Hayley stared up at the ceiling of her medical pod extremely bored. It had been two days since she and her sister had woken up after being given the drug that had saved both of their lives. She felt a heck of a lot better which is saying something considering she had been shot in the stomach. Twice. And yet she was still stuck in the pod, on bed rest. Hayley glanced at the door. It couldn't hurt to get out of bed for a few minutes. Just to stretch her legs.
Hayley slowly sat up, pulling the cover off of herself and carefully swung her feet around to the side of the bed. The brunette was about to stand up when Jemma suddenly appeared at the window of the pod, tapping on the glass. "No! What did I say?" the biochemist said before she opened the door and stepped in "I told you that you're on bed rest until I say otherwise".
"Jemma, I've stayed in bed the past couple of days. I just wanted to stretch my legs for two minutes", Hayley told her.
"Doesn't matter. You are supposed to be resting", Jemma shot back. Hayley sighed but she did as she was told.
"I don't see why I need to still be resting Jem", Hayley said as Jemma pulled the covers back over her "there's colour in my cheeks and I'm breathing without feeling like my whole body's on fire. I'm good. Honestly".
Jemma chuckled "you and your sister are as bad as each other. She said similar to me a minute ago", she said "and 'good' is not what the word I'd use for your state. You've been shot twice, had your stomach perforated, and a breathing tube shoved down your throat. "Better" is a more accurate word".
Jemma puts a vial into a port on Hayley's arm, drawing out some blood. "Again with the blood drive?" she asked "I'm not gonna have anything left". The young woman was starting to get a little suspicious with the number of blood samples Jemma was taking from her. "Not sure how I feel about Dr. Simmons. She's so strict", Hayley continued "and pokey".
"Well patient Hayley isn't exactly a model patient if she wants to ignore her doctor's orders", Jemma lightly countered.
"That may be but I'm grateful" Hayley gives her a smile "I hope you know that".
"I didn't do it alone Hales".
"Still, I'm the most…"grateful-est-est" patient alive", Hayley said and Jemma makes a face at that.
"That's…not even a word", she said though she was slightly amused by it.
Behind them, the Doctor appeared in the doorway and knocked, getting their attention. "This a bad time?" he asked.
"It is if you're here to bust me out", Hayley replied. She then dropped back into her original British accent "The warden has extended house arrest".
"That's a better impression than what Skye did", Jemma remarked.
"Well I have lived in England my whole life Jemma", Hayley reminded her, her voice now sounding a bit more like Skye's. A by-product of spending a little over a year with her twin.
"True", Jemma conceded "I'll leave you two to chat. Maybe you can keep her in that bed Doctor" and with that, she left.
"Be honest, how bad do I look?" Hayley asked "Jemma won't even bring me a mirror".
"You look fine", the Doctor replied walking over and sitting down in the chair.
"Liar", Hayley said, not believing him. She then noticed how tired he looked "you look like you need this bed more than I do", she remarked "maybe you should go get some rest".
"I can't. Not until I know you're ok", the Doctor said. Even though he could see she was looking a lot better, he still didn't feel right about getting some sleep. What if something happened while he was resting? He wouldn't be able to forgive himself. He would get some sleep as soon as Jemma says that she's well enough to leave the medical pod. Until then, he would occupy his time with doing repairs to the TARDIS and keeping Hayley company.
"Doctor, I know I've said this already but… I really am sorry for what happened. Skye and I should never have gone in there by ourselves. It was so stupid", Hayley said.
"You shouldn't beat yourself up over it Hayley ", Ward's voice spoke up. Hayley looked over at the doorway to see her SO standing there "You and Skye were brave. Thanks to you, every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in the country knows Mike Peterson's alive".
"You tell them about his magic leg?" Hayley asked.
"I didn't call it that, but yes", Ward replied entering the medical pod, coming to stand next to the Doctor's chair "Agent Garrett's running point on Mike. Thinks he's part of some project called Deathlok".
"He looked like death", Hayley said "You should have…he wouldn't even look at me. They did something to him. He needs help".
A flash of an upset expression briefly appeared on Ward's face "He's past help", he stated "He was there with you and Skye. He could have protected you both. He let this happen. And I'll never forgive that".
"Well, I –I need to better protect myself, so…when Simmons gives me the All Clear we'll start training again?"
Ward smiles and nods. "We'll ease you back into it", he said.
Hayley shook her head "No. I want to train harder", she said.
"Hales I'm not sure that's a good idea", the Doctor said. He was all for her going back into training so she could learn to protect herself better but it didn't seem like the best idea for her to push herself so soon.
"I need to train harder Doctor. Next time I don't want to depend on some miracle drug to save me", Hayley stated. She'd been lucky that there was a 'miracle' drug out there that was able to save hers and Skye's life. But next time she might not be so lucky. She had to train harder, to be better. So she could protect herself; protect Skye and Rose. Eventually Ward had to leave on account of being called to a meeting by May.
~planning room~
May, Ward and FitzSimmons stand around the table. "New orders. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s detecting massive energy readings in the skies above the California/Nevada border", May said.
"Where's Agent Coulson?" Ward asked.
"Taking personal time", May replied.
"That's a couple days straight", Ward commented earning a look from May.
"These are the same readings Dr. Selvig and Dr. Foster picked up in New Mexico and in London", Jemma stated looking at the information on the table "They herald the arrival of an Asgardian".
Fitz's mouth drops open in shock and he looks at the others excitedly. "Thor", he said.
"Not sure", May said not wanting to jump to any conclusions "Either way, S.H.I.E.L.D. wants us to be the Welcome Wagon".
"O-okay. Fine. No cause for concern, right?" Fitz points at War "Asgardians are allies".
"Loki wasn't", Ward deadpanned and with that he walked out of the room.
It turned out that the Asguardian was none other than Lady Sif. She'd come to Earth to hunt down another of her people, Lorelai who'd escaped prison. The woman in question had the power to command men through her voice and touch. The SHEILD team managed track Lorelai down to a biker bar called Rosie's Desert Oasis. Unfortunately when they went to confront the rogue Asguardian, Ward was put under Lorelai's 'spell'.
It was safe to say that neither sister was pleased to hear that their SO had gone walkabout with the person they were hunting. "So, Ward's what? Like, a pod person?" Skye asked.
Coulson shook his head "No, according to Lady Sif, the men Lorelei controls don't forget who they are or what they know. She just becomes the embodiment of all their desires", he explained.
Fitz, who was in the medical pod, scoffed at this. Jack who was also present looked highly offended too. Neither the Doctor nor Rose was around as one was catching up with their mother and the other was getting some sleep. Well… Hayley had practically ordered the Time Lord to get some rest. She'd even gone as far to threaten to use her ICER on him if he wouldn't go. Thankfully he did without protest.
"So once we find them we can break her mojo or whatever and get Ward back, right?" Hayley asked hopeful.
"Yes", Coulson replied "Once the collar's back on Lorelei's neck the enchantment ends, but that's the problem. The collar caught a shotgun blast back in the desert". He hands the damaged collar to Fitz. "You think you can fix it?" he asked.
Fitz takes the collar looking at it "Well…the metal, the weight, it's similar to the Berserker staff", he stated.
"But it presents with its own set of countless unknown variables", Jemma put in.
Coulson shrugs "Got a couple of hours", he said.
"Yeah", Fitz said knowing the agent was going to say something like that. And so he leaves the pod to start work on fixing the collar.
"What can we do?" Hayley piped up.
"And don't you dare say nothing or tell us to sit down here and count ceiling tiles while Ward is missing", Skye added giving Coulson a look.
"Ward's got drop boxes and storage lockers all over the world. They're filled with currency, weapons, I.D.s. He's gonna use aliases, cash, anything to keep Lorelei off the radar. You're the best radar we have Skye. Find them", Coulson ordered. He left the medical pod, Jemma quickly following after him.
Skye immediately got to work on her laptop. Hayley picked up the small tablet that was next to her and started typing away. Jack moved to stand by her while she worked in case he spotted something she missed or if she needed any help.
It was a couple of hours later when Skye cheered. She'd found Ward and Lorelai! "You found them?" Hayley asked looking up from the tablet.
"Yep", Skye said popping the p "if that woman is looking for an army of wealthy, pliable men…she's just found the jackpot". She turns the laptop around to show Jack and Hayley.
"Of course La Vegas", Hayley muttered. That was the perfect place for Lorelai to build up an army.
A few hours later…
Hayley, Skye, Rose and Jemma look up at the ceiling in confusion. They could hear the distinct sounds of the Bus' engines and a sort of pounding noise "We're taking off. Why are we taking off?" Jemma asked.
"And what is that pounding?" Skye questioned.
"I'll go and investigate", Jemma said to the twins, setting her tablet down on the bed "You two…"
"Stay put", Hayley interrupted "We know Jem".
Jemma went over to the door and tried to open it but found it was locked. She turned to the twins and Rose. "Someone locked us in", she stated.
Hayley got up from the chair and went over to the door. "Step back Jemma", she said raising her hand. The brunette closed her eyes and concentrated. She'd never tried to make the time vortex appear at will before, usually it just appeared whenever she was in trouble.
The British scientist backed away as Hayley's hand started to glow with a golden light. Then the glass in the door shattered. "You three stay here, I'll go check it out", Hayley told them, giving Rose a very firm look before she stepped through the broken door.
She made her way to the lab and entered, ducking when a fist was swung at her. "Jack?" Hayley said in surprise, dodging another blow "What is wrong with you?"
"Lorelai doesn't want you getting in the way", Jack replied "told me to do whatever was necessary to keep you here".
"Of course she did", the brunette muttered. She should've known that the woman had gotten to Jack as well as Ward. "Jack, you have to fight this. I don't want to hurt you", Hayley said blocking a blow with her arm.
"I highly doubt you can hurt me Hayley", Jack smirked.
"Well I guess you forgot that right hook I gave you in 1940", Hayley said "looks like I'll have to remind you". And then she attacked. Hayley had to be careful not to hurt the American too much as it wasn't his fault. He was forced to fight her thanks to Lorelai's control.
In the end the American was on the floor having been smacked across the face by a metal tray Hayley had grabbed. "Sorry Jack", she said. Her head snapped up, tightening her grip on the tray when she heard running footsteps. The Doctor and Coulson appeared. "Are you two…you?" she asked preparing to fight them both if she had to.
"Yes, we are", Coulson assured her. Suddenly Jemma and Rose appeared quickly followed by Fitz who was knocked out by Coulson.
Eventually Sif had subdued Lorelai and got the collar back on her, breaking the spell she had over Jack, Ward and Fitz.
~Skye's med pod~
Coulson looked at the twins who were sitting on Skye's bed and sighed heavily. He'd been trying to figure out the best way to tell them where the miracle drug that had saved their lives had actually come from all day. But after everything that had happened, he decided to just tell them the best way he could.
"I've been looking for a way to tell you both this, looking around for some answers, something to help…explain…" Coulson sighed again "But I don't have any. So…the drug, the one that saved us all– when we found it I discovered something else. Its source. It was…alien".
Skye raised her eyebrows while Hayley stared at him, mouth slightly open in shock. "A-alien. As in…unfamiliar?" Skye asked carefully.
Coulson shook his head "No", he replied.
"Oh my god", Hayley breathed. They were injected with something created from an alien.
"The minute I learned what it was, I tried to keep them from injecting you with it, but I was too late for the both of you. I'm so sorry", Coulson said, the guilt clear on his face.
"Coulson you were trying to save our lives", Skye said "You did save our lives".
"I was desperate to, and so I subjected you to unknown ramifications or side effects", Coulson told them.
"So?" Hayley asked "We are alive. And you've had that stuff in you for…uh, some time now, and you're okay, right?"
"She's got a point there", Skye agreed.
"I know nothing hardly phases either of you, but this should. We are completely in the dark on this", Coulson said trying to get the pair to understand.
"That's where we live", Skye pointed out.
"And we're both 0-8-4's", Hayley stated "Who knows what the hell that means? At least the three of us are in the dark together".
Coulson nodded "Yes", he agreed "But not for long. To hell with any protocols or any code I used to be bound by. We have a long list of questions that we need answers for, and we're going to go after them ourselves".
"Well, if the team's up for it – " Skye began when Coulson cut in.
"No. No, listen to me. I trust them, but we need to protect them from this. Fury went to dangerous lengths to keep this under wraps – lied to me, lied to S.H.I.E.L.D. This is a powerful secret, a secret men died for. Until we know why, we can't share this with anyone, for their safety and ours"
Skye and Hayley exchanged looks. Both of them knew that he was absolutely right. Hayley knew it wasn't going to be easy keeping this from the team, the Doctor, Rose and Jack but they had to.
"So, what'll be, A.C.?" Skye asked "What do we go after first?"
"The person responsible for this", Coulson replied gesturing at both their abdomen's "And we make him pay".