Part Two
Bullets began to whiz past Craig as he tore towards the blockaded gate, his head down and his fingers clutching the crystal that formed the crux of his plan. A stray round or two hit his shield head on but reverberated harmlessly off its surface, not even slowing him down as he approached his target. The dog began to growl and bark furiously, straining at the leash even as the handler struggled to pull it back to heel, but Craig continued nonetheless, not dissuaded in the slightest by anything he saw. His powers were mainly defensive, but they were the difference between life and death for Craig, and had been for several years since their emergence.
"Intruder!" one of the guards yelled before releasing a burst of fire from his rifle, which rebounded off Craig's shield without so much as making a dent.
"Ward, what do we do?" Skye demanded, her eyes wild and her tone panicked as she watched Craig hop over the barricade, men bouncing off the blue light that surrounded him as though they had been electrocuted.
"I haven't heard from Romanoff yet, she's not ready," Ward replied, narrowing his eyes as he watched Craig set their carefully constructed plans alight.
"He's got a Terrigen crystal," Skye continued, her body dangerously exposed to the guards as she half revealed herself from behind the crates, "if he releases it, every Inhuman in this courtyard will change, Ward."
"Then we've got no choice," Ward stated grimly, striding ahead and speaking into his comms. Device in a rush, "May… we need to go now!"
Skye followed at his side, extending her hand and sending a line of guards jogging towards them hurtling to the ground, some crashing through wooden outhouses and huts. Ward flung out his own hand and immediately a chain of flaming links flashed across the air like a whip, the sound alone sending some of the approaching men fleeing back to safety.
"Skye! Eleven o'clock!" Ward warned as a dozen or so guards advanced towards them, guns directed at the pair. With a single flick of Skye's wrist, the bullets stopped dead, suddenly shuddering violently in the air before dropping to the ground. Skye held her palm out towards them, sending a surge of energy in their direction, and the men flew to the ground. Ward took out another oncoming group with the release of several fire balls in quick succession. The soldiers dove out of the way as best they could, although a handful found their gear alight and flaming.
"Mind if we join the party?" May's voice suddenly rang out loud and clear in their ears, joined seconds later by the sound of a further skirmish just outside the fence. The sound of gunfire being released and returned dominated the air, and Skye and Ward exchanged worried glances.
"This is going to turn into a bloodbath if we don't get these people under cover," Skye called out, huffing as she swung a fist in an arc and landed a punch square on the jaw of an attacking guard. The men seemed to be pouring out of doorways at an alarming rate, and as fast as Ward could disable an assailant, there was another in front of him to take their place.
"Get inside, now!" Ward screamed, his eyes wide as he watched Craig take centre stage in the courtyard, the Terrigen crystal raised high above his head. Quickly, and without much time to feel even a shred of remorse, Ward snapped the neck of the man he had been grappling with, before sprinting across the yard to tackle Craig to the ground.
The forcefield had disappeared and so when Grant flung himself at the Inhuman, both men tumbled to the dirt in a tangle of long limbs. Mercifully, Craig managed to maintain his hold on the crystal, although he landed hard with a hiss of pain that rattled through his entire body.
"What the fuck are you doing?" demanded Craig in a roar as he struggled to fend Ward off with only one hand whilst the other cradled the crystal to his chest. "I'm trying to save our people."
"You're condemning them," Ward growled back, managing to land a fist to Craig's cheekbone, which snapped the man's head backwards painfully.
"At least they'll live and breathe to see another day," Craig retorted, raising one knee in a vein attempt to strike Grant hard in the groin and thus dislodge his body from atop him.
Ward rolled out of the way, landing a series of vicious blows to Craig's face and upper body, as the Inhuman tried desperately to block them all with just one arm.
Looking up to see Skye running towards them, Ward grunted as Craig managed to land a punch against his jaw. Shaking the blow off quickly, Ward began to grapple once more for the crystal. Grasping the base in his hand, Grant watched the man's eyes widen as the Terrigen began to grow hot in his hand, and all too soon a flicker of flames sprang from the Specialist's fingers, rendering the crystal almost blistering hot. Craig could not hope to maintain a grip on the object and he let out a string of yelled profanities.
"Grant! Over here!" Skye called, catching Ward's eye as he yanked the crystal free from Craig's hand and tossed it over towards her.
Catching the flying missile with her powers, Skye turned the trajectory of the object, sending it hurtling faster and faster towards the rock face hundreds of feet behind the camp.
Subduing Craig and finally knocking him unconscious, Ward stood up in time to see a cloud of dust and feel a rumble beneath his feet as the crystal smashed into the rock, burying itself deep within the cliff face.
Skye reached Ward just as a shower of bullets rained down upon them, and he spun around with his hand on her waist, pushing both their bodies to the ground. He covered her head with one hand, his cheek laying next to hers in the dirt as round after round flew at them. Gritting her teeth, Skye reached one hand up into the air, succeeding in stopping dead the bullets that had narrowly missed connecting with their bodies. She grunted as she flung her arm forwards as though throwing a ball and the bullets whizzed backwards, striking the man who had fired them initially from his weapon. He dropped to his knees, wounded and rendered harmless, and Ward clambered to his feet, tugging Skye up after him.
"Time to take this inside," Ward declared, his palm resting in the centre of Skye's back as they ducked under another hale of bullets and made a dash for an open fire door, which had been left unattended during the fray.
"Grant, wait," Skye yelled, pausing as she spotted a young boy hunched in a ball at the side of the building, tears coursing down his cheeks as he pressed tiny hands over his ears.
"Skye!" Ward protested, making an unsuccessful grab for his girlfriend as she darted back towards the line of fire. She threw herself down on the ground as though she was sliding home at first base, skidding to a halt in front of the child, who eyed her with equal measures of fear and dread. She could hardly imagine what he had seen during his time at the camp, and she felt her heart leap into her mouth as her eyes swept his dirtied, tear streaked cheeks.
"Hey, don't be scared, I'm here to help," she coaxed, opening her arms towards the little boy, who remained frozen in position, too terrified by the mingled cries of pain and sounds of bullets striking their marks. There was also the odd explosion as those Inhumans with more volatile powers made use of their gifts, doing their best to destroy the facility piece by piece as Grant and Skye had instructed.
Sending a storm of fireballs down onto the soldiers' heads, Ward ran across the exercise yard to Skye's side, bending down and wasting no time in picking up the child. As Skye used her powers to keep the guards at bay, the couple darted towards the nearest doorway, rapidly taking down anything or anyone that blocked their path.
Ducking inside the darkened stairwell, Ward glanced down at the child, his brow furrowing as he felt him shiver violently in his arms. Skye stole a final glance at the entrance before taking out the nearby cameras with a few bolts of energy that sent shards of plastic and glass cascading to the ground.
Looking up at Ward, her gaze quickly ticked to the child he carried, and she offered up her arms to take him. Shaking his head, Grant held the boy closer, "It's alright, I got him… you cover us."
Nodding her head, Skye offered the terrified little boy a warm smile, reaching out slowly so as not to spook him. She stroked back the damp, matted hair from his forehead and sought out his wide-eyed gaze. "Hey… it's okay. We're here to help you. We're gonna get you out of here."
He nodded wordlessly at her, still not brave enough to utter a word.
"You hold on, and close your eyes real tight…" Skye directed watching as the boy shrank back against Ward's chest and dutifully closed his eyes as tight as possible, one ear pressed against Ward's jacket and the other covered by a, trembling hand.
Holding Ward's eyes, Skye nodded her head slowly, and the two Inhumans began to make their way down to the laboratory, bodies dropping like flies in their wake.
x-x-x
Coulson sighed as he watched the security camera footage, arms folded across his chest as he and Lincoln stood side by side. His eyes narrowed whilst he watched Skye and Ward take out over a third of their guards, most of whom had been carefully hand picked for the job due to their impressive combat resumes.
"Got to hand it to them, they make quite the team," Coulson allowed, a briefly sentimental smile settling on his features as he watched Skye stop to comfort the little boy. "You know, she's always had quite the nurturing side to her… picked it up in the orphanage, I guess. But if Skye's one thing, it's predictable…"
"Meaning?" Lincoln queried, his jaw set as he watched Ward take out the line of firing soldiers in a veritable inferno, before scooping up the child at Skye's side.
"Meaning, I know exactly where to find them," Coulson replied confidently, "she'll try to save the girl… Skye hates breaking a promise. So that's where they'll go next… to the labs."
Lincoln released a sigh that was equal parts exasperation and distrust, "And then what?"
Coulson shrugged, tapping the image and bringing the video replay to a halt. Extending his fingers against the screen, he enlarged the picture of the two Inhumans even as he silently pondered Lincoln's question.
"We kill Ward, take Skye into our custody… and… I guess you get to finally try out that modified cure you've been working on. If it's successful, I can arrange a little trip to TAHITI, and it's like none of this ever happened. She'll remember nothing… no Inhuman parents, no powers…" his lip curling in disgust as he stared intently at the screen, Coulson turned to Lincoln and offered him a pointed smile, "and no more Grant Ward."
Eyes roving the still images, lingering a few moments longer than was strictly necessary on Ward's steely expression, Lincoln felt his own lip quirking into a rare smile.
"Come on," Coulson encouraged, laying a guiding hand on the taller man's shoulder as he began to steer him towards the doorway, where a line of armed guards awaited him, "we have work to do."
x-x-x
Chase could feel the fog lifting and clarity descending slowly upon him again, and so he lay still in the darkness of the cell, staring up at the ceiling as he waited for the full effects of the drugs to wear off. Usually, a guard had made a reappearance by now to stick him with another sedative, numbing both his body and brain to the points that they became rendered useless. The pattern had been the same ever since that day he had caught sight of Molly, but for some reason his last dose of the drug had been administered the previous evening and he could feel the weighted sensation beginning to ebb from his limbs.
He remained silent, flexing his fingertips by his sides and delighting in his ability to finally move them of his own volition. Something was wrong outside the four walls he had been caged in, of that he had no doubt, but Chase couldn't bring himself to care too much; he was in control of himself again, thoughts no longer muddied by the effects of medication and limbs once more cooperative, and he intended to make the best of the developments.
Chase was already busily formulating a plan when he heard the door of the opposing cell slide open, metal screeching as it was dragged across rough stone. There were a few cries of what might have been triumph and the sounds of many feet running, but Chase remained still and silent, deciding to remain inconspicuous until he had gleaned a better understanding of just what was going on.
He didn't have long to wait, however, as what he assumed to be a flash light beam suddenly illuminated the dank confines of his prison.
"There you are," a familiar voice growled, sounding curiously to be equal parts relieved and yet enraged as it added, "I ought to knock you into next month, you little shit."
"How about we save the pleasantries for after we've gotten me out of this cage?!" Chase replied, relief evident on his face as he peered behind Matthew to see one of the guards unconscious on the ground.
Using the keys he had pilfered from the guard's belt, Matthew unlocked the cell and hauled the door open, following behind Chase as he practically ran out into the hallway.
"Let the others free!" he instructed, watching the three other men bang and shake at the bars in a bid to be released, "I'm going to find Molly."
Matthew hurriedly opened the door of the next cell, tossing the man inside the key bunch in order to release the two others, before he ran after Chase.
"Hey, hold up. She's my sister, I'm comin' with you! Although I reckon those two S.H.I.E.L.D. yahoos will have beaten us to it."
"S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Chase demanded fearfully, removing the gun from the hand of a guard Matthew punched squarely in the face. The man crumpled to the ground with a hiss, eyes fluttering back in his head.
"You hear that?" Matthew demanded, suddenly pausing, and as blood curdling screams rose above the chaos around them, the two men ran faster down the hall.
x-x-x
Her chest rising and falling rapidly, Skye looked around the corridor she and Ward found themselves in, staring down at the prone bodies of the guards they had effortlessly dispatched, most without the need to even utilise their powers. On their journey to the laboratory that doubled as an infirmary, they'd happened upon the child's mother, and so the little boy they had rescued from the crossfire was safely and happily deposited in her care - leaving them free to take down the guards and rescue Molly and the other Inhumans.
Pausing in front of the large, grey, metal door, Skye took a breath.
"What if we're too late? What if they've…" she found she couldn't finish the sentence, and instead the pair took up position before the door.
"Once we get the other side of this door, using our powers is out," Grant warned, his voice barely a whisper, "try not to discharge more than an Icer in there. We don't want to blow this place up before our guys are clear."
Skye bobbed her head in understanding, sucking in a slow and steadying gulp of air as she tucked her handgun into her belt and instead withdrew her Icer. Once they stepped into the lab, the playing field would be levelled in Coulson's favour; there were far too many sensitive and potentially flammable compounds stored inside for either her or Ward to risk using their particularly destructive powers. After all, this was a rescue mission, not a suicide.
Pausing, Ward laid a gentle hand on Skye's shoulder, turning her body slightly in order to peer down into her eyes, where he saw turmoil reflected back at him.
"Coulson is probably waiting for us in there," he added, his eyes narrowing as he watched a flash of pain cross Skye's features. She nodded again.
"I know," she whispered back, squaring her shoulders as she continued, "I'll do whatever needs to be done, Grant. You have my word."
Indecision flickering across his features as he debated whether it was the right time or place, Ward finally leaned forward and initiated a deep and passionate kiss - the kind that usually Skye would have insisted had made her toes curl. She threw herself into reciprocating the gesture, one hand laid against the stubble dappling Grant's jaw as she drew herself up onto tiptoes to meet the demands of his tongue.
"Really?" a voice demanded from the opposite end of the corridor, succeeding in wrenching Skye and Ward suddenly apart. They were breathing hard, cheeks flushed and eyes watering as they turned to regard the interruption. Matthew stood at the end of the hallway, staring at them with open contempt, whilst at his side a tall, muscular but evidently young man lingered, looking equal parts awkward and desperate as he surveyed the two former agents.
"Nice of you to join us," Ward stated, arching a brow that almost dared Matthew to offer up further comment regarding what he had seen. Wisely, the other Inhuman chose to let it go, striding down the hall in a measured pace with the other man easily matching his steps.
"The lab is protected by retinal scanning technology," Skye said as she tapped away at the keypad affixed to the wall, the wailing of the alarm apparently not serving to put her off. She continued to address the panel, chewing on her lip as she worked, then added, "It's going to take me a couple of minutes to bypass this. You guys will need to watch my back."
Finally, the blonde man, the new addition to their party, spoke, his voice soft but filled with confidence as he declared, "Here, let me."
Skye stepped back with a frown, holding up her hands and indicating that he could take over, "Knock yourself…"
She didn't have time to finish her sentence as Chase placed his hand onto the panel and closed his eyes. Within seconds the pad appeared to simply die at his touch, the lights blinking off and the door releasing with a loud click.
"How did you…" she began, watching as a brief smile settled on his face.
"That's my power… I can manipulate technology. Right now, I have to be touching whatever it is to control it, but once I get a better handle on it, I should be able to do it without being too close."
Skye smiled in acknowledgement before the team of four advanced on the door, Ward kicking it open whilst Skye held her Icer in front of her, and Matthew and Chase covered their rear.
The door had no sooner opened than Skye found the smirking faces of Coulson and Lincoln peering at them with apparent amusement.
"Took you longer than I thought," Coulson greeted them, his gaze sweeping over Skye and Ward, before landing derisively on the two Inhuman men. "Skye… there's still time to change your mind."
He smiled at her encouragingly, his voice injected with a warmth that was not communicated by his stiff posture as he coaxed, "Come home… where you belong."
Chin tilted back defiantly, Skye glared at him with unbridled rage. "I am where I belong. With Ward… taking care of our people."
Coulson shook his head, as if the idea were ludicrous and he was trying to make her see sense. "Ward brainwashed you, Skye. This isn't you! I can help you… just come home."
Skye growled low in her throat, her nostrils flaring as she repeated Coulson's words in a mocking tone, "Come home? Come home? I may never really have had one of those before, Coulson, but I know that it isn't supposed to be somewhere where you can't trust anyone, where people try to hurt you and take away your choices…. where they see you as a monster."
Coulson frowned, shaking his head back and forth again as though the idea was ludicrous, "Is that what you think? That I see you as a monster? Skye… that's not it. You're not a monster, you're just sick, and I want to help you get well again."
"The only sick person in this room is you, you son of a bitch," Matthew yelled, his hands balling into fists at his sides as he glared at Lincoln and Coulson in turn. Behind the two men stood eight guards, none of whom were armed, but all of which Ward had no doubt would be among the best in combat situations.
Chase remained quiet, his eyes roving the lab, which was ringed by metal trolleys bearing both wrist and ankle straps. Some of the tabletops were stained with a dark brown substance and Chase swallowed hard, eyes skipping quickly over the old dried blood before he allowed his mind to dwell on it too much. Various instruments that more resembled tools of torture were laid out on trays along with syringes of all sizes, whilst IV bags hung from poles, some of which were attached to the arms of prone bodies. Chase quickly counted four live Inhumans, two men and two women, but it was the smallest of these figures that commanded his attention. A flash of blonde hair streaked with blood and dirt stirred his anger anew, and Chase was taking a step forward before his brain had fully engaged.
"Molly…" he whispered, his heart picking up pace in his chest as he watched her head turn slightly to allow her to face the doorway. Her cheek was bruised and her eyes were red rimmed and swollen from crying. Her cracked lips parted but she couldn't seem to utter even so much as a whisper, and yet her eyes never left his face.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, son," Lincoln warned, eyes narrowed as he regarded the teenager, who bristled and drew himself up to his full and relatively impressive height.
"I am not your son," spat Chase, the venom lacing his tone so real and potent that even Grant was surprised by the depths the boy's hatred could apparently reach.
"Power down, Sparky," Ward dismissed Lincoln with a smirk, clearly amused by his bravado, "nobody here is afraid of you."
Lincoln glared at his nemesis with poorly concealed hatred, "I'm not scared of you either, Ward. But maybe Skye is, huh? Maybe that's why she stays with you. You brainwashed and controlled her from the beginning, everyone knows that."
It wasn't the response Lincoln expected when both Skye and Ward chuckled at his ridiculous insinuation. Briefly, the pair joined hands to display the fact that they were a wholly united front. It was thoroughly galling to Skye that Lincoln and Coulson both still claimed the moral high-ground over Grant Ward, when in every way imaginable, Ward was twice the man they'd ever be. In the eighteen months since he'd joined her team, Ward had been loyal and brave to a fault, always at her side, always ready to defend her, and spurred on by an almost desperate need to make amends for his past. He loved her with a passion and adoration she more than readily returned, and the idea that he would ever hurt her was appalling.
"You do know what brainwashing is, right?" Skye demanded, anger now outweighing her amusement, "it's taking away choice, it's taking away identity… feelings… dreams… memories… love. It's TAHITI… it's exactly what you want to do to me." At Lincoln's surprised expression, she cocked her head and scoffed, "I programmed Coulson's email security, you think I couldn't hack it?!"
"I think we've done enough talking," Chase interjected, nudging Matthew into action as he began to set out over towards the metal tables. As the two Inhumans moved, the guards behind Coulson also started forward, only falling back when the director raised one hand.
"Let them go," he said, his eyes still affixed on Ward and Skye, "they've served their purpose."
Skye felt her outrage rise in her chest but she pushed it back down, refusing to rise to Coulson's bait. She didn't doubt that he was trying to goad her into some kind of impassioned reaction, looking to make her sloppy and hoping that in her anger she would throw away all their carefully laid plans.
"Get them all out of here," Ward barked out to the two Inhuman men, "we'll meet you outside soon."
At that, Coulson only chuckled and arched an eyebrow, something in the unconcerned way he crossed his arms and continued to regard Grant sending a cold shiver of uncertainty coursing through the Inhuman's body. Coulson had something up his sleeve, and Grant had yet to discern what it possibly could be.
Chase and Matthew wasted no time in jogging over to the tables, the latter getting to work at freeing the first hostage he came across whilst the former made a beeline straight to Molly.
"Oh honey…" he breathed, his eyes pooling with tears as he reached for the restraints binding Molly's wrists, "I'm so sorry… I thought you'd be safe…"
Gathering her up into his arms, he carried her towards the door effortlessly, waiting until Matthew led the others in the direction of relative safety before he followed on behind.
"Let them go," Coulson demanded, although to who exactly his order was directed remained something of a mystery to Skye and Ward.
Until the three burly men dressed in civilian clothing came into view, their gazes focused squarely on Skye and Ward, the latter of whom glared almost pityingly at his former boss.
"Always did have to get others to fight your battles for you, Coulson."
Ignoring the remark, Coulson waved over the three Inhumans - clearly the subjects of some form of experiment. "Kill him, take her alive."
The three men ran at them with remarkable speed, two launching themselves simultaneously at Ward, who managed to send the first hurtling into the medical trolley at their side, despite being set upon almost instantly by the second. Skye battled the third with determination, grunting as she found herself thrown to the ground, but using that vantage point to sweep the guard's legs out from underneath him. He landed in a heap but quickly sprang to his feet and once again set upon her.
Ward cast a worried eye over to his girlfriend, blocking a flurry of punches from the guard who seemed to possess some degree of super human strength. Though his strength now outweighed Ward's, his fighting technique was lacking, and he had neither the agility or skill set required to take down the infamous Specialist.
Gritting his teeth, Ward grabbed hold of the man's shoulders and slammed his own head forward. There was an audible crack and pain ricocheted through Ward's skull but it wasn't severe enough to distract him from the fight. He quickly brought up a knee and rammed it home into the guard's groin, using the momentary surprise to seize the opportunity to peer into the other man's eyes. He found an air of vacancy there that was jarring, like the man was operating on instinct alone without a thought process to ground him. It was doubtlessly the work of Coulson and his lackeys, and Ward felt a pang of sympathy shoot through him as he realised that his fellow Inhumans had very little choice regarding their actions. However, it changed nothing about the situation at hand; given the opportunity, the three Inhumans would kill him without a moment's remorse.
Ward shot another quick glance towards Skye, who appeared to be holding her own well against the man that outweighed her by well over a hundred pounds. Grant looked away, returning his attention back to the man he grappled with, just as Skye grabbed a nearby tray and slammed it into the nose of her attacker, causing blood to spurt out over them both.
With a growl, Ward flung himself back into the fight, constantly wary of the positions of the other, human guards, as well as Coulson himself. From the corner of his eye, he tried his best to keep the director in his sights, convinced that he presented the greatest risk to them now. Therefore, Grant failed to see Lincoln skirting around the edge of the room, taking quiet and measured steps that brought him to a standstill in front of a small refrigerator. With a smile upon his lips, Lincoln slipped on a pair of blue latex gloves and retrieved the vial he required from the depths of the fridge. The tide was about to turn in their favour, and he couldn't help the feeling of smug satisfaction that knowledge brought with it.
x-x-x
"Keep moving, come on," Matthew encouraged, one arm wrapped around the waist of one of the Inhumans he had liberated from the lab - a middle aged man who appeared still to be too doped up to fully have control of his own limbs.
"Stop…" Molly insisted, her features twisting into a grimace as she rested a palm on Chase's chest.
"Sis, we don't have time to…" Matthew began to retort, abruptly trailing off as Chase stopped walking and lowered his girlfriend to her feet, just in time for her to double over and empty the content of her stomach onto the floor of the hallway. Chase grabbed her waist to steady her, free hand rubbing the base of her back as she continued to wretch and sob, her arm encircling her stomach.
"Honey, we have to get moving," Chase encouraged her, noting how the other female Inhuman they had rescued had drifted to Molly's side and seized her free hand, almost as though they had developed a kind of camaraderie during their captivity.
"It's gone, they took it," she wailed, falling onto her knees and running a hand through her long hair as she cried inconsolably. "It's gone…"
"What has? What are you talking about, Mol?" Chase soothed, trying to help her stand, even as her legs shook uncontrollably.
"The baby," she whispered, "I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry, Chase… I tried… I really tried..."
Chase swallowed hard, placing both hands on either side of her face and forcing her to look up at him. The desperation and agony he saw reflected in her eyes was like a punch to the gut, unparalleled to anything he had ever witnessed before and so raw it was almost a palpable entity.
"Hey, you listen to me. None of this is your fault," taking a steadying breath, Chase tried to swallow down his own heartbreak and then gently passed his girlfriend over to her brother, who instantly enclosed her in an embrace.
"Get her out of here… I'll catch up with you," Chase ordered, his eyes drifting momentarily to the other Inhuman woman, who was gazing at him with unchecked sympathy.
"Where in the hell are you going?" Matthew demanded, clinging tighter to Molly as she swayed unsteadily on her feet.
Chase stared levelly at the older man, his jaw setting in anger. Nodding towards the hall they had just made their escape from, he growled, "To settle a score."