Chapter Twenty-One (Ransoms)
The masked man led the team down a dark, winding hallway, still holding Fitz near with the gun still to his head. The hallway seemed to go on forever. The team was nervous, fearing for their lives. They didn't know what the man wanted, but it they didn't give it to him Fitz would get a bullet through the head.
After what seemed like an eternity, the man stopped them in front of a rusty, old door and led them into a concrete room. There were no windows, only stone-cold walls and the door. A soldier stood against each of the four walls. This was clearly a no-escape room.
The man, still with Fitz in his grasp, turned to the team, "Now, you have to give me what I want." he droned. "And remember, if you don't give it to me this little guy gets a bullet through his brain."
Fitz whimpered.
"Look, we'll give you want you want." Coulson said. "Just let him go."
The man laughed and threw Fitz to the ground. Fitz quickly scampered up and ran over into Simmons' arms, clearly shaking.
"Good. You better give it to me."
Coulson frowned, "But I have a question first. Just who the hell are you?" he asked.
"Don't you know? Centipede? You've been chasing me the whole entire time."
Skye narrowed her eyes, "Wait, you're the Clairvoyant?" she asked. "You?"
"It really is such a silly name."
"Then what is your real name?" Ward asked.
"Like I would tell you." The Clairvoyant hissed. "That is not something that matters at the moment. But now for what I want."
"What the hell is it?" Coulson asked.
"The girl." he said, looking towards Skye. "You took her away from me once and I want her back."
"Like hell I would go back to you!" Skye screamed. "You had me tortured! You had me kidnapped, shot, and stabbed! I would never go back to you!"
"Oh, but you will." The Clairvoyant laughed. He took turns pointing the gun at each member of the team. "You fail to comply to my wishes, each of your precious 'friends' will get a bullet through the head."
"You sure are trigger-happy, aren't you?"
"It's the only way to get someone to follow my wishes."
"And what is it you exactly want with me?" Skye asked.
"Ever since your power came through, I've been studying you. Now I want to find a way to harness that power so I can use it. Regenerative healing is very much a gift."
"Yeah, maybe in the right hands." Skye spat. "But in your hands, it's just a danger. Mostly because you could probably find a way to mess it all up, and create a weapon."
"Exactly."
Coulson stepped forward, "We will not let you take Skye." he stated harshly. "We cannot let a power so strong fall into your hands."
Gunshots. Coulson fell to the ground clutching his arm, blood pooling out.
The Clairvoyant turned to the door, the soldiers following, "I'll let you stay in here, and decide your fate. It's her or your lives." The heavy door slammed shut.
The team ran over to Coulson.
"AC," Skye said. "Let me help."
Coulson held up a hand, "Skye, I will be fine. You don't need to be draining your energy at a time like this."
Simmons quickly had Coulson take off his jacket, roll up his sleeve, and then examined the wound below his elbow, "Coulson, you may want to have Skye try." she said. "It looks as though the bullet pierced the radius and the ulna and the bleeding is really heavy."
"She is right." May added.
"Coulson, I promise that I will be fine." Skye said. "If we don't do anything, you'll be worse off than if I try and get exhausted."
Coulson slowly nodded and decided to let Skye try.
Skye took a deep breath and pressed her hand against Coulson's bloody wound. The weird sensation took hold of the room and the team saw Coulson's face relax in relief from the pain. Skye then wobbled, but Ward ran over to support her.
Coulson looked at his newly-healed arm in awe, "That-that's amazing." he stammered. "I do see why the Clairvoyant wants you."
"But we won't let him, right?" Fitz finally said, still recovering from the ordeal.
"No, we won't." Coulson said as May and Simmons helped him up. "I think that it's about time to put an end to Centipede and the Clairvoyant."
"Sir, may I ask you something?"
The Clairvoyant turned to look at the soldier on his right, "What is it?"
"I thought you said that you wanted them all dead."
"I do. I was just letting them have some kind of a choice." he replied. "To try and get the girl easier. I'll still kill them all for getting in my way. I'll feel much better if they are out of the picture. Hell, I'll even kill the girl after I'm done with her, if she even survives that."
Author's Note: I don't own AoS, Marvel does. The man finally reveals himself to the team as the Clairvoyant and leaves them with a choice, be killed or hand over Skye. He shoots Coulson in the arm, but Skye manages to heal him. But wait, the Clairvoyant will kill them all anyway. Marvel's Agents of SHIELD will return in a chapter. Keep reading and PLEASE review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.