Holy crap! i just realized this story is 3 times as long as usual. Because of this please keep in mind that it hasn't been edited for any grammatical or spelling mistakes so bear with me. I hope you enjoy it!
The lab was amazing. When she limped in, Jemma could feel her mouth drop. All the equipment she could ever dream of lined the walls and the tables. She glided her hands over the pristine microscopes and computers as she slowly explored the lab. Her excitement was dulled only by the circumstance for which she was there. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the Hydra soldiers standing at the entrance, following her every move with their dark menacing eyes. They had arrived at Stryker Labs the day previously and they had placed her in a holding cell for the night.
Ward had visited her close to midnight. He approached the bars of the cell in silence. Simmons turned away from him. She couldn't look at him without resisting the urge to punch him in the face. He stood for a moment before he spoke softly,
"Jemma. Please look at me." Jemma refused to move. She didn't want Ward to see the tears that were gathering in her eyes. "Jemma, I need you to look at me. I need to explain things to you." Jemma stayed silent, "It wasn't supposed to happen like this. I never meant for you guys to get hurt. It hurt me to see you and Fitz in pain." A sob escaped her lips. She hadn't thought about Fitz. One of the guards in the car had joked that they had "messed with the other scientist." and that given his condition, he wouldn't of been surprised if "he talked with a lisp for the rest of his stupid life." Jemma clenched her fists so hard her knuckles were white. She bit her lip in an effort to keep herself from hitting the guard. She thought she could see Ward clench his jaw at the guards words.
"Jemma, would you please look at me? I need to tell you something important and I don't want to say it to the back of your head." No response. He gave a small sigh, "Don't worry Jemma, I'm going to make it all right." Jemma had waited until the sound of his footsteps disappeared down the corridor before she let the tears flow freely down her face. She got into the furthest corner and lay down, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. The next morning they woke her up and brought her to the lab so she could get a feel of where she would be working.
Jemma had finished exploring the lab when General Barnes walked in with a manila folder in hand and a few Hydra soldiers tagging along behind him.
"Agent Simmons, I see you've explored your new workspace. Is it to your liking?" Simmons didn't respond. She sat down on one of the stools, resting her injured leg. "Stryker labs has always been the leader in modern technology. This is partly due to the ingenious minds that are cultivated here. It is my hope that you help to further along the research of Stryker labs, and by association Hydra." He nodded to the lab. Other scientists had begun to wander into the room. "We look forward to seeing how you progress here Agent Simmons. Now I'll leave you to your work as I have, other business to attend to." He lifted the manila folder and placed it in front of her, he then nodded to the guards and they strode out. Jemma noticed that one of the guards remained just outside the lab, undoubtedly there to keep an eye on her and keep her from wandering. She sighed and grabbed the folder and opened it.
She grimaced as she read the file, it was the specs for an ultra-extended explosive, "for maximum damage in a 10 mile radius". She turned and began to work quietly on the weapon of mass destruction placed before her. She was unaware of Ward's presence in the room. He walked and and watched her, pain and sadness filling his gaze.
It had been 4 days since Jemma had arrived at the lab. They had moved her from the holding cell into a small bunk. It wasn't much bigger than the cell, but at least it had a bed. Ward hadn't visited her since they moved her, and she was secretly disappointed. He had claimed that he had to tell her something important, but she had refused to hear it. She couldn't help that maybe it had something to do with the team, and their efforts to find her. It seemed as though Ward had taken her actions to heart, he seemed to be avoiding her. She had seen him once in the past 4 days, when he had come up to one of her escorts and whispered furiously in his ear. He looked at her for only a moment before he stormed off back down the hall fromm which he came.
She was slow on the progress of the extended explosive, or the "S-Bomb" as the other scientists had begun to call it. Jemma tried her best to work as slowly as possible, leaving important tests to the last minute, checking and rechecking her work. She could see the frustration in General Barnes face whenever she updated him on the little progress she had made,
"Doctor Simmons, I was assured you would be able to complete this task in a small window of time. Was I misinformed about your abilities?" Simmons flinched at his biting tone, but she kept her composure. She had her arms folded behind her back and she stood straight, look at the General straight,
"Sir, my abilities are well within the parameters of completing this project, the delay is so I may be able to create an incendiary device that won't explode at first touch. I'm sure you value your fingers enough to put up with the safety checks." His eyebrows furrowed as he processed Simmon's statement. He looked as though he wanted to reprimand her for her tone, but he decided the guarantee of his fingers trumped the speed of the construction of his device. He turned and left with a huff. Jemma allowed herself a bit of a smile as she turned back to her microscope.
It wasn't until Jemma was working at the lab for almost a week when Ward attempted to talk to her again. She was just leaving the restroom when he bumped in to her. She went to apologize and move on but he grabbed her arm, stopping her. She looked up,
"Excuse me, I need to get back to work." She tried to pull out of his grip, but he was too strong. He looked over at her Hydra escorts and flicked his head for privacy,
"I'll escort her back to the lab." They nodded to him once then disappeared around the corner, leaving Jemma and Grant alone. Ward could see the fear in Jemma's eyes and realized he was hurting her arm. He let go and took a step back. She rubbed her arm and look over at Ward skeptically,
"What do you want Ward?" Grant didn't meet her eyes, he shuffled his feet and hunched his shoulder, Simmons had never seen him like that before,
"We need to talk. Somewhere private." Jemma crossed her arms defiantly,
"I'm not going anywhere private with you. I need to get back to work." He took a step closer and raised his eyes to meet hers, desperation filled his face. She took a involuntary step back as he reached out his hand gently,
"Please Jemma, I'm trying to help you. Please we need to talk." He pleaded, she could hear something in his voice that for some reason made her trust him, just a bit. She grabbed his extended hand and he lead her down the hall and into a small broom closet. She tensed at being in close quarters with the traitor specialist.
"What did you need to speak with me about?" Grants eyes flicked from the door handle to the scientist standing 2 feet infront of him.
"Skye didn't get out alone." Jemma's face turned from anger to confusion, "I couldn't stand watching you and Fitz suffer. I had to get you guys out. I helped Skye escape with Coulson May and Fitz. I gave her the exit and she took it."
"What about me?" Jemma interrupted, "Did you forget about me in that stupid med-bay? Did you just write me off as collateral damage?" Ward grabbed her wrists, trying to get her to calm down and understand,
"I thought you were dead. I had seen the blood on the chair, I saw them take your body! I didn't know you were alive until I saw you limping into the loading area." She looked into his eyes and could see that he was genuine about what he said, he really didn't know she had survived.
"Why are you telling me this now? Why so secretive?" Ward looked back at the doorknob, making sure they were still hidden and alone,
"We're getting out. Tonight Barnes has a meeting with some other Hydra officials at some other location, and he's taking a squad of Hydra soldiers with him, meaning security will be sparse. Its the perfect opportunity to escape." Simmons thought about escaping and finally reuniting with Fitz and the rest of the team. Finally all the hopelessness that had plagued her since she woke up was dissipating. She was getting out.
"We're going to need a distraction. Maybe I can mix something up in the lab, create a small explosion? I could set a delay so that I'm out of the lab when it goes off." Simmons was running through all the different chemicals she could use to create a small explosion. Ward nodded his approval,
"I can run as backup. I'll get you out of your bunk and then we'll head towards the exit while the guards are securing the lab." Simmons slowly nodded. She was thinking of all the things that could go wrong with their plan, but she didn't have time to voice them. Wards watch beeped, signaling the top of the hour. "Okay, you make the distraction and set it up for an hour after they take you to your bunk. Thats when I'll get you out. I have to take you back to the lab now." Simmons nodded and Ward opened the door slowly. He peeked out and then signaled for Simmons to walk out with him. They walked until they got close to the lab. Ward gently grabbed her wrist,
"It'll look suspicious if I treated you like a friend instead of a prisoner," he explained as they walked on. He dropped her off at the lab and he nodded at her before he walked off. Jemma quickly set back to work on the extended explosive, this time with more energy and vigor on completing the project.
Jemma wasn't kidding when she told the General her skills were more than adequate. Within a few hours she had basically built the bomb, all it was missing was a few basic chemicals. She took a break and focused on building a secndary explosive device. She had decided that she wasn't just going to escape, but she was going to bring down the whole compound as well. She allowed her mind to wander as she worked. All she could think about was reuniting with her team. She could just imagine wrapping her arms around Fitz, and seeing the smile plastered on Skye's face. She couldn't wait to see Coulson and his dorky Captain America tie he only wore when he was "take a vacation" and the little non-smile May had whenever she watched the team bicker about meaningless stuff.
Before she knew it, it was almost time for them to escort her back to her bunk. She put the finishing touches on both the smaller bomb and the S-Bomb, setting the first to detonate in an hour, the second in two. She prayed that an hour was enough time for them to escape and get far far away from the lab. She placed the small bomb in one storage and the second further away, to avoid a domino effect, when the Hydra guards entered and told her it was time to go. Jemma wrung her hands in front of her, trying to calm her nerves as she approached her room. She sat on her bed and lay down staring at the ceiling as the guards closed and locked the door behind them.
The hour inched by. Jemma began to pace back and forth in the room. She had begun to imagine all the flaws in the plan again when she hear a loud pop, and an alarm went off. The first bomb had gone off. Jemma steeled herself for the second, larger explosion, but it didn't come. She breathed a sigh of relief, the second bomb hadn't accidentally been triggered. She heard the jangle of keys on the other side of the door and heard the lock click. The door opened and Ward stuck his head in.
"Ready to go?" He asked, Jemma nodded and stepped out the door. Ward stood at the ready. He had one gun holstered on his side, and another ready in his hand, "We've got maybe an hour to get out before the guards realize we're gone." You're telling me! They ran down the halls, turning corners and running through rooms. At one point they came across a couple soldiers, but Ward dispatched them with two shots to the chest. Simmons could feel her heart racing and her leg throb as they ran further and further. The lab seemed a lot larger than she had thought initially. She hoped that an hour was long enough for them to get out. She almost let out a sob when they finally burst through a door to the outside. Her leg screamed in pain, she felt like collapsing on the grass outside, but Ward grabbed her,
"We can't stop. We need to get as far away as we can." Simmons nodded, unable to speak as she had no breath to spare. They ran away from the compound into the surrounding bush. The branches scraped at their legs and attached to their clothes, getting stuck in the material and tearing at Jemma's bandages. More than once Ward had to slow down as Simmons tried to escape from the branches. After the third time she got trapped, Grant decided it was time to stop and take a breath. He helped Jemma remove the thorns from her clothes and kept a look out as she caught her breath. Between haggard breaths Jemma spoke,
"How...far...are...we...?"
"About 6 miles. We should be safe!" Jemma tried to stand but Ward tried to relax her, "You need to catch your breath. We should be far away that they can't get to us." Jemma shook her head, trying to explain,
"I created...a second bomb..the range...10 miles... we need to get further!" Ward's eyes widened as he began to comprehend. Quickly he pulled Jemma up on her feet and threw her arm around him. He ran as fast as his legs would allow. He silently thanked Garrett for teaching him the basic escape skills as he pushed his way through the brush. The further they got, the denser the bushes got, slowing down their progress. Ward wondered how much longer they had before the bomb went off when he heard a giant boom. He stopped as a bright white light blinded them. Jemma and Wardboth had the close their eyes to avoid permanent damage. Ward could hear the beginnings of the shock-waves of the explosions and threw himself onto the ground. Jemma followed suit.
They pressed themselves flat on the ground as they could feel the vibrations of the explosion come closer. Dirt and branches flew all around them, leaves slapped them on their faces, suddenly debris came crashing down near them. Pieces of concrete, and tile and even some instruments landed. Ward groaned in pain as a piece of concrete hit him in the back. Jemma gave a squeak as a piece of tile landed inches from her side. After a few more moments, the chaos ended. Ward looked up first, making sure Jemma was okay. Then he looked back from where they came. It was an awesome sight. The trees were leaning towards them. dirt and dust covered everything. The ground was littered with debris, branches, and what looked like chunks of flesh. Ward tried not to think of that possibility as he stood up and checked himself for any injuries. He then helped up Jemma. They brushed themselves off and studied the scene before them. It was then that Jemma broke down into tears. Ward went to go comfort her, but he realized she wasn't crying from fear, but from happiness,
"We made it! We escaped and were alive! I can't believe it! We're alive!" She threw her arms around Ward, surprising the specialist. After the initial shock he wrapped his arms around the scientist, returning the hug as he surveyed the scene around them. They had survived, just barely, but they had survived.
Wow so that was long.
Let me know what you think!
Yay! Ward and Simmons are alive!
How will they get back to the team? Idk! Why don't you tell me!
Please rate and review!
Tell me what you think should/is going to happen!