Author's Note: This is the last chapter. Thanks to all who read, I hope you've enjoyed it. :) The second half of this story came to me in a vivid dream, and it took a bit to shape it into something that would work, especially since I haven't seen the early seasons of the show since they first aired. So if there's anything that doesn't quite make sense, consider that creative license based on my memory, lol. ;)


Chapter Five.

"That really is quite remarkable, Fitz," Jemma said.

The light of the high desert dawn lit up Fitz's work, sprawled all over the enlarged wayback of their SUV. Although he had managed to scavenge for parts before stores had closed, finding a place to work had been harder. He hadn't wanted to waste time driving to a town with a larger motel, so Fitz had set up shop in their car. Jemma had helped fold down the back row, which allowed him just enough room to work.

Jemma had taken a nap in the front seat when he'd begun his work, just after midnight. As a biological scientist, her strength wasn't in building flying drones from spare parts, and one of them had to be awake in order to drive the next day.

"To be honest, it's about the same as I did for a school science project when I was ten," Fitz replied. He looked up and stretched. "Although we didn't have cell phones this small back then."

Jemma smiled and stretched, too. Then yawned. "I'm going to hunt down what counts for breakfast in this town," she said. "Maybe find some tea."

The morning air was cool, not yet warmed by the fledgling sun. She walked across the parking lot - they'd found a space under a strong light in a grocery store lot - toward a convenience store attached to a gas station. At that early hour, it was the only store that was open.

An employee behind the counter greeted her with bleary eyes. Jemma hunted around for something somewhat healthy and came away with some doughnuts (calories were useful, at least) and some sandwiches that might have been close to the expiration date, but she wanted the protein. There was no tea to be seen, except for cold bottled stuff that affronted her sensibilities. Coffee it was, then. At least Fitz would be grateful for the caffeine.

As she paid for her purchases, she noticed a small television set behind the counter that the clerk had been watching. It displayed the ongoing attack.

"Anything new?" Jemma asked, nodding at the screen.

"Oh, not much." The clerk handed Jemma her change. "The military pulled back from Washington a few hours ago to regroup, I think. I don't know why the Avengers haven't shown up."

"That is odd," Jemma said, thoughtfully, then ducked out of the shop. Without any way of contacting the Avengers, and not knowing if any of her superiors would be under duress, there was no way to know if the Avengers were even on the planet, as they'd been working on building a relationship with Asgard.

It was also possible the Avengers were already in the middle of a defensive measure, but it just hadn't made the news yet.

Jemma handed Fitz his breakfast. "Sorry, Leo. There's not much to be had here."

He took out the sandwich and sniffed it. "It's okay. We've had worse at times. Although it does make me long for your version of a sandwich."

Jemma smiled. It had been a while since she'd had a chance to make him lunch.

"I think I'm ready to launch," Fitz said after a mouthful of sandwich. "I just need to test the comms first."

He set down his food and picked up a tiny, cheap, prepaid convenience store cell phone. "I'm kind of glad we're in the middle of nowhere, as they had something other than the giant smartphones which would have made the drone a mite more difficult to build due to weight." He tapped on the keyboard, and a moment later his drone chirped.

"It worked!" Jemma said. She leaned over to read the little screen on the makeshift drone. The drone was cute, almost like an oversized dragonfly, and Fitz had stripped its cellphone down to the screen and keyboard, ridding it of as much weight as possible. She carefully typed a short message back, and a moment later the phone in Fitz's hand beeped.

"Thank god," said Fitz.

"Should we launch it now?" Jemma asked.

"No, I want to get closer by driving so I don't risk the drone's battery running out too soon. Do you mind? And on the way I need to access the security systems so I can get the best idea where I can send the little guy."

Jemma helped him close up the trunk. "Do you think they'll have modified the security system?"

"Aiden seems like a smart guy, and it would be a smart move. But there's only one way to find out."

Within moments, the pair were on the road again, this time with Jemma behind the wheel. She enjoyed the chance to drive. She'd been living in America for years at this point, but usually biked or took public transit. Owning a car was too much of a hassle. And besides, for work she usually ended up as a passenger.

"Perhaps you should rest," she told Fitz, glancing at him. He was hunched over his laptop screen.

"I'm fine," he said. "The coffee worked. I'll rest when this is over."

"Any luck getting into the system?"

He was quiet for a minute. "I think I may have it."

"Really? That quickly?"

"I've done it before, so I know my way. And it looks like Aiden hasn't added any trap doors or blocks." He madly clicked through the screen. "They're in the detention cells."

"What? You can see them?"

"Yeah, I patched into the security feed. They look okay. Crowded, though."

"That's good news, Fitz. Now how are you going to get Tinkerbell in there?"

"Tinker-what?"

"I decided to name your drone, this time after a fairy instead of a dwarf."

"Oh, Jemma, that drone is not Tinkerbell."

"I think it's a great name."

"Okay, when you build one, you can name one."

"Well, what do you want to call it?"

He thought for a moment. Then he said slowly, "Tinker."

Jemma laughed. "That'll do. So how will Tinker get inside?"

"Air ducts," Fitz said, tapping his screen. "I made it thin enough to rotate herself past the vent screens. From there, she'll be easy enough to direct down to the bottom levels."

"All right," Jemma said. "We have well over an hour drive. Since you've got this all figured out, promise me you'll try to take a nap at least? You'll need to be sharp when you're directing Tinker."

Fitz smiled faintly. "For you, Jemma, I will shut my eyes."

Jemma smiled back and increased her speed a little. For the first time in over a day, things were starting to look up.

Skye's thoughts buzzed noisily as she was led back down into the detention cells. She had trouble understanding what had just happened. She shook her head. It seemed the clouds were lifting, and her thoughts were clearer, but her memory was fuzzy.

Her guard - not Ward this time, thankfully - removed her handcuffs and gag before shoving her back into the cell with the others. The team waited impatiently until the cell block door shut behind the guard.

"What happened?" Coulson asked. "Skye?"

Skye just stood still for a minute, trying to process. Trying to think of a way to explain what had happened. "I, um. He told me to shoot Lily. And I think I did."

"What? You killed her?" May snapped.

"No, I didn't. I … the gun wasn't loaded. No one was hurt. I don't really understand why I did that."

"Did you believe the gun was loaded?"

"I don't know. I just did what he told me to do."

Coulson reached out and put a hand on either side of her face, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Skye, you're not making a lot of sense," he said gently. "Tell me what happened."

"I think - I think Aiden can control people. With his voice. Like some form of hypnosis."

Coulson let go of her and stepped back. "Mind control?"

"It makes sense, Coulson," May said. "We all were confused by how Lily acted around him, and when we questioned her. There was always something a little off about their relationship."

"So he has a super power?"

Skye rubbed her arm where she'd been given the injection. "I think he does. But he found a way to increase it, to affect many people at once. He gave me some sort of injection. And then he gave me the orders over a cell phone. I don't see why he wouldn't be able to just go on TV and tell everyone what to do."

"Then why hasn't he done it already?" May asked.

"He wanted Lily," Coulson said. "He must have been practicing on her. Perfecting whatever it is he can do."

"And we forced his hand," said Skye. "If we hadn't interrupted him at the warehouse, he probably wouldn't have needed to attack first. It would have just happened all at once."

"All right," Coulson said. "Knowing this, what's our plan?"

He broke off as the door opened and the guard entered again, looking in each of the cells as he did so. There hadn't been a pattern to their visits, but at least they'd been staying outside so they could talk in private.

Skye sat down on a cot, trying to look nonchalant until the guard left.

"We need to get the word out about his power," May said as soon as the door closed behind the guard again.

"Tell people to keep their TV's on mute?" Coulson asked.

"Or at least the forces that will be attacking," May said. "Wear earplugs or some sort of noise-canceling device."

"Maybe we should punch him in the throat," Skye muttered.

"Ward or Aiden?" Coulson asked wryly.

"Is it too much to ask for both?" Skye said.

"Did something happen?" Coulson asked. "When he escorted you up?"

"No," Skye said. "This is just my normal Ward-vengeance plans."

"Oh, good. I just wanted to know if we had any complications to sort through. Beyond what we already have to sort through here."

"You know I can handle it, boss," Skye said. "Well, as long as Aiden isn't whispering evil into my ear."

"Shhh," May said. "Do you two hear that?"

The cell fell silent. Skye looked at May quizzically. "What?" she mouthed.

But then she heard it - a distant, slight buzzing. Growing louder. Or closer.

"The air vent," Coulson breathed.

They turned and looked up. The buzzing increased, and then something small and gray bumped into the vent. Then it turned and slid through.

May caught it out of the air before a guard could enter and see. The drone powered down in response.

"It's Fitz," she said.

Skye crowded in. "How can you tell?"

May turned the device. On what appeared to be a cell phone screen were the words: It's Fitz. I'm watching. You can text back.

"There's a little keyboard," Skye breathed. "Wow. He had to have rigged this thing since we last saw him. Amazing."

"Tell him what we know about the mind control," Coulson said.

Skye typed away. A minute later, she said, "Fitz acknowledges. He also says that he can override the security on the doors and get us free."

"We need a plan before we do that," May said. "There are guards all along the corridors out in the hall. And he has those robotic machines. We can't just waltz out of here."

Coulson considered. "I hear what you're saying, but I think we should take the advantage while we can get it. And we don't know how long the battery on this thing is going to last."

"Weren't a lot of his robots being sent to attack the military?" Skye asked. "We might have a much bigger chance than when he attacked here at first."

"Plus we'll have the advantage of surprise," Coulson said.

"If we do it, we'll have to do it hard and fast," May said. Skye heard the 'with no mercy' addendum to her words. She hadn't known Agent Wilson that well, but many of the others had, and his brutal execution had shocked them. "Can Fitz tell us where Aiden's been hanging out?"

Skye typed and they waited for the response. "Top floor, eastern side, the smaller interrogation room. And the media conference room."

"All right," Coulson said. "First we spread the word among our colleagues in these other cells, and then we tell Fitz it's a go."


Lily stared at the wall. She'd been staring at the wall for what seemed like hours, but she knew it hadn't been that long since the Mask had left her alone.

She turned her gaze to her palm, the middle of which was bright red from pressing in with her nail. Her wrist, too, was raw from twisting away from the handcuffs. She'd have to come up with another way of causing pain.

She had trouble thinking over what Skye had done; what she'd been made to do. Lily understood that Aiden had just needed to test his theory, and asking Skye to kill someone she knew was the strongest test he could have devised. It was terrifying, how quickly the woman had complied. What other horrors could humans be made to do, once Aiden's voice had them in their grip? Could he talk to the whole of the country in a general address and ask people to kill family members?

Of course, logically, Lily knew Aiden wouldn't actually want that. It was a bloodthirst that wouldn't serve him, and it wasn't something he seemed to want. But if it would serve a higher goal, how far would he go? He'd already murdered an innocent agent in order to secure Lily's cooperation. Would Aiden watch the whole world burn to get what he wanted?

And how could anyone ever trust their own thoughts again?

A knock came at the door.

"Come in," Lily called, partly confused that the Mask hadn't just opened the door like they usually did, and partly too tired to care about getting up to answer it.

It wasn't a Mask, however; it was Ward.

"Time for another test?" Lily asked, sitting up. "I thought Aiden had gotten everything he wanted in the last one."

"No test," Ward said. He entered the room and leaned against the wall.

"Okay," Lily said. "What is it?"

Ward was a moment in answering. "It's not anything. Well, it is. I was just bothered …"

"Oh," Lily said. "You didn't like seeing someone point a gun at an innocent girl's head and pull the trigger?"

Ward nodded. "It's more than that. I knew Skye when we worked together, and she never in a million years would ever do something like that. And to see her so under control of a force like that, well …"

"He's not going to stop," Lily said. "Aiden's going to keep doing that to people to get what he wants. I understand if you think world peace is going to result, and is worth the sacrifice, but this is the truth of what's going to happen."

"I know."

"So are you saying you're willing to try to stop this?"

"No," Ward said immediately, so quickly Lily almost didn't believe him. "I do believe the ends justify the means. Generally. I know what making sacrifices is like. How it's sometimes needed."

"And yet you're here, talking to me. Me, who can't do anything about anything because she's a prisoner to a madman."

He just studied her quietly.

"You're worried about losing control," Lily said. "Is that it? You've always sought to get control of your life. And what Aiden can do is totally upend that, and you won't even know what he's doing to you until you realize you've pulled the trigger on someone or something you love."

"There are ways around his control," Ward said carefully. He looked down at her hands.

Lily instinctively hid her hands in her lap. "What do you mean?" She couldn't control the tremor in her voice; she might as well have broadcast that she understood.

"I figured that it's similar to how you fake a lie detector test," Ward said. "I saw you, just before I left with Skye. How your eyes were clear. And then I noticed why."

Lily took a deep breath. "Are you going to tell him?"

He studied her for an uncomfortably long moment before shaking his head. "No."

"So why are you here? Does he know you're here?"

"I don't know. And I don't think so." Ward shifted his stance to lean against the other wall. "I just think it's good that the two of us - know about the pain."

Lily's heart began to beat a little faster. "Are you saying that it will come in handy soon? Are you planning something? Because SHIELD, and the world, isn't going to stand being taken over by a bunch of gun-toting robots whether your voice is persuasive or not."

"It's going to happen eventually," Ward said. "The Avengers can't stop everyone. Why not happen with someone who has no ill will toward anyone?"

"Don't tell me you or Aiden don't possess ill will. I saw what he's done. I saw in the agents' eyes how they feel about you."

He seemed agitated at this, and began to pace in the small space. It seemed threatening to Lily, who shrank back further onto her cot.

"All we have," Ward said, "is what we've done. That's all that we leave behind us. It's up to everyone else to judge us. Sometimes they're wrong. Sometimes they're right."

Lily frowned, unable to follow his line of reasoning. "Are you saying it doesn't matter if you're evil or good? It only matters what people think of you?"

"I meant the opposite," he said. "We are what we are; not everyone will agree with us."

"Well, of course, but that doesn't make it right to aspire to world domination!"

He stopped pacing and leaned against the wall again. "True. But given the tools, wouldn't you want to make a mark on the world?"

Lily shook her head. "Are you saying that you can't think of any other way that you can make a mark in the world, Ward? You seem like a smart guy. Dedicated. Surely there are other ways to affect change. To do - whatever it is you want to do. Aiden could have used his robots to … help rescue injured hikers. As riot police in violent demonstrations. He could use his voice to heal those who are mentally injured. He could save people from jumping off a bridge if he wanted. But he's chosen a different path. A terrible path in which there's only been suffering so far. How can you say that there won't always be suffering further down that path?"

Ward closed his eyes. "I can't."

"Is it worth this terrible cost, then? Is this future you want worth it?"

He only sighed in answer.

Lily, wanting to say more but unsure how far she could push him, decided to remain quiet. He ostensibly had come to her to talk over what was bothering him, and now she had to give him time to process.

The quiet, however, lasted too brief a time.

His phone beeped, and he pulled it out to look at it. He frowned, then held it up to his ear. "What's going on?" he said in a low voice.

Lily strained to hear who was on the other end, but Ward had stepped out of the room and out of hearing range. He remained standing in front of the door, listening intently to the phone.

"Got it," he said. "Keep them to the south if you can. Fewer points of entry. We'll be there in two minutes." Then he slipped his phone back into his pocket, pulled out a pair of handcuffs, and stormed back into the room.

"What's happening?" Lily asked. "What just changed?" His ominous shift in mood unnerved her. She only watched as he reached for her and secured her wrists in front of her.

"Don't do anything stupid," he growled, then yanked her to her feet.

Lily's breathing was tight as she struggled to keep up with Ward's pace. His grip on her upper arm was vice-like, but due to his mood she didn't want to risk mentioning it. The man's mercurial nature clearly had swung back toward a dark direction.

He only paused when they heard footsteps running behind them, and he swung around and to the side, his hand on his weapon, but relaxed when two Masks went running past.

Something had gone wrong. Had the military attempted to free the SHIELD facility?

They reached the larger conference room of the previous day, the one with wall-to-wall television screens, which were again split between security camera footage and news coverage.

Aiden wore a headset, staring intently at a laptop screen. When they entered, he spoke to Ward, "I can't get the P.A. system to work."

Ward pushed Lily into a chair and then hovered over the laptop screen. He tried tapping several keys.
"It looks like we're locked out somehow," he growled. "It's almost as if -"

"What?"

"Fitz and Simmons."

"Who?"

Ward straightened up and ran a hand through his hair. "The two scientists that were traveling with Lily. Did you leave them out there?"

"Yes. I figured they were just scientists escorting her, they couldn't have been important."

"Fitz is one of the most brilliant minds we have." Ward gestured at the laptop. "This could easily be his handiwork. And how the cells were opened."

Lily started. Did that mean there was a massive jailbreak? That must have been why all the Masks and Ward were hurrying, almost in a panic. With most of the robot machines fighting elsewhere, Aiden would be close to losing his power.

Aiden sighed. "Well, damn." He rubbed his chin. "I've released the transmitters throughout the facility, so everyone should be easily persuaded."

"How fast can you talk against a gun?" Ward asked.

"Well, I'm hoping you'll help me there."

"Look, we can't stay here. Your team might be able to hold them off, but we're going to need a better plan. How many of your machines are here?"

"Too few. I've already recalled some, but it's going to take time."

"We can take the helicopter," Ward said. "And if we move now, your men can hold them off for us."

Aiden slammed the laptop closed and stuffed it into a satchel. "Right. Let's go. All three of us. You lead."

Ward drew his gun and headed for the door. Aiden, with his satchel slung over one shoulder, grabbed Lily's arm and pulled her to her feet.

"Why am I going?" Lily asked. "Won't I just slow you down? There's no reason to take me along."

"We need someone they won't want to shoot, darling," Aiden said. His voice lowered and took on that familiar lilt. "Besides, we're going someplace where we can all work together in peace. It'll be safer there."

His compulsion had grown only stronger, whether by the use of his transmitter or by practice. Lily not only dug her nails into her palms but also twisted her wrists as far as she could stand the pain. She didn't want to be lulled into this.

Ward led them at great pace down the corridors. In the distance, Lily heard the sounds of a firefight. They ran into no one else, not even as they approached the entrance. All the Masks must have been needed in order to contain the jailbreak. Lily wasn't sure if that made her hopeful or hopeless. Would any of the SHIELD agents survive?

They finally broke through the doors and found themselves in the same entrance patio where Lily had been dropped off by the flying robot.

"Damn it," said Ward, scanning the parking lot. "They must have landed the chopper somewhere else."

"Car, then," Aiden said.

There were a multitude to choose from; it seemed the entire lot was made up of the SUVs Lily had spent so much time in recently. After this was over, if it ever ended, she was going to spend the next few months walking and biking.

Ward rejected the first two due to low fuel but just as they were about to enter the third, a horde of agents burst out of the building and swarmed toward them.

Lily recognized most of them: Coulson and the other agents she'd dealt with personally, and then a handful of tactical team agents. They looked tired and angry and were carrying whatever weapons they had won from the Masks.

Ward grabbed Lily, pulling her in front of him as Aiden strode forward slowly, his empty hands open at his sides.

"Looks like everyone wants to join our party," Aiden said, his voice welcoming and warm. Lily felt the undercurrent of compulsion in it.

"Stop talking," Coulson said. "Surrender and you might make this out alive, unlike your cohorts back inside."

"There's nothing to be afraid of, my friends," Aiden said, the persuasion in his voice on full power, the strongest Lily had ever felt it.

"Stop …" Coulson said, then broke off, as if he'd forgotten what he had meant to say.

"I really don't think everyone should have their guns pointing at me," Aiden said. "It's giving me the wrong impression."

The agents all slowly lowered their weapons.

"Coulson! Don't listen to him!" Lily shouted. "His voice has power that -" she broke off, choking, as Ward pressed his forearm into her throat.

Aiden turned to look at her curiously, studying her eyes. Then his gaze found her wrists, still painfully pulling at the metal cuffs, causing her agony but keeping her mind clear, and his gaze hardened. There was something about the change in his expression: something terrible had been realized and unleashed.

She felt that the real Aiden Churchill had now risen to the surface.

Aiden turned back to the SHIELD agents. "In fact, Coulson, I think you have to worry about members of your own team. They're the ones who are posing a danger to you. Like the young agent beside you. Don't you think she's the one who's been planning on betraying you all along?"

Coulson turned to the agent beside him, who happened to be Skye. He raised his weapon and pointed it at her head. The rest of the agents just looked on, blinking slowly, eyes slightly unfocused.

"All of your team is dangerous, Coulson," Aiden said, his voice purring with his terrible power. "And what do you do to dangerous people? You must stop them, in any way you can."

A gunshot rang out, and Lily screamed despite her lack of air.

But the gunshot had not come from Coulson's weapon - it had come from Ward's, and the bullet struck Aiden in the head.

As Aiden fell lifelessly to the pavement, the other agents just looked on, uncertain.

Ward opened the car door beside him and pushed Lily inside as he climbed into the driver's seat. "They're going to come around in seconds."

"Ward, please, it's over -"

He placed his gun against her temple. "Don't test me."

Lily sunk back into the passenger seat. Ward shot the car forward, careening toward the street. After he passed through the opening gate and it closed again behind them, Ward leaned out the window and shot at the control box. It exploded in sparks.

"That'll give us a couple of extra minutes."

The way he drove, he intended to maximize the headstart he had. It wasn't long before they'd cleared the city and found themselves once again heading into rural areas. Lily wondered how long it might take for SHIELD to find them.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked. "Do you have a plan?"

"I always have a plan," Ward said. He looked at her. "Don't worry, this arrangement isn't forever."

"Thank god," Lily said. "I'm getting tired of road trips."

"In fact, this arrangement is coming to an end right about now." The car slowed, and then stopped, on the shoulder.

"W-what?" Lily asked, a bit breathlessly. Was he going to shoot her here?

Ward pointed at his rearview mirror. "Fitz and Simmons are behind us."

"What?" Lily said again. She turned around in her seat to look behind them. Indeed, another SUV had parked, quite a ways down the road. "How can you tell?"

"They've been following us since we left the facility. They were out on the road. I presume that's where Fitz was hacking from. At least I'm pretty certain it's them. If it were a regular agent, they'd be moving more aggressively."

"Oh."

He reached over and she flinched before she realized he was reaching for her wrists to unlock them. "Tell them not to follow me," he said. "I don't want to hurt them again, but I'm not going to let anyone come after me."

Lily opened her door, relief flooding through her that this was all coming to an end at last. Before getting out, though, she turned to look back at Ward.

"It's a good thing," she said.

"What is?"

"That you wanted to save her. It's a good emotion. Hold on to that." Then she shut the door before he could answer and walked away from the car.

He paused only for a moment before the tires squealed and the car peeled back out onto the road.

The SUV that had parked behind them carefully eased forward and parked again. It was indeed the two scientists. Jemma hopped out and ran around the car, giving her a big hug.

"Lily! We've been so worried!" The woman ran her hands up and down Lily like she had done back in the warehouse, checking for injuries. She clucked when she saw her wrists.

"It's okay, Jemma," Lily said. "I did that to myself. The pain helped."

"Pain helped against his power?" Fitz asked.

"You know about his voice?"

"We've been in communication with Coulson," Simmons said. "Fitz built a drone and he was able to fly it into the facility and we've been texting."

"We saw that confrontation out front," Fitz said. "That looked scary. We stayed back, waiting for an opening."

"Good thing you did," Lily said. "Otherwise, you would have been just as susceptible to him. It was - it was close. I can't believe Ward actually … saved the day, as horrible as that sounds."

"I'm sure he has his reasons," Simmons said darkly.

"He likely thinks he's all noble and stuff," Fitz said, "but I know we'll cross paths with him again, and it won't be good."

"You know," Lily said, "from what I saw of him over the past couple of days - there may be hope for him. There's something inside him that's not all evil."

"I'll have to take your word for it," Simmons said.

"I know how you feel," Lily said. "I can't imagine Aiden ever having a good part to him. Not after what he did. What he tried to do." She knew she would never be rid of the final, evil expression he'd had on his face.

Simmons hugged her again. "We know how hard it is, to have someone betray you. I'll always be there if you need to talk about it."

"Thank you," Lily said. "I'll remember that."

"We should hurry back," Fitz said, "and make sure everyone's come around and is all right. And see if I can get Aiden's machines to shut down."

They climbed back into the SUV and sped back toward SHIELD. As the landscape once more flew past her window, Lily had a moment to reflect on everything she'd been through the past several days. The damage of the battle could be repaired quickly. Her own internal damage would take longer.

But breaking free of Aiden was a start.