Hi, everyone! So, yeah. I've been gone a while and I apologize. I got my driver's license, and there was some other things that needed to attend to, but I met my goal of getting the chapter out on Thanksgiving while putting in as much as I could to make up for lost time. So here's the latest chapter! I also have to note today I can also be thankful for Stormrunner74 pointing out a continuity error I made since it's been a while since the last update. Today, I am thankful to many family and friends I have who help me out in times like these and point out errors so I can go back and fix them in a calm and collective manner. Thanks, buddy. You really saved my bacon there and I owe you one for it. Anyways, on with the rest of the stuff. October 21st, 2015 has come and gone, and while we didn't get flying cars or commercially-available hover boards, I still had a tremendous Back to the Future Day, a great Halloween where I dressed up as Chris Pratt's Owen from Jurassic World, and plenty of great AoS Episodes that'll be the basis for the Spec-Ops Team 3. Whoops! "Spoilers." Anyways, enough of that for now before I accidently reveal what's going to happen. This time, we're doing another episode mix to see what happened to Jason's brother, and what happens to Katie now that she's decided to lock herself away from anyone else. I hope you all enjoy! As always, I own NOTHING. This is for FAN-Purposes only, so PLEASE don't sue!
The Real S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ…
Jason couldn't believe the sight of his brother standing alive and well before him. He felt angry, sad, relieved, happy, and upset all at once.
"Now, I know this is going to come as a big shock," Thomas assured, "But I have a good reason for why I'm alive."
"I hope you do." Jason said, "Where the hell were you, Thomas?!"
"Doing what everyone else here was doing and what you should be doing as well." Thomas explained, "Saving the world. This operation is being led independently from that fake S.H.I.E.L.D. you're running around with. This is a S.H.I.E.L.D. who operates on a democratic and equal vote. I'm one of the heads myself and I can explain how it happened seeing as how it's also how I survived."
"Then tell me." Jason replied.
"It started on the day S.H.I.E.L.D. Fell." Thomas explained as they both took a seat.
….
Then…
Thomas Steele awoke with a raging headache. There had been an explosion and now alarms were blaring everywhere. Getting back on his feet, Thomas accessed the nearest terminal for information and instantly a voice was heard from the computer.
"Attention S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents; this is Captain America." The voice spoke as if there was a heavy burden on his back, "You've heard a lot about me in the past few days. Some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time to tell the truth. S.H.I.E.L.D. is not what we thought it was. It's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The S.T.R.I.K.E. and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more but I do know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want. Absolute control. They shot Nick Fury. And it won't end there. If you launch those helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way. Unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot. But the price of freedom is high. It always has been. And it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, so be it. But I'm willing to bet that I'm not."
With that, the voice transmission from HQ ended, as Thomas felt numb. HYDRA was S.H.I.E.L.D. the whole time?! How long had this been going on and what was happening to the rest of his friends and family that were in the organization?
As he pondered these questions, he suddenly heard a large metal banging from the other side of the hallway he was in. Turning around, the metal bang was heard again before the doors busted open and a torrent of water began filling the hallway.
Crap. Thomas swore.
….
The Playground, Today…
There was no one in the halls when Katie left. The building might as well have been abandoned. Arthur told Katie she would be flying a remote-controlled plane to a remote cabin that actually belonged to Clint Barton AKA Hawkeye at one point in the famous S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent/Avenger/Marksman's life. He had owned it as a retreat for a while until he decided to sell it for some reason and so S.H.I.E.L.D. had remade it for those with abilities who needed time off. Mike Peterson even went here for a vacation at one point before his grisly transformation.
But now, Katie was sure she would spend the rest of her days there as a hermit before she grew old and died alone. It was fitting to her as that was how she was born and that would be how her life ended.
As she approached the hangar, she saw the plane with the open cargo hold and got inside there. As she sat down, she buckled her restraints and kept her emotions at bay. The hatch then closed and then the plane took off on its own. Katie had specifically requested that no one else should have to sacrifice themselves for her, even to take her away. Fortunately, it seemed that Fitz had a pet project that he had been working on, which turned out to be a remote-controlled ship or autopilot or something. It was impressive that he and some of the other workers at S.H.I.E.L.D. managed to cobble it together, but her mind was focused on keeping herself separate from the rest of the world now. She would not allow anyone else to be hurt because of her. She closed her eyes and kept her mind and emotions null as the plane took off to her destination.
…
Meanwhile, in the Playground Base…
Once Katie's ship was out of view, Arthur stepped out from his hiding place, as Jessica and Bobbi entered the hangar.
"You're not going to leave her all alone, are you?" Bobbi asked Arthur.
"Damn right I'm not." Arthur said, "I'm going to look after her no matter what, but I'll be doing it out of sight across from Barton's old retreat getaway. So both of you know where I am if you need me."
"Arthur, you can't just leave now!" Jessica warned, "You have to think about the duties here."
"I am." Arthur insisted, "I'll work while I'm there and multitask. In the meantime, Jess, I'm leaving you in my position until I return."
Jessica was utterly shocked by this. She appreciated how Arthur had gone from hating Katie and wanting nothing to do with her, to someone who would gladly take a bullet or two for her because he genuinely was always worried about her now these days. But ever since Katie started growing more and more uncomfortable with being around others due to her powers, Arthur had become more and more focused on her rather than the rest of his team.
"Arthur…" Jessica insisted, "I know you care for Katie. I do. But it might just be that Katie doesn't want anybody anymore."
Arthur sighed.
"That's not true." He told her, "I listened outside her bedroom every night after her last incident and she was crying herself to sleep not because she's afraid, but because she wants to help. She did so much for me that I can't leave her like this imminently and dump her out in the woods without anyone to watch over her."
Before Jessica could say anything, Arthur left to collect his things. Bobbi raised an eyebrow at her.
"He really does care for her, doesn't he?" She asked.
"I'm worried that now he might care for her more than he should." Jessica noted before walking off.
….
Then…
Thomas had to think quickly. The room was slowly filling up with water, but if he didn't do something quick, the room would be completely submerged in water and he'd be dead for sure. Looking at the opposite door from where the water was flooding, he quickly tried a manual opening, but found the controls were busted. Slamming his fist against the control panel, he looked down to find the water was already getting up to his knees.
Thomas grabbed the power unit under the control panel and quickly opened it revealing the wired underneath. Taking out a hunting knife, he quickly cut the wires and began re-wiring them. The water was already at his hips when the saw the spark. Thankfully, the door opened and Thomas left the room. Turning around, he accessed the other control panel which thankfully had fully-functioning controls which he used to close the door behind him. Thomas knew that anyone else behind was surely drowned by now, though he hoped a few of those HYDRA bastards were amongst those who had drowned back there.
As he regained his composure, he suddenly heard a special message from his phone which was an emergency line for the agents of this carrier only. Looking at the phone, he saw it was a message from Agent Morse.
As he activated it, he heard Bobbi's voice calling out amidst static and what sounded like hell from the other side.
"Attention, any available agents!" Bobbi called out, "This is Agent Morse! We are attempting to take back the carrier ourselves and re-establish S.H.I.E.L.D. unfortunately, some HYDRA thugs just kidnapped a group of trainees and are holding them hostage at what is sure to be a firing squad massacre. Any available agents try to get down to the cargo hold and stop them by any means necessary!"
Fortunately, Thomas knew this carrier like the back of his hand and was aware that he was only a short jog away from an entrance to the upper walkway of the cargo hold. Sighing, he knew he could take look into the whereabouts of his girlfriend and brother later. Right now, all that mattered was making sure no one else died today. Even though he was deeply concerned for his family, Thomas was the kind of man who would help others always before attending to his own needs.
…
The Present…
As the vehicle finally touched down, Katie unbuckled her restraints and exited from the ramp to find herself in front of a cozy-looking home. It was small, but there seemed to be some kind of antenna onto indicating she would have at least some satellite service. Taking her bag, she went inside the house to find herself at the bottom of some stairs leading up while the main foyer only had a mirror and table to put her things down on if need be. Walking into the adjacent room, she found a couch with a TV that looked like it might've been purchased around 2006/2007. In the room following she found a kitchen with a fridge (which contained enough food to last her an entire year when she looked inside) and a sink with a trash bin right next to it. Above the sink was a cupboard with all kinds of glasses and plates.
At this point, Katie was doing anything to keep her mind occupied and try not to let it wander into the territory she dared not let it go into.
Deciding she had seen enough of downstairs, she went up the stairs to find two doors. On the door to the right, she found a nice bathroom with a bathtub/shower and all the cleaning materials she would need in the sink underneath. Satisfied, she went into the final room and found there was a queen sized bed along with a couple of drawers and a nightstand to the left of the bed which had a lamp situated on top of there. Katie was surprised by the size of the bed since it was safe to presume that Barton wouldn't pay so much for a bed like that just to have to himself. Katie had never heard that much about Agent Barton besides the fact that he was obviously one of the most-skilled-archers on the planet, and the fact that he was an Avenger, but even she knew the bed was built for two rather than one. She only assumed now that Barton had a wife, but that was easier for him because he didn't have to deal with…
No. She wouldn't think of it that way. Not like that.
She instead started unpacking and folding her clothes away and then bringing out a laptop she had packed with her to keep her mind occupied elsewhere. Pulling up a video she had downloaded for free using S.H.I.E.L.D.'s encrypted software, she put two earbuds into the laptop and began listening to the soft relaxing music.
…
The Past…
Thomas crept up on the upper walkway looking down to see that indeed, a couple of agents were being held hostage. There were fifteen HYDRA Agents, five with a gun for each hostage. However, he also noticed some other higher-ranking agents being held as well. One of them was a girl around 5'8 with light brown eyes and dirty blonde hair with purple highlights. Agent Kiera Smith. She was a field agent onboard this carrier, but Thomas also remembered that she was also prone to panic attacks and realized that if he didn't do something now, she would most likely panic and be the first one to die. Looking around at the other cars left up there, he began quickly formulating an idea, but he would have to plan it just right and have accurate timing or else he risked letting one of the agents bellow die.
So Thomas quietly crept over to a nearby car and opened the door. Crawling inside, he quickly got to work on hot wiring the car until he was certain that it was working. When he was finished, he crept back over to where he had been viewing the HYDRA Agents from and noticed one of them had taken Kiera and was shocking her with her own personal baton weapons. Apparently, Kiera looked up to Agent Morse, and made her own electric batons as a tribute to her idol. Unfortunately, the HYDRA Agents bellow were shocking her right in the neck, causing her to groan in pain.
Frowning, Thomas reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He waited until he had the perfect shot and prayed this would work. Closing his eyes, he threw the phone and then looked to see that he had successfully knocked it into the guy's head.
"What the-?!" The guy asked, tossing the batons to another agent as the others readied their guns. Thomas then crept back into the car and activated the phone message from his car to call the phone, keeping the door open as he did so. Sure enough, the HYDRA goons caught on and moved towards the area where they had a clear view of the upper walkway.
Unfortunately, they would never get a chance to use them for as soon as they were in position, Thomas drove the car off the upper walkway, taking the HYDRA Agents by surprise. Before they could react, the car landed on the gunmen, killing them. With only ten left, five more of them reached for their guns but Thomas activated the car's automatic gun system, riddling them with bullets. With the HYDRA Agents remaining, Kiera elbowed the guy who was restraining her in the groin and then elbowed him in the jaw before a spinning kick sent him to the ground. Thomas took on the last three guys as Kiera retrieved her batons from her downed opponent to take on the last guy currently standing.
As Thomas went for the other two guys, they lunged forward to which he ducked and then imminently went to work on dismantling the other guy. Seeing as how there was a metal shelf nearby, Thomas imminently caught the guy's right hook before shoving it behind his neck and then slammed his right arm into the guy's larynx, damaging it. Then Thomas pushed the guy into the shelves, so that with the force at which the HYDRA Agent was pushed at, the impact on his back neck instantly resulted in a sudden death for the HYDRA Agent.
Looking back, Thomas noticed the guy on the right had recovered first and was throwing a hard left kick. Thomas took the kick, but then grabbed it and then flipped the guy on his back before he twisted the leg back, breaking it. Finally, he took notice of the final guy approaching while throwing a right punch towards him. Thomas got the punch and then twisted it behind the guy's back as well, taking him down for the count.
Kiera, meanwhile was busy delivering a series of blows to the other guy she was fighting while occasionally jabbing him with the electrical end of her batons until she saw the guy was too weak to fight and ended with a hard kick planted firmly in the guy's nose, knocking him out.
Taking a second to breathe, the two nodded at each other and got to work on restraining the HYDRA Agents still alive.
"Nice of you to join us, Agent Steele." Kiera noted.
"Good to be alive." He added, "How are you feeling?"
"Like I want to punch any and every goddamn HYDRA Agent." She replied.
….
The Present, the Current Residence of Katie Sheila…
As Katie listened to the music, she felt calm, relaxed, and without any kind of mood or attitudes right now. Unbeknownst to her, her body had suddenly taken a rainbow-like effect. It wasn't as bright as the other various transformations in her body were, but it was visible in a transparent sense. However, Katie was not aware of it as her only focus was on remaining calm.
Suddenly, a loud screeching noise broke her concentration as she screamed in pain. It was like someone had put a chalkboard right next to her eardrum and was scratching it with precision to make her ears bleed to death. As she took out her headphones, she was surprised to see the screen had turned to static but there was an Instant Message Chat pulled up despite Katie not having done so after she turned on her laptop.
Curious, she read the message.
'Hello. Is this Katie?'
Katie was nervous as she typed away to respond. Her fingers shaking with fear as she did so.
'Who is this? How did you get access to reach me?'
She waited before a response came up.
'It's not important, Katie. What's important is that we talk. I understand you've been going through some tough times, and there are people who I'm with who want to help.'
Katie typed her reply, defiantly.
'I can't get help. My power is a curse. I constantly hurt people I care about, or kill people when I don't mean to kill them. No psychological or physical training can help me, so please just leave me alone.'
A few minutes passed before the response came in.
'Katie. I think you don't understand what's happening. I have a gift too, but even though it's restrained me in ways you can't understand, I've embraced my gift and I still have a good life more-or-less. It's how I've been able to contact you. There's a group of people like you who can help if you're willing. If you want to join, just call out for Gordon. He'll know where you are and bring you to us for help. If not, I understand. But I do hope that you'll join us. I do know for a fact that you're being monitored at this very moment without you even realizing it. You'll be much safer with us and you won't have to worry about hurting anybody again. You seem like a very nice person, so I hope you'll join us.'
With that, the chat ended as Katie sat there confused and scared. She now had a way to control her powers but was that really what she wanted? Could she control it if need be?
Suddenly, a shock washed over her body. The person had mentioned she was being watched. Looking around, she quickly locked all the doors and windows before grabbing a kitchen knife. As she backed up, her body began glowing green again and the various constructs began appearing making Katie's heart beat even faster.
…
Afterlife…
As Aliselyn finished sending the message, she flicked her eye at Jiaying who was standing next to Patrick as Gordon suddenly teleported to Jiaying's right side.
"Good news." Her computer's voice said, "It seems that Katie is ready to be taken in. There's some bad news, though. It looks as though that Arthur William's character is monitoring her remotely without her knowing."
Jiaying thought for a minute.
"I actually think I know a way we can take her without Arthur knowing." She said, turning to Gordon, "Is Skye willing to be taken in?"
"I think it's safe to say she'll learn the true secrets being kept from her soon enough." Gordon replied, "We just have to wait for her to ask."
"Then when you go to retrieve Katie, I want you to take Michael and Adira with you. I don't want him interfering with our plans, but we also have to show Katie we're not completely cruel. I only want Arthur Williams locked in his worst nightmare, no memory deletion except for where Katie goes otherwise. If he's as dangerous as Zelda claims he is, then that'll be where he spends the rest of his life."
….
Then…
Eventually, Bobbi did arrive with backup as they were all given treatment for their wounds. Thomas was highly praised by Bobbi, but all he wanted to know was what the hell happened to his brother and girlfriend. About a half-hour ago, Bobbi left to check and Thomas was getting worried that maybe HYDRA left one last surprise. He even went as far as to ask six more times to other senior agents who had joined them if there was any word about Lauren or Jason. Each of them said they knew nothing and assured him that Bobbi would get an answer soon. However, this was the point where Thomas felt like he could wait no mare and decided he would get the answers himself. However, before he could get up to see for himself, Bobbi returned and approached him. As she got closer, he could tell Bobbi approaching and looking not to happy.
"Well?" He asked, with a demand, "What's the word?! What the hell's happened?!"
Bobbi looked at him with eyes full of sadness. Thomas didn't like where this was heading.
"I'm sorry, Thomas." Bobbi apologized, "Word is that Lauren was taken out as soon as Cap revealed HYDRA's infiltration. She was apparently overseeing some new recruits training and a HYDRA Agent tried to shoot one. She took the bullet in the back of the head and was announced dead as soon as Project: Insight went down."
Thomas felt his heart break. Even though Lauren had gone out as a hero, he felt that part of his world had died and that only more bad news was on the way.
"And...and Jason?" He asked, "What happened to my brother?"
Bobbi sighed.
"We honestly don't know." She told him truthfully, "Word is he was on a S.H.I.E.L.D. Plane which went down and exploded. Nobody knows if he got out or just burned up in there."
Thomas now felt anguish and depression. There was only the tiniest chance that Jason had survived, and they couldn't even rely on the source.
"Thomas, I am truly sorry for what happened to you." Bobbi assured, "But Gonzales wants to see you."
Eventually, Thomas found himself standing before Gonzales who had made a makeshift cast for his arm. Despite the pain and seriousness of the situation, he still managed to smile at the agent.
"Thomas Steele." He said.
"Sir." Thomas said.
"Agent Morse told me about what happened with your brother. I'm sorry you had to go through loosing another family member to such a tragic event."
"Thank you, sir." Thomas acknowledged, "I appreciate that. I plan to imminently start searching for my brother as soon as possible."
"Admirable." Gonzales nodded, "Leave no one left behind even if it appears they're dead. I appreciate that Mr. Steele, but I wanted to make you an offer before you left. The remaining group has decided that with no word from Fury or anyone else, we are taking it upon ourselves to build a new S.H.I.E.L.D. One where all decisions will be made with a vote by all agents. You showed true bravery today by rescuing those agents, son. As such, I would personally like to offer you a place in this new S.H.I.E.L.D. as my team's official pilot as well as having a seat here on the board."
Thomas thought for a minute. He knew he should get to searching, but he was out in the middle of the ocean with no technology and no contacts to help him find his brother. Besides, he realized that he could still do a lot here to honor Lauren and search for his brother when he could.
Looking at Gonzales, he nodded.
"Thank you, sir." He said, "I'll accept but only on one condition."
Gonzales waited so Thomas got on with it.
"If in the event we find out my brother is alive." He stated, "I would like to give him the chance to join us. Regardless of whether he was HYDRA, or is now out there on his own. I believe I can make him join us."
Gonzales gave him a stern look.
"That's a big promise." Gonzales noted, "Are you sure you can keep it?"
"Positive." He assured, "I just ask that you give me one chance to talk to him if we find him. After that, if he won't join I'll do anything you ask."
Gonzales nodded.
"It's a deal then." He said, "Welcome to the real S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Steele."
…
Now, Gonzales's S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ…
"And that's what lead us to where we are today." Thomas finished, "I never gave up looking for you, Jason. I always had faith you were alive and I'm glad to see it paid off. Now, I'm willing to give you the same opportunity Gonzales gave me; a chance to serve a S.H.I.E.L.D. built on fair vote and democracy rather than by a man and his few trusted allies."
Before Jason could respond, the door opened and Kiera popped her head in.
"Sir?" She asked, "I thought you should know we're already underway with the Playground base takeover."
Jason looked amazed as Thomas looked back at Kiera.
"Could you give us a minute or two?" He asked.
Kiera nodded and closed the door.
"What the hell, Thomas?!" Jason asked, "Democratic vote?!"
"It was already discussed before you were brought in. Phil Coulson and his 'good eye' Arthur Williams have been voted as being unfit to continue their S.H.I.E.L.D. by vote of me and everyone else here. That's actually why I'm glad we caught you before the invasion."
"And what happens to everyone else in there?!" Jason asked, "They're all going to magically 'disappear?!'"
"Not everyone." Thomas noted, "Just Agents Skye and Sheila. Everyone else will be given a chance to either join, or turn themselves in for questioning until we send them back out into the world to allow us to take over S.H.I.E.L.D. Again."
"Skye I can understand, but Katie?!" Jason asked, "What the hell makes her so dangerous?!"
"Her powers have caused a death of someone, and from what we've gathered she's very unstable at this moment. In the long-term, she could prove to be a great threat just like Skye, so we have to act now rather than later."
Jason backed away, looking at his brother amazed. This wasn't the man he hoped to find who always knew when to do the right thing and how. This was someone attacking a grieving young woman with psychological trauma without any empathy whatsoever. Jason wasn't close to Katie like Arthur was, but even he knew that this was not what she deserved.
"I can't believe what I'm hearing." Jason said, "You've changed completely. Do you think that Lauren would've wanted this?!"
"Jason, Lauren's gone and there's nothing anyone can do to bring her back. She would've wanted us to move on without her and not let her memory weigh either of us down. I only tried to adapt with what was happening." Thomas said, "It's what you would've done in my situation. Now I need an answer to whether or not you're willing to help."
Jason looked at his brother disgusted. This was not what he was hoping to find when he found out his brother was alive. It wasn't meant to be this way at all. The moment he was finally given a chance to be with him again, his brother was saying they had orders to take out a young girl with something she didn't understand and was terrified of.
Clenching his fists, Jason looked at his brother with eyes full of regret.
"I'm sorry, Thomas." Jason apologized, "But I can't let you do this. I promise that I am going to do everything in my power to stop you before people really get hurt."
Thomas looked at the ground but nodded.
"Hey." He smiled, softly, "It's alright. Just give your brother a hug."
Jason went over but before they could embrace, he grabbed Thomas's right arm, and spun it into Thomas's neck. As he did something slid out piercing his brother's neck, knocking him out.
"Sorry, Thomas." Jason apologized, "But you should've known I wouldn't fall for that one."
With that, he exited the room and began running as fast as he could. Eventually, he found his way to some stairs and went up only to discover to his horror that he was out in the middle of the ocean with only a couple of Quinjets. Groaning, he instantly got in one of them and began to take off. His first instinct was to go to the Playground base and help if he could, but then he remembered that the invasion was already underway. There was the possibility of going to help Katie, but he didn't know where she was at the moment.
As Jason pondered his next move, he failed to realize the carrier was suddenly aiming anti-aircraft guns at his Quinjet. Jason suddenly noticed this and began to fly out until they fired missiles at him. He did a barrel roll, hoping that the missiles would collide into each other, but to his dismay, these missiles didn't seem to fall for that old trick. Quickly bringing up his Navigation Computer, he could see that he wasn't that far away from Virginia Beach. However, the missiles were gaining on him and he doubted that he could stay off them for long.
Sighing to himself, he realized that he would have to eject and rely on the tide if he could to bring him in. Quickly moving, he ejected himself from the seat, and fell into the water bellow as the Quinjet exploded above him.
…
The Playground…
"THIS ISN'T WHAT I HAD IN MIND TODAY WHEN ARTHUR LEFT ME IN CHARGE!" Jessica screamed as she slammed the keyboard frustrated.
The Playground was currently being invaded by another group of agents not HYDRA. Apparently, Bobbi Morse was in on this and had tricked Melinda May into thinking that she was going to escape when really all she did was use a sleeping gas to knock the other agents out. Fortunately, Jessica, Faye, and Desmond were all in Arthur's office when the attack happened, but were now in lockdown with Jessica unable to radio either Katie or Arthur. Apparently whoever was behind the attack had managed to re-encrypt the software for communicating with Arthur and Katie. Fortunately, Arthur had left her entrusted with a special aid in case of an emergency; Franco Adessi.
The thing that was frustrating Jessica was the fact that Arthur had a password for accessing any contact information to Franco, and from the way things were sounding outside, it didn't seem as though their team was winning meaning it wouldn't be long before whoever was attacking came for them.
So while Jessica tried in vain to get the password, Desmond and Faye were rummaging through some of the things Arthur had, but all they found were some shirts, and a couple of sidearm guns.
"I don't get it!" Jessica declared, "I've tried 'Katie,' 'Blair,' 'S.H.I.E.L.D,' 'Captain America,' 'James Bond,' 'Indiana Jones,' and just about anything else that meant something to Arthur. I've even gone as far as to try 'Igraine' and nothing works!"
The three then heard a banging noise outside as they saw some agents outside with a battering ram.
"Isn't that a bit excessive?" Desmond asked.
"The walls are reinforced so it doesn't break easily like normal gas would." Faye told him, "But I don't think that this will hold for long!"
"Then there's only one thing to do!" Desmond replied, wrapping a shirt around his face mouth and nose while tossing another to Faye to do the same.
"What are you two doing?!" Jessica demanded.
"Buying you some time." Desmond said simply as he and Faye loaded up.
"We don't know what these people want!" Jessica noted.
"Then let's hope you get the security password soon!" Faye replied, "Otherwise we're done for!"
Desmond briefly took the shirt down and kissed Jessica passionately before pulling the shirt back up over his mouth. He didn't care if Faye was watching surprised, he wanted to give Jessica the confidence she needed to get through to whatever help Arthur had waiting for them.
"You can do it, Jessica." He assured, "I have faith in you."
With that, Faye grabbed a flash bang grenade from her belt side and slightly opened the door before rolling it out resulting in a giant flash going off. With that, she and Desmond left the room as Jessica felt like she was going mad. Why couldn't Arthur have just left them the password simply?! He trusted them like family, unlike when they first met, so…
Waitasec… Jessica realized, It can't really be…
Seeing as how her options were limited, Jessica typed in the word 'Family.'
Instantly, the password was accepted, and she found the contact information to Franco Adessi. Calling him up via the phone, Jessica's heart beat faster with each ring until someone on the other line picked up on the fourth call.
"Hello?" A voice asked.
"Franco Adessi?" Jessica questioned, "You don't know me, but my name's Jessica Smith. I'm working for S.H.I.E.L.D. under orders of Arthur Williams. What's your status?"
"I'm at Virginia Beach." Franco asked, "Why are you…"
"Listen!" She explained, quickly as possible while sending him as much information as she could, "We're under attack by an unknown force, and we need you to retrieve one of our Agents, Katie Sheila, and warn Arthur Williams as quick as you can. Katie's not that far away from you. She's staying at a remote home in Morrisville, Tennessee, only about a day's drive from where you are. Seeing as how you have a private line, I assume you can reach him as well on a line not connected to our base?"
"Yeah."
"Then I need you to get in contact with Arthur as soon as possible and warn him that whoever's taking over might be coming for Katie." Jessica explained, "Please. Can you do that?"
….
Virginia Beach…
"Yeah. I will." Franco nodded, as he found the information on his phone.
"Thank you." Jessica's voice replied, before hanging up abruptly. Franco could've sworn he heard something breaking as it happened, but he knew that meant he had to act now.
With that, Franco was ready to leave in his own personal car which Arthur himself had provided when he realized something. Not that far away, there was a beach wedding taking place. However, what he was focused on was someone actually emerging from the water. The figure was pretty muscular with short black hair, icy blue eyes, and wearing a black T-Shirt and pants which were all soaking wet. The weddinggoers noticed this as he calmly walked up to the priest as if nothing was out of the ordinary here. Franco looked amazed as he realized who it was.
"Which way to the nearest bus station?" Jason asked.
The priest pointed to the road which Franco was parked on and explained to just keep taking it down until he reached his point of interest.
"Thank you." Jason nodded, "Much appreciated."
Franco knew he should get going, but he couldn't leave Jason here. After all, he might know something he didn't. So as soon as Jason was close enough, he called out to him.
"Hey, pal!" Franco called, "Need a lift?"
Jason looked at him amazed.
"You!" He declared, putting his gun at him inside the car, "Who are you really?!"
"Woah!" Franco said, hands raised, "I'm with S.H.I.E.L.D.! You know that!"
"Which one?! Arthur's or the other one?!"
"You know about that?!" Franco asked, "Look, I just got this from a Jessica Smith and was about to contact Arthur if you want to help!"
Jason looked him over and got in cautiously but quickly.
"Call him up." He said.
Franco nodded and called Arthur on the private line. After three times ringing, the person at the other end answered.
"Franco?" Arthur's voice asked, "What is it?"
"ARTHUR!" Jason yelled, "ARTHUR IT'S JASON!"
"Jason?!" Arthur declared, "What the hell are you doing with Franco?!"
"Arthur, wherever you are, you need to get Katie to safety!" Jason declared, "There's another S.H.I.E.L.D. that's gunning for her and I don't think they care if you get caught in the crossfire either!"
"Are you serious?!" Arthur asked.
"Positive." Jason replied, "It's why I've been missing recently."
"Okay." Arthur said, "I'm going to try and contact Director Coulson from where I am and then get Katie out of here. Rendezvous with me as soon as I give the word and if you don't hear from me, Director Coulson will contact you with further orders. Look, I know you two have had your little run-in before, but I hope we can get past that and work together now. Can I trust you?"
The two looked at each other and nodded.
"Yeah." Franco answered, "We'll work together."
"Alright." Arthur replied, "Then stick to my orders and we'll hopefully meet up again soon. Good luck, and stay under the radar as best you can."
"Right." The two declared, before the connection was lost.
…
Meanwhile…
Arthur imminently went to contact Director Coulson on a secret line. It was clear he couldn't rely on the regular ones, so he had to resort to old-school contact tactics to stay under the radar since if some other S.H.I.E.L.D. had indeed taken over the Playground, that meant that they could monitor any normal communications logs.
After accessing the secret line to Director Coulson, Arthur was relieved to find that his boss picked up on the second ring.
"Director." Arthur said, "We have a problem."
"I know." Phil replied, "I'm with Lance Hunter right now, trying to figure out our next move. Where are you?"
"Watching over Katie." Arthur explained, "I've been shadowing her since she got here, and I think considering what's happened and an apparent rumor that whoever's behind this attack wants Katie dead, I'm going to pull her out now and try to move her someplace safe until I can meet up with Jason Steele and Franco Adessi."
"I agree." Phil noted, "Do that and await further instructions."
"Thank you, sir. I'll report as soon as I have her."
Arthur then shut off the communications device and then left the plane. He figured Katie would probably be scared and he would come to save her as she had done for him so many times.
….
Inside the house…
Unfortunately for Arthur, he was dead wrong. Katie had considered the stranger's advice and had kept watch over the house for hours. Sure enough, she saw Arthur exiting from the camouflaged ship and decided that would be it. This person clearly knew more than she did and if there really was a way to control her powers and no way to get rid of them, Katie would rather live a life in secret rather than in fear of hurting things again.
As she packed some things, she heard the front door open and Arthur enter.
"KATIE!" She heard him scream, "KATIE WHERE ARE YOU?!"
Sighing, she grabbed her laptop and descended to meet him at the bottom. Arthur looked relieved to see her but she didn't look that thrilled.
"Katie, thank god!" He declared, "Listen; the Playground's been overrun and it's not safe here anymore. We have to move you to a better location!"
"What's the point, Arthur?" Katie sighed, "Anywhere I go I bring death and misery. Everything I love dies. My sister, my friends…I'm sorry, Arthur, but I'm not going."
Arthur looked at Katie amazed as if he didn't recognize her.
"Katie, what are you saying?!" He demanded, "We need to go now!"
"No, Arthur." Katie said, defiantly, "I'm not going with you. I'm not going to let you die trying to help me!"
"Katie, any second these guys are going to be over us…"
Suddenly, there was a large flash of light that illuminated the entire area, causing the two to shield their eyes. Soon afterwards, the doors were busted down and a bunch of agents wearing Riot-Styled Military Gear flooded the areas.
"GET DOWN ON THE GROUND NOW!" One of them yelled.
Just then, another figure stepped in as Arthur and Katie looked amazed.
"B…Blair?!" Arthur asked.
"Arthur." Blair said with a hint of regret in her tone, "I need you to stand down."
"Blair what are you doing?!"
"What I said I would do when you saved me in Florida." Blair explained, "Living my own life away from S.H.I.E.L.D. The one you're a part of. I'm working for a S.H.I.E.L.D. that's more democratic and it's been democratically decided that Katie cannot co-exist with anyone peacefully."
"But when we spoke again in the months after…"
"In that time," Blair elaborated, "I was rescuing the new heads of this S.H.I.E.L.D. Among them was the new director, Robert Gonzales. He offered me a position here, and I took it. He then asked me to help spy on your team. If it helps, I did start to care for you again, Arthur. I think you've become a better man since that night at the diner and that you've been better your social skills at best. However, the time has come for you to stop giving orders, and start listening to orders again."
With that, she took out a handgun and pointed it at Katie.
"Now." She explained, "If you would. Please stand down. I don't want to have to ask you a second time."
Arthur got in the way of Katie.
"No, Blair." He retorted, "You want her, you go through me. Pull the trigger. I've got nothing left to lose."
Katie decided she couldn't wait any longer. She needed to get out of here now.
"GORDON!" She screamed.
With that, a ball of electrical energy appeared behind her as three new figures emerged. One of them was a man with grey hair and no eyes, wearing a fancy suit. Next to him on the left was a woman with almost pale-like skin and white hair, with blue eyes and to the right was a tall young man with short, dark brown hair and blue eyes wearing blue jeans, a dark gray hoodie, and black sneakers.
Before Arthur could react, the man with no eyes grabbed Katie and then Arthur and the rest of the agents felt a tingle in their minds before the four disappeared. The other agents stood back up confused at what had happened since on minute they were aiming for Katie Shiela and then the next minute she was gone with no memory about how she disappeared.
Arthur, however, was falling. He was descending down an endless void of darkness as if he were diving into the darkest hole in existence. Then, when he felt that this would never end, he felt the ground finally make contact. It should've killed him but for some reason, he only landed with a little bit of impact, yet not enough to kill him.
Confused, Arthur got up and looked in horror. For some reason, he was now onboard a Hellicarrier, but it was engulfed in flames. Everything looked wrecked and the carrier seemed like it was barely functioning. But what was really disturbing was that he was over New York City, but there were giant holograms with words such as 'Peace through strength!' or 'Continuance through conformity.' Then there was Stark Tower, but instead it had the familiar symbol of HYDRA on there. And the Statue of Liberty. Dear God. It had been somehow misshapen and remade to feature the Red Skull crushing the world in his hand.
"No…" Arthur gasped, horrified, "Oh dear god. No. This…this can't be. We beat HYDRA."
"Arthur…" A female voice called out weakly.
Arthur turned around and saw a female figure lying in the shadows near one of the doors to the inside of the carrier.
"KATIE!" Arthur breathed happily, running over to help her, "Oh, thank god! You're still here."
He flipped her around, but then fell back in shock. It wasn't Katie.
It was his Mother. However, she looked very different from the last time he saw her. Her skin was pale white and her eyes were yellow as if she were possessed.
"No…" Arthur declared, "It can't be you! You're dead!"
"You really think I wouldn't have a contingency plan, Arthur?" His mother asked.
Suddenly, Arthur felt someone grab his shoulder and then turned him around so he could see another version of his mother, flanked by a dozen more.
"You failed, Arthur." One of his Mother clones said, "You let this world die, and now HYDRA runs things now. You no longer serve any purpose."
With that, his mother duplicates began ganging up on him and started to beat him senseless. It was almost comedic, but Arthur felt every punch that these clones threw at him. They also appeared to be much stronger than anybody Arthur had faced before, as one punched him in his side and he felt his ribs crack.
Arthur slumped to the ground as the other versions of his mothers began to repeatedly kick him. Arthur felt that there was nothing he could do, and that he was powerless. HYDRA had won, the world was now in ruins, and there was no reason to keep going.
In reality, Arthur was curled up on the floor spasaming out of control as Blair tried to shake him out of it.
"ARTHUR!" She screamed, "WHAT'S HAPPENING?! ARTHUR!"
"No…" He murmured, "Don't…"
Blair picked up her cell and contacted Robert to inform him of what was going on.
"Robert?" She asked, "We lost Sheila, and have no idea how she got out. It's like our minds were wiped. But Arthur's here and he appears to be delusional. What do you want to do?"
She waited and then responded.
"Okay, yes sir. I'll keep him until he arrives."
….
Meanwhile, on the road to Arthur's Location…
"So what's your story?" Franco asked Jason, "If you don't mind me asking?"
Jason sighed.
"Well, considering the fact that this guy says I need to start trusting others more, and the fact that I don't trust who I thought I could anymore, I don't see why I can't share a little bit."
He looked over at Franco.
"I'm basically ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. from before it fell. My brother and his girlfriend were presumed dead in the aftermath of Project: Insight, and I just found out today my brother's alive and wants innocent people dead."
He paused before speaking.
"I didn't want to join S.H.I.E.L.D. again." He admitted, "But I've always lived by a code of honor, and seeing how my brother's lost his way and actually believes what he's doing is right, I feel it's my duty to try and help stop him."
"Interesting." Franco said, "So what do you think you're going to do once you've stopped your brother?"
Jason sighed.
"I honestly don't know. But I do know that I will stick around long enough to ensure that he won't bother you guys again."
He turned to Franco.
"What about you?" He asked.
"I'm actually from a Mafia Family." Franco explained.
"Funny." Jason explained, "You don't look like the nasty type."
"No, I'm not." Franco said with a soft chuckle, "That was actually the problem. I was too kind-hearted that my father believed that I would never have it in me to carry on the family legacy."
"So what happened?" Jason asked.
Franco sighed.
"HYDRA." He said, "They came to my family with plans for genetic experimentation and paid my family lots of money to use me as a test subject. They knew I wouldn't be anything to them, and so they gladly handed me over for HYDRA to poke around and experiment with for many painful years."
He paused, remembering the long and restless nights being the guinea pig to HYDRA's sick genetics program.
"Eventually they created a way for me to manipulate rocks of all kind at which point I escaped, and tried to rejoin my family. Unfortunately, the US Government got wind of where I was and traced me all the way back there. Nearly all of my family was either killed or arrested in the ensuing battle and I was taken to a special corrections facility until they released me years later. I joined up with Arthur after he found out about me and I've been working with him ever since to try to prove I'm nothing like my family. I don't want to be remembered for just causing death."
Jason was about to speak when the communications system kicked in again.
"Come in! Franco Adessi! Repeat! Come in Franco Adessi!"
"Franco Adessi reporting!" Franco said.
"This is Director Phil Coulson." Phil explained, "We have a plan of attack but Arthur has been taken hostage. Fortunately, we're en-route to intercept before he can be taken away. Where's your location?"
"We're not that far away from where he said he was." Franco answered.
"Okay." He said, "Follow the directions to his house. We're going to get him out of there and then we're going to get our friends back and take back S.H.I.E.L.D. Wait for us there."
"Alright." Jason declared, "Read you loud and clear Director Phil Coulson."
With that, they turned off the communications and continued driving. About an hour later, they were at the rural home where they saw Arthur outside being taken in restrains and kicking and screaming. Escorting him were more of these rouge S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents than they could handle.
"I've never seen Arthur like this." Franco declared.
"Me either." Jason agreed, "So what's the plan, then?"
Before either could say anything, there was a loud whirling sound from up above where Arthur was being escorted. Then they saw a cloaked hanger open and out jumped a familiar looking man. He was a bald African American man with some scorch marks along his left face, wearing a futuristic robotic-like armor. The other agents bellow looked amazed as he fired a canister which instantly sprayed them with a gas which caused them to drop to the ground unconscious. The man then dropped down and grabbed Arthur, as Lance Hunter appeared in the hangar. The man threw Arthur up to which Lance caught him and brought him inside.
"Gentlemen." Phil's voice said, over the communications, "This is Mike Peterson, one of my special contacts. I suggest you make sure that your seatbelts are fastened now."
Before either could ask why, Mike ran over to their car and picked it up. The two braced themselves as he threw the car into the hangar of the ship. Since the ship hand moved farther down and wasn't that far away, it fit perfectly inside as the two got out and Mike joined them. The two then felt the ship take off as Phil rejoined them to take a look at Arthur who was still murmuring as Lance lightly slapped him.
"Arthur, Arthur!" He declared, turning to Phil, "He's not waking up."
"Nmm….Mom…stop…" Arthur groaned.
"I've seen a report like this before from him." Phil realized, "He's under some kind of mind control."
Mike took a quick scan of Arthur's body before frowning.
"Whatever's happening to him," He explained, "His body believes it's actually happening. So unless we wake him up, I don't think he'll be waking up at all."
"Hold on…" Franco declared, "I did some time in medical studies. There was an incident with people in Asia who experienced symptoms similar to Arthur's. If I recall, a few good electrical shocks at just the right voltage might bring him out of this."
"And if it doesn't?!" Lance asked.
"It's better than doing nothing at all." Jason acknowledged.
"Agreed." Phil said, "Let's get him prepped. Mr. Addesi, you'll help walk us through what to do."
….
Inside Arthur's mind, things were only getting worse. Within his mind, his teammates had arrived to help, but one by one they all fell to the combined might of his mother. Sabrina and Bruce were in the Quinjet which was hit by a missile launcher from one of the clones, while another managed to catch Faye ejecting from the seat before tossing her into the helicarrier engine shredding her to death. Jessica had put up a good fight but was eventually overpowered by the clones of Arthur's mother who proceeded to beat her to death before shooting her in the head before Arthur's eyes.
Katie was apparently somewhere on here also. They showed her in a cell with pleading eyes crying for Arthur to help, but the overpowered might of this endless brigade of mother clones was too much for Arthur that he actually felt like he couldn't take much more before he expired.
"You know what the worst part is?" One of his mothers asked, "You never got to say goodbye to Katie."
Katie…
Arthur suddenly caught a quick second wind and swung his foot around, bringing some of his mothers down for the count. Getting back up, Arthur quickly ran over to a half-broken antenna and ripped it off. He then swung it around before slamming it into one of his mother clone's face, leaving a nasty gash in there. The mother he hit staggered back, covering her mouth with a hand as it began to get soaked in a red liquid. Arthur then took the antenna and swung it into another clone's knee, causing her to fall in pain, at which point, Arthur swung again at the back of her head and she went down, he was about to swing the bat again and hit another in the chest, when he felt a searing pain of electricity jolt through his body from nowhere.
Arthur sat upright and realized he was no longer on the damaged hellicarrier, nor in the hideout, but now onboard a S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet interior, where Phil Coulson was kneeling over him next to Lance Hunter, Mike Peterson, Jason Steele, and Franco Addesi.
"KATIE!" Arthur screamed, in realization.
"Arthur…" Phil said, "Katie's gone."
"I know." Phil assured, "But right now, we've got a plan to get her back."
Arthur nodded before getting up slowly.
"Thanks." He said, "To all of you. Without your help I don't think I'd ever had gotten out alive and in one piece."
"You're welcome." Franco said.
Arthur nodded and turned to Jason.
"I'm glad you're still here, Jason." He smiled, "Even when things got tough, you still came back."
Jason nodded.
"Well," He said, "It turns out my brother's involved with this rouge S.H.I.E.L.D."
"I'm sorry." Arthur apologized, "I truly am."
"It's alright." Jason assured, "But I'm gonna stay with you guys until this mess is sorted out. Afterwards, I'm done."
"Fair enough." Arthur acknowledged, "So what's the plan. How do we find Katie?"
Phil sighed.
"That's the tough part." He explained, "First we're going to retrieve Fitz who has the toolbox Director Fury gave to me. Then comes the part you're probably not going to like. Mike's been secretly learning all he can about HYDRA for me. Turns out they have a program that's taken an interest in people like Skye and Katie. Someone named Dr. List knows about it, but in case he doesn't there's only one other person who's done work with him in the past who Mike actually learned about before he came to answer my distress call."
He turned to Arthur solemnly.
"That person's Roger James Smith."
Arthur's eyes widened.
"But…" Arthur realized, "The only person who would know where he is…"
"Is Tyler Boateng." Phil finished, "So I'm sorry, Agent Williams. But we're going to need to investigate both sources if we want to find Skye and Katie. So that means you're going to have to team up with Tyler."
Arthur sat in silence.
"It's alright." Jason assured, "I promise I won't do anything. You have my word."
Arthur sighed.
"Then let's go and pay Tyler a visit after we get Fitz." Arthur declared, a look of determination in his eyes.
….
Meanwhile, Afterlife…
Katie awoke with a groan and realized she was lying on a bed with some weird needles in her body. Surprisingly, these needles weren't causing her that much pain, but her body was still glowing green. Suddenly, the door opened and in entered a Chinese-looking woman with some scars along her face along with a boy with floppy red hair wearing a black T-Shirt and Jeans.
"Good." She said, "You're awake. Welcome to Afterlife, Katie Sheila."
"Who…Who are you?" Katie asked.
"My name's Jiaying." The woman introduced, "You're safe. You're in what I refer to as Afterlife. It's the place where you can learn to control your powers and stay safe from the rest of the world."
Katie looked at the pins in her arms and then back to her as if waiting for an explanation. Jiaying smiled softly.
"It's to get you started." She explained, "Everybody who goes through the mist here has gone through the process. It's just to keep you under control and then you can begin learning how to control your powers. You'll be given a teacher as with most of the other people who learn here."
"So who's mine?" Katie asked.
Katie heard the sound of footsteps coming and stared in shock when she saw who it was. The man was about 6 foot 2 inches tall with brown eyes, black hair, very well fit, with a goatee and a scar across his chin wearing a light blue buttoned down T-Shirt and black jeans. Next to him was a woman who despite the hideous mutation, Katie still managed to recognize. The woman's skin seemed lighter than last she remembered, and her eyes were more-cat like, but perhaps the most disturbing part was the fact that she had thorns coming out from parts of her body which was mostly covered up by jeans and a black hoodie.
"Nick…Raina…" Katie seethed, her body suddenly starting to glow orange, "The hell are you doing here?!"
"Helping you, by the looks of it." Raina explained, looking over Katie, "Before you begin, I'm sorry that you don't see eye-to-eye with me, but I intend to prove myself to you as your teacher."
"Like hell." Katie declared, her body getting increasingly warmer.
"Katie, please." Jiaying pleaded, "I tried asking but Raina insisted that she's supposed to help. I assume you don't want to end up killing everyone, but I need you to trust her for now."
Katie calmed down as her body returned to normal. She didn't like the situation she was put in, but she remembered that Arthur was willing to do anything he could to help her. If Katie was to get control over her power, she would have to take whatever help was offered, even if she didn't like the person it was coming from.
"Fine." Katie said, "But if she even tries as much as manipulate me, I won't be held responsible for what happens next."
"Good." Jiaying said, "Now get some sleep, Katie. You have a busy day ahead of you."
To Be Continued…
…
So there you go, everyone! Hope you all enjoyed and that I made it long enough to make up for lost time. Anyways, it seems now that both Arthur and Katie have to make dirty deals to get what they want, but how far will they go? And what about the rest of the team being held by Gonzales's S.H.I.E.L.D.? The next chapter I will try to get up in the next month or so, but we'll see what happens. Rest assured, I'm back and I hope this was a satisfying Thanksgiving Day treat for all of you. Have a very healthy and safe thanksgiving and I'll see you later. Reviews are appreciated but please no flames.