It's funny, isn't it? What you can forget.
You forget what you had for breakfast five days ago. You forget where you keep leaving that pen. Little pieces of your life, you keep on forgetting, keep on leaving behind on the path you tread.
And these little things? They are compartments in our lives. Either they annoy us or don't bother us. Rarely do they matter. Rarely do these compartments burst open and let the memory of what has been forgotten flood the future of what is.
But sometimes, they do.
Of course, having an 084 on hand always helps.
...
Grant Ward wakes up in the dark.
It doesn't bother him. In fact, he's used to it. Nonetheless, being unable to see his surroundings is unsettling. He slowly starts to his feet, but is stopped by something on his hands.
Handcuffs.
He examines them. They're regular ones, not the heavy-duty type, so he shouldn't have too much of a problem getting out of them if he needs to. The question is: how did he get into them?
For a moment, Ward thinks that his cover has been blown and May tranqed him, but quickly discards the idea. His cover is secure.
Second option: An unknown party boarded the plane and took the team out, capturing him for interrogation.
Fear fills him before he can push it down. It's not for himself, though and this fact takes a few seconds to sink in.
Shit.
Garrett told him not to get attached.
He sits back down and tries to organise his thoughts, blinking as he sorts everything out, trying to get his eyes to adjust faster.
The last thing he remembers: The Guest House. Garrett finally found a decent lead on the miracle drug and Skye is now safe.
(Is it a weakness? Garrett asks as he watches Ward stare at her. He shakes his head.)
Where is he now? No idea.
Wait-
His back is pressing against the wall, and it is not cold, hard concrete.
It is a familiar honeycombed pattern.
He's in the Cage.
That can only mean one thing -
No, he thinks (Weak, weak, weak).
Maybe it's a mistake.
Maybe he hasn't been discovered, hasn't failed the only person who looked out for him.
(Maybe Skye hasn't found out.)
The logical part of his mind prepares to play the innocent, dumb S.H.I.E.L.D. agent while simultaneously planning out six different methods of escape.
The rest of his mind does... nothing.
The rest of him ceases to exist.
...
May is going back down to the lab.
There is something very, very wrong.
Before Fitzsimmons had their little accident, it was late at night.
Now, five minutes later, it is midday.
Coulson walks behind her. "Are you sure? I could swear it was sometime in the evening."
She doesn't deign that with a response, just looks at him with an eyebrow raised. She was the one in the cockpit, not buried in paperwork.
Sometimes, she thinks Phil wouldn't know oranges from apples if one of them wasn't the colour of a particular Avenger's shield.
(Or maybe, this affected sense of time is a side effect of the GH325. She'll have to check with Fury.)
When they enter the lab, May's first impression is that the science duo have caught onto the fact that something's wrong.
It takes her a split second of observation to see that it's much, much more than that.
Fitz seems to be recovering from a panic attack. Simmons hovers over him while Skye talks worriedly in the background.
"Should I get some tea? I mean, you guys like that don't you? And maybe it could help..."
Simmons notices May and Coulson first, stepping away from Fitz reluctantly.
"What happened?" Coulson asks her.
"It seems the 084 affected Fitz," she replies, and Melinda and see the effort with which the girl is holding herself together, keeping the smile on her face. "He's having trouble recalling certain words and one of his hands seems to be slightly atrophied. It's almost like -"
"Hypoxia," Fitz finishes, looking at his shoes. "We dunno if -"
"It's reversible."
May doesn't say anything for a few heartbeats.
Coulson steps in instead. "I'm sure you both will figure it out. Fitz, if you're not up to it, you can -"
"No."
May doesn't outwardly show her surprise, but she's still slightly taken aback. Fitz interrupting Coulson? The scientist goes up in her esteem a few notches.
The scientist in question colours, going back to staring at his feet. "I meant no, sir. I'm staying."
Coulson doesn't push it. "Fine. As long as you're okay with it. May and I came down here because we noticed a time discrepancy. It seems to be midday, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't before the 084 acted out."
"No way," Skye breathes after a few seconds during which all three inhabitants of the lab stare at him, confused. "Guys. It was. I checked on my laptop before taking a nap."
May ignores her, eyeing Fitzsimmons. "What time did you think it was?"
"Early morning," they both say in tandem.
There is a moment of dead silence.
Coulson breaks it. "Anyone have an idea of what's going on?"
Simmons takes a breath. "I think - and this is just a guess, sir - that the 084 may have caused us all to lose a few hours' worth of memory."
"We were, um, closest," Fitz continues theorizing, "So we lost the most."
"Then Skye, who remembers until midday."
"Then me," Coulson says. "I thought it was evening."
They turn to May. "Check the date," she tells them, looking at the holotable. A horrible feeling starts gnawing at her as she takes in the numbers glowing faintly on its side.
They do.
Skye's eyes widen. "What the f-"
Simmons drops her light and it clangs on the tiled floor.
Fitz closes in on the holotable, his expression unbelieving.
No one says anything more for a while.
"We should, um, compare memories," Fitz suggests finally. "To see how much we forgot."
Simmons nods. "I'll start." She looks at Skye as she says, "Fitz and Ward had just come back from Overkill."
Skye nods, biting her lip. "Yeah I remember that."
"I'm almost the same," Fitz puts in. "You were telling me something about shooting a senior agent yesterday."
Coulson turns to Skye.
The girl grimaces "We had just let that freaky Asguardian professor go."
May nods. "We arrested Donnie Gill a couple of days ago."
Only Coulson seems to understand what she's talking about. "I'm a couple of weeks after that. So as of now, I've lost the least. Now we just have to find Ward and see how far back he's gone."
May turns to Skye. "Pull up the video feeds and find him as fast as you can."
Skye walks over to the screens and starts tapping. In the few seconds before the feeds come online, May and Coulson share a worried glance and Fitzsimmons talk in hushed tones.
Then: "You need to see this," Skye whispers.
May looks up, and for the first time in months lets shock seep through her mask onto her face.
Ward is in the Cage.
There are only two people who could have put him there.
And both of them are standing in this lab.