Author's Note: Hey ladies and gents, firstly I'd like to start off by saying thank you to everyone who has sent me comments and reviews about this story. Secondly this is the last chapter of this story, but don't cry because I will post a surprise chapter shortly after posting this. As for answering who exactly is Jaxx or whether there will be a Skye/Jaxx or "Skaxx" story in the future all I can say is stay tuned. Again thank you to everyone who follows the story and me as an author.

Disclaimer: The negotiations with Marvel have fell through and I officially own no Marvel characters no NOTHING, except my own lack of intelligence and of course my OC's. Enjoy.

Jaxx followed Coulson out of the office and the two headed on down to the lab, where Skye and Simmons waited impatiently. Their insistance to speak to him in person only fueled an already growng concern which grew in the back of his mind. Jaxx came along only because he was just as curious as Coulson was about this Subject X and the two wondered if there was any connection between this and what they had found on the island.

The discussion was halted when Coulson paused momentarily, catching Jaxx's attention. They stood just outside one of a few such rooms located throughout the base; what made this one unique was the distinctive sound of someone pummeling the hell out of a punching bag. Of course, both Coulson and Jaxx knew exacty who it was doing the pummeling, even before taking a step inside.

As they crossed the threshold, they stood there and watched for a few seconds as Agent Melinda May, Coulson's right hand, sent a flurry of kicks and punches to the bag dangling in front of her. Yet, almost immediatly after they entered the room May stopped and turned her attention to the two gawkers. Despite being exhausted, sore, and drenched in sweat May still managed to send them both a annoyed look, before responding with "Did you come here to spar or to stare and watch me sweat?"

Coulson couldn't help but grin a little at May's remark; afterwards he looked over at Jaxx who stared back for a few seconds it was like they were having a mental conversation. But Coulson quickly turned his attention back to May, saying simply "We need to talk..."

Level 2

Laboratory

A few minutes later

Skye-Simmons

(3 minutes had passed since Skye and Simmons spoke to Coulson on the phone, who seemed both confused and curious when he hung up. While they waited for him to arrive, the two decided to keep busy, with Simmons running more tests and extracting more of the blood sample from her shirt.)

Simmons- (The scissors cut through the fabric slowly,) Damn it all, I really liked this shirt. (She finished cutting off a large portion of the shirt which had the mysterious blood on it. After sitting the scissors off to the side, she took the sample over to her workstation and started extracting a sample.)

Simmons- (Once she has the blood sample, she places it between two slides and places it into the Electron Microscope.) *mumbles* "There we are. Now let's get a clearer picture of you now shall we.?"

(She looks through the lens of the scope, as her hand slowly turns the dials on both sides simultaneously, bringing the blood cells within the sample into focus. She watched vigilantly for a few seconds, before looking away and turning to the computer next to her. After typing a few keys a screen pops up, one which shows a real-time image of the sample in the microscope.)

Simmons- "Astonishing..."

Skye- (She walks through the door, her laptop in hand, sporting a grin.) "Sounds like someone has found something."

Simmons- "You have no idea, this sample is...well, extraordinary wouldn't even begin to describe it." (She turns her attention back to the monitor, tapping a few of the keys.)

Skye- (She walks over to the workstation and sets her laptop down on the counter next to Simmons. After opening it she quickly went to work,) Okay, now where did that file run off to... (Her fingers quickly glide across the keys, causing lines of code to pop up on the screen.)

(5 minutes later and Simmons was already running yet another series of tests on the blood sample, while Skye only grew more and more frustrated at the lack of results.)

Skye- C'mon, c'mon, give me something... (After tapping a few keys a screen pops up and on the screen was the words NO RESULTS FOUND.) "Damnit!"

Simmons- (She turns around and walks over to Skye, carrying the a few freshly printed papers in her hand.) Uh oh, that can't be a good sign. *concerned tone* "What's the matter Skye?"

Skye- What's the matter? Well let's start off with the fact that I've essentially wasted 5 minutes trying to trace where the file went, only to come up with jack-and-shit. How's that...Take a breath Skye, don't go blowing a gasket. *Glances back and forth from the screen on her laptop to Simmons* "The file it's gone,"

Simmons- "Yes I know, we both saw it being deleted in front of our very eyes."

Skye- "Yes but-when a file is deleted it's not completely gone; there's always some trace of it left behind, a-a line of code or a scrap of the file itself but there is nothing, like at all. It's like it just disappeared."

Simmons- *confused tone* "Is that even possible?"

Skye- *sarcastic tone* "Given what we've seen today, I wouldn't doubt it."

(Just then the door to the lab opened, catching both Simmons and Skye's attention as they looked up and saw three people walking in. Coulson, May, and Jaxx walked over to where Skye and Simmons were.)

Coulson-May-Jaxx-Skye-Simmons

Coulson- "Sorry we're late, had to make a pit stop." *Turns to look at Jaxx and Agent May then turns back to Skye and Simmons* "May knows what happened on the island, including what we found and what found us."

May- Yeah, and we're going to have a nice long talk about all of that, but for now we have other matters to attend to. "So, what's with all the secrecy and hush-hush?"

Coulson- *Turns to May* "Yeah, I'm also curious about that." *Turns to Skye and Simmons* "What was so sensitive that you couldn't talk about it over the phone? Is it about this Subject X?"

May- Subject X... *looks over at Coulson, somewhat shocked expression plastered on her face* It couldn't be-it has to be a coincedence. "Who's Subject X?"

Skye- "That's what I've been trying to find out, but the file is completely gone and there's no trace of it, like at all. It's like it never existed."

Jaxx- *dryly* "So someone definitely didn't want anyone finding out who or what this 'Subject X' is." Damn you Coulson, we just finished with one case and now we're looking into another; ugh, this is why I hate S.H.I.E.L.D.

Simmons- "The what was actually easy to determine." (She walks over to the computer monitor that she was using earlier and pulled up an image showing various chromosomes.) "I can definitively say that Subject X is definitely male, human and a very extraordinary one at that."

May- "And how is that?"

Simmons- *excited tone* "Well for starters, he has 25 pairs of chromosomes."

(The room fell silent, with Coulson and May shooting each other looks; niether was really sure what that really meant, and niether did Skye, but Jaxx on the other hand...)

Jaxx- 25, no that can't be right. But it's not like Simmons to make a mistake like that, not her. "Are you sure...25 not 23?"

Simmons- I'm insulted that he would even ask that. I mean really, out of all of us which one has 3 doctrines one of which-get a hold of yourself, no need to get worked up into a tissy. "Yes I'm sure. I've ran the test 3 seperate times, there's no mistake."

(Coulson and May seemed more confused than ever, mainly at the fact that Jaxx seemingly knew the signifigance of this finding. They're gaze settled on Skye, who began feeling a bit uncomfortable.)

Skye- "Don't look at me...high school drop-out remember?"

Jaxx- "Every man, woman and child has 23 pairs of chromosomes, meaning in total that they should have 46, but this 'Guy' has 50, it's impossible." (Everyone's questioning gaze fell upon him, including Simmons who seemed the most shocked out of all of them.) "What? Discovery Channel. *mumbles* I was bored."

(Everyone decided to ignore the fact that Jaxx somehow knew this and moved on.)

Coulson- "So this guy, how did he get these extra chromosomes?

May- "Genetic Mutation maybe, or some sort of experiment..."

Simmons- "I can't say for certain but I can tell you this much. Because of these extra chromosomes, this "Subject X" has the ability to heal himself almost rapidly."

(Everyone looked at her, stunned and amazed at the same time, all except Jaxx; the latter of which could feel his heart skip a beat and a knot in the pit of his stomach.)

Jaxx- Wait a healing-how can-am I...Subject X?

Skye- *questioning tone* "So wait, are you saying that this guy is an "Enhanced"?"

Simmons- *shakes her head* "No, not at 'tall. Every enhanced individual that we've studied had some sort of genetic anomaly. Subject X shows no signs of any such anomaly's. He is something new, something that we haven't seen before."

Jaxx- How can this-this can't be happe- Damnit, keep it together, don't break your cover, not now. "Where did this sample come from?

Simmons- (She walked over and grabbed a piece of shirt fabric that she had cut off for her sample. She showed it to the rest of the group.) "From this...Now, at first I thought that it could have been blood from one of the creatures that somehow found it's way onto my shirt, but..."

(She sets the piece of fabric down and goes to retrieve some papers from her desk. Afterwards she handed the papers to Coulson who glanced over them.)

Coulson- "They're not a match."

Simmons- "Exactly sir. I believe that there was someone else there, on the island with us and that somehow his blood ended up on my shirt."

Coulson- *Glances over at Jaxx briefly* I told him that she was smart, that she would figure all this out.

May- Just like the stories, from way back. But those were just stories, they can't be true...can they? "How fast can he heal exactly? Can't tell anyone, not yet, especially not Coulson; not until I have confirmation.

Simmons- "See for yourself." (She walks over to the keyboard and taps a few key-strokes and another image pops up. It's the same real-time image that was on the screen before, showing the white bloodcells moving rapidly.)

Skye- "Damn, they're really moving aren't they? Why are they moving like that?"

Simmons- "Well, it seems that the Subject's white bloodcells are in a constant state of Hyper-Mitosis. Essentially they're working at ultra high speeds."

Skye- "So what, this guy can heal as fast as Captain America or something."

Simmons- "Faster; at least by a factor of x5."

(Once more everyone looked stunned and shocked, everyone except Coulson and Jaxx, both of whom only pretended to be so.)

Coulson- "So this guy can just heal from any wound, instantly?"

Simmons- "That would depend on the severity of the wound sir, see..." (She walks over to the holo-table and presses the power button. Once it was lit up, she motioned her hands over the top, causing a 3d rendering of the human body.) "Regeneration is essentially a trade-off between speed and accuracy."

(Her hand motions to the left causing a new image of the human body to appear, this one had a missing arm and several wounds over the course of it's body.)

Simmons- "Perfect repairs, such as regenerating a limb for example, takes time to replicate perfectly." (She presses a few keys on the console in front of her and the image starts to show the missing limb growing back.) "This can been seen in the animal kingdom, usually in the form of salamanders, but never in mammals, such as humans."

Skye- "So what, we're looking for some giant Lizard-man, cause that is not happening."

(Coulson smiled a bit, while May hid hers. Jaxx on the other hand was less than amused as his mind quickly filled with thoughts, questions that he couldn't ask, not without compromising himself. Instead he stood there, pretending that all this did not faze him.)

Simmons- "No-no that would be ridiculus, besides that would require both genetic manipulation and causing a triggered mutation simultanously."

Skye- *grins and nods slowly* "Riight; I was actually joking about the whole Lizard-man thing Jemma."

May- "So this Subject X, is there anyway to help us identify him?"

Simmons- "I suspect that, a good portion of his body is covered in scar tissue."

(Jaxx's muscles tensed up, his blood felt like ice water and his heart felt like it was about to stop any minute. He swallowed hard and shot a quick glance at Coulson, who shot him a calming one. May was clueless to the secret, as was Simmons; Skye glanced over at Jaxx who was still glancing over at Coulson. Her eyes settled on his shirt, and that's when it truly hit her.

Skye- Scar tissue... (Her eyes widened briefly and her lips twitched.) His scars...could it-could he be Subject X?

Jaxx- "What does scar tissue have to do with it? If he does have the ability to heal himself then why would he have scar tissue in the first place?"

Simmons- "Think of our skin and muscle tissue as a sort of, fabric-like material; the scars are like the stitching, holding one piece of fabric to the other."

Coulson- That makes sense *Looks over at Jaxx* I've seen his file; nearly 57% of his body is covered in scars. Some of the wounds, I always wondered how he managed to survive them, and now I know.

Skye- (Glances over at Jaxx, who looked back at her.) I can't believe that he is this Subject X, of course, it does explain all those over-the-top stories about "The Sword" that Trip told me. I wonder if there isn't some hint of truth in them.

(He could feel her searching his eyes and when he looked into hers, it was clear that she figured it out. It would only be a matter of time before Simmons came to the same conclusion.)

Jaxx- She'll figure it out, she always does, but that doesn't mean that I can't throw her off my trail, even if it's only for a little while longer. "Was there any mention of this Subject in the files that we got from the island or from Shaw?"

Skye- (Everyone's eyes are on Skye now, causing her to be taken back, if only for a moment.) *clears throat* "The thumb drive we got off of Shaw is still downloading, and I've already started a search program on the digital files that we got from the island, but some of the files are either incomplete or corrupted."

May- "Is there anyway that you could restore them? It could give us a lead on the identity of this Subject X."

Skye- *shakes her head* "Sorry, it's impossible; there are entire lines of code that are missing, but if there's any mention of Subject X in any of the uncorrupted files," *shoot Jaxx a quick glare* "I'll find it."

Coulson- "Well, for now; let's keep it among ourselves."

Jaxx- "What about Trip or Koenig?" I just found out that I just might be this Subject X guy; I can't deal with anymore surprises, besides Skye seems like she figured it out, which means that I have to deal with that. Ugh, today has got to be the worst.

Coulson- "I'll inform them; til then, this remains in house, understood?"

(Everyone nodded in silent agreement.)

Simmons- "There's something else sir...Two of the chromosomes appear...off."

Coulson- *"Define off."

Simmons- (She presses a few keys and another image appears over the holotable, an image of the 49th and the 50th chromosome.) "I'm not completly sure sir; the blood cells have already started degrading, which makes it impossible to run a thorough test, but there's just something not right about them. Regardless we should try and find this Subject X sir."

May- "Why the sudden interest in this guy?"

Simmons- "Besides the fact that his blood could hold the key to cure countless diseases, he could very well be a powerful ally against Hydra."

Jaxx- Great, now my sister wants to turn me into some sort of lab rat. Sorry Jems, no one's poking me with any needles or any other kind of, evasive probing. Not going to happen.

Coulson- "I'll be sure to ask him, if and when we find him. Until then, Skye keep searching for any files even remotely mentioning this Subject X; that includes the ones that Romanoff leaked to the public."

Skye- "That's alot of files AC, it'll take some time."

Coulson- "Well, Fury said that we need to take our time and rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D., the right way; and that's exactly what we're going to do, so take your time, find out what you can. Until then, Simmons, the serum-"

Simmons- *meek tone* "About that sir, I destroyed it *gulps heavily* sir."

(The looks that she recieved from everyone in the room were a mixture of confusion and stunned.)

Coulson- "I didn't order the serum to be destroyed, so...I think some context is in order."

Simmons- "I think all of us, even Trip, knows the real reason why I volunteered to go the island and it had less to do with rescuing Dr. Streiten and more to do...with saving Fitz."

(The tone of the room suddenly changed, it was more gloomy and despairing than before.)

Coulson- "You wanted to see if they managed to recreated the original serum, and if they did-"

May- "You were going to use it...to save Fitz."

Simmons- *nodded* "But, after seeing what they created-what the serum had done to those people...As much as it pains me to say this," (It took everything to fight back the tears.) "I'd rather Fitz not wake up at 'tall than risk him turning into one of those things."

(The room fell silent, and the next few seconds seemed to last an eternity. Skye placed her hand over Simmons, a silent show of support for her decision. Jaxx nodded sympathetically, as did May; Coulson walked around the holo-table and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.)

Coulson- "I know it hurts, but it was the right decision." "We'll find another way to help Fitz, I promise."*Glances up at Jaxx*

Coulson's words not only reassured the team, but also provided a much needed ray of hope, which helped bring a sense of relief to the group that they had not felt in days. Moments later May left the lab, stating that Coulson had interrupted her before she had a chance to finish or even take a shower. Jaxx was about to say something that would have earned a death glare from May at best; lucky for him, Coulson stopped him, although he had to admit that it would have been quite entertaining to see what would happen. Instead she shot Coulson a grin, while Jaxx got a stern look, one which caused him to look somewhat nervous.

A grin formed on Coulson's face while Simmons and Skye share a chuckle, all at Jaxx's exspense. Shortly after, Simmons grabbed her notepad and continued her anyalse on the remainder of the blood sample. Most of the sample had started to degrade, but there was still enough for at least one more test; this test should confirm her theories that if properly handled, this ability could be temporarily transferred to another. If this turned out to be true then maybe there was hope to save Fitz, without turning him into a monster.

It took Skye a few seconds to re-program her search algorithm to go through not only the digital files within the S.H.I.E.L.D. archives in the Playground, but also the thumbdrives that they had gotten from Agent Shaw and the facility on the Island. With Coulson's permission, she also reached out to some of her Rising Tide contacts; every so often she would look up from the screen, her eyes fixating on Jaxx who was off with Coulson, whispering and mumbling to one another.

She knew that Jaxx was Subject X, or at least she suspected as much; all she had was her suspicions, but it was enough for her, it was always enough. Once the program was running on it's own, she closed her laptop and with it in hand she walked over to the two; who immediately stopped talking as she approached. She asked if the 3 of them could speak in private; when Coulson asked what it was about, she simply said that it would be more convinent for everyone if they were somewhere private.

Coulson seemed both intrigued and suspicious at her reluctance to speak, but when she gave a quick nods over towards Simmons, who was busy going over some tests results; it was clear that she wasn't willing to say anything else in front of Simmons. Coulson informed Simmons that both Jaxx and Skye would be with him in his office if she needed anything. She didn't even look up from the electron microscope, only responded with a simple yes sir.

With that, the three were off to his office; once they arrived, Jaxx and Skye entered first, with Coulson following behind, closing the door behind him. Now that they were somewhere more private, Coulson asked that obvious question, which was; what did she want to say, that she wouldn't say in front Simmons. Skye looked at Jaxx, and said in a questioning tone if her suspicions were right; if he was this Subject X that they've been talking about.

From this point on, Jaxx and Coulson decided to tell her, everything; no more lies, only truths...

20 minutes later

Coulson-Skye-Jaxx

Jaxx sat on the arm of the chair furthest from the door, his arms folded in front of him watching Skye sitting on the couch opposite of him. She's resting her head against the back, at the same time she stared at the ceiling, trying to absorb every bit of information that Coulson and Jaxx just tried to cram into her head. Coulson meanwhile was sitting on the edge of his desk, watching the young agent.

Jaxx- We should have eased her into all of this, I mean this is alot to process; hell, I can barely process half of it, even the parts that I do understand...

Coulson- (He turns around, grabbing the bottle of whiskey from before and pours what's left of the contents into another glass.) Damn, I was hoping to save the rest for later but... (As the last drop of whiskey falls into the glass, he looks over his shoulder to see that Skye is still staring at the ceiling.) she looks like she needs this more.

He places the cap back on the bottle, screwing on tightly; after setting it down he noticed that some of the carvings were peeking out from under the corner of the place mat. In one swift motion he takes the glass in one hand while sliding the mat over with the other.

Coulson- She has enough on her plate, without having to worry about this. This can wait...

With the glass in hand, he walks over to Skye and places the glass on the table in front of her. She finally lifted her head off the back of the couch and stared at the glass for a quick second before taking it in hand.

Coulson- "This should help with-"

Before he could finish Skye chugs down the whiskey in less than a second, much to Coulson's amazement.

Coulson- "Well, there goes the last of it." *shoots an dissapointed look at Jaxx*

Skye- I knew it, I knew there was something about him I just knew it. (Looks over at Jaxx.) *snarky tone* "I knew that there was something," *points at Jaxx momentarily before setting the empty glass down on the table* "Something off about you."

Jaxx- *jokingly* "Yeah well, you're not the first one to say that."

Skye quickly stands up from the couch, placing her hands on her hips.

Skye- *determined tone* "I wanna see it."

Both Coulson and Jaxx shoot her an amused look, trying their hardest to not laugh, as grins started to form on their faces. It didn't take long for Skye to realize exactly how it sounded.

Skye- That's not what I meant, like at all, *stammers* "I didn't mean it like that, I meant that I want to see you're thing," OH GOD SKYE, WHAT ARE YOU "NOT you're thing as in," *her hand motions at Jaxx's crouch* "I meant your-you know what I mean!"

Coulson and Jaxx could hear the slight hint of irritation in her tone, yet they still found the whole thing amusing; seconds later Coulson cleared his throat, which was his way of trying to rectify the situation.

Jaxx- "Sorry yeah-yeah I think I do." *he says slowly once the grin starts to fade* Wow-that was entertaining.

He looks over at Coulson without saying a word, his way of asking if he should show her his "gift", as Coulson would most likely call it.

Coulson- *lets out a heavy sigh* "I'm actually curious to see it myself so, by all means."

Jaxx nods before standing up from the arm of the couch and walking over to Skye. He was just a few inches from her and stared into her brown eye for a moment. His ears throbbed to the beat of Skye's heart, which started beating faster and faster; a smile crosses his face as he holds out his hand.

Jaxx- *his words were slow, precise* "Can I borrow your knife, please?"

She was so enthralled by his hazel eyes that she could barely hear what he said; her mind once more started to wander, bringing her back to the daydream she had before back in the locker room.

Coulson- Wow, I've never seen her like this. He did say he has a way with women, but I don't think Hill and Romanoff would agree. *clears throat* "Skye..."

Skye- (Snaps out of her thoughts, shaking her head in the process as she looked away from Jaxx's eyes.) "What-umm yeah," *clears throat* "Yeah here."

She reaches into her back pocket and pulls out a closed flip knife, gently placing it in his open palm. He closes his palm, and leans in closer for effect.

Jaxx- *whispers* "Appreciate it."

He gives her a quick wink before taking two steps back, giving both Skye and Coulson a clear view of what's about to come next. Using his thumb, he quickly flips open the knife and shows it off to Coulson then Skye. He then takes it in his left hand and opens his right hand, leaving his palm facing up; the tip of the knife is just barely touching the skin, which is when Jaxx noticed that both Skye and Coulson started to tense up.

Skye- Ugh, I'm starting to think-

Before she could finish her thought, using a portion of his strength, he plunged the knife into his hand; a mixture of shock and confusion flashed over both Skye and Coulson's faces.

Coulson- What the hell!? I thought he was going to make a little cut, not-

Skye- Jesus, what the hell!? That is not okay!

Jaxx's jaw clenched, and through gritted teeth he groaned as he slowly pulled the knife out of his hand. He made sure to do it slowly as to not fling his blood all around, giving great care to not bloody up Coulson's office. Red liquid drenched the blade all the way to the hilt of the knife, yet all eyes were on Jaxx's palm.

Skye-Coulson- *simultaneously in a shocked tone* "Holy crap..."

They're eyes widened as they watched the gaping wound going through his hand quickly start to close. All that was left behind once the wound fully closed was the thick crimson liquid still soaking his palm. Afterwards they shot each other a look before looking at Jaxx, who gave them a grin before walking over to Coulson's desk.

Jaxx- *neutral tone* "Where do you keep the towels?"

Coulson- "Left side, second drawer."

Jaxx nods and opens the drawer with his left hand, grabbing one of the grey towels placed within. He wiped away the blood from the knife blade then placed the towel in his right hand, before walking back over to Skye and Coulson. Throwing the towel over her shoulder, he closed the pocket knife and handed it back to Skye.

Jaxx- "Thanks."

Skye- *amazed tone* "No problem." (After glancing down at the knife, she hid it away in her back pocket.) I can't believe what I just saw. I've never seen anything like that before.

Coulson- (He takes Jaxx's right hand, looking closely at the palm and back.) Damn, I would have loved to have this when Loki shanked me bck in New York; would have been better that what Fury put me through. *jokingly* "Bet that comes in handy."

Jaxx- *briefly smiles* "You could say that."

Skye took Jaxx's hand from Coulson, her fingers slowly runnging through his palm.

Jaxx- That feels...nice. No, no, don't go there; besides she's way out of your league. Then again, Coulson said the same thing about Romanoff, and Sharon Carter.

Skye- This is amazing, not even a scar. I can see why Simmons wants to find him so badly...Wait a second. "Jaxx," (She looks up at Jaxx and he looks at her.) "What would happen if, we took some of your blood and injected into Fitz?"

Coulson looked over at her, thinking that she had just read his mind and snatched the thought from his head. It was a plan that he was planning on discussing with Jaxx in private, but put it on hold when Skye wanted to talk to them in private. Still, even seeing what his blood could do, Coulson seemed hesitant. Jaxx on the other hand was unsure of the whole idea and when Skye asked him why, he had no answer, just a feeling.

After discussing the concept for a few minutes, it was essentially Jaxx's decision, which didn't make the soldier feel any easier about it. No one could definitively know what the side effects of blood transfusion like that would be, for Jaxx or Fitz. Skye was more optimistic than either Coulson or Jaxx, stating that the side-effects would be better than watching him wasting away in a coma.

Coulson argued that until they had more information on what exactly Jaxx was subjected to as part of Subject X program. Jaxx stood there, listening to the two go back and forth, until he finally heard all that he needed to. He words were simple, saying that they needed to keep the doctors and everyone else clear of Fitz's room and that he would take it from there.

A slightly worried look flushed over Skye's face when she noticed how cold and distant the tone of his voice sounded. Coulson noticed it too, but it was the look on Jaxx's face that had him most concerned.

Medical

Room 3-Fitz, Leopold

Jaxx

He turned the corner, passing by a few doctors and Koenig, who congradulated him on a successful mission, desipte the loss of Dr. Streiten and the condition that they all arrived in. Jaxx tried to maintain his composure while Koenig went on and on; after a while he just tuned him out, his eyes occasionally looking down the hall at Room 3. Koenig told him that Mac was nearly finished fixing up the Iron Wing and that if he was interested, they could play a few games of Call of Duty before he went off into the sunset.

Jaxx- "I'll think about it." *gives a false smile*

Koenig- *excited tone* "Awesome, can't wait."

With that, Koenig leaves. Jaxx stands there for a moment, still wearing that fake smile, but as soon Koenig turns the corner, his smile quickly disappears and his face goes tant.

Bout damn time, now it's time to finish this, before there are any more interruptions.

He walks down the hall until he gets to Room 3, which is where he stops, standing in front of the door. Inhaling deeply, he holds it for a few seconds before releasing it; his eyes narrowed as if he were trying to see through the door. His hand quickly reaches up, grabbing the handle; his grip tighten and for a moment it felt like he could break it right off the door.

Slowly the handle turns and with a push the door opens and he's in the hospital room, but he's not alone.

Jaxx- *surprised tone* "Simmons,"

Even before she turned around he knew it was her, she always had a destinctive scent about her. When she did turn around, she looked surprised.

Simmons- "Jaxx, what-what are you doing here?"

She's surprised to see me here; that makes two of us. Then again, given what Coulson has told me about "FitzSimmons" and the way that Jemma gushes over him, I shouldn't really be surprised. Still, she can't be here; not for what I have to do.

Jaxx- "I figured that I'd stop by and see the guy that you've been ranting on about."

Simmons- *scoffs* "Please, I don't rant. Besides, he's the one that usually does the ranting." *she looks back at Fitz*

Jaxx walks over beside her and looks down at the motionless man in the bed before him. His eyes drifted towards the machine, beeping rythmatically off to the otherside of the bed. They followed the tubes leading from the machines to where they were eventually shoved down the comatose man's throat.

Poor bastard...you don't deserve this, none of you do. this only happened because their was a wolf in the herd.

Simmons noticed that he was staring at Fitz, his eyes had a hint of sadness in them; her hand interlocks with his, before she looks back to the expressionless face. He glances over at her, taking into account how exhausted she looked.

From the bags under her eyes, she hasn't gotten more than 2 or maybe 4 hours of sleep a day. It might work for a soldier, but not a biochemist and it all has to do with him. He makes her weak, makes her vulnerable; she can't afford to be vulnerable, not now, not when she has waded into a war with Hydra. I need to get her out of the room; I can't do what needs doing until she's out here.

Simmons- "I appreciate you stopping by, to see him." *looks over at Jaxx* "I think you would've liked him."

Jaxx- "Yeah. I'm sure I would have. Uh Coulson wanted me to send you his way, said that he wanted to discuss something with you."

Simmons- *sighes exhaustedly* "Well alright then."

Jaxx- "You mind if I hang here for a while."

Simmons shoots him a smile and leans up, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.

Simmons- "Not at 'tall."

She walks over to the door, grabbing the handle and pulling it open.

Jaxx- "Simmons,"

This caused her to stop in her tracks, turning to look him in the eyes.

Jaxx- *smiles* "Everything will workout...I promise."

A big smile engulfs her face as new sense of relief and comfort rushed through her; she knew that Jaxx consider a promise to be a sacred oath, one that he refused to break for any reason, and from what she could recall, he never broke a promise, ever. She said nothing in response, all she did was nod and with that she closed the door behind her, leaving Jaxx alone with the less-than helpless Fitz.

Jaxx turns back to Fitz, scowling at the tubes shoved down the bed-ridden Fitz's throat. He leans in close, his face just a few inches away from Fitz's.

Jaxx- *whispering* "I'm sorry...not just for what happened to you, but for what I have to do. I hope you understand, I have no ill-will against you. You saved Jemma-you gave her a chance to live; for that, there is no way I can thank you."

He stands up, slowly walking around to the otherside of the bed.

Jaxx- "But you have to understand...With Hydra out there, waiting, hunting...No one is safe, especially Jemma. This is a war, a war that S.H.I.E.L.D. could ill afford to lose. And if there is a way-if there is a weakness that Hydra could exploit, they will. Which means, that they'll make Simmons do whatever they need her to because you...are her weakness."

Once on the otherside, he looked over the machine that was keeping the engineer alive, breathing. Resting one hand on top of the machine, he looks back at Fitz.

Jaxx- "She loves you, even if she can't admit, even if she doesn't want to; I can tell. And it's because she loves you, that she's in danger. Because you are not able to defend yourself, because of the state your in, you put her at risk."

He placed his hand on the top of his head, gently brushing his curly hair.

Jaxx- *sad tone* "As I said, it's nothing personal. I just can't risk losing her, I won't."

Director Coulson's Office

7 minutes later

Coulson

Skye- "So, what you're saying is that it's possible? That it could actually work?"

Simmons- *nods* "It 'tis possible but again, we would have to take into account the variables of such an endeaver. It would require exstensive testing before we should even attempt human trials." *looks over at Coulson* "If you are indeed considering this as an option sir."

Coulson- "I am, and I agree with your assessment. We should tread carefully, because there's no telling what side-effects could come from using such a treatment."

Simmons- "Exactly. For that matter we still don't even know the side-effects of the GH serum running that you two were injected with."

Skye- *sarcastically* "Thanks, that's not at all reassuring."

Simmons- *looks over* "All I'm saying is better safe than sorry. We still don't know if the regenrative factor would even transfer to another subject; it could in all likelyhood exist solely for the prime Subject's benefit."

Coulson and Skye share a look, one which silently shares the concern of the other. Just then, a knock on the door draws everyone's attention.

Coulson- "Enter."

The door slowly opens and in walks Jaxx, looking a bit frazzled, closing the door behind him.

Jaxx- "Hope I'm not interrupting."

Whatever he did, it was quick; he couldn't have been gone for more than 5 minutes. I'm also curious as to why he looks so dis-shuffled.

Coulson- "Not at all; we're just finishing up. How's Fitz?"

Jaxx- (Takes a few steps before answering.) "No change." (Simmons looks at him and he at her.) "But as I said, everything will work out."

She nodded and once more a smile came over her face; he gently placed his hand on her shoulder which caused her to close her eyes momentarily. At the same time Coulson noticed Jaxx's face twinge for a moment.

Simmons- (She opens her eyes and looks at Coulson.) "If it's okay with you sir, I'd like to get back. Just on the off chance that he might wake up."

Coulson- *nods* "It's fine with me. Let me know if his condition changes."

She gives a simple nod, and gives Jaxx a hug; his face starts to twist, as if the meek little biochemist was crushing him with super strength. This time Skye noticed it as well, but as soon as Simmons lets go he hides it well behind a smile. She opens the door and leaves, closing the door behind her; not a second later, Jaxx slowly lowers himself onto the couch, grunting out in pain.

Skye and Coulson walked over to examine Jaxx, who had just rested his head against the back of the couch.

Skye- "You look like shit."

Jaxx- *jokingly* "You sure know how to sweet talk a man don't you."

Coulson- *stern tone* "What happened? What did you do?"

For a long, silent painful minute, Jaxx said nothing; he just stared up at the ceiling, while his left hand shakes. Coulson and Skye give each other a concerned look, before looking back at Jaxx, just in time for him to respond.

Jaxx- *distant, burdened tone* "I did...what I had to do."

When Coulson asked him to eleborate, Jaxx just sat there, resting his head against the back of the couch staring up at the ceiling. He stayed in that position, niether saying a word nor moving a muscle, just staring. Skye seemed unsettled by the fact that Jaxx hadn't moved or said a word in 30 minutes; to her he seemed distant, like he was trying to push everyone away and she didn't know why. Coulson on the other hand found Jaxx's behavior a little off putting, mainly because he had never seen him like this before, which is why he was worried, not just for Jaxx himself, but for Fitz as well.

It was soon after that Coulson asked Skye to go down to medical and check in on Fitz. At first she seemed dumbfounded by his intial request, but she eventually chalked it to being overly cautious and assumed that it had to do with the reason Jaxx went down there in ther first place. After she left, Coulson sat down across from Jaxx and for the first time in nearly 45 minutes Jaxx moved; lifting his head off the back of the couch and staring the DIrector in the eyes.

Coulson and Jaxx would have quite the discussion on what happened down there, and what exactly happened with Fitz. It would be quite the revelation, even for Coulson and one he promised Jaxx that he wouldn't share with anyone at all because it wasn't his secret to tell. The next few hours flowed rather smoothly, with Skye visiting Simmons in the Fitz's hospital room, checking and making sure everything was okay.

May had finished her workout and after a quick hot shower, she went to Director Coulson's office and hashed out a few things; which mainly consisted of her calling him out on some of the mistakes he made today, and how his being distant was affecting the team dynamic. He assured her that he would handle it and that if it became too much for him to bear, that she would be the first one that he'd come to. That earned him a rare smile from the veteran agent.

Mac finished repairing the Iron Wing, during which he contacted in secret someone named Gonzalez, who seemed very interested in this Jaxx that Mac told him about. After which he hid a tracking device on the Iron Wing, somewhere he thought that Jaxx would never find it, in the hopes that Gonzalez and his SHIELD could bring him over to their side. Simmons went back to the lab just as the test results finished, unfortunately most of the samples had degraded before the tests could finish leaving her with nothing else to work with.

After sharing a beer with the team and playing a couple games of Call of Duty against both Koenig and Mac (and winning by a landslide) Jaxx gathered up his things and said his goodbyes. He shook hands with Koenig who, despite his obsession with Lady Gaga and Call of Duty, seemed like a pretty cool dude. He also shook hands with Mac, during which he got a "feeling" that there was something off about this guy, but he played along for now.

When it came to May he stated jokingly that he would hug her but that she would probably lay his ass out on the ground, to which she replied that there was no probably. Regardless she gave him a hug and told him to keep his head on a swivel, which he took to heart. Next was Coulson, where they shook hands then gave each other a hug; that is when he whispered in the Director's ear to keep an eye on Mac, that there was something off about him.

Coulson maintained his usual demeanor, even after he and Jaxx stopped hugging; Jaxx's warning just confirmed his own suspicions and for that he was both grateful and irrate. A smile brushed over his face when he came face to face with Skye, who also sported a smile while holding out her hand. His hand engulfed hers, during which he jokingly said that he was going to give her a hug, but said that seeing him shirtless would have to do. This of course earned both of them some curious glances, one in particular from Simmons herself.

He leaned in close and whispered some advise concerning May's training and how to survive it; it was really simply and hard to forget...don't piss her off. With that the two share a laugh before going in for a hug. And last, but certainly not least, was Simmons who seemed to be the most emotional of them all. Her eyes started to well up and in response Jaxx gave her hug and held her; she stated that she hated to see him go, and for that he responded that he had to go, that there were still people who needed his help.

The embraced for a few more minutes before Jaxx placed a kiss on her cheek and begged her to be safe. Once he let her go, she gently grabbed the sides of his face and brought his forehead down to her lips, kissing it. She nodded and made him promise to keep in touch, for which he had no argument for. Minutes later the Iron Wing was taking off, hovering out of the hanger and once clear the engines lit up and in less than a second it was gone. A giant grin was plastered on Coulson's face and when May asked him why he had that grin, his response was simple and snarky; "Nothing it's just...he certainly knows how to leave in style."

The Director's Office

8:45 p.m.

Coulson

The room was filled with silence, that is until the sound of the door handle slowly turned pinged off the walls. The Director walked through the door, with his suit jacket in hand, looking tired and sore. After closing the door, he walked over to the couch closest to the door, tossing the jacket onto the opposite one. He sat on the arm of the couch for a second, placing his face in his hands and rubbing his face gently.

He lets out a long winded, exhausting sigh, after which he leaned back flopping down onto the cushions of the couch. His eyelids felt heavy and with each blink lasting longer than the last, he would soon be asleep. It wasn't long before drifted off, his mind going over the day's events, still trying to wrap his head around it all. Suddenly, the symbols started to appearing in his mind and with it came the urge.

His eyes shot open, staring at the ceiling for a moment before he sat up on the couch. He could fight it, push it back, but for how long? Soon his gaze drifted over towards the desk, resting on the place mat; he stood up and walked over to the desk, and stared at the mat. Something seemed to be pulsating from underneath it so; he slowly slid the mat over to the right and once more stared at the carving, gently brushing it with his fingertips.

It's not deep enough, it has to be deeper, his inner voice said and his fingers lingered there for another minute, before he forced them away. This has to end, I can't end up like Garrett, I won't. With that, he knew what he had to do; he reached for the encrypted cell that he had laying on his desk and flipped it open. He dialed 5 and hit the answer button and place it up to his ear; all he could do is wait and hope that they would pick up.

Unknown- "Hello, who this?"

Coulson- "It's me, Phil."

Unknown- "Phil? Haven't heard from you in a while, not since that whole thing in D.C."

Coulson- "Yeah I know; it's been a crazy few days, and sorry to call so late but...I didn't know who else to call."

Unknown- *worried tone* "Is everything alright? Is Melinda-"

Coulson- *reassuring tone* "She's fine Andrew, I promise. I'm calling because I need your opinion on a personal matter."

Andrew- "Look Phil, I appreciate you calling, especially after what happened, but umm..."

Coulson- *grimacing* "Please Andrew...you know that I wouldn't be calling unless it was a very dire situation. I need your help."

Andrew- *sighs* "Umm...okay. Yeah, I'll help Phil."

Medical

Room 3 - - 8:47 p.m

Simmons

She had been sitting in that same chair ever since Jaxx left, reading to the young comatose man resting in the bed before her. It was one of his favorite books, though he refused to admit to anyone that he actually read the Harry Potter series. She would often stopp and point out the descrepancies that existed within it's pages. One such descrenpancy she continuously pointed out was the fact that she couldn't understand why Hermoine chose Ron over Harry given that the latter was far more intelluctual than the first.

After a reading aloud for a while, she eventually stopped, setting the book off to the side. She grabbed the remote and turned on the TV that was placed in the corner of the small room.

Simmons- *flipping through the channels* "Honestly there's over 300 plus channels and not a single bloody thing on? Abosolutely ridiculous."

She went through all the usual channels, starting with Fox which was still playing coverage of the whole incident that happened in Washington. The reporter on the screen was tall, long-legged blonde; she talked about the public's perception of S.H.I.E.L.D still seems to have shifted. It was only when the reporter gave her opinion that Simmons really started to get irritated.

WHiH World

News Anchor female- "According to the to the recent poll posted by WHiH; it would seem that the general mistrust that the public has for institutes, like S.H.I.E.L.D., has gone down by a surprising 37%. When asked, most if not all responded by saying that in a world where Gods and Monsters fall from the sky, that the world needs something more to defend it."

Simmons- *mumbles* "Your bloody right about that."

WHiH World

News Anchor male- "Well Christine, what are your thoughts about this whole dissolution of S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

WHiH Christine- "Well, I think that institutes, S.H.I.E.L.D. in particular, if they're not able to protect us from incidents like what happened in D.C. or New York then they shouldn't exist at all."

Simmons face twists, a mixed look of annoyance and disgust as she rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

Simmons- *annoyed tone* "Yeah well, in case your forgot S.H.I.E.L.D. stopped Hydra from killing millions so," *imitates a fart noise*

She mumbles a few profanities under her breath as she quickly changed the channel before becoming completly irritated. Next up was NBC, where the newest episode of the Blacklist was already nearly over.

Simmons- *scoffs* "Of course it's a repeat."

Still, she watched it for a few minutes, listening to the character Raymond "Red" Reddington talking and after a minute she leans in closer to Fitz.

Simmons- *whispers* "There's something about that James Spader fellow...His voice is eeirily familiar, but I just can't put my finger on it, hmmmm."

Once again she changed the channel, this time it was the CW, only it was showing a re-run of the show Supergirl. The scene showed the main character Kara talking with her sister Alex and the newly outted martian J'onn J'onzz. This was the first time that she had seen the show, but already she was mentally debating on who would win between this Supergirl and Lady Sif.

Her hand encompasses his, meanwhile she changed the channel once more, this time her face lit up a bit.

Simmons- *whispers excitedly* "That's right, I forgot that the new season of Dr. Who was tonight!"

She was completely enthralled, her entire attention focused on the season premiere. Suddenly, she felt a tingle in her hand which quickly caused her attention and gaze to turn. After looking for a few seconds, nothing seemed out of the norm, but then something unexpected happened. His hand slowly squeezes hers, which in turn caused her to nearly leap out of her seat.

She leaned in closely, first watching his hand squeezing her tighter and tighter. A look of amazement flushed over her face and soon her sight fixated on his eyelids which started to flutter open. Her own eyes lit up as a smile spreads across her face.

Simmons- *excited tone* "Fitz...?"

September 23, 2015

10:28 p.m.

Location: Quebec

A mixture of blue, green and red light shone through the window of the hotel room; from what could be seen with the dimly lit space, the room itself was small, quaint even. In the hallway on the otherside of the door, footsteps could be heard approaching the room, stopping just outside the door. A second later, the sound of keys jingling echoed through the door, followed by the sound of a lock opening. The door slowly opened and a figure walked in, closing the door behind him.

Seconds later the figure flipped a switch on the wall, turning on the light and the ceiling fan which slowly rotated clockwise. The figure tossed the hotel room key on the end table next to the door; his footsteps were heavy, like that of someone that was completely and utterly exhausted. As he approached the bed, he stopped, taking off his jacket and tossing it on the bed. The jacket was a black leather jacket, with white trim on the cuffs and going down the front.

Some of the trim on the cuffs were covered in something wet, something crimson; the blood was fresh, no more than a few minutes old at best. Hiding within the inside jacket pocket was a small brown journal barely peeking out; it too was also covered in some blood. The figure walked into the bathroom, flipping the light switch; the light flickered on just as the figure walked over to the sink.

He reached out with his trembling hands to turn on the faucet; the figure looked up into the mirror before him, his pierceing gaze reflected back at him. His face was covered in cuts and bruises, with a few streaks of blood running down his brow and both sides of his face. Veins were bulging from both sides of his temple as he continued to stare unflinchingly into his own eyes.

Another dead end...6 fucking months and all I've got to show for it is-

He looked down at his hand, at the blood that drenched both his knuckles and his plams. Some of it was his, but mostly it was that of others, those who had answers that he needed, but refused to give. Eventually they told him everything that he needed to know, and more; still, he was losing himself in the violence and that he was not thrilled about.

Calm down, just-take a breath Jaxx, you'll find it, you'll find a way to-

Suddenly there was a humming sound throbbing in his ears, which snapped him out of the trance that he was in. He left the bathroom, with the sink still running, and walked over to the bed. He reached inside the left jacket pocket and pulled out a phone. His eyes lingered on the screen, squinting in recognition at the caller ID. He tapped the lower left of the screen and held the phone up to his ear.

Jaxx- *slightly irritated tone* "I told you, that I would call if I had anything."

The voice on the other end spoke quickly, and quietly which made Jaxx somewhat suspicious and concerned, but he chose not to comment on it. Instead he listened and waited for the inevitable question that he was sure to be asked.

Jaxx- "Yeah, I found the facility..."

*inaudible voice comes through the cell*

Jaxx- "No, by the time I got there those, Watchdog asshats had already cleaned it out. There was nothing left."

*the voice sound both distraught and angered.*

Jaxx- "Take it easy; I did manage to catch up with them, and I got'em talking."

He reaches down, pulling out the brown leather journal with his free hand, opening it to the first page, which had a name written on the inside; Symak, King of the royal family of Attilan. Seconds later he closed the book and tossed in back onto his jacket, before walking back into the bathroom. The steam rushed from the faucet as the water rushed into the sink. His fingers slowly went through the boiling water, yet he did not flinch from the pain, instead he accepted it, embraced it.

He became lost in the the pain, in the furious heating pounding away at his flesh; that is until the voice on the other end of the phone caught his attention once more.

Jaxx- "Yeah, I'm still here. Listen,"

*the voice on the other end becomes insisting*

Jaxx- "I might've found something, it could be nothing,"

*the voice tries to interrupt him*

Jaxx- *sternly* "If it turns out to be something, I'll contact you until then, you need to work things on your end, and I'll work them on mine."

*the voice sounds disappointed, but ultimately agrees.*

Jaxx- "I'll let you know what I find. Fitz...keep your chin up, we'll find a way."

With that the conversation ended, he ended the call; he placed the cell in his back pocket and turned his attention to his reflection.

Jaxx- "Whatever it takes,"

His grip tightens around the edge of the sink, his veins bulge out from under the skin as his muscles tighten and twist. Then something happens, the veins in his hands starts to throb, followed by a burning sensation. His skin felt like it was on fire and his knuckles started aching, itching just beneath the surface.

Jaxx- "Whatever, I have to do; whatever animal, or monster that I have to become,"

The pain grew more instense as the sound of bone cracking echoed off the tiled wall. It wasn't long after that his piercing gaze changed as well, with the veins in his eyes turning to a crimson red. His iris changed from a hazel color to a metallic blue, as something inside of him started to stir once more.

Jaxx- *growl* "I'll unleash it all; to bring you back. And God help whoever gets in my way."