CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
Jemma was breathing heavily. Here eyes were burning, her mind was like sludge, every part of her body felt numb and hypersensitive at the same time. She couldn't move at all, and yet her body was carrying her forward.
"You snuck on? Again?" Tony shouted, throwing his hands in the air.
"I was not staying behind in that place with those weirdos." Skye scoffed, brushing her hair out of her face.
"Yeah, and there was only seven other person back there." Jemma added, "Safer here, right?"
"Seven other person?" Skye echoed, raising an eye.
"It's people, Skye." Jemma corrected, oblivious.
She could hear her feet pounding against the cold cement of the warehouse as she ran, but she couldn't feel it. Now she was on the street. Now she was on the shoreline. Saltwater licked at her toes, but there was no cold for her to feel. Nothing but emptiness as she searched for something she didn't know about.
"Two minutes until arrival." Natasha said, flicking a switch in their vehicle that did who knows what.
"Six minutes?" Jemma asked, her nerves frying at their ends. She wished she'd stayed back. Why on Earth did she keep listening to Skye? Maybe they should call Coulson. Or Ward. Or anyone, she didn't know.
"No, two minutes."
"That's what I said."
She left the shoreline. Why was she there in the first place? What was her goal? Did she need something from the water? Something else was controlling her.
She was back in the city.
A voice reached her ears, and instinctively, without any thought process, Jemma threw her hands up to cover her eyes and slid into the shadows, watching the young couple pass, laughing and giggling at some joke or another. Jemma smiled. They looked so happy. Her hands reached out, grabbing them bother from behind and sending them somewhere else. Where had they gone? What happened? Why did she feel so… strong?
"We're only five people. We should wait." Jemma said.
"There are ten of us."
"That's what I said." Jemma replied, raising an eye. "And we don't know how many of them there are. We should play it safe, scope out the area, maybe call in backup to watch through monitors. If we can hook up a computer to the security system, we'd be able to stop the Angels four moving without being near them."
"Four moving?" Tony said.
"Jemma, why are you counting down?" Owen asked, sliding back down the grassy hillside of the ditch they'd been covering in and approaching the girl.
"Counting down?" Jemma echoed. Taking his flashlight, he quickly flashed it between both of her eyes. He nearly shrieked, falling back against the slope and sliding down. Coated in mud and wild, he scrambled to his feet and tripped again, falling over in his panic.
"They're in there! It's in her eyes!" He stammered.
"Well you're the doctor, for God's sake, do something!" Gwen snapped, grabbing his collar and dragging him to his feet.
"I don't know what to do! These are… it's…" Owen said, trailing off as he stared at her. "I don't know how they got in there, nevertheless how to get it out. Or what it's doing."
"Or why it's counting." Clint added.
"Specifically down to what." Tosh, rather unhelpfully, also tried.
"Oh!" Owen said, jumping up. "Stop talking! If you stay silent, you can't count down, right?" He tried. Everyone looked at him skeptically, but it was the only plan they had.
"Three." Jemma confirmed.
"Jemma stop! You're running out of time!" Owen shrieked.
"Sorry! I meant two!" Jemma said, then squeaked, covering her mouth as panic overtook her. The Angel in her pupil smiled.
"Alright, stay quiet. We can't risk you even opening your mouth again." Owen said slowly.
"When are Rose,Skye and Natasha Getting back?" Owen asked.
"Less than then, I'd guess. They've been gone about twenty minutes." Tosh said, glancing at her watch.
"Just stay strong." Owen said quietly, tapping Jemma on the shoulder before disappearing to the west end to go find Rose, Skye and Natasha. If not talking didn't work, Jemma didn't have two minutes let alone possibly less than ten.
Stepped out of the alley and running down the street, Jemma found herself back in the warehouse.
She nearly shrieked, instinctively falling back and trying to get away, but not moving an inch. In front of her, right there, was another Angel. Locked, eye to eye, Jemma found herself had finally stopped moving.
Now is when it dawned on her that she couldn't control her own actions. Some part of her had been controlling herself, she'd believed. She must have been. What else would have been happening?
But now, looking at the Angel looking back at her, the terrible truth became apparent.
"Where is Owen? Where are any of them?" Clint snapped, pacing back and forth, his bow bouncing in his hands as he fidgeted impatiently.
"They're… I don't know." Tosh began, then stopped, running a hand over her eyes.
"They'll be back. They have to be, they've got a job to do." Tony said, fiddling with the gauntlet on his hand. "JARVIS, do a scan for living organisms."
"There are twenty-seven living organisms within the perimeter, sir." JARVIS replied.
"Damn it." Tony muttered. "We should go in."
"We have to wait with Jemma. We can't leave." Clint said. "Natasha, Skye, Rose and Owen will be back shortly."
"Unless they've been compromised or touched or sent back in time, in which case we need to know." Tony reasoned.
"I'll come with you." Tosh said. "Clint can stay here with Jemma."
"It's decided." Tony said, turning to Tosh. "I like you. Better than the elf, anyways." He said, before his helmet came down over his face, and the pair ended off east, around the building, leaving Clint with Jemma.
A massive, terrifying black shape crossed into view, passing beside Jemma and the other Angel. It stopped and glanced between them, impossible, mask-like face seeming to twist in disgust. It made a guttural sound, which some other part of Jemma's brain told her was: "Idiots."
It held one gloved hand over Jemma's eyes, and she heard footsteps as the other Angel fled the scene. Dropping it's hand and turning away, Jemma's body started moving again.
"Kill the useless ones and send the others back to find them." It snarled, it's voice sounding like a broken record player.
Jemma didn't know what he meant, but her body moved anyways, racing faster than light up stairs and through the warehouse.
Clint and Jemma sat in silence, twiddling their thumbs and waiting for something to happen.
It had been who knows how long, and Jemma was fine, but her skin was looking very washed out. Almost grey. Clint wasn't a doctor and he had no idea what to do.
Something cracked behind them.
"One!" Jemma shrieked in surprise, pointing behind Clint. Clint turned, facing an Angel, inches away from touching his back.
Jemma screamed. Without looking, Clint slipped to the side and scrambled up the side of the hill, turning so he could watch both without worry, awkwardly blinking one eye at a time.
Jemma was screaming in agony, thrashing about and falling to the forest floor, grabbing at her eyes. The other Angel watched her passively.
Clint ran.
Jemma slid through the large iron door, crossing the room.
Everyone was tied up, gagged, bound in someway and stuck to the wall. It was terrifying, but Jemma couldn't look at them. She couldn't control herself, she knew that know, but it didn't hurt any less to know that she was still passing by them without hurting.
Which ones had the thing wanted her to touch? She couldn't be sure. But her body seemed to know.
Not Rose. No, Rose was one of them.
Agent Badwolf, she remembered her being called. Agent Badwolf, Agent Badwolf… That had such a nice ring to it. Regardless, the 'other' part of her brain, the part that wasn't Jemma, had a bit of fear slip into it's mind upon thinking the name.
Were Jemma's thoughts influencing the Angel that was now her body?
Tony would do well. He'd be perfect. Send him back, he's smart enough to know what to do. Hmm… The time period might be a little awkward. Maybe getting him and his suit out of the way would be best.
A deep, whirring sound caught her ear, and the Angel turned to the corner, where a half constructed, deep, deep royal blue box was splintering out of the dirt they'd laid down, deep green leaves like ivy twisting around it and growing ever longer.
Half-constructed glass and light appeared at the top, and as she watched, the light on the top lit up.
"Police Public Call Box."
Soon, it wouldn't matter. She'd be able to get all they needed without ending others back in time. They'd be able to go themselves.
All thanks to that stupid splinter the blonde girl had been carrying around.