Chapter 3: Misplaced

Author's note: FYI, Deathlok doesn't appear in this story. I know some of you might be curious about why, but you'll see.

"Ward!"

Ward look up from his position in the lab where he's been spending his time the past several hours. His fingers were sweaty from helping packing for their facility move. He saw Garrett stalking over quickly, his voice bellowing, "We've got company!"

"Sir?"

"Someone's activated the defense mechanisms outside the base," Garrett continued, as he picked up a pistol from behind the counter. "And I think I know who it is. [released the safety] Let's go say hello to some of your old friends."

Ward's face remained indifferent, but internally, his stomach dropped. Irritation suddenly overtook his thoughts. Why did they still come here? He thought, though he knew the answer. Please don't let it be them. Please don't. She can't be safely away if she's here…

"Coulson and his team just broke through the back gates," one of the security guards informed Garrett after rushing in. "It'll just be a matter of minutes before they reach here and the basement."

"Doesn't matter where they're coming from…send all forces and GET RID OF THEM," Garrett commanded the guard. He turned to Ward, who barely moved since his arrival. "Come on son, let's greet them at the main hangar."

Before Ward could respond, that same guard interrupted, "But sir, we should really guard Basement G—"

"THEN GUARD IT!" Garrett yelled, cutting him off and throwing him back. "Don't let anyone access the basement! How stupid are you goons, anyways?"

"John, what's so important in that basement? We have to move, before they get here! Let's move!" he urged, also grabbing a gun.

"The Gravitonium, son," Garrett answered, quickly, without looking at him. "I spent too much effort collecting that thing to lose it now. [to guards] Make sure that area is completely secure, off limits. We can't let Coulson get a hold of basement G. I've worked too hard all these years for that for it to take it away from me now. [to Ward] Let's go."

Ward inwardly sighed. All of this running and attacking, stealing and killing, when was it ever going to stop? He thought. And for the record, I was the one who found the Gravitonium. You wouldn't have it if you didn't get my help in the first place.

The lights suddenly went out in the lab, along with some adjoining rooms to the lab, along with the power. Servers stopped, machines powered down, and the mainframe was crumbling. Ward's heart dropped again. There was only one person he knew who could disable 3 layers of electrical back up and the current power fueling this lab in such a short amount of time, and she was not supposed to be anywhere near this area. He quickly followed Garrett out while not trying to trip over the darkness. He had to think of a plan, quick, to keep her away from this madness. He knew for sure Garrett was not going to let her off easy.

…

Skye ran as fast as she could, stealthily, through the now wide open doors of the New Mexico HYDRA base. She was tasked with distracting Cybertek personnel and disabling the lab while May and Coulson managed to bomb the door open, taking out the main security system along with it and several deadly HYDRA agents. Coulson was on comms, as much static as it held, with her and the rest of the team at all times, while she tracked her way to find the main security system. She was going to find those HYDRA bastards and make them pay for the harm that they've done in this world…especially Garrett.

Her mind was swimming in a flurry of nervousness and determination as she thought back to more of the files she saw on the flash drive. Apparently, Ward was the first subject of Project G.A.R.R.E.T.T., and one of the longest subjects placed in the neo-WWII manipulation experiments. Garrett needed a right hand man to man his stations and various projects (Ward for GH325), but someone who was disposable at any time. So he trained as many recruits as he could find, all with similar backgrounds as Ward – someone with a troubled past/life and easily molded into whatever Garrett wanted, with him as their leader/father-figure. Most of these agents acted as seconds in command instead of plain armed HYDRA guards, to make the best use of them. However, many of them were subsequently killed off "by accident" for their unsatisfactory performance, or their deflection from HYDRA. Out of a list of 40 recruits, only 5 remain – Ward being one of them.

Skye's heart ached for how disposable these former agents were. These agents had families, friends, and though their lives weren't that great, turning them into killing machines for the survival of one tyrannous psychopath with plans of world domination was no better option. Garret sure does a damn good job of lying, she thought.

"All right Coulson, I'm heading into the basement level of the facility," Skye spoke into her comms set. "Any location on Garrett?"

"Not yet," came Coulson's voice. "FitzSimmons, keep an eye out as you disable their packing vans and other modes of transportation. Be prepared for medical as necessary. May and I will take out as many of these agents possible to clear the way. All of you, keep your guard up. We need to locate their lab of operations and shut that down before they can move out."

"Roger that," she answered.

"Yes sir!" came FitzSimmon's voices.

Skye turned to Trip who was keeping his gun up while they made their way through the darkness corridors.

"This place is completely deserted...are you sure the lab is down here?" he asked.

"A major blip of frequencies was detected down in this direction before I knocked out the power," she explained, also drawing out her gun. "I can get the power back up to the lab remotely when we get to it, so we can disable it for real."

Trip nodded in response, and they both continued to walk down the dark corridor. Only the emergency lights lining the floors were on while all other electricity was blown. The tense few minutes felt like hours as they continued their descent, ducking around corners on the go.

"Hey! You!"

Skye and Trip turned at the voices. Suddenly, a squad of heavy footsteps pounded around the corner in front of them with flashlights on their helmets, and Skye and Trip sprung their guns up, efficiently shooting the HYDRA agents down. Skye's aim has greatly increased in accuracy and precision over the past couple weeks training alone, sometimes alongside Trip. He glanced over, proud. "Girl, you definitely left a mark in those douche bags!"

She beamed. "Fitz's newly upgraded guns make shooting these guys so much more easy…half the weight but double the power! Let's keep going."

They both soon rounded the last corner and arrived at the end of the hallway where 8 agents were standing guard. It was dark enough that the guards couldn't see them, especially hiding behind the corners.

Skye's phone vibrated louder, alerting a significant rise of energy and frequency waves. "Looks like we're close," she whispered. "It must be behind those doors there. How can the 2 of us take all of those guys out?"

Trip pulled out a flash grenade from his pocket and grinned. "I got it handled." He tossed the flash grenade and instantly, the hallways burst into a blinding white light. In the several seconds that followed, yells and screams of agony were heard as he single-handedly shot them all, each of the guards dropped to the ground. Trip was FAST.

He lowered his gun and turned on his mini-LED light. "Basement G," Trip said. "This should be where the lab is located. Definitely well-hidden." He hastily disabled the locked door easily with another localized explosive device, courtesy of Fitz, and the doors swung open.

"What the…" Skye started.

It was another corridor, but with much, much lower ceilings and doors to rooms every 12 feet or so. Each door was electronically padlocked.

"Looks like a scene from Alice in Wonderland," Trip sarcastically suggested, stepping inside, with Skye following. "Doesn't look like a place where the lab would be at. Are we shrinking yet?"

Skye went to the first door and immediately disabled the lock, swinging it open. In it, a young girl about 10 years old popped her head up. She was sitting on a bed in an otherwise furnished prison cell, complete with a lamp, a small window to the outside, and a bathroom.

"Who are you?" she asked Trip and Skye. "Are you going to hurt me?"

Skye and Trip looked at each other, confused. They definitely were not expecting company, especially a girl this age. Skye knelt down beside her and assured, "No, we're here to take you home. How did you get here?"

"Some mean old man took me here, and told me if I didn't listen to him and stay here, he would hurt my daddy," she said. "I've been here for months. I'm so hungry! And my wrist hurt!"

Skye stood up and spoke to Trip: "This must be one of the victims of Project G.A.R.R.E.T.T., like Elliot. Didn't say in the files that they were in this facility…"

"Doesn't matter, the most important thing is get them out of here…let's go!" Trip said.

BOOM!

A blast shook the compound where they were at. May must have started launching explosions in the compound, and it was only a matter of time before the building collapses. This area is no longer safe. Trip instantly swooped down and offered his arms. "Let's get you home."

"Are you the police?"

Skye nodded. "We're with New Mexico border patrol. We're here to take you home." Well, it wasn't completely a lie.

The girl eagerly jumped into Trip's arms and they ran out the room as the floors shook. More explosions sounded in the distance. Skye disabled all the remaining door locks and one by one, hurriedly walking down the hallway and yelling out, "You're free! The building is about to collapse, let's go!"

For the first time, heads hesitantly peaked out and then eagerly ran out towards Skye from each door. She pointed to Trip, commanding, "Follow him out! Let's go!" She ushered the various victims towards the exit and glanced to the hallway one more time. Her frequency signal was picking up again. She couldn't stop now.

…

"Take them out!" Garrett's voice hollered, marching into the hangar. Explosions were shaking the area, and it was a matter of time before he and the rest of the HYDRA agents in the Hangar were reached.

This was Ward's chance. "Sir, if they're coming to get us, we should just go! Most of the equipment is already packed, and that way we can lessen the amount of casualties." And avoid hurting Skye and the team, he finished in his thoughts. "The GH-325 is most important right now to save!"

"Don't be a jackass, son," Garrett said. "They'll follow us even if we make it out. Time to take out the trash." He glanced at Ward, who didn't acknowledge his command. "Did you hear me, Ward?"

No answer.

Garrett grabbed him by the shoulder. "You are going to take Coulson and his team out, or I'll make sure you won't have a space to live in this world when you get back!" he threatened, dragging Ward towards the Hangar exit.

Ward knew that the second he bumps into any of the team, they would want him arrested, shot, or even killed. He didn't care. He needed to get them out, but how, with Garrett tracking his every move?

He had no choice. Shoot him or not, he will have to chase them out, even if it means threatening them. Now if he could just get a few minutes alone to find them…

…

All 4 occupants of the remaining rooms scurried out, with Trip carrying/guiding them towards an escape. The victims being held in those rooms range from the age of the little girl all the way to Trip's age in their early 30's. Skye was about to follow him until she noticed only one door remained unopened in the pack. She turned back and rushed in, eager to get out before the building collapses. As she entered the room, she stopped short in her tracks. She slowly stepped closer to the huddled figure in the corner of the room. "Hey? Anyone home?" she waved.

The young man looked up with his dark eyes, shivering. Skye gasped. He could only be no older than a few years from her, but he looked so weak. She ran in and reached down quickly. "We're getting you out of here," she stated, bringing the man's arm around her to help him up.

"You're working for HYDRA?" the hesitant voice asked, shrinking back.

Skye shook her head. "SHIELD. We're here to take this place down. We have to get you out of here."

The young man uncurled himself and hurriedly got up with her help. He was slightly taller than her, but his eyes went wide. "You—you're with SHIELD?"

BOOM!

Another explosion rocked the place; there wasn't much time. Skye grabbed the young man's hand and marched to the door, dashing through it. "We don't have much time. We need to go, get somewhere safe."

"But—"

"WHAT?" Skye turned suddenly, exasperated.

"SHIELD. Thank God. I've been looking for my family for years, and that son of a bitch told me they're dead. I don't believe him. I need to find them," he stated, limping after her.

"We'll find them when we get out of here," she replied, glancing her surroundings. No guards in sight. She turned back to him. "You doing okay? You're hurt…"

He smiled weakly. "Couldn't escape. Kinda hard not to be hurting after so many beatings to the ribs and knees after getting caught. Although, it's better than drowning in a well."

Skye suddenly froze in her tracks. The familiar dark eyes and hair struck a chord within her, and as she stared closer, she noticed the same facial structure...no. No time to think this now. She was at a loss for words for a split second, but remembered their escape was top priority. "Let's go."

The young man just collapsed to the side of the wall, arm around his ribs and breathing painfully. His falling almost dragged Skye down with him, but she knelt beside him as he breathed heavily. "They hurt too much. I can hardly move anymore..."

Skye took his pulse and felt it weakly pulsing. This guy is in trouble and needs to get out FAST. "We're going to get you some help, but I need you to stay with me okay? Stay—"

She cocked her head to the right and saw two guards approaching, rifles up. She grabbed her gun and fired, knocking both of them down. She reached down and grabbed the young man to stand up properly, leaning him against her as stay tripped their way through the hallways of the compound. "Come on, you can do this," she encouraged. "Just a bit more."

He vaguely nodded and adjusted his weight on her while he leaned, trying to run. "You know, I never got your name," Skye stated, guard up.

The young man smiled at her as he struggled to keep up with her while leaning his weight on her. "Elliot. Elliot Ward."

This time, Skye really froze in her tracks. She instantly turned to him and eyed him carefully, so suddenly that Elliot froze too. Yep.

"Your brother—you have an older brother," she started.

He shook his head. "I have two. The oldest one is dead. I don't know where my other one is. You know him?"

"Not the oldest one," she continued. "The other—"

"Grant Ward," he finished, barely smiling. "He's the one I need to find. You are?"

"Skye," she softly said, examining this young man's features. He looked like a less stoic version of Grant Ward, but still with the same dark eyes, smaller build, and slightly longer hair. A wave of sympathy swept over her as she propped Elliot up and thought back to the things that Grant had told her before about his family, especially his little brother. "Once a pirate, always a pirate! 8858!" she remembers him telling her, though at the time, she thought that was the oddest thing to say between brothers. The 8858 was the combination of their birthdays, she remembers, and Skye had thought was the most endearing thing ever to exist between brothers—is that what having a sibling is like? Those little memories—those were some of the few things he told her that were true, and she wonders if those were the moments he chose to be real, the real Grant Ward, instead of the master manipulator he was. This was the family he so desperately wanted to save and protect. It was too bad that he thought that he had already failed—that he didn't save his brother from the well before, that he didn't check on Elliot and his sister when their house was set on fire, that he didn't save him from that car accident—

The car accident. The thing that Garrett had lied to Ward about years earlier, to solidify his loyalty to him and cement his fate as longer his own.

Not anymore. Not if I can help it, Skye thought. Grant needs to be told the truth, and he needs to see that he still has family, and it's not Garrett…

Her thoughts were shaken apart as she felt the weakening of Elliot sagging at her side. This window was their only way of escape. In a quick decision, she quickly undid the straps of her bulletproof vest and slipped it around him.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Elliot asked.

"I can't help you out of this compound, but I don't want you to go unprotected," she said, strapping the vest around him. "I still need to disabled a system. [glances at her now increasingly vibrating phone] Go, and get out. [comms] Trip, we have a hostage here that needs your back up."

"But Skye, it's too dangerous!" he exclaimed, trying desperately to undo the straps.

She stopped his hands. "You need it more than me. My team is on its way to get you and me, and I have a gun. Come on, let's go, before the building falls on us!" She shoved him back towards the door as it flew open, half dragging him and half running. Dust and bits of sheet rock started to fall around them as they ran. Thank God that Trip had already cleared the other victims.

Elliot, though he was badly injured, couldn't help but admire this girl with him. She's a pretty one, he definitely admits, but he was more taken aback about her courage. How she ran in to save him, and now helping him out and protecting him amidst dangerous circumstances. Wonder how she knows Grant, he thought.

They finally reached the last hallway of the compound before the exit, after what seemed like forever. Elliot collapsed again, but just then, Trip came into view running. This dude was fast, to be able send the hostages on to FitzSimmons safely so quickly. Skye pushed Elliot his way. "Go! I'll disable the lab and follow!"

Trip shook his head. "We're not leaving you—"

"GO, NOW!" Skye yelled, shoving Trip. "I'll be fine. It's in this hallway. Elliot needs help."

"Elliot?" Trip asked. "He's—"

Skye glared, and sensing that she was not to be argued, Trip only nodded and helped Elliot along while keeping his weapon up to take out any remaining threat. She quickly turned back around to the corridor, only to find that half of it was already blown open. She ran another fifty feet around a corner, and finally, arrived at the lab and its wall of servers. She reactivated the power and plugged in her flash drive, starting her work. Walls were already starting to crumble from around her, and explosions were heard off in the distance.

Her mind began to swim. That was Elliot, she thought, as the flash drive started uploading corruptive workflows to the servers. Ward's brother. He has to get out…please let Ward find him. He needs to know that he's alive. He's alive. His has family, and he's alive.

If only it were that easy.