda smiled, wiping her mouth with her napkin, "You answered your own question, Mr. Williams. But I wonder…what do you think Katie will say when she sees me dead and you holding the smoking barrel over my body?"
"Katie doesn't love you." Arthur retorted, "Get it through your head, lady. You're a killer and a psychopath and Katie realizes that."
"Why can't you people just leave those like me and Cal alone with our children?" Zelda demanded.
"If I had a guess," Arthur said sarcastically, "I'd say it had something to do with the both of you murdering a bunch of people to get to where you are now."
"Every person I killed, I made sure to take no lives that were innocent." Zelda replied, "I never once took a life that mattered."
"Only because it got easy for you." Arthur shot back, "Because when you kill someone, you get used to the idea. You feel that nothing can touch you, until you see someone beg. And even if you end up being kind and sparing their lives, it doesn't change the fact that you've killed others before. It's a coping mechanism. To try and tell yourself you did good by sparing a life, but it doesn't make up for all the other ones that you took before."
Katie's Mom gave a frown and a nod before looking Arthur directly in his eyes.
"Well, you would know that with all the blood you have on your hands." Zelda replied.
…
Meanwhile,
The Bus…
Katie sat in the interrogation room pacing back and forth extremely uncomfortably. May and Andrew had let Skye go out, but made Katie stay behind since they felt she wasn't ready to face her Mom again. Besides, apparently her Mom was hanging out with a new crew and they had already called in the rest of her team to help out.
Katie was torn on this decision. She still felt that she needed to lock herself far away, least her powers go haywire again and she ended up accidently killing someone. But at the same time she knew Arthur was walking into a trap and from what she was reading up on from the touch-pad device that showed the info on these madmen her mother had recruited, Arthur was in deep trouble.
Katie never felt so helpless and conflicted in her life. She once again had to debate whether or not to help. She thought long and hard until she realized that if she were in this position, Arthur would come to help her no matter the consequences. She had to prove she could still do the same, freaky powers or not.
Katie got up and walked over to the door, trying to open it. To her horror, she found that it wouldn't budge. She kept knocking her body against the door, until she realized what had happened. May must've locked the door from the outside seeing as how Katie tended to get more adgitated since gaining her powers. Katie felt betrayal since she knew May didn't get her nickname of 'The Calvary' by being awesome and that rumor had it something bad happened to her, but her own ex-husband had vouched for Katie being fine. Yet, May had ignored that and gave Katie no voice in the matter instead telling her to wait in the room Andrew had been interviewing Katie and Skye in. Katie began to feel more and more upset as if something inside her body would blow up. As her rage boiled at not even being asked if she could use the bathroom or anything, her body started to glow orange and her fists started to glow with a crackling orange effect. Finally, she struck the door hard and it flung open freeing her from her prison. Stepping out of the room and then out via the cargo ramp, Katie left the Bus, being sure to take an icer with her as she did so. Remembering the name of the place May had mentioned Arthur going to that her mother was seen at, Katie took her phone out and googled the address. After finding the right one, she took off running.
I'm coming, Arthur. She thought to herself.
….
Meanwhile,
The House on Midnight,
Wisconsin…
"Tell me something, Mr. Williams." She asked, "If you had no idea what Katie had become, would you know what to do with her? God forbid had the mist mutated her to the point where she was in pain and begging to die, would you let her die?"
Arthur thought about it. It was honestly a question he never considered.
"If it was what she wanted, I would do it only for her." Arthur stated.
"Then that's why you're not worthy to protect her." Zelda replied, "You're not a hero. You've killed many people, Mr. Williams. Some bad, but some also good. You even killed your own mother which makes me also want to know what's going to happen when I'm gone. Are you going to just forget about me? Write me off and then act as if I never existed? What about Katie? What are you going to do when she's gone? What'll you be then? Who will you be without her?"
Arthur didn't know how Zelda had gotten so well at psychoanalysis, but she was making some very solid arguments that he couldn't fight back against.
"At least I had the courtesy to knock these people unconscious." Zelda explained, snapping her fingers as her pet snake slithered right next to her, "What would you have done? Leave a trail of dead bodies behind like bread crumbs for me to follow you?"
Arthur had decided that he had heard enough and stood up, ready to shoot Zelda in the face. However, he was suddenly stabbed from behind and fell to the ground, his vision suddenly blurring rapidly.
"Oh, my!" Katie's mother declared, sarcastically, "Are you feeling a bit tipsy, Mr. Williams? It's probably because June here drugged you. This leaves you immobilized for about the next three hours or so."
Arthur groaned, trying to get up, only to be shoved face-first into the floor. Max slammed his foot onto Arthur's back as he groaned in pain, while Karla grabbed one of his arms and twisted it behind him. Arthur cried out in pain as Zelda approached him with her pet snake.
"Now let's talk about what you did to my daughter." Zelda suggested, "And then I'm going to kill you."
"MOM!"
Zelda looked up to see Katie standing there in the door to the bar. What surprised her, however, was the fact that Katie was glowing with a mixture of green and orange light radiating through her body.
"Katie…" Zelda breathed, amazed, "You're…you're beautiful. I knew you'd be special but this…"
"Mom…" Katie warned, as green glowing constructs of different shapes and sizes appeared around her, "I am NOT in the mood to talk about what's happened. I will say one thing though. I. AM. NOT. HAPPY!"
Zelda backed up as did her friends.
"You're going to leave NOW." Katie warned, "Even I don't know my full potential yet, and I might accidently end up killing us all."
"Then come with me, Katie." Zelda begged, "I can help you control it…"
"I DON'T WANT TO CONTROL IT!" Katie declared, glowing orange a bit more, "I WANT IT GONE!"
Zelda looked at her daughter feeling very hurt. She didn't know why Katie was so stubborn to refuse the gift she had been given. A gift Zelda worked really hard to give and went through a lot of people to provide.
"Katie…" Zelda said, "I can't take it away. It's a part of you now for the rest of your life."
Katie felt a sinking feeling in her body, but remained strong nonetheless.
"Then get the hell out of my life." Katie spat.
Zelda felt her heart break. Her own daughter confirmed that she was viewing these gifts as something of evil than good. Glaring at Arthur, she grabbed a nearby knife.
"No…" She insisted, "No, he's the one that's done all this. I'll kill him and fix this!"
Before she could bring the knife down, a blue energy source surrounded her and Arthur. Zelda watched as a man with grey hair and no eyes appeared almost out of smoke and grabbed her before teleporting Zelda and her pet snake away. Katie was worried that this might've been her fault that she didn't see one of the objects that looked like the end of a mace float forward, and then fly through the air, hitting Karla in the neck as she fell to the ground.
Katie suddenly realized what had happened as all eyes fell upon her. She backed up terrified as more constructs appeared around her, changing in various shapes and sizes. Katie put her hands on her head, almost as if she believed that by turning away from everyone, it might make everything better.
But it didn't.
Katie had once again killed and this time, she had a feeling she caused it herself. There was no denying now that she was a danger to everyone around her. She felt like her world was going to explode, but instead, she took out her icer gun and shot herself, feeling darkness envelop her until she passed out.
As the remaining of Zelda's crew looked at the mess, a sudden bright light shined down upon everyone. Before anyone could say anything else, there was the sound of breaking glass and a canister which rolled into the room. The next thing that happened was that the can opened up and a gas was released before everyone in the room was unconscious as Arthur and Coulson's team entered to take these criminals in.
….
Meanwhile…
Jeremy had the bright idea to stay out of the action. It was how he got out of that mess the last time he got involved with Zelda, and it was once again paying off for him. As the others got taken up front, he'd simply sneak out the back and get away scot-free.
But as he approached the alleyway opposite of where the men and women of S.H.I.E.L.D. were arriving from, he suddenly felt a boot slam into the back of his head before his face was shoved into the ground and he passed out. Jessica looked at him, proudly.
"That's what you get, asshat!" She smiled.
"Jess?" Faye asked, over their communication links.
"What's going on, Faye?" Jessica replied, dragging the guy's body back.
"There's been a fatality. Arthur and Katie are fine, but…"
There was a pause.
"We think Katie might've accidently killed again."
….
Later…
Katie awoke to find herself back in her bedroom at The Playground. Memories of what'd happened filled her memory as she glowed green again. A sense of sadness swept over her body at the thought of having killed someone for a second time. She was then drawn to a knock at her door.
"Katie?" Arthur's voice asked.
Katie looked to see his silhouette outside the door.
"Katie." Arthur repeated, "I know you're upset, but I owe you for saving my life again."
"Go away, Arthur." Katie cried as tears began falling from her cheeks, "Just leave me."
"Andrew said you're not to go on any missions and Phil said it was for the best, so we're going to put you in a remote cabin for a while." Arthur continued, "It's a nice little place where you'll be able to rest up and try to figure out…"
"I SAID I DON'T WANT TO FIGURE IT OUT!" Katie screamed, turning orange as her body felt warmer. She calmed herself as she turned green again.
"I just want to leave." She said, "I want to stay as far away from you and everyone so I don't end up killing them by accident."
"Katie…" Arthur begged.
Katie just sobbed, pulling her blankets over herself. She listened as she heard footsteps outside move away from her. She didn't care what happened now. She would isolate herself from S.H.I.E.L.D. and everyone else for the rest of her life. Her powers only caused trouble and every time she tried to do good, only ended up causing more harm to others. She was a freak who deserved to be locked away from society until she died.
Katie continued to cry herself to sleep, the green light from her body illuminating the room the entire night through with various constructs bouncing up and down and off the walls the whole way through.
….
Meanwhile…
Zelda screamed, as she pounded away at the walls of this room she was in to try and get out. Everything had gone wrong once again, and fell apart before things could get good. As she continued to wonder where in the hell she was, a door opened and in walked a girl. She had straight blonde hair and freckles all over her face wearing a white tank-top T-shirt and blue jeans.
"You must be Zelda." She acknowledged, in an almost robotic like voice while looking quite cheery at her, "It's nice to meet you. My name's Rose Anderson. On behalf of Jiaying and everyone here, I'd like to welcome you back to Afterlife."
"Wait," Zelda asked, "So I'm back in Afterlife now?!"
She paused and remembered it was Gordon who took her. It had been a while since she came here that she almost forgot about him.
"Anyways," Rose continued, "Jiaying wishes to speak to you now, so if you could follow me…"
Zelda obliged. She knew that Jiaying would have to have a good reason for bringing her here. It was more than likely that Jiaying wished to help Katie get a better grip on her powers, which put Zelda's mind at ease a little since she could hopefully talk Jiaying into letting her stay in the outskirts of Afterlife and then maybe Katie would visit her after embracing her powers. As the two walked past the little village and the buildings of Afterlife, Zelda noticed quite a few people staring at her. She didn't mind. Back when she first visited she was just as scared as they were, but now she had more confidence so she just kept walking. Eventually, they entered a building and walked into an office. There, sitting at a desk was Jiaying herself, still carrying the literal scars of her past. Looking up, she looked at Rose and nodded.
"Thank you, Rose." She acknowledged, "I'll take it from here. You can leave now."
"Thank you." Rose said with a courtesy bow before leaving.
After closing the doors, Zelda took a deep breath and then spoke.
"It's good to see you again, Jiaying." She answered, "I'm sure that if you wanted me here, it was for something I did."
"It is." Jiaying said, getting up, "I know about Katie."
"You do?" Zelda asked.
"Yes, that she's an Inhuman." Jiaying noted, "Although I must ask how you managed to do it. After all this time…"
"Look…" Zelda pointed out, "I'm not ashamed to admit it, but if you have learned about what I've done since me and Cal split up after saving you, then you know it took a long time and I had to do certain things I'd rather not talk about. Suffice it to say that a miracle happened, and Katie is a perfect Inhuman."
"So there's no strings attatched?" Jiaying asked, curiously.
"None." Zelda swore, "On my mother's life."
Jiaying looked at her and nodded.
"Well, this is an age where anything can happen." She pointed out.
"Too true." Zelda agreed.
"Since you brought up what you did since we last spoke face-to-face," Jiaying noted, "I admit I am a bit…troubled by some of the actions you took…but you are still my friend, Zelda. So I'm going to help Katie learn to control her power."
Zelda's mood shoot upwards as she went to hug her friend, but Jiaying politely declined.
"However," She pointed out, "Since some people here have heard about what you did, and before you ask, you weren't subtle about the bodies you left over the years; I think it'd be best if you stayed on one of the buildings on the outskirts of afterlife. I only ask of this as a friend who doesn't want you to feel like an enemy among my people. Even I can't just tell them to treat you with respect these days. Cal's already agreed to do the same since Daisy will be joining my people soon, and I don't want you to feel like a monster when people look at you."
Zelda nodded, understandingly.
"Okay." She agreed, "But…can Katie still visit?"
Jiaying thought about it for a minute before answering.
"Let's focus on helping her control her powers first." Jiaying suggested, "And if she's willing later, she can talk to you."
"Good." Zelda nodded happily, before rubbing the back of her head embarrassingly, "I uh…I don't suppose that you have any spare clothes. No offense, but I wasn't exactly expecting a trip to Afterlife, so…"
"I have Gordon taking care of it already." Jiaying assured, "You will find your personal belongings in your room when it is all set."
Zelda smiled.
"Thanks." She told her, "I really mean that."
"You helped my husband rescue and save me." Jiaying assured with a soft smile, "Even though you lost yourself, I'm sure you'll rediscover what you used to be in Afterlife."
"I look forward to it then." Zelda told her.
…
Meanwhile…
Jason awoke with a groan. He tried getting up, only to be pulled back down. Looking behind him, Jason found that his arms were cuffed and wrapped around a sink pipe. Furthermore, he noticed he wasn't alone as Hunter was directly behind him on the other side of this sink. Hunter looked back and nodded nonchalantly.
"Oh, good. You're awake." Hunter said sarcastically.
"Where the hell are we?!" Jason asked.
"Beats the hell outta me." Hunter admitted, "I was asking Mack about something fishy that was going on between him and my ex-wife. Then he got the jump on me, knocked me out and I woke up here."
"Same happened to me." Jason noted, "I found some kind of transmitter in the floor and then Mack knocked me out as well. How long have I been here?"
"For about three hours, give or take." Hunter answered.
"So what now?" Jason questioned.
Before Lance could reply, the door to their room opened up and Mack entered.
"Our ride's here." Mack told them, "Let's go."
With that, he threw two sacks over their heads and led them out of the door. Jason didn't know how much time had passed before the bag was removed and he found himself in some kind of hallway with agents dressed in high-military gear behind him and Hunter. Mack approached them from the front.
"Lance was right about something he told me earlier." Mack explained, "For a while, things went to hell. It was bad. But now Bobbi and I are working for an organization. An outliner. Something that came out of the wreckage from what Fury left behind."
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Jason asked struggling with his restraints before the soldiers behind him held him back, "Stop speaking in riddles and just tell us who the hell you're working for!"
"S.H.I.E.L.D." Mack explained, "The real S.H.I.E.L.D."
With that, Mack stepped aside to reveal that the end of the hallway branched off in two different directions. However, what Lance and Jason were focused on more was the symbol that stood in the center of the intersection. The symbol was the S.H.I.E.L.D. Logo, but this version looked a bit sleeker almost resembling the one from the SRR Days, with three stars in the center. Mack turned to the guards.
"Take Hunter where he needs to go." He declared, "You know what to do with Jason."
With that, Jason was lead down the hallway, to the left. He tried struggling, but it was hopeless. Eventually, he came to a door where one of the soldiers opened it and he was shoved inside. The room was a simple interrogation room, containing only a metal desk and two metal chairs. Jason was shoved down into one of said chairs as he heard footsteps walking outside towards the door. Then the door opened and Jason's heart almost leapt out of his chest when he saw who the person was.
"You!" He breathed, "It…it can't be you!"
The man in question was around 24, with short blond hair, a blond goatee, and icy blue eyes that were the same color as Jason's. His nose also seemed a bit crooked as if he had just come out of either a bar fight, or military training before getting here. He also wore a well-tailored suit, which was unlike the man who Jason knew better than anyone.
Because this man was actually his brother, whom Jason thought had died the day S.H.I.E.L.D. fell.
"Hello, Jason." Thomas Steele smiled solemnly, "We need to talk."
….
So there you go, everyone! Hope this was satisfying enough for all of you. Next chapter will see a lot more of Thomas and Jason's reuniting, as well as Katie's attempt at isolating herself from the rest of the world. I apologize again for the long waits, but things are tight with me right now, though I'll try as always to attempt to get these stories out as soon as I can. Anyways, thanks for your continued support and I hope you'll join me next time. As always, I own NOTHING but my OC's. This is for FAN-purposes ONLY so please don't sue! Thanks.
