The Perfect One

by choejhulkp9

SHIELD. The Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division protects the world from a much weirder one. But they soon meet someone with a unique ability set that makes him a force of nature. One of Earth's mightiest heroes will turn into its last hope from total annihilation. You don't mess with Inhuman perfection.

17. A Power Boost

Hello everyone, here is Chapter 17 of the Perfect One. The aftermath with the Dark Elves and the Aether puts Will back into rotation with Coulson's team to handle the cleanup but then they have to deal with a crazy Norse Cult and an ancient Asgardian weapon. Afterward Will deals with a personal matter when a friend of his goes missing and it puts him into contact with a manipulative and mind-controlling British jackass. But on the bright side Will gets some new powers. Enjoy!

The Perfect One: A Power Boost

The Royal Palace, Asgard

Odin sat high on his throne holding his spear in one hand with a judgmental yet surprisingly stoic look on his face. Surrounding him was his personal guard and off to the side was Friga. There were a dozen Asgardian soldiers and more of Odin's personal guard with their weapons drawn at Thor, Lady Sif, Fandrall, and Volstagg. Thor and his compatriots were brought before the All-father but surprisingly not in chains.

"You stand before me…my son and three of Asgard's finest warriors. Protectors of the 9 realms and defenders of peace. The epitome of the bravest soldiers of all of Asgard. Which is why your betrayal cuts so deep. My orders were clear yet you aided and abetted the escape of the mortals to Midgard in a foolish attempt to extract the Aether before the Conjunction…and in doing so, defeated Malekith, destroyed the Dark Elves, safely removed the Aether to return it to Asgard, and protected the 9 Realms from utter destruction." Odin said before signaled to his soldiers to lower their weapons which they did. "The 9 realms owe you all a debt of gratitude. As a king your acts of treason would warrant death or exile…but in light of recent events and the tragedy your actions have averted for Asgard, mercy will be shown but be warned. This will not happen again."

"Yes, All-Father." They all bowed their heads.

"Leave us. I would speak to my son." Odin ordered so everyone left the throne room until it was just Thor, Odin, and Frigga. "Your recklessness nearly endangered the kingdom and the 9 realms, Thor. You were lucky it succeeded as it did."

"Yes, you're right father but I had faith it would work. The mortals of Midgard who you discounted, the mortals I've come to know as friends proved themselves as I know they would. Perhaps this is why I saw what you couldn't and I believe it also to be the reason I cannot be king of Asgard yet." Thor declared causing his parents to look at him. "Father, I will protect Asgard and all the realms with my last and every breath but I cannot do so from that chair."

"Thor, what are you doing?" Frigga asked.

"I'm finally speaking the truth that has plagued my heart for a long time since my coronation. For years I thought being King was what I wanted but now I see I was wrong. Loki, for all his grave imbalance, understood rule as I know I never will. The brutality, the sacrifice…it changes you. I'd rather be a good man than a great king." Thor admitted.

"Is this my son I hear, or the woman the loves?" Odin wondered.

"When you speak do I never hear mother's voice?" Thor countered and Odin sighed. "This is not for Jane, Father. She does not know what I came here to say. Now, forbid me to see her, or say she can rule at my side. It changes nothing. I know I cannot be the king Asgard needs, the king you think I can be."

"One son who wanted the throne too much and another who will not take it. Is this my legacy?" Odin wondered.

"I shall try to live my life with honor. To be the prince and warrior the Nine Realms see me as. That I hope you and mother see me as. Is that not enough?" Thor asked before he held Mjølnir out to his father to take it back.

"It belongs to you. Whoever is worthy can wield Mjølnir and you still are." Odin said.

"I shall try to stay worthy." Thor said as Odin stood up.

"I cannot give you my blessing nor can I wish you good fortune." Odin informed him.

"I know, father." Thor replied. "I know this is not what you and mother dreamt for me but I feel it is for the best. I know there is still much for me to learn but to truly serve Asgard and the 9 realms I cannot do so from the restraints of the throne. I cannot be king."

"A wayward heart makes for a wayward king. Perhaps one day you may find yourself back here." Odin said.

"Perhaps one day but it is not now." Thor said before he bowed and walked away.

"If I were proud of the man my son had become, even that I could not say. It would speak only from my heart." Odin said as Thor turned around. "Go, my son. And know…that our love will be with you…always."

Thor smiled and nodded before he left. Odin sat back down and sighed as Frigga walked up and joined him. "Not how you expected this meeting to go, did you?"

"No, my queen. Thor has changed a great deal but I fear too much. His time on earth has changed him." Odin said in worry. "Changed him enough to turn you against me?"

"Never, my love." Frigga held his hand. "But I believe his time away on earth changed him for the better. His exile to earth was one of great reflection, humility, and change. The man Thor has become is something that neither of us ever expected him to be but I am ok with that."

"Thor is still young and reckless." Odin said.

"We were any different at his age?" Frigga pointed out. "But I feel this change was good for him. He is not you, Odin. He is not me and he is not Loki. He is Thor and he believes that he is not ready to be King. His heart is conflicted. You sensed it as I did."

"Asgard will need a king. Will he ever be ready?" Odin wondered and Frigga held his hands.

"I believe one day he will be." She smiled at Odin and he smiled back.

Down in the dungeons, Loki was still in his cell in the dungeons. He sat in a chair reading a book when he noticed four Asgardian soldiers walk up to his cell before they stepped aside and a cloaked figure stepped forward. While the cloak and hook hid their appearance, Loki recognized who his visitor was.

"Aren't you supposed to be in a cell, Lorelei?" Loki questioned and the figure removed their hood to reveal a female Asgardian. She was a beautiful young woman with reddish brown hair that flowed down her shoulders. Her eyes were an alluring bright green that seemed to draw you in the more you looked into them. She wore a green gown that hugged her figure nicely but not tightly while having a split on the side that showed off one of her legs. All in all she was a woman that would catch the eyes of virtually any man. But for those that did know her they knew she was one of the most dangerous criminals in all of Asgard. Loki would've considered calling her an enchantress if it wasn't for the fact that a certain other woman had already earned that title.

"I have to thank the little attack at the palace and the prisoner escape for my release. Once I managed to remove that infernal collar everything else fell into place. The guards down there are making sure that my escape hasn't yet reached the ears of the All-Father." Lorelei replied.

"Yet you know the longer your remain on Asgard the sooner your discovery will made. You must leave yet you cannot escape by the normal means afforded to you by the Bifrost." Loki deduced. "So, you've come to me to aid in your escape."

"Help me off of Asgard and I will free you from your cell. A fair trade." Lorelei offered.

"But how do I know that the second I'm freed of this prison that you will not turn your magic against me?" Loki pondered. H wasn't worried about falling under her control since his skills in magic were superior to hers. However if she had several of the guards attack him then that would cause a problem.

Lorelei knew Loki was playing for time so she needed a way to get him to help her. She looked at one of the guards and used her powers. "Once our business is concluded, you will stay behind and let Loki out of his cell. Tell no one of this." Lorelei spoke.

"Yes, Enchantress." The guard replied.

"Is that proof enough for you?" Lorelei asked.

"Fair enough. There are ways off of Asgard that the All-Father does not know of. And if you by chance desire to go to Midgard, may I offer a suggestion?" Loki offered and Lorelei nodded. "There is a Midgardian down there who I believe would help you immensely in your goals. A Midgardian with immense power…possibly as powerful as Thor. With him by your side, no one would be able to stop you."

"And what is the name of this mortal?" Lorelei questioned, finding the prospect intriguing, especially at hearing he supposedly rivaled the prince of Asgards himself.

"The world knows his as Aegis…but his name is William Alexander Detmer." Loki said with an evil glint in his eyes.

Line Break xxxxx

August 2013: London, United Kingdom

SHIELD was on full clean-up and containment duty after what was being called the Battle of Greenwich. In which Thor and the Avengers beat back an attack by Malekith and the Dark Elves in their attempt to use an ancient cosmic evil, the Aether, to wipe out all life in the universe. There were no causalities as Will's proper planning helped mitigate the damage the Dark Elves could do. There were some injuries and damage from the smaller Dark Elf ships that sprang out from the mothership as they had crashed down close by but no deaths. The news had a field day with the attack and also the Convergence with Dr. Foster and Dr. Selvig able to inform the media about what happened and the cosmic event that the world just witnessed.

The Avengers split up with Tony, Rhodey, and Bruce heading back to New York. Clint, Natasha, and Steve were recalled to the Triskelion and Professor Xavier and Logan went back to the Institute with Will thanking them again and giving them an IOU. Thor, Sif, Fandrall, and Volstagg returned to Asgard with the Aether. They were likely returning to certain death or exile but Thor needed to return the Aether as it wasn't safe on Earth. Will offered to go back to in order to help ease the trouble Thor and the others would get into. It was his fault so if anyone should feel Odin's wrath its him but they said no. This was there burden to bear. So, Will stayed in London since he would be the lead agent running point on the cleanup operation. SHIELD immediately put lockdown protocols at Greenwich university and at the crash sites of the smaller Dark Elves ships. SHIELD would keep the press and anyone else from entering the area while they secured it and any alien technology still around. Coulson and his team soon arrived to assist in the cleanup.

"In ancient times, people believed the heavens were filled with Gods and monsters and magical worlds. Then, as time passed, those beliefs faded into myth and folklore. But now we know the stories were true. Other worlds, with names like Asgard do exist. And beings once revered as Gods, like Thor, have returned. Leaving us with more question…and an enormous mess to clean up." Jemma Simmons remarked as she looked at the expansive alien technology clean up mess SHIELD was stuck with taking care of after the battle of Greenwich. SHIELD commandeered and took control of Greenwich university to use as their HUD for their operation. Extra SHIELD agents were called in to help categorize, organize, and deal with the mess.

Ward walked over and dumped another pile of rubble on the ground in front of Fitz. "Don't say I never gave you anything."

"Checking for alien spectrographic signatures, one teeny rock at a time." Fitz remarked as he was literally doing that. And it was as annoying as it sounded.

"A necessary precaution. We don't want anything alien getting into the wrong hands." Ward reminded him.

"Still, this is definitely the type of work a monkey could easily do." Fitz pointed out.

"You're our little monkey." Ward quipped when Simmons phone buzzed and she declined the call. That's when she noticed Fitz looking at her.

"Don't give me that look. I'll talk to them when I talk to them." Simmons told him.

"Talk to who?" Ward wondered.

"Mum and dad. They want explanations and answers for…well, all this. But I don't have any answers. And more importantly, I haven't talked to them since I was ill. And if they knew that, they'd be even more terrified, so, you know. Why waste any of our time, really?" Simmons answered, putting her phone away and getting back to work.

Coulson and May were walking through the same room with Skye and going through the various piles of rubble to sort through what was safe and what needed to be inventoried. Coulson and May were business as usual but Skye was still kind of in her fangirl mode over everything. "You guys may think it's old news but it's new news to everyone else. So, Asgardians are aliens from another planet that visited us thousands of years ago." Skye said, putting the more scientifically complicated explanation into layman terms.

"Or more." Coulson added, putting another piece of the alien rubble into the bin Skye was carrying.

"And because we couldn't understand aliens, we thought they were Gods?" Skye asked for clarification.

"That's where our Norse Mythology comes from." Coulson answered.

"Huh, that's so crazy. Do you think other deities are aliens, too? Vishnu for sure, right?" Skye questioned.

"You know, it'd be nice if, for once, Thor and his people sent down the God of cleaning-up-after-yourself. He'd probably have a magic broom for this kind of thing." Coulson remarked.

"I just wish they'd left their alien ship behind." Skye said.

"So, we can clean that up, too?" May pointed out.

"So, we could go inside. Take a peek under the hood, maybe take it for a spin." Skye suggested and that peaked May's interests. "Come on, you're telling me piloting an alien ship isn't on your bucket list?"

"I don't know about you, but I'd prefer to keep my feet and butt on this planet and in something made by humans." Will stated as he walked over and handed Coulson a data pad that had an update on their cleanup progress.

"So, that's a no on flying an alien spaceship?" Skye questioned.

"With my luck I'd press the wrong button and get sucked out the airlock. Or the alien toilet." Will quipped. "Besides, man wasn't meant to meddle medley."

"Wow, thanks Grandpa." Skye remarked and he just raised his eyebrow in response.

"Sorry, Skye but if being at SHIELD has taught us anything it's that human curiosity is a double-edged sword. The last time we messed with things we shouldn't have we had an alien portal open up over Manhattan." Will reminded her and she had to concede that. "Aegis did us all a solid by sending that mothership back into the portal to someplace other then here."

"Will's right. I can't think of a single time when anything alien in human hands ended well." Coulson added. "Well maybe one."

"One?" Will asked and Coulson gave him a subtle look. He was referring to the Primagen meteor that gave Will his powers. "Ok, yeah that one time definitely worked out."

"What one time are you two talking about?" Skye asked.

"Nothing." Coulson and Will replied at the same time.

"All right, weirdos but I think I know what you're talking about. It's Aegis. Has to be." Skye said. "I mean, he is the only Avenger who is still a giant question mark and you will not believe the conspiracies, ideas, and rumors people have been spreading on the internet."

"What are they saying?" May wondered.

"A lot of things. Some say he's a time traveling warrior from the future while others think he's an alien who crash-landed on earth years ago and was raised to protect the planet." Skye told them.

"So, basically these online conspiracy theorists are getting their theories from movies, comic books and think that Aegis is Superman?" Will put it bluntly making Coulson and May chuckle.

"Hey, I never said they were any good or original but considering everything that's happened since the Battle of New York the alien thing is a little less crazy." Skye pointed out and they had to concede that. "Not sure on the time travel thing unless SHIELD has been working on that as well."

"No, no time travel. No time travel, right?" He asked Coulson and got a nod in response. "No, no time travel."

"Well, I'll admit that I've tried to peruse some of SHIELD's files to get some info on Aegis, just to see if any of those conspiracies are true but nothing. It's like SHIELD has nothing on him." Skye said.

"It does but you don't have access to view them. None of us do." Will told her.

"Aegis's files and all relevant data on him, his missions, his powers, and everything is secured under level-10 clearance authorization. Only Director Fury has access to them." Coulson informed her.

"Wow, that's not creepy at all. The Director of an intelligence group has his own psychic super soldier only he knows about." Skye said and they shrugged. "Still, I'm not discounting the alien-theory. Would explain how he's so powerful but I do wonder what he looks like under the mask? Dreamy? Blonde hair blue eyes situation like Captain America and Thor or a more black hair black eyes one?"

"I'm going with Brain eating bug from Starship Troopers." Will joked. "Probably keeps that mask on for a reason so people keep their distance. It says something that he's the only Avenger who hasn't shown his face. We can't all be long flowing hair muscle gods like Thor."

"Oh, Thor. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on him. He's so dreamy." Skye admitted.

"Sure, he's handsome, but—"

"No. He's dreamy." May agreed with Skye and the two smirked before they kept walking.

"She's not wrong. He's got the thirsty part of the internet after him and he doesn't even have to try." Will quipped as he and Coulson kept walking. "Just FYI, I don't have self-esteem or confidence issues with myself."

"I know. How long do you think you'll be able to keep your identity a secret?" Coulson wondered.

"As far as I'm concerned? Forever. Helps that I can mess with minds that way." Will answered. "I've made a lot of enemies in this line of work and that was even before I put on the mask, came up with the codename and the Battle of New York. If people find out about Aegis then that number skyrockets. My enemies would go after the people I care about and they'd also try to kidnap me in order to figure out what I could do."

"You know SHIELD would never let that happen, right?" Coulson reminded him.

"I know Fury would stick his neck out for me. He and Hill would but if people found out who I was I don't think he'd be able to go up against the amount of pressure the people in power would put him under. They'd want me and seeing Fury protect me would turn things from complicated to bad in an instant." Will theorized.

"You've given this a lot of thought, haven't you?" Coulson remarked.

"Ever since the battle of New York. Fury's sworn everyone who's ever seen my powers to secrecy and I've taken some precautions but I know if the truth got out then I'd be in trouble. I guess it comes with the territory. I save the world but I know I have to keep my secret or else I get my own Lex Luthor trying to clone me." Will said and Coulson looked at him weird. "Sorry, my Superman remark has those comics and movies in my head. At least I don't have a Kryptonite weakness."

"Sure, you just have to be careful of what could normally kill a human being." Coulson pointed out and got a shrug in response.

"In fairness, if I was to actually die like a regular human from a bullet or knife then the person would need to be either extremely skilled or invisible to my brain which I highly doubt. Especially with what happened after I pulled the Aether from the body."

"What do you mean?" Coulson wondered.

"I'm not sure why but I felt different after I managed to extract the Aether." He said and Coulson was intrigued. "Better, obviously considering I didn't have a primordial cosmic entity slowing draining my lifeforce and threatening to turn me into a husk of dark matter but also different. Stronger, like after I interacted with the jewel in Loki's scepter and got the power boost in time for the Chitauri invasion."

"You think the Aether could have done something similar? Given you a power boost?" Coulson suggested.

"I think so. I'm not sure exactly how since I wasn't able to test myself afterward. Had to keep up appearances and went from Aegis to Will Detmer and coordinated things here. I gave Dr. Banner a brain scan and a blood sample." Will replied.

"You think he'll be able to find something wrong with you?" Coulson asked. He was concerned but also knew that Will gave his vitals to two people who could help him. Dr. Banner was a genius with biology and biotech so he'd be able to find something wrong if there was something wrong.

"Hopefully, there's nothing wrong with me and I get another power boost like I did before. I'm hoping for either energy absorption or, hear me out…talking to animals." Will suggested and Coulson just shook his head in disbelief. "It could come in handy. I mean can you imagine if I could talk to pigeons? Those birds are everywhere watching people."

"Takes the term stool pigeon to another level." Coulson quipped.

The team continued to assist in the cleanup until they were called to lead the investigation in a possible O-8-4 and enhanced individual event. Meanwhile, Dr. Foster and Dr. Selvig were in their flat in London with Darcy and her intern. They were eating breakfast together and still sort of recovering from everything that just happened. Jane, more so about Thor.

"He's gonna come back. Except last time he was gone for, like, two years." Darcy said.

"Well, it's only been two days, so…" Jane pointed out.

"Did he say anything before he left?" Dr. Selvig asked.

"Yeah, he had to figure some stuff out with his father. He and the others kinda committed treason…on our way out." Jane explained and went back to her bowl of cereal.

Knowhere, Deep Space

Lady Sif, Fandrall, and Volstagg were escorted into a strange building that looked more like a zoo considering the large glass cages holding various things both living and not. A young Krylorian slave named Carina was escorting them to her master. "I present to you, Taneleer Tivan, the Collector." She bowed and the Collector stepped forward. He was distinctive with his white hair, furred coat, and the sense of superiority he carried himself with.

"Oh…Asgardians, it's an honor." He bowed as Sif and the other two looked around. They didn't like where they were but they had a job to do.

"You know why we're here." Sif told him.

"Of course. But, if I may ask, why not keep it secure in your own vault?" The Collector wondered.

"The Tesseract is already on Asgard. It's not wise to keep two Infinity Stones so close together." Volstagg stated.

"That's very wise." The Collector replied and Sif handed him the containment box holding the Aether. "I can assure you, it will be absolutely safe here, in my collection."

"See that it is." Sif warned him and they left right after.

"One down…Five to go." The Collector muttered as he looked at the Aether and smiled.

Line Break xxxxx

Trillemarka National Park, Norway

The team arrived at the Trillemarka National Park to start their investigation. The two individuals were gone with whatever they took from the forest so now they were playing catch up. Ward was helping Simmons get through her fear of falling from heights to get readings from the tree they carved while Coulson spoke with the Park Ranger who saw everything. He had a partner but the enhanced woman punched him so hard that she killed him.

"There was so much screaming, and so much hate in her eyes." He recounted.

"And you said she had a silver stick?" Coulson asked him.

"Steel, maybe, I don't know. It, um, it had decorations on it."

"Could you describe or draw them?"

"I didn't get a good look, I…I ran." He sniffled a bit. "Who would do something so evil?"

"I'm, I'm sorry for your loss." Coulson consoled him just as Simmons found some readings and relayed everything to Fitz on the Bus.

"This forest is a protected reserve. I mean, who do they think they are?"

"Anything else? Details. Anything that might help us to find these people or where they might be hiding?" Coulson questioned.

"Coulson." Will called him over and showed him the footage that Skye sent him on his phone. "I don't think they're hiding anymore."

The news footage Skye sent them was of a seriously violent attack in Oslo, Norway that stemmed from some kind of riot. The police tried to stop it but they were barely any help as a dozen people led the riot. They weren't regular rioters as they seemed to have super strength with two in particular, a man and a woman leading them. Will showed the Park ranger the image of the two leaders. "Is this her?"

"Yes." The ranger nodded.

"Guess we know who they think they are." Coulson pointed out as the rioters left a burning message in the streets of the riot. We are Gods. The group returned to the Bus to go over the data they had and to locate the group behind the attack. Thankfully with the data they managed to identify the two leaders.

"Jakob Nystrom, 30. Girlfriend, Petra Larsen. Leaders of a Norse paganist hate group." Ward identified the two leaders to Fitz, Simmons, Skye, and Will.

"And the numbers are growing thanks to what happened in Greenwich, and thanks to the Internet. Yay internet she said sarcastically." Skye remarked.

"Norse paganist?" Simmons was confused.

"Obsessed with anything derived from Norse mythology. Stories of Asgard." Skye explained.

"And now these morons have a weapon." Will remarked as he picked up the 3D model that Fitz printed from the scan Simmons did.

"The scan only accounted for one side. Too much damage to the tree for complete reproduction." Fitz said.

"But see here? It's clearly broken on both ends." Simmons added.

"So, there are more pieces?" Ward asked.

"Yeah. Two, at least." Fitz replied.

"Which means Sid and Nancy may be looking for a complete set." Ward theorized.

"So, we find the rest of this thing before they do and in the process we may be able take them down as well. Whatever this thing is may give them super strength but I doubt super strength alone will protect them from a .45ACP bullet to the head." Will said, looking over the 3D model.

"That's a little severe, isn't it?" Simmons asked.

"So was their attack in Oslo that put countless people in the hospital. These people lost the right to peaceful talk and negotiation the second they started hurting innocent people. We stop them before they hurt anyone else." Will stated and everyone nodded in agreement. "I don't suppose any of us can read Asgardian?"

"Not fluently." They heard as Coulson and May walked into the lab. "The Asgardian symbolism has always given us trouble. Their hard to translate with our limited knowledge."

"You should give your buddy, the God of Thunder a shout. He gets his power from his hammer, right? What if this is his nail to the hammer?" Skye suggested.

"I already did. Director Fury told me he's off the grid. And if he has a cell phone, we don't have the number." Coulson replied.

"SHIELD's investigations are on the trail of Nystrom and his followers." May told them.

"We're charged with identifying the object and finding any other pieces before they do." Coulson added.

"They seem to have some advantage. They found this thing in a 150 square kilometers of Norwegian forest." Ward pointed out.

"Guys, what if it called to them with magic?" Skye wondered and most if not everyone chuckled at the idea except for Will and Coulson.

"Called to them?" May clarified.

"We know it's Asgardian, so the rules are a little bendy here." Skye reminded them.

"Just because we don't understand something yet doesn't mean we should regress back to the Dark Ages, talking of magic and fairytales." Simmons told her with Fitz chuckling in agreement.

"Actually, that's exactly what we're gonna do." Coulson said.

"Excuse me?"

"Really?"

"When we first found the hammer in New Mexico, I consulted one of the world's leading experts on Norse Mythology. Elliot Randolph. A professor at a university in Seville. We'll leave immediately. Maybe he can tell us more about these marking." Coulson suggested.

"All right, then. On to Spain." Will added.

Seville, Spain

Coulson went to speak with Professor Randolph at the University in Seville with Fitz and Simmons and thankfully it was the right move. The Professor was able to fill them in on the item taken from the tree. It was something known as the Berserker Staff, an ancient weapon from thousands of years ago when the Asgardians more readily came to Earth. It was an old 12th century legend about an Asgardian warrior in the Berserker army. Like their names suggested, they fought like raging beasts, destroyed everything in their path, put the warrior into a state of uncontrollable rage and gave them the strength of 20 men, which explains the super strength they saw. According to the professor, the warrior with the staff ended up falling in love with earth so he stayed behind when everyone else returned to Asgard. The warrior broke the staff into three pieces and hid them away with three abstract passages of a legend being the key to finding them. With three passages from an abstract legend leaving them with little in the way of finding the staff the professor gave a lead that didn't exactly pan out.

"Did you know there's a Mount Thor on Baffin island?" Coulson said to Will and Ward as they walked through the BUS.

"I bet Thor will love to hear that." Will remarked. "Judging by your tone I'm guessing things didn't go well there."

"No, they did not. You know what's not on Mount Thor? Anything Asgardian at all. Our agents on the ground haven't found a thing." Coulson told them.

"So, that takes us back to square one. Skye, anything?" Will wondered as they walked into the main communication room.

"Nystrom's Deep Web message boards are just abuzz with psychos. They believe they're gonna ascend to be the Gods of Destruction and death. People suck, sir." Skye answered.

"That's your progress? People suck?" Ward asked.

"She figured out the world's universal truth. Most people on the internet suck. Don't worry. SHIELD will be paying them a visit later. Anything else?" Will questioned.

"Nothing but there's also chatter about going underground." Skye added.

"Could mean going incognito…"

"Or searching for the next piece. The Professor said to check Viking routes? Find any others?" Coulson asked Skye.

"There's some sites along the Volga river in Russia. Some in Kiev, and weirdly, here." Skye pressed the touch table and the map zoomed in on Seville, Spain.

"In Seville, Spain?"

"It's a long shot, but Vikings sacked Seville twice." Skye told them.

"We found one promising location with Viking relics. El Divino Nino, a church built on the ruins of an 8th century crypt, built on Roman ruins from 206 BC." May added.

"East of a river and a lot of bones. That could work." Will admitted.

"Let's see what we can dig up." Coulson told them. "See what I did there."

"Ugh…" Will just shook his head and walked away.

"I thought it was funny." Skye said and Coulson smiled.

Coulson and Fitz were stationed in the SHIELD van outside the church while Ward, Will, and Skye went down into the crypts. Ward took the west entry, Skye the east, and Will the south. Will managed to make his way through the church and down the stairs when he saw a locked gate preventing entry down into the crypts so he looked at the lock. A second later it opened and fell to the ground allowing him to open the gate and make it through.

"Ugh, spider webs…" Will knocked them out of the way before taking out a flashlight and the scanner. He looked around and didn't see anything with the scanner not picking anything up either. "I'm in the south part of the crypt. Got nothing yet."

"Keep looking. What about you, Agent Ward?" Coulson radioed.

"Wishing I was shorter. Nothing yet. All my readings are normal." Ward replied.

"What about you, Skye? Any luck?" Coulson asked.

"I'm lucky my SO volunteered to take the super creepy hallway, instead of the slightly less creepy dungeon room place. I got nothing. Sorry, nada." Skye answered.

"Look for a big grave or tombstone marker. If this Berserker staff is so important it's likely hidden someplace important that wouldn't be touched." Will suggested.

"You raid a lot of crypts in your missions, Will?" Skye wondered.

"One, actually. But that place in the crypt would likely be the most sacred and probably best protected." Will suggested.

"Uh, Ward your spectrograph is reading something near you." Fitz radioed him, picking it up via his scanner.

"I don't see anything." Ward replied.

"Well, it's right in front of you. Oh, wait, no. Uh, ok, hold on. It's moving. North west." Fitz told him.

"Visual contact." Ward replied so Will made his way to his position. "Ran into some unexpected…"

"Ward?" Will called out but got no response. "Ward, you there?"

"Ward, what's happening?" Coulson radioed and Fitz showed him that Ward's device went down. "Skye, Will, can you get to him."

"Already on it." Skye replied as she and Will rushed through the crypt. She turned and corner and ended up running directly into Will but he managed to catch his feet so they didn't fall over. "Geez. What are you made of granite?"

"Marble, apparently." Will quipped as they kept moving and saw Ward on the ground.

"Ward, are you all right?" Skye asked, touching him and Ward jumped. He gasped for air and scrambled away like he was terrified of something. Will didn't need to read his mind to sense that someone happened. "Hey, hey, hey. Whoa…Grant, calm down, please. Calm down."

"The staff…he has it." Grant muttered.

"Something's wrong with Ward. The staff's gone. Someone took it." Skye radioed to Coulson.

"Skye, get Grant to the van." Will told her and she nodded while he pulled out his pistol and kept moving forward. "Coulson, I'm gonna try and pick up the trail of our thief. Keep an eye out for anything odd."

"Roger that."

Will made his way through the crypts and eventually found an exit that led back up and exited the church from the north side. Once he walked out of the church and back on the street, that would normally be the point where anyone would lose the trail but not Will. He quickly used his telekinetic sense to get an overview of the area. Like a highly advanced radar in his head, he was able to see everything and anyone and he found what he was looking for. He sensed the Berserker staff but not just one piece but two and there was a group of people.

Will swerved around or pushed past people on the sidewalk as he ran a block up the street into a parking lot where he saw a man knocked down onto the ground while another picked up a small metal stick. The man was holding a bag with a similar metal stick protruding out from the end. He had three other men and a woman with him. Will immediately recognized the man and the woman as Nystrom and Larsen.

"SHIELD! Get down on the ground and put your hands on your head, now! This is your only warning!" Will marched forward with his gun aimed at them.

"You cannot kill a god!" Nystrom shouted in rage before he grabbed the back of a nearby sedan and hurled it at him. Will sensed there was a couple behind him so he quickly turned and dove to the ground, tackling the couple as he did so the car sailed over them and crashed onto the street.

"Run!" Will told them and they ran while he rolled onto his back and fired a bullet, hitting Nystrom with a nice clean shot through the shoulder. "Last I checked Gods don't bleed!"

"Kill him!" Petra Larsen shouted as she and one of the men of her group ran with Nystrom awhile while the remaining two stayed behind and charged at the SHIELD agent. Will did a kip up back to his feet and quickly sidestepped a feral charge from one of the terrorists before raising his gun. The second terrorist knocked his gun away and tried to punch his head off but Will ducked the punch and the sidestepped his kick before kicking out his feet so he fell to the ground. He then stomped on the man's left knee, breaking it before he grabbed him by the leg and hurled him into a parked car with his own super soldier strength. The man hit the ground hard when Will was grabbed from behind.

He seethed as the terrorist was hellbent on crushing him in half so Will flexed his arms and pushed back. His super soldier strength was impressive but the Berserker Staff clearly imbued its users with more so Will threw his head back, hitting his attacker in the nose. The man's grip loosened, allowing Will to break his grip, twist his arm and then break his elbow before using his telekinesis to snap the man's neck. His body crumbed to the ground as Will walked forward and hovered his pistol back into his hand. The man he threw into the car managed to get off the ground so Will just killed him with a headshot.

"Well, that was dramatic." The professor said as he sat on the ground in dismay with Will keeping him in his sight. They heard some footsteps and Coulson arrived to see two dead men and Will holding the Professor at gunpoint.

"Professor?" Coulson wasn't expecting to see him here.

"I screwed up." The professor admitted.

"That an understatement." Will remarked.

THE BUS

Will restrained the Professor and they returned to the BUS where they put him in the Cage. Coulson took point in interrogating the Professor while he had Will stay with the rest of the team in the medical lab. He wanted him there in case there were any adverse effects to Ward touching part of the Berserker Staff. Simmons was already giving him a thorough medical checkup but Will was there in case something bad happened.

Ward was sitting on a stool with his arm in a blood pressure monitor while Simmons and Fitz monitored his vitals via the sensor nodes placed on his chest. Skye was there watching as was Will who was off in the corner. "This is ridiculous." Ward said, feeling agitated and kind of tensed up.

"It's anything but. Ward, you passed out. And you were acting not right." Skye told him.

"Coulson ordered me to give you a full workup and that's exactly what I'm doing." Simmons added. "Um, before you lost consciousness, were you feeling claustrophobic?"

"Why?"

"She's ruling out a panic attack." Fitz answered.

"I don't panic. Ever." Ward stated.

"There we go. Ruled out." Simmons remarked.

"Touching the staff caused it, right?" Skye asked and he nodded.

"Any residual effects? Are you exhibiting any extra strength?" Simmons asked but he was too focused on the monitor that showed Coulson interrogating the professor.

"Why don't I find out on that guy?" Ward suggested.

"Why don't we not do that." Skye stopped him from pursuing that train of thought.

"What's the last thing you remember before you lost consciousness?" Fitz questioned and that seemed to be something Ward didn't want to talk about.

"This is a waste of time!" Ward stood up and removed his arm from the blood pressure monitor in a huff. "We need to find the staff."

"And we will Ward. SHIELD's already got its feelers out and are tracking down Nystrom and Larsen so calm down." Will told him but Ward was just agitated and tense. The rational part of him understood that but that part of his head wasn't really working right now and he was just pure adrenaline.

"What exactly did you remember?" Fitz questioned again.

"Something I hadn't thought about in a long time." Ward answered.

"Why don't we just leave it alone?" Skye suggested but Fitz and Simmons began arguing that they should keep doing the test.

"Quiet!" Ward shouted, getting them to shut up. "I want to hear this."

Ward watched the monitor as Coulson interrogated the professor. The Professor said he was there to study the Berserker staff and prove the legend was real but it didn't take SHIELD training to know that was a load of bull. Before Ward could hear more the monitor shut off and the person responsible for that was Simmons.

"What are you doing?!"

"Your heart rate's rising, adrenaline's spiking. You need to calm down, not get worked up." Simmons told him and Ward realized she was right so he took a deep breath and tried to calm down but it was like he physically couldn't. Like his body was hotwired to stay like this.

Skye saw Ward was agitated so she leaned forward to try and help him. "The memory, was it about your brother?"

"Drop it."

"Ward, if you need to get it out, I am here…"

"Right. To talk. Because that's what you do. Talk and talk. Don't you ever get tired of hearing your own voice?" Ward spat out and Skye backed up, clearly frightened.

"Ward, stop." Fitz touched his shoulder causing him to jump and ready to throw a punch but he stopped himself.

"Well, this makes more sense. Ward, what you're experiencing, this feeling? It's chemistry." Simmons told him.

"I hope so." Skye remarked.

"Yeah, spikes in his adrenocorticotropic hormone. It's like those stories you hear when a mother is able to lift a car to save her baby. An adrenaline surge can create a massive—"

"STOP TALKING!" Ward shut her up. "Just fix it!"

"I wish I could. We can relieve some of the symptoms. I'm going to give you 10 cc's of benzodiazepine." Simmons suggested.

"Chill pill. Good idea." Skye said but that just pissed Ward off.

"A sedative? Not gonna happen."

"Yeah, well, be reasonable. Look how you're behaving." Fitz pointed out only for Ward to get in his face.

"And if I'm sedated and we cross paths with those juiced freaks, the ones who flip cars and smash people up, are you gonna take them out? Keep us safe? Or am I gonna have to save Simmon's ass again?" Ward remarked causing Fitz to shrink back in fear.

"Ward, calm down." Will warned him. "We're on the same side here."

"Oh, he speaks? Our fearless second in command who all but walks on water and has Coulson's complete trust despite the fact that we know nothing about you and you've been gone for so long. You know, there are a lot of things about you that don't add up and I'm not the only who has noticed. I don't know how the hell you got such a high security clearance but just because you do doesn't make you better." Ward told him off. "Hey, maybe it's nepotism. Clearly that's the only explanation. What's the matter? Your dad got you your way here into SHIELD and now you're trying to prove you actually deserve to be here?"

"Ward, back off." Will warned him one last time.

"Oh, what's the matter? Did I strike a nerve? Well, what are you gonna do about it?" Ward asked, ready to throw a punch.

"Ward, calm down." Skye told him.

"I am calm! Stop telling me to calm down!" Ward shouted in her face.

"Ward!" Will shouted.

"WHAT?!" He turned only for Will to shoot him in the chest. Skye, Fitz, and Simmons jumped in shock as Ward fell back onto the floor but there was no bullet hole or blood coming from his body. The three looked and saw that Will had used Fitz Night-Night pistol to knock him out and didn't actually kill him. He put the Night-Night pistol on the table and walked over, hefting Ward up and onto his shoulder.

"I'll put him on his bunk. Don't worry. He's just got too much adrenaline." Will assured them before walking away.

"He's right. That was just a biochemical reaction. He didn't mean any of that." Simmons said.

"No, I know." Skye replied.

"No explanation necessary." Fitz added.

Will walked up to the living area and dumped Ward onto his bunk, closing the door after he did when he saw Goose laying down on the couch. "Meow."

"No, Goose. He's fine. Just all adrenaline crazy." Will told him when he saw May walk over.

"Ward?" She asked and Will nodded.

"Used Fitz's Night-Night gun to put him to sleep. He'll be better when he wakes up." Will figured. "But he's clearly got some anger issues he needs to work out. I'd suggest therapy."

"You go to therapy?" May asked and Will nodded.

"I do, every now and then. Had to when I first joined SHIELD training." He answered as he walked over to the kitchen. Goose walked past May and they both followed him. He was getting some stuff out of the fridge and making a quick snack and some food for Goose. "I was against it at first but eventually I found it helped especially after the stuff I ended up getting involved with before I was made a SHIELD agent."

"Very interesting situations from what I read. I don't know many SHIELD trainees who are responsible for viciously taking down the Albanian mob in Paris and then dismantling one of the world's largest human trafficking rings." May pointed out.

"What can I say? I was motivated. Although I got chewed out a lot for that and I'm still banned for Paris." He shrugged. "You've been reading up on me, haven't you?"

"I have. I've been with SHIELD for a long time but never have met an agent with your kind of record. It's impressive." May admitted. "Along with the long list of infractions put against you for breaking protocols."

"I'm allergic to bad intel, bad orders, or idiots. Thankfully Coulson isn't one of them and most of those infractions are on the whole dress policy thing." Will pointed out as he poured Goose's snack into his bowl. The Flerken jumped up onto the counter and began eating while Will got some grapes for himself. "I look like a funeral director when I wear a business suit, anyways. Anything else you want to know?"

"A lot. SHIELD SOTD specialists are rare but one with such a classified personnel file is even rarer." May pointed out. "There's not a lot about you on there."

"For good reason but if you want to know something all you need to do is ask. I'm a fairly open book." Will admitted. Granted, not when it came to his powers but other than that yes.

"Ok. What about your father?" May wondered as Will popped a grape in his mouth.

"Be a little more specific? My birth father or my adopted father? I'm guessing you mean birth father since in my personnel file, which you probably do have the clearance to access, it has him listed as my birth father." Will assumed.

"I take it you don't have a good relationship with him." May deduced.

"We don't have any relationship." He corrected her, giving Goose a scratch on the head. "I've never met him."

"Never? Not even when you joined SHIELD?" May questioned and got a head shake in response. "Why?"

"Why would I want to meet him?" Will postulated.

"So, you never wanted to know where you came from? Like Skye?" May wondered.

"Growing up I did." He admitted. "As an orphan you always wonder about your birthparents. Where were they? Why did they give me up? And the only two answers to those questions are that they were dead or didn't want me? For me, it's the latter. I learned about my birthparents when I was made an official SHIELD Agent. John Garrett met my mom in a bar, 9 months later I came out and she gave me up for adoption. She didn't want me and he doesn't even know I exist and I'm fine with that."

"You sure?" May asked, detecting a slight tone of resentment. It was subtle but there.

"I buried my parents, my real parents, in a cemetery in Atlantic City three years ago. We all have things in our past we're not fond of. I imagine you do as well." He pointed out and May decided not to push the topic plus he had a point. Will scratched Goose on the head one more time before taking the bowl of grapes. "I'm gonna go see how Coulson's doing."

Coulson was in his office, watching the security camera footage in the Cage of Professor Elliot Randolph. Their Norse Mythology expert being there at the monastery with the second piece of the Berserker staff in hand before they did was suspicious. Unfortunately, Nystrom and Larsen got to him before they did and took the piece. Will's intervention allowed him to take down two of Nystrom's followers and proved that the staff only gave them super strength and not any enhanced durability. Coulson's instincts were telling him that there was more then the professor was letting on and thankfully the person who could help him find that out just so happened to walk into his office.

"Hey. Grape?" Will offered.

"I'm fine thanks." Coulson replied. "Something wrong?"

"No but FYI, I shot Ward with Fitz's Night-Night gun. He was going a little adrenaline heavy so I gave him a nap. He should be fine when he wakes up." He told him.

"I wager Ward won't be happy you shot him." Coulson pointed out.

"Well, he was shouting at Fitz-Simmons as well as Skye and trying to goad me into a fight. Clearly the dude has some issues but it's more physical then psychological at the moment. I didn't pick up any signs of mental manipulation from him. It's just the staff surging his adrenaline and as always, that can impair good judgement." Will stated. "I read Ward's file so clearly the staff brought up some unwanted memories or feelings."

"I'll talk to Ward when this is over but thank you." Coulson told him.

"Don't mention it." Will smiled and walked over to join Coulson at his desk. Both were now leaning on his desk and looking at the security camera footage of the professor. Coulson conceded and took a grape from his bowl.

"I can't get the professor to talk." Coulson said to him.

"Wow, that's a first." Will commented.

"You know why, don't you?" Coulson pointed out.

"Sure do. Read his mind the first chance I got in the parking lot and boy did I see a lot." Will remarked. "Care to have a little fun with this?"

"What did you have in mind?" Coulson wondered.

"What was one of the first things you taught me?" Will asked him. "In a situation where your target is bluffing…"

"Bluff harder to get him to reveal his hand." Coulson finished the sentence and Will smirked.

"Let's have a little fun with his."

A few moments later…

The Professor was still seated in the Cage when Will opened the door and walked in, still holding his bowl of grapes.

"Feel like talking yet?" Will wondered. "Coulson got to play bad cop."

"And you're good cop?" The Professor asked, getting playful.

"No, I'm worse cop. Start talking." Will warned him.

"I already told Agent Coulson everything I know." The Professor answered.

"Well, we both know that's a lie. Last chance." Will warned him but the professor kept his mouth shut. "All right. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Will pulled out a small handle from his belt and pressed a button, extending the blade of his Microtech Combat Troodon OTF knife. He stabbed it at the Professor's collar bone but the Professor shot his hand up, grabbed the blade before it could make contact and bended it away from his body. The professor didn't so much as blink or have any readable expression while Will just smirked as the door opened and in walked Coulson.

"Something you'd like to tell us, Asgardian?" Coulson asked as he looked at Will. "Looks like you were right."

"I know. Shame about the knife. It was my favorite." Will remarked.

"Ok, I have to know…" The professor broke the handcuffs on his wrists to free himself. "How did you figure me out?"

"Did the math. One, you're not the first Asgardian I've had in custody. You guys don't flinch or panic in captivity. Two, a Waterfield 44 on a lit professor's salary?" Coulson remarked and the Professor conceded that as a screw up on his part. "I don't think so. And lastly, when I tell someone I've had some one-on-one time with an alien, they tend to be a little curious."

"Well, you're certainly more observant then most, Agent Coulson but I was referring to him." The Professor pointed to Will who glanced up at the cameras and saw they were turned off giving him the opportunity to act freely so he looked at his knife and the bended blade quickly flattened out like nothing had happened. "Impressive."

"I can do a lot more then that." The professor heard in his head, looking around to see where it came from and saw Will's eyes glowing.

"A psychic. Very interesting." The Professor admitted.

"And the man who stopped Loki and the Dark Elves so keep that in mind if you try to escape." Coulson warned him and the Professor relented. "So, you're the Asgardian warrior who stayed."

"Kind of a douchey move to write your own autobiography though." Will commented.

"I didn't write it. I didn't want anyone to know about me. Then I had to open my big mouth." The Professor said.

"What? Were you captured? Tortured?" Will wondered.

"Horny." The Professor admitted causing Coulson and Will to share looks of confusion. "I met a French girl in 1546. God, she loved stories. So…I told her a great one. All about the peaceful Asgardian warrior who stayed. Now, how was I to know her brother, the priest, would write it all down and turned it to, I don't know, a thing?"

"Do you know Thor?" Coulson questioned.

"Oh, sure. I spent days palling around with the Prince of Asgard. No, of course not. I was a mason, I broke rocks. For thousands of years, if you can imagine that. So, when they came asking for people to fight, yes, of course I signed up. I think, really, I just wanted to travel." The Professor admitted.

"And the staff?" Will asked.

"I hated that thing. The other guys loved all the power that comes with the rage. No. I didn't like it at all." The Professor said.

"We know it gives the user super strength but what does it do exactly. And be specific." Will told him.

"Well, I could go into detail into all the Asgardian runes and magic woven in but in the simplest of terms it shines a light into your dark places. Doesn't matter if you're human, Asgardian, or whatever. The effect is the same. Unpleasant. It was a forged from a rare metal and reacts to whoever is holding it. Or interacts. I went to such great lengths to make sure that the staff wasn't found. Unfortunately, since the myth was written down, people have been searching for it for centuries." The Professor told him.

"We need your help to find the last piece of the staff before they do." Coulson told him.

"No. I am a pacifist now." The Professor replied.

"And you don't want to risk your identity being discovered." Coulson added.

"Listen, I wouldn't worry to much about these angry youths. They always calm down. And eventually, they die of old age. And that is one of the pleasant aspects of life here. Everything changes." The Professor smiled.

"I think you're confused. Asking for your help was more of a curtsey then anything else. You see my friend here…" Coulson referred to Will. "…he has more experience with Asgard then any human on this planet. He's actually good friends with Thor. So am I. So, with one phone call your anonymity is gone and Thor takes you back to Asgard where he puts you in a cell for desertion. Or just keeps you there so say goodbye to Earth and all the pleasant things you enjoy."

"Failing that, I can force myself into your head and get the information I want. And don't think I can't." Will warned him. "Asgardians may be tough but I figured out who you were and I've broken Loki's mind so don't think I can't do the same to you. And considering that I was recently the host to a primordial dark matter entity that was trying to kill me and managed to remove it from my body, I'm more than strong enough to make you talk. So…after you going to help us or am I going to have you fly you into space and throw you into the sun?"

Will's eyes glowed a fiercely powerful shine of blue and the Professor felt the air around him get thicker like something was pressing against him. The professor's smug visage quickly vanished and he nodded like crazy, letting Will ease up on the force he put on him. "It's in Ireland. It was one of the first places I fell in love with. The monks at a monastery gave me a place to sleep, some food and some mulled wine so I hid it there."

"Near god." Coulson recounted the third poem from the Berserk Staff legend. Now that they had a location, May flew them to Ireland as fast as possible.

Ireland

The Bus touched down on a runway in Ireland and the team was getting ready for their journey to the monastery. Ward had waken up and managed to come down from the adrenaline high of the Berserker staff. He walked down the stairs into the cargo area near the med lab and saw the team getting ready. He was suited up to go into the field so he walked over to speak to Will who was sorting through his bag of gear.

"Considering that you're vertical I'm guessing you're feeling better." Will pointed out.

"Yeah." Ward took a deep breath followed by a sharp exhale. "Look, Will…"

"Ward, it's ok. It was just the staff. I know that and so do the others." Will assured him. "Water under the bridge."

"Thanks." Ward nodded.

"Don't mention it." Will loaded his pistol and slid it into his thigh holster. "You sure you want to go out? You can stay here and rest up."

"No, I'm fine. Coulson cleared me." Ward answered. "So, the Professor is an Asgardian?"

"Yeah, the Asgardian from the legend. He might be able to answer any questions you have." Will handed him the case holding the tracking bracelets, giving Ward a reason to go over there and speak to him. Ward took them and walked over to get some answers. Suffice to say from how he slapped the case shut and stormed off he didn't like it. Skye saw that and walked over to Will.

"Hey, Will. Uh, you think Ward's ok to go out into the field? He's not exactly acting like he usually is."

"But he knows that. Coulson wouldn't have cleared him to come with us if he didn't think he was ok." Will assured her but then showed her that he had the Night-Night gun in his pack.

"You think you'll need to use that again?" Skye wondered.

"No but you can never be too sure. Number one tip you should remember going forward, Skye? Always have a backup plan." Will told her and she took that advice to heart. After a short drive they arrived at the monastery that the Professor told them about. It was late so there was no one around as they walked in.

"It's been a while. I wonder…Ah. Yes. Still here." The Professor walked over to a table and saw the book about his legend. He turned the page until it stopped on a drawing of him. "Well, the nose isn't quite right, but…"

"That's you?" Fitz asked.

"Yeah. They venerated me a bit as a saint." The Professor explained.

"They're idiots." Will and Ward said at the same time. Saying that at the same time caught them off guard but they focused on the thing they were here for. "Where's the staff?"

Saying that at the same time was also odd.

"That was weird." Skye admitted as the Professor led them up to the second floor of the monastery to the small alcove overlooking the rest of the church.

"It's quiet." May remarked.

"Why do you think I trusted these people with my secret? They take a vow of silence." The Professor removed a false bottom from an old wooden cabinet but it was empty.

"But when you get them talking, they squeal!" They heard as Jakob Nystrom walked around the corner, holding the final piece of the Berserker staff. He then stabbed it into the Professor's chest causing a large spurt of blood to hit him in the face. "If you want to defeat a god, you must become one."

He held up another piece of the Berserker staff as Will and Coulson got in front of the others and ushered them back. Ward stepped over to the Professor's body and despite the psychological torment he would go under he grabbed the piece of the Berserker Staff in the professor's chest and yanked it out. "RAHHH!"

Grant roared in anger as he tackled Nystrom over the railing and crashed on the ground floor of the church. Nystrom lifted Grant up over his head and smashed him through the church pew or benches/chairs. "That's not good." Will remarked.

"We need to help him." Skye rushed over to the stairs so May and Will looked at Coulson.

"We'll get her." May told him, following Skye with Will while Coulson, Fitz, and Simmons tried to stop the bleeding and save the Professor.

Nystrom picked up Ward and punched him in the face but Ward bounced back and punched him in the gut and then headbutted him. That didn't deter Nystrom as he just grappled Ward and then threw him across the room. Ward bounced off a stone pillar and hit the floor but quickly got back up. He picked up a broken piece of wood and hit Nystrom in the side, sending him staggering to a knee before knocking the Berserker staff piece out of his hand and kneeing him in the chest. The impact sent Nystrom flying across the room and into a wall but he quickly got back up.

"You can't stop a god!" Nystrom shouted when a bullet tore through his skull and he slumped to the ground dead. Ward looked and saw Will lower his gun but kept it ready.

"Easy, Ward. Drop the staff." Will told him.

"Ward, stop." Skye told him.

"Get away from me." Ward warned her when they heard some shouting and saw a dozen of Nystrom's followers enter the church. They were hollering and shouting, clearly amped up by the effects of the Berserker staff which meant they now had a dozen super strong morons to deal with. They all gathered around and shouted so Ward stepped forward to deal with them. He picked up the piece of the Berserker Staff Nystrom had and felt another surge of powerful emotions before he charged forward. Like a crazed running back, Ward began tearing through Nystrom's followers like they were nothing. Clearly the power from the two pieces of the Berserker staff was making Ward stronger then Nystrom's followers who likely only touched one piece. Ward knocked two guys into the wall before smashing a third into the bench and whipped three across the heads with the pieces of the staff. It was both amazing and terrifying to watch. Seeing Ward take down a dozen of Nystrom's super charged followers gave them a glimpse of what the Asgardian Berserker army was capable of and the damage that Nystrom's followers could do if they got the pieces. Thankfully they didn't and Ward beat down all of his attackers either killing them or knocking them out.

When it was all over, Ward slumped to his knees mentally and physically exhausted from what just happened. He dropped both pieces of the staff and fell forward. Skye rushed over to him and put his arm over her shoulders to support him when they heard the side door open and in rushed a dozen more of Nystrom's followers.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Skye grumbled. Ward sighed and managed to get to his feet before taking a few steps to reach for a piece of the Berserker staff when May stopped him.

"This time, let me help." She said and he nodded, slumping back with Skye pulling him away. May sized up the number of enemies when they were all gunned down in rapid succession either taking bullets to the head or multiple rounds to the chest in the heart area. In about four seconds all of them had dropped to the ground dead. May turned her head and saw Will was the shooter using his HK pistol and his spare Glock 17 akimbo-style. He ejected the empty magazines and reloaded his pistols when he noticed the looks he was getting from Ward, Skye, and May. "What? Did everyone forget we have guns?" Will asked them in disbelief before holstering his pistols.

"How did you know that would work?" Skye questioned.

"I shot Nystrom in Spain. The staff just makes them strong. Doesn't give them invulnerability." Will reminded them.

"And you didn't try to shoot them earlier?" Ward asked.

"I was going to when you rushed in to attack them." Will pointed out when Petra Larsen and another follower walked in. Will unholstered his pistol and looked at May. "Want me to do this?"

"I got this." May said and he nodded. She grabbed both pieces of the staff and charged, sending the follower across the room with a strike from the staff. Larsen tried to kill May with her piece but May blocked all her attacks and then disarmed her before tripping her onto her back. Larsen's piece then vibrated before quickly latching onto one of May's pieces, forming a solid link. She then attached the third piece and the Berserker staff was complete once more.

Larsen managed to get back to her feet with a stumble and wasn't deterred. "I am not afraid of you."

She charged in a misguided attempt to kill May who just knocked her out with a strike to the face. "Well…that was badass." Will remarked and Skye nodded in agreement as May dropped the staff onto the ground.

One hour later…

Backup arrived and secured the scene which mainly dealt with disposing of the dead bodies or arresting Petra Larsen and any of her followers who were still alive. Will did a quick mind read of Larsen when no one was looking and got all the information on her Norse Paganist Hate Group including all its members and their hideouts. He'd send an message to Interpol later so they could round up the stragglers. Without their leaders or the Berserker Staff they wouldn't be an issue anymore. While Ward, Will, Skye, and May dealt with the staff, Coulson, Fitz, and Simmons managed to save the Professor.

"Coulson did that? He just shoved his hand inside his chest?" Skye asked in disbelief.

"Well, he had to. I froze. Didn't know what to do." Simmons said.

"Hey, you didn't freeze. You just weren't up for the idea of putting your hand inside somebody else's chest." Fitz assured her and she nodded. She got a phone call from her parents and instead of ignoring she took the call.

Ward was sitting on a bench off the side with May next to him. "When you held it…did you see anything?" He asked and she nodded. "Then how? How did you hold all three?"

"Because I see it every day." She replied before walking away.

Coulson was crouched next to the Berserker staff, where it had been after May put it down. A part of him was tempted to touch it just to see what it felt like. "I know that look." The Professor commented. "You're tempted. So, what is it you want to see?"

"You and I have something in common. We've both been stabbed in the heart." Coulson stood up and took a step away from the staff. "I was killed. Well, almost. I'm hazy on that. Afterwards, it's kind of blank. I have no memory of being revived, of being in a hospital. Just woke up a few months later."

"And are you haunted by it, Mr. Coulson?"

"No. Not exactly."

"Then what's the problem?" The Professor wondered and Coulson couldn't answer that. The professor spared a glance over at Will who was speaking with one of the SHIELD agents tasked with the containment of the Berserker staff. "If I were you and you really wanted to get some answers…your psychic friend may be able to help."

"I know. I've thought of asking him." Coulson admitted.

"So, I guess the question you have to ask yourself is if knowing the truth will really make you feel better…or if living in ignorant bliss is more preferable?" The Professor postulated. They then stepped back from the staff as two agents walked over to place it into its containment case for transport.

"So, can we give you a lift back to the university?" Coulson asked.

"Well, you know with Europe's new fascination with all things Asgardian, I'm wondering if it's time to start over somewhere else." The Professor wondered.

"A nice beach? A life of tropical drinks and massages?" Coulson suggested.

"Mmm…well, I'd get bored."

"You should consider the American Northwest. Maybe Portland. Good food scene. Great Philharmonic." Coulson said and the Professor was intrigued.

"Only if you'll come and visit. It's not everyone I get to share my stories with." The Professor told him.

"Sure. And if Thor's in town I'll introduce you." Coulson offered.

The team were spending the night in Ireland at a hotel and would leave in the morning which was a nice change of pace. And spending the night at a nice hotel on SHIELD's dime was more than ok with everyone.

London

Back in London, Jane is sitting at her kitchen table just pushing her spoon through her bowl of cereal. She was hoping for some kind of sign from Thor but nothing yet. That's when she heard a rumbling in the distance. Dr. Selvig and Darcy heard it as well when suddenly the Bifrost bridge appeared in the sky over the patio of her flat. She smiled and rushed out of her apartment as Thor walked out of the Bifrost and the two embraced in a loving kiss.

"Are you back?" She whispered.

"I'm here." He whispered to her and the two resumed kissing.

Line Break xxxxx

Ireland

Will woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. He took a quick shower and grabbed his gear before heading out. He walked out of the hotel to his Aston Martin when he got a phone call and chuckled when he saw the Caller ID.

"Hey, Angel. How's it going?" Will answered.

"Good, Will and I'd love to catch up but something's happened." Angel said and she sounded nervous and worried.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"It's Tabby. I think something's wrong with her." Angel told her.

"What happened?"

"I was getting home from my late shift at the hospital a few days ago and Tabby wasn't there. I figured she went out to the club or something so I didn't think much of it until the next day. We always have lunch with Clarice at a little place around the corner but she never showed and when I called her she sounded…odd." Angel explained.

"Odd how?" Will questioned, getting into his car.

"Like she wasn't herself. I asked her what happened but she kept saying she was fine and that nothing was wrong. And I could have sworn that I heard someone else with her. A guy, British I think. I think she's in trouble." Angel told him. "I know this sounds weird and at first I didn't think much of it. Maybe she met a guy and she was all caught in the honeymoon phase. But then our landline gets a call from her agent about a job for Law and Order which she has been trying to get for months and when I tell her she says she doesn't care anymore."

"Yeah that doesn't sound like her." Will turned the car on and began driving back to the BUS. "Have the others heard from her?"

"I tried getting the others to check up on her but they say the same, that she's acting weird and they're worried too. I know you are busy dealing with some serious stuff but could you—"

"I'll look into it. The second I have something I'll get back to you." He hung up drove to the BUS as fast as possible.

A few hours later…

Will was in the command room looking through the myriad of information coming through the touch table and the smart screen. Financials, phone records, social media, and CCTV footage so he could build a timetable to hopefully explain what was going on with Tabitha. Her phone records show that she was still using her phone but it seemed as though she was only receiving calls, not making them. All the calls made before the last couple of days were to Angel or their other friends but after that no outgoing calls which matches up with what she said was going on. They had tried to call Tabby and she answered but she never made any calls. Not so much as a text which is odd given that he knew Tabby was kind of text-obsessed. She preferred texting over phone calls and while that detail may not seem relevant to anyone else Will wasn't anyone else. On top of her lack of phone usage, Tabby's financials and social media activity were concerning. Tabby's social media activity had gone silent with her last post being the night Angel told him that things got weird. She did go out to a club and there were some photos of her dancing. Based on the tags, she had gone out with some friends from work and things seemed fine. There were plenty of selfies and Tabby seemed to be having a good time but after that nothing. Not so much as a status update or tweet which wasn't like her. And her financials also were unusual as it showed that Tabby paid for a thousand dollar bottle of champagne during the night at the club and then in the days after spent a lot of money in fancy lingerie stores, boutiques and other things that required serious money or a credit card.

That detail alone was a bit of a red flag as he knew Tabby was a frugal spender. He knew she would never spend that kind of money so haphazardly as she, Clarice, and Angel were well known to be smart shoppers and make do with little relying on sales or DIY stuff. Even going out to a club or bar he knew that Tabby would get guys to buy her drinks or just stick to cheap wine or beer. Never would she ever buy a thousand dollar bottle of champagne. Her odd financial activity combined with zero social media and phone activity gave him all he needed to know that something was wrong.

"What's going on?" He heard and saw Skye walk in. "Did we get another mission?"

"No. This is personal." He answered. "EDI, see if you can track Tabby's movements starting from the club a few days ago. CCTV footage, social media postings, cell phone cameras, ATM cameras, hell I don't care if you need to use satellite footage."

"Processing." EDI replied and began sorting through millions if not billions of gigabytes worth of data as fast as possible.

"What's going on?" Skye wondered.

"This morning I got a call from a college friend. She said that another of our friends had been acting weird the past few days and asked me to look into it." Will told her. "She wouldn't have called me if she didn't think something bad happened."

"And? Did something bad happen?" Skye asked concerned.

"I think so." Will gestured to the touch table that all the information on Tabby's financials, cell phone, social media, etc. "This may not look like anything serious but I know Tabby. This isn't like her at all."

"So, what could be the reason?" Skye wondered, looking through all the data Will managed to collect.

"I don't know but I'm gonna find out." He promised and Skye looked at him with a smile on her face. "What?"

"Nothing. Just…she must be really special." She pointed out.

"We've been through a lot together. Remember that story I told you about before I became a SHIELD agent? The vacation in Thailand that turned into a kidnapping on an island controlled by a drug empire and human trafficking ring?" He asked her.

"Yeah. You mean, she's one of your friends from the island?" Skye asked and Will brought up an old photo of them from that vacation. It was of them on a beach in Thailand about two days before they took that skydiving trip. "Oh, cute photo and great beach."

"Yeah, that was a good time. Before the kidnapping." He admitted. "After that happened and a lot of group therapy we've kept in touch regularly. I just never hoped that something like this would happen again."

"Will, I believe I found something." EDI brought up a CCTV footage still from a security camera outside the club. It showed a long line of people waiting to get into the club along with the bouncer but the important thing in the camera still was Tabby. She was wearing the same outfit she had on in the selfies in the club but next to her was a couple. A woman and a man. The woman had black hair and was wearing a black dress whereas the man was wearing a dark purple suit. "I managed to isolate the camera footage after Tabitha left the club and she left with this couple. I followed her path after the club and she remained with them."

"EDI, who are they?" Will asked so she ran facial recognition. It took a few seconds but eventually got a match on the woman. "Jessica Campbell Jones. Parents and younger brother were killed in a car accident. She was adopted by Dorothy Walker and gained an adopted sister, Trish Walker."

"Oh, from It's Patsy. I loved that show." Skye commented.

"Trish is now a radio talk show host for WNEX. There's not a lot on Jones. College dropout, several temp jobs, and not exactly flourishing." He pointed out when he noticed EDI didn't have any information on the man. "EDI, are you able to get anything on the guy?"

"I'm afraid not. I'm not able to identify the man from facial recognition. Zero matches." EDI informed him.

"That's weird." Skye remarked as she looked through the data on the touch table when she saw some of Tabby's selfies. "Hang on."

She brought up a photo taken of Tabby and her friend dancing all sexy and in the corner of the photo the same guy could be seen leering at her. "He was in the club." Will said.

"Acting all creepy. It's possible he got close to her and its why they left together. How the guy was able to get your friend while he had someone else with him is kind of impressive though." Skye pointed out when she saw the look Will was giving her. "That was inappropriate and poorly timed. I'm sorry."

"EDI, do you have a current location on Tabby?" Will asked.

"I've pinged the GPS on her cellphone. She is currently residing in the penthouse room of the Ritz-Carlton hotel." EDI informed him while also showing a GPS marker on a map.

"Keep monitoring her location and set the quickest flight path to Manhattan." Will ordered.

"Should I tell Coulson to get the others ready?" Skye asked him.

"No. This is a personal matter, not SHIELD related. Coulson could be called away for a mission so it's best if I handle this myself." Will told her.

"Will, I'm sure Coulson wouldn't mind helping you out." Skye pointed out.

"I know and you're right he wouldn't mind but I've got to go now and getting the rest of the team here would take time. I'll be fine. Besides, it also saves Coulson the headache of dealing with SHIELD asking why he's investigating a non-SHIELD manner and then using said SHIELD resources for personal reasons." Will told her, copying all the data to his phone.

"But you're using SHIELD resources for personal reasons." Skye reminded him.

"Yeah but I get chewed out all the time. I'm used to it. I can save Coulson the headache." Will chuckled before heading to his bunk to grab his bag and heading up to the quinjet attached to the BUS. In a few minutes he was gone and heading to the US.

New York City

Will's quinjet flew over Manhattan just as the sun was starting to set and quickly parked itself down onto the landing platform at Avenger's Tower. Jarvis was able to get him immediate landing clearance so Will touched down in a hurry. The engines on the quinjet had barely finished powering down when the hangar opened up and out ran Will. Happy was there to greet him but Will just rushed right past him.

"SORRY HAPPY! GOT TO RUN!" He shouted.

Dr. Banner was walking down the hall when he saw Will. "Hey, Will. Glad you came here. I've got your scans and I've noticed some—" Dr. Banner didn't have a chance to finish as Will brushed past him in a hurry to the elevator.

"SORRY, DR. BANNER! CAN'T TALK! TELL TONY I'M BORROWING A BIKE!" Will shouted, clearly in a hurry. Dr. Banner then heard a pitter-patter of some steps and turned around to see Goose walk up to him.

"Hey, Goose." Dr. Banner smiled and the Flerken meowed before licking his paw.

The garage door on the ground floor of the tower opened up and out sped a 2013 White Kawasaki Ninja 300 motorcycle at breakneck speed. On the motorcycle was Will who had on a motorcycle helmet. Will drove out of the garage and drifted onto the street before speeding away, inadvertently popping a wheelie as he drove away.

The doorman, Valet parking attendees and hotel employees at the Ritz-Carlton were going about their business as normal which at the current time of day given the sun starting to set usually meant helping their guests into nearby taxis or cars for their evening outs at dinners, events or whatever they were going to. Just an ordinary night so imagine their surprise when a motorcycle sped down the street and swerved to a stop at the front of the hotel. Will checked his phone and saw that the GPS signal from Tabby's phone was still coming from there so he parked his bike, placed his helmet the seat and tossed the keys along with $60 to the valet attendee. "Keep that close." Will told him before marching inside and heading straight to the front desk.

"Hello, welcome to the Ritz-Carlton. How can I help—" The man at the front desk didn't get a chance to finish as Will showed her a picture of Tabitha on his phone.

"Is this woman checked into the penthouse?" Will asked him.

"May I ask why?" The employee asked so Will just showed him his badge. "I don't want any more trouble."

"Any more? So, she's here?" he asked.

"Uh, you should really speak to my manager—"

"Just answer the question. I'm not in the mood for bullshit." Will warned him and saw the employee get nervous.

"Her companion wanted the penthouse suite but it was already booked by one of our frequent guests. I'm guessing I had a mental slip because I actually asked them to leave. When they refused the man spoke with the guest and got them to leave." He replied so Will brought up another photo that showed Tabby leaving the club with the man and woman.

"Is this the guy?" Will asked, showing the employee.

"Yes, that's him. And the woman with him was here as well but they're not here now. They left a little while ago. I don't know where."

"Thanks." Will walked away and headed towards the elevator. He pressed the button and used his phone to call SHIELD. "This is Agent Detmer, Serial number: NE616IN. I may have a possible enhanced individual sighting. I need a containment crew on standby. Special gear requested. Possible enhanced may have mind control capabilities so full tactical and hazmat protocol may be in effect."

"Roger that. All nearby units on standby." The SHIELD operator replied as Will got into the elevator and went up.

He walked down the hotel hallway with his pistol out and ready as he neared the penthouse suite. He stacked up at the door and used his telekinetic sense to get a readout of the room but there was only one person inside. It matched with what the employee said but he had to be sure. Will holstered his pistol and pointed at the door handle, using his powers to open it from the inside. He walked through the room and didn't see anything out of the ordinary, just some very expensive clothes strewn around. He slowly walked into the bedroom where he saw Tabby laying on the bed in pajamas. (1) "Tabby…"

He rushed over and checked her vitals to see she was alive. "Will, thank god. Please help me." She begged.

"It's ok. You're ok, now." He promised. "Is the guy here?"

"No, he's gone. He told me to stay…and I stayed." Tabby whispered as her voice started to break. "I can't move."

"It's ok. It's ok. I'm gonna get you out of here." He promised, grabbing her arm to lift her up off the bed but then saw her grab onto the sheets and bedframe like she didn't want to leave. "Tabby, come on."

"I can't. Will, I can't leave this bed. He did something to me." Tabby whispered so Will touched her forehead and did a mind scan. It was brief but from what he saw Tabitha had been through hell and none of it was of her own wish. Clearly the guy she met at the club had some kind of mind control power and he got a name. Kilgrave.

Will dug a little deeper and noticed some very unusual brain activity in the cerebellum and the frontal lobe like they were hotwired. He closed his eyes and did an in depth brain scan which is where he found the cause. There was some kind of virus infecting her brain that was causing the odd activity in the cerebellum and frontal lobe. Now knowing the cause, he knew what to do. His hand glowed blue and some of that blue energy went into Tabby's mind. Will was using a power he called Telepathic Surgery which was just a simple of way of explaining that he was able to use his powers to help heal a person's mind. His blue aura seeped into Tabby's brain and wiped out the virus, freeing her from whatever mind control she was under. The second it was done Tabby immediately stood up and moved her hands around, glad she could move of her own free will again. "Oh, thank god."

She hugged Will tight and cried into his shoulder as he held her close and rubbed her back. "It's ok. It's ok…"

"It was horrible…I couldn't control my body…the things he made me do…" Tabby muttered through the breaking voice and tears rolling down her face. Will didn't want to know what she had been forced to do but clearly it was something that she would need help to come back from. "He's like you…he's dangerous, Will."

"It's ok, Tabby. You're safe now. I'm gonna make sure of that." He pulled her back so she could see his face. "I promise you that I'm gonna make sure that this guy will never hurt you again."

She managed a nod before wrapping Will up in a tight hug and not wanting to let go. After everything she's been through she wanted to feel safe and right now being close to him was that way.

"Oh, Tabitha!" They heard some British guy say along with the door opening.

"Oh, god. He's back." Tabitha squeaked out but Will clamped her mouth shut and motioned her to stay quiet.

He looked at the door to the bedroom and closed it shut before locking it and quickly taking her to the bathroom where he placed her by the tub. "Stay here and don't make a sound."

"No, Will. Don't go." She begged but Will held her hands and looked at her.

"Tabby, I promise…he is not going to touch you ever again. Just stay here. I'll deal with him." He swore and she managed a small nod. He placed her hands over her ears and gave her a kiss on the head before walking into the bedroom where he heard the guy try to open the locked door.

"Tabitha? Why is this door locked? Did you get out of bed? Open this door now, Tabitha!" Kilgrave ordered only for Will to unholster his gun and walked up to the door.

"Knock-knock, motherfucker!"

With a powerful kick the door was knocked off its hinges and hit Kilgrave, sending him flying back into the living room. Will walked down the hallway and saw the guy manage to push the door off his body. He looked exactly like he did in the camera stills and looked even douchier in person. "You shouldn't have messed with my friend, asshole." Will warned him and about to give him a vicious beatdown.

"Jessica, stop him!"

Will's right shoulder was grabbed and he was thrown across the room where he landed on the couch and ended up tipping it over. He pushed the couch off him and got up to see the woman from the camera still. Jessica Jones wearing a gaudy and expensive red dress and fur coat. She walked over to Will and knocked his gun out of his hand before punching him in the chest. The force knocked Will off his feet and into a wall but he bounced off and hit the ground. Will coughed a bit as he felt the impact from that hit was greater then a regular human could achieve. Before he had a chance to act Jessica grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up so he was dangling in the air.

"Crap…where did you come from?" Will croaked out. That's when he got a glimpse of the woman's face and could see she didn't look happy to be doing this. Will did a quick mind read and it seemed that like Tabitha, she was forced to follow this guys orders like some kind of mind control. Only difference is that Jessica Jones clearly had superpowers.

"I don't know who you are or how you got in here but you couldn't have picked a worse time to be a hero." Kilgrave mocked as he held up Will's gun. "Well, don't worry. You won't be alive much longer to realize that."

"Fuck you." Will spat out as Kilgrave held the gun forward.

"Take your gun and shoot yourself in the head." Kilgrave ordered and Will felt an odd sensation. His body seemed to go on autopilot like someone else was controlling it and he actually reached out and took his pistol back. He actually felt his arm move it up towards his head which is when he concentrated and flared his powers. His eyes glowed blue as he quickly used his mental manipulation power based on his telepathy to shield his mind and stop Kilgrave's command thus returning back control over his body. Kilgrave saw the guy stop much to his surprise. "Take your gun and shoot yourself in the head! Do it!"

"How about I shoot you?!" Will turned his gun and shot Kilgrave in the right shoulder. Kilgrave fell back and shouted in pain as Will touched Jessica on the forehead and wiped the mind control from her as well. With it gone she immediately let go and back away.

"What did you do?" Jessica muttered, feeling freedom for the first time in a long time.

"Wiped his mind control of you." Will showed her his SHIELD badge. "I'm with SHIELD."

"How?" She asked when they heard Kilgrave groan on the floor in pain from the gunshot. He was lucky it was a clean shot through the shoulder.

"Hold that thought." Will walked over and picked up Kilgrave by his collar.

"Kill your—GAH!" Kilgrave didn't finish his sentence as Will punched him in the throat which fractured his larynx and quickly shut him up.

"Just shut up, Doctor Who." Will took out some zip cuffs and tied his hands behind his back before ripping off a piece of his purple jacket and tying it around his mouth as a gag just in case. Not that it would matter as with the fractured larynx Kilgrave couldn't speak. Once he was sure that Kilgrave was secure he gave him a punch to the face, a punch to the gut and then a stomp to the crouch before he walked over to check on Jessica. "Are you ok?"

"The girl. There was a girl…"

"Tabitha, I know. I already got her. She's safe in the bathroom." Will assured her and Jessica was put at ease for a bit. "It's ok. It's over, now."

"Thank you." She said and he smiled.

"Come on." Will helped her away from Kilgrave but she turned around to see his once smug and proud face now replaced with a look of helplessness. And he was bleeding. She couldn't help herself and walked back over and began beating him.

"YOU PIECE OF SHIT! YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE! YOU MOTHERFUCKING JACKASS!" Jessica cursed and punched him across the face over and over again when Will grabbed her arm, stopping her at the 10th punch. Kilgrave's face was a bloody mess and Jessica's hand was coated in his blood.

"He's not worth it. He's not worth you or your time." He told her as she finished it off with a final spit on Kilgrave. Will helped her into the bedroom where she sat on the bed before he opened the bathroom. Tabitha jumped in fright thinking it was Kilgrave but relaxed when she saw it was him. She got up and walked back into the bedroom but froze when she saw Jessica. "It's ok. She's free like you. It's over."

"And Kilgrave?" Tabby asked.

"He won't be hurting anyone anymore. I promise." He gave Tabby a kiss on the head and sat her on the bed. "Just sit here. SHIELD's on its way and they'll take care of him. It's over."

Tabitha nodded and hugged her knees to her chest as she sat on the bed while Jessica just stared at the wall. Will walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him before walking over to Kilgrave who looked half-dead considering the vicious beatdown he got. He likely had some serious fractures and a broken nose. Will took out his phone and dialed a number. "SHIELD this is Agent Detmer. Enhanced individual is in custody. Close in on my location for custody and transport. Advise extreme caution. Subject is able to mind control via verbal command so advised to bring lockjaws." Will ordered.

"Roger that. ETA, 10 minutes."

Will hung up and then crouched down so he was eye level with Kilgrave. "You're going away for a long time, Kilgrave. You're never gonna hurt anyone ever again. Ten minutes may seem like nothing but I guarantee that what I'm about to do to you…is gonna feel a lot longer then ten minutes." Will's eyes began glowing blue and he was ready to make Kilgrave pay for what he did. It was a good thing his larynx was fractured because if he had the ability to scream then the entire hotel would have heard his cries for bloody mercy and the sweet release of death.

Thirty minutes later…

SHIELD agents with the aid of local police had quickly set up a perimeter around the Ritz-Carlton hotel which naturally drew some attention but they were kept at least 100 yards away. The reason for that was because of the giant SHIELD transport truck and the armed squad of SHIELD agents in full tactical gear waiting. Another group of SHIELD agents in tactical gear escorted a group of SHIELD scientists in full hazmat gear. They were a containment team and the thing in containment was Kilgrave. Kilgrave was put into an isolation pod which was a self-sustaining containment cell for transporting high threat level enhanced/mutant individuals or dangerous substances. The isolation pod kept them contained from outside atmosphere or elements so they didn't interact with anything like say if they had to transport a radioactive substance. Or in this case an enhanced individual with the ability to control minds via verbal command. Kilgrave's larynx was still fractured so he couldn't speak but Will didn't want to take any chances and had them place a brace on his mouth to keep him from speaking and put him in the containment cell.

And the containment cell served another purpose as it kept any civilian bystanders from seeing the bad state Kilgrave was in. If anyone had caught a glimpse of him then they would have seen someone who looked like he had just been chewed up by hell, spat out and then dragged into purgatory. Will's treatment of Kilgrave was mostly mental as he used his telepathy to torture Kilgrave's mind and put him in a continuous mental loop making him experience his worst nightmare and memory over and over again for what was really only ten minutes but to him felt like decades. Suffice to say that Will had done a thorough job in making sure Kilgrave suffered…and he may have broken one of his legs while he was at it.

"Make sure he stays isolated and he doesn't say a word." Will told the transporting agent as he signed some papers. "We're not sure of the extent of his abilities yet but if he gets loose or even says anything then he could escape."

"We'll keep him contained and isolated until we can get him to the Cube. Full contamination protocol." The Agent assured him. "Anything else, Agent Detmer?"

Will looked over at Tabitha and Jessica sitting on a couch in the lobby, both of whom were getting a minimally invasive check-up via a SHIELD medic. Considering what happened the medic was really there just to check if they needed serious medical attention which they didn't. Their scars were more mental and psychological. He looked over at Jessica and remembered the fight in the penthouse but saw the state she was in. "No. Just one enhanced. Kilgrave." Will told him and the agent nodded.

"Roger that. We'll get him to the Cube as fast as humanely possible." The Agent then signaled his men to head out as the scientists finished putting Kilgrave's containment cell into the truck. The rest of the agents in the hotel proceeded to leave the hotel and area with their subject leaving the civilian bystanders wondering what had happened.

Will walked over and sat down next to Tabitha who immediately latched onto his side. "Thank you for saving me." She whispered and he held her close.

"Your welcome." He whispered back when he saw their friends walk in. Clarice Fong and Angel Salvadore walk into the hotel with Daisy Lee and Grant Brody. (2) "We've got company."

Tabitha looked up as their friends came over and the girls immediately scooped her up into a hug. Crying tears of joy that she was safe now. Grant walked over and gave Will a quick hug. "Good to see you, dude." Grant told him.

"Yeah. Just a shame that it took something like this to bring me here." Will said. "We should get Tabitha to a hospital. Just to make sure she's really ok."

"All right. I'll pull the car around front." Grant told him before leaving. Will then walked over and sat next to Jessica.

"How are you doing?" He wondered.

"Kind of a crappy question to ask." Jessica pointed out as she quickly guzzled down one of the tiny bottles of whiskey she took from the penthouse bar. Judging by the small pile in the nearby garbage can she had a few. "So, am I going to one of your SHIELD prisons?"

"No, you did nothing wrong. SHIELD doesn't know about you and considering the circumstances they don't need to. And they won't find out. I promise." Will swore before taking out a business card he got from his therapist and wrote something down on it. "Here, take this."

"A shrink?"

"Dr. Leonard Samson. He's good at what he does. I've been to him personally for my own trauma and he's helped me. Going there for help can help gets things…somewhat back to normal." He admitted.

"You're not doing a good in selling the place." Jessica remarked as she opened another small bottle and guzzled it down too.

"A therapist can help but only if you want it. I'm sure you have some people who want to help." Will said when he saw the someone walk into the hotel and it was Trish Walker. "And I think that someone is here."

Will got up and gave her some space as Trish came over. She was happy that Jessica was safe now but she wasn't ok and neither was Tabitha. Neither of them would be ok for a while and the only comfort they had was that Kilgrave was going away for a long, long, long time. And Will pretty much destroyed them.

They would never see him again.

Line Break xxxxx

September 2013: New York City

Either it was his body's internal alarm clock or some other kind of issue with his head but Will woke up earlier then he wanted to. He groaned in annoyance but then again it was a given and he was just glad to get a couple hours of sleep. A part of him would have liked to just stay in bed and rest but he knew better. He felt a subtle shift of the blankets next to him and he couldn't help but smile as he turned and saw Crystal sleeping next to him. The blanket covering her modesty and her blonde hair strewn about on her pillow. After arresting Kilgrave, Will decided to stay in New York for a bit to keep an eye on Tabitha and help her. Since he was staying he called Crystal and invited her to spend some time with him and Crystal was friends with Tabitha so she wanted to help however she could.

The two hadn't had much time spent together with him busy with SHIELD work and helping Coulson's team so they relished being on the same planet again. And for the past week they enjoyed their time together which included their long and fun filled night in bed. He leaned over and kissed her on the head before carefully moving the blanket off and getting out of bed. He slipped on some shorts and walked over to the wall where he pressed the touchpad and the opaqueness of the wall changed until it became more transparent and turned into a giant smart glass window giving him a million dollar view of Manhattan. He heard some rustling and soon enough he felt a slender pair of arms wrap around his neck from behind.

"Why are you up so early? Come back to bed." Crystal told him.

"And miss this amazing view?" He remarked as Crystal walked beside him and took it in. "Something only I get to see."

"Are you talking about the view of Manhattan or of me wrapped up in nothing but a sheet?" Crystal playfully questioned. Seeing her wrapped up in nothing but a bed sheet was an enticing sight as was the view of Manhattan.

"Can't it be both?" He wondered and she chuckled before the two leaned in and shared a kiss. "I'm glad you're here."

"So am I." She whispered before leaning her head on his chest and holding him close. "I wish we could spend more time together."

"So do I." He whispered back, kissing her on the head. "You know…even though I'm on the move a lot my parents house in Jersey is still there. All paid for including utilities. I have my friends and cousin occasionally check up on the place but uh…if you want you could look after it for me."

"Are you asking me to move in with you?" Crystal wondered, being a bit playful and Will chuckled in response.

"And what if I was? My place is essentially a dead zone in terms of surveillance so no one will know you're there. With Lockjaw you could come and go as you please…and it'll give me even more reason to come home to visit. Because I get to see you." He suggested. "That's actually a great idea. How come we didn't come up with this sooner?"

"Guess even with a brain as powerful as yours the simple things can slip past it." She joked and he chuckled. "And it sounds like a great idea…but I'm not sure how well Medusa and the others would like it."

"Fair point and I'm on your sister's good side at the moment so the last thing I need is her getting angry and sending her hair at me. Or getting Black Bolt to try and shout me out of existence." He pointed out and she agreed that it sounded like something her sister would do. "Maybe bring it up when they're in a good mood and explain some of the benefits of you coming to earth more regularly in a place that's secure? You'd be safe. They could come down more often. We could spend more time together. Hanging out, going to restaurants, spending time at the beach so I can see you in a bikini or just some naked time in bed. Maybe not those last two points."

"Yeah, you think so?" She chuckled and the two kissed when they heard a small ding.

"Sorry to bother you, Mr. Detmer but good morning. And good morning to you too Ms. Crystal." Jarvis greeted them, turning on all the lights in their room.

"Good morning, Jarvis." Crystal said.

"How can I help you, Jarvis?" Will asked.

"Apologies for the interruption but I thought that you would like to know that Mr. Brody left you a message. He and Daisy are going to meet Tabitha Smith, Angel Salvadore and Clarice Fong for breakfast and then take Ms. Smith to her first group therapy session. He is asking that you come see her afterward if possible." Jarvis informed him.

"Got it, Jarvis. Thanks." Will replied.

"And on another note. I understand that you have been busy this past week helping Ms. Smith as does Dr. Banner but when you have a chance I would advise going to see him. I believe he has something to show you." Jarvis added.

"All right. I'll go see what Dr. Banner has for me." Will replied.

"And Ms. Crystal. I'm pleased to inform you that breakfast is being prepared in the kitchen with a pot of coffee already brewed." Jarvis told her.

"Thank you, Jarvis. I'll be right there." Crystal gave Will a kiss on the cheek. "I'll save you some breakfast."

She walked away with a playful wink and a little sway in the hips which given the fact she was still wearing just a bed sheet made it very difficult for Will to just go see Dr. Banner but that's what he did. He put on a shirt and some shoes and walked out of his room of Avengers Tower. Well room wasn't doing it justice as it was more like an entire floor. Granted, the other members of the Avengers each got their own floor that had their rooms and such on the top of the tower Tony designated just for them. Will hadn't stayed in the Tower much since he was usually away for SHIELD and went home to Jersey but since he was staying in the city to help Tabitha it was easier this way.

He walked up the stairs and entered the lab where he saw Dr. Banner and surprisingly Tony, both of whom were huddled around a monitor looking at some kind of simulation of an experiment. "Anything interesting on the TV?" He asked and they both jumped in shock.

"God. Don't do that, kid." Tony reminded him. "I don't have a pacemaker anymore so I can get a heart attack."

"I know." Will smirked. "I'm surprised you're up, Tony. Figured you'd be nursing a hangover."

"Oh please. That was one time." Tony pointed out.

"12 actually." Bruce corrected him and Tony just rolled his eyes. "How's your friend?"

"Uh…better, I guess. Things were still touch and go for a while but I think she's doing better." He admitted. Bruce and Tony nodded and felt bad. They were told minor details of why Will was in New York and it was hard to hear as it was for him to tell them. "We've got her to go to a therapist and some group therapy. It helps but it's a long road."

"If you need anything or any kind of help just let me know, kid. While I've avoided professional examination most of my life I do know some good doctors." Tony offered.

"Thanks, Tony. To be honest I'm still really worried." Will said as he took a seat. "She kept asking over and over again if I could just erase her memory and make her forget it ever happened. Make her forget everything that Kilgrave made her do. How he demeaned her, how she felt trapped in her own body and how he used her."

"Sounds rough." Tony said. He and Bruce could tell that Will was holding a lot of sadness and grief in his voice for his friend along with anger at Kilgrave.

"You know what the hardest part was?" He asked. "She admitted that she doesn't think that she's ever gonna be able to go back to the person she once was. If was at that point that I began to help ease her mind and try to put her into a relaxed state. Things got tense but I couldn't erase her mind."

"Trauma…no matter what kind leaves scars. We know that better then anyone." Bruce said and Tony and Will nodded. "Sometimes it feels easier to just hide and embrace all that pain when its all you know. Just to make it all end and forget like it ever happened but even if you had erased her memory it wouldn't have really helped her. Forgetting things doesn't make it go away."

"I just wish there was more I could do for her." Will admitted.

"Will, you just being there for her is enough. Not everyone is lucky to have a friend like you." Bruce assured him and Tony agreed.

"He's right, kid. If everyone had someone like you watching over them then this world would be a better place. And I'm not just saying that. You did help me." Tony reminded him. "I don't think there's enough that I or Pepper can ever do to thank you for that."

"Thanks, guys." Will replied and in that moment he decided to do something. "Do you think we can pick this up later? There's something I want to do."

"Go ahead. We'll be here." Bruce assured him.

Will left the lab and headed back to his room to take a quick shower and get dressed. After that he made a quick stop in the main kitchen where he saw Crystal sitting at the counter eating breakfast with Goose sitting on the table. He walked over and gave her a kiss on the cheek and scratched Goose on the head before grabbing an apple. "I'll be back." He told her.

"Where are you going?" Crystal asked.

"To be there for a friend." He called back.

An hour later…

Grant, Daisy, Angel, Clarice, and Tabitha arrived at Columbia Doctors office building where Tabitha's psychiatrist worked. She had been there twice earlier in the week for her first two sessions but was now going to a group therapy session her psychiatrist recommended. She didn't have to share but just sitting there and listening would help her. Tabitha was dressed in heavy baggy sweatpants and sweatshirt with barely any makeup on or any life in her eyes for that matter. Her friends escorted her in and they were given directions to the large group room where the session would take place. They walked in and saw the other patients mingling about. Some were talking to one another in polite conversation or by themselves getting some coffee or pastries on the table against the wall.

"Is this really necessary?" Tabitha asked, not wanting to be here.

"Your doctor said it might be good to just attend one of these. You don't have to talk or share. Just sit there and listen. Some of these people know what it's like what you're going through." Angel told her.

"She's right, Tabby. Just sit and drink some coffee." Daisy told her.

"Hazelnut creamer with two Splenda and a sprinkle of cinnamon." They heard and saw Will walk over with a small carrier holding two coffee cups.

"Will, what are you doing here?" Grant asked.

"I got your message and I just wanted to be here. For a friend." He said and Tabitha smiled. "I can take it from here. You guys go to work."

Daisy, Grant, Angel, and Clarice hugged Tabitha and Will but would see them later. Tabitha and Will took their seats as the psychiatrist walked in and everyone sat in their chairs with a podium in front of them. There were about 9 people there for the group therapy session including Will and Tabitha. The psychiatrist started with a small discussion that was the usual openers to these kinds of sessions. Everything said here would not leave the room, that this was a safe space for everyone to speak, no judgement, and there was no pressure if you didn't want to. This was a place for healing.

There was one man who was a former marine and dealing with PTSD in less then healthy ways that was affecting his family but now recovering and going on 30 days sober. There was a woman who was recovering from Opioid addiction, another woman was going through a messy divorce, and one of the men was a widower. All of them were dealing with emotional or psychological scars that lead them to low points in their lives when they didn't think there was a way out. For some the recovery process was long and still ongoing but it wasn't impossible. Will looked over and saw that Tabitha was listening to their stories and their struggles so maybe hearing one from him might help. The psychiatrist asked if anybody wanted to be the last person to share so Will raised his hand and walked up to the podium.

"Hello, my name is Will." He introduced himself.

"Hello, Will." They all replied back.

"It's nice to meet you all. I've gone to therapy before, a lot of times actually considering my job but it's an occupational hazard. My job…well, I can't say what my job is for legal reasons but it's a good job and I'm able to help a lot of people. Still, it doesn't come without it's fair share of baggage. Never did I think I would be where am I right now when I was just a senior in college. That's…that's when my life changed." Will recounted and they listened. "I was like any other senior in college. I didn't really know exactly what was in store for me but I prepped as hard as I could while having some fun as well. Things were a lot simpler back then and I eventually learned that life throws you some curveballs. The biggest was that I lost my parents and the days after were the hardest I've ever had to endure."

Tabitha and the others listened and could tell that their death really impacted Will.

"Eventually with time and help from others I was able to get into a better place but the days right after were the worse. I was so filled with anger, hate, grief, and I blamed myself for their deaths. I wanted nothing more then to go back and switch places with them so that it was me instead. I blamed myself that it was my fault that they died. And I had all this anger coursing through me wanting nothing more then anything to get my parents back. To make the people who took them away from me hurt just as bad as I was. I knew that if I continued down that path then I would either end up dead or be someone they would have been ashamed to raise. I wasn't ok for a while and to this day my heart aches whenever I think about them. My trauma left scars on me as it did with all of us. When your life, when the world feels like a never-ending emergency, sometimes just making it through the day can be a struggle." He said.

Everyone listened intently, feeling his pain and his emotions. Tabitha especially could feel the heart and pure emotion he was putting out. "But that's not the end of it. God do I know that the path back can be hard. When all you want to do is embrace the fire and make it your whole world just so you don't have to fight so you can forget…but you can't. No matter how hard you try or what you do you can't forget what has happened. We collect scars. Physical and psychological reminders of what we've been through, of who and what we've lost. But maybe those scars can do more than memorialize our past traumas. Maybe they're also a testament to the fact that we're still here. We are exceptional. We are survivors…and we move forward."

His impassioned speech really got to everyone and they gave him a round of applause. Even Tabitha was moved by his speech. The session ended soon after that with the psychiatrist giving them all some last minute words of encouragement and for them to visit for private sessions in the future. Some of the people at the session thanked Will for his words as it meant a lot which he was more then happy to help with. He and Tabitha walked out of the building feeling a little better. "How're you feeling?" He asked her and she just hugged him.

"Better…"

"Just one step at a time. You are strong and you are powerful." He whispered to her and she nodded with a few tears running down the side of her cheek. "Come on. Let's go for a walk."

Will led Tabitha away so the two could spend some time together. More time to heal.

Later that night…

The elevator dinged on the top floor of Avengers Tower as Will and Crystal returned from dinner but were carrying a pizza box from Joe's Pizza. After Tabitha's group therapy session Will called Crystal and had her meet them so they could spend some time together the three of them. The others had work so Will and Crystal were able to spend time with Tabitha. The group session did a lot for her mental state but it was still a long road of recovery. Tabitha still showed some symptoms of PTSD so they kept it very chill, calm, and as isolated as possible. A nice walk and hang out in Central Park which in the Fall was very nice followed up by some coffee at her favorite café and then they met up with the others for a very chill dinner. After that Clarice and Angel took Tabitha back to their apartment which reminded Will about the security measures he was going to install for them in their apartment. Being apart of an international intelligence agency came with some benefits and why not use said benefits to help your friends and family. He did the same thing to his place and to his uncles.

The duo walked out of the elevator into the penthouse/Avengers floors and saw Dr. Banner sitting near the couch with his legs crossed, meditating He had a burning incense candle in front of him and a small sound machine that was playing the sound of waves crashing against the rocks. Goose was on the couch near Dr. Banner, taking a cat/Flerken nap. Dr. Banner opened his eyes and saw Will and Crystal walk in.

"Hey, you guys." Bruce smiled and waved.

"Hey, Dr. Banner. Sorry to leave you with the cat sitting job. Hope Goose hasn't been a pain." Will said.

"Nah, he's been fine. Very well behaved. I'm still surprised that you have an alien cat as a pet." Bruce pointed out.

"Something of a gift from Fury. It's a long story." Will replied. "Where's Tony?"

"Went out to dinner with Pepper."

"Got it. So, Yoga? Never figured you for a yoga person, Bruce. No offense, I'm just not into the stuff."

"Hey, I like Yoga. One of the best things about coming to earth. Mind, body, spiritualism. Being at one with yourself. I love it." Crystal stated.

"It's not yoga. It's Dialectical behavioral therapy which is an evidence-based psychotherapy. It's clinical, not spiritual." Dr. Banner corrected them. "DBT is more about presence. About accepting the situation you're in."

"Oh. I thought it was more about getting rock-hard abs and your butt as tight as possible. Works on some people and the evidence is nice." Will looked at Crystal's butt which was proof of Yoga's power to help shape one's butt. She caught his glimpse and smacked him on the shoulder. "Kidding. I don't suppose DBT allows you to take a pizza break?"

"Yes it does." Bruce got up and took the pizza into kitchen. He grabbed a soda from the fridge and began eating a slice of cheese pizza. "So, how's your friend?"

"Good. We had a good day. In her road to recovery that's the best you can hope for. Hopefully with some more time she can get to a better place." He said and Bruce nodded. "Sorry again for leaving. What exactly did you and Tony want to show me before?"

"Come with me and I'll show you." Bruce grabbed the pizza box, some napkins, a few more sodas, and headed up to his lab. Bruce took a seat at his desk while Will put the soda, napkins, and pizza box down on a spare table. He then hovered a slice into the air and over to Dr. Banner so he could eat while he worked. "Thanks. So, I've gone over your body scans and the blood sample we took after what happened in Greenwich and I can confirm that you are completely healthy. The Aether didn't have any adverse effects on your body from what I've been able to tell. In fact, the opposite occurred."

Dr. Banner brought up three distinct files marked Aegis/Will Detmer. "I'm guessing those files have data on me?" Will quipped.

"Yeah. I know you're worried about your secret coming out which is why I was shocked by the level of encryption Tony and Jarvis put on your file. No hacker would be able to get this information without tipping them off. Anyway, there are three files here. The first one is the DNA, blood scans, and genetic breakdown Tony and Jarvis took of you after you first started developing your powers."

"Right, after my time on Rook Island and getting this." Will gestured to the mystic tatau on his arm that gave him his super soldier like enhancements.

"Exactly. Your powers were still in its…infant stage I guess we can call it." Dr. Banner brought up some brain and body scans. "Your brain activity was way more hyperactive and conductive then normal humans and your body got stronger. The second file is after the Battle of New York."

"The one I had you and Tony do after I touched Loki's scepter." Will figured.

"Right. You felt stronger after coming out of your coma and from our scans and check up we were able to find out why. Your brain activity was higher then before with your neurons firing faster even at rest without you using your powers. And each part of your brain from gray matter to white matter improved in strength. You've gotten stronger but your brain has adapted so that it can handle the stress of your powers. In layman's terms, your first file is irrelevant as this is now your new normal. You are easily five times as strong if not more then you were when you first got your powers. That brings us to the brain scan and blood we took after Greenwich and you removed the Aether from your body." Dr. Banner brought up the third file and the scans that it contained.

"Let me guess, I got stronger again?" Will deduced.

"Yes but not in the same way as before." Dr. Banner corrected him, bringing up his most recent brain scan so they could compare it to the one from after the Battle of New York. "I've been going over the scans to see how much has changed. In general, every aspect of your brain is more receptive and powerful then a regular humans. Your cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem are likely how you're able to do what you do with your telepathy and telekinesis. And those different sections all increased in strength which play a part in what you can do in more detail. Like how your frontal lobe is likely the reason you can control objects or build up telekinetic energy into an energy blast. Your parietal lobe is likely what gives you your extrasensory warning system and your temporal lobe is the source of your telepathy. With me so far?"

"Yeah, I'm following you but the scans show that they have stayed the same as before." Will pointed out.

"They have. They haven't grown in strength but the deeper structures within your brain have." Dr. Banner zoomed in on his brain and highlighted the Hippocampus, Pituitary gland, Amygdala, Hypothalamus, Cerebellum and even the 12 cranial nerves all of which were showing more increased activity and strength compared to his previous scan.

"Whoa…" Will said in amazement.

"Whoa, is right. The inner parts of your brain have been supercharged to a greater extent then they were before. I mean, they were still hyperactive compared to a regular human as your previous scans have shown but now that hyperactivity is matched up with the rest of your brain as is their white matter mass and strength. The Aether helped bring all parts of your brain onto the same playing field." Dr. Banner theorized.

"So, what does this mean?" Will asked him.

"I've been giving it some thought and I have some theories. Granted, theories is the best I can do since a lot of modern science's information on the brain is made irrelevant compared to yours. In all honesty Will, your brain scans would advance the field of Neuroscience by decades. There's still so much we don't know about the brain and well, I do now by looking at yours." Dr. Banner praised him. "My best guess is that with the inner parts of your brain supercharged like the rest it may allow you to use your telekinesis in new ways."

"New ways how?" Will wondered.

"Well, that's what we'll have to figure out. Without limits your powers could essentially do anything so we need to find out exactly what you can do now." Dr. Banner told him.

"If we're going to be in for a long training session tomorrow then we better get some sleep." Will suggested and Dr. Banner nodded.

The next day…

Will was sitting on a chair with a sensor helmet strapped to his head. He was sitting in an isolation box while Tony and Bruce monitored his vitals for their training session. Crystal and Goose were off to the side to watch. At the moment they were just running a base test to monitor Will's brain activity. They had him complete a dozen Rubik's cubes all at once just to see how his brain handled everything so they had a base line for their testing. Will just sat in the chair, looking rather apathetic as the dozen puzzles were hovering in the air around him, twisting and turning as they were solved one by one. Tony even through in some more complicated shapes and designs to try and test him but Will was able to finish them no problem and in sixty seconds he finished all 12.

"Done." Will called out. Tony and Bruce monitored his vitals and brain activity. They were hyperactive which was just Will's normal state but gave them a solid base line for their testing. Will then got bored and began taking apart the Rubik's cubes bit by bit before putting all the pieces back together to form a Rubik's cube Transformer. He put the blocks come together to form a Rubik's cube version of Grimlock in his T-Rex mode walking around in the air before transforming into its warrior mode. "Tony. You should make toys like this. You'd make a fortune."

"On my to do list, kid." Tony remarked, looking at the scans. "Kid's brain doesn't look like its stressed."

"We'll we've seen him do a lot more with his powers so this is barely making him concentrate. Time to see how much stronger it's gotten." Bruce pressed a few buttons and a small platform rose up from the floor with a large container of water. Next to it was a small diagram that showed the chemical formular and drawn model of the molecular structure. "Ok, Will. I just want you to focus on the water and try to manipulate it in different ways."

"And do what?" Will asked.

"You'll tell me when you feel something." Bruce replied so Will just closed his eyes and began meditating with his full focus on the water.

"Where are you going with this Bruce?" Tony asked him.

"I think the change in Will's brain will give him greater control of his powers. We know he can manipulate items, make them fly or destroy them but those are just objects. My theory is that Will's telekinesis has grown so strong and precise that he may be able to manipulate the molecules in an object, not just the object itself." Bruce deduced.

"I know the kid's strong but you're talking about him controlling a fundamental part of matter and existence itself. I doubt anyone is that strong." Tony countered.

"He's shown signs of it already." Bruce brought up some footage from the Battle of New York. It was of Aegis manipulating small vibranium orbs so they grew larger in size. He turned one into a sword and then merged two together to form a giant saw blade he used to cut a leviathan down the middle. "This may seem trivial but Will's actually manipulating the spacing of the vibranium into a desired shape. That's the most basic start of molecular manipulation in changing the size of an object. Will may not realize that's what he was doing but it shows the power is there. Now we can manipulate the molecules in an element through various scientific procedures to adjust the bonds between them but Will could do this with just his mind."

"So, what? You think the kid could turn water into ice with just his head?" Tony wondered and began to realize the science of how. "Because Will could use his telekinesis to stop the molecules from moving and if that happens he would be able to put anything into a state of absolute zero and freeze it solid."

"Or in the other instance he could speed up the molecular movement in an object and make it burst into flames or ignite the elements in the air to make fire." Bruce added as he and Tony watched Will still meditating but he as now moving the water out of the container and moving it around him sort of like a water bender from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

"The kid could literally turn a piece of coal into a diamond." Tony said in amazement.

"Actually, graphite would be a better material to turn into diamond given its chemical makeup and it likely wouldn't be as easy as turning water into ice. If Will would want to turn an object into something else, like coal into diamond as you put it, he'd still need to know the molecular composition and elemental makeup of the item."

"True but with his brain he could keep that information stored in his head whenever he wants. Maybe he could turn a piece of paper into a sandwich?" Tony suggested.

"Why would he do that?" Bruce questioned.

"Why not?" Tony asked and Bruce just shook his head.

Will was still meditating with the sloshing of the water around being a rather therapeutic sound. He had no idea what he was supposed to do so he was just moving the water around body in circle like Katara from Avatar. Dr. Banner said to do something with the water when he felt something but he felt nothing for the past five minutes. But that's when he did. He wasn't sure what it was but as he focused more on the water he could see something he didn't see before. Not literally as his eyes were closed for his meditation but in his head. His telekinetic sense was a really nifty ability as it let him see/sense everything around him so he could run through a booby-trapped obstacle with a blindfold over his eyes and be fine. He could see everything around him which has helped on numerous occasions but now it was like his telekinetic sense was on overdrive as he was seeing and sensing things that weren't there before. As the water flowed around him he could see/sense it but then the sense got sharper and he could see small clusters of vibrating molecules. Like he learned in school he saw a water molecule but not just one. There were an incalculable number of molecules flowing around him.

"I see something." Will said making Tony and Bruce perk up.

"What are you seeing kid? In your head, I'm guessing." Tony pointed out since Will's eyes were still closed.

"It's my telekinetic sense…I'm seeing things I haven't seen before. It's the water. I think I'm seeing the molecules in the water." He said.

"I knew it. Your powers have gotten stronger so you're able to see things you didn't see before. In this case, the molecules in things around you. Water's the simplest so it was perfect for the test. Ok, Will. Keep focusing on the molecules. You've sensed them now so reach out with your telekinesis and try to stop them from moving." Bruce told him.

"Right." Will took a deep breath and focused. He could still sense the molecules around him moving so he concentrated on one in particular just to get started. It was moving around him like the water was but it was also vibrating. He was a little confused but then remembered that all molecules vibrated or were in a constant state of motion and humans were unable to see it since they were so small. That college physic class paid off. So, he focused on one molecule and forced it to stop.

Tony, Bruce, Crystal, and Goose saw Will's body glow with his usual blue aura so he was using more power then normal. They were wondering if something was gonna happen when they got their answer and saw the water stop moving around his body like someone hit pause. Then in an instant one part of the water ring around him froze solid and fell to the ground in a frozen block of ice. Will's blue aura flared up and the rest of the water ring froze solid before falling to the ground.

Will opened his eyes and saw large chunks of ice on the ground around him frozen so cold that they were given off cold vapor like dry ice. "Holy shit. That worked."

"I was right." Bruce smiled at seeing his theory being proven and all the data he got from the helmet Will was wearing.

"As if you weren't already powerful before." Tony remarked when he saw something. "Uh, kid. You're nose."

Will touched it and saw he was bleeding from the nose. Bruce unlocked the isolation cell so Will could walk out and get a tissue. "Will, are you ok?" Crystal asked in worry.

"Yea, I'm fine." He assured her, wiping away the blood and keeping it there until the bleeding stopped. "Just used too much power."

"Which is essentially what happened." Bruce brought up the scans of Will's brain at the moment he froze the water so everyone could see. The parts of his inner brain were glowing like a Christmas tree and the scans detected a small flareup. "You used this part of your brain in manipulating the water molecules which is the part that got stronger. It's how you were able to do what you just did but you've never done this before so in using too much power you stressed it resulting in the nose bleed."

"This has happened before. When I first got my powers I could only lift or move small items. I tried lifting a chair before I was strong enough and got a nosebleed." Will told them. "The more I practiced and got better with my powers the easier I was able to use them and more I could do."

"The brain is a muscle. Training it increases its strength and resistance. This new power of yours is powerful but you need to be careful that you don't overtax your brain or else you'll just hurt yourself. We'll stick with small things going forward." Bruce suggested and Will liked that. "Let's take a small break and we'll pick up afterward."

"Sounds good. And it helps that we do have someone here who could help him with this ability." Will looked over at Crystal. She smirked and looked over at the frozen blocks of ice in the isolation cell. She pointed her index and middle finger of her left hand at them and they glowed blue. The ice then turned into water and she controlled it better then he did. She moved the water around her and instantly froze it into ice again, then turned it back to water and then evaporated it into steam.

"I've got a few things I can show you." Crystal suggested.

One hour later…

Tony and Bruce had moved some of their equipment into the main training room. This gave them some space for Crystal to help Will with his training. Jarvis and EDI were recording all the data while Tony and Bruce were sitting in some chairs to watch with a bowl of popcorn between the two. Goose was sitting on the ground next to Bruce and eating some food from his bowl. Currently they were watching Will move a cup's worth of water back and forth between him and Crystal. He rocked it forward and then she rocked it back. They were starting small since Will was new to this.

"This is kind of therapeutic." Will said and Crystal smiled. He decided to get playful and morphed the water into a ball and splash Crystal over the head with it, getting her hair wet. "Ha. Oh, that's good."

Crystal looked less then happy that Will got her hair wet so she concentrated and pulled the water from her hair and reformed it into a ball. She threw it at Will and hit him in the face but then froze it solid so now a portion of his head was covered in ice. "No, that was good." She remarked.

"Ok. I deserved that." Will replied, feeling half his face unable to move due to the ice.

Another hour later…

Will stood across from one single candle and was currently trying to light it by vibrating the molecules in the air and make fire. He wanted to be like Roy Mustang from Full Metal Alchemist so he snapped his fingers but nothing happened. He kept snapping while trying to light the candle when he heard a loud snap and pop like a small firecracker went off but the candle still wasn't lit.

"What happened?" He asked when he smelt smoke and looked down to see his pants were on fire. "AH! Fire!"

He dropped to the ground and rolled back and forth to put out the fire while Tony, Bruce, Crystal, Goose, and now Pepper watched like they were watching TV. Pepper had come back from a meeting and joined them.

"Should we help him?" Pepper wondered as she saw Will still rolling on the ground.

"He'll be fine." Tony remarked and ate another piece of popcorn when there was another crack and Will's shirt caught on fire.

Seeing the usually stoic and self-assured Will panic and run around like a cartoon was amusing and he was definitely recording this.

Another, another hour later…

After a quick change of clothes, Will was now working on manipulating some earth elements so they started off small. He was trying to fuse the broken pieces of a rock back together but ended up putting too much force into it and all the pieces exploded into dust, covering Will in it. He coughed a lot and had to get cleaned up again so he tried his hand at wind manipulation which was supposed to be easy. He moved the air molecules around him and made a gust of wind to blow all the dust off. Only he used to much and ended up knocking himself into the ceiling. He fell face first into the ground with the others watching in amusement.

Another, another, another hour later…

He was now trying something that could be useful in the future. Plasma or lightning manipulation. By using his telekinesis to manipulate ionized gas particles in the air to build up a static charge he could discharge and control it as a form of ionized plasma/lightning. He held his hands together and started small with a tiny flicker of plasma. For about five minutes he got nothing until he started to see hot gas and a flicker of plasma energy.

"Oh! I got it! I got one!" He opened up his hands only for the plasma flicker to fall to the ground and fade away. "That's underwhelming."

He tried again and made another plasma flicker only for it to hit him in the face and fly away. "Well, that didn't work."

"Try again." Crystal suggested.

That didn't work as well either.

Will made another plasma flicker but had a hard time controlling it as it just kept hitting him in the face. "Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow."

Another, another, another, another hour later…

He eventually got the hang of making a plasma ball, a tiny one, and it stopped hitting him in the face but as he kept trying to send it at a target it would fly in a random direction. Will clearly didn't have enough control over this new power as it kept missing like it had a mind of its own. On the 30th try he sent out the plasma bolt but it flew around the room and hit him on the belt buckle.

"Whew, that was close…" Will spoke too soon as the plasma bolt flew around the room and then came from behind him and hit him in the nuts. "OH!"

He dropped to the ground and grabbed his crotch in pain. "Oh…that looked like it hurt." Pepper said as she and the others winced. Crystal walked into the training room and tended to Will while Goose walked over and licked him on the head.

"You think we should give it a rest for the day?" Tony wondered.

"Probably should have done that a few hours ago." Bruce pointed out. "We'll pick this up tomorrow."

Will raised his arm and gave them a thumb's up.

"Sounds good." He wheezed out. Clearly he still had a lot of training to go through before he could use his new powers effectively. And with what he would be facing in the years to come he would need them.

1). Tabitha Smith portrayed by Teresa Palmer.

2). Clarice Fong, Angel Salvadore, Daisy Lee, and Grant Brody. Will's high school and college friends introduced in chapter 2. Just in case anyone got confused. Clarice Fong played by Jamie Chung. Angel Salvadore played by Zoe Kravitz. Grant Brody played by Oliver Jackson-Cohen. Daisy Lee as played by Natalie Brown.

End of Chapter 17

I hoped you guys liked Chapter 17. We picked where Thor the Dark World left off, dealt with the Berserker Staff, Will locked up Kilgrave, and began testing his new powers which had a rocky start. Tabitha has a long road of recovery as does Jessica Jones and Will is gonna keep an eye on her just in case.

Next time, Will's training with his new abilities continues and he gets a reason to use them. October is here for him and it starts with an Index evaluation for a possible mutant who resides near a place in Jersey that Will is all too familiar with. Camp Crystal Lake. And after that, Halloween for him has him deal with a secret SHIELD subprogram to stop a resurrected Nazi sorcerer and his plan to take over the world with a Cthulhu monster. Thankfully Will gets some help from a guy who's big, red, smokes cigars, and has a tail. And it's not Santa. Until then!

For the next chapter, it's sort of envisioned as a Halloween inspired chapter and if the timing was better I would have tried to release it on Halloween but oh well.

Will's exposure to the Aether has given him some new powers which he'll need to train and learn control before he uses them and that'll take a while. Will's elemental control isn't a brand new power but rather a sub power of his telekinesis. Unlike elemental manipulators who have some kind of psychic control over elements like Crystal or the Avatar, Will's elemental manipulator is more based on his telekinesis. He can use his telekinesis to rearrange and move molecules instead of actually controlling molecules. He has elemental sub powers because he can move the molecules of water with his telekinesis, force them to stop to freeze things or vibrate them faster so they burn. With simple things like turning water into ice, moving the wind, making fire, or creating lightning the molecular movement is easier compared to rearranging the molecules in a human to turn them into a goat or turning an infinity stone into a regular rock which would be incredibly, incredibly difficult for him to even comprehend trying to do.

It's not Molecule Man's kind of control of molecules but more telekinetically controlling molecules. The Aether finetuned his control over his telekinesis to a greater extent then it was before which also has some other benefits that he'll need to figure out. This won't make him automatically OP as even with a great deal of practice using his telekinesis to control molecules is very difficult. Will's already immensely powerful and these new powers add to that which will come in handy with the bigger threats he'll have to face.

Next update: Blue Wolf needs a little more time so I'll get up on Friday December 2nd. Updates for December will be The Spectacular Spider-man and The Crimson Speedster. And for the end of the year I have a surprise. A new story will be debuting near the end of the month. I can say right now that it's not a Naruto crossover story, sorry guys, and it's not the Boy's story I put the poll on. I'm still workshopping ideas for that. So, look forward to December. Hope everyone has a healthy and happy holiday season. Stay safe and look out for other people. Until then!

William Alexander Detmer/Birthname: William Alexander Danvers

Born: September 8th, 1988-Currently 24

Moniker= Aegis (means something under protection from a benevolent source/Shield of Zeus and Athena)

Primagen Enhanced Inhuman

SHIELD Status: Level 8 Agent / Special Operations, Tactics and Defense Specialist (SOTD) Serial number: NE616IN

Member of the Avengers

Appearance: Stephen Amell from Arrow, Season 1 build.

Aegis Combat gear: Earth X's Dark Arrow Vibranium jacket and pants with retractable full-face mask colored Black and Blue. Eye covers in mask are colored blue as well. Improved design resists more damage and certain atmospheric pressures.

Shoulder strap pellet holders. Combat gloves and forearm guards with weapons and equipment.

SHIELD gear: Combat boots, black combat pants, with form fitting dark blue long sleeve athletic shirt. SHIELD Tactical combat vest.

Shoulder strap pellet holders. Combat gloves and forearm guards with weapons and equipment.

Casual Outfit: dark blue or black sneakers, jeans, blue or black t-shirt and either a zip-up hoodie, jacket, or button up over.

Weapons:

Signature Guns:

Modified Heckler & Koch P30L handgun with custom grip and micro-dermal sensor to his palm print. Improved barrel for accuracy and damage output. Added compensator or suppressor attachment. Spare firearm Glock 17.

Modified Knight's Armament SR-25 Sniper rifle with modified scope, bipod, and suppressor.

Modified M249 Mk46 Light Machine gun with a modified barrel, magazine insertion well. Equipped with adjustable buttstock, 100-round magazine drum, deployable bipod, red dot sight, flashlight, and laser sight attachment.

Modified TDI/KRISS Vector-.45 ACP with modified barrel, stock, grip, extended magazine, red-dot sight, flashlight, laser sight, and silencer attachment.

Modified Remington 879 MSC Masterkey 12-gauge compact shotgun.

Custom collapsible Oneida Kestrel Compound Bow and quiver of special arrows.

Others:

Right forearm guard wrist mounted retractable Vibranium/alloy blades.

Left forearm guard wrist mounted small retractable Vibranium Shield & touchpad computer.

10 dark blue flechettes/throwing arrows wrapped around his ankles.

2 Vibranium orbs that Will is able to manipulate.

Natural Language Modified Artificial Intelligence program EDI.

Predator Combi stick/spear

2 Predator Shuriken

4 Laser net devices

Predator knife

Microtech Combat Troodon OTF knife

Personal Vehicles: Red and Black 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS (At home in Jersey City), Red and Black 1970 Harley Davidson Titan V-Rod motorcycle, Specially modified 2012 Aston Martin DBS V-12 spy car, SHIELD Quinjet for transport

Notable talents: Genius level intellect potential, self-defense military training from Harold Detmer, knowledge, and training in 15 types of martial arts, gun knowledge and expert marksman trained by Clint Barton, espionage and spy skills trained by Natasha Romanoff, SHIELD tactics and medical training from Coulson and SHIELD trainers, well-crafted knowledge and understanding of psychology, knowledge, and experience with engineering both mechanical and electrical, fluent in dozens of languages, trained pilot.

Personality: Kind, caring, composed, attentive, intelligent, and driven. Can be a bit of a smartass.

When insulted, angered, or in a serious situation, focused and relentless. Considered dangerous and unforgiving in these types of situations.

Uses powers sparingly in the field unless absolutely needs to.

Pairing: Will x Skye/Daisy Johnson x Crystal

Powers:

Rakyat Tatau: Mystical tattoo that enhances speed, strength, stamina, intelligence, instincts, healing speed ad metabolic function to absolute human peak potential. (Captain America Level Super Soldier)

Telekinesis: the ability to impact objects through the direct influence of mental power or other non-physical means

Power Level=Advanced: level 4 out of 5

Binding-to keep an object/being from moving

Levitation-to lift an object

Orbital Field-to makes objects and energy orbit around user

Telekinetic Shield-to create a shield of telekinetic energy around user or others/strength of shield depends on mental strength and focus of user

Psionic Speed-to augment user's physical speed

Psionic Strength-to augment user's physical strength

Telekinetic Bullet Projection-projecting telekinetic energy as bullets

Telekinetic Choking-to strangle someone with telekinesis

Telekinetic Grip-To grasp an object firmly in place

Telekinetic Maneuver-to alter an object's directional course

Telekinetic Pull & Push-to pull or push objects away from user

Telekinetic Aura/Sense-To sense one's surroundings with telekinesis

Telekinetic Compression-to crush or compact an object

Telekinetic Blast-to emit telekinetic energy as a blast of blue energy

Telekinetic Destruction-to make an object explode into dust

Telekinetic Flight-using telekinesis to fly

Psionic Explosion-to create/discharge psychic energy across a wide range

Telepathy: mentally receive or transmit information

Power Level=Advanced: level 4 out of 5

Mind Reading-ability to read the thoughts of others

Memory Reading-the ability to read the target's memories

Psychic Communication-the ability to secretly converse with others

Telepathic Speaking-to speak aloud using the mind

Telepathic Projection-to project images or memories into the physical plane

Download-the ability to process/download information of another person (If used in a violent or angry mood, can harm the victim)

Knowledge Replication-the ability to replicate learned knowledge and skills

Knowledge Projection-the ability to project knowledge to another

Rapid brain activity-the ability to process and understand information at incredible rates

Mental Inducement-The ability to put the targets mind into the wanted state

Mental Hallucination-the ability to cause mental hallucinations

Mind Link-the ability to develop a permanent mental bond with any person

Mind Walking/Melding-to enter another's consciousness

Precognition awareness-six sense awareness of imminent danger

Telepathic Prediction-the ability to know a person's moves by reading their brain waves

Astral Projection-to separate one's mind from their body and explore physical plane

Cannot use telekinesis in this state. If separated from body too long, very dangerous.

Telepathic Surgery-the ability to perform neuropsychic surgery, healing and/or damaging the mind

Memory/Mental Manipulation-the ability to manipulate a target's memories and mind

Clairvoyance-the ability to gain direct visual information through non-physical means

Triggered only by serious events

Foresight-the ability to foresee possible future events and observe what may happen

Needs certain triggers to activate

Powers Gained from Exposure to the Aether

Invisibility-Can use his telekinesis to fold the light around his body or an object to make him or anything invisible to sight. Requires great deal of concentration.

Healing-Can use his telekinesis to move parts of the human body around at the molecular or atomic level to heal. Requires great deal of concentration.

Molecular Manipulation Power Boost: Can use his telekinesis to adjust the molecules in an object to turn it into something else so long as he understands the objects chemical structure and makeup. I.e., turning gas into water or turning gravel into iron. Can accelerate, slow down and adjust spacing of molecules. Requires great deal of concentration to master. Has sub powers.

Fire manipulation-Can use his telekinesis to ignite the elements in the air by creating friction at a molecular level at will to make fire.

Ice/Water manipulation-Can use his telekinesis to slow down or stop all the molecules around an area from moving, thus creating ice and freezing anything he stops from moving. Can turn ice into water or steam by manipulating the speed of the molecules and control the element with his telekinesis.

Wind manipulation-Can use his telekinesis to move the oxygen/nitrogen molecules around him in the atmosphere to manipulate air/wind.

Earth manipulation-Can use his telekinesis to manipulate the molecules of earth or earthen elements including most solid objects, specifically all minerals and mineral compositions regardless of their state.

Plasma/Lightning manipulation-Can use telekinesis to manipulate highly ionized gas molecules in the air to build up a static charge and then discharge it as a form of ionized Plasma/lightning. Plasma/Lightning is colored blue.

Disclaimer: I don't own Agents of SHIELD or any Marvel Properties, they belong to their respective owners, I'm just a fan.