Chapter 21: The Terminator Apparition
The briefing is short but life-changing. Tris knew that Tony and Bruce were working on something big and it was top secret. Since it had something to do with the Iron Man suit, Tris didn't inquire much about it and let the two geniuses work their magic.
But now SHIELD and the world are facing a new threat, one that by what Coulson told them was harder to defeat than it looked like.
Tony created the first self-sufficient AI that has one indestructible body and the opportunity to duplicate itself several times, creating an army of robots. Coulson didn't say it, but it was obvious he needed all agents available to fly out to Sokovia, where their intel said Ultron, the Stark AI, was heading.
"Fuck!" Tris curses. She didn't want to go. She didn't want to leave Tobias. She didn't want to risk her life fighting an army of Terminators. Shit. Terminators… she dreamed of them. Tris sits down as the large number of agents mill out of the briefing room. If the robot invasion came true, who's to say that the other things won't happen also?
"Tris?" Coulson asks and she looks up.
"Coulson, I had a vision of these robots," she starts saying.
"I know. After what happened in New York and Ultron escaped(1), Natasha came to me and briefed me about these visions."
"I saw Ultron happening and I did nothing," she says hanging her head in defeat.
"Angel, your powers are still new and untested. It happened before and they were just dreams, nothing even remotely close to reality."
"I know, but," Tris starts protesting and Coulson crouches down.
"Tris, this isn't your fault. Stark is to blame for this. Stark and Banner. And they took responsibility and are now preparing to make things right. The Avengers are on their way as we speak to fight Ultron, but we need to provide backup. Is there anything in your dreams you have seen related to this event?" Coulson asks, hoping to get some relevant information and help save as many lives as possible. Whatever Ultron's goal is, it must be huge and rarely did that mean something good for the simple people.
"I don't know. I see an army of robots, like the Terminator-kind. I see fire and dust clouds. I see red shimmer and blue lightning. I see a town and feel an earthquake."
"Alright, that's something," Coulson says although he can't really puzzle things together. As usual, her visions are blurry and unprecise. But he couldn't blame the poor girl. She was struggling with the visions, often not knowing to differentiate between vision and nightmare and he often wondered where to even begin to draw the line.
"There's also something else. I don't know how it fits in all this," she says and looks up, tears in her eyes. Coulson rarely saw his young agent so emotional and frail and wondered what could scare her so badly. Sure, they all faced death almost on a daily basis, but they took on these threats and dangers with bravery and resolution. But something in her eyes told him this was more than just the mission.
"What is it, Tris?"
"I saw Tobias being exposed to the Mist and die. I saw how he turned into stone and then his body disintegrated and he was gone," she says and starts crying. She loves him. And the sole thought of that scenario coming true broke her heart. How can she know if this is real and part of her future? How can she stop it? How can she tell him when she doesn't even know if this is real or not? How will she survive losing him?
"Tris, this can be just a nightmare. How do you feel about your husband?" Coulson asks directly, already having a clue.
"I love him, Coulson. I hate that I do. It makes me vulnerable and weak," she says and looks away, rubbing her eyes. Angry, Coulson stands up.
"Never say that again!" he almost yells. Tris looks at him startled and wonders what brought on this outburst in the usual calm Director of SHIELD. "I had a friend once who believed that. He had this unhealthy idea that having someone to care about is a weakness and he made sure to instill that same ideology in his disciples. One of them you know in particular," Coulson says and Tris stares at him confused.
"Grant Ward," comes the answer to Tris's unspoken question. Tris looks toward the door where the voice came from and recognizes her friend, Daisy Johnson. Daisy had a crush on Ward and probably still has feelings for him, even if she denies it.
"Ward?" Tris asks, wanting somehow to know more.
"You see, John Garrett, his former SO and my friend," Coulson says bitter, the betrayal still visible in his eyes, "was convinced that caring for someone other than yourself meant you are weak and that that person or thing is a liability that needs to be taken care of."
"But Ward must have skipped a lesson or two, because he didn't kill FitzSimmons when he had the chance. In fact, in his weird, psycho-way he saved their lives," Daisy tells her. Tris heard the story before. Ward trapped FitzSimmons in an escape pod and ejected them out of the airplane they called "The Bus". They landed on the bottom of the ocean and barely escaped with their lives. Later, after Ward was apprehended and thoroughly interrogated, he told them that he truly believed he would save them by doing so, since Garrett specifically ordered him to shoot them dead. He couldn't do it. He was weak.
"Tris, you are not weak. If anything, caring for someone other than yourself makes you stronger. It gives you the strength to keep fighting, the reason to sacrifice, the incentive to make it out alive. No, Tris, having someone to care about even love isn't a weakness. It's probably the best thing that could happen to someone in our line of work. Besides, and I hate to say this, you wanted to get out. Let us finish this mission, keep your family safe and then go. Go, Angel, and be free." The kindness in Coulson's voice and the determination in his words makes Tris smile. She nods her head and leaves the Director and her friend behind.
She goes to find a quiet spot to make a phone call to her family when Uriah meets her in the hallway. Together they go to the room assigned to her and close the door, wanting some privacy. They don't know if they should say anything. Everything mission-related was said; anything else is irrelevant at the time.
"I asked Marlene out," comes from Uriah, pulling Tris out of her thoughts. She looks at her friend who has a sheepish smile plastered on his face, gone the flirty, carefree demeanor he always displays.
"Good," Tris says. In light of what their mission is, Tris isn't sure if she should be happy or sad. After all, they could die. Forget their Inhuman powers. They are just as mortal as the humans. And they are facing an impossible enemy.
"What the fuck am I gonna tell her?" he asks plopping backwards on Tris's bed.
"What do you mean?" she asks her friend curiously.
"We were supposed to go out tonight."
"Tell her we have a mission. She will find out eventually. But unless she knows about it, don't give her specifics." Uriah nods and stands up. He moves to the door and reaches for the door knob but before he opens it to leave, Uriah turns around, a worrisome look on his face, looking over his friend.
"What about you? Are you going to tell Tobias?" he asks. Uriah is probably the only one who knows her best. Well, after Tobias that is.
"Yes. I owe him that. Despite how we got together, we decided to try it out, be a couple. And I," she stops not sure if she should confess she loves her husband.
"You love him," Uriah finishes for her. Tris looks at him and nods. No need denying it. Uriah leaves her alone to make an impossible phone call to the man she loves, while he has to tell the girl he secretly had a crush on since the Academy that he can't make it to their date. And perhaps back at all.
Tris remains seated on her bed, staring at the door, her phone in her hand. She fights with herself whether or not she should make that phone call. She knows Tobias will be upset, will try to talk her out of it. But she has to do this. All these people, the Avengers and all the SHIELD agents involved in the Sokovia mission, had helped her at one point. It was only fair to return the favor.
But despite that, it was her duty. She swore to protect all mankind and now mankind was facing a threat of their own making. Admittedly, one man was more responsible than others. But if it wasn't Tony Stark, it could have been anyone. The problem was created and now everyone is trying to fix it.
Tris dials Tobias's number and waits for him to pick up. She looks at her wrist watch and realizes it is past seven p.m. He might be eating supper.
"Tris?" he answers almost out of breath.
"Hey, babe. What you up to?" she asks, trying to make light small-talk.
"I was taking a shower and just ran out when I heard my phone."
"Hm, I wish I was there to help you get all cleaned up. Or get even dirtier," she says, trying to be flirty.
"I wish you were here too. Even without the sex part," he says with a chuckle. He hates knowing she might be in danger. As irrational as he is, he wants to protect her. No one can hold that against him.
"You saying you don't wanna get laid?" Tris asks teasingly.
"Babe, I always want that," he says and both laugh before silence governs their conversation. He knows something's up but is too afraid to ask what.
"There is a situation. I need to help my friends. It might take a day or two before I can come back."
"Where do you have to go?" he asks, although he knows she won't tell him, even if she was allowed.
"Classified," is all she says. He sighs audibly into the phone and Tris is torn between feeling sorry for him and being mad at him. But she calms down, knowing full-well that if it where the other way around she would feel the same as he does. She hates it when people withhold information from her, whatever the reason.
"Will you… I mean," he starts to stutter, "will you be alright?" Tris thinks of what to say. She knows he wanted to know if the mission was dangerous, but if it wasn't she wouldn't be so serious about it. The time they spend together gave him this much power, to know when something's wrong.
"I will," she lies. She doesn't know, but she doesn't want him to worry either.
On the other end of the line, Tobias frowns. He knows she's lying. Something in her voice tipped him off. If he wouldn't have talked to her for hours about missions and her life as an agent he might not have caught it. Also, it seems she did a great job teaching him all these spy skills. He decides not to press any further. She might be open with him, but he knows that if he pushes her, she will shut him out. He decides to trust her. She is a trained assassin, one of the best of SHIELD's, and she's Inhuman. That ought to give her an advantage over whatever enemy she's facing and doesn't want to tell him about.
"Be careful," he finally says, his voice grave, but the emotion behind it raw and deep. Tris smiles.
"I will."
"I love you."
"I love you, too." They hang up. Nothing else needs to be said.
Tris gets up and walks to her desk. She opens the drawer and pulls out a paper, a pen and an envelope. She sits down at the desk and starts writing.
(1) "Avengers: Age of Ultron" plot for more details wiki/Avengers:_Age_of_Ultron