A gentle knock on the doorframe interrupted their conversation before Stark could continue. "Wow, everyone's here," Skye commented quietly, before speaking up to announce her intentions. "I was looking for Master Mùshī."

"What's going on, grasshopper?" asked Ryan.

"After you guys left for the guest house, I figured I'd try and see what information I could get out of Ward..."

"Your prisoner?" asked Stark. "The blind and deaf guy?"

Skye ignored the question, shifting her weight nervously between the balls of her feet. "I connected to his mind the way that my dad taught me, but then...I'm not sure, but I think I might have time traveled."

A murmur of confusion and surprise rippled throughout the room as a smattering of unrelated questions all came up at once. "Skye?" asked Simmons, "you can travel through time, now, too?!"

May's mind caught on a different part ot Skye's explanation. "Skye? You met your father? When did this happen?"

Banner watched the exchange between the woman he knew as 'Shadow' and the SHIELD team...and his face fell. "Shadow?" he asked quietly. "You're with SHIELD?"

Skye withered a bit under Banner's disappointed gaze. "I am...I was," she admitted. "I'm sorry, I...I thought you knew."

Banner shook his head, then turned to Ryan. "I thought she was one of you guys?"

"I'm both...technically," replied Skye. "My father was the predecessor of Master Mùshī."

Banner's eyes widened. "So you worked for SHIELD and you're the child of a Guardian?" He let out a low whistle as Skye nodded. "Wow...you really are dangerous..."

Esposito fought to get Skye back to the original point of her conversation even as she blushed at Banner's comments. "When you time traveled, did you go to the past or the future?"

"The past," replied Skye.

"And was Ward there?" asked Esposito, pushing into what was feeling more and more like familiar territory.

"Yeah," Skye replied. "He was a little boy. How did you know?"

Esposito gently shook his head. "You didn't go back in time. I think you might have gone into his memories. Pretty far back, apparently."

"His memories?" Skye asked, her eyes flying back and forth between Ryan and Esposito before settling on her friend and 'mentor'. "I though his memories were off limits? That accessing them was a separate power?"

"They are, for us," Ryan replied. "But your situation is so unique..." The guilty look on Skye's face wasn't lost on him. "Grasshopper? What happened?"

Skye blushed. "I think...I might have changed one of Ward's memories. Maybe permanently."

Coulson's eyes widened. "I think we need to go examine Ward," he declared. "Now."

#

Coulson hesitated as he stood outside Ward's cell. Looking through the small window, their prisoner looked surprisingly...normal. "He hasn't moved," Coulson told the group. "That's exactly where we left him."

"He seems fine, physically," Beckett added. "At least as far as I can tell from here."

Esposito opened the door, unfazed when Ward didn't move. He knelt down next to the prisoner, placing a hand on the man's shoulder.

Ward flinched at the sensation. "Who's that?!" he exclaimed. "Who's there?"

Esposito ignored Ward's complaints, never taking his hand off the man's shoulder. He soon frowned, though, and closed his eyes to concentrate harder on what he was trying to do.

Ryan joined his partner a moment later, opening a connection with his fellow Guardian when he saw the other man's frustration. The source of Esposito's frustration quickly caused Ryan to share his partner's confusion. He pulled Esposito's hand away from the prisoner's shoulder. "Let it go, man," Ryan told his partner. "I don't think you'll be able to get through to him."

"You don't?" Esposito asked, venting his frustration toward his partner. "Why the hell not?"

"I felt something weird when I tried to help you get to Ward's memories," Ryan explained. A realization seemed to push Ryan to his feet. "And I just figured out what it was."

Ryan helped Esposito up to a standing position before the two men left the cell. The group was waiting patiently for them on the other side of the door. "Well?" asked Coulson. "Why couldn't Master Xiānzhī get through?"

"There was an...energy signature, for lack of a better way of putting it," Ryan explained, "in Agent Ward's mind. It blocked us at every turn. It took me a minute, but I just realized where I've felt that signature before."

"Where?" asked Simmons.

Ryan turned to Skye. "Sorry, grasshopper, but the last time I felt this signature was in your head. Whatever you did to Ward, we can't get past it."

Esposito's eyes widened slightly as the realization hit him. "So that's what that was," he agreed. "I wondered why Ward's mind felt so familiar."

Skye ignored Esposito's comment. "So if I reverse the things I've done to Ward's mind, you guys will be able to get through to him?"

Ryan nodded. "I think so."

"Wait a minute," asked May, "if you take off...whatever you did to Agent Ward, how will we know that he's telling us the truth?"

"He won't need to tell us anything," Coulson replied confidently.

Skye turned to look at Ward through the window to his cell. An angry roar erupted from behind the locked door. "I think I've reversed everything I did to him," Skye declared. "You should be able to get through to him now."

Stark snorted derisively. "I hope that's what that is..."

Ryan and Esposito ignored the comment. Esposito turned to his partner. "After you," he said, holding his hand on the doorknob to open it.

"Gee, thanks," Ryan muttered under his breath. He walked through the door as Esposito opened it, speaking only when he heard the soft click of the door closing behind them. "Agent Ward," Ryan greeted the prisoner quietly, slowly approaching the man who was crouching warily in a corner of the room, "do you know who we are?"

Ward looked up at the two Guardians with a cold, casual expression of indifference. "Don't tell me," he teased, "let me guess...the real Ben and Jerry?" When he got the desired eye roll from Esposito, Ward continued, "Penn and Teller? Smith and Wesson? No...I got it! Which one of you is Batman and which one is Robin?"

Esposito had heard enough. He sprinted across the room, yanked Ward up until his body could no longer touch the ground and held the prisoner against the wall by pressing his forearm roughly into Ward's throat. "Listen, you obnoxious son of a bitch," Esposito growled out angrily, "you might think that because of who you are and who you work for that you have the upper hand here. Trust me. You don't."

Ward remained defiant even as he felt Esposito's weight slowly crushing his throat. "We'll see about that," he declared.

Esposito released Ward, letting him drop back to the ground as he stormed out of the padded cell.

Ryan followed his partner's lead only to discover that his partner's fury wasn't an act...and hadn't abated even when both men were on the other side of the wall. "Espo?" he asked warily.

"I still can't reach him," Esposito declared angrily.

"What?!" exclaimed Beckett.

"The damn block's still there," Esposito insisted.

Everyone's attention immediately turned to Skye, who lifted up her hands in an expression of defensiveness. "Don't look at me," she countered. "I took off everything I did to him..."

"Not everything," Ryan argued.

Skye nodded, immediately understanding what Ryan was implying. "His memories."

Ryan nodded in agreement. "Hate to tell you this, grasshopper, but until you fix whatever you did in Ward's head, we can't help you with him. I'm afraid you're on your own."

"But what if I make it worse?" Skye asked, clearly frustrated. "I mean, look at how much of a mess I've made already, and I didn't even know what I was doing..."

"I'll go in with you this time," Ryan offered, pouring peace into the room to try and calm his young, nervous friend. "Maybe if I can observe what's going we'll be able to fix it together."

Skye instantly looked relieved at the show of support even as her nervousness remained. "Thank you," she sighed. She walked around the group cautiously until she stood just outside the cell door. Taking in a deep breath, she let it out slowly, placing a hand above the deadbolt to 'connect' with her target. The sound of a body collapsing to the ground told Skye that she had achieved her desired result. "He's ready for us, now," she declared.

Ryan walked through the door as Skye opened it to find Ward in an awkward, disjointed position on the floor. "Did you knock him out?" he asked Skye.

A groan from the 'lump' on the floor answered Ryan's question. "I killed his sight, hearing and mobility," Skye replied. "Just like before...except I paralyzed him completely so he won't be able to fight us. But he's still conscious. Technically."

Ryan nodded, accepting the information in stride. "You ready?"

"Yeah," agreed Skye. She closed her eyes, focusing her entire being on connecting with Ward's mind. When Ryan's mind connected with hers, the world disappeared in a blinding flash of light.

#

The world re-formed with dirt underneath their feet. Ryan looked around, trying and failing to place the unfamiliar surroundings. "Any idea where we are, grasshopper?" he finally asked Skye.

Skye shook her head. "Not a clue." A car flew past them, kicking up the dirt on the road and causing a cloud of dust that seemed like it should be choking them. "Why isn't the dust bothering us?" Skye asked Ryan.

"We're in Ward's mind," Ryan replied, his eyes tracking the path of the car. "I think it might be another moment from his past."

Skye turned to follow Ryan's line of sight. "If we're in Grant's mind," she mused, "then the guy that almost ran us over must be him..." Skye started to run...

Until Ryan scooped her up and positioned her on his back. "Hang on," he declared. "I can run faster."

Skye nodded and buried her head in her mentor's shoulder. The pair sprinted down the dirt path, stopping only when they reached the parked car that had come after them a moment earlier. "The front door's open," Skye announced. It was clear that there was an argument going on in the house; one that was being fought loudly and passionately between two men. And the voice of one of the men in question was one that Skye recognized immediately. "Ward..."

Ryan stopped Skye after she took a single step toward the door. "Your gift doesn't work here, Skye," he warned. "Watch, but don't interfere." Skye opened her mouth to protest, then closed it quickly and matched Ryan's pace as he entered the house.

The two men ignored Ryan and Skye's presence entirely. They were far too wrapped up in their disagreement. The older and larger man wheeled around and stopped his younger brother. "Why are you really here, Grant? We both know you're not here because you 'miss' mom and dad."

Grant looked into the eyes of his older brother and swallowed hard. "Dougie called me."

The other man chuckled loudly, clearly disbelieving Grant's statement. "*Dougie* called you?" he exclaimed. "For the first time in the life of that stupid lump, he picked up a telephone and used it?"

"He said," Grant continued, ignoring the taunt, "that you had threatened to kill him. More than once. He's scared you really mean it this time."

"And what if I do?" the older man countered. "What the hell are you going to do about it?" He pushed closer, invading Grant's personal space. "Or did that pricey boarding school actually teach you 'a few moves' to use against me?"

A third voice entered the conversation, calling down from the top of the stairs. "Grant?" the voice called. "Grant, is that you?"

It was all the distraction the older man needed. He grabbed Grant's wrists and twisted them behind his back, causing Grant to scream out in pain. That scream sent Dougie tearing down the stairs, screaming with rage. "No!" he yelled, pounding on his older brother with all his might. "Christian, no! Don't you hurt my brother!"

Christian laughed, never breaking his hold on Grant's wrists. "Beat it, dough-boy," he taunted, kicking Dougie in the stomach and sending him flying back into a nearby fireplace. Dougie's head snapped back from the force of the blow, breaking his neck against the mantle. Dougie's lifeless body then collapsed, falling first on its knees, then falling forward into the live fire.

"NO!" Grant screamed, watching in angry horror as his younger brother's body caught fire. He wrenched his wrists out of Christian's grasp, ignoring the resulting pain as he turned to face his tormentor. He punched Christian in the face, sending the older man staggering back until he fell over Dougie's burning body.

Christian's clothes caught fire immediately. He kicked and flailed, rolling around in an attempt to douse the flames - but only succeeding in setting the area rug on fire. He looked up to the only person who could possibly do anything to assist him. "Grant!" yelled Christian, "Help me!"

Grant backed away from the gruesome scene unfolding before him, his eyes showing his inner conflict. A brief moment later, however...his face fell. He turned and ran out of the house, abandoning Christian to his fate.

Skye turned to Ryan in stunned confusion. "Teach?" she asked, speaking louder over the increasing roar of the flames, "what do we do now..."

The scene changed in the blink of an eye. The searing heat of the flames and the suffocating, acrid smoke disappeared into the refreshing clarity of a blue, cloudless sky and the choking cloud of...dust. Dirt beneath their feet once more. Skye connected the dots quickly. "Groundhog Day..."

"Groundhog Day?" asked Ryan.

Skye jumped on Ryan's back as she explained the reference. "We didn't change anything, so I think we're repeating the day," she insisted. "Let's go. This time we're doing it my way."

Ryan started to protest Skye's orders, but stopped when he realized he didn't have a better idea. "Yes, ma'am," he relented, taking off after the speeding car.

The argument was well underway by the time Skye and Ryan arrived at the house. Skye wasted no time in implementing her plan. "DOUGIE!" she called out, hoping that the young man would react to the sound of his voice.

While Dougie didn't react to Skye's voice, Christian did. "Who the hell are you?" he grunted, making sure that he stood directly in between Skye and the staircase that she was hoping to climb.

"Your feminist nightmare," Skye replied. She kicked Christian between the legs, hitting the larger man squarely in his genitals. When he doubled over from the pain of the blow, Skye finished off the combination by swinging her other leg around and kicking Christian across the side of his head, knocking him out. She then tried her call a second time. "DOUGIE!"

"Wait, who are you?" Grant asked, forcibly turning Skye to pull her attention toward him and away from the stairs. "Why are you calling for my brother?"

It was clear to Skye that this 'Grant' didn't recognize her. So she attempted to jog his memory. "Grant, remember when you were a kid and Christian threw Dougie down that well? And you went in after him?"

Grant shook his head, his eyes widening as the memory seemed to return to him. "Skye?" he asked. "How...?"

"No time to explain," Skye insisted. "Christian's gonna wake up any minute. We need to take Dougie and get him out of here. Now."

Grant nodded, his focus instantly snapping back to the original purpose of his mission. "DOUGIE!" he yelled out. "I'M HOME!"

"GRANT!" Dougie yelled back, clearly excited to hear his older brother's voice. He bounded down the stairs and flung his arms around his brother. "Why are you home? You not supposed to be here for an'udder month..."

"You called me, remember?" Grant replied. "About Christian?"

Dougie's face quickly drained of color. "He scaring me, Grant," Dougie admitted quietly. "I think he want to kill me."

"I know, Dougie, I know," Grant agreed. "That's why I came to get you. Protect you like I promised."

Dougie looked up at his brother with hopeful, innocent eyes. "So we go now, then?"

"Yeah," replied Grant. "We're going now."

The two young men got to the door of the home when Christian woke up, first with a groan, then with an angry roar. "NO ONE...IS GOING...ANYWHERE!"

The door slammed behind Ryan without anyone touching it. Skye turned toward the sound, then turned back to Ryan. "Did you...?"

"Nope," Ryan replied quickly, his entire being radiating a defensive, high-alert status. "That one wasn't me."

"I...remember you," Chriistian growled at Skye. He turned to Ryan. "But who the hell are you?"

The way that Christian looked at Ryan sent a chill down his spine. He used that chill as fuel, straightening up with the full confidence of his blessing. A flash of light streaked through the room as Ryan re-opened the door. "Skye," he ordered his protègé, "get Grant and Dougie out of here."

Skye never took her eyes off their enemy. "Grant, get Dougie out of here."

Grant took his brother by the hand and headed toward the door, stopping only when Dougie got past the doorframe. "What about you, Skye?"

Skye swallowed the nervous lump in her throat. "I'll be fine..."

"Yes, you will, Skye," Ryan chimed in, his voice exuding serene confidence. "Out."

Ryan's aura flashed, showing itself in its full glory as it shoved Skye out the door and slammed the door behind her. He then turned back to his adversary. "Well," Ryan began casually, "now that we're alone, maybe you can tell me who you really are..."

"You first," Maynard insisted, his voice dropping an octave in Grant's absence. "They call you Ryan...but that is not who you are, is it?"

"No, that's me," Ryan teased, shaking his head. "Agent Kevin Ryan. Pleasure to meet you. And you are...?"

"This one is mine," declared Maynard, ignoring the question.

A flaming log flew out of the fireplace, narrowly missing Ryan's head and lighting the nearby curtain on fire. Ryan ignored the flames, never taking his eyes off his opponent as he prodded for weaknesses. "He's yours? Which one? Grant? Dougie?"

Another flaming log flew at Ryan in response, but Ryan used his aura to catch this log and send it flying back at Christian. The log hit Christian in the chest, knocking him to the ground and adding to the flames that were engulfing everything in the room. Christian's agonized screams were the last sound that Ryan heard before the world around him exploded in a blinding flash of white light.

#

Ryan woke up with a start, blinking back the disorientation from the instant change in his surroundings. He turned to find Agent Ward laying unchanged at his side...and Skye sitting on Ward's opposite side, still shaking from their shared experience. "You okay?" he asked Skye.

Skye nodded weakly, taking deep breaths to slowly regain her strength. She felt hands reach around her and gently help her up. Out of the corner of her eye, Skye quickly recognized that Coulson was helping her up as Esposito was doing the same for her mentor.

Two comfortable chairs were sitting next to the door on the 'safe' side of the cell, and Ryan and Skye collapsed into them gratefully. Lanie was the first one to reach the pair, sweeping through first Skye, then Ryan within seconds...and frowning at the results of her examination. "Why are you both suffering from smoke inhalation?"

The question shocked Skye. "Smoke inhalation...?"

"Something else is going on here," Ryan replied to Lanie's question. "I don't know what's posessing Agent Ward over there, but it's big and it's nasty, and I think he's been fighting it since he was a kid."

Esposito frowned at the nervous edge in his partner's voice. "How nasty?"

Ryan's eyes locked with on Esposito's. "Somewhere between the old witch and the black fog."

The Guardians groaned almost collectively. "Bad news?" asked May.

"Let's just say that going after all of HYDRA at once would be a walk in the park compared to going after the black fog again," Ryan replied.

The mention of HYDRA brought Coulson back to the original purpose of their visit. "How is Ward?" he asked. "Will we be able to get anything out of him now?"

Ryan shook his head. "Not until we get out whatever's got its claws sunk into him."

"We?" asked Skye.

"No way I'm letting you go after that thing alone, Grasshopper," Ryan replied, smiling for the first time since he regained consciousness as he reached over to give Skye's hand a reassuring squeeze. He then turned to Banner. "I'd like you to help us with this as well, Yoda."

Banner nodded. "Whatever I can do."

Coulson started to pace the small room, fidgeting impatiently. "I don't like this at all," he began, almost growling in frustration. "With Garrett dead and Ward out of commission, we have no way to figure out HYDRA's next move..."

The impatient ringing of a cell phone interrupted Coulson before he had a chance to continue. Once everyone checked their pockets, Fallon put his phone on speaker as soon as he recognized the number. "Phoenix here. What's going on, Terry?"

"S-s-sir?" Terry stammered out nervously. "I have a woman here who says she's seeking...sanctuary from the Guardians. She says that HYDRA's after her and she has nowhere else to go."

Wary, concerned, and nervous looks flew between the members of the group, but Fallon shushed the group before any of them could speak. "Did this woman give you her name, Terry? How did she know where to find us?"

"She says her name is Doctor Jane Foster, Phoenix," Terry replied. "She says...she says that Thor sent her here, sir."